NOTA voting option can't be permitted in Rajya Sabha polls: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the option of none of the above (NOTA) cannot be permitted in Rajya Sabha elections.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud has set aside the Election Commission's notification allowing NOTA option in the ballot papers for Rajya Sabha polls.

The apex court had questioned the poll panel's notification and said that NOTA was meant to be exercised by individual voters in direct polls.

The verdict came on a plea of Shailesh Manubhai Parmar, who was the Congress's chief whip in the Gujarat assembly during the last Rajya Sabha polls, in which the party had fielded sitting MP Ahmed Patel.

Parmar had challenged the poll panel's notification allowing the NOTA option in ballot papers.

The top court had earlier said by introducing NOTA, the poll panel was legitimising the act of not voting.

The Gujarat Congress leader had alleged that if the NOTA provision was allowed in the Rajya Sabha polls, it would encourage "horse-trading and corruption".

The poll panel had said NOTA was first introduced in 2014 following an apex court verdict a year earlier and they (the Congress) did not have any objection in subsequent polls as it suited them.

Israel PM Netanyahu may be charged with bribery for accepting cigars, gifts

Israeli police on Tuesday recommended that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted in two cases of alleged corruption after a long-running probe in a move set to shake the country's politics.
A decision to press formal charges against the veteran premier now rests with the attorney general's office, which is expected to take weeks or months to decide how to proceed.

Netanyahu, prime minister for nearly 12 years, addressed the nation as news of the recommendations broke, proclaiming his innocence and pledging to continue to lead the country.

"Over the years, I have been the subject of at least 15 enquiries and investigations," Netanyahu said in the televised address.

CBI raid reveals AAP minister Satyender Jain owns property worth millions

The CBI on Sunday said it has recovered documents related to property and bank transactions worth millions allegedly linked to Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain during searches at residences of a registrar and a lawyer of Delhi Dental Council in a bribery case.

The CBI has registered a case under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code against the two officials on the allegations of demanding bribe from the complainant for getting him favourable order from the DDC and also for extending help in further legal proceedings in his matter, said officials.

Agency sleuths laid a trap and caught the accused while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 473,000 from the complainant on Saturday night. The arrested accused were produced in a court here on Sunday which sent then to four days police custody.

China punishes 159,100 people for corruption, indiscipline during 2017

China punished a total of 159,100 people for corruption and indiscipline during 2017, the country's top anti-graft body has said.

Of the 122,100 cases, 48,700 were related to corruption in poverty alleviation work, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said.

China has over the years massively cracked down on graft, with the dreaded anti-graft body nabbing country's top officials for wrongdoings.

Last year, Sun Zhengcai, China's top politician and dubbed as Chinese President Xi Jinping potential successor, was arrested on graft charges.

According to Xinhua news agency, some 61,000 officials were punished for violating the Party's eight-point frugality code from January to November last year in 43,400 cases.

Moreover, since the start of 2017, a total of 1,300 fugitives have returned to China, including 347 party members and state functionaries, as well as 14 who are on the list of 100 "red notice" corruption suspects.

Around 980 million yuan ($151 million) of illicit money has been recovered in the process.

China also held more than 50 consultations with foreign law enforcement departments in 2017 on major cases involving fugitives and illicit money, according to CCDI.

At least 18 centrally-administered officials have been investigated and nearly 40 others have been punished since 2017, it said.

The anti-corruption drive is Xi's centrepiece of his policy ever since he took power in 2013.

At the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi said the anti-graft body will tighten its noose around the wrongdoers.
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China temporarily stops funding CPEC road projects over corruption reports

China has decided to temporarily stop funding at least three major road projects in Pakistan, being built as part of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, following reports of corruption, a decision that has left officials in Islamabad "stunned", a media report said on Tuesday.

The decision by the Chinese government is likely hit over Rs 1 lakh crore-worth road projects of the Pakistan's National Highway Authority (NHA), and initially, may delay at least three such ventures, Dawn newspaper reported.

