A chart comparing number of counties won by presidential candidates to popular vote totals signifies potential election fraud.

In the wake of the 2020 U. S.  presidential election, U. S.  President Donald Trump and his supporters fervently attempted to disclaim the reality that Trump had lost to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.  One meme circulated in an attempt to cast doubt on the results questioned how Biden could have emerged victorious — and garnered so many votes — despite winning far fewer counties than Trump: The numbers vary depending upon the source (Associated Press estimated that Biden won 527 of the United States’ 3113 counties in 2020), but suffice it to say that Biden did indeed rack up several million more popular votes — and 74 more electoral votes — than Trump, despite winning far fewer counties.  How is this possible?  The short answer is that because counties are geographic/administrative units that vary widely in area and population, they are largely irrelevant in national elections.  First of all, the number of voters residing within a county can range anywhere between several dozen and several million, as reflected in this U. S.  Census Bureau chart of smallest and largest counties: More important, as the U. S.  Census Bureau reported in 2017, over 50% the U. S.  population lives in a mere 4. 6% of counties: More than half of all residents live in just 143 big counties (in terms of the number of residents), according to an analysis of U. S.  Census Bureau county estimates.  That means less than half of the population is spread out across the remaining 2,999 small counties.  https://youtu. be/pFYzlIGV80M This disparity in county size means that a candidate could theoretically win only 5% of the counties in the U. S.  but still achieve a majority of the popular votes.  And conversely, a candidate could win 95% of all counties in the U. S.  but still come up short in a national vote tally.  One candidate’s winning just a single large county (such as Los Angeles or San Diego) by a decisive margin could offset losing several hundred other smaller counties elsewhere.  Moreover, the concept of “winning” a county (which we define as achieving a plurality of the votes) is also highly variable.  A “win” could be anything from tallying 34% of the votes in a sparsely populated county to amassing 75% of the votes in a high-population county with several hundred thousand (or more) residents.  Both of these scenarios count as “wins,” but obviously the latter is much more significant from an overall vote standpoint.  On top of the relative insignificance of “number of counties won” as a metric, the general trend of late is that Democrats have fared much better than Republicans in smaller, densely-populated urban areas than in larger, sparsely-populated geographic areas, so it’s not at all surprising (or suspect) that Democratic presidential candidates might tally many more popular votes from a lesser number of counties.  In essence, this claim is just a rehash of earlier flawed election comparisons that don’t document any pattern of election or voting fraud, just a lack of awareness of demographic factors such as population density.


Justice #PinakiChandraGhose takes oath as first Lokpal of India
https://t.co/wIOWHzo98p https://t.co/yVC0ZnOk4H

President Ram Nath Kovind Saturday administered the oath of office to Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the country’s first Lokpal. The oath was administered at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, a communique issued by the President’s office said. Justice Ghose, a former Supreme Court judge, was Tuesday named the country’s first Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman. Former Chief Justices of different high courts -- Justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari -- besides sitting Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court Ajay Kumar Tripathi were appointed as judicial members in the Lokpal. Former first woman chief of Sashastra Seema Bal Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former IRS officer Mahender Singh and Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam are the Lokpal’s non-judicial members. Justice Ghose, 66, retired as a Supreme Court judge in May 2017.  He was serving as the member of the National Human Rights Commission when his name was announced for the post of Lokpal chairperson. The Lokpal and the Lokayukta Act, which envisages appointment of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants, was passed on 2013. According to the rules, there is provision for a chairperson and a maximum of eight members in the Lokpal panel.  Of these, four need to be judicial members. Not less than 50 per cent of the members of the Lokpal shall be from amongst the persons belonging to the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women, the rules say. Upon selection, the chairperson and members shall hold office for a term of five years or till they attain 70 years of age. The salary and allowances of the chairman will be same as that of the Chief Justice of India. The members will be paid salary and allowances same as that of a judge of the Supreme Court.


Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra offers prayers at Maharishi Valmiki Temple
#HathrasCase https://t.co/1e8ADktcqH

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi on Friday attended a prayer meet at the Valmiki temple in Delhi for the 19-year-old Dalit girl who was allegedly gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras.  The woman died earlier this week. The UP police is accused by the family of forcing the cremation of the woman in the dead of the night.  District officials contended that they had consent from the woman’s family, but the manner in which the developments took place raised questions over the conduct of the administration and law enforcement. “We have come here to offer our condolences, but more than that we are all here to ensure that the family and our sister get justice.  We will not stop until we get justice,” said Priyanka Gandhi at the prayer meeting. The Congress leader urged every woman in the country to raise her voice against this injustice. “The family has received no help from the government.  Instead, they weren’t even allowed to light the funeral pyre.  It is not the culture of our country that the father and the brother don’t conduct the last rites.  It is not the tradition of our country to cremate any one after sunset,” she added. A tribute for the victim of the brutal gangrape victim in Hathras has been organised by the temple trust.  Senior Congress leaders PL Punia, Sushmita Dev and Anil Choudhary have already offered a floral tribute and are sitting in solidarity. “As the Mahila Congress under the aegis of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, we have to take the lead and protest against this injustice,” Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev tells Hindustan Times.  “It is the women of this country who will bring down Narendra Modi. ”On Thursday, Priyanka Gandhi and her brother Rahul, the Congress says, were briefly arrested as they tried to visit Hathras.  The UP police escorted them back to Delhi.  Back in the village, scores of police personnel in and around the area have been deployed to prevent the entry of opposition leaders and the media.  It is seen as an attempt to scuttle the growing anger over the administration’s handling of the young woman’s death. Earlier today, Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien reached the district with some party leaders but was stopped 1. 5 km from the young woman’s house in Boolgarhi village.  Derek O’Brien, who still insisted on meeting her family, was pushed to the ground by a police team. A teenager who emerged from the village on Friday morning alleged the police had seized mobile phones of the rape victim’s family and the family wanted to make a statement to the media.


A newspaper clipping is going viral on social media, which claims that the Railways is planning to lay off 50% off its staff.  Claim: “बधाई हो भक्तों ! ख़ुशख़बरी है. .  ऐतिहासिक बेरोज़गारी,नई भर्ती पर रोक के अलावा नौकरियों से आधे लोगों को निकाल कर आपकी फ़ौज की संख्या और बढ़ा रहे है! ” (Translation: Congratulations Bhakts!  I have good news…historic unemployment rates, restrictions on recruiting new people and by removing half the current manpower, your army will see a rise in numbers! ) The article that is going around is written by Arvind Singh, which says – रेलवे में कर्मचारियों की संख्या 50 फीसदी घटाने की तैयारी में सरकार सरकार ने रेलवे में सुधार के नाम पर कर्मचारियों की संख्या 50 फीसदी तक घटाने का प्रस्ताव तैयार किया है। रेलकर्मियों के लिए आकर्षक-लाभप्रद स्वैच्छिक सेवानिवृत्ति योजना लागू की जाएगी और आउटसोर्सिंग को बढ़ावा दिया जाएगा। रेल मंत्री पीयूष गोयल की अध्यक्षता में भारतीय रेल में सुधार को लेकर आयोजित एक कार्यक्रम में यह बात सामने आई है।   (Translation – Government is preparing to reduce the number of employees in railways by 50 per cent.  The government has prepared a proposal to reduce the number of employees by 50 per cent in the name of improving the railway.  An attractive and profitable voluntary retirement scheme for railwaymen will be implemented and outsourcing will be promoted.  This was revealed in a program organized under the chairmanship of Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to improve Indian Railways. )   (Archived)   Sanjay Yadav, a Congress MLA from Jabalpur, shared the same image on his official Facebook page.  (Archived)      Rajeev Rai, the national secretary and spokesperson for the Samajwadi Party, tweeted the image and claim.  This was retweeted by over 650 users.  बधाई हो भक्तों ! ख़ुशख़बरी है. .  ऐतिहासिक बेरोज़गारी,नई भर्ती पर रोक के अलावा नौकरियों से आधे लोगों को निकाल कर  आपकी फ़ौज की संख्या और बढ़ा रहे है! 😊#देश_बदहाल_मनहूस_6_साल pic. twitter. com/tio3ZmPnEv — Rajeev Rai (@RajeevRai) May 20, 2020  (Archived) रेलवे में कर्मचारियों की संख्या 50% घटाने की तैयारी में सरकार  ! !   यह तो मोदी जी के कथनानुसार टेलर है पिक्चर अभी बाकी है  ! !   पकौड़ा तलने लायक भी नहीं छोड़ेगी मोदी सरकार  ! !   बजाओ ताली थालीजलाओ दिया मोमबत्ती  ! !   आत्मनिर्भर बनें भारत  ! !  pic. twitter. com/E32JR3zR1A — Sanjay Srivastava (@IAm_Sanjaysri) May 20, 2020  (Archived)   Using the headline and the author’s name as keywords, we searched for the source of the article.
We found the same article, verbatim, published on livehindustan. com, on December 16, 2019.     Live Hindustan is the web version of a newspaper called ‘Hindustan’, which is a Hindi newspaper with the fourth-largest circulation in India.  This newspaper is circulated in the Hindi-speaking belt of India.    On further investigation using just the headline, we found more media reports with similar content.  These were all published between December 11 and December 16 last year.     A news report by The Wire stated that the plan was being seriously considered after a two-day meeting, held on December 7 and 8, 2019 called ‘Parivartan Sangoshti’ (change seminar).  This seminar was attended by top railway officials, including railway minister Piyush Goyal.     Another report by Dainik Bhaskar spoke about the idea being proposed at the end of the meeting  (Proposal to reduce the number of employees
It is proposed to reduce the number of employees for cost-cutting, after the Parivartan Sangoshti meeting of the Railways.  It has been reported that 10 per cent of the employees will be laid out in the next three years and 50 per cent in a phased manner later. )   While the proposal was widely reported by news outlets, there was no official press release by the government after the seminar.  The Press Information Bureau’s official website had just one press release about the meeting, which stated: “…impactful and promising suggestions have been shortlisted and were brainstormed…”.     Therefore, the newspaper clipping shared by users on social media claiming that the railways will lay off half its employees is from December 2019 and is being shared without its original context.


