NEW DELHI: India replaced colonial-era criminal laws with new legislation on Monday, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government said would make the country more just, but the opposition said risked throwing the criminal justice system into disarray.
The new laws were approved by parliament in December in Modi’s previous term with the government saying they aim to “give justice, not punishment.” It says they were needed as colonial laws had been at the core of the criminal justice system for more than a century.
Among the key changes is replacement of the sedition law frequently used as a tool of suppression, after its enactment under British colonial rule to jail Indian freedom fighters.
Under the new laws — which replace the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act, and Code of Criminal Procedure — sedition is replaced with a section on acts seen as “endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.”
“About 77 years after independence, our criminal justice system is becoming completely indigenous and will run on Indian ethos,” India’s Home (interior) Minister Amit Shah told reporters. “Instead of punishment, there will now be justice.”
Criminal cases registered under the repealed laws before Monday will continue to follow them, Shah said, adding that the first case logged under the new law was that of a motorcycle theft in the central city of Gwalior, registered 10 minutes after midnight.
“The laws were debated for three months ... It is not fair to give political color to this big improvement happening after centuries. I ask the opposition parties to support this legislation,” Shah said.
Opposition Congress party lawmaker P. Chidambaram said the previous parliament session did not hold any “worthwhile debate” before passing the laws.
He said that there was only marginal improvement in the new laws, which could have been introduced as amendments to existing laws.
“The initial impact will be to throw the administration of criminal justice into disarray,” he posted on X.
The Indian Express newspaper said in an editorial that criminal justice reform should not be “a one-time solution or one that just takes place in the books,” and called for police reform and addressing gaps in judicial infrastructure.
India replaces colonial-era criminal laws, including on sedition, to provide ‘justice’
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India replaces colonial-era criminal laws, including on sedition, to provide ‘justice’
- Modi government says change would make India more just, but opposition said it risked throwing criminal justice system into disarray
- Among key changes is replacement of sedition law frequently used as a tool of suppression after its enactment under British rule
Russian missiles and drones strike eastern Ukraine's Dnipro in a daylight attack that kills 5
A video posted on social media by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed a missile with a fiery trail streaking over buildings
KYIV: A Russian missile and drone attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Wednesday killed five civilians and injured 47 others, including a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.
Blasts blew out some windows of a shopping mall, raining shards onto the street, photos published by local officials showed. Mayor Borys Filatov said the daytime attack also shattered windows in two schools and three kindergartens. Debris struck the intensive care unit of a children’s hospital, and a fire broke out in another hospital.
A video posted on social media by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed a missile with a fiery trail streaking over buildings in Ukraine's fourth-largest city, and debris flying into the air from its impact.
The war, now in its third year since Russia invaded its neighbor, has killed more than 10,000 civilians and wounded around 20,000 others, the United Nations says.
In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, Russian shelling struck a village council building, killing one person and injuring two others, regional head Oleh Suniehubov said.
Elsewhere in the region, a Russian glide bomb struck a residential building in the village of Ruska Lozova, injuring at least two people. Others could be trapped under rubble, Syniehubov said.
Also Wednesday, Ukraine received $2.2 billion from the International Monetary Fund under an ongoing credit facility, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced.
The credit program foresees the disbursement of $16 billion, but Ukraine must pass IMF reviews of its progress on key economic and fiscal benchmarks before each part is released.
The latest funds will be used for welfare payments and the salaries of doctors and teachers, among other things, Shmyhal said.
UN rights chief warns about rise of far-right in Europe
- Far-right parties made gains in the European Parliament last month
- “In Europe we have unfortunately seen an increase in hate speech, an increase in discriminatory speech,” Turk said
GENEVA: The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday called for vigilance in the face of far-right political gains in Europe, citing narratives that dehumanize migrants and asylum seekers.
“We need to be very vigilant because especially history tells us, in particular in Europe, that the vilification of the other, that the denigration of the other, is a harbinger for what’s to come,” Volker Turk told reporters at a press conference in Geneva. “It’s an alarm bell we need to ring.”
Far-right parties made gains in the European Parliament last month and France is holding a run-off election this weekend where opponents of its far-right, anti-immigrant National Rally are seeking to block them from power.
As an Austrian, whose country became a hotbed of anti-Semitism in the 1930s and participated in the Holocaust after its annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938, Turk has previously cited a desire to prevent future atrocities as part of his inspiration to run for the top UN rights job.
Formerly a senior official at the UN refugee agency, Turk fought for years to boost their protections.
“In Europe we have unfortunately seen an increase in hate speech, an increase in discriminatory speech, and it’s important that political leaders are very clear that there should be zero tolerance for hate speech and for any attempt to denigrate others,” he said.
Turk blamed the rise of populist, extremist politics on the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, including rising living costs, that have “disenfranchised, disillusioned, a large segment of the population.
“The traditional political parties never are self-reflective about how they actually could do their job in order to respond to legitimate grievances that populations and constituencies have,” he added.
Turk, who is nearly half way through his four-year term as UN rights chief and whose job is to speak out against attacks on freedoms, said he had hoped to use his position to make an impact on global issues like climate change.
However, he said wars including those in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan had forced him into “crisis management” mode.
“We have seen the normalization of things that, frankly, were quite unthinkable, even a couple of years ago,” he said.
