Evening NEWS DIGEST
22 Dec.2017: 03 Rabial Aakhir 1439:Vol:9, No:79
UN VOTES ON JERUSALEM
UNGA resolution: 128 countries, including India, vote to reject US decision on Jerusalem
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/over-100-countries-defy-donald-trump-vote-for-jerusalem-un-resolution-1790758
UN: More than 100 countries including India defied US President Donald Trump on Thursday and voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favour. A total of 128 countries backed the resolution, 9 voted against and 35 abstained. Trump's threat appeared to have some impact, with more countries abstaining and rejecting the resolution than usually associated with Palestinian-related resolutions. Nevertheless, Washington found itself isolated on the world stage as many of its Western and Arab allies voted for the measure. India did not speak on the floor of the Assembly in New York, but after Trump recognised the holy city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, it had said that its Palestine position was independent and consistent. The vote was called at the request of Arab and Muslim countries. The United States, backing its ally Israel, vetoed the resolution on Monday in the 15-member UN Security Council.The remaining 14 Security Council members voted in favour of the Egyptian-drafted resolution, which did not specifically mention the United States or Trump but which expressed "deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem."Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told the US it could not buy Turkey's support in Thursday's vote."Mr. Trump, you cannot buy Turkey's democratic will with your dollars," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara."I hope and expect the United States won't get the result it expects from there (the United Nations) and the world will give a very good lesson to the United States," Erdogan said.Reuters
UN General Assembly rejects Trump's Jerusalem move
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/general-assembly-rejects-trump-jerusalem-move-171221135806725.html
UN Jerusalem resolution: How each country voted
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/jerusalem-resolution-country-voted-171221180116873.html
Arab outreach works, as India votes for negotiated settlement of Jerusalem
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/arab-outreach-works-as-india-votes-for-negotiated-settlement-of-jerusalem/article22190817.ece?homepage=true
Palestinians in Jerusalem: UN vote 'pointless exercise'
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/palestinians-jerusalem-vote-pointless-exercise-171221154344668.html
Palestinian leaders have hailed the result of a vote at the UN rejecting a unilateral US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, calling it proof of international support for "justice"."The international community has unequivocally proved that it will not be intimidated or blackmailed, and its members will defend the global rule of law," Hanan Ashrawi, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said in a statement after Thursday's vote. But for many on the ground, the resolution approved by the UN General Assembly was nothing more than a symbolic act. "It's a pointless exercise," Amany Khalifa, a political activist in Jerusalem, told Al Jazeera."The Palestinian Authority (PA) has to evaluate the whole diplomatic process of going to the UN. The experience we've had is that for decades now these resolutions have not changed anything.""We will take political, diplomatic and legal actions against Trump's declaration regarding Jerusalem," Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the PA, said.But Khalifa believes that "the only ones who are still talking about the two-state solution are the PA".Currently, between 600,000 to 750,000 Israeli citizens - or 11 percent of the Israeli population - live in the occupied territories.Guarded by heavily armed Israeli soldiers, they have taken up large swaths of Palestinian private land. At least 12 such settlements have been built around and in the heart of Palestinian neighbourhoods in Jerusalem. AL JAZEERA
African National Congress resolves to downgrade embassy in Israel
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/anc-downgrade-israeli-embassy-jerusalem-furore-171221114300246.html
The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's ruling party, has resolved to "immediately and unconditionally" downgrade the South African Embassy in Israel to a liaison office.The ANC's decision on Wednesday evening, announced during its 54th National Conference, came on the eve of a UN General Assembly emergency session where member states resoundingly approved a draft resolution rejecting US President Donald Trump's move to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital."[It] sends a clear message to Israel that there is a price to pay for its human rights abuses and violations of international law," the ANC said in a statement. AL JAZEERA
OTHERS
Triple Talaq Bill Heads to Lok Sabha Amid Congress Din, AIMPLB Calls Board Meeting
http://www.news18.com/news/india/triple-talaq-bill-to-be-introduced-in-lok-sabha-today-aimplb-calls-board-meeting-1611535.html
