Donald Trump Criticised For Decision To End Birthright Citizenship In US

Under the current laws, anyone born in the US irrespective of the nationality of parents, automatically becomes an American citizen.

President Donald Trump's decision to bring an executive order to end the right to the US citizenship for children born in the US to non-citizens has invited widespread criticism, even from his own party.

In his latest hardline immigration rhetoric ahead of the midterm congressional elections, Trump, in an interview with Axios, has said birthright citizenship "has to end" and that it would "with an executive order."

"You cannot end the birthright citizenship with an executive order," said Congressman Paul Ryan, speaker of the US House of Representatives.

"We didn't like it when (former President) Obama tried changing immigration laws via executive action, and obviously as conservatives, we believe in the Constitution," Mr Ryan told a local radio station in Lexington, Kentucky.

Under the current laws, anyone born in the US irrespective of the nationality of parents, automatically becomes an American citizen.

"It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment, one amendment. You don't have to do it. Number one. Number two, you can definitely do it with an act of Congress. But now they are saying, I can do it just with an executive order," Mr Trump told Axios in an interview.

A portion of the interview was released on Tuesday. The full interview "Axios on HBO" is scheduled to be aired on Sunday.

Such a practice to give citizenship to anyone born in the US is "ridiculous", Mr Trump said.

He said that we are the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the US for 85 years with all of those benefits. "It's ridiculous. It's ridiculous. And it has to end".

Mr Trump said that the effort to end this practice was in the process. "We are in the process. It'll happen with an executive order. That's what you're talking about."

According to Axios, Mr Trump said that he has run the idea of ending birthright citizenship by his counsel and plans to proceed with the highly-controversial move, which certainly will face legal challenges.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, said it would require a constitutional amendment to make necessary changes on who all can acquire citizenship.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution affirms that, with very few exceptions, all persons born in the US are American citizens, regardless of the immigration status of their parents, said the American Immigration Council.

The Supreme Court has upheld the principle of birthright citizenship for more than a century, it said. "Birthright citizenship defines who we are as a nation and is a core part of our American heritage and history. Eliminating birthright citizenship would do nothing to solve our immigration issues," said Beth Werlin, executive director of the American Immigration Council.

"No president can change the Constitution with the stroke of a pen. The only way to eliminate birthright citizenship would be through a new Constitutional amendment," he said.

Breitbart News, however, came out in support of Trump's move. Revoking birthright citizenship would have immediate and far-reaching consequences, it said. "It would mean the children of illegal aliens, even if born in the United States, would not be bestowed US citizenship upon birth," it said.

"It would also likely deter the practice of foreigners having 'anchor babies', where they aim to give birth to children on US soil so as to obtain US citizenship for their children at birth," Breitbart said.

Vice-president Mike Pence also came out in Mr Trump's defence, saying, "The President has made clear is that we are looking at action that would reconsider birthright citizenship."

Another Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi slammed Trump for his move.
"President Trump's new claim he can unilaterally end the Constitution's guarantee of citizenship shows Republicans' spiraling desperation to distract from their assault on Medicare, Medicaid and people with pre-existing conditions," she said.

"The President does not have the power to erase parts of the Constitution, but he and the GOP Congress have spent two years trying to erase protections for people with pre-existing conditions," Ms Pelosi said. 

Korean Civil Society Groups Protest Seoul Peace Prize for Modi, Call It a 'Disgrace

Citing the 2002 killings in Gujarat, the groups said the choice of Modi was akin to selecting Chun Doo-hwan, South Korea's military ruler in the 1980s, on whose watch hundreds of civilians were massacred at Gwangju.

Several Korean volunteer groups recently organised protests and called upon the Seoul Peace Prize committee to retract the conferment of the annual prize on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Seoul Peace Prize award,  announced on October 24, has been awarded annually since 1990. Previous awardees include German chancellor Angela Merkel, UN secretary general Kofi Annan and international charities like Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders.
Modi was conferred the award for “fostering economic growth in the world’s fastest growing large economy and furthering the development of democracy through anti-corruption and social integration efforts”. The other achievements listed including demonetisation, anti-corruption, reducing wealth inequality through ‘Modinomics’, ‘Modi Doctrine’ and ‘Act East policy’.
A press release from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs claimed the award committee described Modi as “the perfect candidate for the 2018 Seoul Peace Prize”.

The announcement of the award was immediately cited by Modi and the ruling BJP as a major accomplishment:
On Sunday, the Korean news agency, Yonhap, reported that Korean civil society groups held a press conference on October 26 to assert that giving Modi the award was akin to “Chun Doo-hwan receiving a peace prize.
A former army general and dictator, Chun was South Korea’s president from 1980 to 1988. He was sentenced to death in 1996 for the Gwangju massacre, in which over 600 civilian protestors are believed to have been killed by his martial law government.
In a report, Korea Herald said that 26 NGOs held a joint protest and press conference. “Giving Mr. Modi this prize for ‘Modinomics’ is almost equivalent to giving Mr. Chun Doo-hwan a peace prize for Korea’s economic development in the 1980s and the hosting of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games,” the protesters said. They added “Modi’s win is also a disgrace to the past laureates of this prestigious award”.
The Korean NGOs asserted that the Indian prime minister “does not deserve the honour as he has a history of being complicit in violence against Muslims in India”.
“Human rights groups in Korea say Narendra Modi deliberately allowed anti-Muslim riots in India that killed more than 1,000 people in 2002,” said the Korea Herald report.

Modi was chief minister of Gujarat in 2002 when right wing groups took part in attacks on the state’s Muslims. The Supreme Court of India described Modi as a “modern day Nero” who fiddled while his state burned and did little to either stop the violence promptly or prosecute those who were involved.

Pakistan's bumper $6-billion bailout from Saudi Arabia raises major questions about what Riyadh wants in return

Timing is everything in politics, both domestic and international. If the CBI bubble burst at the most inopportune moment for Prime Minister Narendra Modi — at a time when five Indian states are going to Assembly polls whose outcome will have a critical bearing on the 2019 General Election, the Jamal Khashoggi affair could not have come at a more opportune moment for Pakistan's new government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan. It may be recalled that Islamabad is struggling with a severe balance of payment crisis.
Several persons and countries have been affected by Khashoggi's cold-blooded murder: Imran is one such person, and Pakistan is one such country. Before Khashoggi's messy murder weakened Saudi Arabia, the Pakistani prime minister went on his maiden foreign visit to Riyadh in September. There was speculation that the Saudis would accept his request for help in meeting a financial crisis at home, but nothing of substance materialised. However, within as a few weeks, the circumstances for the Saudi regime changed dramatically.
Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen who was also an American resident and a Washington Post columnist, had recently fallen out with the Saudi establishment following expressing dissent against the policies being pursued by the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom's de facto ruler. A few weeks ago, Khashoggi disappeared in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and did not reemerge from the building.
As international pressure mounted, Riyadh was forced to confirm that Khashoggi was murdered inside the consulate. To the utter surprise, discomfort and embarrassment of the Saudi royal family, the Khashoggi saga has since continued to unravel. Hundreds of millions of dollars spent by the Saudi royal on public relations seem to have gone down the drain; the monarchy is yet to learn how to protect its global reputation. Even Republican senators who once supported the Saudis, have been left revolted by the atrocity. Although few expect King Salman to sideline his favourite son anytime soon, he is likely to be relieved of some of the portfolios. In response to the killing, many political leaders, business executives, and media outlets cancelled their trips to Saudi Arabia to attend the economic forum, also known as "Davos in the Desert".
Imran was also scheduled to visit Riyadh for the investment conference in what would be his second visit in a month as he is desperately seeking financial aid from 'friendly' countries to minimise what are sure to be agonisingly stern conditions placed by the IMF on Pakistan as part of the bailout. The bigger the bailout from the IMF, the greater the impact on the political survivability of the PTI and Imran. But then the Khashoggi episode took place and the international reaction stunned the Saudis. Imran and his group of advisors immediately sensed the importance of undertaking a trip to Riyadh as the international heavyweights turned their backs on Saudi Arabia. And the outcome was $6 billion, which will finance half of Pakistan's current needs of $12 billion.
Imran was able to secure the bailout deal when Pakistan needed it most, and at a time, when none of its friends were really keen to provide such assistance. But, the prime minister is not unaware of the implications of this deal. The international leaders who did not visit Riyadh cited principles that can be considered dear to any democratic nation: Rule of law and freedom of expression. He may sidestep the issue of moral liability on the principle of realpolitik. In other words, much that is immoral in general, is permitted when a country's economic survival is at stake. All approaches to political morality conceived without practical
applications in mind are generally troubled.

Imran's advocates are already celebrating his "tactically smart participation" in the Saudi investment conference. The surprise infusion of financial liquidity could mean a fantastic boost for the PTI government and the Pakistani economy. But he lost an historic opportunity to subject Pakistan to "shock therapy" which nonetheless entail huge political risks and economic uncertainty. But what about the questions being asked about Riyadh's expectations from Islamabad? Will it be involvement in war in Yemen, which has been destroyed by two years of the Saudi-UAE joint bombing campaign against the Shia Houthi militia?
The Yemen conflict is rightly viewed as part of the regional geopolitical rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia along with its regional allies. Has Pakistan been asked to get involved in the Yemen crisis? This is what the PTI’s spin doctors seem to suggest. But when Pakistan finds it so incapable to help resolve the Afghan conflict where it has more leverage with one of the protagonists, it is anybody’s guess what role Islamabad is going to play in the resolution of the Yemen crisis. The only role the Saudis may find appropriate for Pakistan is its military
strength. So, the hidden cost of the Saudi bailout, in all likelihood, is the despatch of Pakistani troops to Saudi Arabia. All Pakistani political parties, including the ruling PTI, have been staunchly against sending of Pakistani troops into the war in Yemen.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already claimed that the Saudis had planned Khashoggi’s assassination. Since Pakistan enjoys very close relations with Turkey, Imran cannot afford to antagonise Erdogan with the celebration of his mercenary bailout deal with Riyadh. He has sent Pakistani president Arif Alvi to Turkey on his first official visit. Although the ostensible reason for Alvi's visit is to attend the opening ceremony of Istanbul’s new airport, he will be expected to explain the rationale behind Pakistan-Saudi deal.
Ethical and moral considerations are alien to Pakistani policymakers whose singular role in international politics is to oppose India.
Besides the bailout deal, the lifting of the ban on the Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), offshoots of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), explains the nature of opaque and irrational decision-making in Pakistan. These groups were outlawed in February via a presidential ordinance. Even though this move came ahead of what turned out to be a fateful Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting in Paris, it was a good decision to ban terror groups active in Pakistan that have been blacklisted by a UN Security Council committee on sanctions against terrorist groups. After the lapse of the presidential ordinance, they are no longer proscribed groups in Pakistan.
Pakistan's journey to democracy has been quite haphazard and erratic. Only the last two democratically-elected governments were given a chance to complete a five-year term. That despite the fact that elected governments also failed to deliver on the governance front and continued with the same economic and foreign policies of military dictatorships that ruined Pakistan.
Former Pakistani Senator Farhatullah Babar brilliantly summed up the Saudi deal when he tweeted that "Remember, trade-offs that are mercenary in character intrinsically unsustainable, will haunt Pakistan for long." Therefore, it remains an open question as to whose vulnerabilities will be exploited by whom. But the charge that Pakistan is ultimately dependent on foreign aid and external loans cannot be brushed aside. Since $6 billion are not sufficient, Imran will visit China in the first week of November in an effort to obtain fresh loans to prop up the economy.
The bailouts sought by Pakistan will further encourage and normalise economic mismanagement and strategic myopia among Pakistan’s ruling circles. No regime has shown the guts to implement much-needed reforms in governing practices and strategic vision which can make Pakistan a viable, functioning political entity. As long as the military remains the dominant influence on policy, Pakistan's economic decline cannot be arrested. Imran can make "Naya Pakistan" only when anti-India geopolitics is no longer the overriding preoccupation of the Pakistani State.

Besides anti-Indianism and Islamic fundamentalism, opportunism also serves as a backbone of the Pakistani State. The country's ruling elite has perfected the art of taking advantage of another country's vulnerabilities. And after Khashoggi's assassination, the Saudi regime is experiencing one of the most vulnerable moments in its entire lifespan.government is understood to be exploring options for the ..

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Pakistan, China to launch CPEC bus service this week to boost ‘friendship’ – 5 points

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a USD 50 billion project that connects China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with Pakistan's Gwadar Port located strategically on the Arabian Sea.

Taking their ‘friendship’ forward, China and Pakistan are all set to launch a bus service from next month, reports said. The bus service is being started from November 03 as part of the flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is part of the broader Belt and Road Initiative, which India has refused to join over territorial concerns. The aim of the luxurious bus service is to facilitate easier travel between the two neighbours, reports said.
To recall, the CPEC project was started in 2015 and has a total cost of USD 50 billion. It covers a network of roads, railways and energy projects and connects China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region with Pakistan's Gwadar Port located strategically on the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan-China CPEC bus service - five things to know:

1. The Pakistan-China bus service will be run by a private transport company, North-South Transport Network, and officially start services on November 03. It will connect Pakistan’s Lahore and China’s Kashgar. State-run Radio Pakistan said the bus journey would be 30-hour-long and a one-way ticket would cost Rs 13,000. A return journey has been priced at Rs 23,000 and bookings are already underway.
2. The aim of the bus service is to enhance friendly ties between Pakistan and China, Muhammad Anwar, CEO of the company that will run the service, said. A Pakistani would require a valid Chinese visa and other identity documents to undertake the journey.
3. Officials said the two countries are for the first time launching a high-end bus service. It is to be noted that China and Pakistan already have a land route link for trade and travel purposes.
4. The bus will ply four days a week and start from Lahore and Tashkurgan. From Lahore, the bus would ply on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. On the other hand, the departure from Tashkurgan would be on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Pakistani newspaper The News said.
5. As per The News report, premium and luxurious buses would be used to offer a comfortable journey. “The en-route services will include breakfast, lunch, dinner refreshment, beverages, tea, and snacks. Fast Wi-Fi service would also be provided," the report added.

India, Qatar To Establish Joint Commission To Strengthen Their Relations

The decision was taken after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and discussed ways to move forward on the roadmap set by the top leaders of the two countries.

India and Qatar Monday decided to set up a Joint Commission to strengthen their relations and regularly review all the bilateral matters, as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest.
The decision was taken after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani and discussed ways to move forward on the roadmap set by the top leaders of the two countries.
It is the first ever visit of Ms Swaraj to Doha.
The two sides have decided to establish the Joint Commission, according to a joint declaration issued after the talks.
The Joint Commission will be co-chaired by the Ministers of External Affairs and Foreign Affairs of the two countries or their representatives and may include in its membership representatives of the sectors concerned with the bilateral cooperation in both the countries, it said.
The Joint Commission will be tasked to strengthen the relations between the two countries particularly in the economic, commercial, cultural, scientific, technological, information technology and educational fields.
It will be responsible for following up the implementation of the agreements concluded between the two sides and finding suitable solutions for the resulting problems of the implementation thereof.
It will also be charged with facilitating the exchange of information and expertise and encouraging bilateral consultation in service of cooperation between the two countries.

The Commission will also hold a meeting at a time agreed by both countries alternately in each country and extraordinary session may be held at the consent of both the sides.
"The joint commission may, when necessary, form subordinate committees or permanent or temporary joint working groups to discharge specific tasks within their mandates," the statement said.
India and Qatar share millennia old historic multi-dimensional, relations.
The bilateral visit of the Emir of Qatar in March 2015 and Prime Minister of Qatar Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani to India in December 2016 and that of the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Qatar in June 2016 have further boosted traditionally cordial and close ties between the two countries, the MEA said.
Qatar hosts about seven lakh Indians who form the largest expatriate community in the Gulf country. Qatar is a reliable energy partner, supplying more than 50 per cent of India's natural gas imports, it said.Swaraj's next leg of visit would be to Kuwait with which India has close and friendly bilateral relations.

Sacked Sri Lanka Minister Arjuna Ranatunga Arrested Over Shooting: Police

Police said earlier that in an altercation on Sunday, when Arjuna Ranatunga tried to enter his office, his security guard shot and killed one person and wounded two

Sri Lankan police on Monday arrested deposed oil minister Arjuna Ranatunga over a shooting that killed one person on the weekend, police spokesman said.
"Colombo Crime division arrested Ranatunga over the shooting incident and he will be produced to the court shortly," police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera told Reuters.
President Maithripala Sirisena on Saturday declared that the cabinet had been dissolved with the appointment of a new prime minister a day earlier.
Since then, members of trade unions linked to the new prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, have blocked ministers from the old cabinet from entering their ministries.
Police said earlier that in an altercation on Sunday, when Ranatunga tried to enter his office, his security guard shot and killed one person and wounded two.

PM Narendra Modi returns to Delhi after two-day Japan visit

India and Japan have also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to promote bilateral partnership in Indian traditional medicinal systems such as Ayurveda and Yoga under the rubric of Health Care and Wellness.

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi early on Tuesday morning returned to New Delhi after concluding his two-day Japan visit. India and Japan signed six agreements after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe held talks in Tokyo on Monday. After the 13th bilateral summit, both the sides also made two key announcements on defence and development projects. In defence, it was agreed to establish a 22 dialogue mechanism between the Foreign Ministers and the Defence Ministers of the two countries to augment bilateral defence and strategic ties.
India and Japan also called upon Pakistan to "bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorist attacks, including those of November 2008 in Mumbai and January 2016 in Pathankot" in a joint statement delivered after bilateral talks on Monday.
During his visit, Prime Minister Modi also wished Japan luck for hosting the Olympics in 2020 in Tokyo, the G-20 summit in Osaka in 2019 and Rugby World Cup in 2019.
India and Japan have also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to promote bilateral partnership in Indian traditional medicinal systems such as Ayurveda and Yoga under the rubric of Health Care and Wellness. Prime Minister Modi also addressed an Indian Community Event during his visit.

Donald Trump declined India’s invitation for Republic Day event due to 'scheduling constraints': White House

US President would not be able to participate in India's Republic Day event next year due to scheduling constraints, White House has confirmed

The White House clarified on Monday that US President Donald Trump had to decline India’s invitation to participate as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi next year due to “scheduling constraints.” During their talks in Washington last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited President Trump for a bilateral visit to India.

In July, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had stated that President Trump had received an invitation to India but that no decision had been taken then. When asked about Trump’s decision on the pending invitation by Modi, a White House spokesperson told news agency PTI over phone, “President Trump was honoured by Prime Minister Modi’s invitation for him to be Chief Guest of India’s Republic Day on January 26, 2019 but is unable to participate due to
Reportedly, the annual State of the Union (SOTU) address to both Houses of the US Congress by President Trump is expected to take place at around the same time when India celebrates its Republic Day. In the past, the SOTU address has usually taken place in the last week of January or first week of February. US President Donald Trump snubs India: Won't attend 70th Republic Day celebrations
Meanwhile, the WH spokesperson told PTI that President Trump was committed to deepening the India-US relationship and noted that both Trump and PM Modi shared a “strong personal rapport.” The spokesperson said, “The President enjoys a strong personal rapport with Prime Minister Modi developed through two meetings and several phone calls and remains committed to deepening the US-India strategic partnership. The President very much looks forward to meeting Prime Minister Modi again at the earliest opportunity.”
The two world leaders are scheduled to attend the G-20 Summit in Argentina on November 30 and December 1, where it is expected that the two would meet and discuss bilateral relationship.

Every year, on the occasion of India’s Republic Day on January 26, the government invites a Head of State to attend the celebrations as a chief guest. This year, leaders of 10 ASEAN countries had attended the R-Day event while in 2016, the then French president Francois Hollande had been the chief guest at the event. Former US President Barack Obama, who was then in power, had attended the event in 2015. 

Modi, Abe back ‘free Indo-Pacific’

Defence ties dominate summit talks 

India and Japan outlined a vision for strengthened bilateral relations at the 13th annual summit here on Monday.
Enhanced strategic and defence cooperation dominated the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe.
Japan’s formulation of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” received a central place in the vision statement issued at the end of the talks, with both sides stressing their “unwavering commitment to it.” The concept is usually seen as a response to China’s growing dominance in the region.
Speaking to the press after his talks with Mr. Abe, Mr. Modi said the India-Japan bilateral relationship was invested in upholding the rule of law and democratic values.

Tokyo talks stress democratic values

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed that ties with Japan were invested in upholding the rule of law and democratic values.
He was speaking at a press conference after a summit with his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe.
These are the very catch phrases that underlie the new security architecture that Japan and the United States are trying to put in place to counter China. The vision statement specifically mentioned the willingness of both countries to “expand concrete cooperation with the U.S. and other partners”.

Freedom of navigation

It also referred to the necessity of ensuring the freedom of navigation and the importance of upholding the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), a set of conventions that China has been accused of flouting in the South China Sea.
Mr. Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, further announced the start of negotiations on an Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement, a logistics-sharing pact, that would allow Japanese ships to get fuel and servicing at Indian naval bases. Once signed, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force will be able to secure access to Indian naval facilities in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which are strategically located close to the western Malacca Straits, a choke point for much of Japan and China’s trade and fuel imports. A new Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue, termed 2+2, was also announced to supplement an already formidable array of bilateral dialogue mechanisms that include the Annual Defence Ministerial Dialogue, Defence Policy Dialogue and the National Security Advisers Dialogue.
On the economic front, the two countries have agreed to a Bilateral Swap Arrangement that would allow their central banks to exchange local currencies for up to $75 billion. This is substantially more than the $30 billion currency swap arrangement announced between China and Japan.
Mr. Abe told the press that 57 Japanese companies had committed to investing 320 billion yen in India, which is expected to create at least 3,000 new jobs. Mr. Modi said that he was convinced that the 21st century could be an Asian century only with a strong India-Japan relationship at its core.