Poll defeats forced NDA govt to take pro-farmer steps: TRS

Appreciating the pro-farmer measures in the Union Budget, ruling TRS MP B Vinod Kumar today claimed it was electoral defeats that forced the NDA government to do so. "In democracy, it is the people that are ultimately all-powerful. By defeating the BJP in the elections that have taken place since May 2014, they have sent a clear message. "This is what has forced the (Narendra) Modi government to take notice of their persistent demands and is the real reason why there is a focus on agriculture and rural development," he said in a release. The appreciable initiatives in the Budget include the target of doubling farmers' income in five years, Rs 2.87 lakh crore as grants-in-aid to Panchayats and municipalities, Rs 5,500 crore for crop insurance under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Rs 2.2 lakh crore for infrastructure development, National SC/ST Hub for entrepreneurship development and LPG connection to rural women, Kumar said. "Another welcome decision is to appoint a committee to review the FRBM Act (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management). This is of special importance to the government of Telangana. Being a revenue surplus state, it is seeking an increased borrowing limit ie up to 3.5 per cent of state GDP. "This requires exemptions under the FRBM Act. In this context, it is a welcome decision to review the working of the Act and the committee should take a decision on this at the earliest," he said. The rules and conditions for the implementation of the Budget proposals should be simple and pro-poor for their benefits to flow down to the people, the MP added.

Minority Affairs Min gets Rs 3,827.25 cr in Union Budget

The Union Minority Affairs Ministry has received Rs 3,827.25 crore in the 2016-17 general budget, a rise of Rs 89.25 crore over the previous fiscal. Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptulla called it as a "big leap" and said her ministry will now focus on implementing welfare schemes for the communities more effectively. Presenting the budget today, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley allocated Rs 3,827.25 crore to the Minority Affairs Ministry, of which Rs 3,800 crore has been earmarked under the plan head head and the rest Rs 27.25 crore under the non-plan head. "The schemes for welfare and skill development of minorities such as multi-sectoral development programme and USTAAD shall be implemented effectively," Jaitley said during his speech in Parliament. In its third budget, the current NDA government has allotted Rs 1,245 crore for implementing umbrella schemes for development of minorities including Rs 1,125 crore meant for multi-sectoral development programme (MSDP). The Centre has set aside Rs 1,949 crore for the educational empowerment of six minority communities -- Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Sikhs and Christians. For the purpose of implementing skill development programmes like 'Seekho aur Kamao', Upgrading Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) and 'Nai Manzil' and Integrated Educational and Livelihood Initiative ('New Scheme'), Jaitley has allotted Rs 385 crore. "I am very happy with the budget because we got (nearly) Rs 100 crores extra. I think overall, the budget is very progressive. Budget is development-oriented and focuses on social sector. "I think there is a big leap. We have used 98 per cent money (during 2015-16). I want to revamp the MSDP programme. I want to make it more comprehensive and effective and (ensure) the benefits go to the right people," the Minister said. Heptulla claimed besides the direct allocations, the minorities will also benefit also from other government schemes like those for affordable housing, healthcare and 'Pradhan Mantri Bima Yojana'.

Pakistan's woman filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid has won her second Oscar for her documentary on the honour killings after she bagged her first last year for highlighting the menace of acid attacks. Kudus to her for her bold endeavor to eradicate the inhuman tribal and traditional customs. We need more such efforts to make our societies more tolerant and livable.

Second Oscar for Pak woman filmmaker

Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has won Oscar award for her short documentary on the issue of honour killings in Pakistan. She accepted the Best Documentary Short Subject award for ‘A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness’ during the 88th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Monday. The 37-year-old Pakistani-Canadian claimed her second career Oscar on the film that features case of an 18-year-old Pakistani girl who survived a brutal attack by her father and uncle bent on an "honour killing." In 2012, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won an Oscar for her film "Saving Face" about acid attacks. She became the first Pakistani to triumph at Hollywood’s biggest awards ceremony.

Budget focuses on small tax payers

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday gave relief to small tax payers, nudged the affluent to shell out more while focusing on the rural economy with much higher fiscal outlays, as he presented India's national budget for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha. He also said that people living in rented houses will be eligible for deductions of up to Rs.60,000 now -- up from Rs.24,000. He also said the ceiling of tax rebate for people with income up to Rs.500,000 per annum was being raised to Rs.5,000 from the present Rs.2,000. But for larger tax payers, he said, the income tax surcharge of 12 percent at present was being hiked to 15 percent for incomes exceeding Rs.1 crore per annum. Suitable changes, Jaitley said, will also be made in customs and excise duty rates to push the "Make in India" programme. "Tax evasion will be countered strongly," he warned. Jaitley also said that the fiscal deficit target of 3.9 perecent of GDP for the current fiscal will be met, even as the target for next year has been fixed at 3.5. "Prudence lies in adhering to fiscal targets," he said. But in a major departure from the past, where government expenditure could be demarcated between productive and administrative expenses, the finance minister said the classigication of plan and non-plan will be done away with from 2017-18. The minister began his speech saying that India was a bright spot in the global economy in these difficult times. He later outlined his nine focus areas for this annual budget exercise in which rural development took the top slot. "I am presenting the budget when the global economy is in crisis," Jaitley said in his first set of remarks, adding that India, despite the gloom in the world economy, was turning difficulties into opportunities. He said India's growth has expanded 7.5 percent, despite slowdown in exports, even as inflation had eased, bringing big relief to the general public. He also said foreign exchange reserves were robust. "Indian growth is at an extraordinary high." Jaitley said his budget will look at three pillars in right earnest: A prudent fiscal policy, raising domestic demand and carrying out reforms. He also said that farm, rural sector, infrastructure and social sector will be allotted more money. "Recapitalization of banks also to be done during next fiscal year," he said, as much concern have emerged over the quantum of exposure of Indian scheduled banks in terms of gross non-productive assets, re-cast loans and write-offs, which amounts to Rs.9.5 lakh crore. He said the nine pillars of this year's budget will be: agriculture, social programmes, rural development, education with skill development, infrastructure, financial reforms, policy reforms in terms of ease of doing business, fiscal discipline and tax reforms. "A unified agriculture platform to be dedicated to the nation on the birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Amebdkar," the finance minister said, amid applause from the benches. He said the government had targeted agriculture credit of Rs.8.5 lakh crore in 2015-16, which was being enhanced to Rs.9 lakh crore in the next fiscal. He also said that Rs.19,000 crore will be allocated for rural roads development programme. Overall, Rs.87,765 crore was being allocated for rural development as a whole. At the same time, Rs.35,984 crore was being allocated for agriculture in the next fiscal. This apart, the outlay under the job guarantee programme was being enhanced to Rs.38,500 crore. These enhanced allocations are capable of transforming villages and towns, Jaitley said. He said there was also the need to spread digital literacy in rural areas. In addition, Rs.8,500 crore was being allotted towards rural electrification, targeting 100 percent rural electrification by May 1, 2018. Jaitley also assured that the government intended to double the income of farmers in five years, besides allotting Rs.35,984 crore towards welfare of farmers. The proposals also included universal coverage of cooking gas in the country, with a massive mission towards this aimed at the poor people. In this regard, he said, the government appreciated the 75 lakh middle class and lower middle class families for willingly giving up cooking gas subsidy. On health, he said, a new scheme will provide medical cover up to Rs.1 lakh per family,

Cigarette stocks crash as excise duty raised

Led by ITC, cigarette stocks came under selling pressure, falling by up to 8 per cent, as excise duty on various tobacco products other than beedi was raised by about 10-15 per cent in Budget 2016-2017. Shares of ITC tumbled 7.9 per cent, Godfrey Phillips went down by 5.88 per cent, Golden Tobacco dropped 5.31 per cent and VST Industries shed 2.14 per cent on BSE. ITC was the top loser among the 30-Sensex stocks. Weakness was also seen in the broader market as in a knee-jerk reaction to various tax proposals made by Jaitley in his Budget 2016-17, the stock market benchmark Sensex crashed by 660 points but recovered back to the positive territory later on heavy buying by domestic institutions. "Excise duties on various tobacco products other than beedi have been raised by about 10 to 15 per cent," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Budget speech.

Salman Taseer's killer Mumtaz Qadri hanged in Pakistan

Pakistan today executed former police commando Mumtaz Qadri, who brutally assassinated former liberal Punjab governor Salman Taseer for seeking reforms in the country's controversial blasphemy laws, triggering nation-wide protests by Islamists who called it a "black day". Qadri, who shot Taseer 28 times in 2011 in broad daylight in an upmarket locality of Islamabad for criticising the blasphemy laws, was hanged in Adialia jail of Rawalpindi city at around 4:30 am, officials said. Within hours of the hanging, street protests broke out in several cities by the supporters of Qadri, who considered him as a hero for defending the faith, and had threatened violence if he was executed. Rangers and riot police were deployed outside Qadri's home in Rawalpindi where hundreds of supporters had gathered and also in nearby Islamabad. Activists of Sunni groups, who had given a hero-like status to Qadri, blocked main intersections in Rawalpindi, cutting off the main link with capital Islamabad. Police and paramilitary security personnel were patrolling the roads. A senior police official said that high-alert had been issued in Rawalpindi and rest of Punjab province to tackle any untoward situation. "Security forces were on high alert and extra police were being deployed to clear the roads," a police officials said. After assassinating Taseer in January 2011, Qadri admitted the killing and said he objected to the governor's calls to reform the blasphemy laws. Taseer, who died aged 66, had come out it in support of a Christian woman charged with blasphemy and termed the regulations as "black laws" drawing the ire of extremists. An Anti-Terrorism Court had convicted and condemned Qadri to death in the same year, a ruling also upheld by the Islamabad High Court and the Supreme Court. A review petition of Qadri was also turned down by the top court on December 14 last year, leaving him with the last option of to file a clemency appeal to President Mamnoon Hussain. His mercy appeal was also rejected by the President. Radical religious groups had been demanding that Qadri should be forgiven as he killed a "blasphemer". Sunni Tehreek chief Sarwat Ijaz Qadri condemned the hanging. "It is black day in the history of the country. Those who executed Qadri have only spoiled their chances of success hereafter," he said. The funeral prayer of Qadri will be held tomorrow in Rawalpindi. Blasphemy is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often triggering mob violence. The controversial law was introduced by former military dictator Zia-ul Haq in 1980s and so far hundreds of people have been charged under them.

