Daily News (In Short)-3-August-2015

#* Sushma Swaraj directs envoy to meet stranded Indian girl in Pakistan

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday asked Indian envoy to meet Geeta, a girl stranded in Pakistan for the last 13 years, and look into the matter.

In response to a tweet of Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney, Swaraj said, “I have asked Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr TCA Raghavan to go to Karachi with Mrs Raghavan and meet this girl.”Geeta, 23, is believed to have mistakenly crossed into Pakistani territory as a child. Her story bears striking resemblance to that of Salman Khan-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Read: Activists seek to reunite Indian girl with family

Geeta who can neither speak nor hear lives at the Edhi Foundation shelter in Karachi’s Mithadar. She was first brought to an Edhi Centre in Lahore, the girl was moved to the shelter in Karachi where Bilquis Edhi named her ‘Geeta’ and has become quite close to the girl.

“The Punjab Rangers brought her to us some 13 years ago,” Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Foundation said. “For years, we have been trying to locate her family or her hometown so that she can return.”

The only communication she has managed with the Edhi staff is recognising the Indian map on a mobile phone and breaking down into tears. Sobbing silently, she frantically points first at the Indian state of Jharkhand and then at Telangana, trying hard to tell something of her past that may be a clue for them.

Read: Is Bajrangi Bhaijaan inspired by Pakistani activist Ansar Burney?

Further, a representative of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, Balveer, called The Express Tribune to inquire about the girl. “We will be going to meet the girl and will also be speaking to Edhi Foundation in this regard,” he said.

With the success of the Bollywood film, activists have capitalised on the momentum to make more of an effort to reunite Geeta with her family. Activist Ansar Burney, who has raised this issue three years ago during a visit to India, is now running an active campaign for her on Facebook.

#* Mamata Banerjee's Party Weakens Opposition Unity Over Parliament Protests

NEW DELHI:  Mamata Banerjee has reportedly sent word that she is unhappy with Parliament being disrupted and wants the Houses to function, in what could crack the Opposition unity that the Congress had managed to craft over its demand that three senior BJP ministers must quit immediately.

A senior member of Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress Sudip Bandopadhyay today said after an all-party meeting called by the government, "We want House to function. There are various issues related to Bengal which we want to raise."

But Congress president Sonia Gandhi said at a meeting of her party's lawmakers his morning, "Our stand is very clear... there is a mountain of incontrovertible evidence in the public domain for the Prime Minister to require the resignations of the External Affairs Minister and the two chief ministers."

While the Congress has led the demand that foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and the two BJP chief ministers Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan and Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh, all caught in controversies, must resign before work can be done in Parliament, other Opposition parties like the Left too have backed it.

The Samajwadi Party has said it does not want Sushma Swaraj to resign, but the chief ministers must.

The BJP has ruled out any resignations, but, to persuade the Congress to allow Parliament to attend to important business has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will speak on the controversies in Parliament if a debate is initiated.

Mrs Gandhi rejected that offer today, launching a scathing attack on PM Modi.

Her party's Ghulam Nabi Azad said after the all-party meeting, "Outcome is nil. We stand by our demand."

Half of the 21-day Monsoon Session has been lost to disruptions, with very little work done. The government needs to push at least 11 bills including that for the big reform the Goods and Services Tax.

#* To battle Flipkart and Amazon, Snapdeal to raise $500 mn from Alibaba, SoftBank, Foxconn

Beijing - Online marketplace Snapdeal is set to raise $500 million (Rs 3,206.5 crore) in investment from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, SoftBank Group Corp and Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The person, who declined to say how much Snapdeal would be valued after the investment, said the deal could be finalised within a few days at the earliest though it may also take weeks.
Online tech publication Re/code first reported the investment on Sunday citing multiple sources, saying the deal had already concluded.
Screen-grabScreen-grab
The move is a show of faith from three of Asia's - and the world's - biggest technology companies in fast-growing Snapdeal.
The firm competes with Flipkart Online Services Pvt Ltd and the local subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc in the country's online shopping market, which Morgan Stanley estimates will be worth $102 billion by 2020.
Snapdeal and SoftBank were not available for immediate comment. Alibaba and Foxconn declined to comment. The person was not authorised to disclose the matter and so declined to be identified.
The deal represents Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba's first direct investment in India. Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial Services Group in February agreed to buy 25 percent of Indian payment services provider One97 Communications.
In October, Snapdeal, which connects small businesses with customers in an online marketplace, secured a $627 million investment from Japan's SoftBank, itself an early backer of Alibaba.
Alibaba was in direct funding talks with Snapdeal in March, but opted to instead invest together with SoftBank and Foxconn, the person familiar with the $500 million investment said.
Foxconn founder Terry Gou told shareholders at an annual meeting two months ago that India is a key market this year for his group.
In March, Snapdeal Chief Executive Kunal Bahl said his company was not looking to raise money immediately and was well capitalised for the next couple of years.

