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Sat, 09 May 2015
Live! PCB Chief Shahryar Khan stopped at Kolkata airport
Timeline Refresh
23:40
Khan, who is to meet Indian cricket board chief Jagmohan Dalmiya, was however later allowed to enter the city as a "special case" following intervention by the Union Home Ministry, sources said.
Although Khan has a valid visa, a Pakistani national can travel to India through one of the four routes approved by the Home Ministry--Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Attari (Amritsar).
Khan was stopped by the immigration officials at around 9.30 pm because he was entering India through Kolkata which was not an approved point of entry.
22:25 Modi launches social security schemes in Mamata's company
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced three flagship social security schemes, including an insurance cover for less than Re 1 per day, while choosing to launch the ambitious programme from a dais shared by bitter critic and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
While demanding a complete waiver of West Bengal's Rs 2.74 lakh crore debt burden, Mamata also echoed Modi's call for the Centre and the states to work together for upliftment of the poor and the development of the country.
Invoking words of Rabindra Nath Tagore and Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Modi said "what Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow" and added that the process of development would be incomplete if it did not reach the poor.
Banerjee, who has been very critical of Modi and BJP which has been working hard to make inroads into West Bengal, also said the downtrodden and the poor people were the backbone of the country.
21:59 PCB Chief Shahryar Khan stopped at Kolkata airport
JUST IN: PCB chief Shahryar Khan stopped at Netaji Subhash International Airport in Kolkata by the immigration department over visa issues.
More details are awaited.
21:46
Family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, request him to declassify files relating to Netaji.
21:40 Security forces bust two militant hideouts in J-K
Security forces have busted two militant hideouts and recovered arms and ammunition in the border district of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Based on specific inputs, a joint operation was carried out by Rashtriya Rifles battalion and the police in Kakora forest in Rajouri district last evening," Defence spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Manish Mehta told PTI.
After prolonged search of the area, an old hideout was discovered, leading to recovery of cache consisting of one AK-47 rifle, 212 AK rounds, eight AK magazines, 223 pika rounds, one GPS, three binoculars, four radio sets, one Thuraya set and other war-like stores, he said.
This was a major recovery made by security forces in the area, he added. Another militant hideout at LKG in the district was today busted by the security forces and some arms and ammunition were recovered from there.
21:36
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled three ambitious Social Security Schemes pertaining to the insurance and pension sector, today at Kolkata.
In his inaugural address Modi said that the poor citizens would be given empowerment and not help. The small entrepreneurs contribute more to the economy than big industrial houses by way of employment generation, he reiterated.
The inauguration functions were organised simultaneously at 115 centres across the country. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, launched the schemes in Mumbai.
The three schemes namely, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Atal Pension Yojana would be the integral part of governments economic policy said Jaitley.
He also said that credibility of economy is the priority of the government. The tax structure would be simplified by eliminating indirect taxes, the new goods and service tax would benefit Maharashtra as the state would get more share than before, he added.
21:25 Media over-projecting attacks on churches: RSS
The RSS today charged the media with showing "half-truths" and "over-projecting" attacks on churches in the country, saying it "affected" India's image internationally.
RSS joint general secretary Krishan Gopal also targeted the media for 'over-playing' the issue of atrocities on women in the country and said the percentage of such incidents was much more in European countries but the media there did not create sensation.
"While the attacks on four churches in the country were over-projected by the media, due to which India's image with regard to minorities came out in a negative manner as if minorities are being treated badly.
21:22 Rahul Gandhi to visit Amethi on May 18-19
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will be visiting his parliamentary constituency Amethi on May 18 and 19 to meet farmers affected by untimely rains.
"After Kisan Padyatra in Telangana on May 14/15, Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Amethi on May 18 & 19, to interact with farmers & INC workers", the Congress said on its Twitter handle.
Gandhi will have a busy schedule on May 18 and 19, who will meet people from all walks of life including farmers who have recently lost their crops by untimely hailstorms and hailstones, Chandra Kant Dubey, the representative of Gandhi in Amethi, said.
