LIVE! Trump begged for a war during his Asia trip: North Korea

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Sat, 11 November 2017

Trump begged for a war during his Asia trip: North Korea

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20:20 Trump begged for a war during his Asia trip: North Korea

North Korea today said that United States President Donald Trump's first trip to Asia showed he was a "destroyer" and he had begged for war on the Korean peninsula.

"Trump, during his visit, laid bare his true nature as destroyer of world peace and stability and begged for a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula," the foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the state news agency.

Trump had warned North Korea not to underestimate the United States as he wrapped up his visit to South Korea.

The North Korean spokesman said nothing would deter Pyongyang from pursuing its nuclear weapons programme.

Tensions over North Korea's weapons programme have surged in recent months, as Pyongyang carried out a sixth nuclear test -- by far its largest to date -- and test fired dozens of missiles, some capable of reaching the US mainland.

Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar today said that politicians who think they are bigger than the nation are wrong and should know that they do not build nation but people of the country do.

The 72-year-old lyricist was speaking at Sahitya Aaj Tak, where he said that some people have misinterpreted the definition of nationalism.

"The interpretation of nationalism for some people is quite strange. They think that they are the nation. If you oppose them, then you become anti-national.

"These politicians are like the harvesting crop. They change when the crop changes. They don't stay here for eternity. Nation is larger than a political party and a politician. Any politician who thinks that he is the nation,

then he is wrong," Akhtar said.

Akhtar, who had last year criticised Union Minister V K Singh for proposing to rename Akbar Road in Lutyens Delhi to Maharana Pratap Road, said the country has produced many great leaders and Mughal emperor Akbar was one of them.

"This country has produced many great leaders and if you make a list of them, then without Akbar that list is incomplete," said Akhtar.

"That man was a huge personality with a vision nobody can match. About 400 years back when Europe had not even heard the word secularism. But here was a man in this country, who was not only secular, but also understood the philosophy and theory of secularism. He was working on it," he added.

Akhtar also said that a secular Muslim, like Akbar, is always abused by the fundamentalists and by people from other religions.

"It is saddening that a secular Muslim is always abused by fundamentalist people and the people from the other side.

"This is a very sorry state of affairs that any Muslim is not considered an Indian. Tipu Sultan is not an Indian and if I do not agree to this thought, then I become anti-national. Then I am an anti-national," he declared.

He said that Akbar was an Indian as he was born here and died contributing to the wealth of the country. -- PTI

For the first time in its over 180-year-old history, a traditional Cambridge University private members' club, famous as a male-only space, has voted to allow women members.

The Pitt Club has been open only to men since it was founded in 1835, with entry dependent on formal election.

Until now women could accompany members to events at the club house on campus but could not attend in their own right.

According to student newspaper 'Varsity', the club confirmed this week that it was now open to women which means they would have an equal right to be elected as members.

"A majority of the resident members of the University Pitt Club voted to elect female members. The club looks forward to welcoming its first female members," the club said in a statement.

Originally intended as a political club, the Pitt Club was named after the 18th-century British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, an alumnus of Pembroke College at the university.

The club is more famous for its parties, although they are believed to be less raucous than those at Oxford University's similar Bullingdon Club.

Notable members and former members of the Pitt Club include King Edward VII and King George V, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, Olympic gold-medalist David Cecil and the economist John Maynard Keynes.

The report said it had seen an email sent to alumni members of the club earlier this week, which said that while "the vote is not extended to alumni members, we would greatly appreciate any thoughts that you might have on the issue.

"These thoughts and feelings will be presented to the membership as part of the discussion (on November 7) which will precede the vote." -- PTI

A five-member team led by a senior home ministry official today visited various border villages along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district to assess the damages caused by cross-border shelling by Pakistan, officials said.

The team, led by Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry Rina Mitra, comprises Joint Secretary (Internal Security) Gyanesh Kumar and Director (Ministry of Home Affairs) R K Swarankar. It reviewed the problems faced by people living in the border areas, public demands and issues for a broad redressal planning, the officials said.

They said the delegation assessed losses in various villages and held detailed discussions with the people in Jhangar village, which was among the worst hit.

MLA Nowshera Ravinder Raina and MLC Surinder Choudhary along with local public deputations briefed the visiting team about the problems faced by public and demands, they said.

The Special Secretary inspected the recently constructed bunkers in villages Langar and Dnaka.

