Hagel to discuss progress of Afghanistan forces
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US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel flew to Afghanistan on Sunday to talk to commanders about the progress of the Afghan forces as the US looks pull all but about 10,000 troops out of the country by the end of the year.
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His visit comes in the emotional aftermath of the successful release of America’s only prisoner of war in Afghanistan, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, and just days after President Barack Obama announced the drawdown that will leave fewer than 1,000 US forces in the country by the end of 2016.
Obama was at the same Bagram base just a week ago. Hagel told reporters traveling with him that he wants to hear about what the Afghans are doing and how well they are improving their air force. He also wants to learn more about the government’s ability to sustain and equip its forces.
Despite optimistic reports from top military commanders about how far the Afghan security forces have come, there are still nagging doubts and frustration with the slow progress the higher level headquarters and ministries have made in setting up long-range budgeting and logistics capabilities.
While they say the Afghans can fight, there is concern about the government’s ability to ensure that over time troops have the food, fuel, weapons and other equipment they need. “I’m confident they will be able to stand on their own,” said Hagel.
He also will meet with a gathering of US troops, and a prime topic will be the release of Bergdahl yesterday. The Taliban turned the 28-year-old soldier over to US special operations forces in eastern Afghanistan. In exchange the US released five detainees from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, detention center, and transferred them to Qatar.
The Afghanistan stop marks the first of several days Hagel will spend talking with his commanders and other nations’ defense ministers about the troop drawdown and the future of Afghanistan.
He planned to gather with other defense chiefs this week at a NATO meeting in Brussels. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, the top US military commander in Afghanistan is expected to also attend the NATO meeting as well as Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, the top NATO commander.
Hagel has acknowledged there are still many unanswered questions about the drawdown, including how many of the nearly 10,000 US forces remaining in the Afghanistan next year will be devoted to counterterrorism missions.
He said it also was unclear how many troops NATO and other international partners would contribute and what exactly those forces would do.
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Chandrasekhara Rao sworn-in as first CM of Telangana
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Telangana came into existence as the 29th state of India today and TRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) was sworn in as its first Chief Minister, capping the decades-old struggle in the region for carving out a separate state from Andhra Pradesh.
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60-year-old KCR took oath as Chief Minister along with his son K T Rama Rao, nephew T Harish Rao and nine others administered by Governor E S L Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan.
Celebrations erupted in the state to mark the historic event that came after a long-drawn-out process of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Nine other Cabinet Ministers were sworn in the new state -Mohammed Mahmood Ali, T Rajaiah, Nayani Narasimha Reddy, Eatela Rajender, Pocharam Srinivasa Reddy, T Padma Rao, P Mahender Reddy, Jogu Ramanna and G Jagadish Reddy.
The swearing-in ceremony was not without controversies, as Chief Minister-designate of successor State of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu skipped it, in what is seen as first signs of discord between the two “regional satraps”.
Sources said Telugu Desam Party President was peeved that there was neither a personal invitation nor a telephone call; it was said to be a routine invitation from the administration.
Naidu, who was swept to power in the successor State of Andhra Pradesh, is slated to be sworn in as Chief Minister on June eight at a ceremony to be held between Vijayawada and Guntur.
Welcoming the formation of Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised complete central support to help take the state to newer heights of progress.
He congratulated KCR on becoming the first Chief Minister of the 29th state and expressed best wishes to its people.
President’s Rule imposed in united Andhra Pradesh was revoked partially to facilitate swearing in of a government in the state.
However, it would continue to be in force in the residuary Andhra Pradesh till Naidu takes over as Chief Minister.
Earlier, Narasimhan was sworn in as the first Governor of Telangana.
Andhra Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta administered the oath to Narasimhan, who will be the common Governor of Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh.
Hyderabad will be the joint capital of Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh.
KCR started his career with the youth Congress party in Medak district, controlled by Sanjay Gandhi in the 1970s.
He joined the TDP in 1983 and contested against A. Madan Mohan and lost that election.
KCR won four consecutive Assembly elections from Siddipet between 1985 and 1999. He also served as the deputy speaker of the Andhra Assembly.
TRS was part of the United Progressive Alliance coalition government, led by Congress.
The party later withdrew from the coalition, saying that the Alliance was not taking forward its demand for a separate Telangana state.
In 2004, he fought the Lok Sabha polls and went on to become a Union Cabinet minister of Labour and Employment in the UPA-1 government at the Centre.
He resigned in 2006 over the Telangana issue. In 2009, he fought and won the Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha by-election for the TRS.
The party fought the general elections as part of the opposition coalition. TRS secured majority in recent Legislative Assembly elections by winning 63 of the 119 seats in Telangana region.
Euphoria swept the new state with TRS activists and supporters painting Hyderabad pink, the colour of TRS flag, by installing huge cut-outs, banners, festoons and balloons hailing their leader.
Cultural programmes have been planned and a dazzling display of fireworks would be held tonight at People’s Plaza and Tank Bund at the picturesque Hussain Sagar lake to celebrate the occasion.
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SPoT-C Invitation : Nishant Lal, 6th June
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SPoT-C Invitation : Nishant Lal, 6th June
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MHA: why SCs-STs Act not slapped against Badaun accused
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The Home Ministry on Monday shot off a letter to Uttar Pradesh government asking it to explain why the stringent clauses of Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were not slapped on those accused of raping and murdering of two cousins in Badaun.
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“The law is there. It is to protect the SCs and STs from atrocities. It was a clear case of atrocity on a weaker section of the society. We do not know why the state government has not slapped it (clauses) against the accused,” Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju told reporters in New Delhi.
