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Sat, 21 September 2013
Live! Denial of permission to Rajnath "undemocratic": BJP

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23:11   Denial of permission to Rajnath "undemocratic": BJP
Terming as "undemocratic" Uttar Pradesh government's denial of permission to its President Rajnath Singh to visit riot-hit Muzaffarnagar, BJP today alleged "Congress-SP collusion and conspiracy" were behind the communal violence in the state.

"Uttar Pradesh government wants to hide the truth of the matter by preventing the top leaders of BJP from visiting the riot-hit areas. The Samajwadi Party government of UP has stopped Singh from visiting the riot-hit areas and sharing the pain of the riot victims.

"This step of Akhilesh Yadav government is not only undemocratic but also inhuman," the party said in a press release.

Referring to a recent television sting operation, the party alleged the SP government first "fanned" communal riots by encouraging a particular community and ignoring law and order and is now "following a policy of appeasement" when it comes to expressing sympathies with the riot victims
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22:22   AIMA to felicitate Azim Premji, KV Kamath
The All India Management Association, the apex body of Indian management professionals, will confer Managing India Awards 2013 on Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and ICICI Bank Chairman K V Kamath on the occasion of its 40th National Management Convention.

AIMA will confer its Corporate Citizen of the Year award to Premji and the Outstanding Institution Builder award to Kamath next week, it said in a release.

The association will also present the AIMA JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award to ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar, it added.

Rajiv Vastupal, the past President of AIMA will receive its Honorary Life Fellowship and another past president R Gopalakrishnan will receive the Dr Ram Tarneja Certificate for Best Article in Indian Management, it said.
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22:10   Prohibitory orders in Faizabad ahead of VHP's proposed Yatra
Prohibitory orders were clamped in entire Faizabad today to stop the VHP activists, who plan to launch a 'Panch Kosi Parikrama Yatra' tomorrow.

Faizabad District Magistrate Vipin Kumar Dwivedi said the restrictions will, however, not stop the devotees who turn up for performing daily rituals. Restrictions were imposed after inputs from intelligence agencies that VHP's proposed Yatra might disturb the communal harmony and peace, Dwivedi said.

"The dispute of Babri Masjid-Ram Janam Bhoomi is pending before the Supreme Court and VHP's motto behind this Yatra is communal polarisation which may result in communal clash," the order issued by the district administration stated.

"We have restricted those activities which can cause breach in communal harmony and may disturb the peace. The administration has deployed security forces on Parikrama route and in adjoining areas of mixed and minority dominated pockets," Dwivedi said.
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21:33   Pak judicial commission arrives in India
A seven-member Pakistan judicial commission today arrived here to cross examine witnesses in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack case.

Talking to reporters at the Attari border, Special Public Prosecutor A Choudary said they have come to India to collect evidence.

The judicial commission was earlier scheduled to come to India on September 11 but the visit was postponed due to the 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai.
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21:07   Azad questions report of secret unit set up by V K Singh
Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today expressed doubts over the veracity of the report that a secret intelligence unit set up during former Army Chief General V K Singh's tenure tried to topple Jammu and Kashmir Government.

The Union Health minister also said that last year's report appearing in a national paper about Army trying to stage a coup at the Centre also "proved baseless". "All these things are still allegations and nothing has been proved yet...it (report of money given to State Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir) is also the part of the allegation," Azad told reporters after laying foundation of 50-bed integrated AYUSH hospital at Harwan.

He said it is a reality that the defence ministry had sought the report from Army headquarters and the ministry is now investigating it as it is a very sensitive matte.
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20:11   I have faith that Lord Rama exists: Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran
Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran has declined to appear before Supreme Court on the Ram Sethu case.

"I have faith that Lord Rama exists and he used this bridge,' he said. UPA  Govt today asked Constitutional expert Rajeev Dhawan to appear for the shipping ministry now.
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20:08   China braces for super typhoon Usagi
Southern Chinese coastal provinces have evacuated thousands of residents, issued alerts and cancelled shipping lines as super typhoon 'Usagi' strengthens over the Pacific Ocean and moves towards China.

