LIVE! All flights to resume from Chennai airport on Tuesday

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Sun, 06 December 2015

All flights to resume from Chennai airport on Tuesday

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20:54 NSA meeting 'grand betrayal' by Modi govt: Cong

Congress today termed the secret meeting of National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan in Bangkok as a "grand betrayal" of the Modi government and reflection of "flip-flops" over its Pakistan policy.

"It's a grand betrayal. It's a betrayal of everything that this government has ostensibly, publicly espoused," Congress leader Manish Tewari said.

Asked about the meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Janjua in Bangkok, Tewari said this is absolutely "crowning glory" after two sides had engaged in mutual blame game earlier resulting in cancellation of talks.

"If you look at the track record of this government over the past 18 months, their Pakistan policy has been an extravaganza, a summersault, flip-flops and 180-degree U-turns and this is absolutely the crowning glory," he said.

After the verbal calisthenics that one witnessed between the foreign minister and the then NSA of Pakistan Sartaz Aziz, now suddenly without any provocation, without explaining to the country as to what has changed between September, 2015 and December 2015, the government decides to re-engage and that too in Bangkok, he said.

Tewari said if the talks were so essential, government should have explained the rationale behind it and held it either in New Delhi or Islamabad.

All domestic and international flights from Chennai, both day and night, will resume from Tuesday morning after partial day-time services operated on Sunday.

"....availability of Chennai airport for all weather day and night operations for all flights for which domestic and international terminals will be available from 6 am of 7.12.2015," an Airport Authority of India statement said in Chennai late Sunday evening.

This followed an inspection by DGCA for night operations, an AAI spokesman said.

The airport was shut down last Tuesday night after heavy downpour flooded the runway and all other operating areas.

After a review, technical and ferry flights were allowed from yesterday and the AAI had permitted day-time flights to operate from Sunday.

An Air India passenger aircraft to Port Blair was the first flight to take off on Sunday morning.

Altogether five passenger flights, all of Air India, took off from or landed at Chennai Airport till 5 pm on Sunday. An Oman Air plane stranded at the Chennai airport departed for Muscat with two crew.

BSP supremo Mayawati today hit out at the NDA government accusing it of having an anti-Dalit mentality as "indecorous" remarks made against the community by those holding high offices are ignored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

She also attacked "communal forces" for "demolishing the Babri Mosque" this day in 1992 which coincides with the death anniversary of B R Ambedkar.

"Like the previous Congress government, the present BJP government has done nothing concrete for the followers of Baba Saheb but has only made hollow statements," Mayawati said in a statement issued on the death anniversary of Ambedkar.

She said while on the one hand Parliament is discussing commitment towards the Constitution to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Ambedkar, Ministers, Governors and other leaders of the Narendra Modi government are insulting Dalits and backwards from the minority community.

"There is a marked difference in what the Modi government practices and preaches," she said in remarks which are seen as an attempt to consolidate the Dalit-Muslim vote ahead of Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh in 2017.

She said the present dispensation is the "first government at the Centre where the Ministers seem to be out of control and making irresponsible and indecorous remarks against ignored Dalits and Muslims."

She pointed out that the BSP is at the forefront in slamming Union Minister V K Singh in the Rajya Sabha for his alleged dog analogy.

Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed has slammed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for holding a meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during the Paris climate change conference.

"Nawaz Sharif should not have met with Narendra Modi and exchanged smiles with him in Paris. It has hurt the sentiments of the Kashmiri Muslims," Saeed said at a seminar titled 'Kashmir Issue and Rise of Hindu Extremism in India' at the Lahore High Court here on December 2 organised by the Pakistan Justice Party.

He said Sharif should sever relations with India till resolution of the Kashmir issue.

"Nawaz Sharif should announce that there will be no talks with India till it ends atrocities against Kashmiri and Indian Muslims," he said adding that till the resolution of the Kashmir dispute there should be no trade, no cricket and no talks with India.

Saeed said "When they are not in power they talk about the oppressed Kashmiri people as if they are the champion of the Kashmir cause. But when they are in power they forget them".