He said the letter to the Uttar Pradesh government has been sent on Monday.
“It was a heinous crime and the guilty must be given exemplary punishment,” he said.
Five accused– three brothers Pappu Yadav, Awadhesh Yadav and Urvesh Yadav and constables Chhatrapal Yadav and Sarvesh Yadav —have been arrested in the case that has sparked nation-wide outrage.
The two teenage girls, who were cousins aged 14 and 15 years, were allegedly gangraped and murdered with their bodies found hanging from a mango tree in a village in Ushait area in Badaun.
The girls went missing on May 2
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Bureaucrats should be role models of good governance: Modi
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With Good days ahead slogan, government is in deep slumber the Delhi city ,the pride of nation is hit by storm. The blocking of the the drive ways by the falling trees on services lanes at planned colonies and electrical supply disruptions therein the government still unable to take speedy actions to clear the roads blocks and trees lay in red tape. When shall the Good days come and this slogan mongering nation when will we fall in line to do our duty. However the sermons go on each day for pampering each other.
Modi government on Monday initiated steps to reorient the work culture of bureaucrats with ministers asking officials to address people’s concerns in a polite, decent and caring manner and be the role models of good governance
“All of us will have to look at ourselves as truly public servants in our effort to change the image of the government, change the image of ‘Babu log’ as people call us,” Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy Minister Piyush Goel told the officers of the three Ministries.He was addressing a conclave ‘Sampark, Samanvya avam Samvad’ (Connect, Coordinate and Communicate) being organised for the officers of Ministries of Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy.
Goel asked the officers to “give people confidence that we are responsive to their needs, we are concerned about their problems and we will act judiciously, in a transparent manner”.
He said that the concerns of the people should be addressed “in a polite, decent and very caring fashion” so that people start looking up at “you as a role model of good governance”.
“I would request you to look at this proceedings with a bit seriousness,” he told the officers, who were given the copies of “My Autobiography” –the second autobiography of Alex Ferguson, a former Scottish football manager and player who successfully managed Manchester United from 1986 to 2013.
“I am getting so many phone calls telling me that three departments alone can add between one-and-a-half to two per cent to the economic growth….We do not have the luxury of time. Result should be evident within this year,” Goel said.
Addressing the officials, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, who was the chief guest at the conclave, said the BJP-led NDA government is for poor and bureaucrats should serve them with compassion.
“We are for poor. They are the new aspirational class. They have given us mandate and we have to serve them. …Compassion and feeling for the people, oneness with the people, duties for the people…That is I think that has to be the base of every officer,” Javadekar said.
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Boletín de Noticias de Nueva Tribuna [02/06/2014]
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Nuevatribuna
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U N condemns gang-rape and murder of teenage girls in Uttar Pradesh and calls for justice
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Statement by Lise Grande, United Nations Resident Coordinator; Dr Rebecca R Tavares, Representative, UN Women’s India Multi Country Office and Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF Representative to India.
New Delhi, 1 June 2014: The UN in India condemns the brutal gang-rape and murder of two teenaged girls on the night of May 28 in Katra village in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district and calls for immediate action against the perpetrators and to address violence against women and girls across India.
Ending violence against women and girls is a fundamental goal of the United Nations. The UN system in India stands united with people across the country to do what it takes to ensure that every woman and every girl can live safely and with dignity everywhere.
“There should be justice for the families of the two teenaged girls and for all the women and girls from lower caste communities who are targeted and raped in rural India. Violence against women is not a women’s issue, it’s a human rights issue,” said Lise Grande, Resident Coordinator of the UN system in India.
“Every girl and woman should be able to live safely, feel protected and grow up free of violence,” stated Dr. Rebecca Tavares, UN Women’s Representative in India. “Amongst the many actions that need to be taken, the UN encourages the speedier application of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, including the establishment of the one-stop crisis centres. The justice system is key to addressing the problem.”
“Many progressive reforms and changes have resulted following the brutal gang-rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi in December 2013 and the historic Justice Verma Committee report,” stressed Lise Grande. “But having the laws in place are only one part of the solution – their implementation also matters as does changing mind-sets. Violence against women and girls is preventable, not inevitable. Sustained implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and the setting up of Special Courts and child friendly procedures for victims under 18 years of age are also key priorities.”
The latest brutal act of violence against the girls in UP also highlights the dangers girls and women all over India are exposed to due to the lack of toilets. Louis-Georges Arsenault, UNICEF’s Representative to India stressed that: “Around 65% of rural population in India defecates in the open and women and girls are expected to go out at night. This does not only threaten their dignity, but their safety as well.”
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Turkey protesters clash with forces
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People across Turkey took to the streets on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of large anti-government demonstrations. The rallies triggered a fresh round of clashes with security forces.
Authorities deployed about 25,000 police around Taksim Square in central Istanbul following appeals for a large rally.
The police cordoned off the area, and used tear gas and water cannons to prevent demonstrators from entering the square. The measures ignited clashes.
Local media report some people sustained injuries and about 80 people were detained.
There were also calls for major rallies in other parts of the country, including the capital Ankara and the western city of Izmir.
A protest against the redevelopment of Taksim Square in May last year triggered nationwide demonstrations against the administration of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Erdogan government drew sharp public criticism in March when it blocked access to online services, including the social networking site Twitter.
Last month’s deadly mine explosion in the western region also prompted criticism of the government over its lax safety measures. More than 300 people died in the blast.
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