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Wed, 12 April 2017
After Moily, Punjab CM Amarinder backs EVMs

Timeline  Refresh

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23:24  
Fire breaks out at IIT Madras, four fire tenders on spot, more details awaited.
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23:08   Putin meets Tillerson as US, Russia wrangle over Syria
After Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson waited for much of the day, wondering whether he would get to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two men sat down at the Kremlin late Wednesday afternoon in the first face-to-face meeting between the Russian leader and a top official in the Trump administration.

Relations between the United States and Russia have grown so tense that it was unclear whether Putin would agree to see Tillerson, a man he once gave a medal of friendship.

Earlier, Putin complained of worsening ties with Donald Trump's administration as the two sides spar over Syria.
Putin received Tillerson at the Kremlin along with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after the top diplomats held several hours of talks dominated by the fallout of an alleged chemical attack in Syria.
Despite initial hopes in Moscow of better ties with the US under Trump, the two powers have descended into a furious war of words over the incident and a retaliatory US missile strike against the forces of Moscow's ally Bashar al-Assad last week.
Russia has slammed Washington's attack on a Syrian airbase and, as Tillerson met Lavrov, Putin admitted that relations between Washington and Moscow have worsened in the three months that Trump has been in office.
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23:04   After Moily, Punjab CM Amarinder backs EVMs
Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh said today that if the EVMs were tampered with he would not have been in power, contradicting the stand of his Congress party that the machines were not infallible. 

"If EVMs were fixed then I wouldn't be sitting here. The Akalis would," he said.

Amarinder is the second senior Congress leader after former Law Minister Veerappa Moily too stood up in defence of the EVMs, amid the Congress allegation of tampering of the machines.

The Congress has demanded that the EVMs be replaced with the old ballot paper system.

The Congress won 77 of Punjab's 117 assembly seats, ending the decade-long rule of the Akali-BJP combine.

The Congress has joined other opposition parties in alleging that the electronic voting machines were rigged that helped the BJP sweep assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
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22:31  
Bangladesh executes Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and his two associates: Local media 
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22:02   Heart attacks, suicides kill more CRPF jawans than Naxal ops
Heart attacks, depression and suicides have killed more Central Reserve Police Force troops, over 24 times higher, than operations and ambushes in Naxal violence-hit areas in the last two years.
Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj G Ahir today provided a data in this regard in Rajya Sabha, stating 5 CRPF men were killed in 2015, 31 in 2016 and thirteen till April 4 this year in the three Left Wing Extremism affected states of Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
As compared to these operational or on-duty deaths, 476 personnel of the country's largest paramilitary died last year while 407 died in 2015 owing to non-operational reasons.

The data for last year shows 92 CRPF personnel died due to heart attacks, five due to malaria and dengue, 26 owing to depression and suicide and 353 due to other non-operational reasons.
Similarly, the data for 2015 reveals that 82 troops of the force died due to heart attacks, 13 due to dengue or malaria, 35 owing to depression and suicides while 277 lost their lives due to other reasons.
The about three-lakh personnel strong CRPF is country's largest Central Armed Police Force and is also the lead force to conduct anti-Naxal operations and render a variety of duties in the internal security domain of the country. 
The combined data shows that heart attacks, depression, suicides, malaria, dengue and other such reasons constitute 24 times more, over operational duties, as the major reasons for the death of CRPF jawans and officers in the last two years time.
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21:55   Taking cue from anti-romeo squad, Haryana's launches 'Op Durga'
On the lines of the anti-romeo squad in Uttar Pardesh, the Haryana government today launched 'Operation Durga', under which police teams nabbed 72 people on the very first day from across the state.
Twenty-four teams formed by chief minister's Flying Squad nabbed these people from all the districts for allegedly indulging in crimes against women, an official spokesman said.
The teams comprise woman personnel, including nine Sub- inspectors of Police, 14 Assistant Sub-inspectors, six Head Constables and 13 constables, besides other police officers from each district.
The teams visited public places such as schools, colleges, bus stands and railway stations and nabbed persons indulging in crimes against women, including eve teasing, the spokesperson said.
He said the Haryana government has set up women police stations in all districts to ensure safety of women and provide them with a safe place for lodging complaints. But it had been observed that women hesitated in reporting incidents involving such anti-social elements, he added.
"Therefore, the campaign Operation Durga was undertaken after identifying places where such anti-social elements were indulging in eve teasing, vulgar comments, stalking and other similar activities," he added.
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21:46   Won't bow down to any pressure: Sharif, Pak army chief on Jadhav
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and powerful army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Wednesday agreed not to come under any pressure on the issue of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav who has been sentenced to death on charges of spying, according to a media report.
Chief of Army Staff General Bajwa met Sharif and took the prime minister into confidence regarding the issue of Jadhav, Samaa TV reported.
"They agreed not to come under any pressure" on the issue of Jadhav, the channel said, without giving the details.
During the meeting, they discussed matters pertaining to professional preparedness of army, the current security and border situation at their meeting held in Islamabad, Radio Pakistan reported.
General Bajwa also apprised the prime minister about the progress made in the ongoing operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, a terror operation launched by the Pakistan Army to eliminate terrorism.
It was the first direct interaction between the army chief and the prime minister.
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21:35   Modi govt trying to finish the opposition parties: Congress
The Congress has accused the government of targetting the opposition chief ministers and former chief ministers by using the investigative agencies to finish them politically.

Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad alleged that the BJP-led NDA government does not believe in the concept of "live and let live". 

He termed as "unprecedented" the raids on the leaders of the opposition parties through the Enforcement Directorate, the CBI and the income tax department.

"This government does not believe in 'live and let live'. It believes in demoralising all political parties financially, politically...the practice being followed by the ruling party to finish opposition is unprecedented," Azad told reporters.

He said the government is allegedly trying to see that the opposition parties do not get media coverage and donations, so that they are not in a position to contest polls. 

"And if anyone gives donation (to opposition parties), they (government) raid the donor," he alleged.

Seeking to underscore the difference between the present and previous central governments, Azad claimed the Congress, when in power, did not target any politician or chief minister "as is happening now".

The Congress leader did not name any of the opposition leaders allegedly being targeted by the investigative agencies during the briefing. 

Himachal Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader Virbhadra Singh is likely to appear before ED tomorrow in prevention of money laundering case.
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21:01   PM Modi most followed world leader on Instagram
me Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as the most followed world leader on photo-sharing app Instagram with a whopping 6.9 million followers, surpassing US President Donald Trump. 

Modi, who has put out 101 posts till date, is also the most "effective world leader" on the platform, a conclusion that was reached based on the comments and likes that his posts garner.

The findings are part of a global study, 

"World Leaders on Instagram", that analysed the activity of around 325 Instagram accounts of heads of state and government and foreign ministers over the last one year.

Trump, who occupies the second spot, has 6.3 million followers while Pope Francis is in third place with 3.7 million followers, ahead of the White House account with 3.4 million followers.

The study, undertaken by public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, claimed Modi's posts receive an average of 2,23,000 interactions (comments and likes).

"Leaders around the world are creating online communications that convey global social and political context while also sharing a sense of personality and creativity," said Don Baer, CEO of Burson-Marsteller, in a statement. 

Seventy-three heads of state, 38 heads of government and 28 foreign ministers maintain personal pages on the platform, it said.
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20:50   AMU students' union seeks total ban on cow slaughter
The President of the Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union has demanded a complete ban on cow slaughter across the country.
Addressing protesters at a rally organised by the AMUSU at the District Collectorate today, its president Faizul Hasan said, "We would support any move made by the Central government to impose such a ban keeping in view the sentiments of Hindu brethren."
Hasan said he would also support a "complete ban" on the closure of all export-based slaughterhouses and a total ban on all import and export of bovine meat, including buffalo meat, because it was leading to an unnecessary internal tension between different communities in the country.
Transport of buffaloes to slaughterhouses has become a cause of communal friction since so-called cow vigilantes are continuously taking law in their own hand at highways in different parts of the country, he said.
The AMUSU later presented a memorandum addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee to the Additional City Magistrate demanding fast track court trials of the cases of violence involving cow vigilantes.
The memorandum stated that country needs to "take urgent notice of non-State actors spreading terror" and threatening the peace of the land in the guise of cow protection.
It also demanded framing of a new law to prevent acts of cruelty against minorities and other weaker sections.

Earlier, the students' union took out a procession to press their demands.
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20:38   Merely expressing feelings or threatening Pak won't work: Uddhav
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has demanded strict action against Pakistan where a court awarded death penalty to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav.

