LIVE! Iran-Saudi tensions: 6 nations say assault an act of terror

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Sat, 09 January 2016

Iran-Saudi tensions: 6 nations say assault an act of terror

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22:27 Iran-Saudi tensions: 6 nations say assault an act of terror

six-nation Middle Eastern alliance agreed Saturday to characterize the recent attack on Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran as an act of terror, strong language that marks an even further escalation in a tiff that has embroiled the region for days.

Foreign ministers from the six Gulf Cooperation Council met in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, after which the alliance's Secretary-General Abdul Latif Zayani read a statement indicating that agreed to label last weekend's incident as terrorism.

Zayani himself a few days ago referred to the Saudi Embassy as a terrorist act, so this terminology isn't entirely new. Still, it is significant in that the six GCC countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- are now officially on the same page.

Amid reports that the odd-even scheme may be extended, Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai today asserted that the government has no intention to take the road-rationing experiment beyond January 15.

The pilot plan for cutting vehicular emission was launched on January 1.

Rai said that some confusion is also being spread that the plan was illegally imposed by the government, and claimed that under Section 115 of the Motor Vehicle Act, they have power to implement this scheme as such provisions were also made during the Commonwealth Games as per this law.

"Government is neither going to extend odd-even scheme beyond January 15 nor finish it before the 15-day trial period," Rai said here, terming some of media reports of extending the car-rationing scheme as "false".

21:54 Governor's rule imposed in Jammu & Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir was tonight placed under Governor's rule with the process of new government formation following the death of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed taking some time.

"Governor's rule has been imposed in the state of Jammu and Kashmir," a Home Ministry spokesperson said in Delhi.

The President cleared the recommendation of the Union Home Ministry for imposing Governor's rule on the basis of a recommendation from J-K Governor N N Vohra.

The state had to be put under Governor's rule in view of the reluctance of Mufti's daughter Mehbooba to take oath during the mourning period though her party has already conveyed to the Governor that 28 MLAs of the PDP legislature party backed her for the Chief Minister's post.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today urged all citizens, including those who do not approve of him, to take part in next month's parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections.

While the electorate will pick 290 lawmakers on February 26 they will the same day select 88 members for the Assembly, a powerful committee of clerics that monitors the supreme leader's work.

The Assembly has the power to dismiss Khamenei, who is 76 and has led the Islamic republic since 1989, but its more likely and most crucial role will be in picking his successor.

A Muslim woman was kicked out of a Donald Trump presidential campaign rally after staging a silent protest against the Republican frontrunner, who has called for a ban on Muslims entering the US.

Television footage from the event in South Carolina shows the woman, named as Rose Hamid, a 56-year-old flight attendant, wearing a head scarf and loose fitting green shirt reading "Salam. I come in peace." She stood in silence looking at the podium as the rest of the crowd sat.

Later, she was escorted out as Trump supporters wave placards bearing his name in her face and chant for him.

Hamid said one supporter of the billionaire real-estate mogul bawled at her: "You have a bomb, you have a bomb."

20:44 J&K all set to come under Governor's rule

Jammu and Kashmir was all set to come under a brief spell of Governor's rule with the process of new government formation following the death of

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed taking some time.

The President is understood to have cleared the recommendation of the Union Home Ministry for imposing Governor's rule on the basis of a recommendation from Governor N N Vohra, sources said.

Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitender Singh, who hails from Jammu region, told reporters in Delhi that Governor's rule has been imposed in the state for now. However, enquiries both in Jammu and Srinagar revealed that no notification has been issued so far.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel today backed a toughening of expulsion rules for convicted refugees, as protesters took to the streets against a shocking rash of sexual assaults blamed on migrants during New Year's festivities.

Both women's groups and supporters of the xenophobic PEGIDA movement mobilised in separate rallies in Cologne, as Merkel declared that refugees found to have committed a crime -- even those who have not been given jail terms -- should be required to leave Germany.

