A coach of the Chennai-Gudur passenger train was gutted at Sullurpet railway station in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh today evening but nobody was injured in the accident, Government Railway Police (GRP) sources said. 

Afghanistan's first female pilot to serve in the air force since the fall of the Taliban has been honoured with the US Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award.

Amid a raging debate over equal Internet access, the government today said an expert panel is looking into net neutrality issues and a report is expected by mid-May even as anti-trust watchdog CCI might launch a probe into the matter. 

A Prague court has handed a 30 month prison sentence to a Russian who forced a passenger plane to make an emergency landing by claiming he was carrying a bomb. 

Russia has lifted a ban on supplying Iran with a sophisticated air defence missile system, the Kremlin has said.

A Turkish court today acquitted a Dutch journalist tried on charges of spreading "terrorist propaganda" for the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a judicial source said. 

In a breather to several diesel vehicle owners facing imminent danger of ban, the National Green Tribunal today stayed for two weeks its order to impound diesel vehicles, heavy or light, plying in the capital for more than 10 years. 

Aam Aadmi Party came out in support of net neutrality and demanded that all data and sites be treated and charged equally by telecom companies. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote on Twitter that "AAP committed to neutral internet. India MUST debate #NetNeutrality. I support #Saveinternet campaign http://www.savetheinternet.in" 

Pakistan reiterated its stance over Yemen-Saudi conflict, vowing to defend Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity at all costs. Nawaz Sharif, addressing the nation, said that Pakistan does not abandon friends and strategic partners especially at a time when their security is under threat. In coming days, we will intensify our contacts with Saudi Arabia in this connection, he added.

"We have given him the responsibility as an ambassador of Yoga, no need to make that an issue," says Haryana CM ML Khattar after the state decided to make give Baba Ramdev 'status equivalent to Cabinet Minister'. 

One person was killed in a shooting at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, North Carolina, and the campus was on lockdown as authorities searched for the shooter. At least one person was shot in a school library, Daniel Wiggins, assistant operations manager for Wayne County, North Carolina said, adding that the shooter had been brought under control. 

Accusing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of misleading people on the regularisation of unauthorised colonies, Congress's Ajay Maken challenged him for an open debate on the issue. Maken also gave a two-month ultimatum to the Aam Aadmi Party government for starting the registration process in all the 1639 unauthorised colonies, failing which it would come out on the street.

The Haryana government today decided to give "status equivalent to Cabinet Minister" to Ramdev, who has been appointed as the state's brand ambassador to promote yoga and ayurveda.

"Ramdev, Brand Ambassador for promotion of yoga and ayurveda in Haryana, will be given status equivalent to Cabinet Minister," Haryana's Health and Sports Minister, Anil Vij tweeted today.

Vij had earlier said a herbal forest would be developed in the state where plants of thousands of species of ayurvedic herbs would be grown under the supervision of Ramdev.

The emphasis on yoga and ayurveda would lead to an amalgamation of tradition and modernity and inclusion of yoga in the school syllabus would turn Haryana into a model state based on Indian values and traditions, Vij had said. 

Heavy firing going on in Kamla forest at Buchoo area of Tral (J&K), security forces retaliating.

Meet and greet time for Narendra Modi in Berlin as he connects with the expat community. An expat says they have come to see the man who is going to change India.

Modi arrived in Berlin from Hannover a couple of hours ago after he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel inaugurated the 'India Pavilion' at the Hannover Fair. He also addressed an India-German business summit and said change had come to India.

A suspected Chinese-government sponsored group is understood to have snooped on inaccessible government computer networks in India for over a decade, a cyber security group claimed today. The group termed as APT30 touted to be longest-running advanced threat groups, possibly tapped classified government networks and other networks inaccessible from a standard Internet connection, cyber security provider FireEye has claimed.

Indianhistorypics tweets this Young Modiji @narendramodi joined Alliance Francaise Ahmedabad in1981.

Click on the picture for a larger image.

PM Modi arrives in Berlin from Hannover.

Flaying Shiv Sena leader's remarks on voting rights of Muslims, two prominent Muslim bodies in Mumbai today said that such statements will create differences between Hindus and Muslims and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clarify his stand on the issue.

Spokesman of Shia Personal Law Board Maulana Yasoob Abbas said that it was right that political parties were using Muslims as vote bank, but revoking voting rights was not a solution.

"The edit written by Sanjay Raut smells of killing people to cure the disease," Abbas said.

He alleged that there were ill-intentions behind such a statement and as Shiv Sena was an ally of BJP-led NDA government, the Prime Minister should clear his stand.

"Such statements divide the country. The Constitution has given right to vote as the citizen of the country and talking about revoking the right will be injustice. It will create differences between Hindu and Muslim. It is unfortunate that ally of the PM is making such statements," Abbas said.

The Shiv Sena had stoked a controversy over its demand that voting rights of Muslims should be revoked as the community has often been used to play vote bank politics.

The Sena also compared All India Majlis-e-Ittihadul- Muslimeen (MIM) and Owaisi brothers with "poisonous snakes" who spew venom to "exploit" the minority community.

More on the Dantewada blast: The blast occurred on Cholnar-Kirandul road under Kirandul police station limits when the security personnel were patrolling along a road construction route in the region this afternoon, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, SRP Kalluri said.

The mine-protected vehicle, with 11 state police jawans aboard, was dispatched from Cholnar camp to ensure security for the construction work underway in the region, located around 450 km away from state capital Raipur, when the rebels triggered the blast leaving four personnel dead and seven others injured, Kalluri said.

PM Narendra Modi arrives in Berlin.

The Islamabad High Court today set a two-month deadline for the trial court to conclude the 2008 Mumbai attack case, warning that it would accede to Pakistan government's plea to cancel the bail granted to LeT operations commander Zaki-ur-Rehman if it failed to do so.

A two-member bench of IHC headed by Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi gave the "two-month deadline" to the Islamabad Anti-Terrorism Court to conclude the case against Mumbai attack mastermind Lakhvi and six others going on since 2009.

The bench was hearing the government's plea for cancellation of 55-year-old Lakhvi's bail. fter the arguments from the prosecution and defence lawyers, the bench said: "This court gives two months to the trial court to conclude the Mumbai case and adjourns this case (a plea to cancellation of bail to Lakhvi) till then."

Prosecution chief Chaudhry Azhar said after the hearing that the judge also said in his order that the court would cancel Lakhvi's bail if there was a delay on the part of his lawyers.

In the third attack by Naxals in as many days, a police vehicle was ambushed in Dantewada, Chhatisgarh. Eleven policemen were injured with two believed to be in a critical condition.

Late last night, Maoists attacked a patrol party of the Border Security Force in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh and killed one BSF head constable.

A group of ultras opened indiscriminate firing on security personnel who were carrying out patrolling in the proximity of Chhote Baithiya Border Security Force camp under Bande police station area late last night, Kanker Superintendent of Police Jitendra Singh Meena said.

Seven STF personnel were killed and ten others injured on Saturday when Naxals ambushed them in the forests of restive Pidmel village under Polampalli, around 450 kms from state capital Raipur.

PM Modi is now on his way to Hannover. "Goodbye Hannover. Now towards Berlin."

A statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Johannesburg has been defaced by a group of people who threw buckets of white paint on it amid racist taunts.

The incident occurred yesterday when the group came in a car at about noon and threw buckets of white paint on the statue and surrounding plaques detailing Gandhi's history in South Africa, security guard Ntandzo Khwepe said.

They were bearing placards reading: 'Racist Gandhi must fall'. The statue in the centre of the city is believed to be the only one in the world showing Gandhi as a young lawyer in his court robes.

The statue is on a public transport hub square which was renamed Gandhi Square because the offices in which he practiced law during his stay in the city is on the periphery of the square. 

What PM Modi said at the Joint Inauguration of the Indo-German Business Summit in Hannover. The big takeaways include...

-- Railways, highways, airports, ports: We are modernizing our railway systems including signals, and railway stations. We are planning metro rail in 50 cities and high speed trains in various corridors. Similar is the case with highways. We are putting up new ports and modernizing the old ones. Similar focus is on upgrading the existing airports.

-- We want to promote manufacturing in a big way particularly to create jobs for youth. We have launched a campaign called "Make in India".  All this is a historic opportunity for the German companies. Once you decide to be in India, we are confident to make you comfortable.

-- I am here to assure the German companies that India is now a changed country. Our regulatory regime is much more transparent, responsive and stable. We are taking a long-term and futuristic view on the issues.

-- Lot of efforts have been made and are still underway to improve the 'Ease of Doing Business' in the country.

-- Reducing the complicated procedures, making them available at one platform, preferably online, simplifying the forms and formats has been taken up on war footing.

-- Definite mechanisms for hand holding have been set up in the form of hub and spoke. Invest India is the nodal agency for this purpose.

-- We have removed lot of regressive taxation regimes. Will introduce an element of transparency and predictability in taxation system.

-- We have fast tracked approvals in industry and infrastructure. This includes environmental clearances, extending the industrial licences, delicencing of defence items, and simplification of cross-border trade.

-- We introduced GST Bill in Parliament.

-- It is my advice to you to come and feel the change in India's regulatory environment. Please do not go by old perceptions.

-- The symbol of lion for make in India has been chosen very carefully. We know that our biggest need today is to create jobs for our 65% population which is young. Hence, Make in India is the need. Hence, the lion because a lion cannot be stopped. We are confident that our journey to make India a global manufacturing hub cannot be stopped that too by our own rules and regulations. We must and we will make corrections wherever it is required. "

Prime Minister Narendra Modi sprang a surprise on Congress leader Jairam Ramesh by texting birthday wishes, even as he left for the tri-nation tour.

The SMS was followed by a handwritten note to Ramesh, which read, 'Wish you many more happy returns of the day, dear Jairam-ji Ramesh'.

A close friend of Ramesh observed that a thoughtful gesture like this would have worked wonders for the Congress leadership. The friend observed that neither Sonia nor Rahul would have adopted such a public relation exercise and such niceties are lacking in the Congress.

Congress vice president, Rahul Gandhi, who was supposed to return to Delhi today, after seven weeks of 'introspection', will now be back by Wednesday, according to AICC sources.

Capt Amrinder Singh, the former Punjab CM, had said that the leadership should remain with Sonia Gandhi as a generational change cannot be done with a knife.

Notwithstanding, the AICC was planning to give him a rousing reception at Delhi airport and apparently Rahul got wind of it and extended his leave as he wanted to return home quietly.

The Air Traffic control has been getting frequent enquiry calls from the media on when Rahul's flight is expected to land and his arrival would have been beamed by every channel worth its salt. 

Rahul has been away for seven weeks and has missed the budget session of Parliament as well as other events like the anti-Land Bill stir which saw all oppostion parties led by Sonia Gandhi taking a protest march to Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Congress has struggled to defend his long absence beyond saying that he needed time to "introspect."

Congress leaders have asserted that Gandhi will definitely return before Sunday, April 19, when he is expected to address a massive farmers' rally against the Land Bill.

Rahul has positioned himself as a champion of farmers and was credited with driving the Congress government's law in 2013 that said land cannot be acquired without the consent of a majority of the farmers. 

The government has decided to confer gallantry awards on the security personnel who sacrificed their lives in the recent Naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh and said it would also extend benefits to their kin.

"We have decided to give them the gallantry award. We have also finalised other facilities to be given (to their family members). We will make a proper announcement as soon as possible," Home Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters here. Paying tribute to the security personnel killed in Chhattisgarh, he said, "I salute the courage of jawans who sacrificed their lives."

Grass, a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor was also a recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was widely regarded as Germany's most famous recently living writer.

Grass was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gdask, Poland).

In May 1945, after service as a soldier in the Waffen SS, he was taken prisoner by U.S. forces and released in April 1946.

Trained as a stonemason and sculptor, he began writing in the 1950s. In his fiction he has frequently returned to the Danzig of his childhood.

Grass is best known for his first novel, The Tin Drum (1959), a key text in European magic realism.

It was the first book of his Danzig Trilogy, which includes Cat and Mouse and Dog Years.

His works are frequently considered to have a left-wing political dimension, and Grass has been an active supporter of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

The Tin Drum was adapted as a film of the same name, which won both the 1979 Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

The Swedish Academy awarded him the Nobel Prize in Literature, praising him as a writer "whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history". -- Wikipedia.

Salman Rushdie tweets @SalmanRushdie This is very sad. A true giant, inspiration, and friend. Drum for him, little Oskar.

Guenter Grass, who won the Nobel literature prize winner and author of The Tin Drum, has died aged 87. Details awaited. 

PM Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issue a joint statement at Hannover Messe.

Modi, speaking in Hindi, says, "Hannover fair is organized in Germany but the entire world has its eyes on this fair. In different parts of the world different innovations are taking place. This fair will give a chance to Indian companies to observe Germany's innovations, work culture and discipline. India will contribute in development of both the nations by participating in Hannover Messe."

Wooing investors from Germany and the rest of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday night promised a welcoming business environment in India with a 'predictable, stable and competitive' tax regime and asserted that the 'remaining uncertainties' will be addressed.

He said the task of turning around the systems in India is 'huge' and will not be completed overnight but stressed that the government is firmly moving in that direction and it will be done.

Inaugurating, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Hannover Fair in which India is a partner country, Modi said his government is 'removing unnecessary regulations and simplifying our procedures' to make it easy for doing business in the country and enable foreign companies to participate in the 'Make in India' programme.

The debate on net neutrality continued to rage on Sunday, with prominent public figures including politicians and film personalities joining in to "Save the Internet" from discriminatory pricing for data services proposed by telecom companies, even as the temporary takedown of a viral video on net neutrality caused a minor Twitter storm.

A video explaining net neutrality made by All India Bakchod (AIB), which was widely shared on the Internet and social media websites -including by film actor Shahrukh Khan- ended up being removed from Facebook due to unusually high activity. Read

Right from the beginning, the State abdicated its responsibility in fixing the blame for the Hashimpura massacres or getting justice for the victims.
Jyoti Punwani and photographer Uttam Ghosh, in the third part of their series, trace the long and fruitless legal struggle waged by the victims' families for 28 years. Read

PM Narendra Modi and Chancellor Merkel enjoy a cup of tea at the Hannover Fair. The tea, informs MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, was picked from the Tea Board of India. This is the third time Modi has used tea as a leitmotif while meeting a head of state. Modi's tea ceremony with President Obama in Delhi grabbed eyeballs when he personally poured out the tea for Obama on the lawns of Hyderabad House.

Modi has also sipped tea with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the his visit to that country in 2014.

The concept of 'Chai Pe Charcha' came to be known during Modi's campaign for Lok Sabha polls in 2014 when he used it as an election plank.

If 25 black men had been executed illegally in the US in one day, the government would have fallen and the population would have rallied to the victims. In India, those of us who did not applaud the police only yawned, says Aakar Patel. Read

Rahul Gandhi likely to get back to work by April 15, suggests media reports. Mr G was supposed to be back by April 19 to lead the Congress rally against the Land Bill, but has now changed his return date.

Party leaders expect him to play an 'active role' in reviving a demoralised cadre, and take over from his mother as the party's next chief at the AICC session in April. Rahul disappeared just ahead of the Budget session in February.

The India pavilion at the Hannover fair has representations by 18 states. 

PM Modi: "I invite Germany and the world to increase partnership with India and see new heights. Come to India, increase your partnership with India and make use of this opportunity India offers to scale new heights of success. India has the power to become a manufacturing hub."

Image: Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and PM Modi.

PM Modi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the joint inauguration of the Indian pavilion at Hannover Messe in Germany.
Modi says that the Hannover Messe is known all over the world. "World industry comes here to showcase what they have done. The entire world is looking at India. Demography, democracy and demand are drawing the world to India. India is a partner nation and I thank Germany for making India a partner nation."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's gift to President Francois Hollande, a painting titled 'Tree of Life' reflects the traditional societal respect for nature in India. The painting, pigments on silk, has been done by an Odisha artist, Bhaskar Mahapatra, who has been practicing the art form for the last 30 years along with the rest of his family, and works from his home in the heritage crafts village of Raghurajpur, a PMO statement said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday presented a Madhubani painting to Hannover mayor Steven Schostok. PM Modi, who is on a visit to Germany, was welcomed to Hannover by the mayor at a brief ceremony.

A prime minister's office release said that the painting has been painted on canvas by a 70-year-old national award winning artist, Baua Devi, and depicts various stages of life, association with nature, as also the interconnected nature of life on earth.

The Madhubani style of painting refers to the rural art form developed by women from Mithila area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar.

The painting is done with fingers, nib-pens, twigs and matchsticks, generally using natural dyes and pigments, and is characterized by eye-catching geometrical patterns.

"Most Madhubani paintings depict man and his association with nature, and scenes and deities from ancient epics. Natural objects, plants, social events are also represented in these paintings. There are paintings for each occasion and festival," the release said.

Modi, who wound up his first visit to France, gifted President Francois Hollande a painting titled 'Tree of Life' which reflects the traditional societal respect for nature in India.

Indian and Canadian negotiators are rushing to iron out differences in a long-stalled foreign investment protection pact in time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the North American nation, an unnamed Indian government source said to news agency Reuters.

PM  Modi arrives in Canada tomorrow for a two day visit, the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 42 years. "The negotiation teams are working even today in Ottawa," the source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Negotiations for the agreement, which seeks to protect legal rights of Canadian and Indian investors doing business in the two countries, were concluded in June 2007, but it has yet to be ratified.

Concerns in New Delhi over certain provisions of the negotiated pact, which allow a foreign investor to sue the host country at an international dispute settlement agency, are believed to be the reason behind the deadlock.

Several investors have taken the Indian government to international arbitration in recent years, citing provisions of bilateral investment protection agreements.

The two countries are also negotiating a free trade agreement, but progress has been slow.

From Claude Arpi who covered Dr Manmohan Singh's visit to Paris for Rediff: :The PM had to read each and every of his declarations. When he was not answering fast enough, Sarko would reply for him. Such a difference with the present PM who spoke for 22 minutes in English without notes at UNESCO."

The decision of the Lahore High Court to release Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi from detention was not surprising considering that he had already been granted bail by an anti-terrorism court in December. Read

Why it's difficult to believe Netaji died in August 1945. Read

Amid a row over snooping on close relatives of Subhas Chandra Bose, his grandnephew is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Germany on Monday, and try to demand declassification of all secret files related to the freedom fighter. Read

Shobhaa De tweets: "Sania Mirza: Global Superstar. India's pride. People's darling. Hope she can still vote!"

De's barb "Hope she can still vote" is directed at the Shiv Sena, which said on Sunday that the voting rights of Muslims should be "revoked' as the community has often been used for "vote bank politics'. The controversial remark drew sharp criticism from other parties, including ally BJP.

Narendra Modi knows how to calculate and remain pragmatic. Take the unexpected Rafale deal -- perhaps the first time a PM has considered the country's defence procurement as a priority, over the considerations of the babus' and over his own 'Make in India' project,' says Claude Arpi. Read

Mamata Banerjee has put money mavens and Wall Street whiz kids to shame: the earnings from the sale of her paintings have ballooned by 200-350 per cent in a matter of 48 hours. On Sunday evening, the chief minister put the earnings at Rs 9 crore --  dramatically up from the "Rs 2 crore and something' Mamata had mentioned on Friday at a Burrabazar meeting. Read

From one champ to another: Sachin Tendulkar tweets: "Congratulations to @MirzaSania on being crowned World No.1 in Doubles. Terrific achievement and will inspire more to pursue the sport."

Sania Mirza on Sunday created history by becoming the first female tennis player from India to achieve the World No 1 rank in doubles, following her stupendous title win at the WTA Family Circle Cup with partner Martina Hingis in Charleston.

A video allegedly showing Islamic State militants using bulldozers and explosives to destroy the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud has been posted online.

The UNESCO cultural site near Mosul is one of Iraqi's greatest archaeological treasures.

The seven-minute video shows the jihadists vandalizing the ancient reliefs in Nimrud, an area that is held by militants.

They also used sledgehammers and drills to bring down some of the walls and ultimately levelled the whole complex with explosives.

The video follows a statement made by Iraq's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in March. It said Nimrud, a UNESCO cultural heritage site with archaeological riches dating back to the 13th century BC, was bulldozed with heavy machinery.

Image: A video grab of the city being destroyed.

Former Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan moves the Supreme Court against the Bombay HC order in the Adarsh housing scam case.

Full text  of PM Modi's Op-ed in the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

PM Modi's op-ed in tge German daily Frankfurter Allgemeines talks about development.

"For us, development is not a mere political agenda; it is an article of faith.
We are aware that all development must be environmentally sustainable. India has always cherished its environment.

"This is deeply ingrained in our age-old culture and civilization. Through our Act East & Link West policy, India has the potential of becoming the middle ground for east and west as a manufacturing hub that serves both our vast domestic market and becomes a base for global exports and general well-being.

We are aware that all development must be environmentally sustainable. India has always cherished its environment.

"This is deeply ingrained in our age-old culture and civilization. Indias development needs can become business opportunities for German industry. International support and collaboration is equally critical to achieving our objectives. My interactions with leaders of USA, Russia, France, Japan and China have all aimed at creating enduring partnerships."

Naxals attacked a BSF team killing a jawan in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kanker district, striking for the third time since Saturday.

A group of ultras opened indiscriminate firing on security personnel who were carrying out patrolling in the proximity of Chhote Baithiya BSF camp under Bande police station area late last night, Kanker Superintendent of Police Jitendra Singh Meena said.

A gunbattle erupted between security forces and ultras and the rebels soon fled to the core forests, he added.

"A BSF head constable succumbed to bullet injuries, sustained during the gunfight, while being taken to a local hospital," the SP said.

Soon after the incident, reinforcements were rushed to the spot, he said adding that a combing operation has been launched in the region to nab the assailants.

The Andhra Pradesh police have arrested 63 Tamil woodcutters suspected of smuggling sandalwood. Around 40 logs of red sanders wood worth Rs 2 crore has been seized from them, CNN IBN reports.

The arrest comes after the killing of 20 alleged red sanders smugglers by the Andhra Pradesh police in the forests of Chittoor last Tuesday.

The Andhra Pradesh police claim that the men were notorious smugglers of red sandalwood and were killed after they attacked a police team. They claimed that the team was outnumbered and fired in self-defence. 

However, the police version has been questioned after eye-witnessesclaim that least 12 of those shot dead were pulled off a bus by Andhra policemen and arrested hours before the alleged encounter.   

Image: Police personnel after the 'encounter' with alleged red sanders smugglers in Chittoor district last week. Photograph: PTI

Just in: Maoists attack a Border Security Force post in Chhattisgarh's Kanker again. One jawan was killed in a gunbattle today.

This is the third Naxal attack in the state in three days. In attack on Saturday, seven policemen were killed.  

Details awaited.

The website of Australia's Hobart International Airport website remains out of action after being hacked by pro-Islamic State hackers.

Police said hackers appeared to have targeted the web host used by the Hobart International Airport in Tasmania and not the facility itself, and no direct threats were made.

"A message placed on the site contained a statement supporting ISIS," Tasmanian police said in a statement, using another acronym for the radical group commonly known as IS.

Authorities said identical messages had appeared on websites around the world since late 2014. "The group claiming responsibility for the hacking appear to non-discriminately target organisations who use web hosts such as the one used by Hobart International Airport," police told AFP.

Under attack over land ordinance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the government was instituting a "rational framework" for acquisition of land, without causing distress to farmers and other landowners.

"We are instituting a rational framework for acquisition of land without causing distress to farmers and other landowners," he said in Hannover while wooing global investors to India during his address at the inauguration of Hannover Fair.

He did not elaborate, but was clearly sending out a message to the business community that land acquisition would not be a problem. "We are creating a predictable and transparent environment approval process that will protect our natural heritage...With transparency and speed, we have resumed long-stalled projects and allocation of resources. This is adding new momentum to our economy," the PM said.

His remarks on the land acquisition ordinance assume significance as the Opposition is stepping up a joint campaign against the government over the issue.

French President Francois Hollande will chair a high-level meeting in Paris today to thrash out the finer details of the nearly $5 billion deal for the sale of 36 Rafale jets to India in flyaway conditions.

French sources said the meeting at the Elysee Palace would be held between Hollande, his top officials and executives from Dassault Aviation, the manufacturers of the Rafale jets.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who concluded his four-day visit to France yesterday, had asked the country to supply 36 Rafale jets in flyaway conditions as soon as possible in view of the critical operational necessity of the Indian Air Force.

"There was nobody, either from Indian side or the French side, when the two leaders spoke about the Rafale. Everyone would be briefed in detail on Monday about what transpired and discussions would be held on how it can be taken forward," sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will head to Berlin today where he is expected to attend a community meeting hosted by the Indian ambassador.

He is also likely to meet Netaji's grand nephew in Berlin today, reports CNN IBN. His visit comes amid the row over snooping on the relatives of Subhas Chandra Bose. There were reports that certain Intelligence Bureau files showed that the Nehru government spied on Bose's family for 20 years between 1948 and 1968.

Read the full report here

Germanwings says a plane headed for Milan has been evacuated at Cologne-Bonn airport after German police received a bomb threat against the flight.

The airline said the threat against flight 826 to Milan's Malpensa airport was received by federal police on Sunday evening, Al Jazeera reported.

Federal police said sniffer dogs found no sign of explosives, news agency DPA reported. The threat was emailed to the airport 15 minutes before the plane's scheduled departure, prompting police to set the necessary measures in motion.

Image: Representation picture

Wooing investors from Germany and the rest of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a welcoming business environment in India with a "predictable, stable and competitive" tax regime and asserted that the "remaining uncertainties" will be addressed.

He said the task of turning around the systems in India is "huge" and will not be completed overnight but stressed that the government is firmly moving in that direction and it will be done.

Inaugurating, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Hannover Fair in which India is a partner country, Modi said his government is "removing unnecessary regulations and simplifying our procedures" to make it easy for doing business in the country and enable foreign companies to participate in the 'Make in India' programme.

"Today, I come to seek German partnership in my own mission to open up India's seamless economic potential. To the industry of the world that has assembled here today, I say that we have no special bias for our host today! India is open and ready to embrace the world," he said addressing the gathering of top business leaders from Germany and other parts of the world.

Citing his travels around the world, Modi said he has seen "a new level of interest" in building partnerships of trade, investment and innovation in India.

"It mirrors the surge of hope in our own people and industry; the new tide of expectation in our 800 million youth -- for opportunities and progress. And, if we want to fulfill the dreams of our youth, we must turn our industry into a manufacturing hub for the world and an engine for employment at home. And, we must equip our youth with the skills to meet the needs of our nation and the demands of the globalised world," he said.


Image: PM Narendra Modi at the Hannover Fair with Germany's Angela Merkel. Photograph: @smitaprakash/Twitter 

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today announced her US presidential bid, emerging as one of the top contenders for the Democratic party nomination as she once again seeks to become America's first woman president.

The one-time first lady enters the race seven years after her bitter nomination defeat to President Barack Obama and the announcement is expected to trigger a donor deluge from a vast network of supporters who have long waited for her to officially enter the 2016 presidential race.

"I'm running for president. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion," Clinton made the announcement on Twitter.

In an accompanying video, Clinton pledged to be a champion for everyday Americans and their families. She said she believes this campaign is about voters, not her, and urged people to get involved in her campaign saying, "It's your time." The announcement came first in a tweet with an accompanying video and then in an email to her supporters. The video features middle class families talking about their lives and planning for what is ahead.