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Thu, 06 November 2014
We must behead them: ISIS child soldier

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22:54   Gujarat CM inaugurates world's tallest wind tower
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandi Patel today inaugurated the world's tallest hybrid wind tower near Naniber village in Kutch district. 

The 120 metre-tall wind tower is installed by Suzlon Energy near the Naniber village, where the company also owns Asia's largest wind farm, whose power generation capacity touched 1000 Mega Watt recently, a Gujarat government press release said .

Speaking on the occasion, Patel said that Gujarat has potential to generate 10,000 MW of electricity from wind power and added that the Gujarat government has given due importance to this sector, which made Gujarat a power-surplus state, the release said. 

Patel said that 14 years ago, Gujarat was a power deficient state, since it had only coal and gas-based power plants.

Due to shortage of coal and irregular supply of gas from the Centre, power generation remained affected. 

To overcome this situation, Gujarat shifted it's focus to the renewable energy sector due to which Gujarat's total power generation rose from mere a 4,000 MW to 15,000 MW, Patel said.
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22:51   We must behead them: ISIS child soldier
In a cramped living room in southern Turkey, a 13-year-old boy is training to join Islamic State.

As he welcomes us in, he appears a regular, happy-looking child: his hair is ruffled, his smile beaming, he wears a grey, hooded sweater.

But as we sit down to talk, he heads next door to change, returning in a black balaclava and military-style camouflage top.

He wants to be known as "Abu Hattab".

Born in Syria, he was first radicalised last year, joining the jihadist group Sham al-Islam.

Read more HERE

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22:26   Naval auxiliary ship sinks; 1 dead, 24 rescued
JUST IN: An Astravahini class auxiliary ship has sunk outside Visakhapatnam harbour.

One person has been killed, four are missing and 23 have been rescued. Full-scale search and rescue operations are on, say Navy sources.

An auxiliary ship is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. 
Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a self-defense nature.
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22:07   Pakistani policeman uses axe to kill blasphemy accused
Two days after a Pakistani Christian couple were lynched over blasphemy, a policeman in Pakistan hacked a man to death for allegedly making derogatory remarks about the companions of the Prophet Muhammad. The man, Tufail Haider, 55, was taken into custody late on Wednesday after a group of people allegedly overheard him making the remarks, beat him up and handed over to police. According to officials, even after being jailed, Haider did not stop using nasty words and that's when the cop entered the cell and used it against Haider's throat. 
Blasphemy is a serious offense in conservative Muslim Pakistan where those accused are sometimes lynched on the spot.
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21:42   Be united, work together, Sonia's message to partymen
Congress president Sonia Gandhi today her party's faction-ridden Tamil Nadu unit to shun groupism and strive for strengthening the organisation at the grassroots level. During an hour-long meeting, Sonia and vice president Rahul Gandhi exhorted them to maintain unity and chalk out a plan to strengthen the party, in the backdrop of exit of former union minister G K Vasan who is set to float a new party. "Be united, work together, get ready for elections which will be taking place in more than a year," was the message of Gandhi to the delegation.
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21:41   The guard who opened the Berlin Wall
Ordinary people often pave the way for the extraordinary. On November 9,1989, East German border guard Harald Jager opened the first Berlin Wall crossing at 11.30 pm.  Amid confusion and without clear orders from above, Jager  made the snap decision to open the barrier at Bornholmer Strasse -- but the former guard, now 71, refuses to take credit.

Read more HERE
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20:50   Pakistani Rangers pull back ex-minister as he steps into Indian territory
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi accidentally crossed the Zero Line at Wagah Border this evening while shaking hands with Indian tourists from the other side. The incident comes after the minister visited the Wagah Border where blasts had killed 61 people last Sunday. While visiting the zero line, Qureshi, of Imran Khan's PTI, went ahead for a handshake with Indian officials and in the process stepped across the border. Private television channels showed that a Pakistan Rangers official rushed towards him and immediately pulled him back on the Pakistan side of the border. 
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20:43   Yemeni PM asks Facebook users to recommend new ministers
Yemen's newly-appointed prime minster has asked Facebook users to recommend names for the new cabinet. Khalid Mahfoud Bahah, the former ambassador to the United Nations, was named last month as a new prime minister. Bahah told the social networking users to assist him finding competent and dignified ministers. "Participate, as a citizen, in nominating names of a government of technocrats and be part of the event," Bahah said in a post on his new Facebook page that has 18,882 likes.
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20:18   Congress MLA Praniti Shinde calls MIM anti-national
Congress MLA and daughter of Sushilkumar Shinde, Praniti Shinde has kicked up a controversy by calling the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen-- which opened its accountby winning two seats -- anti-national and seeking a ban on it. "If any party speaks against the country, tries to create a divide between the two communities, calls for the country to be divided, then it is automatically anti-national," said Praniti, adding that this applied to the MIM or any other party which toed this line.
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20:04   NATO chief vows Afghan support as combat mission ends
NATO's new chief Jens Stoltenberg pledged Thursday that Afghanistan would not be abandoned when the alliance's combat mission ends next month after 13 years of fighting against resilient Taliban insurgents. 

NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) will finish operations at the end of the year and be replaced by a far smaller training and support mission named "Resolute Support".
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19:29   Facebook launches Ebola charity donation button
Facebook is stepping up its efforts to fight Ebola by adding a button designed to make it easier for its users to donate to charities battling the disease. 

The social media company is also deploying 100 satellite communication terminals to boost Internet and phone services to affected areas in West Africa, where the disease has killed nearly 5,000. 

The programmes come on the heels of a USD 25 million donation last month by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention toward the Ebola response.
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19:25   WTO chief hopes India, US dialogue will help in ending impasse
Appreciating efforts of India and the US to end the impasse over trade facilitation and food security issues, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo today expressed hope that talks will help end the stalemate. 

"The Director General was pleased to hear that the dialogue between the US and India has resumed. He hopes that this dialogue will continue and will be fruitful in advancing efforts to resolve the current impasse, but he is not aware that any understanding has been reached as yet," WTO said in a statement.
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19:05   Obama to seek new authorization for Islamic State fight
 President Barack Obama's decision to seek authorization for the battle against Islamic State extremists will test the ability of a divided Congress to agree on a war strategy for Iraq and Syria.

After insisting for months that he has all the authority he needs to launch the airstrikes already under way against the radical Sunni group, Obama reversed course and called for a new authorization for the use of military force a day after his party lost control of the Senate.
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19:02   Palestinian who ran over 3 soldiers turns himself in: army
A Palestinian who ran over three Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank overnight turned himself in to the security forces today, the army said. The incident took place near the Gush Etzion settlement bloc late yesterday, several hours after a Palestinian deliberately ran down two groups of pedestrians in Jerusalem, killing a border policeman. 

Police described the Jerusalem violence as a "hit and run terror attack" with the West Bank incident widely believed to be a copycat attack.
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18:59   India is 4th most vacation-deprived nation globally: Survey
India has emerged as the fourth most vacation-deprived nation globally, with 67 per cent of respondents saying they do not get enough time for an outing, according to a recent survey. 

"India is the fourth most vacation deprived nation globally, with 67 per cent of Indians saying they feel very or somewhat vacation deprived," according to online travel agency Expedia.com's '2014 Vacation Deprivation' report.
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18:11  
Parrikar is believed to have said that the country is bigger than the state and accepts the PM's offer to move to Delhi and accept a cabinet berth. The Goa CM has always been a Modi favourite. 
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18:02   Arlekar frontrunner for Goa CM
The names of two veterans -- Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Rajendra Arlekar, are considered for the top post, sources said.

Both the leaders with RSS background, in the past have headed the party in the state.

"I will go by what party decides. I am not in the race.There is no race for the post. It would be the decision of the party," Parsekar said.

Arlekar, on the other hand said that he has not yet been communicated anything about the CM's post.
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17:54   Parrikar: Have been told to accept any offer by the PM
Parrikar says the party has told him to accept any offer made by the PM. Parrikar was in Delhi on Wednesday meeting BJP chief Amit Shah and PM Modi. In fact, a formal offer to join the Union Cabinet was made on Tuesday. Parrikar's possible elevation has been a subject of speculation for a while.

Parrikar was in Delhi on Wednesday meeting BJP chief Amit Shah and PM Modi, and sources close to the Goa CM said a formal offer to join the Union Cabinet was made on Tuesday. Parrikar's possible elevation has been a subject of speculation for a while.

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17:52   Goa CM Manohar Parrikar accepts cabinet berth
Just in: Goa CM Manohar Parrikar heads to Delhi. Parrikar has accepted a berth in the cabinet, which will most likely be the defence portfolio. He will be holding a meeting with MLAs at 10 am tomorrow.
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17:39   And the next Secy general of the LS?
Buzz in Parliament House is that Dr Varesh Sinha is now the frontrunner for the post of Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. Dr Sinha a close confidant of Narendra Modi, is an IAS officer of the 1977 batch who had just demitted office as Chief Secretary on October 31, 2014. Dr Sinha will assume office,  if appointed, on December 1. He is expected to hold office for four years.
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17:13   The sari that made the PMO see red
We hear that the PMO is extremely upset with a certain female Union Minister who has used her photograph along with the PM's on saris. The saris were to be distributed as Diwali gifts, but have now been dumped in a godown in Mumbai.

