Evening NEWS DIGEST
25 Jan.2017: 26 Rabius Sani 1438: Vol:8, No:98
Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince,
Modi's Republic Day friend, is worth $75 billion
New Delhi: Not for nothing
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, will be the chief
guest at the Republic Day parade tomorrow. Sheikh Zayed has committed $75
billion to develop infrastructure in India—an under-developed sector in dire
need of investment.India needs over $1.5 trillion in investment in the next 10
years to bridge infrastructure gap as the govt intends to connect seven hundred
thousand villages with roads by 2019 as part of a massive modernisation plan,
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said last year in Beijing. Infrastructure in
India—railways, roads, ports, airports, etc.—is already inadequate and has now
been burdened by fast growth. Since banks alone cannot fund the infrastructure
gap, the govt had devised innovative alternatives such as public-private
partnerships. Foreign investment is also a major source of funding. In March
2016, the govt cleared a MoU between
India and the UAE to explore opportunities for mobilisation of up to $75
billion long-term investment in the National Investment and Infrastructure
Fund. Govt has yet to set up the mechanism to activate the investment. economic
times
UAE one of most valued
partners,a close friend: PM Modi
India, UAE sign 14 pacts on
enhancing ties; an MoU to check human trafficking:UNI
India signs pact with UAE
to build strategic oil reserves
Crown Prince, Talks in New
Delhi: India to raise OIC on Kashmir with UAE
New Delhi: AS PM Narendra Modi received visiting Crown Prince
of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the airport on Tuesday —
for the second time in less than a year, signalling warmth in ties — New Delhi
is looking to raise the issue of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)’s
repeated statements on Kashmir with the visiting leader.Sources in the govt told The Indian Express that UAE is an
influential voice in OIC, and India wants to impress upon the country’s top
leadership that its statements on Kashmir are “counter-productive” and boosts
morale of terror groups and pro-militant elements in the Valley.“We want to
impress upon them during the visit that the same elements which were
responsible for killing 5 of their (UAE’s) diplomats in Kandahar on earlier
this month (January 10) are (also) responsible for the violence and terrorist
activities in Kashmir,” a top govt source said. “Through our conversations, we
will tell them that such OIC declarations only strengthen the hands of those
forces, which disrupt peace in the country.“We understand some of these
diplomats were friends and relatives of some of the members of the
delegation…we hope they will be receptive to our concerns.” India had last year
raised the issue of OIC’s stand on Kashmir when Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah
Al Sisi, whose country is also a key OIC member, visited India. But there has
not been any visible change in Egypt’s stance at the OIC so far, officials
said.indian express
Abu Dhabi crown prince as
the R-Day guest suggests India’s renewed West Asia focus
Conversation with Donald
Trump was warm, invited him to India:PM Modi
New Delhi:After US
President Donald Trump told PM Narendra Modi India is "a true friend"
and invited him to visit the US, Modi tweeted today to say their conversation+
was "warm" and that he also urged the US President to visit
India."Had a warm conversation with President Donald Trump late last evening.
President Trump and I agreed to work closely in the coming days to further
strengthen our bilateral ties. Have also invited President Trump to visit
India," PM tweeted. Trump's call to Modi came four days after he was sworn
in as the US's 45th President+ . It was also only his fifth call since then to
a world leader - ahead of calls to Russia, China or Japan - underscoring the
importance of India in US foreign policy.Late last night, the White House said
the two leaders discussed several issues including trade, defence and
terrorism."They also discussed security in the region of South and Central
Asia. President Trump and PM Modi
resolved that the US and India stand shoulder to shoulder in the global fight
against terrorism," the White House said in a readout of the call.Trump
also emphasised that the US considers India "a true friend and partner in
addressing challenges around the world," the White House readout added.TOI
UP ATS busts international
call racket spying on Army units, 11 arrested:TOI
Lucknow: ATS of UP police
on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday arrested 11 people from
different parts of UP and NCR for
abetting war against the country.The group used to help callers based in
Pakistan, Nepal, UAE and Bangladesh eavesdrop on military operations in J&K
using 'interconnect bypass fraud.' That
means they allegedly helped these groups conceal their identities by sending
call made through the internet to a SIM box capable of redirecting VoIP traffic
to mobile networks.The kingpin of the group has been identified as Gulshan Sen
a resident of Delhi's Mehrauli. Gulshan, who is in mid 30s, teaches at FIITJEE.
