Indian Sub-continent

KANPUR: Astroturf is a necessity for the hockey game. Keeping this point in view the Kanpur Municipal Corporation has planned to arrange Astroturf ground for hockey in the prominent Green Park stadium of the city.

What has drawn the attention of the hockey veterans towards this proposal is on its size. It is being told that the hockey’s artificial ground would be a little shorter in size than the standard dimension.

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Federal Minister for Finance, Revenues, and Economic Affairs Asad Umar said on Sunday that the country is likely to receive the first tranche of aid worth 1 billion U.S. dollars from Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Talking to local media in Islamabad, Asad Umar said that the second and the third tranche of the Saudi money are expected to reach Pakistan over the course of the next two months.

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) A Delhi court on Saturday discharged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a defamation complaint filed by Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra, saying Chandra had not followed proper procedure while filing his plea.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal granted the relief to the Aam Aadmi Party chief, noting that Chandra had filed the complaint through a power of attorney which is barred under law. The court said that Chandra was at liberty to file a fresh complaint in accordance with law.

Agra (UP), Nov 17 (PTI) A right-wing group has threatened to perform a puja inside the Taj Mahal, alleging that some Muslims have defied an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) notification banning namaz except on Fridays.

A CISF commandant said an inquiry was being conducted into the reported incident of namaz being offered on Wednesday.

The locals are insisting that they be allowed to go inside for prayers daily. Muslim leaders blamed the ASI for fomenting communal trouble on false pretexts.

Chandigarh, Nov 17 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has courted a controversy over his remarks on rape incidents, with the Congress condemning the statement, saying the state government's "anti-women mindset" was exposed.

At a function in Kalka town of Panchkula district on Friday, Khattar said, "The incidents of rape have not increased... Rapes used to take place in the past and even today as well. (Only) the concern (over such incidents) has increased.

Jalna (Maha), Nov 17 (PTI) Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel Saturday accused the BJP governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra of neglecting farmers and youths.

Patel, the face of the campaign of Gujarats Patidar community for reservation in government jobs and education, said the BJP is just playing politics instead of solving the problems of farmers and youths.

The 25-year-old Patidar leader was speaking at a public meeting organised by the Maratha Foundation at Kalyanrao Ghugre Stadium here in Central Maharashtra.

Srinagar, Nov 18 (PTI) Two militants belonging to the Al-Badar outfit were Sunday killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Based on a credible input about the presence of militants, a cordon and search operation was launched by security forces at the crack of dawn in Rebban area of Zainapora in the south Kashmir district, a police spokesman said.

He said as the search operation was going on, the search party was fired upon by the hiding militants.

New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) A two-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a man, who then left her near the railway tracks of Old Delhi Railway Station, police said on Sunday.

The accused, a 24-year-old drug addict, was arrested Sunday morning, they said.

The girl was allegedly kidnapped by the accused on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday while she was sleeping with her mother on a footpath in a north Delhi area, a senior police officer.

Amritsar, Nov 18 (PTI) Three persons were killed and 20 injured in a grenade attack on a religious congregation here on city outskirts on Sunday, an incident which the police are treating as a terrorist act .

The incident took place inside the Nirankari Bhavan at Adliwal village near Amritsar's Rajasansi, police said.

A religious congregation of the Nirankaris was being conducted inside the Bhavan at the time of the incident. The Sant Nirankari Mission is a spiritual organisation and the Bhavan here lies close to the international airport.

18 Nov 2018; DW: A powerful cyclone has battered India's southeast coast, killing more than 30 people and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. Officials are scrambling to get food and water to people sheltering in relief camps.

The death toll from Cyclone Gaja rose to 33 on Sunday, authorities in India said, as emergency services rushed to deliver vital supplies to people sheltering in more than 400 state-run camps.