A passenger on his way to Delhi by an Indigo flight from NSCBI Airport here was arrested after he allegedly assaulted a fellow passenger and some airline employees during security check, the police today said. 

Security forces today claimed to have busted a militant hideout and recovered a large quantity of explosives and other supplies in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Two poachers were gunned down by security forces of Kaziranga National Park in an encounter here, a senior forest official said today.

BJD MLA Pramila Mallick today demanded action against a senior Congress lawmaker accusing him of watching "objectionable" video on his mobile phone during the Question Hour in the Assembly today, a charge denied by the MLA.

A delegation of the separatist Hurriyat Conference met Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit in New Delhi today.

They discussed the recent meeting of Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the 'Heart of Asia Conference' in Islamabad and also discussed the Kashmir policy, said an official release from the party.

The delegation passed Syed Ali Shah Geelani's message to Pak envoy that neighbouring country 'should continue to maintain consistency and firmness over Kashmir policy', the release said. ANI

Nalini Sriharan, undergoing life imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, today again moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to consider her representation for premature release.   Nalini, now confined in the Special Prison for women in Vellore, submitted that she has undergone imprisonment for more than 24 years.

She was first awarded death sentence, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court and subsequently the Tamil Nadu government under Article 161 of the Constitution commuted her sentence to life on April 24, 2000.

Stating that about 2,200 life convicts who had served 10 years of sentence had been released by Tamil Nadu, she said it had not considered her release on the ground that her case falls under a different section of Code of Criminal Procedure.

K Anurag from Guwahati reports: Reiterating his willingness to join the ongoing peace process between the Centre and the United Liberation Front of Assam faction led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, ULFA's founder 'general secretary' Anup Chetia today tendered his apology before the people of Assam for the violence carried out by the outfit in the course of its armed struggle for 'sovereignty'.

Talking to the media while being produced at Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act special court in Guwahati, Chetia said, "I would like to apologise to the people of Assam for any mistakes committed by us during our armed struggle."

He also paid his tribute to the people killed during the ULFA's armed struggle, including those who were killed by the outfit.

"Some sections have expressed apprehension that I may elope if set free (on bail). But I would like to state clearly that I support the ongoing talks and would like to be a part of it," he said.

When asked whether ULFA (Independent)'s chief Paresh Barua will also join the peace talks, Chetia avoided a direct reply and was taken away by the security personnel before he could make any further comments.

He also expressed gratitude to the prime minister, the home minister, the external affairs minister and the Assam chief minister for his extradition from Bangladesh.

Russia has said that a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, planned during the sidelines of G-20 summit last month, will not happen now.

The meet was scheduled to take place on December 15 in St Petersburg.

"It won't happen, it's not planned," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.  

The two men last met in Turkey during the G-20 summit which predated Ankara's shooting down of a Russian military jet near the Syrian-Turkish border.

Ties between the two countries have sharply deteriorated since the downing of the Russian jet, a move described by Putin as 'a dastardly stab in the back'.

Enraged over a railway demolition drive in west Delhi that has been blamed for the death of a 6-month-old infant, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today met Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, announcing that there will be no further slum demolitions without rehabilitation.

"In principle, it was decided that there will be no demolition anywhere without rehabilitation in the coming days," Kejriwal said after meeting Prabhu.

The chief minister, along with deputy CM Manish Sisodia and senior Delhi government officials, met Prabhu at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi. The meeting lasted for about 30 minutes.

"If any land is required for whichever railways projects, they should give us a schedule and the Delhi government will first rehabilitate them before demolition," Kejriwal said.

Railways had undertaken a demolition drive at Shakurbasti on Satuday removing about 1,200 slums and shops in the area. The drive caused a storm over the death of a child in the area.

The level of suspended particulate matters, PM 2.5 and PM 10, have seen a 'steady fall' in Delhi's air despite a drastic fall in the temperature over the last four days, which has the potential to elevate the quantity of such pollutants.

A System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research study termed it as the 'first good indicator' of the season and said a 'sudden fall in influx of emissions' may explain the fall.

The average level of PM 2.5 has been 129 microgram per cubic metre of late, still 'very poor', which at this time last year was 196 with not only the minimum temperature in the same range but also much lesser maximum temperature (16C as opposed to last year's 24C).

