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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held talks with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on the sidelines of the fourth BIMSTEC Summit here.
“Good and positive exchange of views on strengthening development cooperation and other areas of bilateral relationship (between India and Sri Lanka),” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
Modi is also scheduled to meet other heads of state and government taking part in the summit.
(IANS)
The State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) B S Yeddyurappa, on Wednesday, August 29, alleged that the state government was tapping his and Congress leader Siddaramiah’s phones.
Speaking to the media, Yeddyurappa said, “There is no doubt that my phone is being tapped. Siddarmaiah and other leaders’ private conversations are also tapped,” and warned the state government to stop it immediately or face the consequences.
He also said that several top leaders of the Congress and officials were in touch with him about pledging allegiance to the BJP.
Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy denied these allegations. Speaking to the media at Ramanagar, the CM said that he was ready for an inquiry into the matter. “BJP is in power at the Centre. Let Yeddyurappa complain to the central government about the matter. I am ready to take action if any wrongdoings are found,” he added.
The government has instructed all the regional commissioners, zonal police inspectors, district administration and police superintendents that no lender should force or harass the debtors who belong to below the poverty line farmer families.
Based on Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s instructions, Chief Secretary T M Vijaya Bhaskar has issued a circular to this effect.
The state cabinet had passed the “Karnataka Debt Relief Bill 2018”, in a move to ease the financial burden on small farmers, agricultural labourers and other weaker sections of the society.
This follows pre-election assurances made by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on behalf of his party Janata Dal (Secular) of making farmers “debt free.”
Accordingly, the government has now instructed all the authorities to ensure that no lender will harass or force any debtors who belong to below the poverty line farmer families.
With the coalition government completing 100 days, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and urged him to decide on expanding the state Cabinet.
“I have requested the Congress president to take a decision on the expansion of the Cabinet and appointments to boards and corporations,” Kumaraswamy told reporters here after a brief meeting with Rahul. Kumaraswamy’s discussions with Rahul came on the eve of the JD(S)-Congress Coordination Committee meeting convened to iron out the irritants in the alliance that has cropped up after former chief minister Siddaramaiah’s remarks about returning as chief minister.
“The coalition government is secure under the leadership of Siddaramaiah,” the chief minister said. He said Rahul was happy at the functioning of the coalition government. “Our government is stable and functioning smoothly,” Kumaraswamy said.
The chief minister said he did not complain to Rahul about Siddaramaiah expressing his desire to return to power. “Anybody can aspire to be chief minister. Even R V Deshpande can aspire to become chief minister,” he said referring to the senior Congress leader who was with him. Kumaraswamy said
Siddaramaiah has already clarified that he would become chief minister after the next election if the people desire.
Expelled DMK leader and former Union Minister M.K. Alagiri on Thursday said he will accept his younger brother and party President M.K. Stalin as “leader” — if he was taken back into the party.
Alagiri had publicly stated earlier that he cannot consider anyone as his leader other than the late M. Karunanidhi, his father and party President who died earlier this month.
Alagiri was expelled from the DMK by Karunanidhi for anti-party activities.
Speaking to reporters here, Alagiri said the current leadership of the DMK — a reference to Stalin — was not willing to re-admit him despite his requests.
He said the DMK did not consist just of the General Council, which has elected Stalin as the DMK President, and that “genuine party cadres” were with him.
Asked if he would accept Stalin’s leadership, Alagiri said: “If I am in the party, then I will.”
In a show of strength, Alagiri is preparing to organise a rally in which he says over 100,000 people would take part.
On August 27, Alagiri warned in Madurai that if the DMK leadership did not take him back, then its leadership will have to face “consequences”. He did not elaborate.
Alagiri was opposed to Stalin becoming the DMK President. After the death of his father, he spoke in riddles claiming that the DMK would face difficulties if it ignored him.
Karnataka state government has issued a direction to all regional commissioners, IGPs of all ranges and Deputy Commissioners and Superintendent of Police of all districts to take necessary steps to stop harassment of borrowers by moneylenders.
On directions of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Chief Secretary T M Vijayabhaskar has issued a circular: “Government is examining the proposal to table Karnataka Debt Relief Bill 2018 to relieve small farmers, agricultural labours and other weaker sections of the society of their burden of debts. This information has been published in various newspapers.”
In this wake, it has been noticed that many such borrowers are illegally harassed and assaulted by moneylenders in various instances. Hence it is hereby directed to take legal action against those who are harassing or assaulting such borrowers”.
