In dueling speeches on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would not allow a 'fishing expedition' while Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said a trial without witnesses would be a 'sham' https://t.co/Xq8wD6DDGypic.twitter.com/ngRWpYModh
Boris Johnson returns to Britain's Parliament for the first time since winning a big majority in the general election. The prime minister is vowing Brexit will happen on Jan. 31 and he is ruling out a delay to an EU trade pact. https://t.co/sYmCm3nsUL
#UPDATE The US Senate approved a massive defense spending bill on Tuesday, sending Donald Trump a $738 billion package that creates a new space force, fulfilling a presidential priority, and seeks to curb Russia's sprawling energy ambitions https://t.co/q38r2vVQrV
The UN urged countries Tuesday to take joint responsibility for caring for surging numbers of displaced people, while wealthy nations faced criticism for not shouldering their "fair share" of the burden https://t.co/Gokq9j7Xcgpic.twitter.com/JqobcYTH74
The commemoration ceremony for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge at the Mardasson World War II memorial monument in Bastogne, Belgium. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir
WNU Editor: The above picture came from this photo-gallery .... Editor's Choice Pictures (Reuters).
A fatal shipyard fire has ravaged Russia's only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, an obsolete ship whose many troubles are regularly mocked by naval observers. Taking pleasure in a rival's pain is a natural thing, but this latest Russian safety debacle should be a wake-up call for America's busy naval shipyards.
It is far easier for American observers to dismiss the Admiral Kuznetsov fire as a Russian "thing"—just another consequence of Russia's dysfunctional safety culture. But America's shipyard safety record isn't something to gloat over. Back in 2012, America lost a far more valuable asset, the multi-billion dollar attack submarine USS Miami (SSN 755), because a shipyard worker, eager to leave work early, set the sub on fire.
Through the ages, Russian rulers have gained power in different ways.
For tsars it was by birth; Vladimir Lenin through revolution; general secretaries of the Soviet Communist Party by climbing up the party ladder to the politburo and awaiting their turn for the top job.
But 20 years ago, Vladimir Putin was handed power on a Kremlin plate. The former officer of the KGB - the Soviet security service - was handpicked by President Boris Yeltsin and his inner circle to lead Russia into the 21st Century.
Forty-nine journalists were killed this year, 57 are being held hostage and 389 are currently in prison, nonprofit group Reporters Without Borders said Tuesday.
In its annual review, the Paris-based group found that the number of journalists killed in 2019 was the lowest since 2003, representing a "historically low" figure compared with an average of 80 journalists killed per year over the past two decades.
The fall in the number of journalists killed is due to a reduction in the number of journalists killed in war zones, Reporters Without Borders said, noting that 941 journalists have been killed over the past 10 years.
A Pakistani court has sentenced former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to death in absentia for treason over his 2007 imposition of emergency rule.
Such a verdict is a first in a country with a history of army rule. The military reacted angrily, saying legal process "seems to have been ignored".
The general seized power in a 1999 coup and was president from 2001 to 2008.
The penalty is unlikely to be carried out. Gen Musharraf was allowed to leave Pakistan in 2016 and is in Dubai.
The high treason charge has been pending since 2013. It relates to Gen Musharraf's suspension of the constitution in 2007, when he declared an emergency in a move intended to extend his tenure.
Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Charles Brown predicts North Korea will conduct a long-range ballistic missile test in the coming weeks — comments that come after North Korea has warned it would send a "Christmas gift" to the U.S.
"What I would expect is some kind of long-range ballistic missile would be the gift," Brown told reporters Tuesday during a Defense Writers Group breakfast in Washington, D.C.
"It's just a matter of does it come on Christmas Eve, does it come on Christmas Day, does it come after the New Year?" Brown added.
* Protesters lobbed projectiles and thundered towards police lines on the streets of central Paris earlier today * Demonstrations are a response to President Macron's pension reforms, which will raise retirement age to 64 * Away from riot scenes in the capital, activists cut electricity and Eiffel Tower staff walked away from their job * French pension system was once 'a guide for the rest of the world' but government says now that it's unfair
French cops launched tear gas cannisters and charged protesters as tens of thousands of workers took to Paris streets to rally against the government's plan to raise the retirement age to 64.
Clashes broke out near the Nation square in eastern Paris during a demonstration, organised by trade unions, to demand that President Emmanuel Macron abandon his reforms.
Witnesses said police charged a group of protesters who ignored an ultimatum to disperse and were throwing Molotov cocktails.
In the 21st century so far, populous countries and strong population growth were most often associated with Asia – but, as Statista's Katharina Buchholz notes, this view of the world will have to change in the future, data by the United Nations and Pew Research Center shows.
While in 2020, five out of the ten most populous countries in the world were located in Asia, the picture will look different in 2100, when five African countries – Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – will be among the world's ten largest.
* FBI filed four requests with the secret court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act * The requests were for surveillance warrants to spy on Carter Page, a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign * A report from the Justice Department's inspector general found 17 omissions or misleading statements in the FISA court warrant applications * Now the court's chief judge is demanding answers from the FBI * Court wants a briefing on how the bureau will avoid misleading the court, and reasons why agents should be considered trustworthy in the interim * Donald Trump tweeted Wow!' and added: 'Means my case was a SCAM!' * SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL COURT ORDER
A federal judge blasted the FBI on Tuesday for repeatedly submitting applications to wiretap former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page that were riddled with errors and omissions, and ordered the government to inform the court on how it plans to reform the process.
The scathing four-page order from Rosemary Collyer, the presiding judge over the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), marks the first time the court has responded to the controversy, which became public last week with the release of a report by Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
At work: Kremlin pictures showed Putin's computer with a bright blue taskbar at the bottom of the screen, which suggests that the computer was still running Windows XP
Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to still use Microsoft's discontinued Windows XP operating system, the Open Media news website reported Monday after examining photographs of his desktop.
Microsoft stopped releasing security updates for Windows XP and Office 2003, with occasional exceptions, in April 2014. Russian officials are technically banned from using foreign software as Moscow aims to protect national interests amid fears of foreign espionage and boost Russia's tech industry.
SEOUL (Reuters) - A proposal by China and Russia to ease U.N. sanctions on North Korea increases pressure on the United States and signals what is the likely end of unified efforts to persuade Pyongyang to give up its growing nuclear and missile arsenal.
On Monday China and Russia proposed that the United Nations Security Council lift a ban on North Korea exporting statues, seafood and textiles, and ease restrictions on infrastructure projects and North Koreans working overseas, according to a draft resolution seen by Reuters.
The plan comes at a crucial moment - just weeks before the deadline set by North Korea for Washington to offer more concessions - and highlights deepening divisions over how to engage with North Korea.
Then-Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn, the senior intelligence officer in Afghanistan, aboard an Italian CH-47C Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan in 2010. Defense Department
* Retired US Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, is in the spotlight for his critical statements on America's war in Afghanistan. * His statements prompted an extensive Washington Post investigation, published Monday, that uncovered a candid history of the war that revealed the US government had largely misled the public. * The Post, stumbling upon a secret government review, found that officials and advisers from the White House and the Pentagon held private reservations about the war even as they publicly peddled an optimistic view of Afghanistan's progress. * "From the ambassadors down to the low level, [they all say] we are doing a great job," Flynn told government investigators, according to documents and audio recordings obtained by The Post. "Really? So if we are doing such a great job, why does it feel like we are losing?"
Retired US Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's first national security adviser, is in the spotlight for his past statements about America's war in Afghanistan.
The Washington Post on Monday said it was those statements, which it received a tip about years ago when Flynn emerged as a prominent campaign surrogate for Trump, that prompted its extensive investigation into the US government's history of misleading characterizations of the war.
The full Post report on Monday into what are now dubbed "The Afghanistan Papers" detailed a secret government review in which hundreds of people involved in the war effort were interviewed. Many, including senior officials, were found to have held private reservations about the war effort even as the White House and the Pentagon publicly peddled an optimistic view of Afghanistan's progress.
WNU Editor: Before meeting then candidate Donald Trump Michael Flynn had a reputation of being blunt and vocal. It explains why many of his peers were always critical of him, and even President Obama waded in .... Obama warned Trump about Flynn, officials say (Politico). It is too bad for Michael Flynn that it is only now that the Washington Post is acknowledging how right he was on Afghanistan.
* Earlier this year, a Chinese oil survey vessel and its escorts spent months within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone * 'What China did is very alarming and also kind of threatening not only Vietnam but also other countries,' Vietnamese diplomat said
Vietnam said it hoped China would show restraint in the South China Sea next year after a Chinese oil survey vessel and its escorts spent months within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone, which Hanoi regarded as a blatant violation of its sovereignty.
Vietnam, the region's most forceful challenger of China's extensive maritime claims to the busy waterway, will take on the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2020.
"I hope that during our chairmanship China will show restraint and refrain from these activities," Vietnam's deputy foreign minister, Nguyen Quoc Dung, said at a lecture at The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. "What China did is very alarming and also kind of threatening not only Vietnam but also other countries that see the potential of being threatened in the future."
China's second aircraft carrier has entered service. The 50,000-tonne warship, China's first domestically built carrier, is pictured at its launch ceremony at a shipyard in Dalian in 2017
* The 50,000-tonne warship is China's first domestically built aircraft carrier * It was commissioned by President Xi to the People's Liberation Army today * The vessel will be based in Sanya, Hainan Province, in the South China Sea * It will add major firepower to Beijing's military might amid regional conflicts
China's second aircraft carrier entered service today, adding major firepower to the country's military ambitions as it faces tensions with self-ruled Taiwan as well as the US and regional neighbours around the disputed South China Sea.
The 50,000-tonne warship, China's first domestically built carrier, was commissioned by Chinese President Xi during a ceremony at a naval port in Sanya, southern China's Hainan Province, state media said.
The commissioning of the ship, which has been named after the eastern coastal province of Shandong, puts China in a small club of nations with multiple aircraft carriers.
The U.S. Navy's first extra-large UUV, the Boeing Orca, could carry multiple 'moor-pedo' mines into action. These could be laid discretely from stand-off ranges, hundreds of miles from the nearest friendly unit. H I Sutton
The U.S. Navy's Boeing Orca underwater drone could play an offensive role in future conflicts. Writing in the highly regarded U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) blog, retired Commander Brian Dulla argues that the U.S. Navy should reinvest in mine laying capabilities. It's an arena where large drones like the Orca could have advantages as mine layers.
Mine warfare feels neglected in the popular defense media. It may be perceived as old fashioned, slow or uninteresting. The reality can be quite different. Put yourself in the mind of a captain whose ship has just strayed into a minefield. Or the EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) diver sent to defuse the mines. Even low tech or vintage mines pose a very real threat to modern navies.
A watchtower on a high-security facility near what is believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, on the outskirts of Hotan, in China's northwestern Xinjiang region Photograph:( AFP )
At least one million have been detained, according to estimates
A Chinese local government is deleting data and destroying documents after classified papers were leaked offering information on its mass detention camps for Uighurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities, according to four people in contact with government employees there.
They claimed regional officials in Xinjiang province are also tightening controls on information and have held high-level meetings following the leaks.
Top officials deliberated how to respond in meetings at the Chinese Communist Party's regional headquarters in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital, some of the people said.
Photos of that meeting show Mendez sitting across from Bush in the Oval Office as she briefed him on developments in the CIA's new disguise program and then later when she revealed her true identity to him (above)
* Jonna Mendez, who spent 27 years working for the CIA, was in charge of creating advanced disguises for agents to use on undercover missions * Mendez opted to use one of the convincing masks she had created when she met with President George H.W. Bush at the White House in the early 1990s * Photos of that meeting show Mendez sitting across from Bush in the Oval Office as she briefed him on developments in the CIA's new disguise program * Mendez said Bush and other officials in the room had no idea she was in disguise * She eventually ripped off her mask, which was complete with wavy dark hair, to reveal her true identity to the President * The photos taken of their meeting were classified for years but at least one of them is now on display at the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C.
