Change of guard at RBI: Urjit Patel's tenure begins
Mumbai, Sep 6 In a low-key affair, Urjit Patel has begun his innings as Reserve Bank's new Governor with a private off-media 'handover' ceremony today -- a marked departure from his predecessor Raghuram Rajan announcing big-bang reforms on his first day itself three years ago.
Traditionally, the handover of charge by the outgoing Governor to the new head of the central bank has been a public affair and had taken place in the past in front of media cameras and this was also the case when Rajan had taken over from his predecessor D Subbarao.
Mumbai, Sep 6 In a low-key affair, Urjit Patel has begun his innings as Reserve Bank's new Governor with a private off-media 'handover' ceremony today -- a marked departure from his predecessor Raghuram Rajan announcing big-bang reforms on his first day itself three years ago.
Traditionally, the handover of charge by the outgoing Governor to the new head of the central bank has been a public affair and had taken place in the past in front of media cameras and this was also the case when Rajan had taken over from his predecessor D Subbarao.
In contrast, Patel officially assumed charge with effect from September 4 -- a Sunday -- itself, which was made public by RBI through a statement a day later.
However, the 'handover' took place today, the first working day, because of 'Ganesh Chaturthi' holiday yesterday.
An RBI spokesperson said the photographs of the official ceremony of Patel assuming office would be released later in the day by the central bank.
There was no word on whether or when Patel would be talking to media about his priorities and plan of action as head of Mint Street.
After assuming office on September 4, 2013, Rajan had held a press conference lasting more than an hour during which he announced his detailed action plan.
Some commentators have already said that Patel 'quietly' assuming office could be a signal for the things to come at RBI, after the end of tenure for an outspoken Rajan at the helms, who was always vocal with his views on all issues -- economic, social and political -- and always pitched for greater communication on part of the central bank.
On his first day, Rajan had said he would emphasise on transparency and predictability. 'A central bank should never say 'Never'! But the public should have a clear framework as to where we are going, and understand how our policy actions fit into that framework.
Key to all this is communication, and I want to underscore communication with this statement on my first day in office,' Rajan had told mediapersons on the first day.
Mumbai, Sep 6 In a low-key affair, Urjit Patel has begun his innings as Reserve Bank's new Governor with a private off-media 'handover' ceremony today -- a marked departure from his predecessor Raghuram Rajan announcing big-bang reforms on his first day itself three years ago.
Traditionally, the handover of charge by the outgoing Governor to the new head of the central bank has been a public affair and had taken place in the past in front of media cameras and this was also the case when Rajan had taken over from his predecessor D Subbarao.
In contrast, Patel officially assumed charge with effect from September 4 -- a Sunday -- itself, which was made public by RBI through a statement a day later.
However, the 'handover' took place today, the first working day, because of 'Ganesh Chaturthi' holiday yesterday.
An RBI spokesperson said the photographs of the official ceremony of Patel assuming office would be released later in the day by the central bank.
There was no word on whether or when Patel would be talking to media about his priorities and plan of action as head of Mint Street.
After assuming office on September 4, 2013, Rajan had held a press conference lasting more than an hour during which he announced his detailed action plan.
Some commentators have already said that Patel 'quietly' assuming office could be a signal for the things to come at RBI, after the end of tenure for an outspoken Rajan at the helms, who was always vocal with his views on all issues -- economic, social and political -- and always pitched for greater communication on part of the central bank.
On his first day, Rajan had said he would emphasise on transparency and predictability. 'A central bank should never say 'Never'! But the public should have a clear framework as to where we are going, and understand how our policy actions fit into that framework.
Key to all this is communication, and I want to underscore communication with this statement on my first day in office,' Rajan had told mediapersons on the first day.
New Delhi, Sep 5: A Delhi court has refused to return a man his cattle, caught loaded in a truck, while observing that the animals were being transported for being slaughtered in 'a very cruel and inhumane manner'.
The court, while dismissing Rajasthan native Jagdish Banjara's plea for release of 25 buffaloes and calves of which eight had died, directed that the animals be kept in care and protection of Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre.
'Taking into consideration entire facts and circumstances wherein it has come up that the animals were transported for being slaughtered in a very cruel and inhumane manner, the previous involvement of the same vehicle, it is possible that the animals might be subjected to more cruelty and suffering in contravention of the provisions of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960...the revision is dismissed.
