The Indian Panorama

Tag: LeadStory

  • Lies, Plain and Simple : James Comey

    Lies, Plain and Simple : James Comey

    “We are under Siege”: President Trump Trump’s personal counsel accuses Comey of leaking “classified information”
    I.S. Saluja

    WASHINGTON (TIP): In the Atlantic season of hurricanes, one political hurricane could turn out to be historic- the Comey testimony. In his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, June 8, former FBI Director James Comey affirmed his belief that President Trump fired him “because of the Russia investigation.” He did not accuse the president of obstructing justice, leaving that question up to Robert Mueller, the appointed special counsel. In response, Trump’s personal lawyer accused Comey-inaccurately though-of leaking “classified information”, referring to the memos Comey had drafted regarding his conversations with the president.

    Ousted FBI director James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, June 8, and didn’t pull any punches when discussing President Trump. Here are five takeaways from his blockbuster testimony.

    “Lies, plain and simple”: Throughout his testimony, Comey accused Mr. Trump of misleading Americans about the nature of his tenure at the Bureau and his  firing in May. “The administration then chose to defame me and more importantly the FBI, by saying the organization was poorly led,” Comey said at the onset of his testimony.

    “Those were lies, plain and simple.” Mr. Trump and his allies have criticized Comey’s tenure numerous times since his firing. The president even reportedly called Comey a “real nut job” during his meeting with Russian diplomats. Last month, Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Comey had “lost the confidence” of the FBI’s rank-and-file agents, which Comey, among others, dispute.

    Why he was fired: Comey told the committee that he does “take him at his word” on one thing — that he was terminated over the Russia investigation. Comey said the “shifting explanations” for his ouster “confused” and increasingly, “concerned” him, as the White House’s official explanation for his firing contradicted that of the president’s. Comey said he couldn’t be sure of why the president fired him, but that he believes the president’s public comments.

    After firing Comey, Mr. Trump told NBC’s Lester Holt he thought of the thought of “made-up” story of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign when he fired Comey, and he told Russian diplomats that firing Comey relieved “great pressure” on him from the FBI’s Russia probe.

    “I take the president at his word that I was fired because of the Russia investigation,” Comey said in the hearing. And he went further, suggesting that the president hoped to “change” the way the Russia probe was being conducted. “I was fired in some way to change the way the Russia investigation was being conducted,” Comey said. “That is a big deal. On top of that, the Russia investigation itself is vital because of the threat. And if any American were part of that, that is a very big deal.”

    Comey leaked: How did the existence of Comey’s memos make it to the press? He leaked them. Comey says he believes the memos were his personal property and written in his capacity as a private citizen, although he has now turned them over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. In fact, Comey says he hoped that by sharing what he had written in the memos with the news media, he could help trigger the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election.

    Comey, however, did not leak the memos to the press himself. Nor did he rely on his friend Benjamin Wittes, a legal blogger who frequently teases new revelations in the Russia investigation with his Twitter account. Instead, Comey said that he turned to a “good friend” who teaches at Columbia Law School to share what he had written with the memos. That friend, CBS News’ Andres Triay reports, is Daniel Richman, a law professor at Columbia.

    “Lordy, I hope there are tapes” : Mr. Trump tweeted after firing Comey last month that the ex-FBI chief “better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” Comey says this tweet inspired him to leak the contents of his memos to the press, because he felt he “needed to get that out into the public square.”

    “Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” Comey said during a back-and-forth with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, to laughter from the crowd. He later said that if Mr. Trump had indeed recorded any of their conversations that he hoped they would be released. He also disclosed that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has his memos.

    Loretta Lynch’s strange request: Comey said his reasoning behind his much-criticized July 2016 announcement that the FBI would not recommend charges against Hillary Clinton over her private email server had a lot to do with then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch holding a private meeting with former President Bill Clinton on a Phoenix, Arizona tarmac.

    But that wasn’t the only reason he decided to make the announcement. “Probably the only other consideration that I guess I can talk about in open setting is that at one point the attorney general had directed me not to call it an investigation, but instead to call it a ‘matter,’ which confused me and concerned me, but that was one of the bricks in the load that led me to conclude I have to step away from the department if we’re to close this case credibly,” Comey said.

    Trump is not under investigation — or, rather, he wasn’t: As Comey said in his written statement before the hearing, Comey did in fact inform Mr. Trump three times that he was not personally under investigation. Mr. Trump, Comey said, was frustrated that the FBI did not make this public, and asked Comey to make it so several times. But Comey had serious reservations about letting it be known that Mr. Trump wasn’t under investigation, among them that if that information were to be made public, the FBI would then have to announce that Mr. Trump was under investigation if that ever became the case.

    Of course, whether Mr. Trump is under investigation now is impossible to know, since Comey was fired on May 9, and the Russia investigation may have expanded since then. Who all are the guys on Intelligence Committee who questioned James Comey?

    Richard Burr, Republican of North Carolina: The chairman of the committee, which he joined in 2007, Mr. Burr embraced President Trump during the campaign. But he has earned praise from his peers in both parties in recent weeks for the seriousness with which he has taken his role in leading the Senate’s investigation.

    Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia: Mr. Warner, the highest-ranking Democrat on the committee, has thrived in the spotlight that the investigation brings. He has in the past expressed presidential ambitions and has praised Mr. Burr, whom he calls a friend, for his leadership of the committee.

    Jim Risch, Republican of Idaho: Mr. Risch was elected to the Senate in 2009 and has been a member of the committee since then. He is one of Mr. Trump’s strongest supporters in Congress and has expressed significant concern about leaks to the news media. He is a former governor of Idaho.

    Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California: Ms. Feinstein, who was once the head of the committee, has in the past criticized Mr. Comey for his actions in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server. But she expressed concern after he was fired in May and said then that she believed he should “absolutely” testify before the other committee on which she sits, the Senate Judiciary Committee.

    Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida: A candidate for president in 2016, Mr. Rubio joined the Intelligence Committee in 2011. Mr. Rubio has been willing to criticize Mr. Trump, his former campaign rival, and has been dismissive of the president’s complaints that the Russia investigation is a “witch hunt.”

    “We are nation of laws, and we are going to follow those laws,” Mr. Rubio said recently. Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon: Mr. Wyden, who has been on the panel since 2001, has been a strong critic of the Trump administration and had early on called for Mr. Comey to appear in front of the committee.

    Susan Collins, Republican of Maine: Ms. Collins, who has been on the committee since 2013, is known as one of the more moderate Republicans now serving in the Senate. She has been tougher on the president than many colleagues in her party. “I really want to know the truth no matter who is implicated, no matter where the evidence leads,” she told The Times last month.

    Martin Heinrich, Democrat of New Mexico: Mr. Heinrich joined the committee when he arrived in the Senate in 2013. He pushed the F.B.I.’s acting director, Andrew McCabe, to assert that Mr. Comey still enjoyed “broad support” among the agency’s rank and file.

    Roy Blunt, Republican of Missouri: Mr. Blunt, along with Ms. Collins, has been a strong supporter of Congress’s investigation into Russia’s actions in the 2016 presidential election. A former acting house majority leader, he has been on the panel twice, leaving after 2012 and rejoining in 2015.

    Angus King, Independent of Maine (Caucuses with Democrats): Mr. King, a former governor of Maine, has been on the committee since he joined the senate in 2013. One of the most steadfast members of the committee, he caused a stir on Wednesday when he pressed Mr. McCabe and other intelligence officials on why they could not elaborate on earlier conversations they had with Mr. Comey.

    James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma: Mr. Lankford, who was once a Baptist youth minister, joined the committee in 2015. He has insisted on the seriousness of its investigation into Russia’s alleged interference and has said that he hopes that Mr. Comey’s hearing will “hopefully end speculation and lead us to facts.”

    Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia: Mr. Manchin, a moderate Democrat and a former governor of West Virginia, is known for crossing the aisle. He joined the Senate in 2011 and was assigned to the committee this year. He told the news media that Mr. Comey, shortly before his firing, had sought more resources for the Russia investigation.

    Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas: A former member of the U.S. Army and the youngest U.S. senator, Mr. Cotton has expressed skepticism of Mr. Comey’s accounts of his interactions with Mr. Trump. He joined the committee in 2015.

    Kamala Harris, Democrat of California: Ms. Harris was ferocious in her calls for a special prosecutor to supervise the F.B.I.’s Russia investigation. Often named as a potential presidential candidate, Ms. Harris, a former attorney general of California, was assigned to the committee this year when she joined the Senate. She has expressed impatience with the Senate’s probe, saying that she thinks it needs to be sped up.

    John Cornyn, Republican of Texas: Mr. Cornyn, the majority whip, only recently joined the panel. He is one of Mr. Trump’s stronger allies in Congress and was reportedly being considered to replace Mr. Comey before taking himself out of the running last month.

    Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and John McCain, Republican of Arizona, also questioned Mr. Comey on Thursday. As the leaders of the Armed Services Committee, they are “ex officio” members of the Intelligence Committee, as are the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer.

     

  • US House passes Bill to repeal Obamacare with 217 Ayes and 213 Nays

    US House passes Bill to repeal Obamacare with 217 Ayes and 213 Nays

    Next test of strength in the Senate

     

    The rich to benefit from new Republican Healthcare plan

    In what could be seen as arare victory on the domestic turf for President Trump, the US House of Representatives approved a Bill on Thursday, May 4, to repeal major parts of Obamacare and replace it with a Republican healthcare plan. The passage of the Bill which Republican leadership has been struggling with and having met with disappointment earlier, is the legislative victory for President trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan.

    With the 217-213 vote, Republicans obtained just enough support to push the legislation through the House, sending it to the Senate for consideration. No Democrat voted for the Bill. The Bill’s passage represented a step toward fulfilling a top Trump campaign pledge and a seven-year Republican quest to dismantle Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law.

    But the effort now faces new hurdles in the Senate, where the Republicans have only a 52-seat majority in the 100-seat chamber and where just a few Republican defections could sink the Bill.

    Thursday’s vote was also a political victory for House Speaker Paul Ryan, demonstrating his ability to pull together a fractured Republican caucus after two failed attempts this year to win consensus on the healthcare law.

    Democrats are hoping that the Republicans’ vote to repeal Obamacare will spark a voter backlash in next year’s midterm congressional poll.

    Some 20 million Americans gained healthcare coverage under Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act, which has recently gathered support in public opinion polls. But Republicans have long attacked it, seeing the program as government overreach and complaining that it drives up healthcare costs.

    The Republican Bill, known formally as the American Health Care Act, aims to repeal most Obamacare taxes, including a penalty for not buying health insurance.

    But, the battle is not over yet. It is over to senate now. Though the Bill’s passage represented a seven-year Republican quest to dismantle former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, the American Health Care Act now faces new hurdles in the Senate

    The Republicans have only a 52-seat majority in the 100-seat chamber and just a few Republican defections in the Senate could sink the Bill. The Democratic senators remain firmly unified against any repeal of Obamacare

    The new Bill repeals the individual mandate requiring those who can afford it to have health insurance. Those have who been without coverage for more than two months would face a 30% surcharge for new policy

    It repeals Obamacare’s requirement for companies with 50 or more staff to provide insurance coverage for employees

    Meanwhile, reactions to the bill passed in the House on May 4 are pouring in. Generally, hospitals, doctors, health insurers and some consumer groups, with few exceptions, are speaking with one voice and urging significant changes to the Republican health care legislation.

  • PAK, SAUDI CHANNELS BEAM INTO KASHMIRI HOMES, STOKE ‘AZADI’ RAGE

    PAK, SAUDI CHANNELS BEAM INTO KASHMIRI HOMES, STOKE ‘AZADI’ RAGE

    SRINAGAR (TIP): Saudi clerics and Pakistani news anchors are being beamed direct to Kashmiri homes, and are stoking the fires of ‘azadi’. Over 50 Saudi and Pakistani channels, including Zakir Naik’s banned Peace TV preaching Salafist Islam, and others indulging in anti-India propaganda are running without necessary clearances via private cable networks in Kashmir.

    All this is happening under the nose of the PDP-BJP government, which even subscribes to these cable services in some of its offices and buildings.

    Although satellite television service providers like Tata Sky , Airtel digital TV and Dish TV , are available in Kashmir, most people subscribe to private cable. A cable operator, who did not want to be named, said that there are over 50,000 private cable connections in Srinagar alone, and only because these broadcast Pakistani and Saudi channels.

    Besides Naik’s Peace TV Urdu and English channels, private operators air Saudi and Pakistani channels like Saudi Sunnah, Saudi Quran, Al Arabia, Paigham, Hidayat, Noor, Madani, Sehar, Karbala, Hadi, Sehar, Ary QTV , Bethat, Ahlibat, Message, Falak, Geo News, Ary News, Dawn News, and many others, which cannot be accessed through satellite television service providers. None of these channels is permitted to air in the rest of the country by the I&B ministry .

    No cable operator, any where in the country, including in Jammu & Kashmir, can run any channel other than the ones approved by the Union I&B ministry . If it is not in the permitted list of channels on the ministry website, it is being illegally broadcast. Even if it is a free-to-air channel, a private cable operator must get approval from the ministry,” director of broadcasting, I&B ministry, Amit Katoch, said.

    Some of the Saudi channels broadcast the same kind of rigid, fundamentalist and patriarchal interpretations of Islam and Sharia that invited a government ban on Peace TV .Wahhabi clerics on these channels often sermonise that women should surrender before their husbands and obey their commands completely .

    For example, a woman should not step out of the house without the permission of her husband, a cleric preached on Saudi Sunnah.

    Most Pakistani news channels refer to the terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkare-Taiba and other groups as “martyrs” and counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir as “human rights violations”.

    People in Kashmir have historically preferred Pakistani news and drama. “Love for all things Pakistan has a political history but love for Saudi religious channels developed in the ’90s,” said Muzaffar, a Srinagar businessman, whose employees are avid watchers of Saudi Sunnah channel.

    Source: TOI

  • May 05 New York & Dallas Print Editions

    May 05 New York & Dallas Print Editions

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Print Replica ~ Digitally

    E-Editions

    [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”New York Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F05%2Fvol11issue18nyc.pdf||target:%20_blank|rel:nofollow”][vc_single_image image=”83543″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/vol11issue18nyc.pdf”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Dallas, Texas Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F05%2Fvol5issue18tx.pdf||target:%20_blank|rel:nofollow”][vc_single_image image=”83540″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/vol5issue18tx.pdf”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”82828″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][vc_single_image image=”82829″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][/vc_column][vc_column][td_block_ad_box spot_id=”custom_ad_3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Lead Stories This Week” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2F||target:%20_blank|rel:nofollow”][td_block_5 custom_title=”” tag_slug=”leadstory,editorial” limit=”8″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”td-default”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • April 28 New York & Dallas Print Editions

    April 28 New York & Dallas Print Editions

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

    Print Replica ~ Digitally

    E-Editions

    [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”New York Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F04%2Fvol11issue17nyc.pdf||target:%20_blank|rel:nofollow”][vc_single_image image=”83127″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/vol11issue17nyc.pdf”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Dallas, Texas Edition” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F04%2Fvol5issue17dallas.pdf||target:%20_blank|rel:nofollow”][vc_single_image image=”83125″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” img_link_target=”_blank” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/vol5issue17dallas.pdf”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”82828″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][vc_single_image image=”82829″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.theindianpanorama.news/advertising-media-kit-portal-indian-panorama/”][/vc_column][vc_column][td_block_ad_box spot_id=”custom_ad_3″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_custom_heading text=”Lead Stories This Week” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Istok%20Web%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theindianpanorama.news%2F||target:%20_blank|rel:nofollow”][td_block_5 custom_title=”” tag_slug=”leadstory,editorial” limit=”8″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”td-default”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Not Terminating NAFTA, for Now: President Trump

    Not Terminating NAFTA, for Now: President Trump

    WASHINGTON (TIP): In an apparent reversal of his stated position on NAFTA, U.S. President Donald Trump told the leaders of Canada and Mexico on Wednesday, April 26, that he will not terminate the NAFTA treaty at this stage, but will move quickly to begin renegotiating it with them, the White House said.

    President Donald Trump said he has told the leaders of Mexico and Canada that he will not pull out of the North American Free Trade Agreement at this time, but could still withdraw if he concludes a renegotiated pact is not “a fair deal for all.”

    Trump tweeted early Thursday, April 27, that he has agreed to remain a partner in the much-discussed trade agreement in calls he received from Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The White House released a statement late Wednesday saying only that Trump had assured the two leaders in phone conversations that the U.S. would not withdraw from NAFTA at this time.

    In his Twitter post, Trump called America’s relationships with the two hemispheric neighbors “very good” and said the prospects of a renegotiated deal are “very possible.” But he also said that his consent to remaining in NAFTA for now is “subject to the fact that if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA.”

    Speaking to reporters Thursday, April 27, before a White House meeting with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Trump that he’d been planning to “terminate NAFTA as of two or three days from now,” but had been persuaded to reconsider, which he acknowledged “would be a pretty big, you know, shock to the system.”

    Trump added, “Now, if I’m unable to make a fair deal, if I’m unable to make a fair deal for the United States, meaning a fair deal for our workers and our companies, I will terminate NAFTA. But we’re going to give renegotiation a good, strong shot.”

    He later said renegotiation was “starting today.”

    The statement came hours after administration officials said Trump was considering a draft executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the deal – though administration officials cautioned it was just one of a number of options being discussed by the president and his staff.

    Some saw the threat as posturing by Trump to gain leverage over Mexico and Canada as he tries to negotiate changes to the deal. Trump railed against the decades-old trade deal during his campaign, describing it as a “disaster.”

