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Mon, 02 February 2015
Need for resolute action against terror: PM on killing of Japanese

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23:51   After 7 year gap, Pakistan Day to see military parade in full glory
A joint military parade of Pakistan's armed forces will take place on Pakistan Day, sources said on Monday, after a gap of seven years.

"The decision has been made to hold a joint military services parade on March 23," a top military source told Dawn on the condition of anonymity.

The parade will be organised by joint staff headquarters in Rawalpindi, which oversees the three armed forces of Pakistan.The venue for the parade is yet to be finalised, with the two vast compounds shortlisted as potential sites.

The last military parade took place on March 23, 2008 during the tenure of Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf as a civilian president.

Read more HERE
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23:45   Mohan Lal to return Rs 2 cr after National Games flopshow
Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, who came under fire for a lackluster performance in the National Games inaugural ceremony, today decided to return the money given to him by the state government for the event. 

The national award-winning actor said here that he was very upset about the widespread criticism he has received and also unhappy with the allegations being overpaid for the musical show 'Lalism', which his band performed at the Games inauguration.

"I have no complaints against those who triviallise my weeks-long dedication and hard work which I put in for the success of the show. But I am very particular that my fans and admirers should have no suspicion about me with regards to the issue," Mohan Lal said in a statement. 

The performance of the band, in which Mohanlal himself sang a number of songs along with some well-known singers, invited wide criticism not only from film and music circles but also from the political fraternity.

Mohanlal said it was no longer needed to drag his name into the controversy as he was ready to give back about Rs 2 crore to the government. 
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21:48   191 swine flu deaths reported in India in January 2015
Swine flu has claimed 191 lives in the country in January alone with Telangana reporting the highest number of cases of people afflicted with the H1N1 virus followed by Delhi, the government said today.

The total number of cases of swine flu coming to light across India in January stood at 2,038. Whiel Delhi saw 488 persons coming down with the disease with five deaths reported between January 1 to February 1 of this year, Telangana recorded 629 cases with 34 deaths.

In Gujarat, 309 persons contracted swine flu with the virus claiming 38 lives, said a senior health ministry official.
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20:58   Cong backs Tharoor on Modi comments
Congress today saw nothing wrong in Shashi Tharoor's latest praise of Narendra Modi as a 'master communicator'.

AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi insisted that Tharoor has instead drawn attention to the 'huge hiatus' between the words and deeds of the Prime Minister.

"It is wrong to distort. We should be fair... What is the clear meaning, intent and spirit of what he has said... He has faulted Modi on the huge hiatus between what he says and what he does," Singhvi said.

Tharoor, who had only recently earned the party's wrath for praising Modi, said in his latest remarks that in the prime minister "we are all seeing a master communicator at work".
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20:36   Need for resolute action against terror: PM on killing of Japanese
Strongly condemning the 'gruesome' and 'barbaric killing of two Japanese nationals by the ISIS, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said it is a stark reminder of the emergence of terrorism as a major global challenge and pressed the need for more resolute action to deal with it.

He wrote a letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,expressing India's solidarity in the wake of these acts of terror. The killing of Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa is 'gruesome &unfortunate', Modi said in a statement.

"These murders are a stark reminder to the world of the inhuman nature of terrorism and its emergence as a major challenge to the global community," he said in his letter to Abe, a day after the terror group claimed second of the Japanese hostages had been beheaded.
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19:59   Why are we continuing with 'ugly' ceremony at Wagah, asks Yashwant Sinha
Former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha today questioned the continuance of "ugly" beating retreat ceremony at Wagah on the India-Pakistan border being followed since 1959.

"...We have that ugly ceremony at Wagah, almost vulgar, I don't know why we are continuing it but we are," said the senior BJP leader, who also held the portfolio of finance in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

The ceremony, which marks closing of the Wagah border in Amritsar every evening, is a daily military practice that the security forces of the two countries -- Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers -- have jointly followed since 1959.
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19:52   BJP to send 1.2 crore letters to every family in Delhi
With less that a weak to go for Delhi polls, the BJP has decided to accelerate its campaign. The party will send personal letters to all 1.20 crore voters of the capital, in what is perhaps the biggest such exercises undertaken by any political party, reports NDTV

The letter is addressed to the head of each family and details development work done by the Modi government in the last nine months, sources said.

