Andaman: ‘Leave US missionary’s body and indigenous group alone,’ Survival International urges India

Survival International, a movement for indigenous groups, on Monday urged the Indian government to terminate efforts to recover an American’s man’s body from the isolated North Sentinel island. Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police said they had conducted their second expedition on November 24, in a bid to retrieve John Allen Chau’s body from the prohibited island.

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Kerala: Musician Balabhaskar was himself driving when his car crashed, claim five witnesses

The Kerala Police on Monday said at least five witnesses have contradicted the claim of musician Balabhaskar’s wife Lakshmi that the violinist was not at the wheel when their car crashed on September 25. Balabhaskar died the following week.

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Bihar: Upendra Kushwaha is using ‘pressure tactics’ to finalise seat arrangement, says Chirag Paswan

The Lok Janshakti Party on Monday criticised Rashtriya Lok Samata Party president and Union minister Upendra Kushwaha for resorting to “pressure tactics” to finalise a seat sharing arrangement between allies of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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Supreme Court refuses to hear new petition challenging Article 370

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a petition challenging Article 370 of the Constitution, saying the points raised in it are already part of pending pleas. The law grants special, autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir.

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26/11 anniversary: Pakistan has shown ‘little sincerity’ about ensuring justice, says MEA

India on Monday welcomed the United States’ statement asking Pakistan to take action against those responsible the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. It also accused Pakistan of showing “little sincerity” in bringing those responsible to justice. “The planners of 26/11 still roam the streets of Pakistan with impunity,” said the Ministry of External Affairs.

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Rebel AAP leader Kapil Mishra, BJP’s Vijender Gupta marshalled out of Delhi Assembly

Rebel Aam Aadmi Party leader Kapil Mishra and Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta were on Monday marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly minutes after a special session of the House commenced. The special session was convened to discuss a recent attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, when a man threw chilli powder at him outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat.

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Electoral bonds: How can anyone be sure black money is not being used, asks EC chief OP Rawat

The government has not addressed any of the Election Commission’s concerns regarding electoral bonds, Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat told The Economic Times on Monday. Rawat’s term is set to end in the first week of December.

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Kolkata: Man taken off plane, arrested after he mentions ‘terrorist’ in social media photo caption

Central Industrial Security Force personnel took a passenger off a Jet Airways flight and arrested him at the Kolkata airport on Monday after he put up a social media post from the aircraft that allegedly contained the word “terrorist”.

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Implant files: Cardiac stents top the list of medical devices connected to adverse events in India

More than 500 adverse events related to medical devices have been reported in 2018 so far, The Indian Express reported on Monday as part of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ probe into the global medical devices industry.

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Kerala CPI(M) suspends MLA PK Sasi for six months after sexual misconduct allegations

The Kerala unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday decided to suspend MLA PK Sasi from the party for six months following sexual misconduct allegations against him. The party’s state secretariat took the decision at a meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

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Aircel-Maxis case: P Chidambaram’s prosecution sanctioned by government, CBI tells Delhi court

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday informed a court in Delhi’s Patiala House Courts complex that the government has sanctioned the prosecution of former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case. The court extended till December 18 the relief from arrest granted to the former minister and his son Karti Chidambaram after the investigating agency said it requires two more weeks to get the sanction to prosecute the other accused in the case.

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Prevention of Corruption Act amendments: Supreme Court asks Centre to respond to NGO’s plea

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the central government on the petition of the Centre for Public Interest against amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act. The government has been asked to respond within six weeks.

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Kartarpur corridor: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu lays foundation stone in Punjab’s Gurdaspur

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Kartarpur road corridor, which will provide pilgrims an easy passage to the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan.

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Chhattisgarh: Eight suspected Maoists and two police personnel killed in Sukma gunfight

At least eight suspected Maoists were killed on Monday in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, PTI reported.

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Jammu and Kashmir: Suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed militant killed in Pulwama, another arrested

A suspected militant was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Khrew town in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Sunday. The police recovered an AK-47 rifle, three magazines, two grenades and a pistol from the militant, Indian Army Colonel Samar Raghav told ANI on Monday.

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Delhi: One dead and two hospitalised after mob beats them for allegedly stealing car batteries

An autorickshaw driver died and two people were hospitalised after a mob of over 200 people in West Delhi’s Mohan Garden beat them up on Saturday for allegedly stealing car batteries. The three were tied to an electric pole, beaten up and paraded.

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Civil aviation ministry to review airlines’ move to charge passengers for all web check-ins

The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation announced on Monday that it is reviewing airlines’ policies of charging customers for web check-ins of all flight seats. “We are reviewing these fees to see whether they fall within the unbundled pricing framework,” the ministry said on Twitter. The announcement came after budget airlines IndiGo and SpiceJet said on Sunday that they will charge money for the online check-in services but will continue to allocate seats at airports for free.

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Chennai: Scholar Iravatham Mahadevan dies at 88

Noted epigraphist Iravatham Mahadevan died at his home in Chennai early on Monday after a brief illness. He was 88. Mahadevan was considered one of the world’s leading scholars on the Tamil Brahmi and the Indus Valley scripts. He was a former IAS officer and had been the editor of Tamil newspaper Dinamani.

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Noida selected to participate in United Nations’ Global Sustainable Cities 2025 plan

Roland Schatz, a senior UN adviser and chief executive of UN Global Sustainability Index Institute, said the twin cities in Gautam Buddh Nagar district have been selected in the “University City” category ahead of Mumbai and Bengaluru as the only invitee from India.

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Rupee pares early gains after rising to 70.30, Sensex, Nifty flat after opening higher

The rupee has gained over 200 paise in the last seven sessions. By 11 am, however, the currency had pared its gains and was 19 paise up since the previous close, at 70.52 against the dollar.

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26/11 Mumbai attacks anniversary: US announces $5-million reward for information on perpetrators

The State Department’s Rewards for Justice programme will offer the reward, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement ahead of the 10th anniversary of the attacks on November 26.

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Odisha: Private university evacuates two hostels after students clash over alleged sexual harassment

The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar said on Sunday it had evacuated two hostels after clashes broke out between two groups over the alleged harassment of a female student. Footage from closed-circuit television showed that students vandalised campus property on Saturday, attacking each other with sticks and thrashing some entering a lift.

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Rahul Gandhi is defending Congress leaders who drag in my parents at rallies: Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress of dragging in his parents in election campaigns instead of participating in a debate on development issues, PTI reported. He also criticised Congress President Rahul Gandhi for defending the leaders who made such references.

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Andaman: Police team retreats after seeing men armed with bows and arrows on North Sentinel Island

A police team which approached North Sentinel Island on Saturday, a week after an isolated indigenous group killed an American man, retreated after it saw men armed with bows and arrows. The team was attempting to recover John Allen Chau’s body.

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