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US President Barack Obama will host Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the White House on October 23 to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation on issues of mutual concern, including terrorism, the White House announced today.

"The visit will highlight the importance and resilience of the US -Pakistan relationship and provide an opportunity for us to strengthen cooperation on issues of mutual concern, such as energy, trade and economic development, regional stability, and countering violent extremism," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said.

Obama looks forward to discussions with Sharif on ways the two countries can advance their shared interest of a stable, secure, and prosperous Pakistan, Carney said.

The announcement came hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here for a meeting with President Obama at the White House tomorrow.

In Islamabad, the prime minister's office said in a statement said that Sharif will meet Obama to discuss ways to deepen bilateral ties with focus on trade.

At a ceremony last night, renowned social reformer Anna Hazare was awarded the inaugural Allard Prize for International Integrity by the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Law at Allard Hall.

The $100,000 Allard Prize is one of the largest awards in the world recognising efforts to combat corruption and promote human rights.

NDTV reports: President Pranab Mukherjee has asked to be briefed by the government on the urgent need to bring an ordinance that protects convicted MPs and MLAs from disqualification.

Sources said Mukherjee is believed to be "unsure of the compelling reasons" for the ordinance, which the union cabinet hurriedly approved this week.

Read the full report here

President Pranab Mukherjee has doubts about the issuance of an ordinance on convicted Parliamentarians, says our source. He is likely to seek clarifications from Union Ministers and discuss the salient features with the Prime Minister on his return from the US. BJP leaders who called on him also feel and the President is unlikely to sign the ordinance. 

Massive crowd at Narendra Mody's rally in Trichy. Excerpts from his speech.

Pradhan Mantri-ji this is not me or BJP speaking, this is the people of Trichy. The youth of Trichy are telling you this. I want to ask, you and I want you to answer -- our soldiers are being killed, innocents are being killed, terror troubles us.

"Should the PM show such haste to meet Pakistani leaders? Every citizen asks, are we so weak that our neighbours can do what they want and we keep our eyes shut, our mouths locked?

"The Delhi Government eats chicken biryani with the Pakistan Prime Minister in name of protocol," says Modi.

The Gujarat CM is delivering his speech in Hindi, which is being translated in Tamil.

Pic: Trichy rally tweeted by Narendra Modi

Sushma Swaraj tweets: Mr Prime Minister - No dialogue over dead bodies. Pl cancel your meeting with Nawaz Sharif.

A decade after serial bomb blasts rocked suburban areas of Mumbai, Saquib Nachan, POTA accused and former Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) functionary, today urged the Bombay High Court to discharge him in the case.

Arguing in person, Nachan pleaded the trial had not yet begun and that there was no material with the prosecution to connect him with the crime.

A series of blasts had rocked Mulund, Vile Parle and Bombay Central between December 2002 and March 2003 in which 10 persons were killed and over 50 injured.

Condemning the militant attacks in Jammu region, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today said the attackers have put the statesmanship qualities of prime ministers of both the nations to a test and continuation of talks will be the best response to such elements.

PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said the attack "seemed deliberately timed" to sabotage the scheduled meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharief.

UNESCO taking measures to protect female journalists from violence. Read

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi today expressed disappointment with the Raghuram Rajan panel report which bracketed Bihar among backward states and said it will get nothing for it.

"The Raghuram Rajan panel report is like 'Khoda Pahar nikli chuhiya (making a mountain out of a mole hill) ... Bihar will gain nothing out of it," he said in a tweet and assailed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for creating a hype that the Centre had acceded to his request to set it up to clear the decks for grant of special status to the state.

The former deputy chief minister in another tweet flayed the Raghuram Rajan panel for negating the concept of special category status by categorising the states as developed, less developed and least developed on the basis of multi-dimensional index.

Pilgrimage to Kedarnath shrine in Garhwal Himalayas, which was suspended in the wake of the June calamity in Uttarakhand, will be resumed on October one, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today said.

The yatra will, however, be on a low key initially with only a limited number of devotees allowed to visit the Himalayan shrine considering the condition of roads in the area, Bahuguna said in his message on World Tourism Day.

Areas adjoining Kedarnath shrine bore the brunt of the deluge that struck the state on June 16-17.

PMO officials in New Delhi used satellite phone to get in touch with Dr Manmohan Singh to update him on the militant attack in Jammu.

The coordination between New Delhi and Frankfurt is done by three top officials in the South Block in Delhi. The PMO is connected to the PM by internet, SMS and Skype and video satellite phones, as well.

