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Hello Friends welcome to Studyfication today we are going to discuss about THE HINDU NEWS 21/11/2018 #THE_HINDU_NEWS_21_11_2018 #newspaper_the_hindu #top_cur...
Newspaper The Hindu News 21/11/2018 ( India offers, Capital deadline, WhatsApp India Head, GK UPSC )
Hello Friends welcome to Studyfication today we are going to discuss about THE HINDU NEWS 21/11/2018
India on Tuesday signed a $500 mn deal with Russia to locally manufacture two stealth frigates with technology transfer. The agreement was signed between Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and Rosoboronexport of Russia.
“The $500 mn deal is for material, design and specialists assistance from Russia for the two ships. Balance work will be done by GSL, and it will have a whole lot of Indian equipment including BrahMos missiles,” an official source said.
The cost of the engines for the ships which would come directly from Ukraine and the cost of constructing them at GSL are in addition. While the ships are built by Russia, the engines are supplied by Zorya Nashproekt of Ukraine. Four gas turbine engines, gear boxes and specialist support will cost around $50 mn per ship, the source stated.
2) U.S. suspends $ 1.66 bn security aid to Pakistan
The United States has suspended USD 1.66 billion in security assistance to Pakistan, following President Donald Trump’s directive early this year, the Pentagon has said.
“USD 1.66 billion of security assistance to Pakistan is suspended,” Col Rob Manning, spokesman of the Department of Defense told reporters in an email response to questions on Tuesday.
No further breakdown of the suspended security assistance to Pakistan was provided.
According to David Sedney, who served as Deputy Assistant Secretary Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia during the previous Obama administration, the blocking of military assistance to Pakistan, which began in January of this year is a strong signal of American frustration.
3) India offers many roads, says President Kovind
India and Vietnam “share a vision for the Indo-Pacific” and will launch their first “Bilateral Maritime Security Dialogue” in early January, announced President Ramnath Kovind during a visit to Hanoi, as he took a broad swipe at China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” in an address to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
“India offers a cooperation model that does not require its friends to make choices but rather expands choices and expands opportunities for all; that opens not one but many roads,” Mr. Kovind, who is the only foreign leader besides Chinese President Xi Jinping to address the Assembly.
Mr. Kovind also said Vietnam and India concurred on the “South China Sea” as a “critical component” of the Indo-Pacific, which is the area of another flashpoint with Beijing, that has a territorial dispute with Hanoi over the Spratly Islands in the SCS. “We share a vision of a rules-based order that respects sovereignty and territorial integrity, ensures freedom of navigation and over-flight, as well as un-impeded commerce.”
4) Capital deadline extension credit negative: Moody’s
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to extend the deadline for the last tranche of capital conservation buffer by one year is credit negative for banks, rating agency Moody’s said.
“The decision to extend the timeline for the full implementation of Basel 3 guidelines by a year is a credit negative for Indian public sector banks,” aid Srikanth Vadlamani, vice president, Financial Institutions Group, Moody’s Investors Service.
In its board meeting on Monday, the central bank, while deciding to retain the CRAR at 9%, agreed to extend the transition period for implementing the last tranche of 0.625% under the Capital Conservation Buffer (CCB), by one year, that is, up to March 31, 2020.
5) Abhijit Bose named WhatsApp India Head
WhatsApp on November 21 named Abhijit Bose as its India Head, meeting one of the key demands made by the government.
Mr. Bose, who will join the messaging platform early 2019, will build WhatsApp’s first full country team outside of California and will be based in Gurugram, WhatsApp said in a statement. Mr. Bose and his team will focus on helping businesses, both large and small, connect with their customers, it added.
“WhatsApp is deeply committed to India and we are excited to keep building products that help people connect and support India’s fast-growing digital economy,” Matt Idema, Chief Operating Officer of WhatsApp, said. As a successful entrepreneur himself, Mr. Bose knows what it takes to build meaningful partnerships that can serve businesses across India, he said.
1) Another orbit: on GSAT29 launch
The Indian Space Research Organisation has marked a big milestone by successfully testing its heavy-lift launcher while launching an advanced communication satellite. It plans to use this for the Chandrayaan-II moon mission in the early months of 2019. On Wednesday the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MarkIII (GSLV MkIII) launched GSAT29, an advanced communications satellite, into a geosynchronous transfer orbit where the satellite’s closest approach to earth would be 190 km and the farthest 35,975 km. The launcher bearing the 3,423 kg satellite took off from a launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. Seventeen minutes later, after various stages, the vehicle injected the satellite into the transfer orbit. Taking over smoothly, ISRO’s master control facility at Hassan assumed the command and control of the satellite, and it will be manoeuvred into a geostationary orbit, its final destination, in days. Once placed, the satellite’s solar panels and antennae will unfold and work will begin. With a liftoff mass of 640 tonnes, the GSLV MkIII is the heaviest launch vehicle made in India, and GSAT29 is the heaviest satellite to take off from Indian soil. Both launcher and satellite have other characteristics that make them stand out. The launcher can carry payloads up to 4 tonnes to the geosynchronous transfer orbit and up to 10 tonnes to a low-earth orbit. The multi-band, multi-beam satellite can cater to the communication needs of people in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
2) Vietnam opposes military alliances in region: envoy
Vietnam has an “ambivalent” position on the Quad grouping comprising India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S., Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau said on Thursday. Elaborating, he said while Vietnam welcomed any country’s initiative to preserve freedom of navigation and overflight in the region, it was opposed to any military alliance that could undermine regional peace and security.