The officials said the people put forward various demands, including relief in case of natural calamities, crop compensation, special development package, reservation for youth in employment and education, allotment of plots, construction of more bunkers and provision of other essential facilities.

The officials said the visiting team also inspected two damaged schools that were evacuated in July amid intense shelling and visited forward areas to assess the threat perception and circumstances prevailing along the LoC.

Principal Secretary (Home Department) R K Goyal, Divisional Commissioner (Jammu) M K Bhandari and Inspector General of Police (Jammu) S D Singh Jamwal were part of the delegation as representatives of the state government.

Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Deputy Inspector General Deepak Slathia, Senior Superintendent of Police Yougal Manhas and officers of district, sub-divisional administration and police also accompanied the team.

The team visited Samba, RS Pura and Kathua areas of Jammu yesterday. -- PTI

19:06 Now, Haryana govt wants ban on 'Padmavati'

Haryana Health minister Anil Vij today said the state government will approach the censor board to seek a ban on the upcoming Bollywood movie Padmavati.

The minister said that he would not allow the screening of the movie in the state.

Vij claimed that the film producer of Padmavati, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, had allegedly wrongly presented the historical facts in the movie to "defame" the image of Rani Padmavati which had hurt the sentiments of lakhs of people.

"Rani Padmavati is the symbol of Indian women' pride. The character assassination of Padmavati will not be tolerated at any level," he said.

The minister said that the state government would approach the Central Board of Film Certification, demanding a ban on the film throughout the country.

The Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed film Padmavati is slated to release on December 1. -- PTI

Karan Johar said today that he was not "embarrassed" but "proud" of his sexuality, asserting that it's his orientation which defines him.

The filmmaker, who for the first time addressed the curiosity around his sexuality in his biography "An Unsuitable Boy", today said the book was his final answer to the world and he will not get into any further details.

"I have never expressed my sexual orientation in those many words. I have insinuated a lot and have said what I wanted to say in my book.

"I will never say that I am embarrassed or ashamed to say it. I am very proud of who I am and who I will always be. Whatever I have written in the book is the truth and I stand by every word of it," Johar said at Sahitya Aaj Tak.

The filmmaker said people criticised him for not being direct about his orientation in the book and he still gets trolled on social media for it.

"There were two kinds of criticism. First, I was asked why I didn't make it clear what I wanted to say. And my reply to that is, 'it's my right'. Another criticism I faced was that people asked me why I am like this. There are so many people out there who don't understand the concept of personal orientation.

"Every morning I get up, I face a lot of trolling on Twitter, Instagram and on other platforms. If I post a picture with a pout then people make filthy comments," he said.

Johar added that the comments used to make him angry initially but now he feels "amused and just smile when people make such comments".

"Whatever I am, I'm proud of myself... The orientation I have, is who I am," he said.

Talking about his films, the director said he only creates the kind of cinema he understands well.

"The magic of big screen is different. People have often said that I don't make real films. I say to them that I don't know how to make real films. I know how to sell big dreams of big screen. That's what I know and understand," he said. -- PTI

United States President Donald Trump today said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin seems "very insulted" by the persistent allegations of Russian interference in the US election.

"He (Putin) said he didn't meddle. He said he didn't meddle. I asked him again," Trump said.

"You can only ask so many times... he said he absolutely did not meddle in our election," the US president told reporters on Air Force One as he headed to Hanoi.

Trump said that he believed Putin was "very insulted by it, which is not a good thing for our country".

The US president said he had had "two or three" brief conversations with his Russian counterpart at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang.

Image: US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam. Photograph: Jorge Silva/Reuters

Twitter has more than doubled its count for users' display names from 20 to 50 characters, days after the social media giant ended the iconic 140-character tweet limit.

The San Francisco-based company announced yesterday that a user can add a display name of up to 50 characters, up from the original 20 characters.

The change comes as a relief to many users who have bigger names or want to add colour to their names.

"Starting today, your Twitter display name can be up to 50 characters in length! Go ahead, add that middle name or even a few more emojis," said Twitter.

The company announced last week that it was rolling out a 280-character tweet limit for nearly all its users, including for those who tweet in Hindi, abandoning its famous 140-character limit.

"We're expanding the character limit! We want it to be easier and faster for everyone to express themselves," Twitter said.

The move was both appreciated and mocked by the users.

"The best bit about 280 is never having to shorten whilst, amidst, and amongst ever again," posted one user.

"I've always thought that 140 characters were too little to effectively convey ones thoughts," another user wrote.

