Gali Nagaraja

An anti-polio drive was suspended on Thursday in Pakistan’s Quetta city due to authorities’ failure to provide adequate security to polio administration teams, media reports said.

A source in the the Balochistan health department said the anti-polio drive would be re-launched on Friday after appropriate security was provided by the administration, Dawn reported.

“There are polio samples in the environment of Quetta … We fear (there may be) polio cases in Quetta,” a source said.

Polio teams have been attacked in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan in the past.

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh likely in the first week of June, the country’s envoy Syed Moazzem Ali on Thursday expressed happiness over the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh being “finally settled”.

On the other long-pending issue of Teesta water sharing accord, the envoy said there was need for greater collaboration between the two countries to “conclude Teesta as soon as possible”.

Ali expressed his “deep appreciation” to Modi and the NDA government “for the farsightedness and wisdom shown in early conclusion of LBA”.

The Islamic State (IS) militants have executed at least 17 people since they took control over the ancient city of Palmyra on Wednesday, a monitor group said on Thursday.

Some of the slain people were government forces along with people who are loyal to the government, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The London-based watchdog group said some of the executed people were beheaded by the terror group, following the large-scale offensive on Palmyra on Wednesday.

At least 40 militants were killed on Thursday by Syrian aerial bombardment on rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo, a monitor group reported.

Three commanders were among those killed when a Syrian aircraft dropped a crude barrel bomb and fired a missile into the militants’ position in the Al Sha’ar neighbourhood in Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, according to Xinhua.

A British bomb-maker has been found guilty of using improvised explosive devices to kill US soldiers in Iraq, media reports said on Thursday quoting a ruling from London’s Woolwich Crown Court.

Anis Abid Sadar, a 38-year-old black cab driver from Wembley in northwest London, made bombs as part of a “deadly” campaign to kill US soldiers in Iraq, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

The explosive devices were planted in or around the road near Baghdad in 2007, and one of the bombs killed 24-year-old Sergeant First Class Randy Johnson in September 2007, Xinhua reported citing the court verdict.

Pakistan on Thursday rejected reports that the country has planned to sell nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia.

The Sunday Times of London had claimed that Saudi Arabia had “taken the ‘strategic decision’ to acquire off-the-shelf atomic weapons from Pakistan,” citing unnamed American officials.

According to the report, the kingdom wants to get nuclear weapons to counter Iran after the recent nuclear deal it reached with the West.

President Barack Obama said in an interview published Thursday that the US is not losing the fight against the Islamic State radical group in Iraq and Syria, but he acknowledged that it will be necessary to intensify the training of Sunni militias in some zones to support Iraqi military forces.

“I don’t think we’re losing. There’s no doubt there was a tactical setback, although Ramadi had been vulnerable for a very long time,” Obama said in an interview with news magazine The Atlantic, a few days after the Iraqi city of Ramadi was overrun by IS fighters.

US Ambassador to India, Richard Verma, on Thursday said that the relationship between New Delhi and Washington is ‘unprecedented’.

“A very positive trajectory as the way we are going. I am really optimistic about where we are going in key areas, in trade and economics, in climate and clean energy, in science, space and health and so many different areas. So, we are now cooperating not only in South Asia, but our doctors and health experts are now working in African countries. We are talking about maritime cooperation not just in South Asia, but in the Asia Pacific,” said Verma.

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal regained the number one spot in the latest single’s ranking released by Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday.

The Olympic bronze medalist overthrew Li Xuerui of China, who is now at the second spot.

Nehwal secured the number one position for the first time last month. But she slipped from the desirable position subsequently.

She has won two titles this year -India Open Super series and India Grand Prix Gold, and also reached the final of the prestigious All England Open, which is a Super Series Premier event.

Not an inch of land acquired under the new land acquisition act will be given to corporates, BJP president Amit Shah said on Thursday.

Speaking at the ‘Manthan’ conclave of Aaj Tak, he said: “Not an inch of land will be given to corporate or private sector, only projects under state or central government will get land for development.”

“No one is stopping corporate from getting land.. (but) government will not acquire it for them. If they want land, they must buy it from farmer and give the price farmers want,” he said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that an incomplete passport application was received from Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani, adding that the application cannot be processed in its present form.

MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup took to Twitter to share the information.

The Narendra Modi government has restored the dignity of prime minister’s office and has given a government that is visible, BJP president Amit Shah said on Thursday.

“We have changed the atmosphere since this government has come to power. We have made new beginnings in every sector,” Shah said at ‘Manthan’ conclave organised by news channel Aaj Tak.

“This is a visible and decisive government. Whether it is flood in Kashmir, earthquake in Nepal, of some fishermen are sentenced to death in Sri Lanka, this govrnment is visible… Modi has given a government that is visible,” he said.

