Kashmir.Watch

Category: World

  • Now do video calling on WhatsApp

    New Delhi: Catering to the requests of its over a billion users, instant messaging app WhatsApp launched its video calling feature which will be rolled out from Tuesday.

    The feature will be available on all platforms — Android, iOS and Windows.
     
    WhatsApp has 160 million users in India.
     
    “Video calling is one of the most requested features from people in India. We’re proud to have the opportunity to launch this feature in India, where we now have 160 million users, and we look forward to seeing people use WhatsApp to talk to their friends and loved ones face to face,” said Jan Koum, CEO and Co-Founder, WhatsApp.
     
    WhatsApp started with messaging and Group Chat. Then it added voice calling. 
     
    “And we did it in a way that works across thousands of device and platform combinations all over the world,” the Facebook-owned WhatsApp said. 
     
    The global launch event was addressed by Neeraj Arora, Head of Business, WhatsApp and Manpreet Singh, Product Lead, WhatsApp.

  • Thousands take to streets of US cities to protest against Trump victory

    Chicago/New York: Throngs of demonstrators marched in cities across the United States on Wednesday to protest against Republican Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the US presidential election, blasting his controversial campaign rhetoric about immigrants, Muslims and other groups.In New York, thousands of protesters filled streets in midtown Manhattan as they made their way to Trump Tower, Trump’s gilded home on Fifth Avenue, while hundreds of others gathered at a Manhattan park and shouted ‘Not my president’. In downtown Chicago, an estimated 1,800 people gathered outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower, chanting phrases like ‘No Trump! No KKK! No racist USA.’ Chicago police closed roads in the area, impeding the demonstrators’ path. There were no immediate reports of arrests or violence.”I’m just really terrified about what is happening in this country,” said 22-year-old Adriana Rizzo in Chicago, who was holding a sign that read: “Enjoy your rights while you can.” Protesters railed against Trump’s campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico to keep immigrants from entering the country illegally.Hundreds also gathered in Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday evening, and organisers planned rallies in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland, California.In Austin, the Texas capital, about 400 people marched through the streets, police said.A representative of the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the protests. In his victory speech, Trump said he would be president for all Americans, saying: “It is time for us to come together as one united people.”Earlier this month, his campaign rejected the support of a Ku Klux Klan newspaper and said that “Mr Trump and his campaign denounces hate in any form.”

    ‘DREAMERS’ FEAR DEPORTATION

    Earlier on Wednesday, some 1,500 students and teachers rallied in the courtyard of Berkeley High School, in Berkeley, a San Francisco Bay Area city known for its liberal politics, before marching towards the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.Hundreds of high school and college students also walked out in protest in Seattle, Phoenix, Los Angeles and three other Bay Area cities, Oakland, Richmond and El Cerrito.A predominantly Latino group of about 300 high school students walked out of classes on Wednesday morning in Los Angeles and marched to the steps of City Hall, where they held a brief but boisterous rally.Chanting in Spanish: “The people united will never be defeated,” the group held signs with slogans such as “Not Supporting Racism, Not My President” and “Immigrants Make America Great.”Many of those students were members of the “Dreamers” generation, children whose parents entered the United States with them illegally, school officials said, and who fear deportation under a Trump administration.”A child should not live in fear that they will be deported,” said Stephanie Hipolito, one of the student organisers of the walkout. She said her parents were US  citizens.

    There were no immediate reports of arrests or violence.Wednesday’s demonstrations followed a night of protests in the San Francisco area and elsewhere in the country in response to Trump’s victory against heavily favoured Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.Demonstrators smashed storefront windows and set garbage and tires ablaze late on Tuesday in downtown Oakland. A few miles away, students at the University of California, Berkeley protested on campus. Reuters

  • Pakistan warns India against breach of water treaty

    Islamabad: Pakistan has warned India with reprisals if New Delhi breaches the World Bank-sponsored Indus Waters Treaty, the media reported on Tuesday.

    “India will be responded (to) if it shows aggression by unilaterally breaking the treaty,” the Express News quoted Water and Power Secretary Younis Dagha as saying on Monday.
     
    Dagha was addressing the Senate Standing Committee on Water and Power.
     
    The Committee met to reconsider a report regarding an adjournment motion moved in the upper house of Parliament by Senator Sherry Rehman. 
     
    Rehman moved the motion in the backdrop of reported Indian threats to unilaterally revoke the treat.
     
    The Pakistan People’s Party senator had sought details about the possible repercussions of the move and Pakistan’s preparedness to combat such “a war-like situation”.
     
    “If India shows aggression, then there are some other options,” he added. “India cannot stop more water from Neelum river. It can stop water only temporarily for using it.”
     
    Dagha said the government had started work on a National Water Policy 2016 and consultations would be completed in the next one to two months. IANS

  • Chinese troops halt civilian work in Ladakh

    Srinagar: Chinese and Indian troops are locked in a stand-off at the icy heights of Ladakh division since yesterday after People’s Liberation Army(PLA) personnel entered an area where an irrigation canal was being built under the MNREGA scheme and stopped the civilian work.

