Evening NEWS
DIGEST
13 Dec.2017: 23 Rabial Awwal 1439:Vol:9, No:71
INDIA
Rajasthan govt seeks details of Muslim staff
at health centres, doctors fear profiling
Jaipur: Rajasthan Govt has sought details of Muslims staff at health
centres across the state, leading to apprehension among the doctors from the
minority community that they may be targeted because of their religion.Centre
has, however, termed the move as “not unusual” and said it “asks for such data
periodically”.A flutter was created after joint director (administration), Dr
BL Saini, on November 30 issued a letter asking CMHOs of all districts to seek
details of Muslim staff at sub centres, primary, and community health centres.
The letter said the information has to be sent to the Govt of India but did not mention why it was being
collected.The doctors have taken umbrage to the fact that information was being
sought about health centre staff on the basis of their religion. “Muslim staff
feels they are being targeted for their religion. They are scared,”said Dr
Nasreen Bharti of All Rajasthan In-service Doctors Association
(ARISDA).According to the letter, the CMHOs are required to send information
about all groups of Muslim staff along with their place of posting to the
health directorate in Jaipur.Saini told HT that his letter was in pursuance of
another from the Union ministry of health and family welfare on November 20
sent to health secretaries of all states.Centre’s letter –HT has a copy of this
– says information about Muslim staff was needed for “the implementation of
recommendations of Sachar Committee for the welfare of the minority
communities”.However, the letter sent out to districts doesn’t mention this.“I
have received the letter for details of Muslim personnel but I am unaware about
the reason for this exercise,” said Churu CMHO Dr Manoj Sharma.The doctors’
association said the exercise tantamount to religious profiling of Govt staff.
“Govt already has information about its staff. Why does it want to know their
religion now?” asked Bharti.Union ministry of health and family welfare, however,
sought to allay the fears of religious profiling. “The information sought from
health centres, police etc. is regarding the implementation of the
recommendations of the Sachchar Committee for the welfare of minorities. We are
just forwarding the request to the concerned departments,” said Ziley Singh
Vical, deputy secretary in the ministry. Vical had sent the request to all
state principal health secretaries. “If information on other minorities was not
sought, it was because the Sachar Committee asked for information only for
Muslims. It’s not unusual, Centre asks for such data periodically,” he added.HT
Zakir Naik moves Bombay HC challenging
revocation of his passport saying agencies targeting because of religion
Mumbai: Dr. Zakir Naik has approached the
Bombay high court challenging the cancellation of his passport by the external
affairs ministry, claiming he had been targeted because of his religion. His
passport has been revoked after he repeatedly failed to appear before NIA and
the ED in connection with alleged terror-funding cases.In his petition, filed
by his lawyer, televangelist claimed he had never incited communal disharmony
or any illegal activity against any specific religion or community and that he
had always condemned those who incited violence and terrorised people. He
claimed the investigating agencies were targeting him only because he’s a
Muslim and that his lectures were “distorted and doctored to implicate him in
false and frivolous cases.”In his petition, Naik claimed that he had founded
IRF in 1991 primarily for philanthropic works such as empowering Muslim women
and to help needy Muslim youth. He claimed to have started various scholarships
to fund education of poor and needy Muslim youth.Apart from challenging the
revocation of his passport, the preacher also pleaded to the court to direct
the investigating agencies to submit reports, along with evidence, to the court
on the charges levelled against him. According to reports, Naik took refuge in
Malaysia after obtaining permanent residency there. In his petition, the
televangelist claimed he has never incited communal disharmony or any illegal
activity against any specific religion or community and he has always condemned
those who incited violence and terrorised people.He claimed investigating
agencies were targeting him only because of his religion – for being a Muslim
and “his lectures are distorted and doctored to implicate him in false and frivolous
cases.”HT
Was given apology draft, asked to sign: Tarun
Tejpal
Panjim;Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun
Tejpal told the High Court of Bombay in Goa, during a hearing of his plea
seeking the quashing of rape charges framed by a lower court against him, that
his statements of apology days after the incident in 2013 were “sought on
demand” and drafted by Shoma Chaudhury, his colleague at the time.“It was like
a charter of demands… and he was just given a draft and asked to sign,” claimed
senior counsel Aman Lekhi, who appeared for Tejpal at the hearing Tuesday. The
apology was treated as a confession statement by Goa police investigating
charges of rape levelled by another former colleague against Tejpal during an
event at the Grand Hyatt in Panaji in Nov.2013.The court reserved its judgment
on Tejpal’s plea on a day when heated exchanges were witnessed between prosecution
and defence, prompting Justice Nutan Sardessai to reprimand both sides. The
