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The Indian Express, Written by Khaled Ahmed |  December 9, 2017  In the first week of November, an obscure Barelvi organisation called Tehreek-e-Labbaik ya Rasool Allah (TLRA) came from Lahore to Islamabad and staged a sit-in in Faizabad blocking access to Islamabad from Rawalpindi. The mob worshipfully followed a foul-mouthed wheelchair-riding leader, Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi who wanted the federal law minister lynched for blasphemy against the Prophet PBUH. The dharna went on for three weeks. The government trapped in the Supreme Court “corruption” cases, which might dislodge it from power, didn’t take any action for over a fortnight. The SC took suo motu notice not realising its writ visa-a-vis religion had died long ago. It sounded comic asking the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) government to use force to get rid of the mob The mob’s objective was to empower Barelvi Islam, characterised by a culture of devotion to the Holy Prophet and ...

The Indian Express, By: ENS Economic Bureau | New Delhi |  December 9, 2017 As the government prepares to announce names of the next set of 10 cities for funding under the Smart Cities Mission by January-end, the initiative has received a fresh boost with Germany entering into an agreement to partner in developing an integrated sustainable transport system for three cities — Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Kochi. On Friday, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) signed an agreement with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the improvement of basic conditions of public transport in the three cities, expected to be completed by mid-2020. Germany had announced its support for these three Indian ‘smart cities’ in March, 2016 and had already committed and initiated different coordinated actions to develop these urban centres. A statement issued by the German Embassy in India said that Germany participates in the development of the fer...

The Indian Express,  By: AP | Beijing |  December 8, 2017 China has warned its citizens in Pakistan to be on alert after receiving intelligence reports about possible attacks targeting Chinese. The Chinese Embassy in Islamabad said on its website today it had information about a “series of terror attacks” planned against Chinese organisations and personnel, without giving details. It urged its citizens to stay inside and avoid crowded places. China’s exposure to militant attacks has risen in recent years as its overseas footprint expands. The Islamic State group said in June it kidnapped and killed two Chinese teachers in Quetta. China has invested heavily in Pakistan, where thousands of Chinese workers are employed in USD 60 billion worth of infrastructure projects under Beijing’s “Belt and Road” initiative. The port and road-building projects in Baluchistan province have come under frequent insurgent attacks. For decades, a small number o...

Indian Express, Express News Service | New Delhi |  Published: December 9, 2017 The CBI on Friday conducted searches at the house of a member of NTPC’s Board of Directors in connection with a case of alleged corruption. The agency had on Thursday booked Director (Finance), NTPC, Kulamani Biswal along with two other private individuals for allegedly receiving illegal gratification to the tune of Rs 5 lakh from a company that was under NTPC contract. The agency on Friday raided the Asian Games Village residence of Biswal. The raids continued at the time of going to press, sources said. The agency has registered an FIR against Biswal, BGR Mining and Infra Private Limited director Rohit Reddy Bathina, and his associate Prabhat Kumar. The CBI alleged that Kumar, a confidant of Bathina, was assigned to deliver Rs 5 lakh to facilitate the foreign trip of Biswal and his family. The FIR alleged that Biswal demanded from Bathina about Rs 5 lakh in US dollars which was to ...

The Indian Express, ENS:Economic Bureau,New Delhi, December 09,2017 The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday allowed the government to appoint a new management for Unitech Ltd while hearing a plea from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to take over the indebted real-estate company. The Ministry filed an application under a provision of the Companies Act, 2013 that allows the government to apply to the Tribunal if it feels that a company is operating in a manner prejudicial to public interest — a section that has been used just once in the past. The last time the Centre had moved a proposal seeking management control of a company was in case of Satyam Computer Services nearly a decade ago. Unitech shares surged 20 per cent to hit the upper circuit at Rs 7.29 on the BSE after reports regarding the government’s move to take over the company trickled in. The Ministry’s petition against Unitech — once the country’s second-largest real estate firm — hinges on...