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Israel approves controversial ‘Jewish nation state’ law

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Israel’s parliament on Thursday passed into law a controversial bill that defines the country as an exclusively Jewish state.

The “Jewish nation state” bill downgrades Arabic as an official language and says advancing Jewish settlement is a national interest. It also states that the “whole and united” Jerusalem is its capital, BBC reported.

Israeli Arab MPs condemned the legislation but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised it as a “defining moment”.

The bill, backed by the country’s right-wing government, says that “Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it”.

It was passed after a stormy session in the Knesset that lasted more than eight hours. Sixty-two MPs voted for the bill, with 55 against.

However some clauses were dropped following objections by Israel’s president and attorney-general, including a clause that would have enshrined in law the creation of Jewish-only communities.

Israeli Arabs make up about 20 per cent of the Israel’s population of about nine million people.

They have equal rights under the law, but have long complained of being treated as second class citizens and say they face discrimination and worse provision of services such as education, health and housing.

Arab MP Ahmed Tibi said the bill’s passing represented the “death of democracy”.

Adalah, an Arab rights NGO, said the law was an attempt to advance “ethnic superiority by promoting racist policies”.

Last week, Netanyahu defended the law, saying: “We will keep ensuring civil rights in Israel’s democracy but the majority also has rights and the majority decides.”

G.Noida building crash toll rises to 9; many still trapped

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The death toll in the twin-building collapse here in Uttar Pradesh climbed to nine on Thursday, with five more bodies pulled out from the rubble of the residential apartments early in the day.

The rescue operations were still on in the Shahberi village where the crash took place late on Tuesday, an official said.

A rescue personnel told IANS that according to estimates given by neighbors, at least 20 persons are still feared trapped inside.

Six of the deceased have been identified. There is Priyanka Dwivedi, 26, of Mainpuri; Shamshad, 25, of Faizabad; Ranjeet Bhimali, 30, from West Bengal; Raj Kumar,50, Shiv Trivedi,28, and Pankhuri of just 14 months.

A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said based on the operation conducted with the help of sniffer dogs, “chances of anybody surviving under the concrete debris were slim” as more than 36 hours have elapsed since the incident.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the dead.

The District Magistrate of Gautambuddh Nagar (Noida) has already ordered a magisterial probe.

Cases have been filed against two dozen persons and four of the accused, including the builder Ganga Sharan Dwivedi, brokers Dinesh and Sanjeev have been arrested.

We walked the talk on electrification, says Modi

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday claimed that officials working on electrification projects under his government reached every village, remotest of areas to fulfill his promise to the nation.

“From the ramparts of Red Fort, I announced every village will be electrified. We walked the talk and went to every village. We not only focussed on electrification but also reformed the distribution systems across the country,” Modi said addressing residents of newly electrified villages via the NaMo App.

“Most of the villages were in remote, hilly areas, and in areas with poor connectivity. It was not easy to reach there but a dedicated team of people did it,” he said.

In April, Modi announced that the Rs 76,000 crore Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) project was completed with the electrification of around 18,000 villages.

“It has been 70 years since we attained independence but 18,000 villages did not have an electricity supply. This was quite unfortunate,” he said.

Taking a snipe at the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, Modi said: “In 2005, the then government promised to electrify every village by 2009. Then President (Sonia Gandhi) of the ruling party (Congress) went a step ahead and said ‘we will bring electricity to every home’.

“Needless to say, none of that happened during their long tenure,” he added.

EU hits Google with $5bn fine for breaking competition rules

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The European Union slapped Google with a record $5bn fine for using its Android smartphone system to illegally boost its search engine – the biggest anti-trust penalty in EU history.

Google immediately said it would appeal the massive fine.

Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, announced the stiff penalty on Wednesday saying the US tech giant forced – and in some cases paid – major phone makers to pre-install its search engine and Google Chrome browser.

The company also limited the ability of manufacturers to sell phones running alternative versions of Android.

“Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine,” Vestager said in a statement. “This is illegal under EU anti-trust rules.”

The company, however, said instead of restricting competition it did the opposite.

“Android has created more choice for everyone, not less,” said Google spokesman Al Verney. “We will appeal the commission’s decision.”

The commission also ordered Google to end the illegal conduct within 90 days or face additional penalties of up to 5 percent of parent Alphabet’s average daily worldwide turnover.

Wednesday’s ruling came a year after the EU’s enforcer handed down a $2.7bn fine on Google for favouring its shopping service over rivals.

Angering Washington

Vestager has targeted a series of Silicon Valley giants in her four years as the 28-nation European Union’s competition commissioner, winning praise in Europe but angering the United States.

