Halloween Costume ideas 2015
February 2017
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9:27 PM
NEW DELHI
A fire broke out at the Times of India building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in central Delhi's ITO area on Sunday evening. 31 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to control the blaze.
People stand outside the Times of India building on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg The fire broke out in the server room on the first floor of the building at 4.30 PM. Occupants of the building were safely evacuated and no casualties were reported in the incident. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
"31 fire engines are currently operating. Fire fighting operations are on, no casualties have been reported," chief fire officer (West) Vipin Kental informed the media later in the evening.
Fire officials said they initially sent six fire tenders when they were informed about smoke emanating from the building. Later, more fire tenders were pressed into service as it turned out to be a big blaze.
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9:22 PM
Los Angeles (USA)
Citing her pregnancy, the leading lady of 'Jackie' - and multiple best actress nominee - Natalie Portman said she is not attending the upcoming prestigious Academy Awards.

Wishing luck to her fellow nominees, the 35-year-old said, "Due to my pregnancy, I am unable to attend the Independent Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards," reports People.com.

The actress, who is expecting her second child with French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, has been nominated for her portrayal as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the biopic 'Jackie'.

It can be noted that the actress had won Oscars for best actress for 'Black Swan', five years ago, when she was pregnant with her first child.

Talking about the nominations for best actress category, talented beauties like Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Ruth Negga (Loving), Natalie Portman ( Jackie), Emma Stone (La La Land) and Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins) are in the league.

Dev Patel, who rose to fame with 'Slumdog Millionaire', is also nominated in the best supporting actor category for his portrayal in 'Lion'.
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9:17 PM
USA
Terming the Democratic National Committee (DNC) elections as rigged, U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Sen. Bernie Sanders never had a chance to win as Hillary Clinton demanded former Labor Secretary of U.S.A Tom Perez.

"The race for DNC Chairman was, of course, totally "rigged." Bernie's guy, like Bernie himself, never had a chance. Clinton demanded Perez!," said Trump in his tweet.

Trump through his tweets also attacked New York Times saying that it would take bad advertisement to save its failing reputation and advised it to report accurately and fairly.

Earlier, Trump wished Perez for winning the DNC elections.

"Congratulations to Thomas Perez, who has just been named Chairman of the DNC. I could not be happier for him, or for the Republican Party!," Trump tweeted.

Perez has been declared the DNC's new chairman. His victory in Atlanta on Saturday saw him make history as the first Latino to lead the task of rebuilding the opposition to Trump.

He won the chairmanship on a second ballot after missing out by just one vote in the first round of voting, reports the Guardian.

Perez, who earlier served in the Barack Obama administration, was considered as running mate for Hillary Clinton. He won against U.S. representative Keith Ellison by a fair margin.

Speaking after Perez's win, Ellison made an appeal for unity.

"If we waste even a moment going at it over who supported who," the Guardian quoted Ellison as saying.

"Democrats would be letting down the American people in their need to confront Trump and beyond that," he added.
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9:15 PM
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) 
While ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' radio address, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said people are eager to hear some 'Kaam Ki Baat' from him and dared the former to have a debate on the development done by Samjawadi Party.

"He said his 'Mann Ki Baat', but the people of Uttar Pradesh are waiting for him to do some 'Kaam Ki Baat'. Samajwadi's have worked for the development without any discrimination and I am ready for a debate on it. It is up to Prime Minister he can choose the destination and let have a debate on the development done by our party," he said in a press briefing here.

He also hits back at the Prime Minister for his 'Diwali, Ramzan bhed-bhav' remark and said that it was his party who provided the maximum amount of electricity to every region in their tenure.

"They say that electricity is not being provided in Gorakhpur. I would ask him to hold any wire in the region and then say, that the electricity is flowing through it or not. They are intentionally trying to raise these issues as they don't have any other thing to discuss," he said.

Further taking jibe at the Prime Minister's promises to take initiative to raise the standards of the farmers, Akhilesh said that it has been three years and till now no action has been taken on this matter.

"I made sure that land for setting up of AIIMS was allocated in Gorakhpur. I want to ask when will that AIIMS be ready? The people of Uttar Pradesh will once again vote for the Samajwadi Party, they will not get influenced by the false promises made by the Prime Minister," he said.

Earlier in the day, Akhilesh said the alliance between the Congress and Samajwadi Party is a tie-up between two youngsters, adding this would change the course of politics both at the national as well as state level.

"This is not an alliance between two families, it is an alliance between two youngsters, who would change the course of politics both at the national and state level," Akhilesh said while addressing a rally here ahead of the sixth-phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Elaborate arrangements are being put in place for tomorrow's fifth phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh. 51 constituencies spread over 11 districts in Terai and eastern part of the state, will go to polls in this phase.

The districts are Balrampur, Gonda, Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, Shravasti, Siddharth Nagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Amethi and Sultanpur.

Polling for Alapur assembly seat was postponed till the 9th of next month following the death of a Samajwadi Party candidate.
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9:07 PM
 New Delhi
Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) and Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said here that “Hunar Haat”, being organised by Ministry of Minority Affairs has proved to be an effective campaign to promote master artisans from across the country and provide market-opportunity to them.

