Evening NEWS
DIGEST
INDIA
With 65.65 % of votes, NDA Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind
defeats Opposition candidate Meira Kumar
New Delhi: NDA's candidate for President, Ram Nath Kovind, will become
India's 14th President, having obtained 65.65 % of votes from the electoral
college.His opponent, the joint Opposition candidate Meira Kumar, lags far
behind with a mere 34.35%."Kovind secured 2930 votes with a value of
7,02,044. Meira Kumar got 1,844 votes with the value of 3,67,314, and 77 votes
were invalid," said Anoop Mishra, the returning officer for the
Presidential election 2017.Kovind got the votes of 522 Members of Parliament
while Kumar bagged the votes of 225 MPs. As many 771 elected MPs were eligible
to cast their ballot. The non-NDA parties that supported Kovind included AIADMK,
the Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party, Biju Janata Dal, TRS and INLD.
Significantly, Nitish Kumar's JDU also supported Kovind, going against its
Bihar 'grand alliance' partners, the Congress and Lalu Prasad's RJD.Joint Opposition
candidate Kumar had the support of the Congress, of course, as well as of the
Nationalist Congress Party, the Samajwadi Party, BSP, AAP, the RJD, All India
Trinamool Congress, the Communist parties, DMK, and J&K National Conference, among a few others.The
presidential election saw close to 100% polling. A total of 771 members of
Parliament and 4,109 legislators were eligible to cast votes.Both Kovind and
Kumar are from the Dalit community and canvassed hard by visiting states to
seek support of legislators.
timesofindia
Ram Nath Kovind is 14th President of India
Kovind is next President of India, to take oath on July 25
Will work to protect Constitution, uphold its values: President-elect Kovind
A visibly emotional President-elect, Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday said he
will work towards protecting the Constitution and upholding its values, and
will serve the nation to ensure happiness for all.“This is a very emotional
moment,” Kovind said after being elected President of India. “This is a very
big responsibility for me.”“It is my duty to protect the Constitution and
uphold its values as the President. I pay my respects to my countrymen and
assure them that I’ll serve the nation in the spirit of ‘May all be happy,” he
said.IANS
If personal data can be surrendered to private players, then why not to
the State, asks SC
New Delhi:If 99% of citizens are "unconcerned" about sharing
personal data with private players like Apple, how is it qualitatively
different if the State has the same information, Supreme Court judge, Justice
D.Y. Chandrachud, asked on Thursday."Most citizens are unconcerned about
where or how their personal data is used. You say there are 35 crore Internet
users and 18 crore telephone users, but 99% of people are not concerned... When
you operate your iPad with your thumbprint, your data is public and there it
is..." Justice Chandrachud, who is part of the Chief Justice of India J.S.
Khehar-led nine-judge Bench, orally observed. thehindu
INDIA-CHINA PAK & J&K
Sikkim standoff: Indian soldiers can withdraw, be captured or be killed,
says ex- Chinese diplomat to India
Beijing: Ex- Chinese diplomat who recently served in India has said that
Indian troops deployed at the disputed Donglang area could either withdraw
voluntarily, be captured or be killed.The comments by Liu Youfa, ex Chinese
consulate general in Mumbai, come amid a military stand-off in the Donglang
area – also called Doklam – with Beijing blaming Indian soldiers of trespass and
preventing Chinese soldiers from building a road in the region, which is also
claimed by Bhutan.“According to what I understand of international law, when
people in uniform get across the border to move into the territory of the other
side, they naturally become enemies who will have to face three consequences: First,
they can go out voluntarily, or they may be captured or when the border dispute
should escalate, they may be killed,” Liu told CGTN, English channel of
national chennel CCTV.Liu said the current standoff might be said be part of
the border dispute but “it is an invasion.”“So, there are 3 possibilities. So,
I think Chinese side is standing there waiting for the Indian side to make the
sensitive choice” and pull out of the region, Liu argued.“This is the best
result for both sides to avoid the eventual confrontation.”“Chinese side has so
far given so much time for the Indian side, for our Indian friends to take
sensitive measures,”Liu, who is associated with Chinese think-tank, said. HT
Rising Hindu nationalism has hijacked India's China policy: Chinese
media
Beijing: Rising Hindu nationalism has hijacked PM Narendra Modi’s China policy and could lead
the two countries to war, Chinese state media said on Thursday, adding a
warning that it could put India’s own interests in “jeopardy”.The latest salvo
from Chinese state media -- in the backdrop of an ongoing military impasse near
the Sikkim border -- reminded New Delhi that it is “weaker” than China in
“national strength” but Indian politicians have failed to grasp that reality.
