Evening NEWS DIGEST
01 Dec. 2016: 30 Safar 1438: Vol: 8, No:50
Amendments to I-T laws: No
tax on ancestral jewellery or purchase from disclosed income; Married lady
allowed 500g gold, unmarried 250g
New Delhi: Amendments to
the I-T laws do not seek to tax inherited gold and jewellery as also those
items that are purchased through disclosed or agriculture income, the
government said today. Dispelling rumours that jewellery would be covered under
the amended law, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the government
has not introduced any new provision regarding chargeability of tax on
jewellery. "Jewellery/gold purchased out of disclosed income or out of
exempted income like agricultural income or out of reasonable household savings
or legally inherited which has been acquired out of explained sources is
neither chargeable to tax under the existing provisions nor under the proposed
amended provisions," CBDT said. During search operations, conducted by I-T
Dept., there would be no seizure of gold jewellery and ornaments to the extent
of 500 grams per married women, 250 gm per unmarried women as also 100 gm per
male member of the family, it said.
"Further, legitimate holding of jewellery up to any extent is fully
protected," it added. PTI
No tax on gold or jewellery
bought from disclosed income
Married Women Allowed 500
Gram Gold, Unmarried Women 250 Gram, Clarifies Govt
No seizure of gold
jewellery up to 500g per married lady in Income Tax raids
Another u-turn: Old Rs 500
notes valid for fuel and air ticket purchase till Dec 2, not Dec 15
The government has cut
short the deadline of using old Rs 500 notes at petrol pumps and for buying
airline tickets at airports till Dec. 2 instead of Dec. 15 announced
earlier.With effect from Dec. 3, 2016, old Rs 500 notes cannot be used for
purchase of petrol, diesel and gas at the stations operating under
authorisation of public sector oil marketing companies and for buying airline
tickets at airport counters, a government notification said.While junking old
500 and 1,000 rupee notes on Nov.8, the government had allowed their use for
utility bill payments for 72 hours.This deadline was extended twice and when the
last one was to expire on Nov.24, it amended it to state that only the old 500
rupee notes could be used for payment of utility bills like electricity and
water, school fees, pre-paid mobile top-up, fuel purchase and airline ticket
booking.While the old note will continue to be accepted for the other utility
bill payments as well as at railway ticketing counters and counters of
government or public sector undertaking buses for purchase of bus tickets till
Dec. 15, it will be discontinued for purchase of fuel and airline tickets at
airport counters.HT
Demonetisation: Fresh
directive on old Rs 500 is another U-turn by Modi govt
As it happened: Long queues
outside banks, ATMs as payday pangs continue
Tamil Nadu: Rs 20 lakh
seized from BJP youth leader who backed demonetisation
Chennai: “For the progress
of my country, I am ready to stand in the queue,” read a Facebook post by JVR
Arun, BJP’s youth wing secretary from Salem. Arun, 36, who had been actively
campaigning for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his demonetisation drive, was
arrested by Tamil Nadu Police with several bundles of currency notes worth Rs
20.55 lakh on Saturday. According to the police, there were 926 notes of Rs
2,000 denomination in the seized cash.
