Evening NEWS DIGEST
28 Dec.2016: 28 Rabiul
Awwal 1438: Vol:8, No:74
Enemy property ordinance
undemocratic: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind
New Delhi: Prominent Muslim
organisation Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) has termed the govt's latest move to
bring an ordinance to amend the 50-year-old Enemy Property Act as
"undemocratic and infringing the fundamental rights of citizens". JIH
General Secretary Muhammad Salim Engineer said: "Legislation via ordinance
should be adopted only under special circumstances and the government's anxiety
to push for amendment to the enemy property law in such a hurried manner raises
serious doubts over its real intentions. Moreover, the President of India has
expressed his reservations over its repeated re-promulgation."The Enemy
Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016, was referred to a Select
Committee after encountering opposition in the Rajya Sabha. "The bill
violates basic principles of natural justice, human rights and settled
principles of law, and many MPs too have said as much. It adversely affects and
results in punishing Indian citizens and will have no effect on any enemy nation,"
Salim said.He said the ordinance is meant to harass minorities and should be
condemned."The law of succession and inheritance will also be impacted,
and hence the fundamental rights of citizens will be infringed. It will also
affect their personal laws, and is therefore unacceptable," he said. Salim
said the proposed law can be "subverted in a subtle way to create enmity
against the Muslim community by terming their legally inherited property as
enemy property"."The government should pass such amendments in a
democratic manner through Parliament and which do not cause any injustice to
anyone," he demanded.IANS
Enemy property ordinance
undemocratic, says Jamaat-e-Islami Hind: India TV
Enemy property ordinance
undemocratic, says Muslim body: India live today
Govt's decision to exclude
Urdu from NEET slammed; SIO petitions union Govt to demand inclusion of Urdu
Mumbai: Union health ministry’s decision to
make NEET available in 8 regional languages has received much appreciation, but
the exclusion of Urdu has not gone down well with the community. The Students
Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) has sent a memorandum to the Ministry of
Health and HRD, demanding the inclusion of Urdu in the list of languages in
which students would be able to appear for the examination. It has also
threatened to move court if their demand was not met.The memorandum mentions
that even though there are hundreds of Urdu-medium science junior colleges
across the country, NEET 2017 will be conducted only in English, Hindi,
Marathi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil and Telugu. Maharashtra alone has
168 such junior colleges and over 11,000 candidates appear for the Class XII
examination every year.It also says that this number would definitely be higher
compared to other states like Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal.State
Secretary of SIO, Mohammad Ali said, “This is exactly opposite of the present
govt’s marketing strategy of ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’. Shockingly, govt had
made the same mistake while language options were being made available for NEET
2013. It was only after a student had filed a writ petition in the Supreme
Court that the examination was made available in Urdu. The letter has been sent
to the Union health ministry, HRD ministry and the ministry of minority affairs
as well.”He further said, “We are sending demand letters to all just to remind
them of their mistake so that corrective measures are taken. Else we will have
to move court.”mid day
SIO launches online
petition, submits memorandum seeking inclusion of Urdu for NEET examinations
Mumbai: Muslims launch
drive to reclaim Waqf properties across Maharashtra
Mumbai: Muslim community
has risen to reclaim its properties and lands which belong to Waqf by launching
a ‘Tehreek e Awqaf’ movement on Tuesday. The president of All India Muslim OBC
Organisation Shabbir Ahmed Ansari launched this movement with an aim to restore
all properties in Maharashtra that belong to the Muslim community as per the
Waqf Act of 1995.Members of this movement will conduct a survey to identify
places like kabristans (burial grounds), mosques and durgahs that are part of
Waqf properties.The members alleged that CIDCO office at Aurangabad is
constructed on the land that belongs to Waqf board. Also, Ismail Yusuf College
at Jogeshwari east is another such property which is managed by the state govt
without any notification given to Waqf board. An ad hoc Committee of 11 members
has been formed to investigate such matters; district committees will be formed
soon. Mujtaba Farooq, a senior member of this movement, said, “Market value of
Maharashtra’s Waqf properties is around Rs. 4.5 lakh crore. If put to efficient
and marketable use then they can generate a minimum return of 10 per cent,
which is about Rs.45,000 crore per annum.Thus, there is an immediate need to
identify and claim such properties.” fress press
Derecognise church courts, Christian
body pleads SC
http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/derecognise-church-courts-christian-body-pleads-sc.html
New Delhi: A Christian body
has approached the Supreme Court with a demand to derecognise ‘church courts’,
terming that any privilege that allows a particular religion to have its own
