Following a decline in global crude oil prices, petrol prices were cut by Rs.3.77 per litre and piese prices by Rs. 2.91 per litre.

The prices were cut by state-owned oil companies on Friday night with immediate effect.

In Delhi, petrol currently costs Rs.71.14/litre and diesel costs at Rs.59.02/litre.

“Indian Oil Corporation Limited has decided to decrease the selling price of petrol by Rs.3.77/litre and price of diesel by Rs.2.91/litre,” OIC said in a statement, adding, “The change excludes state levies”.

“The current level of international product prices of Petrol & Diesel and Rupee-Dollar exchange rate warrant decrease in selling price of Petrol and Diesel, the impact of which is being passed on to the consumers with this price revision,” according to the statement.

The head of Los Angeles's bid for the 2024 Olympics ruled out issuing an ultimatum to the International Olympic Committee, taking a veiled swipe at rival city Paris as the battle for the Games heats up.

LA 2024 chairman Casey Wasserman said that IOC moves to explore the possibility of awarding both the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games at the same time at a vote in September were "absolutely right."

But while Wasserman argued forcefully that Los Angeles was the best candidate for 2024, he stopped short of issuing an ultimatum.

Paris co-chairman Tony Estanguet had warned last week that it was "now or never" for the French capital, and that if the city's tilt at 2024 was not successful "we will not come back for 2028."

"Now or never sounds like an ultimatum to me," Wasserman declared at his Los Angeles office.

"I have been in business a long time. I never had a successful relationship or partnership with any entity by issuing an ultimatum.

"We will not issue an ultimatum."

Wasserman was speaking amid intense speculation concerning the race for 2024, which will be decided at an IOC vote in Lima on September 13.

The IOC is looking at the option of awarding two Olympics at once in order to capitalise on the Paris and Los Angeles bids at a time when fewer and fewer cities are willing to take on the financial and logistical responsibilities of staging an Olympic Games.

"It's exactly the kind of idea and strategic initiative the IOC should be thinking about," Wasserman said.

"But if you take a step back, if you look at the strategic rationale, it points to the importance and the necessity of LA going first."

LA's bid, which would require no major infrastructure projects or venue construction, making use of existing facilities, offered the prospect of "calm and stability" for the Olympic movement, Wasserman said.

"No political interference, tremendous support from our citizens, no capital projects, no budget overruns. That's LA.

And that calms and creates stability," Wasserman said.

Pressed on whether there was any scenario in which Los Angeles officials may consider staging the games in 2028, Wasserman said the city remained focused only on 2024.

"No-one's a candidate for 2028. I think that's a hypothetical and it's not worth discussing. The IOC's got a process. We've had no conversations with the IOC about that process. We don't know what their intent is," he said.

"We don't know what their approach is going to be, so for anyone to comment on 2028 is premature."

There had also been no discussions with the IOC about the possibility of a joint 2024/2028 award.

"They've not reached out to us. Other than the public statements they've made, we've had nothing," he said.

With the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics mired in corruption allegations, and questions raised about white elephant venues which have been left to rot, the stakes for the IOC could not be higher as it ponders its choice for 2024.

Wasserman said the Olympic movement was at a "turning point".

"The next host of the Olympics had better get it right. I don't think the Olympic movement wants to be put in a position of having seven more years of the kind of challenges they have had in the past," Wasserman said. "The Olympics deserves better, the movement deserves better."

Flooded rivers were still rising on Saturday in two Australian states with two women dead and four people missing after torrential rains in the wake of a powerful tropical cyclone.

Queensland police warned that the Logan River, which runs through Beenleigh south of Brisbane, would not hit peak flood levels for several more hours while the city of Rockhampton to the north was also facing a major threat.

Commissioner Ian Stewart warned there was "still a major risk to the community around Logan and further south caused by that flooding situation."

Rockhampton, with a population of over 80,000 on the Fitzroy River, was expected to suffer flood levels not seen for a century by Wednesday and Stewart urged residents in low-lying areas to leave.

"By Wednesday, we will be at peak flooding in Rockhampton," he said.

"It won't just be on Wednesday, it will be a gradual rise, so I encourage people to move now."

