Stepping away from decades of US insistence on engineering the world according to its perceptions, President Donald Trump said his job is not to represent the world but to put America's interests first while respecting the right of nations to chart their own course.

In his annual State of the Union Address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Trump said: "My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the US."

Presenting a gentler version of his America First policy, he said Washington will "respect the sovereign rights of nations".

"Free nations are the best vehicle for expressing the will of the people — and America respects the right of all nations to chart their own path," he said.

"But we know that America is better off, when there is less conflict — not more."

Instead of isolationism, the President said: "Our foreign policy calls for a direct, robust and meaningful engagement with the world."

For this, he said: "America is willing to find new friends, and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align. We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict."

As for American leadership, he said it will be "based on vital security interests that we share with our allies across the globe".

These elements of his emerging foreign policy mark a break from previous Democratic and Republican administrations' policy of nation-building and exporting democracy.

In practice, though, these policy claims mired the US in wars even as they exposed the hypocrisy of supporting dictatorial regimes where it suited the economic or foreign policy interests.

Tuesday's speech also toned down the strident 'America First' agenda that he presented at his inaugural address on January 20.

But he reiterated his promise "to demolish and destroy" the Islamic State, which he described as "a network of lawless savages that have slaughtered Muslims and Christians, and men, women, and children of all faiths and beliefs".

"We will work with our allies, including our friends and allies in the Muslim world, to extinguish this vile enemy from our planet," he said.

While offering continued support to the NATO and other allies in an attempt to allay fears, Trump reiterated his condition they should meet their share of the financial obligations.

"And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that," he asserted.

"We expect our partners, whether in NATO, in the Middle East, or the Pacific — to take a direct and meaningful role in both strategic and military operations, and pay their fair share of the cost."

On international commerce, Trump said he believed in free trade but brought up his criticism that it was not currently fair and led to loss of millions of American jobs.

"I am not going to let America and its great companies and workers, be taken advantage of anymore," he said.

"I am going to bring back millions of jobs. We must create a level playing field for American companies and workers."

Stepping away from decades of US insistence on engineering the world according to its perceptions, President Donald Trump said his job is not to represent the world but to put America's interests first while respecting the right of nations to chart their own course.

In his annual State of the Union Address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, Trump said: "My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the US."

Presenting a gentler version of his America First policy, he said Washington will "respect the sovereign rights of nations".

"Free nations are the best vehicle for expressing the will of the people — and America respects the right of all nations to chart their own path," he said.

"But we know that America is better off, when there is less conflict — not more."

Instead of isolationism, the President said: "Our foreign policy calls for a direct, robust and meaningful engagement with the world."

For this, he said: "America is willing to find new friends, and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align. We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict."

As for American leadership, he said it will be "based on vital security interests that we share with our allies across the globe".

These elements of his emerging foreign policy mark a break from previous Democratic and Republican administrations' policy of nation-building and exporting democracy.

In practice, though, these policy claims mired the US in wars even as they exposed the hypocrisy of supporting dictatorial regimes where it suited the economic or foreign policy interests.

Tuesday's speech also toned down the strident 'America First' agenda that he presented at his inaugural address on January 20.

But he reiterated his promise "to demolish and destroy" the Islamic State, which he described as "a network of lawless savages that have slaughtered Muslims and Christians, and men, women, and children of all faiths and beliefs".

"We will work with our allies, including our friends and allies in the Muslim world, to extinguish this vile enemy from our planet," he said.

While offering continued support to the NATO and other allies in an attempt to allay fears, Trump reiterated his condition they should meet their share of the financial obligations.

"And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that," he asserted.

"We expect our partners, whether in NATO, in the Middle East, or the Pacific — to take a direct and meaningful role in both strategic and military operations, and pay their fair share of the cost."

On international commerce, Trump said he believed in free trade but brought up his criticism that it was not currently fair and led to loss of millions of American jobs.

"I am not going to let America and its great companies and workers, be taken advantage of anymore," he said.

"I am going to bring back millions of jobs. We must create a level playing field for American companies and workers."