Sounding an “ambivalent” note on the Quad grouping between India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S., Vietnam Ambassador Pham Sanh Chau said on Thursday that they welcome any initiative by any country to preserve freedom of navigation and over flight in the region but do not want any military alliance that is not conducive for peace and security.
3) Sri Lankan Parliament disrupted again, adjourned until Monday
Sri Lanka’s Parliament witnessed chaos for the second day on Friday as MPs loyal to disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa occupied the seat of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and shouted slogans, forcing him to summon police inside the House and adjourning the session until Monday.
The brawl occurred a day after the Speaker announced there is no prime minister or government following a no-confidence motion against Mr. Rajapaksa.
Friday’s proceedings were to repeat the floor test, which was disrupted on Thursday.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who installed Mr. Rajapaksa as prime minister last month in a controversial move, had agreed for a floor test with the leaders of ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s coalition during crisis talks last night.
4) Asia’s first woman neurosurgeon, T.S. Kanaka, dies at 86
Asia’s first woman neurosurgeon, T.S. Kanaka, died in Chennai on Wednesday after a brief illness. She was 86.
Dr. Kanaka, who retired as professor of Neurosurgery, Institute of Neurology, Madras Medical College (MMC), in 1990, was known to have inspired many women to take to the field of neurosurgery in the country.
One of them was her niece, G. Vijaya, who presently heads the Department of Neurosurgery at Sri Narayani Hospital and Research Centre, Vellore.
5) Putting India on the world map
Anmish Varma brought home a gold medal from the World Kickboxing and Karate Union’s Martial Art World Championships that was held in Athens, Greece, recently. He won the medal in adult male category.
“I cannot describe the feeling of standing in a stadium full of people of different nationality and singing our National Anthem with the tricolour wrapped around me,” he says.
Anmish secured the first place after defeating participants from Germany, Mexico, Wales and England.
“The victory did not happen overnight, I worked hard for over four years, perfecting my every punch and kick. I had a lot of hope pinned to this championship and I’m glad that my hard work was paid off,” says the 25-year-old MBA graduate and adds he inherited the love for martial arts from his father and granddad.
1) PM Modi participates in ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit in Singapore
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday participated in the ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit in Singapore and underlined the need for maritime cooperation and centrality of trade for the prosperity of the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
Prime Minister Modi began his two-day visit to Singapore on Wednesday by delivering his keynote address at the prestigious Fintech Festival.
He also held separate bilateral meetings with the premiers of Singapore, Australia and Thailand and discussed ways to further strengthen ties, including in areas of trade, defence and security.
2) 18 lakh foreigners visited India on e-visa this year
Around 18 lakh foreigners visited India on electronic visas till October 31 this year, a Home Ministry statement said.
The highest number of visitors, 2,92,143, were from the United Kingdom, followed by the United States with 2,21,339, China 1,27,022, France 1,07,185 and Germany 89,863.
Over 17 lakh foreigners visited India on e-visa in 2017.
The government received $105,558,496 as e-visa fees in 2017 and $137,527,270 (₹993 crore approx) till October 31 this year.
3) Sri Lanka Parliament votes against Rajapaksa govt.
In a watershed floor test in the Sri Lankan Parliament, a majority of lawmakers on Wednesday voted for a no-confidence motion against disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“I hereby declare that the appointed government has no majority in this House,” Speaker Karu Jayasuriya told Parliament shortly after it reconvened.
Parliament had been shut for nearly three weeks since President Maithripala Sirisena prorogued and subsequently dissolved it, in the wake of an unprecedented political struggle in the country.
The vote was taken up after Leader of the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Anura Kumara Dissanayake, moved a motion against Mr. Rajapaksa and his Cabinet, terming their appointment “unconstitutional.”
4) Yes Bank chairman Ashok Chawla resigns
Yes Bank chairman Ashok Chawla has resigned with immediate effect, the private sector lender said on Wednesday.
The former Finance Secretary, who was the bank’s non-executive chairman for over two years, resigned as he was unable to devote more time. “Ashok Chawla, non-executive independent part-time chairman, has tendered his resignation from the bank’s board, with immediate effect, mentioning that during the current transition period, the bank would need a chairman who could devote more time and attention,” Yes Bank said. The bank would announce the appointment of a chairman, post RBI’s approval.
In July, the CBI named Mr. Chawla in a chargesheet relating to the Aircel-Maxis case. Mr. Chawla has also been the chairman of the Competition Commission of India, and continues to be the chairman of the National Stock Exchange and is also on the Jet Airways board.
5) Former World No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska announces retirement
Polish tennis player Agnieszka Radwanska said on Wednesday that she has decided to end her 13 year-long career due to health reasons.
“Unfortunately, I am no longer able to train and play the way I used to, and recently my body can't live up to my expectations.”
