Intelligence Committee members can review impeachment report on Monday

The House Intelligence Committee is expected to allow members to review the committee's impeachment report Monday ahead of a vote scheduled on Tuesday to approve the report, which details the committee's findings from the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump and Ukraine, according to a source familiar with the matter.

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गडचिरोलीत चकमक; २ माओवादी ठार, ५ जखमी

माओवाद्यांनी पीपल्स गुरिल्ला आर्मीचा विशेष सप्ताह २ डिसेंबरपासून पुकारला आहे. यादरम्यान मोठी घटना घडवून आणण्यासाठी महाराष्ट्र-छत्तीसगड सीमेवर कवडेच्या जंगलात ७०हून अधिक माओवाद्यांना प्रशिक्षण देण्याचा डाव जवानांनी उधळून लावला. चकमकीत दोन माओवादी ठार तर पाच जखमी झाले.

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गोवा सरकार पाडापाडीत सहभाग नाही: काँग्रेस

गोव्यात विरोधी पक्षाची आघाडी करण्याचा इरादा शिवसेनेचे खासदार संजय राऊत यांनी वर्तविला असला, तरी कॉँग्रेसने मात्र त्यास नकार दिला आहे. भारतीय जनता पक्षाचे गोव्यातील सरकार उलथवून टाकण्यासाठी होणाऱ्या कोणत्याही आघाडीत सहभागी होणार नाही, असे काँग्रेसचे प्रदेशाध्यक्ष गिरीश चोडणकर यांनी स्पष्ट केले आहे.

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9 killed, 3 injured in South Dakota plane crash, authorities say

Nine people were killed and three others injured Saturday afternoon after a plane crashed in southern South Dakota, authorities said.

श्वान पथकातील 'मॅक्स'ला गोल्ड; 'गुगल'ला कांस्य

​​पुणे येथे सुरू असलेल्या राज्य पोलिस कर्तव्य मेळाव्यात शहर पोलिस दलाच्या श्वान पथकाचा बोलबाला राहिला. श्वान पथकातील मॅक्स गोल्डचा तर गुगल कांस्य पदकाचा मानकरी ठरला. राज्यभरातील ५० हून अधिक श्वानांमध्ये मॅक्स आणि गुगलने ही कामगिरी केली असून, पदक प्राप्त करण्याचे मॅक्सचे हे तिसरे वर्ष ठरले.

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Catholic diocese denies gay judge communion

A church in Michigan denied Holy Communion to a state district court judge because she is married to a woman.

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धक्कादायक! पिंपरीत दिवसाआड एक बलात्कार

उद्योगनगरी पिंपरी-चिंचवडमध्ये सरासरी दिवसाआड एक महिला बलात्काराची शिकार होत आहे; तर दररोज एका महिलेचा विनयभंग होत असल्याची धक्कादायक आकडेवारी समोर आली आहे.

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पुण्यात आता हेअर कटिंग, दाढी करणे महागले

जीवनावश्यक वस्तूंसोबत सलूजीवनावश्यक वस्तूंसोबत सलून साहित्याचे दर वाढल्यामुळे कटिंगच्या दरात २० रुपये, तर दाढीच्या दरात १० रुपये दरवाढ करण्याचा निर्णय़ महाराष्ट्र नाभिक महामंडळाने घेतला असून, त्याची अंमलबजावणी पुणे शहरात १ जानेवारी २०२० पासून करण्यात येणार आहे.

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मोबाइलवरून भांडण; पत्नीचा पतीला चावा

पतीनं मोबाइल हिसकावण्याचा प्रयत्न केला असता, तो परत मिळवण्यासाठी पत्नीनं त्याच्या हाताला चावा घेतल्याचा प्रकार कल्याणमध्ये घडला आहे. या प्रकरणी पत्नीविरोधात पोलिसांत तक्रार केली आहे. पोलिसांनी या महिलेवर गुन्हा दाखल केला आहे.

