Live! No India-type nuke agreement with Pakistan: US

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Wed, 16 December 2015

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23:54 No India-type nuke agreement with Pakistan: US

The Obama Administration today ruled out any India-type nuclear agreement with Pakistan as top American lawmakers expressed serious concerns over the growing Pakistani nuclear arsenal.

"We are not negotiating a 123 agreement with Pakistan," Richard G Olson, Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told lawmakers during a hearing on Pakistan convened by the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"We had a very candid discussion with Pak about some of the concerns that we have including about short range nuclear weapons. Pakistan is prepared to have discussions with us," he said in response to a question.

Olson said Pakistan is well aware of the extremist and insurgent threats to the security of its nuclear weapons and has a professional and dedicated security force.

23:26

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama had a telephone conversation a short while ago.

Obama thanked Modi for his positive role and leadership in the successful outcome of COP21. Obama said that India played a critical role in making Climate Change Paris Summit a historic success.

Modi shared with @POTUS concerns of Indian IT industry and professionals on proposed legislation in thw US Congress relating to H1B and L1 visas.

23:23 Trump's Muslim ban comment 'full of hatred': Malala

Nobel prize victor and education advocate Malala Yousafzai called Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US "tragic' and "full of hatred".

Malala's comments are similar to what she said Tuesday at "Poppies for Peace in Peshawar', an event in Birmingham, central England, to remember the Taliban attack on a school in Pakistan previous year that left more than 150 dead, the BBC reported.

A ground staffer of Air India died after he was sucked inside the engine of Flight AI619 to Hyderabad at Mumbai Airport.

The rescue teams reached on the spot immideately after the incident but could not save the life of the staffer.

More details are awaited.

22:56

Meanwhile, AI CMD Ashwani Lohani said about the incident, "We are deeply saddened and regret the tragic incident at Mumbai airport this evening when an Air India technician died in a mishap during pushback of flight AI 619. The incident is being investigated. Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family."

22:53 Ban registration of diesel-run vehicles in neighbouring states too: Delhi Govt

The ban on registration of diesel-run vehicles in the national capital can be "successfully tackled" if the measure is implemented in neighbouring states too, the Delhi government has said in its action plan submitted to the Supreme Court on air pollution reduction.

In its submission to the apex court, the government contended that diesel vehicles get registered by agencies in neighbouring states and hence, it was required the ban is extended there too. "The issue of diesel vehicles can be successfully tackled if registration of all diesel vehicles is banned by all neighboring states too in addition to Delhi, otherwise, the problem will not be resolved as diesel vehicles get registered by these other state agencies," the government told the SC, according to a statement issued by it.

As part of its measures to bring down the air pollution level, the government also expressed its readiness to take over Environment Compensation Charge collection from its Concessionaire, SMYR Consortium LLP, with effect from April 1, 2016 "on the same terms and conditions" between the said Concessionaire and MCD.

Patel quota stir leader Hardik Patel, who is behind bars in two separate sedition cases, today moved the Gujarat High Court seeking bail in the first sedition case filed against him in Surat.

Surat police had filled a sedition case against the 22-year-old firebrand leader for allegedly inciting a fellow activist to kill policemen instead of committing suicide.

His bail application in the High Court came days after the Surat district and sessions court had rejected his bail plea on December 10.

21:21 Sonia, Rahul may not seek bail in Herald case

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will appear in a Delhi court on Saturday in the National Herald case amid speculation that they may not apply for bail.

The party remained tightlipped on the course to be adopted by the two leaders when they appear before the court on Saturday afternoon.

Under procedures, once an accused has been summoned, he or she has to appear before it and seek bail which the court may grant. Otherwise, they can be taken into judicial custody.

If the accused does not apply for bail, the court can take the accused in the judicial custody.

21:12

JUST IN: The Central Bureau of Investigation questions Electronics Corporation of India Limited director Dinesh Kumar and Intelligent Communication Systems India Limited managing director R S Kaushik in Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's principal secretary Rajendra Kumar's case.

20:57 Saudi millionaire cleared of rape after claiming he 'accidentally' penetrated teenager

A Saudi millionaire has been cleared of rape charges after claiming he accidentally penetrated the victim when he fell on her. The property developer was accused of raping the 18-year-old girl while she was sleeping on a couch at his apartment in Maida Vale, west London.

During the trial at Southwark Crown Court, Abdulaziz explained that he tripped and fell on the girl.

On 7 August, 2014, the victim and her 24-year-old female friend met the millionaire at the Circ le Soir club and returned with him to his apartment where the other girl had sex with him. The teenager slept on a sofa but woke up to find Abdulaziz allegedly trying to force himself on her.

Read the full story HERE

20:52 DDCA defends Jaitley, rubbishes allegations

The Delhi and District Cricket Association today strongly refuted allegations of 'gross financial irregularities' against Finance Minister and its former president Arun Jaitley, saying that such charges were 'absolutely rubbish'.

Hours after the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party targeted Jaitley and demanded his resignation over alleged 'gross financial irregularities' in the DDCA when he headed it from 1999 to 2013, DDCA working president Chetan Chauhan held a press conference to rebut all the allegations.

"Some allegations have been raised against DDCA and it needs clarification as everyone is stating their point. First thing is allegation of irregularities on stadium construction. Stadium is made of Rs 141 crore," Chauhan said.

"I rubbish allegations against ex president (Jaitley). I would like to thank Jaitley ji for taking care of renovation and making this a state-of-the-art stadium," he added.

According to Chauhan, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office investigated the irregularities and nothing save a case of embezzlement was found.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed Indian Space Research Organisation scientists for the successful launch of six Singapore satellites, saying it was a 'momentous feat'.

'Our scientists at @isro accomplish another momentous feat. Congrats to them on PSLV-C29 successfully launching 6 Singapore satellites,' he tweeted.

'The launch, coming at a time when we mark 50 years of India-Singapore ties is significant. India cherishes strong relations with Singapore,' he said.

The ISRO successfully launched the Singapore satellites from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Wednesday evening.

19:31 Can't reply to vague allegations, says Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today that he will respond to the Aam Aadmi Party only if they 'stop levelling vague allegations' and 'tell him the specific charge'.

"Well, if they can tell me what is the specific issue, I can answer it. I can't answer vague allegations without any basis," Jaitley said on AAP's allegations of corruption in the Delhi cricket body.

"A state government and a party which is in the dock for having supported corruption and having interfered in the probe in this manner, can't really deflect the issue without any basis," the finance minister said.

The Congress, meanwhile, demanded setting up of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe into the alleged irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association involving Jaitley and said that he should resign from his post 'for a fair and impartial probe'.

