NEWS
DIGEST, MID-DAY
28 May 2018:11 Ramazan 1439: Vol:10, No:31
INDIA
Bypolls in 4 Lok Sabha, 10 assembly seats: Opposition
says 300 EVMs not working in Kairana LS poll, alleges EVMs malfunctioning in
Bhandara-Gondiya LS seat
Bypolls to 4 Lok Sabha seats including politically-crucial
Kairana and 10 assembly seats in 10 states began today. Besides Kairana in
western UP, where a joint opposition takes on BJP, by-election are being held
in Bhandara-Gondiya and Palghar parliamentary seats in Maharashtra and Nagaland
Lok Sabha seat.Polling is underway for assembly seats in RR Nagar in Karnataka;
Gomia and Silli constituencies of Jharkhand; Noorpur in UP; Shahkot in Punjab; Jokihat
in Bihar; Chengannur in Kerala; Palus Kadegaon in Maharashtra; Ampati in
Meghalaya; Tharali in Uttarakhand and Maheshtala in West Bengal.The votes will
be counted on May 31.19.25% voter turnout recorded till 1pm in Palghar
bypoll.60% polling in by-election to Nagaland Lok Sabha seat till 1pm.65.3%
polling in by-election to Ampati assembly seat in Meghalaya till 1 pm.52.21%
voting registered till 1pm in by-election for Silli assembly seat in
Jharkhand’s Ranchi, Gomia constituency in Bokaro district records 51% polling. 34%
voter turnout recorded till 1 pm in RRNagar assembly poll.NCP leader Praful
Patel alleges EVMs malfunctioning in Bhandara-Gondiya poll.“SP leader Akhilesh
Yadav just called me up. He also said 300 EVMs not working in Kairana bypoll,”
says Patel. “Technical problems in EVMs and VVPATs clearly indicate failure of
EC. If this is the situation in bypolls, think about coming Lok Sabha polls.
We’ve said it again and again and other parties have also agreed that polls
should be conducted using ballot papers, said Anil Desai of Shiv Sena.In
Bhandara–Gondiya Lok Sabha bypolls, voting temporarily suspended for now at 35
polling booths due to faulty EVM said DM.HT
Lok Sabha, Assembly bypolls Live: Rigging
allegations in UP, EVMs malfunction in Maharashtra
Kairana:SP-RLD approaches EC over 200 faulty
EVMs
Lucknow: RLD and Samajwadi Party which have jointly fielded a candidate in the Kairana
Lok Sabha bypoll, a keenly watched seat after BJP's debacle in Gorakhpur and
Phulpur, have alleged that over 200 EVMs malfunctioned in first 3 hours of
polling. Polling began at 8am on Monday.In a complaint sent to the Election
Commission, Tabassum Hasan, joint candidate of RLD-SP, wrote,"A request is
being made that most booths have developed snag in EVMs and VVPATS in the
ongoing polls in Kairana and Noorpur. Despite attempts to raise a concern, no
EC official is hearing us. We are sharing a break-up of the booths where EVMS
have malfunctioned..." In Kairana, Hasan is pitted against BJP's Mriganka
Singh, daughter of former Lok Sabha MP Hukum Singh, whose death necessitated
the by-poll there.SP candidate Naimul-Hasan is taking on BJP’s Avani Singh in
Noorpur vidhan sabha seat.TOI
RLD-SP raise EVM malfunction issue in UP by-polls
Bypolls LIVE: RLD, SP to meet EC over EVM
malfunction issue, 31% voting in Kairana till 1pm
Bypolls LIVE: 50,000 villagers boycott polls
in Maharashtra’s Bhandara-Gondiya
34 villages in Bhandara-Gondia constituency
have reportedly boycotted the polls. 50,000-odd voters affected by the
Gosikhurd irrigation project are upset that their demands have not been met,
News18 has reported. moneycontrol
LS, Assembly seats by-poll: Muslim voters
allegedly prevented from casting votes in Kairana
EC says political parties out of purview of
RTI, contradicts CIC ruling
New Delhi: Political parties are out of the
purview of RTI Act, the Election Commission has said in an order which is
contrary to the Central Information Commission's directive bringing six
national parties under the transparency law.The poll panel statement, which may
prove to be controversial, came while deciding the appeal of an RTI applicant
seeking to know donations collected by 6 national parties who were brought
under the ambit of the transparency law by CIC in June 2013."Requisite
information is not available in the Commission. This is related to political
parties and they are out of purview of the RTI. They may submit information of
donation/amount collected through Electoral bonds in their contribution report
for the financial year 2017-18 in the ECI for which the due date is September
