Various high courts have dismissed petitions filed against demonetisation of Rs500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

This comes ahead of the Supreme Court likely hearing on November 15 a plea challenging the government decision to withdraw 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in its crackdown on blackmoney, corruption and counterfeit currency.

The Centre has already filed a caveat in the apex court that it be heard if the court entertains any petition on demonetisation.

Madurai bench of Chennai high court, Allahabad high court and Karnataka high court dismissed petitions after hearing the argument on merit, officials said.

Karnataka HC has made certain strong observation, saying that effort of the government in nation building should not be defeated in any manner.

While passing the order dismissing the writ petition the high courts have upheld the government decision after hearing the argument on merit, they said.

India's Industrial Production.

JUST IN: Pakistani media quotes Mumbai Terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed as saying that Donald Trump's election as United States President is a 'victory of racism and ignorance'.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist today claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party was aware of the Centre's decision to demonetise currency of higher value in advance, while ruing that the move has affected the partys campaigning ahead of by-polls in few seats in West Bengal.

"The BJP's Bengal unit had deposited an amount of Rs 1 crore in a Kolkata bank, hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the announcement on Tuesday night.

"The move has certainly affected our campaigning in terms of expenditure. Workers are facing trouble in procuring election material at the grassroots level," senior party leader Rabin Deb told a press conference in New Delhi.

Top Losers in BSE Sensex.

JUST IN: The Central government has extended use of old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes for paying public utility bills by another 72 hours.

However, payments for utility bills will be restricted to individuals/households for arrears or current bills. No advance payments will be allowed.

Payment for court fees will be included in exemptions and ID of customers will be required for transactions in consumer cooperative stores.

Earlier, the deadline was to expire tonight.

JUST IN: The suspension of toll has been extended till midnight of November 14 for all National Highways.

Earlier, the suspension of toll charges was to expire on November 11 midnight.

The decision has been taken to avoid long queues at toll plazas and traffic jams on major highways.

With a special PMLA court allowing its plea for further attachments, the Enforcement Directorate has seized under CrPC laws fresh assets worth Rs 1,620 crore of liquor baron Vijay Mallya in connection with its money laundering case against him and others.

Officials said orders for the fresh attachment of 'freezed and pledged shares' have come into force with the pronouncement of the court order yesterday and the agency will soon serve the copies of the order to all the stakeholders involved in the case, including Mallya.

The special Prevention of Money laundering Act court of judge P R Bhavake here had yesterday declared Mallya a proclaimed offender and directed the Enforcement Directorate to attach movable properties which were listed by the agency in its plea to the court.

"The total value of these movable assets that have been seized is worth Rs 1,620 crore. This seizure is carried out under the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and will be over and above the two earlier attachments worth Rs 8,041 crore issued under anti-money laundering laws," an official said.

E-commerce giant Amazon today said it has resumed cash on delivery service for customers, two days after it had halted the option following the government's move to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

Apart from cash, Amazon India will allow customers to pay using credit and debit cards at the time of delivery of the order.

"As of November 11, we are re-introducing CoD to enable options to pay at the time of delivery. This accommodates customers who face challenges of paying online, but are still able to use electronic instruments at delivery," an Amazon India spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the delivery agents have been trained to help customers who opt for card payments at the time of order delivery or valid currency notes, including the newly introduced Rs 500 and 2,000 notes.

About digital payments on the platform, the spokesperson said electronic payments at doorstep have gone up by a factor of 10x in the past two days.

"This clearly indicates that customers are able to adapt to electronic payment methods when cash is constrained. We continue to focus on incentivising and helping people shift to making payments electronically online, aligned with the government's focus," the spokesperson added.

The company has launched a new offer to incentivise customers to make cashless transactions.

Customers can load their Amazon gift card balance and get an incentive of 15 per cent/Rs 300 (maximum) discount at checkout.

Citing India as an example for scrapping high-denomination notes, a Pakistani lawmaker has submitted a resolution in the Senate asking the government to withdraw Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 notes from circulation to combat black money and corruption in the country.

Opposition Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Osman Saifullah Khan, addressing a standing committee on finance, said high denomination notes raise the possibility of money laundering and corruption.

Referring to India as an example, he added that the world over such notes were being discouraged.

India has demonetised Rs 500 and 1,000 notes, making these notes invalid in a major assault on black money, fake currency and corruption.