Kejriwal's car attacked by protesters in Punjab

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's car was today attacked by protesters allegedly belonging to Akali Dal who pelted stones on the vehicle breaking its windshield but the AAP leader escaped unhurt. The Aam Aadmi Party alleged that it was an "orchestrated attack" and that police stood by as Kejriwal's car was targeted with rods and stones. Police said activists belonging to Akali Dal and Danga Peedit Association were protesting against Kejriwal outside the venue where the Delhi Chief Minister was holding a party function here. Due to presence of protesters, the police decided to arrange his exit from the back side of the banquet hall, a police spokesman said. But, the protesters came to know about it. They rushed there and pelted stones, breaking the wind shield of Kejriwal's Innova vehicle. Kejriwal immediately lodged a strong protest with Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Rural, Harcharan Singh Brar, who was present there, telling him that whatever happened was not right. The Delhi Chief Minister then drove away in his car. Kejriwal later said that his car was attacked by sticks and stones and that Akali Dal and Congress were nervous. "My car attacked with sticks and stones in Ludhiana. Front glass pane broken. Badals n congress nervous? They can't break my spirits," the Delhi Chief Minister said on twitter. Kejriwal was in the city on the last day of his five -day tour of Punjab during which he visited various cities including Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Sangrur and Bathinda to reach out to people ahead of 2017 Assembly polls. He was scheduled to visit Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala before returning to Delhi today. The AAP lashed out at the ruling Akali Dal in Punjab over the attack. "In a well orchestrated attack the goons sent by Badals attacked Kejriwal's car with stones & rods as police stood by. "The attackers came within an inch of grievously injuring Kejriwal. It was by only God's grace that he escaped unhurt," party leader Ashish Khetan tweeted. Kejriwal was at Boha village of Ludhiana where two dalit youths Harinder Singh and Jatinder Singh were killed in alleged "fake encounter" by police a couple of years ago. "Terror of Badals is all set to end after one year", Kejriwal told the family of the slain youths.

Smirti claims 'factually incorrect: HCU Teachers

A teachers' forum of University of Hyderabad (UoH) today termed as "factually incorrect" the claims made by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani in the Lok Sabha with regards to suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula. The SC/ST Teachers' Forum & Concerned Faculty, in an open letter to Irani, termed the minister calling Rohith as 'child' nothing but "a patronising attempt to dehumanise Rohith's reality". Rohith was found hanging in a hostel room on January 17 and a suicide note was recovered from the site. "Ms Irani, your constant reference to him (Rohith) as a 'child' is nothing but a patronising attempt to dehumanise his reality. It is also deeply disrespectful to Rohith's mother, whose child he actually is - because she knows how ironic your appropriation of him is, considering your culpability in his death," they alleged. "Not only are your claims factually incorrect but they point to an utter lack of respect and sensitivity for the grieving family, friends, and students," the letter read. During a debate in the Lok Sabha on the controversies surrounding the Hyderabad University and the JNU, Irani had said nobody allowed a doctor near Rohith either to revive him or take him to the hospital. On Irani's claim, the letter said, "You were not there that night, respected Minister. You did not see the grief or the shock, nor were you there to feel the despair. How could you even begin to fathom how desperate students were when they called faculty members and medical doctor of the University's Health Centre as soon as Rohith's body was found hanging by students and security officials?" The letter clarified that as Dr Rajshree, (Duty Doctor, who examined Rohith) has stated, she rushed to the hostel at 7.30 PM and declared Rohit dead at 7.40 PM, and this is all recorded in the case sheet on January 17. "Being at the helm of MHRD, we are sure you must know that the Executive Council's Sub-Committee that took the fatal decision to suspend the (five) Dalit students from hostels and other common spaces, was expressly constituted by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Appa Rao, following five rejoinders from your ministry goading the University to take action against the dalit students," it said. In the letter, the faculty members stated that the entire matter should not be turned into "a fight against students".

Minor raped, killed in Karimnagar

A three-and-half-year old girl, studying at an aganwadi centre, was allegedly raped and murdered in Karimnagar district of Telangana by her neighbour, police said today. The girl's body was found in the house of the accused Venkat Swamy in Damarkuntla village under Kataram police station limits late last night and it was identified today, Sub-Inspector Ramesh said. After the body was recovered, her parents lodged a complaint accusing Swamy of raping and murdering her, he said. Based on the complaint, a case under section 376 (rape) and 302 (murder) of IPC has been registered, the SI said. As per preliminary information, the absconding accused called the girl to his house by offering her chocolates, Ramesh added. Efforts are on to nab the accused and investigations are underway, police said.

Saudi Arabia accuses Russia, Syria of ceasefire violations

Saudi Arabia today accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime and its ally Russia of "ceasefire violations" in Syria. "There are violations to the ceasefire from Russian and (Syrian) regime aircraft," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir told reporters in Riyadh. "We are discussing this with (the 17-nation) Syria Support Group," co-chaired by Russia and the United States, said Jubeir. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that several air strikes hit central and northern Syria today. Warplanes, believed to be either Syrian or Russian, bombed seven villages in the provinces of Aleppo and Hama, the monitor said. A ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington took effect at midnight Friday but the Riyadh-based opposition and Russia have reported several breaches from opposing sides. The ceasefire agreement does not include territory held by the Islamic State jihadist group and Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front, which together control more than half of Syria. Russia, which has waged five months of intense air strikes in support of Assad, said yesterday it had halted bombing in all areas covered by the truce. But it has vowed to keep striking IS and Al-Nusra and other "terrorist groups". It was unclear if today's raids hit areas covered by the truce. But Jubeir said that Russia was targeting Syria's "moderate opposition" groups. UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura was "in contact with the Russians and the Syrian regime on this matter to reach an agreement that would limit or end military operations against the moderate Syrian opposition and focus instead on Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS) and Al-Nusra," said Jubeir. "Things will become clearer in the coming days on whether the regime and Russia are serious or not about the ceasefire," he added. Saudi Arabia is a main supporter of the Syrian rebels battling Assad's regime since 2011.

Rahul, Kejriwal, Yechury among 9 booked for sedition in Hyderabad

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury are among nine persons who have been booked on sedition charges in connection with the JNU row, police said today. An FIR has been registered against Rahul, Kejriwal, Yechury, Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Ajay Maken, CPI leader D Raja, JD(U) Spokesperson KC Tyagi, JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and JNU research scholar Umar Khalid on the order of a court here, based on a complaint filed by lawyer Janardhan Goud. "It is a court-referred matter. Following the court's directive, a case under section 124A of the IPC (sedition) has been registered yesterday against nine persons, including Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Sitaram Yechury, JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and others," Saroornagar Police Station Inspector S Lingaiah said today. The court has posted the matter for hearing on March 4. In his petition, Goud said Rahul and other leaders, despite being aware that Delhi Police had registered a case against Kanhaiya on charge of sedition had visited JNU campus and knowingly supported them and hence it "amounted to sedition". Kanhaiya and Khalid, who have earlier been arrested in Delhi on sedition charge, have also been booked here on the same charge. Goud had filed a complaint in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate here on Thursday, seeking its direction to police for registration of a case against Kanhaiya and Khalid for allegedly raising anti-India and pro-Afzal Guru slogans on JNU campus and others. In his petition, Goud said he has every right to question those who are indulging in "anti-national activities and also those who are encouraging anti-nationals in the name of solidarity for those who are facing criminal charges under section 124(A) of IPC."

Sedition case filed against Rahul Gandhi, Sitaram Yechury, Arvind Kejriwal and six others in connection with the JNU row: Police.

Youth, 2 juveniles held for gangrape of scheduled caste woman

A youth was today arrested and two juveniles taken into custody in connection with the alleged gangrape of a 22-year-old woman, who prepares for police recruitment examination at a coaching class in Karimnagar district of Telangana. The victim, who belongs to scheduled caste, was allegedly gangraped by G Srinivas and a 17-year-old teenager. Another 17-year-old had recorded the act on his mobile phone. "Srinivas and two juveniles were produced before a court. While Srinivas was sent in judicial remand, the two minors were sent to a juvenile home," Huzurabad Sub-Division Deputy Superintendent of Police Ravinder Reddy said. One of the three accused had joined the same coaching class as the girl had, for preparing for competitive examination for police recruitment. The incident had taken place on the outskirts of Veenavanka village in Karimnagar on February 10 when the three youths, the complainant, and her woman friend were returning home after watching a movie. "The trio took the two women to a hillock and it seems one of the women sensed danger and ran away. Two of the youths allegedly raped the victim while the third one shot a video on his cell phone," a senior police officer had said. The victim told her parents about the incident only three days back, after which her relatives beat up the trio on February 24 evening and they were admitted to a hospital in the neighbouring Warangal district. Afterwards, a rape complaint was filed. The accused have also been charged under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Information Technology Act. Police had also registered a case against those who thrashed the three accused.

TDP to seek special status for Andhra Pradesh in Parliament

Telugu Desam Party will press for special category status for Andhra Pradesh in the ongoing Budget session of Parliament, besides seeking due financial package as per the AP Reorganisation Act-2014. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will write a letter to the Centre tomorrow requesting it to amend the Constitution to increase the number of Assembly constituencies from 175 to 225, as per provisions of the Act, Telugu Desam Parliamentary Party (TDPP) leader Y Satyanarayana Chowdary said here. Following a TDPP meeting at the Chief Minister's Office here, the Union MoS for Science and Technology said they have decided to exert pressure on the Centre to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh as per the promise made in Parliament during the bifurcation of the state in 2014. "We have been requesting the Centre for special status for the last two years and the issue is being looked into. We will also seek a special (economic) package to safeguard the interests of the state," he said. On delimitation of Assembly constituencies, Chowdary said it has been incorporated in the AP Reorganisation Act itself. "A Constitutional amendment is required for this and the Centre has asked for a letter from the Chief Minister. Accordingly, he will write a letter by Monday afternoon," the Union Minister said. On setting up a new railway zone at Visakhapatnam, he said a decision in this regard had already been taken but certain procedural issues were being sorted out. "The Chief Minister directed us to strongly follow up the railway zone issue and ensure that it is included in the supplementary demands of railway budget," he added. Naidu chaired the TDPP meeting that was attended by Union Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapati Raju and TDP MPs. The two BJP MPs from the state, K Haribabu and Gokaraju Gangaraju, also attended the meeting as special invitees. State Principal Finance Secretary P V Ramesh briefed the MPs on grants and other financial assistance due from Centre.

Man kills 14 family members, commits suicide in Thane

In a macabre incident, a 35-year-old man allegedly killed 14 of his family members, including his parents, wife and children among whom were two infants, by slitting their throats after sedating them and then committed suicide early today, police said. Seven children, the youngest being his three month-old daughter, six women and the father of the accused, lay dead in a pool of blood. The body of the man, Hasnen Anwar Warekar, was found hanging with a knife in his hand at his family's ground plus one-storey house in Kasarvadawali area here, they said, adding that one of the family members, who survived the gruesome incident, has been admitted to hospital. Thane's Joint Commissioner of Police Ashutosh Dhumbre said Hasnen had called his three sisters and their children from Koparkhairne in Navi Mumbai and Mahapoli near Bhiwandi for a 'get-together', which he used to host frequently. Hasnen, a commerce graduate who used to prepare Income Tax-related documents with a CA firm in Navi Mumbai, is suspected to have offered them drinks laced with sedatives following which he slit their throats. According to police, Hasnen offered prayers at around 3 AM at a mosque near his house. After returning home, he slit the throats of his family members one-by-one and then committed suicide by hanging himself At around 5-5.30 AM, the lone survivor of the incident, Hasnel's 22-year-old sister, Subiya Sojef Burmal, shouted for help from the window of the house, following which the neighbours gathered there and broke-open the window grill and pulled out the injured woman and admitted her to hospital. They also alerted the police. "Hasnen slit the upper part of this sister s throat, she survived the attack and screamed for help. The survivor s in-laws, who were in the neighbouring house, heard her cries and tried opening the door, but it was locked from inside. The in-laws broke open the grill of a window on the ground floor and entered the house. It was then that the police was alerted of the incident," Dhumbre said. The 14 bodies with throats slit were found lying at the ground and first floor and blood was seen everywhere in the house owned by the accused's family where they had been living for the last 10 years, police said. Besides, Hasnen's body was found hanging from the ceiling with a knife dangling in his right hand, they said. Dhumbre said the Hasnen's mobile phone and laptop have been seized to get clues regarding the murders. "Prima facie evidence suggests that the accused bolted all the doors of the house and murdered his family while they were asleep with a knife. The accused then hung himself after killing his family. There were three rooms in the house, while he was in a room with his wife and two daughters on the first floor, his parents and sisters were in separate rooms on the ground floor," Dhumbre said. While property dispute was suspected to be the reason behind the murders, the police officer said at this stage the motive could not be stated with certainty. He said blood samples, viscera and food samples collected from the house will be sent for forensic testing. The bodies, meanwhile, have been sent for post-mortem to Thane Civil Hospital, police said. In a related development, a news channel cameraman covering the incident at Civil Hospital, where the bodies were taken, collapsed and died of heart attack, doctors said.

Twitter launches new campaign to empower women

Taking cue from a study showcasing a prevailing male dominance over both online and offline space, social networking site Twitter recently launched #Positionofstrength campaign to empower women to raise voices against any form of discrimination. The movement, which has been already been launched in Australia and Ireland, seeks to bridge the gender equality gap online in India and "inspire the next generation of women leaders to have an influential voice in society." "We have heard from many women influencers who have used Twitter to drive awareness on gender pay gap, childcare, domestic violence, healthcare and flexible work. With the introduction of #PositionOfStrength, we hope to strengthen the women empowerment movement and encourage women to amplify their voices in a secure and confident manner," says Mahima Kaul,Public Policy Head, Twitter India. The social networking platform has partnered with FICCI Ladies Organisation and Observer Research Foundation to engage more women to find their voices online, communicate safely with confidence and network with other like-minded women and the global community at large. Safety, according to the organisers, lies at the core of the campaign and enables users to steer clear of any form of online abuse. "We have introduced measures to empower our users with tools to mute, block and report abusive behaviour," says Patricia Cartes, Head of Global Trust and Safety Outreach, Twitter. In order to to expand the reach of the programme, a series of round table sessions and workshops with women leaders has been scheduled to be organised throughout the year to discuss how to increase empowerment and safety for women, both online and in the physical world. Meanwhile, Twitter also launched its Safety Center in Hindi to ensure engagement and education of women locally to enable them to use the platform safely and with confidence. "For the first time in Asia, we're pleased to launch Twitter's Safety Center in Hindi, as we are committed to increasing our safety efforts and rolling out this social movement across this important market," says Cartes.

Hillary Clinton wins South Carolina primary

US Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has won the South Carolina primary over rival Bernie Sanders. Drawing overwhelming support from the African-American voters, she has won her first resounding victory of the 2016 campaign. The initial counting suggests that Ms Clinton has secured over 73 per cent votes, while Mr Sanders has won just 26 per cent votes. Earlier, major Television networks CNN, MSNBC and Fox News suggested a large victory for Ms Clinton as soon as voting closed. This win propels her into next week's crucial "Super Tuesday" voting in 11 states on a wave of momentum. The win solidified Clinton's status as the strong front-runner to capture the party's nomination for the 8th November election in her quest to become America's first woman President. Sanders admitted his defeat in a statement last night. The Democratic race now becomes a broader national contest. Eleven states, including six in the South with large minority populations where polls show Clinton with big leads, will vote on Super Tuesday and four more over the next weekend. The former US Secretary of State in a tweet thanked her volunteers and supporters for their supports for the win.

About 50 youths taken into custody for holding bike races at People's Plaza, Necklace road

Protect minorities' US lawmakers write to Modi

Expressing serious concern over violence against religious minorities in India, 34 top American lawmakers have asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take immediate steps to protect their fundamental rights and bring the perpetrators to justice. "We urge your government to take immediate steps to ensure that the fundamental rights of religious minorities are protected and that the perpetrators of violence are held to account," the lawmakers, including eight Senators, said in a letter to the Prime Minister. "Of particular concern is the treatment of India's Christian, Muslim and Sikh communities," said the letter dated February 25, which was released to the press today by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Among others the letter was signed by Senators Roy Blunt, Amy Klobuchar, James Lankford, Al Franken, Tim Scot, Ben Sasse, John Boozman and Steve Daines. The letter was signed by 24 members from the US House of Representatives including Joseph Pits, Keith Ellison, Brad Wenstrup, Jim Costa, Trent Franks, Ted Poe and Mark Walker. "We also urge you to take steps to control the activities of groups, such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and instruct Indian security forces to enforce the rule of law and protect religious minority communities from religiously- motivated harassment and violence," the lawmakers said. "On June 17th, 2014, more than 50 village councils in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh adopted a resolution banning all 'non-Hindu religious propaganda, prayers, and speeches' in their communities," the letter said, adding that the Christian minority community has been dramatically affected. "The ban effectively has criminalised the practice of Christianity for an estimated 300 Christian families in the region one day after a mob, which included members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, seriously injured six Christians in the village of Sirciguda. "Since the ban was implemented, Christians in the Bastar District reportedly have been subjected to physical assaults, denial of government services, extortion, threats of forced expulsion, denial of access to food and water, and pressure to convert to Hinduism," they alleged. Expressing concern over beef ban in India, the lawmakers said this is increasing tensions and encouraging vigilante violence against the Muslim community. They also raised additional concerns about the lack of recognition of Sikhism as a distinct religion, which prevents members of the community from accessing social services and employment and educational preferences available to other religious communities. Congressmen and Senators applauded Prime Minister Modi about his statement on religious freedom and communal harmony, including his promise in February 2014 that his government would "ensure that there is complete freedom of faith and not allow any religious group, belonging to the majority or the minority, to incite hatred against others." "We urge you to turn these words into action by publicly condemning the ban on non-Hindu faiths in the Bastar District of Chhattisgarh, and the violent assaults and other forms of harassment against religious minorities throughout India," the letter said.

Rohit's mother and brother meet Sonia, others

Rohith Vemula's mother and brother today met political leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Sitaram Yechuri and KC Tyagi, seeking their support for enactment of a Rohith Act against caste discrimination in educational institutions. Accompanied by the leaders of Hyderabad university's Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, Vemula's mother Radhika and brother Raja met JD(U) MP KC Tyagi at his residence and sought his help in getting justice to Rohith and support for the Act to end caste discrimination at educational institutes to be named after him. Chairman of the JAC LS Baikai said that they met Sonia Gandhi to extend their thanks for her party's support in the struggle for justice to Rohith and seeking her support for Rohith Act. Rohith's mother and brother raised the demand for enactment of Rohith Act during the ongoing Parliament session to to prevent discrimination and institutional atrocities towards Dalits, tribals and marginalised sections at the educational institutions. Tyagi said that the entire nation is in turmoil after Rohith's death terming his suicide as an example of "injustice" with students of weaker sections at the educational institutions. Accusing HRD minister Smriti Irani of putting pressure on Hyderabad University VC, Tyagi said "Rohith would not have died if he was not expelled from the hostel." "Until Smriti Irani steps down, Rohith Vemula's issue will not die down," Tyagi said adding his party will continue to struggle on the questions raised by Rohith's death. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the family members and friends of Rohith shared details of the matter with him and claimed the "facts" submitted by the students "contradicted" with what Irani stated in the Parliament. "What the Minister presented before Parliament is not based on facts. The students gave me facts, which totally contradict what the Minister said. We had earlier decided that if she has misled the House then she is liable for breach of the privilege. "She is basically member of the Rajya Sabha and misled the Parliament and the country. Even Rajya Sabha will come under the ambit," Yechury said.

No room for sedition in a democratic country: Admiral Ramdas

The slapping of sedition charges on JNU students for holding an event is "ridiculous" and there is no room for any such law in a democratic country, former Navy chief Admiral (retd) Lakshminarayan Ramdas said here today. Ramdas who was addressing the JNU students during a lecture titled "De-militarisation of nationalism", said, "they are all doctored videos. Even if anti-national slogans were raised did anybody verify who shouted them. Booking random students for sedition is ridiculous. There is no room for any such law in a democratic country". Ramdas who visited the campus to express solidarity with the three arrested students -- Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, said, "no nation can be strong just by posing its military might, nation is built of its people". "The security agencies and government should first see if the case is worth filing sedition. The idea of nationalism is not restricted only to the military and its men, in fact it is a much broader term. "Nationalism is a 17th century thing which started in Europe and we are still applying it in the 21st century. Moreover, it is an idea that should be boundary less, not restricted to only a few people," he added. Three days ago, some ex-servicemen including retired colonel G D Bakshi had come to the university to meet the administration including the Vice Chancellor and Registrar and had suggested that an army tank be put up on the campus to instill nationalism in students. To this, the Registrar had responded saying that the administration is mulling over the idea of having a martyr wall and displaying such "nationalism symbols" on campus

Togadia wants death penalty for cow slaughter

Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia today demanded the central government pass laws providing for death penalty for cow slaughter and to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya. "Notwithstanding the pendency of the case (regarding the Ram Temple issue) in the court, the union government should pass a legislation for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya," the International Working President of VHP said. Speaking after inaugurating a religious programme in Vrindavan, Togadia also said the central government should enact a law for punishing cow slaughter with death penalty. He appealed to the Muslim community if they are aware of the elements who involve in cow slaughter they should disclose their names so that innocent people don't get harassed. On the JNU row, the VHP leader said, "the problem came up since no action was taken against anti-national elements in Kashmir. Unless stern action is taken against such elements, the problem may arise in other parts of the country." "Afzal (Guru, the Parliament attack convict) was an anti-national and a traitor and those supporting him should be hanged," he said. On the recent killing of a VHP activist in Agra, he said government should take stringent action against those involved in the attack. He said the 10-day pro-reservation protest by the Jat community in Haryana was a result of wrong economic policies of the government and "unless job opportunities are provided to the youths such demands may come from other sections of the society as well.

MIM leader arrested in Meerut

An AIMIM leader was today arrested here for allegedly raising provocative slogans against a particular religion at a condolence meet for a Dalit youth killed during the Jat stir. "Wali-ur-Rahman, city president of AIMIM has been arrested. Two leaders of Arakshan Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, Amit Gautam and Gaurav Parcha, who were also involved in the incident are yet to be nabbed. Efforts are on to arrest the others accused in the incident," SP (Rural) Pravin Ranjan said. On February 24, activists of ABSS and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had gathered for a condolence meet of a Dalit youth from Muzaffarnagar, Kuldeep, who was killed in Sonipat on February 21 during the pro-quota stir by the Jat community. After the meet, they took out a procession to submit their demands to Sardhana Tehsildar when some of them blocked the road and raised slogans against a particular religion. Police had booked nine persons for hurting religious sentiments and blocking roads.

Sushma confirms killing of an Indian in Saudi shootout

One Indian was killed and his three compatriots were injured when stray bullets hit them in Awamia in Saudi Arabia earlier this week. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought a report from Indian Mission in Riyadh in this regard on Friday. In a tweet, she said that the mission is in touch with the family. Mrs Swaraj said she has asked them to expedite matters and send his mortal remains at the earliest.

Arrest warrant against Digvijay Singh in MP

In Madhya Pradesh, police filed a supplementary charge sheet in a Bhopal court on Friday in connection with alleged illegal appointments in the state legislative assembly secretariat. Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Digvijay Singh and seven others have been named in the chargesheet. AIR correspondent reports, the court issued an arrest warrant against Digvijay Singh as he was absent during the filing of the charge sheet. Seven others who appeared in the court were given bail. Congress sources said that Digvijay Singh will seek bail today in the court. Police had registered an FIR against 19 people including Digvijay Singh and former speaker Sriniwas Tiwari last year in this case. It is alleged that 17 irregular appointments were made during Digvijay Singh regime from 1993 to 2003. Mr. Singh had termed this action as an act of vendetta as he was highlighting the vyapam scam.

Police conducts cordon and search operation at several places including Moghalpura, Sultanshahi, Reinbazaar in old city of Hyderabad. About 60 suspects taken into custody.

Sania-Hingis 41-match win streak ends

The record 41-match winning run of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis, the world number one pair, came to an end at the Qatar Open yesterday. The duo lost the quarter-final match against the Russian pair of Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 4-6, 5-10 to bow out of the tournament. Prior to Qatar, Sania and Hingis had won four titles this year out of an overall 13 trophies. These include three consecutive Grand Slams - Wimbledon, US Open and the Australian Open. In the Singles, world number one Novak Djokovic was forced to retire from his quarter-final against Feliciano Lopez yesterday with an eye problem. Djokovic quit the match after losing the first set, 6-3, in which he made 18 unforced errors in only nine games. With this, Djokovic's run of making 17 successive Tour finals has come to an end. He had, earlier, progressed to the quarter-finals with a 700th career win.

Now Lawyers beat up protesters in Allahabad court

In Allahabad, advocates today beat about a dozen political and social activist including women in the district collectrate. The incident occurred when several left party workers and social activist from various organizations were sitting on dharna to lodge their protest against alleged sedition charges against JNU students and demanding action against those responsible on Rhoit Vemula suicide case. An eyewitness told AIR that about fifty activists were sitting on dharna when a group of lawyers of the district court thrashed and chased the protesters resulting in injuries to around ten persons including women. According to police, medical examinations are being conducted of all injured persons and further necessary action will be taken after registering FIR.

Mauritius PM undergoes glaucoma, cataract surgeries in Hyderabad

Mauritius Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth has undergone surgeries for glaucoma and cataract at a private hospital here. Anerood Jugnauth, 84, underwent surgeries for cataract removal and glaucoma at the Maxivision Eye Hospital here on February 21 and February 23. "The Prime Minister had both angle closure glaucoma and cataracts in both eyes which made the operation difficult," said Kasu Prasad Reddy, Chief Surgeon and Co-Chairman at Maxivision Eye Hospitals, who performed the surgeries. "As I was responsible for primary prototype research work with Victus Femtosecond Laser assisted cataract surgery, I had to combine four different technologies using Bhattacharjee pupil ring with successful outcome in both the eyes," he said. "Glaucoma was in advanced stage in the PM's right eye while in the left eye it was normal," Reddy told reporters, adding that it was a day-care surgery and he was in hospital for about two hours. Reddy said Jugnauth received the medical treatment in India due the nation's good reputation in terms of specialists, medical products and surgical procedures.

Raja Singh booked for 'hate' speech

A BJP MLA in Telangana, T Raja Singh was booked for allegedly giving a "hate" speech against a particular community, police said today. A representative of a local NGO had lodged a complaint at Golconda Police Station alleging that T Raja Singh, who represents Goshamahal Assembly constituency here, gave a "hate" speech against a community, which was subsequently uploaded on social media, Inspector Khaleel Pasha said. Following the complaint, a case under section 295 A (hurting religious sentiments) of IPC was registered and police is investigating into the allegations, Pasha added.

Duty doctor contradicts Irani's claim on Rohith

The duty doctor at the University of Hyderabad health centre today appeared to contradict the claim of HRD Minister Smriti Irani that no doctor was allowed near the body of research scholar Rohith Vemula on the day he had died either to revive him or remove him to hospital. Dr M Rajshree, the doctor on duty that fateful day when Rohith had allegedly committed suicide on Jan 17, said today she was the one who examined the body and had declared him dead. She said the body of Rohit was lying on a cot and police had reached 15 minutes after she had gone to the hostel room on the day he had died after she got information at around 7.20 PM that one of the students had attempted suicide. During a debate in the Lok Sabha yesterday on the controversies surrounding the Hyderabad University and the JNU, Irani had said nobody allowed a doctor near Rohith either to revive him or take him to the hospital. "Nobody allowed a doctor near him. The police has reported that no one attempt was made to revive this child, not one attempt was made to take him to a doctor. Instead what was done was that his body was used as a political tool, hidden. No police was allowed till 6.30, the next morning. It is not me the Telangana police is saying this," she had said.

Qatar, Kuwait urge citizens to leave Lebanon due to tension

Qatar and Kuwait have became the latest Gulf states to urge their citizens to leave Lebanon due to tensions over the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah which backs the Syrian government. In a statement, Qatar's foreign ministry called on citizens in Lebanon to leave for their own safety and said no Qatari nationals should travel there. Earlier yesterday, Kuwaiti embassy in Beirut also advised Kuwaitis to postpone any planned travel to Lebanon. Qatar and Kuwait have joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in issuing travel warnings for Lebanon.

Two persons with Swine Flu symptoms admitted to Gandhi hospital

Rohith's family planning to shift to Delhi

Late Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's family has expressed its desire to leave Hyderabad and shift to the national capital as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal promised a job for his younger brother. Rohith's mother, Radhika met Kejriwal today, along with her younger son Raja, and told him that since Rohith's fellowship has been stopped, they had no source of income, sources said. "In the meeting, Rohith's mother expressed her desire to leave Hyderabad," sources said. The family, which had been living in Guntur district of Andra Pradesh, had moved to Hyderabad after Rohith committed suicide in HCU hostel last month. After the city government decided to give a job to Rohith's brother Raja, the family may soon shift to Delhi, the sources said. Kejriwal had yesterday joined a protest in support of Rohith where he accused the Centre of waging a "war" against students and voiced his support for 'Rohith Act', a law proposed by agitating students against discrimination in universities. Addressing the protesters, Radhika had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking "what action did you take against your minister who had called my son anti-national?" Rohith's body was found hanging in a hostel room on Hyderabad University campus on January 17.

Vijayarama defends son booked in criminal case

Former CBI Director K Vijayarama Rao today said his businessman son, who has been booked by the agency in a cheating and forgery case, is "totally innocent" and expressed confidence on his coming out clean in court of law. "...My son Srinivas Kalyan is innocent. I believe he is innocent... he's not guilty. We will prove that in court and he will come out clean," Rao told reporters here. K Srinivas Kalyan Rao, Managing Director of a Chennai- based company, Best and Crompton Engineering Projects Ltd, and others were earlier this month booked by CBI for allegedly defaulting on a Rs 124-crore loan from Central Bank of India. Srinivas and others were booked under Indian Penal Code sections relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery, among others. As per the case details, the company had borrowed Rs 304 crore from a consortium of banks comprising Central Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank by way of fund- based and non/fund-based limits. Central Bank of India, which has an exposure of Rs 124 crore, had approached CBI with a complaint of alleged default on the basis of which the case was registered. Terming the case against his son as an "allegation", Vijayarama, a former Minister in United Andhra Pradesh, said the charge has to be proved and established in a court. "Suspicion cannot take place of legal proof. In the interest of defence of my son, we will show that he is totally innocent. And in the process if some irregularity attributed to him (my son) comes to notice of court then the court will pass appropriate orders," he said. Vijayarama said he has some information which points to Srinivas' innocence. "If I make (disclose) it now I will be doing injustice to my son. Innocence has to come out in proper place and proper court." Stating that he has not spoken to any CBI official regarding the matter, Vijayarama confirmed his son's house was searched earlier this week and claimed "they (CBI) found nothing (incriminating)". The retired IPS officer said he is not finding fault with CBI for registering the case which they did based on prima facie information they had. "It (CBI) is a good organisation. I have headed that organisation."