Pic: Modi saris were all the rage during the Lok Sabha polls, but the saris had pictures only of the PM
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17:01   Bihar CM's son-in-law resigns as his PA after uproar by BJP
Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi's son-in-law has resigned following a furore over appointing his close kin as personal staff, which has been termed as a 'highly immoral, unethical and unconstitutional step' by the BJP. The BJP today sought Manjhi's resignation on moral grounds and proposed a recovery of salaries paid to his kin from his own salary.

Manjhi's son in-law Devendra Kumar and Satyendra Kumar (nephew) were appointed as PA and peon respectively for the last eight years.

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16:56   How BJP hopes to cast a spell in Jharkhand, Kashmir, Delhi
The Narendra Modi magic to winning assembly seats can now be revealed. Adopting the Madison Square Garden speech model so to speak, Modi's  addresses during his upcoming 10-day, four-nation to Australia and Fiji, the BJP hopes will help the party win a landslide in Jharkhand, Kashmir and even Delhi in 2015. Remember, Modi's MSG speech was used during the Maharashtra and Haryana polls to good effect.
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16:07   Bihar CM's resignation demanded on moral ground
Slamming Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi for appointing his close kin as personal staff as a 'highly immoral, unethical and unconstitutional step', the BJP today sought his resignation on moral ground and proposed recovery of salaries paid to his kin from his own salary.

"Manjhi has acted in a 'highly immoral and unethical' way to get his close kin like son in-law Devendra Kumar and Satyendra Kumar (nephew) appointed as PA and peon for the last eight years.

His action was indefensible also in the context that the Chief Minister and ministers are required to furnish declaration stating that persons being appointed as personal staff are not kin or related to them in any way.
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15:56   Will focus on Delhi in next 5-10 years: Kejriwal
Bracing for the polls, Aam Aadmi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal today said he will focus on Delhi for the next five to 10 years and any decision on fighting elections in other states will be taken only after people's mandate in the capital.

The civil servent-turned politician, who faced severe criticism for quitting as Delhi Chief Minister in February, said AAP was "fully ready" to take the electoral plunge and identified BJP as its main opponent.

"We are only concentrating on Delhi. As far as I am concerned, I am going to focus on Delhi for next five to 10 years," Kejriwal, who led AAP to a dream debut in the Assembly polls in December last year, said.
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15:50   China officials with Xi Jinping made 'Tanzania ivory spree'
Officials travelling to Tanzania with Chinese President Xi Jinping went on a buying spree for illegal ivory, an environmental activist group has said. In a report, the Environmental Investigation Agency cited two ivory merchants who said the arrival of the delegation in 2013 fuelled demand.The amount of ivory purchased by them sent local prices soaring, it added. Read
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15:42  
The Allphones Arena Sports Complex where PM Modi is scheduled to deliver a speech during his visit to Australia. 
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15:33   India's don of pulp fiction
"How often does a journalist get to ask the question, So you really gave al-Qaida its name?

I recently did. Well, not exactly, but close. D-Company is one of the most deadly terrorist organizations in the world, headed by Dawood Ibrahim, one of the most wanted terrorists in India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. And the man who gave the terrorist group its name? An unlikely character, a hard-of-hearing, myopic, 74-year-old crime novelist. His name is Surender Mohan Pathak, and he is the doyen of Hindi crime fiction."

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15:33   Cong MLA Nitish Rane's idea of Swacch Bharat: 'Clean-up Marathi-hating Gujjus'
Congress MLA from Kankavli, Nitesh Rane, the son of Narayan Rane said Wednesday that he would want to begin Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Clean India campaign from Mumbai by cleaning 'all the Gujaratis who hate Marathis'.

This is what he tweeted yesterday: "Wanna take part in Swacha Bharat abhiyan n start from mumbai!! Wanna start cleaning up all the Marathi hating gujjus from there once for all."

That was followed up with another tweet:

"So much ho ha abt my statement on the Marathi hating gujjus but no 1 is focussing on the hate statements passed by them almost everyday."

