Sending a strong message against terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accompanied by his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper today visited the Air India Memorial to pay tributes to the 329 people, mostly of Indian-origin, killed in the Kanishka bombing in 1985. 

An inter-ministerial committee of the Information and Broadcasting ministry has found that Al-Jazeera channel violated the programme code by showing wrong maps of India on repeated occasions and recommended that it be taken off air for five days. 

Pitching for Canadian investment for his 'Make in India' initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held a meeting with Canada's business leaders. 

The Kerala government today said it is actively looking into the feasibility of making recruitment of Kerala nurses seeking employment in the Middle East completely free of cost. 

The BBC documentary on the 2012 Delhi gangrape incident not only "kept open the wound" but also flouted laws by naming the victim, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi today said as she lashed out at its makers for portraying India as a "rotten society" without proper laws. 

Hardline Hurriyat Conference today condemned registration of cases against its chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Masarat Alam Bhat, saying the outfit will not be "cowed down" by such actions. 

Pakistan Foreign Ministry's Tasnim Aslam reacts to the controversy over the Pak flag waving and pro-Pakistan slogans at a rally in Kashmir. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed his gratitude to U.S. President Barrack Obama for his touching and inspiring words in a written profile that has appeared in the Time Magazine.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II faces the first staff strike of her over 60-year reign after a workers union ballot voted in favour of industrial action. Staff at Windsor Castle, the Queen's weekend getaway in Berkshire, voted for industrial action yesterday in a dispute about not being paid enough to lead guided tours around the premises. 

More than one lakh poultry birds have been culled in the last three days within 1 km radius of Thorrur village in Telangana, the epicentre of the bird flu outbreak, a senior official said today. 

Sourav Ganguly on rumours that he may be picked to be the next India coach: "Haven't spoken to anyone, didn't speak to Mr Dalmiya. Let's stick to that. Don't jump the gun, let's stick to that:

Amid reports that former India captain Ganguly could be the national team's next coach, Ganguly met BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya two days ago and had "informal talks".

The BCCI has begun its search for Duncan Fletcher's replacement and Ganguly is one of the front-runners for the job.

BCCI's Working Committee will meet on April 26 to discuss on the appointment of new coach. Fletcher's tenure as India coach ended with the World Cup 2015.

CBI registers preliminary enquiry into the mysterious death of Karnataka IAS officer D K Ravi. The Karnataka government on April 6 had sent a fresh order for a CBI probe in the death case after the agency returned the earlier one.

According to sources, while returning the order, the CBI had said that the scope of investigation cannot be decided by the state government. It is also said to have claimed that a time-bound investigation can only be ordered by High Court or the Supreme Court.

There were reports that Ravi might have committed suicide due to crisis in his personal life.

Facing pressure from all quarters, the Karnataka government had handed over the probe into the case to CBI.

Ravi was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his flat in Bengaluru on March 16, with police suspecting it to be prima facie a case of suicide.

China feels "awkward" about the 2008 Mumbai terror attack carried out by Pakistani militants and wants to address India's concerns over terrorism emanating from Pakistan in a more "constructive way", a Chinese official said in a rare criticism of the all-weather ally.

"China also feels quite awkward. It does not mean China is sympathising with terrorist attacks. It is awkward diplomatically. It needs to handle this ticklish issue in a more diplomatic way," Hu Shisheng, Director of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a Chinese foreign ministry strategic think-tank told Indian media.

He was responding to questions on China's double standards over Pakistani involvement in terrorism, especially regarding the recent release of the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, a prime accused in the case.

"Chinese diplomats are getting more mature. The challenge is non interference," he said, adding that a way out has to be found. "India's concerns over terrorism will be addressed in a more constructive way," Hu said, adding China, too, suffered a lot due to terrorism, referring to militancy in Xinjiang which borders Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Pakistan on Monday on a two-day visit to deepen economic and strategic ties between the two "all-weather" allies and would sign key infrastructure financing deals worth over USD 6 billion.

"I can confirm that the Chinese President will be visiting Pakistan from April 20 to 21," Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said.

Xi, also General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China, will address a joint session of Parliament on April 20, she said. Officials said that important agreements in various fields will be signed during the two-day visit.

Some of the projects to be funded by China include the 487 km Karakoram Highway Phase-II that will be constructed from Raikot-Sazin-Thakot-Mansehra to Islamabad at a cost of USD 3.5 billion.

During the visit, an agreement will be signed for roughly USD 1 billion concessionary financing for constructing 120 km of the 487km road, The Express Tribune reported.

Jammu and Kashmir police Wednesday evening filed an FIR against hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Masarat Alam Bhat and other separatist leaders 'for provocative  activities and hoisting Pakistan flag' in summer capital Srinagar.

