US Intelligence Report:Russian President Putin sought to help Trump
US intelligence report has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to help Donald Trump win the presidential elections.
The declassified report says, the Russian leader ordered a campaign aimed at influencing the elections. The report was released shortly after Intelligence Chiefs briefed Mr Trump on their findings.
Mr Trump stopped short of accusing Russia of interfering, saying only that the election outcome was not affected. The report said, the Kremlin developed a clear preference for President-elect Donald Trump.
Since winning the election, Mr Trump has repeatedly questioned US intelligence on the claims of Russian hacking. US officials previously said the Kremlin was behind the hacking of Democratic Party emails aimed at damaging Mr Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton.
Russia has denied any involvement in the hacking.
Russia has denied any involvement in the hacking.
Shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
United States, at least five people have been killed in shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida.
An official said, the shooter, a 26-year old by the name of Esteban Santiago, was honorably discharged from the Army National Guard last year and had served in Iraq his family member said is of unsound mind.
Police said, a gunman opened fire in Terminal 2 in the baggage claim area of the airport killing 5 and injuring eight others. Television footage showed passengers running to safety and others gathered on the tarmac.
Paramedics were at the scene. All services at the airport have been temporarily suspended. The suspect has been taken into custody and the motive of the attack is not yet known.
Arun Jaitley: People’s faith, patience & support has strengthened determination of Govt
BJP National Executive Meet today passed the Economic Resolution endorsing demonetisation. Moving the resolution, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said, opposition’s negative agenda against demonetisation failed to yield any result as the people of the country stood behind the Prime Minister’s bold initiative as a solid rock. He said, even after 50 days of demonetization, there was not a single major incident and no loss of public property which reflect people’s patience and support.
In the economic resolution adopted at the BJP National Executive meeting in New Delhi today, Mr Jaitley said, people’s faith, patience and support has strengthened the determination of the Government to fight the parallel economy, fake currency along with the evils of corruption and terrorism.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said, opposition’s negative agenda against demonetisation failed to yield any result as the people of the country stood behind the Prime Minister’s bold initiative as a solid rock. He said, even after 50 days of demonetization, there was not a single major incident and no loss of public property which reflect people’s patience and support.
In the economic resolution adopted at the BJP National Executive meeting in New Delhi today, Mr Jaitley said, people’s faith, patience and support has strengthened the determination of the Government to fight the parallel economy, fake currency along with the evils of corruption and terrorism.
Briefing media in New Delhi, Union Minister and BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman said the Finance Minister clearly explained the objectives of the government in demonetising higher value currency notes. Quoting Mr Jaitley, she said the objective of demonetisation was to contain black money which was an election promise of BJP during Lok Sabha elections.
Ms Sitharaman said the Finance Minister mentioned that in November, the States’ revenue have increased and as such revenue growth has not suffered post- demonetisation and country’s formal economy will grow. She said, Mr Jaitley also mentioned about India’s agreement with Switzerland and other countries in sharing of information on assets parked there which will help tax evasion.
Ms Sitharaman said the Finance Minister also explained difference between 1997 Amnesty scheme by the then government, and the Income Declaration scheme . She said government is constantly taking steps to ease hardships faced by farmers. She said Prime Minister has also announced recently some new schemes and incentives to provide relief to the people.
The two day meet will conclude with the valedictory address of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening. The national executive which began yesterday hailed the Prime Minister’s initiatives of demonetisation and surgical strikes as bold steps. The party said, it has snatched the pro-poor plank of Congress and other parties and the poor are now backing Mr Modi. This was stated by Mr Shah in his inaugural address.
New Delhi World Book Fair begins
The 9-day New Delhi World Book Fair began at Pragati Maidan in national capital. The theme for this year’s event is ‘Manushi’ which focuses on writings on and by women.
The fair will exhibit the rich tradition of women writings from ancient times till the present. Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Mahendra Nath Pandey inaugurated the fair.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Pandey said in the context of technological development, the books have to be viewed accordingly in tune with digital age. The minister also said, books continue to be more important as they reflect change in the society. He said, books have contributed in making India a culturally unique country.
Nearly 800 publishers from across the country and abroad are participating in it. About 20 countries including China, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan and Iran are taking part in the Foreign Pavilion.
Posters and panels of some of the eminent women scholars of ancient and medieval India, and women pioneers of modern India will provide an intellectual ambiance to the presentation. Books on different genres like fiction, poetry, social science, and children’s literature are forming the main ingredients of the exhibition.
14th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas convention
The 3-day 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD 2017) convention began in Bengaluru today. On the first day, the Youth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was inaugurated by Vice President of Suriname Micheal Ashwin Adhin, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh and Karnataka Ministers R V Deshpande and Priyank Kharge.
