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India to host G20 summit in 2022

For the first time, India will host the annual G20 summit in 2022, when the country celebrates its 75th anniversary of Indepen- dence.Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement at the closing ceremony of the 13th G20 summit here in the Argentinian capital on Saturday.He thanked Italy for allowing India …

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acted-in-good-faith-qureshi

The decision to open the Kartarpur Sahib shrine to devotees from across the border was taken in good faith, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Sunday.Mr. Qureshi’s clarification came as India indicated that it would reciprocate Pakistan’s diplomatic outreach without ceding points for either political opponents at home …

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New CEC Arora seeks support for ‘fair’ polls

Sunil Arora, 62, a retired 1980-batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, took over as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Sunday.Mr. Arora sought the cooperation of political parties and people to make elections “totally free, fair and ethical.”He succeeded O.P. Rawat who demitted office on Saturday. The Lok Sabha election, …

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Modi, Xi upbeat on ties post-Wuhan

Referring to the talks between the Special Representatives on the border issue as well as defence and various other delegations, President Xi said the two sides should work together to build an open world economy and make globalisation more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all, the statement said. “We …

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Brexit road ahead is going to be hard

What are the terms? On November 25, leaders of the EU-27 group of nations signed off on the 585-word treaty setting out the terms of Britain’s withdrawal from the union as well as a non-binding political declaration of aspirations for the future relationship. While insisting that she did not share …

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Ramaphosa to be Republic Day guest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the sidelines of the G20 summit here and invited him to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations next year. Mr. Ramaphosa has accepted the invitation. “Glad to have met President @CyrilRamaphosa. At a time …

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‘No possibility of Rohingya returning soon’

United Nations coordinator says the majority of the nine lakh refugees fear persecution There is no “real possibility” of Rohingya refugees returning to Myanmar from Bangladesh despite serial attempts to repatriate them, said Sumbul Rizvi, a senior United Nations coordinator in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. “The UNHCR, UNDP and Myanmar …

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India, U.S. to review defence deals

Defence Minister to also discuss sanctions waiver during six-day visit India and the U.S. will review the progress of their expanding defence cooperation as well as discuss the issue of sanctions waiver for the arms purchases from Russia during Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s six-day visit starting Sunday. Ms. Sitharaman will …

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Kashmir sees 17.3% voting

The turnout in the panchayat polls in Kashmir slid to 17.3% on Saturday, while Jammu recorded a heavy 84.6% polling. “An overall poll percentage of 76.9 was witnessed across the State. A massive 84.6% polling was witnessed in Jammu division and 17.3% in Kashmir division,” Shaleen Kabra, Chief Electoral Officer, …

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Central guidelines for crèches at workplaces

The Centre has prepared guidelines for setting up of crèches at workplaces, which prescribe trained personnel to man the facility as well as infrastructure requirements and safety norms. In March this year, Parliament passed the Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017, enhancing paid maternity leave from a period of 12 weeks …

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EVMs being tampered with: Cong.

Releasing multiple videos of polling officials with electronic voting machines (EVMs) in a private hotel, a school bus without number plates carrying the machines and various persons approaching the strongrooms where the machines are kept, the Congress on Saturday accused the BJP of “an organised attempt to subvert the mandate” …

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Kashmir sees 17.3% voting in panchayat polls

The turnout in the panchayat polls in Kashmir slid to 17.3% on Saturday, while Jammu recorded a heavy 84.6% polling. Anantnag and Kulgam districts, witnesses to widespread militancy and violence, recorded a dismal 7.3% and 4.6% polling, respectively. Source  :  https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/kashmir-sees-173-voting-in-panchayat-polls/article25646031.ece

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Delhi fixes weight of school bags

Taking some burden off school students in Delhi, the AAP government issued a circular on Saturday fixing the maximum weight of a school bag. It stated that school bags for students in Class I and II should not weigh above 1.5 kg, 2-3 kg for Classes III to V, 4 …

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Modi, Xi upbeat on relations post-Wuhan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that there had been a “perceptible improvement” in bilateral ties after their Wuhan summit and both sides are optimistic that 2019 would be an even better year for India-China relations. During their fourth meeting this year on the sidelines of …

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Ukraine bars entry of Russian men

Ukraine on Friday barred Russian men aged 16-60 from entry as tensions mounted between the two countries over Moscow’s seizure of three Ukrainian ships last week.The move came after Kiev imposed martial law in border regions this week in response to the Russian seizure of the ships and 24 sailors …

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