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Israel on cusp of fourth national elections in two years, after budget vote fails

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Israel on cusp of fourth national elections in two years, after budget vote fails

Jerusalem, Dec 22: Israel appeared headed to its fourth election in two years on Tuesday after a last-ditch effort to keep the government afloat and push off the automatic dissolution of parliament failed.

Negotiations meant to bring about a budget compromise between the government’s two main parties broke down early Tuesday and in a late-night Knesset session, members of the Likud and Blue and White parties voted against a proposal to postpone Tuesday’s budget deadline for another two weeks. The measure failed by 49 votes to 47.

If the government does not pass a budget by midnight Tuesday, Israeli law stipulates that the Knesset dissolve and triggers snap elections in 90 days. Most avenues to evade that deadline have been closed off.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party have been at loggerheads over the national budget issue since forming a unity government in May.

Netanyahu and Gantz had proposed pushing off Tuesday’s deadline by two more weeks in an effort to reach a compromise on the 2020 budget. But members of their own parties voted against the motion in a late-night, 11th hour break from party ranks.

We do not want elections and we voted against them this evening, but we are not afraid of elections because we will win! the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

Once parliament dissolves, Israelis will head to the polls in March for a fourth time since early 2019, this time in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, a major economic recession, and while Netanyahu is on trial for a series of corruption charges.

Netanyahu also faces a challenger from within his own camp, Gideon Saar, who broke from the Likud party earlier this month and has called for the long-ruling prime minister’s ouster. Several members of Netanyahu’s party who shot down Tuesday’s proposal are expected to join ranks with Saar.

‘My second life’: California nurse walks out of hospital after 8-month COVID-19 ordeal

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Last spring in a tragic role reversal, Pambuan became one of those patients – admitted to the intensive care unit of St. Mary Medical Center, her workplace for the past 40 years, where she was rendered unconscious by paralysis-inducing sedation and placed on a ventilator to breathe. A feeding tube was later added.

She came close to death on several occasions, her doctors later revealed. So dire was her condition at one point that end-of-life options were discussed with her family.

By the time she awoke and could breathe on her own again, she was too weak to stand. But she fought back and struggled through weeks of painful therapy to regain her strength and mobility, celebrating her 66th birthday in St. Mary’s acute rehabilitation ward in late October.

On Monday Pambuan beat the odds of her eight-month ordeal by walking out the front door of the hospital, drawing cheers, applause and exhilaration from colleagues lining the lobby to rejoice in her discharge.

“This is my second life,” Pambuan said moments earlier, as she prepared to leave her hospital room, accompanied by her husband, Daniel, 63, and their daughter, Shantell, 33, an aspiring social worker who spent months at her mother’s bedside as her patient advocate and personal cheerleader.

The spectacle of Pambuan striding slowly but confidently through the hospital lobby – she had insisted on making her exit without assistance of a wheelchair or walker, although was still connected to supplementary oxygen – marked a transformative victory for the diminutive but tough ICU nurse.

The outpouring of affection she received from colleagues – including many of the physicians, fellow nurses and therapists who took part in her care – also reflected a rare moment of communal triumph for the pandemic-weary hospital staff.

“This is what we live for … seeing our patients going home alive and in good condition,” said Dr. Maged Tanios, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at St. Mary. He said Pambuan’s recovery was especially rewarding since she is part of the hospital’s extended “family.”

Tanios said he was not aware of other St. Mary medical staff being admitted to the ICU for COVID. However, studies show frontline healthcare workers’ frequent, close contact with coronavirus patients puts them at higher risk of contracting the disease, hence the decision to give them top priority in getting immunized.

Pambuan’s discharge, ironically, coincided with the recent rollout of COVID-19 vaccines to medical workers, as well as a crushing surge in coronavirus infections that have overwhelmed hospitals, and ICUs in particular, across California.

Pambuan said she has no recollection of the four months she spent hooked to a breathing machine – from early May to early September – but recalls first waking up from deep sedation unable to move her extremities.

With encouragement from nursing staff and her daughter Pambuan said she grew determined to regain her mobility and her life.

“I said, ‘No, I’m going to fight this COVID,’” she recounted. “I start moving my hand (and) a physical therapist come and say, ‘Oh, you’re moving your hands,’ and I said, ‘Oh, I’m going to fight, I’m going to fight. I’m trying to wiggle my toes. I’m going to fight it.’”

