* Gabbard voted present on both articles, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress * She did not qualify for Wednesday's debate in Los Angeles, having failed to meet a polling threshold * She had called for censuring Trump * House leaders pushed through a closed rule that didn't allow it * Gabbard has clashed with Hillary Clinton and angered some party faithful * There also were efforts to push censure alternative during the Bill Clinton impeachment
Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii was the only member of her party to vote 'present' on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump during Wednesday's historic vote.
Gabbard, a Democratic presidential candidate, did not speak on the floor while leaders of both parties doled out slots in 30-second and one-minute increments. When the voting finally occurred Wednesday night, she voted 'present' on both an abuse of power article and one accusing Trump of obstructing Congress by thwarting the impeachment inquiry.
She was seen standing agains the back wall of the chamber on the side where Republicans sit during the second vote.
Some legal scholars have suggested she could consider refusing to transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to commit Wednesday to delivering articles of impeachment to the Senate, citing concerns about an unfair trial on removing President Donald Trump from office.
Senior Democratic aides said the House was "very unlikely" to take the steps necessary to send the articles to the Senate until at least early January, a delay of at least two weeks and perhaps longer.
WNU Editor: I can see it now. Republican Senators being told what to do by the House Speaker. Here is an easy prediction. It is not going to happen. House Speaker Pelosi and her allies think they have leverage .... they do not.
More News On U.S. House Speaker Pelosi Threatening To Delay Senate Impeachment Trial
* President Trump strutted onstage a Michigan rally minutes before the House of Representatives started the impeachment vote * Trump told the crowd 'it doesn't really feel like we're being impeached' as he listed his administration's wins * Both articles of impeachment easily passed the House, with minimal Democratic defections and Republicans voting no as a bloc * The president received the results of the vote while he was onstage and relished in the fact that there were Democratic rebels, but the GOP stuck together * His rally featured a number of tirades about his Democratic rivals including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden
President Trump was impeached while he was live, onstage at a Michigan rally that was supposed to be Christmas-themed.
Instead it was an raucous assault on the Democratic Party and the impeachment process, which he labeled a 'perversion.'
'Through their depraved actions today "Crazy Nancy" Pelosi's House Democrats have branded themselves with an eternal mark of shame,' he said. 'Democrat lawmakers do not believe you have the right to select your own president.'
He said she should be punished by getting voted the 'hell out of office.'
In a glass-half-full move, Trump also relished that the Republicans voted en masse, but the Democrats saw some rebels.
* Donald Trump became the third American president to be impeached * House approved two articles of impeachment on a largely party-line vote * The vote on the first article of impeachment - abuse of power - was 230 to 197 * The vote on the second article - obstruction of Congress - was 229 to 198 * Nancy Pelosi said Donald Trump gave them no choice but to impeach him * 'It is tragic that the president's reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice,' she said * She threatened not to send impeachment articles to the Senate until Mitch McConnell announced the process under which the Senate would hold its trial * Vote came as Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Michigan * 'It doesn't really feel like we're being impeached,' he said * 'I'm having a good time, it's crazy,' he remarked later after the vote concluded
Donald Trump became the third president in American history to be impeached on Wednesday on a largely party line vote, setting up a formal trial next year in the Senate.
The impeachment vote capped off a three month investigation into the president's actions in regard to the Ukraine. The vote came at the end of a day long partisan debate on the House floor with Republicans charging Democrats with wanting to over turn the last presidential election and Democrats arguing the president tried to use a foreign power to help him win re-election.
'A great day for the constitution of the United States,' Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after the votes concluded.
The transformation of the armed forces has direct implications for the country's crisis— and a possible transition.
Chavismo imposed deep changes to many areas of the Venezuelan government, but the transformation in the armed forces — and more broadly in civil-military relations — stands out as a particularly extreme case. The basis of this shift was the blurring of lines between security and defense institutions under the "Bolivarian Revolution." During the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, the military turned away from protecting the state and its citizens and toward defending the chavista regime.
In theory, defense institutions deal with preserving the territorial integrity of the state "from the borders out," while security agencies protect individuals and their property "from the borders in." This distinction is important for defense and security institutions' ability to fulfill their missions and cooperate with peers across borders.
Turkey is allowing senior Hamas operatives to plot attacks against Israel from Istanbul, The Telegraph can disclose, as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plays host to the terrorist group's leaders.
Transcripts of Israeli police interrogations with suspects show that senior Hamas operatives are using Turkey's largest city to direct operations in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, including an assassination attempt earlier this year on the mayor of Jerusalem.
Israel has repeatedly told Turkey that Hamas is using its territory to plan attacks, but last weekend Mr Erdogan met Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas, and Turkish intelligence agents maintain close contact with the group's operatives in Istanbul. "We will keep on supporting our brothers in Palestine," Mr Erdogan said.
Turkey is already facing questions from Western allies over its support for extremist rebels in northern Syria and over its commitment to Nato after buying a Russian missile system.
SEOUL - The United States and South Korea failed to reach a deal on how to split the cost of the U.S. military presence, South Korean officials said Wednesday, just days before the current agreement is set to expire.
South Korean and U.S. negotiators "broadened their understanding" of each other's positions during two days of talks that ended Wednesday, but must be prepared for another round of negotiations in January, South Korea's foreign ministry said.
The United States had reportedly demanded that South Korea pay five times its current amount for the cost of the approximately 28,000 troops that are stationed in South Korea. South Korean officials dismissed the demand as unreasonable.
7% of first-generation migrants would like to return to their birth country 77% of migrants do not want to leave their adopted country 16% if migrants would like to move to another country
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In his inaugural speech in 2019, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky implored Ukrainians abroad to come home -- and to bring their knowledge, experience and values with them. But Gallup data show how tough of a sell this is, not just for the Ukrainian diaspora, but for most migrants.
At least 80% of migrants from a host of countries, including Ukraine and several others in conflict such as Iraq and Yemen, have no desire to leave their adopted countries and move home or anywhere else. But the list notably also includes countries such as Portugal, which is desperately trying to get Portuguese living abroad to return home in order to maintain a stable working population.
Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Russian Army Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff. US Dept. of Defense
Gen. Mark Milley, the top US military official, met his Russian counterpart Gen. Valery Gerasimov in Bern, Switzerland, today as part of an ongoing high-level military dialogue between the United States and Russia. Moscow has reportedly used the channel to seek American help to rebuild areas held by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and repatriate Syrian refugees.
President Donald Trump's job approval rating inched up six percentage points since House Democrats opened an impeachment inquiry against him, according to a Gallop poll published Wednesday.
The president's job approval rating is now at 45% while Americans remain divided over whether Trump should be impeached, Gallup's poll found. Currently, 46% support impeachment and removal, down six points from when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the inquiry.
More than 50% oppose impeachment and removal, an increase of five percentage points.
The poll, which was conducted between Dec. 2-15, shows political independents are shifting on the issue — they supported impeachment in October polls by roughly 55%, Gallop noted. Support for impeachment and removal is now down below 50% among independents, the poll found.
WNU Editor: This is my take on what is happening now:
1) Contrary to media reports. The Republicans are very united. More than I have seen in decades. 2) The Progressive Democrats are excited and they are also united. As for the rest of the Democrat Party I sense a different mood. There will be some dissenters, and I expect a small handful will either abstain or vote against impeachment. 3) Unless there is a major war or major economic crisis, impeachment will be the number one issue in November when Americans go to the polls. 4) The Republicans will regain the House with a solid majority, and will retain their majority in the Senate even though many Republican senators are running this November. 5) President Trump will be re-elected in November.
* Nancy Pelosi said Donald Trump gave them no choice but to impeach him * 'It is tragic that the president's reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice,' she said * Trump launched a furious all-caps assault in response * 'SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS' * Trump's impeachment inquiry began with a bang of the gavel Wednesday * Republicans immediately called for a series of procedural votes * Only two Democrats defected, a sign Pelosi has her party in line * The day is expected to be filled with such votes and speeches from lawmakers * But Trump is expected to become the third president to be impeached * A final vote on two articles of impeachment is expected between 7 and 8 pm * Trump holds a campaign rally in Michigan at 7 pm
Donald Trump launched a furious all-caps assault on House Democrats Wednesday as Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened debate on the articles of impeachment, accusing them of 'atrocious lies.'
'SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS. THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!,' he wrote on Twitter.
Pelosi, meanwhile, said the president gave them no choice but to impeach him, receiving a standing ovation from her Democratic lawmakers in the process.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz testified Wednesday that his investigation found evidence of "political bias" among F.B.I. officials who abused the FISA process while carrying out Operation Crossfire Hurricane.
Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson opened his round of questioning by noting that Horowitz found that Bill Priestap, the former FBI assistant director of counterintelligence, did not exhibit political bias when opening the investigation into members of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Still, Johnson added that Horowitz "definitely" found other examples of political bias while conducting his investigation.
"We found through the text messages evidence of people's political bias, correct," the inspector general answered.
But battle lines between Democrats and Republicans will remain unmoved.
The House is set to vote on Wednesday to impeach Donald Trump for abusing his power and obstructing congressional investigations, labeling the president a threat to national security and recommending his removal from office.
With the votes, which are expected to fall largely along party lines, Trump will become just the third president to be impeached — after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. He likely will also become the first to campaign for reelection after facing the House's ultimate punishment.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to pass a $738 billion defense policy bill that creates President Donald Trump's "Space Force" and gives federal employees 12 weeks of paid parental leave, sending it to the White House, where Trump has promised to quickly sign it into law.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted 86 to 8 in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. The Democratic-led House approved the bill by 377-48 last week.
Trump said on Twitter last week that he would sign the bill as soon as it passes, saying it included all his priorities.
The increased intensity and scale of US-led NATO military exercises in the Baltics and Black Sea suggest the alliance is preparing for a major military conflict, said General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff.
NATO's ramping up of large-scale war games in the Baltics, Poland and the Black Sea region show that it is gearing up for a major confrontation, Gerasimov said on Thursday, briefing foreign military attaches in Moscow.
Gerasimov pointed out that in addition to flexing its military muscles around Russian borders, the US continues to deploy its anti-ballistic missile systems to Europe, which Moscow considers to be an acute threat to its national security.
The base is known to be the shadowy home of aircraft that move from a developmental state at Area 51 and into an operational, but still secretive one.
Tonopah Test Range Airport, located along the northern edge of the sprawling Nevada Test and Training Range, may not get all the pop culture attention that nearby Area 51 gets, but in many ways, it is just as fascinating. It was born out of a program that saw American fighter pilots secretly flying captured MiGs against their fellow aviators. Not long after that program spun-up, the remote installation was greatly expanded to house the F-117 Nighthawk force during the early and deeply classified part of its career. It has since housed the semi-mothballed F-117 fleet following its official retirement more than a decade ago. It was also the original home of RQ-170 Sentinel. Today, the high-security base continues to support a number of secretive programs, as well as testing at the nearby range. Now, highly unusual activity around a dozen hangars at the shadowy installation has been caught on satellite.
Turkey on Dec. 17 criticized the U.S. over threats to remove it from the F-35 program due to its purchase of the S-400 Russian air defense system.
"We remind once more that the language of threats and sanctions will never dissuade Turkey from resolutely taking steps to ensure its national security," the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"No one should doubt that necessary measures will be taken against these initiatives targeting Turkey," it added.
Underlining that the bill demonstrated the U.S. "disrespecting Turkey's sovereign decisions," it said: "The Congress persists in adopting an irrational hostile attitude by unfairly blocking our participation to the F-35 program despite Turkey having fulfilled all its obligations."
Washington (AFP) - The US Congress voted Tuesday to lift a decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus, defying Turkey by seeking warmer ties at a time of renewed tensions.
The Senate approved the measure as part of a massive defense spending bill that passed 86 to eight and already went through the House of Representatives, with President Donald Trump likely to sign it.
The United States imposed an embargo on the full island in 1987 with an aim to prevent an arms race and encourage a peaceful settlement between the Greek majority and Turkish minority.
Critics say the step has been counterproductive by forcing Cyprus to seek other partners while Turkey, a NATO member, has stationed forces in northern Cyprus since its invasion in 1974.
* Donald Trump sent a scathing six-page letter to Nancy Pelosi * He slammed her for leading a 'libelous and vicious crusade' against him on the eve of the House impeachment vote * 'More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials' * 'You have developed a full-fledged case of what many in the media call Trump Derangement Syndrome and sadly, you will never get over it!,' he added * Trump charged Democrats with trying to overturn the 2016 election * 'Everyone, you included, knows what is really happening. Your chosen candidate lost the election in 2016,' he wrote
Donald Trump sent a scathing six-page letter to Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday, slamming her for leading a 'libelous and vicious crusade' against him on the eve of the House impeachment vote.
'More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials,' the president complained.
He also charged the speaker with suffering from 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' in page after page of personal attacks on Pelosi, accusing her of lying when she says she prays for him, of harassing an innocent person, and of betraying her oath of office by launching the impeachment inquiry into his presidency.
#1 "This impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat Lawmakers, unequaled in nearly two and a half centuries of American legislative history."
#2 "By proceeding with your invalid impeachment, you are violating your oaths of office, you are breaking your allegiance to the Constitution, and you are declaring open war on American Democracy."
#3 "Even worse than offending the Founding Fathers, you are offending Americans of faith by continually saying you pray for the President when you know this statement is not true, unless it is meant in a negative sense."
#4 "You know full well that Vice President Biden used his office and $1 billion dollars of US aid money to coerce Ukraine into firing the prosecutor who was digging into the company paying his son millions of dollars."
#5 "Now you are trying to impeach me by falsely accusing me of doing what Joe Biden has admitted he actually did."
#6 "You have developed a full-fledged case of what many in the media call Trump Derangement Syndrome and sadly, you will never get over it!"