“We intercepted his car and found a bag with a total of 926 pieces of Rs
2000, 1530 of Rs 100 and 1000 of Rs 50. We gave him enough time to produce
proper details and bank accounts, but he could not explain the source the
money. We seized the money and deposited in the district treasury. I-T
Department is now probing the role of bank officials who sourced Rs 2000
currency notes,” said the officer.TOI
Modi to 'Amazonize' $400
billion in state bids across India:Bloomberg
PM Narendra Modi plans to
move all govt purchases, from paper clips to power plant turbines, to an
Amazon-like online marketplace that could eventually be worth a fifth of the
country’s $2 trillion economy. Modi’s govt, which on Nov. 8 announced a sudden
decision to replace 86 percent of India’s cash in a bid to cut corruption and
move to a cashless economy, has much riding on the new online market, which has
already traded 390 million rupees since it began in August. "This provides
India an opportunity for transformation,” said Rita Teaotia, top bureaucrat in
India’s commerce ministry. "The transparency and competitiveness it has
brought is very encouraging and so far we’ve seen that the govt’s savings are
at least 10 percent on every transaction." The portal is expected to
support trades worth 20 percent of India’s GDP once all state governments,
state-owned companies, utilities, defense and railways come online, said Vishal
Singh, additional director at National e-governance division, which set up the
platform.But with only 20 percent Indians able to access the internet, the
government -- India’s biggest employer -- faces the challenge of training staff
across the country to use the digital marketplace. Departments as diverse as
finance, municipal corporations, police, hospitals and post offices, some located
in villages where regular power failures make internet access difficult, are
expected to be involved. It is designed to leave a digital trail that will
allow unprecedented openness in a nation ranked 76th on Transparency
International’s 167-nation corruption index. Bureaucratic delays and corruption
were cited as among the biggest obstacles to business in India by the World
Bank’s 2014 Enterprise survey.
Leaked Rs 2,000 notes seem
to have forced PM Modi hand; GDP set to be hit:Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman
Demonetisation: Bank out of
cash, daily wager waits to cremate wife
Noida:On Tuesday afternoon,
65-year-old Munni Lal, a daily wage worker, sat next to his wife’s body under a
makeshift plastic tent at a JJ cluster in Noida, lighting incense sticks and
waiting for his sons. Around 2 pm on Monday, his wife, 61-year-old Phoolmati
Devi, had died at a hospital in Noida, a few months after being diagnosed with
stomach cancer.“At 9 am, I took her to Dharamshila Hospital, which referred us
to another private hospital. We took an auto and went there. She passed away at
2 pm. We had to pay Rs 600-700 in cash for things such as syringes, food and
medicines,” said Lal.When Lal returned to his one-room home in Sector 9 on
Monday evening, he did not have cash to pay for his wife’s last rites. So he
went to the Bank of India branch in Sector 9, where his 30-year-old son has an
account.“My two sons took a train from UP’s Gonda district but are yet to reach.
One of my sons had Rs 16,000 in the account. I was at the bank for many hours,
but the manager told me the branch does not have any money. I told them about
my situation but no one listened,” Lal said.
Bengaluru: New currency
notes worth Rs 4 crore seized by I-T dept
New Delhi: Income Tax
department Thursday seized new currency notes worth Rs 4 crore from two
individuals during a search operation in Bengaluru. I-T sleuths raided premises
owned by an engineer and contractor and seized more than six kilos of gold and
jewellery, including top-end sports cars like Lamborghini, news channel NDTV
reported. indianexpress
Your 12-digit Aadhaar
number could soon replace all card transactions
Soon your 12-digit Aadhaar
number could replace all card transactions as the government is gearing up to
strengthen the Aadhaar enabled transactions as part of its drive to help India
become a cashless economy. The move, which is part of an all-round approach
towards enabling digital payments and is being driven by NITI Aayog, would also