Sounding a warning, the commentary also reminded the Modi Govt about its failure to curb Hindu nationalistic
violence against Muslims since this Govt came to power in 2014. The state media article
indicated the current standoff was planned and executed to cater to Hindu
nationalistic sentiments.Modi rode a wave of rising religious nationalism to
power in 2014 and is now pandering to the sentiments through its “strong”
policies against China and Pakistan, said the analysis published in the
nationalistic tabloid, Global Times.“Election of Indian PM Narendra Modi has
fueled the country’s nationalist sentiments. Modi took advantage of rising
Hindu nationalism to come to power. This, on one hand, has enhanced his
prestige and ability to control the country, but on the other, has made India
more subject to the influence of conservatives, thus hampering reform,”
analysis said.Targetting Muslims has been part of the rising religious
nationalism, it said.“Modi Govt can do
nothing if religious nationalism becomes extreme, as shown in its failure to
curb violent incidents against Muslims since he came to power in 2014,” GT
commentary, written by Yu Ning, said.HT
Differences should not become disputes: India on Doklam standoff with
China
India made a renewed pitch for a “peaceful resolution” of the Doklam
standoff on Thursday through diplomatic channels, stressing that “differences”
should not become “disputes”.Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Gopal
Baglay told reporters that New Delhi has been in “close contact” with Bhutan govt
on the unfolding developments. “India’s approach is to have a peaceful
resolution of issues on border with China,” he said, underlining the
understanding at the Astana meeting that differences between India and China
should not be allowed to become disputes.PTI
'India is well-equipped to defend itself against China,' says Sushma
Swaraj in Rajya Sabha
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said that while China is trying
to change the status quo in the Doklam tri-junction area", India is well
equipped to defend itself and doesn't feel threatened in the least."Over
the years, China has been trying to get closer and closer to where the
tri-junction point ends. It has done things like repair roads, re-tar them and
things like that,"Swaraj said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on
India-China border standoff.She then described what was different about the
incident that sparked the latest standoff. "This time though, they came
with bulldozers and construction equipment with the aim of breaching the point
where the tri-junction ends. That is a threat to our security," said
Swaraj.TOI
If China changes border status quo, it’s a security risk for India: Sushma
in RS
Diplomatic channels between India, China have never broken; Doval to visit
Beijing next week:MEA on dispute
New Delhi:Without commenting on China's reported precondition for talks,
India on Thursday said that diplomatic channels between the two countries
"are not impeded" and have "never broken".In that spirit,
India also said that NSA Ajit Doval will indeed attend a BRICS meeting of NSAs
scheduled for next week in China.When asked about Beijing's comment that India
withdrawing its forces from Doklam is the only way to end the border dispute,
external affairs ministry (MEA) spokesman Gopal Baglay was noncommittal. timesofindia
Kargil War was a complete intelligence failure at national level:
Retired Brigadier MPS Bajwa
Chandigarh:Brigadier MPS Bajwa (Retd), a Kargil War hero, on Wednesday
delivered 3rd Maj-Gen KS Bajwa Memorial – Regiment of Artillery War Experiences
Talk at CRRID in Sector 19.The lecture is organised every month by the Centre
of Indian Military History, a think tank based in Chandigarh. Bajwa, who
commanded the 192 Mountain Brigade during the Kargil War and was decorated for
inspiring leadership and gallantry during the Battle for Tiger Hill, gave a
detailed presentation about the Kargil War.During his hour-long lecture, Bajwa
said there was complete intelligence failure at the national level and the
Indian Army was not provided any information about the movement of Pakistani
troops. “Yes, it was a complete intelligence failure at the national level. The
aircraft which was meant to remain stationed in Kargil and gather
information,was deputed at some other place to perform other tasks. It was the
Bakerwals who gave us the information that people were sitting on the top,” he
said.Saying that capturing Tiger Hill with the one battalion was a big
challenge, Bajwa said it then became an international issue after then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced at a public
meeting in Haryana that Tiger Hill had been captured and Pakistan immediately
reacted sharply and ordered it should be taken back again. “But, I had already
pushed 50 men to counter the attack from Pakistan from western side.” Bajwa
said Pakistan’s strategy in Kargil counted on the Zoji La Pass linking Ladakh
with Kashmir being snow-bound till June, thereby preventing Indian
reinforcements.“Border Roads Organisation (BRO), through a superhuman effort,
opened the pass in early May, paving the way for fresh troops and supplies
being inducted and facilitated the ultimate victory,” he said and credited the
junior leadership for proving its worth in Kargil and helping to defeat the
enemy.Bajwa said Pakistan’s Northern Light Infantry (NLI), comprising locals
who had spent their entire life in the mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan and superb
at mountain warfare, played an important role from the Pakistan side. indian
express
12-yr-old girl mowed down by Army vehicle in Kashmir’s Shopian district,
protest erupts
Srinagar: A 12-year-old girl was on Thursday mowed down by an Army
vehicle in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, police said.“Aroofa Farooq, a
resident of the Aglar Zainapora area of the district, was hit and injured by an
Army vehicle near her residence this morning,” a police official said. He said
Aroofa was taken to the sub-district hospital, Zainapora, where she succumbed
to her injuries. Soon after the incident, angry locals, including women and
students, took to the streets at Zainpora and started protesting against the
army.PTI
149 foreign militants active in Kashmir: LeT, JeM men on prowl
New Delhi:Security agencies have prepared a list of 149 foreign
militants active in Kashmir ahead of a major counter-insurgency offensive to be
executed in the coming days.The list, obtained by the Hindustan Times, has been
jointly compiled by intelligence agencies, security forces and state police.
