Studies involving life on earth is a continuous process and enriches the incredible and arduous work already conducted by naturalists down the years. They had no computers and were unable to digitise their findings. They traversed the darkest depths of Africa and South America, collected specimens of plants, which they painstakingly preserved between pages of books, then returned back to list and identify their collections. Species of different forms of marine life, animals, birds and insects were dissected, sketches drawn, to finally become sections of many registers.

Alexander von Humboldt (1769- 1859) wrote several books and one, entitled, Personal Narrative, inspired Charles Darwin (1809-1882) when he joined Captain Fitzroy on the HMS Beagle to circumnavigate the globe.

Throughout the Beagle’s voyage, Darwin was engaged in an inner dialogue with Humboldt, where with a pencil he highlighted Humboldt’s narrations that coincided with his own experiences.

Later when Darwin saw the Chilean plains after days of exploring the “untamed forest,” his thoughts were echoed by Humboldt’s writing, “New sensations and the delight of being able to ‘see’ again after weeks in the dense rainforest.” Darwin described the same rainforest as “the wilderness of trees”.

When Humboldt experienced an earthquake in Cumana, in 1799, he wrote “In an instant it was sufficient to destroy long illusions,” which again echoed Darwin’s thoughts — which he recorded in his journal — of an experience of an earthquake on the coast of Tierra del Fuego, “It can destroy the oldest of associations.”

Both Humboldt and Darwin had an unusual flair to study the smallest detail, from the wisp of lichen to the most concealed orchid and tree species. Their mind-boggling views reflected a telescopic and microscopic perspective, helping them to examine global and comparative patterns; their studies went down to the smallest cellular levels.

This forms a veritable prelude to the efforts being made by naturalists and botanists, during recent times, who have set their minds to shine a light on an astounding question, how many tree species are there on Earth?

Researchers from Botanic Gardens Conservation International in London, UK, have compiled a list to find at least 10,000 tree species, which are at a risk of extinction. The BGCI has been working for the last two years by consulting publications and allied resources across the world to rationalise 60,065 tree species involving a Global Tree Search. It is the first ever list of its kind, which has documented all the known tree species in the world and their countrywise distribution.

Astonishing as it may be, we were, hitherto, totally unaware of the number of tree species in the world. Global Tree Search has compiled the first global database of the world’s tree species, now published in the Journal of Sustainable Forestry, which highlights that more than half of all the species exist in a single country and many tree species may become extinct.

Of all the countries in the world, Brazil has the most tree species at 8,715, followed by Colombia, with 5,776 and Indonesia with 5,142. The Arctic and Antarctic have no trees at all, and the region with fewest tree species is the Nearctic region of North America with fewer than 400.

The database has more than 3,75,500 records that took more than two years to finalise. Paul Smith, secretary, BGCI, explains, “It is extraordinary that it has taken us till 2017 to publish the first global authoritative lists of tree species. Global Tree Search represents a huge scientific effort and lists tens of thousands of plant species. It also involves the work of botanists over the centuries.”The rationale behind this significant exercise of documenting the world’s tree diversity was to provide a tool for people trying to conserve rare or threatened varieties by 2020 — it will ensure that no tree species is lost forever.

Mark Kinver of the BBC singles out one threatened variety, Karomia gigas, a tree in Tanzania that has only six species remaining. Detecting a species’ location provides key information for conservation. On the other side of the coin, it also helps to decide the ones that must be assessed to verify their status.

Ecologists had recently toured the Amazon Basin, which has at least 11,676 tree species, estimating that about 4,000 in the area are yet to be discovered. Although botanists and naturalists have studied plants and trees in the Amazon Basin for centuries, no one had maintained a master list of tree species.

As many as 1,170 Amazon forestry surveys have been compiled over recent decades and it has now been estimated that the Basin holds 16,000 tree species and 390 billion individual trees. Tropical forest ecologist, Nigel Pitman, confirms that with the list they have of the Basin’s trees, they can at least compile a comprehensive list of number of species in the region and the scientific community can refine the list further.

