LIVE! French protesters clash with police in Paris

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Sat, 01 December 2018

French protesters clash with police in Paris

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21:04 French protesters clash with police in Paris

Protesters angry about rising taxes clashed with French police for a third straight weekend and dozens were arrested after pockets of demonstrators built barricades in the middle of streets in central Paris, lit fires and threw rocks at officers Saturday.

French Interior Minister Christophe Castaner tweeted that "1,500 troublemakers" were around the Champs-Elysees avenue, outside a perimeter secured by police, who said that 63 people were arrested.

Protesters, including some wearing black hoodies, piled up large plywood planks and other material in the middle of a street near the Arc de Triomphe, and set the debris on fire.

Police fired tear gas to try to push back the protesters around the monument, and used water cannons near Champs-Elysees avenue. Some demonstrators responded by throwing large rocks. Thousands of police were deployed to try to contain the protests.

Castaner also mentioned 200 peaceful protesters, called "yellow jackets" for the fluorescent vests they wear, on the Champs-Elysees.

The situation in Paris contrasted Saturday with protests in other French regions, where demonstrations and road blockades were largely peaceful.

In addition to rising taxes, demonstrators are furious about President Emmanuel Macron's leadership. A demonstration last weekend in Paris also turned violent.

Access to the Champs-Elysee avenue was closed to cars and strictly monitored by police with identity checks and bag inspections. Earlier Saturday, police used tear gas to disperse the crowds as some tried to force their way through.

The protests, which began with motorists demonstrating against a fuel tax hike, now involve a broad range of demands related to the country's high cost of living.

Hitting out at the Congress, External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday said it was clear that the Congress party, beset by many dilemmas, is set to lose the assembly elections in all five states.

Swaraj, who was in Jaipur for the BJPs campaign ahead of the December 7 Rajasthan assembly elections, alleged the Congress is facing several dilemmas. They are in a dilemma over whether there will be a coalition, and if (Congress president) Rahul Gandhi will be accepted as leader of the coalition. They are in a dilemma over his religion and caste, she said at a press conference.

Surveys that show that Congress is winning due to anti-incumbency... Id like to tell the pollsters that an organization that is beset by dilemmas, which has lowered morale of workers... can never go with self-confidence to the people. Congress can never win in BJP-ruled states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, she said.

The Congress would not win in Telangana and Mizoram either, she added.

Its the writing on the wall that a Congress party beset by dilemmas will lose elections in all five states.

Attacking Gandhi, she said that a programme in Udaipur, the Congress chief had said that in the 21st century education and health services should be available at cheap rates.

I would like to remind Gandhi that for the first 10 years of the 21st century their government was at the centre. He should have given an account of how cheap education and healthcare was in their tenure, she said.

Swaraj also hit out at Gandhis comment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not know what it is to be a Hindu, alleging Gandhi and the Congress were in a dilemma over his religion and caste and the party tried to do a makeover for him.

For years the Congress presented Gandhi as secular. Then they realised that majority of the votebank is Hindu so he needed a Hindu makeover, she said, adding that is why the Congress chief visited Kailash Mansarovar, the Peetambari Peeth in Madhya Pradesh and Pushkar in Rajasthan.

The Bharatiya Janata Party lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against Congress leader Raj Babbar on Saturday for allegedly using "derogatory words" against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah.

Addressing a rally in Udaipur on Friday, Babbar had reportedly said two people from Gujarat were running a gang in Delhi to "kill" the poor people.

The BJP has lodged a complaint with the commission demanding strict action in the matter, the party said in a statement.

20:16

Assam: Explosion inside one of the coaches in Kamakhya-Dekargaon Intercity Express in Udalguri. 11 persons injured.

More details awaited

20:00

The White House says US President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will attend the funeral service of former President George H W Bush.

19:35 Anna Hazare warns of hunger strike from January 30

Social activist Anna Hazare on Saturday said that he would be forced to launch a hunger strike at his village Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra from January 30, 2019, on 71st death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, to protest against the non-appointment of Lokpal, Lokayuktas despite repeated assurances by the government.

Hazare has written to Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh, accusing the Central government of making excuses to avoid the appointment of Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states.

