Sasikala: Conviction ends Jayalalitha aide's chief minister bid

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Sasikala: Conviction ends Jayalalitha aide's chief minister bid
India's Supreme Court has convicted the head of the ruling party in Tamil Nadu state of corruption, ending her attempts to become chief minister.
Sasikala Natarajan was an aide of late chief minister Jayalalitha.
Though she has never held public office, the ruling AIADMK party said last week that she would be the southern state's next chief minister.
But the state was plunged into uncertainty after the acting chief minister revolted against her.
Indian law bars convicts in corruption cases from contesting an election for a period of six years after completing a jail sentence.
Tuesday's ruling against Sasikala brought a four-year jail sentence, meaning she will not be able to run for office for 10 years.
Sasikala: The 'new mother' of Tamil Nadu politics
Jayalalitha successor 'forced to quit'
The corruption case, dating back to 1996, centred on accusations that Sasikala held assets disproportionate to her known sources of income. Jayalalitha was also accused of the same offence.
The case was tried in neighbouring Karnataka state and the defendants were convicted in 2014, but later acquitted on appeal, a decision which the Supreme Court has now reversed.
Jayalalitha, one of India's most influential and colourful politicians, died in December, before a final verdict was reached.
The court ordered Sasikala to surrender immediately to authorities in Karnataka, where she will serve her prison sentence.
The verdict is a big blow to Sasikala, who was claiming the support of a majority of Tamil Nadu's lawmakers to become chief minister.
She has been shut away in a resort along with more than 100 legislators, trying to consolidate her support. Indian media reports say police have entered the resort to arrest her.

Michael Flynn: Trump's national security adviser resigns

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US National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has resigned over allegations he discussed US sanctions with Russia before Donald Trump took office.
Mr Flynn is said to have misled officials about his call with Russia's ambassador before his own appointment.
It is illegal for private citizens to conduct US diplomacy.
US reports earlier said the White House had been warned about the contacts last month and was told Mr Flynn may be vulnerable to Russian blackmail.
The national security adviser is appointed by the president to serve as his or her chief adviser on international affairs and defence.
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In his letter of resignation (PDF), Mr Flynn said he had "inadvertently briefed the vice-president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador" late last year.
The White House has appointed Lt Gen Joseph Keith Kellogg as interim replacement for the post.
Mr Flynn, a retired Army lieutenant general, initially denied having discussed sanctions with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, and Vice-President Mike Pence publicly denied the allegations on his behalf.

Trump adviser quits over Russia contacts
Toshiba chairman quits over nuclear loss
Jayalalitha successor barred from top job

Toshiba chairman quits over nuclear loss

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Toshiba chairman Signorine Shiva has resigned, hours after the Japanese conglomerate revealed details of a multi-billion dollar loss.
Earlier Toshiba had delayed issuing its results, but it then said it was set to report a net loss of 390bn yen ($3.4bnin the year to March 2017.
The company said it expected to take a 712.5 billion yen ($6.3bn, £5bn) writedown at its US nuclear business.
The situation has led some analysts to warn the company's future is at risk.
Mr Shiga was stepping down "to take management responsibility for the loss", the firm said.
Shares fell by as much as 9% on Tuesday and have lost about 50% since late December, when it first warned about the extent of the problems.

Syria war: Russian 'friendly fire' kills Turkish soldiers ( Live World News )

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President Vladimir Putin has sent condolences after a Russian air strike accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers in northern Syria.
The strike hit a building near the town of al-Bab, believing it to contain Islamic State (IS) fighters rather than Turkish troops, Turkey's military said.
Eleven others were wounded in the so-called friendly fire incident.
They were supporting Syrian rebels who are locked in a fierce battle to try to capture al-Bab from IS fighters.
Russia and Turkey, who back opposing sides in the Syrian war, have been jointly conducting air strikes on IS in the town in recent weeks. Read More.....



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Supreme Court Nominee Calls Trump’s Attacks on Judiciary ‘Demoralizing’


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WASHINGTON — Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, privately expressed dismay on Wednesday over Mr. Trump’s increasingly aggressive attacks on the judiciary, calling the president’s criticism of independent judges “demoralizing” and “disheartening.”

The remarks by Judge Gorsuch, chosen by Mr. Trump last week to serve on the nation’s highest court, came as the president lashed out at the federal appellate judges who are considering a challenge to his executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The president called their judicial proceedings “disgraceful” and described the courts as “so political. Read More...

Those remarks followed Mr. Trump’s weekend Twitter outburst in which he derided a Seattle district court judge who blocked his travel ban as a “so-called judge” whose “ridiculous” ruling would be overturned.

newsJudge Gorsuch expressed his disappointment with Mr. Trump’s comments about the judiciary in a private conversation with Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, as he paid courtesy calls on Capitol Hill to build support for his confirmation. An account of the discussion was confirmed by a White House adviser working to advance the Gorsuch confirmation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment. Read More......





Trump under fire in Nordstrom Ivanka row

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Democrats have condemned President Donald Trump's tweet attacking a clothing retailer after it dropped a fashion line owned by his daughter.
Mr Trump tweeted that "Ivanka has been treated so unfairly" by clothing retailer Nordstrom.
A Democratic senator called the post "inappropriate" and an ex-White House ethics tsar dubbed it "outrageous".
Earlier this month Nordstrom became the fifth retailer to drop the Ivanka Trump clothing line, citing lack of sales.
The move comes amid a boycott of all Trump products, which activists have dubbed GrabYourWallet, in reference to a 2005 comment Mr Trump made about women's bodies. Read more...






They Breed Crime': President Trump Threatens on Fox to Defund California if it Becomes Sanctuary State

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Trump was talking about what California Democrats in the Senate did last week: They advanced legislation that would provide statewide sanctuary for immigrants and keep local law enforcement from cooperating with federal authorities. The bill was introduced by state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon that and would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using officers or jails to uphold federal immigration laws, effectively a statewide version of so-called sanctuary cities.
But in terms of the "tremendous amounts of money" Trump was referring to, a 2016 analysis by WalletHub proved California is low on the list. The study of least federally dependent states showed that the Golden State came in at number 46 on the list, according to CNBC.
However, the University of California receives at least $9 billion in an assortment of grants, financial aid and research—all of which could be imperiled if Trump made good on a threat he made last week. He tweeted that he would possibly cut of federal funds to Cal after wild protests over Bretibart editor Milo Yiannopoulous that ended in a canceled speech and $100,000 in damage wreaked upon the campus.
California is "out of control" in many ways, and voters agree "otherwise they wouldn't have voted for me," Trump said during the interview.
Trump lost California, which leans left politically, by a wide margin to former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
"I don't want to defund the state or city, I don't want to defund anybody, I want to give them the money they need to properly operate a city or a state," Trump said.
That said, "if they're going to have sanctuary cities we may have to do that - certainly that would be a weapon."