defence argued for the “precious reputation of a family man wrongly facing
charges of rape”,while public prosecutor sought to “respect the statement of a
rape victim given under oath”.Lekhi questioned the “quality of two apologies”
sent by Tejpal to the victim within a gap of minutes, and said that they were “inconsistent
with each other”.“She (Shoma) makes a charter of demands, which is contrary to
what CCTV showed… How can there be apology on demand?” he argued.Referring to 2nd
apology, a formal email to the victim, Lekhi claimed that Chaudhury had asked
Tejpal to write an email “including points as suggested by her”. indianexpress
PM Modi’s Pakistan conspiracy remark: A
strange story with no basis, says Khurshid Kasuri
New Delhi: Ex-Pakistan minister Khurshid
Kasuri, who attended a private dinner hosted by now-suspended Congress leader
Mani Shankar Aiyar, described PM Narendra Modi’s claim that Pakistan was
interfering in the Gujarat Assembly elections as “ajeeboghareeb kahaani jiska
koi sar pair nahin hai” — (a strange story with no basis).Speaking to Pakistan
channel Samaa TV, Kasuri said: “I am astonished… I had gone for dinner and I
hear Pakistan is hatching a conspiracy … in that dinner ex-PM Manmohan Singh,
former vice president Hamid Ansari, ex-Army chief Deepak Kapoor, 4 foreign
secretaries and ex-Indian diplomats to Pakistan, military analysts were
present… are they also part of Pakistan’s conspiracy. It is a cock-and-bull
story with no basis.”The issue exploded into a full-blown war between the
Congress and the BJP after PM Modi hinted that Grand Old Party was colluding
with Pakistan. Kasuri claimed PM Modi must have made the remarks hoping to get
votes. “Looks like everything is acceptable for the sake of elections. He
(Modi) believes he will get votes on the basis of Pakistan angle. Which is why
he must have said so. It is unfortunate if this is so,” he said. Kasuri also
said he had met ex-RAW chief during one of his previous visits to India and it
doesn’t imply they are all colluding.“I also met the former RAW chief in one of
the previous seminars. Are they all colluding? I was here for an event
organised by Aspen centre to talk on Pakistan-India relations. Likewise, I was
called for a private dinner where Pakistan-India relation, which is disturbed,
was discussed,” he said. Indianexpress
China denies building tunnel to divert
Brahmaputra water, says ‘hope India won’t conduct unfounded speculation’
Beijing:China denied on Wednesday plans to
construct a tunnel to divert River Brahmaputra amid reports of highly polluted
waters from its tributary Siang flowing into India.“I would like to point out
that China’s position on the eastern part of the China-India border is
consistent and clear,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in response
to questions about the reports on blackened, muddy waters with cement and
sledge of the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh.He refuted reports that it may
due to a tunnel being constructed on Chinese side.“I have never heard of the
project mentioned by the Indian side. It is hoped that the Indian side will not
conduct unfounded speculation and reports,” he said in a written response to a
question in this regard.In October, China had denied reports of plans to build
1000km long tunnel to divert Brahmaputra waters to the arid regions of
Xinjiang, saying the report is untrue and false.There is, however, no explanation
for the highly polluted waters in Siang river.Brahmaputra originates in Tibet
where it is called Yarlung Tsangpo and is known as Siang in Arunachal Pradesh
before it enters Assam and flows southwards to the sea through Bangladesh.PTI
India, China agree peaceful resolution of
Doklam reflects their political maturity: MEA
New Delhi:Ministry of External Affairs on
Wednesday confirmed that Doklam issue was discussed with the Chinese Foreign
Minister during the trilateral meet between India, China and Russia held in New
Delhi on Dec.11. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Indian
counterpart Sushma Swaraj and they both ‘expressed satisfaction’ that the
Doklam issue was resolved amicably, reported news agency ANI.To this effect,
the MEA issued a statement today saying, “During the meet between External
Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who meet
on Dec.11 in Delhi, Doklam issue was raised, and both noted the challenge it
had posed to their relationship and expressed satisfaction that it was resolved
with the disengagement of troops at the face-off site through concerted
diplomatic communications.” MEA statement also conveyed Chinese minister’s
response. “The peaceful resolution of Doklam issue reflects political maturity
on both sides. While agreeing with this, Sushma Swaraj reiterated that
maintenance of peace in border areas is an essential pre-requisite for the
smooth development of bilateral relations,” read the statement. Indianexpress
India’s Wassenaar’s membership won’t change
our stand on NSG: China
Beijing:China on Wednesday hinted that India’s
entry into the Wassenaar Arrangement will not necessarily pave the way for its
membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).The foreign ministry said that
different multilateral export control regimes had different standards of
admissions. “We have noticed the report. As I understand it, different
multilateral mechanisms have different roles and different standards for
admitting new members,” said ministry spokesperson Lu Kang.
Can’t blame Myanmar for protecting
country:International Buddhist Confederation leader
New Delhi: Myanmar cannot be blamed for trying
to protect itself from "outsiders", Lama Lobzang, the outgoing secretary
general of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), has said. Lama
Lobzang said that excesses against the Rohingyas in Myanmar were by the army,
not ordinary Myanmarese. "Originally Myanmar Muslims were very few in
number; just about 6% or 8%. The Rohingyas have come from outside, from
Bangladesh, or those who are settled on the Indian border. There are more than
10-15 lakh such people. People there think that if you allow them to come and
settle there, Myanmar will eventually become a Muslim country, so they try to
push them out," Lama Lobzang said.TOI
RTI reply: 19000 Kashmiri migrants moved to
Delhi, 40000 still settled in Jammu: dnaindia
Since 1990, due to militancy issues in Kashmir
valley, 61,000 Kashmiri Pandit families along with some Muslim and Sikh
families have migrated from the valley. However, surprisingly 40,000 are still
residing in the state, and are in Jammu, while 19,000 have come to Delhi and
remaining 2,000 to various other parts of the country.This has been revealed in
an RTI reply from Ministry of Home Affairs (J&K Division), Govt of India. RTI was filed by a Pune based
entrepreneur Prafful Sarda seeking details on how many Kashmiri Pandita have
been affected by the militancy. He had posed an array of questions, of which
the ministry replied only this much. For the remaining ones he has been asked
to apply under RTI rules prevalent in J&K state, which is different from
the rest of the country. RTI reply reads, "Due to militancy in the state
of J&K in the early 1990s most of Kashmiri Pandit families along with some
Sikh and Muslim families migrated from Kashmir valley to Jammu, Delhi and other
parts of the country.Over 40,000 registered Kashmiri Migrant families are
residing in Jammu, about 19000 registered Kashmiri Migrant families are living
in Adelphi and about 2000 families are settled in other states."DNA
J-K: BJP leader Ashish Sareen poses with
AK-47, party says ‘not an active member’
Jammu:A week after unfurling national
tricolour at Srinagar’s Lal Chowk, a youth Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ashish
Sareen in a bizarre incident on Wednesday posted his photograph brandishing an
AK 47 with a caption “Don is Don.”After his photograph went viral, the BJP
distanced itself from him saying that he was not an “active member of the
party.” BJP state president Sat Sharma denied any knowledge about Ashish
Sareen. “Hundreds of people visit our party headquarters every day and even
attend meetings convened by us to redress their grievances, but I can
definitely say that no person with such a name has been an active member of the
BJP ever since I took over as president of party’s state unit,” he added.
Ashish later withdrew his photograph from the social networking site. indianexpress
Geelani slams reopening of cinemas in Saudi
Arabia
Srinagar: Syed Ali Geelani on Tuesday said he
was dismayed over allowing movie theatres to operate in Saudi Arabia. “Messenger
of Allah (PBUH) started his pious mission from this sacred land against
infidels and polytheism and purified this land from all evils,” Geelani said in
a statement.Geelani said that opening movie theatres is an “un-Islamic move.”“It
is against the norms of Islam and keeping in view the sanctity of these places,
move is quite disheartening and unacceptable,” he said.Cautioning about the
consequences of this move, Geelani said that “rulers in Saudi Arabia being the
custodians of the Holy places of Madeena and Mecca, need to be careful.”
“However, it is quite unfortunate that the present ruling elite is allowing and
promoting same obscene culture which Islam has prohibited,” Geelani added. Greaterkashmir
Anganwadi Workers Demanded Regularisation of
Jobs - Yogi Govt. Slapped Sedition Charges
In a move which has sent shock waves across
the country, the Yogi Adityanath Govt in
UP has criminalised dissent and the idea
of peaceful protests by booking anganwadi workers under charges of sedition
when they demanded a better deal from the Govt .In Sitapur district, over 90
kms from the state capital Lucknow, four anganwadi workers had been active in
organising protest demonstrations on their demands including an increase in
their honorarium and regularisation of their jobs. UP police charged Neetu
Singh, Sarita Verma, Manju Vanshwar and Santosh Kumari with the stringent IPC
section 121A. They were arrested and sent to 14-days of judicial custody.Neetu
Singh, who is district president of Mahila Anganwadi Karmchari Sangh, a State
wide association of Anganwadi workers, along with fellow workers had staged a
protest on Sitapur-Lucknow highway on December 8, the day of Adityanath's visit
to Sitapur. The Sitapur Police filed an FIR against Singh, her 29 named fellow
workers and seventy other unnamed persons case of rioting and criminal
intimidation among other charges.Newsclick
India can’t be governed on basis of Hindi,
Hindu & Hindustan: Owaisi
Hyderabad: President of AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi
Wednesday said that India cannot be governed on the basis of “Hindi, Hindu and
Hindustan”.Owaisi, while citing a news report which claimed that a scuffle
broke out between members of the BJP and BSP in Aligarh Municipal Corporation
in UP Tuesday after a BSP corporator
took oath in Urdu, tweeted that he himself has taken oath in Urdu 3 times
earlier as an MP and will do so again in 2019.“As an MP I have taken oath in
Urdu three times, so is that unconstitutional and will again take in Urdu in
2019 InshAllah. India cannot be governed on the basis of Hindi, Hindu and
Hindustan,” he said in a tweet.PTI
Muslims safest under Modi, Adityanath Govt:Kalbe
Jawwad
Lucknow: Shia cleric Kalbe Jawwad has praised
the Narendra Modi Govt at the Centre and
Yogi Adityanath Govt in UP for their "outreach to the
minorities" and said that the Muslims were safest under their rule.Barring
some incidents of `love jihad` and cow vigilantism, law and order in UP had improved considerably under BJP Govt , the
Shia cleric told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Kanpur late
Tuesday."There has not been a single communal riot in the eight months of
the Adityanath Govt as against more than
600 big and small riots during Akhilesh Yadav`s tenure," he said.As for
the Ayodhya dispute,He said all stakeholders should wait for the SC verdict on
the matter.He accused the previous Samajwadi Party Govt in UP of being the "most corrupt and
dishonest".PTI
New Members of Meerut Civic Body Row Over
Vande Mataram At Oath Ceremony:NDTV
Meerut:
The controversy over the singing of Vande Mataram in the civic body of
Meerut, a town in western UP , surfaced again today, with a clash between the
BJP and Mayawati's party that swamped oath ceremony. While there was no actual
violence, slogans were shouted, posters torn and the ceremony ended amid
chaos.BJP has a numerical edge in the Meerut civic body, winning 38 of its 90
seats. But the Mayor's post has gone to Mayawati's party, which has also won 28
seats.This morning, as all civic bodies across the state held oath ceremonies
for the new representatives, trouble broke out in Meerut corporation, where a
move to make Vande Mataram compulsory was made after the Yogi Adityanath Govt came to power in March. At the time, seven
Muslim corporators had faced expulsion after they refused to sing along.Today,
once the oath was over, the BJP members
stood up and started singing the national song. Guests -- assembled
politicians and Govt and civic officials
-- followed suit. But the newly elected mayor of Mayawati's party, Sunita
Verma, was seen sitting, pushing corporators from opposition parties to follow
her example.When the song concluded, BJP members decided to start a protest on
the spot. Slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and Vande Mataram were heard,
which was countered by slogans of "Jai Bheem" by the BSP side.BJP
supporters then proceeded to tear up the posters put up by Mayawati's party
outside the venue, saying party posters were not allowed in the building after
the elections. The trouble finally stopped only after intervention of
supporters from both sides."I want to work with everyone, we are not here
to fight," said Sunita Verma, indicating it was the BJP's mistake to sing
Vande Mataram instead of Jana Gana Mana. "On Vande Mataram, what is
written in the constitution should happen. Jana Gana Mana should happen,"
she added.NDTV
Muslim worker killing: 2 held in Udaipur for
posting inflammatory comments on FB
District police have arrested two persons for
posting inflammatory comments on Facebook about the murder of a Muslim
migratory worker in Rajsamand recently.Pintu Joshi (34), resident of Piproli
area under Mavli tehsil and Kailash Dangi (22), resident of Subhagpura area in
Udaipur, were booked for promoting enmity among groups on the ground of
religion, the police said. “They have confessed to posting the comments on
Facebook,” said Labhuram Vishnoi, SHO of Mavli police station.Commenting over
the incident, IG of police, Udaipur range, Anand Shrivastava said, “We are very
strict towards these types of incidents. We have formed a special cell to
monitor provocative comments on social media.”“We received a complaint on Monday
that a few men were posting inflammatory comments on Facebook in connection
with the hacking of Muslim migratory labourer Mohammed Afrazul. Upon getting
the information, we zeroed in on the accused,” said the police officer. One
person was arrested from Udaipur on Monday and the other was held from
Rajsamand today, he added. Police have taken suo motu cognisance and registered
an FIR against them, Shrivastava said. Hindustantimes
Paradise Papers: Income Tax department sends
out first set of summons, questionnaires
New Delhi: Paradise Papers: The Investigation
unit of the Income Tax Department, a month after the publication of the
Paradise Papers has began sending out summons and questionnaires to the people
whose names appeared in the leak. Top Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
officials while talking about the global media offshore leak said that the
summons have been issued under Section 131 of the Income Tax Act which ensures
the appearance of persons called to give evidence, according to Indian Express.
