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Sat, 13 January 2018
ED abusing power at behest of govt, won't bow down: Chidambaram

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20:49   Changing name not enough, delete scenes: Athawale on 'Padmavat'
Union minister Ramdas Athawale today said Bollywood film Padmavat should not be allowed to release till the scenes which were "offensive" to the Rajput community were deleted from it.
He added that he would meet Central Board of Film Certification chief Prasoon Joshi soon in this regard.

"Changing the name of the controversial film, Padmavati (to Padmavat), is not enough. Till the objections of the Rajput community as regards the film are not cleared, it should not be released," the Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment said.
Stating that while the name of the film was changed, the story and scenes were not, Athawale demanded that such scenes be deleted before the film was released.
The Karni Sena, a Rajput group opposed to the film, had staged a protest outside the CBFC office here yesterday over the clearance given to the film directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
The Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor-starrer is slated for a release on January 25.
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20:40   ED abusing power at behest of govt, won't bow down: Chidambaram
The Congress and its leader P Chidambaram today accused the government of "unleashing vicious vendetta" against the opposition after the Enforcement Directorate carried out raids at the residence of the former Union minister in New Delhi in connection with its money laundering probe in the Aircel-Maxis case.
P Chidambaram accused the ED of misusing its power at the behest of the government. He said he would not succumb to pressure and continue to speak and write.
He spoke to reporters outside his Jorbagh residence here, hours after the ED conducted searches at 10 premises linked to his son Karti Chidambaram in connection with the probe.

P Chidambaram termed the raids "a comedy of errors" and claimed the officers were left "embarrassed" and "apologetic" as they could not find anything at his house.
"Since they had the search warrant, I did not object to the search but I said I will record my protest that there is no FIR in respect of the scheduled crime...there are obviously no proceeds of crime and the ED has no jurisdiction under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act," he told reporters.
Later, in a statement, he said there is no predicate scheduled offence and hence the ED has no jurisdiction.
"Yet the ED, at the behest of the government, continues to misuse its powers. Let the government misuse the ED. I shall neither bend nor break and I shall continue to speak and write," P Chidambaram said.
In a separate statement, AICC in-charge of media Randeep Singh Surjewala said the raids were part of a "continuing vicious vendetta unleashed by Modi government against Congress and other opposition leaders".
He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government were using agencies including ED and CBI as "captive puppets" to settle political scores and intimidate political opponents.
"In fact, 'raid raj' has become the DNA of the Modi government. We again reiterate that Congress leaders will not be cowed down or bow in face of such malicious and wilful attempts to browbeat and bulldoze," he said. -- PTI

Photograph: PTI Photo
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19:39   Speak up for democracy like 4 SC judges: Sinha to Cabinet ministers
Firing a fresh salvo at the government, disgruntled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha today asked his party colleagues and ministers to "get rid of their fear" and "speak up for democracy" like the four Supreme Court judges who came out publicly against the chief justice.
 
The former Union minister referred to the comments of the four judges to claim that the prevailing atmosphere was like the Emergency in 1975-77 and voiced concern over short parliamentary sessions.
If Parliament is compromised, the Supreme Court is not in order, then democracy is threatened, he told reporters.
Sinha said "if four senior most Supreme Court judges say democracy is under threat, we have to take their words very seriously""
"Every citizen who feels for democracy should speak up. I will ask party (BJP) leaders and senior cabinet ministers to speak up. I will appeal to them to get rid of their fears and speak up," he said.
Sinha, however, insisted that it was for the apex court to sort out the crisis after the four senior judges virtually revolted against the country's chief justice yesterday, raising questions on "selective" case allocation and certain
judicial orders. 
 
Like the Chief Justice of India in the Supreme Court, the prime minister is also first among equals in the government and his cabinet colleagues should speak up, he said.
Sinha, who has been a vocal critic of the Modi government over issues like demonetisation, GST and Kashmir, claimed that he was "personally aware of the fear in which members of the cabinet in this government are working, and that also is a threat to democracy".
The BJP has in the past attributed Sinha's scathing criticism of the government to his being sidelined in the party with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley once dubbing him as a "job applicant at 80".
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19:31   Army jawan killed in unprovoked firing by Pak
An Army jawan was today killed in unprovoked firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.
Pakistan Army troops initiated unprovoked firing on Indian posts from across the border in the Sunderbani sector, prompting the Indian troops guarding the LoC to retaliate strongly and effectively, an Army spokesman said.
Lance Naik Yogesh Muralidhar Bhadane, 22, from Khalane village of Dhule district in Maharashtra, was critically injured in the firing and later succumbed to his injuries. 

