KABUL, Jan 29: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Monday the Taliban should “enter serious talks” with his government, after the insurgents and Washington both touted progress during unprecedented negotiations in Qatar last week.
A months-long diplomatic push by the United States to get the Taliban to talk to Kabul culminated in six days of meetings between the US and the insurgents in Doha, but the Taliban have long refused to negotiate with the Afghan government to end the 17-year conflict, branding them as “puppets”.
“I call on the Taliban to… show their Afghan will, and accept Afghans’ demand for peace, and enter serious talks with the Afghan government,” Ghani said in a nationally televised address from the presidential palace in Kabul.
Both the Taliban and the US cited “progress” over the weekend as hopes rise that the length of the negotiations could mean a deal may be in sight which paves the way for Afghan talks.
Sticking points remain, with topics including a ceasefire and a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops, as well as a prisoner exchange and a guarantee not to allow militant safe havens in Afghanistan believed to have been on the agenda.
US President Donald Trump’s clear eagerness to end America’s longest war has also weighed heavy on the discussions.
But Afghan authorities have previously complained of being excluded from the talks in Qatar, and warned that any deal between the US and the Taliban would require Kabul’s endorsement.
“We want peace, we want it fast but we want it with a plan,” Ghani said in his address Monday.
“We should not forget that the victims of this war are Afghans and the peace process should also be Afghan-led… No Afghan wants foreign troops to remain in their country indefinitely. No Afghan wants to face suicide attacks in hospitals, schools, the mosques, and parks.”
– Talks continue –
Ghani spoke hours after his office said it has been reassured by Washington that the talks in Qatar remain geared towards bringing the insurgents to the table with Kabul.
US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad — who has been leading the negotiations — arrived in Afghanistan late Sunday to update officials including Ghani on the progress made.
“The US insisted in their talks with the Taliban that the only solution for lasting peace in Afghanistan is intra-Afghan talks,” Khalilzad said, according to a statement released by Ghani’s office.
“My role is to facilitate” such talks between the insurgents and Kabul, Khalilzad said according to Ghani, adding that the discussions are ongoing.
The palace said Khalilzad also confirmed that no agreement had been made on the withdrawal of foreign troops, adding that any such decision would be coordinated and discussed in detail with the Afghan government.
The Taliban have insisted foreign troops must pull out.
On Saturday Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that until a withdrawal timetable is decided progress on other issues is “impossible”.
The palace’s statement said Khalilzad denied reports that the issue of an interim government had been raised, saying that was “absolutely wrong” and there had been no discussions with the Taliban about any future government in Kabul.
He also confirmed there had been no progress on the issue of a ceasefire.
Afghans have expressed tentative hopes about the talks tempered by fears of an American exit, with Afghan security forces taking staggering losses, the government facing election upheaval, and civilians paying a disproportionate price after nearly two decades of bloodshed.
The Taliban and US officials have agreed to continue negotiations, though no date has been publicly announced. (AFP/RSS)

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday, January 23 announced 2.50 lakh fresh vacancies in Indian railways soon. In a press meet, Railway Minister announced that the new job opportunities for 2.25-2.50 Lakh people has been created, process for 1.50 Lakh vacancies is underway and will complete in next 2-2.5 months. So Railways, in a way, will be providing 4 Lakh jobs.Goyal further added that in next two years approx. 1 lakh railway employees would retire and the process of recruitment is on the way.

While talking to Indian Express an official from Railway Recruitment Board confirmed that the 10 percent EWS quota will be applicable for the new recruitment process in Indian Railways. The first phase of recruitment will be advertised in February and the second phase will come up in May 2019.

Last year Indian Railways have already advertised recruitment of 1.2 lakh posts in Group C & Group D to be filled. The recruitment process for both is on the way and will be completed in August 2019. As for now, RRB Group D answer key 2018 is released and RRB Group D result 2018 is expected to be declared on February 13, 2019.

(Agencies)

BUCHAREST – Romania’s Social Democrat (PSD) minority government may not survive an expected no-confidence vote next month after its sole potential partner withdrew support. Prime Minister Viorica Dancila’s government lost its majority on Monday after a junior ally, Liberal party ALDE, quit over policy differences, leaving the PSD vulnerable as the main opposition party said it planned to launch a no-confidence vote against the government after the summer recess.

PSD officials said on Monday they would try to secure the backing of the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party, but the party ruled that out on Tuesday.

“Our position is clear, we won’t back this PSD minority government. We don’t have and won’t have any deal with PSD to help them stay afloat… There’s no logical reason to do that,” ethnic Hungarian UDMR party deputy Attila Korodi told Reuters.

EU and U.S. authorities have strongly criticized the governing alliance for an overhaul of Romania’s judiciary that they say threatens the rule of law, and for watering down anti-graft legislation.

Voters turned on the government in European parliament elections in May, with the PSD’s support almost halving while ALDE was unable to reach the threshold to enter the assembly.

Korodi said the UDMR would back a government made up of opposition parties until the next general election in 2020.

