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The Hindustan Times November 01,2019 The Trump administration is keeping alive one of the last remaining components of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal by extending sanctions waivers that allow foreign companies to work with Iran’s civilian nuclear program without US penalties. The waivers had been due to expire Tuesday but were extended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for another 90 days. The extensions were not announced until Thursday. Pompeo has been a champion of President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said the move “will help preserve oversight of Iran’s civil nuclear program, reduce proliferation risks, constrain Iran’s ability to shorten its ‘breakout time’ to a nuclear weapon, and prevent the regime from reconstituting sites for proliferation-sensitive purposes.” Pompeo also announced new sanctions on Iran’s construction sector, which he determines to be under the control of the Iranian Revolut...

The Hindustan Times, November 01, 2019 The government on Thursday denied that it had sealed a peace deal with Naga rebels to end the world’s oldest surviving insurgency. The Union home ministry said the talks with Naga insurgent groups were yet to be concluded and that it will consult all stakeholders in the region, including the states of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, before a peace agreement is inked. Soon after the Narendra Modi government was sworn in for a second term after the April-May general elections, it set an October 31, 2019 deadline for the conclusion of the Naga peace talks. In a statement, the home ministry said that “it has come to the government’s notice that a lot of rumours and misinformation is being spread in the media including social media that the final Naga settlement has been arrived at and will be announced soon”. Such reports, the MHA said, were giving rise to “anxiety and concern in some parts of the country. It is clarified tha...

The Hindu Business Line October 30, 2019 The slew of newer TB drugs that have hit the market recently promise to tackle the disease better, but the high price can prove a dampener to realise the goal of taming the deadly disease on a war footing, feel experts, advocacy groups and medical organisations who are meeting this week in Hyderabad for a global event on TB and Lung disease. On Monday, a newly approved three-drug treatment for TB was priced at $1,040 for a complete regimen, which was twice the cost proposed in the past by advocacy groups for other treatments. The drug cocktail will be available in 150 countries including India and South Africa, according to media reports. “After half a century, we finally have new TB drugs that can offer a better chance of survival for people who otherwise continue to die from the world’s leading infectious-disease killer. The public helped pay for the development of this drug, therefore, this drug should be affordable and access...

The Hindustan Times October 31, 2019 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out raids at multiple locations in Tamil Nadu in a crackdown on an Islamic State module. The raids took place in Coimbatore, Nagapattinam, Sivaganga, Trichy and Thoothukkudi districts. The central probe agency said the raids were conducted on associates of the six men arrested in February 2019 for conspiring to kill Hindu activists in Coimbatore. “Two laptops, eight mobile phones, five SIM cards, one SD card and documents were seized during the searches,” said a statement by the NIA. NIA officials also questioned the suspects about their association with the charge-sheeted persons. The NIA has been conducting raids in Coimbatore over the past few months. Last week too, the central probe agency said it had recovered incriminating documents during a raid in the city. The Coimbatore module was busted in September 2018 and it was during interrogation of the terror suspects that inte...

The Hindustan Times October 31, 2019 India on Thursday came back with a sharp response after China’s “unlawful and void” comment on the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate Union territories (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The Chinese foreign ministry had said that India’s move violated Chinese sovereignty but will also not change the situation on the ground as part of the area in the former state remains under Chinese control. To that, New Delhi said the matter of reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territories is “entirely an internal affair of India”. “China is well aware of India’s consistent and clear position on this issue,” the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said in a statement. “We do not expect other countries, including China, to comment on the matters which are internal to India, just as India refrains from commenting on internal issues of other countries,” it said in the statement. “The Union Territories ...

The Business Line October 31, 2019 Germany and India are likely to sign agreements including a partnership on the use of artificial intelligence in farming during a three-day visit to New Delhi by Chancellor Angela Merkel that begins on Thursday, the German ambassador said. Merkel will be accompanied by several cabinet colleagues and a business delegation, ambassador Walter J. Lindner told reporters. Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to discuss trade, investment, regional security and climate change. Both countries could sign agreements in areas such as artificial intelligence and green urban mobility, Lindner said. “This time, the focus will be on economic and trade relations, innovation and digitalization, and climate protection and sustainable development,” Merkel said in a message ahead of the visit released by the Indian embassy in Berlin. Bilateral trade between the two countries rose to $24.06 billion in the 2018/19 fiscal year ending ...

