South Africa's Zuma survives no-confidence vote

MEA says: India raises questions over 'legally untenable action' of World Bank while dealing with Indo-Pak differences on Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects under Indus Waters Treaty. The Govt will examine further options and take steps accordingly on Indus Waters Treaty

President-elect Trump arrives at White House for talks with Obama

President-elect Donald Trump's plane arrives at Reagan National Airport ahead of his meeting with President Obama at the White House.

In more trouble for beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya, a special PMLA court in Mumbai today declared him a 'proclaimed offender' and directed the Enforcement Directorate to attach movable properties which were listed by the agency in its application. 

Amid the rush for new currency notes, the surcharge for using ATMs of different banks has been waived.

The Trinamool Congress today gave a notice in the Rajya Sabha to discuss the demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes on November 16 and said it would bring an adjournment motion on the subject in the Lok Sabha on the same day. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today reached Tokyo for the annual summit.

Income Tax department has conducted multiple raids in Delhi, Mumbai and other cities in the wake of demonetisation of currency, news agency PTI has reported. 

The government has directed airlines to ensure tickets issued using the now-withdrawn Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes directly from counters at airports are "non-refundable" following an unusual surge in such bookings since the high-value currencies were demonetised two days ago. 

Nigel Farage has branded Barack Obama a "loathsome' "creature' and said the election of Donald Trump is a "big opportunity' for the UK, the Independent reported.


The former Ukip leader also joked about Trump groping Theresa May while he tried to "schmooze' her for trade deals, telling a radio station: "He loves our country.'Mr Trump was elected on a hard right political platform, pledging mass deportations of undocumented migrants and saying he would ban Muslims from travelling to the United States.


Obama was criticised by Brexiteers after he intervened in the EU referendum debate, warning that the UK would be "back of the queue' for any trade deal.


"That Obama creature -- a loathsome individual who couldn't stand our country. He said he'd be at the back of the queue, didn't he? And Americans don't use the word queue, they use the word line. So it was all a Dave and George stitch-up," Farage said in an appearance onTalkSport radio.


"What was interesting was that Trump said we'd be at the front of the queue. Listeners, bear this in mind, however imperfect Donald Trump may be, and he is, his mother was Scottish, he's spent a lot of time in this country, he loves our country, what we stand for, and our culture.


"This is a big opportunity for all British business because once we've left that awful EU thing we can do our first trade deal with the United States of America. Isn't that Great?'

Pakistan today said it "welcomed" the US President-elect Donald Trump's offer to mediate between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir dispute.


During a weekly press briefing in Islamabad, while responding to queries about the victory of Republican Donald Trump in the US presidential election, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said the President-elect had earlier offered mediation between Pakistan and India on Kashmir dispute and "we had welcomed that offer".


Zakaria said Pakistan desires a close relationship with the US, and wishes to further strengthen it.


The US President-elect last month said that if elected, he would be willing to play a mediatory role in addressing the "very, very hot tinderbox" of Kashmir between India and Pakistan.


"If it was necessary, I would do that. If we could get India and Pakistan getting along, I would be honoured to do that. That would be a tremendous achievement... I think if they wanted me to, I would love to be the mediator or arbitrator," Trump had said in the interview. 

Just in: Congress' Captain Amarinder Singh resigns as Lok Sabha MP protesting SC verdict on Sutlej Yamuna link canal row. All Punjab Congress MLAs have sent their resignations to Amarinder Singh protesting the SC verdict.


Punjab's law scrapping water-sharing agreements with neighbouring Haryana and other states is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court ruled today. The court also said that the Sutlej Yamuna canal or SYL canal, which is at the centre of a row between Punjab and Haryana, has to be completed.


The court said Punjab cannot unilaterally wriggle out of an agreement involving other states.


A five-judge constitution bench was ruling on the validity of a law in 2004 enacted by Punjab.


The case involves sharing of the Ravi-Beas river waters primarily between Punjab and Haryana, besides Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh.
 

Pakistan High Commission has issued visas to as many as 3,316 Sikh pilgrims to attend birthday celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev from 12-21 November there. Announcing this, Manzoor Ali Memon Counsellor (Press) in the Pakistan High Commission here said this was done in line with Pakistan's efforts to encourage people to people contacts and promote religious tourism.


