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AP CM to hold elections to civic bodies

HYDERABAD: Contradicting the previous indications, Chandra Babu Naidu’s plans of going for the reshuffle of the cabinet in the month of October have been deferred by him and now the reshuffle might happen only after municipal elections are held by the end of the year 2016 across the state of Andhra Pradesh. The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, after conducting number of meetings with Senior Ministers, has decided to conduct elections in Rajam, Kandukur and Nellimarla municipalities and to the civic bodies in Prakasham, Vishakapatnam, Guntur, Srikakulam and East Godavari districts.    

1st Presidential Debate: Polls say Hillary won

  In the first Presidential debate, Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton clashed over trade, the Iraq war, his refusal to release his tax returns and her use of a private email server, with Mr. Trump frequently showing impatience and political inexperience as Mrs. Clinton pushed him to defend his past denigration of women and President Obama. Hillary Clinton has been sliding in the polls over the past few weeks, and the race has grown uncomfortably close for Democrats who were expecting a landslide just over a month ago. So it’s certainly possible that Clinton will gain a few points in the polls from her debate performance, if the broader electorate agrees (or becomes convinced) that she won. Mr. Trump repeatedly interrupted Mrs. Clinton and at times talked over her throughout the 90-minute debate, making slashing attacks that surely pleased his Republican base but may have been off-putting to women and undecided voters. He also left unchallenged her assertion that he paid no federal taxes for years. For her part, Mrs. Clinton repeatedly chided Mr. Trump for bungling his facts while accusing him of hiding information about his debts to Wall Street and foreign banks. The initial indicators look good for Clinton, who was itching for some good news for her campaign.

Expelled for low attendance; students stab teacher

  A government school teacher in west Delhi’s Nangloi area allegedly was stabbed by two Class XII students of the school in front of their classmates Monday, apparently after one of them was rusticated for low attendance, said police. The teacher, Mukesh Kumar (50), received stab wounds in his abdomen, thigh and waist, said police. Kumar, who is a PGT teacher and teaches Hindi, is being treated at Balaji Action Hospital. His condition is stated to be critical, police added. The teacher was stabbed at about 4.30 pm when he came out of a classroom after conducting a half-yearly examination, said police. The two students stopped him and they had an argument during which one of them whipped out a knife and stabbed him several times, police added. One of the accused was rusticated for low attendance. He went to the school to speak with Kumar. During conversation, he and his friend, who was writing the exam, reportedly lost temper and stabbed him, police said, adding one of the accused is 18-year-old while the other will turn 18 in two months. A case under section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC has been registered at Nangloi Police Station and the family members of the accused are being questioned to know the whereabouts of the duo, the officer said.

Govt approves smart fence along Indo-Pak border

  On the heels of Uri attack, the Indian government is looking at alternatives to send out a strong message to the Pakistan government. The Narendra Modi government has green-signalled the recommendations of a high-powered committee that stressed on the use of upgraded technology to strengthen security along India's 3,323km border with Pakistan. According to reports, the panel constituted to study possibilities for enhancing security has urged a grid-based system along the border, wherein, at vulnerable stretches, the Army's and the BSF's ground troops would be assisted by hi-tech equipment, including satellites for surveillance, as well as the intelligence agencies and the police forces of the four states. Whenever an instance of infiltration is reported, a particular component of this grid would respond, said reports. India's border with Pakistan runs through four states, Jammu & Kashmir (1,225km, including the Line of Control), Rajasthan (1,037km), Punjab (553km) and Gujarat (508km). Apart from smart fencing, the committee has recommended the use of water, electronic as well as underground sensors, besides camera surveillance. Plans to create access roads for troops have also been suggested.

PM reviews Indus treaty with Pak

  Prime Minister Modi facing severe pressure to avenge Uri, is reportedly weighing alternative options to military strike, including scrapping the 1960 Indus Water Treaty (IWT).  Given that Modi wouldn’t want risk his own hard-won image of a matured diplomat internationally choosing a full-fledged war, strategic options such as re-looking at IWT seem possible. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday chaired a meeting to review the Indus Waters treaty with Pakistan amidst heightened tension between the two countries. Principal secretary to PM, Nripendra Misra, NSA Ajit Doval and foreign secretary S Jaishankar also attended the meeting in the PM's residence. "Blood and water cannot flow together," Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quoted as saying at a meeting with top officials this morning to assess the 50-year-old treaty with Pakistan days after the Uri terror attack. The decision to examine the Indus treaty comes days after foreign ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said while India did not intend to violate the 1960 treaty, "eventually any cooperative arrangement requires goodwill and mutual trust on both sides".  Sources said the government plans to exploit to the maximum the capacity of three of the rivers that are under Pakistan's control - Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. The treaty was signed in 1960 between India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistan's president General Ayub Khan after World Bank brokered negotiations that lasted almost a decade.

