The Indian Panorama

Month: June 2016

  • Donald Trump’s Brexit Speech showed his incompetence

    Donald Trump’s Brexit Speech showed his incompetence

    Donald Trump made the headlines again and this time in Scotland for his bizarre comments on #BREXIT; Below are the excerpts

    QUESTION: How would the Trump administration approach the Brexit, should you be elected president? And Scotland voted 62-38 to remain. Should Scotland leave the U.K., as many people are talking about?

    TRUMP: Yeah. I think I see a big parallel. I think people really — I think people really see a big parallel. A lot of people are talking about that, and not only the United States, but other countries.

    People want to take their country back. They want to have independence, in a sense, and you see it with Europe, all over Europe. You’re going to have more than just — in my opinion, more than what happened last night, you’re going to have, I think many other cases where they want to take their borders back. They want to take their monetary back.

    They want to take a lot of things back. They want to be able to have a country again. So, I think you’re going have this happen more and more. I really believe that, and I think it’s happening in the United States.

    It’s happening by the fact that I’ve done so well in the polls. You look at the recent polling, and you look at the swing states and you see how I’m doing, and I haven’t even started my campaign yet, essentially.

    I mean, we’ve — we’ve done very well. We’re raising a lot of money for the Republican Party. I’m going to be funding a lot myself, but we’re raising a lot of money, John, for the Republican Party. And you’ll see those numbers come out in the next — over the next 30 days, and in particular, 60 days.

    The numbers that were put out last week were a very start — that was a very small of time just to start. But we have raised a lot of money, especially money coming in in small — from small donors. You’ll be amazed when you see the kind of numbers we’re talking about, because we were amazed and I was amazed. But that will be reported fairly soon.

    But I really do see a parallel between what’s happening in the United States and what’s happening here. People want to see borders. They don’t necessarily want people pouring into their country that they don’t know who they are and where they come from. They have no idea.

    And I think, you know, it — not only did it win, but it won by a much bigger margin than people thought it would happen.

    QUESTION: And how would your administration approach the Brexit, and getting the question of Scottish….

    TRUMP: Yeah, you just have to embrace it. It’s will of the people. You know, it’s not a question of approaching it. It’s the will of the people. It’s always the will of the people. Ultimately that wins out.

    QUESTION: And would you like to see — should Scotland leave, sir?

    (CROSSTALK)

    QUESTION: … impact of what is taking operation here in Britain? The markets are…

    TRUMP: Right. Well, nobody knows. Look, if the pound goes down, they’re going to do more business. You know, when the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly. And the pound has gone down, and let’s see what the impact of that has, but I think places like Scotland and England and different places, in Great Britain, I think you’re going to see a lot of — a lot of activity.

    The pound got high, and people weren’t able to do maybe what they wanted to do, but for traveling and for other things, you know, I think it could very well turn out to be a positive.

    Nobody really knows. You’ll know in five years, you’ll be able to analyze it, and maybe it will take longer than that, but what is known is that they’ve taken back their independence. And that’s a very, very important thing.

    Yeah, Katie?

    (CROSSTALK)

    QUESTION: … momentous — momentous right now, and you are on the world stage. Are you traveling with any of your foreign policy advisers? You knew that this was going to happen today, there was going to be some sort of decision.

    Are you huddling with them to find out what the best way…

    TRUMP: Well, I’ve been in touch with them, but there’s nothing to talk about. You know, I’ve been saying I would prefer what happened. Thing. I thought this would be a good thing, I think it will turn out to be a good thing. Maybe not short term, not, but ultimately I think it will be a good thing.

    And I’ve actually been in touch. And some, by the way, don’t like it, and some do like it. You know, they’re advisers, they’re like everybody else. They probably know less, every one of these advisers.

    Somebody said, “Gee, you should use advisers that have been really hot the last five years.” I said, “Really? I think I want to use ones that haven’t been involved.” Take a look at what has happened in the world.

    Go ahead, Katie.

    QUESTION: A follow up (inaudible). We’ve got a special relationship, U.S. and the U.K. for quite some time now, but with this vote, their standing in the world, their standing in Europe will certainly be diminished, their influence will be diminished.

    Will they still be the first call for you, for the U.S., when seeking help?

    TRUMP: Well — well, I don’t know, first call or second call, they will be a very powerful call, that’s going to be a great relationship. They’ll be great allies, they always have been. And I think zero will change on that score. There has never been a better ally, and I think nothing will change on that score, Katie.

    QUESTION: Mr. Trump — Mr. Trump, do you believe that the U.S. should move immediately to renegotiate trades with the U.K., or like President Obama has said, should the U.K. now move to the back of the line in light of the Brexit vote?

    TRUMP: Well, President Obama did say, I guess that they should move to the back of the line. Now, that wouldn’t happen with me. The U.K. has been such a great ally for so long, they’ll be always at the front of the line. They’ve been amazing allies in good times and in bad times.

    (APPLAUSE)

    And sometimes they make mistakes together, but they — as we know, but always been great allies. So — so, I will tell you, I think that I was very surprised when I heard President Obama say that, and I think he said that because he thought for sure it was going to stay together, but it didn’t stay together.

    And I felt it wouldn’t stay together, and again, I think that’s what’s happening in the United States. It’s not staying together. It’s a really positive force taking place. They want to take their country back. The people want their country back. We don’t want to lose our jobs, we don’t want to lose our borders.

    They want to have wage increases. They haven’t in the United States, folks. For members — and all of my members at Turnberry, I mean, we’ve had hard-working, great people that haven’t were a real wage increase in 18 years. So they’re working harder now and they’re making less money.

    So — go ahead?

    QUESTION: But just — a quick follow-up on that. I mean, the treasury secretary, the Fed chairwoman have both said they expect this, if the Brexit was successful to have a negative impact on the U.S. economy.

    Are you worried about that at all?

    TRUMP: Yeah, Sarah (ph), they don’t know. I mean, look, we’re going to have to see how it plays out.

    What I like is that I love to see people take their country back. And that’s really what’s happening in the United States. And I think you see that. And that’s what’s happening in many other places in the world. They’re tired of it. They want to take their countries back, and you know, this isn’t such a phenomenal — like some people are saying.

    And when people asked me what I thought was going to happen, as you know, I said, “I think they’re going to break way.” And it has turned out that way, and it was little bit surprising, because the polls indicated, probably, that it wouldn’t happen, 80 percent.

    And when I landed this morning, the first thing I asked is that. And I mean it was fairly close, but it wasn’t that close. So we’ll see what happens.

    I think it will be a good thing. You’re taking your country back, you’re going to let people that you want into your country, and people that you don’t want, or people that you don’t think are going to be appropriate for your country, or good for your country, you’re not going to have to take.

    And you know, look, Europe, like the United States, has made tremendous mistakes over the last period of time. You look at Germany, you look at some of the things that are happening. There have been tremendous mistakes that have been made.

    So, I think it’s going to end up being a very good thing, but it will take time.

    (CROSSTALK)

    TRUMP: Yeah, Tom?

    QUESTION: Your campaign has gotten global attention, all over the world people know who Donald Trump is and your campaign for president. Do you think anything you said in the United States influenced voters here in Britain when it comes leaving the E.U.?

    TRUMP: It’s a good question.

    If I said, “Yes, total influence,” — they’ll say, “That’s terrible, his ego is terrible,” right? So I will never say that, Tom. I would like to give you that one, but I can’t say it.

    You know, look, the question was, what do I think? And I gave my opinion a few times over the last few months, but I also said, I really don’t people to listen to it because it’s not me, it’s about them. It’s about them it’s their country.

    My opinion is that what happened should have happened. I think they will end up being strong for it, and they’ll control their country, and they’ll control everything about their country.

    Yes?

    QUESTION: David Cameron said that, “you were wrong when you proposed banning Muslims from entering the U.S. Do you think he got the mood of his country wrong and do you think he was right to resign?

    TRUMP: Well, I like David Cameron and he had a couple of rough statements, but that’s okay.

    I think David Cameron is a good man. He was wrong on this. He didn’t get the mood of his country right. He was surprised. I think he was very surprised to see what happened but he is a good man and he felt that way. And probably did the right thing but we’ll see what happens. I like David Cameron.

    Yes sir?

    QUESTION: BBC news.

    Do you think following your argument about sovereignty, do you think Scotland should have it’s independence? Would you support that?

    TRUMP: Well, that’s up to the people of Scotland. You know, we’ve been through this. And really, again, I leave it up to the people.

    I love the people of Scotland. That’s why I built in Aberdeen in one of the great golf courses of the world. It was up to judge to be the greatest course ever built new. New is being defined as form 1960 to present. You know, we’re very proud of it.

    I’ve gotten to know the people of Scotland so well and you know, through my mother and through everything else. The people of Scotland are amazing people. You know, that question really has to be addressed to the people. It was a very, very close vote.

    I don’t know if people want to go through that again. I was here when people were going through that vote. I didn’t take sides, but I will tell you, it was a nasty period. And I can’t imagine they go through that again, but the people of Scotland may speak differently.

    Yes sir?

    QUESTION: Just on what you said as well about Europe and other countries in Europe. Would you support the breakup of the European Union because that seems to be what would happen?

    TRUMP: Well, it looks like it’s on it’s way. We’ll see what happens.

    I can tell you, I have a lot of friends living in Germany that have always been very proud Germans to a level that you wouldn’t believe. They would be bragging about their country. They would be talking about their country as though there would be no place.

    They’re members of Mar-a-Lago and different places that I have. Now, those same people, some of them are saying they’re leaving Germany, they’re moving. They never even thought of moving but now they’re thinking about moving because of the tremendous influx of people. And you know what’s happening Germany, it’s a real problem.

    These are people that were very proud Germans that were beyond belief, they thought the greatest that there ever was and now they’re talking about leaving Germany. And you see the problems in German. So I could see it happening. I have no opinion really, but I could certainly see it happening.

    I saw this happening. I could read what was happening. And I could see things happening Germany. I hope they straighten the situation because it can really become a nasty — it can be very nasty. What’s going on can be very, very nasty.

