Live! Uber rape: Man from whom fake certificate procured identified

LIVE

Fri, 12 December 2014

Timeline Refresh

23:44 Hinduja group acquires UK's Old War Office building

The Hinduja Group, in partnership with another company, today acquired UK's iconic Old War Office building that was once occupied by the country's war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

The historic building was acquired by the Hinduja Group, headed by NRI entrepreneurs S P Hinduja, Chairman, and G P Hinduja, Co-Chairman, in partnership with Obrascon Huarte Lain Desarrollos. The landmark building will now be restored and re-developed into a five star hotel and residential apartments, and will also feature a series of private functions rooms as well as a spa and a fitness facility.

Previously inaccessible to the public, a commitment has also been made to grant new access to the building with an outdoor public space also part of the re-development plans.

Srichand P Hinduja and Gopichand P Hinduja, on behalf of the company, said, "We will make every efforts to honour the heritage and restoration of this national monument, elevate its status and reconnect it with the public."

23:42 Sarpanch kidnapped by militants in Baramulla

Militants on Friday night abducted a village sarpanch from Hygam village in Baramulla district. A senior police officer said a group of heavily armed gunmen forced their entry into the house of Ghulam Mohammad, a village Sarpanch, and abducted him.

Senior police officers along with reinforcements have rushed to the spot.

-- Mukhtar Ahmad in Jammu

A man, from whom a fake character certificate was originally procured, using which the Uber rape case accused got an All India Tourist Permit, has been identified by the police and summoned for questioning. 32-year-old Shiv Kumar Yadav, the cab driver accused of raping a passenger last week, had told police that he had procured the fake character certificate issued in the name of an Additional DCP of Delhi Police through an agent of a finance company.

The police had detained the agent, identified as Sumit Sharma, who told police that he had procured it from another person.

"That person has been identified and summoned for questioning. We will make arrests only when we unearth the entire chain through which the fake certificate was obtained," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma said.

23:05 Last days of US as a superpower?

From the CNN: The Pentagon's recent statement that Iran may have conducted air strikes against ISIS targets in Iraq's Diyala Province is tantamount to a U.S. tacit approval of Iran's growing military footprint in Iraq.

Read the full story HERE

The London airspace is recovering from a computer failure that caused a brief closure of the airspace, Eurocontrol said on Friday.

UK air traffic control service provider NATS told the media that the system has been restored and that it is working towards resuming normal operations.

Read this deelopning story HERE

A US-based woman, who had tweeted about alleged indecent behaviour of the Uber rape case accused, is in touch with the Delhi police on filing of an FIR but has urged the officials to keep the communication confidential.

Nidhi Shah, who was in India for a week in November, had in a series of tweets on Tuesday said that during her trip,she had taken the cab of the accused Shiv Kumar Yadav on November 26, and that he had stared at her through the rearview mirror smiling in a weird way.

The Delhi police has told the woman that an FIR under section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC can be registered in this connection and that could be done over email.

"We have told her that she doesn't need to come to India and an FIR in this connection can be filed over email. We are in touch with her but she has requested that the communication should remain confidential," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today said the government has decided to give six per cent reservation to ex-service men in recruitment in police force and provide land at low cost for establishment of their colonies.

"We have decided to give six per cent reservation to the ex-servicemen in the police force so they get re-employment," Swaraj said while addressing an election rally today.

In a bid to woo ex-servicemen who form a large chunk of voter base in this village, which shares border with Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, Swaraj said the government has decided to provide land at low cost to the ex-servicemen so that their colonies could be established.

"We will encourage herbal farming so that an ex-servicemen can get extra earning from herbal framing," she said. She said the government was committed to settle the claims of the refugees from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "

Claims of the 1947 Pakistan-occupied Kashmir refugees would be settled so that they don't remain refugees any longer. We will also provide compensation to the refugees of 1965 and 1971," she said.

All London airspace is closed because of a computer failure, the European air traffic control network Eurocontrol said Friday.

No flights will be accepted in or out of London until 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET), Eurocontrol said.

A spokeswoman for London's Heathrow Airport, Marianna Panizza, told CNN there was a power outage at the air traffic control center in Swanwick, which controls the airspace for London.

Himachal state Assembly today adjourned sine die after passage of the Lokayukta Bill which was passed unanimously with minor amendments.

The Bill will consolidate and re-enact a law to provide for the appointment of Lokayukta for the state of Himachal Pradesh to inquire into allegations of corruption against public functionaries and for matters connected therewith.

Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, responding to a scathing government report, defended his agency's use of extreme tactics to obtain information from detainees held abroad after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

"There were no easy answers, and whatever your views are on EITs [enhanced interrogation techniques], our nation and in particular our agency did things right to keep our nation secure," Brennan said in opening remarks Thursday at a rare news conference at the agency's headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

20:13 Facebook mulls adding dislike function

Speaking at a Q&A session in California, Mark Zuckerberg said it was one of the most requested features the social network receives from its users.

He said the site would need to find a way to make sure it did not become a way to demean people's posts.

