LIVE! 'Yellow vests' turn out for fifth weekend of protests in France

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Sat, 15 December 2018

'Yellow vests' turn out for fifth weekend of protests in France

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21:03 'Yellow vests' turn out for fifth weekend of protests in France

Crowds of "gilets jaunes" or "yellow vest" protesters gathered Saturday in Paris for a fifth consecutive weekend of demonstrations, despite concessions this week by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Some 69,000 police officers have been deployed across the country in anticipation of the protests, including 8,000 in the capital, according to France's Interior Ministry.

"We expect less people to show up, but we expect the individuals to be more determined," junior Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Friday evening.

Several thousand "gilets jaunes" protesters could be seen on the streets of Paris on Saturday morning, according to a spokesman for the Paris police -- a smaller number than the previous week. Police deployed tear gas at one point.

So far, 46 people have been taken into custody and about 40 more brought in for questioning in connection with the "yellow vest" protests, the spokesman said, many fewer than at the same point last week. The protests are named after the yellow high-visibility jackets French motorists must carry in their vehicles.

Donald Trump said on Saturday that his interior secretary will be leaving at the end of the year -- the latest in a series of high-profile departures from the US president's turnover-plagued administration.

"Secretary of the Interior @RyanZinke will be leaving the Administration at the end of the year after having served for a period of almost two years," Trump wrote on Twitter, adding that a replacement would be announced next week.

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday said it would challenge in the Supreme Court the NGT order setting aside the closure of the Vedanta Ltd's Sterlite Copper plant in Tuticorin on pollution grounds in the wake of protests by locals.

The opposition parties hit out at the state government, holding it responsible for the development with the DMK alleging that the 'negligent' attitude of the Palaniswami ministry resulted in the 'embarrassment'.

The Vedanta group said it would take all steps required to restart the unit as per the guidelines of the tribunal and that the company would continue to adopt "best practices followed globally" in its operation.

The National Green Tribunal Saturday set aside the order of the state government to permanently close the Sterlite Copper plant, holding that it was "non-sustainable" and "unjustified".

Allowing an appeal by Sterlite, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson A K Goel asked the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to pass a fresh order for renewal of consent and authorisation to handle hazardous substances, subject to appropriate conditions for protection of the environment in

accordance with law within three weeks from Saturday.

The state government had on May 28 ordered the permanent closure of the factory days after violent protests by the locals against the Sterlite led to death of 13 people in police firing.

In a terse reaction to the NGT verdict, Palaniswami told reporters in Salem that "the Tamil Nadu government will appeal against this order in the Supreme Court".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the Congress party, saying national security and defence sector were either a punching bag or a funding source for it.

Modi's attack on the opposition party came even as the Congress accused the government of "misleading" the Supreme court by presenting wrong information about the CAG report on the Rafale deal and demanded that the government apologise for it.

The Congress has also said the Supreme Court, which gave the government relief in the Rafale jet case, has not gone into the pricing and technical aspects of the aircraft and it is only a joint parliamentary committee that can probe whether there was any irregularity in the deal.

Targeting the main opposition party in an interaction with BJP workers from Tamil Nadu through video conference from New Delhi, Modi alleged that the (Congress) leaders call the army chief names and mock at the (2016) surgical strike on the one hand.

"On the other hand, they have looted the defence sector from the jeep scam back in the 1940s and 50s to Bofors in the 80s, the AgustaWestland and submarine scam, among many others," he said.

"All they see is the way to make money even if it means the morale of our forces is diminished.

Sadly, for the Congress, national security and the defence sector are either a punching bag or a funding source," he said.

Modi said the country was proud of the forces and have faith in them and the government has ensured operational freedom for them to deal with "those who are our harming the country."

-- PTI

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan's fledgling outfit, Makkal Needhi Maiyyam, will be joining the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Congress led front in Tamil Nadu.

Kamal's entry into the front will be signed and sealed at the unveiling of former DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi's statue in Chennai tomorrow.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be among those attending the event.

