Gujarat elections LIVE: Voting underway; Amit Shah, Modi's mother cast vote

Gujarat Assembly election 2017: The second phase of polling that started at 8 am will end at 5 pm today. Mostly in the north, west and central parts of Gujarat, these 93 constituencies are spread across 14 districts. Of the state’s 182 Assembly seats, 89 had seen voting in the first phase held on December 9. The results to the Gujarat state election, as well as the Himachal Pradesh elections held earlier, will be announced after counting of votes cast in both phases of Gujarat polling on December 18.

As for Thursday’s phase of Gujarat polling, some 2.22 million people are expected to exercise their franchise to elect 93 legislators from among 851 candidates – including 69 women – who are in the fray. According to the Election Commission of India, a total of 28,114 electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been pressed into service at 25,558 polling stations.
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Political attack? German Mayor Hollstein stabbed for sheltering refugees

A German Mayor known for his welcoming stance towards refugees has been seriously injured in a knife attack which authorities said was likely politically motivated.

Andreas Hollstein, the 54-year-old conservative Mayor of west German town of Altena, was stabbed in the neck at a kebab shop on Monday evening, the Independent reported.

The attacker, identified as a 56-year-old German man and described by local media as drunk, approached Hollstein and asked whether he was the town's Mayor before loudly criticizing his migrant policies and slicing his neck with a 30-centimetre blade.

The assailant was overpowered by people at the scene.

Hollstein was taken to the hospital but discharged the same day. "I was very lucky. I had some hands-on people by my side and am happy that I'm still alive," the Mayor told reporters on Tuesday.

Hollstein, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union, gained national renown and won an award for his open migrant policies in Altena, often pushing to take in more people than required by official quotas.

According to the Mayor, before launching the attack his assailant said: "You're letting me die of thirst, but you bring 200 refugees to Altena."
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Saudi purge: Prince Miteb freed after $1 bn settlement, says official

Senior Saudi Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, once seen as a leading contender to the throne, was freed after reaching an “acceptable settlement agreement” with authorities paying more than $1 billion, a Saudi official said on Wednesday.

Miteb, 65, son of the late King Abdullah and former head of the elite National Guard, was among dozens of royal family members, ministers and senior officials who were rounded up in a graft inquiry partly aimed at strengthening the power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The official, who is involved in the anti-corruption campaign, said Miteb was released on Tuesday after reaching “an acceptable settlement agreement”. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed but the official said it is believed to be the equivalent of more than $1 billion.

“It is understood that the settlement included admitting corruption involving known cases,” the official said.

According to a Saudi official, Prince Miteb was accused of embezzlement, hiring ghost employees and awarding contracts to his own firms including a $10 billion deal for walkie-talkies and bulletproof military gear worth billions of Saudi riyals.

The allegations against the others included kickbacks, inflating government contracts, extortion and bribery.

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After ruling for four decades, Robert Mugabe resigns as Zimbabwe President

Robert Mugabe resigned as Zimbabwe's president on Tuesday, shortly after parliament began an impeachment process to end his nearly four decades of rule.

The 93-year old clung on for a week after an army takeover and expulsion from his own ruling ZANU-PF party, which also told him to leave power.

Wild celebrations broke out at a joint sitting of parliament when Speaker Jacob Mudenda announced Mugabe's resignation and suspended the impeachment procedure.

The origin of Mugabe's sudden downfall lies in rivalry between members of Zimbabwe's ruling elite over who will succeed him, rather than popular protests against his rule.

The army seized power after Mugabe sacked ZANU-PF's favourite to succeed him, Emmerson Mnangagwa, to smooth a path to the presidency for his wife Grace, 52, known to her critics as "Gucci Grace" for her reputed fondness for luxury shopping.

