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Fri, 03 June 2016
Pakistan will not allow terrorists to use its soil: Basit

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23:48   Pakistan will not allow terrorists to use its soil: Basit
Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Friday said that his country will never allow terrorists to use its soil, and advocated continuation of dialogue between the two countries.
"The Pakistan government will not allow any kind of terror activities from our soil," he said.
India and Pakistan should immediately take up the bilateral dialogue further, he said, while maintaining that Kashmir is an issue for Pakistan.
He also assured that Pakistan will bring the perpetrators of the Pathankot terror attack to book.
Basit was speaking at a function organised by 'Lokmat' media group in Nagpur.
After the Pathankot incident, dialogue stopped but both countries showed restraint and did not react extremely, he said.
Advocating encouragement for cultural exchange, he said Indian films are liked in Pakistan and India too should allow the films from across the border to be screened here.

There should be frequent flights between India and Pakistan and as in the past, Air India or private airlines can operate flights to Pakistan, the High Commissioner said.
Basit appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gesture of inviting his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to the swearing-in ceremony in 2014, saying it was a great "visionary step" and said to accept the invite was a difficult decision for Sharif.
Modi's subsequent visit to Pakistan enhanced the hope for dialogue, he said.
Though his country was an Islamic state, women did not lag behind in any sector, he said. "Our women are flying fighter aircraft, are specialist doctors and engineers," he said. 
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23:27   Paes-Hingis beat Sania-Dodig to win French Open crown
Leander Paes and Martina Hingis beat Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig to win the French Open mixed doubles final at Roland Garros on Friday.

Paes-Martina beat the Indo-Croatian combine 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in the tie-break to win their first French Open title together.
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23:15   Attack on BSF convoy: Mehbooba questions Pak's love for Kashmir
Questioning Pakistan's stand on Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Friday asked whether the militant attack on the BSF convoy in Bijbehara was the way to show its love for the people.
"First Pathankot airbase attack and then these type of incidents, Pakistan must think over it, if you (Pakistan) love the people of Kashmir, then this is not the way to express it," Mehbooba Mufti said during a function in Jammu.
"Had there been a retaliatory fire (from BSF), how many innocent civilians would have lost their lives in Friday's attack," she said.
While condemning the attack in which three BSF personnel were killed, the CM said that had the BSF retaliated to the attack, a Handawara like situation would have emerged in Bijbehara.
"What did they get by killing the BSF personnel who come to do their duty in the valley? There were civilians in the area, children, old aged, had the BSF retaliated how many civilians casualties would have taken place?" she said.

She said that common people in Kashmir do not support such type of attacks.
"People might have supported all this post 1987 elections but they do not support it any longer", she said.
She said that Pakistan should think over this as such type of incidents won't give anything to it and the common people were bearing the brunt.
"Not only people get killed but the economy also suffers. My father Mufti Mohammed Sayeed toiled to bring tourists to Kashmir but such type of attacks also deter tourists from visiting the Valley," she said.
Targeting the separatists for opposing the setting up of colonies for retired soldiers and Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, she said that even when her government has made it clear that no Sainik colony would come up in Kashmir, separatists were giving strike calls.
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22:53   French Open final: Sania-Dodig take first set lead vs Paes-Hingis
It's Indian tennis stars Sania Mirza and Leander Paes on either side of the side of the net as they battle it out against their respective partners in the French Open mixed doubles final on Friday.

Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig broke Paes-Martina and took the first set 6-4.
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22:02   CM speaks to kin of Pulgaon fire victims through video link
Maharashtra government had disbursed a total of Rs 1 crore and three lakh to the families of victims of the major fire at the Army's Central Ammunition Depot at Pulgaon in Wardha district, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today. 

"The state government stands firmly behind the victims of Pulgaon fire incident. We have disbursed Rs 5 lakh to the families of 18 people who lost their lives in the incident. Apart from that, we have given an aid of Rs 1 lakh each to 13 others who were injured," Fadnavis said. 

 Fadnavis was talking to the families of the victims through video conferencing, after the district collector handed over the aid to them. "Not only the state, but the whole country stands with you in this time of crisis. No money can compensate the lives of your loved ones. But the state government will do everything necessary to help solve your problems," he said, while directing the collector to ensure all the needs of the families are taken care of.
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21:42   Indoor air in Delhi is not fit to breathe, says survey
Indoor air in Delhi is not fit to breathe and the elderly and children who spend a lot of time in offices and homes are the worst sufferers, a survey has found. As per the survey, conducted by Artemis Hospitals as part of Clean Air India Movement, there is a correlation between indoor air quality and lung health of the people. 

Due to unhealthy indoor air quality, about 34 per cent of people have one or the other airway disease and 47 per cent showed symptoms of respiratory diseases. Eighty-two per cent of offices and houses surveyed have unhealthy air quality, according to the survey.
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21:29   Andy Murray ousts defending champ Wawrinka out of French Open
Andy Murray defeated defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6- to reach the final of the French Open. The Briton will face World No 1 Novak Djokovic for the title. Djokovic beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
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21:28   Court sends IM key operative to judicial custody till July 1
A special court today sent Indian Mujahideen's alleged key operative Abdul Wahid Siddibapa to judicial custody after NIA submitted that his further custodial interrogation was not required in the case. 

Siddibapa, 32, a resident of Bhatkal in Karnataka, was produced before Special Judge Rakesh Pandit on expiry of his seven-day NIA custody. Siddibapa, cousin of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, was held at Indira Gandhi International Airport on May 20 after his arrival from Dubai. 

Earlier while seeking his further remand by 15 days, the National Investigating Agency had told the court that during the interrogation, the accused said that he was the handler in sever transactions through hawala for terror activities.
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20:58   'Mathura SP, SHO hit by bullets in first 10 minutes of unprovoked firing'
The Superintendent of Police andStation House Officer who lost their lives in the Jawaharbagh operation in Mathura were hit by bullets in the first 10 minutes of "unprovoked" firing by the encroachers, officials said.  