A Pakistani military court on Monday awarded death sentence to Jadhav after declaring him a "spy". 
"Merely expressing feelings or threatening Pakistan of consequences will not work now. Now is the time for direct action to teach them a permanent lesson. Jadhav has to be brought back at the earliest," Thackeray told reporters at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra.
He said the Sena was criticised when it protested the welcoming of Pakistani politicians and artistes in India, but after events such as the awarding of death penalty to Jadhav, the nationalism of people suddenly springs up.
Notably, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday made a statement in both the Houses of Parliament, asserting that India will go "out of way" to ensure justice to Jadhav who is an "innocent kidnapped Indian".
Asked about the fate of Sena-BJP relations after his party attended the NDA constituents meet in New Delhi earlier this week, Thackeray said, "Relations are going in the right direction at a snail's pace."
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20:21   Cash use rises, but 3 crore people stay on digital platforms
Even as data shows increase in cash usage again, the National Payments Corporation of India today said demonetisation helped get 5 crore new customers on digital mediums and over 3 crore have stayed on.
"If you look at on standalone basis, the country would have added 30-35 million customers on the digital platforms, who have stayed on digital platforms," NPCI Chief Operating Officer Dilip Asbe told reporters.
He said the cash crunch after demonetisation pushed 10 crore people to use digital or cashless transactions. Even though many of them went back to using cash after that, over 30 million continue to use digital ways for payments. 
Asbe said in normal course it would have taken at least two years for getting the 30-35 million more people to use digital transactions.
There was a huge spike in digital transactions after the Government banned 86 per cent of the currency by value on November 8 last year. However, as the remonetisation progressed, there has been a month-on-month decline in digital transactions for two consecutive months till February. 
Official data shows there was a 9.1 per cent fall in digital transactions in January 2017 over December 2016, while February witnessed a decline of 21.3 per cent over the preceding month.
Asbe said digital payments is a "habit" and more efforts will be required on customer education, literacy and awareness to push cashless transactions.
Simultaneously, work is going on to increase the number of touchpoints where the digital alternatives can work, he said, adding in the next two years these will jump 10 times to over 15 million.
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19:28   Come, hack EVMs in first week of May: EC's hackathon challenge
Amid row over alleged tampering of electronic voting machines, the Election Commission today threw an "open challenge" to people to hack its EVMs, a move which comes after opposition parties urged it to revert to the paper ballot system raising doubts over infallibility of the machines.
"From first week of May, experts, scientists, technocrats can come for a week or 10 days and try to hack the machines," an official source said.
They said the challenge will be open for a week or 10 days and will have various levels.
The commission had announced a similar challenge in 2009 and it claimed no one could hack its electronic voting machines. 
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18:27   Pak, India can't be enemies forever: Pak NSA
Pakistan's National Security Advisor Lt.Gen. (Retired) Nasser Khan Janjua has said that Pakistan and India cannot remain enemies forever and need to engage with each other to resolve their disputes.

His remark comes amid soaring tensions between the two neighbors, post Pakistan awarding a death sentence to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav on charges of espionage and sabotage.

On Tuesday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj warned Islamabad that it risked damaging bilateral ties with New Delhi if it went ahead with the execution of Yadav.

Janjua made the remark during a meeting with Canadian High Commissioner Perry John Calderwood. He also discussed the regional dynamics, bilateral relations, counter-terrorism cooperation and implementation of the National Action Plan, reports the Dawn.

He underlined the need for a non-discriminatory approach in considering Pakistan's membership for the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
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18:13   India's retail inflation jumps to 3.65% in March
India's retail inflation rate rose to 3.81 per cent in March from February's 3.65 per cent, mirroring a revival in household spending after months of waning demand triggered by a demonetisation-induced cash crunch.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which kept its key lending rate unchanged last week, has warned of a looming inflation threat over the next 6-12 months, obliquely leaving the door ajar for an interest rate hike in 2017-18.

For 2017-18, RBI has projected retail inflation to average 4.5 percent in the first half and 5 percent in the second half.
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17:51   Rehab of Yamuna plains destroyed by Sri Sri will cost Rs 13 cr, take 10 yrs
Rehabilitation of Yamuna floodplains, "destroyed" due to a cultural extravaganza organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living (AOL), will cost Rs 13.29 crore and take almost 10 years, an expert committee has told the National Green Tribunal.

The expert committee, headed by Shashi Shekhar, Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources, has informed the green panel that major restoration work has to be carried out to compensate for the damage to Yamuna floodplains.


"It has been estimated that approximately 120 hectares (about 300 acres) of floodplains of west (right bank) of the river Yamuna and about 50 hectares (120 acres) floodplains of the eastern side (left bank) of the river have been adversely impacted ecologically at different magnitudes," it said.


The green body had last year allowed AOL to hold three- day 'World Culture Festival' of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living on the Yamuna flood plains while expressing its helplessness in banning the event because of "fait accompli".


It, however, had imposed Rs 5 crore as interim environment compensation on the foundation for the event's impact on the environment.


Initially, a four-member committee had recommended that AOL Foundation should pay Rs 100-120 crore as restoration cost for "extensive and severe damage" to the floodplains of Yamuna river.


Later, a seven-member expert committee had told NGT that the event organised on Yamuna has "completely destroyed" the riverbed.
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17:45  
Just in: Retail inflation jumps to 3.81 per cent in March as against 3.65 per cent in February. Industrial production contracts by 1.2% in February this year.
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17:23  
Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif meets Army chief Qamar Bajwa over the death sentence on former Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav.

