The first shipment from China is expected to arrive in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu in a few days. Nepal's new government has mobilised various agencies to bring fuel and cooking gas from China in the wake of shortage of essential goods during festivals due to the Madhesi-led agitation in the southern plains.

"The government of China had in the recent past expressed commitment to provide 1,000 metric tonnes of fuel to Nepal on grant basis and the same is being materialised now," Pramod Dahal, Prime Minister's press advisor said.

Richard Horton, editor-in- chief of The Lancet, said that "health is an issue of national security" for India, but Modi isn't taking it seriously."I don't see any new policies, any new ideas, any significant public commitment, and most importantly no financial commitment to the health sector," Horton said. "Since Modi has come in, health has completely vanished. India is on the edge. If PM Modi does not tackle health, India's economy combined with rising population is not sustainable," he said.

Protesting Sena workers removed the Pakistani flags and vandalised the stage while warning the organisers from going ahead with the event.

Last week, its workers blackened the face of columnist and former BJP ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni for organising the launch of a book by former Pakistan minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri in Mumbai, leading to a massive national outrage

"The final solution of the state has to be done with Pakistan. Otherwise we will suffer. The terrorists will keep on coming. What do we have to show other than God's beauty that we have. And tourists don't come when there is fear that their life is not safe. Has the PM tried to remove that fear in the mind of people of India," Abdullah said. 

Advocating that talking to Pakistan was must, he said, "It is vital for our survival so that we can progress like other states of India. Other states have reached the moon and we are still on the ground." And the National Conference leader's advice for Modi was that he should follow what Vajpayee did by inviting the then Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf despite the Kargil war as he was clear that if the nation has to progress, then friendly ties with the neighbours are must. "Vajpayee ji said that he will talk about Kashmir within realms of humanity (Insanayaat ke daayre mein) and this is what the present government should do."

"I had submitted all documents three weeks ago. I only heard from (the Indian high commission) last afternoon about my visa being denied.I wasn't given a reason, and I did not ask them either.It was very insulting for me. I have always received support from across the border.I am stunned," Kanza said.

The incident comes in wake of the paint attack on Sudheendra Kulkarni, the organiser of the event for the book launch of former Pakistan minister Khurshid Mansuri in Mumbai. The Shiv Sena, who had launched the attack, said they would not allow Pakistanis to enter the state under any circumstance. 

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Virendra Yadav said Jitender's health conditions were normal with no signs of infection and was discharged from hospital this afternoon. He was admitted at B K Hospital on Thursday after he developed signs of post-traumatic shocks and also to check if any infection spreading due to his burn injuries in his hands. Family sources confirmed that Jitender was feeling better after returning from the hospital.

SSBEA may go for an indefinite strike in associate banks to be followed by indefinite stir by AIBEA in all banks by end of December if their demands are not conceded by then, Mishra warned.

She urged Modi to take up the issue at the highest level in Saudi Arabia and get Kasthuri Munirathnam the best medical treatment, adequate financial compensation and facilitate her safe and early return to Tamil Nadu. Kasthuri Munirathnam's right hand was chopped off allegedly by her employer last month and the issue sparked an outrage. A native of Vellore district, she had gone to Saudi Arabia about three months ago to work as a domestic help. 

 "I request you to take up the matter at the highest level possible so that justice is meted out to Ms. Kasturi and she is afforded the best possible medical treatment; provided adequate financial compensation and is enabled to return home safely at the earliest," she said in the letter to Modi.

Bhagwat said that in Kenya people drink cow's blood, but they don't kill cows. "In certain situations, Kenyans drink blood of cows. But, they take out blood in such a way that it doesn't let the cows die. Cow slaughter is ban in Kenya," said Bhagwat.

"With the support of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Education Minister Vinod Tawde, the Maharashtra government has finalised the spot inside the Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art campus. It will be in a shaded location near the bungalow of another legend, the renowned writer and Nobel laureate, Rudyard Kipling,' said Laxman's daughter-in-law Usha Srinivas Laxman.