According to sources, Kamal Haasan's party will be allotted two Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections.

The Delhi high court is likely to pronounce on Monday its verdict on the appeals challenging a trial court's judgment in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case in which Congress leader Sajjan Kumar was acquitted.

A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel had on October 29 concluded hearing arguments on the appeals filed by the CBI, riots victims and the convicts, and reserved the judgment.

Former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, retired naval officer Captain Bhagmal, Girdhari Lal and two others were held guilty in the case relating to the murder of five members of a family in Raj Nagar area of Delhi Cantonment on November 1, 1984 after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

The trial court had acquitted Sajjan Kumar in the case, but awarded life term to Khokhar, Bhagmal and Lal, and a three-year jail term to two others - former MLA Mahender Yadav and Kishan Khokhar.

The convicts had challenged their conviction and sentencing by the trial court in May 2013.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had also filed an appeal, alleging they were engaged in "a planned communal riot" and "religious cleansing". The agency and the victims have also appealed against the acquittal of Kumar.

The high court had on March 29 last year issued show cause notices to 11 accused, including Khokhar and Yadav, in five 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases which were earlier closed. The matter is being heard by another division bench.

The accused, who were acquitted of the charges, were asked as to why should the court not order reinvestigation and retrial against them as they faced allegations of "horrifying crimes against humanity".

-- PTI

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday took a dig at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for saying that the NDA government got the Rafale aircraft deal at a cheaper price, questioning if it was so, why did it not buy seven squadrons instead of two.

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said Jaitley has been maintaining that in the Rafale deal, negotiated by the NDA government, the price of the aircraft was cheaper by 9 per cent or 20 per cent.

"If so, why did the government buy only 36 aircraft and not 126 aircraft," he asked.

The former finance and home minister said the Indian Air Force has been maintaining that its fighter aircraft strength is depleted and it needs at least 7 squadrons (126 aircraft).

"Then, why did the government buy only 2 squadrons (36 aircraft)," he questioned.

Chidambaram said the aircraft maker was willing to sell 126 aircraft and according to the finance minister the price is cheaper.

"Then, why buy only 36 aircraft? Will someone please solve this mystery?

"By buying only 36 aircraft when 126 aircraft are on offer, the government has gravely compromised national security," he said.

In a relief to the Modi government, the Supreme Court Friday dismissed the pleas challenging the deal between India and France for purchase of 36 Rafale jets, saying there was no reason to "really doubt the decision making process" warranting setting aside of the contract.

-- PTI

One person was arrested for his alleged involvement in operating an illegal coal mine in the state's East Jaintia Hills district where 13 miners have been trapped and feared dead due to flooding, the police said Saturday.

The accused was arrested from his home in Norman Village in the same district on Friday night, they said.

"We have arrested Krip Chulet of Norman village one of the accused persons involved in illegal mining at Ksan area of Lumthari village," said the Superintendent of Police of East Jaintia Hills district, Sylvester Nongtynger.

Krip was wanted by the police for causing death due to negligence and various sections of the Prevention of Damages to Public Property Act and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, the SP said.

Krip was involved in hiring labourers and overseeing the work and sending them down the 370 ft vertical shaft, a police officer said, adding that the mine was not registered and locals claimed that it had several owners.

James Sukhlain, the prime accused and suspected to be the owner of the illegal coal mine is on the run, the police officer said. His home in Langthari village was raided Friday night.

Meanwhile, efforts to rescue the trapped miners were on even as there was little signs of hope that the water level would subside very soon.

A similar incident took place in western South Garo Hills district in 2012 and the bodies of 14 miners were never recovered.

-- PTI

Out of the 199 newly elected MLAs for the 15th Rajasthan Assembly, 158 are crorepatis compared to 145 MLAs in the 2013 assembly elections, says a report.

A total of 82 out of 99 MLAs from the Congress, 58 of 73 MLAs from the BJP, 11 of 13 Independent MLAs and five of six BSP MLAs have declared their assets worth over Rs 1 crore, as per the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report.

