Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, Dec 27 (PTI) Lok Sabha proceedings were again disrupted on Thursday as vociferous protests and sloganeering over various issues forced Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House till noon.

Despite repeated warnings from Mahajan, Congress, AIADMK and TDP members continued to stand in the Well of the House and sought to raise various issues, including Rafale deal.

Soon after the Question Hour began, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge wanted to raise the issue of Rafale deal but Mahajan said the matter can be raised during the Zero Hour.

ISLAMABAD, Dec 25 (APP):Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry Tuesday said the modus operandi of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and that of erstwhile president Asif Ali Zardari to plunder the national wealth were the same.

“Probably, the money laundering networks being run by the families of these two are the biggest in world,” he said addressing a news conference here.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian authorities have ordered firefighters in the capital to sprinkle water from high-rise buildings to settle dust and stop garbage fires and have banned construction activity as hazardous air quality affects millions of people.

New Delhi recorded one of the highest pollution levels of the year on Sunday with the air quality index, measuring sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, touching 450.

KANPUR: Two touts were arrested with dozens of reservation tickets here on Tuesday. The Railway Police Force team confiscated 15 reservation tickets, 20 thousand cash, 30 e-ticket, one laptop and three mobiles from their possession.

New Delhi, December 26; GANASHAKTI: The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) strongly condemns the thrashing of a disabled youth by a BJP leader in Uttar Pradesh.

The beating up of the youth merely because he did not subscribe to the BJP’s ideology and voiced his opinion openly, is a reflection of the times that we are living in – in a climate of increasing intolerance and hate. By this wanton act they have made it abundantly clear that anyone challenging their views and defying their diktats will be “punished”.

Mumbai, Dec 26; PTI:  Banking services were affected Wednesday after close to 1 million workers of all state-run, old-generation private sector and some foreign banks went on a one-day strike opposing merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with stronger peer Bank of Baroda.

Lucknow, Dec 26 (PTI) At a time when the opposition has alleged that the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh is more focused on cows than human lives, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the officials concerned to make immediate arrangements for proper care of stray cows.

He has also ordered clearing of grazing grounds in different parts of the state from encroachments.

New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) The politically sensitive bill which seeks to make the practice of instant triple talaq among Muslim men a penal offence will come up for discussion in Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The Lok Sabha had last week on Thursday decided to take up the bill on December 27 after the Congress agreed to participate in the debate.

As the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, was taken up for consideration, Leader of the Congress in the House, Mallikarjun Kharge, had suggested it be taken up for discussion next week.

New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) BJP president Amit Shah Wednesday appointed the party's in-charges for the Lok Sabha polls for 17 states, drafting in Union minister Prakash Javadekar for steering the campaign in Rajasthan and Thawarchand Gehlot, another minister, for Uttarakhand.

Govardhan Jhadapia, a Gujarat leader, Dushyant Gautam, who is a party vice president, and Narottam Mishra, who is from Madhya Pradesh, will be in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, politically most crucial state, where the BJP is likely to face a tough challenge from a prospective alliance of the SP and the BSP.

Bahraich (UP), Dec 26 (PTI) Ace golfer Jyoti Randhawa was arrested Wednesday on charges of poaching in the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve's protected area in Uttar Pradesh, an officer said.

Equipment used for hunting, a .22 bore rifle and a deer hide were seized from the international golfer, field officer Ramesh Pandey said.