LIVE! Swaraj cautions Indian students abroad against extortion calls

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Fri, 09 September 2016

Swaraj cautions Indian students abroad against extortion calls

Timeline Refresh

23:36 Pakistan PM to raise Kashmir issue at UNGA

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will raise the issue of Kashmir situation at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session, a spokesperson of his office said in Islamabad today.

"The Prime Minister has expressed grave concern during today's meeting over India's use of excessive force in Kashmir," the spokesperson said, adding the issue will be raised during the UNGA session.

The issue was high on the agenda of the meeting held on the UNGA session, Dawn reported.

India has blamed Pakistan for the ongoing unrest in Kashmir which was triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8.

Over 70 people, including two police personnel, have been killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes between stone pelters and security forces in the Valley over the last two months.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today cautioned Indian students abroad against fake calls made to extort money from them.

In a series of tweets, she said, "Indians students abroad receive fraud calls pointing out some deficiency in their papers. They ask for money failing which they are threatened with deportation. Pl do not fall prey to such calls. These calls are fake.(sic)"

She also asked them to report such calls to the Embassy which will take up the complaint with police.

"In case you receive such a call, pl always call back on the caller's number. He will deny having made such a call. Also pl report to the Embassy. They will take up your complaint with the Police (sic)," she said.

23:24 Army needs agile, adaptive leaders: Prez

Indian Army needs agile and adaptive leaders who can make sound and ethical decisions in split second in face of conflicts ranging from high intensity combat to peace time soldering, President Pranab Mukherjee said.

Exhorting Indian Army officers to lead by example, he said they must always 'Walk the Talk'.

"The Indian Army today is in the midst of a transformation and needs agile, adaptive leaders with a broad perspective and wide range of skills," he said in his banquet dinner address at Officers Trading Academy in Chennai.

Mukherjee, who arrived here on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, said it is not possible to succeed without military leaders who are equal to the challenge posed by full spectrum of conflict -- ranging from high intensity combat, peace time soldering, peace keeping, humanitarian intervention, counter terrorism and insurgency.

"You will be expected to make sound and ethical decisions in operational and other difficult situations in a split second. You have to train hard to achieve this competence," he said.

Approval of a bipartisan bill that would allow families of September 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia puts Congress on a collision course with President Barack Obama on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

The House passed the legislation day by voice vote, about four months after the measure cleared the Senate despite vehement objections from Saudi Arabia.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. The White House has signaled Obama would veto the legislation over the potential for the measure to backfire.

The Obama administration cautions that if US citizens can take the Saudis to court, then a foreign country could in turn sue the United States. There also is apprehension the bill would undermine a longstanding yet strained relationship with a critical US ally in the Middle East.

Votes from two-thirds of the members in the House and Senate would be needed to override a veto.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, which was preparing for the annual hajj pilgrimage beginning tomorrow.

The legislation gives victims' families the right to sue in US court for any role that elements of the Saudi government may have played in the 2001 attacks that killed thousands in New York, the Washington, D.C., area and Pennsylvania.

Observing that situation in Kashmir depends on Indo-Pak relations, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today emphasised the need for collective efforts of people of India for resolving the issue related to the state which is "unique" in nature.

Mehbooba said Jammu and Kashmir was not like "other normal states" and though it was easy to become the chief minister, it was a difficult task to handle the state.

Jammu and Kashmir is a "unique issue" which requires that the "political process and the governance must go together", she said, adding, "only a chief minister or prime minister cannot resolve this issue. It has to be resolved by the people of our country."

Addressing a function on the outskirts of Jammu, she said, "The Kashmir situation also depends on the role of Pakistan and if our relation with that country is good then it has a good impact in the state."

Referring to the recent visit by an all-party delegation of MPs to the state, Mehbooba said "it was the beauty of the democracy of our country that when the interest of the country came, leaders of various political parties didn't care for their self-esteem and went to the doorsteps" of the people for peace.

22:04 Now, any Indian can nominate Padma Awardees

Any Indian can now recommend any achiever for the prestigious Padma Awards, with the government throwing open the nomination process to general public to make it transparent and curb the crony culture of influence and lobbying.

The nominations can be made online but the nominators would be required to furnish their Aadhaar details for authenticity and accountability.

A Union Home Ministry spokesperson said, for the first time, the government of India is encouraging the people to nominate achievers for the Padma Awards. He said it is a step towards transforming the national awards into a truly people's award which will no longer remain restricted to elite rulers.

