1. Home
  2. Growing Indo-Israel affair: Pranab event called off after Palestinians protest

Growing Indo-Israel affair: Pranab event called off after Palestinians protest

October 13, 2015

East Jerusalem, Oct 13: Angry Palestinian students today protested against India's growing friendship with Israel at a university campus here today while President Pranab Mukherjee was there, forcing cancellation of one of his engagements.

indoisrael

Hundreds of students shouted slogans and carried placards critical of India's ties with the Jewish state while Mukherjee was being honoured by Al-Quds university at Abu Dis with an honorary degree and hailed as a "Knight of Peace".

After the university function, Mukherjee was to inaugurate a secondary school for boys named after Jawaharlal Nehru. But the function was called off due to the tense situation.

Mukherjee soon left for Israel, a short journey by road, on the first-ever visit by an Indian President.

The protesting students carried placards with slogans "India why do you cooperate with the occupiers (Israel)", "Indian President raise your voice against Israel's aggression", and "Indian President don't keep quiet against the butchers slaying Palestinians" as Mukherjee was leaving the campus here in East Jerusalem.

The demonstration came in the middle of heightened tensions and more killings between Israelis and Palestinians which have resulted in hundreds of casualties, including some today.

Inside the university auditorium, where Palestine Prime Minister Dr Rami Hamadallah was among those present, Mukherjee was hailed as "a Knight of Peace" and loudly cheered when he mentioned all the help rendered by India to the Palestinians.

In his acceptance speech at the university, the President said peace and stability in the Middle East region is in India's interest and proposed a three-pillar framework to propel its "historic" ties with Palestine besides building a second Information Technology (IT) centre in Gaza.

Mukherjee, who is in Palestine in the first-ever State visit by an Indian President, also announced an increase in Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation(ITEC) scholarship programme slots for Palestine to 100 per annum and setting up of an India-Chair at the Al-Quds University.

On Sunday, the President was conferred with an honorary degree in political science by the University of Jordan in Amman. On Thursday, he will be conferred a honorary doctorate by the Hebrew University in Israel.

Mukherjee delivered the speech after the inauguration of India-Palestine Centre for Excellence in Information and Communications Technology(ICT) in Al-Quds University.

"India will build a similar Center in Gaza. We look forward to the success of the Techno-Park in Ramallah. It will be jointly built and operated by the Palestine Investment Fund and the Indian public and private sector," he added.

Mukherjee said this will have a satellite centre in Ramallah and forward linkages with industry.

The President also gifted to the IT Centre of Al-Quds University 30 computers from India without the sophisticated communication equipment, which was held by the Israeli customs on grounds of security. India plans to replace the communication equipment not permitted by Israel with frequencies acceptable to Israel.

The President said the conferment of the doctorate on him was a sign of friendship and regard of the people of Palestine for India and for him.

He told the assembled audience that the university's pursuit of scientific knowledge and advanced research placed it at the centre of Palestine's national development programme.

Mukherjee said "India shares the perception that the Palestinian issue is at the centre of Arab-Israeli conflict. Peace and stability in the region is in India's interest."

Noting that the speed with which an event happening in one place of the world triggers a response in another is unprecedented in terms of its impact and scale, the President said maintaining regular contacts at all levels is, therefore, important.

Stating that India has always been at the forefront in promoting the Palestinian cause, the President said the strong foundations in this regard and shared belief in peace, prosperity and development for the people of Palestine "propel us to do more."

He referred to India's backing to several UN resolutions on Palestine to show its solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Mukherjee said one of the aims of his visit to Palestine is to suggest a framework for the future of India's relationship with it.

Noting that India continues to follow its traditional policy on Palestine, the President said the framework of their partnership can be reinforced through three principal pillars.

"First, closer political interaction; Second, deeper economic engagement and academic collaboration; Third, wider cultural contacts and people-to-people exchanges."

The President congratulated the people of Palestine on the momentous unfurling of their national flag at the United Nations-for the first time in history-on September 30, 2015.

Apart from our bilateral trade in goods, the President said there is vast scope for trade in services.

"India's strength in IT and IT-enabled services as well as consultancy can pave the way for greater engagement in the IT sector," he added.

The President also said that Government of India’s 'Make in India' scheme welcomes Palestinians to manufacture in India.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 4,2020

Dubai, Jan 4: Three UAE airlines have made it to lists of the safest carriers in 2020, reinforcing the value these companies provide passengers in the increasingly competitive aviation scene.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways and Dubai's Emirates are in the list of the top 20 safest airlines, while Sharjah-based Air Arabia is in the list of the top 10 low-cost carriers, safety and product rating website AirlineRatings.com reported on Thursday.

It named Qantas as the safest airline for 2020 out of the 405 carriers it monitors.

The top 20, in order, are Qantas, Air New Zealand, EVA Air, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Alaska Airlines, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Virgin Australia, Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, TAP Portugal, SAS, Royal Jordanian, Swiss, Finnair, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus and KLM.

"These airlines are clear standouts in the airline industry and are at the forefront of safety," said AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas.

"For instance, Australia's Qantas has been recognised by the British Advertising Standards Association in a test case in 2008 as the world's most experienced airline."

