Evening NEWS
DIGEST
04 Jan.2018: 15 Rabial Aakhir 1439:Vol:9, No:90
TALAQ BILL
Fate of triple talaq bill remains uncertain as
RS adjourned till Friday amid uproar
Rajya Sabha was adjourned until 11 am on
Friday, without any discussion on the triple talaq Bill amid huge uproar in the
Upper House, shortly after the bill was taken up discussion. Now with just one
more day remaining in the ongoing Winter Session, the fate of the controversial
bill remains shrouded in suspense as the government virtually rejected an
overwhelming demand from the Opposition for referring it to a Select Committee
of Rajya Sabha for detailed consideration. The Opposition, on the other hand
also refused to relent as Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad
said that the Bill was not fit to be passed as it as it would "finish off Muslim
women" instead of "empowering them." firstpost
Govt Won't Send Triple Talaq Bill To
Parliament Committee: Sources
New Delhi: Govt, outnumbered in Rajya Sabha,
has decided not to blink and allow the opposition a political victory by
sending the landmark triple talaq bill to a parliament committee for review,
sources said. It wants to defer the bill to the next parliament session; it was
tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and if there is no action on it
tomorrow, the last day of the winter session, then it will automatically roll
over to the budget session.Between the sessions, the sources said, the ruling
BJP will talk to other parties to try and bring them around to its point of
view that the Muslim Women Protection of Rights in Marriage Bill 2017, which
seeks to make instant triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail as
punishment for a Muslim man who divorces his wife by saying talaq thrice, must
be passed expeditiously to ensure justice for Muslim women. The opposition, said sources, will continue to
press to refer the bill to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha, but realises
that it has no option but to accept the government's decision. Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley, during a heated debate in the house on Thursday evening,
accused Congress of sabotaging the triple talaq bill. The ruling BJP has said
the Congress has "double standards" on the bill for opposing it in
the Rajya Sabha after supporting it in the Lok Sabha, where it sailed through
last week since the government has a big majority. "Nobody was against the bill in the Lok
Sabha. Now why are they not supporting the bill in the Rajya Sabha," said
parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar today.A united opposition has faced
off with the government, insisting that its resolution to send the bill to a
select committee of the House be voted on to prove that a majority of the House
backs that move. Govt has challenged that on technical grounds.The Congress is
leading the demand for a review of the bill by MPs and is backed even by
parties like the AIADMK and the Biju Janata Dal, which usually help the
government pass bills in the Rajya Sabha, where it is in a minority. BJP ally TDP
too has suggested that the bill be sent to a select committee. NDTV
BJP 'befooling' Muslim women with triple talaq
bill: Cong
New Delhi: Congress today accused BJP of
"befooling" Muslim women with the triple talaq bill that seeks to
make the practice a criminal offence, alleging that it has no provision for
their welfare in case their husbands are jailed.Leader of Opposition in Rajya
Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said 18 opposition parties including the Congress wanted
to send the bill to a Select Committee for its proper scrutiny before it
becomes a law, but the government did not allow it.He alleged that the BJP does
not believe in democracy and that is why it did not allow the motion moved by
the opposition to send the bill to a select committee.Azad said the BJP is
projecting itself as a "messiah" for Muslim women and claiming to be
champions of their welfare and rights, but has not made any provision for their
welfare."This govt is trying to mislead Muslim women and the general
public," he alleged at a press conference. outlookindia
‘Triple talaq Bill will snatch away liberty of
Muslim women’
All India Muslim Personal Law Board secretary
Moulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said the triple talaq Bill would create more complications and
problems for Muslim women rather than coming up with solutions for their