    Building safe-zones in Syria, great idea. Building safe zones magnificent, big safe as can be. But when you’re taking them into the United States by the thousands and we don’t know who they are, when you’re taking them into Germany and other countries — all you have to do is look around. Look around the world, see what’s happening? It’s some real problems.

    QUESTION: It is easy for politicians to use immigration to divide an electorate. How does a leader unite people?

    TRUMP: Well, you unite people by having a happy country.

    And when people pour into the country and it doesn’t work, whether it’s because of crime or various other things, you’re not going to be uniting anybody. I just told you about Germany where people want to leave Germany. People there that I would never in a million years say that these people want to leave, but they’re going to be leaving. So you can’t unite a country by forcing things down to peoples’ throat. And that’s what happened here, people are not happy.

    Yes sir?

    QUESTION: Do you think that the referendums (ph) would have a seismic impact on the British economy? Do you intend to steal (ph) that for investments in Scotland? And how to does it feel to be on the sidelines of the news cycle?

    TRUMP: Well, you know, if anything, I have big investments over in Europe.

    I have — as you know, I own Dunebeg in Ireland, which is a phenomenal hotel. It’s one of the most beautiful hotels. It’s one of the most highly rated hotels in all of Europe and it’s got a golf course on this large, five — almost 500-acre parcel of land, on the Atlantic Ocean, and does great.

    I own Turnberry, I own Aberdeen. I’m going to go stop at Aberdeen for a little while; I’m actually leaving — I’ll only be here for one night, because I have to go back and campaign, which I actually love doing, to be honest with you. But I wanted to — really, I wanted to support my children, who have really poured their hearts and souls into this development.

    So — but — but you know, I think you understand. Yes, go ahead.

    QUESTION: Being — being you’re campaigning, a lot of people in the States are saying, did you really have to be here for this, I mean…

    TRUMP: Yeah. Because you know why I’m here? Because I support my children.

    OK, next. Yeah, Tom, go ahead.

    QUESTION: On fund-raising. You mentioned that you paid for Turnberry without any debt.

    TRUMP: Right.

    QUESTION: You — now, you’re a politician. Does it bug you to have to pick up the phone and ask people to donate to your campaign?

    TRUMP: Yeah, I don’t like doing it. I don’t like doing it, Tom.

    I mean, again, I’m an honest politician, probably one of the few. Tom’s asking, does it bother me to — when you’re raising money — and again, Tom, I’m raising this money for the Republican Party. It’s something I’ve never done.

    I’ve always contributed money to lots of people. A lot of campaign contributions over the years. And once I ran, I became like an outsider. But I — no, I don’t like doing that, but I have done it, and we’ve had amazing weeks.

    Last week I was in Houston, as you know. We had tremendous lines. Made a speech also and the lines were — actually on ABC they reported, ABC Local, they followed the lines all the way to the highways. It was actually it’s — I’ve never seen anything like that, and then Dallas where we had a similar thing.

    But we also had fund-raisers and I’ve really never done. You know, I sit with 20 people, and we talk, and they all hand you checks, bing, bing, bing, and they’re checks to the RNC and the Republican Party, and I feel I have an obligation to do that.

    And, Tom, the numbers are going to be, I think quite staggering, especially in July. In fact, Steve Mnuchin is here someplace. Steve?

    Are we doing well, Steve, huh? He’s one of their great financiers of the country, actually, and I chose him, and he — he wanted to do this, and the numbers are staggering.

    Don’t forget, we just sort of started this process a few weeks ago, and the first filing was for a very limited period of time, and it was almost before we started, and — but the numbers are amazing. Actually, the numbers for the small donations, we’ve taken a lot of money otherwise, but the numbers for the small donations are coming in at — I mean, it’s beyond anything what — that we thought.

    You know, the $20, $50 and $100 donations. But we’ll report in June, but especially the July report, I think, will show you some pretty massive numbers.

    (CROSSTALK)

    QUESTION: Mr. Trump, will you go buy (ph) checks? Will you still buy (ph) checks in the campaign?

    TRUMP: I’ll (inaudible) do it. Well, I just did it the other day. I matched. Right? I put up $2 million, and I say, you know, let’s see who’s going to go, and we’ve raised more than $2. But I guess I offered a $2 million incentive for people to put up money. And I don’t know if that was the reason, but we had a tremendous response to that, so.

    (CROSSTALK)

    TRUMP: David?

    QUESTION: I’m David (inaudible) with the…

    TRUMP: I know, David. You don’t even have to say. David, go ahead.

    QUESTION: Back to — back to the Brexit thing. You said that David Cameron maybe misread the mood of his country. Given that President Obama came over here and tried to encourage people to vote remain, and Hillary Clinton has made it clear she preferred they vote remain, what do you think this says about how Hillary Clinton maybe has misread the world, and since she’s a former secretary of state, what does that say about her campaign?

    TRUMP: Well, she has always misread everything.

    (LAUGHTER)

    I mean — no, if you think. She has misread this. And I was surprised that she was so bold and to say — well, the only reason she did it is because Obama wanted it. You know, if Obama wanted it the other way, if he said leave, she would have said leave.

    She does whatever he wants her to. Now, you know why, but that’s okay, we don’t have to get into that. But — but I actually was actually very surprised that President Obama would have come here and he would have been so bold as to tell the people over here what to do, and I think that a lot of people don’t like him and a lot of people voted — I think if he had — if he had not said it, I think your result might have been different.

    But when he said it, people were not happy about it, and I thought it was totally inappropriate. And when I said what I said, I told people, I said, don’t do I’m saying necessarily, do whatever you think, but this was just my opinion.

    He came in and really tried to convince people to stay. And I thought it was inappropriate, and then she doubled down and she did the same thing. And obviously, for the 219th time, they were wrong. They’re always wrong. And that’s the problem with them.

    Yes, sir?

    QUESTION: Mr. Trump, (inaudible) from LBC radio. And Prime Minister David Cameron resigning today. Would you back Boris Johnson as the future prime minister?

    TRUMP: I don’t know him. I don’t know him. I’m sure he’ll be good. He got it right. So that gives him an advantage, but I don’t know him.

    QUESTION: Mr. Trump — Mr. Trump…

    QUESTION: Mr. Trump, since your campaign’s shake-up — I guess it was earlier in the week, I can’t remember what day it is now — we’ve seen a campaign that’s become more focused, more disciplined, more aggressive in rapid response — you, more on point I think that we’ve seen you in the past. Is this the new you?

    TRUMP: I really don’t think so.

    First of all, Corey was fantastic and we did a great job with a some are small group of people. I say this to all the folks here that don’t come from the United States, I ran a campaign in the primaries where we got the largest number of votes in the history of the Republican Party, primary votes. Larger than Ronald Reagan. Larger than Richard Nixon. Larger than Dwight D. Eisenhower, who helped win the World War II. And we ran a very lean campaign, and I had fewer people, and I spent less money and I funded the money myself. I spent $55 million, something like that.

    STAFF: I think it was $45 million.

    TRUMP: And by the way, I’m forced — you know, legally, I have to pay myself back. If I use — this has nothing to do with the campaign. You won’t see this, I’m to support my children. But if I use one of my resorts in the United states and we have a press conference or something, by law, I have to pay myself back. I would like not to. I would like to just say, “use the ballroom, don’t bother with it.” A couple have people said, “pay.” By law you have to pay yourself back.

    I think this — I think that we should have been given credit for, in addition to winning — for winning with less money spent and with the smallest staff. So now we have a staff of 73 people. Hillary has a staff of 900 people. I won and she won. I don’t think that we — I mean, honestly as a businessman, I say, “Wow, he won spending less money and a smaller staff.” See, I view that as an advantage.

    A lot of pundits say, she has a much bigger staff.” I think we’re very nimble. I think we’re very nimble. I think we’re doing well. You’ve seen the polls comes out, they’re very close and very equal. We just had one coming out think from West Virginia where I have a 25-point lead, and North Carolina came out yesterday, a two- point lead. Ohio’s even, Pennsylvania’s even. The national polls are getting very close. I’m spending much less money. She’s spending tremendous amounts of money and we haven’t even started yet. So it’s going to be very interesting because she spent, what was it? $28 million? She spent a lot of money, and we’re even. And that’s a good sign — and I think that’s a good sign.

    When I won New Hampshire I spent a tiny fraction of what other candidates spent, one in particular. I won New Hampshire by a landslide. That person came in seventh. I think, you know, when you can do it on a smaller budget, and with fewer people, that’s the kind of person they want to be the president, because to me that’s a big thing.

    Yes, go ahead, sir?

    QUESTION: Mr. Trump, seven in 10 voters told us in a CNN poll, they want to see you cut ties with your business while you’re running for President.

    TRUMP: I will do that.

    QUESTION: Will you do that while running, though?

    TRUMP: I will do that.

    Well, I don’t think it matters while I’m running. While I’m running it doesn’t matter. Again, I’m here for the sole reason, though I did want to see the job Eric did because if he didn’t do a good job he wouldn’t be standing here. I would give him a hard time. Right? He did a beyond job. Beyond, this is phenomenal.

    And just as you view this great course you have to see the hotel we built. Phenomenal — phenomenal.

    I will absolutely cut ties. You know, the rules are, nobody knows. Okay? It’s never had to — where somebody has this big a business and runs for president and wins. If I win, even though I don’t have to do that I would probably put everything in trust. My children will run it along with my executives. It’s a big company. My children will run it along with my executives, and just do a good job running it.

    Let me tell you, the importance of the opportunity that I may be given is so important and so massive. Making great trade deals with China and with you, folks, by the way, but with China, the numbers are so staggering. When you look at trade deficits of $400 billion and $500 billion a year, the numbers are so staggering and incredible. I wouldn’t even be thinking about the business. I mean, who cars? I would actually say, who cares? I would absolutely — you don’t have to do this but I would most likely put it in a blind trust and they would run it or something.

    QUESTION: I think this is the ninth Trump property we visited during your presidential campaign. Why do you continue having events here?

