NEWS DIGEST, EVENING
13 May 2019: 07 Ramazan 1440:Vol: 11, No:200
INDIA
SC dismisses plea seeking to start polling at 5 am during Ramzan
https://scroll.in/latest/923288/lok-sabha-polls-sc-dismisses-plea-seeking-to-start-polling-at-5-am-during-ramzan
The Supreme Court today dismissed a petition seeking directions to the Election Commission of India for an early start to polling for the Lok Sabha elections during the month of Ramzan, Bar and Bench reported. The religious month of Ramzan, which Muslims observe by fasting, commenced on May 7.The petitioner had asked the court to direct the poll body to start the voting process two hours earlier, around 5 am, instead of 7 am. The petition also cited the current weather conditions to say voters may find it difficult to step out during the peak heat conditions. Elections in the first six phases of the Lok Sabha elections began at 7 am. The final phase of polls will be held on May 19.Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission to pass an appropriate order on the plea. On May 5, the poll panel had said there will be no change in the timings for Ramzan.The SC on Monday said it cannot dictate the polling hours. The vacation bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna said people can come in the morning and vote instead. “It is the Election Commission’s discretion,” the top court said, according to News18. “Logistical problems will also occur.”scroll.in
At NRC objections hearings, burden of proof on person being challenged
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/at-nrc-objections-hearings-burden-of-proof-on-person-being-challenged/articleshow/69290834.cms
Guwahati: The lack of transparency in the process of filing objections to inclusion in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has raised questions about loopholes in the process that favour objectors and puts those whose inclusion has been challenged at a complete disadvantage.The result - an endless cycle of going over the same documents over and over against a faceless objector. AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam, for instance, had to turn up for a hearing on objections to his children's inclusion, but the objector did not. "We received a notice of objection to the inclusion of my daughter Sultana Tausifa (19) and son Wasiful Islam (17) in NRC on May 8. Two days later, we appeared for hearing at the NRC Seva Kendra (NSK) in the Dhing circle office," Islam said, adding, "The objection had been filed by someone called Pankhi Kalita, who did not turn up at the hearing. The notice did not have the objector's address, nor did it mention the grounds on which the objection had been filed against my children." Hearing for claims and objections began on May 6 and will continue till the first week of June. Anyone can object to anyone's inclusion in NRC. The objection could be raised in a form, addressed to the local registrar of citizen registration. The form enumerates 5 broad reasons for objections, covering legacy (who the applicant claims descent from) and pending citizenship cases against the applicant. The process to do so began on Sept.25 last year and continued till Dec. 31 last year. TOI
Assam student leader files NRC objections against own leader
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/assam-student-leader-files-nrc-objections-against-own-leader/article27109821.ece
Guwahati:A member of a local unit of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU)in Udalguri district has submitted about 100 objections against people he felt were ineligible to be in the NRC being updated in Assam.One of them turned out to be a former president of the Kalaigaon unit, of which he is a member.Son of a freedom fighter, Siddique Ali, received the objection notice from the local NRC service centre. The notice has saddened the 64-year-old who had contested the Assam Assembly election in 1985 for the now-defunct United Minorities Front. “People here were stunned since my father was involved with the precursor of the AASU from his schooldays in 1968. He became the president of the Kalaigaon unit of the AASU in 1975 and also became the president of the Mangaldoi subdivision unit in 1977-78,” Nazib ul Islam, an alumnus of the IIT-Guwahati and a Central govt employee, said on Sunday. Kalaigaon, about 90 km northeast of Guwahati, used to be in Darrang district whose HQRS is Mangaldoi.thehindu
Assam: Indefinite Curfew in Hailakandi Extended Till 7 AM on 14 May
https://thewire.in/communalism/assam-indefinite-curfew-in-hailakandi-extended
Hailakandi: The indefinite curfew in Assam’s Hailakandi has been further extended to 7 am of May 14 in view of the law and order situation in the district, officials said Sunday. The curfew was to be in force till 7 am on Monday, as per earlier orders of the state govt. DM had ordered relaxation in curfew in the entire district from 12 noon to 3 pm, as no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the last 24 hours.PTI
