Toll mounts to 143 in Indore-Patna Express derailment

Pukhrayan (UP), Nov 21 (PTI) The death toll today mounted to 143 in the Indore-Patna Express derailment here in Kanpur rural area as rescuers wrapped up their operation with little hope of finding any survivors after overnight efforts to pull out trapped passengers from the mangled bogies.

All the 14 derailed coaches of the Patna-bound train 19321 have been removed from the tracks. Many distraught people were sifting through the luggage and other belongings piled up at the site to look for any clue about their missing loved ones.

"I am looking for my brother. Who knows what has happened to him? He may have changed his seat... we have searched everywhere," said Ramanand Tiwari.

After seeing bodies of three of his family members, Nirmal Verma was inconsolable.

"Whoever I tried to look for is dead. My brother, my elder sister-in-law, daughter.... I haven't found my mother yet. I fear I will find her in the same condition," said Verma who was to travel with his family to a wedding but couldn't get leave from work and was supposed to join them later.

"143 bodies have been found so far, out of which 110 have been identified," according to IG (Kanpur range) Zaki Ahmad.

While 120 bodies were pulled out till last night, some others were found as rescuers later cleared the wreckage.

Chief Medical Officer Kanpur Ramayan Prasad said 105 bodies have been handed over to family members after postmortem and free ambulances were provided.

24 bodies have been sent to Bihar, 25 to Madhya Pradesh and 56 in several districts of UP.

83 of the 202 injured passengers were admitted in hospitals of Kanpur and neighbouring Kanpur-Rural districts while rest of them have been released, Prasad said, adding 73 of them were seriously injured.

Amid scenes of tragedy, a number of good samaritans took it upon themselves to provide succour to the traumatised passengers and help out the rescuers and others on site and in hospitals by providing food and water.

Volunteers from several NGOs, RSS, Sikh organisations and even from many political outfits remained at the accident site till late in the night as rescuers struggled to pull out passengers trapped in the mangled bogies.

The volunteers visited injured victims and the distraught families in the hospitals and distributed drinking water, tea, snacks and fruits among them.

Coaches S1 and S2 had telescoped into each other and most of the casualties were feared to have been in these two compartments. S3 and S4 coaches also suffered severe damage while an AC III tier coach was also affected but casualties in it were not heavy.

Railway personnel assisted by army, NDRF and state police carried out the search and rescue operation overnight under floodlights.

Officials had said that prima facie the cause of the accident could be due to track fracture.

A high-level probe had been ordered by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, who today promised "strictest possible action" against the guilty.

Making a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha, he said a separate investigation will be held aided by latest technical and forensic analysis. .

India, China agree to keep borders 'tranquil and peaceful'

Beijing, Nov 21 (PTI) India and China today agreed on the need to keep their borders "tranquil and peaceful" as army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag held talks with top Chinese military officials, including his counterpart, amid frequent transgressions by the PLA along the LAC.

Kicking off his four-day visit, General Suhag met General Li Zuocheng, the head of China's ground forces which have undergone major restructuring in the last three years.

Suhag was welcomed by Gen Li with a Guard of Honour at the Bayi Building. Later, both held official talks in which a wide range of issues of mutual interest were discussed.

They both noted with appreciation the 6th India-China Joint Training Exercise 'Hand-in-Hand' 2016 which is currently going on in Pune and agreed to further expand defence exchanges between the two armies, a statement issued by the Indian Embassy said.

Later Suhag held talks with Chinese Air-force General Xu Qiliang, who is also the Vice Chairman of Central Military Commission, the high command of China's military.

During the meeting Suhag and Xu "reiterated their desire to keep up the momentum of defence exchanges and the need to keep the borders tranquil and peaceful", the statement said.

Gen Xu also accepted invitation to visit India.

Suhag also extended an invitation to Li to visit India, which he accepted hoping to make it soon.

The Chief of Army Staff's delegation is comprised of four senior Army Officers, holding key posts in the Indian Army.

Suhag will also visit Xian and Nanjing, where he will visit key military installations, as well as interact with General Liu Yuejun, Commander of the Eastern Theatre Command, the statement said.