see government soon coming out with a clear-cut defined policy to
disincentivise cash transactions in the country.ET
Demonetisation's rude
shock: There may not be any black money: Sheenu Sharma
Demonetisation's rude
shock: There may not be any black money
OTHERS
Suspected LeT bomb-maker
Tunda acquitted in blast case
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/let-bomb-maker-abdul-karim-tunda-panipat-blast-case/1/824404.html
New Delhi:A court in
Panipat today acquitted suspected LeT bomb maker Abdul Karim Tunda in the
Panipat blast case due to lack of evidence.A resident of Pikhuwa in Uttar
Pradesh's Ghaziabad district, Tunda was arrested by Delhi Police from
India-Nepal border in 2013. CBI had charged him with organising LeT's major
terror attacks outside Jammu and Kashmir.He is accused in 43 bomb blasts in
Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Rohtak and Jalandhar in which over 20 persons were
killed and over 400 injured.On April 23 last year, another Delhi court dropped
charges against Tunda in connection with two separate blast cases - the Oct.28,
1997 blast in Karol Bagh and Oct.1, 1997 explosion in Sadar Bazar.Incidentally,
Tunda, accused of masterminding over 40 bomb blasts in the country, was
attacked by two inmates in a Karnal jail on Wednesday by two inmates.IndiaToday
Panipat blast accused
acquitted by Delhi HC
Bid on Tunda’s life in
Karnal jail
Karnal: Two Karnal jail
inmates tried to strangle Syed Abdul Karim, alias Tunda, this morning but
security personnel managed to save him.On the direction of Additional Session
Judge VP Sirohi in Panipat, he was sent to Karnal jail last evening in
connection with a bomb blast in a private bus in Panipat on Feb.1,
1997.Delhi-born Tunda (73) was taken to the trauma centre at Kalpana Chawla
Government Medical College Hospital (KCGMCH) amid high security after the
attack. As per the jail authorities, Tunda is fine and shifted back to the
jail.Jail superindendent Sher Singh said the incident took place around 9 am
when Tunda was taking tea with Amandeep of Panipat and Joginder of Jind. 2 jail
inmates tried to strangle Tunda after a brawl, he said. However, timely
intervention by duty officials saved Tunda, the jail superintendent said. tribuneindia
NIA gets custody of 3 held
for ‘instigating youth to join IS’
Mumbai: A Special court has
granted to NIA custody of 3 men alleged to have ‘instigated’ 22 youths to join
terror organisation Islamic State.3 are Maulana Haneef, a Kerala-based
preacher, Arshi Qureshi, guest manager with Islamic Research Foundation and
Rizwan Khan, who worked as a volunteer with Al-Birr Foundation. NIA, which took
over the probe from the Mumbai police, told the court that it wanted to
interrogate the 3.Advocate Sharif Sheikh, representing Haneef, said NIA had
sought his custody after he filed a bail application. Sheikh also submitted a
plea stating that there were apprehensions Haneef would be tortured and forced
into a confession.Advocate Ishrat Khan, appearing for the other two accused, also
opposed the NIA plea. Special Judge VV Patil allowed the plea, granting NIA
custody till Dec.7.The three men were arrested on the basis of a complaint
filed by Abdul Majid Abdul Kader, father of one of the youths who has allegedly
joined IS.A special court in Mumbai will decide on the bail application of
Areeb Majeed on Dec.8.Majeed had filed for bail in August, claiming that
contrary to the prosecution’s claim that he had entered the country to carry
out jihadi activity, his return was arranged for by high-ranking diplomatic
officials. On Wednesday, as a rejoinder to the arguments put forth by the NIA,
advocate Mubin Solkar representing Majeed said the agency had not carried out
any investigation in Iraq, where Majeed is alleged to have carried out terror
activities.indianexpress
Khalistan supporter admits
conspiring to launch attacks in India
New York: A Khalistan
supporter has admitted in a federal court that he conspired with terrorists to
launch attacks in India to target a government official for assassination or
maiming, according to officials. Balwinder Singh, Indian citizen holding a
Green Card, made the admission before Federal Judge Larry R. Hicks in Reno,
Nevada state, on Tuesday that he provided a co-conspirator with night vision
goggles for the planned attack as a part of their terrorist conspiracy. Singh's
