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Sat, 27 August 2016
Vishal Dadlani quits politics after sarcastic tweet about Jain guru backfires

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23:51   Vishal Dadlani quits politics after sarcastic tweet about Jain guru backfires
Celebrity AAP supporter, music director and singer, Vishal Dadlani on Saturday stirred controversy after he tweeted mocking Digambar Jain monk Tarun Sagar for giving a speech in Haryana Assembly, naked.

Dadlani had tweeted the following: "If you voted for these people, YOU are responsible for this absurd nonsense! No #AchcheDin, just #NoKachcheDin." (See image on left)

However, soon after the singer made this tweet, he was ridiculed by several Jain sect followers. Dadlani was quick to reply to everyone with an apology: "I apologise to you too, wholeheartedly, Sir. I hope that religion and governance can be separated, for Indias sake. I am sorry to have offended you and your beliefs too, Sir. My intent was not to hurt anyone. Spoke without thinking." 

Delhi CM and AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal too took to Twitter to praise the Jain monk and said that his family deeply respects Tarun Sagar.

The Jains are an influential community in the poll-bound Gujarat where AAP is seeking to make a powerful debut. Kejriwal and Jain's tweets promptly condemning Vishal's off-the-cuff tweet may have been influenced by that consideration.

Following this, Dadlani on Twitter announced that he was quitting from all active political work and affiliations.

"It feel bad that I hurt my Jain friends & my friends @ArvindKejriwal & @SatyendarJain .I hereby quit all active political work/affiliation," he wrote on Twitter.
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23:36   AI grounds Kochi-Jeddah due to technical issues
Air India today grounded its flight to Jeddah due to technical issues leaving many passengers stranded at the international airport in Kochi. 

The Boeing 747-400 aircraft was scheduled to leave Kochi at around 2000 hours. 

An Air India spokesperson said the plane has been grounded on account of some "technical issues" and would now depart tomorrow morning. The passengers are being accommodated in hotel. 

Specific details, including the number of passengers who were to travel in the flight could not be immediately ascertained.

"AI963 Delta flight will depart from Kochi to Jeddah tomorrow at 1030 hrs LT. Inconvenience to pax regretted," the airline said in a tweet. 

In another tweet, the airline said the plane has been grounded due to operational reasons.
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23:17   India miss record chase
India falls a run short in their attempt to register their biggest win in T20 internationals. West Indies win the 1st T20 international match in Florida. 

KL Rahul slammed a quickfire century, hitting an unbeaten 110 from 51 balls but captain MS Dhoni was dismissed off the last ball as India lost by one run against West Indies in the first T20I in Florida. 

Chasing a record target of 246 runs, India needed two runs off the last ball but Dhoni failed to finish off the match and was caught at short thirdman for 43, from 25 balls.

Rahul finished unbeaten on a wonderful innings of 110 from 51 balls, hitting 12 fours and five sixes.

Dwayne Bravo held his cool in the final over despite Dhoni being dropped off the first ball of the final over and didn't concede a single boundary off it.

Click HERE for the full scorecard
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21:42   Pawan Kalyan rules out joining BJP
Telugu film star and Jana Sena Party founder Pawan Kalyan today ruled out joining the BJP and asserted that his outfit was for the "Telugu people". 

"A few months after Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, I attended his swearing-in ceremony, BJP national president came to Hyderabad and we met. The BJP president told me that regional parties have no future and hence wanted me to join his party. I told him clearly that Jana Sena was born for the Telugu people. It has a nationalist approach though it's a regional party," Kalyan recalled but in an apparent slip of tongue referred to Amit Shah as Satish Shah.

"I like the BJP but there is no commonality between it and Jana Sena on some issues," he pointed out.

He asserted that Jana Sena would only carry the people's 'jhanda' (flag) and agenda and nothing else. 
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21:40   Clinton receives first intelligence briefing as nominee
Hillary Clinton received her first national security briefing today as the Democratic presidential nominee, meeting with intelligence officials for an overview of the major threats facing the nation around the globe.

Clinton attended the briefing for more than two hours at the FBI office in White Plains, New York, near her suburban New York City home. Republican Donald Trump received his briefing earlier this month, a customary move for major party nominees but one that has been the subject of a political tussle during the campaign.

Trump was campaigning on Saturday in Iowa, headlining Republican Sen. Joni Ernst's annual "Roast and Ride" fundraiser at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The celebrity businessman was not planning to join the 42-mile motorcycle ride that is part of the event but bringing his campaign to a state where polls show a tight contest, a rare bright spot for Trump amid a sea of challenging battleground states.