Khan said the issue of withdrawal of currency notes should be taken up with the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank.

The Supreme Court on Friday issued contempt of court notice to former judge Markandey Katju for criticising judges and not the judgment in the Soumya rape case. The top court said Justice Katju's remarks on Justice Gogoi was an assault on three judge bench and it was not criticism of judgment in the Soumya case.


After the SC issued contempt notice, a defiant Justice Katju said, "Mr (Justice) Gogoi don't threaten me. Do what you want. I am not scared."
This is the first occasion in judicial history when a former Judge of SC faces contempt charge in apex court.


Justice Katju kept saying he is not scared of SC and addressed Justice Gogoi as Mr Gogoi several times and reminded that he was junior to him (Katju) in SC.

When Justice Katju got furious, the bench called for security asking - is there anyone to escort Justice Katju out of court?


The apex court had on October 17 asked Katju to appear and debate his Facebook post criticising the judgment by which the accused had escaped gallows in the Soumya rape case in which he was acquitted of murder charge.
Katju was summoned to appear in person before the court to point out the "fundamental flaws", as claimed by him.

Former judge Markandey Katju issued contempt notice for blog criticising Supreme Court judges in Soumya rape case. 

India, Japan sign landmark civil nuclear deal.

India and Japan today signed a landmark nuclear energy pact after six years of negotiations between the two countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a three-day visit to Japan, his second in two years, as China's influence grows in the region.

The home ministry has asked all states to provide security to banks, post offices and ATMs amid a scramble for cash three days after the government's sudden decision to take Rs. 500 and 1000 notes out of circulation to crack down on black or untaxed money.


Amid the woes of customers hit by cash crunch, a 73-year-old man, who was standing in a queue to exchange his old currency notes here, collapsed and died in suburban Mulund this afternoon, police said.


Vishwanath Vartak, a senior citizen, was standing in a queue outside a branch of the State Bank of India in Navghar area of Mulund (East) to exchange his notes when he suddenly fell down at around 1.30 pm, they said.


As he fell, some people, who were also in the queue, rushed him to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead before admission, police said adding that the body has been sent for postmortem.


In Kerala, a 48-year-old man, who came to deposit Rs five lakh worth scrapped high denomination notes in a bank here, died after he fell down from the second floor of the building today, police said.


People this morning rushed to ATMs, which reopen two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the two biggest currency notes are now just "worthless pieces of paper".


The shock announcement led to a late night scramble to ATMs on Tuesday before they shut for the turnaround.


ATMs were to start releasing new Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000 notes from Thursday midnight. However, the crowds at many of the machines grew increasingly agitated at learning that they were still inactive. Bank officials said ATMs have not stocked up yet.


Banks announced yesterday that the surcharge for using ATMs of different banks has been waived for now.

Subtle, but effective, the new Tata Tea ad cashes in on the PM's popularity. 

And more bad news... Markets crash 680 points.

Home Ministry issues an advisory asking all the states to provide security to banks, post offices and agencies managing ATMs and cash. Not only security guards, but police will also guard the banks, post offices and agencies that manage ATMs and ATM cash.

As lakhs of customers line up outside ATMs and banks desperate to exchange the high-denomination currency demonetised by the government, the  Reserve Bank of India has urged "members of public to be patient", stating that there  "is enough cash available with banks and all arrangements have been made to reach the currency notes all over the country."


In a statement issued today, the Reserve Bank of India has said that consequent to the withdrawal of Legal Tender Character of existing Rs 500 and Rs 1000 Bank Notes, it has made arrangements to distribute the notes in new Rs 2000 and other denominations across the country.

"There is enough cash available with banks and all arrangements have been made to reach the currency notes all over the country. Bank branches have already started exchanging notes since November 10, 2016.

As mentioned in RBI communications, it may take a while for the banks to recalibrate their ATMs; once the ATMs are functional, members of public will be able to withdraw from ATMs upto a maximum of Rs 2,000 per card per day up to November 18, 2016; and after that up to withdraw Rs 4000 per day per card. Several ATMs have started functioning from this morning as the banks could complete recalibration of these machines to allow withdrawals up to Rs 2000 to begin with.

The facility for exchanging the withdrawn denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 is available for nearly 50 days. The Reserve Bank appeals to members of public to be patient and urges them to exchange their old notes at their convenience, any time before December 30, 2016.

