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Sat, 15 November 2014
UAE releases names of over 80 terrorist groups
Timeline Refresh
23:28 Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda, Islamic State and other groups branded terrorists in UAE
The United Arab Emirates, which belongs to a US-led coalition fighting jihadists, today issued a list of 83 Islamist groups which it classified as "terrorist organisations". It blacklists Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, as well as the Muslim Brotherhood and Yemen's Shiite Huthi militia. The UAE has jailed dozens of Emiratis and Egyptians for forming cells of the Brotherhood, outlawed in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which accuses the movement of seeking to overthrow the Gulf monarchies.
The UAE named the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars which is headed by the Brotherhood's spiritual guide Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi on its terror list.
23:03 Yazidi girls seized by ISIS speak out after escape
The 15-year-old girl, crying and terrified, refused to release her grip on her sister's hand. Days earlier, Islamic State fighters had torn the girls from their family, and now were trying to split them up and distribute them as spoils of war.
The sisters were among several thousand girls and young women from the minority Yazidi religion who were seized by the Islamic State in northern Iraq in early August.
The 15-year-old is also among a small number of kidnapping victims who have managed to escape, bringing with them stories of a coldly systemized industry of slavery.
Read about their ordeal HERE
22:08 Tendulkar visits his adopted village in Andhra
Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar arrived at the Krishnapatnam port near Nellore this evening, on his way to Puttamraju Kandrika village, which he has decided to adopt. Tendulkar was accorded a warm welcome by the port officials. He also received a guard of honour by the probationers at the Krishnapatnam Port Security Academy.
21:48 Pope Francis denounces euthanasia as 'sin against God'
Pope Francis denounced the right to die movement on Saturday, saying it's a "false sense of compassion" to consider euthanasia as an act of dignity when in fact it's a sin against God and creation. Francis made the comments to the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors.
Earlier this month, the Vatican's top bioethics official condemned as "reprehensible" the assisted suicide of an American woman, Brittany Maynard, who was suffering terminal brain cancer and said she wanted to die with dignity.
21:31 NCP secretary D P Tripathi to attend Cong's Nehru event
Ending speculation, NCP has decided to attend the international conference convened by Congress to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has asked NCP general secretary D P Tripathi to attend the two-day event starting on Monday and Tripathi has already intimated Congress president Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel in this regard.
Congress has not invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi or any other BJP leader to the conference it is organizing to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Nehru, joining the battle with Modi who it accuses of trying to appropriate the legacy of freedom movement leaders.
The party has at the same extended the invitation to a number of non-BJP parties and leaders including Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar.
21:00 Ramdoss condemns 'Kiss of Love'
PMK leader Ramadoss condemned the 'Kiss of Love' demonstration held at Chennai and said the act is nothing but 'perversion' and every one is concerned about the future of Tamil culture by allowing such open demonstration. In a statement he said the demonstration has shocked many people. He wondered how a reputed institution allowed this type of demonstration to take place openly.
20:56 Carlsen gets 1 point for victory
Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen outwitted India's Viswanathan Anand to win the sixth game of the World Chess Championship. Carlsen got one point for the victory, which now puts him in the lead with 3.5 points compared to Anand's 2.5 points. In this game, Anand played with black giving a slight advantage to Carlsen. Game 7 of the championship will be held on Monday.
20:44 G20 leaders' spouses enjoy Australian wildlife
Do you ever wonder what do the spouses of the leaders at the G20 summit do while their partners are busy with talks? Today, as leaders were engaged in talks, the spouses were whisked off to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary to enjoy Australia's wildlife. The two-hour long visit was hosted by Margie Abbott, wife of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. She was joined by the spouses of leaders from Canada, China, the European Union, Indonesia, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and Turkey.
20:40 PDP to make J-K a bridge between India, Pak if voted to power
The Peoples' Democratic Party, if voted to power, will make Jammu and Kashmir a bridge between India and Pakistan by opening Kargil-Skardu road and starting a bus service on it, PDP patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said. "PDP's vision of Jammu and Kashmir becoming a bridge between India and Pakistan contains the important feature of opening Kargil-Skardu road," Sayeed said while addressing an election rally in Kargil. He said the decision to reopen Kargil-Skardu road and starting a bus service on this route was taken by India and Pakistan many years ago, but no movement has taken place on the initiative, due to lack of follow-up.
