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Mausam Benazir Noor’s shift to Trinamool Congress is being viewed as a big blow to Congress’ hopes of reviving its position in West Bengal.

Noor, a two-time Congress MP from Malda(North), met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her office on Monday and joined formally.

The parliamentarian was the Congress president of Malda district and is the niece of legendary ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, who won the Malda Lok Sabha seat eight times at a stretch.

According to political analysts, her move is a breach in the Congress bastion, which the Choudhury family had safeguarded for decades. It is needless to say, Noor holds considerable sway over her constituency by virtue of her family background.

The Budget for 2019-20, which will be presented in the Lok Sabha on February 1, is expected to unveil measures for modernisation of the Railways, besides coming up with steps for boosting infrastructure and additional allocation for safety-related issues.

Though not many expect Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to announce new trains in the Budget, sources say that some new trains could be announced as this will be the last budget of the Modi government before the Lok Sabha polls.

There is an expectation that this budget will announce some steps to make train tickets cheaper and improve infrastructure facilities in key areas like track renewal, electrification and doubling.

Sources indicate that modernisation of more railway stations and better infrastructure facilities could be considered on priority basis in this budget.

The Railway Minister had recently announced to provide four lakh jobs in the next two years, which will for the first time include 10 per cent reservation to Economically Weaker segment among the General category under Railways.

The Minister had announced fresh recruitment of 2,30,000 employees which will be completed in two phases. In addition to it, with the recruitment of 1,51,548 employees which has already been started last year, Railways aims to become biggest sector while providing a total employment of four lakh people.

It is expected that Railways will speed up its work on Bridge Management System which is yet to be commissioned even after a lapse of 11 years as highlighted in a Parliamentary Committee report tabled in Parliament.
The Committee had expressed dissatisfaction over the ‘failure of the Railways’ to expedite the work on Bridge Management System which is yet to be commissioned even after a lapse of 11 years.

The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament had observed that 710 bridges remained to be completed as on March 2014, even after expiry of prescribed timelines and had recommended the Ministry to set timelines with effective planning and monitoring.

The Committee was not satisfied with the explanation offered in this regard that depending upon the quantum of work involved, bridge rehabilitation may take from few months up to few years and sometime delay occurs due to complexities of the work involved, which are beyond the control of Railway administration.
“We are planning to increase this momentum so far as improving the infrastructure is concerned. In the last one year, track renewal, electrification and doubling were at their highest,” said sources.
Safety continues to be the foremost priority of Railways and is accorded the greatest consideration.

During 2018, Railways had launched four safety drives on all Zonal Railways with a view to preventing accidents and strengthening safety in trains.

As a result of relentless efforts put in by Railways, consequential train accidents decreased from 104 to 73 during 2017-18 in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In 2018-19 (from April 1, 2018 to November 30, 2018) consequential train accidents decreased further from 51 to 44 in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year.

On April 13, 2018, all zonal railways were advised to launch a one month safety drive particularly focusing on strict observance of shunting practices with compliance of rules/instructions contained in G&SR.

On October 16, 2018, zonal Railways were advised to launch a special safety drive for a period of fifteen days with special emphasis on safety of work sites, stacking and handling of railway material near track and maintenance of points and crossings.

The brand new Train 18, which was recently named as ‘Vande Bharat Express’ by Mr Goyal, is a ‘train with a brain’ built from the scratch by Integral Coach Factory at a cost which is said to be half the price of a similar imported passenger train.

The most modern train set has been built at a cost of Rs 100 crore and the Railways has expressed its desire to present it in the international arena, sources in the Railways said.

It may represent Indian Railways’ modern and affordable technology abroad because of which it could come up with such a milestone at ICF near Chennai.
Railways did a great work by eliminating level crossings as 3,478 unmanned level crossings gates have been eliminated during 2018. In effect, all unmanned level crossings on broad gauge over Indian Railway have been eliminated except one. This will also be eliminated in the current financial year.
Out of 16, total 15 Zonal Railways are now unmanned level crossing free on broad gauge, accidents on unmanned level crossings have reduced from 20 in 2017-18 to 3 in the current year up to December 2018.

The year 2018 saw improved sleepers and fittings. In order to strengthen track structure, a wider and heavier sleeper has been developed in 2014 which is fit for 25 t axle load at 100 kmph. After successful field trial over five Zonal Railways wider and heavier sleeper has been adopted and approved for full use from FY 2019-20.