New Delhi: A bill which criminalises the practice of instant triple talaq will be tabled in the Lok Sabha next week. The proposed bill is expected to further raise tempers in the lower house where Congress MPs have been demanding an apology from PM Narendra Modi over his remarks against predecessor Manmohan Singh. Coinciding with the introduction of the bill in the Lok Sabha, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) too has decided to hold an executive body meeting at Nadwa-tul Ulema in Lucknow on Dec.24 to finalise its response to the bill. The body has released an official letter to its executive members to attend the meeting.AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who is a member of the Lok Sabha as well as the AIMPLB, has voiced opposition to the proposed legislation on social media. Some civil society organisations, too, have raised questions over the provisions of the bill, saying an amendment to the current legislation would have sufficed. They have also demanded that the bill be referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee so recommendations are added to the proposed law. “The law is intended to instill fear of the state by being able to walk into your home and incarcerate Muslim men,” said Ayesha Kidwai, a professor at the JNU.Activists have questioned criminalizing a practice which was anyway declared ‘void’ by the Supreme Court. "When the marriage is not broken, why send the man to jail. The law will make me a divorcee," said Shabina Mumtaz, a social worker from Uttar Pradesh.News18.com
Bill on Instant Triple Talaq to be Introducted in Lok Sabha Next Week
http://www.india.com/news/india/triple-talaq-muslim-women-protection-of-rights-on-marriage-bill-listed-for-introduction-in-lok-sabha-today-2782353/
Triple talaq Bill heads to Lok Sabha: non-bailable offence, 3-year jail term
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/triple-talaq-bill-heads-to-lok-sabha-non-bailable-offence-3-year-jail-term-winter-session-4993761/
Allahabad HC sets aside family court order granting triple talaq
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/allahabad-hc-sets-aside-family-court-order-granting-triple-talaq-4993790/
Allahabad: Allahabad High Court has set aside a Bareilly family court order that permitted a man to divorce his wife through instant triple talaq, citing that the Supreme Court order had struck down the practice as illegal. A bench of Justices Arun Tandon and Rajiv Joshi, earlier this month, refused to go into the merits of Arsey Jahan’s appeal against her husband Farooq Khan because the SC has already decided the matter in favour of women.“(The) exercise would be a futile exercise in as much as the issue raised by means of the present appeal stands squarely answered in favour of the appellant and against the plaintiff-husband under the majority judgment and order of the constitution bench of the apex court in the case of Shayara Bano vs Union of India,” the bench said.In March this year, a family court in Bareilly had decided in favour of Khan, who had divorced Jahan by pronouncing triple talaq in one go in August, 2011. According to court records, while accusing her in-laws of torturing her for dowry, Jahan had refused to stay with Khan. Later, Khan divorced Jahan through instant triple talaq. Jahan, however, had refused to accept the talaq as valid. Both then moved family court. The court, in 2011, held that by pronouncing talaq thrice repeatedly, Khan had divorced Jahan. A month later, Jahan moved HC, challenging the order. indianexpress
Country being divided, losing faith in govt, says Catholic body
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/country-being-divided-losing-faith-in-govt-catholic-body-4993755/
New Delhi;Stating that the “country is being polarised due to religious affiliations”, the top Catholic body in the country has said the community is “losing confidence” in the government. “From the point of Christian community, this whole incident of attack on priests and seminaries in Satna and the state government’s move to file cases against the priests, arresting the poor and the innocent instead of finding the culprits, do not help us to keep our confidence in the government intact. We are losing our confidence in the government,” Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the apex decision making body of the Catholic Church in the country, said in an interview.“I agree such incidents can happen in a big country… But how do you evaluate the strength and stand of the government? It is the subsequent action and the legal protection are what matter.”“The country is being divided on the basis of religious belief. It is bad in a democratic country. I want my country to be united in a secular fabric. But now, this country is being polarised due to religious affiliations. We should fight against it,” the Cardinal said.Last week, 30 priests and seminarians singing carols in a village near Satna in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh were detained by police after Bajrang Dal activists accused them of trying to forcibly convert the villagers. One of the priests was arrested under the state’s draconian anti-conversion law.Indian Express
Carles Puigdemont declares victory for 'Catalan Republic' over Spanish govt
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/catalan-secessionists-win-votes-snap-election-171222061515408.html
Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has declared victory for the "Catalan Republic" over the Spanish government in Catalonia's snap election, with secessionist parties having held onto their majority in the region's parliament.Catalonia's parliament has 135 seats, requiring 68 seats for a majority. Secessionist parties won 70 seats in Thursday's election, meaning they will hold a majority, according to the latest count of votes.Puigdemont, speaking in the early hours of Friday morning from self-imposed exile in Brussels, said the result was indisputable."Now, it is necessary to rectify, repair and restore. The recipe that Rajoy sold in Europe has failed. Let them take note," he said on Twitter. aljazeera
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 3:59 PM)
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