LIVE! Border drug mafia paid Gurdaspur SP in diamonds?

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Sat, 16 January 2016

Border drug mafia paid Gurdaspur SP in diamonds?

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23:07 India regain top spot in ICC Test rankings after nearly 5 yrs

Indian Test team led by Virat Kohli today climbed to the top of the ICC's Test Rankings after South Africa crashed to a 0-2 series defeat against England in Johannesburg.

India, who lost their top ranking to England after their 0-4 whitewash in 2011, got back to the pinnacle by virtue of their crushing 3-0 series win against the Proteas at home, last December.

India now have 110 ranking points and have one point more than Australia, who are second in the list with 109 points in their kitty. South Africa are now third in the rankings.

The joy of reaching top spot for India can be shortlived if Australia win their home Test series against New Zealand by 1-0 margin as the Aussies will then displace Kohli and Co. from the numero uno position.

Anna Hazare has received an anonymous letter which threatens that the social activist would be killed on January 26, police said today.

The sender has also alleged that the anti-graft crusader has earned a lot of money and asked Hazare to declare him his heir, a senior police official said.

The hand-written letter was sent around four days back to Hazare's office at his native Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar district, Additional Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh said.

"In the letter, the sender has threatened that January 26 will be the last day of Hazare," Deshmukh added.

The police officer said Hazare has previously also received similar anonymous threat letters.

Talking about the veteran activist's security cover in the wake of this letter, Deshmukh said, "We have already given adequate security cover to Hazare and on a daily basis, the security is being reviewed."

Two Indians are among 126 people freed from a restaurant in Burkina Faso that was taken under siege by al Qaeda linked gunmen who killed at least 23 people from 18 countries today.

"Two Indians -- Viraj and Satya -- were in the hotel under siege by terrorists. Both are safely out," the External Affairs Ministry Spokesman said.

The jihadist gunmen attacked a top hotel and a restaurant in the capital of Burkina Faso, before security forces ended the siege and killed four assailants.

A total of 126 people were freed, including 33 wounded, from the four-star Splendid hotel, popular with Westerners and UN personnel, after security forces retook the 147-room facility and the Cappuccino restaurant nearby in the early hours this morning, according to the officials there.

With uncertainty looming large over the continuance of Peoples Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah on Saturday said his party is ready to consider a tie-up with the saffron party for government formation if such an offer is received.

"If such a proposal comes, then NC will call a Working Committee (meeting) and debate over it. If such a situation arises, NC can think over it as we have not closed the doors. Our doors are open," he told reporters here when asked to spell out his party's stand if it gets a proposal from BJP for forming a coalition government in the state which is under Governor's rule.

In the 87-member assembly, BJP has 25 MLAs while NC has 14 legislators.

His comments came as uncertainty prevailed over the fate of PDP-BJP coalition which ran government headed by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for 10 months before his sudden death on January 7.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today appeared to suggest that the joint investigation team proposed by Pakistan may not be allowed to visit Pathankot air base.

Asked by reporters about the proposed visit of the team to India, he said he does not know about it.

"I can assure (or guarantee) that without my permission no one can come. Those terrorists who came in were the last," he said.

On a high-level security meeting held in Delhi yesterday under the chairmanship of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Parrikar said, "It was a general meeting on security and has nothing to do with a specific case. It was about how to take care of our bases and assets and what are the lessons we learned from the gaps (that led to the Pathankot attack)."

The search operation to flush out suspected militants, who were seen along the Tibri cantonment area in the district, continued for the eleventh day today.

Personnel of the district police, Border Security Force and Central Reserved Police Force jointly carried out a search operation in Got Pokhar, Pahra, Gajikot and Tibri villages and along the forest of Uppar Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) area.

The joint search operation was led by Tibbri police station SHO Kapil Kaushal.

Satnam Singh, a farmer of Pandher village, had claimed that he had seen two suspected militants in army uniform on January 6 while a migrant labourer also claimed that he had seen suspected militants in Bahian village on January 10.

