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At least 32 killed in attack on Afghan govt building

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Nasheman News : At least 28 civilians, one police officer and three attackers were killed after a deadly explosion and ensuing gun firing rocked a government office near a diplomatic district in Afghan capital on Monday, spokesman of Ministry of Interior Affairs said on Tuesday.

Around 20 people, including three policemen, were also wounded. Figures about the casualties may change, spokesman Najib Danish said in a brief message sent to the media, Xinhua news agency reported.

The latest information found that 357 people were rescued by the Afghan Special Operations Forces from the targeted building, he said.

The attack occurred on Monday afternoon when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb outside the targeted office, which provides service to family members of soldiers and ordinary people who lost their lives during the war or terrorist attacks.

At least two gunmen made their way inside the building after the blast, spreading bullets on the people inside before security forces’ arrival.

The attack occurred in Makruyan-e-Awal locality near Shashdarak, where several foreign embassies located.

The area also gives home to several apartment buildings and several government offices, including Afghan Ministry of Public Works.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

373 dead in Indonesia amid fear of more tsunamis

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JThe death toll in a devastating tsunami that hit the coast of Indonesia after a volcanic eruption reached 373 on Monday, as rescuers continued digging through the rubble with bare hands and heavy machinery to find survivors amid warnings of more deadly waves in the coming days.

At least 128 people were still missing and nearly 1,500 were injured after the tsunami struck the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra almost without warning late Saturday, shortly after the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted in the Sunda Strait dividing the islands, said the National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB).

According to the figures released on Monday, at least 11,687 people were displaced by the tragedy, which damaged 611 houses, 69 hotels, 60 shops and 420 boats. President Joko Widodo visited the disaster zone to monitor rescue efforts and said he was praying for the victims, CNN reported.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Maritime Affairs said the tsunami was triggered when the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted in the Sunda Strait, prompting a series of underwater landslides. Most of the victims were Indonesians, but foreigners were also visiting the affected areas ahead of Christmas.

“Sixty four hectares of the slope collapsed … Our sensors did not sound early warning because they are for tectonic activity not volcanic activity,” spokesman Rahmat Djamaluddin said.

According to local media reports, the wave reached as high as three metres (10 feet). Eyewitnesses described fleeing for their lives as beachfront homes were swept away in the wave.

BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho warned that more tsunamis were possible as long as the volcano remained active.

“We are cautioning the people to remain cautious. Agencies are still continuing to analyze the root cause … the Krakatau volcano continues to erupt, which could potentially trigger another tsunami.”

Sutopo also raised the issue of Indonesia’s outdated tsunami buoy network which he said hasn’t worked properly since 2012. The country established the early warning system after the Indian Ocean tsunami struck on December 26, 2004, killing 226,000 people in 14 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia. 

This time, there was no warning from the sensors, said Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency head Dwikorita Karnawati. 

A lack of warning was also blamed for the death toll in Indonesia’s October tsunami which killed over 2,000 people on the western coast of Sulawesi.

Just over 20 minutes after the eruption, a wall of water between 6 and 10 feet high hit the coastline of northwestern Java and southeastern Sumatra, washing away everything in its path along the shoreline, including people, boats and cars. Pandeglang in northern Java’s Banten province was the worst affected area.

Other hard-hit areas with casualties and damages were Serang, Lampung Selatan, Tanggamus and Pesawaran.

Footage shared on social media showed a large wave crashing into a tent in the Tanjung Lesung beach resort in west Java, where popular Indonesian rock band Seventeen was performing.

Members of the band were seen being swept away as the wave destroyed the stage.

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) was providing assistance to local health services, while the UN offered humanitarian and logistical assistance, mainly for transport and mobile kitchens. The Indonesian Red Cross was providing first aid.

Anak Krakatau had been spewing ash and lava for months, with plumes reaching hundreds of feet in the air in the weeks leading up to the tsunami. 

The volcano’s name means “Child of Krakatau”, the island rising from the sea in 1927, after one of the largest, most devastating eruptions in recorded history occurred at the original Krakatau volcano in 1883.

That eruption, which caused the original volcano to collapse into the sea, killed over 36,000 people in far-reaching tsunamis and sent so much ash into the sky that global temperatures fell.

