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6 REGION GO OMANDAILYOBSERVER SATURDAY l JANUARY 28 l 2017 JUBILATION OVER VICTORY Morocco to rejoin African Union after 33 years Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al Saadi (C) celebrates with Iraqi people as they raise the Iraqi flag in the same place where IS militants raised their flag two years ago in Mosul on Friday. — Reuters RABAT: After leaving the pan- African organisation three decades ago, Morocco is set to rejoin the African Union during its 28th African summit scheduled for January 30- 31 in Addis Ababa. Morocco in 1984 decided to withdraw from the Organisation of African Unity, which later became the AU. Morocco has since then refused to be part of the organisation, but recently it changed its policy, making the re-admission to the AU on the top of its agenda, Xinhua news agency reported. King Mohammed VI in July last year sent a message to the 27th AU summit in Kigali, saying his country “should not remain outside its African institutional family, and it should regain its natural, rightful place within the AU”. Explaining the reasons for returning to the pan-African organisation, the king cited “the repeated call of many African friends of the kingdom as well as a thorough reflection”. He also stressed that from within, “Morocco will contribute to making the AU a more robust organisation, one that is both proud of its credibility and relieved of the trappings of an obsolete era”. Two months after the king’s message to the Explaining the reasons for returning to the pan-African organisation, the king cited ‘the repeated call of many African friends of the kingdom as well as a thorough reflection’ African leaders, the North African kingdom in September formally submitted a request to re-join the continental body. The request was submitted after it received the support of a group of 28 AU member states, representing more than the majority of the 54 African Union member states required for admission. Following this request, the Moroccan king toured numerous African countries. Consequently, the kingdom raised the total of supporters to its bid to 40 as was announced by Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar during a parliamentary session to review constitutive act of AU a week earlier. — IANS Trump plans stronger campaign against IS BATTLE-READY WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is expected to order up a new plan for defeating the IS group with expanded US military involvement as he was scheduled to make his first visit to the Pentagon on Friday. Trump, who pledged to eradicate the extremist group during the presidential campaign, is reportedly preparing to direct new Defence Secretary James Mattis to more aggressively attack IS positions with the aim of defeating them more quickly. That could mean more US forces and military hardware moving into Iraq and Syria, according to analysts. “We have to get rid of ISIS. We have no choice,” Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity in an interview broadcast on Thursday, using another acronym for the group. “This is evil. This is a level of evil that we haven’t seen.” After his predecessor Barack Obama took a longer term view of the anti-IS fight, with a more cautious commitment of US forces, “President Trump might be looking for something with quicker results, that could put some more options on the table,” retired general David Barno told National Public Radio on Friday. The Wall Street Journal reported Last week, General Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he would present Mattis with options to “accelerate the campaign” against IS that Trump will give the Pentagon 30 days to come up with a new set of options for a tougher campaign against IS. The United States currently has 5,000 troops in Iraq and 500 in Syria as “advisers” — but also US artillery and aircraft to help in the fight. They have provided substantial support to the assault led by Iraqi forces on IS’s hold on the key city of Mosul. The slow, steady assault has driven IS fighters out of the part of the city on the east bank of the Tigris River, and forces are now preparing an assault on IS-held Mosul neighbourhoods on the river’s west bank. According to reports, an escalation of the US role could involve more US armour and helicopters involved in the assaults on IS positions together with Iraqi, Turkish and Kurdish forces. Trump “could elect to put American boots on the ground on larger numbers,” Barno said. “That all entails new uses of military power.... and that opens the prospect of a deeper involvement with more casualties.” Trump promised during his presidential campaign to eliminate IS, saying he had a secret plan to quickly defeat the group. Last week, General Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he would present Mattis with options to “accelerate the campaign” against IS. “What is really important is first that we have a conversation about what we are doing today, why we are doing it, and what other things might be done and why we haven’t done it to date,” Dunford told reporters in Brussels. Trump is also open to conducting joint operations with Russia against the IS in Syria, his spokesman said earlier this week. “If there’s a way we can combat