Trump, Putin to meet on July 16 in Helsinki:
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on July 16 in Helsinki, the Kremlin and the White House said on Thursday, a first official summit that will be closely watched by nervous US allies in Europe and critics of Russia in America.
The two countries announced the details simultaneously a day after striking a deal on holding the meeting following a visit to Moscow on Wednesday by US national security adviser John Bolton.”The two leaders will discuss relations between the United States and Russia and a range of national security issues,” the White House said in a statement.
Trump and Putin have met twice before on the sidelines of international gatherings.
Their summit could irritate US allies who want to isolate Putin, such as Britain, or who are concerned about what they see as Trump’s overly friendly attitude toward the Russian leader.
It is also likely to go down badly among critics who question Trump’s commitment to the NATO alliance and who have been concerned about his frictions with longtime allies such as Canada and Germany over trade.
Trump has long expressed a desire for better relations with Moscow, even as Washington tightens sanctions.
Hanging over relations with Russia since Trump took office in January last year is the conclusion of US intelligence community that Moscow sought to interfere in the 2016 presidential campaign to tilt the election in Trump’s favor.
Moscow has long denied any meddling. A special counsel is investigating possible collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia, which Trump has denied.
Bolton told reporters in Moscow he expected Russian meddling in US politics to be discussed at the summit.
He said he did not rule out Trump discussing Russia rejoining the Group of Seven industrialised countries to make it the G8 again.
After Trump and Putin met briefly in Vietnam in November 2017, Trump was criticized in the United States for saying he believed Putin when the Russian president denied accusations that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.
High-level Chinese military delegation visit India
Chinese defense ministry announced on Thursday that China’s Deputy Commander of Western military region, Major General Liu Xiaowu will soon visit Pakistan and India. Spokesperson Wu Qian said Major General Liu would discuss border issues and collaboration as well as have an interaction with the militaries during his visit.
Wu said that Pakistan and India along with other Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states would participate in the “Peace Mission” joint military drill to be held in Russia this year.
“China is willing to continue to connect through exchange and cooperation in defense and security with SCO member countries on the basis of mutual trust and benefit, and to improve capacity to jointly cope with new challenges and threats,” he said.
The spokesperson added that during the visit, Major General Liu would be expected to meet with the leaders of the two countries’ military forces, and exchange experience on the battlefield-level, contacts, border control, and border defense cooperation.
When talking about Sino-Indian border defense cooperation, the spokesperson said that China and India held a meeting and discussed border issues.
The meeting was mainly for the purpose of practicing yoga together, because the day of June 21 coincides with the “International Yoga Day.”
In addition, the Chinese officers and soldiers also performed martial arts performances with Indian officers and soldiers.
He said China looked forward to the extensive friendly exchange with India and the continuous enhancement of mutual trust to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas and implement the important consensus between the leaders.
Five dead, 20 wounded in Maryland newsroom shooting
A gunman fired through a glass door at a newspaper in the Maryland capital of Annapolis and sprayed the newsroom with gunfire on Thursday, killing at least five people and injuring several others, authorities said.There were 170 people in the building, the publication wrote.
The news channel reports the shooter is white man but his identity is not disclosed. County Sheriff Ron Bateman told Fox News confirmed the detention of the suspect, while local political leaders said no motive was known for the attack at the Capital Gazette newspaper.
Capital Gazette
@capgaznews
Five people were killed and several others were “gravely injured” in a shooting at the Capital Gazette office, according to police. A shooter is in custody.
According to Phil Davis, one of the reporters who was inside at the time and tweeted an account of the assault, the gunman shot through the door and opened fire on staff inside — as others including himself hid under their desks.
Describing the attack to the Baltimore Sun, which owns the Capital Gazette, Davis said it “was like a war zone” inside, a situation that would be “hard to describe for a while.”
Davis said he was still hiding under his desk when the shooting stopped —and police swarmed the building taking the suspect into custody.
It took officers — trained to respond to the mass shootings that have become a regular occurrence in the country — just 60 seconds to arrive on site, according to an official.
Many of the office workers inside the four-story building were alerted to the shooting by the police sirens wailing outside.
A lockdown was ordered immediately.
EU leaders agree on migration
European Union leaders reached an agreement on migration after almost 10 hours of chaotic talks in Brussels over the sensitive issue threatening their union and zone of free travel, as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.