Usagi is expected to hammer south China's Pearl River Delta between tomorrow afternoon and Monday morning. Usagi's centre was 180 kms southeast of Taiwan at 9 AM today. It was moving northwest at a speed of up to 20 kms per hour, said meteorological authorities.

The National Meteorological Centre issued the highest level of alert for Usagi, warning that it will bring gales and downpours to southern and southeastern coastal areas.

The centre said Usagi would bring strong storms to the east of Taiwan and the coastal areas of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces today and tomorrow.

The Guangdong government has issued warnings and activated the second highest alert for disaster response.
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19:37   Chandrababu Naidu meets Pranab on Telangana issue
Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday met President Pranab Mukherjee and leaders of political parties in an attempt to find an amicable solution to the problem of division in Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telangana state.

In a memorandum submitted to the President, Naidu accused Congress of handling the "sensitive issue" with "political motives."

He alleged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also treated division of the state as "an internal affair of Congress party and failed to find a solution to the crisis".
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18:39   Nepal: Terai set for polls, despite protest by fringe parties
Despite protests by an alliance of fringe parties led by CPN-Maoist, opposed to the forthcoming Constituent Assembly elections, a senior Nepalese leader has expressed confidence that the polls would be held on time.

"Nepalese people want election to write their constitution to ensure the rights of all the ethnic groups as well as the marginalised people, therefore, the efforts to disrupt the election are bound to fail," President of Terai Madhes Democratic Party Mahanta Thakur told PTI.

He said he is expecting his party to emerge as the largest party in the Terai region.

Thakur's statement comes at a time when the CPN-Maoist, breakaway faction of the Unified CPN-Maoist led by hardliner Mohan Vaidya, has launched a campaign to disrupt the November polls asking to defer the election date by four months.

Elections are essential to draft the constitution and to form a legitimate government, by electing peoples' representatives, Thakur pointed out.
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16:41   Rape case: Former Rajasthan minister questioned by CID
Former Rajasthan minister Babulal Nagar, who has been accused of raping and assaulting a woman, was questioned by a CID team of the state police.        

The CID team on Friday night separately questioned Nagar and his employees at his official residence, police sources said, adding he could be questioned today again.        

Meanwhile, the statement of the 35-year-old victim is to be recorded today in a city court.
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16:38   Gujarati film 'The Good Road' is India's Oscar entry
Gujarati film The Good Road has been selected to represent India in the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars next year, said officials at the Film Federation of India.
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16:23   IPL scandal: CSK's Meiyappan named in charge-sheet
The charge-sheet in the IPL betting scandal was filed on Saturday.

BCCI President N Srinivasan's  son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan is one of the accused named in the charge-sheet.

It claims that Meiyappan was involved in betting but no evidence of spot-fixing was found against him.

Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf has also been named in the charge-sheet.

The accused have been charged with betting, cheating and gambling, said CNN-IBN.
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16:02   NIA Hyderabad granted transit remand of Yasin Bhatkal
A Delhi court has granted the NIA Hyderabad two-day transit remand of IM co-founder Yasin Bhatkal.

The agency wants to question him in connection with the Dilsukhnagar blast case.

The court also granted permission to NIA Hyderabad to arrest Bhatkal in connection with the Dilsukhnagar blast case.  
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16:00   Modi plans to hold 65 rallies in Bihar!
From a correspondent in Delhi: In November, Modi will also focus on Bihar, where he will hold 65 public rallies. 

Modi plans to start a bus yatra from Patna and include a laser show in his rallies to attract people in rural areas.   

Huge generators are being contracted for these rallies so that the organisers do not have to depend on the electricity provided by the government of Nitish Kumar.
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15:59   Modi to kick off Lok Sabha poll campaign in October
From a correspondent in Delhi: Narendra Modi is all set to start his campaign for the Lok Sabha polls by holding rallies on October 15 in Kanpur, on October 25 in Bharaich, on November 8 in Allahabad, on November 14 in Gorakhpur and on November 24 from Lucknow.  

Modi's team will reach these rally venues one month in advance to prepare the blue print and supervise details about the decoration, lighting, public address system etc.   

In each city, the Modi team wants to ensure the attendance of at least 50,000 to one lakh people.
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15:56   Why Modi is upset with Sushma Swaraj
From a correspondent in Delhi: Gujarat CM and BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is upset with remarks made by party leader Sushma Swaraj on the issue of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin.   