Protests erupt in Kashmir Valley against 'rape' of 3-yr-old
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/strike-against-rape-of-minor-disrupts-normal-life-in-srinagar/article27114615.ece?homepage=true
Srinagar:Protests erupted on Monday in parts of the Kashmir Valley against the rape of a three-year-old, allegedly by a local youth in north Kashmir, forcing the authorities to close all educational institutes. Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir Baseer Ahmad Khan appealed to people to maintain peace, brotherhood and law and order. "Justice will be done and the culprit will be given severe punishment as per law. It will be investigated on a fast track," he said.On Thursday, the youth allegedly lured the child with a candy and raped her in Sumbal area's Trehgam locality.A medical report is yet to be produced.The child's family said she was sexually assaulted by the youth who lives in their neighbourhood. Violent protests broke out for the second consecutive day in parts of Baramulla, Srinagar and Bandipora districts. Protesters closed the Srinagar-Baramulla highway. The authorities decided to close schools and colleges as a precautionary measure. A spontaneous shutdown was observed across the Valley over the incident.thehindu
‘Pakistan expects to resume talks on Kartarpur Corridor after elections in India’: Report
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pakistan-expects-to-resume-talks-on-kartarpur-corridor-after-elections-in-india-report/story-df7v6K2Xhs4yUsefZtk8sK.html
Pakistan expects to resume talks with India to finalise the agreement on the Kartarpur Corridor once the new government takes charge in New Delhi, according to a Pakistani media report.The Kartarpur Corridor links Gurudwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan’s Narowal with Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in Punjab. The corridor, once operational, will provide a visa-free access to Sikhs from India to their holiest Shrine located inside Pakistan.Pakistan expects the resumption of talks on the Kartarpur Corridor once the new government takes charge in India, official sources were quoted as saying by the Express Tribune on Sunday.PTI
Dalits in Gujarat boycotted: ‘They felt that if Dalits don’t do their work, how can they take out procession’
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/dalits-in-gujarat-boycotted-they-felt-that-if-dalits-dont-do-their-work-how-can-they-take-out-procession-5722235/
Mehsana:A day after 5 persons were arrested for allegedly boycotting Dalits socially in Lhor, the village in Kadi tehsil of Mehsana district was swarming with policemen and politicians alike, amid deserted streets with shut shops on Friday.OBCs, mainly Thakors among them, had called for the boycott on Wednesday after Mehul Parmar, a Dalit bridegroom, took out his marriage procession in the village on May 7. Mehul’s father Manu had registered an FIR against five persons, including Sarpanch Vinu Thakor and his deputy Baldev, following which they were arrested late on Thursday and sent to judicial custody by a local court on Friday.The residents of the village said things were not this bad, till the Dalits were lifting and clearing carcasses of animals owned by the OBCs.Dalits said that untouchability manifested in several ways earlier too like the local barber refusing to cut their hair and ban on them at temple. Now, even the local grocer refuses to sell them provisions.“Whenever there is a community dining in the village during religious festivals, Dalits have to sit separately. Not only that, food is served only by OBCs,” said Navin Parmar, a local Dalit.“Due to all this, more than a year ago, we decided not to lift the carcasses of the animals in the village. And that displeased them immensely. And after that, for the first time, a marriage procession of a Dalit, riding a horse, passed through the main roads of the village. It hurt their (OBCs’) ego and they felt that if Dalits don’t do their ‘customary’ work (of lifting carcasses of animals), how can they carry out a procession,” said Navin.A relative of the one of the five accused vindicates what Navin said. “For the past one year, we have to lift dead animals or make arrangements to dispose them off. If they (Dalits) don’t do their work, what are we supposed to do,” the woman asked. indianexpress
Gujarat: Village tense after stones hurled at Dalit wedding procession
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/gujarat-village-tense-after-stones-hurled-at-dalit-wedding-procession-5724346/