#7 "You view democracy as your enemy!"
#8 "You are the ones interfering in America's elections. You are the ones subverting America's Democracy."
#9 "More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials."
#10 "Any member of Congress who votes in support of impeachment against every shred of truth, fact, evidence, and legal principle, is showing how deeply they revile the voters and how truly they detest America's Constitutional order."
Former FBI attorney Lisa Page appeared on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show on Tuesday night in her first televised interview since resigning from the Bureau nearly two years ago
* Lisa Page appeared on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show on Tuesday night * It marked her first televised interview since she resigned from the FBI nearly two years ago following the release of her text messages with Peter Strzok * In the messages, Page and Strzok, who were engaged in an extramarital affair, expressed bias against then-candidate Donald Trump * Trump has repeatedly ridiculed the 'FBI lovebirds', including at several of his campaign rallies this fall * Page said she was motivated to break her silence after the president mimicked her having an orgasm at a rally in October * 'I just finally had to accept it's not getting better and being quiet isn't making this go away,' she said of her response to the rally ridicule * Page also accused the DOJ and FBI of 'politicizing' her messages with Strzok * She said that Attorney General Bill Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should have come to her defense
Lisa Page says she was moved to break her silence about being targeted by Donald Trump after the president mimicked her having an orgasm at a campaign rally in October.
The former FBI attorney spoke with MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night in her first televised interview since resigning from the Bureau following the release of text messages in which she and colleague Peter Strzok, with whom she was having an extramarital affair, criticized then-candidate Trump.
In the two years since those messages were made public, Trump has repeatedly ridiculed 'FBI lovebirds' Page and Strzok, including at several of his campaign rallies this fall.
Asked why she was speaking out now, Page told Maddow: 'Honestly I wasn't planning to and I didn't want to.
.... "My boss got mad at me for sexting with a married man on a company phone while we were also plotting against him, and now I'm emotionally disturbed," doesn't seem like a very solid basis for a lawsuit. This was a saner country when people who did that kind of thing were mocked out of public life, rather than treated as victims and celebrities.
IMPEACHMENT proceedings reached their next step on Wednesday, as the House of Representatives voted on Donald Trump has become the third US president in history to be impeached. What is impeachment, and what does it mean for President Donald Trump?
DONALD TRUMP was impeached by the United States House of Representatives which voted to charge the President on two articles: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. US senators will decide whether Donald Trump will remain in office, but when will the Senate vote?
IMPEACHMENT proceedings have now passed the House of Representatives in the US Congress, as Democrats voted to pass articles of impeachment to the Senate. How many Democrats are in the Senate, and will Donald Trump lose the impeachment vote?
MICHELLE OBAMA has announced another location for her upcoming speaking tour in the US, but there is speculation as to whether the tickets will have a hefty price tag.
DONALD TRUMP reacted cooly and with disdain to news that he had been impeached by Congress, warning Democrats that they would be punished by voters in next year's Presidential elections.
MELANIA TRUMP faced a tirade of criticism on social media after she, and her husband Donald trump, welcomed the President and First Lady of Guatemala to the White House.
RUSSIA and the US are locked in a tense period of missile test escalation and political unrest after the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty was abandoned earlier this year, but Washington will be increasingly concerned after it admitted Russia is building warheads that the US "does not possess".
Kekeletso Lekaota spends her work days nurturing rows of cannabis plants for harvest. Pruning a few yellowed leaves from stems with thick, flowering heads, she says the job requires a soft touch and delicate hands.
It’s a crop Lekaota had no experience with 18 months ago, when she saw an advertisement for a grower in her local newspaper. Now, the 27-year-old trains others how to cultivate the plants for MG Health Ltd., a supplier of pharmaceutical-grade cannabis products, at a farm and oil extraction facility in Lesotho, the tiny, mountainous kingdom bordered on all sides by South Africa.
“I didn’t know what cannabis was—it was only when I was applying for this job that I realized it’s dagga,” Lekaota said, using a word for weed derived from the local Khoisan languages, as she readied the greenhouses for their required 12 hours of darkness.
Marijuana has been widely cultivated across Lesotho, one of Africa’s poorest countries, since time immemorial—long used as medicine by the native Basotho people. It’s easier to grow and more lucrative than other crops such as maize and sugar cane, and the nation’s abundant water and fertile soil provide ideal conditions. Many families rely on the extra income from selling illicitly to recreational drug users, to cover basic costs such as sending their children to school.
The Lesotho government is now trying to spur development of legal plantations supplying the burgeoning global medical cannabis industry to broaden its tax base—currently dominated by exports of diamonds, water and wool—and create jobs. About two-thirds of the country’s 2.2 million people live in rural villages, and many survive off subsistence farming. Cannabis is a critical piece of the government’s agricultural strategy, which it hopes will help fund basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water pipes.
In 2018, Lesotho became the first African nation to issue licenses for the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes. Foreign investors including Canadian companies Supreme Cannabis Co., Canopy Growth Corp. and Aphria Inc. have since poured tens of millions of dollars into a handful of facilities, drawn by the low cost of production.
MG Health, Lesotho’s biggest commercial producer, received C$10 million ($7.6 million) from Supreme Cannabis last year in exchange for 10% of the business then known as Medigrow Lesotho (Supreme has said it eventually wants to export medical cannabis oils from Lesotho to Canada). MG Health plans to employ as many as 3,000 workers locally—up from about 350 currently—once it reaches full production in a few years, says Chief Executive Officer Andre Bothma.
The company harvests a strain of marijuana with low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—the compound that gets you stoned—to comply with regulations. It exports nonpsychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) oil extracts and other medical cannabis products primarily to South Africa, and is working on entering markets in Europe and the Middle East, as well as Australia.
“We have first-mover advantage in Africa and we think the market is huge,” Bothma says.
CBD is a fast-growing piece of the $340 billion global cannabis market. In the U.S. alone, CBD sales are expected to quintuple to about $20 billion by 2024 from six years earlier, according to BDS Analytics.
As cannabis rules loosen around the globe, companies are turning to low-cost regions for supply. MG Health says that even in its start-up phase, it’s producing in Lesotho for about 93 cents a gram, less than the $1 or more per gram that it cites as the norm elsewhere. But Lesotho will face competition for investment from other regions known to be cheap, including Colombia and Jamaica, as well as other African nations that may follow in its footsteps and legalize production.
To get large plants with thick flowering heads, growers need controlled temperatures of between 20 and 28 degrees Celsius (68 to 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit), plenty of air circulation to prevent mildew growing and, when in bloom, a strict regime of 12 hours of light and an equal measure of dark, according to MG Health.
As a medical product, it’s imperative that the CBD oil produced is standardized and uncontaminated, and quality control testing for MG Health is conducted by the independent LuCan Laboritories Ltd. Workers have to shower at work and wear layers of protective clothing, which are then washed and pressed at the end of each day.
The fledgling legal industry in Lesotho has given big ideas to illegal growers, who produce strains known for their strong psychoactive effects and sell to South Africans. They can avoid arrest by producing in remote locations and bribing authorities.
Kotsoana Clementi, a 43-year-old who grows pot illicitly in his village about a 1.5-hour drive from the capital of Maseru, says he would like to partner with one of the Canadian cannabis companies on a legal business. While Clementi stands out among other villagers with his blue collared shirt, Guess jeans and polished black shoes, the operation in his small stone house lacking electricity is rudimentary.
After harvesting his weed between March and May, Clementi fills hundreds of packets and seals them with the flame from a paraffin lamp and the rounded end of a spoon. He charges 15 rand ($1) apiece and can sell 380 packets a day—an amount worth almost $400 (he says he keeps 60% of the sales and the rest goes to drug mules and bribes for border police).
“The most important thing would be to secure an investor—then the whole village would have work,” Clementi says. “I’d still want to be in charge of the business, but the villagers could have a 2-3% stake.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has imposed curfew-like restrictions across vast swathes of India and shut down internet services in parts of the capital New Delhi as he tries to quell nationwide protests against India’s controversial religion-based law.
The entire state of Uttar Pradesh — with a population of 200 million it’s about the size of Brazil — has been placed under a law banning gatherings of more than four people as has the tech-hub of Bengaluru as well as parts of the capital New Delhi. Protests are expected to begin again this afternoon in 13 major cities around the country — the eighth day of unrest that’s posing the biggest challenge to Modi’s government since he was elected in 2014.
At least one major service provider confirmed on Twitter the internet block was implemented “as per instructions from the government.” India recorded the world’s highest number of internet shutdowns, with services cut 134 times overall and 93 times so far this year, according to the Delhi-based Software Freedom Law Center. The longest shutdown has been recorded in Kashmir, the country’s only Muslim-majority territory, where the block has been in place since August when the government scrapped the state’s decades-old autonomy.
Police in the neighboring state of Haryana tweeted an advisory to avoid “non-essential” travel to New Delhi, saying the capital’s borders have been sealed, while 16 metro stations were also shut. The police chief in Uttar Pradesh, ruled by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, recorded a video telling parents to stop their kids from joining protests.
Demonstrations are taking place at Delhi’s Mughal-era Red Fort, from where Indian prime ministers address the nation every Independence Day, while another protest is expected to walk toward the heavily-guarded Parliament. Marches are planned across a dozen Indian cities and towns against the Citizenship Amendment Act that bars undocumented Muslims from neighboring Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan from seeking citizenship while allowing in migrants from other religions.
Protests Spreading
Since the law was passed on Dec. 11, protests have spread across the nation, raising fears it would damage India’s traditional secular ethos enshrined in its Constitution that treats all religions on par.
The new law is seen as a precursor to India’s powerful minister Amit Shah’s plan to implement a nationwide citizens register to weed out illegal migrants. Demonstrations first began in the eastern state of Assam where there are fears the new law will allow an influx of migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. Some 1.9 million people in Assam — many of them Muslims — risk losing their Indian citizenship after the state enforced the citizens register in August.
“Our paranoid rulers in Delhi are scared. Our Home Minister would not dare allow a peaceful protest,” prominent historian and government critic Ramachandra Guha said after he was detained at a protest meet in Bangalore. “Everyone should stand up, the entrepreneurs of Bangalore should stand up. Do they want this image to go around, that we are a quasi-dictatorship? We are here to assert our democratic rights.”
(FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.) — A Chinese national trespassed at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club Wednesday and was arrested when she refused to leave, police said, the second time this year a woman from that country has been charged with illicitly entering the Florida resort.
Jing Lu, 56, was confronted by the private club’s security officers and told to leave, but she returned to take photos, Palm Beach police spokesman Michael Ogrodnick said in an email. Palm Beach officers were called and arrested her. It was determined she had an expired visa, Ogrodnick said.
Lu was charged with loitering and prowling and was being held late Wednesday at the Palm Beach County jail.
The president and his family were not at the club — he held a rally in Michigan on Wednesday as the U.S. House voted to impeach him. The Trumps are expected to arrive at Mar-a-Lago by the weekend and spend the holidays there.
Lu’s arrest is reminiscent of the March arrest of Yujing Zhang, a 33-year-old Shanghai businesswoman, who gained access to Mar-a-Lago while carrying a laptop, phones and other electronic gear. That led to initial speculation that she might be a spy, but she was never charged with espionage and text messages she exchanged with a trip organizer indicated she was a fan of the president and wanted to meet him or his family to discuss possible deals.
Zhang was found guilty in September of trespassing and lying to Secret Service agents and was sentenced last month to time served. She is being held for deportation.
In another Mar-a-Lago trespassing case, a University of Wisconsin student was arrested in November 2018 after he mixed in with guests being admitted to the club. He pleaded guilty in May and received probation.
In both of those cases, Trump and his family were staying at the resort, but none were ever threatened.
With the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway to the west, Mar-a-Lago sits on the Palm Beach barrier island, a 128-room, 62,500-square-foot (5,8000-square-meter) symbol of opulence and power. The Trump family business doubled the initiation fee to $200,000 after the president was elected in 2016. He spends many weekends between November and April there, mingling with the club’s 500 members, who pay $14,000 in annual dues to belong.
Trump purchased Mar-a-Lago from the foundation of the late socialite and cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1985. He and first lady Melania Trump held their 2005 wedding reception inside the 20,000-square-foot (1,860-square-meter) ballroom shortly after its completion.
Federal agencies spent about $3.4 million per Trump visit, much of it on security, according to an analysis of four 2017 trips by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The Secret Service doesn’t decide who is invited or welcome at the resort; that responsibility belongs to the club. Agents do screen guests outside the perimeter before they’re screened again inside.
As tense protests about India’s new citizenship law rocked the nation’s capital last weekend, four women tried to form a human shield around their male classmate as police beat him with sticks. Shaheen Abdulla’s face was bloody as he yelled at his friends to “go inside.” The women locked eyes with police officers, pointing their fingers at them, urging them to “go away” and leave Abdulla alone.
As a video of the encounter went viral on social media, Abdulla and his friends quickly became a national symbol for resistance. But he insists that “a lot of heroes came out that night” — rescuing each other and sheltering friends. “We are the only people who were caught on camera,” he tells TIME.
Is this the way a democratic nation treats its students? No space for dissent and zero tolerance is where we are headed…#JamiaMiliapic.twitter.com/xicho6PRMn
The viral video highlighting police brutality gave further momentum to the wave of protests spreading across India. Protests in Delhi grew over the weekend in response to a controversial new law that critics say could turn Indian Muslims into second-class citizens. Involving thousands of people at universities and cities all over the country, the demonstrations are the most widespread since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) first came to power in 2014. At least four people have died and many more have been injured.
Critics also say the law is an affront to India’s secular constitution, which guarantees different religions equal treatment by the government. “The very soul of the Indian freedom struggle and constitution was the idea of equal citizenship for people regardless of their faith,” says Harsh Mander, an activist and former civil servant. “And it’s this that they are destroying.”
