Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, Nov 16 (PTI) The government is considering to re-introduce restrictions on royalty payments for technology transfer in view of excessive outflow of such funds to overseas companies, sources said.

A proposal in this regard will soon be circulated by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) for inter-ministerial consultation, sources said.

Colombo, Nov 17 (PTI) Sri Lanka's controversial wartime defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa will lead the country after ruling party candidate Sajith Premadasa conceded the hotly contested presidential poll on Sunday, marking the return of the powerful Rajapaksa dynasty known for its pro-China tilt, amidst security challenges following the Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed 269 people.

Rajapaksa, 70, defeated Premadasa, 52, by more than 13 lakh votes, according to the official results.

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan successfully carried out the training launch of Shaheen-I, a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, the army said on Monday.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani army, said, "The launch was aimed at testing the operational readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command, ensuring Pakistan's credible maximum deterrence."

New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) In the wake of a protest march to Parliament by the JNU Students' Union against hostel fee hike, heavy police deployment was made outside the university's campus on Monday.

The agitation comes on the first day of the Parliament's Winter Session, which will end on December 13.

The students' protest against the increase in hostel fee is going on for the past three weeks, even as the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration on Wednesday announced a partial rollback of the hike. The union had termed the decision an "eyewash".

Amaravati, Nov 17 (PTI) The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has been roped in by the Andhra Pradesh government to help it curb corruption in the state administration, a top bureaucrat has said.

The institute would study the structural issues in the government departments in relation to corruption and come out with measures to tackle them, the official told PTI.

Lucknow/New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) A review petition will be filed against the Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind announced on Sunday, stressing that mosque land cannot be given up as per the Sharia.

The Board, after a meeting in Lucknow, also said that it was against accepting the five-acre alternative land given for a mosque as it "will neither balance equity nor repair the damage caused" and claimed the verdict had several contradictions.

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) A fake call centre was busted and 32 people were arrested for being allegedly involved in duping foreign nationals by posing as Canadian police officials, police said on Sunday.

Fifty-five computers, 35 mobile phones and illegal software programs along with other equipment have also been seized from West Delhi's Moti Nagar where the scam was operational, they said.

Mumbai, Nov 17 (PTI) An 18-year-old woman, who had run away from her home in Punjab, was allegedly raped by a man at Kamathipura in Mumbai on the pretext of helping her, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place on November 9 and the accused, identified as Akhtar Riyazuddin Qureshi (45), was arrested the next day, police said.

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) India has granted visa-on-arrival facility to the citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an aim to enhance people-to-people contacts and trade relations, officials said on Sunday.

The visa-on-arrival facility for the nationals of the UAE came into effect from Saturday. It will be available for a period of up to 60 days with double entry for business, tourism, conference and medical purposes, a government official said.

Firozabad, Nov 17 (PTI) A man surrendered before police after allegedly bludgeoning to death his 22-year-old daughter with an axe in a village here, police said on Sunday.

According to Jasrana Circle Officer O P Singh, Harvesh allegedly attacked his daughter Pooja with an axe on Saturday night in Salempur Khutiana village and informed police about the incident in the morning.