conspiracy "was part of a movement to create an independent Sikh state in
Punjab", according to a statement by the prosecutors. "Singh
attempted to provide material support and resources to terrorists to create
violence and disruption abroad," said acting Assistant Attorney General
Mary McCord. IANS
US: India citizen in Nevada
pleads guilty to plotting attacks
Indian Man In US Pleads
Guilty To Planning Terror Attack, Assassination In India:PTI
Kashmir will be a ‘long
war’, warns outgoing Northern Army chief DS Hooda
On his last day in office,Northern
Army Commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda said he didn’t see an easy solution
to end the Kashmir conflict, calling it a “long war” that would require a
“long-term approach”.His comments are significant as government sources predict
that the conflict with home-grown militants will end soon.A day after seven
soldiers were killed in the Nagrota strike, Hooda said on Wednesday that the
situation along the Line of Control was not cooling down anytime soon and the
hinterland would also remain hot.He warned against calling “the first shot
fired against a garrison” a security lapse, saying 100% success each time in
preventing attacks reflected “little understanding of the battle the army is
fighting”.HT
Dal Khalsa objects to SC
ruling on national anthem
The Supreme Court’s verdict
making mandatory for the cinema viewers to stand up as mark of respect during the
national anthem before the start of a film in every theatre, has not gone down
well with radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa.Party chief HS Cheema and ex-chief HS
Dhami said in a joint statement that the apex court’s order was “tantamount to
belittling the freedom to hold independent belief system”.“This order is surely
going to be used to impose a specific brand of nationalism on those who don’t
subscribe to Hindutva ideology and also serve as a means to curb freedom of
expression”, they said, asserting that their outfit would not abide by it.”A
person goes to cinema for entertainment and not to display his patriotism”,
they added. They wondered how citizens of other countries be forced to show
their loyalty towards anthem of India. HT
Ram Gopal Varma raises
voice against SC verdict on playing national anthem in theatres
Disabled fear being
targeted after National Anthem diktat
Arvind Swamy questions SC’s
decision to play national anthem in cinema
Supreme Court's National
Anthem order mocks judicial process, Constitution:By Alok Prasanna Kumar
Will offer namaz at Babri
site on demolition anniversary, says Jamat Raza-e-Mustafa
Bareilly: A Bareilly-based
social and religious organisation, All India Jamat Raza-e-Mustafa, has
announced that its members will go to Ayodhya on Dec.6, 24th anniversary of
Babri demolition, and offer namaz at the disputed structure, fuelling
possibility of tension in the high-security area.Maulana Shahabudeen Razvi,
general secretary of All India Jamat Raza-e-Mustafa, said, "It has been 24
years when Babri mosque was demolished in gross violation of our constitutional
rights, but justice still eludes us. We have decided that members of our
organisation will go to Ayodhya on Dec.6. We will offer namaz at the premises
and pray that a mosque is constructed here soon.""We intend to
maintain peace and communal harmony. Nearly 50 of us will leave on motorbikes
from Bareilly, offer prayers at Ayodhya and come back," he added. Notably,
SC through its various orders has restrained religious activities on the
acquired land of Babri Masjid and Ram Janmabhoomi. Only the chief priest
Acharya Satyender Das, appointed by the court, is authorised to perform the
daily puja at the disputed shrine.Maulana Shahmat Raza Khan, another leader of
this organisation, said, "Muslims will observe Dec.6 as Black Day and will
also close their shops to mark their protest. We will pray that Babri mosque is
constructed so that all people can offer prayer there."TOI
Islamic banking a way to
break taboo, pay dividends
New Delhi: Tuba Noman is a
doctoral scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia University. Ever since the
demonetisation exercise began, she has seen her friends and family in a
conundrum over the demonetised notes in their possession. Under Shariah law,
any transaction that involves interest, or Riba, is considered illegal.
