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New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) Overnight protest by Aam Aadmi party MLAs at Delhi assembly seeking probe against Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena continued on Tuesday morning. The agitating AAP MLAs will join the assembly session from protesting site at 11 a.m. when the House will resume again on Tuesday.

The AAP MLAs are protesting beneath the statue of Mahatma Gandhi inside the assembly premises against Saxena for allegedly exchanging demonetised notes with face value of Rs 1,400 crore during his tenure as the KVIC chairman and seeking probe against him.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs have also been protesting under the Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru statues inside the assembly premises seeking Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia's resignation. The BJP MLAs will also join the session when the House resumes at 11 a.m.

Amid the ongoing face-off between Centre and Delhi govt, the Aam Aadmi Party on Monday accused Delhi LG V.K. Saxena of corruption during demonetization. The party demanded sacking of LG for indulging in money laundering during demonetisation besides gross misuse of power as the Chairman of the Khadi Commission.

AAP senior leader and MLA Atishi alleged, "When the whole country was standing in lines all day, all night during demonetisation, Delhi LG V.K. Saxena was busy converting his black money to white. Erstwhile Khadi Gramodyog Chairman V.K. Saxena pressured the cashiers of Khadi stores all over India to get his old unaccounted currency exchanged for new".

--IANS
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London, Aug 30 (IANS) Singer Halsey has shared that they suffered "terrible food poisoning" at the Reading and Leeds festival.

The 27-year-old singer said via social media that they performed at the festival despite being hit by a bad case of food poisoning, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Halsey wrote: "No idea how I'm still alive after my Leeds set. I have terrible food poisoning STILL! It started yesterday at 2pm and I somehow made it on stage (after the medical team at the festival were soooo helpful!)."

She has played shows under some "messed up conditions" in the past.

However, the singer considers this latest drama to be "the worst in recent memory".

Halsey shared: "Felt like I was on Jupiter the whole time. Thank you for being so cool and letting me basically do whatever just to survive the set! You guys would have been an unreal crowd under ANY circumstances let alone those."

The 'Gasoline' hitmaker subsequently shared a photo of themself receiving medical attention. In the photo, Halsey is seen slouched on a couched as they receive help from a medic.

Earlier this year, Halsey has hinted at scaling back their workload amid their ongoing health struggles.

The singer took to Instagram to discuss the possibility of reducing their work schedule due to their struggles with endometriosis, which can cause debilitating pain.

--IANS
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Hyderabad, Aug 30 (IANS) Telangana Minister K.T. Rama Rao and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya continue to be engaged in a war of words on Twitter after the former's tweet that not even one medical college was sanctioned to the state by the BJP-led government at the Centre.

Mandaviya hit back at the state government saying it did not submit any proposal for medical colleges.

Rama Rao, who is also working president of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), disputed the central minister's claim.

"Mansukh Ji, Wish you had a review before you chose to respond. Attached are responses of your predecessors to the requests from Telangana Health Ministers from 2015 & 2019 Telangana Govt has consistently requested for medical colleges but fact is your Govt delivered ZERO," wrote KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known.

"Before you jump up & respond, let me also remind you that your Govt failed to even fill the 544 Jobs Vacant in AIIMS Bibinagar AIIMS was sanctioned during the UPA Govt & the fact is not ONE educational institution was sanctioned by NPA Govt; neither by your Dept nor by HRD," added KTR.

The war of words stated with KTR's tweet on Sunday that Chief Minister KCR scripting history in medical education.

He pointed out that prior to 2014, in 67 years only five government medical colleges were setup in Telangana but in the last eight years, 16 new medical colleges were sanctionedA and 13 more to be setup making it one medical college per district.

"Now let me tell you how many medical colleges our PM Modi Ji sanctioned to Telangana. ZERO," he wrote

The Union Minister hit back and said: "How many proposals for medical colleges have been sent by your Telangana State Government? 'Zero'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sanctioned the highest (number of) government medical colleges in the shortest time, without partiality, to those States who made proposals."

After KTR's reply, Mandaviya wrote that there is a difference between sending a simple letter and a formal proposal according to the scheme requirements

Mandaviya stated that the Centre always requested and guided Telangana state to send a formal proposal with DPR as per scheme requirements.

In the latest tweet on the issue, the TRS leader posed this question: "Sir, your cabinet colleague from Telangana says 9 colleges were sanctioned The Governor says new medical colleges have been sanctioned You claim that we haven't applied. Your reply in parliament says even when UP asked for 14, Govt sanctioned 27 Why this hypocrisy & duplicity?"

--IANS
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Srinagar, Aug 30 (IANS) Weather was cloudy in Jammu and Kashmir during the last 24 hours as the Meteorological (MeT) department said on Tuesday that mainly clear to partly cloudy sky is likely during the next 24 hours in the union territory.

