Pope Francis was urged today to use a visit to Turkey later this month to press for the liberation of two orthodox bishops kidnapped in Syria in April 2013. Theophilos Kuriakose, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Europe, called on Francis to raise the issue during a scheduled visit to Ankara on November 28.

Republican victors of Tuesday's U.S. congressional elections break bread with Democratic President Barack Obamaon Friday as the two sides assess what legislation can be enacted in coming months despite years of confrontation.

Rebel separatists in east Ukraine today said that more human remains have been found at the crash site of a Malaysia Airlines plane that was brought down in July. The rebel transportation ministry said that the parts were found while wreckage was being removed from the area.

A former news editor at Rupert Murdoch's now-defunct Sunday tabloid, 'News of the World', was today jailed for eight months for his role in phone hacking, becoming the eighth person from the erstwhile newspaper to be convicted. 

The controversial  #KissOfLove movement has now travelled to the national capital, where Delhiites will be embracing their right to public display of affection on Saturday right outside the office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Jhandewalan. According to the movement's Facebook page, the 'event will display "embraces, holds and kisses." The movement began when activists from all over Kerala decided to protest against the series of moral policing incidents by organising the event in Kochi last week.  

As many as 22 web portals of governments of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha were allegedly hacked, prompting the National Informatics Centre to launch a probe. The Telangana Information Technology Association lodged a complaint with cyber crime police station, attached to Cyberabad Police Commissionerate, alleging that 22 government websites were hacked by unknown Pakistan cyber hackers, said Assistant Commissioner of Police S Jayaram. "As the websites and servers are maintained by NIC and based on the complaint we spoke to the NIC authorities, who informed us that they were already in knowledge of the same and the matter is under investigation," the ACP said. After hacking the websites, the hackers put their logo and 'vulnerable text' on the homepages.

Spanish King Felipe VI's sister Princess Cristina could face trial after a Spanish court upheld tax fraud charges against her. However, the high court in Palma de Mallorca dropped money-laundering charges. The charges relate to business dealings by her husband, Inaki Urdangarin. Judges have been investigating allegations that the princess's husband embezzled millions in public funds with a former business partner and that the princess had knowingly benefited from the dealings.

Former finance minister P Chidambaram broke his silence on the 2G scam today and said that the United Progressive Alliance government should have cancelled the licences when the scam came to light. He added that the government should not have waited for the court's judgment in the matter. The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India had, in its report, estimated a presumptive loss ranging from Rs 57,000 crore to Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer due to the allocation.

All set to become the next defence minister, Manohar Parrikar spoke to the media about the change from Goa to New Delhi. He said it would be difficult for him to leave Goa, but he would do so for his country. He added, "I lost my wife about 12-13 years ago. The decision is difficult family wise, but nation comes first."

Juergen Stock, the vice president of Germany's Federal Criminal Police, has been elected to take over the operational helm of Interpol, effective immediately. The 55-year-old will replace Ronald K Noble, an American who served as secretary general of Interpol for 14 years. Stock has been vice president of Germany's criminal police, known as the BKA, since 2004.

A massive Beverly Hills, Calif., estate with its own entertainment complex, 27-car garage and vineyard has hit the market with a record breaking listing price of $195 million (Rs 1,200 crore). That makes it the most expensive home listing in the United States. 

An infiltration attempt by a group of militants was today foiled by Army along Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu district even as one jawan was injured in the incident.

A group of terrorists taking advantage of bad weather conditions tried to infiltrate into Indian side of LoC in Pallanwala forward area of Jammu district today, a Defence spokesman said.

Army troops challenged and foiled the infiltration bid, he said, adding that in the exchange of fire one jawan suffered injuries and has been hospitalised.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) today opposed the proposed amendments to the new Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act  which allows Ayurvedacharyas, Homeopaths and Nurses to conduct MTP (abortion) on pregnant mothers.

"This is apparently incorrectly based on an unscientific study done by Population Council in 2012 which showed that trained nurses and Ayurved physicians provide medical abortion as safely as MBBS doctors.

