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Rahul Gandhi detained by Delhi police

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was detained by Delhi Police on Wednesday after he tried to meet the kin of dead ex-serviceman Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal at Delhi's RML Hospital. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was also detained there. The Aam Aadmi Party leader was detained after he tried to sit on a dharna inside the hospital over Grewal's suicide. "I went to RML to meet the family, not to stage a dharna. What's wrong with that?" he tweeted. Retorting over the incident, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal quickly took to Twitter and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “insecurity.” He also added that if a minister goes to pay his condolences to the family, is it correct to “arrest” him. "Rahul Gandhi has been detained at Mandir Marg Police Station for 'disruption of duty' after he wasn't allowed to enter RML hospital to meet ex-serviceman Subedar Ram Kishan Grewal's family", Delhi's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) chief Mukesh Kumar Meena told reporters. A furious Rahul attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "It is an undemocratic mentality. A new kind of India is being created. It is Modiji's India," the 46-year-old Congress leader told reporters after he was prevented from entering New Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

100% salary hike for MPs

  There might soon be an announcement for a 100% salary hike for the Members of Parliament. The hike follows reports that the government would raise the president's salary from the current Rs 1.5 lakh per month to Rs five lakh and the governor’s remuneration from current Rs 1.10 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh. This steep hike in Members of Parliament's salary would mean their basic pay increases from Rs 50,000 to one lakh per month. The Prime Minister’s Office is believed to have agreed to revise not only the Parliamentarians’ salary but also their allowances. The Prime Minister’s Office is learnt to have agreed to consider a recommendation made by the Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament, which is headed by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Yogi Adityanath. 

EC notice to 27 AAP MLAs

  The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday issued a notice to 27 more Delhi MLAs for allegedly holding offices of profit, this comes as a fresh trouble for the party. The MLAs have been asked to file their responses by November 11. Sources in the Commission confirmed that notices have been issued. The petition filed in June, and forwarded to the Commission by Rashtrapati Bhawan last month, had sought cancellation of membership of 27 AAP MLAs over the office of profit issue. MLAs hold posts of chairpersons of RKSs of different govt hospitals in Delhi without any sanctity of law: Petitioner. On September 8, the Delhi High Court had set aside the appointment of these 21 party MLAs as Parliamentary Secretaries. The court had said the order to appoint them was given without the concurrence of Delhi's Lt Governor, Najeeb Jung. In July 2014, the then Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had in Parliament said that MPs/ MLAs would be the chairpersons of the committees.

Indian origin woman murdered near London airport

  A 30-year-old woman of Indian origin was found murdered near London's Heathrow airport. Pardeep Kaur was reported missing by a relative last month, after she failed to turn up for work. Metropolitan Police murder detectives took over the investigation and formally identified the body last week. Police believe she was strangled by a stranger on her way to work in London. "We have carried out extensive CCTV and house-to-house enquiries piecing together information about Pardeep's last known movements. A key line of enquiry for this investigation continues to be that Pardeep was attacked by a stranger on her walk to work that morning, and sadly, was most likely murdered before she was reported missing," said Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector Jamie Stevenson, from the Homicide and Major Crime Command. Two men in their 30s arrested over the disappearance of Kaur were released without charge last week before the body was discovered on waste ground underneath a flyover in Hayes, south-west London.  

SBI reduces home loan rate to lowest in 6yrs

  In some great news for home buyers, State Bank of India (SBI) has cut interest rate for home loans by 0.15 per cent to a six-year low. The country’s largest public sector lender has cut its home loan rate to 9.1%. The rate cut comes as part of a festive scheme by SBI. Under the new scheme, home loans for women, or loans with women as co-borrowers, will be available for 20bps above the benchmark rate. This implies a rate of 9.1%. A rate of 9.15% will be applicable for other borrowers. The equated monthly instalment (EMI) for women and other borrowers will now be Rs. 11 cheaper per lakh of loan at Rs. 812 and Rs. 816, respectively. SBI, in a statement, said on a home loan of Rs. 50 lakh, the reduction in interest rate by 0.15 per cent will help a home buyer save Rs. 542 per month and approximately Rs. 2 lakhs during the loan tenure of 30 years. Value of the savings on EMI of Rs. 542 per month, if invested in a recurring deposit, will be approximatelyRs. 6 lakh at the end of the loan tenure. Over and above the reduced interest rate, the bank said customers can also avail of processing fee waiver on SBI approved projects; online applications. 