30, 2018," the appeal order citing comment of the Central Public
Information Officer has said. Pune-based Vihar Dhurve had sought to know
through RTI the details of donations collected by the six national parties- the
BJP, Congress, BSP, NCP, CPI, CPM and the Samajwadi Party through newly
introduced electoral bonds.PTI
Haryana BJP turmoil: Union minister humiliates
Khattar, says CM can’t deliver in 2019
New Delhi: Discord within the Haryana unit of
BJP came out in the open Sunday when Rao Inderjit Singh, minister of state for
chemicals and fertilizers, said that the Khattar Govt will not help state party MPs in the upcoming
2019 polls.At an event in Gurugram to celebrate four years of Modi Govt , Singh
railed against Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar. The Union minister alleged that
the MPs are not kept informed as well as ignored by the state bureaucracy when
it comes to giving credit for the completion of projects. He also attacked
Khattar for not including Gurugram in the list of Smart Cities.At the event,
Singh admonished Khattar, who was present on stage, for ‘being late’. Upset
with the CM not turning up for inauguration of ‘Centre-sponsored’ bypass and a
flyover, and reaching straight to the event where intellectuals were called to
promote Modi Govt ’s achievements, Singh even said that he didn’t have much
expectation from the Khattar Govt in the
upcoming polls.theprint
Ramzan relief to be extended if terror stops:
Rajnath
NEW DELHI: The suspension of operations in J&K
will continue beyond Ramzan if
Pakistan-sponsored terror activities come to a halt, Union home minister
Rajnath Singh told ET. In an interview, Singh slammed Hurriyat leaders for
criticising the suspension of operations and not participating in the larger
peace initiative of the central Govt . At the same time, he said the Centre was
open to talking to anyone for a settlement on the vexed Kashmir problem. When
asked about the fate of suspension of operations in future, the minister said:
“We can think about it… If there is no incident, then there should be no
problem in extending this decision. This is a wellconsidered decision of our
govt. Kashmir is ours and so are Kashmiris."economictimes
J-K Police crackdowns on ‘keypad jehadis’ amid
rising fake news circulation: indianexpress
New Delhi:Taking cognisance of the alarming
rise in communal disharmony among the people in J&K , the state police has
launched an operation to identify the ‘keypad jehadis’, people who spew venom
on social networking sites to try and create a law and order situation in the
state by spreading on the Internet rumours or giving communal colour to any
event.A report in PTI said, that the police till now has registered cases
against 5 Twitter handles while filing complaints with service providers
against such misleading posts on Facebook and WhatsApp.Officials also said that
Twitter has been asked to provide details of the twitter handles so that action
can be taken against them at the earliest.They added that police has increased
its efforts on monitoring the social networking websites and also various
groups created on messaging services like WhatsApp, Telegram. indianexpress
India lodges protest with Pak over
Gilgit-Baltistan order
New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs has
summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah and lodged a strongly
worded protest against Islamabad’s Gilgit-Baltistan Order, 2018, which
essentially gives people of Gilgit-Baltistan all rights enjoyed by the 4
provinces of Pakistan.Asserting that the entire J&K , including
Gilgit-Baltistan areas, was an integral part of India, MEA warned Islamabad of
any move to declare it as the fifth province.Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as a
separate geographical entity by Pakistan. Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,
Punjab and Sindh are four provinces of Pakistan.China’s concerns about the
unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status
since Beijing’s ambitious CPEC project passes through the region, which borders
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.indianexpress
Now Rohingya camp in Haryana’s Nuh district
gutted
A Rohingya refugee camp in Haryana’s Nuh
district was gutted Sunday afternoon, after a major fire broke out in the area.
