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Tel Aviv attack: Israel clamps down on Palestinians

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Travel permits for Palestinians revoked and hometown of suspects raided as Netanyahu pledges “intensive” police action.

israel

by Al Jazeera

Israel has clamped down on Palestinian movements and boosted security after two suspects killed four people at a popular Tel Aviv nightspot.

Surveillance video, seemingly from the moment of the attack on Wednesday, showed the two men dressed in black suits and ties, calmly walking into a cafe before pulling out guns and opening fire on its terrace.

Most patrons fled in panic, though some fought back at the cafe at Sarona Market in Israel’s commercial capital.

At one point, one of the attackers threw a handgun to the ground in frustration as two of the victims lay motionless on the terrace.

The market and complex of bars and restaurants is located across the street from Israel’s defence ministry and main army headquarters.

Five people were wounded in addition to the four killed. The suspects were reportedly Palestinian and disguised as Orthodox Jews.

With the attack causing shock among Israelis, officials said on Thursday that they were suspending entry permits for 83,000 Palestinians during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

“This is the second such attack in six months,” said Al Jazeera’s Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Tel Aviv.

“The atmosphere here is one of defiance.”

Suspects identified

Those killed were all Israelis, identified as Ido Ben Aryeh, 42, Ilana Nave, 39, Michael Feige, 58, and Mila Mishayev, 32, police said.

One of the attackers was arrested, while the other was wounded by gunfire and had undergone surgery, police added.

They were identified as Khaled Mohammad Makhamrah, 22, and his cousin Mohamad Ahmad Makhamrah, 21, both from the Hebron area in the occupied West Bank.

 Our correspondent said the revoking of Ramadan permits was likely to cause anger among Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza, as it would be seen as collective punishment.

“The Ramadan permits were issued so that Palestinians could visit their relatives inside Israel, or to pray at al-Aqsa mosque,” she said.

COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry unit which manages civilian affairs in the occupied West Bank, also froze permits for 204 relatives of one of the alleged attackers.

Israel’s army locked down the Palestinian town of Yatta, where the attackers were from, with soldiers patrolling and stopping cars as they entered and exited.

‘Defensive steps’

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, visited the scene of what he called the “cold-blooded terrorist murder” after returning from a trip to Moscow and conferred with senior colleagues, including Avigdor Lieberman, the newly installed defence minister.

“We discussed a range of offensive and defensive steps which we shall take in order to act against this phenomenon,” Netanyahu’s office quoted the premier as saying.

The shooting will serve as a first major test for Lieberman, sworn in on May 30 and who has in the past threatened severe action against Palestinian “terrorists”.

A spokesman for Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs the Gaza Strip and which is also present in the West Bank, called the attack a “heroic operation”.

Possible motives

It is not yet clear if the attackers were acting alone or as part of a larger plot.

Violence since October has killed at least 207 Palestinians, 32 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Others were killed in clashes or by Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

The violence has steadily declined in recent weeks, although attacks have continued to occur.

Questions on intolerance, minority rights disturb Modi’s American party

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Narendra_Modi

Washington: Questions related to religious intolerance and violence, minority rights and the restrictions on civil society organisations in India have followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the U.S. The issues featured prominently in the conversation between Mr. Modi and President Barack Obama, according to senior U.S. administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Responding to a question whether human rights issues came up during the talks, Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, however, said: “No, I do not believe the subject came up today in the discussions.”

In a related development, 18 members of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote to Speaker Paul Ryan, ahead of Mr. Modi’s address to the joint session of the Congress on Wednesday urging him to prioritise religious freedom in India during his meeting with Mr. Modi, “especially in light of ongoing violence and harassment against religious minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and Sikhs”.

The group led by Republican Trent Franks and Democrat Betty McCollum, wrote: “Religious minority communities — including Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and Sikhs — have endured ongoing violence and harassment for decades in India, and continue to live in a climate where known perpetrators commit violence with impunity. It is in the best interest of the United States and India to reaffirm religious freedom as a shared value in this growing partnership, and ensure that conversation concerning justice and accountability for such horrific acts of violence continues.”

A U.S. official who briefed the media said these issues came up while the leaders discussed the rise of extremism. “While enhancing security measures, democratic freedoms must be protected. Issues related to the role CSOs, violence against minority communities were discussed in the context of the rise of extremism, and how this can be tackled in a democratic society,” the official said. The official said democracies have a particular challenge in dealing with extremism, as it has to deal with the problem without negating freedoms.

Just as Mr. Modi and Mr. Obama were concluding their discussions, the U.S. Congress Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission began a hearing on “the current state of human rights in India, challenges to fundamental freedoms, and opportunities for advancement” on Tuesday.