Sources say the list is based on technical surveillance and human intelligence.
Security experts, however, believe that it may not be an exhaustive list as the
numbers may vary. According to the list, most of the foreign militants are
listed as residents of either Pakistan or PoK. Security agencies have not been
able to determine place of origin of some of the militants in the list, while
some have “resident of PoK/Pakistan” written against their names.LeT tops the
list with 109 of their men operating in the valley. Jaish-e-Mohammad is
believed to have 30 militants and Hizbul Mujahideen, which is mostly composed
of local Kashmiri militants,also has 10 foreigners.HT
OTHER
California University Historian Vinay Lal who talks on lynchings in
India, sees state as 'somewhat thuggish', says problem is ‘nationalism’
Talking on the recent cases of lynchings in India, Professor Vinay Lal
who teaches at University of California said, "There is no doubt in my
mind that the kind of anti-Muslim sentiment in US or parts of Western Europe
has repercussions, emboldens the advocates of Hindutva. The notion is that if
Muslims, particularly in the so-called modern West, can be attacked, then we
can do that too, we have the licence to do that. In the US, I see many
advocates of Hindutva who are now suggesting US, India and Israel form a
natural alliance with one another as, in their worldview, “these democracies”
are being “threatened” by forces of Islam.This certainly was not the
international environment in the ’60s or ’70s. That’s at the macro level. It is
not just RSS or VHP but a slightly larger strand of Indian society that has
become complicit in (these attacks), exactly like in the US.There was a
virulent white racism that was so pervasive that you did not need to have
institutional membership in the KKK or John Wright Society, people were
complicit without a formal association." Replying to a question he said,
"What do you do when the state becomes somewhat thuggish? So, people targeted
are not just Muslims, but also Dalits and Africans. We should be attentive to
it because there are groups of people whose very lives are at risk. Signals in
all authoritarian states happens downwards. We don’t need to take the example
of Hitler’s Nazi Germany or Stalin’s totalitarian state, you can turn to
authoritarian states present now where you can see very clearly, it is same
attitude at the top, middle and bottom. These problems are not distinct to
India today, we see a similar repression and acute intolerance, including in
the US. Turkey is in dire straits. China, Russia, [Rodrigo] Duterte in the
Philippines…this could be attributed to what they are terming ‘strongman’
phenomenon. But I feel the problem is ‘nationalism’. It shows the limits of the
nationalist project and what a disease it is. Now this is very hard for the
newly independent formerly colonial countries to accept, which fought for
freedom on the basis of the idea of nationalism, but wherever you had
nationalist movements, you have had to rethink the nationalist idea. It has
become the only kind of political community which we have to all pay obeisance
to. What we see in India — and which is clear in a large number of other
countries, especially US – is the difference between formal citizenship and
real citizenship on the ground. In the US, African-Americans are only formal
citizens without the rights of a citizen on the ground. This is the case for a
large number of people in India." Responding to the question how does one
un-thug the state,He said,"I would argue for a greater need for satyagraha
as an instrument than which has a place in democracy. Especially where the law
is sometimes used as an instrument for either doing nothing or installing new
regimes of repression. As we are living in a democracy, at least pro forma, and
we have a functioning court system, it is very important that what can be
gained through satyagraha must be done.So organised, non-violent civil
resistance has a place. It need not follow exactly what Gandhi did. So we must
use satyagraha in different ways. This can’t just be done through social media
or Facebook or Twitter — this needs people on the ground to build resistance.
We need masses of people together, congregating. It cannot be left to social
media." He added, "We must be clear that we should not let Hindutva
forces hijack what we have. Unlike my friends on the Left-liberal end of the
spectrum, I have great respect for the spiritual resources of the Indic
civilisation, which includes aspects of the Indo-Islamic tradition which
developed here, which was unprecedented. Buddhism, Jainism, everything. We have
had writers, philosophers, who have reckoned with these questions for hundreds
of years, I am not ready to call all that inconsequential.So yes,I am optimistic,
on the whole." i.express
Adani Group ‘SLAPP’ Pushes EPW Editor Out of His Job
New Delhi: Economic & Political Weekly (EPW) editor Paranjoy Guha
Thakurta became the first top-level editorial casualty of corporate India’s
increasing tendency to file multi-crore defamation cases as a means of
countering critical reporting, resigning after the directors of the trust which
runs the storied journal ordered him to take down 2 articles on the Adani
group.Last month, Adani Power Ltd. sent a letter via its lawyers to EPW, the
article’s four authors (which included Thakurta) and Sameeksha Trust, which
owns and runs the journal. The lawyer’s letter demanded that immediate steps be
taken to “remove/delete and unconditionally retract” 2 articles – ‘Did the
Adani Group Evade Rs 1,000 Crore in Taxes?’ (Jan.14, 2017) and ‘Modi Govt’s Rs
500-Crore Bonanza to the Adani Group’ (June 24, 2017) – that they said were
defamatory and harmful to the reputation of their client.The letter said that
unless this was done, “our clients shall be constrained to take such action as
they may be advised”.On Tuesday, the Sameeksha Trust board, which met in Delhi,
ordered the editorial dept to take the two articles down (alongside which
Thakurta had also posted a copy of Adani letter and a legal response by
EPW).Thakurta resigned soon after the meeting. He told The Wire that he was
looking forward to spending more time with his family in Delhi. EPW’s editorial
offices are in Mumbai. Sameeksha Trust chair Deepak Nayyar was not available
for comment, nor were other board members that The Wire reached out to:
historian Romila Thapar, political scientist Rajeev Bhargava and sociologist
Dipankar Gupta. The Wire
Paranjoy Guha Thakurta quits as editor of Economic and Political Weekly
over differences with board
VHP to recruit 5,000 ‘religious soldiers’ in Aligarh to control cow
smuggling, love jihad
Aligarh: VHP will recruit 5,000 ‘religious soldiers’ in the district who
will fight like commandos. They will be selected from among trained Bajrang Dal
activists and will be responsible for controlling cow smuggling and love jihad.
