NAMASKAR! A warm welcome to 'World News: an Indian perspective on All India Radio.This is NAVNEET SINGH 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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THE HEADLINES:

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stresses on role of family in tackling stigma around mental-health faced by children.

• Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, arrives in New Delhi on a three-day visit; To be Chief Guest on 74th Republic Day.

• President of India Droupadi Murmu to address the nation on Wednesday on the eve of country's Republic Day.

• Ukraine dismisses several governors and officials amid corruption alleagtions.

• Earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck Nepal this afternoon; Tremors felt in India incluing Uttarakhand, Delhi and adjoining areas.

• Song Naatu Naatu and two documentaries- All that Breathes and The Elephant Whisperers from India nominated for this year's Oscar.

• In Cricket, India clean sweeps 3 match ODI series against New Zealand.

• In Australian Open Tennis, Indian duo of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna enters Mixed Doubles Semifinals in Melbourne.

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REV PM-BAL PURASKAR

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with 11 children honoured with the National Bravery Award this year, at his residence in New Delhi on Tuesday. During the interaction, Mr Modi presented souvenirs to all the awardees and discussed their achievements on a one-to-one basis, which was followed by interaction with the entire group. Prime Minister Modi  engaged in an open-hearted interaction in an informal setting. He suggested the awardees to start solving small problems, gradually build capacity, enhance capability and develop confidence to solve bigger problems as they go ahead in life.

Discussing the issue of mental health and problems faced by children, Mr Modi talked about tackling stigma around the issue. He also highlighted the important role of family in tackling such issues. The children asked him various questions about the challenges they face and sought his guidance on a variety of topics.

Several other topics were also taken up by the Prime Minister during the interaction, including the benefits of playing Chess, taking up art and culture as a career, research and innovation and spirituality, among others.

During the interaction, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani was also present.

The Government has been conferring the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar to children for their exceptional achievement in six categories, namely Innovation, Social Service, Scholastic, Sports, Art and Culture and Bravery. Each awardee is given a medal, a cash prize of one lakh rupees and a certificate.

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EGYPT PREZ VISIT

President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived in New Delhi this evening on a three-day visit to India. President El-Sisi will be the Chief Guest on India’s 74th Republic Day.

President El-Sisi is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including five Ministers and senior officials. A military contingent from Egyptian Army will also participate in the Republic Day parade function. President of Egypt will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday. President Droupadi Murmu will host a State Banquet in honour of the visiting dignitary in the evening. President Sisi will have a bilateral meeting and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest on Wednesday. External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will also call on President Sisi. The visiting dignitary will also interact with Indian Business community at a  event during his visit.  India and Egypt are celebrating 75 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year. Egypt has also been invited as a ‘Guest Country’ during India’s Presidency of G-20 in 2022-23.

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PRESIDENT-ADDRESS

President of India Droupadi Murmu will address the nation tomorrow on the eve of the 74th Republic Day. The address will be broadcast from 7 PM Indian Time on the entire national network of All India Radio. The event will also be telecast over all channels of Doordarshan in Hindi followed by the English version. Broadcast of the address in Hindi and English on Doordarshan will be followed by broadcast in regional languages by regional channels of Doordarshan. AIR will broadcast regional language versions from 9:30 PM onwards on its respective regional networks.

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PREZ-VOTERS' DAY

India's President Droupadi Murmu will present the National Awards for the year 2022 on the 13th National Voters’ Day on Wednesday in New Delhi. The theme of the day for this year is Nothing Like Voting, I Vote for Sure. It is dedicated to voters, conveying individuals' feelings and aspirations towards participation in the electoral process through the power of their vote.The Election Commission said the National Awards for the Best Electoral Practices will be presented to State and District level officers for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections during the last year in various spheres.

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RAJNATH-AERO INDIA

India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed preparations for the forthcoming Aero India Show, during the apex committee meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday. The 14th edition of Asia’s largest Aero show will be held in Bengaluru between 13th and 17th of next month.

