Indian Sub-continent

Kanpur: Chidanandamayi, the alleged victim of sexual abuse who became a disciple of Prakhar Maharaj, addressed the media on the matter today. While defending her guru, she has accused her own parents of conspiring.

She has denied the sexual abuse and rejected being held hostage forcefully. The disciple has demanded protection from the administration, stating the threat to her life from her family members.

She said that she will go to the High Court demanding action for her safety from her family.

COLOMBO, April 6 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not resign, a minister said on Wednesday, despite demonstrations against his handling of the country's worst economic crisis in decades and as doctors held street protests over a shortage of medicine.

Rajapaksa, governing the South Asian island nation since 2019 with other family members in top positions, revoked a state of emergency late on Tuesday after five days as dozens of lawmakers walked out of the ruling coalition, leaving his government in a minority. 

KABUL, April 6 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were wounded in a hand grenade explosion inside a big mosque in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on Wednesday, sources said.

"A man hurled a hand grenade inside Pul-e Khishti Mosque at mid-day. As a result, six people were wounded," the Afghan Ministry of Interior wrote on Twitter.

The wounded were shifted to hospitals and a suspected man has been arrested, according to the ministry.

The official report spelled no further details.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A rare video has appeared of al-Qaida’s chief praising an Indian Muslim woman who in February defied a ban on wearing the traditional headscarf, or hijab. The footage is the first proof in months that the man who was once Osama bin Laden’s No. 2 is still alive.

Rumors of the death of Ayman al-Zawahri have persistently circulated, but in a video released Tuesday and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, the reclusive al-Qaida chief praises Muskan Khan who defied a ban on the wearing of the hijab in schools in India’s southwestern state of Karnataka.

Srinagar, 6 April 2022: Two Kashmiris were killed by Indian security forces in Tral area of Pulwama district on Wednesday of the Indian Administered Kashmir, Indian officials said.

Slain Kashmiris were identified as Safat Muzaffar Sofi  and Umer Teli alias Talha.

Jammu, Apr 6 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has given six weeks to the government to identify immigrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh who are illegally staying in the Union Territory.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi passed the order on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Hunar Gupta seeking deportation of such illegal immigrants.

Colombo, Apr 6 (PTI) Sri Lanka's ongoing political turmoil triggered by the country's unprecedented economic crisis can be ended with a snap election, veteran left-wing politician Vasudeva Nanayakkara said on Wednesday, emphasising that there must be a government with everyone participating in it for at least 6 months before the polls are held.

Democratic Left Front politician Nanayakkara was among the 42 members who declared independence in Parliament from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition.

Washington, Apr 6 (PTI) India is unlikely to follow the American advice on pursuing an alternative option to defence and energy procurement from Russia, a leading American global strategy and commercial diplomacy firm said Tuesday.

In a report on India, the prestigious Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG) said that it has heard from involved officials that there is disappointment with India's neutral approach to Russia.

Lucknow, Apr 5 (PTI) Asserting that Uttar Pradesh has huge potential for development, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said his government's aim is to make it the number one state in the country.

At the presentation of a 100-day action plan of the government, the chief minister said that a comprehensive framework should be made for achieving this target, according to an official release issued here.

He asked all departments to prepare a detailed and practical action plan by setting the targets for 100 days, six months and a year.

Bengaluru, Apr 6 (PTI) More than four years after journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by motorcycle-borne men outside her house here, the trial in the case is set to start from May 27, the prosecution lawyer said.

The hearing of the case had not started yet. It will start now from May 27, senior advocate S Balan told PTI.

According to him, more than 60 lawyers were engaged initially by the accused, and their petitions delayed commencement of the trial.