The rainforests thriving in South America was, according to Darwin, “Like walking in a new world and the flowers would make a florist go wild, there were gaudy butterflies and I wasn’t sure what to look at or pick up first; it was a rare union of poetry with science.”

Huge placards welcoming Pope Francis in English and Arabic have been erected along Cairo's main streets ahead of his landmark visit here on Friday and Saturday.

The placards show Francis dressed in white waving with his right hand against a backdrop of the Pyramids at Giza with a dove, an Islamic crescent and a Christian cross visible in the sky.

The logo chosen by Egypt's patriarchs and Coptic bishops for the visit – 'Pope of Peace in Egypt of Peace' is written right-hand side of the placard.

The placards have been plastered along the road to the airport where Francis will arrive from Rome on Saturday afternoon.

"Please pray for my journey tomorrow as a pilgrim of peace to Egypt," Francis tweeted on Thursday.

The visit comes amid a security lockdown after blasts at two Christian churches in Egypt that killed 47 people on April 9, claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, and an attack on police the entrance to the famed Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai on April 19 that was also claimed by IS.

While deploring extremist attacks against Christians, Pope Francis said he is travelling to Egypt as a messenger of peace at a time when the world is "torn by blind violence".

He will meet Egyptian President Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo and visit the al-Azhar, the revered 1,000-year-old seat of learning in Sunni Islam – the centre-point of his trip, where he will meet privately with Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, and address an international peace conference.

During his visit – the second by a pontiff to Egypt after John Paul II's in 2000 – Francis will also meet Coptic Pope Tawadros II and members of Egypt's tiny Catholic and other Christian minorities.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi's daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said that agricultural land bought by her in Haryana's Faridabad district or other property acquired by her had no links to finances of her husband, his Skylight Hospitality or reality major DLF.

In a statement issued by her office following queries by a journalist, Priyanka said that six years prior to the alleged "land deal involving Skylight Hospitality" on April 28, 2006, she purchased 40 kanal (five acres) agricultural land in Amipur village of Faridabad.

She said the land was purchased for Rs 15 lakh through cheque, which comes to Rs 3 lakh per acre.

The statement said the funds for the purchase came from rental income of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from property inherited by her from her grandmother Indira Gandhi.

"The source of funds for this or any other property acquired by Priyanka has no relationship whatsoever with Robert Vadra's finances and/or Skylight Hospitality and no relationship whatsoever with (reality firm) DLF," the statement said.

The statement said the collector rate for agricultural land in Amipur for 2006-07 and as of April 28, 2006, (date of purchase) was Rs 3 lakh per acre.

"Priyanka paid stamp duty of four per cent (applying to women purchaser of rural agricultural land) totalling Rs 60,000," the statement said.

It said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra resold the said land to the original vendor pursuant to a right of first refusal on February 17, 2010, (four years later) for Rs 80 lakh through cheque, that is Rs 16 lakh per acre and the prevailing market rate at that time.

The statement said any allegations that besmirch her reputation will be based on certain questionable documents and represent a deliberate, politically motivated and malicious campaign to besmirch and destroy her reputation.

They will be entirely false, utterly baseless and defamatory, it added.

The Justice S.N. Dhingra Commission, which probed grant of licences for change in land use in four villages of Gurgaon, including licence granted to Skylight Hospitality Private Limited, pointed to irregularities in the grant of licences.

India intends to make its Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy more efficient and speedier, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.

"The mindset of the government is to make the IPR policy more efficient and speedier," she said, while addressing the World Intellectual Property Day celebrations here. She also gave away the National Intellectual Property Awards on the occasion

"India's IPR policy is TRIPS (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights) Acompliant and forward looking," she said.

Sitharaman also said creating awareness is very important, and launching an IPR Awareness campaign in schools across the country by Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) is a step in creating a mindset and respect for innovation right from the schools.

On Tuesday, the CIPAM, in collaboration with the International Trademark Association (INT), started an IPR awareness campaign in schools from one such institution in the national capital.