problems and protecting their rights. Rahmani said the proposed law would
snatch away the liberty of a Muslim woman once her husband goes to jail because
according to the Supreme Court judgement and the proposed legislation, instant
divorce was void and illegal. Hence, if a husband pronounces 3 Talaqs in a
sitting or gives it in writing and through SMS, divorce would not happen and
the woman would still ‘remain in his Nikah’.Telangana Today
OTHERS
Indian or not? Muslims fret amid drive against
illegal immigrants:Reuters
Fofonga:Marzina Bibi, a Muslim woman living in
Assam, is petrified she will be declared stateless. The 26-year-old’s name was
not on a preliminary list of citizens that was published at midnight on Sunday,
although she holds a voter identity card and had voted in state elections in
2016.“Why are they doing this to me?” Bibi asked, sitting beside a bamboo mat
she was weaving outside her mud house in Assam’s Fofonga village. “They think I
am a Bangladeshi. I was born here, my parents were born here, I am an
Indian.”Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP, which came to
power in Assam in the April, 2016 elections, vowed during the campaign to act
against illegal Muslim immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. But rights
activists say the drive is also targeting Muslims who are Indian citizens.Two
national spokesmen for the BJP declined to comment.A spokesman for the Ministry
of Home Affairs in New Delhi did not reply to e-mails and a telephone call
seeking comment.According to the preliminary list of NRC, about 19 million
people in Assam have now been verified as Indian citizens. More names will be
added, and officials say the final list is likely to be published in July. Reuters
spoke to nearly two dozen Muslims, including Bibi, from paddy-growing villages
around Fofonga who said their names were not on the preliminary list.“I feel we
are targeted because we are Muslims,” said Bibi, who said she has already
proved she was Indian - she was jailed for eight months on charges of being an
illegal migrant from Bangladesh and was let off only after showing documents
attesting to her nationality. Surrounded by her neighbours in the village, she
showed her voter identity card and the court order for her release from
jail.BJP has said previous governments have included many Bangladeshi
immigrants on electoral rolls to buy votes.At the local NRC office in the
Muslim-majority area, only around 4,500 people had made it to the preliminary
list out of nearly 11,000 who had applied.Reuters saw a tribal Hindu man
leaving the NRC office with a smile after being told that the names of all six
members of his family were on the list. Soon after, two Muslim women came with
their infants, and left disappointed.Muslims leaders have called the NRC a tool
to make them stateless, likening themselves to Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya
minority. They have also warned of unrest.Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda
Sonowal told the Times of India daily that the “people who are declared
foreigners will be barred from all constitutional rights, including fundamental
and electoral. They will have only one right — human rights as guaranteed by
the U.N. that include food, shelter and clothing”.
BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal caught lying about
Muslim population in Assam
Senior leader from BJP Sundhanshu Mittal was
caught red-handed when he lied to misrepresent the number of Muslims living in
Assam. Mittal has been severely criticised on social media for doing the
same.In a story published on media outlet Arab News over NRC – which is cause of many problems for the
Muslims living in Assam – Mittal was quoted saying, “The demography of Assam
has changed completely in the last 40 years.”“There used to be only five
percent Muslim population in 1947, which has risen to over 35 percent now,”
said Mittal to the Arab News. “This consists largely of illegal migrants who
have come from Bangladesh,”he added.Mittal was commenting over the category of
Doubtful voters, called ‘D-voter’ where a person’s name has been struck off
from the NRC and thereby denied basic fundamental rights guaranteed to every
Indian citizen. Assam has been facing this condition since decades where
ordinary Indian citizens have been marked as D-voter after they failed to
produce proof of their citizenship according to the NRC rules.TwoCircles
Chinese Personnel Entered 1 Km Inside
Arunachal Pradesh, Forced Back: Sources
