The Twitter account of Arvind Subramanian, chief economic advisor to the finance ministry, Government of India, was hacked.  

Just In: A fire has broken out in the Institute of Medical Sciences and Sum Hospital in Bhubaneshwar, and fire engines have been rushed to the spot. Reports put the death toll in the fire at anywhere between five and 11, but this has not been confirmed yet.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday made an overture to his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Akhilesh Yadav, who is locked in a family feud, to enforce prohibition which he said will help him come out of the "family shadow" and win the state assembly elections.

Myanmar Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi met Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday. 

Just In: A fire broke out in a private hospital in Bhubaneshwar today. 

With the rise in number of queries to assist the next of kin of battle causalities with monetary assistance, the army has decided to create a separate and centralised fund for such a purpose, PTI reports. 

The police today deleted video footage of Dhanushkodi and the ancient Rameswaram temple areas, shot by visiting Russian devotees using an unmanned aerial vehicle, in view of the sensitivity of the locations. 

Advertising watchdog ASCI has pulled up several companies, including Bharti Airtel, Tata Teleservices, Mahindra & Mahindra and Himalaya, for misleading advertisements in June.

Leading bourses BSE and NSE will conduct special 'Muhurat' trading session on Diwali on October 30. 

China will host the ninth BRICS annual summit in the southeastern coastal city of Xiamen in September next year as it takes the rotating chair of the influential bloc. 

Bangladesh police have arrested the main suspect in the murders of a gay magazine editor and a secular blogger who were brutally killed by militants for writing against radical Islamists in the Muslim majority country.

Authorities say that one person was killed and at least six injured in an explosion at a facility belonging to chemical firm BASF in southwestern Germany. Another six people have yet to be accounted for. 

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan says he has gone through a lot of ups and downs in his personal life and been through depression, but it is something which should not be stigmatised. 

Just In: Danish police evacuates an airport, public square and a shopping centre following terrorist threats. 

'Markandey Katju J. has been asked to appear in the Supreme Court (No, its not what you think),' notes Bar and Bench in an interesting post, which you can read HERE

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar on Monday claimed that match-fixing was at its peak in 1996 and said the environment in the dressing room was far from conducive. 

Remember that memorable 1986 film, Children of a Lesser God? And remember the fantastic actress -- Marlee Matlin -- who essayed the role of an hearing impaired person that won her the Best Actress Oscar?

Well, Matlin, who is hearing impaired in real life, was allegedly called 'retarded' repeatedly, by Donald Trump.


That's the latest installment of Trump, real person, by the Daily Beast, reporting on the Republican nominee's behavior on the set of the Apprentice, where he made a habit of calling a deaf actress on the show "retarded."

Matlin is the only deaf actress to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

This is what the Daily Beast reports:

[Trump] would often equate that she was mentally retarded, said one source, who described how kind Matlin and her interpreter Jack Jason were.

During the taping of the show, Trump would often scribble down notes while sitting at the table of the boardroomthe shows primary set.

A person familiar with the notes who helped clean up after tapings said that on one of the pieces of paper, Trump wrote: Marlee, is she retarded??

[Trump] would make fun of her voice. It actually sounded a lot like what he did [to] the New York Times guy, another person who worked on The Apprentice for years told The Daily Beast, referring to when Trump mocked a disabled reporter last year. The source said this incident occurred outside the boardroom, during a break from filming.

Like, to make it seem like she was mentally not there? [It] sounded like he got a real kick out of it. It was really upsetting

In the boardroom, he would talk to her like she was special, the source said.

Oh, Trump also reportedly made inappropriate sexual comments to Matlin on set, which hardly seems like news at this point. Matlin performed at the 2011 roast of Trump on Comedy Central, which is evidence she took Trumps comments pretty well or very badly.

An AIADMK councillor and DMK worker have been admitted to a hospital in Pollachi in the district in Tamil Nadu after they came to blows following an altercation over the remarks on the health status of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, police said on Monday.


DMK local functionary Lingadurai reportedly made critical remarks about the health condition of Jayalalithaa in an inebriated condition on Sunday night.


AIADMK Councillor James Raj, who was passing by, got angry over the remarks and entered into arguments leading to fisticuffs, police said.


Lingadurai was admitted to the Pollachi government hospital in the early hours of today, claiming assault by the councillor. Raj also was admitted to the same hospital, complaining that Lingadurai had assaulted him, police said.

Representational pic

India's star spinner R Ashwin Instagram's this cute picture: "Gym time with daughter!!growing stronger together."

