Serious problem at home; you are part of solution: Rahul tells Indians in Bahrain

Agencies

January 9, 2018

New Delhi, Jan 9: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who is on a visit to Bahrain, on Monday made his case before the Indians residing there, delivering another sharply critical speech that took on the Narendra Modi government. Delegates of 50 countries participated in the valedictory session of a function, where the 47-year-old, who recently took over the reins of India's largest party, is the chief guest.

"I am here to tell you what you mean to our country, that you're important, to tell you there is a serious problem at home, to tell you that you're part of the solution and that I am here to build a bridge between wherever you are in the world and home," he said in his address to the Global Organisation of People of India Origin.

In his address - the first since he took over as the Congress chief - Mr Gandhi kept his focus on the problems of the young and alleged that the BJP-led government was trying to benefit from it. He accused the government of dividing people on the basis of caste and religion and said it was channelling the fear of jobless young people into "hatred between communities".

Hinting that there will be dramatic changes in the Congress, Mr Gandhi promised to deliver a "new shining Congress party" in the next six months, said his top three priorities would be to create jobs, good health infrastructure and an education system.

Ahead of his visit, Mr Gandhi had tweeted he was looking forward to the meeting and called NRIs the brand ambassadors of the nation and "true representatives" of her soft power.

Over the last few months, Mr Gandhi had taken a page out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's book, addressing Indians during his visit abroad. His two-week visit to US last September had signaled what is being seen as the turnaround of the Congress leader, whom critics have accused of a lack of leadership skills.

At New York, Princeton and Berkeley, he had criticised the policies of the government, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's communication skills and admitted the lapses of his own party.

On social media, his sharper tweets have been gaining traction.

In the recent assembly elections in BJP-ruled Gujarat - considered the bellweather before the 2019 general elections - the Congress has managed to notch up its highest score in 35 years in face of a campaign where the BJP had pulled all stops.

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

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.

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