But this is not the first time Nitish has ranted against Gujaratis. In April during the Lok Sabha polls, he tweeted,

In August, Nitesh had tweeted: "Kirit Somaiya says all Gujju names went missing in the voters list..hope they r all found in Guj n Amchi Mumbai is freed frm the dhoklas!!!"

Nitish's anti-Gujarati rants in fact are not original. His father, senior  Congressman and former chief minister Narayan Rane, had raked up the Marathis versus Gujaratis issue during the state Assembly polls, but faced an embarrassing defeat from the Kudal constituency.
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15:02   Cong MLA Nitish Rane's idea of Swacch Bharat: 'Clean-up Marathi-hating Gujjus'
Congress MLA from Kankavli, Nitesh Rane, the son of Narayan Rane said Wednesday that he would want to begin Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Clean India campaign from Mumbai by cleaning 'all the Gujaratis who hate Marathis'.

This is what he tweeted yesterday: "Wanna take part in Swacha Bharat abhiyan n start from mumbai!! Wanna start cleaning up all the Marathi hating gujjus from there once for all."

That was followed up with another tweet:

"So much ho ha abt my statement on the Marathi hating gujjus but no 1 is focussing on the hate statements passed by them almost everyday."

But this is not the first time Nitish has ranted against Gujaratis. In April during the Lok Sabha polls, he tweeted,

In August, Nitesh had tweeted: "Kirit Somaiya says all Gujju names went missing in the voters list..hope they r all found in Guj n Amchi Mumbai is freed frm the dhoklas!!!"

Nitish's anti-Gujarati rants in fact are not original. His father, senior  Congressman and former chief minister Narayan Rane, had raked up the Marathis versus Gujaratis issue during the state Assembly polls, but faced an embarrassing defeat from the Kudal constituency.
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14:45   Cong to probe Karti Chidambaram's 'anti high-command' tirade
The Congress leadership has finally woken up to Karti Chidambaram's statement that state units of the Congress should be able to 'act and react' more swiftly. The party has said that they will probe the issue. A few Congress leaders also met party president Sonia Gandhi after Karti's comments. 

Karti had said two days ago, "There are some serious issues that we must look into. Tamil Nadu political market is very crowded. Congress has to be more proactive. We cannot wait for Delhi to show the path in every single way.

"There must be a far greater autonomy to the state unit. We must be in line with the national policy, but the state unit must be able to act and react much more swiftly in every issue. We have not been able to do that," he reiterated.
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14:16   EXCLUSIVE! President's Kalam's advice to young India
During his presidency, President A P J Abdul Kalam received a letter from a student shocked with his class 12th marksheet.

He had scored 10 per cent in Maths and Physics, whereas throughout his school career, he had always scored 90 per cent and more.

He wrote to the President of India, asking for his help. President Kalam referred his case to the authorities and two weeks later got a reply that indeed there was a mistake in the evaluation and the marks had been rectified.

In the last 15 years, President Kalam -- arguably India's most popular President and among the founders of the country's space programme -- has interacted with 18 million young Indians, face-to-face, through e-mail and over Facebook. He receives 300 e-mails every day.

Some of these letters appear in his latest book Forge Your Future, which provides an insight into the issues which concern and engage the minds of young Indians today.

President Kalam in conversation with Rediff.com's Archana Masih. Read
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14:06  
Details of the PM's foreign trips this month. Myanmar, Australia, Fiji, Nepal. Narendra Modi's overseas itinerary this month may appear loaded but it may well have been more gruelling were it not for a cocktail of perceptions in the country, and outside.  Read more
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14:00  
Starting 11th November I would be travelling to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji to participate in various summits and bilateral meetings: PM tweets.
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13:58   Modi thanks Oz PM for hosting him at iconic Melbourne cricket ground
Narendra Modi tweets his thanks to Australia PM Tony Abbott: "Cricket is a shared passion of Australia and India. I thank PM Tony Abbott for hosting me at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to travel to Australia on November 15 for the G-20 summit and a bilateral visit, Modi mania has gripped Down Under.

Among the things being planned is a special train, the Modi Express, which will run from Melbourne to Sydney, a grand reception by the Indian community in Sydneys Allphones Arena, a state banquet at Melbourne Cricket Ground and a joint parliamentary session in Canberra. A Gujarati film is also being released to coincide with the visit.  Read more
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13:47   Mulayam hosts Third Front meet -- minus Left
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav today hosted leaders of several opposition parties at a lunch meeting at his Delhi home, among them RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and JD-U's Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav.