The official further stated that the first set of summons with specific
questions for each were sent in end-November, less than a month after the
publication of the Paradise Papers on Nov.5, 2017.18 months after the
publication of the Panama papers, Paradise Papers disclosed a cache of 13.4
million documents.Indian Express
Govt extends deadline for quoting Aadhaar, PAN
in financial dealings till March 31, 2018
New Delhi: Govt on Wednesday set March 31,
2018 as deadline for quoting Aadhaar, PAN in financial dealings. Earlier, it
had set Dec.31 as the last date for linking the UID to bank accounts.“After
considering various representations and inputs received from Banks, it has been
decided to notify 31st March, 2018 or 6 months from the date of commencement of
account based relationship by the client, whichever is later, as the date of
submission of the Aadhaar number, and PAN or Form 60 by the clients to the
reporting entity.” a notification by the Govt said.The announcement comes after the Govt on Friday extended the deadline to link Aadhar
with PAN from Dec.31, 2017 to March 31, 2018. Sources said over 14 crore PANs
have been linked with Aadhaar till now,
which is about 41% of total 33 crore
cards issued by Income Tax department. About 115 crore people have Aadhaar
cards. indianexpress
SC likely to hear petitions challenging
mandatory Aadhaar for welfare schemes tomorrow
Fake news by right-wing website and TV channel
almost caused communal riots in Karnataka: jantakareporter
BJP’s attempt to use fake new to disturb
communal harmony in poll-bound Karnataka has been exposed. This was after the
violence over the mysterious death of a teenager in Honnavar in Karnataka last
week spread to another town in Karnataka’s coastal Uttara Kannada district on
Tuesday as the BJP stepped up its protest and sought an NIA probe in the
case.BJP and its supporters on social media had made astonishing claims that
18-year old Paresh Kamalakar Mesta was tortured, his body mutilated and heads
splits into two because he was a member of Sangh Parivar.The story was carried
by a fake news website postcard.news, which has become notorious for peddling
lies but is incredibly popular among some of the members of PM Narendra Modi’s cabinet, who frequently share
its links.Also joining the gang in spreading the false claims were some top BJP
leaders including MP Shobha Karandlaje, who posted the following tweet with
some gory images.
Hindutva brigade out to wreck peace: Karnataka
Minister
Bengaluru:Home Minister, R Ramalinga Reddy on
Tuesday accused BJP of stirring up communal trouble in Uttara Kannada district
merely to win votes in the coming elections to the assembly.Speaking to
reporters here on Tuesday, he charged BJP
with trying to disrupt the peace of the district in the name of
Hindutva. "The coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi have been already converted into a Hindutva
laboratory and efforts are now on to
extend this to other parts of the state. BJP is leaving no stone unturned to
create communal tension in the guise of holding yatras," he charged,
accusing Union Minister, Ananth Kumar Hegde and Member of Parliament, Pratap Simha of instigating innocent people
through their hate speeches.Deccan Chronicle.
Muslim performs last rites of Hindu
septuagenarian in Bulandshahr:HT report
Meerut: A Muslim performed the last rites of a
Hindu septuagenarian in village Mohammadpur Barwala in Bulandshahr.Former
village pradhan Mohammad Anad Khan’s son Malahat Khan performed the ritual of
‘mukhagni’ of Thakur Jitendra Singh while members of Hindu and Muslim
communities attended the last rites.Anad Khan said Thakur Jitendra Singh was a
resident of district Budaun who came to stay in the village in 1967 and
thereafter became like a family member. He has been living with his family and
he was sick since last eight months and died after a prolonged illness on
Monday.The family took his mortal remains on the bank of the Ganga where
Malahat Khan performed the last rites. Another ritual of terhavi would be organised
after consulting the Brahmins to decide the date as per Hindu tradition.
Hyderabad activists critical of draft law on
triple talaq
Hyderabad: A proposal with a draft law sent by
the Centre to the states, which makes talaq-e-biddat (triple talaq) a
cognisable and non-bailable offence punishable with 3 years of jail and a
monetary fine, has received criticism from activists in Hyderabad.“There is a
proposal to provide subsistence allowance to Muslim women and dependent
children in the event of pronouncement of talaq-e-biddat. The women will also
be entitled for custody of their children,” the draft further states. Jameela Nishat, a women’s rights activist
from Old City, said triple talaq is a condemnable practice but not a crime. “If
the judiciary wants to revise the law with an agenda to bring a reform and to
empower Muslim women, it should bring in a clause for reconciliation,” she
asserted.It would be a rational move if a law is framed which makes it
mandatory for the qazi to hear both the husband and wife, and reach to a
conclusion only after knowing from them the grounds for seeking divorce. The
concerns regarding compensation or marriage alimony to be provided to the wife
should also be discussed, she said. Ilyas Shamshi, a minority welfare activist,
said, “My first question is who will look after the wife, in case she is not
earning, after her husband is sent to jail for three years for pronouncing
talaq. Also, if a sensitive relationship like that of a husband and wife, and
their separation, are seen in the purview of crime, it will kill the soul of
the relationship.”He also asked what would happen if like every other legal
proceeding, a case of triple talaq reaches its conclusion only after years. “In
such a scenario, by the time a husband is jailed for three years, the wife
might have suffered for years already waiting for justice, and the husband
would have remarried, “ he said. Some community leaders also asked that if
talaq-e-biddat is criminalised and the husband is jailed, the children of the
litigating parents will be deprived of the father’s affection.Ather Moin, an
activist, said: “How can we expect that a person who undergoes a three-year
prison term will accept his wife or live happily with her once he is out of
jail? newindianexpress
Murder case:Court rejects convict Ameerul's
plea,decision on quantum of punishment adjourned till tomorrow
Kochi: A hearing to decide the quantum of
punishment to the lone convict found guilty in the rape and murder of a
30-year-old Dalit law student in Kerala last year, was held in a trial court
here today.Ernakulam Principal Sessions court judge N Anil Kumar, who yesterday
found Ameerul Islam, migrant labourer from Assam, guilty of raping the law
student at nearby Perumbavoor, heard the versions of defence and prosecution in
awarding the quantum of punishment in the case. He then adjourned the hearing
to tomorrow, when the quantum of judgement is expected to be pronounced.Today, defence
counsel moved an application seeking a fair probe, arguing that Islam,who only
understands his mother tongue Assamese, was not given a fair treatment by the
Kerala Police which probed the case.The court, however, rejected the
application, saying that the application submitted by the accused for further
investigation was not in accordance with law.PTI
‘Haven’t Done Anything’: Ameerul after
conviction
WORLD
OIC recognizes East Jerusalem as Palestine’s
capital
Pushing back against last week’s U.S.