'The animals, however, be kept in the care and protection of Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre which is a recognised animal care centre cum pinjrapole working as an animal welfare and rescue facility for sick, injured and rescued animals so long as the matter is under trial,' Additional Sessions Judge Sudesh Kumar said. Pinjrapoles are home to frail and abandoned cattle.
According to the police, Banjara was caught with a truck loaded with 25 buffaloes and calves on June 22 on the complaint of an officer from Wildlife Crime and Cruelty Cell.
He was booked for offences under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and provisions of the IPC and the case is under investigation, the police said.
On July 1, the application of Banjara for the release of the animals was dismissed by a magisterial court and a revision plea was filed by him before sessions court.
AP CM directs officials to make 1,000 villages ODF by Oct 2Vijayawada, Sep 6: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today directed officials to take intensive measures to make 1,000 villages in the state Open Defecation Free (ODF) by October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. In a teleconference with all 13 district collectors from his office here, he also asked them to prepare an action plan to make the entire state Open Defecation Free by October 2, 2019 under Swachh Bharat campaign. He said the state has attained 12.26 per cent growth rate in the first quarter of this financial year though the national growth rate stood at 7.3 per cent. The Chief Minister said the primary sector, agriculture, and its allied sector like fisheries, animal husbandry and horticulture achieved 22.7 per cent growth. He asked officials to take measures to maintain the present growth rate in agriculture by facing the challenges from drought conditions.
Rudrapur (Uttar Pradesh): Hundreds of string cots bought by the Congress for its leader Rahul Gandhi's event here on Tuesday were taken away by crowds as the event ended.
There was chaos as scores of villagers, many of them youths, pounced on the cots soon after Gandhi's speech ended and started taking them away to their houses. No one stopped them.
Even some women and elderly men were seen taking hold of a cot each.
The 'charpoys' had been bought by the Congress for Gandhi's "khat chaupal" as he started a 2,500-km Yatra in Uttar Pradesh, where assembly elections will be held next year.
Hazare said that he had expressed his apprehensions at the time of formation of the AAP with regard to the selection of candidates for the party whose main agenda was to fight anti-social elements.
Visibly upset with the present controversies surrounding the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), veteran social activist Anna Hazare on Tuesday said that he had high expectations from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with whom he has worked in the past.
Hazare said that he had expressed his apprehensions at the time of formation of the AAP with regard to the selection of candidates for the party whose main agenda was to fight anti-social elements.
“Kejriwal has worked with me for several years, I always told him that workers of an organisation should be well-mannered and behaved, they should be people with pure thoughts and should be people with clean image,” said Hazare.
“When Arvind floated a party, I parted ways with him and I told him that my ways are different. I told him that if he wants to form a party he may but how will he confirm that people who are joining the political outfit are not tainted,” he added.
The social activist also pointed out that Kejriwal did not do a proper scrutiny before inducting people in his party.
“Today the scene I am witnessing shows that no check was put on people before admitting them in to the party. I had lots of expectations from Arvind but unfortunately his ministers have been expelled,” he added.
Hazare’s reaction comes in wake of the recent controversies surrounding AAP leaders.
Kejriwal had last week sacked Sandeep Kumar from his Cabinet after the sex CD row
Earlier, AAP’s former Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur was sacked post his allegations against the party of seeking a bribe for election tickets.
In further embarrassment for the AAP, Bijwasan MLA Colonel Devinder Sehrawat claimed he has received “disturbing reports” of women being “exploited” in Punjab with promises of election tickets from the party.
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has picked three outstation players in its bid to ensure that the state qualifies for the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy, the country's premier domestic tournament.
Kerala have called up opener Bhavin Thakkar and all-rounder Iqbal Abdulla, both from Mumbai, as well as Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Jalaj Saxena ahead of the new season.
The reasoning is that the experienced Thakkar will form a steady partnership with seasoned campaigner V.A. Jagadeesh at the top of the order, while Saxena will bolster the middle order comprising Sanju V. Samson, Rohan Prem and Sachin Baby. Saxena can wreak havoc with his off-spin too.
Abdulla, a left-handed orthodox spinner, can contribute with the bat down the order as well. He will team up with K.S. Monish to form a potent left-arm spin combination.
"We've gone in for three experienced players and I hope it will give the team the much-needed balance. We had struggled to find the right opening combination last season. The same was the case with our bowling department. Though Monish (49 wickets) and pacer Sandeep Warrier (28 scalps) returned a bagful of wickets, we could notch up only two outright wins. This time around definitely we're looking at a quarterfinal berth," Kerala coach P. Balachandran told Onmanorama over the phone.