Gandhinagar:Stones were hurled at a wedding procession of a Dalit groom allegedly by upper castes people in a village in Gujarat’s Aravalli district on Sunday leading to violence and police lathicharge.In less than a week’s time, this is the fourth such incident in Gujarat in which Dalits have faced resistance from local upper castes while carrying out wedding procession in their villages. Also on Sunday, a marriage procession of a Dalit youth at Sitvada village in Prantij tehsil of Sabarkantha district was held under heavy police deployment fearing attack from members of the upper castes. 2 days ago, a Dalit constable’s wedding procession in the same area was also held under police protection. Violence erupted at Khambhisar village in Modasa taluka of Aravalli district on Sunday after stones were pelted at the wedding procession allegedly by local upper castes people who were allegedly against the Dalits taking out such processions and had reportedly organised yagnas and havans, a religious ceremony, on the main road of the village.indianexpress
SC agrees to hear plea against Delhi HC verdict quashing cadre allocation of IAS, IPS officers
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sc-agrees-to-hear-plea-against-delhi-hc-verdict-quashing-cadre-allocation-of-ias-ips-officers-5724819/
New Delhi :The Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear on May 17 the Centre’s plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s verdict which had quashed cadre allocation of IAS and IPS officers of 2018 batch.The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that the high court had asked the govt to redo the entire exercise. Mehta told the court that those selected under the cadre in 2018 batch have undergone training and were supposed to start joining their respective cadres from May 10.PTI
1stchallenge for next govt:Food inflation set to return
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/first-challenge-for-next-govt-food-inflation-set-to-return-5724369/
BJP-led NDA govt’s tenure has been marked by benign food prices. Consumer food inflation has ruled below general retail inflation for 31 months running, from September 2016 to March 2019, while averaging a mere 1.3 per cent year-on-year during this period, as against 3.6 per cent for the latter.But food inflation could well be the next government’s first challenge, regardless of who heads it. The past couple of months have seen prices of a host of farm commodities surge, mainly on the back of drought in large parts of western and southern India, coupled with an early and harsher-than-usual summer. According to Vipul Mittal, head (fruits & vegetables) at the online grocery bigbasket.com, the average cost price of horticultural produce has gone up 13-15 per cent year-on-year since March. indianexpress
ELECTIONS
‘How’s the PM? High sir’: Modi’s cloud theory about Balakot airstrikes tickles Twitter’s funny bone
https://scroll.in/article/923160/hows-the-pm-high-sir-modis-cloud-theory-about-balakot-airstrikes-tickles-twitters-funny-bone
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he gave the Indian Air Force the green signal to proceed with its airstrike on a target in Pakistan’s Balakot area on Febr.26 despite bad weather because “the clouds could actually help our planes escape the radars”.In an interview to News Nation on Saturday, Modi said that he used his “raw wisdom” to dispel the doubts of defence experts who planned mission. “I am surprised that the country’s pundits who abuse me never figured this out,” he said.However, as many experts have noted on social media, Modi’s observation has no scientific basis. Radar technology uses radio waves to detect objects that may be obscured by fog so the clouds over region on Balakot would not have given Indian planes any advantage. Though the Twitter accounts of BJP’s India and Gujarat units shared the clip of News Nation interview in which Modi makes these claims, these were deleted soon after.On Saturday, Modi’s account of the advice he had given defence experts about the cross-border airstrike, which led to fears of war between India and Pakistan, was met with jibes and jokes on Twitter.scroll
PM shows ignorance of radar tech, gives out crucial details of Balakot raid in interview:Snehesh Alex
https://theprint.in/defence/pm-shows-ignorance-of-radar-tech-gives-out-crucial-details-of-balakot-raid-in-interview/234485/?fbclid=IwAR09VgvJ007PtQmEA1QNapUen8YFe93tp1K1fukxaxQworfIJcYApeqgOjA
Free India’s first terrorist was a Hindu, his name is Nathuram Godse: Kamal Haasan
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/free-indias-first-terrorist-was-hindu-his-name-was-godse-says-kamal-haasan/article27114060.ece?homepage=true
