Saudi-led group receives Qatar response to demands Qatar 'will receive a reply in due time' after the group of countries confirm receiving response to the list of demands.
Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies said Qatar "will receive a reply in due time" after the group of countries confirmed receiving a response to their list of demands.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt announced on June 5 they were severing ties with Qatar and later put forward a list of 13 demands.
On Monday, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani handed over a letter from Qatar's emir in response to the demands to Kuwait, which is mediating in the dispute, according to state-run Kuwait News Agency.
"Minister Adel al-Jubeir received from the Kuwaiti state minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah the official Qatari response regarding the demands of the boycotting countries," Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said on Twitter early on Wednesday.
"Qatar will receive a reply in due time," said a statement, according to the Saudi News Agency.
On Tuesday, Qatar's foreign minister said the list of conditions for restoring relations "is unrealistic and is not actionable".
"It's not about terrorism, it's talking about shutting down the freedom of speech," he said at a joint press conference after talks with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel.
The list of demands by the group included Doha ending its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, closing Al Jazeera Media Network, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and shutting down a Turkish military base in the country.
Foreign ministers from the four countries that broke off diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar are due to meet in Cairo on Wednesday with Qatar's response set to be the talking point of the meeting.
The Saudi-led group accuses Qatar of supporting "extremism" and of being too close to Saudi Arabia's regional arch-rival Iran. Doha has strongly denied the accusations.
Qatar's foreign minister refused to give any details regarding the content of the reply but said Doha was looking for a solution to the month-long crisis based on dialogue.
"The state of Qatar has adopted a very constructive attitude since the beginning of the crisis. We are trying to act mature and discuss the matter," he said.
Al Jazeera's Saad al-Saeedi, reporting from Kuwait City, said there was "a sense of relief, tinged with caution" in Kuwait.
"Qatar's response to the demands was handed to the emir, followed by an extensive meeting between the Qatari foreign minister and his Kuwaiti counterpart for more than one and half hours," he said.
"The meetings reflect Kuwait's intense activity at the highest levels, from the emir down. Some sources suggest that the Kuwaiti foreign minister will join the four countries meeting in Cairo on Wednesday. It is clear that a breakthrough is being achieved; that some of the demands could be addressed."
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Israel on a three-day historic visit - the first by an Indian prime minister. The visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992.
India recognised Israel in 1950 nearly two years after the Jewish nation declared independence, but it took New Delhi 67 years to establish diplomatic ties with the Middle Eastern nation.
Earlier on the day of the meeting, Indian English language daily The Times of India published a joint editorial opinion article written by Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu highlighting the collaborations between the two countries.
"India and Israel are walking hand in hand into the future as partners," the editorial said.
Ties between the two nations have become more "visible" since Modi became prime minister in 2014 and Israeli ambassador to India Daniel Carmon said the "landmark" visit will focus on issues of economic development, innovation, agriculture, water and establishing a better connection between the people of the two countries, as well as defence.
Modi is set to hold talks with Netanyahu, whom he calls his friend and is likely to address the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
On the agenda
Modi's trip comes weeks after India approved a defence deal with Israel worth $2bn.
The Indian prime minister has been pushing for defence cooperation with Israel, which has agreed to collaborate and support his "make in India" initiative. The trip will focus on "Expanding business and investment collaboration on the ground. In addition, I hope to get insights into Israel’s accomplishments in technology and innovation through on-site visits," Modi wrote on his Facebookpage.
"We already have quite a significant collaboration in defence technology and cybersecurity, but now we need to go to new areas," Vijay Chauthaiwale, head of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) foreign policy department, told Al Jazeera.
"It may be in the areas of agriculture and water conservation, innovation and startup culture. It coincides very well with the startup action plan of Modi," Chauthaiwale siad.
PR Kumaraswamy, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, also agrees that "much of the focus would be on non-political and non-security issues such as agriculture and water management", saying that Israeli technology can help India to attain food security.
Yet, India-Israel bilateral trade has grown from a mere $200m in 1992 to nearly $5bn last year.
Agriculture has emerged as one of the main areas of cooperation and Israel has helped to set up nearly 15 centres of excellence across India, which lend new technology to farmers to enhance crop produce.
Apart from discussing bilateral relations with his counterpart, Modi also includes on his agenda addressing the Indian diaspora community of more than 80,000 Jews of Indian origin who reside in Israel.
"I am particularly looking forward to interacting with the large, vibrant Indian diaspora in Israel that represents an enduring link between our two peoples," Modi wrote on his Facebook page before his arrival in Israel.
While matters of business and counterterrorism might be the focus of the trip, analysts and media in the two countries say defence deals will also be on the agenda.
A complex relationship
Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP has pushed for closer ties with Israel as opposed to previous governments, which kept the relationship more discreet.
"People [in India] were not openly admitting the relationship. You have a girlfriend but you are not ready to bring her to your family," Kumaraswamy, the JNU professor, said.
Yet since the BJP came to power in 2014, Modi has met Netanyahu twice on previous occasions in New York and Paris.
The two countries have become closer allies for various reasons over the past 25 years and have maintained high-level military cooperation.
In the past decade India has bought more than $10bn worth of arms from Israel, more than any other country.
Vijay Prashad, editor of the publishing house Leftword Books, says the Congress party (which headed the previous government), for instance, was the one which initiated the normalisation of relations with Israel to forge better relations with the US as part of a pragmatic foreign policy.
"They [Congress party] were told that the road to friendship with Washington was via Tel Aviv," Prashad told Al Jazeera.
"The BJP perhaps has more programmatic push. They [BJP and Israel] share some ideas on anti-terrorism, identifying Islam with terrorism," he said.
BDS objections
But not everyone in India thinks fondly of the closer ties between the two countries. Activists from Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) in India and pro-Palestinian voices have criticised the Modi government's open embrace of the Israeli government.
They accuse Israel of imposing apartheid-like conditions on Palestinians and building illegal settlements on private Palestinian land in contravention of international laws.
Established in 2005, BDS is a grassroots movement calling for a boycott of Israeli goods, divestment from Israeli firms operating in occupied territories and imposition of sanctions in order to pressure the Israelis to prevent human rightsabuses against Palestinians.
"Prime Minister Modi's visit to Israel is a dramatic signpost of how far India has shifted: from support of the Palestinian struggle against occupation, to total involvement and complicity with Brand Israel," Githa Hariharan, who is a supporter of BDS movement in India, told Al Jazeera.
"India has, over recent years, got more and more implicated in the Israeli war machine that occupies, kills, and discriminates, through apartheid policies against the Palestinians in the [occupied] West Bank and Gaza, as well as its own Arab citizens."
Hariharan also pointed at "the striking parallels between Zionism and Hindutva". The ideology of Hindutva, which calls for supremacy of Hindus over others, guides Modi's BJP, which has turned a blind eye to the recent lynching of dozens of Muslims by cow vigilantes.
"At present, this link is sharp: both Zionism and Hindutva practise exclusionary politics; both believe in and aspire to states based on religious identity," she said.
In a break from the diplomatic past, Modi is not visiting the seat of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.
Kumaraswamy, author of the book India's Israel Policy, does not believe that New Delhi is abandoning one for the other, saying the "prime minister is going to say Israel is not going to influence the Palestinian issue and that Palestinians are not going to influence India's Israel's policy".
Previously, India had sympathised with the Palestinian cause and sided with the Arab nations, with which it maintains close economic ties. These include the seven million-plus Indian nationals who work in the Middle East, mainly in the Gulf countries, and send more than $30bn back home as remittances. India also imports more than 60 of its petroleum needs from the Gulf.
"We want to build a strong relationship with Israel at the same time as we support the Palestinian cause. And we are not shy about it," he said.
BJP's Chauthaiwale reiterated that India's stand on the Palestinian cause is not in question.
In an interview with an Israeli newspaper, Israel Hayom, Modi affirmed New Delhi's support for the "two-state" solution. The Indian prime minister said that the Indian embassy won't be shifted from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, staying clear from the Netanyahu government's claim over Jerusalem as its capital.
Yet, some remain unconvinced. Critics say the government stand vis-a-vis Palestinians is shifting. In the wake of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza in 2014, the Modi government's response was restrained, and prevented a parliamentary resolution condemning the Israeli violence.
