king saudia arabia

Saudi Arabia's King

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz dies, Prince Salman new ruler AFP, Riyadh | Updated: Jan 23, 2015 11:16 IST Hindustan Times Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who spent almost a decade on the throne of the world's largest oil exporter, died on Friday and was replaced by Crown Prince Salman, the royal court said. The late monarch's half brother Moqren was named as the new Crown Prince, according to the statement. "With great sadness and mourning His Royal Highness Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, and all members of the family and the nation, express condolences for the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, passed away at exactly 1:00am (2200 GMT) this morning, Friday," an announcer said on state television, after a recitation from the Koran. Abdullah will be buried later Friday following afternoon prayers, and citizens would be invited to pledge allegiance to the new monarch and crown prince at the royal palace, the statement said. King Abdullah, believed to be around 90 years old, was hospitalised on December 31 for checks. The royal court announced two days later that he had pneumonia and was breathing with the aid of a tube. Abdullah came to the throne in 2005 but had been a powerful figure in the kingdom for a decade before that after King Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995. In recent years, Abdullah's advanced age and poor health have raised concerns about the future leadership of the largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Abdullah's half-brother Salman, 79, became crown prince in June 2012 following the death of Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz. Salman has been representing the king at most recent public events because of Abdullah's ailing health. In March 2014, King Abdullah named another half-brother, Prince Moqren, as a second crown prince, in an unprecedented move aimed at smoothing succession hurdles. Moqren, a former air force officer born in 1945, is the youngest son of King Abdul Aziz al-Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia. The throne has systematically passed from one of his sons to another, brothers and half-brothers. But many of Abdul Aziz's sons are old or have died. Abdullah's former crown princes Sultan and Nayef died in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Unstained by the profligacy tainting many of the Saudi rulers, Abdullah was hugely popular with his subjects, cherishing the traditional desert life of the Bedouin. He pushed the kingdom's economic development and oversaw its accession to the World Trade Organization, while challenging conservatives with moves such as including women in the Shura Council, an advisory body. Copyright © 2015 HT Media Limited.

maulana yaseen akhtar misbahi

Delhi Police apologises, releases Jamia Nagar Imam after much furore DDN Correspondent Posted on 21 Jan, 2015 at 09:03:PM IST Delhi Police finally released Imam Yaseen Akhtar Misbahi of Jamia Nagar after huge protests outside the police station and apologised for the incident. It may be noted here that the Imam is 85 years old and was arrested for a book he had written in 2003 in which there was a reference to the word 'Jihad' that too was mentioned with the caution that Jihad should be taken up only after consulting one's conscience. The whole situation had gotten really tense and volatile after the old Imam was picked up by the police for questioning. Large scale protests against the Imam's arrest were led by Okhla's Aam Aadmi Party leader Amanatullah Khan which played a big part in his subsequent release. Also it is with the efforts of AAP's Amanatullah Khan that the situation could be diffused without any untoward incident. Khan spoke to locals and persuaded them to maintain calm. The elderly Imam remained in police custody for about four hours, after which he says that the police asked him whether he has helped any terrorists. He added that all this has been done at the behest of BJP and there are some local Congress leaders involved as well. If this is true then it is really sad that politics has stooped to such low levels. TwoCircles.net Delivering news, not profit Sufi Imam picked up by Delhi police; released after furor Submitted by TwoCircles.net on 21 January 2015 - 8:36pm By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net, New Delhi: Delhi police special cell on Wednesday picked up a renowned Sufi Imam from Jamia Nagar area for what they claimed to be “questioning” in connection with one of his books. Supporters along with local political leaders gheroed the police station demanding apology. The Maulana was later released. Maulana Yaseen Akhtar Misbahi, who runs the prestigious Darul Kalam madrassa and is also the founder of the Qadri mosque, was picked up from the mosque’s office at Zakir Nagar in Jamia area at around 3 pm, locals said. Almost touching 80, the veteran Barelvi teacher, could not even walk on his own and needs support. The police claimed to have picked him up for a recent English translation of his original Urdu book ’24 Ayat Ka Qurani Mafhoom’ – loosely translated as ‘The Real Meaning of 24 verses of Quran related to Jihad’. Among several of his book, Misbahi, who had been an Urdu journalist in the past, had also written ‘RSS Ke Agende’. As soon as the people from the locality came to know about the incident, they started gathering at the Jamia Nagar police station. Congress’ Asif Mohammad Khan, the sitting MLA from the area, and Amanatullah Khan, the Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate select for the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, too reached there. The gathering of about 200 people started sloganeering demanding the SHO to apologise. At around 7 pm, one of the police officials came out and announced that the Maulana was taken only for questioning and that he was returning only to be delayed because of traffic due to the crowd in front of the police station. He finally reached the area around 8 pm. Meanwhile, the SHO too had apologised to the people. Amanatullah Khan claimed police had not followed any laid down procedure before picking up the Maulana. The police have tightened security in view of the forthcoming visit of the US President Barak Obama next week and also ahead of the Delhi assembly elections on February 7. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in April - May 2014, two youth from the locality were similarly picked up.