This tsunami has added more deaths and misery to a year of tragedies in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and 260 million people that lies on the “Ring of Fire”, an area of great seismic and volcanic activity that is shaken every year by some 7,000 earthquakes.


Nawaz Sharif sentenced to 7 years in jail for graft

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Nasheman News : An anti-corruption court in Pakistan on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to seven years in prison for owning a steel factory abroad without disclosing its ownership. The ruling was slammed by his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, as “the “last hiccup of blind revenge”.

Judge Arshad Malik imposed hefty fines on the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader after ruling that Al-Azizia Steel Mills — a Saudi Arabian firm carrying the name of his son — belonged to the former Prime Minister and that he was unable to demonstrate how the project was funded, Dawn newspaper reported.

The police took Sharif, 68, into custody following the verdict by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) court here. He requested the judge to keep him imprisoned in Lahore, instead of the city of Rawalpindi near Islamabad.

The three-time Premier was expected to appeal against his latest conviction and maintained that he never misused his powers or indulged in corruption. “My conscience is clear as I never did corruption,” he told reporters outside the court following the verdict.

His daughter took to Twitter to criticise the ruling, saying: “One man has been sentenced for the fourth time. This is the last hiccup of blind revenge.”

Sharif’s sons — Hassan and Hussain — who are not in Pakistan, were declared absconders. 

Sharif was, meanwhile, acquitted in another case of alleged corruption concerning the Flagship Investments firm in the UK for lack of evidence. 

He and his sons were also accused of using 16 offshore companies to acquire and manage expensive properties. 

A disqualification of 10 years from holding any public office was part of the sentences awarded to Sharif, said NAB special prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi. The disqualification will go into effect following his release from jail after serving the seven-year sentence.

Sharif was taken away from the court premises amid strong security measures. The verdict led to clashes between his supporters and the security forces guarding the court.

The agitated PML-N supporters tried to enter the court and threw stones at the police personnel, who responded with tear gas.

Former Prime Minister and PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi termed the verdict “another black decision” and said there was neither any evidence nor any witnesses in either case. 

“This is another black (day) for Pakistan, another black decision,” he said.

The verdict was hailed by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the “real face of Nawaz Sharif has been unmasked today”. 

He said that the people who were still defending Sharif “should be ashamed of themselves because the money involved in the scam belonged to the people of Pakistan”.

The trial against the Sharifs commenced on September 14, 2017 after Pakistan’s anti-corruption body filed three cases relating to the Avenfield properties case, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investment Limited on the Supreme Court’s directives in the landmark Panamagate verdict.

Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar were sentenced to 10 years, seven years and one year in prison, respectively by the same court in July in the Avenfield case — ownership of four luxury flats in London. They later bailed on appeal when the Islamabad High Court suspended their sentence in September.

The Supreme Court had set the deadline for Monday to wrap up the remaining two corruption cases against the former Prime Minister. 

Sharif’s sons are accused in all three references whereas daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar were accused in the Avenfield reference only.

Mamata remembers Vajpayee on his birth anniversary

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Nasheman News : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday remembered former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his 94th birth anniversary.

“Tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji on his birth anniversary. He was a statesman who rose above partisan politics for the country’s good. We miss him a lot,” the Trinamool supremo, who once was part of Vajpaee’s cabinet, tweeted.

Born in December 25, 1924, Vajpayee was the first Prime Minister, who was not a member of the Congress to have served a full five-year term in office.

The administration of Narendra Modi in 2014 declared that Vajpayee’s birthday would be marked as Good Governance Day.

He was conferred India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, by then President Pranab Mukherjee in 2015.

Vajpayee passed away on August 16.

Controversial ‘Yogi-as-kalyug-ka-avtaar’ billboards pop up in Agra, removed

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Nasheman News : Controversial hoardings portraying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as the next prime minister and a ‘Kalyug ka Avtaar’ (reincarnation in Kali Yuga) were removed from many public places in Agra after the municipal corporation noticed them, an official said.

The hoardings put up by the Uttar Pradesh Navnirman Sena were placed under the ‘Yogi for PM’ campaign, triggering a flutter in political circles.

As the hoardings dotted the city landscape, Agra Mayor Naveen Jain ordered their immediate removal. The civic authorities have also ordered action against the advertising agency that put up the billboards. 

The hoardings carry a picture of Lord Ram and the monk-turned-politician thanking him for renaming of Faizabad district as Ayodhya. 