Shoe thrown at Rahul Gandhi during road show

  In a huge embarrassment for the Congress party, a shoe was hurled at its Vice President Rahul Gandhi during a road show. A shoe was hurled at Rahul Gandhi in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh during his party’s roadshow. Rahul Gandhi is in Uttar Pradesh campaigning for Congress party for the upcoming elections in the state. Mr Gandhi was riding in an open top vehicle through Sitapur town, around 85 km from Lucknow, when a shoe came flying at him. It hit the person behind him, which was former union minister Jitin Prasada. One of the most protected politicians in India, Mr Gandhi was seen glancing at the shoe and then looking away after the object missed him. Rahul was unfazed by the shoe incident. "I am not afraid of such attacks," he said, blaming BJP and RSS for the act. While I was headed here, I was attacked by the people of BJP and RSS. I want to tell that that they can attack me as many as times as they want, I will not back down and will keep on fighting. he said. Recently, AAP leader Manish Sisodia faced an ink attack while Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had a shoe hurled at him in April.

Isro’s PSLV puts 8 satellites in two different orbits

  The PSLV or 37th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, carrying three satellites from India, three from Algeria, and one each from Canada and the US, lifted off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh at 9:12 am. Around noon, ISRO said its launch was "100 per cent successful".  The satellites include SCATSAT-1, a satellite for weather studies, IIT-Bombay’s PRATHAM and PISAT from PES University in Bengaluru. In a first, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s PSLV C-35 rocket launched a total of eight satellites, into two different orbits. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV-C35) carrying the eight satellites took off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.12am. Around 17 minutes later, SCATSAT-1, the main payload of PSLV in its 37th flight, was placed in the polar sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of about 730km. SCATSAT-1, which will provide weather forecast including cyclone detection and tracking, will succeed thenow defunct Oceansat-2 satellite launched in 2009. Isro chairman A S Kiran Kumar said SCATSAT-1 would be a stop gap arrangement between Oceansat-1 and Oceansat-2. ISRO said though it had launched several PSLV rockets in the past, this launch is "the first mission of PSLV in which it had launched its payloads into two different orbits," ISRO said.

Uri attack hurts me as an Indian says Virat Kohli

  When asked about the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector in which 18 jawans were martyred, Kohli expressed his condolences to the family of the bravehearts who lost their lives in their line of duty. "When these big incidents happen regularly, it feels bad". When we feel bad about it, just think of the families of the soldiers. It's something very disturbing," Kohli said when asked to react on the recent terror strike on Indian soil. "I can react on this but can't comment on solution because I am not operating at that level. As an Indian it hurts. I can only pay my condolences to the families of the jawans, who suffered in these incidents," he said after India crushed New Zealand by 197 runs to take a 1-0 in the three-Test series, in Kanpur. The cricketer had previously tweeted a message to the brave men of the Indian Armed Forces. Meanwhile, BCCI president Anurag Thakur made it clear that there was no question of playing cricket with Pakistan when the Indian government wanted to expose Pakistan as sponsors of terrorism.

India wins historic 500th Test by 197 runs

  India have completed a comprehensive 197-run victory over New Zealand in the first Test in Kanpur, bowling out New Zealand for 236 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. "The boys applied themselves really well. Initially we had the momentum with the bat, but a couple of soft dismissals put pressure. Jadeja and Ashwin added crucial runs. I am still pretty early in my captaincy career, I look forward to advice from others. There have been cases where we've gone on one mode and the runs were leaked. All the sides that are doing well around the world have strong lower-middle orders. That's one area that we have improved and we need to keep working it because those 30-40 extra runs could prove crucial. It's been a very good Test match.", said Virat Kohli after the match. Ashwin (6/132) completed his fifth six-wicket haul by adding scalps of Santner and Ish Sodhi (17) and Neil Wagner (0) to his three wickets grabbed yesterday when he had become the second-fastest man to take 200-Test wickets. Jadeja took one wicket today while Mohammed Shami, who got some reverse swing, scalped two batsmen in the morning session.