Noted lyricist Gulzar has come out in support of authors returning their Sahitya Akademi awards in protest of the growing religious intolerance in the country, saying this is the only way a writer can register protest.

Many writers have returned their Akademi awards to protest the killing of Kannada writer M M Kalburgi and other growing instances of attacks on intellectuals. 

Gulzar, 81, said while the killing was not Akademi's fault, the authors wanted the institution to recognise and protest against the incident. 

"The murder that has hurt us all is somewhere the fault of the system/government... Returning the award was an act of protest. Writers don't have any other way to register their protest. We have never witnessed this kind of religious intolerance. At least, we were fearless in expressing ourselves," Gulzar said.

Expressing concern over the growing instances of communal intolerance, he rubbished claims that the writers decision to return the award was politically motivated.

There were ugly scenes at Feroz Shah Kotla ground as rival captains Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary nearly came to exchanging blows during the Ranji Trophy match between Delhi and Bengal, at the Kotla stadium today. 

Situation came to such a pass that umpire K Srinath had to come between the two players as Gambhir moved towards Tiwary to hit him and he also came charging at the Delhi skipper.

In fact in an unprecedented ugly gesture, Gambhir even pushed umpire Srinath, who was trying to get him out of the way to hit Tiwary. 

Touching umpire is a grave offence in cricket, which could invite a ban.

The incident happened in 7.1 over when Partha Sarathi Bhattacharjee got out of Manan Sharma's bowling and Tiwary came in to bat at No. 4 wearing a cap. 

Tiwary first took guard and was about to take strike. But he stopped the bowler and signalled at the dressing room to bring his helmet as a pacer was operating from the other end. Delhi players felt that it was a deliberate time wasting tactic.

Manan ticked off Manoj and he told him to lay off. All of a sudden, Gambhir, at first slip, got into the action and started abusing the Bengal skipper, who then retaliated. 

Suddenly all hell broke loose as Gambhir said: "Shaam ko mil tujhe maroonga (Meet me in the evening, I will hit you). And Tiwary retorted, saying: "Shaam kya abhi bahar chal (Why wait till evening, let's go out and settle it now"). 

Three bombs exploded early Saturday morning during a giant procession in the Bangladesh capital honoring the Shia Muslim holiday of Ashura, killing at least one person, wounding dozens more, and further fraying nerves in a city already on edge over reports of extremist threats.

A suspected Islamic State account issued a statement online claiming responsibility for the bombing, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist messages and propaganda.

The statement said soldiers of the Caliphate in Bangladesh were able to detonate explosives in a temple of polytheists in the city of Dhaka, during the holding of their polytheist rituals.

It was the third act of violence in Bangladesh that an Islamic State account has claimed in the last month, after the murders of two foreigners, an Italian man and a Japanese man.

In a big victory for Gurbaj Singh, the Hockey India on Saturday lifted the 9-month ban imposed on the star midfielder for groupism and creating disharmony within the team.

Harbinder Singh, who is the head of Hockey India's disciplinary committee, made the announcement at a press conference in Delhi.

The decision comes after the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday termed the sanction "illegal" and quashed it with immediate effect.

The Court, while quashing the ban, gave Hockey India a week's time to convene another meeting and decide if they want to impose a punishment as per Level 1, 2 or 3.

Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain has said that the ban doesn't commensurate to Hockey India's Players Code of Conduct that allows a maximum of Level 3 offence for charges of 'misbehaviour', which is suspension of 5 or more matches.

Gurbaj was banned after former national coach Jude Felix submitted a report to the federation soon after the Hockey World League semifinals in Antwerp, Belgium, alleging the veteran player of misbehaving and being undisciplined.

Gurbaj has already missed 11 international games since the ban was imposed on him two months back.