Read the full report here
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19:18   Ex-IMF chief's 'pimping' trial begins
Ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrived in court today to stand trial for "pimping" as part of a prostitution ring, four years after a sex scandal cost him his job and a shot at the French presidency.

The disgraced 65-year-old economist finds himself back in the dock -- this time in the northern French city of Lille -- accused of being at the centre of a vice ring which hired prostitutes for sex parties in Brussels, Paris and Washington.

The silver-haired Strauss-Kahn, dressed in a dark suit, slipped past a throng of journalists to arrive in the empty wood-panelled courtroom, where he paced up and down with his hands in his pockets in front of the imposing stone bench.

Strauss-Kahn -- once one of the most powerful men in the world -- will take the stand alongside a colourful cast of characters including luxury hotel managers, police, freemasons and a brothel owner nicknamed "Dodo the Pimp."
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18:49   BJP's 5 questions to Arvind Kejriwal today
BJP's 5 questions to Arvind Kejriwal today:

Q1. Within India you hav a convicted Naxal supporter and people charged with related offences are being given tickets.What's your association with such forces?

Q2. During 49-day rule subsidies were given to discoms from funds for SC/STs welfare. You are not supposed to divert funds, why did you do it?

Q3. You once said you will arrest journalists and put them behind the bars. Is this the kind of politics you want? Is this responsible, or what?

Q4. An ad you say hurts communitys sentiments, then  why did you in the name of VAT violations have 151 raids against a community that owns shops?

Q5. AAP candidate Irfan Ullah Khan from Okhla is an associate of a person accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts. Are you ready for anti-national activities?
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18:36  
Kiran Bedi's office allegedly attacked by lawyers. 
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18:35  
Two policemen killed, six injured in a Naxal ambush in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district: Police.
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18:29   If Virat scores ton and then blows kiss to girlfriend, I have no problem: Kapil Dev
Former India captain Kapil Dev feels that he is fine with Virat Kohli's antics as long as he is performing on field.

"If Virat Kohli scores a century and then blows a flying kiss towards his girlfriend, I have no problems. Rather I have problem if a player scores zero and is blowing a flying kiss. We played cricket in a different era and now its a different era. We have to accept that,' Kapil said at a 'Cricket Conclave' organized by News24.

"We can't just sit back and think that cricket is no longer a gentleman's game. Times have changed. The generation I played was different. We grew up with Test cricket. But now you have sledging, abuses and T20 is an accepted format," he said.

Kapil also took a sarcastic dig at India's team huddle which he described as "hug'.

"Well I have never understood this team hug inside the ground at start of the match. What were you guys doing in dressing room. Only eating eggs!"
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18:23  
Fire breaks out near Lady Dufferin hospital, Bowbazar (Kolkata), 15 reportedly injured.
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18:08   Filthy, abusive language complaint against Karan, Arjun, Ranveer
More on that AIB probe.

Police have initiated an inquiry into a complaint against filmmaker Karan Johar, actor Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, which alleged that the trio had used "filthy and abusive language" on a TV show.

According to the written complaint by Akhilesh Tiwari, President of Brahman Ekta Seva Sanstha in Mumbai, filed at Sakinaka police station today, the trio, along with other performers allegedly passed abusive and offensive remarks against one another and even at the audience during an episode of the AIB Knockout, a comedy show, police said.

The episode, which was uploaded on YouTube and other websites last week, has gone viral. In his four-page complaint at Sakinaka police station, Tiwari sought a criminal complaint against Johar, Kapoor and Singh as well as the show organiser, among others.

"I have handed over a letter to Sakinaka police demanding a criminal complaint be lodged against these so-called youth icons Karan Johar, Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh. The show, which can be seen on YouTube and other websites, was extremely abusive and it is not only ruining the clean image of the Indian culture & women, but is also misleading today's youth," said Tiwari.

The 43-year-old complainant claimed that the programme was organised in south Mumbai on December 20 and was uploaded on websites last week.

"I sought action against the event organisers and other performers as well, who passed dirty comments with such audacity. The police action would be a deterrent to them so that they would not dare to do such acts publicly in future," he said. Prasanna More, Senior Inspector at Sakinaka police station, told PTI "we have received the written complaint. We are inquiring into the matter. Once we reach a conclusion, appropriate action would be initiated, if required."