The anti-encroachment operation started around 5 pm and the strategy was to enter Jawaharbagh by scaling the wall on its eastern side, Uttar Pradesh Police officials said.

By the time the police force could move any closer to the 5-feet-high wall fencing the land, the encroachers had started firing. Within seconds it was raining bullets and the encroachers had positioned themselves at the trees in the enclosed area.

"In the first ten minutes, five police officials had sustained bullet injuries including the SP and the SHO," a
police officer said.
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20:48   President Trump would hand the world to China
Hong Kong television commentator Wu Jun observed recently that despite Donald Trump's anti-Beijing rhetoric, he "could in fact be the best president for China." The Chinese analyst is right: A Trump presidency could open the way for China's strategic dominance in Asia and elsewhere.

Read more HERE
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20:22   'Triple talaq being misused, reforms needed'
Amid a debate over triple talaq,Telanagana state Minorities Commission chairman Abid Rasool Khan today said the practice has been "misused" to discriminate against women and harass them as he then appealed to 'Ulemas' to initiate reforms to protect rights of women.

He also favoured a debate on the uniform civil code, focussing not only on the religious practices in Islam but across all religions, including child marriages and 'sati among Hindus.

Khan said the commission has received about 30-40 complaints in the last three years pertaining to desertions after marriage.

The complaints include desertions without giving "talaq" or "khulla" thus leaving the women to fend for
themselves, not maintaining them or taking care of children, and harassing women when they go out for a job or try to earn their own livelihood.

In some cases, triple talaq has been pronounced, and then the women have been left without any maintenance or any sort of support, he said.
 
"Earlier, we had held discussions with all stake-holders, including Ulemas (the body of Mullahs -Muslim scholars trained in Islam and Islamic law) and we were told that the matter is being dealt with by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and shortly some decisions would be coming. But that has not come.

"My opinion is that definitely there is discrimination against women by misuse of this provision under the Islamic act," he said. 
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19:54   VVIP Chopper deal: ED searches premises of Delhi businessman
ED today conducted searches on the premises of a Delhi-based businessman, alleged to be a contact of British national and suspected middleman Christian Mitchel, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP choppers deal. 

Officials said agency sleuths swooped down on the premises of the businessman in south Delhi after he failed to comply with summons issued to him to present himself before ED investigators here last week. 

They said some documents and computer hardware have been seized by the agency. The businessman, according to investigators, has been involved in creating an overseas firm with Mitchel along with his daughter and others and hence the agency had asked him to join investigations and record his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. 
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19:41   Refugee team revealed for Rio 2016 Games
The first refugee team to ever compete at the Olympic Games has been revealed, with 10 athletes given the dream opportunity of going for gold in Rio. The International Olympic Committee made the announcement today after whittling down the shortlist from 43 athletes.

Competing under the Olympic flag, the six male and four female athletes will walk into the opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium ahead of host country Brazil.

Rami Anis, a Syrian swimmer living in Belgium, was the first name announced. He was joined by South Sudan 800-meter runner Yiech Pur Biel and compatriots James Nyang Chiengijek, a 400m specialist, and Paulo Amotun Lokoro, a 1,500m runner.
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19:33  
"Nita Ambani's nomination to be an IOC member is a true testament to her efforts to take sports to every corner of the nation#proudindian," tweets Sania Mirza. This comes following the news that Nita Ambani has become the first ever Indian woman to be nominated to the IOC. 
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19:22   Section 144 imposed in Gurgaon ahead of Jat stir
Ahead of the proposed Jat quota agitation from June 5, Gurgaon administration today clamped down on the gathering of five or more persons by issuing prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure with immediate effect.

The orders were issued by Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner, T L Satyaprakash, for 60 days under which all unlawful activities, blocking of roads, passages, railway tracks, water channel, power houses, etc by agitators have been prohibited.

Carrying of any weapon like fire arms, sword, lathi, axe, knives and other weapons has also been prohibited.

"Though none of the Jat organizations has given any notice till now to the district administration regarding any procession or staging of dharna anywhere in Gurgaon on June 5, the administration is geared up to tackle any eventuality," Satyaprakash, who is also the Gurgaon district magistrate, said at a press conference.

He said that 22 duty magistrates have been appointed for various areas in the district. The SDMs have been made overall in-charges of their respective areas.
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18:55   V K Singh insists on renaming Akbar Road after Maharana Pratap
Taking on the critics of his proposal to rechristen Akbar Road as Maharana Pratap Road, Union Minister V K Singh has said the country has to decide if it has to be proud of those who enslaved it or those who fought the enslavers.

Though the government has virtually rejected his recommendation, he has written a long Facebook post saying the country has to discard divide and rule and appeasement policies if it has to move forward.

Drawing a parallel between Mughal kings and the British, he said the latter ruled India like the Muslim kingdom and took a dig at his detractors, saying memorials should be built for Robert Clive and Lord Dalhousie as well going by their logic.

After I batted for Maharana Pratap, I received a big shock... Our self-proclaimed intellectuals said Akbar is a big name in our history and we should not speak against him.

...We will have to decide that whom we should be proud of: those who enslaved us or those who fought them. We do not want to give importance to Begum Hazrat Mahal, ignore the pathan general of Maharana Pratap and do not name our prominent roads after the great martyr Bhagat Singh, the former army chief said.

Calling Maharana Pratap a great soul, Singh said he united 36 communities but the history hailed (Akbar) as a great man. He killed 25,000 people, including women, children and the elderly in Mewar.

If people continue to give importance to those who enslaved them, then our slave mentality will never disappear, he said.
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18:33   Third BSF jawan succumbs to injuries in militant attack in Anantnag
Three paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF ) troopers were killed and eight others were injured, in an ambush by militants in the highway town of Bejibehara in Anantnag district this afternoon.


