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Prepaid mobile internet services restored in Kashmir after six months

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Image credit: Danish Ismail/Reuters

Image credit: Danish Ismail/Reuters

Kashmir: Mobile internet services for prepaid connections were restored in Jammu and Kashmir late on Friday, six months after they were suspended. Authorities had suspended all internet services to quell the protests that followed the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in July 8, 2016.

A majority of the restrictions across the Valley, including curfew, was lifted on November 19, 2016. Mobile internet services on postpaid numbers were also restored then. For a while, the only mobile service functional in some parts of Kashmir was Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and the only internet connectivity was the BSNL broadband service.

Moreover, this Republic Day, it was only for the second time in recent years that mobile phones and internet services were not barred in the state, which has been plagued by unrest and clashes between security personnel and citizens since Wani’s killing. For more than a decade since 2005, the restrictions were imposed on both Republic Day and Independence Day as explosions were triggered using cellphones.

(Agencies)

20 trains delayed, 2 rescheduled due to fog

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fog

New Delhi: At least 20 trains were delayed, two rescheduled and one cancelled on Saturday due to fog in many parts of north India, a railway official said.

According to the Northern Railway official, the Thirukkural Express and Firozpur Intercity Express were rescheduled, while the Kathgodam-Jaisalmer Ranikhet Express was cancelled.

Meanwhile, according to Delhi International Airport Limited, at least three Delhi bound flights were diverted due to fog and other operational reasons.

(IANS)

Trump signs executive order banning Syrian refugees

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US refugee programme suspended for 120 days and Syrian refugees barred until further notice.

Trump said the measures would prevent 'terrorist' attacks [Carlos Barria/Reuters]

Trump said the measures would prevent ‘terrorist’ attacks [Carlos Barria/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order suspending the US refugee programme for 120 days, specifically barring Syrian refugees until further notice.

Trump signed the order at the Pentagon, saying the moves would help protect Americans from “terrorist” attacks.

“I’m establishing new vetting measures to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States of America. Don’t want them here,” Trump said earlier on Friday.

“We only want to admit those into our country who will support our country and love deeply our people,” he said.

Civil rights groups condemned the measures as discriminatory.

The order suspends the Syrian refugee programme until further notice, and will eventually give priority to minority religious groups fleeing persecution. Trump said in an interview with a Christian news outlet the exception would help Syrian Christians fleeing the civil war there.

His order had been expected to include a directive about setting up “safe zones” for Syrian refugees inside the country, but no such language was included.

The measure limits entry for at least 90 days from Syria and other Muslim-majority countries, but did not list the countries by name.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association said it would ban entry from nationals of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and Somalia.

The order also said all immigration programmes should include questions to “evaluate the applicant’s likelihood of becoming a positively contributing member of society”.

Jennifer Sime, the senior vice president of US programmes at the International Rescue Committee, an NGO that works with refugees, told Al Jazeera: “I think it’s important to understand that there is already a robust vetting process in place. It was reviewed a few days ago and new things were added to enhance the vetting process.”

She added that refugees were already the “single most vetted population coming into the US”.

On the exception in the order that favours Syrian Christian refugees, Sime said: “The first thing to remember is that this programme [was] based on the principle of non-discrimination, so it’s not about choosing Muslims or Christians. Refugees are selected based on need, urgency and basically their cases, not based on political affiliation and religion.”

Trump’s order cuts the number of refugees the United States plans to accept this budget year by more than half, to 50,000 people from around the world.

During the last budget year, the US accepted 84,995 refugees, including 12,587 people from Syria. President Barack Obama had set the current refugee limit at 110,000.

During the Obama administration, vetting for refugees included in-person interviews overseas, where they provided biographical details about themselves, including their families, friendships, social or political activities, employment, phone numbers, email accounts and more.

They also provided biometric information, including fingerprints. Syrians were subject to additional, classified controls that administration officials at the time declined to describe, and processing for that group routinely took years to complete.

Following Trump’s signing of the order, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a US Muslim advocacy and civil rights group, said it would file a “federal lawsuit on behalf of more than 20 individuals challenging the ‘Muslim ban'”.

