NEWS
DIGEST, EVENING
28 April 2019: 22 Shaban 1440:Vol: 11, No:187
INDIA:ELECTIONS
Jobs remains top concern for voters:
CVOTER-IANS
New Delhi : Unemployment remains the leading
concern for the people as they are far more worried about economic issues than
security, according to the CVOTER-IANS tracker.In a survey carried out on April
26, 28.42% of respondents identified unemployment as their main concern. In a
sample of 11,672, 57.04 per cent felt economic issues as one of the major
problems in the country and 11.74 per cent expressed security concerns as the
main worry.Unemployment has remained as the top issue even before the poll
process began. But in mid-March, the concerns about security issues came almost
at par with economic problems. The poll tracker in the first week of March had
shown that terror attacks had overtaken unemployment as the top issue for the
voters. On March, 26.12 per cent of respondents had identified terror attacks
as main concern while 21.74 per cent had said unemployment. The concerns about
security has gradually come down as unemployment poses challenge. On April 27,
there was a difference of 45.3 percentage points between economic and security
issues with balance tilting heavily in favour of the former.Even among states,
the voters in Punjab are most worried about jobs as 49.21 per cent of
respondents said unemployment was top most concern. Among the states where
unemployment was voted most include Jammu and Kashmir (44.63 per cent in a
sample of 698), Uttarakhand (43.10 per cent in a sample of 562), Jharkhand
(39.72 per cent in a sample of 403), Delhi (37.11 per cent in a sample of 316)
and Madhya Pradesh (33.95 per cent in a sample of 413).IANS
Karkare’s daughter breaks silence: ‘Don’t want
to dignify her (Pragya’s) remark… my father taught us terror has no religion’
Panaji:Breaking her silence 11 years after her
father was killed in the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, Jui Navare, daughter of ex
Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare, has said that she wants everyone to
remember that “even in his death he was trying to save his city, his country”
and that he placed his uniform before his own life and family. Speaking from
her home in US, Navare said she read about the statement made by 2008 Malegaon
terror-accused and BJP Lok Sabha candidate Sadhvi Pragya Thakur about her
father “on social media”.“I do not want to dignify her or her statement. I only
want to talk about Hemant Karkare. He was a role model and his name should be
taken with dignity,” Navare said.“He taught us that terrorism has no religion.
No religion teaches anyone to kill each other… it’s the ideology that has to be
defeated. In his life, in his 24-year career in the police, he helped everyone.
Even in his death, he was trying to save his city, his country. He loved his
uniform and placed it before us and before his own life. I just want everyone
to remember that,” she said. Navare, 38, is the eldest of Karkare’s 3 children
and is settled in the US with her husband and their two daughters. Navare said
her father was “completely occupied” with the (Malegaon) investigation and her
mother always “feared for his life” because she “was very worried about the
case and its implications”. Karkare’s wife died in 2014 after suffering a brain
haemorrhage. “On the case, I fully supported his findings. I knew whatever he
did would be correct. He was an officer who went by the book. I know him as a
daughter… A person like him would always ensure justice. It was always obvious
for me…I never vocalised it,” she said. indian express
‘He taught us terror has no religion… the
ideology has to be defeated… I just want all to remember that’
2 More Terror Accused in Malegaon Blast Case
File Nomination from UP
After BJP fielded Malegaon bomb blast accused
Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur from Bhopal, two more accused in Malegaon case are
contesting Lok Sabha elections from eastern UP. Major Ramesh Upadhyay from
Ballia seat and Sudhakar Chaturvedi from Mirzapur filed their nomination papers
on Friday.Upadhyay, a key accused in the Malegaon blast case, is contesting on
the symbol of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, while Sudhakar Chaturvedi, who was
also questioned in connection with the case, announced his candidature on
Friday from Mirzapur Lok Sabha constituency as an independent. All the 3
accused have been charged under various sections of UAPA for terrorism in
relation to the Malegaon blast which happened in Sept.2008 and are currently
out on bail.Ramesh Upadhyay will take on Virendra Singh Mast who is contesting
from BJP in Ballia, while Sudhakar Chaturvedi will be challenging Union
Minister and Apna Dal leader Anupriya Patel in Mirzapur.Ironically, soon after
filing his nomination papers from Ballia, Upadhyay showed his colours by saying
that he is in agreement with Sadhvi Pragya's controversial statement on Karkare.newsclick.in
How long can a party rule on the blood of its
victims, says wife of lynching victim Mariyam Khatoon
“Not even the Hindus in this area will vote
for BJP. We have always lived in harmony and even after the incident, they have
always come forward to help us. How long can a party talk about hate and win,
how long can it rule on the blood of its victims?” asks Mariyam Khatoon, the
wife of Alimuddin Ansari who was dragged out of his cab and thrashed to death
by an unruly mob of cow-vigilantes at marketplace in Ramgarh, Jharkhand in
2017. The killing has been etched into the psyche of those in the area. Even on
a midsummer afternoon, the streets that take you to her house, which they got
through Indira Awaas Yojana, lie bereft of people. Doors of all the homes
remain locked and closed to outsiders; not a single child can be seen outside.