A senior police officer said militants opened heavy fire from automatic  weapons at a passing bus of the BSF in Bejibehara town.


"Nine BSF jawans were wounded in the attack. The injured were evacuated to the Bejibehara sub district hospital for treatment where two jawans succumbed," the officer said.


He said three jawans critically wounded in the attack were referred by attending doctors to Srinagar for specialized treatment.High tension gripped the highway town situated on the Srinagar Jammu national highway. Shoppers, shopkeepers ran helter skelter for cover.


Senior police and paramilitary officers rushed to the spot along with reinforcements. The market area has been surrounded for searches.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The traffic on the strategic Jammu Srinagar national highway was disrupted.

Mukhtar Ahmad/Rediff.com

Image: An injured BSF jawan being treated at a speciality hospital in Srinagar. Pic: Umar Ganie

Also read:  Adrift in the Valley
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18:30   Encroachers to be booked under NSA: UP DGP on Mathura violence
The members of a sect who had encroached on government land at Jawahar Bag area in Mathura and indulged in violent clashes with police will be booked under the stringent National Security Act, Uttar Pradesh DGP Javed Ahmad today said.


"The leaders of the sect 'Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi' -- Ram Vraksha Yadav, Chandan Gaur, Rakesh Gupta and others will be booked under the NSA Act," he said.


A total of 24 people, including an SP and an SHO, were killed in clashes between police and members of the sect who had encroached on government land here yesterday. Tension prevailed in the area with police seizing a large cache of ammunition from the site and arresting 320 people.


"Among the 24 killed, two policemen were shot dead and 11 were burnt to death due to cylinder blasts. The encroachers had set on fire the huts where bombs, explosives and gas cylinders were stored, before retreating from the site," Ahmed said.


"After the blast, few encroachers were hurt and finally succumbed to their injuries. Since people of neighbouring area were fed up with the activities of the encroachers, they were severely beaten by the residents of the area when they were  retreating," he said. The UP DGP said efforts were on to arrest the absconding encroachers.
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18:22   3 dead in militant attack in Anantnag
Update on the militant attack in Anantnag: The toll has now gone up to three dead, with eight people injured. All three BSF jawans who were critically wounded in the militant attack have succumbed to their injuries.

Mukhtar Ahmad/Rediff.com
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18:20   Nita Ambani becomes 1st woman to be nominated to IOC
Nita Ambani, Founder and Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, has been nominated as a candidate to be a new member, pending election, of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), headquartered at Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday.


The election will be held at the 129th IOC Session that will take place in Rio de Janeiro between 2nd and 4th August 2016.


The independent selection process follows a new procedure for recruitment of IOC members based on the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations. Once elected, she will continue to be a member until the age of 70.  Read more
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18:16   Sri Sri's Art of Living told to pay Rs 4.75 cr tomorrow
The National Green Tribunal today directed Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living (AOL) foundation to deposit by tomorrow an environment compensation of Rs 4.75 crore imposed on it for damaging Yamuna's biodiversity during its three-day 'World Culture Festival' in March.


A vacation bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the foundation to deposit the amount with Delhi Development Authority (DDA) through RTGS (instant transfer) by June 4.


The green panel also directed the expert committee headed by Shashi Shekhar, Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources, to inspect the site, on Yamuna floodplains where the festival was organised, before June 10 and submit a "complete and comprehensive" report in a sealed cover by July 4.


The bench said that if the inspection was not done before June 10, the whole purpose of visit by the expert committee would be "defeated" as there were chances of rain.


It also said that besides Shekhar, the inspection committee would comprise of senior scientist from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Professor C R Babu, Professor A K Gosain, Professor Brij Gopal and two more members. The NGT also clarified that AOL would have to deposit the the cost of Rs 5000, imposed on it for filing a plea which lacked bonafide, with the NGT Bar Association. The matter is now listed for next hearing on July 19. The tribunal had slammed AOL for not depositing the environment compensation imposed on it saying it was "wilful violation" of its undertakings.
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18:03   Two BSF jawans injured in terrorist attack in Anantnag succumb
Two of the nine Border Security Force jawans who were injured when terrorists opened fire on their convoy in Bijbehara town in Kashmir's Anantnag district have succumbed to their injuries.

The terrorists opened had opened fire on a bus carrying the BSF men in Bijbehara, injuring three of them critically.


Image: A jawan keeps watch at Bijbehara town in the aftermath of the terror attack
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17:19   Lapse on part of UP govt, says Centre on Mathura clashes
MoS Home Kiren Rijiju on the Mathura incident:

"Chinta ka Vishay hai, dukhad hai. Bahut badi chook hui hai, report hamare paas aaegi to hum dekhenge. Will see the report. This shouldn't have happened, UP Govt should look into why this happened. There was lapse on the part of Uttar Pradesh government," says Rijiju.

At least 24 people, including two policemen, were killed as police tried to evict around 3,000 encroachers from a park in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday night.

Tension prevailed in the area on Friday with police seizing a large cache of ammunition from the site and arresting 320 people.

The clashes broke out when the police was trying to evict illegal occupants of a land in Jawahar Bagh by activists, who were protesting under the auspices of Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi aka Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena, on the directions of the Allahabad high court.

Uttar Pradesh Principal Secretary Debashish Panda said, "About 3,000 self-styled followers of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had been occupying a public park for about two years and, despite repeated warnings by the local administration, they refused to budge from there. Eventually, their eviction was ordered by the Allahabad high court and when the police moved in to execute the court order, some of them opened fire.
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17:13   9 BSF jawans injured in terror attack in Kashmir's Anantnag
Nine BSF jawans were injured, three critically, when militants opened fire on a bus carrying the men in Bijbehara town in Kashmir's Anantnag district.

An official said that the injured were rushed to a hospital where the condition of the three were so severe that they have been referred to Srinagar for better treatment.


