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21:33 Now, 3-year jail for viewing torrent site, blocked URL in India

The Indian government, with the help of internet service providers, and presumably under directives of court, has banned thousands of websites and URLs in the last five odd years.

But until now if you somehow visited these "blocked URLs" all was fine.

However, now if you try to visit such URLs and view the information, you may get three-year jail sentence as well as invite a fine of Rs 3 lakh.

This is just for viewing a torrent file, or downloading a file from a host that may have been banned in India, or even for viewing an image on a file host like Imagebam.

You don't have to download a torrent file, and then the actual videos or other files, which might have copyright.

Just accessing information under a blocked URL will land you in jail and leave your bank account poorer by Rs 3 lakh.

Read more HERE

Wrestler Sakshi Malik, who won India's first medal in the Rio Olympics, was today announced as the country's flagbearer at the Summer Games Closing Ceremony.

The announcement came after India's last medal hope Yogeshwar Dutt lost 0-3 to Ganzorig Mandakhnaran in the qualifying of the 65kg freestyle wrestling.

Sakshi, who had become the first woman wrestler in India to win an Olympic medal with her bronze in the 58kg freestyle, became the obvious choice as India's only other medallist PV Sindhu, who bagged a silver in women's singles badminton, left for Hyderabad yesterday.

"Sakshi and Sindhu have been the medallists for us and both displayed immense courage and determination during their competitions," said chef de mission Rakesh Gupta.

"Sakshi started the account for us and later Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win a silver medal. Sindhu, in fact came close to making it a gold. Both Sakshi and Sindhu are young and have many more Olympic Games ahead of them, we can look forward to even greater performances from them.

"Sakshi opened the medal account for India in Rio and Sindhu added to it. These young ladies have been an inspiration for all women in India and I am sure many more will follow them," Gupta said.

Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale today said India should take control of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) if the neighbouring country did not stop its mischief.

"We do not need a war with Pakistan. But if Pakistan interferes in our internal matters, I think we should take control of PoK," Athawale said, speaking to reporters during the 'Tiranga Yatra' in Indore.

"Forces like Pakistan are conspiring against India by spreading terrorism. Pakistan should stop anti-India activities as the Indian army is far stronger than Pakistani army," the Republican Party of India-Athawale chief said.

"We appeal to Pakistan to give up its control of PoK. The part of Kashmir which is occupied by Pakistan is India's integral part," the minister stressed.

20:33

One person killed in a clash between mob and security forces in Srinagar, say police: PTI

20:30 Mitchell Starc breaks 19-yr bowling world record

Mitchell Starc broke a 19-year-old record as he continued his magnificent form in the ongoing tour of Sri Lanka.

Australia's left-arm pace bowler became the fastest bowler to get to 100 wickets in ODIs. He achieved it in just 52 matches, beating the previous mark of 53 set by Pakistan offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq in 1995. Co-incidentally, both these bowlers achieved the landmark against Sri Lanka.

Starc started off in style in the first ODI against Sri Lanka by bowling Kusal Perera for 1. In his third spell, Starc achieved the record when Dhananjaya de Silva chipped a slower ball straight to George Bailey at point. He rounded off his spell in style by dismissing Milinda Siriwardana for 19 to finish with wonderful figures of 10-1-32-2.

The left-armer has been in magnificent form for the past couple of seasons. In 2015, he was the leading wicket-taker in ODIs, with 41 wickets in 18 games at an average of 16.26.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat was in the midst of a controversy today over his comment on Hindu population, with the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party criticising him for the remarks.

"Which law says that the population of Hindus should not rise? There is nothing like that. What is stopping them when population of others is rising? The issue is not related to the system. It is because the social environment is like this," Bhagwat had said on Saturday on the issue of declining Hindu population.

He had made the remarks while addressing an event in Agra as part of his four-day stay in the city to interact with groups representing various social strata and professions.

Commenting on these remarks, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad today said, "Woh Dhaarm ki hi khaate hain. Woh aur kya baat karenge? (He banks on religion only, what else can be expected from him?)"

Azad, who was asked by reporters in Lucknow to comment on the RSS chief's remarks, added, "In every statement Bhagwat talks of dividing (society). He should have talked about employment, price rise but he didn't do so."

BSP chief Mayawati, while addressing a rally in Agra, also criticised Bhagwat for this comment on Hindu population.

"The RSS chief tells Hindus to produce more than two children. I want to tell him: 'you say produce more children, then ask Narendra Modi and central government if they will make arrangements for feeding them'," she said.

A delegation of opposition parties from Jammu and Kashmir, led by National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, today met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi to discuss the situation in the Valley which has been witnessing violence for the over past 40 days.

Congress is part of the opposition in the Jammu and Kashmir.

"Discussed the current political crisis in J and K with a delegation of opp(osition) leaders from the state led by @abdullah_omar (Omar Abdullah)," the Congress leader tweeted after the meeting.

Yesterday, the delegation had met President Pranab Mukherjee requesting him to urge upon the central government to find a solution to the present Kashmir crisis politically rather than administratively.

The delegation will tomorrow meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.

19:06 UK school ablaze as explosions heard

A huge fire today engulfed a school in the south of England after reports of loud explosions.

More than 75 firefighters tackled the blaze at Selsey Academy in School Lane in West Sussex as huge plumes of black smoke were seen emanating from the site.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established and no injuries have been reported so far.

"People in vicinity of smoke from Selsey school fire advised to stay clear of smoke, stay indoors and keep windows closed," West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said.

Chairman of governors for the school, Bill Emerson, told BBC: "There is a possibility we might be able to save a small section of the school and the emergency services are doing their best to do that. But it is amazing how quickly the fire has spread.

"It's shocking. The structures are effectively a skeleton now compared to what they were and we have still got fire raging in sections."

18:07 Rahul takes a dig at Modi over his suit

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today took a dig at Narendra Modi over a suit worn by him making it to the Guinness World Records, saying it was a "just reward" for the Prime Minister's "immense sacrifice".

"Just rewards for Modiji's immense sacrifice," tweeted the Congress Vice-President.

Gandhi also tagged the news report regarding the suit being described by the Guinness Records as the "most expensive suit (clothing) sold at auction".

The monogrammed suit donned by Modi during his meeting with US President Barack Obama here last year, which had kicked up a controversy, entered the Guinness World Records as "the most expensive suit sold at auction".

The suit had gone under the hammer in February last year and was purchased for Rs 4.31 crore by Surat-based diamond trader Lalji Patel, who owns Dharmananda Diamond Company.

The suit has stripes with the name 'Narendra Damodardas Modi' woven into it in glittering gold letters.

The suit was reportedly prepared at a cost of Rs 10 lakh and was auctioned at a base price of Rs 11 lakh.

The money raised from the auction of the suit has been earmarked for the Centre's clean Ganga mission.

The suit, which Modi had worn during Obamas three-day state visit to India in January last, had kicked up a political row with opposition parties accusing the PM of 'narcissism'.

Iran released images of its first domestically built long-range missile defence system today, a project started when the country was under international sanctions.

Images on multiple state news agencies showed President Hassan Rouhani and Minister of Defence Hossein Dehghan standing in front of the new Bavar 373 missile defence system.

The system was designed to intercept cruise missiles, drones, combat aircraft and ballistic missiles, according to earlier statements by Dehghan.

The project was launched as an alternative to the Russian S-300 system, the delivery of which was suspended in 2010 due to sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear programme.

"We did not intend to make an Iranian version of the S-300 -- we wanted to build an Iranian system, and we built it," Dehghan told the IRNA news agency over the weekend.

In an earlier speech at Friday prayers, he said: "Our missile power is at such a level that we are able to destroy all our targets at any operational range."

16:46 Najma Heptulla sworn in as Manipur governor

Former Union minister Najma Heptulla was today sworn in as Governor of Manipur at Raj Bhavan in Imphal.

Acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court Rakesh Ranjan Prasad administered the oath of office at 11.30 am.

Heptulla, the 18th governor of the state, replaced Shanmuganathan who was holding the dual charge of Governor of Manipur and Meghalaya.

The swearing in ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi and his cabinet colleagues among others, an official statement said.

As a growing power, India has a role to play in meeting the challenge of terrorism, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said as the two countries agreed to upgrade their security consultations.

Assad made the assertion during a meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar when the latter called on him yesterday during his Syria visit.

"There was an agreement between both sides for further upgrading security consultations," the sources said. However, the sources did not mention the level to which they have been upgraded to.

During the meeting, Assad also welcomed India's objective position on the conflict in Syria and both leaders acknowledged that terrorism was a global problem, sources said.