This is done in a record time of three years from drawing board to insertion in field for trial against normal period of eight-ten years.

British Prime Minister Theresa May won parliament’s backing on Tuesday to renegotiate her Brexit deal – a major policy reversal that sets up a new standoff with the EU after it ruled out any change.
Observers termed this as a sharp reversal of policy, the British Prime Minister agreed to return to Brussels and reopen Brexit talks, even though she previously said the idea was a non-starter and the EU has repeatedly insisted the deal is locked down.
May’s dramatic decision to abandon a pact she herself sealed with the 27 EU leaders at a summit last month came with Britain on course to crash out of the bloc after 46 years in a blaze of political and economic chaos on Mar 29.
The pound plunged on fears of a no-deal scenario as MPs voted through an amendment saying they would only support a divorce deal if the controversial “backstop” clause to keep the Irish border open was removed.
Channel news Asia while quoting a spokesman for EU leader Donald Tusk said the divorce deal was “not open for renegotiation” while French President Emmanuel Macron said it was the “best agreement possible”.
MPs also voted in favour of a non-binding measure that “rejects the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a Withdrawal Agreement”.
But they failed to vote through a more important plan, backed by European supporters, that would have tried to force through a Brexit delay if no new deal with the EU emerged by Feb 26.
May now faces a formidable challenge convincing Brussels to re-open talks that took 18 excruciating months to conclude.
She said parliament’s approval of the backstop amendment gave her the “mandate” to “seek to obtain legally binding changes to the withdrawal agreement”.
But she conceded that there was “limited appetite” in the EU for renegotiation.
“It won’t be easy,” said May. “But in contrast to a fortnight ago, this house has made it clear what it need to approve the withdrawal agreement.”
Earlier on Jan 15, Parliament had voted against the draft deal by a crushing margin which significantly raised the risk that Britain’s departure without a plan on March 29 will create trade and economic disruptions on both sides of the Channel.(UNI)

(UNI)President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 71st death anniversary.

Taking to micro-blogging site twitter, the President said, ‘On Martyrs’ Day, we gratefully remember Mahatma Gandhi and the countless freedom fighters who sacrificed their all for our Independence”.

Mr Naidu said, ‘On this Martyrs Day, I join all country men in paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi and all the valiant people, who had sacrificed their lives for the country. #martyrsday.’

“Let us rededicate ourselves to the high ideals and values set by the Father of the Nation and all other martyrs on this solemn occasion. #martyrsday,” Mr Naidu added.

Mr Modi said, “Remembering Bapu on his Punya Tithi. We reiterate our commitment to follow the path shown by him and abide by the values he stood for.”

“We salute all the martyrs who laid down their lives for India. The country remains eternally grateful to them for their service and sacrifice,” Mr Modi added.

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Girish Chodankar has said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s gesture of visiting the ailing Goa Chief Minister was in keeping with his politics of dealing with all with love, compassion and no ill-will even to the political adversaries.

In a statement, he said,’It is not just a courtesy call but one of care and concern and mirrors our party’s ideology of believing in politics of compassionate behaviour with humanity and society at heart. He extended a hand of care and compassion and called on Parrikar to share his concern and wish speedy recovery.’

‘Congress party has always been in a politics that believes in humane values and has social welfare at the heart. We never believe in politics of vindictiveness and vengeance which is reflected through the visit of our National President,’ he said.

‘Our President had even hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji in the Parliament passing on the message that Congress knows to spread love even to the arch political rivals. That is why despite being on a private visit, our National President managed to take off time to meet him,’ he said.

Mr Gandhi had paid a surprise visit to the Goa Legislative Assembly complex on Tuesday. During his short visit, he met his MLAs and called on Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and inquired about his health.(UNI)

US chipmaker Intel will likely beat Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics in terms of sales in the October-December period, taking back its title as the largest global chip firm.
According to its earnings report released late last week, the US firm posted US$18.7 billion in revenue during the three-month period. Although the quarterly sales fell below market estimates of US$19.01 billion, the company’s revenue for the full fiscal year set a record of US$70.8 billion, up 13 percent on-year.
Intel’s fourth-quarter sales are likely to surpass that of Samsung, which is expected to be lower than US$18 billion. The earnings of the Korean tech behemoth are scheduled to be announced on Jan. 31, The Investor reported.
In the second quarter of 2016, Samsung was able to dethrone Intel for the first time as the world’s top chipmaker by sales, thanks to the booming memory chip market. Since then the Korean firm has outrun the US company in terms of sales.
Memory chips, such as DRAM and NAND flash, are the mainstays of Samsung’s chip business, while Intel has mainly focused on non-memory chips, including central processing unit chips for laptops and PCs.
Samsung’s entire revenue for 2018, which is forecast to come in at some US$77 billion, on the other hand, will likely be higher than Intel’s US$70.8 billion.(UNI)

Fuel prices witnessed a decline on Tuesday as petrol was declined by 8-9 paise and diesel gets cheaper by 11 paise per litre.