Queensland police tweeted "we currently have four people missing… that we have serious concerns about," but provided no further detail.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from a string of towns in Queensland and New South Wales as the floods move south towards Ballina.

Category four Cyclone Debbie hit northeastern Australia on Tuesday between Bowen and Airlie Beach ripping up trees and causing widespread damage that is still being assessed.

It was downgraded to a tropical low as it tracked southeast. But the storm still packed damaging winds and dumped huge amounts of rain all the way down the east coast to Sydney and beyond before blowing out over the Tasman Sea.

Police yesterday found the body of a woman who disappeared in floodwaters near Murwillumbah just south of the Queensland border.

And a 64-year-old woman, whose vehicle was swept off a causeway on a property in Gungal, in the Hunter Valley south of Sydney was also found dead yesterday.

Lismore, south of Murwillumbah was among the worst flooded towns yesterday with Tweed Heads, Kingscliff and Murwillumbah also subject to evacuation orders.

Just to the north the popular Queensland tourist city of Gold Coast and surrounds were also inundated.

In areas further north where the cyclone made landfall, water and power were still being restored.

Bowen, Mackay and the Whitsunday islands, where power went down for more than 50,000 people, bore the brunt of the cyclone.

The military has mobilised 1,300 soldiers for the clean-up, with helicopters and planes deploying to restore infrastructure and supply emergency food, water and fuel.

The Insurance Council of Australia declared the Queensland and northern NSW regions disaster zones, adding that the damage bill could top Aus 1 billion ($770 million).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted Vice President Hamid Ansari on his 80th birthday and wished him a long and healthy life.

"Birthday greetings to our Vice President, Shri Hamid Ansari. I pray that he is blessed with a long and healthy life," he tweeted.

Ansari was born on this day in 1937 in Kolkata.

More than 300 million people are living with depression, according to the latest estimates from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The UN agency released the estimates on Thursday ahead of World Health Day.

"These new figures are a wake-up call for all countries to re-think their approaches to mental health and to treat it with the urgency that it deserves," Xinhua news agency quoted a WHO news release as saying.

With the number of people with depression increasing more than 18 per cent from 2005 to 2015, WHO is carrying out a year-long campaign, Depression: Let's Talk, the focus of April 7's World Health Day, with the aim of encouraging more people with depression to get help.

Lack of support for people with mental disorders, coupled with a fear of stigma, prevent many from accessing the treatment they need to live healthy, productive lives.

Depression is an important risk factor for suicide, which claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year, says the report.

One of the first steps is to address issues around prejudice and discrimination.

"The continuing stigma associated with mental illness was the reason why we decided to name our campaign Depression: let's talk," said Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO. 

"For someone living with depression, talking to a person they trust is often the first step towards treatment and recovery."

Increased investment is also needed. In many countries, there is no, or very little, support available for people with mental health disorders. Even in high-income countries, nearly 50 per cent of people with depression do not get treatment.

On average, just three per cent of government health budgets is invested in mental health, varying from less than one percent in low-income countries to five percent in high-income countries, says the report.

The top Democrat on a US congressional committee investigating alleged ties between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign faulted the White House for withholding until information it said it had shared last week with his Republican counterpart.

"Today my staff director and I reviewed materials at the White House," said Congressman Adam Schiff in a brief statement after receiving documents at the White House on Saturday.

"It was represented to me that these are precisely the same materials that were provided to the chairman over a week ago," said Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

A senior White House official said today that Schiff met with Trump at the White House, but the lawmaker made no reference to meeting the president in his remarks, instead reserving his remarks to his review of the documents.

"While I cannot discuss the content of the documents, if the White House had any concern over these materials, they should have been shared with the full committees in the first place as a part of our ordinary oversight responsibilities," the Democratic lawmaker said.

"Nothing I could see today warranted a departure from the normal review procedures, and these materials should now be provided to the full membership of both committees," he continued.

According to unconfirmed media reports, the White House shared some information it has in the case with Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, but not with his counterpart Schiff or other members of the panel.

