Author: Samikhsya Bureau

(UNI) UK Prime Minister Theresa May will probably face a leadership battle over the UK House of Commons’ vote on the Brexit deal, scheduled for Tuesday, since 48 no-confidence letters against the prime minster from members of her ruling Conservative party could provoke a contest, local media reported Monday.
The UK lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the Brexit agreement on December 11, after several days of debate. If the deal is rejected, there is a possibility that the United Kingdom will leave the bloc without an agreement, which, according to many experts, could result in an economic catastrophe for the country. The document, which May calls “the best possible deal,” is criticized by both Conservatives and the opposition.
According to The Times newspaper, the 48 letters needed to call for a no-confidence vote may be submitted this week. The newspaper reported that former UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson had outlined plans to renegotiate the Brexit deal with Brussels, while other former ministers expressed their willingness to go for the contest.
Some cabinet ministers hoped that May would delay the Tuesday vote, as she could reportedly face an overwhelming defeat, The Times noted.
The non-confidence vote may be announced by the backbench 1922 Committee of the UK Parliament’s House of Commons, which should receive 48 letters in favor of the motion from Conservative lawmakers.

(UNI) HCL Technologies (HCL), a leading global technology company, on Monday
announced a new five-year contract with multinational life insurance, pensions and asset management company Aegon.
The application services deal will see HCL continue as Aegon’s digital transformation partner, helping to accelerate innovation by establishing and managing a new multi-vendor ecosystem. HCL will also help implement an agile delivery model to reduce Aegon’s time to market and introduce greater efficiencies through improved application lifecycle management and automation.
Headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, Aegon serves nearly 29 million customers and employs over 28,000 people worldwide. HCL has been a strategic IT services partner to Aegon Netherlands since 2004. During that time, it has delivered application services, partnered in transforming Aegon’s data and analytics capabilities, and helped the insurer to achieve digital leadership through a joint cXstudio, which fosters co-innovation.

(UNI) Skoda Auto India has announced an upward price revision across its model range by up to 2 per cent from January 1,2019.
The Czech brand considered a price increment after reviewing its input and freight costs on both domestic and import frontage: an industry wide phenomenon.
Commenting on the revised prices, Mr. Zac Hollis, Director – Sales,Service, and Marketing, Skoda Auto India Pvt Ltd said, ”There has been a surge in the cost of our inputs for production due to significant volatility in the global commodity prices and foreign exchange rates in recent times.We are absorbing these incremental costs all this while but is now considering a price increase of up to 2 percent with effect from 01 January 2019
across its model range.”

Skoda Finance has introduced ‘Buy Now and Pay in 2020’ campaign: a twelve month EMI holiday program for its customers who can also avail attractive schemes like 100 percent on-road financing,interest rates starting at 8.99 percent, special EMI packages, and benefits ranging from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1,00,000.

(UNI) The discovery that more men than women hold positions of power rarely comes as a surprise.

What may be more unexpected is that things are not always as they seem when women appear to have equality.

According to an article by Laura Jones of Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, published by BBC News, countries can sometimes stand out for their efforts at getting women into positions of power.

Take, for example, Rwanda’s appointment of a cabinet in which half of the posts went to women. This move came just days after a gender-balanced cabinet was named in Ethiopia.

Elsewhere in the world, there are many striking examples of women having equality with men, or even outperforming them, in other jobs that offer power and influence.

Walk into a courtroom in Slovenia and the judge is four times more likely to be a woman than a man.

In journalism, Namibia stands out: half of its top newsroom posts are held by women.

It is not difficult to find other countries which buck the trend for a particular job. Half of IT professionals in Malaysia are female, along with six out of 10 medical researchers in New Zealand and five out of 10 engineers in Oman.

That women hold these posts, which are so often dominated by men, is to be welcomed. Yet while it may seem obvious that other countries could learn from these examples, it is often worth asking ourselves where influence really lies.

Fresh in many people’s minds will be the controversy surrounding the confirmation of judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court, despite allegations of sexual assault – which he denied. The Supreme Court – in which three of the nine judges are women – is an example of a system in which top judges wield considerable power.

As in the UK, the legal system is based on common law. Judges are often appointed late on in their careers – sometimes through male-dominated networks – and the law is based on their decisions and precedent.

By contrast, in other countries such as France and Slovenia, judges’ power is far more constrained. In these civil law systems – which are based on written rules – judges have less discretion to make their own interpretations.

And the way in is different too. Law graduates become judges by passing a competitive exam to enter training straight after graduating.

The fact that positions are allocated on academic merit rather than via a tap on the shoulder makes a big difference.

