LIVE! Major fire breaks out in Ajmeri Gate

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Fri, 04 March 2016

Major fire breaks out in Ajmeri Gate

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23:15 Major fire breaks out in Ajmeri Gate

A major fire broke out at a godown in centre Delhi's Ajmeri Gate area this evening, from which at least three persons were rescued, police said.

According to Delhi Fire Department officials, the incident was reported around 8.45 pm and initially six fire tenders were rushed to the spot. However, as the fire officials failed to control the flames for almost one hour, seven more fire tenders were sent.

Three persons including women who were suspected to have collapsed after inhaling fumes, were rescued from the building. They were rushed to a private hospital, officials said.

"From preliminary investigation, it appears that the fire originated from a short circuit. The matter is being probed and a case of negligence is likely to be registered," the police said.

Till 10.15 pm, the fire was yet to be fully doused.

Image for representation only.

Uber is teaching its drivers in Pakistan how not to sexually harass women, a spokeswoman said today, after the popular transport app launched in the

conservative country where women are often hassled on public

transport.

In Pakistan, "there is lack of knowledge on what constitutes sexual harassment", said Shaden Abdellatif, a spokeswoman for ride-hailing service that launched in the teeming eastern city of Lahore on Thursday.

"It seems it is not part of the conversation in basic education", she added, saying only Uber drivers in Lahore and in the Egyptian capital Cairo had to undergo the training.

The nuances of the rich and diverse treasures of Sanskrit were discussed today at an event organised here by the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO on the occasion of International Mother Language Day.

NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy was UNESCO's Special Guest on this occasion at the event 'A classical Language-Beyond Heritage', according to an official statement.

The programme at UNESCO comprised two main segments.

The morning segment featured a panel discussion with panelists Debroy and Dr Daniel Negers of the National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilisations, France bringing out the nuances of the rich and diverse treasures of Sanskrit to an international audience comprising diplomats, UNESCO staff, and others.

British academics have used geographic profiling in a study which backs up a theory about the identity of mysterious street artist Banksy, they said today.

Scientists at Queen Mary University of London said the pattern of how Banksy's artworks were distributed suggested he was artist Robin Gunningham, in a study published in the Journal of Spatial Science.

Gunningham was first named as Banksy by the Daily Mail newspaper in 2008.

Banksy's often politically-themed street art has made him a celebrity in Britain, despite his true identity never having been confirmed.

His most high-profile recent project was Dismaland, which last year mocked the conventions of amusement parks and was located in southwest England.

Geographic profiling is a technique used in fields from criminology to studying patterns of infectious disease.

A Turkish court today sentenced two Syrian people smugglers to more than four years in prison over the drowning of Aylan Kurdi, the toddler who became a symbol of Europe's refugee crisis when his lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach.

The court in the resort town of Bodrum found Syrian nationals Muwafaka Alabash, 36, and Asem Alfrhad, 35, guilty of trafficking migrants and sentenced them to four years and two months, the Dogan News Agency said.

But it cleared them of causing the death of five people "through deliberate negligence", a charge that carried a sentence of up to 35 years in prison.

21:38 Aligarh to be screened at JNU tomorrow

The controversial 'anti-homophobia' film Aligarh is all set to be screened at JNU tomorrow which what is at present caught in a row over an

event commemorating Afzal Guru's death anniversary.

"Excited to show Aligarh at JNU tomorrow. No better place to have conversations on society, politics and our film than this hotbed!," film's director Hansal Mehta said in a Facebook post tagging actor Manoj Bajpeeyi.

The movie will be screened at 2 PM tomorrow at school of arts and aesthetics.

BJP youth wing president Anurag Thakur today said it would not be proper to question the entire JNU for the few 'bad fish' who have spoilt the

atmosphere at the institution.

Addressing the media on the occasion of Bharatiya Jana Yuva Morchas National Executive meeting in Mathura today, Thakur said, "It would not be right to question the entire JNU institution for the acts of some people. The need of the hour is to identify such people and address them."

Thakur was answering questions in the wake of JNU controversy and the bail of JNU Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar, whom the Delhi police charged with sedition.

21:18 Poll dates announced for 5 states

The elections to five state assemblies of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry will be held between April 4 and May 16 and counting of votes on May 19, the Election Commission announced on Friday.

Assam will go to polls in two phases on April 4 and 11 while election in West Bengal will be held in six phases on April 4 and 11 (under Phase one), 17, 21, 25, 30 and May 5.

The single-phase elections for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assemblies will be held on May 16, Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi told a press conference in New Delhi.

HERE is a graphic that explains it all.

Upholding the religious freedom rights of Sikhs in the US armed forces, an American court has ruled in favour of a decorated Sikh Army Captain who had demanded that the military accommodate his articles of faith and abandon its impromptu discriminatory testing.

Captain Simratpal Singh, 28, in a lawsuit filed against the Department of Defence demanded the US military accommodate his articles of faith and dump the discriminatory testing.