    TRUMP: My properties — number one, I have the best properties. Okay? You can say that.

    I will say, a lot the of the press has said, “whether you like them or not, there’s no properties like that.” I have the best properties and you don’t get to see that otherwise, but I have the best properties.

    TRUMP: And the other thing is, why should I use somebody else’s properties? Number one, they’re not as good and number two, it’s one of those things. I wish, frankly, I wasn’t forced by law to pay myself back. We’re forced to pay. You do understand that, sir? A couple of people said, “He’s paying to his campaign.” I’m not paying to my campaign.

    I would love to give everything for nothing. By law, I’m forced — whatever the fair market value of a ballroom is, or whatever it may that we use, or an airplane. As an example, if I use an airplane, by law, I have to pay it back. And that’s what I do, and that’s reflected in the filings.

    Jeremy?

    QUESTION: Mr. Trump, there has been a long-standing tradition in American politics that politics stops at the water’s edge. And given your comments about President Obama this morning, it seems you don’t seem to buy into that?

    TRUMP: Well, he — he didn’t stop it at the water’s edge, because he made statements about this incredible part of the world. And that this particular country, and frankly, a large group of countries should do — I mean, he’s — he’s constantly dictating to the world what they should do.

    The world does listen to him. Obviously, you can see that by the vote, but he’s constantly dictating to other countries. So, you know, certainly, it doesn’t stop at the water’s edge with him.

    And you know, very importantly, he got it totally wrong. And he’s embarrassed. I mean, he’s embarrassed by the Supreme Court decision yesterday, which was a real rebuke, and he’s very embarrassed by — he got involved. I don’t know if that was through a friendship with David Cameron. It could have been.

    And I understand friendship, and I can understand why he did it. I can understand that. But I think it’s something he shouldn’t have done. It’s not his country, it’s not his part of the world. He shouldn’t have done it, and I actually think that his recommendation perhaps caused it to fail.

    Okay, one more — one more question.

    (CROSSTALK)

    TRUMP: Yes?

    QUESTION: (Inaudible). How much of the Brexit vote do you think is about economic issues that you’ve been hammering home on the campaign? Low wages, lack of growth in the economy?

    TRUMP: Well, I think a lot of it is, but I think a lot of it’s borders, I think a lot of it is immigration. I think I speak — spoken. I mean, I have so many members here, hundreds and hundreds of members sitting in the back, and I’ve spoken to them and they’re not happy with the people flowing into the country. They don’t want that to happen. And I think that has a lot to do with it.

    I really think the borders, you know, it’s not so different. It’s amazing the way the world is not so different. We’re on the other side of the ocean, but the world is not so different. We’re right over there, you go many, many miles right in that direction.

    And to be honest with you, I think a lot of it has to do with immigration, but I also think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they wanted to be independent. They got tired of seeing stupid decisions, just like the American people are tired of seeing stupid decisions. Whether it’s the Iran deal, whether it’s the border where people just flow across the border like Swiss cheese.

    They’re tired of seeing stupid decisions made. They’re tired of looking at horrible trade deals. And you have bad trade deals here, too. And so, I think — I think that has a lot to do with it.

    QUESTION: Does the Brexit deal (inaudible) your campaign?

    TRUMP: Well, I think the Brexit deal, I think when you talk about leave, you know, I felt, again, knowing the people here very well, but not wanting to get involved, but I felt that that was going to happen. I felt it was going to happen, and there is great similarities between what happened here and my campaign.

    Yeah. People want to take their country back. Okay. Maybe one more question.

    (CROSSTALK)

    QUESTION: (Inaudible) is the timing (inaudible) pretty impeccable.

    TRUMP: Well, I almost delayed this. You know, by the way, they said there were going to be 2,000 protesters. There turned out — we counted them — 43. Forty-three, and they’re way over there. The police did a great job, but there were — it was nothing much to do, frankly.

    There were 43, just on the record, because we heard there were going to be thousands of protesters — 43. And my members are very happy with Donald Trump, I can tell you. Is that a correct statement? They love Donald Trump.

    QUESTION: Mr. Trump…

    TRUMP: So — no, and they love what we’ve done here. And you know, this is a little bit what we’re going to do to the United States. You know, the United States has rotted infrastructure, we have roads that are crumbling.

    I have a friend who’s a trucker, a big trucker, one of the biggest in the world, actually. And he said, he buys these brand-new, magnificent trucks that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and he’s never had this problem before. They’re just getting destroyed, because the highways are loaded up with potholes.

    And when you have an 18-wheeler or 16-wheeler, and you have big, massive trucks, and they’re being — you know, going down a highway at 65 miles an hour, and they hit a pothole and they are loaded up with tons of stuff, he said those trucks, no matter how good they are, they get wiped out.

    And that’s what’s happening to our country. And I thin this is sort of a mini example, what we’ve done here. The members love us, Scotland loves us for what we’ve done. The council — our council member here, do we have council members here?

    Yes. The council has been so incredible and you know, it has just been a big love fest. What we do is, the United States needs its infrastructure fixed. You know, the bridges are a disaster. The roads are a disaster.

    TRUMP: My friend told me. He said, he’s never had a problem like this before. He said, you go down the highways in a brand-new truck that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars is virtually it’s destroyed. They have to bring it back and have it rehauled, because they’re hitting potholes all over the place on highways. Our infrastructure is crumbling in the United States.

    And we spent probably, if you add it up now, $4 trillion, maybe more than in the Middle East, and we have a problem.

    QUESTION: The country’s not a golf course.

    TRUMP: It’s not.

  • India Formally Joins Missile Technology Control Regime #MTCR

    India Formally Joins Missile Technology Control Regime #MTCR

    India on Monday formally joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

    Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar received the MTCR membership papers from Envoys of France, Netherlands and Luxembourg in a small ceremony in Delhi.

    “Bolstering the non-proliferation agenda! In a signal move, India joins the Missile Technology Control Regime today,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

    “Foreign Secretary Jaishankar receives MTCR membership papers from Envoys of France, Netherlands and Luxembourg,” he wrote in another tweet.

    India’s efforts to get into the MTCR also got a boost after it agreed to join the Hague Code of Conduct, dealing with the ballistic missile non-proliferation arrangement, earlier this month.

    MTCR membership will enable India to buy high-end missile technology and also enhance its joint ventures with Russia.

    The aim of the MTCR is to restrict the proliferation of missiles, complete rocket systems, unmanned air vehicles and related technology for those systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogramme payload for at least 300 kilometres, as well as systems intended for the delivery of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

  • Houston Celebrates Yoga Event At NASA Space Center

    Houston Celebrates Yoga Event At NASA Space Center

    Hundreds of American yoga enthusiasts rolled out their colourful mats, twisting their bodies and performing ‘Surya Namaskar’ in front of the space shuttle at NASA’s landmark Johnson Space Center early on Sunday.

    Consulate General of India, Houston, in partnership with Patanjali Yogpeeth (USA), yoga studios and several community and supporting organisations held this repeat event on public demand, within a week of the successful International Day of Yoga on June 21.

    “It is our pleasure to bring together a large number of diverse Houstonians and institutions for celebrating the second International Day of Yoga in a befitting manner,” Anupam Ray, Consul General of India, told PTI.

    “NASA and Johnson Space Center are Houston icons and represent the finest of human endeavour. There is no better way to commemorate International Day of Yoga than by linking timeless Yoga with the best of modern-science”.

    “Being a Yoga practitioner myself, I encourage all Houstonians to perform Yoga and actively participate in these events with interactive Yoga sessions to spread the message of Yoga for peace and harmony,” he said.

    The free event had everything for yoga lovers from interactive yoga sessions and demonstrations to Collective Yoga Session for Harmony and Peace consisting of Asanas, Relaxation, Pranayama as well as Meditation.

    Many attendees were excited to perform Yoga in the backdrop of the landmark Space Shuttle, International Yoga Day was observed for only the second year this year.

  • Freida Pinto, Michelle Obama join hands for ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative

    Freida Pinto, Michelle Obama join hands for ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative

    @letgirlslearn

    @letgirlslearn

     

    Actress Freida Pinto has joined hands with the Michelle Obama, the First Lady for Let Girls Learn – a government initiative aimed at helping girls obtain quality education. Freida, along with Michelle Obama, her daughters Sasha and Malia, their grandmother Marian Robinson – will travel to Liberia, Morocco and Spain at the end of June and early July as part of the Let Girls Learn initiative, a statement issued on behalf of the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ actress, stated.

    The focus of the trip, which includes Monrovia, Marrakesh and Madrid, is for them to speak to young girls about the importance of education and staying in school. Starting with Liberia, Freida and Michelle will take part in a discussion which will cover the educational barriers girls face in the country.

    In Liberia, Pinto, 31, and Obama will take part in a discussion, which will cover the educational barriers girls face in the country. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will meet with the First Lady and Pinto. Next, in Morocco, Hollywood star Meryl Streep will be seen joining Michelle and Freida to discuss the challenges women in the African country deal with on a regular basis.

    Freida Pinto, Michelle Obama join hands for ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiativePinto, who became popular after her award winning role in Slumdog Millionaire, recently launched a women’s empowerment project at the 69th Cannes International Film Festival. As Plan International’s Girls’ Rights Ambassador, Freida Pinto is fast following in the humanitarian footsteps of Hollywood starlets like Angelina Jolie, Emma Watson and Beyonce, using their fame to help shine a spotlight on issues affecting women and girls around the world.

    In a recent interview, Pinto said, “There are events in history that should have shaped the future for women differently, but they haven’t so far and that’s been frustrating. But now there’s a huge amount of awareness and technology has made it possible for people to come together and not isolate their struggles. The struggles of a girl from Africa aren’t that different to those of a girl in India, and in turn, a girl in America. No matter how modern and educated she might think her community or society is, there’s still sexual violence against women, there’s still rape. I think technology has made it easier for people to come together, and their voices are united and louder than ever before.”

