CHANDIGARH, 19 February, 2021 (TON): Punjab Government headed by Amarinder Singh will present its budget for 2021-22 on 8 March, 2021.

On Friday, the cabinet meeting, chaired by the CM Amarinder Singh approved to summon the 14th session (Budget Session) of the 15th Vidhan Sabha from March 1 to 10 and recommended the same to Governor V.P. Singh Badnore, who is to officially summon the state legislature.

Chief Minister has been authorized to approve the Governor’s Address for the session, an official spokesman said as the meeting ended.

Reports state that supplementary demands for grants for the year 2020-21 and appropriation bill on supplementary demands for grants for the year 2020-21 will also be laid on the table of the House.

Besides, the state budget estimates for the next fiscal, the session will see the presentation of the Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for the year 2018-19 (civil and commercial) and financial accounts of the state for the year 2019-20, as well as appropriation accounts for the year 2019-20.

DHAKA, 19 February, 2021 (TON): Parents’ birth certificates have become mandatory for registering the birth of those born after 2001, leaving many in trouble.

After the new rules came into effect on 1 January, 2021 many parents found themselves in trouble while getting their children admitted to the school as now they must register their births first before getting their children’s. Earlier, the national ID card numbers of parents were sufficient to register a birth.

If the parents’ certificates are in English, the child will get a birth certificate in English. If the parents’ certificates are in Bangla, the child’s certificate will also be in Bangla. But if the two certificates are in different languages, they won’t be able to apply for their children’s birth certificates, a city corporation worker explained.

“The parents must get the certificates in the same language. Only then they can apply for their children’s certificates. Many are facing problems for this,” the worker said. 

Many residents have been reported complaining about the new law, for many do not understand how to get on with the new system meanwhile, schools’ admissions deadlines are approaching.

Considering the new birth certificates law in Bangladesh has made much fear that the children might not be able to get educational stipends because of lack of birth certificates, as the reports state that on average only 30 percent of the around 200 students admitted to the first standard have got the certificates in the past one and half month.

NEW DELHI, 19 February, 2021 (TON): The UN rights experts got criticized for their concerns about the constitutional changes made in the Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir, where militants have been fighting for independence for three decades and said the officials lacked neutrality.

Two reporters said in a statement on Thursday that the Indian government's decision last year to end Jammu and Kashmir state's autonomy and enact new laws could curtail the political participation of Muslims.

Muslims and other minority groups also stood to lose on issues such as employment and land ownership, they said.

Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India and the changes made in its status were enacted by parliament, said the Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava.

One of the changes was that laws that were in force in the rest of India would also apply to the people of Kashmir, allowing them the same legal rights as the rest of India, he said.

"This press release calls into question the larger principles of objectivity and neutrality that the SRs (Special Rapporteurs) are mandated by the Human Rights Council to adhere to," he said in a statement late on Thursday night.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has maintained that it revoked Kashmir's special status in an effort to integrate the revolt-torn region in India and open it up for faster economic growth.

WASHINGTON, 19 February, 2021 (TON): The Defense officials appear to signal that the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating and will not permit the withdrawal of some 10,000 troops under the terms of the deal with the Taliban in February 2020.

1 May, 2021 is the deadline for NATO and the U.S. to pull their forces from Afghanistan however, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, “The problem is, to leave Afghanistan is conditions-based. Our presence in Afghanistan is conditions-based,” he further added, “Taliban has to meet their commitments.”

Stoltenberg said that the Taliban need to show they have been negotiating in good faith and take steps to reduce the level of violence across the country.

Recently, the Taliban has argued that they have fulfilled terms of the February 2020 deal – an assertion backed by top Russian diplomats.

However, the intelligence in a new report from the U.S. Defense Department casts doubts on such claims.

O’Donnell also accused the Taliban of negotiating in bad faith, writing its commanders are “employing violence across the country in a strategic effort to increase its leverage.”
NATO defense ministers are expecting to consult in more detail on the next steps in Afghanistan on Thursday, the second day of the virtual two-day conference.

DUBAI, 19 February, 2021 (TON): Saudi Arab Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin discussed bilateral relations on a phone call.

The discussions also focused on the enhancement of defense cooperation and developments in the region.

The defense secretary also condemned the recent Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia and expressed his country’s support to the Kingdom in defending its borders.