Arvind Panagariya NITI

Honoured to be Appointed by PM Narendra Modi to NITI Aayog: Arvind Panagariya All India | Press Trust of India | Updated: January 06, 2015 13:00 IST New York: Indian-American economist Arvind Panagariya has said that he is "honoured" to be appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the first Vice Chairman of the newly created NITI Aayog, which replaces the 65-year-old Planning Commission. "I am honoured by this appointment, and I look forward to working with Prime Minister Modi and policymakers across India," Mr Panagariya was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Columbia University in New York yesterday. Mr Panagariya is the professor of economics and the Jagdish Bhagwati Professor of Indian Political Economy in the Department of International and Public Affairs. He will take a leave of absence from Columbia to accept his position at the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. Related Arvind Panagariya: A Free-Market Economist and Supporter of Gujarat Model Columbia Economist Arvind Panagariya To Run PM Modi's Policy Panel Arvind Panagariya, PM Modi's New Planning Panel Chief The 62-year-old professor said he expects to continue to engage with Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) "when such opportunities arise" and will resume his work at the School when his assignment is completed. In his new cabinet position, Mr Panagariya will work closely with Modi, who will serve as chair of the renamed institution. Officials envision NITI Aayog as a government "think tank" that will provide strategic and technical advising on key issues. Mr Panagariya, who has been a strong supporter of PM Modi's Gujarat model of development, had said some months ago that he wants the BJP government's first budget to boost capital spending even at the risk of a higher fiscal deficit. He has earlier worked with various international bodies like World Bank, IMF and Asian Development Bank (ADB). Holding a PhD degree in Economics from Princeton University, Mr Panagariya has also worked for the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in various capacities. During an address at Columbia in September last year on what the PM Modi government must do to transform the Indian economy, he had said a replacement for the Planning Commission must be "lean and thin" and had termed as "brave" the decision by PM Modi to do away with the 1950-dated institution. Mr Panagariya had suggested that PM Modi should put in "as lean and thin a team" for the Commission's replacement with 10-12 people and "lots of resources so that they can draw on the experts as necessary" and then periodically that team should meet with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. SIPA Dean Merit Janow congratulated Mr Panagariya on his new role and said his global perspective and broad experience would serve him well as the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. Story First Published: January 06, 2015 12:54 IST

mock drill

After skull cap row, Gujarat police makes dummy 'terrorists' shout 'Islam Zindabad' Friday, 2 January 2015 - 9:15am IST | Place: Gujarat | Agency: PTI A video of police mock drill showing dummy militants shouting pro-Islamic slogan emerged on Thursday in Gujarat, a day after controversy erupted over men, playing the part of terrorists, being made to wear skullcaps in a similar exercise in Surat. Reacting to the Surat episode that came to light yesterday, Chief Minister Anandi Patel admitted it as a "mistake" to show people posing as terrorists in the drill in skullcaps. The latest video is of another anti-terror mock drill at Narmada dam site in Kevadia area of Narmada district. It shows policemen holding two dummy terrorists who were shouting "take our lives, if you want. Islam Zindabad (long live Islam)". When contacted by PTI, Narmada Superintendent of Police Jaypalsinh Rathore said an inquiry will be conducted into the issue. "I came to know about this incident (of projecting terrorists as Muslims) through media. If such an incident has happened, we will conduct an inquiry and take necessary actions against those responsible," he said. "The mock drill was a routine police exercise which was conducted a week ago in Kevadia area," Rathore added. As the Surat episode generated controversy and invited criticism from several quarters, including from the chief of Gujarat BJP Minority Cell, Patel told a TV channel it is wrong to link religion with terrorism. "It's wrong to link religion with terrorism. The issue has been resolved and the matter should be put to rest now. The mistake has been rectified," she said. The anti-terror drills were conducted ahead of the two high-profile events being held in the state - Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (January 7 to 9) and Vibrant Gujarat Investors Summit (January 11 to 13) - both in Gandhinagar.