20:10 US drone attack in Pak kills 5 militants

A US drone strike in Pakistan's restive northwestern tribal region killed at least five suspected Taliban militants, officials said here today.

The CIA-operated spy plane attacked a hideout of the Pakistani Taliban in Mangroti area of North Waziristan, a senior security official said.

"Five militants were killed and several others injured in the attack," he said.

He said one of those killed was identified as Noor Saeed who was commander of outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

The death toll could not be verified through independent sources as the area is out of reach for the news media. It was the first strike of 2016 after at least 13 drone attacks last year.

France today paid hommage to four Jewish hostages killed at a kosher supermarket in Paris a year after a spate of jihadist attacks that began with a deadly assault on the Charlie Hebdo weekly.

Tributes were also paid to Clarissa Jean-Philippe, a young policewoman who was also killed by the gunman who went on to carry out the supermarket siege, with President Francois Hollande unveiling a plaque in her honour in the Paris suburb of Montrouge where she died.

A total of 17 people were killed in the January 2015 attacks which rocked France and touched off a wave of Islamist violence that reached a head in November when a group of gunmen and suicide bombers unleashed mayhem in Paris, killing 130.

Congress today hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his visit to Pathankot Air Force base a week after the terror attack, saying it has got

relegated to a mere "photo op".

"Eight days after the Pathankot terror incident depicting failure of Modi Govt on National Security & fight against terror, PM's belated visit has got relegated to a mere photo op.

"Need of the hour is to ensure action by Pakistan against Jaish-e- Mohammad, a through review of internal security safeguards and affixing responsibility for security lapses. We hope Modiji will inform the nation about action taken on these key issues," AICC Communication Department chief Randeep Surjewala told reporters here.

An Air India flight to Bhubaneswar from here was delayed by nearly eight hours allegedly due to some "VIPs" forcing the government-owned carrier to reassign the aircraft and its crew for Bhopal, a charge denied by the

airline.

The flight - AI 073, which was scheduled to take off for Bhubaneswar from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here for its destination at 1820 hours yesterday, departed at 0210 hours early today, after getting rescheduled four times during this period.

A video clip purportedly showing a policeman groping girls and improperly touching women at a recently-held festival here, has gone viral on social media, following which the city police has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Around a minute-long video clip captured by an unidentified person shows the accused policeman 'groping and indecently touching' girls and women while walking at the Kankaria Carnival held in the last week of December.

The Kankaria Carnival is a week-long festival held around Kankaria lake premises in the city, where cultural, art and social events are organised. Hundreds of police personnel are deployed at the Carnival for security purposes.

To mark the 75th anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's "great escape" (Mahanishkraman), the Netaji Research Bureau will arrange a week-long programme and exhibition here from January 15.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the exhibition at Netaji Bhawan, the residence from where in 1941 he had escaped house confinement, chairperson of Netaji Research Bureau and Sisir Bose's wife Krishna Bose said.

Banerjee will also unveil a marble plaque in front of the entrance of Netaji Bhawan to commemorate the route Netaji's nephew Sisir Bose had taken to drive him out, she said.

Hundreds of French mosques are participating in a major open-house event this weekend, offering visitors the opportunity to come in for tea and a chat about Islam in a country shaken by jihadist attacks.

Organised by the country's leading Muslim body, the French Council of the Muslim Faith, it aims to stimulate dialogue about Islam and create a greater sense of "national cohesion", a year after 17 people were killed in

jihadist attacks in Paris targeting satirical weekly Charlie

Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket.

"The objective is to create a space where people can be together and meet normal Muslim worshippers and all of our fellow citizens," CFCM president Anouar Kbibech said.

The odd-even formula for restricting cars from running in Delhi will not extend beyond January 15, the Arvind Kejriwal government has clarified. Transport minister Gopal Rai has said reports that the restrictions it could be extended are "false."

"We'll be examining trends and data collected during the trial period after January 15. The trial period won't be extended," he said.