The Arunachal Pradesh assembly today passed a resolution to 'impeach' Speaker Nabam Rebia by a voice vote and signed consent of 33 members, including 20 rebel Congress MLAs, 11 of Bharatiya Janata Party and two Independents, in a vote boycotted by the supporters of Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.

27 members of the House, including the chief minister, his ministerial colleagues and 16 Congress MLAs abstained from the proceedings chaired by deputy speaker T Norbu Thongdok, held at the makeshift venue of a community hall after the district administration 'sealed' the Assembly Secretariat Complex apprehending law and order problem.

Amid high drama, 34 MLAs seeking removal of the speaker, including his deputy Thongdok, met at the community hall for the session.

Thongdok called out the name of Rebia to enable him offer a clarification, if any, on the impeachment notice but the speaker was not present.

The resolution was then put to vote and was supported by 20 dissident Congress MLAs, barring the deputy speaker who did not vote, 11 of the BJP and two Independents.

French President Francois Hollande will be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations next month and his visit is expected to further strengthen the robust strategic partnership between the two countries, it was officially announced today.

"We are happy that the President of France Francois Hollande has accepted our invitation to be the chief guest at India's 67th Republic Day celebrations on 26th January 2016. We look forward to welcome him warmly in India," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

This will be the fifth time that a French leader will be a chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations -- the maximum number from any country so far.

Earlier leaders from France had presided in 1976, 1980, 1998 and 2008.

18:44 Modi to do appraise MoS performance tomorrow

Union ministers of state will have tea with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, something the PM is keen on institutionalising every 4th Thursday in a monthly ceremony.

But it won't be all tea and biscuits during the interaction, it will also be a performance assessment of many junior MoSes.

This exercise is aimed at galvanising them into action, give them a feel of power, and to send a message to the seniors that the juniors are part of the decision-making process as well.

Modi will also alert the junior ministers to not interact loosely with the media, as the Prime Minister's Office is learnt to have received inputs that a season of sting operations may be upon them soon.

The Central Bureau of Investigation today 'categorically denied' seizing any material during the raid on the office of Arvind Kejriwal's principal secretary which are 'not relevant to the investigation'.

After the political showdown post its raid, the agency clarified its stand, saying 'blatant incorrect information is being spread by certain quarters to discredit the agency and with the intent to obstruct the investigation'.

The CBI said that seizures during the searches were in presence of independent witnesses, as per the procedure.

The search cum seizure memo containing details of all seized items will be produced before the competent court, the agency said.

"The CBI has already clarified that the office of the chief minister of Delhi was neither searched nor sealed," the agency's spokesperson Devpreet Singh said.

"The CBI neither prevented nor disallowed any person in their movement to various offices in the Delhi Secretariat, including the CMO," Singh said.

The Indian Space Research Organisation on Wednesday successfully launched Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles core alone variant (PSLV-C29), which was carrying six Singaporean satellites.

Today's mission was the second commercial mission for ISRO's commercial arm Antrix in 2015. The earlier one was in July for the launch of five British satellites.

The test will enable ISRO to develop rockets that can launch orbits at different orbits in one flight.

As scheduled, at 6 pm, the PSLV rocket standing 44.4 metres tall and weighing around 227 tonne took off from the first launch pad at Sirharikota space port, around 90 km from Chennai.

The rocket weighing around 620 kg as its luggage slung them into their intended orbit in a timeframe of over 21 minutes into its flight.

The successful launch of these satellites takes ISRO's total flights of foreign satellites to 57.

Through this launch Isro also tested a multiple burn fuel stage/rocket engine for the first time.

Keen on promoting connectivity in the South Asian region, India is set to build a sea-bridge and tunnel connecting Sri Lanka while a pact has been inked with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal for seamless flow of traffic and passenger vehicles, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.

"The Asian Development Bank is ready to fully finance a bridge building project connecting Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka. The project was also discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his counterpart during the latter's recent visit," Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha.

The India-Sri Lanka connectivity project cost is pegged at about Rs 24,000 crore.

Google's new chief executive Sundar Pichai used his first official visit to India Wednesday to outline plans to bring hundreds of millions of Indians online, including installing free wifi at railway stations.

The Indian-born Pichai said the first train station, Mumbai Central, would go online in January and the tech giant intended to cover 100 of India's stations by the end of 2016.

Swiss banks released on Wednesday the names of more than 2,600 holders of accounts that have lain dormant for at least 60 years, giving them or their heirs one last chance to claim their wealth before it reverts to the state.

The Press Trust of India reports that list includes the names of at least four Indians.

The banking industry said around 44 million Swiss francs (29.6 million) were lying fallow in bank accounts that had gone untouched since at least 1955. Around 80 safety deposit boxes whose contents were unclear were also gathering dust.

People can search for dormant accounts on the website https://www.dormantaccounts.ch that went live on Wednesday under new legislation that took effect in January.

"By publishing this information, the banks are making a last attempt to re-establish contact with the customer," said Claude-Alain Margelisch, chief executive of the Swiss Bankers Association.

"For the banks, on the other hand, these new regulations create legal certainty for the treatment of dormant assets."

Under Thailand's strict sedition laws, it is a crime to insult the king, but does it cover the king's dog too?

In a case brought to the Thai military court on Monday, Thanakorn Siripaiboon was charged with making a sarcastic Facebook post about the king's pet, Tongdaeng. If convicted, he faces 37 years in jail.

Judging from accounts, the Thai king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, is said to be extremely fond of his dog, and has even written an illustrated book on it, and a film was made on it this year.

India's second lunar probe, Chandrayaan II, will land on the moon in 2017 and the country's first solar mission, Aditya L1, is likely to be launched in 2019, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Chandrayaan II will land on the surface of the moon in 2017 and this second lunar mission will help explore the possibilities of signs of extra-terrestrial life, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said during Question Hour, responding to supplementaries.

The Aditya L1 mission "is aimed at studying the sun from an orbit around the sun-earth lagrangian point (L-1) which is about 1.5 million km from earth. It will carry seven payloads including a coronagraph to observe the outermost layers of the sun, the corona. Aditya L1 will be launched during the 2019-20 timeframe," he said in his written response.

The "approved cost" of the solar mission is 378.53 crore.

16:58

'Things we don't write about: The Prophet. The Quran. The mosque. The hijab. Indeed, anything to do with Islam that might offend anyone willing to kill. The problem is that we can never be certain what will offend them. The killing types are no longer visible, wizened old men who regularly announce where the red line lays. The mantle has passed onto teenagers wielding machetes, belonging to secret cliques, guided by international ideologies with vicious local consequences.'

For Bangladeshi authors and bloggers, religious fanaticism is putting their security and freedom of speech at stake, in a level of repression only comparable to dictatorial regimes of the past, says The Guardian. And K Anis Ahmed explains what it means to be a writer in Bangladesh's harrowing "new normal", here.