400-odd security personnel of police, CRPF and BSF participated in the search operation, he said.

20:19 Indo-French joint military exercise ends

The joint military exercise between Indian and French armies, 'Exercise Shakti-2016' culminated today at Mahajan Field Firing Range in Bikaner, Rajasthan.

The exercise which aimed at achieving interoperability to acquaint each other with operational procedures, combat drills and understand the functioning of each other was conducted in two phases.

"The first phase of combat conditioning and tactical training was completed successfully by both the contingents and in the second phase, termed as validation stage, included clearing of routes, establishment of observation posts, cordon and search operation and house clearing drills," according to defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha.

"During the exercise, both the armies shared valuable combat experience with respect to countering terrorist operations in an international environment," he said in a statement.

The exercise which began on January 8 is the third edition in the series of bilateral exercises under this banner.

Iran has freed four prisoners from the United States, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, Iran's semi-official FARS news agency reported Saturday, quoting Tehran's prosecutor.

The release is part of a prisoner swap deal, FARS reported.

The news agency did not name the other prisoners being released, or provide any details on the deal.

Iran has been known to be holding Rezaian, Marine veteran Amir Hekmati and Christian pastor Saeed Abedini. Additionally, former FBI agent and CIA contractor Robert Levison has been missing since visiting Iran in 2007.

US Secretary of State John F Kerry flew from London to Vienna in the early afternoon local time. He went immediately into a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the Coburg Palace Hotel, the scene of months-long final negotiations last summer that led to the deal between Iran and the world powers.

20:06

Maruti Suzuki India hikes car prices by up to Rs 12,000

19:55 CBI opposes Peter's bail plea; hearing adjourned till Jan 30

The CBI today opposed former media baron Peter Mukerjea's bail plea in Sheena Bora murder case on the ground that he was part of the murder conspiracy and had concealed information about the victim's disappearance from his son and Sheena's fiance Rahul.

"Peter was in touch with prime accused and his wife Indrani Mukerjea from the day of Sheena's murder (April 24, 2012) and till her body was disposed the next day," the CBI said in its reply on the bail application of Peter, who was arrested in the case on in November last year.

"He was also part of the conspiracy and had concealed the fact (about Sheena'a death) from his son Rahul Mukerjea," the central investigative agency said.

The central agency also informed the court that certain important documents (including that of financial transactions in the case) are under its scrutiny and the investigation was still going on.

Special CBI judge H S Mahajan adjourned the hearing on Peter's bail application till January 30.

The National Investigation Agency probing the Pathankot terror attack continues to desist from arresting Gurdaspur (Headquarters) Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh for his suspicious activities the night the terrorists crossed into Indian territory.

It has now come to light that he would be paid in diamonds for "helping" the cross-border drugs mafia to smuggle in narcotics.

This was revealed in the course of the interrogation of the SP and his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma, who is a resident of Gurdaspur and runs a jewellery store in Gali Khazanchian in Gurdaspurs market.

Read more HERE

19:40 Train tragedy averted in Uttar Pradesh

A major tragedy was averted on Saturday when an alert lineman detected breach in the railway track between Kankaha and Mohanlalganj railway stations near Lucknow.

The lineman on routine checking found the track cut at two places and promptly informed the higher officials, an RPF spokesman said.

Senior Railway and police officials reached the spot and the repair work was carried out, the spokesman said, adding that the train services on the Lucknow-Rae Bareli route of Northern Railway were disrupted for some time.

The spokesman said that investigations were underway to identify those behind the incident.

Patrolling has been intensified and a case is also being lodged, he added.

More highlights of Prime Minister's speech at the launch of the Startup India at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi:

* Start-ups will be exempted from paying income tax for the first 3 years.

* No inspection for 3 years of start-up businesses in respect of labour, environment law compliance post self-certification

* This Startup India movement is not just guided by money or fame.

* The kind of innovative India we are witnessing today is one of a kind. Reasonable vaccines which reaches maximum countries today are developed by Indian scientists.

* We need to bring in a psychological change in mindset of youths from that of a job-seeker to that of a job-creator.