“I'm hanging the racket up and say goodbye to the pro tour, but I'm not leaving tennis,” Radwanska said, adding that she was ready for “new challenges.”
Radwanska, who reached a career-high ranking of second in 2012, complained of health woes last year, including suffering from viruses which she had to fight using antibiotics.
“Taking into consideration my health and the heavy burdens of professional tennis, I have to concede that I'm not able to push my body to the limits required.”
1) India, Singapore begin sea drills
The 25th edition of the India-Singapore bilateral naval exercise, SIMBEX, has begun at the tri-services command in Port Blair.
The exercise, which kicked off on Saturday off the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, will conclude on November 21.
“Started as basic Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercises in 1994, today these exercises have graduated to complex maritime combat drills, including missile and torpedo firings, and shore-based intensive professional exchanges,” the Navy said in a statement.
2) GIT wins big at NASA event
A team of architecture students from KLS Gogte Institute of Technology won the first place in the NASA Cultural and Academic Convention at Siddaganga School of Architecture in Tumakuru recently.
The students brought home 13 trophies in academic work, designing, short film, photography, fashion, seminars, workshops, dance and others. This included the prestigious Reubens’ Trophy in the Academic Work category.
Faculty members N.R. Tadkodkar, A.V. Prasadi, P.N. Navelkar and B.V. Gouripur guided the students.
M.R. Kulkarni, chairman, KLS; U.N. Kalkundrikar, chairman, Governing Council, GIT; A.S. Deshpande, principal, and others have congratulated the students and teachers.
3) South Korea ships tangerines to North, which sent mushrooms
South Korea has airlifted thousands of boxes of tangerines to North Korea in return for the North’s large shipments of pine mushrooms in September, Seoul officials said on Monday.
South Korea says it will send 200 tons of tangerines to North Korea by Monday afternoon. Seoul’s Defense Ministry says military planes flew to Pyongyang twice on Sunday to deliver the fruits and are doing the same on Monday.
After September’s inter-Korean summit talks in Pyongyang, North Korea gave South Korea 2 tons of pine mushrooms as a goodwill gesture.
The tangerine airlifting is a sign that the two Koreas are pushing ahead with efforts to improve ties despite a stalemated global diplomacy on North Korea’s nuclear program. According to Seoul and Washington officials, North Korea recently postponed high-level talks with the United States meant to discuss achieving North Korea’s nuclear disarmament and setting up a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
4) Saudi Arabia in talks to cut crude output
Saudi Arabia is discussing a proposal that could see the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil producers cut output by up to 1 million barrels per day (bpd), two sources told Reuters on Sunday, as the world’s top oil exporter grapples with a drop in crude prices.
The sources said any such deal would depend on factors including the level of Iranian exports after the United States imposed sanctions on Tehran but granted Iran’s top oil buyers waivers to continue buying oil. Riyadh was surprised by the waivers granted to customers such as China and India, a move which hit oil prices, at least three industry and OPEC sources told Reuters.
Now Saudi Arabia wants to act to prevent a further slide in prices which fell below $70 a barrel on Friday, and is leading discussions on cutting oil output next year, the sources said. Under a deal set to expire at the end of the year, OPEC and non-OPEC producers agreed to curb output by around 1.8 million bpd.
Bigger cuts
But producers ended up cutting more - partly due to unexpected outages in Venezuela, Libya and Angola - and so agreed in June to limit cuts to the agreed level, meaning restoring about 1 million bpd in output.
5) World’s largest brain-like supercomputer switched on for first time
The world’s largest supercomputer designed to work in the same way as the human brain has been switched on for the first time.
The newly formed million-processor-core Spiking Neural Network Architecture (SpiNNaker) machine is capable of completing more than 200 million million actions per second, with each of its chips having 100 million transistors.
To reach this point it has taken 15 million in funding, 20 years in conception and over 10 years in construction, with the initial build starting way back in 2006, according to a statement.
The SpiNNaker machine, designed and built in The University of Manchester in the UK, can model more biological neurons in real time than any other machine on the planet.
1) Sri Lanka Oppn. to challenge dissolution of Parliament
A day after Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena controversially dissolved Parliament, parties opposed to the decision are preparing for a high stakes legal battle.
Major parties on Saturday decided to move the Supreme Court early next week, challenging Mr. Sirisena’s decision that, they said, violated the Constitution.
The United National Party (UNP) of the deposed Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and its coalition partners will mount a legal challenge, according to their members.
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), which is part of the UNP-led front, is contemplating court action independent of the coalition as well, a senior member said.
2) Fake currency network intact
Two years after demonetisation, the fake currency notes seized so far are not of a high quality, a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has found.
Another Home Ministry official said the network of same fake currency operators was still intact as two years ago, that pushed fake notes from the Bangladesh border. But there was not much evidence to link it to Pakistan yet. A reason cited by the government for scrapping ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes in 2016 was to wipe out fake notes.
India had accused Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of printing high-quality fake notes and channelling it into India. Agencies suspected that certain security features of ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes were compromised as the supplier of raw currency notes, ink and silver thread was same for India and Pakistan.