#* Jammu bandh over AIIMS enters Day 4; 15 detained

Police detained 15 protesters on Monday, the fourth day of the Jammu bandh called by the AIIMS Coordination Committee (ACC), demanding a notification to set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the Jammu region.
The ACC extended the 72-hour bandh on Sunday by another three days despite Union health minister JP Nadda’s recent tweet wherein he assured “AIIMS-like facilities for both the Jammu and Kashmir regions”.

Not convinced with the assurance, the ACC demanded that the minister issue a notification, stating that the institute would be coming up in Jammu.
Nadda was not available for comment.

Bandh hits normal life

All business establishments and educational institutions remained closed and public transport was off the road.

Jammu University appealed to the ACC to keep exam centres out of the purview of the bandh.

The bandh affected the movement of pilgrims on the Amarnath Yatra and those headed for the Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra. The Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation has pressed buses into service at the railway station for the yatris.

 
Nadda expected in Jammu

The ACC is an umbrella organisation of 70 non-political organisations headed by Jammu Bar Association president Abhinav Sharma. Among the organisations supporting the ACC are the local chamber of commerce and transporters’ association.

On Sunday, the ACC announced the extension of the bandh by another 72 hours, rejecting Nadda’s announcement of “AIIMS-like facilities” in both Jammu and Kashmir regions. It has termed it as “vague and ambiguous”.

ACC protesters held rallies in parts of Jammu city on Monday. Police detained 15 protesters in the Nowabad area for disrupting public transport and forcing the closure of shops.

According to sources, the union health minister is likely to arrive in Jammu to hold talks with the ACC and clarify his statement on the “AIIMS-like facilities”.
The BJP has termed the bandh politically motivated.
 

Struggle so far

February 28, 2015: The setting up of AIIMS for Jammu and Kashmir is announced in the budget speech. Minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh, issues statement thanking finance minister Arun Jaitley for giving AIIMS to Jammu.

March 1: Agenda for PDP-BJP alliance released, stating that AIIMS will be set up in Kashmir.

April 24: Jammu bandh call given by chamber of commerce and industry and transporters

May 27: Another bandh in Jammu as home minister Rajnath Singh visits

June 18: Deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh gives in writing that AIIMS will be announced on or before July 20

July 24: AIIMS coordination committee gives call for 72-hour Jammu bandh from July 31 to protest the delay in announcement

July 30: Union health minister JP Nadda announces “AIIMS-like facilities in both Jammu and Kashmir regions”

August 2: ACC terms the statement  vague, demands proper notification clearly stating that AIIMS will be set up in Jammu. Extends bandh by another three days

August 2: State health minister Lal Singh says AIIMS in Jammu and Kashmir regions will each have annual financial provision of Rs 1,500 crore

#* Afghan government says it won't separately deal with Taliban

The statement from President Ashraf Ghani’s office said it will not accept any "parallel political structure" opposed to the Afghan government.

The Afghan government addressed the growing leadership crisis in the Taliban for the first time on Monday, saying it will not deal with the militant group separately from other “armed opposition” in the country.

The statement from President Ashraf Ghani’s office said it will not accept any “parallel political structure” opposed to the Afghan government, a clear reference to the Taliban, who still call themselves the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

Fledgling peace talks between the Taliban and the government halted last week after Afghan authorities announced Mullah Mohammad Omar had died in April 2013. The Taliban confirmed Mullah Omar’s death and said Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor had been elected to replace him.

Relatives of Mullah Omar have contested Mullah Mansoor’s appointment, demanding a wider vote that includes battlefield commanders as their nearly 14-year insurgency continues.

