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LIVE! Debate on quota bill disrupted as RS adjourned amid protests

12:09  Delhi HC to hear on Jan 15 appeal of AJL in National Herald case:  

The Delhi high court said Wednesday it will hear on January 15 the appeal of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), publisher of National Herald newspaper, challenging the single judge order asking it to vacate its premises in New Delhi, due to non-availability of advocates.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao was informed by the central government’s standing counsel Rajesh Gogna that they are led by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who was not available for the day.

The counsel for AJL said senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who will argue their case, was also not available.

The court listed the matter for hearing on January 15 after both the sides consented to it.

A single judge on December 21 had dismissed AJL’s plea challenging the Centre’s order to vacate its premises and asked AJL to vacate the ITO premises within two weeks after which eviction proceedings under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, would be initiated.  — PTI

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11:55  Oppn protest forces adjournment as RS to take up quota bill today:  

Ruckus continued in the Rajya Sabha on the last day of Winter Session as opposition parties objected to extension of the session by a day.

As the House commenced, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel said that the government ‘wants to extend the functioning of the House by a day as there are important bills to be passed’.

The RS was supposed to take up the bill supporting introduction of the 10 per cent quota for economically backward sections of upper castes and Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, both of which were passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Opposing the extension of the session, Congress’s Anand Sharma said, “The way the House proceedings were extended without the consent of the opposition parties was not right.’

“The situation now is such that there is no dialogue between the Opposition and the government. The government is foremost responsible if the House doesn’t function,” Sharma said.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “The country expects the House to function. As per normal working days, we should have been working, on most of them the House stood adjourned. There is one extra day to consider legislations.”

However, opposition members continued protesting and some members trooped into the Well, shouting slogans.

Amid continued ruckus, the deputy chairman adjourned the House till 12 noon.   — with ANI inputs

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11:29  Fog envelops Delhi, nine trains delayed:  

It was a cold, foggy morning in the national capital on Wednesday with nine trains running late by an average of three hours.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 8C, a notch above normal, a MeT official said. The humidity level was 94 per cent.

A senior Railways officer said nine trains have been delayed by an average of three hours due to fog.

Purshottam Express, Brahmputra Mail, Poorva Express, Sampark Kranti and Mahbodhi Express were among those delayed as a cover of moderate fog enveloped the city.

At 5.30 am, the visibility reduced to 200 metres at Palam and 400 metres at Safdarjung, the official said.

The weatherman has forecast mainly clear skies for the day.

It said the maximum temperature will hover around 20C.

On Tuesday, the minimum temperature in the national capital settled at 7C, while the maximum was 19.7C.  — PTI

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11:17  Central trade unions’ nationwide strike enters Day 2:  

The two-day nationwide strike by central trade unions to protest against alleged anti-worker policies and unilateral labour reforms entered its second day on Wednesday, impacting normal life in some parts of the country.

According to the reports, public transport and banking services remain disrupted for the second day in some states.

The 10 central trade unions (CTUs) which have given a call for the two-day Bharat Bandh are protesting the government’s snub of their 12-point charter of demands seeking minimum wage of Rs 18,000, social security for all workers and issue related to price rise.

The workers participating in the strike will go on a protest march from Mandi House to Parliament on Wednesday at noon, and similarly protests would be seen in other parts of the country as well.

All India Trade Union Congress General Secretary Amarjeet Kaur told PTI that there will be a complete bandh in Goa and Bihar, while 100 per cent strike is expected in other parts of the country too.

She said that due to UGC exams, which started from Tuesday, some state transport departments would not participate completely in the strike in the interest of students.

The exams are scheduled in some states on Wednesday as well. The strike had received mixed response on Tuesday.

The educational institutes, rail, banking, postal and transport services are expected to witness disruption on Wednesday too.

The unions have alleged that the government has failed to create jobs and grossly ignored unions’ 12-point charter of demands.

They also said that the Group of Ministers headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on labour issues has not called unions for any discussion since September 2, 2015, strike which left them with no option but to go on another strike.

In a joint statement issued on Monday, the CTUs also alleged that the government undermined tripartism and continued its ‘aggressive attack with arrogance on the lives and livelihood of the working people’.

They are also opposed to the proposed amendments in Trade Union Act, 1926, saying those are irrational and extremely damaging to the independent functioning of unions.

Farming communities, through their associations, have also extended support to the strike.

Student and teacher organisations of various universities have also declared support, the statement had said.  — PTI

IMAGE: Protesters during 48-hour Central Trade Unions strike vandalised a government bus in Dinhata, Cooch Behar; 2 people including bus driver injured. Photograph: ANI


10:53  Ambassador Bisaria, our high commissioner in Islamabad and Prime Minister AB Vajpayee’s PS, tweeted: ‘Thrilled
to pay homage to #Jehangir in Lahore.
He rests in a gorgeous setting on the banks of the #Ravi,
in an expansive, peaceful garden. The great #Mughal loved the city, where he
fell in love with the ill-fated #Anarkali and later married  #Nur Jehan @IndiainPakistan.’