After watching A.B. de Villiers from close quarters as he smashed a 38 ball 66 against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League Eliminator on Wednesday night, Mandeep Singh says he has learnt a lot from the South African including how to keep one’s head still while playing a shot.

“There are a lot of things that I try to do like A.B. I want to have my head still the way he does in each shot. I have learnt a lot from him already and whatever he has taught me, I have straightaway incorporated those things in my game.

US Ambassador Richard R. Verma on Thursday exhorted students to listen to their parents, “no matter what your position in life”, and not to forget their roots.

“No matter where or when you are, no matter your position in life, always listen to your parents!” Verma said while addressing students and the faculty at the DAV College Commencement Ceremony, his father’s alma mater, here.

Separatist Kashmiri leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani should declare he is an Indian to get a passport, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Thursday.

“If he wants to apply for a passport, he will have to fill the form and declare he is Indian,” said the minister at the ‘Manthan’ conclave organised by TV channel Aaj Tak.

“That will be the first round of victory… all separatists should be made to apply for a passport,” he said.

Geelani has applied for a passport along with his wife and son so that they can visit his ailing daughter in Saudi Arabia.

–IANS

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Thursday said the Jammu and Kashmir government will soon begin negotiations with Kashmiri Pandit leaders to ensure their return to the valley with safety and dignity.

“Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed also wants composite townships should come up for Kashmiri Pandits. Pandit leaders have been called to meet the chief minister and the deputy chief minister to discuss the issue,” Ram Madhav said.

All 1.55 lakh branches of post offices across the country will be digitised and connected through a single network, Kavery Banerjee, secretary of department of posts, said here on Thursday.

Banerjee inaugurated a two-day conference of heads of circles of post offices of the country. Heads of all the 22 circles of postal services are participating in the conference.

She said: “We are trying to provide facilities of core banking solutions (CBS) at the post offices.”

Documents declassified by the US have revealed that terror group Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden — once the world’s most wanted militant — remained immersed in books and was a meticulous editor during his final years of hiding in Pakistan.

The Biju Janata Dal government in Odisha on Thursday completed one year of its fourth consecutive term in office, triggering another round of claims and counter-claims on its achievements.

While the opposition Congress alleged that the state government has “failed on all fronts” and the Bharatiya Janata Party too criticised Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the ruling party claimed that the government was delivering on its promises.

A Delhi court on Thursday directed the police to complete its investigation in the alleged sexual harassment case against TERI Director General R.K. Pachauri by July 16.

“We just got to know that July 17 has been set for final hearing. He doesn’t have the permission to join TERI office. The court has ordered the police to complete its investigation as soon as possible,” Prashant Mendiratta, the victim’s lawyer, told ANI.

The Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress party on Thursday paid tributes here to Rajiv Gandhi, the late party leader and former prime minister.

State Congress president E.V.K.S. Elangovan and leaders like M. Krishnaswamy, S. Thirunavukkarasar, legislator Vijayadharani, Jayakumar, Gopanna and others paid floral tributes before a portrait of Rajiv Gandhi at the party headquarters here.

The leaders also garlanded Rajiv Gandhi’s statue here.

Data from four Asian markets, released by the Telenor Group, indicates senior citizens are not fully receiving the benefits of mobile internet, while out of the total mobile phone users in India, only 6 percent are over 50 years of age.

“A demographic breakdown shows that only 10 percent of Uninor’s subscribers in India are over 45 years of age. Meanwhile, of the total mobile phone users in India, only 6 percent are over 50 years of age,” a company statement said here on Thursday.

Uninor is a fully-owned subsidiary of Norway-based Telenor Group.

Washington has threatened “not to sign” a final nuclear agreement with Tehran unless the Iranian government gives access to its possible military dimension-related sites and nuclear scientists.

“If we don’t get the assurances we need on the access to possible military dimension-related sites or activities, that’s going to be a problem for us,” State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said on Wednesday in Washington.

“We and Iran have agreed that we will undertake a process to address possible military dimensions (of past nuclear work), and part of that includes access,” Harf said.

Ousted AAP leader Yogendra Yadav on Thursday said that the ongoing friction between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung would hamper the valid demand of full statehood for Delhi and have a negative effect.

UNICEF has recently launched the # babiesneedyou campaign to put a spotlight on the cause of routine immunisation as more than 400,000 babies succumb to vaccine preventable diseases every year in India.

This campaign, which urges parents and citizens alike to prioritize vaccination, lends active support to Mission Indradhanush, an initiative by the Government of India and its partners UNICEF and WHO that aims to immunise all children against seven fatal diseases, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B, by the year 2020.