Mukhtar Ahmad/Rediff.com
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16:48   3 injured in firing in Bijbehara in Kashmir
Three people were injured after firing broke out in the highway town of Bijbehara in Kashmir. Details awaited.

Mukhtar Ahmad/Rediff.com
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16:31   9 Delhi trekkers remain stranded in Kangra
Nine trekkers from Delhi, stranded in remote Bara Bhangal area of Kangra district, could not be rescued today as inclement weather did not allow helicopter sorties.

A chopper was sent to the area in the morning but it could not land due to strong winds and bad weather and returned, Deputy Commissioner of Kangra Ritesh Chauhan said.

"More sorties were not possible as wind velocity was much more in the afternoon and attempts would be made to rescue the trekkers tomorrow," he said. The trekkers, who had gone missing in the high hills, were tracked through satellite phone yesterday and shifted to rest house in Bara Bhangal but could not be airlifted as the chopper could not land due to bad weather.

"The trekkers are stranded for past two days and we would make fresh bid tomorrow to airlift them, subject to weather conditions," Chauhan said. The DC said that all the trekkers are safe and he had spoken to them through satellite phone.
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16:21   I am a very sensitive person, Hema tweets after Mathura backlash
"I am a very sensitive person. I am deeply pained on the Mathura incident but Law & Order of U.P is the core issue. Let's not divert." tweeted Mathura MP Hema Malini after she came in for severe criticism for uploading pictures of her film shoot while her constituency burnt.


Violent clashes ripped through Mathura, leaving  24 people (include two senior policemen dead) after nearly 3,000 members of an armed sect in opened fire last evening on the police when it tried to evict them from a 270-acre park occupied illegally for two years.


Soon after the incident, Hema Malini posted photos of a shoot at Madh Island in Mumbai, but deleted them thereafter and said she was headed to Mathura. She also said she was in touch with authorities and karyakartas.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the "tweets are OK" and added "let us not divert from main issue".
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16:10   Mathura clashes: Police should have been more prepared, says Akhilesh
With the Samajwadi Party coming under fire in wake of the violent clashes in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said that the police should have been 'more prepared' before trying to evict the agitators, who had encroached on the land.

"It is quite unfortunate that such an incident happened in Mathura. The police had gone there to warn the people and the incident happened while they were doing the recce. They did not know how much arms and ammunition the locals had with them at the time. 22 people have died so far, including two police officers," Akhilesh said.


Stating that the Allahabad High Court had given them orders to remove the people, who had encroached on the land, he added that the state government had tried to speak to them and had also warned them of dire consequences but the locals still chose violence.
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15:54   Rishi Kapoor: Rahul Gandhi is no position to lead Congress
With news doing the rounds that Rahul Gandhi is soon going to be the Congress president, Rishi Kapoor believes that the party is only validating what he had said through his tweets sometime ago - that it's a party with a dynastic identity.


Seated at his office in RK Studio in Chembur, with a wall full of posters of RK Films classics such as Awaara, Shree 420 and Sangam, the actor shared his thoughts on the backlash and the support he received for his views on Congress and its tendency to name the national assets only after the Nehru-Gandhi family.  Read
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15:51   HC relief to three Thane corporators from disqualification
The Bombay High Court today stayed the disqualification of three corporators from Thane who are facing charges of abetting suicide of builder Suraj Parmar. Hanumant Jagdale (NCP), Vikrant Chavan (Congress) and Sudhakar Chavan (MNS-turned-Independent) were granted relief by vacation Judge B R Gavai on the ground that Najeeb Mulla, NCP corporator from Thane and co-accused in this case, had been given similar relief earlier.


The three corporators had been disqualified by the Thane Municipal Corporation on the orders of Urban Development department of Maharashtra Government. Jagdale, Vikrant and Sudhakar had moved the High Court challenging their disqualification on the ground that the BJP-Sena government in the state had disqualified them due to political vendetta.


Earlier, all the four Corporators were granted bail by Thane sessions court. Parmar had shot himself dead on October 7, 2015. He had left behind a suicide note blaming some politicians for mental harassment and demanding payoffs.
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15:49   Pakistan aware of hostility towards CPEC: Gen Raheel
Army chief General Raheel Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan is aware of the' hostility ' faced by the multi-billion dollar ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in a statement alluding to India which has publicly opposed the project. Read more
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14:45   Jaya-PM meet on June 14
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha is making a courtesy call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 14 at 4.45 pm in South Block. Rumours are rife that the meeting is about a discussion on AIADMK joining the union cabinet. Jayalalitha will be presenting a memorandum on the Cauvery waters, the Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen issue and more projects for the state. 
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14:17   EC will adopt wait-and-watch for K'taka sting op
The Election Commission is adopting a wait-and-watch view in the aftermath of a sting operation carried out by a national TV news channel showing a cash for votes op by the Congress party.

4 pm today is deadline for withdrawal of nominations to the Rajya Sabha. The EC cannot interefere till then. The candidate has the freedom whether to contest or withdraw.

The actual process of elections commence once the withdrawal of nominations, if any, is over.


If one of the candidates withdraw his candidature the EC feels the process will be smooth and all of the four will be elected unopposed.

An EC source also confirmed that they have options such as deputing its Deputy Election Commissioner to Bengaluru and also seeking a report from the State Legislature Secretary who is the returning officer for the Rajya Sabha. These two options will be tried out by Monday and a final call will be tried later.


Another opinion emerging from the Nirvachan Sadan is that there is no cash transfer on tape except what comes up in conversation.

In its prior countermanding Jharkhand poll in 2012, the EC had evidence of actual cash being handed over from candidates to voters. A similar tape or video is not available in the Karnataka case. The EC wants to wait and watch till Monday, by that time the issues will settle down. 
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14:16   BJP demands judicial probe into Mathura violence
Demanding a judicial probe into the Mathura violence, the BJP today alleged that the killers of the two police officers enjoyed "protection" of ruling Samajwadi Party and the incident highlighted "lawlessness" in the state.

