Karachi, Dec 17 : Thousands of Islamists have rallied in two major cities in Pakistan to condemn US President Donald Trump for declaring Jerusalem Israel’s capital.
Supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in Karachi and advocates of US-wanted Islamist Hafiz Saeed in Lahore dispersed peacefully after rallying Sunday for the Palestinian cause.
Protests have persisted in Pakistan since Trump’s announcement angered Muslims across the world.
The chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Sirajul Haq, called on all Muslim nations to suspend diplomatic ties with the US until it reconsiders its Jerusalem decision.
Hafiz Saeed said that Muslims the world over should put aside any differences and unite around the cause of “liberating” Jerusalem.
Muslim-majority Pakistan has reiterated its support for the Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state.
New Delhi, Dec 16 : Former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda and ex-coal secretary HC Gupta were awarded three-year rigorous imprisonment by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday in a coal scam case after hearing argument on quantum of punishment.
A special court on Wednesday had pronounced Koda, Gupta and three others guilty of criminal conspiracy and corruption in the coal scam case.
Besides the jail term, the special court also imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh on Koda and Rs one lakh on Gupta.
New Delhi, Dec 15 : People with disablility have a right to get higher education and not making adequate provisions to facilitate their proper education would amount to “discrimination”, the Supreme Court said today.
Ir directed the government institutions of higher education and other such institutions, which were receiving aid from the government, to comply with the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
The Act provides for reservation of not less than five per cent seats for persons with benchmark disabilities.
A bench of justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said that appropriate consequential action under the provisions of the Act would be initiated against the defaulting educational institutions.
It asked the University Grants Commission (UGC) to constitute a committee to consider the feasibility of having guidelines for accessibility of students with disabilities in universities and colleges.
It said the committee would undertake a detailed study to make provisions in respect of accessibility and facilities of teaching for disabled persons and would also suggest the modalities for implementing those suggestions, their funding and monitoring.
“The expert committee may also consider feasibility of constituting an in-house body in each educational institution (of teachers, staff, students and parents) for taking care of day-to-day needs of differently abled persons as well as for implementation of the schemes that would be devised by the expert committee,” the bench said, adding that the exercise be completed by June 30 next year.
It said that an action taken report in this regard be placed before it in July 2018.
The court’s verdict came on a plea which had raised three key issues, including the non-implementation of reservation of seats in educational institutions as provided in the Act and provision for proper access to orthopaedically disabled persons so allow them to freely move in educational institutions.
The bench noted that a provision under the 2016 Act provided that persons with benchmark disabilities shall be given an upper age relaxation of five years for admission in institutions of higher education.
“Accordingly, we direct that all those institutions which are covered by the obligations provided under Section 32 of the Disabilities Act, 2016 shall comply with the provisions of Section 32 while making admission of students in educational courses of higher education each year,” it said.
The court said such educational institutions shall submit a list of number of disabled persons admitted in each course every year to the chief commissioner or state commissioner.
It said it raised the critical issue of creating a level- playing field where all the citizens have equality of fair opportunities to enable them to realise their full potential and experience well-being.
“To ensure the level-playing field, it is not only essential to give necessary education to the persons suffering from the disability, it is also imperative to see that such education is imparted to them in a fruitful manner,” it said.
“Not making adequate provisions to facilitate proper education to such persons, therefore, would amount to discrimination,” it said.
The bench said that such requirement was to ensure that a student with disability, after proper education, would be able to lead an independent, economically self-sufficient and fully participatory life.
Regarding the law colleges, the court said intimation about number of admission given to disabled students be sent to the Bar Council of India (BCI).
“Other educational institutions will notify the compliance, each year, to the UGC. It will be within the discretion of the BCI and/or UGC to carry out inspections of such educational institutions to verify as to whether the provisions are complied with or not,” it said.