This will be Gandhi's first visit to his Parliamentary constituency after the row over the scrapping of the mega food park in Amethi broke out.
Earlier this week, the Congress Vice President had raised the food park issue in the Lok Sabha accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of practising "politics of revenge" by scrapping the project.
21:21
A major fire broke out in an over-centry old building housing residential apartments and shops, causing its partial collaps and leaving five persons, including fire fighters, injured in a densely-populated locality of South Mumbai this evening.
A portion of the under-repair building collapsed as the fire spread across all its four floors and gutted wooden beams and columns, said senior police inspector S S Mandalik of L T Marg police station.
The building, `Gokul Nivas', is situated in the densely populated Kalba Devi area and houses some residential apartments on the fourth floor and cloth godowns and shops on the floors below.
Chief fire officer Sunil Nesrikar and two other fire brigade personnel were injured during the flame-dousing operation which was underway late in the evening.
20:42 Nepal parties mull national govt to meet post-quake challenges
Nepal's major political parties today proposed to form a national coalition government to effectively meet the challenges that have arisen in the wake of the devastating quake that has struck the country.
Former prime ministers Jhalanath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal from CPN-UML, Baburam Bhattarai of UCPN-Maoist and other leaders called on the country's political parties to come together to help speed the relief and reconstruction work.
They proposed the idea of formation of a national consensus government to deal with the challenges. "Let's give the leadership to an able one and let's give a visionary leadership," said Bhattarai, a senior Maoist leader.
The leaders urged all parties to work with consensus and set aside their differences to work for the long-pending constitution writing process and holding local elections after more than a decade.
Speaking at a meeting of Legislature-Parliament, Khanal called for expediting re-settlement of displaced quake-victims and construction of the damaged infrastructure, in view of the monsoon.
20:14 China's military budget over 3 times that of India: Pentagon
China has over the past several decades significantly increased its defence budget which is now more than three times that of India and the country could pose a threat to the US security interest in the region, the Pentagon has said.
China's official defence budget last year was $136.3 billion while that of India was $38.2 billion, the Pentagon said today in its annual report to the Congress based on its annual assessment of military and security developments involving the giant Asian country.
China has significantly increased its defence budget over the past several decades and now has reached a position to pose threat to the American national security interest in the region, the report said. Having established a modern defence industry, China has now began exporting arms with Pakistan being its top importer.
"Pakistan remains China's primary customer for conventional weapons," the Pentagon said yesterday. Russia's national defence budget the same year was $76.3 million and that of Japan was $47.6 billion, whereas South Korea's annual defence budget last year was $33.4 billion and Taiwan's was $10.3 billion, the Pentagon said.
20:08 Rahul Gandhi to address rally in Kerala on May 26
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will address a youth Congress rally in Kerala on May 26 as part of its preparations to brace up the party workers before the local body polls slated for this year and assembly polls next year. KPCC executive meeting held today exhorted party workers to make the rally, to be held in Kozhikode, a grand success.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, KPCC president V M Sudheeran said it wanted the ruling UDF coalition to go ahead with the Front's political campaign zonal rallies as planned earlier.
The rallies were planned to highlight the achievements of the UDF government headed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and check the "false propaganda" unleashed by the CPI-M led LDF opposition against government, he said.
19:46 Jaitley to present Dada Saheb Phalke award to Shashi Kapoor
Actor-filmaker Shashi Kapoor will be presented the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award tomorrow by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley.
The veteron actor was unable to attend the award ceremony in Delhi because of his ill-health, therefore he would be handed over the award at a function at Prithvi Theatre in suburban Mumbai.
The entire Kapoor family is expected to attend the ceremony besides several celebrities from the film industry. Born in 1938, Kapoor hit the spotlight from the age of four acting in plays directed and produced by his father, while travelling with Prithvi Theatre.
He started acting in films as a child in the late 1940s. His best known performances as child artist were in "Aag" (1948) and "Awaara" (1951), where he played the younger version of the character played by Raj Kapoor.
Shashi Kapoor also worked as assistant director in the 1950s.
