e_Paper, Monday, May 8, 2017

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DT 8 World MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017 SOUTH ASIA Pakistan: Indian troops in Kashmir wound 4 Pakistan’s army says Indian troops in the disputed Kashmir region shot and wounded at least four Pakistani villagers. A military statement said the troops committed a ceasefire violation when they fired without provocation late Saturday from near the UN-monitored military control line near the border between the two countries. AP INDIA India, Russia to ink deal on 5th gen fighter design After years of delay, India and Russia are likely to soon ink a “milestone” pact to finalise the detailed design for the fifth-generation fighter aircraft and move ahead with the multi-billion dollar co-development project. Government sources said almost all the ground work has been completed to finalise the deal for design of the jet. TOI CHINA China asks Taiwan to release Chinese fishermen China has asked Taiwan to release the Chinese fishermen detained on Saturday as soon as possible and investigate the incident. Taiwanese coast guard officers wounded two Chinese fishermen with rubber bullets and arrested another five over trespassing into Taiwanese waters near the Penghu archipelago, the latest incident to take place at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Taipei. EFE ASIA PACIFIC Philippine blast probe focuses on Shia imam Philippine police believe a Shia Muslim cleric was the likely target of explosions that killed two people in Manila, an official said Sunday, rejecting IS claims of involvement. Six others were injured when two explosions rocked the office of the imam, Nasser Abinal, in the capital’s busy Quiapo district on Saturday. Oscar Albayalde, head of police forces in the capital, said the bomb was apparently intended for Abinal. AFP MIDDLE EAST Leading Syria opposition body elects new head The National Coalition, a leading Syrian opposition body, elected prominent dissident Riad Seif as its new head on Saturday, the body’s media office said. Seventy-year-old Seif, who hails from Damascus, won 58 votes from the Istanbul-based National Coalition’s 102 members, beating out the younger Khaled Khoja. AFP French election: Why it is so important • Tribune Desk After a bitter presidential campaign, a vicious second-round debate and a hacking attack against one candidate, voting is underway on Sunday in mainland France in the final round of the national elections. Voters face two starkly different choices for president: the independent centrist Emmanuel Macron and the far-right Marine Le Pen. Turnout in the French presidential run-off election was 65.30% at 1500 GMT on Sunday, lower than both the first round and the 2012 vote, data from the interior ministry showed. Why is it important? France is the eurozone’s second-biggest economy as well as a global military and diplomatic heavyweight, with veto power as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Crucially, France is a founding member of the EU. If Le Pen is elected and is able to lead France out of the euro currency zone or even the bloc itself, some fear that could bring about the downfall of the EU. A victory by Macron would be another setback for far-right populists in Europe, bringing sighs of relief in Berlin and Brussels. President’s powers Directly elected, the French president looms large over the political 82 freed Chibok girls arrive in Abuja • AFP, Abuja Eighty-two of the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria in 2014 arrived in Abuja on Sunday to meet President Muhammadu Buhari after a prisoner swap deal secured their release. Presidency spokesman Femi Adesina said the schoolgirls from Chibok, in Borno state, were met at the capital’s airport by Buhari’s chief of staff Abba Kyari. Military and civilian militia sources in the town of Banki, on the border with Cameroon, said the girls had left for Borno state capital Maiduguri on board six military helicopters on Sunday. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which said it “facilitated the safe return” of the girls as a “neutral intermediary”, tweeted photographs of a line of girls boarding a military helicopter. A meeting with Buhari, who was swept to power in 2015 on a promise to defeat Boko Haram, landscape of the Fifth Republic. He or she can serve a maximum of two five-year terms and has the final word on all foreign policy. The president has the power to appoint and replace the prime minister and presides over the cabinet. He or she can propose laws and, with the prime minister, can force them through parliament unless there is a Merkel in northern Germany state election test • Reuters, Kiel Germans in the far northern state of Schleswig-Holstein voted in force on Sunday in the first of two regional polls the Social Democrats must win if they are to pose a serious challenge to Chancellor Angela Merkel in September’s national election. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) enjoyed a revival in the opinion polls early this year after nominating former European Parliament president Martin Schulz in January as its candidate to THE POWERS OF THE FRENCH PRESIDENT The presidential office today looms large over the political landscape of the Fifth Republic General powers The Executive Directly elected Appoints prime minister If his party Head of armed forces controls parliament, the president is de facto head of the executive Has power to order use Can replace prime minister of nuclear weapons Presides over the cabinet Maximum of two 5-year terms The Judiciary Last word on all foreign policy Assumes full executive control if the nation is under “serious and immediate threat” Can propose referenda without approval from parliament Impeachment requires two-thirds votes in both houses of parliament run against Merkel. But the “Schulz effect” failed to deliver in Saarland, where his party flopped in a March state poll. In Schleswig-Holstein, the SPD is defending an incumbent state