Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said that India now needs to move to a lower level of taxation to be globally competitive.

"What you need is lower level of taxation, to provide services more competitive in nature. Competition is not domestic, it is global. This is one important change you will witness while you will be in service," Jaitley said.

He was addressing the officers at inauguration of professional training of 68th batch of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (C&CE) Officers at National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics here. 

Newly-appointed Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce has admitted that losing the England job was the lowest point of his career.

As England manager, Allardyce's stay was short-lived as he was booted out just 67 days into the role after making ill-advised comments while in conversation with undercover reporters in a newspaper sting.

The 62-year-old, who replaced Alan Pardew as manager of struggling English Premier League (EPL) side Crystal Palace recently, said he found the media reaction in the immediate aftermath of being sacked hard to handle.

"The first four weeks was something that was one of the darkest moments in my career, certainly the early reaction, which was a bit hysterical to say the least, looking back on it," Allardyce was quoted as saying by the Guardian on Sunday.

"I'm talking about me and my wife and my family, we all had to deal with that problem – my children, my grandchildren at school. But eventually time passes by, you overcome those adversities and you move on. Moving on for me is taking this job," he added.

Palace have struggled during the ongoing season, losing 10 of their 17 matches to be at the 17th place on the 20-team EPL table with a mere 15 points.

Palace are just one point above the relegation zone having won only once in their past 11 matches.

Allardyce admitted that bringing about a change in the club's fortunes will be difficult, but was confident of coming out with flying colours.

The experienced manager asserted that the current assignment will be easier than his stint with Sunderland with whom he warded off relegation in the 2015-2016 season.

"You've got to do it, it's part of the quick process to try to turn around a difficult situation at the moment," he said.

"It's not as difficult as the position Sunderland were in, I don't think."

British singer-songwriter George Michael has died at his home in Oxfordshire, England at the age of 53.

"It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period," Efe news agency cited a statement by his publicist.

"The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. There will be no further comment at this stage," the statement continued.

Michael, who was born in London and whose real name was Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, sold more than 100 million albums during his musical career lasting almost four decades. He was well-known for his 1984 solo single "Careless Whisper".

An ambulance reportedly was called to Michael's home at about 1.42 pm (local time) on Sunday afternoon, and local police said there there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

In 2011, Michael was forced to cancel several concerts after being hospitalised for a very serious case of pneumonia.

Michael had skyrocketed to fame with his childhood friend Andrew Ridgeley as members of the pop duo "Wham!" in the early 1980s.

After leaving that group, Michael launched a solo career that included huge hits such as "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1".

Earlier, he had released "Faith". an album that Michael arranged, produced and wrote practically alone that went platinum four times over in the United Kingdom.

Macedonia's conservatives, led by former minister Nikola Gruevski, has secured victory in a bitterly contested national election after a poll rerun in a single station did not give the leftist opposition enough votes to overtake their rivals.

The rerun, in the northwestern village of Tearce, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the capital of Skopje, gave the opposition, led by the Social Democrats, 245 votes to 149 for the conservatives, led by Gruevski's VMRO-DPMNE party on Sunday. There were 402 people voting out of 714 registered.

The rerun had been ordered following complaints about voting irregularities from the opposition Social Democrats.

The result has not been officially announced but has been posted on the website of Macedonia's Election Commission.

With the rerun result in, VMRO-DPMNE wins 454,577 votes and 51 seats in the 120-member Parliament to 436,981 votes and 49 seats for the Social Democrats.

The latter needed to secure 307 votes over the conservatives in a rerun to gain a 50th seat at the conservatives' expense.

What is certain is that Gruevski will need to form a coalition government with onee or more of the Albanian-minority parties, as he has done in the past. But, this time, coalition-building will be complicated by the emergence of two new Albanian-minority parties. The largest Albanian party, the Democratic Union for Integration, has been a reliable Gruevski partner in the past.