The Islamic State terror group has threatened Britain with suicide bombings in a new video released as British MPs voted to extend airstrikes to Syria earlier this week.

"The revenge has started and the blood will flow. France was the beginning," warns the propaganda video released on Wednesday, the day MPs voted to extend airstrikes to Syria.

In the footage, a fighter wielding an AK-47 and wearing an explosives belt praises the Paris attackers, who murdered 130 people, as "martyrdom-seeking lions who stormed the capital of France", 'The Sunday Times' reported.

Speaking in English, the fighter tells members of the anti-ISIS coalition in Syria and Iraq to back off or "there will be no safety in this world from our guns, from our bullets and from our explosives".

Meanwhile, counter-terrorist police in the West Midlands said this weekend that they are examining links between Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the ringleader of the Paris attacks, and potential associates in Birmingham.

This follows reports that "several people" from the city are suspected of being in contact with Abaaoud, a Belgian-Moroccan, and his gang before the Paris massacre on November 13.

UP minister Azam Khan today stoked a fresh controversy by demanding that RSS be declared a "terrorist" organisation, accusing it of planning riots and having orchestrated them, drawing a sharp reaction from BJP.

"They have orchestrated many riots and many others have been planned. RSS should be declared a terrorist organisation," Khan said in Rampur, UP.

Hitting back at Khan, BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said when Prime Ministers like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi could not harm RSS, then people like him were of little worth.

"It's just an effort to create communal tension, appease a section of people and cover up the failures of the Uttar Pradesh government." he said.

He said Khan, Samajwadi Party and Congress suffered from "RSS-phobia" and their rants against it have made no difference to the "nationalist" organisation.

Khan had earlier sparked a row by accusing Jama Masjid's Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari of being hand-in-glove with Hindu outfits which were "silent" on his son's marriage to a Hindu though they were vociferously raising the issue of "love jihad".

M I Khan reports: A priceless 2600-year-old idol of Lord Mahavira, weighing 250 kg which was stolen from a Jain Temple nine days ago, was recovered on Sunday from a village in Bihar's Jamui district, a senior police official said.

"We have recovered the 250-kg Lord Mahavira Idol from Bichhwe village at around 6.00 am," Bhagalpur Zone Inspector General of Police (IG), Bacchu Singh Meena informed from Jamui where he has been camping for more than a week to supervise operation for recovery of the precious idol.

He said that the gang involved in the theft had called the police through one of its men informing them about the idol lying in a field in Bicchwe village. Policemen reached the spot and recovered the idol this morning.

Meena said that the thieves had planned to dispose of the idol to prospective buyers, but could not do so due to the mounting pressure from investigators as a result of which they were left with no option but to abandon it.

No arrest has been made as yet as more evidence was being collected against the gang, he said.

The idol made of black stone was stolen from a Jain temple in a village in Jamui district on November 27. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had spoken to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and enquired about the matter.

The chief minister had initially ordered a high-level probe by senior police officials before recommending a CBI probe into the incident. Kumar has lauded the Bihar police for rocovering the idol.

In a sudden breakthrough, National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan held talks in Bangkok on Sunday on a wide gamut of bilateral ties including terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir, and agreed to take forward the "constructive" engagement.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Janjua also discussed peace and security and other issues including tranquility along the LoC.

After the talks, the two sides issued a joint press statement which said, "Pursuant to the meeting of the prime ministers of India and Pakistan in Paris, the NSAs, accompanied by the Foreign Secretaries, met in Bangkok on Sunday.

"Discussions were held in a candid, cordial and constructive atmosphere. They were guided by the vision of the two leaders for a peaceful stable and prosperous South Asia.

"Discussions covered peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, and other issues, including tranquility along the LoC. It was agreed to carry forward the constructive engagement."

After remaining at loggerheads with the government over ban on Maggi noodles, Nestle India was today listed among the top suppliers of food and beverage products for people affected by heavy rains in Chennai.

Among other products, Nestle has also supplied the 'two-minute' Maggi noodles to the Tamil Nadu government towards the relief operations.

