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Sun, 12 June 2016
Live! Blast outside Beirut bank, no casualties

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23:57   Blast outside Beirut bank, no casualties
A powerful explosion has rocked the Lebanese capital, and ambulances are rushing to the scene.

The explosion in the upscale Verdun district on Sunday destroyed several cars and caused severe damage to one of Lebanon's biggest banks.

The nature of the blast was not immediately clear and there was no immediate word on casualties. 

The explosion occurred as residents sat down for iftar, the meal that breaks the daylong fast for observing Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan.
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23:37   President Obama calls Orlando shooting an 'act of terror'
President Obama today described as as "an act of terror" the mass shooting in Orlando overnight, which left at least 50 people dead.

We stand with the people of Orlando who have endured a terrible attack on their city, Obama said at the White House. This could have been any one of our cities.

The president has used past statements to rail against Congress' inaction on his push for gun control legislation, which he has called one of the greatest disappointments of his presidency.

Just last Thursday at an LGBT pride event at the White House, Obama remarked on the incredible ... violence members of the LGBT community face around the world.

"Weve got work to do when LGBT people around the world still face incredible isolation and poverty and persecution and violence, and even death," Obama said. "We have work to make sure that every single child, no matter who they are or where they come from or what they look like or how they live, feels welcomed and valued and loved.

The shooting at the Pulse Orlando gay nightclub is the worst ever mass shooting on American soil, Sandy Hook previously held the highest death toll of any domestic shooting during Obamas presidency.
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22:48   Man with weapons and possible explosives arrested, said he was going to LA gay pride parade
Authorities in Santa Monica found possible explosives as well as assault rifles and ammunition in the car of a man who told them he was in town for the LA Pride festival in West Hollywood, a law enforcement source said.

Early Sunday, there was a call to Santa Monica police of a suspected prowler near Olympic Boulevard and 11th Street. Patrol officers responded and encountered an individual who told officers he was waiting for a friend. That led officers to inspect the car and find several weapons and a lot of ammunition as well as tannerite, an ingredient that could be used to create a pipe bomb.

The car had Indiana plates. He did make comments that he was in town for the pride event in West Hllywood this weekend. Sources said they did not know of any connection between the gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday morning and the Santa Monica incident, and the investigation has been taken over by FBI.

The parade comes hours after the attack at the Orlando club that killed 50 people. At least 53 were injured in the deadliest shooting in American history after a gunman took hostages. The gunman has been identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, a US law enforcement official said.

Read more HERE.
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22:17   This is clearly an act of terror: Florida Governor Rick Scott
Florida Governor Rick Scott discussed the mass shooting at an Orlando night club Sunday, telling reporters the attack was "clearly an act of terror."

"You just can't imagine this would happen to our community, our state, or anywhere in our country," Scott said.

"For somebody to go in there and be an active shooter and take... that number of lives, any life, but that number of lives and injure that many people is clearly an act of terror," Scott stated. 

"Our community experienced a horrific crime today," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer wrote on Twitter.

"Our hearts and prayers are with the victims and their families," Dyer said.

"Despite the fact that tonight's crime will have a lasting effect, we are a strong community," Dyer wrote in a subsequent tweet.

The Orlando Mayor also thanked first responders and hospitals, who he credited with saving "many lives."

"We are dealing with something we never imagined," Dyer wrote.
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21:27   Hillary, Trump react on America's worst mass shooting incident
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton today said she was "devastated" by America's worst mass shooting incident at a gay nightclub in Orlando while her Republican rival Donald Trump said it was an act of "possible terrorism."

Hillary Clinton, the former US secretary of state, offered a tweet signed "-H" to indicate it was from her personally.
"Woke up to hear the devastating news from FL (Florida). As we wait for more information, my thoughts are with those affected by this horrific act," Clinton wrote.

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, referred to the shooting as "possible terrorism." 

In a tweet, Trump said: "Really bad shooting in Orlando. Police investigating possible terrorism. Many people dead and wounded."
He was one of the first politicians to react amid reports that federal and state law enforcement officials were investigating the mass shooting as an act of terrorism. 
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20:58   Air strikes kill 21 at market in Syria's Idlib: monitor
Air strikes on a market in Syria's Al-Qaeda-held city of Idlib killed at least 21 civilians including five children on Sunday, a monitor said.