    The incident took place yesterday afternoon in Demchok sector, located 250 km east of Leh, where the work for linking a village with ‘Hot spring’ was being undertaken under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).

    Around 55 Chinese troops arrived at the scene and halted the work in an aggressive manner, prompting the army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police(ITBP) personnel to rush to the spot and stop the high-handedness of Chinese troops, official sources said today.
     
    The Chinese troops took positions on the perceived Line of Actual Control (LAC) and demanded that work be stopped as either side needs to take permission before undertaking any work, a claim disputed by the Indian side which says that as per the agreement between the two countries, information about construction needs to be shared only if it was meant for defence purposes.
     
    Both sides pulled out banners and have been stationed on the ground, the sources said, adding the Army and ITBP was not allowing the Chinese to move an inch ahead despite the PLA claiming that the area belonged to China.
     
    The area had witnessed a similar incident in 2014 after it was decided to construct a small irrigation canal at Nilung Nalla under the MNREGA scheme that had been a sore point with the Chinese.
     
    The PLA had mobilised villagers from Tashigong to pitch Rebos (tents) at Charding-Ninglung Nallah (CNN) Track Junction to protest Indian action.
     
    This time, the sources said, there were 55 personnel from the Chinese PLA whereas nearly 70 personnel from ITBP and army had fortified the area and prevented their march deeper into Indian territory, the sources said.
     
    The ‘Hot Spring’ is different from the one in Chashool where Police day is observed in memory of 10 CRPF men killed in 1959 by Chinese troops.

  • Singer Janet Jackson converts to Islam

    Los Angeles: Singer Janet Jackson has reportedly converted to Islam.

    According to a source, the 50-year-old, who is expecting her first child with Wissam Al Mana — whom she secretly married in 2012 — has undergone a full conversion to the religion which her husband practices, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

    “When she’s visiting Wissam’s family in the Middle East, she wears no makeup, no hair extensions and keeps to traditional Muslim clothing,” the source told The Sun newspaper.

    “She feels like she has found a home with her new religion. She has spent a great deal of time studying it,” the source added.

    It comes as a stark change for Jackson, who previously appeared topless on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, and suffered a “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl .

    The source added: “The days of raunchy dance moves and sexual lyrics are long gone.” IANS

  • Kashmiri Seminary Students Reflect Kashmir Pain at Model OIC Summit in Iran

    To End Kashmir crises, open result oriented Dialogue process Waseem Reza to India and Pakistan

    Mashhad:The 4th International Model OIC held in Mashhad, Iran from 22nd Oct to 28th Oct 2017 with the participation of 100 students from 40 the top tier Universities in the OIC Member States.Model OIC International program is mandated activity of ICYF-DC approved by the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers and aiming to achive the related goals set by the OIC ten year program of Action.

    The summit aims at increasing political and cultural Knowledge of Muslim scholars, Intellectuals, researchers and imbibe them with latest skills of diplomacy and dialogue.
    Two young Kashmiri seminary students of Al Mustafa (SAWW) International University Waseem Reza and Syed Owais Abbas Mosavi participated in the prestigious event.

    During 5 days,conferences, discussion panels,workshops and simulations were organized over the subjects of Human Rights, National Security, Common Market and Islamphobia in OIC countries.

    Waseem Reza expressed concern over the plight of Muslim Ummah especially with reference to growing intellectual decay and sectarian terrorism, calling for end to extremism of all shades.oic2While Condemning the killing of innocents in Palestine, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir Waseem Reza appealed Muslim governments to work unitedly for the safeguard of muslims and humanity.He blamed some muslims goverments for supproting ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Taliban and others who badly wounded and defamed the image of Islam and Muslims.

    Waseem Reza stated that”Kashmir is a conflict between three parties India-Pakistan and Kashmir.Since 1947 more than lac kashmir being killed due to violence in Kashmir and since more than 100 days curfew has crippled the life of common people besides more than 90 got killed while 12000 wounded and hundreds have lost their eyesight due to pellet gun.”He said that Kashmir is a peaceful movement and Kashmir nation is fighting politically while gun has no role in Kashmir.The need of the hour is to resolve the Kashmir dispute through result oriented dialogue process and implement UN resolution.

    Aga Syed Owais Abbas Mosavi condemned the human rights violation across the globe and termed the action of DAESH and other terroristic organizations is muslims countries as unislamic and unhuman.

    While expressing sorrow and worry over the innocents killings in Kashmir,Syed Owais Abbas Mosavi appealed India and Pakistan to solve long pending Kashmir issue peacefully without wasting time through talks between three parties.

    On the sidelines of the Conference Waseem Reza and Aga Syed Owais Abbas met with Advisor to Turkism PM Ali Osman,President 4th Model OIC Summit,ICYF-DC & Counselor MFA,The Republic of Azerbaijan Elshad Iskandarov,Mayor of Mashhad Syed Solat Mortazavi and different shades of world.oic-3The 4th International Model-OIC (4th IMOIC) held  in Mashhad, Iran, with participation of 100 students from 40 the top-tier Universities include Turkey,  Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mozambique, Philippines, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Georgia, Somalia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Serbia, Uganda, Turkmenistan, Sudan, Yemen, and Lebanon.

