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The Hindu,  RIYADH,   DECEMBER 20, 2017 07:28 IST The rebels said that the missile was targeting a “top leadership” meeting at the royal palace in Riyadh The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Shia rebels said it intercepted a missile fired over southern Riyadh on Tuesday, which the rebels said was targeting a “top leadership” meeting at the royal palace in the kingdom’s capital. It was the second time in as many months that a rebel projectile had reached as far inside the kingdom as Riyadh. The Yemeni rebels, known as the Houthis, said they launched a ballistic missile to target Yamama Palace in Riyadh, where King Salman chairs weekly government meetings and receives dignitaries and heads of state from around the world. The statement from the U.S.-backed coalition, carried by Saudi state TV, said the missile was fired by the Houthis. State TV said no damage was caused by the intercepted missile. The coalition later said the missile launch proved the...

The Indian Express   Express Web Desk  | Washington |  Updated: December 20, 2017 9:19 am Just two weeks after it criticised the Pakistan government for the release of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed from house arrest, the US on Wednesday raised concerns about the 26/11 mastermind running for office in 2018. “Saeed, who was released by Pakistan from house arrest last November resulting in angry reaction from the US, was the mastermind of the Mumbai terrorist attacks and is leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba,” PTI quoted State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert as saying. The US has designated Saeed as a global terrorist and has a bounty of $10 million on his head. He is also on the UN terror list and has recently petitioned the global body seeking removal of his name since none of the allegations against him – either related to terrorism or otherwise – has been proved in the Pakistani courts. Nauert said the US pursuance for re-arresting Saeed would continue. “...

Mint, December 20, 2017 Michelle Nichols, David Brunnstorm United Nations/Washington:  The United States has called on the UN Security Council to blacklist 10 ships for circumventing sanctions on North Korea, documents showed on Tuesday, while South Korea’s President suggested curtailing military exercises with Washington to ease tensions ahead of next year’s Winter Olympics. Documents seen by  Reuters  said the 10 vessels had been conducting ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products to North Korean vessels or transporting North Korean coal in violation of UN sanctions imposed over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs. The ships would be blacklisted—meaning countries would be required to ban them from entering their ports—if none of the 15 members of the Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee object by Thursday afternoon. North Korea is under a UN arms embargo and the Security Council has banned trade in exports such as coal, texti...

Mint, December 20, 2017 Dipti Jain, Tadit Kundu While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to retain its stronghold of Gujarat in the recent state assembly elections, it conceded significant ground to the Congress in rural and semi-rural constituencies. The results bring to the fore the problem of rural discontent, as farmers intensify their protests against non-remunerative prices for their produce across India. The problem of farm discontent is not confined to Gujarat—India has witnessed an almost eight-fold rise in ‘agrarian riots’ between 2014 and 2016, data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)  shows . Bihar and Uttar Pradesh alone accounted for 84% of the total reported incidents, while Gujarat ranked fifth among all states. These riots include  conflict  over land and water which have increasingly come under stress owing to weather-related shocks and inadequate policy attention. In his 2014 Lok Sabha campaign, Narendra Modi had promise...

The Mint, December 20, 2017, Abhiram Ghadyalpatil The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra is worried about the electoral reversals the party suffered in rural Gujarat, especially the cotton-growing parts. Results of the Gujarat assembly elections announced on Monday showed the Congress made significant gains in the Saurashtra-Kutch region and north Gujarat where cotton and groundnut are the main cash crops. In the belt that accounts for 54 assembly constituencies, the BJP won only 23 seats, 12 fewer than in 2012, while the Congress took 30 seats, 14 more than in 2012. And across the state, the BJP won only 55 of the 127 rural and semi-urban seats as against 68 by the Congress. Kishore Tiwari, chairman of the Maharashtra government-appointed Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swawalambi Mission—a task force formed to solve Vidarbha’s agrarian crisis— and Vidarbha-based farm activist, said the Maharashtra government should learn from the setback in rural Gujarat. “The res...