Therefore, Noman's grandmother, and many others like her, never had a bank
account. "People like my grandmother view the modern banking system with
much suspicion because of religious reasons. She chose to keep all her savings
at home. But after demonetisation, we had to rush her to the bank and open an
account for her," said Noman.That's a positive thing. Prof Jawed Ahmed
Khan of Jamia's Centre for Western Studies said the move would compel Muslims
to come out and put money in bank accounts. "This will have a positive
impact on the society and they could use banks, but only if they have the
option of Islamic banking," Khan said.There are many Muslims who have bank
accounts, but they don't put their money in fixed deposits as the interests
accrued are high. "People have savings bank account where they don't
accept the interest from the bank," said H Abdur Raqeeb, convener of
Indian Centre for Islamic Finance.Raqeeb and his organisation have been
lobbying for 15 years to bring Islamic finance into the country. TOI
2002 riots convict gets
furlough despite violating parole conditions earlier
Ahmedabad: Convicted for
his involvement in the killing of 97 people during one of the worst post-Godhra
riot case of 2002, Suresh Richard has been granted furlough for 2 weeks by
Sabarmati Jail authorities, despite having violated parole conditions in the past.The
prison authorities granted furlough to Richard last Saturday. He was convicted
along with 31 others including former minister Maya Kodnani in the Naroda
Patiya massacre case. ndtv
Gujarat grants furlough to
convict with history of violence – but fails to inform police about this
Cabinet nods inclusion,
amendments in central list of OBC
New Delhi: Union Cabinet on
Wednesday gave its approval to notify inclusion/amendments in the Central List
of OBC, notified in respect of states of Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Maharashtra, MP, J&K and Uttarakhand.According an official
release, on recommendation of National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC),
a total of 2,479 entries for inclusion, including the synonyms, sub-castes,
etc., in Central List of OBC were notified in 25 States and 6 UTs.IANS
UP: Locals in Shahjahanpur
district torch bus after it hits mosque structure
Lucknow;Locals in
Shahjahanpur district torched a bus and clashed with police in Sadar Bazaar
police station area, injuring several officers, after bus hit the pillar of a
mosque on Wednesday. The incident occurred when a homeguard was driving an UP
State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) to Reserve Police Lines campus. The
vehicle had been seized by traffic policemen on Tuesday after its driver was
unable to produce the required documents, according to SHO of Sadar Bazaar
police station Harish Rajput. Police arrested 6 rioters after lodging a case of
attack on police and indulging in rioting. The police also arrested the
homeguard, who was driving the bus, for rash driving. indian express
Mumbai: NCP leaders, 7
others booked for rioting
A day after a scuffle broke
out between two factions of NCP at a party meeting held in Deonar, NCP leaders
Nawab Malik and Sanjay Dina-Patil and seven others were on Wednesday booked
under attempted murder and rioting charges. The police have registered
cross-complaints from both sides involved in the scuffle.DNA
Uniform Civil Code
necessary for nation’s integrity: RSS
Thiruvananthapuram: RSS
Akhila Bharathiya Sahasambarka Pramukh Arun Kumar has said Uniform Civil Code
is necessary for the integrity of the nation. He was speaking at a discussion
on Uniform Civil Code here today. “In 1930, Karachi Congress conference had
passed a resolution, making a demand for uniform civil code. In 1937,
Maharashtra assembly had also passed a bill for this. Following this, a
commission was formed with B N Rao as its chairman and it gave a report in
1944, favouring the uniform civil code. The Constitution drafting committee was
also not against Uniform Civil Code but they just said it was not time yet to
implement it. The code should be applicable to marriage, divorce and heirship.