    The event was attended by Deputy Foreign Ministerof Iran Abbas Araqchi, Turkish Parliment Member,Cultural and Islamic Guidance Minister of Iran, Advisor to Turkish PM and many dignitaries of Muslim World. Scholars Wasim Reza, Aga Syed Owais Abbas participated in the prestigious event.A joint visit was offered to the Holy Shrine of 8th Successor of Holy Prophet (S) Hazrat Imam Ali Reza (as) Mashhad and prayers were made for peace and security of Muslim World.Last a joint resolution was passed by the delegates.

    It`s here to mentioned that Mashhad city of Iran will be announced as the Cultural Capital of World by OIC in April 2017.

  • Pakistan trade body hints at suspending ties with India

    Islamabad: A Pakistan trade body has announced that it would consider suspending trade with India if the current hostile situation did not improve soon, a media report said on Friday.

    The Federa­tion of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Abdul Rauf Alam on Thursday said that Pakistan had no compulsions of any sort to continue business and trade relations with India under the current hostile conditions, Dawn online reported.

    The entire Pakistani business community, he said, was united to take any decision and given the tense situation in the region, it was not possible to continue trade relations with India.
    He pointed out the role of the Saarc Chamber of Com­m­erce and Industry and said that it left them with no choice but to promote trade relations with ECO and D-8 countries.

  • At least I will go down as president: Obama tells Trump

    Washington: Appearing on a popular late night TV show, US President Barack Obama read out nasty tweets from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump who is aspiring to succeed him at the White House next January.

    “President Obama will go down as perhaps the worst president in the history of the United States!” Obama read appearing on the ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’.

    The president said his morning wakeup time is 7 am. He was responding to a question about when somebody has to call him in the middle of the night to tell him about an emergency.
    He was asked why people don’t trust his former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
    “A lot of this just has to do with the fact that she has been in the trenches, in the arena for 30 years, and when you have been in the public eye for that long, and in politics, folks go after you and they’re trying to find a weak spot, and any mistake that you make ends up being magnified a narrative begins to build,” he said.
    “The brand of politics that Hillary represents, which is pragmatic and says that you don’t get everything done at once, you make progress and move pieces at a time, that may not attract as much attention, it’s not something that goes into 140 characters…but I think she will be an outstanding president,” Obama said.
    Later, when asked if he wishes he were the one campaigning against Trump, Obama said, “I think Hillary’s doing just fine”.
    Obama said he does have an iPhone but he can only access emails on it.
    “I now have an iPhone, but it is, you know, like, the phone you give your 2-year-old, where they can pretend to press things, but nothing actually happens? So my phone has no phone, no camera, no music all it has is the Internet, and I can send e-mails,” he said.

  • Terrorists storm police training college in Pakistan; 51 cadets killed, 97 injured

    Quetta: At least 51 police recruits were killed and 97 injured as terrorists attacked a police academy in the province of Balochistan in Pakistan, media reports said.

    Talking to the media, Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that the operation against the terrorists has been completed by security forces who fought valiantly against the terrorists, Geo Tv reported.
    Bugti said that nearly 700 police recruits were present at the time of the attack.
    “There were three terrorists and all of them were wearing suicide vests,” Dawn news quoted Major General Sher Afgan.
    “Two suicide attackers blew themselves up, which resulted in casualties, while the third one was shot dead by our troops,” he added.
    He also informed the press that the attackers were getting directions from Afghanistan and the initial investigation suggests that the terrorists were affiliated with Lashkar-e- Jhangvi Al Almi.
    The attack began around 9.30 p.m. on Monday, as two attackers reportedly entered the complex through the front gate after shooting the guard, while others climbed the rear wall of the training centre.
    Three loud explosions were also heard, which occurred inside the training centre.
    Police and army personnel have surrounded the vicinity in large numbers as the operation is continuing inside the premises.
    An emergency had been declared at hospitals around the provincial capital.
    The training centre is situated on Sariab Road, which is one of the most sensitive areas of Quetta. Militants have been targeting security forces in the area for almost a decade.
    The training college has come under attack in the past in 2008 and 2006, with terrorists firing rockets into the college playground.
    In August, a suicide bombing at a Quetta hospital killed 73 persons. The attack was later claimed by the Islamic State group and the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.

  • Pakistan ready for talks if India serious about Kashmir: Sharif

    Srinagar: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Saturday that his country was ready to hold dialogue with India if New Delhi was serious about resolving the Kashmir issue.
    According to Dawn.com, the Pakistan premier said Kashmir was main cause of unrest in the region and India must show seriousness for resolution of the issue and honour its commitment under United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

    Pakistan had offered holding of talks on outstanding issues several times but India did not reciprocate, he said while talking to reporters in Baku before wrapping up a three-day visit to Azerbaijan, it said.

    Pakistan was committed to peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue, he added.
    The premier regretted Indian allegations that blamed Pakistan for the attack on an Indian army base camp in Uri.

    He said India levelled allegations against Pakistan within six hours of the Uri incident, and reiterated that no infiltration took place across the Line of Control (LoC).