This is the moment the CIA's then chief of disguise donned a mask as she spoke to an unsuspecting President George H.W. Bush - before dramatically peeling it off to reveal her true identity to him.
Jonna Mendez, who spent 27 years working for the CIA, was in charge of creating advanced disguises - including masks - for agents to use on undercover missions.
Mendez opted to use one of the convincing masks she had created when she met with President Bush at the White House in the early 1990s.
Photos of that meeting show Mendez sitting across from Bush in the Oval Office as she briefed him on developments in the CIA's new disguise program.
President Donald Trump is expected to be impeached on Wednesday when the Democratic-led House of Representatives votes on charges stemming from his effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden https://t.co/thTLY7aJgQpic.twitter.com/EzBrPx1HnE
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was seeking on Tuesday to outlaw extending the #Brexit transition period beyond the end of 2020, as he prepared to put the EU divorce deal before MPs https://t.co/cH1knYpWZd
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the question of Scottish independence was settled in 2014 when voters rejected independence by 55% to 45% in what was described as a once-in-a-generation referendum. Nationalists disagree https://t.co/1j17nAQGUFpic.twitter.com/0mOx95WBi4
A Pakistani court has sentenced former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf to death in a treason case related to the state of emergency he imposed in 2007 while in power. He was sentenced in absentia. He has been out of the country since 2016. https://t.co/qY9QhHLP0R
Police and protestors scuffle outside the Jamia Millia Islamia University during a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, a bill that seeks to give citizenship to religious minorities persecuted in neighbouring Muslim countries, in New Delhi, India, December 13, 2019. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
(NEW DELHI) — India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the final appeal of one of the four men sentenced to death for the 2012 fatal gang rape of a woman on a moving bus in New Delhi, paving the way for the four to be hanged.
The gruesome case made international headlines and exposed the scope of sexual violence against women in India, prompting lawmakers to stiffen penalties in rape cases.
The victim, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student whom Indian media dubbed “Nirbhaya,” or “Fearless,” because Indian law prohibits rape victims from being identified, was heading home with a male friend from a movie theater when six men lured them onto a bus. With no one else in sight, they beat the man with a metal bar, raped the woman and used the bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her. The pair were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman died two weeks later.
The assailants were tried relatively quickly in a country where sexual assault cases often languish for years. Four defendants were sentenced to death. Another hanged himself in prison before his trial began, though his family insists he was killed. The sixth assailant was a minor at the time of the attack and was sentenced to three years in a reform home.
One of those sentenced to death, Akshay Kumar Singh, filed his review petition earlier this month, after the other three had theirs rejected.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected Singh’s appeal. His lawyer accused the judges of bowing to public pressure. India’s president can still decide to grant Singh mercy, but that is not expected to happen.
Outside court, the victim’s mother, Asha Devi, said she was happy with the ruling.
“This is one step closer to justice,” she told reporters.
Activists say new sentencing requirements haven’t deterred rape, the fourth-most common crime against women in India, according to government statistics.
The last hanging in India was in 2013.
The Supreme Court’s ruling comes amid a revived debate over sexual violence in India after several headline-grabbing cases in recent weeks. A woman in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was doused with gasoline and set on fire by five men, including two she had accused of gang rape and who were out on bail, on her way to attend a court hearing in her case. She died earlier this month at a hospital in New Delhi.
The burned body of a 27-year-old veterinarian was found in late November near the city of Hyderabad in southern India. Police later fatally shot four men being held on suspicion of raping and killing the woman after investigators took them to the crime scene, drawing praise from people frustrated by the pace of the 2012 New Delhi case and condemnation from those who said it undermined the courts’ role.
(SYDNEY) — Australia experienced its hottest day on record and temperatures are expected to soar even higher as heatwave conditions embrace most of the country.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said the average temperature across the country of 40.9 degrees Celsius (105 Fahrenheit) Tuesday beat the record of 40.3 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) from Jan. 7, 2013.
“This hot air mass is so extensive, the preliminary figures show that yesterday was the hottest day on record in Australia, beating out the previous record from 2013 and this heat will only intensify,” bureau meteorologist Diana Eadie said in a video statement on Wednesday.
The weather bureau said temperatures in southern and central Australia on Thursday may reach between 8 and 16 degrees higher than normal.
On Wednesday temperatures soared to 47.7 Celsius (118 Fahrenheit) in Birdsville, Queensland, 46.9 Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) in Mandora, Western Australia and similar levels in southern and central Australia.
The highest temperature reliably recorded in any location in Australia was 50.7 Celsius (123 Fahrenheit) in January 1960, at Oodnadatta, a desert settlement in outback South Australia .
High temperatures and strong winds are also fanning bushfires around Australia, including more than 100 in New South Wales state where heat and smoke have caused an increase in hospital admissions.
(NEW DELHI) — India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday postponed hearing pleas challenging the constitutionality of a new citizenship law that has sparked opposition and massive protests across the country. The court said it would consider the pleas on Jan. 22.
Protests and widespread condemnation have been growing against the Citizenship Amendment Act, with demonstrations erupting in India over the last week.
The new law applies to Hindus, Christians and other religious minorities who are in India illegally but can demonstrate religious persecution in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It does not apply to Muslims.
Critics say that the new law is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist-led government’s agenda to marginalize India’s 200 million Muslims and that it goes against the spirit of the country’s secular constitution. Modi has defended it as a humanitarian gesture.
Its passage last week follows a contentious citizenship registry process in northeastern India’s Assam state intended to weed out people who entered the country illegally. Nearly 2 million people in Assam were excluded from the list, about half Hindu and half Muslim, and have been asked to prove their citizenship or else be considered foreign. India is building a detention center for some of the tens of thousands of people the courts are expected to ultimately determine have entered illegally. Its passage also came as an unprecedented crackdown continued in Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority area, which was stripped of special constitutional protections and its statehood in August. Since then, movement and communications have been restricted in the region.
University students across India have been leading a campaign to have the citizenship law overturned.
On Sunday, marches by students at New Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh descended into chaos when police fired tear gas and beat unarmed protesters with wooden sticks.
Scores of students were injured. Police say they acted with restraint.
The police response to the protests has drawn widespread condemnation. It has also sparked a broader movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Demonstrations have erupted across the country, with thousands rallying in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, authorities tightened security restrictions, implementing a curfew in the northeastern state of Assam, where ongoing protests have disrupted daily life in Gauhati, the state capital. They also restricted assembly in a Muslim neighborhood in New Delhi where demonstrators torched a police booth and several vehicles on Tuesday.
A court in Japan on Wednesday awarded approximately $30,000 in damages to journalist Shiori Ito, who accused a high-profile television reporter of rape, and became part of the county’s fledgling #MeToo movement.
Ito, 30, was seeking approximately $100,000 in compensation from Noriyuki Yamaguchi in the landmark case in Japan, where it’s rare for victims of sexual violence to speak out.
Ito accused Yamaguchi of raping her after inviting her to discuss career opportunities in 2015, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The court ruling determined that Ito was forced to have sex without contraception “while in a state of unconsciousness and severe inebriation,” according to AFP.
Yamaguchi, who has close links to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, denied wrongdoing and filed a countersuit, which was turned down.
Ito struggled to hold back tears after Wednesday’s ruling, reports AFP. “Honestly I still don’t know how I feel,” Ito told reporters outside the court. “However, winning this case doesn’t mean this [sexual assault] didn’t happen… This is not the end.”
Supporters applauded the ruling. Mayumi Yoshida, a Japanese actress based in Canada, tweeted that the results were “a huge step forward.”
This is a huge step forward. Even if it wasn’t the amount she initially wanted the result hopefully would have an impact on society and victims will be more supported in speaking up to injustice.
NOTE. They didn’t have a female cop to record her testimony… COME. ON. https://t.co/ePvS1l9pYl
Mari Saito, a Reuters journalist in Japan, said that Ito’s case had opened up a level of dialogue not seen before in Japan.
It's hard to overstate how important this case has been in Japan. Most cases like this in Japan are faceless and unheard – Shiori Ito's case has certainly opened up a level of dialogue (that hasn't always been pleasant for sure) that I haven't seen before in Japan #MeToohttps://t.co/bXCTMachdJ
Ito spoke out in 2017, shortly before widespread allegations of sexual misconduct against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein became public, and sparked the #MeToo movement.
Ito said that she hoped her case would challenge the “under-developed” legal and social environment related to reporting sex crimes in Japan, according to the AFP.
Japan updated its criminal code on sexual offenses in 2017 to increase the minimum prison sentence for committing rape from three to five years and to recognize male victims. But a controversial requirement for victims to prove that they were not capable of resisting was left intact.
Critics say the requirement discourages victims from speaking out, and the 2019 acquittal of a father who was accused of raping his daughter renewed outrage and sparked protests over the country’s rape laws.
A 2019 survey undertaken by Japan’s Justice Ministry found that only 14% of those who said they had been a victim of a sex crime had reported their case to authorities. The survey found that victims did not report the crime because they didn’t know how to deal with the situation or they didn’t deem it serious enough to come forward. Embarrassment and distrust of the police were also cited as reasons for the underreporting.
Hong Kong’s famed New Year’s Eve fireworks show has been canceled by officials who cited public safety concerns. It is the latest major event in the territory to be halted amid six months of protests.
Hong Kong’s tourism board confirmed Wednesday that the showpiece event had been called off, making this the first time the display has been canceled since it began in 2007, a spokesperson of the department said. The board added that a laser light show along the skyline would be held instead.
“Public safety is our top priority as the fireworks can attract huge crowds gathering around the harbor,” chairman of the tourism board Pang Yiu-kai said, according to South China Morning Post.
This is the second time a fireworks display has been canceled over protest fears. In October, fireworks meant to mark the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China were also called off.
Since Hong Kong’s time zone is hours ahead of cities in the west, its pyrotechnic display against the backdrop of the territory’s skyline is often featured in highlight montages of New Year’s fireworks displays around the world.
Last year’s show attracted more than 300,000 revelers who gathered along both sides of the Victoria Harbor, which stretches along the city’s busiest commercial and tourist districts.
The countdown display is just one of more than a dozen events in the territory that have been canceled due to the ongoing protests. The city’s largest music festival Clockenflap, a major trailwalking race, the Hong Kong Tennis Open and several concerts are but a few of the events that have been called off.
The anti-government protests, initially a response to a controversial extradition bill, have roiled the territory since June. The city has recorded its first recession in a decade and the tourism sector has been hit hard as a result. Tourist figures fell by close to 60% in the month of November, local media reports.
(ATHENS, Greece) — American archaeologists have discovered two monumental royal tombs dating from about 3,500 years ago near a major Mycenaean-era palace in Greece’s southern Peloponnese region, the Greek culture ministry said Tuesday.
A ministry statement said the dome-shaped roofs of both tombs near the Bronze Age palace of Pylos collapsed during antiquity, and the chambers became filled with so much earth and rubble that grave robbers couldn’t get in to plunder them.
Nevertheless, the tombs were disturbed during the period of their use over several generations — unlike another Mycenaean grave found nearby in 2015 that yielded a stunning hoard of gold and silver treasure, jewelry and bronze arms buried with a man presumed to have been an early ruler of Pylos.
Recovered grave goods from the two tombs included a golden seal ring and a golden amulet of an ancient Egyptian goddess, highlighting Bronze Age trade and cultural links. The ministry said the discovery was particularly important as it shed light on the early phases of Greece’s Mycenaean civilization.
The Mycenaean era, between roughly 1650-1100 B.C. provided the material for many of the myths and legends of ancient Greece including that of the Trojan War.
