LIVE! Major Shaitan Singh's widow dies

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Sat, 18 April 2015

Major Shaitan Singh's widow dies

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Shagun Kanwar, the wife of Indian Army's iconic war hero of Rezang La Major Shaitan Singh, passed away in her native village Shaitan Singh Nagar here. She was 86.

Kanwar died yesterday afternoon. At her funeral today several Army officials were present.

Among those present at the funeral were Lt General Bobby Mathews, General Officer Commanding of Konark Corps, and Major General A S Chowdhry, General Officer Commanding of Jodhpur Sub Area.

Major Shaitan Singh is the hero of the Battle of Rezang La of the 1962 Sino-India conflict. Major Singh and 114 brave soldiers of Kumaon Regiment had made the supreme sacrifice defending their base on the icy heights of Chushul Sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Read more HERE.

Thousands of people marched in Berlin, Munich and other German cities on Saturday in protest against a planned free trade deal between Europe and the United States that they fear will erode food, labour and environmental standards.

Opposition to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is particularly high in Germany, in part due to rising anti-American sentiment linked to revelations of US spying and fears of digital domination by firms like Google.

Read full story HERE.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Saturday denounced anti-foreigner violence that has left at least six people dead in neighbouring South Africa.

"I would like to express our sense of shock and disgust as we abhor the incident that happened in Durban where some five or six people were burnt to death deliberately by some members of the South African Zulu community," Mugabe said addressing thousands at Zimbabwe's 35th independence anniversary in the capital Harare.

The deadly anti-foreigner attacks, which erupted in the eastern port city of Durban, have spread to the economic hub, Johannesburg and sent more than 1,000 people fleeing the violence.

Read full story HERE.

A 23-year-old man who barricaded himself in his mother's house in a St Louis suburb and spoke of a "black revolution" was shot and killed by police when he rushed at them with a knife, authorities said on Saturday.

His death follows a string of police shootings around the United States, many involving African Americans, that have raised questions about the use of force by law enforcement.

St Louis County police did not say whether the man was black and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Read full story HERE.

South Korean police clashed on Saturday with thousands of protesters, blocking their way to the presidential palace where they hoped to press for more government action in response to a ferry disaster that claimed more than 300 lives a year ago.

The rally on the main ceremonial thoroughfare in downtown Seoul was organised by a group representing families of the victims.

It was the largest in recent weeks as the country marked the first anniversary of the April 16 disaster.

Read full story HERE,

The official teaser trailer of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" arrived online a day after its leak.

Director Zack Snyder released the trailer via Twitter, saying it was "not blurry, not pirated".

Starring Ben Affleck as an older, weary Batman and Henry Cavill as the Superman, the trailer shows off the Caped Crusader as flies and drives through explosions before, armored, staring down Superman and asking him whether or not he bleeds. "You will," promises Batman.

You can view the full trailer HERE.

Twelve persons were injured today when an ONGC's gas well near Olpad town in the district caught fire during a repair operation.

Four of the injured are in a serious condition, fire brigade officials said.

ONGC, later, in a statement said, "While three of them have already been discharged after first aid, all necessary medical treatment is being given to others."

The incident occurred when a blow-out preventer (BOP), which is installed on wells to prevent a fire, was being repaired at a well in OLPAD-31 in Ankleshwar basin, ONGC's Ankleshwar Asset Manager Har Govind told PTI.

The injured, he said, have been rushed to a hospital in Surat.

Four companies and five people have been charged with violating US sanctions on Iran just as American officials are working to use those sanctions to persuade Iran to renounce any ambition to develop nuclear arms.

A 24-count indictment unsealed this week charges that the companies and people involved facilitated the illegal export to Iran of technology that is commonly used in military systems.

They include high-tech microelectronics, uninterruptible power supplies and other goods in violation of US law.

Read full story HERE.

Already under house arrest, chairman of hardline faction of Hurriyat Syed Ali Shah Geelani today threatened to stage a sit-in protest at Partap Park area here tomorrow against killing of a youth in Budgam district.

He also called a shut down in entire Budgam against the killing tomorrow.

"I along with other pro-freedom leaders will stage an hour-long sit-in protest against the incident at Partap Park (in Lal Chowk) at 2 pm tomorrow," Geelani said in a statement.

