Live! Obama: 'No complete strategy' yet on training Iraqis

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Mon, 08 June 2015

Timeline Refresh

23:48 Outrage after video shows officer pulling gun on teens

The outrage was immediate. After a video surfaced of a chaotic confrontation between teens and police at a community pool in Texas, calls for one officer's dismissal were swift and loud.

The police officer is on administrative leave after the appearance of the YouTube video showing the incident Friday in the Dallas suburb of McKinney.

As the outcry continues, a lot of unanswered questions remain.

Were the teens from the neighborhood? Does the pool have security cameras showing the entire incident? Who is the officer? Has he had any previous discipline problems?

Some on social media, including commenters on the YouTube post, reacted to the video by saying that race was a factor.

The officers appear to be white and many, though not all, of the teenagers are black.

Read full story HERE.

President Barack Obama said on Monday his top national security advisers were still working to solidify training plans for Iraqi defense forces battling ISIS in their own country.

"We don't yet have a complete strategy because it requires commitments on the part of the Iraqis," Obama said during concluding remarks at the G7 conference in Germany, citing recruitment as a key stumbling block facing the central government in Iraq. Critics of the administration's strategy in Iraq seized upon the president's comments Monday, claiming they indicated a policy failure and referencing similar comments Obama made in August.

"What has President Obama been doing for the last 10 months?" the Republican National Committee wrote.

Obama said during an August press conference his administration was still devising a way to fight ISIS.

"I don't want to put the cart before the horse. We don't have a strategy yet," he said at the time.

Boosting the fighting power of Iraqi forces has proven difficult for the US, which is relying on local forces to beat back ISIS terrorists who have gained ground in places like Ramadi and Mosul.

Read full story HERE.

22:39 Video of US police shooting made public

Usaamah Rahim hits the ground in the parking lot, just as a yellow school bus passes through the foreground of the surveillance video.

That much is clear from the footage, obtained from a fast-food restaurant about 50 yards away, showing how police killed the Boston terror suspect last week. Authorities shared the video with media Monday after honoring the family's request that it not be released until after Rahim's funeral Friday.

Officials told reporters the footage spoke for itself. Still, it required narration as Rahim, five FBI agents and a Boston Police Department detective appear as moving blobs.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai today urged Myanmar leaders to take "immediate action" to prevent the persecution of the country's Rohingya Muslims, most of whom are considered by the government to be illegal immigrants.

The 17-year-old, who was shot by militants in her native Pakistan for campaigning for girls' rights, said that Rohingyas deserved "equal rights and opportunities" and called for them to be integrated into the country.

21:19 Greenpeace staffer denied entry to India

A Greenpeace International staff was denied entry into India as his named figured in Home Ministry's "blacklist", triggering protests from the NGO which dubbed allegations of wrongdoing as "farce and a smear".

Aaron Gray-Block, a crisis response campaigner with Greenpeace International, was sent back to Australia from Bengaluru on Saturday.

Oscar Pistorius, the South African double amputee sprinter who shot dead his girlfriend, is scheduled to be freed on parole on August 21 after serving just 10 months in jail, officials said today.

The proposed release date provoked an angry reaction from the parents of model and television presenter Reeva Steenkamp, 29, who Pistorius shot on Valentine's Day in 2013.

Senior Supreme Court advocate Ram Jethmalani, who has been critical and disapproving about the the recommendation and subsequent appointment of K V Chowdary as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner, has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that he would drag the government to the Supreme Court over the appointment.

You can see a copy of the letter Jethmalani posted on his Twitter handle HERE.

A Bangladeshi photojournalist has been arrested over his alleged role in the murder of an "atheist" blogger who was hacked to death last month by masked machete- wielding assailants, police said today.

"A team of CID (criminal investigation department) arrested him as a suspect," M Rokonuddin, additional police commissioner of northeastern Sylhet, where Ananta Bijoy Das was hacked to death, told PTI. He said photographer Idris Ali, who works for a national and a Sylhet daily, was remanded into police custody for seven days for interrogation on orders of a court.

20:15

JUST IN: Joint Commissioner M K Meena will head ACB instead of Additional Commissioner S S Yadav who was hand-picked by the AAP government.