A Union Commerce Ministry release here said that a programme is being worked out to conduct over 3,500 IPR awareness programmes in schools, universities and industries across the country, including in Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities, as well as in rural areas, along with translating content into various regional languages for a wider reach.

Earlier this week, the government extended the Start-Ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) scheme for three years till March 2020 to ensure protection of entrepreneurs' patents, trademark and designs.

Indicating that inequality in India is increasing, a UN report released here on Thursday said that the richest one percent own 53 percent of the country's wealth.

It also said that unlike other countries, development in India is not moving across states.

"In terms of wealth inequality, India is second only to Russia, where the richest 1 percent own 53 percent of the country's wealth," said the report 'The Better Business, Better World' released here in a two day event of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) focussing on how through bold innovation, businesses can create solutions and tap new opportunities found within the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director of the UNGC, SDGs can open at least $1 trillion of market opportunity for the private sector in India.

"This is out of a total global value of $12 trillion that could be unlocked by sustainable business models in four key areas, food and agriculture, energy, cities and health," she said.

Kingo added that over 72 million new jobs could be created in India by 2030 by adapting a sustainable business model.

About addressing the disparity, the report says that to reduce the inequality, India needs a 'different economic model' — one that is not only low-carbon but also recognizes poverty, inequality and lack of financial access.

"As the second largest food producer in the world, India needs a more focused approach to developing and managing its agricultural sector and agri-based industrialisation," it says.

Stating that rising inequality leads to slower progress in reducing poverty, the report added that Oxfam has calculated that if India were to stop inequality from rising further, it could end extreme poverty for 90 million people as early as 2019.

The UNGC also called for better infrastructure to improve access to proper medical care for India's rural population.

"On its current trajectory, India will continue to face enormous challenges in rural development, urban sustainability, national infrastructure, and improved quality of life of its citizens," the report says.

Its suggestions included creation of low-income food markets, reducing food waste in supply chains, technological aid in smallholder farms, micro-irrigation programs, resource recovery, remote patient monitoring and preventing catastrophic healthcare costs for the poor.

Notice has been issued to 30 Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students, including Kanhaiya Kumar, to join the probe into alleged raising of anti-national slogans on the campus in February last year, Delhi Police said.

"They have been given time by the Delhi Police Special Cell to be present at the administrative block of JNU from 12 p.m. onwards between April 28 and April 30," a senior police officer said.

A copy of the notice has also been sent to the JNU Vice Chancellor.

"Their statements will be recorded as the Investigating Officer has been directed to start the probe afresh," the officer told IANS, adding that "Legal action will be taken if the students failed to join the probe".

A fresh probe was ordered by the top brass of Delhi Police, which went through the draft charge sheet prepared by the Special Cell.

The Legal Wing, which also got to study the draft, found that more probe was required to prove their offence, the officer said.

"The Investigating Officer has been told to complete the recording of the students' statements within three days," he added.

A final report along with the draft charge sheet was submitted to Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma in January. The officers connected with the probe had then said that he would give the go-ahead to file the charge sheet.

"Since it is a case of sedition, prior approval of the Lt. Governor's office is also required," he said.

"The draft report said there is enough evidence to prosecute Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya for sedition. It identified nine 'outsiders' who raised anti-India slogans," the officer said.

The case was transferred to the Special Cell in March 2016.

The Patiala House Court in August 2016 granted regular bail to JNU Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar and two others — Khalid and Anirban — in the sedition case.

The Delhi High Court in September 2016 extended the interim relief given to Khalid and Anirban, who have also been charged with sedition.

Khalid, Anirban and Kanhaiya are accused by Delhi Police of raising anti-India slogans on the campus at a meeting organised on February 9 last year in memory of 2001 Indian Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Thursday chaired a meeting of the party's coordination committee for northeastern states and discussed ways to strenghten the party in the wake of electoral losses.

"At the meeting of the North East Congress Coordination Committee. Discussed ways to strengthen the party in the region," said Gandhi on his official Twitter account, posting his photos with the committee members.

