China today said it was in “close” contact with India over its efforts to put Masood Azhar on the UN list of proscribed terrorists, as it expressed willingness to step up bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation in response to President Pranab Mukherjee’s call.

“The anti-terrorism situation has undergone great changes. China, India and all countries have shown greater willingness to counter terrorism,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

Hong was responding to Mukherjee’s remarks to state-run CCTV channel saying that China joining hands with India in the fight against terrorism will have “its own impact”.

“China and India have important consensus and common interest in terms of fighting terrorism. China is willing to step up communication and cooperation with India on anti terrorism and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability,” Hong said replying to a question on Mukherjee’s interview.

Ahead of his State visit to China scheduled to take place between May 24 and 27, Mukherjee said, “India and China – both huge countries – multi-cultural, multi-racial – if they come together in fighting this menace, I am sure it will have its own impact.

“And India always believes that every country should have a zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism and the fight is to be all out.”

His comments assumed significance as it come against the backdrop of China recently blocking India’s bid to put Masood Azhar on the UN list of proscribed terrorists, a move that has become a major irritant in Sino-India relations.

On Azhar’s ban issue, Hong said China is in “close contact with India”.

“As a permanent member of the UN security council, China always follows objective and fair attitude to deal with listing of the 1267 committee (the UN Committee authorised to list individuals and groups as terrorists) issue and we are in close communication with India on this matter,” he said.

India has publicly highlighted its disappointment to China over the issue.

India’s reservations were conveyed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval during their recent interactions with their Chinese counterparts.

The issue was expected to figure in Mukherjee’s talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping scheduled on May 26.

The UN had banned JeM in 2001 but India’s efforts to ban Azhar after the Mumbai terror attack also did not fructify as China, one of the five permanent members of the UNSC, did not allow the ban apparently at the behest of Pakistan.

The US State Treasury department had designated him as Special Designated Global Terrorist in November 2010.

About Sino-Indian relations, Mukherjee in his interview said India and China have a”comprehensive relationship” and India considers ties with China as “important”PTI.

Interpol today issued a fresh Red Corner Notice against chief of banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror outfit Maulana Masood Azhar and his brother Abdul Rauf in connection with the attack on IAF base in Pathankot.

The fresh Red Corner notice was issued after the NIA secured an ‘open-ended’ non-bailable warrant against Azhar and Rauf for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror strike on the strategic Indian Air Force base at Pathankot on the intervening night of January one and two.

Seven security personnel were killed and bodies of four terrorists were recovered from the scene of encounter which lasted nearly 80 hours.

The fresh Red Corner notice is being seen as a mere formality as Pakistan has not yet acted on the arrest warrants earlier issued against the two.

An Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) is already pending against 48-year-old Azhar for being allegedly involved in the conspiracy behind attacks on Parliament and Jammu and Kashmir state assembly. Similar warrant is pending against 41-year-old Rauf in connection with the IC-814 hijacking case of 1999.

The NIA had also moved in for issuance of RCN against two others — Kashif Jaan and Shahid Latif — in this case as they are alleged to be the handlers of the JeM terrorists who had infiltrated India on the intervening night of December 30-31.

The fresh warrants were issued on the basis of evidence presented by the NIA before a Special court in Chandigarh which included telephonic conversation between the terrorists and the Jaish handlers like Jaan and Latif.

The video of Rauf was also presented before the court. In the video, which was uploaded on a website in Pakistan, Rauf had claimed responsibility for the attack and complimented his boys for it. The video was later removed and the website also vanished.

NIA had sought voice samples of Azhar and three others from Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which came to India for probing the Pathankot attack.

India had pitched for banning Azhar at the UN but the move was vetoed by China.

Pakistan, after the return of the JIT in the first week of April, has not replied to various letters rogatory seeking legal assistance in probing the Pathankot attack.PTI

Leading Indian tech-giant Tata Consultancy Services, on Tuesday announced that its UK client, the National Employment Savings Trust, has signed up more than 100,000 employers to its auto-enrollment pension scheme.

Established in 2010 as part of the government’s workplace pension reforms, NEST requires all UK employers to enroll their eligible workforce into a qualifying workplace pension scheme.