Talking to media persons here, Naqvi said that the second “Hunar Haat”, organised at Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught Place, New Delhi from 11 to 26th February, not only provided a market and opportunity to master artisans, craftsmen and “Bawarchis”, it also gave a strong message of social harmony.
The “Hunar Haat” was a hit among the people as more than 26 lakh people, both domestic and foreign visitors, visited this “Hunar Haat”. The people not only made a purchase of lakhs of rupees from these artisans they also got orders from other countries.
With the theme “Craft Aur Cuisine Ka Sangam”, the second “Hunar Haat” was unique in the sense that it showcased crafts and traditional cuisines brought from different parts of the country at “Bawarchikhana”.
Besides handicrafts and various dishes, the people also enjoyed various cultural programmes, Qawwali, Gazal, “Bhajan”, puppet dance, bioscope. 

The artisans especially at food stalls, not only maintained high standard of personal hygiene, they also strengthened “Swacch Bharat Mission” by keeping their surrounding clean. The people visiting “Hunar Haat” appreciated this step of the artisans.

Facebook page of “Hunar Haat” was also launched on 16th Feb, 2017. The Facebook page contains information about the two “Hunar Haat”, which have been organized by the Ministry. It also has details about states where artisans have come from; detail of handicraft, other items and food. Photos and videos of “Hunar Haat” are also available. The people enjoyed all the activities in “Hunar Haat” live on this Facebook page.

More than 100 artisans and more than 30 culinary experts from about all the states and Union Territories participated at about 130 stalls in the second “Hunar Haat”. The selected artisans included several state and national level awardees.

For the first time in this exhibition very exquisite pieces of Handicraft & Handloom work like Makrana Marble products, Bandhej from Sikar, Mojri from Rajasthan, Banjara Embroidery from Telangana, Handmade Locks & Door Handles along with Phool Patti works from Aligarh, Cocoon decorated products from Nagaland, Mizoram Traditional Crafts, Kashmiri Pashmina Shawl, Sandalwood and other wooden works, ceramic pottery work, Banarsi Sadi, Cotton designer dress, Manipur’s Beadwork; purse and bags made in Nagaland, jute products from Assam; copper bells art from Gujarat; copper pots from Moradabad; Maheshwari saree from Madhya Pradesh; Bidri handicraft from Karnataka, handloom from Uttrakhand; woolen items from Himachal Pradesh; glass and wooden works from Kerala, jewelry from Rajasthan  etc were available.
The visitors enjoyed different cuisines from 13 states. The people enjoyed Awadhi Mughlai foods from Lucknow, Dal Bati Churma & Thali from Rajasthan, dishes from West Bengal, Malabari food from Kerala, Litti Chokha of Bihar, Puran Poli from Maharashtra, Dhokla & Jalebi from Gujarat, Kashmiri Wazwan from J&K, Bhutte Ke Khees, Sabudana Kheer & Khichri from Madhya Pradesh, Manipuri dishes, Punjab’s Chhole Bhature, Delhi’s aloo chat, “Kesariya Milk”, “kulfi”, “jalebi” and various traditional South Indian food etc. 
The first “Hunar Haat” had been organized from 14 to 27th November at India International Trade Fair in November 2016.
Next “Hunar Haat” will be organized at Mumbai soon. “Hunar Haat” will also be organized at Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangluru, Lucknow, Allahabad, Ranchi, Gauhati, Jaipur, Bhopal etc to promote master artisans from all corners of the country. 

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9:03 PM
New Delhi
NITI Aayog has organized a two day long high level workshop on advancing passenger mobility and transportation on February 27-28, 2017 in the national capital. The workshop in association with Rocky Mountain Institute, an international non-profit organization, will explore technologies and business models to help India leapfrog traditional approaches to passenger mobility and transportation.

Union Minister of Urban Development – M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister of Road Transport – Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Railways – Suresh Prabhu, and Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises – Anant Gangaram Geete, will attend the high level meet. Leading experts, academicians, representatives from related Ministries, think tanks, civil society organizations, and leading Indian and international companies will take part in the deliberations. The workshop will be followed by the release of a report detailing specific and actionable outcomes and opportunities. 

The workshop will follow a unique‘design charrette’format, whereby participants will collaborate in working groups to develop actionable steps to achieve an advanced mobility future. CEO NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant said that NITI Aayog  is excited to partner with leading organization to advance next generation mobility solutions. Mobility affects all sections of society and the transformative solutions now emerging will enable India to fulfill its aspirations for growth for all.

Chief Executive of RMI, Jules Kortenhorst told that India has the unique potential to rapidly implement solutions that leapfrog outdated transportation models. He lauded the Government initiative and said the participation of key stakeholders from around the world in this charrette, supported by the Indian government and coupled with the ambition of the work itself, demonstrates the seriousness and dedication that India has applied in assuming a global leadership role in transforming its mobility sector.

Anand Shah, a transportation expert at the Albright Stonebridge Group who will participate in the event from the United States said that India has a unique advantage, in pioneering a new development pathway. India could benefit from emerging technologies, the nation could be a global leader in new transportation methods similar to when India skipped landlines and computers to embrace mobile phones and technologies.

BACKGROUND:

India is at an historic inflection point in global transportation, where new technologies and connectivity will drive a paradigm shift in mobility over the next few decades. Historically, as countries developed, low-occupancy, petrol and diesel based vehicles proliferated, leading to inefficient capital utilization, overburdened infrastructure, urban congestion, and pollution.

