LIVE! Tillerson's senior team planning to skip Ivanka Trump's India trip

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Sat, 25 November 2017

Tillerson's senior team planning to skip Ivanka Trump's India trip

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21:10 Tillerson's senior team planning to skip Ivanka Trump's India trip

Days ahead of what should be a major moment for Ivanka Trump on the world stage, it has been learnt that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson isn't sending a high-level delegation to support her amid reports of tensions between Tillerson and the White House.

Multiple State Department officials, as well as a source close to the White House have told CNN Tillerson's decision not to send senior State Department officials to this year's Global Entrepreneurship Summit, being held in India next week, is not related to his key project of slashing the Department's budget, and is more to do with the fact Ivanka Trump is leading the US delegation this year.

Trump was invited by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, and this year's theme is supporting women entrepreneurs.

"They (Tillerson and his staff) won't send someone senior because they don't want to bolster Ivanka. It's now another rift between the White House and State at a time when Rex Tillerson doesn't need any more problems with the US President," the official added.

Days after Lalu Yadav older son Tej Pratap threatened to disrupt the wedding of Bihar Deputy chief minister Sushil Modi's son, the family was "forced to change" the function venue, the BJP leader said.

Tej Pratap Yadav on Thursday prophesied an assault by him on Modi, who invited Tej Pratap to his son Utkarsh's wedding on December 3.

"If I attend, I will enter his house and beat him up. If I go to his son's marriage, I will expose him," promised Tej Pratap, who was a minister in Bihar till July before Chief Minister Nitish Kumar quit the Grand Alliance over corruption charges against Lalu Yadav and his family and joined hands with the BJP to form the government in the state.

Although here was no condemnation from Lalu Yadav's party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, but the RJD chief has assured Modi and his family that his son won't create any problem at the wedding.

The wedding ceremony will now be conducted at Veterinary College Ground instead of Shakha Maidan, which was close to Modi 's ancestral house in Patna.

Unhappy over the BJP nominating his daughter-in-law instead of his wife from the Kaalol assembly seat in Gujarat, party MP Prabhatsinh Chauhan has warned that he would not guarantee a win for the party, if the candidate is not replaced with someone of his choice.

The BJP yesterday released its fifth list of 13 candidates for the second phase of assembly polls in Gujarat. In the list, the ruling party dropped sitting MLA Arvindsinh Chauhan and instead fielded Prabhatsinh Chauhan's daughter-in-law Suman Chauhan from the Kaalol seat in Panchmahal district.

Enraged over the announcement, Prabhatsinh Chauhan dashed off a letter to BJP chief Amit Shah yesterday, urging him to replace Suman Chauhan with a "local candidate".

Although, in the letter he did not clearly demand that his wife Rangeshwari be given the party ticket, recently he had told reporters that she was the best candidate for the Kaalol seat.

While Rangeshwari is the president of Ghoghamba taluka panchayat of Panchamahal district, Suman Chauhan is a member of Panchmahal district panchayat.

In the letter, the parliamentarian also alleged that his son Pravinsinh is a "bootlegger" and that he and his wife had even gone to jail.

Prabhatsinh Chauhan, a prominent Rajput face in the region, who had joined the BJP in 1992, claimed that though he had single-handedly established the BJP's dominance in that district over the years, he has been ignored by the party and not given any post in the organisation.

-- PTI

Haryana's Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suraj Pal Amu on Saturday threatened West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of a similar fate like Surpanakha if she continues to support Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus Padmavati.

The party's chief media coordinator, Amu said, "Mamata Banerjee should not forget how woman like Surpanakha was dealt by Lakshman, who chopped off her nose."

"Like Rani Padmavati, she (Mamata) is also a woman. If she cannot respect a woman, she will get the answer from the people of Bengal," added Amu.

Amu made the statement after Banerjee, at an event on Friday, welcomed the film to be released in Bengal.

A few days back, the Bengal CM tweeted in support of the film, Padmavati, and said the controversy surrounding it to be "the calculated plan of a political party to destroy freedom of expression".

"We condemn this super emergency. All in the film industry must come together and protest in one voice," the tweet further reads.

Earlier on November 19, Amu made derogatory remarks against Bhansali, actress Deepika Padukone and actor Ranveer Singh and announced a reward of Rs 10 crore for beheading the actress.

Veteran actor Shabana Azmi today said the country is seeing episodes of hyper-nationalism and although the phenomenon was not novel, people need to be alarmed about it.