The High Commission has issued visas to pilgrims more than the numbers prescribed under the 1974 bilateral protocol, he added. Guru Nanak Dev was born on 15 April 1469 at 'Rai Bhoi Ki Talva', present day Nankana Sahib, near Lahore in Pakistan's Punjab province.


Every year a large number of Sikh pilgrims travel to Pakistan to visit different Sikh shrines.

Punjab law scrapping water sharing with states illegal, says Supreme Court.

The case involves sharing of Ravi-Beas river waters primarily between Punjab and Haryana, besides Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh.

On March 17, the Bench had directed the Punjab Government and the Centre to maintain status quo on the land acquired for the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, thus stalling the move to return it to the farmers.

The Bench passed the order on Haryanas plea for appointing the Centre as the court receiver of the land to prevent Punjab from returning about 4,000 acres of land to the farmers under a law passed in the Assembly on March 14.

Haryana had filed an application against the move to return the land acquired for the SYL canal, pleading for its hearing along with the Presidential reference on the 2004 PTA Act under which Punjab had unilaterally terminated its inter-state river water sharing agreements.

Haryana pleaded that Punjab had enacted the 2004 Act to nullify the SC verdicts for the completion of the SYL canal and deny it its share of the Ravi-Beas waters, while the 2016 Act was meant to render the Presidential reference irrelevant. Punjab, however, pleaded that since the SC verdicts on SYL were no longer valid in view of the 2004 Act, the 2016 legislation for return of SYL land did not violate any SC order.

Punjab also contended that the SC opinion on the 2004 reference would not be binding on the parties. Making it binding would render the Punjabs plea for a fresh tribunal meaningless.

The tribunal was necessary to decide the eligibility and entitlement of each state to share the Ravi-Beas waters, going by the rights of riparian states and the reduced flow in these two rivers.

The Centre, however, pleaded Punjab could not defend its 2004 Act as well as seek a fresh tribunal. Declaring the Act valid would render meaningless the two SC judgments for completion of the SYL canal as well as Punjabs plea for a fresh tribunal.

If Punjab wanted to terminate its water sharing agreements, where was the need for a tribunal, the Centre said. It, however, clarified that it was taking a neutral stand on the dispute.

Haryana has requested the Bench to keep alive its status quo order on SYL land even after giving its opinion on the Presidential reference. Punjab wants constitution of a fresh tribunal to ascertain the present flow of water.

He is all the things Donald J. Trump could not be. A career public servant who has served in Congress and run a state. A hero to conservatives who adore his strong Christian faith and resistance to the country's rapid social liberalization. A disciplined messenger who keeps his opinions from erupting on Twitter.


How much influence Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, the vice president-elect, will have in a Trump White House is unknown, especially given Mr. Trump's habit of consulting a wide circle of formal and informal advisers and then ultimately doing as he pleases.But given how deep mistrust of Mr. Trump runs -- not only from Democrats but also from elected officials in his own party who said he was unfit to become president -- Mr. Pence, 57, could become the administration figure who offers a measure of comfort in what is sure to be a highly uncertain and chaotic time.  Read more

Freecharge reported a sharp 12X overnight jump in the average wallet balance as consumers loaded up their wallets to face a cashless day across the country.

Freecharge wallets are used extensively by users to conveniently pay for utilities like cab rides, metro, phone recharges, electricity, gas, petrol, DTH and lots more.

Since Freecharge is also used at over 100,000 online and offline merchants like Snapdeal, Bookmyshow, Swiggy, Zomato, Shoppers Stop, McDonald's, Cafe Coffee Day and others, Freecharge user can continue their daily transactions without any cash related interruption.

"The announcement made by the Prime Minister yesterday is the biggest boost to creating a cashless India. We are thrilled that crore of Freecharge customers will be able to continue paying conveniently and securely for all their utilities and at leading merchants in India. The 12x surge we have witnessed is unprecedented and clearly driven by this big announcement," said CEO Freecharge, Govind Rajan

An Indian woman in the US who gave birth to a baby girl few days ago, weeks after her husband died of a heart attack has been assured by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj of all possible help.


Swaraj has already directed the Indian Embassy in Washington to help Deepika Pandey, who is from eastern Uttar Pradesh, and now residing in New Jersey in the US.


