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LIVE! White House asks Congress to probe whether Obama ordered wiretap

20:23  ‘UP government is not letting my work show’: Modi in Varanasi:  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing a rally in Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith in Varanasi campaigning for the last phase of the seven-phased assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh on March 8.

Here’s what he said at the rally. 

>> I do not know how to thank people of Kashi. They have broken yesterday’s records. This love and affection inspires me to serve people more

>> Our motto is sabka sath sabka vikas, but Cong, SP & BSP have different culture of politics that says kuch ka saath kuch ka vikas

>> UP government is not letting my work show

>> Shouldn’t corruption come to an end? Its been so many years since we attained freedom but a small section misused their power and position.

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20:02  White House asks Congress to probe whether Obama ordered wiretap:  

The White House on Sunday requested the US Congress to examine whether the Obama administration abused its executive “investigative authority” during the 2016 campaign, as part of the ongoing congressional probe into Russia’s influence on the presidential election.

The request came a day after US President Donald Trump alleged, without supporting evidence, that then-President Obama ordered a wiretap of the phones in Trump Tower in New York, which was then Trump’s campaign headquarters. 

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19:41  Jammu-Kashmir saw three-fold rise in rioting in 2016:  

Jammu and Kashmir saw a three-fold increase in cases of rioting and a substantial rise in arson cases in 2016 which also witnessed five-month-long unrest after killing of terrorist Burhan Wani, official data showed.

According to data of Crime Branch of state police, J&K has witnessed as many as 3,404 cases of rioting in 2016 as compared to 1,157 such cases in 2015, an increase of 2,247.

Similarly, police registered as many as 267 cases of arson in 2016 as compared to 147 such cases in 2015, thereby showing an increase of 120 during the period, it said.

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19:05  BJP complains to EC about Akhilesh’s bribe remark:  The Bharatiya Janata Party has approached the Election Commission to complain about UP CM Akhilesh Yadav’s bribe remark. 

Addressing an election rally in Bhadohi yesterday, Akhilesh had said, “I have heard that voters are being given money. My advice to you is to keep the money with you and vote for the bicycle symbol.”

Earlier, BJP today lashed out at Akhilesh Yadav for “hurting” the dignity of the chief minister’s post by making a “frivolous” statement that voters should accept money from other parties but cast their ballot for the SP.

18:40  JUST IN: Pakistan Navy apprehends 80 Indian fishermen & 15 boats off Gujarat coast in the Arabian Sea.

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18:24  Pakistanis spam army WhatsApp number meant for airing grievances:  

Army’s WhatsApp number launched to address the grievances of jawans has been filled up with spam messages from Pakistanis who are using it to abuse India.

The number, +91 9643300008, was launched on January 28 by the Army Headquarters to address the grievances of the jawans who were going on social media with their videos.

“We have been receiving messages in large number from Pakistan and that is why, we have barred all Pakistani numbers from sending messages to it. The intent is to keep it only for our usage,” Army sources said.

The army has so far received over 30,000 messages on the number, a majority of which were sent by Pakistanis who have been speaking against India and its army.

The army had set up the WhatsApp number so that its soldiers could pose their problems directly to Army Chief General Bipin Rawat instead of going to social media.

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17:59  Arresting Prajapati is to be BJP’s UP govt first task: Shah:  

Ruing the UP government’s failure to arrest its rape-accused minister Gayatri Prajapati, the BJP today listed sending the minister “behind bars” as one of the first task after forming the government in the state.

Addressing an election rally, BJP chief Amit Shah said, “As soon as the BJP forms the government in UP on March 11, we would search (Gayatri Prasad) Prajapati even from the hell and send him to jail.”

Prajapati holds transport department portfolio in CM Akhilesh Yadav’s Council of ministers, but is facing arrest following a Supreme Court order to lodge an FIR against him for his alleged role in a rape case.

Shah also alleged that the rape-accused minister campaigned for the SP for nearly six days, and even exercised his voting rights on February 27.

“But, the police was not able to do anything. On the other hand, the CM appealed to Gayatri to surrender. The job of the police is to hold the criminal by the collar and send him behind bars,” said Shah amid a thunderous applause from the crowd.

17:27  INSAS rifles to retire; to be replaced by imported weapons:  After nearly 20 years, indigenous manufactured INSAS rifles will be finally ‘retiring’ from the army and replaced by an imported assault rifle which will be manufactured in the country later. 

The Indian Small Arms System, which was inducted in the army 1988, is likely to be replaced with deadlier assault rifles of higher caliber (7.62×51), official sources said.

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17:01   “Modi-Modi” chants ring out in Varanasi amid PM’s roadshow:  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has begun a roadshow in Varanasi in support of local BJP candidates, a day after an impromptu tour through the winding streets of the city.

