12 SEPT. NEWS DIGEST, MID-DAY
INDIA
India attends intra-Afghan talks in Doha, Jaishankar says peace process must be Afghan-led
India attended the start of the intra-Afghan
talks in Doha on Saturday, where a senior official participated in-person and
External Affairs minister S Jaishankar joined-in virtually. During the address,
Jaishankar said that the peace process must be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and
Afghan-controlled. “Addressed the conference on Afghan peace negotiations at
Doha today. Conveyed that the peace process must be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned
and Afghan-controlled, respect national sovereignty and territorial integrity
of Afghanistan, promote human rights and democracy, ensure interest of
minorities, women and the vulnerable, effectively address violence across the
country,” Jaishankar tweeted. “The friendship of our peoples is a testimony to
our history with Afghanistan. No part of Afghanistan is untouched by our
400-plus development projects. Confident that this civilizational relationship
will continue to grow,” he added.Joint Secretary (Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran) in
Ministry of External Affairs, JP Singh, in Doha witnessed the ceremony. Singh,
who has served in Afghanistan as First Secretary (political) and Pakistan as
Deputy High Commissioner, is the govt’s point person on India’s ties with three
countries — Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.India had attended the signing of
US-Taliban pact on Feb.29. At that point, Indian ambassador to Qatar P Kumaran
had witnessed the event. But this time, a top Indian official has flown down to
Doha and the Foreign minister is joining in virtually. This is a significant move,
given India’s reticence in acknowledging power-sharing arrangements in Kabul.
Earlier this week, Jaishankar had visited Iran and had discussed the situation
in Afghanistan. Two days after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his
counterpart in Iran, External Affairs Minister had on Tuesday flown to Tehran
and met Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and discussed the Chabahar port
project and the situation in Afghanistan. indian express
Talks between Afghan govt and Taliban open in Qatar
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/09/peace-afghan-gov-taliban-arrive-talks-200911143549952.html
Doha:After nearly 2 decades of war that has
killed tens of thousands, peace talks between the Afghanistan government and
the Taliban have opened in Qatar's capital.Key speakers at Saturday's opening
ceremony at a hotel in Doha included Abdullah Abdullah, chairperson of
Afghanistan's High Council for National Reconciliation, Taliban deputy leader
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.The
negotiations, where two warring sides will sit face-to-face for the first time,
will start on Monday.For his part, Abdullah spoke about seeking a dignified and
lasting peace."I believe that if we give hands to each other and honestly
work for peace, the current ongoing misery in the country will end,"
Abdullah said, calling for a "humanitarian ceasefire".Baradar,
meanwhile, repeated his group's demand for the country to adopt an
"Islamic system"."We want Afghanistan to be an independent,
developed country, and it should have a form of Islamic system, where all its
citizens see themselves reflected."Pompeo, for his part, told the Afghan
sides that "the choice of your future political system is, of course,
yours to make" as he urged them to "seize the opportunity" to
secure peace. Kicking off proceedings earlier on Saturday, Qatari Foreign
Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said both parties must
"rise above all form of division ... by reaching an agreement on the basis
of no victor and no vanquished". Aljazeera
LAC standoff | Divergences remain between India and China despite 5-point plan
5 points agreed by India and China to reduce
tensions along LAC are a template of the “principles of disengagement”,
according to a senior official privy to the meeting between External Affairs
Minister S. Jaishankar and Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang
Yi.However, deep divergences still remain in the positions taken by both sides
after the meeting, as is clear from the subsequent notes released by Chinese
side, and subsequently the Indian side, detailing their position. According to
official, Chinese side walked into the Moscow meeting, initially seeking to
deny any “sense of crisis”, holding “it is normal” for two neighbouring major
countries to have differences, and the two sides should “move on” from the
current stand-off “peacefully”. But this was countered immediately by the
Indian delegation. India maintained that the large mobilisation of troops by
the PLA had led to a very serious and dangerous situation at LAC, where any
small incident or clash could lead to a larger conflagration. The Hindu
China Hands Over 5 Indians Who Went Missing From Arunachal: Army Sources
5 men, who went missing from villages near the
border with China earlier this month, have been handed over to India by China's
People's Liberation Army or PLA , army sources said this morning.The handover
took place in the Chinese territory and it will take over an hour for the team
to reach the Indian side and enter Arunachal Pradesh through Kibithu border
post."Chinese PLA has confirmed to Indian Army to hand over the youths
from Arunachal Pradesh to our side. The handing over is likely to take place
anytime tomorrow i.e. 12th Sept.at a designated location," Union Minister
Kiren Rijiju had tweeted on Friday. 5 men who had been missing since September
1 were hunters, the army had said in a statement. NDTV
Coronavirus | India votes in favour of UNGA resolution calling for multilateral cooperation
India, along with 168 nations, voted in favour of a COVID-19 resolution in UN General Assembly that reaffirms international cooperation to respond to one of the greatest global challenges and acknowledges WHO’s key leadership role in responding to the outbreak, a reference US objected to as it opposed the resolution.PTI
Bengal BJP chief: No Covid, lockdown to stop rallies
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bengal-bjp-chief-no-covid-lockdown-to-stop-rallies-6592673/
Kolkata:West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh
has stirred a row by claiming that the coronavirus has “gone away” from the
state and that the lockdown is being imposed to stop the party from holding
rallies.Addressing a public meeting at Dhaniakhali in Hooghly district on
Wednesday, BJP MP from Medinipur said, “The corona has gone away from here.