He said opening up of the nomination process to the general public will also help in identifying unsung or lesser known people of excellence.

The government has already received over 1,700 nominations and the last date of nomination is September15.

Image for representation only.

Comedian Kapil Sharma, who is facing the ire of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and Raj Thackerays Maharashtra Navnirman Sena over his bribe allegations against Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials, on Friday insisted that he just 'voiced his concern on the corruption he faced' and did not 'blame any political party'.

'I just voiced my concern on the corruption I faced with certain individuals.. Its No blame on any political party be it BJP, MNS or Shiv Sena (sic),' Sharma said in a tweet.

The MNS had earlier in the day threatened Sharma to prove bribe allegations against BMC officials or face action.

"Kapil Sharma said that a MNS worker asked for bribe to legalise his under construction building, we challenge him to prove his allegations. If he is unable to prove his allegations then we won't allow him to shoot in Mumbai till he apologises to us," MNS Chitrapat Sena President Amey Khopkar said.

The special crime branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation probing the Saradha scam would move the high court seeking cancellation of bail granted to Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra on Friday.

"The Sessions Judge has granted bail to Madan Mitra. After receiving the order we will move the High Court in the first available date to seek cancellation of the bail," a CBI official said.

He said that this had happened earlier when the high court had cancelled the bail of Mitra which was granted by a lower court last year.

Sessions Judge Uttam Kumar Nandy today granted the former state transport minister bail on two sureties of Rs 15 lakh each.

The court also directed Mitra, who was arrested on December 12, 2014, to surrender his passport to the CBI and appear before the CBI Investigating Officer once every week.

He was also directed not to go out of Kolkata.

20:45 India deplores nuclear test by North Korea

Terming the nuclear test conducted by North Korea as a matter of grave concern, India on Friday deplored it and asked DPRK to refrain from such actions which adversely impact peace and stability in the region and beyond.

It also expressed concern over the proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies which has adversely impacted Indias national security.

India deplores the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK this morning. It is a matter of grave concern that DPRK has again acted in violation of its international obligations and in contravention of the objective of the de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula that the DPRK itself has endorsed.

We call upon DPRK to refrain from such actions which adversely impact peace and stability in the region and beyond. India remains concerned about the proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies which has adversely impacted India's national security," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

United States President Barack Obama has warned North Korea of new sanctions after it conducted a nuclear test yesterday.

In a statement released by the White House on Friday evening, the US President said, To be clear, the United States does not, and never will, accept North Korea as a nuclear state. Far from achieving its stated national security and economic development goals, North Koreas provocative and destabilising actions have instead served to isolate and impoverish its people through its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities.

Todays nuclear test, a flagrant violation of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions, makes clear North Koreas disregard for international norms and standards for behavior and demonstrates it has no interest in being a responsible member of the international community, Obama said.

The President said he talked to South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on phone after hearing the news of the nuclear test.

We agreed to work with the UN Security Council, our other Six-Party partners, and the international community to vigorously implement existing measures imposed in previous resolutions, and to take additional significant steps, including new sanctions, to demonstrate to North Korea that there are consequences to its unlawful and dangerous actions, he said.

Read full statement.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad and a section of saints of Ayodhya on Friday termed Rahul Gandhi's Hanuman Garhi darshan 'politically motivated', insisting it would not yield any result without darshan of Ramlala.

Earlier in the day, the Congress Vice President offered prayers at the Hanuman Garhi Temple but stayed away from the disputed Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid site.

"The Darshan of Hanumanji is incomplete without paying obeisance to Lord Ram. Has Rahul not paid obeisance to Ramlala to appease the Muslims? His family members had also done incomplete 'darshan' and the results are visible," VHP spokesman Sharad Sharma said.

Member Ram Janmbhoom Trust Mahant Suresh Das of Digambar Akhara said Rahul having darshan of Hanuman Garhi was 'politically motivated'.

"Before praying to Hanumanji, he forgot to bow before his Lord Ram," he added.

Chairman, Ram Janm Bhoomi Trust Mahant Nritya Gopal Das' heir Mahant Kamal Nayan Das said darshan and pujan is right of every Hindu but it yields positive results when rituals are duly followed.

