GST rollout: Jaitley says Congress must rise above politics in national interest

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said that despite the Opposition boycotting the Special Session of Parliament tonight for launch of the GST, the 'celebration' will go on.
Responding to the question of Congress-led Opposition's boycott, Jaitley said, "Karvan toh chalta rahega (Caravan will keep moving). Those who won't take part, would not stop it even if they take part (in the session)."
"There has been no reform that was necessary and the country did not do that. This is the strength and resilience of the country," Jaitley said.
Arun Jaitley said that Congress had adopted a narrow attitude. "Such narrow attitude will not stop the nation," said Jaitley, adding, "Congress had the opportunity to rise above politics."
"Congress has taken a fringe position, a position taken by fringe parties. Congress needs to think whether it wants to take fringe position or mainstream position on issues of national interests," Jaitley said.

MIDNIGHT SESSION

Arun Jaitley rejected the Opposition's claim that the midnight session of Parliament for GST launch was a 'self-promotion' move by the Modi government.
"This is not self promotion. We have been saying this since beginning that everyone has contributed to GST. For the Special Session of Parliament, President and Vice-President were consulted. Former PMs were to be present," Jaitley said adding that the Congress chose to be on the other side.

ARE WE READY FOR GST?

Finance Minister Jaitley said, "If you see the history of economic reforms around the world, the private sector has remained a step ahead of government. This time the history has reversed. We announced 6-8 months ago that the GST would be rolled out on July 1. They believed that the governments are known to miss deadlines."
The July 1 deadline was fixed at the GST Council, which took a unanimous decision on implementing GST, said Jaitley.
Jaitley said that previously traders had to file return for 17 different taxes. "Under GST, they are required to file one tax in one software every month," Jaitley said.
He said there would be some glitches as GST was a new regime but the those would be appropriately dealt with.

WHAT ELSE JAITLEY SAID

Arun Jaitley emphasised that Centre was not deciding authority in finalising tax rates. "The GST Council is not the Centre. It has 31 states and the Centre as members. We are not the one to take the final call."
With regard to Jammu and Kashmir, where enabling GST law has not been passed by the Assembly, Jaitley said, the delay is due to Article 370, which a is reality and the politics of the state. Some people are saying that GST will lead to more integration with the rest of the country.
Jaitley said that he has written a letter to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti highlighting the losses that Jammu and Kashmir and people of the state will suffer for not implementing GST.
Jammu and Kashmir consumers will have to pay taxes twice. The products will be costlier in Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir government can't claim compensation for the loss of revenue. If the manufacturer in Jammu and Kashmir tries to sell products outside the state, they will have to pay taxes twice.
Jaitley also slammed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for not passing a law for implementing GST. He said, all the states and political parties should take one clear stand on GST. They can be either with it or against it. They supported GST in the Council but are not with it in the state.
On the question of keeping petroleum and real estate out of the purview of GST, Jaitley said, the new amendment has brought petroleum under its ambit. He also said that petroleum is at present zero-rated under the GST. The GST Council has to take a decision about petroleum. The decision will be taken sooner than later, Jaitley said.
On real estate, Jailtey said, this sector will also be brought under the GST. There is lot of tax evasion in real estate sector. Bringing it under GST will make it more transparent. 

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Reject Kulbhushan Jadhav mercy plea, Lahore High Court petitioned

Two separate petitions at the Lahore High Court plead that the court reject the mercy plea of Kulbhshan Jadhav, the Indian national sentenced to death in Pakistan.



Two separate petitions have landed at the Lahore High Court seeking that Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav's mercy plea be rejected.
Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, was convicted of espionage by a Pakistani military court and was sentenced to death by hanging. Jadhav subsequently filed a mercy plea, petitioning Pakistan Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa to commute his death sentence.



One of the petitions in front of the Lahore High Court is by a civilian named Mehmood Naqvi, who is well known in the court circuits for filing irrelevant pleas. The petition, filed in English, claims that Jadhav is an Indian spy and has twice confessed to being involved in incidents of terrorism in Pakistan.

Naqvi's plea asks Lahore High Court to direct General Bajwa that he reject Jadhav's mercy plea.
The other petition has been filed by the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LCBA) and also demands that the General Bajwa be asked not to accept Jadhav's mercy plea.
LCBA's petition states that as per Islam and Sunnah, only families of those killed in terror attacks allegedly planned and executed by Kulbashan, have the right to give mercy to Kulbashan. The chief of army staff General Bajwa, Pakistani president or any other figure do not hold any authority to allow Jadhav mercy, the petition states.
Jadhav, who Pakistan claims is an agent of India's external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), was sentenced to death on April 10 after finding him guilty of being involved in terror activities.
India, which rejected Pakistan's charge, slammed the 'farcical' trial under which Jadhav was sentenced to death. Later, New Delhi dragged Islamabad to the International Court of Justice, where it managed to win a stay on Jadhav's death sentence.

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LG V30 to come with wireless charging support, may ditch the signature secondary display

LG V30 is expected to launch in September but the rumours have kept the phone in buzz since the Google I/O where the phone was silently announced. The Google at I/O was held in May this year where Google announced that LG 's next flagship will come with Daydream support, hinting of the LG V20's successor.

The alleged LG V30 is rumoured to come with wireless charging support and OLED display. The LG phones typically come with LCD panel and the company would probably be turning to its display manufacturing affiliate LG Display for the OLED displays. The OLED displays offer more vivid colours than LCD. Samsung has long used the OLED displays in its flagship phones. Google also uses OLED display in Pixel phones. Google's head of VR/AR Clay Bavor at I/o had said that the next LG flagship will be Daydream-ready. The OLED display is one of an important factor for Daydream usability as the display offers better resolution and contrast ratio.

However, one of the major rumour coming today is that the company may ditch its signature secondary display in the upcoming V30. LG had introduced the secondary screen with V20 smartphone. The second screen is placed just above the main screen and displays 5 different shortcut buttons based on what  is currently on the main screen. User can open an app with a simple tap on it.
LG is not the only the company that is planning to do so. HTC which also introduced the secondary screen feature in its U Ultra smartphone has ditched the features this time in its latest U11.

LG V30 is purported to come with Snapdragon 835 SoC but there are possibilities that it may come with Snapdragon 836 which is to go official in July. The rumoured V30 is expected to pack in 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
According to OnLeaks, the V30 could come with dual camera set up which we have already seen many other LG phones. The company has kept the dual-camera feature in almost every high-end phones after LG G5. Rumour mills also hint of  a glass panel at the back of the phone with a fingerprint scanner.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 8 live render leaks, shows horizontal dual cameras, infinity display like S8

A new live image of the upcoming Note 8 leaks in the wild. The image hints at S8-like infinity display for the upcoming Note 8. The upcoming phablet is going to sport dual rear cameras, we already know this bit, however, the new live render hints that the two cameras will be placed horizontally. Other rumours surfacing the web indicate that the South Korean smartphone maker will be announced sometime around September.

The new real life render of the Note 8 hints at horizontal dual cameras at the back. With that Note 8 will be the first ever device by Samsung to sport dual cameras. The render further indicates that the dual camera set up is going to come coupled with dual-LED flash unit, which will be placed at the right edge to the camera. Furthermore, it also show a traditional fingerprint reader, which contradicts one of the previous leak about the Note 8 which hinted that the device may come packed with an on-screen sensor. Going by the new leak, Note 8 is possibly not expected to sport on-screen sensor. Although, it should be noted that these are just mere rumours and should be taken with a pinch of salt for the time being.

The render further show the Note 8 with a heart rate monitor and a physical Bixby button. Well, to recall, earlier rumours also suggested that there are chances that Note 8 might come with Bixby. That being said, with that, Note 8 will become the second handset by the South Korean smartphone maker to come with the AI assistant support. Bixby was initially designed in Korean language, and now reports are that Samsung has added English language support it.

