Indian Sub-continent

Phulbani (Odisha), Apr 17 (PTI) Maoists gunned down a woman polling officer in Kandhamal district of Odisha Wednesday when she was taking a team of poll personnel to a booth on the eve of second phase election, police said.

Sector Officer Sanjukta Digal was shot dead when she got down from the vehicle to check a suspicious object lying on the road while passing through a jungle, DGP B K Sharma told PTI.

Other polling personnel were in the vehicle and were unhurt.

Bengaluru, Apr 17 (PTI) Employment opportunities declined and five million men lost their jobs between 2016 and 2018, according to a report released by the city-based Azim Premji University.

The decline in job opportunities coincided with demonetisation in November 2016, although no direct causal relationship can be established based only on these trends, the State of Working India-2019 (SWI) report said.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) Top Indian grappler Bajrang Punia regained the world number one spot in the men's 65kg freestyle category in the rankings issued by United World Wrestling on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old Indian, who won gold in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games as well as a silver in the World Championships last year, secured 58 ranking points ahead of Akhmed Chakaev of Russia, who has 21 points in his kitty.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) A 50-year-old man was arrested Wednesday in Dwarka's Najafgarh for allegedly raping his minor niece on multiple occasions, police said.

The 13-year-old girl approached police on Tuesday and narrated her ordeal, they said.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) A defamation complaint has been filed against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a Bulandshahr court over his remarks why all "thieves" share the "Modi" surname.

Citing Gandhi's statement, which was made at a public meeting and carried widely in the media, Jagdeep Kumar Modi, a resident of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, filed the complaint on Monday.

He said Gandhi's comment during a rally had dealt a blow to his and his family's reputation as many people made fun of him.

Bhubaneswar, Apr 17 (PTI) The Election Commission Wednesday suspended an officer posted as general observer in Odisha for allegedly checking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's helicopter in Sambalpur in violation of norms.

Mohammed Mohsin, a 1996-batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, has not acted in conformity with the EC's instructions concerning Special Protection Group (SPG) protectees, according to an order issued by the commission.

Mumbai, Apr 17 (PTI) Teetering for over four months due to cash-drought, Jet Airways, flying for over 25 years, Wednesday said its last flight will takeoff later this night, after its lenders refused to offer a Rs 400-crore lifeline.

"With immediate effect, we are compelled to cancel all our international and domestic flights. The last flight will operate today," Jet Airways informed the exchanges.

New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) Polling began Thursday morning for 95 Lok Sabha seats spread across 11 states and the union territory of Puducherry with Tamil Nadu witnessing contest in 38 constituencies.

Voting was also underway in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha and in 18 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu.

Kolkata, Apr 16 (PTI) Consul general of China in Kolkata, Zha Liyou said on Tuesday that his country is keen on balanced trade with India as it is always beneficial and inclusive.

There is greater need for boosting trade and investment between the two countries, he said on economic ties between the two countries.

New Delhi, Apr 16 (PTI) Jet Airways has sought emergency funds from banks and is currently operating only five planes, Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said Tuesday.

The cash-strapped airline has already suspended its international operations till April 18.

Separately, the civil aviation ministry would convene meetings of representatives of airlines and airports on April 18 to discuss capacity expansion, rising airfares and other issues.