General Singh arrived this morning and was briefed about the prevailing situation in the Valley by General Officer Commanding of Chinar Corps Lt Gen Satish Dua, defence sources said.

The sources said the army chief visited defence formations in the north and south of the Valley to get first hand account of the situation from the officers on the ground.

"The army chief was informed about the steps to be taken to help the civil administration restore normalcy, particularly in south Kashmir," the sources said.

General Singh also visited foward locations along the Line of Control in Kupwara district to review the preparedness of the anti-infiltration grid, they said. He will call on Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra later before heading back to Delhi.

A 19-year-old woman arrested in a probe into a car found laden with gas cylinders in Paris had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and was preparing an imminent attack, officials said today.

French President Francois Hollande said a terror cell had been shut down and an attack "foiled," after Ines Madani, 19, and two other women were arrested.

Police shot and wounded Madani as they swooped on her and her accomplices aged 23 and 39 in a suburb south of Paris yesterday.

Investigators believe Madani is the main suspect in a probe into the Peugeot 607 found a few hundred metres from Notre Dame cathedral on Sunday. She is the daughter of the car's owner.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the three women "were apparently preparing new, violent and, what is more, imminent actions".

18:42 Gandhi Trust refunds donation to Naik IRF

Amid the controversy surrounding preacher Zakir Naik and his Islamic Research Foundation, the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust, chaired by Sonia Gandhi, refunded a donation of Rs 50 lakh received from the Foundation five years ago.

According to a Tribueindia report, the unsolicited donation by IRF was directly deposited in the RGCT by cheque in 2011.

Sources privy to the Trust work said that early this July, the RGCT decided to refund the money after the Zakir Naik controversy erupted.

In 2011, the sources said, the donation was followed up by IRF with a letter informing the RGCT that the money was to be used for its general fund and PAN card details were enclosed in accordance with law.

Sources said RGCT took an informal decision that after the refund of this single stray donation, the Trust will not have engagement of any type with IRF.

DGCA issues public notice on prohibition on use /carriage of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 mobile phone onboard.

'If carried, it (Samsung Galaxy Note 7) has to be carried in switch off mode,' the DGCA notice stated.

The notice follows a similar notice from the Federal Aviation Administration "strongly advising" passengers not to turn on or charge their Samsung new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones during flights after reports of the devices catching fire.

The unusual warning adds to the headache for Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone marker, as it scrambles to replace millions of Note 7 phones around the world.

Some international airlines have already taken steps to stop people from using the devices on their aircraft.

Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Virgin Australia say they are telling passengers not to turn on Note 7s or charge them on flights.

According to an ANI report, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has come down on Kapil Sharma after he levelled allegations of corruption against officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The Raj Thackeray-run party also threatened to play havoc with Sharma's shoots in the city.

"Kapil Sharma said that a MNS worker asked for bribe to legalise his under construction building. We challenge him to prove his allegations," said a spokesperson for the MNS.

"If he (Kapil Sharma) is unable to prove his allegations, then we won't allow him to shoot in Mumbai till he apologises to us," the MNS told ANI.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte told Barack Obama he never called him a "son of a bitch", he said on Friday, but he maintained a defiant stance on his war on drugs, saying UN chief Ban Ki-moon was a fool for bringing up human rights.

US President Obama cancelled a planned meeting with Duterte at this week's ASEAN summit in Laos after the Philippine leader's alleged insult in his native Tagalog, but the two met briefly later as they waited to take their seats at a banquet.

While on a visit to the Indonesian capital on Friday, Duterte told a group of Filipinos that the slur was not directed at the US president and that he had told him so.

"I was ready (for Obama). I was waiting for Obama to respond. Lawyer to lawyer, we are both lawyers anyway... I said I never made the statement. Check it out. '...I said that, but not in relation to Obama," he said. "I'm not fighting with America."

Obama and Duterte shook hands and had a brief chat on Wednesday, officials said, easing the standoff. Duterte had his outburst on Monday when he was defending his war on drugs that has killed at least 2,400 Filipinos.

Duterte on Friday said he thought UN Secretary-General Ban a fool for bringing up the issue of human rights violations weeks before the summit in Laos.

17:31 Meghalaya ratifies GST Bill unanimously

Meghalaya today became the 21st state in the country to ratify the Goods and Service Tax Bill which was unanimously passed in the first day of the assembly session here.

It is the third Congress-ruled state after Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh to ratify the GST Bill. Assam was the first state in the country to ratify it.