Altered images of news bulletins have been shared on social media to falsely claim that the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced the immediate closure of schools and colleges.  CLAIM The images were widely shared on Facebook without any caption.  The text in one of the viral images read, “अभी - अभी गृह मंत्रालय का चौंकाने वाला फैसलातुरंत स्कूल कॉलेज बंद करने का आदेश जारी |” [Translation: The sudden order by the Home Ministry to close school college immediately. ] Another edited screenshot carried a similar message, which said,“अभी अभी बड़ा फैसलातुरंत स्कूल कॉलेज बंद करने का आदेश जारीअभी 10 मिनट पहले लिया बड़ा फैसला |” [Translation: Big Decision: Order to close school college immediately. The big decision was taken just 10 minutes ago. ] WHAT WE FOUND OUT We looked for an official order on the Ministry of Home Affairs website and searched with relevant keywords on Google for credible news reports about the development.  However, we could not find any official announcement or news updates.  We also found several reports stating that schools and colleges have opened up in various states in India in a graded manner.  We analysed the screenshots and found errors in both screeshots.  In the first one, we noticed that the news banner at the top overlapped the channel’s logo.  In the second screenshot, we found that the photo of the anchor was that of Anjana Om Kashyap, the executive editor and anchor of the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak.  However, the channel in the screenshot was First India News Rajasthan – as can be seen from the logo of the channel.  Also, the “breaking news today” banner cut into the channel’s logo, similar to what appeared in the previous screenshot.  Union Cabinet Minister for Education, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, retweeted a tweet by PIB Fact Check that rubbished the viral claim.  Clearly, an edited graphic is being circulated to falsely claim that the Home Ministry has directed schools and colleges to be closed immediately.


Jharkhand reports 1,263 new #COVID19 cases and 3 deaths, taking total cases to 62,737 including 48,112 recoveries and 561 deaths. Number of active cases stands at 14,064: State Health Department https://t.co/luFQohicEp

Sep 08, 2021-Wednesday

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Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia tests positive for Covid-19Andhra Pradesh reports 7,956 new Covid casesHimachal Pradesh records 41 Covid casesBengal has 23,624 active Covid-19 cases, says CM Mamata Banerjee311 more Maharashtra police personnel test positive24 MPs test positive for Covid-19Haryana CM ML Khattar recovers from Covid-19Rahul Gandhi takes a dig at PM Narendra ModiRajasthan reports 793 new Covid-19 cases, 7 deathsHimachal Pradesh records 43 new Covid-19 cases and 38 recoveries todayAsia offers more flu shots to head off Covid-19 complicationsPuducherry adds 414 fresh Covid-19 cases, tally crosses 20k-markArunachal Pradesh's Covid-19 tally crosses 6,000-markRecord 4,198 new cases push Odisha's Covid-19 tally to 1,55,005India has been able to limit its cases and deaths per million to 3,328 cases per million and 55 deaths per million population: Health MinistryIndia on Sunday registered 92,071 cases and 1,136 deaths due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) disease which pushed the country's tally and death toll to 4,846,427 and 79,722 respectively, according to the Union health ministry's dasboard. Click here for full Covid-19 coverageWith months into the pandemic, the Covid-19 continued to wreak havoc around the world.  While the race for developing Covid-19 vaccine is on, the virus has infected 29,172,136 million people while the death toll stood at 927,920, according to worldometer. Follow live updates here:Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia tests positive for Covid-19Delhi's deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Monday tested positive for coronavirus. Andhra Pradesh reports 7,956 new Covid cases7,956 new Covid-19 cases, 9,764 recoveries and 60 deaths reported in Andhra Pradesh today.  Total number of cases now at 5,75,079 including 93,204 active cases, 4,76,903 recoveries and 4,972 deaths: State Health DepartmentHimachal Pradesh records 41 Covid casesHimachal Pradesh records 41 new Covid-19 cases till 5 pm today, taking the total positive cases in the state to 9,655 so far, including 3,418 active cases, 6,143 recoveries, and 77 deaths: State Health Department, Himachal PradeshBengal has 23,624 active Covid-19 cases, says CM Mamata BanerjeeWe've 23,624 active cases and 3,945 deaths (86% deaths due to comorbidities).  Covid-19 positivity rate in India is 8. 53% and here it's 8. 21%.  Discharge rate in India is 77% & here it is 86. 40%.  The situation's getting better but we need to be careful: Mamata Banerjee, CM, West Bengal311 more Maharashtra police personnel test positive311 more personnel of Maharashtra police tested positive, and five lost their lives, in the last 24 hours.  Total 19,385 infections in force thus far, including 15,521 recoveries, 3,670 active cases and 194 deaths. 24 MPs test positive for Covid-1924 MPs, including the ruling BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi, Anant Kumar Hegde and Parvesh Sahib Singh, test positive for coronavirus on the first day of Parliament's monsoon session. Haryana CM ML Khattar recovers from Covid-19ML Khattar returns to Chandigarh after recovering from the disease, urges people to 'religiously' follow guidelines like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. Rahul Gandhi takes a dig at PM Narendra ModiTaking a dig at PM Modi over the rise in country's Covid-19 cases, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi says that the government had asked people to become ‘aatmanirbhar’ which means they should save their lives themselves as prime minister was ‘busy with peacocks. 'Rajasthan reports 793 new Covid-19 cases, 7 deathsA total of 793 new Covid-19 cases and seven deaths were reported in Rajasthan in the past 24 hours. Himachal Pradesh records 43 new Covid-19 cases and 38 recoveries todayHimachal Pradesh records 43 new Covid-19 cases and 38 recoveries today, taking the total positive cases in the state to 9,598 so far, including 3,367 active cases, 6,137 recoveries, and 77 deaths: State Health Department, Himachal PradeshAsia offers more flu shots to head off Covid-19 complicationsSome Asian countries are rolling out early and more aggressive influenza vaccination programs this year, seeking to reduce the potential of people contracting the flu and Covid-19 simultaneously, crippling healthcare systems. Puducherry adds 414 fresh Covid-19 cases, tally crosses 20k-markPuducherry on Monday logged 414 new COVID-19 cases taking the overall tally past the 20,000 mark while nine people including four women succumbed to the virus, a top Health department official said. Arunachal Pradesh's Covid-19 tally crosses 6,000-markThe Covid-19 caseload in Arunachal Pradesh crossed the 6000-mark with 146 fresh cases reported in the northeastern state, a senior Health department official said on Monday. Record 4,198 new cases push Odisha's Covid-19 tally to 1,55,005Record 4,198 new cases push Odisha's Covid-19 tally to 1,55,005; 11 fresh fatalities take death toll to 637: Health officialIndia has been able to limit its cases and deaths per million to 3,328 cases per million and 55 deaths per million population: Health MinistryWith our endeavour to manage Covid-19, India has been able to limit its cases and deaths per million to 3,328 cases per million and 55 deaths per million population respectively, which is one of the lowest in the world as compared to similarly affected countries: Health MinisterFirst published: Sep 14, 2020 05:16 IST


NEW: Asked if he thinks Pres. Trump would pardon him if convicted, Roger Stone tells @TomLlamasABC, "The only person I have advocated a pardon for is Marcus Garvey." https://t.co/ipf6MXqI96 https://t.co/53pE8cgApo

  Former Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote on Thursday about receiving help changing his tire from a veteran who lost his leg in Afghanistan, writing that it “touched my soul. ”

  Powell, who’s also a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote on Facebook that he had been on his way to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, driving along Interstate 495, when his left front tire blew out.

  “I am a car guy and knew I could change it but it was cold outside and the lug bolts were very tight,” Powell writes.  “I jacked the car up and got several of the bolts removed when a car suddenly pulled up in front of me. ”

Colin Powell Fast Facts

  While talking to the man who had pulled over to help, Powell wrote he learned the man had lost his leg in Afghanistan.  The man told Powell he had recognized him and wanted to help.

  “He grabbed the lug wrench and finished the job as I put the tools away,” Powell writes, and then they both headed off to appointments at Walter Reed.

  “I hadn’t gotten his name or address but he did ask for a ‘selfie,’ ” Powell writes, and posted the photo of them together.

  Powell wrote that the man messaged him the following on Wednesday night: “Gen.  Powell, I hope I never forget today because I’ll never forget reading your books.  You were always an inspiration, a leader and statesman.  After 33 years in the military you were the giant whose shoulders we stood upon to carry the torch to light the way and now it is tomorrow’s generation that must do the same.  Anthony Maggert”

  “Thanks, Anthony,” Powell writes.  “You touched my soul and reminded me about what this country is all about and why it is so great.  Let’s stop screaming at each other.  Let’s just take care of each other.  You made my day. ”
Yesterday was a reassuring day for me.   I was on my way to Walter Reed Military Hospital for an exam.   As I drove along. . .
  Maggert, who told CNN he served as a contracting officer in the Army and did three tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan before leaving the military in June 2018 and obtaining the rank of major, said in a phone interview that he encountered Powell as he was headed to see the prosthetist for a routine appointment.

  “I was going down the road and I saw somebody on the side of the road and they looked like they were in need.  I didn’t know who it was but that didn’t matter to me.  The closer I got, I realized who it was,” Maggert told CNN.

  Powell “was always a hero of mine when I was a kid,” Maggert said.  He said he submitted the paragraph addressed to Powell through his website and then a member of Powell’s team reached out to him.

  Maggert told CNN he lost his leg due to flesh-eating bacteria, and said, “I was still in active duty and I still continued to serve.  I never left active duty as an amputee. ”

  He said he had served 23 years in the military, and after retiring last year went to culinary school.

  CNN’s Ashley Billings contributed to this report.
© 2021 Cable News Network.  A Warner Media Company.  All Rights Reserved.   CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.


Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) declares result for Class 10 (ICSE) and Class 12 (ISC) for the year 2020. Pass percentage of Class 10th is 99.33% and that of Class 12th is 96.84% https://t.co/R5LhFN5XGi

ICSE Board Results 2020: The Council for Indian School Certificate Examination has declared the ICSE or Class 10 and ISC or Class 12 exam results 2020 on July 10. Check ICSE, ISC Result 2020 live update hereStudents who have appeared in the ICSE and ISC examination, can check their results on the official website of CISCE at cisce. org or results. cisce. org. Also Read: ICSE, ISC Results 2020: How to check CISCE 10th, 12th results onlineHere’s the direct link to check the results. Steps to check ICSE/ISC results 2020 on the official results website:1) Visit the official results website of CISCE2) Select the course ICSE or ISC as required3) Enter you UID, Index number and Captcha4) Click on show result5) Result will be displayed6) You can also print results for future referenceStudents who have taken the exam can also access their results through SMS. Steps to receive ICSE/ISC results 2020 through SMS:1.  Open your SMS box2.  Type ICSE>your unique ID> and send it to 092480828833.  Type ISC>your unique ID> and send it to 09248082883A career portal will be made available at the CISCE website.  Schools can download the results from this portal by using the principal’s user ID and password. Last year, the pass percentage for candidates appearing for ICSE was 98. 54%, the pass percentage for candidates appearing for ISC examination was 96. 52%. A total of 196271 students appeared for the 10th Boards (ICSE) in 2019 from 2247 schools across India.


Video shows monkeys being tortured during potential Covid-19 vaccine tests on them.

International organisations and laboratories are racing against time to come up with a successful vaccine for COVID-19. In the meantime, a disturbing video purportedly showing animal cruelty circulating on social media claims this is how monkeys are being tortured in laboratories to test the COVID-19 vaccine. The viral video posted by various users on Facebook shows how monkeys screaming as they're strapped into upright positions in metal neck braces and their arms restrained on rests. In some portions, monkeys are seen shivering and moving restlessly in pain in metal braces.  People are seen in personal protective equipment administering injections on the animals. India Today Anti-Fake News War room (AFWA) found this to be a misleading claim.  The viral video is from last year has no connection to the COVID-19 vaccine.  This was an undercover video exposing animal torture inside a German laboratory from 2019.  Animal rights activists were outraged after this exposure and demanded immediate closure of the lab. The archived version of the posts are saved here and here. AFWA probeWith the help of the InVid reverse image search, we found several news articles with a similar video and images of animal cruelty published last year. Website of German broadcaster "DW Urdu" published a video story on October 20, 2019, with a headline saying "No animal comes back alive from this laboratory". As per this story, a video made with the help of hidden cameras in a German research laboratory by an animal protection group shows cruelty on animals inside the laboratory. The DW video clip shows a small portion of the same video that went viral.  Some of the frames are identical. Viral videoDW news clipOn October 18, 2019, website of "Euro News" published an article on the same incident with images and video from the same video clip. According to this news report, eight-minute undercover footage, released by animal rights groups SOKO Tierschutz and Cruelty-Free International, exposed the disturbing situation of the animals in a German testing laboratory. As per the article, the footage was filmed at the Laboratory for Pharmacology and Toxicology (LPT) in Mienenbüttel, south-west of Hamburg, by an undercover agent working as an animal keeper assistant. Outraged by this exposure the animal rights activists demanded immediate closure of the German laboratory. ConclusionIt is true that monkeys are being used in animal trials for the COVID-19 vaccine in various laboratories.  This has also been reported by the media.  But the particular viral video showing animal torture is from last year reportedly from a German laboratory.  And this video has no connection to COVID-19 vaccine tests. The number of crows determines the intensity of the lie.


NIA raids 5 locations in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore, seizes laptops

https://t.co/HcSoxmq6y4 https://t.co/J3vnuI61bJ

The National Investigation Agency on Thursday conducted searches at five places in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore in connection with the ISIS Kerala-Tamil Nadu module case in which the warrants were issued by a special court in Ernakulam. One laptop, five mobile phones, four SIM cards, one memory card and eight CDs/CVCs and large numbers of incriminating documents have been seized. “The seized digital devices will be subjected to forensic examination.  The suspects are being examined regarding their association with the arrested accused persons and their involvement in the conspiracy, intended at furthering the objectives of ISIS/ Daish,” said a NIA statement. The case was registered by the NIA on May 30, 2019, against six accused persons from Coimbatore city.  “The case was filed based on the information that these individuals and their associates were propagating the ideology of the proscribed terrorist organization ISIS/ Daish on social media with the intention of recruiting vulnerable youth into this outfit and carrying out terrorist attacks in South India especially in Kerala and Tamil Nadu,” NIA said. The agency had earlier conducted searches at the houses of six accused persons on June 12 this year.  After the searches, two persons—Mohammed Azarudheen and Shiek Hidayathulla— were arrested. “It was also learnt that some of the accused persons and their associates were in touch with the Sri Lankan ISIS/ Daish leader Zahran Hashim, and his accomplices, over social media, with the intention of furthering the objectives of the ISIS/ Daish in India,” the NIA statement added.


A Chinese doctor reprimanded by local authorities for trying to sound the alarm on the coronavirus has died after contracting the disease. https://t.co/2CJ7AiRJut

By Ben Westcott, CNNUpdated 3:07 AM ET, Fri February 7, 2020 Hong Kong (CNN)The Chinese media's reporting of the death of coronavirus whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang caused confusion and anger Thursday night, as Li was first pronounced dead, then alive and, finally, dead again. At today's #2019nCoV media briefing @DrMikeRyan was asked about reports that Dr Li Wenliang had passed away, and he expressed condolences.  WHO has no information on the status of Dr Li.  pic. twitter. com/59UzWpcfa7Chinese doctor #LiWenliang, one of the eight "whistleblowers" who tried to warn other medics of the coronavirus outbreak but were reprimanded by local police, died from #coronavirus at 2:58 am Friday, the hospital where he received treatment announced.  https://t. co/eCrNha7Nn1 pic. twitter. com/WYwDxZFBejCNN's Yong Xiong and Nectar Gan contributed to this article.


891 persons tested for #COVID19 in Himachal Pradesh today, of which 1 tested positive and results of 213 are awaited. Total number of cases in the state is now at 1,243, including 292 active cases, 927 recovered & 9 deaths: State Health Department https://t.co/mCCmilBreD

India reported 61,408 new cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and 836 deaths in the last 24 hours, pushing the tally to 3,106,349, including 2,338,036 recovered patients, according to the Union health ministry on Monday. The country had crossed the 1 million mark on July 16, the 1. 5 million milestone on July 28 and two million on August 6.  The number of Covid-19 cases in India crossed three million on August 22.  Last week, 397,277 Covid-19 cases, including more than 5,700 deaths, were added to the country’s infection tally. There were 710,771 active Covid-19 cases, the health ministry’s dashboard showed at 8am.  With 57,469 patients discharged between Sunday and Monday morning, the number of recoveries has reached 2,338,036 and recovery rate at 75. 26%, data showed. The health ministry said the gap between recoveries and active cases continued to widen, with the number of patients recovering currently more than three times the active cases.  The widening gap has led to active Covid-19 cases becoming about 23. 24% of the total positive case reported in the country so far.  India had reported its first Covid-19 case on January 30. “This is because of effective implementation of Centre led policies ensuring efficient clinical management in hospital settings for critical patients, and supervised Home Isolation for moderate and mild ones,” the health ministry tweeted on Monday morning. “The constantly increasing recoveries have ensured that the actual caseload of the country viz.  the active cases, has reduced and currently comprises only 23. 24% of the total positive cases.  This has also resulted in a gradually falling mortality rate. ”According to the health ministry’s data, India has witnessed 57,542 people succumbing to the viral disease to date.  It has said that India’s Case Fatality Rate (CFR) at 1. 86% is one of the lowest globally.  The ministry has been attributing this to the comprehensive and sustained effectiveness of the Centre’s policy of “TESTING aggressively, TRACKING comprehensively & TREATING efficiently”. “Higher number of recoveries and declining mortality rate among COVID patients have shown that India’s graded and pro-active strategies are delivering results on the field,” it has said. According to Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus tracker, the global tally stands at 23,358,598 with 807,830 fatalities.  The US leads the tally with 5,701,938 Covid-19 cases, followed by Brazil with 3,605,783.  India is the third worst-affected country in the world.


CNN PROJECTION: Joe Biden wins Hawaii https://t.co/HZfVrHbzTJ #CNNElection https://t.co/Oi1tNgFLo5

