Maoists blew up railway tracks in Latehar district of Jharkhand and Vaishali district of Bihar on Saturday, the first day of a two-day Jharkhand-Bihar bandh called by them.

Maoists blew up a stretch of railway track between Chhipadohar and Barwadih railway stations in Latehar district, railway sources said.

"The track has been blown up between Chhipadohar and Barwadih railway stations. Rajdhani Express is at Kumandih railway station in Latehar district," Divisional Commander of the Railway Protection Force Shashi Kumar told PTI over phone.

China today approved a new type of drug that it believes may be effective in treating the deadly H7N9 bird flu virus, even as two more cases were reported taking the total to 18, six of whom have died so far.   

According to a statement issued by the China Food and Drug Administration, the potential of injections of 'peramivir diluted in sodium chloride' have proved effective in preliminary tests, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.   

As of today, China has confirmed 18 H7N9 cases -- eight in Shanghai, six in Jiangsu, three in Zhejiang and one in Anhui, in the first known human infections of the lesser-known strain. Hong Kong too reported one case.   

Six people, four in Shanghai and two in Zhejiang province have died due to the virus, which till now have no proven cure.   

The National Health and Family Planning Commission of China said today that the country's H7N9 cases were isolated and there has been no sign of human-to-human transmission.

Indian selectors on Saturday left out dashing batsman Virender Sehwag from a 30-man preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy in England in June, reports NDTV.

Seasoned off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and veteran seamer Zaheer Khan were also missing from the list, which has to be shortened to 15 players a month before the one-day tournament opens on June 5. Cheteshwar Pujara is another surprise omission after recently impressing during the Test series versus Australia.

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Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Saturday said the country's politicians have looted the nation more than the Britishers did in over a century before Independence.

"In 150 years, the Britishers did not plunder the country as much as the leaders of this nation have looted. The country requires a Jan Sansad (parliament of the people) which will be convened in Delhi within six months," Hazare said, addressing a public meeting in Narnaund town of the district during his 'Jantantra Yatra'.

Former South African President and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela was today discharged from hospital where he spent 10 days for pneumonia treatment.   

He has "been discharged from hospital today following asustained and gradual improvement in his general condition.   

"The former President will now receive home based highcare," Presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement   

This latest stay in hospital was 94-year-old Mandela'sthird since December.  

Mandela, who was South Africa's first black president, was admitted to the hospital on March 27. He has received treatment for a recurring lung infection and pneumonia.    In December, he was admitted for 18 days for treatment of the lung infection and surgery to extract gallstones. It was his longest stint in hospital since his release from prison in1990.

One of the accused in the December 16 gang rape on Saturday again pleaded the special court hearing the case not to send him back to Tihar alleging he was assaulted by prison security personnel, who have threatened to kill him, a charge denied by the jail authorities.

Accused Vinay Sharma, who suffered a hand fracture on Friday, requested Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna not to send him to Tihar alleging that jail officials have threatened to kill him by hanging him in his cell on Sunday.

Vinay's advocate A P Singh told the court that his client has been threatened by the jail's security personnel whom he quoted as saying ,"Today, the media and lawyers can save you, but who will save you on Sunday as you have to stay in Tihar only."

Sharma was lodged in Tihar Jail along with four other accused following his arrest on December 18 last year.

One of the accused Ram Singh was found dead in his cell on March 11 with police claiming that he committed suicide by hanging. The matter is under probe.

The Congress will fight the 2014 general elections under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party general secretary Digvijaya Singh said on Saturday and questioned the projection of Narendra Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate by the NDA.

"We will go to the elections (2014) under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. We are not projecting any candidate as Prime Minister," Singh told reporters at the APCC headquarters in Guwahati.

The Punjab and Haryana high court today stayed till April 10 the execution of Dharampal, a rape convict who later murdered the victim and four members of her family while out on parole in 1993.

Dharampal was set to be hanged on April 15 and had been brought from Rohtak jail where he was lodged to Ambala for the execution, Haryana DGP (Prisons) Sharad Kumar had said earlier today.

The division bench of Justice A K Mittal and Justice G S Sandhawalia took up the petition for conversion of the death sentence into life imprisonment. Among the grounds taken in the petition, filed before the high court was that the Supreme Court was already "seized of the matter".

Criticising the Congress, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was speaking at the convention in Ahmedabad said, "The party uses the CBI to harass BJP leaders and workers. Attempts to scare BJP workers will not work. They have sacrificed their lives in states like Kerala."