Going by the display, Note 8 is tipped to come with S8-like infinity display. Rumours suggest that the successor of last year's fiery Note 7 will sport a 6.3-inch display screen with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. Some rumours also indicate that the device is going to be the first ever device by Samsung to come with 4K resolution.
Chinese micro-blogging site a few days ago also confirmed dual cameras for Note 8. Meanwhile, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at KGI Securities has revealed that Note 8 will sport a 12-megapixel wide-angle CIS (CMOS image sensors) which will be coupled with dual photodiode and enable users to capture better low-light shots. While the secondary camera will sport a 13-megapixel telephoto CIS with dual 6P technology and 3X zoom.

Although nothing is confirmed about the Note 8 as of now, rumours still hint that the device will run on Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system, will be powered by Qualcomm's latest processor - Snapdragon 835 SoC, which also juices powers to the latest top-end devices like the - OnePlus 5, HTC U 11, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. Other upcoming device like LG G7 is also expected to come with the same processor. That being said, the upcoming Note 8 is going to give a tough fight to all these high-end flagships.

On the pricing front, rumours indicate that Note 8 will be priced around $900, which is roughly around Rs 58,045.

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‘Beijing in bid to exert itself

The recent stand-off of the Indian Army with the Chinese People Liberation Army (PLA) at Doko La on China-Sikkim-Bhutan tri-junction is being seen as an attempt by China to “exert” itself in areas, which were not prone to transgressions or disputes, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

The official said there has been a spike in Chinese transgressions after the visit of the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh earlier this year and the numbers are expected to go up. India’s cold shoulder to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is also being seen as one of the reasons behind the increased transgressions.

In the past 45 days, around 120 Chinese transgressions were reported mainly from Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Last year, around 250 such transgressions were reported.

Not surprising

An official said they were not surprised by China’s move to foment trouble in settled boundaries like Sikkim and Uttarakhand. “How much time does it take for China to change its strategy by shifting focus from Ladakh/Arunachal Pradesh to Sikkim and Uttarakhand. It is being done to stall development work in border areas,” a senior government official said.

On Tuesday, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju met a senior official from military operations and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) DG Krishna Chowdhury to discuss the construction work along the border areas. Officials have decided to give a measured response on the current stand-off with the Chinese as PM Narendra Modi is on a three-nation tour.

The tri-junction is primarily guarded by the Army and the ITBP forms the second layer of security.

“Sikkim and Uttarakhand have remained more or less oblivious to any skirmish as the border, which is yet to be demarcated officially, is considered to be a settled one between the two countries. Recently, we stepped up construction of roads and other infrastructure project, which could have upset them,” the official said.

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Operations at Jawaharlal Nehru port in Mumbai hit by ransomware

Operations at one of three terminals at India's largest container port JNPT, on the outskirts of India's commercial hub of Mumbai, have been disrupted by the global ransomware attack, the port said on Wednesday.

The terminal impacted is operated by Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk, which said separately on Tuesday that the cyber attack had caused outages in its computer systems globally.

The attack, similar to the ransomware that infected more than 300,000 computers last month, also affected computers at Russia's biggest oil company, Ukranian banks and multinational firms.

The Indian port has been trying to clear containers manually, but operational capacity has dropped to a third at the terminal, Anil Diggikar, chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), told Reuters.

“This is fallout of global cyber attack. We are hopeful that operations will normalise in a day,” he said.

Containers are piling up outside the port due to delay in loading and unloading at Gateway Terminals India, he said.

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Delhi University admissions: Duplication of paperwork sends aspirants in frenzy

Duplication of paperwork has sent the swarming crowd of DU aspirants from across the country for multiple trips.
After a two-day respite, students and parents rushed to Delhi University colleges to secure seats, defying scorching heat. Chaos continued on the North Campus on the second day of document verification of admission process.
Duplication of paperwork has sent the swarming crowd of DU aspirants from across the country for multiple trips. However, admission officials of DU colleges failed to make the drill easy as a day after releasing the first cut off list, top brass colleges like Ramjas and Shri Ram College of Commerce could barely admit 100 students.
"I had uploaded all my documents, and have come to get them verified. It is my second day on campus and I am still waiting for my turn. I was sent back by college officials on Saturday evening," said Veni Agrawal who had flown down to Delhi from Jaipur.
"There has been a lot of confusion regarding documents that candidates are expected to bring along during verification. While some students forget to carry crucial documents along, we have also seen ones who are facing trouble with the online portal," said Himangshu, a volunteer at DU admission help desk.
IN DOING AWAY WITH PHYSICAL SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS

According to online admission procedure, introduced by the varsity last year, aspirants are required to upload 13 documents - including Class 10 and 12 certificates and marksheets, a scanned copy of their signature, recent photograph and character certificate. Aspirants from outside Delhi also need to upload transfer and migration certificates. The university officials had further decided to do away with the physical submission of documents.
"We have to run the original documents through three rounds of verification, including a forensic authentication by a team of experts. It is a tedious process as we do not want to give way to the racket of fake documents," said P C Tulsian, acting principal at Ramjas College.
Admission committee officials claim that several students do not take the mandatory upload guidelines issued by Delhi University seriously.
"It is an inevitable process as several students take the documentation work during online registration for granted. SRCC has seen cases where applicants have filled their marks obtained as total marks," said Reena Chadha, assistant professor at Shri Ram College of Commerce.
"In case of students from Telangana board, we have to calculate the average of percentage secured by a student in Class 11 and 12. This cannot be done during the online upload and hence we have to conduct the verification again with original documents,"

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Byculla jail death: Was Manjula Shete killed because she wanted to expose massive corruption inside prison?

India Today spoke to Shete's elder brother, who said that she was convicted for killing her sister-in-law in 2004, and was killed for raising her voice against corruption in jail.



Manjula Shete, the 32-year-old murder convict who was allegedly beaten to death in Mumbai's Byculla jail, was about to expose corruption prevailing within the boundaries.
India Today spoke to Shete's elder brother, who said that she was convicted for killing her sister-in-law in 2004. Shete's sister-in-law succumbed to severe burn injuries in 1996, but she accused Shete and her mother for the same. After the trial, Shete and her mother were lodged in Yerwada jail in Pune. Shete was only 18 then and worked as a school teacher in Navjeevan High School. Her mother passed away due to old age in September 2016.
While Manjula was undergoing her punishment at the Central Yerwada Women's Jail, she was promoted from an inmate to warden, based on her good behavior, and was transferred to Byculla jail two months back.
According to Manjula's brother, their eldest brother had killed his own wife over property. Manjula was to finish her punishment in few months and the family had decided to work around the issues
Her brother said that he was informed by few of jail workers that Manjula had complained against the jailor for giving breakfast to only 200 female inmates. This did not go well with the authorities who brutally assaulted her, leading to her murder.
The case has been registered at Nagpada police station under Section 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Manjula's brother said that according to the preliminary post mortem report she had sustained 11 to 13 contusions on her body and a sharp metal rod like object was inserted in her private parts.
Shete's brother has appealed that the responsible be punished for her murder.
When contacted for confirmation, there was no response from the jail authorities.