The woman's husband Hariom Pandey, who was a software engineer, had died of a heart attack on October 19 in Boston and days later his friends had taken her to New Jersey to ensure her better care as they stay there. Deepika also has a four-year-old son.


"Deepika - We are with you in this hour of tragedy. I have asked @IndianEmbassyUS to help you," Swaraj tweeted.


Deepika Pandey's family had initially requested the minister to arrange for medical insurance for her as the insurance she had for Boston was not valid in New Jersey.


Now the family has requested the government to ensure early grant of passport to the new born by the US authorities who by birth is an American citizen.


The family also requested the government to ensure expeditious issuance of Overseas Indian Card to the new born so that Deepika Pandey and her two children can return to India at the earliest.

Image: The picture was tweeted by @BJPLucknowBJP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has entrusted the task of supervising the demonetisation exercise in his absence to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.   

Hours after Tata Sons replaced Cyrus Mistry as chairman of Tata Consultancy Services on Thursday, the group accused him of betraying their trust and allegedly desired to to seek control of main operating firms of Tata Group.

Tata Sons released a statement blaming Mistry for systematically excluding other representatives from the board. In the last four years, it said, Mistry planned and executed his strategy to become the sole representative of the group.


"Under Mistry, Group's over 100-yr-old structure consciously dismantled, firms drifting away from promoters, shareholders," Tata Sons said.


Earlier today, Tata Sons appointed Ishaat Hussain as chairman of TCS till a new replacement was found. The group convened an exraordinary general meeting to remove Mistry as chairman. TCS informed the stock exchange and its shareholders about the development.

Samajwadi Party will not form any alliance, Mulayam Singh Yadav says days after meeting Congress strategist Prashant Kishor.


The Samajwadi Party supremo and Congress poll strategist Prashant Kishor held a closed-door meeting with UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav fuelling speculation that a grand alliance could be on the anvil for the 2017 assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

The meeting assumes significance as the 43-year-old chief minister is expected to have a major say in ticket distribution and choice of seats to be contested by his party in case an alliance is cobbled together.

There has been speculation of a 'mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) among erstwhile Janata Parivar parties and the Congress to check the Bharatiya Janata Party. In its tracks Kishor met Akhilesh and was with him for nearly three hours during which they are understood to have discussed threadbare the state's political scenario ahead of the upcoming elections.

However, Akhilesh sounded cautious and not in a hurry when he said factors like who will benefit and who will lose in case of an alliance have to be considered.

"Elections are near, who will be benefited, who will lose (in alliance) is to be taken note of. The decision is to be taken by party's national president," Akhilesh told reporters while refusing to publicly state his stand on the issue.

"I will give my suggestions only at party platform," he said.

When asked specifically about the possibility of the Samajwadi Party joining the hands with the Congress, Akhilesh parried a direct reply, saying "If the SP and the Congress want alliance, will you (media) stop it?"

He did not elaborate on the query made against the backdrop of Kishor's two rounds of meeting with Mulayam on Sunday, triggering speculation of a 'mahagathbandhan' similar to the one in Bihar.

Kishor's back-to-back talks with Mulayam and Akhilesh come close on the heels of top leaders of socialist-leaning parties attending SP's silver jubilee meet -- a move seen as an attempt by Mulayam to forge an alliance for the crucial polls hardly a few months away.

The Centre on Thursday filed a caveat in the Supreme Court asking it not to pass any interim order without hearing its argument on the demonetisation issue.


A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by a Supreme Court advocate Sangam Lal Pandey on Wednesday.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that circulation of these notes have been stopped and said that the measure was warranted to tackle black money.


Secretary Economic Affairs Shaktikanta Das had asserted that the decision was bold and decisive that would help to curb the fake Indian currency notes and the usage of black money fuel inflation.


"The decision to cancel the legal tender scatters of Rs. 500 and Rs.1,000 notes is a very bold, powerful and decisive step to fight the menace of black money and the use of fake Indian currency notes. Counter fate fake Indian currency notes for financing of terrorism," Das said .


Image: A crowd outside ICICI Bank waits to get their high-value notes exchanged. Pic: Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com

60% of 45-60 year-olds critical of PM's demonetisation move, reveals IB survey

Soon after the government made the announcement of demonetising Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, the Intelligence Bureau carried out a snap poll to gauge the mood of the nation.

