LIVE! Trump is a sexual predator: Salman Rushdie

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Sat, 05 November 2016

Trump is a sexual predator: Salman Rushdie

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20:37 Trump is a sexual predator: Salman Rushdie

Booker prize winning Indian-born author Salman Rushdie described Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as a "sexual predator" and asked Americans to "focus" as they choose their next president.

"Trump will go on trial in November accused of racketeering, and again in December accused of child rape. He is a sexual predator, hasn't released his tax returns, and has used his foundation's money to pay his legal fees," Rushdie said, according to an online post in literary website 'Lithub'.

The website has put together views of 22 renowned writers about Trump as election day approaches after a long campaign cycle, saying "in times like these, it's worth considering the words and insights of those among us who've dedicated their lives to giving voice to thought -- but if nothing else, you can at least count on a good writer to come up with an eloquent insult or two."

Rushdie asks America to focus on choosing its next president, saying the spotlight should be on how Trump behaves and not on some emails that Clinton didn't send.

Trump "has abused the family of a war hero and...oh, but let's talk about some emails Hillary didn't send from someone else's computer, that weren't a crime anyway, because thats how to choose a president. Come on, America. Focus," he said.

Acclaimed British novelist J K Rowling said Trump has the temperament of an "unstable nightclub bouncer", he "jeers" at violence when it breaks out at his rallies and wears his disdain for women and minorities with pride.

Hours after SP brought members of the erstwhile Janata Parivar on one platform, BSP supremo Mayawati today warned that any alliance with the ruling party in the state will directly benefit BJP.

"There is not a single concrete reason for any secular party to align with Samajwadi Party, specially after the bad experience of (SP) breaking the 'mahagathbandhan' in Bihar because of its understanding with BJP," Mayawati said at a press conference.

"The SP is today standing alone because of its understanding with the BJP. So, any move to align with the SP means directly helping the BJP...other parties should remain alert on this count as it would be good for them.

"All know that because of its selfish motives, Samajwadi Party today stands divided," she said.

Petrol price today was raised by 89 paise per litre, the sixth increase in rates since September, and diesel by 86 paise a litre, the third increase in a month.

The price hike announced by Indian Oil Corp is excluding local sales tax or VAT and will be effective from midnight tonight. After including VAT, petrol in Delhi will cost Rs 67.62 a litre from midnight tonight, up Rs 1.17 from Rs 66.45 per litre currently.

Similarly, diesel will cost Rs 56.41 a litre after including VAT in Delhi, up Rs 1.03 as compared to Rs 55.38 at present.

This is the sixth increase in petrol price since September 1, the last hike being on October 16 by Rs 1.73 a litre.

The five previous hikes had totaled to Rs 6.36 a litre and after including today's increase, the price of petrol has gone up by Rs 7.53 per litre in just over two months.

In case of diesel this is the third price increase in a month, the previous being of Rs 2.77 per litre on October 16. The three price increases total to Rs 3.90 a litre.

Ace striker Deepika scored the winner in the dying minutes as India registered a sensational 2-1 victory over China in the final to win the 4th Women's Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Singapore on Saturday.

Player of the day Deepika found the net with a rasping shot after finding the rebound from the penalty corner with just 20 seconds to go for the final hooter.

Deep Grace Ekka put India in the lead via a penalty corner in the 13th minute as India went into a 1-0 lead after the end of the first quarter.

It's a double joy for India as they claimed the Asian Champions Trophy in both the men's and women's category. Last Sunday, Indian men's team prevailed 3-2 over arch-rivals Pakistan to reclaim the trophy.

Nirmalya Kumar, a former member of Tata Sons now-disbanded group executive council, on Saturday said he was in fact fired the same Monday evening that Cyrus P Mistry was removed from the top job. This is in contrast with Tata Sons announcement that Kumar had decided to leave.

In a blog post on Saturday and titled I Just Got Fired!, Kumar said he was informed by a colleague over the phone that he is fired- hoursafter Tata Sons said it had removed Mistry as chairman.

Recalling how he was ousted Kumar of the London School of Economics says it was over in a minute, with no forthcoming explanation, just because he was close to Mistry.

