Thursday, July 20, 2017

GERMAN FM ANNOUNCES STEPS AGAINST TURKEY

Turkish authorities named dozens of German firms as supporters of the Gulen movement in a list they sent to Germany’s federal police, according to Die Zeit weekly. The list includes industry giants Daimler and BASF.Ankara has handed Germany what police sources called a “ridiculous” list of 68 companies and individuals in Germany who have ties with Fethullah Gulen, enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Die Zeit reported on Wednesday.Turkey blames Gulen and his followers for the failed military coup a year ago, in which over 250 civilians lost their lives in the violence. The movement is banned and branded as a terrorist faction by the state.
Turkey blames Gulen and his followers for the failed military coup a year ago, in which over 250 civilians lost their lives in the violence. The movement is banned and branded as a terrorist faction by the state.
The list, forwarded to Germany several weeks ago, names the car maker Daimler and chemical company BASF as backers of terrorism, but also includes a Turkish fast food restaurant and a late-night food store.
Earlier this month, Erdogan told Die Zeit that his officials sent 4,500 files on alleged Gulen sympathizers to Germany and demanded that they be extradited to Turkey.
“You need to deliver these terrorists to Turkey,” he said. “As long as you don’t, Turkey will perceive Germany as a country which is protecting terrorists.”
German officials view the list from Ankara as “absurd” and “ridiculous.” Germany’s Federal Criminal Police (BKA) has requested additional information from their Turkish colleagues, but has received no reply so far, Die Zeit reports.
Germany has been locked in a long-running diplomatic row with Turkey, with Berlin slamming the purges by Erdogan’s administration and accusing the Turkish government of using violence to silence its political opponents. Earlier on Wednesday, Germany summoned the Turkish ambassador in Berlinto protest the arrest of several human rights activists, including German citizen Peter Steudtner.
Reports DW
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel announced on Thursday a range of steps against Turkey in response to the detention of a German human rights activist, signaling a more confrontational stance to the NATO ally after an escalation in tensions. Sigmar Gabriel said Germany would talk to EU partners about Turkey’s aspirations to join the bloc and made clear Berlin could no longer guarantee German corporate investment in Turkey. He also said he could not envisage talks on expanding the customs union to Turkey and he issued new travel advice which warned of risks in Turkey for Germans. “We need to be clearer than we have been until now so those responsible in Ankara understand that such policies are not without consequences,”Gabriel told reporters. He said the new steps had been agreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Germany raised the possibility on Wednesday of suspending European Union aid payments to Turkey after summoning Ankara’s ambassador to Berlin to protest over the arrest of six human rights activists including a German citizen. The moves mark a further escalation of tensions between NATO allies Germany and Turkey.“Unfortunately we have constant cause to talk to Turkey about civil and press freedoms,”government spokesman Steffen Seibert said. “We think it is important to review aid in light of the latest developments.” Seibert was referring to a package of assistance totaling €3 billion that the EU has promised to Turkey to help stem flows of migrants, mostly from conflict zones in the Middle East, into Europe
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LOK SABHA ADJOURNED FOR THE DAY

Lok Sabha was today adjourned for the day following Opposition uproar over the issue of farmers’ plight. As soon as the House met for the day, the Opposition led by Congress and Left raised the issue of the agrarian crisis in the country and trooped into the well shouting slogans.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar questioned the opposition and said only two Congress members were present yesterday when discussion on the issue was taking place in the Lok Sabha.
The Congress and Left members also raised the issue of alleged bribe taken by a BJP leader in Kerala to ensure Medical Council of India’s recognition for a private medical college in the state and demanded probe into it. When the House met at noon following two adjournments, the situation was no different as Opposition members continued the sloganeering. Amidst the din, the Speaker adjourned the House for the day.
Meanwhile, in the Rajya Sabha, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh asked the government to look into the demands being raised by farmers across the country seeking Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for their produce. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Mr Singh said the BJP government had assured farmers of providing MSP in its election manifesto.
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DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS ‘LEAPFROGGED’

State Bank of India has said that India has leapfrogged three years of digitisation in just seven months post demonetisation and the government’s drive to promote use of debit and credit cards at point of sale or PoS terminals.
According to a SBI research report, the volume of digital transactions has crossed the 70,000 crore rupee level in last seven months. It informs that banks have installed 11.8 lakh additional POS terminals to facilitate this movement.
The report says that similar trends are observed in usage of pre-paid instruments including m-wallet, PPI cards and mobile banking.
The SBI Report claims that an increase of 10,000 crore rupees of transactions by credit and debit cards at PoS terminals will lead to around 1.1 percent decline in Consumer Price Index based inflation.
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ICC-WWC: INDIA TO TAKE ON AUSTRALIA TODAY

ICC Women’s World Cup cricket, India will take on six-time champions Australia in the second semi-final in Derby today. The match will start 3 PM Indian Time.
A win today will ensure India’s entry into the summit clash at the Lord’s only for the second time in the history of the tournament. India played the final of the World Cup only once in 2005 edition in South Africa, where they lost to Australia.
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VP ANSARI ACCEPTS RESIGNATION OF MAYAWATI

Rajya Sabha Chairman Mohd Hamid Ansari has accepted the resignation of BSP Chief Mayawati from the House.
Earlier, Mr. Ansari had declined the resignation as it was not in the prescribed format. Later, Mayawati re-submitted her resignation in the prescribed format and spoke to the Chairman after which her resignation was accepted.
On Tuesday, the BSP Chief Mayawati had resigned from the Upper House alleging that she was not allowed to speak in the House on issues of Dalit atrocities.
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GENERAL PIERRE DE VILLIERS QUITS

France, the head of the armed forces has quit after a clash with President, Emmanuel Macron over budget cuts. In a statement, General Pierre de Villiers said, he could no longer guarantee the durability of the army model that he considered necessary to ensure France’s protection.
The row between Macron and de Villiers erupted last week when the chief of staff told a parliamentary committee that he would not allow the armed forces to be screwed by the government’s plans to slash 850 million euros from this year’s defence budget.
Last week, France’s government revealed major cuts to bring its budget deficit below the level of an EU cap. President Marcon named General Francois Lecointre, hero of the Balkans wars, as de Villiers’s replacement.
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