In all other cases there exists a general rule and therefore, there is no need
to make it into a big controversy. The main issue is gender-based
discrimination,” he said. kaumudi
Delhi HC quashes ban on 344
fixed dose combination medicines
New Delhi:In a blow
to the Centre, its decision to ban 344 fixed dose combination (FDC) medicines,
including well known brands like Corex cough syrup, Vicks Action 500 extra and
several anti-diabetes medication, was on Thursday set aside by the Delhi High
Court which said the step was taken in a “haphazard manner”. Justice Rajiv
Sahai Endlaw allowed 454 petitions moved by various pharma and healthcare
majors, like Pfizer, Glenmark, Procter and Gamble and Cipla, challenging the
government’s March 10 notification banning the FDCs, saying the decision was
taken by the Centre without following procedure prescribed in the Drugs and
Cosmetics Act.PTI
Parrikar meets Hasina;
discuss measures to strengthen military ties
Dhaka:Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar called on Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on
Thursday and discussed measures to strengthen military and security ties
between the two countries. Parrikar, the first Indian defence minister to visit
Bangladesh in the last 45 years, met Hasina, who holds the defence portfolio in
the cabinet, for about 30 minutes. Parrikar, who arrived here on Wednesday on a
two-day visit leading an 11-member high-powered delegation, yesterday met
President Abdul Hamid who assured India that it has “zero tolerance” policy
against terrorism and sought expanded military ties.pti
FBI, NTRO fail to retrieve
data from Uri GPS:TOI
New Delhi: Hope of
retracing the route taken by the Uri fidayeen from Pakistan has dimmed with the
US agency FBI as well as NTRO, which specialises in technical surveillance,
failing to retrieve any data from the GPS set recovered from the
attackers." GPS set was badly burnt in the encounter. NIA first sent it to
NTRO for analysis, which despite its best efforts failed to recover details of
locations entered but later deleted by the fidayeen. It then passed on the set
to FBI, which had advanced capabilities, but it is learnt that the US agency
too failed to retrieve the data," a senior officer of the security
establishment told TOI.
Reliance Jio Offer: All
Services Free Till March 31
At an event on Thursday,
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said that the free services under
Reliance Jio Welcome Offer have been extended till March 31 as part of its Jio
Happy New Year Offer, among other announcements related to the telecom
venture.NDTV
World
Aleppo could witness one of
the worst massacres since World War 2, France warns
Aleppo is experiencing a
"descent into hell" amid warnings the city could witness one of the
biggest massacres since the Second World War as President Assad's troops
continue their brutal offensive on the city.After 4 months of siege and a
bombing campaign which has brought rebel-held east Aleppo to its knees,
civilians are fleeing across the frontline in their thousands to escape
President Bashar al-Assad’s attempts to crush the city’s rebels for good.A
sweeping advance by Russian-backed Syrian army and allied militias has
displaced thousands of people, UN said on Tuesday, leaving residents unsure
where to turn to for safety as the frontline fighting rapidly moves and rebels
struggle to maintain control of key neighbourhoods. The true figure once those
who have fled to government areas is included is likely to be much higher. On
Wednesday, UNSC will hold an emergency meeting in New York to discuss the
humanitarian crisis. Ahead of that meeting, French UN ambassador, Francois
Delattre, warned: "France and its partners cannot remain silent in the
face of what could be one of the biggest massacres of civilian population since
World War II". independent
Syria opposition creates
‘Army of Aleppo’ to fight Assad regime
All the armed Syrian
opposition factions in the besieged districts of opposition-held eastern Aleppo
have decided to dissolve their individual organisations, and will now instead
reform as a newly created “Army of Aleppo”, opposition forces have declared.The
announcement means that there no longer exists a multitude of different
factions in Aleppo who opposed the continued rule of Syrian President Bashar
Al-Assad, and their unification comes following gains the Assad regime have
made over the past week.The creation of the Army of Aleppo comes after the
first major territorial upset suffered by the Syrian opposition in the divided
northern city since 2012. Using barrel bombs laced with chemical agents, the
Assad regime has advanced into a number of neighbourhoods in eastern Aleppo,