* When we say 'Make in India' we also say 'Make for India.' India is a great market.

* Start up does not mean a billion dollar company where thousands work. It is about employing even 5 people & developing India.

* When I say Startup India, I also mean to say stand up India. India is blessed to be a nation of youngsters.

* We are moving forward to give opportunities to new ideas in India but quality shouldn't be compromised.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the ambitious 'Startup India' movement to boost digital entrepreneurship at the grassroots level.

Highlights of his remarks:

* When I was listening to Ritesh (Founder, Oyo Rooms) I wondered why a 'chai wala' did not think of starting a hotel chain.

* Sometimes I wish God had given me capabilities like you people (startup entrepreneurs) have.

* In the beginning when someone would have shared their plan to start a start up, people around them would have discouraged them. There are many ideas, but some leave the idea halfway while others get very involved in the idea. But today when those people have become successful, everyone has started thinking about ways to start their own start ups.

* Success of entrepreneurs depends on their ability to take risk. People who have achieved success today are not just entrepreneurs but are adventurous as well. Uber kuber ban gaya...

* No matter what Narendra Modi can or cannot do, the youth of the country can, is what I am sure of.

18:50

JUST IN: IAF officer accident death case: Raids across 10 places in Kolkata,Sambia Sohrab was driving the car says Kolkata Police

18:49 At Start-Up India launch, Jaitley says surnames don't matter now

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at the launch of the 'Startup India' movement:

* Companies that were on top pre-1991 have been replaced by companies that were start ups, by those who didn't belong to business families. The world today has changed. The largest retailer in the world doesn't own a store, the largest transportation company doesn't own a vehicle

* Startup India movement begins today. This movement celebrates the energy and enterprising spirit of our youth."

* Start ups on the strength of ideas and technology have given new solutions to the world.

* There was a time when surnames mattered, now they don't

* Events like Startup India show India's changing social profile. It has indeed been a fascinating experience for this country. It marks not just a change in social, economic profile but marks a change in mindset of India.

In an austerity measure, the Goa government today banned foreign tours of all its ministers and officers till Budget and instead asked all the departments to concentrate on revenue-generating activities.

A circular in this regard was issued by by State Finance Secretary Sharat Chauhan. The Laxmikant Parsekar government has also set a limit to the departments to hold state-funded workshops and seminars till new Budget is in place.

According to the circular, there is a complete ban on all foreign visits for study, tours, seminars, conferences, workshops and others including promotion of industry, trade, tourism and others till the Budget.

However, Chauhan said those tours which are already approved (by the government) are exempted from this circular.

"All the department has to follow the economic measures and rationalisation of expenditures, in order to achieve the targets set in the Goa Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2006," it said.

"The measures for rationalisation of expenditure are intended to curb necessary revenue expenditure and provide funds for development activities under capital account," it added.

18:02

PDP's core group to meet tomorrow; government formation in Jammu and Kashmir expected to be discussed: PTI

17:58 Bank employee withdraws lakhs from late Haryana CM Bansi Lal's account

A bank employee allegedly withdrew Rs 6.5 lakh from the 'dormant' bank account of three-time Haryana Chief Minister late Bansi Lal and transfered the stolen money into a fake account in the same branch.

Rajesh Sharda, branch manager of State Bank of India, located at Mini Secretariat here, has lodged a complaint with the Chandigarh police that a cashier in the same branch had allegedly withdrawn Rs 6.5 lakh from Lal's bank account illegally.

The account of Bansi Lal remained dormant, the complainant said.

"We have received a complaint from Rajesh Sharda, bank manager of SBI that one employee Shambhu Kumar has withdrawn Rs 6.50 lakh from the bank account of late Bansi Lal in fraudulent way," said Chandigarh police, SHO, Neeraj Sarna said today.

"The employee withdrew money by opening a fake account in the same branch to transfer money," he said.

When the bank detected the fraud, it suspended the concerned employee as department action, police said.