"Mainly clear to partly cloudy sky is likely in J&K during the next 24 hours," an official of the MeT department said.

Srinagar had 16.6, Pahalgam 12.1 and Gulmarg 9.2 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature.

Drass in Ladakh region had 7.1, Leh 11.3 and Kargil 15.4 as the minimum temperature.

Jammu had 24.6, Katra 22, Batote 17, Banihal 16.6 and Bhaderwah 17.1 as the minimum temperature.

--IANS
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Chennai, Aug 30 (IANS) The Idol wing of the Tamil Nadu Police has traced two missing idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Devi at reputed museums in the US and has commenced the process to retrieve them.

The idols of Devi and Ganesha were traced to the Sotheby's auction house in New York and Norton Simon Museum in California respectively.

A senior officer with the TN idol wing told IANS that the wing commenced investigation after a watchman of the Arulmigu Pannakka Parameswara Swamy temple at Pannentheru in Nagapattinam district filed a complaint with the police that an idol of Lord Ganesha was missing from the temple. On detailed investigation, sleuths found that not one Ganesha idol but a total of 11 idols were missing from the temple since the early seventies and even the employees of the temple nor the devotees come to know of that as there were several idols in the temple.

While the police recorded the complaint of the watchman, it was difficult to take the probe further as there were no pictures of the missing idol and hence sought the help of the French Institute, Puducherry. The French institute has a massive collection of photographs of the idols of South Indian Temples and the search at the institute helped the police to trace the idol to the California Museum.

Idol of Goddess Devi was also traced out in a similar manner.

Director General of Police of Tamil Nadu Idol wing Police, Jayanth Murali while speaking to IANS said, "It was indeed a major shock to us to find out that it was not only one Ganesha idol but a total of 11 idols that were missing from the temple. We have commenced a probe and our team has traced Lord Ganesha and Goddess Devi and will cover the rest of the idols soon."

Idol wing police sleuths told IANS that the other missing idols from the temple are, Chandrashekar Amman, Devi, Astiradevar, Pidari Amman, Somaskandar, Navagraha Surya, Boghashakthiamman, Dancing Sambandhar, Chandrashekhar with Chandrashekhar Amman, Standing Chandrashekhar, and Standing Vinayagar.

The officers said that the temple had three Ganesha Idols and one is still at the temple. While one stolen idol has been traced to the California museum, the other missing Ganesha idol is still to be traced.

The idol wing also said that the Sotheby's museum had bought the 48.3 cm tall idol of Goddess Devi between 1970 and 1973. It had recently sold the idol for USD 50,000 (Rs 39,98,575).

The Vinayagar idol, according to Idol wing officers, is valued at about Rs 3 crore in the international market. The idol is 1.5 feet tall and 1 foot wide and is exquisitely carved.

--IANS
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London, Aug 30 (IANS) A batch of English writer Charles Dickens letters that have remained unseen and unpublished will go on display for the first time on Wednesday.

The 11 letters include assorted invitation notes and insights into the author's reading habits and writing projects as well as details about a trip to Switzerland written to a friend, dpa news agency reported on Tuesday.

In a letter dated February 10, 1866, Dickens, deemed as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, also complains about the loss of a Sunday postal service and threatens to move away from his neighbourhood.

He writes: "I beg to say that I most decidedly and strongly object to the infliction of any such inconvenience upon myself.

"There are many people in this village of Higham, probably, who do not receive or dispatch in a year, as many letters as I usually receive and dispatch in a day... I am on the best terms with my neighbours, poor and rich, and I believe they would be sorry to lose me.

"But I should be so hampered by the proposed restriction that I think it would force me to sell my property here, and leave this part of the country."

The letters are among more than 300 items acquired by the Charles Dickens Museum from an American collector in 2020, including personal objects, portraits, sketches, playbills and books.

The entire collection, worth 1.8 million pounds ($2.1 million), was acquired by the museum with the help of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, Friends of the National Libraries and the Dickens Fellowship.

Emily Dunbar, curator at the Charles Dickens Museum, said: "One of the best things about this collection of letters is that it shows Dickens writing in his 30s, 40s and 50s and the variety of topics that were occupying his mind.

"The letter complaining about the loss of Sunday postal delivery is a great example of Dickens showing self-importance, his awareness his great fame and position in society coming to the fore.

"He also mentions the huge volume of letters leaving and arriving at his address, of which this new set is a tiny but entertaining fraction."

Known to have created some of the world's best-known fictional characters, Dickens wrote many classics including the most prominent "Oliver Twist", "A Christmas Carol" and "David Copperfield".

The exhibit will go on display at the Charles Dickens Museum and online from Wednesday.