19:53 New mobile game called 'Go Nawaz Go' launched
A new mobile game called Go Nawaz Go is entertaining masses in Pakistan as it shows a bat-wielding Imran Khan chasing Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif. The game shows the two jumping over containers and barbed wire."Help PM defend himself by running from Imran Khan to save himself and his designation," reads the synopsis of the newly launched game.
The game came into effect following Khan's PTI party demanding Sharif's resignation and fresh polls in the nation.Khan has announced a fresh protest rally in Islamabad for November 30.
19:42 Russia plans 'alternative Wikipedia'
Russia is planning an alternative version of the Wikipedia, the country's presidential library has said. A statement said the initiative aimed to provide better information about Russia than is available on Wikipedia. Analysis had shown that Wikipedia "does not have enough detailed and reliable information about Russian regions and the life of the country", it said. Some 50,000 books and documents had been collected, it said, to portray Russia "objectively and accurately".
18:58 NIA makes one more arrest in Burdwan blast case
NIA has arrested one more person from Nalbari district of Assam in connection with the Burdwan blast in West Bengal. A NIA team along with the Assam police arrested Suburuddin Ali, a close relative of Sahanur Alam who is one of the main accused in the Burdwan blast incident during a search operation in his house at Boroliapar village.
With this nine persons have been arrested from Assam in connection with the October 2 Burdwan blast that had claimed the lives of two Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh members.
Two of Suburuddin's relatives, Sahabuddin Ali and his wife Rohima Bibi were also picked up today but were released later in the day.
18:05 AAP shows its strength at Jantar Mantar
In the run up to the Delhi assembly polls, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal addressed a crowd at Jantar Mantar as part of their 'Delhi Dialogues'. Speaking to the crowds, Kejriwal said that the party had fulfilled all its promises during its 49-day regime and would do so again if reelected to power. "If you ask anyone they'll tell you three things about AAP, one is that we are honest. Secondly, we do what we say and last but not the least, we are brave."
Kejriwal lamented the fact that talented youth don't receive admissions and said that the party would ensure that every student got admissions into colleges and for that purpose would set up 20 new colleges and also increase the seats in existing colleges.
17:48 G20 leaders vow to 'extinguish' deadly Ebola outbreak
The G20 group of world's most powerful economies vowed to do all it can to "extinguish" the Ebola outbreak that has killed over 5,000 people and address its economic costs but stopped short of pledging any cash commitments. G20 leaders issued a statement on tackling the deadly virus, days after health workers on the frontline of West Africa's Ebola crisis pleaded with the leaders for more resources, describing horrific working conditions as they attempt to contain the deadly outbreak. "We are deeply concerned about the Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and saddened by the suffering and loss of life it is inflicting. We are mindful of the serious humanitarian, social and economic impacts on those countries, and of the potential for these impacts to spread," the statement said.
16:44 Kerala: Two 18-year-old students arrested for molesting LKG kid
Two students at a private school were arrested on Saturday for allegedly molesting a four-and-a-half-year-old girl studying in LKG class in the same institution at Parakkadavu near Nadapuram in Kozhikode district of Kerala.
The accused, both 18-year-old boys, are pursuing 'religious education' in the same campus run by a minority educational and charity organisation.
They have been charged under IPC 376 (rape) and relevant provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, police said. The alleged molestation took place on October 30 and a case was registered earlier this week based on the complaint from the child's parents.
A few days after the incident, the child started showing signs of pain and uneasiness and told her parents of the torture she underwent.
She complained that two senior boys lured her to the kitchen on the campus and sexually abused her.
She was taken to a hospital for medical examination and it was confirmed that she suffered sexual torture.
The delay in the arrest had sparked strong public protests in the area with political parties and social activists accusing police of trying to shield the real culprits.
A bus cleaner was taken into custody on Friday in connection with the case, but was let off later after local people marched to the police station alleging that police was trying to take the investigation into wrong leads under pressure from the school management.
The institution has classes from LKG to plus-two and also a wing on the campus for religious education.
16:16 Arrest those guilty in Saradha scam: Kunal Ghosh
Journalists were today lathicharged at the SSKM hospital in Kolkata to prevent them from taking pictures of suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh who allegedly tried to commit suicide yesterday
Ghosh, who is hospitalised after allegedly attempting suicide in jail on Friday, today claimed that "those guilty and involved in the Saradha scam are roaming free" and demanded that they be arrested.