“…In spite of…constitutional protections, religious minority communities, including Sikhs, have experienced harassment and violence, often at the hands of Hindu nationalist groups, while impunity for the perpetrators of the violence persists. State-level “anti-conversion” laws allow government officials to decide whether conversions from Hinduism are legal – but choosing a religion is a private act that should not be subject to government regulation,” James P. McGovern, co-chairman of the Commission said.

Deposing before the Commission as a witness, Musaddique Thange of the Indian American Muslim Council said: “The Prime Minister who is able to tweet birthday greetings to prominent people, took months before he even addressed the attacks on five churches and a Christian school, and even then his words fell short of an unequivocal condemnation. Mr. Modi’s response to the campaign of forced conversions to Hinduism, launched by extremist organisations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad, was to challenge the opposition to support the anti-conversion law that is generally implemented in a way that seeks to curb conversions out of Hinduism.”

(Agencies)

“I have given up on all the worldly pleasures and turned into a nun as result of my inner calling” – Sofia Hayat

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gaia mother sofia

Hollywood model turned actress Sofia Hayat certainly needs no special introduction as she has certainly carved a niche for herself as an actress of repute. But now all of a sudden she has done a complete volte face and recently revealed why she has turned into a nun and even went to the extent of displaying the silicon implants removed from her breasts. Present herewith is an exclusive 1st person interaction with her, held recently at HL JW Marriot. Tune in!

Ever since her transformation into Gaia Mother Sofia, Hollywood model & actress turned nun Sofia Hayat has been criticising the use of make – up and had even said that she will never have sex or get married. She averred, “We are beautiful without make – up, hair colour, fashion et al. We are perfect as we are.”

Now, Sofia has also apologised to her fans for her ‘previous life’ as a model & actress. She reiterated, “I apologise to my fans and anybody who found me beautiful with makeup & implants. 3 weeks ago, I also had my implants removed.”

Sofia further stated that she will never have sex, get married or have children. When asked if she considers having sex or getting married wrong, Sofia stated, “The problem is media promotes sexual promiscuity. There is nothing wrong with making love. I say, make love and connect to your bodies. I will not marry or have sex or have children as I need to save myself for my children earth, as I am now the Holy Mother Gaia Mother Sofia.”

She continued further, “Unfortunately, women start believing that showing sexy & curvy body is freedom. The truth, however, is that media, all media organisations across the world are directly or indirectly controlled by men. So what we thought was freedom, was just a man’s view of how a woman should look. That is some freedom!”.

Sofia was literally in tears when she spoke of her visit to Egypt. She is now in India to support different NGO’S and even want to visit all the draught affected areas in Maharashtra. Besides she firmly stressed on the fact that she has finally given up her on all her worldly pleasures and she will never be tempted ever to respond to her sexual urges. This renouncement of all worldly pleasures is a result of an inner calling which I got in the month of Sept, 2015.”

Her upcoming film is Six X, (probably her last) was recently showcased in Cannes Film Festival, but here too she has firmly & strongly stressed on the fact, “I have already given up on my chequered filmy career and I will certainly not promote the so called film Six X.”

Defiant Assad vows to liberate every inch of Syria

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In a speech to parliament, the Syrian president says his forces will recapture territory lost to rebels.

bashar-al-assad

by Al Jazeera

Syrian President Bashar Assad has vowed to “liberate” every inch of the country lost to rebel groups the same way his forces recaptured the historic town of Palmyra from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group (ISIL), also known as ISIS.

In a televised speech on Tuesday before the country’s new parliament, Assad told politicians that the situation on the ground was much better than it was months ago and was improving by the day.

“As we liberated [Palmyra] and before it many areas, we will liberate every inch of Syria from their hands. Our only option is victory, otherwise Syria will not continue.”

In the speech, Assad also hardened his position on UN-sponsored peace talks, stressing that Syria would be ruled by a “unity government” not a “transitional governing body” as called for by the opposition.

“We will not agree to any topic outside the statement of principles we presented to the UN. We just won’t accept it,” Assad defiantly told parliament.

Assad’s comments were a far cry from remarks he made last July when he conceded that his army was facing a series of setbacks on the battfield and was being forced to relinquish certain areas.

However, the scales of war have tipped in Assad’s favour since Russia began an aerial campaign last September helping the government troops capture wide areas from rebel groups.

The Syrian army is currently advancing on Raqqa, ISIL’s de-facto capital, and in March, Syrian forces evicted ISIL from Palmyra.

ISIL, which controls large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq, is fighting Syrian troops, US-backed fighters and other rebel groups in northern Syria and is facing an offensive by Iraqi government forces and Shia militias on its stronghold of Fallujah.

