Daily Archives: August 15, 2017

U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson said ISIS is responsible for rape, kidnapping, enslavement and death of targeted religions and ethnicities. | Erik De Castro/Pool photo via AP

By DIAMOND NAGA SIU

08/15/2017 10:32 AM EDT

ISIS is one of the biggest threats to religious freedom across the globe and is responsible for genocide, according to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who described the threat posed by the Islamic State in the State Departments annual religious freedom report.

ISIS is clearly responsible for genocide against Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims in areas it controlled, Tillerson wrote in the preface to the 2016 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. ISIS is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups, and in some cases against Sunni Muslims, Kurds and other minorities.

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He added that the extremist group is responsible for rape, kidnapping, enslavement and death of targeted religions and ethnicities. Tillerson delivered remarks Tuesday to discuss the report and said the State Department will continue advocating for those seeking to live their lives according to their faith.

"Where religious freedom is not protected, instability, human rights abuses and violent extremism have a greater opportunity to take root," Tillerson said. "No one should have to live in fear, worship in fear or face discrimination for his or her beliefs."

He said the U.S. government plans to work with religious minority groups across the globe to "preserve cultural heritage" and to protect them from further attacks.

The report released Tuesday analyzes religious freedom in 199 foreign countries and describes what the U.S. is doing to support those rights. Last years report identified Afghanistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Mauritania, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan as countries that restrict religious freedom due to their anti-conversion, apostasy and blasphemy laws, and the status of religious freedom has not improved in these countries.

And there are 10 identified countries of particular concern: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which continued last years designations and followed the recommendations by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom in April.

The State Department did not, however, follow the commissions recommendation to add Central African Republic, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Syria and Vietnam to its countries of particular concern. U.S. ambassadors in these countries all participated in events that worked to promote religious freedom in these countries.

The State Department began releasing the annual report after the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 was amended under President Bill Clinton to help better assess and protect freedom of religion as a foreign policy.

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ISIS poses one of the biggest threats to religious freedom, State report says - Politico

The Azadi tower in Tehran is strung with black flags. Photograph: Amos Chapple/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

In 1966, a 24-year-old architect who had just graduated from Tehran University hesitantly entered a competition to design a monument to mark the 2,500-year celebration of the founding of the Persian empire.

In hindsight, it was a competition of a lifetime, organised by the shah of Iran, who envisioned that the monument would act as his memorial tower, or Shahyad.

The architect, Hossein Amanat, had no idea that his hastily prepared design, which went on to win the competition, would one day become a focal point of the Iranian capitals skyline, serving as a backdrop to some of the countrys most turbulent political events.

The 50-metre (164ft) tall structure, now known as the Azadi (Freedom) tower, rode out the 1979 Islamic revolution, an eight-year war with Iraq and the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad-era anti-government demonstrations.

But as his tower prospered, Amanats life unravelled.

The monarchy was overthrown in the 1979 revolution, which ushered in an Islamic Republic with Ayatollah Khomeini as supreme leader. The shah, along with many of those believed to be associated with him, left the country and there was a crackdown on the Bah faith, which Amanat practises.

His name was put on a death list, and his belongings were confiscated. He fled Iran and has not returned since.

The Bahs are Irans most persecuted religious minority. After the revolution, more than 200 Bahs were executed in Iran because of their religious allegiance. In 1981, the religion was banned.

Since then, its followers have been deprived of many of their fundamental rights, including access to higher education and the right to work freely. In July, at least six Bahs were arrested in the cities of Gorgan, Kashan and Shiraz.

The Iranian authorities link Bahs to Israel, mainly because its governing body is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, and have accused adherents of spying or conspiring to topple the Islamic establishment.

In a rare interview discussing his religion, Amanat, who also designed three Bah administrative buildings in Haifa, called on Iran to rethink its approach.

They should put aside the suspicion, Amanat, 75, said. Bahs dont have any aims to harm the Islamic establishment. They [the authorities] have repeatedly claimed that Bahs are spies, but have they found even a single document of proof? Theyve found nothing. They should let Bahais live like other Iranians.

The Bah faith, which is monotheistic, accepts all religions as having valid origins. It was founded in Iran in the 19th century by its prophet, Bahullh, who defined the purpose of religion to establish unity and concord among the peoples of the world; make it not the cause of dissension and strife. Nearly 300,000 Bahs are believed to live in Iran, and about 6 million worldwide.