In national capital Delhi, petrol is being sold for Rs 71.19 per litre while diesel costs Rs 65.89 a litre.

In Mumbai, people have to shell out Rs 76.82 for a litre of petrol while diesel costs Rs 69 per litre.

According to Indian Oil Corporation website, petrol and diesel cost Rs 73.28 and Rs 67.67 per litre in Kolkata.

Similarly, in Chennai petrol is retailing at Rs 73.90 and diesel Rs 69.61 a litre.

As per the country’s dynamic pricing mechanism, the domestic fuel prices depend upon international fuel prices on a 15-day average and the value of the rupee.

The price of the two fuels retailing at the petrol pumps is calculated after adding central excise duty, dealers commission and value-added tax (VAT) to the base price.

Samsung Electronics will start taking steps this year to replace plastic packaging materials with paper and other environmentally sustainable elements.

From the first half of 2019, the packaging used currently for Samsung’s products and accessories – ranging from mobile phones and tablets to home appliances – will be substituted with environmentally sustainable materials like recycled/bio-based plastics and paper.

To revamp product packaging, Samsung Electronics has formed a task force involving design and development, purchasing, marketing and quality control for innovative packaging ideas, the company said on Monday.

For mobile phone, tablet and wearable products, Samsung will replace the plastic used for holder trays with pulp molds, and bags wrapping accessories with eco-friendly materials. Samsung will also alter the phone charger design, swapping the glossy exterior with a matte finish and eliminating plastic protection films, reducing the use of plastics.

The plastic bags used to protect the surface of home appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machines as well as other kitchen appliances will also be replaced with bags containing recycled materials and bioplastics, which are respectively made from plastic wastes and non-fossil fuel materials like starch or sugar cane.

Regarding paper, Samsung will only use fiber materials certified by global environmental organizations like the Forest Stewardship Council, Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Scheme and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative for packaging and manuals by 2020.

Under the company’s circular economy policy, Samsung Electronics has set a mid-term implementation plan to only use paper packaging materials certified by forestry initiatives by next year. By 2030, Samsung aims to use 500,000 tonnes of recycled plastics and collect 7.5 million tonnes of discarded products (both cumulative from 2009).(UNI)

NCML Finance Pvt Ltd (NFIN), the wholly owned subsidiary of National Collateral Management Services Ltd, on Tuesday announce the launch of its new product, ‘Multipurpose Loans Secured by Property.’

The product envisaged by NFIN would cater to the short term & long-term financial needs of its customer who could need mixed usage of the loan facility. NFIN has been active for some time, with a strong focus on Semi-rural and agri-business finance. The focus of NFIN is to make available Multipurpose Loans in semi urban and peri urban areas.

NFIN MD & CEO Aryendra Kumar said, “We at NCML Finance are pleased to announce launch of “Multipurpose Loans secured by Property”.

It is a secured product, the usage of which could be for bridging their capital need to grow the business, acquiring assets for their business or personal use which may include buying a residential or commercial property or constructing Warehouse.

The facility will be customised as per client’s requirement. The tenure for these loans would be a minimum of one year and a maximum of 10 years, according to a company statement here.

NFIN also looks towards Warehouse Construction Loans, keeping in view the shortage of warehousing infrastructure across India. Warehouse construction loan offers unique proposition for customers who want to build their own warehouses/silos and avail finance at attractive terms from NFIN.(UNI)

Chief Minister of Maharastra  Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday slammed opposition parties for forming ‘Mahagathbandhan’ against the BJP government in view of the oncoming Lok Sabha.

Addressing a huge public rally on Monday night at Mamaji Chowk at Jalna about 60 km from here, Mr Fadnavis criticised opposition’s ‘Mahagathbandhan’.

He said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called all the 34 regional parties leaders in her state and formed an alliance called ‘Mahagathbandhan’.