On the current path, the number of personal vehicles could increase three- to four-fold in India by 2030, at significant direct and indirect costs to the economy and society.  At the same time, developed markets are testing technologies that could dramatically enhance access to clean and affordable mobility options.

India’s ability to leverage new technologies to design integrated systems of public and private transportation could deliver seamless and convenient connectivity to urban and rural areas in India while creating new jobs, improving the lives of millions of people, and protecting the environment.

It is expected that the deliberations over the next two days will provide an impetus to the Government’s efforts to find mobility solutions for the benefit of the people across the country.

NITI Aayog  will be providing the directional and technical support for the workshop while partnering with US based Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). The RMI is an independent nonprofit set up in 1982 to transform global energy use for a clean, prosperous and low-carbon future. It engages businesses, communities, institutions, and entrepreneurs to accelerate the adoption of market-based solutions that cost-effectively shift from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing.

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9:38 AM
 London 
The third Indo-UK Thought Leadership Awards took place on February 22. Awards were presented to individuals from India and the UK who have been contributing to strengthening bilateral relations between India and the UK.

Esteemed awardees included Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London and global educationist Jay Varkey, GEMS Education - The world's largest chain of K-12 schools.


The event was organised as part of a two-day delegation of India and UK academics, educationists, public figures and business leaders to promote India as a great place to study in the wake of UK tightening it's doors to attracting Indian students.

Sterling Media - a multi-award winning business and communications consultancy and its partners Great Place to Study Research Institute organised and hosted the event.
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9:37 AM
Kolkata (West Bengal) 
A 15-member middle level delegation of People's Liberation Army (PLA), China, led by Major General Zhao Jin Song, is on a three-day visit to HQ Eastern Command (EC), Kolkata from February 23-26.

The delegation is on a visit to India with the intent of enhancing bilateral defence cooperation mechanism between the Armed Forces of both the countries.


The team interacted with Lieutenant General Dushyant Singh, Chief of Staff, HQ EC followed by a meeting with the EC delegation.

The visit is in continuation of the enhanced engagements between the two armies.

The delegation had earlier visited Delhi and Agra on February 21 and 22.

It may be recalled that the PLA Western Theatre Commander General Zhao Zongqi visited India in December last year with the aim of enhancing cooperation.
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9:32 AM
Prakash Chawla

India would be reaping a record harvest of foodgrains in  2016-17 with pulses being the high point of the country’s achievements in the farm output, providing a food for thought about  how  policy  interventions and reaching out to farmers can motivate them to turn things around from severe shortages to near self- sufficiency.

Receptive as they are to the changing production, consumption and pricing pattern of different crops, aided by real time information made possible through new media, farmers have risen once again to the occasion. They would be producing 271.98 million tonnes of foodgrains in 2016-17, as per the second advance estimates, breaching the previous record of 265.57 million tonnes in 2013-14. Year on year, total foodgrains output would be rising by an impressive 8.1 per cent in 2016-17 over 251.56 million tonnes in the previous year.

If we draw a comparison between the previous best year of 2013-14 and the new record breaking year of 2016-17, farmers picked up positive signals for better returns and the minimum support price fixed by the Central Government and went about increasing area under acreage for pulses. In the last three years, the acreage for pulses went up from 252.18 lakh hectares to 288.58 lakh hectares with yields increasing from 19.78 million tonnes to 22.14 million tonnes. This would be close to the country’s demand for the protein rich lentils, though the consumption is bound to increase as average income of both rural and urban families move up. Surely, this would mean a sustained focus on raising production and achieving self-sufficiency for pulses.

But for now, the situation with regard to pulses prices has improved considerably. Pulses are no more making headlines for sky-rocketing prices which have now moved down to as much as Rs 4200-5500 per quintal in the wholesale mandis.  The retail annual inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index, for pulses and products was negative 6.62 per cent for January, 2017.  The credit for achieving near self-sufficiency goes to farmers and to some of the effective measures taken by the government.

The strategy involved achieving higher acreage for  pulses under the rain-fed areas in  Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, UP and Tamil Nadu. Sufficient rains in 2016 too helped the farmers who were assured of an MSP along with bonus for their produce. As pulses production involves risks against the vagaries of weather, the upgraded crop insurance scheme ‘Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana’ (PMFBY) too motivated the farmers. The estimated government expenditure on the PMFBY for 2016-17 is pegged at Rs 13,240 crore.    

One of the high points of the pulses story is the involvement of the North Eastern states in the mission for stepping up production through multi-pronged strategies.  The game plan included rice fallows through cluster demonstration of technologies by the extension machinery of the states and Centre, intercropping with cereals, oilseeds and commercial crops; cultivation of Arhar (Tur) on farm bunds, creation of seed hubs for quality seeds, and distribution of seed mini kits free of cost to farmers. India has been traditionally importing a large of pulses from Mynamar which has similar climatic conditions to the North-Eastern states.    

 Besides, the pulses component of the National Food Security Mission  has been extended from 468 to 638 districts of 29 states including all districts of North-Eastern states and hill states like Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand.

 Thanks to the record foodgrains production, helped by the weather Gods as well, along with the policy interventions, the Indian agriculture is set to achieve an impressive growth of over four per cent. The impact is being seen widely on the availability and prices of the food products, including vegetables in the market. However, it has to be ensured that a good balance is achieved between a modest level of retail inflation and remunerative prices to the growers. After all, farming as a profession has to remain a priority for the country both for the welfare of the farmers as also for ensuring national food security.   