16:55 Arunachal row: Sonia meets Prez, protests Governor's action

Accusing the Modi government of trying to "oust" the Congress regime in Arunachal Pradesh with a "pre-planned design", Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and other party leaders on Wednesday met President Pranab Mukherjee and lodged a strong protest against state Governor Jyoti Prashad Rajkhowa.

"It is clear that the BJP top leadership in connivance with some dissident Congress MLAs planned to destabilize the democratically-elected Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh.

"This is obviously a pre-planned design involving the highest functionaries of the central government in this unprincipled enterprise," the Congress chief told reporters at Rashtrapati Bhavan after meeting the President.

The Congress delegation handed over a memorandum to Mukherjee, urging him to preserve the sanctity of the Constitution, the democratic traditions of the country and polity and the rule of law.

It said the President should issue "appropriate directions/advisory" in this regard.

There's a curious absence from the 34-nation strong Islamic coalition put together by Saudi Arabia to fight terror, points out Robert Fisk in The Independent, London, and it is Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

But that's not the only oddity about this coalition, he writes. On the other hand it includes 'countries as mythical as "Palestine', as corrupt as Afghanistan and as powerless as Lebanon, with bankrupt Chad and the Islamic Republic of the Comoros thrown in for good measure -- would require "a very strong effort to fight".'

So the real figures behind this extraordinary military force is not how many countries plan to participate, but how many millions -- or billions -- of dollars Saudi Arabia plans to pay them for their fraternal military assistance, Fisk writes, here.

16:54 US plane skids off taxiway, eight hurt

Eight people suffered minor injuries when a Southwest Airlines flight skidded off a taxiway and into a ditch shortly after arriving at Nashville International Airport, fire officials and the carrier said.

There were no major injuries and the eight transported to a nearby medical center had "mostly bumps and bruises," Nashville Fire Department said in a tweet.

The plane was carrying 133 passengers and five crew, Southwest Airlines said.

Photos on social media showed the plane lying in a grass ditch, its nose on the ground and at least one emergency slide deployed.

16:47

Over the last 10 years -- and especially since 2010 -- Punjab has seen a process of deindustrialisation, reports M Rajshekhar in Quartz India. And the reason behind it?

China.

You can read his fascinating account of how an engine of growth called Punjab is slowly pulling to a halt, here.

16:40 BJP gets tough with AAP

The Bharatiya Janata Party top brass has informally conveyed to the senior Union ministers to avoid, as far as possible, giving appointments to Aam Aadmi Party ministers, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

It is hoped that this barring of the AAP leadership will make them acknowledge and apologise for their derogatory tweets directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who is said to be close to Kejriwal, is believed to have asked the Delhi chief minister to offer and apology and to delete the tweet wherein he called the prime minister 'a coward and a psychopath'.

Improved relations with the Centre may benefit the Delhi government as at least eight departments of the state depend on the direct assistance from the Union government.

As many as 58 bureaucrats faced a penalty, including dismissal from services, compulsory retirement and pension cut, for unsatisfactory performance, the government said today.

Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha in a written reply, "From May 2014 till today, 13 Central Civil Service or All India Service officers have been dismissed, removed or compulsorily retired from government service and penalty of pension cut have been imposed on 45 others."

The Centre recently issued instructions to assess the performance of bureaucrats to compulsorily retire non-performers.

He said the respective cadre-controlling authority of central services have been directed to monitor disciplinary cases against officers periodically.

A committee chaired by the secretary, department of personnel and training, also monitors on quarterly basis the status of all delayed cases of sanction for prosecution and takes necessary steps to resolve delayed cases expeditiously, Singh said.

The government has issued instructions to all ministries and departments regarding time-bound submission of proposals to the cadre controlling authority for initiating disciplinary proceedings against IAS officers, the minister said.

Image alongside, of Modi meeting bureaucrats, has been used for representational purposes only.

15:58

Donald Trump's wild statement about Muslim immigrants into America have been roundly criticised by Malala Yousufzai, the youngest Nobel Laureate ever.

In an interview with Channel 4 in the UK about the "wild things being said about Islam and Muslims,' Malala said: "It's important that whatever politicians say, whatever the media say, they should be really, really careful about it. If your intention is to stop terrorism, do not try to blame the whole population of Muslims for it because it cannot stop terrorism. It will radicalise more terrorists."

Elsewhere, she described Trump's charges as "tragic' and "full of hatred, full of this ideology of being discriminative towards others."

15:42

Just In: Sensex jumps 173.93 points to end the day at 25,494.37; Nifty climbs 50 points to 7,750.90 at close of day's trading.

15:42 Will follow SC order on air-pollution: NGT

The National Green Tribunal today said it would first go through the order passed by the Supreme Court and then decide on the plea of car dealers seeking modification of order banning registration of new diesel

vehicles.

"The Supreme Court has passed certain directions. We would like to go through the direction and then decide accordingly. We would like to be governed by SC order," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said while posting the matter for next hearing on December 18.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court banned registration of diesel-run SUVs and cars having engine capacity beyond 2000 cc in Delhi and National Capital Region till March 31, next year as it unveiled a slew of measures to curb the alarming rise in pollution levels in the city.

Rescuers on speedboats hauled rain-soaked residents off rooftops in the Philippine countryside today after Typhoon Melor killed at least 11

people and cut power for millions.

The typhoon, which tore in off the Pacific Ocean on Monday afternoon, caused widespread flooding across central islands and also dumped heavy rain on the sprawling capital of Manila.

The worst appeared to be over today with the typhoon drifting into the South China Sea. But farming and fishing communities on Mindoro island south of Manila were still enduring heavy flooding.

15:25

Just In: Rajya Sabha has been adjourned for the day as Congress members continue protests over the Arunachal Pradesh governor issue.

15:12 Information on fixers is top-secret, says govt

The information on details of undesirable contact men, who are of doubtful integrity, is "top secret" in nature and cannot be disclosed, the government said today.

It was asked about the influence of undesirable contact men from among chartered accountants, advocates, tax specialists, consultants and professional brokers who get posting, appointments, transfers or deals etc fixed.

"Information sought for being top secret in nature, cannot be disclosed in public interest," Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The central government is fully committed to implement its policy of zero tolerance against corruption, he said.

Six cases of mercy petition of death row convicts are at various stages of consideration, the government told the Rajya Sabha today.

Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said that as per available records, eight mercy petitions were pending under Article 72 of the Constitution as on January 1, 2014.

During the period from January 2014 to till date, nine more cases were received while 11 were disposed of.

The pending six cases are at various stages of examination, he said in reply to a written question.