The committee headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma includes former Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, Nabam Tuki and Okram Ibobi Singh respectively.

This was the committee's first meeting after its re-constitution by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in November 2016.

"We discussed how to to strengthen the NECCC and the party organisation in the northeast states. We also discussed why the Congress was losing in the northeast. We reviewed the reasons for the party's poor show in the assembly polls," said a member who attended the meeting.

AICC General Secretary C.P. Joshi, said: "Issues pertaining to the problems in northeast states, and organisational deliberations were held. The members will discuss among themselves and come out with a proposal for the way forward for the party in the region."

The Congress lost assembly elections in Assam and despite getting highest number of seats in the March assembly polls in Manipur could not form the government in the state.

India on Thursday stuck to its position that Kulbhushan Jadhav had been awarded death sentence by a Pakistan military court on ‘baseless’ charges while Islamabad claimed that the former Indian Navy officer had been tried for espionage in a ‘transparent manner’ in accordance with the law of the land.

Amid anxiety in India about the well-being and whereabouts of Jadhav, MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay hoped at a media briefing that Pakistan would grant visas to Jadhav’s parents so that they could go to the neighbouring country and follow with the authorities the petition by his mother seeking the Pakistan Government’s intervention for his release and the appeal to be filed to the appellate court to initiate the process to get his conviction overturned.

The spokesperson said the visa applications of Jadhav’s parents needed to be expedited so that they could take further steps to secure justice for him. In response to a question, he said India awaited Pakistan’s response on his parents’ request.

The petition and the appeal on behalf of Jadhav’s mother were handed over by Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale to Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua in Islamabad on Wednesday since he has 40 days’ time to go in appeal as per the law of Pakistan.

On Pakistan’s contention that Jadhav’s trial was fair and transparent, the spokesperson said India had not been officially informed anything about it. India was not aware who defended him before the military court or if he was provided a lawyer at all.

Jadhav’s health was causing great concern to the entire country since he had been in the ‘illegal’ custody of the Pakistani authorities for over a year now. India had also sought his medical certificate from the Pakistani authorities.

The spokesperson said the government and Jadhav’s family would explore every option available to secure justice for him.

Meanwhile, in Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said the military court's ruling in Jadhav’s case was based on specific evidence and the trial was conducted in a transparent manner.

Gujarat Lions notched up a comfortable seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore to revive their IPL play-off hopes, here on Thursday.

Chasing 135 to win, Gujarat lost both openers — Ishan Kishan (16) and Brendon McCullum (3) — to be reduced to 23-2 but Aaron Finch blasted 5 fours and 6 sixes in his scintillating 34 -ball 72-run innings as the visitors romped home with 6.1 overs to spare.

Earlier Tye returned with a three-wicket haul to trigger a top-order collapse as Royal Challengers Bangalore were bowled out for 134 by Gujarat Lions after electing to bowl in their eighth match of IPL 10.

Tye, who had taken a hat-trick on IPL debut against Rising Pune Supergiant at Rajkot, struck twice in two balls and returned with figures of 4-0-12-3 to leave the hosts at 22-3 in the fifth over.

Besides Tye, Ravindra Jadeja (2/28) snapped two wickets and Basil Thampi (1/34) and Ankit Soni (1/28) picked up one wicket each as Lions dished out a disciplined bowling performance.

For RCB, Pawan Negi (32) and Kedar Jadhav (31) were the top scorers.

This is only the third victory in the season for Gujarat Lions, who had gathered just four points from seven games to be languishing at the bottom of the table.

With this loss, the door is fast closing for RCB, who has just five points from nine matches.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has proposed conducting the National Eligibility Test (NET), a qualifying exam for recruitment of college and university teachers, once a year due to the poor response it received. The Board had last year conveyed its inability to conduct NET with its hands being full. However, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed it to continue the practice for now.

 According to sources, the proposal, which is at a very nascent stage, is being considered keeping in mind the resources required to conduct the exam as well as the number of candidates appearing for it. “While conducting the exam once a year will make candidates more serious about it, resources can also be utilised judiciously as holding a national-level exam is a massive exercise. However, the idea is at a very nascent stage,” a source said.