"Thousands of other soldiers are permitted to wear long hair and beards for medical or other reasons, without being subjected to such specialised and costly expert testing of their helmets and gas masks," Judge Beryl A Howell swiftly ruled in Captain Singh's favour last evening.

The US Department of Defence, which had granted and then extended Captain Singh's temporary religious accommodation until March 31 this year, remains scheduled to make a final decision on Singh's permanent accommodation by that deadline.

Captain Singh, who is a West Point graduate, Ranger, and Bronze Star Medal recipient, has successfully passed the safety tests required of his unit.

Liquor worth more than Rs 300 crore was seized by police in Gujarat, which is under total prohibition, in the last five years, the state assembly was informed today.

Illegal liquor worth Rs 316 crore was seized from different parts of the state during the last five years (2010- 15), Chief Minister Anandiben Patel said in a written reply tabled in the House. Patel, who also handles the Home portfolio, was answering a query raised by Shailesh Parmar (Congress). Parmar, through a written query, had sought details about seizure of illegal liquor, including Indian Made Foreign Liquor and beer, seized in all the districts during the last five years (ended June 2015).

Sale and consumption of all types of liquor is prohibited in Gujarat. Out of this cache, police destroyed liquor worth Rs 211 crore during the same period, said the reply.

As per the district-wise data tabled in the House, Surat topped the chart in country-made liquor with stock worth Rs 3.13 crore recovered from the diamond city. Valsad topped in the seizure of IMFL (Rs 36.40 lakh), while Patan district saw the maximum recovery of beer (Rs 12.40 lakh).

19:46 Azam calls Som 'beef mafia', draws retort

The Uttar Pradesh assembly today witnessed heat when Urban Development Minister Mohd Azam Khan termed BJP MLA Sangeet Som as "beef mafia" to which he reacted sharply.

During the Question Hour, Khan pointed towards Som and termed him as "beef mafia" questioning his alleged links with slaughter houses.

Som, MLA from Sardhana, said if Azam had any proof, he should table it in the House. Khan said he had proof of what he said and advised Som to "take a lesson from what happened in a university", without naming Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey later intervened to cool the frayed tempers. Som, an accused in Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, was alleged to have links with meat export firms, a charge denied by him.

A sixteen-year-old Tibetan who had allegedly set himself afire during a protest against Chinese rule, passed away at Safdarjung hospital here.

Dorjee Tsering had suffered 98 per cent burns and was being treated in the ICU at the department of burns, plastics and maxillofacial surgery of Safdarjung Hospital, a senior doctor said.

He had set himself on fire on Monday in Dehradun. He was rushed to a nearby hospital and later referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.

Concerned by fresh protests, Pakistan government has decided to send a security team to assess the situation in India before taking a final call on the team's participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Shaharyar Khan told PTI that the country's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had issued instructions to its Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali to "send a security team to India to carry out an assessment" into the security to be provided to the Pakistan team.

"The situation now is that only after this security team gives the okay can we send the team to India," Shaharyar said. "The government has given us clearance to play in the World T20 but after the security concerns surrounding the Pakistan and India match in Dharamsala a report was given to the Prime Minister," Shaharyar added.

A statement from the PM secretariat today also said that Pakistan's participation in the World T20 hinges on a clearance report by the security team.

Amidst the contradictory reports over number of terrorists attacking the Pathankot airbase, the government today said charred remains, apart from four bodies of terrorists, were found at the debris after security forces searched the spot when the operation ended.

"Charred remains were found and sent for forensic examination. We are awaiting for reports," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said at a press conference.

His statement came amidst conflicting reports over number of terrorists. While NSG, which carried out the operation against the terrorists, has said there were six terrorists, the NIA, which has been probing the case has maintained that they found the bodies of four terrorists and yet to come conclusive evidence about any more terrorist was involved in the attack. Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, who was also present at the press meet, said enhanced security will be provided along the Indo-Pak border, which was breached by terrorists from across the border and carried out the recent attack on the Pathankot airbase.

"We need to do more than just fencing. Experience of fencing is at best. But Fencing is not an end to itself," He was replying to a question about the security along the Indo-Pak border, particularly in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

19:07

Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com shot this picture aboard an air-conditioned BEST bus: The famed AC buses of BEST Mumbai, can't even keep the seats clean despite the exorbitant ticket prices.

On the same route, AC buses offered by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport which cost half the price and are spotless -- not to mention they are always on time -- unlike the BEST buses!

18:59 Sharif orders security assessment before Pak plays World T20 in India

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered a security assessment before the country's participation in World T20 hosted by India, Pak media has reported.

Sharif has ordered Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali to send a team to India to assess measures adopted for Pak cricketers' security ahead of the tournament.

Earlier in the day, a writ petition regarding the security issues during the Indo-Pak match of World Cup T20 in Dharamshala was disposed of by the Himachal Pradesh high court after the advocate general of the state assured the HC that the government would maintain law and order situation during the match.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also said that if the Himachal Pradesh government demands security forces, the Centre provided them.