While hate crimes and racist graffiti spillover across America after Donald trumped Hillary to be the 45th President of the United States, this heartwarming story lifted the spirits of millions who wanted a better America with Hillary.

Margot Gerster, a Hillary voter, in a bid to drown her deep disappointment following the election, took her daughters hiking in the woods of Chappaqua, about 60 km north of New York City.

That's where the Clintons own a house.

This is what she posted on Instagram.

"I've been feeling so heartbroken since yesterday's election and decided what better way to relax than take my girls hiking.

"As we were leaving, I heard a bit of rustling coming towards me and as I stepped into the clearing there she was, Hillary Clinton and Bill with their dogs doing exactly the same thing as I was.

"I got to hug her and talk to her and tell her that one of my most proudest moments as a mother was taking Phoebe with me to vote for her. She hugged me and thanked me and we exchanged some sweet pleasantries and then I let them continue their walk.

"Now, I'm not one for signs but I think ill definitely take this one. So proud. #iamstillwithher #lovetrumpshate #keepfighting #lightfollowsdarkness."

The story has been shared over 100,000 times already because it probably strikes a chord with those grieving over Trump's win and don't know how to channelise their emotions. 

A 48-year-old man, who came to deposit Rs five lakh worth scrapped high denomination notes in a bank in Thalassery in Kerala, died after he fell down from the second floor of the building today, police said.


Unni, a Kerala State Electricity Board employee, was filling the necessary forms to deposit the amount in the State Bank of Travancore's branch, located in the first floor, when the mishap occurred, they said quoting preliminary information.

He had unsuccessfully tried to deposit the notes yesterday and came to the bank again this morning. There was heavy rush of customers to deposit the demonetised Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes today also.

The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre on the Kohinoor diamond matter seeking a reply in four weeks.

Senior Advocate Sommo Chkravarthy said that an impression has been created that the gem was gifted by Maharaja Dilip Singh to the Britishers, but documents produced prove that it was actually stolen.

"There must be proper diplomatic parley between the Central government and the government of United Kingdom , that must be supervised by the Supreme Court. Second, is that the impression is created that the gem was gifted by Maharaja Dilip Singh to the Britishers but we have produced all the documents that it was actually stolen," he said.

"Britishers had acquired it illegally and forcefully. The archaeological survey of India has also directed to file the affidavit. Supreme Court has directed it to come up within four week. They have been directed to file an appropriate counter affidavit," he added.

Earlier, after UK Minister of Asia and Pacific affairs Alok Sharma's assertion on the restitution of 'Kohinoor' diamond, Advocate Nafis Siddiqui, the petitioner of the case, said that he will file a new application and if Britain doesn't return the gem still, he will then appeal in the UNESCO and in the UN.

"New application will be filled in the Supreme Court to send the advocated commissioner to Britain and request the British government to return the property of India and to get a stay on the selling or auctioning of the diamond. We will get it back, if not, we will appeal through the UNESCO or through UNO," said Siddiqui.

Earlier, in the Supreme Court Centre said that Britain did not steal the 'Kohinoor' but rather it was gifted to them.

Rock On 2 does more for the tourism of Meghalaya than it does for rock music, feels Sukanya Verma. Read before you go.

BJP president Amit Shah on demonetisation. Highlights...

--The government has targeted terror funds, fake currency and hawala operators. Common people need not worry.


-- The government has taken a bold step to crackdown on black money.


-- There could be inconvenience, long queues at ATMs, but we appeal to people to cooperate.


-- It's a a big blow to terrorists, naxalities, fake currency and hawala operators. Those having black money are in a state of shock with the notes ban decision.


-- I fail to understand why Mulayam, Mayawati, Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi are upset with this move? Only Mamata can explain how this move is anti-poor.


-- Poor will not suffer, but some political parties have become poor.

-- This is a decisive fight against black money and those who fund terrorism. The BJP has no black money.


Long queues were witnessed at banks and ATMs, which opened after two days on Friday as people rushed to get new banknotes in lieu of their old defunct bills.

Many ATMs ran out of cash in couple of hours as there were heavy rush to withdraw lower denomination currency. Most of the machines were equipped to tender Rs 100 notes, while some were still not working.

Banks are saying that they are trying to recalibrate their machine for higher denomination notes, it will take some days before they start tendering new high security Rs 500 and 2000 notes which is expected to ease pressure.