The president-elect emphasized how he would handle the pandemic response. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris deliver 1st message of unity after historic winJoe Biden is set to become the 46th president of the United States, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump.  ABC News characterized Joe Biden as the apparent winner of his home state of Pennsylvania, putting him over the 270 vote threshold needed to capture the presidency. The hard-fought battle against the president was set against the backdrop of racial unrest and the coronavirus pandemic and bitter divisions among the electorate. Trump had falsely declared on election night, when he held a lead in several key states, that he won the contest and alleged without evidence, after the count started to swing the other way, that the election was being stolen from him and that fraud had been committed. Painting the election as a "battle for the soul of the nation," Biden won on a message of unity over division, compassion over anger, and reality over what he called Trump's "wishful thinking" as the coronavirus pandemic cast a heavy shadow over the campaign. The 2020 election has shattered voting records with votes totaling 147 million and counting, surpassing the 138 million who voted in 2016. A Justice Department official confirmed Monday evening that Richard Pilger, a career official who was serving as director of the Elections Crimes Branch, has resigned from his role in the division because of the attorney general's memo authorizing U. S.  attorneys to "pursue substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities," despite little evidence surfacing thus far of any widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Pilger has stepped back into a role in the DOJ's Public Integrity Section. The New York Times reported that Pilger wrote to colleagues in an email this evening, "Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications, I must regretfully resign from my role as director of the Election Crimes Branch. ”A DOJ spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Pilger's resignation. When ABC News sought a response from Pilger, an automatic reply to the email said, "I am no longer the Director of the Election Crimes Branch, and have stepped back to the line at the Public Integrity Section. "-ABC News' Alexander MallinThe Biden transition team will not receive full intelligence briefings until the General Services Administration officially "ascertains" the former vice president to be winner of the presidential election, according to a statement from the Office of Director of National Intelligence on Monday. "ODNI follows the statutory direction provided in the Presidential Transition Act, which requires ascertainment of the candidate by the administrator of GSA prior to supporting a potential presidential transition.  ODNI would not have contact with any transition team until notified by the GSA Administrator," an ODNI spokesperson said in a statement. Meanwhile, outside government watchdogs are already warning that a continued delay in briefings could carry grave national security implications for the incoming administration. Aaron Scherb, the legal director at Common Cause, told ABC News on Monday that the "petty and unproductive" decision by GSA to withhold key resources to the Biden transition could have the "potential for catastrophic results. " "By GSA not signing off on this, there is certainly some classified intelligence information that the incoming administration would not have access to -- and would potentially not be fully prepared on day one to be able to counteract ongoing efforts from our adversaries like all previous incoming administrations have," Scherb said. "If the Biden transition team doesn't have access to some of the documents and information," he continued, "there are national security concerns. "-ABC News' Molly Nagle and Lucien BruggemanAttorney General William Barr sent a memo to U. S.  attorneys Monday evening authorizing them to "pursue substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities," despite little evidence surfacing thus far of any widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. In the memo Barr says that such inquiries "may be conducted if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State. "But Barr emphasized in the letter that this should not be taken as the DOJ believing there was widespread fraud -- a baseless claim being made by attorneys for Trump and the RNC.  Rather, he's doling authority out to U. S.  attorneys in the event they might uncover any such credible evidence of a fraud conspiracy that might affect vote tabulations before election results are certified. "Nothing here should be taken as any indication that the Department has concluded that voting irregularities have impacted the outcome of any election," Barr wrote.  "Rather, I provide this authority and guidance to emphasize the need to timely and appropriately address allegations of voting irregularities so that all of the American people, regardless of their preferred candidate or party, can have full confidence in the results of our elections. ""While it is imperative that credible allegations be addressed in a timely and effective manner, it is equally imperative that Department personnel exercise appropriate caution and maintain the Department's absolute commitment to fairness, neutrality and non-partisanship," Barr said in the memo.  "While serious allegations should be handled with great care, specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims should not be a basis for initiating federal inquiries. "-ABC News' Alexander MallinBiden is slated to give remarks focused on the Affordable Care Act and the Trump administration's lawsuit to overturn it.  Biden will talk about his own plan "to expand access to quality, affordable health care. "The event in Wilmington, Delaware, is slated for 2 p. m. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments at 10 a. m.  in the case brought by Trump and 18 Republican-led states asking that the Affordable Care Act be eliminated in its entirety.


A Twitter user who goes by the handle '@OfficialKito' tweeted a video showing a helicopter crash saying, "Kobe Bryant helicopter crash live footage"

#KobeBryant helicopter crash live footage https://t. co/4iXWUkCCga— Kito$tunna ð (@OfficialKito) 1580077873000The tweet has been retweeted over 1,000 times and liked by over 2,132 users.  An archived version of the tweet is here. A search on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook with keywords 'Kobe Bryant helicopter crash live footage' shows that the same video has been shared by many users with the exact same claim.  A Facebook post by the name of 'NBA Highlights' shared the same video yesterday with the title, "VIDEO FOOTAGE: Kobe Bryant's Daughter Gianna, 13, Dead Alongside Father in Calabasas Helicopter Crash.  The NBA legend and his daughter were both onboard the private helicopter. " This post has been shared over 41,000 times and has garnered over 9,88,000 views already.  The same video, with the same claim, is garnering a lot of views on YouTube as well.  TRUTHThe helicopter crash footage that is being widely shared, with a claim that it shows the crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others, is actually of a crash that happened in 2018 in United Arab Emirates (UAE), near Dubai.  It has nothing to do with Bryant.  An Agusta 139 helicopter that was on a rescue mission at Jebel Jais, a mountain in the Ras al-Khaimah emirate in UAE, crashed near the world's longest zip line there in December, 2018.  The footage, that is now being circulated heavily, is of this crash.  VERIFICATION AND METHODOLOGYAn alert Twitter user who goes by the handle '@Boston_Tom_' responded to Twitter user '@OfficialKito' with a news report published in The Sun titled, 'UAE helicopter crash leaves four dead after chopper âsmashes into worldâs longest zip line'', carrying the same video that is being shared with the false claim now.  The report published on December 30, 2018, said four people were killed when a helicopter exploded after "reportedly clipping the world's longest zip line".  Taking cue from this, we searched on Google using relevant keywords and found a BBC report on the same accident, published on December 30, 2018.  Titled, 'UAE helicopter crash kills four crew on rescue mission near zipline', the report detailed how an Agusta 139 helicopter, that was on a rescue mission at Jebel Jais, a mountain in the Ras al-Khaimah emirate in United Arab Emirates (UAE), crashed near the world's longest zip line.  A report in Gulf News said that the accident happened when the helicopter's rotors got tangled in the steel wire of the zip line.  We also found another video of the same incident on the YouTube channels of many foreign media outlets.  Here's one on the verified YouTube channel of the The National.


Uttarakhand: Women in Joshimath of Chamoli district tied rakhi to Indo-Tibetan Border Police jawans, deployed at ITBP camp, today and sent around 450 rakhis to the jawans posted along the India-China border in the district. #RakshaBandhan https://t.co/x9If90mzLf

The Uttarakhand government and Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) on Friday decided to improve critical infrastructure, promote tourism and civilian settlements in the border areas of the state keeping in mind the national security. In a meeting with chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, ITBP chief S S Deswal raised issues pertaining to reverse migration, road, mobile and power connectivity, approvals for acquiring land for ITBP infrastructures and promotion of tourism including water sports in remote areas in the backdrop of the recent border clashes with China following PLA’s incursions.  Uttarakhand’s border with China extends to 350 km.  The ITBP has its presence on 42 BoPs (border outposts) in Badahoti and Mana Pass. People familiar with development said Rawat has committed to work in coordination with ITBP for realisation of the objectives.  Officials in Uttarakhand CM’s office, who did not wish to be named, said Rawat announced ~10 crore under chief minister border areas development project and instructed officials to ensure that the state complemented the national developmental schemes for the region. “The CM told officials that creation of infrastructure and facilities will help in stopping migration from border areas.  He added that stopping this migration was important from the point of view of the country’s security,” the officials quoted above said. Several defence and strategic experts recently spoke about the need for increasing human settlements and tourism activities in border areas which could act as the second line of defence. The chief minister also instructed officials to urgently outline a project to provide power connection to ITBP posts in remote border areas in the state.  He said the Central government will be requested to help set up mobile towers in these regions for uninterrupted communication.  He also instructed the Dehradun district magistrate to make available 15 acre land for the setting up of ITBP’s frontier headquarter, added officials.


The casket of Rep. John Lewis, draped in an American flag, is carried into Troy University ahead of a memorial service celebrating the civil rights icon's life. https://t.co/T38bqZ3g4G https://t.co/7QdG5szWs4

By Caroline Kelly, CNNUpdated 1:13 PM ET, Sat July 25, 2020  (CNN)A six-day memorial ceremony honoring the late Rep.  John Lewis, a towering figure of the civil rights movement and longtime Georgia Democrat, will commence on Saturday, featuring stops in five cities that played key roles in his life and legacy. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, Lauren Fox, Faith Karimi and Brandon Griggs contributed to this report.


JUST IN: NBA postpones Tuesday night's Lakers-Clippers game "out of respect for the Lakers organization, which is deeply grieving the tragic loss of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other people in a helicopter crash” https://t.co/DQHVoneq7i https://t.co/Nuw2tiG7CZ

By Christina Maxouris and Artemis Moshtaghian, CNNUpdated 9:04 PM ET, Mon January 27, 2020  (CNN)Nine people died in the helicopter crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant -- including his daughter, Gianna, and her basketball teammate. A statement from Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom regarding the Altobelli family: pic. twitter. com/nfrMs5t6BjKobe and Gigi courtside breaking down the game 📋 pic. twitter. com/FxqSjVx6ewCNN's Nick Watt, Jon Passantino, Chloe Melas, Darran Simon, Ashley Fantz, Rob Kuznia, Matthew Hilk and Jennifer Henderson contributed to this report.


Sen. Bernie Sanders: “In other words, you have, certainly for the first time in my lifetime, a President of the United States saying ‘I cannot lose this election. If I win, great. If I lose it’s rigged and if it is rigged, guess what? I may not leave the office.’” https://t.co/kVEdIecIKB