Times of India reports: After winning approval of the masses and critics, Meghna Gulzar's 'Talvar' has piqued the interest of none other than the President of India. 

"The President's office got in touch with the team, requesting them to organise a screening of the film at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi," informs the film's spokesperson. The screening has been scheduled for October 25 and will be attended by the president and a few of his guests.

The entire 'Talvar' team is taking time out to be a part of the special screening. 

Vishal Bhardwaj (writerco-producer of Talvar) is busy with the pre-production of Rangoon, but will make arrangements to be a part of the do. 

Irrfan Khan, who plays tough cop Ashwin Kumar in the film, will fly down to the capital along with Meghna, co-star Konkana Sen Sharma, and producer Priti Shahani, to attend the special screening.

Ministry of Defence approves induction of women into the combat stream of Indian Air Force. 

The first women pilots in the fighter stream of IAF will be selected from the current batch at Air Force Academy.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier this month batted for combat roles for women in the armed forces, but said a policy decision will soon be made after studying the implications as it may have some operational or training difficulties.

His comments came a day after Indian Air Force Chief Arup Raha said the air force has moved a proposal for inducting women as fighter aircraft pilots.

The proposal to induct women into a fighting arm is a first in the three services, which were earlier not open to the idea of women taking part in combat role.

IAF currently has women in seven areas of administration, logistics, meteorology, navigation, education, aeronautical engineering -- mechanical and electrical -- and accounts.

Some of them have even flown sorties of AN-32 aircraft to Daulat Beg Oldi in Ladakh, the world's highest advanced landing ground at 16,500-feet, as well as IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft to Leh.

A Special Investigation Team has been formed to probe the death of a 15-year-old Dalit youth in Gohana in Haryana's Sonipat district, a day after two ASIs were booked on murder charges following allegations from the family that he died in police custody.

The move to form the SIT-headed by a DSP came as Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar came under attack for claiming that the boy, Govind, had committed suicide. 

Police said the postmortem, which was conducted by a board of doctors, showed that the boy died due to hanging. 

"The SIT has been formed in the case. The report of the postmortem, which was conducted by a board of doctors, says that the boy died due to hanging. There was also a mark on his neck," the Rohtak Range Inspector General of Police, Shrikant Jadhav, told PTI on Saturday. 

On the directions of Jadhav, a SIT had also been formed to conduct further investigations in the case.

"The SIT will be headed by Rohtak Police DSP rank officer Amit Bhatia," Superintendent of Police, Sonipat, Abhishek Garg said today. 

 He said the situation in Gohana town was peaceful after protests by the boy's family, which had alleged that he was beaten by police and died in custody after being accused of pigeon theft. 

Pakistan sought to downplay its commitment to the US that it will take action against Lashkar-e-Tayiba, saying there is nothing new about such a promise.

"There is no new thing (in it). It is part of the policy of Pakistan. The reference to LeT is in the context of the United Nations resolutions and nothing much should be read into it. We have been taking action against LeT and its affiliated organisations under UN Security Council resolution and we are committed to this," Sartaj Aziz, the foreign policy advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said.

He was responding to a question on a reference made in this regard in the joint statement issued after Sharif's meeting with US President Barack Obama in Thursday. 

"The prime minister apprised the President about Pakistan's resolve to take effective action against United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and its affiliates, as per its international commitments and obligations under UN Security Council resolutions and the Financial Action Task Force," the joint statement said.

Maldivian authorities on Saturday arrested the nation's vice president Ahmed Adeeb in connection with a plot to assassinate President Abdulla Yameen, who escaped death after his boat was hit by a bomb last month, Umar Naseer, the country's home minister, said.

"VP Adeeb under arrest and held in Dhoonidhoo Detention (prison island)," Umar Naseer said on Twitter. 

"Charges: high treason."

Rebuffed by the Obama administration on its effort to seek US intervention on Kashmir, Pakistan has said that it has never made such a "demand" and just presented its wish list to Americans on the issue.