As many as 169 incidents of terrorist violence were reported in Jammu and Kashmir till October this year in which 89 terrorists were killed, the

Rajya Sabha was informed today.

Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said 37 security personnel were also killed in these incidents.

There were 173 incidents of terrorist violence in the same period last year in which 86 terrorists and 31 security personnel were killed.

"The number of terrorist incidents has decreased and number of terrorists killed has increased during 2015 till October as compared to corresponding period of 2014," he said in a written reply.

A Canadian start-up company bottling fresh air from the Rocky Mountains has seen sales to China soar because of rising pollution levels, reports Jennifer Pak in The Telegraph, UK.

'Our first shipment of 500 bottles of fresh air were sold in four days,' co-founder Moses Lam told the Telegraph in a telephone interview, the newspaper reports.

'A crate containing 4,000 more bottles is making its way to China, but he says most of that shipment has been bought.'

Read more about it here. Also, maybe there's a business idea for a Delhi-based entrepreneur in this?

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said was insulted when he was first invited by the BJP to the unveiling of a statue of former CM R Sankar and then told not to come, has issued a statement on the controversy.

'I was invited for unveiling statue of R Sanker by organizer Vellappally Nadesan and I readily agreed. On 11th evening, Mr Nadesan informed that agencies have informed him that there will be some protest in the meeting if I attend. Again, on 12th Dec, Mr Nadesan conveyed to me to keep away from the function and I had no option other than to abide by his request,' Chandy said in his statement. 'Unfortunate that Mr Rajnath Singh and Mr R P Rudy misled Parliament without even verifying the facts from myself or my office.'

Nadesan, incidentally, told Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com: 'Yes, he (Chandy) was invited, but when he wrote to the PMO that he was unavailable on the 15th to attend the function at Sivagiri, we told him not to come for this function also. He himself had informed Delhi that he was unavailable on the 15th.

'Why should there be a controversy in this? This is a private function and not a government-sponsored event. We are bearing all the expenditure; nobody else has any hand in this.'

You can read Shobha's interview here.

14:41 When firemen turned on the heat

Why should only curvaceous models pose for calendars, what's wrong with, say, firemen, did you ask?

You didn't? Anyway, 'French fashion photographer, Fred Goudon in partnership with French NGO, Pompiers Sans Frontires, released a steamy calendar with some of the hottest French firemen,' writes Arushi Kapoor in vagabomb.com, 'And the results are stuff of your wet dreams.'

While we reserve judgement on that, you may have decide for yourself, here.

India's second lunar probe Chandrayaan II will land on moon in 2017 and the country's first solar mission, Aditya L1, is likely to be launched in 2019, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Chandrayaan II will land on the surface of moon in 2017 and the second lunar mission will help explore the possibilities of signs of extra-terrestrial life, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh said during Question Hour.

The Aditya L1 mission "is aimed at studying the sun from an orbit around the sun-earth lagrangian point (L-1) which is about 1.5 million km from earth. It will carry seven payloads including a coronagraph to observe the outermost layers of the sun, the corona. Aditya L1 will be launched during 2019-20 timeframe," he said in his written response.

The "approved cost" of the solar mission is 378.53 crore.

The Securities Appellate Tribunal today set aside a penalty of Rs 13 crore imposed by Sebi on corporate giant Reliance Industries Ltd and asked the markets regulator to consider the matter afresh.

The fine was imposed by the regulator last year on charges of violation of the Listing Agreement by RIL with regard to disclosure and computation of a key earnings ratio by the company.

The latest direction follows another SAT ruling earlier this month wherein the tribunal had set aside a penalty of Rs 11 crore imposed on RIL group firm Reliance Petroinvestments Ltd and had asked the regulator to pass order within three months after hearing the matter afresh.

A sum of Rs 130.33 crore has so far been received for relief and rehabilitation work, the Tamil Nadu government said today.

Contributions for the government's rain relief and rehabilitation work continued to pour in with two corporates donating over Rs 16 crore today.

Chairman of Infosys Limited, R Seshasayee donated Rs 10 crore while Chief Operating Officer of Cognizant Technology Solutions Pvt Ltd gave Rs 6.50 crore to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the government said in a release.

Over 300 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents since October and several rendered homeless.

14:27 AAP seeks privilege motion against Jaitley

Claiming that seizure made by CBI proves that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's office was raided yesterday, Aam Aadmi Party today sought privilege motion against Union minister Arun Jaitley and the government for "misleading" Parliament over the issue.

AAP leader Ashutosh alleged that Jaitley lied on the floor of the House and this warrants a privilege motion against him and the government.

"Since Jaitley has lied on the floor of the House and misled Parliament, this warrants privilege motion against him and the government. Seizure memo of CBI is in public. It establishes that CM office was raided/CM files were searched," Ashutosh said.

Training guns on Jaitley, Ashutosh said the Union Finance Minister should come clean on the alleged irregularities in the DDCA.

Flatly refusing to wear a bullet-proof vest during his mega Christmas address despite the horrific threats emanating from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), Pope Francis has said that he is 'not afraid' of the terrorist organisation who have threatened to invade Rome.

In an exclusive interview to Express.co.uk, the Pope's spokesman said that the pontiff was 'aware' of the threats but if did not shake him, nor did he want an alterations made to his 'Popemobile' to protect himself during this year's Christmas Day message.

Continuing to display his relaxed style of leadership, the pontiff has refused to listen to the advice by the police to beef up his security in the wake of threats made to Rome but the Vatican maintains that they are still on top of the Pope's security.

Read more HERE.

14:08 Al Qaeda suspect held in Cuttack

A suspected terrorist with Al Qaeda links was arrested today from Jagatpur area of Cuttack in Odisha, a senior police official said.

The arrest of Abdul Rahman was made after a raid by a joint team of Delhi Police and Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police at his house in Paschimakachha village in Jagatpur area in the wee hours, Commissioner of Police R P Sharma told reporters here.

The joint operation was conducted following arrival of a team from the special cell of Delhi Police here yesterday for nabbing Rahman who was suspected to have international links in countries like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Dubai, Sharma said.

14:02 How ISIS makes its blood money

The Islamic State has proved resilient, developing a diversified economy to bankroll the costs of its burgeoning caliphate.

According to a 2014 Thomson Reuters study, the terrorist group has more than $2 trillion in assets under its control, with an annual income of $2.9 billion.

Much of this money is raised through the taxes the group imposes on those who live within its territory.

This includes an $800-per-truck levy on vehicles entering Iraq from Jordan and Syria, a 5 percent tax collected for social welfare and salaries, a $200 road tax on drivers in northern Iraq, a 50 percent tax for the ability to loot Raqqas archaeological sites, and a 20 percent tax at similar sites in Aleppo, according to the Thomson Reuters study.