"As a growing power, India has a role to play in meeting the challenge of terrorism," sources quoted Assad as saying.

On his part, Akbar, during their meeting, said the age of destruction should give way to the age of reconstruction in Syria.

GoAir plans to hire 500 personnel, including pilots, in the coming months as the budget carrier prepares to expand its aircraft fleet and fly overseas next year.

Gearing up to implement its ambitious expansion plans, the Wadia group carrier is looking to have 26 aircraft by end of March next year from the current fleet strength of 21, a senior official said.

The airline's CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said plans are on for listing and it would happen at the "right time".

"We will expand our fleet by up to 26 aircraft by the end of March next year. We need to build up for the expansion that we are going for. Every aircraft (inducted) needs 100 increase (in manpower) approximately. So we will naturally hire," he said.

This would translate to hiring requirement of at least 500 personnel, including a significant number of pilots. At present, GoAir's head count is around 2,300, Prock-Schauer said.

GoAir has 21 Airbus A320 aircraft, including A320neos -- which are more fuel-efficient. Generally, an Airbus 320 plane needs maximum 14 pilots for its operation, with seven commanders and an equal number of first officers.

The rising water level of the Ganga has crossed the extreme danger level in Malda district of West Bengal submerging vast areas in several villages affecting a population of nearly 20,000, a district official said on Sunday.

Additional District Magistrate, Malda, Kanchan Chowdhury said the rise in the water level of the river was due to the release of 10 lakh cusecs of water from the Sone dam in Uttar Pradesh.

The badly affected areas are Kalichak Block number 3, Pardewanapur-Shobhapur gram panchayat and Birnagar gram panchayat, the ADM said.

The two gram panchayats have already been affected due to land erosion. Half of the area in Paranupnagar village has already been eroded, Chowdhury said, adding that roads had also been affected in the district due to the flooding.

Accusing opposition parties of Jammu and Kashmir of trying to stoke the ongoing unrest in the Valley, BJP today said it was "unfortunate" that those who held power for long and are responsible for the problems in Kashmir, are now "adding fuel to the fire".

A day after a delegation of parties, including National Conference and Congress, led by former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met President Pranab Mukherjee and hit out at the Centre for not acknowledging that the Kashmir problem was "political" in nature, BJP said the meeting was nothing but a "photo-op exercise".

"It is very unfortunate that those parties who were long in power and due to whom the Kashmir problem persists, are now adding fuel to the fire there. Their meeting with the President was nothing but a photo-op exercise," its National Secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

Both NC and Congress had boycotted a meeting called by Home Minister Rajnath Singh during his visit to Kashmir and also did not attend the August 15 ceremony in Srinagar in which Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti hoisted the national flag, he noted.

Hit by a cash crunch, e-commerce company AskMe has decided to shut shop, leaving 4,000 staffers jobless, while its majority investor Astro said it will appoint a forensic auditor to review the books of the startup's parent firm Getit.

In an internal mail, Anand Sonbhadra, Group CFO at Getit Infoservices, directed senior staff to take certain steps to ensure prevention of "further liabilities" given the company's "current financial situation".

"Prevent any further creation of liabilities by suspending operational activities...Temporarily close all hubs and all offices as possible," he said.

Noting that the non-payment of salaries to delivery boys and lower staff may cause them to take "inappropriate actions" at hubs, Sonbhadra said any untoward incident needs to be prevented and assets at hubs need to be protected.

The decision will leave 4,000 employees jobless across about 40 centres.

With investors tightening their purse strings in an increasing volatile market, startups are now under intense pressure to perform and become profitable. The last few months have seen a spate of layoffs by companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Ola.

14:03 Mid-air mishap averted

A mid-air mishap was averted due to an auto generated warning after a SpiceJet aircraft came in close proximity of an overflying Emirates plane in the Indian airspace.

The incident which occurred on August 11, involving SpiceJet Hyderabad flight from Chennai (SG 511) and Emirates' Dubai-bound Brisbane flight (EK 433), is currently being investigated by the aviation regulator, DGCA sources said.

Earlier this month, a mid-air collision between two IndiGo planes, carrying over 225 passengers and crew, was averted over Dhaka airspace after the pilot of one of the flights steered away his aircraft to a safe distance when they came perilously close to each other.

