Daily News (In Short)-8-July-2015

#* Vyapam fallout: CM Chouhan could meet party leaders in Delhi today

Embattled Madhya Pradesh chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be in New Delhi for "a few hours" on Wednesday, during which he could meet some senior BJP leaders close on the heels of seeking a CBI inquiry into the Vyapam scam.
 
Giving in to pressure from the opposition, Chouhan said on Tuesday that his government will ask the Madhya Pradesh high court to direct the CBI to investigate the multi-layered scam in the state professional examination board (PEB), or Vyapam, which has become the biggest challenge for his third term in power.

A source close to Chouhan told Hindustan Times that the chief minister will be in the national capital to attend a meeting convened by the external affairs ministry to review preparations for the World Hindi Conference. 
 
Madhya Pradesh is the partner state for the event to be held in Bhopal during September 10-12.

"He will be in Delhi for a couple of hours. It is a government event but he could meet a couple of senior BJP leaders," the source said.

Read: Vyapam scam: HC likely to hear govt’s application for CBI probe today
 
Chouhan gave in to the demand from opposition parties and social activists for a CBI probe into the scam after a string of mysterious deaths of accused, beneficiaries, whistleblowers and witnesses.
 
“There are questions on people’s minds. People want to know the truth. Questions on people’s minds have to be answered. I bow my head to people’s wishes...I am sending a request to the high court that the CBI be allowed to investigate the case,” he told a hurriedly convened news conference in Bhopal.

#* China’s President Xi Jinping heads to Russia with big team to attend BRICS, SCO summits

Chinese President Xi Jinping left for Russia with a high-power team to attend the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summits, on the sidelines of which he is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Xi will attend the 7th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit on July 8-9 and the 15th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on July 9-10 in Russian city of Ufa at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
While operationalising the BRICS New Development Bank headed by noted Indian banker K V Kamath and emergency reserve arrangement of the five emerging economies is the highlight of the BRICS summit, clearing way for the entry of India and Pakistan into the six-nation SCO is the focus of its summit.
Xi is also expected to have a meeting with Modi on the sidelines of the summit to review the progress on the implementation of the outcomes of the Prime Minister’s visit to China in May. He is also due to have similar meetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Putin.
Xi’s entourage for Ufa included senior member of the politburo of the ruling Communist Party of China Wang Huning and Li Zhanshu, State Councilor Yang Jiechi and central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan among others.
Ahead of the visit, the Chinese official media has projected a positive outcome of the two summits.
“The GDP of the BRICS countries has increased from 7 per cent of the global total to over 20 per cent.
Especially after the financial crisis in 2008, the BRICS countries became the engine of global economic growth,” said a commentary by the People’s Daily on the progress made by BRICS countries.
“Even the most optimistic forecast did not predict the rapid development that BRICS economies would undergo,” it said. But at the same time “it’s true that the economic growth of the BRICS countries is facing a slowdown recently and worries are emerging that the BRICS dream is fading,” it said.
“However, although the slowdown in their economies is a fact, there are both external and internal factors, among which those countries’ structural reforms based on their own economic development play an important role,” it said.
“Thus, it is not appropriate to regard the trend as the sign of the decline of the BRICS countries. Besides, slowdown is a relative term. Compared with their own speed of economic growth in the past, there is a deceleration, but compared with the developed world, their pace of growth is still rather high,” it said.
Outlining the progress of the BRICS, the daily said since the first-ever meeting of its foreign ministers in 2006, the BRICS countries have established a multi-level framework of collaboration in terms of finance, economy and trade, industry and commerce, agriculture, health, science and technology.
“It is now a driving force in promoting global economic growth, improving global economic governance, and strengthening multilateralism as well as the democratization of international relations,” it said.

#* Negotiation instead of confrontation: Taliban, Afghan govt sit down for historic peace talks

