Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao visited a Filipino woman on death row in Indonesia early today and appealed for her clemency, a human rights lawyer said.

Pacquiao and his wife, Jinkee, spent about an hour with Mary Jane Veloso early today at a Yogyakarta jail, Edre Olalia of the Public Interest Law Center in Manila said, citing his Indonesian colleagues.

Veloso was sentenced to death for drug trafficking after heroin was found hidden in her luggage at the Yogyakarta airport in 2010.

She was granted a last minute stay of execution in April but eight other convicts, two Australians, four Nigerians, a Brazilian and an Indonesian, were executed.

Olalia, a lawyer for the Veloso family, said two judicial reviews have failed to overturn her conviction and death sentence.

He said he will discuss a possible third appeal with his Indonesian counterparts but believes that "an appeal for clemency may be stronger." 

There was no immediate word on whether Pacquiao has met with Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as he had planned, Olalia said.

Pacquiao, who is also a congressman, is vice chairman of a committee on Filipino overseas workers in the House of Representatives.

The Philippine Department of Justice said Thursday that state prosecutors will file charges of human trafficking, illegal job recruitment and fraud against the woman who allegedly brought Veloso to Malaysia, where she was given a bag that held 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin.

The woman has surrendered to police and has admitted that Veloso was unaware she was carrying drugs.

The plight of Filipino workers overseas is a sensitive issue in the country where about a tenth of its 100 million people leave their homeland in search of jobs and better opportunities.

"We welcome all efforts that will help Mary Jane," said Charles Jose, spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Migrante, a group helping Filipino overseas workers, thanked Pacquiao and his wife for visiting Veloso.

"Congressman and Mrs. Pacquiao’s visit reflects the just and growing global demand that Mary Jane be granted clemency and be brought home to her family in the Philippines," the group said in a statement.

Before his megabout with Floyd Mayweather in May, Pacquiao promised to visit Veloso in the jail in and to meet with the Indonesian president to personally to appeal for clemency.

"I am begging and knocking at your kind heart that your excellency will grant executive clemency to her by sparing her life and saving her from execution," Pacquiao said in a statement then.

After the major electoral poll debacle in Delhi earlier this year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to lock horn with ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar who has partnered with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Congress party for the forthcoming Assembly Elections later this year.

In an interview to thestatesman.com, BJP senior leader Rameshwar Chaurasia expressed confidence of his party&’s win in the Bihar assembly election later this year, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the party’s face.

“People will vote for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance in the election, as the BJP has curbed corruption after coming to power at the Centre,” Chaurasia said.

He added, “After elections, if the NDA alliance comes to power in the state, then it won’t be a big surprise for anyone. And as the BJP is in power at the Centre, people will definitely vote for it in the state to get maximum development share for the state.”

BJP seems to have a brighter chance to emerge as the winner in the Assembly election if the result of the legislative council biennial election is anything to go by. BJP has outnumbered the (JD-U) by winning 11 seats out of 24 seats on Friday.

Attacking the Congress and the RJD for the poor condition of the state, with a population of over 10.41 crore, Chaurasia said, “People of Bihar now want to get rid of these old leaders who have ruled the state for years. Whatever combination these people would make won’t work for them.”

“During their rule, Bihar was the worst hit in terms of development. What Bihar needs today is a vision and not the dialogues which these parties have been giving in the state for last 65 years,” Chaurasia added.

An Economic Survey for 2013-14 revealed Bihar as the best performing state in terms of gross state domestic product (GSDP) and per capita income growth.

The BJP leader said, “The JD-U ruled the state since 2005-2013 with us, where both the parties brought the state back on track after Lalu&’s ‘Jungle Raj’ in the state.

“But when the BJP parted way from the ruling party, the state has returned to the path of ‘Jungle Raj’. And it is the reason I feel that people of Bihar will repose their faith on Modi in the state.”

Criticising the current law and order situation in the state, Chaurasia said, “People in Bihar now feel insecure due to the present condition of law and order.”

Also, accusing the JD-U government of shielding the corrupt, the BJP leader said, “In the name of development the people are being deceived and cheated."

Questioning the JD-U government on the scams that occurred in the state in the last two year, Chaurasia said, “Nitish says his government has lodged FIR against 544 people and arrested 107 people in connection with the irregularity in the rice scam. If you are accepting this, then it means corruption was there. Then why is he not granting permission for a CBI inquiry.”

Continuing his attack on the ruling government, Chaurasia said, “Even if investigations are carried out it is often under influence. In fact, investigation of cases against the corrupt is also a scam in Bihar.”

Claiming that today a ‘transfer posting industry’ has come up in the state like "it happened" during Lalu&’s regime, the BJP leader lashed out at Lalu and Nitish, saying, “Both emerged with the Jay Prakash Narayan (JP) movement, but they backstabbed him. These leaders promised to fight against corruption, but it is unfortunate that most of the scams happened during their rule.”

Indo-Swiss tennis pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis entered the women’s doubles final of Wimbledon with a straight sets victory at the last four stage here on Friday.

The top seeds needed only 56 minutes to beat American fifth seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-1, 6-2 on No.1 Court of the All England Club.

Indo-Swiss tennis pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis entered the women’s doubles final of Wimbledon with a straight sets victory at the last four stage here on Friday.