The larger of the two tombs had a diameter of 12 meters (36 feet) at floor level and its stone walls survived to a height of 4.5 meters (15 feet) — less than half its original height. The other was about two-thirds of that size and its walls now stand two meters high. Both belong to the tholos type of tomb, massive domed underground constructions reserved for Mycenaean royalty that could reach roughly 15 meters (45 feet) in height.
They were excavated over the past two years by University of Cincinnati archaeologists, who also discovered the nearby rich burial that is known as the Griffin Warrior grave, after some of the ornaments found in it.
All three graves, together with another tholos tomb found nearby decades ago, were built earlier than the sprawling palace whose ruins lie close by, and which features in Homer’s Odyssey as the seat of the wise King Nestor.
(UNITED NATIONS) — The United States said Tuesday that it opposes a draft resolution proposed by China and Russia that would terminate U.N. sanctions on key North Korean exports, calling the measure “premature” at a time when Pyongyang is threatening to conduct “an escalated provocation” and is refusing to meet with U.S. officials to discuss denuclearization.
The U.S. State Department said President Donald Trump “remains committed to making progress toward commitments” he made with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at their first summit in Singapore in June 2018 on transforming relations between the two countries, building lasting peace and ensuring complete denuclearization.
A State Department statement said the U.S. remains committed to diplomacy to make progress toward these goals, but it “cannot do this alone.”
The draft resolution circulated to U.N. Security Council members Monday night would terminate sanctions on North Korean exports including textiles, seafood and statues with the intent of enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population. It would also lift a ban on North Koreans working overseas and terminate a decision to repatriate all those earning income abroad by Dec. 22.
China and Russia made these and other proposals 16 days before Kim’s end-of-December deadline for the United States to come up with new proposals to revive nuclear diplomacy.
Negotiations faltered after the U.S. rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of the North’s nuclear capabilities at Kim’s second summit with Trump last February.
North Korea has carried out 13 ballistic missile launches since May trying to pressure Washington, and it has hinted at lifting its moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests if the Trump administration fails to make substantial concessions before the new year.
China’s U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, told reporters Tuesday that the resolution is not aimed at splitting the 15-member Security Council but pursuing “a united approach approach in obtaining peace and security” on the Korean peninsula and “to send a positive, constructive message to the parties concerned that we do not want a deteriorated situation, we do not want a confrontation.”
“You cannot simply expect one party to do more things and with the other party sitting there idle,” Zhang said.. “We need both parties to walk towards each other so as to build up mutual trust. With one step forward from one party, and then the other party, makes that two steps forward. That’s something positive, that’s something constructive.”
Otherwise, he said, there will be further mistrust leading to “more negative things and hesitation” and “we’ll move backward again, and it will be” even further from denuclearization and peace.
The proposed resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, welcomes the continuing dialogue between the United States and North Korea, calls on all parties to consider implementing “further practical steps to reduce military tension on the Korean peninsula and probability of any military confrontation by all appropriate means.” Its suggestions included adoption of a formal declaration and/or a peace treaty ending the 1950-53 Korean War.
It also calls for “prompt resumption of the six-party talks or re-launch of multilateral consultations in any other similar format, with the goal of facilitating a peaceful and comprehensive solution through dialogue.”
The six-party talks involving North Korea, South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and Japan began in 2003 and led Pyongyang to accept a deal in September 2005 to end its nuclear weapons program in exchange for security, economic and energy benefits. But after difficult negotiations, North Korea refused to accept U.S.-proposed verification methods and the agreement fell through in December 2008, and the six-party talks have been stalled since then.
(HELSINKI) — Estonia’s nationalist interior minister narrowly survived a no-confidence vote Tuesday that was triggered by his mocking of neighboring Finland’s young new prime minister and her party.
Members of the 101-seat Riigikogu voted 44-42 to remove Estonian Conservative People’s Party Chairman Mart Helme from his Cabinet post. However, the motion needed an absolute majority of 51 votes to pass.
The move was initiated by the opposition Reform Party.
During a radio interview on Sunday, Helme, 70, took a swipe at Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, 34. He quipped that “a cashier” was now leading Estonia’s close neighbor — an apparent reference to Marin’s past stint working at a department store.
Helme, a former Estonian ambassador to Russia, also called Marin’s Social Democratic Party “red” and alleged it was out to “liquidate” Finland with its policies.
Marin last week became the world’s youngest sitting prime minister and the third woman to lead Finland’s government.
Heikki Saukkomaa—Lehtikuva/APSocial democrats minister Sanna Marin speaks to the media after she was elected as the new Prime Minister of Finland, in Helsinki, Finland, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019.
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid telephoned her Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, on Monday to give a public apology on behalf of Estonia and its interior minister to Marin and her government.
Helme himself apologized much later Monday, blaming media for overplaying his comments.
He is widely known in the Baltic country for political gaffes and sexist comments, including personal attacks on Kaljulaid. Earlier this year, he described Estonia’s first female president as “an emotionally heated woman.”
His remarks about Marin nearly led Monday to the collapse of Estonia’s three-party coalition government led by Prime Minister Juri Ratas. Kaljulaid urged him to fire Helme.
Ratas refused, offering the government’s apology to Finland but saying his Cabinet would remain unchanged.
Helme’s anti-immigrant Estonian Conservative People’s Party, or EKRE, emerged from a March election as Estonia’s third-largest party.
His son Martin Helme, 43, is EKRE’s vice chairman and Estonia’s current finance minister. Three of the party’s ministers have resigned from the Cabinet over various scandals since Ratas’ government took office in April.
Along with EKRE and Ratas’ Center Party, the majority coalition includes the conservative Fatherland party.
(PARIS) — French union activists cut electricity to nearly 100,000 homes or offices. Eiffel Tower staff walked off the job. Even Paris opera workers joined in Tuesday’s nationwide protests across France, singing an aria of anger as workers rallied against the government’s plan to raise the retirement age to 64.
Despite 13 days of crippling train and subway strikes, French President Emmanuel Macron and his government stayed firm. The prime minister declared his “total” determination to reshape a pension system that unions celebrate as a model for the rest of the world but that he calls unfair and destined to collapse into debt.
Lighting red flares and marching beneath a blanket of multi-colored union flags, thousands of workers snaked through French cities from Brittany on the Atlantic to the Pyrenees in the south.
Hospital workers in scrubs, Air France staff in uniforms, lawyers wearing long black robes — people from across the French workforce joined in the strikes and protests in higher numbers than the last cross-sector walkout last week. The retirement reform that has brought them together is just one of their many gripes against Macron, a business-friendly centrist they fear is dismantling France’s costly but oft-envied welfare state.
Workers from the hard-left CGT union on Tuesday carried out what they called “targeted” blackouts on electricity networks around Lyon and Bordeaux to call attention to their grievances, and their power.
Several European countries have raised the retirement age or cut pensions in recent years to keep up with lengthening life expectancy and slowing economic growth. Macron argues that France needs to do the same.
Tourists canceled plans and Paris commuters took hours to get to work Tuesday, as train drivers kept up their strike against changes to a system that allows them and other workers under special pension regimes to retire as early as their 50s.
“Monument Closed” read a sign on the glass wall circling the base of the Eiffel Tower, which was shut for the second time since the strike, one of the most protracted France has seen in years, started Dec. 5.
“It’s very frustrating for us, unfortunately,” South African tourist Victor Hellberg said, gazing up at the 19th century landmark. “We had decided to be here for one day and that’s life I suppose.”
Victor Garcia, visiting from Barcelona, said he’s used to protests at home but admitted not climbing the Eiffel Tower’s steps “is kind of a bummer.”
Police in Paris barricaded the presidential Elysee Palace, bracing for violence by yellow vest activists or other radical demonstrators.
Across the French capital, union leaders demanded that Macron drop the retirement reform.
“They should open their eyes,” said Philippe Martinez, the head of the CGT union, said at the head of the Paris march.
With riot police watching closely, protesters carrying humorous signs and colorful costumes marched past the historic Bastille plaza. On the steps of the opera house overlooking the monument, workers sang famous arias and played instruments to defend their special retirement plan.
Bernard Buffet, a costume fitter, is 63 and retiring in April after 35 years at the Bastille Opera, but is protesting in solidarity with younger colleagues.
“The government is stuck on the reform. They are very arrogant,” he said.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe confirmed new negotiations with unions starting Wednesday, but showed no sign of backing down.
“Democratic opposition, union opposition is perfectly legitimate,” he told lawmakers. “But we clearly laid out our plans. And on this plan, the creation of a universal retirement system, my determination … is total.”
He also paid tribute to “the French who go to work despite difficulties.”
In addition to transportation troubles, parents faced shuttered schools and students had key exams canceled Tuesday as teachers joined in the strike.
Hospitals requisitioned workers to ensure key services Tuesday, as nurses, doctors and pharmacists went on strike to save a once-vaunted public hospital system that’s struggling after years of cost cuts.
Tuesday’s protests upped the pressure on Macron, whose key architect of his pension overhaul had to resign Monday over alleged conflicts of interest.
Unions fear people will have to work longer for lower pensions, and polls suggest at least of half of French people still support the strike. Unions at the SNCF rail authority want to keep the strike going through the Christmas holidays.
While patience was running short among Paris Metro riders squeezing into scarce trains , the strike troubles weren’t enough to scare away some visitors to the City of Light.
Spanish tourist Lydia Marcos, finding the Eiffel Tower unexpectedly closed, shrugged it off and said, “It’s like an excuse to come here another year.”
___
Nadine Achoui-Lesage, Nicolas Garriga and Jeffrey Schaeffer in Paris contributed.
(VATICAN CITY) — Pope Francis abolished the use of the Vatican’s highest level of secrecy in clergy sexual abuse cases Tuesday, responding to mounting criticism that the rule of “pontifical secrecy” has been used to protect pedophiles, silence victims and prevent police from investigating crimes.
“The carnival of obscurity is over,” declared Juan Carlos Cruz, a prominent Chilean survivor of clergy abuse and advocate for victims.
In a new law, Francis decreed that information in abuse cases must be protected by church leaders to ensure its “security, integrity and confidentiality.” But he said the rule of “pontifical secrecy” no longer applies to abuse-related accusations, trials and decisions under the Catholic Church’s canon law.
The Vatican’s leading sex crimes investigator, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, said the reform was an “epochal decision” that will facilitate coordination with civil law enforcement and open up lines of communication with victims.
While documentation from the church’s in-house legal proceedings will still not become public, Scicluna said, the reform now removes any excuse to not cooperate with legitimate legal requests from prosecutors, police or other civil authorities.
Francis also raised from 14 to 18 the cutoff age below which the Vatican considers pornographic images to be child pornography. The reform is a response to the Vatican’s increasing awareness of the prolific spread of online child porn that has frequently implicated even high-ranking churchmen.
The new laws were issued Tuesday, Francis’ 83rd birthday, as he struggles to respond to the global explosion of the abuse scandal, his own missteps and demands for greater transparency and accountability from victims, law enforcement and ordinary Catholics alike.
The new norms are the latest amendment to the Catholic Church’s in-house canon law — a parallel legal code that metes out ecclesial justice for crimes against the faith — in this case relating to the sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable people by priests, bishops or cardinals. In this legal system, the worst punishment a priest can incur is being defrocked, or dismissed from the clerical state.
When he was a cardinal, Pope Benedict XVI had persuaded St. John Paul II to decree in 2001 that these cases must be handled by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and be dealt with under the “pontifical secret” rule. The Vatican had long insisted that such confidentiality was necessary to protect the privacy of the victim, the reputation of the accused and the integrity of the canonical process.
However, such secrecy also served to keep the scandal hidden, prevent law enforcement from accessing documents and silence victims, many of whom often believed that the “pontifical secret” rule prevented them from going to the police to report their priestly abusers.
