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Rahul Gandhi (File photo) NEW DELHI: Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Thursday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla , expressing "deep concerns" over BJP MP Sambit Patra allegedly using "slanderous language" against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi at a media interaction. The Congress' whip in Lok Sabha has sought stringent action against Patra. Describing Patra's behaviour as "highly inappropriate and disrespectful", Tagore, in his letter, said that he trusts that the Speaker will address this matter with the "seriousness it deserves and take appropriate steps to uphold the dignity and integrity of our parliamentary system". Tagore alleged that Patra's conduct is a "clear violation of the decorum and ethics expected of an MP", adding, "Such behaviour not only tarnishes the image of Parliament, but also insults the dignity of a high constitutional office. As a custodian of Parliament, I urge you to take stringent action against Patra." In another face-off with BJP, Congress lashed out at MP Nishikant Dubey for drawing links between a foreign investor and Gandhi. In a post on X, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said "agents of Adani" have been given only one task - to defame and abuse those who expose their "mega corruption". Congress' deputy leader in LS Gaurav Gogoi said, "We've spoken with the Speaker and it is our demand that the person (Dubey) should take back his words and apologise, and the Speaker takes a strong step." Venugopal said when the entire opposition was raising the issue of a "travel ban" on the leader of opposition to Sambhal, "Speaker allowed Dubey to speak in the zero hour and he used the "most defamatory words" against the LoP, Wayanad MP ( Priyanka Gandhi ) and Congress." Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .By TOM KRISHER, Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — For a second time, a Delaware judge has nullified a pay package that Tesla had awarded its CEO, Elon Musk, that once was valued at $56 billion. On Monday, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick turned aside a request from Musk’s lawyers to reverse a ruling she announced in January that had thrown out the compensation plan. The judge ruled then that Musk effectively controlled Tesla’s board and had engineered the outsize pay package during sham negotiations . Lawyers for a Tesla shareholder who sued to block the pay package contended that shareholders who had voted for the 10-year plan in 2018 had been given misleading and incomplete information. In their defense, Tesla’s board members asserted that the shareholders who ratified the pay plan a second time in June had done so after receiving full disclosures, thereby curing all the problems the judge had cited in her January ruling. As a result, they argued, Musk deserved the pay package for having raised Tesla’s market value by billions of dollars. McCormick rejected that argument. In her 103-page opinion, she ruled that under Delaware law, Tesla’s lawyers had no grounds to reverse her January ruling “based on evidence they created after trial.” On Monday night, Tesla posted on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, that the company will appeal. The appeal would be filed with the Delaware Supreme Court, the only state appellate court Tesla can pursue. Experts say a ruling would likely come in less than a year. “The ruling, if not overturned, means that judges and plaintiffs’ lawyers run Delaware companies rather than their rightful owners — the shareholders,” Tesla argued. Later, on X, Musk unleashed a blistering attack on the judge, asserting that McCormick is “a radical far left activist cosplaying as a judge.” Legal authorities generally suggest that McCormick’s ruling was sound and followed the law. Charles Elson, founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, said that in his view, McCormick was right to rule that after Tesla lost its case in the original trial, it created improper new evidence by asking shareholders to ratify the pay package a second time. Had she allowed such a claim, he said, it would cause a major shift in Delaware’s laws against conflicts of interest given the unusually close relationship between Musk and Tesla’s board. “Delaware protects investors — that’s what she did,” said Elson, who has followed the court for more than three decades. “Just because you’re a ‘superstar CEO’ doesn’t put you in a separate category.” Elson said he thinks investors would be reluctant to put money into Delaware companies if there were exceptions to the law for “special people.” Elson said that in his opinion, the court is likely to uphold McCormick’s ruling. Experts say no. Rulings on state laws are normally left to state courts. Brian Dunn, program director for the Institute of Compensation Studies at Cornell University, said it’s been his experience that Tesla has no choice but to stay in the Delaware courts for this compensation package. The company could try to reconstitute the pay package and seek approval in Texas, where it may expect more friendlier judges. But Dunn, who has spent 40 years as an executive compensation consultant, said it’s likely that some other shareholder would challenge the award in Texas because it’s excessive compared with other CEOs’ pay plans. “If they just want to turn around and deliver him $56 billion, I can’t believe somebody wouldn’t want to litigate it,” Dunn said. “It’s an unconscionable amount of money.” Almost certainly. Tesla stock is trading at 15 times the exercise price of stock options in the current package in Delaware, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a note to investors. Tesla’s share price has doubled in the past six months, Jonas wrote. At Monday’s closing stock price, the Musk package is now worth $101.4 billion, according to Equilar, an executive data firm. And Musk has asked for a subsequent pay package that would give him 25% of Tesla’s voting shares. Musk has said he is uncomfortable moving further into artificial intelligence with the company if he doesn’t have 25% control. He currently holds about 13% of Tesla’s outstanding shares.

