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Potentate visits city

Potentate visits city

His Highness, the Maharaj Sir Bhawani Singh, Bahadur of Jhalawar, the first of India's princes to visit New Zealand, arrived in Dunedin from Christchurch by the express last night.His Highness is accompanied by Lieutenant-colonel R.A E. Benn, the Administrator of Jhalawar, Dr Bhoratia, Mr Khan (ADC), and two Indian valets. Mrs Benn is also included in the party.
The Maharaj is the guest of the New Zealand Government, and Mr A. Wilson, tourist agent, Auckland, is in charge of the tour. The Mayor (Mr H.L. Tapley) and Mr D.B. Theomin welcomed his Highness on his arrival at the railway station. His Highness expects to leave on Monday for Queenstown, and will return to Dunedin on Wednesday, and will leave on Thursday.
During his brief stay in Dunedin it is anticipated that he will be able to visit to several of the leading industrial factories, and also to make a motor trip on the Taieri. When approached last night, Lt-col Benn informed a representative of the Otago Daily Times that his Highness would not talk on political subjects. He was making his present tour expressly for health reasons, and while in New Zealand intended to visit the various beauty spots in the dominion.
He said that Sir Bhawani was a great traveller, and had visited most of the countries in Europe. He took a keen interest in scientific matters, and it was during a period when he was carrying out research work at Oxford that his health had given way and he had been forced to travel to recuperate.
Sir Bhawani is a noted educationalist, having founded district schools in his State, and is a great lover of books. His is said to be one of the finest libraries in India, the collection comprising between thirty and forty thousand books.
He is keenly interested also in various branches of science. He was a member of a large number of scientific bodies in London and Paris.
After he left New Zealand he would return to England via Panama, and would proceed thence through Italy to India. Work-life balance
A neighbour of mine says that he put on a casual labourer to do some digging —15 shillings a day of eight hours. The man arrived twenty minutes late, but had "started on time" — came from South Dunedin.
At ten he held a stop-work meeting across the street fence with a friend who chanced to be loafing around; at eleven he appeared at the kitchen door for morning tea and smoke-ho; from twelve to one was his lunch hour; at three, smoke-ho again and afternoon tea. — by 'Civis' Oil company mobilises
An extensive scheme of distribution in Australia and New Zealand has been adopted by the Vacuum Oil Co, and will involve an outlay of £2,000,000.
The idea behind the scheme is to distribute motor spirit, oils and kerosene even to outback parts expeditiously and at a minimum of cost. This is calculated to facilitate materially the development of rural areas and to increase the means of transport.
Bulk-handling depots will be set up at Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Dunedin. In all towns of over 5000 people, what are termed tank stations will be erected at a cost of £20,000 each.
The oils and motor spirit will be transported from the central depots to the inland tank stations by means of tank trucks on railways. In this way supplies will be constantly passing to the tank stations, the capacity of which will vary according to the requirements of the districts. A fleet of tank cars and wagons will also be maintained by the company to expedite despatch to country districts.
The manager of the company (Mr Cornforth) states that the fleet of oil steamers will carry cargoes to the principal ports where the company has established depots. Although the complete scheme will not be working until October, certain portions of it may be utilised as they become available. The elimination of tins and cases in the distribution of petrol and oils is an important factor of the scheme. — ODT , 18.7.1925
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India: End Unlawful Expulsion Of Indian Muslim Citizens And Rohingya Refugees
India: End Unlawful Expulsion Of Indian Muslim Citizens And Rohingya Refugees

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India: End Unlawful Expulsion Of Indian Muslim Citizens And Rohingya Refugees