19:59 Ola website hacked; Co says user details safe

Online taxi hailing service Ola's website was today hacked with attackers claiming to have accessed user information like credit card details, a claim that the firm vehemently denied, saying there was no security lapse and only "dummy" user values had been compromised.

The unknown hackers, who called themselves 'TeamUnknown', put out a webpost under the head "OLACABS.COM Hacked..!!" and said Ola's "application design is very poor" and they had been able to access "user details along with credit card transaction history and unused vouchers".

It was not clear if Ola's mobile app was compromised or the attack was restricted to the website, with neither the hackers nor the company providing any details. The company, in an emailed response, said: "There has been no security lapse, whatsoever to any user data. The alleged hack seems to have been performed on a staging environment when exposed for one of our test runs".

Completing 100 days in power, the Jammu and Kashmir government today admitted that "some controversial issues" had "impacted" its governance but claimed that it had addressed all the issues successfully.

"The 100 days of our rule was setting the stage right for ensuring good governance. There were some controversial issues which impacted the governance, but we resolved all the issues and these 100 days, I can firmly say, was successful," Deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh said at a conference on the completion of 100 days of PDP-BJP government.

He did not elaborate on the "controversial issues" but the state has lately seen increase in separatist activities and repeated incidents of Pakistani flags being hoisted, for which the government has come under attack.

Singh, who belongs to BJP and hails from Jammu, highlighted the work done by his government and attacked the previous National Conference dispensation of Omar Abdullah, saying it had left behind a "mess".

"We have got this mess. And we have honestly tried to correct this mess," he said, adding "We have started setting this platform for good governance".

Goa Congress has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking removal of state Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar from the state cabinet over his controversial remarks on gangrape of two Delhi-based women.

"We condemn the recent extremely insensitive statements made by the BJP-led government's Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar with respect to gangrape in Goa," the letter by Durgadas Kamat, secretary of Goa Pradesh Congress committee, says.

Two Delhi-based women, holidaying in Goa, were allegedly waylaid and raped by five men last week. All the five were later arrested.

19:39 JD(U)- RJD tie-up a 'gimmick', says Paswan

Describing the alliance between Janata Dal-United and Rashtriya Janata Dal ahead of Bihar polls as a gimmick, Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan today blamed Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad's regime for creating chaos in the state.

"This alliance between JD-U and RJD before the Bihar elections is a nautanki (gimmick)," Paswan, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister, said.

"If anyone is to be blamed for the chaos in Bihar, then it is the 15-year-old rule of Lalu Yadav and Rabri and the 10-year-rule of Nitish Kumar," Paswan, who heads LJP, a key partner in the National Democratic Alliance said. Bihar will not benefit from the coming together of Kumar and Prasad, he said.

Delhiites braced for another scorcher today with the mercury settling at 42.9 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal for this time of the season.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 27.7 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year, a MeT department official, said, adding, the humidity levels oscillated between 72 and 21 per cent. The weatherman has predicted cloudy sky from tomorrow morning onwards.

"Mainly clear sky will turn partly cloudy tomorrow morning onwards. The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 43 and 27 degrees respectively," the official said.

Yesterday, the minimum temperature was recorded at 26 degrees, two notches below the normal, while the maximum had settled at 42.5 degrees Celsius.

After resisting the JD-U's demand for weeks, RJD chief Lalu Prasad today agreed to naming Nitish Kumar as chief ministerial face of the 'secular alliance' for Bihar polls, saying he was ready to drink "poison" to crush the "cobra" of communalism.

"I want to assure the secular forces and the people of India that in this battle of Bihar, I am ready to gulp everything. Hum har tarah ka ghoont peene ko taiyar hain. Hum har tarah ka zehar peene ko taiyar hain. (I am ready to drink all types of poison)," said the RJD boss at a news conference where Kumar, friend-turned-foe-turned-friend, was declared the chief ministerial candidate of the RJD-JD-U alliance

"I am determined to crush the hood of this snake, this cobra of communalism," he asserted, referring to BJP, which is certain to go all out to wrest Bihar from the JD-U. Earlier, Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, who is seen to have brokered the pact, said he was happy about the "unity" reached between the two Bihar satraps.

"I am very happy about the unity of Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar. Kumar will be the chief ministerial candidate for Bihar. Laluji has proposed Nitish Kumar's name for the chief ministership. Laluji said he will campaign."

