LIVE! Chinese submarine, 'fighting pirates' in Indian Ocean, shows up in Malaysia

LIVE

Sat, 07 January 2017

Chinese submarine, 'fighting pirates' in Indian Ocean, shows up in Malaysia

Timeline Refresh

20:58 Chinese submarine, 'fighting pirates' in Indian Ocean, shows up in Malaysia

In yet another sign of Beijing's growing Naval might, a fresh image has emerged of a Chinese diesel-electric submarine in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia after an extended deployment in the Indian Ocean.

Images on the Royal Malaysian Navy's official Twitter page show images of what is thought to be a Type 039 'Song' class diesel electric submarine at Kota Kinabalu along with a large support ship. And in a statement released last night, the Chinese Defence Ministry is reported to have said that the submarine had docked in Malaysia for supplies and a crew rest period while returning from what Beijing insists are anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia.

This is an assertion rejected outright by the Indian Navy which points out that advanced military assets like a submarines are hardly appropriate in tackling Somali pirates who sail the seas off the Horn of Africa in small skiffs. The Chinese submarine has been docked at Kota Kinabalu since Tuesday and was scheduled to depart today.

As the fight for the cycle symbol heats up, Ram Gopal Yadav headed to the Election Commission to stake claim to the symbol. Speaking to reporters, the Yadav uncle, who is favouring Akhilesh, said, "We have over 90 per cent support of the members. Prima facie SP led by Akhilesh Yadav is the real Samajwadi party hence we have right over the cycle symbol."

The Yadav uncle added that he had brought with him 7 cartons with more than 1.5 lakh pages of documents to show that they had the majority and hence, they were the real SP.

Not new to controversies, BJP leader and Maharashtra Minister Pankaja Munde has now raised eyebrows with her remark that "our people don't even know how to take (bribe) money".

"Aapalya lokanna paisa kasa khayacha te kalat nahi, kothehee sahyaa kartaat. (Our people do not even know how to take money (bribe). They sign any paper)," said the women and child welfare minister, who was last month given a clean chit in the 'chikki' case by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, at a meet in Neknoor village in Beed district.

Local news channels aired the video of her purported remarks made on January 5 evening while speaking at the rally in her native district in central Maharashtra.

Munde, who is the daughter of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, is also the Guardian Minister of Beed and Latur districts in Marathwada.

19:45

Portugal PM Antonio Costa gifts PM Modi the Portugal football team's jersey personally autographed by Cristiano Ronaldo.

19:05 RJD strongman Shahabuddin's jail-selfie goes viral, sends cops into a tizzy

Mafia don turned politician Mohammad Shahabuddin may be lodged inside the Siwan jail but few pictures of him clicked inside the jail have gone viral which is indicative of the clout the former Rashtriya Janata Dal MP enjoys even inside the jail.

In the pictures which have gone viral on the social media, the dreaded don is seen in an entirely new look and get up. Shahabuddin who has thick hair and moustache, in the picture is seen with his head shaven and moustache trimmed.

The question which rises is how Shahabuddin has managed to access mobile phone inside the jail with the help of which he is not only got himself clicked but also took a selfie.

Further, what is also intriguing is how these pictures were uploaded on the Facebook? Were the pictures uploaded from inside the jail or by someone outside the jail?

18:59 Court rejects bail plea of lawyer Rohit Tandon

A Delhi court on Saturday dismissed the bail plea of controversial lawyer Rohit Tandon, who was arrested in connection with the money laundering case post demonetisation.

The Enforcement Directorate had arrested him after a raid in connection with a black money probe which led to the alleged seizure of Rs 13.6 crore from his law firm.

Tandons bail plea was rejected by Additional Sessions Judge R K Tripathi. ED strongly opposed his contention on the ground that the investigation is at a crucial stage.

He was arrested on December 29 last year and after initial interrogation, he was sent to judicial custody for 14 days on January 2.

Wayne Rooney makes history by equalling Bobby Charlton's Manchester United record, becomes the club's leading all-time goalscorer after netting his 249th goal (543 matches) during an FA Cup match against Reading on Saturday.