Rice and wheat would also be available in abundant quantity with the harvest set to grow by 4.26 per cent and 4.71 per cent respectively in the current crop year over 2015-16.  For 2016-17 rice production  is expected to reach the highest ever record of  108.86 million tonnes.

On the other hand, wheat output would rise to  96.64 million tonnes in 2016-17, up by 4.71 per cent   over the previous year.   

A note-worthy feature of rice and wheat story is that the yield has increased while the acreage dropped in the last three years, pointing towards better farm productivity which, of course, needs to be further supplemented. For rice, the area under cultivation in 2013-14 was 441.36 lakh hectares, giving an output of 106.65 million tonnes. The acreage in 2016-17 dropped to 427.44 lakh hectares, but production is estimated to be going up to 108.86 million tonnes.

A similar picture has emerged for wheat. The area under cultivation in 2013-14 was 304.73 lakh hectares with an output of 95.85 million tonnes. The comparative figure for 2016-17 is 302.31 lakh hectares, while production is pegged at 96.64 million tonnes. Doubtlessly, the farmers of the country need to be applauded for their efforts. Let’s hope, assisted by several new measures taken by the government, the day is not far when the farmers of our country will be a happy lot. As Prime Minister Modi has said, “Give water to the farmers of this country and see the wonders they can do. Through the Pradhanmantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, we want to ensure that water reaches every village across the length and breadth of the country.” The Prime Minister has also said that his government has a vision of doubling the farmers’ income by 2022.
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9:29 AM
New Delhi
Famous Army Polo Championship that commenced on 31 Jan 2017 saw a thrilling final match on Friday between 61 CAVALRY and Army Service Corps after tough round of league matches which also saw participation from Corps of Artillery, Remount and Veterinary Corps and Armored Corps. 

Army has dominated Equestrian Sports for a long time producing a large number of Asian Games medalists, World Cup players, Padam Shree and Arjuna awardees and is pursuing it as part of it’s Mission Olympics programme.

Army Polo Championship which was re-instituted in year 2015 after a gap of ten years witnessed the participation of some of the renowned players in the Indian Polo Circuit like Col Navjit Singh Sandhu and Lt Col Ravi Rathore playing at +2 and +5 handicaps respectively. Lt Col Ravi Rathore who is the highest handicapped polo player in Indian Army has also played four World Cups for the Indian Polo Team.

          Lt Gen RV Kanitkar, Quarter Master General, presented the Army Polo Championship Trophy to 61 CAVLARY in the presence of a big audience including many senior officers.
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9:28 AM
New Delhi
Vice President Hamid Ansari has said that the East African Community is taking shape as an Economical and Political Community and many of our programmes and initiatives in the region will no longer be purely bilateral but will have to be adapted to work for the entire community. He was addressing the Media Onboard Air India One aircraft while returning back from a 5-day visit to Rwanda and Uganda . The Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Vijay Sampla and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

The Vice President said that there had been a gap in high level visits to both of these countries and this visit filled that gap. He further said that the level of discussions in both the countries were extremely warm and cordial, adding that his meetings went beyond pro-forma. The meeting with the President of Uganda was substantive and productive and reinforced our long standing ties, he said.

The Vice President said that India's approach, as long standing friends, has been to give our African partners assistance in their developmental programmes in those areas where they want and it is them to convert that into specific requests. He further said that the broader issues of India's approach to cooperation with African Countries are well known and well appreciated. One issue of concern to both I diamond and Africa is scourge of terrorism and there was a total meeting of minds in condemning terrorism in all shapes and forms, he added.

The Vice President said that the visit of Kigali Genocide Memorial was a tribute to the determination of the people of Rwanda and that he was glad that they were able to overcome that heart-rending disaster and re-build their country.

Reacting to a question on trade imbalance, the Vice President said that there was trade imbalance with Uganda as India exports a lot of things to them and their export basket to India was presently limited. He further said that there are two ways to address this; one by increasing the products in their export basket and two; instead of exporting finished goods from India to Uganda, some Indian manufacturers could set up their manufacturing units in Uganda.

Responding to a question on Parliamentary cooperation with both countries, the Vice President said that there is a need for having more Parliamentary interactions. He further said that a Parliamentary visit from Rwanda and Uganda will expose them to what is happening in India and witness our developmental programmes.

Reacting to a question on India sustaining engagements with Africa, the Vice President said that it was a part of Government's policy and that the India-Africa summit and various other initiatives make this evident. He further said that the sheer size of Africa with 54 countries and one billion people, create enormous chances of cooperation and of sharing our experience and skills which are useful to them. Africa also has enormous resources which can be useful as India's development requirements come up, he added.
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9:23 AM
Ryan Reynolds may be very excited to team up with Hugh Jackman for any Wolverine/Deadpool movie in the future, but the latter doesn’t think it will happen. In Facebook Live Q&A Jackman, who appeared along with “Logan” director James Mangold and co-star Patrick Stewart, responded to fan’s question about Wolverine/Deadpool movie, reported Ace Showbiz.

