Tuesday 30 May 2017

MI5 PROBE INTO MISSED WARNINGS OVER MANCHESTER BOMBER

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UK’s MI5 intelligence agency has launched urgent inquiries into how it missed the danger posed by the Manchester bomber Salman Abedi, amid claims his interest in being a potential terrorist killer was repeatedly reported to the authorities.
Meanwhile,British police carried out fresh raids and today arrested a Libya-born ‘trainee pilot’ in connection with the suicide attack that claimed 22 lives. According to the police, the 23-year-old was arrested at a property in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, more than 400-km from the Manchester Arena, where Salman Abedi detonated a suicide bomb.
Greater Manchester Police said the total number of people in custody in connection with the bombing was 14 while two others were earlier released without charge.

FRANCE’S MACRON HOLDS ‘FRANK EXCHANGE’ WITH PUTIN

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French President Emmanuel Macron says he held a frank exchange with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in their first face-to-face talks.
The two leaders discussed disagreements in the meeting, held at the sumptuous Versailles palace near Paris. But Mr Macron said he wanted to work with Russia over the conflict in Syria in the struggle against terrorism.
Meanwhile, Mr Putin said he wanted to strengthen economic ties with France after the restrictions of recent years. France is in the coalition backing Sunni Arab and Kurdish rebels opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has strong military help from Russia and Iran.
Later in the joint news conference after yesterday’s talks both leaders said there were opportunities for their countries to work together more closely.

M6.6 – SULAWESI, INDONESIA

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POWERGRID’S PROFIT AFTER TAX CROSSES RS. 7500 CRORE

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POWERGRID’s Profit After Tax crosses Rs. 7500 crore
30.05.2017
Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), a ‘Navratna’ Company under Ministry of Power, GoI, has posted a net profit of Rs.7,520 crore over a turnover of Rs. 26,581 crore for FY 2016-17, registering a growth of about 25% in Turnover and 26% in Net Profit compared to FY 2015-16, on a standalone basis. The Company surpassed Rs.25,000 crore Turnover and Rs.7,500 crore Profit After Tax for the first time.
For the fourth quarter of FY2016-17, the Company has posted a net profit of Rs. 1,916 crore, as against a net profit of Rs.1,569 crore registering an increase of 22% with respect to corresponding period of FY 2015-16.
The Company has proposed a final dividend of 33.5% in addition to interim dividend of 10.0% (already paid) for the financial year 2016-17.
As at the end of April, 2017, POWERGRID is operating about 139,700 ckt. kms. of transmission lines along with 220 Sub-stations with transformation capacity of more than 292,500 MVA. With the use of state-of-the-art maintenance techniques, average Availability of transmission system during the year 2016-17 was maintained at 99.79%.
During the FY 2016-17, POWERGRID completed a number of important inter-regional transmission lines including +/-800kV HVDC Champa-Kurukshetra line, Angul-Srikakulam line and Wardha – Nizamabad line. The Company also completed two projects under TBCB.
The Company incurred a capital expenditure to the tune of ~ Rs.24,429 crore during the period, which was highest ever in a year.
With the end of FY 2016-17, XII Five Year Plan (2012-17) has also concluded and during this period, POWERGRID has achieved highest ever capital investment of ~₹1,12,664 crore surpassing the target of ₹1,10,000 crore (originally envisaged ~₹1,00,000 crore at the beginning of the Plan).
During XII Plan, POWERGRID achieved new milestones in technology adoption, deployment and innovation. The Company successfully implemented the world’s longest multi-terminal ±800kV HVDC in the form of Biswanath-Chariyali (NER)-Agra and deployed latest state-of-the-art technologies like aerial patrolling of transmission lines using helicopters and drones for O&M of transmission lines. With

SAUDI DEPUTY CROWN PRINCE LEAVES FOR RUSSIA

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Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud along with Minister of Defence left for Russia today on the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During the visit to Moscow, the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince will meet President Vladimir Putin and a number of senior officials to discuss bilateral relations, enhance cooperation between the two friendly countries and review issues of mutual interest. They will also discuss the Syrian conflict. Four agreements are expected to be inked between the two countries.