During the meeting, Mr Singh pointed out that the Indian Defence industry is going through a transformational phase, and the active participation of the private sector is the biggest catalyst to that change. He said, Aero India is a medium to provide a platform to all the stakeholders to jointly strengthen the Defence and Aerospace sector and contribute to Nation Building.  The Indian Defence Minister said, Aero India 2023 will not just be an event, but a display of the growing prowess of the Defence and Aerospace sector, and the rise of a strong and self-reliant ‘New India’. He exhorted all the stakeholders to ensure fool-proof arrangements for the participants during the event.  Our Correspondent reports that te five-day event with the theme 'The Runway to a Billion Opportunities’, will be the largest-ever Aero show organised at Air Force Station, Yelahanka in an area of around 35 thousand square meter. As on date, 731 exhibitors have registered for the event.

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ELECTION-CONFERENCE

India's Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey said that technology has opened a new window to protect and support democratic institutions, and the electoral process. He, however, said, cyber-attacks and information influence operations are posing an increasing threat to election infrastructure and perception of electoral integrity. Mr Pandey was addressing the concluding ceremony of the two-day international conference on ‘Use of Technology' and ‘Election Integrity’ in New Delhi on Wednesday.  Our Correspondent reports that this was the 2nd conference hosted by the Election Commission of India under the aegis of the Cohort on ‘Elections Integrity’, which was established under the Summit for Democracy - Year of Action Programme. Over 40 participants from 16 Countries and various international organisations participated in the Conference. Besides this, representatives from eight foreign missions located at New Delhi also participated in the Conference.

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GUJ-B 20

On the last day of the B20 summit at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The G 20 delegates visited states unique tourist places and country's maiden Financial Tech city- GIFT City. The delegates participated in the special guided Yoga Session at Punit Van in Gandhinagar on Tuesday morning. The delegates were also given an overview of the world class infrastructure and facilities at GIFT city including India's first international exchange -India Inx and utility tunnel. The G20 representatives also visited and explorred famous step well at Adalaj near Ahmedabad and learnt about its unique architecture and history.

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HOTSPOT

In today's Hotspot Section, we bring you a news commentary on India is a role model of growth through inclusivity.

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UKRAINE OFFICIALS-RESIGNATION

Ukraine dismissed the governors of five battlefield provinces and several other senior officials on Tuesday in the biggest shakeup of its leadership since its conflict with Russia began last year. Among more than a dozen senior Ukrainian officials who were dismissed include, the governors of the Kyiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. All five regions have been major battlefields over the past year, giving their governors an unusually high national profile. A Deputy Defence Minister, a Deputy Prosecutor, a Deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office and two Deputy Ministers responsible for regional development were also among the others who stepped down. Some of the resignations were linked with corruption allegations. Ukraine has a history of graft and shaky governance, and is under international pressure to show it can be a reliable steward of billions of dollars in Western aid. Mykhailo Podolyak, aide to President Zelenskiy, in a tweet, called the decisions an answer to public calls for justice.

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US WEAPONS BAN

United States President Joe Biden has called on Congress to act quickly over the ban on assault weapons as California witnessed two mass shootings within 48 hours. According to the statement released by the White House, President Biden and the first lady Jill Biden mourned for the victims who lost their lives in the two attacks in California. The US President urged both chambers of Congress to act quickly and deliver the ban on assault weapons and take action to keep American communities, schools, workplaces, and homes safe.

The statement came after California witnessed a mass shooting in the Half Moon Bay area.

At least seven people were killed and one person critically injured after mass shootings were reported from two locations in the Half Moon Bay area in northern California of United States.

This shooting came within 48 hours of Southern California’s Monterey Park’s mass shooting which claimed the lives of 10 people.