“EU28 leaders have agreed on (summit) conclusions, including on migration,” the chairman of the talks, Donald Tusk, said.
Italy had earlier blocked any agreement at the summit — which was also about trade and security, among other things — unless EU peers met its demands over migration.
As per the agreement, the European Council reconfirms that a precondition for a functioning EU policy relies on a comprehensive approach to migration which combines more effective control of the EU’s external borders… This is a challenge not only for a single Member State, but for Europe as a whole.
The European Council is determined to prevent a return to the uncontrolled flows of 2015 and to further stem illegal migration on all existing and emerging routes.
As regards the Central Mediterranean Route, efforts to stop smugglers operating out of Libya or elsewhere should be further intensified. The EU will continue to stand by Italy and other frontline Member States in this respect.
As regards the Eastern Mediterranean Route, additional efforts are needed to fully implement the EU-Turkey Statement, prevent new crossings from Turkey and bring the flows to a halt… More efforts are urgently needed to ensure swift returns and prevent the development of new sea or land routes… In the light of the recent increase in flows in the Western Mediterranean, the EU will support, financially and otherwise, all efforts by Member States, especially Spain, and countries of origin and transit, in particular Morocco, to prevent illegal migration.
To break the business model of the smugglers, thus preventing tragic loss of life, it is necessary to eliminate the incentive to embark on perilous journeys. This requires a new approach based on shared or complementary actions among the Member States to the disembarkation of those who are saved in Search And Rescue operations. In that context, the European Council calls on the Council and the Commission to swiftly explore the concept of regional disembarkation platforms, in close cooperation with relevant third countries as well as UNHCR and IOM. Such platforms should operate distinguishing individual situations, in full respect of international law and without creating a pull factor.
On EU territory, those who are saved, according to international law, should be taken charge of, on the basis of a shared effort, through the transfer in controlled centres set up in Member States, only on a voluntary basis, where rapid and secure processing would allow, with full EU support, to distinguish between irregular migrants, who will be returned, and those in need of international protection, for whom the principle of solidarity would apply. All the measures in the context of these controlled centres, including relocation and resettlement, will be on a voluntary basis, without prejudice to the Dublin reform.
The European Council agrees on launching the second tranche of the Facility for Refugees in Turkey and at the same time on transferring 500 million euro from the 11th EDF reserve to the EU Trust Fund for Africa.
Tackling the migration problem at its core requires a partnership with Africa aiming at a substantial socio-economic transformation of the African continent…
In the context of the next Multiannual Financial Framework, the European Council underlines the need for flexible instruments, allowing for fast disbursement, to combat illegal migration. The internal security, integrated border management, asylum and migration funds should therefore include dedicated, significant components for external migration management.
The European Council recalls the need for Member States to ensure the effective control of the EU’s external borders with EU financial and material support. It also underlines the necessity to significantly step up the effective return of irregular migrants.
On concerning the situation internally in the EU, secondary movements of asylum seekers between Member States risk jeopardising the integrity of the Common European Asylum System and the Schengen acquis. Member States should take all necessary internal legislative and administrative measures to counter such movements and to closely cooperate amongst each other to that end.
As regards the reform for a new Common European Asylum System, much progress has been achieved. A consensus needs to be found on the Dublin Regulation to reform it based on a balance of responsibility and solidarity, taking into account the persons disembarked following Search And Rescue operations.
Media agencies
BSP Chief Mayawati: BJP failing on surgical strike
Releasing video of #SurgicalStrike is nothing but an attempt by this Govt to distract people from their enormous failures before 2019. If they did it with intention of showing proof, then why did they not release video when strike was carried out?: BSP Chief Mayawati
Glenmark 35th Sub Junior and 45th Junior National Aquatic Championships
Day 5 of Glenmark 35th Sub Junior and 45th Junior National Aquatic Championships
Vedika, Shaon Srihari Nina and Bikram shine in a day of upsets.
5 New records
In a day where the favourites seemed to lose most races. There were some phenomenol performances which lit up a hot day further.