At the outset, it may be noted that in 2012 when the MTP Act 1971 was in place which does not allow anyone other than an MBBS doctor registered under the Act to conduct abortions, how could the Ayurveda doctors and nurses carry out MTPs as per the study conducted by Population Council. This smells of malpractices in the medical field," said Narendra Saini, secretary general of IMA.

IMA has written a letter to the Prime Minister and Union Health Minister requesting them to withdraw this proposed Bill immediately in the better interest of the health of  the general public.

Just in: NIA arrests another accused Identified as Zia ul Haq in Burdwan blast case.

I don't want to react on that: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Eshwarappa's reaction to home minister KJ George 

Taking serious note of the rising incidents of sexual assaults of minor girls in schools, the Karnataka High Court today pulled up the education department and private schools and asked them to ensure the safety and security of students.

Hearing a petition filed by private school managements seeking a stay on safety guidelines issued by police, Justice A N Venugopal Gowda said if the education department and school managements do not take action against defaulters, the court would intervene.

It observed that the action taken by education department and managements were not satisfactory and also said, "If they don't take the matter seriously, the court will intervene and initiate day-to-day monitoring."

The judge said the court expects every government servant to take action against those who are inactive or have failed in discharging duties with devotion. "Unless they live up to the expectations, there cannot be effective implementation."

He directed Karnataka Public Instruction Commissioner Mohammed Mohsin to take action against erring officials. He also flayed the education department for not initiating steps to check mushrooming of illegal schools in the state.

"Why are you not taking action against unauthorised schools?" the judge asked, adding that had the education department acted, such incidents (of sexual assaults) would not have taken place.

The picture that's doing the rounds on social media -- Twitter -- primarily -- of the AAP website using PM Narendra Modi's image saying:
Delhi Speaks
Modi for PM
Arvind for CM.

As the battle for Delhi hots up, both the BJP and the AAP, the prime contenders for the state, have been bombarding Twitter with slogans, images, banners pitting one against the other. 

The BJP will fight the Delhi assembly elections without a chief ministerial face, banking instead on 'Brand Modi' for a repeat of the party's winning performance in Maharashtra and Haryana.

However, the Aam Aadmi Party, seen as its main rival, said it would be a contest between its chief Arvind Kejriwal and Jagdish Mukhi, a Delhi BJP veteran earlier seen as a frontrunner for the CM's chair.

Head butting stacked tiles, smashing a slab of granite on your chest with a mallet, breaking light bulbs with one finger. All vital qualifications if you want a job protecting the elite of North Korea.Propaganda footage from North Korean TV shows a staggering array of physical feats, using taekwondo and other martial arts.

Visually impressive -- although it's not certain how the skills would keep an armed assassin at bay. Read

Pippa Middleton is set to launch her new media career on NBC. But what other career trajectory would suit her? Read

Pippa just happens to be Prince William's sister-in-law, Kate's sister and was voted the best butt during the royal wedding. 

In a suspected case of cannibalism, a 22-year-old woman was killed and her suspected attacker died during interrogation after he was caught allegedly eating parts of the woman's face at a hotel in UK's South Wales.

Matthew Williams, 34, who was caught in a room with the woman with severe facial injuries by police, died after he was struck by a high voltage taser which was being used to apprehend him, the Telegraph reported.

Security staff of the hotel which was also used as temporary accommodation for homeless people, raised the alarm after they broke the door open and discovered Williams red handed. He had only been released from a long sentence for violence just two weeks ago.

Rezaul Hasan Laskar @Rezhasan So the buzz is someone could lose the HRD Ministry?

A defence spokesman in a statement on Monday, the day of the incident, explained their version of the incident: "Based on the specific intelligence reports about the movement of terrorists in a white Maruti car on November 3 along Nowgam to Pulwama road, three mobile vehicle check posts (MVCP) were established along the road.

