MNS chief Raj Thackeray today alleged that NCP president and former union minister Sharad Pawar was planning to join the BJP-led NDA alliance before this year's Lok Sabha elections.

"Pawar was going to join NDA, but some people in BJP did not let that happen," Thackeray said, addressing a campaign rally here this evening. There was a tacit understanding amongst BJP, Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena, and they were taking the people of Maharashtra for a ride, Raj said.

The MNS chief also criticised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for misusing the government machinery for the Assembly election campaigning.

In fresh ceasefire violations, Pakistani forces resorted to shelling and firing along the international border in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

There were three fresh violation of ceasefire as Pakistani forces resorted to mortar shelling and firing in the sub sectors of Kanachak and Pargwal in Jammu district and Hiranagar in Kathua district along the international border.   Border Security Force troops gave a strong retaliation and the exchanges are on, police officials said.

In the last 24 hours, Pakistani Rangers targeted 50 border outposts and 35 hamlets along the 192-km boundary killing 2 women and injuring 15 others, including three BSF jawans.

Eight people have been killed and 75 others injured in the shelling and firing along LoC and IB in Jammu and Poonch districts by Pakistan for over a week this month.

Fresh ceasefire violation:

At least 17 people from a wedding party, including three children, have died in a boat sinking on the way to the Indonesian island of Bali, an official said today, with two dozen still missing.

The Homeland Security Department has ordered agents at airports and other ports of entry to observe everyone coming into the United States for potential signs of Ebola infection. 

Twitter Inc. is the latest tech giant to sue the U.S. government for the right to reveal the scope of government surveillance of its users.The San Francisco microblogging site filed suit against the Department of Justice and the FBI on Tuesday, saying it was being "unconstitutionally restricted by statutes that prohibit and even criminalize" the public disclosure of such requests.

President Pranab Mukherjee today extended greetings to Indian Air Force on its 82nd anniversary and said the armed forces give confidence to the nation for facing any aggression. 

President Pranab Mukherjee will embark on a two-nation visit to Norway and Finland from October 12 during which he will meet Heads of the States and important functionaries. 

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today committed a faux pas in Mahad, Maharashtra, when he apparently referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "opposition leader".

"An opposition leader says nothing happened in the last 60 years. Their thinking is that only one man can take the country forward."This thinking raises a question mark on Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Nehru. It not only raises a question mark on them (about what they did for the country), but also you (the people) and your forefathers," Rahul said addressing his maiden campaign rally for the October 15 Maharashtra Assembly poll.

"It is you, your sweat and blood that has brought the country where it is today," the Congress leader said.

Modi has been targeting Congress at his poll rallies, saying, "Those who ruled the country for 60 years are seeking account of what I did in 60 days. Have they given the account of what they did in 60 years?"

"Hello, this is Narendra Modi speaking. How are you Dr Saab?

As you can well imagine, the doctor at the end of the line almost hung up in shock.

The PM had made a call to the doctor attending to his finance minister and key aide Arun Jaitley who had been hospital once again last month for a check-up after an operation to treat his diabetes.

Modi told the doctor to update him on Jaitley's hemoglobin levels and health parameters.  

As it may be recalled, Modi was in the US when Jaitley had been hospitalised for a post-op check-up and the call was made when he was in New York.

Modi told the doctor that he would expect a text message every day on Jaitley's health till he returned to New Delhi. 

Former Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa has deferred filing her bail application with the Supreme Court today by a day. The reason? Filing papers on a lunar eclipse is considered to be inauspicious. The Supreme Court advocates were ready with the documents but put the order on hold after explicit instructions from well-wishers in Bangalore jail. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have launched the 'Clean India Mission' with a bang, but his council of ministers began their clean-up drive a while ago -- cleaning out bungalows allotted by the government.

Spouses of some BJP union ministers have revealed that expensive Italian-tiles were laid in the washrooms of many of Dr Manmohan Singh's  ministers, a Rs 45 lakh extravaganza for a 6 foot x 4 foot area. The bathroom had a spa and a sauna.

