World

Veteran U.S. astronaut John Young, who walked on the moon and even smuggled a corned beef sandwich into orbit during one of his six missions in space, has died at age 87, NASA said on Saturday.

Young, a former U.S. Navy test pilot, in 1972 became the ninth of 12 people ever to set foot on the moon.

"We're saddened by the loss of astronaut John Young," the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement on Twitter.

The time and cause of Young's death was not immediately clear.

Young became one of the most accomplished astronauts in the history of the U.S. space program. He flew into space twice during NASA's Gemini program in the mid-1960s, twice on the Apollo lunar missions and twice on space shuttles in the 1980s.

He retired in 2004 after 42 years with the U.S. space agency.

 Source : NDTV

US President Donald Trump has accused Pakistan of “lies and deceit,” saying the US was “foolish” to have given the country more than $33bn in aid.
The American President launched the scathing attack in his first tweet of 2018, claiming Pakistan “give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt” and think “of our leaders as fools”.

It follows reports the US is considering denying Islamabad $255 million in aid in a show of discontent with its efforts to fight terrorism.

The President made no further comment on the issue and it was not immediately clear if his tweet signaled a decision to cut off aid to Islamabad.

Relations between the US and Pakistan have soured since Mr Trump entered the White House.

Indian Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) party supremo Lalu Prasad was on Saturday sentenced to three and a half years jail in a fodder scam case.

Special CBI judge Shivpal Singh announced the sentence after hearing arguments on the quantum of sentencing.

He also slapped a Rs 5 lakh fine on the former Bihar Chief Minister.

The court had on December 23 convicted Lalu Prasad and 15 others in the case relating to the multi-million-rupee scam.

Former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, as well as six others, were acquitted in the case.

There are a total of six fodder scam cases against Lalu Prasad and this is the second case in which a verdict was pronounced.

The case relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 84.5 lakh from Deoghar district treasury.

On December 13, hearing in the case was completed in a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court of Ranchi.

In all, there were 34 accused in the case, out of whom 11 died during the course of the trial, while one turned CBI approver and admitted the crime.

After the conviction in December, the party had announced that it will challenge the verdict in the high court.

"The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will challenge the special CBI court order at the high court soon," senior party leader Jagdanand Singh, considered close to Lalu Prasad, told the media in Patna.

Jagdanand, who is a former state minister, termed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as "tota" (parrot) and robot, controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government.

Lalu was first convicted on September 30, 2013, and received a five-year jail term. This disqualified him from Parliament and barred him from standing in elections. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court later that year.

Source : The Newsminute

In his message on the New Year, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for unity among the global community to tackle overwhelming challenges and defend values shared by all.

“On New Year's Day 2018, I am not issuing an appeal. I am issuing an alert – a red alert for our world,” said the Secretary-General.

“As we begin 2018, I call for unity. […] We can settle conflicts, overcome hatred and defend shared values. But we can only do that together,” he expressed.

Recalling that last year he urged that 2017 be a year for peace, the UN chief noted that unfortunately – in fundamental ways, the world went in reverse.

Secretary-General António Guterres (left) meets people living in a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) known as "Site du Petit Seminaire St. Pierre Claver", in the town of Bangassou. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Perils, including deepening conflicts and new dangers emerged, and global concerns over nuclear weapons reached the highest since the Cold War, he added.

At the same time, impacts of climate change worsened at an alarming rate, inequalities grew and there were horrific violations of human rights.

“Nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise,” said Mr. Guterres.

Underscoring his belief that the world can be made more safe and secure, conflicts can be settled, hatred can be overcome and shared values defended, he emphasized that unity is indispensable to achieving these goals.

“Unity is the path. Our future depends on it,” said the Secretary-General, urging leaders everywhere to resolve in the New Year to: “Narrow the gaps. Bridge the divides. Rebuild trust by bringing people together around common goals.”

A North Korean Olympic official has said that his country is "likely to participate" in next month's Winter Olympic Games, reports say.

Chang Ung, Pyongyang's representative to the International Olympic Committee, reportedly made the comment at Beijing International Airport on Saturday.