    Acknowledging that she always knew that she was “born more privileged than some of the girls who I’ve met through Plan,” Pinto believes that she feels “that protection, comfort and privilege I had growing up is something that every girl should have. We’re not asking for a luxury car or a big home, we’re just saying that girls should be able to go to school. That’s not a big ask. There’s a domino effect that may start small but before we know it, we can have an impact on a whole community, then a whole nation, then the world will catch up. We have to start small though.”

    Pinto, who had travelled to some of the poorer nations advocating for women’s ruights and education, recalls her earlier trip to Sierra Leone, “where I met one little girl at a school, during a class discussion about what the children wanted to become when they were older. This girl said to me that she’d like to become a finance minister. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s kinda boring but great!’ I asked her why and she said: ‘Because my country does not know how to spend their money on what they should be spending it on, and I would like to help them do that.’ These girls have no choice but to be aware of what’s going on around them and so many of them are using this knowledge to their advantage, which is really inspiring.”

  • Lotus Excellence Awards 2016 presented to students of Indian origin

    Lotus Excellence Awards 2016 presented to students of Indian origin

    Mayor Steve Chirico and Mayor Emeritus George Pradel presented 2016 Lotus Excellence Awards to students of Indian origin. The Lotus Excellence awards are an initiative of the Indian Community Outreach Board NICO to recognize the achievers in Indian American community. Mayor Pradel Leadership Award was announced last year at the time of his retirement and is given to a senior with outstanding leadership skills. Mayor Chirico was the chief guest at the event and addressed the students and parents with best wishes. He was happy to see and know that such bright students live in his own city of Naperville. He encouraged youth to take part in extracurricular activities and said that he was so proud of these young bright minds.

    Mayor Emeritus, Pradel was the guest of honor and has always been a supporter of NICO Board and their projects. He commended the students for their hard work and encouraged them to keep following their passion and dreams.

    Krishna Bansal, Chairman of the NICO welcomed the guest and said: “The primary mission of NICO is to embrace, preserve, and promote the Cultural Heritage and contributions of Indian Americans while educating them to get involved with the City of Naperville”.

    Saily Joshi, a NICO Board Member said the awards were presented to students who excelled in the field of Academics, Sports, Arts (Visual, Film, Music, Dance, Digital Arts, Painting, Photography, Poetry, Drama, Theater etc.), Leadership, and Community Service. The cash award of $500 was presented to multiple recipients in each award category. Eligible Students came from District 203, District 204, IMSA and home schooled children. Joshi went on to mention the importance of recognizing students for all these disciplines and not just academic achievement. “It is important to encourage our next generation to excel in fields that are traditional to our community”, she added.

    Madhur Limdi, a NICO Board Member said: “In the Indian culture a Lotus flower is associated with many divine beings; you all must have seen the image of Goddess Lakshmi seated on a lotus flower, while showering wealth on her devotes,” Madhur Kimdi added.

    Narayan Tata, a NICO Board Member said that art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. A true artist finds his medium and expresses oneself so fluently that other mere mortals are mesmerized by their creativity and resulting art.

    “Awards of Excellence” were presented to Binita Gupta for her Leadership & overall achievements. Gupta received the first Mayor Pradel Award for Leadership. Nihal Dantluri and Anvita Hariharan were awarded in the Art’s Category, and Murugan Narayanan and Yash Agarwal were awarded in the academic achievement. A large number of people attended the event which included board members, Naperville community leaders, and supporters from the Indian community. Those who are interested in having more information, ma lease visit NICO Board’s website www.napervilleindian.com

    Mayor Steve Chirico, Mayor Emeritus George Pradel, Krishna Bansal, Chairman of the NICO along with Board presented 2016 Lotus Excellence Awards to students of Indian origin.

  • GOPIO-CT honors 5 and gives 4 college scholarships

    GOPIO-CT honors 5 and gives 4 college scholarships

    It was a memorable evening in every possible way. The Ballroom at The Hilton Hotel in Stamford, CT was filled with more than 200 invited guests from across the state of Connecticut, including community leaders, elected officials, and honorees and their families on Saturday, June 18, 2016. The event was the 10th annual Gala and awards nite organized by The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) Connecticut Chapter honoring five for their achievements and contributions to the community: The gala included a cocktail reception, dinner, music, live DJ and dances by participants, eloquent speeches, touching lifestories and inspiring narratives on the lives of the five distinguished honorees.

    Prominent among those who had attended and spoke at the annual gala included, Congressman Jim Himes, Stamford Mayor David Martin, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, Connecticut State Senators Tony Hwang and Toni Boucher and CT State Assemblyman Dan Carter.

    Sachin Lawande, President and CEO of Visteon Corporation (Van Buren, MI), was recognized for his achievement as a Corporate Leader. Visteon is one of the world’s leading suppliers of vehicle cockpit electronics, serving auto manufacturers around the globe. Sachin was described to be leading a rapid evolution of electronics technology and software to meet the demands of the connected car era. In his response, Laweande, while thanking GOPIO-CT, he said, “May this award given to me today be an inspiration to the younger generation.”

    Anjali Sharma, a Greenwich resident, was honored for Community Service and promoting philanthropy. Anjali, a Trustee of AIF, has worked tirelessly to as a humanist and philanthropist to promote India’s development. She won the loudest applause from the audience for her simple narration of the many effort she and her organization do to bring a little cheer in the lives of hundreds of people in India she has been instrumental in touching with her monetary help. While acknowledging the award, Sharma applauded GOPIUO and said, “Your efforts show that you are working to have our community integrated with the mainstream world.”

    Annapurna Duleep, a  former Norwalk Councilwoman, was recognized for her contributions and achievements in Political Involvement. Anna is the first woman and South Asian to be elected Sheriff of Norwalk City in 2014.  She is an ardent proponent of gun control.  Duleep urged the participants and the larger Indian American community to “Join with me in the effort to take the community to the next level.”

    GOPIO-CT President’s Young Professional Achiever Award was given to Roopa Modha of Shelton, who has been working tirelessly to promote women’s issues using her legal expertise to further women’s causes. Her commitment is to empower women and bring the issues of domestic violence and rape into the public domain. A lawyer by profession, She attended the White House’s United State of Women Summit in 2016.

    Dr. Thomas Abraham, Founder President of GOPIO International who is also a Trustee of GOPIO-CT, while introducing, David Smith, FACHE of Stamford Hospital as the recipient of the Friend of GOPIO and the Indian American community award, said, “For the first time, GOPIO-CT is recognizing an employee of an institution. Mr. Smith currently serves as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Chief Strategy and Network Development Officer at Stamford Health, Stamford, Connecticut.  He has worked in the Health Care Sector for over 35 years. He is an ardent supporter of good health and healthy food habits. David has supported IndianAmerican community for many years.” In his response, shared with the audience as to how he developed an increasing taste for India and the people from this large nation. He spoke about his his close association with many people of Indian origin in the US.

    GOPIO-CT President’s Young Professional Achiever Award was given to Roopa Modha, who has been working tirelessly to promote women’s issues using her legal expertise to further women’s causes. Her commitment is to empower women and bring the issues of domestic violence and rape into the public domain. In her passionate address, Modha hoped that “this award will inspire many more to join in the efforts to make a just world.” She urged the audience to “be passionate about making a positive impact on others.”

    For the second year in a row, GOPIO-CT Scholarship for College Tuitions were given to Gunja Shah, a prospective student at Massachussetts College of Pharmacy; Tanusri Balla, entering University of Pennsylvania; Nikita Jaaswal, who has enrolled to begin her studies at University of California; and Sirin Vahora, amother of two, who has accepted into Norwalk Community Ciollege’s Nursing Program. GOPIO-CT Scholarship Committee consisted of Sanjay Santhanam (Chairman), Hari Srinivasan, Tara Sharma, and Priya Easwaran coordinated GOPIO-CT efforts and led the fundraising at the event to expand the scholarship to other parts of Connecticut in the coming years.

    Proclamations from Governor Malloy, Mayor David Martin, and US Senator Richard Bllomenthal to the awardees were read out at the awards ceremony. In welcoming the guests and dignitaries, Shelly Nichani, President of GOPIO-CT said “We are celebrating the achievements of five distinguished individuals and the award is a reflection of their remarkable accomplishments and commendable services.” He said, over the last ten years, GOPIO-CT has become an active and dynamic organization hosting interactive sessions with policy makers and academicians, community events, youth mentoring and networking workshops, and working with other area organizations to help create a better future.

    Congressman Jim Himes, who represents Connecticut’s 4th District in the United States House of Representatives, where he is serving his fourth term, said he was delighted to be at the event to honor the accomplishments of so many talented individuals. He complimented the IndianAmerican community as the highly educated 3.2 million strong, making tremendous contributions to the economic quality of this country.

    “You are the community. You are not part of the community,” Mayor David Martin told the Indian Americans. Pointing to the historic nature of the upcoming general elections in November, Mayor Martin urged the members to register and vote, and thus become ensure that your voices are heard.”

    Mayor Harry Rilling said “I am honored to be here to celebrate among friends and am thankful for the warm welcome the Indian community has always extended to me and my family.” He also congratulated GOPIO-CT for its 10 years of service and bringing the Indian community together.

    Niraj Baxi, the President of International GOPIO congratulated the awardees for “bringing honor to your Indian heritage. We are all very proud of you.” He said he was “delighted to be part of the celebration in Connecticut honoring distinguished IndianAmericans and David Smith, a Friend of GOPIO.”the Friend of GOPIO and the Indian Community award.

  • Priyanka Chopra bags Teen Choice Awards Nomination for ‘Quantico’

    Priyanka Chopra bags Teen Choice Awards Nomination for ‘Quantico’

    Priyanka Chopra has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award for her role in the show. The 33-year-old actress bagged the final nomination in the Choice TV Breakout Star category. Chopra has been garnering praise for her portrayal of FBI trainee Alex Parrish in “Quantico” ever since the American TV series came out in September 2015.

