LIVE! India imported metals from N Korea in violation of UNSC resolutions : Report

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Sun, 29 April 2018

India imported metals from N Korea in violation of UNSC resolutions : Report

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20:39 India imported metals from N Korea in violation of UNSC resolutions : Report

India imported about 2.4 million dollars worth of iron and steel, iron and steel products, copper and zinc from North Korea last year and exported precious metals and stones worth USD 578,994 to the country in violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning such trade with North Korea, according to a report by an UN panel of experts.

According to a March report of the Panel of Experts established by the Secretary General regarding implementation of the sanctions and UNSC resolutions relating to North Korea, the country exported a total of USD 62,184,815 in iron and steel between January and September 2017 to Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, India, Ireland, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines and Russia.

"All exports after September 4, 2017 violated paragraph 8 of resolution 2371 (2017), while those before September 4 2017 violated paragraph 26 of resolution 2321 (2016) unless an exemption was made under paragraph 26 (c) of the same resolution," the report said.

Specifically, India imported USD 1.4 million worth of iron and steel from North Korea from January to September 2017, iron and steel products worth USD 234,759 and copper worth USD 242,997 in the January to September 2017 period.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea exported a total of USD 373,926 in copper to India and Mexico between January and September 2017 in violation of paragraph 28 of resolution 2321 (2016)," the report said.

Further, India imported zinc from North Korea from January to September 2017 worth 526,018 dollars.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea exported a total of $526,018 in zinc to India in January 2017 in violation of paragraph 28 of resolution 2321 (2016)," the report added.

It further said that according to UN Comtrade, from January to June 2017, India exported precious metals and stones worth USD 578,994 to North Korea. The largest commodity exported from January to June 2017 was diamonds worth USD 514,823.

"The Panel reiterates that the jewellery items listed in paragraph 1 of annex IV to resolution 2094 (2013) correspond to HS codes beginning with 71 and calls upon Member States to exercise vigilance with regard to any exports of goods classified under that code," it said.

The report also includes a letter dated July 14, 2017 from the Permanent Mission of India to the UN that states that "During the period of March 2 2016 (date of adoption of resolution 2270) to November 30 2016 (date of adoption of resolution 2321), there was no clarity regarding the scope of the measures related to iron and iron ore since there was on elaboration/explanation of the word iron' and iron ore'.

Till date there is no implementation assistance notice issued by the UN that stipulates a practice for identifying an item as iron' or 'iron ore', " the Indian Mission said in the letter.

The mission further wrote that "pending clarity on this issue", national implementation of the measures contained in UNSC resolutions 2270 and 2321 relating to iron and iron ore was nevertheless carried out by the Government of India through a notification issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade on March 21, 2017. -- PTI

The Supreme Court has refused to accord an urgent hearing to a plea for direction to the government to request the President to start the process for removing four senior most apex court judges who had held a press conference on January 12.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra refused to pass any direction when the petitioner in-person Ashok Pande mentioned about his petition and sought its urgent listing.

"We will see it later. Not now," the bench said.

At a press conference held at Justice Chelameswar's residence on January 12, the four senior most judges, justices Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, had raised a litany of problems, allegedly inflicting the apex court and including the process of allocating cases to various benches. -- PTI

India and Pakistan should try to resolve their differences and make the "quest" for normalisation and peace the "noblest of goals" in the region, taking a cue from the recent thaw in the relations between North and South Korea, a media report here said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South Korean President Moon Jae-in, during an inter-Korean summit on Friday, agreed to pursue a permanent peace treaty and denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

"Inevitably, a comparison between the renewed engagement between the two Koreas and the freeze in ties in the South Asian subcontinent will be made. The tensions and disputes between Pakistan and India are fundamentally different to the issues between the Koreas," Dawn News said in an editorial.

"Pakistan and India have forged very different and irreversible histories, whereas the Koreas seek unification. Yet, a shared history and the common dreams and aspirations of a people with enduring cultural and other similarities across India and Pakistan make the quest for normalisation and peace in this region the noblest of goals," it said.

The striking imagery of the Korean summit recalls the unprecedented hope and expectations created by the historic trip to Lahore of the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999. It is time for the leadership of India and Pakistan to once again tread the path of peace and friendship, the editorial said.

The India-Pakistan ties again nosedived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place and both sides putting it on the back-burner.

The ties between the two countries had strained after the terror attacks by Pakistan-based groups in 2016 and India's surgical strikes inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The sentencing of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav to death in April last year further deteriorated the bilateral ties. -- PTI

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today announced that he would undertake the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage post-Karnataka Assembly polls, saying the thought struck him when he was travelling to the state in a chartered aircraft that suddenly came down by 8,000 feet four days ago.

After he ended his half-an-hour speech at the 'Jan Aakrosh' rally in New Delhi, Gandhi, who has often talked about being a devotee of Lord Shiva, took to the mike again to seek the "permission" of Congress workers, saying he will need 10-15 days to carry out the yatra.

The arduous pilgrimage to Mt Kailash, considered the abode of Lord Shiva in Hindu mythology, is organised every year between June and September.

"A few days ago, we were on our way to Karnataka in an aircraft. And the aircraft suddenly came down by 8,000 feet. I thought 'gaadi gayi' (that it was all over), he said in his first public comment on the incident.

"The moment I thought that it was all over, it struck my mind that I have to go to Kailash Mansarovar. So, I would require your leave of 10-15 days after the Karnataka Assembly polls, he told the gathering at Ramlila Maidan.