Mnangagwa, a former security chief known as The Crocodile, is expected to take over as president.
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Mugabe and Dos Santos: Africa's old men finally seem to be fading away

Soon after Zimbabwe’s army confined President Robert Mugabe to his palatial Harare home this week – allegedly for his safety – it was announced in Luanda that Angola’s new President, João Lourenço, had relieved Isabel dos Santos of her position as head of the state-run oil company Sonangol.

While there may not be any direct connection between these two events, they suggest some intriguing comparisons. In both countries ruling families seem to have failed to secure themselves in power.

When Mugabe, as leader of the Zimbabwean African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), became ruler of Zimbabwe at independence in April 1980, José Eduardo dos Santos was already President of Angola. He had succeeded to that position after the death of Agostinho Neto in September 1979.

Dos Santos had to deal with external intervention and over two decades of civil war , during which he ruled dictatorially. Mugabe, despite a facade of constitutionalism and regular elections, also became increasingly dictatorial. He abandoned adherence to the rule of law and his country’s economy collapsed. Angola became notorious for the scale of the corruption linked especially to its oil riches. Zimbabwe went from bread-basket to basket-case. With the great majority of the people of both countries living in dire poverty, Dos Santos flew to Europe when he needed medical attention, while Mugabe went to Singapore.
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Trump lists N Korea as 'state sponsor of terror'; new sanctions expected

http://www.business-standard.com/article/international/trump-lists-n-korea-as-state-sponsor-of-terror-new-sanctions-expected-117112001407_1.html

President Donald Trump designated North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism on Monday, allowing the United States to impose additional sanctions and penalties against Pyongyang as it continues to pursue nuclear weapons programs.

The Republican president, who has traded personal barbs and insults with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said the Treasury Department will announce the additional sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday.

The designation came a week after Trump returned from a 12-day, five nation trip to Asia in which the US president made containing North Korea's nuclear ambitions a centerpiece of his discussions with world leaders.

"Today, the United States is designating North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism," Trump told reporters at the White House. "Should have happened a long time ago should have happened years ago."

North Korea is pursuing nuclear weapons and missile programmes in defiance of UN Security Council sanctions and has made no secret of its plans to develop a missile capable of hitting the US mainland. It has fired two missiles over Japan.
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Ready to share intelligence on Iran to Saudi: Israel's military chief

Israel's military chief of staff said in an interview on Thursday that his country was prepared to cooperate with Saudi Arabia to face Iran's plans "to control the West Asia."

"We are ready to exchange experience with the moderate Arab countries and exchange intelligence information to face Iran," Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot was quoted as saying by Elaph, a Saudi-run news site.

Asked whether any information had been shared recently with Saudi Arabia, he said "we are ready to share information if necessary. There are many common interests between us and them."

Israel's army confirmed the contents of the interview, which was rare as Israel and Saudi Arabia have no official diplomatic ties.

Sunni Muslim powerhouse Saudi Arabia has long been at loggerheads with Shiite, non-Arab Iran but friction has spiralled in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri announced from Saudi capital Riyadh that he was quitting, citing Iran's "grip" on his country.

The leader of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite group supported by Iran, has accused Saudi Arabia of pressing Israel to launch attacks against it.
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Coup in Zimbabwe: Mugabe and family under house arrest as army takes over

Zimbabwe's army said today it has President Robert Mugabe and his wife in custody and was securing government offices and patrolling the capital's streets following a night of unrest that included a military takeover of the state broadcaster.

The night's action triggered speculation of a coup, but the military's supporters praised it as a "bloodless correction." South Africa's president said he spoke with Mugabe, who was "fine" but confined to his home.

For the first time, this southern African nation is seeing the military oppose the 93-year-old Mugabe, the world's oldest head of state and one of the longest-serving authoritarian rulers.

Mugabe has been in power since Zimbabwe's independence from white minority rule in 1980.

The whiplash developments followed Mugabe's firing of his deputy, which had appeared to position the first lady, Grace Mugabe, to replace Emmerson Mnangagwa as one of the country's two vice presidents at a party conference next month.

