Four BJP Years Beat Congress Rule? True, Says Rahul Gandhi In Dig At PM

Nearly two dozen opposition parties, led by the Congress, are participating in the

 Bharat Bandh over fuel price hike.Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today jeered at the

 Prime Minister's claims that the achievements of the BJP government in four years

 far exceed that of the Congress in 70 years. It is actually true, said the Congress chief,

 and then launched into a scathing attack on the BJP.

"Hatred is being spread... One Indian is fighting the other. The rupee is lowest in 70 years. Fuel prices have hit the roof. The price of cooking gas has become 800 per unit. The country is being divided... the country is tired. The youth of the country are tired," he said while addressing a rally at Delhi's Ramlila Grounds as part of the countrywide opposition protests against the fuel price hike.

The price of petrol has been spiralling with the rising price of crude oil and the slide of rupee against the dollar. Today, the rupee today dropped to a new low of 72.67 against the US dollar. Petrol has touched an all-time high of Rs. 88 in Maharashtra. In one pocket of the state, Pharbani, it has touched Rs. 89.97.

Nearly two dozen opposition parties, led by the Congress are participating in today's shutdown. The notable absentees are Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress.

The effect of the shutdown is especially evident in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala and Bihar.

Mr Gandhi, who started the day at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat along with his mother Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, questioned PM Modi's silence on fuel prices and the Rafale fighter jet deal. speaks a lot, but does not answer any question.

"Small businesses have been finished. And nobody till now knows the reason behind demonetization... A lot of people trusted Narendra Modi. it has been four years and the people are able to see what the BJP government has done," he added.

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"What the country wants to hear, what the youth want to hear, PM Narendra Modi does not talk about it. Don't know which world he is in, he keeps giving speeches... The country is fed up with seeing him," he said.

Court Discharges Arvind Kejriwal In Defamation Case Over "Thulla" Remark

The complainant had claimed that being a member of the Delhi Police, he was

 defamed by the word used by Arvind Kejriwal.

A court on Monday discharged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a criminal defamation complaint filed against him over his alleged 'thulla' remark against the city police.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal granted relief to the politician saying the complainant, a Delhi Police constable, was not a person "aggrieved" in the case and, therefore, his complaint of defamation was not maintainable.

"Since he (complainant Ajay Kumar Taneja) is not named, the test would be whether the words would reasonably lead people acquainted with him to the conclusion that he was the person referred to. No such evidence of any person has been led which could even remotely suggest that," the court said.

"The interview impugned was not directed against the complainant so that he can say that he has been personally defamed. Nor can it be said that he has been the object of the attack... In this case, there was no specific legal injury to the complainant.

"The complainant is not a person aggrieved in this case, the words prima facie not defamatory of the complainant, therefore, this complaint of defamation filed by him is not maintainable. The accused Arvind Kejriwal is, therefore, discharged on the basis of the aforesaid discussion," the court said.

The court had on May 7, 2016 summoned Arvind Kejriwal as an accused in the case filed under the sections relating to defamation (499 and 500 of Indian Penal Code).

The complainant had claimed that being a member of the Delhi Police, he was defamed by the word used by Arvind Kejriwal.

In the complaint, the constable claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo had used the 'derogatory' term "thulla" for policemen on a news channel while talking about the AAP government's "constraints" in ensuring effective functioning of the Anti-Corruption Branch.

"That due to the acute agony and being mentally hurt by the attitude of Kejriwal towards Delhi Police, the complainant was unable to concentrate on his job as he was very much disturbed," his plea had said.

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Advocate L N Rao, who represented the complainant, said he will approach the higher court challenging the order.

"Iraq vs Iran": Fresh US Warning To Airlines Over Using Iranian Airspace

Tensions ramped up between Iran and the United States after President Donald 

Trump pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May and re-imposed sanctions.

The United States has issued a fresh warning to airlines to exercise caution when operating in Iran's airspace, citing concerns over military activity including an unnamed U.S. civil operator being intercepted by fighter jets in December 2017.