TROPICAL CYCLONE MORA IN BANGLADESH

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Bangladesh, five people were killed as Cyclone Mora made landfall in Kutubdia of Cox’s Bazar this morning. Government sources said at least 20,000 homes, mostly in Cox’s Bazar and St. Martin Island areas have been damaged. A navy ship is on the way to St Martin with relief supplies.
Authorities have instructed the army and air force to join the relief operations as they gear up to evacuate over half a million people from the coastal areas.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, the storm over Northeast Bay of Bengal moved further North-Northeastward. It said, the latest observations indicate that it crossed Bangladesh coast about 30 km south of Chittagong this morning. The MeT office said, the system is likely to continue to move north-northeastwards towards northeastern states and weaken into a cyclonic storm and then into a deep depression.
In Odisha, rain and thundershowers are likely to occur at many places including coastal and interior parts of the state during next 24 hours under the impact of Cyclone Mora. Advice for hoisting Distant Warning Signal Number Two (DW-II) at Paradip and Gopalpur ports has been issued. Fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea.
Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon today hit Kerala and the Northeast, two days ahead of the scheduled arrival of the crucial seasonal rainfall. IMD said, Cyclone Mora, which hit the Bangladesh coast today, aided the advance of the monsoon.The normal onset date for the monsoon in Kerala, which marks its official arrival in the country, is June 1.
Early arrival of Monsoon will bring cheer to farmers, especially from the drought-hit states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
Southwest monsoon will further advance into remaining parts of south Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area and Kerala, some parts of central Arabian Sea, coastal and south interior Karnataka. It is also likely to advance into some more parts of Tamil Nadu

ADVANI, JOSHI AND BHARTI GRANTED BAIL BY CBI COURT IN AYODHYA DEMOLITION CASE

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Senior  Veteran BJP and VHP leaders, including LK Advani, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Union Minister Uma Bharti, MP Vinay Katiyar, Vishnu Hari Dalmiya and Sadhvi Ritambhara have been granted bail by Special CBI court in Lucknow in the Ayodhya disputed structure demolition case.
They appeared today before the court for framing of the charge of criminal conspiracy in the case.
Special CBI court judge S K Yadav is hearing two cases relating to the 1992 demolition following the Supreme Court order restoring the serious criminal conspiracy offences against BJP and VHP leaders.
The Supreme Court had on April 19 directed that Mr. Advani, Ms.Uma Bharti and Mr. Joshi will face trial on conspiracy charges. It had also transferred their case from Raebareli to Lucknow.
Besides the BJP three leaders, the conspiracy charge would now be invoked against BJP MP Vinay Katiar, Sadhvi Ritambara and Vishnu Hari Dalmia, who were being tried at Raebareli.

THE INDIAN ECONOMY UPTO MAY 30, 2017

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Fergana-5· India will grow at 7.2% in 2017-18, says World Bank – World Bank expects India , the fastest growing major economy in the world, to grow at 7.2% in the current fiscal and further up to 7.7 % by 2019-20 on strong fundamentals, reform momentum and improving investment scenario. Economic activity ought to accelerate in 2017-18.
 
Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma has said India’s tourism growth has reached 15(point)4 per cent when the global tourism growth was only 4(pont)6 per cent.
 
Speaking to media persons at Tiruchirapalli today, he said that tourism earnings in the country have increased to one lakh 56 thousand crore this year.
 
The Union Minister said that a city in Tamil Nadu will be selected and developed holistically as a tourist destination. He said the state has a very old civilization and deep-rooted culture. He added that there is a huge potential for medical tourism as well as spiritual tourism.
 