Chang is believed to be travelling to Switzerland to discuss the subject, Japanese news agency Kyodo reports. It comes a day after Pyongyang agreed to official talks with South Korea.

During his New Year's Day address, Kim said he hoped that the Pyeongchang Winter Games would be a success, adding that he was considering sending a delegation.

In response, South Korea's President Moon Jae-in proposed a meeting with North Korean officials to discuss the subject in detail.

Moon's proposal and Kim's remarks about the Olympics were the result of two secret meetings between South and North Korean sports officials, which took place in China in late December.

In those meetings, the two Koreas agreed to participate in sports exchanges during 2018.

 Source : BBC News

Value Added Tax (VAT) has been introduced in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for the first time.

The 5% levy is being applied to the majority of goods and services.

Gulf states have long attracted foreign workers with the promise of tax-free living.

But governments want to increase revenue in the face of lower oil prices.

The tax kicked in on 1 January in both countries.

The UAE estimates that in the first year, VAT income will be around 12 billion dirhams (£2.4bn; $3.3bn).

No plans for income tax

Petrol and diesel, food, clothes, utility bills and hotel rooms all now have VAT applied.

But some outgoings have been made exempt from the tax or given a zero-tax rating, including medical treatment, financial services and public transport.

Organisations such as the International Monetary Fund have long called for Gulf countries to diversify their sources of income away from oil reserves.

In Saudi Arabia, more than 90% of budget revenues come from the oil industry while in the UAE it is roughly 80%.

Both countries have already taken steps to boost government coffers.

In Saudi Arabia, this included a tax on tobacco and soft drinks as well as a cut in some subsidies offered to locals. In the UAE road tolls have been hiked and a tourism tax introduced.

But there are no plans to introduce income tax, where most residents pay 0% tax on their earnings.

The other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar - have also committed to introduce VAT, though some have delayed plans until at least 2019.

Source : BBC

The U.S. State Department has placed Pakistan on a special watch list for “severe violations of religious freedom,” it said on Thursday, days after the White House said Islamabad would have to do more to combat terrorism to receive U.S. aid.

The State Department also said it had re-designated 10 other nations as “countries of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act for having engaged in or tolerated egregious violations of religious freedom.
The re-designated countries were China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. They were re-designated on Dec. 22.

“The protection of religious freedom is vital to peace, stability, and prosperity,” the department said in a statement. “These designations are aimed at improving the respect for religious freedom in these countries.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized Pakistan for not doing more to combat terrorism, and his administration has informed members of Congress that it will announce plans to end “security assistance” payments to the country.

Pakistan has said it is already doing a lot to fight militants, and summoned the U.S. ambassador to explain a tweet by Trump that said the United States had been foolish in dispensing aid to Islamabad.

(Reuters)

A year after the death of J Jayalalithaa, which led to heavy political turbulence in Tamil Nadu and triggered a split in the ruling AIADMK, actor Rajinikanth announced his entry into politics, saying on Sunday that it is time to “change the system”.

“I will definitely enter politics. In the next state assembly polls, my party will contest in all the 234 constituencies. In the local body elections, maybe before the assembly polls, we will not contest. I will take a call about the (2019) Lok Sabha polls when the time comes,” said the actor, who is popularly known as “Superstar”.

 Rajinikanth was addressing a huge gathering from various districts on the last day of a six-day “meet and photo session” with his fans.

“Democracy is at high risk. Whatever happened in the last one year in Tamil Nadu has made everyone mute in shame. If I don’t take a decision at this moment, that will haunt me until death… It’s time for political change, time to change the system,” he said, in an indirect reference to the feud within the AIADMK.

As a first step, he said, he would soon identify and grant recognition to thousands of his fan clubs scattered across the state.

Accusing “every other government” of “looting” people, he said, “I want cadres who guard the people. I want a police who do not work as slaves for political bosses. I need such an army. And I will be the guard representing people to look after this state.”

On December 26, the first day of his session with fans, Rajinikanth had announced that he would reveal his political plans on New Year’s eve.

The timing of Sunday’s announcement is significant, given the current political turmoil in the state following the death of Jayalalithaa on December 5, 2016.