The activities capped a week that saw some of the harshest exchanges between the two presidential rivals, with Clinton asserting in an MSNBC interview on Friday that Trump's campaign was built on "prejudice and paranoia" and he had catered to a radical fringe of the Republican Party. 
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21:11   Powered by Lewis, Windies score 245 for 6 in 20 overs
West Indies opener Evin Lewis smashed a quickfire century to power his team to a massive 245 for six against India in the first T20I in Florida.
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20:54   Away from chaotic Kashmir, Burhan Wani's father spends time at Sri Sri's ashram
While violent protests continue in Kashmir over the death of Burhan Wani, the slain Hizbul militant's father Muzaffar Wani was spotted with Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at the latter's ashram in Bengaluru.

Muzaffar reportedly spent two days at the AOL Ashram. 

A school pricipal by profession, Muzaffar is today identified in the Valley as the man who 'sacrificed' two sons for the sake of Kashmir's 'azadi'.

In a media report, Muzaffar termed the post-Burhan uprising as a "message to India that people vote for roads not to undermine Tehreek (freedom struggle)." "The uprising should open eyes of India. Killing innocent people will not serve anything. We are not enemies of India but I fail to understand why they kill us," he said.

Sri Sri had visited Kashmir a couple of months ago where he held separate meetings with Governor NN Vohra and Hurriyat-M Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq among other leaders.

During their meeting, Mirwaiz told the spiritual leader that "the on-going situation in Jammu Kashmir was worrisome and the plans that the government was trying to implement in the state were anti-Kashmir and against the collective interests of the people."
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20:33   Floods: NDRF rescues over 53,000 from Bihar, UP
More than 53,000 people have been rescued by NDRF teams from the flood-ravaged areas in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The National Disaster Response Force has deployed 75 rescue and relief teams, with about 40 rescuers in each, to help the people hit by heavy rains in these states and has also tasked two Deputy Inspector General-rank officers in Bihar and UP for monitoring the situation round-the-clock. 

"So far, NDRF teams have evacuated/rescued more than 53,000 persons and provided medical assistance to 12,200 needy persons in this monsoon season. Operations are still continuing," the force said. 

The National Disaster Response Force teams are deployed in Bihar's Munger, Samastipur, Begusarai, Fathuha, Patna, Bhagalpur, Didarganj, Danapur, Bakhtiyarpur, Buxar, Vaishali and Chhapra and evacuated over 1,748 marooned people to safer places.

Similarly, it said, in Uttar Pradesh, these teams conducted rescue and relief operations at Allahabad, Banda, Gazipur, Varanasi and Ballia districts and evacuated 2,163 people, who were stranded in low lying areas. 

A team has also been positioned at Mangan in North Sikkim and has helped evacuate more than 280 people to safer places, it said.
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19:49   Pakistan can send MPs for free tourism; Kashmir bilateral issue: India
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's decision to appoint 22 special envoys to rake up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations was slammed by the Indian government on Saturday, with Minister of State for External Afairs MJ Akbar saying Pakistan shouldn't internationlise the issue. 

In a statement to ANI, Akbar said, "As far as Kashmir issue is concerned, Pakistan must not internationalize it, it is a bilateral issue." 

Taking a dig at Pakistan, Akbar added, "It is Pakistans individual right if it wants its MPs to go for free tourism."

Pakistan on Saturday further needled India on the Kashmir issue, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif nominating 22 parliamentarians as special envoys to be despatched to world capitals to highlight the problem. 

"We will remind the United Nations its long-held promise of self-determination to the Kashmiri people," Sharif said.
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19:41   Walk into bears den only if you believe in afterlife
On Friday, Moscow made a fascinating diplomatic move. It extended an invitation to Tokyo to join Russia's humanitarian mission in Syria's Aleppo. There can't be a more noble initiative. 

The survivors in the Syrian inferno need urgent interim relief. 

But then, this is a geopolitical war and warriors do not have bleeding hearts. 

Something is curious about Moscow's initiative. One, it is a 'mil-to-mil' offer to Tokyo's defence ministry. (Yet, the two countries don't even have a peace treaty after World War II.) 

Two, Tokyo is surprised and can't figure out a response. Three, why faraway Japan -- why not nearby Germany or Sweden?