Former home secretary G K Pillai, who has hit the headlines recently with his statements on the Ishrat Jahan killing, had said in 2013 that she has to be given the benefit of doubt on the issue whether she was an Lashkar-e-Taiba operative.

"I don't think there is any conclusive evidence against Ishrat Jahan. Unless any proper investigation is carried out, we will have to give her the benefit of doubt," the retired bureaucrat had said in 2013.

Pillai had recently stoked a controversy saying that the second affidavit of the central government in Gujarat high court filed in 2009 contradicting the earlier affidavit's claim that Jahan was an LeT operative was drafted by the then home minister P Chidambaram without consulting officials.

After Pillai's recent statement, Chidambaram owned up responsibility for the second affidavit but expressed disappointment over the retired bureaucrat distancing himself from it.

Asked to comment on his comments in 2013 and the recent remarks, he said, "My comment in 2013 was in a particularly context. The context was not to vilify a dead person unless further investigation threw up more evidence. I have said even now that evidence is not conclusive about Ishrat's LeT membership. But her conduct of travelling with Javed raises questions that something was amiss."

Three Central Reserve Police Force commandos have been killed and over a dozen injured after multiple encounters took place between security forces and Naxals in Chhattisgarh's worst Maoist violence-affected Sukma district.

Officials said while two commandos, identified as constables Linju N and Fateh Singh had succumbed to their bullet injuries on Thursday, their colleague Lakshman Singh died today.

At least 15 others, including Commando Battalion for Resolute Action comamnder P S Yadavand the chief of the state polices' District Reserve Group, have been injured in the encounter which ended early today.

The patrol squad that came under fire yesterday noon inthe jungles of the district, has been brought to the Kistaram police station from the encounter site of Dabbanarka in Sukmaearly today by multiple Mi-17 helicopter sorties, they said.

Inspector General (Bastar range) S R P Kalluri and Sukma superintendent of police D Shravan are camping at Kistaram, about 500 km from the state capital to monitor the operations, they said.

The others who sustained bullet and splinter injuries include assistant commandant Yogendra, sub inspector Rajveer Singh, head constable Santosh, constable Sona Ram and some menof the DRG.

The encounter began when pesonnel of CRPF's exclusive jungle warfare unit CoBRA had the first exchange of fire with Maoists in the jungles of Bastar area.

Veteran actor-director Manoj Kumar, best known for his patriotic films Purab Aur Paschim, Upkar and Kranti, will be conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke award for his contribution to the film industry.

The 78-year-old actor became the 47th recipient of the award, the highest recognition in Indian cinema which consists of a golden lotus, a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs and a shawl.

Kumar was born as Harikrishna Giri Goswami in Abbottabad, which was then a part of Pre-Independent India.

He initially started as a romantic hero following his debut in 1960 with Kaanch Ki Gudia but later shifted focus to acting and directing films with patriotic themes so much so that fans started calling him 'Bharat Kumar'.

The actor won a National Film Award for Upkaar and was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1992.

17:34

'The foreign observers of the Iranian elections to the Majlis (parliament) and the Assembly of Experts (which elects and supervises the work of the Supreme Leader) needlessly tied themselves in knots by seeing them as a defining moment. Of course, in any political system that has features of representative rule, elections are a landmark event. But life moves on,' writes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar on RediffBlogs, here.

17:26 'India is witnessing something like Arab Spring'

'Today the youth is not ready to be oppressed anymore. The youth is ready to question, debate and dissent and march out in masses to make its voice led. It is a treacherous time for the government because it is not able to tame the youth, for example, with the fabricated videos of 'anti-national' sloganeering in JNU Campus, there is no concrete evidence with the police. '

'What would be the future of this uprising in India? The death of Rohith Vemula would not be forgotten. The arrest of Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban would not be forgotten. The current regime is trying to terrorise the students and saffronise the educational institutions, it would not be forgotten. It is the time to revolt, to ask for one's rights and exercise it. No form of oppression will be tolerated,' writes Shubhda Chaudhary in thecitizen.in, here.

17:18 4 Indian nurses killed in Yemen terror attack

Four Indian nurses were among at least 16 people killed on Friday, when militants hit a home for the elderly in Aden, Yemen, reports middleeasteye.net, quoting Sky News Arabia.

One of the Indian nurses is said to have survived by hiding in the cold room used to store medication. The centre is being run by a charitable organisation.

A local news site, Aden al-Ghad, quoting a survivor, said 12 of the centre's residents were also killed when the militants burst in and began firing machine guns at random.

The report says that a source in the centre's administration told the Aden al-Ghad that four militants had gained access by telling the guard they were there to visit their mother.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his country's nuclear arsenal to be ready for pre-emptive use 'anytime' following the United Nations Security Council's adoption of tough new sanctions.

Kim, who was supervising the test-firing of newly developed multiple rocket launchers, said North Korea's situation had become perilous and added that it should have the option of launching a 'pre-emptive attack', a departure from previous claims that the country's nuclear capability was purely a deterrent, reports Guardian.