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जापान में 90% से ज्यादा फोन है वाटरप्रूफ, जानिए टेक से जुड 8 मजेदार फैक्ट्स

आप दिन में कई घंटे मोबाइल पर उंगलियां घूमाते हुए बिता देते होंगे लेकिन क्या जानते हैं कि मोबाइल पर टॉयलेट हैंडल से 18 गुना ज्यादा बैक्टीरिया मौजूद होते हैं. आइए जानिए ऐसे ही चौंकाने वाले फैक्ट्स के बारे में.

from Latest News मोबाइल-टेक News18 हिंदी https://ift.tt/33CuInM

WhatsApp पर एक साथ 4 लोगों को Video Call करना है आसान, जानें पूरा तरीका

जानें वॉट्सऐप की ग्रुप ऑडियो कॉल और ग्रुप वीडियो कॉल कैसे किया जाता है, और इसमें कितने लोगों को ऐड किया जा सकते हैं. यहां जानें सबकुछ...

from Latest News मोबाइल-टेक News18 हिंदी https://ift.tt/2P66Kw2

वेब सीरीज़ देखने वालों के लिए बुरी खबर! आज से इन डिवाइस में नहीं चलेगा Netflix

नेटफ्लिक्स (Netflix) 1 दिसंबर यानी कि आज से कुछ डिवाइस पर इस्तेमाल नहीं किया जा सकेगा...

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Movie theater evacuates after a package of 'highly contagious' urine samples is delivered to wrong address

A Friday night at the movies ended abruptly when urine samples labeled "highly contagious" were delivered to the wrong address.

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मंत्रिपद कुणाला?, राष्ट्रवादीत चुरस; 'या' नेत्यांमध्ये रस्सीखेच

राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेसला उपमुख्यमंत्रिपद मिळणार असून, त्याबाबतचा निर्णय नागपूरचे हिवाळी अधिवेशन संपुष्टात आल्यानंतर म्हणजे २२ डिसेंबरनंतर पक्षश्रेष्ठी घेतील, असे संकेत राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेसचे नेते प्रफुल पटेल यांनी शनिवारी दिले आहेत.

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'या' कारणामुळं ठाणे मेट्रोचे काम तूर्तास बंद

वडाळा-घाटकोपर-ठाणे-कासारवडवली या मेट्रो-४साठी वृक्षतोड व पुनर्रोपण करण्यावर असलेली स्थगिती उच्च न्यायालयाने उठवली असली तरी स्थानिकांच्या विरोधामुळे काम ठप्प आहे.

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North Carolina woman accused of shooting, killing daughter on Thanksgiving, police say

A North Carolina family’s Thanksgiving ended in violence after a mother shot and killed her adult daughter, according to local police.

After another K-pop death, the spotlight is returning to the industry's pressures

In an industry where stars face immense pressure to portray themselves as the immaculate image of happiness, K-pop duo Goo Hara and Sulli appeared to be different.

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After another K-pop death, the spotlight returns to pressures of an industry built on perfection

In an industry where stars face immense pressure to portray themselves as the immaculate image of happiness, K-pop duo Goo Hara and Sulli appeared to be different.

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Newsweek fires reporter after publishing mistakes in story about Trump's Thanksgiving plans: report

Newsweek reportedly fired the writer behind a story on President Trump's Thanksgiving plans, as it omitted the fact that he would visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- something the White House initially tried to hide from the press.

Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky endorses Elizabeth Warren for president

Illinois Democrat Rep. Jan Schakowsky on Saturday endorsed Sen. Elizabeth Warren's 2020 Democratic presidential bid.

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मुंबईत एचआयव्ही रुग्णांची संख्या घटली!

दोन दशकांपूर्वी एचआयव्हीबद्दल सर्वसामान्य माणसांच्या मनामध्ये भीती होती. लाज, संकोच आणि सामाजिक बहिष्कृतीच्या भीतीने निदान चाचण्यांसाठीही पुढाकार घेतला जात नव्हता. मात्र या आजाराबद्दल सातत्याने केल्या जात असलेल्या जनजागृतीमुळे एचआयव्हीचा संसर्ग कमी झाला आहे.