The Girls 200 m breaststroke record in the girls group II category was broken twice. Kareena Shankta of SFI broke the existing record by 3 seconds to clock 02:48.02 in the heats in the morning. Vedika Amin of SFI swum a wonderful last 50 meters to edge past Kareena at the home stretch to set a New National record and win gold clocking a time of 02:43.97. Kareena won silver with a time of 02:44.29 which was a better meet record while Rachana S Rao of Karnataka won bronze with a time of 02:48.06 The swimmers from Girls Group II were 5 seconds faster than swimmers from Girls Group I in the 200 m Breaststroke event
Vidith S Shankar of Karnataka swum a dream race to set a new national record in the 100 m Freestyle Breaststroke Boys Group III. Vidith clocked 01:14.51 beating the record set in the heats by the silver medalist Zainul Hussain of Madhya Pradesh who won silver with a time of 01:15.89. Sanjeevan Kumar Das of Assam won bronze with a time of 01:17.13
Bikram Changmai of Assam who trains at the SAI Glenmark TIDM programme at Delhi kept his nerve to thwart a tremendous assault from Shoan Ganguly of Goa who earlier upset Bikram’s teammate Veer Khatkar in the 200 m freestyle to win gold with a time of 02:10.14 breaking the national record in the process. Shoan bettered the meet record with a time of 02:11.11 while Aryan Panchal of Gujarat created an upset by winning bronze with a time of 02:13.51
Nina Venkatesh broke a 13 year old National record in the 50 m Butterfly Girls group II. Nina held her nerve and did not look back after gaining the lead in the second half of the race and clocked 00:29.48 while Liyana Fathima Umar of Kerala won silver with a time of 00:29.86 while Uttara Gogoi of Assam won bronze with a time of 00:30.27
Crowd favourite Srihari Nataraj of Karnataka smashed a 10 year record by winning the 200 m Freestyle Boys Group I with a time of 01:53.54. He beat Neel Roy of SFI who won both the 50m and 100 m Freestyle events and was the favourite to win the competition. Neel clocked 01:54.72 which incidentally was a better meet record. Sanjay C. J. Won bronze with a time of 01:56.13
Bhavya Sachdeva representing Delhi reaffirmed her status as a champion distance swimmer by winning her third gold in the 1500 m Freestyle Girls Group II adding to her golds in the 400m and the 800 m Freestyle. Bhavya won the gold with a time of 18:28.20. She was followed by Aanya Wala of SFI who swum a well paced race to win silver with a time of 18:38.42 while B Shakti of Tamil Nadu won bronze with a time of 19:11.06
Shoan Ganguly swum out of his skin to upset the applecart and win the 200 m Freestyle Boys Group II event with a time of 01:.59.01 edging past Veer Khatkar of Haryana who trains at the SAI Glenmark TIDM programme at Delhi and the winner and national record holder of the 100 and 50 m Freestyle events. Veer clocked 01:59.39. while Akashdeep Singh of Punjab won bronze with a time of 02:01.59
Saloni Dalal of Karnataka retained the 200m Breaststroke Girls Group I beating a spirited challenge from her stalemate Harshita Jayaram and Giant killer Sharon Shaju of SFI who won the 50 m and 100 m breaststroke Events. Saloni won gold with a time of 02:48.72 while Harshita Jayaram and Sharon Saju clocked 02:49.19 and 02:49.27 to win silver and bronze respectively.
Hitaishi V of Karnataka won a hard fought race with her compatriot Shriya Iswar Prasad in the 100 m Breaststroke Girls Group III. Hitaishi clocked 01:22.13 to win gold while Shriya won silver with a time of 01:22.63. Zahra Sakharwala who trains at the GAF centre in Mumbai won her first medal in the Nationals for SFI winning bronze with a time of 01:26.64
Theerdhu Samdev of Andhra Pradesh won his second gold of the meet by winning the 50 m backstroke Boys Group IV comfortably with a time of 00:34.50. Sanskar Bhuyan of Assam won the silver with a time of 00:36.25 in a dead heat finish with Tanay Suresh of Karnataka who clocked 00:36.28
Sanvi Kumawat of Rajasthan beat top seed and 50 m butterfly winner Manavi Varma of Karnataka to win the 50 m backstroke Girls Group III with a time of 00:36.96 Manavi clocked 00:37.74 to win silver while Kopal Rai of Madhya Pradesh won bronze with a time of 00:38.11
Suvana Baskar completed her individual events by winning her 4th gold in the 50 m Backstroke Girls Group I with a time of 00:31.28 narrowly beating Tanisha Malviya of Delhi who clocked 00:31.66. Shrungi Bandekar won another medal for Goa by winning bronze with a time of 00:31.87 swimming in the outer lane 1.