Amid widespread protests on Tuesday, six districts in the state of Uttar Pradesh (India’s most populous) were put under an order preventing public gatherings. And on Wednesday, as the wave of protests showed no sign of abating, India’s top court said it would not intervene to stop the Act coming into effect.
“It does not seem as of now that the government is planning to back down,” says Nazia Erum of Amnesty India. “We don’t see any signs of backing down from anybody. That is why the protests are growing in number. Every day we are seeing a new university or a new section of people joining in the protests.”
Meanwhile, large protest marches against the Act are into their second week in the northeastern state of Assam, amid fears it could result in waves of immigration from neighboring Bangladesh. At least four people have reportedly been killed by police there, and hundreds more have been injured.
What is the Citizenship Amendment Act?
Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says the Citizenship Amendment Act will make it easier for “persecuted minorities” from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to claim Indian citizenship.
But it specifies that to be eligible for expedited citizenship one must be Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Parsi, Christian or Buddhist. In a statement, Amnesty India said the Act “legitimizes discrimination on the basis of religion and stands in clear violation of the Constitution of India and international human rights law… while inclusionary in its stated objective, [the Act] is exclusionary in its structure and intent.”
The move has provoked heightened anxiety among India’s 200 million Muslims because of its relation to another BJP plan: making a list of all the legal citizens of India. Modi’s Home Minister Amit Shah says the so-called National Register of Citizens will root out “infiltrators” from India — a term many Muslims see as a dog-whistle for themselves.
A trial run of the NRC was completed in the northeastern state of Assam earlier this year. The state’s 33million residents were asked to prove they had been residents of India since at least 1971, and 1.9 million were left off the list in August, when they could not. (Many people who have lived in Assam for generations were left off the list, for example because of misspelled names on official documents or because they were forced to flee their homes, leaving papers behind.) The government began constructing detention camps to hold those who fail to prove their citizenship at an appeal. But to the dismay of local BJP politicians, when statistics emerged about those left off the list, it turned out that a substantial proportion were Hindus, not Muslims.
Shah has repeatedly said he wants to roll out the NRC across the rest of India at an unspecified time in the near future. And many protesters and advocacy groups fear the Citizenship Amendment Act is a way for Modi’s Hindu nationalist government to guarantee expedited Indian citizenship for Hindus left off a future nationwide list of citizens, while denying that citizenship to Muslims who cannot prove they are Indian. In a statement released by her publisher, Arundhati Roy, one of India’s most famous writers, compared the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC to the Nazis’ 1935 Nuremberg Laws, which blocked Jews from German citizenship.
“The Act definitely cannot be seen in isolation,” says Erum, of Amnesty India. “The fact that it will precede the NRC across India has to be taken into consideration. The Act essentially weaponizes the NRC against Muslims, and they will only be the ones having to fight their cases in foreign tribunals and go to detention camps.”
Farhat Ali Khan, a student protester studying literature at Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi, tells TIME that he believes a potential India-wide NRC program, the kind the BJP wants to implement, would end up being blatantly anti-Muslim. He thinks a Hindu without documents would likely be allowed to stay, while a Muslim could eventually end up in a detention camp. “What is bothering the Jamia students is these damn camps,” Khan says. “This generation has never thought India would come to this day and that’s why we’re protesting.”
“I’m shivering when I talk about this.”
Widespread protests and police brutality
The Citizenship Amendment Act was signed into law by the BJP-dominated Indian parliament on Dec. 12, igniting protests at colleges, universities and cities across the country.
It was at two historically Muslim universities, Aligharh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia university, where the police response was most violent — firing tear gas and beating students, according to testimony heard by TIME and video footage posted online.
Abdulla, who was beaten by police in the video that went viral, is a student at Jamia Millia Islamia. Ladeeda Farzana, a Muslim from the state of Kerala and fellow student, was one of several women who formed a human shield around him. “I don’t have any fear of safety because I am fearing only my God,” Farzana tells TIME. Farzana says she was struck on her back when shielding Abdulla. It still hurts. “I feel pain but it’s fine,” she says.
But Mohammad Mustafa, a student there, said in a video statement he was studying in the library when police beat him until he fell unconscious. “I don’t have anything to do with the protest. I’m just here to study,” he recalls telling them. Mustafa says both his arms were fractured and that police deliberately broke his laptop.
Mustafa said it appeared police were specifically targeting Muslims. Police asked him: “What’s your problem with Modi and Shah?” before telling him to recite the kalima, a Muslim confession of faith sometimes said on one’s deathbead, he said in the video statement. During the crackdown at Aligarh University, police allegedly shouted “Jai Shree Ram” — a Hindu slogan meaning “victory for Ram” — while beating students. The phrase has frequently been used by the BJP and their supporters.
Mohammad Minhajuddin, another student at Jamia, said he was studying in the university’scentral library when he was beaten so badly by the police that he was left blinded in one eye and may soon lose visibility in the other. “It could be that I may be completely blind. Who is responsible? What did I do wrong?” Minhajuddin said. “I want justice.” He tried to protect himself by putting his hand to his face; two of his fingers were fractured.
Several women were also attacked during the protests. Saima Anjum, a second-year law student at Jamia, tells TIME that she and many other students on campus were beaten by police. She recalls seeking shelter in the university’s reading room from the tense protests with other students. They bolted the doors and sat under tables before officers in blue uniforms burst through the door, she says. “They started beating all of us,” she says. “Five to six policemen were beating one single student. They dragged me also.” One officer started hitting her when another interjected, saying “leave it, leave it, she’s a girl, let her go.” She watched as one of her friends was beaten brutally before he ran away and sheltered himself in a mosque.
“It was a terrible thing that happened,” Anjum says, her voice starting to break. “It was a terror attack.” She says she can’t sleep at night and feels “very disturbed.” “It was very horrifying,” she says. “It was not at all like police were trying to control the situation. It looked like they were taking revenge or something. I don’t know.”
A lawyer who appeared to be representing some Jamia students detained after the protests alleged in a statement that police sexually assaulted students at Jamia, switching off the lights so as not to be caught on CCTV.
Police also stormed the university’s library, firing tear gas at students barricaded inside. Some students hid in the women’s bathrooms, and police entered, began beating people and broke the mirrors, students said. “Students were lying bleeding inside the washroom,” one student who was present told TIME.
No deaths have been confirmed at the protests at universities around the country. But many students are missing. More than a dozen students from Aligarh Muslim University are still unaccounted for after police cracked down on protests there, leaving more than 100 reportedly injured. And at Jamia Millia Islamia University, at least 35 students were arrested.
Mander, the activist and former civil servant, was one of more than a dozen advocates and journalists who went on a fact-finding mission to Aligarh Muslim University Tuesday. He tells TIME that several students suffered “frightening injuries.”
Mander recalled one student telling him his hand was amputated after injuries he sustained from a stun grenade. “It’s just so heartbreaking,” Mander says. Another 19-year-old said that he had been taken to the police station and beaten while naked with a belt. He showed the fact-finding team belt marks on his body but said he did not make a complaint because he is frightened, Mander says, adding that 26 boys were formally detained by police and kept in custody for 24 hours. Some students said they hid for hours behind curtains in the mosque, Mander says.
In the aftermath of the crackdown, students are fearful of registering complaints in case there are consequences. “Students got a very clear message from their faculty and police that if they registered complaints they would be expelled from the university and they would have cases filed against them,” Mander said after speaking with students, school officials and doctors at hospitals where injured students were taken. He estimated that about 50 students were injured, with about a dozen hospitalized and suffering from serious injuries. Nandini Sundar, a sociology professor at Delhi University, said after visiting Aligarh Muslim University that at least 70 students with minor injuries did not register an official complaint “because they were scared of being targeted later.”
Non-Muslims have joined the protests, too. Sreekanth Sivadasan, a photographer and student at Jamia, notes that he is not Muslim but many of his classmates and friends are. “They are trying to alienate one community from another,” he says. “This is not just a Muslim fight. If my Muslim brothers and sisters are fighting, I will not let them fight alone.”
Fallon Sherrock made history on Tuesday as the first woman to ever win a match in the male-dominated Professional Darts Corporation world championship.
Darts, a traditional pub game, is also played professionally. In face-off matches, players begin with 501 points and compete to be the first to bring that total to zero by successfully hitting parts of the dart board worth a range of points.
“I’m absolutely over the moon. I mean, I can’t believe I’ve just made history,” Sherrock, 25, said in an interview with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) after the first-round match in London, saying she had dreamed of winning but never thought it would happen. “I’m so speechless. I’m just so, so happy and I’m so proud of myself for what I’ve just done.”
Sherrock defeated Ted Evetts, 22, with a score of 3-2. Evetts congratulated Sherrock on her win. “Enjoy it all, more than deserved,” he said in a tweet. “Well done on making history.”
SHERROCK MAKES HISTORY.
Fallon Sherrock has become the first woman to win a match at the PDC World Championship.
Sherrock is one of only five women to have ever competed in the PDC world championship. In 2018, PDC began reserving two spots for women in the 96-player tournament. (The PDC has only once run a women’s world championship, in 2010; the British Darts Organization, another major darts organization, also runs a separate women’s competition.)
In a match on Sunday, this year’s second female player, Japan’s Mikuru Suzuki, came close to defeating her male opponent but fell just short.
“What I’ve just done tonight — I hope it just proves that women, we can beat the men. We can play well against the men,” Sherrock said. “We just need more opportunities to prove ourselves.”
I’m buzzing !!!!!!! can’t believe I’ve made history tonight … done it for the girls 😎😎🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 that was amazing! pic.twitter.com/LfDeqGYUzE
Sherrock said she plans to auction off the dart board from her historic match to benefit the National Autistic Society in the United Kingdom. She will now move on to the second round of the tournament, competing against Austria’s Mensur Suljovic on Saturday.
On a chilly November weeknight in a drab apartment building in outer Moscow, seven adults and two small children crowded around a computer screen and sang a hymn as quietly as they could. “Whatever test may come your way, never yield to doubt or fear. Jehovah will provide escape, our God ever will be near!” they chorused.
“At the kingdom hall we liked to sing loudly, but now we can only whisper,” said Yevgeny, who asked his last name be withheld to avoid arrest. “If anything happens, we’re just watching movies with friends.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses, a U.S.-based international Christian denomination claiming 8.5 million members, are a common sight in countries around the world, as proselytizing door-to-door is a central tenet of their faith. But in Russia they have been forced underground following imprisonment and allegations of torture; only Islamic fundamentalists are treated more harshly.
Russia’s justice ministry calls the group, which has grown its membership here to 170,000, a threat to public order. They were banned as “extremist” in Russia in 2017, putting them in the same ranks as neo-Nazis. A spokesperson for the conservative Russian Orthodox Church, which has grown in influence under Putin, has said Jehovah’s Witnesses manipulate people’s consciousness and “can not be called Christians.”
Now, the crackdown is escalating. On Dec. 13, Vladimir Alushkin, an entrepreneur from Penza southeast of Moscow, was sentenced to six years for organizing “extremist activities” after a judge ruled that he had preached the ideas of Jehovah’s Witnesses, organized worship services, distributed literature and gathered donations. Five others including his wife Tatyana received two-year suspended sentences and three years of probation.
“We can’t talk about any sort of justice here,” Tatyana Alushkina told TIME. “This is persecution of the Jehovah’s Witness religion.”
“It’s so difficult for him, but that’s the path of a Christian, and we chose it ourselves,” said Yevgeny, an old friend of Alushkin’s. “We don’t want to sit in prison, but neither did Daniel want to go in the lion’s den.”
Authorities in the U.S. have raised concerns about the worsening treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which comes as Moscow is locked in a geopolitical standoff with Washington. Former Kansas senator Sam Brownback, who now serves as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, told TIME Alushkin’s conviction was part of a wave of “very aggressive” persecution that led his office to add Russia to its special watch list last year. “You may agree or disagree with their ideology, but they are peaceful practitioners of faith and they are entitled to practice their faith,” Brownback said.
The United Nations office of the high commissioner for human rights previously said that Alushkin’s arrest was arbitrary and discriminatory, calling on Russia to release him.
With roots in a 19th century Bible studies movement in Pennsylvania, Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for a literal interpretation of the Bible as defined by a small council of elders in Warwick, New York, and view earthly governments as controlled by the devil. They believe that Armageddon is imminent and that God’s kingdom will soon be established on earth.
While they have the most “publishers,” or active members, in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Nigeria, Russia is one of their largest congregations in Europe.
After the 2017 ban, 395 branches of the church in Russia were shut down and their evangelizing and meetings were forbidden. Believers have been forced to gather secretly in apartments, reading prayers and discussing the bible with half a dozen other small groups via video link. Each session starts with an admonition to make sure the door is closed in case someone tips off the police.
The organization says 297 members in Russia are facing criminal charges; 43 are in detention and 22 are under house arrest. At least 5,000 have fled Russia for Europe and North America.
In February, a court in Oryol sentenced Dennis Christensen, a Danish Jehovah’s Witness elder who lived in the country since 2000 and has a Russian wife, to six years in prison. Elder Sergei Klimov in Tomsk was similarly sentenced six years, and six men in Saratov were given terms ranging from two to three-and-a-half years in September
That same month, the State Department placed a U.S. travel ban on two Russian officials for allegedly torturing seven Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Siberian oil town of Surgut. The believers said law enforcement agents had beaten them, administered electric shocks and suffocated them with plastic bags during interrogations. Criminal charges have been brought against four men, and another 17 people are considered suspects, one of them, legal consultant Timofei Zhukov, told TIME.
As part of raids on more than 20 apartments in July, masked agents climbed in through the balcony at 6:20am and tied Zhukov up on the floor, after which one kicked him in the head “as if he was kicking a football,” he said. He says he was held at the investigators’ office for hours as screams echoed down the hall.