FACT FOCUS: Vermont ruling does not say schools can vaccinate children without parental consentNone

The leader of Sinn Fein has expressed determination to form a government of the left in Ireland as she insisted her party’s performance in the General Election had broken the state’s political mould. Despite Mary Lou McDonald’s confidence around shaping a coalition without Fine Gael and Fianna Fail – the two parties that have dominated the landscape of Irish politics for a century – the pathway to government for Sinn Fein still appears challenging. With counting following Friday’s election still in the relatively early stages – after an exit poll that showed the main three parties effectively neck-and-neck – there is some way to go before the final picture emerges and the options for government formation crystalise. Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader, Simon Harris, has dismissed talk of a Sinn Fein surge and said he was “cautiously optimistic” about where his party will stand after all the votes are counted. Meanwhile, Ireland’s deputy premier and Fianna Fail leader, Micheal Martin, insisted his party has a “very clear route back to government” as he predicted seat gains. The counting process could last days because of Ireland’s complex system of proportional representation with a single transferable vote (PR-STV), where candidates are ranked by preference. The early indications have turned the focus to the tricky arithmetic of government formation, as the country’s several smaller parties and many independents potentially jockey for a place in government. Ms McDonald told reporters at the RDS count centre in Dublin that she would be “very, very actively pursuing” the potential to form a government with other parties on the left of the political spectrum. The smaller, left-leaning parties in Ireland include the Social Democrats, the Irish Labour Party, the Green Party and People Before Profit-Solidarity. Ms McDonald said her party had delivered an “incredible performance” in the election. “I think it’s fair to say that we have now confirmed that we have broken the political mould here in this state,” she said. “Two party politics is now gone. It’s consigned to the dustbin of history and that, in itself, is very significant.” She added: “I am looking to bring about a government of change, and I’m going to go and look at all formulations. “If you want my bottom line, the idea of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael for another five years, in our strong opinion, is not a good outcome for Irish society. “Obviously, I want to talk to other parties of the left and those that we share very significant policy objectives with. So I’m going to do that first and just hear their mind, hear their thinking. But be very clear, we will be very, very actively pursuing entrance into government.” In Friday night’s exit poll, Sinn Fein was predicted to take 21.1% of first-preference votes, narrowly ahead of outgoing coalition partners Fine Gael and Fianna Fail at 21% and 19.5% respectively. Prior to the election, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael both ruled out entering government with Sinn Fein. Fine Gael leader Mr Harris rejected suggestions Sinn Fein had broken new ground. He told reporters in his count centre in Greystones, Co Wicklow: “Certainly we haven’t seen a Sinn Fein surge or anything like it. “I mean, it looks likely, on the figures that we’ve seen now, fewer people, many fewer people would have voted Sinn Fein in this election than the last one. “In fact, I think they’re down by around 5% and actually the parties, particularly the two parties, the two larger parties in government, are likely to receive significant support from the electorate. So definitely, politics in Ireland has gotten much more fragmented.” He said it was too early to tell what the next government would look like. “I think anybody who makes any suggestion about who is going to be the largest party or the construct of the next government, they’re a braver person than I am,” he said. “Our electoral system dictates that there’ll be many, many transfers that will go on for hours, if not days, before we know the final computations at all. “But what I am very confident about is that my party will have a very significant role to play in the years ahead, and I’m cautiously optimistic and excited.” Fianna Fail’s Mr Martin told reporters at a count centre in Cork he was confident that the numbers exist to form a government with parties that shared his political viewpoint. Mr Martin said it “remains to be seen” whether he would return to the role of Taoiseach – a position he held between 2020 and 2022 – but he expressed confidence his party would outperform the exit poll prediction. “It’s a bit too early yet to call the exact type of government that will be formed or the composition of the next government,” he said. “But I think there are, there will be a sufficiency of seats, it seems to me, that aligns with the core principles that I articulated at the outset of this campaign and throughout the campaign, around the pro-enterprise economy, around a positively pro-European position, a government that will strongly push for home ownership and around parties that are transparently democratic in how they conduct their affairs.” Asked if it would be in a coalition with Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Social Democrats, he said that would be “racing a bit too far ahead”. The final result may dictate that if Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are to return to government, they may need more than one junior partner, or potentially the buy-in of several independent TDs. Mr Martin said it was unclear how quickly a government can be formed, as he predicted his