The updated guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration to U.S. operators, issued on Sunday at the expiry of the prior year's advisory, said there were also military activities emanating from or transiting through Iran's airspace associated with the conflict in Syria.

Tensions ramped up between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump pulled out of a landmark nuclear deal with Iran in May and re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic last month.

Flight Service Bureau, which provides safety information on airspace to airlines, said "without seeming alarmist", the deteriorating relationship between the U.S. and Iran must be taken into account when planning flights in Iran's airspace.

"Although the reopening of Iraqi airspace in November last year has provided additional routing options ... there is no perfect route in the region, and operators must consider their preference for Iraq vs Iran," the U.S. based group said in an email to clients on Monday.

The U.S. Department of State advises that its citizens do not travel to Iran due to the risk of arbitrary arrest and detention. Flight Service Bureau said that could present problems in the event of an unplanned landing in Iran for medical or technical reasons.

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For Iraq, the U.S. Department of State advises its citizens against travel to the country due to terrorism and armed conflict. The F.A.A.'s latest guidance on Iraq, issued in December 2017, prohibits U.S. airlines in most cases from flying at an altitude lower than 26,000 feet due to the potential for fighting.

Rupee Opens 15 Paise Higher Against US Dollar

Dollar's weakness against some currencies overseas including the euro also 

supported the rupee,

 dealers said.The rupee on Tuesday opened on a positive note by inching 15

 paise higher at 72.30 against the US dollar amid increased selling by banks

 and exporters.

Besides, dollar's weakness against some currencies overseas including the euro also supported the rupee, dealers said.

The rupee on Monday slumped to new record low of 72.67 a dollar in intra-day trade before closing at 72.45, showing a steep 72 paise fall on growing fears of contagion from an emerging-market rout and escalation of global trade war.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Sensex rose 95.32 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 38,017.49 in opening trade.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2018: Sui Dhaaga Stars Anushka Sharma And Varun Dhawan Join Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya And Mohsin Khan For A Show

Ganesh Chaturthi 2018: Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya and Mohsin Khan are hosting a

 special show to celebrate the upcoming festival.

TV stars Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya and Mohsin Khan are hosting a special Ganesh Chaturthi show to celebrate the upcoming festival. Titled Ganesh Utsav, the first episode of the show aired on Sunday and it will end on September 14. Stars like Urmila Matondkar, Karishma Tanna, Sanjeeda Shaikh and others will also perform in the different episodes. Sui Dhaaga stars Anushka Sharma and Varun Dhawan were Divyanka and Mohsin's first guests. The 11-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival begins on September 13. Divyanka Instagrammed a picture from the sets with Anushka, Varun and Mohsin to update her fans about the show. Meanwhile, she also posted several photos of herself, in which she's styled in traditional Maharashtrian looks, which are believed to be for her multiple appearances on the show. "A style that never fades," she captioned one of her posts.

Take a look at the trending pictures Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya shared from Ganesh Utsav show.

Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya is one of the top-rated stars of television. She headlines Yeh Hai Mohabbatein with Karan Patel. Her husband Vivek Dahiya is also expected to perform at Ganesh Utsav, along with other actors like Shivangi Joshi, Surbhi Chandana, Mohit Malik, Shantanu Maheshwari and others.

"Diesel Will Cost Rs. 50 Per Litre, Petrol Rs. 55 If...": Nitin Gadkari

"Our petroleum ministry is setting up five ethanol plants, where the fuel will be

 produced from paddy straw, wheat straw, sugarcane and municipal waste. 

(Consequently) Diesel will be available at Rs. 50 per litre and petrol at Rs. 55," he said.

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Monday that Chhattisgarh has immense potential for production of bio-fuel.

Addressing a gathering at Charoda in Chhattisgarh's Durg district of the state, he said use of alternative fuels will cut down our dependence on petrol and diesel.

Mr Gadkari laid the foundation stones of or dedicated total of eight construction works worth Rs. 4,251 crore, including four fly-overs between Raipur to Durg yesterday.