    Senior White House officials had spent recent days discussing steps that could be taken to start the process of renegotiating or withdrawing from NAFTA before the end of Trump’s first 100 days in office, according to a person familiar with the president’s thinking. But the person, along with an administration official, said a number of options remained on the table, and stressed discussions are ongoing about the best way to proceed.

    Trump could withdraw from NAFTA – but he would have to give six months’ notice. And it is unclear what would happen next. The law Congress passed to enact the trade pact might remain in place, forcing Trump to wrangle with lawmakers and raising questions about the president’s authority to raise tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports.

    The moves came days after the administration announced it would slap hefty tariffs on softwood lumber being imported from Canada. Trump has also been railing against changes in Canadian milk product pricing that he says are hurting the American dairy industry.

    Trump told The Associated Press in an interview last week that he planned to either renegotiate or terminate NAFTA, which he and other critics blame for wiping out U.S. manufacturing jobs because it allowed companies to move factories to Mexico to take advantage of low-wage labor.

    “I am very upset with NAFTA. I think NAFTA has been a catastrophic trade deal for the United States, trading agreement for the United States. It hurts us with Canada, and it hurts us with Mexico,” he said.

  • Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Amla juice found unfit for consumption and removed from India’s Defense Canteens

    Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Amla juice found unfit for consumption and removed from India’s Defense Canteens

    Patanjali products have failed tests earlier, too

    NEW YORK (TIP): The Economic Times has reported that the Indian Ministry of Defense’s canteen stores department (CSD) has suspended the sale of Patanjali Ayurved’s Amla juice after receiving an adverse state-laboratory test report on the product.

    India Today quoting The Economic Times said that the move came after the product was tested at the central food lab that found it to be ‘unfit for consumption’. Soon after the report was declared, the CSD asked all its depots to make debit notes for their existing stock so that the product can be returned. The Department has 34 depots located across India.

    Patanjali Amla Juice

    “The batch was tested at the Central Food Lab in Kolkata and was declared unfit for consumption. Patanjali has withdrawn Amla juice from all army canteens,” according to two officials. However, the detailed findings of the report are yet to be known.

    Incidentally, this is the same lab that found almost two years ago lead levels above permissible limits, and the presence of MSG in the samples of Nestle Maggi noodles.

    The latest development could hurt the Patanjali’s image as its Amla juice was the product that helped it strengthen its foothold in the Indian consumer market. However, Patanjali Ayurved has not reacted yet to the news.

    This is the second time when Patanjali is facing such adverse situation. Last year in December, a local court in Haridwar slapped Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved’s five production units with a fine of Rs 11 lakh for “misbranding and putting up misleading advertisements” of their products.

    Patanjali Ayurved was found guilty of misbranding as the products being shown by the company as produced at its own units were in fact manufactured somewhere else.

    A case had been filed in the court against the company in 2012 by the District Food Safety Department after samples of mustard oil, salt, pineapple jam, besan and honey produced by Patanjali had failed quality tests at Rudrapur laboratory.

    But strangely enough these products are being sold in markets abroad, in Canada, USA and UK where Patanjali is touted as promoter of Indian Ayurved and is backed by the image of Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev. These products are available over the counter at grocery stores, besides pharmacies.

    It remains to be seen whether countries like USA will take notice of Patanjali products failing laboratory tests in India and being rejected by customers like the government of India Defense Department which is a huge customer given the size of the armed forces, and subject Patanjali products to lab tests to ensure these are fit for human consumption.

    FDA need to change its policy and bring Ayurved products under the list of products which need FDA approval, to ensure the products are not harmful. There should be no compromise on the health of US residents.

  • Trump signs executive order on H1B visa review

    Trump signs executive order on H1B visa review

    WASHINGTON (TIP): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, April 18, ordered federal agencies to look at tightening the H1B visa program used to bring high-skilled foreign workers to the US, as he tries to carry out his campaign pledges to put “America First“.

    The EO also establishes certain Hire American standards, which are not necessarily limited to federal procurement or federally-funded projects. This primarily includes an overhaul of the “H1B” visa program to replace the lottery features of the program and to impose restrictions designed to preclude the H1B program from being a conduit for lower-cost labor at the expense of American workers.

    The latest action is part of Trump’s administration relentless series of tightening measures and is a major deterrent to Indian IT companies which send hundreds of software engineers to the US on H1B visas.

    The executive order doesn’t actually make any change in the policy as it stands today.

    This year there were 199,000 applications for the H1B visas even after the USCIS guidelines released April 3 clarifying that computer programmers will not be eligible for H1B visas by default.

    The Trump administration appears to be keen to scrap the lottery system, which is why it is insisting on a higher wage floor as a first eligibility criterion to apply for the visa. It may also set a minimum education criterion, skewering the hopes of many Indians who hope to gain entry into the US.

    H1B visas are intended for foreign nationals in occupations that generally require higher education, including science, engineering or computer programming. The government uses a lottery to award 65,000 visas every year and randomly distributes another 20,000 to graduate student workers.

    Critics say the lottery benefits outsourcing firms that flood the system with mass applications for visas for lower-paid information technology workers.

    “Right now, H1B visas are awarded in a totally random lottery and that’s wrong. Instead, they should be given to the most skilled and highest paid applicants and they should never, ever be used to replace Americans,” Trump said.

    At present, about 70 per cent of the 85,000 H1B visas issued annually go to Indians, with more than half of that to software professionals. The infotech industry adds around 10 per cent to India’s GDP.

    Senior officials gave few details on implementation of the order but Trump aides have expressed concern that most H1B visas are awarded for lower-paid jobs at outsourcing firms, many based in India, which they say takes work away from Americans.

    They seek a more merit-based way to give the visas to highly skilled workers.

    “Right now, widespread abuse in our immigration system is allowing American workers of all backgrounds to be replaced by workers brought in from other countries,” Trump said.

    Read the full EO at  https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/18/presidential-executive-order-buy-american-and-hire-american? utm_source= email&utm_medium= email&utm_content=20170419_ADM_1600-Daily

  • Babri Masjid Demolition: Supreme Court of India indicts BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti for Criminal Conspiracy

    Babri Masjid Demolition: Supreme Court of India indicts BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti for Criminal Conspiracy

    Apex Court favors joint trial of the accused to speed up the judicial process

    NEW DELHI (TIP): In a major judgement handed down on April 19, Supreme Court of India ordered that the co-founder of the BJP, LK Advani, and other leaders be tried for criminal conspiracy in the demolition of Babri Masjid about 25 years ago.

    The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was allegedly pulled down by Hindu activists in December 1992, leading to widespread riots in which more than 2,000 people died.

    The apex court added that the trial must conclude within two years, a decision welcomed by Muslim clerics.

    This is a huge setback for former BJP chief Lal Krishna Advani and his colleagues who have repeatedly denied making inflammatory speeches that encouraged Hindu mobs to tear down the Babri Masjid.

    Those accused along with Mr Advani are senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti. They have all denied any wrongdoing, however, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has always said the destruction of the mosque was a planned event.

    The Supreme Court has been hearing the case since 2011 after setting aside a high court judgement which allocated two-thirds of the disputed site to Hindu groups, and the remainder to Muslims.

    The Allahabad High Court ruling in 2010 addressed three major issues. It said the disputed spot was Lord Ram’s birthplace, that the mosque had been built after the demolition of a temple and that it was not built in accordance with the tenets of Islam.

    The Archaeological Survey of India, in 2003, had reported to the Allahabad High Court that its excavations found distinctive features of a 10th century temple beneath the Babri Mosque site.

    For the first time in a judicial ruling, it also said that the disputed site was the birthplace of the Hindu god.

    Hindus claim the mosque is the birthplace of one of their most revered deities, Lord Ram, and that Babri Masjid was built after the destruction of a Hindu temple by a Muslim invader in the 16th Century.

  • Vijay Mallya arrested in London by Scotland Yard

    Vijay Mallya arrested in London by Scotland Yard

    NEW DELHI: Business tycoon Vijay Mallya, the boss of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, owes Rs 9,081 crore to a consortium of 17 Indian banks, has been arrested in London and will be produced in a metropolitan court today.

    The liquor baron was arrested at about 9.30 am London local time and was taken to Westminster court.

    Mallya, whose extradition India has been seeking since he fled to the United Kingdom in March 2016, is wanted in various cases of foreign exchange violation and debt recovery.

    India had in February asked the UK to extradite Mr Mallya, who is facing charges of money laundering and several warrants in the country. CBI sources count the arrest, which took place around 9.30 in the morning, as a big win in attempts to bring the liquor baron to justice.

    Last month, the UK told India that its request had been certified by the Secretary of State.

    Mr Mallya has been charged with cheating and conspiracy by the CBI that filed a 1,000-page chargesheet against him for defaulting on a 900-crore loan taken from the IDBI bank in 2009. The CBI probe found that 250 crore of this – given to buy aircraft parts – was diverted abroad.

