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Saudi king inaugurates Mecca-Medina high speed train line

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The Saudi king inaugurated a high-speed rail line connecting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina on Tuesday.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz declared, in a ceremony held in the Saudi city of Jeddah, that the service has formally begun and boarded one of the new trains for the inaugural trip between Jeddah and Medina, a spokesman for the construction consortium told Efe news agency.

“We thank Allah for the growth and prosperity in all fields in our country, and we thank Allah Almighty for His grace. Thank you,” the king said, according to the Saudi official news agency SPA.

Initially, the routes of the line will be limited and eight daily trips will be offered between Mecca and Medina for four days a week (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

The 450 km Haramain rail line connects Mecca, Jeddah, King Abdulaziz International Airport, King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh and Medina.

A consortium including 12 Spanish firms along with two Saudi firms has been tasked with building the second phase of the project.

“This inauguration is a milestone for Spanish engineering, which has demonstrated the ability of our companies and engineers to build a high-speed train under extreme weather conditions,” Iranzo said, according to a statement from the consortium.

The inauguration was attended by Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and other Saudi officials, as well as by Spain’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alvaro Iranzo, and the president of the High Speed Spanish Consortium, Jorge Segrelles, among others.

Bashar Al Malik, executive director of the Saudi railway company, told EFE that the actual start of service will begin on October 4.

He pointed out that the commercial operation of the line will begin within nine days, but without giving more details.

Al Malik said he expects the high speed line to overcome the difficulties and obstacles that have caused its delay, mainly due to sandstorms.

The Spanish consortium said in a statement that tickets will be able to be reserved “in the coming weeks.”

Regular trains will start operating on the line from next month between the stations of Makkah Al Mukarramah, Madinah, Sulaymaniyah in Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City, while trains to Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport will begin around mid-2019.

The line is aimed at doubling the number of visitors and pilgrims to the holy cities and is in line with Saudi Arabia’s development plan, Vision 2030, which aims to expand the economy and reduce its dependence on oil.

With a fleet of 35 trains, carrying up to 417 people each, the service is expected to ferry around 60 million passengers yearly.

The trains will cover the distance between Mecca and Medina in under two hours, less than half the time that it takes to cover the same distance by road.

(IANS)

Asia Cup: Afghanistan pull off thrilling last-ball tie with India

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Dubai Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s comeback as skipper, albiet for a game ended in a thrilling tie against a resurgent Afghanistan in their final Super Four match of the Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.

Chasing a competitive 253, the defending champions got off to a flier from the new opening pair of Lokesh Rahul (60 off 66 balls; 4X5, 6X1) and Ambati Rayudu (57 off 49; 4X4, 6X4) before a mini collapse, coupled with a few run-outs and umpiring errors, eventually resulted in a tie.

Needing 7 off the final over, Ravindra Jadeja (25 off 34; 4X1) struck a boundary on the second ball off leg-spinner Rashid Khan before taking two singles with last man Khaleel Ahmed in company.

With 1 needed off the final two balls, Jadeja pulled the fifth delivery — a shorter one towards midwicket only to find Najibullah running in from deep to grab it with both hands and help Afghanistan bow out of the tournament with their head held high.

Earlier, replacing the regular pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul and Rayudu got India to a 110-run opening stand before Mohammed Nabi managed to draw first blood with the wicket of Rayudu.

Rashid then joined the party by removing Rahul before Dinesh Karthik’s (44 off 66; 4X4) sedate knock stabilised things for the Men-in-Blue.

Karthik, however failed to get adequate support from the other end as Dhoni (8), Manish Pandey (8) and Kedar Jadhav (19) fell in quick succession before an umpiring blunder sent the Tamil Nadu stumper back in the hut.

Towards the end, Jadeja played a lone hand even as the bowlers — Deepak Chahar (12), Kuldeep Yadav (9) and Siddharth Kaul (0) — could hardly lend any support to the southpaw.

For the Afghans, pacer Aftab Alam and spin duo of Nabi and Rashid picked two wickets each while Javed Ahmadi picked one.

Earlier, electing to bat, Afghanistan rode opener Mohammad Shahzad’s entertaining century and a sensible innings from Nabi to post a healthy 252/8 against a relatively inexperienced Indian attack.

On a track where strokeplay wasn’t easy, Shahzad belted a brilliant 124 off 116 balls, laced with 11 boundaries and seven sixes, even as the rest of the top-five failed to reach double digits.