The enrolment drive will be launched in Sept. This decision was taken at a VHP
meeting held in Aligarh on July 14-16,in which the outfit’s international
president Pravin Togadia was also present. Sectional chief Ram Kumar Arya told
HT, “5000 religious soldiers will be recruited in Aligarh district for which
only those Bajrang Dal activists will be eligible who have completed bravery
training. These soldiers will control cow smuggling and love jihad. They will
also protect Hindu boys and girls, maths, temples, sant samaj and the country.”HT
Jharkhand: Mentally challenged Muslim thrashed on suspicion of being a
cattle thief
Dhanbad:A mentally challenged Muslim man was assualted at Dharjori in
Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district by people allegedly on suspicions that he was a
cattle thief. Reports reaching the district headquarters in Dhanbad on
Wednesday said the incident took place on Tuesday evening when Mohammed
Afroz(27), a resident of Wasseypur, had gone Dharjori Chowk. Some youths there
allegedly found his activities unusual and assaulted him sticks before fleeing.
His injuries were, however, minor, said the doctors at Patliputra Medical
College Hospital where he was rushed by the police after being informed by a
passerby. East Basuria outpost in-charge Prem Chandra Hansda, who rushed in
immediately said “All the miscreants had fled before I reached the spot.” He
said no arrests were made as no complaint was lodged. However, investigation
into it is on. The family members of Afroz also reached Dharjori Chowk on being
informed by the passerby and showed documents of Ranchi mental hospital, where
Afroz is being treated. The family members of the man said that he is under
treatment for last 6 years. PTI
‘4 Muslims arrested for allegedly killing a cow in Gujarat’
Ahmedabad: Gujarat police arrested 4 Muslim men for allegedly killing a
cow and booked them under a newly-enacted law, which provides for life term for
slaughtering a cow. 4 were arrested for “killing” the cow which had entered
their cattle shed in Maanpur village of Banaskantha district, said the police,
adding they would be tried under the stringent Gujarat Animal Preservation
Act-2017. Police identified 4 accused as Aiyub Vagadiya, Jamaluddin Vagadiya,
Arif Vagadiya and Israilbhai Vagadiya of Maanpur village.The police arrested
the 4 on a complaint by Kansa village resident Raghabhai Bumadiya, who
approached Danta taluka police station yesterday and alleged that the accused
had killed one of his cows after it entered their cattle shed. “Though his son
tendered an apology, the accused attacked one of the cows in a fit of rage and
killed the animal using sticks, choppers and axe. Based on his complaint, we
lodged a case yesterday for killing the cattle," said Police Sub-Inspector
AR Vala, adding that the 4 were arrested today. PTI
Parliament Day 4: Centre rules out separate law against lynchings,
Jaitley takes on lynching issue
Rajya Sabha continued discussion into the fourth day of the monsoon
session of Parliament on Thursday and the debate in the Upper House largely
focussed on the issue of H1-B visa, India-China border standoff and mob
lynchings.The Opposition led by Congress targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party, with former law minister Kapil Sibal denouncing the lynchings over cow
slaughter as “grotesque violence”. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley responded
saying that the Govt is fully committed
to protecting Dalits and minorities.While discussing the Sikkim standoff,
external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said that India wants China to move
troops from the Doklam trijunction for the two countries to begin talks on the
dispute. hindustantimes
Centre rules out separate law against lynchings
Modi doing nothing to restrain cow vigilantes: Cong in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday accused PM Narendra Modi of "double speak" on
the issue of lynchings and alleged that he was doing nothing to restrain cow
vigilantes who include elements from VHP and Bajrang Dal.Congress leader Kapil
Sibal, while speaking in the Rajya Sabha, also alleged that the present
environment has nothing to do with vigilantism but the PM was "creating such environment".PTI
Lynching debate: Don't give it political colour, says Jaitley; Sikhs
lynched in 1984, says Javadekar
Mayawati’s submits fresh resignation, RS chairman accepts
BSP chief Mayawati’s resignation from the Rajya Sabha was accepted on
Thursday by chairman Hamid Ansari, a senior official of the Upper House
said.61-year-old had submitted a fresh resignation letter as per the prescribed
format, tendering a hand-written one- line letter, he said, wishing not to be
named as he was not authorised to comment.PTI
Students' Islamic Organisation urges Adityanath to improve standards of