     

  • US, AMNESTY, PAK GROUPS BACK INDIA ON JADHAV

    US, AMNESTY, PAK GROUPS BACK INDIA ON JADHAV

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Pakistan Army’s decision to execute alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav seems to have found little support globally. Not only has Amnesty International slammed the decision but also the civil rights groups within Pakistan.

    Top US think-tanks have questioned the secrecy of trial and the US NSA visit here next weekend is expected to see some plain speak by India on its ties with Pakistan, hinted people familiar with the developments.

    Neighbouring Iran, from where Jadhav has been doing business for over a decade, had earlier snubbed Islamabad for its attempt to drive a wedge between New Delhi and Tehran using the so called “spy card”.

    Iran has not supported Pakistan in the ongoing episode. “The death sentence given to Kulbushan Jadhav shows yet again how Pakistan’s military court system rides roughshod over international standards,” said Biraj Patnaik, South Asia director of Amnesty International.

    “What the Pakistan Army has done is to embarrass both the Sharif and the Modi governments,” said a civil activist from Pakistan. Yet another Pak activist described the decision of the military court as a sham and Pakistan military may be using this to seek concessions from Delhi after feeling the pressure over India’s growing support in West Asia and strong opposition to the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor.

    Officials also referred to the successful visit of Bangladesh PM Sheih Hasina and momentum in BIMSTEC process as factors that have further isolated Pakistan within the South Asian region. There is also an opinion that China may have influenced Pak decision after the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal.

  • INCOME TAX DEPT LAUNCHES ‘OP CLEAN MONEY’-II; TO PROBE 60,000 PEOPLE

    INCOME TAX DEPT LAUNCHES ‘OP CLEAN MONEY’-II; TO PROBE 60,000 PEOPLE

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Income Tax department will investigate over 60,000 individuals under the second phase of the ‘Operation Clean Money’ which was launched on Friday with a view to detecting black money generation post demonetisation.

    The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), policy-making body of the department, said it had detected undisclosed income of over Rs 9,334 crore between November 9, 2016 and February 28 this year. The note ban was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 last year.

    “More than 60,000 people, including 1,300 high-risk ones, have been identified for investigation into claims of excessive cash sales during the demonetisation period. More than 6,000 transactions of high value property purchase and 6,600 cases of outward remittances shall be subjected to detailed investigations (under Operation Clean Money II).

    “All the cases where no response is received shall also be subjected to detailed enquiries,” the CBDT said.

    A senior officer said advanced data analytics had been used to identify suspect cash deposits before launching the latest edition of the operation. As part of the first phase of the ‘Operation Clean Money’, launched on January 31 this year, the department had sent online queries and investigated 17.92 lakh people out of which 9.46 lakh people had responded to the department. Source: PTI

     

     

  • 350th Birth Anniversary of Shri Guru Gobind Singh celebrated at the Indian Consulate

    350th Birth Anniversary of Shri Guru Gobind Singh celebrated at the Indian Consulate

    NEW YORK (TIP): The Indian American community and their friends from the mainstream came together to celebrate the 350th birth anniversary of the Tenth Master of the Sikhs, Shri Guru Gobind Singh.

    It was for the first time that the birthday of a Sikh Master was celebrated at the Indian Consulate in New York.

    Welcoming the gathering, the Consul General Riva Ganguly Das characterized Guru Gobind Singh who created Khalsa as the savior of the people against the tyranny of the rulers of the time.  She recalled that as a young girl in Delhi she would often visit with her parents Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and Gurdwara Sisganj Sahib and listen to Gurbani which she found extremely soothing. She said she learnt about the wonderful traditions of the Sikhs from her visits to gurdwaras and from her readings on Sikhism.

    Consul General Das, who is a Bengali, said Guru Rabiindra Nath Tagore, one of the greatest writers who was the first Indian to be honored with a Nobel Prize, the greatest name among Bengali writers, and one of the greatest sons of India, was influenced by Guru Nanak and wrote a couple of poems dedicated to the First Sikh Guru.

    Consul General spoke appreciably of the great contribution of the Sikh community in India and abroad and said she was delighted to host the 350th birth anniversary celebration of Guru Gobind Singh at the Consulate. She added that she looked forward to many such events being organized to focus on Sikhs.

    Ambassador Das chose to heap her praise on Prof. Indrajit S Saluja, President of Indo-US Foundation for organizing the event.

    Welcoming the guest speaker, Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh, the endowed Crawford Professor of Religious Studies at Colby College, Waterville, Maine, the Consul General said Dr. Singh was a great scholar and an authority on religions and that it was a momentous occasion to have her at the Consulate to speak about the great Sikh Guru.

    Earlier, welcoming the Consul General Prof. Indrajit S Saluja said Ambassador Das, in just over a year, had taken significant steps to streamline working at the Consulate, with the result that the image of the Consulate was refurbished. The consular services improved. Prof. Saluja attributed the rising approval rating of the consular services to the efforts made by the Consul General who has been traveling extensively in all 10 States under her jurisdiction and reaching out to people, under the “Consulate at your doorstep” program. Another significant step she had taken was to reach out to administration and politicians which helped not only in strengthening of relations between the administration and the Indian Community but also in strengthening of relations between the US and India.

    Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur Singh spoke at length about the personality and philosophy of Guru Gobind Singh and took questions.

    Dr. Singh enlightened the audience on four aspects of the great Guru.

    1. Universalism

    With the founder Guru Nanak as his matrix, Professor Nikky-Guninder underscored Guru Gobind Singh’s vison of the Divine One. She cited verses from the Jaap Sahib carrying forward the first Guru’s Japji in breathtaking speed. Countless ways are envisioned by Guru Gobind Singh only to underscore the absolute singularity of the Ultimate Reality: anek hain phir ek hain.

    1. Pluralism

    Dr. Nikky-Guninder reminded us that for Guru Gobind Singh pluralism went beyond mere diversity and tolerance. The Guru acknowledged diversity as a mere consequence of different regions and climates — niare desan ke bhes ko prabhao hai. But we humans are ultimately alike — ekai nain ekai kan ekai deh ekai ban (Akal Ustat: 86). The Guru powerfully makes the plea that humans recognize (pahicanbo) that they all belong to the same one caste. Birth and biology justify human equality. He does not want his people to be afraid of one another; he does not intend for people to merely tolerate one another with different colored eyes or complexions or accents or texture of hair. We can hear an urgency in Guru Gobind Singh’s tone as he voices the two imperatives “pahicanbo” (recognize) and “janbo” (know).

    manas ki jat sabai ekai pahicanbo….

    ek hi sarup sabai ekai jot janbo (Akal Ustat, 85)

    Recognize: humanity is the only caste….

    Know: we are all of the same body, the same light.

    Guru Gobind Singh imposed a moral obligation that people actively learn about others and recognize our fundamental humanity, which we desperately need to do in our dangerously divided and polarized world.

    1. Activism

    The visionary Guru was also an ardent activist. He was a phenomenal leader who fought battles against political and social oppression. But all his actions were inspired by the doctrine of the Divine One and his belief in the collective humanity.

    His momentous creation of the Khalsa in 1699 was to free his Sikhs from their stifling past and provide them with a liberating new present. The Five Beloved had come to Anandpur from different regions of India and they belonged to different social classes. But by sipping the amrit from the same bowl prepared by the Guru, they pledged their allegiance to fight against political oppression and social injustice for the sake of liberty and equality of humanity. In Sikh memory, the Guru also revoked the oppressive patriarchal lineage by giving the surname “Singh” (meaning “lion”) to the men, and “Kaur” (meaning princess) to the women. In the new family of the Khalsa everyone was to share the same name and worth. Their sense of identity was strengthened by the five external markers of their faith, the five k-s.

    His passing of Guruship to the sacred book is yet another unparalleled accomplishment. With his boundless humanity and divinity, the Guru made the historical and spiritual past perpetually present. The Guru Granth Sahib is the physical presence that bonds the Sikhs metaphysically with the Divine One, historically with their ten Gurus, and socially with their community. The spiritual and moral legacy of the glorious Guru resonates vibrantly in the everyday social, political, economic, and cultural life of the Sikhs.

    1. Poetic Genius

    Dr. Nikky-Guninder analyzed the poetic genius of the Tenth Guru. In the tradition of his spiritual predecessors, the Tenth Guru lyrically expressed the themes of love and equality, and a strictly ethical and moral code of conduct. Deprecating idolatry and superstitious beliefs and practices, he evoked the Singular Divine. Injustice was challenged through both word and deed. Poetry became the medium to impart a new orientation to his subjugated community. The fusion of the devotional and the martial was the most important feature of the philosophy of Guru Gobind Singh, and of his career as a spiritual leader and harbinger of a revolutionary impulse.