“The fake notes seized recently are of poor quality, and look like photocopies in most cases. It seems Pakistan has not been able to copy the security features yet. The carriers and the receivers have links to Bangladesh, not Pakistan. Most arrests were made from Malda in West Bengal, and some cases registered in Kerala, Karnataka and Gujarat. Pakistan is using Bangladesh as a transit to push in the fake notes,” said an NIA official.
3) Russia steps into Afghan peace efforts
The Taliban met with members of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council on Friday in a conference organised by the Russian government in Moscow. This is the second such meeting with the insurgent group being organised by international stakeholders in a bid to push peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
The Taliban reportedly met with U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad last month, to start negotiations on the terms of a peace deal. Both meetings, however, did not see the participation of the Afghan government. “President (Ashraf) Ghani is committed to peace and has taken bold steps. However, the Taliban did not reciprocate,” a source close to the Afghan President said on condition of anonymity. Mr. Ghani did make several efforts to get the Taliban on the negotiating table, including a three-day Id ceasefire last year.
4) ISRO invites foreign ‘riders’ to Venus
An 18-month-old pitch for what could be the first Indian orbiter mission to Venus has just been refreshed and relaunched, opening it up now for international experiments.
Tentatively marking the yet to be named ‘Mission Venus’ for mid-2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to study the planet from an elliptical orbit that is closest to Venus at 500 km and 60,000 km at the farthest end — similar to its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) of 2013.
The latest announcement opportunity (AO) does not specify the weight of the spacecraft; it plans to send up instruments or payloads totally weighing 100 kg. (MOM’s payloads weighed nearly 15 kg.)
The new round invites space-based experiment ideas on Venus from space agencies, universities and researchers.
5) Wrestling: Bajarang Punia is World No. 1
World championships silver medallist wrestler Bajrang Punia became the first Indian to secure the No. 1 slot in the World rankings issued on Saturday.
According to the latest United World Wrestling (UWW) rankings, Punia is now the top-ranked wrestler in men’s freestyle 65kg category.
“I am happy about the ranking because it reflects India’s overall growth in wrestling.
“The real celebration time for me will come when I become the Olympic champion,” said Punia.
Punia, who won gold medals in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and bagged a bronze medal in the Asian championships earlier this year, had settled for the silver after losing to Japanese Takuto Otoguro in the Worlds 65kg title clash.
The Indian, who was seeded No. 3 in the World championships, gathered 96 points from his various performances to rise to the No. 1 ranking.
1) Sirisena dissolves Sri Lanka Parliament, polls on January 5
Avoiding a resolution to Sri Lanka’s political crisis through Parliament, President Maithripala Sirisena late on Friday dissolved the House. The move came just hours after his political front admitted to lacking the majority needed for its controversially installed Prime Minister to be declared legitimate.
Issuing an extraordinary gazette, Mr. Sirisena dismissed the 225-member assembly with effect from midnight, and called for a snap general election on January 5, 2019.
The development comes a fortnight into Sri Lanka’s unprecedented power struggle that saw two rival leaders claiming to be the legitimate Prime Minister.
Caught in a bitter tussle with his Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, with whom he joined hands to form the government in 2015, Mr. Sirisena sacked him abruptly on October 26 and appointed former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place.
2) Not in direct talks with Taliban: MEA
Facing a barrage of questions on its sudden shift in policy on attending talks with the Taliban, the Centre on Friday clarified that its delegation at the second 12-nation ‘Moscow format meeting of consultations on Afghanistan’ would not hold direct talks with the insurgent group there.
“We have said we will be taking part in a meeting on Afghanistan which is hosted by Russia; and we decided that our participation in the talks would be at the non-official level,” the MEA’s official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters. “But we didn’t say anywhere that there will be talks with the Taliban.”
The government said its policy on Afghanistan was “consistent”, despite its decision to send two former diplomats, Amar Sinha and TCA Raghavan, to the talks. It would mark the first time an Indian delegation would be at the table with a Taliban delegation from its political office in Doha.
3) India appreciates U.S. waiver on New Delhi-Tehran energy trade
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday expressed appreciation for the United States’ waiver on India-Iran energy trade and the Chabahar Port project. The spokesperson of the Ministry said the port will be of importance in helping the situation in Afghanistan, but reiterated that India will continue to import Iranian energy.
“India is a major importer of crude oil from Iran. This is very important for our own energy security needs. We appreciate the fact that the U.S. has shown understanding of our position and has said that its intention is not to hurt India,” said Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, adding that India is studying the details of the exemption.
The formal response from India came days after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared a waiver for India and seven other countries on energy trade. Iraq has also received a waiver for the import of electricity from Tehran.
4) U.S. denies pursuing containment policy with China
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that Washington was not trying to contain China, but rather to persuade Beijing to adjust its approach in matters related to military expansion and respect for human rights.
“The U.S. is not pursuing a cold war or containment policy with China. Rather, we want to make sure China acts responsibly and fairly in support of security and prosperity in each of our two countries,” Pompeo told a press conference at the State Department on Friday.
He appeared with Defence Secretary James Mattis; the director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China, Yang Jiechi; and Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe following their second round of talks about security and diplomacy, reports Efe news.