Additionally, non-Muslims must pay a religious protection fee known as jizya.

Read more HERE.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Central Government and 11 states seeking their response on the steps initiated to provide relief to the people affected by drought.

The apex court has issued notice to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana and Gujarat.

Non-profit Swaraj Abhiyan moved the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking relief for the drought affected farmers in 11 states.

Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand have asked for Rs.20, 000 crore aid from the Central Government.

13:48

The Telegraph, UK, has mapped how the EU landscape will change because of migration - and what it will look like in 2080. Don't miss the rivetting feature, here.

13:40 Fed up with delays, SC appoints Virendra Singh as UP Lokayukta

SC invokes its constitutional power and appoints retired HC judge Virendra Singh as Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta.

In its order, the Apex court says that the failure of constitutional functionaries to comply with the orders of the highest court of the land is deeply regretted and astonishing.

It also expressed displeasure that the chief minister, leader of opposition and chief justice of the high court failed to comply with its order.

The UP government had failed to meet the Supreme Court deadline to appoint Lokayukta even after two rounds of marathon talks, which failed to come up with a consensus name.

After a five-hour long meeting of three-member selection committee that ended around last midnight failed to arrive at a conclusion, talks resumed this morning at the residence of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

But even that meeting, lasting two hours, failed to come up with a name despite Supreme Court order that the state government should submit a compliance report by today.

13:36 Kejriwal protecting corrupt officials: BJP

The BJP today accused ruling AAP of protecting its "tainted" MLAs and officials and mocked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying he should be awarded with "U-Turn" of the year award as he has always claimed to be against corruption.

"If there are certain complaints against the officials and that too for a longer period. There were complaints against him (Rajendra Kumar) in 2012, in 2014, RTI queries have revealed the same then if CBI enquires, why is he (Kejriwal) so baffled? His fight is against corruption only no?," Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay told reporters.

"His MLAs are tainted, officials are corrupt but what is the kind of protection he is offering to them? His (Kejriwal) body language, vocabulary reflects he is baffled. But why? If there has to be a lawyer of the year award or U-turn of the year award, it should go to him," Upadhyay added.

Upadhyay's comments come in wake of fresh allegations made by the Chief Minister today against the CBI, accusing it of seizing documents "unrelated" to the agency's probe against his Principal Secretary and claimed that a file relating to DDCA was scrutinised by it.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the appointment of archakas, or priests, in temples will have to be only according to the Agama Shastras, and that restrictions in it do not violate the principle of right to equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution.

The case dates back to 2006, when the then Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government in Tamil Nadu issued an order that all persons 'with requisite qualifications' are eligible to be appointed a temple priests. This order was challenged in the Supreme Court, which delivered its verdict today.

On Tuesday Saudi Arabia surprised the world with its announcement that it has formed a 34-nation Islamic alliance against the Islamic State (Daesh).

But no one was more surprised, it seems, than Pakistan, which was named by Riyadh as part of the anti-terror alliance, as it had been include without its consent, reports Baqir Sajjad Syed in Dawn, Pakistan.

Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhary admitted as much and told the media that he had asked his ambassador in Riyadh to seek a clarification from Saudi Arabia on the matter.

But this was not the first time that Pakistan has been roped in by Saudi Arabia in such a coalition against its will and without consulting it. Earlier, too, it had announced that Pakistan was part of the coalition that carried our operations in Yemen, which Pakistan declined to join.

Islamabad's stated position has been that it will not send out troops outside its borders except for UN peacekeeping missions, and had even twice rejected America's calls to join an alliance against terror.

You can read the full report here.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today accused the Congress of setting a wrong precedent for future opposition parties by continuously disrupting Parliament and said decision-making in future will have to shift to executive actions and money bills.

Irked by the Congress disrupting the Rajya Sabha for the second session in a row to stall passage of the all-important Constitution Amendment Bill to bring in Goods and Services Tax, he said history would not be kind to the "outlaws of parliamentary" system.

Addressing a gathering of industry leaders on GST, he said with government business being blocked in the Rajya Sabha, future decision-making "will have to take place through executive action and money bills."

Money bills, which largely concern taxation, government spending or having financial implications, can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha cannot make amendments in a Money Bill passed by the Lok Sabha and transmitted to it.

12:52 When Modi offered water to AAP's protesting MP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today offered a glass of water to AAP member Bhagwant Mann, who was protesting in the Lok Sabha against the CBI raids on Delhi government secretariat where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sits.

Mann, who was shouting slogans in the Well, felt uneasy and was apparently looking for water on the table of Lok Sabha secretariat officials who sit in the Well. A smiling Modi offered him the glass of water kept on his table which the AAP member readily drank.

The two exchanged smiles before Mann kept the glass on the table and the PM put the cover on it. Several BJP members thumped their desks at the PM's gesture.

Mann, thereafter, continued to raise anti-government slogans.

12:48 Talks and terror cannot go together: Sushma

War is not an option, says External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on resuming talks with Pakistan.

We will continue talks with Pakistan, but talks and terror cannot go together, she says.

Just In: The Supreme Court has slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for not appointing a Lokayukta despite its order, and asks it to provide five short-listed names for the post.

Here's a bit of background about the case.

12:41 Flexi fuel policy soon to check pollution

Just In: Government to come out with flexi fuel policy for vehicles by Jan 26 to check pollution, announces Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Aiming to increase the global use of condoms as a way to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS, researchers including an Indian-American professor have developed a new non-latex condom which contains antioxidants and can kill the deadly virus even after breaking.

Mahua Choudhery and her team of researchers at Texas A&M University have come up with the hydrogel condom which could help in the global fight against HIV.

The condom is made of an elastic polymer called hydrogel, and includes plant-based antioxidants that have anti-HIV properties. "We are not only making a novel material for condoms to prevent the HIV infection, but we are also aiming to eradicate this infection if possible," Choudhury, assistant professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center's Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, said.

"Supercondom could help fight against HIV infection and may as well prevent unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases and If we succeed, it will revolutionise the HIV prevention initiative," said Choudhury, the lead researcher.

Just In: The Supreme Court has ordered the testing of samples of Maggi Noodles at a Mysore laboratory in pursuance of the direction of the apex consumer panel.

The test report, including earlier ones, be produced before this court, says SC while restraining consumer panel NCDRC from going ahead with proceedings in the matter.

Details soon.

12:13 Srinagar-Leh road to shut for winter

The Srinagar-Leh road connecting the Ladakh region with the rest of Jammu and Kashmir will be closed for vehicular traffic from Sunday, an official spokesman said today.

"According to the office of divisional commissioner Kashmir, Sonamarg Gumri (Zojila Pass) shall remain closed for vehicular traffic for all types of vehicles from December 20 till further notice," the spokesman said.