It was not clear who carried out the raids on the northwestern provincial capital, which is controlled by Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front and its allies, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Footage shared by Observatory showed a burnt-out car as emergency workers trained water hoses on a tall building.
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20:33   Orlando shooter worked as a security guard, had links to jihadist ideology
Omar Mir Seddique Mateen has been named as the gunman who killed 50 people and wounded 53 others at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, CBS News reports.

He was later killed by police after taking hostages at the LGBT club.

Mateen, 29, is a US citizen of Afghani descent from Port St. Lucie, Florida, according to CBS News. He has ties to radical Islamic ideology, CBS reports. His name was confirmed by U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson at a press conference.

Port St. Lucie is about 125 miles away from Orlando.

Police have not yet said why Mateen attacked the Pulse club. His father told MSNBC that the shooting was not about his sons religion, but that his son became very angry after seeing two men kissing in Miami months ago. He said we are apologizing for the whole incident.

Mateen has no known criminal history, according to CBS News.
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20:22   Orlando shooter identified as US citizen of Afghan descent
The gunman behind a mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, Florida has been identified as Omar Mateen, a US citizen of Afghan descent, US television networks reported today.

Quoting law enforcement sources, CBS News named the shooter, who was born to Afghan parents in 1986 and lives in Port St Lucie, Florida.

The network reported that Mateen - who died in a shootout with police after the hostage siege - has no apparent criminal history and that authorities are investigating whether he had ties to Islamic extremism.
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20:16   50 dead, 53 injured in Florida mass shooting
Fifty people died and another 53 were injured when a gunman opened fire and seized hostages at a gay nightclub in Florida, police said today, making it the worst mass shooting in US history.

"We have cleared the building, and it is with great sadness that I share we have not 20 but 50 casualties in addition to the shooter," Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer told a news briefing, raising the death toll from 20 previously.

"There are another 53 that are hospitalised."
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19:59   Shooting suspect may have 'leanings' to Islamic extremism: FBI
A hostage-taking that left about 20 dead and 42 wounded at a Florida gay nightclub early today is being investigated as a terrorist act, officials
said.

"Any time we have potentially dozens of victims in our communities, that I think we can qualify that as a terrorist activity. Whether that's a domestic terrorist or international one is something we'll get to the bottom of," said Danny Banks, of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Office.
Asked whether there was any reason to believe there was a connection to Islamic terrorism, FBI special agent Ron Harper said investigators would be looking into "all angles."

"We do have suggestions that that individual may have leanings toward that particular ideology but we can't say definitively," he said.
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19:15   4 cops wounded in suspected militant attack in Anantnag
Four cops were wounded, two of them critically, in a suspected militant attack in Anantnag district of south Kashmir on Sunday.

An official said that gunmen opened fire on a police vehicle in bonigam village of Qazigund in Anantnag district.

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18:08   Over 5,300 arrested in Bangladesh in anti-terror crackdown
More than 5,300 criminal suspects, including 85 militants, have been arrested in Bangladesh as part of an intensified crackdown on Islamists to halt a wave of brutal attacks on minorities and secular writers, police
said today.

As many as 2,128 people have been arrested on the second day of a nationwide anti-terror crackdown, police said, adding 48 of them belonged to various militant outfits. 

Altogether 5,320 people have been arrested, including 85 militants, since Friday morning, when the drive kicked off.

Yesterday 3,192 people had been arrested.

Bangladesh launched the drive after a high-level meeting held by Inspector General AKM Shahidul Hoque on Thursday. The anti-militant drive involved the paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh and the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion. 
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17:42   Shooting at Orlando nightclub a 'Domestic Terror Incident,' say authorities
A shooting at an Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning has been described as a "domestic terror incident" with approximately 20 fatalities and at least 42 hospitalized individuals, officials said.

At a press conference on Sunday at 7 a.m., an FBI official was asked if the shooter, who was shot and killed by police, had ties to Jihadist terror groups. "At this time we're looking at all angles right now." the official said. "We do have suggestions that that individual may have leanings towards that, that particular ideology. But right now we cant say definitively so were still running everything around

The FBI also said the shooter "was organized and well-prepared," adding "he is not from this area."

