Washington: CNN journalist Sara Sidner has issued an apology for reporting unverified claims regarding the beheading of babies, which she stated had been confirmed by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sidner made the apology on X (formerly Twitter) after the Israeli government stated that it could not confirm the alleged incident.
Sidner expressed regret for her earlier report, stating, "Yesterday, the Israeli Prime Minister's office said that it had confirmed Hamas beheaded babies and children while we were live on air. The Israeli government now says today it CANNOT confirm babies were beheaded. I needed to be more careful with my words and I am sorry."
Furthermore, CNN also issued an update on X, acknowledging the contradiction in their earlier report. The update clarified that Israel could not confirm the claims, retracting their previous statement.
The initial claims regarding the beheading of children at the Kfar Aza kibbutz had surfaced during a live broadcast by Israeli news channel i24News. The channel's reporter had mentioned the discovery of babies with their heads cut off following the Israeli army's recapture of the kibbutz, citing testimonies from Israeli soldiers. These claims quickly circulated in the international media and social networks, prompting a response from various leaders, including US President Joe Biden.
However, the White House later clarified President Biden's remarks, stating that he and other US officials had not independently confirmed the alleged beheadings. The clarification cited information from "Netanyahu's spokesperson and media reports from Israel" for the comments made by President Biden.
Yesterday the Israeli Prime Minister's office said that it had confirmed Hamas beheaded babies & children while we were live on the air. The Israeli government now says today it CANNOT confirm babies were beheaded. I needed to be more careful with my words and I am sorry. https://t.co/Yrc68znS1S
— Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) October 12, 2023
The words I used were the PM's office must have proof if they are confirming this. Then President Biden confirmed seeing it. And then backed tracked.
— Sara Sidner (@sarasidnerCNN) October 12, 2023
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New Delhi (PTI): Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on Friday questioned the government's decision to move a bill to amend the 2023 women quota law before bringing the principal Act into force.
Soon after laying of parliamentary papers, K C Venugopal rose to point out a law ministry notification issued last night around 10 pm to bring into force the 2023 women's reservation law with effect from April 16, much after a bill to amend the Act was introduced and discussed in the House.
DMK's Kanimozhi also flagged the issue, wondering the logic in discussing an amendment after notifying the principal Act.
Opposition members sought a clarification from law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal who was present in the Lok Sabha.
"The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam passed in September 2023 has come into force with being published in the Gazette only at 9.55 pm last night.
"It is shocking that the government brought amendments to a Constitutional provision that was not even published in the gazette! This shows the government’s unprepared and lackadaisical approach to serious lawmaking," Venugopal later posted on X.
He said this is also yet another evidence that the treasury benches look at the Parliament as no more than a rubber stamp, not bothered about the procedures and protocol necessary for a fair legislative process.
An official has earlier explained that bringing the law into force was essential as its proposed amendment will not have come into effect without that.
The constitution amendment Bill became a law but did not become part of the Constitution as the government did not bring it into force.
If a law does not come into force, how can its proposed amendment be implemented. Hence, it was brought into force with effect from April 16, the official explained.