The group also allegedly caused financial losses to the govt through illegal activities in telecom
sector.UP ATS acted on an input provided by the J&K Military Intelligence unit two months back,
and was asked to probe two dozen internet call logs."Military officials
posted in vital locations in J&K were receiving calls from landline and mobile
numbers. Identifying themselves as senior Army officers, the unidentified
callers asked for specific information. UnsuspectingArmy personnel shared the
required information," said inspector general ATS Asim Arun.The 3
locations were raided on Tuesday night in sector J Aliganj, Lucknow, Hardoi and
Sitapur. 10 persons including Rahul Rastogi, Shivendra Mishra, Harshit Gupta,
Vishal Kakkad, Rahul Singh, Vinit Dikshit, Rishi Hora, Shyam Babu, Uttam Shukla
and Vikas Verma were arrested from the 3 districts. Gulshan was also arrested
and was being brought to Lucknow for a further probe.
JNU Chief Proctor probing
Najeeb case resigns
JNU Chief Proctor AP Dimri,
who was heading inquiries into several incidents of indiscipline in the campus,
including the case of missing student Najeeb Ahmed, resigned, reportedly over
“differences” with the varsity administration.Dimri is the second Chief Proctor
to have resigned since the new V-C, Jagadesh Kumar, took over in January last
year. He had taken over as Chief Proctor in March 2016, after his predecessor
Krishna Kumar resigned following February 9 incident, wherein anti-national
slogans were allegedly raised in the campus. The incident had snowballed into a
big controversy, leading to the arrest of three students, including the then
Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar.Meanwhile later on Tuesday, the
varsity appointed Vibha Tandon, a professor at the Special Centre of Molecular
Medicine in JNU, as the new Chief Proctor.Dimri was leading the proctorial
committee inquiring the involvement of ABVP members in the Najeeb case. He had
recently sent showcause notices to at least four ABVP members for allegedly
assaulting Najeeb a day before he went missing. The first-year MSc student has
been missing since Oct.15 last year, following an altercation with ABVP
activists the night before.The reason behind Dimri’s sudden resignation could
not be ascertained. While some varsity officials said he resigned due to “differences”
with the administration, others are saying he was overburdened with work. Dimri
himself refused to comment over the issue and his resignation letter did not
mention any reason as well.“He was heading an inquiry into several cases,
including Najeeb’s mysterious disappearance and suspension of eight varsity
students for disrupting the Academic Council meeting. He had some differences
with the administration,” said a senior varsity official.Meanwhile, Students’
Union members claimed that this was yet another attempt by the varsity
administration to curb the voice raised against Najeeb’s assaulters. DNA
JNU chief proctor, who led
probe in missing student Najeeb Ahmad’s case, resigns
Sources of 69% income of
political parties untraceable
New Delhi:As much as 69 % of the total income of political parties over
a period of 11 years came from unknown sources, said a report released on
Tuesday by an NGO working towards electoral reforms.According to the
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), while the total income of 48 national
and regional political parties between 2004-05 and 2014-15 stood at Rs 11,367
crore, the sources of as much as Rs 7,833 crore of it were untraceable.
Trilochan Sastry, Founder Member of ADR, said: "The income from known
donors was Rs 1,835 crore (16 %) and income through other known sources, such
as sale of assets, membership fees, bank interest, sale of publications and
party levy, was Rs 1,698 crore(15% )." "However, the remaining income
of Rs 7,833 crore, which works out to 69% of the total income, does have
sources to attribute," he added.The ADR said that the unknown sources are
income declared in the Income Tax (IT) returns but without giving source of
income for donations below Rs 20,000.According to the report, the BSP was the
only party to declare zero donations above Rs 20,000 between 2004-2015, thus
100 % of party's donation came from
unknown sources. Among national parties, the Congress' income through unknown
sources was 83% (Rs 3,323 crore) of total income while the BJP's share of
income from unknown sources found out at 65 % (Rs 2,126 crore) "Among the regional
parties, 94 % (Rs 766 crore) of total
income of the Samajwadi Party and 86 % (Rs 88 crore) of the total income of the
Shiromani Akali Dal came from unknown sources," reads the report.IANS
J&K : ‘Youth’ arrested
under PSA is only 13 years old, school record shows
Independent MLA from
Langate, Engineer Rasheed, left the J&K govt in a tight spot after
producing the birth certificate of a ‘juvenile’, Sahil Ahmed Malik, who is
presently under the notorious Public Safety Act in Kot Bhalwal jail, Jammu.On
Jan,21, the Parliamentary affairs minister of J&K Abdul Rahman Veeri had
said that the age of ‘juvenile’ was
ascertained by the District Magistrate, Srinagar.“As per that report,
his age is 20 to 22 years,” the minister had informed the members when
Er.Rasheed had raised the issue in the legislative assembly.Rasheed had refused
the govt report and had asked for
considering school records to seek his release. But the speaker suspended him
for two days which was later revoked.“10 days ago I went to Kot Bhalwal jail,
where people from my constituency had informed me about a boy lodged under PSA,
who kept crying. I met him and felt that he was just a 12-15-year old child,” Er.