"The White House has yet to explain why senior White House staff apparently shared these materials with but one member of either committee, only for their contents to be briefed back to the White House," Schiff said, after finally being allowed to view the materials more than a week after they were apparently shown to Nunes.

The documents pertain to investigations underway in Congress and by the FBI into allegations that Moscow tried to swing November's presidential election in Trump's favor, and whether some in the Republican's inner circle colluded with Russia.

The FBI, in an extraordinary admission, confirmed publicly last week it was probing the possibility of such collusion. 

A judge in North Carolina has ordered a woman to pay $500,000 for writing a Facebook post falsely accusing her former friend of killing her son.

According to a report in Telegraph.co.uk, Jacquelyn Hammond from Asheville wrote on Facebook, in 2015, of Davyne Dial: "I didn't get drunk and kill my kid."

But Dial who claimed to have nothing to do with her son's death sued Hammond for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Dial and Hammond's friendship had broken down after the failed attempt to work together on the radio station.

"There are no filters on social media to say whatever you think behind the safety of your screen. She had made other untrue statements through the years, but when this happened, it was very painful," said Dial.

The announcement delivered last month awarded Dial $250,000 in actual damages and $250,000 in punitive damages, for a total judgment of $500,000.

"I think people today don't recognise the importance of their words," said Missy Owen, a lawyer in North Carolina, adding that people should learn from Hammond's mistake.

"Just because it is very easy to get your words out there does not mean you should. You can get in trouble anytime you make a false statement about someone else that damages their character or reputation."

After defeating the Australians 2-1 to clinch the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Virat Kohli made a comment in the post-match conference in Dharamsala that was enough to shake up the whole cricket fraternity.

The Indian skipper said that he does not consider Australian cricketers as his friends anymore.

When an Australian journalist asked Kohli if he still consider Aussie cricketers as his friends off the field as he had said at the start of the series? Kohli replied: “No, it has changed for sure. I thought that was the case but it has changed for sure. As I said in the heat of the battle, you want to be competitive but yeah I have been proven wrong. The thing I said before the first Test, I have certainly been proven wrong and you won’t hear me say that ever again.”

Following the comment, Australian cricketers like Brad Hodge, Steve Smith and Shane Warne came up dramatically with varied but influential response. 

Smith wasn’t sure if Kohli was hinting at him or other Aussies, while former cricketer Hodge expressed apologies for one of his previous comments on Indian captain.

Amid all this, interesting would be watching India’s ace cricketer playing alongside Australians in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League, starting April 5.

RCB, the 2016 IPL runner-ups, have three Australians in the squad – Shane Watson, Travis Head, and Billy Stanlake. 

All-rounder Watson is among the top-bets featuring in the cash-rich league and hence would be a regular inclusion in the playing eleven.

Travis Head may miss out from a lot of matches, like last year, as RCB’s top-order is well-strengthened with the presence of KL Rahul, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and captain Kohli himself.

Aussie fast bowler Stanlake, who won a surprise call-up for Australian national side in January, would be an interesting chap to watch out for. However, the 22-year-old has to make his space in RCB amid England’s Tymal Mills, New Zealand’s Adam Milne, and Tabraiz Shamsi of South Africa.

With star campaigners like Gayle, Watson and de Villiers expected to feature in every single match, aforementioned bowlers will have to fight for a single slot.

Although Kohli is expected to miss early IPL matches due to shoulder injury and de Villiers may lead the side in his absence, Indian skipper’s “no-longer-friends” remark will be the hot-talk throughout the IPL 2017 season.

As many as 21 cricketers will be featuring in this year’s IPL, with Kohli’s biggest rival Steve Smith leading Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS).

Complete Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Sreenath Aravind, Avesh Khan, Samuel Badree, Stuart Binny, Yuzvendra Chahal, Aniket Choudhary, AB de Villiers, Praveen Dubey, Chris Gayle, Travis Head, Iqbal Abdulla, Kedar Jadhav, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Tymal Mills, Adam Milne, Pawan Negi, Harshal Patel, Lokesh Rahul, Sachin Baby, Tabraiz Shamsi, Billy Stanlake, Shane Watson

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, slowly emerging from post-election seclusion, slammed President Donald Trump on Saturday for proposing budget cuts to US diplomacy and foreign aid, calling it a "grave mistake."