On April 26, the plane carrying Gandhi and some others from here to Hubballi airport in Karnataka developed a technical snag when it tilted heavily on the left side and the altitude dipped steeply with violent shuddering of the aircraft body at 10.45 AM, his close aide Kaushal Vidyarthee wrote in a letter to state Director General of Police Neelmani N Raju.

Vidyarthee was also travelling with Gandhi. The plane landed at the Hubballi airport at 11.25 am in the third attempt on that day.

The Congress demanded a probe by the state police and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation into the "suspicious and faulty performance" of the aircraft before landing.

The next day, the DGCA set up a two-member panel to probe the technical snag in the plane even as Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said appropriate action would be taken if anyone was found wanting after the opposition party alleged foul play. -- PTI

Reliance Industries plans to shut oil and gas production at its main fields in KG-D6 block in the coming months and begin complying with the government's guidelines for decommissioning facilities in the Bay of Bengal block where output has hit its lowest ever.

"Adhering to Site Restoration Guidelines issued by Government of India, RIL submitted Bank Guarantee for Decommissioning activity for existing producing fields (D1D3 and MA)," the company said in an investor presentation post announcing its fourth quarter earnings.

RIL had till date made 19 oil and gas discoveries in the Krishna Godavri basin. Of these, MA -- the only oil discovery in the block -- began production in September 2008. Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1 and D3) fields went onstream in April 2009.

While the company did not provide any timelines for decommissioning and stopping of production at the fields that have witnessed output drop to a fourth of peak, sources privy to the development said MA field may be shut as early as October after the current lease of a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit, which processes output from the field, expires.

E-mails sent to RIL and its partner BP plc of UK, which holds 30 per cent stake, for comments remained unanswered.

The government's Site Restoration Guidelines provide for a one year notice for decommissioning of facilities.

In the presentation, RIL said "average production of gas (from KG-D6 block in January-March 2018) was 4.3 million standard cubic metres per day and oil and condensate was at 1,865 barrels per day."

The gas output, which was lower than 4.9 mmscmd in the October-December quarter of 2017, was made up of output from D1 and D3 and MA fields. It said this was due to "continuing natural decline" at the fields.

RIL had in the field development plan for D1 and D3 proposed a capital expenditure of USD 8.836 billion. For developing Dhirubhai-26 or MA oilfield, it had in 2006 proposed to invest USD 2.234 billion, which was scaled down to USD 1.96 billion in 2012.

The fields were in the investment plans supposed to last a minimum 15 years but have extinguished in less than a decade.

KG-D6 fields had hit a peak of 69.43 mmscmd in March 2010 before water and sand ingress shut down wells. This peak output comprised 66.35 mmscmd from D1 and D3, the largest of the gas discoveries on the KG-D6 block, and 3.07 mmscmd from MA field. -- PTI

18:54 Sasikala's brother floats new outfit

The rift in the extended family of V K Sasikala, the jailed aide of former Tamil Nadu chief minister, late J Jayalalithaa, today spilled over with her brother V Dhivakaran floating a new outfit in Thiruvarur.

Divakaran inaugurated the office of the "Amma Ani" in Thiruvarur and said plans were afoot to open an office in Chennai also, even as he made it clear that he had nothing to do with his nephew T T V Dinakaran's recently launched Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam.

"Amma Ani" roughly translates into the "Amma faction" or "Amma team" and is named after Jayalalithaa, who was fondly addressed as "Amma" (mother) by her supporters.

Divakaran and Dinakaran were recently engaged in a war of words, even as it was believed that the two had strained ties for long.

Speaking to reporters, Divakaran said today's effort was more like "giving a new lease of life to Amma Ani".

The erstwhile All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam faction, led by Dinakaran, following the rebellion by now Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, was known as the AIADMK (Amma).

Dinakaran had contested and won the RK Nagar bypoll as the AIADMK (Amma) candidate, while the faction led by Panneerselvam, the AIADMK (Purathchi Thalaivi Amma), had fielded E Madhusudhanan.

Dinakaran was later sidelined in the party by a section of the state cabinet, led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami. -- PTI

Pakistan's interior ministry has abruptly removed the chief prosecutor from the Mumbai terror attack case for "not taking the government line", an official said today, in a major setback to India's efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Ten Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists had sailed into Mumbai from Karachi and carried out coordinated attacks, killing 166 people and injuring over 300 in November 2008.

"The interior ministry has removed Federal Investigation Agency Special Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar, who had been representing as chief of prosecution in the Mumbai attack case since 2009, from the high-profile case," an official of the FIA privy to the development told PTI.

Azhar has been told that his services in the Mumbai attack case are no more required, he said.

"Azhar has only been separated from the Mumbai attack case. However, he will continue to representing the state in other cases like Benazir assassination," he said.

Azhar developed differences with the government over the "manner" the case was being pursued, the official said.

"The government has its own 'special consideration' in this case and Azhar perhaps is not taking the government line. He was keen to follow the high profile case by book," the official tried to explain the possible reasons of the differences between the chief prosecutor and the ruling PML-N government.

When contacted, Azhar only confirmed that he was asked to stop pursuing the Mumbai attack case.

"I am no more with this case," he said.

The government offered no explanation of the decision, terming it a routine matter.

"It seems to be a routine matter. I will have to talk to the relevant persons to know the reason," an official of interior ministry said.

The Mumbai attack case has entered into the 10th year but none of its suspects in Pakistan has been punished yet, showing that the case had never been in the priority list of the country that appears to be keen to put it under the carpet.

The weekly hearing in this case hardly takes place since the Anti-Terrorism Court has completed the statement of all (70) prosecution witnesses.