Details awaited.
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17:12   BJP's ally in Goa wants complete ban on animal slaughter in the state
Headed to Goa for some beef bafad and a rave party? Heads up.

The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, a part of the BJP-led coalition govt in Goa, seeks complete ban on cow slaughter in the state.

MGP leader and State Minister Sudin Dhavalikar said that as a party  it supports a total ban on cow slaughter in Goa.

The state should shut operations of Goa Meat Complex Limited, where hundreds of cows are killed, he demanded.  Dhavalikar also said his stand is not only against illegal slaughterhouses but also with regard to "all kinds of animal slaughter" in Goa.

Most BJP-ruled states have asked for tough laws against cow slaughter, but the BJP never promised a country-wide ban on beef, and always maintained that it is for the states to decide keeping in mind the "sentiments of the people".

Goa minister Vinod Palyekar has also promised to put a complete ban on rave parties in the state in next two weeks.
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16:38   'Kashmiri youth have become the face of violence'
"This generation has seen no communication.
''You have not given them any stake.
''They don't have a feeling of belonging.
''They have only seen a man in uniform with a gun.
''That is why it is taking a more vicious form today -- the attacks on the security forces and the retaliation is causing heavy loss of lives."

Rediff.com's Archana Masih spoke to Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir for more than half a century, to find out what the central and state governments can do to end unrest in the valley. Do read
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16:09   No plans to construct wall along Pak border: Govt tells RS
India has no plans to construct a wall along its border with Pakistan, Rajya Sabha was informed today. "There was no proposal with the government of India to build a wall along the Pakistan border," Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said replying a written question.


The Minister said the government has adopted a multi-pronged approach for security arrangements at the Indo-Pak border.


"The arrangements include deployment of BSF, construction of border fence, construction of border roads, installation of floodlights, construction of BOPs, introduction of hi-tech surveillance equipments, providing weapons and specialised vehicles to security forces," he said.
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16:04   Pak NSA: India, Pak can't remain enemies forever
Pakistan's National Security Adviser Nasser Janjua has said Pakistan and India 'cannot remain enemies forever' and they need to engage and resolve bilateral disputes.

The NSA was talking to Canadian High Commissioner Perry Calderwood who called him to Islamabad on Tuesday

"We need to engage with each other and resolve disputes," Janjua was quoted as saying by the official Associated Press of Pakistan.

Janjua reiterated Pakistan and India cannot remain enemies forever.

The two sides discussed regional dynamics and bilateral ties, Pakistan's role in eradicating terrorism, counter-terrorism cooperation, the implementation of the National Action Plan and Pakistan-India relations with reference to the United States' offer for mediation.

Janjua underscored the need for a non-discriminatory approach while considering Pakistan's membership for Nuclear Supplier Group.

He claimed that the international community is overlooking Kashmir issue due to their own strategic interests related to India.

Although India considers Kashmir a bilateral issue, it has defeated the spirit of bilateralism by defying any dialogue over it, claimed Janjua.

"Extreme thoughts are to be mitigated through a change of perception, by winning hearts and minds and not by use of force alone," he said. -- PTI
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15:44   Opposition meets Prez
Opposition  parties meet President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his urgent intervention "to protect constitutional democracy and fundamental rights" of citizens. "An environment of fear and insecurity is prevailing in the country and voices of dissent are being muzzled, opposition parties led by former PM Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi tell President Mukherjee.

Details awaited.
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15:27   Melania Trump accepts apology, damages from Daily Mail
US First Lady Melania Trump accepts damages and apology over British newspaper Daily Mail's allegations about her modelling career.


Melania Trump's had filed a libel lawsuit against Daily Mail over an article that contained insinuations that she had worked as an escort.


Melania filed a $150m lawsuit against the corporation that publishes the Daily Mails website for reporting rumours that she worked as a high-end escort in the 1990s.
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15:14   Whenever India needs me, I'm available: Tharoor on Kulbhushan resolution
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor reacts to EAM Sushma Swaraj's brushoff on the Parliament resolution over the Kulbhushan Jadhav issue.


Tharoor said, "I believe 1 shouldn't talk about what was said or done in private. Others may have their reasons to tweet. I've maintained my silence and dignity. That said, I place national interests over political ones or personal pride. Whenever India needs me, I'm available to do what I can."


The Congress MP reacted to  Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj's tweet this morning, describing  as "completely false and mischievously planted" reports that she had asked Tharoor to help draft a resolution condemning Pakistan for handing out the death sentence to former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav.


"The news was completely false and mischievously planted in the media," Swaraj tweeted this morning.


She also posted, "There is no dearth of talent in my ministry. I have the assistance of very able Secretaries."


Reports on Monday had said the minister - who made a statement in both houses warning Pakistan over the death sentence - requested Tharoor to help draft the resolution to be adopted in both houses. Tharoor, after asking permission from his party had agreed.


