Against the backdrop of some politicians allegedly making statements invoking religious sentiments, the Election Commission on Saturday dubbed it as an unhealthy trend and asked them to desist from such remarks.

In a letter sent to leaders of all recognised political parties, the poll panel advised leaders to observe "self-imposed restraint" while campaigning.

"The Commission has noted with dismay that (past) advisories are not having the desired result and has noted a disturbing tendency of inflammatory statements being made by political leaders with underlying object of mixing religion with election campaign," it said.

The poll watchdog also said some of the statements were made from places where the model code is not in force.

It said in this electronic age, such remarks easily reach places where election process is one and disturbs the level playing field for other candidates.

Urging parties and leaders to "reverse the trend", the Commission said such speeches indicate an "unhealthy trend" which is a cause of concern.

Being the first and only one to go paperless in the country over two years ago, the Himachal Pradesh Assembly in Shimla roughly saves 6,000 trees (from felling) and Rs.15 crore annually by switching to online system, as per officials.

The e-Vidhan initiative by the septuagenarian state Assembly Speaker Brij Bihari Lal Butail has seen the young and old MLAs in the hill state keenly take to the modern technology for legislative functioning. After a series of trainings by IT experts, however, the MLAs in HP has adapted to the use of touch screen based e-books installed on their tables to view the business, replies of questions, bills, the budget and to lay papers in the house.

The HP assembly has 68 members, including the Speaker.

While the MLAs are now supposed to submit their questions online to the Vidhan Sabha secretariat, the replies from various government departments also are received online.

The e-Vidhan project of Rs.8.12 crore for the state Assembly was sanctioned by the Department of Electronics and IT, Government of India and its first instalment was received in September 2013.

The technical support for the project was offered by National Informatics Centre.

As per calculation by the Vidhan Sabha secretariat in 2013, the number of papers used between the Vidhan Sabha and state government in a year were 5.08 crore. Saving such a huge number of papers would mean preventing 6,000 trees from felling.

“Initially there was a hitch to shift to the new system. With time, most of the MLAs found it convenient and they have now started submitting questions on-line. It takes lesser time, energy and money, apart from saving the greens,” state assembly Speaker, Brij Bihari Lal Butail told The Statesman.

“Not only youngsters, but an octogenarian MLA of BJP, ID Dhiman (who died some months ago) was keenly switching to the new system,” Butail said.

The Speaker shared that the Himachal assembly was now dealing on-line at district level, saving hassle at the end of officials and finally, it will start on-line system for details at sub-divisional level.

The state assembly, which celebrated its golden jubilee a couple of years ago, is also in the process of digitalising of the records since the inception. “We have already keyed in records of assembly proceedings for some years. Once done, they would be loaded on the site of Himachal Vidhan Sabha and would serve as a ready reference for the legislators, sitting anywhere,” he said.

Butail said the Himachal government led by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has supported and appreciated the paperless functioning of the state assembly. “Many states assemblies, including those in Northeast, have come here for an exposure visit on functioning of e-Vidhan and have since shown interest to adopt it in their states,” he said.

Suicide assaults on Saturday in Syria's third city of Homs, which left dozens dead, were designed to "spoil" peace talks underway in Geneva, the UN's envoy said.

Asked if the attacks would affect the UN-sponsored talks, Staffan de Mistura said: "I hope not, but it was tragic." 

He added "every time we are having talks or negotiations there is always someone who tries to spoil. We were expecting that." 

The suicide assaults on two security service bases in Syria's third city of Homs killed dozens of people, including a top intelligence chief, overshadowing the Geneva talks.

Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front claimed the spectacular attack which targeted and killed General Hassan Daabul, a close confidant of President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 42 people were killed when the bombers targeted the headquarters of state security and military intelligence in the heavily guarded Ghouta and Mahatta neighbourhoods.

Provincial governor Talal Barazi said 30 people were killed and 24 wounded.