“When peaceful people are tortured, it’s fascism,” Zhukov said. “They physical and morally humiliate people so they will deny their faith.”
The brutal repressions have reminded some in the church of when Joseph Stalin sent nearly 10,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses to guarded settlements in Siberia. “For now we don’t have hundreds of people in camps, we don’t have deportation,” said spokesman Yaroslav Sivulskiy. “But we hadn’t heard of torture like in Surgut, how people in masks threw even old people to the ground.”
Sivulskiy spent a year and a half in Soviet prisons for refusing army conscription, a principle that still brings Jehovah’s Witnesses into conflict with the Russian authorities today, as does their opposition to blood transfusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been ambivalent about the ban. Asked about it last year, he said Russia could be “more liberal toward representatives of different religious sects, but shouldn’t forget” that 90 percent of people here consider themselves Orthodox. (Polling suggests the actual number is closer to 75 percent.)
Once a source of support for the tsars, the resurgent Orthodox church has now become a pillar of Putin’s rule, which Patriarch Kirill has described as a “miracle of God,” and of Russian influence abroad. The state gives tens of millions of dollars to the church each year, and the military is building a 300-foot-tall Orthodox cathedral with steps made of melted down Nazi tanks at a patriotic park outside Moscow.
Jehovah’s Witnesses oppose such cozy relations with the state. They do not vote or hold public office, and unlike the Seventh Day Adventist or Pentecostal churches, they have not participated in Putin’s council for cooperation with religious associations. “They try to avoid talking with the government, they don’t participate in councils, they don’t go anywhere, they pay taxes and register and that’s it, and our government is suspicious of this,” said Alexander Verkhovsky, who tracks racial and religious discrimination at Moscow’s SOVA Center.
While the Russian authorities continue to tighten the screws, each arrest only convinces Jehovah’s Witnesses that they are in the right. “Christ said they will persecute you for your faith,” Zhukov said, “and when you see it with your own eyes, you’re even more convinced.”
(Bloomberg) — Macau has long provided Chinese leaders with a glimmering showcase for the virtues of obeying Beijing.
The former Portuguese colony has marched on to become the world’s largest gambling hub over the past few decades, surpassing its more rebellious brother Hong Kong along the way. President Xi Jinping is expected to use a visit marking 20 years of Chinese rule over Macau this week to send a message to the protest-stricken financial hub some 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the east: work with us and get rich.
“Jobs are chasing after Macau people, instead of the other way around,” said Alexandra, a 29-year-old human resources worker in Macau, who asked to be identified only by her first name because she wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about her work. “Young people can see a much brighter future here than in Hong Kong. They are indifferent, or even cold toward politics.”
Xi arrived at Macau International Airport aboard an Air China 747 on Wednesday afternoon and shook hands with local officials on the tarmac. In brief remarks, he praised Macau’s “earnest implementation” of the “one country, two systems” framework that governs it, as well as Hong Kong.
“The achievements and progress Macau has made in the past two decades since its return to the motherland are a source of pride,” Xi said. “The beautiful blueprint for Macau’s future development needs our joint efforts.”
During the visit, Xi will attend a banquet and cultural performance before delivering a speech on Friday to commemorate the city’s return. He’ll likely highlight a raft of recent policies intended to help diversify Macau’s tourism industry while — in a possible signal to Hong Kong — establishing a yuan-denominated financial market there.
While Hong Kong and Macau share the Cantonese language, a common past as European trading outposts and a similar promise of autonomy from Beijing, they couldn’t look more different to the Communist Party. Today, the enclave of 670,000 people ranks as the world’s second-richest territory in terms of per capita economic output, after Luxembourg, according to data compiled by the World Bank. By that measure, it’s almost 80% wealthier than Hong Kong.
Macau has suffered little of the unrest that has gripped Hong Kong since the latter attempted to pass legislation earlier this year allowing extraditions to mainland China. Unlike Hong Kong, the government passed a Beijing-mandated national security law a decade ago, and hasn’t seen mass protests since the government withdrew legislation fattening the retirement packages for top officials in 2014.
“While Hong Kong people can be mobilized by fighting for abstract value as democracy and freedom, Macau is ‘interest-oriented,’” said Ieong Meng U, an assistant professor at the University of Macau’s Department of Government and Public Administration. “Only very few government policies can trigger widespread social grievances.”
Much of Macau’s stability can be traced to its monopoly over casino gambling in China, an industry that accounts for 80% of the government’s total revenue and supports a roughly $1,000 annual handouts for residents. How long that will last is unclear, as slowing Chinese growth and increased overseas competition cut into the returns of operators including Las Vegas Sands Corp., MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts Ltd.
Still, Macau’s success would seem to bolster Communist Party arguments that Hong Kong’s problems stem from its yawning wealth gap and outdated national security laws. Macau has been effectively under Beijing’s control since left-wing protesters — and a few Chinese warships — forced its Portuguese governor to sign an apology for his policies under a portrait of Mao Zedong.
Macau’s charter broadly resembles Hong Kong’s, but lacks key provisions such as the goal of selecting the city’s leader “by universal suffrage.” Incoming Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng, who Xi will swear in Friday, was chosen by 98% of the votes cast by a 400-member election committee.
To prevent any of Hong Kong’s protests from spilling over, authorities have tightened immigration checks into Macau ahead of the president’s visit, with the head of the local American Chamber of Commerce branch among those denied entry.
During a similar anniversary visit to Hong Kong two years ago, Xi urged the city to profit from China, not defy it. Growth held “the golden key to resolving various issues in Hong Kong,” the president said at the time.
“The messaging is clear to Hong Kong and the rest of the world, but primarily to Hong Kong — there is a way out, there is an easy and good way out, and it’s called Macau,” said Steve Tsang, director of the University of London’s SOAS China Institute and author of “A Modern History of Hong Kong.”. “But what they completely and utterly fail to see, is that if Macau is the future, most people in Hong Kong will say, thank you very much, you can keep it for yourself.”
The message still carries well in Macau, where rent, restaurants and groceries are all cheaper, according to cost-of-living data from Numbeo. In Hong Kong, an influx of mainland Chinese have gobbled up university slots, driven an expansion of luxury shopping and helped make it the world’s least-affordable housing market for nine straight years.
Although Macau is much smaller — roughly half the size of Manhattan — its residents have been largely insulated from such pressures by policies that make jobs and passports harder to come by for mainlanders or foreigners.
“Hong Kong has long been a metropolitan center, but Macau was just a little city prior to opening up the gaming licenses,” said Simon Sio, chairman of the real estate-and-investment firm Lek Hang Group. “Macanese don’t have enough confidence in ourselves, as we have fewer opportunities in the world compared to Hong Kong. Macau benefits from the motherland a lot. We residents know this well.”
Still, not everyone is satisfied with the local government, as the 2014 protests against retirement perks suggest. Gambling’s dominant role in the economy has also prompted criticism, due in part to the criminal activity it has fostered, from loan-sharking and money-laundering to triad fights and prostitution.
Enough conversations with participants in Hong Kong’s protests will turn up demonstrators from neighboring Macau. That points to a possible source of long-term concern for the Communist Party as casino growth slows.
“In my opinion, the economy of Macau is actually not so stable because the income from the gambling industry has gradually declined since the protests in Hong Kong started,” said Christine, a 21-year-old Macau resident who has participated in Hong Kong protests and wanted to be identified only by first name to reduce the risk of reprisal. “The Communist Party wants to grab out all the money in Macau to maintain their regime.”
(WASHINGTON) — The State Department said Tuesday that recent congressional action to recognize the Armenian genocide does not reflect Trump administration policy.
In a short statement likely to please Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the department said the administration’s position on the matter is unchanged.
The Senate voted unanimously last week to recognize the mass killings of more than a million Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago as a genocide. The House had previously adopted a similar bill over major protests from NATO ally Turkey.
“The position of the Administration has not changed,” department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a terse two-sentence statement. “Our views are reflected in the president’s definitive statement on this issue from last April.”
On April 24, President Donald Trump commemorated Armenian Remembrance Day in a statement that honored “the memory of those who suffered in one of the worst mass atrocities of the 20th century.” It did not, however, use the term “genocide” in keeping with longstanding U.S. policy.
The Senate action follows a vote by a Senate committee to impose sanctions on Turkey after its offensive in Syria and purchase of a Russian S-400 missile system.
The actions were the latest by Congress to push Trump to take a harder line against Erdogan. Trump said last month that Erdogan was “doing a fantastic job for the people of Turkey.”
The Armenian resolution and the sanction bill passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee “endanger the future of our bilateral relations,” Erdogan spokesman Fahrettin Altun said.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Senate vote “is a shameful example of the politicization of history. However, those who use history for political purposes will never achieve their goals.”
The bills sponsors, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., had tried three times to bring up the resolution using a procedural maneuver that would allow approval on a voice vote, a way to avoid lengthy floor debate. Each time, a Republican senator objected, citing White House disapproval.
The House had passed an identical resolution overwhelmingly in October in what was widely seen as a rebuke to Turkey after its invasion of northern Syria. Turkey has lobbied for years against U.S. recognition of the killings of Ottoman Armenians as genocide.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed around World War I, and many scholars see it as the 20th century’s first genocide. Turkey disputes the description, saying the toll has been inflated and those killed were victims of a civil war.
Instead of a resolution affirming the genocide, Turkey has called for a joint committee of historians to investigate the slayings.
(Bloomberg) — Russia seized five Japanese octopus-fishing boats on Tuesday near islands disputed between the two countries, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.
The boats were taken by Russian authorities to an island known as Kunashiri in Japanese and Kunashir in Russian, Suga told reporters in Tokyo. The crew are in good health, he added.
The Japanese government has protested to Russia about the seizure of the vessels, which were fishing in accordance with an agreement between the countries, Suga said. Japan will continue to call for their quick release, he added.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is currently in Russia for talks with his counterpart Sergei Lavrov, at which they are expected to discuss the decades-old dispute over four islands seized by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.
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RCUB Result 2019 Released: Students who are pursuing their degree under the Rani Channamma University Belagavi have great news here. RCUB University Examination Results are released for all the courses. Candidates can get all UG/PG RCUB Examination Results from the below section. Students can get the complete details regarding the Exam dates and Result dates from this site easily. Students can check out the Rani Channamma University Belgavi Results 2019 at the rcub.ac.in. official website.
RCUB Exam Results – ರಾಣಿ ಚಾನಮ್ಮ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ Results 2019
Those who are searching up for the updated and latest Rani Channamma University Belagavi Semester Exam Results can check it out here. We people from recruitment.guru has collected all the updated results from the official website and updated it here. As the Rani Channamma University Belagavi has released the results for all UG/PG Semester Exams do click on the below link and get the RCUB Result 2019. Just click on the below-given link and enter the register number and select the semester you wanted to get the results. All students can check the result of Odd and Even been from the link given below. Students can visit this web portal and keep on pouring to get more details about the RCUB Result 2019.
Before the Rani Channamma University came into being in 2010, Karnataka University KRCPG Centre of Karnatak University, Dharwad was functioning at Belagavi. The said Karnatak University PG Centre was established at Belagavi in the year 1982, to provide an opportunity to develop access to the students for higher education hailing from North Karnataka Region. At present, the Rani Channamma University is offering 9 PG courses at Vidyasangam Campus Belagavi, in the school of Arts, Education, Social Science, Science, Commerce, and Management. The courses in Social Science include Economics, Sociology, Social Work and Arts includes Kannada and Marathi. In Science the university offers M.Sc in Physics, Mathematics, and chemistry and in Applied it offers Geography, Library and information science. School of Business and Economics offers a Master's Degree in Commerce and Management.
RCUB Regular/ Supplementary Examination Results
Those students who have attended the regular examination under the Rani Channamma University Belagavi and still failed. Here comes one more opportunity to clear the examination. To increase your scoring along with that students to fail in the previous examination will get a chance to clear through RCUB Revaluation Exams Results. For each and every semester Students can apply for the revaluation after the announcement of the main examination results. The Rani Channamma University Belagavi will take a week or more to process the exam papers to announce the Revaluation results. Do stay updated with the RCUB University Official Website to know about the Revaluation Exam Results.
DSSSB Fire Operator Admit Card 2019 will be published soon. Similarly, the board will declare the exam date on its official website. Therefore, the DSSSB Hall Ticket can be downloaded from the below section once it got released by the officials of the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board.
DSSSB Grade IV/ Jr. Assistant Skill Test Admit Card 2019 OUT on 18th December 2019. Applicants of Grade-IV (DASS)/ Junior Assistant get ready to download the hall ticket now. The board has issued the DSSSB Admit Card for the candidates who are going to take down the skill test on 22nd December & 23rd December 2019. So, we suggest you to get the hall ticket by entering the valid login credentials in it.
DSSSB Grade-IV/ Jr. Assistant Skill Test Admit Card 2019 – Download Here
DSSSB LDC Admit Card 2019 Released @ dsssb.delhi.gov.in | The Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board has issued the hall ticket for the Lower Division Clerk Skill Test. Though, the board has issued the admit card on 17th December 2019. Likewise, the skill test will be held on 21st December 2019. Eligible aspirants can now download the DSSSB LDC Skill Test Admit Card from the below-given table.
DSSSB LDC Skill Test Hall Ticket 2019 – Download Here
DSSSB Call Letter 2019
Delhi Subordinate Service Selection Board will issue E-Admit Card or Call Letter on the Official Website to the candidates who have shortlisted. Candidates may also be informed on their registered mobile number as well as the DSSSB Call Letter 2019 released. Applicants who are participating in this examination must download their Call Letter and bring with it on the day examination. After the download of the admit card must check all information and Instructions regarding online computer based examination indicating on Admit Card. The Hall Ticket carries the following details.
Full Name of the Candidate.
Name of the Applicant's Father.