5) In a boost to sugar mills sitting on surplus stocks, India will start raw sugar exports to China in early 2019, and is in talks to finalise exports to Indonesia and Malaysia as well.
In a statement on Thursday, the Commerce Ministry said the first contract to export 50,000 tonnes of sugar had been entered into by the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and Chinese public sector company COFCO.
ISMA initially denied there was any contract to export sugar to China, then reversed its position and said it is making all efforts to export maximum possible sugar to China, but still denied any direct contract between ISMA and COFCO.
1) IRCTC rolls out Bharat Darshan train tours
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has announced four Bharat Darshan Tours that will be operated during November and December 2018.
The IRTC is introducing the Ramayana Yatra as part of the tour in South India. The other tours are Splendours of Deccan, the Goa special and the Mookambika special.
According to L. Ravikumar, additional general manager, tourism, IRCTC, the Ramayana Yatra will start on November 14 from Madurai Junction and will cover places like Hampi, Chitrakut dam, Janakpuri (Nepal) and other places associated with the epic.
The entire tour will be for 15 days and will cost ₹15,830 per person.
2)EC issues order on poll expenses
The costs incurred on publicising information about the criminal cases against a candidate, as recently directed by the Supreme Court, will be counted as part of poll expenditure, according to the Election Commission.
The expenses will be borne by the candidate and the political parties. “This being an expenditure [made] in connection with the election, if expense is incurred in this regard, the same will be counted for the purposes of election,” said the EC.
There is no limit on the party election expenditure. For Assembly polls, the cap on expenses by the candidates is between ₹20 lakh to ₹28 lakh.
The Commission said the FIR cases have to be given publicity.
3)Pak blasphemy case: Asia Bibi released from jail
A Christian woman who was convicted of blasphemy and acquitted by Pakistan’s Supreme Court last week, has been released from a jail in Multan and taken to Noor Khan Airbase, Rawalpindi, from where she would be shifted to the Netherlands, local media reported.
However, a Punjab government spokesperson refused to comment on the matter.
A Lahore-based TV news channel reported that Asia Bibi was released from New Jail for Women in Multan (around 350km from Lahore) late on Wednesday night and taken to Noor Khan Airbase, Rawalpindi, from where a chartered plane would take her to the Netherlands.
Asia Bibi, a 47-year-old mother of four, was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting Islam in a row with her neighbours. She always maintained her innocence, but has spent most of the past eight years in solitary confinement.
4)China taps India as digital economy partner
In tune with its rise as an internet giant, China is roping in India as a niche digital partner, as part of Beijing’s drive to cyber-connect with Eurasia — its new frontier for trade and investments.
At a conference on defining common international standards for two-dimensional (2D) barcodes — the gateways for linking genuine buyers and sellers, as well making digital payments by scanning QR codes — Chinese officials say that India is already on board in this global exercise.
Last November, Zheng Chao, Executive Director of the Global Unified Two-Dimensional Code Registration Management Center (UTC), based in Beijing, signed a “strategic cooperation” agreement on 2D coding with his Indian counterpart. As a result UTC (India) was formed.
5) Mark Zuckerberg rebuffs request to appear before U.K. Parliament
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has rejected a request to appear before an international parliamentary committee delving into the questions around fake news.
The rebuff came after Damian Collins, the head of the U.K. Parliament’s media committee, joined forces with his Canadian counterpart in hopes of pressuring Mr. Zuckerberg to testify, as he did before the U.S. Congress.
Facebook rejected the invitation to appear before the so-called “international grand committee” session November 27, arguing it wasn’t possible for Mr. Zuckerberg to appear before all Parliaments.
Mr. Collins says pressure is building, with counterparts in Australia, Argentina and Ireland having joined the grand committee in the time since Mr. Zuckerberg was invited.
He says “five Parliaments are now calling on you to do the right thing by the 170 million users in the countries they represent”.
1) U.S. exempts Chabahar port-related activities from its sanctions
Activities related to the development of the Chabahar port in Iran will be exempt from U.S sanctions that kicked in on Monday, following the 180 day cool-off period after the U.S. withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA or “Iran Deal”) in May this year.
This waiver will bring some measure of relief to India, which had been discussing a sanctions exemption for Chabahar having signed an agreement with Iran and Afghanistan in May 2016 for the port’s development. India has committed $500 million to the project and $2 billion to build a railway line from Chabahar to Hajigaj in Afghanistan.
“After extensive consideration, the secretary has provided for an exception from the imposition of certain sanctions under the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 (IFCA) with respect to the development of Chabahar Port and the construction of an associated railway and for the shipment of non-sanctionable goods through the port for Afghanistan’s use, as well as Afghanistan’s continued imports of Iranian petroleum products,” a State Department spokesperson said on background. The news agency, Reuters, was the first to report the story.
2) Over 3 lakh ‘diya’ lit on banks of Sarayu river in new world record
A new world record was set in the holy city of Ayodhya on the eve of Diwali on Tuesday with over three lakh “diya” or earthen lamps lit up simultaneously on the banks of the Sarayu river, officials said.
Rishi Nath, official adjudicator of the Guinness World Records, made the announcement that the record was created at the Deepotsav event on the ghats here.