The four-digit secret phones installed in the chambers of Union Ministers were busy today.

Eight senior union ministers wanted to know whether the prime minister directed P Chidambaram or A K Antony to convene a Cabinet Committee on Security to discuss the Jammu militant attack.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh turned 81 today as he travelled to the United States from Frankfurt to meet President Barack Obama and attend the UN General Assembly.

However, our sources tell us that the PM will not be celebrating his birthday in the aftermath of the twin terror attacks in Jammu that left 12 dead.

Singh was greeted by officials and journalists accompanying him on his visit to the US. Among others who wished the Prime Minister on his birthday were Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief minister J Jayalalithaa.

Gujarat chief minister and the BJP's PM contender is south-bound today. Rediff.com's Ganesh Nadar who is reporting from Trichy where Modi is set to address a rally this evening says the 85,000 chairs at the grounds are all taken and there are as many people on standing. Another huge victory in numbers for the BJP after the Bhopal mega rally yesterday?

Also read:5000 cops deployed to protect Modi at Tamil Nadu rally.

Two men sentenced to death for gang-raping and killing a 23-year-old woman -- an attack that jolted India with its brutality -- spoke out publicly for the first time since their conviction saying they were innocent and worried about the effect of the sentence on their families. Read

The Indian Army has moved in Special Forces to eliminate the remaining terrorists who have walked inside the army cantonment in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district.

"Special Forces have moved to eliminate remaining terrorists," said army sources on the Samba attack.

According to latest reports, a gun battle is still on and the army choppers are hovering over the site.

Personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the state police have joined the army in the attempt to flush out the terrorists, who have killed at least five unarmed army men.

According to reports, three terrorists have been killed.

One of the world's greatest captains is 70 today. A team-mate salutes him. Read

The Supreme Court issues a notice to UP govt on a plea seeking independent inquiry into the incidents leading to communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar.

The SC seeks response from the UP govt on the sting operation purportedly showing that police did not take prompt action to control violence allegedly under political pressure.

"These are serious allegations and you must respond to them," the SC tells the UP government.

Legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar, who was recuperating at the Lilavati Hospital here, was today discharged following improvement in his condition.

The 90-year-old thespian was kept in the intensive care unit (ICU) for ten days after he suffered a myocardial infarction (heart attack) on September 15.

The veteran actor had undergone a heart surgery 14 years ago. "He is better and hence it was decided to take him home," sources close to the actor said.

Siraj Ur Rehman, who is one of the five accused in the Mumbai gang-rape case was in fact in Thane jail. He was reported missing on the first day of the trial today. 

Comedy of errors it seems. The 'missing' Siraj Ur Rehman has been found in Thane jail; clerical error led to confusion.   

Delhi court dismisses police plea seeking permission to conduct brain mapping test of top LeT bomb expert Abdul Karim Tunda.

Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam making a statement now. He says that Siraj Ur Rehman, accused in the Shakti Mills gang rape case was not present in court today. "The Crime Branch thought he was at the Thane jail, while the Thane jail authorities thought he was with the Crime Branch. The jail superintendent has been asked to be present in court to explain the circumstances that allowed Rehman to go missing," says Nikam.

Today was the first day of the hearing and it was only when the accused was presented in court that the police discovered that Siraj Ur Rehman was missing.

The Thane jail authorities say they thought the accused was with the Crime Branch. The hearing in the case is on hold since all the accused have to be present together at court.

TV reports indicate the crime branch and the Thane jail authorities both say they don't know where he is. 

This comes days after Indian Mujahideen operative -- serial bomber Afzal Usmani -- accused of involvement in half a dozen bombings across the country -- escaped from the Mumbai sessions court on September 20.

Just in: Mumbai gang-rape accused Siraj Ur Rehman flees from Thane jail. He is one of five men accused of gang-raping a photojournalist at the Shakti Mills Compound in Mumbai last month. Details awaited. 

In rushing to purchase commercially untested reactors from the United States, New Delhi has glossed over concerns about safety and the scope of suppliers' liability, while failing to assess profitability in the long run. Read

In rushing to purchase commercially untested reactors from the United States, New Delhi has glossed over concerns about safety and the scope of suppliers' liability, while failing to assess profitability in the long run. Read

As many as 119 people have lost their lives in Karnataka in rain-related incidents which have also led to damages estimated Rs 2,724.37 crore this year, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said today.