Kim made these comments while monitoring the test firing of a new, high-calibre multiple rocket launcher just hours after the UN Security Council unanimously adopted the resolution penalising North Korea for its recent nuclear test and long-range rocket launch.

Kim said the new rocket launchers should be 'promptly deployed' along with other new weaponry.

The US-drafted UN resolution adopted by the Security Council laid out the toughest sanctions imposed on Pyongyang to date over its nuclear weapons program that will, if implemented effectively, apply significant economic pressure to Kim's regime.

The resolution breaks new ground, sanctioning specific sectors key to the North Korean economy such as mineral exports and seeking to undermine the use of and access to international transport systems.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye repeated a stern warning against North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions and work to 'end tyranny'.

Sartaj Aziz's CFR interaction, referred to earlier here, also had an interesting bit about the extent of influence Pakistan can exert on the Taliban.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper quotes Aziz from the interaction on the subject: 'Before the 7th July (reconciliation) meeting (in Murree) last year, we had to use some of these levers and restricted their movements, restricted their access to hospital and other facilities, and threatened them that if you do not come forward and talk.'

'(We) then obviously (said) we will at least expel you, or give you the chance to go wherever you want to, because we have hosted you enough for 35 years. We can't do any more. Now the whole world is blaming us just for your presence here.'

'So that is the kind of leverage we have to bring them to the table. But to pressurise them, to negotiate, will depend on the parties, which are actually negotiating.'

However, he also clarified that Pakistan had a limited role.

'We can advise the Afghan government, if they want our advice, on what might be acceptable and so on and so forth, but in this task I think, and according to the roadmap, all three of us have to share that advice - US, Pakistan, and China -- so that we collectively decide what is best.'

'I don't think we are in the stage where actual negotiation strategy, etc. Right now the idea is to bring them to the table.'

'If you are not serious about reconciliation, then Taliban won't come.'

Also, even 'in the best of times,' they did not listen to Pakistan always, whether it was the Bamiyan statues or many other things, the Dawn quotes him as saying.

'They would listen to us when it suited them, otherwise they did not.'

You can read the full report here.

After delivering a fiery speech peppered with humour at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on Thursday to target the Narendra Modi dispensation and the Sangh Parivar, JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar is reportedly set to campaign for the upcoming Kerala and West Bengal assembly polls for the Left Front.

Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy had earlier in the day observed that to take his fight forward -- for "azaadi within the Indian system, not outside India" -- Kanhaiya will have to enter the very arena that has both his tormentors and apparent benefactors.

Read his column, HERE

16:22 PM reaches Sangma's residence to pay tributes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to former Lok Sabha speaker P A Sangma at the latter's residence in New Delhi on Friday.

Earlier, both the houses of Parliament were adjourned as a mark of respect for the leader who died on Friday morning in New Delhi.

'The Pathankot incident disrupted the process of two foreign secretaries meeting, but now that we have taken decisive action on this Pathankot incident the police report has been registered and an investigation team is about to go to India to collect additional evidence. The leaders have been apprehended and in protective custody, as well as their facilities seized. So I think now if they get more evidence the process will start. And it's as prompt and active a response as we can get.

'So once we begin the dialogue, I'm sure we'll be able to at least deal with some issues even if we can't solve all the issues and disputes. Our main purpose is that the line of control should remain peaceful. Normal relationships should start, whether it's sporting links or other links, so the tensions don't increase. That prepares the ground for dealing with more difficult and substantial issues.'

That is Sartaj Aziz, advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, speaking to Shirin R Tahir-Kheli, senior fellow, Foreign Policy Institute, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and discussing Pakistan's role in the security and stability of the region and Sharif's policy priorities for US-Pakistan relations, organised under the aegis of the Council for Foreign Relations on March 1, 2016.

It is a very indepth conversation, and you can read the transcript or view the video (length: 1:01 hours) here.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the BJP government in Haryana handled the situation well during the Jat quota agitation.

"Whatever the state government had to do, they did. They did well," he told reporters when asked whether the Manohar Khattar government failed to control the violence that led to the killing of 30 people and destruction of property.

Singh, however, refused to comment on allegations of rape and molestation by Jat quota agitators near an eatery in Murthal on Delhi-Ambala highway, saying, "Law and order is a state subject."

Thirty people were killed during the Jat quota stir in Haryana late last month. A total of 713 FIRs have been registered and 133 people arrested in this connection.

The Haryana government has also set up a committee consisting of three women officers, including a DIG, for receiving any complaint of rape of women in Murthal near Sonepat.

The registration of 729 inactive madrassas have been canceled by the Rajasthan government in the last two years.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Arun Chaturvedi said in the assembly today that registration of those madrassas which were not active or did not exist, was canceled.

In one case, the owner of a madrassa had himself got the registration canceled, he said in reply to a question by Congress MLA Ramesh Meena during the Question Hour.

BJP MLA Anita Singh said government land was being encroached upon by some madrassa owners and demanded action against them.

The minister said that though it was the duty of the local bodies to get the land vacated, he would look into the matter.