The Bill was passed without any discussion after Minister in-charge of Law Roshan Warjri moved a government resolution to ratify the Constitution (122 amendment) Bill, 2014. It was approved by the House unanimously by voice vote.

Earlier, when Speaker Abu Taher Mondal asked if any member of the House would be interested to participate in the discussion over the resolution, none participated.

Saradha scam accused former West Bengal transport minister Madan Mitra has been granted bail from Alipore court on a bail bond of 30 lakhs.

The court rendered the decision after hearing arguments from his counsel and the CBI.

Mitra's counsel had appealed for his bail, claiming that the former minister was no more influential after losing this year's assembly polls.

The CBI's counsel objected the bail plea, saying that "(Madan) Mitra still has access to the witnesses in the case and if granted bail he will try to influence them".

Mitra was arrested on December 12, 2014.

The Madras high court today declined to lift its earlier order banning camel slaughter in Tamil Nadu and directed the government to ensure that its orders were not violated.

Dismissing a fresh plea seeking for a direction to authorities to create slaughter facilities in the state for slaughtering camel, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan also made it clear that jurisdictional police officers would be held responsible if camels were brought to their areas and slaughtered.

The bench also dismissed the argument that camel slaughter came under essential religious practises.

Referring to its August 18 order prohibiting slaughtering of camels in the state, the court said it was passed after hearing all stakeholders and could not entertain petitions that sought to circumvent its earlier orders.

The court had then said that "in view of the stand of the Central Government and the provisions of the Central Act, including Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, at present we cannot have a situation where such camel slaughtering is permitted, especially in the absence of any facility for it."

In an unusual move, the US aviation safety regulator today "strongly advised" passengers not to turn on or charge their Samsung new Galaxy Note 7 smartphones during flights after reports of the devices

catching fire.

Following recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung about its Galaxy Note 7 devices, the Federal Aviation Administration said it "strongly advises passengers not to turn on or charge these devices on board aircraft, and not to stow them in any checked baggage."

The unusual warning adds to the headache for Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone marker, as it scrambles to replace millions of Note 7 phones around the world.

Some international airlines have already taken steps to stop people from using the devices on their aircraft.

Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Virgin Australia say they are telling passengers not to turn on Note 7s or charge them on flights.

It wasn't immediately clear how major US airlines would respond to the announcement by the FAA, which has previously warned that fires caused by the type of batteries found in cellphones can be very difficult to extinguish aboard planes, CNN reported.

For the past few months, there have been rumours swirling that indie band Coldplay, headed by Chris Martin, will be performing in India.

According to a report in mid-day, the British band will be performing in Mumbai at the BKC grounds on November 19 as part of the Global Citizen Festival run by Chris Martin.

With that news Twitter erupted with glee, but soon that joy turned to shock when the report further stated that the tickets for the event would start from Rs 25,000 to the highest category tickets at Rs 5 lakh a ticket."

Soon, #Coldplay started trending with users commenting on the price of the tickets.

One @nachito_kale wrote, "I'll pay 25 k for #coldplay concert if Chris Martin promises to sing " Tum To Thehre Pardesi ", the whole 14 minute version."

Another wrote, "Thankfully, I have some savings that I can use for the Coldplay concert. Just need Rs 24,500 more."

And here's another one, "Looks like Coldplay is selling tickets at South Mumbai per sq. ft rate."

"I think the only people who can afford tickets to Coldplay India are Kapil Sharma and the BMC," wrote another.

The 'Fix you' band recently performed to a sold out show at Wembley in London. And guess what the prices of those tickets were...

Approximately 75, which is around Rs 6,600.

16:35 ULFA releases kidnapped Assam BJP leader's son

The outlawed ULFA-Independent on Friday released Assam BJP panchayat leader's son, Kuldip Moran at the Indo-Myanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh.

He was abducted on August 1 and the rebels had demanded Rs 1 cr ransom.

ULFA leader Paresh Baruah had said Kuldip has been not been abducted for ransom but to stand 'trial' for passing on information to the Army which resulted in the killing of several cadres of the outfit in encounters.

Kuldip's father Ratneswar Moran, who is the vice-president of Tinsukia district panchayat, had said the rebels demanded Rs 1 crore for releasing his son.

