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The Hindu January 20, 2020 IANS Attackers could use those credentials to gain remote access to the affected devices, like we have seen recently in some home cameras and devices, including Amazon-owned Ring security cameras A hacker has leaked usernames and passwords of over five lakh servers, routers and Internet of Things (IoT) devices on the Dark Web, which can be used to install malware on Internet-connected devices at home or at work. Attackers could use those credentials to gain remote access to the affected devices, like we have seen recently in some home cameras and devices, including Amazon-owned Ring security cameras. According to a ZDNet report on Sunday, the list of Telnet credentials has been published on a popular hacking forum that includes each device’s IP address, along with a username and password for the Telnet service. Telnet is one of the earliest remote login protocols on the Internet. It is a client-server protocol that provides the user a te...

The Hindu January 20, 2020 Reuters India announced the curbs on imports of refined palm oil on Jan. 8 in a bid to help domestic refiners raise their plant utilisation rates, according to industry officials familiar with the matter. Thousands of tonnes of refined palm oil are delayed or stuck at various Indian ports after the world's biggest edible oil buyer placed restrictions on imports amid a diplomatic row with key supplier Malaysia, multiple sources told Reuters. India announced the curbs on imports of refined palm oil on Jan. 8 in a bid to help domestic refiners raise their plant utilisation rates, according to industry officials familiar with the matter. In a typical year India relies on imports for almost all of its supply of the vegetable oil used in everything from soap to cookies. But Malaysia, the world's second-biggest producer and exporter of palm oil, has publicly bridled at New Delhi's move even as India has stepped up orders from Indonesi...

The Hindu January 21, 2020 Reuters Australia will begin screening passengers arriving from a Chinese city in a bid to stop the spread of a new coronavirus, the country's chief medical officer said on Tuesday, although authorities warned that an outbreak would be hard to prevent. Chinese authorities have confirmed more than 200 people have caught the new virus, which causes a type of pneumonia that has killed four people in the central city of Wuhan. The virus - which can pass from person-to-person - broke out in Wuhan but four cases have been reported in Thailand, Japan and South Korea, raising concerns about its spread through international air travel. Brendan Murphy, the chief medical officer for the Australian government, said biosecurity officials would begin screening passengers arriving on the three weekly flights to Sydney from Wuhan starting on Thursday. Passengers would be given an information pamphlet and asked to present themselves if they had a...

The Hindu January 21, 2020 World Health Organisation (WHO) will convene an emergency committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) under the International Health Regulations. The committee will meet on January 22. Announcing this in a tweet, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom said: “The Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) will ascertain whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and what recommendations should be made to manage it.” The total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported to date (Jan 21) is 222:(China: 218, Thailand: 2, Japan: 1, Rep of Korea: 1), including 4 deaths (all in Wuhan, China). The number of people reported with 2019-nCOV in Wuhan, China, includes 15 health care workers. In India, the Union Health Ministry on Monday wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to facilitate thermal screening at the international airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Beng...

The Hindu January 21, 2020 China said on Monday that human-to-human transmission has been confirmed in an outbreak of a new coronavirus, a development that raises the possibility that it could spread more quickly and widely. Team leader Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory expert, said two people in Guangdong province in southern China caught the virus from family members, state media said. Some medical workers have also tested positive for the virus, the English-language China Daily newspaper reported. The late-night announcement capped a day in which authorities announced a sharp uptick in the number of confirmed cases to more than 200, and China’s leader called on the government to take every possible step to combat the outbreak. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously,” President Xi Jinping said in his first public statement on the crisis. “Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels sho...

The Telegraph January 21, 2020 The IMF on Monday lowered India’s economic growth estimate for the current fiscal to 4.8 per cent and listed the country’s much lower-than-expected GDP numbers as the single biggest drag on its global growth forecast for two years. In October, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had pegged India’s economic growth at 6.1 per cent for 2019. Listing the decline in rural demand growth and an overall credit sluggishness for lowering of India forecasts, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath, however, said the growth momentum should improve next year because of factors such as a positive impact of corporate tax rate reduction. “Global growth, estimated at 2.9 per cent in 2019, is projected to increase to 3.3 per cent in 2020 and inch up further to 3.4 per cent in 2021,” the IMF said while releasing an update to its World Economic Outlook (WEO). Compared to the October WEO forecast, the estimate for 2019 and the projection for 2020 represent...

Firstpost January 21, 2020 Uber Eats, the food delivery business run by Uber has been acquired by Zomato, the online food delivery and restaurant discovery platform in all-stock deal, according to news reports. Uber will get a 9.9 percent stake in Zomato as part of the deal, said a report in Business Standard. The deal for Uber Eats, which operates in 41 cities, was signed at 3 AM, and its customers will be shifted to the Zomato app from 7 AM, the report said. In a regulatory filing to BSE, Info Edge (India) a shareholder in Zomato—said its shareholding in Zomato will stand reduced to about 22.71 percent on fully converted and diluted basis upon closing of the transaction. The deal comes days after Zomato had raised $150 million in funding from existing investor Ant Financial, an Alibaba affiliate, at a $3 billion valuation, according to a PTI report. Uber Eats in India will discontinue operations and direct restaurants, delivery partners, and users of the Uber ...

Firstpost January 21, 2020 A new legislation will improve protection for foreign investors in India by offering relief from possible policy changes but will uphold the state’s right to tax them, according to its draft and government documents seen by Reuters. The bill also attempts to upgrade the investment climate and boost foreign investment by setting up new adjudicating authorities to swiftly resolve disputes. It is part of the government's efforts to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024, from around $2.7 trillion currently, the documents said. But the draft text of the new law dated 15 November does not cover demands related to enforcement of tax obligations, a critical area of concern for foreign investors. Several firms including IBM, Royal Dutch Shell, and Vodafone have collectively faced billions of dollars in tax claims from the government in recent years, leading to arbitration cases and protracted legal battles in courts. A separate internal governm...

Firstpost January 21, 2020 If someone suggests that your ear has been snatched away by a crow, it is better to first check the status of your anatomy before running after the bird. Except, perhaps, when it makes more political sense to run than check. There are no surprises in the way some political parties in India have reacted to RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat’s recent reported comments on ‘two-child’ policy. For parties such as AIMIM, Congress or NCP, whose chief plank is identity politics, RSS serves an important purpose. The organisation is painted by the Asaduddin Owaisis, Rahul Gandhis or Nawab Maliks as the “significant other”, and this ‘otherisation’ paves way for demonisation of RSS, spewing venom against it, fear-mongering over it by ascribing to the RSS sinister motives and accuse it of running a ‘Hindu majoritarian project’ where Muslims would be relegated to ‘second-class citizens’. It matters little whether the RSS is indeed running a Hindu majoritarian ...

The Hindu January 20, 2020 Students of several Faculties of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), including the Faculties of Science and Life Sciences, held a protest march on Monday and decided to boycott classes and exams. The Faculties opened on Monday after the extended winter vacations in accordance with the schedule released by the university administration. The university was shut down a week ahead of schedule after a clash between the police and students on December 15, 2019. In a statement released to the media, students demanded an immediate rollback of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA). “This Act shakes the pluralistic foundations of India and tarnishes the principle of equality in the country,” the statement said. ‘Reject hatred’ “We believe that the CAA is a divisive law and the Act deliberately kept the Muslims out of the loop to send an Islamophobic message to the nation,” said Mohammed Ghayasuddin of the Faculty of Life Sciences and a Member of the ...

The Indian Express January 21, 2020 Looking to attract investors into the Union Territory, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) administration is working on an Industrial Promotion Policy 2020 in consultation with the Central government, which is set to be made public over the next few weeks. In the presentation to industry players, J&K Lieutenant Governor (LG) GC Murmu on Monday said the policy will incorporate elements including UTGST reimbursement in full, an attractive land policy, exemption from stamp duty, a capital investment subsidy and other benefits. These will be in addition to the incentives to be provided by the Centre through a special Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Development Scheme which is already in place and is being revamped. It already provides for capital subsidy, CGST reimbursement and transport subsidy. Murmu told the business community that the abrogation of erstwhile state’s special status has removed all “artificial barriers” which will help make i...

Percent Share in world population-India and China

The Hindu  January 19, 2020 The Environment Ministry has exempted oil and gas firms, looking to conduct exploratory drilling, from seeking an environmental clearance. The clearance is for both on-shore and offshore drilling explorations and the process is an ecologically-intensive exercise that involves digging multiple wells and conducting seismic surveys offshore. Until today, even exploratory surveys have merited the highest level of environmental scrutiny — called category ‘A’ — that required project proponents to prepare an environment impact assessment (EIA) plan, have it scrutinised by a Centrally constituted committee of experts and subject the proposal to a public hearing involving the local residents of the proposed project site. While public hearings, even for category A projects are frequently exempted if they are offshore, the new amendments demote exploratory projects to the category of ‘B2’. This means it will be conducted by the States concerned and will...

The Indian Express January 20, 2020 China and Myanmar inked dozens of deals on Saturday to speed up infrastructure projects in the Southeast Asian nation, as Beijing seeks to cement its hold over a neighbour increasingly isolated by the West. But no major new projects were agreed during the two-day visit by President Xi Jinping, the first of any Chinese leader in 19 years. Analysts said Myanmar was generally cautious of investments by Beijing and was also being careful ahead of elections later this year. Still, Xi and Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi signed 33 agreements shoring up key projects that are part of the flagship Belt and Road Initiative, China’s vision of new trade routes described as a “21st century silk road”. They agreed to hasten implementation of the China Myanmar Economic Corridor, a giant infrastructure scheme worth billions of dollars, with agreements on railways linking southwestern China to the Indian Ocean, a deep sea-port in conflict-riven Rak...

The Hindu January 19, 2020 The story so far: The rise in retail price inflation to a nearly six-year high of 7.35% in December has led to increasing worries that the Indian economy may be headed towards stagflation. The current rise in retail inflation has been attributed mainly to the rise in the prices of vegetables such as onions. Still, the steady rise in wider inflation figures over the last few months amidst falling economic growth has led to fears of stagflation. Notably, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh writing in The Hindu in November had warned about the imminent risk of stagflation facing the economy. What is stagflation? Stagflation is an economic scenario where an economy faces both high inflation and low growth (and high unemployment) at the same time. The Indian economy has now faced six consecutive quarters of slowing growth since 2018. Economic growth in the second quarter ending September, the most recent quarter for which data is available, was just...