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War on the rocks Dated: November 25, 2019 By:  HARORO J. INGRAM  AND  CRAIG WHITESIDE Three days after the  killing  of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State released a short  message  featuring its newly appointed spokesman, Abu Hamza al-Qurashi, announcing the new “emir of the Muslims” as Caliph Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Few outside of the Islamic State’s Delegated Committee and, purportedly, President Donald  Trump , know the real identities behind these  kunyas  (noms de guerre). The movement that captivated, shocked, raped, and murdered its way to the leadership of the global jihadist movement just nominated an anonymous “caliph” to lead the enterprise, expecting members and supporters around the globe to  renew  their allegiance. The Islamic State’s leaders are confident the gambit will succeed because the replacement caliph was selected using a process first executed in 2006, and subsequently repea...

First Point Dated: November 24, 2019 By: Press Trust of India Srinagar:  Eleven mobile phones have been recovered from the possession of several mainstream leaders who are under detention at the MLA Hostel in Srinagar, police said on Sunday. "Eleven mobile phones were recovered from the MLA hostel during a search operation,” the official said. Security personnel searched the rooms of the detainees and found the mobile phones, he said, adding investigations were on as to how the phones reached inside the sub-jail. About three dozen politicians have been detained since 5 August  after the Centre abrogated Jammu and Kashmir's special status under Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state into two union territories at the MLA hostel near MA Road here. They were shifted from the Centaur Hotel last week as the hotel lacked facilities to withstand the harsh winter in the Kashmir valley. Ref:  https://www.firstpost.com/india/security-forces-recover-11...

Business Standard Dated: November 25, 2019 by: Press trust of India India's economic growth is expected to slow further in the second half of the year, Singapore's  DBS Bank  said on Monday. "Real GDP is likely to print 4.3 per cent YoY in 3Q vs 2Q's 5 per cent, nearing the trough for this cycle," DBS said in its daily economic report. Weakness in the crucial consumption sector is likely to be extended into the quarter along with tepid private sector activity. New project announcements remain at a multi-year low, while production was depressed by weak consumer durables, non-durables, intermediate and capital goods, the bank pointed out. Surveys by the  Reserve Bank of India  (RBI) reflect downbeat consumer sentiments towards income and employment conditions. Indirect and direct tax collections also reflected slower demand, as did sluggish  credit growth  as banks and non-banks tightened due diligence, it said. Providing a counterwe...

Hindustan Times Dated: November 25, 2019 Almost 900 people, including Islamic State fighters and members of their families and a majority of them Pakistani nationals, have surrendered to Afghan security forces in the past fortnight, people familiar with developments said on Sunday. These include ten Indians as well. The surrenders occurred in the eastern province of Nangarhar, where the Afghan national security forces are conducting operations against the IS, the people cited above said. Hours after the operation was launched on November 12, a total of 93 IS members, including 13 Pakistani nationals, laid down their arms, they said. According to reports, 10 Indian women and children – all members of families of Indian fighters, most of them from Kerala – are believed to be among those who have surrendered. The 10 people were believed to have been shifted to Kabul. A special team from the National Directorate of Security, the Afghan intelligence agency, is gathering details of ...

Mint Dated: November 25, 2019 I have been working abroad for five years now. I still live in Europe with my non-Indian husband. With the money that I earned abroad, I paid for a flat to the developer through my  non-resident external  (NRE) account. This was foreign currency earned and paid to the builder through NRE account. However, four years after the initial payment, we realized a fraud and demanded a refund with interest and the developers obliged. However, the refund could only be made to the  non-resident ordinary (NRO) account . I need to send the money that I received back to Europe and I understand that I will be taxed for the entire refund and not just the interest. Is there any way to prevent this? What documents do I need to submit in order to make a remittance of less than $100,000? What services through banks or third parties are most safe and economical? —Padmashree Ghangale Whether the amount received from the builder will be taxable or not w...

Mint Dated: November 22, 2019 Mumbai:  India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $441 million during the week ended November 15, official data showed on Friday. According to the Reserve Bank of India's weekly statistical supplement, the overall forex reserves increased to $448.24 billion from $447.80 billion reported for the week ended November 8. India's forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and India's reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). On a weekly basis, FCAs -- the largest component of the forex reserves -- edged higher by $643 million at $416.47 billion. However, the RBI's weekly data showed that the value of the country's gold reserves went down by $200 million to $26.70 billion. Similarly, the SDR value inched down by $5 million to $1.43 billion, whereas, the country's reserve position with the IMF rose by $3 million to $3.63 billion. Ref:  htt...

Hindustan Times Dated: November 23, 2019 It is important for Pakistan to fully implement the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to counter terror financing, a top American diplomat has said. The implementation of the FATF recommendations, besides taking action against terrorist networks, would help the US revise its travel advisory against Pakistan, the diplomat said in response to a question. “We want to see improvements in Pakistan’s security situation so that we can reflect that in a travel advisory,” Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Well said at an event at the Wilson Center think tank on Thursday. “Some of the steps that, I think, are very important are Pakistan’s implementation, full implementation of the Financial Action Task Force requirement to counter terrorism financing, to prosecute and seize the assets of members of terrorist organisations,” Wells said. In its last travel advisory issued on April 9 ...

The Indian Express Dated: November 26, 2019 By:  Aanchal Magazine Unemployment rate in urban areas moderated to 9.3 per cent in January-March, the lowest in at least four quarters, the Periodic Labour Force Survey for the January-March quarter showed. The urban unemployment rate, based on current weekly status, stood at 9.9 per cent in October-December 2018, 9.7 per cent in July-September 2018 and 9.8 per cent in April-June 2018.` Female unemployment rate, however, was higher than the overall rate at 11.6 per cent in January-March, lower than 12.3 per cent in October -December 2018 and 12.8 per cent in April-June 2018, while unemployment rate for males stood at 8.7 per cent in January-March, as against 9.2 per cent in the previous quarter and 9 per cent in April-June 2018. A state-wise breakup for all years’ age group showed female unemployment to be the highest in Jammu & Kashmir at 38.2 per cent, followed by Uttarakhand at 33.7 per cent and Kerala at 21.5 per ce...

The Indian Express Dated : November 24, 2019 By : ENS Economic Bureau India did not join the  Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership  as the offer was not “as much as our aspirations”, Union Finance Minister  Nirmala Sitharaman  said on Saturday. Advertising The government was making efforts to ensure more regulatory mechanism in the banking sector to benefit bank account holders, she said in the context of the PMC Bank and IL&FS issues. On the PMC Bank scam, Sitharaman said the RBI has started making sure there are steps taken within the institution that would strengthen the supervisory and regulatory roles. On non-performing assets (NPAs), she said they multiplied between 2007-08 and 2013 and had become a burden on the banks’ books. However, banks had taken corrective action and most of them are out of it, she said. “As a result banks are also going through a churn of how to assess their risk and how to rate property or asset. And...

Press Trust of India Dated: November 22, 2019 Developing strategic partnership with India is a critical element of President Donald Trump's South Asia strategy, a senior administration official said India provides scholarships to 1,000 Afghan students each year out of the 16,000 Afghans who are studying in India, she told the audience Indian ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has played an active role in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan since 2001 Washington:  Developing strategic partnership with India is a critical element of President Donald Trump's South Asia strategy, a senior administration official said Thursday noting that there were encouraging results of the move. "The United States welcomes India's substantial investment in and assistance to Afghanistan. And we will continue to support efforts to achieve an honourable and enduring outcome in Afghanistan that preserves our investment in Afghanistan...