Indian Sub-continent

Mumbai, May 15; GANASHAKTI: Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt on Wednesday condemned the desecration of the statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar during a road show violence in Kolkata, saying the attack on the social reformer is akin to an attack on the Bengali language.

Clashes broke out between BJP supporters and student activists and those of the Left and Trinamool Congress Chatra Parishad (TMCP) during BJP President Amit Shah's road show on Tuesday.

Kolkata, May 15; GANASHAKTI:  Within  24 Hours of the ghastly act  of demolishing the Vidyasagar Statue   by the BJP –RSS--TMC  hoodlums in a show of BJP -TMC mockfight in the state, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury  and Left Front Chairman Biman Basu  led a Huge March of Red flag carriers  in Kolkata, in the same place, where  hours before Modi’s  and Amit Shah’s  followers in the name of roadshow  had been engaged in a mockfight  and demolished the statue of Pt Vidyasagar, the 19th Century iconic reformer and Rationalist. 

Kathmandu, May 16; PTI/GANASHAKTI:  Two Indian climbers have died in Nepal due to altitude ailments after one of them successfully scaled Mount Kanchenjunga, the world's third tallest peak, an official said Thursday.

Biplab Baidya (48) and Kuntal Karar (46) died Wednesday night above Camp IV after they were unable to continue their descent from near the 8,586-meter summit due to hypothermia and snowblindness.

Lucknow May 16 (PTI) Rallying behind Mamata Banerjee, BSP supremo Mayawati Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah of targeting the West Bengal chief minister as part of a conspiracy and said it reflected a "dangerous attitude".

A day after the Election Commission curtailed campaigning in West Bengal, Mayawati charged that the poll body acted under pressure of the central government.

Muzaffarnagar, May 16 (PTI) A 31-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by his wife and in-laws over a family dispute in neighbouring Shamli district and his body was dumped in a drain, police said.

Harish was killed on Wednesday in Khedi Karmu village under Kotwali police station area in the district, Station House Officer (SHO) Subhash Rathore said.

A case of murder has been registered against four persons and the victim's wife Shivani along with a relative Shivam was arrested, the SHO said.

Srinagar, May 16 (PTI) National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Thursday said BJP's attempt to "polarise" the electorate in West Bengal will come to nothing as the Trinamool Congress will sweep the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a PIL filed by a BJP leader seeking directions to the Election Commission to "restrict" misuse of religion for poll gains.

The high court also asked the EC to decide BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay's representation against the remarks of actor-cum-politician Kamal Haasan that "free India's first extremist was a Hindu", referring to Nathuram Godse who killed Mahatma Gandhi.

Islamabad, May 15 (PTI) The US has imposed visa sanctions on three senior Pakistani interior ministry officials following a row between the two countries over deportation of dozens of Pakistanis in America for their visa overstay and other allegations.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday informed the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs about that visa curbs by the US.

Lahore, May 15 (PTI) Outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawa's top leader and Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's brother-in-law Hafiz Abdur Rehman Makki has been arrested for hate speech and criticising the Pakistan government, police said on Wednesday.

Makki, head of JuD's political and international affairs wing and in-charge of its charity Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), was arrested during a government crackdown against the outlawed organisations.

Bengaluru, May 15 (PTI) India's second Moon mission that is planned for a July launch will have 13 payloads and one passive experiment from American space agency NASA, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Wednesday.

"Thirteen Indian payloads (8 on orbiter, 3 on lander and 2 on rover) and one passive experiment from NASA," ISRO said in a mission update, but did not specify them or their objective.

The spacecraft with a mass of 3.8 tonnes has three modules--Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan).