Bhutan goes for General elections

 

Bhutan goes for General elections are being held today

DD NewsIn Bhutan, third general elections are being held today. Polling for 47 seats of National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, will start at 9 am local time. Elaborate arrangements have been made for free, fair and peaceful elections.

The Election Commission has deputed over 5,300 officials in 865 polling stations across the country. Out of four lakh 38,000 registered voters, more than three lakh are expected to exercise their franchise through EVMs today.

Over one lakh 2,000 voters had opted for Postal Ballot Facilitation Booths. Around 83 percent of them had already casted their votes during postal polling held last week. There is a straight contest between Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) and Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) parties in third parliamentary elections. The voters will seal the fate of total 94 candidates, 47 each from both the parties.

Polling will start at 9 am local time and continue till 5 in the evening. The Election Commission of Bhutan has deputed over five thousand three hundred officials in 865 polling stations across the country. Out of four lakh thirty eight thousand registered voters, more than three lakhs are expected to exercise their franchise through EVMs today. Over one lakh two thousand voters had opted for Postal Ballot Facilitation Booths.

Around 83 percent of them had already casted their votes during postal polling held last week. There is a straight contest between Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) and Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) parties in third parliamentary elections. The voters will seal the fate of total 94 candidates, 47 each from both the parties.

ASEM summit begins in Brussels

12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit begins in Brussels today. Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, who reached the Belgian capital last night, will lead the Indian delegation at the two-day summit.

The theme this year is, ‘Global Partners for Global Challenges’. The summit will prioritise issues related to connectivity, trade and investment, sustainable development, climate change, terrorism, migration, maritime security and cyberspace.

The meeting will bring together Heads of state of 30 European and 21 Asian countries, besides top representatives of the European Union and Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Apart from the opening ceremony, Mr Naidu will participate in the plenary session of the summit and have interactions with various stakeholders. He will also have bilateral meetings with the Heads of State of various countries on the sidelines of the summit.

On the first day, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu is scheduled to hold one to one meeting with the King of Belgians King Phillipe at Presidential Palace in Brussels (at noon time). Shri Naidu is likely to discuss the bilateral matters and issues of mutual interest and cooperation.

He is likely to seek more cooperation to strengthen bilateral relations and also to deal with the global challenges through Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) platform. Shri Naidu is scheduled to arrive at Europa Building for Opening Ceremony of ASEM Summit on Thursday evening (around 1925 hrs). This will be followed by his participation in the Special Session with the stakeholders.

During his stay, the Vice President will also hold a meeting with prominent Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and CEOs of Belgium. He will address the Indian Diaspora at the Jain Culture Centre in Wilrijk, Antwerp. Mr Naidu will also pay floral tributes at the monument of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi located at the Governorate of Antwerp.

SAIL Excellence in Cost Management

Shri Piyush Goyal @PiyushGoyal Minister of Railways presenting to Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Chairman SAIL the National Awards for Excellence in Cost Managementfor 1st Place in the category Public – Manufacturing – Mega on behalf of The Institute of Cost Accountants of India

सेल नेशनल अवार्ड फॉर एक्सिलेन्स इन कॉस्ट मैनेजमेंट से सम्मानित

सेल अध्यक्ष श्री अनिल कुमार चौधरी ने केंद्रीय रेल मंत्री श्री पीयूष गोयल से ग्रहण किया पुरस्कार

नई दिल्ली, 17 अक्टूबर, 2018: स्टील अथॉरिटी ऑफ इंडिया लिमिटेड (सेल) को नेशनल अवार्ड फॉर एक्सिलेन्स इन कॉस्ट मैनेजमेंट (राष्ट्रीय लागत प्रबंधन उत्कृष्टता पुरस्कार) के प्रथम पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किया गया है। सेल को यह पुरस्कार द इंस्टीट्यूट ऑफ कॉस्ट अकाउंटेंट्स ऑफ इंडिया द्वारा बड़े सार्वजनिक उत्पादक वर्ग में प्रदान किया गया है। सेल अध्यक्ष श्री अनिल कुमार चौधरी ने यह पुरस्कार को माननीय केंद्रीय रेलमंत्री श्री पीयूष गोयल से नई दिल्ली में 16 अक्टूबर, 2018 को आयोजित 15वें नेशनल अवार्ड फॉर एक्सिलेन्स इन कॉस्ट मैनेजमेंट – 2107 के दौरान ग्रहण किया। सेल आज के प्रतिस्पर्धी माहौल में अपने उत्पादन और वित्तीय निष्पादन को बेहतर करने की दिशा में लगातार सर्वोत्तम लागत प्रबंधन प्रक्रियाओं का पालन कर रहा है। इस पुरस्कार के निर्णायक मण्डल में ख्यातिनाम व्यक्तिव शामिल थे।

Italian Coast Guard rescues migrants and refugees bound for Italy.

UNHCR and IOM appeal to European leaders to tackle Mediterranean deaths

Ahead of this week’s meeting of European Union (EU) Heads of State and Government, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and IOM, the UN Migration Agency, are together appealing to European leaders to urgently take steps to address this year’s record rate of drownings on the Mediterranean Sea.
The leaders of the two organizations warn that political discourse concerning refugees and migrants, particularly those arriving by boat, has become dangerously toxic in some countries, even at a time when arrivals to Europe are declining. This narrative is stoking unnecessary fears, making it harder for countries to work together and blocking progress towards solutions.
“The current tenor of the political debate – painting a picture of Europe under siege – is not only unhelpful but completely out of touch with reality,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “Arrival numbers are falling but the rate at which people are losing their lives is on the rise. We cannot forget that we are talking about human lives. Debate is welcome – scapegoating refugees and migrants for political gain is not.”
“Perilous irregular migration is in no one’s interest. Together we must invest more in regular migration, enhanced mobility and integration to foster growth and development that benefits both sides of the Mediterranean,” said IOM Director General Antonio Vitorino.
With more than 1,700 lives lost since the start of 2018, the rate at which people are drowning while trying to cross the Mediterranean has risen sharply this year. In September alone, one person died or went missing for every 8 people who crossed to Europe on the Central Mediterranean, in large part due to reduced search and rescue capacity.

In addition to the need to enhance search and rescue capacity, UNHCR and IOM have proposed a workable regional arrangement that would make disembarkation and processing predictable and swift.
UNHCR and IOM urge European leaders to focus this week’s discussions on the practical solutions that are urgently needed and ensuring responsibilities are properly being shared among European States. At the same time we welcome strides taken to date by some EU Member States towards responsibility-sharing in search and rescue and post-disembarkation solutions for refugees and migrants.
UNHCR and IOM meanwhile also remind European leaders to remain focused on the implementation of the priorities already agreed earlier in the Valetta Political Declaration and Plan of Action, where States expressed profound solidarity in addressing the root causes of displacement and irregular migration, while supporting countries who receive large numbers of refugees and migrants.
Greater and more effective support from EU leaders is also needed for developing long-term structural solutions, which foster conditions in countries of origin and transit that provide opportunities for people to live in dignity.

Italian Coast Guard rescues migrants and refugees bound for Italy. © IOM/Francesco Malavolta
Media contacts
In Geneva: Charlie Yaxley, UNHCR – yaxley@unhcr.org , +41 79 580 8702
In Brussels: Melissa Julian, IOM – mjulian@iom.int, +32 2 287 71 33/ +32 473 28 11 65

Maeve Patterson, UNHCR – patterso@unhcr.org, +32 470 99 54 35