Hoardings portraying Adityanath as the future prime minister and a man of action had recently created controversy. These, too, were removed soon after they were put up. 

Those billboards were also put up by the UP Navnirman Sena.

‘Chowkidars’ have become thieves, says Thackeray in fresh salvo on BJP, PM

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Nasheman News : Seen as a slanted attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid growing unease in ties with the BJP, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said with various scams in the country, “it seems chowkidars have become thieves” — a takeaway from Congress slogan.

Referring to what he termed as “scams” in the defence and agriculture sectors besides ‘jumlas’ of other schemes such as Rs 15 lakh in every Indian’s bank account or the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Thackeray attacked the ruling ally Bharatiya Janata Party on various fronts.

Addressing a much-anticipated rally in the temple town of Pandharpur, Solapur district, he hit out at the BJP for getting “possessed” by the spirits of gods in raking up the Ram temple before elections, but achieving nothing in the past over three decades.

“I went to Ayodhya (November) and have come to the holy land of Pandharpur. I want to wake up the sleeping Kumbhakarna — you exploited Ram temple to win elections and now you are in a slumber. We will not rest till the Ram temple is constructed,” Thackeray roared.

“The PM makes all kinds of promises which he says will be implemented by 2022 – this means people must vote for him in 2019. After that, he will again say everything was a ‘jumla’ to be said during elections,” Thackeray said.

He said when the BJP is questioned about the temple construction, it says the matter is “in courts”. “But was it not aware of this 30 years ago?” he asked.

Congratulating Janata Dal (U) chief Nitish Kumar and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan for their pacts with the BJP, Thackeray countered: “What is their stand on the Ram temple? Why are they silent on it?”

He demanded a parliamentary debate on the Ram temple and Hindutva issues, where “it will become clear who is with NDA and against.”

Dwelling on the farmers issues, he said the government has indulged in ‘jumlas’ such as doubling farmers’ incomes, but there is no such scheme. Despite tall claims, crop insurance and debt waiver have not reached the common peasantry, he said.

“There is a scam bigger than Rafale in the agriculture sector. Despite having four state-run insurance companies, the government has given out contracts to 12 companies who have nothing to do with crop insurance. The poor farmers may be debt-ridden, but they will not flee like Vijay Mallya or Nirav Mod-Mehul Choksi,” Thackeray said.

Touching upon Rafale, he said most questions raised on it have not been answered yet, but the government claims it has got a “clean chit’ from the courts. He alleged that “there are scams in defence purchases sector” undermining the crucial requirements for the country’s security.

“The government is now invading privacy of individual Indians and blaming Congress for everything. Tomorrow, they will impose Emergency and say even the Congress did it,” Thackeray said.

Barely a week after BJP President Amit Shah in Mumbai expressed “confidence” in working out an alliance with Sena for the 2019 elections, Thackeray hinted otherwise. “The Shiv Sena will form the next government. We are not interested in seat-sharing talks — that can go to hell. We want to first resolve the farmers issues and construct the Ram temple.”

However, probably leaving a small window open for negotiations, he added in the same breath that “the people of the state will decide whether to go for alliance”, but vowed to unfurl the Sena flag over the state.

Claiming that the defeat in the five state elections recently has “shattered the BJP’s arrogance”, he said the people of those states voted courageously without bothering about “options and alternatives” (to the BJP).

Referring to the drought situation in the state, he said recently a Central team came and carried out a hurried survey. “But now he (Thackeray) would go on a tour of all the drought-hit regions of Maharashtra in January and every Shiv Sena ‘shakha’ (branch) will act as relief centres for farmers.”

Meanwhile, BJP state President Raosaheb Patil-Danve, reacting to Thackeray’s hard-hitting speech, said the Rafale verdict has been given by the Supreme Court and said 90 per cent farmers have already got the benefit of the loan waiver announced in June 2017.

Indian firm takes over operations of Chabahar port in Iran

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NIndian firm India Ports Global Limited on Monday took over the operations of the Shaheed Behesti Port at Chabahar on the southeastern coast of Iran, being jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan.

The company opened its office following the first meeting of the follow-up committee for implementation of the trilateral Chabahar Agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran at the level of Joint Secretary/ Director General, said a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry.

