India

3 November 2019; AFP: India's capital New Delhi was enveloped in heavy, toxic smog Sunday -- the worst levels in recent years -- with flights diverted or delayed as politicians blamed each other for failing to tackle the crisis.

Every winter, the megacity of 20 million people is blanketed by a poisonous smog of car fumes, industrial emissions and smoke from stubble burning at farms in neighbouring states.

Mumbai, Nov 2 (PTI) Amid uncertainty over government formation in Maharashtra, MNS president Raj Thackeray on Saturday met NCP chief Sharad Pawar at the latter's residence here.

It was a brief, 10-minute meeting, MNS sources said.

The political impasse in the state continues after Assembly election results were announced on October 24, with victorious allies BJP and Shiv Sena bickering over chief minister's post.

New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) The Babri Masjid could have been saved if there was political will to act and the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao did not accept a comprehensive contingency plan of the Home Ministry prepared before the demolition, claims Madhav Godbole who was the Union home secretary that time.

If political initiative had been taken at the prime minister's level, the Mahabharata of this Ramayana could have been avoided, he says in his new book on the Ayodhya dispute.

Lakhimpur Kheri (UP), Nov 3 (PTI) A journalist working with a Hindi daily was shot and seriously injured by two unidentified assailants in Devuapar village of the district, police said on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday when the 46-year-old Ramesh Mishra was on his way back home from Khamaria town where he runs a medical store, they said.

MUMBAI, Nov 2 (NNN-PTI) – Mumbai airport runway will be partially closed for renovation, from Nov 4 till Mar for a major rehabilitation and re-carpeting work.

During this period, the shorter secondary runway will be available for normal flight operations, said the statement, issued by the airport.

“As per the revised date, RWY 09/27 will not be available for aircraft operations from Nov 4, 2019, up to Mar 28, 2020, from Mondays to Saturdays, between 09:30 to 17:30 (local time),” said the statement.

Gwalior (MP), Nov 2 (PTI) A court here has sentenced three people to life imprisonment for the repeated rape of a five-year-old girl and also imposed a fine of Rs 99,000 on the convicts, a major part of which will be given to the survivor.

Special judge Archana Singh convicted on Friday three persons, including the minor's sister, brother-in-law and a neighbour, for rape and under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, public prosecutor Anil Mishra said on Saturday.

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - More than 100 migrant workers from India’s Kashmir will be moved after a spate of killings by suspected separatist militants underlined the threat to outsiders in the restive region.

Senior officials working for the chief minister of the eastern state of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, said on Saturday she decided to move the workers out of Kashmir to prevent them from becoming a potential target for militant groups who the government says have intensified attacks on civilians belonging to states except Kashmir.

Panaji, Nov 1 (PTI) The economy is headed for serious stagnation which is reflected by the RBI lowering GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal, the Congress said on Friday, while also questioning the government's "data integrity".

Speaking to the media here, Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha said the government is in a deep sleep "like Rip Van Winkle", the famous fairytale character.

"The Reserve Bank itself has lowered India's GDP growth forecast for 2019-20 to 6.1 percent which will be the lowest in last six years," he said.

New Delhi, Nov 2 (PTI) German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday pledged to invest 1 billion euros over the next five years on environmentally-friendly urban mobility in India.

Merkel, whose visit to the country coincided with one of the worst spells of air pollution in Delhi/NCR, also emphasised on the need to replace diesel-run public transport with electric vehicles.

"We have agreed to co-operate on climate protection and green urban mobility and have earmarked 1 billion euros towards this," Merkel said at an event here.

Samastipur (Bihar), Nov 1 (PTI) A police officer has been arrested for allegedly sexually harassing a girl in an inebriated state at a police station in Bihar's Samastipur district.

Confirming the incident, Dalsinghsarai sub-division Deputy Superintendent of Police Kundan Kumar said the accused police officer, Vedanand Choudhary, was forwarded to Samastipur divisional jail on Friday.