Although no casualty was reported, over 50 families have been affected by the
blaze.Fire department officials said a call was received regarding the blaze in
Chandeni around 3.25 pm, following which three fire tenders were rushed to the
spot.“It took us almost three hours to douse the flames,” said a fire
officer.“Prima facie, the blaze appears to have been caused by a short
circuit,” he added.Inspector Sanjay Kumar, SHO, Nuh police station, said, “No
one was killed or injured, but the shanties were entirely gutted. Nobody has
approached us to register a case so far.”As many as 215 people lived in the
shanties. “All our belongings are gone. All that is left are the clothes we are
wearing,” said a resident.Until evening, the people had taken shelter in a
makeshift camp in the area, with food being provided by sympathisers. Residents
said their evening meal consisted only of some vegetables and rice.Last month,
over 200 Rohingya refugees were left homeless after a fire destroyed their camp
in Delhi’s Sarita Vihar.indianexpress
Fire burns down Rohingya camp in Mewat
Namaz row: Mahapanchayat says disruption of
peace in Gurugram will dent business, industry
Gurugram: An all-religion mahapanchayat under
the banner of SarvaKhap Sarva Dharma Bhaichara and Samrashta Panchayat was held
on Sunday morning, with the objective of sending a message of communal harmony
and peace in Gurugram following the recent controversy over disruption of namaz
in open areas.The panchayat had 200 participants representing the people of 360
villages and different religious communities, including Sikhs, Muslims,
Christians and Hindus. The initiative was led by Congress functionary Pradeep
Singh Zaildar. “Gurugram is an international city with a cosmopolitan culture.
Such incidents must not be repeated. We’ve come together to express solidarity
with Muslims and send a message that people from all religions coexist
peacefully in the millennium city,” said Zaildar.He added that a suggestion was
also made to withdraw police complaints against 6 men accused of disrupting
namaz.A few Muslim representatives backed the demand, and said when all
communities have come together to send a message of unity and forgiveness, the
complaint is best withdrawn. “We will meet officials from district
administration and discuss the matter of withdrawing FIRs in the coming week,”
said Zaildar. “Gurugram is known worldwide today for the business hub it is,
and incidents disrupting the peace will impact business and industry for the
worse. This will further reduce employment opportunities in the city. We do not
want a bad name for the city, hence it’s important for the elders of all
communities to send out a message of peace and harmony,” said Naresh Sehrawat
of Sukhrali.Many others agreed with Sehrawat, and said it was only a handful of
misguided youths who had been involved in obstructing namaz, while most of the
city’s residents believe in living together in harmony.TOI
Maharashtra govt wants to fund madrassas, they
say thanks, but no thanks: The Print
Mumbai: BJP-led Maharashtra govt has found few
takers for a scheme to introduce formal education in madrassas despite offering
funds as an incentive.Only 144 of the estimated 1,889 madrassas registered in
the state (7.6%) availed of the scheme in 2017-18, according to data from the
state minority affairs department, which gave these institutes a total of Rs
5.36 crore in grants.As part of the scheme, registered madrassas with
residential facilities for students receive Govt grants if lessons in subjects such as science,
maths, social sciences, Hindi, Marathi,English and Urdu accompany religious
studies. Interested institutes have to apply for the grant each year, with the
shortlisted madrassas receiving funds for teacher salaries and basic
infrastructure, libraries, computer labs, and so on. Even the institutes
selected in a given year have to make a fresh application for the grant in
subsequent years. Scheme also offers scholarships for students who wish to
study in a regular school between classes IX and XII.An official from the state
minority affairs department said the response from madrassas had been poor
because of the perception that accepting funds from Govt would bring them under state control. Maulana
Mehmood Daryabadi, of All India Ulema Council, said they “didn’t need the Govt’s
help with institutes that impart religious teachings”.“The state’s help always
comes with a lot of strings attached,” he added, “Tomorrow, Govt will expect the madrassas to toe the line on
all its directives, whether they are related to filing reports or hanging
pictures of certain personalities on the school walls.”Shyam Tagade, principal
secretary, state minority affairs department, said while madrassas were
reluctant to avail of the scheme, a major reason for the low numbers was
stricter Govt scrutiny.theprint
Crippled by massive vacancies, universities
rely on underpaid ad-hoc teachers: theprint
New Delhi: Over a third of the total teaching
positions across 40 central universities in India are lying vacant, with
Allahabad University and Delhi University among the worst affected.Govt information accessed by ThePrint through an
RTI application shows that until January this year, 33 % of teaching positions have not been filled up
in the central universities.Allahabad University has the largest number of
vacant teaching positions at 64.44 % , while Delhi University (DU) was the
second worst with 47.7 % vacancies.