TDP disagrees with govt on invoking sedition charge against JNU students

NDA constituent TDP was today at variance with the government over invoking sedition charge against JNU students, calling it "too harsh". Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha over the JNU row and the controversy over Hyderabad Central University research scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide, TDP member Ravindra Babu said Jawaharlal Nehru University had a culture of debate and never any serious acrimonious incident occurred there. "But an unnecessary controversy has erupted there and sedition charges invoked against some students. I think it is too harsh a measure," he said. He instead favoured slapping sedition charge against people who deserved such treatment. "How many banks, one after the other, have declared NPAs? Everybody is competing. Economic frauds are committed by people who belittle the country, who embezzle the country s money and make India economically weak. Sedition charge needs to be invoked against them and not the students," he said. Babu said the students are "innocent" and need to be "corrected". "We cannot do it by punishing them. By punishing them we will make them hardcore criminals. Let us not do that," he said. "We are very proud of all our institutions. There has always been unity in diversity. If anybody who criticises India is labelled as anti-national, then Ambedkar also needs to be labelled as anti-national because he burnt 'Manusmrti' in public," Babu said.

Anonymous caller threatens to kill KCR

An anonymous caller threatened to kill Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao during his visit here, police said today. The threat call was received by Korutla MLA Kalvakuntla Vidyasagar Rao on his mobile yesterday, a day ahead of the CM's visit to Karimnagar. "Vidyasagar Rao received a call on his mobile phone at about 6 PM on Tuesday from an unidentified person," a top police official said. "The person, who used the Internet to make the phone call, threatened to kill the Chief Minister during his visit to Metpalli in Karimnagar district on Wednesday," he said. The MLA handed over his mobile phone to Metpalli Sub- Inspector Babu Rao, to whom the caller repeated the same threat, police said. In view of the threat call, security was stepped up in Metpalli, where the Chief Minister arrived this morning by a chopper to attend a private function. After attending the event, he returned to Hyderabad, they said. Police have not yet identified the caller but said a probe was on.

Indian killed by stray bullets in Saudi Arabia

An Indian national in Saudi Arabia has been killed by stray bullets during a security operation targeting a wanted Bahraini terrorist in the eastern province of the Kingdom, Indian officials said today. Mohammad Owais, from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, was killed and three others injured when stray bullets entered the room they were staying during the exchange of firing between security forces and a terror suspect, an Indian embassy official told PTI, citing local sources. The police had gone to arrest terror suspect Ali Mohamoud Ali Abdullah, a Bahraini national who was involved in a number of terrorist acts, after he was spotted at a farm in Al-Awamiyyah town yesterday, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The terrorist fired at security authorities when they attempted to catch him and in the ensuing shootout he was killed. A machine gun and revolver was seized from him, it said, quoting an Interior Ministry spokesman. Saudi authorities, however, have not verified the killing of the Indian national.

JNU row: new video showing 'outsiders' surfaces

A new video, showing raising of anti-India slogans allegedly by outsiders at a controversial event in JNU, has given a fresh twist to the case even as police informed the Delhi High Court about presence of some "foreign elements" at the gathering. Police said it is examining authenticity of the video and that photographs of eight persons, suspected to be outsiders who allegedly raised in anti-national slogans at the event, have been shortlisted. But they are yet to be identified. In the video, the youths, whose faces appear covered, are seen raising slogans against India at the event on February 9. PhD scholar of JNU Umar Khalid, one of the organisers of the event, who had surrendered to police last night, is visible in the video but is not seen raising slogans. The video surfaced on a day the Delhi Police, in its status report filed in the High Court, claimed that besides JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and other accused persons, some "foreign elements" were also present during the event who had "covered" their faces to hide their identity. The report said, "It is pertinent to mention here that shockingly the incident dated February 9 records the presence of foreign (elements) with their mouths covered which sufficiently came during the course of investigation." Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi yesterday had said some of the youths who allegedly raised seditious slogans at the JNU event were outsiders. Several videos of the event have surfaced since the row broke out leading to police arresting Kumar on charges of sedition from the campus triggering widespread protests. Khalid and another student Anirban Bhattacharya surrendered last night after 10 days in hiding.

Rohith's mother meets Kejriwal, wants job for younger son

Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's mother today met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at his residence and requested a job for her younger son. At the meeting, Radhika Vemula, Rohith's mother, was accompanied by her younger son Raja Vemula who is a post graduate in Applied Geology and Sunkanna Velpula, one of Rohith's closest friends, among others. The Delhi Cabinet shall meet later this evening to take a call on the request put forth by the family of the deceased PhD scholar. The family participated in a protest march yesterday demanding justice for Rohith, who committed suicide at Hyderbad University. Kejriwal had joined the protest where he lambasted the Centre accusing it of waging a "war" against students and voiced his support for 'Rohith Act', a law proposed by the agitating students against discrimination in Universities. Addressing protesters, Radhika had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking "what action did you take against your minister who had called my son anti-national?" She also condemned the "attacks" on students in universities including JNU and said such things "should be stopped". Rohith's body was found hanging in a hostel room on Hyderabad University campus on January 17.

Will prosecute Hillary Clinton if elected: Trump

Republican US presidential front- runner Donald Trump has said if elected he would prosecute his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton for using a private email server when she was the secretary of state. "Well look, you have no choice. I mean we have to solve all sorts of problems, and fairness is you have to look into that. Now, maybe she can prove her innocence, but it just seems to me I think the public knows everything that they're going to know," Trump told Fox News in an interview. "You know; the emails have come out. And she seems to be guilty. But you know what, I wouldn't even say that. But certainly it has to be looked at if a Republican win, if I'm winning. Certainly you will look at that as being fair to everyone else," Trump said in response to a question. "It's so unfair to the people that have been prosecuted over the years for doing much less than she did. So she's being protected. But if I win, certainly it's something we'll want," the New York billionaire said. Clinton, however, fired back quickly claiming nothing has been proved so far against her. "I can only tell you what the facts are, and the facts are that every single time somebody has hurled these charges against me, which they have done, it's proved to be nothing. And, this is no different than that, Clinton said at a CNN-organised town hall in Columbia, South Carolina, which goes for the Democratic presidential primary over the weekend. The former Secretary of State was responding to questions on a ruling by a federal judge on a motion that could pave the way for the possibility that you could be subpoenaed in order to obtain any information. Criticised widely for saying last week that "she did not believe she ever lied", Clinton said she would "just say no" if asked again if she had ever lied to the American people. She rued she is being put to different standard than any other candidate. "Why is there one standard for me and not for everybody else?" Clinton asked. The former Secretary of State is leading South Carolina by a huge margin and is expected to win the Democratic party primary over the weekend. Clinton argued that the allegations by the opposition that just because she has taken donations from the Wall Street so she will not take action against them, does not hold good. "I am on record...I went to Wall Street before the Great Recession. I called them out. I said what they were doing in the mortgage market was going to cause serious problems," she asserted.

Passenger plane crashes in Nepal, all 23 on board dead

All 23 people, including two children and two foreigners, on board a small plane were on Wednesday killed in Nepal after their aircraft crashed in a remote mountainous region amid poor visibility, in the country's latest aviation tragedy The Twin-Otter turboprop aircraft belonging to Tara Air had gone missing minutes after it took off from the airport in the resort town of Pokhara on its way to Jomsom, the starting point of people trekking the Himalayas Its burnt-out wreckage was found in the western district of Myagdi and bodies could be seen scattered around it Ananda Pokharel, minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation, said the wreckage was found in Solighopte forest All aboard the N9-AHH aircraft, including two foreigners, were killed in the incident, he told PTI over phone The 23 people on board included 18 Nepalese citizens, including two children, and two foreigners, apart from three crew members. One of the foreigners has been confirmed to be a Chinese and another a Kuwaiti national The aircraft caught fire after it crashed, according to a search and rescue team present at the site of the accident Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal officials said that the reason of crash is yet to be probed. Residents in the area said they saw a huge explosion and fire in the remote area A preliminary investigation has suggested that low visibility due to a cloud of dust shrouding the area following dry landslides in Mount Annapurna might have caused the crash According to Home Ministry officials, there were dust particles in seven villages around the site in the district Earlier, three helicopters were dispatched from Kathmandu to locate the aircraft while Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police personnel were also mobilised "We have dispatched three helicopters on a search and rescue mission," the airline had said in a statement on its website "The weather at both origin and destination airports was favourable and the airport cleared for departure by the control tower at Pokhara," said the statement In Nepal, air travel is hugely popular as there is only a limited road network. Many communities, particularly in the mountains and hills, are accessible only on foot or by air Since 1949 - the year the first aircraft landed in Nepal - there have been more than 70 different crashes involving planes and helicopters, in which more than 700 people have been killed In 2012, child actor Taruni Sachdev and mother Geeta Sachdev were among 15 people killed when a dornier aircraft crashed close to the Jomson airport. Taruni died in the Agni Air Flight CHT plane crash on her 14th birthday on May 14 In 2013, the European Union banned all Nepalese airlines from flying there. And in 2014, a Nepal Airlines plane crashed into the side of a snow-clad mountain in the country's west, killing 18 people.

Rajya Sabha adjourned for the day because of continued uproar over Dalit student's suicide.

Sania-Hingis extends unbeaten streak to 41 matches

Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis survived a scare before pulling off a three-set win over the Chinese pair of Yi-Fan Xu and Saisai Zheng in the WTA Qatar Open to extend their unbeaten streak to 41 matches in Doha today. The top seeded Indo-Swiss pair toiled for one hour and 24 minutes to prevail 6-4, 4-6, 10-4 over the unseeded Chinese duo to enter the quarterfinals. They got a bye in the first round in the hard court tournament. Sania and Hingis have together won four titles this year out of an overall trophy count of 13.