Talk with Amit Shah resolves differences between Yeddyurappa, Eshwarappa

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yeddyurappa eshwarappa

Bengaluru: BJP national president Amit Shah on Friday managed to resolve differences between Karnataka party president BS Yeddyurappa and senior party leader KS Eshwarappa.

After the talks, Eshwarappa agreed to distance himself from the Sangolli Rayanna Brigade (SRB) which had caused differences between him and Yeddyurappa.

Eshwarappa will now head the BJP’s OBC Morcha and would be able to organize OBC and Dalit programmes and rallies in all districts in the name of Sangolli Rayanna but they would be under the banner of BJP.

Sources say that the three leaders met at Shah’s house and talks went on for about three hours.

Meanwhile, it is said that Shah has instructed that a committee be formed to look into matters regarding the suspension of party leaders for association with the SRB.

Shah is also said to have assured Eshwarappa a party ticket to contest from Shivamogga during the upcoming assembly election.

(Agencies)

Karnataka HC issues bailable arrest warrant against Mallya

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Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Friday issued a bailable arrest warrant against beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya for allegedly violating an undertaking given by him and his companies not to transfer their equity shares in United Breweries Limited (UBL) to British spirits company Diageo Plc.

“We are issuing a bailable arrest warrant against the accused (Vijay Mallya) for violating an undertaking given by him in the case,” said Justice Jayant Patel heading a division bench.

The warrant has been issued after Mallya failed to appear before the bench, also comprising Justice Aravind Kumar, on petitions filed by a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India.

The banks have accused Mallya of violating the undertaking given by him and his companies, including the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, not to transfer their equity shares in UBL after the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) had restrained Standard Chartered Bank, with which the shares had been pledged, from handing over the same to Diageo Plc.

On December 2 last, Justice Vineet Kothari of the high court had rejected Mallya’s application for recalling its order summoning him for allegedly violating the undertaking.

On October 20 last, Justices Patel and Kumar had summoned Mallya to appear before it on November 24.

Resuming the hearing, counsel for the bankers, Nagananda pleaded that a non-bailable arrest warrant be issued against Mallya for violating the undertaking given to the court.

At this, the bench asked whether the bankers had placed documents submitted before the Supreme Court suggesting the non-residence of Mallya in the country in order to issue non-bailable arrest warrant against the liquor baron.

“Since you (bankers) haven’t placed the Supreme Court documents suggesting Mallya’s non-residence in India, we request you to submit the same before us. After which, the court would decide on issuing non-bailable arrest warrant, which your are pleading for,” Justice Patel said.

The division bench posted the matter for next hearing on February 17.

The DRT, in its order last year, had restrained Standard Chartered Bank from transferring to Diageo Plc or anyone else, the equity shares of UBL pledged by Mallya and his son Siddharth with the bank.

(Agencies)

Rs 1.26-crore cash, 2.4 kg gold recovered from Sadhvi’s residence in Gujarat

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new-notes-india

Ahmedabad: Police today arrested a lady Mahant (head of a religious shrine) and recovered cash worth Rs 1 crore 26 lakhs (all in Rs 2000 notes) and 2.4kg gold (24 bars of 100gm each) from her residence here.

SP Neeraj Badgujar said that the head of Mukteshwar Math, situated in Badgam area of Banaskantha district, Sadhvi Jai Shree Giri, has been arrested in connection with a cheating case filed by a local jeweller. “During a raid in this connection at her residence in Gauri Park Society in Paschim Police Station area of Palanpur, the headquarters town of Banaskantha district, altogether 6300 notes of Rs 2000 denominations worth Rs 1.26-crore and 24 gold bars each weighing 100gm were recovered,” the SP said.

A local jeweller Pritesh Shah, who also owns a shop in the city, had filed a case against three persons including the Sadhvi and one Chirag Rawal and one unknown person claiming that they had taken more than Rs 5-crore from him in last few months in the name of giving him gold at cheaper rates. They had neither given any gold to him nor returned the money, the SP said.The two other accused are still at large. The Sadhvi has been arrested from her residence during the raid today and was being interrogated further. The Income Tax Department has also been informed about the recovery of cash and gold.Notably, the Sadhvi was seen throwing Rs 2000 notes on a well-known singer during a folk music event called Dyro recently.

(Agencies)

Govt to roll out Aadhar Pay for cashless transactions

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Aadhaar

New Delhi: Government will soon roll out Aadhaar Pay service that will enable people to make and receive payments using their Aadhaar number and biometrics.