Read full story here

20:03 Indian fisherman found dead in Pak jail

A 30-year-old Indian fisherman has been found dead under mysterious circumstances in a jail in Pakistan, prompting Pakistani authorities to order a probe into the death.

Devo Mand Kansaro, who was arrested in March by Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency for fishing in the Arabian sea, was found dead yesterday in his jail barracks in Malir district.

Jail authorities claimed that Kansaro had died from natural causes after complaining chest pain and no torture marks were found on his body.

The names of characters played by John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens have been revealed in a set of trading cards.

Director JJ Abrams revealed the names by employing trading cards, a nostalgic nod to the original trilogy. Boyega's card showed his character to be called Finn, with Ridley's named Rey and Isaac's known as Poe Dameron.

The football-like droid, seen in the recent trailer, was revealed as BB:8

The suspect behind a pro-ISIS twitter account followed by foreign jihadis may not be based in Bengaluru as claimed by a British media report and he could be using a pseudonym -- Mehdi Mehboob Biswas, according to preliminary assessment by central intelligence agencies.

The individual may not be based in the IT city as media reports had originally claimed but it has been confirmed that the now defunct twitter handle @ShamiWitness had played significant roles in the Islamic State's propaganda war.

Investigators were trying to get details of twitter handle and to authenticate whether the individual, identified as Mehdi Mehboob Biswas, was using his original name or if it's just a pseudonym.

Mamata Banerjee has called the arrest of Madan Mitra as an unconstitutional act while charging the government with cowardice.

"BJP government at the Centre is 'coward', acting like an 'autocrat'. It is a conspiracy," she alleged.

"Mitra had submitted his resignation letter, but I am not accepting it because his arrest is illegal," Banerjee added.

Just in: Government has said that nearly Rs 4,479 crore is being held in Swiss bank accounts of those Indians whose names figure in the HSBC list being probed by SIT on black money.

Of the 628 names mentioned in the list, no balance is shown against 289, the official statement added.

Reacting to the arrest Madan Mitra, the Trinamool Congress said that it was a politically motivated move. "The BJP is doing politics of vindictiveness," West Bengal Minister Subrata Mukherjee said. "How can the state government and assembly Speaker be kept in the dark before the arrest of a state cabinet minister," he added.

17:38

The CBI made yet another arrest in the Saradha chit scam case. They help Saradha boss Sudipta Sen lawyer Naresh Bhalotia.

17:27 Crimean leader's visit to India with Putin angers West

The visit to India by Sergey Aksyonov, head of the Republic of Crimea, accompanying Russian President Vladimir Putin has raised the hackles in the West with the United States saying it was "troubled" by the news and an angry Ukrainian President decrying it.

"We are troubled by reports that the delegation accompanying Putin may have included Sergiy Aksyonov," US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington.

Aksyonov, leader of Crimea which in March this year had acceded to the Russian Federation from Ukraine, was on his first visit abroad seeking to woo Indian investments.

Crimea's accession to the Russian Federation had led to sanctions against both by western countries. Psaki, however, noted that New Delhi was not aware of Aksyonov accompanying Putin on his visit to India.

"The Indian ministry of external affairs has said they were not officially aware of his visit or his participation in the delegation. We're seeking further clarification on that,"she said. "I don't think we have any reason to believe they (India) were aware. But that's all the information I have at this point," Psaki said.

Lok Sabha today passed a bill which provides for fresh auction of 204 coal blocks de-allocated by the Supreme Court in September with the government allaying apprehensions of some parties that the legislation would lead to privatisation of the sector.

The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, which replaces and ordinance promulgated in October, was passed by voice vote overcoming demands by some opposition parties it be sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for closer scrutiny.

The Bill provides for "allocation of coal mines and vesting of the right, title and interest in and over the land and mine infrastructure, together with mining leases, to successful bidders and allottees through a transparent bidding process.

17:20 No Ebola cases reported in India: Govt

No cases of the deadly Ebola virus disease have been reported in the country while proper arrangements are in place for scanning arrivals into India of passengers from the affected countries, Parliament was told today.

Replying to questions in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shripad Yesso Naik, said that a decision has been taken to route passengers arriving from the affected countries in Africa to seven international airports -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi.

The sight of blood-spattered school uniform she was wearing the day the Taliban shot her, made Pakistan's teen Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai burst into tears, prompting fellow awardee India's Kailash Satyarthi to comfort her saying "you are so brave".

The blue tunic, white headscarf and white trousers, stained brown by dried blood, are on display at an exhibition dedicated to the 17-year-old education campaigner and her fellow 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi, which the activists jointly inaugurated in the Norwegian capital.

As she was touring the exhibition yesterday, the sight of her blood-soaked school uniform, which were displayed in a glass case, made the global teen icon burst into tears, Norwegian news agency NTB reported.

The West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra, who was arrested today in the Saradha scam case, is a close aide of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He is charged on grounds of cheating and with undue financial benefits from the Saradha group.

He was interrogated by the CBI on the position he held in the group. He was also grilled on why he was photographed with Saradha boss Sudipto Sen.