    What was kindled by the Tenth Sikh Guru some 350 years ago in India, must be kept alive in the new millennium and in the new world.

    Dr. Nikky-Guninder thanked the Consul General and her Sikh community for hosting the significant event in the Big Apple, and especially Dr. Indrajit Singh Saluja for his meticulous organization. Memories have a future. Our future is shaped by our past. By holding on to our rich past let us today enjoy the wonderful resources of our global society, let us together – Hindu, Muslim, Jew, and Christian, let us together —white, black, brown and yellow, let us together —men and women, old and young, let us together create a truly just and egalitarian future. Our fundamental principle should be love. In the experience of love, all the toxic stuff that clogs our arteries– hate, prejudice, stereotyping, hostility — dissolves. As the visionary Guru Gobind Singh says, jinni prem kio tinu hi prabh paiao – those who love, find the beloved.

    A major attraction was screening of two documentaries, one on the life of Guru Gobind Singh, and, another on Vaisakhi.  Both the documentaries were produced by Prof. Indrajit S Saluja. The audience was pleased and impressed with the documentaries.

    The Bhangra group “Soormay” gave a scintillating Bhangra performance. The young students from St. John’s University created a nostalgic vision of Punjab where Bhangra is a must at every happy occasion. The dance simply soars the spirit and fills even the dead with life.

    Those honored the occasion included Consul General Riva Ganguly Das, Dr. Nikky Guninder Kaur, Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Lobana, Bank of India, Air India, India Tourism, Singh & Singh Distribution and Balwant Hothi. Each was presented a plaque by Indo-US Foundation headed by Prof. Indrajit S Saluja.

    Harpreet Singh Toor who represented Assembly Member David Weprin presented citations from NY State Assembly to Consul General Das and Dr. Nikky Singh.

    Malini Shah who represented NY City Council Member Paul Vallone presented citations to the Consul General, Dr. Nikky Singh and Prof. Indrajit S Saluja

    The event was co-hosted by the Consulate General of India and Indo-US Foundation, with cooperation from Gurdwara Baba Makhan Shah Lobana, Bank of India, Singh & Singh Distribution, Air India and India Tourism.

    About Dr. Nikky – Guninder Kaur Singh

    Dr. Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh is the endowed Crawford Professor of Religious Studies at Colby College. Her interests focus on Sikh scripture.  Dr. Nikky-Guninder has published several books and numerous articles. She is the author of the Birth of the Khalsa published by the State University of New York Press in 2005. She also authored Of Sacred and Secular Desire (2012), which is a translation of Punjabi poets — Sikh, Hindu, and Sufi. To name some of Dr. Singh’s other books: Sikhism (IB Tauris: 2011), Cosmic Symphony (2008), The Name of My Beloved (Penguin, 2001), The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent (Cambridge University Press, 1993), Metaphysics and Physics of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sterling 1981).  Her views have also been aired on television and radio in America, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, India, and Bangladesh. She serves as a trustee for the American Institute of Indian Studies, and is on the editorial board of several journals including the History of Religions, the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, and Sikh Formations. She came to America as a young teenager to attend a girls’ prep school in Virginia, got her BA from Wellesley College, her Masters from the University of Pennsylvania, and her PhD from Temple University. Professor Nikky-Guninder is currently working on translations from the Guru Granth Sahib for Harvard University Press.

     

  • U.S. Drops ‘Mother of all Bombs’ on ISIS Target in Afghanistan

    U.S. Drops ‘Mother of all Bombs’ on ISIS Target in Afghanistan

    Militant caves in Afghanistan targeted

    GBU-43 bomb used for the first time in combat

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The United States dropped a massive GBU-43 bomb, the largest non-nuclear bomb it has ever used in combat, in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, April 13, against a series of caves used by Islamic State militants, the military said.

    It was the first time the United States has used this size of bomb in a conflict. It was dropped from a MC-130 aircraft in the Achin district of Nangarhar province, close to the border with Pakistan, a Pentagon spokesman said.

    Also known as the “mother of all bombs,” the GBU-43 is a 21,600 pound (9,797 kg) GPS-guided munition and was first tested in March 2003, just days before the start of the Iraq war. The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious, with a number of militant groups trying to claim territory more than 15 years after the US invasion which toppled the Taliban government.

    General John Nicholson, the head of US and international forces in Afghanistan, said the bomb was used against caves and bunkers housing fighters of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, also known as ISIS-K. It was not immediately clear how much damage the device did.

    White House spokesman Sean Spicer opened his daily news briefing speaking about the use of the bomb and said, “We targeted a system of tunnels and caves that IS fighters used to move around freely, making it easier for them to target US military advisers and Afghan forces in the area.”

    Last week, a US soldier was killed in the same district as the bomb was dropped while conducting operations against Islamic State. “The United States takes the fight against ISIS very seriously and in order to defeat the group, we must deny them operational space, which we did,” Spicer said.

    He said the bomb was used at around 7 p.m. local time and described the device as “a large, powerful and accurately delivered weapon.” The United States took “all precautions necessary to prevent civilian casualties and collateral damage,” he said.

    US officials say intelligence suggests Islamic State is based overwhelmingly in Nangarhar and neighboring Kunar province.

    Estimates of its strength in Afghanistan vary. US officials have said they believe the movement has only 700 fighters but Afghan officials estimate it has about 1,500.

    Islamic State’s offshoot in Afghanistan is suspected of carrying out several attacks on minority Shi’ite Muslim targets. The Afghan Taliban, which is trying to overthrow the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, are fiercely opposed to Islamic State and the two group have clashed as they seek to expand territory and influence.

    Efforts to dismantle ISIS strongholds have been concentrated in Iraq and Syria. But a small stronghold of fighters made up of former Taliban members has grown in eastern Afghanistan since 2014. The group is known as Islamic State Khorasan, according to a U.S. Institute for Peace report released in November.

    “IS-K receives funding from the Islamic State’s Central Command and is in contact with leadership in Iraq and Syria, but the setup and day-to-day operations of the Khorasan province have been less closely controlled than other Islamic State branches such as that in Libya,” the report notes.

    President Donald Trump lauded the strike on Thursday, calling it “another very, very successful mission.” Just last week, he also approved a strike on a Syrian air base in the aftermath of a chemical weapon attack on Syrian civilians that killed almost 100 people.
    Trump, while advocating for a lessened U.S. role in international conflicts, also claimed he would “bomb the shit” out of the Islamic State during his presidential campaign.

    There is an anxious concern on US plans about North Korea. In view of the bombings carried out in Syria and Afghanistan, there is concern that US may translate its warning given by Nikki Haley, its ambassador to the UN that if the World Body failed to act against North Korea, US will act against the “rogue regime” on its own. And, quite obviously, member nations are concerned about the consequences of a US strike against North Korea.

  • Asian doctor dragged off overbooked flight by United Airlines

    Asian doctor dragged off overbooked flight by United Airlines

    United Airlines (UAL.N) sparked outrage on Monday, April 10, for the treatment of an Asian doctor who was forcibly dragged off the airline by security officers causing multiple injuries to the passenger just because he was RANDOMLY chosen to be removed from the flight because UA had overbooked the flight.

    Videos taken by fellow passengers on board the flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville showed that the passenger being hauled out of his seat by one of the security officers, who has now been placed on leave pending an investigation.

    In the process, the man’s glasses were knocked off and he was hauled down the aisle by stewards after the man refused to give up his seat to allow stand-by aircrew to take it.

    The flight was overbooked and United had asked for volunteers to leave so that standby aircrew could board, the report said.

    When no one came forward, the airline seemingly decided to take matters into their own hands and decided who was getting off.

    In a letter circulated to employees and seen by Reuters, United Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz did not apologize for the way the passenger was handled, writing that the passenger had “defied” security officers.

    Munoz said there are lessons the company can learn from this situation, though he impressed that he “emphatically” stands behind his employees.

    “We sought volunteers and then followed our involuntary denial of boarding process (including offering up to $1,000 in compensation),” Munoz wrote. “When we approached one of these passengers to explain apologetically that he was being denied boarding, he raised his voice and refused to comply with crew member instructions.”

    The Chicago Department of Aviation said in a statement that one of the officers did not follow protocol and added that he had been placed on leave pending a review for actions not condoned by the department.

    The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said it was reviewing whether United complied with overbook rules that require airlines to set guidelines on how passengers are denied boarding if they do not volunteer to give up their seats.

    A passenger Jayse D Anspach posted a video on twitter and said: “#United overbooked and wanted four of us to volunteer to give up our seats for personnel that needed to be at work the next day.

    “No one volunteered, so United decided to choose for us. They chose an Asian doctor and his wife.

    “The doctor needed to work at the hospital the next day, so he refused to volunteer,” Anspach added.

    “10 mins later, the doctor runs back into the plane with a bloody face, clings to a post in the back, chanting, “I need to go home.”

    “It looked like he was knocked out, because he went limp and quiet,” Anspach wrote, “and they dragged him out of the plane like a rag doll.”