"The cashier has apologised for his illegal act and returned the money to the bank," said Sarna.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Saturday alleged that actor Aamir Khan enlisted the help of Pakistan's ISI for the promotion of his blockbuster movie PK.

"I dont give importance to the statements made by Aamir Khan. I know this fact that he had collaborated with the Pakistan's ISI to promote his movie PK. He has still not come out with a clarification," Swamy told ANI.

This comes after BJP leader Ram Madhav had on Thursday taken a dig at Aamir by asking him to preach to his wife and not just to an auto-rickshaw driver.

"It will not work that you preach to an auto wallah how the country's prestige has to be saved but not tell the same to your own wife," Madhav had said at Delhi's SGBT Khalsa College.

In November, Aamir had expressed concern over the rise in cases of intolerance in the country.

Meerut court accepts Hindu Mahasabha's plea against Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan for wearing shoes in temple.

Bharat Rajput, chief of the Hindu Mahasabha's Meerut unit, told ANI: "In India whenever one enters a place of worship they have to take off their shoes. Shah Rukh Khan & Salman Khan aren't above that. We wrote to Colors Channel to edit the part where they show it but they didnt."

VHP leader Pravin Togadia today said there would be no agitation against "elder brother" Narendra Modi-led Centre for building Ram temple in Ayodhya till the completion of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, due next year, as the outfit did not want to politicise the issue.

"Till UP elections, there will not be any protests against Modi government at the Centre. We do not want to politicise the issue. How can we protest against our elder brother (Modi)?" he said.

Togadia, in BEngaluru to attend the Bajrang Dal National Convention, said, "Brothers, the agitation against the central government will be when rival party is ruling. Now it is our elder brother's (Modi) government. Have you ever seen younger brothers taking on elder brother? Can we protest against our elder brother?"

Besides, Modi "is a man of firm resolve", Togadia said, adding that he was hopeful that the Prime Minister would ensure the construction of Ram Temple by getting a law enacted by Parliament and demanded a joint session for the purpose.

Virtually launching the campaign for the ensuing assembly election in West Bengal, former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today called upon Congress and other Left parties to join hands with the CPI(M) to defeat Trinamool Congress and indicated that industrialisation would be a major issue.

Visiting Singur, from where the Tata group had shifted their Nano car project to Gujarat, for the first time after eight years, Bhattacharjee said, "If the (Nano) factory was set up here, situation would have changed in Singur. But only darkness prevailed".

He kicked off the week-long procession from Singur to Salboni, where JSW group had promised to set up a Rs 35,000 crore steel plant.

Alleging that no new factory was set up in the state during the TMC rule, he said, "We will change the situation. We can do it," adding, "We want the Congress to make its stand clear in this regard. We want Congress and other Left pa

Stepping up the heat on the Mamata Banerjee government over the Malda violence, BJP today took the matter to the President's doorstep and requested him to seek an independent report from the Governor on the issue.

The party accused the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal of promoting vote bank politics by protecting those involved in Malda violence and said that it posed a threat to national security.

A BJP delegation, led by party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and other central and state leaders, met President Pranab Mukherjee and submitted a memorandum. The party alleged inaction on part of the state government on the Malda violence and claimed that the TMC government's policy of 'appeasement and vote bank' politics posed a threat to national security.

They also raised the issue of violence in Birbhum in West Bengal. The delegation also presented another memorandum to the President on the inaction on the part of WB government in arresting the accused in the hit-and-run case involving the son of a TMC leader who killed an air force jawan while he was rehearsing for the Republic Day parade in Kolkata.

As protests erupted over the Centre's stand on the minority status of Aligarh Muslim University, vice-chancellor Lt General (retd.) Zameeruddin Shah has called upon the Muslim community not to get unduly exercised on the issue and have "full faith" in judiciary.

In a written appeal today, Shah said that while all right minded citizens of the country were rightly concerned about the issue of restoration of minority character of the historic institution of higher learning, "we should have full faith in our judicial system for protecting minority rights".