Although the next assembly elections in Tamil Nadu are scheduled to be held only in 2021, political observers expect the polls to take place much earlier, with the rebel AIADMK faction gaining strength after the recent bypoll win of its leader T T V Dinakaran, the nephew of jailed party leader V K Sasikala.

The political vacuum, which the opposition DMK has struggled to fill, also prompted Rajinikanth’s colleague in the Tamil movie industry, Kamal Haasan, to announce last month that he was committed to starting a party of his own, possibly in the coming weeks.

Following the announcement, a close aide of the actor said he would initially maintain an “independent” image. Asked about speculation over the BJP’s support for Rajinikanth, the aide said, “The BJP has welcomed his decision, unlike other parties. But we have decided not to declare any alliance at this moment. The BJP leadership has promised resources and moral support for the party, to begin with.”

Earlier, elaborating on the reason behind his political entry, Rajinikanth referred to the Bhagvad Gita and said, “Krishna told Arjuna to do do his duty. He said he will take care of the rest. Go to war, if you win, you will rule. If you die, you will die as a hero.”

The announcement also caps years of intense speculation over the actor’s political ambitions, which was triggered by his critical remarks ahead of the 1996 assembly polls against the then chief minister Jayalalithaa. In 2002, he asked his fans to oppose S Ramadoss’s PMK after the party’s members tried to stop the release of his movie ‘Baba’ in Tamil Nadu’s northern districts.

On Sunday, Rajinikanth said he was not entering politics for money or fame. “I have made enough money. If I wanted political power, I could have taken the throne in 1996 itself. Something that I did not desire at the age of 45 is insignificant now, at the age of 68. Moreover, if power is the reason for my political entry, will I be eligible to claim that I am spiritual?” he said, while asserting the significance of “truth, honesty, values, and transparency”.

“We have to create a political system, which is spiritual in nature, without caste or religious barriers,” he said.

Source : The Indian Express

North Korea has reopened a hotline to South Korea, almost two years after it was disabled on the orders of leader Kim Jong-un.

South Korea confirmed it had received a call from the North at 15:30 local time (06:30 GMT) on Wednesday.

The North Korean leader had earlier said he was open to dialogue with Seoul and to sending a team to the Winter Olympics in the South next month.

The two nations have not held high-level talks since December 2015.

North Korea cut off the communications channel shortly afterwards, refusing to answer calls, according to officials in the South.

A North Korean official announced the hotline's reopening in a televised statement.

Instead of a senior newscaster, the chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, Ri Son-gwon, made the statement, saying he was speaking "upon authorisation of Kim Jong-un".

The initial call was brief as checks are still being carried out on the line, according to South Korean officials.

North Korea said the aim would be for the two nations to discuss the practical issues around sending a North Korean delegation to the Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

How has the South responded?

The press secretary for South Korea's President Moon Jae-in said the restoration of this communications channel was "very significant".

"It creates an environment where communication will be possible at all times," he said.

In the press, there was scepticism. "Kim's New Year's address is a highly calculated move to fuel internal division in South Korea," said daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo. "Pyongyang may have decided on its peace offensive to buy time until the completion of its nuclear weapons programme."

Hankyoreh newspaper also voiced caution: "Kim has not budged an inch from his previous reckless and hard-line stance on the development of nuclear weapons and missiles."

But the "surprising New Year's address could open the door to peace", it added.

Where is the physical line?

According to the South Korean Unification Ministry, there are a total of 33 direct lines that North and South Korea once used to communicate with each other.

This particular phone line, established in 1971, is based in Panmunjom.

The border village, in the heavily guarded demilitarised zone (DMZ), is where the Koreas have historically held talks.

Source : BBC

Germany is set to start enforcing a law that demands social media sites move quickly to remove hate speech, fake news and illegal material.

Sites that do not remove "obviously illegal" posts could face fines of up to 50m euro (£44.3m).

The law gives the networks 24 hours to act after they have been told about the law-breaking material.

Social networks and media sites with more than two million members will fall under the law's provisions.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will be the law's main focus but it is also likely to be applied to Reddit, Tumblr and Russian social network VK. Other sites such as Vimeo and Flickr could also be caught up in its provisions.