It lies in contrast to the hullabaloo just 300 metres away on the main road.“No
one from the BJP has come to this area. How will they show their face? Congress
candidate Gopal Sahu came to this area a couple of days ago and his son came to
our house yesterday. But, other than that there hasn’t been much electioneering
here. There doesn’t seem to be much enthusiasm from the Congress. I wonder what
message they want to send,” explains Mariyam.Mariyam’s house comes under
Hazaribagh constituency, which will go to elections on May 5. Yashwant Sinha’s
son Jayant Sinha, who had garlanded the murderers of Alimuddin Ansari is
standing against Gopal Sahu of the Congress. The election is expected to be a
walkover for BJP, unless people come together.nationalheraldindia
4th phase of Lok Sabha Elections tomorrow
71 Parliamentary constituencies spread over
nine states, and Kulgam district of Anantnag Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and
Kashmir will go to polls in the fourth phase tomorrow. Voting will be held for
17 Parliamentary seats in Maharashtra; 13 each in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh;
eight in West Bengal; 6 each in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha; 5 in Bihar; and
three in Jharkhand in this phase. Polling will also be held for the remaining
42 assembly seats in Odisha tomorrow, besides, by-election to Chhindwara
assembly seat in Madhya Pradesh, Nighasan in Uttar Pradesh, and Krishnaganj in
West Bengal. newsonair
2.7 lakh paramilitary, 20 lakh state police
deployed for LS polls
NEW DELHI: Over 2.7 lakh paramilitary
personnel along with over 20 lakh state police personnel and home guards are on
the job for ensuring smooth conduct of the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls in the
country. Home Ministry officials said deployment of such a large number of
security personnel in the 2019 general elections was the highest ever in India.
Following a recommendation of the Election Commission, 2,710 companies of
paramilitary personnel were deployed in Lok Sabha polls, a home ministry
official said. A company of paramilitary comprises about 100 personnel. In
addition, police force and home guards of each state, total number of which
would be over 20 lakh, have been deployed along with paramilitary personnel in
all booths, transportation of polling personnel and guarding strong rooms where
the Electronic Voting Machines are kept after the polls. The total sanctioned
strength of India's state police forces is around 21 lakh and paramilitary is
around 10 lakh. TOI
Opposition parties tell EC ‘BJP’ displayed
below party symbol on voting machines in Barrackpore
Opposition parties have complained to the
Election Commission alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s name was
displayed under its symbol on electronic voting machines during a mock drill in
West Bengal’s Barrackpore constituency.Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi
and Ahmed Patel, as well as Trinamool Congress leaders Derek O’ Brien and
Dinesh Trivedi met Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, the Hindustan Times
reported. The parties demanded that the poll panel should either remove all
machines which mention “BJP” or the names of all other parties should be
added.“On EVMs, the letters BJP are visible under the party’s symbol,” Singhvi
said. “No party can use the party’s name and its symbol together.”scroll.in
BJP Asks Warring MLAs Not to Issue Statements
Against Each Other
Dehradun: The Uttarakhand BJP has asked two
party MLAs locked in a verbal spat for over a fortnight to stop inveighing
against each other in public while the matter is being probed.A three-member
committee set up by the party to look into the matter has, as a first step,
asked the MLAs to keep quiet and not cause further embarrassment to the party
while the inquiry is underway, Pradesh BJP media chief Devendra Bhasin said on
Sunday.“Convener of the committee Khajan Das has categorically told the MLAs
not to issue any statements against each other anymore and do nothing to breach
party discipline or land the party in an uncomfortable situation,” Bhasin
said.PTI
Does PM take us for bunch of idiots with large
memory losses: Chidambaram
New Delhi: Hitting out at PM Narendra Modi
over his stance on caste and his "origins as a chaiwala", senior
Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday asked if PM considers people a
"bunch of idiots" who have suffered memory loss.His scathing attack
on PM came a day after Modi said in Kannauj that he does not believe in
politics of caste."Modi is the first person who became PM later who
campaigned wearing his caste on his sleeve (2014):'I am an OBCNSE 1.11 %'. Now,
he says he has no caste!" Chidambaram tweeted. "What does PM take us
for? A bunch of idiots who have large memory losses?" he asked.PTI
OTHERS
China removes BRI map that showed J-K,
Arunachal as part of India
Beijing:A map hosted on Chinese government’s
MOFCOM or Ministry of Commerce’s website displaying routes under China’s
flagship Belt and Road Initiative, which showed Arunachal Pradesh and parts of