While the Vatican has long tried to insist this was not the case, it also never mandated that bishops and religious superiors report sex crimes to police, and in the past it has also encouraged bishops not to do so.
According to the new instruction, which was signed by the Vatican secretary of state but authorized by the pope, the Vatican still doesn’t mandate reporting the crimes to police, saying religious superiors are obliged to do so where civil reporting laws require it.
But it goes further than the Vatican has gone before, saying: “Office confidentiality shall not prevent the fulfillment of the obligations laid down in all places by civil laws, including any reporting obligations, and the execution of enforceable requests of civil judicial authorities.”
The Vatican has been under increasing pressure to cooperate more with law enforcement, and its failure to do so has resulted in unprecedented raids in recent years on diocesan chanceries by police from Belgium to Texas and Chile.
But even under the threat of subpoenas and raids, bishops have sometimes felt compelled to withhold canonical proceedings given the “pontifical secret” rule, unless given permission to hand documents over by the Vatican. The new law makes that explicit permission no longer required.
“The freedom of information to statutory authorities and to victims is something that is being facilitated by this new law,” Scicluna told Vatican media.
Robert Hoatson, a survivor and founder of the clergy abuse advocacy group Road to Recovery, said the change was long overdue and a “hopeful sign that the church will finally hold itself accountable for the centuries-old scandal.”
The Vatican in May issued another law explicitly saying victims cannot be silenced and have a right to learn the outcome of their canonical trials. The new document repeats that and expands the point by saying not only the victim, but any witnesses or the person who lodged the accusation cannot be compelled to silence.
“Excellent news,” tweeted prominent Irish survivor Marie Collins, a founding member of Francis’ sex abuse advisory commission who noted that the reform was one of the first proposals of the commission.
“At last a real and positive change,” she wrote.
Lawyers for victims and accused priests have also advocated for a change to the pontifical secret rule, since it restricted their access to documentation from the case. Scicluna said the reform now facilitates making documents available to “interested parties” in a penal case, although it is not clear if these lawyers will still only be able to view the documents — as is currently the case — or can now make and keep copies of them, under the understanding that they remain confidential.
In recent years, individual abuse scandals, national inquiries, grand jury investigations, U.N. denunciations and increasingly costly civil litigation have devastated the Catholic hierarchy’s credibility across the globe, and Francis’ own failures and missteps in dealing with particular cases have emboldened his critics.
In February, he summoned the presidents of bishops’ conferences from around the globe to a four-day summit on preventing abuse, where several speakers called for a reform of the pontifical secrecy rule. Francis himself said he intended to raise the age for which pornography was considered child porn.
The move is significant and an indication that Francis has learned a lesson after one of his Argentine proteges, Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, was accused of inappropriate conduct with seminarians after gay porn — said to involve youngsters but not boys — was found on his cellphone.
“To date, the church has been especially lenient towards priests who offend against older children” with pornography, said Anne Barrett Doyle of the online resource BishopAccountability. “Extending the pornography ban sends a message that this vulnerable group of minors must be protected too.”
The Vatican’s editorial director, Andrea Tornielli, said the new law is a “historical” follow-up to the February summit and a sign of openness and transparency.
“The breadth of Pope Francis’ decision is evident: The well-being of children and young people must always come before any protection of a secret, even the ‘’pontifical secret,'” he said in a statement.
Also Tuesday, Francis accepted the resignation of the Vatican’s ambassador to France, Archbishop Luigi Ventura, who is accused of making unwanted sexual advances to young men.
Ventura turned 75 last week, the mandatory retirement age for bishops, but the fact that his resignation was announced on the same day as Francis’ abuse reforms didn’t seem to be a coincidence.
You are subscribed to email updates from World – TIME. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.
Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States
DONALD TRUMP has launched a ferocious attack on the Democrats, as Congress prepares to vote on the impeachment charges against the US President on Wednesday.
CHINA has stepped up its military training in the South China Sea in response to an increase in US naval drills in the region, as tensions between the superpowers show no sign of abating.
WORLD WAR 3 fears during the Cold War period led to a huge arms race between the US and the Soviet Union, but Washington took its nuclear programme to unprecedented levels as it detonated 23 nuclear bombs between 1946 and 1958.
RPSC Result 2019 @ rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in. Rajasthan Public Service Commission has announced the conducted the Written Examination for Food Safety Officer on 25th November 2019. After the completion of written exam, candidates are waiting for the RPSC FSO Result 2019. Many aspirants had participated in the RPSC FSO Exam 2019. We are there to help such candidates. Therefore, RPSC Department is planning to release the Result in the month of December 2019 (Tentatively). So, all the contenders can check the Rajasthan Public Service Commission Result 2019 from this site. Additionally, candidates can also download the RPSC Food Safety Officer Cut Off Marks, Merit List 2019 from this page.
RPSC Result 2019 – Download here
Rajasthan Public Service Commission will soon announce the RPSC Food Safety Officer Result 2019 on its official webportal. We will update the direct link to download the Food Safety Officer Result 2019. And the link will activate at the time of official announcement. So, the candidates can check any latest information regarding RPSC Result 2019 on our site itself. Aspirants need not go for another site to check the Results. Hence, the contenders can frequent touch with this site. However, the RPSC Results 2019 is expecting to be released tentatively in the month of December 2019.
Rajasthan Public Service Commission commenced this examination to fill 98 vacancies of Food Safety Officer Post. Above all the details will give the information like organization name, the post name, the number of vacancies, exam date, and release date for the Result and the official website to get the Result. While Checking Results candidates must have the required details like candidates roll number and password. Using those details candidates can get their exam results.
Food Safety Officer Cut off Marks 2019 @ rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in
The Cut Off Marks is very important for the candidates to move for the further rounds. The Aspirants must score minimum qualifying RPSC FSO Cut Off Marks 2019 to get selected for the next level. The authority has some factors to decide the RPSC Food Safety Officer Cut off Marks 2019. They are as follows
The Rajasthan Public Service Commission Department will release the RPSC Food Safety Officer Merit List 2019 after the announcement of Rajasthan PSC Result 2019. Candidates who got highest marks in the RPSC Exam will be shortlisted in the Merit List. Aspirants in the Merit List willl get highest priority to go for the further levels. Hence, the candidates must concentrate more on the Cut Off Marks and Merit List. Further, we can see how to check the RPSC FSO Exam Result 2019
How to check the RPSC FSO Exam Result 2019?
Initially, applicants can visit the official website of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission @ rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in.
The homepage of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission will display on the screen.
On the main page, candidates can find Candidate Information tab
In that click on the Results.
On the other way, you can move to the News and Events section which is on the right side of the home page.
Then Search for the link related to the RPSC FSO Result Exam 2019.
And Click on that RPSC Food Safety Officer Result 2019 link.
A new page with login details of the candidate opens on the screen and fill the required fields.
Then Click on the Submit button.
Finally, Check and Download the RPSC FSO Exam Result 2019.
Name of the Organization : Nabarangpur Collectorate Last Date : 21/03/2016 Application Mode : Offline Job Location : Nabarangpur, Odisha Total Vacancies : 99 Posts Name of the Post: Lady Matron/ Junior Matron
Bharathiar University Results 2019 Released: Dear Students !!! Have you done your semester examination on various Degree courses under the Bharathiar University. Then its time to check out your BU Results for CPP, BU-CCII, M.Phil/Ph.D. and Other Courses. The University has updated the semester examination results for the Under Graduate and Post Graduate Courses. All the Students can check out the complete section to download the Bharathiar University Exam Results 2019-20.
Bharathiar University Results 2019-20
Students of Bharathiar University, its time to check out your semester examination results. Get to know the Updated results for the UG/ PG & Diploma Courses. Bharathiar University has a rule that candidates should have passed with 30% of marks in UG/ Diploma Courses and for the PG/ Diploma Courses, the maximum passing mark would be 50% for each paper. Once the results are updated on the university page we will update it here. Just by clicking down the below link, applicants can download the complete set of examination results from our webpage. Candidates do stay updated with our page so that you may get to know the complete details about the Bharathiar University Results 2019 and other important details.
Latest Bharathiar University Semester Examination Results 2019-20
Name of Examination
Result Link
School of Distance Education May 2019 Examinations – Revaluation Results
Bharathiar University is a state-owned university of Tamilnadu which is located in Coimbatore, Tamilnadu.the university was established in 1982 than after it has given the name of Tamil poet i.e, Subramania Bharatiyar by the Bharathiar University act of 1981 and it was recognized by the Universities Grants Commission in 1985. It has a total of 110 affiliated colleges wherein 11 Government colleges, 5 Constituent Colleges, one PG Extension Centre, 16 aided colleges and 88 Self Financing Colleges.
Bharathiar University was ranked 20 overall in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework of 2018 and 13 among universities. Honorable Governor of Tamilnadu will act as Chancellor of the university and Thiru. Mangat Ram Sharma, IAS is the Vice-chancellor of the Bharathiar University. Hence, know more details from the official site of Bharathiar University.
Bharathiar University Revaluation Results
Those students who have attended the regular examination under Bharathiar University and still failed. Here comes one more opportunity to clear the examination. To increase your scoring along with that students to fail in the previous examination will get a chance to clear through Revaluation Exams. Students can apply for the revaluation after the announcement of the main examination results. Bharathiar University will take a week or more to process the exam papers to announce the Revaluation results. Do stay updated with this webpage to know about the Bharathiar University Revaluation Results 2019.
Free Download VSSC Syllabus 2020 Pdf available for Scientist/Engineer-SC, Technical Assistant, PGT, TGT & Other Exams. Applicants of Vikram Sarabhai Space Research Center Recruitment 2020 written exam can get the syllabi and test pattern. So, Download PGT, Scientific Assistant, VSSC Technical Assistant syllabus in below sections. – www.vssc.gov.in.
VSSC Syllabus 2020
Aspirants of Central Govt Jobs in Vikram Sarabhai Space Research Center Scientist/Engineer-SC, Technical Assistant, PGT vacancies can be shortlisted through Written examination. Thus, candidates might be searching for the Syllabi and Exam pattern for the written test. For the sake of those individuals, we presented the VSSC Scientist/Engineer-SC Syllabus Pdf & Exam Pattern. So, Before beginning the exam preparation, once go through the complete Technical Assistant Exam Syllabi. Visit the official website www.vssc.gov.in for detailed information on VSSC Technical assistant exam dates. Practice the model papers of Vikram Sarabhai Scientist Engineer exam. By this, aspirants can get an overview of the written test structure. Therefore, Download VSSC Syllabus Pdf and VSSC Technical assistant previous question papers from the enclosed links.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Recruitment Syllabus 2020 – Details
Description
Details
Organization Name
Vikram Sarabhai Space Research Center
Total Vacancies
Various
Name of the Posts
Scientist/Engineer-SC, Fire Officer-C, Research Scientist, PGT, TGT, Technical Assistant, Scientific Assistant & Other posts
Candidates applying for the posts of Scientist/Engineer-SC, Fire Officer-C, Research Scientist, PGT, TGT, Technical Assistant, Scientific Assistant & Other will be selected based on the following criteria –
Selection Process:
Written Examination
Interview
VSSC Exam Pattern 2020
Sl No.
Subjects
Marks
1.
Profession/ Subject related Questions
85
Interview
15
Total
100
Candidates can answer the Questions either in English or Hindi
PGT, TGT Selection through the weightage of written test and interview is 85:15
For further details go through the Official Notification
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Syllabus 2020 Pdf
The Exam pattern helps to know the subject Questions and structure of the written test. Refer to the below presented Subject topics before beginning preparation. These topics questions might come across the examination. So, Note down the VSSC Syllabus given down the page.
VSSC Post Graduate Teacher Syllabus 2020 – General knowledge
Abbreviations.
History.
Indian Constitution.
Current Affairs – National & International.
General Politics.
Culture.