According to the prosecution, the case may not further proceed till the Indian government sends its 24 witnesses to Pakistan to record their statements. -- PTI

18:17 Sabarimala prasadam to get 'makeover'

The 'appam' and 'aravana', the sweet ball and jaggery dessert, which are sold as prasadam (offering) at the famed Lord Ayyappa temple in the state, are set to get a makeover from the next pilgrim season.

The Central Food Technological Research Institute, which provides guidance for making delicious 'laddu' and 'panchamrutham,' offered at the famed Tirumala Tirupati temple and Lord Muruga's shrine in Palani respectively, are now gearing up to give a new touch to the prasadam of Sabarimala temple.

The Travancore Devaswom Board, which manages the hillock Ayyappa Temple, has roped in the CFTRI to enhance the quality, taste and shelf-life of the 'appam' and 'aravana,'" which has large number of takers.

Located atop holy hills of Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta district, the Lord Ayyappa shrine draws lakhs of pilgrims from and outside the country including foreigners during the annual pilgrim season from November to January.

TDB President, A Padmakumar said the temple would open for the monthly pooja on May 15 and an MoU between the board and the CFTRI is expected to be signed on the next day.

A team of TDB officials recently visited the government-run CFTRI's Mysore campus to evaluate its production mechanism.

"As CFTRI is a government agency, we have to decide and finalise the terms and conditions. We hope to sign the MoU with them on May 16," Padmakumar told PTI.

If everything goes as planned, the 'appam' and 'aravana,' with the 'CFTRI touch', would be made available to devotees from the next pilgrim season, he said. -- PTI

Showing urgency in dealing with absconding loan defaulters, the government has come out with series of rules to operationalise the fugitive economic offenders law, for which an ordinance was promulgated by the President last week.

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018, is aimed at deterring economic offenders from evading the process of law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

The law seeks to expedite recovery of losses incurred by banks and other entities by confiscating their properties.

The fugitive economic offenders law comes in the backdrop of alleged fraudsters like Nirav Modi running away from the country after cheating Punjab National Bank to the tune of about USD 2 billion.

The notifications regarding rules, issued by the finance ministry, spell out the process for declaration of fugitive economic offender, issuance of attachment order, and management of confiscated properties, among others.

As per one of the notifications, only officers of the rank of Assistant Directors or above in the Enforcement Directorate could exercise the power to search and seize record/property which may be useful for proceedings under the fugitive law.

Special Directors of Enforcement of ED's regional offices will function as administrator of confiscated properties, said another notification.

On management of confiscated property, the rules said that the administrator will arrange for the proper maintenance and custody of the immovable properties.

In case, the property confiscated consists of cash, government or other securities, bullion, jewellery or other valuables, the administrator would deposit them for safe custody in the nearest government treasury or a branch of the RBI or SBI or any authorised bank.

The ordinance, which got nod of the President on April 21, makes provisions for Special Court under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 to declare a person as a Fugitive Economic Offender.

"A Fugitive Economic Offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued in respect of a scheduled offence and who has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or being abroad, refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution," said a finance ministry statement.

However, only cases of frauds, cheque dishonour or loan default of over Rs 200 crore will come under this ordinance.

The government expects the new law will help the banks and other financial institutions to achieve higher recovery from financial defaults committed by fugitive economic offenders, improving the financial health of such institutions. -- PTI

The engine troubles hit budget carrier IndiGo again with the airline forced to ground two of its Airbus A320 Neo planes due to technical glitches, according to a source.

The two Pratt & Whitney engine-powered A320 Neo planes were taken out of operations on Friday, the source said.

IndiGo, which had to ground 11 A320 Neos between February and March this year due to safety concerns, confirmed that it had pulled out two of its planes from the service.

The airline further said that the two planes are back into operations now.

Significantly, the airline had earlier this month said all its aircraft, which had been taken out of service following directives of the European aviation safety regulator Easa and India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation,

were back into flying after the change of engines by the US engine supplier Pratt & Whitney.

"IndiGo was forced to ground two A320 Neo planes on Friday due to engine glitches. While one aircraft was grounded at Ranchi due to oil leakage, the other one was taken out of service at the Dibrugarh airport as its fire warning system had stopped functioning," the source said.

When contacted, an IndiGo spokesperson said while one A320 Neo was grounded due to a false warning in the cockpit, another one was taken out of service due to a minor oil leak.

Both the aircraft are back into flying now, the spokesperson said, adding that the grounding of these planes did not take place on account of known 'PW' issues but due to day-to-day issues of "operational nature". -- PTI

Days after sparking a controversy with his critique of model-actor Diana Hayden, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb is at it again.

Deb advised the educated youth in his state to "set up paan shops instead of running after political parties for several years to get government jobs and waste the vital time of their life."

He also stated that a bank balance of Rs. 5 lakh would have been a reality by now for them if they would have opened the paan shop from the start.

Educating the youth about self-employment, he said, "Every house should have a cow. The milk here is 50 rs per litre. Instead of running around for a job for 10 years, if he would have breed cow for 10 years, he could have managed a bank balance of Rs 10 lakh."

This is no the first time that Biplab Deb has made controversial statment.

Earlier, Deb claimed that internet, satellite and technology (that we use today) was present in the Mahabharata era.

On April 27, Deb invited another row controversy to his doorstep when he questioned the rationale behind crowning Diana Hayden Miss World 21 years ago.

