Pakistan on Saturday summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner to express concern over the acquittal of RSS leader Swami Aseemanand in the 2007 Ajmer Sharif blast case.

JP Singh was summoned on Friday night, Dawn news reported.

On Wednesday, a special court acquitted Swami Aseemanand and six others in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast case, giving them the "benefit of doubt". The bombing killed three people and left at least 15 others injured.

Aseemanand is also accused of masterminding the deadly 2007 Samjhota Express bombing that killed 68 people, most of them Pakistanis.

"Swami Aseemanand had publicly confessed that he was the 'mastermind' of Samjhota Express terrorist attack of February 2007," the statement released by the Foreign Office said on Friday.

The statement added that Pakistan "expects India to take steps to bring to justice all those involved in the heinous act of Samjhota Express terrorist attack".

The voter in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is set to form a government, has rejected the "politics of appeasement", party leader Yogi Adityanath said on Saturday.

The MP said that the people's mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party was in favour of the credo pitched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: 'Sabka saath, sabka vikaas' (Development for all). 

"People have rejected the politics of appeasement and discrimination," he said, in an apparent reference to the poor showing by the ruling Samajwadi Party and its ally the Congress.

"People want development for all, without any discrimination," he said.

"The good governance model of the Modi government and in BJP-ruled states attracted people towards the party," he added. 
 

The voter in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is set to form a government, has rejected the "politics of appeasement", party leader Yogi Adityanath said on Saturday.

The MP said that the people's mandate for the Bharatiya Janata Party was in favour of the credo pitched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi: 'Sabka saath, sabka vikaas' (Development for all). 

"People have rejected the politics of appeasement and discrimination," he said, in an apparent reference to the poor showing by the ruling Samajwadi Party and its ally the Congress.

"People want development for all, without any discrimination," he said.

"The good governance model of the Modi government and in BJP-ruled states attracted people towards the party," he added. 
 

The BJP's grand showing in Uttar Pradesh is bigger than its win in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Union Minister of Law Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday.

"The UP win is a tectonic shift in Indian politics and it is bigger than our 2014 victory," he said.

Uttar Pradesh was the "laboratory of India" and the Bharatiya Janata Party's "super win has proven (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji's vision.

"We are very proud of Modi's leadership. Also, the demonetisation has worked in UP," he said.

The BJP's grand showing in Uttar Pradesh is bigger than its win in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Union Minister of Law Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Saturday.

"The UP win is a tectonic shift in Indian politics and it is bigger than our 2014 victory," he said.

Uttar Pradesh was the "laboratory of India" and the Bharatiya Janata Party's "super win has proven (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji's vision.

"We are very proud of Modi's leadership. Also, the demonetisation has worked in UP," he said.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Saturday said party Vice President Rahul Gandhi should not be singled out for the party's poor showing in Uttar Pradesh.

"If these (counting) trends persist, why single out Rahul Gandhi? He will of course take the bullet in his chest," Singhvi told NDTV news channel.

The Bharatiya Janata Party surged ahead towards victory as millions of votes polled in the staggered assembly elections were counted in the country's most populous state.
 

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Saturday said party Vice President Rahul Gandhi should not be singled out for the party's poor showing in Uttar Pradesh.

"If these (counting) trends persist, why single out Rahul Gandhi? He will of course take the bullet in his chest," Singhvi told NDTV news channel.

The Bharatiya Janata Party surged ahead towards victory as millions of votes polled in the staggered assembly elections were counted in the country's most populous state.
 

The hybrid smartwatch segment will cross $1 billion mark in revenue in 2017, almost doubling annually, market analytics firm Counterpoint Research said.

The hybrid smartwatches look and function like traditional analogue watches, but include smart features like step tracking, heart rate monitor, notifications and even NFC enabled payments.

"Hybrid smartwatches sales volumes will grow 77 per cent annually taking the penetration to 12 per cent of the total smartwatch volumes in 2017," said Peter Richardson, Research Director, Counterpoint Research, in a statement. 

In 2017, Fossil group will dominate the hybrid watch market with their plan to launch 300SKUs by the year end.

AI enabled hybrid watches will also be on rise, with the trend having already been adopted by brands like Martian and Guess.

"The rise of hybrid smartwatches can be attributed to watchmakers trying to address two key pain points which has held the smartwatch segment growth. Firstly, preserving the traditional aesthetics style and feel, secondly, maximising the battery life while retaining meaningful and frequently used smartwatch features," added Mudit Singh, Analyst, Counterpoint Research. 

The hybrid smartwatch segment will cross $1 billion mark in revenue in 2017, almost doubling annually, market analytics firm Counterpoint Research said.

The hybrid smartwatches look and function like traditional analogue watches, but include smart features like step tracking, heart rate monitor, notifications and even NFC enabled payments.

"Hybrid smartwatches sales volumes will grow 77 per cent annually taking the penetration to 12 per cent of the total smartwatch volumes in 2017," said Peter Richardson, Research Director, Counterpoint Research, in a statement. 

In 2017, Fossil group will dominate the hybrid watch market with their plan to launch 300SKUs by the year end.

