Andaman: US man’s family ‘forgives’ tribe for killing him after he illegally visited their island

The family of John Allen Chau, who was allegedly murdered by the indigenous Sentinelese tribe after he illegally entered their island in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, on Thursday said they had “forgiven” his killers. Meanwhile, Indian authorities said they were still attempting to retrieve Chau’s body.

Read more here.

Vijay Mallya’s plea against ED request to declare him a fugitive rejected by Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Thursday rejected businessman Vijay Mallya’s petition challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s request to declare him a fugitive economic offender, PTI reported.

Read more here.

Hashimpura massacre case: Four former UP policemen sentenced to life surrender, say reports

Four of the 16 former policemen convicted in the Hashimpura massacre case surrendered in Delhi’s Tis Hazari court on Thursday. Last month, the Delhi High Court had sentenced to life the former Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel for killing 42 Muslim men in Hashimpura in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district in 1987, and had ordered them to surrender by November 22.

Read more here.

Bhima Koregaon: Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde, Stan Swamy get relief from arrest till December 14

The Bombay High Court on Thursday restrained the police from arresting activists Gautam Navlakha, Anand Teltumbde and Stan Swamy till December 14. While Navlakha had been arrested in August in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case, the homes and offices of Teltumbde and Swamy had been searched.

Read more here.

Odisha: Elephant killed by goods train in Keonjhar district

A female elephant died after being hit by a goods train in Odisha’s Keonjhar district on Wednesday, forest officials said. The incident occurred almost a month after seven elephants died in the state’s Dhenkanal district after coming in contact with a live wire.

Read more here.

West Bengal: Sovan Chatterjee quits as Kolkata mayor two days after resigning from state Cabinet

Trinamool Congress leader Sovan Chhatterjee resigned as Kolkata mayor on Thursday, PTI reported. Chatterjee had resigned from the state Cabinet on Tuesday after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rebuked him for allegedly ignoring official responsibilities to focus on personal matters. He was the housing and fire service department minister.

Read more here.

J&K: Congress accuses governor of helping BJP-People’s Conference alliance

The Congress on Thursday accused Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik of facilitating the “uphill task” of the People’s Conference and the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a ruling coalition in the state. Mir said maintaining the state’s special status was the Congress’ top priority.

Read more here.

Sabarimala row: BJP calls bandh in Kanyakumari after police allegedly stop Union minister’s car

The Bharatiya Janata Party announced on Thursday that it would observe a bandh in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district on Friday after the police allegedly stopped Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan’s cavalcade in Kerala’s Sabarimala early in the morning.

Read more here.

President Ram Nath Kovind meets Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, five pacts signed

India and Australia on Thursday signed five agreements to boost investments and enhance cooperation during President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to the country. Kovind, the first Indian head of state to visit the country, held talks with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Sydney to step up bilateral strategic ties.

Read more

BJP urges poll panel to take action against Kamal Nath for alleged remarks on ‘Muslim votes’

In a memorandum submitted to the chief election commissioner, the BJP said the Congress leader was “appealing to voters on the basis of religious denomination”. They submitted a video purportedly showing Nath asking a group of Muslim leaders to ensure that the Congress gets 90% of the community’s votes. The memorandum was signed by Union ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and SS Ahluwalia and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni.

Read more here

Centre clears Kartarpur corridor project to allow Sikh pilgrims to reach gurdwara in Pakistan

The Union Cabinet on Thursday cleared the development of the Kartarpur corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of Punjab to the International Border, to provide pilgrims an easy passage to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, which is located in Pakistan. The gurdwara is built on the site where Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, died in 1539.

Read more here

Kerala nun rape case: Church warns priest for organising protests against rape-accused bishop

The Syro Malabar Church in Kerala has warned a priest for organising protests in support of a nun who was raped. Father Augstine Vattoly – the priest who was warned – is the convener of “Save Our Sisters”, which had organised a protest outside the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on November 14.

Read more here

Jammu and Kashmir: Omar Abdullah dares Ram Madhav to prove Pakistan’s role in alliance with PDP

“I dare Ram Madhav to bring evidence about Pakistan’s role in the formation of this alliance,” Abdullah said at a press conference. “Please stop this politics of shoot and scoot,” he said.