New districts’ formation might be delayed

  HYDERABAD: Cold water might be poured on the plan of government to announce the reorganization of new districts on the occasion of Dusshera on 11th of October by the torrential rains that are battering the state. Mahmad Mahmood ali, the Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana said that, the procedure to create new districts was underway, but at present the top priority was to tackle rains and they would focus on other issues only after the situations in the state gets under control and after life returns to normal. The state was going through an unprecedented rain situation and it would be impractical to expect the government to take out time for anything else, A Senior Official said adding that, the delay in announcing new districts was understandable.

A six year old dies because of dengue

  HYDERABAD: A six year old girl from Ram Nagar, who was suffering from dengue, died in the city on Sunday. For the last three days the girl was suffering from high fever and was admitted into a local hospital. The doctors took blood samples for testing and declared that she was suffering from dengue on Saturday. Soon after the confirmation her parents shifted admitted the girl into Rainbow Hospital that is located at Jubilee hills. After getting treated for 24 hours, she passed away on Sunday morning. This is thirteenth death due to dengue in Telangana State. Hyderabad has recorded a total of 5 deaths from the disease till date. The authorities are trying to control the disease actively.

A businessman gets cheated by a fake baba

  HYDERABAD: A fake baba cheated a businessman from Santoshnagar of Rs. 35 Lakh. The police said that Iftikhar Hussain was cheated by Disco Baba claiming that he could create diamonds and gold with the help of pujas. Hussain was told by the Baba that he could create gold and diamonds. Believing the fake baba, Hussain has given him Rs 35 lakh so as to perform pooja and produce jewelry. After the pooja, Hussain was given fake diamond and gold jewelry by the Disco Baba. Later on, after getting exposed, it was agreed that the money would be returned by the Baba. But the fake baba never returned the money to the businessman. A cheating case was registered against him by the police.

Ministers must remain on high alert

  HYDERABAD: Following heavy rains a cabinet meeting that has been scheduled on Monday has been cancelled by the Chief Minister of Telangana, K Chandrasekhar Rao. On Sunday, the situation in the state was reviewed by the CM at the camp office along with Rajiv Sharma i.e., the chief secretary and senior officials. The ministers and officials in Khammam, Adilabad, Warangal and Nizamabad were asked by Mr Rao to remain on high alert and monitor the rescue operations in case of flooding. They were asked by the Chief Minister to give top priority to prevent the loss of lives that might cause due to heavy rains and to stay in their respective districts till the rains reduce.

GHMC issues orders to form MDD squads

  HYDERABAD: On Sunday, orders were issued to all circles in the corporation limits by B. Janardhan Reddy, the commissioner of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to form multi-disciplinary demolition and enforcement squads with officials of police, revenue, irrigation and Town planning departments. From Monday the demolition squads would go into “Mission Mode Demolition Drive” and would remove all the illegal constructions, impingement of public spaces including on tanks, nalas, parks, open lands and roads. The squads would also demolish buildings that are structurally not safe.

Sakshi Dhoni recreates her wedding outfit for Dhoni!

  Indian cricket limited overs captain MS Dhoni is on a spree promoting his biopic ‘MS Dhoni: The untold story’ in which Sushant Singh Rajput plays his onscreen self. On Friday, the crew, along with Dhoni met Tamil superstar Rajinikanth. Dhoni uploaded a live video on his Facebook page of the encounter. MS Dhoni: The Untold Story has been one of the most-awaited biopics of the year. The Neeraj Pandey directorial promises to give audience an insight into Dhoni’s life and as the film’s tagline suggests “the man you know, the journey you don’t,” will reveal lots of untold stories that the audiences might not be aware of. The makers have shared Sakshi Dhoni’s wedding picture. Actress Kiara Advani, who plays Dhoni’s onscreen wife Sakshi, wore the exact wedding lehenga choli weaving all the fine details that made her transform into Sakshi Dhoni onscreen. In a bid to make the cricketer's wedding scene as authentic as possible, a replica of Sakshi's shaadi ka joda was created for Kiara. In fact, Sakshi took the actress to the same designer, who had fashioned the bridal lehenga. MSD's wife also wanted the make-up and accessorising to be exactly theway she had done it. The movie which also stars Disha Patani as Dhoni’s girlfriend, is all set to revive the ace cricketer’s journey onto the big screen. It will be releasing on the 30th of September.