Shah's appeal came in the wake of a number of protests by minority groups on the campus and also in the old city yesterday.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's address at a management college here evoked mixed response from students, with many of them saying the speech contained "too much politics" to establish a connect with them.

Students seemed partly satisfied with Gandhi's address and said he could have elucidated more about his vision of politics.

"The addresses was fair and he made some good points but he brought too much politics into it. Considering that it was interaction with students, had he been more apolitical, it would have made a link with us," said an MBA finance student.

Talking about implementation of the GST Bill, Gandhi said it was Congress which brought in the legislation and the BJP later stopped it in Parliament for seven years. He further said his party did not want a cap on the tax and a fair and neutral dispute resolution.

Formula One may never see a female racer again. The chief executive of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone said a female driver 'would not be taken seriously' in the sport.

Just a week on from the death of Maria Teresa de Filippis aged 89, the first woman to compete in a grand prix, Ecclestone said women drivers 'would not be taken seriously', reported The Guardian.

Last year he had stated that he would welcome female racers at grand prix weekends but would give them their own event.

The 85-year-old had said at the time that it would be a 'good idea to give them a showcase' as they would 'attract a lot of attention and publicity and probably a lot of sponsors.'

Severe traffic snarls were today witnessed in several parts of the national capital, a day after the odd-even scheme restricting the movement of private cars ended in the city.

Around 9 am, severe traffic congestion was reported in the Delhi Cantonment area.

Within an hour, there were long tailbacks witnessed at the stretches between Pankha Road and Uttam Nagar in west Delhi and between Pusa Road and Shadipur in central Delhi, a traffic official said.

By 11 am, the congestion at Delhi Cantonment area led to a chock-a-block situation in and around Dhaula Kuan, where hundreds of commuters were stuck in a severe jam.

Meanwhile, traffic snarls were reported at east Delhi's Khichdipur, outer Delhi's Burari bypass and the flyover at northeast Delhi's Shahdara. In east Delhi, long tailbacks were witnessed at Preet Vihar and Vikas Marg, the official said.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi today undertook a padyatra from suburban Bandra to Dharavi in the metropolis to raise the issue of electricity tariff hike, with a large number of people joining the march.

The Congress leader, flanked by security personnel, marched amid chants of 'Congress Zindabaad', waving to his supporters who surrounded him.

MRCC President Sanjay Nirupam and former MP Priya Dutt were among the Congress leaders who accompanied Gandhi during the foot march. Congress supporters holding placards and waving party flags joined Rahul in the march to Dharavi.

Before his march, Rahul interacted with the management students of a business school in Vile Parle, where he spoke on issues like the GST Bill and the Modi government's response to the Pathankot terror attacks.

Malaysian counter terrorism police have arrested a man suspected of having links with the dreaded Islamic State terror group, authorities here said today.

The suspect, who landed in the police net yesterday, was possessing weapons and several documents which have been seized, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said.

Malaysia was put on a high alert level following a series of coordinated terror attacks on Jakarta by an IS-linked terror group.

The Thursday's attacks on Jakarta involved suicide bombers as well as gunmen. A total of seven people including five terrorists were killed in the incident.

Meanwhile, Khalid, a statement today, said that three Malaysians including a married couple have been detained for their alleged involvement with the IS terror group in Turkey.

He said four of the suspects including the married couple were arrested by Turkish authorities as they were trying to sneak into Syria on November 15 last year.

The latest set of witness statements released by a UK-based website set up to unravel the mystery surrounding Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's death seem to confirm that the freedom fighter died as a result of a plane crash in Taiwan.

Five witnesses, which include Netaji's close associate, two Japanese doctors, an interpreter and a Taiwanese nurse, have been quoted as corroborating that the founder of the Indian National Army died on 18 August 1945 following a plane crash on the outskirts of an airfield in Taipei.

"There are no two opinions between the five witnesses about the fact that Bose's end came on the night of 18 August 1945," www.bosefiles.info said in a statement. Colonel Habibur Rehman Khan, Bose's aide-de-camp who was with him on the fateful day and survived the crash, submitted a statement written and signed on 24 August 1945 '" six days after the crash confirming Bose's last words to him.