A dip has also been observed in the real-time readings of Delhi Pollution Control Committee, SAFAR and Central Pollution Control Board figures where the air quality index hovered between 'moderate', 'poor' and 'very poor'.

A teacher was attacked with a box cutter and scissors by a man in a Paris suburb who cited the Islamic State's directive to attack French teachers as a reason for the attack, police said.

The IS had last month asked its followers to kill teachers in the French education system for teaching 'secularism' and being 'in open war against the Muslim community'.

The 45-year-old teacher was stabbed in the side and throat while preparing for his class at a school in Aubervilliers, northeast of Paris, but his life was not in danger, police sources said.

The attacker fled the spot after stabbing and anti-terrorist investigators have taken over the probe.

A muezzins call to prayer, standing amid the ruins of what was a 'mosque', echoed across the area, punctuated with the voice of civil defence volunteers, informing people of arrangements for dal-rice.

Shakur Basti residents, who are in the eye of a political firestorm over a demolition drive, today struggled to stand up on their feet even as netas continued to make their way through the remains of the shanties, trudging past wailing toddlers and infirm elders.


Mohammad Anwar, father of the toddler whose death has triggered a row, reiterared his stand that he would not have lost Rukaiya, his six-month-old, had the officials involved in the demolition given the family a little more time to pack their essentials.


"They might register a case of negligence but the fact is they came all of a sudden. The moment we heard the ominous sound of the bulldozers we started packing to rescue whatever little we could around 10 am. Little did we realise that something had fallen on her," Anwar said.


He had sent his wife and two other children, one boy aged three and a girl aged five, to a relatives' place in Gandhinagar. "I can manage here, but how long could I let her spend the nights out in this cold?" Anwar said.


Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi spoke to him during his visit to the area and assured him of justice. People are assuring and reassuring now let's see what fate has in store for us, he said. After two successive nights in a state of homelessless, children, many donning 'AAP caps' were seen scurrying around in an utter state of confusion, jumping from one food stall to the other put up by political parties such as AAP, Congress as well as civil defence volunteers.


A section of the residents also vented their anger at the authorities for demolishing, what they said, was the only mosque in the area where people from "as far as Punjabi Bagh" used to pray.


"I started staying here in 1983, a year before Indira (Gandhi) was killed. Since then I have been enaged in the work of loading and unloading cement sacks. And I don't intend to leave the area as long as the railways godown is here," Mohammad Mateen, the muezzin in his late '60s, said.


Youngsters Saubul and Wahab said when they came across the notice of the demolition on Friday, they had confronted the rail authorities, who feigned ignorance and assured them of such action.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal meets railway minister Suresh Prabhu and says there will be no demolitions before rehabilitation. Kejriwal said the Delhi government will rehabilitate the people of the Shakur Basti slums and says the railways has to inform the govt before any demolitions. Prabhu said the railways will give a plan for three years for removing encroachments. 


The Delhi HC further said that people in power have no idea what their orders can do and says the agencies had to remember that it was a matter of people's lives. 

The Delhi High Court has stepped into the demolition of the Shakur Basti slums issuing separate notices to the Delhi government, the Delhi police and the railways over the demolitions. The court asks the agencies for step by step information on what steps had been taken before demolition.

It rapped the railways, saying the Shakur Basti demolition drive was inhuman. It also said that railways had not learnt from past mistakes.

It observed that due to the demolition drive, lives of many are in danger and that one child also died. It asked all three agencies to take immediate steps to rehabilitate the slum dwellers of Shakur Basti and asked the agencies to respond to the notice before December 16.

Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal met union railway minister Suresh Prabhu over the issue today.

Demolition of over 1000 slums in Delhi's Shakur Basti area erupted into a full blown war between the opposition and government. JD(U) and TMC joined AAP to blame the government for the anti-encroachment drive which rendered hundreds of people homeless in winter. A six-month-old baby was also reportedly killed during the demolition drive on Saturday. The postmortem report on the cause behind the baby's death says the infant died due to shock and injuries to chest and head.

Both Congress and AAP blamed the Modi government at the Centre for the incident. But Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi sought to take maximum mileage by visiting Shakur Basti to meeting the people affected by the demolition drive carried out by Railways.