Among the richest MLAs who have declared their total assets in IT returns are Congress leaders Parasram Mordia (172 crore) and Udai Lal Anjana (107crore), and Ramkesh Meena (39 crore), an Independent.

The candidates elected having fewer assets include youngest MLA Rajkumar Roat, Mukesh Kumar Bhakar and Ramniwas Gawriya.

As per the report, 59 MLAs have declared their educational qualification to be between 5th pass and 12th pass while 129 MLAs have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above. There are seven MLAs who have declared themselves to be just literate.

Out of 199 MLAs, 23 are women as against 28 from the same gender in the 2013 state polls.

-- PTI

The Congress has invited leaders from across the political spectrum for the swearing-in ceremony of party stalwart Kamal Nath taking charge as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh on December 17.

Nath, a nine-time MP from Chhindwara seat and currently president of state Congress unit, will take oath at a grand function to be held at Jamboree Maidan in BHEL area here instead of Lal Parade Ground as announced earlier.

He had told reporters Friday that the swearing-in ceremony would take place at Lal Parade Ground around 1.30 pm.

According to sources in Congress, the change of venue is apparently aimed at accommodating a huge crowd the party is expecting for the ceremony.

Notably, Jambooree Maidan is the venue where Nath's predecessor Shivraj Singh Chouhan of the BJP had taken oath with much fanfare in 2008 and 2013.

Nath will become the first chief minister of a Congress government in the central Indian state after a gap of 15 years.

Digvijaya Singh was the last chief minister of Congress in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP snatched power from the grand old party in 2003 and went on to retain it till its narrow defeat on December 11.

According to Congress sources, apart from UPA chairpreson Sonia Gandhi and party president Rahul Gandhi, Nath has invited West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, BSP chief Mayawati and SP president Akhilesh Yadav for the event. Besides, chief ministers of all Congress-ruled states are being invited, they said.

-- PTI

The Centre on Saturday filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking correction in a paragraph in its judgment on Rafale fighter jet deal in which a reference has been made about the Comptroller and Auditor General report and Parliament's Public Accounts Committee.

A law officer said that the application has been filed to convey to the court that there has been some misinterpretation on the issue of the documents placed in a sealed cover relating to the CAG and PAC.

In the judgment on Friday, the apex court had noted that the pricing details have been shared with CAG, and the report of the CAG has been examined by the PAC.

The issue of CAG and PAC was mentioned in para 25 of the judgement of the top court which had held that there were no irregularities in the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from France.

The judgment had said that the material placed before it shows that the Centre did not disclose in Parliament the pricing details of the Rafale fighter jet, but revealed it to the Comptroller and Auditor General.

After the SC verdict on Friday, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who chairs the PAC, had said no such report had come to him.

-- PTI

So, the matter of the Chhattisgarh CM seems to have been resolved, but we still don't know who wears the crown.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has just tweeted this picture (image alongside) with the four contenders for the CM's post -- Anurag Singh Deo, Bhupesh Baghel, TS Baba, Charan Das Mahant and Tamradhwaj Sahu -- with the words, "No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if youre playing a solo game, youll always lose out to a team."

The Congress swept the polls pulling down the BJP regime of 15 years, bagging 68 seats while BJP was reduced to 15 seats and former chief minister Ajit Jogi-led alliance won 7 seats in the 90-member assembly. After announcing the name of the CM, the high command will also have to pick 12 ministers for the Chhattisgarh cabinet.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has alleged that Congress president Rahul Gandhi "hatched a conspiracy" and opposed the Rafale jet deal with France to demean India's position in the world.

Deb said the Supreme Court verdict, dismissing four petitions challenging the deal, proved that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre is an accountable, enterprising and welfare government.

"Congress president Rahul Gandhi hatched a conspiracy to demean India's proud position in the world... Congress had a stable government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for 10 years. Why they failed to finalise the Rafale agreement? Who were they talking to? Why were they trying to demoralise our soldiers? Who instigated them to do this?"

Deb said Gandhi should seek an apology from people for raising "baseless" questions.

-- PTI

The CBI on Saturday urged a Delhi court to grant it further custody of Christian Michel, alleged middleman charge-sheeted and arrested in the graft-tainted AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, for five more days.

The 57-year-old British national was produced before Special Judge Arvind Kumar. The probe agency told the judge he needs to be confronted with various documents in the case.

The court is likely to pronounce an order on his further custody shortly.

Miche was arrested in the UAE and extradited to India on December 4.

The next day, he was produced before the court which allowed his five-day custodial interrogation by the CBI which was later extended to five more days.

Michel is one of the three middlemen being probed in the case, besides Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa, by the ED and the CBI. Both the agencies notified an Interpol red corner notice against him after the court issued a non-bailable warrant against him.

The CBI has alleged there was an estimated loss of Euro 398.21 million (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer in the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010 for the supply of VVIP choppers worth Euro 556.262 million.

The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party on Saturday received a major setback with all its members in the bicameral legislature of Bihar declaring that they were still with the NDA as they accused party president Upendra Kushwaha of pursuing personal interests in announcing a break up with the coalition.

Both the RLSP MLAs-- Sudhanshu Shekhar and Lalan Paswan -- and its lone MLC-Sanjiv Singh Shyam - made a statement to this effect at a joint press conference.

They also pitched for a ministerial berth for Shekhar a first-term MLA and the youngest among the three.

"We will also approach the Election Commission with the claim that we represent the real RLSP and we enjoy the support of most workers and office-bearers in the party," Shyam said making it clear that the RLSP was heading towards a split.

RLSP which fought the 2014 general election as well the 2015 state polls as a NDA constituent has altogether three MPs, including Kushwaha, two MLAs and One MLC in Bihar.

While the three legislators have announced their separation from Kushwaha, among the two other Lok Sabha members--Arun Kumar from Jehanabad and Ram Kumar Sharma from Sitamarhi--the former has been charting an independent course for past two years.

Sharma, who initially made statements in favour of NDA and Nitish Kumar later changed his stance and was seen with Kushwaha when he had announced his resignation from the cabinet and also severing ties with the NDA in Delhi.

"We had been stating since long that we were in favour of the RLSP remaining in the NDA but Kushwaha, who was more interested in his personal gains, paid no heed," Shyam said.

-- PTI

15:44

CBI seeks extension of Christian Michel's custody by five more days in VVIP chopper case.

15:37 PM Modi to visit Rae Bareli tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit on Sunday Rae Bareli, his first trip to the traditional seat of the Gandhi family.

He will also visit Allahabad to review preparations for the Kumbh Mela to be held in the city next year.

Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party media co-incharge Navin Srivastava said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Rae Bareli and then he will be in Allahabad."

Modi will hold a public meeting and flag off the Humsafar Express on Sunday, an official said.

According to district officials, the prime minister will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate projects worth Rs 1,100 crore during the visit.

On Thursday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited Rae Bareli to oversee preparations for the visit. He also took a tour of the Rail Coach Factory in the district.

The prime minister's visit is being seen as a strategy of the BJP to pin the Congress leadership in their respective constituencies in the 2019 general election. Rae Bareli is represented in the Lok Sabha by former Congress chief and UPA (United Progressive Alliance) chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Modi's visit was planned before the counting of votes polled in the five states was taken up on December 11, following which the Congress party threw out BJP governments in three states - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

-- PTI

A court in Tamil Nadu has revoked the bail granted to Rahul Easwar, president of Ayyappa Dharma Sena. The court has ordered the police to arrest him.

Rahul, who was arrested for protesting at Pamba on October 17 when the Sabarimala temple opened for the first time after the Supreme Court allowed women of all age groups to enter the shrine, was later granted bail.

As per the bail conditions, Rahul had to report at the police station every Saturday. However, he did not appear on December 8.