Delhi's Tis Hazari court on Friday sent sacked Aam Aadmi Party MLA and Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar to 14 days judicial custody. Kumar was arrested on rape charges on the complaint of a woman. The Delhi minister was arrested on September 3 after a woman had lodged a complaint at the Sultanpuri police station in New Delhi against the former social welfare and women and child development minister.

Mark Zuckerberg has been accused of abuse of power after Facebook censored one of the most famous images of the Vietnam war on the social media website.

Norways largest newspaper Aftenposten published a front-page open letter to the social networks founder slamming the companys decision to remove historic photo the Terror of War.

The Pulitzer prize-winning photograph by Nick Ut shows children, including a naked nine-year-old Kim Phuc, fleeing a napalm attack during the Vietnam war.

The issue arose after writer Tom Egeland shared the photograph as part of a post which discussed seven photographs that changed the history of warfare.

The image was removed and Egeland suspended from the social network. When Aftenposten subsequently reported on the suspension with the same image on its article the newspaper was asked by Facebook to either remove or pixelise the photograph.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday assured the people of Punjab that if the Aam Aadmi Party is voted to power in the state, Amritsar would be given the status of a 'holy city'.

He also said that an AAP government would ban consumption and sale of alcohol, meat and tobacco near the Golden Temple. "I have come here to pay obeisance. The Darbar Sahib is a place where not only Sikhs but people from all other religions gather to worship. The Durgiana temple is also here in Amritsar, Jalianwala Bagh is also here; the city also has a Ram Teerath. So, if the Aam Aadmi Party forms a government here, Amritsar will be given a status of a 'holy city'," said Kejriwal.

"Anandpur Sahib which is the birth place of the Khalsa will also be declared a holy city," he added.

Kejriwal is in Punjab on a four-day visit to hear the grievances of AAP workers in the state.

14:46

JUST IN: Karnataka CM writes to PM Narendra Modi, requests him to call meeting of CMs of states to resolve Cauvery water dispute

14:36 Kapil Sharma was served notice over office by BMC

Allegations of bribe by Kapil Sharma has now backfired against him as the comedian-actor is now accused of illegally constructing a commercial property in a residential area in Versova regarding which a notice was sent by the civic body to him in July.

In the notice sent in July, the civic body had warned the entertainer against illegal structures being built at his office.

Sharma was asked to produce proof within 24 hours that he had permission for the construction. The civic body warned that the illegal structure would be removed if he didn't respond.

Several people are feared dead after a train derailed in northern Spain. Local media reports say many others are injured after a commuter train crashed at O Porrio station in the north-western province of Galicia.

In 2013, 79 people were killed in Spain's worst rail disaster when a high-speed train went off the tracks and slammed into a wall near Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia.

Karnataka, home to India's Silicon Valley, has logged out for a day. With Cauvery on the boil, Karnataka is in a state of unrest, turmoil and anger. But if it thought declaring a bandh for 12 hours -- for the fifth time in two years over the Cauvery issue -- would make the world sit up and take note, Bengaluru is fooling itself with self-delusional grandeur.

Read more HERE

Vijay Mallya, wanted in India for defaulting on loans for 9,000 crores, has expressed his interest to return to India.

The beleaguered businessman has moved a trial court, seeking to reverse the decision to revoke his passport.

The chief metropolitan magistrate court in Mumbai had last week issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against promoter of defunct airline Kingfisher Airlines Ltd Vijay Mallya and its chief executive Sanjay Agarwal in a case filed by service tax.

The move comes after the Enforcement Directorate issued its second attachment order for assets worth Rs 6,630 crore against beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya as it seized his farmhouse, flats and FDs in connection with its money laundering case against him and his associates.

Police on Friday foiled a press conference called by Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Geelani at his residence by sealing off Hyderpora locality and forcing journalists to leave from the area.

Police and paramilitary forces were deployed in strength in the area to restrict the movement of pedestrians and motorists.

The journalists who had managed to reach near Geelani's residence in Hyderpora were forced to board their conveyances and escorted out of the area by policemen.

Geelani had called an 'important' press conference today at 11 am at his residence where he remains under house arrest.

A heavily pregnant Muslim woman wearing a veil has been attacked in front of her children in Barcelona in an apparent hate crime.

Investigators said the woman was walking in the Spanish citys central Old Town area with her husband and children on Monday evening when two men approached.

They started shouting insults over the womans niqab, the husband reproached them for the offensive comments.

