Andhra top cop shunted out as Jagan Reddy takes charge as CM
Amaravati: On his first day in office as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y S Jaganmohan Reddy Thursday night shunted out state Director General of Police R P Thakur, very much on expected lines.
Damodar Goutam Sawang, Thakur's 1986 batch mate, has been given full additional charge as the new DGP (Head of Police Force) and is eventually expected to take regular charge as the state police chief.
Anti-Corruption Bureau DG A B Venkateswara Rao (1989 batch) has also been removed and asked to report to the General Administration Department.
Both Thakur and Rao were on the "hit list" of the YSR Congress for some time now, as they were perceived to be close to the previous Telugu Desam Party government.
The YSRC, when in opposition, filed many complaints with the ECI and other authorities against the two controversial IPS officers.
Thakur has been posted to the nondescript Printing and Stationery Department as Commissioner. The incumbent there, T A Tripathi, has been asked to report to the GAD, according to an order issued by the Chief Secretary L V Subrahmanyam.
Kumar Viswajeet, currently Additional DG (Intelligence), has been given full additional charge as DG, ACB, as per the Chief Secretary's order.
In another crucial appointment, 1992 batch IAS officer Shamsher Singh Rawat has been made Principal Finance Secretary, a post that had been lying vacant for a long time.
Sending a clear signal that he is serious about bringing in good administration, the chief minister appointed 2000 batch IAS officer Solomon Arokia Raj as his Secretary. Solomon is seen as an efficient and upright officer.
K Dhananjaya Reddy (2006 batch) has been posted as Additional Secretary to CM. Reddy is expected to visit the state Secretariat on Friday and continue the bureaucratic rejig, official sources said.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