In a statement, Minister for Food Processing Industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that the industry should ensure that there is no shortage of milk, packaged food articles and bottled water for the people of Chennai.

"It is time to stand up and make exemplary contribution for the flood affected people of Chennai who have been patronizing food brands and products manufactured by the industry," she said.

The Food Processing Industries Ministry said it is coordinating with all food processing companies for supply of packaged milk, packaged food and bottled water and also listed out names of eight companies who have made available supplies of food and beverage products to the Tamil Nadu government at Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.

17:54 Anand draws with Aronian

Former world champion Viswanathan Anand came out unscathed with his first black game and got an easy draw against Levon Aronian of Armenia in the second round of the London Chess Classic, the final leg of the Grand Chess tour, in London.

With his second draw in as many games, Anand took his tally to one point out of a possible two and still has four white games remaining out of the last seven rounds. The Indian ace will meet reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the third round.

It turned out to be a very quiet day in the Classic as all five games ended in draws. There was little action in the drawn encounter between Anish Giri of Holland and Michael Adams of England.

Carlsen tried for a long time but American Faiano Caruana maintained his calm through a difficult yet precise defence while Alexander Grischuk of Russia held his forte together against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria.

A Sikh youth allegedly tried to attack and hurled abuses at senior Congress leader and 1984-riots accused Jagdish Tytler at a marriage function in South Delhi's Chattarpur area.

Tytler escaped unhurt and the accused was arrested.

23-year-old Sehaj Umang Bhatia allegedly threw a piece of glass at Tytler and abused him during the function at a farm house in Mehrauli on Saturday night.

"Tytler was here to attend a wedding last night when Sehaj Umang Singh Bhatia threw a piece of glass at him and hurled abuses. Tytler was, however, not hit and was escorted to his vehicle safely," a senior police official said.

"The accused has been arrested and is being questioned," he added.

The attack comes a day after a Delhi court refused to accept the closure report and directed the CBI to conduct further investigation into the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case against Tytler.

Charging the BJP and RSS with using Lord Ram's name as a political tool for electoral dividends, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today dared the Sangh Parivar to announce the date for construction of a grand Ram Temple at Ayodhya if it was serious about it.

"Neither BJP nor RSS have faith in Lord Rama and they only want to use (the name of) the deity as a political tool from time to time for electoral benefits which is not acceptable to the people any longer," he told reporters on the sidelines of a function held as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of B R Ambedkar.

Kumar accused the Sangh Parivar of stoking religious sentiments of the people as part of its 'political line' so that the Ram Temple issue should remain alive for political benefits.

In the present case, the temple issue has been raked up as the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls are close by, the chief minister said.

Slamming BJP and RSS for its slogan 'Ram Lala Hum Aayenge, Mandir Wahin Banayenge' with his own punchline 'tarikh nahin batayenge', he said now that the people were demanding announcement of the date for the temple construction, BJP and RSS should come up with the specific date from when it will start at Ayodhya.

A car bomb claimed by the Islamic State group today killed the governor of Yemen's second city Aden, a day after a visit by the UN's envoy to press for long-delayed peace talks.

A statement posted on Twitter by the jihadist group said it was behind a blast that hit the convoy of Jaafar Saad in the Tawahi neighbourhood of the major port city, killing him and eight of his bodyguards.

In a statement carried by the official Saba news agency, the head of security in Aden General Mohamed Mussad confirmed Saad's death and said six of his guards were also killed.

Images circulated on social media after the attack showed a wrecked car on fire on a main road in the city.

Saad was only recently appointed governor and was known to be close to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who returned to Aden last month after several months in exile in Riyadh.

Pro-Hadi forces, aided by a Saudi-led coalition, have battled Iran-backed rebels in Yemen since March, after the insurgents overran the capital Sanaa and advanced south, forcing the government to flee to Saudi Arabia.

Fighting between the Huthi rebels and loyalist forces has plunged the impoverished nation into chaos, which jihadist groups have exploited to make sweeping gains, particularly in southern regions.

Canada has sent the first uranium consignment of 250 tonnes to India for its nuclear power reactors, over two years after the civil nuclear deal signed between the two countries came into force.