The South Carolina Republican also discussed his own path to the Senate. Sen.  Tim Scott speaks at 2020 RNCSen.  Tim Scott closed out the first night of the Republican National Convention with a largely optimistic keynote speech that touched on his own path to the Senate as a Black man, and implored Americans to "focus on the promise of the American journey. "Much of the South Carolina politician's speech was devoted to his biography.  In a live address from the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D. C. , he spoke of his mother, who he said worked 16 hours a day to keep his family afloat.  He described living with his grandparents and sharing a room with both his mom and his brother.  Scott spoke of his grandfather, who was "forced out of school as a third grader to pick cotton. "In one of the night's most memorable lines, he said, "Our family went from cotton to Congress in one lifetime.  And that is why I believe the next American century can be better than the last. ""There are millions of families just like mine all across this nation full of potential seeking to live the American dream," Scott said.  "And I'm here tonight to tell you that supporting the Republican ticket gives you the best chance of making that dream a reality. "Scott, the GOP's lone Black senator, also used his speech to go after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.  He highlighted some of the former vice president's statements on race, including comments from his tense radio interview with Charlamagne tha God back in May. "Joe Biden said if a Black man didn't vote for him, he wasn't truly Black.  Joe Biden says Black people are a monolithic community.  It was Joe Biden who said poor kids can be just as smart as white kids and while his words are one thing, his actions take it to a whole new level," Scott said. Good evening.  To all of you tuning in and participating in the political process, God bless you. This isn't how I pictured tonight, but our country is experiencing something none of us envisioned.  From a global pandemic, to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, 2020 has tested our nation in ways we haven't seen for decades.  But regardless of the challenges presented to us, every four years, Americans come together to vote.  To share stories of what makes our nation strong, and the lessons we have learned that can strengthen it further for our children and grandchildren. Because while this election is between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, it is not solely about Donald Trump and Joe Biden.  It's about the promise of America.  It's about you and me -- our challenges and heartbreaks, hopes and dreams.  It's about how we respond when tackling critical issues like police reform.  When Democrats called our work a token effort, and walked out of the room during negotiations because they wanted the issue more than they wanted a solution. Do we want a society that breeds success, or a culture that cancels everything it even slightly disagrees with?  I know where I stand, because you see, I am living my mother's American Dream. My parents divorced when I was 7 years old.  We lived in a two-bedroom house with my grandparents -- me, my mom and my brother sharing a room and a bed.  My mom worked 16 hours a day to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads.  She knew that if we could find the opportunity, bigger things would come.  I thought I had to use football to succeed in life, and my focus on academics faded away.  I failed my freshman year of high school -- four subjects: Spanish, English, world geography and civics.  Trust me, after spending seven years in the Senate, I know I'm not the only one in Congress who failed civics. But even while I was failing the ninth grade, my mother always said, "When you shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you will be among the stars. " She never lost faith in me, even when I lost faith in myself.  Because of her encouragement, I went to summer school and caught up. The next year I met my mentor, John Moniz -- a Chick-fil-A operator.  John saw something in me that I could not see in myself and started teaching me valuable lessons in life.  Like, having a job was a good thing, but creating jobs would be better.  That having an income could change my lifestyle, but creating a profit could change my community.  He planted the seeds of what would become Opportunity Zones -- this initiative the president and I worked together on is bringing over $75 billion of private sector investment into distressed communities. I took those lessons to heart and started putting the pieces of my life together.  I realized a quality education is the closest thing we have to magic in America.  That's why I fight to this day for school choice -- to make sure every child, in every neighborhood, has a quality education.  I don't care if it's a public, private, charter, virtual or home school.  When a parent has a choice, their kid has a better chance.  And the president has fought alongside me on that. Later in life, I started my own successful small business.  That's why I know it is critical for us to have a tax code that encourages growth.  We actually saw revenues to the Treasury increase after we lowered taxes in 2017.  Rest assured, Democrats do not want you to know that. After starting my business and spending time in local government, I ran for Congress in 2010.  The district is based in Charleston, South Carolina, where the Civil War started, against a son of our legendary senator, Strom Thurmond.  You may be asking yourself, how does a poor Black kid from a single-parent household run and win a race in a crowded Republican primary against a Thurmond?  Because of the evolution of the heart, in an overwhelmingly white district, the voters judged me on the content of my character, not the color of my skin. We live in a world that only wants you to believe in the bad news -- racially, economically and culturally-polarizing news.  The truth is, our nation's arc always bends back towards fairness.  We are not fully where we want to be -- but thank God we are not where we used to be.  We are always striving to be better.  When we stumble, and we will, we pick ourselves back up and try again.  We don't give into cancel-culture, or the radical -- and factually baseless -- belief that things are worse today than in the 1860s or the 1960s.  We have work to do.  But I believe in the goodness of America -- the promise that all men and all women are created equal.  And if you're watching tonight, I'm betting you do, too. Over the past four years, we have made tremendous progress towards that promise.  President Trump built the most inclusive economy ever.  Seven million jobs created pre-COVID-19, two-thirds of which went to women, African-Americans and Hispanics.  The first new, major effort to tackle poverty in a generation -- Opportunity Zones.  We put hard-earned tax dollars back in people's pockets by cutting their taxes, especially for single-parent households like the one I grew up in -- cutting single mothers' taxes 70% on average. President Trump supported these tax cuts for those single moms, and other working families, and signed these policies into law -- and our nation is better off for it.  So, I'm going to ask you, the American people, not to look simply at what the candidates say, but to look back at what they've done. This election is about your future, and it's critical to paint a full picture of the records of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.  Joe Biden said if a Black man didn't vote for him, he wasn't truly Black.  Joe Biden said Black people are a monolithic community.  Joe Biden said poor kids can be just as smart as white kids.  And while his words are one thing, his actions take it to a whole new level. In 1994, Biden led the charge on a crime bill that put millions of Black Americans behind bars.  President Trump's criminal justice reform law fixed many of the disparities Biden created and made our system more fair and just for all Americans. Joe Biden failed our nation's historically Black colleges and universities, heaping blame on them as they fought to ensure our young folks had access to higher education.  Once again, to clean up Joe Biden's mess, President Trump signed into law historically high funding for HBCUs, as well as a bill to give them permanent funding for the first time ever. And now, Joe Biden wants to come for your pocketbooks.  Unless you're a blue state millionaire.  I'm serious -- that's one of their solutions for the pandemic.  They want more money from your pocket going to help Manhattan elites and Hollywood moguls get a tax break.  Republicans, however, passed President Trump's once-in-a-generation tax reform bill that lowered taxes for single moms, working families and those in need. So, when it comes to what Joe Biden says he'll do, look at his actions.  Look at his policies.  Look at what he already did and did not do while he's been in Washington for 47 years.  Ladies and gentlemen, people don't always see those failures, because they think we're having a policy debate on two sides of an issue.  That is not what is happening.  Our side is working on policy -- while Joe Biden's radical Democrats are trying to permanently transform what it means to be an American. Make no mistake: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want a cultural revolution.  A fundamentally different America.  If we let them, they will turn our country into a socialist utopia.  And history has taught us that path only leads to pain and misery, especially for hard-working people hoping to rise.  Instead, we must focus on the promise of the American journey.  I know that journey well. My grandfather's 99th birthday would have been tomorrow.  Growing up, he had to cross the street if a white person was coming.  He suffered the indignity of being forced out of school as a third grader to pick cotton, and never learned to read or write.  Yet, he lived to see his grandson become the first African American to be elected to both the United States House and Senate.  Our family went from cotton to Congress in one lifetime.  And that's why I believe the next American century can be better than the last. There are millions of families like mine across this nation -- full of potential seeking to live the American Dream.  And I'm here tonight to tell you that supporting the Republican ticket gives you the best chance of making that dream a reality.  God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America. ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events


Wing Commander Abhinandans wife with PM Modi

A photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi posing with a woman and a young child is being shared online with a false narrative that he is posing with the wife and son of Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.  The image has been shared more than 10,000 times, with the caption, 'Abhinandan's Wife & Son with PM' and अभिनन्दन जी की पत्नी और बेटा प्रधानमंत्री जी के साथ जय हिंद , at the time of writing this article.   You can view the screenshot of the post below and the archived link here.   BOOM ran a search on Facebook with the keywords ‘Me and My Son With Prime Minister Narendra Modi' and on one of the posts found a comment from a Facebook user Nidhi Khandelwal.  Khandelwal had commented on the photo mentioning that the woman in the viral photo is not Varthaman's wife but one of her friends.  BOOM got in touch with the user and the story will be updated once we get a reply.    A further search led us to the profile of Jahnavi Das, whose photos on a social media site matched to that of the woman in the viral image.  BOOM contacted Das, who confirmed that it was her photo that had gone viral.  Das said, “It is a fake post, kindly get it deleted from everywhere. ”  When asked if the photograph was ever posted on Facebook, Das replied via message that she had never shared the photograph online.    Das is election strategist Prashant Kishore’s wife.   Multiple reports have also mentioned that Varthaman's wife is Tanvi Marwaha, ex IAF Squadron Leader.  She was in fact present in Delhi, when Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman visited Varthaman after his release.  A look at these photos further shows that the woman in the viral photo is not Varthaman's wife.   After being held captive for two days after his fighter jet was shot down, Varthaman was released by Pakisan authorities “gesture of peace”.


According to a source, an ISIS suspect gave Sri Lankan officials advance warning of the bombings on Easter Sunday that killed 321 and injured hundreds more. CNN’s Will Ripley joins Full Circle from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Tune in on Facebook Watch at 6:25p ET: https://t.co/3EIq0MvwmK https://t.co/OcZX6EhSxw