"He (Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif) said international community should note that (India-Pakistan) bilateral talks (on Kashmir) have not worked. We wish to have third party mediation, but we have not demanded it from the United States," Pakistan's outgoing National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz said.

In a press interaction with Pakistani media, Aziz was responding to questions on the statement made by the US in which it ruled out any meditation effort unless both India and Pakistan ask for it.

Aziz refuted reports that Pakistan has "sought mediation" from the US on resolving disputes between India and Pakistan.

"Under Shimla Accord it was decided that India and Pakistan would resolve their disputes bilaterally. Such a bilateral talks has not yielded any results for the last 40 years. So then what is the solution?" he asked. 

"Sharif in his address to the United Nations General Assembly said that since the bilateral process is not working, the international community should take note of the increasing tension between the two countries and increased firing on the Line of Control. 

Terming as painful the alleged incidents of desecration of holy books, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said it was a "willful act" to disturb Punjab as he prayed at the Golden Temple in Amrisar for "return of peace" in the state.

It "is unfortunate and painful. It seems it is a willful act by somebody who wanted to disturb peace in the state," Kejriwal told reporters here after he arrived on his first visit to Punjab since becoming the Chief Minister in February and was set to meet families of two Sikhs killed in police firing during anti-desecration protests at Faridkot. 

The AAP leader condemned the police action, saying it was wrong to use force against people who were protesting peacefully against acts of sacrilege. 

Kejriwal said it was the responsibility of Punjab government to arrest the real culprits behind the incidents of desecration of holy books, saying no innocent person should be slapped with "false cases". 

He refused to answer more queries, saying he was here to pray for peace in Punjab. 

"Golden Temple has great spiritual power and I prayed before the Almighty for early peace and normalcy to get rid of current turmoil in Punjab," he said after paying obeisance at the Sikh shrine.

Continuing to target its ruling ally BJP, the Shiv Sena today said the former has received "Modi oxygen" in the form of power, which will last as long as its popularity among the masses remains intact. 

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party also sent a strong message to the BJP saying its successful Dussehra rally indicated that the future belonged to the Sena and that it was prepared to fight the upcoming (poll) battles alone if needed.

"The BJP has received Modi oxygen in the form of power. This oxygen will last till the subsidy of the popularity ends...Sena is standing firm on its thoughts, struggle and patriotism. The party has never changed its stand on the issues of Hindutva, patriotism, Maharashtra's identity and issues concerning common man's life. Our beliefs will not change at any cost," the Sena said in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif faced protests from various Pakistani groups which held peaceful rallies outside the White House against the police atrocities and violations of human rights under his administration.

Though heckling of Sharif by freelance journalist Ahmar Musti Khan from Free Baluchistan Campaign USA at the US Institute of Peace yesterday caught much of the media attention, the peaceful protests by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) -- the most influential and powerful political party in Karachi -- and other groups were also significant. 

Sharif was in the US for an official visit during which he met President Barack Obama. 

MQM activists have been protesting against the alleged gross human rights violation by Pakistani rangers and the army which has launched a campaign against it. 

A senior PCB official has said that there is still hope for the India-Pakistan bilateral cricket series to be held in December in the UAE. 

Najam Sethi, who heads the PCB's executive committee, also downplayed reports that the BCCI had not followed the norms of hospitality while inviting the Pakistan cricket delegation to Mumbai.

"My impression is that the Indian board also wants to have the series. If they didn't want that they would not have invited us to Mumbai for talks in the first place," Sethi said on Geo Super channel.

He said one could assume the Indian board came under pressure after Shiv Sena extremists attacked the board offices in Mumbai and thought it better in their wider picture to not hold talks with the PCB delegation at that time.

"But they provided us security and protection to the airport when I and Subhan (Chief operating officer left Mumbai for Dubai on Monday" Sethi who signed the MOU with the Indian board last year as PCB Chairman said. 