Geelani's supporters also shouted anti-India and pro-Pak slogans. In a statement a police spokesman said, "Police today registered FIR against Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Masarat Alam Bhat, Bashir Ahmad Bhat alias Peer Saifullah and other separatist leaders for provocative activities and hoisting Pakistani flag in Hyderpora."

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the anti-India protests. "Will not tolerate anyone raising slogans like 'Pakistan zindabad' on Indian soil. I had spoken to J&K CM and told him my view."

BJP spokesperson Ram Madhav said that BJP has a stern stand in the matter and an FIR has been registered. "Masarat Alam should be booked under whatever charges applicable. This is not about the (BJP & PDP) alliance; this is about anti-national activities in J&K," Madhav said. 

TCS Q4 profit falls a steep 27 per cent to Rs 3,858.2 cr after adjusting for one-time employee bonus of Rs 2,628 crore.

Narendra Modi @narendramodi  responds to Obama's Time magazine article. Dear @BarackObama your words are touching & inspiring. Thanks @TIME. 

So, after all the flak that Modi received for calling Obama by his first name, the US president returns the favour. 

US president Barack Obama writes about India PM Narendra Modi for Time's 100 most influential people. This is what he said...

Indias reformer-in-chief

Narendra Modi
By Barack Obama

"As a boy, Narendra Modi helped his father sell tea to support their family. Today, he's the leader of the world's largest democracy, and his life story -- from poverty to Prime Minister -- reflects the dynamism and potential of India's rise.

"Determined to help more Indians follow in his path, he's laid out an ambitious vision to reduce extreme poverty, improve education, empower women and girls and unleash India's true economic potential while confronting climate change. Like India, he transcends the ancient and the modern -- a devotee of yoga who connects with Indian citizens on Twitter and imagines a "digital India".

"When he came to Washington, Narendra and I visited the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We reflected on the teachings of King and Gandhi and how the diversity of backgrounds and faiths in our countries is a strength we have to protect. Prime Minister Modi recognizes that more than 1 billion Indians living and succeeding together can be an inspiring model for the world."

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday said it will give
one-time bonus to all eligible employees to mark the 10th anniversary of its initial public offer or IPO.

India's biggest outsourcer will give one week's salary for every year of service rendered, a move that will cost the company $423 million or Rs. 2,628 crore.

Employees who have completed at least one year in service will be eligible to receive the one-time bonus, TCS said in a statement ahead of its quarterly results. TCS employs 3.19 lakh consultants worldwide.

The one-time reward for employees comes months after TCS announced 100 per cent variable payout for employees in January. TCS' competitor Infosys had also announced 100 per cent variable bonus payout for its employees in January. (Read)

Frontline IT companies such as Noida-based HCL Tech also rewarded top performers in the previous quarter.

TCS was listed in 2004. Its shares have done exceedingly well as the company notched industry-leading growth rates. TCS is now India's biggest firm with a market capitalization of Rs. 5 lakh crore. It's also the country's most profitable firm.

Congress on Thursday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks in Canada about the "mess' left behind by others, saying they were in "poor taste' coming on foreign soil and show that he still carries the "hangover of the election campaign".

"The prime minister's statement on foreign soil, both in Germany and Canada, has been in poor taste. It is clear that (Modi) carries a hangover of the 2014 election campaign.

He is talking on foreign soil to malign his predecessors and the present opposition. No prime minister of India in its history has ever done so, said Congress spokesman Anand Sharma.

Charging that Modi had painted a picture which suggested that the country was known only for corruption and scams before he came to office, Sharma said the prime minister had lowered the dignity of his office.

Gujarat-based spiritual preacher Morari Bapu has a unique way for curbing rapes and crimes against women.

Morari Bapu, who is on a spree of delivering spiritual discourses in Goa, claims that attending 'satsangs' (spiritual discourses) can help bring down rapes and other crimes against women because such gatherings help attain wisdom.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday night, the spiritual guru, who counts Prime Minister Narendra Modi among his "fans", also said voters should repeatedly ask their elected parliamentarians about why the women's reservation bill is being stalled and implore them to pass it without delay.

Asked if attending satsangs can bring down instances of rape in the country, Morari Bapu said: "As far as I understand, rapes are not committed by those who attend satsang. And satsang is not a religious function...It is a spiritual (experience)."

He also said a woman's body should never be subjected to "atrocities, injustice and rape", adding that people should aspire to change the way they look at women by attending satsangs.

To visit Auschwitz is to find an unfathomable but strangely familiar place. After so many photographs and movies, books and personal testimonies, it is tempting to think of it as a movie-set death camp, the product of a gruesome cinematic imagination, and not the real thing.

Alas, it is the real thing.

Read

Israelis observed a two-minute standstill as sirens pierced the air in remembrance of the 6 million Jews killed in the Nazi Holocaust during World War II.