19:21 Indians win silver, two bronze in Asian Youth Athletics
Indians bagged one silver and two bronze on the opening day of the inaugural Asian Youth Athletics Championships here. Ashish Bhalothia won a silver in boys shot put with a throw of 17.75m at the Qatar Sports Club stadium.
Anumol Thampi (girls 3000m race) and Seema Sangwan (girls discus throw) won a bronze each. Thampi clocked 10:24.98 in her race while Seema threw the discus to a distance of 41.14m. India are being represented by 22 athletes, including nine girls, in the event.
19:12
David Cameron is spending the weekend finalising his first all-Conservative cabinet after his party won a majority in Thursday's election.The PM has already reappointed Chancellor George Osborne, who has also been made first secretary of state.
Read this story HERE
19:06
Rs 15,800 crore deposited in 15 crore Jan Dhan accounts: PM.
19:01 First phase of 'Clean Ganga' campaign to be completed by 2016
The first phase of 'Clean Ganga' campaign will be completed by October 2016 for the conservation of the river, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said today. The work for the completion of the first phase of 'Ganga Samagra Abhiyan' is in full swing and is expected to be completed by October next year, Bharti said at a meeting.
A report on the conservation of the river's ecological system till Rishikesh has also been submitted by an IIT Kanpur professor and another report on the 'Ganga Sagar' is expected to be submitted by him in 1-2 months, she said.
"We have identified 23 sewers adjacent to the Ganga and have initiated the treatment of the sewage. There will be no delay of any scheme due to lack of funds falling under 'Namami Ganga,'" she said.
18:44 Indian Navy monitoring Chinese & other navies: Dhowan
Navy chief Admiral R K Dhowan today said the maritime force regularly monitors activities of Chinese and other navies, and sought to play down deployment of submarines in Indian Ocean by the Communist nation.
The Navy, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative, has taken lead in manufacturing indigenous warships and submarines, he told reporters.
"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy has been operating and deploying its assets in the Indian Ocean since 2008 as part of their anti-piracy escort force.
"About two to three ships or sometime more are deployed regularly in the region (by PLA). Along with the surface ships they occasionally deploy submarines as well," said Dhowan when asked about recent reports of presence of Chinese submarines in the Indian Ocean.
"These are deployed for the Gulf of Aden and the piracy patrol. The Indian Navy continuously monitors all activities in our immediate area of interest and keep a track on activities of various navies."
18:42 30 prisoners killed, 40 escape in Iraq jail break
Six guards and 30 detainees were killed in a prison break north of the Iraqi capital during which 40 inmates escaped, an interior ministry spokesman said Saturday.
The spokesman said the break on Friday started when an inmate grabbed a weapon from a warden at the prison on the main police compound in Khalis, a town around 50 kilometres from Baghdad.
Read this story HERE
18:20 'The quake couldn't jolt spirit, warmth of Nepalese people'
The 7.9-magnitude temblor may have killed thousands of people and destroyed more than two lakh houses, but it could not jolt the spirit and warmth of the Nepalese people, foreign visitors to the country say. The people of Nepale have shown extraordinary resilience in this hour of unimaginable tragedy, they say. Mark Van Steeter, a 51-year-old university professor from the US, had come to Nepal to trek the Annapurna Circuit. The massive quake thwarted his plans. But, says Steeter, he is going home with "great memories."
"I was in Kathmandu for a few days after returning from Ghorepani. I was taking a walk in the city, when I stopped by at a shop to have cold drinks. There, I saw a big crack coming from the top to the bottom on the side of the shop.
"And, while I was leaving, the shop's owner came up to me and said, 'please do come again to Kathmandu...you can live in my house.' That really touched me," he says.
18:10 Jaya verdict on May 11, prohibitory orders around HC
With Karnataka high court all set to give its verdict on May 11 on appeals filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others in a disproportionate assets case, prohibitory orders would be clamped around the court area on that day.
City Police Commissioner M N Reddi has directed imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC that bars any gathering in a radius of one kilometre around the high court that comes under Vidana Soudha Police Station limits.