AI enabled hybrid watches will also be on rise, with the trend having already been adopted by brands like Martian and Guess.

"The rise of hybrid smartwatches can be attributed to watchmakers trying to address two key pain points which has held the smartwatch segment growth. Firstly, preserving the traditional aesthetics style and feel, secondly, maximising the battery life while retaining meaningful and frequently used smartwatch features," added Mudit Singh, Analyst, Counterpoint Research. 

Four branches of the US military are looking into the posting of nude photos of what appear to be female service members on various websites, a Pentagon official said.

The news follows reports about lewd photos being posted by a group of Marines and former Marines, and goes beyond the Corps and some private Facebook groups like Marines United, CNN reported on Friday.

Photos of nude and clothed female service members also have been posted to another image-sharing message board, according to reports. 

A CNN review of the site found photos of women in uniforms from different branches of the military — and nude and partially nude images.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating the Marines United scandal. There is no Defence Department-wide investigation as of Thursday evening, the Pentagon official said.

The US Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy made statements on the new report.

"After being made aware of the photo sharing site today by Business Insider, we are looking further into the matter and taking it seriously, but cannot immediately verify any details about the site, the source of its content, or whether there has been any involvement by any airmen," the Air Force said.

"As members of the Army team, individuals' interaction offline and online reflect on the Army and its values. The Army defines online misconduct as the use of electronic communication to inflict harm, which includes, but is not limited to, instances of harassment, bullying, hazing, stalking, discrimination, retaliation, or any other types of misconduct that undermines dignity and respect," Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Jennifer R. Johnson said. 

"Soldiers or civilian employees who participate in or condone misconduct, whether offline or online, may be subject to criminal, disciplinary, and/or administrative action," she said.

"We fully expect that the discovery of Marines United will motivate Marines to come forward to notify their chain of command of pages like it. Things may seem to get worse before they get better; Marines will attack this problem head-on and continue to get better," Capt. Ryan E. Alvis said.

"It is a call to arms in the wake of recent reports of unprofessional and inappropriate social media behaviour by some who have lost sight of that most fundamental purpose they themselves are duty-bound to serve," Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley said. 

Earlier this week, the scandal focused on Marines United, a private Facebook group with 30,000 members and hundreds of photos of women in different stages of undress. Thomas Brennan, founder of the military news site, The War Horse, first reported the group page to the Marines and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).

After the NCIS announced its investigation members were redirected to new pages where some taunted investigators.

Political parties need to shift their strategy from criticism to positive alternate if they want to beat the BJP, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Saturday.

"Punjab, Goa and Manipur would certainly suggest that the BJP isn't unbeatable but strategy needs to shift from criticism to positive alternate," Omar, who is also Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, tweeted.

Omar added that at present there was no leader with a pan-India acceptability who could take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019.

"At this rate, we might as well forget 2019 and start planning (and) hoping for 2024," he added.

Omar's remarks came as BJP cruised towards victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand while the Congress was ahead in Punjab and Manipur in the assembly polls. 

Congress and the BJP were neck and neck in Goa.

US President Donald Trumps revised travel executive order suffered its first legal setback as a federal judge blocked the directive's potential impact on the family of a Syrian refugee living in Wisconsin.

Madison city-based US District Court Judge William Conley on Friday issued a temporary retraining order at the request of the Syrian man, Politico news reported. 

The judge, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, said Trump's new executive order cannot be used to delay the man's effort to bring his wife and three-year-old daughter from Syria to the US.

"Given the daily threat to the lives to plaintiff's wife and child remaining in Aleppo, Syria, the court further finds a significant risk of irreparable harm," Conley said in the order.

Trump signed the new executive order on Monday banning foreign nationals from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for 90 days and banning all refugees for 120 days, but excluded green card holders and those with existing valid visas from the order.

The original ban included Iraq, but the new order does not. 

The Wisconsin order was just one of at least five expected to play out in the coming days as various states, organisations and individuals are trying to block some or all of Trump's redrafted travel ban, reports Politico.

In Maryland, a federal judge set a hearing for March 15 on a lawsuit brought by refugee aid groups.

Another hearing is set to take place in front of a federal judge in Honolulu on a travel ban lawsuit brought by the state of Hawaii.

In addition, the states of Washington and Minnesota asked Seattle-based US District Court Judge James Robart to confirm that his existing injunction against key parts of Trump's original travel ban executive order blocks similar portions of the revised directive.

After a gap of 10 years, Congress is all set to return to power in Punjab with the party leading 66 of 117 Assembly seats in the State.

The high hopes of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) appear to have been dashed with the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit failing to garner the expected support. AAP was trailing both the Congress and ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bhartiya Janta Party (SAD-BJP) combine by leading on 22
seats.

On the other hand, the ruling combine appears to have faced face with SAD-BJP jointly leading on 33 seats. The division in opposition votes between the Congress and AAP, appears to have helped the SAD-BJP as the combine is not losing as badly as it was predicted in view of the
strong anti-incumbency wave.