Bhadane is survived by his wife.
The incident comes just days after a Border Security Force head constable was killed after Pakistani forces "sniped" from across the International Border in Samba district.
In retaliation, the BSF destroyed two Pakistani mortar positions. It also foiled an infiltration bid by gunning down a Pakistani intruder along the IB near Nikowal border out post in Arnia sector. -- PTI
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18:53   Hardik booked for 'political' speech at educational event
An FIR was lodged in Gujarat's Jamnagar against Patidar quota agitation spearhead Hardik Patel for allegedly delivering a "political" speech at an educational and farmers' welfare event at a village in this district over
two months ago, the police said today.
The complaint, filed by Jamnagar (rural) Sub-Divisional Magistrate R K Patel, says that although permission was granted for organising an educational and farmers' welfare event at Dhutarpar village, it turned out to be a "political" programme with Hardik delivering the speech.
The case was registered at the Jamnagar 'A' division police station yesterday.
According to the complaint, Hardik and his associate Ankit Dhadia had violated the conditions laid down while granting permission for the event.
Dhadia had sought permission from the SDM to hold a public gathering at Dhutarpar village on November 4 last year.
"While permission was granted for an educational and farmers' welfare programme at Dhutarpar village in the Jamnagar taluka, it turned out to be a political event with Hardik delivering a political speech," the SDM said in the complaint.
"We had granted permission to hold the gathering. However, after going through the details of the event, it came to light that instead of being an educational and farmers' welfare programme, it turned out to be political event,
thereby violating the conditions set while granting the permission," he added.
The Jamnagar 'A' division police lodged a case against Hardik and Dhadia under sections 36(A), 72(2) and 134 of the Gujarat Police Act. -- PTI
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18:21   Bar council forms 7-member panel to resolve rift within judiciary
A day after the Supreme Court judges mounted a virtual revolt against the country's chief justice in an unprecedented press conference, the Bar Council of India today form a seven-member team to meet all SC judges from tomorrow to resolve the issue peacefully.

"We have unanimously decided to form a seven-member delegation of the council who will meet Honourable Judges of the Supreme Court. We want that the matter be solved at the earliest," Manan Kumar Mishra, Chairman of Bar Council of India said at a press conference.

He said it is a family dispute and they will resolve the matter soon.

"As far as MOP is concerned, it must be finalised at the earliest in a proper manner. We will write a letter to the government for the same but is not that big a matter to be brought in public," he added. 

Mishra also appealed political parties not to politicise the matter.
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17:50   There is no crisis: Justice Ranjan Gogoi who revolted against CJI
Justice Ranjan Gogoi, one of the four senior Supreme Court judges who virtually revolted against the country's chief justice over "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders, today said "there is no crisis".
"There is no crisis," he told PTI on the sidelines of a programme, when asked about the way forward to resolve the crisis.
Asked whether their act had amounted to a violation of discipline, Gogoi refused to comment, saying, "I have to catch a flight to Lucknow. I cannot talk."
The senior apex court judge was here to attend the eastern regional meet of the state legal services authorities.
In an unprecedented move, the four senior Supreme Court judges -- justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- had called a press conference in New Delhi yesterday and said the situation in the top court was "not in order" and that many "less than desirable" things had taken place.
Unless the institution was preserved, "Democracy will not survive in this country," they had stated. -- PTI
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17:42   UN chief calls for 'balance of power' in UNSC
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has called for establishing "balance of power" in the Security Council to make the world body more "democratic".
Speaking at a ceremony yesterday at which Egypt took over the chairmanship of the G77 and China from Ecuador, the UN Secretary-General called for a more democratic UN, with power divided in a more balanced way and with more effective diversity in the regional representation at all its bodies.
"The centre of that is in the reform of the Security Council, it is in the revitalisation of the General Assembly, but one thing that I am strongly committed at the Secretariat level and that is one of the reasons of the management reform that we have proposed is to make sure that, at that the level of the Secretariat, that increased diversity and that balance of power is established," he said.
He expressed hope that the Group of 77 will be "attentive to the need to make sure that any reform gives an effective contribution to a more balanced and democratic UN where power is better distributed and justice can prevail more easily."
He said Group of 77 has a very important role to play not only in a multilateral world but in a world where international relations have more justice. -- PTI
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16:41   Fire breaks out at Mumbai airport's domestic terminal
A fire broke out today at the Mumbai airport's domestic terminal 1B, officials said. 
They said that the fire started at a ground floor conference hall and then spread to the first floor of a lounge near the airport's gate number 9.
An official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Disaster Control Room said that the fire started in the afternoon and fire brigade personnel have rushed to the site along with eight fire engines, six jetties and water jets.
The official said that there was no report of any casualty and the operation to douse the fire was on. -- PTI