ISIS with any country, whether it’s Russia or anyone else, and we have a shared national interest in that, sure, we’ll take it,” press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters. — AFP TEHRAN: A senior Iranian firefighter paid tribute on Friday to rescuers’ bravery tackling a blaze last week that triggered the collapse of Tehran’s oldest high-rise, killing 26 people. The 15-storey Plasco building toppled on January 19 while emergency services were still evacuating people from it, four hours into the inferno. Amir Mahdiani, a fire department commander, addressed worshippers at Friday prayers in Tehran’s vast Mosalla mosque as the search for those still missing in the collapse neared its end. “If it wasn’t for the sacrifice of the firemen, maybe the building would have collapsed two hours earlier and hundreds would be buried,” he said, before bursting into tears. His leg was in a splint due to an injury sustained during the fire. Mahdiani said the death toll could have been lower if people had cooperated with the authorities and left the building more promptly. He urged the government to help import modern firefighting equipment. The Plasco building was Iran’s oldest high-rise and contained a shopping centre and hundreds of clothes shops and workshops. The bodies of 15 firefighters and four civilians had been recovered from the rubble by Friday while six were still missing, the fire service said. Another firefighter died in hospital. Bulldozers had removed 1,600 truckfuls of rubble from the site by Friday reaching underground floors after nine days of searching with sniffer dogs. A member of East Libyan forces holds his weapon in Ganfouda district in Benghazi, Libya. — Reuters Tehran fire chief praises bravery in tower blaze Some of the bodies recovered were unidentifiable and awaited DNA testing. Authorities said the firefighters would be buried as “martyrs” next to those killed in a stampede during the 2015 hajj pilgrimage. The last body was recovered late on Thursday and officials hoped to clean up and lift traffic restrictions near the site by Saturday. A deputy mayor said crews removing the rubble were set to complete the job by around 5 pm (1330 GMT) on Friday. The damage was estimated at 15,000 billion rials ($390 million) and some 3,500 workers lost their jobs as a result of the blaze. The government announced a relief programme to help businesses and uninsured workers. — AFP Aleppo traders clear debris from war-scarred souq ALEPPO: In Syria’s Aleppo, men throw rubble into the courtyard of a historic inn as merchants gather below to oversee the resurrection of their war-battered shops. The shopkeepers have returned for the first time to clear the debris left behind by years of fighting after their century-old trading ground became a front line. “I was so happy to see my shop still standing amid the trash despite a little damage,” says Antoun Baqqal, 66, one of the traders in the Khayr Beyk Khan. Once famous for its bustling souqs and old citadel, Aleppo’s Old City has been rendered almost unrecognisable by some of the worst violence in Syria’s nearly six-year conflict. After years of fighting, many of the city’s famed souqs have been completely destroyed. But the shops of Khayr Beyk have largely survived, even if some stores inside the twofloor inn, known in the region as a khan, have seen their facades ripped off in the fighting. I was so happy to see my shop still standing amid the trash despite a little damage ANTOUN BAQQAL One of the traders “I sent my friends pictures of their shops to encourage them to come back, until they all returned one by one,” Baqqal says. Rebels overran east Aleppo in the summer of 2012, effectively dividing the city into a regime-held west and opposition-controlled east. “The army was here. They used to sleep upstairs and downstairs in the shops,” Baqqal Mohammed Nour Mimi (R) walks through Aleppo’s historic souq on Friday as he returns to his store, alongside other shopkeepers, for the first time to clear the debris left behind by years of fighting after their century-old trading ground became a front line. — AFP says. But after regime forces seized east Aleppo in December, retaking the whole city, he was able to return to the cloth workshop he inherited from his father. When he found his father’s photo lying on the ground, he dusted it off and hung it back up on the wall. “I’m going to tidy up the workshop so my son can take over, so he can put my photo next to my father’s one day and remember me fondly.” In the courtyard, Zakaria Aziza, 55, scrolls through his phone, comparing old pictures of the more than a dozen shops he owns to their appearance today. Customers used to flock from across the Arab region to admire the shopping venue’s textiles, he says. “The khan once overflowed with material. You could hardly walk between the shops for all the customers,” Aziza says. “Today it’s also hard to walk around — but this time it’s because of all the rubble and trash.” — AFP