But the first lady has proved unpopular among some Zimbabweans, and Mnangagwa had significant support from the military.

It was not clear today where Mnangagwa was, though he fled the country last week citing threats to him and his family.
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Delhi air pollution: Arvind Kejriwal to meet Manohar Lal Khattar today

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said he would meet his Haryana counterpart in Chandigarh on Wednesday to discuss rising air pollution levels in the national capital as the latter was too "busy" to meet him in Delhi.

Kejriwal said Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had called him and told him that the latter was in Delhi till tomorrow, but cannot meet him in Delhi, citing "he (Khattar) was very busy".

The Haryana CM has asked me to see him in Chandigarh on Wednesday, the AAP supremo said.

The Delhi chief minister has been seeking a meeting with his counterparts from Haryana and Punjab over the last few days to find a solution to stubble burning in the neighbouring states, a major source to high pollution levels in Delhi.

"Khattar ji called. He is in Del till tomo. Says he is v busy n can't meet me in Del. He has asked me to come to Chandigarh on Wed. I look forward to meeting him in Chandigarh on Wed (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted.

Earlier in the day, he said his office was constantly trying to fix a meeting with the Haryana chief minister.

The development comes after Khattar wrote back to Kejriwal and said he was "likely" to be in Delhi on November 13 and 14.
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Donald Trump is making China great again

President Trump’s recently concluded trip to Asia had the potential to advance important American security and economic interests. Played correctly, his ambitious five-country, 12-day trip could have steadied his administration’s rocky start in this vital region. Instead, it left the United States more isolated and in retreat, handing leadership of the newly christened “Indo-Pacific” to China on a silver platter.

The trip began with solid performances in Japan and Korea, where Mr. Trump’s relatively measured words left key allies reassured of the United States’ commitment to their security. The president largely shelved his belligerent trade rhetoric, called for allies to buy more American military hardware and reopened the door to diplomacy with North Korea. Weather curtailed his surprise trip to the Korean Demilitarized Zone, but that may have been a blessing, since hostile words might have prompted hostile action.

But in China, the wheels began to come off his diplomatic bus. The Chinese leadership played President Trump like a fiddle, catering to his insatiable ego and substituting pomp and circumstance for substance.

China always prefers to couch state visits in ceremony rather than compromise on policy. This approach seemed to suit President Trump just fine, as he welcomed a rote recitation of China’s longstanding rejection of a nuclear North Korea and failed to extract new concessions or promises. He also settled for the announcement of $250 billion in trade and investment agreements, many of which are nonbinding and, in the words of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, “pretty small.” Missing were firm deals to improve market access or reduce technology-sharing requirements for American companies seeking to do business in China.

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Pentagon must show Pakistan consequences of supporting terror: US lawmakers

The Pentagon must "demonstrate" to Pakistan the "consequences" of continued support to terrorists, US Congressional leaders have said as they came out in support of President Donald Trump's new South Asia policy.

Trump in August unveiled America's new policy for South Asia and Afghanistan, criticising Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists.

The bipartisan group of Congressional leaders, reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of the 2018 National defense Authorisation Act (NDAA), also urged the Department of Defense to closely monitor US security assistance to Pakistan and ensure that the country does not use it to support terrorist groups.

The lawmakers, in a joint report of the Senate and House Armed Services committees released yesterday, asked the Pentagon to "demonstrate to Pakistan the consequences of continued support to terrorists".

Such a demand from lawmakers comes days after the Indian security forces recovered US-made rifle meant for Pakistan from terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir.
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Brexit supporter Penny Mordaunt replaces Priti Patel as UK aid secretary

Penny Mordaunt has been appointed as the new International Development Secretary after Priti Patel resigned over unofficial meetings with the Israeli ministers and businessmen.

"I'm delighted to have been appointed by the Prime Minister to be the new Secretary of State for International Development," the Independent quoted Mordaunt as saying.