Nina Venkatesh of Karnataka returned to the pool in 20 minutes of winning the 50 m butterfly in record time to win the 50 m backstroke Girls Group II with a time of 00:31.83. Nina showed no signs of fatigue as she led from start to finish to beat Sanaa Mathew for Kerala who clocked 00:32.58 to win silver and SFI’s
Palak Dhami who claimed bronze with a time of 00:33.01
Tanish George Mathew of Karnataka created an upset by winning the gold in the 200 m Butterfly Boys Group I with a time of 02:06.73 beating top seed Param Padam Birthare of Madhya Pradesh who won silver with a time of 02:09.45 while Sanjay C J won his second bronze medal of the day finishing third with a time of 02:11.12
The last race of the day saw Khushi Dinesh win her fourth gold winning the gruelling 800 m Freestyle Girls Group I. She has made a strong pitch for being the best swimmer in the girls Group I category after winning gold medals in the 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, and 1500 m Freestyle events. Khushi won clocking a time of 09:25.67. Bhavika Dugar of Tamil Nadu
German vessel Saxony missile mishap
A missile failed to launch and exploded aboard a navy ship in a training exercise with technical problem. The Missile warhead created a giant fireball when it blew up on the German vessel Saxony off the coast of Norway. Images taken of the dramatic event show a shower of sparks and debris raining down into the sea.
The navy ship was operating near the Arctic Circle when it attempted to fire a Standard Missile as part of the exercise, the service said in a release.
Fire ball engulfed, after giving the command to fire, the rocket malfunctioned and blew up aboard the vessel, injuring two sailors.
Ship’s captain, Thomas Hacken, said: ‘We were standing in front of a blazing and glowing hot wall of fire.’
‘The sprinkler system on board the ship was immediately activated and the crew managed to put the fire out. Two sailors were treated for shock.
The launch box and bridge of the navy vessel were left visibly damaged.According to a statement from the German Navy, the SM 2 type missile failed to lift off due to a defect in its propulsion system.A Navy spokesman said there were no indications of a technical defect before the firing of the rocket. Another rocket of the same type was successfully launched by the Saxony before the incident.But the overheating could have caused damaged to its electrical or leaks somewhere may left undetected.
German Navy’s chief inspector, Vice Admiral Andreas Krause, said the incident is a necessary risk the navy takes during live-firing exercises.He said: ‘We have to practice realistically, so that we are ready for action in case of emergency, also for national and alliance defence purposes.’
Media agencies
Analysis of Election Expenditure and Vote Share – Southern Region
v In the southern region analysed, only MLAs of Kerala has spent more than 50 % of the expenditure limit.
v Among the Southern States which have gone for elections in the last 5 years (2013-2018), it has been observed that MLAs have spent the most on the vehicles used for campaign. They have spent only 8% on the campaigning through print and electronic media.
Analysis on the basis of Vote Share
v
None of the political parties/ alliances of political parties forming the government have won with more than 50% of vote share
v Among these, Andhra Pradesh has the highest vote share by an elected government i.e. 49.9% while Telangana has the lowest i.e. 43.3 %.
Analysis on the basis of cases related to Electoral Malpractices
v Out of 1356 MLAs all over India with declared criminal cases, 128 have declared cases related to electoral malpractices such as bribery (171E), undue influence or personation at an election (171F and 171 C), illegal payments in connection with elections (171 H) etc.
v Out of these 128 MLAs, 44(34%) are from the Southern region.
v Among these 44 MLAs, 20 are from Karnataka, 11 from Tamil Nadu, 6 from Telangana, 5 from Andhra Pradesh and 2 from Puducherry.
v 41(93%) out these 44 MLAs have won with more than 40% of vote share in their respective constituencies.
Contact Details
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Email:adr@adrindia.org
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Maj.Gen. Anil Verma (Retd)
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adr@adrIndia.org,
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Prof Jagdeep Chhokar
IIM Ahmedabad (Retd.)
