09:58 Indian-American Democratic Congressman supports Trump on troops withdrawal: Indian-American Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, a fierce critic of Donald Trump, has come out in support of the President’s decision to pullout US troops from Syria and Afghanistan, saying his party colleagues should not pile on without offering an alternative vision.
The 42-year-old Congressman, who represents Silicon valley, has surprised many by coming out in strong support of president’s decision to withdraw American troops from Syria and his reported plans to bring back nearly half of the 15,000 of his troops from war-ravaged Afghanistan.
Khanna said that he is doing so in the national interest. “A few days ago, I was with Trump as he signed one of my bills. I said Mr President, China has not been in a war since 1979. If we want to win the race against them, we should not get bogged down in war. He nodded and then observed that they have enriched themselves without firing a shot,” Khanna wrote in an op-ed published in The Washington Post.
Khanna, who is on the Armed Services Committee, was re-elected for the second term in the November mid-term elections. — PTI
File pic: Ro Khanna with former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
09:53 Two women stopped en route to Sabarimala temple : The two women devotees, who were on their way to the Sabarimala temple were stopped by protesters at Appachimedu, just two kilometers away from the Lord Ayyappa’s shrine in the early hours today.
Earlier on Sunday, a group of 11 women devotees who had arrived in Pamba to visit the Lord Ayyappa temple had to return without paying obeisance at the hill shrine after several people, including women, staged a protest opposing their entry.
The Sabarimala temple and surrounding areas witnessed a string of protests after the Supreme Court lifted the ban on entry of women of menstrual age (10-50 years) inside the temple in September this year. However, till now, no woman of the previously-forbidden age group has been able to enter the temple due to widespread protests. — ANI
Image: The 11 women devotees who attempted to enter the Sabarimala temple on Sunday were refused permission.
09:37 Pak court to deliver judgment in 2 corruption cases against Sharif:
An anti-corruption court in Pakistan will deliver its judgment on Monday in two remaining corruption cases against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Judge Muhammad Arshad Malik of Islamabad-based accountability court last week reserved the judgment after completion of hearing in the Flagship Investment and Al-Azizia cases against 68-year-old Sharif.
The Supreme Court set the deadline for Monday to wrap up the remaining two corruption cases against the three-time former prime minister.
If found guilty, Sharif can be sentenced up to 14 years in jail.
Sharif arrived in Islamabad from Lahore on Sunday, a day ahead of the verdict. He is expected to hear the judgement in the courtroom.
Entry to the accountability court has been restricted. No one will be allowed to attend proceedings on Monday except those having permission of the registrar, the Dawn reported.
PML-N workers have gathered outside the court premises to show their support for the party’s supreme leader.
Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court in the Panama Papers case in July, 2017.
In July, 2018 Sharif, his daughter Maryam and his son-in-law retired captain Mohammad Safdar were sentenced to 11 years, eight years and one year respectively in prison in the Avenfield properties case related to their purchase of four luxury flats in London through corrupt practices. However, the three were bailed out by the Islamabad High Court in September.
His two sons – Hassan and Hussain – were also co-accused in all three cases but they were declared absconders for failing to appear before the court even for a single time.
The court decided to hear their cases separately once they returned back.
The three-time former prime minister and his family have denied any wrongdoing.
— PTI
09:10 Rajasthan cabinet to be expanded; 23 ministers to take oath today:
As many as 23 newly elected legislators – 22 Congress and one RLD – will take oath as ministers in the Rajasthan-cabinet
formation on Monday.
The names of council of ministers have been finalised by the state Congress leaders including Gehlot and Pilot after rounds of discussion with Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders, sources said.
The swearing in ceremony is expected to be held in Jaipur at 11.30 am on Monday, they said.
Mamta Bhupesh, Arjun Singh Bamaniya, Bhanwar Singh Bhati, Sukhram Vishnoi, Ashok Chandna, Tikaram Jully, Bhajanlal Jatav, Rajendra Singh Yadav and RLD’s Subhash Garg are also likely to take oath.