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Florida high school first in world to use synthetic frogs for dissection

J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey is the first school in the world to replace the guts and gore associated with cutting open the slimy amphibians -- with man-made, synthetic, frogs used for dissection labs.

ठाकरेंनी 'विश्वास' जिंकला; आज विधानसभाध्यक्ष ठरणार

गेल्या महिनाभरातील नाट्यमय राजकीय घडामोडीनंतर राज्यात सत्तेवर आलेल्या शिवसेना, राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेस व काँग्रेसच्या महाविकास आघाडी सरकारने शनिवारी विश्वासदर्शक ठराव बहुमताने जिंकला. मुख्यमंत्री उद्धव ठाकरे यांच्या सरकारला १६९ आमदारांचे समर्थन असल्याचेही याद्वारे स्पष्ट झाले.

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London Bridge terror attack suspect was ex-convict Usman Khan, 28: police

London police have identified the suspect who wore a fake explosive vest in the stabbing attack Friday that left two dead and three others injured as 28-year-old Usman Khan, an ex-convict who was shot and killed by police on the London Bridge.

चेंबूरमधील आत्महत्या प्रकरणात पोलिसांना नोटीस

'आमच्या अल्पवयीन मुलीचे अपहरण केलेले असूनही पोलिसांकडून तिचा शोध घेण्यात येत नाही,' असा आरोप करत पंचराम रिठाडिया यांनी आत्महत्या केल्याच्या चेंबूर ठक्कर बाप्पा कॉलनीतील प्रकरणात मुंबई उच्च न्यायालयाने कुर्ला नेहरू नगर पोलिस ठाण्याच्या पोलिसांना तसेच मुंबई पोलिस आयुक्तांना नुकतीच नोटीस जारी केली आहे. तसेच यासंदर्भात २ डिसेंबरपर्यंत उत्तर मागितले आहे.

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'स्वत:च्या आमदारांवर अजूनही अविश्वास का?'

राज्यातील शिवसेना, काँग्रेस आणि राष्ट्रवादी यांच्या महाराष्ट्र विकास आघाडी सरकारच्या पहिल्या मंत्रिमंडळ बैठकीत अडचणीत असलेल्या शेतकऱ्यांना मदत देण्यावर चर्चा करण्याऐवजी लपूनछपून बहुमत कसे सिद्ध करता येईल, यावर चर्चा करण्यात नव्या सरकारने धन्यता मानली. मग बहुमताचे दावे कशासाठी, असा सवाल माजी मुख्यमंत्री देवेंद्र फडणवीस यांनी शुक्रवारी केला.

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Victor David Hanson: Dems trying to impeach Trump over 'thought crimes,' but have 'nothing'

Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Victor David Hanson accused Democrats Friday of trying to impeach President Trump over "thought crimes," saying the president did nothing illegal.

मुंबई: महापौरांनी कौटुंबिक गाडी नाकारली

गरीब रुग्णांना महापौर निधीतून अधिकाधिक मदत उपलब्ध करून देण्याचा आपला प्रयत्न राहणार असून त्यासाठी आपल्याला देण्यात येणारी कौटुंबिक गाडी आपण घेणार नसल्याची माहिती महापौर किशोरी पेडणेकर यांनी शुक्रवारी दिली. या गाडीपोटी वाचणारा पैसा महापौर निधीसाठी देण्यात यावा, असा आग्रह आपण पालिका आयुक्त प्रवीण परदेशी यांच्याकडे धरणार असल्याचे महापौरांनी सांगितले.

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Controversial Police Encounters Fast Facts

Read CNN's Fast Facts to learn more about controversial police encounters.

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मध्य, हार्बर मार्गांवर उद्या 'असा' आहे मेगाब्लॉक

कल्याण ते ठाणे जलद मार्गावर आणि वडाळा रोड ते वाशी दरम्यान मध्य रेल्वेने रविवारी ब्लॉक घोषित केला आहे. ब्लॉकमुळे मध्य रेल्वेवरील लोकल आणि पश्चिम रेल्वेवरील मेल-एक्स्प्रेस सुमारे १५ मिनिटे विलंबाने धावतील. पश्चिम रेल्वेवर वसई रोड ते वैतरणा दरम्यान शनिवार-रविवारी रात्रकालीन ब्लॉक आहे. यामुळे पश्चिम रेल्वेवर रविवारी दिवसा कोणताही ब्लॉक घेण्यात येणार नाही.