Didimoni (Mamata) is doing a drama over it. She is imposing the lockdown in the
state so that BJP cannot hold rallies and public meetings. However, we will
hold rallies and meetings whenever we get the opportunity. No one can stop us
from holding our political programmes.”Indian Express
Coronavirus: India reports nearly 1 lakh cases in last 24 hours; total tally crosses 46 lakh-mark
India reported nearly 1 lakh (97,570) coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours ending 8 am on Saturday. With this, the total tally went past the 46 lakh-mark to reach 46,59,985. Also, as many as 1,201 deaths reported during the same period pushed the death toll to 77,472. At present, the country has 9,58,316 active cases and 36,24,197 people who have been treated and discharged. Meanwhile, with the reopening of service on Airport Express Line, Delhi Metro resumed its full services from Saturday. Now the metro trains will run from 6 am to 11 PM on all lines, DMRC said.Globally, over 28 million have been affected while 915,356 have succumbed to the virus so far and as many as 19,215,800 have recovered. Indian Express
Oxford vaccine: DCGI directs Serum Institute of India to suspend recruitment for trials
Drugs Controller General Of India (DCGI) has
directed that there should be no new recruitment for the Phase 2 and Phase 3
trials of the Oxford University’s Covishield vaccine candidate, being
manufactured in India by the Serum Institute of India (SII) along with pharma
major AstraZeneca.The SII has also been asked to increase the safety monitoring
of the subjects who have already been vaccinated as part of the trial and
submit the plan and report.The latest order comes after it asked SII to pause
trials of the vaccine candidate following a U.K. volunteer showing potentially
adverse symptoms. The Hindu
Coronavirus: Animal trials of Covaxin were successfully conducted, says Bharat Biotech
Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company Bharat
Biotech has said it had successfully conducted clinical trials of its potential
coronavirus vaccine, or Covaxin, on animals. The company said no adverse
effects were seen in animals who were immunised with a two-dose regimen of the
vaccine.In a statement released on Friday, the pharmaceutical firm said the
data from the study on primates substantiate the immunogenicity of Covaxin. It
added that the results demonstrated the protective efficacy of the vaccine in a
live viral challenge model. scroll.in
Govt’s ‘well planned fight’ against COVID has put India in ‘abyss of GDP reduction’: Rahul
Taking a dig at the government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said its “well planned fight” against coronavirus has allegedly put India in an “abyss” of GDP reduction of 24%, 12 crore job losses, 15.5 lakh crore additional stressed loans and globally highest daily COVID-19 cases and deaths. Congress has accused Modi government of not handling COVID-19 effectively.PTI
Dalit outfits find job quota crippled by COVID, demand job guarantee legislation by Parliament
Even as millions of jobs are getting lost all
over the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a bunch of Dalit and tribesmen’s
organisations have come up with the demand for a legislation to guarantee
gainful employment, or suitable allowance in case of its unavailability, for
educated youth. This is in sharp contrast to these outfits’ usual insistence in
the past for job reservations for their largely underprivileged
followers.National Confederation for Dalit and Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR)
says in a recent statement, “The country has been facing a huge job deficit.