· 10 National Waterways (NWs) to be made operational next year- Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari stated that having secured Rs 2,000 crore from a central fund for development of water transport, operationalising at least 10 of the 111 National Waterways next year is on the top of government’s agenda,. The government last week approved allocation of 2.5% of the Central Road Fund (CRF) for NWs that would result in about Rs 2,000 crore proceeds a year for their development.
· India needs more jobs for women to boost growth: World Bank – According to the World Bank, India must reverse a trend of falling women’s participation in the job market if it is to achieve its ambition of double-digit growth. The World Bank in its latest report said just 27% of Indian women were working or actively looking for a job, a matter of “serious concern” that was holding back economic growth.
· India and Fiji Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence Cooperation – Hon’ble Minister of Defence and National Security of Fiji, Mr. Ratu Inoke Kubuabola accompanied by his delegation met Hon’ble Minister of Defence, Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley in New Delhi . The Ministers discussed expanded defence partnership in maritime security between both the countries, and naval cooperation was identified as an area of promise. An MoU on defence cooperation envisaging several areas of cooperation including in defence industry, military training and humanitarian assistance & disaster management was signed.
· Cement demand growth to recover to 4-5% in FY18 – Cement demand growth is expected to recover to around 4-5% during 2017-2018, driven by a pick-up in the housing and infrastructure segments, according to ratings agency ICRA. Cement demand, which was negatively impacted following the demonetisation exercise, rebounded in March, the agency in a report
 
World Bank in it’s recently released Report on “Unlocking Women’s Potential” stated that Indian economy could achieve double-digit growth if it pushes reforms to enlarge women’s participation in the workforce of the country. Such reforms would enhance household earnings and reduce poverty, besides creating better health and education conditions for the women’s children.
.India has been growing at around 7% for the past three years. Policy makers desire to duplicate China ‘s three decades-long double-digit growth miracle that noticeably reduced poverty and increased per capita income. Women’s labour force participation in India declined to 27% (among the lowest in the world) in 2011-2012 from near 40% in early 2000s.
The Indian parliament recently passed a law that has doubled maternity leave and allowed female employees to work from home, to improve the flexibility for female employees.
Though one-third of this decline was due to better education opportunities for girls in the age group of 15-24 years, the remaining was because of India ‘s inability to create enough jobs in the manufacturing and services sectors.
Underscoring the gravity of the situation, the World Bank said nearly two-thirds of Indian women with college degrees are without jobs.
The report has urged the Indian government to adopt to a strategy of more female and labour-intensive export growth. It also suggests to improve work connectivity and support female entrepreneurs to create more jobs for women.
The production of horticulture crops in the country in 2016-17 is estimated to be more than 295 million tonnes which is 3.2 per cent higher than previous year.The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare today released the Second Advance Estimates of Area and Production of Horticulture Crops for 2016-17.
 
The department said, the estimates are based on the information received from different State and Union Territories.
In 2016-17 the area under horticulture crops has increased from 245 lakh hectare to 249 lakh hectare which shows an increase of 1.9 per cent over previous year.
 
Fruits production during the current year is estimated to be 93 million tonnes, 2.9 per cent above last year. Production of vegetables too is estimated to be 3.5 per cent higher at 175 million tonnes.
 
Likewise, production of onion is estimated to increase by 3 per cent, potato by 7, tomato by 5 and flower by 3 per cent.

ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

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MODI INVITES GERMAN COMPANIES

