Indian Sub-continent

Islamabad, Sept 8 (PTI) A-20 member team from Pakistan is set to hold a face-to-face meeting with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Bangkok over the country's efforts to curb money laundering and terror-financing, a media report said on Sunday.

The Pakistani team that left on Sunday is led by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar and includes representatives of the Federal Investigation Agency, State Bank, Federal Board of Revenue, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Anti Narcotics Force and intelligence agencies, the Express Tribune reported.

Lucknow, Sep 9 (PTI) Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Monday postponed his visit to Rampur to September 13-14 in view of prohibitory orders imposed in the city due to Muharram and Ganesh Chaturthi, even as he alleged that the district magistrate was working at the behest of the state government.

Addressing a press conference at the party office here, the SP chief, who was scheduled to meet party leader Azam Khan's family on Monday, also claimed that the administration has said his visit could result in riots in Rampur.

New Delhi, Sep 8 (PTI) The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Sunday condoled the demise of eminent jurist and former Union minister Ram Jethmalani, saying a doyen of the legal fraternity has been lost.

Chairman of the apex body of lawyers and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra said Jethmalani was a gigantic legal luminary.

"Today, we have lost the legend, the doyen of the legal fraternity. Ram Jethmalani was a gigantic legal luminary. He was a revered and respected figure both by the Bar and the Bench due to his vast knowledge.

Jammu, Sep 8 (PTI) To foster the spirit of entrepreneurship in the youth of Jammu and Kashmir, the Army is conducting a three-day "startup weekend" at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University in Reasi district from September 20, an official said on Sunday.

The workshop to come up with ideas for the next generation is being conducted by Army's Counter Insurgency Force (Uniform) under the aegis of White Knight Corps in association with Techstars, a Banglore-based startup seed accelerator, PRO (Defence) Udhampur Lt Col Abhinav Navneet said.

Jammu, Sept 8 (PTI) The Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will have a common high court, State Judicial Academy's Director Rajeev Gupta said on Sunday.

He also said 108 Central Laws would be applicable for the two UTs while 164 state laws would be repealed and 166 state laws will continue to be applicable.

The Centre had on August 5 nullified Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of the state.

Gurgaon, Sep 8 (PTI) The district court here sentenced three persons to life in jail for the gang rape and murder of a bar dancer.

The crime had taken place on February 23, 2016, at Chakkharpur village when the convicts, identified as Vipin (20), his brother Nitiesh Kumar (20), residents of Pataudi; and their friend Monu (24), a resident of Raisina village, in an inebriate condition raped the victim before killing her at a rented accommodation.

Banda (UP), Sep 8 (PTI) A team of the forest department had to return without demolishing a mazar' after Hindus stopped them from doing so in Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba district on Sunday.

"There are only five-six Muslim families in Salat village. The belief of the Hindus in the 150-year-old 'mazar' is more than the Muslims," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Mahoba Ramji Rai said.

Dhanbad, Sep 9 (PTI) A class 4 student of a school in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district was allegedly raped by two school teachers including the vice-principal in the sickroom of the institution, police said on Monday.

An FIR was registered at Katras police station against the two teachers of the Topchanchhi-based school after the girl accused them of raping her in the sickroom of the institution a month ago, the police said.

New Delhi, Sept 9 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced that India would raise its target for restoring degraded land from 21 million hectares to 26 million hectares by 2030.

Speaking at the 14th session of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Modi said between 2015 and 2017, India's tree and forest cover increased by 0.8 million hectares.

MANILA, Sept 9 (NNN-PNA) – The Philippines has started reintegration of former rebels into society, a move Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, said, will bring “lasting peace” in southern Philippines.

Chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and interim chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, handed over an assault rifle to Duterte, at the start of a decommissioning ceremony in Simuay, Sultan Kudarat in southern Philippine Maguindanao province.