Assam irrigation minister Chandan Sarkar contradicts Rahul Gandhi's claim that RSS members barred him from entering a temple in Berpeta on Saturday.

Sarkar said the Congress vice-president choose not to enter the temple as he did not have the time to follow rituals and did not want to disrespect rules like wearing a dhoti before entering the temple.


An angry Rahul today claimed that he was stopped from entering a temple in Barpeta by RSS workers during his recent visit to Assam, saying this was BJP's style of politics which was "unacceptable".


A furious Congress vice president, who said he wanted to raise three issues, also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy being not invited to an event to be attended by him in Kollam on Tuesday, asserting he has "insulted" the people of the state.


Rahul was interacting with reporters while taking part in a protest by the Congress outside Parliament House over the law and order situation in Punjab.


"When I went to Assam I wanted to visit a temple in Barpeta district. And at the temple the RSS people they stopped me entering the temple. This is the way the BJP operates. "They made the woman there stand in front of me and told me that I cannot enter into the temple," he said, and asked, "Who are they to stop me?" Rahul, who was in Berpeta last Friday, said he visited the temple later in the evening when the RSS workers had left the place. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi yesterday alleged that BJP and RSS had conspired to not allow Rahul to enter Barpeta Satra during his visit to the state.

The Supreme Court gives permission to cut 281 trees for the Agra-Lucknow Expressway; the UP Govt assured the SC it will plant 2800 trees as compensatory plantation.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today apprehended a "washout" of the current Winter session and invoked Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to remind Congress of the responsibility of MPs for governance of the country through Parliament.


 "Current winter session is threatened with a washout," Jaitley said. "The reasons for the washout keep changing by the hour," he added.

The penultimate week of Winter Session of Parliament saw both the government and the opposition bracing for a battle of nerves over the GST Bill, National Herald case, the Delhi demolition drive and the issue of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy not being invited to an event where Prime Minister Modi is the chief guest at a statue-unveiling ceremony in Kerala.

"The last session of the Parliament did not function.The current session of the Parliament is also threatened with a wash out. The reasons for the wash out of the current session keep changing by the hour.


"The nation is waiting for Parliament to discuss public issues, to legislate and approve a historic Constitution Amendment enabling the GST. All this is being indefinitely delayed. The question we need to ask ourselves is are we being fair to ourselves and this country?" Jaitley said in a Facebook post.


The Finance Minister also quoted a speech on the Parliamentary system by Pandit Nehru to hammer home his point.


He said that the speech delivered on March 28, 1957 in the last day of first Lok Sabha by Nehru is "a must read for all of us". He quoted a paragraph from the speech in which Nehru had said, "Here, we have sat in this Parliament, the sovereign authority of India, responsible for the governance of India. Surely, there can be no higher responsibility or greater privilege than to be a member of this sovereign body which is responsible for the fate of the vast number of human beings who live in this country.


"All of us, if not always, at any rate from time to time, must have felt this high sense of responsibility and destiny to which we had been called. Whether we were worthy of it or not is another matter. We have functioned, therefore, during these five years not only on the edge of history but sometimes plunging into the processes of making history."


Taking a dig at Congress over frequent disruptions in Rajya Sabha, Jaitley said, "Those who claim the legacy of Pandit ji must ask themselves the question, what kind of history are they making."

Two Congress workers get serious burn injuries while trying to set PM Modi's effigy on fire.

Cab hailing app Uber today said it will now allow private car owners in the city to offer rides to passengers, a move that will help the US-based firm meet the heavy demand expected once the state government implements its odd-even formula.


Introduction of the new feature from December 16 will also allow Uber to tap into a pool of over 27 lakh private cars in the city and make travel 10-30 per cent cheaper for passengers opting to share rides.


"We don't need more cars on the road, what we need is better utilisation as a number of seats go vacant in a ride. Using our platform, private car owners can offer rides to others and thus reduce congestion and pollution in the capital over time," Uber North India General Manager Gagan Bhatia told PTI.