With 31 parliamentary seats, the UDMR could have ensured the PSD has a slim but functioning majority. The PSD is now 25 seats short of a majority.

Other smaller opposition parties have said they want to bring the government down and the biggest opposition party, the centrist National Liberal Party (PNL) said it was preparing to draft a no-confidence vote to try to topple the government.

“We will be gathering signatures to back a censure motion as of next week,” said PNL president Ludovic Orban. “We will file it once we garner 233 signatures, to be sure there’s a clear majority able to bring Dancila’s government down.”

A government can be toppled if a majority of Romania’s 233 members of parliament vote to back the no-confidence motion.

LONDON: Baldwin Street in Dunedin, on New Zealand’s south island, has a confirmed gradient of 35% at its steepest but residents of Harlech say their challenger, Ffordd Pen Llech, is steeper at 36%.

But it isn’t just about the gradient – a street must also have houses, be a public thoroughfare and be paved to be eligible for the title. Having passed those tests, however, Harlech residents have sent measurements to Guinness World Records to see if they can claim the title. The Kiwis aren’t impressed at the idea they could lose their world record.

“Whatever happens, this has been brilliant for Harlech and we’re proud of our little lane.”

Venezuela’s government has backtracked on an order that gave U.S. Embassy personnel 72 hours to leave the country.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said that it is now negotiating the establishment of a U.S. Interests Office in Venezuela and will allow U.S. Embassy personnel to remain in the country while talks take place.

The statement said talks about an interest section will have a 30-day limit and if no agreement is reached embassy personnel will then have to leave the country.

President Nicolas Maduro broke diplomatic relations with the United Sates on Wednesday and had given embassy personnel three days to leave the country. But the Trump administration had refused to obey his directive, arguing that Maduro is no longer Venezuela’s legitimate president.

The new decision by Venezuela’s government puts off a potential conflict between both countries.

GAZA CITY, Jan 27: Thousands of impoverished Gazans received $100 payments from Qatar on Saturday, AFP journalists said, after the Gulf emirate brought in over $9 million in aid funds for the Palestinian territory.
Hundreds of people queued at post offices in the Gaza Strip to each collect a $100 bill.
Palestinian media earlier quoted the Qatari ambassador to Gaza as saying the money would go to Gaza’s poor.
“The Qatari grant for needy families will enter Gaza Saturday and be distributed… to 94,000 families,” Mohammed al-Emadi was quoted as saying.
Half the funds would be distributed Saturday and the rest Sunday, he said, with each family receiving $100.
Emadi was not immediately available to confirm the arrangement.
Qatar had pledged to send $15 million to Gaza monthly as part of an informal agreement between Israel and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas reached in November.
Under that deal Israel allowed the grants to go through its territory in exchange for relative calm on the Gaza border.
Most of the funds were to have been used to pay the salaries of Hamas civil servants but around $5 million monthly was for impoverished Gazans.
The status of the funds has been a major dispute this week as Hamas refused to accept them, saying Israel was seeking to change the deal.
Qatar announced Friday that they would now use the finance for humanitarian projects in coordination with the United Nations. (AFP)

OTTAWA, Jan 27: In an unprecedented move, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday said he had fired his ambassador to China, who prompted a political furor with comments about Huawei’s high-profile extradition case.

John McCallum had embarrassed Trudeau’s Liberal government by saying Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou could make a strong argument against being sent to the United States.

Opposition legislators and former ambassadors accused McCallum of unacceptable political interference in an affair which has badly damaged relations between Canada and China.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, was arrested in Vancouver last month over alleged violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

China subsequently detained two Canadian citizens on national security grounds. A Chinese court later retried a Canadian man who had been jailed for drugs smuggling and sentenced him to death.

“Last night I asked for and accepted John McCallum’s resignation as Canada’s ambassador to China,” Trudeau said in a statement that did not explain his reasons.

Veteran diplomats and experts told Reuters it was the first time a Canadian ambassador had ever been officially fired.

Trudeau said as recently as Thursday that he had no plans to replace McCallum, who apologized the same day for his remarks earlier in the week.

But the Toronto Star newspaper on Friday quoted the envoy as saying that if Washington dropped the extradition request “that would be great for Canada”. McCallum, 68, a long-time former Liberal cabinet minister, is not a trained diplomat.

Brock University professor Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat who had served two postings in China, said McCallum’s comments on Meng possibly avoiding extradition had signaled to Beijing that its hard line tactics were working.

“He really made it untenable for the prime minister to sustain him (in his post) for any length of time and he had to go,” Burton said by telephone, suggesting Trudeau should quickly appoint a special envoy to handle the dispute.

Spokespeople for Trudeau and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland declined to comment when asked about the dismissal.

Andrew Scheer, leader of the official opposition Conservative Party, said in a tweet that Trudeau “should have fired his ambassador the moment he interfered in this case” and accused the prime minister of weakness and indecision.

Polls show the Liberals have a slender lead over the Conservatives ahead of a federal election this October.