Although DU has since appointed 140 teachers, it still leaves a huge gap that
has to be bridged.To overcome the shortage, the universities have resorted to
hiring ad-hoc or temporary teachers. As such, thousands of ad-hoc faculty
members in India’s central universities have been entrusted the same
responsibilities as their permanent counterparts. But they are underpaid and
many complain they are undervalued.The situation is so dire in Allahabad
University that most classes are being taught by junior research fellows (JRFs)
who teach for two to three hours a day on a scholarship of Rs 30,000 a
month.theprint
‘Inventors’ are trying to rewrite history,
says Hamid Ansari
Former Vice President Hamid Ansari on Sunday
said some “inventors” were attempting to “rewrite history”, reported PTI.
“History is history,” Ansari said at the launch of a book on Jawaharlal Nehru
in New Delhi. “It has to be read. You can draw lessons from it, you can draw
encouragement from it or you can just read it as a college student preparing
for term examination. History cannot be changed.”Ansari talked about HG Wells’
book Time Machine, which mooted the idea of a technology by which one could go
back to the past. “Well, it was a great success,” he said. “But today, I notice
another set of inventors, not writers. Inventors [are] trying to create a time
machine by which you can go back in history and rewrite history. Now, such an
effort is not going to succeed.”scroll.in
Pranab Mukherjee will address 600 workers at
its Nagpur HQ: RSS
New Delhi:Former President Pranab Mukherjee
will address members of RSS at its headquarters in Nagpur on June 7, a top RSS
official has confirmed to Indian Express. Mukherjee’s office is yet to issue a
statement.“We had extended an invitation to the former president to address RSS
workers at our headquarters in Nagpur. He has accepted our invitation and will
be present at the event,” RSS official said. Third Year Sangha Shiksha Varga
(SSV) of the RSS has a participation of over 600 workers.“Ex-President Pranab
Mukherjee’s acceptance to attend RSS event in Nagpur sends a message to the
country that on vital issues there should be dialogue and adversaries are not
enemies. Questions raised on RSS-Hindutva is being answered by his acceptance
of invitation,” RSS leader Rakesh Sinha said.indianexpress
Banks Impose Heavy Penalty on No-Frills
Accounts for Exceeding Withdrawal Limit: thewire
No-frills account holders are facing penalty
for exceeding the limit of four withdrawals in a month as several banks are
using the fifth debit as a trigger to convert the Basic Savings Bank Deposit
Account (BSBDA) into a regular one, says a report.While no charges are levied
for maintaining no-frills account or BSBDA in a bank, the regular accounts are
subject to various fees and charges.The key restriction on a BSBDA is that the
account holder cannot make more than four withdrawals in a month, though there
is no such limit on number of deposits.These design anomalies are prompting the
bankers to overcharge BSBDA customers in violation of RBI’s extant regulations,
said the report prepared by Ashish Das, IIT Bombay professor.The moment a fifth
debit transaction is done by the customer in a month, these banks without
explicit and voluntary consent of customers are unilaterally converting BSBDA
into a regular savings account, requiring high minimum balance and associated
service charges, the report said.RBI should put a halt to involuntary
conversion of BSBDAs to regular savings accounts, the report said, adding that
the whole scheme was launched to promote financial inclusion.It also suggested
that RBI should remove the restrictions on number of digital transactions in a
month by such account holders, in tandem with the govt’s policy to promote less
cash economy. At present, after 4 debits in a month from a BSBDA, the customer
is no longer able to make online purchases, transfer money through BHIM or use
RuPay debit card at merchant locations for day-to-day purchases,report said.