In the opposition party, all are ready to become the Prime Minister, he quipped.

He said that the BJP has a powerful leader in Mr Narendra Modi who is a mass leader across the country to lead the nation whereas all the opposition leaders are regional leaders. They lack the capability to lead the nation, he added.

On the occasion, party pradesh president and Jalna MP Raosaheb Danve, the party state ministers among party top office-bearers shared the dias.(UNI)

Goa Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister Vijay Sardesai on Tuesday said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi had tweeted about the Rafale audio clip because he wanted to keep the issue alive.

Speaking to reporters at the Assembly complex at Porvorim near the city, he said, “For us, we want the issue to be over. He (Mr Gandhi) wants the issue to be alive. He is doing what he has to do.’

“The tweet was from Goa. So he remembered about it and he has to keep up the pressure. He is doing his job, we have to do our job. He has to ensure that the issue is not forgotten,” Mr Sardesai, who is also President of Goa Forward Party (GFP), a coalition partner of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, said.

Mr Gandhi on Monday had claimed that the audio tapes related to Rafale deal were authentic and it gave Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar power over Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In a tweet, Mr Gandhi also said that 30 days had passed but still no FIR was ordered nor was action taken against the minister.

’30 days since the Goa Audio Tapes on RAFALE were released. No FIR or inquiry ordered. No action against the Minister either! It’s obvious that the tapes are authentic & that Goa CM, Parrikar, is in possession of explosive RAFALE secrets, that give him power over the PM,’ he said.

In the beginning of the month, an audio clip had emerged which allegedly had voice of Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and another person in which Mr Rane claimed that during a cabinet meeting Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had admitted of having files related to Rafale deal in his possession.

Immediately, Mr Rane claimed that the audio clip was ‘doctored’ and demanded thorough inquiry. He had said that he had written to the chief minister demanding an inquiry.

The Chief Minister also had tweeted that no such topic was discussed in the cabinet meeting. However, no police inquiry has been ordered yet in the alleged doctoring of the audio clip and its release.(UNI)

Adopting the old Mayawati project of 2007, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to construct the world’s longest Ganga expressway from Meerut to Prayagraj.

The government also approved the much publicised Bundelkhand expressway and the Gorakhpur Link expressway to connect with the Poorvanchal expressway.

The decisions were taken at the Cabinet meeting here on Tuesday in the Kumbh tent city. The cabinet meeting, being held for the first time out of the state capital, took place after the state ministers, around 30 in number, worshiped at the Sangam and paid obeisance to the century-old Akshay Vat and Saraswati kup.

Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath, who himself briefed the media about the cabinet decision, said that on principle the cabinet decided to approve the 600 kilometers long Ganga Expressway starting from Meerut-Amroha-Bulandshahr-Budaun-Shahjahanpur-Kannauj-Unnao-Raebareli-Pratapgarh and to end in Prayagraj would be a 4 lane assess control greenfield expressway which can be expanded to 6-lane.

He said that the proposed Ganga Expressway would be building on 6556 hectares of land and the total expenditure on it would be around Rs 36,000 crore.

Earlier in 2007, the then Mayawati government too had launched a 1047 km access controlled eight-lane Ganga expressway running along the Ganga (Ganges) river. This expressway was slated to connect Greater Noida to Ballia connecting major cities of Varanasi, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Unnao, Kanpur, Kannauj, Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Shahjahanpur, Badaun and Bulandshahr.

The High court stayed the construction as there were no environmental clearance of the project.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also approved the much awaited Bundelkhand expressway. The expressway to connect the backward Bundelkhand region would be of 296 kms, for which 3,641 hectares of land would be required at the total cost of the project would be around Rs 8,800 crore.

Bundelkhand expressway route will be start from where it will join Agra Lucknow Expressway near Etawah and, thereafter, it will pass through Auraiya – Jalaun – Orai – Rath – Banda districts and to end at Chitrakoot.

Similarly, the government also approved the Gorakhpur link expressway to connect with the Poorwanchal expressway to be constructed from Lucknow to Ghazipur. The new Gorakhpur link expressway will be of 90 kilometers and will pass through Azamgarh and Ambedkharnagar district. The total cost of the link expressway would be around Rs 555 crore.

With this decision, the foundation stone for the Bundelkhand expressway and Gorakhpur link expressway would be done soon with start of the land acquisition.