Millions of Bangladeshis brace for severe flooding as monsoon sets in
- At least 1.8 million Bangladeshis have already been affected by floodwaters
- Government holds a special meeting over disaster response as river levels rise
DHAKA: Millions of Bangladeshis in the country’s already inundated northeast were on alert on Wednesday as the country braces for more flooding in the coming days.
Bangladesh’s second-largest city, Sylhet, and neighboring districts have been underwater for several days.
“As of today, 1.8 million people have been affected by flooding,” Mohammad Asaduzzaman, joint secretary of the Department of Disaster Management, told Arab News.
The number of people displaced and isolated by floodwaters is expected to increase this week as water levels in the riverine region continue to rise with the extreme onset of the monsoon season, which is also wreaking havoc in neighboring India.
“Seven of our main rivers are currently flowing above the danger levels at 16 points, resulting in floods in seven districts,” Uday Raihan, executive engineer at the Flood Forecast and Warning Center of the Bangladesh Water Development Board, told Arab News.
“On July 5 and 6, the northeastern region will see another round of increase in floodwater. In addition to the existing seven districts, four to five new districts will be affected.”
Millions of people in Bangladesh, which has hundreds of rivers, are affected by seasonal floods during the June-September monsoon when rivers — many of which bring water from India — burst their banks before reaching the Bay of Bengal.
Even bigger flooding is likely to hit the country this August as downpours are expected to be more intense across the whole country.
On Tuesday, the Bangladeshi government held a special meeting on disaster response, as officials are fearing a repeat of the 2022 record rainfall in India’s Meghalaya state, which triggered Bangladesh’s most severe flooding in memory.
At least 7.2 million people were displaced and 100 killed in the low-lying areas of Sylhet and Sunamganj districts. Economic damages were estimated at about $1 billion.
“There is a fear of another seasonal flood in August. At the moment, we can’t forecast the situation,” Raihan said.
“In recent years, we have noticed frequent flood situations in the country. We need to have more research to assess their relation to the impacts of climate change.”
Ukraine, Russian armed group claim arson attack on Moscow warship in Baltic
- GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters the operation was conducted in tandem with the Freedom of Russia Legion
- Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has made no public comment on the incident
KYIV: A Ukrainian military intelligence official said on Wednesday that a fire on a Russian warship in the Baltic Sea in April was caused by a joint operation conducted by his GUR agency and a pro-Kyiv Russian military group.
On April 7, the Serpukhov missile ship stationed in Russia’s Kaliningrad region was set on fire, the GUR intelligence agency said at the time. It did not claim responsibility earlier.
GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters the operation was conducted in tandem with the Freedom of Russia Legion. Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has made no public comment on the incident.
Ukraine regularly carries out multiple air and naval strikes on Russian warships in the Black Sea. If the reported damage to the Serpukhov is confirmed, the arson would be Ukraine’s first known operation against Russia in the Baltic Sea.
The Freedom of Russia Legion said the arson attack was prepared and carried out together with certain servicemen within Russia’s Baltic Sea fleet with whom it had been communicating since 2023.
“As a result of the sabotage, (we) managed to ruin the ship from inside and completely destroy communication and its means of automation,” the legion said on its Telegram account.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday, a former Russian navy serviceman who goes by the call sign of Goga said he managed to collect classified documents from the Serpukhov before escaping, according to the RBC-Ukraine media outlet.
“I took prepared classified documents and left the ship, leaving the territory of (Russia) as well,” he was quoted by RBC-Ukraine as saying.
Indonesia, Malaysia vow to seek justice for Gaza, support Palestine’s UN bid
- UN General Assembly backed Palestinian bid for membership in May, but it still needs Security Council approval
- Palestine has had non-member observer state status since 2012, which does not include right to vote
JAKARTA: Indonesia and Malaysia vowed on Wednesday to continue seeking justice for the people of Gaza and to support Palestine’s bid for full UN membership.
The Southeast Asian neighbors are among the staunchest supporters of Palestinian statehood, with their officials consistently calling for a permanent ceasefire since the start of Israel’s deadly onslaught on Gaza in October, and for the implementation of the two-state solution in Palestine.
During a meeting in Malaysia’s administrative capital of Putrajaya, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi discussed their commitment to defend Palestine on the international stage.
“Our conversation touched on the issue of Palestine, with both nations reaffirming our unwavering support for justice for the people of Gaza and the acceptance of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations,” Ibrahim wrote on X after the talks.
Marsudi said in a statement after the meeting that Indonesia and Malaysia had the “same concerns toward the situation in Palestine” where Israeli airstrikes and ground offensives have killed in excess of 37,900 Palestinians and wounded more than 87,100 people.
“Both nations also have strong commitments to support Palestinian independence,” she said.
“Indonesia will continue with efforts to ensure an immediate and permanent ceasefire, to deliver humanitarian aid without hindrance, and preparations for the creation of a Palestinian state, including the issue of acceptance and full membership at the UN.”
In May, Indonesia and Malaysia voted at the UN General Assembly in support of a Palestinian bid to become a full member of the world body.
The General Assembly resolution, which was approved by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions, also called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s request to become a UN member, after its previous bid was vetoed by the US in April.
Palestine has had a non-member observer state status since 2012, which allows it some rights short of a full membership that would allow it to cast a vote.
Under the UN Charter, admission of prospective members must first be approved by the 15-member Security Council, before it goes for another round of voting at the General Assembly.