This has now gone up manifold due to the Corona pandemic. It has led to severe
distress, demoralisation and even depression in some cases among educated youth
throughout the country. In view of this, NACDAOR appeals to the Central
Government to enact a law in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament to
guarantee employment for the educated youth and in case of its
non-availability, a suitable compensation in accordance to their qualification
should be extended to them.”national herald india
Delhi HC says no to stay on broadcast of Sudarshan programme
Delhi High Court has declined to stay the
broadcast of a Sudarshan News programme which claimed to “expose” the
“infiltration of Muslims” in the civil services.The channel had uploaded a
promo of the show, Bindaas Bol, on its Twitter account on Aug 15, which
triggered massive outrage.The programme was originally set to be telecast on
August 28, but the court had stayed its broadcast. Following the court order on
Friday, Sudarshan News aired the programme the same evening. indian express
Setback to Republic TV as Bombay HC junks plea alleging pressure on cable operators to take channel off air
In a setback to Republic TV Network, the Bombay High Court has declined to entertain a writ petition by Republic TV and Republic TV Bharat proprietor, ARG Outliers against Digital Multi-System Operators (cable TV operators), legal news website BarandBench.com has reported.The company had sought the court's intervention in restraining cable TV operators from taking its channels off air.Alleging that the "Shiv Cable Sena" had threatened cable TV operators with public agitations if its channels were not taken off the air, the Network apprehended that cable TV operators would halt the transmission of its channels.national herald india
Delhi riots | Assembly panel summons Facebook India chief Ajit Mohan
Delhi Assembly Committee on Peace and Harmony
under the Chairmanship of Raghav Chadha has called for the appearance of
Facebook India Vice-President and Managing Director Ajit Mohan on Tuesday for
recording his statement before the committee. On August 31, the committee said
that prima facie it seemed that Facebook had a role in the Delhi riots earlier
this year, and Facebook India officials will be issued notices to appear at the
next meeting of the committee. The committee is looking into alleged “deliberate
and intentional” inaction by Facebook to contain “hateful content”.“The
committee, under the Chairmanship of Hon’be MLA Sh. Raghav Chadha, calls you,
the addressee, as a witness for testifying on oath and for rendering your
assistance by providing the relevant information and explanations in order to
smoothly expedite the determination of the veracity of allegations levelled
against Facebook in the complaints and depositions made before the committee,”
the notice dated September 10 read. The Hindu
Elgaar Parishad case: Forced by NIA to make confessional statements, Gaichor, Gorkhe tell court
Kabir Kala Manch members Sagar Gorkhe and
Ramesh Gaichor, arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case earlier this week, has
told a special court on Friday they were forced to make confessional statements
by NIA.Gorkhe, Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap, also part of the cultural group, were
produced before the court on Friday by NIA which sought further custody of the
three men to confront them with the electronic items seized during the investigation
and their social media accounts. The court has granted the NIA their further
custody till Sept. 19. Indian Express
Late night protest in Kerala after minister KT Jaleel grilled by ED in FCRA violation case
Kochi :Members of student and youth outfits of the
Congress and the BJP clashed with the police late Friday in Kerala’s capital
Thiruvananthapuram, demanding the resignation of Higher Education Minister KT
Jaleel for alleged FCRA violation. As media reports of Jaleel’s questioning by
ED came out, student and youth outfits of the Congress and BJP took out
protests outside the secretariat, leading to police lathi-charge. Effigies of
the minister were burnt. A couple of BJYM members sustained injuries.Earlier in
the day, Jaleel, a first-time minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government,
was grilled by the EDin Kochi for about 3 hours regarding his admission about
accepting consignments of religious books from UAE through diplomatic channel,
an act purportedly seen as an FCRA violation. Indian Express
Maratha quota: AG says stepped aside on demand from groups after former govt lawyer accuses him of no show in courts
Mumbai :Two days after the Supreme Court said
that it was of the prima facie opinion that Maharashtra has not shown any
extraordinary situation for providing reservations to Marathas in excess of 50
per cent and that the quota will not be applicable to jobs and admissions in
educational institutions in the interim, the state’s former standing counsel,
Nishant Katneshwarkar, claimed on Thursday that the decision went against the
government as the advocate general (AG) had not argued for the state even once
in either the Bombay High Court or the Supreme Court.AG Ashutosh Kumbhakoni,
however, refuted the allegations saying that the state had appointed senior
counsel V A Thorat — a Maratha himself — as the special counsel to represent it
in the case early last year.
Indian Express
Parliament has no power to abrogate Art. 370 says Prof. Bhim Singh
http://muslimmirror.com/eng/parliament-has-no-power-to-abrogate-art-370-says-prof-bhim-singh/
New Delhi/ Jammu : Prof.Bhim Singh, former Jammu and Kashmir
lawmaker and a senior Supreme Court
lawyer on Friday asserted that the Indian Parliament has no power to abrogate Art.