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited German companies to invest in India and assured to work hand in hand to make their efforts successful.
Mr.Modi said that, the GST is the biggest economic reforms that India has ever had. He said that several steps have been taken for the ease of doing business in the country.
Addressing the Indo German Business Summit in Berlin, Prime Minister said that Germany is India’s one of the most important partner and expressed happiness to see that Indian companies are also able to make a mark in Germany.
He said that there is a huge potential in the Indo German economic relation. He said that the Centre is in the process of making India a global manufacturing hub. He said that FDI has been increased during last 3 years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the fast track mechanism implemented by the Government and specifically for Germany has brought about a quantum jump in economic relations between the two countries. Prime Minister appreciated the German Chancellor’s vision at global level and also at the EU front.
Mr.Modi told that the potential of 800 million youth, who form 65 percent of the population, need to be used at a macro level and to attain this skill development was one of the tools.
India and Germany have signed agreements to provide better opportunities to sharpen skills in promoting and developing the Nation. The Prime Minister also opined that intelligence sharing was the need of the hour and cyber security was to be addressed in real time technology. On climate change issue, the Prime Minister said that it would be a crime if nothing was done to protect and save the environment, as the future generation will have to depend on it. He said that 500 cities have been identified for water treatment including the ganges river cleaning project with German assistance.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that India has been a reliable partner in many fields including education, research and training .
She also told that Germany signed MoU of 1 billion Euros for smart city project, renewable energy and solar energy projects. Prime Minister Modi will visit the German President Frank Walter Steinmeier at Castle Believue before leaving for Madrid.
Randhir Kumar Jaiswal Joint Secretary Europe West Division Ministry of External Affairs has said that India has been committed on renewal energy cooperation. Speaking to newspersons today, he said that terrorism would also be discussed in the G-20 summit. He said that fast track mechanism in the area of trade and industry ironed out issues, which German companies had faced in India.
In the same way Indian companies have also emphasised on creating a fast track policy for their companies.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the fast track mechanism implemented by the Government and specifically for Germany has brought about a quantum jump in economic relations between the two countries. Prime Minister appreciated the German Chancellor’s vision at global level and also at the EU front.
Mr.Modi told that the potential of 800 million youth, who form 65 percent of the population, need to be used at a macro level and to attain this skill development was one of the tools. India and Germany have signed agreements to provide better opportunities to sharpen skills in promoting and developing the Nation.
The Prime Minister also opined that intelligence sharing was the need of the hour and cyber security was to be addressed in real time technology. On climate change issue, the Prime Minister said that it would be a crime if nothing was done to protect and save the environment, as the future generation will have to depend on it. He said that 500 cities have been identified for water treatment including the ganges river cleaning project with German assistance.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that India has been a reliable partner in many fields including education, research and training . She also told that Germany signed MoU of 1 billion Euros for smart city project, renewable energy and solar energy projects. Prime Minister Modi will visit the German President Frank Walter Steinmeier at Castle Believue before leaving for Madrid.
Randhir Kumar Jaiswal Joint Secretary Europe West Division Ministry of External Affairs has said that India has been committed on renewal energy cooperation. Speaking to newspersons today, he said that terrorism would also be discussed in the G-20 summit.
He said that fast track mechanism in the area of trade and industry ironed out issues, which German companies had faced in India. In the same way Indian companies have also emphasised on creating a fast track policy for their companies.

MYANMAR INCORPORATED OF 37 ADOPTED PRINCIPLES INTO A UNION AGREEMENT.

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Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday hailed the incorporation of 37 adopted principles into a union agreement.
Suu Kyi, also chair of the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC), made the remarks following the incorporation in the last day session of Myanmar’ 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference.
She said it is a step towards peace, national reconciliation and the emergence of a democratic federal union.
She urged all organizations and individuals that have not participated in the conference to join the historic endeavor towards a peaceful democratic federal union.
The 37 adopted principles out of 41, proposed by the UPDJC and resulting from state and regional level political dialogue, include 12 with the political sector, 11 with the economic sector, four with the social sector and 10 with the land and environment sector.
The 37 agreed principles, in accordance with the Nationwide Cease-fire Accord (NCA), were signed by leaders of participating groups of the government, parliament, military, cease-fired ethnic armed groups and political parties.
Inaugurated by Aung San Suu Kyi, the second meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference, which began last Wednesday, was attended by some 1,400 representatives from the government, the parliament, the military, invited political parties, ethnic armed organizations and civil society.

MERKEL:EUROPEANS SHOULD DETERMINE THEIR OWN DESTINY.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday cast doubts on EU’s alignment with the United States and Britain, saying Europeans should determine their own destiny.
Merkel, addressing a election campaign at a beer tent in Germany’s southern state of Bavaria, said following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and Brexit, Europeans “really have to take destiny into their own hands.”
“The times when we could fully rely on others are to some extent over.” Merkel said.
She said Germany and Europe would strive to have good ties with the United States, Britain as well as other countries, “even with Russia”. But she emphasized that “We have to know that we must fight for our future on our own.”
Media agencies

FIVE CUPS OF COFFEE DAILY MAY HALVE LIVER CANCER RISK

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Drinking about five cups of coffee everyday may halve the risk of developing the most common form of liver cancer.
Researchers from University of Southampton and the University of Edinburgh in the UK found that the more coffee consumed the greater the protection against hepatocellular cancer (HCC). The protection was found to be the same for both existing coffee-drinkers and those who did not usually drink it.
HCC is the second leading cause of cancer death globally due to its poor prognosis and high frequency, especially in China and Southeast Asia. It mostly develops in people who are already suffering from chronic liver disease.