According to a senior government official, the funds would be released after Beijing issues 'new guidelines'.

The nearly $60 billion CPEC, a flagship project of China's prestigious One Belt One Road, passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). It links China's restive Xinjiang region with Pakistan's Balochistan province.

The road projects that are likely to be affected include 210-km-long Dera Ismail Khan-Zhob Road, being built at an estimated cost of Rs 8,100 crore. Of this, Rs 6,600 crore would be spent on construction of road while Rs 1,500 crore on land acquisition.
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Panama bribe scandal: Ex-president's sons got $50 mn from Brazilian firm

Two sons of former President Ricardo Martinelli are suspected of receiving more than $50 million in undue payments from a Brazilian construction giant at the centre of an international bribe scandal, Panamanian prosecutors have said.

The Attorney General's Office alleged in a statement that there were several multimillion-dollar transfers to Ricardo Alberto and Luis Enriquez Martinelli through accounts in Panama and abroad in 2010-2014.

It said the allegations are based on information from a cooperating witness in the investigation: Andre Campos Rabello, the former Panama manager for Brazil's Odebrecht.

The family has denied involvement by the sons in the bribery scandal and alleges persecution by political foes.

The former president, who also denies any wrongdoing, is currently detained in the United States facing possible extradition to Panama on charges of embezzlement and political espionage.

Odebrecht has acknowledged paying nearly $800 million dollars in bribes in a dozen Latin American nations in return for favours and works contracts.
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Pakistan anti-graft court indicts ex-PM Ashraf, 8 others in hiring scam

An accountability court in Pakistan on Tuesday indicted former Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and eight others in a case related to illegal recruitment in the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco).

According to the National Accountability Bureau, Ashraf recruited as many as 437 people without taking merit into consideration.

The court has summoned witnesses to record their statements. Ashraf while speaking to the media rejected all charges filed by the NAB, Geo TV reported.

Along with the Gepco scam, Ashraf was already indicted by another accountability court in Islamabad in the rental power case. All accused, including the former federal mister for water and power, pleaded not guilty.

Ashraf is accused of misusing his authority during his tenure as minister to get approval from the Economic Coordination Committee for an increase in the down payment to the rental power companies from 7 per cent to 14 per cent, amounting to about Rs 22 billion.
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PM Netanyahu suspected of breach of trust, bribery, reveals Israeli police

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suspected of crimes involving fraud, breach of trust and bribes in two corruption cases, Israeli police revealed.

Police have been questioning Netanyahu for months over the cases but have released few details. It released a gag order Thursday night on reporting the details of talks that are underway to enlist a state witness.

The document says the cases involving Netanyahu deal with "a suspicion of committing crimes of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust."

Netanyahu's office has repeatedly denied wrongdoing over the investigations, portraying the accusations as a witch hunt against him and his family by a hostile media opposed to his hard-line political views.

A statement from his office Thursday night said, "We completely reject the unfounded claims against the prime minister." It said the allegations are part of a campaign to "replace the government" and "there will be nothing, because there was nothing."

One investigation, dubbed "File 1000," reportedly concerns claims that Netanyahu improperly accepted lavish gifts from wealthy supporters, including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan.
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Mosul is 'liberated', but the fight against IS and its ideology continues

After an offensive lasting nearly nine months, the Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, walked through the streets of Mosul on July 9 after Iraqi forces backed by US-led coalition airstrikes “liberated” the city from so-called Islamic State (IS). Abadi was there to congratulate security forces for the victory.

Iraqis have been waiting for this moment for three years, since IS captured the country’s second city and other key areas in 2014.

Since the announcement of the recapture of Mosul’s iconic al-Nuri mosque, destroyed by IS in late June, social media has been buzzing with Arabic hashatags such as #thestateofmythhasfallen, #Mosulisbeingliberated, and #tweetforpeace.

