Tag: concern

Scholz voices concern on Israel overhaul as Netanyahu visits

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Berlin: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced concern about the Israeli government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system as he hosted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, offering praise for efforts by Israel’s president to seek a “broad basic consensus.”
Netanyahu met with German leaders in Berlin the day after Israeli President Isaac Herzog unveiled a compromise proposal for overhauling the legal system, an approach that Netanyahu rejected.
Lower-level German officials already had voiced concern about the Israeli government’s plan, which would allow parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions and give Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition the final say over all judicial appointments.
Germany is a close ally of Israel in Europe and has tended to refrain from strong public criticism of its government.
“As close friends of Israel with shared democratic values, we are following this debate very closely, and I cannot hide the fact that we’re following it with great concern,” Scholz said at a news conference alongside Netanyahu. “The independence of the judiciary is a precious democratic asset. We agree on that.”
“It is good and valuable that President Herzog talked to a large of actors in society in order to counter a further polarization of Israel,” Scholz said. “Allow me to add that I think this search for a broad basic consensus is right and important.”
Of Herzog’s suggestion, Scholz said: “As friends of Israel, we would like the last word not to have to have been spoken on this proposal.”
Netanyahu showed no sign of being swayed. “Israel was, is and will remain a liberal society,” he said.

The prime minister argued that appeals for discussions with the Israeli opposition were “met with complete refusal” and that “there is a desire to reach a moment of crisis, perhaps a governmental breakdown, a search for new elections.”
“If that continues, that’s regrettable, but we will do whatever we think is the right thing to achieve something that corrects the imbalance that exists today between the branches of government and yet, at the same time, could over time be accepted as the best solution for Israel in line with my principles of keeping Israel a liberal, balanced democracy,” Netanyahu said.
The leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, met Netanyahu himself earlier Thursday. Schuster said he voiced concern to the prime minister that “his government is increasingly dividing Israeli society and is squandering confidence in democratic Israel,” German news agency dpa reported.
Around 500 Israelis protested at Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate, waving Israeli flags, singing and holding up banners against Netanyahu’s visit.
“He is destroying our democracy for the sake of staying out of jail,” Nasich Philip, a project manager in construction who moved to Berlin nine years ago, said. “He is sacrificing the whole country to protect himself and his family.”
Germany and Israel share concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities. Netanyahu has threatened military action against Iran’s nuclear program as it enriches uranium closer to weapons-grade levels.
Germany is one of the world powers that entered a 2015 deal with Tehran to address concern about Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The agreement unraveled after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States.
“The Jewish state will do everything necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, period,” Netanyahu said, without giving details.
“Our hope is that we will ultimately succeed in preventing this with a diplomatic solution,” Scholz said.
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#Scholz #voices #concern #Israel #overhaul #Netanyahu #visits
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 16, 2023
Security indeed a primary concern, taken care of in J&K Budget: LG Manoj Sinha

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Srinagar, Mar 15: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha he was thankful to Centre for releasing a compact budget for the J&K which is aimed at building ‘Naya J&K’ under which special focus will indeed remain on security. He said that Tourism, Youth Empowerment, Education, Industrial investment will be top priorities in the years ahead.
Talking to reporters on the side-lines of a function in Jammu, the LG as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that security indeed is a primary concern which has been duly taken care off in the J&K Budget announced by the Centre. “But Tourism, Youth Empowerment, Education and Industrial investment will be the top priorities that have been addressed in the Budget,” he said. The LG said that 70 per cent of the J&K population is dependent on Agriculture and its allied sectors. “This is our top priority and the budget allocation for Agriculture and its allied sectors have been addressed through huge allocation,” he said.
He said that the computer based examinations that were deferred yesterday will be conducted once Jammu and Kashmir Service Selection Board will be fully satisfied and that exams will be held soon.
He said that the transparency is a top priority for them and if there is any iota of doubt that will be addressed. The LG said that the recruitments will be done based on merit and transparency is the top priority for them and there will be no compromise on it.
Replying to a question, Sinha said 47 employees have been dismissed from their services as they were having militancy links.
“The statement I made a day before about jobs were given to militants was based on facts as action has already been taken against many people,” he said—(KNO)
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#Security #primary #concern #care #Budget #Manoj #Sinha

