Top Stories on 17th October in a capsule

North Korea warns the US of a ‘nuclear war at any moment’

The autocratic regime of North Korea gave fresh warnings to the United Nations as it cited possibility of a nuclear attack any moment, on Tuesday. This statement came after US and South Korea started on the largest joint naval drills off the east and west coasts of the peninsula on Monday. The Deputy Ambassador to United Nations (UN) Kim In Ryong, addressing the Disarmament Committee, said the country has been receiving direct threats of nuclear attacks from the US since the 1970s, and in such a situation they have the right of possessing nuclear weapons as self-defense. The US however, displayed a much softer reaction, as US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan said they are not ruling out the eventual possibility of direct talks with the rival nation.

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Air India to be sold in Parts

The State owned Airline will not be sold as a single unit, media reports said on Tuesday. The carrier which has a debt of 50,000 crores, has many potential buyers. While Indigo wanted Air India to increase its international fleet, Tata sons wanted to take the company back to its roots like in the 1930’s. Air India’s finances have been bleeding since its merger in 2007 with Indian Airlines, which brought more losses than the anticipated profits. The government has now set up a committee headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to help it in ways to disinvest in the air carrier. Some media reports suggest that the company will be sold to ‘domestic buyers’, with individual, profit generating business arms.

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BJP asks Congress to reveal Vadra’s links with arms dealer

The BJP on Tuesday asked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul to answer claims of links between Robert Vadra and absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari. Backing the party, Union Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed a press conference, and stated that Congress’ silence will be viewed as their acceptance. Sitharaman referred to a media report that has allegedly claimed that ‘Bhandari had booked business class tickets for Vadra in 2012.’ While on the topic, Sitharaman also questioned Vadra’s involvement in the 7.5 lakhs Swiss franc that was found deposited in Bhandari’s bank account. Earlier, Union Minister Smriti Irani had also questioned Rahul Gandhi’s silence on the same.

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Chief Minister denies gold biscuits for MLAs on 60^th Assembly anniversary

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly sparked fresh controversy after a Speaker planned to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Assembly by gifting gold biscuits to the members. Chief Minister Siddaramiah, whose governance has been criticized on the same, replied in negative on the issue saying "There is no gold biscuit or any other thing... there are no mementos.” The secretariat had be assumed of seeking a sum of rupees 27 crore for the two day celebration, including rupees 3 crores for the gifts, which also includes silver plates for its employees. At a time when the capital city of Bengaluru grapples with problem of potholes, the extravagant proposal has been criticized by ruling Congress party member and the opposition alike.

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US- backed forces take Raqqa from the Islamic State

Once said to be the capital of the Islamic State of Levant (ISIS), the city of Raqqa in Syria was liberated from the terrorist outfit from the US backed military &Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Tuesday. The national hospital was liberated and... 22 foreign mercenaries were killed,” the SDF said after its four month battle with the ISIS. The Raqqa Stadium and National Hospital were the last stronghold of the ISIS militants, with only 300 standing in the end. In eastern Syria too, the terrorists faced a backlash as Russian forces closed down on them.

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Rajasthan police refuses to give guard of honour to Rajnath Singh

About 250 constables from Jodhpur, Rajasthan took leave for a day on Monday, with some of them refusing guard of honour to Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh. The cops took the drastic step following a Whatsapp rumour being circulated that said their pay scale would be reduced from Rs 24,000 to Rs 19,000 per month. 23 police officers had shaved their heads in protest to the same. The police authorities said the holiday was not sanctioned and therefore strict action will be taken against the cops. In order to dispel the rumour, the Director General of police has asked all district superintendents and inspector generals to ask the constables to resume duty.

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PM Modi inaugurates AIIMS-like institute for Ayurveda in Delhi

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the first ever 200-bed Ayurveda hospital on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, on Tuesday. Government plans to establish such traditional medical institutes in every district of the country, stated Modi. The AIIA, will function under the ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH). It aims to offer quality patient care and become a research hub in generating scientific information about quality, safety, and efficacy of ayurvedic products. The first phase of the hospital was built with a budget of Rs 157 crore.

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Ludhiana: RSS leader Ravinder Gosai shot dead in his residence

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Ravinder Gosai (58) was gunned down outside his house by two unidentified assailants at 7.20 am on Tuesday morning .He was shot twice in his neck and his back minutes after he came out of his house with his pet dog. Gosai died at the spot while the assailants fled. He was the office bearer of district Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  The police has currently initiated an investigation and has retrieved CCTV grab of the two accused who gunned down RSS leader. After the attack, Gosai’s house has been huddled up by BJP and RSS leaders.

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IIT Bombay, Delhi, Madras among top 50 QS-Asian University Rankings

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay emerged as the best Indian university in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asian University Rankings for 2018. IIT Bombay was ranked 34th in Asia, followed by IIT Delhi (41), IIT Madras (48) and IISc Bengaluru at 51. “This is a reflection of the excellent work being done by faculty and students of the Institute,” said the IIT Bombay director Devang Khakhar to media. Among the top 10 Indian schools, all except IIT Bombay lost their ground. While IISc Bangalore dropped 18 ranks, Calcutta University dropped 17 places to 125th in Asia.

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50 dead, 200 injured in attack in Afghan Police Headquarters

Around 50 died and more than 200 were wounded in two separate suicide and gun attacks on government forces in Afghanistan, on Tuesday, confirmed officials. Two attackers were also killed, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the two assaults on twitter. Firstly an attack was targeted on a police training centre attached to the headquarters in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province and then a separate ambush in the neighboring province of Ghazni. The attack comes one day after the four-way talks between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China were held Monday in Oman with the aim of ending the Taliban's 16-year insurgency.

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31 killed in alleged US drone strike near Pak-Afghan Border

Two suspected US-Drone strikes on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Tuesday, killed around 31 people. At least 20 were believed killed and 10 injured in a drone attack near the same area on Monday.  The attacks come days after a Canadian-American couple held hostage by the Taliban were freed from the area in Pakistan's northwest. "Four unmanned drones fired six missiles in Monday's attack, and four more were dropped in two strikes on Tuesday,", said Baseer Khan Wazir, a top administrative official in the Kurram Agency, which is a part of Pakistan's restive Federally Administered Tribal Areas.