The government had told the Delhi High Court on Friday that it would decide on continuing with the scheme after analysing pollution data collected till January 15.

The court was hearing a series of petitions related to the odd-even scheme. It reserved its order till Monday. It had earlier asked the government to explain why its experiment to ban private cars on alternate days should last more than a week, criticising the city's public transport as "insufficient" and observing that people were inconvenienced.

In the midst of uncertainty in the wake of the Pathankot terror attack, Pakistan has said foreign secretary-level talks with India are scheduled to take place on January 15.

In reply to a question in Parliament, Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday said Pakistan and India's foreign secretaries are scheduled to meet on January 15.

He said the two foreign secretaries will decide the time schedule of various meetings under the newly agreed "Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue".

Aziz said Kashmir will be part of the talks between the two countries along with several other issues.

Aziz' response came to a query by Pakistan Tekreek-e-Insaf party's Shireen Mazari, who wanted to know the status of dialogue after India's outgoing envoy TCA Raghavan's reported remarks that his country will only discuss PoK in talks.

Putting the ball squarely in Pakistan's court, India has linked the Foreign Secretary-level talks to Islamabad's "prompt and decisive" action on the Pathankot terror attack for which it has provided "actionable intelligence".

Yoga guru Ramdev today said Patanjali's atta noodles is on course to oust Maggi as the top noodles brand in the country in the next few years, and the 'swadeshi' FMCG company will overtake all multinational firms in the consumer goods space, barring Hindustan Unilever (HUL).

"Patanjali atta noodles will soon oust Maggi as the top noodles brand in the country. Currently from about a 100 tonnes, our production of atta noodles will be increased to 300-500 tonnes," Ramdev told reporters at a conference in Mumbai.

"Barring HUL, we will overtake all other multinational companies. These companies are taking money out of the country," he added.

Patanjali, which is slowly capturing bigger share in market by introducing array of products at a lower price, will also divert 100 per cent of its profits towards social service, he said.

He added that Patanjali is keeping its production costs low compared with MNCs, in order to keep the product price reasonable.

West Indies' Twenty20 captain Darren Sammy and all-rounders Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell have been dropped from the list of centrally contracted players by the WICB for the season 2015-2016.

Sammy last played for West Indies in the T20s against Sri Lanka in November last year. Globe trotting T20 specialist Russell had played both the ODIs and T20s against Sri Lanka.

Also to miss out in the newly-contracted list, which was increased from 12 to 15 players, are left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn and senior batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Controversial big-hitting batsman Chris Gayle, who had turned down WICB contracts more than once including last year, also doesnt feature in the list.

Mystery spinner Sunil Narine, who had also turned down the offer last year, also missed out. He is currently suspended from bowling in international cricket due to an illegal action.

Read more HERE

15:05 Meghalaya: 6 injured in blast at market place

K Anurag reports: At least six people were injured when suspected Garo tribe militants triggered a blast in a market place at William Nagar in East Garo Hills district of Meghalaya bordering Bangladesh.

Police have launched a manhunt after the blast and the area was cordoned off.

A senior police official informed that suspected militants belonging to proscribed tribal militant outfit, Garo National Liberation Army (Jimi) triggered a blast inside a wine shop in William Nagar main market at around 12:40 pm today.

The official claimed though it to be a low intensity blast, the wine shop where the explosive device was planted, was completely devastated in the blast.

The GNLA faction is on a rampant spree in the area. Sources said the blast could be a retaliation to the recent surrender by a few GNLA cadres.

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Saturday called for 'teaching a tough lesson' to Pakistan following the Pathankot terror attack, saying that India should be in 'attack' mode when dealing with Islamabad.

"India is a strong and powerful country. It should be in 'attack' mode in context to Pakistan, that's when we will be able to protect ourselves," Ramdev told ANI.

"Pakistan should be taught a tough lesson that it does not repeat such incidents," he added.

The Punjab police has arrested a Border Security Force jawan for allegedly helping in cross border smuggling of weapons and narcotics.