previously inaccessible to them.Although the opposition has previously united
their command structures, notably leading to a brief breaking of the regime’s
siege on eastern Aleppo, this is the first time that they have completely
unified as a single entity.The unification comes at the request of the people
of Aleppo who live under opposition control but fear what may happen to them by
a vengeful Assad regime should eastern districts fall.The collapse of the
opposition frontline in Aleppo has led to concerns that regime forces and
allied Shia militias from Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan may commit a sectarian
massacre on an unprecedented scale. Meanwhile, the president of the Aleppo
local council issued calls pleading for the Syrian regime assault to pause and
for a corridor to be created to allow civilians wishing to flee the violence in
Syria’s largest city safe passage. middleeastmonitor
Syria’s Aleppo faces acute
bread shortage
Saudis furious after
Egyptian diplomat says Assad should remain
The Egyptian Arab League
chief has said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could stay in power, a
position that has further angered Saudi Arabia.Former Egyptian foreign minister
Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Monday that the Syrian strongman could stay in power
if the Syrian people agreed, prompting Saudi Arabia to reportedly call for him
to step down."I mean if the people elect him he can run in elections,
however, there first must be a ceasefire and acceptance of his presence as a
part of a reconciliation deal because it is highly likely that groups would
refuse to work with him," Aboul Gheit told Egyptian talk show host Ahmad
Moussa.His position is a departure from many Gulf and Western powers who have
repeatedly called on the embattled Syrian leader to step down.Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi recently expressed support for the Syrian
military during a recently aired interview with Portuguese state media.His
government had been supported by billions of dollars in aid from Saudi Arabia,
but ties appear to have cooled between the two countries amid disagreements
over Syria.Egyptian and Saudi sources told The New Arab on Thursday that Aboul
Gheit's comments on Assad remaining in power have angered Saudi officials and
prompted them to send an "angry letter" to the General Secretariat of
the Arab League."Riyadh hinted in the letter that it could stop funding
Arab League activities and demanded that Aboul Gheit's position be
reconsidered," the sources said.The New Arab
Moscow seeks answers after
Erdogan vows to oust Assad
Kremlin on
Wednesday demanded an explanation after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said
Ankara intervened in the Syria conflict solely to topple President Bashar
al-Assad.Turkish forces are pressing on with a 3-month operation inside Syria
in support of anti-Assad forces, while Russia is the chief ally of the Syrian
president in the conflict that has claimed more than 300,000 lives since
2011.At the same time, Turkey and Russia have also been working hard to improve
relations after clinching a reconciliation deal in June to repair ties brought
to a historic low by Turkey's shooting down of a Russian jet in Nov.2015.
Erdogan had said at a meeting in Istanbul on Tuesday: "We went in there to
put an end to the rule of the tyrant Assad who carries out state terror, not
for anything else."His comments came as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov is due to meet Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the Turkish
resort of Alanya on Thursday.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists
he hoped that "clarification will come shortly from ourTurkish
partners". Peskov said Erdogan's comment "is not in harmony with
previous statements" and "not in harmony with our understanding of
the situation".Alaraby.co.uk
157 Israeli settlers storm
third holiest site in Islam
O.Jerusalem(PIC):At least
157 Israeli fanatic settlers on Thursday morning stormed the holy al-Aqsa
Mosque via the Maghareba Gate.The break-in was carried out under a tight shield
by the Israeli special units and rapid intervention cops, who cordoned off the
plazas of the Mosque so as to set the stage for the break-in.The occupation
police closed the Maghareba Gate after 119 settlers, 36 students, and two
intelligence officers broke into the site.Israeli fanatics performed
provocative rituals while the peaceful Muslim worshipers kept chanting “Allahu
Akbar” in protest at the sacrilegious assault.At the same time, a number of
Muslim women are still prohibited from entering the holy site to perform their
prayers due to a ban slapped by the Israeli occupation authorities a few months
earlier.