“Positive and constructive discussions were held between the three sides on full operationalisation of the Trilateral Transit Agreement for international transit and transport through the Chabahar port,” the statement said.

“They agreed on the routes for the trade and transit corridors between the three countries,” it said.

“It was agreed to finalise at the earliest the protocol to harmonise transit, roads, customs, and consular matters.

“It was agreed to allow cargo movement at Chabahar using TIR Convention provisions.”

The Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) is a multilateral treaty aimed at simplifying and harmonising the administrative formalities of international road transport.

TIR stands for “Transports Internationaux Routiers” or ‘International Road Transports.’

According to the ministry statement, during Monday’s meeting, it was decided to hold an event to promote and popularise the potential of Chabahar on February 26, 2019.

“Also, a study would be initiated for determining measures to make the route attractive, decrease logistic costs and pave the way for smooth operationalisation of the Chabahar Agreement,” it stated.

India is investing $500 million to develop the Chabahar port and a road link from there to Afghanistan to give access to that country, bypassing Pakistan.

The port is also a key link in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a 7,200-km-long multi-modal network of ship, rail and road routes to move freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

Last month, the US waived India from its fresh sanctions on Iran’s oil imports and development of the crucial Chabahar port.

Despite President Donald Trump’s animosity towards Iran, the US had to give the exemption to Chabahar to enable Indian assistance to reach Afghanistan, where Washington is mired in a 17-year war against the Taliban, the Al Qaeda and their allies.

Without access to Chabahar, Afghanistan would be forced to depend solely on Pakistan for a sea passage.

The US has pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that Tehran had signed with the five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council, Germany and the European Union and imposed the new sanctions on Iran over its alleged nuclear programme.

Governor, CM extend Christmas greetings to Goans

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 Nasheman News : Goa Governor Mridula Sinha and Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday extended warm Christmas greetings to all Goans.

“Ours is a secular country, where people belonging to various faiths live in harmony, amity, social solidarity and unity. Religious and spiritual festivals are occasions when we renew these qualities, in order to lead a peaceful and wholesome life,” Sinha said in her message to the people of Goa.

“Christmas is an auspicious occasion all around the world. People from all communities come together to observe the occasion with great pomp. It is the time of the year to give to others, bringing in happiness and delight with simple things,” Parrikar said in his annual Christmas message.

Christians constitute 26 per cent of the population in the state.

PM Modi along with other political leaders pay tribute to Vajpayee

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The visionary leadership and endearing personality of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee were fondly remembered by the entire country on Tuesday – his 94th birth anniversary.

Leading the heartfelt tributes for the iconic leader was PM Narendra Modi who, along with politicians cutting across party lines, paid homage at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were among the first to reach Rashtriya Smriti Sthal where they offered a floral tribute to Vajpayee.

PM Modi also took to Twitter to honour the memory of a figure who played an important role in shaping the future of the party, the country and its people. “Tributes to Atal Ji on his Jayanti. We reiterate our commitment towards creating the India he dreamt of,” he wrote, along with a video showing priceless glimpses from Vajpayee’s life.Former PM Manmohan Singh and several other leaders from the opposition also honoured the memory of Vajpayee – many attending the sombre event at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal.

Vajpayee passed away on August 16 at All India Institute of Medical Science in Delhi following a prolonged illness. The veteran leader, who led the National Democratic Alliance government from 1998-2004, was the first ever person from the BJP to have become the nation’s Prime Minister. Vajpayee served as Prime Minister thrice — briefly in 1996, and then for two terms between 1998 and 2004.

JD-S worker killed in Karnataka over ‘personal rivalry’

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Nasheman News :  A Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) worker H. Prakash was killed by four assailants due to alleged personal rivalry in Karnataka’s Maddur town in Mandya district, police said on Monday.

“Prakash, 50, was attacked by four men with a machete on Monday evening due to suspected personal rivalries. He succumbed to his injuries,” Maddur police station sub-inspector Kumara told IANS from Mandya district, about 100km southwest from here.

The JD-S worker was also a former Zilla Panchayat (ZP) member of the district, the police officer said.

A hunt was on to nab the accused, he added.

Chief Minister and JD-S leader H.D. Kumaraswamy expressed shock over the party activist’s death.

“Prakash was a loyal party worker. The district police have been directed to take steps to arrest the accused,” a statement from Kumaraswamy’s office said on Monday night.

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