The question was coming from France and read by Stewart. “Hugh, would you ever consider teaming up with Deadpool?” Stewart recited the question. Jackman jokingly replied, “I’ve not heard that one. Deadpool is the other mutant?” And Mangold said, “It’s Green Lantern in a different outfit.”
Jackman later suggested that the collaboration might be possible only if it happened ten years ago. “Look, if that movie had appeared ten years ago, it’d be a totally different story,” said Jackman. “But I knew 2.5 years ago that this was the last one. The first call I made was to Jim (Mangold). I said, ‘Jim, I got one more shot at this.’ As soon as I got with Jim and started working on the idea of it, I was never more excited. But it feels like the right time,” the actor said. “Deadpool, go for it, man. You do your thing. You don’t need me,” he added.


The speculation about Wolverine/Deadpool movie has been long emerging. Reynolds expressed his enthusiasm about the crossover in some interviews and even “Deadpool 2” writers thought that the crossover would be potential.
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9:21 AM
WASHINGTON 
The U.S. government plans to start awarding preliminary contracts by April for construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, to fulfill one of President Donald Trump’s principal campaign promises.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it will accept "concept papers" for the wall’s design beginning next week and will choose the best ones by March 20. The agency will then ask vendors for construction cost estimates and, after reviewing their bids, begin granting contracts by mid-April — a remarkably quick schedule for a government construction project.

Trump told the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday that the border-wall project was "way ahead of schedule."

"We’re going to build a wall, don’t worry about it," Trump told a cheering crowd of his supporters. "We’re building a wall. We’re building the wall. In fact, it’s going to start soon."

The Customs and Border Protection agency, a unit of the Department of Homeland Security, did not indicate where the initial phase of construction will begin.

Trump has said the wall will cost $12 billion, while Republican leaders in Congress have pegged its cost 20 percent higher than that. An internal Homeland Security report forecast the total cost could be as much as $21.6 billion.

Since the earliest stages of his presidential campaign in 2015, Trump has vowed to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico as a way to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking. He has assured Americans that Mexico would pay for the wall — a claim denied repeatedly by Mexico’s elected leaders — and the issue has soured relations between the two countries.

The White House has said Trump has a "buffet of options" to make Mexico to pay for the wall, including imposing a 20 percent tax on all imports from Mexico. Critics have said that scenario would mean American consumers actually would be paying for the wall.

The border barrier primarily would be aimed at stopping illegal immigrants from entering the United States. However, many Mexicans regard the idea of a wall as an insult, and authorities on both sides of the international border have predicted that rough terrain and large stretches of private property straddling the border could make building the wall a long, complicated project.
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9:39 AM
Washington
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wanted to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the "top of the pack," saying the United States had fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity.

In a Reuters interview, Trump also complained about Russian deployment of a cruise missile in violation of an arms control treaty and said he would raise the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin when and if they meet.

On another front, Trump said China could solve the national security challenge posed by North Korea "very easily if they want to," ratcheting up pressure on Beijing to exert more influence to rein in Pyongyang's increasingly bellicose actions.

Speaking from behind his desk in the Oval Office, Trump also declared himself "very angry" at North Korea's ballistic missile tests and said accelerating a missile defense system for U.S. allies Japan and South Korea was among many options available.
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9:36 AM
David Byrd
The original Oscar statue was hand carved by Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley. For decades the statuettes have been made by a Chicago trophy company and gold-plated.

But last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided they wanted to return to the original bronze figure made using the lost wax process. The Academy chose Polich Tallix as the foundry to cast the bronze figures.

3-D Scans Merge Previous Versions
They started by scanning a classic Oscar from 1928 and the 2015 model and entering the information into a 3-D printer.

"We have the three different versions," said Daniel Plonski, the 3-D artist and the head of production. "We have the classic statue, the recent 2015 version and the third version which we created."

The new design is then 3-D printed in wax and a mold of that statue is made to make another wax figurine for each statuette.

Plonski says the 3-D printing makes the process much quicker, but just as faithful to the Art Deco original.

“So before it required a great deal of hand-sculpting and carving," hei said. "And now all of that can be done completely with a digital environment. Once we have our design created we can send it to our 3-D printer which produces the 3-D wax patterns.”

Lost Wax-casting Process

The new Oscar is then dipped in a ceramic slurry, and once it is cured, fired in an oven at 871 degrees Celsius. Molten bronze is then poured into the ceramic mold and allowed to cool.

Production manager Paul Pisoni says the molds are not reused – that each Oscar is a brand new casting.

"One mold is only good for one Oscar and then it gets cracked and destroyed so therefore we have to make one of these molds for every piece of metal that we cast in the foundry," he said.

After some cleanup, the bronze statuettes are polished to a mirror finish and electroplated with 24 karat gold at another firm in Brooklyn, New York. The base of each Oscar is also cast in bronze, and is given a smooth, black finish.

Pisoni says since they don’t know who wins, they have to engrave a bronze plate with all the nominees’ names.

And the Oscar Goes to...

When the actual winner is announced, the correct plate is attached in the center of the base.

The whole process takes about three months. The final product stands about 34 centimeters tall and weighs about 3.9 kilograms. And the gleaming statues will be on full display at Sunday’s ceremony in Los Angeles.
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9:33 AM
BELGIUM  
Alphabet Inc's Google and subsidiary Jigsaw launched on Thursday a new technology to help news organizations and online platforms identify abusive comments on their websites.

The technology, called Perspective, will review comments and score them based on how similar they are to comments people said were "toxic" or likely to make them leave a conversation.

It has been tested on the New York Times and the companies hope to extend it to other news organizations such as The Guardian and The Economist as well as websites.