Important Financial & Economic News.
Sports and Games.
Current events.
Geography.
Important Days.
Awards and Honors.
Books and Authors.
Science – Inventions & Discoveries.
Economic Scene.
Download Vikram Sarabhai Technical Assistant Syllabus 2020 Pdf
The presented VSSC Syllabus 2020 Pdf is for reference purpose. We may not guarantee that same related exam topics questions are obtained in the Vikram Sarabhai Examination 2020. So, check the official website www.vssc.gov.in for exam details.
SPPU Result 2019 Released:Students who have undergone the UG, PG Programme, Diploma, Ph.D. other courses semester examination under the Savitribai Phule Pune University, check it out here. Its time to know your performance in the last conducted semester examination. Get the Direct links for the SPPU Exam Result 2019-20. Along with this, We have attached the SPPU Result Summary. Students who have applied for the Revaluation can also check out the revaluation results separately. Candidates do get down the article completely to know brief details about the Savitribai Phule Pune University Result.
SPPU Result 2019 – Download Here
This article is a complete list out of the Pune University Result 2019 Online Mode. Students who are waiting for the Pune University Results of Savitribai Phule Pune University can check out the examination results released date on the official website. As soon as the Savitribai Phule Pune University Releases the SPPU Degree Result in the Official Website, students can get it here. Annual and Semester wise results are updated on this page. On the Official site, the Pune University has declared SPPU Result 2019 for a few courses. So do have regular touch with the University Website to get the remaining course Results.
Savitribai Phule Pune University, one of the chief colleges in India, is situated in the North-western piece of Pune city. It possesses a territory of around 411 sections of land. It was set up on tenth February 1949 under the Poona University Act. The college houses 46 scholarly divisions. It is prominently known as the ‘Oxford of the East’. It has around 307 perceived research establishments and 612 partnered schools offering graduate and college classes. The college draws in numerous outside students because of its brilliant offices. It offers a great settlement office. There is a well-loaded library containing a lot of books in regards to different subjects. There is an arrangement of lodging for the students. The college offers various grants to the students. The college conducts workshops and meetings for the students.
SPPU Revaluation Result
Students who have attended the regular semester examination under the Savitribai Phule Pune University and got failed. Here comes one more opportunity is known as Revaluation for those who have failed in the regular semester examination. This Revaluation is not only meant for those failure students but also candidates who wish to increase your scoring or the grade can also use this chance. Savitribai Phule Pune University releases the revaluation results option as soon as the regular examination results are released. For every semester Students can take this opportunity and make your scores increase. To know more about the Revaluation Results stay updated with our page and the official website @unipune.ac.in
Kannur University Exam Results 2019Released: Dear Candidates !!! Students of Kannur University check out the Results here. Yes, Kannur University has released the results for various Courses and yet to be released some other Course Results. Students who have appeared for thees Examination can check the results from the official website of the University i.e, kannuruniversity.ac.in. Here we have attached the direct link to get the Kannur University Results 2019 from the below table. It will help the students to get the results easily without any confusion. And the results of the remaining courses will be declared very soon by the University and will be uploaded on the website. We advise the Students that regularly check the official website of the University to get the latest updates about Kannur University Result 2019.
Kannur University Exam Results 2019
Students who have been appeared for the Kannur University Exams 2019 can check Kannur University Results: Regular, Supplementary and Revaluation Results through Online. Students can check KU UG Results and PG Exam Results at recruitment.guru and Kannur University’s official site. Here we have provided the steps to download the Kannur University Results 2019. Students can bookmark this page to get the latest updates regarding the Kannur University results. Apart from this, we used to update the additional information about Kannur University Exam Schedule, Admit Card, Syllabus, Previous Paper, and others. Keep in touch with this page and check KU Result 2019 from below provided the link.
Kannur University was established in 1996 to provide development of higher education in Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad districts of Kerala, India. The objective of the Kannur University Act, 1996 was to establish in the state of Kerala teaching, residential and affiliating university to provide development of higher education in Kasargod, Kannur revenue Districts and Mananthavady Taluk of Wayanad District.
Kannur University Supply/Revaluation Results
Students who have scored good marks will get up to the next level. Applicants can get into Revaluation as a second chance. Once they applied for the Examination, the higher level Examiner will check the paper again. They can get the revaluation results within the time. In the case of low marks, you can go for the Supplementary Examination. For each and every semester Students can apply for the revaluation after the announcement of the main examination results. The Kannur University will take a week or more to process the exam papers to announce the Kannur University Revaluation Results. Do stay updated with the University to know about the KU Revaluation Exam Results.
Gulbarga University Results 2019Released: Students who have written the Gulbarga University Semester exams and waiting for the results here are the good news for them. The Gulbarga University has released the GUG Result 2019 for the candidates who are done with their semester exams. The University has released the results for all UG/PG Courses are available here. We have provided a direct link to get the Gulbarga University Results from the below table. Students to know more about the Gulbarga University Results 2019 can visit the official website of Gulbarga University i.e gug.ac.in.
Gulbarga University Results 2019 @ gug.ac.in.
Gulbarga University conducts various Under Graduate & Post Graduate Exams. The University usually follows the semester pattern system for all its courses it is offering. Students on this page will get the GUG UG PG 2019 Exam Results. Regular/ Private students who have written their Gulbarga University UG/ PG Semester and waiting for the GUG University Results 2019 can refer the links which are provided below. Here on this page, we have provided the results for CBCS and Non-CBCS Courses. Students can check their results from this page, apart from this we used to update all the information regarding the Gulbarga University Time Table, Admit Card, Syllabus, and others. Students make a bookmark of this page recruitment.guru to know more about the latest Gulbarga University Result 2019.
Latest Gulbarga University Exam Results 2019
Name of the Exam
Announcement Date
Download Link
MASTER OF VISUAL ART PAINTING I SEM (CBCS) EXAM RESULT JANUARY-2019
Gulbarga University was established in 1980 in the Karnataka District Act, with a district covering five districts. It was established in the Karnataka region of Hyderabad. Earlier in 1970, Karnataka University was the post-graduate center of Dharwad. Later, the Gyanbarga campus of Gulbarga University has 860 acres of land. The University is located east of Gulbarga city. At the university, there are 38 postgraduate departments and four postgraduate centers in Krishnadevarayana Nagar, Bellary, at Jnana Tunga, Raichur, in the Sharan literary center Basavakalyanam at Jnanakaranji. The University has entrusted 3500 students to postgraduate degrees in various disciplines. M. Phil and Ph.D. Also 160 professors, including over 700 instructor and non-teaching staff. Under this university, 407 colleges are affiliated to the University of California or Degree Clay Courses, arts, visual arts, music, sociology, and technology.
Gulbarga University Supply/Revaluation Results
Students are waiting for the results if they scored well they will lead to next year. But if they will not get more marks they can apply for the revaluation results. Once they applied for the Examination, the higher level Examiner will check the paper again. They can get the revaluation results within the time. Also if they still get fail marks, they can apply for the supplementary examination. For each and every semester Students can apply for the revaluation after the announcement of the main examination results. Gulbarga University will take a week or more to process the exam papers to announce the Revaluation results. Do stay updated with the University to know about the Revaluation Exam Results.
RAS Syllabus 2020 is available here. Applicants who are looking for RAS Syllabus 2020 Pdf and Exam Pattern can download here. And, we have uploaded the RAS Syllabus Download links here for your reference. Aspirants can also get details of RPSC RAS Exam @ rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in. Hence, check the following section and download the RAS Exam Syllabus along with the Test Pattern 2020.
Download RPSC Syllabus 2020 Pdf
Did you apply for the RPSC RAS exam? Looking for the RAS Syllabus 2020 Pdf? If so, you're in the right place. The Rajasthan Public Service Commission released the RAS Exam Notification. Hence, it's important to start your preparation with the RAS Syllabus 2020 and Exam Pattern. In the below section, we are giving the RPSC Syllabus download links for all subjects include General Studies I, II, III, General Hindi, and English. Refer this to start preparation for the RAS RTS exam. It will help you to know what to prepare for the exam. If you read the RAS Mains Syllabus & Test Pattern before the exam, you can easily crack the RAS Mains Examination.
Rajasthan Public Service Commission recently announced the RPSC Recruitment 2020 to fill the 980 vacancies. There are lots of vacancies available for various posts. Candidates can apply for the exam directly through the official website rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in. So, the candidates should apply before the last date and right after that, they need to prepare for the exam. Candidates can easily download the RAS RTS Syllabus and RAS Exam Pattern here. Moreover, the applicants can check the full details of the RAS Recruitment 2020 here.
The selection process for RPSC RAS Exam is as follows,
Prelims and Mains Examination
Interview
RPSC RAS Exam Pattern for Prelims
S.No
Subject Name
Marks
Duration
1
General Knowledge and General Science
200
180 minutes
Total
200
180 minutes
Candidates should attend the prelims and mains exam.
The paper consists of objective type MCQ questions.
There is a negative marking of 1/3 for each wrong answer.
The exam duration will be 180 minutes and the total marks are 200.
RAS Pre Syllabus 2020
Candidates appearing for the RAS Pre Exam can get here the complete details of the Syllabus. So check the subject wise topic details mentioned below-
RAS Pre Syllabus for History of Rajasthan
Leading Personalities of Rajasthan
Important Tourist Places of Rajasthan
Rajasthani Culture and its tradition and Heritage
Religious Movements
Saints and Lokdevtas of Rajasthan
Local Festivals
Folk Music and Folk Dance
Freedom Movement
Political Awakening and Integration
Arts Paintings and Handicrafts
RPSC Pre Syllabus for Indian History – Ancient
Salient Feature and Major Landmarks of Ancient and Medieval India
Arts
Culture
Literature and Architecture
Major Dynasties
Their Administrative System
Socio-Economic Conditions
Prominent Movements
RAS Syllabus for Indian History – Modern Period
Modern Indian History from the 18 Century to present
The freedom struggle and Indian National Movement- its various stage an important contributor and contributions from different parts of the country
Social and religious reform movements in the XIX and XX century
RTS Syllabus for World Geography
Broad Physical Feature
Environmental and Ecological Issues
Wildlife and Bio-Diversity
International Waterways
Major Industrial Regions
RAS Pre Syllabus 2020 Pdf for Indian Geography
Broad Physical Feature and Major Physiography Division
Agriculture and Agro-based activities
Minerals- Iron
Manganese
Coal
Oil and Gas
Atomic Minerals
Major Industries and Industries Development
Major Transportations corridors
Natural Resources
Environmental Problems and Ecological Issues
RPSC Pre Syllabus for Indian Constitution
A government of India Acts: 1919 and 1935
Constituent Assembly
Nature Of Indian Constitution:- Preamble
Fundamental Rights
Directive Principles of State
Fundamental Duties
Federal Structure
Constitution Amendment
Emergency Provisions
Public Interests Litigation (PIL) and Judicial Review
RPSC Pre Syllabus for Indian Polity
Nature of Indian State
Democracy in India
Recognition of State
Coalition Governments
Political Parties and National Integration
Union and State executive and State Legislative
Judiciary
President
Parliament
Supreme Court
Election Commission etc… Public Policy and rights
Political and Administrative System of Rajasthan
RPSC RAS Syllabus for Economy
Basic Knowledge of Budgeting
Banking
Public Finance
National Income
Growth and Development
Subsidies
Public Distribution System
e-Commerce
Accounting- Concept
Tools and Uses in Administration
Fiscal and Monetary Policies
5 year Economy planning another
RAS RTS Syllabus for Science and Technology
Basics of Science Every day
Electronics
Computers
Information and Communication Technology
Space Technology including Satellites
Defense Technology
Human body
Food and Nutrition
Healthcare
Environmental and Ecological Changes and their Impacts
RPSC Syllabus for Reasoning and Mental Ability and Logical Reasoning
Statement and Assumptions
Statement and Argument
Statements and Conclusion
Courses of Action
Analytical Reasoning
RAS Mains Syllabus 2020 Pdf – RAS Mains Exam Pattern
Paper
Subject
Time
Marks
I
General Studies-I
3 Hours
200
II
General Studies-II
3 Hours
200
III
General Studies-III
3 Hours
200
IV
General Hindi and General English
3 Hours
200
The RAS Mains Exam will be descriptive type
There will be 4 Papers in the exam and the total marks for each paper are 200 marks.
