Separatists, who have been spearheading the ongoing unrest in Kashmir for the last 96 days, on Wednesday extended the shutdown call till October 20 even as people began resuming their normal activities.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday opened up about his much publicised simple attire,saying he is uncomfortable in western clothes like suits but his dresses are much better than his predecessors.

Pope Francis is calling for an urgent cease-fire in Syria to evacuate civilians from what he called an "inhuman" assault on the besieged rebel-held part of the city of Aleppo.

DMK president M Karunanidhi on Wednesday expressed his doubts over a Raj Bhavan statement which said Governor C Vidyasagar Rao had allocated chief minister J Jayalalithaa's portfolios to finance minister O Panneerselvam "based on her advice."


The Raj Bhavan statement issued on Tuesday said the Governor, under Clause (3) of the Constitution's Article 166, had allocated the portfolios handled by Jayalalithaa to Panneerselvam based on her advice.


''Jayalalithaa has been in the hospital for the past 19 days and was advised a longer stay there. Several leaders, including the Governor, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu and others, were not allowed to see or wish Jayalalithaa in person when they visited the Apollo Hospitals where she is undergoing treatment. However, it is amazing that the statement issued by the the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday said the reallocation of the portfolios had been done based on the advice of Jayalalithaa,'' said Karunanidhi in a statement.


The DMK chief said one could not entirely overlook the doubt as to whether the acting Governor had analysed the various provisions of the Constitution in a short span of time.


-- The Times of India

A man arrested in Jharkhand over WhatsApp messages on beef found inflammatory by the police died in custody on Sunday. Minhaz Ansari's family alleges that he was beaten up and tortured by the police.

When Minhaz, 22, was shown to the media last week after his arrest, he was slumped against a wall, his face covered, and he appeared limp. His condition raised suspicion that he was unable to walk or even stand without support.

Four days later, he was dead.

Confronting allegations of excesses, the police have ordered an inquiry but claim Minhaz died of encephalitis. They admit to "lapses" by police officer Harish Pathak, who was in charge of the arrest and questioning. Mr Pathak has been suspended and charged with murder.

Minhaz was detained along with a few others on October 2. He was arrested a day later while the rest were allowed to go. The police defended his arrest, saying he was the administrator of the WhatsApp group circulating a message on beef that had the potential to disturb communal peace so close to Dussehra and Muharram.

Hmmm.

Rajat Kapoor ‏@mrrajatkapoor Dhoni looks so much better than the actor who plays him..


Sushant Singh Rajput ‏@itsSSR  I Slogged a bit extra on my skills to compensate. If you get interested in that,pls do watch the film sir:)

Ambassador-Designate of China, Luo Zhaohui presents his credentials to President Mukherjee, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi. He was China's former envoy to Pakistan. 

Wow! Don't know if there exists a more savage (may we add, well deserved) takedown of Donald Trump. Do read. 

"This paper recently reported an extraordinary closed-door meeting between top government and intelligence officials where the foreign secretary briefed them on what he saw as Pakistan's growing international isolation; following this, there was a discussion on the impediments in the way of dealing with the problem of militancy in the country.


The fallout of the story has been intense, and on Tuesday evening, the government placed Dawn's senior writer, Cyril Almeida, on the Exit Control List. While any media organisation can commit an error of judgement and Dawn is no exception, the paper believes it handled the story in a professional manner and carried it only after verification from multiple sources."

The Dawn stands by its senior writer Cyril Almeida. Read the editorial today.

Take 2. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar gives entire credit for the surgical ops to the armed forces. Speaking at the 'Strengthening India's Defence Capabilities' event in Mumbai. the defence minister said, "The entire credit for the surgical strikes should go to the Army.  127 crore people of this country and the Indian armed forces deserve the credit for the surgical strike."

He said the Army was given a free hand but asked not to risk life and limb.
"Years of anger was let out on September 29." Parrikar said of the surgical strikes which were conducted before dawn of September 29.


He said terrorism is proxy war carried out by non-state actors. The strikes predicted Indian's predictability. The government had the guts to take the decision and rubbished reports of earlier strikes conducted during the UPA government, saying there have been no other surgical strikes before. 

"What probably they are quoting are action taken by Border action teams,which is common practice across globe including Indian Army. I have been Defence Minister for over two years and from whatever I've learnt, there was no surgical strike anytime earlier," he said.

The Congress has said that surgical strikes were conducted thrice during the party-led UPA rule but their government did not make loud claims in the interest of national security.