Deb also said that mechanical engineers should not opt for civil service. He said civil engineers are more suited for civil services.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today attacked the Modi-led government for "not fulfilling" its several poll promises and said the state assembly elections among other things will also be about "broken promises" of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The assembly elections in Karnataka are scheduled on May 12 while the counting of votes is to be taken up on May 15.

"This election is also about broken promises of the @narendramodi Govt. 1 Black money didn't become white. 2 People didn't get Rs 15 lakh in their accounts. 3 People's money lost value due to demonetisation. They were made to stand in line to get their own money," he said in a series of tweets.

"Modi also failed to provide employment and asked job aspirants to sell pakodas and check increase in fuel prices despite international crude oil prices plummeting," Siddaramaiah said.

"4 Unemployed are asked to sell Pakodas 5 International crude oil prices have fallen drastically but petrol/diesel prices keep increasing. 6 Corruption free Govt was promised, but Banks are being looted," he further tweeted.

The mission in this election is also to defeat anti-development and communal BJP, besides opportunist JD(S), who are working together and also to protect the Indian Constitution from BJP who have plans to change it, the chief minister said.

"This #KarnatakaElection2018 the mission is to defeat anti-Development & communal BJP & opportunist JDS, who are working together. This election is also about protecting our Constitution from BJP whose declared intention it is to change the Constitution," he tweeted.

Siddaramaiah said his government is fighting the election for 'your mandate' to continue its good work in the last five years and wants to make the state number one in all major sectors.

"We are also fighting this Election for your mandate to continue our good work in the last 5 years. We have made Karnataka No1 in many sectors. We will now make Karnataka No1 in all major sectors. We will specially focus on sustainable Jobs & infrastructure," he tweeted. -- PTI

16:35 Terrorists attack army patrol in Shopian

Terrorists targeted an army patrol in south Kashmir's Shopian district today, a police official said.

No casualties were reported.

A patrol party of army's 34 Rashtriya Rifles was fired upon by terrorists in Malikgund area, he said.

The official said the army personnel retaliated, forcing the terrorists to flee from the spot.

A search operation is underway, he said. -- PTI

Brahmos, the fastest missile in the world co-developed by India and Russia, will be breaching the mach 7 barrier to be a 'hypersonic' system in the next decade, a top official said.

"We will require seven to ten years from now to become a hypersonic missile system," Sudhir Mishra, the chief executive and managing director of the joint venture company Brahmos Aerospace, told PTI over the weekend.

He said the missile, which currently travels at mach 2.8 or 2.8 times the speed of sound, will touch mach 3.5 soon and mach 5 in three years.

The current engine will have to be "tinkered" to achieve mach 5 and will have to be replaced to achieve hypersonic speed, he said.

The intent is to come out with a missile that will be able to deliver to the next-generation warfare, Mishra said.

He said Indian institutions including the DRDO, IITs and Indian Institute of Science are working on technologies which will help it achieve the goals and added that Russian institutes are also doing similar work.

He said the company, which has a majority 55 per cent holding by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the remaining with Russia, has an order book of over Rs 30,000 crore at present.

Over the years, the basic missile system has been modified in a such a way that it can be fitted on various platforms, including ships, submarines, the Sukhoi-30 aircraft as well as land, for launch, he said.

Sharma claimed at present the missile system is 5-7 years ahead of the nearest competition from a development perspective.

"Today, this is the fastest cruise missile in the world. nobody including the US has such a missile system," he said.

Mishra said the engine, propulsion technology and seeker are developed by the Russians, while Indians do control systems, guidance, software, airframes and fire control systems.

Over 70 per cent of the components are manufactured using private industry's help, he said.

Mishra, however, also conceded that the missiles will be relevant for only 25-30 years and warfare will shift to newer tools like "high power lasers and high power microwave weapons" which will not require "kinetic weapon" systems. -- PTI

Actor Anil Kapoor today remained tight-lipped on the reports of his daughter Sonam Kapoor's wedding and said people will get to know everything "at the right time".

There have been reports that Sonam is set to tie the knot with beau Anand Ahuja early next month.

The pictures of Anil's bungalow decorated with lights, with wife Sunita overseeing the preparation, are doing the rounds on social media.

When asked about it, the actor told reporters, "Media has always been with me and my family when we began our careers. We will share everything at the right time. You all will know very soon. We won't hide these details. You will know why there is lighting outside the house."

He was speaking at the 19th edition of the International Indian Film Academy Awards voting weekend in Mumbai.

Anil, who will next be seen in Race 3 co-starring with Salman Khan, said he shares a comfortable relationship with the superstar.

"Salman has done things wholeheartedly. When you (will) watch the film, you will realise it. We have made an entertaining film. I have done many films with Salman and people liked it. When I am working with Salman saab, it doesn't feel like I am working," he said.

The duo has starred in films such as No Entry, Yuvraaj, Salaam-e-Ishq and Biwi No 1. -- PTI

Under fire from the opposition over delay in financial aid to farmers for crops damaged by pests, the Maharashtra government is set to release Rs 1,100 crore for cultivators in the next few days, an official said.

Bijay Kumar, the principal secretary, agriculture, said that a sum of Rs 1,100 crore will be released in the coming week to provide relief to the affected farmers.

The details will be announced soon as April 30 and May 1 are government holidays and banks would not be functioning on those days, he said.

"The state government has prepared a detailed list of the beneficiary farmers and their bank accounts. The money will be disbursed into their accounts only," a senior official from the state relief and rehabilitation department said.

As per the state government's primary survey, the pink bollworm and other pests last year affected cotton crop on 34 lakh hectares of land as against the total cultivation on 43 lakh hectares.

