LIVE
Sun, 14 February 2016
Live! McCain slams Russia: 'Mr. Putin is not interested in being our partner'

Timeline  Refresh

image
23:50   Delhi Police begins probe into Twitter handle that prompted it to issue alert
Delhi Police today initiated a probe into the now-defunct Twitter handle in name of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, on which a message was
posted in support of the JNU student stir that prompted it to issue an alert.
"We got to know that the Twitter handle has been deleted. We have initiated a probe into the matter, starting with tracking the handler, who can also be charged with sedition in view of the contents posted," a senior officer said. 

Special Commissioner of Police (Operations) Sundari Nanda, who monitors Delhi Police's Twitter handles, said, "When the tweet was brought to our notice, we, as a law enforcement agency, issued the alert based on its content which was found to be anti-national."
"We checked the particular Twitter handle and most of its tweets and activities on the micro-blogging site were found to be anti-national. No matter who the handler was, the content was threatening, especially in the backdrop of the ongoing agitation at JNU," she said.
image
23:45   McCain slams Russia: 'Mr. Putin is not interested in being our partner'
A day after Russia's prime minister spoke of a renewed "Cold War" between his country and the West, a senior U.S. senator accused of Moscow of treating Syria "as a live-fire exercise" for its military as it sought to carve out a sphere of influence in the Middle East.

Speaking Sunday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, U.S. Sen. John McCain criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin's intervention in Syria's nearly five-year civil war.

"Mr. Putin is not interested in being our partner," said McCain, chairman of the U.S. Senate's Armed Services Committee, adding that the Russian president wanted to "shore up the Assad regime."

Read more HERE.
image
21:52   'Fire is under control' says Chief Fire Officer
The fire department's chief fire officer has stated that the fire is under control.

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi has spoken to Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis over the incident in Mumbai.

"An inquiry has been ordered into the fire; other Make in India events won't be affected," the CM said.
image
21:34   Will conduct enquiry to find out if all fire safety measure were followed: CM Fadnavis
"A fire safety audit was conducted prior to program & all SOPs were followed. No. of fire fighting equipment were kept stationed at venue," CM Devendra Fadnavis said.

"We will conduct an inquiry to find out if there was any lapses or whether all fire safety measures and SOPs were followed or not," the CM added.

"A comprehensive enquiry into the incident of fire will be conducted to ascertain the reason," says Maha CM Fadnavis.

image
21:27   Make in India fire: CM Fadnavis still at venue, overseeing evacuation effort
Maha CM has not left venue and is continuously monitoring situation & ensuring that everyone is safe. 

"Very unfortunate occurrence of fire in cultural program organised by GoM at Mumbai.No casualties have been reported and no one was injured," Fadnavis said.

"14 Fire engines, 10 Water Tankers, and all Sr. Fire Officers are on site. Fire now totally under control. The program has been called off," the CM said.
image
21:13   Fire crackers may have caused the fire, say eyewitnesses
According to eyewitnesses, the fire was caused by fire crackers.

"The fire was uncontrollable, luckily people have been evacuated. The authorities worked very quickly. It was unfortunate, but everybody got out safe including VVIPs, 20,000 to 25,000 people were there. Suddenly the fire broke out. Luckily, the fire exits were clearly defined," Poonam Mahajan told media persons.
image
21:07   Fire tenders douse the fire at the 'Make in India' event
Fire tenders douse the flames at the massive fire that broke out at the Make in India week event in Mumbai. 

The fire broke out during a Lavani performance that was intended to showcase the culture of Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena chief Udhav Thackeray, Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Hema Malini, Vivek Oberoi and others were present when the incident took place.
image
20:54   'We ran to save our lives' say eyewitness to massive fire at 'Make in India' event
An eyewitness at the event said that the fire broke out during a cultural performance. 

"We ran to save our lives," he said. 

The reasons for the fire are as yet unknown.
image
20:54   Fire breaks out on stage at 'Make In India' week' event in Mumbai
A massive fire broke out on stage during cultural programme at 'Make In India' week event in Mumbai.

The fire broke out during a Lavani performance that was intended to showcase the culture of Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena chief Udhav Thackeray, Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Hema Malini, Vivek Oberoi and others were present when the incident took place.

Evacuations are underway and no casualties have been reported so far.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the Make in India Week at NSCI, Worli, a flagship event designed to impart greater momentum to the initiative to boost the manufacturing sector in the country.