Read more HERE
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19:38   Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize shortlist announced!
This year's shortlist for the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize has been announced.

Four of our selected writers live and work outside the sub-continent. But their exceptional work is counter-balanced by equally noteworthy books written within India. 

All the books this year should make us reconsider what we think we know but have either forgotten or not acknowledged: the long (and often sinister) shadows of particular events and people, the individual lives nestled inside large histories, lives that shimmer on the margins of our vision and as always, the darkness hidden inside families.

The shortlist includes:

Manu S Pillai's The Ivory Throne

Madhu Gurung's The Keeper of Memories

Sophia Khan's Yasmeen

Nisid Hajari's Midnights Furies

Akshay Mukul's Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India

Kanishk Tharoor's Swimmer Among the Stars
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19:30   19 MQM offices razed, over 200 unit offices sealed in Pak
Further cracking down on Pakistan's MQM, authorities have demolished around 19 of the party's offices and sealed another 219 of its sector and unit offices besides the headquarters for being 'illegally' constructed on government land.

The offices of Muttahida Qaumi Movement in different areas of Karachi were razed by the Sindh government and law enforcement agencies as they were illegally constructed on plots earmarked for schools, playgrounds and libraries, senior police officials said.

"The MQM had constructed these buildings after forcibly grabbing government land," SSP Rao Anwar said. 

The crackdown on the MQM -- the single largest party in Karachi -- started earlier this week soon after party leader Altaf Hussain made anti-Pakistan comments during speeches at a hunger strike camp in Karachi and at a function in the US. 

Pakistan has charged the self-exiled leader in London with treason for his inflammatory speech that incited party workers to attack media outlets in Karachi
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19:30   Kejriwal, Sisodia appear before court in defamation case
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia appeared before a court in Delhi today in connection with a criminal defamation complaint filed against them by former union minister Kapil Sibal's son Amit Sibal.

Kejriwal and Sisodia appeared before Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma and cross-examined Amit Sibal. 

His testimony remained inconclusive and would continue on September 17, the next date of hearing. 

Besides Kejriwal aqnd Sisodia, the complainant had also named former AAP members Prashant Bhushan and Shazia Ilmi as accused in the case. 

The court on September 20, 2014, had put all the four accused on trial for charge under section 500 (defamation) of the IPC.

The accused had pleaded not guilty to the offence and claimed trial.
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18:18   WB: Probe ordered into Murshidabad hospital fire
West Bengal govt announces compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of the deceased in the Murshidabad fire.

CID probe ordered by state government for Murshidabad Medical College fire incident.
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18:07   Geelani detained while trying to march towards Badamibagh
Hardline Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was today detained as he tried to defy house arrest to march towards the headquarters of the Army at Badamibagh in Srinagar as part of the proposed protest programme of the separatists.

He was taken into preventive custody outside his Hyderpora residence this afternoon, a police official said.

The Hurriyat hawk was taken to Humhama police station and lodged there, he said. 

Geelani was on his way towards Badamibagh for handing over a letter to General officer Commanding of the Army asking the forces to "vacate Jammu and Kashmir". 

Yesterday, chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who tried to take out a march along with  his supporters from his Nigeen residence, was also taken into custody and later shifted to Chashma Shahi Guest House. 

The separatist camp, including both factions of the Hurriyat and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, has been issuing protest calenders after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Burhan Wani on July 8, and urging people to follow its proposed programme.
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17:09   Why didn't Parrikar object to PM, Advani's Pakistan trip: Digvijay
Congress leader Digvijay Singh today criticised Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for his "Pakistan is hell" remark and sought to know whey he did not object when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP leader L K Advani visited the neighbouring country.

The former Madhya Pradesh CM said Parrikar's remarks on Pakistan and his reported comments on Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan reflected "intolerance" by BJP-RSS leaders.

"Parrikar made a famous statement terming Pakistan as hell, but he had no objection when the PM went to Pakistan to attend a family wedding of (Prime Minister) Nawaz Sharif," he said.

"He (Parrikar) had no objection when L K Advani placed a wreath at the 'mazar' of M A Jinnah and praised him as a secular leader. He had no objection when (then Prime Minister) A B Vajpayee went to Lahore in a bus," Singh said.

"Why he did not agitate within his party when these senior leaders went to Pakistan?" Singh asked and added that Congress strongly condemns Parrikar's statement equating Pakistan with hell.

"A BJP leader in Karnataka filed a sedition case in the Court against our former Member of Parliament Ramya for saying 'Pakistan is not hell'. How can Ramya's statement be termed seditious?" the Congress veteran maintained.
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16:51   Official suspended over breaking woman's body, carrying it on bamboo pole
A Government Railway Police's Assistant Sub-Inspector was today suspended for "not
performing his duty properly" leading to undignified treatment of an old woman's body in Odisha's Balasore district.

"We have suspended ASI P R Mishra for not performing his duty properly while transporting the body of an old woman. The ASI was suspended after preliminary inquiry into the incident," Superintendent of Police, GRP Odisha Sanjay Kausal
said.

He said the GRP had hired two sweepers from Soro in Balasore district for transporting the old woman's body. As rigor mortis had set in, they allegedly broke her body and wrapped it in a cloth and tied it to a bamboo pole to carry
the body.

"The ASI was on duty and present at the spot, but did not oppose the sweepers' act," Kausal said.

Salamani Behera, an 80-year-old widow was run over by a goods train near Soro railway station in Balasore district on Wednesday. Her body was taken to the community health centre. But the GRP personnel reached there after 12 hours.

As they could not arrange an ambulance to take the body to Balasore for post mortem, they broke it, stuffed it in a gunny bag and carried it tied to a bamboo pole, Odisha Human Rights Commission said in its report.
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16:34   The real Kwai killed over 1.50 lakh Tamils
It may not be The Bridge on the River Kwai, but this documentary on the tragic death of over 1.5 lakh Tamil workers is more real than the Oscar-winning David Lean film. 

What the 1957 film does not tell, this one does: the story of over two lakh Tamil emigrants from Malaysia and Burma, who were forced to labour between 1940 and 1942 on a 415 km.-railway track between Thailand and Burma (Myanmar), including a bridge on the Kwai, as part of Japan's Greater Asia plan.

Read full story HERE
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16:21   'US to look for opportunities to advance India's NSG bid'
US President Barack Obama believes that the time has come for the NSG to take up the matter of India's membership and the US will continue to look for opportunities to advance the case, an American official has said.

"We certainly continue to work with our Indian colleagues on the way forward and continue to work with other members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group," a senior State Department Official told a group of reporters from South Asia ahead of
the India visit of Secretary of State John Kerry.

The official said US President Obama has been very clear and very definitive that India has met the requirements for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

"He believes that the time has come for the NSG to take up the case of Indias membership," the senior State Department official said.

"While I do not have anything to add to that, I think we continue to look for opportunities to advance the case and in those conversations and dialogues are ongoing," the official said. 
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16:01   National Herald case: Patiala court issues notice to Sonia,Rahul on Swamy's application
Patiala House Court issued notice to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi and five other accused in National Herald case. 

Hearing BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking documents in the National Herald case, the court asked all the accused to file response on within 2 weeks.

Earlier, Swamy had filed a complaint in the court where he sought summoning of documents from Associated Journal Ltd and Congress.
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15:35   Pak PM needles India again, appoints 22 envoys to raise Kashmir issue
In yet another attempt to meddle in India's internal affairs, Pakistan today nominated 22 parliamentarians to raise the Kashmir dispute in the United Nations in September. 

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today chose 22 special envoys and vowed to raise the Kashmir issue during the United Nation General Assembly session. The PM said Pakistan would expose the abuse of rights in the ongoing violence in the Valley.

Earlier, India had warned Pakistan over its "deplorable meddling" and asked it to "vacate its illegal occupation of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir".

After Pakistan observed a 'Black Day' on July 20, following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with Indian security forces, India said that it strongly condemned the "encouragement and support" which "terrorists and their activities receive from Pakistan's state".
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15:00   Will help Haji Ali fight case in SC, says kin of Sabarimala priests
After women were allowed entry into the inner sanctum of the Haji Ali dargah in Mumbai, a kin of the family of priests at Sabarimala temple in Kerala has promised support for the plea of the Haji Ali Trust in Supreme Court. 

The Bombay high court, in a landmark ruling on Friday, allowed entry of women into the inner sanctum of the centuries-old shrine in Mumbai. The Haji Ali Trust, which manages the dargah, said it will appeal to the Supreme Court against the high court order.

Sabarimala devotees will help Haji Ali to fight the case in Supreme Court, tweeted Rahul Easwar, an activist who belongs to the family of priests at Sabarimala temple. 

The shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa atop a hill in Kerala does not allow the entry of women of menstrual age. The temple management has tied the rule to essential religious practices and traditions, along with the belief that the presiding deity, Lord Ayyappa, is a perennial celibate (Naishtika Brahmachari).

Easwar argued on Twitter saying freedom of faith should not be interfered beyond a Lakshman Rekha.
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14:53   Monk, in nude, talks of Pakistan, female foeticide, in Haryana assembly
He equated dharma to the husband and politics to the wife, suggesting that the latter should "accept the discipline' imposed by the former. 

He recommended ways to eradicate female foeticide. He even took potshots at Pakistan. 

And all through the discourse that lasted 40 minutes, Jain religious leader Tarun Sagar had MLAs cutting across party lines at the Haryana assembly listening in rapt attention.

Delivering his "Kadve Vachan' to mark the start of the monsoon session, the first such event organised at the Vidhan Sabha, the monk, who appeared in the nude, was seated on a dais, above the seats of the Governor, Chief Minister and MLAs.

Read full story HERE
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13:54   Woman dead, many trapped in fire at West Bengal hospital
A woman was killed and several others feared are trapped after a fire broke out in the Behrampur Medical College Hospital in West Bengal's Murshidabad district. 

The fire broke out on the third floor of the building in a room next to the children's ward. 

The woman killed has been identified as a caretaker for the children.
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13:45   Hardik demands release of Patels convicted in 2002 riots cases
Quota agitation spearhead Hardik Patel has demanded the release of Patel youths convicted in various riots cases of 2002, but alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not facilitate it as he now wants to project himself as a "secular" leader to the world.

Patel in a letter to Modi, has listed 102 Patel community members, who have been awarded life imprisonment in different riot cases of 2002.

"Everybody knows that Modi first became chief minister of Gujarat taking the benefit of 2002 riots and then become PM of the country," Hardik Patel said in a letter addressed to Modi accusing him of being responsible for the carnage.

"Many Patidar youths have been sentenced (by courts) in riots cases. I have given a list below," he said in the letter.

Patel is at present residing in Udaipur, as he has been asked to stay outside Gujarat by the State high court as part of one of his bail conditions.
"All these Patel youths are rotting in jails of Gujarat. Modiji is now PM. He can recommend to the President for release of Patel youths involved in riots and get them released," Hardik said in the letter.

"But, I know Modiji will not do that as he wants to show the country and the world that he is a secular person. Modiji has misused Gujaratis and particularly Patidars," Hardik alleged.
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13:39  
JUST IN: Fire breaks out in Murshidabad Medical College Hospital in Beharampur
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13:12   BJP MP refuses US visa after being asked to remove 'pagdi'
A BJP member of the Lok Sabha refused a US visa after he was asked to remove his pagdi at the US embassy for security reasons, asserting that his turban was a matter of his "traditional honour' which he cannot remove.

Virendra Singh, a three-time Lok Sabha MP and presently representing Bhadohi (UP), said the US embassy had first interviewed him over farming issues and later invited him to visit to their country.

Singh said he went to the embassy for the purpose of visa and was asked to remove his pagdi. 

I cannot do it. I am a farmer and pagdi is a matter of honour for me. It is also a matter of the countrys honour to me. How can I remove my pagdi for the sake of security? I can never do it. It is they (US embassy) who had invited me to visit their country. I refused the visa. I said I am not interested, he said. 
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13:10  
JUST IN: Coorg court to hear matter of actor Ramya's Pakistan comment on October 19
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12:10   One child, two yardsticks: Surrogacy vs adoption
Around this time last year, Missionaries of Charity had walked out of India's adoption programme saying that the single-parent norm under the new adoption rules hurts its conscience. 

The NDA government had stood its ground then.A year later, the government seems to have taken a step backwards, deciding to close the doors for unmarried people to have a baby through surrogacy -- Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday even hinted that the adoption law "may also require changes".

Read more HERE
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11:46   Please give me time, help us resolve Kashmir crisis, says Mufti
Jammu-Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti addressed the media after her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter's residence in the nation's capital. 

This was the first time in 50 days, since violence broke out in the Valley, that the CM met Modi to discuss the situation. 