The orders will be in effect from 6 am to 9 pm on Monday as a precautionary step as thousands of Jayalalithaa's followers are expected to come to the city from Tamil Nadu for the verdict, Reddi said.
The police said they suspect that there may be obstruction to public peace as well as to the movement of traffic in the city.
17:25 Macabre drama of death will end: PM on Naxalism
Making the first prime minesterial visit in three decades to this Maoist hotbed, Narendra Modi today asked the ultras to shed the gun and put an end to mindless deaths in favour of peace.
"Those who feel that whether or not this macabre drama of death will end, I can tell you with full commitment and make you believe that there is no need to get disheartened. This (death) too will stop," he said addressing a public meeting.
On a short visit here, Modi initiated welfare schemes worth Rs 24,000 crore for the Maoist hotbed of Bastar region which include setting up Ultra Mega Steel Plant, a railway line, slurry pipeline and pellet plant. Modi said there is no future for violence in the country. If there is a future that is through peaceful ways, he said.
"In India those people who ask what is the way to get back people who have chosen the path of violence. I understand (Chhattisgarh Chief Minister) Raman Singh has made that way. Only a plough on shoulder can bring solution, not the gun," he said.
15:21 Six injured in grenade attack in Shopian
Just In: At least six civilians were injured today in a grenade attack by terrorists in Shopian district of south Kashmir, police said.
The terrorists hurled a grenade at a police party in main town market of Shopian, 52 km from Srinagar.
The grenade missed the intended target and exploded in a crowded place, resulting in injuries to six persons, a police official said.
The injured have been rushed to a local hospital.
14:55 Rajnath to make statement on Dawood next week
Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said he will make a statement in Parliament on Monday or Tuesday on the issue of Dawood Ibrahim against the backdrop of controversy following his junior minister's contention that the whereabouts of the underworld don are not known.
Talking to the reporters here after a meeting of party workers, Singh said he would make a statement on the issue in Parliament as it is in session.
In a written reply in Lok Sabha on May 5, Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary had said that whereabouts of Dawood were not known to the government and once he was located, his extradition process would be initiated.
"The subject (Dawood) has not been located so far. Extradition process with regard to Dawood Ibrahim would be initiated once the subject is located," he had said.
This has generated a lot of controversy with opposition attacking the government and accusing it of embarrassing the country by changing position on the issue.
14:37 Bodies of diplomats killed in helicopter crash reach Islamabad
The bodies of the victims of helicopter crash, including ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines and wives of Indonesian and Malaysian envoys to Pakistan, were brought to Islamabad on Saturday from the site of accident.
MI-17 military helicopter carrying diplomats had caught fire yesterday as it crashed into a school in Natlar valley of Gilgit-Baltisitan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Two pilots of the army and one crew member were also killed in the crash.
State-run Pakistan TV showed that the bodies of seven victims were brought from Gilgit, capital of Gilgit-Baltistan, in three helicopters to Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi.
The injured were brought in C-130 aircraft and included Polish Ambassador Andrzej Ananicz and his wife, Dutch Ambassador Marcel de Vink and Malaysian High Commissioner.
It is reported that ambassador of Indonesia Burhan Muhammad is in a critical condition with 75 per cent burns.
Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, air chief Air Marshal Sohail Aman, senior civil and military officials, diplomats and relatives of victims were present to receive the bodies. Pakistan army soldiers carried the coffins wrapped in flags of respective countries while armed forces contingent offered salute.
Pakistan has announced today as day of mourning and national flag is flying at half mast.
14:32 'Khuda Gawah' clocks 23 years, Bachchan nostalgic
As epic Bollywood romance drama "Khuda Gawah" completed 23 years, megastar Amitabh Bachchan fondly remembered the adventure-filled shooting of the film.
The 72-year-old actor starred in the Mukul S Anand-directed film alongside Sridevi, Nagarjuna, Shilpa Shirodkar and Danny Denzongpa.
"23 years since the release of my film "Khuda Gawah", as calculated by Pawan Pipalwa and his creatives abound. Those were days of adventure and exploration. Of travel to far off lands and the learnings of regions which had never been seen before. Or experiences never imagined," Bachchan posted on his blog.
