LIVE! Naval commander Tomy rescued, taken to French ship

13:18  Naval commander Tomy rescued, taken to French ship :  Commander and Golden Globe Race  skipper Abhilash Tomy has been rescued. He is in conscious state and has been shifted to the French Fishing Vessel Osiris.

The solo skipper, an officer in the Indian Navy, was taking part in the around-the-world Golden Globe Race when his 10-metre vessel Thuriya struck trouble in the south-west Indian Ocean on Friday.

The mast on Tomy’s yacht broke during a storm and he is understood to have suffered a serious back injury, leaving him confined to his bunk about 1,800 nautical miles (3,300 kilometres) south-west of Perth.

Tomy became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe when he achieved the feat in 2013, his website says.He was in third place in the Golden Globe Race when the storm hit.

13:03  Sensex plunges over 428 points :  The BSE Sensex extended losses in the afternoon, plunging over 428 points on sustained bouts of selling in realty, auto, banks, finance, telecom, industrials and healthcare stocks amid rising crude prices and weak Asian cues.

The 30-share index is now trading lower at 36,413 showing at 1 pm. The broader Nifty 50 index was trading at 11,007.

Major losers were M&M, Maruti, HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Bank, falling up to 6 per cent.

Gainers include TCS, Infosys, Coal India, Vedanta and ONGC, rising up to 3.48 per cent. Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 760.70 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also bought equities to the tune of Rs 497.03 crore last Friday, provisional data showed.

12:08  Third bridge collapse in Bengal :  
An under-construction bridge collapsed in Kakdwip area of South 24 Parganas district on Monday, a senior official said. There has been no report of any casualty, South 24 Parganas district magistrate Y. Ratnakara Rao said.

“The incident happened on Monday morning. We are waiting for further details,” the district magistrate said. A team has been rushed to the spot to look into the incident, he said.

This is the third incident of bridge collapse in the state in September. Majerhat Bridge in south Kolkata had collapsed on September 4, killing three persons and injuring 24. On September 7, an old bridge had collapsed near Siliguri in north Bengal leaving a truck driver injured. — PTI

11:47  Sensex drops over 200 pts; Nifty below 11,100:  The BSE Sensex dropped over 200 points in early trade Monday on increased selling of realty, consumer durables, auto and banking stocks, amid weak Asian cues and surging global crude oil prices. The depreciating rupee also dampened investor sentiment.

The 30-share index, after opening positive at 36,924.72, quickly succumbed to selling pressure and fell by 210.22 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 36,631.38 in early trade.

The gauge has lost 1,249.04 points in the previous four sessions. Similarly, the NSE Nifty declined by 65.50 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 11,077.60 after a touching a high of 11,170.15.

Sectoral indices led by realty, consumer durables, auto, banking and healthcare were trading in the negative zone, falling up to 1.66 per cent.

Major losers were Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, M&M, Kotak Bank, Adani Ports, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, PowerGrid and IndusInd Bank, shedding up to 2.32 per cent.

Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation rebounded nearly 25 per cent to Rs 438.75 after the company stated that it had not defaulted on any bonds or repayment nor had there been any single instance of delay on any of its repayment of any liability. — PTI

11:43  Dr Kafeel Khan arrested in connection with fraud case:  Suspended paediatrician of Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College Dr Kafeel Khan, along with two others, was arrested by the police on Sunday in connection with an alleged fraud case.

In 2009, Muzaffar Alam, a resident of the city’s Shekhhpur area, had registered a case against Kafeel and his brother Adeel under various sections of the IPC at the Rajghat police station.

In his complaint, Alam had accused both the brothers of using his photograph and ID to open a fake bank account in SBI and using the same to carry out transactions of over Rs 82 lakh. At that time, Kafeel was pursuing his medical studies at Manipal University.

This comes a day after Kafeel was released on bail after being arrested for creating ruckus at a hospital in Gorakhpur. He was also arrested in connection with the death of over 70 children at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital in September last year, and was later granted bail by the Allahabad High Court. — ANI

Also read our June interview with Dr Kafeel Khan.

11:37  5-judge constitution bench to hear PIL against female genital mutilation:  The Supreme Court Monday referred to a five-judge constitution bench the plea challenging practice of female genital mutilation among Dawoodi Bohra Muslims.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud was hearing a PIL filed by a Delhi-based lawyer challenging the practice of female genital mutilation of minor girls of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community.

Female genital mutilation is performed “illegally upon girls (between five years and before she attains puberty)” and is against the “UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which is India is a signatory”, the plea said, adding the practice caused “permanent disfiguration to the body of a girl child”.

A group of Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community members had earlier told the apex court that the female circumcision is practised by a few sects of Islam, including the Dawoodi Bohra community, and the validity of this be examined, if at all, by a larger constitution bench. — PTI

11:21  PM inaugurates Sikkim’s 1st airport :  Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the Pakyong Airport near Gangtok in Sikkim. CM Pawan Chamling and Union Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu also present.