He said there were no illegal madrassas and those which were registered with the government get subsidy.

The Election Commission on Friday announced the much-awaited election schedule for West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

234-seat Tamil Nadu assembly election dates (1 phase):

Issue of notification: April 27

Last Date: April 29

Scrutiny: April 30

Last date for withdrawal: May 2

Date of Poll: May 16

294-seat West Bengal assembly election dates (6 phases):

Phase 1: 18 seats

Issue of notification: March 11

Last Date: March 18

Scrutiny: March 19

Last date for withdrawal: March 21

Date of Poll: April 4 & 11 (Polling to be held on two days in this phase)

Phase 2: 56 seats

Issue of notification: March 22

Last Date: March 29

Scrutiny: March 30

Last date for withdrawal: April 1

Date of Poll: April 17

Phase 3: 62 seats

Issue of notification: March 28

Last Date: March 4

Scrutiny: April 5

Last date for withdrawal: April 1

Date of Poll: April 21

Phase 4: 49 seats

Issue of notification: April 1

Last Date: April 8

Scrutiny: April 9

Last date for withdrawal: April 11

Date of Poll: April 25

Phase 5: 53 seats

Issue of notification: April 4

Last Date: April 11

Scrutiny: April 12

Last date for withdrawal: April 16

Date of Poll: April 30

Phase 6: 25 seats

Issue of notification: April 7

Last Date: April 18

Scrutiny: April 19

Last date for withdrawal: April 21

Date of Poll: May 5

140-seat Kerala assembly election dates (1 phase):

Issue of notification: April 22

Last Date: April 29

Scrutiny: April 30

Last date for withdrawal: May 2

Date of Poll: May 16

126-seat Assam assembly election dates (2 phases):

1st phase: 65 seats

Issue of notification: March 11

Last Date: March 18

Scrutiny: March 19

Last date for withdrawal: March 21

Date of Poll: April 4

2nd phase: 61 seats

Issue of notification: March 14

Last Date for nomination: March 21

Scrutiny: March 22

Last date for withdrawal: March 26

Date of Poll: April 11

30-seat Puducherry election dates (1 phase):

Issue of notification: April 22

Last Date: April 29

Scrutiny: April 30

Last date for withdrawal: May 2

Date of Poll: May 16

Counting of votes will be taken up on May 19.

The Delhi high court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to former TERI chief RK Pachauri in a sexual harassment case.

The plea was filed by a former woman research analyst who has accused environmentalist RK Pachauri of sexual harassment.

The woman had alleged that there is "overwhelming evidence" that he misused the bail granted to him by the trial court on March 21, 2015.

She had also contended that Pachauri is an "influential man" who has been the top boss of the Energy and Resources Institute for last 34 years and was in active touch with its officials.

Delhi Police had recently charged Pachauri under various sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, sexual harassment, stalking, criminal intimidation and word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

14:55

Mahindra & Mahindra hikes vehicles prices by Rs 5,500- 47,000 effective April 1

14:53

Delhi HC dismisses a plea seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to TERI Executive Vice Chairman R K Pachauri in alleged sexual harassment case

14:37 TN judge issues memo to court assistant: 'Why didn't you wash my inner garments?'

In a shocking case, a subordinate judge of the Sathyamangalam court in Erode district in western Tamil Nadu has sought an explanation from an office assistant in the court for "refusing to wash his inner garments" at his residence.

A copy of the memo, which was issued on February 1 by the judge, went viral on social media on Thursday.

In the memo, D Selvam had directed office assistant S Vasanthi to reply within seven days as to why she had not washed the clothes properly.

"You do not properly wash the clothes put for washing in the house of the sub-judge. Especially, you feel very embarrassed to wash the inner garments and throw them away. When the officer and his wife questioned you about it, you talked back. Hence, you should respond within seven days as to why should disciplinary action not be taken against you," the memo, signed by the sub-judge, read.

In response to the memo on February 4, Vasanthi said she would make sure that such complaints would not arise in the future.

On Thursday, Vasanthi, 47, told The Hindu: "I am being subjected to mean treatment. I was asked to do household chores. At one point, I simply refused to wash clothes. That was when I was issued the 'notice'."

Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation on a plea by the Delhi government seeking the return of documents that the agency had taken from the office of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following a raid at the office of the principal secretary Rajendra Kumar.

During the raids at Rajendra Kumar's office, the agency had taken into its possession the documents in the wake of the allegations of wrong doing on the part of the said officer.

Kejriwal had claimed that this was done to scuttle the DDCA probe against Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and others and many of those documents seized related to that investigation.

14:18

SEBI begins investigation on Vijay Mallya's exit from USL; SEBI to investigate 'money trail' between Vijay Mallya & USL

13:57

Just In: BSF has lodged a protest with Pakistan over the detection of a tunnel, says its IG.

13:48 India denies visa to US religious commission

India has denied visa to members of a US commission on religious freedom who wanted to discuss and assess "deteriorating" religious freedom conditions in the country, the head of the independent body has said.

