LIVE! 'US should be wary of China's new 'Guam killer' missile'

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Sun, 15 May 2016

'US should be wary of China's new 'Guam killer' missile'

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22:15 'US should be wary of China's new 'Guam killer' missile'

China's new 'Guam killer' missile, capable of hitting targets some 5,500 km away, is raising new fears of a growing Chinese threat to key American military facilities and stability in the Pacific Rim, the Congress has been warned.

A congressional panel has issued a report warning of the dangers of the DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile, during a week in which US-China tensions flared anew with a US Navy destroyer sailing close to a Chinese-claimed island in the disputed South China Sea.

The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission said this week that China's DF-26 missile -- dubbed by analysts the "Guam killer" and unveiled at a high-profile military parade in Beijing last September -- allows China to bring unprecedented firepower to bear on the US territory of Guam . The territory sits well within the missile's range.

Around 5.5 crore devotees have so far taken a holy dip in the Kshipra river, where Simhastha Kumbh mela started late last month, a Madhya Pradesh minister said today.

"According to our estimate, around 5.50 crore faithful have taken a holy dip in the Kshipra river so far," Simhastha- Kumbh Mela In-charge Minister Bhupendra Singh said.

The mega festival, the biggest religious gathering on earth, commenced on April 22 and will go on till May 21. The response till now has exceeded expectations.

The government had estimated that 5 crore people will take part in the month-long mela, said the Transport Minister. "But our target has been surpassed and going by the influx of devotees, 7 crore people are likely to take a holy dip by May 21," he added.

A day before Tamil Nadu goes to polls, Union minister Prakash Javadekar today asked voters to "punish" both AIADMK and DMK, alleging that they were indulging in "corruption" and "insulting" people by offering them freebies.

He said both AIADMK and DMK have "failed" the state and it its people over the last 50 years and and it is time to bring in change. "Tomorrow Tamil Nadu voters are going to decide the future for the next five years. My appeal to voters is to vote 100 per cent. My second appeal is that it is time to punish both parties - AIADMK and DMK because of their corruption.

"It is the time to punish for taking voters for a ride, for insulting them by offering freebies. Are voters beggars? It is time to punish them for not creating jobs, for abject neglect of irrigation for over 50 years, and for promoting sand mafia. This is a time to change," Javadekar said.

20:28 EC to Karunanidhi: Stop social media campaign

The Election Commission has asked DMK chief Karunanidhi to suspend his social media campaign and sought a reply from him by May 17 regarding the notice that was issued to his party.

On Saturday, the EC had issued show cause notices to Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi for violating model code, saying their parties' election manifestos did not "substantially" fulfil its guidelines. The notices had said that prima facie the manifestos of the two parties "have not substantially fulfilled the guidelines of the Commission".

The poll panel had given them time till 5 pm today to respond "to explain your stand for non-compliance of the guidelines of the Commission and also reflect the rationale for the promises made in your manifesto and broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirement for the same."

20:11 EC notice: AIADMK replies, DMK seeks more time

A day after the Election Commission issued notices to heads of AIADMK and DMK, J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi respectively for allegedly violating model code of conduct with regard to their poll manifestos, the former has replied while DMK has sought more time to respond.

"The reply of AIADMK has come and DMK has requested more time for response. Matter is under the Commission's consideration," a senior electoral official said without elaborating.

On Saturday, the EC had issued show cause notices to Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi for violating model code, saying their parties' election manifestos did not "substantially" fulfil its guidelines.

The notices had said that prima facie the manifestos of the two parties "have not substantially fulfilled the guidelines of the Commission". The poll panel had given them time till 5 pm today to respond "to explain your stand for non-compliance of the guidelines of the Commission and also reflect the rationale for the promises made in your manifesto and broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirement for the same."

It had warned that if the two failed to respond to the show cause notice, it will take "further appropriate action" against their parties without further reference to them."

20:05

JUST IN: EPL match between Manchester United and Bournemouth abandoned over security alert

20:04

That's Suresh Raina with his wife Priyanka and their newborn daughter Gracia Raina.

Isn't she cute?

19:59 Jaitley blames Rawat despite Uttarakhand floor test debacle

Despite the Bharatiya Janata Party facing a humiliating defeat in the Uttarakhand floor test, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that it was not a damage, adding the root cause behind the political crisis in the hill state was the March 18 incident.

"I don't consider Uttarakhand as damage. If you look with honesty, you will find that the root of Uttarakhand crisis lies in the March 18 incident," he said.

On March 18, 36 people out of 67 voted against the budget. The budget and the Appropriation Bill were defeated and the state government should have resigned. Then they say that there should be a floor test. Was March 18 incident not a floor test? There was a division demanded and the Speaker denied counting the votes," he added.