Saxena had a great run in Ranji last season. The 29-year-old picked up 49 wickets and amassed 588 runs from 10 matches as MP made it to the semifinals.
The 26-year-old Abdulla took 14 wickets and scored 169 runs from five games, while 34-year-old Thakkar featured in just two matches for heavyweights Mumbai.
However, the KCA firmly believes that both Thakkar and Abdulla will bring their experience into play and deliver at the crunch. All the Ranji matches will be played at neutral venues this season.
Pros and cons
As expected, there is an intense debate on the pros and cons of the decision to induct outstation players into the squad.
Outstation cricketers will brighten the team's prospects, but the move will deny opportunities to home-grown talents and budding local players.
The inclusion of Thakkar means young opener Mohammed Azharuddeen is most likely to warm the bench this season. The same could be the fate of young off-spinning all-rounder Fabid Ahmed, who had an impressive run last year in his debut season. Saxena's presence will mar the chances of Fabid, while left-arm spinner P. Prasanth's hopes of making a comeback have suffered a big blow with Abdulla getting the call-up.
The outstation trio will join the preparatory camp for the Ranji probables to be held later this month. Kerala open their campaign against Jammu and Kashmir in Kalyani, West Bengal, on October 6.
Rudrapur (Uttar Pradesh), Sep 6: Hundreds of string cots bought by the Congress for its leader Rahul Gandhi's event here on Tuesday were taken away by crowds as the event ended.
There was chaos as scores of villagers, many of them youths, pounced on the cots soon after Gandhi's speech ended and started taking them away to their houses. No one stopped them.
Even some women and elderly men were seen taking hold of a cot each.
The 'charpoys' had been bought by the Congress for Gandhi's 'khat chaupal' as he started a 2,500-km Yatra in Uttar Pradesh, where assembly elections will be held next year.
Karachi, Sep 6: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is looking forward to visit Pakistan in November to attend the Saarc Summit, India's High Commissioner said in comments published on Tuesday.
Gautam Bambawale also told an event here on Monday that while India and Pakistan must certainly discuss the entire range of issues, they must keep their focus on economy which he described as a 'low-hanging fruit'.
'I can't say about the future but as of today Prime Minister Modi is looking forward to visiting Islamabad for the Saarc summit in November,' the Dawn quoted Bambawale as saying at an interactive session of the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations.
His comments came amid reports that Modi might keep away from the Saarc Summit in view of the rising tensions between India and Pakistan, particularly over Jammu and Kashmir.
Bambawale said that it was India's desire to see a Pakistan which was moderate, prosperous and stable and at peace with itself, its neighbours as well as the rest of the world.
He admitted that trust and confidence was lacking in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
The road to normalization of Pakistan-India relations, he said, lay through greater trade and business, the roadmap for which was prepared by the two governments in 2012.
The total trade between the two countries was worth just $2.5 billion a year while its potential was of $20 billion, the Dawn quoted him as saying.
The Indian envoy said that even when tensions were high between the two countries, there had been contacts at the operational level.
Over the past month and a half, there had been 'cordial interactions' between Pakistani and Indian border forces.
Bambawale referred to Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's and Modi's visits to Islamabad and Lahore respectively in December last year.
But on January 2 this year, terrorists -- who India says came from Pakistan -- attacked the Pathankot Indian Air Force base.
He said the Indian government had been saying: 'Let's work together to get to the bottom of terrorism which was a headache not only for Pakistan but for India and the world.'
In an obvious reference to the Kashmir dispute, Bambawale said the two countries should not be talking on just one issue, rather on all issues.
He said India had taken a stand in the 1960s and 70s that New Delhi and Beijing must talk on the boundary problem before moving on to other issues. But this was reversed in 1988.
Today China was one of India's largest trading partners, he pointed out.
Asked about 'Indian atrocities' in Jammu and Kashmir, the High Commissioner said Indians were as concerned about the people of Kashmir as anyone else in the world.
But issue of Jammu and Kashmir was domestic and 'you should focus on your problems', he added.
Bambawale said the problem with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was that it went through Pakistani Kashmir whose ownership is disputed by Islamabad and New Delhi.
He also mentioned how Pakistan had refused consular access to alleged RAW agent Kulbhushan Jadhav, arrested in Pakistan, while India gave consular access to a Pakistani terrorist, Bahadur Ali.