Palestinian envoy decries
Israeli ‘apartheid’, as UN urges action
Palestinian Ambassador to
UN, Riyad Mansour, condemned Israeli policies he described as “entrenching a
one-state reality of an apartheid nature”, in remarks to mark the annual
International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People. Mansour also
specifically singled out the failure of the UN Security Council “to uphold its
Charter duties and implement its resolutions” in relation to Palestine. middleeastmonitor
Lebanon’s wall of shame
should be torn down:YvonneRidley
Arab Spring: sequel? UN
report predicts another uprising
Disenchanted and frustrated
Arab youths are on the verge of another uprising, a UN report has warned.High
unemployment, poverty, exclusion and violence since the 2011 Arab Spring are
fuelling another urgent need for reform, as an increasing state crackdown on
dissent fails to pay attention to its causes."Youth are not the only
population group to bear the brunt of failed policies; nor do they alone suffer
the effects of war and conflict," said the Arab Human Development Report,
released this week."However, unless current trends are shifted, youth in
Arab countries stand to inherit stagnant, violent, or otherwise failed
societies that few of their number had a hand in making, and they are the ones
who will have to rebuild these societies." Before the 2011 revolutions
which toppled 4 despotic leaders, 4 countries were mired in armed conflict. Now
that figure stands at 11.By 2020, almost 3 out of 4 Arabs could be "living
in countries vulnerable to conflict", the report predicts.The Arab youth
population (aged 15-29) has reached 105 million, with unemployment, poverty and
marginalisation among them growing fast.The youth unemployment rate, at 30
percent, stands at more than twice the world's average of 14%. Almost half of
young Arab women looking for jobs are unsuccessful, compared to a global
average of 16 percent.However the younger generation are now more connected than
ever with the rest of the world through social media and are likely to have
different views and sense of identity to senior citizens. "Disgruntled"
young Arabs "may prefer more direct, more violent means", the report
says, "especially if they are convinced that existing mechanisms for
participation and accountability are useless".The New Arab
Suu Kyi calls for 'peace
and reconciliation' in Burma yet still refuses to address Rohingya Muslim
'genocide'
Burmese leader Aung San Suu
Kyi has vowed to work towards "peace and national reconciliation" but
has refused to address accusations Rohingya Muslims in her country may be the
victims of crimes against humanity. Ms Suu Kyi gave no specific details on how
her government intends to resolve the violence and discrimination the
long-persecuted Muslim minority face."We do not want our country to be
unstable. But we've had a long history of disunity within our nation," she
said, addressing senior business representatives in Singapore. "So
national reconciliation is unavoidably important for us. It's not a matter of
choice. It's unavoidable." independent
Trump's Coming Witch Hunt
Against Political Islam:Eli Lake, Bloomberg columnist,
Horrifying letter
threatening Muslims with genocide sent to more mosques across America
Several more mosques across
the US have reported receiving a hate-filled letter from California that warns
Muslims to leave the country or face genocide. The identical letters postmarked
from the Los Angeles area have now shown up at mosques throughout California
and in Ohio, Michigan, Rhode Island, Indiana, Colorado and Georgia. Los Angeles
police have been investigating the letters addressed to “the children of Satan”
as a hate incident, but not a crime because it does not contain a specific
threat. independent
Trump offers to help
Pakistan, calls PM Sharif ‘terrific guy’
Islamabad: US
president-elect Donald Trump offered to help solve Pakistan’s problems and
praised PM Nawaz Sharif as a “terrific guy” in the first call between the two
men, the Pakistani leader’s office said.Historical allies in the region,
Islamabad and Washington have seen relations sour in recent years over US
accusations that Pakistan shelters Islamist militants, a charge denied by the
South Asian nation.Sharif’s office said late on Wednesday the Pakistani PM
called Trump to congratulate him on his victory and issued a read out of the
call. Trump’s team confirmed the two men talked and issued a brief
statement.Reuters
UK: Muslim families sending
children to Catholic schools
More than 26,000 Muslim
pupils are enrolled in Catholic schools in England and Wales.For the first time
an annual census of Catholic schools has collected information on the number of
pupils from other religions.The biggest group of non-Catholic pupils are from
other Christian denominations - but almost a tenth are from Muslim families.BBC
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:51 PM)
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