Pambuan spent the last few months of her hospital stay undergoing physical and respiratory rehabilitation and will continue recuperation from home, while making peace, she said, with a change in pace.

“It’s going to be very difficult for me,” she said. “But I have to accept it, that I’m going to be on oxygen for a while and slow down a little bit.”

When or if she will return to work in the ICU remains an open question, she said.

In the meantime, Pambuan said she feels indebted to her co-workers for their “really professional” care, grateful for the support of loved ones and newly convinced of the power of optimism.

Her message to others in her shoes – “Don’t lose hope. Just fight. Fight, because look at me, you know. I’m going home and I’m walking.”

Donald Trump refuses to sign COVID-19 relief bill, seeks USD 2,000 stimulus payment

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Washington, Dec 23: US President Donald Trump has refused to sign the COVID-19 relief bill, saying the USD 600 stimulus payment to most Americans was not enough as he asked Congress to increase the amount to USD 2,000.

Trump, in a video posted on Twitter on Tuesday night, said that the bill delivered too much money to foreign countries, but not enough to Americans.

A few months ago, Congress started negotiations on a new package to get urgently needed help to the American people. It’s taken forever. However, the bill they are now planning to send back to my desk is much different than anticipated. It really is a disgrace, he said.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was part of the negotiations.

Despite all of this wasteful spending and much more, the USD 900 billion package provides hardworking taxpayers with only USD 600 each in relief payments, and not enough money is given to small businesses and in particular restaurants whose owners have suffered so grievously,” said the president in his video.

“I am asking Congress to amend this bill and increase the ridiculously low USD 600 dollars to USD 2,000, or USD 4,000 for a couple,” he said.

Congress passed the USD 900 billion pandemic relief bill on Monday night to provide cash to businesses and individuals, and resources for vaccination amidst the raging COVID-19 pandemic. The bill went to President Trump for his signature.

However, Trump said: “I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items in this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package. And maybe that administration will be me, and we will get it done”.

Trump’s proposal was immediately supported by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Republicans repeatedly refused to say what amount the President wanted for direct checks. At last, the President has agreed to $2,000 Democrats are ready to bring this to the Floor this week by unanimous consent. Let’s do it! Pelosi said in a tweet soon thereafter.

Congressman Brendan Boyle, who had initially moved a legislation for USD 2,000 cheque, welcomed the demand of President Trump.

I am the co-sponsor of legislation for USD 2,000 stimulus cheques. So, I welcome the sudden support of Trump, he said in a tweet.

With so many Americans suffering, Congress had one job. To help Americans and small businesses get through this crisis, not help every other country and every other pork project out there. Just once, don’t spend for the sake of spending. Know your priorities, Indian-American Republican politician Nikki Haley said.

Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has also been seeking an increase in stimulus cheques.

One USD 600 check isn’t enough. A weekly USD 300 of enhanced unemployment assistance isn’t enough. We’re putting money in people’s pockets, but in a crisis of this scale, people need and deserve so much more. I’ll keep fighting to deliver that, she said in a tweet on Monday.

BJP MP Saumitra Khan sends divorce notice to wife, a day after she joined TMC

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BJP MP Saumitra Khan sends divorce notice to wife, a day after she joined TMC

Kolkata, Dec 22: Senior BJP leader and party MP Saumitra Khan on Tuesday sent a divorce notice to his wife Sujata Mondal Khan, a day after she joined the Trinamool Congress.

Khan’s lawyer sent the mutual divorce notice, where several marital issues were cited for seeking the separation.

Sujata Mondol Khan, the wife of BJP MP from West Bengal’s Bishnupur on Monday found her marriage on the rocks when her husband of 10 years threatened to divorce her after she joined the ruling TMC.

Claiming that “misfit and corrupt leaders” were getting more importance in the BJP than those loyal to the party, she shifted allegiance to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.

A furious Khan hurriedly called a press conference on Monday evening where he announced his decision to “sever the 10-year relationship”.

“You (Sujata) have come this far as you had chanted Jai Shree Ram, chanted in favour of (Narendra) Modiji, as you were the wife of Saumitra Khan,” a livid Khan said.

“Please refrain from using the ‘Khan’ surname hereafter, please don’t refer to yourself as Saumitra Khan’s wife. I am giving you all the freedom to chart your political destiny. But please don’t forget you are siding with those who had attacked your parents’ residence in 2019 after I joined the BJP,” Khan had said.