During the visit, General Suhag is expected to discuss a host of issues including efficacy of mechanism put in place to deal with transgressions of troops aggressively patrolling the areas claimed by both the countries.

Several such transgressions by Chinese troops specially in the Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh sectors in the recent past resulted in long standoffs between troops on both sides.

While relations between the two militaries improved with constant visits by high-level officials including the Defence Ministers, officials say the relations remained tenuous with steady increase of Pakistan-related issues affecting their growth.

General Suhag's visit also comes at a time when relations between the two countries were stressed by issues like the USD 46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China blocking India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and move to impose a UN ban on JeM Chief Masood Azhar.

However, officials on both sides say despite contentious issues, both sides managed to keep up the dialogue at the highest level going, ensuring peace and tranquillity along the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Besides the constant interactions under the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) to address ground level issues, the two sides also held 19 rounds of talks to resolve the border dispute. 

Japan's Abe, Trump set to meet; Abe seeking to build trust

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker conversation in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 21, 2016.REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

By Steve Holland and Kiyoshi Takenaka | NEW YORK/TOKYO

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday he wants to build a relationship of trust when he meets U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, stressing that the two-way alliance is the core of Tokyo's diplomacy and security.

Abe, set to meet Trump later on Thursday in New York, is expected to be the first foreign leader to do so since the real estate magnate won a surprise victory in the U.S. election on Nov. 8.

An adviser to Trump, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to media, said earlier this week the president-elect would seek to reassure Abe and other Asian allies who were rattled by his rhetoric during the election campaign.

However, asked whether the issue of contentious issue of Japanese financial support for U.S. troops based in Japan would be raised, Trump aide Kellyanne Conway told the CBS program "This Morning" on Thursday, "Maybe they'll discuss that today."

Trump, a Republican, fanned worries in Tokyo and beyond with his campaign comments on the possibility of Japan acquiring nuclear arms and demands that allies pay more for the upkeep of U.S. forces on their soil or face their possible withdrawal.

Speaking to reporters before leaving Tokyo, Abe called the U.S.-Japan alliance "the cornerstone of Japan's diplomacy and security. Only when there is trust does an alliance come alive," Kyodo news agency reported.

Conway said the meeting, scheduled for 5 p.m. EST (2200GMT) at Trump Tower in Manhattan, would be somewhat informal given that Trump does not take over the White House from Democratic U.S. President Barack Obama until Jan. 20.

"We are very sensitive to the fact that President Obama is still in office for the next two months, and we won’t be making diplomatic agreements today," she told reporters as she entered the building.

Separately, she told CBS: "Any deeper conversations about policy and the relationship between Japan and the United States will have to wait until after the inauguration."

The Trump adviser who spoke earlier this week said he expected the president-elect to reaffirm "the American commitment to being in the Pacific long term" and that while the question of financial support for U.S. troops might come up, it was unlikely to be a focus.

Conway said Vice President-Elect Mike Pence would also attend the meeting, but there was unlikely to be any media access.

ABE TO STRESS ALLIANCE

Abe adviser Katsuyuki Kawai told Reuters he had spoken to several Trump advisers and lawmakers since arriving in Washington on Monday to prepare the meeting and had been told "we don’t have to take each word that Mr. Trump said publicly literally".

"Prime Minister Abe will definitely talk about the importance of the Japan-U.S. alliance and that alliance is not only for Japan and the United States, but also for the entire Indo-Pacific region as well as world politics," he said.

Japan agreed last December to boost spending for U.S. forces in Japan by 1.4 percent for the next five years, at an average of 189.3 billion yen ($1.74 billion) per year. Defense Minister Tomomi Inada has said Tokyo is paying enough.

Abe has boosted Japan's overall defense spending since taking office in 2012, while stretching the limits of its pacifist post-war constitution to allow the military to take a bigger global role. Defense spending still stands at just over 1 percent of GDP compared with more than 3 percent in the United States.

Some of Trump's campaign rhetoric suggested an image of Japan forged in the 1980s, when Tokyo was seen by many in the United States as a threat to jobs and a free-rider on defense.

The Trump adviser who spoke earlier in the week stressed a more positive view.