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Muslim communities and refugees in India are increasingly at risk since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was first elected in 2014. Fortify Rights' new investigation finds that in recent months, authorities in BJP-run states have arbitrarily arrested, detained, tortured, and coercively expelled Muslim minorities and Rohingya refugees. These efforts intensified in recent months, after deadly attacks in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which Indian authorities alleged were linked to Pakistan-based militant groups. In response, on May 7, 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, a retaliatory military campaign targeting alleged terrorist camps within Pakistan. Following the terror attack, BJP leaders and lawmakers have renewed their calls for stricter measures against what they termed 'infiltrators' and 'illegal immigrants' on Indian soil. 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From May to July 2025, Fortify Rights spoke with 16 individuals, including Muslim residents in the states of Assam and Gujarat, Rohingya refugees in India, relatives of detainees, as well as an Indian lawyer and a Bangladesh police officer at the border. Fortify Rights also documented torture and ill-treatment during India's arrest and expulsion campaign. An Indian Muslim citizen, 30, in Gujarat State, but originally from the state of West Bengal, told Fortify Rights how the Indian police detained and later expelled him to Bangladesh in May 2025, where he now remains: 'The police told us, 'Acknowledge that you are from Bangladesh, you are Bangladeshi. [Or] we will kill you.' … For 15 to 20 days, they kept us in an Indian jail.' Indian police demanded he convert to Hinduism if he wanted to remain in India: They [the police] said, 'If you convert to become a Hindu, we will release you. Then I said, 'No, I don't want to change my faith. 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She said: My father was called a Bangladeshi all his life, but that he would be sent to Bangladesh was unimaginable. We are Indians. … We are being thrown out of our country. Why was my father sent to Bangladesh when he had all the documents [proving his Indian citizenship]? The woman's father was then intercepted by Bangladesh border guard forces and sent back again to India. Her grandmother, father, aunt, and other relatives had been declared ' bidexi' or 'foreigners' by a Foreigners Tribunal in Assam State, a quasi-judicial body, in 2011 and 2012. Others who were expelled were reportedly transported to coastal areas and forced into the water near the maritime border of Bangladesh. A Bangladeshi police officer, who received a group of more than 70 people pushed by Indian authorities into Bangladesh, told Fortify Rights: 'On the night of May 8, 2025, speedboats pushed them into the sea and forced them to swim ashore.' Rohingya refugees are also being detained and sent to Bangladesh, as part of India's campaign against 'illegal immigrants.' On May 6, 2025, authorities arrested scores of Rohingya, including both Muslim and Christian refugees, during coordinated raids in New Delhi under the pretext of a refugee biometric verification exercise, detaining men, women, and children, and later forcibly returning dozens to Myanmar, where they face an ongoing genocide. Around the same time in May, Indian authorities forcibly transferred at least 150 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh. A 29-year-old Rohingya refugee and U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cardholder, told Fortify Rights: 'We were put into vehicles and, in the middle of the night, taken to the border by the BSF [Border Security Force],' he said. '[They] told us, 'Now go straight into Bangladesh. Do not come back. If you return, we will shoot you dead.'' The man is now in the Cox's Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh. The authorities continue to harass and routinely threaten other Rohingya refugees with forcible returns. A 23-year-old Rohingya refugee told Fortify Rights that police arrested and beat him on the street on May 8, 2025, falsely labelling him a Pakistani despite possessing a valid UNHCR refugee card. They also invited passing civilians to join the beatings. He told Fortify Rights, 'The police said, 'He's a Pakistani, if you want to beat him with us.' … So when the locals heard that I am Pakistani [and joined the beatings] … They were beating me continuously.' While in custody, officers stripped the man naked, beat the soles of his feet, and forced him to jump on his bruised and injured feet. 'You deserve to be under our feet … since you are not Indian,' they told him. Authorities later processed him for deportation, but ultimately released him due to a lawyer's intervention. In a separate incident, a 37-year-old Rohingya refugee was arrested by police officers on June 26 in New Delhi and brought to the police station, where officers forced him to write a confession. 'One of the police officers gave me a blank white paper. He told me, 'You write there, your story—that you came to India illegally, we detained you, and we will deport you. You sign there,'' he told Fortify Rights. He was released the same day due to his impending resettlement to a third country. A Bangladesh Foreign Ministry official told the media that Dhaka had raised the issue with New Delhi multiple times, "We've asked India to follow proper procedures, but have yet to receive a response. Meanwhile, the push-ins continue,' he said. In December 2019, the Modi administration passed the discriminatory Citizenship (Amendment) Act. Under the act, for the first time in India, religion is a basis for granting citizenship. 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Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which India is a signatory, states that: 'Everyone has a right to a nationality; No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality.' The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a state party, prohibits discrimination before the law 'on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.' India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol and lacks a domestic law protecting refugees; however, it remains obligated to respect the international customary law principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forced return of Rohingya refugees to situations where they will face persecution and other serious human rights abuses.. 'India is stripping Indian Muslim citizens and Rohingya refugees of their rights,' said John Quinley. 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Trump reveals 25% tariff on India, unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil
Trump reveals 25% tariff on India, unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil

1News

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Trump reveals 25% tariff on India, unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil

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India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a 'fair, balanced and mutually beneficial' bilateral trade agreement over the last few months, and New Delhi remains committed to that objective, India's Trade Ministry said in a statement. Trump today signed separate orders to tax imports of copper at 50% and justify his 50% tariffs on Brazil due to their criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro and treatment of US social media companies. Trump also signed an order saying that government now had the systems in place to close the tariff loophole on 'de minimis' shipments, which had enabled goods priced under $800 (NZ$1355) to enter America duty-free, largely from China. Trump also said on Truth Social that he was meeting today with a trade delegation from South Korea, which currently faces 25% tariffs starting on Friday (local time). He also said the US has reached a deal with Pakistan that includes the development of its oil reserves. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was briefing him on trade talks with China. Trump's view on tariffs Trump's announcement comes after a slew of negotiated trade frameworks with the European Union, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia — all of which he said would open markets for American goods while enabling the US to raise tax rates on imports. The president views tariff revenues as a way to help offset the budget deficit increases tied to his recent income tax cuts and generate more domestic factory jobs. While Trump has effectively wielded tariffs as a cudgel to reset the terms of trade, the economic impact is uncertain as most economists expect a slowdown in US growth and greater inflationary pressures as some of the costs of the taxes are passed along to domestic businesses and consumers. ADVERTISEMENT There's also the possibility of more tariffs coming on trade partners with Russia as well as on pharmaceutical drugs and computer chips. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Trump and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would announce the Russia-related tariff rates on India at a later date. Tariffs face European pushback The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including tsunami threat remains for NZ and quake sparks Russian volcanic eruption, plus the pop star and the politician spotted having dinner. (Source: 1News) Trump's approach of putting a 15% tariff on America's long-standing allies in the EU is also generating pushback, possibly causing European partners as well as Canada to seek alternatives to US leadership on the world stage. French President Emmanuel Macron said today in the aftermath of the trade framework that Europe 'does not see itself sufficiently' as a global power, saying in a cabinet meeting that negotiations with the US will continue as the agreement gets formalised. ADVERTISEMENT 'To be free, you have to be feared,' Macron said. 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Air NZ appointment of new boss sparks backlash
Air NZ appointment of new boss sparks backlash

Otago Daily Times

time5 days ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Air NZ appointment of new boss sparks backlash

The appointment of Nikhil Ravishankar as Air New Zealand's incoming chief executive has caused a stir, after major news outlets were forced to disable comments on their social media platforms due to receiving a barrage of racist remarks. Ravishankar, chief digital officer at company, was tapped to lead the national carrier - one of the country's most respected corporate brands - after Greg Foran steps down in October. However, the appointment of the Indian-origin insider to the airline's top job has attracted a torrent of abuse online, with many zeroing in on Ravishankar's ethnicity. The abuse forced the country's leading media organisations to restrict or disable the ability to comment on the social media posts announcing the news. New Zealand Herald disabled comments on the Facebook post announcing the appointment "due to racist comments". "We appreciate the high level of interest in this story but cannot safely moderate it at this time," the news outlet said in a post in the comment thread. A spokesperson at New Zealand Herald later pointed RNZ towards the company's policy on social media comments. "We want to foster a safe online community by reducing instances of hate, racism, abuse and misinformation," the media organisation's policy said. "We welcome your feedback on articles but there has to be some parameters, and these are explained in our community house rules. "These clearly explain that we will not publish comments that are insulting, inflammatory or derogatory or those that spread misinformation or include personal attacks. "We cannot tolerate hate. We cannot tolerate abuse towards individuals in our stories or other commenters." RNZ was also forced to disable comments on the social media post regarding Ravishankar's appointment. "Under RNZ's comments policy, we will proactively disable comments on posts which may attract abusive or harmful comments or when resources are required elsewhere," a spokesperson said. "In this instance, the comments were disabled after our monitoring found racist comments. "We want people to feel safe and respected on our community forums and will continue to proactively disable comments where necessary. We will not tolerate harmful communications." TVNZ's 1News digital service took similar action in terms of restricting comments on the post. "We received a large number of comments on this post," a spokesperson for 1News said. "The vast majority were appropriate, however some were not. With our news team diverted to cover the tsunami event yesterday afternoon and evening we opted to turn comments off given sufficient monitoring wasn't possible." Ravishankar holds bachelor's degrees in science and commerce from the University of Auckland after attending Mount Albert Grammar School in New Zealand's largest city. He sits on the board of New Zealand Asian Leaders and is an advisory committee member of The Auckland Blues Foundation. Ravishankar has been with Air New Zealand for nearly five years and been involved in strengthening its technology, loyalty and customer services. Before joining the airline, Ravishankar was chief digital officer at Vector New Zealand, leading the company's digital and information technology function and its transformation programme from 2017. He was previously managing director at Accenture in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, and held technology strategy and transformation leadership roles at Spark New Zealand. Ravishankar highlighted the deep legacy of the company he would soon lead in his first public comments after his appointment was announced. "This airline is an institution with a deep legacy but also a fantastic future," he said. "It's a privilege to step into the CEO role and take on that responsibility for our people, our customers and our country. "At the end of the day, we are a people business - purposeful, ambitious and deeply rooted in Aotearoa New Zealand, and I'm excited to help shape what this next stage of Air New Zealand looks like." RNZ has approached Air New Zealand for comment. Latest Census data in 2023 showed that the Indian population had leapfrogged the Chinese community to become the third-largest ethnic group in New Zealand. A total of 292,092 people in the country identified as a member of the Indian community in the 2023 Census, an increase of 22% since 2018. The New Zealand European ethnic group remained the largest, with a population of 3,099,858, followed by Māori with 887,493. Auckland's Indian population grew by 13% between 2018 and 2023, rising from 154,824 in 2018 to 175,794 five years later.

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