Jammu & Kashmir as part of India — at odds with China’s own stand on these
areas, appears to have since been removed.Though India is boycotting the second
Belt and Road Forum taking place in Beijing at the moment, the map also
incorrectly showed India to be part of BRI. The map did not clearly distinguish
Pakistan Occupied Kashmir which is a core part of China-Pakistan Economic
Corridor (CPEC). ‘India has expressed strong opposition against the CPEC, an
important connectivity project under BRI, which links the Gwadar Port in
Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, which is the main reason
for the country not participating in BRI.The display of the map on a prominent
Chinese government site at a time when the Second Belt and Road Forum is
ongoing is at odds with China’s stance. Last month, China destroyed nearly
30,000 world maps printed in the country for not showing Arunachal as part of
its territory.Beijing claims Arunachal as part of South Tibet, and the
northeastern state is depicted as part of South Tibet Autonomous Region in
China’s official maps.indianexpress
Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) Economic
Corridor no longer listed under BRI umbrella
BEIJING:India’s decision to skip the Belt and
Road Forum (BRF) may have led to the exclusion of the Bangladesh- China- India-
Myanmar (BCIM) Economic corridor from the list of projects covered by the
China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella.In an annex tagged with the
Joint Communiqué of the Leaders' Roundtable of the BRF, which concluded in
Beijing on Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry website has not listed the
BCIM as a project covered by the BRI—the giant connectivity initiative speared
by China to revive the ancient Silk Road across Eurasia and Africa.Instead,
South Asia is covered by three major undertakings—the China-Myanmar Economic
Corridor (CMEC), the Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multi-dimensional Connectivity
Network, including Nepal-China cross-border railway, as well as the China
Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).Citing “sovereignty” concerns, India, for the
second time, has not officially participated in BRF, as CPEC—a flagship of the
BRI—passes through PoK.2800 km BCIM corridor proposes to link Kunming in
China’s Yunnan province with Kolkata, passing though nodes such as Mandalay in
Myanmar and Dhaka in Bangladesh before heading to Kolkata.Significantly, a
report titled, “The Belt and Road Initiative Progress, Contributions and
Prospects,” released by the Leading Group for Promoting the Belt and Road
Initiative of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on April 22 does list the BCIM
as a BRI project.thehindu
Xi Jinping meets Imran Khan, calls for
improvement of Indo-Pak relations
Beijing:Chinese President Xi Jinping met Prime
Minister Imran Khan on Sunday and expressed hope that Pakistan and India can
meet each other halfway to improve their strained relations following the
Pulwama attack. Both leaders also exchanged views on the situations in South
Asia, an official Chinese statement in Beijing said about the meeting between
Mr. Xi and Mr. Khan.India-Pakistan relations reportedly figured prominently in
the meeting. Xi expressed hope that Pakistan and India can meet each other
halfway and promote the stabilisation and improvement of India-Pakistan
relations, it said.PTI
NIA conducts raids in Kerala over ISIS links
New Delhi :NIA on Sunday conducted searches at
3 places in Kerala in connection with a case pertaining to youth from the state
joining ISIS.The agency carried out raids in Kasaragod and Palakkad and
interrogated three individuals who are suspected to have links with the youth
who joined the dreaded terror organisation.“These persons are suspected to have
links with some of the accused persons in the said case who had exited India to
join the proscribed terrorist organisation ISIS,” the agency said in a
statement, PTI reported.Besides this, NIA also seized mobile phones, SIM cards,
memory cards, pen drives, diaries with handwritten notes in Arabic and
Malayalam, DVDs and books of Zakir Naik, besides untitled DVDs, CDs with
religious speeches, books of Syed Kutheb.“Digital devices will be forensically
examined and analysed,” the agency said, adding the three suspects are being
questioned. indian express
Amend POCSO Act to allow consensual sex after
16 years of age, Madras High Court suggests
Madras High Court on Saturday suggested that
the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act be amended to exclude consensual
sex after 16 years of age from the purview of the Act. Justice V Parthiban said
that the definition of “child” under the Act should be reduced from 18 years to
16 years, Bar and Bench reported.The judge made the remarks while hearing a
case filed by a man alleging that the accused, who was above 18 years of age,
had abducted his granddaughter, who was 17, and committed penetrative sexual
assault on her. However, the court set aside the charges based on lack of