Mitra has endorsed Saradha in public gatherings.

He is the third Trinamool Congress leader to be held in the scam.

Bengal sports and transport minister Madan Mitra has been arrested for his alleged involvement in the Saradha scam.

He was arrested shortly after being questioned by the CBI in connection with the multi-crore rupee ponzi scam.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made around the CGO complex housing the CBI office.

The special crime branch of CBI probing the Saradha scam, had served summons on Mitra last month to appear before the agency for questioning.

Mitra had taken ill and was admitted to a private nursing home. Later, he was admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital from where he was released on November 26.

Unfazed by the controversy over his earlier remarks, BJP President Amit Shah today linked the Burdwan blast accused to Trinamool Congress and challenged the party chief Mamata Banerjee to say they are innocent.

"The accused in the Saradha scam and Burdwan blast are linked to TMC. The owner of the house where Burdwan blast took place is linked to TMC. The Sharada chit fund scam accused are also linked to TMC and many people including MPs have been arrested.

"If Mamataji feels it is CBI's mischief, she should say that those arrested are innocent... If CBI is doing a political probe, let Mamataji just say in public that those arrested people are innocent," Shah said speaking at 'Agenda Aaj Tak'.

The BJP chief said he is a public leader and has made an allegation against the West Bengal Chief Minister's party and it was upto her to come out and clarify on them.

"I have made an accusation against Mamata's party and to come clear on that is Mamata's work," he said.

He also said BJP would never use CBI as a tool to meet its political ends which the Congress was doing all along, starting from the time of Indira Gandhi upto those of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi.

While addressing a rally in Kolkata on November 30, Shah had accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of creating hurdles for a proper NIA probe into the Burdwan blast to shield her party leaders allegedly involved in the incident.

15:51 Xiaomi suspends sales in India after HC order

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has suspended its sales in India following directions of the Delhi high court, restraining sales of its products.

"We have been committed to continue our sales of Redmi Note and Redmi 1S devices in India. In the last two days alone, we received over 1.50 lakh registrations for Redmi Note on (e-commerce site) Flipkart and the momentum has been terrific," Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra said in a post on a social networking site.

However, following the order passed by the Delhi high court, "we have been forced to suspend sales until further notice. As a law abiding company, we are investigating the matter carefully and assessing our legal options", he said.

Recently, the high court in an interim order has restrained Xiaomi as well as Flipkart from selling in India handsets of the Chinese mobile maker that run on the technology patented by Ericsson.

"Our sincere apologies to all Indian Mi fans! Please rest assured that were doing all we can to revert the situation. We have greatly enjoyed our journey with you in India over the last 5 months and we firmly intend to continue it!", he said in the post.

Terming the United Nation's declaration to observe June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga' a "matter of pride" for India, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today announced to include yoga in school education curriculum.

The announcement was made by Chouhan in the state assembly soon after the session began today.

Chouhan said that on the initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the UN has decided to observe June 21 as the 'International Yoga Day' which is a "matter of pride" for India.

A total of 175 nations supported India's proposal in this regard, which is also highest as far as any proposal is concerned, he said.

"Yoga will also be included in the school curriculum," he said.

Assembly Speaker Dr Sitasharan Sharma also supported Chouhan's statement saying it was a matter of pride for India.

Controversial actress Rakhi Sawant's friend Manisha Kumari assaulted director Sachindra Sharma during the music launch of the film 'Mumbai can't dance sala'.

Rakhi and Sharma were on stage when Manisha slapped the director. In response, Sharma beat up Manisha on stage.

Manisha later lodged a complaint against the director.

Addressing the media, Manisha said, "Sachindra Sharma...unhone mere ko compromise ke liye poocha...casting couch ke liye...aur main Rakhi ji ki friend hoon...main bahut baar inki set pe jaa chuki hoon...". She added "uhhone mujhpar gandi nazar daali."

The police have lodged initiated an investigation into the matter.

The director has accused Rakhi and Manisha of staging the controversy for cheap publicity, say reports.

Watch the video HERE

15:24

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday wished superstar Rajinikanth on his 64th birthday in Tamil.

In the tweet, Modi wished a long and healthy life for the Tamil superstar, whose latest flick "Lingaa" released today to frenzied fans who turned up to witness their matinee idol deliver famous punchlines after about four years.

15:03 Putin met Sonia before heading out to dine with President Pranab

Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday raised many an eyebrow.

That's because, it did not list in its advisory on President Putins official itinerary"

Sources said that during the interaction, which took place at Putins hotel shortly before he headed to Rashtrapati Bhavan for President Pranab Mukherjees banquet, the two leaders decided to improve relations between the Russian ruling party "United Russia" and the Indian National Congress.

The Maharashtra government has informed the Bombay high court that it was following a 1953 central government circular in using the word Sindhu instead of Sindh in National Anthem in textbooks.

A division bench of justices Anoop Mohta and NM Jamdar was informed about the circular by the government and given a copy of the Anthem which it was relying on.

