The Ministry of AYUSH on Wednesday termed the reports incorrect that said that an AYUSH booklet stated that pregnant women should control lust, hang 'beautiful' pictures on the wall and shun non-vegetarian food to deliver a healthy baby.

In a statement, the AYUSH said, "Some reports have appeared in the print and electronic media since June 13, 2017 concerning the publication 'Mother and Child Care' of Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, an autonomous body under the Ministry of AYUSH. Unfortunately, many of these reports are seen to be inaccurate, and some are even seen to misrepresent facts."

The Ministry said that nowhere in the booklet 'no sex' has been mentioned.

"Some news reports carry an assertion that the booklet puts forward the 'prescription' that 'pregnant women in India' should 'say no to sex after conception'. This is far from the truth. In fact, the words 'no sex' do not feature at all in the booklet," it added.

The AYUSH statement said that the media paid selective attention to the suggestions on page 14 of the booklet.

"The suggestion on page 14 of the booklet regarding avoiding certain types of food like tea, coffee, white flour products, fried and oily items and non-veg during pregnancy, is seen to have received selective attention. The suggestion that non-vegetarian food may be avoided (as Yoga & Naturopathy don't advocate non-vegetarian food in its practice) has been singled out for high-lighting in some reports, omitting the mention of white flour products, fried and oily items etc," it added.

The Ministry also termed the media claims 'incorrect' that the report that it was released by the Minister of State for AYUSH in the recent past.

'This publication has been in distribution through the units of the erstwhile Department of AYUSH and CCRYN since 2013. The report that it was released by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH in the recent past is incorrect,' said the AYUSH in a statement.

The AYUSH said that the said booklet puts together relevant and useful information culled out from many years of clinical practice in the fields of Yoga and Naturopathy.

"The CCRYN aims to take the well-known health benefits of Yoga and Naturopathy to expecting mothers and new mothers in a simple booklet format," it added.

The ministry said that the booklet contains general guidelines for pregnant women, which are based on the principles and concepts of Yoga and Naturopathy.

"Many new mothers and families have appreciated that information relevant to the different phases of pregnancy has been made available in a simple format in the booklet," the ministry further said.

The AYUSH asked the media to consider a fact noted by the UNESCO that "Yoga consists of techniques designed to help individuals build self-realisation, ease any suffering they may be experiencing and allow for a state of liberation."

It further urged the media to 'view the efforts of CCRYN to take the preventive health benefits of Yoga to all sections of the population (including expecting mothers) in the right perspective and requests them to support such initiatives in the larger interest of the nation'. -- ANI

Roger Federer suffered a shock defeat at the hands of 39-year-old Tommy Haas at the Stuttgart grass court tournament on Wednesay.

It was the Swiss great's first match after almost three months out of action.

Haas, a former world number two but now down at 302, won 2-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 for just his fourth victory in 17 meetings against his close friend.

More updates on Virginia shooter:

Reports say the suspect in shooting of congressman Steve Scalise in Virginia has been identified as Illinois man named James T Hodgkinson.

CNN reports his social media includes anti-Trump postings.

Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders has said, "Just been informed that alleged shooter at Republican baseball practice apparently volunteered on my Presidential campaign."

In an apparent goof-up, the home ministry in its annual report used a picture of Spain-Morocco boundary as India's border with Pakistan, prompting the Union home secretary to say that the ministry would apologise if there is a mistake.

The picture with the caption 'Floodlighting along the Border' was published recently in the home ministry's annual report for 2016-17, with detailed information on flood lighting along the Indo-Pak border.

However, it came to light today that the picture was of the Spain-Morocco border, located along the Plazas desoberana, Ceuta, Melilla and Alborn Island along the north coast of Morocco.

Between Morocco and Ceuta, there is a physical border known as the Ceuta border fence.

Melilla also has a physical border known as the Melilla border fence, similar to the Indo-Pak border with floodlighting.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said the ministry will find out if the picture was not that of Indo-Pak border.

"If there is a mistake, we will apologise," he said.

Sources said the home ministry officials were trying to find out from where the picture was sourced. It could be from the Border Security Force which guards major portions of the 3,323 km long boundary, they said.  -- PTI

Pakistan today violated the ceasefire twice by shelling mortars and firing from small arms on forward posts and civilians areas along the Line of Control in Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing retaliation from the Indian side, the Army said.

There have been nine ceasefire violations in the past four days and total 12 along the LoC and the International Border in Jammu region since January 1 in which one civilian was killed and seven others were injured.

"Pakistan Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics RPG and recoilless rifles from 0930 hours in Naushera sector along the Line of Control in Rajouri district today," defence spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta said.

"The Indian Army posts are retaliating strongly and effectively and the firing is presently on," he said.

Earlier, Pakistan carried out indiscriminate firing from 5 am to 5.45 am in Bhimbher Gali sector along the LoC, he said.

There were three ceasefire violations on June 12. -- PTI

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will appear tomorrow before a Supreme Court-appointed team probing the Panamagate graft case, an unprecedented development that will make him the first sitting premier to depose before such a panel.

The Joint Investigation Team chief Wajid Zia had summoned the prime minister to appear before the six-member probe team at 11 am (11:30 IST) on June 15 with all documents relevant to the case.

Amidst tight security, Sharif will appear before the probing officers at Islamabad's Judicial Academy -- which is temporarily turned into the JIT's secretariat.

The summons was issued to Sharif, 67, after he returned last Saturday from Kazakhstan where he had attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

In its judgement of April 20 in the Panama Papers case, the Supreme Court had constituted a JIT and empowered it to summon the prime minister, his sons and any other person necessary, to investigate allegations of money-laundering, through which the four apartments in London's posh Park Lane area were purchased.

Sharif has denied any wrongdoing. The Joint Investigation Team had questioned Sharif's sons -- Hussain and Hasan -- last month over the family's alleged improper business dealings.

His eldest son Hussain was questioned five times while Hasan, the youngerson, was summoned twice.

The court last year took up the case and issued a split decision over allegations of money laundering when Sharif was prime minister in 1990s.

On May 5, the Supreme Court set up a high-level six- member JIT to probe Sharif and his sons' alleged corruption in the Panama Papers case. The JIT is bound to complete the probe in 60 days unless it is granted additional time.

It is for the first time that a sitting prime minister would appear before a high-level probe team traditionally constituted to investigate high-profile criminal cases.

It is not yet clear that Sharif will be questioned for once or would be called again like his two sons. Media reports had also said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar may also be questioned tomorrow by the JIT before Sharif's appearance.

The JIT probing the offshore holdings of Prime Minister Sharif and his children has also summoned his younger brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, to appear before it on June 17.  -- PTI

A quick-thinking man caught a baby thrown from the 'ninth or the tenth floor' window of the building by a desperate woman after a huge fire engulfed the 24-storey residential tower block in London.

Samira Lamrani, a witness, was quoted by The Telegraph assaying that she saw a woman try to save a baby by dropping it from a window 'on the ninth or 10th floor' to waiting members of the public below.

"People were starting to appear at the windows, frantically banging and screaming," she said.

The windows were slightly ajar, a woman was gesturing that she was about to throw her baby and if somebody could catch her baby.

"Somebody did, a gentleman ran forward and managed to grab the baby," she said.

"I could see people from all angles, banging and screaming for help. Us members of the public were reassuring them, telling them we've done what we can and that we've phoned 999, but obviously the look on their face was death," Lamrani said.

"My daughter's friend said she observed an adult who made some sort of homemade parachute and tried to lower himself out of the window," Lamrani said.

"The more I looked up, floor upon floor. Endless numbers of people. Mainly the kids, because obviously their voices,with their high pitched voices -- that will remain with me fora long time. I could hear them screaming for their lives," she said.

Another resident, called Zara, said she saw a woman throw her son, who was about five years old, from a fifth or sixth floor window to escape the blaze.