At least 359 people were killed and 500 others were wounded. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a wave of coordinated bombings at churches and high-end hotels across Sri Lanka. The terrorist organization offered no evidence to support that assertion, which was initially announced in a statement in Arabic published by its Amaq news agency on Tuesday, saying the attackers were "among the fighters of the Islamic State," according to a translation by SITE Intelligence Group, a company that tracks extremist groups. ISIS later issued a longer, formal statement identifying the seven suicide bombers who detonated explosive-laden vests at the churches and hotels and a housing complex on Sunday. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe acknowledged the claim during a press conference in the capital, Colombo. "All that we knew earlier is that there were foreign links and that this could not have been done just locally," Wickremesinghe said.  "There has been training done and a coordination which we [have] not seen earlier. "According to multiple U. S.  sources briefed on the investigation, ISIS is believed to have been involved in the Sri Lanka attacks in a supportive capacity, but it’s not clear to what degree. At least 359 people were killed and another 500 were injured Sunday when near-simultaneous explosions took place at eight locations across the island nation, which is located off the southern tip of India. Most of the explosions were detonated by suicide bombers, according to the Sri Lankan defense ministry. Explosions erupted at three churches holding Easter services in Colombo, Batticaloa and Negombo.  Blasts also tore through three luxury hotels in Colombo that are popular among Western tourists, according to Sri Lankan police. Hours after the initial bombings, another explosion rang out at a housing complex in Dematagoda, a suburb on the outskirts of Colombo, police said. Later that night, the Sri Lankan Air Force initiated a controlled explosion of a 6-foot-long pipe bomb that was detected on a road near Colombo International Airport, according to Sri Lanka Air Force spokesman Gihan Seneviratne. A fourth hotel was targeted in a failed attack that day, according to Sri Lanka's prime minister. At least 45 children were among the dead, including at least five who were not Sri Lankan, according to the United Nations Children's Fund.  Scores more were wounded and are fighting for their lives in intensive care units.  Many children who survived the blasts have lost one or both parents. At least four Americans were also among those killed, according to a U. S.  official briefed on the investigation.  One of the Americans was identified Monday as Dieter Kowalski, 40, of Denver, according to his mother and Pearson, the London-based global education company that employed him. United States Secretary of State Pompeo said the U. S.  Embassy in Sri Lanka is working to provide assistance to American citizens affected by the attacks, including their families. "These vile attacks are a stark reminder of why the United States remains resolved in our fight to defeat terrorism," Pompeo said in a statement Sunday.  "We stand with the Sri Lankan government and people as they confront violent extremism and have offered our assistance as they work to bring the perpetrators to justice. "The first funerals for victims were held Tuesday. At one ceremony in Colombo, mourners paid their respects to a slain mother and her three children, ages 13, 11 and 7.  The four bodies, each wrapped in white cotton with the faces exposed, were laid out on tables, and their clasped hands held rosaries and flowers. Ruwan Wijewardene, the state minister of defense, told the Sri Lankan parliament Tuesday that authorities have information showing Sunday's blasts were carried out "in retaliation" for last month's attacks at two mosques in New Zealand that killed 50 people. Sri Lanka's health minister, Rajitha Senaratne, on Monday blamed the deadly blasts on a little-known domestic Muslim militant group called National Thowfeek Jamaath. Sri Lankan police are searching for a mini van, three cars and six motorcycles carrying explosives in Colombo and believed to have been used for terrorist activities, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara told ABC News Tuesday. At least 40 suspects have been arrested around the country in connection to the Easter explosions.  Twenty-six of them were being questioned by the criminal investigations department Tuesday, while three were being held by the terrorist investigations unit, according to Gunasekara. The identities of the suspects haven't been released, but  Sri Lanka's prime minister told reporters Tuesday that all those arrested so far are Sri Lankan and "a few people" were still on the run "with the explosives. "According to a U. S.  official briefed on the investigation, Sri Lanka has asked the United States for more help due to the "exigent" circumstances, prompting the FBI to continue sending additional resources to the country. Two U. S.  officials told ABC News that the United States has identified an individual believed to have previous ties to ISIS who may have been involved in the Sri Lanka attacks. ABC News' Ben Gittleson, James Longman, Josh Margolin, Elizabeth McLaughlin, James Meek, Kirit Radia, Nadine Shubailat and Alex Stone contributed to this report. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events


Roger Stone, a longtime Republican campaign adviser and confidant of President Trump, pleaded not guilty this morning to seven criminal charges of false statements, witness tampering and obstruction of justice https://t.co/oLO3HiAoQB https://t.co/wlEVdbQBQx

The longtime Trump confidante was indicted Friday by the special counsel. Roger Stone pleads not guilty to Mueller chargesPresident Donald Trump’s longtime political adviser and confidante Roger Stone pleaded not guilty in a federal courthouse in Washington on Tuesday, where the veteran GOP operative was arraigned on a seven-count indictment brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. Stone arrived at court Tuesday morning amid a barrage of cheers from supporters and jeers from protesters, who shouted “lock him up” – a reference to chants of “lock her up” directed at Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during 2016 Trump campaign rallies. The normally talkative Stone spoke only briefly, twice answering “Yes, your honor” and once “I do” when responding to the judge’s questions.  He said nothing as he left the courthouse to a similarly raucous scene – with Russian flags flying above the mob scene of protesters and reporters. The Beatles’ “Back in the U. S. S. R. ” and the Russian national anthem blared on loudspeakers. Attorneys in the special counsel’s office and Stone’s defense team convened for a brief, procedural arraignment, during which both sides agreed to the conditions of Stone’s release set forth by a federal judge in Florida judge last week. Stone, donning a trademark flashy suit and a white pocket square, is out on $250,000 bond, must surrender his passport, and cannot make contact with any witnesses in the investigation. Stone's predawn arrest late last week marked a turning point in the special counsel's ongoing investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 election.  In his 24-page indictment of Stone, which laid out charges of witness tampering, obstruction of justice and lying to Congress, Mueller painted the clearest picture yet of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The special counsel describes Stone as a conduit between the campaign and WikiLeaks, which disseminated internal Democratic National Committee emails in the summer of 2016.  Mueller has accused 12 Russian intelligence officers of hacking those emails, and it's the consensus of the U. S.  intelligence community that those Russians "relayed material it acquired from the DNC and senior Democratic officials to WikiLeaks. "An unidentified "senior Trump campaign official was directed to contact Stone about any additional releases and what other damaging information [WikiLeaks] had regarding the Clinton Campaign," the special counsel's office wrote in its indictment of Stone.  "Stone thereafter told the Trump Campaign about potential future releases of damaging material by [WikiLeaks]. "Mueller's indictment stops short of accusing Trump, or anyone in his campaign, of colluding with the Russians or of having foreknowledge of the content of stolen documents prior to publication. The charges brought by Mueller's office largely revolve around false statements Stone is accused of making to the House Intelligence Committee regarding his communications with associates about WikiLeaks.  He also stands accused of witness tampering in connection with humorist and radio show host Randy Credico's testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. After his court appearance on Friday, Stone pledged to fight charges and reiterated his support for Trump. But in an appearance on "This Week" Sunday, Stone told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos he would not categorically rule out some measure of cooperation with the special counsel's office. "You know, that's a question I would have to -- I have to determine after my attorneys have some discussion," he said on "This Week," when asked if he would cooperate with Mueller.  "If there's wrongdoing by other people in the campaign that I know about, which I know of none, but if there is I would certainly testify honestly. "Stone said he expects to be "fully vindicated" at trial.  If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison. Stone is scheduled to be back in court on Friday for a status conference before Judge Amy Berman Jackson. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events


Future will be shaped by society that invests in science and innovation: PM Modi at Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2020

https://t.co/W83ZNwRhfy https://t.co/f2ogs5GOsh

While delivering the keynote speech at the inaugural function of 16th Grand Challenges Annual Meeting 2020, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the future will be shaped by societies that invest in science and innovation.  “The future will be shaped by societies that invest in science and innovation.  But, this cannot be done in a short-sighted manner.  One has to invest in science and innovation well in advance,” the prime minister said.  “That is when we can reap benefits at the right time. ” While talking about the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic during his speech, PM Modi said, “It has taken a global pandemic to make us realise yet again the importance of teamwork. ”During the introductory address at the annual meeting, which was to be held this year in India, the American business magnate Bill Gates spoke about coronavirus pandemic and how different scientists across the world are working towards developing the vaccine for the novel disease.  The prime minister was addressing the event, which will go on till October 21, via video conferencing.  The three-day programme will bring together policymakers and scientific leaders, calling for deepened scientific collaborations in solving global health problems, with special focus on coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The event, which is being co-hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will feature leaders talks, panel discussions and virtual informal conversations on various topics.  Here are the highlights from PM Modi’s keynote:- The future will be shaped by societies that invest in science & innovation.  But, this cannot be done in a short-sighted manner.  One has to invest in science&innovation well in advance.  That is when we can reap benefits at the right time: PM Modi- Journey to innovations must be shaped by collaboration, public participation; Science will never prosper in silos: PM Modi- This meeting was to be held physically in India but in changed circumstances, it is being held virtually.  Such is the power of technology that a global pandemic did not keep us apart: PM Narendra Modi- In India, we have a strong and vibrant scientific community.  We also have good scientific institutions.  They have been India’s greatest assets, specially during the last few months, while fighting Covid-19.  From containment to capacity building, they have achieved wonders: PM Modi- Today, we are seeing a decline in the number of cases per day and the growth rate of cases.  India has one of the highest recovery rates of 88 per cent: PM Modi


The official Twitter handle of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police tweeted three photos on August 10, 2019 with a caption saying life is returning to normalcy in Jammu division of J&K in the wake of Narendra Modi-led NDA government's move of abrogating Article 370 in J&K

Life return to Normalcy in Jammu Division.  https://t. co/oTV1wiTJ5Y— J&K Police (@JmuKmrPolice) 1565443093000Many Twitter users responded to the tweet above saying J&K Police is trying to paint a false picture of 'normalcy' in the region and pointed out to an SUV seen in the photo that is registered in Bihar.  @JmuKmrPolice Bihar Police ko bhi station mil ra kya ab J &K mai https://t. co/hmPcp91f1B— Shubham Amdhare Gandhian (@shubhamdhareINC) 1565451815000@JmuKmrPolice When did number plates of JK police vehicles distributed starting with BR. — Mi(sery)nion (@angie_tribeccaa) 1565604020000Some users also pointed out that people seen in the photos are using phones, asking how they can use phones if there is a total communication shutdown in J&K.  @JmuKmrPolice It seems they using phones, ban is over? ?  https://t. co/EQrVYZRl09— à¤à¤ à¤à¥à¤¤à¤¾ à¤à¤¾à¤à¤¤à¤¾ à¤à¤à¤¸à¤¾à¤¨ ð¯ (@jita_jagta_insa) 1565544637000Times Fact Check investigated the three photos to see if the photos are indeed of some other place as claimed by many Twitter users or Jammu itself, as claimed by J&K Police.  TRUTHThe photos J&K Police tweeted are indeed from Jammu.  VERIFICATION AND METHODOLOGYTimes Fact Check downloaded all three photos and inspected them.  Here's all that we found.  1) Number platesNumber plates of two vehicles can clearly be seen in the third photo J&K Police tweeted.  The SUV is indeed registered in Bihar whereas the bike has a J&K number plate.  However, it would be wrong to make any conclusion based on this because there are no restrictions on driving private vehicles registered in one part of India in another as long as necessary taxes are paid.  That is, a car registered in Bihar could be in Jammu and a bike registered in J&K could be in Bihar.  2) SBI BranchUsing InVid Google Chrome extensionâs magnifier tool, we magnified the name board in the first photo J&K Police tweeted.  On the board the following could be seen - Hindi alphabet 'à¤', 'NDIA' in English and 'Reasi' written in both Hindi and English.  Judging from the design, it's the name board of a State Bank of India branch.  We then searched for Reasi in Google and found an official website maintained by the government of J&K - reasi. nic. in.  On this website, under 'Directory' tab, we navigated to 'Banks' and found that the State Bank of India branch in Reasi is located in Reasi bus stand.  It is clear from the photo J&K Police tweeted that the location is a bus stand.  3) Government Higher Secondary School, ReasiUsing InVid magnifier, we saw there is a Government Higher Secondary School near the bus stand.  Using the same government website reasi. nic. in, we navigated to 'Schools' under the 'Directory' tab and found that the Government Boys Higher Secondary School is near the Reasi bus stand.  4) Phone usageTwitter users pointed out that a few people seen in the photos are using their phone and wondered how, if there's a total communication shut down in J&K, are people using their phones.  Here are the three people using their phones.  Journalist Pooja Shali quote-tweeted J&K Police's tweet claiming normalcy in Jammu.  In the tweet, she said, "This pic is from Reasi district, Jammu division.  Markets were open and phones were working.  I drove through the district.  This is a correct photograph. " This pic is from Reasi district, Jammu division.  Markets were open and phones were working.  I drove through the disâ¦ https://t. co/IYFEeQUrft— Pooja Shali (@PoojaShali) 1565675366000We also found Shaliâs report on India Today that said exactly this.