The men quickly resorted to violence and when the woman tried to intervene, one of the attackers kicked the pregnant womans abdomen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has faced flak from opposition parties for what they term as his "flip-flop' policy vis-a-vis Pakistan. But sources in the foreign policy establishment said that it was Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif 's sudden metamorphosis from a dove to a hawk that has imperiled the resumption of bilateral talks.

Read more HERE

Aaditya Thackeray, president of the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, thanked comedian and actor Kapil Sharma after the latter's tweet complaining of corruption within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. Thackeray's party, the Shiv Sena, holds majority of seats in the BMC council.

Sharma earlier today tweeted, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging corruption and bribe-taking within the civic body. He said even though he has been paying Rs 15 crore as income tax for the past five years, he still has to pay Rs 5 lakh to BMC officials for setting up an office in Mumbai.

Thackeray, who is also quite active on the micro-blogging platform, tweeted out to Sharma thanking him for being an alert Mumbaikar and requested him to assist the Mayor in leading the fight against corruption. He also demanded details of the BMC officer who had allegedly asked for bribe from Sharma.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw was at the receiving end of quite a lot of flak on Twitter today over a tweet she had posted on the bandh in Karnataka. The Biocon MD had tweeted in the morning saying, "Another band, it's now Bandhaluru," in reference to the day and night protest that has been called in Bengaluru in response to Cauvery river crisis.

However, soon after her tweet she received a lot of criticism for the tweet with many questioning her. In fact, she later deleted the tweet and wrote, "Please read my message don't listen to media twist. I have always stood by farmers n people of Karnataka."

Ahead of the 15th anniversary of 9/11, former secretary of state and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said going after Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden into Pakistan was "not an easy choice".

"I was part of the small group advising President (Barack) Obama whether or not the intelligence we had was good enough to take a chance, to go deep into Pakistan, to try to finally bring Osama bin Laden to justice.

"It was not an easy choice by any means," Clinton said, adding, "These never are."

"That's why who sits at the head of that table in the situation room has to be able to sort out fact from opinion, has to be able to ask the hard questions, pursue even the most difficult leads," she said.

"We went through that hour after hour after hour. And then the president went around the table asking each of us what we advised. And we were split because it was not some kind of easy layup. I believed it was strong enough that we needed to take action and I supported taking action that would determine whether or not we were successful. That meant sending in special forces," said the 68-year-old former secretary of state.

"Now, you know what happened. I was in that Situation Room watching that day. The most stressful 30 minutes of my life probably. Because you remember one of the helicopters nicked - clicked on - hit its tail on the wall going into the courtyard and became disabled.

"That meant -- thank goodness there were good contingency plans, but you had to get another helicopter in to take out the SEALs who would no longer be able to fly out on that one," she said, describing the event of the day.

A doctor of a major private hospital in Gujarat has been arrested for allegedly raping a dengue patient in the ICU earlier this week.

The woman, who is being treated in the Apollo hospital in Gandhinagar, was allegedly raped twice on Sunday and Monday.

She has alleged that she was given some drug and raped. A medical examination has confirmed that she was raped.

A Karnataka bandh called by pro-Kannada outfits on Friday to protest against the Supreme Court's direction to release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu threw normal life out of gear in many parts of the state including Bengaluru.

Flights at Bengaluru airport were affected as Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists protested at the departures gate at Bengaluru airport. At many spots at the airports, people were lying down and waiting.

Image: @DanHussain/Twitter

10:28

JUST IN: North Korea hails 'successful' nuclear test

10:13 Rahul arrives in Ayodhya, first visit by a Gandhi since Babri demolition

Rahul Gandhi's convoy of cars, buses and open trucks rolled into the temple town of Ayodhya on Friday, the fourth day of the Congress vice-president's yatra or tour of Uttar Pradesh, where elections will be held early next year.

Gandhi's visit is being watched keenly. No member of the Congress's first family has visited Ayodhya since the demolition of the Babri Masjid 24 years ago, in December 1992.

In Ayodhya, Gandhi, 46, will first offer prayers at the famous Hanuman Garhi temple, but it is not clear yet whether he will visit the Ram temple at the disputed Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid site, about a kilometre away.

The temple visit today is steeped in symbolism. Twenty-six years ago, Rahul Gandhi's father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had planned to visit the Hanuman Garhi temple on a trip to Ayodhya, but could not because of a lack of time. He was assassinated the next year, on May 21, 1991. Rahul Gandhi was then 20.