In the annulled vote in Tearce, on Dec. 11, 404 registered voters had cast ballots. VMRO-DPMNE won 91 votes to 87 for the Social Democrats, while the rest were split among four Albanian-minority parties.

In the lead to the rerun, Gruevski's party had been spreading rumors that the Albanians would vote massively for the opposition and had even claimed it would not recognize the result.

Antonio Milososki, a VMRO-DPMNE senior official, has blamed the leftist opposition of trying to "falsify the electoral will of the citizens".

"They (the opposition) are trying with some reruns to manipulate or to create conditions for falsifying the will of the people," he said.

The national election was called two years early as part of a Western-brokered deal to defuse a two-year political crisis sparked by a massive wiretapping scandal. The left-wing opposition blamed Gruevski for an illegal wiretapping operation targeting more than 20,000 people.

Voting in the rerun went generally smoothly. It was halted for 15 minutes due to problems with the ultra-violet lamps used in the voting verification process. Election authorities use invisible spray on voters' thumb to mark them as having cast votes and check all voters with UV lamps to make sure they will not try to vote again.

Police said on Sunday that they got a report that two individuals allegedly tried to bribe an unidentified number of residents, offering them from 100 to 500 euros, in order not to vote. 

Thanks to constantly declining international prices of crude over the past two years, net oil importing countries have benefitted immensely. It is notable that India imports nearly 70 per cent of its oil requirements.

Due to declining crude prices, the oil import bill of India came down from $164 billion in 2012-13 to $83 billion in 2015-16. As a result India’s trade deficit has nosedived to only $118 billion in 2015-16 from $190 billion in 2012-13.

It is clear that this would not have been possible had crude prices not fallen. In the event of high crude prices, the rupee would have depreciated significantly; balance of payment worsened and inflation could have gone out of control. Declining oil prices also benefitted the exchequer.

As crude prices had been falling, government only partially transferred the benefit to consumers and instead raised tax on petroleum products. This led to increase in government’s revenue and it could reduce fiscal deficit and therefore enforce fiscal discipline.

By 2015-16, our fiscal deficit was brought down to 3.9 per cent of GDP. Therefore we can say that declining crude prices helped us in not only reducing our trade deficit but also our fiscal deficit. Prices could also be brought under control and overall performance of the economy improved in terms of GDP growth.

Crude oil prices have once again started rising in international markets; having come down to as low as $30 per barrel, they are now moving around $55 per barrel. This happened after OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) countries decided to reduce their daily output by 1.7 million barrels. It is notable that OPEC countries provide nearly 42 per cent of world oil supplies.

In November 2016, nonOPEC oil producing countries also joined hands with OPEC countries and agreed to reduce production of oil. Obviously for the time being oil prices have started taking an upwards trend. So is the low price regime over and will oil prices rise further?

Though it may seem so because production has been reduced, there is a contrary view offered by Energy International Administration (EIA) of USA. According to EIA, crude prices may remain well under $50 per barrel even next year. Though EIA agrees that OPEC countries will honour their commitment to cut production, it would be more or less compensated by increase in production by USA.

According to EIA, US companies are likely to increase production next year and some non-OPEC countries may also increase production. There has been an unprecedented increase in the production activities of US companies and they have registered significant profits as well. Therefore, it is very likely that they will continue to increase production.

News agency ‘Reuters’ also shares the opinion of EIA and its research reveals that this effort of OPEC to prop up oil prices is not likely to be a success as non-OPEC production is likely to increase fast.

However, there is a slight difference between EIA’s and Reuters’ assessment of future oil prices. According to Reuters, oil prices are likely to be between $55 and $57 per barrel, but not more than $60 per barrel; however, according to EIA, they will be around $50 per barrel.

Experts also differ about possibility of reduction in output by OPEC. Though OPEC has decided to reduce production by 1.7 million barrels, it is conditional upon non-OPEC countries reducing their production by 0.6 million barrels. So far only Russia has committed to a reduction in production by 0.3 million barrels.