On Wednesday, Vestager told a news conference in Brussels she “very much” likes the United States.

“But the fact is that this has nothing to do with how I feel. Nothing whatsoever. Just as enforcing competition law, we do it in the world, but we do not do it in political context,” she said.

Brussels has repeatedly targeted Google over the past decade amid concerns about the Silicon Valley giant’s dominance of internet searches across Europe, where it commands about 90 percent of the market.

The EU ordered Apple in 2016 to pay Ireland 13bn euros in back taxes that the maker of iPhones and iPads avoided by a tax deal with Dublin.

It has also taken on Facebook over privacy issues after it admitted millions of users may have had their data hijacked by British consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica.

1,10,333 rape cases registered in India in 2014-16

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As many as 1,10,333 cases of rape were registered in the country between 2014-16, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said today.

Rijiju said in Rajya Sabha that 38,947 cases of rape were registered in 2016, 34,651 cases of rape were registered in 2015 and 36,735 cases of rape were registered in 2014.

Altogether 3,38,954 cases of crime against women were registered in 2016, as many as 3,29,243 cases of crime against women were registered in 2015 and 3,39,457 such cases were registered in 2014, he said in a written reply.

Australia’s BBL goes IPL way

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The forthcoming edition of Australia’s domestic T20 cricket tournament — Big Bash League (BBL) — will witness an increase in the number of matches and duration when it kicks off on December 19 this year, Cricket Australia (CA) announced on Wednesday.

Compared to last year’s 40 matches, the 2018 edition of BBL will see 56 group matches as CA announced a home-and-away format with each of the eight teams playing 14 matches before the knockout stage, a format on which the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) runs.

Meanwhile, new venues have also been announced for the annual domestic competition, which will run for a period of 61 days, 13 days more than the previous edition.

The Metricon Stadium in Gold Coast, which will host its first ever international game when South Africa takes on the hosts in a T20I game on November 17, will be hosting BBL matches for the first time beside serving as the home venue for the Brisbane Heat.

Also, Traeger Park in Alice Springs and the UTAS Stadium in Launceston will be hosting matches in the upcoming edition.

Explaining the reason behind the new formula, BBL Head Kim McConnie said: “The objective of moving the BBL to a full home and away fixture is consistent with Cricket Australia’s strategy of growing the Big Bash and becoming number one for fans across Australia.”

“With more games, in more locations, we believe this is going to be one of the most exciting, action-packed BBL seasons to-date,” he added.

Anupam Kher travels in metro for first time

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Veteran actor Anupam Kher travelled in the metro for the first time and described it as a great experience.

Anupam on Tuesday took to Twitter, where he shared a few photographs from the metro and captioned it: “Thanks to the horrible traffic at Saki Naka, Mumbai… had a great experience travelling by Metro for the first time ever. Loved the experience and the people in it. Jai Ho.

On the work front, Anupam will next be seen in “The Accidental Prime Minister”.

The film is based on a book by Sanjaya Baru, a former media advisor to Manmohan Singh. Akshaye Khanna features as Baru, and Divya Seth Shah plays Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur in the movie.

It is directed by debutant Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, along with Hansal Mehta as the creative producer.

The script of “The Accidental Prime Minister”, produced by Bohra Bros, is written by Mayank Tewari. It is slated to release on December 21.

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Shabana Azmi remembers Nelson Mandela on birth anniversary

Veteran actress and social activist Shabana Azmi remembered former South African President Nelson Mandela on his 100th birth anniversary.

“I am blessed to have met Nelson Mandela twice. What a giant of a man. His ideology of non violence ,truth and reconciliation is needed today more than ever. On his 100th birth centenary my deepest respect,” Shabana tweeted on Tuesday.

Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.

He became an elder statesman and focused on combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the charitable Nelson Mandela Foundation.

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‘Soorma’ team lauds Jhajjar Police

The “Soorma” team appreciated Jhajjar Police’s initiative for making Dubaldhan village’s poor kids watch the film at a cinema hall.

Producer Chitrangada Sen and actor Diljit Dosanjh got overwhelmed by IPS officer Pankaj Nain’s post on Twiiter, that stated that he along with his team took a few poor students to watch “Soorma” at a cinema hall.

In response to the IPS officer’s post, Chitrangada tweeted: “This is by far the best review for ‘Soorma’, touching so many hearts and inspiring people everyday with this brave story. So humbled with the initiative of Jhajjar Police.Thank You.”

Humbled by the post, Diljit who is essaying the role of hockey champ Sandeep Singh in the film also reposted the IPS officer’s tweet.