10:50  Suspicious packages found in Indian consulate, others, in Melbourne:  Suspicious packages were found on Wednesday at several diplomatic missions in Melbourne, including the Indian consulate, prompting Australian authorities to launch a major emergency response, reports Natasha Chaku.   

A major operation is underway after packages were delivered to at least  10 international consulates across Melbourne.   

Firefighters and Ambulance Victoria paramedics were attending the Indian consulate and US consulate on St Kilda Road.   

“Police and emergency services have responded to suspicious packages to embassies and consulates… The packages are being examined by attending emergency services. The circumstances are being investigated,” Australian Federal Police tweeted.   

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade said it was assisting the Australian Federal Police at a number of incidents at embassies across Melbourne.    

The United Kingdom consulate, located on Collins Street, along with the Korean consulate (St Kilda Road), German consulate (Queen Street), Italian consulate (St Kilda Road), Swiss consulate (Ashwood), Pakistan consulate (Cardigan Place), Greek consulate (Albert Road) and the Indonesian consulate (Queens Road) are also believed to have been affected.   

Emergency workers wearing chemical suits were seen entering some of the buildings. There was no reports of any one injured so far.   

More than a dozen hazardous material alerts have been issued on the VicEmergency website.   

The developing situation comes just two days after a “suspicious” white powder was found at the Argentinian consulate in Sydney. 

— PTI

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10:43  Alok Verma reaches CBI headquarters to resume charge:  

JUST IN: Central Bureau of Investigation Chief Alok Verma arrived at agency headquarters on Wednesday to resume charge.

Verma was reinstated by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

More details awaited.  — ANI

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10:34  Social media aiding terror, need to be curbed: Gen Rawat:  

Army chief General Bipin Rawat says that ‘terrorism is here to stay as long as there are nations that continue to sponsor it as state policy’.

At the Raisina Dialouge 2019, Gen Rawat said, “Terrorism now spreading its head like a multi-headed monster. Terrorism becoming a new form of warfare.

On Afghan peace process, Gen Rawat said that there should be negotiations with Taliban, but without conditions.

“Pakistan always kept Taliban in its backyard. Pakistan should be concerned about it,’ he said.

The Army chief said that ‘radicalisation has taken a different form in our country.

“In J&K, youth is getting radicalised due to misinformation and falsehood about religion being fed to them. This is becoming a form of warfare,’ he said.   “The biggest issue is that social media need to ensure that radicalisation does not happen through false information & misinformation.

Radicalisation through social media is becoming one of the reasons for raising funds for terrorist organisations. We need to control social media,’ he said.    — ANI

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09:52  Navy’s ROV maps rat hole access at Meghalaya mine site:  

As part of the ongoing efforts to rescue the trapped miners from a flooded coal mine in Ksan near Lytein River in East Jaintia Hills, Indian Navy’s Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) probes, up to a distance of 100 feet, have been successfully undertaken inside the two identified rat holes which run horizontal to the vertical shaft, informed Eastern Naval Command on Tuesday.

The ROV operations are aimed at identifying and entering the rat holes in the incident shaft while simultaneously sanitising the adjacent shafts.

“Since diving was not feasible, simultaneous ROV operations were undertaken in the adjacent shafts which are likely to be linked to the incident shaft through a network of rat holes.

“Two shafts have been sanitized thus far without any trace of miners. The probes by ROV in the incident shaft have been undertaken at night on several occasions and two rat holes out of a probable four have been identified,” read a press release shared by Eastern Naval Command.

It further added that considering the limited dimension of the incident shaft at the bottom and dewatering being a greater priority, ROV operations in the incident shaft have been curtailed and would commence when permitted by imperatives of dewatering.

ROV ops in adjacent shafts would continue in the meanwhile.

A total of five naval ROVs have been augmented on site and simultaneous probes are being undertaken to maximise coverage.

The Indian Naval diving team from Visakhapatnam has been a part of the Meghalaya mines rescue operations since Dec 28.

The team’s initial contribution involved depth measurement, marking of the shaft at various levels and UWROV (Under Water Remotely Operated Vehicle) probes for obstructions/ entanglements below the waterline.

The local authorities and National Disaster Response Force have also been involved in the rescue effort.

15 miners have been trapped in a 370-feet deep illegal mine in Lumthari village since December 13 last year, when the water from the nearby Lytein River flooded the mine.

Since then, rescuers are struggling hard to pump out water from the inundated mine.

So far, attempts by rescuers to reach them have yielded no result.  — ANI

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08:54  In TV address, Trump pushes for wall to end ‘border crisis’:  

United States President Donald Trump made a plea for border wall funding on Tuesday night in a televised address, declaring that there is ‘a humanitarian crisis, a crisis of the heart and a crisis of the soul’.

Addressing the nation from the Oval Office for the first time, Trump argued for funding on security and humanitarian grounds as he sought to put pressure on newly empowered Democrats amid an extended partial government shutdown.