What makes today's meeting different from several other attempts that Yadav has attempted is to stitch together a Third Front of non-Congress and non-BJP parties -- in the absence of the Left.

Today's lunch in effect was an effort to create a "pressure or influence group of like-minded parties" ahead of the winter session of Parliament.
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13:27   Working Sunday for Uddhav: Strategy meet at Sena Bhavan
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray calls a meet of party bearers and MLAs at Sena Bhavan on November 9. Sena leader Subhash Desai will be attending the meet.

The meeting, ostensibly, is to discuss the way ahead for the party in Maharashtra.

BJP has turned the tables on Matoshree on Wednesday, making it clear that Shiv Sena can join the new government only after it backs the trust vote on November 12, which is the new regime's top priority now. NCP's statement last week that it will vote in favour of BJP, and not abstain from the trust vote, has apparently emboldened BJP to dictate terms to Sena.
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13:04   Abhishek, Ash apologise to SRK for Jaya's 'HNY is a nonsensical film' comment
Jaya Bachchan is known to speak her mind. But it often doesn't go down well with the parties concerned. And this time she seems to have hurt Shah Rukh Khan's feelings.

DNA reports that at an event earlier in the week, Jay told the media, "HNY is the most nonsensical film I've seen in recent years. I said that to the film's lead actor as well. I watched it only because Abhishek was part of it. I told him he's a great actor if he can act stupid in front of the camera like that. I can't be part of what is being done in films these days and hence I don't do films anymore."
Read more
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12:59   Obama defiant despite election defeat
A day after a poll drubbing, US President Barack Obama struck a defiant tone saying he is ready to work with Republicans but could bypass Congress on issues like immigration reforms that would allow 11 million illegal immigrants, including 2.4 lakh Indians, to stay in the country.

Exuding full confidence in the future of America, Obama in his 90-minute speech said, "We have all the best cards relative to every other country on Earth." "I am really optimistic about America. I know that runs counter to the current mood, but when you look at the facts, our economy is stronger than just about anybody's," he said.

"The United States continues to be a magnet for the best and brightest from all around the world. My job over the next couple of years is to do some practical, concrete things -- as much as possible with Congress; where it's not possible with Congress, on my own -- to show people why we should be confident, and to give people a sense of progress and a sense of hope," Obama said.
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12:30   Mobs and minorities
For minority communities in Pakistan, life appears to be becoming more and more precarious.

They have been subjected to mob attacks before, on residential localities in Lahore, Gojra and other places, which have affected scores of people.

Another such dastardly attack took place on November 4 at a brick-kiln at Kot Radha Kishan, about 60 kilometres southwest of Lahore, where a Christian couple was first beaten to death by a mob, which had accused it of desecrating the Holy Quran, and their bodies then burnt at the same kiln where they laboured. There are few details available about the gory incident, which has been confirmed by the local police.

Read the editorial on Pakistan's Tribune.
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12:25   Turkey's president moves into world's biggest palace
Erdogan's new residence is four times the size of Versailles, comfortably exceeding the grandeur of Louis XIV of France. Read
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12:22   Chandrababu to meet PM today
Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu is to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in New Delhi to discuss the Union cabinet expansion. 
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12:10   End of a long wait
Delhi's long wait for an elected government is likely to end soon with the dissolution of the Assembly constituted last year.

When Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, under pressure from the Supreme Court, held discussions with political parties on forming a government, the end result was predictable: failure.

Given the numbers in the House and the proclivities of the parties, no group was likely to be able to command a majority.

Read

The cartoon in the Hindu today indicating the shift in support for the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal in the last one year.
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12:02   Collective suicide
On Sunday, November 2, more then 50 people died in Lahore at the hands of a suicide bomber.

The TTP and Jundallah hurriedly claimed responsibility for the heinous act. And we can all now go to sleep peacefully with the conclusion that this might be some Pashtun radical from Waziristan, who has struck a blow in retaliation for the military operation taking place there.

All we now have to do is to watch out for people and communities that may look different or have links with the northern part of the country.

Read
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11:58   Sena can join government only after trust vote: Fadnavis
BJP has turned the tables on Matoshree on Wednesday, making it clear that Shiv Sena can join the new government only after it backs the trust vote on November 12, which is the new regime's top priority now.

NCP's statement last week that it will vote in favour of the BJP, and not abstain from the trust vote, has apparently emboldened BJP to dictate terms to Sena.

