Tehran [Iran], Feb 3: Iran police on Friday arrested at least 29 women for participating in the ongoing protest against a law that makes wearing the hijab(headscarf) compulsory.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : There is “unevenness” in the taxes paid by the salaried class and business people, as 50 per cent of the 7 lakh companies which file I-T returns show zero or negative income, Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said on Monday.
The government, he said, is working on removing the “unevenness in the tax paid by different classes of people” by using foolproof technological system.
He said the tax payer base has gone up after the GST roll out as well as demonetisation and there has been a concerted effort to make India a tax compliance society.
E-way bill and invoice matching in the new indirect tax regime will help curb evasion, he added.
Speaking at the CII post-Budget meet, Adhia said: “In the personal income tax (category), the salaried ones are paying more compared to business people.”
For assessment year 2016-17, 1.89 crore salaried individuals have filed I-T returns and paid total tax of Rs 1.44 lakh crore, which works out to average tax payment of Rs 76,306 per individual salaried taxpayer.
As against this, 1.88 crore individual business taxpayers, including professionals, have paid total tax of Rs 48,000 crore which works out to an average tax payment of Rs 25,753 per individual business taxpayer.
The department’s number of effective tax payer base has increased from 6.47 crore at the beginning of April 2014 to 8.27 crore at the end of March 2017.
“GST has a very promising future… Honesty will get a premium in Goods and Services Tax,” Adhia said.
With regard to demands for reduction in corporate tax rate, he said that globally the revenue mop up from personal income tax is much higher compared to corporate income tax.
“…While in India the personal income tax collection has to go up. Once that goes up then we will have some more scope,” he said.
In the 2015-16 Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced that the corporate tax rate would be gradually lowered to 25 per cent from current 30 per cent over the next four years.
Over the last three years, the government has announced reduction of taxes in a phased manner for various categories of corporates and currently only 7,000 corporate houses are still in the 30 per cent slab.
In Union Budget 2018-19, Jaitley proposed to lower corporate tax rate to 25 per cent for businesses with turnover of up to Rs 250 crore.
With regard to notices sent to individuals for high value deposits in banks post demonetisation in November 2016, Adhia some of these people have filed their returns showing “very very small income”, while most of them have not filed I-T returns.
“Those notices will be taken to their logical conclusion in next 2-3 years… So the inflow of more taxes will continue next year also and may be the year after,” Adhia said, adding that the department has been “very conservative” while projecting tax revenue for next fiscal.
International aid groups on Monday warned countries hosting Syrian refugees in the Middle East and the West against forcing them to return or discussing measures to that effect.
A report by several leading humanitarian organisations — including the Norwegian Refugee Council and CARE International — spoke of an alarming trend advocating for deportations.
“Hundreds of thousands of refugees are at risk of being pushed to return to Syria in 2018, despite ongoing violence, bombing and shelling that are endangering the lives of civilians,” it said.
The report, entitled “Dangerous Ground”, observed that measures to send refugees back to their homes in Syria were increasingly prominent on the agenda of host countries.
“As the military situation changed in Syria, and against a backdrop of increased anti-refugee rhetoric and policies across the world, governments began in 2017 to openly contemplate the return of refugees to the country,” it said.
The number of refugees who returned to Syria — which has been racked by a conflict that killed at least 340,000 people since 2011 — rose to 721,000 in 2017, from 560,000 the previous year.
But the report warned that three times as many Syrians were displaced last year and that a further 1.5 million people were expected to be forced from their homes in 2018.
“Now, return would neither be safe nor voluntary for the vast majority who fled the war and the violence,” NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland said.
“Currently, even in certain so-called de-escalation areas, we’ve seen bloodshed, targeting of hospitals and schools, and death,” he said of regions that were selected last year for truces meant to pave the way for an end to the war.
The report expressed concern over measures being discussed in Europe, including in Denmark and Germany, that could lead to forced returns.
Only three percent of vulnerable Syrian refugees so far have been resettled in wealthy countries. Most remain in countries bordering Syria, including Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey, but rhetoric on refugee return has also picked up there.
