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Sun, 14 December 2014
Don't yell at terrorists, British soldiers told

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21:53   Don't yell at terrorists, British soldiers told
British soldiers have been banned from shouting at insurgent terror suspects, banging their fists on tables or walls, or using 'insulting words' in new 'soft-touch' rules for interrogation. Military chiefs have warned that troops are 'no longer able' to carry out tactical questioning, placing the lives of soldiers at serious risk. However, troops are unhappy they believe the latest rules are so strict that it makes interrogation pointless. This comes days after it emerged that the CIA subjected detainees to controversial torture techniques including waterboarding, 'rectal feeding' and sleep deprivation.
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21:38   Look who's coming to town: US Congresswoman Gabbard to begin India visit tomorrow
American Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard will be coming to India for a three-week visit starting tomorrow on an official invite from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bolster Indo-US ties.   During her stay in the country, Gabbard will engage with several senior government and industry representatives to discuss advancing common global interests, including counter terrorism and military cooperation. 

On the agenda will also be harnessing the potential of India's high-skilled work force via H-1B visas and the promotion of tourism, a release said.   Besides New Delhi, Gabbard will also visit Goa, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Ahmedabad to promote economic and cultural ties between the two countries, it said.
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20:26   Now, Sena to make a movie on Bal Thackeray
Two years after the death of Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena is planning to come out with a movie on its founder on his birth anniversary next month. The party has already created a buzz on social media with pictures of the late Sena patriarch saying, "Tumhi bolavlat. Vat Paha. January 23 la (You called me, I am coming. Keep waiting. I am coming on January 23)."

"As of now I can only say that it is going to be a film," Sena MP and editor of party mouth piece Sanjay Raut said, but refused to divulge further details of the project.
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19:01   Wish I could be with parents, tweets J-K CM Omar Abdullah
After casting his vote in the Sonowar constituency, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted that he was missing his parents. Taking to Twitter, he said, "My thoughts are with my parents as they both prepare for surgery today. I wish I could be there with them but that wasn't to be."

The 77-year-old President of the ruling National Conference has been in the United Kingdom for treatment of failing kidneys for the last four months. 
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18:54   Hockey Champions Trophy: India lose to Australia
India lost the match for the third place in the Hockey Champions Trophy tournament against Australia. The Indian side went down 1-2 against the Australian team, that bagged the bronze medal. 

Later, in the day, Germany will play against Australia for the first place. 
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18:41   Unlike any other Sunday: J-K records 49% voter turnout in 4th phase
Jammu and Kashmir recorded a 49% voter turnout in the fourth phase of the assembly polls. Ignoring calls to boycott the polls, thousands lined up outside polling booths to cast their votes in the various constituencies. 

The voter turnout is lower than the previous phases. Jammu and Kashmir recorded 72 per cent voter turnout in the first phase, 70 per cent in the second and 58 per cent in the third phase. 

Meanwhile, in Jharkhand the total voter turn out was 61.65 per cent. Voting took place amid heavy security in the area.
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18:00   'Mufflerman' Kejriwal to go on campaigning spree
With growing demand from party candidates to campaign in their constituencies, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal will address over 85 rallies over the next two months. 

Party sources said the former Delhi chief minister will address 25 rallies in December and 60 rallies in January, with a target of at least one rally in each constituency and two in some constituencies.  "The target is to have at least one jan sabha every constituency. There are constituencies which require him to campaign more than once. As of today, he is holding two rallies every day in different constituencies.  

"It will intensify as the campaigning heats up. We haven't planned anything for February as yet but once we come to know about election dates, we will do that accordingly," the source added.
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17:15   2 Pakistani Hockey players suspended for making obscene gestures
After making objectionable gestures during their celebrations following their victory against India, two Pakistani players have been suspended for one match. They have been identified as Muhammad Tausiq and Ali Amjad have been suspended and won't be allowed to play the finals against Germany.

