NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio. This is SAIRA MUJTABA bringing glimpses of the major developments of the day from across the globe. Over the next half an hour, we shall bring to you the latest from the world of politics, economy, sports, entertainment and more.

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HEADLINES :

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit in Indore; Says Institutions and credible voices that track the global economy have unprecedented confidence in India.

• Computer glitch leaves planes grounded across United States.

• World Health Organization recommends all those travelling to wear masks in view of rapid spread of new Omicron sub-variant across the world.

• IMF says India expected to be the fastest-growing economy among largest emerging markets and developing economies.

• Indian film RRR's song wins prestigious Golden Globe award for Best Original Song.

• In Men's Hockey World Cup commences in Cuttack; First match to be played on Friday.

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GLOBAL INVESTORS SUMMIT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday virtually inaugurated Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit in Indore. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister said India has been on the path of 'Reform, Transform and Perform' since 2014.

Prime Minister said, Institutions and credible voices that track the global economy have unprecedented confidence in India.

He said, International Monetary Fund sees India as a bright spot in the global economy. World Bank says that India is in a better position to deal with global headwinds than many other countries. This is because of India's strong macroeconomic fundamentals, Mr Modi said. He said, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said that India will be among the fastest growing economies in the G-20 group this year. According to Morgan Stanley, India is moving towards becoming the world's third largest economy in the next 4-5 years. The CEO of McKinsey has said that this is not only India's decade but India's century, Prime Minister said. Mr Modi said, Optimism for India is driven by strong democracy, young demography and political stability. Prime Minister said, India's focus on strengthening multimodal infrastructure is opening up new possibilities of investment in the country. He said, dedicated freight corridors, Industrial corridors, expressways and logistic parks are becoming new identity of India.

Delegations from more than 65 countries are participating in the Global Investors Summit. More than 500 prominent industrialists of the country are also participating in the summit.

President of Suriname Chandrika Prasad Santokhi and the President of Guyana Dr Mohammed Irfan Ali, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivaraj Singh Chouhan and various industry leaders are also present in this ceremony. Union Minister for commerce and industries Piyush Goel was also virtually addressed the inaugural session.

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VOICE OF GLOBAL SOUTH SUMMIT

India will host the two day virtual 'Voice of Global South Summit' from Thursday. The inaugural Leaders' Session will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The theme of the Summit is Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose. The Summit envisages bringing together countries of the Gobal South and sharing their perspectives and priorities on a common platform across a whole range of issues. More than 120 countries have been invited for this Summit. This initiative is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of Sabka Saath, Sabha Vikas, Sabka Vishwas Aur Sabka Prayas and India's principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.

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CABINET-COOPERATIVE SOCITIES

The Indian Government approved setting up of a national level Multi-State Cooperative Export Society on Wednesday. Briefing media in New Delhi, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav said this Society will work as an umbrella organization for export of surplus goods and services. It will help unlock the export potential of Indian cooperatives in the global market.

The government also cleared a proposal for setting up of a national level Multi-State Cooperative Organic Society. It will act as an umbrella organization for aggregation, procurement, branding and marketing of organic products.

The Minister informed that the Union Cabinet also approved setting up of a national level Multi-State Cooperative Seed Society to help reduce the yield gaps and enhance productivity.  

The three national cooperative bodies will be set up under the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.

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GANGA VILAS CRUISE

Indian Culture Ministry will organise a grand curtain raiser cultural program 'Sur Sarita - Symphony of Ganga' on the eve of the launch of the world's longest river cruise at Varanasi on Thursday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the cruise on 13th January. AIR correspondent reports, during the concert, other dignitaries including tourists traveling in Ganga Vilas Cruise will get acquainted with the importance of Mother Ganga and their responsibilities towards her.  Ganga Vilas Cruise will cross the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bangladesh, and Assam in a journey of 51 days.

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HOTSPOT

The 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention (PBD) was organized from 8th to 10th January at Indore in Madhya Pradesh. The theme of this PBD Convention was "Diaspora: Reliable partners for India’s progress in Amrit Kaal”. Over three thousand 500 diaspora members from nearly 70 different countries had registered for the PBD Convention.

In today's Hotspot Section, we bring you a News Commentary on Pravasi Bharatiyas Have A Significant Place In India's Journey In “Amrit Kaal”: Prime Minister.

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ODISHA-FIH HOCKEY

FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup got off to a colourful start in the historic Barabati stadium in the millennium city of Cuttack in eastern Indian state of Odisha on Wednesday. The magnificent opening ceremony of the tournament was graced by Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Union minister of Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur, FIH President Tayab Vikram , Hockey India President Dillip Tirkey and a host of national and international players and delegates. Addressing the huge audience in the stadium, the Odisha Chief Minister welcomed the participants while thanking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government  for all the support extended to Odisha in hosting the World Cup. Mr Thakur said  hosting the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup is a great moment for India. A report:

Stating that India has been a seat of hockey since long, the Minister Mr. Thakur reflected on how the Indian hockey teams have gifted to the nation the prestigious Olympic gold cups in hockey, three times each, both before independence under the hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand and under another hockey legend Balbir Singh Senior after independence. He said, while the Indian govt has been doing its best to promote sports and games in the country including hockey, the states are also contributing immensely, in the true spirit of cooperative federalism. Stating that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is a great sports lover, the Minister said India under his leadership extended all support to the Indian hockey team even during the tough time of Covid pandemic which resulted in India winning the bronze in the 2022 Tokyo Olympics. He thanked the chief minister and the govt of Odisha for having gifted a world class hockey stadium not only to Odisha but to the country as a whole. He called upon the enthusiastic audience to create history from out of the FIH hockey Men’s World Cup that begins from coming Friday in both Capital Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.Girish Chandra Dash, AIR News, Bhubaneswar.

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PM HOCKEY

Prime Minister  Narendra Modi has extended his best wishes to all the participating teams on the commencement of the 2023 Hockey World Cup in Odisha. In his message, the Prime Minister hoped that the tournament further strengthens the spirit of sportsmanship and popularise the beautiful game of Hockey. He said India is proud to be hosting this tournament.

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PM NETANYAHU

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to his Israel counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu over phone on Wednesday. Congratulating  Mr Netanyahu for his election as  Prime Minister of Israel for a sixth time, Mr Modi wished him a very successful tenure.  

The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the rapid progress in the India-Israel Strategic Partnership in recent years, and agreed on the potential for further strengthening strategic cooperation in a variety of areas. Prime Minister Modi invited Mr Netanyahu to visit India at an early date.

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US-FLIGHT DELAY

The United States air traffic is getting back to normal after domestic flights were grounded for several hours because of a computer glitch . The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a ground stop that it issued early Wednesday morning following an outage to a system that provides pilots with notices they need before flying. The FAA  says they are looking into the cause of the overnight outage. The latest data from the flight-tracking site FlightAware shows there were more than 4,000 flight delays nationwide. US President Joe Biden was briefed about the outage and he said that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not yet know what caused the issue. The White House in a statement said that there is no evidence of a cyberattack.

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PARIS-KNIFE ATTACK

At least six people were injured with one in critical condition in an attack at Paris's international Gare du Nord station restricting access to one of the French capital’s major rail hubs. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the man was stopped by two off-duty police officers who were returning home from a shift. He said the suspected attacker was shot three times and taken to hospital with serious injuries. Paris Prosecutor’s Office said, the motive for the knife attack is unknown.

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WHO-COVID

The World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to recommend all those travelling to wear masks in view of the rapid spread of the new Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.5 in across the world. WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood said, Passengers should be advised to wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights.

Latest highly transmissible Omicron variant XBB.1.5 has accounted for 27.6 percent of the Covid-19 in the United States so far till Sunday. The WHO officials said, subvariant has been detected in Europe as well in small but growing numbers.

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WORLD BANK-INDIA

The World Bank has reaffirmed its belief in the Indian economy yet again. The global lender said in a report that India is expected to be the fastest-growing economy among the seven largest emerging markets and developing economies. While the World Bank projected a gloomy outlook for the global economy, it said that the Indian economy is expected to grow at the rate of 6.6 percent in the fiscal year 2023-24.

It said that the global economy will come perilously close to a recession this year. It forecast weaker growth in all the world's top economies including the United States, Europe and China.

In its report titled Global Economic Prospects, the World Bank noted that India's growth expanded by 9.7 percent on an annual basis in the first half of the fiscal year 2022-23, reflecting strong private consumption and fixed investment growth.

The World Bank also slashed its forecast for global growth this year by nearly half to just 1.7 percent from its previous projection of 3 percent.