He further extended gratitude towards the crown prince for his country’s commitment to a political settlement in Yemen.

 He added that the US and Saudi Arabia shared a commitment to countering Iran’s destabilizing actions and defeating extremist groups in the region.

The Kingdom has been facing several militia launched attacks, however, it is reported that now many are being intercepted by the military.  

JERUSALEM, 19 February, 2021 (TON): PM office Israel announced that under the Russia-brokered swap deal an Israeli citizen who crossed the border into Syria has been repatriated.

The move came hours after Israel freed two Syrian shepherds as part of the swap deal.

The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu extended gratitude towards Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday for facilitating the exchange.

Earlier this week, Syrian media reported that the Israeli woman accidentally entered Syria's Quneitra region after crossing from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

Along the Golan Heights, Israel and Syria have a border that the Jewish state seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981. 

WASHINGTON, 19 February, 2021 (TON): On Thursday, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from Britain, Germany, and France (E3) discussed the Iran nuclear issue, calling on Tehran not to limit the verification of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

While urging Iran to consider the consequences of the actions, the joint statement issued after their meeting said, "The E3 and the U.S. called on Iran not to take any additional steps, in particular with respect to the suspension of the Additional Protocol and to any limitations on IAEA verification activities in Iran."

The four foreign policy chiefs expressed concerns over Iran's recent actions to produce both uranium enriched up to 20 percent and uranium metal.

However, it is said that the statement issued points towards the U.S’s willingness to engage with Tehran over the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"The E3 welcomed the United States' stated intention to return to diplomacy with Iran as well as the resumption of a confident and in-depth dialogue between the E3 and the United States," said the statement.

"If Tehran comes back into strict compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA the United States will do the same," Blinken reaffirmed in the statement.

Adding that, Washington "is prepared to engage in discussions with Iran toward that end."

However, in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018 and the re-imposition of sanctions, Iran has suspended implementing parts of its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal.

It is seen that Iran has insisted the U.S. initiate as the Iranian FM Javad Zarif reaffirmed a tit for tat approach to the commitment on Wednesday.

MUZAFFARNAGAR, 19 February, 2021 (TON): Recently staged panchayat in Sisauli, the farmers’ union urged people to avoid inviting the BJP leaders to the family functions or programs until the deadlock between the farmers and the government settles.

The directive, given by Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) chief Naresh Tikait in Sisauli, takes forward the decision of social boycott of BJP leaders, taken earlier at a Kisan Maha Panchayat in Muzaffarnagar.

The panchayat in Sisauli, on Wednesday evening, went on for over four hours in which different aspects of the movement and the issue of no increase in sugarcane rate were discussed.

It is expected that things will be going to be awkward for the BJP that has asked the members to approach the farmers and detail them on the positive impact of the farm laws.  
“BKU chief Naresh Tikait had advised people to not send ‘chitthi’ (invitations) to BJP leaders for any program till the impasse ends,” said Chaudhary Digamber Singh, state president of BKU’s youth wing.

According to him, this is to protect BJP leaders from possible harassment and misbehavior by people in the wake of the ongoing farmers’ movement.

TEHRAN, 19 February, 2021 (TON): On Friday, Iran renewed its call for the U.S. to lift all sanctions imposed by the Trump administration after the new President Biden offered talks.

Iran Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif said that Iran would “immediately reverse” its retaliatory measures if the US “unconditionally & effectively” lifts “all sanctions imposed, re-imposed or re-labeled by Trump.”

The former U.S. administration re-imposed sanctions, following the President’s decision to abandon the 2015 pact involving Iran to accept curbs to its nuclear program, was brought to the court by Iran in 2018.  

However, Iran has agreed on the new U.S. administration’s decision to reverse the widely disgraced claim by the former President of the U.S. who imposed nuclear sanctions on Iran.

ALGIERS, 19 February, 2021 (TON): As Algeria was commemorating the National Martyrs Day on Thursday, the Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune dissolved the parliament and called for an early legislative election.

The decision came after several meetings between the President and the heads of the parties, Belaid, and Abdelkader Bengrina, head of the National Building Movement and former minister and candidate in the presidential elections.

It is expected that the People’s National Assembly would be dissolved in the coming days.

In recent weeks, the pressure on the government has been mounted.

Several thousand Algerians rallied in a northern town Tuesday against the military and current President Abdelmadjid Tebboune in the rally in Kherrata.