More than six out of 10 judges in France are female, but the position comes with a loss of pay. Lawyers can often earn more working in private practice.

Some of the highest percentages of female judges are found in post-Soviet societies. Like Slovenia, seven out of 10 judges in Romania and Latvia are women.

Under communism the role of the judge was not only poorly paid but much constrained by ideological factors – the real power lay elsewhere. The judiciary in these countries still has a relatively low reputation and earning power.

In other professions, it is often the case that women have gained power following a period of change, or upheaval.

For example, in communist-era Bulgaria, journalism was primarily a function of the state. But after 1989, press freedom grew and many well-educated and entrepreneurial women changed their career path and now have parity in top-level newsroom jobs.

In Rwanda, parliamentary gender quotas were introduced in 2003. The move came after the the destruction of government institutions during the genocide of 1994.

That six out of 10 parliamentarians is now female puts it ahead of every other country worldwide.

But here too there are questions over what real power looks like.

Rwanda’s male leader, President Paul Kagame, has been accused of being authoritarian. Some have argued that having large numbers of female MPs offers little in the way of concrete power.

On the other hand, others have pointed to the wider social effects of women’s presence in parliaments.

This may include increased respect for women from family and community members, and greater ability for women to influence decisions.

The relationship between women and power is complex and it’s difficult to draw strong conclusions from looking at any one statistic – it’s important to always look at the bigger picture.

While we may still have a long way to go, we know that having more women in top positions – even if they’re not perfect – can be symbolically powerful, increasing people’s acceptance of female leaders.

Nonetheless, one thing does seem clear: when things are done the way they’ve always been done, change happens very slowly – if at all.

This analysis piece was commissioned by the BBC from an expert working for an outside organisation.

Laura Jones is a research associate at the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, at King’s College London.

The Global Institute for Women’s Leadership carries out research to better understand and address the causes of women’s under-representation in leadership positions.

UNi XC-SNU 1508

After winning her Miss World title 2018 Venessa Ponce of Mexico was asked how would she use her influence as Miss World. To which her answer was simple when she said ‘ I would use my position ..by being an example. We all have to be kind..it does not cost a thing. There’s always someone who will need what you have to offer. Help any one you can guys’.

(UNI) The current rise in hate speech, racial tensions and identity-based violence is alarming, the UN Special Adviser on preventing genocide has said, highlighting his concern that ‘complacency is still strong’, when it comes to stopping the mass-killing or extinction of national, ethnic, racial or religious groups.
Marking the 70th anniversary of The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in the General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York, Adama Dieng said on Friday it was important to speak out more forcefully.
“At a time of decline of the respect for international human rights, humanitarian and refugee law,” we must commit to turn prevention into reality, he added.
The Convention was adopted on 9 December,1948, by the General assembly in a call for preventative action so that “never again” would the world see the kind of mass-murder perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jews in the Holocaust, during World War Two.
The critical message at Friday’s commemoration was clear. Mr Dieng, Secretary-General António Guterres, and President of the General Assembly, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, all outlined that the atrocity crime and scourge of genocide remains a threat and reality today.

At Isha Ambani’s wedding celebration it was no Bollywood bigs but Beyonce who stunned the guests with her thunderous items like Perfect & Crazy, dressed in gorgeous Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla outfit and it made more than a festival.While Shah Rukh and Aamir could be seen dancing to Lets Nacho while SRK grooved to Koi Mil Gaya.

A lifetime job never seen commonly.A family from UK offers bonanza of free stay and food but to take some exclusive pictures at great sights of US, Australia,Europe and South America and that’s all. Hey, how much remuneration imagine. At the end of the travel the right candidate can fatten the purse with Rs.72 lakhs yearly salary. What else !

Despite the differences and rivalry, the opposition parties will meet on Monday to chalk out strategies and discuss the possibilities to form a grand alliance, against the BJP- led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), in the coming Lok Sabha polls.
The meeting will be held at 1530 hours in Parliament Annex, just a day before the crucial election results from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram are declared.

(UNI) Federation for People’s Rights (FPR) here on Monday urged the government to introduce “Human Rights Education” in schools in the Union Territory.

Federation Secretary G Sugumaran in a statement here said ‘the students need to understand the rights provided in Constitution and other acts and they should also be made aware of the important judgments by Supreme Court and High Courts in the states’.
He said different organizations had already put forth this demand to the government and an NGO “HOPE” prepared text books on ‘human rights education’ with the help of experts. It also assured to print copies for the government in case of any financial constraints on part of it.
However, the government had failed to take any initiative in this regard, he said.