Parrikar said there was a burden of helplessness among 127 crore people and 13.5 lakh army people that the enemy is continuously bleeding us through a 1000 cuts.


He added that India needs to think in terms of strength to avoid war, However, peace and this dislike for war should not be equated with weakness. India doesn't like war as it brings economic miseries. This country has never liked to rule other countries; which is its greatness."


Earlier in the day, speaking at the MET 2016 (Materials Engineering Technology) conference in Mumbai. Parrikar said the credit of success goes to the army, but credited the PM for decision making and timing. "I will only share the credit, major share goes to PM. This should settle the nerves of many people," he said.


 

The Pampore encounter ends after three days with the death of two terrorists. On Monday, three terrorists stormed the Entrepreneurship Development Institute in Pampore.


Two terrorists were killed inside the building today with the third terrorist believed to have escaped. The building has 120 rooms and the security forces has been going from room-to-room in a clean-up operation. The Army and other security forces used mortar shells, light machine guns and other weaponry over two and a half days.

A joint operation by the army, the Special Operations Group of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force pounded the building continuously bringing the encounter to an end. 

"A question that now stalks the mind is: what if Gandhi also had a pistol instead of an innocuous walking staff. A less absurd counterfactual query could be: what if Ambedkar, Gandhis political rival and iconic leader of Dalits, had canvassed for guns to protect his campaign against an upper-caste hegemony of the national movement?"

The Dawn's New Delhi correspondent on the politics of non-violence. Read

BJP president Amit Shah reaches Apollo Hospital in Chennai to meet Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley also accompanied him.


Jayalalithaa (68) was admitted to the hospital on September 22 after she complained of fever and dehydration. The doctors have since said she was suffering from an infection and was on respiratory support.


A stream of high-profile visitors, including Governors of Tamil Nadu and Kerala Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao and P Sathasivam, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Chief Ministers of Kerala and Puducherry Pinarayi Vijayan and V Narayanasamy have visited the hospital.


Meanwhile, AIADMK leaders and cadres continue to hold special prayers for the Chief Minister's speedy recovery.


Tamil Nadu Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao on Tuesday allocated the portfolios held by her to Finance Minister O Panneerselvam but said Jayalalithaa will continue to be the chief minister.


Image: File pic of Arun Jaitley with Jayalalithaa.

Heads up if you're headed to Kerala tomorrow: The Kerala state BJP calls for a shutdown in the state tomorrow from 6 am to 6 pm over BJP activist's murder in Kannur.


A BJP activist was hacked to death in Kerala's Kannur district on Wednesday, in what is suspected to be a revenge killing two days after a worker of the ruling CPM was murdered.


The BJP has alleged the role of the CPM in the killing of its activist Remith.


Massive police searches are on in Kannur.


On Monday, a 52-year-old CPM worker was hacked to death.Mohanan K, CPM's local committee leader, was attacked at his toddy shop by four to five men in a busy market area.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday credited his wife and former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi for the change in the RSS's dress code from khaki shorts to trousers.


"We forced the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members to wear trousers. Rabri Devi had pointed out their (RSS men's) lack of decency. Elderly cadres shamelessly roamed around freely in half-pants," Lalu told reporters in Patna.


Lalu took the dig at the right-wing organisation a day after its members started wearing trousers, bidding adieu to the shorts their traditional uniform with white half-sleeved shirt for decades.


The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader said it was his wife's January remark "Aren't the RSS oldies ashamed to wear half-pants in public?" that embarrassed the Hindu organistaion. "Rabri Devi's comment forced the change in RSS' dress code," Lalu said.


Rabri Devi had earlier faced criticism from several top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, including union ministers, for her comments.

A senior BJP leader and Bihar's former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had even ridiculed her, saying, "She is a woman with a mindset of the 19th century."


In March, the RSS announced that its members would do away with the traditional khaki shorts and wear the trousers with white shirt.


Image: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at a ceremony on October 10.

France: Lawyers for main suspect Salah Abdeslam in Paris attacks have said that they will no longer defend him.

Pakistan is exploring the possibility of creating a greater South Asian economic alliance to counter India's controlling hold on the eight-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc), diplomatic observers said.


A parliamentary delegation from Pakistan, which is now in New York, pitched this idea during its five-day visit to Washington last week, Dawn online reported on Wednesday.


"A greater South Asia is already emerging," said senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, in one of his interactions with the media. "This greater South Asia includes China, Iran and the neighbouring Central Asian republics."


He described the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as the key economic route linking South Asia with Central Asia. The Gwadar port, he said, would be the nearest warm water port, not only for China but also for the land-locked Central Asian states.