Aravakurichi :MNM founder Kamal Haasan has stoked a possible controversy by saying “free India’s first terrorist was a Hindu,” referring to Nathuram Godse who killed Mahatma Gandhi in 1948.Addressing an election campaign at Aravakurichi in Tamil Nadu, the actor-politician said he was one of those “proud Indians” who desired an India with equality and where the “three colours” in Tricolour, an obvious reference to different faiths, “remained intact.”He said, “I am not saying this because this is a Muslim-dominated area, but I am saying this before a statue of Gandhi. Free India’s first terrorist was a Hindu, his name is Nathuram Godse. There it [terrorism, apparently] starts.” Haasan said he had come here “seeking answers for that murder.” He added,“Good Indians desire for equality and want the three colours in the Tricolour to remain intact. I am a good Indian, will proudly proclaim that.” PTI
Election Commission condemns Giriraj Singh for remark against Muslims, warns him
https://scroll.in/latest/923256/lok-sabha-polls-election-commission-condemns-giriraj-singh-for-remark-against-muslims-warns-him
The Election Commission on Sunday censured Union minister and BJP’s Begusarai candidate Giriraj Singh for his remark against the Muslim community during an election rally in Bihar. The poll panel condemned his comments and asked him to be careful with what he says while the Model Code of Conduct is in force.The commission said Singh had violated provisions of the election code and directions of the Supreme Court that religion cannot be used while campaigning.scroll.in
Brisk voting by Muslims in Chandni Chowk despite fast, heat
https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/brisk-voting-by-muslims-in-chandni-chowk-despite-fast-heat-119051200571_1.html
New Delhi:In spite of the intense heat and day-long fasts observed during the ongoing holy month of Ramzan, a huge number of Muslims came out in Delhi's Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha seat to exercise their franchise on Sunday.Ramzan, when Muslims observe a total fast, coincided with the polling in Delhi but did not seem to deter voters in the Chandni Chowk area of the old city, save in the early hours. However,as the day progressed, people came out to cast their votes and numbers started increasing in the evening.Around 20 per cent of people living in the area are Muslims. Sajjad, who came with his family to vote during the day time, said that he could not exercise his right earlier as he had slept early in the morning after 'Sehri' and morning namaaz.As it was Sunday, he said he had decided to vote later.IANS
In Delhi, muslims vote against hate, seek development too:TOI
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/elections/lok-sabha-elections-2019/delhi/news/muslims-vote-against-hate-seek-development-too/articleshow/69299051.cms
New Delhi: Muslim voter in the capital was neither inscrutable, nor silent on Sunday. In making its choice of the party best placed to give BJP a fight in the parliamentary polls, a large number seems to have gone with Congress though AAP had its pockets of support. The logic was that it was Congress which could defeat “divisive politics at the national level”. In North-East Delhi, voters said Sheila Dikshit’s candidature and Priyanka Gandhi's recent roadshows tilted the balance in Congress's favour. “AAP has done a lot of good work in Delhi but these are not local elections. I would like to give my vote to a party that can make an impact nationally,” said Abdul Afnan (24), a Seelampur resident. A sizeable number of the community in areas around Hauz Rani in south Delhi also claimed to have voted for Congress. In Chandni Chowk, the community’s motive in giving its mandate seemed to spring from its feeling of being under siege.The battleground, where union minister Harsh Vardhanof BJP is pitted against Congress veteran Jai Prakash Aggarwal and AAP national secretary Pankaj Gupta, has a sizable Muslim population which was vocal about its support to Congress. “We had heard about vikas in the last election campaign but there has been no development in Old Delhi under BJP govt. All we have seen is politics of hate that can divide the country," said Muhammad Akram, market association president at Matia Mahal. In East Delhi, however, the youngsters seemed inclined towards Atishi Marlena, who is credited with major reforms in public schools of Delhi. “The fight here is between AAP and Congress mostly and people are divided. My choice was the candidate who has worked hard in the education sector. The elders in my family have voted another way but we are all free to exercise our franchise,” said Noowera, a first-time voter who came to Jamia Millia with her mother to cast her vote. H.R Islam, a resident of Hastsal in West Delhi, however, felt that the votes of his community were likely to be split. In North West Delhi, too, Muslim voters remained divided. TOI
Election: 'Pink booths' draw large numbers of Muslim women in Delhi, claims Returning Officer
https://www.firstpost.com/india/lok-sabha-election-pink-booths-draw-large-numbers-of-muslim-women-in-delhi-claims-returning-officer-6618151.html
