Centre, states broadly agree on CGST, IGST provisions

NEW DELHI: The GST Council at a meeting on Saturday broadly agreed on the contours of two key legislation - CGST and IGST - but a final approval is likely only by mid-March.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley met with his state counterparts and discussed the GST legislation to be adopted by Union Territories, but there was no discussion with regard to the State GST Bill.
"As many as 26 changes sought by the states have been accepted by the Centre. This shows the federalist character of India. CGST and IGST will come up for further discussion at the next meeting of the Council in mid-March," West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra said.
Mitra further said both the Centre and states have agreed to provide a composition scheme to dhabas and small restaurants.
"States were seeking that dhabas and small restaurants can adopt the composite scheme. The Centre has agreed to that and now these small businesses will pay 5 per cent tax (to be shared equally between the Centre and states)," Mitra said.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the central GST and integrated GST legislations have been broadly agreed upon at the Council meeting on Saturday.
"Real estate should be brought under GST. Everybody knows that a lot of blackmoney finds its way into real estate and bringing real estate under GST will help in curbing black money," Sisodia said.
Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu felt that "some minor editorial changes" are required in the legislations and they have to be sent to the legal department again.
Mitra further said IGST, which relates to taxation of inter-state transfer of goods, the legislation will provide for cross empowerment of state and central officers.
"It has been agreed that there will be cross-empowerment of states. Also, we did not want this as a notification, we wanted in the Act so that never in future can another council come and say states won't have power," Mitra stressed.

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Flat stomach food guide

Tired of not knowing what kinds of foods to eat? Not sure how much fat, calories and sodium you should be consuming everyday? All the tips you need are here....
In addition to regular exercise, you'll also want to add some fat burning foods to your diet to help trim your waistline.
Foods that are high in protein and fibre are the best kinds of food to eat if you want to burn fat around your middle.
Did you know that it takes more energy to digest protein than it does to digest fat? So the more protein you eat, the more calories your body burns.

Eggs

Eggs are super high in protein and can help you burn that unwanted belly fat. They contain the vitamin B12 a great supplement for breaking down fat cells.
You may have heard all the warnings about eggs and your health. That's because a couple of eggs will put you over the recommended daily amount of cholesterol.
Well, more recent studies have shown that dietary cholesterol has a minimal impact on blood cholesterol. Dietary fat is the real culprit. It's what raises your bad cholesterol levels.
However, if you're still worried about your overall cholesterol intake from eating too many eggs, you can remove the yolk and still benefit from the high protein contained in eggs.

Low fat dairy products

According to an article in Obesity Research, women who ate low-fat dairy products, such as nonfat yogurt and low-fat milk, three to four times a day, lost 70 per cent more fat than low-dairy dieters.
In another study done at Purdue University those who consumed 3 cups of fat-free milk gained less weight over the course of 2 years than those on low calcium diets.
So, not only do dairy products help you strengthen your bones, they can also play an essential role in

burning that unwanted body fat.

If you are a regular consumer of milk and other dairy products, that's great, just watch your proportions and perhaps switch over to the low or no fat varieties.

Beans

While beans are often associated with the gastrointestinal disturbances they may cause, they are also very good sources of protein, fiber and iron.
Some of the best kinds of beans to eat are:
- Navy beans
- White beans
- Kidney beans
- Lima beans

And as always, limit baked and refried beans in your diet as refried beans contain tons of saturated fat, while baked beans are usually loaded in sugar. Sure, you'll be getting your protein but you'll also be consuming a lot of fat and sugar that you don't need.
Here's something else to remember. Be sure to cook your beans thoroughly because our digestive tracks are not adapted to breaking down some proteins that are contained in certain beans.
Tip: A vegetable called Edamame (pronounced ed-uh-ma-may) an organic soybean in a pod often served at Japanese restaurants.
All you do is boil them for three minutes, add a pinch of salt and eat the soybeans out of the pods. They are surprisingly tasty and very good for you. One serving contains 10 grams of soy protein. The best place to find them is at a store that sells organic foods.