"The first lot of 250 tonnes of Canadian uranium has been received in India," a senior government official said.

In April, Cameco signed a uranium supply contract with India after the nuclear cooperation agreement between Canada and India came into force in September 2013.

According to the Canadian government, the contract to supply 7.1 million pounds of uranium concentrate (about 2,730 tonnes uranium) to India's Department of Atomic Energy was worth around Canadian Dollars 350 million ($262 million or Rs 1,746 crore).

The government of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan yesterday said the shipment consists of uranium mined and milled at Cameo's McArthur River and Key Lake operations in northern Saskatchewan.

Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall said, "India has just received its first shipment of Saskatchewan uranium under the Canada-India nuclear cooperation agreement, and today we mark the economic milestone for our uranium mining industry and our province."

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is likely to do some 'plain talking' on cross border terrorism by Pakistan and articulate India's stand on the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East during a crucial meeting with his American counterpart Ashton Carter this week.

Top Defence sources said Parrikar, at the meeting on December 9 and 10, will "plainly" tell the US that its policy of engaging Pakistan was not working.

Parrikar will also be telling Carter that the American military and foreign policy in the Middle-East and Afghanistan "are not very sound" and not working properly, sources said.

Parrikar, who is already in the US on his maiden visit as defence minister, will also express his concern over Islamabad's "threat" to use tactical nuclear weapons against India.

Parrikar's visit comes against the backdrop of reported US plans to sell eight F-16 fighters and 15 Bell AH 1Z Viper attack helicopters to Pakistan.

He is also likely to articulate India's stand on this.

The Afghan Taliban have released an audio message purportedly from leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, vehemently rejecting reports that he was killed in an internal firefight as "enemy propaganda".

"There is no truth to the rumours that I was injured or killed in Kuchlak (near Quetta in Pakistan)," said the more than 16-minute long audio file, emailed to media by a Taliban spokesman.

"This is enemy propaganda... I haven't seen Kuchlak in years." Afghan intelligence officials and multiple insurgent sources had claimed that Mansour had been seriously injured in a heavy exchange of fire at a gathering of militant commanders on Tuesday.

Speculation about Mansour's fate reached a fever pitch after unconfirmed media reports on Friday claimed that he had died.

Vehement denials by the Islamist group of any shootout fell on sceptical ears, especially after they kept the death of longtime chief Mullah Omar secret for two years.

Mansour was declared Taliban leader on July 31 after the insurgents confirmed the death of Omar, who led the Islamist movement for about two decades.

13:06 Did you know 10 patients die daily at AIIMS?

More than ten patients die daily on an average at the country's premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, according to data provided by the health ministry.

As much as 4,432 patients were reported to have died in 2012-13, 4302 in 2013-14, 4467 in 2014-15 and till October this year, 2802 deaths were registered at the institute.

Health Ministry officials said the institute is catering to a large number of patients from across the country on a daily basis, who are often referred to the hospital at critical stages.

AIIMS attends to more than 8,000 patients every day in its OPDs while casualty is visited by about 400 critical patients everyday.

The maximum number of deaths were reported from departments like gastroentrology where 536, 448, 403 and 223 people died in 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively, and Jai Prakash Narayan Trauma Center which registered 631, 624, 544 and 472 deaths during the same period.

13:04 PM releases commemorative coins on Ambedkar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today released two commemorative coins of Rs 125 and Rs 10 denomination as part of the 125th birth anniversary year celebrations of B R Ambedkar.

The coins were issued on his death anniversary, which is being observed as "Mahaparinirvan Divas of Babasaheb Ambedkar".

Addressing a gathering at his residence, the prime minister said that there were only a few individuals who remain alive in public consciousness, even 60 years after their death.

He said the more one recalls Ambedkar's thoughts, in the context of issues currently faced by India, "the more we come to respect his vision and his approach to inclusiveness".

The prime minister said that while his contributions towards social justice have been recognised, his economic thoughts and vision are still not fully understood, and these need to be appreciated.