“A total of 3,01,152 diya were lit up simultaneously for a period of five minutes, which is a new record,” Mr. Nath said in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook.
The target was to illuminate a total of 3.35 lakh diya on both sides of the ghats at Ram Ki Paidi here.
“It beat the earlier record set in Haryana in 2016, where at an event 1,50,009 diya were lit,” Mr. Nath said and hailed the new record as “phenomenal”.
3)Thousands of Pakistan bank accounts hacked, money stolen in October
Pakistani authorities have said that bank accounts of thousands of individuals have been compromised and money stolen as a result of a massive hack last month.
Officials of cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said they launched a probe after complaints by several individuals. The cyber-attacks were launched on October 27 and 28 and reportedly data of 8,000 customers from about a dozen banks was stolen.
FIA officials said that Bank Islami reported that Rs 2.6 million was stolen through international payment cards on October 27 after which it stopped such transactions.
4) Greater flamingoes visit Hope Island after 25 years
After a long a gap, a flock of five greater flamingoes has been spotted on the Coast of Hope Island, a part of the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary. The long-legged and long-necked birds were last seen in a group about two and a half decades ago, while a lone flamingo was recorded in the 2016 Asian Water Bird Census at Sirra Yanam village in East Godavari district.
“We spotted the group during our visit to the Hope Island where we are conducting a routine survey of mangrove plantations,” says Shanti Priya Pandey, Chief Conservator of Forests and also the CEO of the East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem (EGREE) Foundation. She visited the Hope Island on Saturday along with Chief Conservator of Forests from Visakhapatnam Rahul Pandey and clicked snaps with her mobile.
5) PNB fraud: ED attaches 11 properties of Nirav Modi in Dubai
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it had attached 11 properties worth over ₹ 56 crore of fugitive diamond jeweller Nirav Modi in Dubai in connection with its money-laundering probe in the USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.
The central probe agency said the assets were in the name of “Modi and his group company M/s Firestar Diamond FZE and they bear a market value of USD 7.79 million, which is equivalent to Rs 56.8 crore“.
The ED has issued a provisional order for attachment of these assets under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
1) Arnab Goswami among four new members of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society.
The Centre has made four new appointments to the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) Society, in place of the three previous members and another one, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, who had resigned from the membership.
The new NMML society members are former journalist Ram Bahadur Rai, who is also the chairman of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, former Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, journalist Arnab Goswami and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, also the president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
The term of the nominated members will be up to April 26, 2020, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. The notification dated October 29 mentions that the government has accepted the resignation of Pratap Bhanu Mehta from the society’s membership.
Dr. Mehta had resigned from the executive council in August 2016 over a disagreement with the recommendation for appointment of the institution’s next director.
2) Pacific archipelago votes on independence from France
in New Caledonia are deciding whether the French territory in the South Pacific should break free from the European country that claimed it in the mid-19th century.
The polls opened on Sunday morning in a referendum that’s a milestone in the process of the archipelago’s three-decade-long decolonization one that will help define New Caledonia’s future as an independent country or as a continuing part of France.
More than 174,000 registered voters are invited to answer the question- “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?”
Observers expect a majority to favor remaining a part of France, based on opinion polls and previous election results.
3) Slow policy decisions eclipsing solar projects
A combination of slow decision-making at the Centre, and policy uncertainty by state governments has meant that the solar sector has taken its foot off the accelerator and is now much more cautious about the future, according to Rahul Mishra, CEO of Rays Future Energy.
While some of the Centre’s indecision can be ascribed to the fact that it is distracted by the run-up to the general elections, a large part of it cannot be explained away due to this, Mr. Mishra said.
4) IIT Roorkee team uses tamarind seed protein to treat chikungunya
Researchers have found that a protein found in tamarind seeds reduces the infectivity of chikungunya virus by 64% and the virus RNA levels inside infected cells by nearly 45%. Based on the promising results obtained through in vitro studies, the researchers are planning to test the protein on animals to prevent and/or treat chikungunya infection. Currently, there are no drugs to treat chikungunya or any vaccine to prevent it.
The study published in the journal Virology has for the first time confirmed that the sugar moiety on the surface of alphaviruses has a role in infectivity; this is known for other viruses such as HIV and influenza.
5) Mastercard lodged U.S. protest over PM Modi's promotion of RuPay
Mastercard told the United States government in June that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was using nationalism to promote the use of a domestic payments network, and New Delhi's protectionist policies were hurting foreign payment companies, a document seen by Reuters showed.
Mr. Modi has in recent years backed India's homegrown payments network 'RuPay', whose rise has broken the dominance of U.S. payment giants such as Mastercard and Visa. More than half of India's 1 billion debit and credit cards now go through the RuPay payment system, and that means companies such as Mastercard face an uphill task to expand rapidly in one of the world's biggest payments growth markets.
PM Modi has publicly endorsed the indigenous card payment network, saying using RuPay was like serving the country as its transaction fee stays within India and could help build roads, schools and hospitals.