Modi wants to keep the momentum and hype of the campaign focused on Congress's misrule. He neither wants to provoke the ruling party nor divert from the basic issue.
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15:26   I have got nothing to do with Meiyappan: Srinivasan
BCCI President N Srinivasan today sought to distance himself from his son-in-law and Chennai Super Kings Team Principal Gurunath Meiyappan, who will be charge-sheeted in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, saying that law will take its course in the matter.     

Srinivasan, whose company India Cements owns the Chennai Super Kings, was forced to step aside as board president on moral grounds after Meiyappan was arrested for allegedly indulging in betting during the IPL this year.    

"This is a matter for Mr Gurunath Meiyappan to deal with. If he is charge-sheeted, the law will take it own course. He has been suspended so he has got nothing to do with the game," Srinivasan said.
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15:22   CBI team raids AIIMS security officer's home, office
A CBI team on Saturday raided the residence and office of the deputy chief security officer of AIIMS.

The raids were conducted over alleged irregularities in the purchase of security equipment, said CNN-IBN.
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14:51   TDP leaders to meet President over 'divided' Andhra issue
Telugu Desam Party President Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said that a party delegation has to come to Delhi to submit a memorandum to President Pranab Mukherjee and seek his intervention in resolving the dispute over the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. 

"We have come to Delhi to meet the President, and to apprise him of what is happening in Andhra Pradesh. We are also going to give him a memorandum asking for his intervention to resolve the issue in the state. We are going to meet some of the national and regional political party heads. We want to seek the support of all political parties and also the President of India," he told media personnel.
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14:49   'Dilip Kumar recuperating, may be discharged next week'
Thespian Dilip Kumar, who was admitted in a hospital following a heart attack on Sunday, might be discharged next week as he is responding well to treatment.        

"He (Dilip Kumar) is doing well now. He is much better and recovering. Though he will be in ICU for two more days or so, he might get discharged next week," said sources close to the actor.
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13:11   BJP top brass to meet Pranab over UP riots
BJP President Rajnath Singh has claimed that riot-hit Muzaffarnagar in UP is in the throes of an emergency situation and innocent people are being arrested on charges of inciting the riots.

Singh termed the district administration's decision -- to ask him to cancel his planned visit to Muzaffarnagar -- as "unfortunate".

He also stated that the party's top leaders will meet President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday, along with all the BJP MLAs in UP, to apprise him of the situation in Muzaffarnagar.
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12:45   Pakistan frees Taliban leader Mullah Baradar
Pakistan on Saturday released former Afghan Taliban deputy chief Mullah Baradar, to meet a long-standing demand of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, to advance peace efforts in the war-ravaged country.

Baradar has been in the custody of Pakistani security agencies since his capture in Karachi in 2010. He will be the highest ranking Afghan Taliban prisoner freed so far.
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12:37   UP govt finally swings into action: 3 MLAs held for riots
Bahujan Samaj Party Member of Legislative Assembly Noor Salim Rana has been arrested for his alleged role in the Muzaffarnagar riots.

Rana is the third MLA to be arrested in connection to the riots. 

While BJP MLA Sangeet Som was arrested at Meerut today morning, Suresh Rana, another saffron party MLA, was arrested in Lucknow on Friday evening.
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12:18   Smriti Irani praises 'youth magnet' Modi
Praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his hard work and good governance, a senior BJP leader has said the party's prime ministerial candidate is the "youth magnet" of India.        

Addressing party supporters at a meeting of Indian American youth and women in Tampa, Florida, BJP spokesperson Smriti Irani said, "We have now one of the most...youth magnet as the prime ministerial candidate and his name is Narendra Modi."        

"Modi today symbolises the youth of the country, the fact that if you have talent, if you can work hard then you  have the possibility of becoming the next prime minister of India," Irani said in response to a question from the audience at the panel discussion organised by the Overseas Friends of BJP.

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12:15   Strike disrupts normal life in Kashmir, curfew on in Shopian
Normal life was disrupted in Kashmir Valley today due to a strike called by hardline Hurriyat Conference to protest the killing of five people in firing by CRPF personnel in Shopian, where curfew continued for the ninth consecutive day.        

