Daily News (In Short)-20-May-2015

#* CM Kejriwal writes letter to PM Modi, accuses Centre of trying to run Delhi govt through L-G Najeeb Jung
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday upped the ante in his face-off with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, alleging that the Centre was trying to rule Delhi through Jung.Kejriwal aired his misgivings about the role of the Lieutenant Governor in a letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of transfer and appointment of bureaucrats without the Delhi government being consulted. In the letter, Kejriwal accused the Centre of trying to run the Delhi government through the Lieutenant Governor. At the same time, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia chaired a meeting with senior bureaucrats of the Delhi government, including acting chief secretary Shakuntala Gamlin, whose appointment by Jung sparked the stand-off with Kejriwal. After the three-month-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi initiated a series of actions against bureaucrats, they were scared to clear files without consulting ministers, sources said. Wednesday’s meeting was aimed at clearing confusion in this regard.

#* One year of Modi govt: Nine features that define the 'New Normal' for Muslims
n the scorching month of May 2014, the Muslims of India slipped into a dark mood of pessimism at the prospect of living under a BJP government swept into office with a decisive majority. Over the course of the year, that somber mood has since been dispelled. This is not because the NDA-II has proved to be a different kettle of fish, but because  Muslims have adjusted to what can be called the New Normal. This is the condition in which it is considered normal to have anxieties and fears triggered by political developments – and pessimism, to a degree, is deemed realistic.To understand the New Normal, we need to rewind to May 2014. Representative image. AFPRepresentative image. AFP When Modi ascended to office, Muslims feared they would be besieged by the Hindutva forces, which would bring to the front-burner the contentious Ram Temple and the Uniform Civil Code issues. Worse, it was thought Narendra Modi would trigger minor tsunamis to sweep the BJP into power in states where Assembly elections were due. To have a BJP government at the Centre and also in the states seemed akin to Muslims being caught in a pair of red-hot tongs.

#* Praise from RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan as Modi Government Completes a Year in Office
New York: The expectations from the new government when it came to power last year were "probably unrealistic" but it has taken steps to create an environment for investment and is "sensitive" to concerns of investors, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said. "This government came in with tremendous expectations and I think the kind of expectations were probably unrealistic for any government," Dr Rajan said responding to questions after his address to the Economic Club of New York yesterday.He said in the minds of the people, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image was that of "Ronald Reagan on a white horse" coming to slay anti-market forces and such comparison was "probably not appropriate." Dr Rajan, however, said the government has "taken steps to create the environment for investment, which I think is important." 

#* Kabul: Taliban suicide car bombing in Afghan capital kills 4 people
A large suicide car bombing struck downtown Kabul on Tuesday afternoon, apparently targeting justice ministry employees and killing four people, an Afghan official said. Shortly after the blast, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bombing took place in the car park of the Justice Ministry when a car packed with explosives was detonated, said Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.He initially said that at least six people were killed but the Interior Ministry later revised the death toll, saying four were killed, following an investigation at the site. Afghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide car bombing in Kabul. APAfghan security forces inspect the site of a suicide car bombing in Kabul. AP "The report from our investigative team confirms that four people were killed, including a woman, and 24 others were wounded," said Sediqqi.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, Ismail Kahossi, said a total of 42 people were taken to hospitals around the Afghan capital following the blast. Some sustained only minor injuries from flying glass.

#* Nitish Kumar doles out projects thick and fast
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has gone on an inauguration and foundation laying spree with the state staring at Assembly polls.The chief minister, in the past few days, has inaugurated river bridges, police stations, heritage buildings and government buildings. Nitish on Tuesday inaugurated the Aranya Bhavan, a state-of-the-art directorate of the environment and forest department, near the Patna airport. This came close on the heels of the inauguration of 49 police stations across the state. The police stations have been built at an estimated cost of Rs 129.32 crore. Nitish on Monday, laid foundation stones for 44 more police department buildings, to be constructed at an estimated budget of Rs 219.02 crore. They include eight new police stations, a training centre for the Bihar Military Police in Buxar, a rail police line in Patna and a barrack for 300 BMP personnel in Begusarai.

#* United Nations chief says North Korea withdraws invitation visit
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said that North Korea had withdrawn an invitation to visit a factory park in the country, a day after he announced he would travel to the last major cooperation project between the rival Koreas. Ban said on Wednesday he wanted to go the Kaesong industrial park just north of the heavily fortified Korean border on Thursday as part of an effort to help improve ties between North and South Korea, which jointly run the park. He would have been the first UN chief to visit the factory park, which opened in 2004 in the city of Kaesong. He would also have been the first head of the UN to visit North Korea since Boutros Boutros-Ghali in 1993. Ban told a forum on Tuesday that North gave no reason when it informed the UN of its decision to cancel his trip.

#* Deadly clashes continue in Burundi
Bujumbura: Burundi police fired teargas and beat protesters demanding President Pierre Nkurunziza end his bid for a third term next month, in a resurgence of unrest that has stoked fears of ethnic conflict in Africa's Great Lakes.At least eight of the flag-waving and chanting demonstrators were dragged off by police. Some in the crowd responded by pelting officers with stones and rocks. Separately, shots were fired at the offices of the European Union's representative in Bujumbura, prompting the mission to demand the government step up its security. The EU gave no more details, but Paris deployed 15 gendarmes to bolster security at its diplomatic outpost in the city, a French diplomatic source said. Rights groups say at least 20 people have died in three weeks of clashes between security forces and protesters who say Mr Nkurunziza's ambitions violate the constitution and a peace deal that ended an ethnically fuelled civil war in 2005.

#* Facebook’s big plan for WhatsApp: May allow businesses to reach out to customers
Facebook is looking at how WhatsApp can help businesses reach new customers. According to a Bloomberg report, Facebook might allow brands to contact customers through WhatsApp. “We think that enabling that B2C messaging has good business potential for us,” David Wehner, Facebook’s chief financial officer, said at a JPMorgan technology conference Monday in Boston, reports Bloomberg. “As we learn those things, I think there’s going to be opportunities to bring some of those things to WhatsApp, but that’s more longer-term than the near-term.”The Bloomberg report adds, “WhatsApp may use some functions that are being tested with Facebook Messenger.”Facebook bought WhatsApp last year for $22 billion, the biggest deal in technology history so far, and for investors the biggest question has been how Facebook plans to convert WhatsApp into a viable business idea. WhatsApp lost $232 million in the first half of 2014 alone.

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