Parliamentarians vote for a new leader after Imran Khan lost no-confidence votePakistan elected Shehbaz Sharif to be the country’s 23rd prime minister on Monday, a day after incumbent Imran Khan was ousted by a vote of no confidence brought by opposition parties. Mr Sharif received 174 votes from the house’s 342 MPs after days of political drama that saw Mr Khan, the former cricketer-turned-politician, removed just after midnight on Sunday. In his maiden speech as prime minister, Mr Sharif called for unity to tackle Pakistan’s economic crisis. “If we have to save the sinking boat, what we all need is hard work, and unity, unity and unity. We are beginning a new era of development today,” he said. Ahead of Monday’s vote, members of Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had resigned in protest and demanded a national election. “We boycott this election according to the decision of our party, and we are resigning,” said Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Mr Qureshi had been the PTI candidate to be the new leader and his name remained on the ballot, but after the boycott, he received no votes. The PTI action followed a night of large protests across the country where tens of thousands of Mr Khan’s supporters marched on Sunday evening in cities across the country, with big gatherings in Karachi and Lahore. The PTI party has pledged to keep up pressure on any new administration with additional marches in the coming days. Mr Khan insists he is the victim of an American-led conspiracy because of his determination to pursue friendly ties with China and Russia. Washington says the accusations are baseless. On Sunday night, Mr Khan, 69, said he was the victim of “US-backed regime change” abetted by local traitors “to bring into power a coterie of pliable crooks”. Mr Sharif is widely expected to win the parliamentary vote on Monday afternoon, when he runs against Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Mr Khan’s former foreign minister. Mr Sharif, 70, the younger brother of Mr Khan’s predecessor, Nawaz Sharif, had three spells as chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province and has acquired a reputation for being a shrewd and pragmatic administrator. He is also one of the dynastic political elite that Mr Khan vowed to drive from Pakistan’s politics and he is currently on bail as part of a money-laundering investigation. He denies wrongdoing and says the investigation is politically motivated. He ousted Mr Khan with a broad coalition of opposition parties that range from centre-leftists to the religious right. It is unclear how long he will be able to maintain unity among such a diverse group. Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia programme at Washington’s Wilson Centre, a think tank, said: “These mass mobilisations of Imran Khan supporters will be fuelled by a narrative around the new government being a bunch of traitors and US-backed provocateurs that ousted Mr Khan. “Pakistan’s political environment in the weeks ahead will be partisanship and polarisation on steroids.” Mr Khan’s swift fall from power came after his government was blamed for bungling an already weak economy and falling out with the country’s military, who wield formidable political clout. Mr Sharif will inherit an economy with high inflation, a sliding rupee and a balance of payments crisis.
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Amateur jockey wins on his father’s horse Noble Yeats in last raceAmateur rider Sam Waley-Cohen enjoyed a fairytale finale to his career as steered Noble Yeats to victory in the Grand National at Aintree.
The 39-year-old announced his intention to retire on Thursday, nominating Emmet Mullins’ charge as his farewell ride in the world’s most famous steeplechase. Sent off at 50–1, few would have expected Noble Yeats to strike in the extended four-and-a-quarter-mile showpiece — but he ran a magnificent race as he fended off the 15–2 favourite Any Second Now by two and a quarter lengths for a famous National success. Coming to the last they were the only pair in contention and under a strong drive, Noble Yeats kept finding more to prevail in the colours of Waley-Cohen’s father, Robert. Delta Work (10–1) was 20 lengths back third, with Santini (33–1) another length and a quarter away in fourth. A jubilant Waley-Cohen — who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Long Run in 2011 — said: “Dad has always supported me unwaveringly, we’ve never had a cross word, it’s always been for fun. It’s been a love affair. To my wife, long-suffering, they aren’t all good days, there are bad days in this sport. “We came here thinking the sun’s out, it’s your last ride — go and have a nice spin, no expectations. Just enjoy it. It’s a dream. I couldn’t believe it.” He added: “I have to thank so many people. People said he was too young at seven, but when you’re on a horse that age you can take chances and it paid off. “He jumped neatly and I started to think he was really travelling, I started following Santini and then he just started to go forwards. “He jumped the last well, but then I felt the other horse come to me and I thought he was going to get me. But when I really asked him he kept finding and galloped all the way to the line. “I was overwhelmed when I crossed the line, but then you have a responsibility to the horse so I had to keep him walking and get some water on him and make sure he was fine. As a jockey your race isn’t run until your horse is safe so that was my main thought — then get weighed in and go and enjoy it! “Every day you win a race for your family is an amazing day, it doesn’t matter if it’s a point-to-point or the Grand National. People might say ‘yeah, whatever’ to that but it’s true, it’s a family day out and I’m overjoyed to win. Readmore:https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/horse-racing/2022/04/09/sam-waley-cohen-enjoys-fairytale-finale-with-grand-national-triumph/ Anurag