Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, May 9 (PTI) As it prepares for the mammoth exercise of counting of votes for Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission has stated that in case of a mismatch between EVM and VVPAT machine counts, the latter will be held valid.

Though the exercise of matching EVM results with paper trail machine (VVPAT) slips was being held in various assembly elections, this is the first time it will be undertaken in Lok Sabha polls.

New Delhi, May 9 (PTI) Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Thursday announced it will acquire iconic British toy-maker Hamleys for 67.96 million pounds (around Rs 620 crore) in an all-cash deal.

Hamleys, a 259-year-old toy-maker, has struggled to generate profits in recent times. It reported a profit after tax of 2.44 million pounds in 2018 after suffering a loss of 11.24 million pounds in 2017.

Jodhpur (R'than), May 9 (PTI) A man allegedly ran over a woman and her mother more than once and stoned them to death in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district on Thursday after her marriage was fixed with someone else, police said.

The accused, Sukharam, jumped into a canal after the incident near Tiwari village of Osian area in the afternoon, the police said.

Prime facie, Sukharam had a relationship with the woman, Indra, and wanted to marry her. But Indra's mother, Dami Devi (45), fixed her marriage somewhere else, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Dharmendra Singh.

Jammu, May 9 (PTI) The Border Security Force (BSF) Thursday arrested a former soldier of the Pakistan Army along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district, officials said.

The alert troops of the BSF observed some movement along IB near a forward area and nabbed a person moving under suspicious circumstances, they said.

During preliminary investigation, he was identified as Mohmmad Afzal of Shakergarh district of Pakistan.

Kanpur: It was astonishing that the confiscated currency notes in the denomination of one thousand and five hundred were found into the drains during its cleaning in Govind Nagar area here on Thursday. 

When the safari mazdoor deputed for cleaning the nullah saw wads of banned currency notes, they started removing silt fast. They kept the notes under their possession and informed the NN officers about the recovery of demonetised notes. 

Srinagar, May 10: An unidentified Kasmiri has been killed in alleged encounter with Indian security forces in Shopian district.

The Indian security forces' spokesman alleged that arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of encounter.

New Delhi, May 10 (PTI) The Supreme Court Friday extended till August 15 the time for a panel of mediators, headed by former apex court judge Justice F M I Kalifulla, to explore an amicable solution to the politically sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute at Ayodhya.

A five judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said they have received the report from Justice Kalifulla in which the panel has sought extension of time till August 15 to complete mediation proceedings.

ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP): Pakistan on Thursday called upon the World Bank to set up its Court of Arbitration under Indus Water Treaty after India hinted of restricting the flow of water into Pakistan from its share of rivers.

Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal, at a weekly press briefing, said contrary to India’s reluctance, Pakistan favoured the continuity of Treaty and also the smooth functioning of its dispute resolution mechanism.

ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday said the government realizing its manifesto had initiated at least 36 development projects of public welfare and economic development during its first eight-month tenure.

ISLAMABAD, May 9 (APP): Minister for Climate Change, Zartaj Gul on Thursday informed the National Assembly that the government is currently working on a plan to prohibit single use plastic bags in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) by August 14.

Replying to a question of Ms. Naureen Farooq Ibrahim in the National Assembly, the minister said that an SRO under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997 is being drafted to give legal cover to the proposed action.