The 434-kilometre road remains closed for over four months during winter due to heavy snowfall around Zojila Pass.

The Srinagar-Leh road, which is of strategic importance, is likely to be opened in April next year.

Just In: 100 railway stations to have wi-fi by December 2016 in partnership with Railtel, announces Google CEO Sundar Pichai in New Delhi. Mumbai Central station will be the first to go live, by January.

Google will build a new campus, and ramp up engineering presence in Hyderabad to make products for India; it will also up hiring in Bengaluru, and help women from three lakh villages across India to get online in three years.

More details awaited.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj should consider herself to be an exceptionally lucky politician to have got away without even a minor scratch after making the suo motu statement on the government's decision to resume dialogue with Pakistan.

Without doubt, if India had a functioning Parliament, Swaraj would have had to face a barrage of questions from the Opposition, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, here.

12:00 Excise duty hiked on petrol, diesel

The government today increased excise duty on petrol by Rs 0.30 per litre and by Rs 1.17 a litre on diesel to make use of the slump in oil prices to garner an additional Rs 2,500 crore.

Basic excise duty on unbranded petrol has been increased from Rs 7.06 per litre to Rs 7.36 and the same on unbranded diesel from Rs 4.66 to Rs 5.83 per litre.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the increase in duty will yield an additional Rs 2,500 crore in revenue during the remainder of the 2015-16 fiscal which ends on March 31, 2016.

After including additional and special excise duty, the total levy on unbranded petrol will be Rs 19.36 per litre as against Rs 19.06 currently.

Similarly, on unbranded or normal diesel, total excise duty after including special excise duty will be Rs 11.83 per litre as compared to Rs 10.66 now.

Basic excise duty on branded petrol has been raised from Rs 8.24 per litre to Rs 8.54 a litre and the same on branded diesel from Rs 7.02 to Rs 8.19 per litre.

This is the second increase in excise duty in less than six weeks. The government had on November 7 raised excise duty on petrol by Rs 1.60 per litre and on diesel by 30 paise a litre.

Indian Space Research Organisation's PSLV rocket will today launch six Singaporean satellites which would help the city-state gather information on disaster monitoring and urban planning.

To be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the spaceport of Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota at 6 pm today, the satellites will be put into orbit by ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle -- PSLV-C29 -- on reaching 550 km from the earth's surface.

The satellites would be launched one after another, 30 seconds apart, to avoid collision and set a distance of about 20 km between them.

The 59-hour-countdown for the PSLV-C29/TeLEOS-1 Mission began at 7 am on Monday and was progressing normally, ISRO said.

For the first time, the satellites will orbit around the equator and gather data that will benefit those in the equatorial region. The satellites will be put into a 550 km circular orbit inclined at 15 degrees to the equator.

Sachin Tendulkar was an expected pick for the No.4 slot while Sourav Ganguly was preferred in the leadership position in Australian spin legend Shane Warne's greatest Indian Test XI.

Warne, who has been naming his preferred XIs from different countries on his Facebook page, turned his attention to India in the latest post. The criteria for selection was that Warne must have competed against the selected players.

Not surprisingly, cricket's highest run-scorer Tendulkar was Warne's choice for the No.4 spot in his side. The opening slots went to Virender Sehwag and Navjot Singh Sidhu followed by the ever-dependable Rahul Dravid at No.3.

Warne's Greatest India Test XI: Virender Sehwag, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mohammad Azharuddin, Kapil Dev, MS Dhoni, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath (VVS Laxman 12th).

11:41 Srinagar freezes in coldest night this winter

Srinagar city faced the coldest night of the season as the mercury dipped several notches to settle at minus 3.7 degrees Celsius, while other parts of Jammu and Kashmir also braved freezing cold wave.

"The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was minus 3.7 degrees Celsius, a drop of 3.4 degrees compared to the previous night," an official of the meteorological department said.

He said the minimum temperature stayed below the freezing point across the Kashmir division including the twin towns of Leh and Kargil in Ladakh region.

Kargil was the coldest recorded place in the state as the minimum temperature settled at minus 14.2 degrees last night, registering a dip of nearly three degrees compared to 24 hours earlier, he said.

BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, who has often taken a position at variance with his party's stand, today raised questions over the timing of the CBI raid on the office of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's principal secretary and wondered who "advised" the searches.

Sinha, at the same time, disapproved of Kejriwal's language to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was called a "psychopath" and "coward" following yesterday's raid at the Delhi secretariat that kicked up a political firestorm amid charges and counter-charges.

'In politics, timing is everything. This was definitely not the right time for the raid. Hope wish &pray that this does not boomerang on us,' the actor-turned politician said in a series of tweets.

In another tweet, Sinha said, 'Don't approve of avoidable language of Delhi CM about our dashing dynamic action hero PM. But need to look within. How why & who started it?'

11:18 What Parliament is scheduled to do today

This is the Parliament schedule for today.

Of course, it is anyone's guess if the House will be able to transact any business, given that the winter session is heading for a washout.

Bills for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha: The Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015; The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2015. And a discussion on price rise.

Bills for withdrawal in the Rajya Sabha: The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Bill, 1992.

Bills for consideration and passing in the Upper House: The Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015; The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2015; The Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2014; The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2012.

A short duration discussion on rise in prices of essential commodities and food-grains in the country is also scheduled.

Plus, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar will make a statement on decisions arrived in Paris under the UN Framework Conventions on Climate Change.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday banned the registration of diesel-run SUVs and cars having engines beyond 2000 cc in Delhi and NCR from March 1 next year.

The court also raised by 100 per cent the green cess being levied on commercial vehicles entering Delhi.

Commercial vehicles, which are not Delhi-bound, will not be allowed to enter the national capital through entry points NH-8 and NH-1.

Also, commercial vehicles registered before 2005 cannot enter Delhi, and only CNG-run taxis will be allowed to ply in Delhi and the NCR.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the Memorandum of Proceedings on the appointment of judges in higher judiciary should be in consultation with the Centre and the Chief Justice of India.

Transparency is most important in the appointment of judges for higher judiciary, and it should be reflected in the MoP, the apex court said.

The MoP should also clearly contain eligibility criteria like minimum age etc as guidance for appointment of judges of the high court and SC, the court said, and that the views of state governments and Centre should also be one of the criteria for the appointment of judges.

Hopefully GST will be implemented in the coming year, says Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

India has the right to grow faster, achieve full potential. Nobody has the right to stop, halt or slow down the process, he says.

AAP MPs have given an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha over the CBI raid at Delhi Secretariat.

BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu hit back at the AAP over their attempts to stall parliament. "A party who says they are crusaders against corruption is worried & want to stall the parliament," the Union parliamentary affairs minister said.

"We have nothing to hide, nothing to worry because the Govt is nowhere in the picture," Naidu added.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar has reached CBI headquarters.

The CBI will question Kumar in connection with an alleged corruption case.

According to sources, Kumar will be questioned but his arrest is unlikely.

Kejriwal had tweeted today morning that the CBI did in fact read through relevant documents in his office and that the documents in question were not linked with the investigation against Rajender.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who on Tuesday had alleged that the CBI raid at his office was intended to dig information into a case against the finance minister, has tweeted today that the CBI did in fact read through relevant documents in his office.

'Docs seized from my office.No relation to allegations being probed. Item 7 -file movement register of last one month,' he tweeted.

'CBI kept reading DDCA file in my office. They wud hv seized it. But after my media briefing, they left it. Not clear if they took a copy,' he added.

'Why is Jaitley ji so scared of DDCA probe? What is his role in DDCA scam?' the Delhi CM tweeted.

The documents Kejriwal tweeted about can be seen HERE and HERE.

According to reports, a suspected Al-Qaeda operative has been arrested by Delhi police.

This makes the arrested operative the third terrorist group affiliate to have been arrested in two days.

Two suspected operatives of a jihadi organisation, who were allegedly planning to carry out attacks in the national capital during Christmas and New Year, were detained by the special cell of the Delhi police on Tuesday night.

The two suspected operatives are believed to be natives of Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh. The police refused to disclose the names of the operatives and the organisation they belong to.

Picture for representation only.

09:28 Cold wave sweeps Rajasthan, claims one life

The severe cold wave sweeping across Rajasthan has claimed the life of 50-year-old beggar in Jaipur's Ramganj area, police said on Tuesday.

The unidentified man, who was found unconscious by passerby early this morning, was rushed to a government hospital in Subhash Chowk from Ghoda Nikas area of Ramganj where doctors declared him brought dead yesterday, they said.

The body has been kept in mortuary for identification, police said.

Jaipur experienced the coldest night of the season with 5.3 degrees Celsius, about 6 degrees less than normal. Churu recorded the lowest temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius.

Indian Space Research Organisation's PSLV rocket will today launch six Singaporean satellites which would help the city-state gather information

on disaster monitoring and urban planning.

To be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in the spaceport of Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota at 6.00 pm today, the satellites will be put into orbit by Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-PSLV-C29 on reaching 550 kms from the earth's surface.

The satellites would be launched one after another, 30 seconds apart, to avoid collision and set a distance of about 20 kilometres between them.

For the first time, the satellites will orbit around the equator and gather data that will benefit those in the equatorial region. The satellites will be put into a 550 kms circular orbit inclined at 15 degrees to the equator.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and the armed forces service chiefs paid tributes to the fallen heroes of the 1971 Indo-Pak war at the Amar Jawan Jyoti on occasion of Vijay Diwas.

Vijay Diwas, marks the Indian armed forces' victory over Pakistan in 1971, which led to the creation of Bangladesh

Setting herself in contrast from the Republican presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton stated that that United States can stop home-grown terrorism and outlined a plan to battle radicalization on American soil.

Her statement comes weeks after two Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) sympathisers killed 14 people is a mass shootout in California.

According to CNN, Clinton in her speech at the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, said that Muslim-Americans were the first, last and best defense against homegrown radicalization and terrorism."

"I am confident once again we will choose resolve over fear. And we will defeat these new enemies just as we have defeated those who have threatened us in the past, because it is not enough to contain ISIS -- we must defeat ISIS," Clinton said.

Not surprisingly, Republican front-runner Donald Trump's controversial proposal to ban non-citizen Muslims from entering the United States led off Tuesday's GOP debate in Las Vegas.

Trump, of course, defended the plan saying it wasn't about religion. ""We're talking about security," he said.

His longtime nemesis, Jeb Bush, went on the attack.

"This is not a serious proposal," the former Florida governor said, explaining that it would drive away Arab allies.

"Donald is great at the one liners," Bush said. "But he's a chaos candidate. And he'd be a chaos president."

Trump fired back against Bush's previous claim that he was "unhinged."

"Jeb doesn't really believe I'm unhinged," Trump said. "He said that very simply because he's failed in this campaign.

Read more HERE.

As the country celebrates Vijay Diwas, marking the Indian armed forces' victory over Pakistan in 1971, which led to the creation of Bangladesh, army personnel were pictured celebrating the day at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.

This year marks the 44th anniversary of the victory day celebrations.

The schools in Los Angeles are safe and will reopen Wednesday, Los Angeles Unified School District School Board President Steve Zimmer told reporters.

"We can now announce, and conclude, and tell you, and tell the community that we believe that our schools are safe, and we can reopen schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District tomorrow morning," he said.

The FBI has determined that a threat against schools in the city was not credible, Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

Read more HERE.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai will meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his first visit to India since he took the top job in August.

There will be no new launches this time, but informed sources said Mr Pichai will meet Google employees.

The India-born CEO, who will visit India on a 2-day visit starting from tomorrow, is scheduled to address the media tomorrow. He will meet Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad later.

On Thursday, Mr Pichai will meet PM Modi after which he will attend a chat session with students of Delhi University's Shri Ram College of Commerce. In the evening, he will attend a banquet hosted by President Mukherjee.

PM Modi, during his US visit in September, met Mr Pichai at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, Santa Clara.

Mr Pichai was born in Chennai in 1972. He went to IIT-Kharagpur before going to Stanford University to pursue his PhD.

Read more HERE.

The odds-makers are betting on only one thing: the fifth and final GOP debate of 2015 is one to watch.

If the eight rivals sharing the stage -- and the four others who will be part of a warm-up forum -- can't stomp on his momentum,

Cruz is likely to head into the new year with serious and perhaps lasting advantages.

For months, the crowded field of Republicans has seen the top tier shift, as retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson captured voters imagination only to fade and former tech CEO Carly Fiorina fought her way into debates only to see voters tire of her.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush began his campaign as the one to beat and armed with platinum-plated donors, yet his campaign has essentially to shrunk to one state: make-or-break New Hampshire.

Read more HERE.

Pakistan on Tuesday executed eight convicted murderers in different jails of its Punjab province, bringing the total number of executions to 310 since it lifted a moratorium on the death penalty following a terror attack on an army run school in December last year.

The hangings were carried out just a day before the first anniversary of the Peshawar school attack that left over 150 people, mostly students, dead and prompted the government to lift the six-year moratorium on the death penalty.

The latest executions were carried out in jails of Multan, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Attock and Dera Ghazi Khan, according an official of interior ministry.

"Two convicts each were hanged in Multan, Bahawalpur and Gujrat and one each in Dera Ghazi Khan and Attock," said the official. "They were convicted for separate murders."