Parliament unitedly condemned the death sentence given to Mr Jadhav by a Pakistani military court that convicted him of "espionage and sabotage activities" in Balochistan.


"There is no evidence of wrongdoing by (Kulbhushan) Jadhav. If anything, he is the victim of a plan that seeks to cast aspersions on India to deflect international attention from Pakistan's well-known record of sponsoring and supporting terrorism," Swaraj said in her statement, warning Pakistan's government to "consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter."


Image courtesy: Shashi Tharoor's Twitter page.
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14:45   Celebrating our Foreign Minister
Sushma Swaraj's husband celebrates her achievements with this tweet:  "Since 1977- 40 years - 11 direct elections, 7 terms in Parliament, 3 times legislator, nine times Cabinet Minister."

He posted this picture of a young Sushma Swaraj with the Chief Minister of Haryana Devi Lal in 1977.

Swaraj's husband, Swaraj Kaushal is a Supreme Court lawyer.
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14:30   Petrol, diesel prices will change every day from May 1
The prices of petrol and diesel will change every day in sync with international prices from May 1, reports PTI.


State-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd, which own over 95 per cent of nearly 58,000 petrol pumps in the country, will launch a pilot for the daily price revision in five select cities from May 1 and gradually extend it to all over the country.


"Ultimately, we will be driving towards market linked rates on a daily basis at all pumps across the country," IOC Chairman B Ashok told PTI.


A pilot for daily revision of petrol and diesel price will be first implemented in Puducherry, Vizag in Andhra Pradesh, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and Chandigarh, he said.


State fuel retailers currently revise rates on 1st and 16th of every month based on average international price of the fuel in the preceding fortnight and currency exchange rate.
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14:17   It's the Speaker's birthday and everyone wished her
Members cutting across party lines today conveyed their greetings to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on the occasion of her birthday. Soon after the House assembled, all members stood up and wished her a very happy birthday and saying they prayed for her good healthy and long life. Mahajan turned 73 today.


Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said he, on behalf of the entire House, wanted to convey greetings to her for her birthday. "On behalf of the entire House, I wish you a long and healthy life,' he said.


The Speaker in return thanked everyone for their greetings. On a lighter note, she said she hoped the members would not mind as she has been reprimanding them often while conducting the House.


Later while asking a supplementary during Question Hour, TRS member Jithender Reddy wished her on her birthday and said a play, based on her book 'Matoshree' and staged in the Parliament House complex yesterday, was very good.

"I hope you too become an icon like Devi Ahilyabai,' he said. The book 'Matoshree', authored by Mahajan, covers the life and times of Devi Ahilyabai Holkar, the Queen of the erstwhile Malwa kingdom in central India.

File pic.
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14:04   Dalai Lama's 'disgraceful performance' will have negative impacts: China
Update on China's statement on the Dalai Lama's Arunachal Pradesh visit.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told reporters that provocative political statements by the Dalai Lama and an Indian official during the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit to the "disputed areas" have "already exceeded the scope of religious activities".


Lu said China will take "further action" to safeguard its sovereignty. "China has lodged representations with the Indian side. We will take further action to safeguard the territorial sovereignty and national security."


Lu said the Dalai Lama's "disgraceful performance" will "have negative impact on proper settlement of the territorial dispute between India and China." China is opposed to the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, particularly Tawang, which it considers as Southern Tibet. Its media and foreign ministry has repeatedly aired its opposition to the Tibetan Buddhist leaders's visit to the region.
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14:01   Dalai Lama's Arunachal visit will impact territorial disputes with India: China
The Chinese foreign ministry has said the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh will negatively impact the settlement of territorial disputes with India. "We will take further action to safeguard China's sovereignty," the
foreign ministry said on Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh.


China on Thursday accused India of "fuelling tensions" and damaging its interests by allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh while the state media called for answering "blows with blows" if New Delhi chooses to "play dirty".


"I can confirm (that) China has lodged protest in Beijing and Delhi," on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing.


The protest was lodged in Beijing with Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale. In Delhi, the protest was lodged with the competent officials of the External Affairs Ministry, Hua said.


Asked whether Beijing views India's permission to the 81-year-old Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh as amounting to questioning the 'One China' policy, Hua said, "I want to re-emphasise that on issues concerning China's major concern and core interests, territorial and sovereignty, China's position is consistent."
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13:39   What the FIR against ScoopWhoop's Suparn Pandey said
In the FIR, according to the Catch News report, the complainant, who worked at ScoopWhoop between 2015 and 2017, claims that her ordeal lasted for almost the entirety of her tenure at the company.

She alleges that it began with verbal harassment from Pandey, who targeted her with "inappropriate comments and lewd remarks'.

