United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the US and Russia to resume the full implementation of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START).
Asked about Guterres’ reaction to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that his country will suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that the Secretary-General’s position is that the US and Russia should resume the full implementation of the treaty without delay, Xinhua news agency reported.
“The New START and successive bilateral treaties on strategic nuclear arms reduction between the two countries have provided security not only for Russia and the US, but (also) for the entire international community,” Dujarric added.
A world without nuclear arms control is a far more dangerous and unstable one with potentially catastrophic consequences. Every effort should be taken to avoid this outcome, including through an immediate return to dialogue, he told a daily press briefing.
Asked whether Guterres has plans to talk to Putin on the issue of the New START or the conflict in Ukraine, Dujarric said he had nothing to share with reporters at this point.
On Monday, right-wing organisation Shri Ram Sene’s chief Pramod Muthalik declared to provide security and employment to young Hindu men who trap Muslim women and ruin their lives. This, according to Muthalik, is a counter-attack to ‘love jihad’.
At an event in Karnataka’s Bagalkote district, he claimed many Hindu women were ‘falling prey’ to ‘love jihad’.
“We are aware of the situation. I want to invite the youth here. If we lose one Hindu girl, we should trap 10 Muslim girls. If you do so, Shri Ram Sene will take responsibility for you and provide every kind of security and employment,” Muthalik said among rousing cheers.
Muthalik had recently announced he would contest the upcoming state Assembly elections from the Karkala segment in the Udupi district.
According to him, he does not know how to play politics, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government endorses ‘fake Hindutva’.
“If I had supported BJP’s fake Hindutva, I would have achieved many things by now,” he said.
He attacked the current Karkala MLA and state minister for Kannada and culture V Sunil Kumar for corruption. “The present MLA does not care for the people of Karkala. All he has done is indulge in mass corruption activities. One can see that by the amount of wealth, he has accumulated so far,” Muthalik alleged.
Hyderabad: Having decided to approach the Women’s Commission against Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao, YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) chief YS Sharmila on Monday said that women are not respected during KCR’s rule in the state.
Speaking to ANI, Sharmila said, “It is evident that KCR fears Sharmila. Since my padayatra crossed 3,000 km milestone, KCR’s goons have been trying to foil this.
Women are not respected in Telangana. Ruling party leaders using derogatory language against me since I entered politics and began padayatra.”
“Just because we are taking it up does not mean you demean women to such an extent. We have decided today to go to the Women’s Commission and give a complaint,” she added.
Earlier on Sunday, Telangana Police detained YS Sharmila for allegedly making inappropriate remarks against the Mahabubabad MLA and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Shankar Naik.
Asked about the complaint against her over her alleged objectionable comments against MLA Shankar Naik, the YSRTP chief said, “Shankar Naik, an ST, called me a ‘eunuch’ to which I replied saying, ‘Who is the eunuch? Are not you the eunuch?’ That is the only thing I did. Is it my fault to reply?”
“They are saying that there can be action but there should not be a reaction from me. Just because I responded and asked him the same question, cases are being filed against me, that too an SC/ST Atrocity case. How fair is this? Is not this misusing that law?” added Sharmila.
On Sunday, YSRTP Chief said that Telangana is the Afghanistan of India and KCR is its Taliban. Speaking to reporters in Mahbubabad, Sharmila said, “He (Telangana CM KCR) is a dictator, he is a tyrant, there is no Indian Constitution in Telangana, there is only KCR’s Constitution. Telangana is the Afghanistan of India and KCR is its Taliban.”
Telangana Police detained YS Sharmila on Sunday for allegedly making inappropriate remarks against the BRS MLA Shankar Naik.
The police moved her to Hyderabad to avoid any law and order problems in the town of Mahabubabad. They registered a case against her under section 504 of the Indian Penal Code Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace] and section 3(1)r of the SC ST POA Act.
Addressing a public meeting, YS Sharmila allegedly attacked the Mahabubabad MLA for not fulfilling his promises and said, “You gave many promises to the people, which you have not fulfilled. If you are not fulfilling your promises, that means you are a kojja [castrate],” she said in a public meeting on Saturday.
Following the incident, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi staged a sit-in protest in the district against YS Sharmila for her alleged derogatory remarks against Mahabubabad MLA.
The protestors on the road were showing their rage against the YSRTP chief by sloganeering “Go Back Sharmila” and burning the hoardings and flexes of the party.
His visit came as the Biden administration is facing pressure from state leaders and federal lawmakers of both parties to require Norfolk Southern to clean up its toxic pollution.
Regan said EPA was conducting indoor testing and had so far cleared 480 homes as free of vinyl chloride and hydrogen chloride, two of the most dangerous of the chemicals that were transported by the train. He also noted EPA has been conducting round-the-clock air monitoring from ground sources and via the agency’s sniffer plane.