Party President Amit Shah sent national secretary Shrikant Sharma to take stock of the situation after clashes broke out during a drive to evict illegal occupants in Jawahar Bagh here, leaving 24 people dead including an SP and an SHO.

Sharma said killing of policemen was "height of anarchy" and alleged that the policemen were ill-prepared to control the mob as "they were under pressure from the administration to go easy as land-grabbers had links" with the ruling party.


"The ruling party first had over 280 acres of land captured by these criminals. The main conspirator in the case has full protection of the Samajwadi Party. Policemen were sent to the spot with their hands tied and this is why two of them died," he said.
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14:14   Did not anticipate protesters would be so well-armed: Akhilesh
Twenty-four people, including an SP and an SHO, have been killed in yesterday's massive clash between police and members of a sect who had encroached on government land here, even as tension prevailed in the area with police seizing a large cache of munition from the site and arresting 320 people.


Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav ordered a probe by the divisional commissioner of Mathura into the violence at Jawahar Bagh where nearly 3,000 people had illegally set up camp on an over 260-acre plot for last two years. He told news channels that he did not anticipate that the protesters would be so well-armed.


The Centre sought a report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the incident while Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Yadav and assured the state government of all necessary help.


According to state Director General of Police Javed Ahmed, there was "unprovoked" firing by the encroachers who pelted stones and attacked the policemen with lathis as they arrived at the site for a recce to carry out the eviction, leading to the death of Superintendent of Police, City, Mukul Dwivedi and Station House officer, Farah, Santosh Yadav.


"The police teams reorganised themselves. After two shelters were vacated, the protesters set afire gas cylinders and munition stored there which led to several explosions.


"22 rioters were killed in the violence. These include 11 persons who were killed in a fire started by the agitators," he said. The deceased also included a woman.


"Our two young officers laid down their lives while protecting the law and with a heavy heart we bid adieu to them," the DGP told reporters after paying tributes to the slain officers.


He said 23 police personnel have been hospitalised and many among them have suffered bullet injuries. "We have recovered 47 guns, six rifles and 178 hand grenades from the area," he said, adding "124 people have been arrested for creating disturbances. Another 196, including 116 women, have been arrested under 151 CrPC," he said. Section 151 CrPC deals with preventive arrests.
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13:46   Hema will visit Mathura, she is sensitive to the issue: BJP tries damage control
BJP on Hema Malini's Madh Island boo boo: "Hema is sensitive to the issue, will surely visit Mathura." In other words, looks like the Mathura MP has been given orders to get to her constituency asap. The BJP added, "Hema is not the issue, what about SP government's responsibility?"


To bring you up to speed, Mathura MP Hema Malini posted a (see alongside) of a film shoot at Madh Island even as her constituency burned with 22 dead.


The BJP MP has now deleted the tweets with pictures of her on a boat on the way to the shooting of her latest film Ek Thi Rani at Madh Island in Mumbai.

Social media slammed tweets given the inopportune moment she choose to post the pictures when 22 lives (including two policemen) have been lost in Mathura.

Hema Malini has now posted a couple of new tweets saying she had been to Mathura recently and condoled the deaths.

"Heartfelt condolences to families of SP City Mukul Dwivedi & SHO Santosh Kumar who laid down their lives in the line of duty. I just came bk frm Mathura & got the news of the violence tht has taken place there in which policemen have lost their lives. o so upset by ths news frm a place which is so dear to me Will go there again if my presence is required.My heart goes out to the bereaved," she tweeted.


At least 22 people, including two cops, were killed in violent clashes between the police and illegal occupants of a land in Mathura's Jawahar Bagh area last night.
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13:38  
UP CM Akhilesh Yadav on the Mathura clashes: Didn't anticipate they would be so well armed. 
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13:26   Anti-Trump protesters attack supporters at California rally
Protesters who oppose Donald Trump had a scuffle with his supporters as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a rally in California, with fistfights erupting and one supporter even being hit with an egg.

Hundreds of demonstrators blocked a police van and then entered the parking area of the San Jose Convention Center where the event took place, insulting Trump supporters in their cars and attacking those leaving the rally.

ABC News reported that some protesters surrounded the car of a presumed Trump supporter as it left the convention center garage, shaking the car and smashing its tail light. Crowds had earlier chanted "No hate in our state" and carried signs that read "Dump Trump" as they marched near the convention centre.
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13:18   A legend walked into a bar
Is comedian Tanmay Bhat's video spoof depicting a trash-talking Sachin Tendulkar and Lata Mangeshkar cause for offence? Before addressing this question, we may have to ask another: Is it funny? The video shows Bhat playing Tendulkar and Mangeshkar. "Tendulkar' is upset about Vinod Kambli's statement that Virat Kohli is ten times better than him, and he's asking the public if it feels the same. "Mangeshkar' endorses Kambli's opinion. A peeved "Tendulkar' tells her: "You are 5,000 years old, so please stay the **** out of this.' Unfazed, she sings her hit songs '" only, the lyrics are modified into insults. He retorts that her face looks like it's been kept in water for eight days. She gives him the middle finger.

I did not find any of this amusing, and it's not because I revere Tendulkar and Mangeshkar.

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13:13  
BJP unhappy with Hema Malini, orders her to remove tweets about her film in the wake of Mathura violence.

Image: Another picture Hema Malini tweeted on the way to Madh Island 
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13:01   Mathura MP Hema deletes tweets on film shoot, posts condolences
Twitter outrage after Mathura MP Hema Malini posted this picture at Madh Island amid the violence in her constituency.

The BJP MP has now deleted the tweets with pictures of her on a boat on the way to the shooting of her latest film Ek Thi Rani at Madh Island in Mumbai.

Social media slammed tweets given the inopportune moment she choose to post the pictures when 22 lives have been lost in Mathura.

Hema Malini has now posted a couple of new tweets saying she had been to Mathura recently and condoled the deaths.