The 67-year-old actor said that understanding the difference between nationalism and patriotism was the need of the hour.

"Patriotism concerns itself with the lives of the people in this geographical entity and also concerns with improving their lot. So you can continue to be very patriotic and still be critical about certain issues in the society. In no way, does it make you unpatriotic," Azmi said.

"But what we are seeing now (in the country) is hyper-nationalism. And that is something to be alarmed about. It has always existed. (And) Culture and arts are always attacked first because the country's image is defined by what they represent," she added.

The actor was addressing the panel discussion on 'Nationalism and Arts' at the Times Litfest, along with noted lyricist husband Javed Akhtar.

-- PTI

Actor Prakash Raj took on the Narendra Modi-led government over the delay in starting the winter session of the Parliament.

In his post that went with the hashtag #justasking, the national award-winning actor asked the reason behind the winter session being delayed.

Why is the winter session not happening, reads the question.

Using satire as a weapon, Raj then gives the options to the questions. The first option says that its not cold yet while the second option to the question is targeted at the politicians over the upcoming assembly elections and said that they might have been busy somewhere else. It may get too hot and embarrassing to answer before elections, reads the third and final option.

Raj has been taking digs at the government and those in authority on his Twitter handle over the past few days. Under the hashtag #justasking, he has been asking some valid questions and mocking Twitter trolls.

For instance, recently he asked the politicians that if they were listening to the people and fulfilling their promises or were they just busy in talking and campaigning for the next elections.

The over 100-year-old Krumbiegel Hall in Bengaluru's iconic Lalbagh has been demolished, leading to grief and outrage among heritage lovers and the great granddaughter of the architect, who had enhanced the glory of the famed garden.

The city chapter of Delhi-based INTACH, expressing its shock over the demolition, has shot a letter to the Karnataka government, urging it to create a fitting memorial to Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel whose significant horticultural contribution helped the city earn the moniker of 'Garden City'.

UK-based Alyia Phelps-Gardiner Krumbiegel, his great granddaughter, said, she was in tears when she saw the pictures of the demolition site.

"I was so upset, I cried and cried. The Hall was a link to connect to his life and legacy. It was a lecture hall and he used to spend a lot of time there during his appointment as the superintendent of the Lalbagh. I only have some old pictures of him sitting inside to comfort myself now," she said.

-- PTI

All roads leading to the residence of Nawaz Sharif have been closed and police commandos deployed to stop hundreds of protesters from reaching the house of the ousted prime minister of Pakistan, a police officer said

today.

About 2,000 activists of Tehreek-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat, Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah and the Sunni Tehreek Pakistan for more than two weeks have been blocking the Islamabad Expressway and Murree Road that connect Islamabad with its only airport and the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

The protesters demand the resignation of law minister Zahid Hamid for changes made about Khatm-i-Nabuwwat or finality of prophethood oath in the Elections Act 2017 passed in September.

Seeking to exploit a crude meme tweeted by the Congress mocking the Prime Minister's `chaiwala' past, BJP leaders, including Arun Jaitley and Amit Shah, will listen to PM's radio talk 'Mann ki Baat' while having tea with people across poll-bound Gujarat tomorrow.

The event, to be held at all 50,128 polling booths in 182 Assembly seats, is named `Mann ki Baat - Chai Ke Saath'.

While BJP chief Amit Shah will attend the program in the Dariyapur constituency in Ahmedabad, the Union finance minister will have tea with people at a booth in Adajan area of the Surat-West seat.

The event is being organised ahead of Narendra Modi's tour of Gujarat on November 27 and 29, during which he will address eight rallies in Saurashtra and south Gujarat which would be going to polls on December 9.

-- PTI

The DMK today named N Marudu Ganesh as its candidate for the December 21 bypoll to the Dr Radha Krishnan Nagar assembly constituency which fell vacant after the demise of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa last year.

DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan announced Ganesh's candidature in a party release.

N Marudu Ganesh, alias N M Ganesh, is a journalist-turned-politician. The DMK had fielded him for the bypoll, which was supposed to be held on April 12 earlier.

-- PTI

A Zimbabwean high court judge has ruled that the military action leading to Robert Mugabe's resignation was legal.

High Court Judge George Chiweshe ruled that the military's actions "in intervening to stop the takeover" of Mugabe's constitutional functions "by those around him are constitutionally and lawful," said Chiweshe.