"News organizations want to encourage engagement and discussion around their content, but find that sorting through millions of comments to find those that are trolling or abusive takes a lot of money, labor, and time. As a result, many sites have shut down comments altogether," Jared Cohen, President of Jigsaw, which is part of Alphabet, wrote in a blog post.

"But they tell us that isn’t the solution they want. We think technology can help."

Perspective examined hundreds of thousands of comments that had been labelled as offensive by human reviewers to learn how to spot potentially abusive language.

CJ Adams, Jigsaw Product Manager, said the company was open to rolling out the technology to all platforms, including larger ones such as Facebook and Twitter where trolling can be a major headache.

The technology could in the future be expanded to trying to identify personal attacks or off-topic comments too, Cohen said.

Perspective will not decide what to do with comments it finds are potentially abusive; rather publishers will be able to flag them to their moderators or develop tools to help commenters understand the impact of what they are writing.

Cohen said a significant portion of abusive comments came from people who were "just having a bad day".

The initiative against trolls follows efforts by Google and Facebook to combat fake news stories in France, Germany and the United States after they came under fire during the U.S. presidential vote when it became clear they had inadvertently fanned false news reports.

The debate surrounding fake news has led to calls from politicians for social networks to be held more liable for the content posted on their platforms.

The Perspective technology is still in its early stages and "far from perfect", Cohen said, adding he hoped it could be rolled out for languages other than English too.
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9:29 AM
New Delhi
Government of India and the State of Sikkim signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under the Scheme Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) , for operational improvement of the State’s Power Distribution Department. With the signing of MoU, the total number of States covered under UDAY has reached twenty-two. Sikkim would derive an Overall Net Benefit of approximately Rs. 207 crores through UDAY by way of cheaper funds, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency, etc. during the period of turnaround.

The MoU paves way for improving operational efficiency of the Power Distribution department of the State. AT&C losses and transmission losses would be brought down through compulsory distribution transformer metering, consumer indexing & GIS mapping of losses, upgrade/change transformers, meters etc., smart metering of high-end consumers, feeder audit etc., besides eliminating the gap between cost of supply of power and realisation. The reduction in AT&C losses and transmission losses to 15% and 3.50% respectively is likely to bring additional revenue of around Rs. 179 crores.

Demand Side interventions in UDAY such as usage of energy-efficient LED bulbs, agricultural pumps, fans & air-conditioners and efficient industrial equipment through PAT (Perform, Achieve, Trade) would help in reducing peak load, flatten load curve and thus help in reducing energy consumption in the State of Sikkim. The gain is expected to be around Rs.25 crores.

While efforts will be made by the Power Distribution Department of the State to improve their operational efficiency, and thereby reduce the cost of supply of power, the Central government would also provide incentives to the State Government for improving Power infrastructure in the State and for further lowering the cost of power. The Central schemes such as DDUGJY, IPDS, Power Sector Development Fund (PSDF) or such other schemes of Ministry of Power and Ministry of New & Renewable Energy are already providing funds for improving Power Infrastructure in the State and additional/priority funding would be considered under these schemes, if the State/DISCOMs meet the operational milestones outlined in the scheme. Further, with improved efficiency, the State Power department would be in a better position to borrow funds at cheaper rates for Power infrastructure development/improvement in the State.

The ultimate benefit of signing the MOU would go to the people of Sikkim. Reduced levels of transmission and AT&C losses would mean lesser cost per unit of electricity to consumers. Further, financially and operationally healthy State Power Distribution department would be in a position to supply more power. Higher demand for power would mean higher PLF of generating units and therefore, lesser cost per unit of electricity which would again mean lesser cost per unit of electricity to the consumers. The scheme would also allow speedy availability of cheaper power to households in the State that are still without electricity. Availability of 24*7 power to hitherto unconnected villages/households etc. would boost the economy, provide more employment opportunities for the people of the State and thereby, improve the standard of living of the people of the State.

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9:25 AM
Dr. R Balashankar

The NDA government’s renewed emphasis on agriculture is a well thought out strategy to finally eradicate poverty and make rural poor an integral part of India’s growth story.  Rather, such spending has proved to be of temporary relief without really changing the ground reality.  It is experience that has prompted the government to initiate schemes meant to build durable rural infrastructure to motivate people adopt agriculture as a viable alternative career option.

This is an interesting departure from the past. The government’s plan is to transform the most backward districts in the country as models of India transforming. In this, the Gujarat experiment in Kutch is proving useful. The focus this time is on the 100 most backward districts in the country of which majority are in three states, Bihar, UP and Madhya Pradesh. These three states together account for seventy of the most backward districts in the whole country. More striking is that not a single most developed district in the country falls in these states. Some believe nothing can be done in the case of backward districts. But they can be made number one, said the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, recently. He was commenting on backwardness and total absence of development in certain regions in the country.

The issue of regional disparity has foxed planners for long. Previous governments have initiated many schemes specially designed for the most backward districts. Perhaps they failed because the focus was more on poverty alleviation and temporary job creation. They did not create rural infrastructure. Nor could they make agriculture profitable in the absence of roads, irrigation and connectivity.

