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The Morning Wrap: Pakistan Slaps Terror Charges On 'Indian Spy', MLA's Sister Dies Resisting Molesters

The Morning Wrap: Pakistan Slaps Terror Charges On 'Indian Spy', MLA's Sister Dies Resisting Molesters
Pakistani Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa (L) speaks with media representatives as he gives details of arrested man Kulbhushan Yadav (R on screen), who is suspected of being an Indian spy, during a press conference in Islamabad on March 29, 2016.Pakistan protested to India after arresting a man suspected of being an Indian spy, sparking a new diplomatic tiff between the nuclear-armed neighbours. The man was arrested during a raid in the southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistani media reports said quoting local security officials, calling him an agent with India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency. / AFP / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)
AAMIR QURESHI via Getty Images
Pakistani Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa (L) speaks with media representatives as he gives details of arrested man Kulbhushan Yadav (R on screen), who is suspected of being an Indian spy, during a press conference in Islamabad on March 29, 2016.Pakistan protested to India after arresting a man suspected of being an Indian spy, sparking a new diplomatic tiff between the nuclear-armed neighbours. The man was arrested during a raid in the southwestern province of Balochistan, Pakistani media reports said quoting local security officials, calling him an agent with India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency. / AFP / AAMIR QURESHI (Photo credit should read AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images)

The Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.

Essential HuffPost

After two consecutive drought years, there's finally some relief in sight. The India Meteorological Department has predicted that the country will receive "above normal" monsoon with a fair distribution of rainfall across major parts of country and it will be a "good year".

In a tragic accident, one of India's top woman biker Veenu Paliwal died after her two-wheeler skidded off a road near Gyaraspur, 100 kilometres from Bhopal. In her last Facebook message, she wrote, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going," describing the hurdles her team had to face while on a tour from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

The Congress Party has appalling double standards when it comes to women entering temples. In BJP-run Maharashtra, the Congress Party was all for women's rights when women were barred from entering the Shani Shingnapur temple. However, in poll-bound Kerala, on a similar issue for Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, the Congress government has said that it is duty bound to protect the right of devotees to practice their religion, which involves the exclusion of women.

Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, has this to say of women: They tend to accept constructive criticism better if it is coming from a man. Nooyi, who reportedly spent so much time at work that her baby daughter often slept under her desk, says women need to do more to help each other out.

Gurgaon, the corporate hub of Haryana in the outskirts of Delhi, now has a new name. The Haryana Government has decided to rename Gurgaon as Gurugram. Mewat district has been renamed Nuh. Meanwhile, Twitter thought it was rather too funny, and couldn't stop cracking up.

In India, a land where marriages arranged by the family are the norm, a startup is trying to help non married couples find a room.

Main News

Last month, Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in Pakistan on charges of being an agent of Indian spy agency RAW (the Research and Analysis Wing). He has now been charged with sabotage and terrorism by the Pakistan government, according to reports.

Over 300 NIT students carrying banners and placards staged a protest march in the city, demanding shifting of the institute and withdrawal of all cases against non Kashmiri students. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday said that shifting the NIT out of Srinagar, as demanded by some students, was “not possible”.

The United Nations took a historic step on Tuesday, deciding to open up the usually secret process of selecting the next secretary-general, giving all countries the chance to question candidates on such issues as how they would resist pressure from powerful nations, tackle sex abuse by UN peacekeepers, and improve efforts to achieve peace.

Shaili Devi, the only sister of RJD MLA from Bhojpur district Saroj Yadav, died of injuries she sustained while resisting sexual assault on Monday night. She had been admitted to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Patna. Police said that Shaili, (40), a resident of Keshopur under Chandi police station in Bhojpur, was returning home after taking medicines from a local doctor when five men in an auto-rickshaw tried to molest her near Narvirpur village. When she resisted, one of the men attacked her with an iron rod.

Off The Front Page

For over two decades, Kirpal Singh, arrested in Pakistan on spying charges in 1992 had just one wish: To return to India before he died. He wrote many letters to his family in Mustafabad Saidan village of Gurdaspur district, all saying the same thing. The 54-year-old man died at the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore on Monday. This is what he wrote in his last letter to his family on February 10: “I want to return to my motherland before I die… I have been facing a difficult time here." Singh's family members have alleged that he was not getting proper food and other facilities. The family members are now meeting the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj demanding that the body be handed over.

A 10-year-old saved her father from committing suicide. 37-year-old businessman Rajeev Khanna suffered 40% burns but is likely to survive -all because his 10-year-old daughter Rashi dialled 100 right on time. Rashi told Times Of Indiathat she knew of the Dial 100 helpline through public messages at metro stations in Kolkata.

In a significant push towards women's safety, all mobile manufacturers will produce handsets with a panic button from January 1, 2017, reports Times Of India. This facility will allow a person to long press a set of buttons which will send out an alert to the user's family or friends, besides information on the location.

Arjun Kapoor is following in the footsteps of Salman, SRK and Aamir. The young actor shared the risk of making an offbeat romantic film--'Ki & Ka' with its producers and it paid off as the film is moving toward the 50 crore mark in India. According to reports, no one except Balki knew about Arjun’s role as a producer.

Virat Kohli had a candid response when former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar requested him to speak to Pakistani cricketers Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal. Two of the most promising batsmen have failed to score consistently in the past couple of matches. In a TV show, Akhtar said when he asked Kohli to talk to the Pakistani cricketer, he responded: "Whenever I meet Pakistani batsmen, they are willing to discuss everything under the sun except cricket."

Opinion

The removal of Harsha Bhogle as a commentator for the 9th edition of the IPL has taught a lot of lessons on the 'workings of the BCCI and the curious relationship between public sport and patriotism', writes Mukul Kesavan for NDTV. "What manner of commentary would satisfy Bachchan and Dhoni and the powers that be at the BCCI? What order of obedience, what depths of craven compliance would appease an organization that manages to turn pliant men into free-speech martyrs? I have a suggestion.The IPL commentary team should be led by Mr Bachchan and his famous baritone. For the drearier passages of the game-a long partnership by the enemy, for example - Anupam Kher could take over to ratchet up patriotic support for our soldiers in the middle. Better still, Indian fast bowlers could run in to the rhythmic chant of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, all catches could be appealed with "Vande Mataram!"..." he writes.

Raja Menon writes for the Indian Expresslisting out the three mistaken factors for the growing anxiety in the Indian strategic community that India is about to embrace the US strategically and get locked in an anti-China alliance — without adequate debate. "What we cannot stop is China’s attempt to influence the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean. But an Indian Ocean nation must clearly understand the military risks in offering a base to China in the littoral. That military risk must come from a truly Indian tri-service expeditionary capability — best handled under a chief of defence staff and with the technological and/ or military support of the US," he writes.

Ban on alcohol is nothing but a political gimmick, writes KumKum Dasgupta for Hindustan Times. She writes that "prohibition will be a half measure to tackle the problem of violence against women unless government wants to tackle other related issues." "In India, where knee-jerk and populist reactions have become the normal political response to any problem, not many governments are interested to address the issue holistically. They are more happy to allow a parallel black market than tackle the issue head-on and holistically. It seems all’s well as long as its behind the scenes," she writes.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.