evidence. Many witnesses, including the granddaughter, turned hostile. She said
that she had consented to elope with the accused.scroll.in
UAE Sets Aside Law For Indian Couple, Gives
Baby Birth Certificate
DUBAI: UAE government has issued a birth
certificate to a nine-month old girl who was born to an Indian Hindu father and
a Muslim mother -- both Indian expats -- setting aside the country's marriage
rules for expatriates during the Year of Tolerance, according to a media
report. UAE has declared 2019 as the Year of Tolerance to highlight UAE as an
exemplary example of a tolerant nation, bridging the communication gap between
different cultures and build an environment where people accept each other as
they are.As per the marriage rules for expatriates in UAE, a Muslim man can
marry a non-Muslim woman but a Muslim woman cannot marry a non-Muslim
man.Sharjah-based expat Kiran Babu and Sanam Saboo Siddique, who got married in
Kerala in 2016, faced an unusual situation when their daughter was born in July
2018, the Khaleej Times reported.The couple was given the birth certificate of
their daughter Anamta Aceline Kiran on April 14, a day before the Hindu
festival of Vishu.PTI
Cyclone Fani may intensify into severe
cyclonic storm by Monday afternoon, says Met department
India Meteorological Department on Sunday said
that a depression Cyclone Fani is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic
storm by 1 pm on Monday. The weather department had issued a red alert for
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on Thursday.“The storm is very likely to move
northwestwards till May 1 evening and thereafter recurve north-northeastwards
gradually,” said the office of the director general of meteorology.scroll.in
SRI lANKA BLAST
Sri Lanka: President Sirisena bans two groups
after blasts that killed 253 people
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on
Saturday banned two Islamist groups – the National Thowheed Jamath and the
Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim – six days after serial blasts in the island
country. All activities of these organisations will be stopped and their
property seized by the government, adaderana.lk reported.Sri Lankan
investigators have blamed National Thowheed Jamath for attacks. They have also
accused the Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim of assisting National Thowheed
Jamath.The president’s Media Division said that steps are being taken to
prohibit other extremist groups operating in the country under the emergency
provisions. The president had imposed an emergency in the country last week
following the blasts.scroll.in
S.Lankan police raid National Thowheed Jamath
HQ
Armed police launched a search of the
headquarters of National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), suspected of being behind the
bombings on churches, a Reuters witness said.The raid took place at the NTJ's
base in the eastern town of Kattankudy a day after the group was banned under
new emergency laws.Police believe that Zahran Hashim, the alleged mastermind of
the Easter Sunday attacks, led the group or a splinter faction to mount the
attacks in Colombo as well as a church in Batticaloa in the east.The father and
two brothers of the suspected mastermind of Easter Sunday bombings were killed
when security forces stormed their safe house two days ago, police sources and
a relative of the suicide bombers have told Reuters.Zainee Hashim,Rilwan Hashim
and their father Mohamed Hashim, who were seen in a video circulating on social
media calling for "all-out war against non believers", were among 15
killed in a fierce gun battle with military on the east coast on Friday, four
police sources said. Niyaz Sharif, brother-in-law of Zahran Hashim, suspected
ringleader of Sunday bombings, told Reuters video showed Hashim's 2 brothers
and father.aljazeera
Most Sri Lanka radicals killed or arrested:PM
Colombo: Sri Lankan forces have killed or
arrested most of the radical Islamists linked to the Easter suicide bombings
and the country is ready to return to normality, Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe said Sunday. But the prime minister said the government had
planned tougher laws to deal with Islamist extremists and that foreign clerics
teaching in Sri Lanka illegally will be expelled.The Easter Sunday bombings
that left 253 dead were carried out by a "small, but a well organised
group," Wickremesinghe said in a statement. "Most of them have been
arrested. Some have died," he said. "Now we are able to return to
normality." "We should all now help restore the normal life of the
community."afp
WORLD
Deal of the century is pro-Israel colonial
plan:experts
US President Donald Trump’s “deal of the
century”, a backchannel plan to reach peace between the Palestinians and
Israel, is nothing but a mere “hoax”, experts believe. Since taking office in early 2017, Trump has
been formulating the plan, along with senior adviser (and son-in-law) Jared
Kushner and special Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt. According to past statements by U.S.
Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, the scheme would give Israel parts of the
West Bank which are considered “occupied territory” under international
law. “deal of the century is a pro-Israel
colonial plan,” Rabab Abdulhadi of the San Francisco State University said on
Sunday. “Peace means respecting the
inalienable Palestinian rights and self-determination, allowing the
Palestinians to decide their own future, giving refugees the right to return to
their lands, eliminating racism and discrimination, and stopping all the
abusive practices against the Palestinians.” “If you [US] don’t provide this,
there will never be peace,” Abdulhadi said.
She argued that Trump, Kushner and Greenblatt are all “pro-Israel,
pro-racism, and pro-Islamophobia”.“This is a new attempt to divert, derail and
liquidate the Palestinian cause,” Abdullhadi said. “To confront this scheme,
the Palestinians have to continue what they are doing; resistance.” Details of the US plan are expected to be
announced after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which will start early
next month. Mohanad Mustafa of the Haifa University in Israel said the Arab
states have yet to come up with a clear position on the US peace scheme. “The Palestinians need a clear and obvious
Arab stance rejecting this deal,” he told Anadolu Agency. He called on the Arab world to take
“practice steps to support the Palestinians in face of Trump’s plan”.
“Palestinians should feel that they have an Arab shield,” he said. “However, it
looks like that the Palestinians are going to face this scheme alone.” Hani
al-Masri, head of the Ramallah-based Masarat research center, believes that
Palestinian unity is the best effective tool to confront Trump’s plan. Anadolu Agency
Israel's nation-state law to unleash
'deepening apartheid'
London:Israel is poised to unleash a new round
of oppressive apartheid policies against Palestinian citizens within its own
borders, according to leading experts.The re-election of Benjamin Netanyahu, a
hard-right nationalist, as PM sets the scene for a new phase in an historic
project to end the "demographic threat" posed by Palestinian citizens
of Israel to the Jewish majority, they say. On Saturday, experts at a London
conference explored the challenges facing the 1.8 million Palestinian citizens
of Israel, a group that comprises 20 percent of the Israeli population yet
faces widespread discrimination.aljazeera
Global coalition needed to support Palestine:Thinker
Istanbul :A prominent Islamic thinker has
called for forming a global coalition to help the Palestinian people in their
struggle against the decades-long Israeli occupation. Speaking on the sidelines
of an Istanbul-hosted conference on the Palestinian issue, Tarek al-Suwaidan, a
Kuwaiti thinker and writer of several books on Palestine, said this coalition
should include academics, politicians, actors, sport figures from all around
the globe. “There are millions of people
across the world who believe and seek to support the Palestinian cause,
especially among student unions,” he said on Sunday. Themed: “The Question of Palestine: Examining
History, Geo-politics, and Future Prospects”, 3-day conference opened in
Istanbul on Saturday with a wide participation of academics, researchers,
experts and students. Organized by the
Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University’s Center for Islam and Global Affairs
(CIGA), over 25 speakers from nearly 10 countries are expected to make speeches
at the conference. Anadolu
Israel seizes Palestinian lands for new
settler plan
AL-KHALIL, (PIC) Israeli occupation army has
ordered the confiscation of privately-owned Palestinian lands in al-Khalil in
preparation for the construction of a new settler road.Palestinian activist and
researcher Jamal al-Omla said Israel will seize 401 dunums of farmland located
in Beit Ummar, Halhul, Khirbet Beit Kharaf, Ras al-Qadi, and Khirbet
al-Daraji.Al-Omla described the new move as dangerous and said that it would
impose a real threat to the Palestinians living in the targeted area.According
to al-Omla, the new settler road is planned to penetrate some Palestinian homes
and farmlands, which means house demolition is an inevitable part of the
project.
