Baghpat, Sept 14: At least 22 people drowned and many others were missing after an overloaded boat capsized in the Yamuna river on Thursday in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district.
The boat carrying 60 people capsized and 22 persons drowned, District Magistrate Bhawani Singh said
Police and PAC personnel have fished out 22 bodies so far while 10 others have been rescued.
A search is on to trace others.
Villagers told the police the boat was overcrowded, which could be one reason for the tragedy.
The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.
In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.
The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.
Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.
CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.
More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.
The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.
Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.
The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.
“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.
On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.
Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.
“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.
Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.
New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.
Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”
During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.
"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.
On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”
Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.
India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.
He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.
Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.
Bengaluru, Nov 21: The Karnataka government is facing pressure to overhaul its employment system after a high-level Cabinet sub-committee recommended the complete phase-out of job outsourcing in government offices, boards, and corporations by March 2028. The move is aimed at tackling a systemic issue that has led to the potential violation of constitutional reservation policies and the exploitation of workers.
The Call for Systemic Change
With over three lakh vacant posts currently being filled through private agencies on an outsource, insource, or daily wage basis, the sub-committee highlighted a significant lapse. "As a result, reservations are not being followed as per the Constitution and state laws. It’s an urgent need to take serious steps to change the system. It has been recommended to completely stop the system of outsourcing by March 2028," the panel stated in a document.
The practice of outsourcing involves private companies hiring workers to perform duties for a government agency. Critics argue this model results in lesser salaries, a lack of social security benefits (otherwise available to permanent government employees), and a failure to adhere to the provisions of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and prohibit discrimination.
The 'Bidar Model' as a Stop-Gap Solution
To regulate the current mode of employment and reduce worker exploitation until the 2028 deadline, the government plans to establish workers’ services multi-purpose cooperative societies across all districts, following the successful "Bidar Model."
The Bidar District Services of Labour Multi-purpose Cooperative Society Ltd., which operates under the District Commissioner, is cited as a successful example of providing a measure of social security to outsourced staff. Labour Department officials argue this society ensures workers receive their due wages and statutory facilities like ESI (Employees' State Insurance) and PF (Provident Fund), in exchange for a 1% service fee collected from the employees.
legislative push and Priority Insourcing
The recommendations, led by the sub-committee headed by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil, are set to be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting. The committee has proposed the introduction of the Karnataka Outsourced Employees (Regulation, Placement and Welfare) Bill 2025.
In a move addressing immediate concerns, Labour Minister Santosh Lad, a member of the sub-committee, has reportedly assured that steps will be taken over the next 2-3 years to insource workers in "life-threatening services" on a priority basis. This includes essential personnel like pourakarmikas (sanitation workers), drivers, electrical staff in the Energy Department, and Health Department staff handling contagious diseases. The transition aims to grant these workers the long-term security and benefits they currently lack under the outsourcing system.
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