China lodges second protest over Modi’s Arunachal Pradesh visit
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin on Saturday called in Indian ambassador Ashok Kantha in Beijing to lodge a second protest over Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh on Friday. Zhenmin said that Modi’s visit to the state has undermined China's territorial sovereignty, right and interests and artificially amplified differences between the two countries on the border issue. Modi had visited Arunachal Pradesh on the occasion of its 29th Statehood Day. During his visit, he flagged off the first train connecting the state to New Delhi, inaugurated a project for clean drinking water and laid the foundation stone for a 132 KV power transmission project. On Friday, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying had said that the visit was not conducive to resolving the boundary dispute between the two countries.

Corporate espionage: It’s a 10,000 crore scam, claims accused Saikia
Journalist Shantanu Saikia, the accused in the corporate espionage case, is said to have admitted to the Delhi Police crime branch office that the whole scam of leaking documents is worth Rs 10,000 crore. Saikia is among the seven arrested by Delhi Police for stealing documents from the Petroleum ministry on Thursday night. The Police said that the accused could be charged under the Official Secrets Act. The court granted permission to the police to question two former ministry officials, Saikia, and an industry consultant for next four days while the three other arrested individuals will be held for the next two weeks. Earlier in the day, Home Minister Rajnath Singh promised strict punishment for those involved.

Government withdraws security cover of former union ministers
The Narendra Modi government has decided to withdraw security cover of several former union ministers on Saturday. In a meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary LC Goyal, the threat perception to various individuals already enjoying security cover was reassessed. Former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar and Congress leaders Manish Tewari, Sriprakash Jaiswal, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Jitin Prasada, PL Punia and Salim Sherwani are among those whose security will be withdrawn. Chattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh’s security cover of NSG commandos has been replaced by CRPF. However, Matang Sinh, accused in the Saradha scam continues to enjoy Z-plus security in 14 states.

No trace of 39 Indians held hostage in Iraq: Sushma Swaraj
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday told the families of the 39 Indian nationals taken hostage by the Islamic State that the ministry has no proof of them being either dead or alive. Swaraj met the families of the Indian nationals for the sixth time since they were taken hostage in June 2014. She assured the families that the ministry was trying its level best on the issue.

Former Yemen president flees capital after escaping from house arrest
Former President of Yemen, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has fled from the capital city of Sanaa after spending several weeks under house arrest by the rebel group Houthis on Saturday. The rebels had forced Hadi to resign from his post last month. Hadi flew to Aden where he has many loyal supporters and the region is not under control of Houthis. According to sources, he is likely to fly to Saudi Arabia or US for medical reasons. Yemen has been locked in political crisis since the Prime Minister and President resigned in January after the Houthis seized control of the presidential palace.