Eight-year-old Lion actor Sunny Pawar, who created waves at the 89th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles with his The Lion King act, returned home to a royal welcome as he stepped out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Wednesday morning.

Accompanied by his father Dilip Pawar — a former sweeper-turned-son's business manager — Sunny sat on the trolley stacked high with his luggage and was wheeled out to a large number of people cheering and waving, as a media battalion braced for an encounter with the young celebrity.

Though appearing a bit weary from a long-haul flight, Sunny was a bundle of energy, enthusiastically smiled and waved back at the people, as a couple of bouncers struggled to keep their valuable subject safe from the mobbing crowds.

Some emotional elderly family members and relatives garlanded him as he stepped out of the airport, offered him sweets and blessed the actor, who attended the star-studded awards ceremony on February 26.

"I am very happy and enjoyed attending the Oscars ceremony," Sunny, who featured in the Oscar nominated Hollywood film Lion, said to a mediaperson.

To another, he shot back: "I will continue to study and also pursue my acting career."

The Class III student of Air Indian Model School, Kalina, was selected out of a nationwide talent-hunt around one and half years ago and finally cleared the auditions in Mumbai and Pune to land the plum role in Garth Davis's Lion.

Eight-year-old Lion actor Sunny Pawar, who created waves at the 89th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles with his The Lion King act, returned home to a royal welcome as he stepped out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Wednesday morning.

Accompanied by his father Dilip Pawar — a former sweeper-turned-son's business manager — Sunny sat on the trolley stacked high with his luggage and was wheeled out to a large number of people cheering and waving, as a media battalion braced for an encounter with the young celebrity.

Though appearing a bit weary from a long-haul flight, Sunny was a bundle of energy, enthusiastically smiled and waved back at the people, as a couple of bouncers struggled to keep their valuable subject safe from the mobbing crowds.

Some emotional elderly family members and relatives garlanded him as he stepped out of the airport, offered him sweets and blessed the actor, who attended the star-studded awards ceremony on February 26.

"I am very happy and enjoyed attending the Oscars ceremony," Sunny, who featured in the Oscar nominated Hollywood film Lion, said to a mediaperson.

To another, he shot back: "I will continue to study and also pursue my acting career."

The Class III student of Air Indian Model School, Kalina, was selected out of a nationwide talent-hunt around one and half years ago and finally cleared the auditions in Mumbai and Pune to land the plum role in Garth Davis's Lion.

Campaigning will come to a close in 49 Assembly seats in seven districts of eastern UP going to polls in the 6th phase on March 4, with SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav's Azamgarh Lok Sabha constituency in focus.

Eyes will also be on Gorakhpur, the Lok Sabha constituency of firebrand BJP leader Yogi Adityanath, and Mau, where jailed gangster-turned-MLA Mukhtar Ansari is in the fray.

This phase, the penultimate of the 7-phase exercise, will also cover certain districts bordering Nepal.

Around 1.72 crore voters, including 94.60 lakh male and 77.84 lakh female, are eligible to decide the fate of 635 candidates.

The districts going to polls in the sixth phase are Mau, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Azamgarh and Ballia.

Azamgarh has 10 assembly seats, of which SP had won nine in 2012, but this time Mulayam has not addressed a single meeting in his parliamentary constituency.

Besides Adityanath, the prestige of Union minister Kalraj Mishra, who represents Deoria in the Lok Sabha, will also be at stake.

Prominent candidates in this phase include BSP turncoat Swami Prasad Maurya from Padrauna (Kushinagar), former BJP state president Surya Pratap Shahi from Pathardeva (Deoria), Shyam Bahadur Yadav (SP), son of former Governor Ram Naresh Yadav from Fulpur Pawai (Azamgarh), SP turncoats Ambika Chowhdury and Narai Rai, who are contesting on BSP ticket from Fefna (Ballia) and Ballia Sadar.

While Mukhtar is contesting from Mau, his son Abbas is in fray from adjoining Ghosi seat in Mau district.

In the 2012 Assembly polls, of the 49 seats, 27 were won by the SP, 9 by BSP, 7 by BJP, 4 by Congress and 2 by others.

