GST To Create A Unified Market, Make Goods, Services Cheaper: Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Tokyo said that he was confident of the passage of the Goods and Services Tax Bill.

TOKYO:  The Goods and Services Tax will convert India into one common market, prevent tax-on-tax and make goods and services cheaper, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today.

Mr Jaitley said the Congress - the main opposition to the bill - will come on board to help in the passage of India's biggest indirect tax reform bill since independence in the monsoon session of Parliament.

"The whole world is looking at India as to when India rationalises its indirect tax regime," he said at a conference organised by Institute for International Economic Studies in Tokyo.

Failing which, Mr Jaitley said, the government will have no option but to seek for a Parliamentary vote.

"I have been discussing with them and trying to persuade them to accept this idea. I am reasonably hopeful that it will be passed in monsoon session and if they come on board -- my preference is to do it with consensus -- but if that is not possible then I have no option but to seek for a Parliamentary vote," Mr Jaitley added.

The GST Bill - which will create a single national sales tax to replace several state and central levies - has already been approved by the Lok Sabha and is pending in the Rajya Sabha where the government doesn't have a majority.

"The idea behind the GST is to make India into a one common market to have a seamless transfer of goods and services, to prevent tax-on-tax, make goods and services cheaper and therefore provide to any person very large markets that is one-sixth of world population," he said.

Mr Jaitley, who is on a six-day investor wooing tour of Japan, said, "GST will reduce the level of taxation because there will be no tax-on-tax. It will bring prices down, it will enable businesses far more."

The minister said he was trying to persuade the Opposition (Congress) to support the legislation, which originally was introduced by the same party in 2006.

"This was proposed by the previous government. We have accepted it. It has been passed by the Lower House (and now) it requires to be cleared by a two-third majority in Upper House. Almost every political party in principle says it supports the GST," he said.

Mr Jaitley said he was "confident" that GST had support of two-third members of the Rajya Sabha because "almost every regional party supports it because regional parties also come from areas which are consuming states and all consuming states benefit from the GST."

Without naming Congress, he said the party which was in power earlier and had moved the GST bill, now wants to bring some changes to the legislation.

The main opposition party wants the rate of the goods and services tax capped at 18 per cent, the proposed 1 per cent additional levy on inter-state trade be removed and an independent dispute resolution mechanism for states set up. "One particular change I am willing to accept. (In) others there is some difficulty," he said referring to the demand for removal of 1 per cent additional levy.

A committee headed by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian in December last year had recommended doing away with the additional one per cent tax on inter-state sales over and above the GST rate as well as keeping the GST rate at 17-18 per cent.

Burlesque Dancer Gets Support After Jet Blue Crew Calls Her Clothes Too Revealing For Flight

Maggie McMuffin said the airline's policy was sexist.

On May 18, Maggie McMuffin pulled on her gray tiger sweater, black-and-white striped volleyball-style shorts and thigh-high socks, then boarded a JetBlue flight from New York to Boston.

According to McMuffin, a burlesque dancer who uses that as her stage name, the trip was "lovely."

But as she prepared to hop on her connecting flight back home to Seattle, a member of the flight crew stopped her at the gate. Her clothes were inappropriate, she was told. She'd need to find something else to wear or find a different flight.

McMuffin had just two small carry-on bags, and inside them nothing she could swap with the now-problematic shorts.

"I could tie a sweater around my waist," the dancer told KOMO News she said to the flight crew. "I could get a blanket from you guys."

The crew wouldn't budge. She had no choice.

McMuffin darted to a store in the airport terminal, where she found a pair of $22 XL floral women's pajama bottoms that would provide "proper coverage" to satisfy JetBlue, she told NBC affiliate King 5.

She returned to the gate and was allowed to board.

It wasn't until that night that the dancer, who'd been on the East Coast for a performance, tweeted at the airline about her experience: Hey @JetBlue I was catching a connecting flight in Boston after a lovely flight from New York. Five minutes before boarding I was stopped.

In the weeks that followed, a photo that McMuffin took of herself in the suspect shorts has circulated online, drawing criticism from people who side with the airline and say the dancer's shorts weren't appropriate for public. Those who admonished her called the shorts "skanky" and McMuffin "trashville" and a "clown."

She thinks those people - and the airline's policy - are sexist.

"Really, aside from my hands and my face, I had four, maybe five inches of skin showing," McMuffin told NBC affiliate King 5. "Everything was covered, I was not breaking any laws."

But among those who support her, also sharing the photo alongside hashtags like #BootySolidarity and #BootyShortSupport, the incident has become another symbol of what some call an unfair policing of women's bodies in the public sphere.

In mid-May, female TV meteorologist Liberte Chan became the center of a controversy the Internet called "Sweatergate" after she appeared on air in a black beaded cocktail dress because her original outfit clashed with the screen behind her. Her shoulders were bare during the broadcast, and viewers started sending the station emails saying she needed to cover up. A producer chidingly handed her a sweater on air, and until she later clarified the circumstances, many online took the gesture as the fashion police unjustly coming after her only because she was a woman.

A Canadian fitness club drew ire after an Ottawa woman was told her black racer-back tank top was making other gym goers uncomfortable. In a Facebook post, Jenna Vecchio wrote that she felt discriminated against and humiliated for being singled out because of her larger chest.

"THIS IS DRESS CODE DISCRIMINATION," she concluded. "DIFFERENT FIGURES DOES NOT MEAN DIFFERENT RULES!"

In London, a receptionist working for a temp agency wore flats to work, a more sensible shoe than the high-heeled variety required by the company. When she was told she must comply with the rules - and pointed out that a male employee would not be held to the same standard - she was dismissed. So she created an online petition to get her grievances in front of Parliament.

McMuffin told several news outlets that she thought her treatment was equally unjust.

A JetBlue spokesperson told KOMO News that it supports the crew members' "discretion to make these difficult decisions." The spokesperson added: "Our contract of carriage allows JetBlue to deny boarding to any customer whose clothing may be offensive to the viewing public."

JetBlue has apologized to the dancer and offered a $162 flight credit, the TV station reported, but the dancer said she just wants the airline to offer sensitivity training and be more clear about its in flight dress code. Her issue, she said, is with its obvious subjectivity.

"I've flown JetBlue before," she said. "I flew in that exact same outfit the same day, and also if they can rebook me on a different flight, that means it's not any type of company policy. It's very subjective.

University Grants Commission Asks Varsities To Set Up Admission Helpline

The varsities have been instructed to ensure that elements of transparency, clarity and effectiveness of interface are infused into the system of admission instituted in your institution of higher education. (File photo)

NEW DELHI:  With the new academic session being round the corner and admission process already underway in various universities, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all varsities to set up round the clock helpline to address admission related queries.

"With the new academic session to commence soon, it is understood that all universities are getting busy with the process of admission in various programmes of study offered at different levels of higher education.

"The admission procedure constitutes one of the most significant aspects of institutional functions and can lead to a lot of hassle and confusion for students if not carried out with utmost care and clarity," UGC Secretary Jaspal Sandhu said in a letter to Vice Chancellors.

The varsities have been instructed to ensure that elements of transparency, clarity and effectiveness of interface are infused into the system of admission instituted in your institution of higher education.

"One effective mechanism to check different hurdles in the admission process and to handhold the perspective students is to set up a 24x7 helpline in the university which can attend to queries, doubts, confusions and grievances of students.

"The universities should establish a helpline at the earliest with the notification on the homepage of their website," the communication added.

Indian-Origin Gynaecologist On Trial In UK For Allegedly Groping Patients

Indian-origin gynaecologist Dr Mahesh Patwardhan in the UK today went on trial for allegedly groping six of his female patients.

LONDON:  A 53-year-old Indian-origin gynaecologist in the UK today went on trial for allegedly groping six of his female patients, including a mother-of-two.

Dr Mahesh Patwardhan allegedly rubbed himself against women and grabbed them from behind while bending them over an examination couch, Woolwich Crown Court was told.

He is accused of telling one woman to strip so he could see her tattooed behind and another that she would have "lots of sexy sex and orgasms" after he quizzed her about her sex life, the 'Evening Standard' reported.

The women treated by Dr Patwardhan at his National Health Service (NHS) clinic at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in south London, and his private practices at the Blackheath Hospital and the Holly in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, came forward to complain about his methods and he was reported to the UK's General Medical Council (GMC).

The consultant denies six counts of sexual assault alleged to have happened between July 2008 and September 2012.

Prosecutor Kate Bex said one of the alleged victims claims Patwardhan groped her between her legs during an appointment.

"It lasted 10 seconds, but she was so shocked and surprised she did not say anything at the time," said Ms Bex, who told the jury the woman eventually came forward after reading that Dr Patwardhan had already been reported to the GMC.

A 37-year-old mother-of-two claims Dr Patwardhan started giving her a hug at the end of appointments, pushing his body into hers and grabbing her bottom.

"He examined her breasts after asking her to bend over the couch and asked her to show him the tattoo on her bum," Ms Bex told the court.

The gynaecologist denies all charges of sexual assault, and also denies two counts of fraud over claims he falsely billed private medical insurers for work he did not perform.

Dr Patwardhan, whose hobby is singing, is a founder-member and singer of an all-doctor group called "Medico Melodies", which does events for charities. He has also performed in a number of stage shows across the UK

Roman Writing Tablets Reveal Early London Life

The wooden tablets contain the earliest surviving written reference to London, and the earliest dated handwritten document from Britain: January 8, 57 -- less than 14 years after the Roman invasion. (AFP photo)

LONDON:  More than 400 Roman writing tablets have been unearthed in the heart of London, shedding light on the commerce-driven life in what would become the City of London financial hub, archaeologists said Wednesday.

The wooden tablets contain the earliest surviving written reference to London, and the earliest dated handwritten document from Britain: January 8, 57 -- less than 14 years after the Roman invasion.

The tablets reveal correspondence requesting payments, boasting of money-lending, asking favours to be returned, litigation requiring a judge and also evidence of someone practising the alphabet.

They also show early London was inhabited by businessmen and soldiers, many from Gaul and the Rhineland.

"It was like the email of the Roman world," said Sophie Jackson, archaeologist and director at Museum of London Archaeology, an independent charitable company which led the dig.

The tablets were found beneath Bloomberg's new European headquarters by the Bank of England.

Romans used waxed writing tablets for note-taking, accounts and legal documents. Writing was carved into the wax, and sometimes the scratches were deep enough to score the wood beneath.

The wooden tablets survived because they were buried in the mud of the Walbrook, a lost river running right through the City of London financial district, still defined by the Roman wall boundary.

The theory is that the tablets were among rubbish which was used to build up the banks of the stream, which now lies deep under the city.

Previously only 19 legible tablets had been found in London. Of the 405 discovered under the new Bloomberg building, 87 have been deciphered.

'Hugely significant'

They reveal the names of nearly 100 people, from a brewer to a judge, soldiers, slaves and freed slaves making their way in business.

The address was written on the back of the tablets.

On one dated to circa 65-80 is written "Londinio Mogontio", or "In London, to Mogontius", a Celtic personal name, and is the earliest reference to London by 50 years.

"The tablets are hugely significant," said Jackson.

"They are the largest single assemblage of wax writing tablets found in Britain and what's particularly special about them is they are so early."

She said they allowed us to hear "the voices of the very first Londoners".

Brexit: Francois Hollande Hopes UK 'Will Remember' Close Europe Ties

"I hope that the British will remember (that closeness) when the day comes" to cast their vote, French president said. (File photo)

POLLEGIO, SWITZERLAND:  French President Francois Hollande voiced hope Wednesday that Britons "will remember" their close ties to Europe when they vote in a June 23 referendum on EU membership.

"We are as united as we have ever been," Hollande said after joining a ceremonial first train ride through the world's longest tunnel as it opened in Switzerland.

"I hope that the British will remember (that closeness) when the day comes" to cast their vote, he said.

In March, Hollande warned that a British exit from the 28-nation bloc would have an impact "in many areas," including the single European market, the financial sector and bilateral economic ties.

Hollande on Wednesday drew a parallel between the construction of the 57-kilometre (35-mile) Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT), which opened under the Swiss Alps, with another trailblazing project, the Channel Tunnel.

The 50-km link, which opened in 1994, means that London and Paris are less than three hours apart by high-speed rail -- a closeness that has woven many ties in business, tourism and culture.

"Nobody imagined that it would be possible one day to travel from France to England in this way," Hollande said.

On Monday, a poll published for The Guardian newspaper showed the "leave" vote at 52 percent against 48 percent for staying.

The poll matched the trend seen in other surveys.

For example, a Financial Times survey showed the "stay" vote still ahead but the gap between the two narrowed to three percentage points from six points a week ago.

Uncertainty over the outcome of the referendum has hit the sterling. The pound sank by one percent against the US dollar and the euro on Tuesday.

300,000 Children Across India Drugged, Beaten, Forced To Beg: Report

According to the National Human Rights Commission, up to 40,000 children are abducted in India every year, of which at least 11,000 remain untraced. (Reuters photo)

CHENNAI:  At least 300,000 children across India are drugged, beaten and forced to beg every day, in what has become a multi-million rupee industry controlled by human trafficking cartels, police and trafficking experts said.

Writing in a report which is about to be circulated across the country's police forces, the authors urged law enforcers to carry out greater surveillance of children living on the streets.

According to the National Human Rights Commission, up to 40,000 children are abducted in the country every year, of which at least 11,000 remain untraced.

"The police don't think begging is an issue because they assume that the adult with the child is either family or a known person," said co-author Anita Kanaiya, CEO of The Freedom Project India, which works on trafficking issues.

"But for every 50 children rescued there will be at least 10 who are victims of trafficking. And there has to be a constant vigil to identify them," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Children are sometimes maimed or burned to elicit greater sympathy and get more alms, said the report.

The money they earn is usually paid to the traffickers, or to buy alcohol and drugs.

The report is based on the experiences of police and charities in Bengaluru in Karnataka.

There is a seasonal pattern to begging, local police said. Cities like Bengaluru see a sharp rise in the numbers of children wandering the streets just before festivals or after a natural disaster.

In 2011, Bengaluru police launched "Operation Rakshane" ("To Save"). In coordination with various government departments and charities, they drew up a blueprint to help children forced into begging.

Months before carrying out a series of rescues, they spread out across the city, taking pictures of children on the street, documenting their daily activities and shadowing them back to their homes.

"When we started, we had nothing to prove the connection between begging and trafficking. But we went about meticulously recording any signs of forced labour on the streets of the city," Ms Kanaiya said.

According to inspector general of police, Pronob Mohanty, who spearheaded the operation, teams of police and health workers rescued 300 children on a single day across the city.

The traffickers were arrested and later imprisoned.

"Operation Rakshane is meant to be a template which can be replicated as a model of inter-agency cooperation," Mr Mohanty said in the handbook, which includes suggestions for surveillance, data collection and rehabilitation, as well as listing relevant laws.

Ms Kanaiya said: "We are now initiating a planned campaign to take the book to every police headquarter in the country and follow it up with a workshop on child (begging) and rescue operations for policemen."

US Moves To Lock North Korea Out Of Global Financial System

Nicolas Maduro said Bernie Sanders's candidacy showed the United States "wants change" in the November election. (File photo)

CARACAS:  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro backed Bernie Sanders for US president Tuesday night, saying the self-described democratic socialist would win "if the election were free."

Sanders is nearly certain to lose the Democratic party's nomination to Hillary Clinton, but has doggedly refused to bow out, drawing large numbers of young voters and seeking to shift the party to the left.

Maduro, the political heir to late leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez, said Sanders's candidacy showed the United States "wants change" in the November election.

"If the election were free, Sanders would be president of the United States," he said in a nationally televised address.

Venezuela has had a rocky relationship with the United States since Chavez came to power and launched a "revolution" in 1999.

The two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010, and Caracas regularly accuses Washington of "imperialism."

Maduro is currently fighting off opposition attempts to force him from office in a recall referendum.

His popularity has plummeted as falling crude prices have plunged oil-rich Venezuela into a dramatic economic crisis marked by severe shortages of food and medicine, daily power cuts, weekly school closures and the near-paralysis of government offices

Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro Backs Bernie Sanders For US President

Nicolas Maduro said Bernie Sanders's candidacy showed the United States "wants change" in the November election. (File photo)

CARACAS:  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro backed Bernie Sanders for US president Tuesday night, saying the self-described democratic socialist would win "if the election were free."

Sanders is nearly certain to lose the Democratic party's nomination to Hillary Clinton, but has doggedly refused to bow out, drawing large numbers of young voters and seeking to shift the party to the left.

Maduro, the political heir to late leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez, said Sanders's candidacy showed the United States "wants change" in the November election.

"If the election were free, Sanders would be president of the United States," he said in a nationally televised address.

Venezuela has had a rocky relationship with the United States since Chavez came to power and launched a "revolution" in 1999.

The two countries have not exchanged ambassadors since 2010, and Caracas regularly accuses Washington of "imperialism."

Maduro is currently fighting off opposition attempts to force him from office in a recall referendum.

His popularity has plummeted as falling crude prices have plunged oil-rich Venezuela into a dramatic economic crisis marked by severe shortages of food and medicine, daily power cuts, weekly school closures and the near-paralysis of government offices

Shaphii: ‘Miaow’ boy who wants to create jobs for nation’s youth

SHAPHII Omary is a gifted mimic and can imitate a duck and quack like one. He can hiss like a snake, bellow like a cow and bleat like a goat. Most importantly, he can mimic a celebrity and leaders or any other eminent persons in the country.If he could speak English with American accent, he is sure he could mimic the US President Barack Obama like Obama’s identical twin brother. “That’s why I want to improve my English, learn some French and even Arabic to widen the scope of my work,” he quips.

“If you want to act realistically, know the language well. Do not make a fool of the people.” Mimicking people is indeed Shaphii’s work which earns him his livelihood. Like other parts of drama, he sees it as a potentially big employer of the youth.

Last Monday Shaphii visited the ‘Daily News’ newsroom along Mandela Highway in Dar es Salaam and electrified the scribes therein with his mimicking of ex-President Jakaya Kikwete just to illustrate the humour of the industry.

He rounded off his illustrative short show with another mimic of President John Pombe Magufuli. Many were impressed. “That was really good. He is marvelous,” said Henry Lyimo, a sub-editor with the Daily News.

There are a couple of mimics in the country, but Shaphii appears to be the most shining. Another staff member of the Daily News Nasongelya Kilyinga thinks Shaphii is the best. “He mimics Dr Jakaya Kikwete best of them all,” says Kilyinga.

Late the previous week Shaphii had been with former President Dr Kikwete at the Hyatt Regency, the Kilimanjaro Hotel at a ceremony a national artiste Mrisho Mpoto was being made TACAIDS’ Ambassador in the country.

When mimicking a personality, Shaphii does it so well that the difference is in his physical difference. A graduate of Mzumbe University with Public Administration and Management, Shaphii began practising his artistic talent when he was a small boy at school.

What really motivated him? “As a child I loved to make people laugh with jokes, funny stories and the like,” he says. Although his talent transcends the boundary between animal sounds, he prefers mimicking human beings because, he says, he likes to pass on a message. At Mzumbe University the talent enabled him to make friends, who invited him to various students’ functions as the MC.

“The work not only endeared me to most as my colleagues, but also earned me some cash that I used in my educational needs,” he explains. Shaphii’s face brightens with pride when asked to speak of rewards of his talent. He smiles coyly and says if it were not for the talent he does not think he would have rubbed shoulders with the high and mighty of the nation.

“Because of the talent I have met many big people and visited every region except four in the country,” he explains. Nevertheless, the bantamweight young man sees a brighter future ahead and has no doubt he will sooner than later be to the regions of Mara, Sumbawanga, Kigoma and the other one he could not immediately remember.

Shaphii is encouraged by the way people accept him wherever he goes and has no doubt that he enchants them. “If Dar es Salaam residents think I am good, in other regions they think I am marvelous,” he says.

“I literally mesmerised people in Mtwara just recently with my talent so much that they asked if I had something in my throat which enabled me to change my voice the way I did.” Shaphii is a child in a family of 13 children in all.

His mother, a second wife to his father Omary, had only two children, he and his elder brother Rahib, a soldier with the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF).

Shaphii was born on March 17, 1987 and hails from the Zigua community in Tanga where he was born and lived for the first seven years of his life before his father brought him to Dar es Salaam where he began his schooling.

His father died just when he was completing his University studies in 2012, forcing his elder half-sister to take over his educational cost. His relatives, except his father, did not approve of his art of mimicking and strongly discouraged him from practising it as an occupation. But he kept at it and in his Ordinary Level at Southern Island Mbeya he was awarded a certificate in Drama because of excellent mimicking.

“It was the first and the last certificate of its kind at the school,” he explains. His relatives had hoped that after completing his university studies he would get a white collar job in an office with an air conditioning system and an imperial desk bedecked with some phones and a state-of-the-art computer. Instead, he had become an artiste, mimicking people. They were disappointed.

But not one of them could convince Shaphii to change his mind from a preoccupation after his own heart and he took to mimicking people since he left university. For now though, he does the work mostly as a hobby, more or less. Soon after completing his degree in 2012 through 2014 he did a stint with Family Health International 360 (FHI 360) as a coordinator, but whenever opportunity allowed, he entertained people with his mimicry.

“I played the part of passing on a significant health message,” says Shaphii. Mimicking may be so interesting that some people would rush to it, but its hardest part is mimicking a personality the first time.

It is not easy to foretell what the reaction of the personality will be and Shaphii admits he climbs the stage with a kind of anxiety on such occasions. When he imitated Dr Kikwete the first time in the absence of the former president, but in the presence of his wife Lady Salma, he was at a loss whether he would be offending the x-first lady or not.

As he mimicked the ex- President people cheered wildly, but the former first Lady apparently remained impassive, keeping a straight face. Shaphii was confused. Was the ex-First Lady offended? he asked himself. What followed after the performance reassured Shaphii.

“We later shook hands warmly,” he says. Even the other day in Dar es Salaam at the TACAIDS function a man called him after his dramatic performance and after learning about his academic standard of education, advised him to look for a different job in some office.

“This work is beneath you,” said the man. “It is not for you.” Such people are just part of the problem in what Shaphii means to turn into a fully fledged profession. They discourage him and he thinks their reaction to artistic talents is not a progressive response and ought to change for the good of young people talented with dramatic gifts. Shaphii plans turning mimicking in the country into an industry.

“I mean to open my office and train other youths to do what I do,” he explains. “There are many youths gifted in this art. We only need to be organised.’ However, he expects the road to success to be tough because artistes in the country are taken too lightly.

In Kenya, he says, his counterparts are valued and often enough do get formal invitations. Such formal disregard notwithstanding, Shaphii is determined to soldier on.

Acting has its inviolable pride that has earned him the nickname of Dr Mfyuzi. It is also a good source of income. Locally, Mfyuzi sees no significant threat in the near future because his competitors imitate only people - leaders, but the field is wider.

“I imitate both the common and the eminent like Anna Makinda and animals too,” he says. His biggest challenge, he adds, remains lack of foreign languages, but his proudest mimic is that of a cat. “I think I do best the miaw.”