Bihar: Three people were beaten to death by locals in Baniyapur, Saran on suspicion of cattle theft, earlier today. Family members in mourning. https://t.co/Ua5DCgrckr

Three men were beaten to death by a mob over a suspicion they were stealing cattle in a village in Bihar’s Saran district on Thursday night, police said, in the third incident of lynching in the state this year. Sources in the police said two of them died on the spot in Pithaoura Nandlal village under Banipur police station of Saran district, 70km northwest of the state’s capital Patna.  The third man died during the course of treatment. The dead have been identified as Naushad Alam, Raju Nut and Videsh Nut, all residents of Paigampur under Banipur police station.  The fourth man is undergoing treatment at Banipur referral hospital and is in a critical condition.  Saran (Chapra) superintendent of police Hari Kishore Rai said the men were attacked when were allegedly trying to steal cattle.  Residents woke up after hearing the sound of the cattle and some villagers brutally assaulted the men on the charge of stealing cattle.  Rai said three people have been taken into the custody and a case has been lodged with Baniyapur police station. “Raids are on to arrest others accused involved in the crime,” he added. Villagers claimed that four men had come to steal cows and when they tried to catch them, one of them managed to flee.  They alleged that three goats were stolen from the courtyard of Rajbali Ram and after some time they tried to take away his cows as well. The family of those killed denied the men were involved in the theft.  “My brother was not a thief.  He was to get married very soon,” said Shailesh Nut.  Police forces were rushed to the spot amid tension in the village.  The families of victims and accused clashed at Sadar Hospital in Chapra when the bodies reached the hospital for the post mortem examination.  Police had to use force to bring the situation under control. This is the third incident after one man was killed in Vaishali in July and another lynching in Jehanabad in May.


JUST IN: Pres. Trump "remains healthy" and experienced no side effects from taking hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic against the coronavirus, his physician says in newly released physical results. https://t.co/E584xFBaUI

By Kevin Liptak, CNNUpdated 8:50 PM ET, Wed June 3, 2020  (CNN)President Donald Trump weighs 244 pounds, stands 6 feet 3 inches, has a blood pressure of 121/79 mmHG and a resting heart rate 63 beats per minute, the White House said on Wednesday in a summary of his annual physical. CNN's Maggie Fox contributed to this report.


The iconic attraction Splash Mountain at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort will be re-themed to reflect the story of "The Princess and the Frog."

The re-themed ride has been planned since at least last year, the company says. https://t.co/ynj3h6QF30 https://t.co/aUNmUcIFBy

By Frank Pallotta, CNN BusinessUpdated 8:06 AM ET, Fri June 26, 2020 New York (CNN Business)Splash Mountain — one of Disney's most popular but problematic rides — will be "completely reimagined," the company announced on Thursday.


West Bengal: Sanyukt Kisan Morcha held a 'mahapanchayat' in Kolkata against 3 farm laws

"We're going to Nandigram to tell people that crops are not being purchased at MSP. We'll appeal to them not to vote for BJP as they've robbed entire country," said BKU leader Rakesh Tikait https://t.co/LYisIJbNv7

Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait has urged people residing in Nandigram in East Midnapore not to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party while mounting an attack on the BJP-led Centre. “There are elections ahead in Bengal.  You need not come to Delhi.  You ensure that the BJP is defeated in the polls.  Don’t vote for them.  Vote for only that party which can defeat the BJP,” said Rakesh Tikait, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader on Saturday. He was addressing a rally attended by a few hundred people at Nandigram which goes to polls on April 1.  Political experts have said that it would be perhaps the most high-pitched poll battles that West Bengal has seen in recent times as chief minister Mamata Banerjee would be taking on her protégé-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari, who has been pitted against her by the BJP. “This movement (farmers’ agitation) has to be spread throughout the country across all districts.  You will have to break barriers and barricades.  This movement will continue till the time the kala-kanoon (contentious farm laws) is withdrawn,” he said while projecting Nandigram as a citadel of farmers’ movement. Way back in 2007-2008, Nandigram had become the epicentre of a farmers' movement that propelled Mamata Banerjee to power in the state in 2011 uprooting the 34 years of Left Front regime. Launching a scathing attack on the BJP government at the Centre, Tikait said that the Union government is paving the way for big companies to come to India which would ultimately sound the death-knell for small farmers and fishermen. “Big companies, to whom the country is being sold, will come.  Companies which are engaged in fishing in seas will come and this would affect the farmers living along the coastline.  Then they will come for your ponds and you would be stopped from catching fish even from your pond.  A law would be made to stop you just like the way a milkman is being stopped from selling milk even to his neighbour in a can,” he added. A few lakh farmers have been protesting on the borders of Delhi against the three contentious farm laws for nearly 110 days now. Samyukt Kisan Morcha leaders arrived in West Bengal on Friday and have been holding rallies (mahapanchayats) and meetings.  On Sunday the leaders are scheduled to hold another rally at Singur in Hooghly district. Nandigram, along with Singur in Hooghly district, are two of the most prestigious Assembly constituencies for the TMC because mass movements against land acquisition in these two constituencies during 2006-08 paved the path for Mamata Banerjee’s political resurrection.


Darjeeling: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee holds rally against National Register of Citizens, Citizenship Amendment Act and National Population Register https://t.co/O4pfRIcs2E

The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which carried out the most violent agitation in the 1980s and 90s in demand for a separate state for Gorkhas in Bengal’s Darjeeling district, on Tuesday offered to support chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s agitation against the amended citizenship law if the region was granted special status under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.  Only regions where tribal people are in majority are accorded special status under the Sixth Schedule.  In the Darjeeling hills, the population of 8. 75 lakh comprise only 32% scheduled tribes. The oldest of the Gorkha parties, GNLF was formed and led by Subash Ghising, who served in the army before the movement and is considered an icon by Gorkhas.  The statehood movement was taken over by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) after Ghising died in 2015. The GNLF supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the Darjeeling assembly by-poll.  The Darjeeling assembly seat was won by former GNLF spokesperson Niraj Zimba, who contested on a BJP ticket but continues to work for the hill party.  The GNLF has not clarified its stand on these issues even as Zimba supported the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).  Union home minister Amit Shah has clarified that CAA will not be applicable to states where the Inner Line Permit (ILP) is in force and the tribal areas in the North-East states that are notified under the Sixth Schedule. Tuesday’s development took place while Banerjee, who is on a five-day tour of north Bengal, visited different parts of Darjeeling in preparation of her first rally in the town against the CAA, NRC and the National Population Register (NPR).  She will lead the rally on Wednesday.  The Trinamool Congress lost all the Lok Sabha seats in north Bengal in 2019 and recovering these votes is a challenge for Banerjee.  “Since the chief minister is in Darjeeling I will not comment on this,” said state tourism minister and TMC legislator from Dabgram-Phulbari constituency. GNLF, which is now led by Ghising’s son Mann Ghising, claimed that CAA will adversely affect the Gorkhas.  After holding an internal meeting, GNLF leaders said the party has no problem supporting Banerjee in her agitation against CAA, NRC and NPR if the state government supports GNLF’s demand for special status.  “GNLF is our partner but they can have a different stand,” said Darjeeling’s BJP MP Raju Bista. Mann Ghising was not available for comments.  Mahindra Chettri, GNLF spokesperson said, “Our party today decided to oppose CAA, NPR and NRC as these will cause harm to the Gorkhas.  We will support Banerjee if she supports our demand for special status under Sixth Schedule. ”The GJM (Binay Tamang faction) which is an ally of TMC is spearheading the movement against the citizenship law.  It welcomed GNLF’s decision but with a clause.  Keshav Raj Pokhrel, the party’s spokesperson said, “We welcome GNLF’s stand on the central law.  However, we are opposed to the demand for Sixth Schedule status because Gorkhas in India should be declared original inhabitants and not tribes. ” Govind Chettri, spokesperson of the Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists (CPRM) said, “GNLF should first clear its stand.  Either it wants a separate state for Gorkhas or, special status under Sixth Schedule. ”


PM Narendra Modi: Collapse of a building in Mumbai’s Dongri is anguishing. My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. I hope the injured recover soon. Maharashtra Government, NDRF and local authorities are working on rescue operations & assisting those in need. https://t.co/DGd77ulof8