Yangon, Dec 15: At least 6,700 Rohingya Muslims were killed in the first month of a Myanmar army crackdown on rebels in Rakhine state that began in late August, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday.
The figure is the highest estimated death toll yet of violence that erupted on August 25 and triggered a massive refugee crisis, with more than 620,000 Rohingya fleeing Myanmar for Bangladesh in three months.
The UN and US have described the military operation as ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority, but have not released specific estimations of a death toll.
“At least 6,700 Rohingya, in the most conservative estimations, are estimated to have been killed, including at least 730 children below the age of five,” MSF said Thursday.
The group’s findings come from six surveys of more than 2,434 households in Rohingya refugee camps and cover a period of one month.
“We met and spoke with survivors of violence in Myanmar, who are now sheltering in overcrowded and unsanitary camps in Bangladesh,” said the group’s medical director Sidney Wong.
“What we uncovered was staggering, both in terms of the numbers of people who reported a family member died as a result of violence, and the horrific ways in which they said they were killed or severely injured.”
Gunshot wounds were the cause of death in 69 percent of the cases, according to the survey.
Another nine percent were reported burned alive inside houses, while five percent died from fatal beatings.
For children under five, nearly 60 percent died after being shot, the survey found.
Myanmar’s army has denied any abuses and says only 400 people — including 376 Rohingya “terrorists” — died in the first few weeks of the crackdown.
But MSF said the peak in deaths coincided with the launch of “clearance operations” by the army and local militias in late August, and were evidence “that Rohingya have been targeted”.
Srinagar, Dec 14 : There is still no trace of five soldiers who went missing near Line of Control (LoC) in the Kupwara and Bandipora districts after heavy snowfall in north Kashmir on Tuesday.
There seems bleak chances of their survival after remaining buried under snow for the third day today.
New Delhi, Dec 14: IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is slated to meet the industry today to discuss the roadmap for India to become a USD 1 trillion digital economy in the coming years.
This is a follow-up to a similar meeting held in June this year with tech leaders where the minister had exhorted the industry to help India build a USD 1 trillion digital economy over the next (rpt) next few years by creating affordable technology and an inclusive environment.
The country’s digital economy is estimated at USD 450 billion presently.
“There is a presentation on digital economy tomorrow…
This will be a follow-up of a meeting held earlier this year,” Prasad told PTI.
IT industry representatives as well as secretaries of various government departments are expected to participate in the closed-door discussion, which will also review the progress made after the first meeting in June.
“This will essentially be a consultation on the roadmap for digital economy,” said Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
When contacted, National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) President R Chandrashekhar said tomorrow’s meeting is expected to deliberate on measures that are needed to tap the huge digital opportunity in India.
“The idea is to understand imperatives for the government and industry in tapping the opportunity,” said Chandrashekhar, who will attend the meeting.
India is aspiring to become a USD 1 trillion digital economy in next few years, given the slew of opportunities in areas like IT and IT enabled services, e-commerce, electronics manufacturing, digital payments and cyber security.
The previous meeting in June this year was attended by experts like Chandrashekhar, Wipro’s Rishad Premji, Indian Cellular Association National President Pankaj Mohindroo, Internet and Mobile Association of India President Subho Ray and Hike Messenger CEO Kavin Bharti Mittal, among others.
The latest round of discussion assumes significance as it comes at a time when the industry, both electronics and software, is engaged in pre-Budget consultations with the government.
Earlier this week, the software industry, under the aegis of Nasscom, had sought a resolution of the issues related to service tax refunds and GST during the pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
New Delhi, Dec 13 : The Delhi government has toughened its stand against private schools hiking fees citing implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission and called a meeting of all the MLAs and education department officials.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia met at the Delhi Secretariat today following complaints from parents that schools have increased their fees and are asking for arrears.
“The chief minister and his deputy discussed the issue and a meeting of all the MLAs and education department officials has been called tomorrow,” a senior govt official said.