Here are the highlights of what she said to the media:

>> PM Modi like all of us is very concerned with the situation in J&K

>> Pakistan has been openly trying to provoke and fuel tensions in the valley

>> , Pakistan has repeatedly given up chances to talk and resolve the issue of violence in Kashmir

>> PM Modi reached out to Pakistan, went to Lahore, but then Pathankot happened

>> Pakistan missed another opportunity when they did not speak to Home Minister Rajnath Singh

>> Everyone wants peace in Kashmir. But talks can only take place with those interested in talks, not those instigating people

>> Aim of curfew is to protect children from injuries. If we don't impose curfew, what do we do?
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11:16   Amidst violence in Valley, J-K CM Mufti meets PM Modi
Jammu Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter's residence 7RCR in the nation's capital. This is the first time the two are meeting since violence broke out in the Valley. 

Today is the 50th day that curfew has been imposed in Srinagar during which over 65 people have been killed and over thousands have been injured. 

Earlier, Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited Srinagar and met Mufti along with other political leaders and took stock of the situation. He also said that an alternative to pellet guns would be found soon. 
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10:39   Cops kill Bangladesh cafe attack mastermind and 2 others in encounter
The police just announced that Gulshan cafe attack 'mastermind' Canadian-Bangladeshi Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and 2 others killed in an encounter near Dhaka.

On July 16, five militants took hostages and opened fire on the Holey Artisan Bakery[8] in Gulshan Thana. The assailants entered the bakery with crude bombs, machetes, pistols, and took several dozen hostages (foreigners and locals).

Twenty-nine people were killed, including 20 hostages (18 foreigners and 2 locals), 2 police officers, 5 gunmen, a chef of the bakery and later at hospital, an assistant of a chef.

The incident was the worst terrorist attack in Bangladesh's history.
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10:25   In Valley, a new health emergency called barricades
What should have been a routine visit to hospital with his daughter-in-law, Haseena Bano, after she developed labour pain turned into a nightmare for Abdul Rahim Lone on August 21. 

There was no technician to conduct the sonography at the local hospital. Doctors told Lone the paramedic had not been able to come to work due to the ongoing curfew, and referred Bano to Srinagar's Lal Ded, the only tertiary-care maternity hospital in valley.

For Lone, a resident of Preng village in Kangan town of central Kashmir, that journey to Srinagar turned out to be "hell'.

"I have lost count of the number of barricades on the road. We were stopped at every barricade, and at each one they (police and paramilitary forces on duty) got into the vehicle to check even as she (Bano) cried in pain," Lone said. 

"They let us go, but at many places I was asked to remove the barricade myself. I had to put it back when our ambulance passed."

Read more HERE
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10:14   India's strategic autonomy is worth preserving
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is undertaking a visit to the United States on August 29 -- his second visit in eight months. The signing of the so-called Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement is expected during Parrikar's forthcoming visit, which will allow the two countries to use each other's bases as well as assets for replenishment of supplies and refuelling.

Read more HERE
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09:23   J-K CM Mehbooba Mufti to meet PM Modi today
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and is most likely have a discussion on the current state of unrest in the valley.

She will meet the Prime Minister at his 7 RCR official residence around 10:30 am.

This will be the first meeting between the two after the unrest broke out in the valley last month following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.

The meeting comes days after Home Minister Rajnath Singh visited the state, where he assessed the situation on ground and held meetings with representative of civil society, political parties, Pahari community leaders and several individuals to understand what needed to be done to restore normalcy in the valley.

Singh also met Mehbooba Mufti, Governor N N Vohra and state cabinet ministers.

Yesterday, Mufti had strongly defended the action of security forces and claimed that 95 percent of the people were keen on resolving the Kashmir issue politically and through dialogue, and added that only five percent of the people were resorting to agitation.

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09:19   PM announces Task Force to prepare India for next Olympics
With India getting only two medals in the Rio Olympics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the decision to set up a Task Force to prepare a comprehensive action plan for effective participation in the next three Olympics. 

According to the announcement, the Task Force comprising experts will be set up over the next few days. "The Task Force will be set up to prepare a comprehensive action plan for effective participation of Indian sports persons in the next three Olympic games 2020, 2024 and 2028."  

"The Task Force will prepare overall strategy for sports facility, training, selection procedure and other related matters." 

The Task Force will comprise members who are in house experts as well as those from outside. The next Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo in 2020. 

 The decision to set up the Task Force comes against the backdrop of India's dismal performance in Rio Olympics as the country won only one silver and one bronze even after sending its biggest contingent of 118 athletes. 