Ghosh, who is hospitalised after allegedly attempting suicide in jail on Friday, today claimed that "those guilty and involved in the Saradha scam are roaming free" and demanded that they be arrested.
"Those persons who are roaming scot-free and still not apprehended in the Saradha scam case, should be arrested", Ghosh, who was arrested the Saradha chitfund scam, told reporters while he was being taken to Bangur Institute of Neurology for medical tests from SSKM Hospital.
Ghosh allegedly consumed several sedative pills in his cell in a bid to commit suicide.
In the last hearing when he was produced by the CBI in the court, Ghosh had threatened that he would be forced to commit suicide if the persons whom he had named in the Saradha scam case were not arrested by CBI.
Ghosh was first arrested by West Bengal Police and later shifted to CBI custody after the central agency took charge of the probe.
Escorted by police personnel, Ghosh stood up for a brief moment before the reporters who were present.
Ghosh had allegedly named few influential political personalities of the ruling Trinamool Congress during the course of interrogation by the CBI.
Later, while Ghosh was being brought back to SSKM from Bangur Institute of Neurology, a scuffle broke out between police personnel and media persons, as reporters tried to pose questions to Ghosh.
16:02 Irony that Hindi is not used more in official work: Rajnath
Although three-fourths of the Indian people know or speak Hindi, it is ironic that the language is not used more extensively in official work, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today as he pitched for its use regularly in government offices.
Addressing a function in New Delhi to felicitate different ministries and departments, Singh said that it was an irony that even 67 years after the country's Independence, Hindi is not being used widely in government offices.
"Seventy-five per cent of the people in the country either speak or know Hindi. But we do not use Hindi in official work. Now such a situation has come that we have to observe 'Hindi Divas'," he said.
Singh said that if such a scenario continues, there would be no future for Hindi and other Indian languages. "Such a situation will be very very unfortunate," he said.
The Home Minister said that non-Hindi speaking stalwarts of India's freedom movement like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Subhash Chandra Bose and C Rajagopalachari had advocated the promotion and expansion of Hindi.
16:01 No dialogue with Pak till ceasefire violations stop: V K Singh
There will be no dialogue with Pakistan till it continues to violate ceasefire along the Line of Control and International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, Union Minister General (retd) V K Singh said today.
"Dialogue process has been stopped because if you (Pakistan) are firing at me, you are stopping my ability to talk to you," the Minister of State for External Affairs told reporters in Srinagar.
The former Army chief said New Delhi has conveyed the message to Islamabad that ceasefire violations and dialogue cannot go together.
"So that is what has been conveyed by telling Pakistan that, look here, you cannot do both the things together," he said.
On the standoffs with Chinese Army in Ladakh, Singh said there is an ongoing dialogue process.
"There is a Line of Actual Control. The perceptions of both the countries on the Line of Actual Control differ," he said.
15:58 Indian-origin Muslim convert flees UK for Syria
An Indian-origin convert to Islam has skipped bail to flee Britain and is believed to be now living under the Islamic State in Syria.
Abu Rumaysah, born Siddhartha Dhar, was arrested by Scotland Yard as a terror suspect in September and was released on bail.
But according to BBC London he left London on a bus bound for mainland Europe and is now living under the Islamic State.
The Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism command says it is working to establish where he is.
Rumaysah, 31, was arrested on suspicion of encouraging terrorism on September 25 as part of an investigation into the banned extremist group al-Muhajiroun.
He has close links to radical preacher Anjem Choudhary, who was head of al-Muhajiroun.
The two men were arrested along with eight others.
But days later Rumaysah is believed to have boarded a bus from Victoria Station in London for Paris, from where he is believed to have travelled on to Syria.
Rumaysah, a father of four, has publicly expressed his views was on the BBC's Sunday Morning Live programme, before he was arrested.
Then he said: "Now that we have this Caliphate (Islamic state) I think you'll see many Muslims globally seeing it as an opportunity for the Quran to be realised."
Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has said that an estimated 500 British people are fighting for IS in Syria and Iraq.
14:51 Pakistan violates ceasefire yet again
Pakistani Rangers today violated the ceasefire by resorting to brief firing along the International Border in Jammu district, forcing BSF troops to retaliate.