The US president called on Democrats to return to the White House to meet with him, saying it was ‘immoral’ for ‘politicians to do nothing’.

Trump, who has long railed against illegal immigration at the border, has recently seized on humanitarian concerns to argue there is a broader crisis that can only be solved with a wall along the US-Mexico border.

But critics say the security risks are overblown and his administration is at least partly to blame for the humanitarian situation.

Democrats have vowed to block funding for a wall, which they say would be immoral and ineffective, and have called on Trump to reopen shuttered portions of the government while border negotiations continue.  — Agencies

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08:35  India expected to grow at 7.3% in 2018-19: World Bank:  

India’s gross domestic product is expected to grow at 7.3 per cent in the fiscal year 2018-19, and 7.5 per cent in the following two years, the World Bank has forecast, attributing it to an upswing in consumption and investment.

The bank said India will continue to be the fastest growing major economy in the world.

China’s economic growth is projected to slow down to 6.2 each in 2019 and 2020 and 6 per cent in 2021, according to the January 2019 Global Economic Prospects report released by the World Bank on Tuesday.

In 2018, the Chinese economy is estimated to have grown by 6.5 per cent as against India’s 7.3 per cent.

In 2017, China with 6.9 per cent growth was marginally ahead of India’s 6.7 per cent, mainly because the slowdown in the Indian economy due to demonetisation and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the report said.

“India’s growth outlook is still robust. India is still the fastest growing major economy,” World Bank Prospects Group Director Ayhan Kose told PTI in an interview.

“With investment picking up and consumption remaining strong, we expect India to grow 7.3 per cent in the fiscal year 2018-2019, and average 7.5 per cent in 2019 and 2020. India registered quite a bit of pick up in doing business ranking. The growth momentum is there (in India),” Kose told PTI.

In India, the growth has accelerated, driven by an upswing in consumption, and investment growth has firmed as the effects of temporary factors wane, the World Bank said in its latest report.

Domestic demand has strengthened as the benefits of structural reforms such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) harmonisation and bank recapitalisation take effect.

“India’s growth accelerated to an estimated 7.3 per cent in FY2018/19 (April to March) as economic activity continued to recover with strong domestic demand. While investment continued to strengthen amid the GST harmonisation and a rebound of credit growth, consumption remained the major contributor to growth,” the World Bank said.

According to the report, India’s GDP is forecast to grow by 7.3 per cent in FY2018/19 and 7.5 per cent thereafter, in line with June forecasts.

Private consumption is projected to remain robust and investment growth is expected to continue as the benefits of recent policy reforms begin to materialise and credit rebounds.

Strong domestic demand is envisioned to widen the current account deficit to 2.6 per cent of GDP next year. Inflation is projected to rise somewhat above the midpoint of the Reserve Bank of India’s target range of 2 to 6 per cent, mainly owing to energy and food prices, the bank said.

It said in India the recent introduction of the GST and steps toward demonetisation are expected to encourage a shift from the informal to the formal sector.

“India’s recent growth numbers suggest that the economy remains robust despite temporary setbacks (due top demonetisation and GST),” Kose said.

The World Bank’s estimate suggest that India’s potential growth rate is around seven per cent, and is expected to remain around seven per cent, he said in response to a question.

“The fact is that Indian economy is being able to deliver growth slightly above its potential is a very good sign,” he added.

Refraining from commenting on the economic performance of the Modi Government that too in an election year, the World Bank official said growth performance of India as compared to other emerging markets has been quite impressive.

“India’s growth performance has been quite impressive. Year after year it has delivered strong numbers around its potential growth,” he said.  — PTI

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00:22  Amazon emerges as most valuable US firm amid market turmoil:  

Amazon has eclipsed Microsoft as the most valuable publicly traded company in the US as a see-sawing stock market continues to reshuffle corporate America’s pecking order.

It marks the first time Amazon has held the top spot and ends Microsoft’s brief return to the pinnacle after it surpassed Apple in late November.

The repositioning has been triggered by mounting concerns that the Trump administration’s trade war with China and rising interest rates will bog down the worldwide economy. 

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00:12  UK’s Heathrow airport departures suspended after drone sighting:  

All flights out of the UKs busiest airport, Londons Heathrow, have been suspended after a drone sighting, just weeks after a similar report at Gatwick grounded about 1,000 flights.

A spokesperson for Heathrow said: We are currently responding to a drone sighting at Heathrow and are working closely with the Met police to prevent any threat to operational safety.

As a precautionary measure, we have stopped departures while we investigate. We apologise to passengers for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Metropolitan police said: At approximately 5.05pm today, 8 January, we received reports of a sighting of a drone in the vicinity of Heathrow airport. As a precautionary measure, Heathrow airport has stopped departures, and officers based at Heathrow are currently investigating the reports with colleagues [there].

About 1,40,000 people were affected by the disruption at Gatwick, which occurred over a three-day period in the run-up to Christmas. The latest incident comes only days after it was announced that both airports had invested significant sums of money in military-grade anti-drone technology.

Source: Rediff