Indian teen arrested in US

  Meetkumar Hiteshbhai Desai an Indian origin teen has been arrested in the US for carrying out a cyberattack that swamped Arizona's emergency services with several bogus calls. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office arrested the 18-year-old, accusing him of carrying out a cyber attack on the 911 system, according to a Sheriff's Office statement. Investigators traced the calls and discovered they originated from a link posted to Twitter, according to the statement. The link was to a site named "Meet Desai" and its domain was hosted out of San Francisco. When the link was clicked, it continually called 911 and would not let the caller hang up. Desai told sheriff's detectives that he was interested in programmes, bugs and viruses that he could manipulate and change. Desai said Apple Inc., the hardware and software company, would pay and credit him for discovering such bugs and viruses.

Blast reported in Kerala

  No one has been injured or killed in a low intensity explosion that took place at Malappuram District Collectorate in Kerala on Tuesday. A bomb blast from under a car parked near the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court within the Civil Station compound shook the Malappuram Collectorate complex. Three cars were damaged in the blast that took place at 12.55 p.m. Malappuram District Police Chief Debesh Kumar Behera said that remains of pressure cooker were found. gun powder/ammonium nitrate was used. The same "base movement/Al Uma" message was found after the blast that took place at the Kollam Collectorate in June earlier this year. Eyewitnesses at the spot said that a letter was found from the place that read "Your days have been counted. Mohammed Alkhlaq's death will be avenged." The car was empty when the blast occurred. A man sitting in a Maruti car a few metres away ran for cover as the blast shook the entire Collectorate compound. 

AP Businessman shot dead in Bangalore

  Paruchuri Surendra Kumar,51, the founder of the Paruchuri Global Foundation, Global Security Services and Galaxy Capital Investments Pvt Ltd was shot dead in Bangalore. According to the investigating officer, the incident happened after 10 pm, when Surendrakumar was just about to enter his house. “The two bike-borne assailants shot at him six times with anIndian pistol. They were wearing masks. While we are exploring all possibilities, some financial dispute seems to be the motive,” he said. Kumar went to his office in Hebbal and distributed sweets and firecrackers to his staff. Later, he went to his farm house at Kammanahallipalya near Devanahalli, where he sheltered 56 stray dogs. Around 9.40 pm, Kumar reached his bungalow. He was about to open the gate when the two bike-borne suspects accosted him. Preliminary investigations indicated a well-planned murder, said police sources, adding Surendra appeared to be under the killers’ radar for some days. When assailants opened fire, no one heard the sound due to bursting of crackers. However, movements of the accused were caught by CCTV cameras installed in a jewellery shop and two other shops in the locality.

Pak violates ceasefire; 7 civilians killed

  Seven civilians killed on Tuesday when Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by shelling border hamlets and posts with mortar bombs along the Ramgarh sector at Samba district in Jammu and Kashmir. "Pakistani Rangers started firing with small arms followed by mortars at one place and further spread to four or five places in Ramgarh and Arnia sectors of Samba and Jammu district from 0630 hours," DIG BSF (G) Dharmendra Pareek said. Two women, a man, two young boys and a teenage girl were among the seven civilians who were killed in the cross border shelling in Paniyari village in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district in what could be one of the biggest casualities on a single day. The border residents were also worried about their harvest-ready crops. Authorities have set up temporary accommodations  in educational institutions, rural development department buildings and community halls Around 20 others were injured due to the intermittent firing along the border areas that has continued since last night.

