North Korea has warned that United States will pay a 'due price', if harsh sanctions against Kim Jong-un and the country are agreed at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday, where members will vote on a draft resolution for imposing new sanctions, including freezing the assets of leader Kim Jong-un over its sixth and powerful nuclear test.

North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on state media that if the US 'does rig up the illegal and unlawful resolution', it would respond in kind.

'The DPRK is ready and willing to use any form of ultimate means,' the statement said, referring to the country by its acronym.

'The forthcoming measures to be taken by the DPRK will cause the US the greatest pain and suffering it had ever gone through in its entire history.

'The draft resolution includes a full ban on exports of oil to North Korea, a full ban on textile imports from North Korea, a ban on North Korean labourers generating earnings overseas, and the asset freeze, which will also target members of the ruling worker's party, the diplomat said, calling it a 'hard-hitting, ambitious resolution',' CNN reported.

North Korean ally China and neighboring Russia hold veto power on the Security Council.

A draft resolution needs nine affirmative votes from members of the Council and zero vetoes from permanent members in order to pass.

The International community condemned North Korea for testing the hydrogen bomb on August 27, marking the sixth time the isolated state has tested a nuclear weapon.

The major powers than convened an emergency session of the security council where US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley argued forcefully for harsher sanctions, saying, "enough is enough," and that Kim was 'begging for war'. -- ANI

The White House was on lockdown for about 45 minutes on Monday.

The Secret Service tweeted that, 'Two individuals were taken into Secret Service custody for throwing 'unknown objects' over the north fence line'.

They said one object was first reported to be a yoga mat but turned out to be a notebook.

The Secret Service also tweeted that one male suspect had been arrested and taken in by local police.

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The Gurugram police, which today arrested two top functionaries of Ryan International School in connection with the brutal murder of a 7-year-old child in the school premises, said that there was an attempt to destroy evidence in the case.

The police arrested Francis Thomas, legal head and Jeyus Thomas, HR Head of the  Ryan International School group, who were produced in a Sohna court which remanded them to two days in police custody.

Gurugram Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case believes that evidence in the case was tampered with.

"The SIT said in the Sohna court that destruction of evidence was found to have been done. Attempt was made to wash away the blood stains from the spot where the child was found murdered. The blood on his water bottle and bag was also found rubbed. Some other pieces of evidence were also tampered with," Khirwar said.

We will add appropriate sections against the school management or other staff, whoever is found to be involved, at the time of submission of the chargesheet, Khirwar said.

"A team was sent to Mumbai to the Ryan headquarters for questioning the top officials including the head and directors so that we can look at their roles and responsibility regarding the school in Gurgaon," he said.

Asked about the post-mortem findings, he said that these details could not shared at the moment.

"Some other security lapses also emerged. We have already taken action under the Juvenile Justice Act against the school and arrested their two top officers and are interrogating other staff members including suspended Principal Neerja Batra," Khirwar added.

More arrests will be carried out as per the evidence that emerges, he said.

The police teams will again question the bus driver and school gardener, he added.

Haryana Police Additional Directorate General of Police Law and Order, Mohammad Akil has also visited the scene of the crime.

We will not spare any person found involved, irrespective of his or her position, he said.

"We will add Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other sections on the basis of SIT report. As per our investigation and evidence before us, we have found Ashok Kumar, the school bus conductor is guilty in this murder," Akil said.

The police also added Section 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code in the murder case against the two officers of school,officials said.

The prosecution counsels demanded the addition of Section 201 of the IPC (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender).

The police told the court that the school authorities tampered with the evidence at the crime spot.

Meanwhile, there were also allegations that the school management had not carried out a proper verification of the conductor and his Aadhaar card was obtained from his house in Ghamroj village hours after the crime to maintain records.

Amir Chand, the father of accused alleged that his son was a soft target and hence the school was framing him.

"Why did the school take his Aadhaar card six hours after the crime?" Chand asked.  -- PTI

IMAGE: Police team investigating the spot inside the Ryan International School after the murder of the 7-year-old in Gurugram. Photograph: PTI Photo

The Tamil Nadu farmers, who have resorted to increasingly desperate modes of protest here for loan waiver and other demands, now say they plan to march nude and even attempt suicide.

Today, they marched near Jantar Mantar clad in just loin cloths, demanding a Rs 40,000 crore drought relief package, insurance for their crops and the setting up of a Cauvery Management Board by the Centre.

The Parliament Street Police detained around 25 farmers.

Farmers leader P Ayyakkannu said, "They detained us without citing any reasons. No one has the right to stop people from protesting."

"Tomorrow we will take out a nude procession. If our demands are not met, we will even commit suicide by slitting our throats," he threatened.

A senior official from the Parliament Street Police Station said the farmers were detained after they started stripping on the protest street in Jantar Mantar where women were also demonstrating.

Yesterday, the farmers, who have been protesting for nearly two months in their second round of agitations in the national capital, consumed human excreta to draw attention towards their issues.

In their first round of protests earlier this year, they had shaved their heads and half their moustaches, held mice and snakes in their mouths, conducted mock funerals, flogged themselves and even carried skulls of other farmers who had committed suicide due to debt pressure.  -- PTI

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold meetings with the three service chiefs every morning to ensure quick decision making in areas of strategic importance.

It had also been decided that the Defence Acquisition Council, the highest decision making body on defence procurements, would meet on a fortnightly basis to ensure a time-bound clearance of proposals on military acquisition, the defence ministry said.