Some OPEC countries even say that they will reduce their production irrespective of non-OPEC countries falling in line. In view of these fears and expectations, it is generally expected that crude oil prices may remain near the present price of $55 per barrel.

Since 1973 world has seen how OPEC countries had maximised their profits by control of oil prices, thanks to the monopoly power they enjoyed. The situation has changed now, as OPEC accounts for only 42 per cent of oil supply globally, which used to be 52 per cent earlier. Today nonOPEC countries are playing an important role in global oil supplies.

Tension between OPEC major Saudi Arabia and nonOPEC major Russia is a known fact. The USA has been increasing its crude oil production constantly; its total crude production has increased from nearly 5 million barrels in the past to nearly 9 million barrels now. This has played a major role in reducing oil prices internationally.

Although, OPEC countries have decided to prop up prices by contracting production and non OPEC countries have also joined hands with them, there is always a doubt about whether individual countries will actually honour their commitments honestly. Constantly increasing production by USA indicates that it is interested in keeping oil prices low.

There are two reasons behind this thinking of USA. One, USA does not want that Saudi Arabia is left with a big surplus from export of crude oil, as it is accused of financing terror the world over. Secondly, increase in oil prices may shake efforts to take the American economy out of recession.

We must also keep in mind that OPEC countries do not command monopoly power, which they did previously. Although oil exporting countries are passing though huge financial crisis, due to erosion in their monopoly power, they may not be able to push up prices in the near future.

International Athletics Federation (IAAF) President Sebastian Coe says that India has the capability to host big ticket track and field events and he would love to see the prestigious Diamond League Meeting being held in the country in near future.

Coe, who was in India early this year for his first visit to a member federation after taking over as IAAF chief, said that the athletics events of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games was a huge success and it showed that the country can host big international meets.

"Yes, India can host big events because India staged the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The athletics programme in the 2010 CWG was held in a world-class stadium and it was delivered in front of full houses virtually every session," Coe said.

"I know it is possible. New Delhi also hosted the World Half Marathon Championships way back in 2004 and it was hugely successful. So, I am sure India is well capable of hosting big international events," Coe said when his opinion was sought on India's capability to hold IAAF events, including Diamond League Meetings.

"I want to see IAAF events coming to India. It's important IAAF increases its global footprint, particularly for our big one-day athletics events (like Diamond League Meetings). Asia, including India, is an important market. That will be where our focus is. I would love to have a Diamond League event in India one day," he added.

Explaining the requirements for an event of the scale of a Diamond League Meeting to take place, Coe said, "It depends on the ability (of a country) to pull off various things together. We need a clear criteria what constitutes a Diamond League event is. It could be about crowd, it could be about infrastructure, it could be about local partnership, it could be about broadcast.

"So, it is about pulling all these things together. We have two Diamond League Meetings in Asia — Shanghai and Qatar legs. We are having a new Diamond League event in Africa in Rabat (Morocco). Qatar has done very successfully so does Shanghai. So these (two) can be used as benchmarks," said the 60-year-old Coe, a gold medallist in 1500m in both 1980 and 1984 Olympics.

Coe also revealed that the world athletics body will collaborate with the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to start an ambitious coaching programme from next year to produce a large number of coaches by introducing IAAF certified Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 courses in the country.

India has severe shortage of IAAF certified coaches and the programme is sure to give a boost in producing world-class trainers in large numbers.

India has just around 30 coaches who have passed IAAF's Level 1 course while there are just a couple of them who have passed IAAF Level 2 course.

"Coaching is absolutely crucial in terms of developing athletics. It's really important India develops a framework of world class coaches. I think they (India) recognise that. The IAAF is helping India to introduce what we call Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 courses. India can develop their own pool of coaches, can start their journey from that lower level to elite level coaches," Coe said.

"Also we are working on modules prepared by the IAAF with close collaboration with the SAI. We signed an MoU and our focus is around the Center of Excellence in New Delhi. The AFI led Adille Sumariwalla has been doing a good job in trying to gain attraction and interest for track and field events in India which has not always had the strongest foundations.