"The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013. People of the country were hopeful about the appointment of Lokpal and Lokayukta to arrest widespread corruption. However, there was a change of power and Narendra Modi government came to power. After Modi government came to power, we wrote thirty times to the government for appointment of Lokpal, Lokayuktas. However, Modi ji did not even send a reply," reads the letter.

"Initially, Modi government said the Lokpal could not be appointed as there was no leader of the opposition. Later the government started saying since there was no imminent jurist in the selection committee. Therefore, Lokpal, Lokayuktas could not be appointed. Appointment of Lokpal kept getting postponed on some or the other excuse," the letter adds.

"The Supreme Court has admonished Modi government many times and has asked for the appointment of Lokpal and Lokayuktas at the earliest. However, with some or the other excuse the appointment of Lokpal, Lokayukta has not taken place. The present government has spent four years in making excuses," Hazare further states in the letter.

The social activist said that as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government intentionally did not appoint Lokpal, Lokayuktas in four years, he sat on a fast at the Ramlila Maidan on March 23, 2018, but called it off later when the Prime Minister's Office on March 29, gave a written assurance that his demand would be fulfilled.

Hazare said that despite being in power for more than four years, the Prime Minister Modi government is not appointing Lokpal, Lokayuktas. He also said that the present government does not have intentions of appointing Lokpal Lokayuktas.

-- ANI

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking opening of the Shardapeeth pilgrimage site across the Line of Control.

Mehbooba said Shardapeeth in Pak-administered Kashmir is an outstanding relic of Kashmir's glowing history.

"The initiatives taken by (the) government of India under your distinguished predecessors in office have resulted in the opening of Muzaffarabad and Rawalkot routes. Though their full potential has yet to be realised, the opening of Kartarpur has presented as with another window of opportunity," she said.

The PDP president said her party has always considered people-to-people contact between India and Pakistan as an important confidence building measure.

"Though it generally connects the people here with their cultural and intellectual roots, for the (Kashmiri) Pandits it is an important place of pilgrimage which was frequented by them till independence. Their urge to open it to pilgrimage has been projected ever since the reopening of Srinagar Muzaffarabad Road," she said.

"Kartarpur has encouraged the (Kashmiri) Pandit community to see a possibility of the Pilgrimage to Shardapeeth in the same spirit and our belief is strengthened by the reported offer of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to allow it along with pilgrimage to Katas Raj," the PDP president said in the letter.

Mehbooba said a few members of the Kashmiri Pandit community discussed the issue with her and urged her to take up the matter with the prime minister.

-- PTI

18:41 Some more on the Priyanka-Nick wedding

The newlyweds exchanged wedding bands by the star jeweller Chopard as Nick's father, Paul Kevin Jonas Sr officiated the wedding.

Priyanka Chopra looked dreamy in a Ralph Lauren customised wedding gown and Nick Jonas looked dapper in a purple tuxedo by the same label.

18:21 Priyanka and Nick Jonas say 'I Do'

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas on Saturday said 'I do' as they exchanged wedding vows as per Catholic traditions at Umaid Bhawan Palace.

The couple, who reached the Blue City of Rajasthan on Thursday, are having a dual wedding.

The Christian wedding will be followed by a grand Hindu traditional ceremony on Sunday.

The respective families of the bride and the groom including Priyanka's mother Madhu Chopra, brother Siddharth and cousins Parineeti and Mannara Chopra and Nick's parents Paul Kevin Sr and Denise, brother Kevin and his wife Danielle, and brother Joe and his fiancee "Game of Thrones" star Sophie Turner arrived on Thursday.

The entire luxury hotel has been booked for the wedding guests.

Priyanka and Nick never shied away from documenting their love on social media since they went public with the relationship in July this year, but they decided to keep their wedding a private affair.

While the guests were asked not to bring mobile phones with the camera at the venue, the entry to the palace was strictly restricted by invitation.

Nick proposed Priyanka on her 36th birthday and then they flew down to India for a traditional 'roka' ceremony.

-- PTI

Kangana Ranaut has reacted on the non-payment of dues of workers, who have worked on her film "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi", saying she had warned the makers she would not promote the movie if the issue is not resolved.