“The MLAs will get data regarding complaints against private schools in their area which have increased the fees,” the official added.
The Directorate of Education (DoE) had also written to schools recently asking them to refrain from any “unjustified” hike in school fees in the name of implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission recommendations.
New Delhi, Dec 12: The Delhi government’s health department has written to the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) for stopping over-the-counter sale of nicotine gums and lozenges without authorized prescription.
In a letter to DGCI Dr GN Singh, Addition Director (Health) Dr SK Arora said it had come to the notice of the department that pure nicotine having potential addiction property if used unsupervised was available in markets as a drug in the form of gums and lozenges which were being sold at chemist shops over the counter without any prescription.
Besides motivation, counseling and behavioral therapy, a small percentage of moderate to severely addicted tobacco users may require these drugs as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) under the direct supervision of a qualified doctor or counsellor.
The NRT can help relieve some of the physical withdrawal symptoms so that one can focus on the psychological aspects of quitting tobacco.
Sale of these drugs over the counter without prescription promotes self therapy and malpractices and it may lead to merely shifting the person from one addiction to other, the letter read.
Moreover, the younger generation and minors who are not able to directly use tobacco products due to social or family fear may easily use it secretively, Arora said.
“This may adversely affect the health of our younger generations. Unsupervised NRT can lead to NRT overdose and may cause death in younger age group. It is worth mentioning that nicotine gums and lozenges in 2 mg strength are available on over the counter sale,” he said.
“Therefore, you are requested to look into the matter and take necessary action in the interest of public health at the earliest,” he said.
New Delhi, Dec 12: The BCCI today rolled out the red carpet for war-ravaged Afghanistan by agreeing to host the country’s maiden Test match but chose to cold-shoulder a cricket-starved Pakistan in its latest Future Tours Programme (FTP).
Afghanistan, a team that has made rapid strides in international cricket despite the constant troubles back home, will play its first ever Test against India in 2019-2020, the final schedule for which will be worked out later.
On the other hand, Pakistan, which has been demanding bilateral cricket with India, was ignored at the Special General Meeting which resolved to play more against the likes of Australia, South Africa and England. India and Pakistan have not played bilateral cricket since 2012 due to political tensions between the two neighbours.
When asked why the new FTP does not say anything about playing Pakistan, BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Chaudhary replied, “It’s a question not embedded only to cricket and the BCCI but everybody. So, it’s futile attempting to answer the question.”
Afghanistan earned the Test status, alongside Ireland this June, realising their five-day cricket dream after impressive performances in ODIs and T20 Internationals.
“Afghans were scheduled to play their first Test in 2019 versus Australia but considering the historic relationship between India and Afghanistan, we decided to host their first Test,” said BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary after the Special General Meeting here today.
Atif Mashal, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) chairman, was quick to thank the BCCI for the gesture.
“@ACBofficials and @BCCI have agreed that Afghanistan will play its first Test against India. The exact date and venue of the match will be shared in a joint press conference in due course. I personally thank BCCI board for the decision,” Mashal tweeted.
Afghanistan and Ireland were made full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in June, becoming the sport’s 11th and 12h Test-playing nations.
Besides welcoming them into five-day cricket, the BCCI has extended a helping hand to Afghanistan on a number of occasions.
The team from the war-ravaged nation has hosted its home games in India, most recently the series against Ireland in Greater Noida.
Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi became the first two Afghanistan cricketers to be bought at the IPL auction earlier this year.
Afghanistan have come a long way since making its World T20 debut in 2010. They are ranked ninth in the shortest format and 11th in the 50-over format.
After featuring regularly in the World T20, the Afghans made the 50-over World Cup debut in 2015.
They played six games in the tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand with their sole win coming against Scotland.
New Delhi, Dec 12: Economists today suggested a range of measures, including increasing social security pension, to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley as part of pre- budget consultations.
