LIVE news updates: Huge quantity of ‘explosive materials’ recovered in Guwahati

The managing director of a leading sweet shop was arrested on Thursday for allegedly cheating job aspirants in his shop of Rs 30 lakh, police said.

TSR Balachandran had advertised seeking to fill managers and accountants posts in his shop and a large number of youth and retired persons applied, the police said.

He allegedly collected between Rs 30,000 and Rs one lakh from nearly 160 aspirants and did not offer them the jobs, they said.

A day after a grenade blast injured 12 persons, Guwahati Police on Thursday recovered huge amount of suspected explosive materials along with arms and ammunition from a house.

A couple has also been taken into custody for interrogation in this regard, police sources said.

Police started search operations at the house in Panjabari locality of the city and recovered large quantities of materials used in making bombs, arms and ammunition, a laptop and other incriminating goods, they said.

A forensic team has also reached the spot and is carrying out investigation.

Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM) chief Shah Faesal on Thursday condoled the death of a youth, who was injured during protests at Pattan area against the rape of a three-year-old girl, and appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and tranquillity.

The former IAS officer, while conveying his heartfelt condolences to the family of Arshad Hussain Dar, said the protests for getting justice for the rape victim could have been better handled and this loss of precious life and public property was avoidable.

Dar succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Srinagar late Wednesday night,  the officials said.

A Delhi court on Thursday allowed former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar's brother-in-law Rajiv Kochhar, a suspect in a bank loan fraud and money laundering case, to travel abroad for 10 days.

Special Judge Anju Bajaj Chandna allowed Rajiv to travel to New York on a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh and directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to suspend the look out circular (LOC) till then.

The court kept his application, seeking cancellation of LOC, for hearing on June 3.

Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Vinay Kumar handed over the 1st pair of replacement Mi-24 attack helicopters to the Afghanistan Defence Minister, Asadullah Khalid today.

With the hospitality sector in Odisha taking a hit following Cyclone Fani, an association of hoteliers on Thursday sought the state government's support to restore tourist spots in Puri, Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

In statement issued on Wednesday, the Hotel & Restaurant Association of Odisha (HRAO) said it has come up with both short-term and long-term plans to revive the tourism industry.

Tourism and Culture Minister Ashok Panda, on his part, claimed that the state government has been working on a war footing to restore infrastructure and revive business.

Dilbagh Singh, J&K DGP, on today's Pulwama encounter said, “3 militants of JeM killed in operation including one that was involved in the attack in which 5 CRPF jawans were killed (2017 Lethpora attack). 1 civilian and 1 security personnel also lost their lives during today's operation.”

A Saudi-led coalition air strike on the rebel-held Yemeni capital on Thursday killed at least six people and wounded 10, a doctor said at a Sanaa hospital.

The casualties were all brought into the Republican Hospital from the same Sanaa neighbourhood, Dr Mokhtar Mohammed told AFP.

The coalition carried out 11 strikes on the capital in all, among 19 across rebel-held territory, the rebels' Al-Masirah television reported.

President Donald Trump has barred American companies from using foreign-made telecom equipment posing a national security threat, a move aimed at banning Chinese giant Huawei from US networks amid an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies.

President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday which did not directly name any country or company, but officials have previously named Huawei a "threat" and asked allies not to buy equipment for the next-generation 5G networks from the world's largest provider of telecommunications.

Under the order that will take effect in the coming days, Huawei will need a US government license to buy American technology.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) will have a final say in case any central government department or Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) differs on granting sanction to prosecute corrupt babus, according to an official order.

The order was issued after changes were made last year in the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, officials said Thursday.

The amended Act asked the central government to prescribe such guidelines as it considers necessary for sanctioning prosecution of a public servant.

Following which the DoPT issued guidelines specifically to deal with disagreement between disciplinary authority (any central government department) and the CVC in cases of granting the prosecution sanction, they said.

Authorities imposed curfew and called out the Army on Thursday following clashes in Jammu and Kashmir's Bhaderwah town in Doda district.

Official sources said the clashes broke out between two groups of people following the murder of a Bhaderwah resident, Nayeem Shah, early in the morning by unknown assailants.

Shah's body was recovered by police in Nalthi Pul area of the town.

J&K Police: Three terrorists who were neutralised in Pulwama encounter identified as Naseer Pandith of Pulwama, Umar Mir of Shopian and a Pakistani namely Khalid. They were affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed. Along with one Army jawan a civilian also lost his life in the encounter.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi said, “Soon after I heard about the incident (Alwar gang rape) I spoke to Ashok Gehlot Ji. This is not a political issue for me. I met the victim's family and they have sought justice which will be done. Action will be taken against culprits.”

Supreme Court agrees to hear tomorrow a plea of a woman challenging the Talaq given to her by the husband in violation of Supreme Court judgement on Triple Talaq. The 32-year old woman seeks to declare the Talaq issued by her husband as illegal.

At least 25 people were rescued from a burning residential building on Thursday, officials said.

The blaze broke out at the building in Joshi Complex, near the Prabhat Talkies in the city's Shanivar Peth area. Thick clouds of white-grey smoke was seen billowing out at around 8.45 a.m.

Fire brigade and disaster relief teams rushed to site and fighting the thick smoke, managed to bring out the 25 occupants to safety.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has signed into law the most restrictive abortion bill in the US, which passes a near total ban on pregnancy terminations, even in cases of rape, and could punish doctors who perform them with life imprisonment.

"Today, I signed into law the Alabama Human Life Protection Act, a bill that was approved by overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Legislature," CNN quoted Ivey, a Republican, as saying in a statement on Wednesday.

"To the bill's many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians' deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God."

The Alabama Senate passed the bill 25-6 late Tuesday night. The law only allows exceptions "to avoid a serious health risk to the unborn child's mother", for ectopic pregnancy and if the "unborn child has a lethal anomaly".

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) has offered India an "Observer" status and access to International Monitoring System (IMS) data.

Addressing a group of Indian journalists at CTBTO headquarters in Vienna Austria, Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo said, "I'm not asking India to ratify (the treaty)...I know that is not possible now...but I think giving India the opportunity to join as an observer could be a good starting point."

CTBTO runs International Monitoring System (IMS) that constantly monitors the planet for nuclear explosions and shares findings with its member states. At present, IMS has 337 facilities, located in 89 countries.

A youth, who had sustained grievous injuries in clashes during protests at Pattan against the rape of a three-year-old girl, died at SKIMS hospital, officials said Thursday.  Arshad Dar succumbed to injuries at the hospital late Wednesday night,  the officials said.

Over 45 security personnel, including an officer, and seven civilians were injured in the clashes during protests at Pattan on Srinagar-Baramulla highway on Monday, a police official had said.

Youths had pelted stones at security forces at several locations in Baramulla district in north Kashmir, he said.

Three Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants, including a top commander who masterminded the 2017 attack on a CRPF camp, a soldier and a civilian were killed in a gunfight on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said.

"The slain militants have been identified as two locals, Naseer Pandit and Umar Mir and a Pakistani Khalid Bhai. Khalid was a top JeM commander and he had masterminded the 2017 attack on the CRPF camp in Lethpora in which five troopers were killed," police sources said.

The civilian victim was identified as Rayees Ahmad Dar, son of the owner of a house where the militants were hiding. While Dar's brother Muhammad Younis, sustained a gunshot injury.