Indian Sub-continent

Balodabazar, Sep 18 (PTI) A 19-year-old man from Chhattisgarh has been arrested for allegedly raping a 20-year-old woman and extorting Rs 8 lakh from her in the last two years with the help of his family members including mother who had filmed the act in 2017, police said on Wednesday.

While the accused and his mother were arrested on September 15 and his minor sister detained, police are now looking for the brother-in-law of the accused.

ISLAMABAD, Sep 19 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres underscored the need for respecting human rights in Indian Occupied Kashmir, which is under repressive lockdown for over six weeks now, and urged India and Pakistan to find a solution to the grave crisis through dialogue.

Responding to a question from a Pakistani journalist at his crowded press conference marking the start of the General Assembly’s 74th session, he said he would continue to advocate for the peaceful settlement of the decades-old Kashmir dispute, Kashmir Media Service reported.

New Delhi Sep 19 (PTI) The Government on Thursday issued an ordinance to ban e-cigarettes, making the production, import, export, transport, sale or advertisements of such "alternative" smoking devices a cognizable offence attracting jail term and fine.

First time violators will face a jail term of up to one year and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. For subsequent offences, a jail term of up to three years or a fine of Rs 5 lakh, or both according to the ordinance.

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 19 (PTI): In a big boost to Kerala, the Union Government has decided to extend the Chennai-Bengaluru industrial corridor to Coimbatore and then to Kochi.

The decision in this regard was conveyed to the state government by the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), a government release said.

It had been Kerala's plea for long to include the state in the corridor and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had made a strong pitch for the same.

Nashik, Sep 19 (PTI) Blaming the Congress for the plight of Kashmiris for decades, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for "hugging each Kashmiri and creating a "new paradise" in the valley.

Launching the BJP's poll campaign for the next month's Maharashtra Assembly elections, Modi said a lot of efforts are being made from across the border to foment violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We have to create a new paradise (in Kashmir)... hug each Kashmiri," he said.

New Delhi, Sep 19 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday told Union Home Minister Amit Shah that genuine Indians belonging to Bengali, Bihari, Gorkha and Assamese communities were excluded from the NRC in Assam and sought his intervention to ameliorate their miseries.

This was conveyed by Banerjee to Shah in her first meeting with the home minister, who assumed the office about three months ago.

New Delhi, Sep 18 (PTI) Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, on Wednesday said the idea that Hindi alone can unite the people of the country is a dangerous trend.

Chidambaram said while he supported the idea that all languages should be developed, he will never accept that Hindi can alone unite the country.

"I have asked my family to tweet on my behalf the following: A dangerous idea that Hindi alone can unite the people of this country has been floated," a tweet from Chidambaram's official Twitter handle said.

KABUL (Reuters) - A deadly suicide bombing this week near an election rally in central Afghanistan where President Ashraf Ghani was due to speak came as a sharp reminder of the risks to a ballot set for the end of next week in the shadow of failed peace talks.

Kanpur: Two medical stores in front of the city' s Lala Lajpat Rai hospital were found to be selling fake medicine after samples checked at the government's laboratory in the state capital Lucknow. The Food Safety and Drug Administration department cancelled the license of both the stores. This action was taken following a raid by a team of drug inspectors formed under the assistant drug commissioner.

COLOMBO, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's Elections Commission announced on Wednesday night that the country's presidential elections will be held on Nov. 16.

The election date is set nearly two months before the incumbent's term ends. In a special gazette notification, the Elections Commission said candidates could present their nominations on Oct. 7.

The island country's main opposition party has named former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's younger brother and former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as its presidential candidate.