Fares for shared riders will be 10-30 per cent cheaper, he added. The Delhi government will implement its much debated odd-even car scheme from January 1, 2016, allowing vehicles with license plates ending with odd and even numbers to ply on alternate days. The scheme will be reviewed after first 15 days and then the government will study its impact and decide if the plan will be extended further or not.

The idea that odd and even numbered cars should ply on alternate days to lower emissions has been widely implemented elsewhere in the world but it could have been specially designed to deal with Delhi's elite. To introduce a scheme that systematically discriminates against a whole category of entitled desis is hard; to do it without giving the members of that category grounds for existential grievance amounts to genius. Think of 'post-Mandal politics': a whole epoch of Indian political history is named after the savarna Indian's sense of being hard done by. Read more

Govt appoints Justice (retd) L Narasimha Reddy to head judicial committee to look into implementation of #OROP scheme for veterans.

Update on the Kandivali double murders:


Three suspects have been detained in connection with the double murder case of well-known painter Hema Upadhaya and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani here even as a team from Mumbai police left for Uttar Pradesh based on inputs that the culprits may have fled to the state. The trio, identified as Azad Rajbhor, Pradeep Rajbhor and Vijay Rajhbor were detained yesterday from the city, a senior police officer told PTI today.


They are in the business of manufacturing and selling fibre glass, which was used by Hema and her husband Chintan Upadhyaya for their installations, said the officer, privy to details of the probe. The interrogation of the detainees is still underway, the officer said.


They knew Chintan for the last few years, as he is also a painter, and used to order the fibre glasses for his paintings, said police sources. One among them had called Hema on her mobile phone before her murder on Saturday, police said.


Meanwhile, a team of Mumbai Police has gone to Uttar Pradesh as they suspect that the culprits must have fled to that state and taken shelter there. According to police, bodies of Hema (43) and Bhambhani (65), with their hands and feet tied with ropes, were recovered from a drain in suburban Kandivali on Saturday night after locals and a ragpicker first spotted two card board boxes (in which the bodies were stuffed) and informed cops.


Their body samples have been sent for chemical analysis and their autopsy reports are awaited, the senior offical said. "As per our probe their bodies (in boxes) were transported in a tempo from suburban Juhu to Kandivali (W)," said DCP (Detection) Dhananjay Kulkarni today.


In this connection, police have also quizzed the transporter, who confirmed that he dumped the two boxes in a nullah in Kandivali on Saturday afternoon thinking that it contained broken antiques.


The statement of the transporter has been recorded, they said. Also, police on Saturday recorded the statement of the watchman at Hema's apartment in Juhu Tara Road and her domestic servant Lalit Mandal. Besides, Hema's husband Chintan, who was in Delhi and arrived

CNN IBN reports that according to the post-mortem report, the infant who died during the railway's demolition drive in Delhi, died as a result of shock, head and chest injury.


Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu today dubbed as "untrue" allegations of the infant's death during the demolition drive in west Delhi and claimed the child died much earlier.


"The child had died much before the demolition drive," Prabhu said in the Lok Sabha."Despite repeated notices, the encroachers did not vacate the place. The whole exercise was completely peaceful. There was no midnight operation as reported," the minister added.


The minister said he will invite Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for a discussion on the issue of encroachment.


Over 1,000 shanties were demolished by Indian Railways authorities in Shakur Basti in west Delhi on Saturday, resulting in the death of an infant and leaving hundreds homeless in the winter chill.


The Delhi government blamed the Centre and the railways for what it termed an "inhuman" anti-encroachment drive and asked why it was carried out in the absence of a rehabilitation programme for those evicted.


Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked the Centre and Kejriwal government over the razing of a slum cluster by railways where a baby died, as he visited the site in Shakur Basti area of West Delhi and assured the homeless that he will fight their "battle".

"Whenever a slum is about to be demolished, call Rahul Gandhi. He won't let this happen.

"We will try to help you. As you know we are not in the government, it is Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party's government. But we will try to protect you, we will fight your battle," the Congress vice president told the slum dwellers.


Pic: Over 1,000 shanties were demolished by the Indian Railways in Shakur Basti in west Delhi on Saturday./PTI

Egyptian investigators said they have found no evidence of terrorism so far in the Russian passenger jet crash that killed 224 people -- contradicting Moscow's earlier claims that a bomb was on the plane.


The preliminary report by the Civil Aviation Ministry on Monday said the investigation is ongoing.


"The technical investigation committee has not found anything thus far that indicates illegitimate interference or an act of terrorism," Egypt's lead investigator Ayman Al-Muqaddam said in the report.Russia said it had found evidence that a bomb caused the crash. The ISIS terror group claimed responsibility for downing the plane.

Badminton legend Prakash Padukone says that in order to improve on the mental aspect, which he feels will play a vital role in clinching the gold at 2016 Rio Olympics, top shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu should engage the services of a sports psychologist at the earliest.


"I think Olympics is a test of mental character. Whoever is mentally strong will probably win the gold, not just in women's singles but in any sport. Olympics is a different ball game. You can win all the other tournaments, but if you are mentally not strong you can never win the Olympics," said Prakash in an interview to PTI.


"It's important that you prepare well mentally. I would advise Sindhu and Saina to focus a little more on the mental aspect and, if required, take the help of some sports psychologist, if they feel comfortable. But they should start right now because one month or so (before the Games) won't help. It would need six to eight months.


"If I was in their place I would probably take the help of a sports psychologist as all other aspects like specialist trainer, physio and coach are being taken care of. Some people believe, some don't that it might help. I believe so. Ultimately Olympics is a test of character.


"It does not matter how well you perform the week before or the week after, (but) you have to make sure you reach the peak during the week when the badminton event is happening. It's extremely difficult to predict who will win. The difference is so little at that level. Whoever is strong mentally will win the title," the 1980 All-England men's single champion emphasised.

Interpol Red Corner Notices issued against two Italians named in AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal money laundering case.

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task ForceF detains Sadhu Rajbhar, the main suspect in the twin murders of well-known painter and installation artist Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani.

Rajbhar was detained in Varanasi. Police say Rajbhar called up Hema Upadhyay on Friday to meet her saying he had evidence against her estranged husband Chintan. Rajbhar is a metal fabrication artist.

The two were found murdered in Kandivali, a Mumbai suburb, with their bodies stuffed inside cardboard containers, the police said on Sunday.


The bodies of Hema, 43, and Bhambhani, 65, their hands and feet tied with ropes, were recovered from near a drain in Kandivali last night, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Dhananjay Kulkarni said. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a police officer involved in the probe said the bodies were in "semi-naked" condition.


Hema was estranged from her husband Chintan Upadhyay, also a painter, and the couple was locked in bitter divorce proceedings since 2010. Police questioned Chintan, besides her driver and domestic servants, Kulkarni said, clarifying nobody has been detained so far in the case.


"The police has not detained anybody yet and are only making inquiry. The police is quizzing those people who were in touch with Hema and her lawyer," added Kulkarni. An earlier report attributed to police had said three persons had been detained.

EAM Sushma Swaraj's statement in parliament today.

DIG BK Loshali has been dismissed from the Indian Coast Guard. Loshali had claimed that he had ordered the Pakistani boat to be 'blown off' on the night of December 31, 2014.


Loshali who was court martialed for his controversial remarks regarding the Pakistan boat that was blown up off the Porbandar coast on the night of December 31, 2014.

The probe against Loshali, carried out by a three-member team, had found "substance to believe' that he contradicted the government's stand that the boat "blew itself off'.


A Pakistani boat with "four persons' was intercepted off the Gujarat coast on the night of December 31. A release issued by the government had said that "the crew hid themselves below the deck compartment and set the boat on fire, which resulted in explosion and major fire on the boat.'


However, Loshali, who was serving as Chief of Staff at the time, said on February 16 that he had ordered the boat to be blown off. I hope you remember 31st December night. We blew off that Pakistan boat I was there at Gandhinagar and I told at night, blow the boat off. We dont want to serve them biryani, Loshali had told a gathering of Coast Guard officials and staff from Larsen & Toubro during the launch of interceptor boat ICGS C-421.

EAM Sushma Swaraj speaking in the Lok Sabha on her recent visit to Pakistan. "My visit to Pakistan is aimed at promoting bilateral relations between our two nations. UFA talks have been the benchmark for future talks. Announcement of commencing a comprehensive bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan was made in a joint statement issued on 9th December.