However, to ensure customer convenience, banks have been asked to provide all cash withdrawal transactions at their ATMs free of cost till 30 December.

Banks across country are witnessing heavy rush on the second day as people gathered to get new banknotes in exchange of old bills.

After the government scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, banks were shut on Wednesday, and ATMs were supposed to be out of service for re calibration on Wednesday and Thursday.

In the financial capital of the country, shutters of ATMs of State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda, Yes Bank, Dena Bank were down in many parts. ATMs of many banks reported running dry.

SBI consolidated Q2 profit plummets to Rs 20.7 crore against Rs 4,991.7 crore in the year-ago period. Standalone profit of SBI also falls 35 per cent at Rs 2,538.3 crore during the quarter as compared to Rs 3,879 crore a year ago.

In the days following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential elections, Jennifer Lawrence reflects on turning the citizen's anger and fear into hope.


The 26-year-old Oscar-winning actress penned an essay for Broadly, an American website and digital video channel devoted to representing women's experiences, where she urges the citizens to "think strongly and clearly" about what to do next because the past cannot be changed.


"I want to be positive; I want to support our democracy, but what can we take away from this? It's a genuine question that we all need to ask ourselves. We shouldn't blame anyone, we shouldn't riot in the streets," she continued.


Perhaps channeling her inner Katniss Everdeen from 'The Hunger Games,' Lawrence encouraged people who are disappointed by the outcome of the election to take action.


"Like Hillary, you can still be an inspiration and get important things done. Do not let this defeat you-let this enrage you! Let it motivate you! Let this be the fire you didn't have before. If you are an immigrant, if you are a person of color, if you are LGBTQ+, if you are a woman-don't be afraid, be loud!"


The 'Silver Linings Playbook' actress' support for Clinton and her disdain for Trump grew apparent when she on a talk show that she actually tried to send the Republican candidate a message in person.

Just In: The government will impose up to Rs 8,500 as levy on flights in major routes to fund the regional air connectivity scheme, says civil aviation secretary.

No coercive action will be taken till November 15 against Delhi University professor Nandini Sundar and others accused in a murder case, the Chhattisgarh government on Friday assured the Supreme Court.   

The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it has returned 43 names recommended by the collegium for appointment as HC judges.  

Sarah Palin, governor Chris Christie, former New York mayorRudy Giuliani, defeated Republican rival Ben Carson and a slew of private sector executives are among the contenders for top positions in Donald Trump's cabinet.A list of 41 candidates compiled by the President-elect's transition team has been obtained by BuzzFeed News, covering 13 departments that will make up his powerful cabinet. Read more

42 Punjab Congress MLAs tender resignations on SYL issue.

Some small comfort here... White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest asserted that President Obama is filled with renewed confidence in the commitment of the President-elect Donald Trump to engage in an effective, smooth transition after meeting him at the White House.


"We are committed to doing what is required on our part to make sure that that happens. And the President was pleased to hear a similar commitment expressed by the President-elect," said Earnest while responding to a question.


On the reassurances that the President got from Trump about his plans to pursue what he discussed during the campaign about trying to incarcerate Hillary Clinton, he said , " The President found reassuring the kind of tone that the President-elect conveyed in his election night remarks.


These were remarks that the President-elect delivered not just to his supporters in the ballroom, but to the citizens of the country that were tuned into this historic election, but also to people around the world.


And given the intensity of scrutiny of his remarks, it's notable that he chose that kind of tone.""I think we saw a similar tone just in the Oval Office 30 minutes ago, where he was indicating his commitment to working closely with the outgoing administration to ensure a smooth, effective transition. That doesn't mean they don't agree on all the issues. They obviously have deep disagreements. But what they do agree on is a commitment to a smooth and effective transition, and that's a good thing for the country," he added.


When asked about what excellent meant during the meeting, Earnest said, "I think when you consider the profound differences between the two gentlemen, when you consider the fact that they have never met before in person, and when you consider the high priority that the President places on a smooth and effective transition, I think that qualifies as excellent."


"The President had allotted more time on his schedule for that meeting than just 10 to 15 minutes. But they did end up spending about 90 minutes, talking about a range of issues and I think that would be an indication of a pretty robust, valuable meeting," said Earnest while responding to a question about Trump mentioning the meeting was supposed to only last 10 to 15 minutes and it took much longer than that.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across the United States to protest against Donald Trump's victory in the presidential polls, slamming him for his bigotry and racism, as they demonstrated against his electoral pronouncements on immigration and Muslims.