    An elated Chopra took to Twitter to express her delight. So fun!Thank you #TeenChoice for the #ChoiceTvBreakOutStar nomination for #Quantico Excited, grateful @TeenChoiceFOX

    Her journey from being a beauty queen, a Bollywood star, an international singer and to now a Hollywood actress, has been a great success story but Priyanka Chopra is not reading too much into it as she says all the fame and glory will go away one day.

    There has been no looking back for Priyanka since then and she is making her Hollywood debut with “Baywatch” movie as its main antagonist.

    On Chopra, who was awarded the Padma Shri this year, actor Dwayne Johnson said she is a “star rising higher” and lauded her “drive, ambition, selfrespect, and she knows there s no substitute for hard work.” Priyanka Chopra has been featured in TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list this year.

    “I believe that you have to be who you are. I don’t take success for granted. Nobody should. It goes away in a wink. I am sure it will go away with me also. But I am someone who is an achiever, so you just have to be able to evolve into different things,” the actress said in an interview on the sidelines of International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards.

    The Bajirao Mastani actress has made it to the final nomination in the category ‘Choice TV Breakout Star.’ Chopra recently won the Favourite Actress title in a New TV series award for Quantico at the People’s Choice Awards 2016.

    The starstudded affair, which celebrates the year’s achievements in the field of music, film, television, sports, fashion, comedy and video games, will be held on July 31 in Los Angeles.

  • MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee Dallas & Houston winners announced

    MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee Dallas & Houston winners announced

    MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee held contests in Dallas and Houston to find the best speller in the asian (Indian American) community.

     

    With a huge turnout this year as well, the Bee attracted some top talent as well as young and new spellers that competed for the coveted prizes and titles.

    In the Dallas Regional, Ananya Kodali (14) of Highland Village, Texas was the regional champ, Rohan Rajeev (13) of Edmond, Oklahoma, was the first runner up, and, Smrithi Upadhyayula (14) of Coppell, Texas, was second runner up.

    In Houston, Raksheet Kota (13) from Katy, Texas was named regional champ, Alex Iyer (13) from Hill, Texas was first runner up. Abhirami Jeeyseelan (13) of Baton Rouge, Louisiana second runner-up.

    The event is open to children of South Asian descent up to 14 years of age and was organized by the South Asian advertising firm Touchdown Media Inc. and sponsored by MetLife, a leading global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management.

    The 2016 MetLife South Asian Spelling Bee is scheduled to be conducted in 12 locations across the United States. Regional level events will be held in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C. Metro, New Jersey, New York and Boston. All events will be free to attend and open to the public. Accra, Ghana was announced as the 13thcenter from where spellers of South Asian descent will qualify for the finals.

    “For the past eight years, the Bee has consistently provided a firm platform for the community to come together and hone their craft. It’s become a family activity that contributes towards the overall development of the child. We are proud to enter our Ninth consecutive year and look forward to engaging some of these wonderful spellers,” said Rahul Walia, founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee and CEO of Touchdown Media Inc.

    The top two spellers of each regional competition will advance to the finals to be held in New Jersey in August. Similar to previous years MetLife has once again funded the $10,000 champion’s grand prize that will be awarded to the winner at the finals.

  • #IIFA crowns Ranveer Singh ‘Best Actor’, Deepika ‘Best Actress’, Woman of the Year- Priyanka Chopra

    #IIFA crowns Ranveer Singh ‘Best Actor’, Deepika ‘Best Actress’, Woman of the Year- Priyanka Chopra

    The 17th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (#IIFA) gala kicked off with much fanfare and aplomb on June 23, 2016 and the 4-day extravaganza finally concluded on Saturday night as as the best of 2015 of Bollywood were awarded for their talent and hard work.

    The best actor was bagged by none other than the hyperactive Ranveer Singh @RanveerOfficial for Bajirao Mastani and the best actress was bagged by his alleged lady love Deepika Padukone @deepikapadukone for Piku.

    This year’s Awards were held at Spain and was hosted by Shahid Kapoor @shahidkapoor and Farhan Akhtar @FarOutAkhtar.

    Here is the complete list of winner:

    Woman of the Year- Priyanka Chopra @priyankachopra

    Best Film: Bajrangi Bhaijaan

    Best Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani

    Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male): Anil Kapoor for Dil Dhadakne Do

    Best Actor in Supporting Role (Female): Priyanka Chopra for Bajirao Mastani

    Best Actor in Negative Role: Darshan Kumar for NH10

    Best Performance in Comic Role: Deepak Dobriyal for Tanu Weds Manu Returns

    Best Debut Actor (Male): Vicky Kaushal for Masaan

    Best Debut Actor (Female): Bhumi Pednekar for Dum Laga Ke Haisha

    Best Debut Couple: Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty for Hero

    Best Story: Juhi Chaturvedi for Piku

    Best Playback Singer (Female): Monali Thakur for Moh Moh Ke Dhaage (Dum Laga Ke Haisha)

    Best Playback Singer (Male): Papon for Moh Moh Ke Dhaage

    Best Lyrics: Varun Grover for Moh Moh Ke Dhaage

    Best Cinematography: Sudeep Chatterjee for Bajirao Mastani

    Best Screenplay: Kabir Khan, Parveez Shaikh, V. Vijayendra Prasad for Bajrangi Bhaijaan

    Best Dialogue: Juhi Chaturvedi for Piku

    Best Editing: A Sreekar Prasad for Talvar

    Best Production Design: Saloni Dhatrak, Sriram Iyengar, Sujeet Sawant for Bajirao Mastani

    Best Choreography: Remo D’souza for Pinga (Bajirao Mastani)

    Best Action: Shyam Kaushal for Bajirao Mastani

    Best Background Score: Sanchit Balhara for Bajirao Mastani

    Best Special Effects: Prasad Sutara for Bajirao Mastani

    Best Costume Designing: Anju Modi and Maxima Basu for Bajirao Mastani

    Best Make Up: Vikram Gaikwad for Datto (Tanu Weds Manu Returns)

    Best Sound Design: Bishwadeep Chatterjee and Nihar Ranjal Samal for Bajirao Mastani

    Best Song Engineer: Tanay Gajjar for Deewani Mastani (Bajirao Mastani)

    Best Sound Mixing: Ajay Kumar PB for Badlapur

  • ‘They Called Me Osama’: An Amazing Sikh Documentary, to teach people about Sikh Religion

    ‘They Called Me Osama’: An Amazing Sikh Documentary, to teach people about Sikh Religion

    NEW YORK (TIP): Sikhs have had to deal with racism and discrimination ever since members of the faith arrived in America more than 125 years ago. But prejudice against this religious group has taken an ugly turn in recent years, as Sikhs are swept into the rising tide of Islamophobia.

    Some of this hate stems from ignorance. Statistics show that many in the country know little or nothing about Sikh Americans.

    Maneetpaul Singh, a 22-year-old Sikh filmmaker from Connecticut, is hoping to help change that. He recently took to the streets of New York City with YouTuber Jagraj Singh to see just how much people knew about Sikhism and to help them learn more about its origins, principles, and people.

    JSSpokeToStrangersSome of the people Jagraj spoke to in New York’s Times Square had never heard of the religion before. Maneetpaul told The Huffington Post that it is these folks that he’s hoping to reach.

    “This film is truly intended for those who have never heard of a Sikh before,” Maneetpaul told The Huffington Post. “It is to show people we are an independent religion, separate from Islam or Hinduism. However, at the same time, the goal is not to shift blame to Muslims or any other religious group. The film aims to showcase that it is simply not right to judge someone based on their appearance.”

    In the video, Jagraj takes a few people aside and leads them through a crash course on the religion.

    The resulting short documentary, “They Called Me Osama,” covers everything from Sikhism’s founding in Punjab, India in 1469 to its core belief in the equality of all people, to what it’s like to be Sikh in America today.

    Although Maneetpaul said he was fortunate enough to go through school without having any major problems with bullying or racism, he still feels he can’t leave the house “without receiving some sort of ‘look’, double-take, or flat out inappropriate comment.”

    “I feel that having a Sikh identity comes with a certain degree of responsibility,” Maneetpaul wrote. “It is our job to make that first impression, and put ourselves out there. The only way misperceptions towards Sikhs will change, is if we engage with our communities and show the world what our real beliefs are.”

    Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world. It is a monotheistic faith. Unshorn hair is one of the five elements of the Sikh faith. It is an outward sign of their faith and a way for Sikhs to allow their body to grow in the way that nature intended it. Some Sikhs wrap their hair in a turban, or dastaar, which is a reminder of the equality and royalty of all people.

    Some Sikhs who wear turbans have become targets of discrimination, hate crimes, and bullying, often by people who mistakenly associate the turbans with Islam.

    Maneetpaul interviewed several Sikh Americans who have been victims of discrimination in the past. Dr. Prabhjot Singh, a New York physician and academic, recounted how he was physically assaulted by a group of people who shouted Islamophobic statements at him. Japjee Singh, a student from Georgia, spoke about how he was bullied throughout his school years. Balpreet Kaur, a Sikh woman who has chosen not to trim her facial hair in accordance with her religion’s beliefs, spoke about how a Redditor posted a photo of her online, mocking her for her appearance — and about how the cyberbully eventually apologized for his post.

    In the documentary, Kaur said that she hopes the incident helped teach people that it’s okay to step out of your comfort zone to get to know people who are different.

    “The whole incident hopefully taught not only me but others how to embrace diversity and offers a glimpse of the sheer amount of diversity we have in our world,” Kaur said.

     

  • Heart & Brain Harken to Times Gone: 2016 an Electoral Twister

    Heart & Brain Harken to Times Gone: 2016 an Electoral Twister

    We live in such interesting and exciting times – which time-tested Chinese wisdom says ought to be avoided on penalty of being cursed. Dickens, however would be in his glory, and say, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.” Wow, reading that gem of timely wisdom leaves one breathless!

    Two dozen candidates started out seeking POTUS 45; all are gone from this wretched and ignoble 2016 race except Trump, Hillary and Bernie. Just last week, Russia’s president Putin charmingly told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that the United States is the sole Superpower. The world’s nations’ geo-political calculus is in a tizzy – unable to even rely upon Jimmy the Greek in Vegas, as nobody knows what will be.