In a bid to put up a united opposition against the BJP government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to go to New Delhi on Monday to attend a meeting of Opposition parties on December 27.

"Our party supremo will go to Delhi tomorrow and will attend the meeting of Opposition parties on December 27. In that meeting the next line of action will be discussed," a senior TMC leader told PTI.

Besides this, Banerjee is likely to hold a separate meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. She will also hold meetings with leaders of other Opposition parties.

Banerjee, who has been opposing Centre's demonetisation move and demanding its rollback since the beginning, had participated in a protest dharna in Delhi besides holding protest meetings in Lucknow and Patna last month.

Sunny Leone, whose latest song "Laila main laila" is being appreciated, says she prefers not to put any limitations to her work as an actor.

 "I don't like to limit myself as an actor. Having said that, everything depends on the script. If I like the script and if my character is justified, I don't like to limit myself. The nice thing about Bollywood is there is a lot of work here." said Sunny.

The item number "Laila main laila", a remixed version of the old "Qurbani" track, is a part of Shah Rukh Khan's "Raees".

Talking about the song, Sunny said: "When you will see the film, you will notice that the track is completely different from the original song. It's a tribute to that old song and I am so happy to be part of a song which is already so famous. I am super excited."

Set in 1980s Gujarat, "Raees" tells the story of a bootlegger whose business is thwarted by a tough policeman. The film is produced by Excel Entertainment and Red Chillies Entertainment.

Directed by Rahul Dholakia, the film also features Nawazuddin Siddiqui and marks the Bollywood debut of Pakistani actress Mahira Khan.

The Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday condemned reported vandalism of a gurudwara in Canada’s Calagry city. He urged the Modi government to come out with a comprehensive policy for the protection of Sikhs living abroad.

Capt accused the Indian government for its failure to protect the Sikhs living in other countries. He said that the government had not only failed to raise the issue at the proper global forums but also did not have a strong internal policy to ensure the protection of Sikhs despite the spike in such incidents since the 9/11 New York attacks.

He also urged the Center to take up the latest incident with the Canadian government on priority basis and ensure that the culprits are brought to book and awarded exemplary punishment to act as a deterrent to similar acts of destruction of religious properties in the future. Punjab Congress chief said, the message needs to go out that the Sikh community living abroad is not alone and has the full backing of the Indian government.

Veteran Indian actor Anupam Kher's 500th film "The Big Sick" will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

"My 500th film 'The Big Sick' selected for world premiere at Sundance Film Festival. Life's best gift for the son of a clerk," Anupam tweeted on Saturday.

The Sundance Film Festival will be held from January 19 to 29 in Utah, US.

The 61-year-old veteran congratulated producers Judd Apatow and Barry Mendel for the movie's selection for the film fest. 

"Thank you Judd Apatow and Barry Mendel for your love and faith. Congratulations for 'The Big Sick' being selected at Sundance Film Festival," he added.

Anupam also said that it was a joy of being part of "The Big Sick".

"It is such joy to be part of 'The Big Sick' and to have wonderful co-actors Holy Hunter, Ray Ramano, Zoe Kazan and my friend Kumail Nanjiani," tweeted the actor.

According to deadline.com, "The Big Sick" follows a couple dealing with their cultural differences as their relationship grows.

Vowing to carry forward the war against corruption and black money post-demonetisation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government will soon operationalise a strong law to effectively deal with 'benami' properties and this was just the beginning.

Making his last monthly address this year in his "Mann ki Baat" programme, he defended the frequent changes in the rules of demonetisation, saying these have been done to reduce the people's problems and defeat such forces who are out to thwart his government's fight against black money and corruption.

Modi sought the cooperation of public in making the "war on corruption" a success and said the wrongdoings of some are being caught only with the support of common people who are coming forward with concrete information about hoarders.