New Delhi: 'Nari Shakti' was on display in the all-women staffed booths in Delhi Sunday which drew more women, voters, especially from the Muslim community, officials said.In a first for the city, as many as 17 all-woman staffed booths have been established for the Lok Sabha elections in the seven constituencies of Delhi, where from presiding officers to ground staff, all are women. Incidentally, four of the seven district election officer-cum-returning officer are also women, and they too felt quite enthused to see the impact of the initiative.Chandni Chowk RO Tanvi Garg said the Delhi CEO Office had envisioned this with a larger aim of engendering a sense of women empowerment and the "message has been sent"."We have set up two such booths, one each Matia Mahal and Model Town Assembly segments. All our polling staff has worked very hard, and these women staffed here they are also quite happy to be part of an all-woman team. While women voters were pleased, male voters were also pleasantly surprised," Garg told PTI.Out of the 17 booths, 10 have been set up in East Delhi constituency, two in Chandni Chowk and one each in rest of the constituencies — North East Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi, New Delhi, and North West Delhi.PTI
WORLD
Sri Lanka blocks social media again after attacks on Muslims
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/sri-lanka-blocks-social-media-anti-muslim-attacks-190513053644479.html
Sri Lanka has temporarily blocked some social media networks and messaging apps, including Facebook and WhatsApp, after a posting sparked anti-Muslim riots across several towns in the latest fallout from the Easter Sunday suicide attacks last month.Christian groups threw stones at mosques and Muslim-owned shops in the northwestern Christian-majority town of Chilaw on Sunday in anger at a Facebook post by a shopkeeper, police said.Security forces fired shots in the air to disperse mobs, but the violence spread to nearby towns where businesses owned by Muslims were also attacked."Social media blocked again as a temporary measure to maintain peace in the country," Nalaka Kaluwewa, DG of govt information department, said today. Police said a night curfew, imposed on Sunday afternoon, in Chilaw and nearby areas was relaxed on Monday, but the social media ban was brought in to prevent incitement to violence."Don't laugh more, 1 day u will cry," was posted as a comment on Facebook by a Muslim shopkeeper, and local Christians took it to be a warning of an impending attack. Mobs smashed the man's shop and vandalised a nearby mosque prompting security forces to fire in the air to disperse the crowd. Authorities said they arrested the author of the Facebook post, identified as 38-year-old Abdul Hameed Mohamed Hasmar, as well as a group of men in the nearby Kurunegala district for allegedly attacking Muslim-owned businesses.Sri Lanka's information department director told Al Jazeera that one of the main reasons behind the ban was to "clamp down on tensions and incidents that have been erupting over the last 48 hours".Al Jazeera's Minelle Fernandez, reporting from the northern town of Kilinochchi, said that "govt is using this not as a long-term measure, but as a tactic to dampen any tensions that might erupt". Amnesty International said there was "a worrying trend of attacks against Muslim community coming out of Sri Lanka" following the Easter Sunday bombings. The main body of Islamic scholars, the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), said there was increased suspicion of Muslims."We call upon the members of the Muslim communities to be more patient and guard your actions and avoid unnecessary postings or hosting on social media," ACJU said.aljazeera
Sri Lanka blocks social media after worst anti-Muslim unrest since Easter bombings
https://in.reuters.com/article/us-sri-lanka-blasts-socialmedia/sri-lanka-blocks-social-media-platforms-after-muslim-shops-mosques-attacked-idINKCN1SJ02I
Muslim cleric wanted for airing extremist views arrested by Lankan authorities
https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/muslim-cleric-wanted-for-airing-extremist-views-arrested-by-lankan-authorities-119051200423_1.html
Colombo :A 47-year old Muslim cleric wanted by the Sri Lankan security forces for using social media platform to air extremist views has been arrested at the Airport, a media report said.The cleric, whose identity has not been disclosed, was wanted for releasing videos in a manner that harms reconciliation in the country and has been remanded till May 14, Daily Mirror reported.The suspect,a resident of Vavuniya, was arrested on Saturday at the airport after his arrival from Mecca after performing Hajj.The suspect had been organising pilgrimage tours to Mecca, the paper reported.The arrest of the cleric came days after the Sri Lankan government said the trustees of all the mosques in the country should not engage in or allow any gathering to promote or propagate hatred and also directed them to send the audio recordings of the sermons to authorities.PTI