Photograph: ANI
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16:36   Attempts being made to make judiciary deaf and dumb: Shiv Sena
Praising the four Supreme Court judges who mounted a virtual revolt against the country's chief justice, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today said attempts were being made to make the judiciary "deaf and dumb".
He said the government should not meddle in the matter.
"The decision of those judges should be lauded. There is a high possibility that there will be an inquiry called against them now. However, this inquiry should be unbiased," Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai.
Questioning the timing of President Ram Nath Kovind's visit to the city tomorrow, Thackeray sought to know what pressing engagements he had here when the apex court was facing a crisis.
"What is so important happening here that the president is coming to Mumbai?" he asked.
"Attempts are being made to make the judiciary deaf and dumb. The question that has arisen now is if people are fulfilling their responsibilities towards the nation? Only winning elections is not administration," Thackeray said.
The Sena chief, whose party is an ally of the ruling BJP, was asked if the judiciary seemed under pressure under the current dispensation.
He said the judges' decision to hold a press conference in New Delhi came as a shock and added that people would now wonder if they should trust the judiciary or not.
"The government should not interfere in this. Let the judiciary do its work," he said.
The four senior-most SC judges--Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph--had yesterday said that the situation in the top court was "not in order" and many "less than desirable" things have taken place.
Unless this institution is preserved, "democracy will not survive in this country," they had said. -- PTI
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15:44   ED raids a comedy of errors, officials found nothing: Chidambaram
Congress leader P Chidambaram today termed the Enforcement Directorate raids against his son "a comedy of errors" and claimed the officers were left "embarrassed" and "apologetic" as they could not find anything.
He was reacting after the ED conducted searches at multiple premises linked to Karti Chidambaram, the senior Congress leader's son, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Aircel-Maxis case.
"They have searched premises in Chennai again but in a comedy of errors they came to search my premises in Jorbagh. Officers told me that they believed that Karti was an occupant of the house. I told them he is a resident of Chennai and I am the occupant of this house," Chidambaram told reporters.
"Since they had the search warrant, I did not raise any objections to the search but I said I will record my protest that there is no FIR in respect of the scheduled crime registered by any investigating agency including the CBI.
"There are obviously no proceeds of crime and the ED has no jurisdiction under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act," he added.
The former finance minister said that the ED officials searched the place "including the kitchen and the bathroom and obviously they found nothing. They were embarrassed and apologetic that they found me as the occupant but they had no option but to complete the search".
"Since they had to justify the search, they took some background papers related to a statement made by the government in Parliament in 2012-13. In Chennai also they found nothing, seized nothing," he claimed.
The Congress leader also made a tongue and cheek remark, saying "I will compliment them (investigating agencies) if they are able to find anything (objectionable) in raids in future".
The central probe agency had, on December 1 last year, conducted similar searches on the premises of a relative of Karti and others in this case.
The ED case pertains to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board approval granted in 2006 by P Chidambaram, the then finance minister. -- PTI 
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15:00   Pak court issues notice to PM for making anti-judiciary speech
A Pakistani court has issued a notice to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for allegedly making an anti-judiciary speech in which he termed the Panama papers verdict a "piece of trash", according to a media report.
Advocate Azhar Siddiqi filed the petition in the Lahore high court, stating that Abbasi's comments on the judgement amounts to committing contempt of court, Dawn News reported.
Presenting his case in the court of Justice Shahid Kareem, the petitioner said that by making such an inflammatory statement, Abbasi was trying to make the judiciary controversial.
He said that earlier ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam had openly criticised the apex court and its judges in their speeches, and tried to whip up public sentiment against the judiciary.
He said that now Abbasi had also started talking against the apex court, in violation of the oath he took when he assumed the office of prime minister.
He requested the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Abbasi and said that Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) should be directed to stop news channels from airing the prime minister's speeches targeting the judiciary.
The court issued notices to Abbasi, the federal government and Pemra and sought their replies by the next hearing scheduled for January 15.
The Panama Papers are an unprecedented leak of over 11 million files from the database of the world's fourth biggest offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca, reportedly showing how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth. -- PTI
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14:46   Debris of chopper that went missing off Mumbai coast found; 3 dead
The Coast Guard said that the Pawan Hans helicopter which went missing earlier in the day has crashed off Mumbai Coast.