Rasheed said.Following the case, MLA Rasheed on Monday produced the birth
certificate of ‘juvenile’ in the house issued by the Govt Middle School which reads that the boy Sahil
Ahmad Malik son of Ghulam Mohiuddin Malik is a resident of Pamposh Colony and
is aged 13.“I asked his parents to get birth certificate from school. It
clearly states that he will be 14 this March,” he said.TwoCircles
Irshad Ali acquitted of
terror charges after 11 yrs, moves Delhi HC against cops
New Delhi:2 men, acquitted
of terror charges 11 years after being framed by Delhi Police's Special Cell,
want departmental action against the officers who framed them. One of them,
Irshad Ali, has approached the Delhi high court seeking directions to the
police to conduct a departmental inquiry under direct supervision of the police
commissioner.Justice A K Pathak on Monday issued a notice to the police seeking
an explanation why there should be no action against the officers for
"falsely implicating" the duo who worked as informers. Irshad, along
with another person, was slapped with "very serious charges of waging war
against the state", stated the petition filed by advocate Sufiyan
Siddiqui. After the matter reached the high court, CBI was asked to probe and
it sought action against the erring police officials for fabricating evidence
to implicate the petitioner, it added.The plea informed the high court that
despite CBI filing a closure report against the accused, the trial court went
ahead with the prosecution but found them to be innocent in December after
examining all evidence. "It is now incumbent upon the respondent to fix
the accountability of the erring police officials involved in the present FIR
by conducting a departmental inquiry followed by departmental action, as may be
appropriate against the erring police officials in compliance with the Supreme
Court' directions," the plea added.According to the FIR, the police
apprehended Ali and Qamar from the Mukarba Chowk bus stand in northwest Delhi
on Feb.9, 2006.TOI
After acquittal, Irshad Ali
moves HC, seeks action against officers
The trials and tribulations
of Irshad Ali: DNA
Charges to be framed
against Areeb Majeed on Feb.7
Mumbai:Posecution and
defence on Tuesday completed arguments on framing of charges against Kalyan
youth, Areeb Majeed, arrested for joining ISIS in Syria. The court has now
posted the matter for framing of charges on Feb 7.Prosecution on Tuesday
withdrew section 38 (person concerned in criminal act may be guilty of
different offence) of IPC but argued that all other charges pressed against him
by NIA should be framed against Majeed and he should be tried for all these
charges. On the other hand, Majeed’s lawyer, Mubin Solkar, claimed that no case
had been made out against his client and hence, he should be discharged from
the case.ASIAN AGE.
ED issues second summon to Zakir
Naik
Mumbai:Zakir Naik is giving
initial bumps to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) before investigation picks up
pace.The first summons sent by the ED to Naik has returned back after his
residence was found locked in Mumbai. Thus the agency has issued another summon
to Naik with an instruction to remain present at Mumbai office by the
month-end.This time, the second summon was handed over to IRF's legal advisor
Shaukat Jamati personally, who had visited Mumbai ED office on Tuesday for
recording his statement.ED has issued summon to IRF manager for Jan.24 in the
money laundering case against IRF and Zakir Naik. Jamati represented himself
before the ED team and was questioned for at least six hours by the
officials.Jamati admitted that he has received the summons in hand and will
soon inform Naik who is living in Saudi Arabia now. "I will inform him
about the summons, but whether he would come to India or not, that remains
uncertain," Jamati said.Meanwhile, knowing that Naik may not come to India
the ED has also summoned Naik's brother Mohammad Naik for the first week of
Feb. Among 5 brothers and sisters, Mohammad is the eldest. He is also the
founder and trustee of IRF.The ED has also sought bank statements and income
tax returns of IRF and Naik's family members of last 10 years from Jamati.