The show started off with Karan Johar announcing, "Let the filth begin." Other performers had cracked jokes at audience that included actors Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha and Alia Bhatt, the complaint said.
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18:00   Maharashtra orders probe into Arjun-Ranvir roast
Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde has ordered a probe into the recent All India Bakchod roast of Bollywood actors Arjun Kapoor and Ranvir Singh, for obscenity. Tawde's aide confirmed the probe. What was the roast all about, you ask?

Read these reports:When did Bollywood develop a sense of humour

and this one: 10 Stars who need a Roast
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17:46   Egypt court upholds death sentences 183 Muslim Brotherhood supporters
A court in Egypt has upheld the death sentences of 183 Muslim Brotherhood supporters over a 2013 attack on a police station near Cairo, reports the BBC.

The men were convicted in the killings of 16 policemen in the town of Kardas.

The attack took place after Egyptian military forces cracked down on protests over the ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July.

Hundreds of death sentences have been passed on Morsi's supporters since but none have been carried out.
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17:37   Freed al-qaeda reporter Greste to fight for colleagues in Cairo jail
Australian journalist Peter Greste will keep fighting to free his colleagues still jailed in Egypt, his family said today, after he was released following more than 400 days in prison on charges of backing the Muslim Brotherhood.

Greste, an award-winning correspondent for Al-Jazeera English television, flew to Cyprus with brother Michael after his release from Cairo's Tora prison yesterday, Egyptian officials told AFP. Greste was detained with colleagues Canadian-Egyptian Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed in December 2013 for allegedly aiding the blacklisted Brotherhood.

Their arrest sparked worldwide condemnation, with Washington and the United Nations leading calls for their release.

Fahmy's relatives expect him to also be deported under a decree passed by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that allows for the transfer of foreigners on trial.

His fiancee, Marwa Omara, told AFP in Cairo: "We are expecting Mohamed to be released in the coming days." Canada said Greste's release was "positive" and that it remained "very hopeful" that Fahmy would also be freed soon.
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17:30   Japan faces scrutiny over failed hostage negotiations
Japan's failure to rescue two hostages beheaded by Islamic State militants has raised doubts about its ability to handle an international crisis, as the country reels from news of journalist Kenji Goto's killing.

Analysts say the murders mark a "wake-up call" for Japan -- an officially pacifist country that has long avoided involvement in Middle East conflicts -- and that its response to the crisis, at times flat-footed, reveals the weakness of its diplomatic resources in the region.

"The government lacked information and that made it difficult for them to handle the situation," said Takashi Kawakami, a security expert and professor at Takushoku University. "It's a wake-up call. After this experience, they have to boost intelligence operations at home and overseas."
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17:25   Helen Mirren spotted riding the New York subway
Dame Helen Mirren, the Oscar-winning British actress, has been spotted riding the New York subway and was immediately praised for her "perfect posture" and "riding etiquette".

The Queen actress, who according to apparent witnesses had been reading an Ikea catalogue and eating Pringles, was praised on Twitter for the "impeccable" manner in which she carried her bag on her lap.

Mirren, who was on a downtown R train last Thursday, was also praised for not taking up too much space.  Read
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17:22  
Rajdeep Sardesai tweets: To his credit, @ArvindKejriwal takes every question without backing off, or a no comment or a walk out. Rare for a neta in today's world.
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17:13   BJP's Sadhvi Prachi invites Musharraf for ghar wapsi
Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Sadhvi Prachi has stoked fresh controversy by making inflammatory remarks on the issue of 'love jihad' and defending her statement that Hindu women should have four children. "They are trapping our daughters through 'love jihad'. These people who give birth to 35-40... are spreading love jihad... They are trying to make Hindustan into Darul Islam.

"When I made the remarks, it was as if the country was hit by a quake. The media said you have sparked an uproar with your remarks on four children. I said I have only advocated four children for Hindus not 40.... And it is important because the country needs it,' the saffron clad leader said at a function organised by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which felicitated Hindus who have more than four children.  Read
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17:05   A world record for chanting Hanuman Chalisa
It's a world record that devotees of Lord Hanuman would feel proud of.

On Saturday, some 1.30 lakh devotees from various parts of Karnataka gathered in Tenali's Tenali-Burripalem road to chant the Hanuman Chalisa, creating the world record for the largest such gathering.

Organised by the Mysore seer Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swami, the event saw the presence of Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah, representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records, and the Tenali MLA Alapati Rajendra Singh.

Schools had declared a holiday for the event, the venue sported a massive idol of Lord Hanuman, and the district administration had made elaborate security arrangements.