    Another video shows the distressed man, still disheveled from the wrangle, returned to the cabin, clinging onto a curtain at the back of the plane and repeating: “Just kill me. Kill me,” and “I have to go home,” as blood streaked down his mouth.

    Much of the online uproar surrounded the appropriateness of removing a paying customer in order to accommodate airline staff.

    “They bloodied a senior citizen & dragged him off the plane so THEIR OWN STAFF could take his seat,” one Twitter user wrote.

    Social media users questioned whether the man would have been removed as forcefully had he not been Asian.

  • America Launches Missile Attack at Syrian Base after Chemical Weapons Attack kills 100

    America Launches Missile Attack at Syrian Base after Chemical Weapons Attack kills 100

    Piqued by Syria’s use of banned chemical weapons that killed at least 100 people, the U.S. military launched dozens of cruise missiles Thursday, April 6 night at a Syrian airfield

    Two U.S. warships in the Mediterranean Sea, the USS Ross and the USS Porter, fired 59 Tomahawk missiles intended for a single target -Shayrat Airfield in Homs province in western Syria, the Defense Department said. That’s the airfield from which the United States believes the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fired the banned weapons.

    The Pentagon said people were not targeted, and there was no immediate word on casualties. U.S. officials told NBC News that aircraft and infrastructure at the site were hit, including the runway and gas fuel pumps.

    “Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children,” President Donald Trump said in remarks from Mar-a-Lago, his family compound in Palm Beach, Florida.

    “It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons,” said Trump, who called on other countries to end the bloodshed in Syria.

    NBC news reported that a White House official said that more than two dozen members of Congress were briefed by administration officials on the missile strike. Vice President Mike Pence returned to the White House after having gone home for dinner Thursday evening and monitored the events from the Situation Room, officials said.

    “We feel that the strike itself was proportional, because it was targeted at the facility that delivered this most recent chemical weapons attack,” Tillerson told reporters on Thursday night.

    “There was a thorough examination of a wide range of options, and I think the president made the correct choice and made the correct decision,” Tillerson said.

    Syrian television characterized the missile strike “as American aggression” Friday morning. But Ahrar Al Sham, the largest Syrian armed rebel group, told NBC News it “welcomes any U.S. intervention through surgical strikes that would deter the Assad regime capabilities to kill civilians and shorten the suffering of our people.”

    Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for the Defense Department, said initial assessments showed that the airfield was severely damaged, reducing Syria’s capability to deliver chemical weapons.

    Tillerson and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, have bluntly blamed Syria for the chemical weapons attack, whose victims included at least 25 children.

    “We have a very high level of confidence that the attacks were carried out by aircraft under the direction of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and we also have very high confidence that the attacks involved the use of sarin nerve gas,” Tillerson said Thursday night.

    In a combative speech at the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, Haley warned: “When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action.”

    There was no immediate reaction to the missile strike from Russia, which Tillerson and Haley have accused of having turned a blind eye to Syria’s transgressions.

    Tillerson said there were no executive-level communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the missile strike. But he confirmed that U.S. officials had “multiple conversations” with the Russian government in accord with U.S.-Russian military “deconfliction” agreements.

    “We sought no approval from Moscow or at any other level within the Russian infrastructure,” Tillerson said. “This was simply following rules that we have put in place in agreement with the Russian military to deconflict. Because our target in this attack was not Russia.”

    Noting the 2013 U.N. arrangement under which Syria agreed to surrender its chemical weapons under the supervision of Russia, Tillerson said Thursday night: “Clearly, Russia has failed in its responsibility to deliver on that commitment from 2013. So, either Russia has been complicit or simply incompetent in its ability to deliver on that agreement.”

    McMaster said the missile strike wouldn’t have wiped out Assad’s “capacity to commit mass murder with chemical weapons.” But he said: “This was not a small strike. I mean, it was not a small strike. And I think what it does communicate is a big shift in Assad’s calculus – it should be, anyway.”

    (Source: NBC News)

    About the Missile Attack on Syria:

    * Fifty-nine Tomahawk missiles were fired from American destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean at Al Shayrat airfield in Syria, where officials said Mr. Assad’s chemical weapons attack this week originated.

    * Mr. Trump ordered the strike after two days of intense deliberations that involved two meetings of his top national security advisers, including one that Mr. Trump conducted from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

    * In announcing the strikes on Thursday evening, Mr. Trump called the chemical attack “very barbaric” and said his decision would “prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons.”

    * Administration officials described the missile strikes as a message to the world about Mr. Trump’s resolve and his commitment that the United States will no longer “turn away, turn a blind eye.”

    * The Russian military, which is active in Syria, was notified of the strikes in advance, though American officials did not personally inform President Vladimir V. Putin. In a briefing, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson criticized Moscow for failing to live up to its promise in 2013 to destroy all of Syria’s chemical weapons, calling Russia either “complicit” or “incompetent.”

    Source - NYT 
  • House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes steps down from Russia probe

    House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes steps down from Russia probe

    Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, announced on April 6 that he will recuse himself from the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, while he faces allegations that he improperly disclosed classified information.

    WASHINGTON (TIP): After resisting for weeks calls from Democrats to step aside, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) temporarily stepped aside Thursday, April 6 from the committee’s probe into Russian interference in the presidential election. Nunes was under pressure after the House Ethics Committee determined to investigate allegations that “Nunes may have made unauthorized disclosures of classified information, in violation of House Rules, law, regulations, or other standards of conduct.”

    Nunes has come under fire in recent weeks for speaking publicly about classified foreign surveillance reports he viewed on White House grounds. Nunes suggested that those reports identified President Trump and members of his transition team, whose names may have been mentioned by individuals under surveillance – or whose conversations with those individuals may have been incidentally picked up.

    On Thursday, Nunes dismissed the suggestion that he violated ethics laws as “entirely false and politically motivated,” blaming “several left-wing activist groups” for filing complaints with the Office of Congressional Ethics. He noted that he asked to speak with the Ethics Committee “at the earliest possible opportunity in order to expedite the dismissal of these false claims,” and said his recusal – which applies only to the committee’s Russia investigation – would be in effect while the committee looks into the matter.

    In the meantime, Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Tex.) will take the lead on the Russia investigation, Nunes said, with assistance from Reps. Thomas J. Rooney (R-Fla.) and Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.). Gowdy also sits on the Ethics Committee. Nunes also pledged in his statement to “continue to fulfill all my other responsibilities as Committee Chairman” in matters unrelated to the Russia probe.

  • Trump’s discredited NSA Michael Flynn offers to testify in exchange for immunity

    Trump’s discredited NSA Michael Flynn offers to testify in exchange for immunity

    Flynn resigned in February, barely a month after he was appointed NSA, after it was reported that he misled White House staff on his interactions with Russia

    Not entirely unexpectedly,President Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has reportedly told the FBI that he is willing to testify about the Trump campaign’s potential ties to Russia, in exchange for immunity from prosecution, the Wall Street Journal reported.

    Flynn resigned in February, after it was reported that he misled White House staff on his interactions with Russia and had discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak ahead of President Trump’s inauguration.

    The Journal reported, citing officials familiar with the matter, that the FBI and the House and Senate Intelligence committees that are investigating Russia’s attempts to interfere in the U.S. election have not taken Flynn’s lawyers up on the offer.

    Flynn’s lawyer said in a statement that “General Flynn certainly has a story to tell, and he very much wants to tell it, should the circumstances permit.”

    “Notwithstanding his life of national service, the media are awash with unfounded allegations, outrageous claims of treason, and vicious innuendo directed against him. He is now the target of unsubstantiated public demands by Members of Congress and other political critics that he be criminally investigated,” Flynn’s lawyer Robert Kelner said in a statement.

    “No reasonable person, who has the benefit of advice from counsel, would submit to questioning in such a highly politicized, witch hunt environment without assurances against unfair prosecution,” he added.

    Kelner said there have been discussions with the House and Senate Intelligence panels.

    Flynn spoke with Kislyak multiple times during the transition, including on Dec. 29, the day then-President Obama retaliated against Moscow for its hacking of Democratic political groups and individuals, which intelligence agencies say was done to aid Trump’s campaign.

    Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, whose ties to Russia have been under scrutiny, and son-in-law Jared Kushner earlier this week volunteered to be interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee. Former aides Roger Stone and Carter Page, who have also been in the spotlight in the Russian investigations, have also offered to talk with the committees -but none with any conditions of immunity.

  • Parliament Passes Finance Bill: Jaitley invites suggestions for Transparency in electoral funding

    Parliament Passes Finance Bill: Jaitley invites suggestions for Transparency in electoral funding

    NEW DELHI (TIP): India’s Parliament approved, March 30, the Finance Bill, 2017, subsequent to the Lok Sabha rejecting amendments moved to it by the Rajya Sabha and upholding its form it had adopted earlier. This marks the accomplishment of the budgetary exercise for 2017-18.