Batra, an entrepreneur, journalistand a media observer is the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld and the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of exchange4media. Anurag Batra talks about the essential role that business schools play in driving the change in today’s economic scenario. The crisis of the last two years honed many sensibilities but the challenges that business leaders face still do not recede. The more we think of the makings of the new breed of assertive and prudent leaders and a resilient workforce, the more we understand the role that business schools play in driving change. “We don’t just need new skill sets, where the role of technology becomes more central in its application for business growth. We also need to cultivate a generation of leaders who understand global realities and India’s place in it, the importance of ESG (environment, social, governance), possess a constant problem-solving mindset, and can lead others forward”, asserts Anurag Batra. Against this framework, the role that business and management education has to play becomes much more nuanced. It has to be the nucleus of the economy. Business schools in India have changed more in the last two years than perhaps, in the last two decades. Anurag Batra identifies that the catalyst was the pandemic but the real change agent was the realisation of the next normal. Hybrid learning, to cite just one example, is here to stay. Its advantages and its requirements will have to be ideated at the strategy stage and cannot be a mere tactical application. Anurag Batra observes that the alumni of the top-ranked universities are making global headlines as they take on leadership roles in very tough times, for very dynamic sectors. “The issue in your hand is a compilation of the thoughts of some leading educators who are creating leaders, along with those of industry experts, on the current day expectations from B-schools. In another special segment, discover the Great Places to Work in, in the IT & IT-BPM sectors. We hope these change agents will pave the way to a more vibrant economy”, affirms Anurag Batra. City officials say efforts are under way to bring supplies into the city during a strict ‘zero Covid’ policyShanghai on Wednesday made some concessions to a child separation Covid policy, in a nod to growing public frustration as it extends a citywide lockdown that left some residents struggling to buy food.
The lockdown of China’s most populous city, which started in parts of Shanghai 10 days ago and has since been expanded to confine practically all its 26 million residents to their homes, has significantly disrupted daily life and business. Public criticism over the curbs, part of Beijing’s elimination strategy, has ranged from complaints over crowded and unsanitary quarantine centres to difficulties in buying food or accessing medical treatment. But the most controversial policy is Shanghai’s practice of separating Covid-positive children from their parents, which came to the fore on Saturday and triggered widespread anger across the country. In the face of such criticism, the Shanghai government two days ago said it would relax the policy slightly to allow parents to accompany children if they were also infected. But children will still be separated from parents who are not Covid-positive, prompting further complaints. On Wednesday, a Shanghai health official said guardians of children with special needs who are infected with Covid-19 could now apply to escort them, but would need to comply with certain rules and sign a letter saying they were aware of the risks. He did not provide further details and the Shanghai government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The comments brought widespread public relief, especially among parents, although some questioned why there was still a need to apply. A hashtag on the subject on China’s Weibo social media platform drew more than 40 million views by Wednesday afternoon. “This is the right thing to do, carry out management in a humane way,” said one widely liked Weibo comment. Shanghai also said on Wednesday it would conduct another round of citywide tests, a mix of antigen and nucleic acid testing. Movement restrictions on residents will continue until it can evaluate testing results, officials said. There are signs that the curbs, which were initially scheduled to last about five days for most, are fraying residents’ nerves. Many are beginning to worry about food and drinking water, as supermarkets stay shut and deliveries are restricted. Some have complained of having to wake up at dawn for a chance at booking a grocery delivery, but finding them sold out within seconds. Others have turned to community WeChat groups to try to bulk buy fruit and vegetables. Liu Min, vice-head of Shanghai’s commerce commission, said that authorities were working hard to resolve bottlenecks and take care of the “basic living needs” of the population. She said efforts would be made to ship food and other necessities to Shanghai from other provinces, and to build emergency supply stations in and around the city to ensure vegetable supplies. But she said the biggest challenge was getting deliveries to homes. Shanghai will also work to “release delivery capacity”, saying the 11,000 riders working for major e-commerce platforms in the city could go to work if they submitted daily negative Covid-19 nucleic acid and antigen tests, she said. The Russia-Ukraine crisis, Covid-19 and volatile stock markets caused wealth erosion and led to 329 billionaires dropping out of the Forbes’ 2022 rich listThe combined net worth of the world’s richest people slipped 3 per cent to $12.7 trillion over the past year, from a record $13.1tn in 2021, driven by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Covid-19 pandemic and volatile stock markets, with Elon Musk, the founder and chief executive of Tesla topping the Forbes’ 2022 World Billionaires List.