The president-elect reacted today tweeting a couple of hours ago, ‏@realDonaldTrump Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!

People following @realDonaldTrump tweeted: Lauren Duca ‏@laurenduca @realDonaldTrump Protesting is a constitutional right. Also, now that you are President-elect, your lies are government propaganda.


Rachel Vorona Cote ‏@RVoronaCote  reacted to the tweet @laurenduca He got exactly what he wanted & still he's pitying himself not to mention responding to protest like a dictator. Lord love us.


Phil K James ‏@PhilKJames  This actually makes me want to find a protest in my area. Before this I didn't care.

People from all ages, faiths and nationalities assembled at landmark locations in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, California, Colorado, Seattle and other cities protesting against Trump, barely a day after he registered a stunning presidential victory against Hillary Clinton. The protesters held a multitude of placards expressing their resentment for Trump through slogans such as 'No more Hate' and 'Not our President'.


Fears of heightened bigotry and hate crimes have turned into reality for some Americans after Donald Trump's presidential win.

Racist, pro-Trump graffiti painted inside a high school. A hijab-wearing college student robbed by men talking about Trump and Muslims.
While Trump has been accused of fostering xenophobia and Islamophobia, some of his supporters have used his words as justification to carry out hateful acts.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump  Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is on a three day-visit to Japan, pitched his 'Make in India' initiative here saying that Tokyo plays an important role in the scheme, as India needs scale, speed and skill.


Speaking at the CII-KEIDANREN business luncheon in Tokyo, he said that his personal engagements with leadership, government, industry and people of Japan are now almost a decade old.Stating that Prime the 21st Century belongs to Asia, the Prime Minister said that India and Japan will have to continue to play a major role in Asia's emergence.


"The growing convergence of views between Japan and India under our Special Strategic and Global Partnership has the capacity to drive the regional economy and development, and stimulate the global growth," he said.


"Strong India - Strong Japan will not only enrich our two nations. It will also be a stabilising factor in Asia and the world," he added.Prime Minister Modi said that even against a weak international economic scenario, the news from India is of strong growth and abundant opportunities. It is of incredible opportunities, and about India's Credible Policies.


"In 2015, the Indian economy grew faster than other major economies. World Bank and IMF assess this trend to continue. Lower labour costs, large domestic market and macro-economic stability combine to make India a very attractive investment destination," he said.

Germany's consulate in northern Afghanistan was attacked when a suicide car bomber rammed the compound, killing four people and wounding more than 100, police and a doctor said Friday.


Four dead, two civilians and two unidentified bodies, were brought to the Balkh hospital and around 115 people were wounded, said Dr. Noor Mohammad Faiz.


"The blast was too loud and powerful, which shattered windows, and many civilians were wounded inside their homes," he said.


The car exploded at the gate of the consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif city, destroying the gate and wall around 11.10 p.m. Thursday, said Abdul Raziq Qaderi, head of security for Balkh province.


"Police have surrounded the area and our forces are inside the compound," he said. Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital of Balkh province and one of the most important cities in the country.The Taliban issued a statement saying they had sent suicide attackers to the consulate.

Some of the most controversial proposals Donald Trump made while running for US president disappeared from his campaign website on Thursday, but a spokesman said what some observers took as a softening of Trump's policies was due to a technical glitch.


The link to Trump's December 7 proposal titled: "Donald J. Trump statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration,' in which he called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States' vanished temporarily from the website but later reappeared. So too did a list of Trump's potential Supreme Court justice picks as president and certain details of his economic, defense and regulatory reform plans.


'The website was temporarily redirecting all specific press release pages to the home page," Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in an email. Links to Trump's policy proposals, including the Muslim ban, were working again by 3.30pm EST. The links, which had redirected readers to a campaign fundraising page, appeared to have been removed around Election Day on Tuesday, when Trump won a historic upset against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, according to a website that records historic snapshots of web pages. In an appearance on CNBC on Thursday, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal praised Trump for removing the Muslim ban proposal from his website and also said Trump had deleted statements offensive to Muslims from his Twitter account. The prince could not be reached for comment after the links were restored.