Oatmeal

While it may not be the tastiest thing you can eat, oatmeal definitely has some great nutritional qualities.
You may have noticed that many of the oatmeal brands are now boasting that eating more oatmeal will help lower your cholesterol level. That's because oatmeal is loaded with soluble fibre which helps reduce blood cholesterol by flushing those bad digestive acids out of your system.
The best kind of oatmeal to eat is unsweetened and unflavoured. While its tempting to select the apples and cinnamon flavour and load it with butter and sugar you really lose out on all the health benefits. If you must sweeten your bowl of oatmeal, do so by adding fruit.
Or add a spoonful of honey (much better for you than sugar) and a handful of raisins or dried cranberries.
Oatmeal is also beneficial in fighting colon cancer and heart disease.

Olive oil

Certain fats are good for you and your body needs them. Olive oil is one of those good fats. In fact, it's so good that it helps you burn fat and keeps your cholesterol down.
Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat, a type of fat that researchers are finding provide outstanding health benefits. One ounce of extra virgin olive oil contains about 85 per cent of the daily value for monounsaturated fat.
So instead of taking a swig of orange juice in the morning, many dieters are picking up a bottle of extra virgin olive oil.

Whole grains

These days everyone seems to be screaming "No carbs!" It's as if the world has gone no-carb crazy and everyone is running from sliced breads and pastas.
Well the truth is, your body needs carbohydrates. If you go without them completely your body will start to crave them. So it's not a good idea to exclude all carbs because the right kinds are actually good for you.
It's the processed carbohydrates that are bad for you the white breads, bagels, pastas, and white rice to name a few.
The above foods have all been processed, thus stripping out all the nutrients leaving you with loads of starch.
The key is to eat whole grain foods because they haven't been processed and contain the fiber and minerals your body needs.
So don't be fooled by a loaf of bread labeled wheat. Regular wheat bread is still lacking in vitamins and minerals. Manufacturers add molasses to it so it turns brown.
Don't let them trick you. The only kind of bread that's good for you is the kind that's labeled whole grain.

Meat and fish

Turkey and beef are great for building muscle and boosting the immune system, but as always you have to be careful as:

Basted turkeys are usually injected with fatty substances while beef contains saturated fat. If you are going to eat beef, be sure to consume the leanest cuts you can find by looking for loin or roundon the labels.

Salmon and tuna are also good sources of protein. They both contain omega-3 fatty acids which may sound bad, but are actually healthy fats. These two foods are also good for giving your immune system a nice boost and should be consumed at least thrice a week.

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Is it worth having an extra-marital affair?

Infidelity is perhaps as old as marriage. And, along with the growing tribe of cheating spouses, there are some partners who remain blissfully unaware of any damage to their marriage.
Interestingly, the Infidelity Facts website states that up to 41 per cent of spouses who cheat actually admit to their affair. "It's nothing new, but more in the open now," says Sarika Pilot Chaudhry.
Many, who are prone to experimenting, do it guilt-free as long as they're meeting "responsibilities" in the domestic space. Mrs and Mr Shah were the most perfect couple; they made the most brilliant hosts at parties and seemed inseparable. Later, the husband was seen romancing Nirali in another city. He reasoned, "I love my wife, but since we have been married for so long, I am a bit bored and need that excitement. Nirali is also married, so it's 'safe'! I love it when she accompanies me on an official trip as we can spend time exclusively. I am enjoying it while it lasts."

Expert speak

Psychiatrist Dr Himanshu Saxena believes males by nature are polygamous. He agrees that Indians are more open about expressing their sexuality now. "Often, it's marital disharmony that leads to extra-marital affairs. In arranged marriages, the spouses may not click, and look for options elsewhere. A liberal media and generally more openness with the opposite sex, such as colleagues, bring people closer emotionally and sexually." He adds, "The seven-year itch persists and if marital relations stale, a fresh person appears more interesting."

No guilt!

For some, an affair provides something lacking in their own marriage, which could be sex or mental stimulation. Rajesh Goyal, married for 12 years and recently blessed with a son says, "I don't feel guilty. My wife has no reason to complain; I give her all that a loving husband would, but my girlfriend is my ideal companion and lover. And, one can't marry everyone they love, right?"
For Maya, it's just about sex, "I love my husband deeply and can't dream of any other man in my life. Unfortunately, he has a low libido and I don't want to lead the life of a nun; I am young and have my desires, so if it's a man that excites me, I simply have to go ahead."
Then there are the serial cheaters or the sex addicts! 'Sex is wilder and more exciting with a stranger," shares Krishna.

Is it worth it?

Says socialite Sonu Wassan, "To bring back the spark in the marriage, an affair can act as a catalyst." Adds Arjun Sawhney, who runs a PR firm, "Humans are not monogamous, so if you feel it's fine and your partner is okay with it, go for it. Variety is the spice of life."
Comedian Gurpreet Ghuggi warns, "I think one gets into this purely for sex and it's not worth risking your marriage."
In 'open marriages', individuals have to learn the art of backing off before things become too hot to handle. Ultimately, whether it's an affair of the mind or for sexual pleasure, it's the families they want to go home to!

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Pakistan makes a U-turn, won’t send back ‘spy

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: Two months after Pakistan's top foreign affairs official Sartaj Aziz said there was inadequate evidence against the alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, Islamabad ruled out his extradition and said an FIR had been registered against him.
Jadhav was arrested in Balochistan on March 3, 2016, with authorities claiming that he was a RAW agent involved in "subversive activities" against Pakistan since 2013. But in December 2016, Aziz, while addressing the Senate, had said the dossier on Jadhav contained "mere statements" and did not have "any conclusive evidence".

Contradicting his previous statement, Aziz on Friday told lawmakers that the government was in the process of prosecuting Jadhav for carrying out "subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan".

Official sources in New Delhi, responding to media reports from Pakistan, said, "The government has on several occasions completely rejected the baseless allegations against Kulbhushan Jadhav. The circumstances of his presence in Pakistan remain unclear, particularly because we have not been provided consular access despite our repeated requests.

We expect Pakistan to follow well-established international practice in this regard and ensure his well-being while he is in its custody." Aziz told the Senate that a dossier had been prepared based on thorough groundwork and inputs from various state departments on the "Indian involvement in internal affairs of Pakistan."

The dossier, Aziz said, was shared with the UN secretary general. "It includes details about Kulbhushan Jadhav and his activities," he said, adding that the government was also examining the possibilities of sharing it with other countries and international organisations.

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China opts for low rise in military budget but will still spend lot more than India

BEIJING: China has announced a modest increase of 7 percent in its military budget for this year. But the expected expenditure of $145 billion in 2017 will be over three times the size of India's defence budget for 2017-18.
Beijing's decision to opt for a low increase in military expenditure contrasts sharply with US president Donald Trump's recent announcement that he will push for a 10 percent increase in defence spending. This is seen as a second attempt by Chinese president Xi Jinping to capture the moral high ground since his recent announcement at the World Economic Forum that China would stick to the path of globalization despite protectionist tendencies in the US.
Fu Ying, spokesperson for the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) annual session, rubbed it in at a press conference as she pointed out that China will spend just 1.3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on defence compared to a decision by NATO countries to invest 2 percent of GDP for the purpose.
"You should ask them what their intentions are," Fu said.
Many military analysts believe China's defence figures do not fully reflect its actual spending because many forms of investments are shown as civil works. They include the $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which passes through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and contains several security aspects. It is also not clear if the recent building of artificial islands in South China Sea is shown as military or civilian expenditure.
India and other neighbors of China have reasons to be worried because a portion of the increase in defence expenditure would go to the navy which is enhancing its capabilities in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
"In order to protect China's territories and overseas interests, China needs two carrier strike groups in the West Pacific Ocean and two in the Indian Ocean. So we need at least five to six aircraft carriers," Yin Zhuo, a rear admiral and a senior researcher at the PLA Navy Equipment Research Center, told the Global Times newspaper.
Analysts said China opted for low spending on military in view of the economic slowdown and the government's need for investing in areas that can boost the economy.
"The fresh raise could be the country's slowest defense budget rise in more than a decade, and mark the second time that defense budget dip to single-digit increase since 2010. In 2009, the figure was about 15%," Xinhua, the official news agency, said.