Here are the results of the poll:

-- People in the age group  25-30 are happy with the decision. The IB report suggests that 80 per cent of the people welcomed the decision. The introduction of digital transactions such as PayTM and Ola Money also pleased the younger generation.

-- Sixty per cent in the age group  45-60 were critical of the decision, but welcomed the move as it would root out black money.

The results of this snap poll were collated and submitted to the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday night, a day before PM Modi left on his three-day visit to Japan.

En route to Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today made a surprise stopover in the Thai capital to pay his respects to revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died last month after a protracted illness. 

So this is America, after all. It's not the one many of us hoped we lived in right now, but it's the one verified by the electoral map, and it's the one that others of us have feared we lived in for a very long time.

In the next few months Rs 1000 notes will also be brought in with a new dimension and design, says Shaktikanta Das, Economic Affairs Secretary. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs1,000 notes currently in use has caused a panic among the public.  Finance minister Arun Jaitley holds a press conference on the demonetisation. Highlights...


-- Initial challenge was we had to reestablish the credibility of a decision making process as long as Indian economy was concerned.

-- For any government to function, the leadership is provided by PM and PMO and then different ministries have to act in accordance.


-- Decisiveness is the hallmark of this government. Government is not scared to take risks.

-- Despite decisiveness we have endeared our best to take as many decisions as possible through a large consensus.

-- One decision was that there were sectors that needed to be opened up for economic growth.

-- Making sure that state subsidies reach people and therefore rationalised, has been discussed. We implemented that.

-- It has led to lot of savings, we are still in the process of executing our taxation changes.

-- A lot is to be covered as far as GST is concerned.

-- The recent decision of the government to cancel 500,1000 rupee notes, we are trying to ensure that at the requisite replacement is available with people. There is no need to rush in initial days.


-- I indicated that the banking dept and RBI have taken all necessary steps to keep banks open till the extent necessary. Banks will be open on the weekends.

-- It is only those with large amounts of undisclosed money who will have to face the consequences under existing laws.


-- There will be an impact on small purchases for a few days, till there is adequacy of currency, but it is beneficial in long run.


-- I've explained the advantages yesterday, but overall I do feel that not withstanding the constraints of global economy, we are doing reasonably well.


-- This decision (scrapping of Rs. 500/1000 notes) will impact the spending habits of people.

-- There is no prohibition on any sector for dealing through cheques.

-- There are some sectors which are cash intensive and therefore there could be some impact on them but over a period of time, it will work out on its own.

-- Exchange limits are only for first 2 weeks, in any case whether agricultural transaction is dealt with cash or not, it would be tax free.


-- We have been doing our best in order to increase penetration in insurance.
Our effort is to implement GST from April 1. One issue of dual-control left to be sorted out, hopeful of a solution soon.

Aaron Sorkin, the playwright and screenwriter behind the most inspiring TV president of all time, has published a letter to his 15-year-old daughter, Roxy, inVanity Fair that attempts to grapple with what a President Donald Trump means for America.


"I won't sugarcoat it -- this is truly horrible," Sorkin writes, laying out how this wasn't just a victory for Trump, but also for his supporters: "White nationalists. Sexists, racists and buffoons."


But instead of wallowing in depression or moving to Canada, Sorkin urges his daughter and other angry Democrats to "fucking fight" because "we're not powerless and we're not voiceless."


He adds, "I don't think this guy can make it a year without committing an impeachable crime. If he does manage to be a douche nozzle without breaking the law for four years, we'll make it through those four years. And three years from now we'll fight like hell for our candidate and we'll win and they'll lose and this time they'll lose for good. Honey, it'll be your first vote." 

At least one terrorist was killed in an infiltration bid foiled by the army in Rampur sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla. One AK-47 was also recovered. Search operation is currently underway.


On Wednesday, a soldier was killed in firing by the Pakistan Army in Machhal Sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.In retaliation to the firing, the Indian forces carried out fire assault with heavy weapons on many Pakistani posts.


Earlier on Tuesday, the Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate and unprovoked firing on Indian Army posts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Naushera Sector.


In the ensuing unprovoked shelling, a Non Commissioned Officer Naik Prem Singh was martyred while Naik Harindra Kumar Yadav sustained grievous injuries and was immediately admitted to the hospital. However, the braveheart succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.


