Recognizing the uniqueness of the Himalayas and the challenges for sustainable development, NITI Aayog had set up 5 Working Groups (WGs) in June 2017 to prepare a roadmap for actions in 5 thematic areas. The themes include:Inventory and Revival of Springs in Himalayas for Water Security, Sustainable Tourism in Indian Himalayan Region, Transformative Approach to Shifting Cultivation, Strengthening Skill & Entrepreneurship Landscape in Himalayas and Data/Information for Informed Decision Making. While these thematic areas are quite significant for the Himalayas. Mountain specificities require specific solutions for resilience building that address socio-economic and environmental challenges in the mountain setting. The reports from the five working groups discuss the significance, the challenges, the ongoing actions and a future roadmap.The reports lists challenges in all 5 thematic areas. Nearly 30% of springs crucial to water security of people are drying and 50% have reported reduced discharge. Himalayan Tourism growing annually at 6.8% has crated huge challenge related to solid waste, water, traffic, loss of bio-cultural diversity etc.With the projected arrival of tourists in IHR States to more than double by 2025, urgent actions will be needed to address critical issues of waste management and water crisis in addition to other environmental and social issues. In the north eastern States, thousands of the households continue to practice slash and burn (shifting cultivation) that need to be addressed in view of ecological, food and nutritional security. Predominantly unskilled workforce remains a challenge for the mountains as well that need high priority to address migration of youths. 

A four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the death of a newborn baby after the ambulance carrying the child allegedly got stuck in traffic because of a cycle rally by state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar in Haryana’s Sonipat district on Wednesday.

According to ANI, relatives of the infant alleged that the ambulance, which was en-route to the hospital, was stuck in a massive traffic jam due to a cycle rally organised by Tanwar. The rally, Haryana Bachao Pariwartan Lao, was apparently led by Tanwar in Sonipat.

“Our child died en-route in the ambulance as we were stuck in the traffic jam for 45 minutes because of the Congress rally. There was no provision for oxygen in the ambulance,” the father of the infant told the news agency.

US President Donald Trump warned Thursday that if he was impeached the US economy would collapse. In an interview aired today, Trump told Fox and Friends, as quoted by AFP, “I will tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor.”

The US President was responding to a question on his mounting legal woes after his former attorney Michael Cohen said under oath that Trump instructed him to commit a felony by breaking US campaign finance laws.

Shardul Vihan added to India’s medal tally on Day 5 of Asian Games 2018 taking place in Indonesia as he clinched a silver medal in men’s double trap shooting event on Thursday.

The 15-year old boy from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh shot 73 to come second to Korea’s Shin Hyunwoo, 34, who overtook the Indian shooter by a point. Qatar’s Al Marri Hamad Ali settled for bronze with a score of 53 at the Jakabaring shooting range.

In a turnaround, the Central government had on Tuesday decided that private retail chemists would be free to sell Oxytocin from September 1.

Through a notification dated April 27, 2018, the Centre had stated that sale of Oxytocin through private retail chemists would be banned from July 1. However, fearing Oxytocin shortage, the government postponed the date of implementation of this ban to September 1.

Now, in a gazette notification dated August 21, 2018, the Central government announced its decision to delete the provisions of April 27 notification that stated that “Oxytocin in any form or name shall not be allowed to be sold through retail Chemist”. The Centre on Tuesday has also deleted the provisions that stated that the Oxytocin would be sold through government chemists only.

The Government of India has taken the stand that it will meet the financial demands emanating out of the damages inflicted by the heavy rains in Kerala from domestic sources. This is in context of the reported telephone call from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi making the offer of assistance worth $100 million (Rs 700 crore).

It would be churlish to decline the UAE's offer given the symbiotic ties between it and Kerala, which has the distinction of having sent around 80 percent of the three-million-strong Indian diaspora to the Emirates. It has been a win-win relationship between UAE and Kerala with its enterprising youngsters going there in search of greener pastures mainly in its booming construction industry which has been in decline, of late.

In Mr. Jaitley's absence, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal was holding the additional charge of the Finance and Corporate Affairs portfolio.
Union Minister Arun Jaitley is back as the Finance Minister after a three month interval to recuperate from a kidney transplant surgery in May this year.

Announcing his return, a communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan read, “The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed to assign the portfolios of the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs to Shri Arun Jaitley.”

In Mr. Jaitley's absence, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal was holding the additional charge of the Finance and Corporate Affairs portfolio.

India's men's hockey team romped to their biggest ever tournament win at the Asian Games on Wednesday with a 26-0 thrashing of hapless Hong Kong -- who didn't have a single shot on target.

India scored nearly a goal every two minutes as they broke an 86-year-old record, surpassing their 24-1 victory over the United States at the 1932 Olympics.

The eight-time Olympic champions' dominance was such that with seven minutes to go, they took off their goalkeeper Krishnan Bahadur Pathak as the entire team laid seige to the Hong Kong goal.

India had already overtaken their previous Asian Games record -- Monday's 17-0 hammering of hosts Indonesia -- by the end of the third quarter, when they led 18-0.

But the defending champions refused to show any mercy, scoring another eight goals in the final period.

India's men have won a record eight Olympic golds, but trail on Asian Games golds (three) to their fierce rivals Pakistan (eight).

Mumbai: The Mumbai Maersk, operated by APM Terminals Mumbai, has set a world record in loading the highest number of containers, surpassing the 19,000-TEU-mark, the shipping line has said.

The vessel loaded 19,038 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) setting a new world record, which is a fete not only for a Maersk vessel but also for any vessel in the world, the shipping line said in a statement on Wednesday.

The world record load of 19,038 TEU has raised a new bar for Maersk by surpassing the Madison Maersk, a first generation triple-E class vessel, which had clocked the
previous record of loading 18,215 TEU in 2015.

The Mumbai Maersk, a second generation triple-E class vessel with a nominal capacity of 20,568 TEU, had left the Tanjung Pelepas port in Malaysia over the weekend and is sailing into Europe with the first port of call expected at Rotterdam on 5 September.

• Indian shooter Rahi Sarnobat has bagged a gold medal in the 25m pistol final after two rounds of shoot-off.

  Thailand’s Naphaswan Yangpaiboon and Rahi were tied at a Games Record final round score of 34 after 10 rounds of 5 shots each, after which the match went into a shoot-off. Both found the target four times in the shoot-off, leading to another round of five shots where Rahi shot three and the Thai two, ensuring a historic gold for the Kohlapur-born shooter.

  The other Indian in this final, Manu Bhaker who qualified in the top spot with a Games Record score, finished at the sixth spot.

  The gold now puts India in the sixth spot in the medal tally with four golds, three silvers and four bronze.