Modi had hit the campaign trail yesterday with an impromptu roadshow while he was on his way to two of the ancient city’s most revered temples in the morning. He also held a public meeting late in the evening and later left the city.

The opposition had criticised yesterday’s roadshow and the Congress even lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that the show of strength was made without the requisite permission.

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16:11  Why is rape accused Prajapati still part of your cabinet, UP governor asks Akhilesh:  

Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik has written to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav asking reasons for retaining rape accused Gayatri Prajapati in his Cabinet.

Non-bailable warrants against Prajapati and six others were issued by police on Saturday, while the ministers passport was impounded and a look-out notice issued against him.

Police had said raids were also being conducted in Lucknow, Kanpur and Amethi to trace 49-year-old Prajapati, who is absconding after being booked following a Supreme Court directive.

The rape case has come as a major embarrassment to the ruling Samajwadi Party, which has tied up with the Congress to keep the BJP at bay on ongoing elections.

At an election meeting in Jaunpur on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, “In this country, when we do something good, we chant the Gayatri Mantra. But, the SP-Congress alliance is chanting the ‘Gayatri Prajapati Mantra’.

“A case has been lodged against him (but) the chief minister went to campaign for him while he (Gayatri) was present there…Now, the police cannot trace him,” Modi said.

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15:48  ‘Don’t jump the gun’, says minister on Indians being attacked in US:  

Terming a series of recent attacks on the Indian-Americans as “very sensitive issue”, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has said that the whole world is “very concerned” about certain developments in the US.

“This is a very sensitive issue now. Whole world is very concerned about certain developments in this country,” Pradhan, who was in Boston on a two-day visit, said when asked by some members of the community over the current environment of fear in the US in the wake of attacks targeting Indians.

The minister, who was attending a reception organised for him by the Indian community in the greater Boston area, however, asked the Indian diaspora to refrain from giving any knee-jerk reaction.

“Let us not jump (the gun) or give any knee-jerk reaction, let us wait and watch,” he said at the reception.

Pradhan noted that Indian-Americans are now fighting elections and being elected to office in the US and becoming a voice of the people in the country’s politics.

15:13  Russia mulls ban on ‘Beauty and the Beast’ over gay character:  

Film “Beauty and the Beast” may get banned in Russia for featuring the first ever openly gay character in the movie based on the classic fairy tale.

The news comes in after the Alabama theatres opted not to screen the Disney film because they disagree with the movie featuring a homosexual part LeFou, played by actor Josh Gad.

The Russian officials might be under pressure to check if the Emma Watson-Dan Stevens starrer breaches the country’s law against “gay propaganda”.

Culture minister Vladimir Medinsky says if any unacceptable material is found, the film will be subject to legal action while a member of Russian parliament described the film as “shameless propaganda of sin”.

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14:38  Trump could sign revised travel ban as soon as Monday: US official:  

US President Donald Trump may sign an updated executive order banning travel from certain Middle Eastern and African countries early next week, possibly as soon as Monday, an administration official told CNN.

Trump was scheduled to sign the order last week but pushed it back after his joint address to Congress on February 28 received overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Sources told CNN on Saturday that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defence James Mattis and National Security Adviser H R McMaster have all advocated for Iraq to be removed from the administration’s list of banned countries in the new executive order for diplomatic reasons, including Iraq’s role in fighting the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

Homeland Security Secretary James Kelly also supported the move, but it remains unclear whether the White House has made a final decision on the issue.

The news of the pending announcement came as lawyers for the Justice Department stated in a court filing this week that the President plans to formally “rescind” the old travel ban and replace it with “a new, substantially revised” executive order.

14:04  Modi to hold roadshow in Varanasi today:  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold a roadshow in Varanasi today in support of local BJP candidates, a day after an impromptu tour through the winding streets of the city.

Modi is scheduled to begin his tour today with the roadshow which will commence at 3 pm from the Police Lines helipad where his chopper will land, BJP media convenor for Kashi Prant, comprising several districts in eastern UP, Sanjay Bhardwaj said. 

13:51  US envoy to India condemns attack on Sikh in Seattle :  Condemning the attack on a Sikh man in Seattle, United States envoy to India Mary Kay Loss Carlson quoted President Donald Trump’s message denouncing all forms of hate and evil.

He tweet read, “Saddened by shooting in WA. Wishes for quick and full recovery. As @POTUS said we condemn “hate and evil in all its forms.”

Meanwhile, the Sikh man, who was shot in the arm by a masked gunman in Seattle, is out of danger and is recovering in a private hospital, said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday after speaking to his family.

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13:34  More than 100 million at risk of starvation globally:  

The number of people facing severe hunger worldwide has surpassed 100 million and will grow if humanitarian aid is not paired with more support for farmers, a senior United Nations official said.