According to sources, SpiceJet flight SG 511 was cleared for 34,000 ft and advised to standby to climb further.

"However, SG 511 climbed above the permitted level without clearance. It was then asked to maintain 35,000 ft but the aircraft overshot by a 1,000 ft, a level that EK 433 was maintaining," they said.

This forced the Emirates flight to climb further and increase separation, with both the aircraft receiving TCAS alert, sources said.

After its initial forecast of "above normal" rainfall, Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency has revised its prediction saying Southwest Monsoon will be "normal" this year.

According to Skymet Weather, the initial surge in the Monsoon rains can be attributed to the transition of El Nino into the neutral phase.

However, Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) has not influenced the Monsoon 2016 so far, as it has been negative since the beginning of the season. Now, the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), which was earlier travelling in the favourable zone, is no longer supportive for Monsoon rains.

The West Coast remains inactive in absence of significant weather systems. Besides this, Monsoon is also subdued over South Peninsula along with Maharashtra.

Though back to back weather systems in North Bay of Bengal have been giving heavy rains over East and Central India, Monsoon over remaining parts of the country has been subdued.

As a result, the actual rainfall is not living up to the daily rainfall figures.

At least three terrorists were killed on Sunday, as soldiers foiled infiltration bid in Tangdhar sector of Kashmir's Kupwara district.

The terrorists were involved in attack on August 19, in which 3 BSF personnel were injured.

The Indian Army's 4 Para commandos retaliated to the fire by the militants, who were trapped during the encounter.

The entire area has been cordoned off.

In June, the Army foiled an infiltration bid by killing two terrorists in Tangdhar sector near the Line of Control.

It was the second such infiltration bid foiled by the security forces along the LoC in Kashmir in three days.

12:32

Two policemen and 2 criminals injured in an encounter between police and criminals in Sector 24, Rohini (Delhi), encounter underway: ANI

12:32

Two policemen and 2 criminals injured in an encounter between police and criminals in Sector 24, Rohini (Delhi), encounter underway: ANI

12:31 Light Combat Aircraft manufacturing facility to come up in Andhra

A weapons integration facility to manufacture Light Combat Aircraft, said to be the first-of-its-kind in the country in the private sector, will be set up in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh at a total cost of Rs 2,135 crore.

Wem Technologies Private Limited is partnering with Lockheed Martin, the largest defence equipment manufacturer in the US, to set up this facility, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said.

"We have decided to allot 350 acres of land for this facility spread over Vatluru and Bhogapuram villages near Eluru in West Godavari district. In the first phase, they will invest Rs 635 crore and provide employment to 650 persons. In all, 2510 jobs will be created when the facility becomes fully operational," Chandrababu told a press conference.

Wem currently has orders worth Rs 560 crore on hand, he said.

Nearly a month after the AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force went missing on a routine flight from Chennai to Port Blair, some objects have been found in the sea bed at a depth of about 3,500 metres, 150 nautical miles off Chennai in the Bay of Bengal.

The objects, which were suspected to be debris of the missing aircraft, was found by Geological survey of India's research vessel 'Samudra Ratnakar' which has been profiling the seabed to look for the IAFs missing transport aircraft.

The transport aircraft had gone missing with 29 passengers onboard on July 22, about 15 minutes after it took off from Tambaram Air Force base to Port Blair.

More details are awaited.

12:07 'Dil Se' clocks 18 years, SRK thanks team

Mouthing a dialogue from his 1998 romantic-thriller, Dil Se, superstar Shah Rukh Khan expressed gratitude to the movie's cast and crew as it completed its 18 years today.

Directed by Mani Ratnam, Dil Se was a love story set against the backdrop of insurgency in North East.

"The one u love the most is sometimes not loved by most... but the love doesn't change. My favourite. #18yearsofdilse," Shah Rukh captioned the short video, which shows him saying a romantic dialogue and concluding it with a "thank you" to everyone for the film.

Dil Se is counted among 50-year-old Shah Rukh's best works till date.

The movie also starred Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta (in her Bollywood debut).

Preity, 41, also shared her feelings about the film from where "it all started" for her.

"#18yearsofdilse Thank you @iamsrk @mkoirala & #Manisir 4my journey from Criminal psychology to movies. #destiny. #18yearsof_???_?? ?? This is how it all started (sic)," she posted.

