Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, Jan 9(PTI) The Indian Youth Congress's Yuva Kranti Yatra Wednesday reached Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, after covering 8,000 kms in the past 25 days.

The Yuva Kranti Yatra, a nation-wide public outreach campaign of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) in run up to the Lok Sabha polls was flagged off from Kanyakumari on December 16, 2018.

There is "deep unrest" among farmers and youth against the Modi government, IYC president Keshav Chandra Yadav said in a press statement.

Chennai, Jan 9 (PTI) IIT Madras scientists have created what they call 'space fuel' by simulating interstellar conditions in the lab, a method that may be used to convert atmospheric CO2 into a next generation energy source on Earth.

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could help curb greenhouse gases as well as provide a new, sustainable source of energy.

Beed (Maha), Jan 9 (PTI) Quoting a book, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the Centre's crop insurance scheme was "as big a scam" as the Rafale fighter jet deal.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's frequent foreign tours, he said mere speeches and announcements will not help the public, and demanded that the BJP-led government solve farmers' problems before looking at alliance talks for the forthcoming elections.

Ahmedabad, Jan 9 (PTI) At least 15 fishermen from Gujarat were apprehended early Wednesday by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) near the international maritime boundary in Arabian sea, the second such incident in the last five days, officials said.

The PMSA also seized three fishing boats during the operation, said officials of the Porbandar-based National Fishworkers' Forum (NFF).

Muzaffarnagar, Jan 9 (PTI) A woman and her paramour were arrested Wednesday for allegedly killing her 40-year-old mother here, police said.

Ishavati was found dead at her house and her daughter Nilam in an unconscious state on Saturday, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sudhir Kumar said.

During investigation, it was found that Nilam and her paramour Manu were involved in the killing, he said.

It is suspected that the duo killed the woman as she had opposed their relationship, Kumar said.

Srinagar, Jan 9 (PTI) IAS officer Shah Faesal, who has been in the limelight since becoming the first Kashmiri to top the exam in 2009, resigned Wednesday, protesting the "unabated" killings in Kashmir and the marginalisation of Indian Muslims.

New Delhi, Jan 9 (PTI) The BJP has trained over 1.5 million party workers in the last four years as part of its leadership training programme, the party's training wing said in a statement, asserting that it will have huge impact in ensuring voter turnout and support for the party in the Lok Sabha polls.

It makes the BJP the only political party in the country which has a trained political human resource, and this will form the backbone of the organisation's workforce and leadership reserve in the days to come, the statement said.

Guwahati, Jan 9 (PTI) Protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill intensified in different parts of Assam Wednesday with agitators burning effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and gheraoing the state secretariat here.

Protestors burnt effigies of the prime minister and chief minister at Digboi, Goalpara, Lakhimpur and Barpeta against the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Lok Sabha.

Raipur, Jan 9 (PTI) A40-year-old villager was allegedly killed bynaxalsin Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kanker districton suspicion of being a police informer, police said Wednesday.

The body of the victim Suresh Hupendi was found dumped on the outskirts of his village Niche Kamta under Amabeda police station limits this morning, a senior police officer told PTI.

As per preliminary information, a group of naxals stormed into the house of Hupendi on Tuesday evening and forcibly took him along with them, he said.

Noida (UP), Jan 9 (PTI) A 35-year-old man was arrested here Wednesday for allegedly raping his minor step-daughter, police said.

The eight-year-old girl was raped by the man Tuesday night at their home in Harola village here following which her mother approached police with a complaint against her second husband, they said.

"The woman has claimed in her complaint that her husband is an alcoholic and would often beat the child up," the official said.