'We have offered Pakistani authorities full consular access to him,' he said in reply to a question about Indian involvement in Balochistan.
Bratislava, Sep 6: Slovakian defender Jan Durica has made a shocking claim that the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying game between England and Slovakia was fixed.
England defeated Slovakia 1-0, thanks to a last gasp finish from Adam Lallana
The Liverpool midfielder scored in the 95th minute to seal a crucial away win in England's favour.
But as the new England boss Sam Allardyce rejoice his first win in his debut match, Slovakian central defender Jan Durica's has brought an astonishing allegation against the national side.
Daily Mail quoted Durica: 'There is only one place at the World Cup. Why should Slovakia go there when we have England in the group?'
'Of course, they will always prefer the stronger team. Probably, the referee exactly knew how to do it. Today we might have played more than England.'
Further the home team were reduced to 10 men after former Liverpool centre-back Martin Skrtel was sent off in the 57th minute.
Skrtel receieved a double yellow due to his fouls on Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.
On Skrtel's challenge Kane said: 'I felt the stamp. The ankle is OK now. I will have a check on it and see if it's fully OK, but there were a few challenges that I felt could have earned him a yellow card but it didn't come.
'It was just a matter of time, it was a silly thing for him to do because he was on a yellow. The ref has seen it and it deserved another yellow card.'
The win against Slovakia sends England to the top of the group F table along with Scotland who had won their first game against 5-1.
Bengaluru, Sep 6: Nepal's teenage leg-spinner Sandeep Lamichhane will travel to Australia after being sponsored by former captain Michael Clarke.
Clarke, in association with Hublot, has sponsored the 16-year-old Sandeep to train at The Michael Clarke Cricket Academy and to also play the 2016-17 season with the former batsman's Premier Grade Cricket Club, Western Suburbs.
On Tuesday (September 6), Clarke wrote on his Facebook page that he was 'super excited' to see Sandeep in Australia.
'Sandeep is a fantastic young man who enjoys his cricket and is extremely passionate about the game. It is a really exciting opportunity to have such a talented Nepalese cricketer travel this distance to come and test his skills and improve his game at my academy. I am looking forward to working with him and all the boys and girls that will attend the 5-day live in camp starting September 26,' Clarke said in a letter from Western Suburbs District Club Club (WSDCC), which was posted by him on his Facebook page.
'Sandeep willl fit in well at my club. Wests have always gone out of their way to look after the younger players, and he will be a great asset to the club this summer,' Clarke added.
On his Twitter page, Sandeep thanked Clarke. He wrote, 'Thank you very much @MClarke23 for your kind words and for inviting me to Australia. Looking forward to give my best.' For this, Clarke replied, 'Can't wait to see you buddy.'
'When Michael (Clarke) was in Hong Kong in late May coaching and mentoring the Hong Kong and China men's and women's teams and playing in their inaugural 20/20 competition he recognised Sandeep's outstanding potential,' WSDCC said.
Sandeep, who idolises Australian spin legend Shane Warne, played in this year's Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. He took a hat-trick (Match haul of 5/27 in 10 overs) against Ireland in the World Cup. So far he has featured in 4 List A (50-over) gamges for Nepal and has taken 4 wickets.
On Sept 7, Apple is expected to introduce its highly anticipated iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus. Even before the launch, several features of the new smartphone have been leaked, sending several people into a tizzy.
Tidbits from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who issued a research note on Saturday, reveal the following about Apple's latest offering:
iPhone 7 will come in storage capacities of 32 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB replacing the 16GB, 64 GB and the 128 GB capacities.
Camera flash on the new handset will be upgraded with four LEDs of which two will be in cool colours and two will be in warm colours.
It will have True Tone displays similar to the iPad Pro range with laser based proximity sensors.
iPhone 7 will also come with an ambient light sensor that will improve image quality specially in low-light situation.
3.5 mm headjack will be removed in the new iPhone and the space will be used for a second speaker with an audio amplifier.
Lightning earpods and a Lightning headphone adaptor will also be included in the box.
2GB RAM for iPhone 7, 3GB RAM for iPhone 7 Plus
Antennas will be removed from the back to give it a sleek look.
Though there are reports that the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available in five colours, several reports suggest that they will be available in only two colours-dark black and glossy piano black.
iPhone 7 will be powered by Apple's new A10 chip (manufactured by TSMC) offering a maximum clock speed of 2.4 GHz.
The new iPhones will have a dual-lens camera system- one wide angle and one telephoto.