State and local agencies are also conducting tests of public drinking water supplies. Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel said tests of municipal wells showed no signs of contaminants, though owners of private wells should have them tested before drinking from them. Bottled water is available in the interim.
Regan said at the news conference that Norfolk Southern will pay for the response.
“We are absolutely going to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and I can promise you that,” he said.
Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw wrote in an open letter to the town on Thursday that the railroad “will stay here for as long as it takes to ensure your safety and to help East Palestine recover and thrive.” However, he angered residents by declining to attend a Wednesday night town hall on the disaster.
EPA formally informed Norfolk Southern last week that it is potentially liable to pay for all clean-up costs related to the derailment. The company has said it “is willing to perform or finance the response activities related to the incident.”
Regan’s visit prompted bipartisan comity among lawmakers who represent the area.
“Administrator Regan, I want to thank you for coming in today. It means a lot to these folks here,” said Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio).
However, the incident has also stirred up bipartisan complaints, both about the Biden administration’s immediate response and longer-term issues with regulatory oversight over the shipment of hazardous materials.
“While I am glad EPA Administrator Regan will visit the site today, it is unacceptable that it took nearly two weeks for a senior administration official to show up,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said in a statement. He called on the administration “to provide a complete picture of the damage and a comprehensive plan to ensure the community is supported in the weeks, months and years to come, and this sort of accident never happens again.”
Sens. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in a Wednesday letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg questioned federal oversight of the railroad industry. “It is not unreasonable to ask whether a crew of two rail workers, plus one trainee, is able to effectively monitor 150 cars,” they wrote.
Rubio has gone even further in his criticisms of Buttigieg.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said on Thursday that he’s investigating whether trains carrying hazardous materials are required to be labeled, which could help responders better understand and react to tankers’ contents.
“But we think we might need a change in federal law and Bill [Johnson] and I will work on that,” Brown said.
Tension in the village has been building since the train crashed, especially after officials decided to burn off the remaining vinyl chloride at the site to prevent an explosion.
Hundreds of residents attended Wednesday’s town hall, but Norfolk Southern representatives declined to attend because of alleged threats against its employees.
“We have become increasingly concerned about the growing physical threat to our employees and members of the community around this event stemming from the increasing likelihood of the participation of outside parties,” the company said in a statement ahead of the meeting.
Vinyl chloride is a clear gas used to make polyvinyl chloride, a common form of plastic. Acute exposure can lead to nervous system effects like dizziness and headaches. Chronic exposure can lead to liver problems, including a rare form of cancer called angiosarcoma.
The train was carrying a variety of substances in addition to five tankers of vinyl chloride, according to a manifest dated Feb. 12 released by EPA. Other derailed cars included hazardous materials such as butyl acrylate, ethylene glycol and monobutyl ether. Also on the train in cars that do not appear to have derailed were solid plastics products such as polyethylene and polypropylene, several tankers full of petroleum lube oil, and nine box cars full of malt liquors.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Walsh will step in for Don Fehr, who has led the NHLPA since 2010.
Walsh built his political profile as a union leader in Boston, and his ties to organized labor were a key factor in President Joe Biden’s decision to name him Labor secretary. He was a highly visible surrogate for Biden and the White House, selling the administration’s message on the road and on television.
“I am forever grateful to President Biden not only for the faith he placed in me, but for his steady, transformative and historic leadership on behalf of working people everywhere,” Walsh said in an email sent to Labor Department staff. “I leave the Department with a deeper understanding of why working people are the heart and soul and strength of our nation.”
Once he steps down, Deputy Secretary Julie Su is set to take charge of DOL on an acting basis. Su is also a leading contender to succeed Walsh, and has the backing of a number of Senate Democrats and influential union leaders.
In his email, Walsh praised Su as “an incredible leader” and expressed faith in her ability to lead the department when he leaves.
“With the kind of leadership and talent assembled across the Department, I am confident there will be continuity and the work will be sustained,” he wrote.
Walsh will become the latest high-profile official to exit the Biden administration in recent weeks, following chief of staff Ron Klain, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, and communications director Kate Bedingfield, among others.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
Chief secretary Santhi Kumari and other offiicals during the meeting. (Image: By arrangement)
Hyderabad: Telangana chief secretary Santhi Kumari held a video conference with district collectors on Thursday and reviewed Kanti Velugu, podu lands, Haritha Haaram and other government programmes.
Referring to the Telangana government’s flagship Kanti Velugu programme (eyesight testing), the chief secretary stated that the programme will continue till May end. Kumari said that care should be taken while handing over prescription spectacles to the beneficiaries.
Santhi Kumari also discussed about the drinking water supply in the state and directed officials to ensure that tents should be arranged at the camps in view of summer.