As Chief Minister, before he became Prime Minister, Shri Modi has rebuilt the earthquake ravaged, hopelessly parched Rann of Kutch into a land of promise. Shri Narendra Modi has an unbeaten record of ushering in an era of double digit agricultural growth trajectory in Gujarat between 2003 and 2014, when the national average was languishing at less than two per cent. Shri Modi has also vowed to make the incomes of the Indian farmers double in the next four years. Taking cue from this agrarian success story, in Gujarat, a state which was never considered an agrarian state, because of the vast Saurashtra region which used to witness massive migration, cattle and people every year because of draught, many other states like MP, Chhattisgarh and now Maharashtra have adopted the techniques which were pioneered in Gujarat. This agrarian growth strategy was built on better irrigation, modern farming tools, easy availability of cheaper farm loans, 24-hour electricity and tech savvy marketing of farm produce. In each of these initiatives there is a large volume of innovative planning and hands on implementation. The NDA Government at Centre has been trying to replicate his experience in the entire country.

Soil testing to find the health condition of agricultural land is a major step in the direction of agrarian revolution. Neem coated urea is another. Building check dams, water conservation through ponds and other water conservation methods, raising the ground water level, reducing water wastage by promoting drip irrigation, changing crop pattern studying the soil fertility, water availability and market condition are other ingredients of this approach. Then reaching technology through electrification, computerization of Panchayats, building smoother roads through Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sarak Yojna which will also help marketing and internet connectivity which has been promised to reach every village are the things that will ensure development at the grass roots level.

Never before have so many poor people become bank account holders in India. Under the Jan Dhan Yojna about 30 crore new bank account has been opened. This financial inclusion is at the centre of a dynamic agrarian economy. The government in the financial year has saved Rs 50,000 crore through direct cash transfer scheme. This with free cooking gas connection to 50 million BPL families is changing lives of millions of families. The rural job guarantee scheme has been reworked with highest ever annual allocation and ensuring the availability of farm labour. These will also limit the flight of labour to cities leaving their traditional farm labour.

How can agriculture become profitable? How can the farmer income double by the turn of this decade? Will it ensure the end of rural indebtedness and farmer suicides? Yes, all this is possible if the Prime Minister is able to replicate at the national what he achieved in Gujarat. Shri Modi has put the common man at the pivot of his economic narrative. He has placed great faith in the Indian farmer and brought agriculture to the centre stage of his growth engine.  The new schemes, allocation for agrarian transformation tell this fascinating story. Rs 1.87 lakh crore is the next year allocation for agriculture and allied areas. The thrust areas in this are, MNREGA, availability of easy farm loans and better irrigation. The fund for irrigation corpus and dairy processing increased substantially. Crop insurance under Fasal Bima Yojna, along with agricultural credit yojna has Rs 10 lakh crore which is whopping compared to past records. More credit will incentivize farm investment and propel food processing industrialization. This will ensure durability and better returns for farmers. This could also boost job opportunity in rural India.

Rabi crop sowing has seen an eight per cent rise this season. Reports say the kharif crop this season is going to be a record 297 million tone because of better rain fall.  The building of better panchayat roads, 2000 kms of coastal connectivity roads and 130,000 panchayats getting high speed broadband under BharatNet will certainly improve marketing and remunerative pricing of farm products making agriculture as a profitable career option. Agriculture production is bound to leapfrog as a consequence of all these measures and the goal of food for all and complete eradication of poverty from the face of India in the near future will become a reality once these policy driven, targeted measures are executed.
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*The author is a senior Editor, regularly writes on economic issues. Balashankar12@gmail.com, Twitter @drbalashankar. These are author’s views.

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9:24 AM
 New Delhi
Government has simplified the maintenance of Labour registers of about 5.85 crore establishments in agriculture and non- agriculture sectors. These registers are related to details of employees, their salaries, loans/recoveries, attendance etc. This exercise will drastically reduce the number of registers being maintained by these establishments from 56 to only 5 by doing away with overlapping/redundant fields. This will help these establishments to save cost and efforts and ensure better compliance of Labour Laws. 

Under various Central Labour Acts, there is a requirement of maintenance of registers depending upon the threshold of the number of employees by the establishments in agriculture and non-agriculture sectors. As per the Sixth Economic Census of Central Statistical Office conducted during 2013-2014, India has about 5.85 Crore establishments in agricultural and non-agricultural sectors combined. Out of this, 4.54 Crore establishments are in non-agricultural sector. While reviewing the requirement of filing various returns / registers/forms provided under 9 Central Acts, there were several overlapping/ redundant fields that could be rationalized. 

An intention notification was issued on 4th November, 2016 for reducing the number of registers/data fields and the same was widely circulated to concerned Ministries / Departments, State Govts., other stakeholders besides placing the same in public domain. In effect, all previous registers envisaged under various Acts / Rules have been omitted and replaced with only 5 common Registers. Such an exercise has reduced number of data fields in 5 registers to only 144 from the then existing 933 fields in 56 registers. 

Ministry of Labour & Employment has also simultaneously undertaken to develop a software for these 5 common Registers. After development of the software, the same will be put on the Shram Suvidha Portal of the Ministry of Labour and Employment for free download with an aim to facilitate maintenance of those registers in a digitized form. 

The Labour Laws under which these registers are maintained include: 

(i) The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 

(ii) The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 

(iii) The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 

(iv) The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 

(v) The Mines Act, 1952 

(vi) The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 

(vii) The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 

(viii) The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976 

(ix) The Working Journalists and Other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1955 
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9:18 AM
President Pranab Mukherjee lighting the lamp at the inauguration of the International Conference titled Bharat Bodh (ldea of Bharat) co-hosted by the IGNOU and Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, in New Delhi 
New Delhi
President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated an international conference on ‘Bharat Bodh’ (Idea of Bharat) organized by the Indira Gandhi National Open University and Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal in New Delhi. 

