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The Indian Express Government think tank NITI Aayog plans to conduct a financing exercise with states that have been “historically backward” in development to ensure that India can achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on time. “There is consensus on all levels that unless these States make significant progress, India will find it challenging to achieve its SDG targets on time. NITI Aayog has started working closely with these States, enabling them in establishing SDG monitoring systems and supporting them in forging partnerships for building institutions, capacity, knowledge and convergence,” stated the body in its SDG India Index 2019 report.  Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and Assam were among the worst performers in terms of their progress towards achieving these SDGs, shows the report. NITI Aayog has already begun estimating the financial cost of achieving “key” SDGs in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, sta...

The Express Tribune Zulfiqar Baig A popular social networking site has blocked live news streaming by Pakistan’s national broadcaster over posts about Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) which has been under siege since August 5, 2019 after the Narendra Modi government unconstitutionally stripped the disputed region of its special status. Radio Pakistan accused Facebook of blocking live news bulletins by the Pakistan Broadcast Corporation (PBC) over its social media activity on “continued atrocities, curfew and military lockdown” in IOK.   In a statement, the national broadcaster showed screenshots of Facebook’s messages on some of the posts that it said went against standards on “dangerous individuals and organisations”. According to officials, Facebook informed Radio Pakistan on Sunday of suspending its live news streaming for two months and with a warning that if the PBC did not abide by the social media giant’s policy, the provision of...

Hindustan Times Shishir Gupta and Rezaul H Laskar India has linked China’s “early harvest” proposal for settling the Sikkim land boundary to the simultaneous demarcation of the middle sector in Uttarakhand as a stepping stone to phased resolution of the decades-old border dispute. New Delhi and Beijing exchanged maps of the middle sector as far back as March 2002, but there has been no movement since then. The 22nd dialogue of the Special Representatives (SR) on the boundary issue between national security adviser Ajit Doval and state councillor Wang Yi in New Delhi on December 21 ended with both sides committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC).  While the Chinese statement on the talks said the two sides should “promote early harvest consultations”, there was no mention of such proposals in the statement from the Indian side. The Chinese side says the “early harvest” proposal was submitted to external affairs mini...

Hindustan Times Rezaul H Laskar US President Donald Trump’s “America first” policy was the precursor to the trade war, which led to both sides imposing tariffs worth hundreds of billions of dollars on each other’s exports. US President Donald Trump’s “America first” policy was the precursor to the trade war, which led to both sides imposing tariffs worth hundreds of billions of dollars on each other’s exports.  After protracted negotiations conducted in fits and starts over the year, the two countries unveiled a preliminary deal in December whereby the US will reduce some tariffs on Chinese goods while China will increase purchases of American farm, energy and manufactured goods. The “phase one” deal also addresses some US complaints about China’s intellectual property practices. The US won’t proceed with 15% tariffs on Chinese goods worth nearly $160 billion, including mobile phones, laptops and clothing, and China cancelled retaliatory tariffs, including a 25%...

Hindustan Times The roll-out of the portal in Delhi will facilitate requests for blocking of stolen or lost mobile phones by customers, and sharing of traceable data with police authorities.  Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday launched a web portal that will facilitate blocking and tracing of stolen or lost mobile phones in Delhi. The initiative was launched in September this year in Mumbai on a pilot basis. The roll-out of the  portal  in Delhi will facilitate requests for blocking of stolen or lost mobile phones by customers, and sharing of traceable data with police authorities, a statement said.  “With the aim to curtail the counterfeit mobile phone market and discourage mobile phone theft, protect consumer interest and facilitate law enforcement authorities for lawful interception, DoT intends to implement Central Equipment Identity Registry (CEIR) that connects to the IMEI database of all the mobile Operators. CEIR acts as a centr...