legal system is “divisive” for a secular India.Raising its voice against the
existence and prevalence of Ecclesiastical Courts, the validity of which is
under challenge before the apex court, the body called “Joint Christian
Council” (JCC) was of the view that such religious courts that adjudicate
personal laws of a particular religion are “anachronistic” in a modern
democratic state.A Bench, headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, issued notice to Centre
on the application drafted by advocate Santosh Paul and allowed the body to
intervene in a pending petition by a lawyer, Clarence Pais. Seeking recognition
of all decisions taken by Ecclesiastical Courts, Pais contended that several Catholic
men had remarried after their first marriage was annulled by these courts. dailypioneer
Influential Barelvi
clerical family used triple talaq to escape law, claims divorced Muslim woman:
TOI report
Bareilly: While the
influential Dargah Aala Hazrat here has been at the forefront of protests
against the Centre's stand on triple talaq, a woman who was till recently
married into the family of the seminary head has alleged that they used the
divorce custom to escape serious criminal charges under the law. Nida Khan, 22,
was divorced by Sheeran Raza Khan, 25, the nephew of seminary head Subhan Raza
Khan and himself studying to be a maulana. Nida moved court in June this year
demanding an FIR against her husband and in-laws for assaulting her and causing
a miscarriage. Police in its final report gave a clean chit to the accused,
after the couple was divorced. However, Nida claimed on Tuesday that she was
not given a divorce in her presence and the family used triple talaq to dodge
the criminal case. "My husband and his family wanted an SUV which my
parents could not give them. They sacked all the maids and made me do all the
chores to build pressure on my family. Sheeran once even tried to push me from
the terrace of the house. When I went to appear in my M Com first year exam on
March 25 last year, Sheeran and others forcefully took me away. In July last
year, I learnt about my pregnancy but the harassment continued. When I informed
my in-laws that my parents could not give me an SUV, they all physically
assaulted me and threw me out of the house on July 16 last year. When I went to
the doctor, I learnt about my miscarriage due to assault," she alleged.Though
Nida has been staying at her parents' house since July 16 last year, she said
she expected her husband to take her back home. Usman Raza Khan, father of
Sheeran, said that Nida's motive was to defame the family by making false
allegations. Qaiser Ali, counsel for Sheeran said, "The matter is sub
judice and our clients have already got clean chit from police. If the court
summons them, they will submit their testimonies. According to Islamic law,
consent of the wife is not required for divorce. Nida and her family were
present at the time of divorce but she left without signing the divorce
papers."
Daughter in law of Millat
Council supremo moves to court against harassment, dowry demands
Don't tamper with personal
laws: Muslim bodies
Jaipur: Prominent Muslim
bodies have warned the central govt against tampering with the Muslim personal
laws, including triple talaq. The views came during the national conference on
'Shariat Bachao' held in Kota on Tuesday. The clerics from the different
schools of Islam - jurisprudence, Sufi orders and schools of theology - came
together to attend the conference. The clerics agreed that pronouncing triple
talaq is a sin in Quran but is valid when possibility of amicably resolution of
this matter becomes impossible. Mohammad Shafi, general secretary of SDPI,
quoted Census 2011 report that Muslims have the lowest rate of separated
couples to justify the religious provision of triple talaq."In the Census
report, the number of separated couples in other communities is much higher
than in Muslims. It shows that couples in other religions are forced to live as
'separated couples' for years before the divorce becomes legal.Sometimes, it
takes 10 years before a divorced male or female could remarry," said
Shafi.Over 40,000 Muslims from Rajasthan, UP, MP and Delhi attended the
rally.The clerics directed the crowd to spread the message that Muslim couples
should first consult the matter with their families and maulanas before taking
the extreme step of pronouncing talaq thrice. Saying that the condition of
Muslim women in India is far better than in other countries, Yasmeen Faraqui,
head of Women India Movement, stated that the sex ratio is one of the main
parameters which reflect the social condition of women.TOI
VHP meet to focus on common
code, temple
Nagpur: VHP's 3-day joint
conference of its central managing committee and board of trustees to be held
here from December 29 will deliberate, among other issues, on common civil code
and Ram temple at Ayodhya. Over 250 VHP representatives form across the country
and 10 from oversees will attend the meet.Announcing this on Tuesday, VHP joint
general secretary Surendra Jain said that the organization is concerned about
indecision by the government and failure to keep the election promise to build
the temple.TOI
DEMONETISATION
Cabinet clears Ordinance, heavy
fine for holders of old notes
New Delhi: 2 days before
the deadline for depositing old 500- and 1,000-rupee notes expires, the Cabinet
today approved promulgation of an Ordinance to make possession of a large
number of scrapped banknotes a penal offence that will attract monetary fine.
