LIVE! Japan sends 'Akita' gift to Russia; Putin rejects

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Sun, 11 December 2016

Japan sends 'Akita' gift to Russia; Putin rejects

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21:35 Japan sends 'Akita' gift to Russia; Putin rejects

Russia has turned down Tokyo's latest attempt at dog diplomacy ahead of a summit between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later this month, an aide said, as the two leaders look to end a decades-old territorial row.

Japan had planned to give the Russian president -- who is known for being a canine lover -- a male Akita when he visits Japan on December 15 and 16, which will include a trip to Abe's home state of western Yamaguchi.

It was hoped the dog could accompany a female of the same breed named "Yume" -- which means "dream" in Japanese -- that Tokyo had presented to Putin four years ago as a thank you gift for Russia's help after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

"Unfortunately, we received a reply yesterday that they will not take him as the bridegroom," Koichi Hagiuda, one of Abe's close aides, said in a blog.

Rajinikanth's denouncement of J Jayalalithaa and her politics during the 1996 Tamil Nadu assembly election campaign caused her distress and defeat, actor Rajinikanth said on Sunday.

Speaking at a condolence meet for the late former Tamil Nadu chief minister organised by the Nadigar Sangam (South Indian Artists' Association), the veteran actor said his campaign speech ensured AIADMK's defeat in 1996. "She was distressed because of my words. I was one of the main reasons why she lost in 1996," he said.

The superstar had famously said back then, "If Jayalalithaa is voted back to power, even God cannot save Tamil Nadu."

Rajinikanth added that he was pleasantly surprised that Jayalalithaa participated in his daughter's wedding, despite the troubled relationship. "I sought an appointment to invite her for my daughter's wedding with a heavy heart. I thought she would not want to come. But I got an appointment," he said.

"She told me that she would come for the wedding even if there was another marriage ceremony of a party functionary. This lady with a golden heart is no more among us," Rajinikanth said.

20:49 Kurdish militant group claims Istanbul attacks

A Kurdish militant group claimed responsibility for twin attacks that ripped through the heart of Istanbul, killing 38 people, most of them police, a news agency reported.

The claim was made by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, seen as an splinter group of the better-known Kurdistan Workers Party, the pro-PKK Firat news agency said, carrying a statement from the group.

Shah Rukh Khan met MNS Chief Raj Thackeray in Mumbai over his upcoming movie 'Raees'. Speaking about their meeting, Raj Thackeray told reporters, "He (Shah Rukh Khan) had come to inform that rumours about Mahira Khan promoting Raees are false."

Earlier, Raj Thackeray led MNS had led protests against the release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil over the presence of Fawad Khan in the movie. The MNS had demanded that Pakistani actors are barred from working in Bollywood movies shortly after the Uri attack claimed the lives of 19 soldiers.

READ: Why the Raees trailer offends me

A day after ex-Air Force SP Tyagi blamed former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office for the Agusta Westland scam, reports suggest that both he and his principal secretary & national security advisor of the time are likely to be questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

As per reports by News 18, ex-CBI Director Ranjit Sinha & ex-CBI Spl Director Salim Ali also likely to be quizzed.

Yesterday, SP Tyagi and two other accused were sent to four-day custody of the CBI. The three accused were arrested by the investigating agency on Friday in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal case.

It was for the first time, a chief of any of the three defence services who have been arrested in any investigation in the alleged scam in defence procurement.

In the wake of the upcoming danger posed by cyclone Vardah in Tamil Nadu, the National Disaster Response Force has deployed five teams in Andhra Pradesh and six in Tamil Nadu as a precautionary measure.

"NDRF has taken adequate precautions to pre-position its teams. We have pre-positioned five teams in Andhra Pradesh, one in Tada, one in Sullurupeta, one in Ongole, one in Chittoor district, and six in Tamil Nadu," said RK Pachnanda, Director General, NDRF.

Ruling AIADMK on Sunday said a total of 470 people have died of "shock" following the demise of former Tamil Nadu chief minister and party general secretary J Jayalalithaa on December 5.

The party, which has been releasing in the past few days the lists of people who have died of shock over the death Jayalalithaa, on Sunday released names of 190 people.

In a statement that accompanied the list, the party condoled their deaths and announced relief of Rs 3 lakh each to the families of the deceased. The party said the total number of people who had died now stood at 470.

The statement added that six people had attempted suicide thus far, including four people whose details were released on Sunday.

The mayor of Rome has placed a partial ban on vehicles in the Italian capital in an attempt to tackle the severe smog that has engulfed many of Italy's major cities.

Sunday will be a semi-car free day in the metropolis, with stringent restrictions imposed on traffic and police instructed to fine anyone who flouts the ban.

The move comes after a period of unseasonably calm and dry weather has allowed pollution to build up and smog to settle over many parts of the country.

Nitrogen dioxide levels in Rome have soared to significantly higher levels than deemed safe by European Union standards, leading Mayor Virginia Raggi to announce the city's first "eco-Sunday" to be held on 11 December.

Only vehicles deemed environmentally-friendly such as hybrids and electric cars will be exempt from the ban, running from 7.30 am to 12.30 pm and 4.30 pm to 8.30 pm with mopeds and motorcycles also ordered temporarily off the streets.

18:06 Paolo Gentiloni named new Italy prime minister

Paolo Gentiloni was named today as Italy's new prime minister following reformist leader Matteo Renzi's resignation in the wake of a crushing referendum defeat.

Gentiloni, who had been Renzi's foreign minister, was asked by President Sergio Mattarella to form a new government that will guide Italy to elections due by February 2018, a presidency spokesman announced.

Gentiloni, 62, is seen as a close ally of the outgoing premier

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today took a jibe at Rajnath Singh, saying that while he agrees that Pakistan is trying to divide India along religious lines, the Home Minister and his "boss" Prime Minister Narendra Modi have also been doing the same.

Responding to the remarks of Singh that Pakistan has been "conspiring" to divide India on religious lines, Rahul tweeted: "Yes Rajnath Singhji Pakistan is trying to divide India along religious lines; has it struck you that you & your boss have been doing the same?"

Addressing a Martyrs' Day function in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, the Home Minister said, "Pakistan is conspiring to divide India on religious lines but it will not succeed. We were divided in 1947 on religious basis. We have not been able to forget that... All Indians are brothers, whether they are born from the womb of a Hindu mother or a Muslim mother."

17:32 AAIB to probe Mumbai helicopter crash

Apex aircraft investigation body, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will probe the helicopter crash in Goregaon suburb of Mumbai today in which one person was killed and three others were injured.

Aviation regulator DGCA has already started collecting evidence from the crash site which would help the AAIB in its probe, a senior official said. "The DGCA officials are already on the crash site to collect evidence for probe. Since, ab initio its an accident, Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will be conducting a probe into it. We are sending a team of investigators to Mumbai tomorrow to start the probe," a senior AAIB official said.

The official said that the AAIB is expected complete its preliminary investigation in one week's time.

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today said that he will request Priyanka Gandhi to campaign for the party along with her mother Sonia Gandhi and brother Rahul Gandhi in the upcoming state assembly elections.

"Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi would be campaigning for Congress in Punjab and I would also request Priyanka Gandhi to help with the electioneering in the state," he said.

Hitting out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's announcement that a Dalit will become the deputy chief minister of Punjab if AAP comes to power in the polls, Singh said, "The AAP government in Delhi has no Sikh or Dalit minister."

The Obamas have officially sent out their final holiday card from the White House, and it is a gem.

The card features a photograph of President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Malia, 18, and Sasha, 15. The photo was originally taken at a March state dinner honoring Canadas prime minister, Justin Trudeau. Cards were sent to friends, supporters and members of the media.

Each Obama lady looks positively gorgeous. FLOTUS is wearing a blue jacquard gown by Jason Wu while Malia and Sasha are in custom embroidered Naeem Khan dresses.

The card was signed by the entire Obama family, including dogs Sunny and Bo, and has received a lot of praise on social media.

A bombing at Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedralkilled 22 people and wounded another 35 on Sunday, according to Egyptian state television, in the second deadly attack to hit the Egyptian capital in two days.