"Khuda Gawah" had lavish production values and was extensively shot in India, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan.
"The travels for the film itself would be awe inspiring -- Afghanistan, Nepal, Jaipur and so many other in the deep interiors, bringing us close to the stunning visuals that we see and feel .. extraordinarily captured by that magical eye lens of Mukul Anand, our director, lost to the world at a young age. Very young age," he added.
13:19 Out on bail, Salman to resume shooting for 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' today
A day after the Bombay High Court suspended his five-year prison sentence in a hit-and-run case, actor Salman Khan will resume shooting for Bajrangi Bhaijaan in Kashmir today.
The actor was not present in court on Friday when a judge said the 49-year-old can apply for bail with a bond of Rs 30,000. He has to surrender his passport and can only travel abroad with the court's permission.
He completed bail formalities at the Mumbai sessions court yesterday evening. On his return home, he came out to the balcony of his apartment and greeted fans with a namaste, a wave and a salute.
"All those who prayed for and supported me thank u meherbani shukriya," the actor later tweeted.
13:16 20 SAI athletes go on leave to recover from trauma
Jolted by the attempted suicide of their four young female colleagues, which led to the death of one, 20 athletes of the Sports Authority of India Centre in Alappuzha have taken leave to recover from the trauma.
"All the 20 are boys. Another 12 female athletes have also sought permission to go on leave," a SAI official at the Water Training Centre in Alappuzha said.
The students and their parents had requested SAI Director General Injeti Srinivas, during his visit to the campus yesterday, that they be given the break to recover from the shock of the incident.
In a tragic turn of events early this week, a young athlete Aparna Ramabhadran died and three of her colleagues were battling for life at the Medical College Hospital here after they ate a poison fruit under an apparent suicide pact following alleged harassment by seniors at the SAI centre.
The four were undergoing training at the Water Sports Centre of the SAI.
The official said the DG permitted those seeking leave, but asked them to rejoin at least by Friday next. The students were asked not to panic.
"You should not panic and run away from any crisis, but face it," the official, quoting the DG, said.
The official denied reports that the centre had been temporarily closed down.
12:49 Explosion in Bardhaman house, 2 injured
Two women were injured when an explosion took place inside a house in Bardhaman district of West Bengal this morning.
"The house located at Beguntola village near Ketugram collapsed due to the impact of the blast that injured two women," district SP Kunal Agarwal said.
The blast took place at around 8.30 AM inside the house where bombs were stocked and the splinters injured the women, he said.
On Thursday, a blast in a house in Pingla claimed 12 lives.
The Khargragarh blast in the same district on October 2 last had claimed the lives of two suspected Jamaat-ul Maujahideen Bangladesh terrorists.
11:50 I never calculate how many hours I work: PM to students
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took questions from students at the education city in the Naxal-hit Datewada district of Chhattisgarh. It is estimated to serve almost 5,000 most deprived children of the region every year by providing them the opportunity to have quality education.
Here's one such question asked by a student to the PM: You work for 18 hours a day. If you get stressed, what do you do?
PM's Response: I never calculate how many hours I work because the moment one does that it is not so enjoyable. One can never get tired while working, what tires a person is not being able to work. The more one works its better. When we live for our own people one cannot get tired. The people of India are my own. Won't I feel happy to work for them? I don't think life should be judged through the prism of success or failure. When we do that, disappointment sets in.
11:34 Naxals take 400 villagers hostage ahead of PM's Dantewada visit
400 people from Marenga and adjoining villages in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district have been taken hostage by Naxals ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state.
The villagers were on their way to participate in the PM's rally.
However, police officials have denied any hostage crisis in the area.
"There is no hostage like situation. Naxals are only meeting the villagers," says Superintendent of police Sukma D Sharavan.
This 'meeting has been going on since last night. No demands have been made from the Naxals yet.
10:34 INS Sardar Patel to be commissioned in Porbandar today
INS Sardar Patel, the latest naval base of the Indian Navy, will be commissioned in Porbandar, Gujarat on Saturday.
Admiral RK Dowan is also likely to be present on the occasion.