Accordingly, the court has now asked the Centre to clarify its stand on which word is correct and should be used in textbooks. The court has directed the union government to file its reply in January 2015.

The direction was given during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by one Dakshata Shet with respect to Std X textbooks printed by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. She sought direction to the government for the withdrawal/destruction of the textbooks and publishing of the correct National Anthem.

Shet has relied on HC and SC judgments, which have upheld the use of the word Sindh, to prove her contention. She argued that SC had said National Anthem should not change because of territorial changes in the country.

Meanwhile Congres leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted this today: "I've always sung "Sindhu" since that was what I was taught as a kid. In any case, Sind is in Pakistan."

14:43 Oppn attacks govt on coal mines bill

Government today came under attack over the coal mines bill with the Opposition demanding that the legislation, which had many lacunae like those relating to land acquisition and workers' welfare, should be sent to Parliamentary Standing Committee for scrutiny.

The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, which replaces an ordinance, was brought in the wake of the Supreme Court order cancelling the allocation of 204 coal blocks on September 24 and resetting the agenda for their allocation.

The ordinance was issued in October to facilitate auctioning of the cancelled blocks. In the first round, 74 blocks are to be auctioned by the government.

Initiating the debate on the bill moved two days ago by Coal Minister Piyush Goyal, Congress member Jyotiraditya Scindia said while land issues remained unresolved, there was no clarity on how many blocks and which ones would be put up for auction.

There is also no provision in the bill to improve the living standards of the lakhs of coal workers, he said.

"The proposed amendments are not required to auction the 74 coal blocks ... This bill must be sent to the standing committee," Scindia said while speaking on the 'Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014'.

They are two of the most admired religious leaders in the world but Pope Francis has chosen not to meet the Dalai Lama in Rome this weekend when the Tibetan exile attends a summit of Nobel Peace Prize winners.

The decision reflects an acute diplomatic dilemma for the Pope, at a time when the Vatican is attempting to improve its relations with Beijing and wants to avoid upsetting the Chinese authorities for fear of provoking trouble for the country's Catholic community.

The snub is hardly in keeping with the Argentinean pontiff's enthusiasm for dialogue with other religions, an agenda he has pursued in recent months on trips to Turkey, Albania and the Holy Land.

Read more HERE

Sounding a note of caution against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today said it should not focus only on manufacturing.

"I am...cautioning against picking a particular sector such as manufacturing for encouragement, simply because it has worked well for China. India is different, and developing at a different time, and we should be agnostic about what will work," Rajan said while speaking at the Bharat Ram Memorial Lecture in Ficci.

He further said there is "danger when we discuss Make in India" as something which is focused on manufacturing, "an attempt to follow the export-led growth path that China followed. I don't think such a specific focus is intended".

Modi had announced the ambitious 'Make in India' programme at his first Independence day speech from ramparts of Red Fort to attract overseas investments and make the country a global manufacturing hub.

He said when India pushes manufacturing exports, it will have China to contend with and an export-led growth will not be as easy as it was for the Asian economies who took that path before India.

"...I am counselling against an export led strategy that involves subsidising exporters with cheap inputs as well as an undervalued exchange rate, simply because it is unlikely to be as effective at this juncture," he added.

Indian American novelist Akhil Sharma's second book Family Life is among the New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2014.

The Delhi-born author's semi-autobiographical story is about a family that immigrates from India to Queens and has just begun to build a new life when the elder son suffers severe brain damage in a swimming pool accident.

The book was earlier quoted amongst the Times list of 100 Notable Books of 2014 in the Fiction and Poetry section.

The paper describes the book as "deeply unnerving and gorgeously tender".

"The book chronicles how grief renders the parents unable to cherish and raise their other son; love, it suggests, becomes warped and jagged and even seemingly vanishes in the midst of mourning," the paper notes.

Sharma, immigrated to the US when he was eight grew up in Jersey and studied at the Princeton University. His first novel An Obedient Father won him the 2001 PEN/Hemingway Award.

His short story Cosmopolitan was anthologised in "The Best American Short Stories (1998)" and was also made into an acclaimed 2003 film of the same name.

Meanwhile, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, Dept of Speculation by Jenny Offill, Euphoria by Lily King, and Redeployment by Phil Klay are among the Times list.

Hundreds of cab drivers employed with the internet-based taxi firm Uber today staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi demanding revocation of the ban imposed on the company's operations in the national capital.

According to the protesters, their livelihood is getting affected because of the ban imposed on the company following alleged rape of a 27-year-old woman by one of its drivers.

Ranjit Ray, who has been working with the company since it started services in Delhi, said that Uber's operations were transparent and it also helped many of the drivers get finance from banks to buy their own cars, thereby reducing the scope

of their exploitation.

"Uber helped me get a loan and I bought my own car two months back. It made me independent. The company has always thought about the welfare of its drivers unlike others. We have been driving taxis for the past so many years. Just because one person has wronged, it is not justified that we all suffer and our only source of livelihood is snatched," he said.

Naresh Mehta who also worked for the company said the accused driver had an All India Tourist Permit, which is required for any commercial driver in India.