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London terrorist attack brings home a chilling reality

The terrorist attack in London on Friday -- in which two people were killed by what appears to be a lone suspect, according to British authorities -- is bound to raise questions about the UK Home Office's decision earlier this month to lower the terrorism threat level from "severe" to "substantial," the lowest point since August 2014.

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Louis C.K. to Israeli audience: ‘I’d rather be in Auschwitz than NYC’

Disgraced comic Louis C.K. made a Holocaust joke — to an Israeli audience in Tel Aviv.

सीएमओ महाराष्ट्र ट्वीटर हँडलचे छायाचित्र बदलले

मुख्यमंत्री कार्यालायचे अधिकृत ट्विटर हॅन्डल असणाऱ्या 'सीएमओ महाराष्ट्र' या ट्विटर हॅन्डलचे प्रोफाइल छायाचित्र बदलण्यात आले आहे. याआधीचे मुख्यमंत्री देवेंद्र फडणवीस यांचे छायाचित्र यावर होते, मात्र आता तिथे मंत्रालयाच्या इमारतीचे छायाचित्र प्रोफाइल छायाचित्र म्हणून ठेवण्यात आले आहे.

from The Maharashtratimes https://ift.tt/2qXqee5

केईएम हॉस्पिटलमध्ये भासतेय पिशव्यांची टंचाई

केईएम रुग्णालयामध्ये मांजरीने मृत मानवी भ्रूण खाल्ल्याचा धक्कादायक प्रकार उघडकीस आल्यानंतर रुग्णालयामधील जैववैद्यकीयकचरा व्यवस्थापनाचा प्रश्न ऐरणीवर आला आहे.

from The Maharashtratimes https://ift.tt/2OWJ115

Singapore just used its fake news law. Critics say it's just what they feared

Singapore just showed the world how it plans to use a controversial new law to tackle what it deems fake news — and critics say it's just what they expected would happen.

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Storm threatens disruption on busiest travel weekend

Impeachment shows unelected government employees are heart of democracy

The testimonies of public servants during impeachment demonstrate that the heart of our democracy is not our elected bodies, whose officials cannot agree on basic facts, Cedric L. Alexander argues, but rather our unelected government employees without whom the government would not be functional.

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इन ऐप से आपका फोन रहेगा सुरक्षित, हर बार बदलता है पासवर्ड

फ़ोन की सेफ्टी इस समय सबसे जरूरी चीज हो गई है. अपने फ़ोन को सिक्योर करने के लिए लोग तरह-तरह के ऐप डाउनलोड करते हैं. आज हम आपको बता रहे हैं फोन की सेफ्टी से जुड़ा एक ऐप ऐसा भी है जिसमें हर बार नया पासवर्ड डालना होता है.

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राज्यात यंदाची हुडहुडी असणार तुलनेने कमी

यंदाचा हिवाळा हा फारसा तीव्र नसेल. सरासरी किमान तापमानाच्या तुलनेत हिवाळ्यामध्ये तापमान अधिक राहील, असा अंदाज भारतीय हवामान विभागातर्फे वर्तवण्यात आला आहे. डिसेंबर ते फेब्रुवारी महिन्यासाठीचे पूर्वानुमान भारतीय हवामान विभागाने शुक्रवारी जारी केले आहे. या अनुमानानुसार, भारताच्या उत्तरेला तापमान खाली उतरेल, मात्र उर्वरित देशात तुलनेने उबदार हिवाळा जाणवेल.

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London terrorist attack brings home a chilling reality

Friday's attack highlights the persistent threat of "lone actor" terrorists who are often radicalized online. But their capabilities for lethal action generally do not match those of trained terrorists, writes Peter Bergen.

