e_Paper, Tuesday, December 7, 2016

DT
8
World
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016
SOUTH ASIA
Imran Khan, Sharif’s
party trade charges on
‘Panamagate’
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreeke-Insaf
party and Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N
party exchanged charges and
accusations on Tuesday as the
Supreme Court heard a case
related to financial irregularities
revealed in the Panama Papers
leaks. Khan claimed his party had
successfully proved that Sharif had
lied to the nation.
HT
INDIA
Train hit kills 3 elephants,
2 pregnant females in
Assam
Three wild elephants, including
two pregnant females, were killed
by a speeding train in Assam early
on Monday, officials said. A herd
of elephants were crossing the
railway track at Hojai in Nagaon
district when they were hit by the
Kanyakumari-Dibrugarh Vivek
Express around 12:30am, nearly
137km from Guwahati.
HT
CHINA
China media: ‘Rookie’
Trump must fall into line
Donald Trump is a diplomatic
rookie who must learn not to
cross Beijing on issues like trade
and Taiwan, Chinese state media
said Tuesday, warning America
could pay dearly for his naivety.
Trump’s protocol-shattering call
with Taiwan’s president and a
subsequent Twitter tirade against
Beijing’s policies could risk
upending the delicate balance
between the world’s two largest
economies.
AFP
ASIA PACIFIC
Generals dominate new
Thai king’s Privy Council
Thailand’s new King Maha Vajiralongkorn
appointed top army
brass to his powerful advisory
body on Tuesday, including three
generals linked to the ruling junta.
The move illustrates the close
military-royal alliance that has defined
Thai politics for the last five
decades, an era that has seen brief
flirtations with democracy punctuated
by multiple palace-endorsed
coups.
AFP
MIDDLE EAST
Saudi sentences 15 to
death for spying for Iran
A Saudi court sentenced 15 people
to death on Tuesday after convicting
them of spying for the kingdom’s
regional rival Iran, Saudi
media reported. All 15 were Saudi
citizens, most of them members of
the kingdom’s Shia minority. AFP
Mass grief as Jayalalithaa dies
• Tribune International Desk
Tens of thousands of mourners
filed past the coffin of the Indian
politician Jayalalithaa Jayaram on
Tuesday in an emotional farewell
to the former movie star who enjoyed
almost god-like status in the
state of Tamil Nadu.
The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa,
described by her party as the Iron
Lady of India, died late Monday
after suffering a massive cardiac
arrest at the weekend following a
long period of ill health. Despite
being twice jailed over allegations
of corruption, the woman known
by Tamils simply as Amma, or
mother, was a revered figure in
her southern fiefdom and one of
India's most popular and successful
politicians as a populist champion
of the poor.
As Prime Minister Narendra
Modi flew into the state capital
Chennai to pay his own respects,
streams of her supporters lined up
outside a hall in the centre of the
city where her casket was put on
display.
Populist schemes
The southern state had been
tense since Sunday after reports
that her health had worsened and
she had been put on life support.
On Monday, scuffles broke out
outside the hospital as many of
her thousands of supporters there
tried to break through the police
barricades.
When her political mentor and
former on-screen love interest
MG Ramachandran died in 1987,
riots and looting broke out across
the state. Ahead of Jayalalithaa's
Jayalalithaa Jayaram
India’s filmstar politician died on Dec 5
aged 68 after a prolonged illness
Served three terms as chief minister
of Tamil Nadu state, where she
enjoyed an almost god-like status
Also seen as an autocratic and
secretive leader, battling allegations
of corruption on vast scale (briefly
jailed twice)
Famed for vast sari collection that
won her comparisons with the
Philippines’ Imelda Marcos
In later life, she gained a reputation
for reclusiveness, living alone
in her palatial residence in
Chennai
To millions of her followers,
Jayalalithaa was simply
known as “Amma” or
mother
AFP Photo: Arun Sankar
death, police and security presence
was beefed up across Tamil
Nadu over fears of an emotional
reaction from her followers.
Tamil Nadu names successor
An hour after her party announced
her death late on Monday
after a cardiac arrest, state Finance
Minister OP Panneerselvam
was sworn in to lead economically
important Tamil Nadu, a base for
auto firms Ford Motor Daimler,
Hyundai and Nissan and IT firm
Cognizant.
Panneerselvam had stood in
for Jayalalithaa in the past, but
made it clear he was not replacing
INDIA
Chennai
FACTBOX
Brexit case in UK SC: How will it work?
The British government's appeal
against a legal ruling that it needs
parliamentary approval to trigger the
formal process of leaving the EU is
being heard in the country's top court
this week. Prime Minister Theresa
May has announced that she will
invoke "Article 50" of the EU's Lisbon
Treaty by the end of March and begin
the formal Brexit negotiations with
Brussels. But London's High Court
ruled last month that the government
does not have the constitutional
right to start the process without the
backing of lawmakers. How does the
Supreme Court work and how will
the case be argued?
Who sits on the Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court currently has
11 justices who are selected by an
independent commission and must
have either been a High Court judge
for two years or a practising lawyer for
15 years.
However for the first time, all 11
justices are sitting "en banc" to hear
the Article 50 challenge. A simple
majority is needed for a judgement.
What's the case about?
It centres on who has the constitutional
right to invoke Article 50 of the
EU's 2009 Lisbon Treaty, the formal
process by which Britain notifies the
EU of its intention to leave the bloc,
kicking off two years of negotiations.
All parties in this case agree the Article
50 process is irrevocable, so as soon
as it is triggered, Britain will inevitably
leave the EU at some stage. However,
some EU and legal experts believe
this is a misreading of Article 50 and
that Britain could change its mind at
some time in the future even after
triggering it.
What happens if the government
loses?
If the government loses it will have to
secure some form of parliamentary
approval to trigger Article 50. This
could be achieved through a substantive
motion, a proposal put forward
for debate and a vote, which would
take little time. However, the claimants
say there needs to be new primary
legislation that passes through both
parliamentary chambers, a far more
complicated process.
Lawmakers could also add amendments
demanding additional scrutiny of
the government Brexit plans which could
complicate their negotiating position.
Tamil Nadu
became one
of India’s most
prosperous
states under
Jayalalithaa’s
rule
her. He declined to take her place
at the head of the cabinet table
while she was ill and instead
had her picture placed there.
His rise to the top job in Tamil
Nadu would help allay fears of a
power struggle in the AIADMK,
built entirely around the cult of
Jayalalithaa. •
Could parliament block Brexit?
Lawmakers in the lower house, the
House of Commons, are unlikely to
try to block Brexit, as it was backed in
a popular vote, and a Reuters survey
suggested many MPs who voted to
"remain" would now approve the
triggering of Article 50 in a parliamentary
vote.
However, a cross-party group
of lawmakers, who support a "soft
Brexit" have demanded a greater say
for parliament in negotiations and say
they might try to pass amendments
that guarantee this.
The opposition Labour Party has
said it would seek amendments to
ensure access to the European single
market and to protect workers' rights. •
Source: Reuters