The Coast Guard said that it has fished out three bodies from the site.

The helicopter was heading to ONGC's north field with seven persons onboard, official sources said.
The chopper, Dauphin N3, bearing registration number VT-PWA, took off from Juhu aerodrome at 10.25 am, with five ONGC employees and two pilots onboard, they said.
The chopper was scheduled to land at the designated oil rig at Mumbai High at 11 am, the sources said.
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14:30   UN hails India, China for leadership role over climate change
The United Nations has hailed India and China for their leadership role and strong commitment in fighting climate change at a time when "others are failing".
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the UN has a "very solid commitment" for climate action, pointing out that African nations were the biggest victims of the globally changing weather patterns.
"We cannot be defeated by climate change and we are not yet winning this battle," he said yesterday at a ceremony in which Egypt took over the chairmanship of the 'Group of 77 (or G77) and China' from Ecuador.
"And it is clear to me that the biggest victims of climate change are members of the G77, namely African countries affected by drought or small island countries affected by the kind of hurricanes that we have seen or the
rising levels of waters. 
"But at the same time, of the largest economies of the world the two largest economies of the G77 are strongly committed to the leadership in climate action - and I refer to China and India," Guterres was quoted as saying by a UN statement.
"In a moment when others are failing, I see the largest economies of the Group of 77 and China to be assuming the leadership in climate action to make sure that we don't suffer the dramatic and devastating impacts of climate change, as unfortunately we are already witnessing and things will get much worse if we are not able to defeat this threat," Guterres said.
The G77, established on June 15, 1964, now has 134 members including India and is the largest intergovernmental organisation of developing countries in the UN.

The bloc provides the means for the countries of the South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the UN system, and promote South-South cooperation for development. -- PTI 
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13:37   Boat carrying 40 students capsizes in Maharashtra, 4 dead
A boat with 40 school children on board today capsized near Maharashtra's Dahanu in Palghar district, news agency ANI has reported.

Four school students have lost their lives in the incident, ANI has said.

According to reports, 25 children have been rescued so far, while rescue operations are underway to locate the missing.

The Coast Guard has diverted ships which were at sea. Dornier aircraft and helicopters from Daman have been launched as part of the rescue operations, Coast guard PRO said.
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13:25   Chopper with 7 on board goes missing off Mumbai coast
A Pawan Hans helicopter with seven persons on board has gone missing after take off from Mumbai's Juhu airport today.

According to media reports, the chopper was last in touch with the air traffic control around 10.30 am.

Among the passengers were some officials of the Oil And Natural Gas Corporation or ONGC.

The Coast Guard has been alerted and a search operation is on, media reports said quoting sources.

Image used along with is used for representation purposes only
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12:48   John Cena to once again host Kids' Choice Awards
Actor and wrestler John Cena will once again emcee the Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards.