Judges phones tapped alleges Kejriwal

  In yet another shocking allegation, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday claimed that judges' phones are being tapped. Claiming at the 50th anniversary function of the Delhi High Court, to have "overheard" judges expressing concern about their phones being "tapped". The Delhi Chief Minister, alleging government interference in judges' appointments, said: "I overheard judges telling each other that they should not talk on phones because they could be tapped...I don't know whether it is true or not but there is a widespread fear. If it is true that phones are tapped then judges can be influenced." These claims were emphatically denied by the government at the same platform on Monday. Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who said that the Modi government’s commitment to the independence of the judiciary is ‘fundamental, impeachable and uncompromising’. Prasad, who spoke after Kejriwal, said,“I have been the communication minister for two years and I completely deny that phones of judges are tapped at all.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of India TS Thakur were also present at the event.

Zakir Naik skips father’s funeral in Mumbai

Controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s father Abdul Karim Naik, a physician and educationist, passed away at his home in Mumbai early this morning after suffering a cardiac arrest.He was 87. Born in Ratnagiri in coastal Maharashtra, Abdul Naik, a doctor, served as the president of the Bombay Psychiatric Society, a private organisation of mental health professionals, in 1994-95. He suffered cardiac arrest and was declared dead at 3.30 am on Sunday. The funeral was attended by around 1,500 people, including lawyers, doctors, politicians, journalists and businessmen at the Nariyalwadi Qabrastan, near Reay Road station. Asked about Zakir Naik skipping the funeral, his aide said, “He wasn’t able to attend. It was too short a time. He will soon be here to pay respects to his father.” Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), too, is under the radar of security agencies and will be soon banned under the anti-terror law.

PM:Country can sleep because you are awake

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday celebrated Diwali with soldiers from Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Dogra Scouts in a remote and strategic area in Himachal Pradesh, adjoining the Chinese border. At a time when tensions with Pakistan are running high, the Prime Minister also dedicated a large part of his Mann ki Baat address on radio hailing the soldiers, saluting their valour, and lauding their sacrifices. Sumdoh, some 330 km from Shimla, is located on the border of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts. Mingling freely, Modi went up to the soldiers holding a plate of sweets. At least one soldier offered him a sweet in return, much to the joy of everyone. "They say you should celebrate Diwali with your people and that's why I have come here to celebrate Diwali with you all," he told soldiers. "We the people of India sleep peacefully because you guard our borders," he said. The Prime Minister had celebrated his first Diwali since coming to power in 2014 with soldiers posted in Siachen, and in 2015, he celebrated it at the India-Pakistan border in Punjab.

FBI gets warrant to examine Hillary emails

  According to reports FBI obtained a warrant to search emails related to the probe of Hillary Clinton's private server. The warrant will allow the FBI to examine the emails to see if they are relevant to its probe of the private email server used for government work by Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, while she was secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. The announcement comes two days after FBI Director James Comey revealed the existence of potentially incriminating emails on the laptop of ex-Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. According to a law enforcement source familiar with the matter, federal authorities looking into the Weiner matter first discovered the emails weeks ago. The process that followed was a complicated one, with lots of back and forth over how to handle the situation and whether the FBI needed to get a warrant in order to review the newly discovered emails.

8 escaped SIMI terrorists killed in encounter

  The eight members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, who were facing treason charges, were killed in an encounter in Eintkhedi village on the outskirts of Bhopal, police said. State Home Minister Bhupendra Singh also confirmed the news. Police said the men were washing their faces in a river when the villagers saw them and informed the police. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the state police arrived, following which there was an encounter between them. Three of the men had recently been caught after they escaped in an identical jailbreak three years ago. Around 2 am at the Bhopal Central Jail, the terrorists tied up one guard and allegedly killed a head constable, Rama Shankar, using sharp pieces of prison-issue meal plates and glass shards. Then they tied together bedsheets to climb several walls around the jail. The break-out was planned on Diwali night, when fireworks fill the skies in thick smoke and obscure all other noise.