Shops, offices, business establishments, educational institutions and petrol pumps were shut. Public transport remained off the roads on a call given by Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
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12:10   Building collapses in Thane
A four-storey building collapsed in Mumbra area of Thane, near Mumbai, today.        

There are no reports of any casualties so far, Fire Brigade sources said.        

In April this year, an illegal under-construction building had collapsed in Thane's Shil Phata area, killing 74 people and leaving over 60 injured.
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11:12   BJP MLA who shared hate video surrenders
Sangeet Som, BJP MLA from UP, who is facing charges of instigating communal riots in Muzaffarnagar, has surrendered.

He was taken into custody by the state police.

Earlier, an arrest warrant was served on Som. He had been accused of circulating a hate video a few days before the riots broke out.

Som has claimed that all he did was share the video, which was not a crime.

He also claimed that the state government was responsible for inciting the riots.
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10:42   Meet the man who hung Saddam Hussain
Munir Haddad likes to be known as "the man who hung Saddam Hussain".

Once part of the Shia Kurd group suffering severe oppression under Hussain's regime, Haddad has since then gone on to become a noted judge, then an influential lawyer, and finally, a very rich man.

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10:37   Starvation deaths milked for political mileage
The story of Bangaru, an orphan from Jharkhand, represents the failure of the Indian welfare state in its full-fledged horror. 

It also underlines the fact that there is no end to the shameless cycle of hunger politics in India.

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10:32   BCCI lands in more trouble!
The BCCI has been accused of foreign exchange violations worth a whopping Rs 1600 crore by the Enforcement Directorate.

This will only add to the woes of the world's richest cricketing body, which is already troubled by charges of spot-fixing and corruption against its boss N Srinivasan.

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10:23   Rajnath Singh cancels Muzaffarnagar visit
BJP President Rajnath Singh has cancelled his scheduled visit of riot-hit Muzaffarnagar in western Uttar Pradesh, after the district magistrate urged him not to visit the communally sensitive region.

Meanwhile, Sangeet Som, BJP MLA from UP, was today served with an arrest warrant over his alleged role in the Muzaffarnagar riots, reports CNN-IBN.

Som has been accused of circulating a hate video a few days before the riots broke out.
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10:04   'Obama, Singh to chart course towards enhanced economic ties'
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama would chart a course towards an enhanced economic relationship, in addition to discussing bilateral and regional issues, when they meet in Washington on September 27, the White house has said.        

"It will highlight India's role in regional security and stability and provide an opportunity for the two leaders to chart a course toward enhanced trade, investment, and development cooperation between the United States and India," the White House said in a statement confirming the Obama-Singh meeting next Friday.
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10:01   Tamil-dominated northern Lanka holds historic polls
Voters in Sri Lanka's Tamil majority Northern Province today began voting in the first local elections in 25 years to elect a council to govern the former war zone, four years after the military defeated LTTE.        

Voting at some 850 stations began on schedule amid tight security to elect the first post-war provincial administration in the region dominated by the LTTE until their defeat in 2009.   
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09:45   Ramdev detained at London airport for 8 hours
Baba Ramdev was detained at London's Heathrow airport for over eight hours on Friday.

The reasons behind his detention have not been clarified, but sources said that Ramdev was detained as he had entered the UK on a visitor's visa, not a business visa.
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03:39   Syria submits chemical details to watchdog
Syria has begun sending details of its chemical weapons as part of a US-Russia brokered deal to make them safe, the chemical arms watchdog has said.

The Hague-based OPCW added that it expected more details from Syria in the coming days and had postponed a meeting planned for Sunday.

Syria was given a Saturday deadline to give a full list of its chemical arms.The US had threatened military action over a chemical attack in Damascus which the UN says was a war crime.

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03:34   US ready to engage with Iran: White House
The US today said that it is ready to engage with Iran on the basis of mutual respect while acknowledging that American diplomats are currently having talks with Iranians. 

Without divulging details, the White House confirmed that US diplomats are currently having talks with Iranians.
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02:07   Islamists protest raid on pro-Morsi stronghold in Egypt
Supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi held protests in a number of Egyptian cities today resulting in minor clashes, even as the turnout in the rallies was low. 