Why were Muslim youths roaming in temple
premises with Hindu girl: Uttarakhand BJP MLA Thukral
Dehradun:While the Uttarakhand police recently
rewarded Sub Inspector Gagandeep Singh of Uttarakhand’s Ramnagar police station
for rescuing a Muslim youth from being assaulted by a mob comprising right-wing
outfits in the premises of the Garjiya temple in Uttarakhand’s Ramnagar town,
BJP MLA Rajkumar Thukral, warned that right-wing outfits will fight the
“destroyers of the Hindu culture”.Members of right-wing outfits, comprising of
VHP had spotted Irfan (23) with a 19-year-old Hindu girl near the temple and
began thrashing him when SI Singh, who was posted in the temple premises,
shielded Irfan from the angry mob. Singh had safely taken Irfan out of the
temple premises, for which he received admiration from all around.indianexpress
Shimla goes thirsty: No drinking water
available in city for seventh consecutive day
Shimla:Faced with the scarcity of drinking
water for the seventh consecutive day, residents of several parched localities
of Shimla on Sunday threatened to put locks at the local Municipal Corporation
(MC) as private tankers failed to fulfill the requirement.The town’s busy Mall
road, which is normally buzzing with tourists’ activity at weekends, saw long
queues of men, women and children rushing to fill-up water at the arrival of
water tankers.Inder Singh, a Congress councillor, who was also standing in the
queue to get drinking water, alleged that the municipal wards represented by
the Congress, were being selectively targeted. “There is no drop of water for
past six days. Despite being a Sunday, people spent hours in fetching water. I
will tender my resignation in protest if the situation doesn’t change” he
said.indianexpress
In Fatehgarh Sahib, Sikh gurdwara priest looks
after old mosque as well
Fatehgarh Sahib, a town of sacred pilgrimage
in Punjab, has been witness to one of the most tragic, painful and violent
chapters of Sikh-Mughal history going back 3 centuries. Despite that, a
350-year-old mosque not only stands in complete harmony with a recently
completed gurdwara, but is looked after by the Sikh priest.Chittian Masjidan
(White Mosque), with its 3 white-washed domes, can be seen from a distance
amidst the agricultural fields of Mahadian village. A few Mughal-era structures
still dot the countryside here, even as the area is dominated by Sikh shrines,
the largest one being the main Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, to which Sikh pilgrims
come from all over the world. Jeet Singh, a granthi (Sikh cleric) of the
Mastgarh Sahib Chittian gurdwara maintains the mosque's ancient
structure."I have been maintaining the (mosque) building for the past 4
years. It was in a very bad shape when I came here. I clean it from inside
daily even though no Muslims (who live in nearby villages) come here for
prayers," Jeet Singh told IANS, standing in front of the partially
dilapidated structure.IANS
In Tihar jail, 59 Hindu prisoners observe
Ramzan fast with Muslims
Lodged inside the country’s most crowded
prison, 59 Hindu prisoners have been observing fast in Ramzan along with their
2,299 co-prisoners of Muslim faith. They may follow a different faith, but each
of them said they have their own reason to observe roza.A 45-year-old woman
told jail officers she is fasting for the welfare of her son outside. The woman
was arrested for kidnapping. Her case is yet to be decided by a court. Another
prisoner reportedly told officials that he is observing roza in hopes of an
early release.A 21-year-old prisoner who came to jail a few months ago is also
among those fasting. He told jail officials he is doing so because he observed
his Muslim co-prisoners fasting and wanted to participate with them. There are
97 women prisoners who are fasting. Spread across different jails, the central
prison has around 15,000 inmates.Every jail superintendent has been directed to
participate in the iftar —when the sun sets and those observing roza have their
first meal of the day.The prison’s director general, Ajay Kashyap said an inter
jail co-ordination meeting was held before the month-long festival started
earlier this month.HT
WORLD
UN rejects Israel's claim over Syria's Golan
Heights
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/rejects-israel-claim-syria-golan-heights-160426195853040.html