AFP says a teacher attacked in Paris suburbs by man citing IS: Police

@airnewsalerts  Govt considering setting up of National Academic Depository Scheme,to ensure online storage,verification & authentication of academic awards

The Mumbai Magistrate Court extends the judicial custody of former media mogul Peter Mukerjea till December 28. Peter, 59, husband of Indrani, was arrested on November 19 for his alleged role in the Sheena Bora murder case. While Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyamvar Rai were chargesheeted after their arrest in the case in August this year, Peter, arrested on November 19, is in judicial custody till December 14. His custody has now been extended till the 28th.


Noted lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani on Saturday said that he had asked Peter Mukerjea, arrested in Sheena Bora murder case, not to talk to the media about the case but the former media magnate's interview to a news channel prior to this "advice" had already started the "media trial".

Jethmalani, who represents Peter Mukerjea in court in the murder case, while taking part in the panel discussion on 'Anatomy of an Investigation The Art and Science of Forensics' in Times LitFest here, decried the "increasing tendency" of the media to conduct trials in sensational cases even before the judicial process takes off.

"This is why I had advised Peter not to talk to the press or give any interview to the media. But Even before my advice, he had given an interview to a news channel, that turned out like a trial for him even before the actual trial started," Jethmalani said.

Incredibly, the government of India will spend more on the Mum-Ahd line than it does on rail safety, Swachh Bharat, schools, highways or health. Read

The BJP unit in Punjab wants to project cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu as its chief ministerial candidate for Punjab in 2017. Sidhu, also a moderator for the very popular show, Comedy Nights with Kapil, has a strong fan base that can translate into a vote bank. But the Akali Dal is opposed to this idea, so Sidhu now wants to leave the BJP and join AAP. Efforts are being made to give Sidhu a key position in government so that the erosion does not take place.

The Indian Express reports that while Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal has said Sidhu was welcome to join AAP, party insiders say his joining the party is highly unlikely.

A highly placed source in AAP told the paper, Sidhu wanted to be projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate of the party as soon as he joined it. But since AAP is a party of volunteers, nobody could be inducted into it as the top candidate automatically.

BJP insiders say the party is trying its utmost no to let Sidhu go. Sidhu and his wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who is an MLA, have openly expressed displeasure with the Akalis.


Sidhu is well known for his comments popularly called Sidhuisms like, 'All that comes from a cow is not milk, or "It's very difficult to kill a man who is hell bent upon committing suicide!"

The BJP is at the receiving end from its two allies -- the Akali Dal and the Telugu Desam. These two regional parties are not willing to support the BJP in the ensuing Rajya Sabha polls from Punjab and Andhra Pradesh

This is what's at stake in the Rajya Sabha.  


Nirmala Sitharaman is retiring from the Upper House in April 2016.

The TDP is placing lots of conditions to support Sitharaman. The TDP says the state BJP
unit should not criticise the TDP rule in Andhra and central funds should be ploughed into the building of Amaravati, the capital city of the state, which will come up in 2019.

Avinash Raj Khanna, the BJP MP from Punjab is retiring in April 2016. The Akali Dal is not giving a seat to Khanna, stating that that the BJP is not supporting the Akali Dal government and the state unit in Punjab is criticising SAD and also CM Parkash Singh Badal despite their sharing power with the Akali Dal.

Modi may have to directly talk to Chandrababu Naidu and also Badal to retain Sitharaman and Khanna as Rajya Sabha MPs. 

The juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape case is to be released on December 15. The victim's parents fear that he might be a threat to the society and demanded that his mental condition be assessed before setting him free.

The Centre has said that several mandatory requirements are missing from the post-release rehab plan of juvenile convict in the Dec 16 gang-rape case.

Centre seeks extension of observation home stay of the juvenile convict till all aspects, including mental health, are considered.

Delhi HC reserves its order on Subramanian Swamy's plea against juvenile's release after hearing Centre's submission.The The convict, then aged under 18, is said to have inflicted maximum injury on the 23-year-old paramedical student, who died 13 days later, triggering a massive public outrage.


"We demand that he should not be allowed to walk free as he is a threat to the society. There is a need to assess his mental condition before releasing him, so that he does not attack some other girl, like he had killed our daughter," the father of the victim said.