She told LBC, "One woman actually threw her son out of the window. I think he's OK. I think he might have just had some broken bones and bruises."  -- PTI

Update on Virginia shootout:

Eyewitness says at least five injured before shooter was taken down.

Alabama Republican Mo Brooks who was at baseball game where shooting took place, says 20-23 shots fired. He saw Scalise dragging self after shooting.

As per Brooks, Scalise is alive.

The shooter 'appeared to be a middle-aged white male'.

Brooks says gunman certainly knew who he was targeting.

Police tells the media it was a 'deliberate attack'. -- ANI

IMAGE: Steve Scalise. Photograph: @SteveScalise/Twitter

A gunman opened fire at a group of Republican Congressmen practising baseball in Alexandria, Virginia on Wednesday.

Senator Todd Young tweeted, quoting a Fox News report, that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise has been hit in the 'multiple shooting'.

The suspect is believed to be in police custody.

Alexandria Police said on their official Twitter handle that an investigation has been launched.

'ALERT: APD investigating multiple shooting 400 block E Monroe St. Suspect believed in custody. Stay from area, let emergency vehicles thru (sic),' they said. -- Agencies

A three-member Bharatiya Janata Party panel set up to consult political parties on selecting a consensus candidate for the upcoming presidential poll will meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday.

After meeting Gandhi, the panel of three ministers will also meet Communist Party of India-Marxist's Sitaram Yechury, sources close to Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu said in New Delhi.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Naidu were appointed by BJP president Amit Shah on June 12 to hold talks with opposition parties and allies in a bid to select a consensus candidate for the poll.

The sources said Naidu had already spoken with Praful Patel (Nationalist Congress Party) and Satish Chandra Misra (Bahujan Samaj Party) on this issue.

Patel and Misra, who are expected to meet the panel shortly, are said to have assured Naidu their parties would take a call on a candidate after talks with the BJP panel.

The notification for the July 17 polls was issued today, beginning the nomination process for the election. The last date for filing papers is June 28.

After prolonged silence on the issue, Shah constituted the three-member committee for consultations with the National Democratic Alliance allies and the opposition on the issue. Leaders of opposition parties are meeting this afternoon to chalk out a joint strategy for the presidential poll.

The opposition's 10-member sub-group is meeting for the first time after it was set up recently.

Sources said the opposition leaders will discuss possible names for the post of the President, but will await the government's initiative on this matter before taking a final decision.  -- PTI

Update on the prez polls:

-- The BJP panel on the presidential candidate to meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday.

--  Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu (two of the three members in the presidential poll panel, Arun Jaitley is the third member) to meet Sonia Gandhi and Sitaram Yechury on Friday to discuss the Presidential election. Jaitley is in South Korea and will be back next week.

-- The Opposition leaders' meeting over the Presidential Election is underway inside the Parliament in Delhi.

The Enforcement Directorate has filed a charge sheet against liquor baron Vijay Mallya in a Mumbai court, sources said. On Tuesday, a London court had granted Mallya bail and scheduled July 6 as the next date of hearing of the extradition case filed against him.

After coming out of the court on Tuesday, an embattled Mallya said, "You can keep dreaming about the billion pounds, but there's no proof. Do you have the facts? You cannot prove anything without facts," he added.

When asked how he felt when he was booed at and called a thief during a match between India and South Africa, Mallya said:" I was not called a thief that day by crowd at Oval ground. Two drunk people were shouting, but several others came and wished me well".

Speaking to media before his extradition hearing, Mallya had said, "I deny all allegations, I have enough evidence to prove my case in court."

Britain's Crown Prosecution Service argued the extradition case on India's behalf. A joint CBI-ED team went to London last month with documents to bolster the Crown's case.Mallya owes as much as Rs 9,000 crore to Indian banks. He was declared arrested in absentia on April 18 after India made a formal extradition request for him on February 8.

The 61-year-old chief of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines fled India on March 2 last year, has been living in Britain, mostly, since then.