"To get the permit, an applicant needs a driver's badge, issued by the state government after a background check for criminal history. How could the case of rape filed against him went unnoticed during the verification by the state government? Is it (government) not at fault too?," he said.

"I have a daughter too and we know what the victim and her family is going through. Shiv Kumar Yadav should be punished. But then, we want that all the formalities and checkings required for the company's registration should be carried out so that it can operate in the city," he added.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday accepted the proposal of the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau to conduct an "open inquiry" against former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and state NCP president Sunil Tatkare in the multi-crore irrigation scam.

Fadnavis made an announcement to this effect in the Maharashtra Assembly today.

The decision to allow inquiries against former ministers from the Sharad Pawar-led party was made easy for Fadnavis after Shiv Sena joined the BJP government and the latter no longer required NCP's outside support to run the government.

The proposal to conduct inquiry was wade by ACB when the state was under President's rule prior to October assembly elections. The files were later transferred to the CM's office.

West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra was today questioned by the CBI in connection with the multi-crore rupees Saradha ponzi scam.

Mitra, who arrived at the Salt Lake CGO complex at around 11 AM, went straight to the CBI office and did not speak to waiting media persons.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made around the CGO complex housing the CBI office.

The special crime branch of CBI probing the Saradha scam, had served summons on Mitra last month to appear before the agency for questioning.

Mitra had taken ill and was admitted to a private nursing home. Later, he was admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital from where he was released on November 26.

Suspected Maoists set ablaze around 20 vehicles, including 16 trucks, near a bauxite mine site in Lohardagga district, a senior police officer said today.

Superintendent of police Manoj Ratan Choutey said a group of suspected Maoists set the vehicles on fire near bauxite mine site under Kisko police station area yesterday.

Non-payment of levy seems to be the reason behind the incident, he said, adding, that a police team have rushed to the spot to investigate the matter.

Some of the trucks were laden with minerals, he said.

A passenger train today derailed after scraping against the New Delhi-Guwahati North East Express at Barh, about 40 km from here, disrupting rail traffic in the area.

All the passengers are safe, railway officials said.

Describing the incident as a "side collision", East Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Arvind Rajak said, "North East Express was supposed to pass through Barh station but stopped following pulling of its chain after crossing the home signal at around 6.55 AM."

"At around the same time UP Kiul-Patna passenger train, which was detained at a common loop line at Barh station began to move and passed the starter signal in danger, resulting in side collision with North East Express," he said.

"The front unit or motor coach of the passenger train, which was a DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) train, was derailed by one wheel and stopped. All passengers are safe," Rajak said.

Some passengers jumped out from both the trains in panic but none was injured.

13:07 Why Delhi's pink autos are a failure

The recent case of rape by a Uber taxi driver and the horrific December 16, 2012 gangrape of a paramedical student by six men in a moving bus in Delhi have seen women vociferously demand a better and safe public transport system.

Gurgaon Traffic Police in January 2013 had relaunched pink autos to ensure a safe transport system for women.

But the project has been a failure even though it was relaunched twice in the last two years as Gurgaon has a large number of single women working in IT and related industries.

Pink autos were first introduced in 2010 after several women were assaulted by taxi drivers and in public transport but the move failed to garner a good response.

The second time, these autos were equipped with special features like a panic button, a GPS system and launched after the Delhi gangrape, but they still failed to function.

Read more HERE

The Reserve Bank of India will start talks with the government for an "appropriate timeline" to ensure the economy is within a medium term inflation target of 2-6%, Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Friday.

"Going forward, we will discuss an appropriate timeline with the government in which the economy should move to the centre of the medium term inflation band of 2-6%," Rajan said in a lecture at an industry event.

Rajan added "a glide path" towards lowering inflation to those levels worked best for India by ensuring moderate economic growth.

The RBI governor also proposed a debate on whether India needed more institutions "to ensure deficits stay within control and the quality of budgets is high," noting other countries had independent bodies that provided opinions on fiscal budgets.

Pranab Mukherjee contested the 1980 Lok Sabha elections much against the wishes of Indira Gandhi who gave him a "vociferous dressing down" for an "interminable span of time" after his defeat but he made a dramatic entry into the Union Cabinet despite the loss.

Such was the faith in him that the late Prime Minister Gandhi also made him the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha over the claims of other senior contenders including the late AP Sharma.

Now President, Mukherjee trashes as rumours stemming from "fertile imaginations" that he was included in the Cabinet because Indira Gandhi wanted to have a team of 22, an astrologically auspicious number, after Bhagawat Jha Azad had refused to be sworn in.

Mukherjee recollects all these events of the days when Indira Gandhi returned to power in January, 1980 in his just -released book, "The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years" brought out by Rupa Publications.

"Indira Gandhi headed into the 1980 elections strong and confident as ever. While I was all for choosing core and loyal Congressmen to contest, Indira Gandhi advised me to 'choose people who could run the government'-- so confident was she of her electoral success.

Complaints filed by Indiabulls, one of Indias biggest property and financial-services groups, after a negative report about it more than two years ago have landed the reports co-author, accountant Nitin Mangal, in jail.