(Agencies)

LONDON : The number of children taught in academy or free schools in England has for the first time exceeded the numbers in schools run by town and city councils, figures released Wednesday have revealed.
The Department for Education (DfT) said standards are rising faster in many academies than in similar council-run schools.
Education Secretary Damian Hinds hailed the milestone as a decisive moment and urged more schools to consider the freedom and opportunities offered by becoming an academy.
Until schools were given power to determine their own destinies virtually all schools were controlled and governed by local education authorities.
A spokesperson for the DfT said: “Today’s figures reflect school leaders’ recognition of the autonomy and freedom to innovate offered by the academies program, alongside the increased ability to make decisions in the interests of staff and pupils.
“This has included measures such as altering the length of the school day or adapting the curriculum to help every child access a school that meets their needs, interests and abilities.
“More than 8,300 schools in the country have become an academy or opened as a free school, with hundreds of schools making the positive choice to convert to become an academy in the last 12 months alone.”
The academies program was introduced to improve pupil performance and break the cycle of low expectation.
The 2010 Academies Act gave all schools in England the freedom to choose to become an academy and now over 50 percent of pupils in the state funded education system are taught in an academy or free school.
Alongside schools that have chosen to become an academy, some have been taken out of local authority control through government intervention because of educational underperformance.
Also published on Wednesday is an analysis shows in many cases standards have risen more quickly in under-performing schools that have become academies than in similar council-run schools.
Hinds said: “In the past, schools that failed were allowed to stay under local authority control for far too long. Academies have changed all that. Failing schools can now be taken away from local bureaucracies who have not been able to improve them and given to school leaders who can.”
Leora Cruddas, CEO of the Confederation of School Trusts, said: “This is an important moment. School trusts are no longer a small project in a much larger education system.”  (Xinhua)

Of late, Indo-Pacific Strategy has gained currency not only in academia but in the sphere of people inclined to international politics. Indo-Pacific Strategy has been simply understood as a ‘renewed strategy’ of the USA to ‘counter China’s growing economic and political influence’.

The strategy seeks to strengthen the position of USA through an enhanced relationship with its allies in the Asia Pacific region. It includes nations stretching from Indian to Vietnam region. However, India, Japan, and Australia hold the major stake among the US allies in its strategy.

Donald Trump, who at times, shunned for his chauvinistic stance, is accused of idealizing the USA as a nation dominated by whites and who is harsh towards immigrants. Trump also issues threats on slashing the US budget for foreign aid.

Thus, he faces an allegation of trying to isolate his country. However, the Indo-Pacific Strategy, introduced by Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State at the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in 2018, is pushed forward by the Trump administration.

The Indo-Pacific Strategy is not a new concept. It can be considered as a new name to Indo Asia Pacific, a regional strategy USA had developed to counter the USSR during the cold war.

The expression Indo-Asia Pacific was in practice since the 1970s where the USA attempted to control the area in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

Wielding armory and military strength does not render much significance in this age of globalization propelled by advanced mediums of transportation, communication, and technology.

Riding on the tide of globalization, China is expanding its influence across the globe through its aggressive business and trade activities. China has its thick presence in Africa where Chinese businessmen are engaged in commercial farming.

The rising economic power of China is not only a matter of concern for the USA that is determined to remain the number one economy in the world. It is also a matter of threat for countries like Japan, Indian, and Australia.

India shares the greatest threat from China emanating from its shared border with the dragon country. China’s growing strength also means a serious challenge to India that is ambitious of maintaining supremacy in Asia and gradually in the world. India fears that its longtime foe, Pakistan equipped with nuclear power, may join hands with China.

The relation between Japan and China has remained sour in regards to the Senkaku islands in the South China Sea. Both the countries have been claiming the uninhabited island and the dispute remains unresolved for centuries.

Besides the trouble with the Island, the concern for the economic giant Japan, and also Australia is their freedom with the marine movement. China’s grip over the marine traffic and route could severely affect Australia’s trade and business interest.

It is also a matter of concern to the Island country, Japan. In fact, India’s other big concern is also regarding China’s increasing dominance in marine commercial activities.

It is for these reasons that the USA is able to rally around important countries in the Asia Pacific region like Australia, Japan, and India for its cause.

Though for a brief while, Nepal too got mired into a controversy of being a part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy during the visit of Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali to the USA in December last year.

Coinciding with Minister Gyawali’s visit, the State Department of the USA issued a statement stating that Nepal too had a central role to play in the Indo-Pacific region in regards to the free trade. This contradicted with a long-standing ‘non-alignment’ policy of Nepal. Upon return to Nepal, Minister Gyawali made it clear that Nepal had not made any formal decisions to join the USA led Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Even as the country shares centuries-old cultural and religious ties with India and Indian people, Nepal has been so far able to maintain a neutral position when it comes to the relationship between the two neighboring countries.

It has been thwarting protests attempts by Tibetan refugees in the capital city, Kathmandu with a constant reiteration that Nepal will not tolerate any untoward activities aimed its neighbors in its soil.