Speaking on the occasion, Suriname Vice President Adhin said, India has the potential to become the super power. He said, the youth should give attention to minimize the extinction of natural resources. Mr Adhin said, youth PBD is an unique opportunity for economic and cultural ties.
In his address, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh said, the common thread that binds the diaspora is the enduring connect with India. He said, the nation and the Government offer the diaspora the best it has. Gen Singh also spoke about many programmes for the diaspora youth.
Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar has said, India offers seamless opportunities for Non-Resident Indian, NRI students to study and pursue their dream careers in India. He was speaking at the 1st plenary session at the youth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas on the theme reaching out to students both in India and abroad.
Mr Javadekar encouraged NRI students to avail the benefit of PM scholarships. He emphasised on quality in education and human resources development. Mr Javadekar said, his Ministry has created national academic depository to streamline transcription and verification of documents. He informed that HRD Ministry is working towards internship opportunities for NRI and OCI (overseas citizens of India) students.
During the discussion, the panel received suggestions from delegates on enhancing education opportunities for NRI Students.
The main convention will be inaugurated tomorrow by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Guest of the event, Prime Minister of Portugal Dr Antonio Costa. President Pranab Mukherjee will confer Pravasi Bhartiya Samman on Monday.
Our correspondent reports that the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention is a very important platform for engagement of the Central and state governments with the Overseas Indian Community.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas has been held traditionally on 9th January every year to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi as a Pravasi from South Africa to India.
PM Modi to hold bilateral talks with Portuguese PM Antonio Costa
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold talks with his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa in New Delhi today. The two leaders will discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relations. Agreements in different fields, including agriculture and allied sectors, are also expected to be inked after the talks.
The Portuguese Prime Minister is on a seven-day visit to India. He was accorded ceremonial reception at the forecourts of Rashtrapati Bhawan this morning.
The visiting dignitary will attend the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas as the Chief Guest in Bengaluru, and will also participate in few business meetings. He will attend the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar on Tuesday.
On the final leg of his tour, Mr Costa will visit Goa where he will spend some time at his ancestral place. The Portugese Prime Minister traces his roots to Goa.
Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at Bengaluru, Karnataka
Minister of state (I/C) for youth affairs and Sports Shri vijay Goel has said that the Government under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has embarked on the mission of building a united, strong and modern India – “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat”, following the principle of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”. In his key note address at the inaugural session of the Youth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas at Bengaluru today he said that a number of path-breaking initiatives have been taken and these are exciting times in India. He said ‘Make in India’ campaign has been launched to develop India as a global manufacturing hub. ‘Digital India’ initiative seeks to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. ‘Skill India’ has being launched to impart necessary skills to prepare Indians for the opportunities in Indian Economy as also the opportunities abroad. A number of initiatives, including Smart Cities Project, have been launched for developing infrastructure. ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ and ‘Clean Ganga’ Mission have been launched for building a clean and green India.
The minister said, the Government is laying great emphasis on promoting enterprise and innovations, in order to unleash the youth energy and to put India on the path of high rate of economic growth and employment generation. ‘Start up India’ campaign has been launched and a very liberal and attractive policy regime, comprising of tax and non-tax incentives, has been created to promote start-ups in India.
Shri Goel said all these initiatives of the Government require active involvement and support of all stakeholders. Huge investments will be necessary. The young Indian Diaspora can play an important role in this ambitious task of building a modern and prosperous India. The Government has also taken various steps to facilitate this process by simplifying rules and procedures for the Overseas Indians.
Shri Goel said the youth are indeed the most dynamic and vibrant segment of the population in any country. India is one of the youngest nations in the world, with about 65% population under 35 years of age. It is expected that by the year 2020, the population of India would have a median age of 28 years only as against 38 years for US, 42 years for China and 48 years for Japan.
He said, the Indian Youth have always been highly talented, hard-working and enterprising. A large number of young Indians have moved to various parts of the world and have made valuable contributions, earning a good name for themselves and for the country of their origin. A sizeable section of Overseas Indian community comprises of highly skilled young professionals, who have been extremely successful in their respective spheres of work. Indian IT professionals command respect all over the world.
Shri Goel said his Ministry is engaged in the noble task of developing the personality and leadership qualities of the youth by involving them in community service and various nation-building activities. This is being done, inter-alia, through two youth volunteering organisations, namely, National Service Scheme (NSS) and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS). NYKS currently has 8.6 million youth volunteers enrolled through 3.03 lakh youth clubs with presence in entire rural India and NSS has 3.66 million student volunteers in senior secondary schools and colleges all over the country. In fact, NSS was started in 1969, the birth centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi had once said “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. In the same spirit, the Motto of NSS is “Not Me, but You”. We also have Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), which is our premier institution in the field of youth development.
Shri Goel said, the Overseas Indian youth willing to make contribution to various social causes can connect to NYKS, NSS and RGNIYD and work with them to contribute in building a strong India.
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