France today increasingly resembles the Italy of the past, when governments fell with bewildering regularity, prime ministers came and went in rapid succession, and political instability became the norm rather than the exception, point out Krishnan Srinivasan and Manoj Mohanka.
Red Square and VDNKh easily rank among the most striking places I've visited -- both for their historical significance and architectural splendour.
My admiration for Russian culture, vision and ambition grew with every step as I clocked the miles, Nitin Sathe tells us after a visit to Moscow and St Petersburg.
The aircraft is awaiting repairs at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport after developing an engineering issue, a British high commission spokesperson said on Friday.
The aircraft was unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales due to adverse weather conditions.
As a mark of respect, players and match officials will wear black armbands, and a minute's silence will be observed before the start of the match.
With general government debt now approaching three-quarters of GDP, and only incremental reform efforts visible, Pakistan risks prolonging its economic stagnation unless fundamental governance, regulatory, and industrial overhauls are undertaken.
According to an Election Commission statement, the two have decided not to avail exemption from income tax on sumptuary allowance and to surrender two of the three Leave Travel Concessions (LTC) available each year.
Here is a snapshot of what worked for the BJP and what worked against the AAP in the Delhi assembly elections.
Lok Sabha on Monday turned into a battleground for the Delhi assembly polls with Bharatiya Janata Party member Ramvir Singh Bidhuri launching an all-out attack on the Aam Aadmi Party government, alleging that they 'looted' the national capital and turned it into 'hell'.
Most Congress leaders and Cabinet ministers have already felt the pinch of these measures and resent the fact that Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi wants to ground their high-flying ways and curtail their five-star extravagance.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a dip at the Triveni Sangam in Mahakumbh Nagar on Monday and described the Maha Kumbh as a unique symbol of the Sanatan culture's philosophy, which is rooted in harmony.
Government may slash spending on foreign travel by ministers and officials and on meetings in five-star hotels as part of austerity measures to cut down on budget deficit.
Singh's humility and grounded nature were highlighted in a heartfelt social media memoir by Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Social Welfare (Independent Charge) Asim Arun.
Tovino Thomas' big budget action entertainer is a middling, tonally inconsistent watch that keeps you hooked, observes Arjun Menon.
Justifying the government's austerity drive, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday the restrictions on foreign visits and other expenses are aimed at curbing wasteful expenditure and containing fiscal deficit.
The finance minister's vow to contain the deficit means there will be little room ahead of a tough election to spur growth.
Despite claims of an 'austerity drive' by the United Progressive Alliance government and the Congress party, some Union ministers appeared to prefer upmarket accommodation during their official visits to the United States.
Joining the debate on austerity, All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said politicians should be austere all the time -- a stark reminder to two the Union ministers who had to check out of five-star hotels in Chennai a couple of days ago following an embarrassing media exposure.
The austerity bug seems to have bitten the Delhi Government also with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit asking her ministers and Congress MLAs to voluntarily take 20 per cent less salary, on Tuesday.
Arun Maira who worked for 25 years with the Tata Group, remembers his early years with Ratan Tata.
Taking a cue from the United Progressive Alliance government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday issued directives to her cabinet colleagues to strictly adhere to austerity measures by checking unproductive spendings.
Streets remained deserted and garbage cans overflowed as workers across Spain, Portugal, Greece and Italy went on a 24-hour strike to protest austerity measures and tax hikes.
Biman Basu, the senior-most Marxist leader in the country, pays homage to a comrade he has known and admired since the 1980s.
The government will get away with it, because of our perennial confusion between public and personal austerity, and our jaw-dropping incompetence with simple mathematics.
BPCL plans to save Rs 500-800 cr, while HPCL eyes 10% reduction in total costs.
In an interview to Sheela Bhatt, the yoga guru said, "Austerity should be a way of life. It is possible to do away with luxuries if you understand that public money is not for oneself, but for the poor people."
Terming the austerity drive launched by the Congress-led government as "hypocrisy", Janata Dal (United) National President Sharad Yadav on Saturday said if the Congress was serious about the issue, it should bring a bill to this effect in the Parliament.
In the current circumstances, aggressive efforts to rapidly reduce budget deficits may backfire and affect industrail output and jobs.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati dubbed the austerity measures initiated by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance as a "drama".
Some ministers have a different point of view from the current conventional wisdom in the Congress party and the UPA government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party launched a scathing attack on the Congress on Tuesday, alleging that the recent austerity guidelines issued by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, was merely a case of 'bizarre tokenism to hoodwink the nation'. Commenting on the various steps taken by senior Congress leaders, including party president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, to cut down governmental expenditure, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, "This is just hogwash."
The issue of austerity measures came up at the meeting of the Union Cabinet on Thursday with ministers seeking clarification on the economy drive launched by the government.The issue came up for an impromptu discussion when the Cabinet gave its approval to hike the Dearness Allowance for central government employees from 22 per cent to 27 per cent.
The good news is that salary hikes are expected, though it is uncertain when they will be implemented.
A day after the train carrying Rahul Gandhi was stoned, the Congress today said a balance has to be struck between security concerns and commitment to austerity.
Uzbekistan lives comfortably in several centuries but is also a forward-looking nation, Deepa Gahlot discovers on a visit to this Central Asian country.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee spelt out the details of the United Progressive Alliance's austerity measures on Friday, saying he has advised ministers to travel in the Economy Class domestically and in the Business Class during international travel. The Finance Ministry has asked the various ministries to ensure a 10 per cent cut in non- planned expenditure, except in expenses related to security.
Dikshit is said to have issued a letter to all ministers and Congress MLAs asking them to follow the decision of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and party president Sonia Gandhi in practicing austerity.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Sunday finalised a plan to rectify the 'wrong trends' in the party under which guidelines were formulated for an austerity drive and to make its ministers more accountable.
"For boosting the morale of our workers, these posts are justified," said a top state BJP leader.
Finance Minister plans to cut the public spending target for fiscal 2013-14 by up to 10 per cent from this year's original target, as he wants to avert a sovereign credit downgrade. Can he balance political and economic demands?
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