He said the Indian board had also kept them informed through an officer. 

Curfew-like restrictions continued in parts of Srinagar city for the third consecutive day today as a preventive measure to maintain law and order.

Restrictions have been imposed on the movement of people in six police station areas -- Rainawari, Khanyar, Nowhatta, Safakadal, Maharaj Gunj and Maisuma -- of the city, police said.

The officials said the decision to continue restrictions in some parts of the city was taken in view of the apprehensions of law and order problems.

Police and paramilitary CRPF forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive areas while concertina wires have been laid at many places in affected areas to prevent people from coming out on main roads, they said. 

Police has put all separatist leaders including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest while JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik has been lodged at Police station Kothibagh since wednesday. 

The restrictions have been placed in the city as authorities apprehended that separatists might try to use the Muharram procession for getting political mileage. 

The CBI has begun probe into the murder of a prime witness in a rape case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, and got all documents from the local police in Muzaffarnagar.

According to SHO of Newmandi police station A K Singh, all papers in connection with the Akhil Gupta murder case were handed over to the CBI yesterday.

The Uttar Pradesh government had on July 24 recommended a CBI probe into the murder of Gupta in a rape case against Asaram Bapu. 

35-year-old Akhil was shot at by unidentified persons on January 11 this year. Subsequently, he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. 

He was a cook and personal aide of 74-year-old Asaram, who has been in jail since August, 2013, for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old schoolgirl.

Two more women came forward in New York today to accuse disgraced US comedian Bill Cosby of rape and sexual assault, as a celebrity lawyer warned there were more to come.

More than 50 women have already publicly claimed abuse at the hands of the pioneering African-American comedian who played a beloved family doctor on hit 1980s sitcom "The Cosby Show."

Cosby's attorneys repeatedly deny any wrongdoing by the 78-year-old comedian, who has gone from megastar to pariah over allegations of sexual misconduct spanning four decades. 

A woman who gave her name only as Dottye said she was an aspiring actress in 1984 when she auditioned for Cosby at his New York home one evening when she was 30-years-old. 

She said he pressed a drink into her hands to calm her nerves.

She took a few sips and remembered him saying: "Relax, we are going to do an exercise" and spinning her around the room. 

"Once he stopped spinning me, I was dizzy and disoriented, and sick. Within seconds I began to vomit all over myself and his rug," she told the news conference. 

Cosby removed her clothes and took her upstairs to wash her in a bathroom, before raping her in a hallway, she said. 

After laying off more than 300 workers, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is trying to lift the spirits of the remaining employees by giving them 6.8 million shares of the stock he owns in the online messaging service. 

Dorsey is giving up the stock, currently worth more than $200 million, so Twitter can award the shares to its employees, according to documents filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The gesture comes a week after Dorsey laid off 8 per cent of Twitter's workforce in an effort to make the company profitable for the first time in its nine-year history. 

The gift represents nearly one-third of the stock Dorsey owns in the San Francisco company. 

"I'd rather have a smaller part of something big than a bigger part of something small," Dorsey tweeted about surrendering some of his stock.

"I'm confident we can make Twitter big!" 

Twitter said Dorsey's shares will be earmarked for stock issued to employees next year under the company's incentive plan.

President Barack Obama deeply values his relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two leaders have a strong partnership specifically on expanding economic opportunities, the White House has said. 

"I can tell you that the President deeply values his relationship with Prime Minister Modi; that the United States and India have worked together very closely," White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz told reporters yesterday at his daily news conference. 

"They have a strong partnership specifically on expanding economic opportunities. That's something the President has worked hard on," he said in response to a question. 

"He's directed his team here at the White House and throughout the administration to focus on our relationship there and seek opportunities to expand cooperation," Schultz said. 

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is the tiger ambassador of Maharashtra, will flag off a motorbike rally in Mumbai today that will pass through four tiger reserves in the state.