"The BJP was formed at a time when some selfish elements were ruling in the country. At such a time, the BJP decided to be with the people and fight for them."

He said, "The Congress uses constitutional institutions to create trouble for BJP. There is no comparison between Congress and BJP's character. The people of Gujarat have punished the Congress in the last election."

He said he was disappointed in the Rahul Gandhi's speech at the CII meeting. "The country might be a beehive for the Congress but not for BJP, it is our mother. For the BJP, India will always be ahead of the party."    

"Surprising to know that leaders of this country do not know that there is a water crisis in the country. If Congress leaders are so concerned about farmers of Gujarat then without wasting time please ask the Central government to allow work on Narmada Dam to start again," he added.

Speaking at the BJP foundation day function in Ahmedabad, party chief Rajnath Singh said that Chief Minister Narendra Modi has followed Mahatma Gandhi's footsteps in Gujarat. "It hurts when a leader like Modi is being called 'maut ka saudagar'. People will teach Congress a lesson for calling Modi 'yamraj'."

"Modi is the most popular leader in the country," he said.

Singh said that BJP was the only party that can decentralise power.

Taking on Rahul Gandhi, the BJP chief said that he will have no impact in the elections. 

The two surviving women from the Nepalese family whose members immolated themselves died on Saturday after battling for life for three days in a hospital in Rajkot.

Rekha Mahendra Vishwakarma, 35, and Vasumati, 60, succumbed to burn injuries at the Civil Hospital, resident medical officer G H Dambhaniya said. Rekha died early on Saturday morning, while Vasumati breathed her last a few hours later, he said.

Five members of the Nepalese family poured kerosene and set themselves ablaze in Rajkot Municipal Corporation's central zone office on April 3, fearing eviction from the house they had been staying in for 30 years.

The United Kingdom has offered consular assistance to the family of a British woman found murdered in Srinagar today saying that it is following up the case with local authorities.

"We are aware of an incident involving the death of a British national in India. We have offered consular assistance to the family," a spokesperson of the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.

The FCO had only recently eased restrictions on travel to Jammu and Kashmir in its advice to British nationals.

At a massive function to celebrate the Bharatiya Janata Party's 33rd foundation day in Ahmedabad, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi shared the dais with party chief Rajnath Singh. Also on stage was Modi aide and newly appointed national BJP secretary Amit Shah. 

The CM has reserved the Sardar Patel stadium on the banks of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad for the fucntion. About one lakh supporters are expected this evening. All party workers from the district level up in the state have also been invited. 

After Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma, his colleague Sriprakash Jaiswal has earned the wrath of the Samajwadi Party which on Saturday demanded that the prime minister sack him from the Cabinet for levelling allegations of corruption against the Uttar Pradesh government "Immediate resignation should be taken from the minister.... If he does not do so, he should be sacked from the Union Cabinet.

The prime minster should give him a lesson about the democratic setup and then he can be re-inducted, if needed," senior SP leader and UP minister Shivpal Yadav told reporters in Lucknow.

Yadav's outburst came after Jaiswal is said to have accused the SP government in the state of misusing central funds for distribution laptops and tablets at a meeting in Lucknow on Friday.

At least 25 Indian fishermen have been arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy for allegedly poaching in the country's waters.

Naval spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said that the fishermen were arrested last night off the coast of Karainagar in the northern Jaffma penisula for violating Sri Lanka's international maritime boundary.

Their six trawlers were also seized. They were handed over to the police in the islet of Kayts for further action, the Navy added.

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court, which is conducting the trial of the seven men charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks, today issued summons to a senior investigator even as six prosecution witnesses failed to appear before the judge.       

Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid has described the coverage of Pakistan in the international media as a 'horror film franchise'.       

Slamming the factionalism in Congress' Kerala unit, a 'pained' Defence Minster A K Antony today said it was "crossing limits" and warned that it could be self-destructive if the party men do not honour the Lakshman rekha.        

Two people have been held in connection to the Thane building collapse. 

Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams today said staying away from voting in a democratic set-up is tantamount to losing one's moral right to complain about deficiencies in the system.        

Finance Minister P Chidambaram today ruled out the prospect of early elections.

Amid growing speculation over Narendra Modi's role in the next Lok Sabha polls, BJP president Rajnath Singh today remained non-committal on the issue of the party's prime ministerial candidate, even as he hailed the Gujarat chief minister as the most popular leader of the country.       

Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosiah today suspended Annamalai University Vice-Chancellor M Ramanathan, following allegations of financial and other irregularities.        

Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday ended his 14-day long hunger strike.