declaration, the final communique of the Organization of the Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) Istanbul summit on Wednesday recognized East Jerusalem as the
capital of the Palestinian state, urging the international community to do the
same.The communique came after Muslims leaders, including Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas, gathered at an extraordinary summit of the OIC in Turkey’s
commercial capital. Palestine has been an OIC member state for nearly 30
years.The communique said it "rejects and condemns in the strongest terms
the unilateral decision by the president of the United States America
recognizing Jerusalem as the so-called capital of Israel, the occupying
power."It urged the world to recognize East Jerusalem as the occupied
capital of the Palestinian state and invited “all countries to recognize the
state of Palestine and East Jerusalem as its occupied capital.”57-member bloc
also affirmed “its readiness to take the Jerusalem issue to the UN General
Assembly if the UNSC fails to take action” against the “grave violation” of the
US decision.World Bulletin
OIC states recognize E. Jerusalem as capital
of Palestine
Muslim states reject Trump's decision on
Jerusalem
Envoys of Muslim countries meet to support OIC
summit
Ethiopia: Ambassadors from Islamic countries
that are accredited to African Union met on Wednesday to rally support for a
high-level gathering of the OIC.The meeting was held in Ethiopian capital Addis
Ababa under the auspices of the Turkish Embassy.“We have one agenda item: the
recent unfortunate development regarding Jerusalem,” Turkish Ambassador to
Ethiopia and representative to the African Union Fatih Ulusoy said.The African
Union, of which Palestine has an observer status, and Arab League have already
condemned the Trump’s decision. Anadolu agency
Gaza plans million-man demo against ‘Trump
Declaration'
Gaza:Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip
have called for a "million-man demonstration" on Friday to protest
last week’s recognition by the U.S. of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital."We
are calling on Gazans to take part in a million-man march for a 'free
Jerusalem' on Friday from the Salah al-Din corridor near the southern city of
Rafah to the northern city of Beit Hanoun," Khaled al-Batch, a leading
member of the Islamic Jihad group, said Wednesday.Speaking at a news conference
in Gaza City, al-Batch said the planned march was intended to emphasize
Jerusalem's Arab and Muslim identity and the city's religious significance for
Muslims worldwide.He went on to warn that last week's controversial move by the
U.S. could represent "a prelude to the annexation of more parts of the
[occupied] West Bank by Israel".Anadolu agency
Will Erdogan cut ties with Israel over
Jerusalem? aljazeera
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
said an upcoming summit of Muslim leaders will mark a "turning point"
in the response to a US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.A
strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, Erdogan called Wednesday's
extraordinary meeting in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, under the auspices of
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Erdogan has threatened to cut
diplomatic ties with Israel over the issue of Jerusalem, declaring the city's
status a "red line".Historical power centres of the Middle East, such
as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have also condemned US President Donald Trump's unilateral
move, without, however, announcing any concrete measures of their
own.Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of their future
state." Unfortunately, Erdogan does not miss an opportunity to attack
Israel," Naftali Bennett, Israel's education minister, said in response to
the Turkish leader's speech in which he threatened to sever relations with
Israel,"if necessary". However, Erdogan has also spearheaded efforts
to normalise relations between Turkey and Israel over the past year, after a
near-break after Israeli forces stormed a Gaza-bound ship, resulting in the
death of 10 Turkish activists. Israel and Turkey announced in June 2016 they
would normalise ties after a years-long rupture. Israel and Turkey agreed to
build an underwater pipeline connecting Israel's massive offshore gas field
Leviathan to Turkey, Reuters news agency reported in March. This could be built
within four years, according to one of the partners in the project.Israel has
been pursuing several regional export deals for its newfound gas reserves and
the Leviathan group is moving ahead with development plans since making its
final $3.75bn investment decision.In November 2016, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Turkey for sending
specialised aircraft to help put out a rash of wildfires that broke out in
several parts of the country.Turkey was the only country from the Middle East
to provide such help to Israel. Greece, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus and Russia also
offered to assist extinguishing the blazes.