"We want India to join this arrangement as well," said Hussain, an offer Indians are unlikely to accept as they are comfortable with the advantage that Saarc provides them.


Last month, India used its influence in Saarc to isolate Pakistan when it announced that it would not attend the regional group's 19th summit, scheduled in Islamabad on November 15 and 16. India cited Pakistan's involvement in the September 18 terrorist attack at an Army camp in Uri town of Kashmir, in which 19 soldiers died, as the reason for its decision to boycott the summit. India has blamed Pakistan for the attack, a claim which Islamabad has denied.


Other Saarc nations - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka - joined India to boycott the meeting. The boycott has led to an indefinite postponement of the summit and exposed Pakistan's isolation within the region.


"Apparently, the showdown forced Pakistan to conclude that in its present shape, Saarc will always be dominated by India. That's why they are now talking about a greater South Asia," said a senior diplomat, confirming reports that Pakistan is actively seeking a new regional arrangement.


"Pakistan hopes that this new arrangement will give it more room to manoeuvre when India tries to force a decision on it," said another diplomat.


Diplomatic observers in Washington said the proposed arrangement also suits China as it is worried about India's rapidly growing influence in the region. They argued that China can play an important role in persuading Central Asian republics and Iran to join the new arrangement. But, according to the observers, Saarc members will have little interest in supporting the idea.

Just in: Infiltration bid foiled by security forces in Tangdhar, Kupwara (J&K), operation in progress.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar speaking at the MET 2016 (Materials Engineering Technology) conference in Mumbai. Parrikar uses the platform to claim and dole out credit for the September 29 surgical strikes in Pakistan.


"Credit of success goes to the army, but credit to PM for decision making and timing. I will only share the credit, major share goes to PM. This should settle the nerves of many people," he said.

Parrikar will be among the leaders spearheading the BJPs campaign in Uttar Pradesh, as the party gears up to showcase the decisiveness of the Modi government in hitting militant camps in PoK.


So far, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Rajnath Singh and BJP chief Amit Shah have led the partys charge in UP.

Congress leader from Madhya Pradesh Shailesh Chaubey in a video message has urged party president Sonia Gandhi to terminate vice-president Rahul Gandhi from the party and instead asked him to try his hands in some other field over Gandhi's Khoon Ki Dalali remark on the Army's surgical strikes.


Slamming Rahul Gandhi's 'Khoon ki Dalali' remark, Chaubey in a video that has gone viral is heard saying that the remarks were "unacceptable."


The one who cannot benefit the party and lacks political skills should not remain in the party. Rahul Gandhi should be terminated, he will always disgrace Congress. I request Sonia-ji to remove Rahul from the party and ask him to do some other business," Chaubey added.


Congress Badwani district president, Sukhpal Parmar has urged the senior leaders to suspend Shailesh from the party for six years.

A 20-year-old Dalit youth, who was allegedly involved in illegal liquor trade, was brutally killed and his leg chopped off allegedly by a rival group of liquor smugglers in the district, police in Pumjab's Mansa said today.


A case of murder has been registered against six persons and one of the accused is also a Dalit.


Police said both the groups were allegedly involved in illegal liquor trade and were involved in clashes in the past. The victim Sukhchain Singh and his friends were called by the other group on the pretext of settling an issue on Monday.


"Then they attacked Sukhchain and his friends with sharp edged weapons on Monday night. Though Sukhchain's friends managed to flee, the other group brutally killed Sukhchain with sharp edged weapon," Mansa SSP Mukhwinder Singh said today. His body was recovered from the house of Balbir, one of the accused, police said.

A BJP activist was hacked to death in Kerala's Kannur district on Wednesday, in what is suspected to be a revenge killing two days after a worker of the ruling CPM was murdered.


The BJP has alleged the role of the CPM in the killing of its activist Remith.


Massive police searches are on in Kannur.


On Monday, a 52-year-old CPM worker was hacked to death.Mohanan K, CPM's local committee leader, was attacked at his toddy shop by four to five men in a busy market area.


According to police sources, "the attackers were masked men and the attack is of a political nature."CPI(M) has alleged that BJP workers were behind the attack and have called for a strike in the district tomorrow.


Kannur has witnessed a string of attacks on political workers since the Left government came to power in May. Over 300 cases of political violence have been reported in Kannur since May.


Representational picture.

A day after Priyanka Chopra's shoot for Conde Nast Traveller magazine cover earned major criticism, the magazine has defended the message with an official statement asserting that it is about standing up against 'a culture of xenophobia.