Itanagar/ New Delhi: Chinese road-building teams entered around 1
kilometre inside Indian territory in Tuting area of Arunachal Pradesh last week
but returned after being confronted by Indian troops, government sources said
on Wednesday.The sources said the civilian teams came for track alignment
activities and returned when confronted by the Indian troops, leaving behind
various road building equipment including excavators. According to local
villagers in Arunachal Pradesh, the Chinese team members included civilians as
well as uniformed personnel.The incident took place on Dec.28, nearly 4 months
after the end of 73-day long Doklam standoff between Indian and Chinese troops
in the Sikkim sector.The sources said on December 28, Indian border patrolling
personnel observed few Chinese civilians undertaking track alignment activity 1
kilometre inside the Indian territory in Tuting area.They maintained there was
"no face off" between the two sides and that the issue is being
resolved through an established mechanism.PTI
No stand-off in Arunachal, says Army
Denying reports of a standoff with China at
Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh, Army sources on Wednesday stated that a group of
Chinese civilians were prevented from building a road on the Indian side of LAC
last week. “There is no face-off at the site. In the whole incident, there was
no direct contact between the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),”
an Army source said. Last week, a group of Chinese were undertaking track
alignment activity about 1 km inside LAC at Tuting.This was noticed by some
locals who alerted the ITBP, who informed the Army. On Dec.28, a joint team of
the Army and the ITBP stopped the civilians and explained to them they were in
Indian territory, following which they left. thehindu
Netanyahu to give water desalinisation jeep to
PM Modi as gift
Jerusalem:Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will
present a special gift --- Gal-Mobile water desalinisation and purification
jeep --- to his friend Narendra Modi during his visit to India starting Jan.
14, according to sources in Jerusalem. Netanyahu and Modi waded into the
Mediterranean Sea and rode the “buggy” jeep on the coast during the latter’s
visit to Israel in July last year.Now Netanyahu is going to gift the same jeep
to Modi, informed sources said.As Netanyahu prepares for his four day visit to
India, sources confirmed that the jeep has “indeed” left for India and “would
be arriving on time” to be presented by the Israeli PM to Modi.The jeep is said to cost around
390,000 shekels (approximately USD 111,000). Modi and Netanyahu had witnessed
the demonstration of sea water purification technology pioneered by Israel at a
water desalination unit on the Olga Beach during the Indian Prime Minister’s
visit to Israel. hindustantimes
H-1B visa rules: Families of techies stare at
uncertainty, some look to Canada
Bengaluru:Shailaja Swamy and Anjani Kovvur
live 600 kilometers apart and have never met in their lives but for the past
few days, their lives have been engulfed in the same worry. Both women have children
working in the US who will be affected by a proposal to end the practice of
granting extensions to H-1B visa holders whose applications for permanent
residency are pending.Reactions to the proposal, which could lead to
500,000-750,000 Indians returning home, are drastically different though.
Swamy, an officer at a public sector bank in Bengaluru, says she is worried
about her son Abhijit, who works for a multinational corporation because of the
persistent uncertainty around H-1B visas throughout last year. “The sheer
repetition of this kind of news is adding to our anxiety.”On the other hand,
Kovvur in Hyderabad is defiant and certain if her sons Yashpal and Sandeep were
sent back, they would get good jobs in India.“Let him (Donald Trump) implement
the decision and see the repercussion on the US economy. Will the US companies
get better manpower than our Indians?”Not everyone is as confident. Darshan
Srinivasan, 35, who works for Tivo and had gone to the US multiple times, said
among his peer group there was a sense that they had look beyond the US for
opportunities. “There is a fear that there will be uncertainty to our
employment in US,” Srinivasan said. “As a result, many of my friends are trying
to apply to jobs where there is a possibility to move to other countries. And
Canada is now emerging as an appealing proposition,” he said.