Trump wins Nevada caucuses in run up to US Presidential polls

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has easily won the western US state of Nevada. The win is his third straight victory after taking primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina earlier this month. It also gives him momentum going into an important week in the campaign with more than a dozen states voting on March 1. Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are vying for second place.

Govt to provide wi-fi at 25,000 spots in country by next month

The government has set a target of providing wi-fi facilities at 25,000 spots in the country by March this year. In reply to a question in the Lok Sabha Sabha, Communications and IT Minister Ravishankar Prasad said, the facilities are available at three hundred spots at present. Mr Prasad said the government is exploring to have such more wi-fi spots in near future. Mr Prasad said government is taking steps to address the issue of call drops. The Minister said, government is laying optical fibre network in two lakh 50 thousand gram panchayats of the country to provide broadband facilities.

Govt focusing on education, skill development of Minorities: Najma Heptulla

Union Minister of Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla said Ministry is focusing on education and skill development of Minorities. Inaugurating a day long Annual Conference of the State Minorities Commission in New Delhi today, she said 20 thousand madrasa students are being trained under the Nai Manzil Scheme. This Scheme enables students of madrasas to cope with the contemporary education. Union Minister also said Maulana Azad National Academy for Skill is being undertaken in the traditional educational institutions of minorities for the first time.

Rajya Sabha faces adjournments over Rohith Vemula suicide case

The uproar continued in the Rajya Sabha after the House met after 2 pm. BSP leader Ms. Mayawati insisted on having a separate discussion on Dalit student suicide in Hyderabad University issue. However, the BJP maintained that the noticve was for a combined discussion on the above subject as well as JNU row. BSP also demanded to know whether the government will include any Dalit member in the Judicial committee to probe Hyderabad University episode. The house was then again adjourned till 3.30 pm.

Dutch firm wants to set up hospitals in Telangana

Global healthcare solutions provider Enraf-Nonius India today evinced interest in setting up state-of-the-art hospitals in Telangana. The company is Indian subsidiary of Netherlands-based Enraf-Nonius, a worldwide leader in electrotherapy and ultrasound products. It specialises in the development, manufacture and sale of a complete line of innovative medical products to the physical therapy and rehabilitation markets. The company's India head Sunil Agarwal, Liaison Director Hilal Rather, Director of Construction Suresh Gupta and others called on Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao here and conveyed their willingness to set up the hospitals, an official release said. Rao told the representatives of Enraf-Nonius India that his Government is planning to set up hospitals in Hyderabad, Warangal, Khammam and Karimnagar. Altogether they would have more than 5,000 beds, Rao said, adding they look forward for their participation in building them. "The CM had a discussion with them on the modalities of funding and the time that is likely to take to complete the project after an agreement is reached," it said. Agarwal informed Rao they have done similar work in countries like Sri Lanka and extended an invitation to the Health Minister and his team to visit the island nation to see the company-built hospital for themselves. "The CM has asked a team of officers of Health Department led by Health Minister C Laxmareddy to visit Sri Lanka this week-end and study the facilities in the hospital built by Enraf-Nonius," the release added.

'ISIS's actions absolutely un-Islamic'

Terror outfits like ISIS are not remotely connected with Islam and their actions are against tenets of the religion, according to a resolution passed at an international seminar in Hyderabad today. The seminar on 'Teachings of Prophet Muhammad and Modern age', attended by representatives from across the country and abroad, called on the Government to punish hate-mongers who hurt beliefs of any faith. "Terror outfits like the ISIS are not even remotely associated with the idea of Islam. Their deeds and actions are absolutely un-Islamic and against humanity," a resolution passed at the meet, organised by city-based religious institution Al Mahad Ul Aali Al Islami, said. "A formulation of global law that mandates respect of all religions as a universal obligation is demanded from the United Nations," it said. Noting that India is a secular country where people belonging to different faiths live in harmony, the conference maintained that religious scholars should be consulted to correct any anomalies in history books with reference to matters of faith. Replying to a query at media interaction, Sajjad Noumani, working committee member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board who attended the meet, said there is need for concerted effort, involving government agencies, religious scholars and others, to wean away minority youth from getting attracted towards ISIS. Asked if the dreaded outfit, which controls vast stretches of land in Syria and Iraq and is known for its brutal ways, is an evil force and needs to be "smashed", he said: "They are misguided youth. They can be easily counselled. I think there should be a dialogue, instead of smashing. They can be easily brought into mainstream." Asked if he favoured reservation for Muslims, Noumani said there is a need to correct the rule that quota cannot be given on the basis of religion. To a query on the Ayodhya issue, he said all should wait for the final judgement of the Supreme Court. Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma and some other senior police officials, including Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General A K Khan, were among those present during the media interaction at the seminar.

Rajya Sabha to discuss JNU row, Hyderabad University issue

The Rajya Sabha will take up discussion on JNU row and suicide by a dalit research scholar in Hyderabad University. Sources said, the issues will be taken up under calling attention motion. The Lok Sabha is likely to discuss the same issue on 25th of February. The opposition parties have been demanding discussion on these issues terming them very serious. Earlier during all parties meeting convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister and Chairperson of Rajya Sabha and Speaker of Lok Sabha, the opposition parties including Congress and Left had demanded for having a debate on these issues.

Rohit suicide: Judicial panel begins hearing amid JAC boycott

A judicial commission set up by the Union HRD ministry to probe the alleged suicide of Dalit research scholar Rohit Vemula in the University of Hyderabad today commenced its hearing amid a boycott call given by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) for Social Justice. The one-member Justice (retd) Ashok Kumar Roopanwal panel began its proceedings at the Centre for Distance and Virtual Learning (CDVL) here, UoH Registrar M Sudhakar told PTI. "The proceedings are going on," the Registrar said, adding that he would appear before the panel on February 25, on the final day of the three-day hearing. S Munna, a member of JAC of UoH which spearheaded the protests on the suicide case demanding "justice" for Vemula, said they are boycotting the hearing because they were not consulted before and that the panel did not pay heed to its request to reschedule their visit as the dates were clashing with students' protest in Delhi. "We are holding protest in Delhi today and we had informed them (the panel) about the same on February 6 itself about our 'Chalo Delhi' programme, but they did not respond to our request. "... We are boycotting the commission. It's a clear-cut conspiracy to suppress our movement. It was a plan. That's why we are opposing and boycotting," Munna said. He said the JAC may depose before it if the commission reschedules its hearing by changing the date and venue by "taking into consideration our opinion". However, he clarified that no final decision has been taken as of now. The HRD ministry had issued a notification on February 2 appointing Roopanwal, a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, as a one-man judicial commission to look into the suicide by 26-year-old Vemula. As per the mandate, the commission would enquire into the facts and circumstances leading to the death of Vemula and fix responsibility for lapses, if any.

Conman flaunts 'links' with politicians, held for cheating

A 69-year-old man was arrested today for allegedly duping a person to the tune of Rs 15 lakh under the pretext of 'settling' his pending issue in Telangana government through his 'clout' with politicians and bureaucrats. "In the particular case, Kantamaneni Rajendra Prasad took Rs 15 lakh from a complainant promising him to settle his issue by saying that he is a close friend of B V Papa Rao, Advisor, Policies and Institutional Development, Telangana State," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Zone) V B Kamalasan Reddy. Explaining the modus operandi, the officer said Prasad lures the gullible persons by convincing them that he enjoys close links with the politicians and senior bureaucrats in government, and cheats them by taking huge amounts to 'settle' their issues with government. A case was registered against Prasad and investigation revealed that he cheated the complainant by misusing Papa Rao's name, Reddy said, adding Prasad's involvement in other cases is being probed.

Budget session of AP Assembly to commence on March 5

The Budget session of Andhra Pradesh State Legislature will begin in Hyderabad on March 5. Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu will present the state budget for 2016-17 financial year on March 10. Simultaneously, Agriculture Minister P Pulla Rao will present an exclusive budget for the agriculture sector on the same day, Ramakrishnudu, who also holds the Legislative Affairs portfolio said here today. The minister was addressing the inaugural session of the two-day conference of district collectors here today. The budget session is expected to continue till the end of March with 18 working days, official sources said. This will possibly be the last session of the AP Legislature to be held in Hyderabad, the joint Capital of AP and Telangana, as a new Legislature building is being built in Velagapudi village in the state's capital region Amaravati.

Five students accused in sedition case surface on JNU campus

Five Jawaharlal Nehru University students, who the police have been looking for in connection with a sedition case, surfaced on the University's campus late yesterday. The students maintained that they will not surrender but police can come and arrest them. They also said, they did not do anything wrong but were framed using a doctored video. The five students Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Anant Prakash had gone missing from the campus since 12th of this month after JNU Student leader Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in a sedition case. A senior Police official said, a police team has right now been positioned outside the JNU and asked to wait for the students to surrender themselves before the police. He said, if they don't come till morning, police team will be sent to arrest them. Meanwhile, JNU Vice Chancellor Jagdesh Kumar said, the entry for police as well as media persons has been barred for now and a call in this regard will be taken this morning. Kanhaiya's bail plea is likely to be heard by Delhi High Court tomorrow. He had approached the high court after the Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear his bail petition on the ground that it will set a dangerous precedent and had asked him to approach the high court. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear today a plea seeking contempt action against jailed JNU Student leader Kanhaiya, former Delhi University lecturer SAR Gilani and few others. The plea has been filed by a lawyer on the ground that the accused allegedly termed the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru as judicial killing. The plea said, pamphlets were allegedly distributed during the event held at JNU on February 9th that termed death sentence to Guru as judicial killing, which outright tantamount to criminal contempt as the respondents are calling the judges of the apex court as killers.

Hafiz Yusuf Patel passes away

An Indian-origin cleric who was the leader of Tablighi Jamaat sect in Britain and Europe, and who played an important role in the creation of Markazi Mosque, the European headquarters for the movement, has died aged 92. Thousands today turned out for the funeral of Hafiz Yusuf Patel who died in Drewsbury, West Yorkshire, on Thursday. Mourners came from across the UK and flew in from European countries including France, Germany, Spain and Portugal. Patel had been invited from India in the 1960s by Gujarati Indian Muslims who wanted a religious guide for the movement. "He was a pioneer, a visionary when it comes to the Islamic identity and the place of the Muslim community in Britain," Ishtiaq Ahmed, of the Bradford Council for Mosques, told The Huddersfield Daily Examiner. The cleric, who was the leader in Britain and Europe of Tablighi Jamaat sect, was instrumental in the creation of the Markazi Mosque in Dewsbury in the late 1970s. The mosque is now the European headquarters for the Tablighi movement. "He established Dewsbury as a centre for European Muslims in Britain as far back as 1978. He was also a strong believer in British home-grown Islam," Ahmed said. After an open air service, relayed on a public address system, Patel was buried in a private ceremony at Dewsbury Cemetery. Free buses ran from surrounding towns for mourners to gather in the rain to pray side by side. Patel is said to have gone door-to-door in the early years promoting the message of Islam and encouraging people to go to mosque. The Tablighi Jamaat organisation was founded in India in 1926 and is closely linked to the conservative Deobandi school of Sunni Islam. Estimates for its global membership range from 12 million to 80 million, with European members thought to number at least 150,000.