The Pakyong Airport is a Greenfield airport near Gangtok, which would not only promote tourism and open up opportunities for the Sikkimese people, but will also provide airlift facility during emergencies and disasters.

The airport now circumvents the need for a five-hour journey through mountainous roads and brings citizens of Sikkim closer to the state capital, Gangtok.

11:17   Two ministers dropped from Parrikar cabinet in Goa:  Two ministers have been dropped from the Manohar Parrikar cabinet in Goa, the chief minister’s office said Monday. The BJP’s Francis D’Souza and Pandurang Madkaikar have been ailing for some time and are admitted at hospitals. The development comes at a time when Chief Minister Parrikar is undergoing treatment for a pancreatic ailment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi.  Two BJP leaders — Nilesh Cabral and Milind Naik — will be sworn in as ministers Monday evening, the official said. Naik was the power minister in the previous Laxmikant Parsekar-led cabinet, while Cabral would be sworn in for the first time. BJP president Amit Shah had said Sunday that Parrikar would continue in his post and announced that a reshuffle of the state’s ministers would soon take place. — PTI

10:37  Fuel prices rise again, petrol crosses Rs 90-mark in Mumbai :  In no respite to citizens, fuel prices in the country touched new heights on Monday morning, especially in Mumbai, as the petrol price in the metropolitan city crossed the Rs 90-run mark.

In Mumbai, the petrol price has touched Rs 90.08 per litre, while diesel is being retailed at Rs 78.58 per litre. Meanwhile, the prices of petrol and diesel in New Delhi are Rs.82.72 per litre and Rs.74.02 per litre respectively. ANI

10:00  Dalit woman leaves college after being harassed:  Achche din? A 22-year-old Dalit woman had to leave college after being allegedly harassed by a man in Muzaffarnagar, police said Monday. Following a complaint from the woman’s family Sunday, a case was registered against the man, Superintendent of Police Dinesh Kumar said.

The man, who is at large, was booked under various sections of the IPC and the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.

Her family members have alleged that she had to leave college due to constant harassment by the man, the SP said. She has left her college out of fear. The woman had opposed the man’s actions, but he did not stop harassing her and also threatened her and her family of dire consequences, Kumar said. Police have launched a search to nab the accused. — PTI

09:53  Govt steps to boost capital inflow unlikely to reverse Re slide: Moody’s:  The five-pronged strategy announced by the government to increase capital inflow into the country is unlikely to reverse the rupee depreciation, Moody’s Investors Service said Monday.

The Indian government estimates that the measures, including exempting investors from withholding tax for offshore rupee-denominated (masala) bonds and allowing Indian banks to become market-makers, will increase capital inflows by USD 8-10 billion, or 0.3-0.4 per cent of GDP, in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019.

The government also announced its intention to curb imports and reiterated its commitment to this year’s fiscal deficit target.

“Although these measures provide credit positive support to India’s external account, they are unlikely to reverse the currency’s depreciation,’ Moody’s said. The rupee has depreciated more than 10 per cent against the US dollar since January 2018 and was at Rs 72.1 against the dollar as of September 21. — PTI

09:45  30 back-to-back bilateral meets for Sushma at UNGA today:  In a jam-packed schedule, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will hold over 30 bilateral meetings as a part of her visit to the United States, starting today.

Swaraj’s hectic schedule will begin with the meetings with Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita and European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini today.

She will also hold talks with Liechtenstein Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick, Nepal Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Spain Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, Colombia Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo later in the day.

On the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the External Affairs Minister, apart from participating in the UNGA Debate on September 25, will also attend US President Donald Trump’s event on a call for action against the global drug problem.

Swaraj will also be attending the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit at the General Assembly Hall, at the UN headquarter in New York.The Indian External Affairs Minister will also take part in the G4 meet to be held tomorrow besides also attending the Non-Aligned Movement meeting on September 26 and meetings of the BRICS, IBSA and SAARC on September 27.

Swaraj’s statement in the UN General Assembly will take place on September 29.Swaraj was also slated to meet her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UNGA. However, after increasing reports of violence on police and army personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, the meeting was called off. — ANI

09:19  Injured naval commander Abhilash Tomy to be rescued within 3 hours:  

Help is expected to reach an injured Indian sailor stranded in remote waters far off the West Australian coast in the next three-odd hours, according to rescuers. 

Solo skipper Abhilash Tomy, an officer in the Indian Navy, was taking part in the around-the-world Golden Globe Race when his 10-metre vessel Thuriya struck trouble in the south-west Indian Ocean on Friday.

The mast on Tomy’s yacht broke during a storm and he is understood to have suffered a serious back injury, leaving him confined to his bunk about 1,800 nautical miles (3,300 kilometres) south-west of Perth.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s search and rescue operations manager Alan Lloyd said there was still only limited information available about Tomy’s condition, but help was getting closer.

Tomy became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe when he achieved the feat in 2013, his website says.

He was in third place in the Golden Globe Race when the storm hit.

08:51  PM Modi to inaugurate Sikkim’s first airport in Pakyong today:  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Pakyong Airport, Sikkims first-ever airport, on Monday.