The Make in India Week is aimed at showcasing to the world the achievements of the nation in the manufacturing sector and promote India as a preferred manufacturing destination.

More details awaited.
image
20:47  
Another view of the fire.

image
20:08   JNU: Rajnath remarks based on agencies' inputs, says MHA
Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement that the JNU event had received "support" from terror outfit LeT founder Hafiz Saeed was based on inputs from "different agencies", a Home Ministry spokesperson said today.
"Statement of the Home Minister is based on the inputs available from different agencies," a Home Ministry spokesperson said without elaborating. 

Earlier in the day, the Home Minister said in Allahabad that the event on JNU campus in Delhi against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru had received "support" from Saeed, a statement that sparked a political row with opposition parties asking him to provide evidence.
image
19:32   Gym official arrested on charges of rape

A Scottish chief executive officer of a prominent gym and spa facility in south Delhi has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman on the pretext of marriage, police said on Sunday.

The complainant told police that she met the 40-year-old accused, a native of Scotland, over a social networking site and they soon became friends.

She alleged the accused sexually assaulted her for the past five months on the pretext of marriage and later severed all ties with her.

A case was registered yesterday on the basis of the woman's complaint and the accused was arrested late at night from his residence in Defence Colony, police said.

image
19:16   1 dead, 3 wounded in stabbing at asylum centre in Sweden
Swedish police say they have arrested a man suspected of killing one person and wounding three others during a fight between asylum-seekers.
Soderhamn Police spokesman Christer Nordstrom said today they are holding a man in his early 20s on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

He said it wasn't clear what type of weapon was used in the attack but the victim had died from cuts or stab wounds. He said some 15 men were involved in the brawl.

The incident occurred Saturday outside the Ljusne asylum center near Soderhamn, 240 kilometres north of the capital, Stockholm.
image
19:06   Headley's wife, associate "refuse" to answer NIA questions
The US-based wife of American-born Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and his business partner have "refused" to answer questions posed by NIA, citing a privacy clause.             

The agency had approached Shazia, Headley's wife, and Raymond Sanders, his busines partner, through the US Department of Justice, for helping it get answers to some of the questions related to the 55-year-old terrorist, undergoing a prison term of 35 years in an American jail, for his role in plotting the terror strikes in Mumbai and Denmark.             

Official sources said both of them "refused" to answer any questions, citing a "privacy" clause. As per the US law, since neither of them is an accused in the case, they can accept or deny requests for examination by a foreign law enforcement agency.
image
18:09   Headley's wife, associate "refuse" to answer NIA questions
The US-based wife of American-born Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist David Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and his business partner have "refused" to answer questions posed by NIA, citing a privacy clause.             

The agency had approached Shazia, Headley's wife, and Raymond Sanders, his busines partner, through the US Department of Justice, for helping it get answers to some of the questions related to the 55-year-old terrorist, undergoing a prison term of 35 years in an American jail, for his role in plotting the terror strikes in Mumbai and Denmark.             

Official sources said both of them "refused" to answer any questions, citing a "privacy" clause. As per the US law, since neither of them is an accused in the case, they can accept or deny requests for examination by a foreign law enforcement agency.
image
18:03   Cliff collapses after earthquake strikes near New Zealand
A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand with such force, it caused part of a cliff to collapse.

About 150,000 to 200,000 people felt strong or very strong shaking, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said.

The quake was centered about 17 kilometers (10 miles) east of Christchurch, which suffered a catastrophic temblor in 2011 that killed at least 185 people.

Almost exactly five years later, the quake Sunday caused a cliff to crumble near Taylor's Mistake bay.

Parts of the cliff retreated 5 meters (16 feet), geotechnical engineer Jan Kupec Linz told CNN affiliate TVNZ.

Some narrowly escaped the collapse.
image
17:28   Bodies of 9 soldiers likely to be brought to Delhi tomorrow
The bodies of nine Siachen bravehearts, who were buried alive in an avalanche that struck their post on the world's highest battlefield, are likely to be brought here tomorrow, if weather permits.

The weather at Khardung La remains extremely poor and all attempts to bring the mortal remains of the nine soldiers to Leh are being made, a senior Army official said. 

If weather permits, the bodies will be brought to the national capital not before tomorrow, he said.

A wreath-laying ceremony is expected to be held here.

