Junior Digest

Matteo Salvini, in a joint statement with Danilo Toninelli, minister in charge of the Italian coastguard, insisted that Malta “cannot continue to look the other way when it comes to respecting precise international conventions on the protection of human life.”

“That’s why we ask the government in Valletta to take in the Aquarius in order to offer first aid to the migrants on board,” the statement continued.

Malta’s government replied saying Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had spoken to Italian premier Giuseppe Conte, and underlined “that Malta is acting in full conformity with its international obligations”.

“As such Malta will not take the said vessel in its ports,” the statement continued.

Media reports earlier said Salvini had threatened to close access to Italian ports for migrant rescue ships if Malta fails to act.

In the meantime Conte said that Italy has sent two patrol ships with doctors on board “ready to intervene and ensure the health of anyone on board the Aquarius who might have the need”.

Speaking to AFP, a Maltese government spokesman insisted that the rescue of the migrants took place in the Libyan search and rescue area and was headed up by the rescue coordination centre in Rome, meaning Malta has no legal obligation to take in the migrants.

New Delhi, June 11: In a bid to fine tune governance across 10 selective sectors the government has planned to recruit specialist officers directly in the rank of Joint Secretary.
The 10 Ministries shortlisted for this lateral recruitment, bypassing the UPSC include Revenue, Financial Services, Economic Affairs, Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare, Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Environment, Forest and Climate Chnage, New & Renewable Energy, Civil Aviation and Commerce, a DoPT notification said.
Each of the above department will have one such specialist.
The DoPT has set a deadline for applying to the posts by eligible candidates by July 30. The process will begin from June 15, it said.
DoPT has posted the details of the criteria of various posts on its website Lateral.nic.in.
The candidates appointed against the post will be placed at the beginning of the pay scale applicable to regular government employees which is Rs 144200-218200 (level 14 of the Pay Matrix).
Besides, they will be eligible for all allowances and facilities as applicable to the equivalent level in the government of India.
However, the government reserves its right to place deserving appointees at an appropriate level within the scale of pay.

Indeed, four Democratic and Republican senators, criticizing the deal that will permit ZTE to resume purchasing US electronics components, proposed legislation Thursday for an outright ban on the government buying products and services from both ZTE and Huawei.

“Huawei and ZTE pose a serious threat to America’s national security. These companies have direct links to the Chinese government and Communist Party,” said Republican senator Marco Rubio.

“Their products and services are used for espionage and intellectual property theft, and they have been putting the American people and economy at risk without consequence for far too long.”

But experts say the move could hinder the growth of next-generation 5G wireless networks in the United States. The two Chinese companies are poised to become global leaders in the 5G rollout, just beginning this year in several countries.

“The overall concern is that these companies are close to the Chinese government,” said Paul Triolo, a China security specialist at the Eurasia Group.

With fifth-generation mobile technology, he said, “the concern becomes magnified” because the technology is heavily cloud-based, potentially leaving sensitive data accessible by the service provider.

Kolkata, Jun 10: State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender expects to recover around Rs 30,000 crore from the resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) during the current fiscal, an official said today.

From the two stressed assets’ list referred for resolution under IBC by the Reserve Bank of India, the bank’s total exposure was around Rs 78,000 crore, Pallav Mohapatra, DMD (stressed assets resolution group) of SBI said.

The bank had been able to recover Rs 8,500 crore from the Bhushan Steel-Tata Steel deal taking a haircut of 30 per cent.

From the Electrosteel-Vedanta deal, the bank expects to recover Rs 6,000 crore, he told reporters on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event here today.

The bank’s total NPA stood at Rs 2.20 lakh crore.

Besides recoveries from resolution under IBC, the bank expects to get back another Rs 10,000 crore from one-time settlement, sale to ARCs and some from outside NCLT, he said.

The bank had filed 250 cases under IBC with a total exposure of Rs 95,000 crore.

Mohapatra said “whatever stress is there has been recognised. We don’t expect recovery of the full amount”.

He said there will be no dent on profitability of the bank as adequate provisioning had been made for haircuts which is unavoidable.

Ballia (UP), June 10: Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda today claimed that the country will be free of leprosy this year and Kala-azar by next year.

The country will be free of leprosy this year and of Kala-azar by next year, he told reporters on the occasion of the inauguration of a hospital here.