govt run schools
The student wing of the Jamaat- e-Islami Hind today urged the Yogi
Adityanath regime to take necessary steps to improve the standards of schools
run by the UP govt.The student body -- Students' Islamic Organisation of India
made the request while referring to two-year-old Allahabad High Court order
which had called for making it compulsory for all those who drew salary from
the state exchequer to send their children to govt schools."Kendriya
Vidyalayas across the country, which are run by the central govt, have been providing
good education.There is no reason why schools run by state govts can not
achieve similar standards. The Allahabad High Court order could have gone a
long way in improving the lot of govt schools in UP had it been complied
with," the outfit's national secretary Tauseef Ahmed Madikeri said here."...we
believe that the BJP govt led by CM Yogi
Adityanath has the political will to take a decision which can revolutionise
education in the state," he said.Madikeri said the High Court had
specifically stated that once children of elected representatives, Govt servants, members of judiciary start going to
state-run schools, it would lead to conditions that would necessitate improving
the lot of such educational institutions.PTI
Muslim woman drops plan to join BEd course in Malappuram after
institution objects on wearing Purdah
Kozhikode;A Muslim woman has dropped her plan to join a teacher training
course at an institute in neighbouring Malappuram district after the
institution told her that she could not attend classes wearing ‘Purdah’. Husna,
decided not to pursue her BEd course at Jamia Nadwiya Teacher Training
Institute run by Kerala Naduvathul Mujahideen (KNM), a Muslim organisation. “We
decided that Husna will wear Purdah as it would be more comfortable and safer
than sari and approached the authorities even though there is a stipulation in
the institute that students should wear sari 3 days in a week” as uniform”,
Husna’s husband P Harshad Muhammed said when contacted. Harshad said that he
had written a letter to KNM pointing out that some other institutions run by
Muslim organisations allowed students to attend classes wearing Purdah. But the
authorities at the institute refused her plea stating that there was a dress
code in the institution, he said. “In this circumstance, she has decided to
drop the plan of joining the institute”, he said. When contacted, a senior
official of the institution said rules could not be relaxed for an individual.
“If we relax the rule for one person now, there will be such demands from
others also”, the official said.PTI
Preferring 'purdah' over 'sari', Muslim woman drops plan to join teacher
training course
BJP wing, Hindu Jagran Manch shut Kashmiri’s shop in Mussoorie
Dehradun :A Kashmiri garment trader’s shop was forcibly shut down in
Mussoorie on Wednesday after an alleged post praising the Pakistan Army was
found on his Facebook page.Manzoor Ahmad, 59, from Hamhama in Kashmir’s Budgam
district, is among the five oldest trader families in Mussoorie. His shop has
been selling garments since 1971.His shop was shut down by the Mussoorie BJP
youth wing and the Hindu Jagran Manch after they said they found a video
appreciating the Pakistan Army, posted by Ahmad on Facebook. “After getting his
(Ahmad’s) shop closed, we and the local traders’ body (the Mussoorie Traders
& Welfare Association) went to the police station to file a complaint
against him,” the president of the BJP youth wing in Mussoorie, Dharampal Singh
Panwar, said. indianexpress
Mumbai: ATS files draft charges against Anees Ansari man for school
terror chatting
Mumbai: Special ATS prosecutor on Wednesday submitted draft charges
before the sessions court against Anees Ansari, the Kurla resident who was
arrested by the state ATS in Oct.2015, after he was allegedly found chatting
online about attacking US establishments and a school in Bandra.Special Public
Prosecutor Madhukar Dalvi, who submitted the draft charges, is likely to argue
on Aug.1. The draft charges state, "Ansari, during the period from August
2, 2011, to October 18, 2014, created a fake account on Facebook and began
chatting with other users at random, as well as downloading incriminating data
by misusing the computers and Internet connection at his office, without taking
appropriate permission from the officer who was in charge of the
premises."MID DAY
Anti-Hindi protesters blacken Hindi name boards in 5 Bengaluru metro
stations
Bengaluru:Anti-Hindi protests by Kannada activists resumed at
Bengaluru's Metro stations after a brief lull. Hindi name boards of five Metro
stations -- Yeshwantpur, Peenya, Deepanjali Nagar, Jayanagar and Mysore Road --
were blackened by Kannada Rakshana Vedike activists late Wednesday night, a
police official said.Local police posted security details outside all the 42
