India finally cancels Air Suvidha forms for international passengers

Bengaluru: Defending his cabinet's move to withdraw approval for the CBI probe against Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in a disproportionate assets case, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said, the sanction given by the previous BJP government is illegal.

The cabinet on Thursday deemed the previous BJP government's move to give consent to the CBI to investigate the DA case against Shivakumar as not being in accordance with the law and decided to withdraw the sanction.

The then BJP government had given the sanction on September 25, 2019 following which the central investigating agency registered an FIR against Shivakumar on October 3, 2020.

The CBI has claimed that Shivakumar amassed wealth to the tune of Rs 74.93 crore, disproportionate to known sources of his income from April 1, 2013 to April 30, 2018, when he was the Energy Minister in the then Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of 2013-2018.

"What we have said is that the sanction given is illegal. For an inquiry on any government servant, the government will have to give sanction. If it is a minister, the Governor should give sanction, and if it is an MLA, the Speaker has to give it. Here the Speaker's permission was not taken. Shivakumar was an MLA when sanction was given," Siddaramaiah said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said that even before the Advocate General gave his opinion, the order was issued consenting for the CBI to investigate the case by the Chief Secretary, on the basis of oral instructions of the then Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.

"We have said this is illegal, as it is not in accordance with law," he added.

Responding to a question, Siddaramaiah said he would not comment on court decisions; the government will do what it has to.

"The sanction was given illegally (by the previous government), it is not right, we will withdraw the sanction is what we have said...we cannot hinder what the court decides, we cannot interfere, let the court decide what it has to," he said.

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday adjourned to November 29 the hearing of the appeal filed by Shivakumar against the sanction accorded by the previous government to the CBI to prosecute him in the DA case.

The CBI informed the high court on November 15 that the Supreme Court has directed the HC to hear the application filed by the investigating agency seeking vacation of the stay granted on the appeal, preferably within two weeks.

A single judge bench had earlier dismissed Shivakumar’s petition challenging the sanction of September 25, 2019 granted by the government to prosecute him.

Shivakumar then challenged it before the division bench which had stayed the single judge order. The CBI had filed an application for vacation of this stay.

Based on the Income Tax Department's search operations in Shivakumar's home and offices in 2017, the Enforcement Directorate started its own probe against him. Based on the ED investigation, the CBI sought sanction from the state government to register a case against him. 

Many Palestinians have been killed and sustained injuries when an Israeli air strike targeted a building at a refugee camp on the outskirts of the central occupied West Bank city of Nablus, according to health officials and aid workers.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the aerial strike targeted the local headquarters of the Palestinian Fatah resistance movement at Balata refugee camp early on Saturday.

Witnesses said the strike appeared to have come from a drone, though there was no immediate confirmation.

Local sources indicated that a number of young men were present in the building, including a number of those persecuted by the Israeli military.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced in a statement that its medics were dealing with five serious injuries from the attack, all of them men ranging from 19 to 25 years in age.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that four of those killed were affiliated with al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, the armed wing of the Fatah faction.

Elsewhere in the northeastern West Bank city of Tubas, an 18-year-old Palestinian, identified as Omar al-Shahrouri, was killed and two others injured as clashes broke out after Israeli forces stormed the area in large numbers.

Palestinian medics said three young men suffered from gunshot injuries during the clashes. One of them was pronounced dead upon his arrival at hospital. 

Earlier on Friday, Israeli forces shot and killed two young Palestinian men over an alleged shooting attempt in the southern part of the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military alleged in a statement that the pair arrived in a car at the Zaytoun Junction near the city of al-Khalil, located 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of al-Quds, and opened fire on Israeli troops stationed there. The soldiers then fatally shot both of them.

Israeli forces have escalated raids on Palestinian towns and villages and carried out a sweeping campaign of arrests in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians have held protests in solidarity with their compatriots in the Gaza Strip.

At least 186 Palestinians, including 51 children, have been killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank since the Gaza war erupted in early October. An additional eight have been killed by extremist Jewish settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry figures.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the coastal enclave, including hospitals, residences, and houses of worship, since Palestinian resistance movements launched their surprise attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the regime on October 7.

At least 12000 Palestinians have been killed, including 4,710 children. More than 29,800 individuals have sustained injuries as well. According to the Ministry of Health, 3,640 citizens are still missing or under the rubble, including 1,770 children. 

US authorities have thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the government in New Delhi was involved, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources.

There was no immediate response from India's Foreign Ministry on the report.

The FT report says that the US protest was issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Washington in June.

The FT report said that the target of the plot was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American and Canadian citizen who is general counsel for Sikhs for Justice. 

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against 'listed individual terrorist' Pannun of the SFJ over his latest viral video threatening the passengers flying in Air India and the airlines with a global blockade and closure of its operations from November 19. The anti-terror agency made the announcement on Monday.

The report comes two months after Canada said there were "credible" allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of a Sikh separatist leader in a Vancouver suburb. India has rejected Canada's accusations.