News Digest: Fight Against Wildlife Trade Gets a Boost

Here are some important reports from the biggest newspapers of India:

1.Fight against wildlife trade gets a boost

The fight against the multi-billion dollar illegal wildlife trade in South Asia got a major boost earlier this month with Nepal approving the statutes of the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN). India has already joined the network, reports The Hindustan Times.

SAWEN is a regional network of eight countries in South Asia comprising Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which aims to set up a regional inter-governmental body to combat wildlife crime.

2. Centre-Congress GST Talks Stay Inconclusive

Consensus eluded negotiations between representatives of the government and Congress on the goods and services tax bill during another round of talks that took place late on Wednesday evening, according to a source, reports The Economic Times.

The latest round of talks was attended by finance minister Arun Jaitley and parliamentary minister Ananth Kumar from the government and Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and P Chidambaram, it is learnt.

3. Separatists ask MLAs to Abandon Mehbooba

As the unrest continues in Kashmir for 12 days now, separatists on Wednesday asked all the members of J&K assembly to abandon chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and join the `people's resistance movement'.

A report in The Economic Times said J&K chief minister is convening all party meeting on July 21 to discuss the protests and the general security situation in the Valley , which the Omar Abdullah-led largest opposition party , National Conference, has decided to boycott.

4. Don't mix pills with juice: Medical body

The next time you pop a pill and wash it down with juice, think again. Mixing juice, particularly of citrus fruits, with drugs makes the medicine less effective, the Indian Medical Association has warned, reports Durgesh Nandan Jha.

In a recent advisory , the medical body says juices affect the absorption of drugs, particularly those prescribed for chronic conditions such as hypertension or heart disease. One should have these pills only with water, reports The Times Of India.

5. A.P. set to be country’s nuclear power hub

Weeks after the government announced that U.S. company Westinghouse’s Nuclear Power Project (NPP), planned in Gujarat’s Mithi Virdi, is being moved to Andhra Pradesh, sources confirmed to The Hindu that Russian-owned Rosatom will build its next phase of six reactors in Andhra Pradesh as well, reports The Hindu.

With other States like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra facing local protests over NPPs, the government is now pinning its mega-plans for generating the ‘clean’ energy on coastal Andhra Pradesh.

6. FMCG firms, eateries might regain pricing power

Processed food companies and restaurant chains are likely to regain pricing power this year as urban demand revives on the Seventh Pay Commission payout and rural demand picks up with a better monsoon outlook, reports The Business Standard.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Britannia, Nestle and McDonald's have already started hiking prices gingerly and analysts expect the process to gather steam in the second half of the financial year. These companies have had to postpone price hikes for almost all of 2015 because of weak demand.

7.Can't find 1,684 kids, govt tells high court

The state government on Wednesday informed the Gujarat high court that taking into account figures since January 2013, 1,684 kids remain missing in the state, reports The Times Of India.

The state government admitted that 7,778 children were kidnapped in Gujarat since January 2013. Of them, 6,359 children have been traced.There are 1,419 kidnapped children, who have not been traced till date.The government also said that apart from kidnapping cases, there were 265 kids who are missing. In this category , 3,701 children went missing and of them 3,436 have been found.

8.Amid row over will, Jayadev says Aishwarya `not my son'

On the third day of his testimony in the Bombay high court, late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's second-born son Jayadev , who has challenged the validity of his father's 2011 will, stunned the courtroom by saying, for the first time, that “Aishwarya is not my son.“ Aishwarya (20), till date, was known as the younger son of Jayadev and his exwife Smita Thackeray. The court proceedings turned in-camera after that, reports The Times of India.

Jayadev is embroiled in a bitter battle with younger brother Uddhav over the bequests made by their father, who passed away in November 2012. In the will, Thackeray bequeathed almost all his assets, including a major portion of his landmark bungalow in Bandra (East), Matoshree, to Uddhav, also his political heir, but almost nothing to the other surviving son, Jayadev.

9.Attack Neo-Illiberalism to Herald True Liberalisation

Raise a toast to the economic reforms that have transformed India over 25 years. India has gone from being the world's big gest beggar for foreign aid to be ing hailed as a potential superpo wer. From being an irrelevant Third Worlder it has become the only credible Asian check on China in the 21st century, reports The Economic Times.

India used to be a leader of the G77 group of developing count ries. But is now a member of G20, the biggest global powers. From being economically irrelevant it has become the fastest-growing major economy in the world.

10.Jet Airways to unbundle fares next month

Jet Airways is unbundling its fares, to allow customers to opt for paying less in lieu of benefits such as lounge access or bonus miles. The product, Fare Choices, will be launched on August 17 reports The Business Standard.

It will allow customers to choose from eight fare slabs. The higher levels will guarantee bonus miles, lounge access, seat upgrade options, priority check-in and waivers in cancellation and date change fees. All passengers will be entitled to free meals and baggage allowance, irrespective of fare selection. The airline would not comment on pricing.

Globally, Air Canada, United, American Airlines, Air New Zealand and Etihad have launched similar fare products, allowing customers to choose their best option.