Nabi (64 off 56; 4X3, 6X4), however, played the perfect second fiddle to the wicketkeeper-batsman, raising a vital 48-run stand for the sixth wicket before finally losing Shahzad to part-timer Kedar Jadhav.

Thereafter, Nabi took the responsibility of pressing the accelerator even as the Indian bowlers bounced back well to leak just nine runs off the final three overs.

Brief Scores: Afghanistan: 252/8 (Mohammad Shahzad 124, Mohammad Nabi 64; Ravindra Jadeja 3/46) tie with India 252 (Lokesh Rahul 60, Ambati Rayudu 56, Dinesh Karthik 44; Mohammed Nabi 2/40, Rashid Khan 2/41).

(IANS)

SC moved challenging triple talaq ordinance

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The Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2018 on the grounds that it invokes penal provisions against a class of people based on their religious identity.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Ordinance, 2018 — commonly referred to as triple talaq ordinance — abolishes the practice of triple talaq and makes its punishable.

Founded in 1925, the Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema ia a religious organisation of the Sunni Muslim scholars and clerics in Kerala.

Contending that the triple talaq ordinance is violative of Article 14, 15 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, the petitioner organisation has said that it has national ramification as it has introduced penal provision punishing a class of persons based on religious identity.

The Jamiathul Ulema has contended that the ordinance is “causative of grave public mischief, which, if unchecked, may lead to polarisation and disharmony in society”.

The petitioner organisation has taken exception to the word “unabated” in the ordinance, which says that despite the Supreme Court holding the practice of triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) as unconstitutional, it is continuing “unabated”.

Describing the use of word “unabated” as “entirely whimsical”, the petitioner organisation termed it “misleading, inept and improper”.

It said that it is doubtful that anybody, including the Central government, has any idea of all-India statics on the occurrence of triple talaq across te country prior to the Supreme Court judgment.

It has contended the fact that the matter is pending before the Rajya Sabha is “reason to await the outcome of the matter, not basis to accelerate its coming into force by an emergency ordinance”.

The petitioner organisation have contended that the real thrust of the ordinance is not abolition of triple talaq but punishment of Muslim husbands.

Section 4 of the ordinance imposes a maximum sentence of three-year imprisonment when a Muslim husband pronounces triple talaq. The offence is also cognizable and non-bailable as per Section 7.

“Creation of an offence may be the prerogative of the legislature. The government is duty-bound to act reasonably and sensibly, not merely in administrative matters but also in sovereign matters,” says the petition, contending that to its knowledge, “there is no informed assessment or study that forms basis for the Central government to have created this offence”.

“Some isolated instances of the practice that have occurred after the top court judgment does not imply that a penal provision is required to be immediately enacted to prevent the practice,” the petition has contended.

Having said this, the petitioner Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema has contended that the ordinance under challenge is “patently unconstitutional and has immediate propensity to deprive Muslim men and women of their fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution”.

IANS

Modi alleges Congress plot to topple him, Rahul keeps up attack on Rafale deal

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Amid unrelenting Congress offensive against him in the Rafale deal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at the main opposition party, accusing it of throwing muck, indulging in lies and trying to form an “international alliance” to oust him.

But the Congress kept up the pressure with its chief Rahul Gandhi asking why the price of the fighter jets was not being disclosed and party accused the government of violating the norms in selection of the offset partner.

On its part, the BJP opened another front alleging that there was a nexus between Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law Robert Vadra and arms dealer and middleman Sanjay Bhandari due to which the Rafale deal with French firm was cancelled in 2012.

A senior Indian Air Force official also pitched in with support for the deal to purchase 36 fighter jets from France, saying it was better than the previous deal.

Modi, who addressed ‘Karyakarta Mahakumbh’ (workers grand conclave) in Bhopal, echoed BJP’s earlier attack about “design” between the Congress and Pakistan to remove him in the wake of Rafale deal controversy.

Modi accused the Congress of indulging in a slander campaign and said the main opposition party has become so weak that it has to beg small parties to forge alliance in the coming elections.

“What has happened to the 125-year-old Congress? We have decided to fight elections on the issue of development, but they want to fight the election by breaking the society. They want to capture power through mischief. They want to use a handful of people to spread falsehood and a storm of lies to capture power,” he said.

“Best wishes for their new path. But we are following the path of strong organisation,” he said.

Modi said Congress was not succeeding in getting allies and even if they get one, “I don’t see them succeeding”.