The military stepped in almost two weeks ago after Mugabe's firing of deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa amid fears that Mugabe's wife was positioning herself to take power.

Zimbabwe's military has sought to show its actions were not a coup.

The judge said the military's actions ensured that non-elected individuals do not exercise executive functions.

16:23

JUST IN: Egypt mosque attack death toll rises to 305, including 27 children

16:17 Judiciary obliged to stand with citizens on Fundamental Rights: CJI

Dismissing the perception of judicial activism, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra today said that protection of fundamental rights of citizens is the "sacrosanct duty of the judiciary" and it is obliged to stand with citizens if government entities "encroach" upon their fundamental rights.

Justice Misra said: "The citizens have been guaranteed fundamental rights and the governing entities are not expected to encroach upon it. The moment they encroach upon it or there is an apprehension that there is an encroachment, the judiciary is obliged to stand by them."

Chief Justice Misra defended the court taking a pro-active position on the fundamental rights of citizens and expanding their scope.

"There is a perception that there is a judicial activism... I must clarify protection of fundamental rights of each and every citizen is the sacrosanct duty of the judiciary which has been conferred on by the Constitution. Fundamental rights have been expended from the date the Constitution came into existence," he said.

As a mark of solidarity with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversy-hit "Padmavati", hundreds of people - from filmmakers to workers - across the country have announced a 15-minute blackout tomorrow.

The Indian Films and TV Directors' Association, along with 19 other bodies of the film and television industry from across the country will stop shooting for 15 minutes to protect the right to freedom of expression of those in the creative field.

"Over 600-700 people from the entire film industry in India from filmmakers to writers, workers, make-up men will come together in support of 'Padmavati'.

"All shoots across India will be halted from 4.15 pm to 4.30 pm. Through this protest we are trying to say let us know - Are we free people? Are we living in a democratic country?" filmmaker and IFTDA convenor, Ashoke Pandit said.

Referring to the country-wide agitation against the film, Pandit said if a "great filmmaker" like Bhansali can be threatened for exercising creative freedom, it can happen with anyone in the fraternity.

-- PTI

Andy Murray made fun of Donald Trump on Twitter after the US president said he took a pass on being named Time Magazines Person of the Year for 2017.

The tennis player tweeted a parody of Trumps comments that he had been told he was probably in line for the honour, but could not accept due to the media commitments involved.

The US president said: "Earlier Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named Man (Person) of the Year, like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!"

Murray then tweeted that the BBC had called him saying he was probably going to be named Sports Personality of the Year and then repeated Trumps excuse for why he would not be able to accept. Here's what he wrote: "Bbc just called to say I was PROBABLY going to be named sports personality of the year but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!"

Meanwhile, Time Magazine has responded to Trumps tweet denying he was due to named Person of the Year. Trump was named the magazines Person of the Year for 2016 for his unexpected win over Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.

An RTI activist has sent a legal notice to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, seeking an explanation for his "abrupt" decision to ban the movie 'Padmavati' before its release.

The RTI activist wonders why MP banned the movie "on the basis of controversies and media reports". Chouhan had announced on November 20 -- after meeting Rajput representatives -- that Padmavati will not be screened in MP until corrections are made "as per public demand".

Gwalior resident Hari Krishna Basneria , through his lawyer Purshotam Rai, has sought a reply in three days, pointing out that the movie was "banned" without a gazette notification.

Members of the US First Daughters' Club sprang into action when one of their own came under attack.

This week, conservative media outlets and tabloids have been circulating and reporting on videos that they claim show Malia Obama former US president Barack Obama's oldest daughter who is a student at Harvard kissing a young man before a football game and blowing smoke rings.

Typically, the media refrains from reporting on the personal lives of the children of presidents and former presidents, allowing them to have some privacy.

Ivanka took to Twitter and wrote, "Malia Obama should be allowed the same privacy as her school aged peers. She is a young adult and private citizen, and should be off limits.

Soon after, Clinton tweeted: Malia Obamas private life, as a young woman, a college student, a private citizen, should not be your clickbait. Be better.

14:29

JUST IN: All TV channels in Pakistan have been shut down due to unrest in Islamabad.

14:10 Kerala love jihad case: Husband fears Hadiya being forced to reconvert

Sheffin Jahan, husband of Hadiya, has filed a complaint stating that attempts are being made to reconvert her to Hinduism ahead of her being produced in Supreme Court on Monday.

