Indian Sub-continent

Pune, Mar 11 (PTI) NCP chief Sharad Pawar Monday said he will not contest next month's Lok Sabha election.

The 78-year-old veteran politician said as two members of his family are going to contest the polls, "somebody had to step back."

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the NCP chief's decision to pull out from poll fray was because he had "sensed the change in the air".

New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) Cash-strapped Jet Airways said Monday it is not operating any of the five Boeing 737 MAX in its fleet.

The statement of the airline, which has grounded a significant number of planes, comes amid aviation regulator DGCA being asked to undertake a safety assessment of 737 MAX aircraft following the crash of such a plane in Ethiopia on Sunday.

Jhabua (MP), Mar 11 (PTI) A 20-year-old man was Monday arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district, police said.

Accused Raju Ninama had Saturday told the 13-year-old girl, a Class VII student and inmate of a hostel here, that her father wanted to talk to her, Inspector Aarti Chrate of Meghnagar police station said.

"Since the accused was known to the victim, she rode pillion on his motorcycle on Saturday. However, Ninama took the victim to his uncle's house and raped her," the official said.

Kota, Mar 11 (PTI) A 30-year-old married woman from Rajasthan's Jhalawar district was abducted and raped for over 20 days by a family acquaintance from a neighbouring village, police said Monday.

The accused, Shanti Lal Mehar from Bandi village, held the victim captive at different spots in Jhalawar as well as neighbouring Gujarat, police said.

The woman was freed by the accused on Sunday and after narrating the ordeal to her husband, she lodged an FIR at the Khanpur Police Station, sub inspector Surendra Singh said.

Ranchi, Mar 11 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer L. Khiangte Monday said that it is mandatory for candidates filing nominations for the Lok Sabha elections in the state to disclose criminal cases against them through print/electronic media two days ahead of their nomination.

An election office press statement quoting Khiangte said that two days ahead of filing nominations, the candidates should give details about cases/conviction, if any, details through print and electronic media.

New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi on Monday and thanked him for inviting India to address the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

The prime minister and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces expressed happiness over the growing strength of all-round bilateral cooperation.

New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) Days after visiting Islamabad, Saudi State Minister for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir on Monday held extensive talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here with a focus on deepening cooperation to combat terrorism.

It is learnt that the recent Indo-Pak tensions triggered by Pulwama attack and India's subsequent air strike on a terrorist training camp in Pakistan also came up during the meeting.

During his four-and-a-half-hour visit, Jubeir also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed bilateral issues, officials said.

Bhopal, Mar 12 (PTI) The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has appointed self-styled godman NamdevTyagi, also known as Computer Baba, as chairman of a river trust in the state, an official said on Tuesday.

The state spiritual department passed the order of appointing Tyagi as head of the 'Ma Narmada, Ma Kshipra and Ma Mandakini Rivers Trust' a few days back, just before the model code of conduct for Lok Sabha polls came into effect, he said.

New Delhi, Mar 11 (PTI) The choice is between Mahatma Gandhi's India or Godse's India with love on one hand and hate on the other, Congress president Rahul Gandhi told his party's booth workers here on Monday, a day after the Lok Sabha elections were announced.

In an all out attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi flayed him on a host of issues such as the Rafale deal, employment generation, national security and alleged agrarian distress.

11 Mar 2019; AFP: Vishal Chowdhary is young, bright and armed with an MBA. But he has spent two years struggling to find work in India's sluggish jobs market -- a major headache for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of looming elections.

The government's failure to create enough jobs in Asia's third-biggest economy is a key issue for voters in the polls that are set to take place between April 11 and May 19 with results on May 23.