Sitharaman would also have a separate meeting with the defence secretary every day, it added.

'A whole range of meetings has been scheduled with the three defence service chiefs to review defence preparedness and allied issues of strategic interests.

'Daily morning meetings with the three service chiefs and a separate daily meeting with the defence secretary have been formatted as a new practice for quick decision making,' the ministry said in a statement.

Sitharaman, during meetings with senior officials of the ministry today, gave clear directions on critical issues while emphasising the need to step up the pace of acquisition proposals.

Other areas of focus would be settling all outstanding land-related issues for infrastructure projects and matters relating to the welfare of defence personnel and their families, the ministry said.

Sitharaman has been holding a series of meetings with top officials of the various wings of the defence ministry since taking charge as defence minister on September 7.

She has listed military preparedness, defence indigenisation, resolving long-pending issues and welfare of soldiers as the priority areas.  -- PTI

A 22-year-old man was thrashed allegedly by five men for speaking with his friend in fluent English while dropping him off at a five-star hotel in Lutyens' Delhi, police said today.

The incident was reported in the early hours on Saturday, they said. Three persons have been arrested in this connection, they said.

According to the police, Varun Gulati, a resident of Noida, had come to the five-star hotel in Connaught Place to drop off his friend Aman in his friend Daksh's car.

While Gulati was walking back to the hotel after seeing off Daksh, a group of five men, who were inebriated, rounded him up.

They asked him why was he speaking in English, they said.

Both the sides got into an argument and the men assaulted Gulati, police said.

The assailants fled the spot in a vehicle but the victim managed to note down the number of the vehicle, they said.

On the basis of the number plate, three of the accused were identified and arrested, police said, adding a hunt is on to trace the rest.  -- PTI

Bombay Stock Exchange: Top gainers today.

BSE Sensex today.

The Income Tax Department has issued a final attachment order against some assets in connection with its benami deal probe against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family.

Officials privy to the probe said the order was issued against a firm allegedly involved in the case -- AB Exports Private Limited -- and also alleged that Lalu's relatives were the 'beneficiaries' of the immovable properties of this firm.

A property in south Delhi's New Friends Colony is owned by this firm, they said.

A provisional order for attachment--under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2016-- was issued by the department in June this year and now the order has been confirmed after adjudication, they said.

The cases of other assets which were provisionally attached in June will also be processed similarly, they added.

The department had earlier served notices of attachment of assets to Lalu, Bihar's ex-chief minister, his wife Rabri Devi, also a former CM, son Tejashwi Yadav, former state deputy CM, daughters Chanda, Ragini Yadav and Misa Bharti, an MP, and son-in-law Shailesh Kumar.

The tax department had attached about a dozen plots and buildings in Delhi and Bihar including a farmhouse and land in the Palam Vihar area, a building in the upmarket New Friends Colony area of south Delhi, nine plots on a 256.75 decimal land area in Patna's Phulwari Sharif area, where a shopping mall was being constructed, among a few others in the same area in Bihar's capital.

The department has said these alleged benami assets bear a 'deed' value of about Rs 9.32 crore but the taxman has estimated their current market value at Rs 170-180 crore.

Benami properties are those in which the real beneficiary is not the one in whose name (benamidar) the property has been purchased.

The Yadav family has said the cases are the outcome of a 'political vendetta' against them.

The Act allows for the prosecution of the beneficial owner, the benamidar, the abettor and the inducer to benami transactions.

Under the provisions of the Act, assets held benami after the final prosecution are liable for confiscation by the government without payment of compensation.  -- PTI

A greater presence of women -- employees and bus drivers -- in schools can help address the issue of safety on campus, Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said today, days after a seven-year-old Gurugram student was killed in school washroom.

Schools and parents need to work together to find a solution to the issue of students' safety, the minister said.

"There should be more and more women employees in schools and school buses can also have women drivers so that there is more safety for students," Javadekar told reporters in New Delhi.

The human resource development minister said he would talk to parents and school authorities after the initial probe into the killing of the boy was over.

"The culprits will be booked and charge-sheeted and we will address this issue," he added.

The killing of the Class 2 student sparked outrage among parents and others on the issue of safety of children in schools.

The boy was found dead, with his throat slit, in the school's washroom last week.

The police alleged he had been killed by a school bus conductor.

The minister said the murder and the recent rape of a five-year-old girl, allegedly by a peon in her school premises, were 'heinous crimes'. -- PTI

The finance ministry has said that direct tax collections up to August 2017, net of refunds, stands at Rs 2.24 lakh crore, which is 17.5 per cent higher than net collections for same period in 2016.

It said that refunds worth Rs 74,089 crore were issued during April to August 2017 which are 7.2 per cent lower than refunds issued during same period in 2016-17. -- ANI

Last month Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, turned 50.   

Taking cognisance of the murder of Class 2 student Praduman Thakur at the Ryan International School, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre and the Haryana government seeking a report within three weeks in the case. 

The Cabinet committee on Security will meet on Tuesday, its first meeting after Nirmala Sitharaman's elevation as defence minister. The CCS is the highest policy-making body of the Union Cabinet.    

The long-awaited general council meeting as well of the executive committee of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will be held at Sri Varu Venkatachalapathy Palace Mahal in Vanagaram, near Chennai, on Tuesday. 

Hurricane Irma weakened to a Category 1 storm early today as it marched up the US state of Florida's northwestern coast, with its eye located about 40 kilometres northeast of the vulnerable Tampa area.