There are 2,668 billionaires in the world, down from an all-time high of 2,755 last year, it said in the annual report, which used stock prices and exchange rates from March 11 to calculate the net worth of the world’s richest people. “In all, 329 people fell off the billionaires list this year — the most since the 2009 financial crisis,” Forbes said on Tuesday. Mr Musk, who was recently appointed to Twitter’s board after emerging as the biggest single shareholder in the microblogging platform on Monday, topped the Forbes list for the first time with a net worth of $219 billion. The billionaire, who owns more than 73.4 million shares in the social media platform valued at about $3bn, will “serve as a Class II director with a term expiring at the company’s 2024 annual meeting of stockholders”, Twitter said in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday. In contrast to the Forbes’ list, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index named Mr Musk the world’s richest person at the end of 2021 with a personal fortune of $273.5bn. Mr Musk added $68bn to his net worth over the past year after a 33 per cent jump in the share price of his electric vehicle maker, Tesla, Forbes said. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos fell to number two for the first time in four years “due to a 3 per cent drop in Amazon stock and increased charitable giving, which wiped $6bn from his net worth”, it said. Readmore:https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/money/2022/04/06/elon-musk-declared-worlds-richest-person-as-net-worth-of-wealthy-slips-to-127tn/ Foreign investors are concerned over geopolitical events and inflationary conditions, IIF saysEmerging market (EM) stocks and bonds recorded an outflow of $9.8 billion in March, the first outflow month in a year, as concerns over geopolitical events, inflationary pressures and economic recovery from the pandemic dampened the outlook for investors.
That compares with an inflow of about $17.6bn in February and roughly $1.1bn of flows in January, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF). Foreign investment in EM securities “suffered” throughout the first quarter of the year, with the outflow in March driven by China, the IIF said in its monthly Capital Flows Tracker report. Outflows were recorded from both bonds ($11.2bn) and equities ($6.3bn) in China, while non-China EM debt attracted $8.2bn. One constant through all the ups and downs in capital flows dynamics of recent years has been China, which saw steady inflows as foreign investors built their exposure, even through China-specific shocks like US tariffs and the early stages of Covid,” IIF said. “However, [in March], our tracker shows an important outflow episode hitting China the hardest. This is an unprecedented dynamic that suggests a market rotation.” Foreign investors are being “more selective” with “higher risk sensitivity as anxiety builds over geopolitical events, tighter monetary conditions, rising inflation and fears that many economies will not recover quickly enough from the pandemic”, the institute in Washington said. The Russia-Ukraine crisis has pushed global oil prices to multi-year highs, raising transport costs, worsening already high inflation levels and denting the tentative growth of a global economy that was newly recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic, potentially tipping some countries into a recession. Inflation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) area, which includes the US, UK, Japan and Australia, among others, rose 7.7 per cent annually in February, reaching its highest rate since December 1990. While rising energy costs continued to boost inflation in a majority of OECD countries, food prices also saw a notable spike, the organisation said. Annual inflation among G20 members (including EU states and countries such as China, India and Saudi Arabia) also rose in February to 6.8 per cent, compared with 6.5 per cent in January. Meanwhile, overall economic growth in the East Asia and Pacific is projected to slow to 5 per cent in 2022–0.4 per cent less than expected in October — due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the World Bank said on Tuesday. If global conditions worsen and national policy responses are weak, growth could slow to 4 per cent. China, which accounts for 86 per cent of the region’s output, is projected to grow 5 per cent in the baseline and 4 per cent in the downside scenario, the lender said. One reason capital flows into China remained “stable” in recent years is that foreign investors had little exposure, in contrast to many other emerging markets, IIF said. “While it is premature to draw any definitive conclusions, the timing of China outflows suggests foreign investors may be re-evaluating their exposure and a rotation in preferences could start to take form,” it said. One region