"Heartfelt condolences to families of SP City Mukul Dwivedi & SHO Santosh Kumar who laid down their lives in the line of duty. I just came bk frm Mathura & got the news of the violence tht has taken place there in which policemen have lost their lives. o so upset by ths news frm a place which is so dear to me Will go there again if my presence is required.My heart goes out to the bereaved," she tweeted.


At least 22 people, including two cops, were killed in violent clashes between the police and illegal occupants of a land in Mathura's Jawahar Bagh area last night.


Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier had a telephonic conversation with the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and assured him of complete help from the Centre in wake of the unfortunate incident. Superintendent of Police (City) Mukul Dwivedi and Farah Police Station SHO Santosh Yadav were among those killed when the Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena (SBSS) activists opened fire at the police party that attempted to evict the Jawahar Park late last evening.


Image: One of the pictures Hema Malini tweeted of her film shooting at Madh Island near Mumbai

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12:36   Policemen were brutally beaten: UP DGP
UP DGP holds a presser on the Mathura incident: 124 people have been arrested in the matter, 23 policemen are in the hospital being treated for their injuries. They were harmed brutally, he said.

Updates follow.   
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12:22  
NDTV reports that  Mathura SP Mukul Dwivedi was hit on head with a large stone. He suffered three heart attacks in hospital before passing away.
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12:04   Mathura toll goes up to 22
Sharat Pradhan/Rediff.com sends this update on the Mathura tragedy. The toll has gone up to 22, with one more succumbing to his injuries.
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12:00   Bring back my son, keep your money, mother of slain Mathura cop tells Akhilesh
The mother of Superintendent of Police Mukul Dwivedi, who was killed yesterday in clashes during a drive to evict illegal occupants of a park in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura district, today rejected the compensation offered by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and said she wants her son back instead.


"I don't want money. The Chief Minister should bring back my son. The Chief Minister can take Rs 20 lakh from us, but please bring back my son. They sent my son to Mathura so that he gets killed. What will I do now? I have two sons, one is in Dubai. Before he was in Bareilly, but he was promoted to Mathura," the grieving mother told ANI.


The Uttar Pradesh Government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 20 lakh each for the families of the martyred policemen.


Meanwhile, the wreath laying ceremony of the Superintendent of Police and Farah Police Station SHO Santosh Yadav is presently underway in Mathura.


At least 22 people, including two cops, were killed in violent clashes between the police and illegal occupants of a land in Mathura's Jawahar Bagh area last night.


Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh earlier had a telephonic conversation with the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and assured him of complete help from the Centre in wake of the unfortunate incident. Superintendent of Police (City) Mukul Dwivedi and Farah Police Station SHO Santosh Yadav were among those killed when the Swadheen Bharat Subhash Sena (SBSS) activists opened fire at the police party that attempted to evict the Jawahar Park late last evening.



Pic: Mathura SP Mukul Dwivedi with his family
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11:21   Tutankhamun had a dagger made of iron that came to Earth on a meteorite
King Tutankhamun was buried with a dagger made from a meteorite, according to a new paper.

The ancient Egyptians that helped make it also probably knew that the material they were working with came from the sky, the researchers have said.For years, scholars have speculated about whether ancient Egyptians worked with "meteoritic iron', because the existence of smelted iron was rare.

A lack of detailed analysis has meant that it has been difficult to know for sure what materials were used. Read more
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11:10   Hopelessness versus revolutionary politics in Bengal's Left
The Nuffield studies of each British general election since 1945 are valued for two reasons. First, they assess an election campaign from all possible angles, from the perspective of politicians to the media coverage of the exercise. However, far more important, these studies approach the elections, not from how it appeared in hindsight but how they seemed "in flight". This is particularly valuable as it prevents sweeping generalizations of how an election campaign seemed before the final counting of votes and declaration of results. Read more
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10:51   'Prince died of accidental painkiller overdose'
Toxicology tests for Prince concluded that the entertainer died from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl, according to a report on his death by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office.

Fentanyl, prescribed by doctors for cancer treatment, can be made illicitly and is blamed for a spike in overdose deaths in the United States. It's 25 to 50 times more potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, reported CNN.

Prince, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, died April 21 at age 57, after being found unresponsive in an elevator at Paisley Park, his home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. The report from the medical examiner's office, which was released on Twitter, didn't provide many details. "How injury occurred: The decedent self-administered fentanyl," the report said. For manner of death, a box was marked for "accident."
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10:46   Mathura: Toll climbs to 21, probe ordered, Rajnath speaks to CM
Twenty-one people, including an SP and an SHO, have been killed in the massive clash between police and encroachers that broke out in Mathura yesterday even as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav ordered an inquiry.


Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who spoke to Yadav, expressed anguish over the loss of lives and assured all necessary help to the state government. 19 people have been killed apart from SP City Mukul Dwivedi and SHO, Farah, Santosh Yadav, Pradeep Bhatnagar, Commissioner, Agra Division, told PTI today. A magisterial probe has also been ordered, he said.
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10:28   Sensex above 27,000, up 165 points on global cues
Continuing the upward trend for the third straight session, the Sensex rose 165 points to capture the 27,000-mark as investors indulged in widening their bets amid sustained foreign fund inflows coupled with firm global cues.


The 30-share index, which had gained 175.18 points in the previous two sessions, added 165 points, or 0.61 per cent, to 27,008.14 in early trade. All sectoral indices led by metal, banking, auto, PSU and realty were trading in the green rising up to 1.17 per cent.


On similar lines, the NSE Nifty was quoting 43.05 points, or 0.52 per cent, higher at 8,262. Brokers said sentiment remained upbeat with investors and foreign funds building up long positions, driven by a series of positive factors such as forecast of a normal to excess rainfall this monsoon, robust GDP numbers and encouraging earnings.
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10:08   Louvre moving some artwork as floodwaters rise in Paris
CNN reports: Some artworks at the Louvre in Paris will be moved to protect them from possible flooding after the Seine burst its banks following days of torrential rain.

