Mumbai, Dec 18 (PTI) The BJP's warring ally Shiv Sena Tuesday chose to stay away from the inauguration of various projects by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai metropolitan region and Pune.

The prime minister Tuesday laid foundation stones for two metro lines - Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan (Metro 5) and the Dahisar-Mira Bhayander (Metro 9) at Kalyan in neighbouring Thane district. He also launched the Navi Mumbai town planning authority Cidco's (City & Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) mass-housing scheme worth Rs 18,000 crore.

Nashik (Maha), Dec 18 (PTI) A court in Igatpuri in Nashik district of Maharashtra Tuesday granted bail to MNS chief Raj Thackeray in connection with a 2008 case of attack on a hotel by his party workers.

Thackeray appeared in Igatpuri court on Tuesday, where Judge K I Khan granted him bail.

As part of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's strident protest against north Indians in 2008, the party workers had attacked a hotel, owned by a north Indian, in Igatpuri.

Police had booked six persons, including Thackeray, in this connection.

Guwahati, Dec 18 (PTI) Assam government has approved farm loan waiver to the tune of Rs 600 crore which will benefit around eight lakh farmers of the state, its spokesman said Tuesday.

As per the scheme, the government will write off 25 per cent loan of farmers up to a maximum of Rs 25,000 of all farm debts, Assam Government spokesperson and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said.

The waiver will be for all the loans taken through Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and from PSU banks, he said.

BANGKOK, December 18. /TASS/. Three Russian citizens have been detained in Thailand at the request of the United States in the last three years, head of the Consulate Department of the Russian Embassy in Thailand Vladimir Pronin told reporters on Tuesday.

"Only in the last three years, three Russians have been detained in Thailand at the US’ request, two of them - in 2018," he stressed. "In all three cases, the US accused them of alleged cybercrimes: hacking, stealing or laundering money via the Internet."

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) Inspired by the decades old National Women's Party in the United States, a 36-year-old doctor and social activist launched a women's only party here on Tuesday to fight for issues like reservation for women in Parliament and harassment of women at workplace.

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) The All India Kisan Sabha Tuesday called for 'Gramin Bharat Bandh' on January 8 and 9 to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "non-committal" stand on farm loan waiver.

In a two-day meeting the Central Kisan Council has taken a resolution to call a two-day Gramin Bharat bandh on January 8 and 9, Ashok Dhawale, president, AIKS, said.

The AIKS is a CPI(M) affiliated farmers' organisation.

Hyderabad, Dec 18 (PTI) The AIMIM Tuesday alleged that the triple talaq bill introduced by the NDA government was discriminatory.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi said he would be proposing amendments to it to "ensure that deserted spouses are protected."

"Continuing his longstanding tradition of terrible lawmaking, Modi has introduced a "revised" Triple Talaq Bill that is discriminatory & anti-women," the Hyderabad MP said in a tweet.

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) The Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya through mutual consent, and is not a "communal or religious" issue, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said Tuesday.

The senior BJP leader also said that the issue is linked to India's rich culture, heritage and history.

18 Dec 2018; DW: India has opened a medical facility to treat elephants in Mathura, located near the Taj Mahal in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. This elephant hospital also hopes to draw activists interested in animal welfare.

More than half of Asia's elephants are found in India, but the country's elephant population has dipped in the past few years - by nearly 10 percent across 23 states between 2012 and 2017.

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) Huge investment opportunities exist in India in various sectors including construction for Turkish companies, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said Tuesday.

He said all issues such as trade deficit, raised by Turkey, would be looked upon by India.

"There is a huge potential for Turkish construction companies to operate in India," Prabhu said here at India-Turkey Business Forum meet.

While India's exports to Turkey stood at USD 5 billion, imports were only USD 2.2 billion in 2017-18.

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) A 23-year-old married woman from Uttar Pradesh has alleged gangrape at multiple locations, including in Delhi, and submitted a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), said the Bandhua Mukti Morcha.

The woman has alleged that police in Delhi forced her for compromise with the accused and did not take necessary action on her complaint, the Morcha said in a statement.

A Delhi Police officer denied the allegations saying there must be some action if the victim reached the police station concerned.

KANPUR: Unnao police and its SWAT team arrested an alleged contract killer Dhiraj Gupta r/o Burra area from Chakalwan Puliya on late Monday night.

Gupta was wanted in several cases of murder, attempt to murder and loot.

He had come to the district to commit a murder for which he had taken a hefty sum, said Harish Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Unnao.