“The CBSE has proposed the idea keeping in mind that only 17 per cent of the registered candidates take the exam and only four per cent of them clear it,” the source added. At present, NET is held twice a year ~ in July and December ~for the grant of junior research fellowships. It is also a qualifying exam for recruitment of assistant professors in universities and colleges.

CBSE had last year approached the HRD Ministry expressing its inability to conduct the exam due to capacity crunch as it was overburdened with other tests such as the JEE-MAIN and NEET for under-graduate engineering and medical courses respectively.

While the ministry had not issued any guidelines, the CBSE is still to issue a notification for the exam scheduled in July, which is usually out by the first week of April. Scores of students had protested outside the UGC last week demanding that the uncertainty over the exam be cleared and a notification issued.

“The CBSE had approached the HRD Ministry expressing their inability. We had a meeting with HRD officials over the issue recently and it was decided that the board will conduct the exam in July without any delay,” a senior UGC official said.

“The arrangement is likely to continue till the proposed National Testing Service (NTS) is set up by the government for the conduct of all exams,” he said. NET was conducted by the UGC till 2014 following which the job was handed over to the CBSE.

It’s been a long, hard season for Arsenal, exiting the Champions League early on and seeing their title hopes in the Premier League evaporate after the turn of the year. While they are in the FA Cup final, the fact that for the first time in over a decade the Gunners would finish outside the top-four may force out some of their biggest names.

However, failure to qualify for Europe isn't the only factor. Some of their big names are frustrated at the club’s perceived lack of ambitions and want to shift to a more competitive side to win them and not just make up the numbers. In view of the present scenario, thestatesman.com has listed below the players who are most likely to leave Arsenal this summer.

Alexis Sanchez

Sanchez is the biggest star Arsenal has and possibly the one whose chances of leaving are the highest. His overly petulant displays and the fact that he refused to sign a contract extension suggest that he is unhappy with life at the Emirates. It has not been all bad, however, as despite falling-out with Wenger, Sanchez has had his most productive season at Arsenal till date. He has got 19 goals in the league alone, a stat which suggest Arsenal will struggle to replace him but public comments regarding his ‘desire to stay in London’ have got the Gunners faithful worried that he may switch to arch-rivals Chelsea. The North-London club are unlikely to qualify for Europe, another factor which may force the Chilean out the door come summer.

While Arsenal would stand to make a lot of money from any potential deal, what does it say about their ambitions if they sell their biggest asset?
Interested parties: Chelsea, Manchester City
Transfer Possibility: Extreme

Mesut Ozil

The German has blown hot-and-cold this season. A vast majority of Gunners fans are divided over him with one half feeling his mercurial talents lifts the team while the other think he’s simply too lazy to be effective on a consistent basis in the League. His languid approach may be effective against smaller teams, but Ozil has been found wanting on more than one occasion when up against Arsenal’s direct rivals. He’s openly declared that all contract discussions are off the table until the season finishes, which implies that he wants to see where Arsenal finish in the Premier League. So with a hefty wage demand, are there any suitors for Ozil? 

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is said to be interested, but Arsenal will prefer to sell Ozil abroad. He did get a mammoth offer from the Chinese Super League in 2016, but considering he is only 28, a move to Turkish side Fenerbahce makes more sense.
Interested parties: Manchester United, Fenerbahce ,Chinese Super League clubs
Transfer Possibility: High

Hector Bellerin

Bellerin was touted as the league’s finest right-back prior to the season, but his performances have not quite set the pitch alight. Indeed, his questionable hairstyles have overshadowed his exploits, which just about sums it up. He signed a long-term contract in 2016, but most see it as Arsenal’s tactic to churn out maximum money from a transfer that seems imminent. Barcelona’s current right-back Aleix Vidal hasn't been impressive and the Catalans view Bellerin as the long-term heir to Dani Alves. Bellerin publicly said he loves Arsenal and wants to stay.
Interested parties: Barcelona
Transfer Possibility: High