"At approximately, 5 pm, a white Maruti car approached the first check point where the personnel tried to stop the car but it did not stop."

The spokesman added that the car was once again asked to stop at the second check point but it failed to do so.

"Then at the third check post, the vehicle tried to go through, which resulted in the firing. The injured were rushed to  te Army BaseHospital, Srinagar where two of them succumbed to their injuries while the other two are under treatment.

Army accepts responsibility for the killing of two civilians in Budgam. DS Hooda, GOC, Northern Command, says it was  mistake which won't be repeated and announces Rs 10 lakh compensation to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh each for the injured.

Hooda says, "We accept full responsibility. We would like to assure the families of our fullest support. We sincerely wish the incident would not have happened. We ensure this kind of incident will not happen in the future. If there was any violation we will deal with it severely."

The army has decided to replace the entire company of 53 Rashtriya Rifles unit that was manning the area of Chattergam in Budgam where two civilians were killed in firing at a checkpost on Monday. The area will now be the responsibility of a different RR unit.

Just in: Union Cabinet reshuffle on November 9 at 1 pm. 

The move has been necessitated due to many reasons, mainly the overburdening of some ministers.

The key portfolios of defence and finance are handled by Arun Jaitley, which is considered an impossible task. Ravi Shankar Prasad (information technology and law) and Prakash Javadekar (information and broadcasting, and environment) are also handling two ministries each. Modi is looking for more energy quotient in his ministry.

The image has been gaining ground that Modi is struggling to bring in change without the backing of a strong council of ministers.

Four Navy personnel, including an officer, remained missing today after a vessel sank off the Vishakhapatnam coast last night and a full scale search is underway to trace them.

A Board of Inquiry has also been set up to look into the cause of the mishap of the Torpedo Recovery Vessel in which one sailor died. 23 others were rescued.

In view of the accident, Navy Chief Admiral R K Dhowan, who is on a four-day visit to Seychelles till November 9, is cutting short his visit to reach Visakhapatnam, Navy officials said.

Andaman and Nicobar police has issued a lookout notice against two French filmmakers who had allegedly trespassed into protected Jarawa tribal reserve and secretly filmed a documentary on the threatened aboriginal tribe.

North and Middle Andaman SP Santosh Kumar Meena told PTI from Port Blair that Father Saw Saytha of Baptist Church at Mayabunder has been arrested for helping French film director Alexandre Dereims and producer Claire Beilvert meet the Jarawa tribals.

Police said the matter would be taken up with the Ministry of External Affairs and the help of Interpol would be sought to trace the film-maker duo who filmed the documentary between January 28 and February 11 this year.

Remember this? Jarawas made to dance for food

Days after he congratulated Smriti Irani on assuming charge as Human Resource Development Minister and sent her a job application with the reminder that he was an "RSS person' at whose Nagpur house she once had a "brief stay', Vishram Jamdar was named chairman of the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) Nagpur.  Read the report in the Indian Express.

Manohar Parrikar, who is all set to become the next defence minister in Sunday's expansion/reshuffle of the Union Cabinet, will be elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh as a BJP nominee.

Elections to fill 10 RS vacancies from UP will be held on November 20, and the BJP, with 41 MLAs, can send one MP to the Upper House. Parrikar will be nominated on November 10.

Earlier reports suggested that the BJP would send Ram Madhav to the RS from UP, but his name was dropped owing to internal opposition, it is said.

The Shiv Sena's Suresh Prabhu, who will be the next environment minister, will be elected to the Rajya Sabha as a BJP nominee from Haryana or Bihar.

Members of the US Navy SEAL commando team that killed Osama bin Laden at his Pakistan hideout in May, 2011 are making conflicting claims as to who actually shot the al-Qaida leader.

The Washington Post published a story on Thursday quoting Rob O'Neill, a former SEAL, as claiming to have fired the fatal shot that hit bin Laden in the forehead after O'Neill stormed into a room in bin Laden's house in Abbottabad.