WORLD TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS IN DUSSELDORF

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World Table Tennis Championships begin in Dusseldorf, Germany today with the Qualification matches.
The main draw will start from tomorrow. Top-ranked Indian in the world, Achanta Sharath Kamal will lead the 8-member Indian squad.
The team also includes Soumyajit Ghosh, Harmeet Desai, reigning national champion Madhurika Patkar, Manika Batra and Mouma Das.
It will be the 54th edition of the competition, and hosted by Germany for the seventh time.

INDIA’S JUNIOR SHOOTERS RETURN WITH 11 MEDALS

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India’s junior shooting squad returned with a rich haul of 11 medals from the recently concluded 27th Meeting of Shooting Hopes, a renowned international competition for future stars, held at Plzen,Czech Republic.
India finished with three gold, four silver and four bronze medals at the four-day competition. 459 shooters from 23 countries were seen in action in a total of 14 rifle and pistol events.
Anmol Jain, who recently took part in his first senior International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage in Munich, was the most successful Indian.
He won a team gold and a team silver in the Junior men’s 10m Air Pistol and 50m Pistol events, besides bagging an individual silver in the 50m Pistol event.
Another Indian Arjun Babuta, in the Junior men’s 10m Air Rifle won a silver. However, Babuta beat 2016 Baku World Cup Gold medallist and home favourite Filip Nepejchal in the finals.
Other noteworthy performances came from Saurabh Chaudhary in the Junior men’s 10m Air Pistol and Anish in the Junior men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event. Both won individual bronze medals.

MACRON TO TALK AT FIRST PUTIN MEETING

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French President Emmanuel Macron is promising tough talk at his first meeting with Vladimir Putin today, following an election campaign when his team accused Russian media of trying to interfere in the democratic process.
Macron, who took office two weeks ago, has said that dialogue with Russia is vital in tackling a number of international disputes. Nevertheless, relations have been beset by mistrust, with Paris and Moscow backing opposing sides in the Syrian civil war and at odds over the Ukraine conflict.
Fresh from talks with his Western counterparts at a NATO meeting in Brussels and a G7 summit in Sicily, Macron will host the Russian president at the palace of Versailles outside Paris.
A Russian official told reporters in Moscow on Friday that the meeting was an opportunity to get a better feel for each other and that the Kremlin expected a frank conversation on Syria.

CRICKET WITH PAKISTAN IS NOT POSSIBLE

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Mr. Britto Stephen, Organizing Secretary and Treasurer, Bad Bulls Sports Club and Mr. Anthony Vanarajah, General Secretary, Bad Bulls Sports Club-1
Sports Minister Vijay Goel made it clear that the government will not allow any bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan till the time “cross-border terrorism” does not stop.
The minister’s firm statement comes on a day the officials of Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pakistan Cricket Board are meeting in Dubai to discuss their bilateral ties, which have remained suspended since 2012 due to diplomatic tensions after terror attacks in India.
“BCCI should speak to the government before giving any proposal to Pakistan. I have made it clear that bilateral cricket with Pakistan is not possible till the time there is cross-border terror. We have, however, no say on multilateral events (ICC tournaments),” Goel said in New Delhi on Monday.
The PCB has already sent a legal notice to BCCI claiming damages in tune of US $60 million (Rs 387 crore approx) for allegedly not honouring the MoU that had stated five bilateral series in the cycle between 2015-2023.
It is learnt that the BCCI officials led by joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary will explain to their PCB counterparts that the series can’t be held without government permission and would also request them to withdraw the case.
If Pakistan refuses to budge, it is learnt that no way will BCCI pay any compensation in this case.
The cash-strapped PCB’s finances heavily depend on a series with India which would mean a financial windfall for the nation, where no international cricketing activity has taken place since terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricket team.
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