The event began at 9 am with a 'parayanam' session by the seer, and ended four hours later, when the Guinness representatives handed over the certificate verifying the event to the Mysore seer.
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16:56   The Australian woman who became a geisha
Four geisha, wrapped in kimonos under dark winter coats, walk in single file through a snow-covered forest. Their red and orange parasols a burst of color against the winter monochrome.

It could be a scene from a print by 19th century Japanese artist Hokusai, but behind the evocative image is a modern story. Read
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16:41  
Just in: Maoists ambush a police party in Bande village in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, 3 policemen injured.
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16:39   Sharad Pawar will be contesting BCCI elections
If you were in doubt, cut it out: Sharad Pawar tweets: This is to inform you all that I will be contesting upcoming BCCI elections. Pawar has decided to contest the Board of Control for Cricket in India elections. He is currently the president of Mumbai Cricket Association. Pawar was BCCI president from 2005 to 2008.
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16:35   Church attacks: Home ministry seeks report from Delhi police
The home ministry has asked for a report from the Delhi police on the frequent attack on religious places.

This comes after a church was allegedly vandalised by unidentified persons today in South Delhi's Vasant Kunj area, the fifth such incident since November.

Police said the incident at St Alphonsa's Church took place around 1 am and a case of theft has been registered.

They said a number of sacred items were damaged by the unidentified persons.

"We are investigating the incident and scanning the footage of CCTV installed near the church to identify the accused," said a senior police official. "We are probing all angles in the case," said the official.

The church's priest Father Vincent Salvatore claimed it was not a case of robbery. "It is a clear case of desecration of the church. It has been happening for the last many months. It happened in St Sebastian's Church in Dilshad Garden, then in Vikaspuri and in Jasola. This is the fifth church," he said.
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16:13   BJP slams AAP for 'twisting' advertisement's tone, moves EC
The BJP today filed a complaint against AAP with the Election Commission alleging that the party has violated the model code of conduct by trying to give "casteist and religious tone" to a "political statement" made by it in an advertisement.

"We have highlighted to EC about the unfortunate incident of use of caste in the election process (by AAP) which is in violation to the code of conduct," Union Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after meeting the EC officials in Delhi.

"An advertisement by the BJP which alluded to the anarchist attitude, mindset and behaviour of the AAP has sought to be twisted into religious and castiest overtones, which is deplorable and blown out of context.

"We have appealed to the EC to take action against this kind of deplorable behaviour," he said.

Earlier in the day, Arvind Kejriwal had accused the BJP of attacking his community in its advertisement, which targetted the AAP chief for allegedly threatening to disrupt the Republic Day celebrations last year while complaining over not getting an invite this year.

Delhi BJP President Satish Upadhyay alleged that controversy being created over the advertisement was a conspiracy of the AAP.

"They are trying to twist a political statement and give a casteist and religious tone to the otherwise smooth electoral process," he said.
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16:04  
Alright, Narendra Tandon's resignation has been accepted by Delhi BJP President Satish Upadhyay. 
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16:02   India Today reaches settlement with Salman Khurshid
The India Today group has reached an out-of-court settlement with Congress leader Salman Khurshid over the investigative reportage done by it in October 2012 on the activities of the Dr Zakir Husain Memorial Trust in which it had alleged misappropriation of funds by the trust in conducting aid and appliances camps for disabled persons.

Stung by the reportage, the Khurshids had filed civil and criminal defamation suits against the group across the country, but now comes the news that the two sides have settled the matter, with India Today stating that there was no intention to question the personal integrity of the Khurshids.

For his part, the former external affairs minister said he regrets and withdraws the harsh words used against Aroon Puri, the founder and editor-in-chief of India Today.

Following the settlement, the Khurshids have also agreed to withdraw forthwith all the civil and criminal suits initiated by them against the publishing group.

As they said, all's well that ends well!
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15:54  
Bored of your 8-month-old phone? Where will your discarded phone go? Read
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15:51  
Breaking protocol, Chinese President Xi Jinping received External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and said China and India have taken solid steps to step up cooperation and implement the agreements reached between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I have full confidence on the future of China and India relations and I believe that good progress will be achieved in the growth of bilateral relations this year,' Xi told Swaraj who called on him at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.  Read more
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15:48   Ni Hao! Sushma meets Xi Jinping ahead of PM Modi's visit
External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj meets Chinese president Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Swaraj is on a three-day official trip to China. The external affairs minister, who is on her first visit to China, after assuming charge, said the PM would undertake the visit before the Modi government completed one year in office.