Pakistan releases new Kulbhushan Jadhav video,
India says another coerced statement
New Delhi:Pakistan released a new video of
Kulbhushan Jadhav – an Indian national it has sentenced to death over charges
of spying – that showed the 47-year-old saying he had not been harmed in
custody.Tensions between India and Pakistan have spiralled recently, with New
Delhi crying foul over the treatment of the family of death row convict Jadhav
and Islamabad. Jadhav was allowed to meet his mother Avanti and wife Chentankul
through a glass partition in Islamabad – which Pakistan said was evidence of
its humanitarianism and generosity. But India accused Pakistan of harassing
Jadhav’s family, saying their meeting was held in an “atmosphere of
coercion”.On Thursday, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported that in the video,
released by Pakistan Foreign Office, Jadhav said he “saw fear” in the eyes of
his mother and wife when he met them. He added that an Indian diplomat
accompanying them was “yelling at them”, the report said. Hindustantimes
Fodder scam sentencing deferred again, judge
says got phone calls from Lalu Prasad’s supporters
A special court on Thursday deferred the
sentencing of Lalu Prasad in a fodder scam case till Friday when it is likely
to decide whether to pronounce the quantum of punishment over video conference
or in court with the judge saying he also received phone calls from the RJD
chief’s well-wishers.The case relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh
from Deoghar treasury 21 years ago.Deferring the sentencing for the second day
in a row, CBI judge Shiv Pal Singh said he would decide on Friday whether the
sentence would be given over video conference or in the court.To this, Prasad
said he was for personal appearance and assured that there would be no slogans
raised in the courtroom by his supporters.The judge also said he had received
phone calls from well-wishers of the RJD boss but did not elaborate.With the court
room packed, the judge asked the advocates not connected with the fodder scam
case to leave.PTI
CBI books former AMU VC Naseem Ahmad for alleged irregularities in appointment
New Delhi: CBI has booked former VC of AMU
Naseem Ahmad in connection with alleged irregularities and cheating in the
appointment of an official in the university in 2005. CBI action has come
nearly 10 years after Ahmad had resigned from the position in 2007. He was the
vice chancellor between 2002 and 2007.The case pertains to the appointment of
Shakaib Arsalan as Assistant Finance Officer in the AMU in 2005 in alleged
violation of provisions of the AMU Act and rules, officials said here.The CBI
has registered a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating and provisions of
Prevention of Corruption Act against Arsalan (now Joint Finance Officer), Beg
now Finance Officer and Ahmad, they said.It is alleged that the vacancy for the
post of assistant finance officer and deputy finance officer were advertised by
the AMU on January 1, 2004 for which 22 candidates had applied.Among the 22
candidates, nine were found to be eligible for the post of the AFO which did
not include Arsalan, the preliminary enquiry of the CBI into the allegations
has found. hindustantimes
Bhima Koregaon protests LIVE : 37 arrested
till last night; Mevani-Khalid event denied nod in Mumbai
New Delhi :A day after the state-wide bandh
call by Dalit outfits brought parts of Maharashtra to a grinding halt, the
Mumbai Police on Thursday denied permission for the All India National
Students’ Summit where newly elected Gujarat MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh
Mevani and JNU student leader Umar Khalid were invited as guests. “Had booked
Bhaidas Hall for All India National Students’ Summit here today, but now we are
being denied entry. Reason police is citing is the news doing the rounds about
Umar Khalid and Jignesh Mevani for the past few days,” the organiser of the
event said, as reported by ANI.Both the leaders have also been booked under
charges of ‘creating communal disharmony’ through the ‘provocative speeches’
they delivered at Elgaar Parishad by the Pune Police. The Elgaar Parishad was
held in Pune to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon. Complainant
demanded registration of criminal offence against Mevani and Khalid for
promoting enmity between different groups through their speeches.Violence
erupted in Maharashtra on January 1 when Dalit groups were celebrating the
bicentenary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle in which the forces of the British
East India Company defeated the Peshwa’s army. Vehicles were torched, traffic
was disrupted and train services were halted in parts across the state due to
the bandh called by the Dalits on Wednesday.Arsalan submitted a representation
that his degree of Chartered Accountant is not being considered equivalent to a
post-graduate degree in the shortlisting process whereas an AMU notification
recognises these degrees as equivalent, it alleged.He requested for his
consideration for the interview held on February 3, 2005, it said.The then
Deputy Finance Officer Yasmin Jalal Beg allegedly in violation of laid down