    Of them, Hillary has broken the Final Glass Ceiling as the presumptive Democratic Nominee. Hillary of course is beyond experienced in world and domestic affairs, given her tenure of public service and her engaging in same as a happy cook does in a kitchen: with abandon, to whip up an exciting meal. Of course, the clean-up of the “dust up” is a job for others. It’s worth noting that after Barack Obama absolved us of our original Sin – slavery – by being elected as the present day lofty Mark Anthony – he met with Bernie in the Oval Office and issued a most moving video endorsement of Hillary across the cold digital divide, sans the glow and warmth of a June Day in the Rose Garden, standing shoulder to shoulder, as he did with the ever-loveable Joe Biden, the natural champion of the Middle Class.

    Undeniable it is that Bernie has lit the imagination of millions upon millions of Americans who feel that their American Dream was defalcated while Wall Street and other Power & Money centers in USA got obese, repeatedly, beyond AIG’s Credit Swaps, with TARP money – trillions of dollars taken from beat up Main Street and the perpetual Poor, itself a sin in America, for Wall Street. The same Wall Street, which crashed the world’s economy in 2007 and did a Harry Houdini act with every American’s 401k and had home-equity go deep sea diving; conduct unbecoming a person with honor, if not outright criminally offensive. Bernie supporters want the 1789 Viva La France “guillotined heads” from our institutions of government. Of course, Bernie sits waiting to be asked to speak in Philadelphia and be crowned the Hard Working American’s Champ, as well as waiting for Straight Arrow FBI Director James Comey, of Ashcroft-Alberto Gonzales fame recorded by Preet Bharara as Chuck Schumer’s Chief Counsel, and fearlessly Impartial AG Loretta Lynch – who will do what the law demands and her Honor-based Oath. The question everyone wonders, will lightning actually strike, but more importantly, will it strike before July 25th. Law, it should be known, is at its best when it ignores human and political calculus of self-gain, and does what it must, or not at all, if it can’t. Human honor, differs from Law’s honor; the former is more compassionate by comparison.

    I pause to recall with emphasis that when the late great Socrates walked the Agora and frustrated the powerful in the direct democracy that was Athens, his reward for seeking accountability of government was a double-Hemlock death syrup for a frail 70-year old who merely asked, “Why?” Our democracy has discovered that representative democracy is needed to permit deliberation, rather than mere mob-rule that is emotion-driven or emotionally excited to silly heights and depths. Luckily, we have circuit breakers beyond the ballot box, as in the Electoral College. The Two Party system is another circuit breaker. The media, when functions properly, is another circuit breaker. However, since the Arab spring, social media has done to mainstream media what the atom bomb did to Hiroshima. In case my point is unclear, let me state it thus: social media can take representative democracy and make it act like direct democracy of Athens.

    And then there is Trump; the OMG candidate for president of these United States. In a civilian businessman capacity, he loved being called The Donald. Now, it is the distant: Mr. Trump. The Trump candidacy, if it can be called that, when it’s actually a mudfest, is a perfect recipe for social media to love or hate, but never ignore. Unique to Trump is that he has earned a very lofty status during this campaign: The Teflon Tongue. Ask any politician and they will give up both legs and arms to be so blessed by the electorate. It took Ronald Reagan all the way past the Iran-Contra affair in 1986 to win the Teflon President title. Recall as you must, that in the Carolinas on the same day Donald Trump called Pope Francis disgusting, because the Pope deems a good Christian to build bridges not walls of separation, and later the same evening Trump professed his love and respect for Pope Francis while attacking the media for misreporting the Pope. All that aside, is it not amazing that Donald Trump has electrified a slice of Americana that yearns for the America of yesteryears – when political correctness did not hide the evil that can lurk in a human heart, but allowed it to flourish in broad daylight proudly.

    The ultimate question each of us must answer is this: as a citizen of the most exceptional nation in human history, which has guaranteed freedom of speech, press, association and religion, and an unending pursuit of happiness, must such a great nation serve only the selfish needs of one man or one woman or one family, or must it continue to be the beacon in human history that it is strong, compassionate, daring, defiant, disruptive, innovative, welcoming, confident, fearless, and other attributes of human heroes across the globe have defined by their deeds over time – for that is what America is and what every American can be.

    I want an American President worthy of the American citizenry: hard-working, loyal, and honorable.

    Oh, there is one ultimate circuit breaker in our great representative democracy, a nation of laws: the law itself. What government does not know how to do properly or justly, or refuses to do at all, the law will make it so.”

    Ravi Batra-1
    Ravi Batra

    The author is an eminent attorney based in New York. He can be reached at ravi@ravibatralaw.com

    Follow on Twitter @RaviBatra

  • Indian Gets UN Honour For Corporate Sustainability Initiative

    Indian Gets UN Honour For Corporate Sustainability Initiative

    UNITED NATIONS:  An Indian social entrepreneur has been named among 10 “champions and pioneers” by UN Chief Ban Ki-moon under the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative that calls on companies to align with universal principles of human rights, environment and anti-corruption.

    Zubaida Bai, the founder of ‘ayzh’, a for-profit social venture providing health and livelihood solutions to impoverished women worldwide, was named among the 10 ‘2016 Global Compact SDG Pioneers’, an initiative launched by UN to search for “entrepreneurs” who can play a pivotal role.

    The UN Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, supports companies to do business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with ten principles of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and to take strategic actions to advance broader societal goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with an emphasis on collaboration and innovation.

    Mr Ban announced the 10 pioneers at the Global Compact Leaders Summit in the city this week.

    Congratulating the honorees, Mr Ban said that he counts on their “strong commitment and engagement” to help businesses seize the opportunities of the SDG era.

    “All of you are leaders in the campaign for a world without poverty, a thriving planet, a vibrant and inclusive global economy and a life of dignity for all.”

    “This is the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals, agreed upon by the Member States of the UN in September last year,” he said at the summit.

    The Leaders Summit aims to jump-start business action everywhere on the SDGs.

    To that end, the Global Compact unveiled a multi-year strategy to drive business awareness and activity that supports the achievement of the goals by 2030.

    Noting that trillions of dollars will be invested in infrastructure in the coming years, he said that the Paris Agreement and the SDGs give the private sector an unprecedented opportunity to create clean-energy, climate- resilient, sustainable economies.

    “We are at a decisive moment in the shift to sustainable and inclusive markets,” continued the Secretary-General, noting that the first step in this regard would be to mobilise the global business community as never before.

    “All businesses, everywhere, can and should play a role in improving our world. That starts with integrity – doing business right,” he said.

  • #Brexit Will Boost India-UK Ties says Priti Patel after Britain decided to quit EU

    #Brexit Will Boost India-UK Ties says Priti Patel after Britain decided to quit EU

    Britain’s senior-most Indian-origin minister Priti Patel, who had campaigned vehemently in favour of Brexit, believes today’s historic referendum result in favour of Britain leaving the European Union (EU) will ultimately be good for India-UK ties.

    Ms Patel, who has a seat in the UK Cabinet as minister for employment and also serves as Prime Minister David Cameron’s Indian Diaspora Champion, is now expected to play an active role on the front-benches of British politics.

    “India is a growing market with the fastest growing working age population of any other major economy – but it is a market that we are forbidden from striking a trade deal with because it is against EU rules…After we Vote Leave, the UK would be free to negotiate its own far-reaching trade deals with India and dozens of other growing economies. It will be a boost to India-UK ties,” she had told PTI ahead of the vote.

    The Gujarati-origin Conservative party minister has also repeatedly made personal references to her own Indian roots on the Vote Leave campaign trail.

    “They (her parents and grandparents) worked hard to give us a good future and play a positive role in British life. But while we remain a member of the EU, the businesses that we have worked hard to establish are at risk from costly red tape and regulations from Brussels.

    “By leaving the EU, we can replace EU red tape with sensible rules that promote the entrepreneurial spirit that we have in abundance.

    We send 350 million pounds a week to Brussels, this is money that could be spent on our priorities like the NHS (National Health Service),” she said, alongside fellow Indian-origin first-time Conservative party MP Rishi Sunak – the son-in-law of Infosys chief Narayana Murthy.

    One of the most contentious issues in the EU debate in the lead up to the in-out referendum has been immigration.

    The 52-48 per cent result in favour of Brexit indicates that the crucial estimate of 16.8 per cent of undecided votes among the 1.2 million Indian-origin electorate of the UK seem to have been won over by at least some of their arguments.

    She had also spearheaded a full-blown curry clash over the “unfair immigration rules” that favour EU migrants over non-EU workers from countries like India.

    “Our curry houses are becoming the victims of the EU’s uncontrolled immigration rules. By voting to leave the EU we can take back control of our immigration policies, save our curry houses and join the rest of the world,” she had said.

    She had been countered by long-serving Indian-origin Labour MP Keith Vaz, who expressed his dismay at the referendum’s final outcome.

    “Frankly, in a thousand years I would never have believed that the British people would have voted this way. I think that they voted emotionally rather than looking at the facts.

    It’ll be catastrophic for our country, for the rest of Europe and indeed the world,” Mr Vaz said.

  • Indian American Elected Delegate To GOP Convention

    Indian American Elected Delegate To GOP Convention

    An Indian-American has been elected as a Republican delegate for a record fourth consecutive term to the party’s July convention in Cleveland which would formally nominate real-estate tycoon Donald Trump as its presidential candidate.

    Sampat Shivangi, @drsampat, the national president of Indian-American Forum for Political Education and a long-time Republican leader, was recently elected as national delegate for the fourth consecutive term – a record for the community.

    The Republican convention in Cleveland is scheduled to be held from July 17 to July 22.

    Mr Shivangi was first elected as a delegate at the Republican convention in New York City in 2004, to nominate President George W Bush.

    Thereafter, he was elected as the national delegate in 2008 at Minneapolis to nominate John McCain and in 2012 at Tampa, to nominate Mitt Romney.

