Desperate to return to power in Punjab after 10 years, the Congress appears to be in a fix over announcing its remaining 40 candidates as the party fears the rejected candidates would rebel against the official candidates.

State Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh and ticket aspirants have been camping in New Delhi for over a month now, but apparently consensus is still eluding the main Opposition party when it comes to candidates for 40 of the 117 Assembly segments.

Even as the other political parties, including the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have already announced most of their candidates and are busy with their poll campaign, Congress is clearly lagging behind as it’s yet to announce 40 of its candidates.

The Congress will hold yet another brainstorming session on January 6 in the matter, but this delay in announcing the rest of the candidates are being attributed the ‘tough call’ the party needs to take select right candidates.

The on-going infighting within the Congress after announcement of 77 tickets has also made the task difficult as the party fears further rebellion against official candidate will severely dent its prospects.

Congress insiders said that top party leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Ambika Soni are much concerned about the candidates where ‘winnability’ is much doubtful and Opposition candidate is strong.

The earlier two Congress lists did not mention the names constituencies where for candidates who have recently joined the Congress from SAD or the BJP are in contention for the ticket.

These include Amritsar east, claimed by former BJP legislator Navjot Kaur Sidhu who joined Congress last month and Phillaur which is eyed by Sarwan Singh Phillaur, the former SAD legislator from Kartarpur.

Similarly, senior vice-president Lal Singh, a sitting legislator from Sanaur seeking ticket for himself and his son even as Capt Amarinder is insisting on ‘one family one ticket’ policy.

Former Lok Sabha member from Ludhiana, Manish Tewari is a strong contender for Ludhiana East, but sitting member of Parliament Ravneet Bittu, it is learnt, is opposing his candidature.

Congress general secretary Asha Kumari, who is also party’s Punjab election in-charge, said, “There are some seats where competition is stiff due the strong candidatures”. “The Central election committee is looking into it and will sort it out soon”, she said.

Israeli police have questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for nearly three hours on suspicion of graft after the Attorney General said that the police had gathered enough evidence against him as a "possible criminal suspect".

The police investigating team questioned 67-year-old Netanyahu last evening over suspicion that he and his family members received illicit gifts and other favours from businessmen running into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Netanyahu has strongly denied all allegations against him.

The prime minister also tried to play down the development telling his critics, "don't celebrate yet", hours before he was to be questioned.

"Nothing will come (of this investigation) and you will continue to spew out hot air," Netanyahu had said mockingly.

A statement issued by Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit said that police found enough evidence to support the questioning of the premier as a possible criminal suspect.

The decision to question Netanyahu was made in light of evidence collected in the past month, Mendelblit said.

The new development "changed the evidentiary situation," the Attorney General said adding that it warranted a full-blown investigation, as opposed to a preliminary inquiry, on the prime minister.

The statement chronicled the inquiry but did not provide details as of the nature suspicions in the graft case.

The police has been examining "a long list of claims" against the PM since July, the Attorney General said.

"The inquiry developed and branched out in directions different from the ones that initially launched it," he said.

The statement also detailed suspicions that were raised against Netanyahu but had been since dropped.

Additional information would be released to the public pending the development of the investigation, the AG added.

Israel police has interrogated witnesses abroad as well as in Israel about the graft case against Netanyahu and his family.

One witness whose deposition, as per media reports, led to a breakthrough was Jewish American businessman Ron Lauder, a longtime friend of Netanyahu's.

Lauder confirmed to police that he had given Netanyahu various gifts, including a suit, and that he had also financed a trip abroad for the prime minister's son, Yair.

The police believe the value of the gifts Lauder gave Netanyahu is greater than what he admitted to and that they were not given in friendship, but in hopes of gaining some benefit.

Rubbishing speculations about the possibility of early Assembly polls in Gujarat, state Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on  said the polls would be held on schedule, during the later part of this year.

Rupani also blamed Congress for spreading 'rumours' about early polls, which, according to him, is the opposition party's strategy to keep their workers busy.

"I do not see any possibility of early Assembly polls.

I believe that elections will be held on schedule. This is just a rumour spread by Congress to keep their workers busy.

Otherwise, I don't believe that polls will be held early," Rupani told reporters here after a function.

Since the sudden change of guard in August last year, when Rupani took over the reins from Anandiben Patel, Gujarat Congress leaders have been claiming there is a possibility that elections in Gujarat may take place early.

Gujarat Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki had on some occasions claimed that polls may be held early. He even asked the party cadres to gear up for early polls.

"BJP will face severe defeat in UP and Punjab, where polls will be held in the mid of 2017. BJP may not want to cloud their prospects in Gujarat with those defeats. Thus, it is highly possible that polls in Gujarat would take place simultaneously with Punjab and UP," Solanki had recently claimed.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has won rights to bid for oil and gas development projects in Iran.

OVL is among the 29 international oil companies from more than a dozen countries that Iran has pre-qualified to bid in the upcoming tender for oil and gas projects, according to the list put out by National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC).

Others on the list include Royal Dutch Shell Plc, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), Total SA of France, Russia's Gazprom and Eni of Italy.

Iran, the holder of world's fourth-largest oil reserves and OPEC's third-largest oil producer, is hoping to attract as much as $150 billion in foreign investment in its oil, gas and petrochemicals sectors over the next few years.

The list of pre-qualified firms also included Malaysia's Petronas, Russia's Lukoil, China's CNOOC and Sinopec, Inpex of Japan, KOGAS of Korea. Most of these companies have been involved in Iran's oil industry projects before the US- tailored sanctions were imposed against the country in 2011.

Newcomers include Wintershall from Germany, Maersk from Finland, DNO from Norway and CEPSA from Spain, according to the NIOC list.

US oil services provider Schlumberger Ltd was also among those identified, according to the NIOC website.

OVL is already present in Iran. In 2008, it had discovered the Farzad-B gas field in the Farsi block in Persian Gulf. The discovery has an in-place gas reserve of 21.7 trillion cubic feet, of which 12.5 tcf are recoverable.

"We are in negotiations with Iran for development rights of Farzad-B field," a senior company official said.

"Discussions on continuing a development plan that we submitted to Iranian authorities. We are hoping negotiations will continue soon." 

Gas produced from the field can either be converted into LNG by freezing at sub-zero temperature and shipping in cryogenic ships to India or transported through a pipeline — via overland passing through Pakistan or sub-sea.

The official said the OVL will definitely look at participating in the bid round that Iran will hold using a new, less restrictive Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) model.

The IPC model ends a buy-back system dating back more than 20 years under which Iran did not allow foreign firms to book reserves or take equity stakes in Iranian companies.

Under a buyback deal, the host government agreed to pay the contractor an agreed price for all volumes of hydrocarbons the contractor produces.

But now, NIOC will set up joint ventures for crude oil and gas production with international companies which will be paid with a share of the output.

Also, different stages of exploration, development and production will be offered to contractors as an integrated package, with the emphasis laid on enhanced and improved recovery.

The new IPC is said to be more flexible terms that take into account oil price fluctuations and investment risks.

The famous Saibaba temple here has received Rs 9.84 crore in donations between December 25 and January 2, a period during which more than nine lakh devotees visited the shrine, an official said on Tuesday.

Sachin Tambe, a member of the Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST), said of the total amount Rs 5.35 crore was received in temple's various donation boxes, Rs 1.49 crore at counters through debit cards (Rs 27.32 lakh), cheques/drafts (Rs 65 lakh) and online (Rs 6.33 lakh).

Among other modes, Rs 1.23 crore came through paid darshan passes (VIP) and Rs 2.31 lakh through money orders, Tambe added.

Apart from cash donations, the trust also received gold, silver ornaments and other items.

One Chhathisgarh-based devotee donated a golden plate (thali) weighing over 1kg, while a local woman, Sureskh Ranmale, gifted a gold-made mat to the temple, he said.

Riding on brilliant knocks from openers Matthew Thomas Renshaw (167*) and David Warner (113*), Australia scored 365 for 3 on the opening day of the third Test match against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

Warner, who slammed 17 boundaries in a 95-ball knock became the first batsman to hit a century in the opening session of a Test match here, while his compatriot Renshaw scored his first Test century.

Renshaw and Peter Handscomb (40) were at the crease when umpires dislodged the bails for the day.

For Pakistan, pacer Wahab Riaz scalped two wickets while Yasir Shah took one wicket.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Australia started the day on a positive note as Renshaw and Warner, who slammed his third consecutive Test ton at the ground, forged a 151-run partnership for the first wicket before the left-hander was dismissed by Riaz in the 33rd over of the innings.

Usman Khawaja (13) then joined the 20-year-old but could not add much to the score as he was also sent packing in the 49th over.

Skipper Steven Smith (24), who was dominant in Melbourne, then gave a simple catch to Sarfraz Ahmed in an attempted cut at a Yasir Shah delivery in the 60th over.

After the fall of three quick wickets, Handscomb along with Renshaw steadied the innings and stitched a 121-run fourth wicket partnership to help Australia reach a strong position.