Indiabulls says the report, which questioned its corporate governance and accounting, was full of lies and was used for extortion purposes.

Mangals lawyer says the report was based on public information, was accurate and wasnt used to try to scare money out of anyone.

The day the report was made publicly available, August 8, 2012, Indiabulls filed criminal police complaints in two cities, Mumbai and Gurgaon near Delhi. During the next several months, Mangal was interviewed by the police extensively and asked to hand over his laptop and hard drive.

Read more HERE

12:16 Sports ministry invites online suggestions

In a bid to connect with the youth, the sports ministry today invited suggestions to make India a sports superpower on the MyGov website.

"Department of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has invited suggestions and comments on the topic 'Making India a Sports Superpower' on MyGov website," the ministry said in a release.

"India has been making steady progress in the field of sports, but it has potential to do much more. If right steps are taken towards development of sports culture, integration of sports and education, early spotting of talent, India can emerge as a sports super- power," it added.

Views have been invited from public on what specific steps need to be taken.

Proceedings in both Houses of Parliament were on Friday disrupted over remarks made by BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik.

Following relentless uproar, Sakshi Maharaj regretted his statement on Nathuram Godse in Lok Sabha, and withdrew his remarks.

He added that the "Opposition has no other issue left".

Later, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu said that the government condemned Sakshi Maharaj's statement.

"The minister has apologised. The party (BJP) and government do not agree with minister's remarks."

While Maharaj had yesterday said that Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse was a 'nationalist', Naik had expressed his wish for Ram temple, saying the nation wishes that it should be built at Ayodhya.

Traffic was back to normal today in Hong Kong's financial district after authorities demolished a protest camp at the heart of the city's 2 and a half month pro-democracy movement.

Hundreds of police officers, some armed with chain saws and bolt cutters, yesterday methodically dismantled barricades, tore down canopies and removed banners in a daylong operation to shut the protest site sprawled across a normally busy highway.

Police said 249 people were arrested for unlawful assembly and obstructing police officers, bringing the total number of those detained since the movement began 75 days earlier to about 900.

There were no violent clashes seen in previous confrontations. The student-led protesters had occupied streets in the admiralty neighbourhood and two other areas since Sept. 28 to protest Beijing's restrictions on the first election of the city's top leader.

The unprecedented campaign, which began as separate protests led by student and activist groups, got a jumpstart in September when police fired dozens of tear gas rounds on a group of demonstrators angered over the prolonged detention of key student leaders.

Just In: Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda chargesheeted as accused by CBI in a coal blocks allocation scam case.

Koda chargesheeted for offences of criminal conspiracy and cheating.

Besides Koda, former Jharkhand chief secretary Ashok Kumar Basu and six others have also been made accused by the CBI.

Court has fixed December 22 for considering the CBI's chargesheet in the case.

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth today turned 64 and made the occasion a memorable one by dishing out his latest flick Lingaa to frenzied fans who turned up to witness their matinee idol deliver famous punchlines after about four years.

The actor was out of town, his publicist said without divulging details.

However, it was Lingaa all the way as the hit combination of Rajinikanth-K S Ravikumar joined once again in what is expected to be a treat for the star's avid fans.

The actor, who earlier this year featured in Kochadaiyaan, is back singing duets with damsels, this time Anouskha Shetty and Sonakshi Sinha in tow.

The Lingaa fever had already gripped Rajinikanth's fans and eager ones, both domestic and international, who hit Chennai theatres to have a glimpse of their 'thalaivar' (Leader) after some time.

Rajinikanth enjoys a good fan base in Japan -- his films are dubbed in Japanese and released there -- with some of them turning up here, singing numbers from his earlier movies, especially Muthu that introduced the actor in the Asian country.

Local die-hard fans of the superstar were not to be left behind as they arrived for the release with their signature style celebrations -- of pouring milk to cutouts of the star and dancing to the beats of percussion instruments.

Stirring a new controversy in the middle of a row over religious conversions, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik has said a Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya soon as "it is the wish of Indian citizens."

"The Ram Temple should be built as soon as possible, this is what the people of this country want and their wishes should be fulfilled," Mr Naik, 80, said at an event at Awadh University in Faizabad near Ayodhya, home to the decades-old dispute over the razed Babri mosque site that many Hindus believe was the birthplace of Lord Ram.

The UP governor's comment adds to a raging row over religious conversions in Agra, allegedly by groups linked to the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which has had the government confronting an angry opposition in Parliament.

10:16 AP governor to brief Modi on state's capital

Just In: Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan will brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi today about Vijayawada's status as the upcoming capital for the state. Modi is eager to get two new ports in Vishakapatnam and also develop Telangana, according to a PMO source.

For agents of the Islamic State, the front lines have long been drawn: There is combat in the Middle East and there is the battlefield of Twitter.

One of the most influential operators have been the person behind the widely-followed Twitter account @ShamiWitness. Before the account was shut down earlier today, following revelations by Channel 4 News, @ShamiWitness had 18,000 followers.