Egypt's official MENA news agency said an assailant lobbed a bomb into a chapel close to the outer wall of St Mark's Cathedral, seat of Egypt's Orthodox Christian church and home to the office of its spiritual leader, Pope Tawadros II.

Antonio Guterres, a former Portuguese Prime Minister will be sworn in tomorrow as the next UN Secretary General, succeeding Ban Ki-moon as the ninth chief of the 71-year old world body.

President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thomson will administer the Oath of Office to Guterres, 67, at a special plenary meeting of the 193-member General Assembly here.

The Secretary-General-designate will then address the General Assembly. Guterres was unanimously appointed by the General Assembly as the successor to Ban, after the 15-nation Security Council had in October decided by acclamation to send his name to the Assembly for final approval.

Read: New UN chief has an Indian connection

Dense fog played spoilsport for PM Modi after his chopper was unable to land in Bahraich, UP. BJP's Keshav Prasad Maurya said that the PM's helicopter was unable to land in Bahraich due to foggy weather. This was supposed to be PM Narendra Modi's first visit to Bahraich after he assumed charge as PM.

In a direct attack to Pakistan, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the neighbouring country is trying to destabilise India by encouraging "cowardly" act of terrorism, while adding that the Indian army will give befitting reply to Pakistan's unprovoked violations.

"Our government will never let the nation to bow down its head before anyone. We cannot change our neighbours," Rajnath Singh said.

"A neighbouring country of our again and again encourages terrorism and terrorist activities to harm India. Perhaps it was not able to understand the fact that terrorism is not a weapon of the brave but of cowards," Singh added.

He was speaking at Shahidi Diwas programme in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district.

Further referring to surgical strike by Army after the Uri attack, he said, "You have seen how they cowardly attacked our jawans but after that our jawans did a wonderful job. I want to assure that this government will never let India to bow its head before anyone".

A day after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam backed V K Sasikala for the post of AIADMK General Secretary following the death of his predecessor J Jayalalithaa, another senior leader and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai also batted for her to take over the reins.

Sasikala had even given suggestions to Jayalalithaa on party affairs and governance in the past, he said and urged her to take over the "reins" of AIADMK.

"At this juncture when Honourable Amma (Jayalalithaa) is not amongst us, respected Chinnamma (Sasikala) is the only person who is capable, who has (the) acumen and experience, to lead the AIADMK party," he said.

14:15 Shami, Saha ruled out of Chennai Test

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha have been ruled out of the fifth Test starting in Chennai, on December 16, because of injuries, the BCCI said on Sunday.

Shami has soreness in his right knee and has been advised rest and rehabilitation. He will be going to the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru to start his recovery programme.

Saha who suffered a hamstring tendon injury in the second Test of the ongoing series against England at Vizag, is undergoing a rehabilitation programme at the NCA.

Heavy rains are expected to hit Andhra Pradesh this evening as cyclone Vardah makes its way over the Bay of Bengal. The cyclone, which is now 490 km from Nellore, is expected to make landfall tomorrow afternoon between Sriharikota and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh's SPS Nellore district. It is expected to bring high velocity winds of up to 100 kmph and heavy rainfall of about 19 cm.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who cancelled his trip to the Gulf -- scheduled to begin tomorrow - said, "The intensity of Vardah may not be as high as Hudhud, which battered Visakhapatnam in October 2014. Nevertheless, we are taking all precautions".

A chopper has crashed in Mumbai's Aarey colony area, in which 1 person has died and 3 others injured. The Robinson R44 Astro chopper belonged to Aman Aviation.

Eyewitnesses said the aircraft has been completely burnt.

Three fire engines at the spot have been successful in dousing the flames.

The injured have been shifted to a hospital.

The government is likely to amend the Reserve Bank of India Act to extinguish the validity of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 and a reference to this effect would be made in the upcoming Budget.

As part of the demonetisation process, there would be a law to make Rs 500/1000 notes invalid and it can be made effective from March 31, sources said.

Asked about the amount of money which did not get into the system, sources said, it would add to bottomline of the RBI and it would be in a position to pay the government in the form of higher dividend or special dividend.

Banks have received Rs 12 lakh crore demonetised currency notes as against Rs 15.5 lakh crore. The government expects Rs 13 lakh crore to come back to banking system.