"Plan to further move the mortal remains to Bangalore, Chennai, Trivandrum, Madurai, Pune, Hyderabad, is in place," he said.
image
17:28   Church of England criticized over prayers for atheist Richard Dawkins
The Church of England has been accused of "trolling" scientist Richard Dawkins after it tweeted it was praying for the outspoken atheist's recovery from a stroke.

Dawkins, a distinguished evolutionary biologist at Oxford, is one of the world's leading voices for secularism, and a fierce critic of religion.

When news broke Friday that the 74-year-old had suffered a minor stroke, forcing him to cancel scheduled appearances in Australia and New Zealand, the Church of England retweeted a report of his condition with a statement offering "prayers for Prof. Dawkins and his family."

Read more HERE.
image
17:28   Bihar's ruling RJD suspends MLA for rape of minor
M I Khan/ Rediff.com reports. 

Facing aggressive opposition BJP led NDA over collapse of law and order in Bihar,ruling RJD of the Grand Alliance on Sunday suspended its MLA Rajballabh Yadav for allegedly raping a minor girl

RJD state president Ram Chandra Purve told newspersons here that party has suspended Yadav for his crime.

Yadav is absconding after an arrest order was issued on Saturday against him following a minor girl filed a complaint of rape against him, police said.

The girl from Nalanda district filed an FIR against Yadav, the legislator from Nawada, for her rape.

image
17:27   No one has the right to play with country's unity: Anupam Kher
Amid raging row over an event in JNU where anti-India slogans were alleged to have been raised, noted actor Anupam Kher said freedom of speech does not mean people have the right to create disunity in the country.

"How can people raise slogans to decimate India in a big university JNU in the nation's capital? What kind of freedom of speech is this, which poses threat to the nation's unity?" Kher, who arrived here to take part in a drama, told reporters last night.
"You can raise slogans against anyone if you are angry with any government. But you don't have the right to play with the unity of the country. No question arises of pardoning them," the 60-year-old actor said.
He also expressed annoyance over politics being played on the JNU issue.
image
16:14   Encounter breaks out between militants, security forces in J-K
One militant was killed in an ongoing encounter in south Kashmir Pulwama district this afternoon. 

Mukhtar Ahmed/ Rediff.com reports from Srinagar that a senior police officer said troops of Rashtriya Rifles and police surrounded Lalhar village near Kakpora in Pulwama district this afternoon.

"The operation was launched on specific information about presence of a group of militants in the village, " the officer said.

He said militants opened fire at the surrounding troops triggering an encounter. 

"One militant has been killed in the encounter so far. The operation is on," he added.

Sunday's gunfight came a day after five militants and two army troopers were killed in an encounter in frontier Kupwara district. 
image
14:42   Please do not call my son a 'terrorist': Kanhaiya's mother
"Please do not call my son a terrorist," says JNUSU President Kanhaiya's mother as she breaks down while watching the news flashes on TV at a
neighbour's house in Bihar's Begusarai district.
"We are constantly watching TV after we got to know that Kanhaiya has been arrested. I hope police does not beat him too much. He has never disrespected his parents, forget the country. Please do not call my son a terrorist. He cannot be one," his mother Meena Devi told PTI over phone from Bihar. 

Meena, an Anganwadi worker who earns Rs 3,500 per month, says she and her eldest son Manikant are the sole bread-winners for the family as her 65-year-old husband has been bedridden for seven years due to paralysis. 

Kanhaiya's father Jaishankar Singh, who was a farmer, said his son is being framed into the case for opposing Hindutva politics.
image
14:24   UK spies hunt ISIS suspect who joined Linkedin
Security services in the UK are hot on the heels of a British Islamic State terror suspect in Turkey after he mistakenly disclosed his whereabouts by joining the Linkedin professional network.

Rabah Tahari, 46, from Birmingham is believed to have recruited the so-called "Jihadi John" British Muslim terrorist as the leader of an extremist group linked to Al Qaeda. 

British and Turkish security services are concerned that Tahari has moved to Turkey where he gave away his location when he joined Linkedin recently.

There are growing fears that Tahari, 46, who is the leader of a network of fighters, will make his way back to Europe to carry out terrorist attacks, reported 'The Sunday Telegraph'. 