Just a day earlier, Matoshree had issued an ultimatum to BJP on the issue, demanding that Sena ministers must be sworn in before the trust vote is moved in the state assembly. It meant a share in power was a pre-condition for the Sena's support. Read more
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11:51   Two RSS leaders in race for Goa's CM post
Amid speculations of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar being elevated as Union minister, the BJP local unit will meet today and is expected to finalise a name for the state's top job.

According to party sources, Parrikar who is currently in New Delhi along with Goa unit president Vinay Tendulkar and General Secretary Satish Dhond will arrive in Panaji to attend the meeting this afternoon.

Parrikar yesterday held a meeting with BJP president Amit Shah in Delhi amidst reports that he could get the defence portfolio in a Union cabinet reshuffle.

Later in the night, he followed it up with a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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11:37  
Black money case: Goa mining baron Radha Timblo, named in Supreme Court, summoned by Enforcement Directorate on November 12.
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11:36   I believe PM Modi will repeal AFSPA from Manipur: Irom
On the day she began the 15th year of her fast to protest AFSPA in Manipur, Irom Sharmila Chanu said she firmly believed Prime Minister Narendra Modi would repeal the controversial law from the state.

"When I watched what happened in Godhra, I thought Modi is a very dangerous man. But in 2009, I dreamt that he was standing in front of me and smiling. And now, he has become PM. Since then, I have a firm conviction that this man will repeal AFSPA from Manipur, he is capable of doing it. That is my gut instinct, that is my conviction,' she said from a room in the special ward of Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences that has been her home for over a decade.

Read

Also read the Rediff Special on meeting Irom Sharmila
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11:21   PM Modi to meet President over speculations of Cabinet expansion
Prime minister Modi to meet President Pranab Mukherjee in a bit.

As we reported yesterday, Narendra Modi will soon reshuffle his Cabinet. The move has been necessitated due to many reasons, mainly the overburdening of some ministers.

The key portfolios of defence and finance are handled by Arun Jaitley, which is considered an impossible task. Ravi Shankar Prasad (information technology and law) and Prakash Javadekar (information and broadcasting, and environment) are also handling two ministries each. Modi is looking for more energy quotient in his ministry.
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11:11   Cong hits out at critical Karti: Don't know who he is, says Rashid Alvi
After Digvijaya Singh, Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi hit out at Karti Chidambaram, son of powerful Congressman P Chidambaram.

When asked to comment on Karti's statement against the AICC leadership, Alvi said, "I would not like to comment as I don't know who Karti is." 

Yesterday, Karti had said, "We must rethink this high command-observer culture. Regional leaders shouldn't be waiting for commands from Delhi. Delhi can't solve the problems of Tamil Nadu."

Karti called for introspection within the TNCC, saying the party needs course correction.
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10:49   Over lunch, Mulayam, Lalu, Nitish plan pressure group
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav will host leaders of several opposition parties at a lunch meeting at his Delhi home today, among them Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar from Bihar.

What makes today's meeting different from several other attempts that Yadav has made to stitch together a Third Front of non-Congress and non-BJP parties, is the absence of the Left. Sources said today's lunch is an effort to create a "pressure or influence group of like-minded parties" ahead of the winter session of Parliament.

Read
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10:38   'There are many poor parties like us who never steal'
NDTV reports: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose party lawmakers are being investigated in connection with the multi-crore Saradha Chit Fund scam, has hit out at the media for "turning us into thieves."

Speaking to workers of her Trinamool Congress yesterday, Banerjee asserted that no one from her party had taken any chit fund money.

"There are many poor parties like us who have never stolen but the news media here has turned us into thieves. Who has taken Saradha money? Our party has not taken any chit fund money," said the CM.
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10:34   Irom Sharmila's fast enters 15th year
Sit-in-protests, hunger strike and demonstrations joined by students, civil society organisations and human rights activists were held in Manipur to express solidarity with social activist Irom Chanu Sharmila whose fast demanding repeal of the AFSPA, 1958 from the state entered its 15th year.

Irom Sharmila has been on fast demanding the repeal of the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 from Manipur since November 5, 2000, after ten civilians were killed in an 'encounter' by Assam Rifles personnel at Malom area near Imphal airport on November 2, 2000.

Human rights activists from several parts of the country and abroad took part in yesterday's programmes across Manipur yesterday, spokespersons of Just Peace Foundation, Human Rights Alert and Apunba Manipur Matam Eshel Kanglup, a major social organisation in the state, said. The protestors also demanded repeal of the AFSPA from the other north eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir.