Both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus will be water proof.
More such details and features of the news iPhone 7 and iPhone Plus will be revealed when Apple will hold a media presentation at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California on Sept 7.
London: Even as the Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore remains the country's top university, its global ranking has dropped two notches to 152 in the latest QS World University Rankings 2016-17 released on Tuesday.
Founded in 1909 as a result of the joint efforts of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the Government of India and the Maharaja of Mysore, IISc's global ranking last year was 147 -- also just within the top 150 universities in the world.
All the other Indian universities that make the cut within the top 400 on the list are the coveted Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) -- Delhi (185), Bombay (219), Madras (249), Kanpur (302), Kharagpur (313) and Roorkee (399).
"This year's rankings imply that levels of investment are determining who progresses and who regresses," said Ben Sowter, head of research at QS.
"Institutions in countries that provide high levels of targeted funding, whether from endowments or from the public purse, are rising. On the other hand, some Western European nations making or proposing cuts to public research spending are losing ground to their US and Asian counterparts."
The global rankings are:
- 01: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 02: Stanford University
- 03: Harvard University
- 04: University of Cambridge
- 05: California Institute of Technology
- 06: University of Oxford
- 07: University College of London
- 08: ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
Vietiane, Sep 6: US President Barack Obama warned North Korea's government today that provocative weapons tests would deepen the country's isolation.
'Today I'll be meeting with (South Korean) President Park (Geun-hye) to reaffirm our unbreakable alliance and to insist that the international community remains united so that North Korea understands its provocations will only continue to deepen its isolation,' Obama said at a regional leaders' summit in Laos.
North Korea yesterday test-fired three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, a new show of force as Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders met at the G20 summit in China.
North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January.
The UN Security Council was due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the latest missile test, which attracted condemnation from Japan and the United States.
Obama and Park were due to meet on Tuesday afternoon in the Lao capital of Vientiane on the sidelines of a gathering of regional leaders hosted by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Rohtak, Sept 6: After accomplishing her dream of winning a medal at the Rio Olympics2016, first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at Olympics, Sakshi Malik may soon get married to a fellow wrestler.
24-year-old Sakshi became a nationwide sensation overnight after she bagged a bronze medal in wrestling 58kg Freestyle category at Rio Olympics 2016.
As per an Financial Express report, Sakshi will be tying the knots with wrestler Satyawart Kadian, who also hails from Rohtak and is two-years-younger than Malki.
The 22-year-old Satyawart is also an international wresler and has won silver at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 97 kg Freestyle category and also clinched a bronze at the Asian Championships, in the same year.
Satyawart also hails from a family of wrestlers and his father Satyawan also represented India at international events. His father also runs an akhada in Rohtak.
Satyawan was quoted by media reports as saying, 'They (Sakshi and Satyawart) are getting married and it will be a huge affair. Satyawart trains here in my akhada when he is not competing or in the national camp.'
Sakshi's brother has also confirmed that the wedding was fixed before Sakshi left for Rio.
Interestingly, Satyawart was among the first people to congratulate the Rohtak girl for winning bronze at Rio.
'My Sweetheart #SakshiMalik ? You have made us proud,' Satyawart wrote on his Facebook page, which gave enough hints back then.
Earlier, she was also quoted by Anand Bazar Patrika as saying, 'He is very supportive and considers my dream as his own. After marriage, I will get a good friend in him, who would also help me in my preparation. I believe marriage would have no negative bearings on my wrestling career.'
Thiruvananthapuram: Almost all self-financing medical colleges have agreed to extend the last date of receiving applications for admission through the management and non-resident Indian quotas to Tuesday midnight. Justice J.M. James committee had asked the colleges to allow students time until Tuesday since the colleges and the government reached an agreement only on Thursday.
The allotment to the government-selected seats will be held late on Tuesday. Students can list out their options until noon. All but four self-financing medical colleges have reached an agreement with the government on the admission procedures and fees. All 14 members of the self-financing dental college managements’ association signed a deal on Monday.
The Karuna Medical College at Palakkad had gone to the Kerala High Court challenging the government’s move to invite options from students seeking admission to the college. The college, along with the Anjarakkandi Medical College in Kannur and the Travancore Medicity in Kollam, has not opened their website for students to apply.
Health department officials said that more colleges will sign the agreement with the government in the coming days. These colleges will come under close scrutiny if they go ahead with admission without cooperating with the government. Any violation of rules regarding admissions will draw strict disciplinary action from the government and the Kerala University of Health Sciences.