Obama lights Diya in his office for the first time

  US President Barack Obama has celebrated Diwali by lighting the first-ever diya in the Oval Office of the White House. President Obama, who was the first president to celebrate Diwali personally at the White House in 2009, talked about this momentous occasion in a Facebook post.  “I was proud to be the first President to host a Diwali celebration at the White House in 2009, and Michelle and I will never forget how the people of India welcomed us with open arms and hearts and danced with us in Mumbai on Diwali,” Obama said. “This year, I was honoured to kindle the first-ever diya in the Oval Office — a lamp that symbolises how darkness will always be overcome by light. It is a tradition that I hope future Presidents will continue,” Obama said on the White House Facebook page. Obama hoped that his successors would continue this tradition too.

Army retaliates; destroys 4 Pakistani posts

The Indian army said on Saturday it had hit back, destroying four Pakistani posts and inflicting "heavy casualties", this comes a day after an Indian soldier's body was mutilated by terrorists who escaped back into Pakistani side under covering fire from Pakistani troops. “Four Pakistani posts have been destroyed in a massive fire assault in Keran sector,” an army official said. Heavy casualties have been inflicted on the Pakistani side, he said, without giving further details. India retaliated by carrying out what the government termed “surgical strikes” across the LoC and destroyed several militant launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Sepoy Mandeep Singh, who was killed in the gunfight with the infiltrators on Friday, was beheaded by the terrorists who fled back to Pakistan-administered Kashmir under covering fire from Pakistan Army. The Indian Army had said an "appropriate response" will be given. This is not the first time Pakistan has mutilated the bodies of Indian soldiers.

For the First time; UN celebrates Diwali

The United Nations headquarters in Manhattan, New York for the first time is celebrating the Indian festival of lights, Diwali. This comes after it was declared as a non-meeting day and was recognised by the 69th session of the UN General Assembly through a resolution adopted on 29th December 2014. From 2016 onward, Diwali was made an optional holiday for the UN. India’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin shared an image of the brightly-lit UN building and thanked UNGA President Peter Thompson on Twitter for the initiative. "Happy Diwali! UN celebrates Diwali for 1st time," Syed Akbaruddin, India's permanent representative to the UN tweeted. Peter Thompson, extending the festival greetings, wrote: “Light over darkness, hope over despair, knowledge over ignorance, good over evil – the UN lights up. Happy Diwali!” The Sydney Opera House in Australia too turned golden for a night in celebration of the festival.

Air India says sorry for article on Temple

Air India today was forced to apologise for publishing an article that said that non-vegetarian dishes were served at the Jagannath temple in Puri. Devotees in Puri and other parts of Odisha came out in protests forcing the national carrier and its chief Ashwani Lohani to apologise and clarify that it did not mean to "hurt sentiments"."#AI apologises for the error. Our intention was not to hurt sentiments. #ShubhYatra magazine copies have been removed with immediate effect," the airline said in a tweet. . This comes against the backdrop of protests against the article in Odisha. Said to be the largest in the country, the Jagannath Temple’s kitchen in Puri since its inception has had an army of 500 cooks and 300 helpers to serve 1,00,000 people every day, round the clock – which means almost 285 varieties of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes every day,” the article published in this month’s magazine had said. Various organisations and people in Odisha criticised Air India for publishing the article.

PM dedicates this Diwali to soldiers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation on the radio with the 25th edition of his monthly radio programme "Mann Ki Baat" dedicated this Diwali to the Indian Army. Talking about it he said, "Our jawans have been sacrificing their lives from last few months. We should celebrate this Diwali in their name. People from all walks of life sent messages of love and encouragement for our jawans, just as they light candles for their well being. I also have to thank the citizens of the nation for their support and love for our security forces and soldiers protecting us. #Sandesh2Soldiers hashtag was used so much by everyone and we were flooded with well wishes & love for jawans from citizens. They are standing for us in the desert, on the mountains, someone is guarding our industry, others our at airports. This Diwali is dedicated to the armed forces. There is not a single child in the country who doesn't have respect and love for soldiers".