India

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) Rahul Gandhi is "our leader" and should return as the president of the Congress, senior party leader Salman Khurshid has said, days after he remarked that the party was not able to introspect its Lok Sabha poll debacle as "its leader had walked away" after the election.

The Congress had seemingly disapproved Khurshid's "walked away" remarks with party spokesperson Pawan Khera saying people should avoid making side comments and work towards exposing the BJP government's follies instead.

New Delhi, Oct 12 (PTI) A joint military exercise Dharma-Guardian 2019 will be conducted between India and Japan at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte in Mizoram from October 19 to November 2, an official statement said.

The Indian Army and the Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF), comprising 25 soldiers each, will participate in the exercise with an aim to share experience gained during various counter-terrorism operations in respective countries.

The exercise is an annual training event which is being conducted in India since 2018.

Gurgaon, Oct 12 (PTI) Two unidentified man posing as police officers allegedly stole over Rs 4.50 lakh from the wallet of two Iraqi nationals in Gurgaon, officials said.

Karwan Taha Mohhammed, along with his friend, had come here for the treatment of his brother at a private hospital.

They were returning to their guest house in an auto when the fraudsters in a white car intercepted their vehicle near Kanhai traffic intersection.

Banda, Oct 13 (PTI) A 55-year-old debt-ridden farmer allegedly committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba district after his crops were damaged due to excessive rains, an official said on Sunday.

Sureshchandra Tiwari consumed a poisonous substance in his agricultural field in Kulpahar area on Saturday, Tehsildar Subodhmani Sharma said.

Tiwari was rushed to a primary health centre, where he was declared dead, the official said.

Barabanki, Oct 13 (PTI) A local court here sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping a three-year-old girl.

The court also imposed Rs 1 lakh fine on him.

Assistant Government Advocate Shekhar Verma said on Sunday that Sanjay Dom-- a resident of Tikaitnagar Police Station area-- lured the girl and took her towards an old hospital where he raped her on February 23, 2015.

Delhi, 13 Oct 2019, (UMMn): PM Narendra Modi's niece Damayanti Ben Modi got her purse snatched Saturday by two unidentified bike-borne thieves in North Delhi's Civil Lines.

As Damayanti arrived at Civil Lines from Old Delhi Railway Station, the robbers came and snatched her purse after she got down from the auto-rickshaw, police said.

MAMALLAPURAM, India (Reuters) - India and China will set up a mechanism to tackle India’s galloping trade deficit with the world’s second-biggest economy, a top Indian diplomat said on Saturday, following summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping.

Xi, who is visiting India, and Modi held several hours of one-on-one talks in a southern seaside Indian town, during which they discussed a range of economic issues, including India’s $53 billion trade deficit with China in 2018/19, and ways to tackle it.

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - At least five people were injured in a grenade attack in India-controlled Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar on Saturday, police said, the second such attack since India stripped the Himalayan region of its special status.

“Terrorists lobbed a grenade at HSH Street Srinagar,” Kashmir police said on Twitter. “All (injured) are stated to be stable. Area under cordon,” it said, adding that a search operation was underway.

Srinagar, Oct 12 (PTI) Restrictions on movement of people have been lifted in "over 99 per cent" areas of Jammu and Kashmir, state government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters here, he asserted that the curbs were necessary to prevent "externally-aided terrorists" from disturbing peace in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of abrogation of the state's special status under Article 370 in August.

He also said the cases of those who were detained, including political leaders, were being reviewed by the government for their release.

Chennai, Oct 12 (PTI) Chinese President Xi Jinping left for Nepal on Saturday by an Air China aircraft, concluding his second informal summit with Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi, which has signalled a recalibration of bilateral ties.

Xi, wrapped up his about 24-hour stay during which he visited Mamallapuram near here and held informal talks with the Prime Minster. Also, delegation level talks were held.