On Saturday, after winning their Champions Trophy semi-final match against India, a few Pakistani players began making gestures at the crowd, which some deemed as objectionable. Hockey India chief Narinder Batra had taken exception to the celebrations saying it was unsporting and that the players needed to apologise. 
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17:07   No Christmas cheer for Ebola-stricken Sierra Leone
The government of Sierra Leone has been forced banned public Christmas celebrations in an attempt to halt the spread of Ebola. Military will be patrolling the streets throughout the West African nation to ensure people to stay indoors during Christmas and New Year in order to get the number of infections under control.Bars and clubs have already been been shut down ahead of the holiday season and all public gatherings are outlawed.
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16:44   Fears for female Saudi activist as detention for driving car is extended
The family of a Saudi woman being held in custody for attempting to drive her car, in defiance of the country's ban on female drivers, has been told that her detention has been extended by 25 days. Worried relatives and friends of Loujain al-Hathloul, 25, who has been in custody in Saudi Arabia since December 1, are yet to be told what charges she faces. They fear that authorities may intend to make an example of her, after becoming frustrated by low-level campaigning by activists against the ban. 

Read the entire report HERE
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16:16   Survey of India files police complaint against Google for wrong boundaries
The Survey of India has filed a police complaint against tech giant Google for wrongly showing the boundaries of India. The Survey of India, in its complaint, said that Google maps is depicting India's international boundaries in a "wrong' manner, that is not justified. Survey of India has sought police action in the matter.
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15:28   Britain's Prince George spreads some holiday cheer
Prince William and Kate Middleton have released three official Christmas photographs of their son Prince George in a courtyard at his home at Kensington Palace. 

The pictures of the third in line to the throne, who is nearly 17 months old, were taken late last month by his uncle Harry's private secretary, Ed Lane Fox, who has previously worked as a freelance photographer.

The new photos of George show the cheeky toddler wearing a jumper depicting the soldiers who guard his great-grandmother the Queen at Buckingham Palace, complete with red tunics and bearskin hats. 

George is due to be joined by a brother or sister in 2015. Kate is pregnant with the couple's second child and expected to give birth in April.
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15:15   Cops to move IS Twitter account handler to secure location
After Bengaluru's Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime, Abhishek Goyal received threats seeking revenge for arresting Mehdi Masroor Biswas, the alleged handler of the most influential pro-Islamic State Twitter account, cops have decided to move him to an undisclosed location as a security measure.
Biswas was arrested on Saturday from his apartment in Bengaluru and has been remanded to police custody for five days. 
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15:04   Virat Kohli rises to 16th spot in ICC test rankings
Indian batsman Virat Kohli today broke into the top-20 of ICC Test rankings at 16th after his stupendous back-to-back hundreds in the opening cricket Test against Australia in Adelaide. Kohli, whose twin hundreds went in vain as India lost the match by 48 runs yesterday, rose 11 rungs to make the top-20 with 703 points and be the highest-ranked Indian batsman in the list. Cheteshwar Pujara is the next best Indian at 18th after dropping a rung. 

But among the bowlers, Ishant Sharma fell out of the top-20 and is now placed 21st after going down a couple of spots.
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14:59   Crucial Insurance, Companies Bills to come up in Parliament
Crucial pro-reform bills like the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 and Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2014 will be taken up this week for consideration and passing in both the Houses of Parliament. With the Lok Sabha already having passed 13 Bills and the Rajya Sabha clearing nine, the ongoing winter session of Parliament is set for good performance in transaction of legislative business.
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14:31   Islamic State justifies sex with 'child slaves'
Can you take non-Muslim women and children captive? Yes, says Islamic State.
Can you have sex with them, even prepubescent girls? Yes, according to the Islamist extremist group.
Can you sell them or give them as gifts to others? The answer is yes, once again. 

People in Mosul -- the Iraqi city now under control of the group calling itself the Islamic State -- got these and other messages loud and clear after sunset prayers Friday, when armed men handed out a colour-printed pamphlet 'Question and Answers on Female Slaves and their Freedom'.

Read more HERE
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14:17   J-K CM slams Hina Bhat for slapping poll officer
Hours after Bharatiya Janata Party's Hina Bhat allegedly slapped a poll officer during the fourth phase of elections, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah took to Twitter to criticise the leader. He said, "The BJP candidate in Srinagar who earlier threatened to pick up a gun over Article 370 now slaps a polling officer. Well done."