Gender (Male/ Female).
Registration Number
Candidate's Date of Birth
Exam Centre, Code, and Venue.
Duration of the Examination.
Hall Ticket/ Roll Number.
Name of the Test.
Important Guidelines for the Exam.
Signature of the Commission Councillor.
Space for Invigilator's Signature.
Reporting Time to the Exam Cell.
Photograph of the Applicant.
Space for Candidate's Signature.
Download DSSSB Admit Card 2019
Download the DSSSB Admit Card for the examination which is going to be conducted by the board of Delhi Subordinate Service Selection. Candidates who have any issue to download the Hall Ticket can reach the official website to get a clear view. Containing the following ID Proofs will help you to enter the examination hall without delay. However, the Invigilators can also easily rectify your details in the Admit Card. If any mistake was done with the Hall Ticket filling, the aspirants can contact the board before the last date arrives.
Aadhar Card
DSSSB Admit Card
College ID
Ration Card
Driving License
PAN Card
Voter ID
Any Valid ID Proof Issued By Gazetted Officer
Bank Passbook
Passport
How to Download DSSSB Admit Card 2019
Reach to the Direct DSSSB Admit Card link.
The candidate Login page will appear on the screen.
Login with your Application number and DOB.
A new Admit Card page will open.
Enter all the details in the application and in the Original ID Proofs.
Complete the registration with valid details.
Now, Download the Hall Ticket and take a print out of it.
APPSC Result 2019 | Get APPSC Results 2019 @ psc.ap.gov.in Result – Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission has declared the result for various Posts. And the FDO, FSO and other post Result will release in the month ofDecember 2019 – Tentatively. Applicants can click the direct link for the latest results provided below in the table. Candidates can check out the APPSC Written Exam Dates along with the Result Released Dates from this article. However, candidates can find more information on the official website psc.ap.gov.in about the Upcoming Result details.
APPSC Food Safety Officer Result 2019 @ psc.ap.gov.in Released. Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) has conducted the Food Safety Officer Examination on 30th July 2019. Many aspirants appeared for the APPSC Food Safety Officer Exam and waiting for the Results. Therefore, the higher authority has declared the APPSC FSO Result 2019 on 18th December 2019. Hence, all the eligible candidates can check and download the Results from this site itself. However, we have updated the direct link to download the APPSC Result and it is activated now. Additionally, candidates can also check the APPSC Food Safety Officer Cut Off Marks 2019 and APPSC FSO Merit List 2019 from this page.
APPSC Assistant Executive Engineer Mains Results 2019 @ psc.ap.gov.in Released. The candidates who are searching for APPSC Assistant Executive Engineer Result 2019. Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) officials had conducted the APPSC AEE Written examination on 14th & 15th May 2019. Now the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission authority has declared the Result on 02nd December 2019. And also can download the APPSC AEE Mains Cut Off Marks 2019 and APPSC AEE Mains Merit List Marks 2019
APPSC Fisheries Development Officer Mains Results 2019 @ psc.ap.gov.in. The candidates who are searching for APPSC Fisheries Development Officer Result 2019. Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) officials had conducted the APPSC Fisheries Development Officer Written examination on 28th, 29th May 2019. Now the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission authority is planning to announce the APPSC FDO Exam Result 2019 in the month of December 2019 – Tentatively. And also can download the APPSC FDO Mains Cut Off Marks 2019 and APPSC FDO Mains Merit List Marks 2019
APPSC Forest Section Officer Result 2019 @ psc.ap.gov.in. The candidates who are searching for Andhra Pradesh FSO Result 2019. Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) officials had conducted the examination on 28th & 29th July 2019 for Forest Section Officer Posts. Now the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission authority is planning to announce the APPSC Forest Section Officer Result 2019 in the month of December 2019 (Tentatively). Here we will be updating the latest result link. The link will be activated at the time of the result announcement.
APPSC ASO Mains Result 2019 – Applicants those who are looking for the AP Assistant Statistical Officer Result 2019 can check here. Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) officials had conducted the examination on 1st August 2019 for ASO Posts. Those candidates who participated in the exam are waiting for the Result, Here we will be updating the latest result link. The link will activate at the time of the result announcement.
APPSC AMVI Result 2019 – Applicants those who are looking for the AP Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector Result 2019 can check here. Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) officials had conducted the examination on 17th April 2019 for AMVI Posts. Those candidates who participated in the exam can download Andhra Pradesh PSC AMVI Result 2019 from the below link.
APPSC Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector Result 2019
APPSC Hostel Welfare Officer Result 2019 – The APPSC Hostel Welfare Officer Result 2019 declared on 5th November 2019 by the officials of the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC). Candidates who had successfully completed the process of written test for the Hostel Welfare Officer (HWO) Grade II on 11th July 2019 can check the APPSC HWO Exam Result 2019 from this page. Now, this is the time to get the information about the APPSC HWO Result 2019
APPSC Forest Range Officers Result 2019 – Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission has announced the Forest Range Officers Result on 18th September 2019. Candidates who have appeared for the exam can check their result on the official website, the link for which is psc.ap.gov.in. Those candidates who have qualified the screening test will have to appear for the main examination. The APPSC 2019 main examination dates will be released soon by the A.P. Public Service Commission on the official website.
APPSC Forest Range Officers Result 2019 – Click Here
APPSC Gazetted Officer Result 2019 – Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission has announced the Gazetted Officer Result dates. As that for Gazetted and Non-Gazetted Officer Exam Dates are upcoming. Applicants who have registered for the APPSC Vacancy 2019 can check out the APPSC Gazetted Officer Exam Result 2019 from the below section. The APPSC Exam Results are likely to announce by September 2019. Once the results are officially announced we will update with the respective links in the below section.
APPSC Departmental Test Result 2019 – APPSC Departmental Test Results 2019 has released by the APPSC on the official website on 26th July 2019. As we know all those candidates who have completed the APPSC Departmental Test are eagerly waiting for the APPSC Result 2019. So that here we have given a direct link to verify your results. Candidates just by clicking the quick link to access your APPSC Departmental Test Merit List 2019. Also, Get Andhra Pradesh PSC Departmental Test Cut Off Marks 2019, psc.ap.gov.in Result 2019 from this article.
APPSC Group 2 Result 2019 – | Get Group II Result here @ psc.ap.gov.in – Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), Hyderabad has announced Screening Test Result for Group II Exam of Advt No. 25/2018. Selected Candidates can attend for Main Exam will be held on 29 & 30th August 2019. Moreover, Appeared candidates can check their result at below link. Candidates who had applied and attended for the APPSC Group 2 Examination are excited to know their APPSC Group II Result 2019 status. Applicants can check this entire article and get to know all valuable information about the APPSC Group II Exam Result, APPSC Group II Main Exam List and others
Applicants who have completed the Departmental Test can check your results and prepare for the next Round of the Interview. Now candidates can get Andhra Pradesh PSC Departmental Test Exam Qualifying Marks 2019. Along with these applicants can get an overview of APPSC Result 2019 from the above table. To Download APPSC Departmental Test Result 2019 anyone can click the direct link which in the bottom of the table. From the above table, applicants know the APPSC Result Date, psc.ap.gov.in Result link and others.
For all those people we have provided a direct link to download APPSC Departmental Test Cut off marks. Candidates can verify their results now and wait for the APPSC Departmental Test cut off marks 2019. Because based on the APPSC Result 2019 and some categories, the officials will decide the Cut off marks. So it will take some time to receive the APPSC Departmental Test cut off marks 2019. All the applicants can check out the psc.ap.gov.in Departmental Test Results from this article.
APPSC Departmental Test Merit List 2019
Here we have dedicated this page to update all the latest result links and APPSC Merit List. Although If the applicants can get the chance to attain the Merit List. The candidates got secure minimum or maximum Cut off marks, their name will attain in the Merit List 2019. Also, it will be helpful for the candidates, if the candidate gets the top 5 in the Merit List at the time of the Interview. Apart from this, we have included some steps to download APPSC Departmental Test Results 2019.
How to check the APPSC Departmental Test Result?
The aspirants should visit the official website Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) @ psc.ap.gov
On the home page, click on the Results Section.
A new page will be opened under the Results Section.
We have to search for APPSC Departmental Test Result 2019 link.
After finding the link we have to click on the link.
The results will be displayed on the screen.
Download and take a print of results for further use.
Jaipur Metro Rail Recruitment 2019 – 39 Maintainer, Station Controller, JE & Other Vacancies. Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Limited has recently announced a Job Notification to hire 39 Candidates for Maintainer, Station Controller, JE & Other Posts. Candidates who are looking for Jobs in Jaipur Metro for 12th Pass can apply for these Posts through Online Process. The starting date of the application is 23rd December 2019. Applicants can apply for these Posts through Online mode. The last date to apply for these vacancies is 23rd January 2020.
Jaipur Metro Rail Recruitment 2020
Applications are invited from dynamic and motivated persons who possess the prescribed qualification for the post (s) being advertised and meet other Corporation Ltd. (JMRC). Information about the Posts Pay, Qualification, and other eligibility criteria, the application process, screening methodology and other terms & conditions of recruitment is given in the following Sections.
Eligibility Criteria for Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Limited Recruitment 2019
Educational Qualification:
Post Name
Educational Qualification
Station Controller / Train Operator (SC/TO)
Graduation in any discipline from a recognized University with minimum 50% marks or equivalent Grade/ Level AND Mathematics or Physics as one of the subjects passed in Senior Secondary (10+2) or Higher Secondary (10+1) or equivalent examination of a recognized Board.
Junior Engineer(Electrical)
Degree in Civil Engineering from a recognized University (or equivalent Engineering qualification) with minimum 50% marks or equivalent Grade/Level
Junior Engineer(Electronics)
Degree in Electronics/ Electronics & Communication Engineering from a recognized University (or equivalent Engineering qualification) with minimum 50% marks or equivalent Grade/Level
Junior Engineer (Civil)
Degree in Electrical Engineering from a recognized University (or equivalent Engineering qualification) with minimum 50% marks or equivalent Grade/Level
Customer RelationsAssistant (CRA)
Graduation in any discipline from a recognized University with minimum 50% marks or equivalent Grade/ Level
Maintainer (Electrician)
State Trade Certificate in 'Electrician' Trade or equivalent certificate, issued by SCVT, pursuant to a course of minimum two years' duration
Maintainer (Electronics)
State Trade Certificate in 'Electronic Mechanic' Trade or equivalent certificate, issued by SCVT, pursuant to a course of minimum two years' duration
Maintainer (Fitter)
State Trade Certificate in 'Fitter' Trade or equivalent certificate, issued by SCVT, pursuant to a course of minimum two years' duration
Age Limit:
Aspirants must know that as per Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Recruitment 2019 Notification, you must possess below the age to fill the available Vacancies in Jaipur Metro Rail Jobs for the Maintainer, Station Controller, JE & Other Post.
Minimum Age Limit – 21 Years
Maximum Age Limit – 41 Years
Age Relaxation
SC/ST/BC/MBC Male Candidates – 5 Years
General/EWS Female Candidates – 5 Years
SC/ST/BC/MBC Female Candidates – 10 Years
PWD General Candidates – 10 Years
BC/MBC PWD Candidates – 13 Years
PWD SC/ST Candidates – 15 Years
Application Fee for Jaipur Metro Rail Recruitment
Categories
Application Fee
Persons with Disabilities (OL – R or L)
Rs.250/-
SC/ST candidates of Rajasthan
Rs.250/-
Non-Creamy Layer OBC/EWS/MBC candidates of Rajasthan
Rs.400/-
For all other candidates
Rs.500/-
Service Charges
Submission of Application & Deposition of fees through e-Mitra kiosk in Rajasthan
Rs. 45 per transaction
Payment of fees online by Credit Card / Debit Card / Net Banking/ UPI /Other online modes
About Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Limited (JMRC)
Jaipur Metro is a rapid transit system in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Construction on the most elevated part of the first line, called Phase 1A, comprising 9.63 kilometers (5.98 mi) of the route from Mansarovar to Chandpole Bazaar, started on 13 November 2010 and was completed in 2014.
After receiving safety clearance from Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) in May 2015, Jaipur Metro began commercial service between Chandpole and Mansarovar on 3 June 2015. The Jaipur Metro Rail system is India’s sixth metro rail system after those in Kolkata, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Gurgaon, and Mumbai. Jaipur Metro is the first metro in India to run on a triple-story elevated road and metro track.
DU Results 2019 Declared: Dear Folks !!! Here comes great news for students who are pursuing their degree under the University of Delhi. Delhi University has announced the semester examination results for UG/PG Semester Examination. Here students can download the complete set of DU Results 2019 and also DU Entrance Results. We have also included very little information regarding Delhi University. Also, check out the bottom of the article to get the DU Revaluation Exam Results.
DU Exam Results 2019-20
Checking out for the Delhi University Semester Exam Results then you are the right place. Below is the attached Under Graduate and Post Graduate Programming Courses Result details. We people from recruitment.guru have made few efforts and updated all the results released by the University of Delhi. Candidates are asked to stay updated with our webpage so that you may gather the complete set of details about the University as soon it is updated in the Official Website. So, candidates who are pursuing under Delhi University can evaluate their performance by getting their results from the below section.
As a student of Delhi University, you might have known complete details of the university. still, let us describe a few more details about the University of Delhi. The University of Delhi previously known as Delhi University which is situated in the capital city of India i.e, Delhi. It was founded in 1922 by an act of the Central Legislative Assembly as a collegiate university. The University of Delhi has become India's largest institution of higher learning and among the largest in the world.
Currently, the university has nearly 77 affiliated colleges and 5 other institutes with an enrollment of over 1,32,000 regular students and 2,61,000 Non-formal students. Mr.Vice-President of India charging as Chancellor of the university while Mr.Yogesh Kumar Tyagi is the Vice-Chancellor of the university. Moreover, it offering nearly 240-course out of these 87 are Undergraduate & 153 are Post Graduate Courses. Furthermore details students can visit the official site of Delhi University.