1) Global Drug Survey set to cover Indians
In the United Kingdom, cocaine is often said to be home delivered faster than pizza, and the Germans and French are the least likely to seek medical attention following alcohol use. These pointers and more emerged from the 2018 edition of the Global Drug Survey, the largest poll of its kind in the world that surveyed recreational drug use among 1,30,000 people spanning 44 countries.
Now in its eighth year, the GDS for 2019 will survey, for the first time, consumption trends in alcohol, cannabis and opiates in India.
The 2019 survey, which will launch in November and be available online until December 30, will investigate drug habits across 35 countries, and its findings will be translated into 20 languages.
The GDS uses an encrypted, online platform to conduct annual anonymous surveys. No IP addresses are collected and the survey is independent of governments.
2) In the United Kingdom, cocaine is often said to be home delivered faster than pizza, and the Germans and French are the least likely to seek medical attention following alcohol use. These pointers and more emerged from the 2018 edition of the Global Drug Survey, the largest poll of its kind in the world that surveyed recreational drug use among 1,30,000 people spanning 44 countries.
Now in its eighth year, the GDS for 2019 will survey, for the first time, consumption trends in alcohol, cannabis and opiates in India.
The 2019 survey, which will launch in November and be available online until December 30, will investigate drug habits across 35 countries, and its findings will be translated into 20 languages.
The GDS uses an encrypted, online platform to conduct annual anonymous surveys. No IP addresses are collected and the survey is independent of governments.
3) RBI allows banks to provide partial guarantee to NBFC bonds
The Reserve Bank on Friday permitted banks to provide partial credit enhancement (PCE), or a partial guarantee, to bonds issued by systematically important NBFCs and Housing Finance Companies, a move that will enhance their liquidity position.
“It has now been decided to allow banks to provide PCE to bonds issued by the systemically important non-deposit taking non-banking financial companies (NBFC-ND-SIs) registered with the Reserve Bank of India and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) registered with National Housing Bank,” the RBI said in a notification.
It further said the proceeds from the bonds backed by PCE from banks should only be utilised for refinancing the existing debt of the NBFC-ND-SIs/HFCs.
Banks should introduce appropriate mechanisms to ensure that the end-use condition is met. “The exposure of a bank by way of PCEs to bonds issued by each such NBFC-ND-SI/HFC shall be restricted to one percent of capital funds of the bank within the extant single/group borrower exposure limits,” the notification said.
4) Supreme Court declines to examine triple talaq ordinance, leaves it to Parliament
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to examine the legality of an ordinance, promulgated on September 19, making the declaration of instant triple talaq by a Muslim husband of his wife a crime.
A Bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said two months have already passed since the promulgation of the ordinance, which has a life of only six months unless ratified by the parliament.
The Chief Justice left it to the parliament to debate the constitutionality of the ordinance, saying the Winter Session is shortly to commence.
“We don’t like to interfere...” Chief Justice Gogoi addressed the lawyers for Samastha Kerala Jamiathul, one of the biggest religious organisation of the Sunni Muslim scholars and clerics in Kerala, which had challenged the ordinance.
5) Xi calls for ‘new era’ in ties with Pakistan
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan has arrived in Beijing to rework “all-weather” ties with China, after reinforcing Islamabad’s bonds with Saudi Arabia, and keeping the door open for the re-entry of West-backed International Monetary Fund (IMF) into his country.
He was received at the airport in the early hours on Friday by Chinese Minister for Transport Li Xiaopeng, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing and Ambassador of Pakistan to China Masood Khalid. In the afternoon, Mr. Khan was welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People.
Mr. Khan has arrived at a time when Pakistan’s economy is in doldrums, and could benefit from financial support from China — Islamabad’s longstanding ally.
1) India protests China-Pakistan bus via PoK
India on Thursday reiterated its opposition to a proposed luxury bus service between Pakistan and China that would pass through parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan — territory that India claims — terming it “a violation of India’s sovereignty”, a day after it had summoned a Chinese diplomat to South Block to lodge a strong protest against the initiative.
“We have lodged strong protests with China and Pakistan on the proposed bus service that will operate through areas of Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir State under the so-called ‘China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’,” the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told reporters. “Any such bus service through Pakistan Occupied Jammu & Kashmir State will be a violation of India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
2) India hopes for U.S. waiver on Iran
With about 72 hours to go for the United States deadline on sanctions on oil trade with Iran as well as dealing with ports and shipping, Indian officials were cautiously optimistic they will receive a waiver from Washington. The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said India has been in talks with the U.S. as well as with Iran to ensure uninterrupted energy supply.
“The U.S. is well aware of our requirement for oil domestically, which is critical for sustaining our economic growth. We have taken note of the U.S. position that the intention of imposing sanctions on Iran is not to hurt India. We will continue to engage with the U.S. and other stakeholders so that our energy security is not compromised,” said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.
The U.S. had called for all countries to “zero out” their oil purchases from Iran, which India has not done. However, U.S. officials are compiling a list of those countries that have significantly reduced their oil imports from Tehran, who would qualify for waivers, and India expects to be on that list. The waivers “look likely but not yet formally decided”, a government official told The Hindu, indicating that the final word rests with U.S. President Donald Trump who must sign them before November 4.