At one point, the FIR recounts, Pandey even went as far as to comment on the complainant's sexuality. "Mr. Suparn Pandey in public commented on my sexuality and this comment included calling me a names (sic.) which reflected on my sexual orientation and my sexual preferenes (sic.) as well as characterized me in a certain way', states the FIR.
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13:35   ScoopWhoop co-founder Suparn Pandey charged with sexual harassment
Days after the CEO and founder of The Viral Fever, Arunabh Kumar, was booked by the Mumbai police with charges of sexual harassment, an FIR has now been lodged against ScoopWhoop co-founder, Suparn Pandey who has been charged with sexual harassment and assault.


As reported by the Catch News, other co-founders of the organisation have also been named in the case directly involving Suparn Pandey.


According to the report, the charges against the co-founder has been brought by a senior executive of ScoopWhoop Media Pvt Ltd and the Vasant Kunj police station of Delhi has booked Suparn under Indian penal code sections, 354 A (sexual harassment), section 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman), and section 506 (criminal intimidation).
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13:29   Fresh NBW against Mallya in a FERA violation matter
A Delhi court today issued an open ended non-bailable warrant against beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya in a case of allegedly evading summons in a FERA violation matter.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass passed the order after the Enforcement Directorate submitted that non-bailable warrant issued earlier on November 4 last year by the court has not been executed and it needs more time to do so. An 'open-ended NBW' does not carry a time limit for execution unlike 'NBW'.
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13:27  
Rajya Sabha MP M.K. Kanimozhi was on Tuesday elected president of The Hindu Office and National Press Employees' Union. 
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12:56   Self-certify bank accounts by April 30 or face closure: Govt
All bank account holders who opened accounts between July 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 will have to submit self certification forms by April 30 this year. Failing this, account will be blocked, says a statement issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes.


"The financial institutions are advised that all efforts should be made by the financial institutions to obtain the self-certification. The account holders may be informed that, in case self-certifications are not provided till 30 April 2017, the accounts would be blocked, which would mean that the financial institution would prohibit the account holder from effecting any transaction with respect to such accounts.


The transactions by the account holder in such blocked accounts may, thereafter, be permitted once the self-certification is obtained and due diligence completed,' said Income Tax Commissioner Meenakshi Goswami, Central Board of Direct Taxes in a departmental statement issued on April 11, 2017.


The owners/operators of the accounts in question will have to submit the self-certification certificates by April 30 in compliance to Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) provisions.


The financial institutions were also advised to continue to work on completing the required due diligence, including obtaining self-certifications,' the statement added.
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12:32  
Lok Sabha adjourned sine die.
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12:32   Kashmir limps to normalcy post Budgam violence
A semblance of normalcy returned to Kashmir Valley after two days of shutdown, which was called by separatist leaders in wake of killing of civilians in clashes with security forces during by-election.


Speaking to ANI, a local resident Tahir said, "The entire valley got disturbed with the recent violence during the by-polls. But now people feel relaxed as there is a normal day in Srinagar. All shops and business establishments are seen open today."


The public transport were seen at large at roads as people came out to attend their offices and open their shops as no shut down was call given by Hurriyat leadership.


Meanwhile, the broadband services have been restored but mobile internet continues to remain suspended, as thirty-eight polling stations are going to re-poll in Budgam on April 13.


The police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed in Srinagar city to maintain law and order situation in the valley.


File pic.
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12:30   News from Pakistan
Pakistan's Supreme Court Bar Association has decided to challenge the extension of military courts recently by the Parliament for another two years in the Supreme Court. Read more
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12:25   'I'm certain Pak will not hang Jadhav'
"Not a single man has been exchanged between India and Pakistan in the last 20, 25 years," R K Yadav, former Research and Analysis Wing officer and author of Mission R&AW, tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih. "Both countries should consider this option because prisoners from both India and Pakistan are languishing in each others' jails." Read the interview here.
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12:16   Yogi's Hindu Vahini workers drag Hindu-Muslim couple to police station in Meerut
In yet another incident of moral policing, Hindu Yuva Vahini activists on Wednesday barged into a couple's house in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut city and allegedly dragged the duo to a nearby police station on suspicion of ' love jihad'.

The incident took place in Meerut's Shastri Nagar area.

Nagendra Singh Tomar, the head of Hindu Yuva Vahini in western Uttar Pradesh, demanded action against the boy while alleging that he was trying to convert the girl to Islam.

Tomar told ANI, "I have asked the police to take strict action as the Muslim boy was romancing with a Hindu girl in the house. He wanted to convert her. I also insisted that strict action be taken against the landlords who give rooms on rent without proper verification."

Earlier on Friday, the members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini forced the police to halt prayer at a church in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj, alleging forced conversion.