The actor said labourers and technicians are "devalued" in the film industry and she would not tolerate such behaviour towards them.

"It is very sad. I have always opposed such practices. Labourers and technicians are devalued in the film industry. I don't know why actors get unnecessary attention and importance in the film industry and because of that I want to be a technician.

"I feel they are absolutely devalued. I want to venture into writing and direction as they are unsung heroes of the film industry. When such things it should not be tolerated," Kangana said during an event.

On Thursday, Federation of Western India Cine Employees, had said that the makers of "Manikarnika..." are yet to clear dues of approximately Rs 1.5 crore to the workers and junior artistes.

On Friday, producer Kamal Jain refuted the allegations saying that all the legitimate and due payments have been made, except of one vendor, who is arm-twisting them.

Kangana said she is well-aware about the situation and has been assured by the makers that the matter will be resolved soon.

"Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi" is due to be released on January 25 next year.

-- PTI

Fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi, a key accused in the $2 billion PNB fraud case, cannot return to India as he is afraid of "getting lynched" and is being compared to demon 'Ravan' , his lawyer told a special court on Saturday, but the ED dismissed the claim saying if he felt there were "security threats", he should have filed a police complaint, .

Nirav Modi's lawyer Vijay Agarwal stated this while arguing before Prevention of Money Laundering Act court Judge MS Azmi against the Enforcement Directorate's application to declare Modi a fugitive under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.

Countering the ED plea, Nirav Modi also said through his lawyer that he had no record or data with him about his finances.

Referring to Nirav Modi's claims of "security threats" in India, the ED said these points are "irrelevant" to the case.

The ED has claimed that Nirav Modi had refused to join the probe despite acknowledging mails and summons issued to him and that he doesn't want to return to India.

Agarwal, however, said the diamond trader had responded to the emails sent by the investigating agencies and expressed his inability to return due to "security threats".

"In a letter addressed to both the CBI and the ED, Modi had stated that he was not able to join the probe because of security threats (in India) from private persons, the families of those who have been detained (in the PNB case), landlords, the creditors who have not been paid and the customers whose jewellery was taken away by the ED," he said.

"Modi's 50-ft tall effigy was burnt in India. There was evidence of a mob lynching (against me) and I (Modi) was being compared with 'Ravan'. I have been projected as evil and being made the poster boy of the bank fraud," said Agarwal.

He also claimed that Modi cannot be declared a fugitive as various legal requirements stipulated by the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act have not been met by the investigating agency.

-- PTI

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad said Saturday he would start a countrywide agitation against "atrocities" on Dalits and demanded the withdrawal of cases against the community during an agitation early this year.

Azad, also known as Ravan, was addressing Bhim Army activists who staged a dharna in front of the Muzaffarnagar collectorate in Uttar Pradesh.

The Dalit leader alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government was taking action against innocent Dalits and false cases had been registered against members of the community during a Bharat Bandh on April 2.

Some Dalit groups called the bandh in protest against a Supreme Court judgement in March that ruled out immediate arrests in cases under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Twelve people were killed in violence during the bandh.

Azad demanded withdrawal of the cases registered during the Dalit agitation and asked for compensation to the families of the deceased who were killed in police-firing.

The Bhim Army chief announced that his organisation would start a nationwide agitation against atrocities on Dalits and said they began their agitation from Muzaffarnagar on Saturday.

The Dalit leader also hit out at the district authorities for not allowing their meeting.

-- PTI

16:08 Punjab minister seeks Sidhu's resignation

A day after cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu's remark on Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, a senior Punjab minister on Saturday sought his resignation from the state cabinet.

The resignation demand came even as Sidhu backtracked on his claim in Hyderabad that he attended the groundbreaking ceremony in Pakistan for the Kartarpur corridor after Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked him to go.

"Rahul Gandhi didn't ask me to go, I went on (Pakistan Prime Minister) Imran Khan's personal invite," Sidhu tweeted.

On Friday, Sidhu had said Gandhi was his `captain', which was seen as a dig at Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, a former captain in the Army.

"If he does not consider Captain Amarinder as his captain then he should resign on moral grounds from the cabinet and do whatever work is assigned to him by Rahul Gandhi," Punjab cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said.

