NATIONAL:
No RDX trace at Mulund blast site, says analyst
There is no mention of RDX or TNT in the chemical analyser’s report, whereas the prosecution claimed to have recovered these explosives from some of the accused persons in the 2003 Mulund train blast case, examination of an official witness on Friday revealed.
“It is correct to say that I have written [in my report] that no traces of RDX or TNT were found,” assistant chemical analyser S.S. Prabhavale told a special MCOCA court during his cross examination by defence counsel Wahab Khan.
Maoists’ kids well educated, work in MNCs, say police
The Maharashtra police have released a list of senior Maoist leaders whose children are studying in reputed institutions, and accused them of spending “extortion money” on their families.
“Senior Maoist leaders stop local tribal people in insurgency-hit areas from getting even basic education. The leaders are always afraid that if the tribals receive education, the violent Maoist movement will vanish. However, they make sure that their own children are properly educated,” said a recent press statement by the Anti Naxal Operations (ANO) unit of the Maharashtra police.
Kolkata to host exhibition of Husain’s rare art works
An exhibition of rare artworks - poems, paintings, lithographs, silkscreens - of M.F. Husain will be held in Kolkata in January.
More than 50 of his art works, in the custody of half a dozen collectors, will be displayed in the exhibition, which aims at covering Husain’s works from 1975 to 2005. The city known for its cultural credentials have never witnessed a “Hussain exhibition of such magnitude” the exhibitors said.
Rail ticket cancellation charges hiked
The Indian Railways has again revised the refund rules, doubling the cancellation charges and reducing the window time for cancellation of tickets with effect from November 12.
As per the new rules, no refund would be granted for confirmed tickets if they are cancelled after four hours before the scheduled departure of the train, as against the existing rule (June 25) of 50 per cent refund if the tickets were cancelled before two hours after the actual departure of the train, as per the Commercial Circular 64 issued by the Railway Board on Friday.
The minimum cancellation charges have been fixed at
Rs. 240 for AC I/ Executive class (Rs. 120),
Rs. 200 for AC II/ First class (Rs. 100),
Rs. 180 for AC III/ AC chair car (Rs. 90),
Rs. 120 for sleeper class (Rs. 60) and
Rs. 60 for second class (Rs. 30).
CIC returns 12 p.c. of pleas, say activists
An analysis by Right to Information activists confirms that the Central Information Commission is returning requests for information at a high rate to the applicants.
Twelve per cent of all second appeals and complaints received by the CIC this year were returned to the senders, with reasons for the return being made available in only a fraction of cases.
As reported earlier , the number of cases the CIC admits has crashed precipitously. Activists say it is likely that a larger number of applicants are having their requests turned down. It is difficult to track requests which have been turned down by the CIC in the absence of clear information about them, say the activists.
Huge stimulus likely for J&K infra projects
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to give a major stimulus to Jammu and Kashmir’s key infrastructure sectors of power, roads and health on Saturday but may skip announcing the 44,000-crore package demanded by the State government for the flood-affected victims
Â
0.5 per cent cess on services to support Swachh Bharat
The scheme provides for viability gap funding (VGF) for operations of small aircraft to small towns with a fare cap of Rs. 2,500 per hour of flying.
A provision for levying a Swachh Bharat cess on all or any of the services for the purpose of financing and promoting Swachh Bharat initiatives was made in the Union Budget for 2015-16 that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented earlier this year.
The government estimates that with the increased allocation for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, consequent to the collections from the cess, it will be able to prevent diseases.
At present, an estimated Rs.6,700 crore or about Rs.60 per capita is spent annually on health, the release said.
INTERNATIONAL:
Putin halts Russian flights to Egypt
analysis of black boxes from the Russian plane that went down in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last Saturday point to a bomb attack, sources close to the probe said on Friday, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to suspend all Russian flights to Egypt after a recommendation by his chief of intelligence.
The flight data and voice recorders showed “everything was normal” until both failed at 24 minutes after takeoff, pointing to “a very sudden explosive decompression,” one source said. The data “strongly favours” the theory a bomb on board had brought down the plane, he added. Another source said the plane had gone down suddenly and violently.
UN watchdog confirms rebels used mustard gas
The UN chemical weapons watchdog on Friday confirmed with “utmost confidence” that mustard gas was used in Syria in August during fighting between rebels and jihadists and “likely” killed a child.
Experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons also found toxic chemicals, including chlorine, were likely used as a weapon in an attack in Idlib province in March, the OPCW said in statement. Three reports have been sent by the head of the OPCW to the body’s 192 members.
In one attack in the town of Marea in Aleppo province on August 21, the OPCW team investigated after “a non-state actor had allegedly used a chemical weapon.”
Obama rejects Keystone pipeline project
U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday announced that he had rejected the request from a Canadian company to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ending a seven-year review that had become a flash point in the debate over his climate policies.
Mr. Obama’s denial of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which would have carried 8,00,000 barrels a day of carbon-heavy petroleum from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, comes as he is seeking to build an ambitious legacy on climate change.
17 killed in Brazil mine mudslide
Fire fighters discovered more bodies early on Friday after at least 17 people where killed when a dam burst at a mining waste site in Brazil, unleashing a deluge of toxic mud.