"Frankly, the prime minister has been more assertive and forthright in trying to make those changes to Japan’s global posture," he said. "I think he’s going to get a very receptive audience there."

Some diplomats say that until Trump makes key appointments, it will be hard to assess his policies on foreign relations issues ranging from overseas deployments of U.S. troops, China's maritime aggressiveness in Asia and the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.

Abe, a political blue blood and veteran lawmaker, and Trump, a brash outsider with no diplomatic or government experience, have sharp differences on policy issues such as free trade.

Trump's election has dashed hopes for U.S. approval of 12-nation trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a linchpin of Obama's "pivot" to Asia and a pillar of Abe's economic reforms.

(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg, Nobuhiro Kubo and William Mallard in Tokyo, and David Brunnstrom, Matt Spetalnick and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Michael Perry, Jeffrey Benkoe and Frances Kerry)

Demonetisation paralyses Parl; Clash in RS over Azad remarks

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) Parliament was paralysed today over demonetisation, with Rajya Sabha witnessing a sharp clash over certain remarks by Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, leaving a debate on the issue incomplete in the House which had a lively discussion yesterday.

Opposition parties, led by Congress, created uproar in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha as soon as the Houses met for the day and it continued throughout.

The Lok Sabha could carry out business only during the Question Hour, that too amid the uproar, after which it was adjourned for the day minutes past 12 PM.

The Rajya Sabha could not transact any business.

In the Upper House, which witnessed about six-hour-long debate on demonetisation yesterday, Congress and some other opposition parties pressed, from the word go, for the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the House and a response from him over the hardships caused to people by the November 8 decision to make Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes invalid.

AIADMK members, meanwhile, trooped into the Well and created uproar demanding that Karnataka release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu.

The uproar forced repeated adjournments of the House, whose proceedings for the day were ended minutes past 3 PM following a major clash between opposition and ruling members after Congress leader Azad compared Uri terror attack casualties to the number of deaths which occurred due to demonetisation "crisis".

Taking strong objection to this, the ruling side termed the comments as "anti-national" and demanded an apology from Congress besides seeking deletion of the remarks from the official records of the Upper House.

Azad, while demanding presence of the Prime Minister and asserting that the House will not be allowed to function till he comes there, said 40 people had died following government's decision on demonetisation.

"People are suffering because of demonetisation. The death toll has reached 40. In the attack by Pakistani terrorists (on army camp) in Uri (in Kashmir), even half of the deaths did not take place. People double than that figure have died due to wrong policy of the government," he said.

In the Uri attack, 18 army personnel had been killed.

In an apparent reference to the cross-LoC surgical strikes carried out by India in PoK after the Uri attack, Azad said, "There should be air strike on BJP....Your wrong policies are responsible for their murders." 

He said since the Prime Minister had made the demonetisation announcement, he should come to the House.

Demonetisation will hit terror funding & counterfeiting

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) The demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes is expected to hit terror funding and counterfeiting as there are additional security features in new notes which are very difficult to replicate, a senior government official said.

Counterfeiting of new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes would be very difficult as they have at least 7-8 additional security features which are very tough to replicate.

It would take years for anyone to counterfeit the new notes being circulated, the official said, adding funding of terror activities would be badly affected due to demonetisation.

The official said the change of higher denomination of Indian currencies was long over due as in normal circumstances any country changes its notes in every 7-8 years with additional security features to check its counterfeiting.

There was no major change in the Rs 1,000 notes ever since it was introduced in the year 2000 while changes in the Rs 500 notes, which was launched in 1987, were done more than a decade ago.

Change in the security features of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes was long over due and the present demonetisation move, even though abrupt, was absolute necessary, the official said.

There is an estimate that around Rs 17,00,000 crore black money was in circulation in the country and even though many people attempt to whitewash the black money they have, it is certain that around Rs 4,00,000 crore is not coming back to the banking system.

This will clean up the economy and windfall gain for the government, the official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 had announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes ceased to be legal tender and asked people possessing such notes to deposit or exchange the same with banks.

He had said new Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes would be introduced with different colour and design.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday that it will take up to three weeks for all two lakh ATMs in the country to be re-calibrated.