3) Sri Lanka’s new Cabinet expanded
A fresh group of Ministers was inducted into Sri Lanka’s “new Cabinet” late on Thursday, even as confusion persisted over the likely date for reconvening the Parliament to end the week-long impasse in the country.
A snap move by President Maithripala Sirisena last Friday plunged the nation into a political crisis and left the country in a rare conundrum — with two Prime Ministers and parallel Cabinets. It followed Mr. Sirisena’s abrupt withdrawal of support from the country’s national unity government, and marked his realignment with former rival and ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whom he appointed as the new Prime Minister. Mr. Sirisena soon prorogued Parliament until November 16, sparking considerable domestic and international concern over what many deemed an “unconstitutional” move.
4) Almost 94% mobile handsets sold in India country made: Report
Domestic manufacturing of mobile phones saw a significant increase in the third quarter of 2018, with almost 94% of the handsets being made in the country, a new report from CyberMedia Research (CMR) has said.
According to CMR’s “India Mobile Handset Market Review Report”, India’s mobile handset market recorded 9% sequential growth during the quarter and smartphones grew sequentially by 29%.
Feature phone shipments during this period improved by 24% while fusion phones witnessed a sequential decline of 41%.
5) Be ready to trace the origin of messages, WhatsApp told
The government on Wednesday said it does not want WhatsApp to “decrypt and read” messages sent on its platform but “insists” that the Facebook-owned firm be able to trace the origin of messages that lead to serious crimes.
This was conveyed to WhatsApp vice president Chris Daniels at a meeting with Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The government and WhatsApp firm have been at loggerheads over the issue of tracing the origin of fake messages. WhatsApp had earlier said it would not comply with the government’s demand as the move would undermine the privacy of WhatsApp users.
1) Maldives ex-President Mohamed Nasheed returns from asylum
The first democratically elected President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, returned home on Thursday after more than two years in exile to escape a long prison term.
As the plane carrying him from Sri Lanka landed in Maldives’ capital Male, he was welcomed by his party members and supporters. He planned to address his supporters later in the day.
Mr. Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail in 2015 after being convicted of terrorism for ordering the arrest of a top judge in 2012 while he was President. His trial was criticised internationally for lack of due process, along with those of many other political opponents jailed by strongman President Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration.
Mr. Nasheed’s return follows Mr. Yameen’s defeat in the September 23 presidential election by Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, candidate of Mr. Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party.
Since Mr. Yameen’s defeat, courts have freed or granted bail to some of the jailed officials.
2) Zika alert: Health Ministry sends team to Madhya Pradesh
After Jaipur and Ahmedabad, the Union Health Ministry has now sent a team of experts to Madhya Pradesh to confirm and verify reports of Zika virus cases in the state.
A central team comprising experts from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Emergency Medical Response (EMR) has gone to the State following information about three persons being detected with Zika virus, a Health Ministry official said.
“The team will verify the facts and if the information is true, it will assist the Madhya Pradesh government to replicate the measures and action plan, implemented in Jaipur and Ahmedabad, there, to prevent any possible outbreak of Zika,” he said.
3) Recommendation on judges’ elevation a unanimous decision: Supreme Court Collegium
The Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said it took “extensive deliberations and discussions” among themselves and their colleagues to unanimously resolve to recommend four names for elevation as judges to the apex court.
Resolutions of the five-member Collegium published by the Supreme Court on Wednesday revealed that Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court, Justice Hemant Gupta; Gujarat High Court Chief Justice R. Subhash Reddy; Patna High Court Chief Justice Mukeshkumar Rasikbhai Shah; and Tripura High Court Chief Justice Ajay Rastogi were finally decided after concluding that they were “more deserving and suitable in all respects than other Chief Justices and senior puisne judges of High Courts for being appointed as judges of the Supreme Court.
4) India moves up to 77th rank in Ease of Doing Business Index
India jumped 23 ranks in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index 2018 to 77. It ranked 100 in the 2017 report.
The Index ranks 190 countries across 10 indicators ranged across the lifecycle of a business from 'starting a business' to 'resolving insolvency'.
“India’s strong reform agenda to improve the business climate for small and medium enterprises is bearing fruit. It is also reflected in the government’s strong commitment to broaden the business reforms agenda at the state and now even at the district level,” said Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India in a press release. “Going forward, a continuation of this effort will help India maintain its goal of strong and sustained economic growth and we look forward to recording these successes in the years ahead."
5) Advani wins Asian snooker title
Nineteen-time World champion Pankaj Advani on Wednesday sent out a strong message before the upcoming World championships by winning the second leg of the Asian Snooker Tour in Jinan, China.
Advani delivered a power-packed performance to outclass China’s Ju Reti 6-1 in the final and become the first Indian to win an Asian Snooker Tour event.
The IBSF World Billiards and Snooker Championships is less than a fortnight away and the Indian star cueist is the defending champion in both sports.
The new 10-red format of the Tour was well-received by all players as some fine performances were on display throughout the second leg.
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Quake hits Papua New Guinea, no damage or injuries reported
According to the US Geological Survey, the quake was centered about 117 kilometers (73 miles) east of Kimbe, West New Britain, on the Pacific island nation and was about 40 kilometers (25 miles) deep.
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