Specified Bank Notes Cessation of Liabilities Ordinance makes holding of old
1,000- and 500-rupee notes after March 31 beyond a threshold amount a criminal
offence that will attract a monetary fine of Rs 10,000 or five times the cash
held, whichever is higher.Furnishing wrong information while depositing the old
currency between Jan.1 and March 31 will attract a fine of Rs 5,000 or five
times the amount.Official sources said Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi
approved the Ordinance, but did not say if the penal provisions will apply to
holding the junked currency after 50-day window to deposit them at banks ends
on Dec. 30 or after March 31, till which time deposit of old currency notes at
specified branches of the Reserve Bank after submitting a declaration form is
open. Ordinance also provides for amending RBI Act to provide legislative
support for extinguishing the demonetised banknotes that are not returned. Sources
said the proposal put to the Cabinet was for a 4-year jail term for anyone
possessing a number of demonetised currency after March 31, 2017, but it was
not immediately clear if it was approved.The Ordinance will have to sent to the
President and after his assent will come into force.The Ordinance, which will
have to be converted into a proper legislation by passing of a law by
Parliament within 6 months, makes possession, transfer or receiving an amount
of over Rs 10,000 in the now-demonetised 500 and 1,000-rupee notes a punishable
offence.A maximum of 10 banned notes may be allowed to be held by any person.Sources
said while the deadline for the deposit of old currency in bank or post office
accounts expires on Friday, time till March 31 is available for doing so with
RBI with stiff conditions by people who were abroad, armed forces personnel
posted in remote areas or others who can give valid reasons for not being able
to deposit the cancelled notes at banks.PTI/ business-standard
Ordinance cleared, those
holding scrapped notes may face fine, 4-year jail term
New Rule: Soon, Punishment
For Holding More Than 10 Old Notes, Centre Clears Ordinance
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/new-rule-punishment-for-more-than-10-old-notes-after-march-31-1642639
Demonetisation ordinance:
Beyond technicality, it means little for public and govt: firstpost
Demonetised notes as evidence:Courts
clueless what todo
New Delhi:With the 5-judge
Constitutional Bench formed by the Supreme Court yet to take a call on the
constitutionality of Nov. 8 demonetisation notification issued by the RBI,
lower courts, meanwhile, are clueless when it comes to dealing with cases in
which the scrapped Rs500 notes and Rs 1000 notes form a clinching part of the
evidence. With no ground rules set by the apex court or the Law Ministry, the
courts have no guidelines to lean on when it comes to scrutinising “marked
bills”. indianexpress
Note ban: how Chandni
Chowk's jewellery & bullion trade is suffering
OTHERS
India 2nd largest
arms purchaser in the world after Saudi
Washington: As India
embarks on a massive modernisation plan for its defence forces, it has emerged
as the second largest purchaser of arms among developing nations after Saudi
Arabia, a latest Congressional report has said.Between 2008 and 2015, India
purchased defence equipments worth USD 34 billion, which is a distant second
after Saudi Arabia’s USD 93.5 billion, said the report ‘Conventional Arms
Transfers to Developing Nations 2008-2015’ released by Congressional Research
Service (CRS).PTI
Zee News booked for
Dhulagarh riot coverage, claims editor Sudhir Chaudhary
kolkata:Non-bailable
charges under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on basis
of religion, caste, creed, language or place of birth) have been pressed by the
West Bengal government against Zee News editor Sudhir Chaudhary, West Bengal
correspondent Pooja Mehta and cameraperson Tanmay Mukherjee for their coverage
of Dhulagarh riots in Howrah district of West Bengal. West Bengal government
and the media houses in the state strictly believe that reporting on the
recurring communal clashes in the state would aggravate the tensions and lead
to further clashes. Zee News editor has taken to the twitter and facebook to
protest against the charges brought against the media house for their
coverage. news indian express
Before new army chief takes
over, superseded Lt Gen Bakshi goes on leave: Sources
New Delhi:Eastern army
commander Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi, who was overlooked for the
position of army chief, proceeded on leave on Tuesday, sources said.The
duration of his leave wasn’t immediately known but the sources said he could
have gone on “long leave”. Army officials in Delhi said Bakshi could have gone
on pre-scheduled leave but timing has raised a few eyebrows as the next army
chief-designate Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat will take over on Dec.31.HT
Can file FIR against Teesta
Setalvad, HRD Ministry told
New Delhi:Solicitor General
of India Ranjit Kumar has concurred with the findings of an inquiry that held