It is estimated that up to 50 British terrorists are hiding out in Turkey, where they can plan terror attacks against the West safe from allied bombing. 
image
14:17   JNU incident was backed by LeT Chief Hafiz Saeed: Rajnath Singh
"Whatever happened in JNU is extremely unfortunate," Home Minister Rajnath Singh said at a press conference about the arrest of the JNU student's body chief.

"Have said earlier also, anyone who raises anti-India slogans or tries to put question mark on national unity, will not be spared by this govt," the home minister clarified.

"Nobody should try to achieve political benefits from such incidents," Singh said making veiled reference on Rahul Gandhi.

"Nation must also accept the reality that incident that took place in JNU, has been approved by LeT Chief Hafiz Saeed.This is unfortunate," the home minister said.
image
14:10   US teen gifts flowers to every girl in school for V-Day
In a heart-warming gesture, a teenager in the US gifted flowers to over 800 girls in his school for Valentine's Day after saving money by doing odd
jobs.

17-year-old Hayden Godfrey's gesture for all the girls at his school in Smithfield, Utah, resulted from years of buildup and planning. He saved for a year and a half to afford the USD 450 it cost to purchase 900 carnations from an online wholesaler.

Every Valentine's Day since he was 14, Godfrey would anonymously send flowers to dozens of his friends, he said. Each year, the project grew larger in scale until he ultimately decided he wanted to make "as many people as
possible" happy this Valentine's Day.
image
14:05   Afghan civilian casualties top 11,000 to hit record in 2015
The UN in 2015 recorded its highest number of civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan, according to a new report today, with children paying a particularly heavy toll as struggling Afghan forces faced a
militant surge.
There were 11,002 civilian casualties in 2015, a four percent rise over 2014, the UN said in the annual report, with 3,545 of them fatalities.
One in every four casualties was a child while one in ten was a woman, the report said, with the UN's special representative for Afghanistan Nicholas Haysom branding the figures "unacceptable". 
image
13:51   PM Modi attends event to mark birth anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati
"We should take inspiration from great people like Dayananda Saraswati and do something good for the nation," PM Narendra Modi at an event to mark birth anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

"Even after so many years after Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the movement started by him is still alive," he said.

'Imagine the strength of the idea, that the Arya Samaj has emerged as a family that is so strong even today," the prime minister added.

"Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati was a revolutionary. He was not one to escape challenges. He fought blind faith as well," Modi stated.

"Pick up any one idea and work on it, let India's strength at the world stage increase through that idea," the prime minister said.

"Arya Samaj need not tell what to do or not, its very idea is connected to the welfare of the country," PM Modi stated.
image
13:30   No info on Indians fighting alongside ISIS in Iraq: officials
Hundreds of militants from around the world, including from Pakistan, are fighting alongside the dreaded Islamic State in Iraq, according to top military commanders of the war-torn Arab country who said they had no information of Indians being among them.

"Militants from several countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and central Asia are fighting in Iraq," said Sheikh Meesam Zaidi, a senior commander of Al-Abbas Brigade, which is part of para-military force Hashd al-Shaabi or the Popular Mobilisation Forces.

When asked about presence of Indians in ISIS ranks in Iraq, the commander whose forces are battling terrorists in areas like Salahuddin, Anbar, Baiji said that they have "no such information".
image
13:22   Planet formation around binary star examined
Astronomers have taken a new, detailed look at the very early stages of planet formation around a binary star about 450 light-years from Earth.
Embedded in the outer reaches of a double star's protoplanetary disk, researchers discovered a striking crescent-shape region of dust that is conspicuously devoid of gas.
Using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array, astronomers took a new, detailed look at the planet-forming disk around HD 142527, a binary star about 450 light-years from Earth in a cluster of young stars known as the Scorpius-Centaurus Association.
The HD 142527 system consists of a main star a little more than twice the mass of the Sun and a smaller companion star only about a third the mass of the Sun. 
image
13:14   Obama to nominate Indian-American judge on US Supreme Court?
Sri Srinivasan could become the first Indian-American to be on the bench of the US Supreme Court after conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia's sudden death gave rise to speculation that President Barack Obama may
nominate the judge who enjoys impeccable bipartisan support.
Chandigarh-born Srikanth 'Sri' Srinivasan, 48, tops the list of prospective justice to the country's highest judicial body as Obama said he plans to fulfill his "constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor" to Scalia. 

"Any list begins with Sri Srinivasan, a member of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit - a traditional launching pad for Supreme Court nominees," the CNN reported today.