UNSC has rejected Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that the annexed
Golan Heights in Syria would "forever" remain under Israeli
control.15-member council agreed on Tuesday that the status of Golan, which
Israel seized from Syria in 1967, "remains unchanged", Chinese
Ambassador Liu Jieyi, who holds this month's council presidency said.Liu
recalled a 1981 resolution which states that Israel's "decision to impose
its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights
was nul and void and without any international legal effect."Liu said that
the Council members "expressed deep concern" over Netanyahu's remarks
from earlier this month that "the Golan Heights will remain in the hands
of Israel forever."Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon issued a statement
rejecting the council complaint.aljazeera
Israeli MP: Assad regime survival serves
Israel’s interest
A member in the Israeli Knesset, Eyal Ben
Reuven has said that it is in Israel’s interest that the rule of the Syrian
regime president, Bashar al-Assad continues.“This is regrettable, but a
realistic view of the complex situation shows that the stability of the murder
Bashar Assad’s rule is pure Israeli interest” Israeli Maariv newspaper quoted
Ben Reuven of the Zionist Union as saying. Israeli lawmaker also suggested that
Iran’s removal from Syria is in the interest of Russia, the US, Syria and
Israel. He stressed that the Israeli battle, both politically and militarily,
should continue to limit Iran’s threat to the region and Israel in
particular.middleeastmonitor
Assad regime airdrops leaflets to threaten
Syrians
Idlib:Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime on Sunday
airdropped leaflets in Syrian province of Idlib, threatening the civilians in
the region.The leaflets, bearing the title "Choose your destiny" and
a photo of a dead Syrian, were dropped from a helicopter onto Idlib's Sarmada,
Ram Hamdan villages and a refugee camp in Kemmune village."Continuing
holding a gun in your hand means you are taking side with dead people. If you
want to live, put your guns down. Don't gamble on your life," the note
read.The note threatened the Syrians with death and said that it is their “last
chance.”"You have no other choice. You will either put your guns down or
you will definitely die. Make use of this last chance, put your guns down and
improve your situation," the note warned.Anadolu Agency
Iran, Israel conduct indirect negotiations
over Syria fighting: Report
Iran and Israel engaged in indirect
negotiations this weekend over fighting in southwest Syria, according to a
report on Saudi-owned news site Elaph.Iran reportedly pledged to stay out of
fighting in southwest Syria between Syrian forces and rebel groups while Israel
said it will not intervene in battles near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
or the Israel-Jordan border so long as Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias
are not involved. For the negotiations, Iran's ambassador to Jordan, Mostafa
Moslehzadeh, stayed in a hotel room with Iranian security personnel next door
to a room of senior Israeli security officials, including the deputy head of
Mossad, Elaph reported. Jordanian officials served as mediator, shuttling messages
between the two rooms, according to the report.middleeasteye
9 Russian fighters killed in Syria's Deir
Ezzor: Monitor
At least 26 Syrian government forces and 9
Russian fighters were killed in an Islamic State (IS) group attack earlier this
week in Syria's eastern desert, a monitor said Sunday.Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said the militants had targeted a group of Syrian and allied
Russian fighters near the town of Mayadeen in Deir Ezzor province on Wednesday.middleeasteye
Gaza boats will attempt to break Israel siege tomorrow
The Gaza Strip will set off a flotilla of
ships on Tuesday in a bid to break the 12-year-long Israeli blockade on the
Palestinian territory.“This trip will carry the hopes and dreams of the
Palestinian people for freedom,” Salah Abdul-Ati, a member of a Palestinian
committee tasked with breaking the siege, told a press conference in the Gaza
City on Sunday.He said the first ship will set sail on Tuesday morning, with a