"We have arrested a BSF jawan Anil Kumar for allegedly helping cross border smuggling," Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, SSP Mohali, told media.

"The BSF jawan was bribed by a notorious smuggler group during a wedding, who promised him of financial assistance," he added.

The SSP also asserted that there is no link established between this incident and the Pathankot terror attack.

He insisted that investigation is underway.

The BSF had on Wednesday busted a drug peddling racket from Punjab's Khemkaran Sector.

North Korea warned of war as South Korea today continued blasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda across the rivals' tense border in retaliation for the North's purported fourth nuclear test.

North Korean propaganda is filled with threats of violence, but the country is also extremely sensitive to criticism of its authoritarian leadership, which Seoul resumed in its cross-border broadcasts yesterday for the first time in nearly five months.

Pyongyang says the broadcasts are tantamount to an act of war. When South Korea briefly resumed propaganda broadcasts in August after an 11-year break, Seoul says the two Koreas exchanged artillery fire.

Speaking to a massive crowd at Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square, a top ruling party official said the broadcasts, along with talks between Washington and Seoul on the possibility of deploying in the South advanced US warplanes capable of delivering nuclear bombs, have pushed the Korean Peninsula "toward the brink of war."

Pyongyang's rivals are "jealous" of the North's successful hydrogen bomb test, Workers' Party Secretary Kim Ki Nam said in comments broadcast on state TV late yesterday.

With the new government yet to be formed after the demise of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah today wondered "who is governing" Jammu and Kashmir as there has also been no formal declaration of governor's rule.

"More than 48 hrs after Mufti (Moahmmed Sayeed) Sb's (sahab's) demise, no formal declaration of Governor rule & no Govt in place so now I have to ask who is governing?", the former chief minister wrote on Twitter.

Sayeed breathed his last at AIIMS in Delhi on Thursday morning and his daughter and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti has shown unwillingness to take oath as CM till the customary four-day Muslim mourning period is over.

The Janata Dal-United today came down heavily on the government over presentation of some papers at Indian Science Congress in Mysuru, saying it smacked of "RSS backed agenda", which is very "disgusting, ridiculous and dangerous".

"Indian Science Congress is held every year since the year 1914 but we had never seen such a drama-like situation in the Congress as we saw in Mysuru where its main objective to promote the cause of science was missing.

"The RSS backed agenda was seen at such a place. It is very disgusting, ridiculous and dangerous for the unity and integrity of this country as talking about one religion at such functions is nothing but to provoke sentiments of other religions," party President Sharad Yadav said in a statement.

He noted that it was for the first time that people heard at the Science Congress about Lord Shiva as an environmentalist while someone presented a paper on the medical effects of blowing of conch (Shankh).

Former Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar has claimed that the Indian government has a special relationship with underworld don Chhota Rajan, who was deported from Bali in November last year.

Kumar made the assertion during a session at the Delhi Literature Fest late Friday evening with journalist Avirook Sen.

"The short answer... yes there is," Kumar said to Sen's question.

Kumar reiterated his statement when session moderator Madhu Trehan asked him whether this was a fact or just hearsay.

"If I say it, it is true," he said.

The former top Delhi police officer in his tell-all memoir "Dial D for Don" had claimed that he had received a call from Dawood Ibrahim in June 2013.

Kumar had written that post the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, he had telephonic conversations with the fugitive mob boss on three different occasions.

The book, which was released last year, also was in the news for its disclosure that that at one point in the 1990s Dawood wanted to surrender.

12:43 Shyam Benegal-led Censor panel meets Jaitley

The committee headed by eminent filmmaker Shyam Benegal to look into the revamp of the Censor Board met Information and Broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley in Mumbai on Saturday.

Benegal, a celebrated filmmaker, had said on Friday that a "preliminary meeting" of the committee will take place on Saturday and added that members would also have an interaction with Jaitley who will be in Mumbai.