The claim by O'Neill, who travels the country giving motivational speeches, was countered by a source close to another SEAL team member.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the team member told him the fatal shot was fired by one of two other men who entered the room before O'Neill. -- Reuters.

So, should you watch The Shaukeens?

Here's what Sukanya Verma/Rediff.com says: Why do filmmakers option the rights of a film and then do everything to assert their version has nothing to do with the original to dodge comparisons?

This fallacy is not only disappointing but lazy too.

I mean, if you are bold enough to touch a realised product, why not acknowledge your enthusiasm for the source or explain the inclination to alter it?

Director Abhishek Sharma's The Shaukeens is a retelling of Basu Chatterjee's 1982 film and adding The in front and s behind Shaukeen doesn't make that any less conspicuous.  Read

Sir Walter Raleigh and the uncertain future of space travel. Read

More on Jayapur, the village that PM Modi has adopted.

It was the second victory after a gap of nearly 450 years for the 3,500-odd villagers when it was announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would adopt and develop their Jayapura village in his constituency Varanasi.

The first victory dates back to the Mughal era and finds mention in history books -- the second one is hitting the headlines a day Modi lands and formally adopts the village. Read more

It is a situation many of us have been in. You send an important message on WhatsApp and then eagerly wait for a reply.

One little tick appears to your message. Then two. Then nothing.

Your heart sinks.

The important message has been ignored - or has it?

Up until now many users incorrectly thought the double check indicated a message had been seen.

Actually it meant that a message had been received by the handset, not its human owner.

However, WhatsApp's official website has confirmed the messaging service has a new feature, so you'll know when someone has definitely read your message.

Welcome to the double tick.  Read more

EC tells MHA that instances like the move regarding compensation to the 1984 victims do not recur when Model Code is in force; asks why news regarding it was not denied.

JUST IN: Australian Prime Minister @TonyAbbottMHR calls up @narendramodi to discuss agenda for G-20 Summit in Brisbane.

An interesting tidbit on Robin Raphel -- the veteran American diplomat who has been placed under federal counter intelligence investigation.

Raphel was married to the late ambassador Arnold Lewis Raphel, but they divorced prior to his death in 1988. He was killed aboard the aircraft carrying Gen. Zia-ul Haq that exploded on take-off under mysterious conditions in August 1988.

Indian Express reports today that Jayapur village that the PM adopted today was the same village that the RSS had selected in 2002 to develop it under its "ideal village scheme'.

Moreover, the Sangh, during internal discussions in the past, has expressed that it would be ideal if villages being looked after by it are not adopted by MPs.

Modi's public health message at Jayapur: "Should the govt tell us to get our children vaccinated for polio? Can't our youth take on this responsibility? Let us decide that no child will take meals without washing their hands in our village. Do we need any govt to do this? We (Jayapur village) will take pride if a girl is born, will celebrate a girl's birth."  

As part of a government initiative under which each Member of Parliament would "adopt' a village, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha MP from Varanasi, has adopted Jayapur village for its all-round development.

Speaking at Jayapur, on his two-day visit to his constituency, the PM says,
he met several officers and asked them to go back to their villages and see if there was any change/development there. Meri koshish hai ki hum jitney bhi aage chale jaye, par jinhone humein aage bheja hai unko aage badhane ki bhi toh koi yojana ho.

"I want to create a mentality to work for the development of people who have helped us move forward.  People think Modi-ji is coming to the village now it will be clean, is this right? Can't we work for cleanliness of our village on our own?

"People should not depend on 'Adarsh Gram Yojna' for development of their villages, rather they should take the initiative," he said.

North Korean state TV has aired footage of Kim Jong-Un for the first time in more than two months, showing the leader walking without a stick but with a pronounced limp.

The video footage, aired late yesterday by the North's Chosun Chungang TV, showed Kim on stage at a meeting of military commanders in Pyongyang that took place on Monday and Tuesday.

Following an extended absence from the public eye, Kim re-surfaced with a walking stick in mid-October.