"We are seeing signals of a shift that truly alarms us all," the former Democratic presidential candidate told hundreds of students at Georgetown University in Washington.

"This administration's proposed cuts in international health, development and diplomacy would be a blow to women and children and a grave mistake for our country," said the Democrat, who ran the State Department from 2009 to 2013.

Trump wants to slash the US diplomatic budget by 28 per cent, although Congress will have the final say.

Clinton also pointed to the rise in the number of global refugees, and warned it is "not just somebody else's problem."

"I am pleading that our government will continue its leadership role on behalf of peace in the world," she said, "because the world must continue this work with or without US involvement."

Clinton said today's "complex and interconnected world" requires continued American leadership on multiple fronts, not merely a focus on one or two priorities.

"Will we be left behind or will we continue to lead the way?" she asked.

Clinton was at Georgetown to present awards in her name to four Colombians who helped advance the role of women in peace and security.

The former candidate and first lady received a warm welcome from the students, who chanted "Hillary! Hillary!" as she took the stage.

The 69-year-old former candidate offered a few jabs about the extraordinary 2016 presidential race, drawing extended applause when she said, "Here I go again, talking about research, evidence and facts."

She also mocked the phrase of a Trump advisor when she said stereotypes about women "belongs to the alternative reality."

After her bitter defeat last November, Clinton largely disappeared from public view. When she took a selfie with someone she bumped into while walking in the woods outside her Chappaqua, New York home, the photograph went viral.

In the months since, she has emerged to attend Broadway shows, where she has received ovations and adulation from supporters.

She has also begun delivering speeches, including an address Tuesday at a businesswomen's conference in San Francisco where she criticised the shortage of women in Trump's inner circle, and pledged to keep speaking out about issues that matter.

"I am thrilled to be out of the woods, in the company of so many inspiring women," she said. "And there's no place I'd rather be than here with you — other than the White House." 

India's total external debt declined to $456 billion at the end of December from end-March 2016, says a Finance Ministry report.

"India's external debt stock fell by $29.0 billion (6.0 per cent) to $456.1 billion, at end-December 2016 over the level at end-March 2016," an official statement said.

The decline in external debt during the period was due to the fall in long-term external debt, particularly the fall in NRI deposits reflecting the redemption of FCNR (B) deposits and decline in commercial borrowings with fall in both commercial bank loans and securitized borrowings, it said.

On a sequential basis, it said, total external debt at end-December 2016 declined by $28.1 billion (5.8 per cent) from the end-September 2016 level.

The maturity pattern of India's external debt indicates dominance of long-term borrowings. At end-December 2016, long-term external debt accounted for 81.6 per cent of India s total external debt, while the remaining 18.4 per cent was short-term debt.

Government (Sovereign) external debt stood at $90.7 billion at end-December 2015 while non-Government debt amounted to $389.5 billion, it said.

While long-term debt at $372.2 billion, declined by $29.4 billion (7.3 per cent) at end-December 2016 over the level at end-March 2016, short-term debt increased marginally by 0.5 per cent to $83.8 billion.

The valuation gain (appreciation of the US dollar against the Indian rupee and most other major currencies) was $7.3 billion.

This implies that excluding the valuation effect, the decrease in external debt would has been lower at $21.7 billion at end-December over end-March 2016.

The shares of Government (Sovereign) and non-Government debt in the total external debt were 19.6 per cent and 80.4 per cent respectively, at end-December 2016, it said.

"The share of US dollar denominated debt was 54.7 per cent of the total external debt at end-December 2016, followed by the Indian rupee (31.1 per cent), SDR (5.9 per cent), Japanese yen (4.4 per cent), Euro (2.7 per cent), Pound Sterling (0.7 per cent) and Others (0.5 per cent)," it said.

Many key external debt indicators of India show improvement at end-December 2016 over end-March 2016, it said.

Besides, total external debt falling by 6.0 per cent during this period, the foreign exchange cover for external debt increased to 78.7 per cent from 74.3 per cent and the ratio of concessional debt to total external debt increased to 9.2 per cent from 9.0 per cent, it said.