Israel sends prisoners back to Syria through
Golan after recovering soldier's body
Two Syrian prisoners released by Israel have
been taken back to Syria through the Quneitra crossing in the Israeli-occupied
Golan Heights, in what Damascus described as Russian-mediated reciprocation for
the repatriation of the body of a long-missing Israeli soldier.The prisoners
had been transferred to the Red Cross and then taken to Syria, Israel's
military confirmed on Sunday. Israel's prison service (IPS) said the prisoners
were Zidan Tawil, who was convicted of drug trafficking and was due to be freed
in July, and Khamis Ahmed.The IPS said Ahmed is a Fatah member from Yarmouk
refugee camp in Syria who was originally due to be freed in 2023 after he
attempted to attack an Israeli army base in 2005.Both prisoners had allegedly
requested to not be sent back to Syria, according to Israeli media outlets. Middleeasteye
Russian air strikes kill 10 civilians in
Syria's Idlib: Monitor
Air strikes by Syrian government ally Russia
killed 10 civilians in the militant-held northwestern region of Idlib on
Friday, a monitor said, as unsuccessful peace talks ended in Kazakhstan.Russian
President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday he did not rule out Syrian forces,
backed by Russian air power, launching a full-scale assault on militants in
Idlib province, but that such an operation was unpractical for now, Reuters
reported.The Russian air raids killed three civilians including a boy on the
outskirts of the town of Kafranbel, and seven including a girl in the town of
Tal Hawash, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on
Saturday, according to AFP.
Sudan's military and opposition 'agree on
joint council'
Sudan's ruling military council and the
opposition alliance have reached an agreement in principle to form a new body
to run the country until the next election.The agreement was reached during a
meeting on Saturday between the ruling Military Transitional Council (MTC) and
the Declaration of Freedom and Changes Forces, an umbrella organisation of
opposition groups.Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, reporting from the capital
Khartoum, said while the agreement marked a breakthrough, it was still at an
early stage and details had yet to be ironed out."There is still a lot of discord
and disagreement between the two sides. The military wants 10 members on this
council, three of them civilian, seven of them military. The opposition want
the council to be made up of 15 members, eight of them civilians and seven
people from the military."So there are still some very difficult issues to
discuss today and in the coming days. The first step that was taken yesterday
was the easiest".Shams al-Din Kabashi, the spokesperson for the military
council, told Al Jazeera that the "talks started with high spirits and
great transparency"."Talks will continue and we are optimistic on
reaching a final result that we can announce to the Sudanese people as soon as
possible".Opposition groups and protesters, however, have continued to
stage large demonstrations to demand that the ruling military council hand over
power to a civilian administration.aljazeera
Tripoli gov't decries UN 'silence' on Haftar
attacks
TRIPOLI:Tripoli-based Government of National
Accord (GNA) on Sunday held the UN Security Council responsible for refraining
from taking action regarding attacks on the Libyan capital by a rival
government in eastern Libya. In early
April, Khalifa Haftar, commander of forces loyal to Libya’s eastern government,
launched a campaign to capture Tripoli from the rival UN-recognized GNA. GNA "holds the UN mission and Security
Council responsible for their silence and complacency towards the actions of
the criminal Haftar", the Tripoli-based government said in a statement on
Sunday. Anadolu Agency
Saudi royal adviser missing in Khashoggi
trial: officials
One of the two top Saudi royal officials
linked to journalist Jamal Khashoggi's killing has been absent in the
closed-door trial of 11 suspects, multiple sources have told the AFP .Saudi
prosecutors have said that deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Asiri oversaw the
Washington Post columnist's killing in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate last
October and that he was advised by the royal court's media tsar Saud
al-Qahtani.Both aides were part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's
tight-knit inner circle and have formally been sacked over the killing but only
al-Asiri has appeared in the 5 court hearings since January, according to four
Western officials privy to the information.aljazeera
Trump: 'Saudi buys a lot, I don't want to lose
them'
S President Donald Trump has reiterated his
support for Saudi Arabia at a "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) rally
where he also described a negotiation tactic he used to get more money from the
kingdom for the United States' military support.During a rally with his
supporters in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Trump indicated that he would remain a steadfast
supporter of Saudi govt, largely due to Riyadh's purchases from US companies.