"There's always a short-list of potential justices that court experts and watchers have in their heads; Obama will be cognisant that he is replacing a conservative icon and that might temper his choices, leading him to try to find someone that at least some Republicans in Congress might find
acceptable," it said.
image
12:55   Govt. asks Rahul Gandhi to install statues of terrorists at AICC office
Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Sunday hit back at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for accusing the ruling dispensation of suppressing the voice of students in the JNU and advised him to install the statues of separatists and terrorists at the AICC office and offer floral tributes to them.

"If Rahul ji is so much in favour of divisive mindset, he can install the statues of separatists and terrorists at the AICC office and pay floral tributes to them every day but the nation can never tolerate such divisive mindset," Naqvi told ANI.

"If the Congress Party, especially Rahul Gandhi, does not understand this and would use this for their political benefits then it won't benefit them. No country in this world would give fundamental rights to those having a divisive mindset," he added while taking potshots the Opposition for playing politics on the issue.
image
12:49   Spielberg's 'ET' based on Satyajit Ray's script, claims Zaidi
Veteran Bollywood writer and costume designer Shama Zaidi has claimed that Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg's science-fiction "E T the xtra-Terrestrial" was based on a script written by highly acclaimed Indian
director, Satyajit Ray.
Zaidi worked with Ray in the 1977 National award-winning film "Shatranj Ke Khiladi" as a costume designer. She also assisted him in research and translation of the dialogues in the film.
Zaidi claimed that the "Pather Panchali" director had drawn a storyboard of a science fiction Hollywood film he wanted to make, which was ultimately used to make two movies.

"ET was his (Ray's) script. He showed me the script. That and the other film where another person comes from outer space in a small town (referring to 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'). These two films were inspired by his drawings. That ET character, he showed me the drawing in the 70s but he had done it in 60s," Zaidi told PTI.
image
11:53   Republican prez hopefuls say destroying ISIS top priority
Top Republican presidential aspirants have agreed that defeating ISIS is one of the top priority for the US even as they sharply differed on the
process to combat the terror outfit.
Frontrunner Donald Trump favoured America partnering with Russia to defeat ISIS, while Jeb Bush said a Sunni-led coalition along with special US forces would accomplish the job, and Ted Cruz did not rule out sending troops on the ground along with massive air power to defeat ISIS.
"We are going to have to hit very, very hard to knock out ISIS," Trump said participating in the Republican presidential debate in this city in South Carolina, where Indian-American Nikki Haley is the Governor.
He said he would do this with Russia. 

"This is the problem," Bush, the former Florida Governor said as he opposed the idea of partnering with Russia to defeat ISIS. 
image
11:48   George Clooney, wife Amal meet Syrian refugees
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin met a Syrian mother Mona and her 11-year-old daughter Joudi following their sit-down with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The actor, 54, and his lawyer wife solemnly listened to her story as she explained why she needed to escape, reported Ace Showbiz.
The husband and wife duo also met with two other Syrian families.
"It was an honor to meet three Syrian families whose lives have been shattered by war and inspiring to learn that the people of Germany are helping them put their lives back together," George said.
Clooney has been raising awareness of refugee crisis while in Berlin with his wife to promote his new movie "Hail Caesar".
image
11:43   PM likely to launch portal with works of Ambedkar
As part of its efforts to make the works of B R Ambedkar, architect of the Constitution, accessible to masses, the Ministry of Social justice and
Empowerment has created a web portal which will have the complete works of Ambedkar.

The portal www.DrAmbedkarwritings.gov.in., which will have collected works of Ambedkar in English and Marathi, along with the translation of his works in nine other languages including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Malyalam, Bengali, Gujarati and Odiya is likely to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The portal will be launched in March. It is a part of the programmes and activities organised by the Centre to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary year of the Dalit icon. This is a first attempt to put all the works of Dr Ambedkar online," said a senior ministry official.
image
11:39   'AAP-Delhi bonding deep and everlasting', says Kejriwal on one year completion
Expressing happiness over completion of one year in the office, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the bonding between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the national capital is deep and everlasting.

"Last year, on this day, Delhi fell in love with AAP. This bonding is deep n everlasting," Chief Minister Kejriwal said in a tweet.