activist Teesta Setalvad of Sabrang Trust culpable for “hatred-filled,
disharmony-spreading, ill-will generating, enmity-creating explosive writings”,
and said the HRD Ministry can file an FIR against her under Sections 153A and
153B of IPC. According to sources, HRD Ministry under Smriti Irani had
approached SG directly for legal opinion on the recommendations of the panel
headed by V-C of Gujarat Central University Syed A Bari. Her successor, Prakash
Javadekar, now has to take a final call on the matter. indianexpress
Gujarat High Court reserves
order on Modi’s degree case
Ahmedabad;Lawyers
representing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday told the Gujarat
High Court that they want to contest the petition moved by Gujarat University
(GU) against the order of information commissioner, New Delhi asking the
varsity to furnish information on PM Narendra Modi’s degree on merit. The
response came after the varsity lawyers said that it has already published the
degree of the Prime Minister on its website. indianexpress
Gujarat: Dalit man,
pregnant wife thrashed for resisting cattle grazing at farm
Ahmedabad:A Dalit man and
his pregnant wife were allegedly beaten up by members of another community at
Ugala village in Gir Somnath district for preventing them from grazing their
cattle in a farm where the couple had been working as labourers, police said on
Tuesday. Babubhai Sankhat (35) and his 6-month pregnant wife Rekhaben (30) were
allegedly attacked on Dec.25. “Babubhai and Rekhaben were hired by the farm
owner to work in the cotton field at Ugala village. On Dec.25, they had an
altercation with some members of a community who wanted to take their cattle in
the field for grazing,” DSP, SC/ST Cell, PS Valvi said. He said the couple was
beaten up with sticks after they objected to cattle grazing, saying it would
damage standing crop in the farm.PTI
Anil Baijal to be Delhi L-G
after Mukherjee accepts Najeeb Jung's resignation
Delhi: President Pranab
Mukherjee has accepted the resignation of Najeeb Jung as Delhi Lieutenant
Governor. Ex-Home Secretary, Anil Baijal is slated to replace him as the new
administrator of NCR, according to India Today TV.He retired from the service
in Oct.2006 as Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Govt of India. While
in that ministry, he was instrumental in the designing and roll-out of JNNURM
with federal grant equivalent of about Rs 60,000 crore, for improvement of
infrastructure and provision of basic services in urban areas of India,
according to his profile on IDFC group website, of which he is a non-executive
chairman and an independent director.He has been the union home secretary in
NDA govt led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The former bureaucrat has also been the vice-chairman of the Delhi
Development Authority and had headed key public sector companies like Prasar
Bharti and Indian Airlines. Baijal was also on the executive council of the
think-tank Vivekananda International Foundation, several of whose former
members have been appointed to senior positions by the Modi government
including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.firstpost/ indian express
UP polls 2017: Mulayam
rejects grand alliance, announces candidates for 325 seats
Rejecting any possibility
of a grand alliance between non-BJP parties, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam
Singh Yadav today announced that the ruling party would be going solo in the
upcoming UP Assembly election. Mulayam also announced the candidates for 325
seats. He said that the remaining 78 candidates will be announced later. In the
first list released by SP, 176 candidates are also sitting MLAs.While Shivpal
Yadav will contest from Jaswant Nagar, ex-UPA minister Beni Prasad Verma's son
Rakesh will contest from Barabanki. firstpost
SP chief Mulayam
contradicts son Akhilesh as he firmly rules out any alliance for UP 2017
Top Muslim leaders back
SP-Congress alliance in UP
Lucknow: Amid talks of a
possible alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress ahead of 2017
assembly elections, top Muslim leaders and clercis from leading seminaries are
looking forward for a Bihar-like 'gathbandhan' in UP to stall the BJP from
coming to power.Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind's national president Maulana Arshad Madani
said that Muslims in the state would support an alliance of secular parties in
the state. "A Bihar-like 'gathbandhan' will help to keep the BJP away from
power in UP," said Madani in Aligarh. "Alliance between Nitish and
Lalu has already proved that such pacts can work to keep communal forces at
bay," JUH chief said.JUH happens to be one of the top Muslim organisations
in the country which has significant influence onver the community in UP
because of its initiatives in the field of Islamic education through a chain of
madarssas and special programmes for the economically weaker sections of the
society in general and the community in particular.Top clerics in Deoband,
including some who are closely associated with the leading Darul Uloom, also