Hamas leaders, MPs among several Palestinians
kidnapped by Israel army
AL-Khalil, (PIC) Dozens of Palestinian
activists and Hamas leaders were kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces at
daybreak Wednesday in abduction sweeps rocking the West Bank.A PIC news
correspondent said Israeli army troops rolled into Ramallah’s western town of
Beituniya at the crack of dawn and kidnapped the Hamas leader Hasan Yousef,
also a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The occupation
soldiers ransacked Yousef’s family home before they handcuffed him and dragged
him to an unidentified destination, his son, Ouways, told PIC, adding that his
father was recently released from Israeli jails.The Israeli forces further
broke into the home of PLC member Khaled Sa’id (MP) in the northern occupied
West Bank province of Jenin and subjected him to exhaustive questioning before
they ordered him to turn himself in to intelligence officers at the Salem
military camp, west of Jenin, for further interrogation.The campaign culminated
in the abduction of several of ex-prisoners and Hamas affiliates, along with a
number of Fatah and Islamic Jihad leaders.The list of detainees included
ex-prisoner Yaser Mana’, Mohamed al-Jamal, Muhannad Shahda, Saher Ghatasha,
Alaa Saber, Saleh Abu Asab, Tareq Ubaid, and Ali Senya, among several others.
70% of Palestinians want Abbas to resign
immediately
Some 70 % of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West
Bank and Gaza Strip want President Mahmoud Abbas to resign immediately,
according to a new poll by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey
Research conducted 7-10 December.The poll, conducted in the occupied
Palestinian territory (oPt) in the immediate aftermath of US President Donald
Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, makes grim
reading for Abbas, with those demanding his resignation up three points from September.Abbas’
net satisfaction rating, meanwhile, has dropped one point to minus 35, with
just 31 % satisfied with his
performance, compared to 66 % who are
dissatisfied. middleeastmonitor
Doubts over impact of Putin's Syria withdrawal
declaration
On a brief and surprise stopover, Russia's
President Vladimir Putin landed in Khmeimim airbase in Syria's Latakia early on
Monday.Addressing Russian troops before him on the tarmac, an upbeat and
triumphant Putin claimed military victory in the war-torn country and announced
that a "significant part" of the deployed force could now return
home.It was the first visit to Syria by a Russian head of state since 2010.
Yet, the declaration wasn't the first of its kind.As in both of those instances,
Putin said on Monday that Russia's Khmeimim airbase and Tartus naval facility
would continue their normal operations.This led many to downplay the military
significance of the Russian president's latest declaration."This is not a
withdrawal, since Russia is keeping its air and naval bases," George Alam,
a political analyst in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, told Al Jazeera."And
Putin did say, 'if terrorists come back, we will strike them'. So that means
Russia's military strength is still present in Syria."Alam said Putin's
orders may have a different aim: to send a strong message to the US.Describing
the decision as "political", Alam said it was Russia's way of asking
the "international community to pressure the US to withdraw its troops
from Syria".He added: "Russia is bothered by what it sees as the
illegal presence of US troops." aljazeera
Russian, Syrian jets hit Aleppo, Damascus
countryside
Russian and Syrian fighter jets have launched
attacks in southern Aleppo province and the Damascus countryside, causing
civilian casualties in both locations.Rebel groups, for their part, made gains
south of Damascus and in the eastern Idlib province, activists said on
Tuesday.An Al Jazeera correspondent said hundreds of families were displaced
from villages and towns in the southern Aleppo countryside because of heavy
bombing by Syrian and Russian fighter jets.The attacks resulted in civilian
casualties and extensive damage to homes and property, the correspondent said. aljazeera
Syrian opposition seeks direct Geneva talks
with regime
Syrian
opposition has said it wants direct talks with the Govt , as it attends a fresh
round of meetings in Geneva to discuss political transition.Al Jazeera's Maan
Khader, reporting from the Swiss city, said that Syrian opposition perceives
what was left of the Geneva talks as an opportunity to engage in direct negotiation
with Govt.The opposition pledged to take the matter seriously in remarks after UN
envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, conveyed the Govt 's refusal to engage in
direct negotiations until topic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's fate was
off the table.De Mistura mediated between the two sides, and proposed to move
discussions on Syrian constitution and possible elections to a conference
scheduled to take place in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, early next year. aljazeera
China creates Big Brother DNA database for
entire population of Muslim region blighted by violence:reports
China has created a DNA database for the whole
population of a Muslim region that has been blighted by violence, a report
said.Authorities have collected DNA and other biometric data from the whole of
the western region of Xinjiang, where hundreds have been killed in the past few
years. Violence has been rife in the region between Uighurs, a mostly Muslim
people, and ethnic majority Han Chinese, which Beijing blames on Islamist
militants.Human Rights Watch denounced the Govt 's campaign as a gross
violation of international norms in their report.The unrest has fuelled a
sweeping security crackdown there, including mass rallies by armed police,
tough measures that rights advocates say restrict religious and cultural
expression, and widespread surveillance.Police are responsible for collecting
pictures, fingerprints, iris scans and household registration information,
while health authorities should collect DNA samples and blood type information
as part of a "Physicals for All" programme, the New York-based group
said in a statement, citing Govt a
document.Human Rights Watch's China director Sophie Richardson said: "The
mandatory databanking of a whole population's biodata, including DNA, is a
gross violation of international human rights norms, and it's even more
disturbing if it is done surreptitiously, under the guise of a free health care
program."mirror.co.uk
Billions ‘wiped off’ Al-Waleed’s fortune
following his arrest
Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal’s fortune has taken
a dramatic fall since his imprisonment, according to a report by the Financial
Times. Billions of dollars is reported to have been “wiped off” Saudi Arabia’s
most famous investor following his arrest under last month’s anti-corruption
purge authorised by the Crown Prince Muhammed Bin Salman.According to the FT,
the Saudi tycoon and his main investment firm, Kingdom Holding Company (KHC)
has been losing billions due to uncertainty surrounding Bin Talal’s release.