premier, Torsten Albig, for the first time since Schulz’s nomination as party leader. Jobs and wind farm plans are among the regional issues in Schleswig-Holstein, a region of 2.3 million voters that juts north of Hamburg and borders Denmark. The state election commissioner in Immune from prosecution Has power to pardon convicted criminals Parliament May dissolve parliament (once per year) Proposes laws With the prime minister, can force through laws unless parliament votes no confidence Schleswig-Holstein estimated that by 0900 GMT, 21.55% of eligible voters had cast their vote, up from 17.7% at the same stage in the last regional vote in 2012. The SPD’s chances of toppling Merkel will be boosted further if they can hold onto power next Sunday in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Polls suggest a power-sharing “grand coalition” between the SPD and the conservatives could be the sole governing option in Schleswig-Holstein – a scenario that could also arise again at the federal level after the September election. • At a military base in Borno State shows some of the 82 rescued Chibok girls heading towards a Nigerian Army helicopter on May 7, 2017 AFP was scheduled for 1500 GMT, officials in Abuja said. The presidency announced late on Saturday that months of talks with the jihadists had “yielded results” some six months after 21 other Chibok girls were freed with the help of international mediators. • successful no-confidence vote. The French leader has the power to propose a referendum without needing approval from parliament. As head of the armed forces, he or she has the power to order the use of nuclear weapons. Why is the margin of victory important? Macron has led consistently and widely in the polls, with about 60% of the vote projected to go his way, compared with 40% for Le Pen. Even if Le Pen loses, that figure would represent unprecedented support for the National Front, which has made steady gains in local and national elections. If Macron does better than expected, it could be a sign that the “Republican Front” still holds and that many in the French electorate still firmly reject the far right. In either case, the bigger the margin of victory, the stronger the mandate for the winner. It will also give the victor’s party a lift in the legislative elections scheduled for June. • UK super-rich got richer despite Brexit • AFP, London Britain’s super-rich “kept calm and carried on making billions” despite worries about Brexit, according to The Sunday Times newspaper’s Rich List for 2017, with more billionaires living in the country than ever before. In the past 12 months, the total wealth of Britain’s richest 1,000 individuals and families surged 14% to £658bn, the paper said. It said that there are now more UK-based billionaires than ever before, at 134. Industrialist brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja topped the list with a combined wealth of £16.2bn, up £3.2bn over the previous year. Among the 58 newcomers – a minimum of £110m is now required to make the list compared to just £15m in 1997 – are famous names including chart topper Adele. The singer is now worth £125m, making her the sixth richest person under 30. Football player Zlatan Ibrahimovic and “Fifty Shades of Grey” author EL James also made the cut for the first time. Other well-known names include Paul McCartney (£780m), Elton John (£290m), Lewis Hamilton (£131m), and David and Victoria Beckham who have a combined wealth of £300m. •
World Pakistan army: 50 Afghan soldiers killed, 100 injured in retaliatory fire • AFP, Quetta Pakistan’s military on Sunday said it had killed more than 50 Afghan soldiers in a clash on a major border crossing two days earlier, a claim quickly rejected by Kabul. The skirmish took place Friday at the Chaman border that divides Pakistan’s southwest Balochistan province and Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar, as Pakistani officials were carrying out a census count. At least eight civilians were killed, according to previously stated tolls by officials, seven on the Pakistani side, and one on the Afghan side. Afghanistan had blamed Pakistani census enumerators accompanied by soldiers for straying across the border, a charge denied by Islamabad. On Sunday, Pakistani forces elevated their rhetoric by saying Afghan forces had suffered dramatic losses. “We are not pleased to tell you that five Afghan check posts were completely destroyed, more than 50 of their soldiers were killed and above 100 were wounded,” Major General Nadim Ahmad, head of Gunfight between Indian police, insurgents kills 5 in Kashmir • Tribune Desk Rebels attacked a police squad in the Indian portion of Kashmir, triggering a gunbattle that left three civilians, one officer and an assailant dead, police said Sunday, reports the Associated Press. The unit came under fire Saturday night as it reached a road accident site on a key highway connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of India, said senior police officer SP Pani. He said the dead civilians were road construction officials of a private company. One civilian and one police officer also were injured in the shootout, he said. the paramilitary Frontier Corps told reporters. “We are not happy for their losses but we were forced to retaliate,” he said, adding two Pakistani soldiers were killed and nine wounded in the incident. Kabul quickly denied the claim. “A very false claims by a Pakistani Frontier Corp that as many as 50 Afghan soldier lost their lives in Pak retaliation; totally rejected,” tweeted Sediq Sediqqi, a government spokesman. The border has remained closed since Friday, with senior Pakistan army general Amir Riaz telling reporters it would remain so “until Afghanistan changes its behaviour”. The so-called “Durand Line”, a 2,400-km frontier drawn by the British in 1896 and disputed by Kabul, has witnessed increased tension since Pakistan began trenching along it last year. The border is not the only area of dispute between the