The French parliament has voted for controversial changes to its
constitution to enshrine powers implemented under its state of emergency
and removing citizenship for terror suspects.
Politicians voted by 317 votes to 199 to give a new status to emergency security powers, after previously supporting stripping convicted extremists' French citizenship by 162 votes to 148 against.
Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister, said a "long debate" had preceded the National Assembly's decision.
"It is a reform that seeks to protect the country and our compatriots," he added, according to iTele.
"I do not doubt for an instant that the Senate will demonstrate the same sense of responsibility.
"It is a good day for the Republic, for the country, for France, for unity in the face of terrorism."
The decision to revoke a person's French citizenship will be made by a judge and apply only to terrorism-related crimes if passed as law.
The bill must still be voted on by the senate in March and pass with a three-fifths majority in both houses to be adopted as a constitutional amendment.
It has already revealed deep divisions in France's governing Socialist party, seeing the resignation of justice minister Christiane Taubira over a now-dropped clause referring to dual-nationals born in France.
"Sometimes resisting means staying on, sometimes resisting means leaving," she said at the time.
Taubira stood down a fortnight ago, citing a "major political disagreement" with the government over plans that opponents say effectively singles out dual-nationality French Muslims, as under international law citizens cannot be made stateless.
Critics have also argued that the measures will increase, rather than reduce, the alienation of young Muslims, undermining efforts to increase cohesion and fight radicalisation.
Politicians voted by 317 votes to 199 to give a new status to emergency security powers, after previously supporting stripping convicted extremists' French citizenship by 162 votes to 148 against.
Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister, said a "long debate" had preceded the National Assembly's decision.
"It is a reform that seeks to protect the country and our compatriots," he added, according to iTele.
"I do not doubt for an instant that the Senate will demonstrate the same sense of responsibility.
"It is a good day for the Republic, for the country, for France, for unity in the face of terrorism."
The decision to revoke a person's French citizenship will be made by a judge and apply only to terrorism-related crimes if passed as law.
The bill must still be voted on by the senate in March and pass with a three-fifths majority in both houses to be adopted as a constitutional amendment.
It has already revealed deep divisions in France's governing Socialist party, seeing the resignation of justice minister Christiane Taubira over a now-dropped clause referring to dual-nationals born in France.
"Sometimes resisting means staying on, sometimes resisting means leaving," she said at the time.
Taubira stood down a fortnight ago, citing a "major political disagreement" with the government over plans that opponents say effectively singles out dual-nationality French Muslims, as under international law citizens cannot be made stateless.
Critics have also argued that the measures will increase, rather than reduce, the alienation of young Muslims, undermining efforts to increase cohesion and fight radicalisation.
Despite the shock and mourning still resonating after November's Paris
attacks, the measures have proved divisive in a nation that still
centres itself around the values of "liberte, egalite, fraternite".
Even as politicians voted in favour of changes to the constitution, protesters gathered outside the building in Paris.
Demonstrators waved banners reading "stop the state of emergency" and "we will not give in", while chanting against restrictions, police searches and Islamophobia.
It was the latest in a series of demonstrations against changes to the constitution and the continuing state of emergency, which the United Nations warned was imposing "excessive and disproportionate restrictions" on fundamental human rights last month.
Special rapporteurs on freedoms of opinion, expression, assembly and privacy were among those raising concerns with the Francois Hollande's government.
"Ensuring adequate protection against abuse in the use of exceptional measures and surveillance measures in the context of the fight against terrorism is an international obligation of the French State," they said in a joint statement.
"While exceptional measures may be required under exceptional circumstances, this does not relieve the authorities from demonstrating that these are applied solely for the purposes for which they were prescribed, and are directly related to the specific objective that inspired them."
Human rights groups warned about the scope for rights abuses in November, when the state of emergency was extended for three months.
Even as politicians voted in favour of changes to the constitution, protesters gathered outside the building in Paris.
Demonstrators waved banners reading "stop the state of emergency" and "we will not give in", while chanting against restrictions, police searches and Islamophobia.
It was the latest in a series of demonstrations against changes to the constitution and the continuing state of emergency, which the United Nations warned was imposing "excessive and disproportionate restrictions" on fundamental human rights last month.