Piku, a Bollywood rib-tickler, which has Amitabh Bachchan portraying an old man Bengali man suffering from anxiety disorder due to constipation, had President Pranab Mukherjee in splits yesterday.

Mukherjee enjoyed the film at a special screening at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the company of the megastar himself and veteran BJP leader L K Advani, a known movie buff, who was seated next to the president.

The president was seen having a hearty laugh many times during screening of the film in which Bachchan plays father to Deepika Padukone.

The 72-year-old actor, who was seated between the president and his daughter Sharmistha, was also seen sharing some 'behind scene stories' during the screening. "I say with great reserve of modesty, he absolutely loved it! Most particular he seemed to have enjoyed the 'perfect' Bengali-Hindi accent, which he felt was flawless," Bachchan wrote on his blog.

"The president later invited us over for dinner and we continued to discuss the film and its merits," Bachchan, who was accompanied by his son Abhishek, said.

The director of the movie Shoojit Sircar, whose Madras Cafe and Vicky Donor received wide acclaim, was also present, and so was Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

Yet again a Twitter war has broken out between followers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his opponents.

Earlier in the day #Despitebeingawoman was a top trend with Modi drawing flak for a comment yesterday in his address to the Indian community in Bangladesh at the Dhaka University on Sunday.

But Modi lover are not the ones to give up. #ModieEmpowersWomen is now trending.

@ncsradvocate: #ModiEmpowersWomen through Beti Bachao (Save Girl Child).

@AnkurDhaka: #ModiEmpowersWomen For safety of Girls @HRDMinistry started constructing more Girls Hostel in central universities.

@tajinderbagga: Under PM Modi, a lady officer led the guard of honour for the 1st time for President Obama #ModiEmpowersWomen

Modi had said, "It is heartening that Prime Minister of Bangladesh despite the fact that she is a woman is openly saying that she has zero tolerance for terrorism. I would like to congratulate Sheikh Hasina for her firmness to deal with the menace."

Ishrat Jahan's family is likely to challenge the Union home ministry's decision not to prosecute four Intelligence Bureau officials in the alleged encounter case.

"I will decide (on the further course of action) after discussing it with Vrinda Grover. But ordinarily it is required to be challenged," advocate I H Syed, who appeared for Ishrat's mother Shamima Kausar, told PTI.

Syed was answering a query on the Centre denying permission to prosecute four IB officials, including a retired official, who were allegedly involved in conspiracy behind killing of Ishrat Jahan and three others.

According to Syed, as the MHA did not grant sanction to the investigative agency, charges cannot be framed against the officials, including the then joint director of subsidiary IB Rajender Kumar along with other sleuths M K Sinha, T Mittaland Rajiv Wankhede.

"As permission under section 197 of the CrPC (a mandatory and prior permission to prosecute any government servant in a noffence) has not been granted, charges against the accused (IB officers) cannot be framed," he said.

Earlier today, the MHA, after perusing the documents submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation, turned down the agency's plea for prosecuting IB officials.

The CBI had submitted its final report in the case to the home ministry, which is the cadre controlling ministry for IB personnel, two years back.

The government has invited diplomats from 152 foreign missions in the country for the mega event on June 21 to celebrate the UN-declared International Yoga Day.

Every diplomatic mission has been given three passes for the function to be held at Rajpath in New Delhi from 7.30 am to 7.35 pm where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present, sources said.

Confirmations to attend were still coming-in, they said when asked how many diplomats have confirmed their presence. However, not every top envoy is expected to be present with some of them travelling or having prior commitments, the sources said. The UN General Assembly in December had adopted an India-led resolution declaring June 21 as 'International Yoga Day', three months after the prime minister had proposed the idea.

Around 35,000-40,000 people are expected to participate in the event at the Rajpath besides 5,000 members of the armed police forces. The event will be webcast and telecast live.

Close to 11 lakh NCC cadets are expected to perform yoga across the country to mark the day. In the run-up to the mega event, the government is also set to organise an international conference on yoga for holistic health.

17:31 Bombay HC bans famous Victoria joyrides

In a victory to animal right activists, the Bombay high court has imposed a ban on the popular Victoria's or house-drawn carriages calling them illegal.

The court has given a year's time to phase out the carriages in Mumbai.The court has further directed the state to come up with a rehabilitation plan for the horses, its owners and riders.