Two policemen have been arrested in connection with the killing of a youth in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Jammu and Kashmir government had ordered a magisterial probe into the killing of the youth in Budgam district earlier this evening.

The order comes after cops admitted that they violated Standard Operating Procedure, which led to the death of a teenager in Narbal earlier in the day.

Regretting the killing of the youth, the police spokesman added that preliminary enquiry conducted in the matter indicates that the forces deployed have acted in violation of the laid down SOP.

Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front Yasin Malik and social activist Swami Agnivesh have been released from jail. They were held by police while marching towards Narbal where a youngster was killed on Saturday morning.

Agnivesh had joined Malik on Saturday morning in the 30-hour hunger strike against the proposal to create separate settlements for Kashmiri migrant Pandits.

Read full story HERE.

A sub-inspector of Girish Park police station here was critically injured by bomb splinters during a clash allegedly between two political parties soon after voting for the city civic board ended this afternoon.

Police said the SI was rushed to a local hospital where his condition was stated to be critical.

The incident occurred outside a polling booth at a school building of Singhi Bagan area where the SI was on poll duty.

"Bombs were hurled during the clash between two political parties minutes after the end of Kolkata Municipal Corporation poll and the SI was injured by the splinters. We are looking into the incident," a police officer said.

Nobody arrests have been made so far, he said, adding, a huge force of Kolkata Police was looking for persons involved in it.

Body of famed Indian mountaineer Malli Mastan Babu, who was found dead during an expedition in the high mountains of Argentina last month, would reach his native place in Nellore district by April 20.

The mortal remains of the ace climber are expected to arrive at the Chennai airport on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, Andhra Pradesh Information Minister P Raghunatha Reddy said here today.

The body would be taken to his native village Gandhi Jana Sangham from the Chennai airport, he said.

The state government has issued orders to the Nellore district collector to conduct Mastan Babu's funeral with police honours, Reddy said.

Babu, who set a record of scaling seven summits, had left for Argentina towards the end of March, but became untraceable soon. He was later found dead in the high mountains of Argentina.

Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a former top deputy to Saddam Hussein and more recently a key figure in Sunni extremist groups battling the Iraqi government, has been killed in a security operation in that country, Iraqi state-run television reported Friday.

Al-Douri was the highest-ranking member of Hussein's regime to evade capture -- the "King of Clubs" in a deck of playing cards used by American troops to identify the most-wanted regime officials.

He also was a man thought to have led the post-Hussein Sunni extremist group Naqshbandi Army. Military analysis website Globalsecurity.org says the Naqshbandi Army supports ISIS, which has taken over parts of Iraq and Syria.

Al-Douri was killed in an operation by Iraqi security forces and Shia militia members in the Hamrin Mountains between Tikrit and Kirkuk, Iraq, Shia militia commander Hadi al-Ameri said.

Read full story HERE.

17:51 Vikas Swarup takes over as Spokesperson in MEA

Senior diplomat Vikas Swarup, whose debut novel was made into the Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire", today assumed charge as Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry.

A 1986 batch IFS officer, Swarup succeeded Syed Akbaruddin, who has been promoted as Additional Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry and will also be the Chief Coordinator for the India-Africa Summit in October.Both Akbaruddin and Swarup had accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his three-nation tour and returned today.

Swarup is the author of internationally acclaimed novel "Q&A" which was made into "Slumdog Millionaire", which won eight Academy Awards in 2009, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Before assuming charge, Swarup was holding the charge of Joint Secretary (United Nations- Political) in the MEA.

Here's the link to the updated MEA twitter handle.

17:46 ISIS claims blast near US Consulate in Iraq

ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack Friday near the US Consulate in the Kurdish Iraqi city of Irbil, according to several Twitter accounts linked to the terror group.

The US Consulate was the target of the attack, ISIS said.

At least four people were killed and 18 injured, police said.

All U.S. Consulate personnel were safe and accounted for following the explosion, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.

Irbil is the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government.

Read full story HERE.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered a magisterial probe into the killing of the youth in Budgam district.

The order comes after cops admitted that they violated Standard Operating Procedure, which led to the death of a teenager in Narbal earlier in the day.