The right-wing Hindu Vahini group was set up by UP CM Yogi Adityanath in 2002. Both the organisation and its founder have spoken about and acted on love jihad.
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12:03  
Delhi court issues open ended non-bailable warrant against Vijay Mallya for allegedly evading summons in FERA violation matter.
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11:58  
Badminton Association of India president and former Union minister Akhilesh Das Gupta dies after suffering a heart attack, reports ANI.
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11:51   Govt protecting cows, not women, angry Jaya Bachchan bats for Mamata
There was uproar in Parliament today over the bounty on West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

TMC MP Saugata Roy in the Lok sabha raised the issue of a BJP Youth leader issuing a bounty on Bannerjees head
 
"Mamata Banerjee is not just the Chief Minister of Bengal, she is also a leader who has emerged from the grassroots. Strong action must be taken against people who try to make provocations of these nature," Roy said.

The BJP also distanced itself from the comments and condemned it. BJP Leader Ananth Kumar told the Lok Sabha, "We condemn this statement. We respect WB CM Mamata Banerjee."


BJP MP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the state govt was free to take legal action and condemn the statement.

Samajwadi MP Jaya Bachchan also raised the issue in Parliament saying the government must take steps for the protection of women aggressively. "You are protecting cows but atrocities being are committed on women," Bachchan told the Rajya Sabha.

To bring you up to speed, this is what the issue is about.

A leader of the Bharatiya Janata Partys youth wing announced a bounty of Rs 11 lakh for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees head after the police in her state used batons to disperse a rally raising slogans in praise of Lord Ram on Hanuman Jayanti.

The threat was issued by Yogesh Varshney, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

"Mamata government beat up people. If someone was wearing a red shirt or a red pant, they were beaten up brutally by the police. I don't understand...Mamata Banerjee organises Iftar party, she argues for the Muslims. I want to ask her are Hindus not human?

"If they had any humanity, they wouldnt have beaten up like this. If anyone brings me her severed head, I will give that person Rs 11 lakh," Varshney said while criticising the police action on the rally."
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11:30   Ivanka encouraged Trump to order Syrian strikes
It appears that United States President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka had a hand in the decision to authorise a missile strike on a Syrian airbase.

Trump had asserted that the horrific images from a chemical weapons attack in Idlib forced him to order the strike.

According to an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Eric Trump said he is 'sure' that his sister, and newly appointed West Wing adviser Ivanka, encouraged their father to carry out a the strike against the Syrian president, reports CNN.

After more than 80 people were killed, including children, in a chemical weapons attack in Idlib province, the US fired missiles at the Syrian airbase

"Ivanka is a mother of three kids and she has influence. Im sure she said: 'Listen, this is horrible stuff'," Eric said in the interview.

"I stay out of politics and I stay out of the administration, but you can tell he was deeply affected by those images of the children," he added.

A day before the strikes, Ivanka tweeted: 'Heartbroken and outraged by the images coming out of Syria following the atrocious chemical attack yesterday.'

And the day after the strike, she tweeted saying, 'The times we are living in call for difficult decisions -- Proud of my father for refusing to accept these horrendous crimes against humanity.' -- ANI
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10:57  
JUST IN: Congress leader and former Union minister Akhilesh Das Gupta passes away after suffering a heart attack.
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10:51   Yogi govt scraps Samajwadi Pension Scheme
The Uttar Pradesh government has scrapped the Samajwadi Pension Scheme of the previous Samajwadi Party government and ordered a detailed review of its beneficiaries.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was reviewing various schemes being run by the Social Welfare Department of the state, asked the officials to stall the pension scheme and review the list of beneficiaries so as to know whether they are deserving candidates fulfilling eligibility criterion, an official spokesman said.

The officials have been asked to complete the review of beneficiaries in a month's time, the spokesman said, adding that there was a suggestion during the presentation to rename the scheme as mukhyamantri pension yojna.

The scheme provides for a pension of Rs 500 per month for BPL families.   The chief minister also directed the officials to review doubling the pension amount of Rs 500 each in widow, divyang and old age pension scheme and present it before the cabinet. -- PTI
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09:49   No proof of Syria using chemical weapons in Idlib: Putin
Condemning the missile attack by the Unites States on a Syrian airbase, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated the development was clear evidence of international law violation by Washington.

On April 6, 59 US Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired at a Syrian government airbase and President Donald Trump said that the strikes were carried out in a response to a chemical attack on civilians in Idlib that killed over 80 people, including children.

Speaking on the issue in an interview with Mir 24 TV channel, the Russian President said there is no proof that the Syrian government used chemical weapons in Idlib, however, there is startling evidence that US flouted international laws, reports Sputnik.