The Victoria joyrides are a major attraction along Mumbai's Marine Drive.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filrd by Animal and Birds Charitable Trust seeking a ban on Victrorias on city roads. The PIL claimed that overwork, malnutrition, and lack of proper care are the common owes plaguing the horses. The HC had earlier given the the BMC the go ahead to confiscate unfit and unlicensed horses, who would be handed over to NGOs like PETA for rehabilitation.

17:23 Ban on Maggi deferred by Mizoram govt

Finally, some good news for Maggi.

The Mizoram government today deferred banning of 'Maggi' instant noodles acting on instructions from the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India.

Joint Director of Health Services (Food and Drugs Administration) Lalsawma told PTI that a meeting, convened by state Food Safety Commissioner Dr K Ropari, today deliberated on the instructions received from the FSSAI and decided not to ban 'Maggi' outright.

"The meeting was of the opinion that the matter should be carefully handled and the centre asked the state government to draw samples of the product for tests," Mr Lalsawma said.

Besides drawing samples for tests, the state health department would also wait and watch how the Nestle company recalled its products from the state, he said.
The state government has banned import and sale of four energy drinks.

It's been a year since he passed away, but for those of us at Rediff.com, Flying Officer MP Anil Kumar will always be remembered for his never-say-die, indomitable spirit, the very qualities that saw his life story being enacted in a play in the Air Force auditorium in New Delhi on Sunday.

An MiG-21 pilot in the Indian Air Force, Anil Kumar, or MP as he was fondly known to everyone, was returning home on June 28, 1988, after night-flying when he had a motorcycle accident and broke his neck, which reduced him to a paraplegic.

At the military hospital in Kirkee in Pune, he taught himself to write with a pen clenched between his teeth, and thus began his foray into the world of writing for publications. Rediff.com was among those he regularly wrote for.

One of his articles was included in the 'Defence' section of the popular book India Empowered along with luminaries like Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr Manmohan Singh.

His autobiographical article 'Airborne to Chairborne' was included in English text books in Maharashtra and Kerala.

Early in 2014, MP was also diagnosed with cancer, and like every adversity life threw at him MP fought it hard, till the very end on May 20, 2014. It was a life worth remembering, worth celebrating.

Which is what the play (image alongside), conceptualised by Tinku Srivastava and funded by his long-time friend Haridas, does.

Read about MP Anil Kumar's extraordinary life here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is receiving flak for "despite being a woman" comment about his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina. Twitter has been unforgiving with #DespiteBeingAWoman being a top trend.

The Congress also hit out at Modi. "More than once the PM said "I want to congratulate Sheikh Hasina that she's fighting a war against terrorism despite being a woman. The prime minister's comment on Bangladesh PM embarrasses women," said Congress' Anand Sharma. "Was PM Modi trying to say that woman are cowards and their courage needs to be validated by an Indian PM?"

"Modi certainly doesn't have qualities, gravitas, or grace that statesman have," he added.

On the land deal, Sharma said, "The PM should have showcased Bangladesh land deal as country's and not as his government. In 2011, the BJP opposed the land border agreement with Bangladesh."

16:57 Delhi's ITO metro station thrown open

The centrally located ITO metro station was thrown open to commuters today, ending months of anticipation and delay. The station, which is tipped to be one of the busiest in the entire Delhi metro network, is expected to take traffic load off the busy ITO intersection.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu launched the formal extension of services of the Badarpur-Mandi House section till ITO.

Kejriwal used the occasion to make a political point when he said, "Delhi metro is the symbol of Centre-state cooperation and this is how the two should work in every field."

The single-line extension is a first in the history of Delhi metro, which was also behind the delay, as it was not permitted as per Metro Railway General Rules. Construction work was completed by January itself.

Later, the urban development ministry amended and notified changes to the Metro Railway General Rules, 2013, to allow operations on single-line sections, paving the way for CMRS inspection and its eventual launch.

Train services on this 971-metre section is estimated to benefit 22,000 passengers daily to begin with and is expected to rise to 31,000 by 2021, enhancing DMRC's annual revenue by Rs 8 crore.

Terming the IIT-Madras report onde-recognition of a students' group as "incomplete", the National Commission for Scheduled Castes today sought an additional report from the institution even as its director appeared before it for a hearing over the controversy.