Regretting the killing of the youth, the police spokesman added that preliminary enquiry conducted in the matter indicates that the forces deployed have acted in violation of the laid down SOP.

Upping the ante against the National Democratic Alliance's land bill, the Congress launched a new website called zameenwapsi.com. On the website, the party says, "The Congress believes that it is essential for the public to be informed on the Land Acquisition Ordinance 2015 and its likely impacts. To remove the smokescreen of misinformation, the Congress has launched this 'Zameen Wapsi' campaign."

At least eight persons were injured when an ONGC's gas well near Surat in Gujarat caught fire during a repair operation. The incident occurred when a blow-out preventer, which is installed on wells to prevent a fire, was being repaired at a well in OLPAD-31 in Ankleshwar basin.

The Delhi police Crime Branch filed a chargesheet in the Petroleum Ministry corporate espionage case. The chargesheet names 13 accused and the court has fixed April 20 for taking its cognizance. Sources said the chargesheet mentions how some documents were fraudulently taken out from the ministries and sold to alleged energy consultants who in turn sold it to the corporate houses. As per the petroleum ministry's declaration eight of the sold documents were classified.

Amidst a raging controversy overa ban on a student e-zine by St Stephen's college, Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal attended a graduation ceremony at the institute, even as a section of students had urged him to turn down the invite in support for freedom of speech.

Devansh Mehta -- the editor and co-founder of St Stephen's Weekly e-zine -- was suspended from the college on disciplinary grounds after he published an interview allegedly without seeking clearance from the principal on its content. He was also stripped off a good conduct award which he was to receive today from Kejriwal.

The CM attended the ceremony,which was made out of bounds for the media. According to the students, Kejriwal asked them to focus on education but at the same time not to take life too seriously and enjoy it to the fullest. He did not broach on the controversy, they said.

15:01 Police exchange fire with Naxals in Bastar

Police today exchanged fire with Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, but no casualties were reported on either side. The encounter took place at Mudenar village under Paknar police limits.

14:34 Gadkari's sister's house in Nagpur robbed

Burglars struck at the house of union minister Nitin Gadkari's sister and decamped with valuables worth Rs 23 lakh, police said. Gadkari's sister Manisha, who is married to solar energy firm owner Kishore Totade, lives in the Pande Layout area of Nagpur where the incident took place yesterday. Totade had gone to Kolkata for some work and was to return last afternoon when Manisha along with their son Shantanu went to the railway station to pick him up, police said.

On returning they found their flat had been broken into, and the burglars had made off with 81 tola of gold (approx one kg), two kg of silver and $1,000 in cash, they said.

Yasin Malik and Swami Agnivesh have been arrested as they tried to march towards Narbal in Jammu and Kashmir. Heavy security has been deployed in the area since morning after Syed Ali Shah Geelani called for a bandh in the area to protest the arrest of Masarat Alam.

Meanwhile, the cops have also admitted that they violated Standard Operating Procedure, which led to the death of a teenager in Narbal earlier in the day. The police has registered a case at Magam station.

Regretting the killing of the youth, the spokesman added that preliminary enquiry conducted in the matter indicates that the forces deployed have acted in violation of the laid down SOP.

The parents of the youngest victim of the Boston Marathon bombing are urging federal authorities to consider taking the death penalty off the table for the man convicted in the case.

Bill and Denise Richard, whose 8-year-old son, Martin, was one of three people killed by the April 2013 explosions at the marathon's finish line, say in a front-page piece in Friday's Boston Globe that sentencing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death "could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives."

Read what Bill and Denise Richard say HERE

Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin will be replaced by Novelist Vikas Swarup today. Before leaving office, the incumbent Akbaruddin, who is promoted to the position of Additional Secretary and will for the time being work as the chief coordinator for the India Africa Forum Summit, scheduled for October, tweeted this image, saying, "Farewell friends. @MEAIndia to be with my colleague Vikas Swarup who, as u can see, is fully in the picture :-)."

Isis has been removed from the official list of names of future hurricanes as it was now deemed inappropriate because of the eponymous militant group, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said.