( With inputs from : roshankashmir.net )

March 15, 2023
‘Our concern is ex-Army personnel should get money’, SC to Centre on OROP

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Ministry of Defence to come up with a roadmap for the payment of arrears under the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme by next week, and also told the ministry that it cannot take law in its own hands by issuing communication on payment of arrears in four instalments.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud told Attorney General (AG) R. Venkataramani to submit a comprehensive note by Monday next week showing steps taken so far and also the shortest possible time to pay the arrears.
“Our concern is that our ex-Army personnel should get the money… It is also sad that 4 lakh people have died… come with a good note on Monday…. what exactly quantum which has to be paid. Two, what are the modalities for payment, and three, what are the prioritization. The oldest people, you can take widows first of Army personnel, you can have some categorization…” Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmedi, representing the petitioner, contended before the court that 4 lakh pensioners have died since the filing of the OROP petition.
The bench, also comprising justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala, told the ministry to immediately withdraw its January 20 communication, which said OROP arrears will be paid in four instalments. “First withdraw this (January 20 notification)…then we will consider your application for extension of time”, the bench told the AG.
The Chief Justice queried AG, when are you planning to pay? Venkataramani contended that one instalment of OROP arrears to ex-servicemen has been paid but needs some more time for further payments. The AG added, “by March 31, another Rs 2000 crore will be paid and I want to take it entirely under my supervision, how best we can push it”.
The top court made it clear that the defence ministry’s January 20 communication was completely contrary to its verdict and it cannot unilaterally say it will pay OROP arrears in four instalments.
At the outset, the bench said, “We saw that the communication of January 20, the ministry cannot law in its own hand…issued letter…. after we had fixed time…”. The bench added that if this communication is not withdrawn, it will ask the secretary of defence to be present in the court.
On February 27, the Supreme Court slammed the Ministry of Defence over its January 20 communication in connection with the payment of arrears of OROP in instalments to eligible pensioners of the armed forces.

The apex court was hearing an application filed by Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM), in which they have sought setting aside of the defence ministry’s January 20 communication.
Last year in March, the apex court had delivered a judgment on the plea filed by the IESM through advocate Balaji Srinivasan against the Centre’s formula.
The apex court on January 9, 2023, had granted time till March 15 to the Centre for payment of total arrears of OROP to all eligible pensioners of the armed forces.
Later, the government moved the apex court seeking extension of time till March 15, 2023 for payment of arrears of OROP scheme to all eligible pensioners of the armed forces.
The Centre has so far two extensions from the apex court to clear the arrears after it had first moved the top court in June, last year, and sought three months to compute and make payments in accordance with apex court verdict.
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#concern #exArmy #personnel #money #Centre #OROP
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 13, 2023
Air India CEO expresses concern over rising cases of unruly passenger behaviour

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New Delhi: Expressing concern over the rising number of instances involving unruly behaviours by passengers, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has called for concerted industry efforts to contain the problem.
Recently, Wilson had informed that incidents surrounding unruly behaviour by inebriated passengers are quite frequent, adding that the airline has now got strict and is reporting all such cases of unruly behaviours.
Wilson had said that the airline has learnt lessons and it could have reacted better to the issues surrounding the ‘peeing’ incident which occurred in November last year.
The Air India CEO said that the airline has realised the importance of reporting all such incidents. Stating that Air India is now investing more in technology, the CEO had told the media that there are many instances where the airline’s crew is at the receiving end when a drunk passenger misbehaves.
Talking to a news organisation, Wilson said that in the last six weeks alone, Air India had witnessed four incidents where people have either assaulted or threatened to physically assault its crew, and the airline is taking a zero-tolerance line on that.
He said that a rise in such cases globally had led even the industry body, International Air Transport Association (IATA), to take a serious view of the situation and call for industry-wide action to stem it.
In the instance of the ‘peeing’ incident onboard AI-102 operating between New York and Delhi on November 26, 2022, the concerned cabin crew and one pilot have been issued show-cause notices and were de-rostered pending investigation.
While addressing a virtual conference last week, the Air India CEO had said that the airline has enormous potential and efforts are on to make the group a significant international player.

