Israel seals off entrance to West Bank's Ramallah

Al jazeera
December 24, 2017

Dec 24: Israeli forces have indefinitely closed down the northern entrance to the occupied West Bank twin cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh.

On Saturday night, amid ongoing protests over US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) decided to close off the DCO checkpoint that connects Ramallah to the northern West Bank cities.

"Israel decides to close the DCO checkpoint until further notice due to the ongoing rioting that is taking place at the Citi Inn roundabout near Ramallah's entrance," noted a statement on Twitter by COGAT, the Israeli military body that administers parts of the West Bank.

"The ball is in the Palestinian people's court and the equation is clear - when peace is restored, normal conditions will resume, but as long as violence continues the border will remain closed."

The checkpoint usually offers a shorter route to travelers, who would otherwise be required to take a longer way that is adjacent to the illegal Beit El settlement.

It is frequently used by Palestinian Authority officials, foreigners, diplomats and journalists going in and out of the occupied West Bank near Ramallah.

Protests in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip erupted earlier this month, after Trump announced the US would be relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, declaring the holy city as Israel's capital.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed 12 Palestinians, including four during air raids in Gaza. At least 2,900 others have been injured and more than 400 arrested.

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution declaring Trump's decision "null and void". It was approved with 128 votes in favour.

Prior to the vote, Trump had threatened to halt aid to member states who voted against his Jerusalem decision, and his administration's ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, warned countries that Trump would be "taking names" of those who opposed his decision.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected US peace efforts and called on the European Union to take the lead in the Israel-Palestine peace process.

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News Network
February 3,2020

New Delhi, Feb 3: In the third such incident inside of a week, two unidentified persons opened fire outside Gate No. 5 of Jamia Millia Islamia on Sunday night, the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) said.

A statement issued by the committee, a group comprising students and alumni of the university formed to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, said the attackers were on a red Rcooty.

No one was injured in the attack. One of the miscreants was wearing a red jacket, the statement said.

"Firing has taken place at Gate No.5 of Jamia Millia Islamia right now by two unidentified persons. As per report, one of them was wearing a red jacket and driving a red Scooty having vehicle no. 1532 or 1534," the statement said.

Police said they were verifying the JCC's claims.

Asim Mohammed Khan, former Congress MLA from Okhla, said the incident occurred around 11.30 pm. "We heard the gunshot. That is when we stepped out to see and the two men left on a Scooty," a student said.

"We have taken down the vehicle number and called police," he added.

This is the third firing incident in the Jamia Nagar area in a week.

On Thursday, a minor fired at anti-CAA protesters marching towards Rajghat, injuring a student.

Two days later, a 25-year-old fired two rounds in air in Shaheen Bagh in Jamia Nagar. No one was hurt in the incident.

The incident on Sunday night triggered panic in the area. A police vehicle had reached the spot after the incident but was chased away by angry students.

Hundreds of students and locals gathered outside the university.

Many raised slogans against the Delhi Police. They also staged a dharna outside the Jamia Nagar police station.

Shezad Ahmed, a JMI student and resident of Zakir Nagar, said they were not even allowed to protest peacefully.

"We are not going to be deterred by such incidents. We will continue with our protest," he added.

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News Network
January 22,2020

New Delhi, Jan 22: The BJP on Wednesday cited statements of several opposition leaders to accuse them of "abusing" Hindus for their appeasement politics and referred to the Congress as "Muslim League Congress".

Seeking apologies from Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said leaders of these parties have used the ongoing protests against the amended citizenship law to "abuse" Hindus.

Chavan has said in a public meeting that the Congress decided to join hands with the Shiv Sena to form government in Maharashtra as Muslims wanted the party to stop the BJP, Patra stated, claiming that it shows the opposition party has nothing to do with people belonging to other religions, including Hindus.

Patra also referred to a statement from an NCP leader to attack the opposition.

Asked about Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's reported jibe at the RSS for its "non-participation" in the freedom movement, the BJP leader shot back, asking if parents of Sonia Gandhi, who is of Italian origin, had fought in India's independence struggle.

The Indian National Congress, he said referring to the opposition party's full name, should be called "Muslim League Congress".

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Keshu
 - 
Thursday, 23 Jan 2020

LOL...this is a waste body

This guy cannot even debate with Kanaiah kumar.

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News Network
March 20,2020

New Delhi, Mar 20: The four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a Delhi woman on December 16, 2012 were hanged in the darkness of pre-dawn on Friday, ending a horrific chapter in India's long history of sexual assault that had seared the nation's soul. Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) were executed at 5.30 am for the savage assault in an empty moving bus on the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who came to be known the world over as Nirbhaya, the fearless one.

This is the first time that four men have been hanged together in Tihar Jail, South Asia's largest prison complex that houses more than 16,000 inmates. The executions were carried out after the men exhausted every possible legal avenue to escape the gallows. Their desperate attempts only postponed the inevitable by less than two months after the first date of execution was set for January 22.

They were hanged at 5.30 am, Director General of Prison Sandeep Goel said.

After raping and brutalising the woman, the men, one of whom was a juvenile at the time, dumped her on the road and left for dead on the cold winter night. Her friend who was with her was also severely beaten and thrown out along with her. She was so severely violated that her insides were spilling out when she was taken to hospital. She died in a Singapore hospital after battling for her life for a fortnight.

Six people, including the four convicts and the juvenile, were named as accused.

While Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail days after the trial began in the case, the juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.

The road to the gallows was a long and circuitous one, going through the lower courts, the High Court, the Supreme Court and the president's office before going back to the Supreme Court that heard and rejected various curative petitions.

The death warrants were deferred by a court thrice on the grounds that the convicts had not exhausted all their legal remedies and that the mercy petition of one or the other was before the president.

On March 5, a trial court issued fresh death warrants for March 20 at 5.30 am as the final date for the execution.

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