As the name of an ancient goddess of Egypt, Isis had been on the WMO list of names for hurricanes in the eastern North Pacific in 2016, WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis said. But ISIS is also used to describe the Islamic State militant group, whose forces have captured large swathes of Iraq and Syria and which stands accused by UN war crimes investigators of committing brutal atrocities against civilians.

12:57 Fresh protests in Narbal area, 2 injured

Two people have been injured after violence broke out in the Narbal area in Kashmir after protests intensified. Earlier in the day, a teenager was shot dead by security forces after protesters turned violent and pelted stones at the police personnel.

Tension has gripped the area after people came out on the streets to protest the arrest of separatist leader Masarat Alam.

Authorities placed several separatists, including moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, under house arrest. Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest this morning in view of fresh protests in some parts of the Valley over killing of the two youths in Tral area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district in an army operation on Monday, police officials said.

They said the house arrest of the separatist leaders was a preventive measure for maintaining law and order. Geelani and several other second rung separatist leaders continue to be under house arrest for the second consecutive day today, the officials said.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed strongly came out in support of Kashmiri separatists and admitted that his organisation is backing the Pakistan Army wage jihad in the valley.

During a TV interview, Hafiz said, "If India is not ready to give their rights and if they fire then jihad is the only way. Pakistan has always taken a stand that it is the right of a Kashmiri to get azadi. So, we say whenever our army takes a stand on helping the Kashmiris then we stand by the forces." He said, "We help Kashmiris with Pakistan, Pakistan government and Pakistan army and that we call it jihad."

The Congress has distanced itself from the remarks of Anand Sharma's trailing PM on foreign tours remark. On Friday, Sharma attacked PM Modi for saying that he had inherited a 'scam India' during his visit to Toronto.

However, Congress has distanced themselves from the remark because, according to sources, if the BJP decided to trail Sonia, Rahul or Priyanka on their foreign jaunts, it would cause the party further harm. Furthermore, it is learnt that Rahul sent word to Sharma, asking him not to lose his temper and keep calm.

11:54

JUST IN: Kolkata civic polls: 36.4 per cent polling till 11 am.

11:47 Obamas Nobel no longer undeserved

In 2009, when the Norwegian Nobel Committee decided that the Nobel Peace Prize was to be awarded to US President Barack Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples", and within the first year of his election as the American president, no one, not even the recipient himself, thought that he deserved it.

None of his past acts will match his recent, path-breaking moves towards Myanmar, Cuba and Iran. All American soldiers have not come home from Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, but the image of the United States today is of a restrained and reasonable power, and not of a Don Quixote tilting at windmills. Obama is now looking more like a Nobel Laureate than he did in 2009.

Read the full report HERE

Back in the country after a 56 day sabbatical, Rahul Gandhi is back to work and is meeting with a farmers delegation ahead of Sunday's high voltage rally against the controversial land bill.

The Congress vice president will hold intensive consultations with farmers as he is expected to lead the Congress' charge on the land bill issue against the government with the Kisan rally on Sunday.

Other senior Congress leaders such as Madhusudan Mistry, Sachin Pilot and PC Chacko are also present at the meeting today.

"Old leaves fall, new ones grow. Time for our retirement has come. It is the era of youth," Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said after Rahul Gandhi came back ending his sabbatical amid talk of his possible elevation as Congress president.

"It is the era of youths. Time for our retirement has come. It is nature's law. Old leaves ripen and then fall. New leaves then grow. Youth is the flavour of the season. The leadership of youths will come and will lead the country. Our success is in the success of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. All party workers are fighting under the leadership of Sonia and Rahul,' Singh said.

10:18 Yogendra Yadav calls showcause notice a 'JOKE'

After the Aam Aadmi Party issued a showcause notice to Yogendra Yadav, the senior party leader has slammed it calling it a joke. In a series of tweets, Yadav said, "Got the showcause notice from the disciplinary committee at midnight. The complainants and witnesses are themselves judges! Its a joke! Sources leaked content of my notice even before I received it. And the notice charges me with leaking news.

Read his full post HERE.

09:54 No more carrots, only sticks

The release from detention of Lashkar-e-Tayiba operations chief Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Pakistan's failure to prosecute him for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks is a travesty of justice. It is particularly galling when contrasted with the rapid proceedings against Shakil Afridi, the physician who helped US intelligence agencies find Osama bin Laden.

Read more HERE

09:40

JUST IN: 2 bomb blasts in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan

09:16 The PM and I

Here's a fun image. Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweets this image with the caption 'Last day at work usually provides rare opportunities. In my case, a selfie with an indulgent PM.'

Srinagar bore a deserted look after Hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani called for a shutdown to protest separatist leader Masarat Alam's arrest. Shops and other establishments were shut and heavy security was witnessed in the area.

Geelani made the bandh call soon after a Jammu and Kashmir court sent Kashmiri separatist Alam to seven days in police remand. Alam was arrested on Friday amidst mounting outrage over raising of pro-Pakistan slogans and flags at a rally attended by him on Wednesday.

Recent satellite images published on Thursday show China has made rapid progress in building an airstrip suitable for military use in contested territory in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands and may be planning another, moves that have been greeted with concern in the United States and Asia.

IHS Jane's Defense Weekly said March 23 images from Airbus Defence and Space showed work on the runway on reclaimed parts of Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly archipelago, which China contests with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

It said images from earlier in March showed reclamation work on Subu Reef in the Spratlys creating landmasses that, if joined together, could create space for another 3,000-meter airstrip.

Ezzat Ibrahim al-Douri, former right-hand man to late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and a leader of Iraq's Sunni insurgency, has been reported killed by Iraqi forces and Shi'ite militias.

Douri was killed in a military operation, Raed al-Jubouri, the governor of Salahuddin province, told Reuters. The pan-Arab television network al-Arabiya showed images of a dead man who looked like al-Douri.

Baghdad has mistakenly announced al-Douri's death several times before, but this time photos are circulating showing a man with features and red hair like his. Al-Jubouri told Reuters DNA from the body would be tested and results released "very soon".

His killing, if confirmed, would be a big blow to the Sunni insurgency, an alliance of former Baathist officers and Islamic State.

02:25 Anderson breaks Botham's English wicket record

James Anderson became the leading wicket-taker in English Test cricket history, dismissing West Indies captain Denesh Ramdin after tea on the final day of the first Test at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday.

Having drawn level with the previous standard of 383 wickets set by flamboyant former all-rounder Sir Ian Botham earlier in the day when he dismissed Marlon Samuels, Anderson ended a period of growing frustration for himself and his team by having Ramdin caught by his England counterpart, Alastair Cook, at first slip.

That saw him reach 384 victims in what was already a celebratory 100th Test for the 32-year-old seam bowler.

Deesha Dyer, a former music and hip-hop culture writer, has been selected as President Obamas new social secretary, overseeing the parties and public events held almost daily at the White House.

Dyer, 37, who spent the past two years as the deputy social secretary, will fill the position to be vacated by Jeremy Bernard, the first man and the first openly gay person to serve in that role.

By choosing Dyer, the White House is drawing from a group of people who have been working for the Obamas since early in the administration.

Facebook today said that its war against fake likes is paying off so well that many 'bad actors' who built businesses on the tactic are closing shop.

Advances in technology for recognizing suspicious patterns of likes has enabled the social network to block such activity by malicious software, fraudulent accounts, and click farm operations that employ armies of low-paid workers.

"We continue to adapt and improve the methods we use to prevent fake likes because scammers are constantly evolving and testing new methods to try to get around our spam prevention systems," Facebook site security engineer H Kerem Cevahir said in a blog post.

"This work has made it extremely difficult for the people selling fraudulent likes to actually deliver their promised likes to paying customers."

During the past six months, Facebook has tripled the number of seemingly bogus likes detected and blocked before reaching pages, according to Cevahir.

He credited the campaign with causing a large number of vendors hawking inauthentic likes to go out of business.

Facebook also removes fake likes from pages at the social network, notifying account administrators to the actions.

02:19 Top headlines at this hour

Smith, McCullum lift CSK to victory as Mumbai's losing run continues

'We would have gone to war with Pak after Parliament attack, but...'

Karnataka bandh on Saturday over Cauvery row

Clashes in Kashmir over Tral killings, Masarat's arrest

Relief for St Stephen's student after HC stays suspension order

Taxpayers have to disclose bank accounts, foreign travel to I-T

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