Kanpur: There remains a crowd of independent candidates in the general elections.

This tendency also appears at the present edition of the parlimentary polls.

The unique as well as odd symbols of the independepent candidates do attract the voters.

Capsicum, Bread, Air-conditioner and other things have been selected as the election symbol by them.

According to the Election Commission, as many as 178 symbols have been chosen for distributing to the independent candidats.

Kolkata, Mar 26 (PTI) A city court Tuesday sentenced a 22-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a girl after forcibly marrying her at a temple.

Abhijit Paik was found guilty of kidnapping the girl from her home in Narkeldanga area in the eastern part of the city and raping her.

MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. The Ukrainian side was involved in the MH17 flight disaster over Donbass, a former officer of the Ukrainian security service SBU, Vasily Prozorov, told a news conference on Monday.

"It is my personal opinion and it relies on certain information. The Ukrainian side is an accomplice to the Malaysian MH17 flight disaster," he said.

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, marking a major shift in U.S. policy in the Middle East.

The proclamation said that it is "appropriate to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights" because of the security need of Israel.

"This was a long time in the making," Trump said before signing the decree at the White House with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing alongside.

Gaza City, Mar 25; PTI/GANASHAKTI: A Hamas official denied Israel's accusation that it was behind Monday's rocket strike north of Tel Aviv which wounded seven Israelis and led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to vow a strong response.

"No one from the resistance movements, including Hamas, has an interest in firing rockets from the Gaza Strip towards the enemy," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, evoking the possibility that it may have been caused by "bad weather".

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon announced Monday that it has authorized the transfer of 1 billion U.S. dollars for the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In a press release issued Monday night, the Pentagon said acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan has authorized the commander of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to begin planning and executing up to 1 billion dollars in support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Patrol.

UNITED NATIONS, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN policy on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights remains unchanged despite the Trump administration's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the territory, a UN spokesman said Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the territory that Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and annexed it in 1981.

UNITED NATIONS, March 25 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the international community to renew its promise to end racial discrimination.

In his remarks at an event to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Guterres said that it is time to "renew our promise to end racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, including social and ethnic discrimination, anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Semitism."

CARACAS, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez on Monday said the country's main Guri hydroelectric plant was sabotaged again, causing another blackout in several regions, but authorities have managed to restore power quickly.

"We want to inform the whole country that just as we have been denouncing, we have received a new attack on the load and transmission center of the National Electricity System," said Rodriguez.

However, the state-run electricity company was able to restore power to the affected areas "in record time," he said.

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers are set to hold a series of votes on different options for Brexit in an attempt to break the country’s political deadlock.

Lawmakers voted 329-302 to take control of Parliament’s timetable from the government starting Wednesday to hold votes on alternative Brexit options.

The alternatives could include remaining in the European Union’s single market or canceling Brexit altogether.

The government promised to “engage constructively” with the process but has not committed to enacting whatever lawmakers decide.

26 Mar 2019; DW: The leaders of China, Germany, France and the EU are set for "unprecedented" talks on building a new global governance. The challenge for Europe is how to balance ties in the face of Beijing's growing global influence.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will be joining French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks in Paris on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. The signing of a proclamation recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights by US President Donald Trump does not change Russia’s official stance on the issue, Russian Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told TASS on Monday.

"Nothing has changed, either before or after. Our principled stance and assessments have been provided on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website," he stressed.