Junior Digest

PURI, MAR 15:- International sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik creating a sand sculpture in honour of British physicist and award-winning author Stephen Hawking at Puri beach, in Odisha on Wednesday.

Theni, Mar 13: Ten trekkers were killed and 17 others sustained burn injuries, few of them seriously in a deadliest forest fire at Kolukkumalai Hills in Kurangani forest area in Western Ghats in Southern district of Theni in Tamil Nadu.

Official sources said the Garud Commandoes of Indian Air Force recovered nine bodies from the raging forest in helicopters and brought them to the government medical college hospital at Theni this morning, while one of the injured woman trekker succumbed at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai, this evening.

Of the injured, ten people with second and third-degree burns were undergoing treatment at burns ward in GRH, while the remaining people were getting treatment in private hospitals.

The condition of four patients in GRH is highly critical, said it’s Dean Dr.D.Maruthu Pandian.

State health secretary J.Radhakrishnan told newsmen after inspecting the facilities being given for the burn victims at GRH that efforts were on to save the lives of trekkers, who have been admitted with severe burn injuries. We are taking all efforts to prevent mortality. Specialists from neighbouring Tiruchirapalli and Thoothukudi districts were attending to the patients. The victims are being provided with collagen treatment and are on antibiotics, he added.

Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami condoled the death of ten people in the forest fire and announced a solatium of Rs four lakh each to the families of those who were killed in the forest fire. The people who suffered serious burn injuries will be provided Rs one lakh, while those with mild injuries will get Rs 50,000 as compensation.

He also ordered a full-fledged probe into the forest fire tragedy to unravel the facts on how the fire spread.

Expressing deep grief over the tragedy, Mr.Palaniswami said the state government had carried out rescue and relief operations on a war footing with the assistance of Central government. He said rules were in place for entering the reserve forests for trekking expeditions, but the trekking team caught in the fire tragedy had undertaken the expedition without the mandatory permission from the forest officials. The security cover in the forest will be heightened to prevent such incidents, he said.

DMK Working President M.K.Stalin, MDMK General Secretary Vaiko, PMK Founder Dr.S.Ramadoss, former AIADMK leader T.T.V.Dhinakaran among leaders of various political parties condoled the death of trekkers in the forest fire.

Kathmandu/Dhaka, March 13:  A plane carrying 67 passengers and four crew crashed at Tribhuvan International airport here on Monday, killing more than 50 people, officials said.
The plane, operated by US-Bangla Airlines, was on a flight from Bangladesh capital Dhaka. It hit an airport fence while landing and burst into flames, eyewitnesses said.
Airport officials and army personnel engaged in rescue operation said they have recovered 50 dead bodies and those in critical condition had been sent to nearby hospitals.
Kamrul Islam, a spokesman of the Dhaka-based airline, said the plane was carrying 67 passengers — 32 from Bangladesh, 33 from Nepal and one each from China and the Maldives.
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli visited the crash site to take stock of the situation and said that a commission would look into the crash.
Local media quoted a survivor as saying that when the plane approached the Tribhuvan International Airport for landing, it shook violently and “there was a loud bang afterwards.”
Basanta Bohora, an employee of Raswita International Travels and Tours, said there were 16 Nepalis on the flight. They all had gone to Bangladesh for training.
Bangladesh’s Civil Aviation Authority chairman Air Vice Marshal M Naim Hassan told a media briefing that a three-member investigation committee had been constituted which would go to Nepal as soon as the Kathmandu airport was reopened.
“We are in constant touch with Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority,” he said.
The airline’s chief executive officer Asif Imran said until the flight recorder or black box was recovered it would be impossible to “tell you about the actual reason of the accident.”

London, Mar 13: China may have cleared the way for President Xi Jinping to effectively remain in power for life, but it has not transpired without protest, a BBC News report said on Monday.
In recent days, anti-Xi posters written in Chinese and English have appeared in several Western universities.
The posters have featured phrases such as “Not My President” and “I Disagree”.
Criticism of China’s decision to remove a two-term presidential limit has been heavily censored at home.
The Parliament, the National People’s Congress, overwhelmingly passed the constitutional changes on Sunday, as widely expected.
The posters began appearing on some US campuses last week, and were later reported in countries including the UK, France, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada.
A Twitter account @StopXiJinping has been posting links to the posters for download, and encouraging others to join what it calls “our campaign”.
Someone operating the account told the BBC it was being run by Chinese university students and graduates who were living abroad but wished to remain anonymous. The person did not give further details.
“We spoke up as we genuinely believe that Chinese citizens, overseas or at home, have the right to express opinions free from fear,” the account tweeted on Friday.
The phrase “not my president” has been used in other contexts, most prominently by those who oppose US President Donald Trump.
In Australia, the posters have appeared in a number of universities.
Wu Lebao, an Australian National University student, said he had put up the posters to raise awareness among his peers.
“By posting those bills, I want to impress on them that there is a significant change occurring in China,” Mr Wu said.
“Xi has performed as a dictator for years since he went into power, but this move would give him more absolute power.”
However, several Chinese students were unaware of the campaign when asked by the BBC.
A Chinese student at the University of Sydney said his peers had a range of views on the constitutional changes.
“It’s definitely a hot topic, but we’ve mostly just been joking,” said the student, who did not wish to be named.
Outspoken opponents of the government are routinely harassed by officials or arrested.
So Dr David Brophy, a lecturer in Chinese history at University of Sydney, said he was surprised to see such a public display of dissent from the overseas students.
“There is a strong sense among some students that it’s best to raise criticism within their community, rather than air them more publicly to a Western audience,” he told the BBC.
Such discretion is fuelled by concerns about whether students abroad are being monitored by China.
“For anyone who plans to go back to China in the future, they do incur a risk by being visible as politically active,” Dr Brophy said.
The Twitter campaign has advised students to put up posters only at night, and to wear face masks.

New Delhi, Mar 12: The overwhelming response to the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance Summit hosted in Delhi on Sunday and which was attended by 23 Heads of Nation and governments, six Vice Presidents and deputy Prime Ministers and 19 Ministers show that there has been a “huge surge” in joining the forum – that was originally visualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said.
“It is evident that there has been a huge surge and interest in joining the ISA,” T S Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters here.
Referring to the laudatory speeches made by various world leaders, he said the Governor General of Australia Sir Peter Cosgrove described ISA as “India’s gift to the world”.
The attendance shows the “significance” of the commitment to go for clean, affordable and sustainable energy and make “our world a better place”.
“The sustainable development has got a huge boost,” he said.
In his speech at the inaugural session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a “path-breaking initiative relating to Solar Technology Mission”.
“This is line with Prime Minister’s own initiative for India to take the lead internationally,” he said.
“Scaling up of solar technology and production was re-emphasised,” in the speeches of various
global leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, he said.
The President of Rawanda and chair of the African Union Paul Kagame called the ISA a “transformative inititiave” and called for implementation of the ISA missions chiefly technology transfer and innovative financing. “He reiterated that Africa will stand to benefit from ISA,” Mr Tirumurti said.
Many other leaders said the history will remember that the ISA was born in New Delhi.
During the day, Prime Minister held a series if bilateral meetings especially with leaders and nation heads from Africa.
“I can give you the gist of the common element. The focus was on capacity building,” MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar said.
As the bilateral meetings were held on the sidelines of a multi-lateral Summit, the focus in general was climate change, renewable energy and solar technology, he said.
“Developmental cooperation also figured,” he said.
Mr Tirumurti said certainly there was a feeling among the African nation heads that the India’s engagement has grown “exponentially” during last three years.

“The next president may not have that surname, but he will undoubtedly be a son of the Revolution,” the Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.

Castro voted in the southeastern province of Santiago de Cuba while his first vice president and likely successor, Miguel Diaz-Canel, cast his ballot in the central Santa Clara province.

“The triumphal march of the revolution will continue,” Diaz-Canel said after voting, promising “peace, liberty, independence and the sovereignty of the people will endure.”

Raul Castro took over in 2006 from his ailing brother Fidel, who had governed since seizing power during the 1959 revolution.

Eight million Cubans were expected to turn out to ratify 605 candidates for an equal number of seats in the Assembly, a process short of suspense and unique to the Communist-run Caribbean island nation.

 

United Nations, Mar 14: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has expressed strong concern over continued violence and hostilities in Syria, saying the Arab country is “bleeding inside and out”.

He called for full implementation of a UN resolution for a ceasefire in the strife-torn nation.

“I am deeply saddened by the immense loss and cascading suffering of the Syrian people. And I am deeply disappointed by all those who have, year after year, by action or inaction, by design or indifference, allowed this to happen Syria is bleeding inside and out,” the UN chief said.

He made the remarks yesterday while briefing the 15-member UN Security Council on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2401 unanimously adopted last month.

Along with a 30-day ceasefire, the resolution calls for delivering aid, evacuating the sick and wounded, lifting sieges, accelerating humanitarian mine action, and protecting civilians and infrastructure.

According to UN data, the conflict has produced more than 5.6 million Syrian refugees and 6.1 million internally displaced people, with more than 13 million people inside the country requiring humanitarian assistance, including nearly six million children.

“Let me highlight just one stark fact on this grimmest of anniversaries: In 2017, more children were killed in Syria than during any other year since the war began,” he said.

However, violence continues in Eastern Ghouta and beyond, including in Afrin, parts of Idlib and into Damascus and its suburbs, Guterres said, warning that in Eastern Ghouta, airstrikes, shelling and ground offensives have even intensified and claimed many hundreds of civilian lives, some even saying more than 1,000 were killed.

Guterres said none of the Council’s directives have been implemented: the provision of humanitarian aid and services has not been safe, unimpeded or sustained; no sieges have been lifted and not one critically sick or wounded person has yet been evacuated.

“I appeal to all parties for the full implementation of resolution 2401 throughout the whole of Syrian territory. The United Nations is ready to assist in any efforts to make that happen,” the UN Chief said, calling on all states “with influence” to exercise it in support of the efforts of the United Nations and the implementation of the resolution.

“We are obviously far from safe, unimpeded and sustained delivery of humanitarian aid’ as demanded in resolution 2401 as well as other relevant Security Council resolutions. And so the humanitarian and human rights situation is becoming more desperate by the day,” he said.

Guterres added that all parties involved should be reminded that even efforts to combat terrorist groups identified by the Council do not supersede these humanitarian obligations.

He noted, however, that in some areas, like Deir ez-Zour and Douma, the conflict is diminishing in intensity.

A ceasefire between the Government and Jaish al Islam forces in Douma is largely holding, he said, noting that their meeting took place yesterday and today, and there has been progress on civilian evacuations and humanitarian aid.

Guterres’ oral report detailed latest efforts of his Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to bring about a political solution to the conflict and UN activities to address the humanitarian crisis.

“On Thursday, this conflict will enter its eighth year. I refuse to lose my hope to see Syria rising from the ashes,” he said.

New Delhi, Mar 15: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the plea of convict A G Perarivalan seeking recall of its May 1999 judgement upholding his conviction in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

A bench of justices Ranjan Gogoi, R Banumathi and M Shantanagoudar said it does not need to interfere with its 1999 verdict upholding Perarivalan’s conviction.

Earlier, the CBI had sought dismissal of Perarivalan’s plea claiming it was devoid of any merits.

In an affidavit filed in the apex court, CBI’s Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), probing the larger conspiracy aspect behind Gandhi’s assassination, had said that the role of convict Perarivalan in the conspiracy resulting in the killing of the former prime minister and others have already been upheld by the top court.

The Supreme Court today also asked the MDMA to submit its status report in four weeks.

The agency had said that the application seeking recall of the May 11, 1999 apex court judgement was not maintainable since it seeks to reopen the whole matter on merits which cannot be permissible.

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on the night of May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at a poll rally.

Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were also killed.

New Delhi, Mar 11: French President Emmanuel Macron  emphasised on the need for more pacts on environment at the global level that could empower people in having a say in battling climate change.

He also stressed on higher investments by the governments to deal with climate change.

Referring to the Paris Framework Agreement on Climate Change, Macron said despite the US decision to leave the pact, many countries have decided to stick by it.

“We want to step up that (the fight against climate change) with new agreements at the UN by 2020, which will give new rights to people…People can go against a company or a government, saying you are not complying with your own commitment,” Macron said.

The French leader was speaking at an interaction with students at a Town Hall here.

Responding to a question on the French government’s stand on artificial intelligence (AI), Macron said it was necessary to invest heavily in the field to create an alternative as it currently dominated by the US and China.

Elaborating on the issue, he said in the US, the AI fight is led by private players—Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and others.

“It is totally privately driven and privately held, which according to me is a big mistake because it deals with privacy…In a certain way with the choice of the society because it will impact your day-to-day life, your intimacy and so on. And these guys will decide for you,” Marcon said.