Panaji Amid demands for dismissal of his government by the opposition and confusion in the state BJP ranks over leadership issues, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar left for the US from Mumbai early on Thursday, for treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.
“The Chief Minister left by a 1.30 a.m. flight. He is expected to be back in a week’s time,” sources close to Parrikar said.
Parrikar was admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital last week, hours after he returned to Goa from a New York medical facility, following a second round of treatment abroad.
The Congress in the state has appealed to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha to dismiss the BJP-led coalition government in the coastal state due to the severe health crisis that has hit the state cabinet.
Four out of the 12 cabinet ministers including Parrikar, have been suffering from serious ailments, which has forced them to abstain from discharging their official duty to full capacity.
On Wednesday, there was confusion in the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party, as well as alliance partners, over facilitating an “alternative arrangement” in the absence of Parrikar.
While Union Minister of the State for AYUSH and North Goa MP Shripad Naik told reporters on Wednesday, that he would be meeting party chief Amit Shah along with the members of its state core committee to form an alternative arrangement, some members of the committee later said that there were no such plans on the anvil.
The Chief Minister’s Office was later forced to issue a statement saying Parrikar himself would be overseeing functioning of the coalition government from the US.
Parrikar was diagnosed in February and was treated in a New York medical facility from March to June. On August 10, Parrikar had again left for the US for review of his treatment.
(10:40)
Panaji, Aug 30 (IANS) Amid demands for dismissal of his government by the opposition and confusion in the state BJP ranks over leadership issues, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar left for the US from Mumbai early on Thursday, for treatment of advanced pancreatic cancer.
“The Chief Minister left by a 1.30 a.m. flight. He is expected to be back in a week’s time,” sources close to Parrikar said
Parrikar was admitted to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital last week, hours after he returned to Goa from a New York medical facility, following a second round of treatment abroad.
The Congress in the state has appealed to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha to dismiss the BJP-led coalition government in the coastal state due to the severe health crisis that has hit the state cabinet.
Four out of the 12 cabinet ministers including Parrikar, have been suffering from serious ailments, which has forced them to abstain from discharging their official duty to full capacity.
On Wednesday, there was confusion in the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party, as well as alliance partners, over facilitating an “alternative arrangement” in the absence of Parrikar.
While Union Minister of the State for AYUSH and North Goa MP Shripad Naik told reporters on Wednesday, that he would be meeting party chief Amit Shah along with the members of its state core committee to form an alternative arrangement, some members of the committee later said that there were no such plans on the anvil.
The Chief Minister’s Office was later forced to issue a statement saying Parrikar himself would be overseeing functioning of the coalition government from the US.
Parrikar was diagnosed in February and was treated in a New York medical facility from March to June. On August 10, Parrikar had again left for the US for review of his treatment.
[IANS]
Twenty years ago, in August 1998, then Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji proposed, in a meeting of China’s State Council, a total ban on logging in the forest slopes of Sichuan province. It was in response to the devastating flood-crisis that China was facing in the Yangtze river basin.
That policy was enacted overnight, while the floods in Yangtze river were still at its peak and rescue operations were in full swing. It was just a year after the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, but Zhu was in no mood to analyse if that extreme event was due to climate change.
He cited that similar devastation had occurred due to Yangtze floods in 1870, 1931 and 1954 when climate change was not around. Zhu declared severe punishment for logging in the same meeting and incentivised afforestation with ambitious targets by 2000 and 2010.
The same month, but now 2018, India is facing the devastation in Kerala, the worst ever since 1924. With over 400 dead and a million homeless, the questions are gushing like the waters from the flood gates of its dams. Is it a natural or man-made disaster? Is it climatic event or due to global warming?
It is easy and convenient to link the causative chain to climate change. Indeed, global warming has led to a rise in ocean and atmosphere temperatures (nearly one degree Celsius over pre-industrial times) which has resulted in the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events over the last six decades.
To this extent, global warming is indeed responsible for higher rainfall. But that does not explain “extreme” and “localised” rainfall. Blaming each of such weather disasters on climate change has in reality become a way for the authorities to absolve themselves from their essential responsibility of preventing the consequential colossal damage to life, infrastructure and ecosystems. Unprecedented rainfall could not have been prevented, whether it is due to global warming or not, but the resulting catastrophe could have been contained.