    “I feel this will be a great political spectacle of our times and I am fortunate enough to witness and participate,” he said in a statement.

    The Indian-American Forum, along with Ohio Community leaders and with FIA, AAPI will be hosting a reception on the sidelines of the Convention to honour the Indian ambassador to the US Arun Kumar Singh on July 19, a media release said.

  • 72-Year-Old Indian American, a repeat offender, to be deported after being convicted in Heroin Paraphernalia Case

    72-Year-Old Indian American, a repeat offender, to be deported after being convicted in Heroin Paraphernalia Case

    PITTSBURGH:  An Indian man in Pittsburgh has pleaded guilty to selling powder that dilutes heroin and tiny “stamp” bags used to package it for street sale, and agreed to be deported.

    That won’t happen until 72-year-old Akhil Mishra returns for sentencing in August.

    He was previously convicted in 1992 and 2000 of selling marijuana bongs and drug paraphernalia at “head shops” his family formerly owned in Pittsburgh.

    Federal prosecutors cracked down on Mr Mishra again last year in the midst of a heroin overdose epidemic in western Pennsylvania.

    Mr Mishra’s defense attorney George Bills said his client expects to be sentenced to the jail time he will have served since last year.

    Authorities contend Mr Mishra continued selling the items out of his Indiana Township home even after they raided his business.

  • SALMA HAYEK OPENS UP ABOUT BODY INSECURITIES

    SALMA HAYEK OPENS UP ABOUT BODY INSECURITIES

    Actress Salma Hayek says as she approaches the age of 50, she at times feels less confident in her body. The 49-year-old actress said there are times when she goes through the low phase thinking about the way she looks, reported People magazine.

    “Well I am entering my fifties so your body confidence isn’t that good. I think it depends on the day, for everybody.

    “There’s some days you say, ‘This is it,’ and you love it. Then there are days when you go, ‘This cannot be it! Is this really it?’ So I think it’s up and down all the time!,” Hayek said. However, the actress does know how to feel like a royal in everyday life.

    “You have to get up and become your own work of art; from the moment you put yourself together. Not that I do it! I am quite lazy in the queen department. But celebrate who you are and celebrate life, and know that this is your experience,” she said. Hayek will next be seen playing a queen in the upcoming film ‘Tale of Tales.’

  • JENNIFER ANISTON FUELS PREGNANCY RUMOURS

    JENNIFER ANISTON FUELS PREGNANCY RUMOURS

    Actress Jennifer Aniston has fuelled pregnancy rumours when she stepped out here while appearing to cover her stomach. During the outing on Friday, Aniston was photographed donning a black tank top, a red-patterned skirt and a pair of black flip-flops. She walked while putting her hat and a denim jacket in front of her stomach, reports aceshowbiz.com.

    She also tried to hide her stomach when she went on a dinner with husband Justin Theroux. At the time, she wore a tight black T-shirt paired with trousers of the same colour while clutching presumably the same denim jacket.

    The “Friends” initially sparked pregnancy rumours after a publication shared a photograph showing her rocking a “baby bump” in a tiny bikini during a romantic getaway with her hubby in Eleuthera, Bahamas earlier this month. The report, however, was later denied by the 47-year-old star’s representative.

    Source: IANS

  • MOVIE REVIEW – Central Intelligence

    MOVIE REVIEW – Central Intelligence

    STORY: Central Intelligence is a buddy cop movie that revolves around college bullies, true friendship and the CIA.

    CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Amy Ryan, Danielle Nicolet, Aaron Paul DIRECTION: Rawson Marshall Thurber GENRE: Comedy DURATION: 1 hour 54 minutes
    CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart,
    Amy Ryan, Danielle Nicolet, Aaron Paul
    DIRECTION: Rawson Marshall Thurber
    GENRE: Comedy
    DURATION: 1 hour 54 minutes

    REVIEW: College friends Bob (Dwayne Johnson) and Calvin (Kevin Hart) reunite after a decade. Calvin is pleasantly surprised to see Bob in a new avatar. From an obese kid, who was the butt of jokes in high school to a muscled He-Man, Bob seems to have undergone a massive physical transformation. While women fancy him for his macho physique, even Calvin feels safe around him. They recall their college days, where Calvin was the popular guy and Bob, an outcast because of his excess weight. Calvin was Bob’s only friend. However, Calvin soon realises that there is more to Bob than meets the eye.

    He turns out be a CIA agent, wanted by the agency for murder and treason. He is on the run and the CIA forces Calvin to help them get to him. Bob on the contrary dismisses the accusations and tells his friend that he is framed. Who is speaking the truth?

    The film is one of the many forgettable, loud buddy cop movies that Hollywood churns out every now and then. While we don’t mind the generic story & weak script, we wish at least the performances would have been entertaining. The over-zealous lead pair tries too hard to be funny. Their chemistry doesn’t work. You want them to stop nattering for a while as their endless banter annoys you to death.

    The high-school reunion climax is painfully cheesy. Jason Bateman in a cameo, reprises his ‘college bully’ role from The Gift. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997), was funnier.

    Speaking of comedy, the punches and the Black guy jokes are silly. The action scenes are decent and work to certain extent but the film is avoidable on the whole as it lacks ‘intelligence’. If you are still a fan of the genre, watch The Nice Guys instead.

  • YAMI GAUTAM IS A HUGE MADHURI FAN

    YAMI GAUTAM IS A HUGE MADHURI FAN

    Nobody knew the dancer in Yami Gautam existed, as the actress had never previously got a chance to shake her hips onscreen before. However, with the energetic number ‘Nachange Saari Raat’ which is a revamp version of the 2006 hit song with the same name by singer Stereo Nation, Yami has proved that she has got the grooves in her. In an exclusive conversation with ANI, the ‘Sanam Re’ actress credits Madhuri Dixit Nene for bringing out the dancer in her.

    “I have always danced in my school life, but as none of my roles required me to dance, people do not know that side of me. When it comes to dancing, I love Madhuri Dixit. I have grown up watching her dance. She is so graceful. I just find her extremely amazing,” said the 27-year-old. On being asked how she prepped up for the dance sequence of the song, the ‘Vicky Donor’ actor said, “I was really nervous because Pulkit
    (Samrat) is an amazing dancer. The song is so peppy that the step had to be energetic too. I practiced each and every step really well so that we look compatible onscreen. I don’t want to be called a bad dancer, anyway.”

    She added, “I never saw Pulkit practicing steps. He would come on sets, watch the choreographer dancing and start shooting right away, while I took hours to learn.” When asked what she thinks about matching some steps with Hrithik Roshan in her next film
    ‘Kaabil’, Yami said that the thought itself is making her feel extremely excited.

    Source: PTI

  • INTERNET MOVIES TO BE CINEMAS FUTURE, FEELS KANGANA

    INTERNET MOVIES TO BE CINEMAS FUTURE, FEELS KANGANA

    She has given path-breaking performances in feature films but actress Kangana Ranaut feels that the future of cinema will be movies made for the Internet. “It is not just me, I think the whole world knows that the future of cinema is Internet movies because two and a half hour film is not the future. The future is online. The sooner we realise that, the sooner we catch up. We won’t be lagging behind the rest of the world,” Kangana told reporters. The actress was speaking at the launch of filmmaker Shirish Kunder’s short movie, ‘Kriti’.

    The ‘Queen’ star said that she would love to feature in a short film but the genre should be similar to that of ‘Kriti’, a psychological-thriller, rather than a slice-of-life. “I would love to (do short films). Short film is such a difficult and new world for people who are a part of full length feature films… I think the genre has to be something exactly like this,” she said. “It really affected me. It has to be impactful. A love story or a slice-of-life won’t work for me in a short film,” Kangana added.

  • MOVIE REVIEW #UdtaPunjab

    MOVIE REVIEW #UdtaPunjab

    STORY: Four parallel tracks, that of a Punjabi rockstar, Tommy Singh (Shahid) a Bihari migrant, Kumari Pinky (Alia); a Sikh cop, Sartaj (Diljit) and a doctor, Preet (Kareena) address the insurgence of the drug menace in Punjab. Their lives are sometimes linked to one another but usually not.

    Udta PunjabREVIEW: Welcome to Chaubey’s Punjab; a world you may not inhabit, but cannot ignore. As notorious as Mexico in the current context, the state that is known for wrestlers and wheat, serves up heroin, opium, cocaine faster than parathas and lassis. Yes, Punjab the land of the five rivers, is a description only reserved for the text-books. In reality, it’s a place besieged by cartels, cocaine and corrupt cops.

    The films opens with a discus thrower from across the border flinging a packet into a jungle in Punjab in the dead of the night. The pink powder lands in the lap of the Bihari hockey player who works in the fields. And so begins her tryst with the contraband.

    Cut to the tattooed-gun-toting world of Tommy. He’s a role model for the youth.

    Unfortunately he’s also a junkie masquerading as an Alpha male, who can only make music when he is ‘coked up’ to his eyeballs.

    Then there is Inspector Sartaj and his superior (Manav Vij) who have no qualms about taking blood money. Sartaj’s conscience only stirs when he realises his younger brother, Prabhjyot Singh (Balli) is a victim.

    Completing the quartet is the Florence Nightingale doctor who rehabilitates addicts and moonlights as a reporter, hoping her report on narcotics will save the day.

    Chaubey uses a part-documentary-part-mainstream approach here. Post interval, the film is sometimes too indulgent and sluggish. Also this is not your sunny-side up cinema. It is stark and makes you cringe. However, its victory lies in making you empathise with its characters. As Alia and Shahid, both victims of drug and physical abuse fight their demons and destinies, you shed a silent tear. Shahid has got his act pat but Alia beats everyone hollow. Kareena and Diljit are adept. This review also doffs a hat to the nuanced performances of Satish Kaushik, Prabhjyot Singh and Manav Vij.

     

  • Anil Kumble appointed head coach of India

    Anil Kumble appointed head coach of India

    BENGALURU (TIP): Coaching the Indian cricket team is one of the high-pressure jobs in the world. The expectations that comes with the team is enormous but Anil Kumble, the newly-appointed chief coach , is up for the task. The former India Test captain said he would take a friendly approach rather than dictate his wards as he believes the rigid approach will not work with the high-profile side. Calling it a new beginning of his career, Kumble said he was excited about his new role.