Modi said Ambedkar and the Constitution of India should always be discussed and talked about in this country, and the observance of Constitution Day on November 26, was a step in that direction.

Services like telephony, dining out and banking will get dearer if the recommendations made by the GST panel on the proposed nationwide uniform taxation are accepted as the tax rate will increase to 17-18 per cent from 14.5 per cent at present, experts said.

A finance ministry panel headed by CEA Arvind Subramanian has suggested a 'standard rate' of 17-18 per cent on bulk of the goods and services for the entire country.

According to Deloitte (India) Senior Director Saloni Roy: "Services will see rise in prices as the tax rate will suddenly increase from 14 per cent to 17-18 per cent when the GST is implemented."

The government plans to roll out Goods and Services Tax from April 1. A Constitution Amendment Bill is currently stuck in Rajya Sabha.

The Service Tax was introduced at 5 per cent in 1994 on limited number of services, she said, adding the tax rate has gradually increased to 14 per cent and now covers almost of all services with few exceptions.

In the last Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley increased the Service Tax to 14 per cent from 12.36 per cent. Presently the incidence of Service Tax is 14.5 per cent after including Swachh Bharat cess of 0.5 per cent.

There is no clarity whether the Swachh Bharat cess would be subsumed in the GST or it would be levied over and above the standard rate.

12:10 Delhi to have all-women PCR vans soon

For the first time, national capital New Delhi will have 'all-women PCR vans' plying in certain zones, with the department selecting eight female constables as drivers of patrol vehicles.

The initiative is likely to be launched by next month and areas around India Gate and south Delhi's Vasant Kunj have been chosen for running the pilot project, said a senior police official.

Later, all-women Police Control Room vans can be operated in other zones, including the Delhi University area, based on a thorough analysis of the report prepared after the pilot period, said the official.

"Also, the task of the all-women PCR units will not be confined to keeping check on instances of eve-teasing, harassment, molestation and other form of assaults on women. They shall have to attend to all kind of distress calls," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (PCR) R K Singh.

The eight women selected as drivers and a few others who could not make it had applied for the position voluntarily. The selection was done on the basis of the result of a series of tests, said a senior police official.

A squad of about 300 special Central Industrial Security Force commandos has taken over the security of a large Tata Steel manufacturing facility in coastal Odisha, making it the 7th private sector concern in the country to get armed cover by the paramilitary force to ward off terror threats.

The CISF combat unit was inducted at the Kalinganagar-based facility of the steel giant earlier this week following approval of the Union Home Ministry.

The squad will be functioning on a Quick Reaction Team pattern and the SUV-borne commandos will patrol the periphery and interiors of the facility armed with weapons like AK-47s and Glock pistols.

"About 300 commandos led by a Deputy Commandant-rank officer have taken charge at the facility. They will be providing QRT cover on a 24X7 basis and they have been thoroughly trained in countering any security related challenge," CISF Inspector General (Eastern sector) R R Sahay told PTI.

The Kalinganagar project is being established in two modules of three million tonnes each in Jajpur district of the state.

This is only the seventh private sector deployment for the CISF after the force was empowered to take up duties in the non-government domain in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

12:05 Sarita, Shiva, Devendro win in China

Asian Games bronze-medallist L Sarita Devi (60kg) returned to competitive boxing after her one-year ban with a resounding victory in the opening contest of the training-cum-competition assignment in the Chinese city of Qian'an.

Sarita, who served a one-year ban for her emotional outburst at the Asian Games after a controversial semifinal loss, defeated Mongolia's Sowoderden 3-0.

In fact, the Indian boxers put up a strong show on the opening day of competitions against teams from hosts China, Mongolia, Thailand and Korea.

World Championships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa (56kg) beat Thailoand's Yuttapong Thong Dee 3-0, while Commonwealth Games silver-medallist L Devendro Singh (49kg) notched up a Technical Knockout against China's Yang Yufeng in the third round of his bout.

Another Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Mandeep Jangra (69kg) thrashed Thailand's Nick Fisher 3-0. Asian Championships silver-winner Vikas Krishan(75kg), on the other hand, got the better of another Thai Kh Mr Aphisit 3-0.