Students who have attended the regular semester examination under Delhi University and got failed. Here comes one more opportunity is known as Revaluation for those who have failed in the regular semester examination. This Revaluation is not only meant for those failure students but also candidates who wish to increase your scoring or the grade can also use this chance. Delhi University releases the revaluation results option as soon as the regular examination results are released. For each and every semester Students can take this opportunity and make your scores increase. To know more about the Revaluation Results Details stay updated with our page and the official website @ www.du.ac.in.
Are you searching for Karnataka PWD Exam Dates & Time table Pdf? Then, you can check the answer here in the below table. Karnataka PWD Syllabus 2019 is available here for download for the posts of Assistant Engineer, Junior Engineer & Other Posts. Candidates who have applied for the given posts can get here the complete syllabus along with the exam pattern. So, go through the full article and download the syllabus pdf from the below links.
Karnataka PWD Syllabus 2019
The Karnataka Public Works Department has released a notification for the recruitment of candidates for Assistant Engineer (AE), Junior Engineer (AE) & Other Posts in the Civil department. Candidates who have applied for the given posts can get here the complete KPWD Exam Syllabus 2019 Details. Also, follow the exam pattern that is mentioned here as per the Karnataka PWD Board 2019.
The Public Works Department, Karnataka every year it releases various vacancies. This year they have released 870 vacancies for the posts of Assistant Engineer (AE), Junior Engineer (JE) and Other. Interested candidates can apply for the given posts before 30th April 2019. Go through the PWD Karnataka Recruitment 2019 Syllabus Details here.
KPWD Exam Syllabus 2019 Details
Description
Details
Organization Name
Public Works Department, Karnataka
Name of the Post
Assistant Engineer (AE), Junior Engineer (AE) & Other Posts
Candidates applying for the posts of Assistant Engineer, Junior Engineer, and Other posts will be selected based on the following selection criteria-
Selection Process:
Written Examination
Interview Process
Karnataka PWD Exam Pattern 2019
Paper
Subject
Questions
Duration
1
General Knowledge
100
2 Hrs
2
Technical Knowledge
100
2 Hrs
3
Kannada Language Test
100
2 Hrs
Total
300
6 Hrs
For the Karnataka PWD Exam, there will be 3 papers
Paper 1 & Paper 2 i.e. (General Knowledge and Technical Knowledge) will be objective in nature
Paper 3 i.e. Kannada Language Test will be of Descriptive Type
The total duration for each examination is 2 Hours
PWD Karnataka Exam Syllabus 2019
The provided syllabus is for the posts of Assistant Engineer Grade 1 and Junior Engineer posts for Civil Engineering. Candidates follow the complete syllabus according to your relevant qualification of degree holder or diploma holder. Also, download the PWD Karnataka Syllabus PDF from the below links.
Karnataka PWD Syllabus for General Studies
Current events – International, National, and Local.
General Science
Indian History
Indian Geography
Social Science
General Mental Ability
Matters of Everyday Observation & Practical Knowledge
KPWD JE Syllabus for Civil Engineering – Degree Holder
APGENCO AE Syllabus 2020 is updated now on this page. People who have applied for the Assistant Engineer posts will be searching for the Complete Syllabus and also Exam Pattern. For those contenders, we have provided the Complete Syllabus Details for Assistant Engineer. Applicants can also find here the Exam Date, Exam Pattern and also old question papers from the below sections.
APGENCO AE Syllabus 2020 Pdf
Are you looking for the APGENCO Assistant Engineer Syllabus? Don't worry you are at the right place to get Complete Syllabus Details. Candidates can check here the full Subject wise Syllabus and Exam Pattern on our page. There will be more no. of candidates applying for the Assistant Engineer Posts. So there will be heavy competition for the Andhra Pradesh Govt Jobs, so applicants have to start their Exam preparation as early as possible to get the good score. So, Contenders must make use of the given Syllabus before appearing for the Examination and also don’t forget to check the details mentioned below like Exam Date, Timings, etc., here.
APGENCO AE Selection Procedure
Candidates applying for the APGENCO Asst Engineer Posts need to undergo the following selection criteria:
Brij University Result 2019 Declared: Hello Students !!! This is the right time to check your results. Maharaja Surajmal Brij University has declared the results for various Courses. Currently, the University has announced the results of LL.B I Year, BCA Part- I (With Revaluation). The University has released some of the Courses and yet to be released soon. Students who have been appeared for those Examinations can check the Brij University Result from the official website of the University i.e, msbrijuniversity.ac.in. Students can get the complete details regarding the Exam and Result dates from this site easily. Check out the Maharaja Surajmal Brij University Results 2019 at the official website.
Brij University Result 2019 – Download Here
Here on this page, we used to update the latest information about the Brij Uni Result. Apart from this, we will be updating the Upcoming Brij University Result 2019 link, it will work once the University will release the results officially. Here we have provided a direct link to get the results. The Authority will be conducted the most awaited examination and announced their Results as per schedule. We have provides the links to check the BRIJ University Result 2019 in the below section.
Maharaja Surajmal Brij University, Bharatpur, formerly Brij University is a state university located at Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. In 2012, it was established by the Government of Rajasthan. With a view to providing better facilities of higher education in the State, to fulfill the long-standing demand of the people for the establishment of the university and to comply with the announcement made by the Hon’ble Chief Minister in the budget session 2012-13, Maharaja Surajmal Brij University was established at Bharatpur.
Brij University Supply/Revaluation Results
Students are waiting for the results if they scored well they will lead to next year. But if they will not get more marks they can apply for the Revaluation Results. Once they applied for the Examination, the higher level Examiner will check the paper again. They can get the revaluation results within the time. Also if they still get fail marks, they can apply for the supplementary examination. For every semester Students can apply for the revaluation after the announcement of the main examination results. The Maharaja Surajmal Brij University will take a week or more to process the exam papers to announce the Brij University Revaluation Results. Do stay updated with this page to know about the Revaluation Results.
DBRAU Result 2019: Dear Students!! Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University has announced the DBRAU Agra University Result 2019 for Medical, Semester & Main Examination. The University has released the DBRAU Result for Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Regular/ Supplementary Students. Everyone can check the DBRAU Result 2019 from the official website of the University i.e, dbrau.org.in. Here on this page, we have provided a direct link to check the results from the below table. Currently, the University has released the results for MBBS, BAMS, MCA, MHRM, and other Semester Exams. We advise the Students to read the entire article to get more information about the Ambedkar University Results 2019.
Latest DBRAU Result 2019-20
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University has declared the Agra University Result 2019 for various Courses. The DBRAU University has conducted the Semester Examination successfully and announced the DBRAU Result 2019. Here Students can check the Agra University Results for all Graduate Students including UnderGraduate, Postgraduate and Regular/ Supplementary Students. We used to update all the information regarding the DBRAU Result, Time Table, Score Card and others. We are here to help you out with the latest updates related to Examination Results. After verifying the results anyone can find the individual Student performance. We have provided a direct link to download the DBRAU Result 2019. We advise the Students to keep in touch with our recruitment.guru page to get more details.
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is a state university located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The Institute of Engineering and Technology Khandari, Agra(I.E.T. Khandari, Agra), situated at the Khandari campus in the city of Agra, was established in 1998 and is the engineering institute of the university. Initially, there were only four faculties in the University viz. Arts, Sciences, Commerce and Law. Faculties of Medicine, Agriculture, Home Science, Basic Sciences, Fine Arts and Management were added subsequently. The University is steadily surging ahead as a center for higher scientific vocational and job oriented education and innovative research.
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University Supply/Revaluation Results
Students have appeared for the Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University Examination can check their results, if they got low grades, still Students can apply for the Revaluation. The higher level Examiner will check the DBRAU Result and announce the Agra University Revaluation Results. Still, if any students will get low marks again they can write the exam. For that, they should apply for the Supplementary Examination. For each and every semester Students can apply for the revaluation after the announcement of the main examination results. Students can keep in touch with the University website to know more information about the DBRAU Revaluation Result 2019.
Punjab GDS Result 2019 Released – @ appost.in | Check Punjab GDS Results Merit List PDF: Punjab Postal Circle announced the result for the post of Gramin Dak Sevak (GDS). Candidates those who have applied for the post can check and download your result from the below link. Here on this page, we will be updating the latest result link and it is activated now. Punjab GDS Result will be published in the form of a merit list of the candidates who submitted their applications successfully.
Punjab GDS Result 2019 – Download Here @ appost.in
The application process for the recruitment of eligible candidates for the post of Gramin Dak Sevak (GDS) was invited in the month of August 2019. This recruitment drive has been conducted for the recruitment of 851 candidates for the post of GDS in Punjab state. The Punjab Post circle GDS merit list will be purely based on the marks of the candidates in SSC. On this page, anyone can check the All-State Postman & Mail Guard Result Result 2019 by using the direct link Indian Post Office Result 2019. Registered candidates can download their result from this page directly by visiting this page. The Punjab Postal Circle GDS Merit List pdf link is activated now.
Punjab Postal Circle GDS Result 2019 – Overview
Punjab Postal Circle GDS Merit List 2019 – Get Cut off Marks
Candidates having their names in the Punjab GDS merit list will be called for the next selection round document verification (DV). Punjab GDS Final Selection list will decide, after the completion of the Document Verification Process. The given article includes all the crucial information about Check Punjab GDS Results Merit List PDF. Candidates here will get details about Punjab GDS Result Online announcements, how to download the Punjab GDS Results 2019, document verification and about other related details.
Punjab Postal Circle GDS Merit List 2019
The Merit list decided by the authorities which will be based on some rules. The candidates get selected based on the Merit qualify in the 10th/SSLC Examination. Selection will be purely based on merit. The Punjab GDS Merit list will prepare by provisional, and the final selection list will announce later. Here we have provided some simple steps to download your Punjab GDS Result & Merit Lists here. Here we have provided a direct link to download the Punjab Gramin Dak Sevak Merit List.
How to access Punjab GDS Result 2019?
Candidates must visit the official website of the Gramin Dak Sevak Engagement portal www.appost.in.
On the home page, search for the "Results" tab.
Click on the "Punjab (851 posts)" link.
The desired merit list for Punjab GDS will be download by clicking the respective result link
Check the name in the Punjab Postal Circle Gramin Dak Sevak Results 2019
A real interest rate is the rate of interest excluding the effect of expected inflation; it is the rate that is earned on constant purchasing power. It reflects the real cost of funds to the borrower and the real yield to the lender or investor. A nominal interest rate, on the other hand, refers to an interest rate that is not adjusted for inflation.
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Find out how your IRA can be garnished by creditors, including how federal and state regulations differ and what exemptions exist to protect your savings.
Health Insurance Portabiilty and Accountability ACT (HIPAA) was an act created by the U.S Congress in 1996 to protect privacy of personal medical data.
The majority lies to save on premiums – but consequences can be severe for not owning up to things like tickets, accidents and how much you drive your car.
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Facebook, which rakes in billons of dollars in profit selling ad space, is facing rising scrutiny over privacy issues, antitrust violations, and its cryptocurrency named Libra.
Here's how to convert your SIMPLE IRA to a Roth IRA via rollover after you leave your job; you can also convert to a Roth if you are still active in the plan.
Learn how trading on the floor of the stock exchange has evolved over time with computers now managing the majority of the buying, selling, and negotiating.
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Yield equivalence is the interest rate on a taxable security that would produce a return that is equal to that of a tax-exempt security, and vice versa.
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MUMBAI: Legal advisers affiliated to Bombay House say they are baffled by the NCLAT order and believe the relief granted by the tribunal has gone "far beyond" what was sought by the plaintiffs, Cyrus Investments.By ordering that Mistry be reinstated as executive chairman of Tata Sons, the NCLAT has granted relief which had never been sought at any stage, either before National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) or the NCLAT, the legal sources said. Further, the order of the tribunal has displaced the current executive chairman, N Chandrasekaran, who had been selected following the procedure provided under the Articles of Association of Tata Sons, they said."The petition filed in NCLT specifically states that the petitioners are not seeking the relief of reinstating Cyrus Mistry (Respondent No 11) as chairman," said the advisers cited earlier. "The order was beyond the relief sought by the aforesaid parties. While some prayers had never been sought from the inception, others were given up in writing during the course of arguments."The legal sources said that by ordering reinstatement of Mistry as a director of Tata Sons, the NCLAT has granted relief which had been specifically dropped in writing by the petitioners during the course of arguments before the NCLT.Chandra's Roles"Therefore, Tata Sons shall take all legal recourse available to it to challenge the order," a person close to the matter said. 72878952 One legal aspect they believe is significant is that Mistry's tenure would have anyway ended six months after the board meeting of October 2016 in which he was dismissed (i.e, March 2017) but the tribunal in its wisdom has reinstated him after three years.Another issue that has now come to the fore is whether Chandrasekaran can take executive decisions after the judgment. The confusion on the chairman's role will have major repercussions on the conglomerate.Chandrasekaran has been putting the Tata House in order, and the NCLAT verdict has unsettled and disturbed the whole organisation once again, said a top official close to the development. In Bombay House itself, employees were seen discussing the fallout of the verdict.Shuva Mandal, group general counsel, said: "Tata Sons strongly believes in the strength of its case and will take appropriate legal recourse. Tata Sons assures its various stakeholders that it not only has always operated in a fair and equitable manner but also acted in accordance with the law and will continue to do so."Interestingly, the Tata Group appears to have been blindsided by the NCLAT order. Former Tata Sons director Ishaat Hussain was chairing an expert committee of Sebi on the social stock exchange, which was also attended by members including Chandrasekaran, when the news of the NCLAT order came.The mood at Bombay House is grim and the top guns at Tata Sons appear to be concerned, said people close to the matter. It is, as a top Tata Sons official put it, an absolutely surprising development.
