Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) The Supreme Court Friday agreed to hear the plea of 21 opposition leaders, led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, seeking that VVPAT slips of at least 50 per cent of voting machines in each assembly constituency be checked randomly in the Lok Sabha elections.

The leaders from six national and 15 regional parties, claiming to represent 70-75 per cent of the population, have also sought the setting aside of the Election Commission of India (EC) guideline on random verification of one assembly seat.

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) State-run telecom firm BSNL said Friday the pending February salaries of its 1.76 lakh employees have been cleared.

The company also announced the launch of various schemes to increase its market share and revenue.

Kota (Rajasthan) Mar 15 (PTI) A 30-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment by a POCSO court for sodomising a 12-year-old boy in a village in Kota district, an official said Friday.

Munesh, a resident of Takarwara village, was given life in jail by judge Girish Agarwal on Thursday, Special Public Prosecutor Kamalkant Sharma said.

A fine of Rs 70,000 was also imposed on the convict.

Munesh on June 9, 2017 had lured the boy to an isolated place near Jhadol village and sexually harassed him.

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) AAP workers led by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, sat on a protest outside the Election Commission on Friday, alleging "politically motivated and illegal" raids were being conducted on a call centre hired by the party to make people aware that their names had been deleted from voters' lists.

After sitting for over three hours outside the Election Commission in protest, Sisodia and Lok Sabha candidates Atishi and Raghav Chadha were called by the Election Commission to hold a joint meeting with police officials.

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday finalised the seat-sharing agreement with the Apna Dal (Sonelal), which will contest in two Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

BJP president Amit Shah announced the agreement on Twitter, saying that Apna Dal (S) leader and Union minister Anupriya Patel would again contest from Mirzapur.

Gangtok Mar 15 (PTI) The Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) on Friday called off its nascent alliance with the BJP and decided to contest all assembly seats and the lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim.

"The SKM will field candidates on all 32 assembly seats and lone Lok Sabha seat in Sikkim," the SKM spokesperson Sonam Bhutia said.

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) India will host the U-17 Women's World Cup in 2020, International Football Federation (FIFA) President Gianni Infantino announced.

"We are delighted to announce that India has been confirmed as the host of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2020," Infantino said after the FIFA Council meeting in Miami, USA on Friday.

This will be the second FIFA tournament India will be hosting, after the U-17 Men's World Cup in 2017.

ISLAMABAD, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan launched the country's new online visa system here on Thursday to soften, simplify and quicken the visa process to facilitate visit by foreign tourists and business people.

Addressing the launching ceremony, the prime minister said new visa system is a significant change in Pakistan's policy which will speed up the visa process to open Pakistan's doors to the world, making it more accessible to tourists and investors from across the globe.

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) Nobody has hurt India's global reputation and credibility more than the Modi government, the Congress alleged on Friday after over 100 economists and social scientists expressed concerns over "political interference" in statistical data in the country.

As many as 108 economists and social scientists Thursday called for restoration of "institutional independence" and integrity of statistical organisations.

Mumbai, Mar 14 (PTI) A debt-ridden policeman allegedly hanged himself to death at his house in Amravati district of Maharashtra, apparently as he did not get salary for two months and was unable to send money to his son studying in Pune, police said on Thursday.

Assistant sub-inspector of police (ASI) Ramsingh Gulabsingh Chavan, 56, committed suicide on Monday in Chaparashipura locality in Amravati city, an official said.

Police recovered a suicide note later, in which Chavan has blamed Amravati police commissioner and deputy police commissioner for the drastic step.