India

Nandigram (WB), Mar 31 (PTI) The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in Nandigram assembly constituency in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district, a day ahead of the high- stakes elections here, a senior official said.

Besides, the EC has also started air surveillance in the area with the help of a helicopter, he said.

People who are not voters of Nandigram are not being allowed to enter the constituency in view of the sensitivity, he added.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is unlikely to bind itself to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal by 2050, government sources told Reuters, despite diplomatic pressure from the United States and Britain to do so to help slow global warming.

India is the world’s third-biggest carbon emitter after China and the United States and thus is vital in the fight against climate change currently focused on reaching zero emissions by mid century or thereabouts.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An Indian border state has withdrawn an order to refuse food and shelter to people from Myanmar fleeing bloodshed, two officials told Reuters on Tuesday, after the measure drew fierce public criticism.

More than 1,000 people, including Myanmar policemen and their families, have crossed into India since late February, most of them into the northeastern state of Mizoram, where the local government and civil society groups have supported them.

New Delhi, Mar 30 (PTI) The TMC has written to the Election Commission alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Bangladesh violated the model code of conduct in place for the West Bengal Assembly polls and some of his programmes there "intended to influence the voting pattern" in certain constituencies of the state.

The letter dated March 28 was released by the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday.

Srinagar, Mar 30 (PTI) The passport application of Gulshan Nazir, wife of former Union home minister and two-time Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, has been rejected following an adverse police report.

According to a letter sent to Nazir, who is the mother of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, the Regional Passport office informed her that the Jammu and Kashmir Police's CID department has not cleared her passport application under section 6 (2) (c) of the Passports Act.

New Delhi, Mar 30 (PTI) A BJP functionary hanged himself at a park in west Delhi's Hari Nagar over a family dispute, police said on Tuesday.

Gurvinder Singh (58), a resident of Fateh Nagar, was head of the Legal Department of the BJP's West Delhi district unit.

Singh's body was found hanging at Jheel Wala Park on Monday, following a minor dispute with his family, a senior police officer said.

His son Ishwender Singh reached the spot and identified the body which was later sent for postmortem, the police added.

Srinagar, Mar 30 (PTI) National Conference president and Lok Sabha member from Srinagar Farooq Abdullah has tested positive for COVID-19, his son Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday.

Omar urged everyone who came in contact with his father recently to get tested.

"My father has tested positive for COVID-19 & is showing some symptoms," Omar, who is also vice president of the party, said in a tweet.

Imphal, Mar 30 (PTI) The Manipur government issued a circular to the Deputy Commissioners of districts bordering Myanmar not to open camps to provide food and shelter to refugees fleeing the neighbouring country after the coup but withdrew it three days later to avoid potential public anger.

In the advisory issued to the DCs of Chandel, Tengoupal, Kamjong, Ukhrul and Churachandpur on March 26, Special Secretary (Home) H Gyan Prakash also asked them to stop Aadhaar enrolment exercise.

Kasaragod(Ker), Mar 30 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday dubbed as "shameful" and "utter lie" Union Minister Piyush Goyal's dismissal as "wrong" the reports that two nuns and two postulants belonging to a Kerala-based congregation were attacked during a trainjourney in UP recently.

Vijayan's reaction comes a day after the Union Minister had rejected the charge that the nuns and two others were "attacked" in Jhansi by some Bajrang Dal activists and said the Kerala CM was "making false statements" on the issue.

Ballia (UP), Mar 30 (PTI) A statue of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar was found damaged at a village here, leading to a protest by members of the local Dalit community, police said on Tuesday.

The statue in Khunta village was vandalised by some "anti-social elements" in the early hours of Monday, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Bilthara Road, Sarvesh Yadav said.

The SDM and police officials pacified the protesters, assuring that a new statue would be installed at the earliest.