"They have nothing but cash, right?" he told the crowd. "They
buy a lot from us, $450 billion they bought.""You had people wanting
to cut off Saudi Arabia ... I don't want to lose them," he said.aljazeera
Iraq demands apology after Bahraini FM calls
al-Sadr a 'dog'
Iraq's foreign ministry has demanded that
Bahrain issue an official apology after the Gulf kingdom's top diplomat said
the Iranian government "controlled" Baghdad and referred to a top
Shia cleric in disparaging terms."The words of the Bahraini foreign
ministry - representing Bahraini diplomacy - are offensive to Muqtada al-Sadr …
[and] are totally unacceptable in diplomatic practice," the Iraqi foreign
ministry said in a statement on Sunday.aljazeera
Spain votes in pivotal election marked by
far-right resurgence
Madrid:Spaniards headed to the polls on Sunday
in a pivotal election that could see a return of a far-right party in a ruling
coalition for the first time since its transition to democracy.Polls opened at
9am (7:00 GMT) and were expected to close at 8pm (18:00 GMT), although they can
be extended to 9pm in certain cases.Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the
centre-left Socialist Workers' Party of Spain (PSOE) called a snap vote after
his government failed to pass a budget in February.There are 5 main parties
that could form two possible ruling coalitions; one comprised of left-wing
parties and regional nationalists, another with the traditional centre right
and the far right.aljazeera
Iran says leaving nuclear treaty one of many
options after US sanctions move
Dubai:Iran said on Sunday it could quit a
treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons after the United States tightens
sanctions, while an Iranian general said the U.S. Navy was interacting as
before with an elite military unit blacklisted by Washington.Tensions between
Tehran and Washington have risen since the Trump administration withdrew last
year from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and began ratcheting up
sanctions.Earlier this month, the United States blacklisted Iran’s elite
Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases
by May or face sanctions.Reuters
Iranian FM to visit North Korea soon
Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is scheduled to visit North Korea soon,
state media said. Zarif, who is on an official visit to US, told IRNA that the
date for the visit will be announced soon.The Iranian Foreign Minister also
asserted that he is not aware of President Hassan Rouhani's possible visit to
the South Asian country.The visit holds prominence as both countries are facing
US sanctions.ANI
Indonesia election: More than 270 election
staff die counting votes
More than 270 election workers in Indonesia
have died, mostly of fatigue-related illnesses caused by long hours of work
counting millions of ballot papers by hand, an official says. Arief Priyo
Susanto, spokesman of the General Elections Commission (KPU), said 1,878 other
staff had fallen ill.Some 7 million people were helping count and monitor the
17 April vote.Staff were expected to work through the night in sweltering
conditions, which took a hefty physical toll on many.BBC
ash: views & NEWS
Ghastly Sri Lanka Tragedy and Strategic
Interests of Big Powers:Saeed Naqvi
Elections 2019: BJP Could Lose 40 Seats in UP:
Deepankar Basu and Debarshi Das
Karkare Was a Man of Honour. India Should
Remember That While Voting.:Julio Ribeiro
Modi Govt's Surgical Strike Against Science
and Scholarship:Ramachandra Guha
Abuse was the first weapon in the BJP campaign:
P Chidambaram
Pragya Thakur was nominated in the belief that
she would be the antithesis of Digvijaya Singh’s pro-minority community
image:Coomi Kapoor
The Inside Story Behind Akshay Kumar’s Interview
With PM Modi:THE QUINT
Jharkhand Prepares to Vote on the Burning
Issues of a Young, Tribal State:Sania Mariam
In MP's Balaghat, Voters Are Worried About
Their Jobs and Farms:Neeraj Mishra
Interview | Kazakhstan Worried About Impact of
China-US Trade War on Belt and Road Investments:Devirupa Mitra
False citizens: What does a nation do with a
minority that it cannot purge? Mukul Kesavan
How Egypt's referendum deepened its human
rights crisis: Arwa Ibrahim
‘We saw what happened in Assam’: BJP’s
citizens register gambit may be backfiring in Bengal;Shoaib Daniyal
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Anwarulhaq (Released at: 7:58 PM)
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