The managements are not impressed with Justice James’ insistence on transparency in admissions. They have started lobbying for a reconstitution of the committee but the government has stood its ground so far. The managements are likely to step up their opposition if Justice James prevails upon them to stick to inter-se merit in management and NRI quotas.
The government will go ahead with the allotment of options to colleges except the ones who had not signed an agreement and those who have not yet been granted recognition. Options granted to these colleges will be cancelled.
Two medical colleges which were supposed to start this year would not be able to admit students pending the completion of affiliation process with the health varsity. Justice Lodha Commission has made it clear any approval given to any colleges stands null and void in the event the health university does not recognize them.
S.R. College at Varkala and Kerala Medical Colleges at Palakkad will lose their recognition.
Self-financing college managements are supposed to notify the government about any vacancies after the first allotment of options so that the commissioner of entrance examinations can allot the next batch to those seats. College managements who fail to notify the vacant seats will be subject to stern actions.
The Justice James committee has asked the college managements to publicize the list of applicants to the management and NRI quota on their website by Wednesday. Any complaints regarding the list can be raised with the management or the committee until September 8. The list of eligible candidates has to be put out by September 9 and a copy sent to the committee.
The committee has said that the first stage of admissions should be completed on September 17 and the second stage by September 27.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties are up in arms saying that the government is trying to weaken the interference of the committee to help out the managements. They allege that the government was trying to do away with monitoring to the management and NRI quota seats.
Kabul: Afghan security forces ended an 11-hour standoff in central Kabul on Tuesday, killing the last gunman holding out after an attack that began when a car bomber blew himself up in a prosperous business and residential area.
Police sealed off the centre of the city as they battled three attackers who barricaded themselves inside an office of the aid group Care International.
After hours of standoff, interrupted occasionally by sporadic gunfire, interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said Afghan special forces had killed all those involved in the attack in the Share Naw area of Kabul.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which took place just hours after Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 24 people near the defense ministry, including a number of senior security officials.
Initial casualty reports suggested one person had been killed and six injured while more than 31 people were evacuated.
The attacks highlighted the precarious security in the capital just a month before a conference in Brussels where international donors are expected to pledge continued financial support to Afghanistan.
After several hours of quiet overnight, gunfire and explosions could be heard as day broke.
Rafi Ullah, a security guard near the Care International office was walking in the area when the explosion occurred.
"Right after the explosion, a huge flame rose and everything was covered with smoke, and then Afghan security forces arrived and blocked the area," he said.
City traffic was blocked in several places and schools in the vicinity were closed.
Officers killed
Hours before the attack in Share Naw late on Monday, at least 24 people were killed and 91 wounded when twin blasts in quick succession tore through an afternoon crowd in a bustling area close to the defense ministry.
The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility for that attack, in which a suicide bomber caught security forces personnel and civilians who rushed to help victims of the first explosion.
An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a defense ministry official said. Another official said the deputy head of President Ashraf Ghani's personal protection force had also been killed.
The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State.
The Taliban's ability to conduct coordinated attacks in Kabul has piled pressure on the Western-backed government, which has struggled to reassure a war-weary population that it can guarantee security.
Afghanistan's foreign partners, concerned about the ability of the security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge support over coming years at the Brussels conference, three months after NATO members reaffirmed their commitment at a meeting in Warsaw.
Outside Kabul, the insurgents have stepped up their military campaign, threatening towns including Lashkar Gah, capital of the strategic southern province of Helmand, as well as Kunduz, the northern city they briefly took last year.
Bengaluru, Sept 6: Massive protests broke out in Mandya and other parts of Karnataka against the verdict of the Supreme Court which ordered the release of Cauvery Water to Tamil Nadu.
Protestors vandalised PWD office and a police station in Mandya. Here are the latest updates of the agitation:
2.32 pm: Security has been stepped up in the city and other parts of the state after protests escalted in Mandya.
2.30 pm: Schools and colleges in Mandya to remain closed for two days, says DK Shivakumar, Karnataka Minister.
2.15 pm: Cauvery issue: PWD office and a Police station vandalised by protesters in Mandya.
2.10 pm: Pro-Kannada organisations and several farmers unions have called for a Karnataka bandh on September 9.
2.00 pm: Protest against Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa in Mandya. Effigies of Jayalalithaa were burnt by protestors.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting at Vidhan Sabha ahead of all-party meet over the Cauvery water issue.