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आरेला जैवविविधता क्षेत्र घोषित करा: पर्यावरणप्रेमी

राज्याचे नवनिर्वाचित मुख्यमंत्री उद्धव ठाकरे यांनी मुंबईकरांना दिलेल्या शब्दाला जागत आरेमधील मेट्रो कारशेड स्थगित करण्याचा निर्णय घेतल्याने पर्यावरणप्रेमींमध्ये आनंदाचे वातावरण निर्माण झाले आहे. या निर्णयामुळे मेट्रोला धक्का न लागता आरे जपले जाऊ शकते, हे अधोरेखित झाल्याची भावना पर्यावरणप्रेमी व्यक्त करत आहेत.

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Gen. Anthony Tata: Trump was right, fired Navy secretary was wrong on Eddie Gallagher case

Fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer’s angry outburst at President Trump – accusing the commander in chief of “shocking and unprecedented intervention in a low-level review” involving Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher – is itself shocking and unprecedented.

Must-watch videos of the week

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मेट्रो भवन, प्राणी संग्रहालयाचे भवितव्य काय?

आरे कॉलनीतील मुंबई मेट्रो रेल कॉर्पोरेशनच्या मेट्रो कारडेपोला स्थगिती देण्याचा मोठा निर्णय मुख्यमंत्री उद्धव ठाकरे यांनी जाहीर केल्यानंतर आरेतीलच एमएमआरडीएचे मेट्रो भवन व मुंबई महापालिकेच्या प्राणी संग्रहालयाच्याही भवितव्याविषयी प्रश्नचिन्ह उभे राहू शकते. आरेत यापुढे एकही झाड तोडले जाणार नाही, असे ठाकरे यांनी स्पष्ट केले खरे; परंतु मेट्रो भवनासाठी किमान ४० झाडांवर कुऱ्हाड कोसळणार आहे.

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मुंबई लोकल वक्तशीर! प्रवाशांना मोठा दिलासा

मान्सून काळात लोकलविलंबाने त्रासलेल्या मुंबईकरांसाठी नोव्हेंबरचा महिना दिलासा देणारा ठरत आहे. वेगमर्यादा शिथील करण्यासह, आपत्कालीन साखळी ओढण्यावर नियंत्रण आणि वक्तशीरपणा मोहीम यांना प्राथमिकता देण्याचे फर्मान रेल्वे मंडळाने काढल्याने लोकल वेळेत धावू लागलण्या आहेत. यंदाच्या आर्थिक वर्षातील नोव्हेंबरअखेर मध्य रेल्वेच्या चारही लोकल मार्गांवरील ९० टक्के लोकल फेऱ्या वेळेवर धावल्या आहेत.

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Jay-Z suing Australian children’s bookstore over use of his image and lyrics: report

“You some type of lawyer or something? Somebody important or something?”

कादंबरी म्हणजे इतिहास नव्हे: आशुतोष गोवारीकर

अनेक ऐतिहासिक सिनेमांप्रमाणेच 'पानिपत' हा चित्रपटही वादाच्या भोवऱ्यात सापडला. सिनेमाच्या निर्मात्यांवर कादंबरीतून कथाचोरीचा आरोप झाला असला, तरी दिग्दर्शक आशुतोष गोवारीकरला हे मान्य नाही. 'कादंबरी म्हणजे इतिहास नव्हे', असं त्यानं सिनेमाच्या निमित्तानं 'मुंटा'शी गप्पा मारताना म्हटलं आहे.

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Daily Bulletin: Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrives in India; SC to hear petition challenging Maha Vikas Aghadi; day's top stories

Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to hold talks with Narendra Modi during three-day maiden visit to India

In his first overseas tour after taking reins of Sri Lanka over a week ago, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived in Delhi on a three-day visit, signalling his intent to deepen bilateral ties with India on Thursday.

Thank you for your warm welcome India 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/SyVzdUIyal

— Gotabaya Rajapaksa (@GotabayaR) November 28, 2019

On Friday, Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold extensive talks to explore ways to further expand the already close ties between the two neighbouring countries. A plethora of issues including fulfilling aspirations of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, the situation in the Indian Ocean region and steps to boost trade and investment ties are likely to figure in the talks.