Many of the areas in eastern parts of Vidarbha were affected by other pests which damaged the rice and other kharif crops.

This prompted the government to increase its coverage of compensation.

Subsequently, on March 17, the state government made changes into its compensation policy and submitted a proposal of Rs 3,373 crore to the Centre, and is awaiting response.

"The state government, however, decided to go ahead and disburse its share in the financial assistance to farmers, instead of waiting for the Centre to release its contribution. The state is going to disburse Rs 1,100 crore to farmers," the relief and rehabilitation department official said.

The funds will be given to district collectors who will further transfer the amount into the accounts of farmers, he said.

The beneficiary farmers' land records, cultivation crop entries on revenue document and bank accounts will be verified before the transfer of funds, the official added. -- PTI

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who is attempting to stitch a coalition of non-BJP, non-Congress parties ahead of the next year's Lok Sabha elections, today met Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi at his residence in Chennai.

Rao, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi supremo, stayed at Karunanidhi's residence for a brief period while before proceeding to the house of DMK Working President M K Stalin.

The TRS leader, who was welcomed by Stalin at the Gopalapuram residence of Karunanidhi, later left for the house of the Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly, who also joined him in the same vehicle.

Deliberations between Stalin and Rao are likely to be held at the former's residence in Alwarpet.

Earlier, the Telangana chief minister had met West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee as part of efforts to build a non-Congress, non-BJP third front ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Stalin had said his party "endorsed" the efforts of Mamata Banerjee to bring together various parties against the BJP.

The DMK and Congress are allies in Tamil Nadu and the two had faced the 2016 Assembly elections as part of an alliance.

Pakistan is set to launch an ambitious space programme during the next fiscal year with an aim to keep an eye on the Indian side and reduce its dependence on foreign satellites for civil and military purposes, according to a media report.

Several projects will be initiated to develop self-reliance capacity and reduce dependence on foreign satellites, mainly the United States and French satellites for civil and military communications.

The budget of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Organisation for the upcoming fiscal year 2018-19 is Rs 4.70 billion which includes Rs 2.55 billion for three new projects, Dawn News reported.

Suparco has been regularly conducting activities each year to increase awareness of space technology and to promote its peaceful usage amongst students and the masses in Pakistan since 2005.

The funding includes allocation of Rs 1.35 billion for Pakistan Multi-Mission Satellite (PakSat- MM1) and the country is also planning to establish Pakistan Space Centre in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad with the allocation of Rs 1 billion.

The third project is establishment of Space Application Research Centre in Karachi with the budget of Rs 200 million in 2018-19, the report said.

The total cost of PakSat-MM1 is Rs 27.57 billion and that of the space centres is Rs 26.91 billion, it added.

Advanced space programme is the need of time not only due to growing demand from the civil communications, including the GPS, mobile telephony and the internet but due to changing scenario in the region also, analysts have said.

"There are two unusual developments in the region effecting the strategic situation -- first of all Pakistan has to keep an eye on Indian side and previously their programme had limited quality advancements but now the US has active cooperation with the Indian satellite programme," Maria Sultan, a defence analyst said. -- PTI

In a first, arch rivals India and Pakistan will be part of a multi-nation counter-terror exercise in Russia in September, which will also be joined by China and several other countries.

The military exercise will take place under the framework of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a China-dominated security grouping which is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO, officials said.

They said the military drill will be held in the Ural mountains of Russia and almost all SCO member countries will be part of it.

They said the main aim of the exercise, Peace Mission, will be to enhance counter-terror cooperation among the eight SCO member countries.

The officials said India's participation at the exercise was confirmed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a meeting of SCO Defence Ministers' meeting in Beijing last week.

It will be for the first time since Independence that India and Pakistan will both be part of a military exercise, though the armies of the two nations have worked together in United Nations peace keeping missions, they said.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the Presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India and Pakistan were admitted as observers of the grouping in 2005. Both the countries were admitted as full members of the bloc last year. -- PTI

Janata Dal-Secular state President H D Kumaraswamy today said he would not be a "kingmaker" and instead people of the state would bless him as "king" in the May 12 Karnataka assembly polls, which he conceded was a "battle for survival" for his party.

Expressing confidence about the JD-S coming to power on its own, the former chief minister said, he is asking people to give the party a "chance", having seen the performance of both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress.

"I'm completely confident about bringing in a government with majority, I don't have an iota of doubt," Kumaraswamy told PTI.

Pre-poll surveys on the elections to the 225-member Karnataka House, that includes one nominated member, have projected a hung assembly with the JD-S emerging as kingmaker.

Kumaraswamy said his target was 113 seats.

"I'm targeting 113, I have made preparations strategically, required to reach 113. So in my opinion ultimately I will succeed in reaching my goal. People will make me succeed, I have this confidence," he said.

To a query, Kumaraswamy said, as per his current calculations, the JD-S would comfortably reach the 97-105 mark and it is now working towards making up the remaining seats.

"I'm confident that we will not fall short... according to my calculation 97-105 comfortably I'm going to reach this time, another 7-8 seats I may fall short. For that I'm working out and I'm sure we will make it up," he said.

Asked if he would not need support of other parties to make up for the numbers, he replied in the negative.

Ruling out any prospect of a hung assembly, he said, "It (situation) is not going to arise, I'm confident."

Dismissing pre-poll surveys which predicted a hung assembly and projected the JD(S) as "kingmaker", he said only after polls can such surveys have some clarity and "not at this stage."

