Latest news with #NationalSecurityProgram
Time of India
26-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
India-UK FTA: Win-win for both; biggest beneficiary will be our services sector, says Piyush Goyal
Delhi: On the India-UK FTA, Union Minister Piyush Goyal says, "...The biggest benefit that this FTA provides is to the services sector. They were sending their employees to serve in the UK for 2-3 years, and during that period, nearly 25% of the employees' income was being paid into the National Security Program, their pension program. But because these people did not stay there for 10 years, which was the minimum required to get the benefits of the pension, the money they were paying was lost... So even at a low 60,000-pound earning, they were losing 15,000 pounds, which is about Rs 18 lakhs per year... Now they can pay that same amount into the Provident fund account in India. So it becomes their saving, it is not money lost, and that will become their pension or their security for the future. It will also earn them over 8% tax-free interest in their Provident fund account. So they don't have to pay anything extra, the savings that will happen because of the double contribution convention agreement... It's a level playing field now, just like the UK employees can get a pension, our people will pay in India and get a pension or security in India. So it's a level playing field even for the UK. It's fair that the money should not be lost for people who are serving to help the UK economy. It's a win-win for both, and I've always said an agreement can only work when it's a win-win for both countries..." Show more Show less
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Unprecedented': How Trump has pushed the limits of presidential power in his first 100 days
One hundred days ago this week, just hours after taking the oath of office and reveling before a crowd of thousands at Capital One Arena, President Donald Trump signed the first executive orders of his second term. With the stroke of his pen, he maintained he could freeze environmental and other agency regulations Congress had authorized. With another, he withdrew the U.S. from an international climate agreement. "You're witnessing the dawn of the golden age of America," he told the roaring crowd. "That's what it's going to be." Overall, he's issued more than 130 executive orders and even more memorandums, declared at least eight national emergencies and engaged in a showdown with the courts that has prompted debate on whether a constitutional crisis is underway. MORE: Trump has lowest 100-day approval rating in 80 years: POLL Driving much of his action is a legal theory advocated by conservatives that the Constitution gives a president nearly unquestioned control over the federal government. Trump and his top officials also contend that he's simply working to implement the agenda that Americans voted for in November. But other constitutional and legal experts who spoke with ABC News call it unparalleled overreach. "This really is unprecedented," Elizabeth Goitein, the senior director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program, told ABC News. "We've seen really broad theories of executive power advanced in previous administrations," Goitein said. "There's been a steady trend over the last few decades towards increasingly broad views of executive power, especially after 9/11. But this is unprecedented and it's different in kind, not just in degree." Trump, in a recent interview with Time to mark 100 days, disagreed. "Well, I don't feel I'm expanding it," Trump told the magazine when asked about amassing presidential power. "I think I'm using it as it was meant to be used." Nearly every day since Jan. 20, Trump has signed executive actions in the Oval Office, often in front of television cameras. He's signed the greatest number of executive orders in his first 100 days of any president going back 88 years. "He's trying to do government by executive order on a whole range of issues," said David Schultz, a constitutional law expert at Hamline University. Following Trump's lead, his administration has carried out a dramatic purge of what Congress had set up as independent agencies, firing tens of thousands of employees, even those with civil service protections. He's also sought to wipe out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the federal government. Trump signed an order to diminish the Department of Education, with the ultimate goal of wiping away the agency established by law. He's tried to effectively end birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the 14th Amendment and has been upheld repeatedly by the Supreme Court. To move forward with his immigration and economic policies, Trump has declared national emergencies that Goitein, an expert on presidential emergency powers, said are unjustified. Despite border crossings being down, Trump invoked the 1798 wartime Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants his administration alleged to be gang members, affording them little to no due process. He invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act in order to impose sweeping tariffs on virtually all U.S. trading partners. Though it is Congress, not the president, that has the power to impose taxes and regulate trade -- and the emergency power used by Trump makes no mention of tariffs. At times, he's used the power of the presidency to pursue retribution on political opponents. Seemingly contrary to his promise to end the "weaponization" of government and the justice system, he's signed orders targeting specific law firms that took on clients or cases he disagreed with politically. He directed the Justice Department to investigate Chris Krebbs and Miles Taylor, two officials from his first term who've criticized him or challenged his 2020 election falsehoods. Trump's harshest critics say some action verges on authoritarianism, noting his open respect for "strongman" leaders, including China's President Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Hungary's Viktor Orban. "Sometimes you need a strongman," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity last September while campaigning. "Our Framers were envisioning that if a