A fierce encounter is on between Army personnel and a terrorist holed up in Tangdhar area of Kupwara in the state of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

As per the ANI report, security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in the area following information about presence of terrorists there.

At least three to four terrorists are believed to be trapped inside the cordoned area, the report said, adding there were no casualties on either side so far.

10:59 Afghan forces retake district from Taliban

After four days of heavy fighting with Afghan security forces, the Taliban temporarily seized control of a key district in the northern province of Kunduz on Saturday, a member of Parliament said.

Fatima Aziz, who represents Kunduz, blamed the loss of Khanabad district on a lack of reinforcement of government troops.

But later, Hejratullah Akbari, the Kunduz provincial spokesman, said.

Afghan forces had recaptured the region. At least 38 Taliban fighters were killed, Akbari said. Two Afghan police officers were wounded.

Afghan forces have been in a desperate fight to hold off the Taliban for more than a year.

In September 2015, Afghan officials admitted that the provincial capital, also called Kunduz, had "largely fallen into the hand of enemies" when Taliban insurgents seized the center of the city, including a hospital and a prison, where they reportedly freed more than 500 inmates. A month later, Taliban insurgents were pushed out by coalition-backed Afghan forces.

Kunduz is the fifth largest city in the country. It's an affluent area in northern Afghanistan known for its trade ties. The main route to Tajikistan also runs through Kunduz province.

North Korea said its diplomat who recently defected to South Korea is a "criminal" who had been under investigation for "intentionally leaking secrets, embezzling state property" and a "sex offense."

The comments were reported Saturday by the state-run news agency, KCNA.

Thae Yong Ho, the deputy ambassador of the North Korean Embassy in the United Kingdom, recently defected to South Korea with his wife and children, the South Korean Unification Ministry said this week.

It is the highest-level diplomatic defection from North to South Korea in history.

North Korea accused the UK of handing over Thae to South Korea and "instigating the fight" between North Korea and South Korea.

The FIR was registered against Satish Kumar on the basis of a video clip which showed Gau Raksha Dal members brutally thrashing people.

Nearly two weeks after he was booked, Punjab police on Sunday arrested the chief of Gau Raksha Dal for allegedly thrashing people in the name of cow protection.

"Patiala police arrest Satish Kumar, Gau Rakshak Dal Chief. He was booked for abduction and other sections of IPC," reported ANI.

On August 8, Punjab police had booked Satish Kumar, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the states to act against 'fake' cow protectors.

The FIR was lodged on the basis of a video clip, which appeared on social media, showing Gau Raksha Dal members brutally thrashing people.

A case under sections 382 (having made preparation for causing death), 384 (committing extortion), 341 (wrongfully restraining any person), along with sections 148 and 149, of the Indian Penal Code was registered against him.

An interracial couple was attacked after a self-proclaimed white supremacist saw them kissing outside a Washington restaurant, police said.

Daniel Rowe, 32, came up to the African-American man and the white woman and, without a word, started stabbing them, said Olympia police spokeswoman Laura Wohl.

The man, who was stabbed in the hip, was able to tackle the suspect and restrain him on the ground until police arrived. His injuries were minor, as were the woman's.

The man confessed to stabbing the couple, saying he was a white supremacist, Wohl said.

"The suspect spouted white supremacist sayings and made many many references to racist things," she said.

Rowe also complained about the Black Lives Matter movement, and had tattoos that said 'Skinhead' and 'White Power,' Wohl said.

Read full story HERE.

More than 300 civilians have been killed in a three-week surge of fighting and bombardment in Syria's devastated Aleppo city, a monitoring group said today.

The battle for Syria's second city has killed 333 civilians since July 31, when rebels launched a major push to break a government siege of districts under their control.

The toll includes 165 civilians - among them 49 children - killed in opposition fire on the city's government-held western districts.

Another 168 civilians died in Russian and regime air strikes and shelling on its rebel-controlled eastern neighbourhoods, the Observatory said.

Russia has been carrying out air raids in support of President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria since September 2015.

Another 109 people were killed in bombardment across the rest of Aleppo province during the same period, the Britain-based monitoring group said.

Once Syria's economic hub, Aleppo city has been ripped apart by violence since mid-2012, with warplanes bombarding the east and rockets raining down on the west.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said the Islamic State jihadist group was the "likely perpetrator" of a bomb attack on a wedding in the southeastern city of Gaziantep that left at least 30 dead.