Sensex succumbs to late sell-off, ends flat on global cues

Mumbai, Nov 16 (PTI) Market benchmark Sensex ended a shade lower today after giving up early gains of about 317 points on widespread fag-end selling amid sustained capital outflows by foreign funds and a weak trend in European shares.

However, NSE Nifty managed to eke out a small gain and closed above the crucial 8,100-mark.

Sentiment remained upbeat for the major part of the session after lower inflation data raised hopes of a rate cut by RBI next month, but the index turned lower towards the fag-end as profit-booking emerged.

Sensex started off on a strong footing and advanced to a high of 26,621.40. However, it succumbed to profit-booking at higher levels, falling to 26,239.21, before settling 5.94 points or 0.02 per cent lower at 26,298.69.

NSE Nifty, however, managed to close in the positive zone with a small gain of 3.15 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 8,111.60 after shuttling between 8,210.05 and 8,089.40.

Govt defence in RS: Demonetisation is in national interest

New Delhi, Nov 16 (PTI) Facing opposition onslaught, government today put up a strong defence in Rajya Sabha on demonetisation, saying the step was taken in national interest to end corruption and black money, which it is said is also used for terror activities in the country.

Power Minister Piyush Goyal, who spoke on behalf of the ruling side after Congress leader Anand Sharma slammed the government, rejected as baseless the opposition charge that there was "leakage" of the decision and said everyone was taken by surprise which is why there are "initial" problems.

"There is no politics in it. It is a step taken in national interest," he said, adding the step will help the country in the long run.

"If anyone has the strength to take on black money and corruption, it is the BJP government and Narendra Modi," the minister said.

He claimed that common people are out in support of the government's move which is aimed against graft and terror and that the step will lead to curbing inflation and tax rate may come down.

Goyal claimed that the country has welcomed this initiative of the Modi government and it is natural that some people who have black money and are indulging in corruption and blackmoney are worried about it.

"Desh me imandaar ka samman hua hai aur be-imaan ka nuksaan hua hai, (The honest have been honoured and the dishonest have faced losses)," he said.

"I am confident that public is understanding the initial problems because the decision was kept a secret. No honest tax-payer will lose a single rupee. The loss will be of those who have amassed wealth through corruption and black money and the public should also support the government in the move," he said.

Goyal said some pain and difficulty in the implementation of such a decision is inevitable but despite that the people have strongly supported the move.

He urged all the parties to support the move so that the House gives a message to the country that all are against corruption and black money.

To Sharma's charge that those questioning the government are labelled as anti-national, he said, "Understandably if someone opposes it (demonetisation), questions will be raised on whether they are against ending the menace of corruption and black money in the country."

Taking a dig at the opposition, he said, "We thought all political parties will support us in Parliament. But for some reasons they have opposed the move. It seems they are worried due to the large public favouring it and supporting the government despite the problems being faced by them."

Goyal also said BJP has already put out its poll expenses on the website and after this step all will think before indulging in corruption and black marketing. .

Retail, WPI inflation cools; industry demands rate cut

New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Softening food prices helped ease retail as well as wholesale inflation in October, raising hopes that RBI may go in for another rate cut in its monetary policy review next month.

Retail or CPI inflation dipped to 14 month low of 4.20 per cent in October, while the one based on wholesale prices or WPI fell for the second consecutive month to 3.39 per cent in October.

While Consumer Price Index based retail inflation was at 4.39 per cent in September, the one tracking Wholesale Price Index was at 3.57 per cent.

Retail food price inflation in October was 3.32 per cent, lower than 3.88 per cent recorded in September. The WPI food inflation basket too showed moderation with inflation at 4.34 per cent in October, as against 5.75 per cent in September.

The easing inflation prompted industry chamber Ficci to demand reduction in interest rate to support investor as well as consumer sentiment.

"An immediate 0.50 per cent cut in repo rate should be considered by RBI as well as some measures may be introduced to provide easy finance for sectors like housing, automobiles and consumer durables," Ficci President Harshavardhan Neotia said.

The all-powerful Monetary Policy Committee headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel last month cut benchmark interest rates by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent. The next RBI policy review is on December 7.