As part of Congress' country-wide agitation against demonetisation, leaders and workers from city unit of the party today held a protest and demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "jeopardising" the lives of countrymen through his note-ban exercise.

The protest was held at the Suburban District Collector's office, where a large number of Congress leaders and workers, including Mumbai unit President Sanjay Nirupam, were present.

"Countrymen have been reeling under the devastation caused by demonetisation. Modiji you had asked 50 days from the people of the country (to restore normalcy) but it has now been two months and the people are still running from pillar to post to get their own money.

"As many as 138 people have died so far (at banks/ATMs while exchanging banned notes or withdrawing cash) but you have not shown even basic courtesy to condole their death," Nirupam said.

"You must tender an unconditional apology for jeopardising the lives of countrymen," the former Lok Sabha MP said while addressing the party workers in suburban Bandra.

Meerut Police registered an FIR against BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj on Saturday, a day after the parliamentarian indirectly blamed Muslims for the population growth in the country.

"Population is increased by those who support the concept of four wives and 40 children. Strict laws are required in this country if we really want to curb population. Parties need to rise above politics and take decision for the sake of the country," the BJP MP from Unnao had said in Meerut, sparking a controversy barely four days after Supreme Court made it illegal to seek votes in the name of religion or caste.

The FIR was filed against sections 153b, 295a, 188, 505/3, 298 and 171 of the Indian Penal Code.

The Election Commission on Saturday sought a report from Meerut district administration in relation to the contorversy stoked by Sakshi Maharaj.

"The commission has sought a report from the Meerut administration in connection with the statement issued by Sakshi Maharaj on Friday," the Chief Electoral Office said.

The BJP has distanced itself from party MP Maharaj's controversial comment, saying it is not the view of the ruling party nor that of the NDA government at the Centre.

Contrary to the war rhetoric that followed the Uri terror attack, majority of Pakistanis are in favour of talks with India, a latest survey has revealed.

About 68 per cent of Pakistanis favour dialogue with India, believing that it will significantly decrease hostility between the two South Asian neighbours, according to a study released by Gilani Research Foundation and carried out by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistan affiliate of Gallup International.

17:40

JUST IN: FIR filed against Sakshi Maharaj for his speech in which he blamed Muslims for increasing the population.

17:19 German woman allegedly molested by landlord in Delhi

With the nation still reeling from the recent slew of sexual assault cases, another case of molestation has surfaced in Delhi's posh Hauz Khas area, where a German woman research scholar was allegedly molested by her landlord last year on November 30.

The Delhi Police on Saturday said they have received a complaint from the Delhi Commission for Women regarding the case and that an investigation is underway.

"A complaint was forwarded from the DCW to us and a molestation case has been registered. Also an investigation is underway. We have contacted the concerned victim," Delhi South Western Range Joint Commissioner, Deependra Pathak said.

The victim had lodged a complaint with Swati Maliwal, the chairperson of DCW on December 5 and the police registered the FIR on December 27 under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of woman) of the IPC at the Hauz Khas Police Station.

16:56

JUST IN: Congress Election Committee meeting scheduled to take place on Jan 10. Navjot Singh Sidhu likely to join Congress on Jan 9.

16:30 Bengaluru molestation: Was groped after cops started caning people, says survivor

Shradha Sreejay, 26, a professional from Thiruvananthapuram, recounts the horror she endured on New Year's Eve when a mob of men molested women at Brigade Road and MG Road.

"It was around 2 am on Jan 1 and I was walking down MG Road with three friends when we saw a crowd running towards Brigade Road from Church Street. Police had resorted to lathicharge to control an unruly mob on Church Street and the mob was running away from them. We decided to move out of the street to a corner near Blossoms cafe, when one of the men from the crowd suddenly groped me from behind. He held me for a couple of seconds and my mind just went blank for a couple of seconds. I was shell-shocked and could not fathom what was happening. I looked at the man's face and felt a wave of disgust and I pushed him away. He joined the crowd and ran away from there."