A century-old building collapsed in south Mumbai’s congested Dongri area on Tuesday, killing at least ten people as rescuers struggled to reach the several others who are trapped under the debris, officials said. A toddler was among the seven people to be pulled alive from the Kesarbai building in Tandel Street in Abdul Hamid Durga, an area with narrow by lanes, and rushed to a hospital.  Doctors said the condition of the child was stable. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said authorities are focussing on rescuing those who are trapped and that an investigation will be launched to find the cause behind the collapse. “It was a 100-year-old building.  It was not in the list of dangerous buildings.  A developer was appointed for redevelopment.  We will probe if there was any lapse on part of the developer,” Devendra Fadnavis said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and expressed his anguish over the fatalities after the 100-years-old building came crumbling down on Tuesday morning.  He said the state government and the National Disaster Response Force are working on rescue operations.  Collapse of a building in Mumbai’s Dongri is anguishing.  My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.  I hope the injured recover soon.  Maharashtra Government, NDRF and local authorities are working on rescue operations & assisting those in need: PM @narendramodiHome Minister Amit Shah termed the building collapse tragic.  The collapse of a building in Dongri, Mumbai is very tragic.  My condolences with the bereaved families and prayers for early recovery of those injured.  Rescue operations are in full swing.  State government, NDRF and local authorities are doing their best to assist people in need. Local residents reported the incident to the police at 11:40am after they heard a loud crashing sound and saw the Kesarbai building had given way.  There were at least 13 to 14 families living in the building. Follow live updates hereWatch | Four-storey building collapses in Mumbai, 50 people feared trapped Officials said rescuers had a tough time manoeuvring a fire tender through the narrow approach to the crash site.  “Access is a very big challenge for us at this time.  The lanes are narrow, so we cannot take any machinery inside.  We are manually doing all work, clearing debris, cutting iron girders,” a senior officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade said. “Since these are all old buildings that were renovated at some point, they have been supported with iron rods around the structure of the building.  This is making rescue challenging and is very problematic for those stuck in the debris.  If I could take a JCB inside, by now all debris would be cleared,” the officer added. Rescue workers from the fire department, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police and civic body staff were on the scene as sniffer dogs looked for survivors amid the ruin. A video from the spot showed firemen being helped by neighbours in removing debris as they formed a human chain to clear the pieces of concrete and brick with bare hands. Adjoining buildings, which authorities said were in a dilapidated condition, were vacated after the collapse.  According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) building has a ground floor and three other storeys. MHADA chairperson Uday Samant said the building was given to a private builder for re-development. “If the developer has delayed re-development of the collapsed building, then he will face action.  If some MHADA officials are responsible for the delay in its development, then they will also face strict action,” he said, according to news agency PTI.


#WATCH: Congress leader BK Hariprasad says, "if you look at the chain of events that has taken place after Pulwama, it appears that Narendra Modi had a match-fixing with Pakistan people"..... (07.03.2019) https://t.co/MGzklhsBut

Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad has alleged there was a “match-fixing” between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan which allowed the Pulwama terror attack to occur.  Congress’ member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha Hariprasad made the remarks while speaking to reporters in Bengaluru on Thursday in response to Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s criticism of the Congress for demanding proof of the strike by the Indian Air Force on Jaish-e-Mohammed’s terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan.  “Ravi Shankar Prasad should clarify whether there is any match-fixing between Pakistan and Narendra Modi.  Or else, without their knowledge this Pulwama instance would not have taken place.  If you look at the chain of events that have taken place after Pulwama it looks like Narendra Modi had a match-fixing with Pakistan people,” he said.  Hariprasad was referring to the death of 40 CRPF personnel in the February 14 suicide attack on a convoy in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.  India had responded to the incident by launching air strikes on the Jaish camp that it claimed had killed many terrorists.  The Centre and opposition have sparred over the impact of the air strike, with some international media organisations claiming that they missed the target.  S Prakash, the spokesperson of the Karnataka unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said Hariprasad’s comment on the Pulwama attack was of “low level”. “For the Congress, the deaths of our security personnel is an opportunity to play politics.  I am not at all surprised by Hariprasad’s remarks as he is known for making such statements,” he said.


West Bengal: Visuals from EVM and VVPAT distribution centre in Kolkata. Nine parliamentary constituencies of the state will go to polls in the 7th & last phase of #LokSabhaElections2019 tomorrow. https://t.co/FPWfO3F1FB

In the last phase of polling for Lok Sabha elections, the Malwa-Nimad region in Madhya Pradesh, the area with maximum seats, goes to polls on May 19 driving bigwigs of the Congress and BJP to focus on the region. The BJP had won all the eight parliamentary constituencies in the region in 2014 polls.  The constituencies include Indore, Ratlam (ST), Khandwa, Khargone (ST), Dhar (ST), Mandsaur, Dewas (SC) and Ujjain (SC).  Thus, Malwa-Nimad region has five seats reserved for scheduled tribes and scheduled castes out of 10 constituencies reserved for them in the state.  As many as 14. 9 million voters will decide the fate of 82 candidates.  Read: Full coverage of Lok Sabha elections 2019The Congress draws strength from the statistics of state assembly elections held hardly six months back when it won 35 seats against its rival BJP’s 28 and Independent 3. The Congress’ significant gain could be gauged from the fact that the BJP had had almost a clean sweep in the region during state assembly elections in 2013 when it bagged as many as 56 seats out of the total 66 in the region and Congress had to be content with just 9 seats.  The Congress had significant gains in seats reserved for SC/ST too. While the Congress is highlighting its government’s steps to waive crop loans of farmers and provide 100 days employment to educated unemployed youth besides several public welfare schemes, the BJP has been accusing the government of misleading the farmers and youth in the state and doing nothing except transfer officials . Read: All about Khandwa constituency in Madhya PradeshThe BJP is confident about repeating its performance of 2014 citing the ‘Narendra Modi wave’ and also the alleged failure of the state government in fulfilling its promises.  On Indore seat, the fight is between BJP’s Shankar Lalwani and Congress’ Pankaj Sanghvi after the BJP leadership decided to drop the sitting MP and Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan.  The BSP has fielded Deepachand Ahilwal. In Khandwa, former state presidents of the BJP and the Congress Nandkumar Singh Chauhan and Arun Yadav have locked horns.  Chauhan is the sitting MP and the BSP has fielded Dayaram Korku. In Khargone (ST) constituency,the BJP’s Gajendra Patel and Congress candidate Govind Mujalda both are new candidates for the parties.  The BSP has fielded Amit Balke while CPI has chosen Jyoti Gore as its candidate. In Ratlam (ST) constituency, sitting MP and Congress candidate Kantilal Bhuria, who was defeated in 2014 polls but won a by-election, is facing challenges from the BJP candidate GS Damor.  The latter is only sitting MLA who has been fielded by the BJP in the election.  The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Madhu Patel. Read: Ratlam has been a Congress bastionIn Dhar (ST) constituency, the BJP’s former MP Chhatar Singh Darbar has locked horns with Congress’ Dinesh Girwal.  The BSP has fielded Gulsingh Gawache. Dewas (SC) seat will see an interesting fight between a folk singer Prahlad Tipania fielded by the Congress and Mahendra Solanky contesting as a BJP candidate.  Solanky has been a member of judicial service.  The BSP has chosen Badrilal Akela as its candidate. Arif Firozia of the BJP, Babulal Malvia of the Congress and and Parmar of the BSP are the main contenders in Ujjain (SC) seat. In Mandsaur constituency, which had seen a massive farmers agitation in 2017 during which police bullets allegedly killed five farmers, the BJP has relied on the candidature of Sudhir Gupta again opposite ex-MP of the Congress Meenakshi Natrajan and BSP’s Prabualal Meghwal. Gauam Kothari, head of Peethampur Audyogic Sangthan, Dhar said, “In the past 30 years none of our representatives of Malwa-Nimad did anything significant for the development of the region.  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Maharashtra: Samuel Miranda brought to Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office in Mumbai. He was detained by NCB this morning under provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 after a search was conducted at his residence. https://t.co/COINdOIB3f

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday searched the premises of Rhea Chakraborty’s brother, Showik Chakraborty, and Samuel Miranda in connection with the drugs probe linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, officials said. A team of NCB officials accompanied by police officials raided the residence of Showik in Santa Cruz (West) area and Miranda’s house in suburban Andheri (West) area from 6:30am, news agency PTI reported.  Showik lives with Rhea. The search teams included some women officials and they were seen wearing masks and gloves and using multiple vehicles, PTI said. KPS Malhotra, NCB deputy firector (operations) who is heading the agency’s probe team, was seen leading the search and he told reporters that the houses of Showik and Miranda were being searched and that this is a “procedural” action.  The bureau is looking to gather additional evidence through this action and some documents have been seized by the search teams, another official said. They said both Showik and Miranda, house manager of Rajput, were handed over summons to join the investigation during the search.  “They have intended to go along (with the search team) due to media presence,” an officer said, according to PTI. They are taken by the NCB search team and will be questioned at the agency’s zonal office in the Ballard Estate area, the officer said. NCB has arrested two alleged drug peddlers operating in Mumbai in this case and three other people.  The two arrested are Zaid Vilatra and Abdel Basit Parihar. Parihar, the 23-year-old Bandra resident arrested on Thursday as part of NCB’s ongoing probe, was produced before a metropolitan magistrate on Friday and remanded in custody till September 9. Bandra resident Parihar was arrested after interrogating Vilatra.  Parihar is learnt to have “links” with the narcotics case registered against Rhea Chakraborty, 28, and others.  Parihar is linked to a person who in turn was allegedly reported to be featuring in chats recovered from the mobile phone of Rhea and Showik, officials have said. Rhea is the main accused in the death case of the 34-year-old actor that is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) on money laundering charges and NCB.  The bureau is probing the drug angle in this case under the criminal sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act after the ED shared with it a report following the cloning of two mobile phones of Rhea. NCB has said that it is looking into “the drug citadel in Mumbai, and especially Bollywood” in this case.  According to officials, the mobile phone chats and messages indicated procurement, transportation and consumption of drugs and these leads were shared by the ED with the NCB and the CBI.  NCB is understood to have obtained the phone records of other accused in the case too. Rajput was found dead at his Bandra flat on June 14. (With agency inputs)