— PTI
08:42 2 women begin climb to Sabarimala temple amid protests:
Two women below 50 are trekking up towards the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, a day after a group of 11 women aborted their attempt to go to the hilltop shrine of Lord Ayyappa nestled in the Western Ghats.
The two women are being escorted by a large police team. Some protesters tried to stop them, but they were quickly removed by the police, sources at the base camp Pamba said.
The women are facing stiff resistance from the protesters on the 5-km uphill climb to the temple, sources said.
On Sunday, 11 women who were waiting at Pamba to attempt the 5-km trek were evicted from the base camp by the Kerala police following a huge face-off with protesters. The police have denied the accusation.
The group was expected to be the first of several planning to attempt the trek in December — three months after a Supreme Court order that opened the temple doors to women of all ages.
On Sunday, protests intensified at Pamba against the women only three hours after they gathered at the base camp at dawn. The women’s group said that the protesters “snatched” their “irumudi” or offerings kit that devotees carry on their heads.
08:40 High time Imran Khan learns about minority rights from India: Owaisi:
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi gave strong-worded advice to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan over the latter’s recent comments on minority rights in India.
Owaisi asked Khan to borrow some leaves of wisdom from India, specifically about “inclusive politics and minority rights”.
Taking to Twitter, Owaisi stated, “According to the Pakistani Constitution, only a Muslim is qualified to be president. India has seen multiple Presidents from oppressed communities. It’s high time Khan Sahab learns something from us about inclusive politics and minority rights.”
Khan on Saturday has said that giving equal rights to the religious minorities is cornerstone of the vision of Pakistan’s founding father and that the country will show the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi how to treat these groups, the Express Tribune reported.
— ANI
08:19 NDA ministers’ foreign trip bill amounts to Rs 239.05 crore, reveals RTI:
The central government spent Rs 239.05 crore on official foreign trips by the NDA Council of Ministers over the last four years, with the bill dipping each year, data obtained by The Indian Express under the RTI Act show.
Responding to an RTI application, the Pay & Accounts Office, Cabinet Affairs, stated that Rs 225.30 crore was spent on official foreign trips by the Cabinet Ministers and Rs 13.75 crore on Ministers of State from April 1, 2014, till March 31, 2018. The Council of Ministers currently comprises 25 Cabinet Ministers and 45 Ministers of State, including 11 with independent charge.
Incidentally, in a reply dated December 13 to the Rajya Sabha, MoS, External Affairs, V K Singh placed on record that a total of Rs 2,021.58 crore was spent on the prime ministers 48 official trips abroad so far, including for aircraft maintenance, chartered flights and a secure hotline.
07:58 Death toll from Indonesia tsunami rises to 281:
A volcano-triggered tsunami has left 281 people dead and hundreds more injured after slamming without warning into beaches around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, officials said Sunday, voicing fears that the toll would rise further.
Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the wave, which hit the coast of southern Sumatra and the western tip of Java, on Saturday after a volcano known as the “child” of Krakatoa erupted, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
Tsunamis triggered by volcanic eruptions are relatively rare, caused by the sudden displacement of water or “slope failure,” according to the International Tsunami Information Centre.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the “powerful waves” reached a height of 30-90 centimetres (1-3 feet).
US President Donald Trump was among world leaders to offer messages of support after the “unthinkable devastation” of Saturday’s tsunami.
“We are praying for recovery and healing,” he tweeted. “America is with you!” The UN and European Union both pledged to mobilise humanitarian support if requested by Jakarta.
“The United Nations stands ready to support the ongoing government-led rescue and relief efforts,” a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.
Anak Krakatoa, which forms a small island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, emerged around 1928 in the crater left by Krakatoa, whose massive eruption in 1883 killed at least 36,000 people and affected global weather patterns for years.
Source: Rediff