12:46

JUST IN: Helicopter crashes in Mumbai's Aarey Colony, two fire engines rushed to the spot.

Awaiting more details

12:28 90 trains delayed, flights affected as dense fog drops visibility in Delhi

Early morning fog engulfed Delhi once again and threw train schedules into disarray even as the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre expected the dense fog to subside from Sunday.

Visibility had dropped to 50 metres at 5:30 am, and was recorded at 300 metres at 8:30 am. Though few domestic flights have been delayed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, officials maintain that flight operations have not been drastically affected.

Flights are usually affected when visibility drops below 200 metres.

But the fog hit rails services. According to reports, the arrival of 90 trains in Delhi were delayed on Sunday, 28 were rescheduled and 4 others were cancelled due to the fog.

12:04 Suicide bombing kills 16 in Somali capital

A car bomb has exploded at the entrance of Somalia's biggest port in its capital Mogadishu on Sunday, killing at least 16 people, police said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility though the al Shabaab militant group has been carrying out a series of deadly attacks in Somalia.

Al Shabaab's insurgency aims to drive out African Union peacekeepers, topple Somalia's Western-backed government and impose its strict version of Islam on the Horn of Africa state.

11:48 Jayalalithaas niece open to joining politics

On a day of hectic activity on the political front, Deepa Jayakumar, niece of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, created ripples by giving several interviews.

In these, she laid in the open her desire to enter politics if the people so willed it and staked a claim to being Jayalalithaas heir, besides expressing shock at seeing her brother, Deepak, performing the last rites with VK Sasikala.

11:24 PM Modi to address India on December 31

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation again on December 31. Modi is expected to talk about his unprecedented demonetisation drive, which he launched on November 8, and also share with the nation his near future roadmap in this context.

He is also expected to give an update of the demonetisation drive in which 500 and 1000 rupee notes were banned. The last date of depositing banned notes in individual accounts is December 30.

The prime minister has already indicated that he has more new policy decisions up his sleeve. The timing of the PM's address to the nation on the New Year's Eve is yet to be decided.

-- Rajeev Sharma reports

11:20

AIADMK claims 470 people have died of grief and shock over Jayalalithaa's death, their families will receive Rs 3 lakh as aid

10:51 India is proud to have such a knowledgeable Prez: PM on Pranab's b'day

Wishing President Pranab Mukherjee on his 81st birthday today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the President always put India's interest above everything and that the nation was proud to have such a well read and knowledgeable President.

Taking to Twitter, the prime minister said that President Mukherjees tremendous experience and wisdom has benefited the nation greatly.

'Birthday wishes to Rashtrapati Ji. His tremendous experience & wisdom has benefitted the nation greatly. I pray for his long & healthy life. Pranab Da always puts India's interest above everything. We are proud to have such a well read & knowledgeable President,' he said.

Besides the President, the nation's top brass including Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, Kiren Rijiju and Piyush Goyal among others also wished the President.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao also conveyed his greetings to the President, wishing him a happy, fruitful and long life.

Cyclonic storm Vardah over west central and adjoining south Bay of Bengal moved further west-northwestwards during past six hours with 20 kmph speed, the Navy said on Sunday.

The system is likely to continue to move west-northwestwards and maintain its intensity up to this evening.

It is likely to weaken gradually while moving towards South Andhra Pradesh coast and adjoining north Tamil Nadu coast.

It is very likely to cross South Andhra coast and adjoining north TN coast between Chennai and Ongole around afternoon of Dec 12, the Navy PRO said.

Delhi Police raided the office of a law firm in southeast Delhis Greater Kailash-I area and recovered Rs 10 crore in cash, of which Rs 2.5 crore was in new banknotes released after demonetisation.

The raid was carried out by the Crime Branch at the office of T&T Law Firm, said a senior police officer.

"Rs 10 crore was recovered. Out of which, Rs 2.5 crore was in new currency notes and the rest in old notes. The I-T (income tax) department has been informed," said the officer.

When the police team raided the office, its rooms were locked and a caretaker was present.

Police is searching for the firm promoter Rohit Tandon.

Police said more raids would be conducted in this connection. -- PTI

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