The hangings takes the number of execution to 310 in less than one year, in a shocking development to the local and international human right activists.

The Pakistani military has released a music video commemorating the 150 victims of the Peshawar school massacre to mark the first anniversary of the attack on Wednesday.

The song can be seen HERE.

Against a wall displaying the victims' school portraits, kids in bright green school blazers run around as a song on the audio track plays a rousing refrain. Mujhe dushman ke bacho ko parhana hai (I want to educate the children of my enemies)," sings a chorus of voices in Urdu.

A year after Taliban gunmen stormed the Army Public School in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing more than 150 people, mostly children, the Pakistani army has released a video commemorating the victims of the December 16, 2014 massacre.

Read more HERE.

Brutal weekend attacks on three villages by Boko Haram Islamists in the restive northeast of Nigeria have left 30 dead and 20 others wounded,

a vigilante said.

"Most of the victims were slaughtered and most of the wounded (had suffered) machete cuts," Mustapha Karimbe, a civilian helping the Nigerian military fight Boko Haram, said of Saturday's attacks in the villages of Warwara, Mangari and Bura-Shika in Borno state.

News of the attacks has been slow to emerge because telecom masts in the area have been destroyed in previous Boko Haram raids, hindering communication.

The Islamists invaded the villages, hacking and slaughtering their victims before setting the villages on fire.

US President Barack Obama is resolute in his refusal to allow America and its citizens be terrorised, the White House has said, hours after all public schools in Los Angeles were closed after electronic threat.

"The president is resolute in his refusal to allow this country and our citizens to be terrorised. And there are several things the president is doing about that," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference.

All public schools in Los Angeles were closed due to an unspecified "electronic" threat which affected over 660,000 students in one of the largest School District in the US. New York schools have received similar threats but they decided not to close the schools. The FBI is investigating the matter.

Obama was briefed about the incident early in the morning, the White House said. "We have engaged this aggressive campaign to counter ISIL, to degrade and ultimately destroy that organisation.

That's an indication and should be an indication to you and to the American public that the president and the federal government are cognisant of the risks and are taking appropriate steps to protect the American people," Earnest said.

Los Angeles shut more than 1,000 public schools on Tuesday over a threatened attack with bombs and assault rifles, sending hundreds of thousands of students home as city authorities fended off criticism that they over reacted to what federal officials later said was most likely a hoax.

The federal officials, who asked not to be identified, echoed an assessment by New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton that the decision in Los Angeles was an "over reaction" and that New York had received a similar threat.

Read this story HERE

Two suspected operatives of a jihadi organisation, who were allegedly planning to carry out attacks in the national capital during Christmas and New Year, were detained by the Special Cell of Delhi police today.

The two suspected operatives are believed to be natives of Sambhal district in Uttar Pradesh. Police refused to disclose the names of the operatives and the organisation they belong to. Special Cell teams are conducting search operation at several places across UP, tracking other potential operatives of the jihadi outfit, said a police officer.

The two youths detained by the police were already under the Special Cell's scanner.

However, they disappeared around two years ago, following which they are suspected to have crossed the border and attended training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan with their associates, the officer said.

Security officials were sent into a tizzy after a phone call claimed the presence of a potential explosive in the high-security premises of IGI Airport today.

The police unit at IGI received a call around 2.20 pm from customs department officials, who informed them that they had received a call about a bomb at the cargo area inside IGI Airport, following which a bomb disposal squad was rushed but nothing suspicious was found, said a senior police officer.

The object suspected to be carrying explosive material was a particular parcel, which was checked thoroughly but no explosive substance was found, the officer said. The entire operation was executed by several security agencies, he added.

In a breakthrough, China, the largest importer of red sanders wood today agreed to help India crackdown on the smuggling of the expensive timber from Andhra Pradesh.

China is the biggest importer of the red sanders wood and is regarded as the most unique and expensive which is only available in Andhra Pradesh, AK Parida, Special Chief Secretary, Department of Environment, Forest, Science and Technology who held talks with the Chinese officials told reporters here.

We are very happy to get a positive response from China to crackdown on the smuggling of red sanders wood. The modalities will be finalised at a meeting of various official agencies from China and Andhra Pradesh January 28," he said.

Deputy Ambassador of India to China, Bala Bhaskar, who took part in the negotiations with Chinese officials along with Andhra delegation said it is a breakthrough in curbing smuggling as much of the precious wood which is not grown anywhere in the world except in Andhra Pradesh and is only exported to China.

Prince Charles is routinely sent papers from confidential UK Cabinet meetings, a media report said today raising concerns over the neutrality of the heir to the Britain throne.

The latest documents reveal that Prince Charles is sent papers on the inner workings of the government, alongside Queen Elizabeth II and ministers in charge of departments, including secret proposals for new legislation and other documents that are made public only after 30 years under UK's de-classification rules, the 'Guardian' newspaper reported.

Confirmation of the circulation of Cabinet files to the 67-year-old future monarch is detailed in the Cabinet's "precedent book", which until now has been kept in a locked cupboard within a locked office in a secured corridor inside the Cabinet Office, the report said.

The annual Chicago leadership prayer breakfast in the US early this month started with a Sikh prayer.

The Sikh prayer at 51st annual Chicago Leadership Prayer Breakfast on December 4, was performed by Rajinder Singh Mago who prayed to the One Universal God for the well-being of all humanity.

Mago is a longtime volunteer coordinator of mainstream community outreach at Sikh Religious Society based in Palatine Illinois.

00:16 I'm the fittest person to become PM: Azam Khan

Claiming to be the "fittest" person to become the Prime Minister, senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan today said that he aspires to take up the top job and that "if Narendra Modi resigns and all MPs elect me the PM it will send a good message across the country and India will progress with each passing day".

Khan claimed that even his Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav will support his candidature for the Prime Minister's post. "When the time comes, Mulayam Singh will propose my name," he said.

When reporters asked Khan about posters being put up in Lucknow demanding his elevation to the post of deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, he said, "You are insulting me. I want to be become the prime minister and I deserve to hold the post. That's why I have removed posters of me becoming deputy chief minister.

"Reminded that UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had recently floated the idea of Mulayam as prime minister and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as the deputy prime minister at an event in Delhi, Khan said, "I'm the fittest person to become the prime minister of the country and I aspire to be the prime minister."

00:13 Top headlines of the last 24 hours

Los Angeles shuts over 900 schools after terror threat
PM gets a glimpse of Indian Navy's might
PM visits Sivagiri mutt; pays tribute to Narayana Guru
Disrupt, destruct and demolish is Congress mantra: PM Modi
US soldier swapped with Taliban militants faces jail for 'desertion'
Failed to get justice for my daughter: Nirbhaya's father

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