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NEPAL-QUAKE: NEPAL-QUAKE

An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck Nepal this afternoon, killing one person and damaging several houses. Tremors were felt as far as Uttarakhand, New Delhi and adjoining areas. According to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Center at Kathmandu, the epicentre of the quake was at Mela of Bajura district. More from our Kathmandu correspondent:

In Uttarakhand, strong tremors were felt in some districts, including Dehradun, Bageshwar and Nainital. So far, there is no information about damage to life or property from anywhere in the state.

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SRI LANKA-IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed India’s assurance to restructure Sri Lanka’s debt. India continues to be the sole creditor to have backed Sri Lanka’s bid for an IMF bailout. Earlier, the External Affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar in his visit to Sri Lanka had announced India’s proactive step. Sri Lanka has been battling it's worst ever economic crisis since its independence in 1948. India had extended a generous assistance of 4 billion US dollars last year to Sri Lanka to cope with the crisis.

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And now a report from the business desk:

At the stock markets, the Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange gained 37 points, to close at 60,979. The Nifty at the National Stock Exchange ended flat at 18,118.

Among other global stock markets, most of the Asian Markets were closed.

In Europe, London's FTSE-100 and Germany's DAX had shed 0.3 percent, each but France's CAC-40 had traded marginally higher, in intra-day trade.

Global crude oil prices were steady today, as concerns about a global economic slowdown and expected build-up in US oil inventories were offset by hopes of a fuel demand recovery from top importer China. So, the Brent crude futures shed 30 cents, to trade at 87.89 dollars a barrel. The US crude futures fell 35 cents, to 81.27 dollars a barrel.

Back Home, gold rose 295 rupees, to 57,217 rupees per ten grams at Delhi's bullion markets today, amid positive global cues. But silver declined 63 rupees, to 68,779 rupees per kilogram.

And at the forex market, the rupee depreciated 33 paise, to 81 rupees and 72 paise, against the dollar. V. Ravi Kumar for World News, All India Radio.

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INDIA-OSCAR NOMINATIONS

The Song Naatu Naatu from India's blockbuster film RRR and two documentaries from the country --'All That Breathes' and 'The Elephant Whisperers'  -- have made it to the final nominations list at the 95th edition of the Academy Awards.

Nominations in all 23 categories were announced in a global livestream today by Hollywood actors Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater at Beverly Hills in California. The Academy Awards ceremony will be held 13th of March at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with American TV host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel as the host.

In a historic and jovial moment for Indian cinema, the Naatu Naatu song from SS Rajamouli's period-action movie, RRR bagged an Oscar nomination in the category of Best Original song. Earlier, the song won a Golden Globe award in the same category.

Indian climate change documentary 'All That Breathes' got an Oscar nod in the Best Documentary Feature Film segment. Set in Delhi, the Shaunak Sen directorial follows two siblings, who have devoted their lives to rescuing and treating injured birds, especially black kites.

All That Breathes is also nominated for a BAFTA Award. It previously won the 'World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary' at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, a film gala that promotes independent cinema and filmmakers, and earned the Golden Eye award for the best documentary at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

Indian documentary short film The Elephant Whisperers has also scored a nomination in the category of Best Documentary Short Film. Directed by Kartiki Gonsalves and produced by Guneet Monga, The Elephant Whisperers' depicts an unbreakable bond between two abandoned elephants and their caretakers.

However, India’s official entry Chhello Show (Last Film Show),  Gujarati language coming-of-age drama did not score a nomination in the Best International Feature category at the 95th Academy Awards.

The nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress at the Oscars have always been the centre of attention.

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BANGLADESH-BOOK FAIR

The largest and longest book fair of Bangladesh ‘Amar Ekushey Boi Mela’ will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 1st of February.

The historic ‘Amar Ekushey Boi Mela’ will be organised on the grounds of the Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital city, Dhaka.

‘Paro Boi, Garo Desh: Bangabandhur Bangladesh’ meaning ‘Read Book, build country: Bangabandhu's Bangladesh’ is the theme of the fair this year.