370 which had been unilaterally struck down by the Modi government on August
5 last year.Ahead of the Parliament’s
monsoon session, he urged the MPs to understand the Kashmir issue because the
present leadership in the country has failed to understand national and
international ramifications which need to be addressed urgently.In a
u-turn, Prof Singh questioned the Modi government on the issue, and
insisted that the Article 370 still persists as Article 370 in the Indian
Constitution which had given special status to the former state of Jammu and
Kashmir. Before the abrogation move, he used to support the RSS-BJP stand on Kashmir.Now he realized and underlined that “The Article is very essential to save
constitutional integration of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country as
the Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, Maharaja Hari Singh, had acceded the entire
State of J&K to the Union of India”, he said. Muslim Mirror
‘Step to gain trust’: J&K L-G launches grievance redressal portal
Srinagar:Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha has launched a new grievance redressal portal linked to the Union government’s grievance mechanism, terming it a step towards gaining peoples’ trust.Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS) is being launched on pilot basis for Jammu, Srinagar, and Reasi districts. It will be rolled out in the remaining districts by October 2, the L-G said. Indian Express
Haryana Police books state BKU chief Gurnam Singh Charuni, 300 others over protests against farm ordinances
Kurukshetra: Haryana Police on Friday booked
state BKU chief Gurnam Singh Charuni and 300 unidentified people for damaging
public property and violating prohibitory orders, a day after farmers clashed
with copsduring a protest.Members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and other
farm bodies had blocked a national highway in Kurukshetra's Pipli and clashed
with police while protesting against three Union government legislations, which
they claimed were anti-farmer.Police had resorted to a lathicharge when farmers
coming from the Shahbad area pushed their way to the protest site. The
agitating farmers smashed windowpanes of a fire brigade vehicle and pelted
police with stones. 3 separate FIRs were registered at the Sadar police
station in Thanesar. Firstpost
Retired Navy officer in Mumbai beaten up for forwarding cartoon on Uddhav Thackeray; four arrested
Mumbai: A 62-year-old retired Navy officer was beaten up by alleged Shiv Sena workers after he forwarded a cartoon on Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on WhatsApp on Friday, police said.4 men were arrested in connection with the incident, they said.The incident took place around 11.30 am in Lokhandwala Complex area in suburban Kandivali, an official said.Firstpost
Nisar Shaikh custodial death case: Vadodara Court rejects CID plea to extend remand of 6 accused cops
Vadodara :A local court in Vadodara on Friday
rejected CID plea for extension of remand of the six policemen, who are accused
in an alleged case of custodial death in Fatehgunj police station in Dec.2019.
6 policemen have been sent to judicial custody even as the investigators are
still in the dark about the disposal of the body of the victim, Nisar Shaikh
(65), after the alleged crime was committed. CID, officials said that they
would now explore the options of a narco test as well as lie detector test of the
accused with permissions from the court. Indian Express
Gujarat: Sardar Sarovar Dam, Statue of Unity Made Tadvi Adivasis Encroachers on their Own Lands
If 70-year-old Punabhai Tadvi, an Adivasi of
the Tadvi tribe, stepped onto his own farmland, he could be charged with criminal
trespassing. That’s because on his land now stands a board that says the plot
belongs to Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL). “In May, the police
came with labourers and fenced our land. They said if anyone tried to farm
here, they would impose a heavy fine on that person and take strict action
against them,” said Punabhai, a resident of Navagam village in Narmada
district, Gujarat.Navagam, along with the villages of Kevadia, Limdi, Gora and
Vaghadia, is in the Narmada district of Gujarat, where SSNNL, a state
government undertaking, claims the lands of the Tadvi Adivasis. The lands of
these villagers lie in the area around the statue of Sardar Patel in Kevadia,
also known as Statue of Unity (SoU) and touted as the tallest statue in the world. But the construction of these tourism
projects means that many Tadvis have lost their agricultural land without due
notice. The wire
Muslim Man Attacked in Panipat: Contrasting Stories & FIRs Emerge
https://www.thequint.com/news/india/akhlaq-barber-hand-chopped-panipat-haryana-pocso-case
28-year old Akhlaq was found seriously injured,
with one arm severed and the other badly bruised, besides multiple injuries on
his body, in Haryana’s Panipat district on the morning of 24 Aug. The Quint
spoke to his family, the police and the family he lodged his case against and
found conflicting versions regarding what transpired.While Akhlaq’s elder
brother, 38-year-old Ikram claims that he was targeted due to his identity
after he requested for water from a home around 2:00 am in the morning, the
police has alleged that Akhlaq was confronted by the family after he was caught
sexually assaulting their seven-year-old child in a nearby park. The Quint
Jharkhand: Family of teenaged girl alleges gangrape before brutal murder
RANCHI:Hazaribagh District in Jharkhand is all
tense after the body of a Muslim teenager was found in the rented flat of a
youth belonging to another community on September 2 in Palamu, some 200 km from
her hometown. With victim’s family leveling allegations of gang-rape and
torture of their daughter, the local youths organized a protest demanding
justice for the family. Following the protest, the local police have booked 400
persons in FIR.Meanwhile, the police have apprehended the juvenile youth in
whose rented apartment, the body was found on Sept 2. According to the police,
the accused during interrogation told them that the girl committed suicide.