“So they are trying to forge an alliance internationally. Now will a foreign country decide who will be the country’s Prime Minister? After losing power, you have lost your balance,” he told the Congress party.

Modi said Congress had left no stone unturned to “abuse” him since he joined politics in 2001 and people have rejected the charges.

“The more muck they (Congress) throw, more lotuses will bloom, in every booth, every block, every village, every city and every corner of the country, he said, adding “if destruction is written in their fate, then there is no need for us to cry.”

Rahul Gandhi, who was in Amethi, continued his attack a day after he had alleged that country’s “chowkidar” (watchman) had committed “chori” (theft) in Rafale deal.

Gandhi questioned Modi’s and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman’s “silence” on the demand for disclosing the price of the fighter jets.

“First, the question is: why did the Defence Minister lie ? Then suddenly you get the price of the aircraft Rs 526 crore versus Rs 1,600 crore. Even other countries have bought Rafale aircraft but not for Rs 1,600 crore,” he said.

Referring to the offset agreement between French manufacturer Dassault and an Indian private firm, Gandhi said for 70 years HAL has been making aircraft while the private firm given the contract had not made any aircraft.

“He (Modi) always says that he wants to be the ‘chowkidar’ of the nation, not the Prime Minister. But he has given away the money belonging to the people of the country to a private firm.”

Congress leader Kapil Sibal, who addressed a press conference at party’s headquarters, said an offset partner can be chosen only with government’s clearance and the Modi government is “lying.”

“On a bare bone text reading of Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2013/2016, it makes amply clear that an offset partner cannot be selected without thorough evaluation and scrutiny by the Defence Minister and the Defence Acquisition Wing of the Ministry,” he said.

He claimed that the contract of 126 jet aircraft was done by the Congress after the same number was demanded by the Air Force.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the then government mounted pressure on the French firm Dassault Aviation to give works to Bhandari’s company.

“Bhandari, who has close links with Vadra, formed a company named Offset India Solutions (OIS) in 2008 and he formed a joint venture as he tried to enter into an offset clause in the Rafale fighter jets deal through the back door,” he alleged.

He said Dassault made it clear that they do not want to enter into any kind of deal with the OIS. “And this was the reason why the Rafale deal was then scrapped after years of negotiations as Vadra was not getting the commission out of the deal,” he alleged.

Air Force Deputy Chief Air Marshal R. Nambiar told the media here that the deal for 36 Rafale aircraft by the Modi government was “much better” than the one negotiated earlier for 126 planes, contending that “people are misinformed” about the issue.

“All and all, it was a very good deal, much better than what was obtained in 2008,” the Deputy Chief Air Marshal said.

(IANS)

Renowned commentator Jasdev Singh dead

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Renowned commentator Jasdev Singh, whose mesmerizing voice captivated millions, passed away here on Tuesday after battling a prolonged illness. He was 87.

Jasdev Singh, who covered nine editions of the Olympic Games from Helsinki (1968) to Melbourne (2000), is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter, a family member said.

A much sought after commentator on All India Radio and Doordarshan, he also reported from six Asian Games and an equal number of hockey World Cups.

Jasdev Singh also gave running commentary on the Republic Day parades for 48 long years from 1963.

Condoling his demise, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore tweeted: “It is with deep sadness that I note the demise of Jasdev Singh, one of our finest commentators.

“A veteran of Akashvani and DD National, he covered nine Olympics, six Asian Games and countless Independence Day and Republic Day broadcasts. His demise is truly the end of an era,” he said.

IANS

FDI in telecom sector rose nearly 5% in last 3 years: Minister

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The Union Communications Minister Manoj Sinha on Tuesday said foreign direct investment in the telecom sector rose nearly five times in the last three years.

Speaking at a seminar here on FDI in the telecom sector, he said India is the second largest telecommunications market in the world with around 1.18 billion customers.

“FDI in the telecom sector has grown nearly five times over the last three years – from $1.3 billion in 2015-16 to $ 6.2 billion in 2017-18 and we look forward to continuous inflow of FDI in the sector,” Sinha said speaking at a seminar here on FDI in the telecom sector.

“In addition to domestic investments in the sector, FDI being an important component of economic growth can play an important role in the sector as it has been doing,” he added.

Speaking at the seminar, Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, noted that foreign investment is necessary not only to supplement domestic capital, but also to secure scientific, technical and industrial knowledge.