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump was impeached for abuse of power in a historic vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, setting up a Senate trial on removing him from office after three turbulent years.By a 230 to 197 vote in the Democratic-majority House, the 45th US president becomes just the third occupant of the White House in American history to be impeached.Democrats said they had "no choice" but to formally charge the Republican president, whose impeachment along stark party lines places an indelible stain on his record while driving a spike ever deeper into the US political divide."What is at risk here is the very idea of America," said Adam Schiff, the lawmaker who headed the impeachment inquiry, ahead of the vote.Trump will now stand trial in the Senate, where his Republicans hold a solid majority and are expected to exonerate him.The House vote came four months after a whistle blower blew open the scandal of Trump pressuring Ukraine's president to investigate his potential White House challenger in 2020, the veteran Democrat Joe Biden.After a marathon of 10 hours of debate, lawmakers were to vote quickly on the second article of impeachment facing Trump -- for obstructing the congressional probe into his Ukraine dealings by blocking the testimony of subpoenaed White House aides.Despite testimony from 17 officials that Trump leveraged his office for domestic politic gain, the president maintained his innocence throughout the impeachment inquiry -- furiously denouncing it as a "witch hunt," an "attempted coup" and on Wednesday as an "assault on America."Trump spent the first part of the day holed up at the White House, sending out tweets reflecting his frustration, anger and predictions of revenge in the 2020 election.But as the vote took place, the 73-year-old was on friendlier territory.In an extraordinary split screen moment, while the House was casting votes to impeach him, thousands of Trump's most fervent supporters were cheering him at a rally in Michigan where he railed against a "radical left" he said was "consumed with hatred."Democrats are "trying to nullify the ballots of tens of millions of patriotic Americans," he charged."Four more years, four more years," the crowd chanted back.Neither of the two previous presidents impeached since 1789, Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, was convicted in the Senate, and both held onto their jobs.But despite the high likelihood of Trump being cleared by Senate Republicans, Democrats said the evidence against him was overwhelming and forced them to act."It is tragic that the president's reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi."It is a matter of fact that the president is an ongoing threat to our national security and the integrity of our elections." Both camps approached the vote with solemnity."It's a big responsibility, it's sobering, and I think the members feel that way too," House Democrat Diana DeGette told AFP."I come to this floor not as a Republican, not as a Democrat, but as an American," said independent legislator Justin Amash."Impeachment is about maintaining the integrity of the office of the presidency."The day of dramatic and often angry oratory saw both sides delving deep into Constitutional law, citing the intentions of the country's hallowed founders such as Benjamin Franklin or Alexander Hamilton.Republicans repeatedly drove the line that the Democrats rushed the investigation; Trump was treated more unfairly than witches put on trial in the 17th century Americas -- or even than Jesus Christ, they claimed."Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats afforded this president and this process," said Georgia Republican Barry Loudermilk.They accused Democrats of being driven by a party fringe of socialist extremists and "Trump-haters," and warned that impeaching Trump would backlash against the party in national elections next November."This is not about the Ukraine, it's about power," said Republican Matt Gaetz."Voters will never forget that Democrats have been triggered into impeaching the president, because they don't like him, and they don't like us." Democrats countered that Republicans were not addressing the charges and evidence, instead issuing blanket denials and counter-accusations."We do not hear, because we cannot hear, because they cannot articulate, a real defense of the president's actions," said Jerry Nadler, whose Judiciary Committee drafted the charges against Trump.
BENGALURU: India's civil aviation authority has selected the applications of Google-backed hyperlocal delivery startup Dunzo and Bengaluru-based drone maker Throttle Aerospace Systems to test long-range and autonomous drone use, according to industry experts and top officials aware of the developments.The approvals are a part of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) experimental programme, called beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone operations, which was notified in May. The BVLOS Experiment Assessment and Monitoring (BEAM) Committee will oversee the evidence collected on the use of drones and their safety aspects and submit findings before India frames laws for longrange and autonomous drone use."We're still in the process of approving the BVLOS experiments, but yes these two companies (Dunzo and Throttle Aerospace) have been selected and are awaiting signed letters from us," said a senior government official on the condition of anonymity.The two companies are likely to begin experimental drone flights from mid-tolate February 2020 and have identified airspaces outside of Bengaluru, said people in the know of the matter. 72878385 Half a Dozen Cos Await ApprovalThe companies will have to each clock 100 hours of drone flights before submitting the proof of concept to the DGCA, according to the requirements of the programme. The test flights are meant to evaluate the safety and robustness of the solutions.Nagendran Kandasamy, founder and director of Throttle Aerospace said the experimental flights will not "carry full payloads. It's more to showcase our Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM), safety and operational capabilities to the DGCA." However, he declined to confirm if the company had received the DGCA's approval.Dunzo, in an email statement to ET, said that the company strives to stay up to date with the latest innovations. However, it declined to comment on the specifics, saying it was, "a bit early to comment on our process. For now, we will continue working proactively with new technologies to expedite that mission."In June, ET had reported that around half a dozen companies including cargo service provider SpiceXpress, Tata Advanced Systems, restaurant aggregator and food delivery service Zomato as well as medical product delivery companies Zipline and Redwing Aerospace had applied to conduct their BVLOS experiments. Subsequently in October, around seven consortiums had received soft approvals from the DGCA, but were still waiting for the final clearance from the BVLOS Experiment Assessment and Monitoring (BEAM) Committee.Throttle Aerospace is looking to build dronebased delivery solutions which can be scaled up in size and complexity. One of the company's goals is to build a drone-based organ transport solution which could cut down the time of transporting organs from a few hours to a few minutes.Meanwhile, Dunzo is looking at drone deliveries as a way to differentiate itself from bigger rivals such as food delivery app Swiggy, which has expanded its services to include doorstep deliveries of items such as groceries, flowers and medicines.A person in the know of Dunzo's plans said the company is looking at developing drone technology to set it apart from rivals and add value in the eyes of investors. "They know they can't just keep burning money in doing deliveries and grow their valuation, so they're investing in drones," added the person.Experts are of the view that long range drones can significantly enhance logistic services in the Indian hinterland and become a significant multiplier to the economy."The operating cost of a drone is already 18-20 times lesser than a truck, the only hurdles that remain is it's more expensive than a bike and can't carry as much as a truck," said Tanuj Bhojwani, fellow at think tank iSPIRT.
KOLKATA | NEW DELHI: Travel booking cancellations and a drop in footfalls at malls and stores due to protests and violence around the amended citizenship law have made consumer-oriented companies apprehensive about business getting derailed in parts of India this Christmas-New Year season.Restaurants and retailers, including malls, in the National Capital Region and Kolkata said footfalls have declined and business has been adversely affected over the past few days due to the protests.Hotels and travel agents said there have been widespread cancellations. Last-minute air fares have spiked, forcing people to scrap their holiday plans. Many train services – especially those originating and culminating in the east and northeast, where illegal immigration has been a major issue – have been cancelled, further pushing up air fares.The Travel Agents Federation of India estimates an over ?15 crore loss already in business in east and northeast regions alone. More than 70% of the year-end holiday bookings are likely to get cancelled, widening the losses, said Anil Punjabi, the federation's chairman for the east.Big Blow for Northeast Tourism"The worst affected will be northeast tourism, which had seen a resurgence in the past few years. Flights are getting cancelled and holidayers are apprehensive even though they are staring at monetary losses," said Punjabi.Restaurants and pubs estimated their business has declined over 10% in the past seven days due to the unrest.Speciality Restaurants managing director Anjan Chatterjee said there's been a significant impact on the food and beverages sector."As it is, we are dealing with a slowdown. To top it, when there's an environment of unrest and uncertainty, the first things that get impacted are to do with entertainment," he said. "December is usually when people host various corporate and private parties and that's being compromised because there is fear of going out."The listed chain operates 135 outlets across multiple brands such as Mainland China and Oh! Calcutta. Rahul Singh, promoter of The Beer Cafe, said his outlets in New Delhi have seen a drop in sales as people are wary of venturing out."In politically sensitive times, people don't step out. The environment needs to be conducive for that, which is missing," he said.The agitation against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the planned National Register of Citizens has rocked Assam in the northeast, West Bengal, Bihar, parts of Uttar Pradesh and the national capital since last week. Students of several frontline higher education institutes have joined the protests.Countries including the US, the UK and France have cautioned their citizens about travel to India in view of the protests. Normal life has been affected in several areas and the shutdown of the internet has further impacted e-commerce business.Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra tweeted on Tuesday praying "for peace, calm & non-violence" throughout the country. "No business strategy can exist independent of such an environment," he wrote.A MakeMyTrip spokesperson said last-minute flight bookings to leisure destinations in India have dipped by 29% year-on-year and this can be attributed to a 24% increase in air fares."Some of the most sought-after destinations including Goa, Udaipur and Cochin are expected to witness de-growth of about 29%, 12% and 56%, respectively," the spokesperson said."The fares in the market are high because of a combination of factors that includes Jet's grounding, constrained runway capacity in Mumbai, among others. On top of it, people are not ready spend too much on travel due to the general slowdown," said Sanjay Narula, MD of Apex Travel and Tours.Companies are especially worried about the impact of the agitation on business when economic growth has slowed and consumer sentiment is muted amid accelerating inflation. Several retailers and companies had advanced their year-end sales this year in an attempt to boost sales."When the macro-economic scenario is not rosy, the present unrest is just adding fuel to the fire. However, we hope things get sorted out quickly, considering the Christmas sale is happening across the country and people tend to buy around this time," said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of the Retailers Association of India.
MUMBAI: Legal advisers affiliated to Bombay House say they are baffled by the NCLAT order and believe the relief granted by the tribunal has gone "far beyond" what was sought by the plaintiffs, Cyrus Investments.By ordering that Mistry be reinstated as executive chairman of Tata Sons, the NCLAT has granted relief which had never been sought at any stage, either before National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) or the NCLAT, the legal sources said. Further, the order of the tribunal has displaced the current executive chairman, N Chandrasekaran, who had been selected following the procedure provided under the Articles of Association of Tata Sons, they said."The petition filed in NCLT specifically states that the petitioners are not seeking the relief of reinstating Cyrus Mistry (Respondent No 11) as chairman," said the advisers cited earlier. "The order was beyond the relief sought by the aforesaid parties. While some prayers had never been sought from the inception, others were given up in writing during the course of arguments."The legal sources said that by ordering reinstatement of Mistry as a director of Tata Sons, the NCLAT has granted relief which had been specifically dropped in writing by the petitioners during the course of arguments before the NCLT.Chandra's Roles"Therefore, Tata Sons shall take all legal recourse available to it to challenge the order," a person close to the matter said. 72878952 One legal aspect they believe is significant is that Mistry's tenure would have anyway ended six months after the board meeting of October 2016 in which he was dismissed (i.e, March 2017) but the tribunal in its wisdom has reinstated him after three years.Another issue that has now come to the fore is whether Chandrasekaran can take executive decisions after the judgment. The confusion on the chairman's role will have major repercussions on the conglomerate.Chandrasekaran has been putting the Tata House in order, and the NCLAT verdict has unsettled and disturbed the whole organisation once again, said a top official close to the development. In Bombay House itself, employees were seen discussing the fallout of the verdict.Shuva Mandal, group general counsel, said: "Tata Sons strongly believes in the strength of its case and will take appropriate legal recourse. Tata Sons assures its various stakeholders that it not only has always operated in a fair and equitable manner but also acted in accordance with the law and will continue to do so."Interestingly, the Tata Group appears to have been blindsided by the NCLAT order. Former Tata Sons director Ishaat Hussain was chairing an expert committee of Sebi on the social stock exchange, which was also attended by members including Chandrasekaran, when the news of the NCLAT order came.The mood at Bombay House is grim and the top guns at Tata Sons appear to be concerned, said people close to the matter. It is, as a top Tata Sons official put it, an absolutely surprising development.
MUMBAI: Banks have voiced concerns over the Reserve Bank of India's decision to introduce roundthe-clock fund transfers — cautioning the regulator that it could cause chaos. But, some in the know said their fears could well be exaggerated.Recently, RBI directed banks to keep the National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) window open 24x7. The facility allows individuals and businesses to move money from any account in a bank branch to another bank branch in the country.Several senior bankers ET spoke to said lenders may run into a problem in managing cash balances if there is a large outflow late in the evening or early morning when the money market is shut — particularly, as it is unclear how the mechanism to draw a liquidity line from RBI in the wee hours would work out. A 24x7 NEFT could also pose complications in account reconciliation and crediting or debiting of interest in accounts from which funds flow in or out.Indeed, just days before RBI communique on NEFT, the industry body Indian Banks' Association (IBA) in a letter to RBI executive director S Ganesh Kumar said: "..Opening up NEFT 24x7 will increase the risk as without any cap on value per transaction, (it) could lead to extreme flows when banks are closed." The IBA letter dated November 30, 2019, said: "Since NEFT is interoperable across banks, even if some of the banks are not ready it will create chaos."72878649 Responding to ET's email query, IBA chief executive VG Kannan said: "These are very early days and so far no bank has faced any problem. We have raised certain issues with RBI and these have been partly addressed. For instance, RBI is offering a liquidity window but we would have to wait to figure out the system," said VG Kannan, chief executive of IBA. The RBI spokesman declined to comment.Banks had said that managing CRR (cash reserve ratio) — the slice of customer deposits banks set aside as cash — could be a challenge after 7 pm. Currently, all outflows and inflows are considered while computing daily CRR position and any deficit is managed by accessing the marginal standing facility — RBI's lending window to banks for overnight funds which functions till 7:30 pm."RBI has tried to address the liquidity issue after the IBA letter. However, the borrowing post market hours there will be capped. In an extreme case of outflow, say over a long weekend, this could lead to an erosion in a bank's liquidity coverage ratio (which is linked to a bank's asset-liability mismatch). Also, as of now drawing liquidity from RBI during the night is not yet automated," said a banker. But sections said bankers' fears are unfounded as NEFT is primarily used by retail customers and large outflows are unlikely. Also, some of the IT companies supporting the banks are finding it difficult to put in place an appropriate solution.At a point when multiple payment solutions like debit card, credit card, UPI and IMPS exit, bankers are baffled by the regulator's decision to introduce a 24x7 NEFT facility. Banks had earlier requested RBI to extend NEFT hours in phases and decide on further extension based on the experience."Such borrowing from RBI by a bank from where fund is moving out has a cost. On the other hand, the bank which is receiving fund and has to credit the account may not have a profitable avenue to deploy the money, but may have to nonetheless pay interest on fund that is credited," said a banker.