"They have given me a report in writing. I have asked for clarifications on why there was knee-jerk reaction on the part of IIT-Madras on a simple letter asking for comments from the ministry and why straightway de-recognition of APSC (Ambedkar-Periyar Study Circle) was issued, which was wrong," NCSC chairman P L Punia told reporters after the hearing.

He said that an additional report has been sought as today's report was incomplete, which does not reveal the reasons behind why action was initiated against APSC. "It is an incomplete report. It does not mention whyaction was taken against APSC at the first place," he said.

IIT-M Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi, the joint secretary from the department of higher education under the ministry of HRD Praveen Kumar were present in the meeting, which was convened a day after IIT-Madras revoked its de-recognition on the student group which was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed back in New Delhi after a historic three-day visit which saw milestone agreement signed between India and Bangladesh, he was greeted by an unpleasant hash tag on his favourite online space, Twitter.

#despitebeingawoman had climbed up to be the number one trending hash tag on the micro-blogging site, triggered by Modi's comments in Dhaka about his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina fighting terrorism, "despite being a woman".

An overwhelming number of women went online to register their displeasure over Modi's remarks, tweeting a series of replies to Modi's observation.

Read more HERE

The swearing-in of K V Chowdary as Central Vigilance Commissioner and Vijai Sharma as Central Information Commissioner is likely to place on Thursday morning.

President Pranab Mukherjee has signed the warrant orders for the same and further processing of the same is being carried out by the President's Secretariat.

President Mukherjee is likely to swear-in the duo on Thursday morning in Rashtrapati Bhavan, and after that he is scheduled to leave for a six-day stay in Shimla's Rashtrapati Niwas.

Incidentally, Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com had got the scoop on the duo's appointment, don't miss reading that!

Just In: MCOCA Court frames charges against 10 accused in the J Dey murder case.

The framing of charges in the court of judge AL Pansare will pave way for the long awaited trial of the case.

At present, while three of the accused -- former journalist Jigna Vora, Deepak Sisodia and Paulson Joseph -- are out on bail, seven are lodged in judicial custody.

A key accused in the case, Vinod Asrani aka Vinod Chembur, died in April this year of liver cirrhosis while another accused, Anil Waghmode, is suffering from a chronic disease.

Dey was shot dead by six assailants allegedly at the behest of gangster Chhota Rajan. According to the police, Rajan was upset with the senior scribe as he had written two articles portraying him negatively.

On December 3, 2011, the crime branch had filed a charge sheet against the 10 accused. Subsequently, on February 21, 2012, a supplementary charge sheet was filed against Vora, claiming his professional rivalry with Dey claimed his life.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be the chief ministerial candidate for Janata Dal United and Rashtriya Janata Dal alliance for the state assembly elections due in September-October this year.

The decision to project Nitish Kumar as the CM candidate was taken after the Bihar Chief Minister and Lalu met Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav at his residence in Delhi on Monday.

Mulayam thanked Lalu for proposing the name of Nitish Kumar as the CM candidate of the JDU-RJD alliance.

Lalu announced that the main aim of his party is to ensure consolidation of anti-Bharatiya Janata Party votes.

Central food safety regulator FSSAI today ordered testing of various noodles, pasta and macaroni brands, including Top Ramen, Foodles and Wai Wai, manufactured by seven companies to check compliance of norms in the wake of Maggi controversy.

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also asked for testing of four variants of "Maggi Nutilicious Pazzta with tastemakers".

"Various test results on Maggi and some other similar products have raised serious health concerns. In view of the same, it would be advisable to draw regulatory samples for similar products for which product approvals have been granted by the FSSAI...These samples should be sent to the authorised labs for testing," FSSAI CEO YS Malik said in letter to Commissioners of Food Safety in all states and UTs.

As per FSSAI order, the companies whose products have been listed for testing are Nestle India, ITC, Indo Nissin Food Ltd, GSK Consumer Helathcare, CG Foods India, Ruchi International and AA Nutrition Ltd.

The regulator has ordered the testing of products registered with it.

The products include Wai Wai noodles and bhujiya chicken snacks by CG Foods; Koka instant noodles from Ruchi International, Foodles by GSK Consumer Helathcare and Nestle's Maggi instant noodles with nine variants.