"At 9:00 pm, I get a call from a colleague with whom I had worked very closely and got along famously as we were often on the same side of arguments," Kumar says in a posting on his personal website, recalling the eventful day of Oct 31.

"He informs me: 'It is my unpleasant duty to say your services are no longer required'. No explanation. I query: Does this mean I do not need to show up tomorrow morning? Receive an affirmative reply," he says.

You can read his post here

18:15 AFSPA extended in Assam by 6 months

The controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts has been extended by six months in entire Assam and the 20km-wide belt in Meghalaya bordering the state with the Centre declaring that the "disturbed area" status, which has been in force since 1990, will continue.

In a gazette notification, the home ministry said the law and order situation in Assam has continued to be a matter of concern due to the violent incidents by underground outfits and during January-September 2016, different militant groups were involved in 66 incidents of violence in Assam which resulted in killing of 29 people.

"The militant outfits operating in the area continue to have been making constant efforts to regroup, re-strengthen and intensified their efforts for recruitment/infiltration of new cadres into the state and indulging in coercive extortion targeting businessmen, tea garden owners, contractors, commercial vehicles, timber smugglers, transporters and even government officials and politicians.

"United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia has been formed in April, 2015, and two of its constituents viz ULFA(I) and NDFB(S) have been desperately making efforts to perpetrate demonstrative acts of violence and during the current year they have been responsible for 57 per cent of the incidents of violence and 84 per cent of the deaths in the state," the notification, issued by Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry Satyendra Garg, said.

NDFB(S) militants shot dead 14 civilians and injured 19 others in a busy local market on the outskirts of Kokrajhar town on August 5, 2016, while ULFA(I) cadres also shot dead two Hindi-speaking persons in Tinsukia district and orchestrated five and two IED explosions in Tinsukia and Charaideo districts, respectively, on August 12, 2016.

Superstar Salman Khan has come out in support of Hillary Clinton for President of the United States in the upcoming poll.

Clinton is the Democratic Party nominee and is competing with Republican candidate Donald Trump in the election scheduled to happen November 8.

"Hope you win. May god give you the strength to follow the constitution and human values. All the best. #HillaryClintonforpresident," Salman, 50, tweeted.

Clinton has a lot of celebrity endorsements with Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Jeffrey Katzenenberg, Katy Perry, Waka Flocka, Ariana Grande and America Ferrera backing her.

The government's move to ban a news channel for a day is an "attack on democracy" and a step towards "emergency and dictatorship" in the country, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav today said.

"A popular channel has reported an incident. Banning it for a day is an attack on democracy. Narendra Modi, BJP and RSS are taking the country toward emergency and dictatorship", Lalu said while addressing Samajwadi Party's silver juibilee celebrations here.

Senior JD-U leader Sharad Yadav also drew parallels to the emergency, saying such measures had been seen during the period when media was gagged.

"I want to advise all BJP men to remain alert. You have attacked media and this will taken seriously," he said.

The government's move came after an inter-ministerial panel concluded that the channel, NDTV India, had revealed crucial and "strategically sensitive" information on the Pathankot terror attack in January this year.

Attacking Rahul Gandhi over One Rank One Pension, Bharatiya Janata Party Chief Amit Shah today said that the Congress vice president only talks about the scheme, but the BJP government has implemented it.

"Rahul talks about OROP, but only the BJP government has implemented the policy which Congress dragged for decades, Shah said during BJP's 'Parivartan yatra' in Uttar Pradeshs Saharanpur.

Eyeing next years assembly polls, Shah said, The SP and the BSP cannot improve law and order of Uttar Pradesh. Only the BJP can provide a UP free from hooliganism.

Shah also raised triple talaq issue during his address, saying, Hue and cry rose over BJP government's stand on triple talaq. But vote bank politics should not be done on women's rights.

Islamic Research Foundation Educational Trust, promoted by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, has been put under prior permission category, thus preventing it from receiving foreign funds without getting nod from the central government.