While Patel had signalled more tolerance towards inflation, the easing in CPI data was in line with the RBI's inflation target of 5 per cent for March 2017.

ICRA Senior Economist Aditi Nayar said the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes could further lower inflation in the coming months.

"The temporary shock to economic activity, including predominantly cash based transactions at mandis as well as construction activity, would have an impact on wholesale prices from mid-November 2016 onward," Nayar said.

Industry demand for rate cut comes after data showed that factory output in the April-September period declined by 0.1 per cent compared to 4 per cent growth in the year-ago period.

Opposition set to pin down govt in Parliament tomorrow

New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) A Congress-led opposition today came together seeking to pin down the government on the demonetisation issue in the Winter Session of Parliament beginning tomorrow but a consenses eluded on TMC's proposed march to Rashtrapati Bhawan for meeting the President.

The leaders will meet again tomorrow to finalize the strategy on the issue agreeing at the meeting to use "all parliamentary tools including a demand for constituting a joint parliamentary committee to go into the issue and hold the government to account.

On its part, TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her party will go ahead with its plans to meet the President tomorrow. Representatives of the National Conference and AAP are likely to accompany the TMC delegation.

At a meeting of 13 opposition parties including arch rivals TMC and CPI-M, besides BSP, SP, JD-U and DMK, opposition leaders unanimously concluded that it was too early to visit the President on the issue which must first be raised adequately in parliamentary forums.

Various parties have separately given adjournment notices in Lok Sabha and for suspension of proceedings in Rajya Sabha to discuss the issue and highlight the plight of the common man.

"So far as the march is concerned, there was unanimous decision by everybody that the march tomorrow is too early. As an opposition party, we must have a march in due course of time, but not on the very first day. On first day of Parliament, we must hold a discussion inside the House.

"There was an overwhelming consensus that there is no need to rush to Rashtrapati Bhawan on the very first day before bringing this issue before Parliament," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said after the meeting. .

Support India on terror, ours not a friendship to hide: Rivlin

New Delhi, Nov 14 (PTI) Friendship between India and Israel is at work "day in, day out" and is not a relationship "we should be hiding", said Israeli President Reuven Rivlin as he pledged full support to India in fighting terrorism.

Rivlin arrived today on an eight-day visit to India, the first by any Israeli President in nearly two decades.

In a wide ranging interview to PTI, the Israeli President acknowledged differences with India on the Palestinian issue but spoke warmly about the growing Indo- Israeli ties as the two countries prepare to celebrate 25 years of establishment of full diplomatic ties between them next year.

Pledging full support to India in fighting terrorism, Rivlin said that his country was proud to "stand with India in its defence of the values of democracy".

"Terror is terror is terror, whoever carries it out and whoever are its victims. And we all have the duty to condemn in our words, and fight with our deeds against this terrible evil," asserted the President, whose country is one of the biggest suppliers of defence equipment to India and is cooperating with it in a major way in dealing with terrorism.

Answering a question on "murmurs" in Israel that India keeps under wraps their relationship because of close ties with the Arab world and domestic political considerations, Rivlin said, "Israel is proud of our friendship with India and I believe that India is proud of its friendship with Israel.

"Again, this is not just a friendship of leaders and governments. It is a friendship between people in all walks of life, in all fields of study, in all areas of trade. This is not a friendship we should be hiding. This is a friendship that we see at work day in, day out, at the very forefront of building a better world for Israelis, for Indians, and for all peoples," he said.

In reply to a question on India's continued support for an independent Palestine with east Jerusalem as its capital, Rivlin said, "Friends may not always see eye to eye on everything, and as friends we can agree to disagree with respect and understanding.

"Israel understands and indeed shares India's desire to see a just and lasting solution to the conflict between us and the Palestinians. But no solution that may ever be found has a chance of success lest we work now to build confidence between peoples," the President said, and asserted that Israel and Palestine need to work towards "direct negotiations".

Rivlin, who is accompanied by a strong delegation of businessmen, will hold comprehensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow on key bilateral and regional issues.

On the long-pending FTA, negotiations for which were launched nearly five years ago between India and Israel, Rivlin said it is a "tool" that can have huge impact and boost the partnership. .