Officials at the press conference said a police officer responded to shots fired at 2:02 a.m., and the officer then exchanged fire with the gunman -- who has yet to be identified.

It then turned into "a hostage situation." SWAT officers exchanged gunfire. The gunman had an assault rifle, handgun and "some kind of device on him." At approximately 5 a.m., the decision was made to rescue the hostages, officials said.

"This can be classified as a domestic terror incident," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said at the press conference.

And the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement is investigating this morning's shooting as "an act of terrorism." It said it will determine if it is "domestic or international" terrorism.

Read more HERE.
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17:33   IS suicide bombings target Libya pro-govt forces in Sirte
The Islamic State group carried out three suicide car bombings today against forces allied with Libya's unity government battling to retake the city of Sirte, an official said.
"Three explosions from cars driven by Islamic State suicide bombers targeted our forces in Sirte," Rida Issa, a spokesman for the unity government's forces, told AFP. 

"There are several wounded among our forces," he said, without providing further details.

One bomber blew up his car a few metres from a group of pro-government fighters near the Abu Hadi roundabout in the city's southeast, Issa said.
The other bombers targeted pro-government forces and a field hospital in the city's west.
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17:16   ED justifies seeking Interpol red corner notice against Vijay Mallya
The Enforcement Directorate has sent a detailed communication, along with legal inputs, to the Interpol which had recently sought some "clarifications" from it before notifying an arrest warrant against liquor
baron Vijay Mallya, who is wanted in a money laundering case emerging from an alleged Rs 900 crore bank loan fraud.

The agency has told Interpol that it has followed all legal procedures for seeking a Red Corner Notice against him. It has also said that orders were issued by the courts after hearing the counsels of ED and Mallya, officials said. 

The ED has told the global police body that issuance of RCN against Mallya is "obligatory" on the part of Interpol as all due legal processes have been followed by Indian probe agencies to seek such a warrant against an accused to make him join probe and ensure justice to the victim (banks). 
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17:01   Azad, Kamal Nath appointed Congress General Secretaries
Senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kamal Nath were appointed Congress General Secretaries by party chief Sonia Gandhi today, setting in motion the much talked about process of organisational changes ahead of the assembly elections next year, including in Uttar Pradesh.
While Azad, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, has been made in charge of Uttar Pradesh, Nath will look after Punjab and Haryana, party General Secretary Janaradan Dwivedi said.
Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are scheduled early next year. 
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16:20   8 JD-S MLAs suspended for cross-voting Congress in RS polls
Taking action against eight MLAs, who defied the party whip to cross vote for the Congress in the Rajya Sabha polls, the Janata Dal-Secular suspended the rebels.

8 MLAs have voted against JD-S in todays Rajya Sabha  election in favour of Congress. Tomorrow in the partys meeting, we are going to take action against them according to provisions of the party constitution, JD-S spokesman Ramesh Babu said.

The rebel MLAs who cross-voted are Zameer Ahmed Khan, Chaluvaraya Swamy, Iqbal Ansari, Balakrishna, Ramesh Bandisiddegowda, Gopalaiah, Bheema Nayak and Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, Babu said, admitting the loss much before polls ended.
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15:55   BJP national office-bearers' meeting underway
Ahead of the BJP's national executive meeting here, a meeting of the party's national office-bearers began here today with party president Amit Shah chairing it.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi would arrive here later in the day for the executive meeting, Shah, veteran leader Murli Manoharj Joshi, party general secretaries Ram Madhav, Ram Lal and Bhupendra Yadav, national secretaries Siddharth Nath Singh and Shrikant Sharma and party spokesman Sambit Patra have already reached the city.
The meeting of the office-bearers began at a city hotel. The national executive meet, which is likely to begin around 3 PM, is likely to set the agenda for the assembly elections in the state which are less than a year away. 
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15:48   Suspect in mass shooting at Florida gay club is dead, police say
The suspect in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Florida is dead, Orlando Police said. Authorities described the shooting as a "mass casualty situation."

Gunfire erupted at a gay nightclub in Orlando early Sunday, with multiple injuries reported, Florida authorities said.

"Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running," the club posted on its Facebook page.

Orlando police warned residents to stay away from the area, and urged people not to call their offices. They declined to provide the number of casualties, saying details will be available later.
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15:25   Police identify Christina Grimmie's killer

The shooter, who fatally shot Christina Grimmie, was identified as 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl, Orlando police announced.

Police believe Loibl -- who is from St Petersburg, Florida -- traveled to Grimmie's concert in Orlando Friday night specifically to shoot her.

He allegedly arrived armed with two handguns and a hunting knife, reported Entertainment Weekly.

Loibl allegedly opened fire on Grimmie during a meet and greet with The Voicealum after the show. Her brother, Marcus, tackled Loibl to the ground, and Loibl then allegedly killed himself.

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15:19   Delhi restaurant owner denies discrimination, blames 'aggressive' customer
Vihur Kanodia, the owner of Shiv Sagar restaurant in Connaught Place, today refuted charges of discrimination against the underprivileged children and alleged the 'aggressive' woman Sonali Shetty demanded that food be served free of cost to them.

"We do not discriminate against anybody. We give service to everyone. But if someone enters the restaurant and behaves aggressively then we can't give service. This is exactly what happened yesterday.she was very aggressive. She wanted free food and we denied it," Kanodia told the media here.

Stating that the incident has been captured in the CCTV footage and investigation is going on into the same, Kanodia said Sonali became very aggressive when she was denied free food.
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14:39   RS polls: Hooda demands through inquiry by EC
Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today demanded a thorough inquiry by the Election Commission, including a forensic examination of the pens with which the votes were cast, a day after votes of 14 legislators were cancelled leading to victory of a BJP-backed
Independent candidate.
"Never before I have heard or even imagined that conspiracy of this level could be hatched. I can say with firm belief that a conspiracy was hatched to enable victory of BJP-backed candidate (media baron Subhash Chandra)," Hooda told reporters here.
Demanding forensic examination of the pens used to cast votes, Hooda said the Election Commission should conduct a thorough inquiry.
Chandra defeated Independent candidate R K Anand, who had the backing of both INLD and Congress. 
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14:20   Saina Nehwal clinches Australian Open title ahead of Rio Olympics
Just ahead of the Rio Olympics, Saina Nehwal announced her return to form with an 11-21, 21-14, 21-19 win over World No. 12 Sun Yu in the final of the Australian Badminton Open 2016 at Sydney on Sunday. 

It was Saina's 22nd title, and it could move her up to the third place in the BWF rankings.

The 26-year-old had faced Sun Yu on six occasions before this final, and she had won five of them. 

In fact, the last time Saina lost against her was way back in 2013 at the China Open. 

This was their third meeting in the Australian Open, and Saina had won both the previous occasions in tightly-contested three setters.
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14:07   Special probe team to reopen 75 cases of 1984 anti-Sikh riots
The Centres special investigation team is set to reopen and reinvestigate around 75 closed cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the national capital, a move that could ring political resonance in poll-bound Punjab.

The riots that killed more than 3,000 people were in retaliation against the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.

Delhi alone accounted for 2,733 deaths and most of those killed were Sikhs, the leading community in Punjab where assembly polls are due in 2017.

Delhi had 237 anti-Sikh riot cases that were closed because of non-availability of victims or lack of evidence. After reviewing their documents, the SIT has decided to reopen about 75 cases so far, a government official involved in the review process said.

The SIT will issue advertisements regarding these cases and ask victims and witnesses to join the probe.
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14:03   7 booked for attempted murder of anti-cow slaughter activists
A group of seven persons have been booked for allegedly mowing down members of an anti-cow slaughter outfit in Bhiwandi area here, police said today. 

Activists of Bharatiya Gowansh Sanrakshan Parishad, headed by Yatindra Jain (28), had received a message on June 9 about cattle being brought into the city for slaughtering, an officer from Nizampura police station in Bhiwandi city said. 

On the tipoff, nearly four to five activists kept a vigil near Vanjarpatti flyover. As soon as they spotted a vehicle at around 6.30 AM, suspected to be carrying cattle, they tried to intercept it.
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14:02   Mass shooting in Orlando nightclub; multiple injuries reported
A mass shooting has been reported in a the night club in Orlando, Florida, where an unidentified gunman barricaded himself and hostages inside the club and allegedly shot at least 20 people, reports on social media claim.
The shooting took place at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. 