In view of the enhanced operational tempo along the coast of Gujarat due to the growing maritime security challenges, there is requirement of gradually enhancing infrastructure, Navy sources here said.
"The commissioning of INS Sardar Patel on May 9 is one of the steps being taken by the Navy in this direction," they said, adding it will enable Navy to qualitatively augment its infrastructure and organisational effectiveness in Gujarat.
This would also improve the logistic support being provided to the Indian Navy units deployed in the Northern Arabian Sea, including along the International Maritime Boundary Line with Pakistan.
Gujarat is a frontline maritime state of India with the longest coastline of 880 nautical miles, besides sharing 532 kms of land border with Pakistan.
09:43 Security stepped up in Chhattisgarh ahead of PM's visit
Security has been stepped up in Chhattisgarh in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.
According to reports, over 15,000 security officials have been deployed in the state to prevent any untoward incident. The bomb disposal squads have also been pressed into action.
The Maoists have called for a protest and asked the villagers in Dantewada district to boycott the Prime Minister's event.
Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit the education city and Livelihood College in Dantewada.
The official Twitter account of Chief Minister Office Chhattisgarh also tweeted about the Prime Minister's visit.
"PM @narendramodi to gift 24 Cr of Development Plans to people of Bastar. PM visits Bastar after 30 years. #PMvisitsCG @PMOIndia," CMO Chhattisgarh tweeted.
09:39 Modi to launch 3 major social security schemes today
After Jan Dhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch three mega social security initiatives -- one pension and two insurance schemes on Saturday.
The schemes will be launched in Kolkata where assembly elections are due next year. More than a dozen Union ministers will also fan out across the country on Saturday for the roll-out of Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY).
There will be simultaneous nation-wide launch of the schemes through functions organised at 112 centres in various States and UTs which would be attended by the respective Chief Ministers or Governors and the Union Ministers, according to a finance ministry statement.
Senior Union Ministers including the Home Minister Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (Mumbai), External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (Bhopal), Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu (Varanasi), Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan (Patna) and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari (Bhagalpur) will launch the schemes.
The initiatives are aimed at providing affordable universal access to essential social security protection in a convenient manner linked to auto-debit facility from bank accounts.
09:36 PM Modi to visit Naxal heartland today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the Naxal-affected Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region today. This will be Modi's first visit to the region after becoming the prime minister last year.
Modi is scheduled to inaugurate two projects there worth a total of Rs 24,000 crore -- a steel plant in Dantewada's Dilmili village and the second phase of a 140 km railway line from Raoghat to Jagdalpur.
Modi will be the first prime minister after Rajiv Gandhi to visit to region to inaugurate development projects. Other prime ministers since Gandhi have visited the region, but for election campaigns.
The Naxals are protesting Modi's visit. On Friday, they chopped a tree and used it to block a road, put up posters registering their protest, and hung effigies of Modi and Chief Minister Raman Singh.
The Congress, meanwhile, alleged that the real reason for the PM's visit is to give corporates access to the minerals-rich Bastar region, and not to enquire about the welfare of its people.
03:15 Dozens feared dead in DR Congo ethnic clashes: UN
Dozens were feared dead in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in renewed clashes between minority Pygmies and majority Bantus, the UN said today.
"Several people died" but the exact toll was "in dispute", with estimates ranging from around 20 to 60 people killed in attacks between April 30 and May 4, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told AFP.
03:15 Court: US can allow cell phones during takeoff and landing
US aviation officials acted within their authority in allowing airline passengers to use cell phone and other electronics during takeoffs and landings, a federal appeals court ruled today.
The court of threw out a lawsuit from the nation's largest flight attendants union that challenged the 2013 decision.
The 60,000-member Association of Flight Attendants argued that small electronic devices could distract passengers from safety announcements and become dangerous projectiles.
03:13 Obama to confer with Saudi king over Mideast troubles
President Barack Obama will meet one-on-one with Saudi Arabia's new monarch, King Salman, in Washington next week as the two allies struggle to reduce turmoil across the Middle East.