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New cyber attack in Ukraine causes mass disruption globally

A new and highly virulent outbreak of malicious data-scrambling software appears to be causing mass disruption across the world, hitting companies and governments in Europe especially hard.
Officials in Ukraine reported serious intrusions of the country's power grid as well as at banks and government offices, where one senior executive posted a photo of a darkened computer screen and the words, "the whole network is down." The prime minister cautioned that the country's "vital systems" hadn't been affected.
Russia's Rosneft oil company also reported falling victim to hacking and said it had narrowly avoided major damage, as did Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk.
"We are talking about a cyberattack," said Anders Rosendahl, a spokesman for the Copenhagen-based shipping group. "It has affected all branches of our business, at home and abroad."
The attack was confirmed to have spread beyond Europe when U.S. drugmaker Merck, based in New Jersey, said its systems had also been compromised.
The number of companies and agencies reportedly affected by the ransomware campaign was piling up fast, and the electronic rampage appeared to be rapidly snowballing into a worldwide crisis.
There's very little information about what might be behind the disruption at each specific company, but cybersecurity experts rapidly zeroed in on a form of ransomware, the name given to programs that hold data hostage by scrambling it until a payment is made.
"A massive ransomware campaign is currently unfolding worldwide," said Romanian cybersecurity company Bitdefender, where analyst Bogdan Botezatu said that it appeared to be nearly identical to GoldenEye, one of a family of hostage-taking programs that has been circulating for months. Some analysts were calling the new form of ransomware Petya.
It's not clear whether or why the ransomware has suddenly become so much more potent, but Botezatu said that it was likely spreading automatically across a network, without the need for human interaction. Such self-spreading software, often called "worms," are particularly feared because they can replicate rapidly, like a contagious disease.
"It's like somebody sneezing into a train full of people," Botezatu told The Associated Press. "You just have to exist there and you're vulnerable."
The world is still recovering from a previous outbreak of ransomware, called WannaCry or WannaCrypt, which spread rapidly using digital break-in tools originally created by the U.S. National Security Agency and recently leaked to the web.
"Data breaches and cyber hacks are one of the biggest risks facing business worldwide," said Michelle Crorie, a partner at law firm Clyde & Co. who specializes in cybersecurity issues. "The WannaCry attack and now Petya clearly demonstrate that hackers do not discriminate which type of business they are targeting."
This particular variant of ransomware leaves a message with a contact email; several messages sent to the address were not immediately returned.

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57 killed in US-led airstrikes against Islamic State in Syria

At least 57 people were killed in airstrikes allegedly carried out by the US-led coalition against a prison run by the Islamic State terror organisation in the Syrian city of al-Mayadin, a British-based war monitor said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Tuesday that the air raids killed 42 civilians and 15 guards and Islamic State prisoners on Monday, Efe news reported.
The death toll could increase as there are people still missing under the rubble, SOHR said, adding that the prison had about 100 detainees, including civilians and IS militants.
Before turning it into a prison, the building was the home of the leader of al-Qaida affiliate in Syria who was assassinated by Islamic State. The facilities were divided into a special section for civilians and another for IS members.
The international coalition began its military campaign in Syria on September 23, 2014, almost three months after the extremists proclaimed a caliphate in Syria and Iraq.
Along with the Syrian Democratic Forces, led by Kurdish militias, the coalition is currently taking part in an offensive against IS positions in al-Raqqa province, the terror organization's main stronghold in Syria.

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Major cyberattack sweeps globe, India affected, Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai hit

A major cyber attack swept through countries across the world, affecting Indian operations of global companies. Operations at one of the terminals of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai had to be shut down following the ransomware attack.


A major global cyber attack on Tuesday disrupted computers at Russia's biggest oil company, Ukrainian banks and multinational firms with a virus similar to the ransomware that last month infected more than 300,000 computers.
India was also among the countries affected by the ransomware with the country's largest port Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai shutting down operations at one of its three terminals.
News agency PTI reported that operations at one of the three terminals of the country's largest container port were impacted as a fallout of the global ransomware attack, which crippled some central banks and many large corporations in Europe.
The rapidly spreading cyber extortion campaign underscored growing concerns that businesses have failed to secure their networks from increasingly aggressive hackers, who have shown they are capable of shutting down critical infrastructure and crippling corporate and government networks.
It included code known as "Eternal Blue," which cyber security experts widely believe was stolen from the US National Security Agency (NSA) and was also used in last month's ransomware attack, named "WannaCry."
"Cyber attacks can simply destroy us," said Kevin Johnson, chief executive of cyber security firm Secure Ideas. "Companies are just not doing what they are supposed to do to fix the problem."
The ransomware virus crippled computers running Microsoft Corp's Windows by encrypting hard drives and overwriting files, then demanded USD300 in bitcoin payments to restore access. More than 30 victims paid into the bitcoin account associated with the attack, according to a public ledger of transactions listed on blockchain.info.
Microsoft said the virus could spread through a flaw that was patched in a security update in March.
"We are continuing to investigate and will take appropriate action to protect customers," a spokesman for the company said, adding that Microsoft antivirus software detects and removes it.

RUSSIA AND UKRAINE MOST AFFECTED

Russia and Ukraine were most affected by the thousands of attacks, according to security software maker Kaspersky Lab, with other victims spread across countries including Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United States. The total number of attacks was unknown.
Security experts said they expected the impact to be smaller than WannaCry since many computers had been patched with Windows updates in the wake of WannaCry last month to protect them against attacks using Eternal Blue code.
Still, the attack could be more dangerous than traditional strains of ransomware because it makes computers unresponsive and unable to reboot, Juniper Networks said in a blog post analyzing the attack.
Researchers said the attack may have borrowed malware code used in earlier ransomware campaigns known as "Petya" and "GoldenEye".
Following last month's attack, governments, security firms and industrial groups aggressively advised businesses and consumers to make sure all their computers were updated with Microsoft patches to defend against the threat.
The US Department of Homeland Security said it was monitoring the attacks and coordinating with other countries. It advised victims not to pay the extortion, saying that doing so does not guarantee access will be restored.
In a statement, the White House National Security Council said there was currently no risk to public safety. The United States was investigating the attack and determined to hold those responsible accountable, it said.
The NSA did not respond to a request for comment. The spy agency has not publicly said whether it built Eternal Blue and other hacking tools leaked online by an entity known as Shadow Brokers.
Several private security experts have said they believe Shadow Brokers is tied to the Russian government, and that the North Korean government was behind WannaCry. Both countries' governments deny charges they are involved in hacking.

'DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME'

The first attacks were reported from Russia and Ukraine.
Russia's Rosneft, one of the world's biggest crude producers by volume, said its systems had suffered "serious consequences," but added oil production had not been affected because it switched over to backup systems.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko said the government's computer network went down and the central bank reported disruption to operations at banks and firms including the state power distributor.
Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk said it was among the victims, reporting outages at facilities including its Los Angeles terminal.
WPP, the world's largest advertising agency, said it was also infected. A WPP employee who asked not to be named said that workers were told to shut down their computers: "The building has come to a standstill."
A Ukrainian media company said its computers were blocked and it was asked to pay USD300 in the crypto-currency bitcoin to regain access.
"Perhaps you are busy looking for a way to recover your files, but don't waste your time. Nobody can recover your files without our decryption service," the message said, according to a screenshot posted on Ukraine's Channel 24.
Russia's central bank said there were isolated cases of lenders' IT systems being infected. One consumer lender, Home Credit, had to suspend client operations.
Other companies that identified themselves as victims included French construction materials firm Saint Gobain , US drugmaker Merck & Co and Mars Inc's Royal Canin pet food business.

JNPT AFFECTED

India-based employees at Beiersdorf, makers of Nivea skin care products, and Reckitt Benckiser, which owns Enfamil and Lysol, told Reuters the ransomware attack had impacted some of their systems in the country.
AP Moller-Maersk, one of the affected entities globally, operates the Gateway Terminals India (GTI) at JNPT, which has a capacity to handle 1.8 million standard container units.
"We have been informed that the operations at GTI have come to a standstill because their systems are down (due to the malware attack). They are trying to work manually," a senior JNPT official told PTI tonight.
The official explained that JNPT is trying to help the company, but there is little that others can do as the problem s with the systems.
Fearing some clogging up of cargo, additional parking space is being made available, the official said, promising to help in any way that is possible.
Western Pennsylvania's Heritage Valley Health System's entire network was shut down by a cyber attack on Tuesday, according to local media reports.

