Indian Sub-continent

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — When U.S. forces and their Afghan allies rode into Kabul in November 2001 they were greeted as liberators. But after 17 years of war, the Taliban have retaken half the country, security is worse than it’s ever been, and many Afghans place the blame squarely on the Americans.

KANPUR: A change is apparent in the LPG consumers’ mood. Their inclination towards the subsidized cylinders has once again rekindled. It was this spirit which has led them to apply for gaining subsidized cooking gas cylinders. The constant increase in the price of LPG cylinder has forced them to opt for the subsidized cylinder. For this purpose, they are submitting their applications at the gas agencies almost daily.

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court Monday said it was "quite shocked" that the Bihar police was unable to trace and arrest former state minister Manju Verma, who had stepped down from the cabinet in the wake of the Muzaffarpur shelter home scandal, in a case related to alleged recovery of illegal ammunition from her.

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta summoned the Bihar director general of police (DGP) to explain why the state police had failed to trace the whereabouts of Verma and arrest her in connection with the case.

Hyderabad, Nov 12 (PTI) Taking a dig at some BJP-ruled states over their "name-changing spree", AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi targeted BJP president Amit Shah, saying his surname was a Persian word and wondered if it would be changed.

He was addressing an election campaign here Sunday evening for the December 7 assembly polls.

"Shah is a Persian word...will they change it or not... don't know," the Hyderabad MP said.

Raipur, Nov 12 (PTI) Five CoBRA personnel were injured in two encounters with the Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Monday, the first phase of the state elections, police said.

The skirmish took place at separate spots at a forest in Pamed, around 500 km from Raipur. The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) -- an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) -- was patrolling the area in view of the voting going on in the region, a senior police officer said.

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) The National Commission for Women on Monday expressed serious concern over the killing of a woman for objecting to smoking in Uttar Pradesh last week and sought to know what action has been initiated.

"The commission is seriously concerned about the brutal crime committed on the woman. Considering the gravity of the matter, it is requested that the commission may be apprised about the action taken in the matter at the earliest," the NCW said in a letter to UP Director General of Police (DGP) O P Singh.

Raipur, Nov 12 (PTI) Two Naxals were gunned down Monday evening in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police said.

Two other rebels were caught from the encounter site, an official said.

The gunfight took place in forests near a village under Pushpal police station limits when a team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was returning after discharging election-related duty, Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena told PTI.

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Nearly 280 fresh cases of dengue have been reported over the last one week in the national capital, taking the total number of people diagnosed with the vector-borne disease this season to 1,875, a municipal report released Monday said.

According to the report, there has been one death due to dengue this year till November 10.

At least 1,114 cases were reported in October only.

Also, 450 cases of malaria and 141 of chikungunya have been reported this season till November 10 the report said.

Jaipur, Nov 12 (PTI) A Rajasthan minister, who was dropped by the Bharatiya Janata Party in its first list of candidates for the assembly election, resigned from his post and the party on Monday.

Surendra Goyal, the public health engineering and ground water minister who represents the Jaitaran constituency, tendered separate resignations to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the party's state president, Madan Lal Saini.

Jammu, Nov 12 (PTI) An Army soldier was killed and another injured Monday by a Pakistani sniper along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesperson said.

Two Army personnel fell to sniping in Sunderbani and Noushera sectors of Rajouri district on Saturday and Sunday, while an Army porter lost his life in a similar attack in Akhnoor sector of Jammu district a day earlier.