"The Pakistani troops resorted to few rounds of firing on forward Border Out Posts (BoPs) along IB in Arnia belt in Jammu district today," a senior BSF official said.
BSF troops retaliated briefly, he said, adding, there was no injury to anyone in the firing.
Earlier, Pakistani Rangers had violated ceasefire on Wednesday by resorting to brief small arms firing on Border Out Posts (BoPS) along IB in Jammu and Samba sectors.
As many as 11 people have been killed and over 90 others injured in shelling and firing by Pakistani troops during first fortnight of October, triggering migration of over 32,000 people from border areas of Jammu, Kathua, and Samba districts.
13:59 Obama presses Asia Pacific on security challenges
President Barack Obama challenged Asia Pacific nations to choose between "conflict or cooperation," singling out North Korea's rogue nuclear program and China's tense territorial disputes with its neighbours as matters that could threaten progress in the fast-growing region.
"The question we face is which of these futures will define the Asia Pacific in the century to come," Obama said during remarks at a university in Brisbane, Australia, where he arrived today for the Group of 20 economic summit.
Australia is Obama's final stop on a weeklong trip that included visits to China and Myanmar. He arrived here determined to show leaders that his weakened political standing in the US would not affect his efforts to deepen American engagement in the Asia Pacific, which he sees as a core part of his foreign policy legacy.
In a tacit acknowledgement of the questions in the region about his commitment to that effort, the president declared that "American leadership in the Asia Pacific will always be a fundamental focus of my foreign policy."
13:58 Reform process bound to face resistance: PM
As he seeks to accelerate his economic reform drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said reform process is bound to face resistance and wanted it to be insulated from political pressures.
Making a strong pitch for economic reforms, Modi told fellow G20 leaders at a Retreat here that reforms should lead to simplification of processes and that methods of governance must be reformed.
The retreat was hosted by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the Queensland Parliament House where the leaders met without aides shortly before the annual summit of the 20 industrialised and major economies kicked off at the Brisbane Convention Centre in the afternoon.
A barbeque lunch was served to the G20 leaders.
"Reform is bound to face resistance...must be insulated from political pressures," said Modi.
The Prime Minister also made it clear that reform has to be driven by the people and that it cannot be undertaken by "stealth".
Asserting that reform must be people-centric and people-driven, he said globally reforms are handicapped with perception of being government programmes and a burden on the people and this needs to change.
13:42 37 army officers get Army aviation wings
Thirty-seven army officers earned the 'Army aviation wings' in a passing out parade ceremony today at the Combat Army Aviation Training School (CATS) Gandhinagar Airfield in Nashik.
The Army Aviation wings to officers, after their 18-week training, was given by Chief of Army staff Training Command and Colonel of Punjab Regiment, Lt General B S Sachar, who presided over ceremony as the chief guest, a CATS release said.
The prestigious 'Silver Cheetah' trophy was awarded to captain Pankaj Bhatia. Sachar also presented trophies to cadets for their best performance in the 18-week course.
The ceremony was marked by integrated training exercise 'Sky Soldiers' by the mainstay aircrafts of army aviation on Cheetah, Chetak and Dhruv helicopters, while para dropping and other activities were also demonstrated on the occasion, it said.
CATS at Gandhinagar airfield is the premier training institution of the army aviation corps and is only institute that provides combat oriented training to helicopter pilots, who have undergone basic flying course.
12:42 US orders a shakeup to resolve nuclear woes
Pledging firm action to support the men and women who handle the world's most powerful and deadly weapons, the Pentagon will
spend an additional $10 billion to correct deep problems of neglect and mismanagement within the nation's nuclear forces, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said.
Hagel ordered top-to-bottom changes in the nuclear arsenal's management, which he said had been allowed over the years to backslide, afflicted by broken and missing equipment, poor leadership and inadequate training and staffing.
Hagel told a Pentagon news conference yesterday morning, before flying to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota where many of the nuclear force troubles began, that the Defence Department will boost spending on the nuclear forces by about 10 per cent a year for the next five years, saying there is no problem on this issue the Pentagon can't fix.
That would be a total increase of about $10 billion over the five years.
Currently the Pentagon spends about $15 billion a year on the nuclear mission.