The terrorists who attacked a police station and an Army cantonment 20 km apart, killing 12 people in Jammu and Kashmir this morning, are suspected to have crossed over into India only last night or this morning.

Despite that, and in what points to a serious security lapse, they managed to make their way from Jandi village on the border with Pakistan to Hiranagar in Kathua district of Jammu, where they attacked a police station and killed cops, before hijacking a truck and driving to the Samba district to attack an armoured corp unit. All in a span of about two hours.

Intelligence sources have said that units in the Jammu area had been warned that fidayeen or suicide attackers could launch a strike and yet the three heavily-armed terrorists seem to have entered the Army cantonment in Samba with ease.

The Lt Col who was killed in the attacks shot twice in the stomach at point-blank range when he came out of the mess in the morning. -- NDTV

The Supreme Court has issued notices to seven states seeking their response on the coal blocks allocation. The states include Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

The SC has directed the seven state governments to file a response by October 29 and give details of agreements between government companies which were allocated coal blocks with private parties. 

The Supreme Court has issued notices to seven states seeking their response on the coal blocks allocation. The states include Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

The SC has directed the seven state governments to file a response by October 29 and give details of agreements between government companies which were allocated coal blocks with private parties. 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today left for the US after an overnight halt in Frankfurt.

Singh arrived last night on his way to the US where he will hold bilateral talks with President Barack Obama in Washington and attend the UN General Assembly in New York besides meeting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

Soon after arrival, Singh called up German Chancellor Angela Merkel to congratulate her on her election victory.

Merkel emerged triumphant for a third term at the helm of Germany in Sunday's elections.

Singh's week-long US visit is aimed at charting a course for "future cooperation" by expanding and deepening bilateral relations in a host of areas, including trade and investment, civil nuclear cooperation, defence and counter-terrorism.

Some agreements including in the field of defence are expected to be signed with the US during the visit. From Washington, Singh will move to New York to address the UN General Assembly.

The Prime Minister will also meet with leaders of neighbouring countries including Pakistan during his visit to New York.

Just in: Pakistan says it strongly condemns the "senseless act of violence, which should not deter us from pursuing a path to a better future. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations."

Bomb threat at Mangalore Infosys office. Police have cordoned off the campus and combing the area, says a Tweet. 

The Uttar Pradesh government today removed ADG (Law and Order) Arun Kumar, who oversaw security arrangements in Muzaffarnagar after communal riots erupted.

Kumar had last week moved an application seeking permission from the state government to go on central deputation.

He has been replaced by Additional Director General of Police (GRP), Mukul Goel, a home department spokesman said. Kumar has been attached with the DGP headquarters in Lucknow, the spokesman said.

The ADG's move to seek permission for going on central deputation had come amid reports of alleged political interference in police functioning during the riots.

Claiming that he was facing a life threat for taking on a section of the Trinamool Congress leadership, MP Kunal Ghosh today said he had kept a video recording of his statements in the safe custody of a friend.

The TMC MP, who has been issued a show cause notice by the party for indiscipline, said, "I want the people to know the truth. I am having problem in revealing many facts. It will be revealed in that video which I have kept in the safe custody of a friend," Ghosh said.

Ghosh, who was interrogated twice by the police in the Saradha Group scandal, denied rumour of meeting Congress President Sonia Gandhi and alleged that some TMC leaders were spreading canard against him, though they themselves were covertly in touch with the Congress high command.

Also read: Kenya mall attack: Did terrorists rent shop to hide weapons in advance of massacre?  

In other stories: Al-Shabab terrorists, who killed at least 67 people in the Nairobi mall massacre, burned victims' faces and cut off their hands in an attempt to conceal their identities.

Sickening details of what happened to the dead inside the Westgate shopping centre have emerged, as the Kenyan Government said the siege had come to an end.

Security officers who ended the stand-off revealed how the militants from Islamic extremist group piled up bodies by the main door to slow the rescue teams down, the Daily Star reports.

Another shock report emerged how an injured woman had been sexually abused at gunpoint in front of terrified young hostages.

Narendra Modi tweets: Terror attack in J&K is highly condemnable. Condolences to families of brave army & police personnel & civilians who sacrificed their lives.

Some good news from Jammu and Kashmir. The Army has foiled a major infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Keran sector of Kashmir and a group of 30 ultras is believed to be trapped in the security forces cordon in the area.

Troops engaged in the operation, which began on September 24, have reported sighting of 10 to 12 bodies of militants but confirmation about the deaths can be made only after the operation ends, an army official said today.