Jack Wilshere

Wilshere officially became Arsenal’s most injury-prone player when he broke his fibula while on loan at Bournemouth, overtaking Abou Diaby. While he has been quite a hit with the Cherries, there is no doubt that he does not have the quality anymore to force his way back into Wenger’s first-team plans. 
A multitude of injuries, dogged fitness issues and perhaps even lifestyle concerns have forced a player who was supposed to be the next great English midfield general to become a player with a calibre of a mid-table club at best. 
Man City are said to be interested but they have plenty of options in midfield and unless he doesn't adjust his wage demands significantly, moving abroad seems to be the only viable option for him. The cash-rich Chinese Super League would snap him up in an instant, but it remains to be seen what the 25-year-old’s priorities are. 

Interested parties: Chinese Super League clubs, Manchester City
Transfer Possibility: High

Wojciech Szczęsny

Remember him, Arsenal fans? The Polish keeper, who had a public falling out with Wenger a while ago, has been playing for Italian Serie A side Roma for the past two seasons but is still on the books of the Gunners. With Petr Tech doing a decent job between the sticks, Wojciech Szczęsny is not going to be featuring in any North-London Derby anytime soon. His exploits in Italy have got Roma and Napoli interested in a permanent move for him and 2017 may well be the year the former Arsenal trainee leaves England for good.

Interested parties: Roma, Napoli

Transfer Possibility: High

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s only upside is that he is still young and there is time to rectify himself. It’s not to say that he's been a bad player. In fact, just that the potential that he has deserves much more than six goals and as many assists (all competitions) over the course of an entire season. He continues to get injured often, which obviously disrupts his flow and prevents him from becoming the player he could be.
Liverpool are said to be interested and while he would be a good fit in Jurgen Klopp’s high-pressing system, whether Arsenal would be willing to sell him to a direct rival and whether the Reds would be willing to spend £30 million on the 23-year-old is another story altogether. 

Interested parties: Liverpool
Transfer Possibility: Not so high

Air strikes killed an Islamic State leader on Thursday and destroyed one of the jihadist group's bases in the beleaguered Iraqi city of Mosul, local media reported, citing a military intelligence statement.

"The international coalition fighter jets have killed the IS leader called Abu Luqman al-Aafri in al-Shefaa district, located near al-Najjar district in western Mosul," read the statement quoted by the IraqiNews.com website.

"The jets also bombarded a headquarter for the group in the same area," the statement added.

Only four districts of western Mosul were yet to be recaptured from IS, the Iraqi army said earlier on Thursday.

More than 400,000 people have been displaced from west Mosul alone since the push to retake it was launched in mid-February, Iraq's Immigration Ministry said on Thursday.

The militant group has lost dozens of its leaders in the operation to re-take western Mosul, including IS's alleged second-in-command, Ayad Hamid al-Jumaili, who was reportedly killed there in an airstrike on April 1.

Fewer than 1,000 IS militants remain in Mosul, coalition officials estimate.

Iraqi forces backed by the US-led coalition and paramilitary troops dislodged IS fighters from eastern Mosul in January after three months of battles.

The huge offensive on Mosul, was launched on October 17 last year.

An 11-member Indian team, including the likes of Olympians Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Kynan Chenai, will compete at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup stage 3 starting from Friday at Larnaka, Cyprus.

The competition will be among the last along with the Shotgun World Championships in August in Moscow where the shooters will have to log qualifying points for the World Cup Finals to be held here in October.

India's Ankur Mittal has already qualified for the New Delhi event after his Gold medal winning effort in the Men's Double Trap in the second stage in Acapulco, Mexico. Ankur had also won Silver in the first stage held in New Delhi. 

The other 10 Indian shooters will be looking to do the same in Larnaka. India have entries in four of the five medal competitions, the Women's Skeet being the only exception.