"The internal and external reviews I ordered show that a consistent lack of investment and support for our nuclear forces over far too many years has left us with too little margin to cope with mounting stresses," said Hagel, who was flanked by senior Air Force and Navy officers.
"The root cause has been a lack of sustained focus, attention and resources, resulting in a pervasive sense that a career in the nuclear enterprise offers too few opportunities for growth and advancement."
12:27 Navy SEAL who shot bin Laden was at war for years
Former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill, who says he fired the shots that killed Osama bin Laden, played a role in some of the most consequential combat missions of the post-9/11 era, including three depicted in Hollywood movies.
And now he's telling the world about them.
By doing so, O'Neill has almost certainly increased his earning power on the speaking circuit.
He also may have put himself and his family at greater risk.
And he has earned the enmity of some current and former SEALs by violating their code of silence.
But O'Neill, winner of two Silver and five Bronze Stars, makes no apologies for any of that.
In a wide-ranging interview yesterday with The Associated Press, he said he believes the American public has a right to more details about the operation that killed the Al Qaida leader and other important military adventures.
O'Neill's key role in the 2011 bin Laden raid was hardly his only brush with a high-profile mission.
He was on the 2009 mission to rescue the captain of the merchant ship Maersk Alabama, who was taken hostage by Somali pirates. That episode was featured in the Tom Hanks movie "Captain Phillips."
And he was part of the group that helped retrieve Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of a four-man team attacked in 2005 while tracking a Taliban leader in Afghanistan. The Luttrell episode was featured in the 2013 film "Lone Survivor."
Long before those operations, O'Neill came to embody the dramatic transformation of the role of US special operations over the last 13 years.
12:23 Defamation case:Naqvi acquitted after Sabir Ali withdraws plea
Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was today acquitted in a criminal defamation case against him by former JD(U) leader Sabir Ali after the court was told that the two have reached a settlement.
Ali had on September 16 sought a "written apology" from Naqvi, who is minister state for minority affairs in the Modi Cabinet, for allegedly linking him with arrested Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal. The court had on July 9 granted bail to Naqvi in the case.
As soon as the proceedings commenced before Metropolitan Magistrate Akash Jain today, the counsel appearing for Ali submitted that a settlement has been arrived between the complainant and Naqvi and the matter has been resolved.
Ali's counsel also told the court that he had already moved an application for withdrawing the criminal defamation complaint filed by his client against Naqvi earlier this year.
"Keeping in view the settlement arrived at between the parties....the present complaint is withdrawn as settled," the magistrate said, adding, "accused (Naqvi ) is accordingly acquitted".
BJP leader Naqvi was inducted into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's council of ministers on November 9 as minister of state for minority affairs and parliamentary affairs.
The court had earlier summoned Naqvi as accused, saying "prima facie" there was evidence and sufficient ground to proceed against him for the alleged offence of defaming Ali.
Ali, in his complaint, had alleged that Naqvi had termed him as a friend of suspected terrorist Bhatkal in March and the story was circulated and telecast in India as well as abroad through social media as well as various newspapers and channels.
10:53 Chinese troops training Pakistan Army near India border
Indian security agencies have learnt that Chinese troops are training Pakistan Army personnel right across the Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chinese troops, according to a report submitted by the BSF intelligence wing, have been seen training Pak armymen in "weapon handling" techniques bang opposite Rajouri sector of International border.
The report said these military manoeuvres were being conducted at forward defence locations of Pakistan which are usually manned by border guarding personnel -- the Pak Rangers.
Preliminary inputs analysed by BSF also showed some Pak army units have taken over paramilitary posts of Rangers opposite Sriganganagar sector.
BSF also found a handful of new observation towers have also been set up by Pakistan in recent past along Abohar and Gurdaspur sectors in Punjab.
Read more HERE
10:42 Amritanandamayi to meet Pope Francis next month
Indian spiritual leader Mata Amritanandamayi Devi will be meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican next month.
A spokesperson at the Mata Amritanandamayi Math confirmed that the supreme head of the Catholic Church has invited Amritanandamayi, known popularly as the 'Amma', or 'mother', to Rome this December.
"The details of attendees and the topic for the closed discussion will be announced at a later date," the spokesperson said from Amritapuri at Vallikavu near Kollam in Kerala.
The Mata said that the invitation was a great honour.
"Opportunities for religious leaders to come together can help spread the fragrance of peace and harmony throughout the world and can generate solutions to global problems," she said.