number of injured Gazans and patients aboard.He, however, did not specify the
first stop of the ship.MEMO
Egypt allow “Miles of Smiles” convoy to bring
aids to Gaza
The convoy of “Miles of Smiles” is getting
ready to visit Gaza Strip next week, after securing dates of entry through the
Rafah crossing, under the agreement of the Egyptian authorities.“There is full
coordination with Egyptian authorities on everything related to this convoy,”
said Essam Yousef, the coordinator of the campaign, during an interview with
Quds Press.He said that “activists from Britain, Belgium, Germany, Algeria,
Jordan, Indonesia, and Kuwait will be participating in this convoy.”According
to Yousef, “the convoy will be carrying food and medical aid and it is fully
secured by Egypt and ready to be transported. It also carries in-kind aid which
will be delivered directly to the beneficiaries in Gaza Strip.”MEMO
Palestinian President Abbas's hospital stay is
extended
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who
officials said is being treated for a lung infection, will remain in hospital
for an eighth day on Sunday.The 82-year-old leader had been expected to be
released from hospital in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, but this was
postponed, Abbas's office said in a text message to journalists.middleeasteye
Speculation over Saudi Crown Prince health
amid rumours of his death:MEMO
Western media outlets have raised speculations
over the wellbeing of Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman who has not made
any public appearance in four weeks.French 20 Minutes newspaper linked between
the prince’s disappearance and the “attempted coup” which took place at the
royal palace in the neighbourhood of Khuzama in Riyadh on April, 21.According
to the paper, the Saudi media has rejected reports circulating on social media
claiming the gunshots heard at the palace were part of a military coup attempt
while the authorities claim a semi-automatic fire was used to send away a drone
that appeared near the palace wall.French paper’s report follows another report
issued by British The Observer which also raised doubts about the prince’s
health.Bin Salman has not appeared in public since his meeting with the Spanish
royal family on April 12.The al-Ahd al-Jadeed Twitter account, which describes
itself as “close to the decision-making circles” in Saudi Arabia claimed that
the Crown Prince has not entered the royal court since the incident at the
royal palace in April.Last week, Iranian Kayhan newspaper reported that the
crown prince had been shot twice during the attack and may have already died,
citing a secret intelligence report sent to senior officials in an unnamed Arab
country.According to the site, Bin Salman did not appear before camera when new
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Riyadh late last April.
Saudi writer Madawi al-Rasheed: Saudi arrests
protracts the kingdom’s ‘Game of Thrones’
Saudi writer Madawi al-Rasheed said that three
recent waves of arrests reflect the paranoia of the new Saudi leadership, and
suggested that that it appeared incapable of discriminating between friend and
foe.The author added in an article published on the British Middle East Eye
website: “These arrest campaigns can be considered as a sign of the
leadership’s sense of insecurity, repressive tactics, or a popular mobilization
strategy to ensure agreement on his policies and leadership, considering his
legitimacy as the heir to the throne.”middleeastmonitor
Pakistan elections: Non-Muslim voters up by 30
% over last 5-yrs, Hindus maintain majority
Islamabad: The number of non-Muslim voters in
Pakistan has climbed to 3.63 million in 2018 with Hindus maintaining their
majority among the religious minority electorate, according to a new voters’
list prepared by authorities ahead of the general elections.The non-Muslim
voters have registered an increase of 30 % over the last five years, the Dawn newspaper
reported. The number of voters belonging to religious minorities has climbed to
3.63 million in 2018 from 2.77 million as registered in electoral rolls for the
2013 general elections, it said. According to the report, the number of Hindu
voters before 2013 polls was 1.40 million, higher than the collective number of
all other minorities.The number of Hindu voters now stands at 1.77 million.