The time duration for each paper is 3 Hours.
Get the detailed Scheme of Examination for Rajasthan State and Subordinate Services Combined Competitive (Mains) Exam 2020 – Click Here
Syllabus of RAS Mains Examination 2020
Before appearing for the RAS exam, it is important to check the RAS Syllabus Pdf. If you check the RAS Exam Syllabus, you can prepare well for the exam in a short time. Read the detailed syllabus for RAS Mains Exam below,
RAS Mains Exam Syllabus for Paper – I – General Knowledge and General Studies
Unit-I: History
Part A – Art, History, Culture, Literature, Tradition, and Heritage of Rajasthan.
RPSC Mains Syllabus for Paper – II – General Knowledge and General Studies
Unit-I: Administrative Ethics
Ethics and Human Values
Ethical concept-Rit and Rin, the concept of Duties
Ethics of Bhagavad Geeta and its role in Administration.
Gandhian Ethics etc.
Unit-II: General Science & Technology
Nanotechnology
Nuclear technology
Telecommunication
States of Matter
Allotropes of carbon etc.
Unit-III: Earth Science (Geography & Geology)
Part A – World.
For Part B – India.
Part C – Rajasthan.
RAS Mains Syllabus for Paper – III – General Knowledge and General Studies
Unit-I: Indian Political System, World Politics and Current Affairs
Indian Constitution
Ideological Contents
Political Dynamics
State Politics of Rajasthan
Foreign Policy of India
Current Affairs etc.
Unit-II: Concepts, Issues, and Dynamics of Public Administration and Management
Administration and management
Concepts of power, authority, legitimacy, responsibility, and delegation.
Principles of organization
Functions of management, Corporate governance, and social responsibility
Administrative setup, administrative culture in Rajasthan etc.
Unit-III: Sports and Yoga, Behavior and Law
Part A – Sports Policies of India, Rajasthan State Sports Council, National Awards of Sports etc.
For Part B – Intelligence, Personality, Learning, and Motivation, Meeting Life Challenges
Part C – Concepts of Law, Contemporary Legal issues, Crimes against Women and Children, Important Land Laws in Rajasthan etc.
RPSC RAS Syllabus Pdf for Paper – IV – General Hindi and General English
General Hindi
General English
Part A: Grammar & Usage
Correction of Sentences
Prepositions
Tenses & Sequence of Tenses
Modals
Voice- Active & Passive
Narration- Direct & Indirect etc.
Part B: Comprehension, Translation & Precis Writing
Comprehension of an Unseen Passage
Translation of five sentences from Hindi to English
Precis Writing (a short passage of approximately 150-200 words)
Part C: Composition & Letter Writing
Paragraph Writing
Elaboration of a given theme
Letter Writing or Report Writing
RPSC RAS RTS Exam Preparation Tips
At first, refer the exam pattern for RPSC RAS Exam 2020
Secondly, check the RAS Syllabus
Split the available time accordingly
Cover every topic from each subject before the exam
First concentrate on the topics that you lack
Make a habit of studying 8 hours per day
Revise Previous Papers and attend mock test as well
Direct Link for RAS Exam Syllabus, Test Pattern & Papers
Check the detailed Syllabus of RAS and Exam Pattern here. You can get RAS Syllabus 2020 download links below. Furthermore, you can check the RAS Previous Papers for RPSC exam here.
Rajasthan Public Service Commission R.A.S/R.T.S Combined Mains Syllabus (English)
RGU Result 2019 Declared: Dear Students !!! It’s the right time to check your results from here. Rajiv Gandhi University has declared the results for various Courses, anyone can check the results on the official website. Students can check the RGU Result here. Here we have provided a direct link to download and verify the RGU Result from the below table. The University has published the results of Under Graduate, Post Graduate, Regular, Supplementary Students. Students can check the results from here at any time. Check the complete detail of Rajiv Gandhi University Result on the official website i.e, rgu.ac.in.
Latest RGU UG/PG Exam Results Available Here
Rajiv Gandhi University Result 2019 @ rgu.ac.in
The University has declared the results of some courses. And the results of the remaining courses will be declared very soon by the University and will be uploaded on the website. Students Can Check University Website Regularly for know about RGU Result 2019. Currently, RGU announces the results for UG/PG Semester Examination conducted by Rajiv Gandhi University. Students can check their results from the official website of Rajiv Gandhi University. By using the enrollment number, Students can view their results online. All affiliated colleges students can check results from the Rajiv Gandhi University official web portal. Students can check the below table for the Rajiv Gandhi University Result 2019.
Latest RGU Exam Results 2019
Name of the Exam
Download Link
UG Examination Results
LLB-VI SEM Results (New and Old Course) held in the month of November 2019
MCA VI-BCA VI M.Tech (CSE) IV Psychology IV Social Work IV Economics IV-II Commerce IV-II MBA IV-II M.Phil (AITS) II Diploma in Computerized Accounting II PGDBI II PGD in Tourism Management II PGD Geo-Informatics II Sem
MA Sociology II_IV-Mass Com II_IV-M.ED II_IV –MA Geography II_IV M.Phil (Geography) II –MA Psychology II MA Anthropology II_IV MCA II_IV_VI BCA II_IV MA Political Science II_IV PGDMC II-M.Tech (CSE)_II MA History II Sem
MCA V sem, Physical Education III, Geography III, Mass Comm III, MBA III, Sociology III, Psychology III, Anthropology III, PGD Banking & Insurance I and BCA V semester
Rajiv Gandhi University is Central University, known as Arunachal University, established in 1984, is the oldest university in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Rajiv Gandhi University has been a Central University under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India since 9 April 2007. Rajiv Gandhi University, formerly known as Arunachal University, was established by the state government of Arunachal Pradesh, in 1984. In 2005 the same has been renamed as Rajiv Gandhi University.
RGU Supply/Revaluation Results
Students have a chance to apply for the revaluation, if the students may get low marks in the examination, they can apply for the Revaluation results. So again the head of the Examiner will review the answer paper. After revaluation, students may get high marks. Still, if anyone got low marks, they can apply for the Supplementary Examinations. For Revaluation/Supplementary, students should pay the fee. Students can get all the results from this page Regular, Revaluation and Supplementary Results. Students of the Rajiv Gandhi University can also get all Results Also. Just we are advising the Students to frequently visit this page to get the latest updates of all RGU Revaluation Exam Results 2019.
The IRS offers several ways to avoid the 10% penalty on early retirement distributions. You can borrow money from your 401(k) or withdraw money from your IRA for specific expenses such as tuition or a down payment on a home.
Return on assets (ROA) is a profitability ratio that measures how well a company is generating profits from its total assets, important when investing.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Return on equity (ROE) and return on capital (ROC) are two distinctly different formulas, as one includes only combined profit while the other considers debt.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
EBITDA measures the profitability of a company by stripping out various items from the income statement, but the two formulas can yield different results.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Get the latest information regarding current IRS regulations on how much money can be carried over from one year to the next in a flexible spending account (FSA).
Yes, you can invest in master limited partnerships, or MLPs, through your Roth IRA. But there are some tax consequences you'll want to know about first.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Find & compare best CD rates available to anyone in the US! Check out the highest nationally available rates for each CD term from federally insured banks and credit unions.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Form 8606, "Nondeductible IRAs," is a tax form distributed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and used by filers who make nondeductible contributions to an IRA.
This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
Revenue and operating income have different deductions and credits involved in their calculations and both are essential in analyzing whether a company is performing well.
A field audit is a comprehensive tax audit conducted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at either your home, place of business or accountants office.
About 50% of entrepreneurs suffer from some sort of mental health condition. And it’s really not a surprise, is it? Startups take a toll on your health and your relationships. You’re putting in more hours than you would for a 9-5. The joke is, give up 40-hour workweeks to be your own boss for 60-hours a week. When the world seems against you and your motivation is waning, it’s time to find some inspiration. There are two ways I gain inspiration as an entrepreneur and a runner. I read books and I watch movies. Today we’re going to deal with
You are subscribed to email updates from ShoeMoney. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.
Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States
In September 2018, former Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan had flagged the potential credit risks in schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), popularly known as the Mudra scheme, in a note to federal lawmakers. Rajan may have been the first to highlight this risks, but he is not the only one.Former central bank governor Urjit Patel, in his first public remarks after leaving Mint Road, warned the government in June this year against nudging public sector banks to over lend and pump prime the economy and boost preferred sectors, stating that doing so would lead to higher bad loans and fiscal deficit. He had said in his presentation at Stanford's annual conference on Indian Economic Policy on June 3-4, "The Union Budget usually has announcement of 'credit budgets' on behalf of banks. These are mostly for quasi fiscal reasons, most recently the Mudra scheme for MSMEs."Then in July, Governor Shaktikanta Das in a meeting with state-run bank chiefs had told them about poor credit appraisals and high proportion of non-performing loans in Mudra scheme. But all these warnings seem to have fallen on deaf ears.THE MUDRA SCHEMELaunched in April 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Mudra scheme aims to offers loans up to Rs 10 lakh to small and micro enterprises. Mudra loans have three categories - Shishu, Kishore and Tarun. Shishu covers loans up to Rs 50,000, Kishore covers above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 5 lakh and the Tarun category provides loans of above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh. More than four years since the inception of the scheme, 192.4 million loans amounting to Rs 9.45 lakh crore have been extended to borrowers across the country.The NPAs on Mudra loans by public sector banks, which also included regional rural banks, jumped to Rs 17,250.73 crore as on March 2019. In March 2018, loans worth Rs 7277.32 cr of public sector banks had turned bad. At the end of March 2017, bad loans were at Rs 3,790.35 crore while in March 2016 they were Rs 596.72 crore. 72862319 In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the government had submitted that close to 3% of Rs 6.04 lakh crore worth of loans sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana have turned bad at the end of March 2019.THE NEXT CRISISOwing to the high level of NPAs in this segment, concerns have been raised over Mudra becoming the potential source for the next bad loan crisis. "Mudra is a case in point. While such a massive push would have lifted many beneficiaries out of poverty, there has been some concern at the growing level of non-performing assets among these borrowers," MK Jain, deputy governor of RBI, had said earlier this month. "Banks need to focus on repayment capacity at the appraisal stage and monitor the loans through their life cycle much more closely." Mudra loans are given without collateral. The RBI's worry is also because a committee headed by former Securities and Exchange Board of India chairman UK Sinha suggested doubling the collateral-free loan limit to Rs 20 lakh. The recommendations have not been accepted by the government yet, but if accepted, they may add to the trouble."There is worry that this could become a systemic risk as most state-run banks have nearly 10% delinquency on this portfolio, which is too high for comfort," said Kuntal Sur, financial services partner, PwC. "Look at the microfinance sector which is largely driven by NBFC-MFI and small-finance banks; their NPAs are less than 50 bps, and if this mass-scale portfolio can do well, why can't banks do a better job with Mudra loans?"LOANS IN SECONDSIndustry participants believe that schemes like the 59-minute loans, and poor choice of borrowers by public sector counterparts have brought the banking industry to its present mess. Unlike an MFI loan, in which the borrower is even physically known to the local service providers, a pure digital product may be a poor choice in such small-ticket loans.Analysis by CARE Ratings showed that public sector banks performed dismally as compared with their private peers when it came to priority sector loan portfolio performance analysis. At the end of FY19, in the agriculture sector, PSBs recorded 11.36% loans going bad while the number was much lower at 3.78% for private lenders. For the industry loans falling under the priority sector, state-run banks' bad loan ratio was at 16.45% versus 1.5% in private peers. In priority services sector loans, PSBs recorded NPAs at 10.57% versus 1.56% of private peers.This begs the question: Why can't PSUs perform on a par with private peers? "Look, there are 30-second loans as well, look at the way the bank which is offering that loan manages its risk," said Romesh Sobti, MD, IndusInd Bank. "Nothing is inherently wrong in the time taken to disburse a loan; you can take one month and have a bad debt. What is being implied is: Was there pressure? Your underwriting practices cannot succumb to pressure. We also have a big Mudra loan book, our delinquency levels are well under control, your underwriting practices have to be robust." IndusInd Bank has more than Rs 13,000 crore as Mudra loans with a delinquency of 1.3%.In the light of recent concerns over asset quality, there is no significant risk in the near term because in terms of individual exposure, Mudra disbursals have been in the range of 0.5-2% of outstanding loans of banks, Bank of America wrote in a report. In spite of the size and type of loans, Mudra NPAs so far have remained moderate at 2.86% (FY19), while for individual banks, Mudra NPAs as percentage of total bank loans remain range-bound within 0.1-0.4%. However, given the size and depth of penetration of these loans, it would be imperative to watch them with caution, as this segment could potentially be the most vulnerable to macro uncertainties, it added.POOR UNDERWRITINGEven in the past, push by the government, indiscriminate lending, poor underwriting standards and need to meet targets have led to banks taking poor commercial decisions. "Most of the private sector banks look at their portfolio and see who qualifies for Mudra and can they satisfy the requirements laid down for Mudra loans, rather than the desk giving out Mudra loans," Amitabh Chaudhry, MD, Axis Bank, had said in an interview to ET. "I don't think private sector banks are having trouble with Mudra loans. If you have better underwriting, you won't face such problems." Axis Bank has a Mudra loan portfolio of about `5,500 crore with a delinquency of 60 bps. But state-run banks feel that apart from strong credit disbursal standards, timely rollover of receivables and the state of the SME business are also key factors."If we take care at the stage of the identification of the borrower, I don't see that the space will throw up unusually high bad debt. If payment from large public and private sector entities flows through, if these payment delays are curtailed, the issues of the borrowers could be easily sorted," says Karnam Sekar, MD, Indian Overseas Bank. "If the receivables, which are expected to come in 30-90 days come in 200-270 days, it has a huge carrying cost; that is the main problem."THE RUSH TO MEET TARGETSAs per data available with the Ministry of Finance, at the end of FY19, a total of Rs 3.11 lakh crore was disbursed under the Mudra scheme. While Rs 1.3 lakh crore was disbursed under the Shishu scheme, Rs 99,868 crore was given under the Kishore scheme and Rs 72,291 crore under the Tarun scheme. At the end of FY18, the total disbursal under the scheme was Rs 2.4 lakh crore, while for FY17, it was Rs 1.75 lakh crore. In the last three fiscal years, the total amount disbursed under the scheme has been Rs 7.33 lakh crore. The Centre had set annual credit targets for the banking industry under the scheme."The government should focus on sources of the next crisis, not just the last one," Raghuram Rajan had written in his note to the parliamentary committee. "In particular, the government should refrain from setting ambitious credit targets or waiving loans. Credit targets are sometimes achieved by abandoning appropriate due diligence, creating the environment for future NPAs. Both Mudra loans and the Kisan Credit Card, while popular, have to be examined more closely for potential credit risks."Recently, the government launched loan melas with much fanfare to boost consumption in a slowing economy. Industry participants believe that just because the government is issuing targets, it doesn't mean the industry should build a pile of bad loans. "In every part of our activity there are targets, several times these are self-imposed; targetless banking never happens," says Sobti. "You will have to work on a target that you want to grow your book by this much, but keep your delinquency under control. Targets are not an issue; how you achieve them become an issue. If you indulge in malpractices to achieve those, then it is going to lead to trouble."
MUMBAI: A boost for the real estate sector, rationalisation of tax rates on lotteries, making refunds seamless for exporters — these topics are set to dominate Wednesday's Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting, according to people with knowledge of the matter and the agenda for the meeting.The government is looking to balance revenue collections between states and the Centre besides ironing out problems faced by a few industries, the people said. The government is also contemplating a temporary cess of 2% on certain goods, especially those falling in the 5% and 18% slabs, to make up for the revenue shortfall.The GST Council may clarify rates on long-term leases, exempting those of 30 years or more if provided by a state, or if the central government has a stake of at least 20%. If approved, this will benefit manufacturing, realty and hospitality companies, experts said. Several companies had taken the government to court over 18% GST on long-term lease transactions. A GST rate of 5% will be levied on long-term leases if the plot is owned by a private individual, according to the GST agenda note, which ET has seen. 72862026 Incentives to Set up PlantExempting long-term land leases for setting up industrial units could help encourage investment in manufacturing, industry trackers said.The government is also set to rationalise GST rates for lotteries, which currently contend with two different rates. Those run by state governments attract 12% GST while those authorised by them and sold outside the state are taxed at 28%.Lotteries are sin/demerit goods and should be taxed at high rate of GST, at either 28% or 18%, the agenda note read."In addition to the divergent rates on state lotteries and state-authorised lotteries which need to be harmonised, it is also necessary to determine the appropriate valuation mechanism to tax lotteries," said MS Mani, partner, Deloitte India. "This issue acquires urgency considering the fact that the writ petition filed in the Supreme Court, which was adjourned earlier to enable submissions, is slated to come up in early January 2020."The government is pushing for single-window clearance for all exporter refunds and disbursals, said the persons cited above. Currently, exporters have to approach two different authorities for refunds, which often creates pressure on their cash flows."There were issues that were raised by the industry around delays in refunds and there was no way the Centre could monitor allocation of refunds or whether they are being generated as per the requirement," said Suresh Nandlal Rohira, an independent GST expert. "The Centre will now be able to monitor refunds for exporters and can even sanction ones that are being held back by the state authorities due to various reasons.The government may look at implementing additional surcharges over the present GST slabs to prop up tax collections and divide revenues equally between Centre and state through SGST and CGST, said the people cited above. This however has not been mentioned in the agenda document."There have been a lot of discussions with several state authorities and this could be a way to address the revenue collection shortfall," said a person advising two state governments on the matter."The government could levy 2% cess so the 5% GST will become 7%, while 18% would become 20%, for some time."
NEW DELHI: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said a reduction in personal income tax could wait while the government fixes bigger issues related to non-banking finance companies, infrastructure and credit flow to micro, small and medium enterprises to help the country come out of the downturn."We are facing challenging headwinds in the economy and everyone acknowledges that. But the current environment where the government is willing to listen to the industry is very encouraging," CII president Vikram Kirloskar said during an interaction with ET.The government must focus on increasing infrastructure spending for growth to pick up, and it is one of the key areas for the industry to remain bullish about India's growth story, he said. "I think they (the government) want to remove the knots in the game," Kirloskar said, hailing the government's approach to listen to suggestions from stakeholders. 72860049 He added that at the industry's customary meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, CII talked about lowering taxation on equity capital. "We did not talk about personal income taxes. It's a wrong time, I think, to talk about personal income tax. I think it (the government) should focus on some of the more important issues right now."He said the automobile and capital goods industries were in bad shape, but the technology sector was taking off. "About telecom, we need three-four strong competitors in the sector and the government should relook at how they can take care of that," Kirloskar said.He said that the auto sector has been worst hit by the slowdown this year and nobody could hazard a guess when things would pick up. Difficulty in getting retail loans and the impending shift in fuel norms from BS-IV to BS-VI from April have added to the woes of the industry, Kirloskar said. "I think increase in axle load and increase in efficiency of transport after GST have both contributed to the truck sales coming down."Referring to the voluntary vehicle scrappage policy, Kirloskar suggested the need to find a way to incentivise car owners to scrap their vehicles early. He said that while the government was not in a position to incentivise, the auto industry too could not roll out freebies. "The auto industry barely makes any profit now. No industry can develop new products and invest in infrastructure unless they are making profit."The CII chief strongly voiced against India signing any free trade agreement that compromises the interests of the country. "We should be firm on what our FTA requirement is. If we don't get them, if it doesn't take care of India's issues, (then we) shouldn't do it, but look at the countries where there is an export potential. The US and Europe are the main ones," he said.
WASHINGTON: Infosys, India's top IT major, has agreed to pay USD 800,000 to settle allegations of misclassification of foreign workers and tax fraud, officials announced Tuesday.Infosys will pay California USD 800,000 to resolve allegations that between 2006 and 2017, approximately 500 Infosys employees were working in the State on Infosys-sponsored B-1 visas rather than H-1B visas, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said.This misclassification resulted in Infosys avoiding California payroll taxes such as the unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and employment training taxes.H-1B visas also require employers to pay workers at the local prevailing wage, an official statement said."Today's settlement shows that attempting to evade California law doesn't pay. Infosys brought in workers on the wrong visas in order to underpay them and avoid paying taxes. With this settlement, California has been made whole," Becca said.In the settlement, Infosys, however, denied the allegations and asserted of no wrongdoings.In 2017, Infosys had agreed to pay the State of New York USD 1 million to settle allegations of submitting wrong documents to federal authorities.The Californian settlement that was carried out in November was released to the media on Tuesday.California initiated legal actions against Infosys after a compliant was filed by whistleblower Jack "Jay" Palmer, a former Infosys employee.Palmer has sued the Indian company in 2017.
NEW DELHI: IIM-Kozhikode will start a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) program in Liberal Studies and Management next year, in what is perhaps a first among the country's premier management schools. The full-time two-year management course will give students a grounding in subjects like philosophy, economics, literature and sociology, said IIM-K director Debashis Chatterjee. The program, which will start in June next year, will accept 20-25 students in its first batch. "The world is changing very quickly… it requires people to decode culture and technology. Data needs to be made sense of," said Chatterjee. The program would merge the job-worthiness of an MBA program with the academic rigour of a master's degree at a university, the director said. "What is expected from managers in the market is now changing," said Narayanan Ramaswami, partner and head (education and skill development), KPMG India. The market needs managers who can bring in the "softer" elements of management - like how to work with machines and people together, stress management, etc. Earlier, managers needed to extract efficiency from their teams, but now there are machines to do ultra-efficient tasks. Ramaswami said such courses are bound to be developed, and, in fact, "a dose of liberal arts" is needed in all MBA courses. Instead of just teaching tools and techniques, the program would aim to teach students how to think. It will equip students to think critically and deconstruct data by orienting them in history, philosophy and sociology. "We want a synthesis of pure academic knowledge and its application in industry," he said. There were "murmurs in the market" that people with specialised skills who can think out of the box are needed, he said. The institute was aiming to be "future-ready" by developing fresh talent that the market had not yet explicitly asked for, but will in future, Chatterjee said. Clearing the Common Admission Test, or CAT, or GMAT will be one of the eligibility criteria for the course, but with other selection criteria being different from regular MBA programs. IIM-K will also introduce an MSc program in finance in 2020. Chatterjee said current MBA programmes are not in-depth enough, and the institute wanted to "create a classical banking and financial brain" in students through the program. This, too, would be a two-year program with a small cohort. The director said the the curriculum for both courses has already been decided, with international consultations. The institute has already started recruiting faculty for both courses, with ex-faculty from Oxford, Visva Bharati University and other universities from the United States being roped in. KPMG's Ramaswami said that the finance element of banking had now become important, and very few universities offered banking-led courses. He said more banking curriculum needed to be introduced in commerce courses as well.
MUMBAI: The Aviation Ministry and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday informed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that they will positively consider any concrete business plan for the grounded Jet Airways.The counsel representing the Ministry told the tribunal that it will examine the issue if Jet Airways prospective investors come up with a concrete business plan.He further said that slots are perishable assets and it cannot be utilized by other airlines.The deadline for applying for the next round of airport slots is January 15.Airport slots, the permit for arrival and departure at an airport, play an important role for potential bidders to value the grounded airline.The Ministry further said that two new foreign investors have shown very early interest for the grounded airline besides South Americas Synergy Group, which is the sole company to have shown interest in Jet Airways till now.Earlier on December 11, the tribunal comprising Bhaskara Pantula Mohan and Rajesh Sharma had asked senior officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry and DGCA to depute responsible officials for Tuesday hearing.The Tribunal had once again directed the regulator DGCA and the aviation ministry to give clarity on the available Jet Airways slots.The NCLT will hear the Synergy Group on Thursday about the companys clarifications on its stand on the airport slots.After Jet Airways went bust in mid-April, the government temporarily allotted the hundreds of slots owned by Jet to other carriers, with an apparent bid to contain soaring airfares in the peak holiday season.The slots were first allotted to other airlines (mostly Spicejet) for three months, which was extended to December-end. The counsel of the grounded airline said the lack of clarity on the slots has resulted in a 'chicken and egg' situation for South America's Synergy Group.Synergy Group sought more clarity on slots before submitting a resolution plan. The last date for submitting a resolution plan is December 16.On previous occasions, too, NCLT had sought details of Jet Airways slots. The DGCA had initially sought two weeks to provide clarity on the slots available but has not done so even after months.Ashish Chhawchharia, the RP, sought to include DGCA and ministry as parties to the ongoing resolution process. "Synergy Group, which owns several airlines in South America is conducting due diligence and they are the only serious bidder, and are constantly in touch with us and seeking more time to evaluate their options," Chhawchharia had informed the tribunal.Since the schedule for winter slots were gone and slots for the summer season to be declared on January 15, NCLT had asked the authorities to provide clarity on slots. The lenders, who had been owning the airline since March 25 with 51 per cent stake, had on June 17 sent the airline for bankruptcy, and could not find a buyer so far.The airline owes over Rs 8,500 crore to a consortium of 26 banks led by State Bank, and over Rs 13,000 crore to the tens of hundreds of vendors and around 23,000-odd employees.
The key issue for Indian markets is that earnings are at least 50% of what they should be as sectors like telecom, state-owned lenders, infrastructure and real estate companies are in depressed condition, said Raamdeo Agrawal, chairman, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. In an interview with Nishanth Vasudevan and Sanam Mirchandani, Agrawal spoke about various issues and themes in the market. Edited excerpts:Markets are at record highs, while the economy is not doing well. What is your reading?The PE (price to earnings) ratio is very high but price-to-book is 3. Marketcap to GDP is about 273%, so that is also okay. The problem is that earnings are half of what they should be because lot of the sectors are under stress. Telecom, PSU banks, infrastructure and real estate companies are in depressed condition. They are contributing to the sales or to the GDP, but they are not making money.Industrial production continues to slump while inflation is seeing a pick-up...It's a cyclical downturn. The government took a long time to really understand the economy is devoid of money. I'm getting to hear now that liquidity is better. The real disaster will be in February if the government says it wants to take fiscal deficit to 4%. The government is on one side doing whatever it takes to take care of the stress; but on the other, business stress is happening because of delay in government payments. It will take about six-seven months more for the economy to turn around. My sense is they have kept the economy too dry for too long.What is your key takeaway from the latest wealth creation study?We are passing through a lot of issues about the quality of managements. High-quality management has three factors — competence, energy and integrity. The books of accounts are reflections of the person who is running it. Is he a neutral guy or aggressive? Is he a conservative guy or outright fraudulent? That we can figure out from the quality of book he maintains.How can investors measure management integrity?You must go with a forensic mindset. The growth mania or unreasonable growth ambition leads to this kind of things. Satyam was a nice, small company from Hyderabad. If you are making Rs 100 crore- Rs 200 crore it is fine. But they wanted to to get into the league of Infosys. The books will give you a hint, whether the management is doing aggressive accounting or conservative. Aggression doesn't know limits. The most preferred thing is neutral, and if it is conservative, even better. Among the banks, Kotak Mahindra Bank would be doing one of the most conservative audit. Management integrity is a mental makeup. For example, if you go and ask about D-Mart, everybody will say they pay like one day before. They have the lowest creditor days — 8 days. Basically, integrity is known only in bad times. In good times, everybody is a hero. Did the Manpasand Beverages fraud help you?They have followed the standard practice of manipulating the books and they have accepted in their own audited numbers. It was done so well, with so much of mastery, that even Deloitte, which was auditing, came to know only at the end. There is the cost of doing fudging, because what happens is the moment you show the profit, then fools like us give 20-40 PE and raise the price. So, the reward of successful fudging is far higher than cost of fudging.Reliance is at the top of your list of wealth creators. How long will the run continue?Reliance is a unique case in terms of accounting and other things. It has highest aggregate profit in the last five years, but lowest free cash flow. They have bet the last five years of cash flow in Jio. Now what happens to Jio will decide what happens to the operations of telecom.Does the debt at Reliance worry you?The lack of free cash flow must be a matter of concern. That's why they have capital raising plans with Aramco deal etc. So, capex has slowed down. Clearly, they are aware of the situation and now telecom turnaround is also visible. Maybe this is the start of the entire corporate profit turnaround process, it all depends on how things pan out. Telecom would be very low profitability capex for them so far, but other players are on the verge of bankruptcy. Now they have raised 40% tariffs which would mean a very profitable venture.Banks have been the biggest value creators, they have the highest weightage on both the indices. How long can this dominance last?The banking opportunity is very large, and of that about 60% is PSU banks. This dominance of banks will continue and give birth to very large banks in India.The biggest bank in the country, SBI, has never figured in your wealth creation...They have a monopolistic position. They have a good depth of talent. Somewhere along the line in the 2003-2008 boom, maybe later, the lending book went haywire. So, they have had major NPAs from the power and steel sectors. This clean-up has taken away all the profits. Markets don't like this kind of a loss in the P&L.What is your outlook for insurance companies?They will be the major wealth creators. HDFC Life is a lakh crore right now. In 10 years, it will be a ?15 lakh crore company. The largest company must grow at about 15% to maintain number one position. Reliance, which is the largest company at about ?10 lakh crore, has to be at least ?16 lakh crore in five years. I am reasonably sure that in 2025 the largest company will have marketcap of above ?20 lakh crore. If you ask me today there are three contenders — HDFC Bank, TCS and Reliance — for the top position.
Mutual fund penetration in India is just a quarter of the global average, but valuations of Indian asset management companies are outpacing global peers by a wide margin. HDFC AMC and Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (Nippon Life), the listed AMCs in India, trade at a trailing multiple of 71 and 44, respectively, making them the most expensive asset management companies (AMCs) compared with the average P/E of 19.6 for global AMCs according to Bloomberg data.The two Indian AMC stocks have earned more than 100 per cent return in 2019 so far — the best performances among the BSE 500 companies and globally listed AMCs.Despite a cut in the expense ratio, Indian listed mutual fund companies have been able to report higher profitability given their rising geographical presence and a sustained flow from retail investors through systematic investment plans (SIP). The asset under management of the domestic mutual funds grew 25 per cent annually in the past five years, the second-best in the world after China.The domestic SIP book grew to Rs 8,273 crore in November 2019 compared with Rs 3,884 crore three years ago, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). Besides, the profitability of AMCs — measured as profit before tax relative to AUMs — has improved. The ratio for HDFC AMC and Reliance Nippon Life rose by 8 basis points (bps) and 4 bps to 41 and 26 bps, respectively, in the September 2019 quarter.72861948 The scope of improvement in the penetration also looks attractive. Indian mutual funds' total assets under management was 11 per cent of the GDP compared with the global average of 55 per cent.72861951 India's share of global GDP and Market Cap is in excess of 3 per cent though its share in mutual fund assets is only 0.7 per cent. Rising valuations of Indian AMCs may, however, make investors cautious. According to JM Financial, the current valuations of HDFC AMC and Reliance Nippon imply an aggressive expected annual growth of 26 per cent and 18 per cent in AUM over the next 10 years.
PUNE: Countries in Europe, including Finland, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom, are rolling out the red carpet for Indian technology talent and India-based IT firms, amid protectionist moves by the US to stem the number of specialised category visas issued to Indian software companies.Traditionally, Indian tech firms and engineering talent have looked to the US, the biggest market for technology and tech services.A crackdown on H-1B visas over the past two years has, however, resulted in a sharp spike in rejections and made Indian companies realign their strategies, whether in hiring more people locally or setting up centres elsewhere. Indian companies have also found it hard to source highly skilled labour locally. That has made Europe look more attractive.Finland, for instance, is offering an ecosystem of leading technology firms and 6G connectivity, which has attracted companies such as Tech Mahindra and Wipro in the past few months. It has also put in place regulations within the EU framework, making it easier to attract and retain skilled workers."There is a shortage of tech talent, especially programmers. India is important and the only country to have a dedicated program manager for the talent pool programme," said Jukka Holappa, Country Manager India, Business Finland.Similarly, Germany —a hub for skilled tech talent traditionally — has put in place a new immigration law to facilitate more tech workers to come in.Already, a quarter of workers in Germany who have an EU Blue Card (a residence permit) are from India."The immigration law is built around recognition of degrees and most of the Indian academic degrees are fairly well recognised," said Isabell Jenninger, head – DUALpro and ProRecognition, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce.In the last few years, there has been a clear shift in how candidates view Europe, said Narcis Milasinovic, CEO, InSource Group, a global HR and IT services firm."Engagement in EU was for many just a kind of "springboard", a necessary step in the direction of their final goal… the US. But things changed," he said.Over the past few months, there has been a move away from insourcing knowledge migrants by large corporations to medium and small size firms, which were traditionally skeptical towards international candidates. This may be another factor why these countries have become more vocal about attracting candidates, especially from India.
US opposes lifting key sanctions against North Korea The six-party talks involving North Korea, South Korea, US, China, Russia and Japan began in 2003 and led Pyongyang to accept a deal in September 2005 to end its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for security, economic and energy benefits.
Corporate tax cut effect? Indices defy growth blues, hit new highs Benchmark Indices touched yet another record high on Tuesday as the rally in quality stocks continued despite weaker economic growth.
Jet Airways: Two more interested in boarding stressed airline Two more entities have expressed early interest in Jet Airways, the company's resolution professional, Ashish Chhawchharia, told the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday.
Big relief for Airtel, Vodafone Idea! Zero-IUC regime put off for a year While reducing the termination rate by a massive 57% to 6 paise per minute in September 2017, Trai had said that from January 2020 operators would move to a regime of zero rate.
Jaypee Infra insolvency: Lenders approve NBCC bid to acquire bankrupt developer Homebuyers and bankers of Jaypee Infratech have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the state-run NBCC's bid to acquire the bankrupt real estate developer.
Citizenship Act: Don't be used by 'urban Naxals', Modi to protesting students Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday dared the party and its allies to publicly declare they would give Indian citizenship to all Pakistanis.
![Bharathiar University Results 2019 [Declared] Download CPP, BU CCII, M.Phil/Ph.D & Other Results](https://www.b-u.ac.in/assets/images/mn.gif "sarkariresult")
School of Distance Education May 2019 Examinations – Revaluation Results![Savitribai Phule Pune University Result 2019 [Out] | Get Online UG/PG Regular & Revaluation Results](https://www.recruitment.guru/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/hand-image.gif "sarkariresult"){kind=small}
LLB-VI SEM Results (New and Old Course) held in the month of November 2019