He also attacked the Harish Rawat-led state government for blaming the Centre for not allowing the floor test to take place earlier. "Today, they are praising the floor test and blaming that the Centre had not allowed for it before. But the fact is that March 18 incident was a floor test. Nine of the MLAs were disqualified because they voted against the budget. And then they are saying that it was the Speaker, who gave a wrong ruling," he said.

The Centre on May 11 revoked President's rule from Uttarakhand after Chief Minister Harish Rawat proved his majority on the floor of the House.

Dutch teenager Max Verstappen became Formula One's youngest race winner on Sunday in a sensational Spanish Grand Prix that saw dominant Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collide on the opening lap. Verstappen, still only 18 and making his debut for the former world champions after being promoted from Toro Rosso a week earlier, beat Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen --at 36 twice his age -- by 0.616 seconds.

Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh talks on the outcome of his overseas trip, strategist Prashant Kishor, fund crunch faced by the party, his former colleagues Bir Devinder and Jagmeet Singh Brar.

Read the full interview HERE

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said he was saddened by the killing of a journalist in his state and promised swift action against the guilty. "Whatever is happening in Bihar has saddened me. I assure the people of state that whoever is guilty will not be spared," Kumar said.

Condemning the murder of Siwan bureau chief of Hindi daily Hindustan, Rajdeo Ranjan, 42, he said the probe would be expedited and Bihar Police will bring to book those responsible for the killing.

Demanding Rs 25 lakh as compensation to the kin of the slain journalist, an Indian Federation of Working Journalists delegation said one of the family members should be given a government job.

Kumar assured them of prompt action and promised that the guilty will be punished. Three persons have been detained for questioning in connection with the murder on May 13 night and preliminary probe suggested that the killers were disturbed by the news stories of Ranjan.

18:52

JUST IN: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis clinch the Rome Masters title after winning 6-1, 6-7, 10-3 in the final

18:39

JUST IN: CBI detained MHA under secretary Anand Joshi, who was booked on corruption charges and questioned him today.

18:25 Pak's Defence Minister accuses India of supporting terrorists

Days after Pakistan alleged that an Indian lobby was making "untiring efforts" to block the sale of F-16 fighter jets from the US to it, a top minister has accused India of "supporting" terrorists and separatists, particularly in restive Balochistan, media reports said today.

Minister of Defence Khawaja Asif said that India was "supporting terrorists and separatist groups in Pakistan especially in Balochistan and the issue of Indian terrorism had been raised internationally by Pakistan".

Talking to Dunya News, Asif claimed that Pakistan Peoples Party's Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the US, had lobbied against the provision of F-16s to Pakistan by the US.

"The Indian lobby has been making untiring efforts to reverse the US decision, and a strong attempt, through Senator Rand Paul's resolution, to block the sale itself," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told the Senate.

The Delhi government extended support to Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Kanubhai Ramdas Gandhi, who is living with his wife in a home for the destitute in Delhi's Badarpur area.

Delhi's SC/ST Welfare and Women and Child Welfare Minister Sandeep Kumar visited the 87-year old and his wife Dr Shiva Lakshmi Gandhi at the Guru Vishram Vridh Ashram.

The minister said: "It was quite a heart touching moment to meet Kanubhai. I told them that the Delhi government is ready to extend any kind of help to the couple."

The murder of a teenager and a journalist within a week has proved that law and order has completely broken down in Bihar and President's rule should be imposed in the state, LJP supremo Ram Vilas Paswan said today.

"It is appropriate time for imposition of President's rule in Bihar. The teenager Aditya Sachdeva in Gaya and journalist Rajdeo Ranjan in Siwan were murdered within a week. It reflects complete breakdown of law and order," he said.

Sachdeva was shot dead allegedly by the son of JD-U MLC Manorama Devi in Gaya on May 7 in a road rage case, while Ranjan was gunned down in Chatra on May 13. "The situation appears to be worse than 'jungle raj' or 'rakshasa (demon) raj'," he alleged adding only President's rule can "arrest further slide" in the law and order situation.

Beyonc's new range of women's sportswear is made using sweat shop labourers who earn as little as 4.30 (Rs 413) a day, it has been reported. The Sun on Sunday reported the clothing range '" which Beyonc said she hopes will 'support and inspire women' -- is made by Sri Lankan seamstresses some of whom earn 4.30 a day.

Read more HERE

Waiting to be auctioned off by tax authorities for recovery of their dues, the erstwhile 'King of Good Times' Vijay Mallya's private luxury jet is reminiscent of his high-flying days -- interspersed with plush sofas, a cushioned bed, bars, showers and even a bathrobe.

The 25-seater has also got portraits of gods inside while the exterior has got names of Mallya's three children -- son and two daughters -- imprinted on the nose of the plane. His own initials 'VJM' form part of the name of the jet.

As banks seek to recover dues worth over Rs 9,400 crore in loans and interest from Mallya's long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines, the Service Tax Department is trying hard to sell off his personal jet to recover its over Rs 500 crore dues.

The Airbus plane, grounded for over three years and gathering dust in a lonely bay at the Mumbai airport, is among the many properties of the businessman that are on the block.

Congress today said the fresh chargesheet filed by NIA in the 2008 Malegaon blast case has put a question mark on India's commitment to fight terror and demanded that the probe should be monitored by the Supreme Court. The opposition party asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to uphold his Constitutional oath by letting the Supreme Court monitor the case.

The National Investigation Agency has become 'Namo Investigation Agency', senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said at a press conference while contending that the chargesheet appears to be aimed at "decimating and demolishing' the "meticulous' probe conducted by Mumbai ATS led by late Hemant Karkare.

Central government ministries and departments will now be rewarded for successful implementation of e-Office or 'paperless office' initiative. The move is aimed at improving the ease of governance and expediting the administrative process.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh has written to all ministers to take urgent action to shift to paperless functioning mode in a time bound manner.

"It is one of the priority works of the government. We are writing to all ministers for going paperless. The e-Office will help in speeding up administrative work and result in saving money for the exchequer," he said.

Singh said those doing exemplary work in this project maybe given awards for excellence in public administration, which are given annually by the prime minister on civil services day.

In his letter, the minister said one of the agendas of the minimum government-maximum governance is to adopt e-Office in all government functioning for achieving the goal of governance with accountability, transparency and innovation, which is the sine-qua-non for achieving Prime Minister's Mission of PRAGATI.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was today discharged from AIIMS nearly three weeks after she was admitted to the hospital with complaints of chest congestion and fever. AIIMS director M C Mishra said Swaraj was discharged after a group of doctors today examined her and found her to be fit.

"Swaraj was being treated for pneumonia and the infection had also caused mild renal impairment. She was treated by a group of specialists and was discharged after the doctors declared her fit," Mishra said.

The 64-year-old Union minister was admitted to AIIMS on April 25 after she complained of chest congestion and fever. She was undergoing treatment in the cardio-neuro centre of the hospital. The doctors had earlier said that it was likely that she contracted the infection due to extreme temperatures during her travels.

A suicide attack on an Iraqi gas factory near Baghdad has killed at least 11 people and wounded many others, officials say. Early on Sunday a car blew up at the entrance of the facility in Taji, a northern suburb of the capital.

Six attackers wearing explosive vests then entered the plant, where they clashed with security forces. Officials blamed the attack on the Islamic State group, which holds parts of western and northern Iraq.

In its effort to have a full fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence system, India today successfully test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile, from a test range off Odisha coast.

"The test conducted to validate various parameters of the interceptor in flight mode has been successful," Defence Research Development Organisation sources said.

An alert has been sounded along the Sino-India border after local residents, including a village head, got several telephone calls from "spies" either from Pakistan or China about army deployment along the Line of Actual Control. The caller, posing himself as either a colonel or a local official, made queries about the army presence in the area and the timings of their movement, official sources said.

Recently the 'sarpanch' (village head) of Durbuk village, located at an altitude of 13,500 feet above sea level between Chang La and Tsangte village, received a call in which the caller asked whether "outstanding" issues with the army had been sorted. The sarpanch, who was sitting inside an army camp at the time of receiving the call, got suspicious and enquired from the caller about his identity.

Expanding its money laundering probe into L'affaire Mallya, the Enforcement Directorate has asked around half a dozen lenders of Kingfisher Airlines to furnish details of the financial transactions conducted by the long-grounded air carrier and its top executives.

"The banks have been asked to furnish details of all domestic and foreign inward and outward remittances of KFA. Information such as from which accounts the money came in and to which accounts they were transferred, have been given to the ED," a source said.

"The aim, it seems, is to look at whether there was any case of money laundering or whether the money was parked in any tax haven," said another source.

The Enforcement Directorate had asked for financial details from both public and private sector banks and a part of these details were submitted last week.

So far, the ED was focussing on the Rs 900-crore loan that IDBI Bank had given to KFA to investigate whether there was any money laundering involved. The move to seek details from more banks indicates widening of the probe into the Mallya saga.

"The aim, it seems, is to look at whether there was any case of money laundering or whether the money was parked in any tax haven," said another source.

The Enforcement Directorate had asked for financial details from both public and private sector banks and a part of these details were submitted last week.

After Pakistan, which pulled out of India-mooted South Asian Satellite Project, Afghanistan too has shown no interest in the venture. Sources said Afghanistan has tied up with a European company for its space-related needs.

"We had several rounds of discussions with Afghanistan. At one point they demand a particular thing and we have an agreement. In the next meeting, they would put forth some other demand.