The UN envoy was speaking as he prepared for more separate meetings with Syrian regime and opposition negotiators in Geneva, seeking to kickstart a new round of peace talks.

At the last such UN-sponsored talks the two sides did not meet for face-to-face negotiations, with de Mistura shuttling between them as a mediator.

The veteran UN diplomat said yesterday that he would ideally like to get them to talk directly, but acknowledged that there were difficulties in achieving that. 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said democracy is liberal enough in the UK to permit defaulters to stay here and that "normal" needs to be cracked, in an apparent reference to liquor baron Vijay Mallya, who is wanted in India for loan default and other cases.

Referring to loan default as a major problem that needs to be addressed, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs said India was no longer willing to let defaulters escape the law.

"Many thought that when you take loan from the banks, the money need not be re-paid and you can come to London and stay out here…and democracy is liberal enough to permit defaulters to stay here. That normal needs to be cracked," he said during a session on 'Transforming India: Vision for the Next Decade' organised by the London School of Economics' (LSE) South Asia Centre.

"It is the first time that you have strong action being taken. In fact, it has never happened that defaulters are on the run. The fact that they are on the run and their properties are being attached, is a signal that India as a country is sending for the first time. Otherwise, we had learned to live with defaulters," he said during his ongoing visit to the UK.

Mallya, the chief of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines, had moved to Britain in March last year after banks sued him to recover around USD 1.4 billion owed by the airline.

Earlier this month, the Indian government formally requested Britain to extradite him to India for standing trial for alleged loan default and money laundering.

India and the UK have an extradition treaty since 1993, under which only one extradition from the UK to India has ever taken place, that of Samirbhai Vinubhai Patel in October, 2016, to stand trial for his alleged role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

Jaitley refused to confirm if the issue of Mallya's extradition would feature in his talks with senior British ministers, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Monday and UK Chancellor Philip Hammond on Tuesday.

However, senior officials in London had indicated earlier that the issue is likely to be on the agenda.

China's bad loans totalled a whopping USD 220 billion last year and its rising trend was a major worry for Chinese bankers last year, an industry report said on Saturday.

About 90 per cent of 1,794 bankers surveyed regarded risk management from bad loan pressure as the biggest challenge last year, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a report by the China Banking Association and PwC as saying.

Bad loans by commercial banks totalled 1.5 trillion yuan (USD 220 billion) at the end of last year, 18.3 billion yuan more at the end of quarter three (Q3).

Accordingly, about 78 per cent of the bankers put improving risk management as key task, with about 61 per cent choosing to adjust business pattern, the report said.

The biggest borrower is urban infrastructure projects, followed by the medical sector, it said.

Most of the bad loans were reported to have been caused by provincial governments who in the past went for infrastructure overdrive to showcase their progress while sitting on bad loans.

Chinese banks also conduct off-balance-sheet businesses such as asset management and investment banking. High net worth individuals, small businesses and government departments are the top three client groups, the report said.

Last year, a top official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked China to take immediate steps to tackle rising corporate debt to avoid new "debt bubble".

"Corporate debt remains a serious and growing problem that must be addressed immediately and with a commitment to serious reforms," IMF's first deputy managing director David Lipton had said at a conference in Shenzhen in June last year.

He had estimated the total debt at 225 per cent of GDP and corporate debt at 145 per cent of GDP, "which is very high by any measure".

China's corporate debt was a serious and growing problem, Lipton had said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday stressed on the need for a national debate for a clean and pollution-free Ganga river.

"If we want to save river Ganga, there should be a strong people's campaign for it," Nitish said in his inaugural address at the two-day international conference on "Incessant Ganga" here.

"I have been raising this issue since long. There is no personal or political interest involved," the Chief Minister said. 

"I have a close relation with river Ganga. I was born at Bakhtiyarpur, situated near Ganga. I used to take bath in Ganga in my childhood and drink its clean water. Now I am worried over the worsening condition. Sometimes, I also cry to do something to save this river, which we call as 'Ganga Ji'," Nitish said.

Nitish pointed towards the growing silt deposit issue in river Ganga due to Farakka Barrage causing floods in Bihar annually, that has become a big challenge for the state.

The Chief Minister also said in the past, he has demanded for a national silt management policy that should not affect the environment. 

"Water flows have decreased due to increasing siltation thanks to Farakka," he said.

Earlier this week, Nitish demanded decommission of Farakka Barrage which he said has little utility and blamed it for flood in Bihar annually.

"But this conference is not meant to push the demand for decommission of Farakka, it is for an incessant flow of water in Ganga river… We want to create an awareness among people about it for a clean and pure Ganga," Nitish said.

The conference was attended by experts including environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Magsaysay award winner "Waterman" Rajendra Singh, environmental activist Vandana Shiva, Punjab's environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, economist Bharat Jhunjhunwala and planning expert Jayant Bandopadhyay.

Terming demonetisation as a "disaster of 2016", senior Congress leader and Former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said its adverse impact on the country's economy would be felt in the coming years.

"Why I say it is a disaster of 2016… as it has affected 125 crore people of the country," Chidambaram said during a talk on "Impact of demonetisation of Rs.1000 and Rs. 500 notes," organised by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies here.

"I think it is a terrible mistake. It is done without full information, without understanding the nature of black money …Without fully understanding the implications of withdrawing 2,400 crore notes from circulation… Without preparing the printing of new notes and also without understanding the role played by ATMs," he said.

On its impact on country's growth, the former Finance Minister said Indian economy will grow by 6 per cent, a fall of 1.6 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.6 per cent, which was equal to Rs.2.40 lakh crore.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "for the folly of one person, the Prime Minister, India will suffer a loss of Rs.2.40 lakh crore in the current year. It will not recover next year also and its impact will be felt in few months of 2018-19," he said.

Stating that none of the objectives like eliminating black money, corruption, funding of terrorist mentioned by Prime Minister at the time of demonetisation has been served, he said "in fact it has completely become counter productive".

On the objective of making India a cashless country, Chidambaram said India cannot become a cashless economy and and there was no reason to go for it.

Which country has become cashless?, he asked.

In Germany, which has advanced in technology, 80 per cent of the transactions is in cash. In Australia it was 60 per cent, in Canada 56 per cent and the in the USA it was 46 per cent, he said.

"If 46 per cent is cash transaction is the USA, how can India become 100 per cent cashless. Is India completely Wi-Fi connected?… Is electricity available 24 hours a day and whether every Indians has a bank account?" he asked.

On the cost involved in cashless transactions, Chidambaram said "monetary transaction in India is about Rs one lakh crore per day and if it is digitally transacted, a third person is making Rs.1,500 crore per day", he said.

Chidambaram said the decision to demonetise high value currencies was taken "unilaterally" by Modi without holding discussions.

"In a democracy no one has the authority to take unilateral decision and impose it on the people," he said.

"Please remember. The author of demonetisation is a master in presenting his arguments. All in his life he was a pracharak. The business of a pracharak is to propagate what he believes whether it is true or false. Pracharak would sell his ideas. To match the pracharak, we all should also become pracharaks. We must also be able to sell ideas," he said.

If her voice was like a river flowing freely off the course, he was a shore to keep her flowing. Delhi-based electronic folk band – Basanti aur Rahza displayed such a magical bond on stage at the ‘Words in the Garden’, an art and literature festival held in the national capital on Saturday.

Vocalist Mahima Dayal Mathur with Azhar Anwar on guitar, known as Basanti and Rahza respectively, took the audience on a magical ride when they blended some of the poetic and folk work with the techno beats.

Talking to thestatesman.com exclusively on the sidelines of the event, the duo expressed how they feel performing live at such events and spoke on the rise of electronic music and their future aspirations with the evolving genre of music.

“We need more live music like this,” said the bubbly girl Mahima, a writer-turned musician, who used to write with the pseudonym ‘Bawli Basanti’ (mad Basanti).