Though, the share of short-term debt (original maturity) in total debt increased to 18.4 per cent from 17.2 per cent during this period due to rise in trade related credits, the share of short term debt (residual maturity) in total external debt fell to 41.4 per cent from 42.6 per cent, it said.

US exports to India continue to face barriers as its customs officials generally require extensive documentation, leading to frequent and lengthy processing delays, the Trump administration said on Friday.

Despite the Indian government's efforts to pursue economic reforms, the structure of India's customs tariff and fees system are "complex and characterised by a lack of transparency" in determining net effective rates of customs tariffs, excise duties, and other duties and charges, the US Trade Representative (USTR) said it its annual report.

Noting that US exporters have raised concerns regarding India's application of customs valuation criteria to import transactions, it said India's customs officials generally require extensive documentation, inhibiting the free flow of trade and leading to frequent and lengthy processing delays.

This is a consequence of India's complex tariff structure, including the provision of multiple exemptions, which vary according to product, user, or intended use, it said.

India, it said, lacks an overarching government procurement policy and, as a result, its government procurement practices and procedures vary among the states, between the states and the central government, and among different ministries within the central government.

In its annual 2017 National Trade Estimate, the first under US President Donald Trump, the US goods and trade deficit with India was USD 24.3 billion, a 4.2 per cent increase (USD 970 million) last year, the USTR said.

The report came hours before Trump was expected to sign an executive order instructing his administration to examine the cause of trade imbalances with over 15 countries, including China and India.

According to the report, US goods exports to India were USD 21.7 billion, up 1.1 per cent (USD 237 million) from the previous year. Corresponding US imports from India were USD 46.0 billion, up 2.7 per cent.

India was the US' 18th largest goods export market last year, the report said.

On the other hand, US exports of services to India were an estimated USD 18.1 billion in 2015 (latest data available) and US imports were USD 24.7 billion.

Sales of services in India by majority US-owned affiliates were USD 22.7 billion in 2014 (latest data available), while sales of services in the US by majority India-owned firms were USD 13.4 billion, it said.

Further, the US Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India (stock) was USD 28.3 billion in 2015 (latest data available), a 4.4 per cent increase from 2014. The US FDI in India is led by professional, scientific, and technical services, manufacturing, and wholesale trade, USTR said.

Taking note of the national Goods and Services Tax (GST), the report said it would replace most indirect taxes, including various charges on imports.

The GST is designed to simplify the movement of goods within India, it said.

In 2015, the Indian government introduced the GST Bill in Parliament and it was passed in July last year. India is working on the implementation of the GST law, which would put in place a two-part system.

The first part of the system are the State and Central GST that will be levied simultaneously on every transaction of goods and services within a state. The second part is an "Integrated GST" that covers goods and services sold between all Indian states. The Integrated GST would apply to imports.

India intends to implement GST by July, the report said.

Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata has undergone groin surgery, effectively ruling out the 28-year-old from competitive action for the next couple of weeks, an official statement by the club said.

The news comes at the worst possible time for Jose Mourinho, as his injury list seems to be growing ahead of their English Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

The Portuguese tactician had already confirmed that Paul Pogba, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones will not be fit for Saturday’s home clash with the Baggies, which means several of United’s fringe players will have to be called into action.

Bastian Schweinsteiger completed his move to MLS club Chicago fire this week and with Ander Herrera and Zlatan Ibrahimovic both suspended, United are looking a little short in midfield.

West Bromwich are flying high in the Premier League at the moment, in 9th place and will fancy their chances against a wounded Red Devils side, who cannot afford to slip up as they seek to finish in the top four.

The diminutive Mata, who has flitted in and out of the first team at United this season, has managed to score 10 goals (all competitions) and his side will miss the Spaniard's creative talents in midfield, especially with Pogba and Herrera unavailable.

The Red Devils play nine games in April alone, with seven domestic games and a two-legged tie against Belgian side Anderlecht sure to test the strengths of Mourinho’s bench. The only possible silver lining for the United faithful is that skipper Wayne Rooney has a chance to stake his claim for a starting berth in the wake of their injury-crisis in midfield.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking a comprehensive review of the massive trade deficit totaling more than $500 billion per annum with 16 countries, including China and India.