"Not kingmaker, people will bless me as a king, that full confidence is there," he said, as he claimed that there is an "undercurrent" in favour of the JD-S across the state and people have "lost faith" in the BJP and Congress. -- PTI

The Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to rule the Chakma Autonomous District Council in Mizoram with the support of six Congress members after the election threw a fractured mandate, a top state BJP leader said.

The CADC is an autonomous council for ethnic Chakma people living in South-Western Mizoram bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Joining of hands by traditional rivals, the BJP and the Congress, is an interesting political event.

The BJP leader said the saffron party, with five members in the CADC, would head the district council formed under the sixth schedule of the Constitution in 1972.

State Sports Minister and Congress leader Zodintluanga had said on April 25 that a post-poll alliance was forged after local leaders of both the parties reached an agreement, and this would not have any bearing in Delhi or in the coming election to the assembly in the north eastern state.

BJP sources had, at that time, said the party may take action against its elected CADC members for forging the alliance with the Congress.

Later, the party leadership agreed to the tie-up after the six Congress members decided to join the coalition, the United Legislature party, as individual members leaving their party identity behind, the BJP leader said.

The ULP has elected Santi Jiban Chakma of the BJP as its leader and the Congress' Buddha Lila Chakma as deputy leader and the former is tipped to become the Chief Executive Member, the administrative head of the Council.

Chakma has already staked claim to form the executive committee of the CADC and also met Governor Lt Gen Nirbhay Sharma to discuss the committee's formation, he said.

The Council exercises legislative, executive and judicial powers over allotted departments within the territory of CADC.

Election to 20-member CADC on April 20 last had thrown a mixed result. While the Mizo National Front bagged eight seats, the Congress won six and the BJP five. Election to the Futuli seat was stayed by the Gauhati high court. -- PTI

As many as 3,292 NGOs and institutes, including some top academic centres like Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indira Gandhi National Open University, IIT Delhi and Madras, besides the Infosys Foundation in Bangalore have not disclosed their annual foreign donations and expenditure for the last fiscal or previous years, the home ministry has said.

The ministry told the NGOs and institutes in a notice that after scrutiny of records for 2011-12 to 2016-17, it has been observed that the mandatory annual returns/accounts for some of the financial years in the said period have not been found uploaded on the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act portal despite several opportunities were given to them to do so.

Those whose names figure in the home ministry list include Infosys Foundation, University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Panjab University, University of Rajasthan, Madras Christian College, Indian Council Of Agricultural Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and Madras, besides others.

The ministry said in the notice that those associations which have not filed the annual returns must file it immediately online.

"The status of submission of mandatory annual return will be reviewed after 15 days of issue of this notice (electronically/physically) in respect of your association, being dispatched to your known addresses. If you fail to submit any of the missing return (s) within this period, appropriate action under Section 10 of the FCRA, 2010 would be initiated against your association for the said violation," it said.

No organisation is allowed to receive funds from abroad unless it is registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.

It is mandatory under the law for such organisations to submit income and expenditure statement to the government annually else their registration is cancelled.

According to the FCRA, the renewal of registration for receiving foreign funds cannot be granted unless the annual returns are uploaded on the FCRA website by the organisation.

Executive Vice President of the Infosys and a trustee of Infosys Foundation, Ramadas Kamath, said the Foundation recieves donations only from Infosys Ltd and does not come under the purview of the FCRA.

He said the central government had bought in an amendment to the FCRA regulations to say that even though the FII holding in the share capital of a listed Indian company is more than 51 per cent, the donations given by such a listed Indian company to any Indian charitable trust will not be considered as a foreign contribution. -- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked youngsters to join the 'Swachh Bharat Summer Internship 2008' launched by his government and announced incentives, including credit point by the UGC, for participants, saying it is an opportunity for those who want to make a change in the society.

In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' broadcast, Modi also pitched for water conservation, saying it should be everyone's responsibility and asserted that his government has spent Rs 32,000 crore annually outside the MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) budget and 150 lakh acre land have benefitted from it in the last three years.

In his over 30-minute address, Modi touched on a number of topics, including Indian athletes', especially women's, achievement in the Commonwealth Games, people's response to his call for fitness and also paid tributes to Prophet Mohammad and Lord Buddha ahead of the month of Ramzan and Buddha Purnima respectively.

Noting that India had carried out nuclear tests on Buddha Purnima on May 11 in 1998, when Bharatiya Janata Party stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee was prime minister, Modi said youths need to imbibe Vajpayee's mantra of 'Jai Vigyan' (hail science) to make India modern and strong.

Giving a call to students to join the 'Swachh Bharat' campaign during their summer vacation, he said three ministries of his government have launched an internship programme and it is an opportunity for those who want to work for the society, contribute positively and bring about a change.

"The best of the interns who have strived in schools and colleges with excellent work will be rewarded with recognition at the national level. Not just that, those interns who accomplish their tasks well will be awarded two credit points each by the UGC , Modi said.

It will also boost the cleanliness campaign, a signature project of his government, those who participate in it will feel a sense of fulfillment when the country celebrates the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, he said.

Turning to water conservation, he said India has traditionally done it and cited examples of many temples and other historic places that have done so and noted that some rivers in states like Kerala and Uttar Pradesh have been revived recently.

"(We are) Leaving no stone unturned for water conservation," he said.

Modi also hailed the performance the Indian squad in the Commonwealth Games, saying they made every Indian proud and especially lauded woman athletes for their show. -- PTI

A bomb exploded today at the office of a hydroelectricity project in Nepal developed with Indian assistance, weeks before its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a media report said.