The roll-out of the auto enrollment began in October 2012 and since then more than three million members have been enrolled with NEST, which depends on its IT solutions partner and scheme administrator TCS for delivering outcome-based, end-to-end administration services across all aspects of the scheme.

Helen Dean, CEO, NEST said: “From a standing start in October 2012, NEST now has 100,000 employers signed up to the scheme and more than three million members.

“It is vital that our IT infrastructure and digital services are able to flex and scale to meet demand as auto enrollment continues to roll-out.”

Praising the partnership with TCS, India’s largest IT services provider, Helen said: “Our partnership with TCS has been invaluable, allowing us to innovate, handle high growth and helping us bring pension saving to millions of UK workers.”

Shankar Narayanan, Country Head, UK & Ireland, TCS said: “As a pension scheme conceived and built in the digital era, NEST is a fantastic example of what is possible when you put digital technology and advanced IT infrastructures at the heart of your organisation.

The IT platforms that underpins NEST’s operations including front and back-office, IT infrastructure hosting and overarching management and governance of the scheme administration, were all set up by TCS.

The rapid growth in employer numbers is testament to a strong working partnership between TCS and NEST, the company said in a statement.

Employing more than 11,000 people in the UK, TCS is one of the country’s leading digital employers.PTI

The Supreme Court has issued bailable warrants against the chairman of the apex pollution monitoring body after he failed to appear and apprise it about the steps taken to prevent death of workers due to silicosis in Gujarat.

“Despite service of notice on the Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there is neither any personal appearance nor any appearance through the counsel requesting exemption from personal appearance.

“In that view of the matter, issue bailable warrants for securing the presence of the Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board on the next date of hearing,” a bench comprising justices Kurian Joseph and R F Nariman said.

The matter is now fixed for next hearing on June 30.

On May 4, the apex court had directed Gujarat government to provide within a month compensation of Rs 3 lakh each to the kin of the 238 deceased and also deposit an amount of Rs 2 lakh each in their names as fixed deposits.

“The distribution will be made by the District Collectors of Jhabua and Alirajpur Districts of Madhya Pradesh. In order to facilitate the District Collectors to make the payment as above, the Chief Secretary of the State of Gujarat shall transfer Rs 3 lakh each in respect of the 238 deceased in favour of the District Collectors of Jhabua and Alirajpur,” the bench had said.

On February 19, the apex court had directed CPCB to file an affidavit within four weeks on the action taken on the suggestions on spreading of silicosis disease due to pollution from quartz industries located in Godhra.

The court’s direction came while hearing a plea by an NGO seeking compensation and rehabilitation of tribals workers belonging to Madhya Pradesh who had developed silicosis while working in crushing factories in Gujarat.

In 2010, the National Human Rights Commission had ordered Gujarat government to pay compensation of up to Rs 3 lakh to 238 silicosis affected workers after noting that “Gujarat did not act in the manner in which it was expected to discharge their constitutional obligation of protecting the lives of workers, who died due to Silicosis.PTI

State-run NBCC has dropped plans to raise Rs 1,000 crore fresh capital through FPO route, saying it currently does not require funds for business expansion.

In May last year, the company’s board had approved the follow on public offer (FPO) of 10 per cent of the post issue equity share capital for augmenting the company’s resources to fund business development plans.

“The company has withdrawn the proposal to raise Rs 1,000 crore through FPO, because the company doesn’t require money right now for its business operations,” NBCC Chairman and Managing Director A K Mittal told reporters here.

The government, which currently holds 90 per cent stake in National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC), is looking to divest its stake.

In March this year, the board has approved splitting of company’s equity share of face value of Rs 10 each into five shares of Rs 2 face value each with a view to making shares more affordable as well as increasing market liquidity.

The company has reported a 6 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 141.48 crore and 40 per cent rise in income from operations to Rs 2,313.38 crore in the fourth quarter last fiscal.

For the entire 2015-16 financial year, NBCC’s net profit increased to Rs 311.13 crore and income from operations rose to Rs 5,838.27 crore.

