Indian Sub-continent

Islamabad, Nov 1 (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday announced that Sikh pilgrims from India would not need a passport to travel to Kartarpur and no fee would be charged from them on the opening day of the corridor on November 9.

"For Sikhs coming for pilgrimage to Kartarpur from India, I have waived off two requirements: i) they won't need a passport-just a valid ID; ii) they no longer have to register 10 days in advance. Also, no fee to be charged on day of inauguration and on Guruji's 550th birthday," Khan tweeted.

New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI) Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said if the BJP or the government engaged Israeli agencies to snoop into the phones of journalists, lawyers, activists and politicians, it is a "scandal" with grave ramifications for national security.

Her remarks come after WhatsApp said that Indian scribes and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using Israeli spyware Pegasus.

Dera Baba Nanak (Punjab), Oct 31 (PTI) Come November 8, 2019, and the historic town of Dera Baba Nanak in Punjab will witness a convergence of tens of thousands of pilgrims for four days.

To accommodate the pilgrims, many of whom will be coming from distant lands, a sprawling 30 acres of land has been transformed into a well-equipped Tented City, with a capacity to put up around 3,500 people a day.

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) Output of core infrastructure industries shrank by 5.2 per cent in September 2019 as seven of eight sectors witnessed negative growth, according to official data released on Thursday.

The eight core sectors had expanded by 4.3 per cent in September 2018.

Production of seven sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, cement, steel, and electricity contracted in September.

Fertilizers production increased by 5.4 per cent in September 2019 over the year-ago month.

Palghar, Oct 31 (PTI) An offence has been registered against a man for allegedly raping his stepdaughter over a period of one month at Waliv town in Palghar, Maharashtra, an official from the district rural police said on Thursday.

In her complaint, the 15-year-old victim stated that the accused had repeatedly raped her for a month and had threatened her with dire consequences if she revealed the same to anyone, the official said.

Jammu, Oct 31 (PTI) Pampore, the hub of saffron in Kashmir, is expected to have a bumper crop of the spice this season due to initiatives taken by the national mission on saffron (NMS).

Under the NMS, a project of Rs 411 crore was approved by the Government of India in 2010-2011, under which an area of 3,715 hectare of saffron was proposed to be rejuvenated, a senior officer of Agriculture Department said.

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) All central laws such as the anti-corruption act and provisions of the IPC will be applicable in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh from Thursday, according to a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry.

Some of these laws were until now not applicable to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, because of its special status under Article 370 and Article 35.

Rourkela (Odisha), Oct 31 (PTI) A woman was raped allegedly by her boyfriend and his two associates in Odisha's Sundergarh district, while her female companion managed to flee, police said on Thursday.

All the three accused were arrested.

The victim went near a forest under Kumarmunda police station limits on Tuesday evening after her boyfriend called her up asking her to meet him there. She went there along with another woman, according to the FIR.

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) India has lost a case filed by the US at the WTO against domestic export incentives as the dispute settlement panel on Thursday concluded that these schemes are inconsistent with the international trade norms.

With this ruling, India will have to re-work these incentive schemes to comply with the WTO ruling. However, it can file appeal against the ruling at the appellate body of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.

Mumbai, Nov 1 (PTI) Maharashtra will have chief minister from the Shiv Sena, senior party leader Sanjay Raut said on Friday amid standoff with ally BJP over sharing the top post.

Talking to reporters here, he said there has been no talks yet between the BJP and the Sena on government formation.

The Maharashtra chief minister will be from the Shiv Sena, he asserted.