procedure recommended the candidature of Arsalan for interview on the grounds
that CA degree is the optimum qualification for any finance person and if a CA
has applied for the position of AFO, he will be an asset for the department.It
has surfaced during the CBI PE that Beg had put the note even though the file
was not marked to her, the CBI alleged.PTI
Bhima Koregaon protests LIVE : Jignesh
Mevani-Umar Khalid event denied permission in Mumbai
Mumbai Police cancels event featuring Mevani
and Umar Khalid, imposes Section 149 around Mithibai College
Bhima-Koregaon violence: FIR against Jignesh
Mevani, Umar Khalid for their Pune speeches
Pune
police, late on Wednesday night, registered a criminal case against newly
elected Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani and student leader from JNU Umar Khalid
under charges of ‘creating communal disharmony’ through the ‘provocative
speeches’ they delivered at Elgaar Parishad held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on
December 31. Indianexpress
Maharashtra dalit violence flames reach Madhya
Pradesh; rampage during Burhanpur bandh
The flames of the Bhima-Koregaon dalit
violence in Maharashtra have reached Madhya Pradesh with protestors going on
rampage in Burhanpur – a border district – during a successful bandh call.Windows
of about a dozen buses at the bus stand in the town were smashed and a bus
driver was also reportedly assaulted. Similarly, glasses of two trucks parked
on Indore Road were broken too.The Burhanpur bandh call on Thursday had been
reportedly given by organizations claiming allegiance to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.
The bandh was fairly successful, affecting local business and public transport.
Number of people gathered before the statue of Babasaheb Ambedkar in Burhanpur
town on Thursday morning under the banner of the Buddhist Society and leaders
addressed the gathering.Later, a group of youth reached the bus stand and
suddenly went on rampage, damaging the buses and assaulting a driver. Later, a
posse of police led by additional superintendent of police Rakesh Kumar Sagar
and additional district magistrate Ramanuj Toppo reached the bus stand and took
things under control.NewsBits.in
After Constitution, Army, RSS keeps Indians
safe: SC ex-judge
Thiruvananthapuram: After the Constitution,
democracy and the armed forces, the RSS is the factor that has made people in
India safe, and that the idea of secularism should not be kept away from
religion, retired Supreme Court judge KT Thomas has said.Addressing an RSS
instructors’ training camp in Kottayam on Sunday, Thomas also said, “If an
organisation has to be given credit for freeing the country from the Emergency,
I would give that to RSS.”Thomas said he feels the Sangh imparts discipline to
its volunteers for “protection of the country”. He said: “Snakes have venom as
a weapon to defend (themselves against) attacks on them. Similarly, the might
of man is not meant to attack anyone. I appreciate the RSS for teaching and
believing that physical strength is meant to guard (oneself) against attacks. I
understand that the physical training of RSS is to defend the country and the
society at the time of attacks.”He said, “If asked why people are safe in
India, I would say that there is a Constitution in the country, there is
democracy, there are the armed forces, and fourthly the RSS is there. What
prompts me to say is that RSS had worked against the Emergency. RSS’s strong
and well-organised work against the Emergency had reached then Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi….She understood that it could not go (on for) long.”On the
concept of secularism, the former apex court judge said that the idea should
not be kept away from religion, and that the Constitution has not defined
secularism. “The minorities use secularism for their protection, but the
concept of secularism is much more than that. It means that dignity of every
individual should be protected. The dignity of a person should be seen above
partisan approach, influences and activities,” he said.Stating that he does not
agree with the notion that secularism is meant to protect religion, Thomas
said: “In India, the word Hindu evokes a religion, but it should be a
substitute for a culture. That was why the word Hindustan is being used. In the
past, Hindustan had inspired everyone, now that word has been set apart for RSS
and BJP.”He said, “In the Constitution, religion has the fifth position
—fundamental right of religion should come only below an individual’s
fundamental rights.”Stating that India is the only country which has a
commission for minorities, Thomas said the section of minorities has not been
defined in the Constitution. But the concept of minority in India is based on
religious belief and population size, he said. “Minorities feel insecure only
when they start demanding rights which the majority segments don’t have,” he
said. indianexpress
Gauri Lankesh murder: Dispute between
forensics labs holds up investigation
Bengaluru:The special investigation team
probing the murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh has been unable to
