Mumbai, Jan 14 (PTI) The Shiv Sena said Monday that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has worsened under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's watch and claimed the BJP-led government at the Centre frittered away the massive 2014 poll mandate.

Modi talks about his "56-inch chest", but more Army jawans have shed blood in the militancy-hit state under his dispensation than previous governments, said the BJP's bickering ally.

Mumbai, Jan 14 (PTI) In perhaps the biggest such online heist, a Mumbai-based Italian firm lost Rs 130 crore to suspected hackers who allegedly convinced its local managers that the money was needed for an acquisition, police said Monday.

The hackers sent emails to the head of the Indian subsidiary of the firm through an email account, which looked similar to that of the group CEO, a police official said.

Tehran, Jan 14 (AP) An Iranian Boeing 707 cargo plane coming from Kyrgyzstan crashed on Monday while trying to land west of Iran's capital, state media reported, with an emergency official saying only one person of the 16 on board was known to have survived.

Fire immediately engulfed the aircraft after it skidded off a runway and crashed into a wall separating the Fath Airport from a residential neighborhood. Images carried by Iran's state-run media showed the burned-out tail of the plane sticking out, surrounded by charred homes.

14 Jan 2019; AFP: The largest religious gathering anywhere on earth gets under way Tuesday, with tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims congregating in India to bathe in sacred rivers for the Kumbh Mela.

Organisers are expecting the enormous spiritual festival in Allahabad to attract more than 100 million devotees over the next 48 days, with seas of pilgrims camped by the riverside.

The ancient city in northern Uttar Pradesh state rises alongside the banks of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers.

Lucknow, Jan 14 (PTI) RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav Monday promised full support to the BSP-SP alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, asserting that the move by the two regional parties to come together to fight the BJP has gone down well throughout the country.

Stating that the alliance will be hailed in the future, Tejashwi also said Uttar Pradesh and Bihar will decide who will come to power at the Centre after the general elections.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Judges at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday acquitted former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and former youth minister Charles Ble Goude of crimes committed following disputed elections in 2010, saying prosecutors failed to prove their case.

KANPUR: In view of the state government’s order, the city areas will once again be put under a drive making the roads pothole free. Above three-metre wide roads which are badly affecting the vehicle riders will be repaired. This time it will not be only a cover-up but the quality of the work will be checked by a third party.

14 Jan 2019; AFP: Freelance reporter Asad Hashim was named as winner of the 2018 Agence France-Presse Kate Webb Prize on Monday for his coverage of the plight of ethnic Pashtuns and blasphemy issues in his native Pakistan.

The award, named after one of AFP's finest correspondents, recognises journalism by locally-hired reporters in Asia operating in risky or difficult conditions.

KANPUR: A discord erupted on a simple issue when a ball darting into air descended into a house of Ajitganj locality in Babupurwa area here on Sunday. Enraged persons losing their mental control allegedly attacked one youth of the rival side with a sharp-edged knife. He was injured seriously. Police got the blood-smeared youth admitted into the hospital and urged both the agitated groups to maintain order and calm.

13 Jan 2019; AFP: French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday spelled out the questions underpinning his "great national debate", a public consultation aiming to quell "yellow vest" anger after nearly two months of sometimes violent protests.

Macron made his appeal in a "letter to the French" released on Sunday, following the ninth consecutive Saturday of nationwide "yellow vest" rallies which saw an uptick in turnout.

13 Jan 2019; AFP: President Donald Trump said he was holding off on declaring a state of emergency to end the partial US government shutdown that dragged into a 23rd day Sunday, as he insisted on $5.7 billion to build a Mexico border wall that congressional Democrats oppose.

Asked by Fox News why he didn't immediately declare a national emergency to secure the funds without congressional approval, Trump said he wanted to give opposition Democratic lawmakers more time to strike a deal.

AMMAN, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi said on Sunday that France and Jordan agreed that the lack of a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict threatens the security of Middle East.

At a joint press conference with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in Amman, Safadi said the two countries believe that lack of a solution could lead to eruption of crises in the region, said a statement by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry.