Russian President Vladimir Putin’s whirlwind visit to Delhi earlier this month, lasting less than 24 hours, came just a month after the visits, in September, of U.S. Secretary of State Mike R. Pompeo and Defence Secretary James N. Mattis to participate in the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue with their Indian counterparts, …
Read More »Monthly Archives: October 2018
CAG questions RBI’s role as NPA crisis was brewing
Comptroller and Auditor General of India Rajiv Mehrishi on Tuesday questioned the role of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) during the time when the banks were “going berserk with their lending”, leading to the high levels of NPAs, saying that there was no public discourse on the role of …
Read More »Indian markets not in a bear phase yet
Rupee could fall another 10%, says veteran fund manager Joseph Bernhard Mark Mobius is among the best-known emerging markets fund managers. After having spent over 25 years at Franklin Templeton – including being the lead manager of Templeton Emerging Markets Investment Trust – the 82-year-old stepped down early this year …
Read More »U.S. warships sail through Taiwan Strait
China said on Tuesday that it has expressed concern to the U.S. over what it considered an affront to its sovereignty after two U.S. warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait. The move adds to increasingly fraught relations between the two countries, which have clashed over a number of issues, including …
Read More »Xi opens world’s longest sea bridge
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday inaugurated a 55-km bridge that will deepen the integration of Hong Kong and Macao with the rest of China. The world’s longest sea-crossing bridge will be at the heart of an integrated Greater Bay Area (GBA) covering 11 major neighbouring cities, which include Hong …
Read More »Trump targets migrant caravan
A caravan of more than 7,000 people, making its way through Central America, is being attacked by U.S. President Donald Trump as he seeks to rally people to vote for Republican candidates in the November 6 midterm elections to the U.S. Congress. The caravan, which began with over a 100 …
Read More »SC shocked over ‘vanishing’ Aravalli hills
The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed shock over the disappearance of 31 hills in the Aravalli area of Rajasthan and asked the State government to stop illegal mining in the 115.34-hectare area there within 48 hours. The top court said that even though Rajasthan was earning royalty of around Rs. …
Read More »Ban on toxic and loud firecrackers
Bursting of firecrackers during Deepavali may not be the only reason for air pollution, but the Supreme Court cannot become a mute spectator and allow the deterioration of air quality caused by the bursting during the festival. This is how the Supreme Court’s judgment, declaring a ban on toxic and …
Read More »Bangladesh question looms over Citizenship Bill
As the deadline for a joint committee of Parliament on the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, nears an end, some members asked whether it was possible to present the Bill in a truncated form by excluding Bangladesh. The Bill proposes citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists …
Read More »Behave like a true State, CJI tells Assam, Centre
The State of Assam and the Centre should behave like a “true State” in the Aristotlian sense, said Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi while hearing the Assam NRC case on Tuesday. The oral observation came on a hearing whether five documents — names in NRC, 1951; names in electoral …
Read More »Norms for full-body scanner at airports likely next month
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is likely to release the technical norms for operating full-body scanners to screen passengers at airports next month, according to a senior government official. “A committee comprising representatives of the Intelligence Bureau, the National Investigating Agency and the Cabinet Secretariat will be finalising …
Read More »Panchayat by-elections in Rajasthan postponed
The Rajasthan State Election Commission has postponed by-elections to 11 panchayat samitis and one zila parishad scheduled for October 27, while citing “practical difficulties” in holding the polls even after the nominations were filed by the candidates. The political parties were looking forward to the bypolls which were very close …
Read More »SC moves to make festivals less noisy
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck a balance between the interests of the firecracker industry and the right to public health, allowing the manufacture and sale of only “green” and reduced-emission or “improved” crackers, while banning those that are loud and toxic to man, animal and the environment. A Bench …
Read More »India, Pak. commit to Kartarpur corridor
A Cabinet meeting in Delhi proposed building a passage for the pilgrims accessible “365 days and 24 hours”, sources told The Hindu . Hours later, the Cabinet decision was conveyed by Ministry of External Affairs in a letter to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. “The government of India urges …
Read More »T.N. seeks Rs. 14,910 crore from Centre as cyclone assistance
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and sought assistance to the tune of Rs. 14,910 crore towards relief, permanent restoration and mitigation efforts in central districts ravaged by Cyclone Gaja.According to the memorandum handed over by Mr. Palaniswami to Mr. Modi, …
Read More »Housing of the People. Trade Unionist Demand.
The Labour Housing Association held its annual conference at Derby on 31st August. Mr. J.W. Ogden, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Union Congress, who presided, said that according to an estimate, 500,000 working-class houses were required at present, and to meet the needs of an increasing population …
Read More »The German Retreat & Allied Advance.
Reuter’s Correspondent at British Headquarters telegraphing last evening [October 22 at 10-35 p.m.] said: The enemy resistance is stiffening. In Flanders we have reached the west bank of Escaut between Pecq and Lenfer, both of which are in our possession. The Enemy is maintaining heavy fire from the opposite bank. …
Read More »When misogyny reared its ugly head at a press meet
How a few women dealt with a bunch of angry, mostly male reporters Change, as the cliché goes, begins at home. This is what some of us journalists realised at a press meet organised by the South Indian Women’s Film Association last week. Members of the association, including playback singer …
Read More »Fanning the flames
Historically, mob violence has resulted in political gains for some Scapegoating is a well-worn political technique to divert attention from governance failures. For instance, in 1905, the Tsarist government in Russia organised a pogrom of Jews to divert attention from its military failures. Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s economic …
Read More »A shocking mystery
Saudi Arabia’s official version ofJamal Khashoggi’s death just doesn’t add up Saudi Arabia’s admission that Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident journalist who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, died in a “fistfight” inside the building raises more questions than it answers. According to the latest …
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