Syria’s war has proved the longest and bloodiest of the conflicts that arose out of popular uprisings in Arab countries over the past two years and led to the downfall of autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

The conflict started in March 2011 as a largely unarmed uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, but it quickly evolved into a full-on civil war between government forces and rebel groups.

United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura recently estimated that 400,000 people had been killed throughout the five years of violence.

Explosion targets police vehicle in Turkey’s Istanbul

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At least 11 people killed and several wounded in bomb attack on police bus in the central district of Beyazit.

Istanbul

by Al Jazeera

A bomb attack targeting a police vehicle in a central Istanbul district has killed at least 11 people, including seven members of the police force, the city’s governor has said.

“Seven police and four citizens lost their lives,” Vasip Sahin, Istanbul’s governor, told reporters at the scene on Monday. Thirty-six people were injured, three of them seriously, he added.

Reports said the explosion took place near the Vezneciler metro station, which is within walking distance of some of the city’s main tourist sites, including the Suleymaniye Mosque.

Emre Rende, a freelance journalist reporting from Istanbul, said the “bus was targeted by a remotely detonated car bomb before a second blast believed to have been caused by a gas canister.

“The attack happened close the Grand Bazaar so it might have been done to keep tourists away,” he added.

According to the state-run TRT news channel, the bus was passing in the Beyazit district of Istanbul.

Pictures showed the bomb had turned the police vehicle into mangled wreckage and that nearby shops had their front windows smashed out by the force of the blast.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the country’s fight against armed groups will continue “to the end”. Speaking to reporters after visiting some of the injured in a hospital near the site of the blast, Erdogan said the attack was “unforgivable”.

The bombing came during the first days of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, a time marked by dawn-to-dusk fasting and intense prayer.

Istanbul had already been hit by two bombings this year, including in tourist areas.

Both attacks were blamed on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, and a pair of attacks in Ankara that were claimed by Kurdish separatists and killed dozens.

The two attacks in Ankara were claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) – a splinter group of the better-known outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The attacks have had a dire effect on the tourism industry heading into the key summer season.

Some 1.75 million foreigners came to Turkey in April, down more than 28 percent on April 2015, the tourism ministry said in its latest release.

Aster CMI Hospital planted saplings for a greener environment

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Aster CMI Hospital

Bangalore: ‘Plant trees, save environment’—the message was loud and clear at Aster CMI Hospital, Bangalore, on World Environment Day, as doctors, corporates, and students joined hands to make the area in and around this hospital at Hebbal become green.

“The city that was once known for its lush greenery and plenty of water bodies, is now full of concrete skyscrapers. With the plants being chopped for the sake of urbanization, today, Bangalore is a victim of global warming, pollution and carbon foot prints. The only way out to good health from here is to bring back the lost greenery. At Aster CMI Hospital, we are taking initiative to bring back greenery at least in parts of North Bangalore. At World Environment Day, we took the first step by planting saplings around the hospital campus,” said Dr Nitish Shetty, CEO Aster CMI Hospital.

This green drive was taken up in association with Gurucharan Singh- VP Cambridge Institute of technologies and Anand Bangalore Ekambaram, environmentalist. Around 50 saplings were procured from Karnataka State Forest Nursery at Hebbal.

Speaking on the occasion, Gurucharan Singh, said, “The objective of doing this activity is to create awareness among the common public about how important it is to keep your environment safe. We wanted to encourage common people from different society and communities to actively participate in the celebration as well as become an active agent in developing environmental safety measures. We want to encourage people to make their nearby surroundings safe and clean to enjoy safer, cleaner and more prosperous future.”

About 60 people, including students and corporate employees, participated in the event, other than the Aster CMI Hospital staff.

Ex-Goa CM wants ban on Nigerians, calls them ‘negroes’

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Ravi Naik

Panaji: The Central government should ban Nigerians from entering India, former Goa Chief Minister Ravi Naik has demanded, adding that the state does not need Nigerian tourists.

Referring to Nigerians with the pejorative “negroes”, the senior Congress leader also told reporters that Nigerians have been causing “problems” in Goa as well other metros.

“The government of India should ban them. They should be probed. It should be checked whether they are here to study or for picnic or to sell drugs,” said Naik, a former home minister in the erstwhile Congress-led coalition government.

“Nigerians come here and do ‘dadagriri’, in Delhi, Bengaluru and the entire country. We should chase the Nigerians out of here. Have they come here to study? Are they really studying? Are they really going to college, schools? Are they really going to bogus schools or bogus typing schools, this has to be probed. It is very important,” Naik said, adding that even Aam Aami Party leaders had a fight with Nigerians in the past.