India finished 67th in the medal tally.
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09:12   Two quakes jolt Himachal Pradesh
Two medium intensity earthquakes, epicentered in Kullu region of Himachal Pradesh today jolted the Himalayan state in span of nearly 20 minutes.

According to National Centre of Seismology, a unit of Ministry of Earth Sciences, the first quake measuring 4.6 on Richter scale occurred at 6.44 am at a depth of 10 kilometres. The second quake measured 4.3 at Richter scale occurred at 7.05 am at the same depth.

The epicentre of both the quakes was in Kullu, it said.

There were no immediate reports of loss life or damage to property.

The Himalayan belt of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are known as earthquake-prone regions in the world.
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09:10   Police constable shot dead by militants in J-K's Pulwama
Militants on Saturday killed a local policeman in Pulwama district in South Kashmir. 

A senior police officer said,  "Selection grade constable Khurshid Ahmad Ganai was leaving his home in Koil village for duties when a militant appeared and shot him from a close range. The constable died on the spot." 

Two days back, militant hiding in a mob had launched two grenades at the mob controlling security forces injuring 15 security men, including three officers in the same district.
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03:33   Tear gas as Zimbabwe police beat anti-Mugabe marchers
Riots erupted in Zimbabwe's capital Harare after police fired tear gas and beat protesters who responded by throwing stones in the latest of a string of highly charged demonstrations.
The violence came yesterday as a High Court judge ordered police "not to interfere (with), obstruct or stop the march". 

Dozens of police blocked off the site of an opposition rally for electoral reforms by 2018, when 92-year-old President Robert Mugabe who has ruled the southern African country for decades will seek re-election.
AFP correspondents saw armed police firing tear gas and water cannon at protesters gathered on the fringes of the central business district who were waiting for the march to start.
Demonstrators began throwing stones at police while some set tyres ablaze and others pulled down the sign for a street named after Mugabe.
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02:51   US repatriates 161 Cuban migrants
The United States repatriated 161 Cubans this week after intercepting them at sea as they attempted to reach American soil, the US Coast Guard said. 

Coast Guard patrol boats shuttled the migrants to Bahia de Cabanas, Cuba on three separate trips made Monday, Thursday and yesterday, the agency said in a statement. 

"We discourage anyone from taking to the sea and attempting to reach US soil illegally - they are risking their lives with very little chance of success," Coast Guard Captain Mark Gordon said yesterday.
"Navigating the Florida Straits can be extremely dangerous for the unprepared on illegal voyages and often leads to injury or death."
The Coast Guard has seen a spike in the number of Cubans arriving in the United States by land and sea since Washington and Havana announced they would begin normalising relations in December 2014.
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02:34   Physicist creates lab-sized 'black hole'
Black holes swallow up everything, and nothing escapes. This property, the most iconic characteristic of these mysterious space phenomena, had its first major challenge this week when Techonion professor Jeff Steinhauer posted the results of an experiment. He simulated a black hole in the lab.

In his experiment, the Israeli physicist created a simulated "black hole" capable of sucking in sound. 

To do this, Stenhauer shot a laser composed of rubidium atoms through an environment cooled to almost absolute zero. 

The atoms were moving faster than the speed of sound, making it difficult for sound to make its way through the stream.

Steinhauer's paper is yet to be published, and is up on the pre-publishing platform arXiv.org right now for peer review. The initial reactions have been both positive and skeptical.

Read full story HERE.
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02:13   Dolly Parton on 2016 candidates: 'I think they're both nuts'
Country music legend Dolly Parton might be undecided on whom to back in the presidential race, but there's one thing she's certain of.

"It's the greatest show on television right now," she told CNN's Brooke Baldwin, laughing, in an interview that aired Friday.

The 70-year-old "Jolene" singer, who embarks next month on a 60-date North American tour to support her new album, "Pure and Simple," also didn't hold back when asked about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

"I don't know where they're going to land but I think they're both nuts" she said, joking that "it's like watching the OJ Simpson trial. You just believe whoever's up next. Whoever testified last is who you believe."
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01:55   French resorts defiant as top court suspends burkini ban
France's highest administrative court today suspended a controversial ban on the burkini by a French Riviera town, although other resorts remained defiant, vowing to keep the restrictions in place.
In a judgement expected to lead to bans being overturned in around 30 towns along the French coast, the State Council ruled the measure was a "serious and clearly illegal violation of fundamental freedoms".
The case was brought by two rights groups seeking to overturn the ban, which has triggered a fierce debate in France and sparked critical headlines around the world.