India To Ratify Paris Climate Agreement On Oct 2

India will ratify the Paris climate change agreement on October 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday in an announcement that will give momentum to implementation of measures at the international level to control global warming. Speaking at the two-day conclave in Kerala's Kozhikode, PM Modi said, "On October 2, India will ratify the COP21 resolutions on climate because Gandhiji's life had the smallest carbon footprint." Even last year after the meet, Indian officials had indicated that India might not be able to stick to the COP21 timeline for emission reduction.  At the time, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar had indicated the process would take time. "There are huge issues. It will impact on our electricity regulation, Motor Vehicles Act, power plants and airlines," he had said, referring to their cascading effects. So far, 60 countries including the world's top two polluters - China and USA - have ratified the Agreement which was adopted by 195 countries in Paris last December. While China and USA had ratified it on September 3, as many as 31 countries had formally joined the Agreement through formal ratification or acceptance at a special event, hosted by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York, on September 21.  

China to look for Aliens with largest Telescope

The world’s largest radio telescope began operating in southwestern China on Sunday, a project which Beijing says will help humanity search for alien life. The world's largest telescope was built in Guizhou, a province in China and it will begin its operation by the end of this month. The massive radio telescope took five years to be built. Earlier this year, it was reported that approximately 9,000 residents were relocated to give way to China's search for alien life. The residents were relocated because of their proximity to the telescope that has a 1,640 feet diameter and is believed to be as large as 30 football fields. Researchers quoted by state media said FAST would search for gravitational waves, detect radio emissions from stars and galaxies and listen for signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life. "The ultimate goal of FAST is to discover the laws of the development of the universe," Qian Lei, an associate researcher with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told state broadcaster.  The area surrounding the telescope is remote and relatively poor. Xinhua earlier said it was chosen because there are no major towns nearby.

Jordanian writer shot dead for 'insulting' cartoon

A prominent and controversial Jordanian writer – who was on trial for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam – has been shot dead outside the Amman court where he was due to appear. Nahed Hattar was assassinated in front the Supreme Court in Amman with local media reporting he was shot three times in the head. The shooter has reportedly been arrested by security forces. Hattar, a Christian and an anti-Islamist activist who was a supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was arrested last month after he shared a caricature  The authorities said he violated the law by sharing the caricature. The state news agency quoted a security source as saying Hattar was killed by a man who fired three shots at him on the steps of the palace of justice in the Jordanian capital. After angry reactions on social media, the Jordanian authorities decided to take legal action against Hattar, who initially went into hiding but later surrendered. Nahed Hattar was killed by three bullets as he was going to the courthouse to stand trial

PM praises Indian paralympians in 'Mann Ki Baat'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated India's Paralympians in Mann Ki Baat while adding that the government will work to further empower them. The 19-member Indian contingent had returned home from the Rio Paralympics with two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. Mariyappan Thangavelu (men’s T42 high jump) and Devendra Jhajharia (men’s F46 javelin throw) had won gold in their respective events, with the latter setting a new world record in the process. Deepa Malik (women’s F53 shot put) and Varun Singh Bhati (men’s T42 high jump) had bagged a silver and bronze respectively. “It was a delight to meet the Indian contingent that made our nation proud at the #Paralympics#Rio2016,” PM Modi wrote on his official twitter handle. “With the medal winners. Kudos to their efforts & accomplishments,” the PM wrote earlier, along with a picture with the four medallists. "Athletes at the Rio Paralympics have made the country proud. India won 4 medals in all, including 2 gold," he said. “With the champion, @DevJhajharia. We can learn a lot from his life & determination,” he said about Jhajharia who has now become the most successful Indian Paralympian with two gold (the other at 2004 Athens Paralympics). “Mariyappan Thangavelu has captured India’s imagination. Delighted to meet him,” he wrote, “Varun Singh Bhati is a superb athlete. Was great to learn about his experiences at the #Paralympics,” said another tweet.