It abstained from voting at the UN human rights council that condemned Israel for the Gaza violence.
"All official Indian talk of Palestine and support to Palestine is shameful lip service," Hariharan, one of the convenors of the Indian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, thinks.
"How else can we view the massive buying of arms from Israel? How else can we view India's significant military ties with Israel…?"
Prashad from Leftword Books agrees. "Where is the space, then, to say that Palestine is occupied?"
1 Curb diplomatic ties with Iran and close its diplomatic missions there. Expel members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and cut off any joint military cooperation with Iran. Only trade and commerce with Iran that complies with US and international sanctions will be permitted.
2 Sever all ties to “terrorist organisations”, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State, al-Qaida and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Formally declare those entities as terrorist groups.
3 Shut down al-Jazeera and its affiliate stations. 4 Shut down news outlets that Qatar funds, directly and indirectly, including Arabi21, Rassd, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed and Middle East Eye.
5 Immediately terminate the Turkish military presence in Qatar and end any joint military cooperation with Turkey inside Qatar.
6 Stop all means of funding for individuals, groups or organisations that have been designated as terrorists by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, the US and other countries.
7 Hand over “terrorist figures” and wanted individuals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain to their countries of origin. Freeze their assets, and provide any desired information about their residency, movements and finances.
8 End interference in sovereign countries’ internal affairs. Stop granting citizenship to wanted nationals from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Revoke Qatari citizenship for existing nationals where such citizenship violates those countries’ laws.
9 Stop all contacts with the political opposition in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Hand over all files detailing Qatar’s prior contacts with and support for those opposition groups.
10 Pay reparations and compensation for loss of life and other, financial losses caused by Qatar’s policies in recent years. The sum will be determined in coordination with Qatar.
11 Consent to monthly audits for the first year after agreeing to the demands, then once per quarter during the second year. For the following 10 years, Qatar would be monitored annually for compliance.
12 Align itself with the other Gulf and Arab countries militarily, politically, socially and economically, as well as on economic matters, in line with an agreement reached with Saudi Arabia in 2014.
13 Agree to all the demands within 10 days of it being submitted to Qatar, or the list becomes invalid.
=============================================== Cardinal George Pell: Vatican official charged with multiple sexual offences Thursday 29 June 2017
Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic and the third-ranking official in the Vatican, has been charged with multiple sexual offences by police.
The charges were served on Pell’s legal representatives in Melbourne on Thursday and they have been lodged also at Melbourne magistrates court. He has been ordered to appear at the court on 26 July.
“Cardinal Pell is facing multiple charges … and there are multiple complainants,” Victoria police’s deputy commissioner Shane Patton said. The charges were “historical sexual assault offences”.
In a statement released by the Catholic archdiocese of Sydney 90 minutes after the charges were announced, Pell announced he would “return to Australia, as soon as possible, to clear his name”.
Pell is the highest-ranking Vatican official to be charged in the Catholic church’s long-running sexual abuse scandal.
Pell’s statement, issued at 4.30am Rome time, said: “Although it is still in the early hours of the morning in Rome, Cardinal George Pell has been informed of the decision and action of Victoria police. He has again strenuously denied all allegations.
“Cardinal Pell will return to Australia, as soon as possible, to clear his name following advice and approval by his doctors who will also advise on his travel arrangements.
“He said he is looking forward to his day in court and will defend the charges vigorously.”
It is so far unclear just what allegations Pell has been charged with. Pell was due to make a further statement in Rome later on Thursday.
Detectives from Victoria police’s Sano taskforce, established to investigate allegations that emerged during a parliamentary inquiry in Victoria and the later royal commission, interviewed Pell in Rome in October about allegations against him.
Last year, citing ill health, Pell declined to return to Australia to give evidence to the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse in person last year and instead gave evidence by videolink from Rome.
The royal commission, ordered by then-Australian prime minister Julia Gillard in 2012 and formed in 2013, is due to deliver its final report by 15 December.
In February the Australian Senate called on the cardinal to return home “to assist the Victorian police and office of public prosecutions with their investigation into these matters”.