US Congressman asks India to provide security to agitating farmers

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US Congressman asks India to provide security to agitating farmers

Washington, Dec 22: A Democratic American lawmaker on Tuesday urged the Indian government to provide safety to the protesting farmers as he hailed the recent offers of dialogue and a proposal from India’s Supreme Court to set up mediation.

India has called the remarks by foreign leaders and politicians on protests by farmers as “ill-informed” and “unwarranted”, asserting that the matter pertains to the internal affairs of a democratic country.

“We have seen some ill-informed comments relating to farmers in India. Such comments are unwarranted, especially when pertaining to the internal affairs of a democratic country,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said early this month.

“I call on India’s government to demonstrate its commitment to democratic norms by guaranteeing protesters’ safety and by treating them with respect. Democracy demands this much,” Congressman David Trone said.

Trone, who represents the sixth Congressional District of Maryland, also expressed concern over reports of violence used against the protesters. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2018.

“I further welcome the government’s engagement with the protestors, including recent offers of dialogue and a proposal from India’s Supreme Court to set up mediation,” he said in a statement.

“As we continue to watch the democratic process unfold in India, where stakeholders from all sides are included, I’m hopeful to see a path forward that respects the rights of all Indians,” said Trone, who previously was owner of a major American wine retailer.

Thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and several other states have been protesting on various borders of Delhi since November 26, seeking repeal of three farm laws enacted in September.

Dubbing these laws as “anti-farmer”, these farmers claim that the newly enacted legislations would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price system, leaving them at the “mercy” of big corporations.

However, the government has maintained that the new laws will bring farmers better opportunities and usher in new technologies in agriculture. There have been multiple rounds of talks between representatives of the protestors and the Indian government but the logjam continues.

“The partnership between the United States and India has grown exponentially over the course of the past several years based on shared interest in a variety of areas: from security and trade to climate change and human rights,” he said.

“Our relationship with India not only helps anchor US policy in the Indo-Pacific, but it serves to set an example for cooperation that extends far beyond our two countries. As President-elect (Joe) Biden takes office in January, I look forward to working with the new Administration to strengthen this partnership based on the democratic values President-elect Biden has espoused throughout his career,” he said.

Trone said India’s citizens, like those of the US, have a longstanding tradition of engaging in a civic debate that aims to hold the government accountable to its people.

“We are reminded of this as thousands of Indians have taken to the streets in recent weeks to peacefully protest implementation of new laws. Their demonstration is an exercise of the democratic process, one that grants civic rights and freedom of expression, he said.

J-K DDC polls: Gupkar alliance bags 82 seats, leading in 30; BJP likely single largest party

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J-K DDC polls: Gupkar alliance bags 82 seats, leading in 30; BJP likely single largest party

Srinagar/Jammu, Dec 22: The seven-party Gupkar alliance led by Farooq Abdullah was ahead in the seat tally in the maiden District Development Council polls in Jammu and Kashmir by winning or leading in 112 seats out of 280 on Tuesday, followed by the BJP which had won 52 seats, including three in the Kashmir valley for the first time, and was frontrunner in 18.

The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) has bagged 82 seats and is leading in 30. Thirty-eight Independents, mainly disgruntled leaders from all political parties, have been declared winners and the same number are leading in other seats.

The Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) put up a dismal performance by bagging seven seats and leading in another five. The Congress has so far won 19 seats and is leading in nine other council seats.

The eight-phase DDC polls, which began on November 28, is also the first election after Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 was revoked last year and it was reorganised into a Union Territory. In the election, 140 seats each in the Jammu and Kashmir regions went to polls.

The trends in most seats in the DDC elections are in accordance with expectations – the BJP maintained its strength in the Jammu division while the PAGD, which includes regional heavyweights the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), is ahead in Kashmir, besides Pir Panchal and the Chenab Valley regions of Jammu.

A day ahead of counting of votes, authorities had detained several PDP and second-rung NC leaders, including Naeem Akhtar, Sartaj Madni, Peer Mansoor and Hilal Ahmad Lone. No reason was given for the detentions.

Senior PDP leader Waheed Parra, who is at present in jail after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested him in a terror funding case, won from Pulwama-1 and polled 1,323 votes against BJP’s Sajjad Ahmed Raina who polled only 321 votes.