“We are looking for more musicians to collaborate for live music, to get more live sound on our set. Right now being a production showcase, with the music I produce, she sings live and I play a guitar live, we look forward to play with live percussion, more instrumentals,” added Ahzar, who revealed the logic behind Rahza as the reverse spelling of Azhar.

Mahima joined in, saying such art festivals make an artiste feel content with his/her performance. “At places like here, people listen. We are here to get heard. Every face I saw was actually figuring me out, my music and my movements with the rhythm,” she described further.

Mahima, on vocals and lyrics, draws inspiration from poets and singers from all verticals of time. On the windy afternoon at the Fountain Lawn of the India International Centre, the duo performed gripping titles ‘Sur ki gati’, ‘Rāz-e-ulfat chhupā ke dekh liyā’, by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a compilation of Shlokas to grace the art gathering.

It was a Tuesday night Karaoke in a bar, where the two met for the first time. “I had just come from the music school. We were both there for the Karaoke night. He was singing Black by Pearl Jam and we had a fight on the same song that I want to sing,” recalled Mahima.

“Somehow, we got to talking and started jamming. From our first song ‘Sun’ to a number of songs and shows we did together, time strengthened our bond. We’ve done a lot of shows now, we’ve played with Lucky Ali, besides other names, big names, small names, money, no money, everything has happened to us. Now we are on that phase when we know exactly how we are sounding and what we want to do in the time to come.”

With the rise of electronic music, the conventional instrumental music is moving towards a decline. However, the techno musician Azhar believes the conventional always lay foundation for the electronic music production. “Even the electronic music you hear is deep rooted to conventional music. You can’t have anything without the base,” he said.

Unlike conventional musicians, who love and worship their instruments like a partner or a living being, Azhar never did do. “I respect them (my instruments/software), not worship them. It’s a very real thing, I don’t get into dogma,” he added.

In contrast to Mahima’s sheer folk lyrics, Azhar’s music is experimental that usually revolves around metal, classical rock and Indian Carnatic music.

With a swift setup, comprising of two laptops, amplifiers, mics, aux cables, a guitar, and a ghungroo tied on Mahima’s right foot, the duo appeared like a compact band.

“There’s no checklist for something to be called a band. It has to connect with the audiences,” Azhar said.

“We’ve been working together for three years, so we know each other very well. He knows exactly how I sound, when I sound,” Mahima said, describing their sync on stage, though she was interrupted by Azhar who called himself “perfect” teasing the cheshire cat.

“It’s important to have honesty between band members. There’s no communication gap and we talk to each other to sort things in simpler possible ways,” Azhar added.

Basanti aur Rahza is a well-listened music act on Youtube, SoundCloud and other such mediums. The duo is currently working on the release of their debut album.

“Our album is on verge of release and also, we’re working on parallel projects. We’re taking a good time, we are taking it slow. We’re not jumping on every show that comes to us. It’s very important to know what not to do,” Mahima said, signing off with a broad smile under her cool shades.

BSP supremo Mayawati on Saturday warning the people of Uttar Pradesh from falling for their promises made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah as they were dreaming of harming the state after winning the elections.

The BJP only shows big dreams to people and delivers on none, she said at a rally in this eastern UP town, and asked the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to explain on where were the "rivers of milk flowing" in Uttar Pradesh.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief also said that the two will however not succeed in their efforts to come to power in UP as the state's people were wise enough to reject their divisive politics. 

"This time, the people have seen through their game plan and will not let them succeed," she said while referring to the Lok Sabha polls where the BJP had stunned everyone by winning 71 seats out of the total 80.

Targeting Modi, the four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister accused him of not delivering on the promises made by the BJP in the 2014 general elections.

"They should tell the people what they have done in the past three years," she said while claiming that the people of UP had made up their mind to hand over the reins of the state to "apni beti" (their own daughter).