INDIA 7 SATURDAY l JANUARY 28 l 2017 OMANDAILYOBSERVER MODI ATTENDS ELECTION RALLY Tamil Nadu CM vows action against police if found guilty Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) holds a sword presented by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal (L) during the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally at the PAP ground in Jalandhar on Friday. — AFP CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Friday said action will be taken against police personnel if found guilty of indulging in arson when the Jallikattu protest turned violent here on January 23. The chief minister said terror outfits, anti-national forces infiltrated the peaceful protest by youths and common people at the Marina beach here on January 23, and were diverting the focus. Panneerselvam also said protesters had posters of Al Qaeda terrorist Osama Bin Laden and placards with “We reject Indian Republic Day”. Replying to a question raised by Leader of Opposition M K Stalin in the state assembly, Panneerselvam said many political parties had complained about police acting beyond their legal limits. Some videos were also aired by the media. “A detailed probe will be conducted into the matter and action will be taken against police personnel if found guilty,” Panneerselvam said. A video that went viral on Monday showed women and men in police uniform setting fire to vehicles and huts and damaging two-wheelers here, sending shockwave across the state. The police said the video was a fake. The police on January 23 invaded the sprawling beach and forcibly began removing the thousands of young men and women who had assembled in support of the demand that the Supreme Court revoke its order banning Jallikattu — the traditional bulltaming sport in Tamil Nadu. This triggered large-scale violence in parts of Chennai, leaving many people injured and many properties damaged. Narrating the sequence of the protests that began in Madurai on January 16, Panneerselvam said terror outfits, anti-national, anti-social elements had infiltrated the protests by youths, students and general public who were demanding removal of the apex court’s ban on Jallikattu. Panneerselvam said those who were spearheading the Jallikattu protests for the past ten years had called off their protest after the state promulgated an ordinance and the promise was made that a law would be passed replacing the ordinance. — IANS Supreme Court says no to national ban on cow slaughter NEW DELHI: Country’s top court on Friday rejected a petition seeking a nationwide ban on cow slaughter, a flashpoint issue for people who consider the animal sacred. The Supreme Court dismissed an activist’s proposal to prohibit the slaughter of cows across India, a measure that would have effectively banned beef consumption in the nation of 1.25 billion. Just eight of India’s 29 states permit the consumption of beef or the slaughter of cows. “One state may ban slaughter, the other may not,” the court said in rejecting the petition. “We will not interfere in state laws.” TRADITION AND HERITAGE Several radical religious groups, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have long campaigned to implement a nationwide ban on cow slaughter. The BJP won national elections with a thumping majority, pledging in part to ban cow slaughter. But so far the government has failed to convince the states to pass such sweeping measures. Some BJP-ruled states have in recent years pushed through tougher penalties including ten-year jail terms for those convicted of cow slaughter or possession or consumption of beef. — AFP Traditional folk artists dressed as various Hindu deities wait after performing during a function organised by the state government to highlight the different schemes and plans it has taken for rural and economically weak people in Kolkata on Friday. — AFP Modi vs Rahul battle plays out loud ahead of Punjab elections AAP promises Punjab NRI board, property tax waiver in manifesto CHANDIGARH: After releasing its manifestos for various categories, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday issued its final comprehensive poll document for Punjab, promising to set up a board for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and waiving property tax. The party also promised to open “Aam Aadmi” canteens at sub-division and district level, where one time meal will be available for Rs 5 only. The AAP promised that it will declare Amritsar and Anandpur Sahib as holy cities and set up an NRI board. APP leaders Sanjay Singh, Gurpreet Singh Waraich and Bhagwant CHANDIGARH: With little over a week to go before poll day in Punjab, the political battle escalated in the state on Friday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi engaging in a high decibel war of words. Modi led the election campaign of the Akali-BJP coalition and addressed a rally in Jalandhar, while Gandhi on the first day of his three-day Punjab visit launched an offensive against the ruling combine at a rally at Majitha. Modi dismissed the Congress as a “sinking ship” and “history” and called upon the people not to vote for the opposition party in the coming assembly elections. “The Congress… is on its last breath,” Modi said at a joint election rally with Punjab Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal here. “The Congress has no principles or rules,” Modi said, adding it is struggling to even survive. “The country has seen the politics of destruction for 70 years and the youths of this country are suffering due to it. If you want to do politics, do politics of