Indian Sub-continent

NEW DELHI, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Amid the ongoing protests against the Indian government's new recruitment policy for armed forces, the defense ministry said on Sunday that the scheme would not be rolled back.

"No, why should there be a rollback?" Lt. Gen. Anil Puri, additional secretary in the defense ministry, said at a press briefing when answering a question on whether the government was reviewing or rolling back the scheme because of the protests.

KABUL, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's central bank, the Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), said Sunday it would further inject 12 million U.S. dollars into the local market to boost the national currency afghani.

The DAB said in a statement that it was requesting all eligible banks and monetary service providers to participate in the auction scheduled for Monday.

"In auction bids, partial settlement of currencies is not allowed and the winners of the auction must deposit in the Da Afghanistan Bank their money at one time in cash," the statement said.

Kanpur: A college student from Kanpur staged his own kidnapping after losing money for his fees in an online game.

The first-year BSc student, named Shivshankar, also demanded a ransom of Rs 1 lakh from his family.

Student's family informed the police, which found him within 24 hours.

This incident took place in the Mangalpur Jaitipur village of Kanpur where Shivshankar's parents gave him Rs 30,000 to pay coaching fee and buy books.

But he lost the money on online gaming and later staged his own abduction to extract money from the family members.

Kanpur: A heart-wrenching incident came to light in Shyam Nagar of the Chakeri police station area on Sunday evening. An elderly man with mental psychosis took his family hostage and nibbled the police for hours.

After hours of effort, the police finally overpowered him and arrested him.

Locals and family members say that the mental balance of the elderly was not good. Treatment was going on. The incident happened because of not taking medicine on Sunday, as was allegedly reported.

Kolkata, Jun 20 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed the BJP-led central government over the Agnipath' scheme, alleging that the saffron camp was trying to create its own "armed cadre base through the new defence recruitment programme.

Terming the scheme as an insult to the armed forces, Banerjee also wondered whether the BJP plans to hire Agniveer' soldiers as "watchmen" at its party offices, after their four-year service period.

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Floods in Bangladesh continued to wreak havoc Monday with authorities struggling to ferry drinking water and dry food to flood shelters across the country’s vast northern and northeastern regions, officials and local media said.

More than a dozen people died across the country since the monsoon began last week, authorities said. The government called in soldiers Friday to help evacuate people.

Ekattor TV station said millions remained without electricity.

ISLAMABAD, Jun 19 (APP): Ambassador of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan Ulanbek Totuiaev on Sunday said that the bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan would not only increase the trade volume between the two countries but also act as a catalyst for regional economic integration.

NEW DELHI, Jun 19 (NNN-PTI) – India’s federal telecom minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said, 5G deployment will begin in the country from Aug to Sept, this year.

“In 2022, we are going to start the deployment of 5G from Aug to Sept. But what is more important is, at the same time, complete 4G and 5G technology stacks have been developed in the country and tested for a billion calls simultaneously,” Vaishnaw said.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack on a Sikh temple in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul that killed at least one worshipper and wounded seven others.

IS made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website late Saturday. It said the assault on “the Sikh and Hindu temple” was in response to alleged insults made against the Prophet Muhammad, the central figure of the Islamic religion, by an Indian government official. It did not name the official.

GAUHATI, India (AP) — Massive flooding and mudslides in northeastern India’s Assam state have claimed eight more lives, officials said Sunday, taking the death toll to 62 from weeks of heavy rains that caused one of Asia’s largest rivers to overflow.

Assam’s disaster management agency said 32 of the state’s 35 districts were underwater as the swollen Brahmaputra River broke its banks, displacing more than 3 million people. The Indian army was called in for rescue efforts and the air force remained on standby.