Adao Severino Junior, the fire chief in the city of Mariana, told AFP that he would not release a new death toll until relatives of the victims were notified. Severino Junior said late on Thursday that 17 people had been killed and more than 50 injured in the disaster in the village of Bento Rodrigues, in southeastern Minas Gerais state.
The number of missing could surpass 40, he added. Bento Rodrigues is 80 per cent buried, the fire chief said.
Suu Kyi eyes historic win in polls
Myanmar’s election campaign drew to a close on Friday, two days before milestone polls that could finally propel Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party to power after a decades-long struggle against the military.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy is eyeing an outright majority at Sunday's general election, the first the party has contested since 1990. Myanmar was ruled for half a century by a brutal and isolationist junta that crushed pro-democracy movements.
Turkey detains IS suspects ahead of G20
Turkish police swooped on Islamic State suspects in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya on Friday, barely 10 days ahead of a summit of world leaders, local media reported.
Turkey also deported a group of Moroccans detained on suspicion they were planning to head to Syria to join Islamic State fighters, reports said.
BUSINESS:
Finance Minister and RBI Governor pat for Aadhaar
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley spoke out against the fact that the Supreme Court is deliberating on the issue of Aadhaar being universally implemented saying that it is up to the government to decide the methodology of governance, not the courts.
“The need for this (Aadhaar) and the utility for this has been universally recognised across States. We are at a situation where there is a challenge pending in court and normally courts entertain a challenge which are judicially determinable. As to what should be the methodology adopted in governance is not a judicially determinable matter. It is a matter for the executive government to decide,” Mr. Jaitley said while summing up the day’s proceedings at the Delhi Economic Conclave on Friday.
‘Centre, Reserve Bank have a respectful relationship’
Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan on Friday said there is a “respectful relationship” between the RBI and the government though the onus of taking monetary policy decision rests with the central bank. “Government and the RBI have a respectful relationship. We are obviously a part of the overall government structure..but they are also very respectful when it comes to monetary policy decision, the decisions stays with Reserve Bank. Reserve Bank makes the decision,” he said while delivering the IHC annual lecture here. Mr. Rajan further said that he had agreed with the suggestions of the government a number of times while opting to cut interest rates. “I have agreed a number of times with the suggestions. That is why we had 125 basis points of rate cuts so far (in 2015),” he said. While the Finance Ministry has continued to press for rate cut to boost growth, RBI takes a conservative view. Mr. Rajan also said reduction in inflation would help stabilise the rupee. “Sustained rupee rate can be achieved by bringing down inflation, ” he said
China stalling India’s exports, says Commerce Minister
Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday expressed concern over China continuing to “make efforts to stall” India’s exports to that country.
The Minister said though emphasis was being laid on sectors such as pharma, IT/ ITES, gems & jewellery, textiles, fruits & vegetables and meat to improve India’s exports to China, that country has been making efforts to stall India’s exports through non-tariff barriers such as phyto-sanitary stipulations and standardisation measures.
Concerns over Aadhaar security a ‘misinformation campaign’: Nilekani
Terming concerns over security of data collected for Aadhaar enrollement as “targeted misinformation campaign”, Nandan Nilekani who was the chief architect for rolling out the initiative said the system is completely secure.
“It is targeted misinformation campaignâ¦There are no grounds for it. It is pure misinformation. For Aadhaar, the data is encrypted at source. When you enroll, the data is encrypted and stored in a diskâ¦operator has no control over that,” Mr. Nilekani, who is also the former CEO of Infosys, explainedÂ
Air India to report operating profit
For the first time since its merger, Air India will report an operating profit of about Rs.6 crore in the current fiscal, primarily on account of low crude prices and “improved operational efficiency”.
“Air India is going to report operating profit in this financial year (ending March 31, 2016) and is expected to be Rs.6 crore,” Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey said on Friday
SPORTS:
Dynamos salvage a draw, courtesy Robin
Local boy Robin Singh’s sensational injury-time goal saved Delhi Dynamos’ blushes as the host drew with Mumbai City FC 1-1 in an Indian Super League (ISL) match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Friday.
Dynamos might not have been able to avenge their defeat to Mumbai in an away match, but managed to earn their second draw in a row and remain undefeated at home this season.
Sea Lord for Madras Race Club Trophy
Sea Lord, who is in fine fettle, is expected to score in the Madras Race Club Trophy (1,400m), the main event of the races to be held here on Saturday (Nov. 7).
False rails (width about 6m from 1,600m to the winning post) will be in position.
Ashwin puts the skids on South Africa
India drew upon its collective energy to quell a South African resurgence on the second day of the first Test at the I.S. Bindra stadium in Mohali on Friday. The bowlers delivered and then the batsmen took over to ensure that things fell in place after the first-innings debacle.
India not only took a motivating 17-run first innings lead but also swelled it to 142 by the end of the day, thanks to a suit-the-situation performance by the unsung Cheteshwar Pujara.
Vijender eyes another smashing show
Buoyed by a knockout start to his professional career, Indian boxer Vijender Singh will be up against Dean Gillen in his second bout here on Saturday in front of an audience which will not just have boxing aficionados but also Hollywood executives exploring his potential as a movie star.
Vijender, who notched up a Technical Knockout against Sonny Whiting in his debut fight last month, will take on British boxer Gillen, a part-time fire-fighter, in a four-round contest.
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