AP student dies, four wounded in car crash in the US

An Indian student died and four others were injured in a car crash in southeastern US state of Alabama, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today. All the five were students of Troy university in Alabama. "Consul General Atlanta has informed me that Five Indian students of Troy University Alabama met with a car accident last night. "We have lost Joy Mathew. Bharath and Vamshi of Poddutur AP have suffered serious injuries. Nikhil and Yeshawanth have minor injuries," Swaraj tweeted. She said Consul DV Singh is reaching there to provide all assistance. "My hearfelt condolences to Joy's family. I wish other students speedy recovery," she said.

Hyderabadi Food Festival in Delhi

Foodies of the national capital now stand themselves a chance to feel like Nawabs with a seven-day long Hyderabadi Food Festival being organised in Delhi. Curated by Hyderabadi Chef SK Saibjan, the festival at the multi-cuisine Indyaki eatery at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Paschim Vihar will feature cuisines from Hyderabad which is a blend of Persian, Mughlai and Lucknowi. Inspired by the huge response to the Awadhi Food Festival in July 2015, Chef Saibjan, says that the festival was on the cards. Apart from the famous Hyderabadi Biryani, dishes like Hare Masale Ka Paneer, Zimikand Channadal Ki Shammi, Pathar Ka Gosht, Nizami Murgh Tikka and Tawa Tali Machi have been laid out for the foodies. While the main course has Ambada Gosht, Dum Ka Murgh Machi Tamater Ka Salan, Gosht Dum Biriyani, Paneer Tikka Zardaloo, Nizami Subz Handi, Dakhini Saag, Khatti Dal and Haleem, the desserts include Sher Khorma, Double Ka Meetha and Figgie. "In starters, Nizami Murgh Tikka(Chicken marinated in secret Nizami recipe), Ambada Gosht(Ambada green leafy vegetable cooked with mutton) in the main course and double ka meetha (bread and reduced milk based dum cooking) in the dessert are the main speciality of festival," Chef Saibjan said. Born in Hyderabad, Chef Saibjaan has been an expertise of Hyderabadi cuisine since the last ten years with a knowledge of authentic Hyderabadi food and relates to the regal kitchens of the erstwhile Hyderabadi Nawabs. .

No evidence to prove cow meat in biryani at AMU: Police

A preliminary probe has found "no evidence" to suggest that cow meat was served at Aligarh Muslim University's college canteen as was claimed by some right wing groups, police said. "A police team led by the Station House Officer, Civil Lines Police Station, visited Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College's canteen immediately after receiving complaints by some right wing organisations that beef by being served there. "However, the team found no incriminating evidence whatsoever to suggest that any banned food item was being served in the canteen," Senior Superintendent of Police K Ravindra Gaur said. The row broke out after ring wing activists alleged that 'beef biryani' was being served at the AMU Medical College canteen, an allegation promptly denied by the university. BJP Mayor Shakuntala Bharti, along with party leaders and several right wing activists, held a demonstration outside the office of Senior Superintendent of Police, demanding registration of an FIR against the contractor of AMU medical college canteen for serving 'beef'. An university spokesman clarified that it was a common practice in India and abroad to refer to buffalo meat also as beef. In fact cow meat had been banned in this institution more than a century back by its founder Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, keeping in view Hindu sensitivities on this matter, he said. AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt Gen (Rtd) Zameer Uddin Shah, today said that he was "seriously concerned" over the entire episode and the fact the City Mayor had taken up this issue with the police. "I wish to point out that there is no truth whatsoever in the entire allegation that cow meat is being served anywhere at the AMU campus. This is entirely an attempt to whip up communal tension on a very lame excuse," Shah said. "We, at AMU, are deeply aware of the sentiments involved in such sensitive issues and there is no question of permitting anybody for violating the law on this matter," he said.

Elections to Warangal and Khammam Municipal Corporations and Achampet Municipality to be held on March 6

Elections to Warangal and Khammam municipal corporations and Achampet municipality will be held on March 6. The results will be declared on March 9. Nominations for the elections will begin on Monday, February 22 and will close on February 24. The scrutiny of nominations will be done on February 25 and 26 is the last date for withdrawal. There are 58 wards in Warangal municipal corporation while Khammam has 50 wards. The state government has recently finalized reservations in both the corporations. The State Election Commission on Sunday issued notification for the elections of Warangal and Khammam municipal corporations and Achampet municipality in Mahbubnagar district. In total, the entire election process will be completed in two weeks.

Why did you allow police on campus? Chomsky to JNU VC

Renowned thinker and academician Noam Chomsky has questioned JNU Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar's decision to allow police on its campus in connection with the row over an event there against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. "Many of us remain very concerned about the crisis in JNU, which was apparently created and precipitated by the government and university administration with no credible evidence of any seditious activities on campus. "Why did you allow the police on campus when it is clear that this was not legally required?" Chomsky said in an email today to the JNU VC. Students and teachers are protesting against the alleged "mishandling" of the issue by the university administration and have questioned the decision to allow the police "crackdown" on the JNU campus. The administration in its defence has been maintaining that "the university was bound to do so" even as it was contended by the protesting students and teachers that the matter related to indiscipline and not sedition. "I never invited the police to enter the campus and pick up our students. We only provided whatever cooperation was needed as per the law of the land. We were bound to do so," the VC had said. Chomsky, along with Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and 86 other academicians from renowned universities abroad, had last week condemned "the culture of authoritarian menace that the present government in India has generated" and said those in power are replicating the dark times of the oppressive colonial period and of the Emergency of the 1970s. "We have learnt of the shameful act of the Indian government which, invoking sedition laws formulated by India's colonial rulers, ordered the police to enter the JNU campus and unlawfully arrest a student leader, Kanhaiya Kumar, on charges of inciting violence -- without any proof whatever of such wrongdoing on his part," the joint statement had said. The JNU students union president was arrested on February 12 in connection with a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy that was registered following an event on the varsity campus to protest against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised. The university had set up a high-level committee to probe the issue and, on the basis of its preliminary report, academically suspended Kanhaiya and seven other students. The committee will come up with its final report by February 25.

Conspiracies to destabilise govt, defame me: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today alleged that disgruntled NGOs and black-marketeers were conspiring to destabilise the government and "defame" him and asserted that he will not bow to any machinations. He said "some people" were not able to digest the fact that a "chai wala" (tea seller) has become the Prime Minister and hence were conspiring all the time to bring him down. "You would have seen in the recent past, there is attack on me all the time. Some people are continuously at it. They are not able to digest how Modi became the Prime Minister, how a 'chai wala' became the Prime Minister, they cannot swallow it," a combative Modi said addressing a farmers' rally here. Without naming anybody or any specific instance, he said he had taken some steps because of which "these people are facing problems". He made the remarks while talking about the neem-coating of urea being done to avoid its pilferage and routing to chemical factories like in the past. "Since we have done neem coating, will those chemical factories which were looting not be angry with Modi? If something is against Modi, will they not help it? Will they not shout against Modi," he asked the gathering. The Prime Minister said that NGOs receive money from foreign countries and his government was seeking the account. "We said let it come but give account of the funds received. The moment we started asking for accounts, they all got together and said 'Modi ko Maaro', 'Modi ko Maaro' (hit Modi), he is seeking accounts from us," he said and asserted that "the country needs to know where the money that comes in is being spent. It is in the law." He said since the government started asking for accounts, "they all (NGOs) got together and have been conspiring all the time how to finish Modi, how to remove Modi government and how to defame Modi. "But my dear brothers and sisters, you have elected me to cure the country of this disease and I am doing this. "Whatever they may say against me, I am not going to deviate from the path of the work you have entrusted me. I am not going to stop, or get tired and there is no question of bowing to it." The Prime Minister said he knows what is "irritating" and "pinching" his detractors but "we will not allow the country to be looted or destroyed." .

Hillary Clinton narrowly wins Nevada caucuses

Former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton has narrowly won the Nevada Democratic caucuses in the race for the party's 2016 Presidential nomination. She defeated Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by a margin of 4 percent votes. While, in South Carolina’s Republican primary, Donald Trump has edged out his rivals capturing more than 34 percent of the vote. After Trump's big victory in New Hampshire last week, his win in South Carolina yesterday is likely to solidify him as the Republican front-runner. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush today dropped out of the Republican presidential race after a series of poor performances in primaries, thereby shattering Bush family's dream of an unprecedented third stint at the White House. Former Florida Governor Jeb announced to suspend his campaign after a fourth-place finish in South Carolina.

Walk for water organized at KBR park in Hyderabad

CBI raids on the promises of Vijaya Rama Rao's Son in Hyderabad and Chennai

SP hasn't fulfilled poll promises made to Muslims: Shahi Imam

Delhi Jama Masjid Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari today attacked Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party, alleging that none of the poll promises made by it to the Muslims has been fulfilled by the government. Bukhari charged the state government has "failed" to extend security to Muslims and the community will review the decision on extending support to the party if the promises remain unfulfilled. "Samajwadi Party should fulfil all the promises made to Muslims in the last Assembly elections in three months time or they (the community) will be forced to review their decision on extending support to the ruling party," Bukhari said here. Bukhari said SP should fulfil the promises including reservation in ratio to their population, make special arrangements for education in Muslim-dominated districts, recruitment in security forces and better employment opportunities. "In the four years of SP government, communal forces have been emboldened and the atmosphere has been vitiated," he said. Bukhari said "the government needs to take concrete measures to maintain amity and prove that it believes in secular traditions and democratic values." The Shahi Imam was here to take part in a discussion on the 'backwardness and neglect of UP Muslims'. Taking a jibe at senior SP leader Azam Khan, without naming him, Bukhari said "some of our own members have done injustice to Muslims." On the JNU row, he said it is a tussle between two ideologies and an "attempt to force" one on the other. "The case is given political colour," he said, adding the matter is in court and its verdict will be acceptable to all.