aired similar views. TOI
AMU students demand CBI
probe into Najeeb case
Agra: Students of AMU have
demanded a CBI investigation into the disappearance of JNU student, Najeeb
Ahmad, and also threatened to launch agitation in Delhi against police's
failure to trace the youth.In a memorandum to the President of India, sent
through the Aligarh local administration on Tuesday, the AMU student union has
urged Pranab Mukherjee to direct the Delhi police to trace Najeeb, who has been
missing since Oct.15. Memorandum further states that even the suspects involved
in assaulting Najeeb had not been arrested even after 70 days of his mysterious
disappearance.Without naming any particular organization, the memorandum states
that these outfits have been creating nuisance throughout the country. "Organization
was also involved in the killing of of Rohit Vemula of Hyderabad Central
University and a professor in Ujjain, MP. timesofindia
JNU: Dalit, Adivasi,
minority students suspended for speaking out against fees hike, other issues
New Delhi: 8 Dalit, Adivasi
and minority students of JNU were suspended with immediate effect and their
hostel facilities withdrawn for disrupting an Academic Council meeting held on
Monday.Along with Rahl, the other students’ names are: Dawa Sherpa, Mulayam
Singh, Shakeel, Bhupali Kusum Vitthal, Dileep Yadav, Mritunjaya Kumar Yadav and
Prashant Kumar. Students belonging to BAPSA, DSU, SFS and United OBC Forum
protested on at the meeting venue, and demanded that the academic council
re-schedule its meeting which passed the UGC gazette notification of May 2016
making interviews the sole criterion of admission.Students like Rahul
Sonpimple, who had also contested for the JNUSU elections, have strongly
protested against such a notification, alleging that this will only increase
the bias against students from the marginalised communities.TCN
BJP loses 5 of 8 urban
civic bodies to Congress in MP
BJP lost 5 out of 8
urban civic bodies to the Congress in the elections held in Madhya Pradesh on
Dec.22, TOI reported. After the results of the polls were announced on
Saturday, state Congress spokesman KK Mishra said, “It’s an indication that
people are tired of the false promises of the BJP.”While the BJP retained the
urban civic bodies of Mandsaur, Sehore and Shahganj, it lost its hold on the
municipal corporation of Shajapur and the city councils of Dhamnod, Orchha and
Majhauli, according to The Telegraph. Scroll
'As per Islam, women should
be fully covered': Female Muslim cleric criticises Mohammed Shami's wife's
dress
Condemning Indian cricketer
Mohammed Shami for his wife’s dress, a Muslim cleric on Monday said that the
former should understand that women should be fully covered as per Islam. ‘I
don’t think it is a controversial matter, but yes it is condemnable. Taking
Islam into context, this is not correct. Being a Muslim he should have
remembered that women should be fully covered as per Islam,’ said Muslim cleric
Hina Zaheer.Another Muslim cleric Umer Ilyas said that changing the dress code
is not a problem, but the best costume is the one which fully covers one’s
body.Earlier, former cricketers have come to defense of ace Indian fast bowler
Mohammad Shami, who came under sharp criticism of Muslim fanatics for posting
his wife Hasin Jahan's pictures on social media. DNA
Aurangabad: 8 booked for
rioting, unlawful assembly
Aurangabad: 8 people
including a woman have been booked by the Begumpura police on the charges of
rioting and unlawful assembly in Dimbar Gully of Begumpura between 9pm and 10pm
on Friday. The case was registered on Sunday.Police said that some of the suspects
named in the complaint have been identified as Veerendra Raghunath Kusale (28),
Dinesh Kundalikar (29) and Nitin Lahare, all residents of Begumpura area. Police
said that based on the complaint lodged by a crime branch sleuth, the case has
been registered.TOI
Nizamabad district sees
decline in crime rate
The persecution of Zakir
Naik’s lawyer is both illegal and unjust: SAURAV DATTA
Another train accident,
another probe ordered: How can Indian Railways resurrect itself? indiatoday
WORLD
Obama and allies seek to
isolate Netanyahu before Trump takes office
John Kerry is due to lay
out a US framework for a Palestinian-Israeli agreement as the Obama
administration and its international allies scramble to protect what is left of
the peace process before Donald Trump takes office.US secretary of state will
outline the proposals on Wednesday, at a time when US-Israeli relations have
reached their lowest point in decades. The government of the Israeli prime
minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has accused Washington of conspiring against it
when a UN security council vote on Friday demanded an end to settlement
building in the West Bank. The Kerry speech at the State Department at 4pm GMT
is expected to restate the Obama administration’s continued faith in a
two-state solution to the chronic impasse. It is a parting shot after eight
years in office, during which there has been a dearth of diplomatic progress.