"The whole point of Twitter was its brevity #280characters," a Twitterati wrote.

"Already massively bored by everyone's mind-numbing 280 character tweets. This is a terrible mistake," another user said. -- PTI

A Doha-bound Qatar Airways aircraft from Thiruvananthapuram made an emergency landing this morning at the Goa airport after its commander fell sick mid-air, a senior official said.

The plane landed at the Goa airport at 7 AM after getting the necessary clearances, said Airport Director BCH Negi.

"We received a message that the pilot on a Qatar Airways aircraft was feeling uneasy and that the plane sought permission for an emergency landing, which was granted after following all the procedures," he added.

The plane took off for Doha in the afternoon, Negi said.

A response from Qatar Airways was awaited. -- PTI

The Congress today claimed credit for the GST Council's decision to cut tax rates on 178 items of daily use, saying the government was forced to do so due to the pressure mounted by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and the "huge response" his campaign had been receiving in poll-bound Gujarat.

Leading the charge against the government on the goods and services tax, Gandhi said the Congress would continue to fight for a 18-per cent cap on the highest GST slab instead of the current 28 per cent, and vowed that the party would get the job done "if the ruling BJP doesn't".

He also reiterated that India needed a simple tax and not the "Gabbar Singh Tax" as he had been describing the tax regime to target the Modi government.

Congress general secretary in-charge of Gujarat, Ashok Gehlot told PTI that the GST Council yesterday decided to cut the tax rates due to the pressure mounted by Gandhi and the "huge response" he had been receiving in the poll-bound western state.

Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, has been under the BJP's rule for over two decades and the Congress is trying to oust it from power. Congress leaders, particularly Gandhi, have made the GST and demonetisation as key issues of their campaign.

Gehlot claimed the GST Council brought about the changes in tax rates with an eye on votes in Gujarat. The state goes to poll in two phases on December 9 and December 14.

"It (BJP) is rankled by trepidation that Gujarat will slip off its hands. That's why the rates were cut. The Council did so because of the pressure Rahulji mounted and response his yatras in the state are getting," he said.

Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala termed the GST Council's move "installment-based tinkering" which he said underscored the "chaos within and adhocism" of the BJP-led central government.

Accusing Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the government of "paying lip service and creating havoc", Surjewala said the Congress was determined to make the tax regime "flawless".

"India does not need a Gabbar Singh Tax. We want a true GST. Congress, along with the people of India, fought for and ensured reduction in items in 28% bracket. Next we will fight for one rate, with a cap at 18%. If BJP doesn't do it, Congress will," Gandhi tweeted.

Surjewala demanded that petroleum products, real estate and electricity be brought under the ambit of the GST. He also called for reducing "compliance burden" of the GST and added that the textile sector was faced with deep stress due to "distorted duty structure".

"Adjournment and deferment, rather than decision, appear to be the 'way forward' for this government.

"None of these challenges have been addressed by the council. This is owing to the sheer ineptitude and amateurish handling of the biggest tax reform by BJP the government," he added.

Congress leader Pawan Khera said that the credit should be given to Gandhi.

"There was a pressure from Rahul Gandhi. The Gabbar Singh Tax went so much viral in Gujarat that the BJP did not know how to deal with it," Khera said. -- PTI

15:52 No odd-even from Monday: Delhi govt

Hours after the National Green Tribunal gave its nod for the implementation of the odd-even plan with certain riders, now the Delhi government has called off the scheme which was supposed to come into force from November 13 to November 17 in the national capital.

"In light of the two conditions by the NGT on 2-wheelers and women drivers, at the moment we are calling it off (the odd-even scheme)," Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot said.

"We will go back to the NGT on Monday, file a review petition for them to reconsider their decision regarding the two," he added.

Earlier in the morning, the green court had directed the Delhi government not to exempt two-wheelers, women drivers and government cars from the scheme.

The car-rationing scheme, which was enforced twice in the national capital in 2016, will be in place between November 13 and 17 from 8 am to 8 pm.

Under the policy, private vehicles are allowed to run based on the last number of their licence plates.

Odd-numbered cars are allowed to run on odd dates while even-numbered cars can only run on even dates.

Delhi woke up to a hazy morning today, with the weather office predicting light rainfall later in the day, which may clear the smog enveloping the national capital.

A dense blanket of smog enveloped Delhi this week, prompting authorities to announce the "odd-even" rationing of cars from November 13 for five days, closure of schools till tomorrow and a four-fold hike in parking fee for vehicles.