Ahead of Bakri Eid, Maharashtra has directed police in the state to ensure gau rakshaks dont carry out suo motu raids.

The circular, issued by the office of the Director General of Police, says if gau rakshaks have any information on beef being transported or bovines being butchered, the information should be conveyed to the local police station and the duty officer should conduct the raid.

The two-page circular has been issued to ensure that only goats (sacrificed during the festival) are transported and not bovines since transporting the latter is a crime in accordance with provisions of the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act , 2015.

Other than ensuring that gau rakshaks dont carry out suo motu raids, policemen have also been advised that while conducting raids, co-passengers shouldnt be harassed.

Many people have been injured in a stampede in Mumbai's Malad, where thousands of candidates had gathered for a navy exam.

Reports suggest around 6,000 candidates showed up at INS Hamla instead of the expected 4,000, and the large crowd tried to rush through the gate.

The police had to use batons to control the crowd.

The man who normally makes us laugh was angry on Friday.

Popular comedian and actor Kapil Sharma took to Twitter to vent out his frustration over paying a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to the Mumbai civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, to get his office made.

And the TV star even tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the tweet."I am paying 15 crore income tax from last 5 year and still I have to pay 5 lacs bribe to BMC office for making my office (sic)," he wrote.

In another tweet, to drive the point home, he asked Modi if these are the acche din (better days) he had promised during the 2014 general elections?

Kapil has always been a fan of Modi, often expressing his wish to invite him to his show for a special episode.

08:28 Cauvery bandh set to bring Bengaluru to a halt

The fourth bandh Karnataka witnessing in 45 days on Friday is likely to be the most disruptive of all, especially in Bengaluru, with the state government extending its tacit support to the protest against the Supreme Court directive asking the state to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Essential services like milk, ambulances, pharmacy shops and hospitals are unlikely to be affected. But all modes of public transport - BMTC and KSRTC buses, autorickshaws, tourist abs and airport cabs - will remain off road. Namma Metro, too, has called off its services.

North Korea is suspected of carrying out its fifth test of a nuclear bomb, after a magnitude 5.3 earthquake was detected close to its test site.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said it had been an "artificial quake".

An unnamed South Korean government source said it was highly likely to have been a nuclear test.

There has been no confirmation from the North, but previous artificial earthquakes in that area and of that magnitude have all been nuclear tests.

Recent satellite imagery and intelligence has indicated increased activity at the Punggye-ri site, where North Korea carried out its previous tests, indicating a fifth was imminent.

The US Geological Survey, which monitors global seismic activity, said Friday morning's tremor had been detected in that area and was caused by "an explosion".

US forces in Afghanistan last month attempted to rescue two hostages, the Pentagon said Thursday, as US media reported the captives were two American University of Afghanistan professors.

"President Obama authorized US forces to conduct a mission in Afghanistan, aimed at recovering two civilian hostages," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, the hostages were not at the location we suspected. During the mission, US forces engaged and killed a number of hostile forces. No US personnel or civilians were harmed."

A rescue operation is underway for as many as 100 people trapped in cable cars near Mont Blanc in the French Alps, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported Thursday.

Chamonix Mayor Eric Fournier told BFMTV that helicopters are being used to get the people back down to the valley.

It's not clear how the people became trapped on the Telecabine Panoramique Mont-Blanc, which traverses some of the glaciers and crevasses on the mountain and ends at an altitude of 11,000 feet.

French national police tweeted that 110 people were trapped in the cable cars.

The scenic cable-car journey is 5km long and usually takes 35 minutes, but passengers have been stuck there for about two hours.

"We will evacuate passengers by air, with police helicopters but also private ones called in by local authorities," a spokesman for the local gendarmerie police said.

Indian powerlifter Farman Basha missed out on a bronze medal as he finished fourth in the men's 49 kg category at the Rio Paralympic Games on Thursday.

The 42-year-old briefly raised hopes of securing a medal for the country when he successfully lifted 140 kg in his first attempt, but he subsequently missed on his second and third attempts at 150 kg and 155 kg respectively.

Cong van Le, who set a World Record with a successful lift of 181 kg, won the gold medal while Omar Qarada of Jordan and Hungary's Nandor Tunkel won silver and bronze, respectively.