compare the cartridges recovered from the crime scene amid a dispute among
three forensics laboratories over the analysis of cases recovered from the
scenes of three other high-profile killings. Lankesh was gunned down outside
her house in the city by unidentified assassins on September 5 and the police
are yet to crack the case. Over the past four months, the state government and
the SIT have come under increasing pressure to ensure that the case is solved
soon. hindustantimes
Haryana Women panel for action against prof
for harassing Kashmiri student
Rohtak:Haryana State Women Commission
chairperson Pratibha Suman has recommended action against professor JP Majra of
BPS Medical College, Sonepat, for allegedly harassing an MBBS student hailing
from Kashmir.A women commission team had visited the college after taking
cognizance of media reports, and spoken to both sides. “We will take this
investigation forward. More victims have come forward alleging that the
professor had been using vulgar language with them and threatening to ruin
their annual performance reports. The professor has no right to remain in the
institution and should immediately be removed from the post of head of
department,” Suman said. The matter came to fore after a relative of the Kashmiri
student emailed a complaint to the vice-chancellor of Rohtak Health University,
alleging that the professor had been harassing her. hindustantimes
Deoband says avoid families that earn ‘haram’
money:PTI
Lucknow :Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband
has issued a fatwa asking Muslims to avoid families that raise ‘haram’
(illegitimate) money earned from a banking job and instead look for a “pious”
family while considering marriage proposals. The seminary gave its diktat to a
query from a person in which he had stated that he had a few proposals for
marriage from families where the father earned money from a banking job in
India.“Obviously, the family is raised on ‘haram’ money. Is it preferable to
marry in such families?” he had sought to know from the fatwa section of Darul
Uloom (Darul Ifta).PTI
Kerala CM orders closure of Peace
International School after it was found teaching communal content
Post the controversies over Peace
International School reportedly teaching communal content to schoolchildren in
2016, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday issued an order to
close the school.The State Education Department in Kerala corroborated the
decision as it ordered the Ernakulam-based school to be shut down immediately.
The decision was taken after reports were filed by the Education Department and
the district collector who said the school should not be functioning any
further. The state Education Ministry put out a statement saying: "Both
the reports submitted by the Collector and the Education Secretary went against
the school. Therefore, we issued an order to shut down the school."
Vijayan agreed to take action against the school after confirming the reports
based on the probe by the Education Department. The complaint filed against the
school had said it taught content that promoted enmity between different
religions, nationalities and languages.The schoolchildren who studied in class
2 apparently had textbooks that encouraged extremist Islamic ideologies and
taught students how to deal with people who do not follow Islam.The syllabus of
the school is also said to have involved communal content that did not follow
any standard recognised textbooks from NCERT, CBSE or the SCERT. On the other
hand, it followed a textbook system that was based out of an Islamic
educational institution from Navi Mumbai called Burooj Realisation, said
reports.The Managing Director and head of the institution is Islamic preacher
MM Akbar, who owns 13 schools across Kerala. Besides him, the local police have
filed cases against the principal and the management associated with the
school.ibtimes
Data Breach: Aadhaar Details up for Grabs for
Just Rs 500
Jalandhar: It was only last November that the
UIDAI asserted that “Aadhaar data is fully safe and secure and there has been
no data leak or breach at UIDAI”. On Wednesday, The Tribune “purchased” a
service being offered by anonymous sellers over WhatsApp that provided
unrestricted access to details for any of the more than one billion Aadhaar
numbers created in India thus far.It took just Rs 500, paid through Paytm, and
ten minutes in which an “agent” of the group running the racket created a
“gateway” for this correspondent and gave a login ID and password. Lo and
behold, you could enter any Aadhaar number in the portal, and instantly get all
particulars that an individual may have submitted to UIDAI (Unique
Identification Authority of India), including name, address, postal code (PIN),
photo, phone number and email.What is more, The Tribune team paid another Rs
300, for which the agent provided “software” that could facilitate the printing
of the Aadhaar card after entering the Aadhaar number of any individual.When
contacted, UIDAI officials in Chandigarh expressed shock over the full data
being accessed, and admitted it seemed to be a major national security breach.