The Juvenile Justice Board had on August 31, 2013 sent the juvenile to a remand home for three years. He will walk out of the home on December 15.


Amid media reports that the juvenile has written to the Home Ministry that he should not be placed under a watch of an NGO after being released, the girl's father said, "It will be as good as setting him free. He should not be released at all. If at all released, his face should be shown to the world."


The Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas also expressed concern over the issue saying, "as far as the Nirbhaya case accused is concerned, with just days to go for his release, I can only say that he will pose a danger to the society as he will be living among us.""No one has seen his face and now one doesn't know who would be his next victim," he said.


The Delhi High Court had on Friday sought the response from the Centre on BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea that the juvenile convict be not released till it is "demonstrably assured" that he has reformed himself and was not a menace to the society.


The high court had issued notice to the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Home Affairs and the juvenile through the JJ Board, and is likely to hear the matter tomorrow.


Amid apprehension raised by the victim's parents, the Home Ministry is contemplating to ask the juvenile convict to sign a legal bond affirming good behaviour after his release.


The bond as per Section 107 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) will act as security for keeping the peace after his release from the juvenile remand home, a senior ministry official had said.Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi had recently emphasised on the need to keep a "close watch" on him (juvenile) following his impending release.


The juvenile, arrested for rape and murder of the victim, was tried under the Juvenile Justice Act.The victim, who was brutally assaulted by six persons, including the juvenile, in a moving bus in south Delhi, had succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital. 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is 'still a child' after the latter's purported remarks on the slum demolition drive in the national capital.


Gandhi was quoted by ANI saying, "Why is AAP doing dharna? They are in power in Delhi."


Kejriwal explained on Twitter, "I think his (Rahul Gandhi's) party has not told him that the railways comes under the Centre, and not under the Delhi government." The Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party has given a request for an adjournment notice in Parliament over the demolition on Saturday in Shakur Basti in Delhi by railway authorities that rendered hundreds homeless.


The government said the razing of the jhuggis came at a time when severe cold weather has set in Delhi.


The AAP government has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter.The demolition drive is likely to stall proceedings in Parliament, already under severe deadlock under the duress of the National Herald case. The Trinamool Congress has also supported the AAP cause.

Steve McCurry is a US photographer best known for his portrait Afghan Girl, which was taken in a refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan and appeared on the cover of National Geographic in 1985. He graduated in cinematography from Pennsylvania State University in 1974 and has since covered conflicts, vanishing ways of life and contemporary culture all over the world for numerous publications.


His many books include a collaboration with travel writer Paul Theroux, Deep South, and his latest, India, published by Phaidon, features "everyday people in extraordinary settings' in a country where he has travelled extensively.


He lives in New York in a Fifth Avenue building that was previously occupied by one of his heroes of photography, Andre Kertsz. Read

Pakistan and India are likely to rely on 'secret diplomacy' to broker an elusive deal on the longstanding Kashmir dispute in a move that emulates the path adopted by the Musharraf-Manmohan administrations to find an 'out of box' solution to the conflict that has sparked three wars between the two countries.
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PM to visit Pakisan in 2016, confirms Sushma Swaraj in parliament. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi vents his spleen outside parliament and the opposition inside parliament blocking proceedings. Rahul said that innocent people have been butchered in Punjab. The party also raised the "disgracing' of Kerala Chief Minister Ommen Chandy, who was asked to stay away from a function where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest. Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11.30 am after Congress uproar over law and order situation in Punjab

EAM Sushma Swaraj begins her statement on the Pakistan visit, as uproar in the Rajya Sabha continues. Opposition MPs disrupt the house, but the EAM soldiers on nevertheless. Shameful that Opposition had demanded to know what's happening between India-Pak but won't let Swaraj explain.

Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi pay tribute to Sanjay Gandhi on his 67th birth anniversary at Shanti Van in Delhi.

Just in: EAM Sushma Swaraj to make a statement in Parliament today on the Pakistan visit. The opposition has accused the government of a flip-flop in its Pakistan policy. Swaraj's visit, is the first by an Indian foreign minister in three years and followed a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif  on the sidelines of a climate change conference in Paris. Swaraj will probably also have to explain the secret talks between the National Security Advisors of both countries in Bangkok two weeks ago.