Naik Prem Singh, aged 26 years, is survived by his wife, The soldier hailed from Village Shahar, Tehsil Bayatu, District Barmer, Rajasthan.The other martyr, Naik Harindra Kumar Yadav, aged 30 years, is survived by his wife and three young children. Naik Harindra Kumar Yadav hailed from Ballia District, Uttar Pradesh.


Representational image.

Supreme Court to hear next week a plea against demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes.Centre wants to be heard before SC passes any order on pleas against demonetisation.

India woke up to several full page advertisements in national newspapers today by cash-free apps. E-payment apps Paytm and Freecharge, and Ola and Snapdeal had full page ads on the advantages they offered on cashless transactions.

Paytm went a step further and used PM Narendra Modi as its poster boy much like Reliance Jio did last month.

The mobile payment and e-commerce biggie Paytm has raked in big bucks in the last 24 hours of the PM's masterstroke against corruption. It registered a 1,000 percent growth in money added to e-wallets.


So the question being asked on social media is whether PM Modi is endorsing Paytm for a corruption-free India? No answers, yet. 


As Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal points out in this tweet, "Paytm biggest beneficiary of PM's announcement. Next day PM appears in its ads. Whats the deal, Mr PM?"

Restaurant listing and food ordering app Zomato, and travel aps Ola and Uber also cashed in on the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 rupee note ban.

The government has warned that the cash deposits above Rs. 2.5 lakh threshold under the 50-day window could attract tax plus a 200 percent penalty if the cash deposited in bank accounts doesn't match with income declared.


"We would be getting reports of all cash deposited during November 10th to December 30th, 2016, above a threshold of Rs. 2.5 lakhs in every account. The Department would do matching of this with income returns filled by depositors and suitable action may follow," Revenue Secretary Hashmukh Adhia said.


Image: Sacks of burnt Rs 500/Rs 1000 notes in Bareilly.
"Penalty of 200 percent of the tax payable would be levied if the cash deposited in bank accounts don't match with income declared," he added.Any mismatch with income declared by the account holder will be treated as a case of tax evasion.


The Revenue Secretary further stated that small businessmen, workers need not worry about small amount of deposits up to Rs.1.5 or two lakh since it would be below taxable income.


He also said that persons buying jewellery have to provide the PAN number.


"To buy jewellery one has to give his PAN no; instructions have been issued to check with all jewellers to ensure that this isn't compromised. Action will be taken against those jewellers who fail to take PAN numbers from such buyers," Adhia said.


Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley earlier in the day had said that deposits of the no longer functional Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes in bank accounts will not enjoy immunity from tax.


After the government's decision of withdrawing Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 banknotes to curb black money, corruption and counterfeit currency, Jaitley said that higher-denomination currency notes have to be deposited in bank accounts to get newer or smaller denomination currencies.


"Depositing the old currency notes in the banks will not provide any relief from taxation," said Jaitley.

Management colleges in the city have taken up the recent Tata-Mistry fallout as a case study to engage students taking courses such as organisational behaviour and strategic management. After the board of Tata Sons, the country's largest conglomerate, removed former managing director Cyrus Mistry from his post, the move has become subject of classroom discussions in in B-schools.
Read more

JUST IN: Govt calls for all-party meeting on November 15 to discuss on upcoming Parliament session; PM Modi likely to attend the meet.

A day after banks reopened in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on Tuesday, every bank and ATM in the country saw large crowds queuing up to exchange these notes. The PM had announced that that people can exchange or deposit their old notes in banks starting Thursday, 11 November. On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India announced that banks will be open for public dealing on weekends as well.


The new Rs 500 banknotes, which will be issued by banks from today, have extra security features besides having peculiar colour, theme and size which differentiate the new bills from the earlier series.


The Rs 2,000 notes, which are being introduced for the first time, will be of magenta colour with Mangalayan imprinted on the reverse side.

And recuperating from a double whammy of Trump win and the Centre's black money crackdown, Sensex today soared over 390 points and Nifty topped the 8,500-level in early session, tracking a rally in global equities.

The rupee strengthened by 9 paise to quote at fresh two-month high of 66.34 against the US dollar in early trade today on increased selling of the American currency by exporters and banks amid a higher opening in the domestic equity market.