The day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi branded Pakistan a "mother-ship of terrorism", China sprang to long-time ally Pakistan's defence.


Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, when asked about PM Modi's comments, said China is against "the linking of terrorism to any specific country, ethnicity or religion."


"Everyone knows that India and Pakistan are victims of terrorism. Pakistan has made huge efforts and great sacrifices in fighting terrorism. I think the international community should respect this," the spokesperson added.


The PM's comment was made in Goa to the leaders of BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - as part of his government's diplomatic drive to isolate Pakistan after the September 18 attack on an army base in Uri in Kashmir in which 19 soldiers were killed.China and Pakistan consider each other "all-weather friends" and have close diplomatic, economic and security ties.


Despite counties like the US and Russia supporting India's decision to carry out surgical strikes in Pakistan last month, China, which is building a $46 billion export corridor through Pakistan and parts of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir to the Arabian Sea coast, has been cautious in its comments.


PM Modi met one-on-one with President Xi Jinping in Goa, but China remains adamant on two issues crucial for India: China has not softened its stand against India entering the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group; it is also still blocking India's request for a UN ban on Masood Azhar, who heads terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Food from Saravanaa Bhavan, the famous South Indian chain of restaurants, will be available to visitors to the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum. For those who'd rather bite into a tuna or chicken, there's Sunway on offer too. Bottles of water and cold drinks will be available as well.  This is the brainchild of Omita Paul, the secretary to the President of India.

The number of visitors to the newly-opened museum have been gaining in strength and as winter approaches, there is a possibility of more visitors to the museum.


The new venture is on a trial basis and if it's a success, other food outlets will be given space in the Rashtrapati Bhavan as well. 

In a blistering attack on Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said its entire establishment is engaged in fueling terrorism in India and warned that "those who rear snakes would be bitten".


India is against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, but does not hate" its people, the minister said and offered help to conduct anti-terrorism campaign in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir for the "closure of terror factories".


The Home Minister's attack on Pakistan comes a day after Prime Minsister Narendra Modi dubbed it as the mothership of terrorism.

It was the threat perception analysis by Intelligence Bureau tipped off by the Indian military intelligence from across the border that led to 'Y' Category security being provided to Times Now Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami.


Two militant outfits in Pakistan have detailed a chat about Arnab Goswami and the eight-page conversation in Urdu was provided by Military Intelligence to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs according to highly placed Army sources in South Block, New Delhi. His security is likely to be looked after by the Maharashtra government.



Joint Secretary in the Union Home Ministry had sought help from DGP Maharashtra to provide 20  policemen to Goswami round-the-clock.
Four police guards will be posted at his house and four will be in his office. Goswami will now have to share his schedule  of engagements with the police and all visitors will be frisked. 


Goswami is not the first journalist to get security cover from the Centre. Before him, journalists such as Zee Newss Sudhir Chaudhary (X category), Samachar Pluss Umesh Kumar (Y category) and Ashwini Kumar Chopra (Z Plus category) have been provided security by the government.

The Supreme Court committee report on the Cauvery issue: Situation grim in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. 42 of 48 talukas of Karnataka in Cauvery basin affected by drought. No water in Tamil Nadu for cattle. Standing crops in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu affected due to scarcity of water. Sugarcane farming in both states needs to be discouraged.

China's disapproval of Pakistan's hosting of anti-India terror organisations has prompted Islamabad to quietly start working on plans to disarm these jihadist groups, amid an unusually public row between the civilian government, the all-powerful military and the media over the policy shift. Read more

After a Mumbai-based social organisation threatened to protest against the upcoming MAMI Mumbai Film Festival for screening Pakistani film "Jago Hua Savera", the organisers have decided not to showcase the movie.


The outfit, Sangharsh, had accused the organisers of playing with the nationalist sentiment of people of India, at a time of tension with Pakistan after the Uri terror attack. They had also sought police permission to protest over the screening of the 1958 Pakistani film at the 18th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star, which begins from October 20.


"Given the current situation, the Jio MAMI 18th Mumbai Film Festival with Star has decided not to programme 'Jago Hua Savera' as part of the Restored Classics Section," organisers of the festival said in a statement. Directed by AJ Kardar, "Jago Hua Savera" was selected as the entry from Pakistan for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 32nd Academy Awards in 1960.


The film was co-produced during the days of undivided Pakistan (now independent Pakistan and Bangladesh) and shot in Dhaka. It tells the tale of life in a small fishing village where everyone dreams of owning their own boat. The film was set to be screened in the 'restored classic' section of the festival, which is chaired by superstar Aamir Khan's wife Kiran Rao.