“In Syria’s neighbouring countries, the push to return refugees has manifested itself in closed borders, deportations and forced or involuntary returns,” the report said.
Helle Thorning-Schmidt, the head of the Save the Children aid group that also co-authored the report, warned that many children risked being sent straight into harm’s way.
“No child should have to return home before it is safe. Right now, many parts of Syria are unsafe for children. Bombs are still falling and basic services like schools and hospitals lie in ruins,” she said.
Action Against Hunger and Danish Refugee Council also contributed to the report.
Seoul [South Korea], Feb 5 : South Korea will seek to have high-level talks with the North Korean delegation, led by its ceremonial leader Kim Yong-nam who will attend the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on February 9, the Unification Ministry said on Monday.
“The government plans to make preparations in a way that talks between high-level government officials from the South and the North could take place in line with the North Korean delegation’s attendance at the Olympic opening ceremony and other sports events during their stay here,” Baik Tae-hyun, a ministry spokesman, said in a statement.
“The government hopes that the upcoming visit by the high-level North Korean delegation will become a milestone in hosting an Olympics of peace, restoring inter-Korean relations and building peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he added.
South Korea said that the North Korean delegation would be provided with all the necessary requirements and safety during the visit. However, the itinerary of the trip will be discussed later through the exchange of documents, the Yonhap news agency reported.
The South Korean presidential office announced that President Moon-Jae in is proposing to hold a one-on-one meeting with Yong-nam.
Yong-nam will embark on a three-day visit to South Korea on February 9, South Korea’s unification ministry said on Sunday.
The North announced on Sunday that Yong-nam will be arriving at Pyeongchang for attending the Winter Olympics and will head a 22-member delegation, which included three delegates and 18 supportive staffers.
Yong-nam is the President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea.
Earlier this month, North and South Korea agreed to field a joint women’s ice hockey team and also march together under a unified Korea flag at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.
Beijing, Feb 4 : China and the Vatican are close to reaching a historic deal regarding the appointment of bishops, according to media reports here.
An agreement could be signed in a few months, said a senior Vatican source.
If reached, it would be a breakthrough in relations for both parties, said a BBC News report.
But what exactly is in the pipeline and what would it mean for the country’s 10 million Catholics is a curious question.
Ties between two have long been strained by disputes over who can appoint bishops in the country.
China first broke off diplomatic ties with the Holy See in 1951, and many Catholics were forced to go underground during former communist leader Mao Zedong’s rule, emerging only in the 1980s when religious practices were tolerated again.
Beijing, Feb 4 : China has urged the US to drop its “Cold War mentality” after Washington said it planned to diversify its nuclear armoury with smaller bombs, according to a BBC News report.
“The country that owns the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, should take the initiative to follow the trend instead of going against it,” China’s defence ministry said on Sunday.
The US military believes its nukes are seen as too big to be used and wants to develop low-yield bombs.
New Delhi, Feb 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar and senior captain Virat Kohli were among millions who congratulated the Indian U-19 team for their World Cup winning effort.
“Absolutely thrilled by the stupendous achievement of our young cricketers. Congratulations to them on winning the Under-19 World Cup. This triumph makes every Indian extremely proud,” tweeted Prime Minister Modi.
“Congrats to India’s talented young cricket team for winning the Under-19 World Cup. Calmness and composure of our boys embellishes their skills. Proud of captain @Shaw_Prithvi and his mates, as well as of coach Rahul Dravid and the hard- working support staff,” read a tweet from the official handle of President Ram Nath Kovind.
Former and current India players were also quick to praise the unbeaten effort of the Indian team which thrashed Australia in the final for a record fourth title.
“What a win for the U19 boys, take it as a stepping stone; Long long way to go! Enjoy the moment,” wrote India captain Virat Kohli on his twitter page.
Tendulkar wished the boys luck for the journey ahead and also lauded the support staff including coach Rahul Dravid.