There will be 17,926 polling booths in this phase.

The highest number of candidates are in Gorakhpur (23) and the lowest of seven candidates are in Mohammadabad Gohna seat in Mau district.

Campaigning will come to a close in 49 Assembly seats in seven districts of eastern UP going to polls in the 6th phase on March 4, with SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav's Azamgarh Lok Sabha constituency in focus.

Eyes will also be on Gorakhpur, the Lok Sabha constituency of firebrand BJP leader Yogi Adityanath, and Mau, where jailed gangster-turned-MLA Mukhtar Ansari is in the fray.

This phase, the penultimate of the 7-phase exercise, will also cover certain districts bordering Nepal.

Around 1.72 crore voters, including 94.60 lakh male and 77.84 lakh female, are eligible to decide the fate of 635 candidates.

The districts going to polls in the sixth phase are Mau, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Azamgarh and Ballia.

Azamgarh has 10 assembly seats, of which SP had won nine in 2012, but this time Mulayam has not addressed a single meeting in his parliamentary constituency.

Besides Adityanath, the prestige of Union minister Kalraj Mishra, who represents Deoria in the Lok Sabha, will also be at stake.

Prominent candidates in this phase include BSP turncoat Swami Prasad Maurya from Padrauna (Kushinagar), former BJP state president Surya Pratap Shahi from Pathardeva (Deoria), Shyam Bahadur Yadav (SP), son of former Governor Ram Naresh Yadav from Fulpur Pawai (Azamgarh), SP turncoats Ambika Chowhdury and Narai Rai, who are contesting on BSP ticket from Fefna (Ballia) and Ballia Sadar.

While Mukhtar is contesting from Mau, his son Abbas is in fray from adjoining Ghosi seat in Mau district.

In the 2012 Assembly polls, of the 49 seats, 27 were won by the SP, 9 by BSP, 7 by BJP, 4 by Congress and 2 by others.

There will be 17,926 polling booths in this phase.

The highest number of candidates are in Gorakhpur (23) and the lowest of seven candidates are in Mohammadabad Gohna seat in Mau district.

Most of the schools in the Kashmir Valley re-opened on Wednesday almost after eight months as students re-united with friends, giving educational institutions a joyful ambience.

Schools in Kashmir were shut after the unrest following the killing of Hizbul leader Burhan Wani on July 8 last year.

Hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured by the security forces during massive protests across Kashmir during the unrest.

Despite attempts by authorities, the schools remained shut during the unrest.

Parents did not allow the move as they showed concern about the security of their children and the separatists had opposed it saying it was the government's roundabout way to bring normalcy in the Valley.

When the unrest ended, winter set in the Valley and the authorities announced the traditional winter vacation in schools that ended on Wednesday.

Although the schools were shut but the board examinations of Class 10 and Class 12 were conducted amid tight security.

Life in Srinagar seemed to have been jolted out of the winter slumber as laughter and clatter of school children brought merriment to cities and towns here.

Parents hoped the academic atmosphere would remain peaceful this year so that students could make up for the loss.

"Accompanying my son to the bus stop to wait for the school bus was an experience I missed for over 
seven months.

"I pray the situation remains normal this year so that my son goes to school and lives a normal childhood. He should be able to compete with students outside the Valley", said Sajad Ahmad, 45, whose son is a student of the Burnhall School here.

Most of the schools in the Kashmir Valley re-opened on Wednesday almost after eight months as students re-united with friends, giving educational institutions a joyful ambience.

Schools in Kashmir were shut after the unrest following the killing of Hizbul leader Burhan Wani on July 8 last year.

Hundreds of people were killed and thousands injured by the security forces during massive protests across Kashmir during the unrest.

Despite attempts by authorities, the schools remained shut during the unrest.

Parents did not allow the move as they showed concern about the security of their children and the separatists had opposed it saying it was the government's roundabout way to bring normalcy in the Valley.

When the unrest ended, winter set in the Valley and the authorities announced the traditional winter vacation in schools that ended on Wednesday.

Although the schools were shut but the board examinations of Class 10 and Class 12 were conducted amid tight security.