He was asked to report at Pamba police station. However, after he was stopped at Nilakkal by the cops, he began to report at Pathanamthitta police station. But he failed to turn up at any of the police stations last Saturday.

Rahul was also arrested on October 28 for his alleged provocative statement related to the entry of women into Sabarimala, but was released on bail by a court.

A new lawsuit has been filed against American film producer Harvey Weinstein by an actress who claims that he repeatedly assaulted her.

The woman, identified in the suit only as Jane Doe, stated that he forcibly performed oral sex on her, repeatedly masturbated in front of her, and threatened to harm her career if she objected over the course of more than two years, confirmed Variety.

According to the suit, Weinstein pushed her to the ground during a meeting in his office in 2013. He then removed her underwear and began to perform oral sex, as she started to sob in protest. He then asked, "Do you even want to be an actress?"

Weinstein also bragged about allegedly sleeping with Jennifer Lawrence and said that he was trying to help her and that he was the gateway to her dreams, according to the suit.

In reference to the suit, Lawrence issued a statement denying that they had a sexual relationship.

"My heart breaks for all the women who were victimised by Harvey Weinstein," Lawrence said. "I have never had anything but a professional relationship with him. This is yet another example of the predatory tactics and lies that he engaged in to lure countless women."

-- ANI

The country's green court set aside today the Tamil Nadu state government's order to close Vedanta's copper smelter plant permanently. The National Green Tribunal or NGT directed the Tamil Nadu state pollution regulator to pass a fresh order of renewal of consent for Vedanta's copper smelter within three weeks.

It also directed the company to spend Rs 100 crore within a period of three years for the welfare of people in the area.

The NGT order came months after the Tamil Nadu government ordered the smelter to be shut down over alleged pollution.

Protesters calling for its closure became violent in May and police fired on them, killing 13.

The AIADMK government in the southern state led by Chief Minister E Palaniswami and other parties are against the plant's operation.

There is more than one eligible name for the post of Chhattisgarh chief minister and that is why the process is taking time, said senior Congress leader TS Singh Deo, on Saturday.

As suspense looms over who would be the next chief minister of the state, Deo, one of the CM hopefuls for Chhattisgarh said, "We have more than one eligible name that is why process is taking time, in any case final result came late on 11th so it has just been four days today. BJP which took more than 7-8 days to appoint its recent CMs should not comment on us."

Along with Deo, other contenders for the post are party's state unit chief Bhupesh Baghel, Congress OBC wing's chief Tamradhwaj Singh and former Union minister Chandras Mahant.

On December 11, the Congress party rose to power in the state after thrashing BJP and winning 68 seats.

-- ANI

Six civilians were killed and dozens were injured in firing by security forces during clashes following an encounter in south Kashmir's encounter.

A soldier was killed and three terrorists were shot dead in the encounter that broke out early this morning in Pulwama's Sirnoo village. The terrorists were hiding in an orchard.

A pre-dawn operation was jointly launched by the army, the police and the CRPF after they received specific information about the presence of three local terrorists in an orchard, police sources said.

Abid Hussain, one of the civilians killed, was an MBA graduate who had returned from Indonesia a month ago with his Indonesian wife and three-month-old baby. The other person has been identified as Amir Ahmad.

National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: "Another blood soaked weekend in Kashmir. 6 protestors killed, 1 solider killed in the line of duty. Together with the 3 militants from this mornings encounter thats 10 dead. Reports of many injured at the encounter site. What a horrible day!"

Rail services between Kashmir Valley and Bannihal town in Jammu region too were cancelled due to the tense situation.

Three terrorists and a soldier were killed in an encounter between the ultras and security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, the army said.

The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Sirnoo village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir on Saturday morning after receiving specific intelligence input about the presence of terrorists in the area, an army official said.

The search operation turned into an encounter after the terrorists opened fire on the security personnel.

Three terrorists and a soldier were killed in the gunfight, he said.

The identity and group affiliation of the slain ultras was not known yet.

Massive clashes broke out between youths and the security forces in the area following the encounter.