WANNACRY

Last's month's fast-spreading WannaCry ransomware attack was crippled after a 22-year-old British security researcher Marcus Hutchins created a so-called "kill switch" that experts hailed as the decisive step in slowing the attack.
Security experts said they did not believe that the ransomware released on Tuesday had a kill switch, meaning that it might be harder to stop.
Ukraine's cyber police said on Twitter that a vulnerability in software used by MEDoc, a Ukrainian accounting firm, may have been an initial source of the virus, which researchers including cyber intelligence firm Flashpoint said could have infected victims via an illegitimate software update.
In a Facebook post, MEDoc confirmed it had been hacked but denied responsibility for originating the attack.
An adviser to Ukraine's interior minister said earlier in the day that the virus got into computer systems via "phishing" emails written in Russian and Ukrainian designed to lure employees into opening them.
According to the state security agency, the emails contained infected Word documents or PDF files as attachments.

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Cabinet to consider proposal for outright sale of Air India

The Union Cabinet will soon decide the fate of the state-owned carrier Air India by deliberating on three options to divest the government’s majority stake and consider the creation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to get rid of a major portion of its more than ₹50,000-crore debt.

The three options on the table are a full 100% sell-off, a 74% stake sale or retaining a 49% share in the airline, as per the note prepared by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) for the Cabinet's consideration, officials aware of the development said.

“The note for the Cabinet has given three options for divesting stakes in Air India. The final decision rests with the Union Cabinet which is expected to take a decision soon,” an official source said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said last month that the government was looking to privatise the national carrier.

While the Central government think-tank NITI Aayog and the Finance Ministry are in favour of an outright sale of the ailing airline, the Civil Aviation Ministry is keen that the government continues to remain a stakeholder in the national carrier after handing over the management to the private sector.

The Cabinet will also consider a proposal to clear up Air India’s liabilities by forming a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which will house a portion of its non-aircraft debt along with its subsidiaries and real estate assets.

Loans and assets


“A major portion of the working capital loan, subsidiaries and prime properties owned by Air India is proposed to be housed in an SPV,” the official said.

According to the plan, of the airline's over ₹30,000 crore total working capital loan, ₹25,000 crore will be earmarked for the SPV. Air India has a total debt of around ₹52,000 crore which comprises of ₹22,000 crore as aircraft loan and the remaining as working capital loan.

“The income garnered through sale of assets and subsidiaries will be sufficient to meet the liability of the working capital loan of the SPV,” the official said.

Partial lease


Amber Dubey, partner and India head of aerospace and defence at global consultancy KPMG advised that the Centre should lease Air India’s assets to an SPV “while keeping the assets and liabilities in the books of the Air India; 74-100% equity of the SPV can be sold to the highest bidder from the private sector.”

“An alternate structure wherein an SPV takes over the liabilities, subsidiaries and real estate assets of Air India is also possible. This may require a detailed analysis of the legalities involved and concurrence of lenders,” Mr. Dubey said.

Air India has four wholly-owned subsidiaries which include its MRO unit Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL), ground handling arm Air India Transport Services Ltd, Airline Allied Services Ltd which operates Alliance Air, and Air India Charters Limited which operates Air India Express. The Hotel Corporation of India (which owns Centaur Hotels) is another subsidiary while it has a joint venture AISATS.

Some of its prime real estate properties include a building at Nariman Point and another at the old airport in Santa Cruz in Mumbai, freehold land in Chennai’s Anna Salai, an office in Baba Kharak Singh Marg in Connaught Place in New Delhi and freehold land and buildings in Hyderabad. However, the airline has mortgaged some of these as security with banks for availing loans.

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On Id, Mamata appeals for unity

Urging people from different communities to stay united West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said there is an environment of intolerance in the country.

“I know the atmosphere of intolerance has given this country a lot of pain. But, we do not think that way. We are here for all. We are united,” Ms. Banerjee said at a gathering on the city’s Red Road, where thousands of people observed Id-ul-Fitr prayers.
“We are insaan (humans) first, Hindus, Muslims or Christians later,” she said amid cheers from the crowds.

This was the first public appearance of the Chief Minister after receiving United Nations highest award for public service to State’s Kanyashree scheme. Ms. Banerjee received the award on June 23 which is UN Public Service Day at The Hague in Netherlands. Representatives of Muslim community congratulated the Chief Minister for receiving the award.

Ms. Banerjee said that in times like this, one has to “show courage and conviction”. “Stay together. No one will be able to do anything to you,” she told the gathering.

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U.S. warship stayed on deadly collision course despite warning-container ship captain

A U.S. warship struck by a container vessel in Japanese waters failed to respond to warning signals or take evasive action before a collision that killed seven of its crew, according to a report of the incident by the Philippine cargo ship's captain.

Multiple U.S. and Japanese investigations are under way into how the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald and the much larger ACX Crystal container ship collided in clear weather south of Tokyo Bay in the early hours of June 17.

In the first detailed account from one of those directly involved, the cargo ship's captain said the ACX Crystal had signalled with flashing lights after the Fitzgerald “suddenly" steamed on to a course to cross its path.

The container ship steered hard to starboard (right) to avoid the warship, but hit the Fitzgerald 10 minutes later at 1:30 a.m., according to a copy of Captain Ronald Advincula's report to Japanese ship owner Dainichi Investment Corporation that was seen by Reuters.

The U.S. Navy declined to comment and Reuters was not able to independently verify the account.

The collision tore a gash below the Fitzgerald's waterline, killing seven sailors in what was the greatest loss of life on a U.S. Navy vessel since the USS Cole was bombed in Yemen's Aden harbour in 2000.

Those who died were in their berthing compartments, while the Fitzgerald's commander was injured in his cabin, suggesting that no alarm warning of an imminent collision was sounded.

A spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet in Yokosuka, the Fitzgerald's home port, said he was unable to comment on an ongoing investigation.

The incident has spurred six investigations, including two internal hearings by the U.S. Navy and a probe by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) on behalf of the National Transportation Safety Board. The Japan Transport Safety Board, the JCG and the Philippines government are also conducting separate investigations.

Spokesmen from the Japan Coast Guard (JCG), U.S. Coast Guard and ship owner, Dainichi Invest, also declined to comment. Reuters was not able to contact Advincula, who was no longer in Japan.

The investigations will examine witness testimony and electronic data to determine how a naval destroyer fitted with sophisticated radar could be struck by a vessel more than three times its size.

Another focus of the probes has been the length of time it took the ACX Crystal to report the collision. The JCG says it was first notified at 2:25 a.m., nearly an hour after the accident.

In his report, the ACX Crystal's captain said there was "confusion” on his ship's bridge, and that it turned around and returned to the collision site after continuing for 6 nautical miles (11 km).

Shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that the ACX Crystal, chartered by Japan's Nippon Yusen KK, made a complete U-turn between 12:58 a.m. and 2:46 a.m.

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NASA tests flexible solar array on space station

NASA is testing for the first time the effectiveness of a flexible solar array on space station that could one day power satellites and spacecraft.

The Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA, an advanced, flexible solar array that rolls out like a tape measure “can be easily adapted to different sizes, including very large arrays, to provide power for a variety of future spacecraft,” NASA said.

It also has the potential to make solar arrays more compact and lighter weight for satellite radio and television, weather forecasting, GPS and other services used on the Earth.

In addition, the technology conceivably could be adapted to provide solar power in remote locations.

NASA tested the ROSA technology in vacuum chambers on the Earth several years ago, but this is its first test in space.

Over the weekend of June 17-18, 2017, engineers on the ground remotely operated the International Space Station’s robotic Canadarm2 to extract the Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA) experiment from the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship.

The experiment will remain attached to the Canadarm2 over seven days to test the effectiveness of ROSA, NASA said.

Traditional solar panels used to power satellites can be bulky with heavy panels folded together using mechanical hinges.

The new solar array design rolls up to form a compact cylinder for launch with significantly less mass and volume, potentially offering substantial cost savings as well as an increase in power for satellites.

“When launching into space, mass and volume are everything, and ROSA is 20 per cent lighter and four times smaller in volume than rigid panel arrays,” explained principal investigator Jeremy Banik, senior research engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

“You realise big cost savings from shaving off a little mass and volume, which makes it possible to raise bandwidth on a communications satellite and, for example, make GPS more accessible and reliable for everyone,” Banik said.

