Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant from the Union council of ministers with immediate effect, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said.

Sawant's resignation has been accepted on advice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the spokesperson.

As advised by the prime minister, the president has directed that Union minister Prakash Javadekar be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises in addition to his existing portfolios, the spokesperson added.

Mumbai, Nov 12 (PTI) Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Tuesday rejected criticism that the Congress delayed its decision on supporting the Shiv Sena for government formation in the state.

Asked whether the Congress has agreed to support the Shiv Sena to form government, Chavan said if that wasn't so, his party would not have held prolonged discussions in Delhi on Monday.

Mumbai, Nov 12 (PTI) Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Tuesday recommended President's rule in the state.

As per a statement tweeted by Koshyari's office, "He is satisfied that the government cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution, (and therefore) has today submitted a report as contemplated by provision of Article 356 of the Constitution."

Article 356, commonly known as President's rule, deals with 'failure of constitutional machinery in the state'.

New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) Several countries, including Australia, Iran, UK and Vietnam, will participate in the 14-day India International Trade Fair 2019 beginning here on Thursday.

The theme for the 39th edition of the fair (November 14-27, 2019) is 'Ease of Doing Business' inspired by India's unique achievement of rising to 63rd rank on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index from 142nd rank in year 2014, an official release said.

The fair will be inaugurated by Minister of Micro, Small and Midium Enterprises (MSME) Nitin Gadkari.

Johannesburg, Nov 12 (PTI) The world's largest steel maker ArcelorMittal's South Africa unit has said it will retrench nearly 1,000 workers and shut down its Saldanha plant due to severe financial losses, amid a global downturn in the steel industry.

Global steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal's ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 18 countries.

Dhaka, Nov 12 (PTI) At least 15 people were killed and over 50 others injured in a head-on collision between two trains in Brahmanbaria district in east-central Bangladesh on Tuesday, according to media reports.

Chittagong-bound Udayan Express from Sylhet and Dhaka-bound Turna Nishita collided near Mondobhag Railway Station in the district around 3:30am on Tuesday, Hayat-ud-Dowla Khan, Brahmanbaria Deputy Commissioner was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.

Khan said that the accident occured because the loco masters did not obey the signals.

New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) Showing signs of sluggishness in the economy, industrial production shrank by 4.3 per cent in September, registering the weakest performance in seven years due to output decline in manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors, as per official data released on Monday.

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, 4.3 per cent contraction is the lowest in 2011-12 series of Index of Industrial Production, which was unveiled in May 2017. The IIP had declined by 0.7 per cent in April, 2012.

New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Brazil on November 13 and 14 to attend the 11th BRICS summit, the theme of which is "economic growth for an innovative future".

This will be the sixth time Modi will be participating in the BRICS summit, his first being at Fortaleza, also in Brazil in 2014, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.

Sources said he would leave for Brasilia, Brazil on Tuesday afternoon.

Bhopal, Nov 11 (PTI) A 40-year-old man was given life imprisonment on Monday for raping a six-year-old girl a year ago at Jatkhedi area in the state capital, a district prosecution official said.

Additional session judge Vandana Jain convicted Peetamber under IPC section 376 (2) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Delhi's air quality worsened again and slipped into the 'severe' category on Tuesday morning.

At 9:36 am, the air quality index (AQI) was 414. The AQI at Bawana, Wazirpur, Anand Vihar and Rohini was 445, 442, 442 and 440 respectively.

According to the government air quality monitoring service SAFAR, the city's air quality was in very poor category on Monday which turned to severe by the evening. The average AQI stood at 360 on Sunday.