The works in vulnerable locations will be evacuated to higher levels as the Louvre responds to rapidly rising floodwaters in the French capital, according to the famed museum's Twitter account.

The Louvre will be closed to the public Friday, the museum tweeted.

The downpours are forecast to continue through the weekend, following days of heavy rains that have proved deadly in France and Germany.
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10:02   7-year-old boy missing in Japan forest for a week found alive
A seven-year-old boy missing since being abandoned in a bear-inhabited forest in northern Japan as a punishment nearly a week ago was found alive today and reunited with his parents, officials said. 

The boy, apparently unharmed and in good health, was discovered at a military base. Reports said he had taken shelter in a hut and found a tap to drink from but was hungry and immediately asked for food when he was discovered. 

"A Self-Defence Force official who was on a drill found a boy whose age appeared to be seven," said Tomohito Tamura, spokesman for police in northern Hokkaido island. 

"There was no conspicuous external injury, and the boy introduced himself as Yamato Tanooka," he told AFP, adding that the boy's parents were reunited with him and confirmed he was their son.

The child's sobbing father related the emotional reunion in a television interview. 

"I apologised to Yamato," his father said in a phone interview aired on TV Asahi, adding that his son nodded in response.
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10:01   Delhi: Ola cabbie arrested for harassing woman judge
A driver, working for an app-based cab service, has been arrested for allegedly harassing and misbehaving with a woman judge in a city court who had hired his car to go shopping in north Delhi, police said today. 

The driver, identified as Sandeep, was arrested from Gurgaon and booked on charges of outraging the modesty of the woman among others on the basis of a complaint by the additional sessions judge in Tis Hazari court.

The complainant told the police that she had on May 28 hired the Ola cab to go shopping in a market in north Delhi. 

She asked the driver to wait while she went to a shop. As the wait exceeded two minutes, the driver allegedly started verbally abusing her. He even went on to throw her bag on the road, said a senior police officer.
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09:43  
Mathura clash: Rajnath Singh speaks to UP CM Akhilesh Yadav, expresses condolences to families of deceased police officials; assures help from Centre.
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09:42  
Kidney trade racket busted in Delhi, 6 arrested; Two are clerical staff of Apollo Hospital
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09:41  
India donates 2,000 bicycles to needy girls in Nepal as part of a program that aims to encourage school enrollment.
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09:41  
Met office maintains its earlier forecast of above normal rainfall this year.
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09:37   No evidence to show Pak govt helped JeM to carry out Pathankot attack: NIA DG
National Investigation Agency Director General Sharad Kumar has said that there was no evidence so far to indicate direct complicity of Pakistan government or Pakistani agencies in the Pathankot attack.

In an interview to News18, Kumar said, "No evidence to show that Pakistan government or Pakistani government agency was helping JaisheMohammed or Masood Azhar or his aides carry out Pathankot attack."

On being asked whether there was any inside help to terrorists in Pathankot he said, "Investigation so far does not point to any inside hand."

He added that the NIA had completed its India leg of investigation and were now waiting for Pakistan to allow the team to visit their country.
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08:53   Trump dangerous, unfit to be commander in chief: Clinton
United States presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton tore into her likely election rival Donald Trump as never before on Thursday, saying his foreign policy is dangerously incoherent and labeling him unfit for office.
  
"He is temperamentally unfit to hold an office that requires knowledge, stability and immense responsibility," Clinton said, cranking up the rhetoric on what is already a deeply acrimonious election.
  
"This is not someone who should ever have the nuclear codes. Even if I weren't in this race, I'd be doing everything I could to make sure Donald Trump never becomes president because I believe he will take our country down a truly dangerous path," she told an audience in San Diego, California.

As she was speaking, Trump tweeted: "Bad performance by Crooked Hillary Clinton! Reading poorly from the teleprompter! She doesn't even look presidential!"
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08:51   Boxing legend Muhammad Ali in hospital with respiratory ailment
Former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali has been hospitalised for a respiratory issue, family spokesman Bob Gunnell said.

Gunnell said in a statement that Ali was in fair condition but that a brief hospital stay was expected.

Ali, 74, has been suffering from Parkinson's disease for more than three decades and has kept a low profile in recent years. His last public appearance was in April at the 'Celebrity Fight Night' gala in Arizona, a charity that benefits the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center.
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08:47   Bihar class 12 toppers to re-appear for test today
A day after the Bihar School Examination Board put on hold the results of the toppers of Arts and Science streams of class X11 examination, the first seven rank holders of the two streams will re-appear for test today following media expose on some of their purported inability to answer basic questions.

"A total of 14 toppers, first seven rank holders each of Arts and Science streams have been called for a written exam as well as interview by a team of experts on June 3 to verify the truth of the results. Their results were also put on hold," BSEB Secretary Harihar Nath Jha said, adding that the decision was taken on Wednesday evening. 

Those summoned for re-exam includes Arts topper in the state's current plus-two examination Ruby Rai and Science stream topper Saurabh Kumar, he said. 

Some news channels had earlier shown the girl who topped the state government's plus two examination in Humanities had purportedly pronouncing 'Political Science' as 'Prodigal Science' and describing it as a subject related to cooking. Similarly, the boy who topped in Science was purportedly unaware of electron and proton. 

Both toppers hailed from the Bishun Rai college in Bhagwanpur in Vaishali district. The institution had courted controversy last year as well when the then Education Minister P K Shahi had ordered withholding its results following complaints of large-scale irregularities. 

Image: Hajipur's Ruby Ray has scored 444 out of 500 marks in her intermediate exams but she was clueless when asked some basic questions about her core subjects. "Prodigal (read political) science is about cooking ," she said when asked what political science is all about.
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04:39   Two jets from elite U.S. military squadrons crash, one pilot dead
Two fighter jets from elite U.S. military demonstration squadrons crashed in separate incidents on Thursday, including one that had just done a flyover of the Air Force Academy graduation in Colorado where President Barack Obama had spoken.