In a novel way at conserving water about 400 hotels in Pune have devised the way out by serving the guests with half glass of water.However, instructions are in place that unless a guest asks for more water it will not be served.This precaution was taken after a warning by civic authorities that water supply shall be curtailed in hotels.

(UNI) A new free digital platform helps migrant workers compare money transfer costs and locate support organisations. ‘SaverAsia’ makes it easier and more affordable for migrant workers to send money home.
The website has been developed by Developing Markets Associates (DMA) in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) through its TRIANGLE in ASEAN programme and supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Global Affairs Canada, an ILO statement said on Monday.
The average cost to send remittances within the region ranges from 3 per cent to 20 per cent, depending on the service provider used. Other challenges include difficulties accessing a bank office and low awareness of available financial services. As a result, many migrants depend on a small circle of friends for financial information, use informal channels, and often queue for a long time each month to send money home by cash.
SaverAsia is part of an ILO global strategy to address these challenges. Marja Paavilanen, Senior Programme Officer of TRIANGLE in ASEAN, states, “SaverAsia helps migrant workers save time, save money, and save for their future.”

(UNI) India sealed a memorable victory over Australia by 31 runs to go 1-0 up in the first test of the four-match series here at Adelaide Oval on Monday.

Chasing a record target of 323 runs, the host was bowled out for 291 runs.

The moment KL Rahul took Josh Hazlewood’s catch in the slip cordon, the whole Kohli & Co. went berserk.

India won first Test Down Under after gap of 10 years. The last victory came at Perth under Anil Kumble’s captaincy.

Cheteshwar Pujara named Man of the match for making 194 runs in both the innings.

(UNI) Senior journalist and Public Relations Officer in the Prime Minister Office (PMO) Jagdish Thakkar passed away on Monday wee hours, after prolonged illness.
He was 74.  Mr Thakkar worked as PRO in Gujarat CMO for almost three decades. He moved to PMO after then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014.
The Prime Minister took to Twitter to express condolences.

(UNI) The BJP said on Sunday that the Modi government has been taking a stern steps against the corrupt in the country while the Congress leaders were busy threatening country’s investigating agency by holding press conferences and bullying authorities.

‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled his promise of fighting corruption. However, a connected a person may be, action will be taken against him,’ said BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain in a press conference at party headquarters here.

Jumping to the defence of Robert Vadra, the brother-in- law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party on Saturday has charged the government with misusing agencies to target ‘citizens’ as a panic reaction over the exit polls, which indicated the win for the party in Rajasthan and an edge over the BJP in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

(UNI) Congress president Rahul Gandhi has written to Congress as well as its alliance governments in states to pass a resolution in the next session to reserve one third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies for women.

‘While Indian women have made rapid strides in all spheres, they continue to be severely under-represented in Parliament and state Assemblies.

‘True empowerment entails that adequate number of women are represented in our Legislative bodies,’ he said in a letter written to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh dated December 6.

India ranks 148th out of 193 countries in terms of the percentage in country’s Parliament, he has said, adding that ‘the lack of adequate representation number of women in our polity undermines our democracy and perpetuates existing systemic injustices.’

(UNI) Drawing attention to ‘sad state of affairs of domestic workers’ in the country, Congress on Sunday demanded that a central law be enacted for their protection and social security.
”Domestic Workers all across India will demonstrate before Parliament and their respective state and districts on December 10 to demand a Central Law to protect and promote their employment and social security,” said All India Unorganized Workers Congress (AIUWC) Chairman Arbind Singh while addressing reporters at AICC headquarters.

He said the AIUWC had launched a postcard campaign through domestic workers across India requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi a Central Law for domestic Workers.
More than 20,000 post cards were sent to the Prime Minister from across the nation during the month of July 2018, he said.

The Domestic Workers of Delhi will gather at Jantar Mantar and will march towards Parliament on Monday, demanding enactment of a central law to take care of their harassment and troubles, Mr Singh said, adding that domestic workers rights also have human rights.

(UNI) Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Sunday ordered an inspection of all shelter homes in Odisha, a fortnight after an alleged sexual abuse of minor girls in such an accommodation.

Condemning the incident of sexual exploitation of girls at a shelter home in Dhenkanal district, she told reporters, ‘I have ordered an inspection of all shelter homes in Odisha.’

The minister alleged that the state government had failed in providing security to women and children.

On Saturday, in a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has sought the intervention of Mr Singh on a petition submitted by state BJP Mahila Morcha President Pravati Parida seeking action against the persons involved in the crime.