Read more here

Maharashtra: Farmers continue march to Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, will meet chief minister in the evening

More than 20,000 farmers from across Maharashtra continued their march to Azad Maidan in Mumbai for the second day on Thursday, demanding that the state government implement the measures it promised last year, including farm loan waiver.

Read more here.

Madhya Pradesh: At least seven children killed after bus hits school van in Satna district

At least seven schoolchildren were killed when a bus hit their van at Birsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district on Thursday, PTI reported. As many as eight children were injured.

Read more here.

‘Not against negotiations with India,’ says Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo

The Hizbul Mujahideen is not against negotiations with the Indian government, its commander Riyaz Naikoo said on Thursday. The Hizbul Mujahideen has been recognised as a terrorist organisation by India. In August 2017, the United States designated the Kashmiri militant outfit as a foreign terrorist organisation and issued sanctions against it.

Read more here.

Tulsiram Prajapati encounter case: Amit Shah among main conspirators, says investigating officer

A chief investigating officer in the alleged 2006 fake encounter case of Tulsiram Prajapati on Wednesday said that Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah and three senior police officers –
DG Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandiyan and Dinesh MN – were the “principal conspirators” in Prajapati’s killing.

Read more here.

Goa: BJP criticises Congress for marching to CM’s house, says Nehru was also ill while in office

The Goa unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday criticised the Congress for supporting a protest march to ailing Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s house demanding his resignation. The BJP seemed to compare Parrikar to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and pointed out that he was also ailing during his last years in office.

Read more here.

Delhi sealing: SC closes contempt case against BJP’s Manoj Tiwari but criticises him for ‘machismo’

The Supreme Court on Thursday closed contempt proceedings against Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Manoj Tiwari for breaking the lock of a house sealed by the East Delhi Municipal Corporation in an unauthorised colony in September.

Read more here.

Rupee rises for seventh consecutive session; Sensex, Nifty trade flat

The Indian rupee strengthened for the seventh consecutive session on Wednesday morning, rising 29 paise to trade at 71.16 against the United States dollar at 10.22 am. The rise in the Indian currency could be attributed to falling international crude oil prices.

Read more here

Poet, essayist Meena Alexander dies at 67

Alexander was born in Allahabad and raised in Kerala and Sudan. Alexander’s collections of poetry include Atmospheric Embroidery, Birthplace with Buried Stones, Quickly Changing River, Raw Silk, and Illiterate Heart, which won the 2002 PEN Open Book Award. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker and Harvard Review among other journals.

Read more here

Sabarimala: Kerala HC says pilgrims cannot be stopped from moving in groups or singing songs

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday ordered that Sabarimala pilgrims cannot be prevented from moving in groups and chanting devotional songs to Lord Ayyappa. A division bench of the High Court issued the order based on pleas by several organisations against imposition of prohibitory orders at Sabarimala.

Read more here.

India and China ‘properly controlled’ disputes through dialogue, Beijing says ahead of border talks

China on Wednesday said that the relationship between India and China has had a “sound momentum” and that the two sides have “properly controlled disputes” through dialogue and consultation.

Read more here

Delhi: FIR filed against Aam Aadmi Party MLA Somnath Bharti for allegedly abusing TV anchor

The Delhi Police on Wednesday registered a first information report against Aam Aadmi Party MLA Somnath Bharti for allegedly abusing a television news anchor. “An anchor of a Noida-based news channel lodged the complaint against Bharti under Indian Penal Code sections 504 [breach of peace] and 509 [outraging the modesty of a woman],” Sita Singh, who is in charge of the Noida women’s police station, said.

Read more here.

J&K Assembly dissolved as parties with opposing ideologies can’t form stable government: Governor

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik on Wednesday cited four reasons for dissolving the state Assembly. In a press statement issued later in the evening, the governor said he took the decision “based on the material available to him from multiple sources”.

Read more here.

Tamil Nadu: Schools and colleges in Chennai closed on Thursday after heavy rain alert

The India Meteorological Department on Wednesday forecast heavy rain in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and South Rayalaseema in the next two days. The weather department said a well-marked low pressure area has developed over southwest Bay of Bengal and coastal Tamil Nadu, with “associated cyclonic circulation” extending up to 5.8 km above mean sea level.

Read more here.