Others in the list are Indo Nissin's Top Ramen Aata Masala, ITC's three variants of instant noodles and Yummy chicken and vegetarian noodles of AA Nutrition.

A day after his meeting with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday said there is no doubt over the involvement of the Congress in the anti-BJP alliance being put together in poll-bound Bihar.

"I had a good discussion with Rahul Gandhi yesterday. The Congress is a part of any future alliance against the BJP," the Janata Dal-United leader said while addressing reporters in Patna.

Nitish said the alliance has planned a rally on June 18 against the controversial land ordinance, which has been pursued vigorously by the Narendra Modi government.

Nitish had broken his 17-year-old alliance with the BJP in Bihar in 2013 after Modi was chosen as the prime ministerial candidate by his party.

The home ministry has refused prosecution sanction for Intelligence Bureau officials in the Ishrat Jahan case.

The CBI had sought immediate sanction against former IB officials -- Special Director Rajendra Kumar, Tarun Mittal, M K Sinha and Rajiv Wankhede -- so that the investigating agency can proceed with their prosecution.

Kumar is charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and also under the Arms act in this supplementary charge sheet filed in February last year. The other three are charged for the same offences except the murder.

According to CBI, the killing of Jahan and three others in a fake encounter in 2004 was result of joint conspiracy of Gujarat police and the IB.

There is not going to be any respite in the violent offensive by ISIS during the Muslim holy month of Ramzan beginning next week, that's for sure. In the last three years, in fact, the ISIS it launched some of its major offensives during this month.

'ISIS is likely preparing a surge of operations to try to achieve important campaign objectives. ISIS can also be expected to commemorate its declaration of a Caliphate on the first full day of Ramadan 2014 by trying to build upon or surpass its declaration of the caliphate last year.

'ISIS could do so by accomplishing new military objectives, striking religious targets, or announcing a new political milestone. Regardless, ISIS is likely to begin and end Ramadan with attempted spectacular military offensive actions in Iraq and Syria,' says the Institute for Study of War.

Read more about what the ISIS will do, here.

Everyone knows everything there's to know about the most famous couple on Earth, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, or almost.

The Daily Mail now offers another facet to their celebrity lives.

'It's clear the Hollywood stars like to keep things as down-to-earth as possible for themselves and their brood of six children,' it reports, and posts an image-driven feature that shows the couple flying economy class, standing in line at the departure gate like any other normal couple, along with their six children.

'The famous family shunned a private jet or even the luxury of First Class in order to take a normal approach to travelling as they piled into an Air France plane on Saturday, going from the US to France, landing in Paris before taking a domestic trip down to Nice,' the Daily Mail reports. 'It was on the second leg of their journey that the Jolie-Pitts were seen blending in with their fellow passengers on the aircraft.'

You can see the full feature, along with photographs, here.

12:36 FIR against Telangana CM for phone tapping

A day after the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau released an audio clipping purported to be a conversation between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and a member of the Anglo-Indian community, TDP MLA Umamaheshwar Rao filed a police complaint against Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao for allegedly tapping into the phones of TDP MLAs of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

On Sunday, the Telangana anti-corruption bureau shared an audio recording with a section of the media.

In the audio, Naidu is heard allegedly speaking briefly with Elvis Stephenson, who was later nominated as an MLA by his community, just before elections for five seats to the Telangana Legislative Council were held last Monday.

Naidu was apparently assuring Stephenson of support.

12:29 Woman sues ebay over right to sell the Sun

A 54-year-old Spanish woman banned from selling plots on the Sun on eBay has filed a lawsuit against the internet ecommerce giant.

Maria Duran, from Vigo in the Spanish region of Galicia, has been claiming ownership of part of the Sun since 2010 when she threatened to bill solar power users.

The woman registered the star in her name at a notary office in Spain, before opening an eBay account selling square-metre plots for one euro each.

But two years later eBay pulled her listings, noting it violated its intangible goods policy and her account was blocked.

She threatened to sue, and now one Spanish court has recognised her claim, 'Sky News' reported.

A trial will take place next month, with Duran demanding around 7,500 pounds for payments she says she has not received.

Duran has rejected attempt by eBay to settle the case out of court.

12:03 The Manipur ambush and beyond

The ambush of 46 Indian soldiers in Moltuk valley at Parolong in Chandel district of Manipur on June 4, 2015, killing 18 of them, was a meticulously planned operation, writes Danvir Singh in Indian Defence Review.