The Sri Lankan leader will also meet President Ram Nath Kovind. Rajapaksa, a former defence secretary who is credited with ending the country's long civil war, was sworn in as the island nation's new president on 18 November a day after he won the closely fought presidential election in the island nation.

Three days later, he appointed his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as the prime minister. The newly-elected Sri Lankan president was received at the airport by Union minister V K Singh.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar travelled to Colombo last week as a special envoy of Modi to convey his greetings to Rajapaksa. There have been apprehensions among the minority Tamil and Muslim communities about the new government's policies towards them after the Rajapaksa clan tightened its grip over the country.

SC to hear petition challenging Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance today

The Supreme Court will on Friday hear a petition seeking the post-poll alliance between Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress in Maharashtra to be declared unconstitutional and null and void.

The petition has been filed by the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha spokesperson Pramod Pandit Joshi.

A bench headed by Justice NV Ramana and comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Ashok Bhushan will hear the matter tomorrow.

The same bench had heard the plea of three parties against the decision of Maharashtra Governor to swear-in BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister and NCP's Ajit Pawar as his deputy last week.

The bench had asked for a floor test to be conducted in the Assembly, following which the two leaders tendered their resignation, paving way for the 'Maha Vikas Aghadi', comprising the other three parties, to stake claim to form the government.

Nirmala Sitharaman to move Taxation Laws Bill in Lok Sabha today

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is to move the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha for further amendment. According to PRS Legislative, The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill provides for the reduction in rates of corporate income tax as an additional fiscal stimulus to attract investment, generate employment and boost growth and provides for the establishment of an authority to develop and regulate the financial services market in the International Financial Services Centres set up in Special Economic Zones in India.

The bill was introduced in Upper House by the Piyush Goyal, on 12 February  2019. This bill was slated to be introduced in the Lok Sabha only after its withdrawal from the Rajya Sabha. Approval for the same was granted by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

In Rajya Sabha, V Muraleedharan is to to make a statement regarding the government business for the week commencing on 2 December, Monday.

Impasse over TSRTC ends; workers to resume duty starting today

Ending an impasse over Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) workers' strike that lasted for nearly two months, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday said that the employees can happily resume their duties starting tomorrow (Friday).

"The employees can happily join the services from tomorrow," the Chief Minister said after a cabinet meeting, which was held in Hyderabad.

Since October, around 48,000 employees were on strike urging to merge TSRTC with the government along with other demands like a revision of pay.

Announcing compassionate jobs to the kin of RTC employees who died during the strike, Rao said, "The government will sanction Rs 100 crores to the RTC for immediate working capital. We will also increase ticket fare by 20 paise so that it will help the RTC in generating more revenue."

"I am going to Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Soon after, I am going to meet RTC employees and I will speak to them personally. We will not let any union speak to us. We will set up a 'Workers Welfare Council' with a senior minister in charge," he added.

While criticised various unions, parties, especially Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, for inciting the employees, the Chief Minister said, "Oppositions have used RTC employees for their politics."

Moreover, he said that the Telangana government has decided to release Rs 571 crores to repair the roads which got damaged in the rains.

Paytm in talks to raise another $1 billion in funding finds report

Digital payments major Paytm is looking at raising another round of funding of $1 billion, and is in discussion with multiple investors, including former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, according to sources, a PTI report said.

Sources close to the development said the discussions are on and might take a few weeks to get finalised.

They added that the funds will be used to expand the merchant offerings across India to equip them with technology and various other services.

Paytm declined to comment, while a response from Cameron could not be elicited immediately.

Paytm had earlier this week announced a $1 billion (around Rs 7,173 crore) fundraise led by US-based asset management firm T Rowe Price. Existing investors Alibaba, Softbank and Discovery Capital had also participated in the funding round.

Interestingly, Paytm founder and Chief Executive Officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma tweeted a photograph of him and Cameron on Thursday.

Arvind Swami, Prem Chopra, Ilaiyaraaja felicitated at IFFI 2019 closing ceremony

Prem Chopra along with veteran Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj, film composer Ilaiyaraaja, Tamil actor Arvind Swami and Manju Norah was honoured at the closing ceremony of the 50th International Film Festival of India.