NBCC was listed on the bourses in 2012 when the government diluted 10 per cent stake to raise Rs 127 crore.

The price band of the NBCC initial public offering had been fixed at Rs 90-106 per share.

NBCC, a Navratna enterprise is under the administrative control of Ministry of Urban Development, is present into three main segments — Project Management Consultancy (PMC), Real Estate Development and EPC Contracting.PTI

The Centre is working on a new legislation to replace the existing Consumer Protection Act, which will have penal provisions of Rs 50 lakh and five year imprisonment for celebrities promoting sale of items without verifying the quality, Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan said today.

The proposed Consumer Protection Bill, 2016 has already been approved by the Parliamentary Standing Committee and would be introduced in Parliament in the next session, the Food and Consumer Affairs Minister told reporters here.

The new legislation to replace the existing Consumer Protection Act, 1986 would have stringent provisions against actors and other personalities doing advertisements for brands without verifying the products.

“Some leading actors/actresses like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and others claim that the products they promote will add to one’s strength or one will have hair on a bald head, which is not true. Such things should stop. You advertise for an item only after being convinced of its results yourself,” Paswan said.

In the new legislation, penalty for indulging in a “deceiving” advertisement would be enhanced to Rs 50 lakh from Rs ten lakh at present and the jail term to five years from the current two years, he said.

Paswan said the new legislation would have elaborate scope for a consumer to lodge complaint against a sub-standard product sitting at home and it would also enhance the monetary limits of district and state-level consumer redressal courts.

“The new legislation will make it mandatory that the complaint be registered within 21 days,” he said adding, it would enhance the limit of a district court to hear complaints of up to Rs one crore from the present Rs 20 lakh and state courts to Rs 14 crore from present Rs one crore.

Paswan also expressed worry over cheap Chinese goods flooding the market and said measures would be taken to check their rampant flow in the country.

“Chinese entrepreneurs make a low-priced Lord Ganesha and Parvati for Diwali. Was Lord Ganesha born in China?” he asked.

He also mentioned growing instances of irregularities in sale of gold and said BIS would be strengthened and it would be made compulsory for shops to have provisions to check the “gold sold in the name of 24 carats is actually not of nine carats.PTI

Shahbaz Taseer, the son of Pakistan’s slain governor of Punjab province Salmaan Taseer, has given a chilling account of brutal torture during his half a decade-long captivity by ruthless Uzebk militants who flogged him, cut off his flesh and pulled out his nails.

The horrific ordeal was narrated by Shahbaz himself in his first interviews after he recently returned home in March from the clutches of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and later the Afghan Taliban.

“They used to flog me. I was flogged about 500 in three days, then they cut my back with blades and removed nails from my hands and feet,” the 33-year-old told BBC Urdu about his captivity by the IMU, an outfit long associated with Al-Qaeda blamed for high-profile terror attacks in Pakistan including the 2014 storming of Karachi airport.

He said he was not given food for days and was not given treatment even while suffering from malaria.

Once the captors also stitched his mouth.

“They used to torture me for making films and used to tell me their plans in advance. Like they would tell me that they will remove my nails tomorrow.

“I used to pray the whole night,” Shahbaz said.

“They would carve my back open with blades and throw salt. They sewed my mouth shut and starved me for a week. They shot me in my leg. They cut flesh off my back. I bled for seven days and they wouldn’t give me any help for seven days,” he told CNN in a separate interview.

Shahbaz, who was abducted in 2011 from his hometown Lahore, said he was initially kept in Mirali area of North Waziristan and them moved to Dattakhel area of same district.

Later, he was moved to Afghanistan by Taliban who imprisoned him in their jail.

He also said that differences cropped up between IMU – whom he described as known in militant circles for being “ruthless, merciless and the best fighters” – and Taliban over the issue of allegiance with the Islamic State (ISIS) group.

“Following the dispute, Afghan Taliban attacked the Uzbeks and eliminated their whole group – their leadership.

For three days, only death lived there,” he said.

Describing his survival as a “personal victory”, Shahbaz said patience and the hope of eventual release sustained him.

“People, friends and family say you are very brave, you came back, it was very heroic. But these are not things I can say about myself. What I can say about myself is that I learnt to be very patient.