“With great teamwork, big dreams work. Congratulations to our world champions you have made us proud. Excellent job from Rahul and Paras. Thank you for all your contribution and guiding these youngsters,” said Tendulkar in a video posted on Twitter.
“To our youngsters – Your beautiful journey has just begun, continue to give your best and enjoy the game above all. Good luck and have a wonderful career,” the master blaster added.
India coach Ravi Shastri wrote: “Great performance boys.
You were ahead by a country mile all the way. Enjoy the moment.”
Dravid finally got his hands on a World Cup trophy.
Virender Sehwag said Dravid played a huge role in the team’s victory.
North Korea is flouting UN sanctions by exporting coal, iron, steel and other commodities banned under UN sanctions, earning nearly $200 million in revenue last year, a UN report said Friday.
A UN panel of experts also found evidence of North Korea’s ongoing military cooperation with Syria to develop its ballistic missile and chemical weapons programs, and with Myanmar.
North Korea “continued to export almost all the commodities prohibited in the resolutions, generating nearly $200 million in revenue between January and September 2017,” said the report by the experts seen by AFP.
Coal shipments were delivered to China, Malaysia, South Korea, Russia and Vietnam by ship using “a combination of multiple evasion techniques, routes and deceptive tactics,” said the report.
The Security Council last year adopted a series of resolutions to tighten and expand exports bans aimed at cutting off revenue to North Korea’s military programs.
The United States led the push for tough economic sanctions against North Korea after its sixth nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile launches that indicated the US mainland could soon be within reach of a nuclear strike by Pyongyang.
The panel found that North Korea “is already flouting the most recent resolutions by exploiting global oil supply chains, complicit foreign nationals, offshore company registries, and the international banking system.”
Seven ships have been barred from ports worldwide for violating UN sanctions with coal and petroleum transfers, but the experts said much more must be done to confront “these rampant illicit activities.”
While sanctions have been significantly broadened, this “expansion of the regime is yet to be matched by the requisite political will” to implement the measures, the experts said.
North Korean diplomats, in particular trade representatives, continue to provide logistical support for arms sales and help organize exchanges for military technicians, it said.
The US military wants to revamp its nuclear arsenal and develop new low-yield atomic bombs, largely in response to Russian actions in recent years, the Pentagon says in a policy statement released Friday.
The so-called Nuclear Posture Review outlines the Pentagon’s nuclear ambitions under President Donald Trump and is the first time since 2010 that the military has spelled out how it foresees nuclear threats in the coming decades.
It marks a sobering break from the vision for America’s atomic future under Barack Obama, who during a famous speech in Prague in 2009 called for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
While the document underscores the administration’s concerns about North Korea, Iran and China, the focus falls largely on Russia.
“This is a response to Russian expansion of their capability and the nature of their strategy and doctrine,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis wrote in the introduction to the 75-page document.
“These developments, coupled with Russia’s seizure of Crimea and nuclear threats against our allies, mark Moscow’s decided return to Great Power competition,” he also wrote.
The Pentagon worries Russia assumes America’s regular, large-yield weapons are essentially too big to ever be detonated, as their use would likely result in large-scale retaliation and wipe much of humanity off the map.
“There are strong indications that our current strategy posture and capabilities are perceived by the Russians as potentially inadequate to deter them,” Greg Weaver, the deputy director of strategic capabilities for the military’s Joint Staff, told reporters.
“The US and NATO require a wider range of credible low-yield nuclear options to do a very specific thing: to convince the Russian leadership that if they initiate limited nuclear use, in a war with the alliance, our response will deny them the objective they seek and impose costs that far outweigh those benefits they can achieve,” he added.
The document, an earlier version of which was leaked last month, says that by having more, smaller nukes the Pentagon can counter adversaries’ “misperceptions” that the United States would not respond to another country using its own low-yield bomb.
The new strategy calls for a continuation of the nuclear modernization program ordered by Obama that encompasses all pillars of the “triad” — ground-based intercontinental ballistic weapons, submarine-launched rockets and bombs delivered by plane.