Dominique Burgeon, director of the emergency division at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said latest studies showed 102 million people faced acute malnutrition – meaning they were on the brink of starvation – in 2016, up almost 30 percent from 80 million in 2015.

The hike was mainly driven by deepening crises in Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria and Somalia, where conflict and drought have crippled food production, he said.

More investment is needed to help people feed themselves by farming crops and livestock, he added.

The UN World Food Programme said last month more than 20 million people – greater than the population of Romania or Florida – risk dying from starvation within six months in four separate famines.

13:05  ‘Do you beat your wife’: US lawmaker asks Muslims:  

‘Do you beat your wife’ was a poser in an ‘Islamophobic’ questionnaire that Muslims wanting to meet a Republican lawmaker were reportedly asked to fill out.

Oklahoma Representative John Bennett asked his constituents taking part in the state’s third annual ‘Muslim Day’ to fill out the bizarre questionnaire, BuzzFeed News reported.

Adam Soltani, executive director of Council on AmericanIslamic Relations Oklahoma, was quoted as saying that high school students from Tulsa’s Peace Academy visited Bennett’s office to either meet with him or schedule a meeting.

Soltani said the students were met by a legislative assistant who gave them a questionnaire, telling them it must be filled out in writing.

The nine-part questionnaire included questions such as, “Do you beat your wife?”

“I was distraught when (the students) showed me the questionnaire. I wasn’t completely surprised by it because obviously we have been challenging Bennett’s hate rhetoric for many years,” Soltani said.

“Nobody should be vetted with stupid, Islamophobic,hateful, bigoted questions before they can meet with their representative,” Soltani said.

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12:29   ‘Sorry to hear about attack on Deep Rai’: Sushma reacts to Kent shooting:  

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has opened up on the shooting of a Sikh man in Kent, Washington, taking to Twitter, writing, “I am sorry to know about the attack on Deep Rai a US national of Indian origin. I have spoken to Sardar Harpal Singh father of the victim. He told me that his son had a bullet injury on his arm. He is out of danger and is recovering in a private hospital.”

Earlier, a Sikh man, identified as Deep Rai was shot in the arm by a man who yelled ‘Go back to your country.’

This is the third shooting in recent times against Indians in the US following the killing of Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Harnish Patel, a convenience store owner. 

Kansas governor Sam Brownback told Indian diplomats and community members that they are a valuable community in the state and are welcomed. Brownback said he was ashamed of the killing of Srinivas Kuchibhotla and the wounding of Alok Madasani last month and it was not characteristic of the state that valued Indians. 

“The hateful actions of one man doesn’t define us,” Brownback said.

12:16  Anti-national nationalism:  Nationalism can never be imposed by fiat. This should be obvious. But, for some reason, it is becoming increasingly obvious that it is not. Since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, the idea of imposing nationalism by force appears to have gripped too many BJP political leaders. Ministers in particular should refrain from labelling people, but almost daily we hear them warning anti-nationals that there will be dire consequences for those who speak against India. A particularly foolish statement came from a minister in the Haryana government last week. It is unworthy of being repeated here.

Read full column HERE
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11:35  4 children injured in explosion in J-K’s Sopore:  

Four children were injured today in an explosion in Sopore town of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said.

A group of children were playing in the fields at Pazalpora in Sopore town when an explosion took place there, a police official said.

Four children were injured in the explosion, he said adding the injured have been taken to a hospital.

The official said preliminary investigations suggest that the children were fiddling with an explosive which they had found in the field.

11:09  Three RSS workers injured in Kerala:  

Three RSS activists were injured in an attack allegedly by CPI-M workers at a village near Koyilandy in the district, police said today.

The victims, all in their early 20’s, suffered injuries in their hands and legs in the attack last night at Keezhaiyur village and have been admitted to the Medical College Hospital here.

No one has been arrested in connection with the attack, they said.

Kerala has been witnessing a series of political clashes between cadres of BJP-RSS and ruling CPI(M), especially in the northern Kannur district, for a long time.

Both parties have blamed each other for the cycle of violence, which has claimed several lives on both sides.

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10:52  Can’t disclose if Jaitley was consulted on notes ban: Fin Min:  The finance ministry has refused to disclose whether its boss Arun Jaitley was consulted before the announcement of demonetisation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8, 2016.
    
The Prime Minister’s Office and the Reserve Bank of India had earlier claimed that the query whether the finance minister and the chief economic advisor were consulted before the announcement does not come under the definition of “information” under the Right to Information Act.
   
The definition of “information” under the act refers to “any material in any form” under the control of a public authority.
   
