1. Will Treat Ayodhya Only as a Land Dispute Case, Says SC
The emotive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute will be decided as any other land dispute based on evidence on record, the Supreme Court said on Thursday, as it endeavoured to scale down passions and tensions generated by the 70-year-old conflict.
A packed courtroom awaited Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer to assemble at 2 pm to hear the Ayodhya case. On 5 December, feverish arguments were raised by three senior advocates — Kapil Sibal, Dushyant Dave and Rajeev Dhavan — seeking adjournment of the case to July 2019, that is after the next general elections. Sibal and Dave were absent during Thursday's proceedings.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Snubbed by India, Maldives President Sends Envoys to China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia
Embattled Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has despatched special envoys to the “friendly nations” of China, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to lobby for support even as his efforts to reach out to India were snubbed by New Delhi on the grounds that he is yet to address the world community’s concerns.
Reacting to reports that Male had bypassed New Delhi in its outreach effort, the Maldives embassy in New Delhi said the first stop of foreign minister Mohamed Asim, one of the three designated special envoys of Yameen, was to be in India, but “the visit was cancelled on the request of the government of India”.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Days After Srinagar Hospital Attack, Munir Khan Removed as IG Kashmir
The Jammu & Kashmir cabinet on Thursday ordered a big reshuffle in the police department, replacing Munir Khan with Swayam Prakash Pani as the Inspector General (IG) of Police, Kashmir range. Pani who is Deputy Inspector General of Police south Kashmir will be the youngest officer to hold the post.
The reshuffle was already on the cards and its schedule was decided earlier. Though the reshuffle came days after Srinagar hospital attack, sources said this it had nothing to do with the escape of Pakistani militant, Naveed Jat alias Hanzulla.
(Source: The Indian Express)
4. I Will Be Back, Says Khaleda Zia After 5-Year Jail Term; Clashes in Bangladesh
Bangladesh opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia on Thursday asked her weeping relatives and supporters not to worry and remain strong minutes before she was sentenced to five years in jail in a graft case.
Zia was convicted of embezzling $253,000 in donations meant for an orphanage, established in her late husband Ziaur Rahman’s memory when she was the prime minister from 2001-2006, a charge she had consistently dismissed as politically motivated.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. PM Narendra Modi Starts Historic Palestine Visit From 9 Feb: Focus Health, Infra
Highlighting India’s humanitarian support to Palestine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to announce the setting up of a 100-bed super-specialty hospital in Ramallah, top sources have told The Indian Express. There are also plans to set up schools, and an announcement is likely to take place during Modi’s visit Saturday, the first by an Indian Prime Minister.
The focus of the visit, sources said, will not be “political”, but more “humanitarian” in nature. Pacts on health, education, information technology and skill development are expected to be signed during the visit.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Google Fined Rs 136 Crore for Anti-Trust Conduct
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), the country's fair play watchdog, has found Google to have abused its dominant position in online general web search and web search advertising services in India and imposed a penalty of Rs 136 crore. The order was passed in response to information filed by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) in 2012, a statement issued by CCI said.
"The commission has given thoughtful consideration on the submissions made by Google and finds it appropriate to impose a penalty at the rate of five percent of their average total revenue generated from India operations from different business segments for the financial year 2013, 2014 and 2015 as provided by Google during its submission..," the CCI said in its order.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. Father of Officer Booked for Shopian Moves SC: Firing to Control Terror Mob
The father of an Army officer named in an FIR filed by J&K Police over the death of three civilians, allegedly in firing by the 10 Garhwal Rifles in Shopian last month, moved the Supreme Court Thursday demanding quashing of the report.
In the petition, Lt Colonel Karamveer Singh, father of Major Aditya Kumar, said the firing was done to control “a savage and violent mob engaged in terrorist activity”, which had hurled stones at an Army convoy and was allegedly about to lynch a Junior Commissioned Officer.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. Arun Jaitley Slams Congress: Compromising India's Security by Asking Rafale Details
With the Opposition targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questioning the secrecy over details of the Rafale fighter deal with the French, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley mounted a counter-attack on Thursday, accusing the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi of “seriously compromising India’s security” by insisting that the government disclose details of the deal.
During his reply to the discussion on the Union Budget in Lok Sabha, Jaitley said he had with him 15 responses from defence ministers of the previous UPA government who too had refused to share details of armament purchases.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. Sonia Gandhi Calls for Alliance to Defeat BJP in 2019, Says Must Restore India to Path of Democracy, Tolerance
Congress parliamentary party (CPP) chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday called for a broad-based alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha election to ensure the BJP was defeated and “India restored to a democratic, inclusive, secular, tolerant and economically progressive” path.
Addressing a CPP meeting, Gandhi said change is coming as evident in her party’s performance in Gujarat and the recent by-elections in Rajasthan.
“I will work with the Congress president and other colleagues in discussions with like-minded parties to ensure that in the next election the BJP is defeated and India is restored to a democratic, inclusive, secular, tolerant and economically progressive path,” she said, also putting to rest buzz about her retirement.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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