"We are deeply disappointed by the Indian government's denial, in effect, of these visas," Robert P George, chairman of US Commission on International Religious Freedom, said in a statement.

A three-member delegation of the USCIRF wanted to make a one-week visit starting today to meet with government officials, religious leaders and activists in India.

"As a pluralistic, non-sectarian, and democratic State, and a close partner of the United States, India should have the confidence to allow our visit," he said. "USCIRF will continue to pursue a visit to India, given the ongoing reports from religious communities, civil society groups, and NGOs that the conditions for religious freedom in India have been deteriorating since 2014," George said.

This is not the first time the USCIRF members have not been issued visas. The members, who prepare an annual report on religious freedom in countries across the globe, were denied the visas for the first time in previous UPA regime.

13:47 Yoga makes it to US presidential debate

Yoga made its way to the Republican presidential debate in the US, when Texas Senator Ted Cruz asked party front-runner Donald Trump to take a deep breath during a heated exchange between the two.

"Breathe, breathe, breathe," Cruz asked Trump when the two were engaged in some feisty exchange of words on the Supreme Court. "You can do it. You can breathe. I know it is hard," Cruz said.

Senator Marco Rubio, another presidential hopeful, jumped in and said, "When they are done with the yoga, can I answer a question?."

"You can not. I really hope that we do not see yoga on this stage," Cruz said amidst laughter in the audience.

"Well, he (Trump) is very flexible, so you never know," Rubio said amidst applause.

13:45

Just In: Rajya Sabha too adjourns for the day as a mark of respect for former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma.

13:24 No abduction, Noida-based designer Shipra left home after domestic dispute: Cops

An interesting twist in the case pertaining to the kidnapping of Noida-based designer Shipra Malik.

According to DIG Meerut range Lakshmi Singh, Shipra left her home because of a domestic dispute. No injury was detected during the medical check up. She left home and came back on her own accord.

She came back after seeing pictures of her family on TV and after being informed of missing case that had been filed.

She made PCR call to prove that her husband and family have nothing to do with incident.

SC refuses to stay Delhi HC order upholding TRAI's decision making it mandatory for telecos to compensate subscribers for call drop.

During the hearing, SC observes 'TRAI has jurisdiction to levy penalty on telecos; need to ascertain if call drop is due to telecos fault'

SC will decide the matter on next date of hearing i.e. March 10

12:51

P K Nair, film archivist, founder of National Film Archives of India passed away in Pune today

12:49

SC issues notice to TRAI over Telecos plea challenging HC order over compensation for call drops: ANI

12:48

Ishrat Jahan case file never came to me, says former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

12:28 Pakistani intruder shot dead by BSF in Ferozepur

A Pakistani intruder was today shot dead by BSF when he crossed into Indian territory during the wee hours and refused to surrender before the troops patrolling the Indo-Pak border.

A BSF official said that the Pakistani intruder entered the Indian territory through DRD Border Out Post (BOP) falling in the Ferozepur sector.

The intruder was repeatedly asked to surrender but he kept marching towards the troops who were on night patrol. The BSF personnel then opened fire, killing him on the spot.

A mobile phone with a Pakistani sim was found near the body.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project the bullet train between Mumbai and Ahmedabad appears to have hit a roadblock with the MMRDA opposing the location of the underground bullet train station at Bandra-Kurla Complex.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority had selected BKC for its proposed International Finance Centre.

Principal Secretary, Urban DevelopmentI (infrastructure projects), Nitin Kareer said the Ministry of Public Transport will be asking the Railway Ministry to either relocate the proposed station for the bullet train to its terminus stations at Bandra or Kurla.

Kareer said the site at BKC was selected by MMRDA for setting up IFC.

"Besides the area that the proposed IFC would cover, it will also include multi-level underground car parking. Apart from this, IFC could come up in a relative short duration, but it would take time for the bullet train to start generating revenue," he said.

12:01

Uproar in Rajya Sabha over status of Aligarh Muslim University; Opposition enters well of house raising slogans against government's interference in University.

Rajya Sabha adjourned till noon.

11:52 Did Rahul manage to rile PM Modi with his speech?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered, inter alia, a blistering attack on Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

But, but, did it prove that Gandhi, who had mounted a full-scale attack on the PM the previous day in the Lower House, had managed to get under the PM's skin?

Journalist Sankarshan Thakur suggests so, when he writes in The Telegraph, Kolkata: 'The Prime Minister was still raging when he finished, his splayed palms quivering. Rahul Gandhi has begun to smile. The arrows he'd flung yesterday had caused injury where he meant it. The insult that came his way today was merely its consequence.'

Read the article here.

11:38

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu states that people studying in universities funded by centre should study and not indulge in politics.

To which, journalist Praveen Swami tweets: This from man elected president of the students union of Andhra University, 1973-74, when member of ABVP. Hmm

11:35 Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma passes away

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma has passed away. He was 68.

Sangma was rushed to Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after suffering a heart attack. He was declared brought dead by doctors.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till March 8 as a mark of respect to Sangma.