The Election Commission wants to purchase nearly 14 lakh new electronic voting machines worth Rs 5511.48 crore against the backdrop of over nine lakh such machines in use nearing end of their 15-year life.

The law ministry has given its "in principle" approval to buy the new EVMs.

In a proposal sent to the Law Ministry, the Commission said 9,30,430 EVMs in use today would become "outdated" between 2015-16 and 2019-20.

It has moved a proposal to buy 13,95,648 new balloting units and 9,30,432 control units at an estimated cost of Rs 5511.48 crore during financial years 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

An EVM consists of a control unit and a balloting unit connected by a five-meter cable.

The control unit is with the presiding officer and the balloting unit is placed inside the voting compartment to allow voters cast their vote by pressing the blue button alongside the name of the candidate of their choice.

12:03 Downpour continues in Chennai

Intermittent rains on Sunday continued to lash Chennai and suburbs, which were limping back to normalcy aided by improved bus, train and communication services.

While the city recorded 21.2 mm of rain, the suburbs have received 21.0 mm in the last the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am, according to MeT authorities.

Rain or thundershowers have been forecast at many places in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Lakshadweep and at a few places over Kerala and south interior Karnataka for Sunday.

In particular, MeT authorities said that coastal Tamil Nadu, including Cuddalore, are likely to receive "heavy to very heavy" rainfall in the next 24-48 hours.

As rains continued on and off, water-logging continued in several localities with some areas like Mudichur, and Oorappakkam, witnessing severe inundation.

Jawaharlal Nehru University, which received maximum number of sexual harassment complaints by any educational institution in Delhi in the last two years, has notified a revamped sexual harassment policy that also includes penalty provisions for false complaints.

According to a Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) report, 101 cases of sexual harassment were reported from various universities in Delhi, barring the Delhi University, since 2013. Of these, about 50 per cent were reported in JNU. The DU had not submitted the list of such cases.

JNU has Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH), a central body which deals with complaints of this nature from across the university departments.

The panel had submitted a draft of the revised rules and procedures in accordance with the 2013 guidelines of the Supreme Court to Vice Chancellor SK Sopory in September this year which has been approved by the varsity's Executive Council.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders today remembered Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar on his 60th death anniversary, which is being observed as 'Mahaparinirvan Diwas'.

Mukherjee, Ansari and Modi offered floral tribute at the Dalit mascot's statue in Parliament House lawns.

"Remembering Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar on his Punya Tithi," Modi posted on Twitter along with a photograph showing him and the Ambedkar's statue.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot among others were also present during the function.

Host of programmes are being organised in different parts of the country to remember Ambedkar.

Babasaheb Ambedkar, principal architect of the Indian Constitution, breathed his last on December 6, 1956. He was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh.

The closure of Chennai airport has been extended till December 8, the Air India said on Saturday even as Airports Authority of India was monitoring the situation to take a decision on resuming normal operations.

"The closure of the Chennai airport has been further extended till 11 am of December 8, 2015," Air India said mentioning it in a statement a statement about its flights to Hyderabad and Port Blair from Chennai.

In the wake of heavy rains and flooding of the runway and nearby operational areas, AAI had closed the airport for normal operations on December 2 till December 6.

00:12 San Bernardino shooters our 'supporters': ISIS

The Islamic State on Saturday hailed the two people who massacred 14 people in Southern California this week as "supporters" of the terror group -- a message that came after US investigators said they suspect one of the shooters professed loyalty to the Islamist network.

The terror group's official Iraq-based station made the declaration days after Wednesday's San Bernardino shooting that also left 21 injured, but -- notable for a group quick to claim attacks -- did not say the couple were members or that ISIS was responsible.

Read this story HERE

00:06 Top headlines of the last 24 hours

Britain carries out second bombing in Syria
Paris attacker visited London, Birmingham
Home ministry statement on rationalists' killing 'misleading': Dabholkar's kin
Chennai residents battle scarcity, high prices
Twin blasts in crowded Guwahati shopping area injures 4
Will stop odd-even scheme if people face difficulty: Kejriwal

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