    Excerpts… How does it feel to be back in the Team India dressing room as a head coach?

    It’s a great honour. I know it’s a huge challenge, a huge responsibility. There’ll be a lot of expectations. I’m looking forward to contributing back to Indian cricket and I felt this was the right time for me to get involved.

    You have mentored RCB and Mumbai Indians but never coached any side. How prepared are you now?

    Yes, it is very different. Obviously I will learn a lot. I know that coaching is very different from playing. I’ve realized that over the last five years I’ve had some success and I’ve learnt from some of the mistakes. I’ll use all those learnings as well. I always believe that the team is first and the coach’s role is to ensure that the team prepares to the best of its ability for all adversities. And that’s all I’ll look to do, in terms of what we can try and achieve. We’ll be able to get the players in the best possible condition, and it’s a very different feeling to be part of the set-up again.

    You will be in charge of the team for one year, do you have a long-term plan?

    We can put together a proper plan for the next three years. Of course I’m in charge for one year, but I think it’s important to plan beyond that as well. And that’s what I presented – a three-year plan that took care of the FTP as of today, various challenges the team has, and how to address that, and how to plan to bridge whatever gaps there are. Those are few of the things I will discuss in detail with the players when I meet them.

    What are changes you have in mind?

    This is a young team with a lot of potential. They’ve shown in the recent past that they’re capable of beating big sides. It’s too early for me to say anything. Yes I have plans, I’ve laid out some blueprints, but at the end of it the team has to buy in and that’s what I’m really looking forward to. I had a chat with Virat. Once MS (Dhoni) returns from Zimbabwe I’ll have a chat with him as well.

    What are your immediate priorities?

    This is a young team. I certainly believe that as a coach of a young team, you need to be hands-on and you need to really get your hands dirty as well – train with them, be a part of their training. And be with them more like an elder brother, in every aspect, not just on the field, but also off it. That’s something I will be focusing on. There’s a camp here in Bengaluru. It’ll be nice to get to know these players. I know all of them obviously. I’ve worked with a few of them, played with a couple of them. It’ll be a new beginning.

    Can you point out some key points from your presentation made to the Cricket Advisory Committee?

    A lot of people have been talking about this presentation but it’s just a plan. It needs inputs from other people as well. It’s nice, now I’m coach of the national team, my long-time colleague Rahul (Dravid) is in charge of the junior team, and the three advisors are people I’ve played a lot of cricket with. I believe that we have a good set of people. And of course there are other stakeholders as well.

    (PTI)

  • BREXIT EFFECT: GLOBAL MARKETS IN TURMOIL

    BREXIT EFFECT: GLOBAL MARKETS IN TURMOIL

    SYDNEY (TIP): Carnage came to world markets on June 24 as major television networks said Britain had voted to leave the European Union, threatening the existence of the entire bloc and its single currency.

    Such a body blow to global confidence could well prevent the Federal Reserve from raising interest rates as planned this year, and might even provoke a new round of emergency policy easing from the major central banks.

    Risk assets were scorched as investors fled to the safety of top-rated government debt, with FTSE futures off 7 percent FFIc1 and EMINI S&P 500 futures ESc1 down 3.6 percent.

    The British pound had collapsed no less than 15 U.S. cents, easily the biggest fall in living memory, to hit it lowest since 1985. The euro in turn slid 3.4 percent to $1.0997 as investors feared for its very future.

    While vote counting had not been concluded, major British television networks including ITV, the BBC and Sky News all called the result as a
    “Leave” and betting firm BetFair estimated the probability of leaving as high as 94 percent.

    Sterling sank a staggering 9 percent to $1.3525, having carved out a range of$1.3462 to $1.5022. The fall was even larger than during the global financial crisis and the currency was moving two or three cents in the blink of an eye.

    “The carnage in the FX markets may continue if the leave votes pull further ahead in the lead,” said Bernard Aw, markets strategist at IG in Singapore.

    “Equities markets will be affected, and we can see that Asian stocks are already under a fair bit of pressure. British banks listed in Hong Kong are suffering significant losses.”

    HSBC fell 9 percent while Standard Chartered sank almost 10 percent.

    The tremors shook all asset classes and regions.

    The safe-haven yen sprang higher to stand at 101.52 per dollar, having been as low as 106.81 at one stage. The dollar decline of 4 percent was the largest since 1998.

    That dragged the Nikkei down more than 8 percent and prompted warnings from Japanese officials that excessive forex moves were undesirable. Indeed, traders were wary in case global central banks chose to step in to calm the volatility.

    Other currencies across Asia suffered badly on worries that alarmed investors could pull funds out of emerging markets.

    MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid almost 5 percent, while Shanghai stocks lost 1.1 percent.

    FALSE HOPES?

    Financial markets have been racked for months by worries about what Brexit, or a British exit from the European Union, would mean for Europe’s stability.

    Early opinion polls had favored the “Remain” camp and perhaps led to a false sense of complacency in markets. An Ipsos MORI poll put the lead at 8 points while a YouGov poll out just after polls closed found 52 percent of respondents said they voted to remain in the EU.

    Sovereign bonds came back into favor as safe harbors against extreme market volatility, with U.S. 10-year Treasury futures TYc1 jumping 1.29 points.

    Yields on the cash note US10YT=RR fell 21 basis points to 1.53 percent, the steepest one day drop since 2009.

    The rally did not extend to UK bonds, however, as ratings agency Standard and Poor’s has warned it would likely downgrade the country’s triple A rating if it left the EU.

    Yields on 10-year gilts were indicated up 20 basis points at around 1.57 percent, meaning higher borrowing costs for a government already struggling with a large budget deficit.

    Across the Atlantic, investors were pricing in even less chance of another hike in U.S. interest rates given the Federal Reserve had cited a British exit from the EU as one reason to be cautious on tightening.

    “It adds weight to the camp that the Fed would be on hold. A July (hike) is definitely off the table,” Mike Baele, managing director with the private client reserve group at U.S. Bank in Portland, Oregon.

    Fed funds futures were even toying with the chance that the next move would be a cut in U.S. rates.

    Commodities likewise swung lower as a Brexit would be seen as a major threat to global growth. US crude CLc1 shed $2.02 to $48.09 a barrel in erratic trade while Brent LCOc1 fell $1.91 to $49.00.

    Copper CMCU3 slipped but gold galloped more than 8 percent higher thanks to its perceived safe haven status.

    Source: Reuters

  • VW to take $10bn hit in emissions scam: Report

    VW to take $10bn hit in emissions scam: Report

    EMDEN, GERMANY (TIP): Volkswagen has agreed to take a series of steps with a total cost of about $10.2 billion to settle claims from its unprecedented diesel emissions cheating scandal in the US, two people briefed on the matter said on Thursday.

    Most of the money would go to compensate 482,000 owners of cars with 2-liter diesel engines that were programmed to turn on emissions controls during lab tests and turn them off while on the road, said the people, who asked not to be identified because a judge has issued a gag order in the case. One of the people said the agreement was tentative and could change by the time the terms are officially announced by the judge on Tuesday. The bulk of the cash would be used to fix the cars, buy them back and compensate owners. Some funds would go to government agencies as penalties and for a program to remediate the environmental damage caused by pollution, the person said.

    Owners would have a choice between selling their vehicles back to VW at the value before the scandal broke on September 18, 2015, or keeping the cars and letting the company repair them. Either way, they would also get $1,000 to$7,000 depending on their cars’ age, with an average payment of $5,000, one of the people said.

    Attorneys representing owners, VW and government agencies have not yet agreed on the steps VW will take to repair the cars, the person said. Any fix would be expensive and likely would require a bigger catalytic converter or injection of urea into the exhaust to help neutralize the pollution.

  • RCom, Aircel combined entity to have ‘Rs 25,000 crore business’

    RCom, Aircel combined entity to have ‘Rs 25,000 crore business’

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Reliance Communications and Aircel merger is likely to be announced within 15 days, after months of extended negotiations, and the new entity is expected to have Rs 25,000 crore business from the first day of its operation.

    “The deal is almost in final stage. Synergies between the two companies have been worked. The merger should be announced within 10-15 days. The resultant entity will have revenue of about Rs 25,000 crore from day 1,” said a source.

    In a BSE filing on Thursday, RCom said that Maxis Communications Berhad and Sindya Securities and Investments, the shareholders of Aircel, expect to sign binding definitive documentation and announce the proposed transaction for the combination of the Indian wireless business very shortly.

    Last month, the two firms had decided to extend by 30 days the discussion period for their possible merger.

    This was for the second time the companies had extended the discussion period for the merger. Previously, on March 22, they had extended the merger talks by 60 days.

    Last December, the RCom and Aircel announced that they have entered 90-day ‘exclusivity period’ for the deal that will exclude RCom’s tower and optical fibre assets for which a separate sale process is ongoing, the company said in a statement.

    The RCom-Aircel merged entity is estimated have EBIDTA (cash flow) Rs 7,000 crore and finance cost about Rs 3,000 crore, the source said.

    “RCom and Aircel have had nil free cash flow since long time but the resultant entity is being structured in a manner to have Rs 4,000 crore free cash flow which it can use for investments in network,” the source said.

    RCom’s net debt at the end of 2015-16 was Rs 41,362.1 crore. Debt of Aircel could not be ascertain. At the end of last fiscal, RCom’s consolidated revenue stood at around Rs 22,000 crore. RCom and Aircel talks, if successful, would lead to a combined entity holding 19.3 per cent of the total spectrum allocated to the industry — highest in the country by an entity.

    The proposed combined entity will hold spectrum across all allocated bands — 800Mhz, 900Mhz, 1,800Mhz, 2,100Mhz and 2,300 MHz — for 2G, 3G and 4G services.

    Shares of RCom closed at Rs 49.7 a unit, up by 4.19 per, on BSE.