Conman arrested, gold ornaments worth around Rs 1 cr seized

A man was arrested today for allegedly duping several people of their valuables, and gold ornaments worth around Rs 1 crore were seized from him. "The accused, identified as A Chinna Reddy alias Chinnaiah, was nabbed from his residence in Nizamabad district of Telangana," Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahendar Reddy said. A case of theft was registered at Market Police Station following a complaint by a jeweller that somebody stole 2.3 kg of gold ornaments from his driver by offering him liquor on February 11, he said. During investigation, the accused was identified through CCTV footages collected from different places which showed that he had visited a bar and consumed liquor with the driver, Reddy said. Police teams were sent to different places to nab the accused, following which he was arrested today, the Police Commissioner said, adding gold ornaments weighing about 2.77 kg valued at around Rs 1 crore were seized from his possession. "The accused used to befriend people, take them to bars and make them drink heavily. Once they lose consciousness, he would replace their bags containing valuables with his," the Police Commissioner said. During interrogation, Chinnaiah confessed to stealing 2.3 kg of gold and also committing 13 similar offences in different districts of the state, including four crimes in Hyderabad, Reddy said. The accused, who was originally a farmer, had cheated many people, including farmers and gold agents, and was arrested in some of those cases, he said, adding investigation is underway.

Jamaat-e- Islami to launch 'anti-extremism campaign'

Muslim organisation Jamaat-e- Islami Hind (JIH) will organise a week-long 'anti-extremism campaign' in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad from tomorrow. As part of the campaign, JIH will conduct special gatherings, public meetings, seminars for youth to educate them on the un-Islamic nature of terrorist activities, JIH Telangana & Odisha Zone President Hamid Mohammed Khan told reporters here. "Folders will be circulated among masses regarding Islamic teachings about Khilafat, Islamic State, true concept of Jihad and the reality of (terror outfit) ISIS's actions and its wrong teachings," Hamid said. Organisations like al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and ISIS gave chance to say that Islam and Muslims don't want peace in the world whereas these outfits don't represent "true Islam", he said. Hamid said Jamaat completely denounces all such organisations and the excesses committed by ISIS have nothing to do with Islam. It should be noted that the maximum number of people killed by these terrorist organisations belong to Islamic faith only. "Jamaat is of the opinion that the creation and existence of these organisations might be a deep conspiracy of the West to defame Islam and divide Muslims. JIH considers the ISIS to be a terror organisation and declares that its activities are un-Islamic," he added.

Goods worth five lakh rupees gutted in a fire accident at Mallepally

Thirly school children injured as Bus brakes fail in LB Nagar

Thirty school children had a miraculous escape when the brakes of their school bus failed, in Sirinagar Colony of LB Nagar on Saturday. However, showing presence of mind the driver of the bus managed to hit a tree and bring the bus to a halt. The students sustained minor injuries but were visibly shaken due to the incident. The bus belonged to Shantiniketan School and is said to be mechanical unfit for use.

Attack on Kanhaiya pre planned : Human rights Commission

The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has said that assault on JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar in Patiala House Court complex on Wednesday appears to be organized and pre-planned. It said that the incident happened due to major security lapse on part of the Delhi Police and there was serious dereliction of duty. This has been revealed in an inquiry report submitted by a NHRC team, which visited the Tihar Jail and Kumar after taking suo motu cognizance of media report on court incident. Kumar is facing sedition charges and is currently lodged at Tihar Jail. The Commission also said the student leader did not complain of any physical assault by the police while in custody. However, he was subjected to psychological pressure during interrogation. The report also said the statement, which was issued by the Police as an appeal on behalf of JNUSU leader, was not written by him voluntarily and the content of the statement was dictated by the police. The Human Rights body added that Tihar Jail has made special arrangements to ensure safety and security of Kumar and he has no complaints against prison officials. In a statement, the Commission said the copy of the NHRC inquiry report has been forwarded to the Delhi Police Commissioner and Director General of Prisons, Tihar Jail seeking their comments by 26th of this month.

Fire doused in AP CMs office in Hyderabad

Visiting hours extended in Telangana secretariat

KCR holds pre budget review meet with concerned officials

Central Government deliberately targeting educational institutions' Asad Owaisi on JNU row

Hyd Advocate files complaint against Kejriwal for cartoon on JNU issue

A city-based advocate has filed a complaint against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of hurting religious sentiments of Hindus by posting a cartoon over JNU row on Twitter, police said today. K Karuna Sagar, in a complaint lodged with Saroornagar Police Station yesterday, said that the Delhi CM had posted a cartoon over the JNU row on Twitter which was carried by an English daily. He alleged that the cartoon "hurt" his religious sentiments and also the sentiments of crores of Hindus, and sought for necessary action against Kejriwal by registering a case, Inspector S Lingaiah said. "No case has been registered so far...the complaint has been forwarded for legal opinion. We will act accordingly based on the legal opinion," the Inspector said. Kejriwal had posted a cartoon yesterday which depicted a Hanuman-esque figure assuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi that public attention has been diverted towards JNU from other pressing issues.

Lawyer held for harassing Delhi woman

An advocate was arrested by 'SHE Teams' of police for allegedly harassing a woman from Delhi by sending her abusive and vulgar messages, police said today. Accused M Abhishek and his friends had unsuccessfully tried to strike communication with the woman who had come to attend a programme at Gachibowli here last month, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes and SIT) Swati Lakra said. However, when she did not respond, they took her business card from other persons and since then Abhishek allegedly started sending her text messages asking her to respond and make friends with him, Lakra said. "As the victim was not responding to his messages, he continuously started sending her abusive and vulgar messages asking her to respond to him and enjoy the attention she is receiving," the officer said. She then informed the matter to her friends, who in turn called up the advocate asking him not to harass her. "She also requested him to stop sending messages as she was not interested in him. But, he did not stop and further started threatening her saying he will come to her place personally if she does not accept his friendship," Lakra said. The woman then submitted a complaint to "SHE Teams", the unit tasked with cracking down on eve-teasers and stalkers, and a case was registered and Abhishek arrested after investigation, she said.

Flight returns to Hyd airport due to technical snag

A Tirupati-bound Air Costa plane, with 111 passengers and crew on board, had to return to the airport here following a snag in its engine that developed a few minutes after take-off, an airline official said. The flight had taken off from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here at 2.45 pm and was supposed to land in Tirupati at 3.45 pm. "The pilot of the aircraft (flight LB671 Hyderabad- Tirupati) noticed technical glitch in the air and returned the flight to Hyderabad as he felt that the runway in Tirupati is not long enough for landing under the emergency circumstance," a senior official of the regional carrier said. There were 111 passengers and crew on board. After landing in Hyderabad, our engineering team examined the flight and fixed the problem, the official said, adding that within 15 minutes the plane again took off for Tirupati.

Patiala court assault: PCI seeks report from Delhi police

Taking suo-motu cognisance of the assault on mediapersons in the Patiala House Court complex, the Press Council of India has sought a report from the Delhi police on the incident, PCI Chairman Justice (retd) C K Prasad said here today. Terming the yesterday's incident as of a "grave nature", Prasad told reporters here that the attack was not on just journalists alone but also on the freedom of the Press. "Attack on the journalists is an unfortunate incident. It is not only an attack on the journalists but also attack on the freedom of the Press," he said, adding that a report had been sought from the Delhi police in respect of Patiala court incident. The PCI held a three-day sitting of the Inquiry Committee here since Monday. The Patiala House incident led to an outrage from the media with top editors of national media and journalists hitting the streets demanding action against those involved in beating up members of their fraternity in police presence. The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has condemned the incident. Prasad said a report has also been sought from the local member of the PCI on the gunning down of a journalist at Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh on Satuday. The PCI had taken suo motu cognisance in this case also. Karun Mushra (28) was allegedly shot dead by some unidentified persons while he was proceeding somewhere on his motorbike.

Bajrang Dal activists protest at Abids in Hyderabad on JNU issue

KCR celebrates 62nd birthday

Police conducts cordon and search operation in Kulsumpura area of old city, several suspects taken into custody

Hyderabad father goes missing from daughter's wedding in US

A 55-year-old Indian man, who was on a visit to the US to attend his daughter's marriage, went missing after the wedding reception. Prasad Moparti, from Hyderabad, had been in the US since January and was scheduled to return to India on February 26. He was attending his daughter Durga Moparti's wedding at Grand Island Mansion in Walnut Grove in Northern California on Saturday when he walked away about 4 pm and never returned, said Tony Turnbull, spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff s Department. "I believe that he was just walking and he fell unconscious, and he just tripped or something like that, but I'm really not sure what happened, and this seems like a total mystery," Durga, 29, said. Turnbull said authorities suspended their search for Moparti as there was no "suspicious circumstances or foul play leading to his disappearance". He said Moparti was considered a voluntary missing person but considering his lack of familiarity with the area and history of depression, the department used "all resources available in attempts to locate him". "Family members ... indicated Moparti suffered from depression, and that he showed indicators of his depression leading up to the wedding," the Sheriff's Department said in a statement. That contradicts the picture painted earlier Tuesday by daughter Durga. She could not be reached after the search was suspended. "Our dad was really very happy. He was dancing. He was really joyful," she told reporters hours before the search was called off. She said her father, an avid walker who manages apartments in Hyderabad, danced at the party on Friday and enjoyed the ceremony on Saturday. She said as people were packing to leave the mansion on Saturday, Prasad Moparti told a family member that he was going for a short walk. When he didn't come back, she said the family searched for 10 miles before calling the police. Moparti was dressed in traditional Indian attire when last seen. The family posted fliers from Isleton to Rio Vista, Sacramento Bee reported. On Saturday and Sunday, searchers from the Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol and Coast Guard units meticulously combed the shores as the bride s family circulated the fliers. On Monday, a CHP plane searched by air while a sheriff's dog attempted to pick up a scent. "We've done just about everything imaginable," Deputy Dave Kirby said before the search was called off. Now, the newlyweds are holding out hope that he is found safe. They have postponed their honeymoon until they know what happened to Moparti. "My dad missing is the only thing going on in my head right now, nothing else," Durga said.