People took to Facebook to share information on the shooting. Under the Pulse club post they wrote that the attacker has an assault rifle and is barricaded inside with hostages. Others said that at least 30 people had been shot in the club.

Witnesses report the gunman may have now barricaded himself inside the club, with some reporting he may have a gun. 

The club's management have posted on Twitter: "Everyone get out of Pulse and keep running."
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13:21   Secret 9/11 report not evidence of Saudi complicity: CIA chief
CIA chief John Brennan has said that secret findings of a 2002 congressional investigation into the 9/11 attacks should not be taken as evidence of official Saudi complicity.
A decision is expected soon on whether to release the classified 28-page section of the report by the House and Senate intelligence committees.
Former senator Bob Graham, who headed the Senate intelligence committee at the time, has alleged that Saudi officials provided assistance to the 9/11 hijackers and has said the 28 pages should be made public.
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12:57   Thousands expected to attend second International Day of Yoga
Thousands of yoga lovers are all set to inundate the iconic Times Square as spiritual leaders and several Indian community associations prepare to organise a host of events in schools, temples and top tourist spots to
commemorate the second International Day of Yoga on June 21.
Isha Foundation founder and spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Miss America 2014 Nina Davuluri, diplomats and UN officials will attend the Yoga Day celebrations organised by India's Permanent Mission to the UN on June 20 and 21. 

The Indian mission is organising a special event 'Conversation with Yoga Masters - Yoga for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals at the world body's headquarters on June 20.
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12:39   Too soon to celebrate the demise of ISIS
Don't rejoice over claims that ISIS is on the ropes. The dark, poisonous soil that has given birth to tens of thousands of extremists in Iraq and beyond hasn't lost its fertility.

Many years ago, back in the 1990s, when Saddam Hussein was still in control of Iraq, an official in the Ministry of Information and Culture would regularly summon me to his office for tea and a tirade. Sometimes it was about our coverage, but often he waxed angrily about the United States and Western policy toward Iraq.

"Someday, a new generation of Iraqis will come with a hatred you won't be able to imagine," he told me. "We older Iraqis still have positive memories of the West, but they will have only hate. Remember my words," he said.

The official, Udai Al-Ta'i, was an intelligent and sophisticated man, fluent in English and French, and had served in the Iraqi diplomatic service in Europe. He often spouted the regime line, but on this occasion his words seemed to come from deep inside.
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12:28   For Ethiopians, "Mother India" mother of all films
For Ethiopians, Bollywood is synonymous with "Mother India" and such is the popularity of the Nargis-Sunil Dutt starrer movie that it continues to
enthral them even after 59 years of its release.
While recent Bollywood blockbusters like 'Veer Zara', 'Kuch Kuch Hota hai', 'Karan Arjun' have earned their actors Salman and Shah Rukh Khan a huge fan following, thanks to their dubbing in local language Amharic, Ethiopians embraced the Mehboob Khan helmed classic without even understanding a word of Hindi.

Earlier, Indian movies were available with subtitles or sometimes even without that. But still the people understood them without any knowledge about Hindi.  
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12:22   Separatists leaders Geelani and Farooq released
Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq who had been put under house arrest on Sunday ahead of their meeting on the Sainik colony issue have been released. 

According to reports, both factions of the Hurriyat Conference and the JKLF are to launch a joint effort against the state government's decision to set up separate colonies for Sainiks and Kashmiri Pandits in the valley.

Post the 2008 Amarnath land row, this is reportedly the first time in eight years the separatists were to assemble at one platform.

Though the Jammu and Kashmir Government has reiterated that it has no plans to set-up a Sainik colony in the Valley, the controversy was raked up after reports said the government is planning to set up shelters for "floating population" and implement a new industrial policy that allows a non-state subject to get land on lease anywhere in Kashmir for 90 years. 
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12:16   This is not just about Kanhaiya Kumar
In an eruditely written piece Mukul Mangalik has spoken out against what he feels is a concerted effort to deny a student a chance to speak. 