Read full account HERE

Two days after Nitish Kumar received lavish praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his liquor prohibition policy in the state, the Bihar chief minister has decided to double up the length of a human chain planned to raise awareness on the issue.

Nitish Kumar had planned a human chain spanning 5,000 kilometres on January 21 to bolster support among common people on the prohibition policy. The chain will now be spread over a stretch of 11,000 kilometres.

The Bihar government is trying to ensure participation of over two crore people in the event, which will be the world's largest and biggest on any issue.

In an another shocking incident from Bengaluru, a young woman has been molested in the city.

The incident is said to have taken place on January 4 near Banaswadi police station.

The woman was returning to home from a gym when she was allegedly attacked by a stranger.

The victim has filed a complaint with police based on which the investigation has been initiated.

This incident is fourth in a series of molestation cases which have marred the image of one the most cosmopolitan cities of India.

Earlier, on New Year's eve, mass molestation of women was reported in and around the junction of Brigade Road and M G Road, where thousands had gathered to celebrate the New Year.

On Friday, a 23-year-old woman was allegedly molested and attacked by a man while she was on her way to the office. The incident took place in Bengaluru's KG Hills area and the victim's tongue was also bitten.

Its Odisha again. A villager in the eastern states Angul district walked for more than 15 kilometres carrying his dead daughter on his shoulder after failing to get a hearse van.

The man, identified as Gati Dhibar, of Pechamundi village, was forced into the ordeal after his five-year-old daughter died at the Palalahada Community Health Centre in Angul.

The incident brings back memories of Dana Majhi, who walked for around 10 kilometres carrying his dead wife on his shoulders, triggering nationwide outrage last year.

In August, the impoverished Majhi was forced to walk after his pleas for an ambulance or a hearse failed to melt the heart of officials at the district hospital in Bhawanipatna. One of his sobbing daughters accompanied him till startled bystanders alerted a local TV journalist.

The father of 12-year-old Parth -- who has a rare and deadly brain disorder -- had almost given up hope to treat his son. He had spent all his savings, sold off his property and his wife's jewellery.

With no option left, Parth's father thought, "Why not write to the PM?" And to his complete surprise, he got a reply. A positive one.

Parth is from Gujarat's Amreli district and suffers from the rare Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis, a deadly brain disorder related to measles (rubeola) infection. The disease is debilitating and progressive.

"He (Parth) was diagnosed with the disease some four months back. I consulted all the specialists in Amreli as well as in Ahmedabad but there was no improvement in his condition," Parth's father said.

"I sold all my property, including my wife's jewellery, to help my only son. As a final resort, I wrote a letter to PM Modi and to the health ministry seeking help in the treatment for Parth," he said.

A few days later, the family received a letter from the Prime Minister's office assuring free and full treatment for the boy in All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

"Parth is now undergoing treatment at AIIMS after PM assured us full support and financial assistance for my son's treatment. So now, not only do we have financial aid, the PM has also given us moral support."

14:20 Ex-serviceman shot dead in Gurgaon

A 50year-old ex-serviceman was today shot dead by an unidentified bike-borne assailant near his residence in Gurgaon.

Police said the incident took place at around 9 am when the ex-serviceman Subhash was at his under-construction plot near his residence in Badshahpur village.

According to police, Subhash daily offered prayers at the temple built on his under-construction plot.He was coming back after prayers when the bike-borne assailant fired six to seven rounds at him.

"Subhash received six to seven bullet wounds. Prima facie it appears to be a case of old enmity. We are investigating all possible angles," ACP-Manish Sehgal Gurgaon Police said.

Subhash was taken to a nearby private hospital by locals where he was declared dead on arrival. The body has been sent for postmortem.

14:02

JUST IN: Court issues non-bailable warrant against British national James Christian Michel in Augusta Westland case

13:46 Apple cuts Tim Cook's pay as iPhone sales fall first time

iPhone maker Apple has cut its CEO Tim Cook's salary by a whopping 15 per cent for 2016 as annual sales declined for the year, missing targets that also led to the tech giant's first annual revenue decline in 15 years.