In Tennessee, a pilot from the Navy's Blue Angels squadron was killed when his F/A-18 jet crashed in Smyrna, about 24 miles (39 km) southeast of Nashville, a Navy spokeswoman said.

The crash occurred about 2 miles (3 km) from an airport runway while the Blue Angels were practicing for a weekend air show, the Navy said, adding that the cause of the crash was being investigated. The pilot's name was not made public.

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02:38   US House Speaker Paul Ryan endorses Donald Trump
US House of Representatives Paul Ryan on Thursday said he's voting for presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.

In an op-ed for the Janesville Gazette of Janesville, Wisconsin, Ryan -- who sparked a political firestorm last month when he told CNN's Jake Tapper he was "just not ready" to back his party's nominee -- says he is now convinced Trump will advance the Republican agenda.

"I feel confident he would help us turn the ideas in this agenda into laws to help improve people's lives. That's why I'll be voting for him this fall," Ryan wrote.

He added, "It's no secret that he and I have our differences. I won't pretend otherwise. And when I feel the need to, I'll continue to speak my mind. But the reality is, on the issues that make up our agenda, we have more common ground than disagreement."

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01:49   Islamic State greatest global threat: US report
The Islamic State terror group remained the greatest threat globally in 2015, maintaining a formidable force in Iraq and Syria, including a large number of foreign terrorist fighters, a US report said today. 
IS' capacity and territorial control in Iraq and Syria reached a high point in spring 2015, but began to erode over the second half of 2015, the State Department said in its annual Country Reports on Terrorism 2015.
"The IS did not have a significant battlefield victory in Iraq and Syria after May. At the end of 2015, 40 per cent of the territory IS controlled at the beginning of the year had been liberated, it said in its annual Congress-mandated report.
In Syria, local forces expelled ISIL fighters from several key cities along the routes connecting the two IS strongholds of Raqqa and Mosul, and reclaimed about 11 per cent of the territory IS once controlled.
These losses demonstrated the power of coordinated government action to mobilize against and confront terrorism, it said.
Despite this, IS "remained the greatest threat globally, maintaining a formidable force in Iraq and Syria, including a large number of foreign terrorist fighters," it said.

Noting that IS' loss of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2015 diminished its availability of fund, the State Department said the terrorist organization relied heavily on extortion and the levying of "taxes" on local populations under its control, as well as a range of other sources, such as oil smuggling, kidnapping for ransom, looting, antiquities theft and smuggling, foreign donations, and human trafficking.

Coalition airstrikes targeted IS' energy infrastructure -- modular refineries, petroleum storage tanks, and crude oil collection points -- as well as bulk cash storage sites.
"These airstrikes have significantly degraded IS' ability to generate revenue. The United States led the international effort, including through the UN, to confront IS' oil smuggling and its antiquities dealing, delivering additional
blows to its financial infrastructure," it said.
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01:14   6 children among 19 dead in Syria regime bombing: civil defence
Six children were among 19 civilians killed Thursday in regime bombing of opposition-held neighbourhoods in Syria's second city of Aleppo, the civil defence said.

Regime air strikes and rocket attacks hit several neighbourhoods in the eastern part of the divided town, a civil defence official said, AFP reported.
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01:12   Pak not taking action against LeT, Haqqani network: US
Terrorist safe havens not only continue to exist in the tribal areas of Pakistan, but also militants are able to openly raise funds from heavily populated areas, the US today said alleging that Islamabad is not taking action against terror groups like Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba.
As a result, Pakistan-based terrorist groups continue to conduct terrorist attacks inside India and Afghanistan, the State Department said in its annual 'Country Reports on Terrorism 2015', which is mandated by Congress.
"In 2015, an assortment of terrorist groups, to include the Haqqani Network, attempted to hide in or operate from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, a mountainous region along Pakistans northwest border with Afghanistan," the State Department said.
It said some UN-designated terrorist groups, such as Lashkar-e-Tayiba affiliates Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation, were able to raise funds and hold rallies in Pakistan.
LeT and JuD leader, Hafiz Saeed, who is also a UN-designated terrorist, was able to make frequent public appearances in support of the organization's objectives, which were covered by the Pakistani media, for much of the year.
"In September, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Agency prohibited media coverage of LeT and affiliated groups, although the groups continued to recruit and operate around the country. Despite JuD and FiF's proscription under UN sanctions regimes, the Pakistani government affirmed in December that neither organization was banned in Pakistan," the State Department said.
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00:47   Louvre to evacuate artworks as Paris flood waters rise
The Louvre museum in flood-hit Paris said it would close on Thursday to evacuate artworks held in its underground reserves as the River Seine began to burst its banks, AFP reported.
The riverside museum -- the most visited in the world, home to everything from the Mona Lisa to priceless Egyptian artefacts, took the radical action after days of torrential rain in the French capital.
The Musee d'Orsay, which faces the Louvre on the opposite bank of the river, closed early today to put its own "protection plan" into place.
Its galleries hold the world's greatest collection of Impressionist masterpieces, including the finest paintings by Renoir, Manet, Van Gogh and Degas, as well as 24 works by Gauguin.
"The aim is to move works situated in areas vulnerable to flooding to safety by moving them to higher floors," the Louvre said in a statement.
Only hours before, the museum had played down the threat to its vast underground stores which are fitted with anti-flood pumps and sealed waterproof doors.
But as the Seine swelled to more than five metres (16 feet) above its usual levels today, and burst its banks in places, its management decided to close its galleries entirely.
The Musee d'Orsay said a crisis management team had been put in place to organise the moving of its most vulnerable treasures to its upper floors if the Seine rises more than 5.5 metres (18 feet).

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