    Lok Sabha’s consideration of the amendments was marked by an engaging debate, which was initiated by Congress Whip Deepender Hooda. It was laced by searching questions from the Opposition and combative reply by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The core of the amendments revolved against changes in income tax and company laws in the Bills, which, the Opposition said, gave powers to taxmen to raid and seize without being accountable. The objection was to lift the ceiling on electoral funding by companies; and to prevent disclosure of identity of benefactor (donor) company and the beneficiary political parties.

    Winding up the discussion, Jaitley extended “open invitation” to the Opposition to suggest steps to improve transparency in electoral funding. “I am only hearing adjectives like the system must be clean…It must be transparent,” Jaitley said.

    The changes were necessitated on account of ground realities. Companies are inhibited from being identified for obvious reasons. The system of payment and receiving through checks would continue though.

    The identities of companies purchasing electoral bonds and the donee political parties would be known to the Election Commission and the banks. Rejecting amendments and the apprehensions of the Opposition, Jaitley said: “Do not give a fictional argument that anyone has been given power to conduct raids without being accountable.”

    “Never has it happened that the person raided is informed beforehand. It would be a disaster,” he said, and justified the provision of attachment of properties.

     

     

     

  • Air India Washington-Delhi Service from July 7

    Air India Washington-Delhi Service from July 7

    Only Airline to offer Nonstop Flights from Washington, D.C., to Delhi, Service Will be Three Times a Week on Boeing 777

    "Air India is committed to making service faster and more convenient for our customers, whether traveling for business or leisure," said Ms. Vandana Sharma, Air India's Regional Manager-Americas
    “Air India is committed to making service faster and more convenient for our customers, whether traveling for business or leisure,” said Ms. Vandana Sharma, Air India’s Regional Manager-Americas

    NEW YORK (TIP): Air India announced that it is increasing its services to India from the U.S. to 33 flights per week with the launch of the only nonstop service out of Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Delhi (DEL), starting July 7, 2017.

    The Boeing 777-200LR flights will depart Washington three times a week, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with a flying time of just 14 hours – more than two hours faster than its nearest competitor. Flight No. AI-104 will depart Washington at 11:00 AM and arrive in Delhi at 10:30 AM the next morning.

    The westbound flight AI-103 will depart Delhi at 1:15 AM on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and arrive in Washington at 7:15 AM the same day.

    Washington Dulles is Air India’s fifth U.S. destination, which also includes Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK, Newark Liberty, and San Francisco International Airports. For passengers traveling beyond Delhi, Air India also offers convenient connections to major cities across India, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi and more. Like Air India’s other nonstop flights, the Washington-Delhi flights will feature First, Business, and Economy Class service, all offering a choice of Continental or Indian cuisine.

    “Air India is committed to making service faster and more convenient for our customers, whether traveling for business or leisure,” said Ms. Vandana Sharma, Air India’s Regional Manager-Americas. “Our expanding service also addresses the growing demand of customers living and working in Indo-American communities throughout the U.S. that are looking for fast, direct service with seamless connections to cities across India, and the added convenience of customs and immigration formalities at the final destination. We are proud and privileged to fill that need.”

    For more information on Air India’s new Washington – Delhi service and for reservations, contact your travel agent or call 1-800-223-7776.

    About Air India

    Air India, India’s national airline, has been in operation since 1932. Today, the airline serves 35 international destinations on four continents, and 66 cities across India. The airline’s fleet of 118 aircraft, including B787 Dreamliners and B777LR’s and ER’s, is one of the world’s youngest. Air India is also a member of the Star Alliance. For more information about the airline, visit www.airindia.in.

  • Indra Nooyi and Fareed Zakaria named recipients of Ellis Island Medal of Honor

    Indra Nooyi and Fareed Zakaria named recipients of Ellis Island Medal of Honor

    NEW YORK (TIP): Six Indian-Americans have been named recipients of prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor 2017- the highest civilian award in the US for immigrants.

    Among 88 recipients, the six Indian- Americans are – PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi, Fareed Zakaria, Author and host of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” show, Harman International Industries chairman CEO Dinesh Paliwal, Dr Annapoorna S Kini, Yashvant Patel, and Mohan H Patel. The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, which awards the medals, announced that 88 people will receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor during an official ceremony on May 13.

    According to the NECO website, “the Ellis Island Medals of Honor embody the spirit of America in their celebration of patriotism, tolerance, brotherhood and diversity. They recognize individuals who have made it their mission to share with those less fortunate their wealth of knowledge, indomitable courage, boundless compassion, unique talents and selfless generosity; all while maintaining the traditions of their ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of America. As always, NECO remains dedicated to the maintenance and restoration of America’s greatest symbol of its immigrant history, Ellis Island.”

    Indra Nooyi was named President and CEO of PepsiCo on October 1, 2006 and assumed the role of Chairman on May 2, 2007. In addition to being a member of the PepsiCo Board of Directors, Mrs. Nooyi serves as a member of the boards of U.S.-India Business Council, The Consumer Goods Forum, Catalyst, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Tsinghua University. She is also a member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and was appointed to the U.S.-India CEO Forum by the Obama Administration.

    Fareed Zakaria is host of CNN’s flagship foreign affairs show, a Washington Post columnist, a contributing editor for The Atlantic and a New York Times bestselling author. Esquire Magazine called him “the most influential foreign policy adviser of his generation.” From 2010 to 2014, Dr. Zakaria served as editor-at-large for TIME. Before that, he spent ten years overseeing all of Newsweek’s editions abroad. Before joining Newsweek, from 1992 to 2000, he served as managing editor of Foreign Affairs, a post he was appointed to at only 28 years old.

  • FBI Director Comey confirms investigation into Russian ties to Trump campaign

    FBI Director Comey confirms investigation into Russian ties to Trump campaign

    The FBI has information that indicates associates of President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, says a CNN report, claiming US officials told CNN.

    “This is partly what FBI Director James Comey was referring to when he made a bombshell announcement Monday, March 20, before Congress that the FBI is investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, according to one source”, says the CNN report.

    CNN report further says: “The FBI is now reviewing that information, which includes human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings, according to those U.S. officials.

    The information is raising the suspicions of FBI counterintelligence investigators that the coordination may have taken place, though officials cautioned that the information was not conclusive and that the investigation is ongoing.

    “In his statement on Monday Comey said the FBI began looking into possible coordination between Trump campaign associates and suspected Russian operatives because the bureau had gathered “a credible allegation of wrongdoing or reasonable basis to believe an American may be acting as an agent of a foreign power.”

    “The White House did not comment and the FBI declined to comment. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, said Thursday the Russian government would not comment on information from unnamed sources.

    “This is another piece of information without any sources which can’t be commented on, neither can it be taken as some serious thing,” Peskov told reporters in response to a question about CNN’s reporting.

    “White House press secretary Sean Spicer maintained Monday after Comey’s testimony that there was no evidence to suggest any collusion took place.

    “Investigating it and having proof of it are two different things,” Spicer said.

    “The FBI cannot yet prove that collusion took place, but the information suggesting collusion is now a large focus of the investigation, the officials said.

    “The FBI has already been investigating four former Trump campaign associates — Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Carter Page — for contacts with Russians known to US intelligence. All four have denied improper contacts and CNN has not confirmed any of them are the subjects of the information the FBI is reviewing”. (Source: CNN)

  • House vote to replace Obamacare postponed: Republicans don’t find yet the votes for their Health-Care Bill

    House vote to replace Obamacare postponed: Republicans don’t find yet the votes for their Health-Care Bill

    WASHINGTON (TIP): President Trump’s deal making expertise failed to convince many Republican Congressman that the Republican Healthcare Bill was any better than Obamacare. There has been a feverish activity in the Republican camp to muster enough support to pass the bill in the House on March 23. President Trump visited the Capitol, meeting with Congressmen, held a meeting with them in the White House to impress upon them how important it was to replace Obamacare with a Republican Healthcare. But, until late in the afternoon, the numbers required to pass the bill seemed to elude Speaker Ryan and President Trump.

    First, Speaker Ryan did not hold the proposed press conference, and later, it was announced that the vote on the healthcare bill was postponed.

    The announcement of the delay appeared to catch even the president unaware. Moments after the news broke, Trump told a group of truckers at the White House that the vote would still be held on Thursday. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. “It’s going to be a very close vote.” Earlier in the day, Press Secretary Sean Spicer was guaranteeing a victory. “It’s gonna pass. So, that’s it,” he told reporters.

    The move was an indication that a series of meetings Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan had with reluctant members in the party’s conservative and centrist wings had failed to achieve a consensus. Members of the House Freedom Caucus left a meeting with the president early in the afternoon saying there was “no deal” as they pushed Ryan to move the bill further to the right. And for Trump and Ryan, the delay dashed their hope of voting to dismantle the law on the seventh anniversary of its signing by former President Barack Obama.