The Mint, December 20, 2017, Abhiram Ghadyalpatil The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra is worried about the electoral reversals the party suffered in rural Gujarat, especially the cotton-growing parts. Results of the Gujarat assembly elections announced on Monday showed the Congress made significant gains in the Saurashtra-Kutch region and north Gujarat where cotton and groundnut are the main cash crops. In the belt that accounts for 54 assembly constituencies, the BJP won only 23 seats, 12 fewer than in 2012, while the Congress took 30 seats, 14 more than in 2012. And across the state, the BJP won only 55 of the 127 rural and semi-urban seats as against 68 by the Congress. Kishore Tiwari, chairman of the Maharashtra government-appointed Vasantrao Naik Shetkari Swawalambi Mission—a task force formed to solve Vidarbha’s agrarian crisis— and Vidarbha-based farm activist, said the Maharashtra government should learn from the setback in rural Gujarat. “The res...

The Economic Times PTI- Dec 18, 2017 NEW DELHI: Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu today said India will host a meeting of about 40 WTO members in February to muster support for food security and other issues.  "We are trying to call a meeting of almost 30-40 countries (WTO ministerial) in Delhi in February just to help multi-lateral process," Prabhu said here at an event organised by Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).  He, however, did not give details of the meeting.  The proposed meeting would be in the the backdrop of developed nations forming groupings to prepare ground for pushing investment facilitation, preparing rules for e- commerce, promoting gender equality and reducing subsidy on fisheries with a view to curbing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.  India has been keenly pushing agriculture issues at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It has also been raising its voice against bringing new issues, especially those w...

The Economic Times ET Bureau| Dec 19, 2017, NEW DELHI: The government has planned an additional expenditure of Rs 66,113 crore with a net cash outgo of `33,380 crore, which could have some adverse impact on the fiscal deficit for the current financial year.  The government has presented the second supplementary demand for grants seeking nod for additional spending in the current fiscal.  The major chunk of allocation has gone to the department of food and public distribution (`3,480 crore) for food subsidyrelated spending, the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Rs 3,595 crore) and Rs 5,905 crore for meeting additional requirement for pensions following implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission.  Finance minister Arun Jaitley moved the second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2017-18 in the Lok Sabha. The government has also set aside Rs 960 crore for the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). This is towards meeting the est...

The Economic Times PTI- Dec 19, 2017 Describing India as a "leading global power", the US today unveiled its new National Security Strategy (NSS) that said it will "deepen" America's strategic partnership with India and support its leadership role in Indian Ocean security and throughout the broader region.  With an eye on China's One Belt One Road (OBOR) and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the US administration said it will help South Asian countries "maintain their sovereignty" as China increases its influence in the region.  The NSS also seeks Pakistan to take decisive action against terrorists.  "We welcome India's emergence as a leading global power and stronger strategic and defence partner," said the National Security Strategy unveiled by President Donald Trump.  The 68-page document said the US will seek to increase quadrilateral cooperation with Japan, Australia, and India.  " "We will e...

Economic Times PTI Dec 18, 2017 NEW DELHI: The government has said that the value of medical tourism in India is likely to reach a whopping USD 9 billion by 2020 as compared to the USD 3 billon in 2015.  Tourism Minister KJ ALphons today informed the Lok Sabha that India has emerged as a major medical tourism destination over the years.  Alphons said that according to a Ministry of Commerce report published in 2016, India is among the top six medical value travel destinations of the world which also include Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Mexico.  "It is further informed that as per the report, through adequate focus and effective execution, Indian medical value travel, pegged at 3 billion USD in 2015, can be 9 billion USD opportunity by 2020", the minister said.  Alphons went on to say that the ministry had recognised medical and wellness promotion tourism as niche tourism product for promotion, organised wellness and medical tourism promoti...

Indian Express By:  PTI   Islamabad December 19, 2017 “The stability of the South Asian region hangs in a delicate balance, and the possibility of nuclear war cannot be ruled out,” Janjua said in his address to a seminar on national security in Islamabad.   Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua on Monday warned the stability of South Asia was hanging in a delicate balance and the possibility of a nuclear war cannot be ruled out. He accused the US of conspiring against the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with India, The Express Tribune reported. “The stability of the South Asian region hangs in a delicate balance, and the possibility of nuclear war cannot be ruled out,” Janjua said in his address to a seminar on national security in Islamabad. Janjua claimed India has been stockpiling a range of dangerous weapons and threatens Pakistan continuously of conventional warfare. He blamed his country’s suppo...