'The selection of this site was meticulously done probably after a thorough recce and detailed planning. Going by the past incidents of such a nature, the North East insurgents are known to be carrying out dry rehearsals stretching into weeks before springing an operation. This also hints at failed intelligence on part of the Indian Army.'

'In a state where abnormal is normal and a vast majority favours secessionism, it is unlikely for the peace to return soon. This incident has however vindicated the stand of those military professionals who have opposed the call to abrogate the Armed Forces Special Powers Act,' he writes.

You can read the full article here.

Non-governmental environmental organization Greenpeace is yet again in news after it has alleged that one of their international staff members -- Aaron Gray-Block -- was refused entry into India on Saturday despite having a valid business visa.

The Greenpeace has claimed that no formal reason was given by the immigration officials for the decision and he was not even officially deported.

"Our colleague has a valid business visa, and yet he was prevented from entering India with no reason given. We support the free movement of people across the world, which is crucial to the work of business as well as charities. Greenpeace International is a global organisation that helps to find solutions to environmental problems."

"There is absolutely no reason why one of its staff members should be treated in such an arbitrary way, and we expect the Ministry of Home Affairs to offer a full explanation. We are forced to wonder if all international staff of Greenpeace will now be prevented from entering the country? If the Home Minister Rajnath Singh has a stand on this, then we would like him to state it clearly," Programme Director, Greenpeace India Divya Raghunandan said.

NDTV reports: The Delhi government has decided to withdraw a circular that allowed the controversial two-finger test on rape victims, sources told NDTV. Action will be taken against those who signed the circular.

Women's rights activists have objected to this test for years, claiming it leads to judging the woman.

In 2013, the Supreme Court held that the test violates the woman's right to privacy, and asked the government to provide better medical procedures to confirm sexual assault.

The circular said, "To do away with this essential pelvic examination would amount to incomplete assessment of the survivor, which will ultimately result in injustice and low conviction rates."

But it had also added that informed consent of the woman should be taken before conducting the test.

NDTV reports: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will today meet the city's sanitation workers who have been on a strike for the last 10 days over non-payment of salaries.

Senior civic body officials will also attend the meeting which will be held at the Ramlila grounds.

The agitation has resulted in mounds of garbage lying unattended in many areas of North and East Delhi.

Last week, sanitation workers affiliated to different unions from the three civic bodies met Kejriwal and his Deputy Manish Sisodia and raised the issue of not having received their salaries for the last two months.

The chief minister had assured the unions that the matter was being looked into.

Kalanithi Maran-owned Sun TV will go off air on Monday after their broadcasting licence was cancelled following denial of security clearance by the Union home ministry to 33 television channels of the Sun Network.

The decision of the Home Ministry was believed to have been influenced by pending criminal cases against Maran and his brother and former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, official sources said.

The Maran brothers are facing a CBI probe over alleged allotment of 300 high-speed BSNL telephone lines to the residence of former Communications and Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran in Chennai which were extended to his brothers channel.

There are two other pending criminal probes against Sun TV Network and its owner Kalanithi Maran -- CBI's Aircel-Maxis case and an Enforcement Directorate case of money laundering.

The Sun TV Network is one of Indias largest media groups whose TV channels reach more than 95 million households in India.

The Network had applied to the information and broadcasting ministry for renewing its broadcasting licence for 10 years. The process required security clearance from the home ministry.

Earlier, the Home Ministry had denied security clearance to 40 FM radio stations run by the Sun Network, prompting Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley to write to Home Minister Rajnath Singh in April, seeking a review of the decision.

The Narendra Modi government's plan to make yoga compulsory in schools is facing a fresh hurdle.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has warned the government that it will launch a nationwide campaign against the order that makes yoga and surya namaskars compulsory in schools.

The AIMPLB will move court demanding cancellation of the government's order.

The AIMPLB has called it an attempt to impose Hindu religious practices through the school curriculum.

The board has called the Modi government's policies illegal and against the Constitution.

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Starting on Monday, the country's low-cost Mars mission that is in a rendezvous with the red planet for an extended period will enter the "blackout" phase snapping communication with the satellite.

From June 8 to 22, the sun will block Mars from the earth snapping communication with the satellite.