However, her family members have rebuffed the police theory and alleged that it
was a killing and a murder case be immediately lodged in connection with the
gruesome incident. The family openly stated that they strongly believed that
the girl was gangraped before being bumped off and later vested interests were
trying to pass the case as a suicide. India Tomorrow
Top BJP Leaders Meet Nitish Kumar, Informal Talks On Seat-Sharing: Sources
Patna: Top BJP leaders, who are in Bihar today,
met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as the party begins preparations for their
joint fight in the assembly elections later this year. BJP chief JP Nadda, who
is on a two-day visit to the state, met Mr Kumar at his residence where
informal discussions on seat-sharing for the polls took place, sources
said.Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who has been tasked
with managing the party's campaign for the Bihar election, and BJP national
general secretary Bhupendra Yadav, were also among those present at the meeting
with Nitish Kumar at his Patna residence. NDTV
In Congress Shake-Up, Team Rahul Scores, Ghulam Nabi Azad Loses Post
New Delhi: Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, the most prominent of the "dissent" letter writers seen to have questioned the leadership of the Gandhis, has lost his post in a major shake-up seen to promote Rahul Gandhi's squad. Ghulam Nabi Azad has been dropped as a general secretary though he remains a part of the Congress Working Committee, the party's top decision-making panel.Motilal Vora, Ambika Soni and Mallikarjun Kharge have also been removed as general secretaries of All India Congress Committee (AICC) in the Friday shuffle by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Congress Working Committee (CWC) has been reconstituted and P Chidambaram, Tariq Anwar, Randeep Surjewala, and Jitendra Singh have been named as its regular members.NDTV
Removal of 48,000 slum dwellings around rail tracks in Delhi: 16 slum dwellers move SC
16 slum dwellers have approached the Supreme
Court seeking impleadment in the MC Mehta case whereby a Bench headed by
Justice Arun Mishra had ordered removal of jhuggis near the New Delhi area, to
address environment related issues, legal news website LiveLaw.in has
reported.Threatened by eviction from their homes, that too amid a global
pandemic, the applicants have prayed that the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement
Trust (DUSIB) be directed to conduct a demand survey of the JJ clusters,
undertaking in-situ redevelopment and rehabilitation.It is submitted that out
of the total 196 JJ clusters on the land of DUSIB, MCD and Govt. of NCT and its
agencies, demand surveys of total 158 JJ clusters have been completed leaving
38 JJ Clusters. However, if the same is not completed, affected parties cannot
be rehabilitated. National Herald India
Swami Agnivesh, the saffron clad ‘secular’ swami passes away
Known as ‘Secular Swami’ among his friends and foes, social activist and the face of Bandhua Mukti Morcha Swami Agnivesh passed away on Friday. He had been struggling between life and death for at least four days.Admitted to ILBS in New Delhi, Swami was on ventilator since Tuesday due to multi-organ failure. He was admitted to the hospital due to liver cirrhosis. Though a liver transplant was planned earlier, it was postponed due to deterioration in his condition.A friend of Swami Agnivesh and general secretary, Rajasthan PUCL, Kavita Shrivastav said on Tuesday that “the doctors are non committal regarding him showing improvement.”Swami Agnivesh, who was always at the forefront in fights against the “anti-Muslim regime” was beaten up by the right wing goons at Pankur, Jharkhand in 2017. The activist was on his way to Litipara to participate in an event organised by Pahariya tribal community. National Herald India
Former CBI Director Nageswara Rao under fire for rejoicing at the death of Swami Agnivesh
“Good riddance @swamiagnivesh. You were an anti-Hindu donning saffron clothes. You did enormous damage to Hinduism. I am ashamed that you were born as a Telugu Brahmin.A wolf in sheep’s clothes. My grievance against Yamaraj is why did he wait this long.”Even as the shocking tweet by the former CBI director caused widespread outrage on Twitter, the retired IPS officer held his ground.While a few of his ilk commended him for the vile tweet, many were shocked enough to try and shame him. National Herald India
RSS-inspired historians conspiring to distort the role of early Indian freedom fighters: spl story