Andrew Charter put up a superb show under the bar to guide Kalinga Lancers to their second consecutive final of the Coal India Hockey India League (HIL) as they prevailed over Uttar Pradesh Wizards 4-3 (4-4) via penalty shoot-out at the Chandigarh Hockey Stadium here on Saturday.

The match went to the penalty shoot-out after Akashdeep Singh's 58th goal enabled UP Wizards to equalise after last edition's runners-up Kalinga, with goals from Devinder Walmiki (ninth), Moritz Furste (35th) and Billy Bakker (46th), mounted a strong comeback following Florent van Aubel's fourth minute strike.

Australian Charter not only came off with heroics during the regulation play, but also in the penalty shoot-out as Kalinga saw their first two hits of Furste and Adam Dixon wasted thanks to P.R. Sreejesh and UP Wizards going 2-0 up with clinical conversions from Gonzalo Peillat (penalty stroke) and van Aubel.

Lalit Upadhyay and Aran Zalewski brought Kalinga back in contention in the shoot-out, while Charter denied Ramandeep Singh and Akashdeep. Next, Dharamvir Singh fumbled and as did Sander Baart as the game moved to the sudden death.

Charter then again rescued Kalinga by dismissing Augustin Mazzilli. But then Furste failed again and van Aubel continued to be impressive on the day to make it 3-2. Upadhyay levelled it 4-3 and Charter ensured that the goal post looks big for Akashdeep, who was denied by the cross-bar. And Zalewski scored past an imposing Sreejesh to trigger wild celebrations in the Kalinga camp, ending UP Wizards' campaign in the semi-finals for the fourth time in five years.

Charter was tested from the very beginning of the match with offensive actions being witnessed at the both ends. UP Wizards got a penalty corner dismissed in the third minute but they managed to draw the first blood a minute later when a 30-yard long ball from Belgian defender Arthur van Doren was deflected in by compatriot van Aubel.

Kalinga didn't take much time to respond and pulled one back when Devinder deflected home a slap shot from Matthew Dawson following a mistrap of a penalty corner execution.

Charter was kept busy by UP Wizards and the Australian had to block drag-flicks from Gonzalo Peillat and V.R. Raghunath to the left post and couple of minutes later, Akashdeep Singh's drive went inches away from the right post.

Kalinga's tactic of going out all attack meant that UP Wizards always found the space to attack and the Lucknow outfit closed the space further with a heavy midfield. They had the better share of the ball possession which translated into putting plenty of pressure on the Kalinag's young defenders Matthew Dawson, Pardeep Mor, Amit Rohidas and Gurjinder Singh.

As the heavy midfield of UP Wizards was proving too heavy for Kalinga, Kalinga dropped attacking playmaker Billy Bakker further behind to help out the defence after the half-time. 

And even though UP Wizards kept building chances and not making them count, Kalinga pulled level 2-2 in the 35th minute when drag-flicker Furste fired a grounder to the left post to beat Sreejesh.

Furste was at it again in the final minutes of the third quarter with two penalty corner chances but his flicks were defused by first runner Raghunath.

Kalinga, howver, managed to take the lead one minute into the fourth and final quarter as a cross from left by Gurjinder Singh was not cleared to safety by goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh and Dutchman Bakker grabbed the ball and made a body turn before hitting it to the roof.

The goal turned the heat on UP Wizards and Kalinga kept coming at them in their boost to seal the game. 

When another semi-final exit, their fourth inevitable, But UP Wizards found the equaliser two minutes and six seconds to go. Sander Baart's drive from the edge of the circle on the right was dealt with a poor clearance and Augustin Mazzilli snatched it before passing into an unmarked Akashdeep, who scored an open goal to take the game to the shoot-out where Kalinga prevailed.

A man suspected to be involved in the 2002 terror attack on the American Centre in Kolkata has been arrested in Bihar's Gaya district, police said on Saturday.

Gaya Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Garima Malik said Mohammad Sarwar, the suspect, was arrested late Friday night by the joint team of Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat, Jharkhand and local police.

