Jaipur, Apr 17 (PTI) Calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government a "government of rhetoric", Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot Wednesday claimed its exit is imminent in the Lok Sabha elections.

He said the BJP's "rhetoric" will sink the Modi government.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) Top Indian grappler Bajrang Punia regained the world number one spot in the men's 65kg freestyle category in the rankings issued by United World Wrestling on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old Indian, who won gold in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games as well as a silver in the World Championships last year, secured 58 ranking points ahead of Akhmed Chakaev of Russia, who has 21 points in his kitty.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) A 50-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in Dwarka's Najafgarh for allegedly raping his minor niece on multiple occasions, police said.

The 13-year-old girl approached police on Tuesday and narrated her ordeal, they said.

Wellington, Apr 17 (AFP) New Zealand police on Wednesday ended the routine arming of frontline officers as the terrorism threat level was lowered a month after the Christchurch mosques massacre.

Police and security agencies reduced the threat level from high to medium, meaning authorities judge that another attack, violent criminal behaviour, or violent protest remains "feasible" rather than "very likely".

The level is still higher than it was before the March 15 attacks, when the threat was deemed to be "low".

PARIS (AP) — Nearly $1 billion has already poured in from ordinary worshippers and high-powered magnates around the world to restore Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris after a massive fire.

Construction teams brought in a huge crane and a delivery of planks of wood to the site Wednesday morning.

French President Emmanuel Macron ratcheted up the pressure by setting a five-year deadline to restore the 12th-century landmark. Macron is holding a special Cabinet meeting Wednesday dedicated to the Notre Dame disaster.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump vetoed a resolution passed by Congress to end U.S. military assistance in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.

The veto — the second in Trump’s presidency — was expected, and Congress lacks the votes to override it. But passing the never-before-used war powers resolution was viewed as a milestone for lawmakers, who have shown a renewed willingness to assert their war-making authority after letting it atrophy for decades under presidents from both parties.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is predicting that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden will be the final two Democrats standing in the 2020 race against him.

Looking ahead to his re-election campaign, Trump tweeted Tuesday that he believes “it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country (and MANY other great things)!”

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — Education officials say Denver-area public schools will be closed Wednesday due to the an ongoing safety concern as authorities search for a woman who they say is armed, making threats and “infatuated” with the Columbine High School shooting.

Authorities say 18-year-old Sol Pais made undisclosed threats that prompted Columbine and more than 20 other schools outside Denver to lock their doors for nearly three hours Tuesday afternoon.

17 Apr 2019; DW: Hundreds of protesters hit the streets in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito on Tuesday to object to the treatment of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Assange spent seven years under the protection of the Ecuadorian government, but this ended last week when British police were invited into the London embassy, his long-time home, to arrest the whistleblower.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Stepping up pressure on Cuba, the Trump administration will allow lawsuits against foreign companies doing business in properties seized from Americans after the island’s 1959 revolution, a senior administration official said.

The move marks a change in more than two decades of U.S. policy on Cuba.

17 Apr 2019; DW: Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using a 2017 anti-boycott law to silence criticism of the occupation of Palestinian territories. A Jerusalem court ruled the watchdog official supported boycotts against Israel.

The Israeli Justice Ministry on Tuesday said Omar Shakir, the director of Human Right Watch's Israel office, must leave the country by May 1 after he lost an appeal against a deportation order.

17 Apr 2019; AFP: Indonesia's Joko Widodo was on track to be re-elected leader of the world's third-biggest democracy with pollsters giving him a wide lead over rival Prabowo Subianto, a firebrand ex-general, hours after voting closed Wednesday across the 17,000-island archipelago.

While official results are not due until next month, a series of so-called "quick counts" by pollsters showed Widodo holding a strong lead with around 55 percent of the vote to Subianto's 44 percent.