Kerala won’t implement NPR, to conduct its own census

Siasat:The State Cabinet has decided to inform the Registrar General of India and Census Commssioner that Kerela will carry out its own census and will not implement the National Population Register (NPR), said Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac on Monday.

Talking about the decision taken by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led government, Isaac said: “It will be counterproductive in a state like Kerala where assembly unanimously has adopted a resolution against the NPR, and to have it along with the census.”

On the collection of data in the state, ISSAC told ANI: “Thepeople just wouldn’t cooperate. Can we force the people to give information? This is an issue on which Kerala is united”.

IRAN CONFIRMS TWO MISSILES FIRED AT UKRAINE AIRLINER

News One:Iran’s civil aviation authority confirmed two missiles were fired at a Ukrainian airliner that was brought down earlier this month, in a preliminary report posted on its website late Monday.

“Investigators… discovered that two Tor-M1 missiles… were fired at the aircraft,” it said, adding an investigation was ongoing to assess the bearing their impact had on the accident.

The statement confirms a report in The New York Times which included video footage appearing to show two projectiles being fired at the airliner.

The Tor-M1 is a short-range surface-to-air missile developed by the former Soviet Union that are designed to target aircraft or cruise missiles.

The Kiev-bound Ukraine International Airlines plane was shot down in a catastrophic error shortly after takeoff from Tehran on January 8, killing all 176 people on board.

The Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace commander Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh accepted full responsibility, but said the missile operator who opened fire had been acting independently

TRUMP HAILS US ECONOMIC SUCCESS IN DAVOS AS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL BEGINS

News One:Thousands of miles from his impeachment trial in the United States, President Donald Trump took center stage at Davos on Tuesday to tout the success of the country’s economy.

Trump, who is attending his second meeting of global political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum, also told a packed auditorium that recent trade deals with China and Mexico represented a model for the 21st Century.

The address was pitched to appeal to the Davos crowd, touting the achievements of Trump’s administration despite his unorthodox approach to politics and picking up on some of the themes he voiced when he first addressed the WEF two years ago.

“The time for scepticism is over,” Trump said as he thanked business leaders for bringing their investment and factories back into the United States.

The impeachment trial begins in earnest in the U.S. Senate after the Republican president was formally charged by the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives in December with “high crimes and misdemeanors”

Pakistan begins exporting furnace oil, cargo to leave today

Express Tribune:Pakistan, which is a leading oil importing country, has become an exporter of furnace oil as a prominent refinery’s ship loaded with the fuel is scheduled to leave Karachi Port early in the morning on Tuesday.

The government has bailed out the outdated refineries, but only for a period of two months. It has resumed power production from the oil-fired plants to let the overflowing refineries overcome the furnace oil supply glut.

“After February 28, the government will not take any responsibility for furnace oil and companies (refineries) will deal with it by themselves,” an official at the Petroleum Division told The Express Tribune.

An official at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) confirmed “oil tanker Roy Maersk is currently being loaded with furnace oil.” The ship was anchored at berth Op-2 on Sunday. It was scheduled to leave the Karachi Port at 5:30 am on Tuesday. “It was Byco’s cargo,” the official said

First SU-30 MKI Squadron in place in South India, vigil over Indian Ocean Region on stream

Sakaltimes:The Indian force on Monday commissioned a squadron of Sukhoi-30 MkI at the Air Force station, the first such base in South India for the high profile fighter jets, seen as a game changer in guarding the strategically important Indian Ocean Region(IOR)

The Tigersharks squadron of Sukhoi-30 MKI integrated with the Brahmos cruise missiles was inducted by chief of Defence staff Bipin Rawat in the presence of top officials including Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria .

The SU-30 MkI is a state of all the art all weather multi-role fighter aircraft capable of undertaking varied air defence, ground attack and maritime missions.

BJP under Modi-Shah returning to protectionist, anti MNC Policy?

Sakaltimes:Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has been quick to clarify his remark on Amazon founder Jeff Bezoz not doing India a favour by investing here. He now says is all investment is welcome ,as long as it complies with Indian regulations. You can’t argue with that.

Although , if read with the fact that monopoly watchdog competition commission of India had hauled up Amazon earlier this week for unfair trade practices, a move hailed breathlessly by the swadeshi Jagran manch and trade/retailer associations , you wouldn’t make such a benign interpretation. It wouldn’t be diabolical conspiracy either. Its only pure politics. It will underline the BJPs inevitable return to it basic instinct: Mercantilism.

IMF cuts global growth forecasts as India falters, says bottom may be near

The hindu businessline: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday trimmed back its 2020 global growth forecasts due to sharper-than-expected slowdowns in India and other emerging markets, but said a US-China trade deal was another sign that trade and manufacturing activity may soon bottom out.

The IMF said global growth would reach 3.3 per cent in 2020, compared to 2.9 per cent in 2019, which was the slowest pace since the financial crisis a decade ago. Estimates for both years were cut by 0.1 percentage point from forecasts made in October.

Growth will improve slightly to 3.4 per cent in 2021, but that estimate, too, was cut by 0.2 percentage point from October, the Washington-based international crisis lender said.

The reductions reflect the IMF's reassessment of economic prospects for a number of major emerging markets, notably India, where domestic demand has slowed more sharply than expected, amid a contraction of credit and stress in the non-bank sector

Gen Bipin to oversee deployment of forces, border disputes with Pakistan

The News:The newly created department of military affairs (DMA), headed by chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat, will oversee key matters related to India’s neighbouring countries including border disputes and incidents, development of infrastructure in forward areas and deployment of forces, according to a new defence ministry order.

These countries include China, Pakistan and Bhutan, foreign media reported on Sunday. Supply of arms and ammunition to friendly neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal and the Maldives will also come under the purview of the DMA, said the order published on Friday. It gave out details of work transferred from the ministry’s department of defence (DoD) to the DMA.

The new department is an addition to the four existing verticals in the defence ministry — those of defence, defence production, defence research, and development and ex-service welfare.

Rawat, who took over as India’s first CDS on December 31, is the principal military adviser to the defence minister on all matters related to the tri-services. Issues related to counter-insurgency operations and Siachen glacier will be dealt with by the DMA

No more shop closing for five times prayer in Saudi Arabia

After Saudi Arabia had long been engaged in a debate to halt businesses during the five times prayer, the kingdom recently announced allowing commercial activities to function for 24 hours, with a new string of promised boosts of business and provide services for all.

A custom that has uniquely defined Saudi Arabia among all Muslim countries, which typically require shops to close only during the weekly Friday prayer, this practice has long been discussed and disputed in the society.

Meghan's father says his daughter and Harry are 'cheapening the royals'

Sky News:The Duchess of Sussex's father has accused her of cheapening the royals as she and her husband prepare to step back from their duties.

Thomas Markle's relationship with Meghan has been fraught for several years and he missed her wedding to Prince Harry due to ill health.

They are believed to have not spoken since.

Now, in an interview with Channel 5 he has added his thoughts on Meghan and Harry to the mix.

"When they got married they took on an obligation, and the obligation is to be part of the royals and to represent the royals," Mr Markle said, saying it would be "foolish" for them not to