which saw strong gains in March was Latin America, with inflows of $10.8bn, as its economies are expected to “benefit from recent market developments”, IIF said. “Moving forward, we see greater volatility on flows dynamics, as some countries have bottomed up and could potentially benefit from higher commodity prices but may also be greatly exposed to risk factors.” IPL 2022: After Dinesh Karthik’s match-winning knock against Rajasthan Royals, Wasim Jaffer posted a tweet appreciating the Royal Challengers Bangalore wicketkeeper.Ever since the beginning of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 campaign, Dinesh Karthik has been in stunning form for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). In their third match of the campaign against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, he played a match-winning knock of 44* off just 23 deliveries to help RCB chase down their target of 170 runs. He came in to bat with the score at 87/5 after 12.3 overs, but put on a 67-run stand with Shahbaz Ahmed (45 off 26) to take his team over the finish line. Former India batter Wasim Jaffer took to Twitter to praise Karthik, who has recently begun his commentary career as well. “The commentator DK can walk the talk,” he wrote in his tweet, before adding “Well played”. His post was accompanied with a picture to indicate that Dinesh Karthik is “not finished”. There have been concerns over Karthik’s form in the IPL over the last couple of seasons. However, he has come back with a bang this year, putting to rest any questions about his abilities. In RCB’s first match, against Punjab Kings, he blitzed 32 off just 14 deliveries to help the team post a total of 205/2, although the Mayank Agarwal-led side was able to pull off a massive chase. Then, against his old team Kolkata Knight Riders, he played a crucial cameo, hitting 14 off seven deliveries to help RCB complete a tricky chase after a top order collapse. So far this season, operating majorly in the death overs, he has hit 90 runs off 44 deliveries and is yet to be dismissed. Countrywide protests flare up over shortages in fuel, gas and other essentialsA state of emergency in Sri Lanka has been revoked after mass protests calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to be removed as the country’s economic crisis worsens. On Tuesday, Mr Rajapaksa issued a decree revoking the state of emergency, which gave him sweeping powers, days after it was declared. Protests were sparked by shortages in fuel and gas, electricity and other essentials but, after spreading across the country, led to calls for the president to step down as members of his own party called for an interim government to take over. The president’s ruling party is now a minority in parliament after 42 legislators from his coalition declared they were no longer affiliated with it. “If we don’t act now, there will be a river of blood in the country,” said Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, one of the latest members to defect from Mr Rajapaksa’s party. “We have to forget party politics and ensure an interim government.” Mr Rajapaksa no longer has the 113 MPs needed to maintain a simple majority. After the Cabinet’s resignation on Saturday, the president invited parties to join a unity government to resolve the country’s crisis. But opposition leaders demanded a change to the country’s constitution to limit the president’s executive powers before they agree to join a caretaker government. As the protests raged on for the fifth consecutive day, dozens of people were arrested and many said they were tortured by security officials. The UN Human Rights Council said it was closely watching the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka, which is already facing international censure over its human rights record. “The drift towards militarisation and the weakening of institutional checks and balances in Sri Lanka have affected the state’s ability to effectively tackle the economic crisis,” the UNHRC said. The president and his older brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, continue to hold power in Sri Lanka, despite their politically powerful family being the focus of public ire. Sri Lanka has huge debts and dwindling foreign reserves, leaving it unable to pay for imported goods. For several months, Sri Lankans have endured long queues to buy fuel, foods and medicines, most of which comes from abroad and is paid for in hard currency. The fuel shortage, along with lower hydropower capacity in dry weather, has caused rolling power cuts lasting hours each day. Mr Rajapaksa last month said his government was in talks with the International Monetary Fund and turned to China and India for loans while he appealed to people to limit the use of fuel and electricity. Also: “Grievance,” “slave labor,” “This is dumb,” “living wage,” “diversity,” “vaccine,” and others.