Erdogan said in a written statement that there was "no difference" between the group of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who he blames for a failed July 15 coup bid, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) "and Daesh (IS), the likely perpetrator of the attack in Gaziantep".

"Our country and our nation have again only one message to those who attack us -- you will not succeed!" he said.

Erdogan added that PKK attacks on security forces had claimed 70 lives in the last month alone.

Erdogan said that the aim of attacks like Gaziantep was to sow division between different groups in Turkey such as Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen and "spread incitement along ethnic and religious lines."

Turkey would not give in to the "provocation" of the Gaziantep attack and would instead show "unity, togetherness and brotherhood", he said.

One CRPF jawan was today injured in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district.

The incident occurred between at around 9 am.

The jawan was critically injured in the blast, the ASP said.

The injured were admitted to a local CRPF field hospital, sources added.

At least five persons were killed and several others were left injured after a cloudburst triggered by heavy rain hit Pauri region of Uttarakhand on Monday.

All the deceased are said to be of one family.

The Uttarakhand Police and SDRF teams rushed to the spot to help in the rescue operations.

The incident took place at Markhola area in Garhwal division when the family's house was razed to the ground by huge boulders that rolled down the hill following the cloudburst.

Seeking to reboot his flagging presidential bid, Donald Trump has made a strong pitch to African-American voters, saying he wants the Republican party to become their home once again as it used to be in the Abraham Lincoln-era.

"The GOP is the Party of Lincoln and I want our party to be the home of the African-American vote once again. I want an inclusive country and I want an inclusive party," Trump said at an election rally in Virginia, a swing state, which is now leaning towards the Democrats.

Recent polls indicate that Trump is trailing behind Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton among non-White communities, in particularly among African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Latinos.

This week, Trump appears to have made mid-course correction by delivering speeches to woo African-Americans. He continued the trend in Virginia yesterday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday claimed once again that the Aam Aadmi Party would win 35 of the 40 legislative assembly seats in Goa, when the state goes to polls in early 2017.

Kejriwal who was in Goa on his third visit in as many months, also said that if the AAP comes to power, it would ensure that those mining companies and others linked to the Rs. 35,000 crore illegal mining scam would not be allowed to go scot-free.

"We will win 35 out of 40 seats. AAP will perform very well in Goa," said Kejriwal, whose AAP is also being pegged as the front-runner in Punjab, which is also scheduled for state assembly polls in early January.

Singapore's Malay-Muslim community leaders have called for stricter norms for registration of religious teachers amid growing concerns over radicalisation in the country, media reports said.

The leaders want all Asatizah (Islamic preachers) to be registered with the Asatizah Recognition Scheme, started in 2005 to help Muslims to assess and recognise qualified religious teachers, The Sunday Times reported.

According to media reports, this was discussed during a closed-door dialogue yesterday between Malay-Muslim leaders, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim and Minister for Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli as part of regular engagements with the community.

About 80 per cent of Muslim religious teachers are currently accredited under the scheme, which is run by the Asatizah Recognition Board and Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association.

Many community leaders said making the scheme mandatory would be a progressive and pro-active step.

08:46 Close encounter between US, Syrian jets

Two American F-22s on patrol over Hasakah, Syria, flew within a mile of two Syrian Su-24 fighter jets and "encouraged" them to leave Friday, a US defense official told CNN.

The close encounter comes only a day after two Syrian warplanes attacked the Kurds, a key US ally, forcing US special operations forces to be withdrawn from their position in northern Syria.

The American aircraft are part of the beefed-up US air combat patrols in the area that the Pentagon had announced following Thursday's attack.

The pilots of the F-22 Raptors tried to call the Syrian aircraft cockpit-to-cockpit but got no response, the US official added.

US defense officials had told CNN earlier that the military had pulled US special operations forces from their northern Syria position after the Syrian military began bombing nearby, attacking Kurdish positions in and around the city of Hasakah.

The murder of Hande Kader, a transgender woman, has caused an outcry in Turkey's biggest city Istanbul. Turkey remains conservative on LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) issues, but on Sunday activists will stage a rare protest in Istanbul, writes Rengin Arslan of BBC Turkish.

"Hande was one of the nicest people in the world. She was very calm normally but also hyperactive. She always went to the LGBTI marches. She pursued a cause that she felt right until the end."