Life in Srinagar seemed to have been jolted out of the winter slumber as laughter and clatter of school children brought merriment to cities and towns here.

Parents hoped the academic atmosphere would remain peaceful this year so that students could make up for the loss.

"Accompanying my son to the bus stop to wait for the school bus was an experience I missed for over 
seven months.

"I pray the situation remains normal this year so that my son goes to school and lives a normal childhood. He should be able to compete with students outside the Valley", said Sajad Ahmad, 45, whose son is a student of the Burnhall School here.

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Haji Abdul Salam passed away here on Tuesday night following a brief illness, family members said.

He was 69.

Haji Abdul Salam is the first Manipuri Muslim to be a member of Rajya Sabha from Manipur. He has been representing the state in the upper house since 2014, a Congress official said.

Born at Heibong Makhong in Thoubal district, Haji Abdul Salam is survived by his wife, son and 5 daughters.

He was elected to the 3rd, 6th and 8th Manipur Legislative Assembly from Wabagai assembly constituency.

Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Haji Abdul Salam passed away here on Tuesday night following a brief illness, family members said.

He was 69.

Haji Abdul Salam is the first Manipuri Muslim to be a member of Rajya Sabha from Manipur. He has been representing the state in the upper house since 2014, a Congress official said.

Born at Heibong Makhong in Thoubal district, Haji Abdul Salam is survived by his wife, son and 5 daughters.

He was elected to the 3rd, 6th and 8th Manipur Legislative Assembly from Wabagai assembly constituency.

Villarreal coach Fran Escriba said on Tuesday that his football club has never implied that gift bags given by Real Madrid to referees had influenced their decisions during Sunday's La Liga clash against his side.

Villarreal suffered a 2-3 home defeat against Real Madrid, while the referees were seen carrying Real Madrid gift bags after the match, reports Efe.

The Spanish coach insisted that Villarreal has never suggested that these gift bags could have influenced the decisions of the officials.

Escriba believes that things have been exaggerated, explaining that there is a chance of errors made by referees in every game, but once the game ends there is nothing to be done.

He emphasised that referees must be respected, and reiterated that he understands mistakes may be made by match officials, but that is a part of football.

Seeking to play an important role in national politics ahead of parliamentary election, the Trinamool Congress is eyeing a 2012 repeat performance in Manipur to emerge as the main opposition party there after the assembly polls.

The TMC is contesting in 24 seats in the 60-member assembly the election to which is scheduled to be held on March 4 and March 8. The results will be announced on March 11.

In the 2012 assembly poll, the TMC had bagged seven seats, but later all of its MLAs switched sides joining either the Congress or the BJP.

The TMC, which holds power in Bengal and a major force in Parliament with 34 MLAs in the Lok Sabha, had been working hard for the last two years with a new team of leaders in Manipur hoping to play a big role in case of a hung assembly.

"We are in a very good position to win at least 7-8 seats in Manipur. Our understanding and the ground report says that it will be a hung assembly as neither the Congress nor the BJP will be able to gain a majority," TMC vice-president Mukul Roy said.

According to the party leadership, Manipur is very important to them in order to emerge as a potent force in the east and the Northeast.

"In Tripura, the TMC is the main opposition party and in Manipur if we attain the same status as the last time, it will strengthen our party," a senior TMC leader said.

"Keeping 2019 Lok Sabha election in view, if we are able to win four/five seats in the Northeast, then that will be a big boost for our party," he observed.

Though it won seven seats in the 2012 Assembly election in Manipur and emerged as the second largest party, subsequently it failed to keep its flock together.

While a by-election, necessitated by the death of a TMC member, was won by the Congress, two other Trinamul MLAs – Thongam Biswajit Singh and Khundrakpam Joykishan Singh – were disqualified under the Tenth Schedule.

The Meghalaya government has decided to do away with the distinction between Plan and Non-Plan expenditures in its budget for the fiscal 2017-18, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said on Wednesday.

"The Cabinet which met on Tuesday evening has approved the proposal for merger of Plan and Non-Plan expenditure in the state budget," Sangma, who also holds the Finance portfolio, told the media.