"Prior to his death he (Bose) told me that his end was near and asked me to convey a message from him to our countrymen to the following effect: 'I have fought to the last for India's independence and now am giving my life in the same attempt. Countrymen! Continue the independence fight. Before long India will be free. Long Live Azad Hind'," the statement reads.

US President Barack Obama today vowed to protect religious minorities both at home and abroad, even as a top American official said that Muslims in India and Hindus in Bangladesh and Pakistan are facing threat.

"Our commitment to religious freedom has fostered unprecedented religious diversity and freedom of religious practice. But these ideals are not self-executing. Rather, they require a sustained commitment by each generation to uphold and preserve them," Obama said as he proclaimed January 16, 2016 as Religious Freedom Day.

This work is crucial, particularly given the recent spike in reports of threats and violence against houses of worship, children and adults simply because of their religious affiliation, said the US President.

Obama made no reference to any country in his speech but said that his administration works to promote religious freedom around the globe.

13:29

There is a massive traffic jam near the Bandra and Mahim suburbs because of Rahul's padyatra.

13:11 Rahul begins 'padyatra' from Bandra Bandstand to Dharavi in Mumbai

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has started his 'padyatra' from Bandra Bandstand to Dharavi in Mumbai. He stopped at Crescent High School in Bandra during his Padyatra.

The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that a private school in Bishnupur area of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal banned an HIV positive student.

According to reports, the school also forced his maternal grandmother, a teacher in the same school, to take a 'purity test' and since then she has been a target to repeated verbal abuse.

The commission has observed that the contents of the press report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights of the victim, most importantly, the Right to Education of the seven year old boy.

Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the chief secretary, government of West Bengal calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks.

12:44 Shillong: GNLA militant killed in encounter

A Garo National Liberation Army militant, wanted for kidnapping a block development officer last year, was today killed in an encounter with the security forces in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district, the police said.

Acting on intelligence inputs, Swift Weapons and Tactics commandos of the state police raided a makeshift camp of GNLA. As the commandos approached the camp they were fired upon, police said.

In retaliatory fire, one of the militants who was in the camp was shot dead and another got shot in his arms. The deceased has been identified as Kandem, known to be an expert in assembling IEDs, IG (Operations) G H P Raju said.

A shot gun was recovered from the site of the encounter and an operation is on to find his aide, identified as Chondro, and sanitise the area, he said.

11:34 Chris Rock calls Oscars 'White BET Awards'

Chris Rock, who is set to host the 88th Oscars, has taken a jibe at the lack of black nominees this time by calling the awards "White BET Awards".

The BET Awards, established by the Black Entertainment Television network, annually celebrates African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year.

"The White BET Awards," Rock wrote in reference to the network's annual awards show while sharing a promo for the February 28 Oscars telecast, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

11:32 Quick quips from Rahul's NMIMS interaction

# Functioning of GST requires huge infrastructure, the work has not even begun for that. Govt should begin that work: Rahul Gandhi

#It is not the way of Congress to block the Parliament, it will never be that way.

#I remember that the present PM used to ridicule the PM and Indian economy when we were in power.

11:17 Lalit Modi drops civil suit against Cairns

ormer IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi has decided to drop a $3.3 million civil law suit against Chris Cairns in the match-fixing scandal, a major reprieve for the New Zealand all-rounder who was recently cleared of any wrongdoing in a perjury trial.

"He's decided to bring the civil matter to a close and draw a line under it," Modi's lawyer Rajesh Vyakarnam told the 'New Zealand Herald'. Modi had lost to Cairns in a 2012 court battle after the flamboyant administrator was sued by the Kiwi player for claiming that he was involved in match-fixing in the now- defunct Indian Cricket League.

Cairns was later accused of lying under oath in this trial but was cleared of the charge in a perjury case in the UK last year. Modi had in 2010 tweeted that Cairns had been left out from the Indian Premier League auction due to his "past record of match-fixing".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took to twitter and wrote an open letter to the farmers of the country and addressed them on the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, saying that the government has taken several steps to help farmers, one among which is the 'Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana'.