Smaller and lighter than traditional solar panels, ROSA consists of a centre wing made of a flexible material containing photovoltaic cells to convert light into electricity.

On either side of the wing is a narrow arm that extends the length of the wing to provide support, called a high strain composite boom.

The booms are like split tubes made of a stiff composite material, flattened and rolled up lengthwise for launch.

The array rolls or snaps open without a motor, using stored energy from the structure of the booms that is released as each boom transitions from a coil shape to a straight support arm.

The technology of the booms has additional potential applications, such as for communications and radar antennas and other instruments, NASA said.

The ROSA investigation looks at how well this new type of solar panels deploys in the microgravity and extreme temperatures of space.

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Can a robot be your next best friend?

There’s a new sex icon in California, and her name is Harmony. But she’s no Hollywood starlet; she’s not even a real woman. She’s a silicon and electronic RealDoll, made by Abyss Creations. But not only does she physically resemble a woman in super-realistic detail (yes, including genitalia), she can even hold a conversation, of sorts. And while the tagline says that she’s “the world’s finest love doll”, can a robot really give love?

Man or machine

We do know that machines can substitute people in providing some forms of physical stimulation; they have been around for centuries. Sex toys are even older, and are mentioned in the Kama Sutra. But it’s clear that the designers of Harmony, and of other human-like sex dolls, are responding to a rather different need — one for companionship that is not just physical but also emotional.

Our highly social species evolved to live in tribes, with extended families and strong pair bonds. But a paradox of modern life is that although there are ever more of us — around 7.5 billion by one recent count — we feel we are getting lonelier. And loneliness is bad for your health — worse than smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to one recent study.

Who’s a friend?

It’s odd to think that we can have a physical need for company when it seems like such a phenomenon of the mind. Indeed, loneliness is in the mind too: being in a crowd doesn’t necessarily mean you feel less lonely. Can an electric friend remedy this?

Even raising this possibility is, to some people, a sign that I’m spending too much time in the robotics laboratory. But hold on a minute and consider what friendship is. Aristotle tells us that we can have different kinds of friends. Some are useful, like a friend who drives but does not drink. Some give pleasure — the one who plays the piano so beautifully or is a good partner at Bridge. And then there is that much smaller circle of friends, those we call “true” friends, with whom we share world views.

Going by this, robots can be useful friends at the least. Apparently, 80% of people who own an iRobot vacuum cleaner — a very short and round bot fixated on cleaning — give it a name. But what of “true” friends? Knowing how far we have come with AI, but also knowing how far we still have to go, a robot like Harmony can never be that. True friends think like we do, and AIs, even smart ones, will always be alien.

Animated animals

But there are other kinds of friends, too, like furry ones. Having a pet can reduce feelings of loneliness and the cat purring on your lap may be lowering your risk of heart disease. We are now much closer to this. With colleagues, I’m developing a prototype animal-like robot companion called MiRo: it feeds on electrons, never needs to go out, and can switch off when you’re at work. Another animal-like robot, the Paro robot seal, has been shown to improve the mood of older people with dementia and can encourage them to be more socially engaged.

Some people worry that robots that resemble living things are confusing, and deceive people into wasting emotional energy (if there is such a thing). Making a case against this, I think people, even children, can be quite sophisticated in the way they respond to robots. Engaging with it as a social being on the one hand, while making it quite clear that its a machine and a computer on the other. Second, you can have a genuine emotional response to a film or a book, and yet the triggers you are responding to are literally fiction. Feelings don’t need to be two-way to make us feel better; good feelings are good things in and of themselves.

Nevertheless, relationships with robots might be too easy. Our human friends can be difficult, and can give us a hard time. They could point out and make us change the not-so-nice things about us. However, robots could be too accepting of who we are. If we even partly solve the problem of human loneliness through synthetic friendship where will that get us? In Japan, the population is falling as young people turn away from the daunting challenge of finding a spouse and having a family. A 2013 survey by the Japan Family Planning Association found that 45% of young women “were not interested in or despised sexual contact”, and a quarter of young men felt the same way. Whilst synthetic friends can perhaps meet some of the desperate need for company, we owe it to the future of our own kind to try to get on better with each other.

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PSLV-C38 rocket: Dream come true for T.N. students

When the PSLV-C38 rocket lifts off from the Satish Dhawan space port on Friday, it will carry with it the dreams and hopes of over 200 students of the Noorul Islam University at Thuckalay in Kanyakumari district. The students contributed to the design and development of a nano-satellite sharing space with the 30 others on board.

They were part of the team involved in the project to build NIUSAT, a satellite for disaster management and crop monitoring. The project which began in 2007 was supported by ISRO and is estimated to have cost ₹37 cr. Weighing 15 kg, NIUSAT was fabricated at a satellite laboratory set up on the campus. The university has also established a dedicated mission control centre for telemetry and telecommand operations and payload data reception. The satellite is equipped with an RGB camera for multispectral imagery with a resolution of 25 m from an altitude of 500 km.

‘Conceived in 2004’

“Over the 10-year period, the 200 students from the Aerospace, Aeronautics, Mechanical and Electronics and Communication engineering streams were part of the project during their course. Many of them spent time in the laboratory even during the vacation”, recalls Faizal Khan, Pro-Chancellor of the university. “The project was the brainchild of our Chancellor A.P. Majeed Khan and was conceived in the wake of the tsunami in 2004.”

As many as 16 scientists from ISRO and two industry partners provided critical support for the team.

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NASA’s Mars probe spots evidence of ancient lake

NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover is examining the edge of a crater on the red planet that may once have been a lake of liquid water.

The Opportunity rover found rocks at the edge of Endeavour Crater that were either transported by a flood or eroded in place by wind.

The features were seen just outside the crater rim’s crest above “Perseverance Valley,” which is carved into the inner slope of the rim.

‘Walkabout’ planned

Researchers plan to drive Opportunity down Perseverance Valley after completing a “walkabout” survey of the area above it.

The Opportunity mission has been investigating sites on and near the western rim of Endeavour Crater since 2011. The crater is about 22 kilometres across.

“The walkabout is designed to look at what’s just above Perseverance Valley,” said Ray Arvidson, from Washington University in St Louis.

“We see a pattern of striations running east-west outside the crest of the rim,” said Mr. Arvidson, Deputy Principal Investigator of the Opportunity mission.

A portion of the crest at the top of Perseverance Valley has a broad notch. Just west of that, elongated patches of rocks line the sides of a slightly depressed, east-west swath of ground, which might have been a drainage channel billions of years ago.

“We want to determine whether these are in-place rocks or transported rocks,” Mr. Arvidson said.

Looking at a lake

“One possibility is that this site was the end of a catchment where a lake was perched against the outside of the crater rim,” he said.

“A flood might have brought in the rocks, breached the rim and overflowed into the crater, carving the valley down the inner side of the rim,” he added.

“Another possibility is that the area was fractured by the impact that created Endeavour Crater, then rock dikes filled the fractures, and we’re seeing effects of wind erosion on those filled fractures,” Arvidson said.

In the hypothesis of a perched lake, the notch in the crest just above Perseverance Valley may have been a spillway.

Weighing against that hypothesis is an observation that the ground west of the crest slopes away, not toward the crater.

What caused the slope change?

The science team is considering possible explanations for how the slope might have changed.

A variation of the impact-fracture hypothesis is that water rising from underground could have favoured the fractures as paths to the surface and contributed to weathering of the fracture-filling rocks.

The team is analysing images of Perseverance Valley, taken from the rim, to plot Opportunity’s route.

The valley extends down from the crest into the crater at a slope of about 15 to 17 degrees for a distance of about two football fields.