Pell dismissed the parliamentary resolution as “an interference on the part of the Sko t of whether the pope, who has claimed that the church ought to have zero tolerance for sexual offenders, will be willing to cast out one of the most powerful officials in the Vatican
When Pope Francis was asked about allegations against Pell last year, he told reporters: “It’s true, there is a doubt. We have to wait for justice and not first make a mediatic judgment – a judgment of gossip – because that won’t help. Once justice has spoken, I will speak.”
Patton told the media conference: “During the course of the investigation in relation to Cardinal Pell, there has been a lot of reporting in the media and speculation about the process that has been involved in the investigation and also the charging.
“For clarity, I want to be perfectly clear, the process and procedures that are being followed in the charging of Cardinal Pell have been the same that have been applied in a whole range of historical sex offences whenever we investigate them.
“The fact that he has been charged on summons, we have used advice from the office of public prosecutions and also we have engaged with his legal representatives is common and standard practice. There has been no change in any procedures whatsoever. Advice was received and sought from the office of public prosecutions, however ultimately, the choice to charge Cardinal Pell was one that was made by Victoria police.
“Cardinal Pell, like any other defendant, has a right to due process and so therefore, it is important that the process is allowed to run its natural course.”
Patton said as the matter was now due before the court, police would be making no further comment.
Victoria’s director of public prosecutions, John Champion, released a statement saying he would be involved in “conducting these criminal proceedings”.
“I will be required to do so in a manner that is fair and just to all parties, including the alleged offender,” he said.
The Guardian UK
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George Pell charged with sexual offences: a timeline of the cardinal's life
1941 Born in Ballarat, Victoria on 8 June. He was later educated at Loreto convent and St Patrick’s College in Ballarat. 1960 Pell begins studying for the priesthood at Corpus Christi College in Werribee. 1963 Continues studies at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. 1966 Ordained a Catholic priest in the Vatican. Further studies at Urbaniana University Rome and then at Oxford follow, where he is awarded a doctorate of philosophy in church history. 1972 Pell returns to Ballarat as an assistant parish priest. 1973-1984 Episcopal vicar for education in diocese of Ballarat; founding member of Catholic Education Commission of Victoria. 1981-1984 Principal of Institute of Catholic Education (now merged with Australian Catholic University). 1984 Administrator of Bungaree parish. 1987 Auxiliary bishop of Melbourne serving under Archbishop Frank Little. 1990 Member of the church’s powerful congregation for the doctrine of the faith, a position he would hold until 2000.
June 1996 Appointed archbishop of Melbourne by Pope John Paul II.
October 1996 Announces Melbourne Response protocol for handling child sexual abuse complaints in Melbourne archdiocese. It offers support and counselling to victims of sexual abuse but caps compensation payments.
March 2001 Appointed archbishop of Sydney by Pope John Paul II. In Sydney Pell oversees the Catholic church’s widely condemned Towards Healing program. Pell says the program is intended to deal with child sexual abuses cases within the church in a sensitive manner, expedite compensation and avoid long litigation. 2003 Pope John Paul II makes Pell one of 31 new cardinals. He is also awarded the Centenary Medal by Australian government. 2005 Pell takes part in papal conclave that selects Pope Benedict XVI. He is also appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia. 2006 Pell leads Sydney’s successful bid to host 2008 World Youth Day. 2007 Appointed to council of cardinals on organisational and economic problems of the Holy See. 2013 Appointed by Pope Francis to group of eight cardinals to advise on government of the universal church and study plan for revising apostolic constitution of Roman Curia. 2013 Pell takes part in the papal conclave that elects Pope Francis. 2013 Gives evidence to Victorian parliamentary inquiry into handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations in Melbourne. 2014 Appointed the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, making him effectively the Vatican’s treasurer and widely reported to be the third most senior figure in the church hierarchy. March 2014 Gives evidence to royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse in Sydney.
August 2014 Second royal commission appearance via videolink from the Vatican, to Melbourne hearing on the Melbourne Response. February-March 2016 Third royal commission appearance, via videolink from Rome hotel conference room to Sydney; hearing on church’s handling of child abuse allegations in Ballarat diocese and Melbourne archdiocese. 29 June 2017 Charged with multiple, historical child sex offences, set to appear in the Melbourne magistrates’ court on 18 July. Pell strongly denies the allegations.
With Australian Associated Press