The company gave the 56-year-old $8.75 million in total compensation last year, down from the $10.28 million he received in 2015, according to a Securities and Exchange filing released yesterday.

Cook's salary rose to USD 3 million from USD 2 million last year - a 50 per cent increase, his cash bonus took a hit. Apple awarded Cook and other executives 89.5 per cent of their target, instead of the maximum amount like in recent years.

Hence, Cook's cash bonus fell to $5.4 million in 2016, down from $8 million the year before and declining for the first time since he assumed leadership of the company in 2011.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav appears poised to retain the vast majority of his party's voter support if the split with his father continues, but the move might just give the BJP the edge in UP, a Huffpost-CVoter snap poll suggests.

CVoter polled 5,623 Samajwadi Party supporters across all 403 assembly constituencies over January 3-5 from its database of over 50,000 respondents who have participated in its weekly tracker poll in Uttar Pradesh.

The poll found that 81.4 per cent of SP supporters said that they would vote for the party under Akhilesh in the event of a split, 5 per cent said they would go with Mulayam Singh Yadav and another 7.8 per cent said that they would move to another party.

Support for Akhilesh was stronger among younger people, men, the better off and the better educated and in the Avadh, Bundelkhand and Rohilkhand regions.

Eminent Indian-Americans from across America are gearing to celebrate inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the US with a presidential ball along with other Asian American community on January 19.

The only presidential inaugural ball of its kind, among others, would also felicitate Indian-Americans who have been nominated by Trump to key positions in his administration.

Prominent among them being South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who has been nominated to the position of US Ambassador to the United Nations, which is a Cabinet level post.

"Asian Pacific American Presidential Inaugural Gala 2017" being organised by Trump-Pence Asian Pacific American Advisory Committee and the National Committee of Asian American Republicans has several top Indian-Americans on its leadership team, including Puneet Ahuwalia from Virginia, K V Kumar from California, Shalabh Kumar from Illinois, and Harry Walia from Florida.

"The Asian Pacific American Gala is a defining statement of our nations diverse strength and huge intellectual capital amongst the Asian American Communities. Indian-Americans should be leading the Presidential inaugural celebration as we have the most to benefit with strong US-India relations," Puneet Ahluwalia, Finance Chairman of the gala said.

India will base its first squadron of Rafale fighter jets, which are also capable of delivering nuclear weapons, in the eastern sector as part of the overall policy to gradually build nuclear as well as conventional deterrence against China.

With Sukhoi-30MKI fighters already operating from Tezpur and Chabua in Assam, the IAF has now finalised plans for the first 18 Rafales to be stationed at the Hasimara airbase in Bengal from late-2019.

This comes at a time when India is also conducting final trials of the nuclear-capable Agni-IV and Agni-V ballistic missiles after the Strategic Forces Command inducted the Agni-III a couple of years ago.

Under the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked with France in September last year, the IAF will get 36 Rafales in batches by mid-2022 or so. With 14 India-specific requirements, including the capability for "cold start" from high-altitude regions, the Rafale packs quite a punch with its ability to carry 9.3-tonne of weapons and simultaneously perform both air defence and ground attack missions.

The Sarsawa base in UP, among other places, is being considered for the second Rafale squadron.

While talking to the media in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, controversial BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj has said that population rise was due to a certain community and it allowing four wives and 40 children.

"Population rise is not due to Hindus. It is the result of certain communities that allow 4 wives and 40 children," he said. His statement is being looked at as a clear violation of recent Supreme Court order on keeping religion off the table during campaigning for polls.

The BJP MP was not addressing a rally or a poll campaign but was speaking amid a large crowd when he made the communally sensitive comment in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. It is to be seen if the election commission takes cognisance of Sakshi Maharaj's statement and initiate action against him. He has been in the news multiple times previously for similar communally insensitive or instigative comments.

The call traffic between hawala agents in India dropped almost by half post demonetisation, says a recent assessment by the central intelligence agencies. Payments to the end beneficiary of hawala deals are traditionally in cash, with Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 being the favoured denominations.