-- PTI

Putting speculation to rest, the Congress Saturday is likely to announce a chief minister for Chhattisgarh.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi held talks with senior party leaders this morning, including the top contenders in the race. Mallikarjun Kharge, the party's observer for Chhattisgarh, and P L Punia, who is in-charge in the state, are expected to fly to Raipur later, where the announcement may be made.

The four contenders in the race for the CM post are Bhupesh Baghel, T S Singh Deo, Tamradhwaj Sahu, and Charan Das Mahant.

Meanwhile, Congress's newly-elected MLAs in the state will also meet today. The Congress had comfortably secured majority in the Chhattsigarh assembly after winning 68 seats in the 90-member House. The BJP saw a major dent in its vote bank, winning just 15 seats in the assembly.

12:25 Zoramthanga takes oath as Mizoram CM

Mizo National Front leader Zoramthanga takes oath as the chief minister of Mizoram.

12:04

Indian badminton star PV Sindhu reaches final of World Tour Finals with 21-16 25-23 win over Ratchanok Intanon.

11:45 Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as Sri Lanka's PM

Sri Lankas Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned today to end the country's political crisis.

The pro-Rajapaksa member, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, told reporters that Rajapaksa decided on Friday in a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena to resign to allow the president to appoint a new government.

Sri Lanka has had no functioning government for nearly two weeks and is facing the prospect of being unable to pass a budget for next year.

The decision appears to have been hastened by a Supreme Court decision to extend a lower court's suspension of Rajapaksa and his Cabinet.

The top court put off the next hearing until mid-January, when it plans to rule on whether they should hold office after losing two no-confidence votes in parliament.

United States President Donald Trump announced Mick Mulvaney, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as the acting White House Chief of Staff. He will be succeeding John Kelly.

"I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration...." Trump tweeted.

Trump also thanked Kelly for his services to the nation and said that he would be serving in his present capacity until the end of this year.

Ending months of speculation, Trump had announced last week that Kelly would step down from his post at the end of this year.

According to reports, Trump and Kelly have stopped speaking to each other in the recent days.

Ever since Kelly took over the post from his previous role as US Homeland Security secretary in July last year, he reportedly shared a "tense relationship" with Trump.

In the last few months, Kelly's role began to diminish as the US President evaded most of the policies and protocols he had enacted and Kelly was on the verge of being fired several times.

With the Democrats set to take over the House of Representatives in January 2019 following the midterm elections last month, Trump is becoming seriously concerned over the same and has privately said that Kelly is not "politically savvy".

Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters

Will ask PAC to call AG, CAG to know when was CAG report on Rafale tabled in Parl,says Kharge New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI)

A day after the Supreme Court verdict on the Rafale deal, Public Accounts Committee chairman Mallikarjun Kharge said on Saturday he will request all members of the panel to summon the Attorney General and the Comptroller and Auditor General to ask them when was the public auditor's report tabled in Parliament.

The senior Congress leader accused the government of 'misleading' the Supreme Court by presenting wrong facts about the CAG report on the Rafale deal and demanded that the government should apologise for it.

Kharge also said they respect the Supreme Court, but it is not a probe agency and only a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) can investigate the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal.

"I will request the PAC members to call the Attorney General (AG) and the Comptroller and Auditor General to ask them when was the CAG report on the Rafale deal tabled in Parliament," he told reporters.

Kharge also cited the Supreme Court judgment that stated that the CAG report on Rafale pricing had been tabled in Parliament and discussed in the PAC.

"When has the CAG discussed the PAC report. It has not been table so far. Wrong information is being feeded in the Supreme Court, it is a matter of shock...Government should apologise for misleading SC by presenting wrong facts on CAG report before Supreme Court," he said. -- PTI

An IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Lucknow via Delhi was grounded on Saturday after a bomb threat call, airport sources said.

The aircraft was taken to an isolated bay for a secondary ladder point check after a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) found the threat as 'specific', the sources said.

Later, security agencies declared the plane 'safe', they said.