"I assure you that this is not the end. This is just the beginning in our fight against corruption. We have to win this war against corruption and black money. There is no question of stopping or going back in this fight," he said.

The Prime Minister also lamented the logjam in Parliament that evoked displeasure from the President and the Vice President besides all-round public indignation and ire, saying he wanted a good discussion on this campaign as well as on political funding, had both Houses run properly.

He said some people who are spreading rumours that political parties enjoy all concessions and exemptions "are wrong and all are equal before law" and they have to abide by it.

"It was my earnest wish that the ongoing campaign against corruption and black money, including the realm of political parties and political funding, be discussed extensively in the Parliament. Had the House functioned properly, there would have been comprehensive deliberation."

"Some people are spreading rumours that political parties enjoy all kinds of concessions. These people are absolutely in the wrong. The law applies equally to all. Whether it is an individual, an organisation or a political party, everyone has to abide by law and one will have to," he said, adding that people who cannot endorse corruption and black money openly resort to searching for faults of the government relentlessly.

Giving a push to his plea for cashless economy, Modi also launched two new schemes for traders and customers that will dole out 15,000 prizes every day to those making digital transactions.

RBI's all powerful central board is short of ten non-official directors and one Deputy Governor at a time when the apex bank is engaged in massive demonetisation and remonetisation exercises.

The last board-level appointment done by the government was when it elevated N S Vishwanathan to the post of Deputy Governor in June.

Prior to that, in March, the government had nominated three non-official directors — Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Bharat Narotam Doshi and Sudhir Mankad — on the central board of the bank.

Still, there are 10 positions of non-official directors lying vacant on the RBI's central board.

For the post of Deputy Governor, the government received about 90 applications till October 21, the last date for sending applications.

The post fell vacant after elevation of Urjit Patel as the Governor of RBI in early September.

Currently, RBI has three deputy governors R Gandhi, S S Mundra and N S Vishwanathan.

Besides, RBI Governor and four Deputy Governors, there are 10 non-official directors from various fields and two government official from the Finance Ministry on the Board who are nominated by the government.

There are four directors to represent local boards headquartered at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi, as per the RBI Act.

Meetings of the central board is generally convened by the Governor at least six times a year and at least once in each quarter.

On November 8, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took everyone by surprise with his announcement of demonetising high-value currency notes of Rs 500 and 1000 and giving people 50-day window to exchange/deposit defunct notes into their accounts.

RBI has been pushing new notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 into the system, as part of remonetisation as well as monitoring the entire exercise.

Even as the apex bank is indulged in the massive exercise, its central board had a meeting in Kolkata earlier this month.

While footballers world over celebrate Christmas Day with much gusto, the ones in the English Premier League are working as their Boxing Day loom large.

For Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, that means extra head-scratching and some head-banging as dilemmas can literally swamp you.

Not to worry, as The Statesman will help to make the right moves on the FPL with a comprehensive article on who to buy for the coming gameweek.

The indicators are:

Teams in BOLD are top four contenders.

Prices marked with a (+) indicate an increase in Base Price.
Prices marked with a (-) indicate a decrease in Base Price.

Goalkeepers
Tom Heaton
Team: Burnley
Fixtures: Middlesbrough (H), Sunderland (H), Man City (A), Southampton (H) and Arsenal (A)
Price: 4.8 (+)
Score: 68
Ownership: 14.2%

Why yes: Officially the second best keeper in FPL, Heaton has been impressive in 2016. The next two fixtures are at home and against sides who will be flirting will relegation this season. A worthy second-choice at the least.

Why no: Burnley aren't exactly covering themselves in glory and their recent form is pretty poor indeed. Fixtures after Sunderland are quite tough.

Defenders
David Luiz
Team: Chelsea
Fixtures: Bournemouth (H), Stoke (H), Spurs (A), Leicester (A) and Hull (H)
Price: 6.1 (+)
Score: 58
Ownership: 3.6 %

Why yes: If you don't have a Chelsea defender in your team, seriously consider quitting FPL this year. Yes, their defence is that good (At least, in terms of FPL points) and at least one defender is a must-have. Luiz is the cheapest starter and the one with most differential potential. Might just score from the odd free kick as well.