Metro stations after the defacement came to light today morning. Meanwhile,
pro-Kannada activists held a protest outside Rajaji Nagar Metro station this
morning. The anti-Hindi protests began on July 3 when activists masked the
Hindi name boards of the Nadaprabhu Kempe Gowda and Chickpet metro stations new
Indian express
In a first, Shia cleric to teach at AMU
Agra: In an unprecedented move, AMU has appointed prominent Shia cleric
Maulana Kalbe Jawad Naqvi, general secretary of Majlis-e-Ulama-e-Hind, as an
adjunct faculty in Shia theology in the university for a year. He is among 12
faculty members drawn from across the globe who would be teaching AMU students,
officials said.According to AMU registrar Javaid Akhtar,
though this was the first time that a cleric would be teaching students at AMU,
Kalbe Jawad had been chosen for his expertise in the subject. He is a prominent
Shia Muslim cleric and scholar from Lucknow. timesofindia
WORLD
Kuwait closes Iran cultural mission, expels diplomats
Kuwait is closing the Iranian cultural mission and related offices in
the Gulf Arab state and reducing the number of Iranian diplomats stationed in
the country, according to the official news agency, KUNA. KUNA said on Thursday
the move is related to the case of a "terrorist" cell broken up in
2015 that authorities allege had contacts with Iran and Hezbollah.The KUNA
report says the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait has been notified.Last month, the
Kuwait's supreme court sentenced the suspected leader of the cell to life in
jail and condemned 20 others to various prison terms.State Minister for Cabinet
Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah al-Sabah, who is also acting information
minister, confirmed that Kuwait had taken diplomatic action against Iran but
declined to specify the measures."Following the supreme court ruling on
the case ... the Govt of Kuwait has
decided to take measures, in accordance with diplomatic norms and the Vienna
Convention, towards its relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran,"
Sabah told AFP.The supreme court, whose rulings are final, overturned the
acquittal of the suspects on June 18 and sentenced them to between 5 and 15
years in prison. Kuwait's interior ministry confirmed on Tuesday that 14 of the
cell's 26 members were on the run, but said that they had not left the country
through official exit points. aljazeera
Qatar faults 'disorganised' conduct by Saudi-led group
A Govt official in Qatar said on
Wednesday that the 4 Arab countries blockading it have acted dangerously and in
a "disorganised manner" after apparently changing their demands.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain said Tuesday that Qatar should commit to 6
principles on combatting "terrorism" and negotiate a plan to
implement them. 4countries had initially made 13 sweeping demands, including
shuttering Al Jazeera, which Qatar dismissed as an infringement on its
sovereignty. Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, director of Qatari govt's
communications office, said the four countries have "regularly issued
conflicting statements". He said there had been no official communication
made to Qatar directly or via Kuwait or the United States, who have tried to
mediate the crisis."These latest comments are another example of the
dangerous and disorganised manner in which the illegal blockade has been
conducted," he said in an emailed response to questions from The
Associated Press.
US praises Qatar's role in fight against 'terrorism'
Gulf blockade countries abandon demands to end crisis with Qatar: middleeastmonitor
Diplomatic sources from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt said the
four countries boycotting Qatar have dropped their list of 13 demands to end
the crisis with Qatar. The four countries want Qatar to accept six principles
including a pledge to fight terrorism and extremism and end incitement,
diplomats said during a meeting with reporters at the UN.The sources added that
the countries now want to end the worsening crisis.
US ends laptop ban on Middle East carriers
US has ended a ban on passengers carrying laptops on board US-bound
flights from certain airports in the Middle East and North Africa, bringing to
an end one of the controversial travel restrictions imposed by President Donald
Trump's administration. Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport was the last
of 10 airports to be exempted from the ban, which was launched four months ago,
the US Dept of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed in a tweet late on
Wednesday.Middle East carriers have blamed Trump's travel restrictions, which
include banning citizens of some Muslim majority countries from visiting the
US, for a downturn in demand on US routes.