-- PTI

Claiming that the Congress will face defeats in the ongoing Assembly polls in five states, the BJP on Saturday said after the results are out, Rahul Gandhi, the chief of the opposition party, will make a new record of electoral defeats.

"One thing is certain in these assembly elections and that is the Congress is going to lose in all the five states. The reason for this is the belief the people of the country have reposed in Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The impact of the work done by the prime minister can be seen across the country. The various welfare works of the Centre have benefitted the poor, farmers, the deprived and marginalised sections of the society and have a direct positive impact on their lives," said Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma.

He claimed that over 20 crore people had directly or indirectly benefitted by the welfare schemes of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government.

"As far as the ongoing assembly polls are concerned, the BJP will form governments on its own in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

"In Mizoram, the Congress is going to suffer a defeat, while pro-BJP forces will form the government in the north-eastern state. And as far as Telangana is concerned, the Congress's ideology will come to an end. In other words, the Congress will effectively be wiped out from all the five states," Sharma said.

Taking a dig at the Congress chief, he said, "Rahul Gandhi will make a new record in terms of (electoral) defeats."

While the elections have already been held in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana will go to the polls on December 7 and the results for all the five states will be announced on December 11.

The defence ministry on Saturday approved military procurement worth Rs 3,000 crore, including Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles for Navy's two stealth frigates and armoured recovery vehicles for the army's Arjun main battle tanks, a senior official said.

The go-ahead for both acquisitions was given by the Defence Acquisition Council, the ministry's highest decision-making body on procurement, the senior military official said.

"The DAC chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accorded approval for acquisition of defence equipment worth about Rs 3,000 crore," he said.

India is procuring two stealth frigates at a cost of $1 billion and both the ships will be equipped with indigenously developed BrahMos missiles.

"The indigenously designed Brahmos missile is a tested and proven supersonic cruise missile and will form the primary weapon on-board these ships," said the official.

The DAC also approved the procurement of Armoured Recovery Vehicles for the Indian Army's main battle tank, Arjun. The ARVs are designed and developed by the DRDO and would be manufactured by defence public sector undertaking BEML, the official said.

-- PTI

In a fresh turn of events, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has stated that the government would withdraw cases against those booked during the bandh called in the backdrop of the Bhima Koregaon violence in January and the recent Maratha reservation stir. However, cases against the people involved in serious crimes will not be dropped, he said.

A total of 543 cases were filed during the Maratha agitation. Out of these, 46 fall under the category of serious offences and cannot be withdrawn, while around 314 cases are under investigation and in the process of withdrawal.

In the Bhima Koregaon agitation, as many as 655 cases have been filed, out of which 63 involve serious offences. The probe is underway in 158 cases, while 275 have been recommended for withdrawal.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister also assured the state legislature that an Action Taken Report pertaining to the Dhangar community will be tabled before the House in the next Assembly Session.

Dhangar community has put forth a demand for reservation in front of the state government. The shepherd community has been struggling for more than two decades seeking to be declared as an independent scheduled tribe. The people belonging to this community had also recently launched protests across Maharashtra for their demand.

-- ANI

Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday held a meeting with government officers at his private residence near here and directed them to expedite completion of pending works.

The meeting was to take stock of various projects, including construction of a third bridge on the Mandovi river, a senior official said.

Parrikar had earlier held a cabinet meeting on October 31 and met party officials the next day.

"Parrikar has asked the officers to expedite the process to fill vacancies in various government departments and set up a deadline," said the official from the Chief

Minister's Office.

Vacancies in various departments of the state government lie unfulfilled since the last two years.

The process of employment has been put on hold since the last nine months due to Parrikar's illness which prevented him from attending office.

He said the chief minister also took stock of the solid waste collection and discussed overall bottlenecks in governance arising out of his physical absence from office.

Parrikar also discussed the financial aspects of various projects and gave instructions to officers concerned, he said.

Parrikar, 62, has been recuperating at his private residence since October 14, when he was discharged from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.

-- PTI

You will have to postpone your wedding or shift the venue altogether if youre planning your big day between January and March 2019 and happen to live in Uttar Pradeshs Prayagraj.