MOM during this period will go into an "autonomous mode" and will take its decisions, a senior Indian Space Research Organisation official said.

"This will be for the first time that there will be a communication break for such a long period of about 15 days. During this period, there will not be any communication with the satellite," he said.

Expressing confidence about regaining control over the satellite once the blackout phase is over, he said, "the scenario has been tested for earlier; line of communication will be established."

The spacecraft's life was extended for another six months in March due to surplus fuel.

With assembly elections in Bihar likely to be held later this year, the Election Commission is dispatching four special teams of 'auditors' to the state on Monday for weeding out duplicate entries from electoral rolls.

The four teams comprising six officers each are part of the Commission's newly-set up Regulatory Audit Division and Bihar will be their first assignment, official sources said.

The Audit Division has been mandated to detect specific instances of non-adherence to the Commission's guidelines or legal provisions required to be followed by the field election machinery. Maintenance of the quality of electoral rolls is its other task.

"The teams have been mandated to carry out an in depth study of the electoral rolls, including removal of duplicate entries, correction of names, distribution of electoral photo identity cards (EPIC) and disposal of various forms submitted to the electoral registration officers (EROs) by voters," an official said.

The teams, which would cover all 38 districts, will commence their Bihar visit tomorrow and remain there till June 13. In the next phase, they will be in the state again from June 14 to July 15 and finally between July 16 and July 3.

Elections to the 243-member assembly are likely in September-October.

08:23 SC to resume hearing on pleas against NJAC

The Supreme Court will on Monday resume hearing arguments on the constitutional validity of the National Judicial Appointment Commission Act, notwithstanding the ongoing summer vacation.

The five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice J S Khehar, on May 12, had rejected the Centre's plea that the petitions against the NJAC be referred to either nine or 11 judges bench.

It had also rejected Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi's suggestion that the matter be heard next month after the summer vacation.

"This country or court may not have a matter of this importance. This is the enactment of the law by Parliament which has a majoritarian rule. This is a serious matter," the bench, also comprising justices J Chelameswar, M B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel, had said.

The bench, which decided to go into the merits of the issue from tomorrow, however, had clarified that the issue relating to challenge to the National Judicial Appointment Commission Act, 2014 can be referred to a larger bench at the later stage, if required.

08:22 Bihar polls: Lalu to meet Sonia today

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad is likely to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday to discuss the issue of alliance for Bihar polls, a day after Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar held consultations in this regard with Rahul Gandhi.

Sources said that the meeting is likely to be held in the morning.

Congress Vice-President Rahul is learnt to have favoured a broader secular alliance for the state and he has also told Kumar about the party view in this matter.

Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United and Lalu Prasad's RJD had on Sunday decided to contest the state assembly elections in alliance and constitute a six member committee to finalise seat-sharing.

"It has been decided in Sunday's meeting that a committee of three members each from RJD and JD-U will decide seat sharing and leaders of both parties will give a final shape to it. It has been decided now that both parties will fight the election in Bihar in alliance," Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said.

08:21 Pakistan army violates ceasefire along LoC

The Pakistani army violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in the frontier district of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir late Sunday evening.

The Pakistani army fired several rounds towards the Indian army position in Balakote sector along LoC in the district, a

police officer said.

He said that the firing from across the border triggered explosions of several landmines on the border.

More than a dozen landmines have exploded, he said, adding that there was no report of any casualty or injury on the Indian side.

08:21 Sculptor Anish Kapoor sparks uproar in France

British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor has sparked an uproar in France by installing a huge work he has called a "queen's vagina" in the stately grounds of the Palace of Versailles.

The 60-metre (200-foot) long, 10-metre (33-foot) high steel-and-rock abstract sculpture, resembling a funnel in the form of an orifice, is set up in the garden aimed directly at the royal chateau, which attracts five million tourists a year.

Kapoor, 61, has titled the work "Dirty Corner". It is part of an exhibition of his work in the grounds of the 17th century palace that opens on Tuesday and runs until November.

Some French media outlets expressed unease at the level of provocation unleashed by Kapoor.

"Anish Kapoor provokes a scandal," said the website of radio station Europe 1.

The conservative daily Le Figaro saw the work as an effort "to use Versailles as an object of contrast between two types of art": the contemporary style of Kapoor and the centuries-old elegance of the French court.

08:20

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