Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, Aug 27; GANASHAKTI:  A record windfall from the RBI under Governor Shaktikanta Das to the tune of Rs 1.76 lakh crore - higher than the aggregate dividend paid out by the central bank in previous three years - will give the Modi government ammunition to fight an ever-widening slowdown in the economy by spurring investment and giving sectoral stimulus.

BENGALURU: AUGUST, 28; GANASHAKTI: Lunar lander spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 was manoeuvred into a closer orbit to the moon on Wednesday morning.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it performed a nearly 20-minute third orbit action on the spacecraft which had been orbiting the moon since August 20. The action was done from its Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) facility in Bengaluru.

New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) After getting a green signal from the Supreme Court, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury will visit Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to meet his party colleague and former MLA Mohammed Yusuf Tarigami.

Yechury said he will do "whatever needs to be done" on the basis of his visit.

28 August 2019; AFP: Eighteen years after the assassination of revered anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, his only son is hoping to continue the mission against the insurgents by jumping into Afghanistan's chaotic political fray.

New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) The government on Wednesday constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into development, economic and social issues in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh that will come into existence on October 31.

Government sources said Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for the PMO Jitendra Singh and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are part of the group.

Kolkata, Aug 28 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the BJP-led central government of using brute force to scuffle the voices of dissent in the Kashmir Valley.

Banerjee also said that important institutions of the country are being headed by retired bureaucrats, who are acting as "yes men" of the government.

New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) The Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) on Tuesday decided to rechristen Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium as Arun Jaitley Stadium in the memory of its former president who passed away on Saturday.

The renaming will take place on September 12 at a function where a stand at the Kotla will be named after India captain Virat Kohli as announced earlier.

Nagpur, Aug 27 (PTI) Students ofthe Industrial Training Institute (ITI) here in Maharashtra are all set to get a chance to learn how to assemble and fit body parts of the Rafale and Falcon aircraft, an official said on Tuesday.

The France-based Dassault Aviation, manufacturer of Rafale fighter jets, signed an agreement with the government- run ITI Nagpur last month for starting an 'Aeronautical Structure and Equipment Fitter' course at the institute.

KABUL (Reuters) - The Taliban said on Wednesday they were close to an agreement with U.S. officials on a deal that would see U.S. forces withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a Taliban promise the country would not become a haven for international militants.

Negotiations over how to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan have been held in Qatar’s capital, Doha, since late last year. The ninth round of talks began last week.

Tikamgarh, Aug 27 (PTI) A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 15-year-old boy in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.

The alleged incident occurred at Ladpura, around 85 kms from here, on Monday evening when the girl was alone in a field, said Orchha police station sub-inspector Gaurav Rajoriya.