The Yogi Adityanath government in the state has decided to ban marriage ceremonies during the Kumbh next year and people are not pleased, to say the least.

Those who had made advance payments for guest houses, function lawns and caterers are in a fix over the new government diktat. Hundreds are having to change the marriage dates which are often fixed months in advance and many are weighing the possibility of changing the venue to a nearby district. People in the wedding business are equally perplexed as they are dependent on the marriage season for their earnings.

As per the order issued, the weddings will not be allowed a day before and after the Kumbh snaan which will be held between January and March next year. The order copies have been sent by the district administration to all the wedding hall owners and hoteliers, asking them to cancel all the bookings during the said time.

Protesters from Amnesty International staged a demonstration outside the Indian High Commission in the UK against the alleged "crackdown" on the human rights group in India.

Amnesty UK in a tweet wrote: "PM of India @narendramodi promised to protect human rights... but instead he targets activists & charities! Today, as PM Modi represents #India at #G20Summit, we remind him that strong leaders don't bully charities."

Taking the opportunity to mount an attack on the Centre, the Congress retweeted the post by Amnesty UK. Congress had earlier also attacked the BJP-led government for allegedly trying to silence the voice of the non-governmental institutions in the country.

"PM Modi is afraid of questions. He is trying to intimidate these institutions," Karnataka Congress leader Rizwan Arshad had said after the Enforcement Directorate raided the offices of Amnesty India in Bengaluru last month.

The raids had led to the freezing the bank accounts of the human rights group. While Amnesty has denied any wrongdoing, Indian authorities have said the raids were aimed at uncovering foreign funding violations by Amnesty in India.

The CBI filed a chargesheet against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Congress leader Motilal Vora on Saturday in connection with the alleged irregularities in the re-allotment of an institutional plot in Panchkula, Haryana to the Associated Journals Limited, which is allegedly controlled by Congress leaders.

The central agency, which filed the chargesheet in a special court, has alleged that the reallotment of the plot, C-17, has caused a loss of Rs 67 lakh to the exchequer.

The agency has charged the then Haryana chief minister Hooda, who was also the chairman of the Haryana Urban Development Authority, the then chairman of the AJL, Vora, and the company under the Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy and the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In the chargesheet, the Central Bureau of Investigation has alleged that the AJL was allotted a plot of land in Panchkula in 1982, on which no construction took place till 1992.

The HUDA had subsequently taken back the possession of the plot.

The chargesheet alleged that the same plot was re-allotted to the AJL at its original rates in 2005 by allegedly violating the laid down norms by the then HUDA chairman, Hooda.

The AJL is reportedly controlled by senior Congress leaders, including members of the Gandhi family. The group runs the National Herald newspaper.

-- PTI

During a session with the business community in Rajasthan's Udaipur, Congress president Rahul Gandhi today questioned the Hindu quotient in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul alleged that PM Modi doesn't understand the foundation of Hinduism.

"What is the essence of Hinduism? What does the Gita say? That knowledge is with everybody, knowledge is all around you. Every living being has knowledge. Our PM says he is a Hindu but he doesn't understand foundation of Hinduism. What kind of a Hindu is he?" Rahul Gandhi said.

This comes days after Rahul slammed Congress's Bhilwara MP CP Joshi for his casteist remarks and asked him to tender an apology. Joshi had said that only pandits and Brahmins know about Hinduism.

At the interactive session, Rahul also attacked PM Modi saying that the latter believes that he knows the best.

"PM is convinced he knows better than Army what needs to be done in Army's area, better than foreign minister what needs to be done in the foreign ministry, better than agriculture minister what needs to be done in agriculture because he has a sense that all knowledge comes from his brain," he said.

Rahul said that PM Modi reached into the army's domain and shaped the surgical strikes into a political asset when it was a military decision. He said that surgical strikes were also conducted during former PM Manmohan Singh's term but was kept a secret on the army's demand.

The Congress scion also accused PM Modi of being unsuccessful in creating job opportunities for the youth. He said with the right government, India will surpass China in the next 15-20 years.

Rajasthan is due to go for polls on December 7.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina on December 1.

Confirming the news, the Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler tweeted, "Glad to confirm that PM Modi @PMOIndia will meet PR Macron @EmmanuelMacron on sidelines of the #G20 tomorrow afternoon in Argentina."