"We deeply mourn the passing away of PA Sangma ji. I had learnt how to run Lok Sabha with a smile from him," LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said.

Sangma was co-founder of the Nationalist Congress Party and remained chief minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990.

11:29

CBI HQ in New Delhi denies sending summons to P Chidambaram's wife Nalini in Saradha Chit Fund case

10:54 BJP to move notice against Rahul for 'racist Fair and Lovely' remark

In a bid to embarrass Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in Parliament, the Bharatiya Janata Party will on Friday move a notice against the former for using `racist` Fair and Lovely remark in his speech in the Lok Sabha.

"Rahul Gandhi mocked the disclosure scheme of the government of India by terming it as a Fair and Lovely scheme. The advertisement of Fair and Lovely has been banned by the Supreme Court because it is a racist in nature. It creates a difference between black and white and often it feels it creates a difference between north and south," Arjun Meghwal, BJP MP, told ANI.

"This kind of remark is not expected from a person sitting at a responsible post of a grand old party," he added.

Meghwal further said the BJP is preparing the notice affirming that they would raise our concern in the house.

During Motion of Thanks to President for addressing joint session of Parliament, Rahul had said the Narendra Modi government has launched a `Fair and Lovely` scheme to convert black money into white.

Shipra Malik, the Noida-based fashion designer who had gone missing under mysterious circumstances on Monday, has been found safe in Gurgaon.

IG Meerut has confirmed that Shipra Malik has been tracked down to Gurgaon and is safe.

"I was kidnapped by three men in Noida and taken to Gurgaon," Shipra said in her statement to police.

The Noida Police will be talking to the media later in the day to give more information about Shipra's disappearance.

Shipra Malik had left her home in Sector 37 Noida on Monday afternoon for Chandni Chowk in Delhi and had been missing since then.

Her Maruti Swift car was found abandoned 500 metres away from her Noida home, police said. Chetan Malik, her husband who is a local builder, had filed a missing persons complaint with the Noida Police.

Last month, a 25-year-old Snapdeal employee went missing after taking an autorickshaw from the metro station in Vaishali in Ghaziabad. Deepti Sarna returned home after 40 hours, saying her abductors had released her without harming her.

10:41

CBI summons P Chidambaram's wife Nalini in Saradha chit fund scam case. She has to be present at CBI Kolkata office on March 10

09:35

Two CRPF jawans killed, seven injured in anti-Naxal operations in Sukhma

09:20

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee admitted to ICCU with fever: ANI

09:19

Main runway shut at Mumbai airport due to the collapse of the landing gear of a Jet Airways aircraft, secondary runway being used: ANI

08:37 PM to launch Rs 10,200 cr Setu Bharatam project today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday is set to launch Rs 10,200 crore Setu Bharatam project, which aims to make all national highways free of railway crossings by 2019.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan will also be present during the launch.

Gadkari had earlier said that 208 places have been identified for construction of rail over-bridges or underpasses.

"An expenditure of Rs 10,200 crore is expected to be incurred on the project," he said.

"There are around 1,500 bridges that are over 50-60 years old. We have prepared a plan to demolish such bridges and rebuild new ones with more capacity," the minister said.

The cost of rebuilding the old bridges is expected to be about Rs 30,000 crore

The Supreme Court will today hear a plea of two cellular operator associations challenging Delhi high court order upholding telecom regulator TRAI's decision making it mandatory for them to compensate subscribers for call drops from January 1, 2016.

The plea of the associations was mentioned before a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice U U Lalit on Thursday seeking urgent hearing on the matter.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the telecom associations, told the bench that this matter required urgent hearing as Delhi HC has upheld the TRAI order, after which the bench agreed to hear the plea today.

The high court had, earlier this week, upheld the October 16, 2015 decision of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) making it mandatory for cellular operators to pay consumers one rupee per call drop experienced on their networks, subject to a cap of Rs 3 a day.

The court order came while dismissing a batch of petitions filed by Cellular Operators Association of India, a body of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India and 21 telecom operators, including Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Reliance.

08:17 2nd edition of Gyan Sangam kicks off today

The second edition of Gyan Sangam, a retreat of heads of public sector financial institutions, will begin today against the backdrop of the government's strategy to favour consolidation among public sector banks.

Earlier this week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in the Budget 2016-17, said the government will unveil a road map for consolidation in public sector banks.

The two-day conference, to be attended by Jaitley, Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal and other senior finance ministry officials, will see discussion on mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector, sources said.

The Gyan Sangam this time is unlikely to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Banking sector is grappling with rising non-performing assets, which are expected to rise further in coming quarters.

Gross NPAs of public sector banks stood at Rs 3.60 lakh crore at December-end, up from Rs 2.67 lakh crore at the end of March 2015. In the case of private banks, gross NPAs stood at Rs 38,396 crore at December-end, up from Rs 31,576 crore at March-end 2015.

The Supreme Court will today hear a review petition filed by the Supreme Court seeking clarity on issues arising out of a 2014 judgment pertaining to the rights and status of transgenders.