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RUSSIA-UKRAINE

Russia's backed Wagner Group has claimed control over the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian media reports that the Wagner head, Yevgeniy Prigozhin said, Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar. He said, a cauldron has been formed in the centre of the city in which urban fighting is going on.

Earlier, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said that heavy fighting is continuing.

Accoding to media reports, the fall of Soledar, a small salt-mining town in the Donetsk region, could help Russian troops to encircle the nearby strategic city of Bakhmut.

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FRANCE-RETIREMENT AGE

The French government has annonced that it would increase the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030.

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne announced the decision at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday and defended the reform as a way to fiscally balance the country's pension system.

The French government has argued that people live longer than they used to, meaning citizens will need to work longer in order to keep the pension financially afloat.

It's also said that its retirement rules are much more generous than most comparable developed economies with aging populations.

Ms. Borne said, the full French pension age will be raised by three months every year, beginning in 2023.

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CANADA-SL RAJAPAKSA SANCTION

Canada has imposed sanctions against former Sri Lanka Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa for gross and systematic violations of human rights during armed conflict between 1983 to 2009 in the island nation. Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly said that the sanctions imposed will send a message that Canada will not accept continued impunity for those that have committed human rights violations in Sri Lanka.

The sanctions imposed on the four state officials render an asset freeze they may hold in Canada and render them inadmissible to Canada.

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BRAZIL-ARREST

The Brazilian supreme court ordered the arrest of two top security officials in the capital Brasilia on Tuesday, days after rioters stormed key government buildings in capital.

Supreme Court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes approved warrants for the arrests of Brasília federal district's public security chief, Anderson Torres and commander of military police in the district, Colonel Fábio Augusto.

However, details of the charges leveled against the pair were not immediately clear.

In the arrest warrant, Moraes cited their failure to ensure proper security forces were in place. He also cited their authorization of the entrance into the city of more than 100 buses with Bolsonaro supporters on board, and their failure to close down a camp at which the former president's loyalists had been gathering for months.

Meanwhile, police set about questioning over 1,000 protesters after they were detained as troops dismantled their camp opposite the army's headquarters.

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SOUTH KOREA-EMPLOYMENT

South Korea's unemployment rate rose to an 11-month high in December 2022, while the annual increase in employed people marked the smallest in 21 months.

According to official data on Wednesday, the country's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for December stood at 3.3 per cent. It is higher than 2.9 per cent in November and the highest since January.

According to Statistics Korea, in the 12 months through December, the number of employed people increased, extending a run of year-on-year gains to a 22nd straight month, however, marking the smallest annual increase since March 2021.

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NASA-NRI

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, has appointed an Indian-American aerospace industry expert AC Charania as its new chief technologist. In his new role, Charania will serve as principal advisor to Administrator Bill Nelson on technology policy and programmes at NASA.

Charania joined NASA on January 3 replacing another Indian-American scientist Bhavya Lal, who was serving as acting chief technologist. NASA said in a statement that Charania He will lead technology innovation for the space agency. It said that the chief technologist aligns NASA’s agency-wide technology investments with mission needs across six mission directorates and oversees technology collaboration with other federal agencies, the private sector, and external stakeholders.

Before joining NASA, Charania served as vice president of product strategy at Reliable Robotics, a firm that is working to bring certified autonomous vehicles to commercial aviation. Charania has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s in economics from Emory University.

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EU-TEMPRATURE

European Union scientists  has  said that Europe experienced its second-warmest year on record in 2022 as climate change unleashed record-breaking weather extremes. It slashed crop yields, dried up rivers and led to thousands of deaths.

The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said, 2022 was also the world's fifth-warmest year.

Europe experienced its warmest summer, with temperatures increasing by more than twice the global average over the past three decades, faster than any other continent. The last eight years are now also the warmest eight yet recorded.

Temperature records in many western European countries were broken with summer heatwaves and intense droughts hitting many parts.

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GOLDEN GLOBE-AWARDS

The film world's award season has officially kicked off in Los Angeles. The Golden Globes, which is now in its eightieth year, honours work in both film and television. The Banshees of Inisherin was the night's biggest winner in the film categories, with three wins, closely followed by The Fablemans and Everything, Everywhere All at Once with two.

