Times Now asked to air apology to activist for derogatory remarks during 2018 debate
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The News Broadcasting Standards Authority, NBSA, has directed Times Now TV to air an apology to activist Sanjukta Basu for making objectionable comments about her during a debate in 2018. In its order, the NBSA asked the channel to air the apology on October 27 at 9 pm.
The broadcasting authority said Times Now ran a defamatory programme about the author and social activist on April 6, 2018. The channel referred to her in its shows as “Hindu hater”, “vile troll” and claimed that she was a part of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “troll army”, the order said. It added that the channel did not contact to get her version and also did not verify the facts before broadcasting thereby violating the association’s guidelines.
The authority asked Times Now to air the following message: “We regret that in the programmes aired on 6.4.2018 – ‘India Upfront’@ 8 pm and ‘The NewsHour Debate’@ 9 pm on Times Now channel, we had not taken the version of the complainant Ms Sanjukta Basu, thereby violating the principles relating to impartiality and objectivity and ensuring neutrality and fairness in reporting. We clarify that there was no intention to bring disrepute to Ms Sanjukta Basu.”
NBSA was of the view that there was an absence of neutrality in the programme, the order said. The authority has further asked the channel to remove any video of the broadcast from its website, YouTube or any other links and submit it in writing to NBSA.
The news channel has also been asked to submit the compact disc, or CD, containing the apology telecast with date and time within one week of airing as a mark of compliance, the order said. Further, Times Now has to share the order with the media, members of News Broadcasters Association and also put it on its website and include it in its annual report.
Basu had on Saturday moved the Supreme Court alleging that her complaint before the NBSA filed in March 2019 was pending till date. “Even before the matter could be listed or hearing could commence, the NBSA has hurriedly released the long-delayed judgment on my complaint against Times Now channel deciding in my favour,” she said in a press release after NBSA’s order.
The activist said that the order was not the end of the fight and called it the “first milestone”.
“In pursuing my case I’ve come across many weaknesses in the way NBSA functions and it is an irony that in front of Supreme Court and Bombay High Court, NBA and Union of India have been arguing that NBSA is already a robust body for broadcast media standards and grievance redressal and no improvement is required. This is simply not true, as my case shows that there are many questions that remain unanswered. To begin with, why did it take them 15 months to give a judgment when their mandate is to settle complaints in 3 months, and how come in just 24 hours of my moving SC they released the order? Where are the transparency and accountability measures?”
— Author and social activist Sanjukta Basu
Basu also took to Twitter to announce the order, saying that the fight started when she met Gandhi. “RG [Rahul Gandhi] met me and few other social media influencers,” she tweeted. “Times Now labelled me “Hindu hater” “troll army” to embarrass him. Far from embarrassment RG [Rahul Gandhi] decided to follow me. Today Times Now is punished. We won.”
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US warns shipping firms they could face sanctions over paying Iranian tolls in Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): The United States is warning shipping companies that they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The alert posted Friday by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control adds another layer of pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
About a fifth of the world's trade in oil and natural gas typically passes through the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in peacetime.
Iran effectively closed the strait to normal traffic by attacking and threatening to attack ships after the US and Israel launched a war on Feb. 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through alternate routes closer to its shoreline, charging fees at times for the service.
That "tollbooth” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning.
The payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including chartibale donations and payments at Iranian embassies, OFAC said.
“OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage. These risks exist regardless of payment method,” it said.
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The US responded to Iran's closure of the strait with a naval blockade of its own on April 13, preventing any Iranian tankers from leaving and depriving Iran of oil revenue it needs to shore up its ailing economy.
The US Central Command said 45 commercial ships have been told to turn around since the blockade began.
Trump rejects Iranian proposal
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The warning came as US President Donald Trump swiftly rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war between the countries.
“They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens,” Trump said Friday at the White House. He didn't elaborate on what he saw as its shortcomings but expressed frustration with the Iranian leadership.
“It's a very disjointed leadership,” Trump said. “They all want to make a deal, but they're all messed up.”
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported Iran handed over its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night.
The shaky three-week ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though both countries have traded accusations of violations. The standoff is increasingly putting pressure on the global economy, driving up prices and leading to shortages of fuel and other products tied to the oil industry.
Negotiations continued by phone after Trump called off his envoys' trip to Pakistan last week, the president said. Trump this week floated a new plan to reopen the critical passageway used by America's Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has briefed many of his regional counterparts on the country's initiatives to end the ear, according to his social media. He also held talks Friday with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who is in contact with the EU's Gulf partners.
China's UN envoy urges Iran to lift restrictions
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Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassdor to the United Nations, said Friday that maintaining the ceasefire is “the most urgent issue" as well as bringing together the sides to resume good faith negotiations “to make sure that the ground is laid for reopening of Hormuz.”
Foreign Minister Wang Yi “has been on the phone almost constantly” with representatives from all sides, Fu said, adding that China supports Pakistan's efforts to mediate between the parties.
Fu stressed the root cause of the tremendous suffering in Iran and neighboring countries and the growing turmoil in the global economy, especially in developing countries, “is the illegitimate war by the US and Israel.