Pandit Birju who was not in attendance physically said in a video message played at the ceremony, "I am receiving this award for my contribution to the film industry and I wish to continue the same."

With inputs from agencies

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On surprise Afghanistan visit, Donald Trump meets US troops and claims to have reopened talks with Taliban

Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan: President Donald Trump paid an unannounced Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan on Thursday and declared that he had reopened peace negotiations with the Taliban less than three months after scuttling talks in hopes of ending 18 years of war.

"The Taliban wants to make a deal, and we're meeting with them," Trump said during a meeting with Afghanistan's president, Ashraf Ghani, at the main base for US forces north of Kabul.

"We're going to stay until such time as we have a deal, or we have total victory, and they want to make a deal very badly," Trump added even as he reaffirmed his desire to reduce the US military presence to 8,600 troops, down from about 12,000 to 13,000.

Trump's sudden announcement on peace talks came at a critical moment in the United States' long, drawn-out military venture in Afghanistan, a time when the country is mired in turmoil over disputed election results and Americans at home are increasingly tired of an operation that began shortly after the 11 September, 2001 attacks.

The scope and prospects of any renewed negotiations remained unclear, and White House officials gave few details beyond Trump's sudden revelation. On the flight to Afghanistan, Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, had insisted that the secret trip was "truly about Thanksgiving and supporting the troops" and "nothing about the peace process" with the Taliban.

The Taliban made no official comment immediately after the late-night visit and Ghani said little afterward about any peace talks. "Both sides underscored that if the Taliban are sincere in their commitment to reaching a peace deal, they must accept a ceasefire," Ghani wrote on Twitter. "We also emphasised that for any peace to last, terrorist safe havens outside Afghanistan must be dismantled."

But while the Afghan government has long demanded that the Taliban agree to a cease-fire, no evidence has emerged that the group was willing to grant one. Instead, it has said it would discuss the possibility in negotiations with Afghanistan’s political leaders over the future of the country once the Americans agree to leave.

Donald Trump serves food to troops during a Thanksgiving visit to Bagram Air Field. By Erin Schaff © 2019 The New York Times

Trump made the visit, his first to Afghanistan, under a shroud of secrecy, arriving in a darkened airplane just after 8.30 pm local time and departing a few hours later on a trip that the White House had concealed from his public schedule for security reasons.

The president carried out the traditional role of feeding turkey and mashed potatoes to troops in fatigues, then dined, mingled and posed for photographs before delivering remarks celebrating the US military before about 1,500 troops in an aircraft hangar.

But his visit also had an important political dimension. Trump, who angrily called off talks with the Taliban in September just as the sides appeared close to an accord, is searching for foreign policy achievements he can celebrate on the campaign trail over the next year. Several of his other marquee initiatives, including nuclear talks with North Korea and an effort to squeeze concessions out of Iran with economic pressure, have yielded few results.

During his short visit on the ground Thursday, Trump boasted of US military successes against Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State and suggested that the Taliban was eager to make a peace deal, but that he personally was indifferent to the outcome.

"The Taliban wants to make a deal — we'll see if they make a deal," Trump said. "If they do, they do, and if they don't, they don't. That's fine."

He also said that the Taliban was willing to agree to a ceasefire pending the more extensive accord, a matter of contention in the earlier talks but one that Ghani's government has insisted on.

Trump arrived in Afghanistan one day after at least 13 people were killed when their car struck a roadside bomb on the way to a wedding party in Taliban-controlled territory in northern Afghanistan, officials said. Most of the victims were related to one another.

Trump's suggestion that the United States would either reach a peace with the Taliban or achieve "total victory" was a sharp departure from his public expressions of frustration with what he has called America's unending wars. US military leaders and diplomats have long ruled out the possibility of a military victory in Afghanistan. To the contrary, they say, a political settlement is the only path out of the war.

"Peace talks are the only responsible way forward, but it will be a hard and lengthy road," said James Dobbins, who served as special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan under Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama.

"Some time ago, the choice seemed to be between talking or winning on the battlefield," Dobbins added. "More recently, the options under consideration seem to be talking or losing — that is, withdrawing unilaterally."

The president made a similar point when he stuck to his prepared remarks, declaring that the war "will not be decided on the battlefield" and that "ultimately there will need to be a political solution". The vow of "total victory" absent a peace negotiation appeared to be spontaneous.

US diplomats have quietly tried to keep the peace process alive since Trump called off the talks, using small measures like a prisoner swap to build trust. In recent weeks, informal meetings between the two sides have been reported, though neither side had publicly acknowledged that peace negotiations had formally resumed.

Even after Trump broke off negotiations, the Taliban refrained from criticising him too harshly, which analysts took as evidence that the group still wanted a deal with the United States.

The Thanksgiving trip also allowed the president to stand against a backdrop of visible military support amid his decision to intervene in several high-profile war crimes cases, which has roiled the Pentagon and strained his relations with military leaders.

The secretary of the navy, Richard Spencer, was fired after Trump refused to allow the navy to oust Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher from the Navy SEALs in a case that has taken on enormous symbolic importance. Gallagher was convicted of bringing discredit to the armed forces by posing for photos with a teenage captive's dead body in Iraq but acquitted of the most serious allegations, including killing the captive with a hunting knife and threatening to kill SEALs who reported him.

"This was a shocking and unprecedented intervention in a low-level review," Spencer wrote in The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Administration officials said Trump remained eager to bring an end to the US role in Afghanistan, which costs billions of dollars each year and continues to claim American lives. This month, Trump visited Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to pay respects during the return of two Americans killed in a 20 November 20 helicopter crash in Afghanistan.

The peace negotiations with the Taliban collapsed in stunning fashion on 7 September, after Trump disclosed via Twitter that he was quashing plans for a dramatic meeting at his Camp David presidential retreat with Taliban leaders and Afghan government officials. Angrily citing a Taliban attack in Kabul that killed an American soldier as the plans were coming together, Trump called off the discussions entirely. "As far as I'm concerned, they are dead," he said.

It was never clear how imminent a peace agreement truly was. Taliban leaders said they had not committed to a Camp David visit, and Ghani, who was shut out of the talks, was deeply skeptical of a separate United States agreement with the Taliban that did not involve his government. Uncertainty about the country's future in the wake of its unresolved election dispute could make brokering peace even more difficult now.

Trump may be proceeding on his own. The goal of his past talks with the Taliban was to trade an American pledge to withdraw for a Taliban renunciation of its terrorist allies like Al-Qaeda and the start of Taliban negotiations with Afghanistan’s government.

But American troops are already exiting the country as some units rotate out without being replaced. A month ago, the top American commander in Afghanistan, General Austin Miller, said that United States forces in the country had dropped by 2,000 over the past year.

Some current and former military officials are worried that Trump's appetite for a troop reduction he can boast about on the campaign trail as a fulfilment of his promise to scale back US foreign interventions could lead to serious national security risks.

General David Petraeus, a former commander of American forces in Afghanistan who is now retired, has warned that a premature withdrawal could lead to a Taliban conquest of the country, and Senator Lindsey Graham, R-SC, and a close advisor to Trump on foreign policy, has said removing troops could "pave the way for another 9/11".

Trump flew to Afghanistan on one of the modified blue-and-white 747 jets known as Air Force One when the president is onboard. He had flown to Florida on Tuesday in another one of those planes but left it behind for his secret trip, which involved first flying back to Washington, where he boarded an alternate plane out of public view.

Grisham acknowledged that the White House had arranged for Trump's Twitter account to post generic Thanksgiving messages while he was in the air to prevent an unusually long silence that might draw suspicion about his activities.

Joining Trump were his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney; the national security advisor, Robert C O'Brien; and Senator John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who has regularly visited troops in Afghanistan on holidays.

Michael Crowley c.2019 The New York Times Company

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How Japanese prints inspired a tattoo frenzy

The dragons, demons and flowers tattooed on the characters depicted in "ukiyo-e" prints remain popular today.

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