The wife of a senior union minister says she saw yet more expensive fittings inside a bedroom and at once ordered its removal. She is planning to write a blog soon to expose the UPA minister.

A total lunar eclipse, the second and last one of this year has begun. With its onset, the Earth has positioned itself between the sun and the moon, creating a full lunar eclipse with a majestic red hue.

The spectacular sight is visible to people in North America, as well as to observers in Australia, western Asia and across the Pacific Ocean.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes through the shadow of the Earth cast by light from the sun.

Total lunar eclipses are called "blood moons" because of the dull reddish color of the eclipsed moon.

Wednesday's lunar eclipse is also known in folklore as a "hunter's moon" because it is the full moon after the harvest moon. The blood moon will be 5.3 percent larger than the last blood moon observed on April 15 because the eclipse comes two days after a lunar perigee, that is, the point at which the moon approaches the Earth closest in its orbit.

Want a look-see at the lunar eclipse? It's already begun if you're in India. 

The totality of the eclipse will begin at 3:54 pm and end at 7:05 pm. The maximum eclipse will be seen at 4:24 pm and the totality will end on 4:54 pm and the moon will leave the penumbra at 7:04 pm.

The celestial phenomenon will be visible in New Delhi for a few minutes - between 5.58 p.m. to 6.04 pm.

It will only be partially visible from India, towards the end of the eclipse.

Eric Betzig: U.S. citizen. Born 1960 in Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Ph.D. 1988 from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. Group Leader at Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA.

Stefan W. Hell: German citizen. Born 1962 in Arad, Romania. Ph.D. 1990 from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Got- tingen, and Division head at the German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.

William E. Moerner: US citizen. Born 1953 in Pleasanton, CA, USA. Ph.D. 1982 from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. Harry S. Mosher Professor in Chemistry and Professor, by cour- tesy, of Applied Physics at Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

Here's Stefan Hell on his Nobel prizewinning work on nanoscale microscopy: "I had an intuitive feeling that the resolution of light microscopes had not come to an end."

The German citizen has already been the cause of the some online humour due to his surname.

To understand what they did to win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, read this.

This is the Nobel committee's press release on the Chemistry prize. Read

So, there we have it... Americans Eric Betzig and William Moerner and German scientist Stefan Hell have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for "the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy." The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences says the work of the three scientists "has brought optical microscopy into the nanodimension."

Just in: Eric Betzig, Stefan W Hell and William E. Moerner win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry "for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy"

Rahul Gandhi addressing a rally in Raigad, Maharashtra. "They (Opposition) are putting a question mark on you, because not one person, but you together have taken the nation forward in the last 60 years. Opposition says in last 60 years nothing has been done, they think that only an individual can take nation forward.

"When Opposition says nothing was done in 60 years, they are raising a question on Mahatma Gandhi, Babasaheb Ambedkar and such leaders," he says.

Update on ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the J-K border: There has been heavy firing and mortar shelling over 25 to 27 border hamlets in forward areas of Jammu district since last night. Over 15,000 people have migrated from border hamlets in Jammu to safer places due to the firing and shelling.

Tragic end for little Geetha. The body of nine-year-old Geetha has been fished out of a drain leading to the Madiwala lake in Bangalore. Geetha had been walking on a pavement with her aunt in South East Bangalore on Monday night when she slipped and fell through a gap on the concrete slab covering a drain. Heavy rains in the area had led to water logging and the child did not see the gaping hole.

Marathon rescue efforts began and the National Disaster Response Force was called in on Monday night.

Events in North Korea have left the world wondering: Where's leader Kim Jong Un and is he still running perhaps the most isolated country on Earth?Some analysts speculate Kim may have been ousted by an old guard from the era of his late father, whose 2011 death put the son in power. Read

The two civilians killed in ceasefire violations by Pakistan were women, say reports. 15 others were injured in heavy mortar shelling and firing by Pakistani troops along the international border in Jammu and Kashmir. The death toll has now risen to eight in the continued ceasefire violations by Pakistan for over a week.