india today
Bhopal encounter: Probe
panel’s term ends this month; govt yet
to frame service conditions
Bhopal:Tenure of single-member
judicial probe commission, headed by judge AK Pandey and constituted by the
state govt to investigate into the death of 8 men in an encounter with the
state police, is ending on Jan.31. Though the tenure of the Commission is near
completion but the general administration department (GAD) has not yet framed
its service conditions.It is the GAD, which decides the service conditions
whenever a judicial probe commission is setup. The service conditions include
facilities, office and staff. freepressjournal
Demonetisation
Demonetisation: RBI may not
relax cash withdrawal limit for 3 weeks to a month
New Delh:Your weekly cash
withdrawal limit of Rs 24,000 is likely to continue for another three weeks to
a month before the RBI finally decides to relax the cap.The central bank,
however, could double the daily withdrawal limit at the ATMs after a detailed
analysis of transaction patterns and payment modes, sources said.The RBI has
increased the withdrawal limit at the ATMs thrice since the announcement of the
demonetisation of bank notes of Rs 500 and 1000 denominations on Nov. 8. But
the weekly limit has been maintained at Rs 24,000.HT
No final decision on taxing
cash transactions above Rs 50,000: Govt
New Delhi: Finance Ministry
on Wednesday clarified that a final call on the recommendations of the panel of
CMs, which includes a tax on cash transactions above Rs 50,000, is yet to be
made.“The recommendations of the committee (on digital payments, headed by AP CM
N. Chandrababu Naidu) will be carefully
examined and appropriate decisions will be taken in due course,” the ministry
said.“The committee has submitted an interim report to the govt. Govt has not yet taken any final view on the
recommendations of the committee.”The panel said the govt must tax cash
transactions above Rs 50,000, abolish banks’ interest on credit card
transactions, give tax refund to consumers on digital payments and extend Rs
1,000 subsidy on smart phones to non income-tax payees to promote a less-cash
digital economy.IANS
Impose tax on cash
withdrawal above Rs 50,000, panel on digital payments suggests to PM Modi
Give Rs 1,000 subsidy to
buy smartphones: CM panel to Modi govt
Note ban will hit property
sales by 20-30% this year: Fitch
Mumbai:Disruptions caused
by demonetisation and the general caution on the part of buyers will hit
property sales in India by at least 20-30 % in 2017, Fitch Ratings said in its
latest report. “We expect home prices also to decline this year because demand
for residential property has weakened significantly in fourth quarter of 2016, following
demonetisation move.last year,” said the ratings agency.“Worst downturn in home
sales is likely to occur in the first half of 2017. Demand is likely to recover
moderately in the second half as festive season approaches, and because banks
have cut interest rates on home loans by 50-60 basis points over the last 12
months to multi-year lows,” it said.IANS
Chinese daily calls Modi’s
demonetisation move a ‘big failure’
Beijing:An influential
Chinese daily on Wednesday said India’s demonetisation drive was “a big
failure” and has put the country’s economy back by at least a decade.PM
Narendra Modi’s Nov.8 announcement to scrap Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes was akin
to “promising homeless people houses on Mars in one month’s time”, said an
op-ed in Global Times.“The demonetisation ...has turned out to be a big
failure,” it said. “This facade of demonetisation is like promising homeless
people houses on Mars in one month’s time.“Unfortunately, the reality is that
demonetisation has put the Indian economy back by at least a decade, leading to
job losses,” the newspaper said.“Furthermore, it resulted in severe mental and
physical trauma for older citizens who spend hours in bank queues, where some
have even died.”IANS
President Pranab Mukherjee:
Demonestisation brought temporary slowdon, but will improve transparency
New Delhi:In his address to
the nation before India’s 68th republic Day, President Pranab Mukherjee spoke
on range of issues including demonetisation, women safety and govt policies. Mukherjee said that demonetisation
has resulted in the temporary slowdown of the economy but “as more and more
transactions become cashless, it will improve the transparency of the economy. indianexpress
Demonetisation has pushed
the country into recession: Economist Prof Arun Kumar
New
Delhi:"Demonetisation has affected investment in the country. It has
increased unemployment and production has come down. These three are called
recessionary conditions," said eminent economist Prof Arun Kumar while
speaking. He said the stated objectives - check on black money, fake currency
and terror financing -- behind demonetisation have not been achieved."Our
wealth is a set of portfolios in which cash occupies only 1% space. Even in
black wealth, there is just 1% cash. There is black economy of Rs 93 lakh crore
and if it generated wealth in the last 30-40 years three times -- that is Rs
300 lakh crore and only Rs 3 lakh crore of it was cash.This demonetisation was
to attack this small amount that is just 1% of the black wealth and there was
no attack on the rest 99% and it has not affected generation of black income
either. So this demonetisation had no link with black economy," said Prof.
