RAIPUR: Slamming the Bharatiya Janata Party-led states, Chhattisgarh chief minister and senior Congress leader BhupeshBaghel on Saturday asked whether inter-religion marriages of family members of BJP leaders will fall under the definition of ‘love jihad‘.
“Family members of several BJP leaders have also performed inter-religion marriages. I ask BJP leaders if these marriages come under the definition of ‘love jihad’?” asked Baghel while addressing media here.
The statement comes after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath had recently announced that his government will bring a strict law to curb “love jihad” and forcible religious conversion. Prior to this, Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in Madhya Pradesh had said the state would soon have a law against ‘love jihad’.
Will inter-religion marriages of family members of BJP leaders be called love jihad, asks Chhattisgarh CM
Alumnus, author Michael Branch ’85 participates in College book talk
Thursday Nov. 12, The College of William and Mary’s Earl Gregg Swem Library held a book talk with author and alumnus Michael Branch ’85. Branch graduated with degrees in English and psychology from the College, and is currently a professor of literature and environment at the University of Nevada, Reno. Branch dialed into the Zoom call from his home in the outskirts of Reno, with a digitized image of a dry lake as his background, a significant focal point of his career in writing.
At the beginning of the talk, Branch started by discussing the dried-out desert lake in many of his works, including his most recent books “How to Cuss in Western,” “Rants from the Hill,” and “Raising Wild.” These three collections of essays were the spotlight of Branch’s book talk. Branch read two essays from “Rants from the Hill,” “My Home Lake,” and “A Visit from the Mary Kay Lady.” After the readings, Branch answered questions from the audience.
Branch’s freshman year roommate and life-long friend Tracy Melton introduced him at the book talk and detailed his experiences with Branch’s writing process.
“I’ve really enjoyed the personal essays that he described today,” Melton said. “We are able to get together with family and other W&M friends every year or two. I’ve heard some of the stories before they’ve made it into print, which is compelling to see the process of making the stories. I’ve been to his house and know his wife and daughters, so they feel like family stories. I can hear him telling the story, which makes them even more compelling to me.”
“I believe that writing is all about surprise. And I believe that as a reader, if you’re not surprised, you’re not energized.”
One attendee, Cathy Boyd, shared how she joined the talk to support her friend Dean of University Libraries Carrie Cooper, who moderated the event, and the luring nature of Branch’s titles.
“I am here because of a friend of Carrie Cooper,” Boyd said. “She posted the information on Facebook this morning and because I trust her, I signed up. I admit I was also lured by the title, How To Cuss In Western.”
Branch was inspired to title his book “How to Cuss in Western” by a swear jar he had while raising his kids. This jar provoked him to think about how people in the old West would cuss. Eventually the jar influenced his essay “How To Cuss in Western,” then became the title of the whole collection.
Branch recommends his earlier book, “Rants from the Hill,” for college students.
“The narrative voice of that book is not only funny but also cantankerous,” Branch said. “College students should be engaged in questioning received wisdom, refusing to take things at second hand from other people. My narrator in that book is similarly resistant. He’s a guy who doesn’t have much interest in a ‘normal’ way of living and I hope this narrative voice helps to liberate some space in the reader’s mind — to remind us that there are as many ways to live as there are individual people.”
“I was a first-generation college student and I would have never gone on to graduate school if I hadn’t had the experience I had at William & Mary.”
Branch made it evident in his book talk that he embraces individuality in his own writing style. Branch emphasized his writing technique of a pivot. This style leads the reader to believe one notion or to follow a certain narrative, but then pivots in a surprising way. This pivot he says, helps keep the reader engaged and the story interesting, even if editors don’t like this technique.
“I believe that writing is all about surprise,” Branch said. “And I believe that as a reader, if you’re not surprised, you’re not energized.”
This surprise pivot in his writing seemed to manifest itself in his personal life as well. Branch ended his book talk discussing his time at the College as an undergraduate student. He reflected about how in the beginning of his four years, he did not fully appreciate the College experience. However, in retrospect he is forever grateful for his time here.
“I look back and I really wish I could go back and be more appreciative in the moment,” Branch said. “You go out into the world and you realize you don’t meet people like this everywhere. Special people in a special place at a special time. It’s things that you really take for granted when you’re younger and it took me a long time to come around to this, but I attribute everything that I went on to do to my experience. I was a first-generation college student and I would have never gone on to graduate school if I hadn’t had the experience I had at William & Mary.”
UK and Canada agree post-Brexit trade can continue under same terms as European Union deal
he UK has reached a post-Brexit trade deal with Canada that will allow the country to continue trading under the same terms as the current European Union agreement.
Boris Johnson and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau sealed the “agreement in principle” in a video call on Saturday, the Department for International Trade (DIT) said.
According to the UK Government, the agreement will pave the way for negotiations to start next year on a new comprehensive deal with Canada.
When the Brexit transition period ends on December 31 the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement reached by the EU and Canada after seven years of negotations, will roll on into the new year.
As the terms remain the same, the agreement does not give any new benefits to business.
But industry groups expressed relief that their businesses will not face higher trade tariffs with Canada next month as they warned that similar deals were urgently needed.
Mr Johnson said the extension was “a fantastic agreement for Britain”, adding: “Our negotiators have been working flat out to secure trade deals for the UK and from as early next year we have agreed to start work on a new, bespoke trade deal with Canada that will go even further in meeting the needs of our economy.”
Brexit briefing: 40 days until the end of the transition period
Speaking during the video call, which also included International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and her counterpart Mary NG, Mr Trudeau said the deal meant that “now we get to continue to work on a bespoke agreement, a comprehensive agreement over the coming years that will really maximise our trade opportunities and boost things for everyone”.
Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry welcomed the “necessary” deal.
“It is now vital that Boris Johnson and Liz Truss show the same urgency in securing the other 14 outstanding continuity agreements with countries like Mexico, Ghana and Singapore, where a total of £60 billion of UK trade is still at risk, and time is beginning to run out,” she added.
British Chambers of Commerce director general Adam Marshall said the deal “will be warmly welcomed” but warned that similar continuity deals were urgently needed with other key markets, including Turkey and Singapore, to avoid “a damaging cliff edge for both importers and exporters”.
He repeated his call for a deal to be struck with the EU, describing that as the “single most critical trade agreement our business communities need”.
Federation of Small Businesses chairman Mike Cherry added: “There was always a danger that the end of the transition period would mean losing wider international market access that we enjoyed as part of EU membership.
“The fact that this new agreement upholds the small business chapter that was previously in place is very welcome. We look forward to such chapters being at the centre of all future UK trade deals.”
Confederation of British Industry director-general Josh Hardie said it was “great news for businesses” and that the agreement can “lay the foundations for an even deeper trade agreement”.
Before it is formally signed, the UK-Canada Trade Continuity Agreement will be subject to final legal checks.
Additional reporting by PA Media.
EU urges reforms in Bosnia on 25th anniversary of peace deal
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — The European Union’s foreign policy chief used the 25th anniversary of the peace agreement that ended the Bosnian War to urge Bosnia’s political leaders to overcome their persistent ethnic divisions and prepare their nation to join the EU fold.
“We have to commemorate the past, but we have to look to the future,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a visit to Sarajevo for Saturday’s anniversary, adding that the U.S.-brokered peace agreement for Bosnia concluded “one of the most shameful episodes in the modern history of Europe.”
The peace agreement, initialed at a U.S. Air Force base outside Dayton, Ohio on Nov. 21, 2015 and formally signed in Paris a few weeks later, ended the 44-month war in which Bosnia’s three main ethnic factions — Muslim Bosniaks, Catholic Croats and Orthodox Christian Serbs — fought for control after the break-up of Yugoslavia.
Over 100,000 people were killed during the war, most of them Bosniaks, and upward of 2 million, or over half of Bosnia’s population, were driven from their homes during the conflict.
While it stopped the bloodshed, the peace agreement formalized the ethnic divisions in Bosnia by establishing a complicated and fragmented state structure linked by weak joint institutions. Over the years, the country’s complex administrative system has allowed its ethno-nationalist elites to take full control of all levers of government and plunder public coffers with impunity while engaging in the same arguments that led to the war.
The European Union accepted Bosnia’s membership application in 2016, but its government has failed to make the deep structural reforms required before the country can move forward with the process of joining the EU. The bloc expects to see changes in how Bosnia’s judiciary and economy are run, intensified efforts to fight corruption, the safeguarding of human rights, among other reforms.
The EU priorities are largely shared by Bosnia’s citizens, but continue to be sidelined by their ethnic leaders under the cover of nationalist rhetoric.
After meeting with members of the country’s tripartite presidency, Borrell said Bosnia’s “future is European” but that in order to get there “authorities must step up their efforts to deliver on the reform priorities.”
EU Says Brexit Deal With UK ’95% Agreed’ Even as Sticking Points Remain, Report Suggests
The European Union believes that a Brexit deal with the UK is “95 percent agreed” but remains anxious over the possibility of talks once again hitting a wall, according to revelations by Sky News.
According to the news outlet, which claims to have acquired “confidential notes,” there is a consensus within Brussels that a deal is well within reaching distance, but there is uncertainty as to whether the deal will be struck due to remaining disagreements with London.
The notes were allegedly from a meeting between the EU’s chief diplomats that was held in Brussels on the morning of Friday, November 20.