On the other hand, it is fully controlled by the state in China, he said.

“In China, it is 100 per cent state-driven, government-driven. You have the private leaders but all the data is controlled and monitored by the government, which is, for me not a society I decided to live in,” Macron said.

“So, for Europe, it is necessary to create another model and research in this field is a critical element,” he said.

This, he said, will not only create a single digital market, but also help build its own regulations in the arena.

Responding to a question on qualities of a good leader, Macron said a leader is one who has an inclusive approach vis-a-vis gender and religion.

“I think one of the main mistakes of a leader would be try to create a sort of domination of your side…of your people and the others because it is never sustainable and because large parts of violence in our current world is due to frustrations of the minorities, frustrations of dominated people”.

In a nearly hour-long interaction, Macron was asked questions ranging from lighter queries like handling mud-slinging in public life to a more serious ones related to climate change and security of women.

New Delhi, Mar 14: A total of 20 opposition parties on Tuesday held the government responsible for the ongoing imnpasse in Parliament and resolved to ensure discussion in both houses on issues of public importance like the bank scams and farmers’ distress .
The 20 parties came together on a common platform at a dinner hosted by former Congress president and Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party Sonia Gandhi, an attempt to forge a united Opposition front to challenge the ruling BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Talking to reporters after the dinner, hosted by Mrs Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence and which was attended by leaders of the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, NCP , Trinamool Congress, CPI(M), CPI, DMK, RJD, HAM, RLD, National Conference, JDS, JMM, AIUDF, Kerala Congress, IUML, JVM, JMM and the RSP., AICC media incharge Randeep Singh Surjewala said the dinner aimed at a better dialogue between parties and for friendship.
“This dinner hosted by Mrs Sonia Gandhi for opposition parties should not be seen from the prism of politics. It was for friendship and better dialogue between parties:”, he said.
Among those who attended the dinner were former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposiiton in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad , rebel JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Ram Gopal Yadav of SP, Satish Chandra Mishra of BSP, Kanimozhi of DMK, Omar Abdullah of NC, Tejaswi Yadav of RJD , Mohd Saleem and T Rangrajan of the CPM and D Raja of the CPI.

New Delhi, Mar 13: The Supreme Court today directed the Registrar Generals of the High Courts across the country to collect and collate data regarding the pendency of cases of sexual offences against children lodged under the stringent POCSO Act.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud gave the direction on a plea that had sought compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the parents of an eight-month old baby who was allegedly raped by her 28-year-old cousin here on January 28 this year in a locality near Netaji Subhash Place in north-west Delhi..

The plea, filed by lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava, has also sought framing of guidelines that investigation and trial of the cases involving rape of children below the age of 12 years, under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act, should be completed within six months from the date of lodging of the FIR.

The top court today also directed its Registry to communicate the order to the registrars general of the high courts seeking a district wise detailed report on pendency of cases and posted the matter for hearing on April 20.

During the hearing, the petitioner referred to the 2016 data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and said only 11 per cent of the total of 1,01,326 POCSO cases have been decided by the trial courts in that year, which meant that 89 per cent of the cases were still pending across the country.

“1100 cases have been disposed of out of 1,01,326 cases,” Srivastava said.

The bench had on February 1 expressed its concern over the incident and asked the Centre and the petitioner’s lawyer to file details of pending cases of sexual assault against children across the country.

Earlier, on top court’s directions, the Centre had informed it that the baby had been shifted from a local government hospital to AIIMS for better treatment.

The AIIMS, in is report, had said that the local hospital had performed the corrective surgery of the infant in a professional manner.

The Delhi Legal Services Authority (DLSA) had also filed its status report, informing the top court that Rs 75,000 interim compensation has been given to the baby’s parents.

The law officers had told the court that an FIR has already been registered and the accused was in judicial custody.

The apex court had expressed grave concern over the rape of the infant and had directed two doctors of AIIMS to visit her in the hospital and assess her condition.

The plea, filed by lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava, had said the external and internal injuries of the child were very severe and the infant had to undergo a three-hour surgery.

The police had said the accused had confessed to raping the baby under the influence of liquor.

The parents would go out for work leaving their daughter in the custody of their sister-in-law. Her son was at home that day since it was a Sunday, police had said. When the accused saw his mother was not around, he allegedly forced himself on the baby.

Gandhinagar, Mar 15: Expressing deep anguish over a spate of banking frauds, RBI Governor Urjit Patel said on Wednesday that like the ‘Neelakantha’, the central bank will consume poison and face brickbats, but will persist with endeavour to become better with each trial.

Breaking silence over the Rs 12,967 crore scam at PNB, he said: “I have chosen to speak today to convey that we at the Reserve Bank of India also feel the anger, hurt and pain at the banking sector frauds and irregularities.”

Delivering a lecture at the Gujarat National Law University here, he said: “In plain simple English, these practices amount to a looting of our country’s future by some in the business community, in cahoots with some lenders.”

Patel said RBI has in place asset quality review of banks and “we are doing all we can to break this unholy nexus”.

Invoking mythology, he said RBI has undertaken the cleaning up of the country’s credit culture as the Mandara mount or the churning rod in the Amrit Manthan or the Samudra Manthan of the modern day Indian economy.

Until the churn is complete and the nectar of stability safely secured for the country’s future, someone must consume the poison that emanates along the way, he said.

“If we need to face the brickbats and be the Neelakantha consuming this poison, we will do so as our duty; we will persist with our endeavours and get better with each trial and tribulation along the way,” the Governor said.

He also wished that more promoters and banks, individually or collectively through their industry bodies, would reconsider being on the side of “Devas rather than Asuras in this Amrit Manthan”.

He made a pitch for “making banking regulatory powers neutral to bank ownership and leveling the playing field between public sector and private sector banks”.

Observing that there has been a tendency in the pronouncements post revelation of the fraud that RBI supervision team should have caught it, Patel said no banking regulator can catch or prevent all frauds.

“While that can always be said ex post with any fraud, it is simply infeasible for a banking regulator to be in every nook and corner of banking activity to rule out frauds by ‘being there’,” he said.

Referring to PNB, Patel said the RBI had identified, based on cyber risk considerations, the exact source of operational hazard through which “we understand” now the fraud had been perpetrated.

In particular, he said the RBI had issued precise instructions via three circulars in 2016 to enable banks to eliminate the hazard.

“It turns out ex post the bank had simply not done so. Clearly, the internal processes at the bank failed in allowing the operational hazard to remain in place in spite of clear instructions to close it,” he said.

Patel said the RBI will undertake actions against the bank that it is empowered to but this set is limited under its Banking Regulation Act powers over PSBs.

Noting that “success has many fathers; failures none”, the Governor said there has been the usual blame game, passing the buck, and a tonne of honking, mostly short-term and knee-jerk reactions.

“These appear to have prevented the participants in this cacophony from deep reflection and soul searching that can help solve fundamental issues that are the root cause of such frauds and related irregularities in the banking sector,” he said.

Patel also flagged the issue of rising bad loans (NPA) saying that the problems needs immediate attention.

“Its magnitude is larger than Rs 8.5 lakh crores of stressed assets on bank balancesheets and its significance stems from several practices in promoter-bank credit relationship that need immediate attention,”.

The RBI has been clamping down on the failure to recognise asset quality as non-performing as per its norms by requiring that banks, whose divergence exceeds by 15 per cent of the true non performing assets (NPAs) as per the norms, disclose the divergence.

This should restore some market discipline against such practices, especially in the case of private sector banks, Patel said.

Raipur/New Delhi, Mar 14:  Nine CRPF personnel were today killed after Maoists blasted their mine protected vehicle using over 50 kgs of explosives in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma, about a year after a dozen jawans were killed in a similar ambush in the district.

Officials said the incident took place around 12:30 pm along the 5-km under-construction Kistaram-Palodi road when the troops of the 212th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were out for an operation.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the incident was “deeply distressing” and asked CRPF Director General R R Bhatnagar to rush to Chhattisgarh.

“My heartfelt condolences to the families of those personnel who lost their lives in Sukma blast. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured jawans,” he said.

The home minister spoke to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh who briefed him about the incident, steps taken for the jawans’ treatment and operations to nab those involved.

The armoured MPV had gone about 10-feet into the air and crashed on the ground before splitting into pieces. All the personnel were killed due to the impact of the blast even as many were thrown out of the vehicle, officials said.

“The troops who came under attack were travelling in the MPV and going towards a newly-opened post in Palodi. Naxals were first spotted in the area around 8 am and the CoBRA teams effectively retaliated and broke the ambush.