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Don't allow your soil to breed terror: PM Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump to Pakistan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump met for the first time at White House in Washington and terror was the common cause of concern for both the leaders.
In a joint briefing both PM Modi and President Trump stressed on the common goal of 'destroying radical Islamic terrorism and ending terror safe havens.'
HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

India, US call on Pakistan to stop its soil from being used as terror launch pads, said Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar after Modi-Trump meeting at the White House.
In joint statement, India and US ask Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice perpetrators of terror attacks like 26/11, Pathankot, and other cross-border attacks perpatrated by Pakistan-based terror groups, Jaishankar added.
Addressing the reporters after the meeting, PM Modi, without naming Pakistan, said, "Destroying terrorists and safe havens will be our (joint) aim. Eliminating terrorism is among the top-most priorities for both nations."
Moments ahead of the Modi, Trump meeting, the US declared Pakistani terror group Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a specially designated global terrorist'.
"India welcomes this notification. It underlines also quite strongly that both India and the US face threat of terrorism," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.
During the joint press briefing, President Trump also showered praise on PM Modi for his leadership skills. "You've done a great job. Economically, India's doing very well," he said.
Trump also said that he is keen to work with PM Modi to remove 'barriers' in trade between the two countries.
"I look forward to working with you to create jobs in our countries, to grow our economies and to create a trading relationship that is fair and reciprocal," Trump said in his remarks at the White House Rose Garden following his meeting with Modi.
President Trump also lauded PM Modi's efforts for launching the Goods and Services Tax (GST) describing it as the "largest tax overhaul in India's history".
This was for the first time that PM Modi and President Trump met. The two leaders have spoken thrice on phone since the latter replaced Barack Obama.

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What did Narendra Modi, Donald Trump say at White House? Full text of their speech

Leaders of the world's two largest democracies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, met at the White House for the first time today. Modi and Trump had a one-to-one meeting, followed by a delegation level talk, a cocktail reception and a working dinner.
PM Modi is the first foreign leader to be hosted by the Trump administration. The two spoke about bilateral trade, peace in Afghanistan and India's concerns over Pakistan-based terror outfits.
Trump and Modi issued a joint conference to the media after holding delegation level talks. Here are the remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi in Joint Press Statement. (Courtesy: The White House)
PRESIDENT TRUMP:  Thank you very much.  Prime Minister Modi, thank you for being here with us today.  It's a great honor to welcome the leader of the world's largest democracy to the White House.
I have always had a deep admiration for your country and for its people, and a profound appreciation for your rich culture, heritage and traditions.  This summer, India will celebrate the 70th anniversary of its independence, and on behalf of the United States, I want to congratulate the Indian people on this magnificent milestone in the life of your very, very incredible nation.
During my campaign, I pledged that if elected, India would have a true friend in the White House.  And that is now exactly what you have -- a true friend.  The friendship between the United States and India is built on shared values, including our shared commitment to democracy.  Not many people know it, but both American and the Indian constitutions begin with the same three very beautiful words:  We the people.
The Prime Minister and I both understand the crucial importance of those words, which helps to form the foundation of cooperation between our two countries.  Relations between countries are strongest when they are devoted to the interests of the people we serve.  And after our meetings today, I will say that the relationship between India and the United States has never been stronger, has never been better.
I'm proud to announce to the media, to the American people, and to the Indian people, that Prime Minister Modi and I are world leaders in social media -- (laughter) -- we're believers -- giving the citizens of our countries the opportunity to hear directly from their elected officials, and for us to hear directly from them.  I guess it's worked very well in both cases.
I am thrilled to salute you, Prime Minister Modi, and the Indian people for all that you are accomplishing together.  Your accomplishments have been vast.  India has the fastest growing economy in the world.  We hope we're going to be catching you very soon in terms of percentage increase, I have to tell you that.  We're working on it.
In just two weeks, you will begin to implement the largest tax overhaul in your country's history -- we're doing that also, by the way -- creating great new opportunities for your citizens.  You have a big vision for improving infrastructure, and you are fighting government corruption, which is always a grave threat to democracy.
Together, our countries can help chart an optimistic path into the future, one that unleashes the power of new technology, new infrastructure, and the enthusiasm and excitement of very hardworking and very dynamic people.
I look forward to working with you, Mr. Prime Minister, to create jobs in our countries, to grow our economies, and to create a trading relationship that is fair and reciprocal.  It is important that barriers be removed to the export of U.S. goods into your markets, and that we reduce our trade deficit with your country.
I was pleased to learn about an Indian Airlines recent order of 100 new American planes, one of the largest orders of its kind, which will support thousands and thousands of American jobs.  We're also looking forward to exporting more American energy to India as your economy grows, including major long-term contracts to purchase American natural gas, which are right now being negotiated, and we will sign them.  Trying to get the price up a little bit.
To further our economic partnership, I'm excited to report that the Prime Minister has invited my daughter, Ivanka, to lead the U.S. delegation to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in India this fall.  And I believe she has accepted.
Finally, the security partnership between the United States and India is incredibly important.  Both our nations have been struck by the evils of terrorism, and we are both determined to destroy terrorist organizations and the radical ideology that drives them.  We will destroy radical Islamic terrorism.  Our militaries are working every day to enhance cooperation between our military forces.  And next month, they will join together with the Japanese navy to take place in the largest maritime exercise ever conducted in the vast Indian Ocean.
I also thank the Indian people for their contributions to the effort in Afghanistan, and for joining us in applying new sanctions against the North Korean regime.  The North Korean regime is causing tremendous problems and is something that has to be dealt with, and probably dealt with rapidly.
Working together, I truly believe our two countries can set an example for many other nations, make great strides in defeating common threats, and make great progress in unleashing amazing prosperity and growth.
Prime Minister Modi, thank you again for joining me today, and for visiting our country and our wonderful White House and Oval Office.  I enjoyed our very productive conversation this afternoon, and look forward to its continuation tonight at dinner.  The future of our partnership has never looked brighter.  India and the United States will always be tied together in friendship and respect.
Prime Minister Modi, thank you very much.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
PRIME MINISTER MODI:  (As interpreted.)  President Donald Trump and First Lady, Vice President, ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen of the media:  Right from the opening tweet to the end of our talks, President Trump's welcome, which was filled with friendliness, his warm welcome to the White House by himself and the First Lady, I would like to thank both of you from the bottom of my heart for this warm welcome.
I would also like to give a special thanks to you, President Trump, for having spent so much time with me, for having spoken such kind words about me and my country.  And I would like to tell you that I'm eager to welcome your daughter to India for the Entrepreneurship Summit.
President Trump, I'd once again like to thank you for the time that you have spent with me.  I'd like to give you special thanks for that.
My visit and our talks today will mark a very important page in the history of the collaboration and cooperation between our two nations.  The talks between his Excellency, President Trump, and myself today have been extremely important from all points of view, for several reasons:  Because they were based on mutual trust; because of the convergence and similarities they revealed in our values, and our priorities, and in our concerns and interests; because they focused on the highest levels of achievement in our cooperation, and mutual support, and partnership; because our two countries are global engines of growth; because the all-around or comprehensive economic growth and joint progress of both countries and both societies is the main objective for both the President and myself, and will remain so; because the top priority for both President Trump and myself is to protect our society from global challenges like terrorism; and because our aim is the strengthening of India and the USA -- two great democracies in the world -- friends.
Our robust strategic partnership is such that it touches upon almost all areas of human endeavor.  In our conversation today, President Trump and I have discussed all dimensions of India-U.S. relations at length.  Both nations are committed to a bilateral architecture that will take our strategic partnership to new heights.
In this relationship, in both countries, increased productivity, growth, job creation, and breakthrough technologies -- an engagement towards all these are, and will remain, strong drivers of our cooperation, and will give further momentum to our relationship.
We consider the USA as our primary partner for India's social and economic transformation in all our flagship programs and schemes.  I am sure that the convergence between my vision for a "new India and President Trump's vision for "making America great again" will add new dimensions to our cooperation.
I am very clear about the fact that India's interests lie in a strong, and prosperous, and successful America.  In the same way, India's development and its growing role at the international level are in the USA's interest.
One of our common priorities will be the development of trade, commerce, and investment links.  And in this regard, in the technology, innovation, and knowledge-economy sectors, the expansion and deepening of cooperation is also among our priorities.  Towards this end, we shall take steps to further strengthen our successful digital partnership.
Friends, we are not just partners by chance.  We are also partners in dealing with current and future challenges that we may be faced with.  Today, during our meeting, we discussed the serious challenges of terrorism, extremism, and radicalization, which are the major challenges facing the world today.  And we have agreed to enhance our cooperation in fighting against these scourges.  Fighting terrorism and doing away with the safe shelters, sanctuaries, and safe havens will be an important part of our cooperation.
With respect to our common concerns on terrorism, we will also enhance our sharing of intelligence, and exchange information to deepen and expand our policy coordination as far as possible.
We also spoke at length on regional issues.  The increasing instability, due to terrorism, in Afghanistan is one of our common concerns.  Both India and America have played an important role in rebuilding Afghanistan and ensuring its security.  In order to attain our objectives for peace and stability in Afghanistan, we will maintain close consultation and communication with the U.S. to enhance coordination between our two nations.
In the Indo-Pacific region, in order to maintain peace, stability, and prosperity in the region, this is also another objective of our strategic cooperation in this area.  The increasing possibilities for enhancing cooperation in order to protect our strategic interests will continue to determine the dimensions of our partnership.  We will continue to work with the USA in this region.
With regard to security-related challenges, our enhanced and growing defense and security cooperation is extremely important.  We have spoken at length on this subject as well.
The strengthening of India's defense capabilities, with the help of USA, is something that we truly appreciate.  We have also decided to enhance maritime security cooperation between the two nations.  President Trump and I have also spoken about strengthening bilateral defense technology and our trade and manufacturing partnership, which we believe will be mutually beneficial to us.
We also discussed international issues and our common strategic interests.  In this context, we are extremely grateful for the continued support of the United States for India's membership of international institutions and regimes.  We truly appreciate the support, because this is also in the interest of both our nations.
President Trump, I thank you for your feelings of friendship towards India and myself.  I deeply appreciate your strong commitment to the enhancement of our bilateral relations.  I am sure that under your leadership, our mutually beneficial strategic partnership will gain new strength, new positivity, and will reach new heights, and that your vast and successful experience in the business world will lend an aggressive and forward-looking agenda to our relations.
In this journey of India-America relations, I think I would like to thank you for providing great leadership.  Be assured that in this joint journey of our two nations towards development, growth and prosperity, I will remain a driven, determined, and decisive partner.
Excellency, my visit today and the extensive talks I have held with you have been very successful, very fruitful.  And before leaving this mic, I would like to invite you to India, along with your family.  And I hope that you will give me the opportunity to welcome you and host you in India.
And at the end, once again, I'd like to thank you for the warm welcome extended by you and the First Lady to myself and my delegation, from the bottom of my heart

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Yogi Adityanath tells MLAs to adopt broken schools to revamp education system

In a mega push to the formative levels of education in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government has proposed that all primary schools in the state be adopted by party functionaries, MLAs, ministers and even government officials and revamp them in just one year.
Chief minister Adityanath wants to rope in all stakeholders in the state apparatus to revamp the state's education system.
Since quality education is fundamental to development, the CM has ordered all party functionaries, MLAs, ministers and even government officials to adopt at least one primary school in the state and show tangible improvements in at this formative level of education and learning within a year.

100 DAYS OF YOGI
The announcement came as the Yogi government completes its 100 days in power and the party apparatus, in association with the government machinery, has started organising 'Jan Kalyan Sammelans' (public welfare gathering) across the state at the mandal level to inform the people of its achievements in these first 100 days.
"UP has inherited a broken educational system and this has been its Achilles heel for long. Due to political considerations, vested interests within the former SP and BSP regimes have hitherto wanted to deliberately keep education in a bad shape.
"But, we have a different vision: we want to make education as the driver of the state's education in future and that needs some serious efforts.
"Adopting schools personally will get each school adequate attention. Primary level is the formative level of education and we are trying to rebuild this level for a better superstructure," said UP BJP spokesperson Chandra Mohan
Moreover, the UP government seems to have found itself in an advantageous position as the BJP at the Centre is also celebrating its three years in power.
The coincidence of the two have allowed the state government to enumerate among its own the efforts of the Union government in UP.
"We are taking the achievements of the Yogi government to the people of UP by means of local gatherings called the 'Jan Kalyan Sammelan' in all the mandals of the state.
These programmes started from Sunday. We are also telling people about the achievements of the central government. We have brought electricity to rural areas and the chief minister has announced that individual connections will be given free. We have decided to give 10 lakh houses to the poor, urban as well as rural," Mohan said.
On the coming together of the efforts of the party as well as the government, Mohan quoted his chief minister. "Yogiji believes that while the government is entrusted with making policies, the duty to see that the implementation happens efficiently falls on the party apparatus," he said.

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Trump urges India's Modi to fix deficit, but stresses strong ties

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to do more to relax Indian trade barriers on Monday during talks in which both leaders took great pains to stress the importance of a strong U.S.-Indian relationship.

At a closely watched first meeting between the two, Trump and Modi appeared to get along well. Modi pulled in Trump for a bear hug on the stage as the cameras rolled in the Rose Garden.

“I deeply appreciate your strong commitment to the enhancement of our bilateral relations," Modi told him. "I am sure that under your leadership a mutually beneficial strategic partnership will gain new strength, new positivity, and will reach new heights.”

Trump was also warm but made clear he sees a need for more balance in the U.S.-India trade relationship in keeping with his campaign promise to expand American exports and create more jobs at home. Last year the U.S. trade deficit with India neared $31 billion.

Trump said he would like a trading relationship that is "fair and reciprocal."

"It is important that barriers be removed to the export of U.S. goods into your markets and that we reduce our trade deficit with your country," he said.

Trump said he was pleased about an Indian airline’s recent order of 100 new American planes and that the United States looked forward to exporting more energy, including major long-term contracts to purchase American natural gas.

These energy contracts "are being negotiated and we will sign – trying to get the price up a little bit," Trump said.

Modi came to Washington looking to revitalize a relationship that thrived under former President Barack Obama but has appeared to flag as Trump courted India's rival China in an effort to persuade Beijing to do more to rein in North Korea.

Modi effusively praised Trump, hailing his “vast and successful experience in the business world” and “great leadership” for U.S.-India ties, which he said should “lend an aggressive and forward looking agenda to our relations.”
Trump accepted Modi's invitation to visit India, the White House said in a statement, but no time frame was given for the trip.

Modi harked back to Trump's "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan to stress that his agenda for his country was little different than Trump's.

"I am sure that the convergence of my vision for "New India" and President Trump’s vision for making America great again will add new dimensions to our cooperation," he said.

Trump did not mention U.S. differences with India on immigration and the Paris climate accord.

"The future of our partnership has never looked brighter," Trump said as both leaders underscored the importance of the defense and security relationship.

AVIATION DEALS

As they met, a Pentagon agency said the U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to India of a Boeing C-17 transport aircraft with an estimated cost of $366 million.

The United States also has offered to sell a naval variant of the Predator drone made by U.S. defense contractor General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the White House said in a statement, a deal that would be worth more than $2 billion.

The United States has become the leading supplier of defense equipment to India, signing contracts worth more than $15 billion since 2008.

On Monday evening, Trump and Modi had a working dinner, the first time Trump has played host to a foreign dignitary at a White House dinner.

Trump administration officials have pointed to both leaders' impact on social media - each has more than 30 million Twitter followers - as proof they are cut from the same cloth.
"If the chemistry is good, everything else gets sorted," said an Indian official. "The only way is up. How much up we go depends on the leaders. If they click, we go up higher."