But unlike the Obama strategy, which stressed reducing the role of nuclear weapons, the new policy has a more assertive tone.
Low-yield nuclear weapons, also known as “tactical” nukes, are still extremely powerful and can pack as much destructive punch as the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.
America already has a massive nuclear arsenal at its disposal, including 150 B-61 nukes stored across multiple European countries that can be configured for low-yield options.
The new weapons envisioned by the Pentagon would be launchable from submarines or ships, so would not need to be stockpiled in Europe.
They could also get around Russian air defenses more easily.
The bombs would not add to America’s nuclear horde, and would instead repurpose existing warheads, but critics say the Pentagon would be going against the spirit of non-proliferation agreements.
“We are on the cusp of a new era of nuclear proliferation,” warned Barry Blechman, co-founder of the Stimson Center, a nonpartisan anti-nuclear proliferation think tank in Washington.
“This is the great nuclear danger raised by the new” nuclear policy.
Weaver disputed media accounts that the nuclear posture review lowered the threshold for America to use nuclear weapons.
“The purpose of these capabilities is to make a US response to nuclear use more credible, not to make US first use more likely,” he said.
Tehran [Iran], Feb 3: Iran police on Friday arrested at least 29 women for participating in the ongoing protest against a law that makes wearing the hijab(headscarf) compulsory.
The protests that began in Tehran earlier this week has slowly spread to other parts of the country, according to The Guardian.
Many women across the country have been protesting for a hijab ban by climbing onto telecom boxes, by taking off their hijabs, attaching them to a wooden stick and waving them like flags.
Women in Iran have fought against the hijab for nearly four decades.
However, the new wave of protests has grabbed eyeballs worldwide and will worry the Iran Government more, who are already reeling under the recent anti-corruption protests.
The Tehran police said the campaign had been instigated from outside the country through illegal satellite channels under a campaign named “White Wednesdays.”
“Following calls by satellite channels under a campaign called White Wednesdays, 29 of those who had been deceived to remove their hijab have been arrested by the police,” the police said quoting Iranian media.
Iran’s prosecutor general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, described the ongoing protestson hijab ban as “childish”, “emotionally charged” and instigated “from outside the country”.
Meanwhile, many Iranian women within the country as well as outside Iran have backed the protests.
Soheila Jolodarzadeh, a female member of the Iranian parliament, said the protestswere the result of long-standing restrictions against women.
“They’re happening because of our wrong approach. We imposed restrictions on women and put them under unnecessary restrains.”
Masih Alinejad, an exiled Iranian activist and now resides in the United States, started a social media campaign against the compulsory hijab law.
The hijab has been in place in Iran after the Iranian revolution in 1979.
The law mandates that a woman who does not wear a hijab in public could face a heavy penalty and jail sentences.
Iran recently witnessed a huge wave of anti-corruption protests as people took to raising anti-government slogans, over alleged corruption, oppressive rule of the government and rising prices that plagued the people of the country.
The official death toll in the anti-government protests is, as of now, 20.
Ottawa [Canada] Feb 3 : The Senate has passed a bill to make the national anthem gender neutral despite some Conservative senators’ opposition.
The Senate gave its approval to change the second line of the anthem from “in all thy sons command” to “in all of us command.”
The legislation will now only need the royal assent of the Governor General before it becomes a law.
Liberal MP Mauril Belanger had pushed the legislation for years.
Belanger passed away two months after the Commons passed the bill in June 2016.
Srinagar, Feb 3 : Train service resumed on Saturday after remaining suspended for a day in Kashmir valley for security reasons, following “Shopian Chalo” called by separatists to express solidarity with the families of civilians who died in security force firing during the past two weeks.
‘We have resumed all train runs in the Kashmir valley after a fresh advisory was received from police last night,’ a senior railway official told UNI.
New Delhi, Feb 2: Expressing hope to bring down the fiscal deficit to 3 point 3 per cent in 2018-19, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday reasoned that the GST was the factor for not achieving the target this year.
Fiscal deficit is a measure of how much the government borrows in a year to meet part of its spending needs.