'Titled 'The message behind our 6th anniversary issue cover', the official statement read, "It's about how our labelling of people as immigrants, refugees and outsiders is creating a culture of xenophobia."


On October 7, 2016, Conde Nast Traveller, a travel magazine posted on Twitter, the first look of its 6th anniversary issue and captioned, "Bold and fearless, @priyankachopra makes a statement on our 6th anniversary issue cover."


The 34-year-old actress is seen wearing a printed white shirt that lists four words- refugee, immigrant, outsider, traveler in capital letters, where the first three options have been struck out with red.


Following this, many Twitter users called out disappointments with the 'Quantico' actress for unthinkingly endorsing what might be insensitive, classist comment.


The official statement elaborated on the magazine's stance on "opening up of borders and the breaking down of walls."


Probably referring to the refugee crisis mostly noted in the US, the statement identifies how the people themselves allow "some powerful leaders to build barriers that make it more difficult for bright, motivated and hardworking people to see more of the world."


"We are allowing thousands of innocent people who are forced to cross borders due to unimaginable terror and atrocities to be treated without humanity and empathy," the statement continued.


Adding that we are all travelers and must demand a world "free of racism and bigotry and prejudice, the statement describes how Priyanka Chopra is the "perfect ambassador."


"It's not about her being a refugee or immigrant or outsider; it's about her, like us, recognising the power of travel, and joining us in asking everyone to do better for each other," it concluded.

Prayers being offered for TN CM J Jayalalithaa's well-being outside Apollo Hospital in Chennai.

Hitting out at Pakistan, India has said nuclear proliferation linkages active today have clear "Pakistan fingerprints" and an "unbridled" expansion of fissile material under the nexus between state and non-state actors constitutes the biggest threat to peace.


"The biggest threat to peace and stability comes from active promotion of terrorism and the unbridled expansion of fissile material production and delivery systems for nuclear weapons under the shadow of a deeply disturbing and deeply entrenched nexus between state entities and non-state actors," Siddhartha Nath, Counsellor, Conference on Disarmament, Geneva, said.

Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar on Wednesday to prevent a Muharram procession in Srinagar. Fearing violence, authorities in the valley have not allowed the main Muharram Islamic mourning procession ever since the separatist armed struggle started here in the 1990s.


"Restrictions under section 144 of CrPc (Code of Criminal Procedure) was imposed in parts of Srinagar and other areas in the valley to maintain law and order today (Wednesday)," a senior police officer said.


Kashmir has been reeling under an unprecedented cycle of violence that started on July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight.


For the 96th consecutive day, life across the valley remained paralysed as main markets, public transport and other businesses remained shut on Wednesday.


Schools, colleges and universities have remained closed during this period.
At least 91 people have been killed and over 12,000 injured during this violence that refused to abate.

Pampore update: Second terrorist killed in the encounter, one terrorist still inside the building. This is the third day of the encounter. Security forces are inside the building, and a room-to-room clearing operation is underway.

Security forces pounded the government building in Pampore near Srinagar with mortars and blasted  improvised explosive devices for the third day on Wednesday to target the terrorists believed to be holed up there but there seems to be no early end to the operation. 

Dipa Karmakar's pathbreaking performance in the Rio Olympics was lauded by many, including former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who was picked to present her, along with PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, a BMW car in September.


However, owing to maintenance issues, Dipa has decided to return her gift to the original owner V Chamundeswaranath, president of the Hyderabad Badminton Association, reports the Times of India.

The prime reason behind it seems to be the difficulty Dipa and her family is having maintaining such a posh car in a city like Agartala, where the roads are narrow and not well-maintained. Moreover, since Dipa's next assignment, the Challengers' Cup in Germany is a month away; Dipa has been advised not to bear the maintenance cost and rather devote her time towards practicing.


Dipa was not available for the comment, but her coach Bisheswar Nandi shed some light on the topic. "It wasn't Dipa's decision. Rather it was a collective decision taken by her family and me," Nandi told TOI Sports. "There are two main reasons behind it. First, there is no BMW service center in Agartala and secondly, the roads are not suitable to drive a posh car such as this."


Image: Rio Olympics silver medallist shuttler P V Sindhu, bronze winner grappler Sakshi Malik along with gymnast Dipa Karmakar and badminton coach Pullela Gopichand were presented BMW cars by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, in Hyderabad, in August.