neighbours: Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of sponsoring the Afghan Taliban, though Islamabad says it provides the militants with safe haven as a “lever” to bring them to peace talks. • Bill to declare Israel a Jewish state back on national agenda • Reuters, Jerusalem Israel’s cabinet breathed new life on Sunday into efforts to anchor in law the country’s status as a Jewish state, legislation Palestinians have described as an obstacle to peace. A ministerial committee approved a revised version of a bill first proposed in 2011 that declares the “State of Israel is the national home of the Jewish people”, its author, Avi Dichter of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud party, wrote on Facebook. The legislation still has to go through further drafting by the Justice Ministry and pass several votes in parliament in what could be a lengthy process. Afghan Border Police keep watch during an ongoing battle between Pakistani and Afghan Border forces near the Durand line on May 5, 2017 AFP Police believe two insurgents escaped under the cover of darkness after the officers swiftly retaliated in Malpora, a village 65km south of Srinagar, the main city in the Indian-held Kashmir. On Sunday, thousands of people participated in the burial of the militant who came from a village in the Indian portion of Kashmir. They chanted “Go India, Go Back,” ‘’We Want Freedom” amid a gun salute by militants who joined the procession. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, a charge Islamabad denies. India and Pakistan have fought two wars for control of Kashmir, which is divided between them by a cease-fire line. • But the cabinet-level step – two weeks before a visit by US President Donald Trump – could help Netanyahu shore up relations with far-right members of his government and underpin his campaign to press Palestinians to recognise Israel as the “nation-state” of the Jewish people. Such acknowledgement has been a key Netanyahu demand for reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that collapsed in 2014 and which Trump has pledged to pursue. Palestinians say accepting Netanyahu’s call could deny Palestinian refugees of past wars any right of return. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has characterised such “nation-state” legislation as putting “obstacles in the way of peace”. Iranian supreme leader criticises Rouhani over education plan • Reuters, Dubai Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday criticised the government of President Hassan Rouhani for promoting a “Western-influenced” United Nations education plan which his hardline allies have said contradicts Islamic principles. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks came ahead of May 19 polls, in which the president is seeking re-election. “In this country, the basis is Islam and the Koran. This is not a place where the faulty, corrupt and destructive Western lifestyle will be allowed to spread its influence,” Khamenei told a gathering of educators, according to his In meetings in Israel, Trump will discuss how he plans to broker peace between Israelis and Palestinians, a goal website. “It makes no sense to accept such a document in the Islamic Republic,” Khamenei said, referring to the Education 2030 plan proposed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). Khamenei did not give details of his opposition to the Unesco plan, but hardline commentators in Iran have said its promotion of gender equality in education contravened Islam. “How can a so-called international body which is under the influence of the great powers allow itself to assign duties for countries with different histories, cultures and civilisations?”, said Khamenei. • People hold high an Israeli flag to show their support for the ’Tel Aviv on Seine’ event in Paris on August 13, 2015 REUTERS that has evaded many previous administrations. He is also scheduled to meet Abbas during the trip. • 9 MONDAY, MAY 8, 2017 USA Obama to receive Kennedy Foundation award Former US President Barack Obama is expected in Boston on Sunday to receive the John F Kennedy Foundation’s annual “Profile in Courage Award,” honouring his accomplishments during his two terms in office in the face of intense political opposition. “President Kennedy called on a new generation of Americans to give their talents to the service of the country,” said Caroline Kennedy, John F Kennedy’s daughter. REUTERS THE AMERICAS Colombia govt, ELN insurgents to resume peace talks Colombia’s government and the country’s last active rebel force, the ELN, will resume peace talks in just over a week, the lead state negotiator confirmed Saturday. “Ecuador has generously hosted the peace talks between the Colombian government and the ELN, which will resume on May 16,” Juan Camilo Restrepo said on Twitter. AFP UK Poll: Conservatives maintain strong lead UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party has an 18% point lead over the main opposition Labour Party, implying a majority of at least 132 seats in a June 8 national election, according to an ICM poll for the Sun on Sunday. The Conservatives were at 46%, down one percentage point, against Labour on an unchanged 28%, the paper said. REUTERS EUROPE 50,000 evacuated in Germany over unexploded WWII bombs German police on Sunday evacuated 50,000 people from the northern city of Hanover in one of the country’s largest post-war operations to defuse World War II era bombs. Residents in a densely populated part of the city were ordered to leave their homes for the operation, planned since mid-April, to remove several recently discovered unexploded bombs. AFP AFRICA 21 killed as truck hits minibus in Guinea DT At least 21 people, mostly women, were killed in a head-on crash between a truck and a minibus packed with passengers in Guinea, police said on Sunday. The deadly crash took place on Saturday just north of the capital Conakry, with the minibus crushed by a truck which was carrying sand, authorities said. AFP
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