development,” Modi said. Gandhi took a dig at the prime minister for standing with “the corrupt Akali Dal leaders and talking of fighting corruption”. He alleged that Modi was engaging in doublespeak by talking against corruption and still backing the “tainted” Badals. He said Modi’s demonetisation move had adversely affected all sections of people, including farmers, small traders, and other such groups while the ruling Badals had allegedly made huge profits because “their hands are Mann said that the AAP government will also be cutting power tariff up to 400 units to half of the present rates. Sanjay Singh, AAP National General Secretary, declared that the post of Deputy Chief Minister will be occupied by a Dalit legislator. “Welfare of Dalits, BPL (below poverty line) families, employees, farmers and women would be top on the agenda of AAP government,” he said. The AAP leaders announced that mafia control over transport, liquor and sand mining will be demolished and these areas will be opened to general public. — IANS in every profitable business in the state”. “Modi will come here and say that I fight against corruption and I have done demonetisation. Can you tell me how one who talks about fighting against corruption, can stand with the Akalis,” Gandhi asked, slamming the Badals as well as Modi. “Can you tell me how Modi can stand on the same dais with (Deputy Chief Minister) Sukhbir Singh Badal and still talk about fighting corruption?” He said the Akalis have “destroyed” the state and “brought it to its knees” and blamed the Badal family for the drugs problem in the state. Gandhi vowed to go hard against the menace of drugs “with harsh laws” if the Congress was voted to power. Modi, who spoke after Gandhi’s rally, weighed in on remarks made earlier by the Congress leader on the issue of drug menace. Modi without naming Gandhi said “some people” were saying “improper things” about the youth of Punjab and they needed to be taught a lesson “so they don’t point fingers at the youth of the state”. Both Modi and Gandhi put an end to the speculation over their chief ministerial candidates. Modi said that Punjab wanted to see Parkash Singh Badal re-elected while Gandhi announced that the Congress’ chief ministerial candidate will be Captain Amarinder Singh — something that was expected. The Punjab polls, to be held on February 4, will see a triangular between the ruling BJP-SAD alliance, the Congress, and the Aam Aadmi Party - which is tipped to make major electoral gains in the state. — IANS Maharashtra rolls back ban on religious activities IT IS FESTIVAL TIME MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has decided to withdraw its recent order banning all kinds of religious activities in all government offices and institutions, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said here on Friday. He informed a delegation of ally Shiv Sena ministers that the order had been issued erroneously and was being withdrawn, said Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam. “The chief minister has also assured us that suitable action would be taken against the concerned officials of the Rural Development Ministry, who issued that circular,” Kadam told the media after the meeting with Fadnavis. The circular which came to light earlier this week sought to bar all kinds of religious activities or celebrations, pooja ceremonies and even removal of pictures of gods and goddesses from government and semi-government offices and various departments and institutions, including educational institutes, across the state. Justifying the order, some officials claimed it was intended to project a secular image before the public and also avoid diverting time, money and efforts in organising elaborate religious activities at workplaces. The move was criticised by all sections of society as it meant no more Shri Satyanarayan Poojas, Ganeshotsav celebrations, Holi and other religious festivals jointly by government employees and workers at offices. “The employees spend around 10- 12 hours daily at their workplaces and religious activities there enabled them to compensate what they missed out at their homes. The employees were upset by the sudden decision,” said a government official, requesting anonymity. Moreover, the joint religious activities instilled a sense of camaraderie among the employees, especially for those transferred from far-off places and living alone at the place of posting, besides attracting the participation of members of other religions, the official explained. In fact, on Thursday Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray had strongly criticised the move and demanded that it should be immediately rolled back. “How can they unilaterally take such a decision? Did you take us into confidence? Was it discussed before the state cabinet or even with the leaders of opposition parties?” Thackeray said. “The order must be withdrawn or we will make a bonfire of it,” Thackeray declared. — IANS A woman uses an umbrella to take cover from rain as she walks past a model of elephant which will be used to decorate a pandal, or a temporary platform, during the Hindu festival of Saraswati Puja, the goddess of education, in Kolkata on Friday. — Reuters
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