party would gain new seats. “It will be challenging. This is not easy,” he added. The junior partner in the outgoing government – the Green Party – looks set for a bruising set of results. Green leader Roderic O’Gorman is in a fight to hold onto his seat, as are a number of party colleagues, including Media Minister Catherine Martin. “It’s clear the Green Party has not had a good day,” he said. The early counting also suggested potential trouble for Fianna Fail in Wicklow, where the party’s only candidate in the constituency, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, is considered to have a battle ahead, with the risk of losing his seat. Meanwhile, there is significant focus on independent candidate Gerard Hutch who, on Saturday evening, was sitting in fourth place in the four-seat constituency of Dublin Central. Last spring, Mr Hutch was found not guilty by the non-jury Special Criminal Court of the murder of David Byrne, in one of the first deadly attacks of the Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud. Mr Byrne, 33, died after being shot six times at a crowded boxing weigh-in event at the Regency Hotel in February 2016. A Special Criminal Court judge described Mr Hutch, 61, as the patriarchal figurehead of the Hutch criminal organisation and said he had engaged in “serious criminal conduct”. The constituency will be closely watched as other hopefuls wait to see if transfers from eliminated candidates may eventually rule him out of contention. In the constituency of Louth, the much-criticised selection of John McGahon appeared not to have paid off for Fine Gael. The party’s campaign was beset by questioning over footage entering the public domain of the candidate engaged in a fight outside a pub in 2018. The Social Democrats have a strong chance of emerging as the largest of the smaller parties. The party’s leader, Holly Cairns, was already celebrating before a single vote was counted however, having announced the birth of her baby girl on polling day.Sinn Fein actively pursuing route into government, insists leader McDonald

OTTAWA — Parents of children who died because of online sexual extortion are urging MPs to act on online harms legislation. The online harms bill is among the legislation that’s been blocked from moving forward for months due to a parliamentary privilege debate raging between the Liberals and Conservatives. The bill targets seven categories of online behaviour, from the non-consensual sharing of intimate images to content that can be used to bully a child, and would create a new Digital Safety Commission of Canada. Justice Minister Arif Virani announced plans to split the bill into two parts this week, heeding calls from critics to separate the more controversial hate speech provisions from the child exploitation components. But the bill still can’t move forward until the privilege filibuster is over. Barbie Lavers, whose teenage son died by suicide after being extorted online over intimate images, told a House of Commons committee Thursday that she supports the online harms legislation. Lavers asked politicians from all parties to come to a temporary alliance and stop using children as political pawns to show “one party is more correct than the other.” “The longer Bill C-63 remains a political issue, the more children we will lose. We beg you to please stop wasting time and do something to help save our children,” she said. Carol Todd, whose daughter Amanda died by suicide due to online sextortion, told MPs it is hurtful to watch political arguments after waiting 12 years for legislation. The Conservatives say they won’t end the filibuster until either the Liberals hand over unredacted documents related to misspending at a now-defunct green technology fund to the RCMP, or the NDP agrees to bring down the government. The Liberals need the support of an opposition party to end or pause the privilege debate, which the NDP did last week when it allowed the government to pass legislation to enact a temporary federal sales tax holiday. But the New Democrats say they, too, want the documents handed over and will not agree to end the debate entirely. Virani said the goal of breaking the legislation into two was “to find consensus amongst parliamentarians on the things that we can agree to immediately.” Conservative justice critic Larry Brock called for Virani to “give up” on the bill and instead adopt a Conservative private member’s bill tackling online harms. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, who introduced that bill, repeatedly put it forward as a superior alternative to the government’s proposed legislation while questioning the witnesses at committee Thursday. Rempel Garner said her concern with the government bill is that it puts the social media platforms’ responsibilities “into a regulator that hasn’t been built and it gives online platforms the ability to wiggle out of this two, three, four years in the future.” “I would direct your attention to C-412,” she told Todd. The first part of the government bill, which Virani plans to prioritize, would create a new regulator to compel social media companies to outline how they plan to reduce the risks their platforms pose to users, particularly minors. It would also update rules around mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse material by internet service providers and some online services. Rempel Garner’s bill would include measures modernizing the existing law against criminal harassment so a victim can ask a judge to force social media companies to identify someone who has repeatedly harassed them online. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024. Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press

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