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Jordan hangs 15 convicts in rare mass execution

 Jordan hanged 15 death row prisoners including convicted "terrorists" at dawn on Saturday, its information minister said, in a further break with a moratorium on executions it observed between 2006 and 2014.
Ten of those put to death had been convicted of terrorism offences and five of "heinous" crimes including rape, Mahmud al-Momani told the official Petra news agency.
All were Jordanians and they were hanged in Suaga prison, south of the capital Amman.
Among the terrorism offences were a 2006 attack on tourists at Amman's Roman amphitheatre which killed a Briton and a June 2016 attack on an intelligence service base north of the capital that left five agents dead.
They also included the September 2016 murder of Christian writer Nahed Hattar as he stood trial for publishing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam.
King Abdullah II had said in 2005 that Jordan aimed to become the first Middle Eastern country to halt executions in line with most European nations.
Courts continued to hand down death sentences but they were not carried out.
However, public opinion blamed a rise in crime on the policy and in December 2014 Jordan hanged 11 men convicted of murder, drawing criticism from human rights groups.
Opinion hardened after the murder by the Islamic State (IS) group of captured Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh whose plane had crashed in a jihadist-held region of Syria in December 2014 while serving with a US-led coalition.
Grisly footage posted in February the following year of him being burnt alive in a cage outraged the public.
Swiftly afterwards, Jordan hanged two people convicted of terrorism offences, one of them Sajida al-Rishawi.
She had taken part in a 2005 suicide attack on luxury hotels in Amman organised by IS's forebear, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, but her explosives failed to detonate.
According to judicial sources, 94 people remain on death row in Jordan, most of them convicted of murder or rape, following Saturday's executions.

Jordan, which hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees from the conflict in Syria, carries out air strikes on IS in both Syria and Iraq as a member of the US-led coalition.

The pro-Western kingdom fears a spillover of the jihadist threat and closely monitors thousands of Jordanians suspected of being IS or Al-Qaeda sympathisers.

In June 2016, a car bomb at a crossing from Syria, claimed by IS, killed seven Jordanian security personnel. Amman has responded by sealing the border.

Jordanian authorities say several other IS attacks were foiled last year.

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Oscars 2017: Red Carpet

Here's a look at the celebrities who dazzled the 89th Academy Awards red carpert. Hollywood celebs upped the glam quotient with their high fashion sense.

Priyanka Chopra walks the red carpet for the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood, California on February 26, 2017.

Emma Roberts attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Taraji P. Henson attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Model Chrissy Teigen and singer John Legend pose together as they arrive for the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Sofia Carson attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Model Chrissy Teigen attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Blanca Blanco arrives in a thigh-high-slit designer gown at the 89th Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Actor Olivia Culpo unveils a one-of-a-kind Marchesa for Stella Artois gown featuring beads made from the Stella Artois Limited-Edition Chalices during the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Actor Auli'i Cravalho attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood

TV Personality Zuri Hall attends the 89th Academy Awards held at the at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood

Teresa Palmer attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Michelle Williams and Busy Philipps walk the red carpet for the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Felicity Jones attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Debbie Matenopoulos attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood

Wishing luck to her fellow nominees, Natalie Portman said, "Due to my pregnancy, I am unable to attend the Independent Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards

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