The high-level engagement comes amid the Rafale deal row.

The Congress has been accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government of irregularities in the high-profile defence fighter jets contract. They have claimed that the National Democratic Alliance government is procuring the aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore each as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the United Progressive Alliance government.

Rahul Gandhi, the chief of the Congress party, had alleged that Dassault (the makers of the jet) invested Rs 284 crore in a loss-making company promoted by Anil Ambani, which was used to procure land in Nagpur. "It is clear the Dassault CEO is lying. If there an inquiry in this regard, Modi is not going to survive it. Guaranteed," he had remarked.

Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Officer Eric Trappier, in an exclusive interview to ANI earlier this month, had rubbished allegations made by Gandhi that the former lied about the details of Dassault-Reliance Joint Venture for offset contracts in the Rafale Jet deal.

"I don't lie. The truth I declared before and the statements I made are true. I don't have a reputation for lying. In my position as CEO, you don't lie," said Trappier when asked to respond to Rahul Gandhi's charge that Dassault was covering up for possible cronyism in awarding the offset deal to Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group.

-- ANI

Former US President Barack Obama paid tribute to George HW Bush and said that the nation had lost a patriot and humble servant.

Writing on Twitter, Obama said, "While our hearts are heavy today, they are also filled with gratitude. Our thoughts are with the entire Bush family tonight and all who were inspired by George and Barbara's example."

George H W Bush died on Saturday (IST) at the age of 94. He was the 41st US president and also father of the 43rd US president -- George W Bush.

Congress leader P Chidambaram poked fun at the BJP on Saturday over the GDP growth data, saying it did not warrant any jubilation by the ruling party.

In a series of tweets, the former finance minister said that as expected, the GDP growth in the July-September quarter (Q2) of 2018-19 was a good one per cent lower than in the April-June quarter (Q1).

"Q1 number was on a very low base in the previous year. It did not signify a bump in growth and did not warrant the jubilation of the BJP three months ago," he said.

Chidambaram said going forward, it was likely that the October-December (Q3) and January-March (Q4) quarters would register similar growth rates unless there were unexpected shocks.

"The new normal for the Indian economy is 7 per cent and 2018-19 will be a normal year," he said.

India's economy grew at 7.1 per cent in the July-September quarter, lowest in three quarters, but still remained ahead of China to retain the tag of the world's fastest growing major economy.

The Indian economy grew at 8.2 per cent in the April-June quarter of this fiscal.

The GDP growth was 7.7 per cent in the January-March quarter.

-- PTI

10:35 Former US President George H W Bush dies at 94

Former United States President George Herbert Walker Bush has died at age 94, according to the family's spokesperson.

The former president was hospitalised at Houston Methodist Hospital due to an infection that spread to his blood, his office said in a statement.

His hospitalisation came just one day after he laid his wife of 73 years, former First Lady Barbara Bush, to rest.

Bush, who served as 41st president of the US president from 1989 to 1993, has a form of Parkinson's disease and used a motorised scooter or a wheelchair for mobility.

Polling for the sixth phase of the nine-phased panchayat election began at over 3,100 polling stations in Jammu and Kashmir Saturday, officials said.

Voting began at 8 am at 3,174 polling stations -- 410 in the Kashmir division and 2,764 in the Jammu division -- they added.

The officials said 771 polling stations -- 410 in the Kashmir division and 361 in the Jammu division -- were categorised as hypersensitive.

As many as 7,156 candidates were in the fray for 406 sarpanch and 2,277 panch seats in the sixth phase, while 111 sarpanches and 1,048 panches were elected unopposed, they added.

A total of 5,97,396 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise for the sarpanch constituencies and 4,57,581 for the panch constituencies, the officials said.

In the fifth phase of polling on November 29, the state had witnessed a voting percentage of 71.1, including 33.7 in the Kashmir division and 85.2 in the Jammu division.

In the fourth phase, the polling percentage was 71.3, including 82.4 in the Jammu division and 32.3 in the Kashmir division.

In the third phase, the state had recorded a polling percentage of 75.2, including 55.7 in the Kashmir division and 83 in the Jammu division.