Kumar, former faculty of Jawaharlal Nehru University while delivering a lecture
on Demonetisation and Its Impacts, organized by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind on
Saturday.Prof. Kumar said that thanks to demonetisation, a period of recession
has begun in our country."Our economy has two important parts. One is
organized sector and another is unorganized sector. While unorganized sector
has 94% employment and organized sector has just 6% employment. The note ban
affected the unorganized sector first. As the cash got shortaged the sector was
unable to purchase raw materials and to pay salaries to employees and so it was
shut down. And the effect on unorganized sector also affected the organized
sector. Our economy was already in trouble and it was growing by just 1% for
the last one and half years. The capacity utilization was 75% and with sudden
move of demonetisation it came down to 50%.And in that situation you can't
invest more." indiatomorrow
OTHERS
UP election: Why the
Samajwadi Party-Congress marriage could be brief and rocky
New Delhi: Congress
vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s decision to field his sister Priyanka to
negotiate an alliance with the Samajwadi Party might have caught eyeballs in UP
, but this marriage of convenience between traditional rivals looks set to be
brief and rocky. For one, their objective is limited to keeping the BJP out of
power in UP, with the hope of setting the momentum for 2019 general elections.
If BJP gets the better of the two on March 11 when the results are declared,
the SP and the Congress could part ways almost immediately-- until another
opportunity arises to bury their differences once again in the name of
secularism.If they manage to foil the BJP’s bid for power in UP and form the govt
, it would be on edge right from the beginning. Peaceful coexistence of the two
traditional rivals could be possible at the cost of one or the other only.In
Bihar, the Congress rode piggyback on the parties that were responsible for its
annihilation in the state to be on the winning side. “BJP got the maximum
number of seats in UP (71) and also in Bihar (22). If there is any hope for us
to topple it in 2019, it has to start from the Hindi heartland,” a general
secretary of Congress told HT, explaining the reason for the party’s
desperation for alliances in these two states. He maintained that these tactics
were limited to states only.HT
BJP’s 3rd list
of 67 candidates for UP:no Muslim names yet
New Delhi: BJP released its
third list of 67 candidates for UP assembly polls on Tuesday, which includes
the name of former BSP leader Swamy Prasad Maurya, who had recently defected to
the saffron party. With this, the party has so far announced the names of 370
candidates with no Muslim nominee among them. The election to the 403-member
Assembly will take place in seven phases, starting Feb.11.PTI
JD(U) opposes uniform civil
code
Patna: JD (U) has decided
to oppose the Centre's uniform civil code (UCC) proposal. CM and JD (U) boss Nitish Kumar said on Tuesday
said a formal letter in this regard would be sent to the Centre on
Wednesday.Centre has sought suggestions from various stakeholders, including
all state govt s and political parties on UCC, which is a part of the directive
principles of the Constitution of India. timesofindia
AIMIM first list for Mumbai
civic polls has 18 names including 02 non-Muslims
Mumbai: In yet another
attempt to clear the myth that the AIMIM represenst Muslims alone, the party
has included two non-Muslims in the first list of candidates for the Mumbai
Municipal Corporation (BMC) election.The AIMIM which will be contesting the all
powerful Mumbai civic elections for the first time has released the names of 18
candidates in the first list released Monday.The two non-Muslim candidates who
will contest the BMC election to be held on Feb.21 are Sujata Ramesh Bhale and
Pushpa Balraj.While Sujata has been fielded from Ward No 189, Pushpa Balraj
will contest the ensuing election from Ward No 188, Dharavi. ummid
High-level committee
deliberates on minority universities
New Delhi:The high-level
committee formed by the govt to look
into modalities of setting up 5 universities for minorities met here on
Wednesday with its members deliberating whether the institutions would carry
minority tag or not and about offering 40 % reservation to girl students. According to
sources, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who chaired the
meeting, was of the view that the proposed institutions should impart education
to students from both minority and non-minority, communities. indianexpress
Last date of Haj
application form submission extended up to Feb. 06
Mumbai:Haj Committee of
India, the apex body responsible for Hajj operations in India, has decided to
extend the last date of submission of online and offline Haj Application Forms
(HAF) till Feb.06, 2017.The decision is taken after requests were made to
Central Haj Committee by several State Haj Committees, and other Muslim groups
and individuals. ummid
Tamil Nadu traders not to
sell Coca Cola, Pepsi from March 1: Reports
New Delhi:Seeking to push
Indian brands, a section of Tamil Nadu trader organisations have reportedly
asked their members to stop selling popular soft drinks and mineral water made
by multinational companies from March 1 including Coca Cola and Pepsi products.