Business Line October 31, 2019 The deficit for the period was more than Rs 6.51 lakh crore while the budget estimate has been pegged at Rs 7 lakh crore Windfall gain from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) helped the government to limit its fiscal deficit to 92.6 per cent during first six months (April-September) of the current fiscal -- 2019-20. Fiscal Deficit means difference between income and expenditure of the government and normally it is bridged by market borrowing. The government intends to keep the deficit to 3.3 per cent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Products). According to figures made public by the Controller General of Accounts, the deficit for the said period was more than Rs 6.51 lakh crore while the budget estimate has been pegged at Rs 7 lakh crore. In terms of percentage, it is 92.6 per cent of the budget estimate as against 95.3 per cent of the budget estimate for 2018-19. However, fiscal deficit as a percentage of revised estimate for first six months of...

Scroll.in October 31, 2019 Seventeen individuals including human rights activists, scholars and journalists have so far confirmed to Scroll.in that they were targeted by a spyware on the messaging platform WhatsApp. Some of them suggested that Indian government agencies may have been involved in the surveillance, as they were told by a Canada-based cyber security group that is assisting WhatsApp in investigating the spyware attack. Three lawyers who were targeted linked the security breach to the Bhima Koregaon case, in which 10 human rights activists were arrested last year on charges of links with a banned Maoist outfit. WhatsApp on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against NSO Group, an Israeli cyber intelligence firm whose spyware Pegasus was used to target around 1,400 users globally during a two-week period in May. NSO Group has disputed the allegations but said it has sold its spyware only to government agencies. At least two dozen Indian journalists, academics, Dalit ac...

Money Control October 31, 2019 The clean-up of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) is needed as a priority, said former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan. The recapitalisation of NBFCs is required, Rajan said in an interview with CNBC. The financial system has an overhang on the economy, and the clean-up of banks and NBFCs must be accelerated, Rajan added. The seeds of the non-performing assets (NPA) mess were sown in 2007-08, he said. The former central bank governor spoke about India's economic condition, saying that India has witnessed a "substantial slowdown". "Growth won't come from tinkering of rates. India needs new generation of reforms for economic growth," he said. The Indian government has the required political strength and power to undertake reforms, Rajan noted. Rajan also spoke about the US Federal Reserve's decision to cut rates by 25 basis points. "The Fed has done enough to ...

India Tv October 30, 2019 The telecom regulatory world is abuzz with feverish talk that the imperilled telecom operator, Vodafone, is ready to exit its India operations. An email questionnaire was sent by IANS to a Vodafone-Idea spokesperson in India. IANS, in turn was asked to direct the queries to Ben Padovan, Group Head of Corporate Communications, Vodafone Group Plc. Vodafone group did not respond to queries for two days till the time of printing. There is a buzz in telecom circles that Vodafone is ready to "pack up and leave any day now" as operating losses mount in the joint venture company, Vodafone-Idea, loss of lakhs of subscribers every month and a dwindling market capitalization which is hurting any fresh fund raising. On Wednesday, Vodafone-Idea issued a clarification on the claim that Vodafone Idea has approached its lenders for debt recast. "There has been reportage in some media alleging that Vodafone Idea has approached its lende...

The Economic Times October 31, 2019 Discussions between Reliance Industries (RILNSE -1.13 %) and a group of marque financial investors and sovereign wealth funds for a controlling stake of its pan India fibre InVIT — Jio Digital Fibre — appear to have stalled. Negotiations with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)-led group that also included I Squared Capital, an infrastructure focussed fund, and GIC of Singapore have hit hurdles over differences in commercial and operating terms, said multiple people in the know. The three were acting together as a loose alliance. In parallel, GIC has also been evaluating joining Brookfield as a co-investor in Jio’s towers. Along with the prospective investors, Mukesh Ambani’s family office was supposed to coinvest to reaffirm his commitment to the business. The search is on to find alternative partners or tweak the terms. No term sheet has been signed between both sides, added the officials in the know. Talks can, however, resum...