He also signed a second order that seeks to strictly enforce anti-dumping laws. It would ensure that the US fully collects all duties imposed on foreign importers that "cheat", Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The announcement, which comes just days ahead of Trump's first meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, is widely seen as targeting China, even though US officials have insisted that it does not single out that country.

"They're cheaters. From now on, those who break the rules will face the consequences and there will be very severe consequences," Trump said without naming any country.

The first order directs the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative to examine the factors causing the trade deficit that totals more than $500 billion per annum and submit a report within 90 days.

The review of the factors and violations behind the trade deficits will be led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Trump said.

"We're going to investigate all trade abuses, and based on those findings, we will take necessary and lawful action to end those many abuses. I'm not beholden to any political or financial interest. I don't care. I'm here to do a job," he said while insisting that he was acting for the "American worker".

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the Department of Commerce and US Trade Representative will submit a "comprehensive report" to the president on the causes of the "unduly large deficit" within 90 days.

Spicer also said countervailing duties were put in place to address the problem of other countries "dumping undervalued goods" into US markets, which makes it "impossible" for homegrown businesses to compete with "artificially low prices".

"This is especially a problem in countries whose governments subsidise exports into our country. So to discourage this practice, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency has a mechanism for assessing these type of transactions and imposing financial penalties, known as countervailing duties, when it's determined that this kind of malicious dumping has occurred," he said.

Since 2001, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency has not collected over $2.8 billion in these duties, he said.

"We could do a lot by maximising this enforcement power for our country. So we need to do a better job on behalf of the American worker. If a foreign company, often due to its being partly or entirely government-run or subsidised, is able to flood American markets with an artificially cheap steel, for example, they price American companies out of the system," Spicer said.

The announcement says the US must address the challenges to economic growth and employment that may arise from large and chronic trade deficits and the "unfair and discriminatory" trade practices of some of their trading partners.

Talking to White House reporters, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross insisted that the executive orders were not just about China.

A day earlier he had identified 16 major countries with which the US has significant trade imbalances, while noting that the communist nation was the number one source of the deficit. Ross also named India down the line with a trade deficit of USD 24 billion.

The US has a massive trade imbalance of $347 billion with China, followed by Japan with $68.9, Germany ($64.9), Mexico ($63.2 billion), Ireland ($35.9 billion) and Vietnam ($32 billion).

Other countries mentioned in the list were Italy, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, France, Switzerland, Taiwan, Indonesia and Canada.

Responding to questions, Ross said there is no need to take any action on some of the trade deficit countries.

"For example, some of our deficit comes from the fact that we import a lot of oil. Well, even now with the shale oil, we are not self-sufficient. So that portion of our imports is real, it has nothing to do with any bad behavior," he noted.

"Also, there are some products that are just not made in the United States, so it's a little bit hard to say that something is an evil-doer, because they're providing a product we can't. And, in some cases, it will simply be that they are better at making the product or can do it far cheaper than we can," Ross said.

The review will represent the first systematic analysis of what are the causes behind the imbalances, country by country and product by product, he said, adding that it will form the basis for "measured" decision making by the administration.

The UN Security Council called for stepped up efforts to defeat Boko Haram insurgents and Islamic State extremists in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region and tackle the humanitarian crisis that has left millions facing hunger and possible famine.

A resolution adopted unanimously by the UN's most powerful body strongly condemned attacks by the militant groups and encouraged greater support to strengthen the capabilities of the multinational force trying to rout them.

It said the force needs logistical, mobility and communications assistance and equipment, and better ways to share information.

It expressed "grave concern at the ongoing terrorist attacks" by Boko Haram and Islamic State militants and at "the dire humanitarian situation across the region caused by the activities of Boko Haram."

The resolution urged the immediate disbursement of the $458 million in humanitarian assistance pledged for the Lake Chad region for 2017 at a donors conference in Oslo and called on those who haven't donated to contribute urgently.

The Security Council visited the Lake Chad region in early March for a firsthand look at the impact of the extremist attacks and the humanitarian crisis.

Britain's UN ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, said putting a spotlight on Lake Chad Basin isn't enough.

"We will fail the people of the region if we do not respond to what we saw, if we don't take tangible actions to bring real relief, real respite to the suffering, the hunger, the instability," he told the council after the vote.

First and foremost, Rycroft said, the international community and the United Nations must scale up their response to the looming humanitarian disaster.

"If we act now, famine can be avoided," he said.

To tackle the crisis, Rycroft said, the root causes must also be addressed including "economic inequalities, countering violent extremism, and empowering women."

And he stressed that humanitarian aid must be accompanied by economic development. 

US President Donald Trump has said he will get down to some "very serious business" with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping when they meet next week for their first summit.

"Next week, as you know, in Florida at the southern White House, we're having the president of China and a large group from China, his representatives, and we're going to get down to some very serious business," Trump told reporters at an Oval Office ceremony to sign executive orders on trade.

On April 6 and 7, Trump and Xi would meet at the President's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, often described as the 'Southern White House'.

"We look forward to it (meeting with Xi). I've spoken to him numerous times on the phone. We look very much forward to it," Trump said.

At his daily news conference, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters that the meeting with President Xi would be a difficult one.

"I don't think it's a surprise to anybody in terms of we've got both national security issues in terms of our political posture towards North Korea, the threat of a missile that extends further and further, the tests that they're using, their nuclear capability. Those should all be very concerning," he said in response to a question.

"Then on the trade front, we've got serious concerns with what they're doing, our trade practices with them, some of the things that were mentioned in the past. There's a lot of areas that we need to be concerned about with trade," he said.

Spicer said it would not be like a "sit around and play patty-cake" kind of conversation between the two Presidents and they would discuss "big issues".

"The President has been making it very clear for decades, frankly, of the challenges that we face. And I think he wants to have a very good and respectful and healthy relationship," Spicer said.

"But he also wants to make sure that he tackles the challenges and the problems that are facing American workers and American manufacturers and get to them," he said.

Meanwhile, US Commerce Secretary William Ross has alleged that China is one of the most protectionist country in the world.

"My view is that the United States is about the least protectionist of the major countries, and that China is one of the most protectionist," he was quoted as saying by media reports.

"There's an inherent clash between those two, even though China uses a tremendous amount of free trade rhetoric. We'd like the rhetoric and the behaviour to become more congruent," he said.

In a statement, Senator Bob Casey said he has consistently opposed bad trade deals and called for action against countries like China that "cheat" on trade.

"We have to crack down on countries that cheat and we must renegotiate bad trade deals," he said.
 

An Indian student, who was allegedly brutally assaulted in Poland and was claimed to have died, has survived the attack, according to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Swaraj on Friday night spoke to the Indian ambassador to Poland Ajay Bisaria regarding the assault on an Indian student in Poznan city whose name was not disclosed.

Swaraj sought a report from the envoy after she was approached by a netizen who informed her about a news item in Polish media regarding the death of an Indian student after being severely beaten up.

"There was an incident of beating. Fortunately, he has survived. We are inquiring into all aspects of the incident," she tweeted.

Bisaria had earlier tweeted, "Prelim enquiry suggests student attacked in Poznan tram on Wed. Thank God, he survived. Getting details.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday banned exit polls between April 9 and April 16 when byelections are held for two Lok Sabha seats of Srinagar and Anantnag in Kashmir.

"In connection with the bye-elections to Srinagar and Anantnag Parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, the ECI has prohibited exit polls between 7 am on April 9 and 6.30 pm on April 12," a notification issued by the commission said.

"In exercise of the powers under Sub-Section (1) of Section 126 A of the Representation of People s Act 1951, ECI has notified the period between 7 am on April 9 and 6.30 pm on April 12 during which conducting any exit poll and publishing or publicising by means of the print or electronic media or dissemination in any other manner whatsoever, the result of any exit poll shall be prohibited," the notification stated.

Displaying any election matter including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey, in any electronic media, would be prohibited during the period of 48 hours ending with the hours fixed for conclusion of poll for bye-elections, the notification added.