The Taliban have been trying to present a unified front in recent days with several statements. A Taliban statement Monday said condolences for Mullah Omar and congratulations for Mullah Mansoor had been flooding them from across Afghanistan.

“All these messages and support show the people’s unity and love toward their Islamic Emirate,” it said.

An internal Taliban split could jeopardize peace talks which began last month. Mullah Mansoor is widely seen as having pushed the Taliban into the negotiations at Pakistan’s bidding.

The Taliban have intensified their attacks on local security forces after NATO and U.S. troops ended their combat mission last year.

#* Teen stabbed at Gay Pride march dies as pressure mounts on Israel

A teenager stabbed at a Gay Pride march died of her injuries Sunday as the attack and a firebombing that killed a Palestinian child put pressure on Israel to crack down on Jewish extremists.
Shira Banki, 16, was among six people stabbed at the Jerusalem march on Thursday by a suspect identified as an ultra-Orthodox Jew released from prison only weeks earlier for a similar attack.

The five other victims suffered light injuries.

Banki's family said Shira had been murdered because "she came to support the rights of her friends and any person to live as they wish".

"For no reason and due to evil, stupidity and negligence, the life of our wonderful flower was cut off," they said in a statement.

Hundreds of mourners, including classmates, teachers, members of the gay community and supporters, held a vigil for Banki at Zion Square near the spot where she was stabbed.

They lit candles while music she loved was played through speakers and pictures of her were projected on a large screen, an AFP photographer said.

The suspect of the attack, Yishai Shlissel, had stabbed and wounded three people at the 2005 Gay Pride march in Jerusalem. He served 10 years in prison and was released just three weeks ago.

Before the latest assault he posted a letter on the Internet speaking of the "abomination" of a Gay Pride parade being held in the Holy City and the need to stop it.

Police formed a committee following harsh criticism over how Shlissel -- who has told the court he did not accept its authority -- was allowed near the march so soon after his release from jail.

On Friday morning, hours after the march, assailants suspected of being Jewish settlers firebombed a Palestinian family's home in the West Bank, killing an 18-month-old toddler.

The attacks have put a spotlight on Jewish extremists, and the firebombing further inflamed tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, with clashes breaking out in various cities.

On Sunday morning, Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli police at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites, though calm was later restored.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned both attacks and called the firebombing "terrorism" -- a word usually used by Israelis to refer to violence by Palestinians. On Sunday, he spoke of "zero tolerance" for such acts.

No arrests

But many have accused his government of failing to address the problem of Jewish extremism and of going dangerously far in its support for right-wing settler groups.

"Those who incite against Israel's Arab citizens should not be surprised when churches and mosques are set on fire, and when finally a baby is burned in the middle of the night," ex-president Shimon Peres told an anti-violence rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night.

His comments were seen as at least partly directed at Netanyahu, who on election day in March caused outrage when he warned that Arabs were being mobilised "in droves" to the ballot boxes.

While Netanyahu and others have sought to avoid further escalation since the arson attack, no arrests have been announced.

The firebombing which killed 18-month-old Ali Saad Dawabsha also left his parents and four-year-old brother critically wounded.

The family's small brick and cement home in the village of Duma was gutted by fire, while a Jewish Star of David was spray-painted on a wall along with the words "revenge" and "long live the Messiah".

Some have speculated that the attack was revenge for the demolition of two buildings in a settlement last week.

'Ideological crimes'

On Sunday, Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon authorised the use of a controversial detention procedure -- generally reserved for Palestinians -- for suspects in the firebombing.

The procedure, known as administrative detention, allows suspects to be held indefinitely without charge, theoretically to allow investigators to gather evidence while preventing further attacks.

Israel has been accused of abusing the procedure to keep militants behind bars without trial.

According to Israeli human rights group Yesh Din, some 85 percent of cases involving "ideological crimes" are closed due to investigative failures with no charges filed.

Netanyahu said Sunday he had "instructed security and law enforcement officials to use all legal means at their disposal" to deal with the suspects in both attacks.

"We are determined to vigorously fight manifestations of hate, fanaticism and terrorism from whatever side," he said.

#* The Edge browser in Windows 10 will support WhatsApp soon

One of our favourite WhatsApp features is the app's web extension that allows you to send and receive WhatsApp messages in Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari as long as you're using WhatsApp on an Android phone.
 