The voting percentage was 71.1 in the second phase with an overwhelming 80.4 per cent polling in the Jammu division and 52.2 per cent in the Kashmir division.

Similarly, in the first phase of polling on November 17, the voting percentage was 74.1, including 64.5 in the Kashmir division and 79.4 in the Jammu division.

The results for the first five phases have been announced by the respective returning officers. -- PTI

Several farmers, who took part at a protest in New Delhi on Friday rued that their children do not want to take up farming seeing their parents plight, as protesters raised slogans to protect "farming legacy".

Dubbed as the largest farmers' protest and congregation in Delhi, around 35,000 farmers, from across India, converged at the Parliament Street police station Thursday after their march was stopped by the administration.

They are in the national capital to press for their demands, including debt relief and remunerative prices for their produce.

Ramaswami Sella Perumal, a farmer from Tamil Nadu, who had undertaken a 36-hour long journey, and was wearing two skulls of his relative who had allegedly committed suicide, said he has two children, who are studying.

"They do not want to become farmers. They see what kind of difficulties we are facing. Many of our farmers have committed suicide. It is saddening that our children do not want to take up something that runs in our family," Perumal said, as he broke into tears.

Mukut Singh, a farmer leader from Uttar Pardesh concurred with Perumal and said their children want to gain good education and a private job.

"Our children want to study well and then get a good job. Even statistics say 40 per cent of farmers have given up farming and our children obviously do not want to take it up because they see how we are fighting for our rights," he said.

A farmer leader from Haryana, Phool Singh Sheokand, said, "Our children are ready to sit in a shop and earn Rs 5000 but they do not want to become farmers. This sentiment is there among the children of many farmers and they cannot be blamed."

Farmer leader BM Singh also spoke about the issue on the stage and even gave the slogan, 'We have to bring our children into farming and ensure that the farming legacy does not die'.

The farmers, social activists and political leaders slammed the Union government alleging that it has not implemented a "single major initiative" for farmers int he past four and half years. -- PTI

India Friday presented a nine-point agenda to G20 member nations calling for strong and active cooperation among them to comprehensively deal with fugitive economic offenders.

The agenda was presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the second session of the G20 Summit on international trade, international financial and tax systems.

"Cooperation in legal processes such as effective freezing of the proceeds of crime, early return of the offenders and efficient repatriation of the proceeds of crime should be enhanced and streamlined," the agenda read.

India also called for joint efforts by G-20 countries to form a mechanism that denies entry and safe havens to fugitive economic offenders.

"Principles of United Nations Convention Against Corruption, United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, especially related to 'International Cooperation' should be fully and effectively implemented," it said.

India suggested the Financial Action Task Force should be called upon to assign priority and focus to establishing international cooperation that leads to timely and comprehensive exchange of information between the competent authorities and financial intelligence units.

"The FATF should be tasked to formulate a standard definition of fugitive economic offenders. FATF should also develop a set of commonly agreed and standardized procedures related to identification, extradition and judicial proceedings for dealing with fugitive economic offenders to provide guidance and assistance to G-20 countries, subject to their domestic law," it said.

India also advocated setting up of a common platform for sharing experiences and best practices including successful cases of extradition, gaps in existing systems of extradition and legal assistance, etc.

It said the G-20 forum should consider initiating work on locating properties of economic offenders who have a tax debt in the country of their residence for its recovery. -- PTI

The Trump administration on Friday proposed major changes to the H-1B application process with the aim of awarding the visa to the most skilled and highest paid foreign workers.

Under a new proposed merit-based rule, a notice for which was issued on Friday, companies employing foreign workers on the H-1B visa under the Congressional mandated annual caps -- would have to electronically register with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services during a designated registration period.

The H1-B visa has an annual numerical limit cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year as mandated by the Congress. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master's degree or higher are exempt from the cap.

The USCIS would also reverse the order allowing it to select H-1B petitions under the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption.

This is likely to increase the number of foreign workers with a master's or higher degree from a US institution of higher education to be selected for an H-1B cap number. As such the proposed rule will introducing a more meritorious selection of beneficiaries, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

The DHS said public comments on the proposed rule can be submitted from December 3 to January 2.