“Soorma” has garnered a lot of positive response from the critics and audience.

Parliament nod to bill for merger of subsidiary banks with RBI

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Parliament has approved the bill to merge six subsidiary banks with the State Bank of India (SBI) with the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday clearing the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017.

The bill repeals the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956 besides amending the State Bank of India (SBI) Act, 1955.

The State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Travancore were constituted under the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959.

The State Bank of Hyderabad and the State Bank of Patiala were wholly owned by the State Bank of India (SBI). The SBI had 90 percent shareholding in the State Bank of Mysore, 75.07 percent shareholding in the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and 79.09 percent shareholding in the State Bank of Travancore.

For the purposes of “rationalisation of resources, reduction of costs, better profitability, lower cost of funds leading to better rate of interest for public at large, improved productivity and customer service,” the SBI, with the sanction of the central government and in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), entered into negotiations with these subsidiary banks for acquiring the business, including assets and liabilities.

The Union Cabinet granted its approval in February 2017, which allowed the SBI to acquire these subsidiaries.

“After the acquisition of the subsidiary banks by SBI, the subsidiary banks have ceased to exist and, therefore, it was necessary to repeal the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 and the State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956,” the objectives of the Bill read.

“There are certain provisions in the State Bank of India Act, 1955, which apply to the subsidiary banks. After the acquisition of all the subsidiary banks by the SBI, it is not necessary to retain such provisions in the State Bank of India Act, 1955. Therefore, certain amendments are necessary in the said Act in so far as they relate to the subsidiary banks,” it said.

The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on July 21, 2017, and has been passed by the lower house.

11 Afghan journalists killed in six months

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Eleven Afghan journalists and media workers have been killed in the first half of the year amid deteriorating security, an independent media safety group said on Wednesday.

“The first six months of 2018 was the bloodiest reporting period for journalists and the media community in Afghanistan. About 89 cases of violence and intimidation were reported, 11 of which involved the killing of journalists,” Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC) told Xinhua news agency.

A group of nine reporters was killed on April 30 in a suicide bombing while they were covering a terrorist attack at a diplomatic district. The attack was later claimed by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.

Two other journalists were shot dead in southern Kandahar and eastern Khost provinces in the same month.

The press safety group also expressed concern over the continuation and expansion of violence and threats to Afghan journalists posed by terrorist groups, particularly Taliban and IS affiliates.

“The intensity and scale of violence has been unprecedented during this period of 2018,” AJSC added.

SC said that Woman’s right to entry for Sabarimala Temple

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that a woman’s right to pray is equal to that of a man as enshrined in the Constitution and forming a law cannot negate that. The apex court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the ban on entry of women in Kerala’s Sabarimala temple on grounds of biological factors.

“On what basis you (temple authorities) deny the entry. It is against the Constitutional mandate. Once you open it for the public, anybody can go,” Chief Justice Dipak Misra said.

He said that if the temple has allowed men to enter, then it must allow women to enter too. “There is no concept of a private temple. If there is a temple then it is a public place and everyone is allowed to go there. If men can go there then women can also go,” he said during the hearing.

The CJI also opposed the Kerala government’s assertion that ceremonial rules pertaining to temples and method of worship are set by the temple and are protected under the right to worship, saying that a “temple cannot claim denominational rights.”

“Your right to worship as a woman at par with a man is not dependent on a legislation. It’s there in the Constitution. It’s there in article 25(1). Law facilitates equal right of worship by everyone,” he said.

Justice DY Chandrachud, who was part of the five-judge constitutional bench that was hearing the case, further said, “Every woman is also the creation of God and why should there be discrimination against them in employment or worship.”

The Supreme Court had in October last year formed the constitution bench to hear the case and it will decide four significant questions, primary among which is whether the ban amounts to discrimination against women.

The constitution bench also includes Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, AM Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra.

The petitioner – the Indian Young Lawyers Association – has challenged the 800-year-old practice of prohibiting the entry of women into the famed Lord Ayyappan Temple.

The PIL has sought direction to the Kerala government, the Travancore Devaswom Board, Chief Thanthri (priest) of Sabarimala Temple and the District Magistrate of Pathanamthitta to ensure entry of female devotees between the age group of 10-50.

Appearing for the petitioner, counsel Ravi Prakash Gupta told the court the restrictions on the entry of women in Sabarimala temple is not the essence of their religious affairs as discrimination on the entry of women in the temple is “neither a ritual nor a ceremony associated with Hindu religion”.

Gupta said: “Mere sight of a woman does not affect anybody’s celibacy, if one has take oath of it, otherwise such oath has no meaning.”

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