"I'm looking forward to working with the team here to continue building a safer, more secure, more prosperous world for us all and really giving the British public pride in what we do," she added.
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Saudi Arabia calls on its citizens to leave Lebanon

Saudi Arabia on Thursday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon "as soon as possible", days after Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation while visiting the kingdom.

A foreign ministry source, quoted by state news agency SPA, also called on Saudis not to travel to Lebanon because of "the situation" in the country, without elaborating.
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A year after Trump, women, minorities give groundbreaking wins to democrats

If the 2016 presidential election reflected a primal roar from disaffected white working class voters that delivered for President Trump and Republicans, Tuesday’s results showed the potential of a rising coalition of women, minorities, and gay and transgender people who are solidly aligning with Democrats.

A black transgender activist, Andrea Jenkins, was elected to the Minneapolis City Council. A Hispanic woman won the mayor’s race in Topeka, Kan. A Sikh man was elected mayor in Hoboken, N.J. Latina, Vietnamese and transgender female candidates won state legislative races. Black candidates were elected lieutenant governor in New Jersey and Virginia. A Liberian refugee in Helena, Mont., was elected mayor.

Mark Keam, a Korean-American Democrat who was re-elected on Tuesday to his seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates, said the wave of first-time minority candidates was a direct response to feeling snipped out of the American picture by Mr. Trump’s policies and divisive language.

“In Trump’s America, people are getting screwed and those getting screwed more than others are people who’ve never had a voice in the government,” Mr. Keam said. “Those are motivations a white guy wouldn’t have.”

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Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls: BJP, Cong slug it out for 68 seats today

Sixty-eight Assembly seats will on Thursday go to the polls in a single phase in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, where the BJP is determined to take power. Officials said everything was in place for a smooth conduct of the polling in 7,525 booths.

A total of 5.025 million electorate, including 1.9 million women and 14 transgenders, will decide the fate of 338 candidates including 19 women. The vote count will be held on December 18 along with those of Gujarat.

The CPI-M has fielded candidates on 14 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which made its debut in the hill state in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, has preferred to stay away.

Political observers say the contest between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is neck and neck as there is no clear wave in favour of any party.

It is literally a do-or-die battle for both the Chief Ministerial faces. Both are struggling for their political survival.

One is veteran Congress leader and incumbent Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, 83, who is pushing hard to get to the helm for the seventh time.
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Blow to May: UK minister Priti Patel quits over unofficial meets in Israel

Priti Patel, Britain's overseas development secretary, resigned late on Wednesday after meeting Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street.

May had ordered Patel to cut short an official visit to Africa and return to London following reports she had held unauthorized meetings with Israeli officials, XInhua reported.

Her resignation was the second major blow within days for May following the resignation of the defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon in the so-called "sex pest" scandal that has currently engulfed British politics.

The fate of May's deputy, First Secretary Damian Green, has yet to be decided with an ongoing investigation into allegations made against him which he denies.

May has also faced calls this week from the main opposition Labor Party to fire Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over his handling of a case involving a British-Iranian national, jailed for allegedly spying in Iran.

Political commentators in London say the troubles surrounding May's front bench team could not have happened at a worst time. She heads a minority government with opinion divided in her own party over Britain's future relationship with the European Union.

Patel, seen as a rising star in Conservative politics and a future leader, caused anger at Westminster over a series of unauthorized meetings with officials of the Israeli government, including a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Wooing Trump, Xi Jinping seeks great power status for China

Chinese leaders have long sought to present themselves as equals to American presidents. Xi Jinping has wanted something more: a special relationship that sets China apart, as the other great power in an emerging bipolar world.

The Obama administration declined to play along, worried that it implied an American retreat from Asia. But Mr. Xi, the most powerful Chinese leader in decades, may find a more willing partner in President Trump, who is traveling to Beijing this week after stops in Japan and South Korea.

Mr. Trump has often cast China as an unfair trade rival, and, after arriving in Japan on Sunday, he vowed to build a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” a phrase intended to emphasize America’s democratic allies in the region as a balance against China’s rise.