Read the Rediff special: Meeting Irom Sharmila here
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10:10   Jharkhand: 3 detained over ISIS T-shirt
A teenager has been detained at the Jharia police station in Dhanbad, Jharkhand after he was spotted wearing a t-shirt with the words ISIS(Islamic State) and Pakistan etched on it during a Muharram procession. He was carrying what resembled the Pakistani national flag.

The boy is suspected to be a 16-year-old. He was picked up on Wednesday for interrogation after some individuals brought it to the attention of local police. Since then, the Intelligence Bureau as well as Jharkhand polices Special Branch have interrogated him, The Indian Express reports.

The man who printed the T-shirt and a relative who gave it to him have also been detained. 

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09:34   Women staff level sexual harassment charge against Infy executive
Business Standard reports: A group of women employees at Infosys, India's second largest information technology services company, has brought charges of sexual harassment against a senior executive of the company.

In a mail sent from an unidentified email ID, they said the board of directors was "hushing up the whole case", though the charges are serious.

Commenting on the charges, an Infosys spokesperson said: "We take every sexual harassment complaint very seriously and each case is thoroughly and expeditiously investigated. Swift and appropriate actions are taken in all such cases. Keeping in view the privacy aspects we do not share particulars of individual cases."

The spokesperson said the company prided itself on the diversity of its workforce and an equal opportunity work environment for its employees. 
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09:30   British Asian to be PM one day, says David Cameron
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has exuded confidence that a British Asian would take on his role in the near future.

"One day, I want to hear that title prime minister followed by a British Asian name," he said in his speech at the annual GG2 Leadership Awards in London last night.

"Just not immediately, if that's okay," he added on a lighter note in reference to the upcoming general election in Britain in May 2015. "What makes Britain a success is that every community has a hand in it...but frankly it is still not enough. In Britain today there are still too few people from ethnic minorities in top positions," he said.
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09:06   Karti Chidambaram hits out at Congress high command
CNN-IBN reports: Soon after former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's son Karti criticised the party high command for lack of autonomy, senior leader Digvijaya Singh lashed out at him suggesting that he should leave the party if he was not happy with it.

Without naming Karti, he said, "We are an inclusive party. Those who disagree with this idea can leave the party."

Speaking to CNN-IBN, Karti had expressed apprehensions about the functioning of the great old party specially its unit in Tamil Nadu. He had demanded more autonomy for the Tamil Nadu Congress.

Image: Karti, second from right, and P Chidambaram, right. with Congress President Sonia

Read the full report here

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08:51   I hear you: Obama tells voters after Democrats rout
Shaking off an electoral drubbing that cost his party its Senate majority, President Barack Obama said  that he was eager to work with Republicans to find common ground during the final two years of his presidency, The New York Times reports.  

"The American people overwhelmingly believe that this town doesn't work well," Obama said in a news conference in the East Room of the White House, in which he declined to "read the tea leaves" of the election or say whether he deserved blame for its outcome. "As president, they rightly hold me accountable to make it work better."

"It doesn't make me mopey, it energises me," Obama said. "I hear you."
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08:41   Manjhi's son-in-law quits as PA
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi was today at the centre of a controversy over appointment of his son-in-law Devendra Kumar as his personal assistant, evoking sharp criticism following which Kumar resigned from the post.   

"I have sent my resignation to chief minister's personal secretary," Kumar, who was appointed as personal assistant of Manjhi, told PTI. He said that he has put in his paper as people were raising fingers over his appointment.   

Earlier, Manjhi appointed Kumar as his PA and another kin as personal staff, evoking sharp criticism from the BJP which accused the chief minister of violating rules.   

As per a notification of the state cabinet secretariat department issued in June this year, Manjhi appointed Kumar as his personal assistant.   

Another Manjhi kin Satyendra Kumar has been appointed as a peon.
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04:02   What the Republican 'slam dunk' means for Obama
The Republicans won. And won big. They picked up seats on the East Coast, in middle America, in the deep South, in the West. 

They got the keys to several governors' mansions in victories that were as unexpected as they were welcome. Their majority in the House of Representatives increased.

If this were basketball, then we'd be saying they had a slam dunk of a night

That leaves one man waking up this morning with a lot more power than he has ever wielded before, but with the potential to trip. And it leaves one man still with a huge amount of power, but also a pretty big headache.

The man with the newly found power is Mitch McConnell, the presumptive next Senate majority leader, and victor last night in his native Kentucky; the man reaching for the Advil is Barack Obama.

Read more HERE

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02:39   View from across border: India's 'teach Pakistan a lesson' mantra won't work
Rising and persistent escalation on the LoC will land India in the same bind in which Pakistan was sucked into in the 1990s when the philosophy of 'bleeding India to the last drop' was hyped. 