If you have not been able to register on the GST Network within the deadline ending tomorrow, do not panic! There's one more chance coming your way as the registration for existing excise, service tax and VAT payers will reopen on June 25.

There are about 80 lakh excise, service tax and VAT assessees as present, of which 64.35 lakh have already migrated to the portal of GST Network -- the company readying the IT backbone for GST regime. The window for migration to the GSTN, which opened on June 1, will close tomorrow and during the fortnight, 4.35 lakh taxpayers have enrolled taking the total to 64.35 lakh.

Just in: Six people confirmed killed in the huge fire at Grenfell Tower in London, says Commander Stuart Cundy of the Metropolitan Police. The police said it expected numbers to rise, and that it was too early to give details.

The BBC said eyewitnesses described people trapped in the burning Grenfell Tower, in north Kensington, screaming for help and yelling for their children to be saved.

Firefighters rescued "large numbers", but London Mayor Sadiq Khan said "a lot" of people were unaccounted for.

The 24-storey block, which is still on fire, looks at risk of collapsing.

During the night, eyewitnesses said they saw lights - thought to be mobile phones or torches - flashing at the top of the block of flats, and trapped residents coming to their windows - some holding children.The

Met Police has set up an emergency number on 0800 0961 233 for anyone concerned about friends or family.

President Putin has revealed that he is a grandfather in a rare disclosure about his private life. The Russian leader, 64, was speaking in an interview with Oliver Stone, the Hollywood director. Mr Putin told the film-maker during a visit to a church that he was about to meet his daughters, Maria and Yekaterina, for lunch. Read more

June 5th marked the 50th anniversary of Naksa Day -- the annual commemoration of the displacement of Palestinians after the Six Day War in 1967. Novelist and journalist Mohammed Hanif visited Palestine three times -- in 1999, 2010 and 2011 -- the first time on a reporting assignment and subsequently to teach a creative writing class and to attend the Palestine Festival of Literature. This piece, reflecting on Hanifs experiences in Palestine. Read more

Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani has "voluntarily' decided to draw "no salary or commission' from beleaguered telecom arm, Reliance Communications in FY18. Read more

Faulty fridge, faulty wiring, gas leak, cladding... among the reasons being floated for the devastating London fire. Do read

Salman Khan, who experiences the turmoil of emotions that one goes through after being separated by a loved one as a result of war in his upcoming movie 'Tubelight', recently poured his heart out while expressing his opinion on 'war-mongering'.

At a promotional event, the 'Sultan' star said, "In war, the Armies of both sides lose their lives. The families are without their sons or their fathers. They have to live their whole lives without them."

"Those people who order war, they should be given guns and made to fight. Within a day all conflicts will get over as their legs will start shaking," he added.

The Kabir Khan-directorial is set against the background of 1962 Indo-China war and tells the story of two brothers who are separated by the war, when one of them joins the Indian Army to fight the Chinese and gets captured by their Army.

Starring Sohail Khan, Zhu Zhu and Om Puri, the flick is slated to release on June 23.

On November 8, 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his demonetisation, a loud chorus went up on both sides of the aisle.   

The Election Commission of India on Wednesday issued a public notice through the office of the returning officer, seeking nominations of persons for the election to the office of the President of India.

NDA candidate for the presidential elections to file nomination on June 23.

Opposition leaders are set to meet in Delhi on Wednesday to finalise consensus candidates for the upcoming presidential and vice-presidential elections. The meeting is slated to take place at around 4 pm today and leaders from 17 parties, namely JD (U), CPI, CPI-M, SP, DMK, NCP, RJD and TMC, besides some other regional parties, will be in attendance.

President Pranab Mukherjee's term ends on July 24, and the presidential elections are scheduled on July 17.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi had in a meeting on May 26 called upon all Opposition leaders to build a consensus on the presidential nominee, however, finding unison among all parties has proved to be difficult.

While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has endorsed a second term for President Pranab Mukherjee, Congress has been non-committal on the issue.

SBI expected to go over 900 crore in the red from loans to Mallya's grounded airline. Read more


Also read: Oh, to be in Mallya's shoes!

Congress district president of Meerut, Vinay Pradhan, was sacked from all posts for addressing party vice-president Rahul Gandhi as "Pappu" on a party's local WhatsApp group that went viral.


However, denying the allegation Pradhan said that the party has taken action against him without listening to his point." Rahul Gandhi is also known as 'Pappu' by a section of people in this country. People of this country are witness to the fact that Pappu has never taken to a lavish lifestyle," the WhatsApp message read.


The senior party leaders and Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Raj Babbar did not appreciate such an action and on Tuesday Pradhan was removed from all party posts.


Pradhan claimed that the message was not sent by him and alleged that some people were trying to malign him.

Madhya Pradeshs Inspector General of Police Makarand Deuskar said today that the situation in Mandsaur is calm and Section 144 has been lifted from the area ahead of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's visit.

The Madhya Pradesh CM met the families of those who were killed in the police firing on June 8.

Speaking to Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com over the phone, Deuskar said, The situation in Mandsaur is calm and peaceful and section 144 has been removed from Mandsaur.

When asked if this was a temporary measure, the IG said, Abhi toh hata li gayi hai (It has been lifted for now at least).

He said that adequate police force is in place for the CMs visit to Mandsaur, which saw five killed in police firing. One farmer committed suicide during the protests.

Chouhan visited Mandsaur today and handed over a cheque of Rs 1 crore to the family of one of the farmers. The state government yesterday sanctioned financial aid of Rs 1 crore each to the families of the six farmers killed during the violent stir by peasants in Mandsaur.

The farmers in Mandsaur have been protesting since June 1 for farm loan waivers and hike in minimum support price, and implementation of the Swaminathan Commission recommendations.


Image: CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan meets the kin of farmers killed in police firing in Mandsaur today.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly saw a huge showdown between the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam over the MLAs sting operation in today's session, which was earlier being expected to be crucial for paving the way for the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax Bill on July 1.


Though the bill was tabled in the Assembly and passed successfully, a ruckus was created when Opposition leader MK Stalin raised the issue of "cash for MLA" expose, carried out few days before by a English news channel.


Speaker P Dhanapal refused to discuss the issue on the floor of the house as it was subjudice.


He further said the issue cannot be discussed also because there was no major proof to substantiate it as it only came out in the media.Following this, the DMK MLAs showed pamphlets written "MLAs for sale" over them as a mark of protest against the Speaker's assertions.


Dhanapal supported his statements by citing the Nira Radia tape case that happened in the DMK's regime.The Assembly came to a stalemate following which the policemen tried to take the protesting DMK MLAs out of the Assembly.


The DMK MLAs then, led by Stalin, took to the streets to raise slogans against the AIADMK - 'MLAs for Sale'.


A sting operation by an English news channel had revealed that all the AIADMK MLAs were lured in by cash and gold by the rival Sasikala camp to support Chief Minister Edapadi K. Palanisamy in the February trust vote conducted in Tamil Nadu Assembly.


Palanisamy won the trust vote held in the state assembly on the back of support offered by 122 AIADMK legislators.South Madurai MLA Saravanan, who had deflected to the OPS faction, admitted on camera that Sasikala camp offered him money between Rs. 2 crore to 6 crore for his support.


Meanwhile, AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam has sought an explanation from his loyalist MLA S.S. Saravanan from AIADMK's rival Sasikala faction.

The hiring activity in India is projected to slow for the sixth consecutive quarter, according to a new survey. Manpower Group Employment Outlook conducted a survey of 4,910 employers across India and found that 61 percent of respondents plan on maintaining the same number of employees in the next three months. Though 16 percent indicated an intention to increase hiring, this rate is at a considerably slower pace compared to last year's July-September numbers. Read more

The 27-storey building was completely gutted in the fire that began shortly before 1 am on Wednesday. Forty fire engines and over 200 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze through the early morning. Photograph: Neil Hall/Reuters 

London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton's  statement on the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower, an apartment block in north Kensington.