Repeated attempts for IndiGo's reaction on the development did not fructify.

The flight was scheduled to depart at 6.05 am. It was immediately not clear as to how many passengers were on board.

"A woman passenger travelling to Delhi on Go Air flight G8 329 approached an IndiGo check-in counter at T1 and informed that there was a bomb in IndiGo's flight 6E 3612 (operating on Mumbai - Delhi/Lucknow route)," an airport source said.

The woman passenger also showed photographs of a few people and claimed that they were a "threat' to the nation, the source said.

Thereafter, Central Industrial Security Force personnel took her to the airport police station for questioning.

"A BTAC was convened in CISF Assistant Commander's office which declared the threat a specific one,' the source added. -- PTI

Image only for representation.

Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to take oath as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister on Sunday after disputed Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa will resign on Saturday, signalling an end to the nearly two-month power tussle in the island nation.

President Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly agreed to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in the post after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday, Colombo Page reported.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) said that it was decided during the discussion that he will take oath as the Prime Minister at 10 am on Sunday.

The President removed Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister on October 26 and appointed former president Rajapaksa as the Premier, plunging the country into an unprecedented crisis.

Wickremesinghe refused to accept the sacking and challenged it in a court and in the Parliament.

The daily reported that a new Cabinet will be sworn in on Monday.

The Cabinet will consist of 30 members and include six Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians, it said.

Rajapaksa's son on Friday announced that the former strongman will resign on Saturday, after two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the embattled leader's efforts to cling to premiership untenable.

The apex court on Friday refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month.

'To ensure stability of the nation, Former President @PresRajapaksa has decided to resign from the Premiership tomorrow after an address to the nation,' Rajapaksa's son Namal tweeted.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) with former president, SLFP and others will 'now work to form a broader political coalition with President Sirisena', Namal, a lawmaker, added.

The apex court's Friday ruling came a day after it unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by President Sirisena was 'illegal'. -- PTI

An encounter broke out on Saturday between terrorists and security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Sirnoo village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir after receiving specific intelligence input about the presence of terrorists in the area, a police official said.

He said as the forces were conducting searches, the terrorists opened fire on them.

The forces retaliated, leading to an encounter, the official said.

He said the gunfight is going on.

Further details are awaited. -- PTI

Image only for representation.

Australia now recognises west Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday, but a contentious embassy shift from Tel Aviv will not occur until a peace settlement is achieved.

Morrison also committed to recognising the aspirations for a future state of Palestine with east Jerusalem as its capital when the city's status is determined in a peace deal.

The prime minister said it was in Australia's interests to support 'liberal democracy' in the Middle East and took aim at the United Nations he said was a place Israel is 'bullied'. -- Agencies

The Dassault Aviation on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling on the Rafale fighter jet deal, rejecting demands for any probe into the multi-billion dollar contract.

"Dassault Aviation welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court of India rendered today dismissing all petitions filed on the Rafale Contract signed on September 23, 2016," the company said.

The Dassault Aviation has won a Rs 58,000 crore deal to supply 36 Rafale jets to India.

The Congress has been alleging massive corruption in the deal, a claim stoutly rejected by the government.

'Dassault Aviation takes note of the Supreme Court conclusions establishing the absence of any irregularities in the decision making process to purchase 36 Rafale, pricing of Rafale jets and selection of Indian offset partner,' the company said in a statement.

In relief to the Modi government, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the pleas challenging the deal between India and France for procurement of 36 Rafale jets saying there was no occasion to 'really doubt the decision making process' warranting setting aside of the contract.

The apex court rejected the pleas seeking lodging of an FIR and the court-monitored probe alleging irregularities in the Rs 58,000 crore deal, in which both the countries have entered into an inter-governmental agreement (IGA).

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi dealt with 'three broad areas of concern' raised in the petitions -- the decision making process, pricing and the choice of Indian offset partners (IOP) -- and said there was no reason for intervention by the court on the 'sensitive issue' of purchase of 36 jets.