Germany debates 'mosque tax' to replace foreign funding
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/germany-debates-mosque-tax-to-replace-foreign-funding/articleshow/69295167.cms
Support is growing in Germany for a "mosque tax" to make Islamic institutions less dependent on potentially anti-democratic or "radical" foreign funding sources, a media report said. The federal govt sees it as "a possible pat", according to an answer to a parliamentary query, the Welt am Sonntag spaper reported.Several of Germany's 16 states had also signalled support in principle for the idea which would mirror Germany's voluntary Christian "church tax", the paper said. Concern has grown in Germany about the influence of foreign funding sources on mosques for the country's estimated 5 million Muslims, who hail mostly from Turkey and Arab countries.Some 900 mosques in Germany are run by the Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institute for Religion (Ditib), under the authority of Tayyip Erdogan's govt. Its imams are paid by the Turkish state, and the group has come under scrutiny with some of its members suspected of spying on Turkish dissidents living in Germany.PTI
Jordan wary of Trump’s plan to label Muslim Brotherhood terrorist body
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2019/05/jordan-muslim-brotherhood-us-desigantion-terrorist.html
As the US administration looks into the possibility of designating Muslim Brotherhood a terror organization, one of the countries that will feel the backlash — if that decision is made — will be Jordan. The Muslim Brotherhood is represented in parliament through its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), which has allied itself since 2016 with nationalist figures in a broad coalition. Al-Islah bloc is now the largest opposition group in the Lower House with 16 members. But after more than 7 years of ruptured ties between the Muslim Brotherhood and the royal palace, King Abdullah met April 16 with members of the bloc for the first time. In a statement to Arabi21.com, member of parliament Saleh al-Armouti described the meeting as “historic and positive,” representing “a new phase in relations between the group and the palace.” He said the meeting dealt with three files: Jerusalem,US "deal of the century" and the legitimacy of the Muslim Brotherhood. He thanked the king for not labeling the group a terrorist organization.Abdullah has been holding meetings with lawmakers, politicians and media figures since his return from the US in mid-March. During these meetings, he made his position clear in rejecting any compromise over his custodianship of Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem, any deal that would turn Jordan into an alternative homeland for the Palestinians and attempts to settle Palestinian refugees in host countries.al-monitor
Pakistan finalises $6bn IMF bailout package
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/pakistan-finalises-6bn-imf-bailout-package-190513090834006.html
IMF and Pakistan have agreed on terms for a $6bn bailout package, to be disbursed over a span of more than three years, bringing an end to months of negotiations with the international lender.The agreement was confirmed by IMF which added that the funds would be disbursed over 39 months."Pakistan is facing a challenging economic environment, with lacklustre growth, elevated inflation, high indebtedness, and a weak external position," said Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, head of IMF's mission to Pakistan, said. "This reflects the legacy of uneven and procyclical economic policies in recent years aiming to boost growth, but at the expense of rising vulnerabilities and lingering structural and institutional weaknesses."Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, PM Imran Khan's adviser on finance, said on Sunday that "after negotiations over many months, Pakistan and IMF have reached a staff-level agreement". The deal will now be reviewed by IMF's management and board, and approval will be "subject to the timely implementation of prior actions and confirmation of international partners' financial commitments",IMF said.Khurram Husain, business editor at Pakistan's Dawn newspaper said the programme would extract a steep cost in the short term, as reforms were being put in place."There will be severe contraction of the economy, plummeting investment and rising inflation [in the short term]," he said. "The programme will increase costs on the common citizenry, and raise the cost of doing business. It will administer costs and pain on both citizen and investors."aljazeera
New Zealand PM thanks Pakistanis for demonstrating solidarity