Special rapporteurs on freedoms of opinion, expression, assembly and privacy were among those raising concerns with the Francois Hollande's government.
"Ensuring adequate protection against abuse in the use of exceptional measures and surveillance measures in the context of the fight against terrorism is an international obligation of the French State," they said in a joint statement.
"While exceptional measures may be required under exceptional circumstances, this does not relieve the authorities from demonstrating that these are applied solely for the purposes for which they were prescribed, and are directly related to the specific objective that inspired them."
Human rights groups warned about the scope for rights abuses in November, when the state of emergency was extended for three months.
The laws allow police to place anyone deemed to be a security risk under house arrest, dissolve groups thought to be a threat to public order, carry out searches without warrants and copy data, and block any websites that "encourage" terrorism.
Curfews can be imposed, large gatherings or protests forbidden and movement limited.
The UN called on the government not to extend the powers beyond their
deadline on 26 February, but they are widely expected to be extended.
Isis militants killed 130 people in Paris in a series of shooting and suicide bombings at the Bataclan concert hall, Stade de France, restaurants and bars on 13 November last year.
The terrorist group claimed the massacres were revenge for French air strikes against its militants in Syria and members have threatened further attacks.
RK Pachauri is a sexual harasser: Another 'victim' speaks out
Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Another former employee of TERI has come out in the open with allegations of sexual harassment against RK Pachauri.
The woman, who had joined in 2003 and worked for year, made some stinging allegations against Pachauri.
She alleged that Pachauri, who was then DG of TERI, made sexual advances on her, adding that she tried to get help from other senior TERI officials but they refused to help.
The lady said that Pachauri used to call her to his office on flimsy grounds and indulged in sexually loaded conversions with her.
“He made attempts to hold my hands and touch me,” she said.
Pachauri used to tell her that he could lift hefty and heavy women and lifting her would 'not be difficult', she said, adding that he used to call her on her mobile and used to her ask her out for dinner.
The lady said that Pachauri used to behave indecently with other women at TERI as well.
She said that she had approached the police last year but her complaint was not taken seriously.
Her revelations are eerily similar to the allegations by another ex-TERI employee, whose complaint led to the ongoing probe against Pachauri.
Yesterday, Pachauri was appointed executive vice-chairman of TERI, a
post created for him, though judicial proceedings are going on against
him.
Obama lays out 2017 spending priorities in final White House budget
U.S. President Barack Obama unveils his final White House budget on Tuesday with a blueprint for fiscal year 2017 that will lay out his spending proposals for priorities from fighting Islamic State to providing for the poor.
The budget for the fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1 is largely a political document and is unlikely to be passed by the Republican-controlled Congress.
But it gives the Democratic president, who leaves office in January, a chance to make a last pitch for funding on issues such as education, criminal justice reform and job creation.
"That document ... will be President Obama's final vision of how he lays out the fiscal future for the country," said Joel Friedman, vice president for federal fiscal policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
"I don't think anyone expects it to be enacted this year. Republicans aren't going to embrace it, but that doesn't mean it's not going to be a useful document."
Congress can advance elements of the budget without endorsing the entire proposal, which is likely to call for roughly $4 trillion in total spending, in line with Obama's $3.99 trillion proposal for fiscal year 2016.
The budget is likely to stay within the confines of an agreement reached between the White House and Congress last year that lifted mandatory "sequestration" cuts on both defense and domestic spending.
Friedman noted that Obama and Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan agreed on some ways to fight poverty, such as an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit to encourage low-income Americans to work.
But differences between the two political parties in a presidential election year are especially pronounced, and Republican lawmakers have taken the unusual step of not inviting White House budget director Shaun Donovan to brief about the proposal.
“Maybe they are taking the Donald Trump approach to debates about the budget. They are just not going to show up,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters last week, referring to the Republican presidential front-runner's decision to skip a debate with his counterparts ahead of the nominating contest in Iowa.
The administration has already released key elements. The Pentagon will ask for more than $7 billion for the fight against Islamic State, up about 35 percent from the previous year's request, and Obama will seek a 20 percent boost for renewable energy research funding to a total of $7.7 billion.
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