Saint-Gobain, inaugurated three world class facilities to meet the growing demand of the glass markets — both domestic and international– on Monday.

Each of these facilities was dedicated to the nation by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Thiru Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Set up with an investment of over Rs 1,200 crore, this takes the cumulative investment in the World Glass Complex, Sriperumbudur to more than Rs 3,000 crore.

‘As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, India is an important market and investment destination for Saint-Gobain. As a global leader in the construction industry we see immense opportunities in India to utilise our expertise in sustainable building solutions to enhance human habitats and promote well-being in living spaces.

Over the past two decades we have consistently invested in developing new markets, in building new world-class manufacturing facilities, in technology and in human capital. We are an innovation driven company and our investment in Saint-Gobain Research India, our world-class Research Centre in Chennai, is aimed at developing innovative solutions not only for markets such as India, but also for the world,’ said Mr Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, France said.

‘We strongly believe in India’s future and have consistently invested ahead of time in Capacity, Capability, Technology and Innovation. The World Glass Complex at Sriperumbudur, Saint-Gobain’s largest investment in a single location worldwide is set to welcome the largest and most advanced glass manufacturing plant in India along with advanced magnetron coater and glass solutions line.

‘This new expansion will accelerate Saint-Gobain’s momentum in realizing the Vision of being the Clear Choice for Glass Solutions in India and the adjoining region,’ said Saint-Gobain India Private Limited Managing Director, B Santhanam(UNI).

(UNI) The Centre filed an application in the Top Court on Tuesday seeking permission for returning to original owners the 67-odd acres of land it had acquired around the 2.77 acre disputed Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid land.

Centre, in its application, said Ram Janambhoomi Nyas sought return of excess land acquired in 1991 to original owners.

It says SC in Ismail Faruqui judgment had said government could consider returning 67-odd acres of acquired land surrounding disputed land after Allahabad HC judgment on civil suits.

The Apex Court has not fixed any date for hearing the matter, but sources in the Supreme Court registry confirmed that the application would likely to come up within two weeks.

The Press Council of India (PCI) has taken suo-motu cognizance of the statement issued by the Jammu Kashmir Press Association(JKPA) regarding alleged threat by former MLA Chowdhary Lal Singh to media persons working in Jammu and Kashmir.

Singh resigned from the PDP-BJP coalition government as a minister after he allegedly supported the Kathua rape and murder of a 8-year-old girl in January last year.

The local newspaper highlighted Mr Singh’s participation in rallies and protest marches demanding release of those arrested by police in connection with rape and murder.

President of the JKPA Ghulam Hassan Kaloo said on Tuesday that the PCI has taken note of the association statement regarding the threat of  Singh to media persons working in the state.

He said the PCI has now summoned Fayaz Ahmad Wani, spokesman of JKPA, to appear before the Committee on February 14, 2919 at New Delhi.

The JKPA said   Singh had issued a statement threatening scribes of dire consequences like that of Shujat Bukhari, who had fallen prey to the icy hands of death on June 14 last year. Bukhari was shot dead by unidentified gunmen near his office at Partap Park. The Media Houses were under the spell of gloom and reeling under the shock waves when Mr Singh came out openly with a statement which was pregnant with venom and direct attack on Fourth Estate. No doubt, his statement evoked large scale condemnation and both National and Local Dailies came out openly demanding legal action against Mr Singh.

Kaloo said it is gratifying that the PCI has taken cognizance of the diatribe of the ex-MLA and it is hoped that it will initiate appropriate action to safeguard the Fourth Estate against the onslaughts and threatenings in future.(UNI)

China unveiled a raft of measures on Tuesday to secure stable domestic consumption growth in 2019.

The policy plan, jointly released by 10 ministry-level authorities including the National Development and Reform Commission, will inject new impetus into automobile sales, urban and rural consumption upgrades, spending on new products and services, and improvement in the consumption environment.

“The slowdown in auto sales was the main contributor to weaker consumption growth last year,” said Liu Yunan, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission. “Auto consumption, with its heft, is highlighted in our targeted measures.”

The country sold 28.08 million autos last year, down 2.76 percent year-on-year, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed.

The drop accounted for 66.7 percent of the total retail sales decline in 2018, Liu told a news conference Tuesday, adding that the country’s car market still had much untapped potential.

China will promote auto replacement, especially in rural areas, accelerate development of the second-hand car market, and adjust subsidies to galvanize sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), according to the plan.