Swaraj said Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping were leaders with strong "will power" and both could think out of the box and could find a solution to the border dispute during Prime Minister Modi's "outcome-driven visit", she said.

Both sides agreed that the resolution of the border dispute should not be left to future generations.

Xi's visit to India in September last year was overshadowed by the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Chumar region in Ladakh which was finally resolved with the simultaneous withdrawal of troops after hectic rounds of talks.

Swaraj also announced that an alternate route for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra, through the Nathula pass in Sikkim, will be opened in June.


Click on the picture for a larger image.


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15:36   BJP's Vision Document tomorrow
A slight change, the BJP says it will release the Vision Document for Delhi tomorrow. Earlier reports said the document would have been released at 5 pm today. 
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15:34  
In liberated Kobani, Kurds take pride despite the devastation. Read
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15:30  
Excellent take on Mid Day on Modi's Rs 10 lakh suit during the Obama visit that had his name woven into the fabric.


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15:26  
Encounter specialist cop Ravindra Angre joins BJP at Thane, tweets @news_houndz.   
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15:25   Ahead of polls, Bedi releases a fresh makeover plan for Delhi
Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi on Monday released a 10-point plan for the city ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in Delhi. Bedi, in a series of tweets, shared her plan to make the national capital more 'economically vibrant'. She also stated that she targets traders, businesspersons and entrepreneurs in the city to realise her plan. Read
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15:24   Jaishankar enthusiastic about Modi's vision for India
We hear that the new foreign secretary, S Jaishankar, is keen to give a not-so-gentle push to Modi's world view and development plans, in all that is in his purview.  
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15:16  
India-Russia-China Foreign Ministers in political consultations in Beijing, tweets MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

Click on the picture for a larger image.
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15:14   I became emotional, will work for party: Kiran Bedi's poll manager
A chastised Tandon says, he became a bit emotional. "Will keep on working for the party," he added. 
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15:10   'Dictator' Kiran Bedi's poll manager withdraws resignation
ANI reports that Kiran Bedi's election in-charge, Narendra Tandon, met Amit Shah at the BJP HQ, and withdrew his resignation.

Tandon, a state executive member and Kiran Bedi's campaign in-charge, quit the party five days ahead of the polls, today.

In a letter to the BJP party president, Amit Shah, Tandon wrote, "I could not tolerate the way she gave dictation to us (BJP workers). Her (Kiran Bedi) aides used to insult me on every issue."

The BJP minister said in his resignation that he cannot bear the 'constant dictation by Bedi'. He said he quit because of Bedi's dictatorial attitude.
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15:03   Jayanthi kick-starts 'Rahul revolt ' campaign
Former Congress loyalist Jayanthi Natarajan's letter bomb to Sonia Gandhi -- an all-out indictment of Rahul Gandhi's style of functioning --  may well
have a domino effect on other Congress party workers seething at the state of affairs of the 130-year-old party.

Speculation is rife that two Congress leaders -- one from Vidhharba and another from Karnataka -- will raise the banner of revolt against Rahul Gandhi.

The buzz with the Congress HQ is that Jayanthi Natarajan did two manage to bell the cat. 
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14:52   Pak successfully test fires cruise missile Raad
Pakistan has successfully test fired cruise missile 'Raad'. The missile has the capability to hit the target in the range of 350 kilometers.
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14:49   Amit Shah to release BJP's Vision Document at 5 pm today
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be releasing its Vision Document at 5 pm at the party headquarters today.

To counter the Aam Aadmi Party's 70-point manifesto for Delhi, the BJP's vision document 2050 will feature a road map for the development of the city in line with Prime Minister's vision to turn India into a developed country 'where all strata of the society will benefit from the fruits of pro-development policies of the government at the Centre'.

The document will be released by party chief Amit Shah.
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14:41   What lies ahead for Jaishankar?
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is expected to discuss 20 postings which were not filled in during his predecessor Sujatha Singh's tenure.

The discussions will take place with both his immediate boss, EAM Sushma Swaraj and then with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Jaishankar is planning to move one IFS officer in Commerce, Industry Agriculture, Petroleum and Railway ministry. Why railway? That's because the bullet train is one of the key to-dos for the Modi government and needs a push from across departments.