Kabul: Afghan officials are holding talks with Taliban representatives in the Pakistani capital in their first official face-to-face discussions, which the Afghan president said on Tuesday were aimed at starting full-fledged negotiations.
The talks in an unannounced location in Islamabad come after repeated informal meetings between Talibanand government representatives, most recently hosted by Qatar and Norway. But the new talks were the first formally acknowledged by the Afghan government; that and the semi-public nature of the talks suggested possible progress after years of frustration in trying to bring the two sides together.
An Afghan security officer holds his weapon at the site of a suicide attack after clashes with Taliban fighters. An Afghan security officer holds his weapon at the site of a suicide attack after clashes with Taliban fighters. AP
Pakistan's prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, called the holding of the talks "a major breakthrough" in comments recorded for Pakistani TV from the Norwegian capital Oslo, where he is on a three-day visit.
He said the overtness of the meeting was a positive development. "I hope there will be a positive outcome which will certainly be very helpful for peace and stability in Afghanistan," he said.
Since taking office in September, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has made it a priority to find a peace settlement, even as fighting has continued in the war against the insurgency waged by the Taliban since their ouster in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. Afghan forces are now bearing the brunt of the insurgency after the U.S. and NATO ended their combat role in the country at the start of the year, with Washington cutting its troop presence.
Previous efforts to start a dialogue stalled, however, largely due the lack of trust and confidence between the two sides.
Ghani has enlisted the support of regional countries believed to protect, fund and arm the Taliban, including Pakistan which is pressuring the insurgents to open a channel for peace negotiations, officials and diplomats said. Informal talks in Qatar in May ended on a hopeful note, with the Taliban expressing some flexibility over some issues.
Ghani's office announced on Tuesday that a delegation from the government's High Peace Council was travelling to Islamabad to hold the talks. One official from the council said the government representatives include Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai.
The council official said the first session of talks was held on Tuesday. However an official with the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that two days of talks would begin on Wednesday. The discrepancy in the timing could not immediately be reconciled. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.
Ghani said the talks aim to "change this meeting into a process of continuing talks," as well as to build trust and to develop the agenda for any negotiations, according to a statement by his office.
The president has sought Pakistan's help in bringing the Taliban to negotiations, since it is a traditional ally of the group. Still, Islamabad's hosting of the talks raises suspicion among some Afghan politicians, who believe Pakistan is aiming to wield dominance over their country.
Nasrullah Sadieqizada, an Afghan parliament member, called the talks "Pakistani propaganda."
However the White House hailed the talks and praised the Pakistani government for helping facilitate the meeting.
"This is an important step in advancing prospects for a credible peace," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. "The United States commends the government of Afghanistan's prioritization of peace and reconciliation efforts with the Taliban."

#* Wish he followed traffic rules: Hema Malini blames girl's father for Dausa car crash

Actor-turned-MP Hema Malini who was involved in in an accident in Rajasthan on 2 July which left a two-year-old child dead broke her silence on the issue with a tweet in which she wished the victim's father for the accident.
Hema Malini after the accident. PTIHema Malini after the accident. PTI
The MP who returned to Mumbai last week started by thanking people. Interestingly, she notes that it is her work as actor which has brought her 'good will'. She doesn't mention her work as a politician.
The actor's tweets are bound to add further fuel to the controversy that followed after the accident. (More on that here) NDTV today quoted unnamed police officials as saying that the actor-turned-MP's car may have been speeding.
Soon after the accident, a raging debate dominated social media and mainstream media about the actor's role in the accident - specifically, whether or not she should have been proactive and taken the injured child along with her to the Jaipur hospital. The girl's father had also said that people had taken the BJP MP to the hospital while his daughter was left behind.
The actor on her part had remained silent and had condoled the family which lost it's child. Her daughter Esha Deol later said that her mother was ready to help the family financially. Hema Malini's driver was arrested following the accident.

#* HC sets aside Delhi govt's order which rejected Uber's application for licence

The High Court has set aside the Delhi government's order by which cab service provider Uber's application for licence was rejected. The court has raised doubts on complete ban on the app-based cabs; says the government can impose strict conditions on their plying which Uber can also follow.

The High Court in June issued notice to Delhi government on plea of cab service provider, Uber.

Uber India Technology Pvt Ltd had on Friday had moved the Delhi High Court challenging an order of the city government denying extension of its licence to operate radio cabs in the national capital. 
High Court, however, told Uber that it is not supposed to ply if it does not have a licence for the same.

The court also refuses to grant any interim relief to Uber, to hear the matter on July 8. 

In a major decision, Delhi government had on June 3 rejected fresh applications for licence by US-based taxi booking firm Uber and two other such service providers -- Ola and TaxiForSure.

Top Delhi government officials said the applications of the three taxi aggregators were rejected for not filing undertakings stating they were complying with a ban imposed on them. The three operators had filed the applications under the modified Radio Taxi Scheme introduced five months ago.

All app-based cab service were banned in the national capital after a driver of Uber, the US-based online cab service provider, was accused of raping a 27-year-old financial consultant woman passenger in December last year.
The Delhi government in March had approached the Centre to block web-based apps of Uber, Ola Cabs and TaxiForSure alleging that these companies were not complying with its ban order imposed on them.

#* PM Modi meets Kazakh President, gifts him book relating to religions born in India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Akorda Presidential Palace here on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Modi, who arrived in the Central Asian country on Tuesday, said that India and Kazakhstan are made for each other and the two nations need better connectivity to strengthen their economic engagement and bilateral ties. After completing his visit to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Ufa, Russia lateron Wednesday to participate in the 7th BRICS summit.The Prime Minister will also be participating in the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gifted Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev a set of books relating to religions born in India. The Prime Minister shared the information via a series of tweets.

“My gift to President Nazarbayev is a set of books relating to the religions born in India” “The set includes an English translation of Guru Granth Sahib, Bhadrabahu’s Kalpasutra in Prakrit, Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita in Sanskrit.” “A Persian translation of Valmiki’s Ramayana in nastaliq script is also a part of the set.”
“I must add- President Nazarbayev has held the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions every three years in Astana since 2003.” Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Akorda Presidential Palace.

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