Clashes erupted in various cities between pro-Morsi protesters and security forces or groups of locals who opposed the protests. The clashes were later dispersed by police and military forces.
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01:40   US still hopes to win release of captured soldier: Hagel
The United States has not given up trying to win the release of an American soldier captured by the Taliban more than four years ago, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said today. 

At a ceremony honoring US prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action, the Pentagon chief reaffirmed the military's vow "to never leave a fellow service member behind." 

"That commitment extends to Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by enemy forces in Afghanistan more than four years ago," Hagel said in a speech.
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01:36   Israel probing claim French diplomat roughed up
Israel is probing allegations that a French diplomat was roughed up by Israeli soldiers at a West Bank protest and says it might file a complaint over her involvement. 

Human Rights Watch cited witnesses as saying that Marion Castaing, was taken out of a truck and thrown to the ground. He said she was among European diplomats accompanying the group as it delivered tents to Bedouin whose shacks had been demolished.
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01:36   Pope seeks historic easing of rigid Catholic doctrine
Pope Francis has urged a break with the Catholic Church's harsh "obsession" with divorce, gays, contraception and abortion, in an interview signalling a dramatic shift in the Vatican's tone. 

The Argentine pope has brought a series of fresh perspectives to the notoriously rigid Church since his election in March, and his latest remarks on some of its key doctrines sent shock waves around the world.
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01:06   Pakistan's bailout gravy train
IT'S a dilemma for the ages. For over two decades now, Pakistan has received bailouts from the IMF. And this repeated recourse to foreign funds as a bailout has created some very perverse incentives within the country, and bent it all out of shape.

A few years ago, while in conversation with a top banker in Karachi, I asked him why bank lending to the private sector had fallen to such dismally low levels."There's no demand from the private sector,' he replied comfortably.

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01:01   Brazil looks to break from US-centric internet
Brazil plans to divorce itself from the US-centric Internet over Washington's widespread online spying, a move that many experts fear will be a potentially dangerous first step toward fracturing a global network built with minimal interference by governments.

President Dilma Rousseff ordered a series of measures aimed at greater Brazilian online independence and security following revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency intercepted her communications, hacked into the state-owned Petrobras oil company's network and spied on Brazilians who entrusted their personal data to US tech companies such as Facebook and Google.

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00:49   Israel army roughs up EU envoys on West Bank aid trip
Israeli troops today manhandled a group of European diplomats as they tried to hand out tents to Palestinian Bedouins whose West Bank homes were destroyed by the army. 

The troops used force to disperse the diplomats who had accompanied aid workers to the village of Makhul in the Jordan Valley, an AFP photographer said. French diplomat Marion Fesneau-Castaing was dragged out of an aid truck, the photographer said.
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00:32   Pope blasts abortion after decrying focus on rules
Pope Francis offered an olive branch of sorts to the doctrine-minded, conservative wing of the Catholic Church today as he denounced abortions as a symptom of today's "throw-away culture" and encouraged Catholic doctors to refuse to perform them. 

Francis issued a strong anti-abortion message and cited Vatican teaching on the need to defend the unborn during an audience with Catholic gynecologists.
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00:30   France's Hollande to meet Iran President at UN
French President Francois Hollande will meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rowhani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week, Hollande's office announced today. 

The announcement comes amid growing signs the recently-elected Rowhani could also meet with US President Barack Obama in New York in what would be a landmark moment for Iran's relationship with the United States and the broader international community.
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00:20   Iran's Rouhani wants 'constructive engagement'
Iran's newly elected President Hassan Rouhani has pledged to join in constructive dialogue with world powers. 

Continuing his engagement with U.S. media, Mr. Rouhani says in an opinion piece in The Washington Post that "gone is the age of blood feuds." He says world leaders are expected to lead by "turning threats into opportunities."
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00:19   Kabul welcomes imminent release of Taliban commander
The Afghan government today welcomed Pakistan's announcement that Taliban prisoner Abdul Ghani Baradar would be freed shortly, saying the move would help peace efforts after 12 years of war. 

Baradar, often described as the Taliban's former second-in-command, will be released tomorrow, Pakistan's foreign ministry in Islamabad said in a statement.

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