Bengaluru, Sept 6: Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be away from the national capital for nearly a fortnight for a throat surgery and to take stock of AAP's preparations in poll-bound Punjab.
He will undergo the surgery on September 13 to cure his chronic cough problem.
He will take a 10-day rest there.
'Before leaving for Bengaluru, the CM will embark on a 4-day visit to Punjab starting from September 8. He will meet party leaders and address public gathering in Punjab.
'Thereafter, he will leave for Bengaluru on September 12 and undergo surgery next day. He is expected to come back on September 22,' said a senior government official.
In his absence, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will look after the chief ministerial works.
Sisodia is also expected to visit Goa on September 7, where the Aam Aadmi Party is gearing up for Assembly elections next year.
Kazhakkoottam: C. Pankajakshan Nair may have been waiting for this day. The 75-year-old retired teacher returned to the school where he taught for 33 years on Teachers’ Day on Monday, moments before he died of a heart attack.
The Muslim Higher Secondary School at Kaniyapuram had organized the event to honor Nair who retired after a six-year stint as the head master in 1997. Nair’s wife Saradamani, who had also retired as a teacher from the same school, was also in the dais when Nair spoke.
Nair was honored at the school compound earlier in the day by the students and teachers. He proceeded to the stage to have a few words but felt unease and collapsed. He was rushed to the CSI Mission Hospital at Kazhakkottam but he could not be saved.
A large crowd gathered for his cremation.
He is survived by Rajeev (a teacher at the Pothencode LVHS), Rajesh (Youth Congress district secretary) and Radhika (teacher at the Government LPS Chengottukonam). B. Suresh Kumar (Federal Bank) is his son-in-law while Akhila (Kaniyapuram Co-operative Hospital) his daughter-in-law.
Thiruvananthapuram: In an incident having a close resemblance to the attack on Vellarada village office, a youth on Tuesday attempted to set Neyyattinkara village office on fire.
Sunil, a native of Ambilikkonam, poured one liter of kerosene on the office floor and set it ablaze around 9 am. However, no one was injured and no files were destroyed.
Sunil was arrested by the police. It is suspected that the youth is suffering from mental illness.
It is believed that Sunil was provoked to commit the crime as his attempts to get aid from the chief minister's relief fund did not yield any result even after he visited the office 12 times.
However, the officials said they had taken all possible action on Sunil's application.
A few months ago, Samkutty, a rubber-tapping worker from Vellarada had torched Vellarada village office. It is believed that Samkutty was frustrated over the long delay in getting the mutation of his ancestral property undertaken.
Thiruvananthapuram: Employees at the Kerala secretariat on Tuesday held Onam Celebrations during office hours but promised to work an extra half hour in the evening. They had completed the pookalams (floral carpets) the previous night.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier cautioned the government staff against wasting work hours in the name of Onam celebrations.
Bangkok, Sep 6: Two people died on Tuesday after a bomb went off outside a Thai elementary school in Tak Bai, southern Narathiwat province of Thailand, the police confirmed to Efe.
A father and his five-year-old daughter were killed when a motorcycle exploded at a time parents were dropping off their children at the school, said the army's Internal Security Operations Command, Channel News Asia reported.
A hospital worker confirmed the deaths to South China Morning Post, adding that 10 other adults -- six civilians and four police officers -- were wounded in the blast.
The attack comes almost a month after a series of explosions in several provinces of southern Thailand that killed 4 and injured 35, including ten foreign tourists in the popular island of Phuket.
Frequent armed attacks, assassinations and bomb blasts in the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat have killed more than 6,500 since January 2004, when a Muslim insurgency active in the region resumed its armed struggle.
The insurgents decry discrimination by the dominant Buddhist community in the country, and demand the creation of an Islamic state, comprising the three provinces that once formed part of the Pattani Sultanate, annexed by Thailand a century ago.
New York: India's Rohan Bopanna and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski went down fighting in the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles but Sania Mirza maintained her march in the women's doubles at the US Open tennis tournament.
Bopanna and Gabriela enjoyed a strong start before going down 6-1, 2-6, 8-10 to Robert Farah of Columbia and Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld in 58 minutes here on Monday.
Farah and Groenefeld will now take on the winners of the last eight clash between the seventh seeded American duo of Coco Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram and the Czech-Crotian combination of Barbora Krejcikova and Marin Draganja.