“When the kidnappers would call my mother, it was not me speaking to her; it was them. I was just their vehicle. I knew she couldn’t speak freely either. But I learned to focus on her voice. I loved hearing her voice,” he said.PTI

Over six years after it expelled Amar Singh, the Samajwadi Party today “unanimously” declared him as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls, setting the stage for his possible return to the party.

The party also nominated six others, including former Union minister Beni Prasad Verma, an influential Kurmi leader who recently quit Congress and returned to the Samajwadi Party, and realtor Sanjay Seth for the biennial polls scheduled next month.

When asked about when would Singh, a former confidante of Mulayam Singh Yadav, rejoin the party, Shivpal Singh Yadav, a UP Minister and brother of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said,” It will be decided by Netaji (Mulayam) and Amar Singh. We have earlier also sent Congress leaders Pramod Tiwari and P L Punia to Rajya Sabha.”

Amar Singh along with his close associate Jaya Prada were expelled from the Samajwadi Party in February, 2010. He floated his own political party, Rashtriya Lok Manch, in 2011, and fielded a large number of candidates in 2012 assembly polls. However, none of his candidates won. He had joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal and contested the 2014 Lok Sabha poll from Fatehpur Sikri but lost.

Samajwadi Party denied there were “differences” over some candidates and claimed the decision on fielding them for the Rajya Sabha polls was “unanimous”.

“The SP parliamentary board has unanimously decided seven names for Rajya Sabha. There were no differences and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav was authorised to take the final decision. The names were read out in the meeting,” Shivpal, also the party spokesman, told reporters.

The board has taken the decision after much thought and it will strengthen the party, he said, refuting reports of certain “objections” raised over some candidates at the meeting held today.

The seven candidates are — Beni Prasad Verma, Amar Singh, Sanjay Seth, Sukhram Singh Yadav, Reoti Raman Singh, Vishwambhar Prasad Nishad and Arvind Pratap Singh.

Seth is a controversial Lucknow-based builder, who was earlier recommended to be nominated an MLC by the ruling party but his name was not approved by Governor Ram Naik. The governor had also rejected the government’s proposal to nominate Rajvijay Singh and Kamlesh Pathak to the Legislative Council, contending that they did not qualify for it due to criminal cases pending against them.pti

Lebanon’s Hezbollah today blamed Islamist extremists for killing the Shiite militant group’s top military commander in Syria in an artillery attack.

The Iran-backed movement has deployed thousands of fighters in Syria where Mustafa Badreddine had led its intervention in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

“An investigation has shown that the blast that targeted one of our positions near the Damascus international airport that led to the martyrdom of the brother commander Mustafa Badreddine was caused by artillery bombardment carried out by takfiri (Sunni extremist) groups present in that region,” a Hezbollah statement said.

It did not name any particular group and there has been no claim of responsibility for the attack.

Hezbollah has been battling opponents of the regime including Sunni extremists from the Islamic State jihadist group and Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate.

A Syrian security source has told AFP that Badreddine was in a warehouse near the Damascus airport when it was rocked by a blast on Thursday night.

No aircraft was heard before the explosion, the source said.

In its statement today, a day after thousands attended Badreddine’s funeral in Beirut, Hezbollah vowed no let up in its war against those it describes as “criminal gangs” in Syria.

“The result of the investigation will only increase our determination and will to pursue the fight against those criminal gangs until they are defeated,” the statement said.

“It is the same battle against the American-Zionist scheme in the region, which the terrorists are spearheading,” it added.

Badreddine was on a US terror sanctions blacklist, was a key suspect in the 2005 assassination in Beirut of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri and was one of the “most wanted” by Israel.

His predecessor, cousin and brother-in-law Imad Mughniyeh, was killed in Damascus in a 2008 bombing that Hezbollah blamed on its regional arch-foe Israel with whom it has fought several wars.

Badreddine’s death has raised many questions, namely because the area where he was killed is technically under the control of the Syrian army while Hezbollah and Iranian fighters are also present there.

The closest rebel positions are seven kilometres (four miles) away in the Eastern Ghouta area.PTI