The 18th edition of the festival will be held from October 20-27 in which over 180 films from 54 countries would be screened at several spots across the megapolis.


Image: A still from the film, Jago Hua Savera

In an understated neighborhood in northern New Jersey, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addressed thousands of Hindus. But, in a country where many people are following Trump's every move, the New York businessman was not quite the spotlight of the show Saturday night.


Women dressed in their best saris asked each other if anyone had confirmed which Bollywood stars would be in attendance. Children chased each other, screaming across the auditorium. Men ate Indian snacks provided at the venue and caught up with friends.


"I just came for the Bollywood show,' said Nilesh Patel. The evening, a charity event hosted by the Republican Hindu Coalition to give to refugees from Kashmir, had a star-studded list of dance performances. Read more


Never a truer word spoken...  @mehreenzahra As I watched videos of a Hindu-American event for Trump in Jersey, I thought to myself "So, this is how we were colonized."--@harikondabolu

Six Taliban terrorists, including the alleged kidnapper of the son of slain governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer, have been killed in an encounter with security personnel in Pakistan's Punjab province.

Acting on a tip off, a team of Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday raided a house near Sheikhupura bypass where nine to ten members of banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were hiding. They tried to escape by using a car and two motorcycles and were chased up to a branch road where they opened fire at the cops, forcing the security personnel to retaliate, the CTD spokesperson said. "When the shootout ended, six of the terrorists were dead and the rest had fled," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by 'Dawn'.


Image: Shahbaz Taseer

International isolation "appears to be looming over" Pakistan all thanks to its inaction against terrorism, wrote Pakistani newspaper, The Nation, in what is its second hard-hitting editorial in two weeks, against the government and the security agencies there.


This is particularly significant, because The Nation is a newspaper considered close to the Pakistani government as well as the military establishment. And in the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sparing no efforts to continually highlight cross-border terror attacks - yesterday he alluded to Pakistan as the " mothership of terror " - Pakistan's own media stepping in to rap its government's knuckles could well be a sign that civil society there is rattled, following the Uri attack in India and its global condemnation.


Citing the fact that even Pakistan's so-called strategic ally, China, has expressed concern about inaction on terror, the editorial says that the government needs to indiscriminately crack down on all non-state terror actors, and back its words with action.


"Modi's statement shows just how committed New Delhi is when it comes to isolating Pakistan globally. From cancelling the Saarc summit to boycotting Pakistani artistes, the Modi regime is hell-bent on weakening Pakistan at every international forum... When and if isolated, the impact would be drastic, and Pakistan would never want that," says the editorial.

Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav admits in Supreme Court that he accepted a bouquet from Siwan journalist murder accused but denies involvement.

The 2016 US Presidential election is a significant source of stress for over half the Americans, with those using social media more likely to be affected, according to a new survey ahead of one of the most adversarial contests in recent history.

Bhutan stands "shoulder-to-shoulder' with India in its fight against terror, said Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, adding that its decision to pull out of the SAARC summit came as an act of solidarity with India. 

The government will keep a record of all the services and benefits availed using the Aadhaar number for seven years, say new rules, prompting fears that the database could be used for surveillance.

In what is likely to be a huge blow for the Congress ahead of the UP polls, senior leader Rita Bahuguna Joshi is likely to join the BJP, say reports.


She is the Congress MLA from the Lucknow Cantt constituency and was the president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee from 2007 to 2012. She is also the daughter of Ex-UP CM HN Bahuguna. her brother, Vijay Bahuguna has joined BJP recently. However, he rubbished the reports saying, "These are just rumours, there is no truth in them."


In May too, there was speculation that she would be joining the Samajwadi Party after she met UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow. She had denied any such move.


However, These are just rumours,no truth in them: Vijay Bahuguna,BJP leader on reports of his sister Rita Bahuguna Joshi joining BJP from Congress

The government's so-called world-class institutions plan may change the face of the country's two most premier institutions'"the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)'"by making them move beyond their respective areas of specialization (technology and management), and admit more students. Read more

Adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz has alleged that India has no moral ground to talk about counter-terrorism efforts and pointing fingers.


In a statement released by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aziz said that "Modi is misleading his BRICS and BIMSTEC colleagues", after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Pakistan is the 'mothership of terrorism" Aziz alleged that the Indian leadership was desperately trying to hide what he termed as "brutalities" in Kashmir."


The UN and OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) have rejected Indian attempts to equate Kashmiris' movement for self-determination with terrorism," the adviser remarked, adding that the United Nations has repeatedly emphasised that people fighting for their self-determination cannot be categorised as terrorists by the occupying state.


