UK Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned, bringing an end to a controversial reign amid fallout over her ambitious tax cut policy.
Truss has been in office for just 44 days. Her resignation comes just a day after she had vowed to stay in power.
By Oct. 28, a new leader of the Conservative Party will be chosen.
The Conservatives have a sizable majority in parliament and do not need to schedule a general election for another two years.
Guinness World Records Declares Monday the Worst Day of the Week
Guinness World Records officially declared Monday the worst day of the week. Anyone who has had to work or study or do anything in an institutional setting knows the absolute desolation that the prospect of a Monday brings. After Guinness World Records' move, all of that will no longer be smoothed over into a wishy-washy 'Monday blues' packet. It's real now. Going into Monday means you're going into the officially declared and universally accepted worst day of the week. Now you could blame your general grumpiness on it being Monday. It would be a concern only during the remaining six days of the week.
Oct 21, 2022
India, France Re-elected as President and Co-President of International Solar Alliance
In the third assembly of ISA, Union Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister R. K. Singh was re-elected as the President of International Solar Alliance. France Minister of State for Development Chrysoula Zacharopoulou was re-elected as co-president.
The Third Assembly of the International Solar Alliance was attended by 34 ISA Members ministers. 53 member countries and 5 signatory and prospective member countries participated in the Assembly.
India and France were re-elected as the president and co- president of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) for a term of two years at the virtual meeting of the Third Assembly. Four new Vice-Presidents were also chosen to represent the four regions of ISA. The representatives of Fiji & Nauru for Asia Pacific Region; Mauritius & Niger for Africa Region; UK & Netherlands for Europe and others Region, and Cuba and Guyana for Latin America and Caribbean Region assumed the vice presidency.
Conservative Ulf Kristersson Elected Sweden's New Prime Minister
Conservative leader Ulf Kristersson was elected Sweden's new Prime Minister and was, for the first time, backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats.
Kristersson was elected with 176 votes in favour and 173 against, after announcing a deal to form a three-party government between his Moderate Party, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals, supported in parliament by their key ally, the far-right Sweden Democrats.
The new government plans to cut taxes, begin the process of building new nuclear power plants, cap benefits, tighten immigration rules and give police more powers as part of a policy deal with the Sweden Democrats.
Imran Khan Banned by Pakistan Election Commission from Holding Public Office
Pakistan's Election Commission disqualified former Prime Minister Imran Khan from holding public office over charges of unlawfully selling state gifts received from heads of other nations and foreign dignitaries.
After the consensus ruling by a four-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman cannot become a member of the parliament for five years.
The ruling coalition government lawmakers had filed a case with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in August against Khan seeking his disqualification for failing to reveal the proceeds from the sale of gifts that he purchased at a discounted price from the state repository, also called Toshakhana.
Oct 20, 2022
Braverman Resigns as UK Interior Minister with Veiled Criticism of Truss
Britain's Interior Minister quit with a thinly-veiled criticism of Prime Minister Liz Truss who is fighting to reassert her authority over a restive party and lawmakers who are openly calling for her to quit.
The departure of Braverman, over a technical breach of government rules, means Truss has now lost two of her most senior ministers in less than a week.
Truss had sought to reset her premiership earlier after being forced to scrap economic plans that included unfunded tax cuts that spooked financial markets.
Dr. Prashant Garg Elected as Member of Academia Ophthalmological Internationalis
Dr. Prashant Garg, executive chair, L V Prasad Eye Institute, was elected as a 'Member' of the prestigious Academia Ophthalmological Internationalis (AOI). Dr. Garg became the fifth from India to ever receive this honour. His tenure as a member of Academia Ophthalmological Internationalis will formally commence next year during AOI's next General Assembly meeting.
AOI is a university-centred international organization committed to excellence in education, research and culturally appropriate medical services to preserve and restore the vision of people of the world. Its membership is limited to 100 active members, and they represent the most eminent academicians in ophthalmology in the world, each holding a chair of this prestigious body. Dr Garg becomes the fifth from India to ever receive this honour.