It is not expected to lead to any new initiative but rather lay down a marker
on a longstanding US and international approach to the region before the US
president-elect, whose commitment to such a solution is in doubt, assumes
office.“What secretary Kerry will be doing is he will give a speech in which he
lays out a comprehensive vision for how we see the conflict being resolved –
where we see things in 2016 as we unfortunately conclude our term in office
without there being significant progress toward peace,” the deputy national
security adviser, Ben Rhodes, told Israel’s Channel 2 television.The parameters
outlined by Kerry are expected to draw international endorsement at a meeting
of foreign ministers on 15 January, just five days before Trump moves into the
White House. The meeting is supposed to reinforce a strategy of isolating
Netanyahu in the hope it will push him towards reviving stalled negotiations
with the Palestinians. Netanyahu has said his govt will not attend.In
expectation of a more supportive administration in Washington next month,
Netanyahu has reacted to the diplomatic manoeuvring in the last week’s of
Obama’s term with defiance. theguardian
Israel delays new
settlement permits ahead of John Kerry’s speech
Israel PM warned New
Zealand support for UN vote would be ‘declaration of war’
Environment: Scientists
predict how much Donald Trump is going to destroy the planet
Dozens of Jewish settlers
storm Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa
Dozens of Jewish settlers
on Wednesday forced their way into East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque
compound where they tried to perform Talmudic rituals, a Palestinian official
said. "Some 176 settlers, backed by Israeli special forces, stormed the
Al-Aqsa Mosque compound since this morning," Al-Aqsa Mosque Director
Sheikh Omar al-Qiswani told Anadolu Agency. The Jewish settlers tried to
perform Talmudic rituals near the Al-Qibali mosque and the Dome of the Rock but
they were prevented from doing so by Muslim worshipers and the mosque guards,” he
said. World Bulletin
Turkey and Russia 'agree'
on nationwide Syria ceasefire
Turkey and Russia have
agreed on a country-wide ceasefire plan for Syria, except for areas where
government forces are battling armed groups declared terrorist organisations by
the UN. Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu reported on Wednesday that a
ceasefire plan had been submitted to Syria's warring parties and could come
into force as soon as midnight 22:00 GMT. Citing a source who requested anonymity,
Anadolu said "terrorist organisations" would be excluded from the
deal.This would most certainly exclude the ISIL group and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham,
the group formerly known as al-Nusra Front. The source also said that if the
ceasefire succeeded, political negotiations would start in the Kazakh capital,
Astana, under Turkey and Russia's guidance. Aljazeera
Syria: Air strikes kill 10
children in ISIL-held Deir Az Zor
Air strikes have killed at
least 22 people, including 10 children, in an ISIL-held village in eastern
Syria, a monitor has said.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on
Wednesday that the raids hit the village of Hajna in Deir Az Zor province,
killing 12 people from one family and 10 from another. It said at least 10
children were among the dead.Local activists quoted online said the air strikes
happened on Tuesday.Located in the northern countryside of Deir Az Zor, Hajna
is held by the ISIL group. UK-based Observatory had no immediate word on who
carried out the strikes but it was likely to have been either the Syrian
government or its ally Russia. aljazeera
Air strikes kill 22
civilians in eastern Syria: Monitor
Turkish military
‘neutralises’ 44 IS militants in northern Syria: Reuters
Ankara: Turkish military
said on Wednesday it had “neutralised” 44 Islamic State militants and wounded
117 as part of its operation in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab.In a
statement, the military also said seven rebels had been wounded in clashes over
the past day, while 154 Islamic State targets had been struck by artillery and
other weaponry.