According to a report in The Hindu newspaper, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin
Peramaipu President AM Vikramaraja was of the opinion that the trade
associations will spend the entire month of February in educating the traders
regarding the “evils” of these foreign brands. “They cause more harm than good
to the body. Only recently, one of the brands had admitted to the fact that it
was not suitable for children and that it contained certain harmful chemicals,”
Vikramaraja told to The Hindu.A report in News Minute earlier said that during
the recent Jallikattu protests at Marina Beach, several agitators had demanded
a ban on these products claiming these companies were using the state’s water
bodies to manufacture aerated drinks. indianexpress
Now Women approach Gujarat HC
for entry in dargah
\Ahmedabad:Gujarat High
Court today issued notices to the state govt, Waqf Board and trustee of the
Hazrat Moulana Mehabub Ki Dargah on a PIL by two women seeking women’s entry to
the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine. The division bench of Chief Justice R
Subhash Reddy and Justice VM Pancholi issued notices to the respondents on a
PIL filed by two women — Deepika Shinde and Alifia Lacewala — seeking direction
by the court to the respondents to allow entry of women to the dargah which has
been denied to them.PTI
Indian Women’s Press Corps:
Controversial clause for bookings sparks debate
New Delhi:The recent
inclusion of a controversial clause in the booking rules of the Indian Women’s
Press Corps (IWPC) premises has sparked a debate among its members, prompting a
rethink on the matter. After the election of the new committee and office bearers
last year, a fresh draft of rules for booking the premises for events, mainly
press conferences and seminars, was made. It requires a member to give an
undertaking that “nothing will be said which will be anti-national, question
the integrity of the country, amount to sedition or cause harm to the
reputation to the club’’.The clause has triggered outrage and stiff opposition
from IWPC members and sparked a debate on stifling of “freedom of expression
ironical for a press club’’. indianexpress
5, including Army officer,
killed in Kashmir avalanches
WORLD
Israel approves for 2,500
new settler homes in W. Bank
Israel has approved a plan
to construct 2,500 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, two days
after the country accepted building permits for more than 500 settler homes in
occupied East Jerusalem.Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on
Tuesday that he and PM Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on the approval "in
response to housing needs". It is the largest recent settlement building
plan announced by Israel, which came as the country's govt feels emboldened by US President Donald Trump,
who is not critical of illegal settlement activity, as opposed to his
predecessor Obama.Lieberman said the majority of the housing units will be
built in existing settlement blocs, areas where most settlers live and which
Israel wants to keep under its control under any future peace deal with
Palestinian officials.Palestian officials have condemned Israel's latest plan
for settlements, which are illegal under international law.A spokesman for Mahmoud
Abbas said it deals a new blow to attempts to bring peace to the region and
will promote extremism. aljazeera
Emboldened by Trump, Israel
approves a wave of West Bank settlement expansion
Israel announces 2,500
settlement homes in West Bank
UN condemns huge Israeli
settlement plan
UN has denounced recent
Israeli initiatives to accelerate settlement construction in occupied
Palestinian territory, stressing that "unilateral actions" are an
obstacle to peace based on a two-state solution."For the secretary-general
there is no plan B for the 2-states solution," UN chief Antonio Guterres'
spokesman Stephane Dujarric said."In this respect any unilateral decision
that can be an obstacle to the two-state goal is of grave concern for the
secretary-general."Israel approved a plan to build 2,500 new settlement
homes in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, two days after it accepted building
permits for more than 500 settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem. aljazeera
Arab League condemns
settlements in Palestine
Catholic development
agencies slam Israel’s forced displacement of Palestinians: middleeastmonitor
Leading Catholic
development agencies have condemned the “forced displacement” of Palestinians
by Israeli authorities in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), and inside
Israel’s pre-1967 lines.The new report, ‘No Place Like Home’, is published this
week by International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE), an
alliance of Catholic development agencies, and “examines the forced
displacement of Palestinians as a central issue in the Palestinian and Israeli
conflict.”“Half a century after Israel seized control of the West Bank
including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip”, states CIDSE, “forced
displacement of Palestinians is making them poorer and keeping them in misery
and despair, according to a group of Catholic development agencies.”
