Gustavo de Arístegui on Spain’s new position

Gustavo de Arístegui is a Spanish politician, diplomat and an international analyst. He comes from a long-standing diplomatic background, his father and grandfather were both senior diplomats posted as ambassadors in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Gustavo de Arístegui was elected to Parliament from the Basque region for three terms and served as Shadow Foreign Minister from 2008–2012. He is currently a member of the Board of the European Council of Foreign Relations and has authored four books on Arab politics and Islam.

Gustavo de Arístegui also expressed hopes that the new parameters that now guide the Spanish position should also “inspire” the whole world and lead to “a reconciliation between Algeria and Morocco. A reconciliation that may require time, but that is what we all want,” he said, commenting the recent message addressed to HM King Mohammed VI by the President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez, in which he confirms his support for the autonomy plan in the Moroccan Sahara. These new parameters, he added, “lead us to another thinking …. on the question of the representation of the polisario in relation to the Saharawis. The polisario is not the only representative of the Sahrawi people,” he pointed out.

According to the former MP, “This issue has been a source of confusion in Spain on several occasions”. Spain’s new position on the Moroccan Sahara issue and the support of the government on Morocco’s proposal to give autonomy to Sahara has generated a new conflict between PSOE and Podemos, the government partners and with the Government and its parliamentary partners. The reconstruction of relations between Spain and Morocco and the way in which the Spanish Government has handled this situation has created a wave of criticism among the opposition parties.

“I understand the criticisms that are made by both analysts, media directors, commentators, critics for not having consulted the opposition on an issue of such great importance for Spain’s foreign policy, for peace and security in the Sahel, which is essential for the entire world. But it is such a question extraordinarily complex and delicate that the negotiations had to be carried out in the most absolute discretion and a leak would have generated a debate that could have derailed the agreement between the two countries”, asserts the Spanish politician and international analyst Gustavo de Arístegui, when talking about Spain’s change of position on Western Sahara in Herrera en COPE.

Gustavo de Arístegui also points out the two sides to that criticism. The risks in consulting the opposition and other partners would have been very high and there is more serious chance of destability in Europe and the Mediterranean in the Maghreb than in the 1970s. There are forces with extraordinary destabilization capacity like the terrorist groups in the Sahel and the Boko Haram who are increasingly attacking targets further north and therefore in this situation, peace, security and stability in the Maghreb is essential. Gustavo de Arístegui also remembers the central role that Algeria has played in the stability of the Maghreb and the sacrifices made by hundreds of thousands of Algerians in the fight against jihadism. On the geopolitical level, Aristegui pleaded for a rapprochement between Morocco and Algeria to tackle, together, the terror threats coming from the Sahel.

CBI Raids Former Jharkhand Minister's Home In National Games Scam Case

 

National games Scam: The search was done in connection with alleged irregularities in the multi-crore games equipment purchases for the 34th National Games held in Ranchi in 2011.

CBI on Thursday conducted searches at 16 locations, including the residence of former Jharkhand Sports Minister Bandhu Tirkey, in connection with the alleged irregularities in the multi-crore games equipment purchases for the 34th National Games held in Ranchi in 2011, officials said.

Besides Mr Tirkey, the CBI also searched the premises of noted lawyer RK Anand, who was the working chairman of the National Games Organising Committee, in the national capital.

The premises of the then director sports of the state PC Mishra, organising secretary of national games Madhukant Pathak, organising secretary HM Hashmi are also being searched.

As part of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) operation, seven places in Ranchi and five locations in Dhanbad are also being searched, officials said.

Mr Tirkey was recently convicted for amassing disproportionate assets by a Jharkhand court and stripped of his assembly membership.

The case of alleged corruption in the purchase of games equipment was probed by the state anti-corruption branch and it was later handed over to the CBI by the Jharkhand High Court in April this year.

Mr Tirkey was a close confidante of Babulal Marandi of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantik) before Marandi decided to merge the outfit with the BJP.

Mr Tirkey did not agree with Marandi’s decision and joined the Congress after the 2019 assembly elections.

Vijay Singla sacked as Punjab health minister over corruption charges, sent to police remand till May 27

 Singla was allegedly taking 1 pc commission on all tenders floated by Health and Family Welfare department

Singla was arrested by Anti-Corruption cell of the Punjab Police.

Singla was taken to the Phase VII police station in Mohali. An FIR number 65 under Sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against Singla. He was later presented before the court of Ravtesh Inderjit Singh, which sent him to a three-day police remand till May 27.

The Chief Minister said the health minister was involved in corruption cases and they had proof of that.

He was allegedly asking for kickbacks in a tender. Singla was allegedly taking one per cent commission on all tenders floated by Health and Family Welfare department.

Later in the evening, the Chief Minister’s office sought the approval of the Punjab Governor for dropping the health minister, which was granted by Governor Banwari Lal Purohit.

CM Mann, earlier, said the decision was taken to ensure that his government remains free of corrupt practices.

“I am taking strict action against the minister. I am removing him from the Cabinet. We have found substantial proof of his involvement in corruption case. I do not care if the Opposition parties want to use this to hit out at us, saying a minister removed on corruption charges within two months. The point is that we will not tolerate anyone indulging in such malpractices. Our party national convenor has made it clear that corruption will not be tolerated. He had himself removed a minister in Delhi in 2015 after corruption charges were levelled against the minister,” the chief minister said in a video message.

