Year: 2020

In took a strong four decades after launching the drive for U.S. statehood, Washington, D.C., was poised to take a step toward becoming the 51st state as the House of Representatives on Friday approved its admission.   The initiative passed in the Democratic-controlled House by a vote of 232-180, with no Republicans supporting it. The Republican-controlled Senate is not expected to consider the legislation, and Republican President Donald Trump has publicly opposed the move, noting that statehood would result in electing more Democrats to Congress.   Voters in the city…

In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, renowned columnist and author Gordon G Chang shared his views on the India-China military standoff in eastern Ladakh. “There many explanations but the one that I think is the most persuasive is that China is lashing out from a sense of weakness. “India needs to reinforce its troops along the border but it also needs to hit them (China) where it hurts the most (which is) the economy,” Gordon Chang said about the military standoff in eastern Ladakh.   You got to…

As the fuel prices has increased for the 20th day, petrol crosses Rs 80 a litre mark in Delhi. The opposition party has took as an opportunity to surround the Modi government on this important issue, where the netizens of India has surrounded with the crisis. It is for the first time, diesel prices have gone higher than the petrol price at 79.88 rupees per litre in Delhi.   Petrol and diesel prices in India rose for the twentieth day in a row by making the retail fuel costlier by…

China should focus on fighting the resurgent coronavirus in Beijing rather than “disturbing” Taiwan with military drills near the Chinese-claimed island, Taiwan Premier Su Tseng-chang told reporters.   China’s air force has buzzed Taiwan at least eight times in the past two weeks, Taiwan’s military says, sending fighters and bombers into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone where they have been warned off by patrolling Taiwanese jets.   “China is very big, and has never given up the use of force to deal with Taiwan. China has always, with such a…

IAS officer BM Vijay Shankar, accused of bribery in Rs 40,000 crore IMA Ponzi Scam was found dead at his Bengaluru residence on Wednesday, 24 June.   The police have confirmed suicide to be the reason of his death.   Shankar was suspended from the services last year when he was arrested by a team looking into the IMA or I-Monetary Advisory scam, as per the reports. As part of the scam, thousands of investors were cheated with promises of higher returns. Shankar was later released on bail.   “Vijay Shankar committed suicide by hanging himself. He was accused of taking bribes of Rs 1.5 crore in the IMA scam. It…

Former RAW Additional Secretary Jayadeva Ranade on Wednesday said, “The manner in which China has brought in its troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) indicates that its aim is more than just to probe and test the waters with India”.   “It is either a prelude to something else or preparation for some action that they are going to take,” said Jayadeva Ranade, who studied the Chinese army for years during his service.   Elaborating upon his observation of the ongoing Sino-India crisis over the LAC in Ladakh,…

The AYUSH ministry asked yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved to “provide at the earliest” the composition and other details of the medicine it claimed is for the treatment of COVID-19, ordering the company to stop advertising “the product until the issue is examined”.   Patanjali Ayurved earlier launched the ‘Coronil and Swasari’ medicine, claiming it has discovered a cure for COVID-19. However, the AYUSH Ministry said the facts of the claim and details of the stated scientific study are not known to it.   AYUSH ministry has asked Patanjali Ayurved…

The world’s biggest tech companies operate largely out of their Irish subsidiaries, where they benefit from lower corporation tax than in the UK, new research shows. Social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn also raise a significant percentage of total revenue in the UK, as opposed to the US where tax is higher.  The lower 12.5% corporation tax rate makes Ireland a lucrative base for companies, while the UK has a tax rate of 19% and the US an even higher rate at 21%.  Apple has saved over €16 billion…