"Today, at 11 am, Delhi govt will make some announcements, which will benefit lakhs of people in Delhi," he added.
image
11:21   In Haryana, woman raped in ICU after delivering a baby
In a shocking incident a policeman's wife was allegedly raped by an unidentified person, at the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital here on Saturday night.

The victim had delivered a baby and had been admitted in the ICU when the alleged incident took place.

The CCTV footage shows a man getting down from a Verna car outside the hospital, at around 3.30 am, and going straight to the ICU. He is also seen leaving the hospital.
image
00:27   World has slipped into 'new Cold War': Russian PM Medvedev
Bringing back the language of the 1950s and 60s, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says the strained relationship between his country and the West could be described as "a new Cold War."

Speaking Saturday at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Medvedev said he sometimes found himself wondering whether this was 2016 or 1962.

"NATO's policy with regard to Russia has remained unfriendly and opaque. One could go as far as to say that we have slid back to a new Cold War," Medvedev said. "Almost on an everyday basis we are called one of the most terrible threats either to NATO as a whole or to Europe, or to the United States."

Tensions between the West and Russia have increased in recent years, in large part -- at least in the view of the West -- due to Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and its support for separatists elsewhere in eastern Ukraine.

More recently, some in the West have questioned whether Russia's intervention in Syria is helpful. Russia says it is attacking terrorists. But some observers contend that Moscow is intent primarily on propping of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is hanging onto power despite a five-year civil war.
image
00:23   Saudi Arabia to send planes to Turkey for Islamic State fight: Reports
Saudi Arabia will send aircraft to NATO-member Turkey's Incirlik air base for the fight against Islamic State militants in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was reported as saying.

Saudi Arabia has resumed its participation in air strikes against Islamic State in recent weeks and US Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday welcomed its commitment to expand its role.

"Saudi Arabia is now sending planes to Turkey, to Incirlik. They came and carried out inspections at the base," Cavusoglu told the Yeni Safak newspaper, adding it was unclear how many planes would come and that the Saudis might also send soldiers.

Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Cavusoglu's remarks.

Read more HERE
image
00:17   India needs a Modi budget, not another 'babu budget'
It is imperative that Prime Minister Narendra Modi step in to ensure that the budget that will get presented on February 29 be of a post-colonial mould, with lower taxes and more incentives for innovation rather than Chidambaram's growth-deadening focus on raising of revenue to pay for inflated costs and salaries that reversed the direction of growth in India, a malaise that is now visible in full view, and which only the intervention of Narendra Modi can ensure.

Read more on the Sunday Gaurdian, HERE
image
00:14   Pope tells Mexico leaders nation needs 'true justice'
Pope Francis called on Mexico's leaders today to provide "true justice" and security to citizens hit by drug violence as he addressed a National Palace packed with politicians. 

With President Enrique Pena Nieto by his side, Francis invoked the country's struggles against corruption and crime, one day after arriving on a five-day, cross-country tour of Mexico. 

The pope told the assembled lawmakers and government officials that social, cultural and political leaders have a duty to help citizens "have real access to the material and spiritual goods which are indispensable: adequate housing, dignified employment, food, true justice, effective security, a healthy and peaceful environment."

"Experience teaches us that each time we seek the path of privileges or benefits for a few to the detriment of the good of all ... society becomes a fertile soil for corruption, drug trade, exclusion of different cultures, violence and also human trafficking, kidnapping and death, bringing suffering and slowing down development," he said.

It was the kind of message that many ordinary Mexicans, fed up with a decade of drug violence that has left more than 100,000 dead of missing, were hoping for. 

Mexico was reminded of its troubles on the eve of the pope's arrival, when 49 inmates were killed in a prison brawl between rival groups in the north of the country.
image
00:13   'Make-in-India Week': Modi hosts grand dinner for delegates
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday night hosted a grand dinner for around 800 people at the Turf Club in South Mumbai, which included top politicians, diplomats from several countries and industry leaders.

Earlier in the day, Modi launched the largest-ever manufacturing summit 'MII Week' here in the presence of several heads of state, a battery of business leaders and foreign delegates.

"There were 800 guests invited at the Prime Minister's dinner which included top businessmen from India, politicians from various countries, representatives of several embassies, Consulate Generals, Ambassadors and other delegates as well," an official from the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office, who was present at the event, said.

He said Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitaraman, Fadnavis's cabinet colleagues and bureaucrats from the Central government were also present.

TOP STORIES