Energy security is also priority for Jaishankar and so one IFS officer will also be posted in the Finance and Petroleum ministries.

Jaishankar is all gung-ho about this new appointment and needs the approval of the Prime Minister. 
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14:34  
The Delhi assembly poll results will have a major impact in Punjab, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. A direct hit will be the Akilesh government in UP. At least 25 MLAs of the Samajwadi Party are in touch with the BJP.  Some industrial houses have invested in AAP and they are not happy with the BJP dividing up select industrial houses.
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14:26   Foreign secretary to meet President after China visit
President Pranab Mukherjee will also meet the new foreign secretary S Jaishankar on February 4. Jaishankar will be accompanying foreign minister Sushma Swaraj to China and its only after he is back from the visit, where India hopes to soothe ruffled feathers, will he meet Pranab Mukherjee. In fact, Jaishankar has worked with President Mukherjee. That was the time when Pranab Mukherjee was the external affairs minister in 1995.
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14:21   So, what did Sharad Yadav tell Prez Mukherjee?
JD-U leader Sharad Yadav spent 45 minutes with President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan today in what is being described as a courtesy call. However, sources tell us that politics was discussed apart from the stratagem during the upcoming Budget session of Parliament. Yadav also extended an invitation to the President to visit Bihar in April. 
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14:19   The Russian in Sushma Swaraj's room
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Delhi ahead of the Russia, India, China Foreign Ministers meeting scheduled for later in the day. Lavrov drove straight from the airport to attend the meeting which was also attended by newly appointed Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.


To the right, is MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin taking a picture of the meeting. Always quick with those tweets. 

Click on the image for a larger picture.
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14:12   Army helicopter crashes in Dimapur
A Cheetah helicopter of the Army crashed today seconds after taking off from Rangapahar helipad in Nagaland's Dimapur district, with the two pilots and an army official on board escaping unhurt.

The army aviation chopper was on a routine sortie when it crashed nose down from a height of about 10-12 feet on the ground at 9.30 am, Defence PRO in Shillong, Amit Mahajan said.

Defence PRO in Kohima Lt Col Emron Musavi said that there were two pilots and an army official in the helicopter but none was injured in the crash. Mahajan said the helicopter was damaged in the crash.
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14:04   It's a do or die for AAP
In one of the most closely fought elections in Delhi -- here's the latest slogan: "Bright for BJP, Tight for Congress and Fight in AAP."

The slogan outlines the prospects of winnability in the Delhi Assembly polls and has been heard often in Delhi political circuits, especially after Narendra Modi entered the poll campaign.

This in fact, is a 'do or die' situation for AAP. The 2015 poll is the last resort for AAP to show its strength and if they don't form the government the enthusiasm in the AAP cadre will vanish.
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13:46   TV actors join AAP
TV actors Ayub Khan and Smita Bansal have joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Ayub Khan, who is known for movies like 'Dil Chahta Hai' and 'Chehra' and TV show 'Uttaran', was quoted saying that the people from distant lands are joining Arvind Kejriwal with expectations that he will bring a change
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13:40   It takes an election to make dilliwallahs urban
"The Delhi elections should be an annual event, like the Jaipur Festival. They're fun, they're free (well, the voting is) and they perk the city up, they make this sprawling, surly dustbowl coherent. Strangers approach without uttering menaces, they are enthusiastic and sociable, and everywhere people gather purposefully without making other people afraid. It takes an election to make dilliwallahs urban."


Mukul Kesavan's must-read on the Delhi polls.
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13:38  
Why Delhi elections will be the first class-based polls after decades. Read
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13:19   Is Elangovan on his way out as TNCC chief?
Will it be S Thirunaukarasa or Sudarshan Nachipappan? Those are the two names now making the rounds as the next TNCC chief.

Discussion is rife at 24 Akbar Road, the headquarters of the AICC, for the position of chief. This will happen once the Delhi and Srirangam polls are over, but before the next AICC session.

Rahul Gandhi wants to change the chief of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee. The present boss EVKS Elangovan is afflicted by  foot-in-mouth disease and is not la leader, say Congressmen. In fact, he scares away cadre.

A six-page complaint against Elangovan has been been handed over by a former union minister because of Elangovan's tirade against P Chidambaram and his son, Karti.

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12:58   HC asks Kejriwal if his candidature for Delhi polls should be cancelled
The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on a plea seeking cancellation of his candidature from contesting Delhi polls.