His nearly six-week absence triggered a frenzy of speculation about his health and grip on power. In the footage shown yestersday, Kim was seen limping as he walked past a crowd of soldiers for a photo opportunity but avoided showing his legs.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered an investigation and a perimeter security review of all airports in the country after a SpiceJet flight with 140 passengers hit a buffalo that had strayed on to the runway because of a breach in the airport's external fencing.

The incident which happened at the Surat airport caused severe damage to the engine of the Boeing 737 and the buffalo was killed.

Pic: Multiple images of the damage engine of the Boeing 737.

Swapan Dasgupta writing for the Telegraph, Calcutta, today, on the late  Nikhil Chakravartty, a towering journalist.

"A few days before the fateful kar seva in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, I bumped into the venerable Nikhil Chakravartty at Delhi's India International Centre. When I informed him of my intention to travel to the temple town to observe the mobilization, Nikhilda was amused. "I don't know why you are going to Ayodhya', he told me, "It's all happening in Delhi."  Read more

US President Barack Obama has secretly written a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to seek his support in the fight against the Islamic State militants.

Obama wrote the letter to Khamenei last month, the Wall Street Journal said. "Mr Obama stressed to Mr Khamenei that any cooperation on Islamic State was largely contingent on Iran reaching a comprehensive agreement with global powers on the future of Tehran's nuclear programme by a November 24 diplomatic deadline, the same people say," said the daily, which based its report on anonymous sources.

This is the fourth letter that Obama has written to the top Iranian leader since coming to power in 2009.

The failure of Narendra Modi's infrastructure plan reflects the larger failure of the Indian imagination, a mindless enumeration of ideas that have little or no bearing on Indian reality. When much of what is built is a half-baked imitation of disparate items tried and tested elsewhere, it becomes hard to fault Mr. Modi.

If the recent image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi swinging on the jhula with Chinese President Xi Jinping was meant to suggest a technological consensus of two great eastern republics, it was a mistaken metaphor. China's advances in technology and infrastructure have moved it much beyond Indian reach, leaving Mr. Modi alone on the swing. With no one to push, India flounders. Read

A veteran State Department diplomat and longtime Pakistan expert is under federal investigation as part of a counterintelligence probe and has had her security clearances withdrawn, according to U.S. officials.

The FBI searched the Northwest Washington home of Robin L Raphel last month, and her State Department office was also examined and sealed, officials said.

Raphel, a fixture in Washington's diplomatic and think-tank circles, was placed on administrative leave last month, and her contract with the State Department was allowed to expire this week.

Two US officials described the investigation as a counterintelligence matter, which typically involves allegations of spying on behalf of foreign governments.

The exact nature of the investigation involving Raphel remains unclear. She has not been charged. A spokesman for Raphel said she was cooperating with investigators but has not been told the "scope or nature or that she is the target' of any probe.
Read more on the Washington Post.

Goa CM Manohar Parrikar will leave for Lucknow on Monday to file his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi during his first visit there today. The PM says Varanasi has a very special place in his heart. "Varanasi has made me their own. I am here in the midst of my own. The joy is different," he says. 

India's 'God' Sachin Tendulkar ripped apart by Fox Sports, Australia.

"It's been rumoured for years and now it's confirmed. Sachin Tendulkar is not the person we thought he was.

After 25 years of bashful silence at last we have met the man behind the mask.

And what a ruthless force of nature he is.

Let's just tell this straight.

Tendulkar, as confirmed in his just-released autobiography, is a highly political animal, a dangerous enemy who knew the bottomless power he possessed and used it shamelessly -- and secretly -- like a master puppeteer when it suited his team's cause." Read more

Parrikar says the Parliament Board will meet tomorrow, after which he will put in his resignation. "Goa MLAs will then hold a meet to choose the next CM," says Parrikar. He refused to comment on reports that he was tipped to become the defence minister, saying it was up to the PM to decide the portfolio.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived this morning in Varanasi, the constituency that voted him to Parliament, for the first time since he took charge in May. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav received him at the Varanasi airport.