China in 2016 is estimated to grow at 6.6 per cent, the United States of America at 1.6 and India at 7.6. The only similarity that most see between the US and India is that India is the world's largest democracy and the US is the second.  Read more

On 18 August 1947, the American magazine Lifecarried a photograph of BS Kesavan, who would soon become the first national librarian of newly independent India.


Captured by the photojournalist David Douglas Duncan, the image shows Kesavan, a young man with his hand buried in his hair, sitting at a table between two large stacks of books. The stack on the left is topped by a white placard that says "PAKISTAN,' while one atop the other says "INDIA.' The caption reads, "In the Imperial Secretariat Library, a curator tries to divide a 150,000-volume collection into equal parts for each new state.' In August of 1997, Time magazine'"by then Life's parent publication'"reprinted the image in a commemorative issue for the fiftieth anniversary of Indian independence.


Read more

North Korea has purged its vice foreign minister as punishment for the recent defection of the nuclear-armed country's deputy ambassador to Britain, South Korean media reported today.


The mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo, quoting an anonymous source familiar with North Korean affairs, said that Kung Sok-Ung had been removed from his post and expelled from Pyongyang to a rural farming area with his family.


It said the purge was ordered by supreme leader Kim Jong-Un following the defection of the North's deputy ambassador to Britain, Thae Yong-Ho, and his family to the South two months ago.


Image: North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un.

One terrorist gunned down by security forces in Pampore (J&K) encounter, say police sources.

The encounter has been underway between terrorists and security forces at a government building on the outskirts of Srinagar over the last three days. One jawan has been injured in the encounter so far.

The building was attacked by terrorists earlier in February this year. As per reports, a group of terrorists attacked the police party which was deployed at the building. The area has been cordoned off and search operations are currently underway.

US President Barack Obama has found Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's 2005 tape that shows him making lewd remarks about women as repugnant, the White House has said.


"The President found the tape as repugnant as most Americans did. And I think there's been a pretty clear statement by people all along the ideological spectrum that those statements constituted sexual assault," White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters yesterday. "I know you heard from the Vice President about that over the weekend and that is an observation that we have heard from a wide variety of sources. That is why many people, I believe, have concluded that those statements are worthy of sharp condemnation," he said. The current state of affairs in the Republican Party, he said, is a reflection of the work they have done over the past eight years. "For more than seven years, Republicans in Washington have prioritised opposition to President Obama above all else, above even advancing a conservative agenda that they claim to support," he said. "That is why it was not particularly surprising that the base of the Republican Party now has nominated somebody whose notoriety is derived primarily from his colourful opposition to President Obama and is promoting a variety of positions that are not particularly conservative," Earnest said.


"You reap what you sow. And for seven and a half years, Republicans in Washington have been sowing anti-Obama rhetoric to the exclusion of facts, to the exclusion of any sort of governing agenda, and even to the exclusion of conservative doctrine. That's why Republican leaders in Washington find themselves in the situation that they're in right now. It's not something from which they will quickly recover," he added.

The government has decided for now it will NOT release any evidence of the surgical strikes and the damage caused to the terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, arguing that doing so would push the Pakistan Army into a corner.


Top sources in the government told The Indian Express that "war is not in India's interest at this point' but "that does not, however, mean that we won't fight and win a war if it is forced upon us'.


Highlighting the diplomatic success of the surgical strikes, sources said that no country has objected to India's action, including Pakistan's closest ally, China. Most statements have been in India's support, including from the Islamic world.The military operations, sources said, were timed after the United Nations General Assembly meeting was over in New York to avoid complications "which would have diverted our attention and diplomatic energies".


The announcement that Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan would be the chief guest at the next Republic Day celebrations -- it was made after the strike '" was also part of the government's diplomatic strategy.Sources said the United States was not informed by the government before the Army carried out the surgical strikes.


The telephone call between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his American counterpart, Susan Rice, that morning also did not mention any specific details about the military operations although he dropped adequate hints that some military activity may have taken place on the Line of Control (LoC), sources said.


"We will never be strategically subservient to any country, including the United States. That has been our policy since Nehru's time; it was what even non-alignment was about. We have worked closely with various world powers over the years, but we will never give up our decisional autonomy," sources said.


The success of the surgical strikes, sources said, had removed the sense of helplessness that had gripped the country after every previous terror attack. The biggest gain has been the demonstration of national will, along with the decisional autonomy and capability to exercise options, sources said.

The United States has expressed concern over the difficulties and dangers faced by journalists in Pakistan but refrained from commenting on the travel restrictions imposed on a Pakistani scribe for reporting a rift between the civilian and military leaderships.