A total of 429 shooters will participate in the competition, representing 61 National Olympic Committees accumulating a total of 435 starts. Larnaka will be hosting a World Cup stage for the second time after 2015.

Team for World Cup stage 3:

Men's Skeet: Mairaj Ahmad Khan, Sheeraz Shaikh, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa

Men's Double Trap: Ankur Mittal, Shapath Bharadwaj, Sangram Dahiya

Men's Trap: Kynan Chenai, Zoravar Singh Sandhu

Women's Trap: Manisha Keer, Rajeshwari Kumari, Seema Tomar

BJP President Amit Shah on Thursday said that situation in Jammu and Kashmir was a "matter of concern" but the Narendra Modi government will find ways to normalise it.

"I never said that the situation in Kashmir is not a matter of concern…It's a matter of concern. We will definitely control the situation through talks," Amit Shah told India Today TV in an interview.

Asked with whom talks will be held, he did not name specific organisations or leaders.

"We will handle the situation, talk with every one and also find a way," he said.

Asked if the government was addressing the situation through political steps or security measures, Amit Shah said both means had to be used. "If arms will be used against our forces, they can't be silent," he said.

"Kashmir can never be seperated from India. Be it Modi government or any other government at the Centre, the people of this country are alert," he said.

Shah meanwhile slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for "negative politics" and making allegations about working of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

"It is easy to make baseless allegations but very hard to perform on the ground. Our party cadres have worked tirelessly at the grassroots to get the results that we have seen in the recent past."

Asked if Kejriwal should step down in the wake of the Aam Aadmi Party losing Delhi municipal results, Shah said: "It is for him to decide."

Answering another query, he said that his Bharatiya Janata Party was not making any efforts to break AAP MLAs and it appears from remarks of their leaders that there is a "dispute" in the party.

Shah said BJP was seeking to expand its base and expressed confidence that the party will win the 2019 general elections with a bigger majority.

He accused the opposition parties of trying to stall Modi government's development agenda.

The BJP chief also said that his party would highlight the "corruption" of West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress government.

"Being the Chief Minister of West Bengal and Trinamool chief, it was Mamata Bannerjee's responsibility to curb corruption," he said.

"Trinamool Congress leaders were caught on camera receiving money. How can they deny that? Saradha scam has been in news for the past-two-and-a-half years but no action has been taken," he alleged.

US President Donald Trump has told the leaders of Canada and Mexico that he was not immediately planning to end the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), but warned that the US would still pull out if he could not negotiate a better deal, the White House said.

Trump, in phone calls with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Wednesday, agreed to proceed swiftly to enable the renegotiation of the Nafta deal to the benefit of all three countries.

The White House said the phone conversations were "pleasant and productive".

"It is my privilege to bring Nafta up to date through renegotiation," Trump said in a written statement that accompanied the readout of his phone calls.

"It is an honour to deal with both President Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, and I believe that the end result will make all three countries stronger and better," he said.

Trump reiterated those points Thursday morning, tweeting, "if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate Nafta." He also claimed that the two leaders reached out to him.

The US President railed against the trade accord as a presidential candidate and last week called it as harmful to US workers.

As he approaches his 100th day in office on Saturday, Trump and his advisers are hurriedly working to check off promises made during the campaign, one of which was to renegotiate or withdraw from Nafta, CNN reported.

Trump has already removed the US from another massive trade pact, the Trans Pacific Partnership, which was negotiated under former President Barack Obama.

Trump's decision to remain in Nafta came the same day a senior administration official revealed the White House was considering an executive order to withdraw from the trade accord.

Many Republicans, including Senator John McCain, had cautioned Trump not to pull out from Nafta.

"It will devastate the economy in my state," McCain said on Wednesday. "I hope he doesn't do that."

"Scrapping Nafta would be a disastrously bad idea. It would hurt American families at the checkout, and it would cripple American producers in the field and the office," said Senator Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican.

During his run for office last year, Trump made his disdain for Nafta a central component of a populist message designed to engender support among working class Americans, said the report.

