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India hits back at ‘biased’ US religious freedom report

AFP

India defended its record on religious tolerance Friday and rebuked the United States for its own rights issues after a report accused Indian officials of supporting attacks on minority worshippers.

Washington’s annual report on religious freedom contained a rare — if indirect — criticism of its emerging ally, documenting incendiary comments by public officials and accounts of discrimination against Muslims and Christians.

New Delhi’s foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said senior US officials had made “ill-informed” and “biased” comments coinciding with the report’s release.

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“As a naturally pluralistic society, India values religious freedom and human rights,” Bagchi said in a statement. 

“In our discussions with the US, we have regularly highlighted issues of concern there, including racially and ethnically motivated attacks, hate crimes and gun violence.”

Like its neighbour China, India frequently bristles at foreign criticism of its record.

It has routinely denounced the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, an autonomous government panel, which has repeatedly recommended India be put on a blacklist.

The State Department is highly unlikely to take action against India, identified by successive US administrations as a key strategic partner in the face of a rising China.

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government has championed a series of measures that critics have called discriminatory.

“In India, some officials are ignoring or even supporting rising attacks on people and places of worship,” said Rashad Hussain, the US ambassador at large for international religious freedom, at the report’s launch on Thursday. 

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International

President Boric announces curfew following triple police homicide in Chile

Chile offers residency and Chilean nationality to Nicaraguan opponents

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has implemented a nighttime curfew in three municipalities of the Biobío region following the murder of three police officers. The Chilean leader emphasized that “criminals will answer to Chile and its justice system.”

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Boric stated that he made the decision “after discussing with the General Director of the Carabineros, the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, the Head of National Defense, and the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, having also considered various alternatives and taking into account the needs of the ongoing investigation.”

He further detailed that “I have instructed to decree a curfew in the municipalities of Cañete, Contulmo, and Tirúa from midnight to 7:00 AM. Additionally, police and military presence will be intensified to our utmost capacity with joint patrols in the area.”

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International

President López Obrador meets with Astros and Rockies ahead of Mexico City Series

Last Friday, before the 2024 Mexico City Series between the Astros and Rockies at Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium in Mexico City, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador met with representatives from both teams.

Through his social media, the President shared his interaction with executives from the Houston and Colorado teams, as well as with Astros’ Mexican pitcher, José Urquidy.

“Yesterday (Friday), before starting the tour, I had breakfast with executives and friends from the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies. There’s increasingly more baseball fever in our country,” López Obrador wrote.

The photos also featured former Mexican major leaguers Vinicio “Vinny” Castilla and Jorge de la Rosa, both of whom played for the Colorado team.

On Saturday night, the Houston Astros won the first game in the “capital inferno,” home of the Mexico City Red Devils, with a commanding score of 12 to 4.

This Sunday, the second game of the series will take place at AHH, with both teams arriving in Mexico on a losing streak. Another great Major League celebration is anticipated at the “fire diamond.”

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International

Social media star Om Fahad fatally shot in Baghdad

An Iraqi TikToker, previously sentenced to prison last year for posting content deemed “indecent” on social media, was fatally shot in Baghdad on Friday, according to two security officials.

Om Fahad, who had tens of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram, gained fame for her videos featuring her in tight outfits dancing to Iraqi music, in a country that is predominantly conservative and patriarchal.

The young woman was shot by an assailant on a motorcycle while she was in her vehicle outside her home in central Baghdad, two security officials reported anonymously to AFP.

In February 2023, a court initially sentenced Om Fahad to six months in jail for “publishing various videos with indecent intentions that violate modesty and public morals.”

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