The seven-day rally is aimed at promoting conservation of the big cat and eco-tourism in the state.

Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said 23 bikers, belonging to the group 'Riding Knights' and working in the corporate sector, will take part in the tiger conservation rally that will start from Bachchan's 'Janak' office in suburban Juhu at 7am.

"The bikers will visit villages located near tiger reserves. They will interact with the people living in the vicinity of these reserves and explain to them the importance of forests and conservation of wild animals," Mungantiwar told PTI.

The rally participants will also take feedback from villagers on the kind of development they want for these reserves and areas surrounding them, he said.

The Philadelphia Zoo says the oldest polar bear in the United States has died. It says Klondike was 34 years old.

Klondike was one of the zoo's two polar bears. The zoo announced on its Facebook page Klondike was euthanized yesterday morning due to a "recent and substantial decline in her medical condition." It says Klondike had trouble standing and walking and didn't respond to treatment.

Zoo officials say Klondike brought joy to the staff and was an "important ambassador to wild polar bears."

Klondike arrived at the zoo more than 30 years ago. The zoo's remaining polar bear, Coldilocks, also is 34 years old and becomes the nation's oldest polar bear. 

CPS

Political neophyte Ben Carson has surged past front-running billionaire tycoon Donald Trump to lead the 2016 Republican presidential nomination race in early-voting Iowa, fresh polling showed today.

Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon and the only African-American candidate in the campaign, claims 28 per cent support from likely voters in the Republican Iowa caucus, compared to 19 per cent for Trump, according to a Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll.

Senator Ted Cruz was third with 10 per cent and Senator Marco Rubio was fourth at nine per cent.

Jeb Bush, a former governor of Florida who was the early frontrunner only to slip into the middle of the pack, is tied for fifth at five per cent.

Carson enjoyed a 10-point gain from the previous poll, in late August, while Trump slid four points. 

Scientists today identified two complex organic molecules, or building blocks of life, on a comet for the first time, shedding new light on the cosmic origins of planets like Earth.

Ethyl alcohol and a simple sugar known as glycolaldehyde were detected in Comet Lovejoy, said the study in the journal Science Advances.

"These complex organic molecules may be part of the rocky material from which planets are formed," said the study. 

Other organic molecules have previously been discovered in comets, most recently in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, on which the European space agency's Philae found several organic molecules -- including four never detected before on a comet. 

Since comets contain some of the oldest and most primitive material in the solar system, scientists regard them as time capsules, offering a peek and how it all started 4.6 billion years ago.

Two bomb blasts ripped through mosques in northeast Nigeria today, killing at least 55 people and injuring more than 100, as Boko Haram fighters seized a town in neighbouring Cameroon.

The attacks in Maiduguri, Yola and Kerawa again underlined the persistent national and regional threat from the Islamist militants, despite military claims of gains. 

Fears will be heightened particularly in Maiduguri, which has been hit six times this month, killing a total of 76 people, according to an AFP tally.

Questions will also again be raised about how the militants are able to carry out such attacks on a regular basis, after similar attacks in the city last month claimed 117 lives.

The bombings also demonstrated the challenges facing the United States, which last week announced the deployment of up to 300 military personnel to northern Cameroon.

More than 40 people died Friday in a collision between a bus and a truck in southern France, authorities said.

Authorities said at least 41 people died inside the bus. They're cross-checking information on the passengers as they attempt to identify the victims, prosecutor Christophe Auger told reporters. It is unclear if the passenger list can be recovered since the bus caught on fire in the crash, he said.

Earlier, authorities said at least 42 died.

"It was a bus carrying elderly people," Mael Gohaud, a spokesman for the Gironde Prefecture, told CNN. "There are five people who are injured, and three people safe."

In a statement, French President Franois Hollande called the accident "a great tragedy." He said the relatives of the victims could be assured of "the solidarity of the whole nation."

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