I hope we can pass the Insurance Amendment Bill in  the current budget session of Parliament, said the FM. 

The DMK today said its MPs and members of the pro-Tamil TESO backed by it will meet envoys of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group of countries, scheduled to meet at London on April 26, to demand that the CHOGM should not be held in Sri Lanka.        

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is nursing a shoulder injury that he suffered on the sets of his upcoming film Chennai Express but that will not deter him from performing at the debut Times of India Film Awards.

Annual Subsidy bill will go up by Rs 2,500-2,600 crore as a result of sugar sector decontrol, said the FM. 

GDP will grow by little over 6 per cent in 2013-14 and revenue targets will be achieved, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in a press conference on Saturday.

Top boxer Vijender Singh, who finds himself at the centre of a drug scandal, will not be considered for selection for two upcoming international events, for missing their trials.      

The Crime Branch would probe the case related to the arrest of a 75-year-old man with an air-gun and sword near the residence of CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in Kannur district on Thursday,official sources said.       

The father and brother of a girl who was found murdered in a case of honour killing in February this year in Silhonia village have been arrested, police said today.    

Is Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi trying to convey the message that he is merely a political philosopher, not a hard-nosed politician? Is he trying to answer his own dilemmas through his public speeches?

The rehabilitation policy offered by the Jammu and Kashmir government for militants has often failed to live up to the many promises it had made.

Mamata Banerjee's government recently stood by and did nothing when several Islamic organisations held a massive rally to denounce the Shanbagh movement in Bangladesh and show their solidarity with criminals of the 1971 Liberation War.

A Pakistani court has barred election officials from asking irrelevant or intrusive questions while scrutinising nomination papers after days of televised proceedings, during which candidates were asked to recite Quranic verses and to reveal intimate details.        

Bodies of ten victims, mostly construction workers hailing from Malda district of West Bengal, who died in Thane's building collapse on Thursday, will be flown back today.        

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Road Transport Minister C P Joshi may soon lose their respective ministries.

Former Pakistan captain and pace legend Wasim Akram has requested the Indian cricket board to allow Pakistani players to participate in the cash-rich Indian Premier League.     

Indian expatriates in Saudi Arabia will not face problems for the next two months in the wake of the implementation of a new labour policy called Nitaqat in the Gulf country, Union minister E Ahamed has said.        

Hackers have threatened to disrupt Internet operations in Israel in a major cyber attack planned for Sunday, it has emerged.       

Sri Lanka and Pakistan have agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in many areas, including trade and defence.        

A day after Shanghai closed a live poultry trading zone and ordered culling of thousands of birds, China's Hangzhou city today followed suit after the deadly H7N9 bird flu virus was detected from quails sold in its farm produce market.        

India is watching the external developments of recent weeks and its impact on the economy, Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram G Rajan said today, even as he expressed optimism about the economy growing by over 6 percent during the current fiscal.       

The death toll in the Thane building collapse rose to 71 on Saturday.

Bank of Baroda today denied charges of playing a role in a money laundering racket led by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president J P Agarwal on Saturday lashed out at Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal for repeatedly targeting the Sheila Dikshit government, and alleged that the latter's fast is 'a drama' with a political motive.   

The World Health Organisation has said that there was no sign of 'sustained human-to-human transmission' of the H7N9 virus in China.       

Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has said that she wants her mother to 'rest' before deciding whether to run for President in 2016.       

Cricketers Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan are not in the list of 30 probables for the Indian team for the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be held in England in June. 

United States President Barack Obama has signed an Executive Order outlawing the Taliban in Afghanistan.

As many as 94 per cent of the youth recruited by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba are sent to Kashmir to participate in the militant activities. Most of these LeT fighters hail from Punjab in Pakistan and are considered as the brightest of the recruits.

Dinshah Vimadalal, 70, is in search for a thin wife who should be at least three decades his junior. 

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti talked to External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday about the National Investigation Agency framing murder charges against two Italian marines for allegedly killing two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast in February last year.

US President Barack Obama will host leaders from its allies Jordan, Turkey, Qatar and UAE, and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon in the coming weeks, amid ongoing turmoil in Syria,the White House has said.       

America will continue to dominate the 21st century economies because it allows people to think differently, US Vice President Joe Biden has said.        

Thane building collapse toll mounts to 56

Steyn's three wkts in an over sends Warriors crashing

Dawood handling terror cash via Bank of Baroda in Bahamas?

Bellary mining baron Karunakar Reddy in BJP first list 

India starts visa on arrival for Pakistani senior citizens