"Where is evidence that the Syrian troops used chemical weapons? No evidence. And what about violation of the international law? It is an obvious fact. What was the reaction of the NATO allies? All of them are nodding like bobble heads," Putin said.

Earlier, US Defence Secretary James Mattis stressed that he personally reviewed the intelligence on the chemical attack in Syria's Idlib province and the Syrian government was guilty of the crime, however, he did not come forth with evidence to back his claim. -- ANI
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09:07   BJP youth wing leader offers Rs 11 lakh for Mamata Banerjee's head
A Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader courted a controversy by announcing a reward of Rs 11 lakh for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's head, following a lathi-charge at Birbhum district to disperse a rally raising slogans of 'Jai Sri Ram' on Hanuman Jayanti.

"Those who will cut and bring West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee head, I will give that person Rs 11 lakh. Mamata Banerjee never allows Saraswati Puja, fairs during Ram Navami and during Hanuman Jayanti procession, people were lathi-charged and brutally beaten up. She organises iftar party and always supports Muslims," BJYM leader Yogesh Varshney said.

In West Bengal's Birbhum, Suri police on Sunday had already warned the Bir Hanuman Jayanti organisers that it would not allow holding of any rally or meeting at Suri on Tuesday.

The organisers requested and assured the police that that they would not carry arms.

However, the police did not move from its stand and charged on. -- ANI
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08:54   Dortmund explosions not a terror attack: German security sources
German security sources have said that there are no indications that the three explosions that rocked the Borussia Dortmund team bus were part of an organised terror attack, national news agency DPA reported.

'No element' points in the direction of such an assault, said the German agency.

The German police also said that they believe the explosions were directly targeted at the club.

"We are assuming that they were a targeted attack against the Dortmund team," Dortmund city's police chief was quoted as saying by news agencies. -- Agencies

Police near the Borussia Dortmund team hotel after an explosion. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach Livepic/ Reuters
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08:21   Death sentence to Jadhav 'politically motivated': US experts
Top United States experts have expressed concern over Pakistan's decision to give death penalty to Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav as they warned that Islamabad wants to send a 'strong message' to India against isolating it on the world stage.

"Apart from the gross irregularities in the Jadhav situation, such as the lack of consular access and the secrecy surrounding the surprise court-martial, what struck me the most is the contrast between the speed of Mr Jadhav's trial set against the endless postponements for that of the Mumbai attackers," Alyssa Ayres, a former senior State Department official in its South and Central Asia Bureau said.

"The latter case, by contrast, has been in a continual state of prolongation for nearly nine years," Ayres said.

She is currently senior fellow for India, Pakistan and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, a top American think-tank.

Bharat Gopalaswamy, director of South Asia Centre at the Atlantic Council, a Washington, DC based top US think-tank, believes that the evidence warranting Jadhav's conviction 'is rather flimsy' and the story by the Pakistani authorities 'do not add up'.

Without furnishing further evidence, this conviction as it stands, 'seems to be politically motivated' in order to counter India's aggressive diplomacy against Pakistan in combating terrorism, he said.

"This whole story is shrouded in mystery and uncertainty, but it seems clear that Pakistan wants to send a very strong message to India, whether to warn New Delhi against meddling in Pakistan or to push back in a big way against India's efforts to isolate Pakistan on the world stage," said Michael Kugelman, deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Center.

"At the same time, given how much India will want to ensure that Jadhav isn't executed, Pakistan now has a very large bargaining chip at its disposal. Pakistan may want to use Jadhav as a trump card to get some type of major concession from India," Kugelman said.

"The bottom line is that India-Pakistan relations are on life support. We can kiss goodbye any immediate prospects for resuming dialogue, though that wasn't a very strong possibility even before the announcement about Jadhav's death sentence. Ultimately, India and Pakistan face some very dark and dangerous days ahead," he said. -- PTI

IMAGE: Congress workers protest in Mumbai against Pakistan for sentencing former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav to death. Photograph: PTI Photo
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00:28   US probing possible Russia collusion in Syria chemical attack
The US is probing a possible Russian involvement in the Assad regime's chemical attack in Syria last week, the White House said today.

"We do think that it is a question worth asking the Russians about how is it possible that their forces were co-located with the Syrian forces that planned, prepared, and carried out chemical weapons attack at the same installation and did not have foreknowledge," a senior administration
official told reporters at the White House.

The official said that there were Russian forces co-located with Syrian forces at the Shayrat airfield in addition to many other installations around the country.

However, the senior White House official said as of now they do not have information on the Russian involvement, but it is clear that Moscow is trying to cover up what happened there.
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00:06   Borussia Dortmund's match cancelled after explosion near team bus
Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that their match against Monaco in the Champions League game has been postponed after an explosion took place near the team bus at the team hotel.

The team's defender Marc Bartra is reported to have been taken to hospital.

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