"Qantas has been the lead airline in virtually every major operational safety advancement over the past 60 years and has not had a fatality in the pure-jet era," said Thomas.

AirlineRatings.com editors also identified their top 10 safest low-cost airlines; they are, in alphabetical order, Air Arabia, Flybe, Frontier, HK Express, IndiGo, Jetblue, Volaris, Vueling, Westjet and Wizz.

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research in London, says that it isn't a surprise that UAE carriers are on those lists.

"UAE airlines almost always feature in the top rankings for safety because they value the equipment that they fly their passengers on each and every day," he told Khaleej Times on Thursday.

"All airlines do; but for the UAE, where airlines have expanded rapidly in the last couple of decades, it's an amazing feat that they rank so highly while inducting so many new aeroplanes."

There's little benefit to adding luxurious cabins if maintenance, security and safety protocols as well as routine engineering schedules are not adhered to, he stressed.

"And with the UAE itself sporting MRO activities as well as through companies like Strata, which supply components to Airbus and Boeing directly, airlines here have harnessed that tech-change to ensure that their fleets have the highest redundancy and safety checks at every possible chance," Ahmad added. "That translates into passenger confidence - and we can see the brand and loyalty strength across Emirates, flydubai, Air Arabia and Etihad; it's no surprise that each year, they all fly more and more passengers across their network."

In making its selections, AirlineRatings.com editors and its industry advisors take into account numerous critical factors that include: Audits from aviation's governing bodies and lead associations, government audits, airline's crash and serious incident record, fleet age, financial position and pilot training and culture.

"All airlines have incidents every day and many are aircraft or engine manufacture issues instead of airline operational problems. And it is the way the flight crew handles incidents that determines a good airline from an unsafe one. So just lumping all incidents together is very misleading," said Thomas.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 31,2020

Jeddah, Jul 31: Hajj 2020 pilgrims arrived in Muzdalifah Thursday night to rest after spending the day in Arafat.

Earlier, the pilgrims scaled Mount Arafat to pray and repent, as a highly unusual Hajj approached its climax. They listened to a sermon delivered by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manea and prayed Dhuhr and Asr prayers together at the Al-Namirah Mosque in Arafat.

This year’s pilgrimage is the smallest in modern times, after the number of participants was greatly restricted to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. 

Tight security was in place around the foot of the rocky hill outside Makkah, also known as Jabal Al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, in preparation for the high point of the annual ritual.

Video footage shown on state television showed the pilgrims setting off on their climb to the summit. They wore face masks and observed strict social-distancing rules imposed by Saudi authorities.As sprinklers sprayed water on them to provide relief from the summer desert heat, the pilgrims raised their palms as they climbed the slopes of the hill — the site of Prophet Muhammad’s last sermon. When they reached the top they recited holy verses and prayed for forgiveness for their sins.

Earlier, the pilgrims were taken in buses from Mina to Mount Arafat. Strict precautionary measures were in place, with each group accompanied by security teams, ambulances and civil defense vehicles. 

When they arrived, their temperatures were checked before they entered Namirah Mosque to hear a sermon that was translated into 10 languages.

“The camps were set up for pilgrims in Arafat early on,” said Minister of Hajj and Umrah Muhammad Salih Bentin. The sermon at Namirah Mosque was delivered by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Manea, who led the pilgrims in noon and afternoon prayers.

“During Hajj this year, we reiterate that it is essential for pilgrims, as well as everyone assisting them, to adhere to the precautionary regulations that have been implemented,” Al-Manea, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said during his sermon. “This is to be done for their own safety.

“Precautions have been put in place to protect lives against the damage that the pandemic can cause, and also to actualize Islam’s teachings pertaining to safeguarding human life by Allah’s permission.”

The stay in Arafat is described as the pinnacle of Hajj and Muslims around the world reflect the actions of pilgrims by asking for forgiveness and praying for their deepest desires.
Pilgrims left Arafat in coaches for Muzdalifah after sunset and will pray the Maghrib and Isha prayers there.

After sunset prayers, the pilgrims made their way down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, where they will spend the night before the final Hajj ritual, the symbolic stoning of the devil. 

This year, each pilgrim received sanitized pebbles in advance of the event on Friday, which is the first day of Eid Al-Adha.
This year the Kingdom faced the unprecedented challenge of ensuring pilgrims attending Hajj were protected as much as possible from the risks of the coronavirus.

They will then sleep, pray the Fajr prayer there tomorrow and then leave for Mina.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 19,2020

Kuwait City, Jul 19: Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah has successfully undergone surgery early on Sunday, the emir's office said.

"His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ... has undergone surgery this morning, with thanks to God for its success," the head of the emir's office Sheikh Ali Jarrah al-Sabah said, as quoted by state news agency KUNA.

The 91-year-old was admitted to hospital for a medical checkup.

Yesterday, a royal order was issued assigning Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah, the emir's designated successor, "to take over some constitutional jurisdictions of His Highness the Emir temporarily"

In August 2019, Kuwait acknowledged the emir suffered an unspecified medical "setback" that required him to be hospitalised.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.