Senior IS commander in
Syria may have been killed: Reuters
Beirut: One of Islamic
State's top commanders in Syria was probably killed in combat as the jihadists
sought to stave off an advance by US-backed Syrian forces towards a strategic
dam in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.The
commander known as Abu Jandal al-Kuwaiti was killed as Islamic State fighters
tried to drive the Syrian Democratic Forces from the village of Jabar captured
from the jihadists on Monday, Observatory Director Rami Abdulrahman said. dnaindia
US-backed Syrian force
hopes to get anti-aircraft missiles to fight IS
US, Russian military talks
on fights against Islamic State quietly proving useful, officials: AP
Iraqi PM says 3 months
needed to remove IS from the country: Reuters
Activists begin march from
Berlin to Aleppo
More than 300 activists
have begun Monday their long march from Berlin to the war-battered Syrian city
of Aleppo, to draw international support for the civilians trapped in besieged
areas in Syria.Activists from various European countries gathered near Berlin’s
former Tempelhof Airport, before beginning their nearly 3,500-km walk, with the
hope of forcing politicians to take action.“Thank you for coming, I can’t
believe that the idea which I expressed three weeks ago happened,” Polish
blogger and journalist Anna Alboth, who initiated the idea told participants. middleeastmonitor
Iraq female journalist
abducted by Shia militias in Baghdad
An Iraqi journalist
was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen wearing security services’ uniforms from
her home in Baghdad yesterday, police and relatives said, prompting Prime
Minister Haider Al-Abadi to order an investigation.Afrah Al-Qaisi is an
outspoken critic of government institutions in satirical columns she writes for
several local newspapers and media outlets. Al-Qaisi used to work for the
pan-Arab, Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.The gunmen took Al-Qaisi from
the predominantly Sunni southern Saydiya district of the capital where she
lived with her family, according to Ziyad Al-Ajili, head of the Iraqi
Journalistic Freedoms Observatory.“They separated the children from their
mother after forcefully entering the house and took money, jewellery, laptops
and her car as they left,” Al-Ajili said, explaining how the journalist was not
only kidnapped but her home was pillaged by the militiamen.Iraq is ranked
second after Somalia in the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 2016 Index
of Impunity, which calculates the number of unsolved murders of journalists
over a 10-year period as a percentage of each country’s population.Over the
past decade, 71 journalists have been killed with impunity in Iraq, according
to the CPJ. middleeastmonitor
Arab Gulf ‘frustrated’ with
Egypt’s Sisi
Abdulkhaliq Abdullah,
adviser to Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed, said that the energy
rich states of the Arabian Gulf hold “frustrated” and “resentful” feelings
towards Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Anadolu reported
yesterday.“[Al-Sisi] represents a political and financial burden,” Abdullah
said. However, he emphasised that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member
states are not currently thinking of abandoning the Arab world’s largest
country “due to its importance.”In an interview with Turkey’s state-run
Anadolu, Abdullah said: “The size of Gulf aid to Egypt since July 2013 has
exceeded $20 billion, but this did not have a positive effect on the life of
the Egyptians.” middleeastmonitor
For first time in 3 years,
Brotherhood leader sees his mother
Mohamed Al-Beltagi, a
jailed senior leader in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, saw his mother
yesterday for the first time since he was arrested in the wake of the military
coup which ousted the first democratically elected Egyptian president, Mohamed
Morsi, in 2013.His lawyer, Ahmed Sa’ed, said that the judge who presided over
Al-Beltagi’s hearing allowed for him to exit the dock for only ten minutes so
that he could hold his mother’s hand, an elderly woman who is confined to a
wheelchair. middleeastmonitor
Bangladesh garment
factories sack hundreds after pay protests
At least 1,500 workers have
been sacked from Bangladesh garment factories after protests forced a week-long
shutdown at dozens of sites supplying top European and American brands.Tens of
thousands of workers walked out of factories this month in the manufacturing hub
of Ashulia which make clothes for top western brands such as Gap, Zara and
H&M, prompting concerns over supply during the holiday season.The protests
were sparked by the sacking of 121 workers, but soon evolved into a demand for
the trebling of workers’ pay from the current monthly minimum of 5,300 taka
(£54). theguardian
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:08 PM)
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