“However, when a convoy of motorcycles and 2 MPVs were crossing the area in the noon, the second mine protected vehicle got caught in the blast,” Bhatnagar told PTI in Delhi.

He had returned from the state only this morning after conducting an official tour.

When asked why MPVs were being used despite their vulnerability in Naxal areas, the DG said they were used sparingly and that they had not been abandoned completely for use in operations.

Officials said nine men were killed while two other jawans are injured after the armoured vehicle was blown up using over 50 kgs of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) concealed under the track that joins Kistaram to Palodi, a senior official said.

A senior CRPF official in Raipur said the patrol squad had launched the search-cum-area domination operation from Kistaram towards Palodi, located around 500 kms from here, in view of the visit of Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena in Palodi today.

The blast is suspected to have been triggered by Maoists by joining wires from a distance when the MPV crossed over the IED, officials said.

They said the Maoist cadre led by elusive Naxal commander Hidma and his PLGA (Peoples Liberation Guerrilla Army) battalion no 1 could be behind the deadly attack.

Sukma, considered one of the worst insurgency-hit regions of the state, has witnessed several dreaded attacks on security forces in the past, particularly in summer season during which rebels carry out an annual tactical counter offensive campaign (TCOC).

There were reports that the TCOC was launched by the Naxals early this year, from late February as compared to March-end, the official said.

Soon after the incident, reinforcements were rushed to the spot, around 500 kms from state capital Raipur, officials said, adding further details were awaited.

Those killed have been identified as Assistant Sub Inspector R K S Tomar, Head Constable Laxman and constables Ajay K Yadav, Manoranjan Lanka, Jitendra Singh, Shobhit Sharma, Manoj Singh, Dharmendra Singh and Chandra H S. The injured are Madan Kumar and Rajesh Kumar.

Twelve personnel of the force were killed on March 11 last year in the Bheji area of the district and their arms looted, when Naxals ambushed their patrol party.

A few days later on April 24, twenty-five personnel of the paramilitary were killed in a similar ambush in Sukma.

London, Mar 15: British Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to announce a range of measures against Moscow today over the poisoning of a former Russian spy with a deadly nerve agent in England this month.

The British Prime Minister will chair a meeting of the UK’s National Security Council (NSC) to lay out her proposals before announcing them in the House of Commons later today.

Moscow, which had been given an ultimatum to provide a “credible response” over how a Russian-made nerve agent came to be used on British soil, has warned of “an equal and opposite reaction” against any UK reprisals.

The set of measures are expected to cover the expulsion of Russian diplomats, financial sanctions against wealthy Russians with links to the Kremlin, possible curbs on the Russia’s state-funded television station RT, and boycotting the FIFA World Cup in Russia later this year.

The reprisals will follow days of diplomacy since Theresa May first informed Parliament that there was enough evidence to conclude that it is “highly likely” that Russia is behind the poisoning of 66-year-old former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia in Salisbury on March 4.

Russia’s record of conducting state-sponsored assassinations; and our assessment that Russia views some defectors as legitimate targets for assassinations; the government has concluded that it is highly likely that Russia was responsible for the act against Sergei and Yulia Skripal, she had said.

“It was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the United Kingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk. And we will not tolerate such a brazen attempt to murder innocent civilians on our soil, she added, giving Moscow a Tuesday midnight deadline to respond on the circumstances surrounding the attack.

US President Donald Trump, as well as North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and European Union (EU) allies including Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, have since come out in support of the UK and offered support.

Downing Street said the British prime minister received the backing of Trump, who agreed in a phone call that Moscow “must provide unambiguous answers as to how this nerve agent came to be used”.

A spokesperson added that France’s President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had also condemned the attack and offered support to the UK, as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania the Baltic states bordering Russia.

Russia, however, has insisted that it is being blamed unfairly, with the Russian embassy in the UK tweeting that the ambassador, who had been summoned to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for an explanation, had branded the actions of the UK authorities as a clear provocation .

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Britain of “playing politics” and ignoring an international agreement on chemical weapons. He said Moscow would cooperate if it received a formal request for clarification from the UK under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which sets a 10-day time limit for a response.

UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson has said if the attack was shown to be a “direct act” by the Russian state it would be a “clear violation of the chemical weapons convention, a breach of international law and a threat to those who abide by the rules-based international order”.