Pakistani Rangers targeted 50 border out posts (BoPs) and 35 hamlets overnight along the 192-km boundary. The escalation has triggered an exodus, with 16,000 people moving to safer areas from border villages. Over 70 people have been injured in the ceasefire violations by Pakistan, including 15 today.

M P Anil Kumar, a distinguished Rediff.com columnist and an inspiration to millions, lived at the Paraplegic Centre in Pune for 26 years before he passed away earlier this year. On Air Force Day, a salute to a fighter pilot, who was an example in life and in death. Air Commodore Nitin Sathe pays tribute to an extraordinary officer and a gentleman. Read

"Delighted to learn KPCC is preparing a "detailed report". That means they might finally actually read what I wrote instead of oral summaries, tweets Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

All splinter groups in the Congress yesterday to convince the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee to slap a show-cause notice on Shashi Tharoor, who is the MP from Thiruvananthapuram for his open praise for PM Narendra Modi's initiatives, including the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan.

The meet is likely to urge the AICC to initiate "appropriate action including stripping Tharoor of the official spokesman tag''.

On the 35th anniversary of Alien, Tim Robey looks at the creation of its iconic poster. Read

"The most startling difference you come across as soon as you enter India from Pakistan -- women in public space.They are everywhere, riding two wheelers, in buses and trains commuting independently and running businesses big and small, including roadside tea stalls and shops."

Read

The Andaman Sea experienced a deep depression and converted into a cyclone early on Wednesday morning. MeT officials said the system is centered at around 80 kilometers south east of Long Island in northern Andaman as of 5.30 am, and is expected to make a landfall shortly before noon.

Later, it is expected to drift towards northern Andhra Pradesh and the Odisha coast, where a landfall may take place on Sunday. Its crossing the coast could herald the onset of the North East Monsoon, even as the South West Monsoon recedes.

Three Central Industrial Security Force or CISF personnel were shot dead allegedly by their colleague at the Kalpakkam atomic power plant in Tamil Nadu this morning. Two others have been injured. 

Michael Schumacher will be able to live "a relatively normal life", says former Ferrari boss and current FIA president Jean Todt. The Formula One legend suffered serious head injuries following a skiing accident in France last December, which left him in a medically-induced coma.  Read more

No surprises here... Mulayam Singh Yadav elected as Samajawadi Party Chief for the 9th time at the National Executive meet.

DG BSF says India has been reacting strongly to the serious ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley held a meeting with the Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force chiefs on Tuesday. Toughening its stand on the border issue, India has put on hold the flag meeting with the Pakistan army and has decided to wait for Islamabad to make the first move, according to media reports. 

The BSF asks people in border areas to remain indoors as firing by Pakistan continues. Two people have been killed and six injured this morning in Samba. 

Air Chief Arup Raha says the situation on the border and Line of Control is a matter of serious concern.

In the continuing spate of stepped up ceasefire violations, Pakistan Rangers targeted 50 paramilitary Border Security Force posts in Jammu on Tuesday night.

A senior BSF officer said six persons including three BSF troopers were injured in the firing. He said Pakistan Rangers again resorted to unprovoked firing using automatic weapons and mortars on the International Border around 8 pm on Tuesday.

Another ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Samba, Jammu and Kashmir. Two people have been killed and six injured in fresh firing by Pakistan. 

It should be a matter of concern at the highest level in India and Pakistan that what were sporadic incidents of ceasefire violations at the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) have now escalated to such an extent that there is imminent danger of regressing to the bad old days before the truce came into effect in 2003, when the two sides used to exchange artillery fire daily, causing casualties among both uniformed personnel and civilians, and infiltration by militants into Jammu and Kashmir was at its highest. Read

Shiv Sena today attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of ceasefire violations by Pakistan, saying he should focus on stopping the "atrocities" by the neighbouring country and not Maharashtra politics.

Claiming that Pakistan has been emboldened by government's failure to take "firm" steps against the cross-border firing and shelling, the BJP's erstwhile ally took a pot-shot at Modi saying one does not need a 56-inch chest to protect the interests of the nation but a strong will power.

Keeping Modi busy in election rallies across the state while he is most needed at the Centre is like undermining the national security of India, the Shiv Sena said in its editorial mouthpiece 'Saamna'.