The European Commission’s Secretary General, Ilze Juhansone, who was standing in for Michel Barnier, the EU’s Brexit negotiator who is self-isolating with Covid-19, said according to the notes that the legal text of a trade deal with the UK was “finalised … covering almost all subjects.”
However, sticking points persist in three areas well known to be causes of contention between London and Brussels: fisheries, governance and competition rules.
“On these matters, the UK has not made significant moves,” Ms. Juhansone told the meeting according to the notes, adding that “there will be no economic partnership” in the absence of an agreement in these key areas.
According to Sky, the notes say that Boris Johnson’s government is persisting in its position that fisheries and access to British waters for EU member states must be annually negotiated.
Reportedly, other core areas of remaining disagreement include the UK’s granting of healthcare access to workers from the EU, financial services and intellectual property.
The Secretary General of the EU’s foreign affairs, Helga Schmid, was at the meeting and according to Sky told attendees that the UK had shown “a lack of eagerness to have an agreement on foreign, security and defence policy.” However, she did add that there are gradual changes in the UK’s position regarding this, without providing details.
Ms. Juhansone proceeded to tell the meeting that there was a “commitment to find workable solutions” to the remaining differences on both sides in order to push out a deal by the time the transition period expires, on December 31.
There is some concern that, even if a deal were to be reached that was pleasing to both sides, it would be difficult to get it ratified in time due to the tight deadline. Therefore, proposals have been made to push it through the legislative process in Brussels. One would be for the deal to be written only in English, however France has dismissed this as “sacrificing legal certainty.” Another proposal would reportedly see the EU parliament hold an emergency session between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. Reportedly, a decision is yet to be made on which proposal shall be pursued.
India set to resume talks on free trade agreements with EU, US
India, which has not signed any trade agreement since 2012, will soon revive talks on the possible free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union and the US. Even as the Narendra Modi government opted out of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), it is keen on inking trade deals with other economic blocs, a highly placed source said, adding that India could gain significantly amid a growing anti-China sentiment in many parts of the world.
The EU is India’s largest trading partner accounting for 11.1 per cent of total Indian trade, on par with the US and ahead of China (10.7 per cent).”We are positive that FTAs with the EU and US will benefit India and talks will be resumed,” Gopal Krishna Agarwal, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national spokesperson on economic affairs, said. “India is not opposed to trade agreements with other countries, though now that seems to be the popular notion after we exited the RCEP, we understand the need to remain globally and regionally integrated,” Agarwal added.
After intense negotiations for an FTA with the EU, talks have been stalled since 2013 after differences on various issues could not be ironed out.
Other Asian nations looking at trade deals with the west, Vietnam has already inked one
Vietnam, which is emerging as a formidable competition to many economies, has already signed at a trade pact with the EU.
“The European economy needs now every opportunity to restore its strength after the crisis triggered by the coronavirus,” Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said in a statement.
“India should not waste time now. It must act fast before other countries seal the deals,” Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president S.K. Saraf told Indianarrative.com. “We must revive talks on the stalled FTAs and other trade pacts to cash in on the changing geopolitical order. The current anti-China sentiment in Europe could help India at this point and we must not waste an opportunity.”
Typically, trade agreements including the one with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have not worked in India’s favour but experts opined that New Delhi must remain engaged with other countries not only to boost trade but also to be heard in the global community. Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla’s seven-day trip to Europe just a few weeks ago is being seen as an important development in this direction. On Thursday the first stand-alone India-Luxembourg summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Xavier Bettel was held via video conferencing, where the former underlined the need to expand trade and economic co-operation between India and the EU.
The RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch has not been in favour of multilateral trade agreements. It instead said that India must focus on strengthening the Atmanirbhar India plank.
“India cannot afford to have the Bombay Club which existed in the early 1990s, there is need to remain connected with other countries and that includes trade and economic co-operation,” Sanjaya Baru, economist and media adviser to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said earlier. The Bombay Club, comprised eminent Indian industrialists who while supporting the process of economic liberalisation in 1993 sought protection and measures for a level-playing field.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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G20: EU defends decision to attend despite Saudi human rights record
The European Commission and the European Council on Saturday defended the decision to participate in the G20 summit in Saudi Arabia against the wishes of the European Parliament.
Members of the European Parliament last month called on the European Union to downgrade its attendance at the summit in Riyadh over ongoing human rights violations in the country.
The bill was one of the strongest political messages the institution had ever issued on Saudi Arabia and came on the two-year anniversary of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The wide-ranging resolution condemned Saudi human rights abuses and urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Charles Michel not to attend the virtual summit.