He is expected to adopt a village under the MP Model Village Scheme.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will resign. He is headed to Delhi and is tipped to become defence minister in an expansion of the Narendra Modi cabinet likely on Sunday, reports NDTV.

Goa's 21 legislators of the ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party are meeting this morning to elect Parrikar's replacement, the state's Speaker Rajendra Arlekar told NDTV. He is a frontrunner for the chief minister's post.

Just in: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said he will step down from his post tomorrow, reports NDTV.

Contending that terror is a global menace, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Home Minister Rajnath Singh here have reviewed existing cooperation and future possibilities of enhancing engagement in dealing with the threat.

Both the leaders also expressed their countries' keenness to strengthen ties, with Netanyahu emphasising that he "believes that relations between the two countries were poised for rapid development" following his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September in New York.

During that meeting, the Israeli premier had said that "sky is the limit" in terms of prospects of cooperation between the two countries. Singh and Netanyahu discussed the regional situation and the evolving threats to the global communities from terror. Singh said terror was a threat not only to countries like India and Israel but to the whole world.

BBC reports: A row has arisen over which United States commando fired the shot that killed Osama Bin Laden.

A former Navy Seal Robert O'Neill, 38, has told the Washington Post in a new interview he fired the fatal shot.

This contradicts the account of Matt Bissonnette, another former Seal involved in the raid, in a 2012 book. The Al Qaeda leader was killed in a 2011 Navy Seal raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

O'Neill, who retired in 2012, had previously told his story anonymously to Esquire magazine.

Read: REVEALED! The US soldier who shot down Osama

Delhi-bound Spicejet plane, with about 140 passengers on board, hit a stray buffalo on the runway a few seconds before the take-off at the Surat airport yesterday.    

"A Surat-to-Delhi SpiceJet aircraft, Flight number SG622, carrying around 140 passengers excluding crew members hit a stray animal on take-off roll at Surat airport,"said Siddharth Kumar, an airline's spokesperson.   

All passengers and crew members are safe and will be provided an alternative arrangement soon, Kumar said. Considering the stray-animal menace, SpiceJet has also decided to suspend its services at the Surat airport for an indefinite period.

Responding favourably to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative, his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu has told visiting Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh that his country is keen to take advantage of the move, reports PTI. 

Netanyahu said that Israel is ready and willing to discuss transfer and development of technologies with India. "Israeli industries, including the defence industries, could 'make in India' and thereby reduce costs of manufacturing products and systems developed by Israel," the Israeli premier said.

The Israeli leader also expressed willingness to send a delegation from Israeli industries to visit India to explore manufacturing opportunities in different sectors. Singh, in this context, proposed exploring jointly third country markets in Africa and Latin America, where Indian industry has a strong presence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi today for the first time after assuming charge, where he is likely to firm up plans for its development.

Preparations are in full swing and tight security is in place in the ancient temple town where Modi is expected to lay the foundation stone of a trade facilitation centre for weavers and also adopt a village under his Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (MPs' model village scheme).

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will welcome the PM. Union Textiles Minister Santosh Gangwar will also be present, Additional District Magistrate (protocol) OP Chaubey said.

According to Inspector General of Police (public grievances) Ashok Jain, 12 SP rank police officials of Uttar Pradesh, 18 Additional SPs, 20 Deputy SPs, 135 sub-inspectors, besides more than 1,000 personnel of the Provincial Armed Constabulary have been deployed.

Torpedo recovery vessel sinks near Vizag; 1 dead, 4 missing 

Pakistan stirs the pot, calls Kashmiri separatists freedom fighters

No sachh in this Swachh Bharat drive!

Cabinet expansion: 2 Sena leaders likely to be inducted on Sunday 

Rayudu's century lifts India to easy victory over SL in second ODI 

Black money: 300 accounts in HSBC list have no cash! 

Modi's sell-off drive thwarted; more spending cuts likely