Aziz further said that Pakistan joins all the members of BRICS and BIMSTEC in condemning terrorism and reaffirms its full commitment to fight the menace of terrorism without discrimination.


He alleged that Pakistan is a victim of "Indian interference and subversive activities", which are aimed at destabilising the country.


Prime Minister Modi, while addressing the BRICS Summit yesterday, launched a veiled attack at Pakistan saying, "Tragically, the mother-ship of terrorism is a country in India's neighbourhood."


Image: Terror mastermind and JuD chief Hafeez Saeed

At least 30 people were killed in Pakistan when two buses collided in southern Punjab province, police said on Monday. Images from the crash site showed a bus on its side with its windows shattered, and another bus with its roof partly caved in.

The last king of Rwanda, Kigeli V, who ruled the east African nation for less than a year before being forced into exile, finally settling in the United States, has died according to his official website. He was 80.

Sale of Chinese products may decline by 30 per cent on this Diwali compared to last year as per the market report from various states, says traders body CAIT.


"As per indications available from the markets of different states, as of now there seems to be an expect decline of about 30 per cent in consumption of Chinese products on this Diwali in comparison to last year which in itself would be a strong indication to China and other countries as far as the consumption of Chinese goods in India is concerned," the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in a statement. 

An RTI activist in Mumbai was shot dead in his home at Vakola Saturday evening. Many of his applications had targeted a former corporator over alleged illegal constructions, police said.


The Indian Express reports: Police are probing the former corporator who, they said, had received an order from the Lokayukta hours before the murder that four of his properties would be demolished based on a complaint filed by the activist. Bhupendra Vira, 60, was at home watching TV around 9 pm when the killer fired from outside the house, the bullet piercing the right temple. Police said that the shooter fired at close range and at an angle between the open main door and the bedroom, where Vira was sitting.


"The bullet shot exited the other side of the head and has been recovered by the police,' a forensic expert said.

A long-awaited offensive to seize back Mosul after two years of Islamic State control has begun with columns of armour and military starting to move on the Northern Iraqi city.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in a televised statement said, Our dearest people in Nineveh province, the victory bell has rung, and the operations to liberate Mosul have begun. I am announcing today the beginning of these heroic operations to liberate you from the brutality and terrorism of IS. God willing, we will meet soon on the ground of Mosul where we will all celebrate the liberation and your freedom. After a month-long buildup, the last urban stronghold of Islamic State in Iraq has for several days been almost completely surrounded by a 30,000-strong force.

IMAGE: 30,000 troops prepare to launch an attack on Mosul. Photograph: Azad Lashkari/Reuters

As suspense continued about the health condition of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa admitted to Apollo Hospitals last month, there was no medical bulletin about her health from the hospital for the sixth consecutive day.


Apollo Hospitals, in its last bulletin issued on October 10, said Jayalalithaa is under constantly monitored by intensivists and other consultants.


Meanwhile Tamil movie actor Rajinikanth on Sunday visited Apollo Hospitals to enquire about Jayalalithaa's health. In the October 10 bulletin, the hospital said: "Necessary respiratory support, antibiotics, nutrition, supportive therapy and passive physiotherapy are being given.


'The 68-year-old Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital on September 22 for fever and dehydration. The doctors later said she needed a longer stay at the hospital as she was suffering from infection and put her on respiratory support.

Woman gang-raped by three men in a car in Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh. BJP leader's son is the accused and is absconding, two others held.


While two of the accused Devendra (23) and Farid Ali (26) have been arrested, Princely Saluja, the son of local BJP leader, is absconding.

On the night of October 11, the victim and her sister had stepped out of their home to relieve themselves. The three men were waiting for them, and forced the victim inside their vehicle. They took her to a secluded spot and allegedly raped her, a senior police officer told the Indian Express.

The victim works as a cook in a private school in Balodabazaar in Bhatapara district. She was visiting her parents home in Pirda village in the Basna area for the Dussehra festival and had stayed back. According to the police, the victim filed the complaint on October 14 and two of the accused were arrested next day.

Separatist militants snatched weapons from TV tower guards in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, police said on Monday. The police said the militants attacked the guards posted at a Low Power Transmitter station of public service broadcaster Doordarshan in Dalvash village late Sunday night. They took away five service rifles.


The attack comes after a jawan died when Pakistan violated the ceasefire twice on Sunday by firing on forward posts along the Line of Control in Rajouri district. A senior army officer said there have been over 25 ceasefire violations along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir after surgical strikes by army troops in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to dismantle terror launching pads.


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