Hindu voters continue to maintain their majority among the minorities, but they
no more constitute over half of total non-Muslim voters as was the case in
2013, according to the report. They are mostly concentrated in the Sindh
province, where in two districts they form over 40% of total registered
voters.freepressjournal
Pakistan names former chief justice Nasir Ul
Mulk as interim PM until general elections
Islamabad:Pakistan on Monday appointed former
chief justice Nasir Ul Mulk as interim prime minister until general elections
are held on July 25, premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said.“No Pakistani can lift a
finger (against) such a name,” Abbasi told reporters, seated next to opposition
leader Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah.The announcement ends weeks of wrangling
between Abbasi’s ruling PML-N and Shah’s Pakistan People’s Party.Mulk, who also
served as the interim chief of the Election Commission of Pakistan, will head a
technocratic government until elections as the current government and
parliament will be dissolved on Thursday.Reuters
Hindu widows can remarry now, bill passed in
Pak’s assembly
Karachi: Pakistan’s Sindh province’s assembly
passed a landmark bill allowing Hindu widows to remarry. The bill was initially
moved by Nand Kumar Goklani of functional Pakistan Muslim League in the
assembly. The bill allows Hindu widows to remarry out of their own free will
but only after a period of six months has lapsed after their husband’s death.
The bill also grants Hindu women the right to file a petition for dissolution
of a marriage if they want to terminate their marriage. According to a HT
report, Sindh Hindu Marriage Amendment Bill, 2018, which was passed on Friday,
allows women in strained marriages to file for separation. The bill also states
that, in case of separation, the man will have to provide for the children.
Prior to the passage of the bill, divorced or widowed Hindu women in Sindh were
not legally allowed to marry a second time. The amended bill has also
prohibited bigamy, stating that a person cannot get married the second time
while their first spouse still lives with them. Clause 18 of the bill says:“Any
marriage solemnised after commencement of this act is void if at the date of
such marriage either party had a spouse living.”
New Zealand to kill 150,000 cows to end
bacterial disease
New Zealand plans to slaughter about 150,000
cows as it tries to eradicate a strain of disease-causing bacteria from the
national herd.Politicians and industry leaders announced the ambitious plan on
Monday. They say it will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and, if
successful, would be the first time an infected country has eliminated
Mycoplasma bovis.HT
China Declares War On Buddha Statues, Orders
Ban On Building Huge Outdoor Idols
China's ruling Communist Party has ordered the
provincial Govt s to regulate the construction of large outdoor religious
statues in a bid to prevent "commercialisation" of Buddhist and
Taoist religions, official media reported on Saturday.Both Buddhism and Taoism
have been officially recognised in Communist China with thousands of temples,
even though they were subjected to heavy crackdown during the Cultural
Revolution (1966-76) headed by Communist Party of China (CPC) founder Mao
Zedong to cleanse China of its spiritual past.Local Govt s have been asked to
ramp up efforts to regulate the construction of new large outdoor religious
statues, the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the CPC directed
yesterday.indiatimes
Muslim students attacked and chased with stun
gun at McDonald's: 'You don't deserve American food!'
John Jay Smith kept muttering to police
"they killed my son," but really all that the five young men had done
was eat some food in a McDonald's parking lot.It was sometime past 1:30 a.m.
Wednesday. The 5 friends were having a mini tailgate, finishing their burgers
and fries while standing outside their 2 cars in a Saint Augustine, Florida,
McDonald's lot, when Smith started eyeing them from his truck, the men would
soon tell police.The man was on the phone, but once he hung up he had a
question for the five men."Are you American boys?" he asked, according
to a St. Johns County Sheriff's Office arrest report.They were not American
boys. They were international students from Egypt, all between the ages of 19
and 23, Omar Abdelmoaty told The Washington Post. But they didn't tell that to
Smith.According to the arrest report, Smith flashed his pocket knife, flicking
it open and closed, and then he shouted, "Get the...out of my
country!", using the F-word, and "You don't deserve American
food!" "We said, 'OK, sir, we are leaving,'" 20-year-old Mohamed
Galal recounted in a sworn affidavit. They were apparently not leaving fast
enough. According to the police report, Smith grabbed a stun gun from his truck
to "make this quicker," as he put it, according to affidavit.independent
FLASH: VIEWS & NEWS
‘BJP programmes run on my channel all 24
hours’: Cobrapost sting puts spot on vanity media channels
Karnataka sets roadmap for 2019 — Aijaz Zaka
Syed
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