The budget session of the Meghalaya Assembly is slated to be held from March 3.

In fact, the Union budget had merged the Plan and Non-Plan expenditures, as well as the merging of the general and railway budget.

Under Plan expenditure, the government incurred expenses for various developmental projects, whereas the Non-Plan expenditure was allocated for salaries, office expenses, subsidies, loans and interest.

Sangma said that allocation of funds to various departments would be based on this exercise.

He said the exercise to change the budgetary format was given to the planning and finance department, after which a proposal was made jointly for approval of the cabinet.

Rupee depreciated by 13 paise to 66.82 against the US Dollar in early trade today on increased demand for the Dollar from importers.

Dealers attributed the Rupee's fall to increased demand for the US currency and the Dollar's strength against some currencies overseas but a higher opening of the domestic equity market on better-than-expected GDP growth in October-December quarter, capped the losses.

The Rupee had gained 2 paise to close at 66.69 in an extremely thin and lethargic trade on Tuesday owing to stray Dollar selling form banks and exporters.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rebounded by 141.51 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 28,884.83 in early trade.

Russia has extended the contract for hosting the country's Formula One Grand Prix in Sochi for four years to 2025, the race promoter said.

"The financial details of the deal are confidential but I can assure that we're completely satisfied with the conditions," Sergei Vorobiev, Russian Grand Prix promoter said on Tuesday.

The first Russian Grand Prix was held in Sochi in 2014 and the previous deal was set to run out in 2021.

The 2017 season’s race is due to take place on April 30 and Vorobiev said he is hoping the crowds will flock to the event.

"We've marked down the average ticket price," Vorobiev said.

"We're confident that we will be able to set a new attendance record at this year's Russian GP." 

Indian stocks snapped a 2-session fall on Wednesday as traders punched in fresh long positions after a mild consolidation at 6-month highs. The market continues to gather momentum as it prepares to take out its previous record less than 2 per cent away.

Investors await monthly sales data from auto and cement companies as they seek news that might help the bulls to overwhelm the bears.

There is widespread buying across the board and key heavyweight stocks are showing upward traction with the requisite volumes. Gains are seen across the board and the bulls remain firmly in control of sentiment on Dalal Street. A surprise 7 per cent growth in GDP in the past quarter will also add to the bullish fervour on the exchanges.

Here are the main trading events of the day so far:

* The Nifty gained 57 points to 8,937 points. The index is consolidating at its highest level since early September and is aiming to climb above the 9,000-point mark. Derivatives data points aggressive build up of calls at the 9,000 and 9,100-point mark.

* Bharti Infratel, Axis Bank, Hero Motor, ICICI Bank and ONGC rose 1.1-1.7 per cent and were among 40 shares to gain on the Nifty.

* Idea Cellular, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Tech Mahindra slipped 0.5-1.1 per cent and were among 11 stocks that lost ground on the Nifty.

* Reliance Industries, India's most profitable privately listed stock, was the top traded share on the NSE. The stock recorded a mild uptick and is now trading at fresh 8-year highs. It came out of a long consolidation after it informed its wireless customers that it would begin charging for calls on its newly launched nationwide network of mobile services from April 1 onwards.

* Axis Bank, HPCL and DLF were stocks that recorded the heaviest trades.

* Tata Teleservices surged 12.5 per cent to 9 rupees on news that it and partner DoCoMo have taken steps to resolve their $1.2 billion dispute. JP Associates, Jindal Steel & Power and DLF were among the list of most actively traded shares.

* The Sensex surged 249 points to 28,991 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Axis Bank is the top gainer while Tata Motors lost the most. Reliance Industries was the top traded share by value on the Sensex.

* The wider market showed major indices posting modest upticks. The Nifty 100, 200 and 500 benchmarks gained 0.5 per cent each. Gains were higher on the mid cap and the small cap benchmarks.

* The sectoral space was tinged with green. All four banking benchmarks were in positive territory. The pharma, metals, FMCG and Auto shares edged higher as well.

* Overall, 1,155 shares gained ground versus just 308 that declined on the NSE.