Category: Today

With three more H1N1 deaths at SKIMS toll reaches 11

Editor

Three patients have died of H1N1 influenza at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) here in the past 48 hours, taking the death toll due to the influenza to 11 this season. An official source said that a man from Anantnag, aged around 40, who had tested positive for the infection and was undergoing treatment at the institute’s isolation ward, died on Wednesday. “He was undergoing treatment in isolation ward for the past three days,” the source said. Last week, the SKIMS had decided to send to media organisations daily…

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State drops stone-pelting cases against 4,327 youth

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On recommendations of DGP-headed panel, CM orders withdrawal Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today ordered the withdrawal of stone-throwing cases against 4,327 youth. The decision came after the recommendation of a high-powered committee headed by the Director General of Police which submitted its report to her today. Director General of Police SP Vaid has been asked to regularly monitor the progress in the matter and furnish a fortnightly report, reads a communication from the Home Department to the DGP sent late this evening. Today’s decision marks the revival of the process…

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Farooq Abdullah provokes again, says ‘Forget PoK, raise Indian flag in Srinagar first’

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Former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Monday dared the government of India to hoist tri-colour at LalChowk in Srinagar before talking about unfurling it in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Abdullah’s remarks drew criticism from the BJP, with deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh saying that the National Conference leader was “strengthening the separatists and militants.” He said that the tricolour was being hoisted in all parts of the state, including LalChowk. Abdullah, who had recently said Pakistan-administered Kashmir cannot become a part of India, said that he only told facts and that…

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Winter sets in, city’s overnight temperature drops to -3.1°C

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The minimum temperature overnight in the city plunged to minus 3.1 degrees Celsius as residents face the early arrival of winter’s cold. The overnight minimum temperature in the city made it one of the coldest November nights of Srinagar in the last decade, officials of Meteorological Department said. It also marked an early arrival of winter’s cold in the region even as residents have a tough time putting up with frequent power outages. The night time temperature in the city has been falling below the freezing point for almost a…

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Amnesty on cards for first time Stone-Pelters, Govt amy withdraw cases against abettors

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The scheme is likely to be announced as a show of good faith ahead of interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma’s second visit to Jammu and Kashmir later this month. The government is likely to announce an amnesty scheme for stone pelters in the Kashmir Valley and withdraw cases against first-time offenders, senior government officials said on Monday. The scheme, discussed between officials from the state and the Centre, is likely to be announced as a show of good faith ahead of interlocutor Dineshwar Sharma’s second visit to the state later this month.…

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K C Pant to Padgaonkar, What earlier panels achieved in Kashmir since 2001?

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The Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh governments appointed several committees and interlocutors to hold talks with people and organisations in J&K.  The Centre’s Special Representative Dineshwar Sharma, a former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, made his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir last week, and held talks with nearly 85 delegations. The appointment of Sharma, a man with vast experience in Kashmir, comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in the summer of 2016, and apprehensions over the outcome…

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To defuse tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours, US pressing India, Pak for dialogue

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The US is quietly nudging Pakistan and India to re-engage as the Trump administration seeks to defuse tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours, according to a media report. Americas objective to normalise ties between the two South Asian rivals is part of its efforts to have a more focused approach on the Afghan endgame. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took up the issue with the leadership of both Pakistan and India during his recent visit to the two countries, the Express Tribune quoting government officials and diplomatic sources as saying.…

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Post 132 days rollout, GST cut on over 210 items, 180 of them in top 28% slab

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Making the biggest change in the four-month-old goods and services tax regime, the GST Council on Friday moved 80 per cent of items in the top 28 per cent tax bracket to lower rates. Starting November 15, eating out could cost up to 13 per cent less than before (GST rate cut from 18 per cent to 5 per cent) and a whole host of consumer products like shampoo, deodorant, chocolates, fans, furniture and sanitary fittings should get cheaper by up to 10 per cent or more. Only 50 products,…

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Dineshwar Sharma arrives on Mission Kashmir, meets nine delegations, all want peace

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Begins five-day visit to state; to also meet Governor, CM Dineshwar Sharma, Centre’s representative for sustained dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir, arrived in Srinagar today and started the process of talks and reconciliation in the volatile Valley which has been reeling under bloodletting and uncertainty for the past three decades. His search for peace and dialogue started from the Hari Niwas Palace where several delegations came to meet him. According to sources, the delegations said their prime interest was in peace in Kashmir and needed hand-holding. They hoped that the…

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Today interlocutor arriving in Srinagar, Resistance Group keep doors Shut

Editor

Separatists reject dialogue offer, refuse to meet Sharma or participate in ‘futile’ exercise New Delhi’s representative for sustained dialogue Dineshwar Sharma is set to begin his visit to Kashmir on Monday as the region awaits some early progress in the latest talk process. Sharma, who will arrive in Srinagar tomorrow, has already expressed readiness to talk to anyone “willing to talk to him” – that includes the possibility of talking to separatists. A former chief of Intelligence Bureau, Sharma was named the representative for talks by Home Minister Rajnath Singh…

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