The suspension of the ban on the Islamic swimsuit, which covers from the head to the heels, was welcomed by the United Nations.
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01:14   Canadian twins plead guilty to terrorism, face jail time
Canadian twin brothers who had hoped to join the Islamic State group pleaded guilty to "terrorism" offenses and were sentenced today to prison terms, prosecutors announced.
The brothers, Ashton and Carlos Larmond, both 25, received sentences of 17 and seven years, respectively.

A third man, Suliman Mohamed, 23, faces a seven-year term for conspiring with the twins. 

In court, prosecutor Douglas Curliss described Ashton as the "organiser and director" of an unspecified extremist plot.

Police alleged that he had urged others to wage jihad after his mother alerted the authorities of his plan to travel to Syria to join the IS group in 2013 and the government revoked his passport.
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00:59   UK police arrest 5 suspected of terrorism in West Midlands
Police in central England have arrested five men on suspicion of commissioning, preparing or instigating acts of terrorism.
Detectives from the West Midlands police department's counter-terrorism unit arrested the men today at locations in Birmingham and nearby Stoke-on-Trent. Officers are searching several locations in both cities as part of the investigation. 

A police statement says a military bomb disposal team has been deployed to the Lee Bank district in central Birmingham as a "precautionary measure."

Men aged 32 and 37 were arrested in Stoke, while the three arrested in Birmingham were aged 18, 24 and 28.  
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00:49   Canada restores its traditional UN peacekeeping role
The Canadian government said today it will restore the country's traditional UN peacekeeping role by providing up to 600 soldiers for missions around the world. 

Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said that Canada is committed to re-engaging in many multilateral peace operations.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to return Canada to peacekeeping after more than a decade of dwindling participation. Canada had participated in more direct combat operations, such as the war in Afghanistan. 

The additional soldiers represent an increase over the 19 Canadian troops deployed on peacekeeping missions at the end of July, bringing the total more in line with the number of Canadian peacekeepers deployed in the 1990s and early 2000s. 

The Canadian government did not say where the troops will be deployed. Sajjan recently returned from Africa.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric welcomed the contribution and renewed re-engagement. The commitment comes ahead of a UN peacekeeping conference in London September 7-8. 
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00:39   Charges recommended for Brazil ex-president Silva in probe
Brazil's federal police have recommended charges against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife in connection with the sprawling corruption probe at state-run oil giant Petrobras.

Today's announcement comes on the second day of the impeachment trial against Silva's protege and successor Dilma Rousseff, who has been suspended from office since May. 

Federal police accuse Silva of having an apartment built for him by a constructor in the beach city of Guaruja, in Sao Paulo state. He denies being the owner.

Federal prosecutors will now look into the case and decide whether Silva should stand trial. 

He is also accused of obstructing Petrobras scandal investigations.
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00:21   CIA reveals its secret briefings to Presidents Nixon and Ford
In the last few weeks the two presidential nominees have received their initial intelligence briefings. Although the experience must have been different for each -- it was Donald Trump's first, whereas Hillary Clinton is an experienced intelligence consumer -- they were both recipients of a product authorized by President Barack Obama, the intelligence community's most important customer and the official who more than anyone else controls how intelligence is shared inside and outside the US government.

For years the CIA shielded from public view every single one of the briefings that it produces daily for the president's eyes only, arguing that even letting go one 50-year old briefing could harm national security.

Only in recent years did the CIA revise its traditional stance, releasing in September all of the daily, classified newsletters it had produced for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. And on Wednesday, the releases continued, with the posting on the Web of the 28,000 pages prepared for Richard Nixon and his successor, Gerald Ford.

Read more HERE.
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00:19   No festive celebrations at govt offices during work hours
As the 'Onam' festival is around the corner, the CPI-M-led LDF government in Kerala today asked its employees to ensure that celebrations were not held at offices during work hours as it was "not appropriate". 

The festival will be celebrated in the second week of September.
Making the government's stand clear, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook post that 'Onam' (harvest) festivities are normally held at all the offices in the state. 

"It is not appropriate and proper that such festivities, including laying of 'pookalams' (floral carpets), are held at offices during office hours," he wrote. 

The chief minister suggested that the celebrations could instead be held on holidays or after the office hours.
"Not only Onam, for that matter, any festival celebrations should be held without affecting the functioning of office work. In this matter, government would ensure its intervention," he wrote on the social networking website. 

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