New Delhi, Sep 22: Citing “evil agenda of Pakistan” and the disturbing developments including the killing of security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, India on Friday unilaterally cancelled the proposed meeting of two foreign ministers Sushma Swaraj and Shah Mehmood Qureshi in New York next week.
“……..the evil agenda of Pakistan stands exposed and the true face of the new Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has been revealed to the world in his first few months in office,” MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar said in a strongly worded statement.
“Any conversation with Pakistan in such an environment would be meaningless,” he said and referred to “disturbing developments” including the killings of Indian security personnel.
“Since yesterday’s announcement of a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan in New York later this month, two deeply disturbing developments have taken place. The latest brutal killings of our security personnel by Pakistan-based entities and the recent release of a series of twenty postage stamps by Pakistan glorifying a terrorist and terrorism confirm that Pakistan will not mend its ways,” the MEA statement said.
Meanwhile, giving indications of tension mounting along Indo-Pak border, the Jammu and Kashmir government sources said in a fierce encounter at Shukbaba area in Sumlar village of Bandipora, security forces on Friday eliminated five terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba group.
Srinagar, Sept 21: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Thursday expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reciprocate the offer of talks made by his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan, saying dialogue was the only way out of the stalemate.
Khan has proposed a meeting between Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this month.
PDP, which was a coalition partner of the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir government till its fall on June 19 this year, was reacting to a tweet by Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal.
“PM (Imran Khan) has responded to PM Modi, in a positive spirit, reciprocating his sentiments. Let’s talk and resolve all issues. We await formal response from India,” Faisal wrote on Twitter.
Ties between India and Pakistan nose-dived following a spate of terror attacks on Indian military bases by Pakistan-based terror groups since January 2016. Following the strikes, India announced it will not engage in talks with Pakistan, saying terror and talks cannot go hand-in-hand.
New Delhi, Sep 20: The Ordinance to make Triple Talaq a punishable offence has come into force with President Ram Nath Kovind giving his assent to it, sources said on Wednesday.
The President late on Wednesday night gave his approval to the ordinance, passed by the Union Cabinet earlier in the day.
With the assent of the President, the Ordinance has come into force.
After the President’s approval, the government published it in the official Gazette late on Wednesday night gazette following which the law has come into force.
The Ordinance will have to be passed by both houses of Parliament within six months if its issuance failing which it will lapse and will have to be reissued.
Panaji, Sep 20: The opposition Congress in Goa on Wednesday claimed that it had the support of over 21 legislators in the 40-member Assembly, giving it enough strength to form the government in the state.
The Congress, which is the single-largest party with 16 MLAs, has already staked claim to form the government in the coastal state.
The opposition party’s claim comes at a time when Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar (62) is admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi for a pancreatic ailment.
Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Chandrakant Kavlekar told PTI that the Congress had enough support to form the government in Goa.
“We have the required numbers. I am not going to tell you whom we are in discussions with, but we need the support of 21 MLAs and we have more than that,” he said.
The Congress legislators, led by Kavlekar, had met Governor Mridula Sinha on Tuesday and demanded a floor test by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government to prove its majority in the Assembly.
Kavlekar said his party was waiting for a response from the governor, who had assured them that she would get back on the issue in three-four days.
The state is being ruled by the BJP with the support of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Independent MLAs.
The BJP has 14 seats in the Assembly, the GFP and the MGP have three each and the NCP has one. There are also three Independent legislators.
Kavlekar claimed the political situation in the state was in favour of the Congress as there was a lot of “discontent” among the ruling coalition partners.
New Delhi, Sep 21: Global workforce is not able to keep up with the current rate of change that emerging technologies are bringing to workplace, and nearly two billion youth worldwide stand to be left behind, says a Deloitte report.
Around 1.8 billion global youth are between the ages of 15 and 29, and the fourth industrial revolution will significantly shape their roles as the future workers, consumers, and competitors.
The fourth industrial revolution is bringing emerging technologies to the forefront at a rapid pace. It is transforming the type of work people do, and how it is done, the report said, adding that “in particular, 1.8 billion youth worldwide stand to be left behind by the changes”.
“When it comes to addressing the opportunities and challenges of the Fourth Industry Revolution, I believe we need a new mindset for action to ensure we are preparing now for the workforce of the future,” says David Cruickshank, Deloitte Global Chairman.
By 2030, Deloitte Global and the Global Business Coalition for Education (GBC-Education) predicts that more than half of the almost two billion youth worldwide will not have the skills or qualifications needed to participate in the workforce.
The report jotted down four key recommendation to drive change — companies should align stakeholders’ objectives and approaches; businesses should engage in public policy; they should develop strong talent strategies and invest in workforce skilling.
The report noted that the business community must take a more proactive role in preparing today’s youth to ensure that they are ready to become the workforce of tomorrow.
“If we can find ways to enhance young people’s ability to harness these technologies through critical thinking and creativity, we will lay the foundations of success for millions of young people. At the heart of the issue is quality education and training,” said Sarah Brown, Founder and Executive Chair of GBC-Education.