According to Asma Jahangir, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, discrimination against Bahais is legally sanctioned by a lack of constitutional recognition.

A follower was murdered outside his home in Yazd last year by two young men because of his faith, a March report by Jahangir said, and at least 90 Bahais are behind bars.

Amanat was hopeful when Irans moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, was elected in 2013, but said nothing had changed and the situation had even got worse in some situations.

Iran has a special place in the hearts of the Bahai community, he said. Im saddened that my fellow Bahais are under pressure. If theyre given the opportunity they can do good for their country.

Amanat expressed regret for not being able to live in Iran and contribute more to its architecture.

The Azadi tower, he said, was an opportunity to design modern architecture using old language, to preserve the good things about a culture, leave aside the meaningless parts and create something new and meaningful. A tribute to an old human civilisation, the monument was such that if this was erected somewhere else it would have no meaning you cant put Shahyad in Cairo.

It took five years for the Azadi tower to be finished. In 1971 the Shah unveiled the tower, having flown to Tehran from the ruins of Persepolis in Shiraz, where he had held an enormous, lavish event to celebrate the Persian empires 2,500th birthday.

Of all the towers defining moments in modern Iranian history, one incident struck a chord with Amanat.

I was touched deeply once when millions of people went to Shahyad in 2009 [during unrest under Ahmadinejad], and then they were beaten up and many were killed, he said.

I was so saddened by it. As a Bahai, I forgive others, I dont dwell on the injustices done to me, I go forward, but when that happened it was difficult for me because people had taken refuge there.

Reflecting on the country of his birth, Amanat said: I miss Iran a lot, partly because of the sun and the architecture. I am away from everything I had and from my neighbourhood. I have three kids, theyve tried to learn Farsi but cant read a Farsi newspaper fluently and this makes me sad none of them have ever seen the Azadi tower in their life.

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After Azadi: man behind Iran's freedom tower on how his life unravelled - The Guardian

The Chattrapathi Shivaji Terminus railway station is lit in the colours of India's flag ahead of the country's Independence Day in Mumbai. Indian Independence Day is celebrated annually on 15 August, and this year marks 70 years since British India split into two nations Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan and millions were uprooted in one of the largest mass migrations in history

AFP/Getty

A demonstrator holds up a picture of Heather Heyer during a demonstration in front of City Hall for victims of the Charlottesville, Virginia tragedy, and against racism in Los Angeles, California, USA. Rallies have been planned across the United States to demonstrate opposition to the violence in Charlottesville

EPA

Jessica Mink (R) embraces Nicole Jones (L) during a vigil for those who were killed and injured when a car plowed into a crowd of anti-fascist counter-demonstrators marching near a downtown shopping area Charlottesville, Virginia

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White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the alt-right clash with counter-protesters as they enter Lee Park during the Unite the Right in Charlottesville, Virginia. After clashes with anti-fascist protesters and police the rally was declared an unlawful gathering and people were forced out of Lee Park

Getty

A North Korean flag is seen on top of a tower at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, as a South Korean flag flutters in the wind in this picture taken near the border area near the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas in Paju, South Korea

Reuters

A firefighter extinguishes flames as a fire engulfs an informal settlers area beside a river in Manila

AFP

A rally in support of North Korea's stance against the US, on Kim Il-Sung square in Pyongyang.

AFP

Rocks from the collapsed wall of a hotel building cover a car after an earthquake outside Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan province

Reuters

People in Seoul, South Korea walk by a local news program with an image of US President Donald Trump on Wednesday 9 August. North Korea and the United States traded escalating threats, with Mr Trump threatening Pyongyang with fire and fury like the world has never seen

AP

A Maasai woman waits in line to vote in Lele, 130 km (80 miles) south of Nairobi, Kenya. Kenyans are going to the polls today to vote in a general election after a tightly-fought presidential race between incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta and main opposition leader Raila Odinga

AP

Pro-government supporters march in Caracas, Venezuela on 7 August

Reuters

Children pray after releasing paper lanterns on the Motoyasu river facing the Atomic Bomb Dome in remembrance of atomic bomb victims on the 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, western Japan.

REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), accompanied by defence minister Sergei Shoigu, gestures as he fishes in the remote Tuva region in southern Siberia.

