Washington: President Barack Obama urged the president of Myanmar on Monday to take steps to halt violence against Muslims in his country and move ahead with economic and political reforms.
Thein Sein became the first head of Myanmar to visit the White House in 47 years, and he and Obama sat down for talks in the Oval Office.
Obama said the Myanmar leader had assured him that he intends to move forward on releasing more political prisoners and institutionalizing political reforms that have already taken place. Thein Sein also vowed to resolve ethnic conflicts by incorporating all communities into the political process, Obama said.
"I also shared with President Sein our deep concern about communal violence that has been directed at Muslim communities inside Myanmar. The displacement of people, the violence directed towards them needs to stop," Obama said....
more
06:21 AM, May 21, 2013
Berlin: Germany has approved new measures to rein in high-risk financial business of banks and to decouple them from retail banking as part of a comprehensive reform to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis five years ago and to minimise the costs for taxpayers if banks were to be bailed out in the future. The Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, on Friday voted with the majority of the...
07:40 AM, May 19, 2013
In their book Flight of the Buffalo, corporate gurus James Belasco and Ralph Stayer beautifully state the politics of change when they say, "change is ...
12:59 AM, May 07, 2013
New Delhi: With the Lok Sabha passing the Finance Bill and Demands for Grants for various ministries, Government on Tuesday said it will continue with its efforts for passage of other bills on food security and land acquisition, which are "equally important". "I don't think it is correct to say that with the passage of Finance Bill, the government's concerns are over or its interest is over. All other bills...
03:42 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: Despite the political deadlock over the coal scam, the key Finance Bill is likely to be passed in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. A temporary truce has been achieved between the government and the opposition to pass the money bills. The crucial Finance Bill can't be delayed beyond Tuesday as per the rules. Government has to pass all money bills within 75 days of the Budget speech. After being...
07:19 AM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: A Parliament deadlocked yet again over corruption scandals threatens Finance Minister P Chidambaram's ambitious reform agenda, dealing a harsh dose of political reality on the heels of his North American roadshow to sell the India story. Two long-stalled reforms - one to lift the foreign ownership cap in insurers to 49 per cent from 26 per cent and another that would simplify land acquisition for factories - were...
08:38 AM, Apr 29, 2013
New Delhi: Committing to carry forward the economic reforms programme in the remaining term of UPA-II, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said the government will take more executive actions in the next two to four months and sought cooperation of the main opposition party to push through important bills in Parliament. Ruling out early elections, the Minister said the government would last for 13 months more and would continue...
12:15 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Can electoral and police reforms bring about change in state of women's safety in India? Dr Kiran Bedi, former IPS officer and now a prominent social activist, shared her perspective in an interaction with IBNLive readers. Q. Just a few days ago when a conference on police reforms and public order was called by Union Home Minister, only 7 Chief Ministers chose to attend with the big names of Narendra...
07:13 PM, Apr 22, 2013
Boston: Vowing to deliver on the fiscal roadmap, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has expressed confidence that elections are not a hitch in carrying out reforms including fuel price adjustments. Addressing an investor meet hosted by Citi Group in Boston, he said while fiscal deficit will be reduced by 60 basis points each year, the current account deficit (CAD) will be narrowed by raising exports. Citi said in a note after...
06:16 PM, Apr 17, 2013
New Delhi: Police need to be provided a better working environment that is "insulated from pulls and pressures", Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Monday as he pitched for police reforms. Addressing a chief minister's conference to discuss a report on public order of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission here, Shinde said: "Public order and police today in India are facing challenges; with the ever changing social landscape and the...
12:35 PM, Apr 15, 2013
What would Chanakya do if confronted with the various crises that beset contemporary India? Using this question as the starting point for his new book, celebrated writer and thinker Pavan K Varma has drawn up a practical and detailed plan, modelled on the Arthashashtra, to bring about reform and change in five key areas that require urgent attention governance, democracy, corruption, security, and the building of an inclusive society. Whether...
06:17 PM, Apr 02, 2013
Four private dailies hit the newsstands for the first time in almost 50 years in Myanmar on Monday, but many others failed to appear, hamstrung by poor financing, archaic equipment and a dearth of reporters. ...
06:45 AM, Apr 02, 2013
BJP on Monday said it is open to all steps by the Election Commission for electoral reforms, including making public all donations to political parties, and maintained it will abide by any change in rules the poll panel seeks on the issue. Asked about reports that the Election Commission and the government have differences over making it mandatory for political parties to declare all donations before it, BJP says it...
03:10 AM, Apr 02, 2013
Four private daily newspapers started temporary publication on Monday, signifying the re-introduction of private daily newspapers in the Southeast Asian nation after a gap of five decades. ...
02:50 PM, Apr 01, 2013
A bipartisan group of senators is closer to a deal on immigration reform to resolve the problem of 11 million illegal immigrants, including some 260,000 Indians, according to a media report. The "Gang of Eight", as the group of four Democratic and four Republican senators negotiating the deal is called, had moved closer to an agreement on a visa programme for future low-skilled workers, Politico, an influential news site focusing...
11:40 AM, Mar 30, 2013
Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh backed down a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement and told CNN IBN that he won't withdraw support from the UPA for now. But he added that the Congress betrayed its allies and elections will be held in November this year. Countering Mulayam's statement, Congress Spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said that the Congress will keep pressing for economic reforms and expressed confidence that all parties ...
05:43 PM, Mar 29, 2013
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who returned from the BRICS Summit on Thursday, has said that reforms are the top priority of the government, but admitted that it cannot be done without the goodwill of its allies. "Reforms certainly have to take into account the fact that we don't have majority in Parliament to approve some of our reforms. So we are certainly dependent on the goodwill of our allies," Manmohan...
07:48 AM, Mar 29, 2013
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has hinted at steps to restore a sense of security in Jammu and Kashmir by April-May. Addressing the National Editors Conference in the Capital, Chidambaram said that violence in the valley will subside and the present phase of uncertainty will end. He did not, however, specify what measures are being contemplated. ...
01:40 PM, Mar 23, 2013
Undeterred by adverse political developments, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said there will be no let up in the government's efforts to continue with the economic reforms and he will go ahead with his meetings with foreign investors to persuade them to invest in India. ...
02:50 PM, Mar 20, 2013
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel, whose party is part of UPA government, on Friday said the UPA-II government has shot itself in the foot by delaying key reforms. Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel said the UPA-II has not been able to emulate the success story of UPA-I. ...
01:04 AM, Mar 16, 2013
