Warsaw Chopin airports evacuated
Warsaw airports evacuated after phone bomb alerts
Both terminals of the international Chopin Airport in the Polish capital were evacuated on Tuesday, following a phone call warning that a bomb had been planted in the building, local newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reported. Flight delays are expected, the paper added. Earlier on Tuesday, another Warsaw airport, Modlin Airport, had received a bomb alert; no explosives were reported to be found there.
Iceland PM : He did not resign
Iceland’s prime minister, Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson, has denied reports that he resigned over the Panama offshore scandal, saying in a press release that his party’s vice-chairman has taken the office for an “unspecified amount of time.”
“The Prime Minister has not resigned and will continue to serve as Chairman of the Progressive Party,” reads the statement posted late on Tuesday, which, among other things, lists the achievements of the government in the sphere of economy and praises the reforms initiated by Gunnlaugsson during his term.
The PM once again insisted that he was innocent and denied all allegations that he or his wife were complicit in the tax fraud.
“The Prime Minister and his wife have provided detailed answers to the questions about the assets of PM’s wife. They have never sought to hide these assets from Icelandic tax authorities,”continues the statement made public on Twitter by Richard Milne, a correspondent with the Financial Times.
Gunnlaugsson thereby argues that “no parliamentary rules on disclosure have been broken,”so there is no compelling evidence for him to resign.
AAP demands thorough investigation in to Panam secret accounts
The leaked data from the Panama papers covering nearly 40 years of India related files of unaccounted money parked by way of purchase of secret companies in tax havens is a major revelation and is slated to reveal certain uncomfortable facts for the ruling BJP and the Congress in opposition.
The usual objective of parking funds in a tax heaven like Panama is to conceal ‘beneficial ownership’- that is non-disclosure of those who finally benefit from the income or assets of such an entity. The unaccounted money spend in election campaigns by some parties may be one of the beneficiaries of this- a fact which needs to be further investigated.
The political and terror nexus of the beneficiaries of these entities would be something which people the nation are eagerly waiting to know. Concealing income from authorities, parking of illicit money abroad, non-disclosure of an overseas asset etc. should be dealt with the strictest possible action. Multiple provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act,the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Income-Tax Act appear to be attracted in this case.
Film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, DLF owner K P Singh and nine members of his family, the promoters of Apollo Tyres, promoters of Indiabulls, Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani are some of the high and mighty who have been named in this. Two politicians who are leaders of BJP – ShishirBajoria and Anurag Kejriwal are also named in the list.
Also, the name of Mr.SameerGehlaut’s mother-in-law cropped up. Perpetual Management Private Limited, trustee of the SG Family Trust, is owned by Haryana MahilaCongress chief and ex-MLA Sumita Singh and her husband Jagdeep Singh Virk, parents of Sameer’s wife DivyaGehlaut.
Aam Aadmi Party demands that opaque instruments that are often used to round-trip laundered money back to India must be banned immediately. Funds are routed into India through tax heavens via instruments like Participatory Notes. The SIT on Black Money had recommended banning of such instruments. We urge the Modi government t to immediately plug this loophole and declare such opaque instruments are illegal.
Aam Aadmi Party demands that the multi agency investigation team set by the central government be allowed to work freely and without the influence of the higher ups in the government. The team must work under the direct supervision of the SIT set up by the Supreme Court on black money.
Regards
AAP Media Cell
|
UN expert on the right to housing to visit India
UN expert on the right to housing to visit India
GENEVA / NEW DELHI (6 April 2016) – United Nations Special Rapporteur Leilani Farha will visit India from 11 to 22 April. She will be examining the housing and homeless conditions of vulnerable groups in different parts of the country, as well as legislation, policies and programmes in place or gaps for the enjoyment of the right to adequate housing at the national and subnational levels.
“I will focus on the housing related challenges and opportunities faced by the most vulnerable and marginalized in the worlds’ biggest democracy,” said the independent expert tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with promoting the full realisation of adequate housing and non-discrimination in this context.
The Special Rapporteur monitors, reports and advises on the realisation of the right to adequate housing globally, including by identifying best practices, obstacles and protection gaps. Her work is guided by international human rights law and standards.
“I look forward to engaging with authorities, civil society and residents to better understand how the right to housing is implemented in India, what practical approaches have been prioritised, and what policies, programmes and decisions have either helped or hampered the realization of this human right,” Ms. Farha said.
“I will visit the cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, as well as urban peripheries and rural areas, to explore what still needs to be undertaken to ensure the right to adequate housing is enjoyed by all in India,” she noted.
The human rights expert, who will visit the country for two weeks at the invitation of the Government of India, will meet with government representatives at national and local levels, as well as with civil society, community organisations, residents in urban and rural areas, and UN officials.
Ms. Farha will share with the media her preliminary observations at a press conferencein New Delhi on 22 April at 4:00pm in the UN Conference Hall, UN House, 55 Lodi Estate, New Delhi-110003. Access to the press conference is strictly limited to journalists.
The Special Rapporteur will submit a comprehensive report to the UN Human Rights Council, including her findings and recommendations, in March 2017.
ENDS
Ms. Leilani Farha (Canada) is the UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context. She took her function in June 2014. Ms. Farha is the Executive Director of the NGO Canada without Poverty, based in Ottawa, Canada. A lawyer by training, for the past 20 years Ms. Farha has worked both internationally and domestically on the implementation of the right to adequate housing for the most marginalized groups and on the situation of people living in poverty. Learn more, log on to:http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Housing/Pages/HousingIndex.aspx
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, country page – India:http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/INIndex.aspx
For more information and media requests, please contact:
During the visit:
Rajiv Chandran, UNIC- New Delhi (+91 11 46532242 / rajiv.chandran@unic.org)
Mariannick Koffi (+41-79-444-3993/ mkoffi@ohchr.org)
In Geneva (before and after the visit):
Juana Sotomayor (+41 22 917 9445 / jsotomayor@ohchr.org)
Mariannick Koffi (+41 22 917 9642) or write to srhousing@ohchr.org
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
For your news websites and social media: Multimedia content & key messages relating to our news releases are available on UN Human Rights social media channels, listed below. Please tag us using the proper handles:
Twitter: @UNHumanRights
Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
Instagram: unitednationshumanrights
Twitter: @UNHumanRights
Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
Instagram: unitednationshumanrights
Iceland PM calls for dissolution of parliament
Iceland PM calls for dissolution of parliament amid tax scandal
Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson has asked for parliament to be dissolved after the opposition called a vote of no confidence in the government, Reuters quoted Iceland’s President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson as saying on Tuesday. Grimsson had asked for talks with the main parties before making a decision following a meeting with the prime minister. The opposition said Gunnlaugsson has failed to disclose a conflict of interest over his wife’s company.
Japanese PM Abe to visit Russia next month
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on May 6, a diplomatic source told Izvestia newspaper. They are expected to discuss a range of topics, including the conclusion of the long-awaited peace treaty unsigned since WWII, cooperation in the UN Security Council, including on North Korean nuclear tests, and regional crises in the Middle East and Ukraine. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to Izvestia that Moscow is preparing to host the Japanese PM without providing any details on the time of the visit. Earlier, it was reported the agreement concerning Abe’s informal visit was reached in January during a phone conversation between the leaders. Russian FM Sergey Lavrov will reportedly head to Japan in April to work out the details of the forthcoming meeting.
No comments:
Post a Comment