Why no: Luiz is notoriously unreliable, preferring a high-risk strategy which sometimes backfires spectacularly. Chelsea are firing in every department at the moment, so picking Luiz from your quota of three is definitely a gamble.

Hector Bellerin
Team: Arsenal 
Fixtures: West Brom (H), Crystal Palace (H), Bournemouth (A), Swansea (A) and Burnley (H)
Price: 6.4 (-)
Score : 55
Ownership: 16.12%

Why yes: Back to full fitness, Bellerin is a must-have considering the fixtures that await Arsenal. After back-to-back losses, the Gunners will take their frustration out on any side that comes in front of them. The speedy Spaniard is quite handy on both ends of the pitch, a trait which justifies his high price.

Why no: Nacho Monreal is a more cost-effective option and should one have Petr Cech or any Arsenal defender, picking Bellerin would be a risk for sure.

Midfielders

Paul Pogba
Team: Manchester United
Fixtures: Sunderland (H), Middlesbrough (H), West Ham (A), Liverpool (H) and Stoke (A)
Price: 8.3 (-)
Score: 59
Ownership: 9.4%

Why yes: If Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores, Paul Pogba is almost certainly behind it. The £100 million signing is finally coming good as he begins to stretch his legs. If you don't have any United player in your side, Pogba is a pretty safe bet.

Why no: Ibrahimovic is undroppable at the moment, especially with Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa suspended. Having both Pogba and Ibrahimovic would be akin to putting all your eggs in one basket.

Adam Lallana
Team: Liverpool
Fixtures: Stoke (H), Man City (H), Sunderland (A),  Man Utd (A) and Swansea (H)
Price: 7.4 (+)
Score: 89
Ownership: 17.7%

Why yes: Lallana has officially outperformed the more expensive Roberto Firmino and Phillipe Coutinho this season. Considering his recent form and the fact that the Reds are almost always in free-scoring mode, it is difficult to not pick him.

Why no: Games against the Manchester clubs loom large and with a busy festive fixture list, Lallana might be given some rest in the near future. Should you have either Sadio Mane or Firmino, having Lallana as well would be a risky choice.

Forwards

Andre Gray
Team: Burnley    
Fixtures: Middlesbrough (H), Sunderland (H), Man City (A), Southampton (H) and Arsenal (A)
Price: 6.1 (-)
Score: 30
Ownership: 2.7%

Why yes: While Sam Vokes gets a lot of the attention, his strike partner Gray is a very good striker as well. Upcoming fixtures are against teams who don't exactly run the tightest of ships, which makes Gray an intriguing pick. Burnley score maximum goals at home, and with two fixtures on their own turf. Gary might just be a massive differential.

Why no: At this price, don't expect a hatful of goals. Gary is a very high-risk option and at best, a third choice striker for the long-term.

Islam Slimani
Team: Leicester City
Fixtures: Everton (H), West Ham (H), Middlesbrough (A), Chelsea (H), Southampton (A)
Price: 8.3 (-)
Score: 47
Ownership: 1.0%

Why yes: With Jamie Vardy suspended, Slimani is in line to start the next couple of games at least. He has delivered when given an extended run and with Leicester looking to get back to winning ways, this is the perfect time to pick the Algerian.

Why no: At Slimani’s price point, there are plenty of alternatives, who are crucially their sides main strikers. Unless the Algerian goes on a barnstorming display, expect Vardy to slot back into the line up for the Chelsea game. 

PS: The Gameweek  deadline is 11.30 am GMT/5 pm IST, so make sure all transfers are completed before that!

A desert natural park and a lush bird sanctuary, both existing in a small strip of land that is Israel seemed an unlikely combination. That is, till we were introduced to both- the Mashkesh Ramon Nature Reserve in the Negev desert and the International Birding and Research Center (IBRC) at the mouth of the Red Sea in Eilat.

