Indian Sub-continent

3 May 2019; DW: At least 90 people, including 65 children, are believed to have been infected with the HIV virus in Pakistan by a doctor using a contaminated syringe, officials said Friday.

"We have arrested a doctor after receiving complaints from the health authorities," said Kamran Nawaz, the local police chief heading the case in the southern city of Larkana.

"We are told that the doctor also has HIV," he said.

May 3; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday the Centre has released more than Rs 1000 crore to all the states, which will face the brunt of Cyclone Fani that made landfall near Puri killing two people, and all those affected that the entire country was with them.

Prime Minister Modi, who was addressing an election rally in Rajasthan, said the Centre is in touch with government in Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Jamshedpur, May 3; PTI/GANASHAKTI: A BJP office in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharswan district was partially damaged in an IED blast triggered by suspected Maoists on Friday, police said.

No one was injured in the blast, they said. Four armed men came to the party office at Kharswan early Friday morning and dragged out two/three persons sleeping inside the building before planting an IED, said Superintendent of Police, Chandan Kumar Sinha.

Asked whether Maoists were involved in the incident, the SP said the way blast was triggered indicates the involvement of the Maoists.

Islamabad, May 3; PTI/GANASHAKTI: Pakistan has issued an official order to freeze the assets of and impose a travel ban on JeM chief Masood Azhar after the UN declared him a "global terrorist".

Pakistan-based Azhar is also banned from selling or purchasing arms and ammunition.

The UN sanctions committee on the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda on Wednesday announced the designation of Azhar, leader of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), over its ties to Al-Qaeda.

Kabul, May 3 (AFP) A huge peace meeting aimed at finding an exit from Afghanistan's war is due to finish Friday in Kabul, with leading politicians expected to announce visions for a much-needed breakthrough.

This week's "loya jirga", or grand assembly, saw about 3,200 religious and tribal leaders, politicians and representatives gather under tight security to try to find common ground and discuss possible conditions for a peace deal with the Taliban.

Ahmedabad, May 2 (PTI) Food and beverages giant PepsiCo India said Thursday it will withdraw the cases it has filed against potato farmers in Gujarat for allegedly growing a variety of the tuber for which the company claims Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights.

PepsiCo in April sued a few farmers for cultivating a potato variety grown exclusively for its popular Lay's potato chips, leading to an outcry and protests.

New Delhi, May 2 (PTI) The Election Commission Thursday issued a show cause notice to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his "Babur ki aulad" remark.

The EC pointed out that while addressing a rally in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh on April 19, Adityanath had said "would you hand over the reins of the country to terrorists, to those who call themselves children of Babur (Babur ki aulad)...to those who oppose Bajrangbali".

Mumbai, May 2 (PTI) A Mumbai court Thursday sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl in his neighbourhood.

The 42-year-old man was found guilty under IPC section 376 (rape) as well as under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act by special judge Bharti Kale.

Mumbai, May 2 (PTI) The Election Commission has asked the MNS to submit details of expenses incurred on its president Raj Thackeray's election rallies, an official said Thursday.

Though the MNS is not contesting the Lok Sabha elections, Thackeray held at least ten rallies in Maharashtra last month, attacking the BJP governments at the Centre and the state and asking people not to vote for the saffron party.

Gadchiroli, May 2 (PTI) Maharashtra Director General of Police Subodh Jaiswal Thursday denied that there was any intelligence input regarding the Naxal attack in Gadchiroli district in which 16 persons including 15 policemen were killed Wednesday.

He, however, admitted that there were some lapses in operational procedures which led to the tragedy.

To a question by reporters here, he said the IED blast that killed the policemen and a civilian driver could be the handiwork of Korchi and Kurkheda Dalams of the Naxals operating in the area.