Act Faster

The Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz (NetzDG) law was passed at the end of June 2017 and came into force in early October.

The social networks were given until the end of 2017 to prepare themselves for the arrival of NetzDG.

The call to police social media sites more effectively arose after several high-profile cases in which fake news and racist material was being spread via the German arms of prominent social media firms.

Germany's justice ministry said it would make forms available on its site, which concerned citizens could use to report content that violates NetzDG or has not been taken down in time.

As well as forcing social media firms to act quickly, NetzDG requires them to put in place a comprehensive complaints structure so that posts can quickly be reported to staff.

 Most material will have to be removed within 24 hours but networks will have a week to act on "complex cases".

Facebook has reportedly recruited several hundred staff in Germany to deal with reports about content that breaks the NetzDG and to do a better job of monitoring what people post.

The law has been controversial in Germany with some saying it could lead to inadvertent censorship or curtail free speech.

The German law is the most extreme example of efforts by governments and regulators to rein in social media firms. Many of them have come under much greater scrutiny this year as information about how they are used to spread propaganda and other sensitive material has come to light.

In the UK, politicians have been sharply critical of social sites, calling them a "disgrace" and saying they were "shamefully far" from doing a good job of policing hate speech and other offensive content.

The European Commission also published guidelines calling on social media sites to act faster to spot and remove hateful content.

Source : BBC

France is set to fight back against the tide of so-called fake news with a law in 2018 aimed at protecting liberal democracy. Macron made the announcement during a New Year's address to the press corps at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

"I have decided that we will change our legal system to protect democratic life from this fake news," Macron said on Wednesday evening. "During the election period, on the internet, content will no longer have exactly the same rules," he said.

Law to target Social Media

The French president said the new law would be brought in before the end of the year. He wants the law to target social media and force online platforms to increase transparency sponsored content. It will allow content to be taken down and sites to be blocked if necessary.

Macron vows to tighten media control because 'fake news threatens democracy' (Reuters).

“The freedom of the press is not a special freedom, it is the highest expression of freedom,” said Mr Macron. “If we want to protect liberal democracies, we have to be strong and have clear rules.”

The proposed legislation would allow for "content to be taken down, user accounts deleted and websites blocked if needed," he added.

So-called fake news, often spread by social media, has become an increasing problem in the political process, with elections in the UK, France and the US targeted by disinformation campaigns — for commercial or more overtly political reasons.

Macron has been highly critical of Russian media in particular, openly accusing TV channel RT of sowing disinformation about him via its website and social media during the 2017 French presidential election.

Nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents.

The new safety regulations also prohibit double amputee and blind climbers from attempting to reach the summit of the world's highest peak without a valid medical certificate.

A tourism official said the law had been revised to make mountaineering safer and to decrease deaths.

A record number of climbers have tried to climb Everest this year.

But among the record-breaking attempts, there has been the familiar tally of casualties.

The death toll so far this season stands at six, including 85-year-old Min Bahadur Sherchan, who died attempting to reclaim his title as the world's oldest person to reach the top.

World-renowned Swiss climber Ueli Steck, who was known as the "Swiss Machine", also died during a solo climb to a peak neighbouring Everest.

Under the new regulations, foreign climbers will have to be accompanied by a guide. The authorities hope this new rule will create more job opportunities for Nepali mountain guides.

The government's decision to ban double amputees and visually impaired climbers was criticised by some, but was later clarified to prohibit only those without medical dispensation.

In a Facebook post, aspiring Everest climber Hari Budha Magar, who lost both his legs when he was deployed in Afghanistan, said the move was "discriminatory" and an "injustice".

"I will be climbing Mt. Everest whatever the cabinet decides. Nothing Is Impossible," he said.

More than 200 people have died on Everest since 1920, with the vast majority of those deaths taking place since 1980.

Mountaineers on Everest die for a number of reasons - more than 20% are killed by exposure or acute mountain sickness.

According to statistics given to the BBC by the Himalaya Database in 2015, by far the highest number of people who died did so because of avalanches (29%), with falls being the next largest cause of death (23%).

Source : BBC