AFP/Getty Images

A family claiming to be from Haiti drag their luggage over the US-Canada border into Canada from Champlain, New York, U.S. August 3, 2017.

Reuters

A disabled man prepares to cast his vote at a polling station in Kigali, Rwanda, August 4, 2017

Reuters

ATTENTION EDITORS -People carry the body of Yawar Nissar, a suspected militant, who according to local media was killed during a gun battle with Indian security forces at Herpora village, during his funeral in south Kashmir's Anantnag district August 4, 2017.

Reuters

A general view shows a flooded area in Sakon Nakhon province, Thailand August 4, 2017.

Reuters

A plane landed in Sao Joao Beach, killing two people, in Costa da Caparica, Portugal August 2, 2017

Reuters

Hermitage Capital CEO William Browder waits to testify before a continuation of Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 27, 2017

Reuters

TOPSHOT - Moto taxi driver hold flags of the governing Rwanda Patriotic Front's at the beginning of a parade in Kigali, on August 02, 2017. Incumbent Rwandan President Paul Kagame will close his electoral campaigning ahead of the August 4, presidential elections which he is widely expected to win giving him a third term in office

AFP

TOPSHOT - Migrants wait to be rescued by the Aquarius rescue ship run by non-governmental organisations (NGO) "SOS Mediterranee" and "Medecins Sans Frontieres" (Doctors Without Borders) in the Mediterranean Sea, 30 nautic miles from the Libyan coast, on August 2, 2017.

AFP

Two children hold a placard picturing a plane as they take part in a demonstration in central Athens outside the German embassy with others refugees and migrants to protest against the limitation of reunification of families in Germany, on August 2, 2017.

AFP

Flames erupt as clashes break out while the Constituent Assembly election is being carried out in Caracas, Venezuela, July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Reuters

People in the village of Gabarpora carry the remains of Akeel Ahmad Bhat, a civilian who according to local media died following clashes after two militants were killed in an encounter with Indian security forces in Hakripora in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Ismail

Reuters

- Incumbent Rwandan President Paul Kagame gestures as he arrives for the closing rally of the presidential campaign in Kigali, on August 2, 2017 while supporters greet him. Rwandans go the polls on August 4, 2017 in a presidential election in which strongman Paul Kagame is widely expected to cruise to a third term in office.

AFP

Soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) get ready for the military parade to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the foundation of the army at Zhurihe military training base in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.

REUTERS

Cyclists at the start of the first stage of the Tour de Pologne cycling race, over 130km from Krakow's Main Market Square, Poland

EPA

Israeli border guards keep watch as Palestinian Muslim worshippers pray outside Jerusalem's old city overlooking the Al-Aqsa mosque compound

Ahmad Gharabli/AFP

A supporter of Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif passes out after the Supreme Court's decision to disqualify Sharif in Lahore

Reuters/Mohsin Raza

Australian police officers participate in a training scenario called an 'Armed Offender/Emergency Exercise' held at an international passenger terminal located on Sydney Harbour

Reuters/David Gray

North Korean soldiers watch the south side as the United Nations Command officials visit after a commemorative ceremony for the 64th anniversary of the Korean armistice at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas

Reuters/Jung Yeon-Je

Bangladeshi commuters use a rickshaw to cross a flooded street amid heavy rainfall in Dhaka. Bangladesh is experiencing downpours following a depression forming in the Bay of Bengal.

Munir Uz Zaman/AFP

The Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft for the next International Space Station (ISS) crew of Paolo Nespoli of Italy, Sergey Ryazanskiy of Russia, and Randy Bresnik of the U.S., is transported from an assembling hangar to the launchpad ahead of its upcoming launch, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan

Reuters/Shamil Zhumatov

A protester shouts at U.S. President Donald Trump as he is removed from his rally with supporters in an arena in Youngstown, Ohio

Reuters

Indian supporters of Gorkhaland chant slogans tied with chains during a protest march in capital New Delhi. Eastern India's hill resort of Darjeeling has been rattled at the height of tourist season after violent clashes broke out between police and hundreds of protesters of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) a long-simmering separatist movement that has long called for a separate state for ethnic Gorkhas in West Bengal. The GJM wants a new, separate state of "Gorkhaland" carved out of eastern West Bengal state, of which Darjeeling is a part.

Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

Demonstrators clash with riot security forces while rallying against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela. The banner on the bridge reads "It will be worth it"

Reuters

The Heathcote river as it rises to high levels in Christchurch, New Zealand. Heavy rain across the South Island in the last 24 hours has caused widespread damage and flooding with Dunedin, Waitaki, Timaru and the wider Otago region declaring a state of emergency.

Getty Images

A mourner prays at a memorial during an event to commemorate the first anniversary of the shooting spree that one year ago left ten people dead, including the shooter in Munich, Germany. One year ago 18-year-old student David S. shot nine people dead and injured four others at and near a McDonalds restaurant and the Olympia Einkaufszentrum shopping center. After a city-wide manhunt that caused mass panic and injuries David S. shot himself in a park. According to police David S., who had dual German and Iranian citizenship, had a history of mental troubles.

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Palestinians react following tear gas that was shot by Israeli forces after Friday prayer on a street outside Jerusalem's Old City

Reuters/Ammar Awad

Ousted former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra greets supporters as she arrives at the Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand

Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha

Marek Suski of Law and Justice (PiS) (C) party scuffles with Miroslaw Suchon (2nd L) of Modern party (.Nowoczesna) as Michal Szczerba of Civic Platform (PO) (L) party holds up a copy of the Polish Constitution during the parliamentary Commission on Justice and Human Rights voting on the opposition's amendments to the bill that calls for an overhaul of the Supreme Court in Warsaw

Reuters

A firefighter stands near a grass fire as he prepares to defend a home from the Detwiler fire in Mariposa, California

Reuters

Michael Lindell ,CEO of My Pillow reacts as U.S. President Donald Trump attends a Made in America roundtable meeting in the East Room of the White House

Reuters

Giant pandas lie beside ice blocks at Yangjiaping Zoo in Chongqing, China. Yangjiaping Zoo provided huge ice blocks for giant pandas to help them remove summer heat

Getty Images

People ride camels in the desert in Dunhuang, China, as stage 10 of The Silkway Rally continues

AFP/Getty Images

17th FINA World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Team North Korea practice under coach supervision

REUTERS

IAAF World ParaAthletics Championships - London, Britain - July 17, 2017

Reuters/Henry Browne

Workers check power lines during maintenance work in Laian, in China's eastern Anhui province

AFP/Getty Images

Russia Kamaz's driver Dmitry Sotnikov, co-drivers Ruslan Akhmadeev and Ilnur Mustafin compete during the Stage 9 of the Silk Way 2017 between Urumqi and Hami, China

Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull talks with Special Operations Command soldiers during a visit to the Australian Army's Holsworthy Barracks in western Sydney

AAP/Brendan Esposito/via Reuters

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'Worrying trend' of freedom of the press in the UK as country ranks 40 in latest Reporters Without Borders index - The Independent

Disciplined investing and ignoring the noise is key to success in investing. Since the previous Independence Day, domestic financial markets witnessed several ups and downs in the form of note ban and implementation of the goods and services tax (GST).

Those who did not try to time the market must be sitting on gains. Some of the IPOs even doubled investor wealth in a single day.

So how did top asset classes performed during the past one year and how are they likely to do going forward.

Equities

Benchmark equity indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty surged over 11 per cent between August 15, 2016 and August 15, 2017. During this period, the 30-stock pack scaled a fresh record high of 32,686 on August 2, 2017 while the Nifty50 crossed the 10,000-mark in July 2017.

The BSE IPO index surged over 36 per cent since August 15 last year. Salasar Techno Engineering got listed at Rs 259.15 on BSE in July, a 139.95 per cent premium to its issue price of Rs 108. Among other newly-listed companies, CDSL and Avenue Supermarts helped investors to create big wealth in a single day. The 30-share BSE Sensex closed near 31,400 on August 14, 2017, while NSE Nifty was above 9,750.

"It is a bull market correction, which is healthy. We are overall very positive on the market, Rajesh Kothari, CIO, AlfAccurate Advisors, said in a chat with ET Now.

"I think one should start looking at stock specifics and keep buying at every correction in case probably there might be 3-4% more correction which is possible in that case you add to the equity portfolio, he said.