As Channel 4 News reporting revealed, the man operating the account is an executive in Bangalore called Mehdi who works for an Indian food conglomerate.

The report by Channel 4 News states that Mehdi's full name is not being revealead because he says his life would be in danger if his true identity was made public.

Moreover, the report says that Mehdi would have gone to join Islamic State himself, but his family were financially dependent on him: "If I had a chance to leave everything and join them I might have.. my family needs me here."

Using the @ShamiWitness account he tweeted the video of the execution of US aid worker Peter Kassig, and dozens of Syrian soldiers five times within minutes of it being uploaded to the internet.

Read more HERE

The benchmark BSE Sensex today recovered over 64 points in early trade as participants indulged in fresh buying ahead of the retail inflation and IIP data due later in the day.

The 30-share index gained 64.20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to trade at 27,766.21 with stocks of IT, capital goods, metal and realty sectors leading the recovery. It had lost 229.09 points in the previous session.

The National Stock Exchange Nifty regained the 8,300-mark by rising 24.45 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 8,317.35.

Brokers said fresh buying by speculators and funds ahead of industrial production (IIP) data for October and inflation for November, to be released later in the day, contributed to the rise.

Further, a firming trend in other Asian markets following overnight gains at the US markets influenced trading sentiments here, they said.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.15 per cent while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.35 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.36 per cent higher in yesterday's trade.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, which is currently probing the multi-crore rupee Saradha chit fund scam case, is likely to quiz West Bengal Transport Minister and Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra on Friday.

The agency had first summoned the senior Trinamool Congress leader on November 18 but he could not appear on health grounds. "He (Mitra) has been intimated to appear for questioning Thursday," a CBI official had said.

After undergoing treatment at a private hospital, Mitra on November 20 got himself admitted to the state-run SSKM Hospital from where he was discharged on November 26.

Denying any involvement in the scam, the minister, upon discharge from the hospital, had asserted he would cooperate with the CBI whenever the agency called him for questioning.

The agency had earlier grilled Mitra's former confidential assistant Bapi Karim.

A few Trinamool leaders including Rajya Sabha members Kunal Ghosh and Srinjoy Bose are behind bars in connection with the scam.

Continuing its fall for the fifth straight day, the rupee lost another 12 paise to trade at a fresh 10-month low of 62.45 against the US dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to sustained demand for the American unit from importers.

Forex dealers said apart from dollar's gains against other currencies overseas on upbeat US retail sales data, increased demand from oil importers for the American currency kept pressure on the rupee but a higher opening in the domestic equity market capped the fall.

The rupee had plummeted to a 10-month low of 62.33 against the greenback, down 31 paise in yesterday's trade, on strong dollar demand due to oil firms stepping up purchases of crude oil which is trading near 5-year lows.

Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark Sensex recovered by 64.20 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 27,766.21 in early trade today.

CNN-IBN reports: Six months after three Goa MLAs and one minister had gone on a junket to Brazil for the football World Cup, they are yet to repay their dues to the Sports Authority of Goa.

Sports Authority of Goa has claimed that they have sent three reminders till now to Fisheries Minister Avertano Furtado, and MLAs Glenn Ticlo, Carlos Almeida and Benjamin Silva.

While Furtado is yet to pay Rs 11 lakh, the other legislators have a pending bill of Rs 12 lakh each.

Director Sports Authority of Goa, Sandip Jaques said that they have informed all MLAs and the minister that they should refund the amount as soon as possible.

Read more HERE

09:23 Modi wishes Rajinikanth 'Happy Birthday'

Prime Minsister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to wish dear friend and legendary actor Rajinikanth a very happy birthday.

The PM tweeted: "On his birthday, I extend greetings to the legendary Rajinikanth ji. May he remain in the best of health & have a long life."

The 2014 Forbes India Celebrity 100 in its third year has found a new leader.

For the first time in its three-year run, Shah Rukh Khan has been unseated from the top slot by friend and peer Salman Khan.

Reason: The star didn't have a film release (barring a cameo) in the period considered for this list (October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014). Consequently, he finds himself at No 3.

Salman Khan, meanwhile, has topped the charts, both in terms of revenues and fame -- a first for a Forbes India celebrity list topper.

Clearly, though controversy and court cases continue to dog the actor, his clout has only continued to grow with his box office hits, TV appearances and his charitable trust 'Being Human'.

The No 2 slot is occupied by Bollywood's most enduring star Amitabh Bachchan, who has moved up three places this year.

His celebritydom was only enhanced by his nearly 12 million Twitter following, the largest for anybody on that platform in India.

09:12 Oil prices struggle after WTI sinks below $60

Oil prices sank further in Asia today, with analysts warning of little respite from the selling after plunging more than 40 per cent since June.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for January deliver was down 86 cents at $59.09 in mid-morning trade.

The contract closed below the psychological $60 mark for the first time since July 2009 yesterday. Brent crude was down 52 cents at $63.16.

"There just doesn't seem to be any relief for oil prices at the moment," Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said.