Wilson said that Tata group-owned Air India’s order for a record 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing will be worth nearly $70 billion. The CEO also said that the process of integration of Vistara with Air India is underway and is now awaiting approval from the regulatory bodies.
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#Air #India #CEO #expresses #concern #rising #cases #unruly #passenger #behaviour
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 8, 2023
Targeted killing a matter of grave concern, says DPAP chief Azad

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Srinagar: Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad condemned the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit ATM guard in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Sunday, saying it was a matter of grave concern.
“Any killing, especially a targeted killing, is a matter of grave concern and condemnable. We condemn it,” Azad told reporters here.
A 40-year-old Kashimir Pandit named Sanjay Sharma, who worked as an ATM guard, was shot in the chest at point-blank range by terrorists in the Achan area of the south Kashmir district around 11 am on Sunday, police said.
The DPAP chief said every targeted killing is condemnable, be that of a Kashmiri Pandit or a Muslim or a Sikh and whether the victim is from Jammu or Kashmir.
However, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said the most unfortunate part is that while many people were arrested in connection with such incidents over the last 30 years, “not one killer has been arrested for these targeted killings in the last two years”.
Azad said while it was a reality that militancy has decreased in J-K, what is worrisome is that such target killings have been taking place for the last few months.
He said such mysterious killings pain him and he requested the government to make security agencies, intelligence agencies and law and order enforcement agencies answerable for such killings as “no one was arrested for such killings”.
The former Union minister said except the targeted killings taking place, there was “no militancy in J-K”.

“There is no hartal, there is no stone-pelting. So, there is no justification for the LG’s rule and delaying elections,” he added.
On the issue of the proposed imposition of property tax, Azad, who has earlier demanded that it be put on hold for a few years, said he was not against the imposition of the tax which will eventually benefit the people.
“We oppose its implementation here because of the economic situation. Let it be imposed after six years when the economic situation improves The state has witnessed militancy for the last 33 years, the people here are not in a position to pay such tax,” he said, adding “if need be, the party will launch an agitation against it”.
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#Targeted #killing #matter #grave #concern #DPAP #chief #Azad
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 26, 2023
TN Army Jawan’s killing a matter of serious concern, says Raj Bhavan

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Chennai: A group of ex-servicemen on Tuesday called on Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi over the killing of an Army jawan, allegedly by a DMK Councillor and shared their anguish with him, the Raj Bhavan said.
They also flagged the “lukewarm response” of the state law enforcement to the issue, the Governor’s office said in a tweet
“Some Ex-Servicemen met Governor and shared their collective anguish at the gruesome killing of M Prabhu, a serving soldier by an armed gang led by a DMK councillor and lukewarm response of the state law enforcement, ” a tweet on the official Twitter handle of the Raj Bhavan said.
“Indeed, it is a matter of serious concern,” it added.
Prabhu, who was severely thrashed by a DMK functionary and his accomplices, died last week and six people have been arrested in connection with the crime.
Veterans of the Indian armed forces including the highly decorated Brig N L Narayanan participated in the one-day fast and candle light march organised by the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP here on Tuesday condemning the killing of Lance Naik Prabhu and demanding justice for his family.
BJP State chief K Annamalai, who announced a relief of Rs 10 lakh on behalf of the party to Prabhu’s family, said the party would bear the education expenses of the soldier’s two children.
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#Army #Jawans #killing #matter #concern #Raj #Bhavan
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 21, 2023
Blinken: ‘Deep concern’ that China could provide lethal support for Russia’s war in Ukraine