According to the Met department, humidity levels in the national capital shot up to 91 per cent this morning.

"The minimum temperature was recorded at 12.6 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal," an official of the department said.

Visibility was recorded at 800 metres at 5.30 AM, which dropped further to 500 metres by 8.30 AM.

The maximum temperature is expected to settle at 30 degrees Celsius, the official said. -- PTI

Netflix has decided to pull the plug on a new Louis C K stand up special after reports surfaced alleging the comedian engaged in sexual misconduct with multiple women during his career.

C K had signed a deal to produce two new stand up specials for the streaming service, the first of which debuted in April, reported Deadline.

"The allegations made by several women in The New York Times about Louis C K's behaviour are disturbing. Louis's unprofessional and inappropriate behaviour with female colleagues has led us to decide not to produce a second stand up special, as had been planned," a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement.

The New York Times published a piece alleging that C K had repeatedly asked women he encountered in work-related environments to watch him masturbate.

This is the latest fallout post the expose. HBO had earlier announced that C K would no longer be performing on the charity event "Night of Too Many Stars," and that his past projects would be removed from HBO On Demand services. -- PTI

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today said that structural changes are needed in the goods and services tax.

Speaking at a rally in Gandhinagar, Raul Gandhi said, "It's a good thing that the Bharatiya Janata Party government has slashed the tax rate from 28 percent to 18 percent for many products due to the pressure made by the Congress and the people of India."

He further said, "We are still not happy and won't stop here. India doesn't want five different types of taxes, we want one. There's a need to make structural changes in the GST.

Earlier on Wednesday, while interacting with traders in Gujarat's Surat, the Congress vice-president said that his party will reassess and restructure the GST, if they come to power at the Centre in the 2019 general elections.

"We were against the implementation of GST because the government's version was not right. Eventually when Modi ji realised it was a mistake, he said the Congress was also a part of it," Rahul said.

He further said that ruling government is making the uniform tax reform "complex".

"The GST is one tax reform not five tax. The centre does not know the meaning of GST. They made the GST complex. We asked them for a simple version," he said. -- ANI

13:22 Amul boards Indian Railways via Twitter

Nearly a month after dairy giant Amul approached the Indian Railways on its official Twitter handle with a business proposition to use refrigerated parcel vans to transport butter across India, the first shipment is on its way.

"First refrigerator van with 17 MT #Amul butter being flagged off from Palanpur to Delhi with our milk train. Thanks @RailMinIndia for the prompt action," Amul tweeted today.

On September 23, Amul had reached out to the railway ministry on its Twitter handle for advice on the proposition, saying the dairy major was "interested in using refrigerated parcel vans to transport Amul butter across India."

The railways promptly responded on the micro-blogging site, using a popular tag line of the company. "IR will be utterly butterly delighted to get the taste of India to every Indian," the ministry's handle @RailMinIndia tweeted.

The national transporter uses Twitter extensively to address passenger woes. But that was perhaps the first time it received a business proposition on the popular social site.

The Indian Railways had introduced the refrigerated van service a few years ago with an aim to facilitate the transportation of perishable commodities such as fruits, vegetables, frozen meats/poultry and chocolates.

However, these services existed only on specific routes.

Photograph: @Amul_Coop/Twitter

The National Green Tribunal today cleared path for implementing odd-even scheme in Delhi to counter pollution.

The NGT directed that the scheme must be implemented in Delhi NCR as and when PM 10 crosses 300 level and PM 2.5 crosses 500

However, the green court asked the city government not to exempt two-wheelers, women drivers, and government cars from the scheme.

The NGT exempted e-CNG buses, ambulances, fire brigade trucks, vehicles carrying solid waste from the odd-even plan.

The National Green Tribune today questioned the Delhi government over implementation of odd-even scheme.

Asking tough questions, the green body asked the Aam Aadmi Party-led government,"Why didn't you introduce odd-even scheme earlier when the air quality was worse?"

The NGT asked the Delhi government to show the letter on basis of which this decision was taken, and whether the LG's approval was taken for the same.

The NGT also asked the city government about reasons behind exemptions and the impact of pollution emanating from two wheelers.

While announcing the car-rationing scheme -- starting from November 13 to 17 from 8 am to 8 pm -- the Delhi government had exempted women drivers, two-wheelers and vehicles carrying children in school uniforms, besides VVIPs from the scheme under which cars bearing registration numbers ending with odd digits are allowed to ply on odd dates while those ending with even digits run on even dates.