"Another issue was the location of the satellite. The location where India and Afghanistan wanted to place their satellite in the orbit was more or less the same," an official involved in the negotiations said.

Sources said Bangladesh too is not very keen on the satellite project as it is set for launch of its own geostationary communications satellite Bang Bandhu-1.

However, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal are still keen on taking the project forward and talks are on with these countries.

In June 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked ISRO to develop the satellite which can be dedicated as a "gift" to the neighbouring countries. He had also made the announcement at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu.

12:43 Curious case of Ranthambores missing tigers

Sundari had the advantage of pedigree. Born to the iconic 'queen' tigress of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Machhli, she inherited her territory and fan following from her mother. So, when she suddenly disappeared from the reserve in March 2013, leaving three cubs in the lurch, 110 forest guards were deployed to find her.

Ministers descended from the state capital 'to handle the emergency'. The media launched its own hunt. Contrast this with the case of Indu. The tigress went missing from the reserve around the same time in almost similar circumstances. But nobody noticed.

Read more HERE

12:25 Monsoon to be delayed this year?

Even as parts of the country struggle with crippling drought conditions, the weather department has announced that the onset of monsoon is to be slightly delayed. "The The southwest monsoon is likely to set over Kerala on June 7," said the IMD. People are hoping for a good season of rain with drought conditions and the searing temperatures.

Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Sunday condemned the controversial remark made by West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh for the female students of Jadavpur University and called on the saffron party to seek his resignation as he is a 'blot' on politics.

"Shameless, disgusting medieval statement by BJP leader. Party should seek his resignation immediately. He is a blot on politics," Maliwal said in a tweet.

Ghosh yesterday made the controversial statement where he said the women at Jadavpur University, who were allegedly molested by ABVP activists, were 'shameless' for participating in protests and deserved no sympathy.

He said the women intentionally threw themselves at the accused men. Ghosh made the remarks while reacting to allegations of molestation by students last week during a scuffle between ABVP and Left-leaning students.

The clash was over screening of Vivek Agnihotri's film, Buddha in a Traffic Jam, on May 6 on the varsity campus.As per reports, at least four women had allegedly been molested by ABVP workers and complaints were filed with the police.

The Indian Army issued a statement clarifying that the claims of a mutiny were baseless. The claims erupted after a few jawans roughed up an officer following the demise of a jawan during a training exercise in the north-east unit.

"It's not a case of mutiny," said the army, adding, "Few jawans got emotional and agitated following the death of their colleague and indulged in agitated behaviour leading to a minor scuffle. However, no one was seriously injured."

Speaking of the jawan who died, the army said, "The jawan complained of chest pain prior to a route march. He was checked by the unit medical officer and found fit. He later collapsed and died.Investigations are underway."

'I consider that defeat a blessing,' Rahul had said after the drubbing of the COngress in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Later, he went to a sabbatical at an unknown place and returned after about 54 days.

He has since kept up the offensive, drawing large crowds at anti-Modi events from Mumbai to Assam to Delhi. He also hired a top political strategist who had helped engineer Modi's victory.

With five major states -- where the Bharatiya Janata Party is struggling to clinch power -- going to polls this month, it is yet to be seen whether a charismatic Modi or a recharged Rahul wins the battle.

Read full article HERE

Maharashtra minister Vinod Tawde today said the state government will seek the President's intervention after the Supreme Court made National Eligibility cum Entrance Test compulsory for admission to medical and dental colleges.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda had convened a meeting of the Medical Education Ministers of all states which conducted their own Common Entrance Tests in New Delhi on May 16, Tawde said.

"After the meeting, if needed we will meet the President seeking his intervention," the state medical education minister said.

Review and modification petition filed by Maharashtra is currently pending in the Supreme Court. The state's objection to NEET is that it is based on CBSE syllabus, while majority of students in Maharashtra are from state-board schools/colleges.

00:14 Terrorist held in Kashmir, Aadhaar card seized

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Saturday arrested an alleged militant in Baramulla and seized an Aadhaar card from his possession.

The militant has been identified by the police as Abdul Rehman, a militant commander active in Pakistan-occupied Territory, who was arrested in Baramulla, following a specific input.

As per reports, the militant was arrested from Hajibal in the upper reaches of Baramulla town in a joint operation 46 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group Baramulla.

00:08 Top headlines at this hour

EC issues notices to Jaya, Karunanidhi; defers poll date for one seat

SBI claims Rs 570 cr seized by poll officers in TN

Kerala, TN, Puducherry ready to vote as campaigning ends

Bengal BJP chief calls JU girl students 'shameless, below standard'

Ex-RJD MP's shooter among 2 held for Bihar scribe's murder

Kohli, de Villiers slam centuries as RCB demolish Gujarat

Read yesterday's live commentary HERE

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