The government had on January 1 constituted a committee headed by Benegal to look into the revamp of the Censor Board functioning which has been mired in controversies in recent past.

The panel, which has been asked to submit its report in two months, includes filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, adman Piyush Pandey and film critic Bhawana Somaaya. Apart from them, National Film Development Council MD Nina Lath Gupta and Joint Secretary (Films) Sanjay Murthy would also be a part of the committee.

Image: Finance and Information & Broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley and I&B minister Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore attending the meeting with the Shyam Benegal Committee, in Mumbai, Photograph: PIB

Air-pollution levels in Delhi rose 50% during the first week (January 1 to 7, 2016) of the state government's odd-even measure over the previous week (December 25 to December 31, 2015), according to an analysis of PM (particulate matter) 2.5 data, generated by IndiaSpend's #Breathe air-quality monitoring devices.

The increase in PM2.5 level indicates the need to understand deeper the impact of policy changes, such as the odd-even measure introduced by the Delhi Government, on the air pollution of Delhi.

Additional factors, such as temperature, wind-speed and increased moisture, could account for the rise in air-pollution levels. It is likely, though, that the odd-even measure introduced by Delhi's Government might not, in itself, be adequate.

Read more HERE

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday visited the strategic Pathankot Air Force base for a first-hand assessment of the situation in the aftermath of the terror attack last Saturday.

Security forces had on Friday declared the sprawling Air Force station fully sanitised after a massive combing operation spanning over three days.

"The combing operation at the Air Force station is over," a senior IAF official said, adding the entire area has been sanitised.

Six terrorists, believed to owe allegiance to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed were gunned down by the security forces after a four-day gun battle. Seven Indian security personnel also lost their lives.

The operation to ensure that no terrorist was hiding was carried out jointly by Army, NSG and IAF's Garud commandos.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had also visited the base on January 5.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had called up Modi and promised action against the perpetrators of the brazen attack.

11:47

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches Pathankot air base to take stock of the situation in the aftermath of terror attack.

10:58 AIB Roast: Mumbai Police summons Karan Johar

The Mumbai Police have summoned filmmaker Karan Johar to record his statement in connection with the controversial All India Bakchod (AIB) Knockout event that was held in December 2013

he event was inspired by US celebrity roasts an event where a celebrity is mocked and it featured Johar as the 'Roastmaster' or host.

AIB Roast was held at Worli and its video was put up online a month later, but it ran into controversy after social activist Santosh Daundkar approached a city court in February 2014, calling the content of the roast 'vulgar'.

The court then ordered the police to register an FIR and submit an investigation report.

Johar was named as an accused in the case, for allegedly saying obscene words during the show. "We have summoned Karan Johar, which essentially means he will have to come to the Tardeo police station to give his statement. His statement will be an important part of the charge sheet that is yet to be submitted to the court," said an officer from the Tardeo police station.

09:47 21-yr-old techie alleges rape by IIM professor

A 21-year-old woman working with IBM Gurgaon has alleged that she was raped by an IIM professor in a Delhi five-star hotel on the pretext of marriage.

The woman also accused that she was also promised a job in Gujarat by the professor.

According to report by IndiaToday.in, in her complaint with Delhi Police, the woman also alleged that on reaching Gujarat she found that he was already married to a management professor and had a child from that marriage.

The woman, who is now in an advanced stage of pregnancy, then returned to Delhi and filed an FIR against the professor and two others. Delhi Police have registered an FIR on the basis of woman's complaint and an investigation is on.

09:42 PM Modi to visit Pathankot air base at 11am

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Pathankot in Punjab on Saturday for first-hand assessment of the situation at the air base which was attacked by six terrorists last Saturday.

The prime minister is expected to meet Indian Air Force personnel at the base along with other troops in the area.

On Friday, security forces declared that the sprawling Indian Air Force station in Pathankot in Punjab was fully sanitised after a massive combing operation spanning over three days.

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