Just in: Tata Chemicals' Director Bhaskar Bhat resigns; contests independent directors' backing of Cyrus Mistry.

Fears of heightened bigotry and hate crimes have turned into reality for some Americans after Donald Trump's presidential win.

Racist, pro-Trump graffiti painted inside a high school. A hijab-wearing college student robbed by men talking about Trump and Muslims, reports CNN.


While Trump has been accused of fostering xenophobia and Islamophobia, some of his supporters have used his words as justification to carry out hateful acts.


Here's what some Americans are dealing with across the country.

At the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, students discovered the name of the President-elect written on the door to a prayer room for Muslims on Wednesday, school officials said.


"Our campus is not immune to the bigotry that grips America," the NYU Muslim Students Association said in a Facebook posting.


School spokesman Kathleen Hamilton said the school has a lot of immigrant students, with about 20% from abroad.


"It's a real melting pot here," she said. "We all believe this very much, that the university is a place of free expression. It has to be safe to be so."


The NYPD is investigating. There were no cameras, and the school isn't sure whether a student is responsible, Hamilton said. She noted that all NYU buildings require a badge for access.


Student Moses Karngbaye said he was terrified to see racist graffiti sprawled inside a bathroom in his Minnesota high school.


"#Go back to Africa" and "Make America great again," someone wrote on a toilet paper dispenser at Maple Grove Senior High School.


"That's the first time I honestly felt like crying at school," Karngbaye told CNN affiliate WCCO.


The bathroom door was also covered with graffiti, including "Whites only," "White America" and "Trump."


Image: At New York University Tandon School of Engineering, students discovered the name of the President-elect written on the door to a prayer room for Muslims on Wednesday.

With the ATMs opening today nearly 48 hours post Prime Minister Narendra Modi's radical announcement about scrapping of the 500 and 1000 rupees notes, long queues made by anxious citizens were seen across the nation with the new currency notes available for withdrawal.


The withdrawal limit is of 2,000 rupees per day per card for all the customers at bank ATMs.


A number of steps have been taken by bank authorities to facilitate withdrawal of money from ATMs, exchange currency at banks, withdraw money from accounts.


After November 19th limit of per day per card transaction will increase up to 4000 rupees.


Long queues, heavy jostling and chaos ensued in the national capital yesterday as people thronged to banks to exchange notes. Queues extending to roads were seen outside the banks throughout the day.


However, the bank employees handled the rush aptly as the people seemed elated by the smooth response.


Elaborate security arrangements were in place at the banks and post offices after they started public transactions.


In the banks, people were asked to submit a filled form and a copy of identity proof to exchange the demonetized notes.

The Russian government has claimed that it was in touch with the representatives from Donald Trump's presidential campaign, however, the President-elect's team has firmly denied the report.


This development comes after Clinton camp continuously accusing Trump over his close ties to the Russian regime, which Trump has constantly denied.


"During this entire period, we not only sent some signals through some representatives, or private messages," the CNN quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Thursday about the communications with the Trump staff.


"It was our clear position that we are ready for cooperation and working together and establishing normal relations," she added.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov had also asserted that officials were in touch with the members of Trump's staff."I cannot say that all of them but quite a few have been staying in touch with Russian representatives," Ryabkov told the state-run Interfax news agency.


Denying the Russian statements completely, spokesperson for Trump's campaign, Hope Hicks said that "This is not accurate."

Congress leader Ajay Singh's nephew shot dead by Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district

Here's what Raghuram Rajan thinks of currency demonetisation. Read

Two different sets of intelligence briefings will be given to the President-elect Donald Trump, consisting information on the nation's most secretive intelligence-gathering programs from the intelligence community and the US military.


According to the US officials, Trump is set to begin receiving the President's Daily Brief very soon.


The President-elect will be briefed on matters such as signals intelligence collection methods of the National Security Agency, operations conducted by the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command and CIA overseas intelligence collections operations, CNN reports.


Specific sources and methods by which intelligence is collected that are some of the country's most sensitive information will also be learned by Trump during the briefings and this would provide him access to information on US spying operations by agents and operatives overseas.


To make an incoming president ready to make key decisions on national security as soon as the oath of office is administered, the "crown jewels" briefings have been set in recent years.

Ten people were dead after fire broke out in a garment factory in Uttar Pradesh's Sahibabad area, news wire agency ANI has reported.