They immediately took up the matter with the UIDAI technical consultants in
Bangaluru. Sanjay Jindal, additional director-general, UIDAI regional centre,
Chandigarh, accepting that this was a lapse, told The Tribune: “Except the
director-general and I, no third person in Punjab should have a login access to
our official portal. Anyone else having access is illegal, and is a major
national security breach.” Investigations by The Tribune reveal that the racket
may have started around six months ago, when some anonymous groups were created
on WhatsApp. These groups targeted over 3 lakh village-level enterprise (VLE)
operators hired by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
(ME&IT) under the Common Service Centres Scheme (CSCS) across India,
offering them access to UIDAI data. thewire
First, National Anthem, Then Kumbh Logo Before
You Can Watch a Movie in UP Cinema Halls
LUCKNOW (PTI) Cinema halls in Uttar Pradesh
will soon display the newly-unveiled logo for Kumbh Mela, right after the
national anthem is played, to make youths understand the importance of the
religious festival, a senior official said on Wednesday.The new logo shows a
group of sadhus taking a holy dip at the Sangam in Allahabad in the backdrop of
temples and a Swastik symbol, Principal Secretary (Torusim) Awanish Awasthi told
PTI.The decision comes soon after the Yogi Adityanath government announced that
all official letters will carry the Kumbh logo.The Kumbh Mela, which has lately
joined the UNESCO’s list of intangible world heritage, is scheduled to be held
in January 2019 in Allahabad. PTI
WORLD
28 civilians killed in Syria, most in Russian
air strikes: Monitor
Beirut: At least 28 civilians have been killed
by bombardment in the besieged Syrian opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta,
near Damascus, most of them in Russian air raids, a monitor said.19 were killed
in Russian strikes in the town of Misraba on Wednesday, while the remainder
died the same day in regime strikes and shelling in other areas, the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said.Seven children and 11 women were among those
killed, according to the head of the Britain-based war monitor, Rami Abdel
Rahman.Victims were taken to a hospital in Douma, where an AFP correspondent
saw rescuers bringing in mostly women and children.AFP
Syria: Russian jets suspected of killing at
least 30 people after bombing residential buildings near Damascus
Civilians die in air raids on Syria's Eastern Ghouta
Iranian diplomat charges US with inciting
protests
Iran has accused the US of
"inciting" anti-government protests that have gripped the country,
and said the Trump administration had "flouted" international law and
the principles of UN charter by supporting the unrest in a series of
"absurd tweets".In a letter sent to Antonio Guterres, UN
secretary-general, on Wednesday, Gholamali Khoshroo, the Iranian ambassador to
the UN, said the US had "crossed every limit" by "inciting
Iranians to engage in disruptive acts"."[The US] has stepped up its
acts of intervention in a grotesque way in Iran's internal affairs under the
pretext of providing support for sporadic protests, which in several instances
were hijacked by infiltrators," Press TV quoted Khoshroo as saying.