"The anti-insurgency operation was started on September 24 and contacts were established with the infiltrating militants at multiple points," the official said.

He said based on the pattern of gunfire exchanged with the militants, their number is believed to be more than 30. "The mopping up operation is in progress and we expect to clear up the area in next two to three hours," he said.

The official dismissed reports that helicopters were used to target the militants during the operation. "Choppers were only used to airlift the troops from various locations for the operation and not used in the firefight," he added.

Congress leader Ajay Maken tweets that the party condemns the terror attacks in Jammu. The attacks are not incidental but deliberate and diabolical attempts to derail peace, by people who stand to gain out of unrest.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar tweets: Our party strongly condemn terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir.

BJP president Rajnath Singh tweets: The PM is in a hurry to start dialogue with Pakistan. There should be no talks with Pakistan unless there is a conducive environment.

Condemning the terror strikes, party General Secretary Digvijay Singh also asked Pakistan to identify the rogue elements and noted that both the countries were "victims of terror" and should come together to fight the menace instead of blaming each other.

"(We) condemn militant attack in Jammu (region). Pakistan and India both (are) victims of terror and) must come together to fight (the menace) instead of blaming each other. "They should also identify the rogue elements in the Establishment and effectively purge them. Dialogue is the only way to tackle issues," he said on Twitter.

Defence minister AK Antony says the government will leave no stone unturned in dealing with forces of terror.

That's a statement, oft repeated, in every terror attack. 

In other news: The Raghuram Rajan panel report has made a case for ending the 'special category' criteria for providing additional assistance to poorer states, as it ranked Goa and Kerala as the most advanced state and Odisha and Bihar the least.

The committee, headed by the then Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram Rajan (now RBI governor) which was set up by the government amid demand for "special category" status by Bihar, suggested a new methodology for devolving funds on states based on a 'Multi Dimensional Index (MDI)'.

Giving details of the report Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the committee has suggested that the 28 states be split into three categories -- least developed, less developed and relatively developed -- depending upon their MDI scores.

Anger against J-K CM Omar Abdullah on Twitter for not hitting out at Pakistan over the twin terror attacks in Jammu today.

Asked if Pakistan was playing a double game by seeking dialogue and infiltrating militants at the same time, Omar said it would be wrong to speculate whether the infiltration took place with the active knowledge of elected leadership of Pakistan.

"We do know that from time to time, (the) forces inimical to dialogue have sought to derail the process even though the Pakistan government has thrown its weight behind such a process.

"We have seen even when (then President) General Pervez Musharraf was committed to dialogue process, there were forces who tried to derail this process," he said.

The MHA says the firing has now stopped. Initial reports say that there were between three to five terrorists who had entered from Pakistan. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde quoting preliminary information said four terrorists entered the Jammu region from across the border this morning.

A lesser-known militant outfit 'Shohada Brigade' today claimed responsibility for the twin attacks in Jammu region which left eight persons, including a Lt Colonel of the army, dead.

"We carried the attacks in Kathua and Samba in Jammu region and our mujhahideen are still fighting there," a person who identified himself as Sami-ul-Haq, the spokesperson of the outfit, told PTI on phone.

Haq said the militants were three in number and were all locals. "We have lost communication with one of the militants, but we are in touch with the other two who are inside the army camp. All the three are locals," he claimed.

The PM's office (PMO), says the attack is a work of the enemies of peace.

The PM is in Frankfurt on this way to New York for the UNGA.

The PMO in a statement said the PM had conveyed his heartfelt condolences to families of civilians and martyrs. This is one more in a series of provocations and barabaric actions by the enemies of peace.  Talks and dialogues are the only way forward. We will go ahead with dialogue."

The PM's talk with Nawaz Sharif is on Sunday morning. 

PM Manmohan Singh's first statement in the aftermath of the twin terror attacks in Jammu. Dr Singh says the attacks are an attack on peace. However, there is no confirmation whether there the talks would go on.

The PM is on his way to New York to attend the UN General Assembly meeting. On the sidelines of this, is his meeting with Pak PM Nawaz Sharif.

The terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir today came just ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's talks with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, following a pattern of strikes whenever the two countries have taken a significant step towards dialogue.

The two leaders are to meet on Sunday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Top sources told NDTV that there is no change as of now in PM's decision to meet Mr Sharif. "The meeting was always for raising Indian concerns," the sources said.