Taking on the Centre against the backdrop of assumption of charge by General Bipin Rawat as the new Army chief, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday asked the government if there is a political will to teach Pakistan a lesson.

"Our soldiers have the courage along with a 56-inch chest and are ready to face the enemy while taking bullets upon themselves. But the moot question remains if there is a political will in Delhi to teach Pakistan a lesson," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.

General Rawat had said his force is prepared for a two-front war involving Pakistan and China simultaneously while emphasising the need to look at cooperation and not confrontation with Beijing.

The country has lost most of its jawans in the Kashmir Valley in the last two-and-a-half years, the NDA constituent pointed out, and asked if there is a need to remain silent when Pakistan refuses to end bloodshed.

"For how many years do we keep bearing the sword of insecurity hanging over our heads? Pakistan has indulged in ceasefire violations hundreds of times in the last two years and attacked Army check posts," the Sena said.

Sometime back, India conducted surgical strikes across the LoC to show its strength to the neighbouring nation. But, contrary to claims that Pakistan would learn a lesson, more than 70 soldiers were martyred due to terror-related activities," it said.

"Soldiers are sacrificing their lives without going into war. If the new Army chief uses his tenure to stop deaths of soldiers and give them respect, the nation will be more thankful to him," the Sena said.

Care should be taken that the Army chief's statement of flexing muscles should not become a joke in future, it added.

Bangladesh Navy personnel were deployed to help put out a fire that engulfed about 500 shops at a market here on Tuesday.

Parts of the market that sells food, kitchen items, cosmetics, ornaments, toys, furniture and electronics collapsed due to the blaze at diplomatic enclave Gulshan, Xinhua news agency reported.

As many as 22 units of firefighters were at the spot, a firefighter said.

No casualties have been reported.

The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

Government on Tuesday announced safety audit for all 418 mines in the country in the wake of one of the worst open cast mine disaster under Rajmahal, killing at least 18 people.

"We held a review meeting with Coal India and there we have taken few decisions on mine safety. We have also decided to carry out a detailed investigation on the accident. A mine safety audit of all the mines will also be undertaken," Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal said here today stating that the government was committed to zero accident target.

Speaking after the CII National Council Meeting, he said the audit would be carried out by DG Mining Safety on a priority basis based on the size of the mines.

Goyal said first 58 large mines of the country would be covered where annual composite overburden production is between one to five million cubic metres.

External expert's inputs may be taken like Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research and others, the Minister said.

Safety actions like anti-collision system for dumpers, electronic Tele Monitoring system, Geo technical cells in Coal India mines for slope stability and gas Monitoring system among others had been taken.

Goyal said ministry was committed to spend on forewarning equipments at mines.

He said the government was trying to implement a policy for the usage of large equipment and dumpers, making man shelters at all mines.

However, government is not taking any hasty decisions to change the MDO policy over the accident.

"We have ordered an investigation on the accident and let the report come," Goyal said when asked whether the accident would have any impact on the MDO policy.

Paying condolences to the deceased, the minister said an exgratia of Rs.5 lakh had been announced and teams had rushed to reach out to the families.

According to him 18 people had died but rescue operation are underway.

Amid a battle over the party symbol 'cycle', Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav went into a huddle here on Tuesday afternoon.

The development surprised many as the two factions of the Samajwadi Party appeared headed for a split after the dramatic happenings of the past few days. 

Mulayam Singh flew into the state capital and within an hour Akhilesh Yadav drove to his bungalow. They were closeted for more than three hours, said an informed source.

Midway, Mulayam confidant Shivpal Yadav, who the Akhilesh camp dethroned as the state unit chief on Sunday, was also told to attend the meeting. 

No further details were immediately available but the source said a "formula acceptable to all" was being worked out.

The source said the prospect of the party symbol being frozen by the Election Commission had brought the two warring factions to the drawing board again.

With assembly elections imminent, a division in the party and a freeze on the party symbol could render a body blow to the Samajwadi Party. 

Earlier, a delegation of the Akhilesh camp – Ram Gopal Yadav, Kironmoy Nanda, Naresh Agarwal and state minister Abhishek Misra – met Election Commission officials in Delhi and staked claim over the 'cycle' symbol.

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned those who indulged in malpractices during the 50-day demonetisation drive, the Finance Ministry has asked public sector banks to submit a report on the involvement of officials illegally changing currency notes.

Banks will give details of officials those who violated law or government and RBI direction during the demonetisation period, sources in the the Finance Ministry said.

Although vigilance proceeding against directors are carried out by the Finance Ministry, the department proceedings or criminal proceedings against officials are carried out by bank itself.