(IANS)

SC wants law against criminals entering legislatures

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to disqualify candidates against whom cognisance of chargesheet have been taken by courts, saying no further disqualification under the law could be added but urged Parliament to enact a law to address the malaise of criminals entering legislatures.

At the same time, the apex Court directed political parties to post on their websites and widely publicise in the media, both print and electronic, full details of the criminal charges against the candidates they would be fielding in elections.

Pronouncing the judgment, a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also said that the law on criminals entering politics should also address fake cases being instituted against political opponents.

Speaking for the bench, Chief Justice Misra said: “An essential component of a constitutional democracy is its ability to give and secure for its citizenry a representative form of government, elected freely and fairly, and comprising a polity whose members are men and women of high integrity and morality. This could be said to be the hallmark of any free and fair democracy.”

The court said that the time had come for Parliament to enact a law to “cleanse the polluted stream of politics” by prohibiting people with criminal antecedents in the political system. “The nation eagerly waits for such legislation … and the sooner the better, before it becomes fatal to democracy,” the court added.

Noting that the constitutional functionaries are expected to ensure that the existing political framework does not get tainted with the evil of corruption, the court said that despite the “heavy mandate of the Constitution, our democracy, has seen a steady increase in the level of criminalisation that has been creeping into the Indian polity”.

The court directed that the candidate as well as the concerned political party “shall issue a declaration in the widely circulated newspapers in the locality about the antecedents of the candidate and also give wide publicity in the electronic media”, said Chief Justice Misra, speaking for the five-judge Constitution Bench.

“When we say wide publicity, we mean that the same shall be done at least thrice after filing of the nomination papers,” said the bench, also comprising Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra.

The complete information about the criminal antecedents of the candidates forms the bedrock of wise decision-making and informed choice by the citizenry, the court said while emphasising that “informed choice is the cornerstone to have a pure and strong democracy”.

The Constitution Bench said the society had a “legitimate expectation to be governed by proper constitutional governance. The country feels agonized when money and muscle power become the supreme power”, it said.

The apex court called for “substantial efforts” to prohibit people with criminal antecedents so that they do not even “conceive of the idea of entering into politics” and should be “kept at bay”.

It said: “We are sure, the law making wing of the democracy of this country will take it upon itself to cure the malignancy. We say so as such a malignancy is not incurable. It only depends upon the time and stage when one starts treating it.

“It is one thing to take cover under the presumption of innocence of the accused but it is equally imperative that persons who enter public life and participate in law making should be above any kind of serious criminal allegation,” the court urged Parliament

Under the criminal law, an accused person is presumed to be innocent till convicted by the court.

Holding that “informed choice” is the cornerstone to have a “pure and strong democracy”, the court said: “The complete information about the criminal antecedents of the candidates forms the bedrock of wise decision-making and informed choice by the citizens.”

Issuing a slew of directions to the political parties and prospective candidates, the court directed that the candidate contesting elections “shall state, in bold letters”, about the criminal cases pending against him/her in the form provided by the Election Commission at the time of filing nomination papers.

The court directed that a candidate contesting election on the ticket of a political party would inform the party about the criminal cases pending against him/her and that party “shall be obligated to put up on its website” information on criminal antecedents of the candidate fielded by it.

Saying that “we have issued the said directions with immense anguish,” the court said: “These directions ought to be implemented in true spirit and right earnestness in a bid to strengthen the democratic set-up.”

“There may be certain gaps or lacunae in a law or legislative enactment which can definitely be addressed by the legislature if it is backed by the proper intent, strong resolve and determined will of right-thinking minds to ameliorate the situation,” the court said.

It further said that it “must also be borne in mind that the law cannot always be found fault with for the lack of its stringent implementation by the concerned authorities”.

It is the “solemn responsibility” of all concerned to enforce the law as well as the directions laid down by this court from time to time in order to “infuse the culture of purity in politics and in democracy and foster and nurture an informed citizenry, for ultimately it is the citizenry which decides the fate and course of politics in a nation and thereby ensures that we shall be governed no better than we deserve”.

(IANS)

CBI asks Interpol Nigeria to help trace Sterling Biotech directors

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The CBI has written to the Interpol in Nigeria seeking the whereabouts of Chetan and Nitin Sandesara, directors of the Gujarat-based pharma company Sterling Biotech in connection with an over Rs 5,000-crore bank fraud case.

A senior official of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told IANS that it has written to the Interpol unit in Nigeria to share details on whereabouts of Nitin and Chetan Sandesara and his family members in that country.