The general reaction in Iraq and on social media to the recapture of Mosul has been one of joy and celebration, yet for many, the feelings are mixed. Although it is a huge blow for IS, the victory does not mean that IS has been defeated across Iraq. Battles are still awaiting in Tel Afar in the north-west, to Hawija and other areas in Anbar Province in western Iraq. And even when these are retaken, IS will continue its regional and global insurgency.

IS’s territorial caliphate is falling, but its ideology – which argues that its members follow the “true Islam”, fighting heretics and unbelievers – is not.

For Iraqis, smiles are mixed with tears, and optimism mixed with fears. Many thousands of lives have been lost and too much blood shed in the battle against IS. Many more thousands have been displaced and the destruction has been widespread. Iraqis rightfully ask whether all of this could have been avoided and whether those responsible will ever be held accountable. They are aware of the massive challenges ahead, politically, economically, and socially. These include the conflicting interests of the forces fighting on the ground, as well as those of countries such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the US, whose interventions are often seen as destabilising to the Iraqi state.
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Disgust over corruption threaten stability in Middle East, North Africa

During the Tunisian revolution of 2010-11, which sparked the Arab uprisings, protesters would chant “A job is a right, you pack of thieves!”. In Ben Ali’s Tunisia, supposedly a “democratising” country that regularly received Western praise for its economic “reforms”, people felt increasingly marginalised both economically and politically.

Tunisians have been out on the streets again recently, demonstrating against government policies and especially against corruption and unemployment. There have also been protests against corruption in Morocco. It is all very reminiscent of what happened seven years ago, where ending corruption was one of the principal demands of protesters alongside social justice and political freedom.

Our recent research suggests that corruption continues to be a major cause of discontent throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It confirms the findings in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, which ranks several countries in the region among the most corrupt in the world. Does this mean we are in danger of seeing history repeat itself?

Transparency International rankings 2016
Expectations of change after the uprisings have become increasingly frustrated: Jordan and Morocco have attempted to absorb protest; Egypt’s counter-revolution continues to stifle any significant change; and rumbling discontent in Tunisia is a reaction to the government’s failure to deliver on promises of jobs, development and fighting corruption.

Our latest research, which is part of the Arab Transformations Project, includes a public opinion poll of almost 10,000 people across the region carried out in late 2014. It found that corruption was perceived as by far the most important cause of the Arab Uprisings in Iraq, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. In Egypt and Jordan, it came a close second after economic problems.

Around 60 per cent of all respondents thought there was still a great deal of government corruption in their country. Nor did citizens see any signs of a government crackdown – essential for any significant transition to stabilised democracy.
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Truth will triumph, tweets Arvind Kejriwal on graft charges by Kapil Mishra

"Truth will triumph," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said, ahead of the special session of the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday in the wake of corruption charges levelled against him by sacked AAP minister Kapil Mishra.

"Truth will triumph. Its beginning will be made during the special session of the Delhi Assembly tomorrow," Kejriwal tweeted late this evening on the graft charges against him by Mishra that has led to turmoil in the Aam Aadmi Party.

The one-day special session is expected to be a stormy affair as the opposition BJP plans to come down hard on the AAP government over Mishra's graft charges.

The ruling AAP will also seek to corner the BJP and its government at the Centre over alleged EVM manipulation.

AAP sources hinted that the revelations which are being planned by the party on Tuesday will be targeted at the BJP.

The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the AAP on Monday suspended Mishra from the party's primary membership after he made graft charges against Kejriwal.

Mishra dared the AAP to oust him from the party even as he fired a fresh salvo at Kejriwal, saying a Rs 50 crore deal was arranged for the AAP chief's brother-in-law.

Asserting that a bogus bill amounting to Rs 10 crore was made to favour Kejriwal's brother-in-law, Mishra also alleged that during the Punjab polls, there was massive corruption by AAP in ticket distribution, and supplying of liquor by party members.

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