Swaraj had to also respond to a minor controversy last week surrounding her meeting with Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad during the Heart of Asia Conference between December 8 and 9.

The picture released by the MEA during the meeting with Sharif on December 9, showed the foreign minister and Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif seated before two flags. One flag was Pakistan's national flag, while the other was the standard of the Pakistan PM. Questions were raised over the missing tricolour. Generally, whenever two leaders meet, the flags of both nations are displayed in the backdrop.

Swaraj replied today saying, "I called on Prime Minister of Pakistan. This was not a bilateral meeting which has flags of both countries."

The other reason why the Indian flag was missing is because as per protocol, the Sushma Swaraj had met Pakistan PM as India's foreign minister. The tricolour would have been used if PM Modi had met his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif.

Twitter had exploded with indignation; here are some of the tweets:

CleviiC @cleviic Why there is no Indian flag ??
#JumlaJayegaPakistan

@mohan_amin #WhereIsOurTiranga I wish madam Sushmaji shud have given more importance to our Tiranga than to her green colour saree ! Jai Ho.

@deepak2626ad Another mistake by Indian DIplomats, Indian Flag is missing such a sham

Schools in Chennai re-open after remaining closed for nearly a month due to Chennai floods.

As many as 347 persons have died in Tamil Nadu in various rain-related incidents since October, the state government said today. While, 347 human lives were lost since October 1, about 17.64 lakh people were rescued and sheltered in 6605 relief centres across the state, it said. The government, which has expedited rehabilitation efforts, said over 1.28 crore food packets have been distributed and an immediate relief amount of Rs 67.47 crore was disbursed among over 1.11 lakh families.

On Friday, acting on a PIL, Madras High Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to submit a report on the coordination among agencies engaged in relief work in the flood-hit state, saying it was "concerned' at the lack it. In a memorandum to Governor K Rosaiah, DMK leader M Karunanidhi has alleged the same and sought an inquiry into the "mishandling' of the Chembarambakkam reservoir "causing the flood'.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Sunday urged the central government to sanction Rs 10,250 crore towards rehabilitation of the flood affected in the state. 

Rejecting criticism over the sudden resumption of India-Pakistan talks, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that there was no "secrecy' in his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in the NSA talks in Bangkok. "I dont think there is any secrecy around the process. If we didnt announce anything in advance, it was by way of precaution, he said, in his first comments on the talks since he and Modi met in Paris on November 30.

Google is marking the birthday of BKS Iyengar, the guru who took yoga to the West, with one of its famous doodles. 

A day after a child died during a demolition drive of a slum in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will visit the site today at 2 am. The demolition was carried out yesterday at Shakur Basti in West Delhi in which 1,200 slum units were removed, leaving hundreds of people without any shelter in the biting cold. 

With schools reopening on Monday, flood victims who have been staying in schools across the city are seeking alternative housing arrangements from the authorities."We will not leave, till our houses are rebuilt. They cannot force us to vacate,' said an agitated Arul Selvan, a resident of Aathma Nagar at Saidapet, who along with over 1,000 families, was currently residing at the Government Model Higher Secondary School in the same locality. "We have lost everything, where will we go now? Let them first make alternative arrangement to accommodate all of us, then we'll leave,' he said.

Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief and 26/11 plotter Hafiz Saeed has dared India over the Mumbai attacks probe days after Sushma Swaraj's visit to Islamabad. In a speech, the JuD chief responded to the Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, claiming that India would never be able to establish his complicity in the attack. He also mocked New Delhi for failing to establish any concrete proof in the seven years after 26/11.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will make a statement today on her visit to Pakistan at 11 am in Rajya Sabha and 2 pm in Lok Sabha. A parliamentary affairs ministry release said that Swaraj will make a statement on her recent visit to Islamabad and developments relating to ties between India and Pakistan in both the Houses of Parliament during the next week of winter session. 

Homesick and desperate to speak to his family and friends in Pakistan's Faisalabad, captured Lashkar-e-Tayiba militant Mohammad Naved Yakub constantly blurts out phone numbers but none of the calls go through as these are either switched off or unavailable.