To a question, Nadda said mortality rate in India has decreased and referred to a World Health Organisation report to stress that tetanus and some other diseases concerning children are well under control.

He claimed that Uttar Pradesh, which used to lag behind other states in the health sector, has taken a big leap ahead because of various schemes launched by the BJP government.

“The results of the schemes of the Centre can now be seen on the ground… the results of health schemes need some time to take shape,” Nadda said.

New Delhi, Jun 8 : India’s GDP growth is likely to cross 8 per cent in the next two years and the government is taking a number of steps including formulation of a new industrial policy to double the economy’s size to USD 5 trillion in 7-8 years, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said today.

“We are working on few strategies to boost economic growth. We are now seeing an upsurge,” he told reporters here while talking about the achievements of the government during the last four years.

Prabhu exuded confidence that the growth in 2018-19 will be better than the preceding fiscal.

“I should not be surprised that in the next few quarters, say next 2 years for sure, we will be very close to or cross 8 per cent growth and that is coming out of strong performance of so many sectors,” he said.

India’s GDP grew at the fastest pace in seven quarters at 7.7 per cent in the January-March quarter of last fiscal, retaining the fastest growing major economy tag on robust performance by manufacturing and service sectors as well as good farm output.

On yearly basis, however, it grew at a four-year low of 6.7 per cent in 2017-18, down from 7.1 per cent in the previous fiscal.

Prabhu said that to facilitate the 8 per cent potential growth, the government is working on several areas including formulation of a new industrial policy, “which is going to make India ready for the fourth industrial revolution and beyond”.

“We have created a vision for USD 5 trillion economy in which USD one trillion will come from manufacturing, USD 3 trillion from services and USD one trillion agriculture and allied sector,” he added.

When asked about the impact of the RBI’s decision this week to raise the benchmark lending rate by 0.25 per cent, the minister said: “I do not think it should hamper investments”.

On his US visit next week, Prabhu said that he would meet his counterpart and industry leaders and raise India’s concerns about tightening visa regime in the US and its impact on Indian IT sector.

“We will be raising the visa issue because we feel that Indians and their spouses are facing some issues there,” he said, adding, “we will explaining our position. It is not a formal trade talk..there is no huge expectations”.

On the US challenging India’s export support programmes, Prabhu said he would explain that those measures are not subsidies and instead ways to partially offset various additional costs incurred by them.

“Our export support regime is not violating any of the WTO rules,” he said.

“We are also working to make sure that there is a proper clarity on this. But what we are doing today is not violating any WTO rule,” he added.

On the proposed mega trade deal – Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Prabhu said India is actively engaged in the negotiations and also holding bilateral talks with member countries including China, Australia and New Zealand.

“What we are saying in RCEP is that it is a comprehensive economic partnership pact and in this services should be an integral part of the agreement,” he added.

Odisha, Jun 8 : The Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation (PGMF) today signed an MOU with Government of Odisha with an aim to nurture and groom badminton talents in the state.
The MoU was signed between the Sports and Youth Services Department and Pullela Gopichand Badminton Foundation here at the Secretariat in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Sports Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera and P Gopichand.

It is an honour for us to be associated with the Govt. of Odisha and we are aligned to their vision to keep producing world class talent,” Gopichand said.

“The trajectory of Badminton as a sport in India has hit new highs in the recent past, with top players like Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu winning major honours at regular intervals.

“The academy in Odisha will help in keeping the momentum up, and we hope to nurture great talent right from the grass roots to the international levels, he added.

The PGMF will be driving the Badminton academy at Odisha and will be responsible for providing technical support and the overall development of the sport in the State.

Commenting on the association, Patnaik said, Badminton is one of the focus areas in sports for Odisha. Under the tutelage and guidance of PGMF, I am confident that we will be able to nurture and groom world class talents of the future.

“I want Odisha to win Olympic Medals for India, and we are all committed to make this into a reality.

Bengaluru, June 8 : The same gun was used to kill journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh and rationalist M M Kalburgi in Karnataka, the state forensic science laboratory has confirmed in a report, sources in the SIT said.

The forensic report submitted to the Special Investigation Team probing the killing of Lankesh is part of the first chargesheet filed recently by the SIT naming K T Naveen Kumar as an accused.
This is the first official confirmation of the link between the two killings which happened after a gap of two years of each other.
Kalburgi (77) was shot dead in his house on August 30, 2015, in Dharwad and 55-year old Lankesh on September 5, 2017 here.

The SIT members had earlier talked about the same-gun theory but for the first time it has come out in the open to show that Kalburgi’s murder was the handiwork of the same gang.

The bullets in both cases “have been fired through a single country made pistol chambered for 7.65 mm caliber pistol cartridges,” a source said quoting the report.

The report also pointed out that the scratches formed by the firing pin on the bullets tallied among themselves.

Lankesh, who was known for her strong anti-Hindutva stand, was shot dead in front of her house, triggering a nationwide outrage.

The SIT formed to investigate her murder has formally arrested Naveen Kumar of Maddur as one of the accused.

Four more persons have been arrested for allegedly plotting to kill another rationalist and writer K S Bhagawan, also a strong critic of Hindutva.

The SIT is also probing whether they have any links with the Gauri muder case.

Chandigarh, Jun 8 : The Haryana government today courted controversy when it asked sports persons employed by it to deposit one-third of their earnings from commercial and professional commitments to the state sports council but put the notification on hold after drawing sharp criticism from elite athletes.

“I have asked for the relevant file of Sports Department to be shown to me & the notification dated April 30th to be put on hold till further orders,” Chief Minister M L Khattar tweeted.

“We are proud of the immense contribution by our sportsperson & I assure them of a just consideration of all issues affecting them,” he added.

His intervention came after athletes reacted sharply to the notification issued by Principal Secretary (Sports and Youth Department), Ashok Khemka.

“One-third of the income earned by the sportsperson from professional sports or commercial endorsements will be deposited with the Haryana State Sports Council. The money shall be used for the development of sports in the State,” it stated.

Khemka had hit the headlines during his stint as head of land registration department by alleging irregularities in land deals involving Robert Vadra a few years ago.

Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Vij had also defended the move, insisting it was not aimed at income generated from amateur sports

“… here we are talking about income from professional sports,” he said.

“It is government’s old rule/service rule, Rule 56, as per which if any government employee generates commercial income or professional income, then he shall have to deposit one-third of such earnings,” he added.

The athletes employed with the state government include star boxers Vijender Singh and Akhil Kumar, both of whom are DSPs in state police, hockey captain Sardar Singh and wrestlers Geeta and Babita Phogat. Sardar, Geeta and Babita are also employed with the Haryana Police.

Of them, Babita, who won a silver at the Gold Coast CWG, was the only one to react to the move, calling it disheartening.

“This notification will hamper an athletes preparation. How can the government give such an order? We pay taxes over whatever we earn and now this notification to pay one-third,” Phogat told PTI.

“Can the government understand how much sacrifice an athlete and his or families have to make to earn a medal for the country? The Haryana government should immediately take this order back and review it,” he added.

Some other Haryana athletes, not employed with the state government, also reacted with shock.

“I have not yet seen the notification, I am only coming to know of it through media reports. I can only say that the athletes who compete in Olympic sports are already from very poor families,” said double-Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, who is with the Railways Sports Promotion Board.

“The government should make policies which encourage athletes. I haven’t heard of such a policy anywhere else in the world. The athlete should be competing with a free mind, not with stress like this,” he added.

Fellow wrestler and Olympic bronze-medallist Yogeshwar Dutt, also a Railways employee, was harsher in his criticism of the move.

“God save us from such officials, who are taking senseless decisions like this. Their contribution to development of sports in Haryana has been zero but I am sure, they will play a big role in the decline of sports in the state,” he tweeted.

“Now, athletes will move to other states and these officials will be responsible for this,” he added.

There were political reactions to the move as well with Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar saying that the move will demoralise the players. The party’s Rohtak MP Deepinder Singh Hooda said the present government has made a mockery of the state’s athlete-friendly policy.

The Haryana government had earlier stirred up a controversy when it decided to reduce the prize money for those Commonwealth Games medal winners from the state who were employed with other departments or states.

The felicitation function planned for the prize money distribution on April 26 had to be eventually cancelled indefinitely when the athletes threatened to boycott it.

Geneva, Jun 8: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has approved the use of five investigational therapeutics to treat Ebola virus disease (EVD), the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Four of the five approved drugs are currently in the country, which are Zmapp, GS-5734, REGN monoclonal antibody combination, and mAb114, under the framework of compassionate use and expanded access, China’s official new agency Xinhua quoted the WHO as saying.

Clinicians working in the treatment centers will make decisions on which drug to use as deemed helpful for their patients, and appropriate for the setting. The treatments can be used as long as informed consent is obtained from patients and protocols are followed, with close monitoring and reporting of any adverse events.

London, Jun 8: The rise and prosperity of an urban neighbourhood may not only be based on economic capital, but also the presence of a vibrant arts, music and science culture, scientists say.

In a study published in the journal Frontiers in Physics, the researchers used social media images of cultural events in London and New York City on image hosting site Flickr to create a model that can predict neighbourhoods where residents enjoy a high level of wellbeing.

With more than half of the world’s population living in cities, the model could help policy makers ensure human wellbeing in dense urban settings.

“Culture has many benefits to an individual: it opens our minds to new emotional experiences and enriches our lives,” said Daniele Quercia, Department Head at Nokia Bell Labs, Cambridge, UK.

“We’ve known for decades that this ‘cultural capital’ plays a huge role in a person’s success. Our new model shows the same correlation for neighbourhoods and cities, with those neighbourhoods experiencing the greatest growth having high cultural capital,” said Quercia.

The researchers accessed millions of Flickr images taken by people attending cultural events in London and in New York City over ten years.

The events included festivals, libraries, cinema, art exhibitions, musical performances, technological demos, handicraft artisans, restaurants, museums, newspaper stands and theater.

The team organised the images, which all had global positioning system (GPS) tags indicating the place and time taken, into 25 categories.

They also cleaned the data to adjust for outliers, accounting for issues such as many museums not allowing photos of exhibits and different generations gravitating to different choices.

“We were able to see that the presence of culture is directly tied to the growth of certain neighbourhoods, rising home values and median income,” said Quercia.

“This could help city planners and councils think through interventions to prevent people from being displaced as a result of gentrification,” he said.

“We already have data from wearable technology showing that both the 2016 US presidential election and 2016 Brexit referendum greatly impacted people’s sleep and even heart rates,” said Luca M Aiello from the University of Cambridge in the UK.

“Information on cultural consumption could similarly be used to track the impacts of large-scale change,” said Aiello.

Washington, Jun 8: Indians account for more than three-fourths of those highly-skilled professionals waiting in queue to obtain legal permanent residence status in the US, popularly known as Green Card, according to latest official figures.

As of May 2018, there were 395,025 foreign nationals waiting for Green Card under the employment-based preference category. Of these 306,601 were Indians, according to the latest figures released by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

This does not include counts of dependent beneficiaries associated with the approved immigrant petitions, it said.

India is followed by a distant second China, which currently has 67,031 Chinese waiting for the Green Card. Thereafter none of the other countries have more than 10,000 people waiting for Green Card. Other countries are El Salvador (7252), Guatemala (6,027), Honduras (5,402), Philippines (1,491), Mexico (700) and Vietnam (521).

Under the existing law, no more than seven per cent of the Green cards may be issued to natives of any one independent country in a fiscal year. As such Indians have the longest waiting period for Green Card.

Indian-Americans, most of whom are highly skilled and come to the US mainly on H-1B work visas, are the worst sufferers of the current immigration system which imposes a seven per cent per country quota on allotment of green cards or permanent legal residency.

As a result, the current wait period for Indian skilled immigrants for green card can be as long as 70 years.

According to a newly-launched group, GCReforms.org, under the current regulation, skilled immigrants from India need to wait anywhere between 25-92 years for a Green Card due to per-country limits.

The US Green Card, also known as the permanent resident card, gives the holder permanent residence in the United States. Green Card holders can legally live and work in the US. The Green Card is the first step toward US citizenship.

New Delhi, Jun 7: President Ram Nath Kovind will not host an Iftar party this year at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
“After the President took over office, he decided there would be no religious celebrations or observances in a public building such as Rashtrapati Bhavan on taxpayer expense. This is in keeping with the principles of a secular state and applies to all religious occasions, irrespective of religion,” said Ashok Malik, Press Secretary to the president.

He said the president of course wishes all fellow citizens on every major religious festivals.

After a gap of a decade there will be no Iftar celebrations at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Iftar parties have been traditionally hosted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan except during the tenure of A P J Abdul Kalam, who was the president from 2002-2007, officials said.