https://fp.brecorder.com/2019/05/20190513472848/
New Zealand's PM, in a letter to the Jamaat e Islami Pakistan deputy chief Liaqat Bloch, has expressed deep gratitude to the people of Pakistan for demonstrating complete solidarity with her people in the wake of the terrorist attack at Christchurch mosque causing large scale deaths. She expressed these sentiments in her reply to a letter from a deputy chief of the Jamaat, Liaqat Baloch in this regard. She said that messages of sympathy and solidarity from all over the world including Pakistan on this tragedy were a source of great satisfaction and courage for the people of her country and said she was highly thankful for this gesture. Meanwhile, speaking at an Iftar programme, Baloch said that Pakistan continued to be target of terrorism but the state policy in this regard was confused.Recorder Report
2 Saudi oil tankers among 'sabotaged' ships off UAE coast
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/saudi-oil-tankers-sabotaged-ships-uae-coast-190513055332524.html
Saudi Arabia says two of its oil tankers were sabotaged off the coast of UAE in attacks that caused "significant damage" to the vessels.One of the ships was en route to pick up Saudi oil to take to US, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said today.The announcement by al-Falih came as UAE's regional allies condemned the reported sabotage on Sunday of four ships off the coast of the port city of Fujairah.On Sunday, Iranian and Lebanese media outlets aired reports of explosions at the city's port but UAE authorities said the reports were inaccurate. Emirati officials have declined to elaborate on the nature of the sabotage to the ships or say who might have been responsible.Reports come as the US warned ships that "Iran or its proxies" could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and as US is deploying an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Gulf to counter what it called "threats from Tehran".aljazeera
US air carrier in Gulf a target not a threat: Iran commander: aljazeera
https://www..com/news/2019/05/air-carrier-gulf-target-threat-iran-commander-190512201027254.html
US's military presence in the Gulf used to be a serious threat but now represented a "target" and "opportunity", a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander said, raising the rhetoric as US forces head towards the region.Ex-top US defence official, meanwhile, warned on Sunday of a "real risk" of a miscalculation between the two sides as the war of words intensifies. US military has deployed forces, including an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers, to the Middle East in a move US officials said was to counter "clear indications" of threats from Iran to its troops in the region.USS Abraham Lincoln is replacing another carrier rotated out of Gulf last month.
UN: Palestinian food aid threatened by 'serious funding crisis'
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/05/palestinian-food-aid-threatened-funding-crisis-190513110451202.html
UN warned that unless it can raise $60m by the end of the month, it won't be able to provide food assistance to more than one million Palestinians in Gaza Strip in June. UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, released a statement on Monday expressing its concern."At a time when Muslims around the world are observing the holy month of Ramadan, often characterised by the festive nature of its iftars, in Gaza, more than half the population depends on food aid from the international community," UNRWA said."Unless UNRWA secures at least an additional $60m by June, our ability to continue providing food to more than one million Palestine refugees in Gaza, including some 620,000 abject poor - those who cannot cover their basic food needs and who have to survive on $1.6 per day - and nearly 390,000 absolute poor - those who survive on about $3.5 per day – will be severely challenged."aljazeera
Flash: views & NEWS
Modi used digital camera and email in 80s: ‘Joke is on India’s educated class, who’ve made idiocy fashionable’
http://www.jantakareporter.com/india/modi-used-digital-camera-and-email-in-80s-joke-is-on-indias-educated-class-whove-made-idiocy-fashionable/246994/
Rediscovering forgotten Indo-Persian works on Hindu-Muslim encounters:Fabrizio Speziale, Audrey
https://thewire.in/history/india-persia-manuscripts-hindu-muslim
How these Muslim authors are writing the wrongs:Sonam Joshi, TOI
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/how-these-muslim-authors-are-writing-the-wrongs/articleshow/69285515.cms
Two Decades Later, Will Ranvir Sena Massacres Change How Victims' Families Vote?Jamal Kidwai
https://thewire.in/politics/elections-2019-bihar-ranvir-sena
Compiled and edited by Anwarulhaq (Released at: 6:31 PM)
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