"Currently, in years when the H-1B cap and the advanced degree exemption are both reached within the first five days that H-1B cap petitions may be filed, the advanced degree exemption is selected prior to the H-1B cap.

"The proposed rule would reverse the selection order and count all registrations or petitions towards the number projected as needed to reach the H-1B cap first," the DHS said.

Once a sufficient number of registrations or petitions have been selected for the H-1B cap, the USCIS would then select registrations or petitions towards the advanced degree exemption.

"This proposed change would increase the chances that beneficiaries with a master's or higher degree from a US institution of higher education would be selected under the H-1B cap and that H-1B visas would be awarded to the most-skilled and highest-paid beneficiaries," it said.

The proposed process would result in an estimated increase of up to 16 per cent (or 5,340 workers) in the number of selected H-1B beneficiaries with a master's degree or higher from a US institution of higher education, the DHS said. -- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese premier Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday held a trilateral meeting, the second among the three countries after a gap of 12 years, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit here to discuss cooperation in various areas.

The Russia-India-China meeting came hours after Prime Minister Modi, his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and US President Donald Trump held their first trilateral meeting on the margins of the summit.

"Deepening engagement with valued development partners. President Vladimir Putin, President Xi Jinping and PM @narendramodi participate in the RIC (Russia, India, China) trilateral in Buenos Aires. @KremlinRussia," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted.

"2nd Russia-India-China 'RIC' Trilateral Summit took place in Buenos Aires after a gap of 12 years. In a meeting characterised by warmth and positivity, leaders discussed cooperation and coordination in various areas which could contribute to global peace and stability," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Twitter.

Earlier in the day, India, Japan and the US discussed major issues of global and multilateral interests in their first trilateral meeting, which assumed importance in the wake of China flexing its muscles in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

At the meeting, India underscored its firm commitment to make the Indo-Pacific a region for shared economic growth.

Asserting that India will "continue to work together on shared values", Modi said, "When you look at the acronym of our three countries -- Japan, America, and India -- it is 'JAI', which stands for success in Hindi." -- PTI

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake has rocked buildings in Anchorage and caused lamp posts and trees to sway, prompting people to run out of offices and seek shelter under office desks.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake Friday morning was centred about 12 kilometres north of Alaska's largest city.

The magnitude of the quake has been updated throughout the day, with the latest from the USGS putting it at 7.0.

The National Tsunami Warning Center has cancelled a tsunami warning for coastal zones of southern Alaska fthat it had issued earlier.

Former judges should not take up post-retirement jobs if these are given as "charity" by the government, Justice Kurian Joseph said Friday, a day after he retired from the Supreme Court.

Joseph, was part of the January 12 press conference in which now Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Lokur and former judge J Chelameswar had raised serious questions over various issues including allocation of cases in the top court.

He said former judges should take post-retirement assignments only when they are "honourably requested" by the government to man tribunals.

"So long as the government holds the view that it is a charity done to the retired judges, no judge should take it. If a judge is honourably called, requested and appointed and that process is honourably made, there is no harm in it because many of the tribunals are to be manned by judges," Joseph said.

Talking to reporters on his birthday, he said one trouble which the Supreme Court is facing is shortage of good judges, a concern which has also been echoed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

Joseph, who had penned a minority verdict against the death penalty on the eve of demitting of his office, favoured abolishment of capital punishment and also cleared his view on it saying, "it is not a personal stand".

When a judge is discharging his duties from the office of judge he is discharging it to the knowledge of his best interest, ability and belief, he said.

"So, as far as death penalty is concerned what I wrote is not my personal philosophies. My personal philosophies should have nothing to do with my judgment. People have taken the spirit of the Bachaan Singh judgment of 1980 forward and said that it should be applied in the rarest of rare cases," the former apex court judge said.

Joseph said there are various advancements made in the views and theories, and questioned as to how it will be assessed that there was no possibility of reformation of the death row convict.

"Is there any system available to us to assess that? This is what I suggested that there should be psychological assessment," he added. -- PTI

Image: Chief Justice of India Justice Ranjan Gogoi, left, shakes hands with Justice Kurian Joseph during the latter's farewell function at the Supreme Court, in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

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