Indian Sub-continent

By Sajjad Hussain

Islamabad, Aug 20 (PTI) Pakistan's new Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi today extended the hand of friendship to India soon after taking oath by offering "uninterrupted" dialogue to resolve all the outstanding issues, saying it is the "only wise course" as the two countries cannot afford any "adventurism".

After the swearing-in ceremony at the President House, Qureshi went to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and addressed media.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called upon the people to reflect on how to work together and contribute in arresting "disturbing trends" of intolerance, communal polarisation and incidents of violent crimes propelled by hate groups and mobs being witnessed in the country.

Addressing the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award function, he said such "unsavoury" trends can only harm national interests and are an anathema to the promotion of peace and communal harmony.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written to his newly elected Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan, conveying New Delhi's commitment to pursue "meaningful" and "constructive" engagement with Islamabad and emphasising the need to work for a terror-free South Asia, official sources said today.

In a letter to Khan on August 18, the day he was sworn in as Pakistan's 22nd prime minister, Modi also expressed India's commitment to building good neighbourly relations between the two countries while congratulating him, the sources said.

Patna, Aug 19 (PTI) Sexual abuse, varying in forms and degree of intensity, was prevalent in almost all shelter homes in Bihar, a TISS report made public by the Bihar

government has found.

The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), which had conducted social audit of short stay homes across Bihar, has found certain institutions "stood out in a manner that was appalling".

The state government had commissioned audit by the TISS in 2017 and the report was submitted to the Social Welfare Department in April this year.

Shahjahanpur (UP), Aug 19 (PTI) Police have registered a case against three men for allegedly raping and threatening a 20-year-old married woman here, officials said today.

On August 11, one of the accused, Jitu, called the woman to meet him threatening to upload her sleazy photographs on social media. He also blackmailed to forward the pictures to her in-laws, Station House officer of Allahaganj Police Station Avneesh Kumar Yadav said today.

There, two men - Ramesh Gupta and Sumit - raped her, he said.

Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh: A group of farmers rounded up about 500 feral cows and herded them into SDM’s compound in Vidisha, Madya Pradesh. The whole village was on the road, rounding up the feral cows roaming in the farms, villages and the on the road.

The watchman tried to close the gates when he saw farmers herding the cows towards Tahseel compound.  But the angry farmers forced open the gates and pushed the cows through into the compound.

Mumbai, 17 Aug 2018: Arround 2000 protesters have marched in Mumbai to show their support for three Hindutva terrorists in Police custody.

Three terrorists, Vaibhav Raut 40, Sharad Kalaskar 25 and Sudhanav Ghondalekar 39 were arrested by Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Friday for making bombs with the intention to use it on Iduzzuha (Bakra-eid) day, to fan communal riots and hatred.

Aurangabad, Maharashtra: Syed Mateen Rashid, a member of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, opposed a resolution in the municipal corporation to pay tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The 32-year-old Rashid, an AIMIM corporator,  was allegedly thrashed by BJP corporators for opposing the condolence motion, which he thinks has the right to do. A video clip purportedly showing Rashid being kicked, punched and slapped by BJP corporators has gone viral on social media.

Two of the three Hidutva terrorists arrested in Mumbai on Friday are allegedly affiliated to radical Hindu groups.

Three arrested by Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) are Vaibhav Raut (40), Sudhanwa Gondhalekar (39) and Sharad Kasalkar (25).

By RAHIM FAIEZ

KABUL, Afghanistan; 18 Aug 2018; (AP) — The leader of the Taliban said Saturday there will be no peace in Afghanistan as long as the foreign “occupation” continues, reiterating the group’s position that the 17-year war can only be brought to an end through direct talks with the United States.

In a message released in honor of the Eid al-Adha holiday, Maulvi Haibatullah Akhunzadah said the group remains committed to “Islamic goals,” the sovereignty of Afghanistan and ending the war.