Speaking on the occasion, the President complimented the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal for organizing this conference bringing together intellectuals, academicians and researchers to unravel various aspects of the “Bharat Bodh” (Idea of Bharat).  He expressed happiness that these two collaborators have brought their respective areas of expertise and scholarship to this important three day conference. He stated that the synergy and dynamism of these institutions should channelize the exploration of thousands of years of our journey as a civilization and people. He also hoped that deep insights would be gained into the idea of statecraft, governance, individual-society relations, structures, purposes and methodology of education, organic relationships with nature, and correlation between spiritual and material life.

The President said that Bharat has always been recognized as the storehouse of knowledge and discovery - knowledge which liberates, and discovery which fathoms the deepest thoughts of humanity and co-existence. As the origin and repository of philosophical and spiritual values, rivers of wisdom flow through the collective consciousness of our great people. 
President quoted American author Mark Twain and said “India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only”. 
The President said that this was indeed true. India is a land of great traditions, history and discoveries. Its people have lived in this great civilization giving rise to a unique trait of oneness overcoming the apparent contradictions, thriving on a composite culture and yet alive to the identities of its sub-parts. The President said that India is a land of huge diversity. Yet all its people are living under one system, one flag and one Constitution. All of us are proud to be Indiansand we celebrate this diversity.  He hoped that the deliberations at the Conference would enrich our perceptions regarding our country.   

The President said that the idea of Bharat flows from the eternal wisdom of our rich intellectual traditions. Constant churning and refinement has been the secret of the continuity of the Bharatiya thought through times and turbulences. Our core civilizational values which are equally relevant today and which speak  of love for the motherland, performance of duty, compassion for all, tolerance for pluralism, respect for women, honesty in life, self-restraint in conduct, responsibility in action, and discipline – form the Bharatiya world view. The Bharatiya conceptualization of the world encompasses philosophy, knowledge systems, principles of statecraft and legality, literature, architecture, art and music and all other important spheres of life. The diverse strands of the Bharatiya thought find unity in their objectives similar to the diversity and oneness of the universe. They remain instilled with the same essential spirit residing in every being and non-being. This is manifested in the unique ways of celebrating our diversity and confluence, and change with continuity.
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9:35 AM
France 
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was coy on questions over Wayne Rooney's future at the club as he confirmed the striker was still not fit enough to return for their Europa League clash with Saint-Etienne.

There have been rumours that Rooney, who is no longer an integral part of the United side under Mourinho, could eventually leave for the mega-rich Chinese Super League.

"You have to ask him," said Mourinho on Tuesday when asked if there was any chance the 31-year-old could follow in the footsteps of the likes of former United team-mate Carlos Tevez and move there before the transfer window closes next week.

"Of course I can't guarantee (he will be here). I can't guarantee that I'm here next week, how can I guarantee that a player is here next season?"

Mourinho, though, insisted he wants Rooney to stay, saying: "I would never push, or try to push, a legend of this club to another destiny."

Rooney trained with his United team-mates in Manchester on Tuesday morning but was not part of the 20-man squad that flew to France for Wednesday's last 32 second leg.

Asked if he would be fit for Sunday's English Football League Cup final against Southampton, Mourinho was non-committal.

"I don't know. This morning was the first time he trained and didn't even train 100 percent with the group," the Portuguese boss told reporters at Saint-Etienne's Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

"He is injured, I cannot do miracles at that level," said the boss.

"Rooney is injured, he (has been) injured for two or three weeks.

"When you don't have a player, you have others. The team is in a good moment. In the past few months we've lost only one game and it was one we could lose as it was a two-legged match."

'Shaw must wait'

The Europa League has taken on added importance for United, who are battling on four fronts, as it offers a qualification place to next season's Champions League for the winners.

With United in a tight battle for a top-four finish in the Premier League -- there will likely be three places up for grabs between five teams behind runaway leaders Chelsea –Mourinho said he wouldn't be prioritising competitions.

"I want to win tomorrow (Wednesday). I don't want to win Europa League or Premier League, I want to win tomorrow," he said.

"I want to win the final on Sunday – Sunday at 7 pm. I want to win against Bournemouth in the Premier League. That is the way I think all the time and during my career."

Another player who didn't make the match-day squad is England international full-back Luke Shaw, who has been out of favour with Mourinho.

After battling back from last season's double leg fracture, Shaw has found games hard to come by since Mourinho succeeded Louis van Gaal, playing only once since November.

And Mourinho gave little indication the 21-year-old is likely to earn a starting place any time soon.

"Luke has to wait for his chance, he has to work better and better, knowing that I give nothing for free.

"When I give something for the players it is expensive for me, it is not cheap. They have to work really hard every day, they have to play well, so he has to wait and in this moment he is behind the others."

United won last week's first leg at Old Trafford 3-0 thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic's hat-trick and Mourinho believes there will be no way back for Saint-Etienne if his team performs well on Wednesday.

"If we play normally, as we usually play, I think it is mission impossible for Saint-Etienne.

"Even though I think we played badly in the first 45 minutes of the first leg. I shall tell my players to forget about the final on Sunday. I want my players to be focused."

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