As for boosting urban consumption, authorities will promote the renewal of old departments, development of the real estate rent market as well as child and elderly care services.

Rural areas will see faster development of online shopping, e-commerce and tourism, and will launch product quality campaigns to improve market environment.

Policies will also increase the supply of high-quality products and services, such as 5G communication and 4K ultra high-definition video, and improve infrastructure such as parking lots and charging stations for NEVs.

Within five years of its commercial deployment in China, 5G will drive an economic output of 10 trillion yuan (about 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars) and create 3 million new jobs, according to some estimates, said Dong Dajian, an official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

To strengthen residents’ spending power, measures such as special individual income tax deductions will be fully implemented.

Consumption has played an increasing role in China’s economy, contributing 76.2 percent of GDP growth in 2018, up significantly by 18.6 percentage points from a year ago, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.

With one of the world’s largest markets, China should continue releasing its potential to expand its domestic market, improve its consumption environment and boost consumer spending, according to a statement released after the annual Central Economic Work Conference.

“We expect consumption to remain the largest driver of the economy in the next decade,” said Ding Shuang, an economist of the Standard Chartered Bank, citing consumption to continue to grow faster than investment amid the ongoing trends of urbanization, aging and a rising middle-income group demanding quality goods and services.(UNI)

Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez has said that his country is ready to become a venue for possible talks on the Venezuelan crisis settlement, local media reported.
The VTV broadcaster also reported that Vazquez discussed the Venezuelan crisis in phone talks with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Monday.
The statements come after another Latin American leader, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said on January 25 that his country was willing to act as a mediator in talks between the Venezuelan authorities and opposition provided that the sides agreed to the offer.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly said that he is open to talks with the opposition at any time, however, speaker of the opposition-led Venezuelan National Assembly Juan Guaido has questioned sincerity of the government’s offer and maintained that he is unwilling to join a “fake” dialogue.
On January 15, the National Assembly declared Maduro, whose last year’s re-election it considers illegitimate, a usurper. Last Wednesday, Guaido proclaimed himself the country’s interim president.
The United States and a number of other countries have recognized the opposition leader and demanded that a new election be held in the Latin American country. Maduro slammed Guaido as a US “puppet” and accused Washington of organizing a coup in Venezuela.
Russia, Uruguay, Mexico, and Turkey voiced their support for Maduro as the country’s only legitimate president, with Moscow also expressing readiness to act as a mediator in the conflict between the government and the opposition. (UNI)

The Health ministry of Singapore on Monday said that confidential information of 14,200 people with HIV has been stolen and leaked online. The ministry has named American fraudster as the culprit.
The Ministry said “The records that have been leaked include those of 5,400 Singaporeans diagnosed with HIV up to January 2013, and 8,800 foreigners diagnosed up to December 2011.
This included each person’s name, identification number, phone number and address, HIV test results and related medical information, reports The Straits Times.
The name, identification number, phone number and address of 2,400 people identified through contact tracing up to May 2007 were also leaked.
“We are sorry for the anxiety and distress caused by this incident.
“Our priority is the well being of the affected individuals,” it added, saying that it has been contacting affected individuals to inform and help them since last Saturday (Jan 26), and that it has worked with relevant parties to disable access to the information.(UNI)

NiYO, the new-age digital banking solutions provider for salaried employees, has launched NiYO Global Travel Card, which is the first-ever forex card with ‘zero forex mark-up’.
Travellers, using this card, will not pay any currency exchange premium and international transaction fees – unlike a regular forex card.
With the NiYO Global Travel Card in her pocket, the overseas traveller will effectively have no need for the usual multi-currency forex cards or travellers’ cheques – all the while making international transactions cost-effective across 150-plus countries and 35 million merchants worldwide.
Besides the cost-effective feature, NiYO Global Card also offers instant digital onboarding, convenient loading from the user’s bank account via NEFT/IMPS, according to a statement on Monday.
The card is supported by a cutting-edge mobile app, which gives users the ability to lock and unlock either the full card or a payment channel anytime, anywhere in the world. The app also provides real-time notifications on usage, exchange rates and refunds, while helping users find convenient ATM locations, avail nearby offers – thus making it one of the most modern cards in the world today.
Business travellers can submit claims on-the-go by adding bills for each transaction right in the app.
These claims can be instantaneously approved by their employer organisations via the NiYO Corporate Portal.(UNI)