On the issue of Podu lands, the chief secretary asked government officials to keep passbooks ready for Podu beneficiaries who have been approved by the district level committee. She told district collectors to prepare action plan for the year’s Haritha Haram programme.
The chief secretary also instructed officials to initiate the process of registrations of houses of the beneficiaries who have been selected as per the GO no 58, 59, 76 and 118. She said that all the government offices should be shifted to the integrated District Office Complexes.
During the meeting, special chief secretary (MA&UD) Arvind Kumar, principal secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania, principal secretary (revenue) Navin Mittal and other officials were present ( video conference).
MUNICH — Wake up, Europe. We must face the China challenge.
That was NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s message on Saturday for the global security elite gathered at the Munich Security Conference.
The military alliance chief directly linked Russia’s war in Ukraine to China, hinting at concerns about Beijing launching a war on Taiwan, the self-governed island Beijing still claims.
“What is happening in Europe today,” he cautioned, “could happen in east Asia tomorrow.”
Moscow, Stoltenberg underscored, “wants a different Europe” while Beijing “is watching closely to see the price Russia pays — or the reward it receives for its aggression.”
“Even if the war ends tomorrow,” he added, “our security environment is changed for the long term.”
Stoltenberg’s remarks come against the backdrop of a broader conversation among Western allies about how to approach China as it makes revanchist military threats toward Taiwan and pumps up its own industries with government help.
While countries like the U.S. have pushed allies to keep a closer eye on Beijing and distance themselves from China’s economy, others have expressed caution about turning China into such an unequivocal enemy.
The NATO chief warned that Western allies must act united on both the military and economic fronts.
“The war in Ukraine has made clear the danger of over-reliance on authoritarian regimes,” he noted.
“We should not make the same mistake with China and other authoritarian regimes,” he said, calling on the West to eschew its dependence on China for the raw materials powering society. He also warned against exporting key technologies to the country.
And while focusing on external adversaries, Stoltenberg also implored NATO allies to avoid internal squabbling.
“We must not create new barriers between free and open economies,” he said.
“The most important lesson from the war in Ukraine,” he added, “is that North America and Europe must stand together.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
Hyderabad: Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari on Wednesday held a meeting with officials and reviewed the progress achieved in realization of States own tax and non tax revenues.
Officials from commercial tax, excise, stamps and registration, transport, mining and other departments attended the meeting.
The Chief Secretary asked the officials to focus on achieving the targets for this year.
She wanted them to take special measures to boost the tax collections. She stated that weekly reviews will be held to ensure that the targets are achieved. The Commercial Tax, Registration and Excise departments were asked to propose action plan to augment additional revenue.
The Government has realized Rs 91,145 Crores in tax revenue collections and Rs 6996 Crores in non tax revenues totaling Rs 98,141 Crores by the end of January this year.
Commissioner and Inspector General, Registration and Stamps Rahul Bojja, Commissioner, Commercial Taxes Neetu Kumari Prasad, Special Secretary, Finance Ronald Rose, Director, Prohibition & Excise Sarfaraz Ahmed, Commissioner Transport Buddha Prakash Jyothi and other officials attended the meeting.
World Bank president David Malpass on Wednesday said he would leave his post by the end of June, months after running afoul of the White House for failing to say whether he accepts the scientific consensus on global warming.
Malpass, appointed by Donald Trump, will vacate the helm of the multilateral development bank, which provides billions of dollars a year in funding for developing economies, with less than a year remaining in a five-year term. He offered no specific reason for the move, saying in a statement, “after a good deal of thought, I’ve decided to pursue new challenges”.
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen thanked Malpass for his service in a statement, saying: “The world has benefited from his strong support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion, his vital work to assist the Afghan people, and his commitment to helping low-income countries achieve debt sustainability through debt reduction.”
Yellen said the United States would soon nominate a replacement for Malpass and looked forward to the bank’s board undertaking a “transparent, merit-based and swift nomination process for the next World Bank president”.
By long-standing tradition, the US government selects the head of the World Bank, while European leaders choose the leader of its larger partner, the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Pressure to shake up the leadership of the World Bank to pave the way for a new president who would reform the bank to more aggressively respond to climate change has been building for over two years from the United Nations, other world leaders and environmental groups.
In November 2021, special adviser to the UN secretary-general on climate change Selwin Hart called out the World Bank for “fiddling while the developing world burns” and said that the institution has been an “ongoing underperformer” on climate action.
Pressure on Malpass was reignited last September when the World Bank chief fumbled answering a question about whether he believed in the scientific consensus around climate change, which drew condemnation from the White House.
In November, special envoy on climate change John Kerry said he wants to work with Germany to come up with a strategy by the next World Bank Group meetings in April 2022 to “enlarge the capacity of the bank” to put more money into circulation and help countries deal with climate change.