Most damaging part of the ruling is where it says that substantial losses were caused to the Tata Group companies as a result of mismanagement. If that is so, then obviously it will have very serious implications on the reputation of the Tata Group, says HP Ranina, Corporate Lawyer talking about impact of NCLAT order declaring Cyrus Mistry's dismissal as illegal. Excerpts from interview with ETNOW. NCLAT has decreed the removal of Cyrus Mistry as Tata Group Executive Chairman as illegal and have reinstated him. What are the options for Tata Sons now?The option obviously is to go and appeal. There is no other option. They have asked for four weeks to file an appeal to the Supreme Court because tomorrow is the last working day of the Supreme Court and Supreme Court will reopen only on the 2nd January. Therefore they will need time to get this matter heard and then the Supreme Court will decide whether or not to stay the part of the ruling about the appointment of Mr Cyrus Mistry as Executive Chairman and the removal of Mr Chandrasekaran. That will be decided initially and the matter will be listed for hearing on the facts of the case. What is a little disconcerting is not that his removal was not proper or illegal or unconstitutional or against the Tata Sons resolutions and the Articles of Association, what is very damaging is to say that part of the ruling which says that substantial losses were caused to the Tata Group companies as a result of mismanagement. Now that is a worrying part really. If that is so, then obviously it will have very serious implications on the reputation of the Tata Group. You see the removal is of course a technical issue, but the real issue is this whether he was removed because he pointed out that there were serious flaws in the management of the Tata Group prior to his taking over and therefore losses were caused to the Tata Group companies for which the group suffered. That he had to pay a price for pointing out mistakes. The fact raises some very serious issues with regards to adding fire to Cyrus Mistry's allegations that there were serious issues in mismanagement of the company and given that they have now set aside what has happened in the last board meet, does this leave things very open for misconstrument for uncertainty with regards to the companies?It certainly brings out and opens a hornet's nest. It is virtually opening a can of worms because Supreme Court will only look at the legal aspect, they will not go into the factual aspect. If factually losses were caused before Cyrus Mistry took over and subsequently Cyrus tried to reverse some decisions and was removed from his post, then it raises issues of facts. The Supreme Court cannot overrule issues of facts, they can only go into issues of law. If those facts are there in the judgment in the appellate order of NCLAT, then it would be extremely damaging for the Tata Group. We still do not know whether Cyrus Mistry in this case go for defamation damage. Also, we still do not know whether this move is going to be viewed prospectively or retrospectively. Is that slightly ambiguous right now?Mistry can go for the damages for the remuneration which has been denied to him all these years after he was removed because his removal was illegal or was void ab initio according to NCLAT. Of course, he can claim damages for the loss of remuneration or reputation which he has suffered. Reputation is more important to him. I do not think Cyrus Mistry is going to care much for remuneration but his loss of reputation will be something on which he will certainly go in for damages, depending upon what has been stated on the factual issue by NCLAT. So if NCLAT confirms what Cyrus Mistry said that before he took over, his predecessor had taken certain decisions which caused losses to Tata companies and that he was removed for trying to reverse the decision, then certainly it will be very damaging for the Tata Group. Mistry will say I have been vindicated and my reputation was damaged during the last few years and therefore he can seek damages. If someone is a Tata shareholder, should one be worried? In the last three years, Chandra has tried to change the complexion of the Tata Group of companies. He is looking at merging Tata Food business, Tata Chemicals business into Tata Global. A lot of changes have happened in Tata Power. A lot of change has happened to Tata Motors operations. What is in store for the shareholder now because if the move comes retrospectively, every board decision can be challenged?You are right but I think Cyrus Mistry also has high respect for Chandrasekaran and he might come to some type of a deal whereby his name is cleared. He may be given some damages and he may still allow Chandrasekaran to continue in his role voluntarily. Though Cyrus has been once again brought back into the Chair, he may voluntarily step down and say Chandrasekaran is doing a good job and being a well wisher of the Tata Group I would like Chandrasekaran to continue the good work. That can be the best way to solve this problem once in for all because Cyrus Mistry's name would be cleared and he would certainly become a hero once again. At the same time, he would be shown as a very gracious person if he allows Chandrasekaran to continue the good work that he is doing with the Tata Group.
Industries are not performing at high capacity; hence, the banking industry is seeing a slowdown in working capital and term credit, says executive director of Bank of India, CG Chaitanya. In an interview with Saloni Shukla, Chaitanya also said that while the government was still spending, private capex revival was several quarters away, with demand remaining soft. Edited excerpts:Are you seeing any sign of greenshoots in credit growth?Credit growth will pick up in a meaningful way when capacity expansion happens in the infrastructure sector and demand recovers.Presently, industries are not performing to their 100% capacity, once utilisation of their working capital happens at the maximum level, then you will see demand return for term credit. Presently, we see hardly any demand for corporate credit.Any specific sectors you believe would lead the revival?On roads, we are seeing some slowdown in the HAM (Hybrid annuity model) projects, LNG projects have started to pick up some pace, we also expect some revival in airport projects with government and private partnerships.But, if you see steel and cement sectors these will still take some time for a demand pickup as they are operating on low capacities. Today industries are very careful on taking on debt without the serviceability power.But are banks able to get promoters to invest more by way of equity?Yes, there have been several lessons learnt. Earlier, the sense was that promoters could take debt to pay-off past loans and utilise only a portion of it for capacity expansion.That is now reversed, we insist that the cash-flow situation is in perfect order, mismatch leads to entry into SMA-0 and banks are monitoring the evolving scenario. So, borrowers are very careful of the leverage ratio.We used to earlier finance greenfield projects but later get stuck due to delays in approvals but now we make sure that these permissions are in place.We are checking whether promoters are bringing in book-equity, the structures that they create, so to make sure we are protected, we are ring-fencing our exposures.Internationally acclaimed economists are again talking about the twin balance-sheet problem. So, does the stress build-up continue?Corporates have started stress recognition in the last two years; the new stress you see emerging now is quite normal because we are in the business of risk.But, the prime issue is that if the growth is stagnant, there is hardly any interest income and if the delinquencies continue, then it will hit the key ratios.We didn't expect names like DHFL or Sintex or CG Power or CCD to crop-up suddenly, but on and off such names will go bad. What we need to focus on is higher growth to balance this out.What about the telecom sector?The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) issue came as a surprise stress for the telecom industry.Public-sector banks were not bullish on spectrum financing because we were mostly on the asset financing side. Our risks are quite balanced in that space, we don't have any exposure to Vodafone-Idea.
Stating that most Indian companies are "afraid" of competition, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishan on Wednesday said domestic firms should improve their corporate governance and compete at the international level.He also said the companies should learn from the Indian IT industry, which is "world-class because of world-class governance", and develop start-up mindset to experiment with new technologies."We must go for global listings. We must attract global funding. IT industry, from where I come, is world-class because of world-class governance. There is a lesson to be learnt. It has zero debt when we are going through debt crisis in this country," Gopalakrishnan said at a CII event.He said the global and domestic economy will grow and to capitalise on the same companies need to invest in innovation."If you are a big company, clearly you need to invest more on research and development. We need to create our own IPRs. We have to improve our governance. Our companies are not yet competitive at global scale. I am sorry to say. Very few companies are. That is why we are still afraid to compete," Gopalakrishnan said.He said the global economy has grown from USD 11 trillion in 1980 to USD 80 trillion at present and is expected to triple in the next 30 years, adding that computing technologies have added significantly to this growth."Microsoft, Google and Amazon were not there before 1980. They were born in digital computing era. India went from USD 160 billion economy in 1980 to USD 2.8 trillion -- that is 18 times growth in the last 40 years," Gopalakrishnan said.The government has set a target to make India a USD 5 trillion economy by 2025."We can debate will it happen in 2025 or 2030, but it will happen. I am confident that it will happen because India is a low-income country and we will become a middle-income country at the time we hit USD 5 trillion mark and we will hit USD 10,000 per per person per capita maybe by 2030. That time we will be actually USD 10 trillion economy, which is four times," he said.The Infosys co-founder said that every industry will transform by then and established companies need to work on their strategies to align themselves with growth.
As the first round of final placements closed at IITs, on December 15, it emerged that despite a subdued job market overall, campus recruitment at some of India's top technology schools — IITs and NITs — have been no less than stellar. Companies came to these campuses with more job offers and better pay packets. This year, most IITs including Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, have placed over 65-70% of students registered for placements in the first phase itself. For instance, for the first time, IIT Kharagpur received 1000 job offers in a record 5 days. It was the fastest 1000 to date. Till now, the institute has seen over 80% of its BTech and dual degree students placed. IIT Madras had 848 students placed at the end of Phase 1 including PPOs and 34 international offers. As many as 22 companies made more than 10 offers each, with Micron Technology India (31), Intel (20) and Microsoft India (19) emerging the top recruiters. At IIT Roorkee, 65% of students were placed within the first 11 days of placements, which was a new record. 72863936 What explains the record numbers and a bumper placement season at a time the economy has decisively slowed down?The completion of the first round of placements at top tech schools coincided with a contraction in the industrial production for the third month in a row. The index of industrial production shrank 3.8% in October, the data released by the statistics office showed. Last two quarters have also seen certain sectors struggling, especially auto and BFSI. As a consequence, sectors such as auto, BFSI and IT services have seen layoffs. The Experis IT Employment Outlook survey released at the beginning of this quarter revealed that Indian employers have cut down hiring intentions for October 2019-March 2020 by nearly 6 percentage points, compared to that in the last six months However, even in a tough job market, when hiring numbers per company come down, organisations want to fill those openings with top talent. That is why the older IITs never lose out. S Venkatesh, president of group-HR at RPG Enterprises had told ET in an earlier interaction that no matter what the circumstances, big groups/companies want to go to the top institutes. That's why competition there is always intense.Top IITs have always bagged the best offers across all engineering institutes, a reflection of not just the brand name but also the intense competition students go through to make it in. Whether it's the big-ticket foreign offers from the likes of Google, Facebook and Oracle earlier, which are now being given at the institutes by Microsoft and Uber; the salary offers which keep going up year-on-year and the growing number of pre-placement offers; the institutes have taken all vagaries of the economy in their stride."Despite the gloom and doom, private companies are going ahead with their plans, even if they have pared the numbers in some cases. However, at IITs, there is always a demand for hiring, because even those who have cut down will try to hire from us. There is still a competition for slots and we invited more companies as well," IIT Kharagpur, CDC Chairman, G P Raja Sekhar told ET. The focus on the engineering talent has always been there and this has not come down in the slowdown as companies are increasingly looking at innovating their processes and solutions for differentiation, S. Dharmaraja, Head, Office of Career Services, IIT Delhi told ET. The Experis IT Employment Outlook Survey showed that despite a fall in hiring intentions, companies intend to hire mostly freshers with up to 5 years experience. There is also significant demand for talent with new skill sets, especially in AI and Big Data. Software product development and application maintenance services are among the areas that will lead demand, said the survey. Popular recruiter DE Shaw hires for roles such as software developers and quant developers from IITs. Samsung, which is hiring more than 1200 from India's leading engineering colleges' Class of 2020, is also recruiting for roles in future technology including AI, machine learning, deep learning, cloud, IoT, data analysis, mobile networks, imaging and voice. Honeywell, which hired for roles in both India and the US, is focused on developing next-gen connected IIoT software and predictive analytics products.Also, many companies grabbed the campus talent even before the final placements by offering the pre-placement offers (PPOs). This year has seen an upsurge in the PPOs too in comparison to last year. Companies are lining up for tech talent to automate their solutions and processes as well as work on new technologies like AI, robotics, big data, etc. Based on the first phase of the placements, institutes are optimistic about the second phase set to begin in January. "The focus, then, will be to place the Master's students which is our biggest challenge. Most of these students look for a career in core sectors but at traditional core companies, the profiles they hire for have become dynamic. They keep changing year on year. As a result, we have invited more PSUs, more core sector companies," said IIT Kharagpur, CDC Chairman, G P Raja Sekhar. IIT Madras said it is focusing on the education sector for the second phase of placements."The companies that come for the second phase are those who have restrictions on joining period. These companies come in January and even at times in February so that the joining period is shorter," S. Dharmaraja, Head, Office of Career Services, IIT Delhi told ET.This IIT wrapped up the first phase on December 13 wherein the institute received more offers than it had anticipated. Placing the students in the second phase gets tough as the number of recruiters drops sharply.Each of the old IITs has about 30-40% of students to place in the second phase that begins in January onwards and goes up to June. "The recruiter visit shrinks to almost one or two recruiters per week," said a placement source at IIT Bombay. With the cream talent picked up in the early days of December, companies lose interest and only come in case they have urgent demand. "Or else they wait out till next season," said the same person. 72863940
NCLAT rules in Cyrus Mistry's favour, Tatas in trouble In a huge setback to the Tata Group, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday reinstated Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Sons, holding his removal in October 2016 as "illegal".
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