December 2018

Theresa May reaches out to EU in desperate bid to save Brexit deal before new vote As May met German chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders to seek changes in the agreement, particularly on the issue of the so-called Northern Ireland ‘backstop’, a Downing Street spokesman said she will come to Parliament again with the deal before January 21. Having made a U-turn on Monday by deferring the crucial vote on Brexit agreement in the House of Commons, Prime Minister Theresa May dashed to Brussels to meet EU leaders to save the deal, but promised a new vote before January 21. wiki ...

Donald Trump says not concerned about being impeached, defends payments to women Federal prosecutors in New York said last week that Donald Trump directed Michael Cohen to make six-figure payments to two women so they would not discuss their alleged affairs with the candidate ahead of the 2016 presidential election.President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he was not concerned that he could be impeached and that hush payments made ahead of the 2016 election by his former personal attorney Michael Cohen to two women did not violate campaign finance laws. wiki                   ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges political parties to use the House for debate PM Modi had made a similar point at the all party meeting yesterday when he asked the opposition to “debate and discuss”.As he walked into parliament for the winter session on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi renewed his appeal to political parties to use the House for debate, even if it is a sharp debate. “It is important to have a debate… It is all right even if it is a sharp one,” PM Modi told reporters, underlining that the government was ready to discuss all issues. wiki       ...

After Urjit Patel’s exit, ex-bureaucrat Shaktikanta Das takes over as RBI governor A former economic affairs secretary from 2015 to 2017, Das worked closely with the central bank. He is currently a member of the Finance Commission of India, and the government’s representative at the Group of 20 summits. Former economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das has been appointed Reserve Bank of India governor, according to news agency Reuters. He replaces the central bank governor Urjit Patel who has resigned citing personal reasons. wiki                     source

Assembly election results 2018: Big boost for TRS in seat, vote shares as Opposition alliance suffers The combined vote share of the Congress, TDP, Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Telangana Jan Samithi (TJS) was 6.42 percentage points more than the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) vote share in the 2014 assembly elections for the 119 seats in Telangana. Opposition parties have been trying to forge an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition in the run-up to general elections in 2019. wiki                       source

The 3-0 victory margin heralds the emergence of candidate Rahul Narendra Modi remains the tallest national leader, but the results of the recent assembly elections show that Rahul Gandhi has done enough to at least be the face of the grouping that will take him on in 2019 For Congress President Rahul Gandhi, the December 11 results of five state elections mark the biggest victory of his political career. Apart from the outcome itself, the party’s performance increases the chances of an alliance coming together to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections even...

Is Amit Shah a better challenger than defender? Tuesday’s outcome has raised questions about the limits of his method of election management. Does it work in all settings? Can organisation be a substitute for governance? And most importantly, is Shah a better challenger than defender? A defining feature of the elections in the past four years has been the way Amit Shah has redefined the way they are fought. This, complemented by Narendra Modi’s popularity, has arguably been a central factor in the BJP’s dream run. wiki                       source

People have rejected BJP’s politics and policies, says Sachin Pilot An upbeat Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said the BJP tried to polarise voters to win the assembly elections, but the people of the state rejected its “ideas and attempts”. An upbeat Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said the BJP tried to polarise voters to win the assembly elections, but the people of the state rejected its “ideas and attempts”. The 41-year-old former Union minister, a strong contender for the chief minister’s post, told Aurangzeb Naqshbandi that experts should not forget that the Congress has secured a clear majority. Edited excerpts: wiki ...

French President Emmanuel Macron unveils new measures in bid to end ‘yellow vest’ revolt Macron’s government had previously suggested that any increase in the minimum wage would destroy jobs rather than help create them.Embattled French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced a series of financial measures seeking to defuse the “yellow vest” revolt that has triggered violent protests in cities across the country. Protestors wearing “yellow vests” (gilets jaunes) demonstrate on their knees against rising costs of living in Lille, northern France, on December 8, 2018. The “yellow vest” movement in France originally started as a protest about planned fuel...

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo says China is their greatest challenge US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has called China the biggest challenge to US, even bigger than Russia or Iran. He said that there is no doubt it’s an even bigger challenge than Russia.Even as the United States and China seek to resolve escalating trade tensions, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has called China the “greatest challenge” facing his country; bigger than Russia or Iran. wiki                     source