Some of the officials tried to subvert the system during the demonetisation.

For example, CBI registered case against a Bank of Baroda official in Kolkata for converting old currency in violation of rules.

Some officials of State Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Mysore along with other banks was also mentioned in one of the FIRs filed by investigative agency during the demonetisation period.

The Prime Minister in his address to the nation on the New Year eve had said, "Amid this herculean effort, some grave crimes by some officers in some banks have come to light. Some government officers have also committed serious offences, and tried to take advantage of the situation. They will not be spared." 

Meanwhile, senior bankers also feel that there could be RBI inspection also to check whether there were any lapses at branches on banks' side.

During the demonetisation period, the Enforcement Directorate had done random check of select branches to check the money laundering activity.

Contradicting a prevalent perception, a new study says that our brain enlargement and dental reduction did not happen in lockstep.

The findings suggest that evolution of brain and tooth size in humans were likely influenced by different ecological and behavioural factors.

"Once something becomes conventional wisdom, in no time at all it becomes dogma," said study co-author Bernard Wood, Professor at George Washington University, US.

"The co-evolution of brains and teeth was on a fast-track to dogma status, but we caught it in the nick of time," Wood noted.

This research challenges the common view that reduction of tooth size in hominins is linked with having a larger brain. 

The reasoning is that larger brains allowed hominins to start making stone tools and that the use of these tools reduced the need to have such large chewing teeth. 

But recent studies by other authors found that hominins had larger brains before chewing teeth became smaller, and they made and used stone tools when brains were still quite small, which challenges this relationship.

The new study — published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences — evaluated this issue by measuring and comparing the rates at which teeth and brains have evolved along the different branches of the human evolutionary tree.

"The findings of the study indicate that simple causal relationships between the evolution of brain size, tool use and tooth size are unlikely to hold true when considering the complex scenarios of hominin evolution and the extended time periods during which evolutionary change has occurred," lead author Aida Gomez-Robles from George Washington University noted.

For the study, the researchers analysed eight different hominin species. 

They identified fast-evolving species by comparing differences between groups with those obtained when simulating evolution at a constant rate across all lineages, and they found clear differences between tooth evolution and brain evolution. 
 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav's camp on Tuesday told the poll panel to allocate it the election symbol 'cycle', a day after party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav made the same claim.

Akhilesh confidant Ram Gopal Yadav met Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi to stake the claim. 

Ram Gopal Yadav later said: "We told the Election Commission that most party MPs, MLAs and MLCs are with Akhilesh. So the party led by him is the real Samajwadi Party and it should get the party symbol." 

Ram Gopal Yadav was accompanied by party leaders Kiranmoy Nanda, Abhishek Mishra, Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agrawal and Lok Sabha member and Ram Goapl's son Akshay Yadav to the Election Commission.

According to informed sources, the Akhilesh faction showed videos of the national convention of Sunday in Lucknow with a large number of party workers electing the Chief Minister as the National Working President.

The Akhilesh faction on Sunday dislodged Mulayam Singh as the party president. The meeting was termed unconstitutional and illegal by Mulayam Singh.

Meanwhile, former Chief Election Commissioner B.B. Tandon told IANS: "The EC will take a view on the evidence produced and both the parties will be given a hearing.

"After that, the EC will take a final decision on allotting the symbol… It is quite likely the one of the factions will loose the symbol, it can be frozen and they will be asked to choose fresh symbols," Tandon said. 

With Uttar Pradesh elections expected to take place this year, it may end up in both factions getting fresh party names and symbols, a source said. 

Meanwhile, party leader Azam Khan, who on Saturday brokered peace between the warring father and the son, arrived in New Delhi to meet Mulayam Singh, who apparently returned to Lucknow without meeting him. 

"He came to Delhi to meet Mulayam and try to bring the warring factions to the discussion table. But Mulayam unfortunately left before he could meet him," a party source said.

Metro services on the Blue Line of Delhi Metro were severely hit on Tuesday due to a technical snag at the Mandi House station, causing major inconvenience to commuters.

Metro officials said the trains between Pragati Maidan and Mandi House stations were run at a reduced speed for maintenance work. 

"A speed restriction of 20 km per hour has been imposed since 11.20 a.m. between the two stations," the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement. 

This resulted in a cascading effect on the whole line, especially towards Noida and Vaishali, leading to overcrowded trains and piling up of commuters at platforms of several stations.

DMRC said the delay in metro operations was due to an OverHead Electrification (OHE) problem in the section near Mandi House, which was being addressed.