The demonetisation of these high-value notes on November 9 severely affected hawala operators, and going solely by call traffic, their business may be down by 50 per cent, said an intelligence source.

Terror funds are mostly sourced in counterfeit currency, comprising high-quality fake notes that Indian agencies suspect are printed at the Pakistan government printing press in Quetta and its security press at Karachi.

Given this fact and the drop in hawala transactions, demonetisation has dried up funds used for organised stone-pelting in Kashmir and paying overground terror supporters in the state.

Intelligence officials claim that terrorism-related violence in J&K dipped by 60 per cent post the cash ban, with only one major blast reported from the valley in December.

An intelligence official claimed that apart from organised stone-pelting, a direct casualty of demonetisation in J&K was the overground network of terror facilitators.

10:56 Delhi witnesses first spell of winter rains

It was a rain-soaked morning in the national capital today with the minimum temperature recorded at 13.5 degrees Celsius, six notches above the season's average.

Bad weather, meanwhile, delayed 70 trains while 16 had to be rescheduled and seven cancelled, a northern railways spokesperson said.

Flight operations at IGI Airport were not affected. The weather office forecast said the sky would be generally cloudy and the maximum temperature is likely to be around 21 degrees Celsius.

Private agency Skymet said the scattered showers across the city are part of the "first spell" of winter rains and the city may witness one or two more spell of rains later in the day.

Photograph: ANI

A legislator from Meghalaya who had been absconding after his name emerged in a rape case was today arrested in Guwahati.

Independent MLA Julius K Dorhphang was arrested from Garchuk in Guwahati in a joint operation by Meghalaya and Assam police.

Dorhphang, a former rebel leader of the outlawed Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council, went into hiding after police registered a case against him for allegedly raping a minor.

On January 4, a local court issued non-bailable warrant against Mr Dorphang after he failed to appear before the Investigating Officer, probing the case.

09:59

Sydney Test: Australia (538/8d, 241/2d) beat Pakistan (315, 244) by 220 runs to sweep series 3-0.

09:32 Postponement of budget: EC seeks Centre's response

The Election Commission has asked the government to respond to the Opposition's demands to postpone of the Union budget in view of the upcoming assembly elections in five states.

Several opposition parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the DMK and the JD-U had appealed to the Election Commission to postpone of the Union budget after elections are over in the five states.

The Union budget is expected to be presented on February 1. And polls in five states are scheduled to start February 4 . Opposition parties fear the BJP will announce sops and other programs to sway voters towards them. This would be a violation of the Model Code of Conduct, they said.

09:15

Over six vehicles stationed for road construction work in Kanker's Pakhanjore, Chhattisgarh, set on fire by more than 30 naxalites, reports ANI.

09:08 Trump does not blame Russia for hacking after intel briefing

President-elect Donald Trump declined to single out Russia over cyber-interference in the US election after a briefing by top intelligence chiefs today, and said he was confident the outcome was not affected by hacking.

Trump made the statement after meeting four top intelligence chiefs who have concluded that senior Russian government officials were behind an unprecedented effort to influence the election by hacking and leaking documents that embarrassed Trump rival Hillary Clinton.

"While Russia, China, other countries, outside groups and people are consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses and organisations including the Democrat National Committee, there was absolutely no effect on the outcome of the election," he said in a statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign of hacking and media manipulation aimed at undermining the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton and boosting Donald Trump, US intelligence said in a report.

"We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency," said the report from the Director of National Intelligence.

00:38 US pays for wall first, Mexico later: Trump

United States President-elect Donald Trump said on Friday Mexico ultimately will pay for his planned border wall, a day after news emerged that his transition team had asked fellow Republicans in Congress to vote to approve the funding.

Trump told the New York Times he would most likely seek repayment through renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which groups the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Sean Spicer, a spokesman for Trump, said on Friday the incoming administration is seeking to fund the wall through the appropriations process and that Trump said in October Mexico's payment would be a reimbursement.

"The idea that we're going through the appropriations process and figuring out how to pay for it shouldn't be news, he told a briefing, confirming earlier reports on the funding.

Timeline Refresh

TOP STORIES