Trade, however, remains an irritant, and on Saturday, leading U.S. congressmen complained in a letter to Trump that high-level engagement had failed to eliminate major barriers to U.S. imports and investment and had not deterred India from imposing new ones.

Indian officials reject suggestions that Modi's "Make in India" platform is protectionist and complain about the U.S. regulatory process for generic pharmaceuticals and rules on fruit imports.

They stress the future importance of the huge Indian market to U.S. firms and major growth in areas such as aviation which will offer significant opportunities for U.S. manufacturers.

Among the Indian business executives in Washington for Modi's visit was Ajay Singh, chairman of Indian budget airline SpiceJet, which in January announced a deal to buy up to 205 aircraft from Boeing, worth up to $22 billion at list prices.

Singh told Reuters that according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the deal would sustain up to 132,000 jobs.

"The market is growing 20-25 percent a year. Even at today’s pace you need 100 more planes a year just to keep pace with the market and we are not getting anywhere close to that number."

“As our economy grows ... we can potentially create a lot of jobs for Americans in the United States,” he said.

Boeing has estimated India will need 1,850 new aircraft worth $265 billion by 2036 to meet demand for air travel.

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Mumbai: 55 students trapped at Devkund waterfalls rescued

The students had gone to Devkund waterfalls near Bhira village some 50 kilometres from Mumbai.



Fifty-five students, who were trapped in two streams of Kundalika river of Maharashtra, were rescued today.
The students had gone to Devkund waterfalls near Bhira village some 50 kilometres from Mumbai.
Rescue work was carried out by a team lead by Mangaon Police and Kundalika rafters.
The students mostly between 17 and 20 years old were connected through a WhatsApp group that goes for hiking and riding at different places.
The students were from different colleges in Mumbai.
The group were on a trip to Devkund waterfalls and had left Mumbai on Sunday morning. The students were stranded after heavy rains lashed the region.
Mangaon police got information about the situation in the afternoon.
Since the students were trapped at a remote place deep in the forest, the cops had to walk nearly seven kilometres.
The rescue operations took place for nearly three hours.
"It was extremely difficult operation. Rain stopped in the afternoon which helped us a bit. We were just 7 people and rescued them all," said API Jagtap.

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Donald Trump ends decades-long White House tradition, no iftar dinner this year

For the first time in nearly two decades, the White Host did not host an Iftar dinner to commemorate Eid this year.



The White House did not host an Iftar dinner to commemorate Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, for the first time in nearly two decades.
United States President Donald Trump and first lady Melania released a statement on Saturday wishing "warm greetings" to those celebrating Eid al-Fitr.
"Muslims in the United States joined those around the world during the holy month of Ramadan to focus on acts of faith and charity. Now, as they commemorate Eid with family and friends, they carry on the tradition of helping neighbours and breaking bread with people from all walks of life," the statement read.
With this, Trump has broken the annual tradition upheld by the past three administrations that began under President Bill Clinton and was continued by George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
The Iftar dinners were attended by prominent members of the Muslim community as well as members of the Congress and diplomats from Muslim countries.
In the White House, Trump has attempted to ban travel to the US from several Muslim-majority countries.
During his first trip abroad, Trump, however, urged the leaders of 55 Muslim-majority countries for unity in the fight against terrorism

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Hottest Bikini Bodies of 2017: Kylie Jenner, Hilary Duff, Jessica Alba and More Stars

Work it, ladies! See Jessica Alba, Hilary Duff, Fergie and more stars in the sexiest bikinis of 2017 — so far.



Kourtney Kardashian
The mom of three worked her toned figure in a black two-piece in Miami on June 12, 2017. 



Hailey Baldwin
The model showed off her abs in a printed two-piece bikini while soaking up the sun in Miami on June 12, 2017


Ariel Winter
The Modern Family star flaunted her curves in an ice blue bikini on May 29, 2017. 


Bella Hadid
The emerging supermodel looked chic in a lingerie-inspired white bikini while on a yacht in Cannes on May 20, 2017. 



Sara Sampaio
The Victoria’s Secret model posed for a sultry snap while aboard a yacht in Cannes on May 23, 2017.



Kourtney Kardashian
The reality star lounged in a rainbow bikini on April 25, 2017.



Demi Lovato
Wearing a strapless black and white two-piece, the singer declared April 21, 2017: "love your body the way it is



Irina Shayk
Hot mama! One month after giving birth to daughter Lea, the model showed off her post-baby bod on Instagram April 18, 2017. 



Kate Upton
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl flaunted her beach bod in a blue bikini on vacation in Turks and Caicos on April 18



Elizabeth Hurley
In a red bikini from her Elizabeth Hurley Beach collection on Frégate Island in the Seychelles on April 13.



Lisa Rinna and Delilah Belle
Rinna in a scarlet two-piece and her daughter in mismatched black and white separates in Los Cabos, Mexico, April 12.



Lourdes Leon
In a bubblegum pink bikini while strolling on the beach in Miami on April 10.



Kate Beckinsale
In a red bandeau bikini top and white bottoms while lounging over the ocean in an Instagram pic shared on April 10.



Heidi Klum
In a grommet-accented red bikini in Turks and Caicos on April 6. 



Bella Hadid
In a scarlet string bikini while stretched out on the sand in an Instagram snap shared on April 2. Her caption? "Reflect and recharge



NeNe Leakes
In a jewel-embellished royal blue bikini and a multicolor coverup in a photo shared via Instagram on April 2.



Kristin Cavallari
In a cocoa-colored string bikini — just over a year after giving birth to her third child — while vacationing with her husband, Jay Cutler, on March 26, 2017. Via Instagram, Cavallari captioned the pic, "Swingin' around



Teresa Giudice
The mom of two worked her toned bikini body in a teal two-piece with yellow gemstones in a pic shared via Instagram on March 22, 2017



Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
In a Missoni bikini while flaunting her baby bump in her pregnancy announcement shared via Instagram on February 9



Britney Spears
In a teeny yellow bikini with ruffled details in a video shared March 10 via Instagram.



Emily Ratajkowski
In a white string bikini while posing for a vacation snap shared via Instagram on March 9.



Bella Thorne
In a printed sky-blue string bikini on vacation in Mexico on February 20.



Kim Zolciak-Biermann
In a black halter bikini while strolling on a beach in an Instagram pic snapped by her husband, Kroy Biermann, and shared on January 31.



Hailee Steinfeld
In a striped suit with an off-the-shoulder top, revealed in an Instagram shot on New Year's Eve.



Joan Smalls and Doutzen Kroes
In teeny string bikinis (ACACIA for Smalls) in South Beach Miami on January 1. "Amazing first day of the New Year!" Kroes captioned the snap via Instagram.



Hilary Duff
In a scalloped blue bikini top, teamed with a head scarf and denim cutoffs, while vacationing in Hawaii on January 2.



Alessandra Ambrosio
In a textured taupe bikini en route to the Praia Brava beach in Brazil on January 2.



Jasmine Tookes and Romee Strijd
In bandeau-top bikinis while vacationing in Bahia, Brazil, on January 2.



Romee Strijd
In a baby-pink Tori Praver two-piece with high-waisted bottoms in Bahia, Brazil, on January 3. "sea you soon 🍉," she captioned via Instagram.



Camila Cabello
In a white and nude bikini while vacationing in Cancun on January 3.



Kylie Jenner
In a black string bikini with white stitching and a matching choker, which she rocked in an Instagram pic on January 4.



Fergie
In a teeny green swimsuit with long side ties teamed with round mirrored shades, while vacationing in Maui, Hawaii on January 4.



Kourtney Kardashian
In a lavender two-piece and a body chain while vacationing in the Bahamas, later shared via Instagram on January 5



Bella Hadid
In a teeny black string bikini while on location in the Bahamas for a shoot on January 10.



Kristin Cavallari
In a striped Prey swimsuit designed by her former costar Audrina Patridge while visiting Sayulita, Mexico, on January 13.

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