    GOP leaders summoned all 237 Republicans to a 7 p.m. meeting in the Capitol to discuss possible changes to the American Health Care Act, and lawmakers said the party still hoped to hold procedural votes on the bill on Thursday night, with final passage on Friday. But even that plan was tentative, and tensions within the Republican conference were rising as the chances grew that the GOP would whiff on its longstanding promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.

    “The days of talking are over. It’s time to vote,” said Representative Bradley Byrne of Alabama, a strong supporter of the GOP plan. “The longer we wait, the worse our chances get.”

    Leadership officials were increasingly frustrated with the Freedom Caucus, which withheld its support even after winning Trump’s support for a change that would strip out Obamacare’s requirement that insurance plans cover maternity care, mental-health treatment, preventive services, and a host of other “essential health benefits” defined in the law. One leadership aide questioned whether Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina, the group’s leader, could deliver its roughly three dozen votes after personally promising the president he would. A Meadows aide said the Freedom Caucus was pushing for even broader changes that would repeal the insurance regulations forbidding discrimination based on preexisting conditions and lifetime-coverage limits. But that is a non-starter for many House Republicans, and party leaders believe a bill that broad could not pass.

    Members like Byrne wanted the leaders to simply put the bill up for a vote, gambling that many of the rank-and-file lawmakers who have withheld their support wouldn’t dare let it go down in defeat in such dramatic fashion. “As a Republican, you’ve got one choice,” he said. “You either are going to vote with Donald Trump to repeal and replace Obamacare, or you’re going to vote with Nancy Pelosi to defeat the only bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. If you’re a Republican, that’s a pretty simple choice.”

    While the Freedom Caucus bargained for more conservative provisions, more moderate Republicans were peeling off the bill. Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington state and Mark Amodei of Nevada declared their opposition on Thursday, and Trump planned to meet at the White House with the Tuesday Group, a coalition of moderates.

    Thursday’s push came after Ryan spent more than two hours Wednesday night meeting with more than a dozen members of the Tuesday Group and lawmakers representing swing districts. The pow-wow was inconclusive. The Republicans slipped out of the Capitol without speaking to reporters, and immediately after he left, Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, a co-chairman of the Tuesday Group, instructed his staff to release a statement formally opposing the leadership’s bill.

    “I believe this bill, in its current form, will lead to the loss of coverage and make insurance unaffordable for too many Americans, particularly for low-to-moderate income and older individuals,” Dent said. “We have an important opportunity to enact reforms that will result in real health-care transformation-bringing down costs and improving health outcomes. This legislation misses the mark.”

    The GOP bill, which would replace the ACA’s subsidies with less generous tax credits while repealing its insurance mandates, has run into opposition from across the political spectrum. Aside from the Chamber of Commerce, most industry groups have lined up against it. And despite the president’s hearty support, conservative activists and the billionaire Koch brothers say it falls far too short of a full repeal and have vowed to punish Republicans who support it.

    Late Thursday afternoon, the Congressional Budget Office released a revised estimate of the GOP bill’s cost after amendments were added earlier in the week. The nonpartisan scorekeeper found that the changes to Medicaid and tax policy would cost nearly $200 billion more over a decade than the original bill, but they would have little effect on insurance coverage or premiums. The CBO is still estimating that 24 million fewer people would have health insurance by 2026 and that average premiums would rise in the first couple years after the passage of the bill before falling by about 10 percent over a decade.

    Depending on how many lawmakers vote, Republicans can lose no more than 21 or 22 votes on their side and still achieve a majority. Democrats will vote en masse against the bill. Public whip counts put the defections at well over that number, but party leaders can still cross the threshold if they flip the group of conservative opponents led by Meadows. The bill would still need to pass the Senate, which would be an even more Herculean task for GOP leaders, considering they have a narrow, 52-48 seat majority and several Republicans have also declared the House plan unacceptable.

    Meanwhile, President Trump delivered an ultimatum to House Republicans on Thursday night: Vote to approve the measure to overhaul the nation’s health-care system on the House floor Friday, or reject it and the president will move on to his other legislative priorities.

     

  • London shattered by terror attack after a decade

    London shattered by terror attack after a decade

    “We will never give in to terror", British PM Theresa May said, following Westminster attack
    “We will never give in to terror”, British PM Theresa May said, following Westminster attack

    LONDON (TIP): Asolo assailant, identified by police as Khalid Masood, plowed a car into people on Westminster Bridge in London, near Parliament, killing two people and injuring many others, before crashing into a railing, March 22, 2017. Aysha Frade and US tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, were killed on the spot, while a 75-year-old man died on Thursday, March 23 evening.

    According to witnesses, the assailant had sped up, mounted the pavement, and began hitting pedestrians indiscriminately. After the car crashed into railings outside the Houses of Parliament, Masood, armed with a knife, left his car and ran towards Parliament, where he was confronted by police. PC Keith Palmer – who was not armed – was stabbed and killed. Masood was then shot dead by armed officers. Parliament was suspended and politicians, journalists and visitors to the buildings were locked inside for about five hours. Hundreds were also evacuated from Parliament to nearby Westminster Abbey for safety.

    Masood, 52, who was born as Adrian Elms in Kent,had a range of previous convictions for assaults, including grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive weapons and public order offenses. Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons that the attacker had been investigated some years ago over violent extremism but was “peripheral” figure. “He was not part of the current intelligence picture,” she added.

    “There was no prior intelligence of his intent or the plot.”

    Three women and five men were arrested in London and Birmingham on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts following March 22 attack.

    The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, calling the perpetrator a “soldier of the Islamic State” in a release from their Amaq news agency.

    US president Donald Trump spoke to Theresa May to offer Britain the full cooperation and support of the United States. He “pledged the full cooperation and support of the United States Government in responding to the attack and bringing those responsible to justice,” a White House statement said.

    In the summer of 2005, London was rocked by the worst single terrorist attack on British soil. On 7 July 2005, four men with rucksacks full of explosives attacked central London. The target was London’s transport system. Four bombs went off there – three on the London underground and one on a bus. More than 50 people had lost their lives and hundreds more were injured. The attacks became known as the 7/7 bombings.

  • Manohar Parrikar wins floor test in Goa assembly, 22 votes to 16

    Manohar Parrikar wins floor test in Goa assembly, 22 votes to 16

    Manohar Parrikar won the trust vote on the floor of the House on Thursday, March 16.

    PANAJI (TIP): The Manohar Parrikar-led coalition government in Goa won the floor test in the legislative assembly on Thursday, March 16, by getting 22 votes to 16 in the 40-member Goa assembly, one more than the simple majority figure of 21.

    One MLA was made the speaker for the trust vote and did not vote while one Congress legislator walked out during the floor test against his own party. Congress MLA Vishwajeet Rane walked out during the floor test and later submitted his resignation to the pro tem speaker. Rane, son of Congress veteran Pratapsinh Rane who himself won his 11th term as an MLA in the Goa assembly elections, also resigned as a Congress member. He said he would re-contest from Valpoi constituency.

    Apart from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s 13 MLAs, Parrikar also got support from three legislators of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), three legislators of Goa Forward party (GFP), two independents, and Nationalist Congress Party’s lone member Churchill Alemao.

    Before the floor test began, Rane told reporters that the delay caused by the Congress leadership in staking claim to form the government had demoralized the people of Goa. “They have lost the trust of voters in Goa,” he said.

    Hours after the Goa governor appointed Parrikar as the chief minister, Rane had said that as many as 13 of the 17 Congress legislators were angry that the party leadership could not elect a legislative party leader. Later, Rane and other Congress legislator Jennifer Monserrate blamed All India Congress Committee general secretary and Goa observer Digvijay Singh for this delay. Singh hit back on Wednesday with a tweet asking Rane “what he was doing with Parrikar in a Goa hotel”.

    A triumphant Parrikar told reporters at a press conference later that the BJP was always confident of winning the trust vote. “The Congress did not have the numbers ever. Today’s floor test was a voluntary vote for us. No MLA was hidden in a hotel or anything,” Parrikar said. The Goa chief minister, who earlier this week resigned as the defence minister and made some deft moves in Goa to stitch together a BJP-led coalition, said “all eyes in India were on this floor test”.

    The floor test was ordered by the Supreme Court after the Congress party in Goa filed a petition on 13 March challenging Goa governor Mridula Sinha’s decision to appoint a BJP-led government.

    Parrikar was sworn in on 14 March along with eight other ministers.

    The chief minister said after winning the trust vote that portfolios would be announced on 18 March. Ministers from MGP and GFP are likely to get important portfolios. In the 40-member Goa assembly, the BJP won 13 seats in the recent elections and later received support from 9 others.

    The Congress won 17 seats and emerged the single largest party but never staked claim to form the government. On Thursday morning itself, it became clear that the BJP would sail through the trust vote as the MGP and GFP leaders reiterated their support to the BJP.