FCO is also set to brief a session of the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s political decision-making body, on the Skripal incident later.

In her Commons statement earlier this week, May made a specific reference to the use of radiological substances in the “barbaric assault” on Alexander Litvenenko another Russian spy murdered 11 years ago in London.

Following Litvinenko’s death, the UK had expelled Russian diplomats, suspended security cooperation, broke off bilateral plans on visas, froze the assets of the suspects and put them on international extradition lists.

May told Parliament that while those measures remain in place, “we must now stand ready to take much more extensive measures .

Meanwhile, Skripal, and his daughter remain critically ill in hospital. A former Russian military colonel, Skripal was convicted of treason in 2006 and jailed for 13 years for selling secrets to MI6, which had recruited him in the 1990s.

The senior intelligence officer with Russian military intelligence GRU, was pardoned in a spy swap in 2010 and settled in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

A week after he and his daughter were found collapsed on a bench of a shopping centre in the city, Britain’ s public health authorities had asked hundreds of people who were at a restaurant and pub linked with the poisoning of the Russian spy to clean up their possessions to remove any traces of the deadly nerve agent.

The poison used in the attack has been identified as belonging to a group of chemical nerve agents known as Novichok’, which means newcomer and was used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War era in 1970s and 1980s.

Like most nerve agents, it has the effect of blocking messages from the nerves to the muscles in the body, which leads to a collapse of body functions and ultimately death by asphyxiation.

His genius and wit won over fans from far beyond the rarified world of astrophysics, earning comparisons with Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.

Hawking died peacefully at his home in the British university city of Cambridge in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today,” professor Hawking’s children, Lucy, Robert, and Tim said in a statement carried by Britain’s Press Association news agency.

Washington, March 14: President Donald Trump on Tuesday removed Rex Tillerson as US Secretary of State, following months of policy disagreements.
In a tweet, Trump announced that CIA Director Mike Pompeo will succeed the former Exxon Mobil chief executive and said he would do a “fantastic job.”
Trump thanked Tillerson for his 14 months of service as the country’s top diplomat.
“Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!” Trump said.
The president also picked deputy CIA Director Gina Haspel to run the spy agency.
“Gina Haspel will become the new Director of the CIA, and the first woman so chosen. Congratulations to all!,” he said in the tweet.
Earlier in the day, The Washington Post had reported the ouster of Tillerson, which Trump confirmed in the tweet.
Trump last Friday asked Tillerson to step aside, and the embattled diplomat cut short his trip to Africa on Monday to return to Washington.
The Post quoted three White House official as saying that Trump — who has long clashed will Tillerson, who he believes is “too establishment” in his thinking — felt it was important to make the change now, as he prepares for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as well as upcoming trade negotiations.
Ever since Tillerson took the post in February 2017, there have been reports about differences between the White House and the State Department over several international crises. Tensions between the two hit new high when Tillerson, 65, publicly distanced himself from the president’s defiant response to violence at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, this summer.
In October, NBC News had reported that Tillerson had come close to resigning this summer but was urged to stay in the job until the end of the year. Citing high-level administration sources, NBC had said Tillerson had referred to Trump as a “moron” in July following a meeting with the president’s national security team.

Pompeo in a statement said he was “deeply grateful” to President Trump for the opportunity to serve as Secretary of State.
“His leadership has made America safer and I look forward to representing him and the American people to the rest of the world to further America’s prosperity. Serving alongside the great men and women of the CIA, the most dedicated and talented public servants I have encountered, has been one of the great honors of my life.”

New Delhi, Mar 14: The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the March 31 deadline for linking Aadhaar with various services till the five-judge constitution bench delivers its judgement on petitions challenging the validity of the biometric scheme and the enabling law

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had on March 7 said it may not be possible to decide by March 31 the batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act

The bench, which also comprised justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, had earlier said that since the matter would have implications on financial institutions, like banks and stock exchange, it would create a huge problem of compliance if the deadline was extended at the last moment

On December 15 last year, the apex court had extended till March 31 the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes

Former Karnataka High Court judge Justice K S Puttaswamy had told the apex court on February 22 that several deaths had reportedly taken place due to starvation on account of glitches in the Aadhaar-based public distribution system and the court must consider granting them compensation

Earlier, the top court had observed that the alleged defect of citizens’ biometric details under the Aadhaar scheme being collected without any law could be cured by subsequently bringing in a statute

It had said that the Centre came out with the law in 2016 to negate the objection that it was collecting data since 2009 without any authorisation, but the issue which needed consideration was what would happen if the data collected earlier, had been compromised.