AMAZON WILL BLOCK and flag employee posts on a planned internal messaging app that contain keywords pertaining to labor unions, according to internal company documents reviewed by The Intercept. An automatic word monitor would also block a variety of terms that could represent potential critiques of Amazon’s working conditions, like “slave labor,” “prison,” and “plantation,” as well as “restrooms” — presumably related to reports of Amazon employees relieving themselves in bottles to meet punishing quotas. “Our teams are always thinking about new ways to help employees engage with each other,” said Amazon spokesperson Barbara M. Agrait. “This particular program has not been approved yet and may change significantly or even never launch at all.” In November 2021, Amazon convened a high-level meeting in which top executives discussed plans to create an internal social media program that would let employees recognize co-workers’ performance with posts called “Shout-Outs,” according to a source with direct knowledge. The major goal of the program, Amazon’s head of worldwide consumer business, Dave Clark, said, was to reduce employee attrition by fostering happiness among workers — and also productivity. Shout-Outs would be part of a gamified rewards system in which employees are awarded virtual stars and badges for activities that “add direct business value,” documents state. At the meeting, Clark remarked that “some people are insane star collectors.” But company officials also warned of what they called “the dark side of social media” and decided to actively monitor posts in order to ensure a “positive community.” At the meeting, Clark suggested that the program should resemble an online dating app like Bumble, which allows individuals to engage one on one, rather than a more forum-like platform like Facebook. Following the meeting, an “auto bad word monitor” was devised, constituting a blacklist that would flag and automatically block employees from sending a message that contains any profane or inappropriate keywords. In addition to profanities, however, the terms include many relevant to organized labor, including “union,” “grievance,” “pay raise,” and “compensation.” Other banned keywords include terms like “ethics,” “unfair,” “slave,” “master,” “freedom,” “diversity,” “injustice,” and “fairness.” Even some phrases like “This is concerning” will be banned. Readmore: https://theintercept.com/2022/04/04/amazon-union-living-wage-restrooms-chat-app/ ‘No-fault’ divorces will mean one spouse no longer needs to prove adultery, unreasonable behaviour or desertion
Unhappy spouses in England and Wales can now end their marriages without blaming each other. “No-fault” divorces will mean from Wednesday, one spouse no longer needs to prove the other guilty of either adultery, “unreasonable behaviour” or desertion. Previously, without such proof, couples had to live apart for two years before a divorce could be granted — or five years if one partner objected to the proceedings. The biggest reform of divorce law for 50 years brings England and Wales into line with Scotland, the US, Australia and Germany. In 2018, Tini Owens lost a Supreme Court fight when she failed to persuade the judges that her 40-year marriage should end. Her husband had contested her claims of unreasonable behaviour. Judges ruled that being trapped in an unhappy marriage was not in itself grounds for divorce. “No one should have to remain in a loveless marriage or endure a long, drawn-out and expensive court battle to end it,” Ms Owens said. “This change in the law guards against that happening and I welcome it.” Couples concocting evidence A minimum wait of 20 weeks will be required between a spouse first initiating proceedings and applying for a legal order. They must wait another six weeks before the divorce can be granted. The decades-old system has led to some couples employing private detectives to find evidence of fault — or agreeing to concoct the evidence. A woman identified as Vicky told BBC radio she and her first husband “had to make up scenarios and situations that we felt were going to be accepted” by the court after they had agreed to an amicable divorce. Her second marriage was to a “very manipulative” and “violent” man who refused to take part in divorce proceedings, forcing her to wait for five years of separation. “And I could have been out of that relationship a lot quicker and a lot sooner than I was,” said Vicky, according to AFP. |
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