The BJP had something to cheer about in the Kashmir Valley as three of its candidates, Aijaz Hussain, Aijaz Ahmad Khan and Minha Lateef won from Khonmoh-II seat in Srinagar, Tulail seat in Bandipora district and Kakpora in Pulwama respectively.

This is for the first time the BJP has registered a win in the Valley while facing regional heavyweights like the NC and the PDP.

Highlighting the wins in the Kashmir Valley, BJP general secretary Vibodh Gupta congratulated victorious party candidates, especially those who had won in Kashmir, and said the people of the Valley have exhibited their faith in the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The people of Kashmir exhibited their faith in Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi’s vision of Naya Kashmir, and sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas,” Gupta, who is also the party’s in-charge for Kashmir, said.

He said the victories mark a “change of wave” in the Valley and added that the maiden victory in Kashmir “speak of two stories — one of a tough fight by the BJP, marking the beginning of a new era in the Valley, and the other of conveying a strong message to Gupkar Gang that the end of their communal and divisive politics is near.”

Senior BJP leader and Union minister Jitendra Singh said, Three BJP candidates have won from Srinagar. It is testimony to the fact that people of Jammu and Kashmir believe in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the development of the Union Territory.

He said the BJP has emerged as a pan-Jammu and Kashmir party after the DDC elections results and it is acceptable to the people of the region.

However, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and NC vice president Omar Abdullah said the results of the DDC elections have made it clear that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have voted for the Gupkar alliance and rejected the Centre’s decision to abrogate Article 370.

Abdullah was quick enough to counter the BJP’s claims, tweeting, “I understand the temptation to over play the 3 seats the BJP has won in the valley but why underplay the 35 wins/leads of the @JKPAGD in Jammu province.

“We aren’t Kashmir based parties, we are political parties with strong support in both Kashmir AND Jammu,” the NC leader tweeted

Reacting to the results, Abdullah told PTI that the results and emerging trends of the DDC polls should be an eye-opener for the BJP and its “proxy political party”. He was apparently referring the JKAP.

Today’s DDC results have made it clear that people of J&K voted en masse for @JKPAGD thus rejecting the unconstitutional decision to abrogate Article 370. They have overwhelmingly supported @JKPAGD which stands for restoration of J&Ks special status, the PDP president said.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said the DDC election results show that the voters of Kashmir valley have firmly rejected the BJP and its “misguided” Kashmir policy.

“Undeterred by the denial of democratic rights, the voters of the Kashmir valley have firmly rejected the BJP and its misguided Kashmir policy. I compliment the voters for their courage and resolve,” he said on Twitter.

Chidambaram also tweeted, “Even in the Jammu region, a significant number of voters have rejected the divisive and polarising politics of the BJP”. “Both the Congress and the Gupkar Alliance have stood up to the BJP and may win as many seats as the BJP. That is a good sign,” he said.

On August 5 last year, the Centre had revoked the special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and divided it into union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

BJP’s former minister Shakti Raj Parihar was trailing from both his seats in Doda district, while former ministers Aijaz Khan (JKAP) and Abdul Gani Malik (NC) emerged victorious from Thuroo constituency and Mahore constituency in Reasi district.

Among the prominent loser from Kashmir was Naseer Ahmad Mir, son of state Congress chief Ghulam Ahmad Mir. He lost to an independent candidate Peer Shahbaz Ahmad.

Owner of ‘Baba ka Dhaba’ opens new restaurant

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Owner of 'Baba ka Dhaba' opens new restaurant

New Delhi, Dec 22: Kanta Prasad, the owner of the small eatery ‘Baba ka Dhaba’ that was recently in the limelight on social media, on Monday opened a new restaurant in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area.

The new restaurant has also been named Baba ka Dhaba’.

“We have opened a restaurant today which is near my small eatery. We will serve Indian and Chinese cuisines and have hired two chefs for the same. I will keep running my old eatery also,” Prasad said.

The 80-year-old said he has opened the restaurant at a rented accommodation.

Tushant Adlakha, a social worker who also works with Prasad, said the restaurant will start functioning from Wednesday.

“Today, it was the opening of the restaurant. Prasad will take two days to set up the kitchen and from Wednesday, they will start serving food to customers. They have both dine-in and take away options. They have hired two chefs and the rest of their family members are helping in the restaurant,” Adlakha said.

Prasad had shot to fame after a video of him tearfully talking about the financial distress he faced in the months since the lockdown was shot by a man and shared widely across social media platforms.