A concerted effort has been unleashed to dim the glory of the heroic deeds and sacrifices made by our people coming from various streams of our society. This time the controversy is over a book called ‘Dictionary of Martyrs: India’s Freedom Struggle 1857-1947’ listing the life and sacrifices of martyrs in the India’s freedom struggle. C I Isaac, a member of Indian Council of Historical Research, along with organisations like Hindu Aikya Vedi, has urged for the deletion of all references in the book of Communist martyrs of the Punnapra Vayalar-Karivelloor and Kavumbayi agitations as well as of Muslim freedom fighters who lost their lives in the Wagon Tragedy and Malabar rebellion. A three -member committee has been set up to review the entries in the book. Isaac is one of the members of the panel. The report also asked for deleting the names of prominent leaders of Malabar rebellion Ali Musliyar, Variamkunnatha Haji, and his two brothers. Apart from them, demand for removal includes 387 others, called as ‘Malabar Rioters’. The report also describes Haji as ‘notorious Moplah riot leader’.Krishna Jha/IPA, National Herald India
WORLD
Bahrain follows UAE to normalise ties with Israel
Bahrain has joined UAE in agreeing to normalise
relations with Israel, in a US-brokered deal that Palestinian leaders denounced
as "another treacherous stab to the Palestinian cause".Donald Trump,
the president of US, announced the deal on Twitter on Friday after he spoke by
phone to Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu."This is truly a historic day," Trump told
reporters in Oval Office, saying he believed other countries would follow
suit.In a joint statement, US, Bahrain and Israel said "opening direct
dialogue and ties between these two dynamic societies and advanced economies
will continue the positive transformation of Middle East and increase
stability, security, and prosperity in the region". Aljazeera
'Stab in the back': Palestinians condemn Israel-Bahrain deal
Palestinian officials have condemned Israel-Bahrain normalisation deal announced by US President Donald Trump as another "stab in the back" by an Arab state.Following the announcement, Palestine recalled its ambassador to Bahrain for consultations, according to its foreign ministry.The agreement was "a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people", Ahmad Majdalani, social affairs minister in the Palestinian Authority (PA) said. In the besieged Gaza Strip, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said Bahrain's decision to normalise relations with Israel "represents a grave harm to the Palestinian cause, and it supports the occupation".Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), based in Ramallah, occupied West Bank, called the normalisation "another treacherous stab to Palestinian cause".Palestinians fear the moves by UAE and Bahrain will weaken a long-standing pan-Arab position that calls for Israeli withdrawal from occupied territory and acceptance of Palestinian statehood in return for normal relations with Arab countries. Aljazeera
US judge says Saudi officials must testify in Sept 11 lawsuit
A US judge directed Saudi Arabia's government to make 24 current and former officials, including a former ambassador to US, available for questioning in litigation claiming it provided assistance for the Sept.11, 2001 attacks, lawyers for victims said on Friday.Saudi Arabia has long denied involvement in the attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed as hijacked aeroplanes crashed into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon outside Washington, DC, and a field in western Pennsylvania.Aljazeera
Beijing to impose restrictions on all US diplomats in China
Beijing will impose "reciprocal restrictions" on all American diplomats in China in response to earlier curbs on the activities of its embassy staff in US, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.The unspecified countermeasures will apply to all US embassy and consulate staff, as well as the consulate-general in Hong Kong, a ministry statement said on Friday.Aljazeera
OP-ED
- Afghan talks begin: What to expect, key players and prospects for India:Nirupama Subramanian
- From China to Arab world, India is playing its geo-strategic cards effectively:Ram Madhav, BJP GS, indian express
- The ordinance raj of Bharatiya Janata Party;Derek O’Brien
- National Herald View: The risks of fast tracking vaccine development
- China may not vacate occupied territory in Ladakh; India must be prepared for a long haul:Barun Das Gupta/IPA
- Can Muslim World Unite Over Palestine’s Cause? Will OIC Step Up?Sameera Sayed
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq released at 1.57pm
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment