Merkel gets big send-off at EU
Brussels, Oct 22: Angela Merkel is still German Chancellor and might be still when EU leaders meet again, yet they gave her a farewell party at Friday’s EU summit. Attending her 107th summit, she was feted by friend and foe alike in an informal ceremony behind closed doors early Friday, where they called her anything from a “compromise machine” to the EU’s Eiffel Tower. Merkel has been the embodiment of the drive for a stronger united Europe for years since she attended her first meeting of EU leaders 16 years ago, at a time when Jacques Chirac was still French president and Tony Blair British prime minister. “You are a monument,” said EU Council President Charles Michel, adding that a summit meeting without her will be like “Rome without the Vatican or Paris without the Eiffel Tower.” (AP)
‘Myanmar could be a failed state’
United Nations, Oct 22: The UN special envoy for Myanmar has warned that February’s military takeover has led to armed conflict and if power isn’t returned to the people in a democratic way the country “will go in the direction of a failed state.” Christine Schraner Burgener told a UN news conference Thursday that conflict between the military, which took power on February 1, and civilians and ethnic minorities is intensifying in many parts of the country. “The repression of the military has led to more than 1,180 deaths,” she said. Schraner Burgener said the military is conducting clearing operations in Chin and several other states and there is continued fighting in Kachin and Shan states, “so all over the country we have a huge scale of violence.” (AP)
Deaths in Nepal floods reach 111
Kathmandu, Oct 22: Nepal Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues on Friday visited western Nepal — part of the Himalayan nation hardest hit by the floods and landslides — to take stock of the situation and ensure relief measures are being implemented. The death toll from the flooding triggered by heavy rains in the country climbed to 111 on Friday, with at least 32 reportedly being injured and 35 still missing, officials said. Deuba, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Prem Ale Magar among others, visited Kailari rural municipality, Bhajani municipality, Tikapur municipality and Janaki rural municipality of Kailali district, situated in the western part of the country. (PTI)
Deal on digital services taxes
Washington, Oct 22: The US announced that it has reached a deal with Austria, the UK, France, Italy and Spain on digital services taxes (DSTs) during the interim period prior to the implementation of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) global tax agreement. The OECD announced in July that over 130 countries and jurisdictions have joined a two-pillar framework to reform international corporate taxation rules, which has recently been endorsed by G20 financial leaders, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. The so-called Pillar One of the framework aims to re-allocate some taxing rights over multinational enterprises from their home countries to the markets where they have business activities and earn profits. (IANS)