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Blinken quickly segued into the United States’ “deep concern” that China is considering providing potentially lethal supplies to Russia in their renewed offensive against Ukraine.
“We’ve seen already over these past months the provision of nonlethal assistance that does go directly to aiding and abetting Russia’s war effort. And some further information that we are sharing today, and that I think will be out there soon, that indicates that they are strongly considering providing lethal assistance to Russia,” Blinken said.
Speaking earlier Saturday at the Munich conference in Germany, Vice President Kamala Harris said Russia has committed “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine and is responsible for a “widespread and systematic attack” against Ukraine’s civilian population — citing evidence of execution-style killings, rape, torture and forceful deportations.
Wang, who spoke after Harris at the conference, publicly slammed the U.S. response to the balloon that overflew the country as a “weak” and “near-hysterical” reaction; he also accused the U.S. of warmongering.
On China potentially aiding Russia’s war effort, Blinken said: “We see China considering this; we have not seen them cross that line. So I think it’s important that we make clear, as I did this evening in my meeting with Wang Yi, that this is something that is of deep concern to us. And I made clear the importance of not crossing that line, and the fact that it would have serious consequences in our own relationship, something that we do not need on top of the balloon incident that China’s engaged in.”
Pressed further by Margaret Brennan on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” on what would constitute lethal support to Russia’s war effort, Blinken replied: “Weapons. … Primarily weapons.”
“There’s a whole gamut of things that fit in that category, everything from ammunition to the weapons themselves,” he added.
Blinken said the U.S. has concerns over Chinese companies potentially providing equipment to Russian-backed mercenary groups operating in Ukraine, including the Wagner Group.

“To date, we have seen Chinese companies and of course, in China, there’s really no distinction between private companies and the state. We have seen them provide non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine. The concern that we have now is based on information we have that they’re considering providing lethal support,” he said.
Blinken characterized the U.S. relationship with China as “competitive” and “among the most consequential but also complex relationships that we have,” adding that “we have a strong interest in trying to manage the relationship responsibly, and to make sure, to the best of our ability, that competition doesn’t veer into conflict or into cold war.”
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#Blinken #Deep #concern #China #provide #lethal #support #Russias #war #Ukraine
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 19, 2023
Casteist slur in college fest: Karnataka Cong raises concern, urges for action

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Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress on Saturday raised concern over use of casteist slur in a skit performed at a college fest here.
“There is a video containing abusive and objectionable content on Dr B.R. Ambedkar and Dalit communities being exhibited in a programme organised at Jain college in Bengaluru,” it stated in its social media handle.
Demanding an action by the City Police Commissioner and Bengaluru police in this regard, the party said, “The police should take cognisance of the incident and initiate legal action.”
The incident during a college skit recently in Bengaluru has triggered a row with a police complaint being registered.
‘The Delroys Boys’, who performed the skit, have tendered an unconditional apology for the same. However, the debate over the issue is gaining traction.
On Thursday evening a group of students published an online petition on Jhatkaa.org bringing the incident to light. The petition stated the college contingent from Jain University’s Centre for Management Studies (CMS) staged an incredibly casteist and insensitive skit at the event.
The anonymous petitioners objected to the normalisation of caste discrimination in the pretext of humour. The skit was performed as part of ‘MadAds,’ a segment at the fest where the participants had to advertise imaginary products along lines of humour.
‘The Delroys Boys’, the theatre group from CMS, who are in the thick of controversy, in their skit, exhibited a man belonging to the lower caste attempting to date an upper caste woman. The skit turned B.R. Ambedkar as Beer Ambedkar. The phase of why be Dalit, when you can be D-Lit.

Akshay Bansode, State Member of the Vanchit Bahujan Yuva Aghadi has filed a police complaint in Maharashtra under provisions of the Atrocity Act and IPC. The complainant had urged the police to treat the complaint as FIR and initiate action against the performers and University.
The complainant had urged the police to treat the complaint as an FIR and initiate action against the performers and University.
Sources explain that the controversial skit was performed at other platforms. The Delroys Boys maintained that they apologise to everyone they have spoken badly about.
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#Casteist #slur #college #fest #Karnataka #Cong #raises #concern #urges #action
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 11, 2023
Asaduddin Owaisi raises concern over Assam govt’s crackdown against child marriages

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Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday raised concern after the Assam government’s crackdown against child marriages.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, the Hyderabad MP said, “What will happen to those girls who have been married? The Assam government has booked 4000 cases and is talking of booking 4000 more. So, who will take care of those girls? You are putting a mountain of troubles over them.”
“You are in the government for six years, so it is a failure of the state. Why haven’t you built more schools in the state,” he added.
He further accused the BJP of being “biased” and alleged that the government is not giving land to people in Lower Assam.
“This government is biased against Muslims. They gave land to landless people in Upper Assam but didn’t give the same to people in Lower Assam, instead are evicting people in huge numbers,” he said.
The AIMIM chief also raised concern over the adjournment of Parliament for the second day in a row.
“We want to raise certain issues in the Parliament, but the government is not letting the Parliament function. It is benefitting them as they are able to get away with the questions,” he further said.
Notably, considering a surge in cases of child marriage (below the age of 18 years) of Assam women as reported by the National Report of the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led State government is carrying the crackdown against child marriages.

