Ø Three-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
legislator, Laxmikant
Parsekar who
was Health Minister in the Manohar Parrikar Government, was sworn in as the
eleventh Chief Minister of Goa, bringing down the curtains on a three-day
drama. Governor Mridula Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to
Mr. Parsekar and nine Ministers, including two from the MGP, the BJP’s ally.
Two Cabinet berths will be filled later, Mr. Parsekar said after the
swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan. Independent Avertano Furtado who was
part of Parrikar Ministry has been dropped.
Ø The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), a key
player in the Narendra Modi government’s plans to track down black money
stashed away abroad, is under tremendous pressure to meet deadlines despite
senior positions being vacant. The CBDT, a constituent of the Special
Investigation Team on black money, comprises a Chairman and six members: member
(income-tax), member (legislation & computerisation), member (personnel
& administration), member (investigation), member (revenue &vigilance)
and member (audit & judicial). However, at present the Board has five
vacancies with only a Chairperson in Anita Kapur and Arun Kumar Jain as the
lone member (revenue & vigilance).
Ø Germany has kicked off celebrations marking 25
years since the epochal fall of the Berlin Wall, set to culminate in rock stars
and freedom icons joining millions at an open-air party. Chancellor
Angela Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, is leading three days of
commemorations for those killed trying to flee the repressive state, ahead of a
giant festival marking the joyous breach of Europe’s Cold War division on
November 9, 1989.
Ø Prime Minister Narendra Modi will kick off his
11-day foreign tour with his first stop being the Myanmar capital of Naypyidaw.
Mr. Modi will attend the ASEAN summit and the East Asian Summit and will meet
regional leaders, including Myanmar President Thein Sein and Opposition leader
Aung San Suu Kyi there. But officials refused to confirm if he would meet his
Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, setting off speculation that bad blood between
India and China would spill over on to his “eastern outreach.”
Ø Lt. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar,
who once wrote a paper asking Pakistan to aggressively pursue rapprochement
with India, has taken over as the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI). He succeeds Lt. Gen. Zaheerul Islam, who retired on Friday.
Ø “Iron friends” China and Pakistan today inked
20 agreements amounting to Chinese investment reportedly worth about $46
billion, as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif held wide-ranging talks with the
leadership.
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