Operations on all other lines including the Violet Line, which intersects Blue Line at Mandi House station, were unaffected, a metro official told IANS.

The snag caused unremitting pain to thousands of commuters.

"There was a big spark in the overhead wire at Mandi House station in the morning. I saw it," a passenger said.

A similar snag occurred on December 25 owing to some repair work between Indraprastha and Yamuna Bank stations of the Blue Line, disrupting train operations for more than three hours that day.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said demonetisation has increased problems for Naxals, underlining that intelligence inputs suggest that they have weakened.

The minister refused to give any specific estimates about the damage inflicted on the guerillas but said the information suggests that massive problems are being faced by them post notes ban.

"It is correct that Naxals have weakened post- demonetisation… The intelligence information received by us shows their problems have increased. Their strength has reduced," Singh said.

On November 8, the government had announced that Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes ceased to be legal tender.

When asked about the attack on women in Bengaluru on New Year's eve, Singh said, "It is not possible to keeping seeking reports from the state on every issue. I believe that protecting the modesty of women is the duty of every state government and they should take it seriously." 

On the issue of recent riots in West Bengal, Singh said ministry is in the know of every big problem.

"We don't do politics of confrontation. We will talk it out," he said when asked about reports of a rift between the West Bengal government and the Centre.

He also refused to give any clear response whether his views were taken on the issue of demonetisation.

Singh said efforts are going on to bring back Dawood Ibrahim but those cannot be disclosed in public.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said demonetisation has increased problems for Naxals, underlining that intelligence inputs suggest that they have weakened.

The minister refused to give any specific estimates about the damage inflicted on the guerillas but said the information suggests that massive problems are being faced by them post notes ban.

"It is correct that Naxals have weakened post- demonetisation… The intelligence information received by us shows their problems have increased. Their strength has reduced," Singh said.

On November 8, the government had announced that Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes ceased to be legal tender.

When asked about the attack on women in Bengaluru on New Year's eve, Singh said, "It is not possible to keeping seeking reports from the state on every issue. I believe that protecting the modesty of women is the duty of every state government and they should take it seriously." 

On the issue of recent riots in West Bengal, Singh said ministry is in the know of every big problem.

"We don't do politics of confrontation. We will talk it out," he said when asked about reports of a rift between the West Bengal government and the Centre.

He also refused to give any clear response whether his views were taken on the issue of demonetisation.

Singh said efforts are going on to bring back Dawood Ibrahim but those cannot be disclosed in public.

China has tightened border rules in Tibet, extending the already stringent rules to ports, trade zones and scenic spots, citing growing incidence of "separatist and terrorist activities" amid efforts to make the remote Himalayan region South Asia's trade hub.

The designated border areas under Sunday's new regulation now include land ports, trade zones and scenic spots, expanding the scope of the old regulation that has been in effect since 2000, state-run Global Times reported late on Monday.

As Tibet further opens up with fast economic development, border areas have witnessed more disputes and diverse criminal activities, including those involving separatism, illegal migration and terrorism, the report quoted Badro, deputy head of the Tibet border police, as saying.

It also quoted Wang Chunhuan, deputy director of the Theoretical Marxism Institute of the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences (TASS) who backed the amendment, explaining what the update in rules meant.

"The update of border regulation provides a legal foundation to combat potential terrorist activities in the future brought by the further opening-up of Tibet as the Belt and Road initiative has positioned Tibet as a gateway to South Asia, even though the border areas do not face severe terrorist challenges at present in general," Wang said.

The new regulations came as China is trying to make Tibet a hub for trade and transport to South Asia through Nepal with road and rail connectivity.

While the previous pro-China Nepalese Prime Minister, K P Sharma Oli, had signed a transit trade deal with Beijing in March last year to counter Nepal's dependence on India, his successor Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda is under pressure to implement the deals.

China also agreed his request to build a strategic railway link between the two countries from Gyirong, the last Tibetan county which shares border with Nepal.

China plans to extend the railway later to India and other South Asian countries to promote trade.

Last month, China formally launched a rail and road cargo service linking Tibet and Nepal with dozens of trucks carrying USD 2.8 million worth of goods.

Tibetan refugees have been alleging that Nepal is cracking down hard on the Tibetans leaving the Himalayan region to visit the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala.

Official reports say that Tibet economy is booming. Tibet reported a total trade volume of more than 5.66 billion yuan (USD 815 million) in 2015, engaging in bilateral trade with 77 countries and regions including with India through the border point in Sikkim, the Global Times report said.

It also received more than 23 million tourists last year, a 15 per cent year on year increase, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.