If you've been using Internet Explorer, or Microsoft's brand new browser called Edge in Windows 10, you've been out of luck -- so far. According to a Windows Central report, a Microsoft program manager revealed that the company is, in fact, working to get WhatsApp Web support to Edge.

#* Barack Obama to unveil tougher plan to tackle greenhouse gases and climate change

President Barack Obama will unveil on Monday the final version of his plan to tackle greenhouse gases from coal-fired power plants, kicking off what is expected to be a tumultuous legal battle between federal environmental regulators and coal industry supporters.
The White House said its revised Clean Power Plan will increase the required cuts in carbon emissions from the power sector, demanding they be slashed 32 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030. The administration's draft regulation, released a year ago, had required cuts of 30 per cent.
The regulation will also encourage an aggressive shift toward renewable energy away from coal-fired electricity, pushing utilities to invest even more heavily in wind and solar energy. Industry groups and some politicians from states that have relied on coal-based energy have vowed to challenge the new requirements in the courts and through Congressional manoeuvres, accusing the administration of a regulatory assault that will drive up energy prices.
The National Mining Association said on Sunday it will seek to block the plan in federal court. "These will burden Americans with increasingly high-costs for an essential service and a less reliable electric grid for delivering it," said Hal Quinn, president of the NMA. Critics are expected to argue that lower-income Americans will bear the heaviest burden of compliance.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which represents co-ops that deliver energy to poor rural communities, said it projects the Clean Power Plan will raise electricity prices by at least 10 per cent, a rise that would be disproportionately felt by "the country's most vulnerable populations."
The administration has rejected that characterisation and says the plan is intended to accelerate a transition toward producing more electricity from renewable fuels.
The White House said release of the plan was "the starting gun for an all-out climate push" by the president and his cabinet.
"My administration will release the final version of America's Clean Power Plan, the biggest, most important step we have ever taken to combat climate change," Mr Obama said in a video posted online by the White House.
He said there have been no federal limits to date on carbon pollution from power plants, the biggest source of US greenhouse gas emissions.
If implemented, coal's share of electric generation in the US will fall to 27 per cent by 2030, slightly less than the original proposal which estimated it would account for 30 per cent, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Gina McCarthy told reporters on Sunday.
Coal accounted for 39 per cent of electricity in 2014, according to the department of energy. Natural gas' 30 per cent share of US electricity generation would remain largely the same in 2030 while renewable energy would account for 28 per cent, up from the 22 per cent initially envisioned in the proposed rule.
The final rule avoids what the White House called an "early rush to gas" away from coal and encouraged earlier adoption by states of renewable power.
States will also be able to get credit for nuclear energy plants that are under construction, as well as for upgrading plants and preserving those at risk of early retirement, Ms McCarthy said.
Nuclear currently provides around 20 per cent of the US energy mix. The administration also made changes to the final rule in order to defuse claims that the energy landscape was being reordered on the backs of the poor.
The revised rule contains two new measures the administration said will "cut energy bills for low-income families" and drive down renewable energy technology costs.
It will create a Clean Energy Incentive Programme to reward states that take early action to deploy renewable energy projects before the regulation takes effect in 2022.
And it will reward states that invest in energy-efficiency projects in low-income communities in 2020 and 2021. The EPA said it has responded to concerns of utilities and some states that the regulation could lead to energy shortages. The agency created a feature called a "reliability safety valve" in the final rule, which would allow states to get a temporary waiver if the closure of coal plants would disrupt the steady delivery of electricity.
"I would never accept a scenario where affordability or reliability came into question," Ms McCarthy said. The Clean Power Plan is a vital component of meeting the US pledge on emissions cuts for negotiations on a global climate change agreement that will be held in Paris at the end of this year.
Washington has promised to slash greenhouse gas emissions economywide by 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2025. Brian Deese, a senior climate change adviser to Mr Obama, told reporters the tougher climate rule will "enhance" the ability of the United States to meet its Paris target.
For now, however, the battle over the plan's fate is a domestic affair. Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said on Sunday the rule "will throw countless people out of work, and increases everyone's energy prices".
But Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, who is trying to use the climate issue as a wedge against Republican candidates, praised Mr Obama's plan and said: "I'd defend it."

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