The Mata, also known as 'the hugging saint', has a large following the world over cutting across religious barriers. She is also a humanitarian icon, having initiated several charitable programmes to help the poor and needy within and outside India
10:12 Quake measuring 7.3 rocks Indonesia, tsunami warning issued
A 7.3-magnitude earthquake under the Molucca Sea in eastern Indonesia has triggered a tsunami warning.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was a possibility of "hazardous" waves up to one metre (3.3ft) high on coasts within a 300km (186 mile) radius of the quake.
It struck at a depth of 46km northwest of Kota Ternate in the Maluku islands, according to the US Geological Survey.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
Aside from Indonesia, tsunamis could reach the Philippines, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and parts of Japan and Taiwan, the warning centre said.
The first tsunami waves could arrive within the next six hours, it said, warning that "the initial wave may not be the largest".
Shortly after the first quake, another measuring 6.2 was monitored off the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, the US Geological Survey said.
Indonesia lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" plate boundaries, and is prone to frequent earthquakes.
10:11 PM Modi makes G-20 debut
The inauguration meet of the G-20 Summit has started with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the same, thereby, joining in the ranks with leaders from 20 nations around the world in Brisbane on Saturday.
Earlier in the morning, Prime Minister Modi had an informal meeting with leaders from BRICS, where he made a strong pitch for repatriation of unaccounted money stashed abroad as key priority for India. He also linked the unaccounted money with security challenges.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Modi attended a dinner hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the margins of the G-20 Summit. Besides, he also met EU President Herman Van Rompuy and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Prime Minister Modi had also paid a visit at Queensland University of Technology.
After attending the G-20 Summit in Brisbane , Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to travel to Sydney, where he will attend a community reception and address the Indian Diaspora.
10:10 Modi greets people of Jharkhand on state's foundation day
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently on an official visit to Australia to participate in the G-20 Summit and have bilateral discussions with his Australian counterpart Tony Abbot, on Saturday greeted the people of Jharkhand on the occasion of the state's 14th Foundation Day.
"PM @narendramodi has conveyed his greetings and best wishes to the people of Jharkhand on the State's foundation day," said PMO's twitter handle.
Jharkhand came into existence as the 28th state of India on this day in the year 2000.
Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is presently in power in Jharkhand.
09:29 Repatriation of black money a priority for us: Modi to BRICS leaders
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday unequivocally said that repatriation of black money kept abroad is a "priority" for his government, as he sought close global coordination to achieve this objective.
Raising the black money issue at an informal meeting of leaders of the five-nation BRICS bloc, Modi set the tone on this key issue ahead of the G20 summit in the wake of his commitment to bring back every penny of black money stashed abroad.
"Repatriation of black money kept abroad is a key priority for us," Modi told the BRICS leaders.
Calling for close coordination on the issue of black money kept abroad, Modi also said this unaccounted money is also linked to security challenges.
As India makes attempts to retrieve the black money, the prime minister has already made it clear that close cooperation to retrieve the black money from abroad is a key issue for him.
The G20 host Australia on Friday vowed a "very aggressive" crackdown on tax avoidance. India is also seeking strong action by the Group of 20 industrialised and emerging economies against tax havens.
09:26 Chhattisgarh sterilisation tragedy: Rahul Gandhi to visit Bilaspur today
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit the families of the victims of the botched sterilisation surgery in Bilaspur on Saturday which left 13 women dead and over 138 ill.
He is also expected to take stock of corrective measures undertaken by the state government after the tragedy.
The state government has formed a probe panel under a retired judge to investigate the incident which took place in the medical camp.
They will submit a report in the matter within three months.
The tragedy took place after 83 women underwent sterilisation surgery at Nemichand Jain Cancer and Research Centre at Pendari village on November 8. Around 56 women underwent surgeries at three different camps in Pendra block on November 10.
09:25 Karnataka govt orders probe into alleged forced sex in jail
The Karnataka government has directed the Department of Child and Women's Welfare officials to probe reports that women inmates of the central prison in Bengaluru were being pushed into "forced sex" with male convicts within its complex.
The officials had been asked to submit the report in the next 15 days after which the government would take action if the prison officials are found guilty, Home Minister KJ George told reporters here.