It said the Indian Air Force (IAF) needs advanced fighter jets as the country cannot afford to be 'unprepared' or 'under prepared' in a situation where adversaries have acquired fourth and fifth generation fighter aircraft, 'of which, we have none'. -- PTI

09:04

Encounter underway between Security forces and terrorists in Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir.

More details awaited

08:29 Bulandshahr: Cops making villagers pledge against cow slaughter

Two weeks after clashes erupted in Bulandshahr over alleged cow slaughter, police in Meerut are making villagers take a pledge against slaughtering cows by holding meetings in villages.

Teams of police personnel are approaching villages that are known for incidents of cow-slaughtering and persuading villagers to not indulge in cow slaughter as it is forbidden by law.

The police is even asking villagers to be vigilant and report any such incident.Superintendent of Police (SP) Rural Meerut, Rajesh Kumar, said that the police are informing villagers to not indulge in cow slaughtering as it creates 'law and order' situation.

"Since the income from cow-slaughtering is used to feed the whole family, we will take action against the entire family of the individual who is involved," Kumar added.

In order to keep a tab on incidents of cow-slaughtering, the police has also involved the 'Gram-Pradhan', 'Chowkidar' and 'Lekhpal' to be its eyes and ears and to make villagers aware about the crime.

"We are taking all preventive measures to prevent cow-slaughtering. By holding meetings in the villages we are making sure that any active cow-slaughterer should not remain free," said Kumar.

On December 3, a police officer, Subodh Kumar Singh, and Sumit, who was later named an accused, were killed after clashes erupted in Bulandshahr.

Agitation began after locals allegedly found cattle carcass, and thus demanded all illegal animal slaughterhouses in the area to be shut down.

The district police has released pictures of 18 accused absconding in the Bulandshahr violence case and will attach movable properties of these individuals. -- ANI

A parliamentary panel headed by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has expressed "serious concern" over Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd's "failure" to provide the required number of Tejas aircraft to the Air Force, adversely affecting its combat potential and posing a security threat.

The Public Accounts Committee report on 'Design Development, Manufacture and Induction of Light Combat Aircraft', tabled in Lok Sabha on Friday, said there were huge delays in the development and induction of the supersonic fighter jet.

This resulted in two LCA squadrons not materialising and the IAF having to upgrade several aircraft, including the MiG-BIS, MiG-29, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar aircraft at a cost of Rs 20,037 crore, the report said.

Tejas is an indigenously developed single-engine light combat aircraft. The programme to design, develop and manufacture the LCA was sanctioned by the government in 1983.

The phasing out of MiG-21s had to be revised and the IAF is operating with 35 squadrons as against 42 squadrons sanctioned. The MiG-21 and MiG-27 squadrons would be retired over the next 10 years, the committee, headed by Kharge, observed.

The panel comprised 22 members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including from the Trinamool Congress, th Shiromani Akali Dal, the Biju Janata Dal, the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"The committee is disappointed to note that the failure of HAL/ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency and the ministry of defence to provide the required number of aircraft has adversely affected the combat potential of the IAF resulting in security threat to the country," the panel said.

The report comes at a time the Congress has been sharpening its attack on the government for French company Dassault Aviation overlooking the state-run HAL while choosing an offset partner for making Rafale fighter jets.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had interacted with HAL employees in Bengaluru in October when he accused the Modi government of "destroying" the strategic asset HAL and told them that "Rafale is your right."

The panel observed that the development of the LCA was aimed to arrest the falling number of fighter aircraft due to the "ageing and obsolete" MiG-21 and MiG-27 fleet to maintain the minimum squadron strength of the IAF.

"However, the project was plagued with various technical issues resulting in timelines being extended due to which the government had issued Request for Information under the framework of the Defence Procedure 2016 to global vendors for procurement of other combat aircraft such as the American F-16, Globemaster C17, Russian Sukhoi Su-30 and Su-35, European Typhoon, Swedish Gripen-E, French Rafale etc," it added. -- PTI

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