Founder Member,
National Election Watch, Association for Democratic
Reforms
+91 99996 20944
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Prof Trilochan Sastry
IIM Bangalore
Founder Member,
National Election Watch,
Association for Democratic Reforms
+91 94483 53285
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Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Election Watch
Karnataka Election Watch
Prof Trilochan Sastry
IIM Bangalore
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National Election Watch,
Association for Democratic Reforms
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Mr. Harish Narasappaharish@dakshindia.org
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Kerala Election Watch
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Association for Democratic Reforms
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“Banking Baithak with a Special Focus on Fintech’s’
“Banking Baithak with a Special Focus on Fintech’s’
(Friday, 29thJune 2018, 3:30 pm at PHD House, New Delhi)
We are pleased to inform you that the Banking and Financial Services Committee of PHD Chamber (PHD) is organizing a “Banking Baithak with a Special Focus on Fintech’s’on Friday, 29th June 2018, 3:30 pm at PHD House, New Delhi,followed by Hi tea.
TheBanking Baithakwould be a platform where Banks will appraise SMEs and other industry members about key relationship between a bank and a Fintech. During the session members and participants can also discuss and resolve their issues with the banks, if any.
The Session will have Senior members from various banks to meet and interact with industry members, SMEs and Startups.
OUR REQUEST
I am writing to cordially invite you and your colleagues to attend this important ‘Banking Baithak with a Special Focus on Fintech’s” an interactive session with bankers.
In case you are not able to attend due to prior-commitments, I request you to kindly nominate a senior colleague to attend this important session on your behalf. Please fill the following details for us to register you. Since the seats are LIMITED & prior registration is MANDATORY, your early response shall be highly appreciated & is expected to reach us by orbefore Monday, the 25th June 2018.
British Queen approves Brexit
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth granted royal assent to Prime Minister Theresa May’s flagship Brexit legislation today, ending months of debate over the legislation that will formally end the country’s European Union membership.
The House of Commons speaker John Bercow said the EU withdrawal bill, passed by both houses of parliament last week, has been signed into law by the monarch, to cheers from Conservative lawmakers.
The EU (Withdrawal) Bill repeals the 1972 European Communities Act through which Britain became a member, and transfers decades of European law onto British statute books in a bid to avoid any legal disruption.
What Football Teaches Us About Migration
Football is more than just a popular sport in many societies. Regardless of origin, social class or skin colour, if there is any sport that can give one a sense of identity and belonging, it is this one. It doesn’t matter if it is played with proper ball or a recycled bottle; when a player scores, everyone shouts “GOAL” with the same level of emotion!
Football is not only entertainment that moves the masses: it is a game that awakens passions and contrasts all around the world. The FIFA World Cup is the best example — for weeks the whole world turns its attention to the games. But we rarely think about the fact that the vast majority of players on the filed are migrants in their professional careers.
In the Mesoamerican region, the national teams of Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama are participating in the 2018 World Cup. Of the 69 players representing these three teams, 46 are migrants. FIFA 2017 statistics revealed that 55% of players belonged to a club outside their country of citizenship. More than 90% of the players of the national teams of Colombia, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland played for a club abroad and of the 100 best players in 2017, 72 were migrants.
Seeing the sport through this perspective can inform a more comprehensive and less stereotyped view of migration. Migration enriches our societies; soccer is an example of this. How many times have the Spaniards of Barcelona celebrated a goal thanks to an Argentine players? How many Costa Ricans questioned who scored in Brazil 2014 was born in Nicaragua? How many times has football helped us stop seeing labels
In spite of the fact that racism and xenophobia have taken place in soccer contexts, it’s better to think of it as a tool to unite and not an occasion to discriminate. As something that aids in integration of people and the creation of links with the communities, football is a platform for promoting human rights. Common interests and values can be shared through sport by encouraging intercultural dialogue and strengthening tolerance among players and fans.
OMG! Promoting Child Safety Online, Empowering Future Digital Citizens seminar begins
With nearly 1.2 millions schools and 40% of India population are in the bracket of child and with 480 million internet users, India represents m the second largets online group after China and over 28 millions of these users are school-going children.School going are considered to be in the highest risk category due to a combination of increased internet access and low personal resilience with parents and children lacking the knowledge to protest themselves against cyber threats.
With spread of ICTs,online risk to children the seminar is arranged by NCPCR, UNICEF,UNODC,Cyber Peace for day to deliberate on robust preventive mechanism are put in place in presence of Mr Eric Falt Director UNESCO, Ms Stuti Kacker Chairperson NCPCR, Ms Suruchi Pant, Dy Rep,UNODC and Chief Guest Dr Gulshan Rai, Chief Information security office PM’s office, GOI.
OMG at UNESCO Auditorium National Child commission Ms Stuti Kackar speak at Inaugural address
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