The Globes are unique in that they split their top film honours in two. “The Fabelmans” earned statues as both best drama and for Spielberg, his third Globe as a director, while “Banshees of Inisherin” won for best musical or comedy, as well for writer Martin McDonagh and star Colin Farrell.

Quinta Brunson and Tyler James Williams were also recognized for the best comedy winner, the ABC sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” the rare series on a broadcast network to make inroads in the awards arena. Among dramas, Zendaya earned another accolade for HBO’s gritty teen drama “Euphoria.”

Netflix also scored a win over Disney in the animated movie category with “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” a stop-motion version of the story. In the TV categories, the Globes voters spread the wealth, with HBO taking home four, including best series and limited series honours for “House of the Dragon” and “The White Lotus.” ABC claimed three thanks to “Abbott,” and FX a pair, with one each for Netflix, Apple TV, Hulu, and Paramount Network.

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NATU NATU GOLDEN GLOBE

Indian film RRR's super hit song Natu Natu has won the prestigious Golden Globe award for Best Original Song. The history creating track from director SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster movie is composed by MM Keeravani. The singers are Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj. “Naatu Naatu,” which became an anthem of sorts for the Rajamouli fans is a dance number featuring Jr NTR and Ram Charan. It created ripples for its elaborate choreography and musical storytelling.

Natu Natu left behind Taylor Swift’s “Carolina” from Where the Crawdads Sing, “Ciao Papa” from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick, and “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, performed by Rihanna.

The historical epic, RRR has also been nominated in the Best Non-English Language Film category at the 80th Golden Globes. The awards are considered as a precursor for the Oscars.

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WORLD NEWS CAPSULE

The Sensex and the Nifty today fell marginally to close almost flat. Index of top 30 companies at Bombay Stock Exchange ended near 60,100 points. The index of top 50 companies at National Stock Exchange, closed near 17,900 level. The rupee appreciated 21 paise against the US currency. A report from the business desk-  

The Sensex slipped 10 points to settle at 60,106. The Nifty also slipped 21 points to finish at 17,896.

Among global stock markets, Asain shares gained trading in a narrow range except China’s Shanghai Composite index which slipped 0.2 percent. Japan's NIKKEI-225 climbed one percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained half a percent. South Korea’s KOSPI rose 0.4 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times added 0.3 percent. European shares were up in intra-day trade.

Oil prices rose around half a percent amid diversion cues of an unexpected build in U.S. crude and fuel inventories, global economic uncertainty and China reopening its economy. In intra-day trade, Brent crude was trading at 80 dollars and 55 cents per barrel.

Back Home, At the Multi Commodity Exchange, Gold futures for February was trading at 55,800 rupees per ten grams. Silver futures for March was trading at 68,670 rupees per kilogram when reports last came in.

At forex market, the rupee strengthened 21 paise to closed at 81 rupees and 58 paise against the US dollar. V Ravi Kumar for World News, All India Radio.

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FPR

Now let us take a look at the major developments around the world, as reported in the Foreign Press.

• The Guardian writes ‘A great day for the country’: Uganda declares an end to Ebola outbreak.

• The Washington Post reports Indonesia admits historical rights violations - but shirks accountability.

• The New York Times writes Russian Mercenary Group Says It Has Taken Contested Ukrainian Town.

• The Business Recorder writes China defends its retaliation against South Korea, Japan COVID curbs.

• Wall Street Journal  writes Brazil’s Military Stopped Mob at Capital, Ignoring Calls to Stage a Coup.

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REPEAT HEADLINES

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates Madhya Pradesh Global Investors Summit in Indore; Says Institutions and credible voices that track the global economy have unprecedented confidence in India.

• Computer glitch leaves planes grounded across United States.

• World Health Organization recommends all those travelling to wear masks in view of rapid spread of new Omicron sub-variant across the world.

• IMF says India expected to be the fastest-growing economy among largest emerging markets and developing economies.

• Indian film RRR's song wins prestigious Golden Globe award for Best Original Song.

• And, Men's Hockey World Cup commences in Cuttack; First match to be played on Friday.

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And now, before we end, let us listen to Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajanVaishnav Jan, by artists from SUDAN.

AND WITH THAT, WE END THIS BULLETIN. WE'LL BE BACK AT THE SAME TIME TOMORROW WITH THE NEXT EDITION OF WORLD NEWS.

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