Davut Dengiler describes his 23-year-old flatmate, Hande Kader, whose body was found in a forest in Istanbul last week.

According to data from the rights group Transgender Europe, Turkey has the highest number of trans murders in Europe.

Najma Heptulla will be sworn in as the Governor of Manipur at Raj Bhavan, officials said.

She will be administered the oath of office by acting chief justice of the high court of Manipur R R Prasad at 11.30 am on Sunday.

Heptulla arrived in Manipur on Saturday at Imphal International Airport where she was received by state Chief Secretary O Nabakishore, Director General of Police L M Khaute and other officials.

Heptulla, 76, had last month resigned as Minority Affairs Minister from the Union Cabinet.

The resignation had come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is believed to have set an unwritten writ of '75-year age bar' for ministers.

The older brother of the Syrian boy whose image, dazed and bloodied after an air strike, shocked people around the world, has died in Aleppo from wounds sustained in the same incident, a war monitor and a witness said.

Ali Daqneesh, 10, was wounded in Wednesday's air strike, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, and a witness who was present at the time of the death along with the boys' father.

He had internal bleeding and organ damage, doctors told the witness.

His younger brother, five-year-old Omran Daqneesh, was pictured in the back of an ambulance after being pulled from the rubble, with an expression of incomprehension on his dust- and blood-caked face.

The video and pictures were widely circulated online and in the media, refocusing public opinion on Syria's five-year-old civil war and the plight of civilians, particularly in Aleppo.

Thirty people were killed and 94 wounded when a suspected suicide bomber targeted a wedding celebration in the Turkish city of Gaziantep on Saturday, adding to a surge in violence this week in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

Ambulances raced to the scene and video footage from broadcaster CNN Turk showed police and emergency services workers rushing through packed streets in the city.

The attack appeared to have hit when a large group of people from a wedding party took to the streets in celebration, security sources said.

Islamic State militants were believed to be behind the attack, Samil Tayyar, a member of parliament from ruling AK Party said on Twitter, while Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek told broadcaster NTV the blast appeared to be the work of a suicide bomber.

Turkey faces multiple security threats from Islamic State militants at home and across the border with neighboring Syria as well as from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.

A group of rogue Turkish soldiers last month attempted to overthrow the government, commandeering tanks, helicopters and warplanes in an attempted putsch that killed 240 people. The Ankara government has blamed on followers of the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, but Gulen has denied the charge.

Image used for representation only.

00:50 Turkey plans more active role in Syria

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim vowed on Saturday that Ankara would play a "more active" role in the next six months in efforts to solve the five-year Syrian civil war.

Yildirim -- whose foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, made a surprise visit to Iran this week -- said Ankara will step up efforts to reduce "instability" in the region.

"We say the bloodshed needs to stop. Babies, children, innocent people should not die. That's why Turkey will be more active in trying to stop the danger getting worse in the next six months, compared with before," Yildirim told foreign reporters in Istanbul.

Yildirim said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can remain temporarily during a transition period as "he is one of the actors today no matter whether we like it or not".

But the premier stressed that Assad has no role to play in Syria's future.

"We believe that the PKK, Daesh and Assad should not be in the future of Syria," he added, referring to the Syrian Kurds and the Islamic State group in the war-torn country.

Yildirim said it was "out of the question" for Turkey to talk with the Syrian leader, and said regional countries Turkey and Iran as well as Russia and the United States must work toward a solution in Syria.

"That is our objective. We are not pessimistic. We have even left it late. Therefore, as Turkey, we will work more because the instability there pains us."

Turkey is on the frontline of fallout from the civil war, hosting over 2.7 million Syrian refugees at a cost of $12 billion, Ankara says.

The leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party says that people should have the right to arm themselves with guns and weapons in order to defend themselves following a spate of terrorist attacks that rocked Germany in July.

Frauke Petry, who is the head of the anti-immigrant party, made the remarks in an interview with the Funke Media Group, which was published on Saturday. The leader of the AfD mentioned that there is a growing unease amongst certain sections of the Germany public.

Many people are increasingly feeling unsafe. Every law-abiding citizen should be in a position to defend themselves, their family and their friends," she said. "We all know how long it takes until the police can get to the scene, especially in sparsely populated places," she added.

According to the politician, her party is currently the only force opposing tougher gun laws in Germany.

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