'Japanese First' party emerges as election force with tough immigration talk
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
15 minutes ago
- Time of India
It started in a jail cell. Now, it fights to free those wrongfully jailed
It started in a jail cell. Now, it fights to free those wrongfully jailed Mohammed Wajihuddin TNN Jul 26, 2025, 21:27 IST IST Besides its work on the 7/11 case, the Innocence Network India is helping other terror accused with legal aid A narrow, rain-soaked lane in Mumbai's Vikhroli leads to a small ground-floor room. Inside, a few chairs, a chatai, shelves of books, and maps of India and the world hang on the wall. This unassuming space is the 'secretariat' of Innocence Network India , a coalition of lawyers, prison‑rights activists and civil society groups who work for 'the rights of those wrongfully prosecuted or convicted, especially under terrorism charges .' On July 21, when the Bombay High Court acquitted all 12 men convicted of the 2006 Mumbai train blasts — also known as the 7/11 bombings — some credit was due to this little-known coalition that kept the pressure alive, along with the efforts of the Maharashtra unit office of Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind . Wahid Shaikh, who helped found the network, is visibly happy, and yet combative, seated in his two-room tenement. It's where Shaikh, a school teacher in Nagpada, central Mumbai, spends most of his after-school hours running Acquit Undertrial, his one-man YouTube channel that amplifies cases of alleged wrongful prosecution and demands compensation for acquitted convicts. It was here that he recorded a congratulatory message for the accused and their families the night before the verdict. 'I was 100% sure that the High Court would exonerate them. I recorded it before the order was pronounced,' says Shaikh. He should know. He was one of 13 men arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for the train blasts. He spent nine years in Arthur Road Jail before being acquitted in 2015. The only one to walk free at the time.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Religious heads do not take comments lightly, says journalist Dinesh Amin Mattu
Senior journalist Dinesh Amin Mattu has said that journalists can get away easily after criticising politicians in their reports, but cannot do so in the case of religious heads. Speaking at the Press Day organised by the Shivamogga district unit of Karnataka Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) here on Saturday, Mr. Mattu said that journalists could easily criticise either Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, or former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. 'Normally, we believe politicians are enemies of freedom of the press. But actually, they are not. However, religious heads do not take comments lightly, no matter which religion they belong to,' he stated. 'Politicians hardly send notices to journalists for their reports. However, religious heads are not like that. Hundreds of YouTube channels have received notices for the stories they did recently,' Mr. Mattu said. He stated that every section of the society did not enjoy freedom of expression. 'Only politicians, businessmen, and religious heads enjoy freedom of expression, while voters, workers, and true devotees lack the freedom,' he said. Shivamogga Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra said that even after the advent of social media and new media, he would wish to read newspapers in print every day, as that experience was special to him. Children of journalists, who secured the highest score in annual examinations, and journalists who were chosen for awards and honours recently, were felicitated on the occasion. KUWJ State president Shivanand Tagadur, district president K.V. Shivakumar, State committee member Ravi Telex, District Guarantee Scheme Implementation Committee chairman C.S. Chandrabhoopal, Karnataka State Government Employees Association president C.S. Shadakshari, and others were present.
Economic Times
8 hours ago
- Economic Times
Delhi Jal Board struggles to recover ₹63,000 crore in unpaid dues
The Delhi Jal Board faces a severe financial crisis with ₹63,000 crore in unpaid dues, primarily from government departments and agencies like Indian Railways and Delhi Police. This impacts DJB's operations and infrastructure development. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is grappling with an unprecedented financial burden, with unpaid dues amounting to ₹63,000 crore, a majority of which are owed by government departments, The Times of India per DJB records reviewed by ToI, Delhi government departments owe ₹33,295 crore, while central government agencies account for ₹29,723.37 crore in outstanding dues. Among the latter, Indian Railways alone owes ₹21,530 crore, followed by Delhi Police with ₹6,097 crore. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi also has pending payments of ₹26,147 crore.A senior DJB official told ToI that despite multiple reminders to the defaulters, the board has been unable to recover the dues, severely impacting its day-to-day operations, maintenance, and infrastructure expansion. Officials acknowledged that the matter now demands urgent to the burden, commercial users owe ₹66,000 crore, while domestic consumers have pending dues of ₹15,000 crore, according to the data cited by clarified that under the current plan, relief from inflated water bills will only be extended to domestic users, not commercial ones or government agencies. The problem of pending water and sewerage charges has persisted since 2012-13, the report Water Minister Parvesh Verma told ToI:'Water is a shared responsibility and ensuring its uninterrupted supply requires collective effort. Resolving these financial bottlenecks will significantly strengthen our capacity to maintain and improve the city's water infrastructure. We are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure timely solutions in the best interest of every Delhi resident.'Sources cited by ToI said the reasons for the unpaid bills varied widely — some departments dispute being charged commercial rates, while others question the accuracy of billing for unmetered or unknown water connections. Hospitals and government departments have objected to being billed as commercial users. The Railways, in particular, claimed that it didn't have as many water connections as DJB was billing it for, and many of those were Delhi government is now considering a full waiver of late payment surcharges for domestic users. Many people reportedly stopped paying their bills due to inflated amounts caused by faulty or estimated meter readings, bills generated during Covid lockdowns when homes were vacant, or mounting arrears that escalated due to repeated non-payment and accruing penalties. A DJB official admitted that non-payment of disputed bills triggered a spiral of late fees, increasing the amount due officials clarified to ToI that no relief is planned for commercial users or government departments, and complaints related to false meter readings are also outside the scope of the waiver. In October and November 2022, DJB's online portal reportedly received over 10,000 complaints about wrong billing.A proposed one-time settlement scheme, promised last year by the previous government, failed to take address future disputes, DJB plans to replace existing water meters with smart metering devices, which officials believe will eliminate billing errors. The current system, which relies on meter readers submitting physical images, often results in outdated or inaccurate readings, eventually leading to erroneous and inflated inputs from ToI