The government action came in the wake of a media report that some jail wardens at the Parapana Agrahara Central Prison here allegedly force women convicts to have sex after charging Rs 300 or Rs 500 from the male inmates.
According to the report, the matter came to light after a judge received two letters written by a group of women jail inmates which he forwarded to the Karnataka High Court Chief Justice DH Waghela for action.
The letters sought Chief Justice's intervention to end the exploitation of women inmates who had also reportedly named wardens and official involved and claimed that the wardens threaten to spoil their chances of parole by complaining to their superiors about their "misconduct".
09:24 Nikki Haley to pray at Golden Temple in Amritsar today
Nikki Haley, the first Indian-American governor of South Carolina state in the US, will on Saturday at the Harmandar Sahib, popularly known as Golden Temple, the holiest of all Sikh shrines.
She will also visit Jallianwala Bagh ground and Guru Nanak Dev University today.
Haley arrived in this Sikh holy city last evening.
Her father Ajit Singh Randhawa is a Sikh.
Haley, whose father's family used to live in Amritsar's Verka suburb till the early 60s before migrating to the US, is visiting her family's home state in nearly four decades.
Born in 1972, Nikki last came to Amritsar, 250 km from Chandigarh, as a two-year-old.
Relatives of Nikki Haley, who was Nimrata Randhawa before her marriage, celebrated in Verka when she became the South Carolina governor for the first time in November 2010.
Haley was re-elected governor of South Carolina recently.
Haley is on a 10-day trip to India during which she will visit New Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh and Amritsar to seek investment in her state.
09:23 Godhara riots: Nanavati panel may submit final report to govt today
The final report of the Justice Nanavati Commission probing the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat is likely on Saturday.
Justice GT Nanavati had earlier said that the final report is ready and will be submitted to the government today.
"There is no need to seek a 25th extension, because our final report is ready. It is now being printed and will come to us in a few days. We will submit it to government by November 15," Justice Nanavati told PTI.
In 2008, the inquiry panel had submitted one part of its finding about the Godhra train burning incident, in which it had concluded that burning of the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station was a "planned conspiracy".
The panel had been constituted by the Gujarat state government on March 3, 2002, under the Commission of Inquiry Act comprising Justice K G Shah in the wake of the Godhra train carnage on February 27, 2002 and the subsequent communal riots across the state.
09:00 Alaska's most active volcano starts erupting
Alaska's most active volcano is spitting lava into the air and producing an ash cloud at low elevations.
The 8,262-foot (2,518-meter) Pavlof Volcano started erupting this week in a relatively uninhabited area of the Alaska Peninsula, about 625 miles (1,000 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage. The closest community is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) away.
Observers reported seeing dark snow on the surface of the volcano Wednesday, indicating an eruption has started. The eruption intensified that afternoon and continued yesterday.
An ash cloud from the volcano extends about 125 miles (200 kilometers), but at a relatively low altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,900 meters).
The Alaska Volcano Observatory says the eruption could continue for days, weeks or months.
The volcano has had more than 40 eruptions this year and last.
04:23
Nigeria insurgents retake village of abducted schoolgirls: Boko Haram insurgents have retaken the village of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria where the group abducted some 200 schoolgirls seven months ago, a lawmaker and a villager who fled the attack said on Friday.
Boko Haram, which is trying to carve out a caliphate in religiously mixed northern Nigeria, has stepped up attacks since it rejected a ceasefire announced last month by the government.
03:49 Namibia to be Africa's first to use e-voting
In a first for Africa, Namibians will cast their ballots electronically in this month's presidential and legislative polls, the election commission said today. Over 1 million voters, or just about half of the nation's 2.3 million people, are due to vote on November 28.
03:49 6 dead in 'Boko Haram' suicide attack in Nigeria
Six people were killed, including three police, in a suicide bomb attack at a petrol station in northern Nigeria's biggest city Kano, police said, blaming Boko Haram militants.
The blast happened at about 7:30 pm (1830 GMT) yesterday at the Nagarshiku filling station in the Hotoro area of Kano, causing a fire that engulfed the facility and set cars ablaze.
03:49 Microsoft rolls out Skype for web browsers
Microsoft has released a test version of Skype that lets people make Internet calls from web browsers, eliminating the need to install special applications.
"It's perfect if you prefer using the web rather than an app: perhaps you're sitting at a computer that doesn't already have Skype downloaded," Microsoft said in a blog post yesterday.