Drug addiction & intrigue,
why Saudi King ordered Mohammed bin Nayef to step aside for younger prince
On Tuesday June 21, Mohammed bin Nayef, a powerful figure in Saudi
Arabia’s security apparatus for the past two decades and the next in line to
the throne, was summoned to meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz on the fourth floor
of the royal palace in Mecca.There, according to a source close to MbN, as he
is known, the king ordered him to step aside in favour of the king’s favourite
son, Mohammed bin Salman. The reason:an addiction to painkilling drugs was
clouding MbN’s judgment. “King came to meet MbN and they were alone in the
room. He told him: ‘I want you to step down, you didn’t listen to the advice to
get treatment for your addiction which dangerously affects your
decisions’,”said the source close to MbN.The new details about the
extraordinary meeting between the king and MbN that touched off the de facto
palace coup help to explain the events that are reshaping the leadership of the
world’s biggest oil exporting nation.Sources with knowledge of the situation said
however that the king was determined to elevate his son to be heir to the
throne and used MbN’s drug problem as a pretext to push him aside. 3 royal
insiders, 4 Arab officials with links to the ruling house of Saud, and
diplomats in the region, told Reuters that MbN was surprised to be ordered to
step aside.“It was a big shock to MbN,” said a Saudi political source close to
MbN. “It was a coup. He wasn’t prepared.”The sources said MbN did not expect to
be usurped by the often impulsive Mohammed bin Salman, who MbN considered to
have made a number of policy blunders, such as his handling of the Yemen
conflict and cutting financial benefits to civil servants. King moved ahead of
a meeting of the Political and Security Council. The meeting was due to start
at 11pm, but a few hours before that, MbN received what he viewed as a routine
phone call from Mohammed bin Salman. According to the source close to MbN,
Mohammed bin Salman told MbN that the king wanted to see him.In the hours that
followed the meeting in which MbN was dismissed, the House of Saud’s Allegiance
Council, comprising the ruling family’s senior members, were informed of a
letter written in the name of the king.Drafted by palace advisers to MbS, it
said MbN had a medical condition - drug addiction - and “we have been trying
for over two years to persuade him to seek treatment but to no avail”.“Because
of this dangerous situation we see that he should be relieved of his position
and that Mohammed bin Salman be appointed in his place,” the Saudi source close
to MbN quoted excerpts of the letter as saying.The letter was read over the
phone to members of the Allegiance Council, while MbN was kept isolated in a
room all night, his mobile phone removed, and cut off from contact with his
aides. His bodyguards from elite paramilitary interior ministry units were also
replaced.Envoys were sent to council members to get their signatures. All but 3
of 34 signed. The coup had worked. According to 2 Saudi sources with links to
the royal house, only 3 members of council opposed his overthrow: Ahmed bin
Abdulaziz, ex-interior minister, Abdulaziz bin Abdallah, a representative of
the family of late king Abdallah, and Prince Mohammad bin Saad, ex-deputy
governor of Riyadh. Reuters
Saudi Prince Arrested Over Leaked Abuse Videos
A Saudi prince was arrested Thursday on King Salman's order, a state-run
broadcaster reported, as outrage grew on social media over videos appearing to
show him abusing members of the public.Salman issued a warrant for 'the
immediate arrest ... and imprisonment' of Prince Saudi, a descendent of Saudi's
founder, along with a group of men who appeared in the videos uploaded to
YouTube, Al-Ikhbariya television reported.A video circulating on social media
showed police escorting the young prince one of the thousands of members of the
royal family out of a house in handcuffs. The arrest came after the prince,
whose face can clearly be seen in some of the videos shared via Twitter
Wednesday, unleashed a wave of verbal and physical abuse on Saudis and
foreigners.AFP
Fresh rallies planned as Israel weighs al-Aqsa security
Fresh rallies are planned in the Gaza Strip in solidarity with
worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque as Israel weighs whether to remove recently installed
metal detectors at compound. Thursday's expected protests follow days of
clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians across the occupied West Bank
and East Jerusalem over the new security measures introduced at the al-Aqsa
Mosque compound.Metal detectors and turnstiles were installed at the holy site
after a deadly shoot-out there on Friday.In that incident, two Israeli security
officers were killed in an alleged attack by three Palestinians, who were
killed by Israeli police following the violence.On Wednesday, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone from Hungary
with Israel's security chiefs to hear their assessments and recommendations,
according to a statement by his office.Israel's internal security service, Shin
Bet, has recommended that the metal detectors be removed, but Jerusalem police
have said that the barriers should stay in place. Al Jazeera's Imran Khan,
reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said Palestinians are "incredibly
worried" about the police stance."They see this as an escalation of
Israeli sovereignty over al-Aqsa compound," Khan said. "Palestinians
are asking what happens next." Anadolu agency
Hamas warns Israel of al-Aqsa 'red lines' amid protest
Palestinian group Hamas has warned Israel against crossing a "red
line" at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, as residents of the Gaza Strip
demonstrate for a second day in solidarity with Muslim worshippers protesting
against the new security measures at the holy site. Aljazeera
Hardline Israelis 'storm' Al-Aqsa Mosque
Jerusalem:Further fueling tensions at the holy site, a large group of
hardline Israelis "stormed" the compound of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa
Mosque on Thursday morning, according to officials at the scene. In an
unauthorized move, some 182 Israeli settlers entered the mosque compound,
guarded by Israeli police, Firas al-Dibs, a media official in Jerusalem's
Islamic Endowments Department (Waqf), said. Anadolu
Israel passes bill aimed at preventing division ofJerusalem
A bill aimed at preventing any future divisions of Jerusalem, by
requiring a two-third majority in Israel’s parliament in order to do so, passed