“The amount (for social security pension) has been Rs 200 per month. This is totally unacceptable. There is no reason to keep it so low. So, make it at least Rs 500, I would say even Rs 1,000, if possible and increase the coverage,” noted economist Jean Dreze said after the meeting here.
Asked if social security pension is raised it would result in stress on fiscal deficit, he said, “this is peanuts.
This is nothing”.
He also suggested full-fledged implementation of maternity entitlements. This has been pending for four years.
Former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Virmani said the government should carry out customs and exim duty reform as the sector has not seen reforms for 10 years.
According to Rathin Roy, member Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, the government is expected to stick to fiscal deficit target.
“I think there is a political commitment (to do this). I reinforced that. I am sure they will. I said that we understand that there is a genuine commitment to maintain the fiscal deficit and revenue deficit targets. Operational constraints may vary but political commitment is there,” Roy said.
Besides, some economist also recommended imposition of long term capital gains tax on equity, sources said, adding interest rate also figured during the meeting along with rural distress and job creation.
Even the Reserve Bank of India at several occasion has asked banks to pass on the rate cut quickly through the repo rate reduction to consumers but banks are reluctant to do so for some reason or other.
Besides Jaitley, the meeting was also attended by top finance ministry officials, including Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, Expenditure Secretary A N Jha and Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar.
New Delhi, Dec 11: 5 per cent, ground water accounts for a lion’s share of all minor irrigation schemes in the country.
While ground water projects are on the rise, surface water schemes are declining, says the latest 5th MI (Minor Irrigation) Census Report of the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
The Census report shows that while the irrigation potential created and utilised from ground water schemes has gone up since the 4th MI Census conducted in 2006-07, the potential created from surface water has declined in the interim period.
MEXICO CITY, Dec 11: Mexican opposition leader Ricardo Anaya said on Sunday he would seek to win the presidency in a left-right alliance after stepping down as head of the conservative National Action Party (PAN).
Anaya resigned as leader of the PAN on Saturday, a day after his party officially joined forces with the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) and the Citizens Movement party in the “For Mexico in Front” coalition.
If selected, Anaya will likely take on leftist former Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and former Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade, who is seeking the nomination for the ruling centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
Meade, who has served in both PRI and PAN administrations, resigned as finance minister in November and PRI officials hope he will help the party recover from a spate of corruption scandals.
“This corrupt and inefficient PRI government has been an absolute national disaster,” Anaya said on Sunday, adding that his own party did not make fundamental structural changes during its two presidential terms from 2000 to 2012.
Kathmandu, Dec 10 : Nepal’s Left alliance was today heading towards comfortable majority in the parliamentary elections, winning 72 of the 89 seats so far in the historic polls that many hope will bring the political stability to the country.
The CPN-UML led by former premier K P Oli and the CPN- Maoist led by former premier Prachanda have forged electoral alliance for both the provincial and parliamentary elections.
According to results released by the Election Commission, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN- UML) has won 51 seats while its alliance partner CPN Maoist- Centre has bagged 21 seats.
The ruling Nepali Congress, which was the largest party in the last election, won only 10 seats, according to tallies.
Two Madhesi parties have won five seats.
The Federal Socialist Forum Nepal led by Upendra Yadav has won 2 seats whereas Rastriya Janata Party led by Mahanta Thakur has bagged 3 seats.
Naya Shakti Party led by former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai has won one seat and an independent was among winning candidates.
The vote counting is in progress for remaining 76 seats.
The house of representatives consists of 275 members, of which 165 would be elected directly under the first-past-the- post system while the remaining 110 will come through the proportional representation system.
Voting in two-phased parliamentary and provincial assembly elections were held on November 26 and December 7.
In the first phase, polling was held in 32 districts, mostly situated in the hilly and mountainous region, in which 65 per cent of voters had exercised their franchise. In the second phase, 67 per cent voter turnout was registered.
A total of 1,663 candidates contested polls for parliamentary seats.