Referring to Modi's extensive campaigning for the BJP in Maharashtra ahead of state assembly polls, the Sena said, "We can talk about the politics of Maharashtra later as well Modi ji, but for now it is most important that we do not bear the atrocities committed by our neighbour."

"Do you need a 56-inch chest to protect the interests of the nation and to teach Pakistan a lesson for their misdeeds? All you need is a strong will power to give it back to them in the same measure," it said. "Pakistan is daring to continuously fire on the Indian side because there are no firm steps taken by the Indian government," Sena said.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members on Tuesday joined hands to form a human chain and launch a campaign in Delhi University to raise awareness and sensitise students about "love jihad' and the "menace of live-in relationships', reports The Indian Express.

The ABVP leaders, however, clarified that "forced conversion of Hindu women by Muslim men', and not love jihad, will be the focus of their campaign on account of the latter having a "communal tone'.

"We are not against love and it is not our intention to target a particular community, but forced conversion of Hindu women by Muslim men using unethical means is a worrying trend and is a reality today. Raising awareness among girls to not fall for such traps will be part of this year-long campaign,' ABVP national secretary Rohit Chahal said.

The campaign will also look at sensitising students about how live-in relationships are against the Indian culture. The organisation plans to enlist the help of student groups to apprise university students about its perils.

"Live-in relationships go against the grain of Indian culture and the institution of family. It is also true that hardly any such relationship succeeds. We will form student groups in various colleges and undertake case studies to apprise girls of the detrimental effects of being in such a relationship," ABVP Delhi secretary Saket Bahuguna said.

Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said he is being targeted by people within his party because he is an outsider and decried criticism of his response to Narendra Modi's call to support the clean India campaign.

"Nobody understands when somebody is trying to express a complex set of ideas," he said and underlined he has been seen by some as a "foreign object in the body politic".

"And perhaps there is a difficulty in digesting who I am and how I conduct myself," he told NDTV when asked about the controversy.

Tharoor, who drew flak from the Congress's Kerala unit by responding positively to Modi's invitation to him for the "Swachh Bharat"clean India campaign, said, "the fact is  that we don't do nuance in our politics".

Expressing resentment at party MP Shashi Tharoor praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress' Kerala unit today decided to submit a report to the party high command seeking suitable action in the matter.

KPCC president V M Sudheeran said praises lavished on Modi repeatedly by Tharoor had hurt Congress and UDF workers who worked sincerely and tirelessly for his victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency for a second time.

After interactions with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and other senior leaders, he said KPCC would submit a report to the high command on the issue reflecting the sentiments of the party's Kerala unit.

"Tharoor has praised Modi on several occasions. This has hurt the sentiments of the Congress and UDF workers who have put up hard work for Tharoor's victory in the Lok Sabha polls," Sudheeran said.

We want peace and tranquillity across border,efforts are being made to bring this to an end, Air Chief Arup Raha says 82nd Air Force Day.

The government is making long and short term plans to clean up the Ganga and it will take three years to come out with final plans, water resources minister Uma Bharati said Tuesday. 

Narendra Modi's tallest claim at the end of his almost 13-year reign as Gujarat chief minister was a flawless law and order situation in the state, but for the blemish of Godhra riots. "After 2002, Gujarat has not seen violence," he would often say. After Modi's flight to New Delhi five months ago, the fear factor is gone. Here's why.

When all the punditry over the visit to the United States of America of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, is exhausted, it will be instructive to step back and study how the Americans selectively use all their levers of power on a graduated scale when they want a foreign leader's visit to succeed and produce results. Read more

A woman was killed and 11 persons were injured as Pakistani troops targeted 50 security outposts and three dozen hamlets with heavy mortar shelling and firing overnight along the entire 192-km international border in Jammu and Kashmir.

Extending the ceasefire violations to new areas, Pakistan Rangers shelled border outposts (BoPs) and villages in Samba and Kathua along with Jammu during the night and the firing was continuing till this morning.