The notice has been issued on the plea of Congress leader Kiran Walia which says that Kejriwal cannot contest from New Delhi as he is a resident of Uttar Pradesh.

Walia is contesting against Kejriwal from prestigious New Delhi constituency for February 7 Assembly polls.

The court has also issued notices to ECI, CEO and five others against inclusion of Kejriwal's name in the list of candidates for the assembly polls. 
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12:53   Rajya Sabha seat for Priyanka Gandhi?
A desperate Congress seems keen to use its Brahmastra -- Priyanka Gandhi.

Youngsters from the party want Priyanka to be given a Rajya Sabha seat.

What may happen is that Sonia Gandhi may agree to this  proposition since it will no hamper Rahul's stature in the party.

But if Priyanka does indeed get a RS seat, the Congress will get reinvigorated..

The party of course, has to watchout since the BJP will use the move for political gain saying that the family is in Parliament and not in hearts of the voters.
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12:06   Rahul Gandhi to be crowned AICC prez in March
Rahul Gandhi will be elected President of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in March 2015 when it meets in New Delhi. Party workers are now wondering if Rahul's promotion (he is now party vice president) as the AICC prez is because of Sonia Ganndhi's ill health.  

Or is it because Rahul is really interested in doing his job? Whatever the truth, insiders say the pressure to take charge comes from his sister Priyanka Gandhi because she is concerned about Sonia's health. 
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12:00   Coming soon, Dr Karan Singh's letter bomb to Sonia
After former environment minister Jayanthi Natarajans letter to Sonia Gandhi shook up the Congress party last week, another letter is expected, that could be cataclysmic.

Dr Karan Singh, long-time Congress member and its Rajya Sabha MP, is learnt to have sent a four-page letter to Sonia expressing his disillusionment with the party.

The immediate reason? He was not included in the Congress delegation that met US President Barack Obama on January 26; his arch rival, Anand Sharma, whose overreach in matters international is said to rile Karan Singh no end, was.

Dr Singh has been feeling suffocated in the Congress for quite some time now, and would have quit the party last year had it not been for Sonia and Rahul meeting him over lunch and softening him up a bit, say insiders.

But now, matters are expected to come to a head in the wake of the Delhi election results in which the party is expected to fare badly.
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11:46   Sensex trims its initial losses, still down 41 pts
The S&P BSE benchmark sensex trimmed its initial losses but was quoted still lower by 41 points in the late morning trade due to selling in Banking and FMCG sectors despite buying in Capital Goods, Consumer Durable and IT sectors.

The sensex opened lower at 29,143.63 and dropped further to 29,024.92 on weak Asian cues coupled with foreign capital outflows before quoting at 29,142.45 at 1100hrs, still showing a loss of 40.50 points or 0.14 per cent from its last weekend's level.

The CNX 50-share Nifty also moved down by 6.95 points or 0.08 per cent to 8,801.95 at 1100hrs. Major losers were Dr Reddy's Lab (2.42 pct), Coal India (2.24 pct), HUL (1.97 pct), Bajaj Auto (1.92 pct), Icici Bank (1.70 pct), Bharti Airtel (1.68 pct), HDFC Bank (1.25 pct) and ITC (1.25 pct). However, Sun Pharma at 2.45 pct, Hindalco 2.11 pct, Maruti 2.11 pct, Wipro 1.73 pct, Larsen 1.53 pct, M&M 1.50 pct and Cipla 1.26 pct showed a rise.
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11:30   'The aircraft knows no gender'
'People often ask me what it is like for women in the Indian Air Force and I tell them there is no gender bias. The aircraft knows no gender. It does not know whether a man or a woman is at the controls," Squadron Leader Sneha Shekhawat, the first woman officer to lead a marching contingent twice on Republic Day, tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com. Read
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11:25   Poster wars: BJP targets Kejriwal yet again
With just five days to go for the Delhi elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party has stepped up its attacks against Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal. Using posters, the BJP has slammed the AAP chief over multiple issues.

On Monday, in its newest poster, BJP mocks Kejriwal threatening to disrupt Republic Day celebrations and later complaining that he was not issued a VIP pass.

Earlier, the saffron party took a dig at Kejriwal's promise of not taking up a government bungalow while being chief minister of Delhi. Kejriwal had moved in to government's bungalow at Tilak Marg last year after he became the chief minister of Delhi.