The airport, which is located at Pakyong, is a Greenfield airport which will circumvent the need for a five-hour journey through mountainous roads and bring citizens of Sikkim closer to the state capital.

Located around 60 km from the Indo-China border, the airport is strategically relevant from a security point of view. The Indian Air Force will also find this airport convenient for landing and taking off, Union Minister for Development of Northeastern Region, Dr Jitendra Singh, said on Sunday.

The establishment of the airport is expected to provide major impetus to tourism, with Sikkim being perceived as one of the most popular destinations for tourists all throughout the year. It is also expected to cause a significant reduction in travel time for tourists, who earlier had to board from Badgodra in West Bengal.

Built at an estimated cost of over Rs 605 crore, the Pakyong airport is a new distinction for Sikkim, which has, in the last three to four years, achieved the distinction of becoming the first Organic State and also the first Open Defecation Free state of India.

08:38  Cong to meet CVC to seek independent probe into Rafale deal:  

A delegation of top Congress leaders will meet the Central Vigilance Commission on Monday to seek an independent probe into the alleged corruption in the Rafale fighter jets deal, the party said.

  

Last week, the Congress had met the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. It had requested the apex auditor to prepare a report on the alleged irregularities in the deal and present it in Parliament.

It will make a similar request to the CVC, besides demanding registration of a case of corruption in the matter, the party said on Sunday.

The Congress has launched an offensive against the BJP government over the Rafale deal alleging corruption and violation of rules by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded answers from him.

 It has also accused the prime minister, finance minister and defence minister of “lying on the issue”.

The Rafale controversy took a turn last week after former French president Francois Hollande claimed that the Indian government proposed Reliance Defence’s name as the offset partner for Dassault Aviation.

Modi had announced the procurement of 36 Rafale fighters after holding talks with the then French president Hollande on April 10, 2015, in Paris. 

In response, the French government said it was in no manner involved in the choice of Indian industrial partners for the Rafale deal, asserting that French firms have the full freedom to select Indian companies for the contract.

— PTI

08:23  France fears damage after Hollande fans controversy over Rafale deal:  

The French government said it feared damage to its relations with India after its former president Francois Hollande stirred controversy about a major deal to sell Rafale fighter jets to New Delhi.

Hollande, who left office in May last year, said on Friday that French jet manufacturer Dassault Aviation had been given no choice about its local partner in the 2016 deal with the Indian government.

The Narendra Modi government agreed to buy 36 Rafale jets from Dassault, which announced afterwards it was partnering for the project with billionaire Anil Ambanis Reliance group rather than the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

Hollandes announcement that Dassault did not have a say in it added fuel to allegations by opposition parties that the Modi government had intervened to help Ambani.

I find these remarks made overseas, which concern important international relations between France and India, do not help anyone and above all do not help France, junior foreign minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said Sunday about Hollande.

Because one is no longer in office, causing damage to a strategic partnership between India and France by making remarks that clearly cause controversy in India is really not appropriate, he said in an interview on Radio J.

Hollande made the comments to defend himself from accusations of a conflict of interest because Ambanis Reliance conglomerate had partially financed a film produced by his girlfriend, Julie Gayet, in 2016.

08:06  Maldives opposition leader wins presidential poll:  

Opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the Maldives’ presidential election, results showed on Monday, a surprise defeat for President Abdulla Yameen, following a campaign observers said was rigged in the strongman’s favour.

Results released by the Elections Commission early Monday morning showed Solih had secured 58.3 per cent of the popular vote.

Celebrations broke out across the tropical archipelago with opposition supporters carrying yellow flags of Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party and dancing on the streets. There was no response from Yameen after the results were announced.

Solih had the backing of a united opposition trying to oust Yameen but struggled for visibility with the electorate, with the local media fearful of falling afoul of heavy-handed decrees and reporting restrictions.

Photograph: Ashwa Faheem/Reuters

07:48  Pakistan’s friendship offer to India should not be seen as weakness: PM Imran Khan:  

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said that his country’s offer of “friendship” to India should not be considered as its weakness and the Indian leadership should shun “arrogance” to hold peace talks.

Khan had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking to re-start bilateral talks on key issues including on terrorism and Kashmir.

India initially agreed to a meeting between Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this month. 

However, New Delhi on Friday called off the meeting, citing the “brutal” killing of three policemen in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the release of the postal stamps “glorifying” Kashmiri terrorist Burhan Wani.

Khan said, “I hope the Indian leadership will shun arrogance and hold (peace) talks with Pakistan. Our offer of friendship should not be considered as our weakness. Friendship between Pakistan and India will help overcome poverty”

   

Khan said Pakistan “should not be threatened as it will not tolerate any act of hostility.” 

“Friendship (between Pakistan and India) is in the benefit of both the countries. We will not take pressure of any world power,” the prime minister said.

In a sharp reaction to India’s cancellation of the meeting, Khan on Saturday said that India’s decision to cancel the foreign minister-level talks in New York was “arrogant” and asserted that he was “disappointed” by the New Delhi’s “negative” response.   

— PTI