Hadiya, a Hindu, had converted to Islam and later married Jahan. It was alleged that the woman was recruited by Islamic State's mission in Syria and Jahan was only a stooge.

Jahan had on September 20 approached the apex court seeking recall of its August 16 order directing the NIA to investigate the controversial case of conversion and marriage of a Hindu woman with him.

Jahan had moved the apex court after the Kerala high court annulled his marriage, saying it was an insult to the independence of women in the country.

Earlier too, Jahan had stated that he feared for her safety.

Image: Hadiya with her father

The steep fare hike will "kill" Delhi Metro, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today, a day after an RTI revealed that the metro lost over three lakh commuters a day due to the fare increase.

Kejriwal also asked what purpose the metro serves if people stop using it.

"This steep hike in metro fare will kill Delhi Metro. If people stop using it, then what purpose does it serve?," Kejriwal tweeted.

Yesterday, the chief minister said that recent metro fare hike has not benefited anyone.

Last month, the Delhi CM had called metro fare hike "anti-people".

-- PTI

The bullet-ridden body of an army jawan, who was abducted by terrorists while on vacation, was found in Shopian district of south Kashmir on Saturday morning.

The soldier who had been posted in Gurez sector of north Kashmir was identified as Irfan Dar, a resident of Sensen village of Shopian district in south Kashmir. He had been on leave for 10 days and was visiting home.

Media reports said the soldiers body was found in an orchard area in Wothmula Nad area of Keegam by locals who immediately informed the police.

We got to know about the incident at 10 am. He is a Kashmiri. He was found 2-3 km from his house. He was on vacation. We suspecting terror activity. He was suspected to have been kidnapped by terrorists. His car was also found near the spot, Shopian SP Ambarkar Shriram Dinkar said.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has rejected any moves by Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar towards an out-of-court settlement in the Ayodhya Ram Temple issue.

"There is news coming in the media about someone well-known. I got to know from there that something like this is afoot. He also came to me," Bhagwat said.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had, earlier this month, travelled to Lucknow and Ayodhya to speak to all major stake holders to find an amicable solution to the issue.

However, most of the concerned parties remained cold to the proposal espoused by the spiritual leader.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat made it clear that any decision on the issue has to be made by seers and saints who have led the movement.

"If anyone wants to make an effort, let them do that. It is a democracy," he added in an oblique reference to the initiative taken by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

The Supreme Court apex court will start hearing the Ram Temple title suit from the first week of December.

Amid the Padmavati row, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu said today that giving violent threats and announcing rewards for physical harm was not acceptable in a democracy.

Not directly referring to the controversy, but films and art in general, he warned against undermining the rule of law in the country.

Naidu said there is now a new problem over some films where people feel that they have hurt the sentiments of some religions or communities and that has led to protests.

He said while protesting, some people go overboard and announce rewards.

"Whether these fellows have that much money or not, I doubt. Everyone is announcing Rs one crore reward. Is it so easy to have Rs one crore?

"This is not acceptable in a democracy. You have the right to protest in a democratic manner, go to the appropriate authorities... you cannot physically obstruct and can't give violent threats. Let us not undermine the rule of law," he said.

Stressing that he was not talking about a particular film but in general, Naidu read out names of previously banned films like Haram Hawa, Kissa Kursi Ka and Aandhi.

His remarks, however, assume significance as they come amid protests by many groups against Sanjay Leela Bhansali directed Padmavati, alleging that the movie distorts history.

-- PTI

Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian said going forward the Goods and Services Tax may "probably" have fewer rates by "collapsing" 12 per cent and 18 per cent tax slabs into one.

He said the new tax regime, rolled out from July 1, will stabilise in the next six to nine months and become a "model" for other countries.

"I am confident that over the next six to nine months the system will stabilise. It will also be a model for other countries to emulate...

"Then over time, the 12 per cent and 18 per cent rate can probably be collapsed into one rate. So over time we will see fewer rates. We would not ever have one rate because that is too difficult to achieve," he said.

Admitting there were some technical glitches in the filing systems under the regime, he said the new system is a bit "complicated" as states have different IT systems and these issues are being addressed by the GST Council.

Subramanian described the GST implementation as a "transformational fiscal reform" that the country had not seen in the past.

"The Centre and every state has its own tax officials and own IT system. I can't tell you how complicated the system is. So the fact is the transitional glitches, I think, is not surprising. Perhaps I think we could have done better.