The compound wall of 900 MW Arun III Hydroelectric Power Plant's office in Khandbari-9, Tumlingtar, nearly 500 km from Kathmandu, suffered minor damage after the explosion, My Republica reported.

The project is slated to come into operation by 2020.

The power plant is scheduled to be inaugurated by Modi on his upcoming visit to Nepal on May 11, the report said.

A Project Development Agreement (PDA) for Arun III was signed with India's state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) on November 25, 2014 in the presence of the then Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and visiting Indian Prime Minister Modi, the report said.

The wall on the south side is slightly damaged due to the bomb explosion, Police Inspector Bed Prasad Gautam said.

The investigation is going on about the incident. However, no one has claimed responsibility of the blast, he added.

This is the second blast within a month in Indian properties in Nepal.

On April 17, a pressure cooker bomb went off near the Indian Embassy field office in Biratnagar damaging the walls of the premises. -- PTI

Now, Congress president Rahul Gandhi is addressing party's Jan Akrosh rally in New Delhi. Here some of the highlights of his speech.

- Under PM Modi, for the the first time in the history of our country, Supreme Court judges have had to reach out to people for justice

- The PM never speaks on Nirav Modi and the other frauds who looted India's money and left the country

- Be it the Rafale deal or Piyush Goyal's scams, there is widespread corruption. And 'desh ka chowkidaar' is silent on graft cases and scams

- Elections are coming up in Karnataka. The PM talks about corruption and says he is fighting it. On the same stage, next to him, is BS Yeddyurappa, who has been in jail

- Modi silent on "weakening" of country's institutions, Loya case

- PM Modi snatched away the Rafale deal from an experienced PSU like HAL and gave it away to an inexperienced private entity owned by his friend:

- When PM Modi speaks, people have to search hard for shreds of truth within his speeches

- I interact with many people around the country. Whenever I ask them if they are happy with the Modi Govt, the reply is a resounding NO

- PM Modi did not say single word on Doklam during his visit to China, what kind of prime minister is he

Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi today launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 'Jan Akrosh' rally, saying roots of corruption became stronger in his regime.

"The Modi government is muzzling dissenting voices, weakening institutions, dividing communities eyeing poll gains," Sonia said at the rally.

Sonia said that the country is passing through sensitive phase. The Congress will combat on behalf of people.

"It is saddening to see that our society is suffering from unprecedented violence and hatred today. People from every section of society are suffering. The nation is going through turbulent times under PM Modi," she said.

The UPA chairperson further said, "Under the leadership of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, let us all pledge our commitment to the cause of saving our nation from the violent and hateful forces that are destroying India."

Hitting out at the Congress over its 'Jan Akrosh' rally, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah today said it was in fact a 'Parivar Akrosh' rally that highlights increasing irrelevance of a "dynasty and their courtiers", who have been sent out of power from one state after another in elections.

The Congress has organised a 'Jan Akrosh' rally in the national capital today to highlight "failures" of the Modi government.

In a series of tweets, Shah took a dig at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and hoped that Gandhi would apologise to the nation for his party's efforts to trample over every possible institution in the country just because of its "power hungry" nature.

The country is tired of these "negative" and "arm twisting" tactics of the Congress, he said.

During the rally, Shah said, "abject India-hatred" would be on display as the Congress cannot digest that 125 crore Indians have seen through their "anti-development and highly divisive politics" and it efforts to create divisions are fully exposed.

"A dynasty and their courtiers, who were sent out of state after state by 'Jan Aadesh' now pretend to represent 'Jan Akrosh.'

Today's Congress rally is nothing but a 'Parivar Akrosh Rally' which highlights their increasing irrelevance," he said.

If the Congress wants to see 'Jan Akrosh' (people's anger), they should see the results of election after election, where it has been comprehensively defeated across the length and breadth of India, he said.

"People are not tolerating Congress' lies, empty promises, corruption and communalism," he said.

"If the Congress really wants to know why there is 'Jan Akrosh', they should answer why did they disallow Parliament to function and why it has prevented the formation of an OBC commission that gives justice to backward sections," Shah said.

The BJP president also posted the link of a story, which said all villages in the country have now been electrified, and claimed that while the entire nation is celebrating power for every single village, the Congress is "mourning" the loss of power for one family. -- PTI

The Indian Navy on Sunday responded to reports of its plane, Il-38, making a crash landing in Russia, saying that the aircraft was in the country for overhaul and mid-life upgradation.

'The aircraft is in Russia for Overhaul (OH) and Mid Life Upgradation (MLU). No Indian Navy crew was onboard during the sortie though they are present in Russia. The aircraft was on initial test flight with all Russian crew. The damage is being ascertained,' the Navy said in a statement.

On April 28, it was reported that the Il-38 was forced to make an emergency landing outside Moscow, following a chassis failure.

The reports also claimed that there were seven people on board -- four pilots and three technical specialists. -- ANI

Image only for representation

10:41 Woman alleges rape by CRPF personnel in Jammu

A 24-year-old woman has levelled serious allegations of wrongful confinement and rape against Central Reserve Police Force personnel inside a camp in Jammu, prompting police to register a case and start investigations, police said.

The woman, hailing from the Mandi area of Poonch district, lodged a written complaint with police station Domana yesterday, alleging that she was waylaid by a group of three CRPF personnel, taken inside their camp and raped by one of them on March 10, a police official said.

The woman alleged that the accused filmed the assault and threatened to release the video on social media if she disclosed the incident to police or someone else.

'I had alighted from a bus around 7.30 pm and was on way to my relative's home. I lost my way and was intercepted by three personnel in uniform outside their camp half an hour later. They took me inside on the pretext of helping me and instead one of them raped me,' the woman said in her complaint.