"The Apex court, in its April 2014 judgment, had said transgenders should be recognised as the 'third gender' but, along with that, it had also acknowledged their right to declare themselves either male or female.

"Now, this is creating some difficulty for those making their identity cards. So, we have filed a review petition in the court seeking clarity on this," Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot said.

According to the minister, transgender persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have flagged issues about them being given the status of OBC, saying they are not able to access the benefits which they were entitled to as SCs and STs.

"We also wanted clarity on these issues and have sought the guidance of the apex court. Clarity on these will help in the better implementation of the directives," he said.

The ministry, Gehlot said, is close to finalising the Draft Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2015, and will try to place the Bill in Parliament during the ongoing budget session of Parliament.

08:11

The Delhi high court is likely to pronounce today its order on a plea for cancellation of the anticipatory bail to TERI executive vice chairman R K Pachauri, who is facing sexual harassment allegations by a former woman colleague.

08:08 Jat stir: Prakash Singh committee to visit Rohtak today

The Prakash Singh committee set up by Haryana government to inquire into the acts of "omission and commission" on the part of civil and police officers during the Jat quota agitation would visit Rohtak, which was the epicentre of the agitation, on Friday.

The committee would visit the affected areas and interact with the officers of the district.

It would also meet people of different sections of the society and seek information about the role of officers.

An official spokesman said that on March 4, the committee would visit the affected areas from 10 am to 1 pm and conduct meeting with officers of both civil and police administration from 3 pm to 5 pm.

On March 5, the committee would meet people belonging to different sections of society from 9 am to 1 pm and later brief the media from 4 pm to 5 pm, he added.

Leader Kim Jong-Un has ordered North Korea's nuclear arsenal to be ready for pre-emptive use "anytime," in an expected ramping up of rhetoric following the UN Security Council's adoption of tough new sanctions on Pyongyang.

"We must always be ready to fire our nuclear warheads at any time," Kim was quoted as saying by the North's official KCNA news agency today.

Kim also warned that the situation on the divided Korean peninsula had become so dangerous that the North needed to shift its military strategy to one of "pre-emptive attack".

Such bellicose rhetoric is almost routine for North Korea at times of elevated tensions.

While the North is known to have a small stockpile of nuclear warheads, experts are divided about its ability to mount them on a working missile delivery system.

In the last months of his life, Osama bin Laden was a worried man as he was in a serious dispute with the two brothers who had been his bodyguards and the only link to the outside world from his hideout in

Pakistan, according to newly declassified files.

According to letters released by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that were recovered during the US Navy SEAL raid on bin Laden's hideout in the Pakistani garrison city of Abbottabad, by early 2011 the brothers were fed up with all the pressure that came from protecting and serving the world's most wanted terrorist.

The brothers -- Abu Muhammad and Abu Khalid -- were two longtime members of al-Qaeda whose family hailed from northern Pakistan, not far from where bin Laden was hiding in the garisson city of Abbottabad. They did everything for the 54-year-old al-Qaeda chief before he was killed in the raid on May 2, 2011.

The UN humanitarian chief has accused all parties in Yemen's escalating conflict of attacking civilian facilities including hospitals and schools

and demanded an immediate halt and access to the entire country to deliver desperately needed aid.

Stephen O'Brien told the UN Security Council yesterday that over 2,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured since the start of the conflict including at least 90 children killed so far this year.

O'Brien said the relentless and often indiscriminate nature of the violence was made "starkly clear" last Saturday when 30 people were killed and 40 injured in a strike on a busy market in the capital Sanaa.

A recent, 14-year dry spell in the Middle East was the worst drought in the past 900 years, according to a new NASA study released this week.

NASA's researchers examined records of rings of trees in several Mediterranean countries to determine patterns of dry and wet years across a span of 900 years. They concluded that the years from 1998 to 2012 were drier than any other period, and that the drought was likely caused by humans.

The study's lead author Ben Cook said the range of extreme weather events in the eastern Mediterranean has varied widely in the past nine centuries, but the past two decades stand out.

"This recent drought falls outside the range of natural variability," he said. Drought has continued in parts of the Middle East, he added.

Cook is a climate scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York City.

02:04 Russia warns of 'very long' war in Yemen

Russia warned today the war in Yemen could grind on for a "very long time" because of the government's insistence on conditions for a ceasefire.

Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, speaking to reporters after a UN Security Council meeting on the Yemen crisis, told reporters he was concerned that prospects for peace talks were dim.

"We hear that the government does not want to have a ceasefire until there is a comprehensive settlement," Churkin said.

"This is a recipe for a very long conflict which will have even more dramatic results," he said.

Russia has repeatedly criticised the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen that was launched last March to push back Iranian-backed Huthi rebels.

02:03 Top headlines of the last hour

Want freedom within India and not from India, Kanhaiya says after release

Day after attack, security tightened at Indian consulate in Jalalabad

Celebrations on campus as Kanhaiya reaches JNU after release

Sikh boy mocked, attacked for wearing turban in Australia

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