The book fair started in 1972 to commemorate the sacrifices of people killed by Pakistani forces for demanding Bangla as the mother language for the then East Pakistan on 21st February in 1952. It has been organised every year by the Bangla Academy since 1978.

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GIRL CHILD

India observed the National Girl Child Day on Tuesday. This Day is celebrated on the 24th of January every year with an objective to provide support and opportunities to the girls of India. It aims towards promoting awareness about the rights of the girl child and to increase awareness on the importance of girl education, and their health and nutrition. India's Women and Child Development Ministry celebrated the day, with a special focus on valuing the girl child. This year, the Ministry, along with various social media platforms has decided to make National Girl Child Day a public participation. In this direction, the Ministry had asked the States and Union Territories to organize activities to make awareness about valuing the girl child from 18th to 24th this month. The highlight of the National Girl Child Day celebration is five-day of Programmes or various activities by Districts for dissemination of positive message on value of girl child and rights of the child.

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REV CRICKET-WIN

In Cricket, India have clean-swept the three-match ODI series against New Zealand. The hosts beat the Kiwis by 90 runs in the third and final ODI at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore this evening. Chasing a target of 386 runs, New Zealand were all out 295 in 41.2 overs.  Devon Conway with 138 off 100 balls and Henry Nicholls with 42 runs from 40 deliveries, made valueble contribution for the Kiwis.

Earlier, put into bat, the hosts scored 385 for 9 in 50 overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma scored his first ODI century in three years, making 101 runs off 85 balls. Shubman Gill continued his explosive run, smashing 112 runs in 78 balls. The two put up a belligerent 212-run opening stand.

India secured a comprehensive eight wicket win in the second ODI in Raipur. The hosts also won the first one-dayer by 12 runs in Hyderabad.

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AUS TENNIS

In Australian Open Tennis, Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and 18th seed Karen Khachanov cruised into the Men's Singles semi-finals in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Greek Tsitsipas overpowered Unseeded Lehecka, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4 while Russian Khachanov cruised past 29th seed Sebastian Korda  7-6, 6-3, 3-0 in the quaterfinals at the Rod Laver Arena. American Korda was forced to retire with a wrist injury during their last-eight encounter.

In Women's Singles, Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and 24th seed Victoria Azarenka also sailed into the last four stage.

Indian duo of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna entered the Mixed Doubles semifinals  after receiving a walkover in their quarterfinals. The Indian duo was to play against Latvian and Spanish pair of Jelena Ostapenko and David Vega Hernandez but entered the last four automatically after getting a walkover.

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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 Washington Post writes 7 dead in Half Moon Bay as California confronts another mass killing.

• The Golobe and Mail reports Taiwan expands diplomatic presence in Canada with new Montreal office.

• The Guardian says UK minister admits 200 asylum-seeking children have gone missing.

• The Financial Times writes US touts Biden green subsidies to lure clean tech from Europe.

• The Japan Times reports Japan faces heavy snowfall amid once-in-a-decade cold snap.

• South China Morning Post writes Drones could play key role in PLA’s ‘final unification war’ on Taiwan.

• The Strait Times reports more than 400 people evacuated from flood-hit Johor village.

• Le Monde writes Poland officially asks Germany to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

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A QUICK LOOK AT THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stresses on role of family in tackling stigma around mental-health faced by children.

• Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, arrives in New Delhi on a three-day visit; To be Chief Guest on 74th Republic Day.

• President of India Droupadi Murmu to address the nation on Wednesday on the eve of country's Republic Day.

• Ukraine dismisses several governors and officials amid corruption alleagtions.

• Earthquake of magnitude 5.9 struck Nepal this afternoon; Tremors felt in India incluing Uttarakhand, Delhi and adjoining areas.

• Song Naatu Naatu and two documentaries- All that Breathes and The Elephant Whisperers from India nominated for this year's Oscar.

• In Cricket, India clean sweeps 3 match ODI series against New Zealand.

• In Australian Open Tennis, Indian duo of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna enters Mixed Doubles Semifinals in Melbourne.

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