The official said a case under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code, including rape and wrongful confinement, were registered against the unidentified personnel and an investigation was taken up.

Based on the outcome of the investigation, some more charges, including that under the Information Technology Act, would be added to the FIR, he said. -- PTI

10:21 2 NCP members shot dead in Maharashtra

Two members of the Nationalist Congress Party were shot dead by some unidentified persons in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar on Sunday.

Both members have been identified as Yogesh Ralebhat and Rajesh Ralebhat.

The duo was sitting at a tea stall when the miscreants came on a bike and attacked them.

Soon, both were taken to Ahmednagar hospital but the doctor declared them brought dead.The reason behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.

An investigation is underway. More details are awaited. -- ANI

Congress President Rahul Gandhi will address a public rally at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi on Sunday to showcase 'Jan Aakrosh' (public outrage) over alleged 'failures and corruption' of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

This rally will be Gandhi's first in Delhi since assuming the post of Congress president.

The rally comes ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections, which will take place on May 12.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, prominent leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and others will also address the rally.

According to reports, key issues related to farmers, women, national security, CBSE paper leaks, etc. would be raised at the rally. -- ANI

09:26 Portals of Kedarnath thrown open for devotees

Thousands of devotees braved early morning chill to flock to Kedarnath as portals of the Himalayan shrine were thrown open today after the six-month winter break.

Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul and Speaker Premchand Aggarwal were among the first to offer prayers at the shrine as its gates were opened by Rawal Bhimashankar Ling at 6.15 am in the presence of administrative and temple committee officials.

The idol of 'baba Kedar' brought in a flower bedecked palanquin from Ukhimath's Omkareshwar Temple where he is worshipped during winter was installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple amid elaborate rituals and chants of Vedic hymns before the main gates of the temple were thrown open to devotees to pay obeisance.

With the opening of Kedarnath today and Badrinath temple scheduled to reopen tomorrow the number of chardham yatris is all set to get a boost in the coming days.

The gap of about 11 days between the openings of Yamunotri-Gangotri (Apr 18) and Kedarnath-Badrinath was being reckoned as a factor behind the lukewarm opening of chardham yatra this year.

Likely to be visited in the coming days by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is personally monitoring reconstruction work at Kedarpuri, several new attractions can be availed by devotees at Kedarnath this season including a laser show on Lord Shiva and improved facilities, officials said.

Portals of the four famous Himalayan shrines of Uttarakhand are closed every year with the onset of winter as they become snowbound and reopened with the start of summer. -- PTI

A first information report has been lodged in Ghaziabad against two television news channels for allegedly broadcasting 'false stories' following a complaint by the Ghaziabad Development Authority.

The GDA has alleged that the Hindi news channels had aired stories, levelling charges of Rs two crore bribery against its vice chairperson, based on one-sided version.

However, the channels -- Samachar Plus and News 1 India -- have refuted the allegations, saying they had tried to reach out to the GDA chairperson Ritu Maheshwari but she was not available immediately for comments.

One Trilok Agarwal had made a complaint to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's Office, alleging that he had paid Rs 50 lakh to the GDA Secretary and the same amount to enforcement department as bribe to stop the sealing action launched by the authority against illegal construction at the site of a builder.

This news story was then broadcast by news channels Samachar Plus and News 1 India, Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said.

Executive Engineer R P Singh has made the complaint to the police on behalf of the GDA, alleging that the channels had broadcast 'false news' to blackmail the authorities, malign the image of the state government and administrative officials.

The FIR -- naming the chief editors and the local correspondents of the news channels -- has been lodged at Sihani gate police station under various Indan Penal Code sections, the SSP said.

GDA Vice-Chairperson Ritu Maheswari told PTI that news aired by the channels shows their 'blackmailing mentality' and is a 'criminal act'.

The Executive Editor of Samachar Plus, Praveen Sahni, said the story is based on the compliant of the victim and the channel had sought the version of GDA vice chairperson but she did not attend their call.

"The complaint (as mentioned in the story) was sent to the Prime Minister's Officer and the UP Chief Minister's Office also," he added. The Editor-in-Chief on News 1 India, Anurag Chaddha, said the story his channel aired was based on the victim's complaint.

"It was not false or gossip. Our local correspondent had tried to contact Maheshwari but she was not available," he said.

Meanwhile, builder Anil Jain has made a complaint to the district magistrate against Trilok Agarwal and his wife Shalini Agarwal, alleged extortion attempt.

An FIR on Jain's compplaint has been lodged at Kavi Nagar police station. Jain also contradicted the allegations levelled in the complaint of Agarwal and said that he has not paid any amount to any official to get undue favour from the GDA.

Investigations in both cases have been initiated, SSP Krishna said. -- PTI

While speaking at the inauguration of the three-day International Virat Gurukul Sammelan in Ujjain on Saturday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the state will register 'gurukuls', which will be treated like mainstream schools.

"The state will register gurukuls and treat them equivalent to mainstream schools. Every district will promote the gurukul system and the government will help trusts to open new gurukuls," said Chouhan, during the conference.

According to reports, about 900 gurukuls from India and Nepal are attending the event and planning to bring gurukul education into the mainstream.

On the same day, Union Human Resource Development minister Prakash Javadekar had stated that the government is planning to revive the ancient Vedic system of education because only Vedic learning can turn the upcoming generation into patriots.

The minister also indicated at forming a new education policy and making a draft for the same within three months. -- ANI

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