The court will today decide if the Delhi government's odd-even plan will be implemented in the national capital from next week.

The fourth leg of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's Navsarjan Yatra begins today.

As part of the yatra, he will travel from Gandhinagar to Banaskantha on Saturday.

He visited the Akshardham temple in the morning before starting the yatra.

Addressing people in Chiloda, Gandhinagar, Rahul said the Congress and people of India put pressure on the Bharatiya Janata Party and they had to lower GST on many items from 28 per cent to 18 per cent.

He also said that note ban and GST caused losses to people and the prime minister is harming the economy. -- ANI

Unidentified assailants allegedly pelted stones at the house of a woman yoga teacher in the Hatia area in Ranchi, following which security was increased at her residence, an official said.

Two days ago, Rafia Naaz was allegedly threatened by members of her community after she performed yoga.

She had informed the Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) about it, Deputy SP Vikas Chandra Srivastav said.

Following her meeting with the SSP, the police had provided security to her. But after she gave an interview to a TV channel on Friday, some people pelted stones at her house, the police officer said.

Two quick response teams have been stationed near Naaz's house, Srivastav said, adding that senior police personnel have assured security to the teacher and her family.

The police is investigating the matter, he said. -- PTI

Image for representation only.

Income tax raids at offices of Jaya TV and Tamil newspaper Dr Namadhu MGR continue for the third day in alleged tax evasion matter.

The raids are being conducted at 40 locations, including the residences of managing director Vivek Jayaraman and his sister Krishna Priya.

Earlier, Jaya TV premises in Chennai and deposed All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary T T V Dinakaran's farm house were searched as part of 'Operation Clean Money'.

Dinakaran condemned the searches undertaken by the Income Tax department mostly in Tamil Nadu as a conspiracy and targeted the Centre. -- ANI

Photograph: R Senthilkumar/PTI Photo

Residents of Delhi today said the smog situation is a little better now, though air quality index in several areas continued to be in 'hazardous' category.

Saturday also brought a smoggy morning for the national capital.

Residents at the Rajpath area said the situation was better than the past four days but long-term solutions must be found.

Meanwhile, 64 trains were delayed, 14 rescheduled and two cancelled due to smog/fog conditions in Delhi.

In terms of Air Quality Index, Delhi's Mandir Marg with AQI 326, Anand Vihar at 430, Siri Fort at 316, Dwarka at 327, and Shadipur at 331 fell in the 'hazardous' category.

Following a directive by Delhi's Environment Minister Imran Hussain, the Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited on Friday has been assigned to settle down particulate matter (PM) in the national capital region through aerial sprinkling in Delhi.

This measure has been taken up due to the rising levels of air pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas that has hit 70 times the World Health Organisation's safe limit.

The Ministry of Food and Supplies, Environment and Forest, Election in a letter, addressed the possibility of carrying out the exercise to sprinkle water aerially through helicopters to settle the PM in Delhi.

Meanwhile in Haryana, Vikas Sadan Gurugram had AQI 330 in 'Hazardous' category, while Sector16A Faridabad with AQI 204 fell in 'Very Unhealthy' category. -- ANI

IMAGE: Smog at Rajpath area in New Delhi on Saturday morning. Photograph: ANI

A candid confession by Madhya Pradesh minister Om Prakash Dhurve that he did not understand the goods and services tax left the BJP red-faced as it argued that he is only a minister and not a chartered accountant.

According to Dhurve, even big CAs are not able to understand the GST leave aside traders and people like him.

He made the remarks during an address to a gathering of BJP workers organised to mark anti-black money Day at Umaria town on November 8, the first anniversary of demonetisation.

A video of his speech has gone viral on social media.

"The results (of GST) would come after some time... there are problems as of now. What is GST, I am not able to understand myself... (Hence) I will not speak on this issue, let the experts speak," Dhurve told the gathering.

"Even big CAs are not able to understand. What it is.... even traders are not able to understand," he added.

The BJP, however, tried to defend him stating that Dhurve is right in saying that people would gradually understand the new taxation system.

"GST is a new tax regime. He (Dhurve) is a minister and not a CA. So, what he was saying is that people would gradually understand about this new tax system," state BJP chief Nandkumar Singh Chauhan said.

Dhurve's statement gave an opportunity to the opposition Congress to slam the BJP-led NDA government as it said that the GST is complex and even the Centre is unable to understand it. -- PTI

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