But Mr. Trump has also spoken of China in almost reverential terms and elevated Beijing as a critical player to resolving the North Korean nuclear standoff. And there are signs of mutual admiration between the two leaders — one a Communist Party princeling, the other a brash wheeler-dealer — both of whom see themselves as destined to restore their nations to greatness.

“The outcome of this clash of national ambitions will be one of the great, perhaps perilous stories of the next several decades,” said David M. Lampton, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

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US bombers train over South Korea ahead of Donald Trump's visit

Two US strategic B-1B bombers conducted drills over South Korea on Thursday, the US Air Force said, days before President Donald Trump arrives in the country amid high tensions with North Korea over its nuclear weapon programme.

News of the drills was first reported by North Korean state news agency KCNA on Friday, which said the exercises involving South Korean and Japanese fighter jets were a “surprise nuclear strike drill”.

“The reality clearly shows that the gangster-like US imperialists are the very one who is aggravating the situation of the Korean peninsula and seeking to ignite a nuclear war,” KCNA said.

Trump arrives in Asia on Sunday, beginning his first trip to the region as president in Japan before heading to South Korea and China, then Vietnam and the Philippines.

A series of missile tests by North Korea and its sixth and largest nuclear test have fuelled the most critical international challenge of Trump’s presidency.

The goal of Trump’s visit will be to increase international support for efforts to deprive North Korea of resources as leverage to coerce it to give up nuclear weapons, US officials said.

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CIA report reveals bin Laden-Iran ties amid Trump threat to scrap nuke deal

The CIA's release of documents seized during the 2011 raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden has again raised questions about Iran's support of the extremist network leading up to the Sept 11 terror attacks.

US intelligence officials and prosecutors have long said Iran formed loose ties to the terror organization from 1991 on, something noted in a 19-page report in Arabic that was included in the release of some 47,000 other documents by the CIA.

For its part, Iran has long denied any involvement with al-Qaida. However, the report included in the CIA document dump shows how bin Laden, a Sunni extremist from Iran's archrival Saudi Arabia, could look across the Muslim world's religious divide to partner with the Mideast's Shiite power to target his ultimate enemy, the United States.

"Anyone who wants to strike America, Iran is ready to support him and help him with their frank and clear rhetoric," the report reads.

The Associated Press examined a copy of the report released by the Long War Journal, a publication backed by the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank fiercely critical of Iran and sceptical of its nuclear deal with world powers. The CIA gave the Long War Journal early access to the material.

The material also included never-before-seen video of bin Laden's son Hamza, who may be groomed to take over al-Qaida, getting married. It offers the first public look at Hamza bin Laden as an adult. Until now, the public has only seen childhood pictures of him.

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ISIS executed 741 civilians during Mosul battle: UN

The Islamic State group executed 741 civilians in the battle for the Iraqi city of Mosul, the UN said today, accusing the jihadists of perpetrating "international crimes" during the nine-month military campaign.

A total of 2,521 civilians were killed, mostly by IS attacks, during the fight between IS and the internationally- backed Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) that ended in July, the UN rights office said in a report.

"Those responsible must answer for their heinous crimes", the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, said in a statement.

Mosul, Iraq's second city, was captured by IS in 2014 and became the capital of the group's self-styled "caliphate" in the country.

Following IS's defeat in the city, the rights office said it had compiled witness testimony documenting "mass abductions of civilians, the use of thousands as human shields, the intentional shelling of civilian residences, and indiscriminate targeting of civilians trying to flee the city".

More than 800,000 people were displaced by the fighting, the report said.

The rights office also called for investigations into alleged violations committed by the ISF and their allies, including militia groups.

The report "recorded 461 civilian deaths as a result of airstrikes during the most intensive phase of the ISF-led offensive from 19 February", the UN said in a statement, noting that it was impossible to establish responsibility for the strikes "in almost all cases".
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