president tried to do things like this, Congress would step in," said Schultz. "And right now, it looks like partisanship is more powerful than checks and balances." Despite having Republican majorities (albeit narrow ones) in the House and Senate, Trump has opted to largely go it alone on his agenda in his first 100 days. Republicans on Capitol Hill, so far, appear uninterested or unwilling to seriously challenge him. "We're all afraid," GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of the few Republicans to be critical of Trump, told her Alaskan constituents last month. Murkowski added that "retaliation is real." While congressional pushback has been minimal, a clear clash is underway between the Trump administration and the courts as various groups and individuals challenge his policies. MORE: 6 times the Trump administration has clashed with opponents over court orders Trump has berated judges who ruled against him as "radical left" and called for District Judge James Boasberg's impeachment. He and Vice President JD Vance openly floated the idea of not abiding by lower court orders -- "He who saves his Country does not violate any Law," Trump posted on social media -- though later said they would comply with decisions from the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement in rebuke of the rhetoric -- and though he didn't mention Trump by name, the context was clear. In a major escalation of the administration's standoff with the courts, the FBI last week arrested a Milwaukee judge, Hannah Dugan, and accused her of obstructing immigration agents. An attorney for Dugan said she will "defend herself vigorously and looks forward to being exonerated." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked about the incident, left open the possibility of the Justice Department taking more action against federal judges or even Supreme Court justices if they were obstructing the arrest of anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. "He thinks he can either ignore or bully his way through," Schultz said of Trump's posture toward the judiciary. "And so far, he's got a mixed record at best in terms of being able to do that." Several legal experts and presidential scholars who spoke to ABC News expressed concern that the courts will become inundated by Trump's moves as his second term continues, and the system of checks and balances will continue to break down. "The separation of powers is probably the most important protection that we have against presidents becoming kings," said Goitein. "If this is the new normal, then we can say goodbye to democracy." 'Unprecedented': How Trump has pushed the limits of presidential power in his first 100 days originally appeared on
Asharq Al-Awsat
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Arabia Welcomes Hosting US-Ukraine Meeting Next Week
Saudi Arabia welcomed on Friday plans to host a scheduled meeting between the US and Ukraine in Jeddah next week. In a statement, the Foreign Ministry reaffirmed the kingdom's commitment to efforts aimed at achieving a lasting peace to end the Ukraine crisis. It said Riyadh has pursued these efforts over the past three years by hosting several meetings on the issue. US President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steven Witkoff, said on Thursday he would hold talks with a Ukrainian delegation on a framework for a peace deal to end the war, adding that a meeting with Ukrainian officials was planned in Saudi Arabia next week. Later on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced plans to visit Saudi Arabia on Monday. He said a team of Ukrainian negotiators would remain in the kingdom to work with US partners after his departure from Riyadh. US news website Axios reported on Thursday that senior US and Ukrainian officials are set to meet in Saudi Arabia next Wednesday to discuss efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. The report, citing two sources familiar with the matter, said Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were expected to attend the talks. Asharq Al-Awsat spoke with researchers from Saudi Arabia and the US about the implications of these announcements, particularly in light of recent developments between Washington and Kyiv. Experts highlighted how Saudi Arabia's success in mediating and facilitating talks between the US and Russia has created an opportunity for another mediation effort between Washington and Kyiv. Brian Katulis, vice president for policy at the Middle East Institute in Washington, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi Arabia has previously hosted talks between Sudanese factions due to Sudan's direct impact on its interests. He noted that Riyadh's role in facilitating discussions between the United States and Russia over the Ukraine war reflects its growing position as a mediator. By bringing together opposing sides, including those engaged in direct or indirect conflicts, Saudi Arabia has strengthened its influence on the global stage. Zelenskiy's visit to Saudi Arabia appears to be a strategic move to regain diplomatic momentum following the suspension of US aid and to leverage Riyadh's influence in facilitating peace talks, said Hisham Al-Ghannam, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and head of the National Security Program at Naif University for Security Sciences. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Ghannam described Zelenskiy's decision as a significant diplomatic step amid rising tensions and shifting global dynamics in the Russia-Ukraine war. He noted that the visit comes after a turbulent period in US-Ukraine relations, particularly following last week's heated exchange between Trump and Zelenskiy in the Oval Office, which led Washington to suspend military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv. 'All roads lead to Riyadh' is more than just a phrase, said Saudi international relations researcher Salman Al-Ansari. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he stressed that Saudi Arabia's diplomatic efforts are serious and genuine in contributing to global security. He added that the international community's trust in Riyadh is the result of its consistent and strategic engagement on the world stage.