Mann claimed that Singla had admitted to wrongdoing.

It was after over three decades that Mansa had a minister from the assembly segment. Singla had also got the highest number of votes in this election. The action happened in just two months since the government was formed.

New BTS show on Apple Music to trace the band's journey to global superstardom

 

Weekly limited series ‘BTS Radio: Past & Present’ launches on the streaming platform on May 28

BTS will reveal their gradual journey to becoming K-pop superstars through a new Apple Music weekly limited series launching on Saturday.

The streaming service announced on Thursday that the record-breaking South Korean group will release their new show BTS Radio: Past & Present on Apple Music 1. The three-episode limited series will be broadcast weekly, leading up to the release of the band’s new album, Proof, which will be out on June 10.

The Grammy Award-nominated band will take listeners on their quest to stardom, while sharing stories and songs that helped to shape them. The group are known for their hit songs such as Dynamite and Butter.

“We wanted to use this radio show to celebrate nine years of BTS with you guys and with our Army all over the world,” said RM, of the seven members of the boy band. The others are J-Hope, Suga, Jungkook, V, Jin and Jimin.

“Every episode is dedicated to you,” RM says. “And we wanted to share the BTS songs that help tell our story.”

In the first episode, BTS explain the beginning of the group, with songs that inspired their sound and style. The second episode — which will be released on June 3 — will have the band pick some of the BTS Army’s favourite songs.

BTS will show how the group ultimately achieved fame as global music sensations in the final episode on June 10.

The announcement of the new show came hours after the White House announced that the group would meet US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, as part of a series of events celebrating Asian-Americans and denouncing racism against them.

Biden and BTS will “discuss Asian inclusion and representation, and address anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination, which have become more prominent issues in recent years”, the White House said, referring to the group as “youth ambassadors who spread a message of hope and positivity across the world”.

BTS have in the past been praised for lending their voice to various social movements.

In March last year, they issued a statement on the #StopAsianHate movement, posting a letter in English and Korean to Twitter to express their support for the campaign.

“We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones,” the statement begins.

“We feel grief and anger. We recall moments when we faced discrimination as Asians. We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for the way we look. We were even asked why Asians spoke in English.”

The group also discusses how those experiences have affected their self-esteem.

“We cannot put into words the pain of becoming the subject of hatred and violence for such a reason. Our own experiences are inconsequential compared to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks. But these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless and chip away our self-esteem. What is happening right now cannot be dissociated from our identity as Asians.”

In 2018, a speech by the group at the UN headquarters in New York went viral.

Speaking for BTS to help launch a Unicef campaign called “Generation Unlimited”, an impassioned RM outlined the issues that they, their fans and young people around the world face today and the need to step up.

“I want to hear your voice, I want to hear your conviction. No matter where you’re from, skin colour, gender identity, just speak yourself. Find your name [and] find your voice,” he said.

"Grossly Illegal": Karti Chidambaram's Move Against CBI Over Raids

 

Karti Chidambaram was summoned for the second day by the CBI on Friday after being questioned for nine hours over accusations of partaking in an alleged “visa scam”.

Congress leader Karti Chidambaram has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging that his privileges and rights as a parliamentarian were breached by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) when they confiscated work documents during a raid last week.

“I have become the victim of a grossly illegal and patently unconstitutional action. The Central Bureau of Investigation, in the garb of conducting an investigation into an 11-year-old decision of the Government of India in which I have absolutely no involvement, raided my residence in Delhi,” he wrote in the letter to Om Birla.

“In the course of this so-called raid, certain officers of the CBI seized my highly confidential and sensitive personal notes and papers pertaining to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information and Technology, of which I am a Member,” Mr Chidambaram said.

Shockingly, even my draft notes and questions which I had intended to ask witnesses summoned to the Committee, were also seized. Furthermore. My handwritten notes pertaining to the depositions made to the Committee by Witnesses were also seized — for reasons best known to the Agency,” he wrote.

“These actions by the CBI, in so far as they relate to interference with my duties as a Parliamentarian, amount to a direct assault upon the democratic principles on which our Parliament is founded. I, therefore, urge you to take immediate cognizance of this issue, which is a brazen breach of my Parliamentary privilege,” the Congress leader added.

Mr Chidambaram said he and his family have been “targets of a relentless campaign by the present Government and its Investigating Agencies, who are trying to silence our voices of dissent by foisting one fake case after another” over the course of the past few years.

“Such targeted intimidation of a Member of the House amounts to a breach of privilege,” he said.

The Congress MP was summoned for the second day by the CBI on Friday after being questioned for nine hours over accusations of partaking in an alleged “visa scam”. “It’s their privilege to call me, and it’s my duty to go,” he told the media on his way.

The son of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram has been accused of taking ₹ 50 lakh as a bribe along with his close aide S Bhaskararaman by a top executive of a company which was setting up a power plant in Punjab.

The CBI in its First Information Report, or FIR, said the work for setting up the power project was being executed by a Chinese company and was running behind schedule. To re-issue visas for 263 Chinese workers on the project, the ₹ 50 lakh bribe was allegedly paid, according to the CBI FIR.

Karti Chidambaram has denied all the allegations. “If this is not harassment, not a witch hunt, then what is?” the Congress MP said in a statement yesterday.