Read more: European Parliament urges EU to snub Saudi G20 Summit
However, von der Leyen and Michel ignored the calls, and are at the virtual summit, which began on Saturday.
MEPs received a letter from von der Leyen and Michel on Saturday, which defended the decision.
The leaders said the summit is “a key forum to discuss and coordinate with the largest world economies the major global challenges we face. Such global coordination is all the more important as the world faces one its deepest crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
EU ‘could not be absent’
They said the EU could not be absent from the summit, which will address global cooperation on COVID-19 vaccines, preparedness against future pandemics, climate change, sustainable recovery, as well as trade and taxation issues.
Read more: Divisive G20 host Saudi Arabia gears up for summit
“Participation at a G20 meeting does not mean endorsement of the policies of the Chair,” they wrote.
“This being said, the promotion and protection of human rights are at the core of the EU’s engagement with Saudi Arabia.
“The situation of women’s rights, individual activists, human rights defenders, or the need for accountability for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, feature prominently in our discussions with the relevant Saudi institutions.
“It is our intention to further intensify our dialogue on all human rights topics including civil and political rights, with the aim of mirroring progress Saudi Arabia has achieved in recent years in the socio-economic domain. We will continue to pay utmost attention to this question in the run-up to the G20 Summit and beyond, in coordination with the EU Special Representative for Human Rights and relevant stakeholders.”
Separately, the Commission defended its participation in comments to DW, saying it was too important not to attend.
Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for the external affairs of the EU, told DW: “We have been raising our concerns and we discussed further how to improve the human rights situation — the protection of human rights in the kingdom — and we will continue to pay upmost attention to this question.”
MEPs responding to public concerns
A foreign policy expert in the Parliament told DW that the letter showed the gulf between the institutions of the EU, and that the parliament had once again shown itself to be more representative of the public’s views.
They said the virtual nature of the conference gave the Commission and the Council a sort of “alibi” to hide behind.
MEP Marc Tarabella, Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula, told DW that the EU was turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
“The European Commission and the Council are clearly turning a blind eye — not only to the horrendous record of human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and to the European Parliament’s clear request for a participation downgrade — but also to all the NGOs, journalists like Jamal Khashoggi, human rights defenders like Loujain al-Hathloul and the women’s activists that risk their lives every day.”
“The EU has lost a big opportunity to be coherent with its values.”
Tarabella said the EU’s “silent diplomacy” was failing to reign in human rights abuses in the country and called for concrete measures against the Saudi regime.
“War crimes against civilians in Yemen, lack of accountability for the state-sponsored murder of Jamal Khashoggi, torture and rape against dissidents, including human rights defenders and women rights activists, go unabated, with no sanctions from the EU of any sort.”
“It is high time to take a clear, public stance consistent with the EU values and interests and impose real costs on the Saudi regime for its reckless, criminal behavior.”
New guidelines on liquor licenses not about religion, race – Annuar Bernama 1h ago 16
There is nothing unusual about the guidelines for liquor licence applications recently issued by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) as they have been introduced in other countries including in Europe, said Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa.
He said surveys had been conducted on the guidelines used in other countries including on the system practised by Singapore prior to their introduction here.
Taylor: Even in the darkest times, God is at work | RELIGION COMMENTARY
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New guidelines on liquor licence not about religion or race – Annuar Musa
KUALA LUMPUR: There is nothing unusual about the guidelines for liquor licence applications recently issued by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) as they have been introduced in other countries including in Europe, said Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa. (pix)
He said surveys had been conducted on the guidelines used in other countries including on the system practised by Singapore prior to their introduction here.
“We also looked at the rules applied in other countries including in Europe where the purchase of liquor is very controlled in terms of the time and place it can be sold. Therefore, it has nothing to do with religious or racial issues,“ he said.
He said this at a press conference today after the presentation of donations to Kuala Lumpur residents’ associations under the Wilayah Cakna 3.0 programme, which was also attended by his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Santhara Kumar.
Annuar stressed that the guidelines were aimed at regulating the sale of alcohol following public complaints on the sale of illegal liquor as well as of alcoholic beverages in small packets at sundry shops and mini-market chains.
“There are also those who sell liquor to minors and school students as it is easily available everywhere,“ he added.
City Hall had recently introduced new guidelines for the application of liquor licence which, among others, stipulate that sundry shops and convenience stores will no longer be allowed to sell liquor from Oct 1 next year.
The move was met with mixed reactions from various quarters, with some linking it to issues of race and religion.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Federal Territories has allocated RM39.75 million to implement the Wilayah Cakna 3.0 initiative for city dwellers impacted by the implementation of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).
“The government cares about the well-being of the Kuala Lumpur community, especially the less fortunate and the needy in continuing with their life amidst the Covid-19 pandemic,“ he said. -Bernama