She said fire fighters arrived within six minutes and confirmed there have been a number of fatalities but could not confirm numbers.

This is her statement to the Guardian:

"This is an unprecedented incident. In my 29 years of being a firefighter I have never ever seen anything of this scale. Firefighters are working very hard at the moment.

This is a major fire that effected all floors of this 24 storey building from the second floor upwards. I have over 200 of my firefighters and officers attending this incident, with 40 fire engines and a range of specialist vehicles, including 14 fire rescue units. We declared this a major incident very early this morning ... the first call coming in at 12.54. Our first fire engines were on the scene in under six minutes.

Crews wearing breathing apparatus and extended duration breathing apparatus have been working in extremely challenging and very difficult conditions to rescue people and bring this major fire under control.

London Ambulance Service have confirmed that 30 people have been taken to five hospitals.

I am very sad to confirm that there have been a number of fatalities. I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building. It would clearly be wrong for me to speculate further.

Equally the cause of this fire is not known at this stage."

DMK members were evicted en masse from the Tamil Nadu assembly over a horsetrading issue ahead of the February 18 trust vote. The TN police detained Stalin, DMK MLAs for protesting outside the Assembly.

Stalin wanted MLAs to discuss a "sting" aired recently on private TV channels that shows some members of the ruling AIADMK discussing how much money they were offered for a crucial trust vote in February that allowed E Palaniswami to remain Chief Minister.


File pic.

Five policemen including a sub-inspector were suspended after they beat up the son of BJP MLA Ajit Singh in Rajasthan's Tonk town.

Singh's son Vishal Mehta was allegedly beaten by the police after he came to the police station to register a complaint in connection with a dispute over shops attached to a temple.

Reportedly, Vishal alleged that he and his supporters including local city municipal leaders were beaten up by the police and their mobiles were also snatched away, after which they all somehow managed to escape from the police station.

Later, Vishal informed his father about the incident, who was in Jaipur.

The BJP workers gathered outside the concerned police station and raised slogans demanding action against the alleged policemen involved in beating up Vishal and his partners.

Ahead of today's keenly-awaited England vs Pakistan first Champions Trophy semi-final, here's some statistic. 

More calamity news: At least 130 people, including four army men, have died in the hilly areas of Chittagong, Rangamati and Bandarban in Bangladesh following incessant downpour and landslides overnight.

The death toll may rise further, reports the Daily Star.

Scores of others were injured and many remained missing.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts saw over 300mm of rainfalls in the 24 hours till Tuesday morning. Chittagong alone experienced 222mm of rain during the same period.

None of these areas has seen such rain in recent years, said Reaz Ahmed, Director General of the Disaster Management Department.

At least 30 people have been hospitalised after being evacuated from a 27 storey apartment building at Lancaster West Estate in London that caught fire early on Wednesday.


"We can confirm that we have taken 30 patients to five London hospitals following the incident at Lancaster West Estate, W11," London Ambulance Service NHS Trust Assistant Director of Operations, Stuart Crichton said in a statement.


"We have declared a major incident and continue to work closely with other emergency services at the scene. We have over 20 ambulance crews at the scene as well as our hazardous area response team and trauma teams from London's air ambulance who travelled to the scene by car," the statement added.


Forty fire engines and over 200 firefighters and officers have been called to douse the blazes at Grenfell Tower. No confirmation has yet been made on any deaths in the fire.


The cause of the fire is also unknown.Meanwhile, London mayor Sadiq Khan has urged people to follow London Fire Brigade on Twitter for updates.


Pic: Smoke billows as firefighters deal with a serious fire in a tower block at Latimer Road in West London. Toby Melville/Reuters.

Ahead of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's visit to the families of the deceased farmers in Mandsaur today, section 144 has been revoked from the violence-hit region.