A section of Delhi University teachers did their best to prevent Kanhaiya Kumar, elected President of the JNUSU, from speaking at a khaali thaali (empty plates) dharna (sit-in) organised by the DUTA on 6th June outside the UGC compound, he writes.

A University wrote Nehru, stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason, for the adventure of ideas and for the search of truth. It stands for the onward march of the human race towards ever-higher objectives. 

A couple of centuries earlier dare to know had become an inspirational slogan, everything must be examined, everything must be shaken up, without exception and without circumspection, a motto, both together opening up hitherto unimagined possibilities for emancipation.

Read the piece in its entirety HERE.
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11:47   Delhi restaurant denies entry to underprivileged children, AAP govt orders probe
In another shocking incident of discrimination, an upscale restaurant in Delhi allegedly denied entry to unprivileged children.

Sonali Shetty, who had brought few street children along with her to the Shiv Sagar restaurant located in CP to celebrate her husband's birthday, has been protesting outside the restaurant after the owner of the eatery misbehaved with the kids.

"The owner discriminated with the kids and refused service citing that kids aren't well dressed and look dirty," said Shetty.

Roma Malhotra, PR of Shiv Sagar restaurant told ANI, " The lady had brought few kids along with her to the restaurant but kids started to create lot of 'tamasha' inside."

"As a restaurateur we have rights reserved to deny service if our guest are getting disturbed. Don't think we did anything wrong," Malhotra added.
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11:40   Benegal Committee submits recommendations on censorship
Ace filmmaker Goutam Ghosh, a member of the Shyam Benegal-led censor board revamp committee, said the panel has submitted some recommendations to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry regarding censorship in films.

"Let's see how they (the ministry) act on it," Ghosh told PTI on the sidelines of 'Bharat Nirman Awards' here last night.
The Benegal panel, in its first report submitted on April 26, had urged the government to lay down a "holistic framework for certification of films."
Asked to comment on the Bombay high court bench observations about "Udta Punjab" controversy, describing censor board as a body meant to certify films and not censor them, which could recommend cuts only as per guidelines, Ghosh said, "There need not be censorship in films, but there can be certifications in other ways.
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10:50   Babri demolition, Godhra riots led youths to Al Qaeda: Delhi cops
Some Indians were provoked by the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition and the 2002 Godhra riots to establish Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, the Delhi police told a court. 
In its chargesheet filed against 17 accused, the Delhi police said some of them traveled to Pakistan and met Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists Muhammad Saeed,  Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and other terrorists. 
'While delivering jihadi speeches in various mosques, he (the arrested accused Syed Anzar Shah) met Mohammed Umar (one of the absconding accused) and they discussed atrocities on Muslims in India, especially Godhra and Babri Masjid issues,' the chargesheet alleged.. 
'Umar got impressed with his jihadi ideology and speeches and committed himself to the cause of jihad and expressed the desire to receive arms/ammunition training from Pakistan,' the chargesheet, filed before Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh, said. 

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09:50   Bangladeshi Hindus seek Modi's intervention
In the wake of a series of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, the minority community there wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government to take up the matter with Dhaka to ensure their safety and security. 

"The Hindu community, which is the biggest minority community in Bangladesh, is vulnerable in Bangladesh. Fundamentalist and Jamat forces are trying to wipe out Hindus from Bangladesh. 

"We feel that India being a Hindu majority country, should do something. We have high hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He should act and take up the matter with Bangladeshi government and ensure the safety and security of Hindus," Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and noted Human Rights activist, has told PTI.

Image: A file photograph of Bangladeshi Hindus agitating for school vacations during Durga Puja.
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09:47   2 Maoists held, arms seized in Bihar
Security forces apprehended two suspected Maoists and recovered arms and over 100 rounds of ammunition in Banka district of Bihar in the wee hours of today. 

Officials said the two Maoists, identified as Sikander K and Arjun K, were nabbed around 3 am during an anti-Naxal operation, led by the CRPF, in the Pilua-Suiya area of the district. The security personnel also recovered an INSAS rifle with two magazines, 120 rounds of bullet and a hand grenade, they said. 

The operation was conducted by the 131st battalion of Central Reserve Police Force deployed in the area, along with the state police, they said.

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