Fall of Iranian regime is not in region’s
interest: Saudi writer
Ex-General Manager of Al-Arabiya News Channel,
Saudi writer Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, has said that the fall of the regime of
President Hassan Rouhani in Iran is not in the interests of the other countries
in the region.“The collapse of the Iranian regime is not in everyone’s
interests, especially those of the Arab countries,” Al-Rashed wrote in Al-Sharq
Al-Awsat. He pointed out that the region now suffers from a lot of destruction
and cannot tolerate new chaos, additional civil wars and millions of
refugees.The collapse of the Iranian government will have dangerous dimensions
that would spread beyond Iran to the entire region, he claimed. The current
protests against the government in cities across Iran, however, might only
succeed in changing Tehran’s foreign policy and stop its aggressive project in
the Middle East, which would, in his opinion, be in the interests of regional
countries. middleeastmonitor
PLO has invited Hamas and Islamic Jihad to
Central Council meeting, claims Erekat
Secretary-General of PLO, Saeb Erekat, has
claimed that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have both been invited to attend the
organisation’s Central Council meeting, Anadolu reported on Wednesday. “We hope
that they respond,” Erekat told Al-Jazeera TV.“The agenda will start with
facing the US decision [about Jerusalem] and will end with erasing the reasons
for internal division as Palestinians,” explained Erekat. He pointed out that
there is “full” Arab and international support for this.The Central Council is
a permanent committee of the Palestinian National Council, which is the
umbrella of the PLO. Its last meeting was held in the occupied West Bank city
of Ramallah in 2015, when the council decided to cut all kinds of contacts with
Israel, but this did not take place on the ground.Hamas has denied that it has
been invited. Spokesman Salah Al-Bardaweel said on Thursday morning that the
movement “has not yet received any official invitation.” The Hamas political
bureau member called for the Central Council to cancel the Oslo Peace Accords
because they have not brought peace to the Palestinians. If the movement is
invited, he added, it will discuss the issue. middleeastmonitor
Israel considering death penalty… but only for
Palestinian prisoners
Israeli Knesset approved on Wednesday a first
reading of the death penalty bill which would allow the authorities to execute
Palestinian prisoners accused of taking part in “operations against Israeli
targets,” Anadolu has reported. The bill was proposed by the right-wing leader
of the Jewish Home party Naftali Bennet; it was approved by a vote of 52 to 49
but needs a second and third reading before it becomes law. Extremist Avigdor
Lieberman, Israel’s Moldovan-born Defence Minister, endorsed the bill, which he
said would increase Israel’s deterrence effect. In televised comments last
week, Lieberman said that the law would specifically target Palestinians
convicted of attacking Israeli civilians and soldiers.MEMO
Palestinian teen first to be killed by Israel
in 2018
Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian
teen on the northern outskirts of the occupied West Bank town of Ramallah,
according to Palestinian officials.The Palestinian health ministry identified
the 17-year-old boy as Musab Firas al-Tamimi from the village of Deir Nitham,
where Wednesday's shooting took place.
After Trump’s tweet, Pakistan tells US: ‘You
carried out 57,800 attacks on Afghanistan from our bases’
Days after Donald Trump accused Pakistan of
giving nothing to US but ‘lies and deceit’, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif shot
back saying Islamabad has done enough and the US must not put the blame of
their failed policies and actions on them.On Twitter, Asif said, “You have
asked what did we do? A dictator surrendered on a single phone call, our
country witnessed the worse bloodbath, you carried out 57,800 attacks on
Afghanistan from our bases, your forces were supplied arms and explosives
through our soil, thousands of our civilians and soldiers became victims of the
war initiated by you.”
FLASH: VIEWS & NEWS
Bhima Koregaon violence speaks of distorted
political economy, communities failed by political leaderships:Suhas Palshikar
Pakistan continues to mainstream terror
groups. India cannot let down its guard:Syed Ata Hasnain
Supreme Court Never Asked Govt to Frame a Law
on Triple Talaq
India: Muslims are unsafe under BJP rule:Humra
Quraishi, Milli Gazette
How triple talaq bill will now end up
preventing marriages among Muslims altogether:IFRA RASHID
Dear Kejriwal, It Could Have Been A Dalit, A
Muslim, A Woman Or An Activist, Why A Billionaire Who Quit Congress?PRAGYA
SINGH
Thousands displaced by fighting in Syria's
Idlib
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