"Growth rate of the agriculture sector in Chhattisgarh is very good. Production of rice, wheat, pulses and sugarcane is abundant here, but the state can also emerge as a bio-fuel (production) hub," he said.

Bio-fuel produced from Jatropha plant in Chhattisgarh was used in the first bio fuel-powered flight which took off from Dehradun and landed in Delhi recently, he said.

The state has immense potential for production of bio-fuel which will create job opportunities for farmers, tribals and forest-dwellers and empower them, he said.

A research institute on biotechnology should be set up in the state capital Raipur which can help the state lead in the production of alternative fuels in the country, he said.

Switching to ethanol, methanol, bio-fuel and CNG will cut down dependence on petroleum and reduce the prices of petrol and diesel, he said.

"We are importing petrol and diesel worth Rs. 8 lakh crore and prices are increasing. Rupees is falling against dollar. I have been saying for last 15 years that farmers, adivasis (tribals) and forest-dwellers of the country can produce ethanol, methanol, bio-fuel and can (become rich enough to) fly planes..." the union minister said.

"We have decided to exempt vehicles including auto-rickshaws, buses, taxis run on alternative fuels like ethanol, biodiesel, CNG, methanol and bio-fuel from permit requirements," he said.

"Our petroleum ministry is setting up five ethanol plants, where the fuel will be produced from paddy straw, wheat straw, sugarcane and municipal waste. (Consequently) Diesel will be available at Rs. 50 per litre and petrol at Rs. 55," he said.

Saying that he has approved the projects demanded by the Chhattisgarh government, he said, "I am the only minister who has no dearth of money (for his department). I have so far inaugurated works worth Rs. 40 lakh crore."

"I have no dearth of money but I ensure that the work is done in a good way. After getting works worth Rs. 40 lakh crore executed, I can confidently say that no contractor had to come to the office with bills (to get them passed). All the works which were done were corruption-free and done in a transparent manner," Mr Gadkari said.

Google Case Set to Examine if EU Data Rules Extend Globally

Google is going to Europe's top court in its legal fight against an order requiring it to

 extend "right to be forgotten" rules to its search engines globally.

The technology giant is set for a showdown at the European Union Court of Justice

 in Luxembourg on Tuesday with France's data privacy regulator over an order to 

remove search results worldwide upon request.

The dispute pits data privacy concerns against the public's right to know, while also 

raising thorny questions about how to enforce differing legal jurisdictions when it

 comes to the borderless Internet.

The two sides will be seeking clarification on a 2015 decision by the French regulator

 requiring Google to remove results for all its search engines on request, and not just 

on European country sites like google.fr.

Google declined to comment ahead of the hearing. Its general counsel, Kent Walker,

 said in a blog post in November that complying with the order "would encourage 

other countries, including less democratic regimes, to try to impose their values on 

citizens in the rest of the world."

"These cases represent a serious assault on the public's right to access lawful information,

" he added.

In an unusual move, the court has allowed a collection of press freedom, free speech 

and civil rights groups to submit their opinions on the case. These groups agree with 

Google that forcing internet companies to remove website links threatens access to 

information and could pave the way for censorship by more authoritarian regimes 

such as China, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

The court's ruling is expected within months. It will be preceded by an opinion from the 

court's advocate general.

The case stems from a landmark 2014 Court of Justice ruling that people have the right 

to control what appears when their name is searched online. That decision forced Google 

to delete links to outdated or embarrassing personal information that popped up

 in searches of their names.

Authorities are now starting to worry about the risk that internet users can easily turn

 to proxy servers and virtual private networks to spoof their location, allowing them 

to dig up the blocked search results.

Google said in its most recent transparency report that it has received requests to 

delete about 2.74 million web links since the ruling, and has deleted about 44 percent 

of them.

Not all requests are waved through. In a related case that will also be heard Tuesday, 

the EU court will be asked to weigh in on a request by four people in France who want 

their search results to be purged of any information about their political beliefs and

 criminal records, without taking into account public interest. Google had rejected

 their request, which was ultimately referred to the ECJ.