As per the latest development, Assam police have arrested 2258 people, across the state, involved in child marriage incidents.
Police said they have a list of 8,000 accused and as the drive continues, the figures will increase.
The drive was launched on Thursday night after CM Himanta Biswa Sarma chaired a video-conference meeting with senior officials of the police department directing them to launch a crackdown to rid the state of the evil practice of child marriage.
This episode of this slew of crackdowns dates back to May 5, 2022, when the Health Ministry released the fifth report of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), carried out in 2019 and 2020.
The report, following a fine and detailed reading by the Assam government, showed serious concerns regarding child marriage, teenage pregnancy, and maternal mortality.
It was found in the report that 31.8 per cent of women in Assam between 20-24 age were married at a minor age or before 18 years. This was even higher than the national average of 23.3 per cent.
Of these 31.8 per cent of women, more than half (50.8 per cent) cases were from All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MP Badruddin Ajmal’s parliamentary constituency, Dhubri.
As per the government, child marriage leads to teenage pregnancy in women causing maternal deaths in the state.
According to the Assam police data, 139 people have been arrested in Biswanath, 126 in Dhubri, 120 in Baksa, 114 in Barpeta, 97 in Nagaon, 96 in Hojai, 94 in Kokrajhar, 87 in Bongaigaon, 79 in Karimganj, 76 in Hailakandi, 72 in Cachar, 72 in Goalpara district in cases related to child marriage.
Director General of Assam Police (DGP) GP Singh, while addressing a press conference on Friday, said that 4,074 cases related to child marriage have been registered at different police stations across the state.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed that the crackdown against child marriages in the state would continue in the coming days.
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#Asaduddin #Owaisi #raises #concern #Assam #govts #crackdown #child #marriages
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 5, 2023
Odisha CM expresses concern on reduction of MGNREGS, food security in Union Budget

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Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday expressed concern over reduction of funds for MGNREGS and food security scheme in the Union Budget for 2023-24.
Patnaik said the budget has some good aspects which needs to be appreciated and there are some concerns which need to be looked into, and addressed.
“I have concerns regarding the drastic reduction of funds for MGNREGS. This will hit the poor people. The reduction in food security budget along with reduction in procurement will hit the poor people as well as farmers,” he said.
About Rs 80,000 crores was spent on procurement in 2021-22 while only about Rs 60,000 crores is kept in this budget. This will cause serious problems in selling crops at Minimum Support Price (MSP), he said.
While in 2021-22 an amount of Rs 2 lakh crores was spent under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), in this budget only Rs 1.37 lakh crore is kept for this purpose, pointed out the CM.
Patnaik also said that there has been a decrease or no growth in health and education sectors.
He further said that the budget provision for Ayushman Bharat scheme is Rs 7,200 crore for the entire country while Odisha spends almost about Rs 2,400 crore on Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana (BSKY) in private facilities alone.
“If we include government facilities, it would be around Rs 6,000 crores annually under the BSKY. Health is an important priority for our state and we believe in investing and in sincere efforts,” he said.

Slamming the Odisha BJP leaders, who are pressing hard for implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Odisha, Patnaik said he now hopes that the BJP state leadership will stop hoodwinking the people of Odisha.
Speaking about the good steps taken by the Centre in the Budget, he said the increased capital investment, support to drinking water initiatives, and increasing rural housing will accelerate growth as well as have social impact in rural areas.
He also welcomed the Prime Minister’s thrust on millets. Stating that Odisha Millet Mission is a pioneering initiative in the country, Patnaik said he feels happy that millets have been given importance in the budget.
“The focus on new world technologies like artificial intelligence, internet of things etc. is appreciable. These are some of the good aspects of the budget. The focus on primitive tribal groups is a welcome step,” he added.
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#Odisha #expresses #concern #reduction #MGNREGS #food #security #Union #Budget
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 1, 2023