According to the agency source, the CBI wrote to the Interpol in Nigeria late on Monday.

The CBI official made the revelation amid media reports that Nitin and Chetan Sandesara, along with his family members, had fled to the African nation.

The CBI had booked Sterling Biotech, its directors Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara, Dipti Chetan Sandesara, Rajbhushan Omprakash Dixit, Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara and Vilas Joshi, chartered accountant Hemant Hathi, former Director of Andhra Bank Anup Prakash Garg and some unidentified persons in connection with the alleged bank fraud in October 2017.

According to the CBI FIR, Sterling Biotech had taken over Rs 5,000 crore loans from a consortium of banks led by Andhra Bank during the years 2004 to 2012, which had turned into non-performing assets. The total pending dues of the group companies were Rs 5,383 crore as on December 31, 2016.

Meanwhile, a source in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said the agency is set to file a chargesheet against the accused soon under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The source also said that the agency would also write to the Interpol seeking a red corner notice (RCN) against the accused.

The ED had initiated a money laundering probe into the case taking cognizance of the CBI FIR.

On January 13, the ED had arrested Garg. The agency also arrested a Delhi-based businessman Gagan Dhawan in connection with the case in November last year. Besides, the Directorate also attached properties worth Rs 4,703 crore.

The ED had issued lookout circulars against the accused in August 2017.

(IANS)

Sportsmen are nation’s brand ambassadors: Big B

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Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says sports is the identity of a nation and sportsmen are the brand ambassadors.

Amitabh on Monday night shared a photograph of himself along with the players of the Indian hockey team from the sets of “Kaun Banega Crorepati”.

He captioned the image: “Honouring the Indian hockey team on KBC Karmveer episode. Their dedication, their effort for the country is beyond compare. Jab hum apne desh ki khiladiyon ko sammanit karte hai to hum desh ko bhi sammanit karte hai. Desh ka gaurav hai yeh, tirangey ki shaan aur maan hai yeh. (When we honour our country’s sportsmen, we honour the nation. They are the pride of the nation. They are the pride and glory of the flag).”

The 75-year-old actor took to his blog and wrote: “Sport is the identity of a nation .. when we excel in a routine the World takes notice. Sportsmen are a nations brand ambassadors… for merit for glory for the recognition that we are blessed with.

The “Piku” star then sought support for the Indian men’s hockey team for the World Cup, which will be taking place in Odisha in November and December.

“Our mens hockey team taking on in a month, the challenge of the World Cup to be held in Odisha in November. our pride our heroes. They need our support and encouragement. Come in large numbers to cheer for them in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

“The cheers that surround the playing field is the adrenalin that players need for achieving victory,” he added.

On the acting front, Amitabh is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film “Thugs Of Hindostan”. It also stars superstar Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif and Fatima Sana Sheikh.

(IANS)

Indian woman in New Zealand faces deportation after losing $33K to scamsters

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An Indian woman is facing deportation in New Zealand after being duped by men who she says took more than $30,000 from her in return for work visas for jobs that did not exist.

Damanpreet Kaur told Radio New Zealand (RNZ) that she paid two Tauranga men over $18,000 for a work visa and job last year and later paid a Hamilton man $15,000 for the same.

In both cases, Kaur said she received a two-year work visa that restricted her to employment by the company named on the visa, but found there was no job, according to the report on Thursday.

The woman said she wanted justice served on the men and had already provided immigration authorities details of her claims in the hope that it will allow her to stay in the country.

Her immigration adviser, Tuariki Delamere, urged the New Zealand government to crack down on the group, who he described as “parasites”.

RNZ said that it first interviewed Kaur about her situation in February and though she shared secret recordings of the men who scammed her she was not ready to go public that time.

Now she has sent the Associate Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi a statement detailing the allegations, as well as bank statements showing payments to the two Tauranga men and to a company where the Hamilton man was a director, as well as cash withdrawals she said were later given to the men.

The Tauranga men denied the allegations while the Hamilton man didn’t return phone calls, according to RNZ.

Kaur said immigration officials had told her she could be served with a deportation notice because she was not working for the company specified on her current two-year work visa.

She said she was surviving by depending on money from her parents in India and support from her friends in New Zealand, but her parents would not support her if she returned to India.

Kaur admitted to have broken immigration rules by paying for a job, but said she found it too hard to find work in the field that she had studied. “It’s my mistake, I apologize… But I need one last chance from immigration.”

(IANS)

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