Earlier in the day, Bhat had allegedly slapped a poll officer at a polling station in Chanapora area. However, District Election Officer, Srinagar, Farooq Ahmad Bhat said, "There was an altercation between the candidate and some polling staff but the issue has been resolved and the candidate has left the polling station
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14:09   Britain to send hundreds more troops to Iraq
Hundreds more British troops are being sent to Iraq next month to bolster the fight against Islamic State militants, compounding fears of mission creep. The defence secretary, Michael Fallon announced an additional deployment of British combat-ready troops numbering in the low hundreds to help train local forces battling IS forces, who control vast swathes of northen Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

Read more HERE
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13:46   Hackers steal new James Bond film script
An early version of the script for the new James Bond film has been stolen by hackers. The producers of Spectre have confirmed that the screenplay was taken as part of a cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment in November. In a statement on the film's official website, Eon Productions said they were concerned the script may be published online. Spectre is due to be released in November 2015.
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13:15   Gas tanker explosion kils 10 in Jaipur
JUST IN: A gas tanker caught fire and exploded in Jaipur, killing 10 and injuring another 12 people on the highway near Beelpur village in Japur. 

More details are awaited
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13:08   Pakistan's celebration sparks row, Hockey India fumes
Hockey India chief Narinder Batra on Sunday, lashed out against Pakistan's obscene celebrations after defeating hosts in Bhubaneswar's Kalinga Stadium. The HI president also took a stern view of International Hockey Federation comment that 'no action was warranted'.

Pakistan players entered the final of Champions Trophy by defeating India in a closely-contested 4-3 battle on Saturday night. Moments after the final hooter, the men in green took off their jerseys and many made obscene gestures towards the spectators.

Pakistan coach Shahnaz Sheikh tendered an apology following the incident.
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12:52   BJP candidate brawls with voter at polling booth in Jammu-Kashmir
Bharatiya Janata Party's Javed Ahmad Qadri got into a fight with a voter at a polling booth in Shopian during the fourth phase of the assembly elections. It is still unknown why the political leader fought with the voter. Other than this incident, the voting has been peaceful.

Voting has been going on in the area amid tight security arrangement with the area recording a 10 per cent voter turnout till 10 am. Voting will go on till evening. 
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12:29   Speeding car kills 2 cops in Delhi
An additional sub-inspector and a constable of the Delhi police have died after a speeding car hit a police barricade in Kalindi Kunj area of south-east Delhi. The incident happened in the early hours of Sunday morning. Another cop was injured in the incident, and has been admitted to the neighbouring Apollo Hospital.
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12:27   Anjan Dutta takes over Assam Congress reins
The Congress handed former minister and sitting legislator Anjan Dutta the reins of the faction-ridden Assam Congress to lead the party in the crucial 2016 assembly polls. Dutta, who was questioned by the CBI in the Saradha scam probe, will replace Bhubaneswar Kalita, who held the post for a decade. Kalita's tenure would have ended in March next year.

Read more HERE
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11:50   President Pranab recovering after angioplasty at Army hospital
President Pranab Mukherjee was recovering well after undergoing a heart procedure at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital in the capital where doctors installed a coronary stent in his artery to remove a blockage. The coronary angioplasty was conducted on Mukherjee, 79, yesterday at the hospital after he was admitted there with stomach problems and related ailments.  "Grateful for all the thoughts, wishes and prayers for my good health; I have recovered and am hoping to return to work soon," the official Twitter handle of the President said today. 

When contacted, Press Secretary Venu Rajamony said, "The President is recovering fast and we hope to see him back soon."
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11:42   Bollywood film Jal on Oscar longlist for Best Picture, Original Score
Girish Malik's National Award winning film Jal  has found a place in the Oscar contenders of 2014 in two categories -- Best Picture and Best Original Score. The film, which has the backdrop of water scarcity and tells the story of Bakka, a person gifted with a special ability to find water in the desert, features in the reminder list of productions eligible for the 87th Academy Awards.
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11:21   People should have the courage to say no to drugs: Modi
Modi added that the money spent on drugs is often used to fund terrorism and said, "Have you thought -- the bullet that has hit the soldier has the money of your drugs. We cannot help terrorists and drug mafia."

He said, "People should have the courage to say no to drugs and reject drugs. Tell your friends the same too."

The prime minister also asked celebrities, be it  sportsmen, film personalities, people from all walks of life to spread awareness on the issue. 