03:48 Lame-duck Congress becomes Obama's immigration battleground
President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans are turning a lame-duck session of Congress into a battle over immigration, with the legal status of as many as 5 million immigrants, a possible government shutdown and the 2016 presidential race hanging in the balance.
A top Obama adviser, John Podesta, brushed aside the threat of a congressional cutoff of government funding, suggesting the White House wouldn't give in and the gambit would backfire on Republicans."If they want to shut the government down, God love 'em," Podesta said Friday.
02:14 Suspect in student kidnapping pleads not guilty
The man accused of abducting a University of Virginia student who was found dead last month pleaded not guilty today in a Fairfax County courtroom on an unrelated sexual assault charge.
Jesse Matthew, 32, made his first in-person court appearance in Fairfax this morning. He's charged there with attempted capital murder and other counts stemming from a September 2005 attack on a 26-year-old woman in Fairfax City.
01:53 Ebola death toll rises to 5,177: WHO
The World Health Organisation said today that 5,177 people had so far died of Ebola across eight countries, out of a total 14,413 cases of infection, since late December 2013.
On Wednesday, the UN health agency had reported 5,160 deaths and 14,098 cases. WHO has acknowledged though that the number of deaths is likely far higher, given that the fatality rate in the current outbreak is known to be around 70 percent.
01:49 7 Taliban militants killed in Karachi
Seven Pakistani Taliban militants were today killed in an encounter with the police in the country's southern port city of Karachi.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban militants were killed in a poor neighbourhood of Gulshan-e-Buner in the Mangopir area, senior police official Rao Anwar told reporters.
"They were killed in a shootout as they opened heavy fire on the police when they raided a house in Gulshan-e-Buner," Anwar said.
00:41 Libya frees nine Turks detained by army
Libya today released nine Turks who had been captured by the army and handed them over to representatives from Ankara, a government statement said.
The men had been captured by troops in the embattled eastern city of Benghazi, where former general Khalifa Haftar has launched an offensive against Islamist militants.
00:29
Comet lander starts drilling; batteries a worry: The good news: The spacecraft that landed on a comet has begun drilling beneath the surface to see what secrets the celestial body can reveal.
The bad news: Scientists at the European Space Agency still don't know exactly where the lander is on the comet and are anxiously hoping its batteries hold out long enough for them to get the mining data and adjust the spacecraft's position.
It was a race against time Friday for the Philae lander, which on Wednesday became the first spacecraft to touch down on a comet. Since then it has sent astonishing images from the icy, dusty comet, 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and generated some data from instruments such as one that measures temperatures.
00:27 'Ebola wiping out Sierra Leone's post-war gains'
Ebola-hit Sierra Leone faces social and economic disaster as gains made since the country's ruinous civil war are wiped out by the epidemic, according to a major study released today.
Damage to most sectors of the economy will see growth shrink from 20.1 percent last year to just five percent in 2014, the finance ministry and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) found.
00:26 Yahoo Mail disruption sparks social media chatter
Yahoo Mail users took to Twitter to express frustration about disruptions today on the free messaging service.
Website Downrightnow.com, which monitors popular online services, listed the status of Yahoo Mail as experiencing "likely disruption" and displayed a graph indicating it had been down for several hours.
00:20 Top headlines in that last 24 hours
India test-fires nuclear-capable Prithvi-II and Dhanush missiles
PM Modi shown India map without Kashmir at Aus varsity event
Indian sailor released from Somalia: I will go back to sea
'Countries that forget their history cannot have a future'
The house where Nehru lived
India's Sukhoi-30 fighters are back in action
Two militants, civilian killed in encounter in Kashmir
Modi Down Under: PM takes a selfie with students
Smriti Irani is on the AMU students' firing line
Congress calls PM 'pied piper', attacks MoS after Irani
PM Modi shown India map without Kashmir at Aus varsity event
Indian sailor released from Somalia: I will go back to sea
'Countries that forget their history cannot have a future'
The house where Nehru lived
India's Sukhoi-30 fighters are back in action
Two militants, civilian killed in encounter in Kashmir
Modi Down Under: PM takes a selfie with students
Smriti Irani is on the AMU students' firing line
Congress calls PM 'pied piper', attacks MoS after Irani
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