The 40-year-old star believes that there is not much difference between hosting the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and stepping into the wrestling ring, reported Variety.
"It's a wonderful environment. I compare it to a WWE event where the show is absolutely 100 per cent made for the audience," Cena said.
"Being in front of a live audience for so long so many nights in a row, I think it prepares you for the chaos of a live television production which is so, so fun," he added.
Cena has also signed on to join the voice cast of the Nickelodeon's new animated series "Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". -- PTI
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12:13   Bhogi celebrations smoke hits flight services in Chennai
Flight services in and out of Chennai suffered today following a thick cover of smoke due to Bhogi festival celebrations, airport officials said.
As many as 18 arriving flights were diverted to Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports. They flew in from various destinations such as Kuwait, Sharjah and Delhi.
Bhogi, celebrated ahead of the Tamil harvest festival Pongal tomorrow, involves burning of old articles in a symbolic gesture of bidding adieu to the old and welcoming the new.
Meanwhile, motorists plied their vehicles with their headlights on following the smoke cover which descended on the city and its neighbourhoods.
The government launches regular awareness campaigns ahead of Bhogi, aimed at smoke-free celebrations of the day. -- PTI 
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12:02   Root, Yuvraj, Gayle among 1122 cricketers sign up for IPL auction
A whopping 1122 players including the likes of Chris Gayle, Yuvraj Singh, Joe Root and Shane Watson have signed up on expected lines to be part of the upcoming Indian Premier League auction, the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced today.
The auction, scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on January 27 and 28, will also see India's Gautam Gambhir, R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, mystery spinner Kuldeep Yadav and openers KL Rahul and M Vijay go under the hammer.
The list, sent out to the eight IPL franchises, has 281 capped players, 838 uncapped players, including 778 Indians and three players from the Associate nations, a BCCI release said.
About 282 overseas - 58 from Australia, 57 from South Africa, 39 each from Sri Lanka and West Indies, 30 from New Zealand, and 26 from England have registered for the auction.

Again hoping to show his full range of strokes in this edition's IPL will be Glenn Maxwell along with Mitchell Johnson, who bowled Mumbai Indians to their third title last season with his final over heroics.
England's Test captain, Root, has also thrown his hat in the ring along with big names like Ben Stokes, Chris Lynn, Eoin Morgan and pacers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
Dwayne Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite, Evin Lewis and Jason Holder will add the Caribbean flavor to the auction.
Hashim Amla, who hit two centuries for Kings XI Punjab in the 10th season, will be hoping for a high bid with compatriots Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, David Miller and speedsters Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada.
Kane Williamson, Colin Munro and Tom Latham from New Zealand will add the Kiwi charm.
Afghanistan, too, will see 13 players along with eight from Bangladesh, two from Ireland, seven from Zimbabwe and two from the USA. -- PTI 
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11:53   Sherin Mathews' father charged with her murder
The Indian-American foster father of Sherin Mathews, a 3-year-old Indian girl whose body was found in a culvert near their suburban Dallas home in mysterious circumstances last October, was on Friday indicted for
capital murder by a grand jury.
The murder charge, which could carry the death penalty, was filed against Wesley Mathews, 37, after an autopsy in the death of the toddler adopted from an orphanage in Bihar showed that she died of "homicidal violence."
Sherin's foster mother, 35-year-old Sini Mathews, was also indicted on a charge of abandoning a child. The punishment for that ranges from two to 20 years in prison with a fine up to USD 10,000.
Authorities have not said what happened to Sherin, and court documents only allege that Mathews caused his daughter's death using a deadly weapon "by a manner and means unknown to the grand jury."
"We can't go into details, but based on that autopsy report, we were able to determine that we can seek capital murder for this case," Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said at a news conference announcing the indictment. 
Dallas County court records show Sherin's adoptive father also faces charges of abandoning a child and tampering with evidence.
The fate of the couple's 4-year-old biological daughter is still being decided with another child protective services hearing scheduled for the end of this month. They can either forfeit their parental rights, or the court will decide to schedule a civil trial to possibly terminate their rights.
Last month, the couple, hailing from Kerala, temporarily lost their rights to see their biological child, who has been placed with a family member in the Houston area.
Sherin went missing from her home in Richardson on October 7 and her body was found on October 22 in a culvert in suburban Dallas by a cadaver dog after an intense search. The toddler's body was identified days later using her dental records. -- PTI
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10:55   ED raids Karti Chidambaram's premises in Delhi, Chennai
The Enforcement Directorate today conducted searches at multiple premises linked to Karti Chidambaram, the son of Congress leader P Chidambaram, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Aircel- Maxis case.

Official sources said the raids are being conducted in Delhi and Chennai since early morning.

The central probe agency, on December 1 last year, had conducted similar searches on the premises of a relative of Karti and others in this case.