Beijing, Mar 11 : China’s one-party political landscape today changed as the country’s rubber-stamp parliament ratified a historic constitutional amendment abolishing the two-term limit for President Xi Jinping, paving the way for his continuation in power perhaps for life.

Set for his second five-year term as President this month, 64-year-old Xi, the most powerful leader in recent decades heading the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the military, will now be the first Chinese leader after the founder chairman Mao Zedong to remain in power lifelong.

The National People’s Congress (NPC) has kept its reputation as the rubber stamp parliament for its routine approval of CPC proposals by voting exactly to the official script.

The amendment removing the term limits for the president and the vice president was approved by the NPC with 2,958 in favour, two against and three abstentions, official media reported. The two votes of dissent were apparently has the official sanction to show semblance of diversity.

For today’s vote, the NPC chose to follow paper ballot system instead of hand raising and electronic voting.

Xi stood up first at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to cast his paper ballot in a red box.

The first Constitution of China was enacted in 1954. The current Constitution has been in place since 1982 and has undergone four amendments in 1988, 1993, 1999 and 2004.

The removal of the term limit was regarded as the biggest political change in the one-party system which remained in force in China since 1949.

Ahead of the vote by deputies in the NPC, the seven member Standing Committee – the topmost body of the ruling Communist Party of China – unanimously approved the amendment to abolish the presidential term limits.

The amendment effectively ended the collective leadership system followed by the CPC to avert a dictatorship emerging in otherwise a one-party state akin to the era of Mao which witnessed the most brutal events like Cultural Revolution resulting in the killings of millions of people.

Observers say the constitutional amendment in effective pays the way for China’s transition from being one-party state to one leader state with Xi, described by some as an Emperor, to remain in power in the foreseeable future.

Xi, christened as “lingxiu” – a leader with highest prestige, is aggressively pushing Chinese military’s modernisation to make the world’s largest army a mightier force capable of winning modern wars.

The proposal of limitless tenure for Xi has sparked worldwide concerns specially in China’s neighbourhood.

For India, observers say, Xi’s continuation will have particular significance, especially in the backdrop of last year’s 73-day-long Dokalam standoff where Chinese troops tried to build a road in the area claimed by Bhutan to reach close to India’s narrow corridor connecting North Eastern states.

Under Xi, China has been pouring billions of dollars in India’s neighbourhood in projects like China-Pakistan Economic Corridor traversing through PoK, connectivity projects in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives, raising strategic stakes for India.

Significantly, today’s amendment also removed term-limits for the Vice President.

The inclusion of the Vice President was notably aimed at reinforcing Xi’s support base as his trusted lieutenant, Wang Qishan (69), is tipped to take over the post despite a widely-followed convention by Chinese leaders to retire after 68 years.

Wang headed the dreaded anti-graft campaign carried out by Xi since he began his first term in 2013.

The NPC in the next few days is also set to ratify new name for all top government posts. The entire Chinese government is set to change, including the entire cabinet.

Xi began his second five-year term as General Secretary of the CPC and Chairman of the Central Military Commission last year after the once-in-a-five-year congress of the party endorsed him for a second term. Two five-year tenures were permitted for top leaders of the party.

His predecessors – Jiang Zemin who was in power from 1993 to 2003 and Hu Jintao from 2003 to 2013 – stepped down as the General Secretary of the party as well as the president after widely followed rule as well as a convention of two terms to promote collective leadership system in the one-party state.

Xi, a princeling and son of a Vice Premier, who was the Vice President under Hu took over all the three posts in 2013 and subsequently emerged as the most powerful leader of China after Mao with little or no resistance in the party.

The president’s post is largely ceremonial while the real power rests with the CPC General Secretary and Chairman of the Military Commission, the overall high-command of the military. But the president is the only one with a formal limit of two terms – introduced by late paramount leader Deng Xiaoping in 1982 to prevent another lifelong dictatorship after Mao’s rule.

The NPC also endorsed another constitutional amendment to enshrine Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into the country’s Constitution.

This would make Xi the only leader after Mao and his predecessor Deng whose thoughts were written into the Constitution. It would place him above the rest of the leaders of the party.