"Sarwar was taken by the ATS team to Gujarat after arresting," she said.

According to police officials, ATS Gujarat along with Jharkhand and local police raided a house in Neemchak Bathani area following information provided about the suspect by another arrested terror suspect during questioning.

Sarwar is considered an operative of the banned group Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

Sarwar is also an accused in the 2002 Hazaribagh terror attack, in which one Pakistani terrorist was killed.

"ATS Gujarat and Jharkhand police will question him separately," police said.

Two motorcycle-borne men had indiscriminately fired with an AK-47 assault rifle at policemen outside the American Centre on Jawaharlal Nehru Road in Kolkata on January 22, 2002, killing six of them and injuring 14 others.

A Delhi University student and daughter of an Army Captain who died in the Kargil war has launched a social media campaign against the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad – #StudentsAgainstABVP – that has gone viral on social media in the wake of the violence in Ramjas College.

Gurmehar Kaur in tweets on Saturday clarified that she supports the freedom of speech but not anti-national slogans.

Kaur (@mehartweets) tweeted: "Am I fighting for people who support anti-nationals? NO! Who are fighting for? STUDENTS And our right to free speech, safe academic space."

"Free of hate. Free to speak. Free to hold opinions. Free to learn. This is my nation. #studentsagainstabvp," she said.

Kaur, a student of Lady Shri Ram college, is the daughter of late Capt Mandeep Singh, who died during Kargil war. 

"Nationalism isn't defined by whoever is in power. Nationalism is a feeling that comes from within. It's love for the nation. It's love for its people and it's people include young students," she tweeted.

Criticising the reactions that she is receiving over social media, Kaur in another tweet wrote: "Absolutely disgusted at the reactions in receiving from so called 'nationalists'."

The hast tag #studentsagainstabvp started by her has become viral in the social media and is getting wide support from students across India.

Earlier in the day, she said: "Don't want my nationalism to be taught to me by some local goons."

Kaur, on Wednesday, in a Facebook post wrote: "This profile picture is my way of protesting against the tyranny of fear. If you are a student in any Indian university, in any Indian state and you wish to protest against ABVP, then take a similar selfie and make it your profile picture. Use the hashtag #StudentsAgainstABVP and copy paste this message along with it."

She has posted a profile picture holding a placard with a slogan: "I am a student from Delhi University. I am not afraid of ABVP."

"The brutal attack on innocent students by ABVP is very disturbing and should be stopped. It was not an attack on protestors, but an attack on every notion of democracy that is held dear in ever Indian's heart. It is an attack on ideals, morals, freedom and rights of every person born to this nation. The stones that you pelt hit our bodies, but fail to bruise our ideas," she wrote.

Clashes erupted between activists of the leftist All India Students Association (AISA) and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) outside Ramjas College here on Wednesday, a day after the ABVP forced suspension of an event to be addressed by JNU student Umar Khalid, jailed last year for allegedly shouting anti-national slogans.

French President Francois Hollande on Saturday asked his US counterpart Donald Trump not to disparage Paris, following the latter's remarks about the French capital's loss of appeal due to terrorist attacks.

Hollande was referencing comments Trump made during a speech delivered on Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbour, Maryland, Efe news reported.

"It is never good to show the slightest mistrust towards a friendly country," Hollande said.

"That is not what I do toward a friendly country and I ask the American President not to do it to France," he added.

Trump had claimed that a friend told him that "Paris is no longer Paris", seemingly because of the recent terror attacks that took place in the city.

When asked about Trump's criticism, Hollande countered that he could also question the US' safety when it comes to gun control and mass shootings.

"I don't want to make a comparison, but there are no weapons circulating here, there are no people who take weapons to shoot into the crowd," Hollande said.

He added that Trump had told him in a telephone conversation that he "loved" France.

"So I imagine that that is what he thinks. If it is what he thinks, I expect he will express that," Hollande added.
 