"The bearish sentiment is unlikely to change until the end of the year unless we see a significant drop in global production levels or a supply disruption," he said.

WTI and Brent prices have fallen precipitously since hitting 2014 peaks of $106 and $115 respectively in June.

The drop has been attributed to slowing growth in China and emerging-market economies, a recession in Japan and a near-stall in the eurozone.

On top of that, OPEC last month said it would maintain output levels despite ample global supplies, in part due to cheaper oil extracted from North American shale rock.

A 37-year-old Indian man here has been sentenced to over five years in prison for running a $3.8 million ponzi scheme whose victims include several of his family friends.

Sachin Uppal was sentenced by US District Judge Nancy Edmunds in Detroit following his August guilty plea to the wire fraud charges (concoction of scheme to defraud or obtain money based on false representation or promises).

According to court documents, Uppal ran a trading company from July 2007 through September 2013 but was not a licensed investment adviser. He marketed his company to potential investors and solicited investor funds, describing it as a "hedge fund."

Uppal told investors that he was a "day trader" who would use investor funds to buy and sell financial instruments within the same trading day, which he said would reduce risk to investors.

Several of Uppal's victims were family friends. The phenomenon, known as 'affinity fraud' often targets members of identifiable groups, such as a religious or ethnic communities or clubs.

Najiba is a director of a women's shelter and a paralegal activist who has helped resolved more than 100 domestic violence cases in her city. And what is even more remarkable is that she does this in one of the most oppressive countries for women in the world: Afghanistan.

Read the full story HERE

03:09 9 embarrassing revelations from the Sony leak

It's becoming increasingly difficult to look away from all the dirt spilling from private e-mails stolen from Sony Pictures Entertainment employees.

The documents were taken as part of a massive cyber attack that has revealed what appear to be personal correspondence and other internal documents that detail the inner workings of the major studio.

Read the full story HERE

Cutting edge shop.chotuchaiwala.com allows Bandra residents to order tea from local vendors; over 500 people are currently using the service.

Read the full story HERE

An executive at Sony and a top Hollywood producer have issued apologies after their emails criticising major movie stars including Angelina Jolie and Adam Sandler surfaced as part of a massive hacking attack on the company.

Read the full story HERE

CIA Director John Brennan has defended the agency's post-9/11 interrogation methods but admitted some techniques were "harsh" and 'abhorrent'.

Speaking at CIA headquarters, he said some officers acted beyond their authority but most did their duty.

A scathing Senate report two days earlier said 'brutal' methods like waterboarding were ineffective.

Read the article HERE

02:29

CNN says: The US navy says its new laser weapon works and it will use it if it has to.

The office of Naval Research reported Wednesday that its laser weapons system -- dubbed LaWS -- had performed flawlessly in tests aboard the amphibious transport dock USS Ponce in the Arabian Gulf from September to November.

Read the full story HERE

02:08 Mother charged after daughter's body found in trunk of car

A Surrey mother has been charged with second-degree murder after her daughter's body was found in the trunk of a car.

Surrey RCMP officers discovered the body shortly after noon local time Wednesday after responding to calls about a car partially in a ditch in the city's south end.The car was located in the 13900 block of 35a Avenue.

Read the article HERE

01:17

More than 45 people were killed when two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowded market in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, the latest in a wave of such attacks blamed on Boko Haram.

Image for representation only

Read the full story HERE

01:05 You can now watch YouTube videos offline

The world's largest video sharing site YouTube on Thursday launched a new feature in the Philippines, which will allow mobile users in the country to view videos offline.

Available to both iOS and Android devices, the ad-supported feature of YouTube's existing app will let users save videos from the site using either a Wi-Fi connection or their data plans.

The saved videos will then be available for viewing without an Internet connection for the next 48 hours after going offline.

Read the full story HERE

A teenage suicide bomber attacked a French-run high school in Kabul on Thursday, walking into a packed auditorium during a theatre performance and killing a German citizen, Afghan officials said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying the performance underway was immoral.

Read the full story HERE

If a picture's worth a thousand words, these photographs may as well be War and Peace.

While most of us are fretting over a selfie hitting the double digits in Instagram Likes, these photographers are making millions from their visionary, creative, breathtaking and revealing images.

See the fantastic pictures HERE

00:07 Top headlines of the last 24 hours

UN declares June 21 as 'International Day of Yoga'

Bihar orphanage head jailed for sexual abuse

'Pak to go ahead with all projects in PoK with China'

Post Uber rape, police to deploy drones to patrol city streets

Stay off Facebook, Whatsapp: Army's tough rules on use of social media

Under attack Centre suggests anti-conversion laws

It's homecoming, not conversion, says Hindu outfit as row snowballs

00:06

From the BBC: CIA Director John Brennan is set to defend his agency's past use of interrogation methods after a highly critical Senate report.

Brennan will speak to journalists and agency staff in a rare televised speech from CIA headquarters.The report said "brutal" methods like waterboarding and sleep deprivation did not lead to life-saving intelligence and the agency misled politicians.

Read the full story HERE

Timeline Refresh

TOP STORIES