--IANS
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New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) A student of a government school received injuries after the ceiling fan fell on her in the classroom in Delhi's Nangloi area.

The incident happened on August 27 when the teacher was teaching the students.

The girl suffered head injuries and was removed to a nearby hospital. According to information the ceiling was damp and had been dripping.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari accused the Delhi Government for the poor condition of the school. He tweeted a photo of the girl with face blurred.

"She has become victim of world class facility of AAP led Delhi Govt," he tweeted.

--IANS
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London, Aug 30 (IANS) Liz Truss, the frontrunner in the race to be the UK's next Prime Minister, has pulled out of a key interview which was due to air on Tuesday as she could "no longer spare the time".

The one-to-one interview was to be conducted by veteran BBC political journalist Nick Robinson, reports dpa news agency citing the broadcaster as saying on Monday.

"We regret that it has not been possible to do an in depth interview with both candidates despite having reached agreement to do so," her press team said in a tweet.

Truss's rival in the race, Rishi Sunak, sat down with Robinson earlier this month.

Robinson tweeted: "Was pleased to secure an in-depth interview with @trussliz on BBC1. I am disappointed & frustrated it's been cancelled."

A source from the Truss campaign said she is not participating as she is focused on winning as many votes as possible and on preparations for government.

The incumbent Foreign Secretary has faced accusations of dodging scrutiny from her rival's camp and Labour.

A source from Sunak's team said: "It's important that candidates face proper scrutiny so that members and the public know what they are offering.

"Avoiding that scrutiny suggests either Truss doesn't have a plan at all or the plan she has falls far short of the challenges we face this winter."

Conor McGinn, Labour's shadow minister without portfolio, said: "The British public don't get a say in choosing the next Tory Prime Minister and now it seems Liz Truss wants to avoid any public scrutiny whatsoever.

"People will rightly conclude that she doesn't want to answer questions about her plans for the country because she simply hasn't got any serious answers to the big challenges facing our country. Only Labour can provide the fresh start the country needs."

--IANS
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Washington, Aug 30 (IANS) Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned there "will be riots in the streets" if former President Donald Trump is indicted.

"If they tried to prosecute President Trump, there literally will be riots in the street," dpa news agency quoted the South Carolina Republican as saying on Fox News on Monday, adding: "I worry about the country."

Despite mounting evidence against Trump, the senior lawmaker said it's an article of faith with most Republicans that liberal prosecutors are out to get the former President.

"Most Republicans, including me, believe when it comes to Trump, there is no law," Graham said. "It's all about getting him."

Graham, like many top Republicans, briefly broke with Trump after the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol.

The Senator even said he was "done" with the former President.

But within weeks, Graham was making excuses for Trump's misdeeds and effectively got back on the 'MAGA' train.

Graham is now fighting a subpoena to testify before a Georgia grand jury about Trump's effort to bully state officials into overturning his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden in the state.

Graham has continued to defend Trump even after prosecutors found boxes of top-secret documents stashed at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

The FBI is probing Trump for improperly taking the documents when he left office and failing to return them even when given a subpoena.

Like some Republicans, Graham resorted to rehashing the Hillary Clinton email saga as a reason why Trump should be let off the hook for possible violations of the Espionage Act and obstructing justice.

"Hillary Clinton set up a server in her basement," he said, without noting that the Department of Justice also probed the former Secretary of State and declined to prosecute her.

--IANS
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London, Aug 30 (IANS) The UK's Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is limping back closer to shore after breaking down off the Isle of Wight shortly after setting out for exercises off the US coast.

The 65,000-tonne warship left from Portsmouth Naval Base on August 27 before an "emerging mechanical issue" occurred, reports dpa news agency.

The departure of the 3 billion pounds ship had already been delayed from August 26 because of a technical problem, although it is not known if the incidents are related.

Specialist website Navy Lookout said the issue was caused by damage to the starboard propeller shaft, although the Ministry of Defence has not commented on this.

The website said a photograph of the carrier leaving Portsmouth shows a wake only on the port side, suggesting a problem with the other propeller shaft.

It added that unless the problem can be resolved at sea the warship might need to go into dry dock at Rosyth, Scotland, months ahead of a planned inspection in 2023.

The carrier was moving slowly from south east of the Isle of Wight towards Stokes Bay, Gosport, on Monday afternoon where it is understood the sheltered area will make it easier for divers to examine the damage.

A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: "HMS Prince of Wales remains in the South Coast Exercise Area while conducting investigations into an emerging mechanical issue."

The carrier had a colourful send-off as it departed on August 27 afternoon and passed thousands of music-lovers at the Victorious Festival on Southsea Common in Portsmouth.

The NATO flagship is sailing to undertake training exercises with the US Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the US Marine Corps.

The programme is expected to include exercises with the F-35B Lightning jets.

--IANS
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