He vacated the bungalow after he resigned. Before these two posters, the BJP had released another one of a cartoon of Hazare being garlanded, implicating that the AAP had killed the veteran anti-corruption crusader.

Read more
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11:21   Painting a canvas of diversity
Barack Obama's Siri Fort address celebrated Indian diversity, but with a caution that failure to strengthen it could result in insecurity and fear limiting its emancipating power. Read
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11:13   'Dictator' Bedi's campaign in-charge quits ahead of Delhi polls
Narendra Tandon, a Bharatiya Janata Party state executive member and Kiran Bedi's campaign in-charge, has quit the party five days ahead of the polls. In a letter to the BJP party president, Amit Shah, Tandon wrote, "I could not tolerate the way she gave dictation to us (BJP workers). Her (Kiran Bedi) aides used to insult me on every issue."

The BJP minister said in his resignation that he cannot bear the 'constant dictation by Bedi'. He said he quit because of Bedi's dictatorial attitude.
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10:38   China's Xi wants Modi to visit hometown during visit in May
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who will meet with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Beijing this afternoon, has conveyed his keenness for Narendra Modi to become the first foreign leader to visit his hometown of Fuping near Xian when the Indian PM visits China in May.

The offer from Xi for Modi to visit Fuping reciprocates the PM's gesture to host the Chinese president in Gujarat last September. 
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10:31   Church vandalised in south Delhi
In another attack, a church in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj has been vandalised. The St Alphonsa's church was vandalised, with the Christmas crib and other parts of the church being damaged. This is the fifth attack on a church in Delhi with other churches in Vikaspuri and other parts of Delhi being damaged. Earlier in the month, the Archbishop also expressed his concern at the continued silence of the prime minister on attacks on churches and provoking Hindutva remarks by his party men.

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10:27   Know your Baracks & misters
Those who keep count of such matters have it on authority that Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to US President Barack Obama as 'Barack' at least 25 times during their Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast last week. The US president referred to Modi nine times -- thrice each as 'prime minister', 'Prime Minister Modi' and 'Mr prime minister'. But never as 'Narendra'.

Read the entire report HERE
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10:22   No need to change Preamble: Amit Shah
The Bharatiya Janata Party respects the Constitution as it stands today, with the words 'secular' and 'socialist' in its Preamble, party president Amit Shah has said. Terming the recent controversy over government advertisements showing the original version of the Constitution, that did not have these words, as 'meaningless', Shah said: "The BJP believes that the Preamble, as it stands today, should remain. There is no need to change it."

Read the full interview HERE
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09:37   Beep out 'Bombay' from song: Censor Board tells singer
The Bombay High Court may have the word in its name, but the Censor Board has asked for 'Bombay' to be removed from the lyrics of a singer's song before clearing its music video's release on television. The song in question is 'Sorry', from vocalist Mihir Joshi's album Mumbai Blues. "The song is available online and when the music company approached the censor board to release it on television, they objected to the word Bombay and asked them to beep it out. The label agreed since they want this song to reach out to as many people as possible," Joshi said. 

Read more HERE.
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09:18   Ahead of Delhi polls, BJP likely to release vision document today
Just five days before Delhi goes to vote, the Bharatiya Janata Party will release its vision document for the national capital today. The vision document is being released instead of a poll manifesto by the party for the upcoming assembly polls.

Party president Amit Shah is likely to release the document at the BJP's office. Ahead of its release, party's chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi said, "Vision document will be a result of team work. It will prepare Delhi for 2050. Vision will be to make Delhi a world class city."
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08:43   Sunanda's son to be questioned today?
According to sources, Shiv Menon, Sunanda Pushkar's son will most likely be questioned today by the Delhi police in connection to her murder. Sources said that authorities might question Shiv about his mother's IPL connections. 

Police have already questioned Shashi Tharoor and Amar Singh in connection to Sunanda's murder. Sunanda was found dead in a five-star hotel room in Delhi last year in January. 
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08:08   Explosions at luxury mall rattle Bangkok
Two bombs exploded at the entrance to a popular mall on Sunday night in Bangkok. There were no injuries, said Lt General Prawut Thavornsiri, spokesman for Thai police. Two IED-type bombs had been placed behind an electric converter booth at the Siam Paragon mall. The immensely popular luxury shopping mall was the most Instagrammed location in the world in 2013.

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