The White House says the two will talk Wednesday before Obama welcomes other heads of Gulf Cooperation Council countries for meetings at the White House and Camp David.
02:27 Two die of suspected anthrax in Jharkhand
Two persons died of suspected anthrax and 16 other villagers are suffering from symptoms of the disease at Simdega district, a health official said here today.
Civil Surgeon B Trivedi said that one man died on May 4 and another on May 6 following anthrax symptoms, but its confirmation could be made only after pathological tests. "Sixteen other villagers showed symptoms of the disease,"he said.
02:02 Britain's Cameron won big by selling stability over fear
Prime Minister David Cameron sealed a surprise election win by persuading Britons to choose the security of modestly rising living standards over an implausible pretender many feared could become the puppet of Scottish nationalists.
Blending the promise of "the good life" fueled by a strong economic recovery with fear of resurgent Scottish separatists calling the shots in a country they want to break up, Cameron steamrolled the opposition Labour Party and won his party's first outright majority in 23 years.
01:26 1 sead, 6 injured in Nigeria school attack
A suicide bombing at a school in the northeastern Nigerian town of Potiskum ended with six students injured and the suicide bomber dead.
Extremist group Boko Haram, which has remained active in the northeast despite recent military setbacks, is suspected to have been responsible.
The attack started when a man appeared at the gate of the town's College of Administrative and Business Studies.
01:16 Security of US military base raised over terror threat
The United States has raised the security threat level of its military bases after FBI's claim of thousands of online ISIS followers in the US. We have raised the security threat level of our military bases as there are thousands of online ISIS followers in the US, FBI Director, James Comey, said.
An order regarding the increased threat level was signed by Admiral William Gortney, head of the US Northern Command.
01:15 Fire at Lake Mall, no casualty
A fire broke out at Lake Mall in the southern parts of the city late tonight. A Kolkata Police official said five fire tenders fought the blaze which was spotted around 12 midnight and smoke was still billowing out of the multi-storied shopping mall.
The mall building also houses shops along the roadside on the ground floor. There was no news of any casualty or injury in the blaze, neither was the cause ascertained.
00:43 Ties better but India-China border tensions remain: Pentagon
Days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's maiden China visit, the Pentagon today told the US Congress that despite improved political and economic relations between the two Asian giants, India-China border tensions remain.
"Despite increases in China-India political and economic relations, tensions remain along their shared 4,057-km border, most notably over Arunachal Pradesh (which Beijing asserts is part of Tibet and therefore of China), and over the Aksai Chin region at the western end of the Tibetan Plateau," the Pentagon said in its latest report to the Congress.
00:28 Saudi FM says Yemen ceasefire to start Tuesday
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said today that a humanitarian ceasefire in the Yemen conflict would start on Tuesday, although he stressed its success depended entirely on the Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels.
"We have made a decision that the ceasefire will begin this Tuesday, May 12, at 11.00 pm and will last for five days subject to renewal if it works out," Adel al-Jubeir said at a meeting of Gulf ministers in Paris.
00:26 US believes Pakistani version of helicopter crash
The US today said it believes Pakistan's explanation that a technical fault was responsible for the deadly crash of a helicopter in PoK that killed seven people including the Norwegian and Filipino envoys.
"We have no reason to doubt what the Pakistani authorities have said. But, of course, it's just happened, so they're investigating," State Department Deputy Acting Spokesman Jeff Rathke told reporters.
00:26 Top headlines in that last 24 hours
MiG-27 crashes in Bengal, 2 civilians die, pilot ejects safely
The Great Brit who proved all predictions wrong
We don't need religious freedom lectures from the US
BrahMos missile test-fired, meets all flight parameters
Salman out on bail after 5-year sentence suspended
Taliban downs chopper with envoys, says Pak PM Sharif was target
In UK, it's phir ek baar Cameron sarkar!
Indian nurses at Yemen-Saudi border: 'Are we safe here?'
Kerala professor hand chopping case: 10 convicts handed 8-year jail terms
Salman Khan: Bad boy, good samaritan?
The war that changed the world
The Great Brit who proved all predictions wrong
We don't need religious freedom lectures from the US
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