The Indian Express October 31, 2019 The state of Jammu and Kashmir will be officially bifurcated into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh on Thursday, October 31. This was the date chosen after the bifurcation was announced in Parliament on August 5. Beyond the symbolic importance — October 31 is the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel — the day will mark the beginning of the functioning of the two UTs at a bureaucratic level. The period between August 5 and October 31 has been used by the state administration and the Home Ministry to put a basic bureaucratic structure in place to implement the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act What happens on October 31? In terms of events, the Lieutenant Governors of the two UTs will take oath of office along with the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. Last week, the Union government appointed serving IAS officer of Gujarat cadre Girish Chandra Murmu as the LG of Jammu and Kashmir, and retired bureau...

Scroll.in October 28, 2019 European Council President Donald Tusk said on Monday that the European Union has agreed to extend the exit of Britain from the bloc till January 31, 2020, BBC reported. Tusk said the bloc would allow for “flextension” – meaning Brexit could take place before the deadline if the British Parliament approved a deal. “The decision is expected to be formalised through a written procedure,” Tusk tweeted. Ambassadors to the European Union met in Brussels, Belgium, at 9 am UK time (2.30 pm Indian Standard Time) to discuss the possibility of an extension, The Guardian reported. There will be a briefing by 10, Downing Street, the residence of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at 11 am UK time (4.30 pm IST), followed by a debate on the government’s motion calling for an early election, at 3.30 pm (9 pm IST). If the MPs vote to allow an early election in December, Brexit could take place sooner than January 31, The Guardian reported. On Octob...

India Today October 30, 2019 Biometric security which was introduced by Google with Android 10 has now come to the Google's widely-used digital wallet platform and online payment system- Google Pay. The feature can be seen in the latest 2.100 version of the app and allows users to protect their online transactions using fingerprint and facial recognition feature. Google Pay users previously had to enter a PIN to secure their transactions. This has changed now with the latest update. Google has now added support for biometrics API so that you can use your fingerprints or face to authenticate your money transfers. The new feature does the job faster than the traditional PIN security. Note that this feature is not available in India. Google Pay India still requires UPI pin authentication for all transactions on UPI and biometrics is not replacing the UPI. The biometrics can be used to set up device lock and the same can be used for unlocking the Google Pay app. The fea...

Infosecurity Group Thousands of websites and a national TV station have been taken out by a major cyber-attack in the eastern European nation of Georgia. The former Soviet nation has been left reeling after the apparently coordinated attack led to the defacement of over 15,000 pages — many of which were replaced with a photo of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, and the words "I'll be back." Some 2000 were apparently forced offline completely. Among those affected are the presidential website, non-government organizations, the courts, and numerous private companies, according to the BBC. The outages and disruptions appear to be the result of attackers targeting web hoster Proservice, which reportedly claimed on Monday evening it had been able to recover around half of those sites. Broadcasters Imedi and Maestro have also had services disrupted, with computers at the latter reportedly destroyed in the attacks. It’s unclear what the motives for ...

BBC News October 30, 2019 India's plan to mandate the monitoring, interception and tracing of messages on social media has alarmed users and privacy activists - as well as the companies running the platforms. Prasanto K Roy looks at the potential impact of such a move. The country's information technology ministry will publish, by January 2020, a new set of rules for intermediaries: platforms that allow people to send, or share, messages. It is a sweeping term, which also includes e-commerce and many other types of apps and websites. The move is in response to an explosion of fake news that has caused mob violence and led to more than 40 deaths in 2017 and 2018. Most frequent were rumours about child kidnappers, circulated on WhatsApp and other platforms. Those messages, with no basis in fact, caused mobs to lynch innocent passers-by. Such "forwards" spread to tens of thousands of users in hours, and became nearly impossible to counter once they ha...