Rabbis believe Trump will fulfil
Torah prophecies: ex minister
Israel’s former Interior
Minister Uzi Baram has said that the current govt’s religious right-wing is
relying on the role of US President Donald Trump to help destroy the Dome of
the Rock Mosque. The religious right believes that the mosque’s presence is
hindering the fulfilment of Jewish salvation represented by the construction of
Third Temple.In an article published by Haaretz, Baram said that the Jewish
religious references and their political representatives in the Knesset and govt
believe that Trump will help in fulfilling Torah prophecies and fulfil the
ideological religious visions of Gush Emunim, the far-right movement
responsible for the settlement project in the occupied West Bank. Middleeastmonitor
Hamas warns Trump on moving
embassy to Jerusalem
Hamas spokesman Osama
Hamdan has warned US President Donald Trump not to add "more oil on the
fire" by moving the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Hamdan's comments came in response to promises made by Trump and his
administration to make the move - a decision that would effectively recognise
Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The eastern sector of Jerusalem was occupied in
1967 in an act that was not recognised by any other country in the
world.Trump's press secretary said last week that the new administration was in
" beginning stages" of discussing a possible relocation."[Trump]
has to make a choice whether he wants to create peace in the region or he wants
to add more oil on the fire," Hamdan said.
Jerusalem embassy move ‘war
on Islam’: Iraq’s Sadr
Baghdad:Iraq’s firebrand
Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has denounced US President Donald Trump’s plans to
relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying the move
would amount to a “declaration of war on Islam”.“If the embassy is relocated,
this will be a declaration of war on Islam,” al-Sadr said in a statement on
Tuesday. If so, “this will necessitate
the formation of a force to liberate Jerusalem,” he said without elaborating.Anadolu
agency
Israeli colonisation of
Jerusalem:new infographic series
Trump plans to ban on
immigration from Muslim countries
Washington: US President
Donald Trump is set to sign several executive orders, including one on building
a border wall with Mexico, this week to crack down on immigrants - one of his
central campaign promises - and could suspend immigration from some Muslim
nations, media reports have said. Trump is expected to order the construction
of the border wall with Mexico, the first in a series of actions to bolster
national security, NYT reported. His actions would also include slashing the
number of refugees who can resettle in US and blocking Syrians and others from
"terror prone" nations from entering, at least temporarily. He and
could move to suspend some immigration from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan,
Syria and Yemen, either temporarily or "indefinitely," sources
familiar with the plans that have been under consideration were quoted as
saying by the ABC news. PTI
Trump facing backlash and
possible legal challenges over Muslim immigration ban
Americans do not support
Trump’s ban on Muslim immigration
Grand Mosque of Paris pulls
out of France-sponsored Muslim foundation
Abdul Basit, Pak's envoy to
India may become foreign secretary?
Kuwait hangs a royal family
member among 7 prisoners in mass execution:AP
Iraqi diaspora silenced
with violence after criticising Shia militias
Goldmoney adds
Shariah-compliant methods to boost investment from Islamic markets
British PM vows to publish
Brexit plan in White Paper amid pressure
Brexit Judgment Highlights
Paradox of Popular Will and Parliamentary Sovereignty: Abraham Joseph
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:23 PM)
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