Forex dealers said weakness in the dollar against some other currencies overseas also supported the rupee. Further, a higher opening in the domestic equity market gave the uptrend some momentum, they added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today embarked on a three-day visit to Japan during which the two countries are expected to sign a civil nuclear deal besides discussing ways to step up cooperation in areas like trade, investment and security. In his second visit to Japan as Prime Minister, Modi will be holding the annual Summit meeting with his counterpart Shinzo Abe and have an audience with the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo.

"Donald Trump ran on a platform of relentless, thoroughgoing rejection of the Constitution itself, and its underlying principle of democratic self-government and individual rights. True, he never endorsed quartering of troops in private homes in time of peace, but aside from that there is hardly a provision of the Bill of Rights or later amendments he did not explicitly promise to override, from First Amendment freedom of the press and of religion to Fourth Amendment freedom from "unreasonable searches and seizures' to Sixth Amendment right to counsel to Fourteenth Amendment birthright citizenship and Equal Protection and Fifteenth Amendment voting rights."

Read more

People throng banks as they reopen for the first time after the government  withdrew Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. People pose with the new Rs 2000 notes.

Markets open, Sensex up 303 points, currently at 27,556. Nifty currently at 8,536.45.

Yesterday, stock market investors became poorer by Rs 1.75 lakh crore on Wednesday amid sharp sell-off in key indices after Donald Trump's victory in the US election and the government's decision to withdraw high-value currency notes.

The overall investor wealth measured in terms of valuation of all listed stocks on BSE fell Rs 1,75,192 crore to Rs 1,09,68,808 crore at the end of trade.

During the morning session, the total investor wealth was down by nearly Rs 6 lakh crore.

Market sentiment took a hit also on the government's sudden action to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in order to curb black money.

After plunging about 1,689 points in early trade, the benchmark Sensex recovered most of the lost ground on buying at lower levels and ended with a loss of 338.61 points at 27,252.53.

From the 30-Sensex basket, 20 ended in the red led by TCS, while nine managed to stay in the positive zone. NTPC remained unchanged.

Furious protesters hung effigies, chanted slogans as thousands gathered across the United States to protest against the shock election victory of Donald Trump.


Demonstrators descended on Union Square and Columbus Circle in New York City, chanting 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Donald Trump, go away, racist, sexist, anti-gay.' Trump's poll-defying win has sparked a wave of similar rallies across the country.


Protests are stopping traffic in the streets of Chicago, Illinois, while downtown Portland, Oregon, is overrun with disgruntled voters.  Outside the White House, a candlelit vigil is being held in protest against Trump's inflammatory and divisive brand of politics. Demonstrations are being held in at least seven cities.

Infiltration bid in Uri sector foiled, 1 militant killed: Army.

Mass shootings at an anti-Trump rally on Wednesday night in Seattle, Washington State.

Five people have been injured in shooting in Seattle, Washington, as hundreds of people took to the streets to protest US Republican candidate Donald Trump's victory in 2016 US election, the city's Fire Department reported. ​Two persons have reportedly been inflicted with life-threatening injuries.

The shooting took place at Pine Street and 3 Avenue. According to the Seattle Times, the anti-Trump march was simultaneously proceeding down "nearby streets."

Police have arrived at the scene, the newspaper noted, without specifying whether the shooting is related to the ongoing rally.

Seattle police reported of multiple victims in the incident, promising to release more details "as they become available." The investigation is underway.

Further details awaited.


Image: Seattle Fire Dept tweeted this picture of fire crews treating  patients brought with gunshot wounds. Two of the five patients have life-threatening injuries.

Banks and ATMs reopened after a day today and will stay open this weekend to help people swap 500 and 1,000 rupee notes which are now banned. Even before banking hours, people queued up banks to change or deposit their Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. Lakhs of people stuck with higher denomination notes were scrambling yesterday to buy provisions. 

Tata Consultancy Services has appointed Ishaat Hussain as chairman with immediate effect. Hussain will hold office until a new chairman is appointed. Cyrus Mistry ceased to be chairman. 

Currency agents, who supply small denomination notes to traders and other retail businesses, said that the demand for Rs 10, 20, 50 and 100 has gone up manifold ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement to demonetize Rs 500, and Rs 1,000 notes.  

We are now all rooting for Trump's success: Obama