-- PTI

The father of a teen accused of murdering an eight-year-old schoolmate at Gurugram's Ryan International School has hired the lawyer who successfully defended dentist-couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the murder trial of their daughter, Aarushi.

Lawyer Tanveer Ahmed Mir confirmed that he will defend the Ryan murder suspect, a Class 11 student of the school.

Read full story HERE

The death toll in a building collapse in Bhiwandi has risen to four after the recovery of a woman's body and the police has booked its owner in connection with the case.

The unauthorised four-storey 'Tahir Biznor' building, situated in Navi Basti area, had collapsed yesterday.

Regional Disaster Management Cell chief Santosh Kadam said that the fourth deceased was identified as 65-year-old Parvin Khan.

The other three deceased were Ruksar Yakub Khan (18), Asfaque Mustaque Khan (38) and Jaibunissa Rafique Ansari (61).

The officer said nine people were injured in the collapse and they were admitted to various hospitals.

He also said rescue and relief operations launched by the National Disaster Response Force were called off at 6.45 am.

A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act was registered against the building's owner, a senior police official said.

The accused, Mohammad Tahir Rafique Ahmed Ansari was absconding, he said, adding that efforts were on to nab him.

-- PTI

Mumbai attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed has "blood on his hands", and wants to bring extremism into the mainstream politics of Pakistan, a former top American spymaster said today.

The Jamaat-ud-Dawah head and LeT founder, who has a USD 10 million American bounty on his head for terror activities, was freed by Pakistan yesterday.

"Saeed is a terrorist. Worked with the LeT, a Kashmiri militant group, and al-Qaida on attacks," Michael Morell, former Central Intelligence Agency deputy director, who has also served twice as its acting director, said in a tweet.

"He has blood on his hands. Now wants to bring extremism into the political mainstream in Pakistan," he said after Saeed, a UN and US designated terrorist, was released from house arrest in Lahore.

Saeed, in his late 60s, was under house arrest for 297 days since January.

The fire-brand cleric's release after midnight came ahead of the 9th anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed.

A deeply concerned US has asked the Pakistan government to re-arrest and charge Saeed for his crimes. It also asked Pakistan to ensure that the LeT leader is behind bars.

"NO! JuD is NOT tied to Islamic State. What a rookie... Seriously. Hafiz Saeed's Release Completes the Political Mainstreaming of Jihadists in Pakistan," tweeted Christine Fair, a well-known South Asian expert on terrorist groups.

NBC news said Saeed's release could once again sour US relations with Pakistan.

The New York Times said, for decades, Pakistan has cast a benign eye on groups like LeT -- which is perceived as an asset because its attacks target Indian soldiers in Kashmir -- even as the government battles jihadist groups like the Pakistan Taliban that directly threatens the country. -- PTI

Former Mumbai Police commissioner M N Singh has said the minorities in the country are feeling a "bit uneasy" and this issue needs to be addressed.

He said the current narrative on cow slaughter ban should change and the focus should be on improving internal security.

The retired IPS officer was speaking on the topic, 'How Safe is Mumbai?', at a function, organised by think tank Observer Research Foundation.

"The minorities in the country are a bit uneasy and it needs to be addressed. The (current) national narrative, the debate is creating some anxiety. It has to be changed," he said.

"The issue of Babri Masjid and Ram Mandir has to be solved amicably," Singh said.

"This Babri Masjid issue has to be amicably settled between the two communities. It is not an easy solution. Any decision coming from the top or court will be half-accepted. It (the issue) will never end," said the former top cop.

"There are some private groups that are talking sensible things, going and meeting so many Muslim groups. I think that is what should be encouraged," he said.

There have been some 12 terror attacks in Mumbai, of which three have been very deadly. The first was in March 1993 (serial bomb blasts), but security measures improved only after the November 2008 carnage, he said.

V Balendran, a former special secretary in the central government, said, "It is sad our police and anti-terror squads had no night vision cameras; hence the terror attack continued for three days in Hotel Taj (during 26/11). The situation has slightly improved since then." -- PTI

Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian has said going forward the goods and services tax may "probably" have fewer rates by "collapsing" 12 per cent and 18 per cent tax slabs into one.

He said the new tax regime, rolled out from July 1, will stabilise in the next six to nine months and become a "model" for other countries.

"I am confident that over the next six to nine months the system will stabilise. It will also be a model for other countries to emulate...