“We are going to start Aadhaar Pay. With this people will not require to carry their phone for payments. They can visit any merchant, share their Aadhaar number and verify themselves using biometrics to pay and receive money,” Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

As of now, 14 banks have come on board for Aadhaar Pay and the service will be launched soon, Prasad said told reporters.

“We are in talks with other banks too. The service will be launched very soon,” he informed.

Further, the Minister said, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), the common platform for making quick payments using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), has also been integrated with Aadhaar Enabled Payment System on Thursday.

Around 111 crore people in the country have Aadhaar numbers.

“There are 49 crore bank accounts linked to Aadhaar. Every month 2 crore accounts are being seeded with Aadhaar,” Prasad said.

(PTI)

Sangolli Rayanna Brigade has silent approval of BJP high command: Eshwarappa

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K S Eshwarappa

Bagalkot: The Sangolli Rayanna Brigade will organise a state-level convention soon and will invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi at attend it, BJP leader K S Eshwarappa said on Thursday.

Addressing the gathering at the Sangolli Rayanna martyrdom day function in the district, the BJP leader claimed that the Brigade had the silent approval of the BJP high command.

He added that the Brigade was giving sleepless nights to many within six months of its inception, but there would be a change of mind among those opposing the Brigade and they would accept it.

Meanwhile, he added that the Chief Minister had to make the report of the caste census public and provide reservations based on the findings.

Brigade leader Ashok Limbavali said that activities of the Brigade would continue in the days to come as opposed to media reports that the Brigade would cease to exist if Eshwarappa and Yeddyurappa came to a truce.

(Agencies)

Doomsday Clock adjusted, partly due to Donald Trump

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Comments by Donald Trump on nuclear weapons and climate change have made the world less safe, atomic scientists say.

The atomic scientists say the world had edged closer to doomsday [EPA]

The atomic scientists say the world had edged closer to doomsday [EPA]

by Al Jazeera

Atomic scientists say the world is inching closer to an apocalypse, partly due to the words and actions of US President Donald Trump.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, a group of nuclear scientists who have been assessing global security for 70 years, said they were moving their symbolic Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to midnight for a number of reasons, but cited Trump’s campaign rhetoric on nuclear proliferation and denial of climate change in particular.

“Even though he has just now taken office, the president’s intemperate statements, lack of openness to expert advice and questionable cabinet nominations have already made a bad international security situation worse,” the scientists said.

Trump, who assumed office on January 20, has made contradictory statements about climate change, at times calling it a hoax and other times saying he would keep an open mind about it.

US-Russia relations

Beyond the election of Trump, the scientists listed a number of other reasons for their assessment, including strains in relations between the US and Russia, which together possess more than 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons, and North Korea’s underground nuclear tests.

“The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than it has ever been in the lifetime of almost everyone in this room,” Lawrence Krauss, the chairman of the Bulletin’s board of sponsors, told reporters on Thursday.

“The last time it was closer was 63 years ago in 1953 after the then Soviet Union exploded its first hydrogen bomb, creating the modern arms race,” he added.

Alluding to Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said: “This is the first time that the words and stated policies of one or two people placed in high positions have so impacted on our perception of the existential threats we believe the world faces.”

In a lengthy 18-page explanation of its decision, the scientists said that the international community failed to “come effectively to grips” with both nuclear weapons and climate change last year.

The Doomsday Clock was created in 1947 by a group of scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, the American-led clandestine effort to build the world’s first nuclear weapons.

Over the decades the scientists have recognised climate change as an additional threat, and in their report said “it could change life on Earth as we know it”.

Last year, the bulletin opted not to change the clock’s time from three minutes to midnight.

Sania-Dodig in Australian Open final

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Sania-Dodig

Melbourne: Ace Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her Croatian partner Ivan Dodig defeated local favourites Samantha Stosur and Sam Groth to enter the Australian Open mixed doubles final here on Friday.

The second seeded Indo-Croatian pair outplayed the Australian duo 6-4, 2-6, 10-5.
They will now take on the winner of the second semi-final featuring Elina Svitolina-Chris Guccione and Abigail Spears-Juan Sebastian Cabal.

(Agencies)

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