Indian Sub-continent

Noida, Sep 20 (PTI) The owner of a private bus here claimed that he had been issued a fine of Rs 500 allegedly because the driver was "not wearing a helmet".

Nirankar Singh said the online challan was made on September 11 and one of his employees checked it on Friday. Singh said he would be contesting the penalty in court if needed.

The city-based transporter said his son looks after the transport business and they have about 40-50 buses, which are engaged with schools and private companies in Noida and Greater Noida.

New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana will be held on October 21, the Election Commission announced on Saturday.

Counting of votes in both the states will be held on October 24, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said at press conference here.

While the term of 288-member Maharashtra assembly ends on November 9, that of the 90-member Haryana assembly expires on November 2.

Srinagar, Sep 21 (PTI) Restrictions were lifted from most parts of Kashmir on Saturday, but remained in force in the Handwara area of Kupwara district as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order, officials said.

Fresh restrictions were imposed in many parts of the Valley on Friday in view of apprehensions that vested interests might exploit the large Friday prayer gatherings at big mosques and shrines to fuel protests.

Officials said restrictions have been eased out in most areas of Kashmir.

Noida/New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) Hundreds of farmers from Uttar Pradesh were on their way to Kisan Ghat in Delhi demanding pending sugarcane dues, loan waivers and cheap electricity, among others.

The farmers who had stayed put in Noida on Friday were at Delhi Gate, on the Delhi-Ghaziabad border, around noon, causing obstruction in traffic along the route.

"Traffic is obstructed in both carriageways from Ghazipur Border UP Gate on NH-9, NH-24 towards Nizamuddin due to the farmers' rally," the Delhi Traffic Police said.

Kanpur: The CSJM University's BBA students apologised for their indiscipline and assured the administration to avoid rude behaviour in the future. The Registrar Dr Vinod Kumar Singh said that the students had accepted their grave mistake and promised to behave in a disciplined manner.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 20 (APP): President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said the belligerent Indian leadership, with its thumb on nuclear button, was doggedly hinduizing India and persecuting minorities and had, therefore, become a threat not only to the regional and world peace, but also to the very social fabric of India itself.

He expressed these views while talking to Turkish media delegation, which led by Prof. Dr. Halil Toker, called on him here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

New Delhi, Sep 20 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday decided to hear the Ram Janmabhoomi Babri Masjid dispute case for an extra hour next Monday.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, which was hearing the decades-old politically sensitive land dispute on 28th day, told the counsel for both the Hindu and Muslim parties that it has decided to rise at 5 pm instead of 4 pm on September 23, which is the scheduled time to wrap up the day's proceedings in the apex court.

New Delhi, Sep 20 (PTI) Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday alleged that the Modi government was "shattering" people's trust in LIC by investing the state-run insurance firm's money in loss-making companies.

Taking to Twitter, she also tagged a media report which claimed that LIC has suffered losses of Rs 57,000 crore in just two and a half months.

Shahjahanpur, Sep 20 (PTI) Former Union minister Swami Chinmayanand, accused of rape by a law student, was arrested on Friday, his counsel said.

The BJP leader was arrested by the special investigation team (SIT) of Uttar Pradesh police from his residence 'Divya Dham' here amid heavy security deployment, his lawyer Pooja Singh told PTI.

He was taken for medical examination to a government hospital. He was then taken to the the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate where he will be presented.

Patna, Sep 19 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday chaired a meeting to review the schemes of the state government for welfare of minorities.

Kumar laid stress on measures like renovation of Madrasas and equipping the seminaries with modern facilities, besides ensuring that the Waqf Board had its own building in each district of the state.