Citing Forbes the FT reported that KHC has lost nearly a fifth of its value
since Prince Bin Talal’s detention, falling to $8.5bn and hitting the tycoon’s
net wealth by $2 billion to about $16 billion.In an attempt to dampen concerns
over the future of KHC, the chief executive of Bin Talal’s investment firm,
Talal Al Maiman said that more than $12.5 billion is held by the management
globally and the company “enjoys a solid financial position underpinned by a
prudent and conservative funding plan”. middleeastmonitor
Yemen: Saudi-led coalition kills 39 in Sana’a
strike
The Saudi-led coalition executed air strikes
on a police camp in the Houthi-controlled capital Sana’a today, killing 39 and
injuring more than 90, Reuters reported.The Houthis had held 180 Yemeni Govt al
forces as prisoners in the police camp located in eastern Sana’a.Hussain
Al-Bukhaiti, a Sana’a based journalist reported that in total six air strikes
stuck the police station, around midnight.Some 60 were reported killed and more
than 113 injured by the Saudi-led coalition strikes according to
Al-Bukhaithi.Saudi Arabia has not publically commented on the strikes. middleeastmonitor
No evidence New York bomb suspect linked to
Bangladesh militants: security chief
Dhaka: Bangladesh has found no evidence
linking a Bangladeshi man charged with an attempted suicide bombing in New York
with militants in Bangladesh, its counter-terrorism chief told Reuters on
Wednesday.US prosecutors on Tuesday brought federal charges against Akayed
Ullah, a 27-year-old Bangladeshi and self-described supporter of Islamic State,
accusing him of supporting a foreign terrorist organisation.Ullah set off a
pipe bomb in an underground pedestrian corridor between New York’s Times Square
and the Port Authority Bus Terminal at rush hour on Monday morning, injuring
himself and three others.“We have collected evidence and information from his
family members: his wife, father-in-law and mother-in-law,” Monirul Islam, head
of the Bangladesh police’s counter-terrorism unit, said in an interview.“In
Bangladesh we have not found any connection or have not been able to identify
any of his associates who were or are involved with any terrorist
groups.”Reuters
Philippines extends military rule in southern
island
Philippines;The Philippines' Congress on
Wednesday approved a request by President Rodrigo Duterte to extend martial law
in the southern Mindanao Island for another year.The move to uphold military
rule till Dec.31, 2018 was approved by 240 lawmakers and opposed by 27 in the
House of Representatives and Senate.Duterte imposed martial law in the region
in May for 60 days. It was extended till the end of this year during a special
session of the Senate and House of Representatives in July.Anadoldu
FLASH: VIEWS & NEWS
Mani Shankar Aiyar Did Not Hold ‘Secret’
Meetings With Pakistan Officials, but Advani Did: THE WIRE
Gujarat elections: Does Congress have spokes
to outrun the BJP wheel in final lap?Vinod Sharma
PM’s Gujarat campaign shows politics of hope
has been replaced entirely by politics of fear:Pratap Bhanu Mehta
Remembering the Bombay Riots Part II: Story of
Teacher, Journalist Firoz Ashraf:Meena Menon
Citizen Shambhulal is new face of Hindutva: Shiv
Visvanathan
Leaked Email Reveals Philip Morris Funded
Anti-Smoking Foundation Targeting Public Health Leaders With Grants: Anoo
Bhuyan
Record high 262 journalists imprisoned in
2017: CPJ
Trump's Jerusalem move: 'A blunder with
consequences':by William Roberts
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/trump-jerusalem-move-blunder-consequences-171213115706262.html
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