In the end, what we got was a pulverised society at home and excessive militarisation of the Valley by Indian troops. 

The BJP leadership minces no words about its stance on Article 370. 

As a sequel to that, it wishes to degrade Pakistan's capability to react to this. 

The point being missed is that here are two nuclear powers and either side can trip, setting the stage for the first and the last nuclear war on the planet, which could result in the living envying the dead. 

'Teaching Pakistan a lesson' is a puerile way of approaching a complex problem. Let diplomacy be given a chance. 

There are far more pressing problems to tackle than pounding hapless civilians at the LoC.

Read more HERE
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02:25   Kerry warns Russia over Ukraine, urges against 'tit-for-tat'
US Secretary of State John Kerry today warned Russia that sanctions pressure could be intensified over the Ukraine crisis but urged Kiev not to get drawn into "tit-for-tat" measures.

Speaking to reporters in Paris after holding talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Kerry said "the choice is Russia's" as to whether to implement the Minsk agreement that was supposed to bring peace to Ukraine's restive east. 

"The president and I have repeatedly said that if the Minsk agreement is fully implemented, sanctions can be rolled back and if it isn't, pressure will only increase," said Kerry. 

Kerry said he had spoken to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier and discussed the "need to continue to take the high road" in terms of sticking to the ceasefire. 

It was important "not to fall into the possibility invited by measures taken by Russia to engage in a tit-for-tat process," added the diplomat. 

The ceasefire in Ukraine was hanging by a thread after Poroshenko accused pro-Russian rebels of endangering the peace process and ordered troops back to cities in the east of the country ravaged by months of unrest.
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01:31   On the path towards committing collective suicide
On Sunday, November 2, more then 50 people died in Lahore at the hands of a suicide bomber. The TTP and Jundallah hurriedly claimed responsibility for the heinous act. 

And we can all now go to sleep peacefully with the conclusion that this might be some Pashtun radical from Waziristan, who has struck a blow in retaliation for the military operation taking place there. 

All we now have to do is to watch out for people and communities that may look different or have links with the northern part of the country.

Sadly, we will not take the trouble of linking this incident to another act of brutality that took place two days later in Kot Radha Kishan near Lahore, in which a Christian couple was beaten and then burnt to death in the brick kiln where it worked, by the local people for allegedly committing blasphemy.

Read more HERE
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00:47   Why US Democrats got massacred
Was the 2014 US midterm election a walloping? A pasting? A drubbing? A knock into the cheap seats? 

President Barack Obama now has the dreary task of characterizing his partys losses, which came as a result of voters disapproval with his presidency. 

In 2010, Obama called it a shellacking. In 2006, George W Bush called his partys defeat a thumpin. 

Once Obama comes up with the word, hes going to have to endure a press conference in which he has to explain again and again why he is not the problem. 

Read more HERE

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00:46   Decks cleared for Gandhi statue in Parliament Square, London
Plans to erect a bronze statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square in London have received an official clearance.

Westminster City Council granted planning permission for the sculpture commemorating the Father of the Nation, which will be placed close to the statue of Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid revolutionary.

Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, and UK Cabinet ministers William Hague and George Osborne had announced plans for the memorial during their recent visits to India.

The bronze sculpture, to be created by Philip Jackson, will show Gandhi wearing a shawl and traditional 'dhoti', with his hands clasped, the Evening Standard newspaper reported. 

Inspired by photographs of Gandhi on the steps of 10, Downing Street during a visit to London in 1931, the statue portrays him as "a thoughtful, determined, compassionate man", according to the documents submitted to the council.

"There is no doubt that Gandhi is a world-renowned figure who should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln, who both fought for civil liberties," said Richard Beddoe, Westminster City Council's deputy cabinet member for the built environment. 
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00:45   Al Qaeda member killed in Yemen strike
An Al Qaeda leader in Yemen was among those killed in what a Yemeni official called a "counter-terrorism strike," the latest such strike at a time of intensified fighting in the Arab nation.

The Yemeni official said Wednesday that those killed include Shawki al-Badani, whom the US State Department named a "specially designated global terrorist" in June. 

So, too, was Nabil al-Dahab, a top member of the conservative Salafist group Ansar al Sharia.

Initial reports out of Yemen sometimes prove untrue. 

That said, a US official said a drone did carry out an attack in Yemen that the United States "believes was successful."

The US official did not confirm the identities of those killed in the strike.

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