The CEA was delivering a lecture at the ICFAI Institute of Higher Learning in Hyderabad.

Admitting there were some technical glitches in the filing systems under the regime, he said the new system is bit "complicated" as states have different IT systems and these issues are being addressed by the GST Council.

Subramanian described the GST implementation as a "transformational fiscal reform" that the country had not seen in the past.

"The centre and every state has its own tax officials and own IT system. I can't tell you how complicated the system is. So the fact is the transitional glitches, I think, is not surprising. Perhaps I think we could have done better.

"But the most important thing for the GST Council is to decide all these things and take corrective action," he said when asked about technical glitches the taxpayers were facing. -- PTI

The incident at the busy Oxford Circus area in London yesterday that sparked a "mass evacuation" and left 16 people injured was caused by an "altercation" between two men, police said, ruling out a terror attack.

The Oxford Circus area, one of the busiest shopping zones in the heart of the city, was placed under temporary lockdown after police received reports of shots being fired.

However, Scotland Yard later released CCTV images, saying an altercation between two men led to the chaos in the area.

"We are releasing CCTV images of two men we would like to speak with, following the incident at Oxford Circus earlier today," the Metropolitan Police said.

The British Transport Police said the altercation took place inside the busy Oxford Circus underground train station, "triggering a mass evacuation".

"Officers believe an altercation erupted between two men on the platform. They would now like to speak to these two people in the CCTV images, who they believe may have information about the incident and the circumstances around the incident," a BTP statement said.

"They would also like to speak to anyone who was at the station or in the area at the time and saw or heard anything that would have caused mass evacuation," it added.

One person was transferred to a major trauma centre for leg injuries, while eight people were taken to central London hospitals for minor injuries. Another seven patients were treated at the scene.

The London Ambulance Service said the injuries were sustained as passengers fled from Oxford Circus Tube station, in what witnesses said was "a stampede".

Police said they received reports of shots being fired at a number of locations near Oxford Street, maintaining that there was "significant" panic.

But later they found no evidence of any suspects or any gunfire and informed the public that it was safe to return to the area. -- PTI

The Egyptian air force today gunned down several militants and destroyed their vehicles, hours after over 230 worshippers were killed in a terrorist attack at a mosque in the country's restive North Sinai region.

Army spokesperson Tamer el-Refai said in a statement that the air forces launched retaliatory attacks on terror hideouts in the surrounding area of North Sinai, killing militants and destroying vehicles used in the deadly attack.

He said arms and ammunition depots of the militants were also targeted.

At least 235 worshippers were killed and 109 others injured when heavily-armed militants bombed the al-Rowda mosque in Al-Arish city and opened fire on people attending Friday prayers.

Earlier, local media reports quoting sources in the security force said the army launched "immediate and wide" ground and air raids and two drones attacked two vehicles belonging to militants in Al-Resha village near el-Rouda village.

Following the mosque attack, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had chaired an emergency meeting with officials to review security situation. -- PTI

Representative image

The Congress on Friday held Prime Minister Narendra Modi "solely responsible" for creating a "mess" of the economy, after Standard & Poor's kept its sovereign rating for the country unchanged.

Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma the government was taking shelter under these "dubious" certificates from rating agencies.

Rating agency Moody's had on last Friday raised India's sovereign rating from the lowest investment grade of Baa3 to Baa2 - the first upgrade in almost 14 years.

Sharma accused Modi of being solely responsible for creating a "mess" of the economy and charged him with being in "arrogant denial".

"Mr Prime Minister, the ground is shaking, and people feel betrayed. People have downgraded the government on its economic performance, these dubious upgrades don't matter," Sharma tweeted.

He said that a "sudden flurry" of certificates from credit rating agencies is the "only fall back" of a government which has derailed India's economy.

Sharma alleged that GDP has sharply fallen, jobs have been "destroyed" in millions and business have shut down.

The leader also further raised questions over the ratings agencies waking up when all the parameters of the Indian economy are "in the red".

"About 3.72 crore jobs have been lost in the MSME/unorganised sector. Investment rate has plunged by 7%, credit offtake falling to a 65-year low. This calls into question the very credibility of these rating agencies," he

said on the micro-blogging site.

Declining to follow Moody's recent India rating upgrade, Standard & Poor's today kept its sovereign rating for the country unchanged at the lowest investment grade of 'BBB-minus' citing high government debt and low income levels. -- PTI

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