Mutual funds

Banking, smallcap, infrastructure and midcap funds delivered up to 28 per cent return to investors in last one year, according to the data available with website Value Research. Over the past 12 months, inflows to systematic investment plans, or SIPs, surged to Rs 4947 crore as of July 30, 2017 from Rs 3,497 crore in August 2016.

The latest initiatives by the government on infrastructure development especially roadways, railways and airways gives clear visibility of growth. Also, consumption demand is likely to pick up boosting capex across sectors. "Consumption is a six to 12-month theme in our portfolios and infrastructure is the 18-36 months theme that we are playing, said Sunil Subramaniam, CEO, Sundaram Mutual.

Precious metals

Both gold and silver failed to deliver positive return to investors during the past 12 months. The yellow metal plunged 7 per cent to Rs 29,172 per 10 gram on August 11, 2017 from Rs 31,384 per 10 gram on August 16, 2016. Silver lost 16 per cent to Rs 39200 per 1 kg from Rs 46700 per 1 kg during the same period. Of late, geopolitical tensions and soft dollar supported the prices of gold.

On the further movement of precious metals, Tarun Satsangi, ?Head of Commodity and Forex Research, Globe Capital Market, said: "The movement of the US dollar will give further direction to precious metals. If tension between the US and North Korea escalates, we may see a sudden spike in the prices of yellow metal.

Aasif Hirani, Director, Tradebulls, said, "Gold may be trading in range and may not see sudden spike in price but the present scenario of negative interest rate, increase in demand from Asia, money printing from the central banks is great scenario for gold.

Real estate

Implementation of the Real Estate Act and government push towards affordable housing kept real estate sector in the limelight all through last one year. The beaten down BSE Realty index soared 25 per cent between August, 2016 and August, 2017. Housing prices increased by an average 10.5 per cent during the January-March quarter of last financial year across ten major cities compared with that in the year-ago period, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

However, prices increased marginally by 0.8 per cent over the October-December quarter of 2016-17. The index is based on transaction data received from housing registration authorities in 10 major cities Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Kanpur.

RERA implementation has seen slow start with 11 states yet to notify final rules, only seven states with functional websites and four with permanent regulators, according to a report by Edelweiss Securities.

Edelweiss said, "Non-serious players may find difficult to adhere to RERA requirements and could exit business. This coupled with GST should help sustain current capital values. We remain constructive on the sector in view of improved transparency and customer confidence coupled with favourable fundamentals.

Debt/ fixed income

With the eventful last 12 months for the bond market, yields on 10-year government bonds, which had touched 7.16 per cent in August last year, fell to 6.51 per cent at present due to rising bond prices.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its key rates (repo and reverse repo) by 25 basis points, while maintaining a neutral stance, citing softer inflation-growth equation.

Rahul Goswami, CIO of Fixed Income, ICICI Prudential AMC, in a note said, "We believe there is an opportunity for further rate cuts in the next 2-4 quarters. We recommend investors to stay invested in short and medium duration funds and can consider dynamic duration funds as well.

"If inflation behaves as per RBIs expectation, we clearly see one more rate cut by RBI before the end of FY18. Those who invested in fixed income on the duration side than we clearly believe this is not the time to book profit. They should continue to ride the interest rate curve in India going forward, said Lakshmi Iyer, CIO (debt), Kotak Mutual Fund.

Originally posted here:

Freedom from choppiness: Equity puts up best show since last I-Day - Economic Times

Freedom has different meaning in everybody's life. For someone it could be freedom of choice, speech, truth or anything else and for you it could be something different. So, the question is why does everybody crave for it so much? Maybe because it is in our human nature and who doesn't like to be natural and free.

Here are some of the famous freedom quotes given by some of the greatest thinkers of their time. See if you agree with them.

1. Freedom Is Not Worth Having Unless It Is The Freedom To Make Mistakes. Mahatma Gandhi

2. "When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny." John Basil Barnhill, writer

3. Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. George Orwell, British writer

4. Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

5. There are two freedoms - the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought. Charles Kingsley, social reformer

6. My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular Adlai Stevenson, American politician

7. Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility. Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist

8. The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves. William Hazlitt, writer

9. A man can be himself only so long as he is alone, and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom, for it is only when he is alone that he is really free. Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher

10. For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa

Photo: Thinkstock Photos (Main Image)

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10 Freedom Quotes By Some Of The Greatest Thinkers Of Their Time - MensXP.com