Of the prominent candidates, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal (SAD), Captain Amarinder Singh (Congerss) , Navjot Singh Sindhu (Congress), SAD president Sukhbir Badal, revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia were leading from Lambi, Patiala (urban), Amritsar (east), Jalalabad and Majithia respectively.

The Election Commission (EC) has set up 54 counting centres in 27 locations in Punjab.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday decimated all opposition in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand while the Congress emerged as a clear winner in Punjab.

With early trends indicating the BJP is likely to cross the 300 mark in the 403 member Assembly, party president Amit Shah’s prophecy that what was to be seen in the results was whether the party would get two-third or three-fourth majority. The Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance trailing way behind at 70 and the Bahujan Samaj Party with 22 feature among the also ran.

Trends from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand suggest that there has been no erosion of support for the saffron party in the Hindi heartland state since its phenomenal show in 2014 Lok Sabha elections when the party led by Narendra Modi swept 73 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats and all the five seats in the hill state.

The Congress has been badly bruised in Uttarakhand, where the BJP seems like winning close to 50 of 70 seats.

Reports of celebrations at offices in New Delhi and Lucknow started coming in even when counting was in early stages.

However, amidst the saffron wave, the Congress has consolation of putting up a stellar show in Punjab, where the Aam Aadmi party trailing a distant second and the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine biting the dust.

The Congress seemed to be holding onto Manipur from where trends were coming slowly. The BJP looks like opening its account in the state in an impressive manner.

Goa, again where the trends are coming too slowly, can be cause for another minor celebration in the Congress camp, with the party having its head ahead over the ruling BJP, whose high profile campaign was led by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. If the trend continues, smaller parties may have a stake in the next state government.

Meanwhile, many leaders came out with brave faces to comment on the likely outcome of the state elections.

Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha said, “it is a monumental setback. We are disappointed with Uttar Pradesh."

The mood was described more vividly by another Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit: "Our party is looking confused."

Meanwhile, BJP leaders were not found wanting in heaping praise on the hard work done by their star campaigners, Prime Minister Modi and President Shah. Yogi Adityanath remarked: "Good work done by the Modi government and (BJP President) Amit Shah's stragegy has paid dividends."

UP, the largest of the states that went to polls, has 403 Assembly seats, followed by Punjab (117), Uttarakhand (70), Manipur (60) and Goa (40)

Actress Rasika Dugal, currently seen in TV show P.O.W. Bandi Yuddh Ke, has landed a role in Zoya Akhtars film in Bombay Talkies 2.

Talking about it, Rasika said, "This is the first time I'm working with Zoya. She had watched my short film Chutney, where she really liked my part and she called me to congratulate me for the award the film won and then she asked if I would be willing to play a part in her upcoming project."

"I was overjoyed because she is one of the directors you want to work with. She's one of those directors who have the talent to have a very good mix between making a film of a high scale and great content. I have always admired her work, I was pretty thrilled when she called me for the part in Bombay Talkies 2," Rasika said in a statement.

Rasika, who also has a plum part to play in Nandita Das's Manto, has already shot for Zoya's project. Her shoot lasted around five days.

Bombay Talkies 2 is the sequel of Bombay Talkies, a 2013 project which brought together four directors — Dibakar Bannerjee, Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar and Zoya — to commemorate a century of Indian Cinema. The film was an ensemble of four short films based on the theme of cinema. 

Now four years later, the quartet is coming back with all new stories to tell.

Irom Chanu Sharmila who was fighting as an independent candidate was trailing and has finally lost to Manipur chief minister O Ibobi Singh of Indian National Congress in Thoubal Assembly seat, according to the latest news report. BJP’s Leitanthem Basanta Singh was behind the chief minister.

After first round of counting in Thoubal, Ibobi was leading at 4,689, BJP’s Basanta was on 2,691 and Sharmila was far behind at 26.

Earlier, Sharmila had said that she is unfazed by the results of the exit polls and was confident of putting a good show to the incumbent chief minister INC’s Ibobi Singh.

"I do not feel much affected by the result. It depends upon the people's mindset," she has been quoted as saying to a news agency.

She has also blamed opposition for using the money and muscle power blatantly and had said BJP had tried to offer her money to contest election from the saffron party in the north eastern state.

Remaining cautious ahead of Assembly elections results 2017, Sensex and Nifty registered marginal changes in during the week but the Rupee jumped to a four-month high of 66.73 against the US Dollar.  

Maximum poll results have predicted that Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will emerge as the single largest party in Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Fitch also raised GDP growth expectations for the currency fiscal saying the demonetisation may have damaged the economic growth badly.

“Indian economy to grow by 7.1 per cent in current fiscal and 7.7 per cent in 2017-18,” a Fitch report stated on Tuesday.

Opening the week at 28,859, the Sensex rallied to 29,048 amid positive global trend expectations of higher GDP growth data for the currency financial year (FY 2016-17).  The benchmark index closed at 28,946 on Friday.

The broader Nifty closed the week at 8,935. The index had closed at 8,898 on March 3.

Last week, both the key benchmark indices had snapped their 5-week winning spree by slipping 61 points and 42 points respectively.