Indiscriminate logging in Kerala has reduced the forest cover between 1920 and 1990 by 40 per cent, according to the report of Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel. Nearly one million hectares of the forest land has been lost between 1973 and 2016, as per an Indian Institute of Science report. This has reduced the soil’s capacity to hold the mud-slides. Illegal mining, including that of sand and stones that “bank” the flood waters, is rampant in Kerala. Over-enthusiastic water tourism has allowed the infrastructure and habitat to be vulnerably exposed to the flood waters. The uncoordinated dam-water management has left the communities and wildlife to find their own ways to save their lives.
Is there way out?
There are numerous examples and initiatives to learn from and to participate in. The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Agency predicted the Kerala floods just a few days in advance. Collaboration with GPM and initiating disaster management measures “just-in-time” could still would have helped.
Switzerland (about the same size as Kerala) has 200 major dams as against Kerala’s 61. Switzerland’s designated central authority coordinates safety and the operation of the flood gates. Collaborating with Switzerland on such dam-management and inundation-mapping would prepare India in future. In Kerala, dam safety analysis had not been done for any of its 61 dams.
China has now acquired huge experience in disaster and flood management; five most deadly floods in human history were all in China. Cooperation with China would go a long way in managing and containing the flood damage.
[IANS]
Tokyo Fasten your seatbelt to board a flying cab soon as Uber on Thursday selected India as one of the first five shortlisted finalist countries that could be home to the first international Uber Air City within the next five years.
After evaluating countries across the globe, Uber Elevate — the ride-hailing platform’s aerial taxi arm — announced Japan, India, Australia, Brazil and France as shortlisted countries at the first “Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo” in Tokyo here.
Uber will choose one of the cities from these 5 shortlisted countries as its third launch city for flying taxis — after Dallas and Los Angeles in the US.
“Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru are some of the most congested cities in the world, where travelling even a few kilometers can take over an hour. Uber Air offers tremendous potential to help create a transportation option that goes over congestion, instead of adding to it,” the company said in a statement.
Uber Elevate also announced plans to experiment with drone delivery for Uber Eats, and demonstrated how potential Uber Air routes in Asia Pacific cities could benefit local transportation systems.
“We are proud to host the first ever Uber Elevate Asia Pacific Expo. We are announcing a shortlist of five countries where Uber Air can immediately transform transportation and take our technology to new heights,” said Eric Allison, Head of Uber Aviation Programmes.
In the next five years, Uber customers in launch cities will be able to push a button and get a flight on demand.
To enable this, Uber has assembled a network of partners that includes vehicle manufacturers, real estate developers, technology developers and more.
Dallas and Los Angeles were previously announced as the first two US launch cities and at the second annual Uber Elevate Summit in May, Uber announced it was seeking an international city as a third partner.
“We see much potential in flying cars, and we anticipate that flying cars can be used not only to help solve traffic congestion in urban areas, but it will also help with increase mobility between city centres and remote islands and mountainous areas, promote tourism in Japan as well as enhance disaster relief operations,” said Daisaku Hiraki, Parliamentary Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan.
“The Uber Elevate team is now inviting conversations with stakeholders across major cities in these countries, and will announce the chosen Uber Air international city within the next six months,” said the company.
Uber Elevate has established a criteria framework to select the third city, anchored around three priority principles: sizable market, local commitment and enabling conditions.
San Francisco Alex Hardiman, Head of News Products at Facebook, is joining US-based magazine and multi-platform publisher The Atlantic as its Chief Business and Product Officer.
“At The Atlantic, she will lead the product, engineering, data and growth teams and shape The Atlantic’s ongoing initiatives on digital consumer revenue,” the Adweek reported on Wednesday.
The Atlantic reportedly said it was expanding its ranks by 100 and that the teams that would report to Hardiman have doubled in size over the past one year.
“Hardiman is taking over many of the duties previously led by Kim Lau, who was promoted earlier this summer from senior vice president of digital to executive vice president of strategy and operations,” the report added.
She joined Facebook in 2016 when criticism against the social networking giant for its role in spreading “fake news” was fast spreading.
“Alex is a true leader who built a fantastic team,” a representative from Facebook was quoted as saying by TechCrunch.
She was elevated to lead Facebook’s news efforts on the product side in May 2017.
Prior to that, Hardiman has spent more than a decade at The New York Times, completing her tenure as vice president of news products.
[IANS]