Iraqi Shia militias on Saturday recaptured four villages from the Islamic State (IS) terror group and killed 35 of its members in western Mosul.

The Popular Mobilisation militias said in a statement that the liberated villages were Tel al-Zalat, Umm al-Masayid, al-Zaytoun and al-Aziziya, Efe news reported.

IS casualties included three snipers and seven suicide bombers, according to the statement.

The militias also destroyed seven car bombs and seized equipment and several weapons from IS fighters, who fled the area.

The Shia forces added that IS combatants started their retreat due to a lack of reinforcements.

On February 19, Iraqi forces, including the Popular Mobilisation militias, launched an offensive to regain the western part of Mosul from IS combatants.

The eastern half of the city which has been an IS stronghold since 2014, was liberated in January.

Iraqi Shia militias on Saturday recaptured four villages from the Islamic State (IS) terror group and killed 35 of its members in western Mosul.

The Popular Mobilisation militias said in a statement that the liberated villages were Tel al-Zalat, Umm al-Masayid, al-Zaytoun and al-Aziziya, Efe news reported.

IS casualties included three snipers and seven suicide bombers, according to the statement.

The militias also destroyed seven car bombs and seized equipment and several weapons from IS fighters, who fled the area.

The Shia forces added that IS combatants started their retreat due to a lack of reinforcements.

On February 19, Iraqi forces, including the Popular Mobilisation militias, launched an offensive to regain the western part of Mosul from IS combatants.

The eastern half of the city which has been an IS stronghold since 2014, was liberated in January.

Strongly deploring the killing of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in the US, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday said there is need to pressurise the Donald Trump administration for quick action.

"We urge our government to put the strongest pressure on the authorities in the US to act upon this at the earliest, to ensure this is never repeated," he said.

Kuchibhotla, and two others were shot at by US Navy veteran Adam W Purinton in a bar at Olathe in Kansason Wednesday night.

While the 32-year-old engineer was killed, his friend Alok Madasani, also 32, and an American Ian Grillot, 24, who tried to save them, were injured.

Purinton mistook them for "Middle Easterners" and yelled "Get out of my country" before shooting them.

Referring to the 2015 lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri over rumours of beef eating, Yechury warned about jingoistic politics causing the tragedy.

He also referred to the hanging of two cattle traders in Jharkhand's Latehar in 2016.

The hate-crime where two Indians in the US were told to leave the country is utterly deplorable and very sad, the Left leader said.

"We hope the other Indian injured in the attack, Alok Reddy Madasani, gets well soon," he added.

"It again brings to light the hurt that irresponsible and jingoistic politics causes. Such politics thrives on going after minorities and smaller groups based on identity, skin colour or faith," Yechury said on social media platforms.

"There are no winners here," he said.

Strongly deploring the killing of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in the US, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday said there is need to pressurise the Donald Trump administration for quick action.

"We urge our government to put the strongest pressure on the authorities in the US to act upon this at the earliest, to ensure this is never repeated," he said.

Kuchibhotla, and two others were shot at by US Navy veteran Adam W Purinton in a bar at Olathe in Kansason Wednesday night.

While the 32-year-old engineer was killed, his friend Alok Madasani, also 32, and an American Ian Grillot, 24, who tried to save them, were injured.

Purinton mistook them for "Middle Easterners" and yelled "Get out of my country" before shooting them.

Referring to the 2015 lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri over rumours of beef eating, Yechury warned about jingoistic politics causing the tragedy.

He also referred to the hanging of two cattle traders in Jharkhand's Latehar in 2016.

The hate-crime where two Indians in the US were told to leave the country is utterly deplorable and very sad, the Left leader said.

"We hope the other Indian injured in the attack, Alok Reddy Madasani, gets well soon," he added.

"It again brings to light the hurt that irresponsible and jingoistic politics causes. Such politics thrives on going after minorities and smaller groups based on identity, skin colour or faith," Yechury said on social media platforms.

"There are no winners here," he said.