In a gazette notification, the home ministry said that on the basis of records available and reports received from intelligence agencies, it found that the IRF Education Trust has violated various provisions of the Foreign

Contribution Regulations Act 2010.

"Now, therefore, the central government in exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 11 of the FCRA 2010, hereby specifies that the IRF Education Trust shall obtain prior permission of the central government on each occasion before accepting any foreign contribution in accordance with the provisions of section 12 of the Act and rules made thereunder," the notification said.

The move came after different investigations found Naik to be "involved" in utilising funds meant for his NGOs for alleged radicalisation of youths and "inspiring" them into terror activities, official sources said.

The government is also in the process of cancellation of the FCRA registration of Islamic Research Foundation, another NGO promoted Zakir Naik, and a final show cause notice to the organisation has already been issued.

China today renewed the orange alert for air pollution as most northern cities saw another day of choking smog and poor visibility leading to delays and cancellation of a number of flights.

Moderate to heavy smog will stay in the Beijing-Tianjin- Hebei region, as well as some areas in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning provinces this morning with visibility of less than 200 meters, according to the National Meteorological Centre.

The poor visibility has caused widespread flight delays and cancellations at Beijing Capital International Airport, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The NMC has forecast that a cold front will help disperse the smog later in the day.

China has a four-tier colour-coded system for severe weather with red being the most serious followed by orange, yellow and blue.

After experiencing frequent bouts of smog, the Chinese public has become increasingly sensitive to the health hazard.

To address public concerns, the government aims to cut the density of inhalable particulate matter by at least 10 per cent in major cities by 2017, the report said.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed has criticised the Nawaz Sharif government for giving a "cool" response to India over alleged atrocities in Kashmir, saying people in the Valley need Pakistan's "full practical support".

"The Pakistani government's response to India over atrocities in Kashmir is cool and by doing so it is not pleading the case of oppressed Kashmiris," Saeed said, delivering Friday sermon at JuD headquarters Masjid-e-Qadsia.

He said there is no value of one or two statements in favour of Kashmiris by the Prime Minister and other members of his government rather they need "full practical support".

Amid political battle over implementation of One Rank One Pension, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today said that 95% veterans have already got the benefit of OROP.

"95%+ people have already got the benefit of OROP. Rest are very old pensioners, from 1962 war. So some records are incomplete," said Parrikar.

He further added, "We are in the process of completing the records of these rest 4 - 5% and it will be done in the next two months."

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav today said he and leaders of other socialist-leaning parties have come to Uttar Pradesh to strengthen Samajwadi Party and "chase away" BJP from here like they did in Bihar.

"We are here to strengthen SP. We have chased away BJP in Bihar. Just like 'geedad' (jackal) is chased away we will chase away BJP from UP too," Lalu said before leaving SP's silver jubilee celebrations.

Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda, when asked about the possibility of a coalition, said,

"We are not in field here. A situation might arise after UP, Gujarat and Punjab polls. We are here to attend silver jubilee celebrations on the invitation of SP."

JD-U leader Sharad Yadav said they have come to attend the SP function as they have "old relations" with SP.

"There are no talks of coalition now. Mulayam Singh Yadav can tell better. SP is the bigger party here. Talking much on this will not be appropriate at this time," he said.

One terrorist was killed and one army jawan injured in an ongoing encounter in Kashmirs Shopian district on Saturday, an army official said.

Sources said at least two militants were holed up in the area and the encounter was underway.

Local residents woke to the sound of gunfire as security forces personnel cordoned off the Dubjan area in the district, according to ANI.

Representative image

Shivpal Yadav today ruled himself out of the chief ministerial nomination of his party for the upcoming assembly elections, but stopped short of declaring Akhilesh for the post.

"Khoon mangoge toh khoon bhi de denge, CM kabhi nahi banana. Kitna bhi apmaan karlo, main jaanta hoon accha kaam kia hai (If they want blood, I'll give it to them but I don't want to be the chief minister. You can insult me as much as you want, I know I have done good work)," Shivpal said during Samjawadi Party's silver jubilee function.

Praising Mulayam Singh he said, "It is because of Netaji's struggle and the risks he took that SP was able to form govt in UP not once but thrice."