The response of the finance ministry to an RTI query filed by Press Trust of India assumes significance as it acknowledges that there are records pertaining to the question but they cannot be disclosed under the Right to Information Act.
   
The finance ministry has taken refuge under the exemption clause of section 8(1)(a) of the Act to deny the information. It did not, however, give any reasons as to how the information would attract the section.
   
The section allows withholding information “disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence”.
   
According to procedure, a first appeal can be filed with the ministry concerned which is to be handled by a senior official. If it is unsuccessful, the matter escalates to the Central Information Commission, the top adjudicating body on the RTI Act.

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10:40  Tral encounter ends, 2 terrorists gunned down :  Two militants were killed in an encounter which started on Saturday evening with the security forces in south Kashmirs Tral area.

Reports suggest that the militants were hiding in a residential area at Nazneenpora village.

A J&K police constable, identified as Manzoor Ahmed, lost his life in the encounter, which is now over.

On Saturday evening, a cordon and search operation was launched in the area.

The operation was slowed down after protesters hurled stones at the forces. 

10:30  Schwarzenegger’s exit from Apprentice due to his ‘pathetic’ ratings: Trump:  United States President Donald Trump fired back at Arnold Schwarzenegger, who claims to have quit “The Celebrity Apprentice”, saying the actor was sacked from the show because of his “pathetic” ratings.

“Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show,” Trump tweeted.

Schwarzenegger quickly wrote, “You should think about hiring a new joke writer and a fact checker.”

Trump has been blaming Schwarzenegger for “The Apprentice” declining ratings.

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09:46  It’s official.

Karan Johar issued a statement on becoming dad to twins Yash and Roohi via surrogacy.

Here’s the statement.

09:26  Malaysia expels North Korea ambassador over Kim murder:  Malaysia has expelled North Korea’s ambassador on Saturday, giving him 48 hours to leave the country as a diplomatic row deepened over the assassination of the half-brother of Pyongyang’s leader.
    
Kim Jong-Nam, 45, was poisoned on February 13 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport with VX, a nerve agent so deadly that it is classed as a weapon of mass destruction.
   
The dramatic killing has sharply soured relations between Malaysia and North Korea, which has not acknowledged the dead man’s identity, vehemently protested the murder investigation and accused Kuala Lumpur of being in cahoots with its enemies.
   
Arch-rival South Korea has blamed the North for the murder, citing what they say was a standing order from leader Kim Jong-Un to kill his exiled half-brother who may have been seen as a potential rival.
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09:18  Karan Johar becomes father to twins via surrogacy:  Bollywood director and producer Karan Johar is reported to have officially become a father, after he became the single parent of twins — a boy and a girl, via surrogacy last month.

The twins were reportedly born via a surrogate in February 2017 in Mumbai’s Masrani Hospital.

According to Times of India, civic officials confirmed that the births were registered with its public health department on Friday.

The report suggests that he has named the girl Roohi, and the boy, Yash.

Johar is yet to make a statement regarding the same.

Karan had also spoken up about adopting a child or having a surrogate one, in his recently released autobiography, The Unsuitable Boy.

09:03  Kashmir: Cop killed in Tral encounter:  A policeman was killed in an encounter that started on Saturday night between militants and security forces in south Kashmir’s Tral.

The encounter began after a joint team of police and army started a cordon and search operation in Hafoo area of Tral in Pulwama district based on inputs about the presence of militants in the area.

An official at the police control room in Awantipora said the slain Jammu and Kashmir policeman, Manzoor Ahmed Naik was a native of Salamabad area of Uri.

Officials sources said special forces of army were deployed to carry out a combing operation in the area.
   
Curfew has been clamped in this area, 10 km from Srinagar, as protesters had gathered near the encounter site, they said.
   
Half of the house was brought down by the security forces but militants were still firing on them.

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08:23  Sikh man shot at in US, attacker allegedly shouted ‘go back to your country’:   A 39-year-old Sikh man in the United States has been injured when an unidentified person shot him outside his home and allegedly shouted “go back to your own country.”

The Sikh man was working on his vehicle outside his home in the city of Kent in Washington on Friday when he was approached by a stranger, who walked up to the driveway, the Seattle Times reported.

Kent police said an argument broke out between the two men, with the victim saying the suspect made statements to the effect of “go back to your own country.” The unidentified man then shot him in the arm.

The incident is the latest in a series of troubling cases where members of the Indian community have been targeted in apparent hate crimes.

On Thursday, Indian-origin convenience store owner Harnish Patel, 43, of Lancaster in South Carolina was found dead of gun shot wounds in his yard.

It also comes close on the heels of the tragic shooting in Kansas last month of 32-year old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was killed when 51-year old US Navy veteran Adam Purinton opened fire at him and his friend Alok Madasani before yelling “get out of my country.”

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Source: Rediff