Seventh seeds Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Krejcikova defeated unseeded American-Japanese pair of Nicole Gibbs and Nao Hibino 6-4,7-5 in a third round match.
They won the match in an hour and 17 minutes, winning 31 winners, 12 more than their opponents and claiming 71 of the total 128 points played.
In the opening set of Bopanna's match, the first three games went with the serve until Bopanna-Gabriela clinched a service break to take a 3-1 lead.
They then held their serve before forcing consecutive service breaks to win the first set.
Farah and Groenefeld staged a strong comeback in the second set, breaking their opponents in the fourth game to take the upper hand. They earned another service break in the eigth game to win the second set and draw level.
In the tie-breaker, the Indo-Canadian combination started strongly, taking a 4-0 lead before Farah and Groenefeld won four consecutive points to draw level.
Bopanna and Gabriela regained the lead at 7-5 but Farah and Groenefeld fought back, winning three points on the trot to take the lead.
Although Bopanna and Gabriela levelled the score once again, Farah and Groenefeld won back-to-back points to wrap up the issue.
New York: India's Rohan Bopanna and his Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski went down fighting in the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles but Sania Mirza maintained her march in the women's doubles at the US Open tennis tournament.
Bopanna and Gabriela enjoyed a strong start before going down 6-1, 2-6, 8-10 to Robert Farah of Columbia and Germany's Anna-Lena Groenefeld in 58 minutes here on Monday.
Farah and Groenefeld will now take on the winners of the last eight clash between the seventh seeded American duo of Coco Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram and the Czech-Crotian combination of Barbora Krejcikova and Marin Draganja.
Seventh seeds Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Krejcikova defeated unseeded American-Japanese pair of Nicole Gibbs and Nao Hibino 6-4,7-5 in a third round match.
They won the match in an hour and 17 minutes, winning 31 winners, 12 more than their opponents and claiming 71 of the total 128 points played.
In the opening set of Bopanna's match, the first three games went with the serve until Bopanna-Gabriela clinched a service break to take a 3-1 lead.
They then held their serve before forcing consecutive service breaks to win the first set.
Farah and Groenefeld staged a strong comeback in the second set, breaking their opponents in the fourth game to take the upper hand. They earned another service break in the eigth game to win the second set and draw level.
In the tie-breaker, the Indo-Canadian combination started strongly, taking a 4-0 lead before Farah and Groenefeld won four consecutive points to draw level.
Bopanna and Gabriela regained the lead at 7-5 but Farah and Groenefeld fought back, winning three points on the trot to take the lead.
Although Bopanna and Gabriela levelled the score once again, Farah and Groenefeld won back-to-back points to wrap up the issue.
New Delhi, Sep 6: Chikungunya cases in Delhi have shot up to 560, according to a municipal report released today, even as hospitals in the city continue to be swamped by patients affected by this vector-borne disease.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) which compiles the vector-borne disease cases report on behalf of all civic bodies, had pegged the total number of cases till August 27 at 432.
The 128 fresh cases in one week measures far too little compared to its cases being reported at hospitals, on an average close to 200 per week.
Only 20 chikungunya cases were diagnosed in the national capital till August 20, according to SDMC. However, Safdarjung Hospital itself reported nearly 250 cases till August 29. Doctors say the cases are further likely to rise.
'Chikungunya cases have spiked in the city. We are getting more and more patients with its symptoms. Till August 29, our hospital reported 246 cases,' Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital A K Rai said.
At the AIIMS laboratories, which get blood samples from Delhi and other parts of the country, 362 samples were tested positive for chikungunya during July to August 20.
'Out of 133 samples sent to our labs, 83 were tested positive in July and this month till August 20, out of 502 samples, 279 tested positive for chikungunya,' Department of Microbiology at AIIMS, Lalit Dar, had earlier said.
Chikungunya is a viral illness and its symptoms are similar to those of dengue, which include high-grade fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain and headache and joint swelling. It also causes rashes in patients but is not a threat like dengue in which there is a risk of bleeding due to abrupt fall in platelet count.
Meanwhile, IMA President-Elect Dr K K Aggarwal cautioned about chikungunya virus (CHIKV) that can cause CHIKV-associated encephalitis. 'Children younger than 1 year and adults aged 65 years or older have the highest incidence of CHIKV-associated encephalitis,' he said, while claiming such cases are occurring in Delhi.
The sudden spike in chikungunya cases in Delhi and several other parts of north India, has come nearly 10 years after a big outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease across the country.