Mandsaur became the epicenter of a farmers' agitation over a demand for loan waivers and better prices for their produce.

During the agitation, six farmers were gunned down by the police, thereby drawing criticism from political parties. The situation forced the district officials to impose Section 144, and restricted prominent personalities from visiting the violence-hit district.

A number of political leaders, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, and social activists tried to visit Mandsaur but the police didn't let them enter the area.

The curfew was lifted from Mandsaur, but prohibitory orders remained.

Earlier on Sunday, Chouhan, who started an indefinite fast on June, ended his fast by consuming coconut water.

"We will make the state land use advisory service so that farmers get correct and timely information about climate change. I, the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi promise that we will irrigate every land. We have decided to implement every policy with the consent of farmers," he said before ending the fast.

He further said not only in India but in the entire world, Madhya Pradesh stands at number one position in the agriculture sector.

While speaking to ANI, Chouhan said that despite falling asleep "intermittently", the farmers and their issues made a constant thorough in his dreams and thoughts and hence, vowed to solve the pertinent matters.

A number of companies spending big money on cow upkeep. Read the full story on the Economic Times after you sign up.

Activist Nikhil Dey and four others have been sentenced to four months in jail by a court in Rajasthan after being convicted of "trespass and hurt" in a 20-year-old case, reports NDTV.

The sentence has been suspended pending an appeal by the five activists in a higher court.

The case refers to a row in May 1998, when Dey, a Right To Information activist, had gone to a village near Jaipur to investigate reports of corruption in development projects.

The village head or Sarpanch, Pyarelal, was accused of fudging payments for toilets, homes and other government schemes and cheating actual beneficiaries.

On May 6, Dey and four more activists went to the village to demand details from the Sarpanch in response to the allegations.

The activists allege that when they went to Pyarelal's house to deliver an official letter - finding his office closed - the sarpanch assaulted them and then filed a case against them for trespass and hurt.

Dey and Norti Bai, an activist from the same village, reportedly went 73 times to the Panchayat office to get information from the Sarpanch.

The activists did not file any FIR or police complaint, believing, in the early years of the RTI Act, that a dialogue would resolve the dispute more effectively.

The case was closed by the police in 1998, after they inquired into the versions of both sides. It was revived three years later by the Sarpanch, who filed a petition in court and allegedly produced witnesses who were not present during the incident. The verdict was announced yesterday.

"We are deeply disappointed by the verdict," said RTI activist Aruna Roy, calling it a clear case of miscarriage of justice.

"The process of this case that has continued for almost two decades, and the final decision is a body blow to the effort of citizens to fight corruption and stand up for the rights of the citizen," she said.

A man carried the dead body of his seven-month-old niece on a bicycle after being denied for an ambulance, in perhaps another shocking display of disregard for humanity.


The incident took place on Monday when the girl Poonam died during a treatment at the district hospital.


The girl was admitted to the district hospital after complaints of vomiting and frequent motion.


After admitting the girl to the hospital, father Anant Kumar left for Allahabad to arrange some money for the treatment of her daughter asking his brother-in-law Brijmohan, to look after her.


"We have taken cognizance of the incident. An inquiry has also been initiated," CMO S.K. Upadhyay, Kaushambi said."I called an ambulance driver several times to provide, but he refused to come. At last, I had to take my niece on a bicycle," Brijmohan said.


Reportedly, an FIR has been lodged against the doctor on duty and the ambulance driver, who allegedly refused to carry the body.In a similar incident, on June 5 in Bihar, a man carried his wife's dead body on a motorcycle to reach his home for her last rites as he was denied a mortuary van at a government hospital.


On May 21, a man was forced to carry the body of his dead wife on a stretcher after the hospital authorities refused to render an ambulance service to him in Kaushambi.

The government on Wednesday appointed Reenat Sandhu as the country's new ambassador to Italy. A 1989 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Sandhu will take over from Anil Wadhwa.  

At least 30 persons are feared trapped in a building that caught fire on Wednesday morning.