He consistently cast the agreement — which was negotiated by former President Bill Clinton, the husband of Trump's presidential opponent Hillary Clinton — as a raw deal for the middle class.

Last week, Trump derided Nafta during remarks in Wisconsin meant to highlight American manufacturing.

"It's been very, very bad for our companies and for our workers, and we're going to make some very big changes, or we are going to get rid of Nata once and for all," Trump said.

A memorandum of understanding on cooperation in economic projects signed between India and Sri Lanka during Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's visit here on Wednesday is aimed at achieving "greater economic, investment and development cooperation in a progressive manner", a senior official said on Thursday.

"There are traditionally close and friendly relations between the two countries and also continuing endeavours to enhance bilateral relations through increased economic, investment and development cooperation," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said in his weekly media briefing here.

He said the Indian government, which has been focused on "Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas" internally was now extending this to the neighbourhood too.

"In this backdrop, with the objective to achieve greater economic, investment and development cooperation in a progressive manner, through joint ventures and other cooperative activities that will ensure the well-being of the people of the two countries, the two governments signed yesterday this Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Economic Projects," he stated.

According to the spokesperson, among the main areas and the scope of cooperation under this MoU are: a regassified liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fired 500 MW capacity LNG power plant; an LNG terminal /floating storage regassification unit (FSRU) in Colombo/Kerawalapitiya; a 50 MW solar power plant in Sampur; and an upper tank farm in Trincomalee that will be jointly developed by India and Sri Lanka.

"As you would be aware, Lanka IOC has had the rights to develop the tank farm since 2003," Baglay said.

"At present, only lower tank farm is developed. However, Lanka IOC had rights to fully develop the project. Given our spirit of partnership, we proposed to Sri Lanka to develop upper tank farm as joint venture."

Baglay said that according to the MoU, a joint working group will be set up to further discuss and flesh out details for a port, petroleum refinery and other industries in Trincomalee.

The cooperation will also extend to industrial zones and special economic zones in identified locations in Sri Lanka;

Important road segments like Mannar-Jaffna, Mannar-Trincomalee and Dambulla-Trincomale Expressway would be developed with Indian investment.

Other projects coming under the ambit of the MoU include: the railway sector development in Sri Lanka including new projects for track upgrade and purchase of rolling stock; a container terminal in Colombo port as a joint venture; and agricultural sector and livestock development in Sri Lanka.

"The MoU is thus in the nature of an agenda on a roadmap for the future," Baglay said.

In a rare incident, a bride in Bihar's Samastipur district refused to marry a dark complexioned groom, saying he was unsuitable for her, a police official said on Thursday.

Not expecting anything of this sort, the "baraat" (marriage party) was shocked to hear the girl's flat refusal to accept the boy as her groom.

The incident was reported from Sinhma village under the Rosera police station's jurisdiction in Samastipur district, about 100 km from Patna.

"The bride refused to marry the dark complexioned groom immediately after the ritual of 'Jaimal' (exchange of garlands between bride and groom) was performed on Wednesday," a local police official said.

Kumkum Kumari, in her early 20s, surprised all when she refused to marry groom Indal Kumar on the ground of his dark complexion.

After the incident, the groom had to return empty-handed along with the marriage party.

It is not first such case in rural Bihar where the social scales are tilted heavily against women. Over half a dozen cases of brides refusing to marry "unsuitable" grooms, who were illiterate, deaf or unemployed, have been reported over the past week.

"Times seem to have changed for women as several schemes have been launched for their empowerment by the state and central governments," said an elderly villager, who was to attend the marriage ceremony.

There are several such cases across the state that go unreported. In rural Bihar, hundreds of weddings take place in the traditionally auspicious marriage season known as "Lagan", which is in progress now.

Till a few years ago, in rural Bihar, it was rare for a woman to refuse a groom selected for her by her parents and family. In fact, the reverse was the rule, as the groom or his parents would often walk out of the wedding venue on grounds like inadequate dowry or the bride's education or her complexion.

These days, women going for marriage on their own terms is not a rarity even in rural parts of the state.