The contrast in locales in Israel could not have been more prominent than in these two nature parks. Both stand tall in the map of preservation of flora and fauna.

Israel is a country mostly composed of desert land. The innovative drip irrigation system its agricultural scientists have perfected has greened many areas of the country creating man-made oasis where kibbutzes thrive. Kibbutzes, a unique institution of Israel, are community-living centres following a mantra of self –sufficiency and sustainability. In many desert-prone areas as in Rajasthan collaborative efforts using this irrigation technique have shown good results.

To go to the Ramon desert park we started from the small town ofMitzpe Ramon , an hour away from the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth. Mashkesh Ramon Nature Reserve is Israel’s largest nature park. As expert driver cum guide Gilad Cartoon drove, what looked like an old jalopy, a Land Rover Defender, it seemed we were in for trouble as there was practically no road; it looked more like a moonscape. But both the jeep and the guide proved us wrong.

A makhtesh is unique to the Negev desert. It is a geological formation, also seen in Sinai peninsula of Egypt. It has steep walls of resistant rock surrounding a deep closed valley which is usually drained by a single ‘wadi’ or spring.

The Ramon, the largest natural crater in the world, is 500m deep. Although commonly referred to as ‘craters’, these formations are ‘erosion cirques’ or box canyons. Craters are usually formed by impact of meteors or volcanic eruption.

Mashkesh Ramon is a geologists’ paradise with layers of rock formation in many colours laid out dramatically. Rub a bit of yellow-coloured soft rock, mix a little water, and voila! a sandalwood kind of paste appears.

Millions of years ago, the Negev desert was actually covered by an ocean. The fossil of a sea centipede stuck on a stone we saw vindicated it.

The water body started receding northwards leaving behind a hump-shaped hill. Approximately five million years ago, the Arava Rift Valley, part of the Great Rift Valley that stretches all the way to Africa, was formed by shifting tectonic plates. Rivers changed their courses, chipping away softer rock keeping the hard rock intact. The crater bottom continued to deepen and more layers of ancient rock were exposed; the rocks at the bottom are estimated to be 200 million years old.

The valley is drained by two rivers Nahal Ramon and Nahal Ardon. Difficult to believe but this arid zone can experience flash floods too, the water going up to the height of hillocks. We were witness to the tell-tale signs of a recent flood; but it also helps to wake up desert plant seeds which lie dormant. The lovely yellow flowers that speckled some patches were witness to nature’s wonderful chemistry.

This area, in fact, was homeland to many Bedouin tribes in the past. It was also on the spice trade route of the Nabataens who built the famed Petra caravan city in Jordan.

Today, the makhtesh is also a field of research into traditional knowledge of the roaming tribes and to showcase how they learnt to use the natural plants for their advantage. Gilad showed a plant that kept away fleas from camels and humans, another which, when rubbed with a bit of water, creates soap-like suds, another that produces a substance like a wheat dough, and aromatic plants that can be used to spice up dishes.

In recent years, some animals have been reintroduced to the eco system mentioned even in ‘biblical’ times. Onager, the smallest of the wild horse species which look more like donkeys, is one such. The Ibax, the extremely resilient mountain goat with huge horns, thrive here. We came across a Hyrax, looking like a furry rabbit, but believe it or not, its closest relative is the elephant which used to roam here thousands of years ago.The lush International Birding and Research Center at the Hula Valley is a completely different terrain. It is near Eilat at the edge of the Red Sea. Eilat is more a resort town. But few know, except enthusiastic birdwatchers and ornithologists perhaps, that for eons this valley has been one of the most important spots for migratory birds in the world. It is the only land bridge between Eurasia and Africa and millions of birds use the salty- marsh land as a resting place and to store food before or after crossing the 3000 km migratory path on the vast Sahara desert in spring and autumn.

Established in the 1990s by the government, IBRC was once an industrial waste site, hard to believe today. Here researchers monitor the bird, ‘ring’ them for the database, sometimes tag them with chips, and then set them free. Noam Weiss, director of the center, a passionate ‘birder’, demonstrated how a bird’s wings can tell its age, how it keeps warm, or cool, and how the tiniest of birds manage to cross the desert.

With a powerful binocular we could see pelicans, flamingoes, ducks and many other species and regretted inwardly how a migration haven like Bharatpur in India has declined while here every effort is made to preserve this ancient migration route, help the birds feed by planting flowering trees they love.

As we novices were ready to leave, after gathering some knowledge at least about bird behaviour, a group of Belgian birdwatchers walked in. There was a flurry of activities too. Weiss informed that an annual competition was due; the winner titled “Champion of Flyaway” is selected for maximum number of bird-species spotting. Many international teams take part. Young students also visit for on-hand experience.

Trans World Features

A baby elephant's walk has been tragically terminated by a speeding train in Assam. Altogether, It has been a particularly distressing year for wild life in eastern India. A week after three elephants were flung to their death by a train in Nagaon, the tourists in North Bengal's Gorumara National Park ought to have spared the wild elephant the “disturbance” of being made to “pose” for a selfie with the visitors.

The loop of the tragedies — indeed a triple whammy for wild life — lengthens with Thursday's killing of a rhino in the vicinity of an anti-poaching camp at the Kaziranga National Park — a cruel irony if ever there was one. Forest and Railway authorities are said to be aghast at these incidents; more accurately, neither entity can evade responsibility for the tragedies and recklessness of engine drivers and gung-ho tourists posing as wildlife enthusiasts and nature lovers, not to forget the unchecked forest crime of poaching.

The inherent frivolity of a selfie with an elephant is a decidedly wilful violation of forest regulations, endangering both the tourists and wild life. The forest lends no scope for human thrill-seekers. As 2016 draws to a close, it is painful to reflect that no fewer than 16 elephants have perished on the railway tracks in Assam alone. Clearly, the system of putting “elephant corridors” in place has not worked. Not that such stretches do not exist, but speed restrictions are not always observed by the engine-drivers.

Ergo, it is only to be wise after the event when the administration in Guwahati, at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, decides belatedly to sensitise loco drivers on jumbo behaviour, even inserting GPS indicators on “leaders” of herds.

It is a measure of the enormity of successive tragedies that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India has called for an assessment of new railway sections that are vulnerable to elephant movements. The nub of the matter being that a flurry of official activity is evident only in the aftermath of serial mishaps in the jungles of North Bengal and Assam. It is pretty obvious that there is no early warning system that can alert both the engine driver and the elephant in search of food.

This is the least that can be expected of the forest and Railway administrations in order to minimise, if not altogether avert, the killing of elephants. If train accidents and selfies are instances of recklessness and misadventure, the persistent crime of rhino poaching is extensively ignored — from the Sundarbans to Kaziranga. To claim that the poachers are largely from Bangladesh is neither here nor there; governments in Bengal and Assam have lacked the nerve to effect a crackdown.

Wishing actor-producer Anil Kapoor lots of love on his 60th birthday on Saturday, actress Sonam Kapoor says she is "so proud" to be his daughter.

Sonam shared her childhood photo on Instagram in which Anil can be seen carrying her in his arms. 

She captioned the image which she posted on Saturday: "My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me — Jim Valvano. Happy happy birthday daddy! I'm so proud to be your daughter. I hope I make you proud everyday. Love you lots."

Actor Anupam Kher also wished Anil with whom he has worked in more than 30 films.

"Dear Anil Kapoor, if 'a complete man' exists then you are almost there. Great actor, great family man and a great friend. Happy birthday," tweeted Anupam.

The two actors have featured together in films like "Om Jai Jagadish", "Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai", "Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain", "Deewana Mastana", "Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate", "1942 A Love Story", "Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja", "Beta", "Ram Lakhan" and "Tezaab".