Six people, most of them from one family, were killed in an accident on the Eastern Freeway in south Mumbai today morning.

Three others were injured and rushed to the JJ hospital. The accident led to a massive traffic jam on the Eastern Freeway's south-bound stretch with the backlog stretching up to Sewri, police said.

The mishap was reported around 9am. There were at least nine people travelling in a cab which turned turtle.

The occupants of the cab included three women, two children and men. Pydhonie traffic police immediately reached the spot to extract the victims from the wreckage. The taxi driver was also injured.

Information and Broadcasting minister M Venkaiah Naidu today attacked those criticising the one-day ban on NDTV India over its Pathankot coverage, saying the "belated criticism" is clearly "ill informed and politically

inspired" to create a controversy.

The belated criticism of the action proposed to be taken against NDTV India for violating the norms of live coverage of anti-terrorist operations by security personnel in Pathankot in January this year is clearly ill informed

and politically inspired, he told reporters in Chennai.

"Such reactions that came a day after the government's decision was in public domain on November 3, 2016 was clearly an afterthought, suggesting a motivated design to create a controversy where none existed," the senior

minister said.

He asserted that people of the country should know that the UPA Governments, during 2005-14, ordered several TV channels to go off air in 21 instances, for a period ranging from one day to two months for showing

obscene visuals including 13 cases of telecasting 'Adult' rated certified films.

One channel was taken off air for 30 days for telecasting a sting operation, he said.

"People of the country are also wise enough to appreciate which of the two violations -- showing obscene visuals at the stroke of midnight and risking the lives of defence personnel and civilians through a live telecast of anti-

terrorist operations in broad daylight -- is a serious threat to the interests of the nation including its sovereignty, integrity and security," Naidu said.

The minister said the decision against NDTV India was not based on any newly invented rule and principle.

11:55

Just In: Gunshots heard in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district after the army and police forces cordoned off Dubjan area.

11:20 SP's silver jubilee event begins; top 'Janata Parivar' leaders attend

Samajwadi Party's silver jubilee celebration has begun.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party state chief Shivpal Yadav, senior Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Yadav reached at the venue in Lucknow.

The event is seen as a prelude to a Bihar-like mega alliance of 'like-minded' parties to keep the Bharatiya Janat Party at bay in UP.

"Jaise Bihar se BJP ko khadeda tha usi tarah se Uttar Pradesh se bhi khadena hai (like we outed the BJP from Bihar, we will do it in UP)," Lalu Yadav said.

United States President Barack Obama defended a supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as the crowd at a Democratic rally Fayetteville began yelling at him when he stood up with a pro-Trump sign.

Obama repeatedly told the crowd to 'hold up' as Hillary Clinton's supporters started booing a man who stood up with the sign supporting the Republican presidential nominee.

The man, dressed in a military uniform, stood in the aisle of the arena stands and just held up his sign, which was one of the usual sizes. He didn't say anything.

"No, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. Hold up. Hey, hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up, hold up, hold up!," said the President as the audience did not listen to him.

'Hillary! Hillary! Hillary' they kept yelling.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, listen up! Hey, everybody! Everybody! Hey! Hey! Listen up! Hey! I told you to be focused, and you're not focused right now! Listen to what I'm saying," Obama said as he appeared to be frustrated.

"Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Everybody sit down and be quiet for a second. Everybody sit down and be quiet for a second. Now, listen up! I'm serious, listen up. You've got an older gentleman who is supporting his candidate. He's not doing nothing -- you don't have to worry about him," Obama said.

"This is what I mean about folks not being focused. First of all, we -- hold up! Hold up! First of all, we live in a country that respects free speech," Obama said amidst applause from the audience.

Obama told the crowd that it appears the man was a veteran, and they should respect his service.

"So, second of all, it looks like maybe he might have served in our military, and we've got to respect that. Third of all, he was elderly, and we've got to respect our elders. And fourth of all, don't boo vote! Come on," he said.

Obama asked people to pay attention and reminded his supporters of free speech rights in the US.