The top seeds needed only 56 minutes to beat American fifth seeds Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears 6-1, 6-2 on No.1 Court of the All England Club.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi president Satish Upadhyay termed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ‘Dhratrashtra’, saying that the latter has gone blind like the character in the Mahabharata epic series.

“The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) promised to profess purity in public life during election, but after coming to power, Kejriwal behaves like a blind man like ‘Dhritarashtra’ upon the anarchism of his party Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs).” Upadhyay alleged.

Referring to Kondli MLA Manoj Kumar&’s arrest in connection with a land grab case on Thursday by the Delhi police, Upadhyay said, “It is strange how the internal lokpal did not take note of his case.”

Taking a dig at assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and Deputy Speaker Bandana Kumari, Upadhyay alleged, “The A, B, C of the party changed to Anarchy, Bogusness and Cheating.”

Upadhyay demanded that the Delhi Police should immediately arrest Model Town MLA Akhilesh Tripathi and Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha against whom cases of instigating a mob has been lodged at the Burari Police Station.

The BJP leader also demanded a thorough probe into cases involving MLAs Promila Tokas, Rakhi Bidlan, Rituraj, Jarnail Singh, Surendra Singh (Commando) and Vishesh Ravi.

“From the time the AAP has come to power, their MLAs have created an atmosphere of anarchy,” Upadhyay said, adding that “delay in arresting the first MLAs involved in such cases gave strength to other MLAs.”

India will give 50 tonnes of galvanised corrugated steel sheets (GC sheets) to earthquake-ravaged Nepal for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the Himalayan nation, it was announced on Friday.

The value of this consignment is about Indian Rs.4.5 million (around $71,000), the Indian embassy here said in a statement.

The GC sheets have been manufactured by the Indian public-sector Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

"Galvanised corrugated sheets of steel are used for the purpose of building temporary shelters," said the statement. 

"These are priority goods for the earthquake-affected areas in Nepal, especially in view of the ongoing monsoon season. The GC sheets would be used for providing temporary shelter to a large number of affected families in Nepal," it added.

Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae handed over the documents related to import of the GC sheets to Nepal’s Home Secretary Surya Silwal at Singha Durbar on Friday. 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday urged Delhiites to conserve water and go for water recycling technology.

He emphasized the need for water conservation in the city, saying this was needed because Delhi was dependent for water on neighbouring states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, a NDMC statement said. 

Kejriwal appealed to people to adopt water recycling technology and conserve water. He cited the example of President Pranab Mukherjee, who he said had introduced this technology in Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

The chief minister praised the NDMC for providing better civic facilities compared to other civic agencies. 

NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar said the 33 KV electric sub-station at the junction of Aliganj and Jor Bagh cost Rs.5.5 crores and was completed in two years. 

The indigenously-developed supersonic surface-to-air missile "Aakash" was formally inducted in the Indian Air Force (IAF) here on Friday.

The missile, having a speed three times faster than that of sound, can hit eight targets at a time, according to defence experts. 

In a function held here at the Maharajpur Air Force Station, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar handed over "Aakash" to IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha. 

Aakash, which was already with the Indian Army, has now been inducted in the Indian Air Force.

On this occasion, the IAF officials demonstrated to the defence minister how the missile functions.

According to IAF sources, Aakash has been developed jointly by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) and the private sector. 

The surface-to-air missile, prepared using 92 percent of indigenous machinery, can be transported anywhere via road, water or air transport, sources added.

The missile can track a target 100 km away and hit the enemy’s helicopter, plane or drone from a 25-km distance, according to defence experts.

The missile’s radar, developed by BEL, has been named "Rajendra Radar". 

The hills of Himachal Pradesh continued to experience moderate to heavy rainfall on Friday, with Dharamsala recording the highest amount in the state at 188 mm, officials said. More rains are in store, the Met office said.

"Monsoon is active in the state with chances of heavy to very heavy rainfall in some areas of the state," an official of the meteorological office said.

While Sujanpur Thira town recorded the second highest rainfall in the state at 150 mm, it was 115 mm in Palampur, 43 mm in Sundernagar and 30 mm in Manali.

State capital Shimla saw 14 mm rain.

Incessant rains have also caused massive landslides on National Highways 21 and 22 in Shimla, Kinnaur, Mandi and Kullu districts, hampering vehicular traffic.

The water level in the major rivers of the state – the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna – which enter the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana has also increased, a government official said. 

He is one of the few Bollywood stars whose popularity knows no boundary – from India to offshore, Shah Rukh Khan enjoys a phenomenal fan following and interestingly his next is titled “FAN”, which will hit the theatres on April 16 next year.

SRK&’s popularity can be estimated from his followers on Twitter – the star, who will turn 50 this year, has 14.1 million followers and it is growing every day.

“And hope u all ‘feel’ yourselves as I play the one who makes a star. All who make me…I am your FAN,” he tweeted in reference to his film.

In the recent time, he wowed the movie aficionados with the potboiler   "Chennai Express", which made several records at the box office and it was followed by “Happy New Year”.

About his next he says: “Hope you all enjoy the teaser of Fan”.

Produced by Yash Raj Films, and directed by Maneesh Sharma, the film&’s trailer was released June 9 and so far it has got 1,059,124 hits and still counting.

Read more:

In ‘Fan’, I play the one who makes a star: SRK