Details of the twin terror attacks in Jammu according to IGP Jammu region, Rajesh Kumar:

-- In the first strike in Kathua, three to four militants came in an autorickshaw and killed the guard at the police station.

-- They then barged into the police station where they killed three persons.

-- They took a truck and injured the truck driver and headed towards the national highway along with the truck driver.

-- They abandoned the truck. They may have taken another vehicle from there and reached the army camp in Samba, where the encounter is still on.

Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah speaking on the twin attacks in the state this morning. He said his condolences are with the family of those killed. "I condemn the the attack that took place in the Kathua and Samba sector of Jammu today. As of now, it won't be possible to speculate about the finer details of the attack. I have received reports that 12 people were killed in the attacks.

"Given our history and the timing of the attack, as well as the location of the attack, what is obvious is that the aim of the terrorists is to derail the proposed dialogue between the prime minister's of India and Pakistan.

"These forces have always been inimical to the intersts of Jammu and Kashmir, have always tried to derail any peace process, always wanted to keep the ongoing turmoil in the Valley alive. 

"And this is a step in that direction. There will be political pressure on the PM to resist any further movement in the dialogue process. It is for the PM to decide how to proceed further," he said. 

Congress leader Rashid Alvi says that if Pakistan is indeed responsible for the attack that killed nine people in Jammu and Kashmir, the talks between PM Singh and his Pakistani counterpart on Sunday, should be cancelled.

The same sentiment has been echoed by the BJP's Yashwant Sinha.

However, Congress sources say the talks will continue.

A defence spokesman in Jammu confirmed that three army soldiers were killed and an equal number wounded in the ongoing gunfight in Samba town of Jammu region, reports Rediff.com's Mukhtar Ahmad from Srinagar.

He said the injured soldiers were evacuated to hospital for treatment. One of the three soldiers killed in the attack include a Lieutenant Colonel.

After attacking the Hiranagar police station, the militants wearing army fatigues barged into the army camp at Samba on the Jammu-Delhi national highway firing indiscriminately from automatic weapons. Sources here say that a senior army officer was among the three killed in the Samba army camp attack. "The gunfight is on,' the spokesman said.

BJP today condemned the twin militant attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it reflects that Pakistan is continuing with its strategy to strike at will through proxy war of terror.

"The Prime Minister had himself assured the nation through both Houses of Parliament after 26/11 and after beheading of two soldiers that second time we will not hold talks with Pakistan till it takes minimal action against terror," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

"But what are we seeing today that Pakistan land is being used to attack and conduct terror attacks in India," he said.

Heavily-armed militants this morning attacked a police station in Kathua and an army camp in Samba, killing eight persons, including security force personnel.

 "We condemn the twin dastardly attacks. This shows that Pakistan continues on its strategy to strike at will through this proxy war of terror," he said.

While American officials say the near-miss between President Obama and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran at the UN General Assembly means little to the ultimate fate of negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear programme, it does illustrate the acute political sensitivities that will affect both leaders as they try to embark on a diplomatic path. Read the report on the Telegraph.

Update on the attack at Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir.

Heavily-armed militants dressed in army fatigues on Thursday attacked a police station in Kathua, killing five persons, including four policemen, before targeting an army camp in nearby Samba where six army personnel have been reportedly killed, in a terror strike 72 hours ahead of a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

The militants dressed as army fatigues first attacked the Hira Nagar police station in Kathua district in Jammu region and killed four policemen and two civilians. Read

The National Conference says the attack could have come ahead of the Indo-Pak talks in New York. As of now, the talks between PM Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif are on.

The BSE benchmark Sensex has recovered over 40 points in early trade today on selective buying by participants amid RBI plans to take steps to ensure adequate supply of money for credit flows.   

The death toll from a powerful earthquake in southwest Pakistan rose to 348 on Wednesday after hundreds of mud houses collapsed on residents throughout the remote and thinly populated area, local officials said.

The dengue scare is back with more than five deaths and over 1,000 cases have been reported in the national capital region itself.   What's more worrisome is that that medical experts say the number of cases this time round has doubled since last year.

 

Five deaths and 1,355 cases of dengue have been reported so far according to the MCD. It is an increase of almost 50 per cent in the past one week.

 

Read more on CNN IBN

Thursday has been a bloody day for Kashmir as two jawans have been injured in a militant attack on an army camp in Samba district of Jammu, police said.   The Hiranagar police station in Kathua district has also come under militant attack where at least four policemen and a civilian have been killed.

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