its preliminary reading in the Knesset today. The bill, titled “Basic Law:
Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel”, passed with 58 Members of Knesset (MKs)
voting in favour, 48 voting against, and one MK abstaining from the vote,
according to a statement released by the Govt body.The bill aims to mend Israel’s Basic Law
on Jerusalem to necessitate the approval of 80 of the 120 Knesset members to
make any changes to the law, instead of the regular majority vote.According to
the statement, the proposal explains that the bill has a “security
purpose”.“Since the [Israeli occupation army] IDF’s withdrawal from Lebanon [in
2000] and the disengagement from the Gaza Strip [in 2005] proved that wherever
Israel withdraws from, terrorist factors enter, threatening the security of
citizens of Israel,” the bill reportedly states, insinuating that if Israel
withdrew from occupied East Jerusalem, it would be taken over by “terrorist”
factions. middleeastmonitor
'Trump ends CIA support for anti-Assad Syria rebels'
Trump administration has decided to halt the CIA's covert programme to
equip and train certain rebel groups in Syria fighting the Govt of President Bashar al-Assad, 2 US officials
said, a move sought by Assad ally Russia.The Washington Post was first to
report the programme's suspension on Wednesday. US decision, said one of the
officials, is part of an effort by the administration to improve relations with
Russia, which, along with Iranian-supported groups, has largely succeeded in
preserving Assad's Govt in civil war. Aljazeera
Merkel urges Iraq to probe alleged rights abuses in Mosul
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi to investigate alleged human
rights abuses that occurred during military operations to regain control of the
city of Mosul from Daesh militants.Merkel telephoned al-Abadi to congratulate
him on the victory of US-backed Iraqi forces in Mosul, calling it a “big step
forward in the fight against Islamic State,” her spokesman Steffen Seibert said. middleeastmonitor
US report names Iran as world's leading state sponsor of terrorism along
with Sudan, Syria
Washington: US has said Iran
continues to be the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism along with Sudan
and Syria.All the three countries have been on this list of the US for the past
several decades.Iran was designated as state sponsor of terrorism in 1984 and
Sudan in 1993. Syria was designated as state sponsor of terrorism way back in
1979.PTI
Turkey’s new curriculum: Evolution out, ‘jihad’ in
Ankara:Final version of Turkey’s national school curriculum has left
evolution out and added the concept of “jihad” as part of Islamic law in books,
Education Minister İsmet Yılmaz said on July 18. The new curriculum will be put into execution
for first, fifth, and ninth graders starting from this year, and it will extend
to other classes in the 2018-2019 academic year. Accordingly, a total of 176
class curricula have been renewed. “Jihad is an element in our religion; it is in
our religion…The duty of the Education Ministry is to teach every concept
deservedly, in a correct way. It is also our job to correct things that are
wrongly perceived, seen or taught,” Yılmaz announced at a press meeting in the
Turkish capital Ankara. “In this manner,
in the lessons on Islamic law and basic religion sciences, there will be [the
concept of] jihad. But what is this jihad? What our Prophet [Muhammad] says is
that while returning from a war, we are going from a small jihad to a big
jihad. What is this big jihad? It is to serve our society, to increase welfare,
to ensure peace in society, to serve the society’s needs. The easiest thing is
to wage war, to fight. The skill is the difficult one, which is to ensure peace
and tranquility,” he said. Speaking about the controversial decision to exclude
evolution, Yılmaz said it was not included in the national curriculum “because
it is above the students’ level and not directly relevant.” hurriyetdailynews
Amnesty:Cameroon troops tortured Boko Haram suspects
Cameroon forces have killed and tortured dozens of people accused of
supporting Boko Haram, often without evidence, in the fight against the armed
group, Amnesty International said. Most of the torture is happening at a base
that has also been used by US and French troops, international rights body said
on Thursday.Amnesty's report documented 101 cases of arbitrary arrest and
torture by Cameroonian troops between 2013 and 2017 at more than 20 different
sites.Some of the victims were tortured to death, it said.Of the 101 documented
individuals, 32 claimed to have witnessed the death of a fellow prisoner,
according to NGO. Victims included women, the disabled and the mentally ill,
the report said."They asked me to tell them if I knew members of Boko
Haram," Amnesty cited a prisoner as saying. "That's when the guard
tied my hands and feet behind my back and started to beat me with an electric
cable while throwing water on me at the same time,"aljazeera
Pak SC warns Sharif's children of 7-yr jail if papers found forged
The children of Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif could face up to 7 years in jail
if it was proved that they had submitted fake documents to the Panama panel
probing the money laundering allegations against the family, the Supreme Court
warned today. The SC heard the Panamagate scandal case for the fourth
consecutive day since the hearing began on Monday, following submission of a
report by the JIT on July 10, which was tasked by the court to probe allegation
of corruption against Sharif and his family."The punishment for submitting
forged documents in the court is seven years in jail," warned the
three-member panel of judges.The JIT among other things has observed that some
of the documents submitted by the children of Sharif, 67, were tampered
with.PTI
FLASH: NEWS & VIEWS
We are all living in a graveyard of sorts: Arundhati Roy in an interview
with Zia us Salam, Frontline
Brahmins are as victimised as Dalits and Muslims in BJP’s UP : Amaresh
Misra
Why is India's next president so unknown? BBC
Save Our Science: BJP is taking India's scientific standing to an
all-time low:RANJAN CRASTA
The Noida society case shows how unfair India can be to its poor and
marginalised: Shoaib Daniyal
Arrest of Muslim Man for Receiving Phone Message Highlights Police
Misuse of ‘Sedition’: Divya Karthikeyan
Communal violence tests limits of populist politics that cannot think
beyond the immediate:Ranabir Samaddar
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 8:57 PM)
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