The news of the Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana must have already reached you. Farmers in our country have often felt at risk-at times from crop losses due to natural disasters, at times by falling market prices. Over the last eighteen months, we have taken several steps to help those of you who faced such difficulties," he wrote.

10:37 Rahul interacts with NMIMS students in Mumbai

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is interacting with the management students of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studie in Mumbai on Saturday.

A US school district has unanimously voted to add Diwali, Eid al-Adha and Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve in the school holiday calendar, for the first time in the school system's history.

Indian-American community hailed the decision by Howard County Public School System, which manages 71 schools and serves nearly 50,000 students, as "historic".

"I am extremely pleased by the Board's ability to discuss and unanimously agree to seek ways to recognise the diverse backgrounds of Howard County's students and families," Board of Education Chairwoman Christine O'Connor said in a statement after the eight member board unanimously supported such a motion.

"We want to do our best to find flexibility within the calendar to provide opportunities for all students to experience all cultures within our community," O'Connor said.

Police have named an Indonesian, Bahrun Naim, as the mastermind of Thursday's deadly attack in Jakarta's main business district after it arrested three men in a pre-dawn raid.The arrests on Friday came less than 24 hours after the shooting and bombing rampage, the first such attack in the world's most populous Muslim nation since 2009, which killed seven people.

Five of the dead were the attackers themselves. Indonesia moves against the Islamic StatePolice said Naim, who spent one year in jail for illegal possession of weapons in 2011, funded the attack.

He is now believed to be in Syria fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

When a debt-ridden farmer in Jalna district of Marathwada region kept 'inviting' people in his village for his 'last rites', little did they know that he wasn't joking.

It was only when the farmer Sheshrao Shejul, 40, hanged himself the next day that his family members and other villagers realised the seriousness of his intent. "Sheshrao told me and several others in the village that he would be leaving us and invited all villagers for last rites, but nobody took him seriously," a villager said.

"The next morning, we found his body hanging from a neem tree," he said. Sheshrao owned two acre land and the soyabean crop he grew failed due to the acute drought in Marathwada region.

To top it all, he had taken Rs 80,000 loan and was worried about how to arrange for his daughter's marriage.

Asserting that Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar was poisoned to death, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Saturday accused Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi of not revealing the exact chemical compound that was responsible for her death.

"The police commissioner is not telling the media that the FBI found the presence of heart arrest injectable poison lidocaine in Sunanda body," Swamy tweeted.

After receiving the observations by the All India Institute Of Medical Science in Pushkar's viscera report, Bassi yesterday confirmed that her death was due to 'unnatural' causes.

Speaking to the media, he asserted that in the report by the FBI, it was said that none of the samples sent to them contained any radioactive material.According to the AIIMS Panel, which is headed by Dr Sudhir Gupta, the head of the Department of Forensics, Pushkar died after being poisoned by Polonimum-210 or Po-210, sources state.

The Delhi police had submitted a 15-page FBI report to AIIMS Medical Board for further opinion.

Around 8 hostages have been freed by security forces who stormed the Burkina Faso hotel.

Witnesses say two car bombs exploded at 7.30pm local time, followed by a fierce gunbattle with security forces.

Security forces -- led by the approximately 40 soldiers with the help of 30 French troops and an unknown number of American troops -- stormed the Splendid Hotel in Ouagadougou's business district more than five hours after it was attacked by the jihadists.

Some hostages remain trapped inside the hotel, which was accidentally set on fire during the rescue attempt.

08:41

Commandos have stormed a four-star hotel in a bid to free hostages and end a five-hour siege in the Burkina Faso's capital.

08:34

An Al Qaeda affiliate in North Africa said in a statement that it was in contact with the attackers, who said they killed 30 hostages.

08:22 At least 20 reported dead in attack on hotel in Burkina Faso capital

Responsibility for the attack at one of Ouagadougou's main hotels popular with UN staff and westerners claimed by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

At least 20 people are reported to have been killed and another 15 wounded in an Islamist attack on a hotel in the heart of Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou.