01:10 Apple shares slip on heels of iPhone 7 launch

Apple shares slipped today after the unveiling of a new iPhone failed to ignite investor enthusiasm in the tech giant.

Apple shares fell 2.63 per cent to $105.50 in early afternoon trades on the Nasdaq Exchange in New York.

The stock price gave the California-based company a market-topping value of $572 billion.

Apple on Wednesday introduced new iPhone 7 and larger iPhone 7 Plus models with sophisticated camera technology, improved water resistance and other features.

The flagship devices with boosted memory capacity will be sold at roughly the same price as the models they replace.

But gone is the traditional headphone jack, requiring audio to be delivered via Apple's proprietary "lightning" connector or by wireless -- and that may irk iPhone users with a fondness for wired headsets.

The new-generation iPhones and a second-generation Apple Watch unveiled at the event boast the ability to get wet without getting ruined.

The new smartphones come with Apple seeking to reverse declines in sales of the iPhone in an increasingly saturated global market, and boost its Apple Watch. While Apple has touted total iPhone sales of one billion, the number sold in the quarter ending June 25 fell 15 percent from a year earlier, highlighting concerns over growth for the key profit driver.

00:44 North Korea bans sarcasm: Brilliant, Kim!

North Korea has forbidden people from making sarcastic comments about Kim Jong-un or his totalitarian regime in their everyday conversations.

Even indirect criticism of the authoritarian government has been banned, Asian media reported.

Residents were warned against criticising the state in a series of mass meetings held by functionaries across the country.

"One state security official personally organised a meeting to alert local residents to potential 'hostile actions' by internal rebellious elements," a source in Jagang Province told Radio Free Asias Korean Service.

"The main point of the lecture was 'Keep your mouths shut'."

Officials told people that sarcastic expressions such as This is all Americas fault would constitute unacceptable criticism of the regime.

00:43 Everyone is a frenemy in Asia's big game

As President Barack Obama makes his final tour of Asia, much of the focus has been on the United States pivot or re-balance of its economic, diplomatic and military interests to the region.

The United States, however, is not the only country that is pivoting to Southeast Asia and trying to build influence. Japan and Russia are taking big steps to up their presence in the region.

Over the past three years, Japan has put more investment into countries who are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations than it has put into China and Hong Kong.

And steadily it is looking for ways to move beyond developmental assistance to massive infrastructure projects much like Beijing is already doing in the region.

Read more HERE

The US-led war on Islamic State has depleted the group's funds, leadership and foreign fighters, but the biggest battle yet is expected later this year in Iraq's northern city of Mosul, where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared his "caliphate" two years ago.

The jihadist insurgents have lost more than half the territory they seized in Iraq and nearly as much in neighboring Syria, but still manage to control their twin capitals of Mosul and Raqqa, symbols of the state they sought to build at the heart of the Middle East.

Military and humanitarian preparations are now in full swing to retake Mosul, the largest city under the ultra-hardline group's control. American troops are establishing a logistics hub to the south, while the United Nations warns of the world's most complex humanitarian operation this year.

Iraq's recapture over the summer of Qayyara airbase and surrounding areas along the Tigris river 60 km (40 miles) south of Mosul have set the stage for a big push on the city, which commanders say could start by late October.

Read more HERE

After many years of delay, the United States will finally approve the sale of advanced MK-48 heavyweight torpedoes to Taiwan, an unnamed official of Taiwans Ministry of National Defense told Defense News.

According to local Taiwanese media reports, the problem over the purchase of the MK-48 has now been resolved and the MK-48 is included in this years military budget request, currently being debated in Taiwans Legislative Yuan. The sale of the torpedoes was first requested during the presidency of George W. Bush.

Neither the United States nor Taiwan has officially confirmed the deal. It is also unclear how many torpedoes will be sold and under what timeframe.

Once procured, the MK-48 Mod 6 Advanced Technology (AT) heavyweight torpedoes will be installed aboard the two Hai Lung-class (improved Dutch Zwaardvis-class) submarines, according to the source.

Read more HERE

00:42 Top headlines at this hour

Amit Shah booed at Surat event; Patidars vandalise venue

Haryana cops have a new job: Sampling Biryanis

Acid attack worse than rape, says court as it hands death to Preeti Rathi case convict

ISRO launches advanced weather satellite

'If Burhan Wani had lived in India he wouldn't have become a militant'

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