A woman was killed in the shelling in Jaladi village in Samba while 11 people, including three BSF personnel, were injured, a BSF spokespersons said today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauds the efforts of the IAF as it celebrates 82 Air Force Day today. 

"On Air Force Day, I salute our air force personnel. They are our pride & their bravery, commitment & dedication continues to inspire," PM tweets. 

The Indian Air Force is celebrating its 82nd Air Force Day at the Hindon base today.

Legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar joined the celebrations along with wife Anjali.

Tendulkar was conferred with the honorary title of Honorary Group Captain four years ago and is the first person with no aviation background to get the honour.

Chief of Army Dalbir Singh Suhag was also present.

Actor Mohanlal is the latest victim of online hackers. His blog, 'The Complete Actor', displayed messages supporting Pakistan's stance on the Kashmir issue yesterday.

Hackers who claimed to be Pakistanis were behind the cyber-attack. The messages on the site said that the team Cyber Warriors were behind the attack. Much to the fans' relief, the site was restored after 20 minutes, The Times of India reports.

The hackers wrote, "We (will) never forget what you did against humanity. In Jammu and Kashmir, millions of people are dead. Indian forces killed Kashmiri families, killed innocent children. But no one cared! Your bank accounts, credit cards, servers are in danger."

The last line of the message said, "Dear admins, we just wanted to publish this message. Muslims are not terrorists."

Amid escalation of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki moon has asked India and Pakistan to resolve their issues diplomatically and through dialogue.

"The Secretary-General would call on both countries to resolve their issues diplomatically and through discussions," Ban's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reportersin response to a question on whether the UN chief can play a role in bringing about peace between the two countries.

Three Central Industrial Security Force personnel were shot dead allegedly by their colleague at the Kalpakkam atomic power plant in Tamil Nadu this morning. Two others were injured.

According to the Kancheepuram Superintendent of Police C Vijay Kumar, the alleged killer Vijay Pratap Singh has been arrested, NDTV reports. 

"The firing took place around 5.30 this morning. We are investigating...the motive is not known yet" he said. 

The International Border with Pakistan remains tense as firing continued in several sectors of Jammu and Kashmir -- Hira nagar, Sambha, Arnia, RS Pura, Kanachak, Pargwal and Ramgarh.

Six including a Border Security Force jawan was injured in fresh firing and mortar shelling by Pakistan  troops in Jammu, Samba and Kutwa districts along the IB, a senior official told PTI this morning.

Pakistani troops had targeted over 40 Border Out Posts and 25 border hamlets with heavy mortar shells in Jammu sector and LoC areas yesterday.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley held a meeting with the chiefs of the Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force on Tuesday. Toughening its stand on the border situation, India has put on hold the flag meeting with the Pakistan army and has decided to wait for Islamabad to make the first move.

Pakistan targets 40 border posts, 12 injured in fresh firing
I am being targeted as I am an outsider: Tharoor
Jayalalithaa refused bail, Tamil Nadu continues to grieve
Congress's stinging attack against PM: Modi's chest is 5.6 inches, not 56
Land deal nod Hooda govt's parting gift to Gandhi family: BJP
India, Pak discuss ceasefire violations at DGMO-level talks

Pakistan targets 40 border posts, 12 injured in fresh firing
I am being targeted as I am an outsider: Tharoor
Jayalalithaa refused bail, Tamil Nadu continues to grieve
Congress's stinging attack against PM: Modi's chest is 5.6 inches, not 56
Land deal nod Hooda govt's parting gift to Gandhi family: BJP
India, Pak discuss ceasefire violations at DGMO-level talks

Scotland Yard officers arrested four men here today on suspicion of terror offences as part of an investigation into an alleged Islamist terrorist plot. Officials told the BBC the arrests "may have foiled the early stages" of planning an attack in the United Kingdom.

The men - two aged 21 and two aged 20 - were held by counter-terrorism police and a Taser stun gun was also used as part of the operations. They were arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, Scotland Yard said. Officials said one individual had spent time in Syria. There was no word on alleged targets or how far advanced the alleged plot was. Those arrested were taken to police stations in central London and remain in custody.