09:47

JUST IN: Another school was set on fire in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir, flames have now been doused. More details awaited.

09:36 US strike killed top Al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan: Pentagon

The United States has confirmed the death of a top Al-Qaeda leader in an air strike in northeastern Afghanistan last month, in a major blow to the terror group in the war-torn country.

"We can now confirm that the precision strike conducted by the US military on October 23 in Kunar, Afghanistan, resulted in the death of senior Al-Qaeda leader Faruq al-Qatani," the Pentagon Press Secretary, Peter Cook, said.

Al-Qatani was Al-Qaeda's emir for eastern Afghanistan and one of the terrorist group's senior plotters of attacks against the US, he said.

"This successful strike is another example of US operations to degrade international terrorist networks and target terrorist leaders who seek to attack the US homeland, our interests and our allies abroad," Cook said.

Samajwadi Party's Rajat Jayanti, or silver jubilee, programme will be held today in Lucknow. Party workers have started gathering at the venue.

Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Deve Gowda, among others, will attend the fete.

The silver jubilee event, after Akhilesh Yadav's rath yatra, is seen as another step in the direction of easing the strained relations within the Yadav clan and the party.

08:35 Polls predict narrow to major win for Clinton

The race to the White House is tightening with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton leading her Republican rival by just two percentage points, a latest opinion poll has said.

An estimated 200 million United States voters would elect their next president on November 8. More than 35 million of them have already casted their votes.

Fox News, in its latest poll, said that Trump (43 per cent) was trailing behind Clinton (45 per cent) by two percentage points. A week ago Clinton was up by three points and by six points in mid-October.

Another major media outlet for the first time projected Hilary's electoral college votes below the half way mark of 270.

The CNN, in its latest projections of electoral maps, predicted 268 electoral college votes, two short of the half way mark of 270 required to be declared elected in the 2016 presidential elections.

The major US media outlet reported that Trump has gained quite a bit in the past two weeks, in particular after the Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey announced last week to re-open the investigation in to the alleged email scandal of Clinton.

In RealClearPolitics, which keeps tracks of all major polls, Clinton's lead in the average of polls is 1.6 percentage points. The 'polls only' model of legendary Nate Silver from The New York Times said that Clinton had 67.8 percentage chance of winning the November 8 presidential elections.

The Huffington Post said that Clinton had a 97.9 per cent chances of winning the elections, even as Trump appears to have a late surge.

Princeton Election Consortium also gives Clinton a much higher chance of winning the election.

00:49 6.4-magnitude quake shakes central Chile

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake of 'great intensity' struck central Chile on Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of damage, officials said.

The quake shook buildings in the capital Santiago, causing panic among residents, whose frantic phone calls clogged cellular networks and land lines, AFP reported.

But 'there are no preliminary reports of injuries, interruption of basic services or infrastructure damage,' the National Emergency Office (Onemi) said.

'No region has reported emergency situations caused by this earthquake,' one official, Miguel Ortiz of Onemi's early warning centre, told a news conference.

The quake was unlikely to cause a tsunami, the navy said. It struck at 1:20 pm at a depth of 90.8 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey.

A jury has found Rolling Stone magazine liable for defamation over its explosive and later discredited story about a gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity house.

The suit was brought by UVA administrator Nicole Eramo, who says the article, A Rape on Campus, portrayed her as insensitive to the plight of an alleged rape victim. She seeks $7.5 million from the magazine, publisher Wenner Media and reporter Sabrina Rubin Erdely.

Charlottesville police found no evidence that the rape happened. And journalists and readers were stunned to learn that Erdely never spoke to the men identified as attackers.

Read more

00:03 Top headlines at this hour

Army destroyed Pak posts with artillery fire to avenge mutilation of jawan's body

Basic pension of ex-servicemen increased 2.57 times under OROP: Prez

Petrol pumps may observe nationwide strike on Nov 15

Journalists attacked; Press Club demands Bombay House guards' arrest

NDTV violated rules, UPA had also issued such orders: Centre

Rahul bats for veterans, says PM should stop lying about OROP

Read yesterday's live commentary HERE

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