“They create problems everywhere… We do not want Nigerian tourists,” Naik said, demanding a probe into the activities of Nigerians in Goa, who he alleged masquerade as students.

Naik’s comments come a few days after Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on May 30 said that Goans were unhappy with the attitude and the lifestyle of Nigerians living in the coastal state.

On the same day, Goa’s Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar also said that Nigerians create problems in Goa and sell drugs.

In 2014, during the monsoon session of the Goa assembly, the state home ministry referred to Africans as ‘Negroes’, an error for which then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had to tender an apology after an outcry.

(Agencies)

Kerala HC judge reveals Rs 25 lakh bribe for ‘verdict’

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K.T-Sankaran

Thiruvananthapuram: A senior judge of the Kerala High Court revealed in open court on Monday that he was offered Rs 25 lakh as bribe to ensure a favourable verdict in a gold smuggling case.

The judge, Justice K T Sankaran, made the statement while considering a batch of petitions filed by relatives of the nine accused challenging their detention under COFEPOSA (Conservation Of Foreign Exchange and Prevention Of Smuggling Activities) Act.

Justice Sankaran and Justice A Hariprasad, who comprised the bench hearing the case, recused themselves from the case because of “reasons beyond our control”.

Justice Sankaran said the money was offered through a mediator by one P A Naushad, the key member of the smuggling racket and one of the nine accused, adding that the bribe could have been part of a strategy to force him out of the case.

Justice Sankaran, however, did not comment on the reasons for recusal. The bench order, too, does not mention the bribe offer. The case is related to smuggling of about 2,000 kg of gold through the Cochin International Airport between 2013 and 2015. The smugglers operated from Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district.

The racket was busted in May 2015 after the Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch of the Customs Department seized 13 kg of gold hidden under the seats of a bus ferrying passengers from the aircraft to the terminal.
Invoking provisions under COFEPOSA Act, the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau issued a preventive detention order against the nine accused–Naushad, his brother Faisal, Salim M M, Fazil K B, Yasir Ibn Muhammed, Saifuddin, Jabin K Basheer, Bipin Scaria and Shinoy Mohandas.

In January, the COFEPOSA advisory board, too, confirmed the preventive detention order. A former immigration official, Jabin K Basheer, and the ground handling staff at the airport were also involved in the racket.

(PTI)

Bihar: FIR against toppers, VR College after CM orders SIT probe

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bihar-topper

Patna: Patna Police have loded FIR against three Class XII toppers and Vaishali’s VR College Management and examination and evaluation centre superintendents and teachers for forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy. The FIR was lodged on Monday night after CM Nitish Kumar ordered police headquarters to set up a special investigation team under an additional director general of police. The SIT has been asked to submit report to the state DGP within 10 days.

Bihar School Examination Board has already cancelled result of controversial toppers Saurav Srestha and Rahul Raj – both from Vaishali’s VR College. Another VR College toppers in arts Ruby Rai, who has been given a week to take retest, faces FIR along with Saurav amd Rahul at Patna’s Kotwali Police station.

Kotwali Police station SHP Ramesh Kumar Singh said: “The case has been lodged on complaint of secondary education board director Rajiv Prasad Singh Ranjan.

CM Nitish Kumar earlier dissolved a judicial committee set up by BSEB to probe the matter as the board has no landate to set up such a committee. The CM had called an emergy meeting of education department officials last evening and reportedly pulled up BSEB chaian Lalkeshwar Prasad for exceeding his brief to order probe unilaterally. The CM had been also reportedly upset with contradictory view of the state board and education department on the raging controversy.

(Agencies)

Modi leaves on five-nation tour

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Modi-Britain

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday left for a five-nation tour that will take him to Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the US and Mexico.

“PM Narendra Modi leaving for Herat, Afghanistan, marking the start of his five-nation visit,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.

Modi will stop over in Herat in Afghanistan where he, along with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, will jointly inaugurate the India-Afghan Friendship Dam, earlier known as Salma Dam, rebuilt with India’s aid.

After attending a lunch hosted in his honour by President Ghani, Modi will proceed to Doha, Qatar, where he will meet Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani on Saturday.

He will also visit an Indian workers’ camp in Doha on Saturday.

On Sunday, he will meet Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

Following his engagements in Qatar, he will leave for Switzerland on Sunday.

On June 6, Modi will hold a meeting with President of the Swiss Confederation Johann Schneider-Ammann and also interact with business leaders.

The same day, he will depart for Washington where he will meet US President Barack Obama and address a joint sitting of the US Congress.

On June 8, he will leave for Mexico City where he will meet Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto before returning to India.

(IANS)

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