He also extended his congratulations to the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team for overcoming all their struggles and defeating the strong Mumbai side. 
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11:10   PM Modi's Mann ki Baat: Drugs are bad, not the youth
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to the airwaves again this morning to speak about the evils of drug addiction during his third radio address titled 'Mann ki Baat'.  

The PM said, "Drugs is something that can shatter anyone. When a youngster gets into drugs we consider him or her bad. But the truth is the drugs are bad not the youth."

Modi said that drug addiction is a psycho-socio-medical problem and we need to see it this way.   He added, "Drugs brings 3 things. I call them 3D -- Darkness, Destruction and Devastation." He also extends his gratitude to media media saying that some TV channels did programmes on drugs, expressing a concern on the issue.
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10:56   J-K CM Omar Abdullah casts his vote in 4th phase of polls
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was seen at a polling booth in Sonowar casting his vote during the fourth phase of the assembly elections. Speaking to the media after casting his vote, the CM said, "It matters how the voters feel about the work that I have done. Voters are smart."
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01:14   Chile to be home to world's most powerful telescope
The Council of the European Southern Observatory, or ESO, has approved the construction in the Atacama desert of the world's most powerful telescope, capable of studying whether life exists in other galaxies.

Within 10 years, the telescope, which will cost some 1 billion euros (or $1.29 billion), will be fully operative and will allow enormous scientific progress to be made in studying exoplanets, the stellar composition of the nearest galaxies, and the deep universe.
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00:57   15 Jharkhand seats go for polling in 4th phase today
The stage is set for the penultimate round of five-phase polling for 15 assembly seats in Jharkhand today with former chief minister Babulal Marandi and three incumbent ministers testing their luck.   

A total of 43,48,709 voters are eligible to decide the fate of 217 candidates, including 16 women. 

Polling will end at 5pm in Dhanbad and Bokaro while the EVM will be sealed at 3pm in the rest of the constituencies.
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00:53   Australia PM Abbott wants indigenous referendum in 2017
Australian PM Tony Abbott has vowed to "sweat blood" to secure constitutional recognition for indigenous people, saying he wants a referendum in 2017.

But Abbott said he would not rush with the date until he was confident the referendum would succeed.To be passed, the change must be backed by a majority of people in a majority of Australia's six states.

The constitution currently does not recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the nation's first people.

Read full story here.
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00:48   Bus ride to mark second anniversary of Nirbhaya gang rape
A group of NGOs and professionals has organised a bus ride on December 16 to mark the second anniversary of the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student.

"The objective is to put focus on the lack of safety for women and to make citizens participate in a greater way and take charge of their own safety," according to a statement of the group -- 'Justice Seekers'. 

The civil society movement also wishes to demonstrate their complete solidarity with the woman's parents and the families of other sexual assault victims.
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00:39   Orcas and whales recorded in fight to the death
New research reveals how orcas attack baleen whales, and how the whales fight back.

For the first time, scientists have recorded orcas attacking and killing humpback whales, specifically young calves. The results are published in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

Read full story here.
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00:35   Nigerian troops win back cities from extremists
After weeks of setbacks and reports that soldiers ran away when Boko Haram attacked, Nigeria's military, including newly deployed Special Forces, have gone on the offensive and have recaptured some cities and towns that had been held by Boko Haram.

The Nigerian armed forces were helped by air raids, traditional hunters armed with guns and spears as well as vigilantes carrying clubs prickling with nails and other homemade weapons.
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00:32   Union Minority Affairs Minister suggests self defence training for girls
Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla has said that girls need to be given self defence training. 

Addresing a national convention on women and child rights in Bhubaneshwar, Heptulla said the Central government under the leadership of Narendra Modi has rightly stressed on  development of all in society including women, children, differently abled and weaker sections. 

Heptulla suggested that efforts should be made to impart safety training to girls.
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00:28   Justice for all: Civil rights activists march on Washington
The growing, national protest movement against police violence spilled out into the streets of the nation's capital on Saturday.

Spurred by a recent spate of killings of unarmed black men by cops who have escaped criminal prosecution, thousands gathered here to join the families of many of those who have been killed in a march and rally billed as the "Justice For All' march.

Read full story here

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