As an ophthalmologist, he has been engaged in the study, research or practice of ophthalmology for at least 15 years and who has published not less than 100 scientific papers, reports, or books is eligible to be nominated for membership of AOI. The members are formally nominated and elected by the existing members of AOI based on merit.
Oct 19, 2022
Over Half of Tory Members Want Truss to Quit
As per reports, Liz Truss suffered a fresh body blow as a poll found more than half of Tory members want her to quit, with Boris Johnson emerging as the favourite to take over.
A bombshell YouGov survey revealed that four in five party activists think the PM is doing a bad job and 55 per cent are convinced she should go, compared to just 38 per cent who back her staying.
Her predecessor Johnson is the preferred option as a replacement, with 32 per cent supporting him while 23 per cent said Rishi Sunak and 10 per cent Ben Wallace.
The brutal findings emerged as the PM held two hours of talks with the Cabinet.
Indus Waters Treaty: World Bank Appoints Chairman of Court of Arbitration
The World Bank appointed a "neutral expert" and a chairman of the Court of Arbitration regarding the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants, in view of disagreements and differences between India and Pakistan over the 1960 Indus Water Treaty.
Announcing the appointments, the World Bank said that it is confident that the highly qualified experts appointed as Neutral Expert and as members of the Court of Arbitration would engage in fair and careful consideration of their jurisdictional mandate, as they are empowered to do by the Treaty.
Michel Lino was appointed as the Neutral Expert and Sean Murphy was appointed as Chairman of the Court of Arbitration. They would carry out their duties in their individual capacity as subject matter experts and independently of any other appointments they may currently hold.
India and Pakistan signed the treaty in 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the Washington-based World Bank being a signatory. The treaty sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two countries regarding their use of the rivers. However, India and Pakistan disagree over whether the technical design features of Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants contravene the Treaty.
Oct 18, 2022
Largest ever Contingent of India Inc Participates in GITEX Global 2022
The GITEX Global 2022 saw the largest ever contingent of Indian companies participating in the event held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. GITEX Global provided a platform for start-ups to explore business and investment opportunities by showcasing innovative products, technology skills and sustainable ideas.
These global platforms provide an opportunity to the Indian start-ups to raise funding amid the ongoing severe funding winter reported in recent quarters. VC funding in India crashed to a ten-quarter low in the third quarter of calendar year 2022 at just $2.8 billion.
The highlights of the event included flying car, the first driverless taxi of UAE, metaverse, mind-powered football, moon 'walk', hologram phone calls and robotic technologies.
Among the participating start-ups, there were 40 start-ups from Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and 32 NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) registered start-ups in the event. The start-ups had new emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Fintech, Data Analytics, and deep tech as core of their businesses.
GITEX Global 2022 follows the landmark India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) that came into force in May 2022.
The event featured at GITEX Global witnessed incredible new launches and cutting-edge developments in areas of 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud & Edge, Cybersecurity, Fintech, Blockchain, Data Analytics and Smart Cities.
U.K. Chancellor of Exchequer Jeremy Hunt Scraps Nearly All Government Tax Cut Plans
The British government axed almost all of its debt-fuelled tax cuts unveiled last month to avert fresh markets chaos, in a humiliating climbdown for embattled Prime Minister Liz Truss.
The shock move by new finance chief Jeremy Hunt, parachuted into the job to replace sacked Kwasi Kwarteng, leaves Truss' position in a precarious state after a series of embarrassing U-turns.
Hunt estimated the tax changes would raise about £32 billion ($36 billion) per year, after economists estimated the government faced a £60-billion black hole. He also warned of tough spending cuts.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer said that no government could control markets -- but stressed his action would give certainty over public finances and help secure growth.
As per Hunt, the most important objective for our country right now is stability.