Last night the Splendid Hotel was reported to be on fire as commandos used explosives to force their way into the hotel in an attempt to rescue hostages who had been seized by the gunmen.The four-star hotel is a popular location with westerners, including United Nations staff.

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Gunfire and explosions have erupted in Burkina Faso's capital at an upscale hotel popular with Westerners in the West African country, witnesses said.

An Associated Press reporter near the scene said yesterday that several cars were also ablaze outside the four-story Splendid Hotel in downtown Ouagadougou and that sporadic gunfire could still be heard two hours after the attack began.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the violence, though jihadists have attacked hotels before in neighboring Mali, including a devastating attack on the Radisson Blu hotel in November that left 20 people dead.

The US Embassy in Ouagadougou tweeted: "We are closely following the situation downtown."

While Burkina Faso has largely been spared the violence wracked by Islamic extremist groups in Mali, a Romanian national was abducted last April.

A town in Germany has banned male asylum seekers from public swimming pools after complaints from women that they were being harassed by migrants.

A spokesman for the local government of Bornheim said the ban on male asylum seekers above the age of 18 came after six people filed complaints "over the sexually offensive behaviour of some migrant men at the pool".

The measure aimed at "making it clear to the men that the right of women in Germany is inviolable", he added.

Officials have gone personally to three asylum seeker shelters near the pools to deliver news of the ban and emphasise how people should behave in swimming pools, said the spokesman.

02:58 Haiti hit with Zika virus outbreak: official

Haiti's health ministry has said that the country has been hit by an outbreak of the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne ailment similar to dengue fever that

is rapidly spreading through the Caribbean.

Health Minister Florence Duperval Guillaume confirmed the outbreak yesterday at a press conference, saying that she too, was recovering from a bout of the illness.

"Even I fell ill," the minister said, although she did not have the diagnosis confirmed by testing.

A health lab in Trinidad and Tobago confirmed on Thursday that five out of 11 Haitian blood samples tested positive for the disease -- a finding suggesting that it could be rampant in this impoverished nation.

One person has been left brain-dead and three others face possibly irreversible brain damage after they took an experimental drug administered to 90 people in France, Health Minister Marisol Touraine and a neurologist said today.

Six volunteers were taken to hospital last week after taking part in the Phase I trial of a new medication meant to treat mood disorders such as anxiety, developed by Portuguese pharmaceutical company Bial.

Touraine said the men, aged between 28 and 49, were part of a group of around 90 people who had taken the drug, while about 30 others had received a placebo.

The volunteers were given varying doses but the six men were in the group who were taking the drug "regularly". Pierre-Gilles Edan, head of the neurology department at the hospital in Rennes where the volunteers were taken, said that aside from the man who was clinically dead, three others were suffering a "handicap that could be irreversible" and another also had neurological problems.

Picture for representation only,

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed for a shift from "heavy-handed" responses to the rise of extremists like the Islamic State

group as he launched an action plan to prevent violent extremism.

Ban asked all countries to come up with national plans and outline steps that go beyond the narrow scope of military and security responses to the threat from IS and other violent groups.

"Many years of experience have proven that short-sighted policies, failed leadership, heavy-handed approaches, a single-minded focus only on security measures and an utter disregard for human rights have often made things worse," Ban told the UN General Assembly.

"We all lose by responding to ruthless terror with mindless policy -- policies that turn people against each other, alienate already marginalized groups, and play into the hands of the enemy," he said.

Two spacewalking astronauts -- including Britain's first -- successfully restored full power to the International Space Station today.

But the spacewalk was cut short after water leaked into one of the men's helmets in a scary repeat of a near-drowning 2 and a half years ago.

NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra took everyone by surprise when he reported a small water bubble and a few minutes later, a film of water, inside his helmet.

Wary of the close call of another spacewalker in 2013, Mission Control terminated the planed six-hour spacewalk at the four-hour and 10-minute mark.

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