The ED case pertains to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2006 by the then finance minister P Chidambaram.

The agency had said it is investigating 'the circumstances of the said FIPB approval granted by the then finance minister (P Chidambaram)'.

The ED also alleged that Karti has 'disposed' of a property in Gurgaon, which he had allegedly rented out to a multinational company 'to whom foreign direct investment (FDI) approval had been granted in 2013'.

It charged that Karti had 'also closed certain bank accounts and attempted to close other bank accounts in order to frustrate the process of attachment' under the PMLA.

The agency said FIPB approval in the Aircel-Maxis FDI case was granted in March, 2006 by the then FM even though he was competent to accord approval on project proposals only up to Rs 600 crore and beyond that it required the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

"In the instant case, the approval for FDI of 800 million USD (over Rs 3,500 crore) was sought. Hence, CCEA was competent to grant approval. "However, approval was not obtained from CCEA," it alleged.  -- PTI
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08:46   Trump found to be in 'excellent health' after his 1st physical as Prez
United States President Donald Trump is in excellent health, his physician said today after he underwent his first physical examination since taking office.

The examination at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre lasted several hours and was likely to measure things like Trump's blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, heart rate and weight.

'The President's physical exam today went exceptionally well,' Dr Ronnie Jackson said in a brief statement.

'The President is in excellent health,' said Jackson after he conducted the first physical exam of the 45th President of the United states.

Dr Jackson has been a physician to the President for three consecutive administrations.

He is scheduled to brief the media on January 16 when he is expected to provide a detailed readout of the exam.

A routine annual affair for every US president, Trump's medical checkup is being widely reported and has drawn media attention in view of his political opponents raising questions about his health.

Trump, 71, himself dismissed any question about his health.

"I think it's going to go very well. I'll be very surprised if it doesn't," Trump told reporters on Thursday.

"It (had) better go well, otherwise the stock market will not be happy," he joked in response to a question on his health.

Two months before the November 2016 election, Trump released a five-paragraph letter from his longtime physician, Dr Harold Bornstein, who concluded that Trump 'is in excellent physical health'.

The 2016 letter put Trump's blood pressure and cholesterol measurements in the healthy range, though he uses a cholesterol-lowering statin medication.

His EKG, chest X- ray, echocardiogram and blood sugar were normal. The 6-foot-3 Trump weighed 107 kilograms, and his body mass index, or BMI, of 29.5 put him in the category of being overweight for his height. -- PTI
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00:24   Army chief for 'some' control over mosques, madrasas in J&K
Social media and government schools in Jammu and Kashmir are spreading a "disinformation campaign" resulting in radicalisation of youth, Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat claimed on Friday, and called for "some control" over mosques and madrasas in the state.
He said a "major revamp" of the education system was needed in the state to deal with the problem.
Rawat said the issue of exercising some amount of control over mosques and madrasas to check the flow of disinformation was being looked into.
Addressing a press conference on the eve of the Army Day, Rawat said each classroom in government schools in Jammu and Kashmir has a separate map of the state besides that of India which sowed the seeds of thought of some kind of "separate identity" among the children.

"The damage done to us is through the social media. A very large amount of disinformation campaign is being spread in Jammu and Kashmir which is radicalising the youths through the social media and through the schools," he said.
"The other issue is the madrasas and masjids -- what is being informed to them (the students) or incorrectly informed to them is through the madrasas and masjids. I think some controls have to be exercised there and that is what we are looking at." He, however, did not elaborate on what kind of control he was suggesting over such institutions.
Rawat also suggested that some stone throwers in Kashmir were youth from government schools, and stressed on the need to reform the education system.
"If you go to any Kashmir school, You will find two maps -- one is the map of India and one is the map of Jammu and Kashmir. There are always two maps in every classroom. Why should there be a map of Jammu and Kashmir. If you are putting a map of Jammu and Kashmir, then you may as well put map of every state.
"What does it mean to children that I am part of the country but I also have a separate identity. So, the basic, grassroots problem lies here is the way the education in Jammu and Kashmir in government school has been corrupted," said Rawat.
He said students from schools like DPS were not found involved in activities like stone-pelting, and added that is why the 'goodwill schools' run by the Army are accorded higher status.
The Army chief noted opening more public schools, more CBSE schools, was the way forward. -- PTI

Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

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