More recently, Yellen has launched a major push to reform the way the World Bank operates to ensure broader lending to combat climate change and other global challenges.
Malpass took up the World Bank helm in April 2019 after serving as the top official for international affairs at US treasury in the Trump administration. In 2022, the World Bank committed more than $104bn to projects around the globe, according to the bank’s annual report.
A source familiar with his thinking said Malpass had informed Yellen of his decision on Tuesday.
The end of the fiscal year at the end of June was a natural time to step aside, the source said. The World Bank’s governors are expected to approve the bank’s roadmap for reforms with only minor changes at the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank set for mid-April.
Still, World Bank sources said they were surprised by his decision to step down before the joint meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Morocco in October.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
The World Bank boss — who was appointed by former President Donald Trump — had come under fire after an interview last year in which he seemed to cast doubt on climate change science. His departure opens the door for the Biden administration to pick his replacement. The U.S. has traditionally selected the head of the bank, although that may be contested by other governments.
“The next few months will provide a good opportunity for a smooth leadership transition,” Malpass said Wednesday.
Malpass confirmed his departure in a tweet. The World Bank put out a release announcing Malpass was stepping down and listed the bank’s accomplishments under his tenure.
In the email to staff, Malpass praised World Bank employees for their efforts in buffering developing countries from a series of global shocks, namely “the Covid-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, sharp global economic slowdown, unsustainable debt burdens, climate change, and food, fertilizer, and energy shortages.”
Potential successors for Malpass have been circulating for months, following scrutiny in climate circles for a reputation of not doing enough to steer development dollars away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy.
U.S. special climate envoy John Kerry, former Vice President Al Gore and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg are some of the more familiar names. Others include Minouche Shafik, who recently accepted a job to become Columbia University’s president; Daleep Singh, who was deputy national security adviser for international economics in President Joe Biden’s White House; World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; and former U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Raj Shah, who now leads the Rockefeller Foundation.
The environmental community criticism peaked last September when Malpass publicly demurred about the role humans play in driving temperatures higher, largely by burning fossil fuels.
Malpass later backtracked on those public comments, including with emails to staff.
While the World Bank has declined to officially rule out financing fossil fuels, its backing for such projects has slowed.
The organization has said its International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Development Association did not invest in new fossil fuel finance in fiscal year 2021 and that the group has not financed upstream oil and gas projects since 2019.
The bank has defended its record on climate finance under Malpass, noting it devoted a record $32 billion to the sector last year to best all other multilateral institutions combined.
But the bank nonetheless faced charges that it was not moving fast enough and that its design precluded major greenhouse gas-emitting nations from accessing cheap finance to fund their transitions off fossil fuels.
The bank’s role over natural gas had increasingly become the target of geopolitical tussling. Gas-rich African nations have prodded the World Bank to ease finance for developing the fuel as European nations flocked to the continent to replace Russian gas ditched after the Ukraine invasion.
“We welcome the departure of a climate and development laggard as the head of a critical international finance institution,” said Jake Schmidt, senior strategic director of international climate at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “We need World Bank leadership committed to bold action to unleash more and better climate finance to meet the scale of the climate crisis and the needs of developing countries.”
The World Bank and other international development institutions have come under fire as not being fit for purpose to address global crises like climate change. Global leaders like Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have called on the banks to overhaul their processes to tackle emerging challenges.
Yellen on Wednesday praised Malpass for steering the bank through multiple crises, including Ukraine, climate change and food supplies.
“[W]hile we all must continue to raise our collective ambitions in the fight against climate change, during President Malpass’ tenure the World Bank has made important recent advances in this area,” Yellen said in a statement.
U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry has also pushed the bank to increase its lending for clean energy and called for the World Bank and other multilateral institutions to deliver a plan to enhance their role in fighting climate change by April.
The exit of Malpass comes as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi angles to use his new G-20 chairmanship to address the multilateral development bank system. India and other nations are concerned about debt distress amid rising food and energy prices, which serves as a launchpad for discussions for changing banks’ practice to help lessen debt burdens.
In the climate change context, environmental advocates have floated allowing middle-income countries currently shut out of receiving below-market-rate loans to access cheaper finance to fuel clean energy installations. Many of those middle-income countries are projected to contribute a large chunk of the world’s future heat-trapping emissions.
Yellen has supported an “evolution” of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks to better address challenges that cross borders, such as climate change, pandemics and conflict.
“The MDBs’ core model involves countries borrowing to make specific investments aimed at addressing development constraints in their own countries. That model is insufficient to meet the moment,” Yellen said in a speech earlier this month. “Such a model will always underinvest in addressing global challenges — since the benefits of investments in global challenges stretch far beyond the borders of the country where a given project takes place.”
Adam Behsudi contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