Nearly a month after his video went viral, Prasad had filed a complaint against the YouTuber for alleged misappropriation of funds.

In his complaint to police, Prasad had alleged that the man who shot and published the video “intentionally and deliberately shared only his and his family/friends bank details and mobile numbers with the donors and collected huge amount of donation… without providing any information to the complainant”.

COVID-19: India records 23,950 new cases as tally nears 1.10 crore

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The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 96,63,382 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.69 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent

NEW DELHI: India’s COVID-19 caseload rose to 1,00,99,066 with 23,950 new infections being reported in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 96.63 lakh, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The death toll increased to 1,46,444 with 333 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 96,63,382 pushing the national recovery rate to 95.69 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.45 per cent.

The COVID-19 active caseload remained below 3 lakh for the second consecutive day.

There are 2,89,240 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country which comprises 2.86 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28,  70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29,  90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

According to the ICMR, 16,42,68,721 samples have been tested up to December 22 with 10,98,164 samples being tested on Tuesday.

The 333 new fatalities include 75 from Maharashtra,  38 from West Bengal, 27 from Kerala and 25 from Delhi.

A total of 1,46,444 deaths have been reported so far in the country including 48,876 from Maharashtra followed by 12,029 from Karnataka, 12,012 from Tamil Nadu, 10,329 from Delhi, 9,439 from West Bengal, 8,224 from Uttar Pradesh, 7,082 from Andhra Pradesh and 5,230 from Punjab.

The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.

Missing Trinamool ministers set tongues wagging; another big ticket defection likely

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Absence of Rajib Banerjee, the minister for forest affairs, was said to be politically significant as there are strong speculations that he might quit the Trinamool Congress.

Trinamool flag, Trinamool Congress flag

KOLKATA: Four ministers of West Bengal government skipped cabinet meeting convened by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday at Nabanna, the State secretariat.

Though three of them cited seemingly genuine reasons, absence of Rajib Banerjee, the minister for forest affairs, was said to be politically significant as there are strong speculations that he might quit the Trinamool Congress.

The three others in Mamata’s cabinet, who did not turn up to attend the meeting, were Rabindranath Ghosh, the north Bengal development minister, tourism minister Gautam Deb and Chandranath Sinha, the minister for fisheries.

Sources in the TMC said Ghosh was tested positive for Covid-19 recently and presently, he is not taking part in any administrative activities.

He said besides his health issue, he decided not to leave his constituency because Mamata’s latest initiative ‘Duare Sarkar’ (government at your door-step) is being carried out there.

“Deb is based in north Bengal and travelling to Kolkata was not safe in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic,’’ said a TMC leader. Deb is known as one of the most trusted lieutenant of Mamata. Sinha from Bolpur said he was busy to oversee the preparedness ahead of the chief minister’s Bolpur visit on December 28 and 29.

“I am very much with the Trinamool Congress and I will be with the party. There is no question of shifting my political alignment,’’ he said.

Banerjee, however, could not be contacted for his comment explaining the reason behind his absence in the cabinet meeting.

In the recent past, Banerjee expressed his discontent on several occasions on the issue of the functioning of a section of party functionaries.

AAP govt spent Rs 6 crore on Diwali Laxmi Puja event in Delhi: Activist cites RTI reply

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The mega event that saw participation by CM Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues along with their spouses at Akshardham Temple here was telecast live.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: An activist on Tuesday cited an RTI reply claiming that the AAP government in Delhi spent Rs 6 crore on its Laxmi Puja event and live telecast on Diwali this year.

No reaction was immediately available from the Delhi government or Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The activist, Saket Gokhale, tweeted the purported RTI reply to his query from Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation.

He said, “Delhi AAP Govt. spent 6 crores (approx $0.8 million) of taxpayer money for the Laxmi Puja event & its live telecast done by @ArvindKejriwal on 14 November, 2020. This whopping cost of 6 crores public money was for a 30-minute puja. Thats 20 lakh rupees per minute.”

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government had appealed Delhiites to refrain from bursting crackers on Diwali in view of high pollution levels and instead urged them to participate in Laxmi Puja on the festival day.

The mega event that saw participation by Chief Minister Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues along with their spouses at Akshardham Temple here was telecast live.

Sharing Gokhale’s tweet, Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar trained his guns at Kejriwal accusing the CM of seeking publicity by spending the money at a time when doctors, nurses and health workers were sitting on hunger strike due to non-payment of their salaries.

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