Israel's annual Holocaust memorial day, marked Thursday, is one of the most solemn on the nation's calendar.

As the siren sounded, cars and buses pulled over on the side of highways and roads. Motorists stepped out of their cars and pedestrians stopped in their tracks, bowing their heads as they remembered those who perished.

Melancholic music and interviews with Holocaust survivors are filling the airwaves while TV stations show documentaries about the genocide.

Ceremonies are held around the country. Names of those killed are read out at parliament later in the day.

Penguin Random House India today announced that Chiki Sarkar, Publisher, would be leaving the company to pursue new opportunities. Following her departure on 23rd April, Penguin Random House's editorial function will be managed by Meru Gokhale, editor-in-chief, literary, Milee Ashwarya, editor-in-chief for commercial and business and Udayan Mitra, Associate Publisher, who will report to Gaurav Shrinagesh, CEO of Penguin Random House India.

Chiki has worked with Penguin Random House India (and its separate companies) since 2006.

Why Network 18 founder Raghav Behl is rooting for net neutrality. Read

A day after separatists raised pro-Pakistan slogans and waived Pakistani flags at a rally in Srinagar, prompting demands for action against them, BJP today said the party, both in the state and at central level, was on the same page to deal with such elements with a strong hand.

"We are on the same page. So far the BJP's national and state units are concerned, there is no difference over the issue of action against seapartsits...," newly-nominated BJP MLC Surinder Ambardar said.

He was replying to a question about the threat given by the central BJP leadership to the Sayeed government in J-K to ensure immediate action against the separatist leaders or face consequences.

A day after Pakistani flags were waved at his rally, Kashmiri separatist leader Masarat Alam says, "I didn't personally wave any flags, people did, but I don't find anything wrong in it. Flags logon ne lehraaye honge, kuch naya nhi hai. 1947 se aaj tak flags lehraaye ja rahe hain. Aapne 2008 mein dekha hoga. (People raised the flags, but there's nothing new to it. Flags have been raised from 1947 to now, you must have seen the same thing happen in 2008.)"

J-K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed yesterday said the law will take its own course after the Centre asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to take strictest possible action against those allegedly involved in anti-national activities during a rally in Srinagar on Wednesday.

An FIR was registered on Wednesday night against several separatist leaders including hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Masarat Alam Bhat for provocative activities including hoisting of Pakistani flag.

Amid reports that former India captain Sourav Ganguly could be the national team's next coach, Ganguly met BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya two days ago and had "informal talks".

The BCCI has begun its search for Duncan Fletcher's replacement and Ganguly is one of the front-runners for the job.

BCCI's Working Committee will meet on April 26 to discuss on the appointment of new coach. Fletcher's tenure as India coach ended with the World Cup 2015.

Many historic developments are taking place in India's coal sector. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com spoke exclusively to Union Coal Minister Piyush Goyal following the government's successful e-auction of coal mines. Goyal, who is upwardly mobile since the rise of the Narendra Modi era in the Bharatiya Janata Party, did not duck any questions nor mince his words. Read

Rahul Gandhi leaves Sonia Gandhi's residence, reports the Indian Express.  

Karachi's shrinking Hindu Gymkhana. Read

The Vogue My Choice video starring Deepika Padukone makes gender equality look deceptively easy. The Indian reality is far more complicated, argues Mrinal Pande. Read

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today said the law will takes its own course after the Centre asked the Jammu and Kashmir government to take strictest possible action against those allegedly involved in anti-national activities during a rally in Srinagar yesterday.

An FIR was registered last night against several separatist leaders including hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Masarat Alam Bhat for provocative activities including hoisting of Pakistani flag.

"Law will take its own course. If anyone has made a mistake, the law will do its work," Sayeed said after distributing relief among flood victims in Anantnag district.

A police spokesman said, "An FIR has been registered against Geelani, Bhat, Bashir Ahmad Bhat alias Peer Saifullah and other separatist leaders for provocative activities and hoisting Pakistani flag in Hyderpora."

Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani is being cut down to size... again.

A month after she was dropped from the BJP's prestigious National Executive, her Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Sanjay Kachroo, has been asked to go. Buzz is that the Department of Personnel and Training, is not keen to continue with an OSD for Irani.

Irani has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in her 11-month tenure as HRD boss. She has had to fight one controversy after another -- her education (graduation, and Yale 'degree'), the ugly UGC controversy, the Teachers Day controversy,  Christmas, Sanskrit vs German, and most recently, Fabindia.

In the party, she finds herself increasingly isolated. Her colleague and BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi took a snipe at her on Twitter, recently, saying, "Do I smell a rat to obfuscate the BJP national executive meeting? Attempts being made not to cover NE meeting, instead cover some inane issues."

It may still be early days, but Irani is slowly proving her detractors right and the powers that be, it seems, is none to pleased.

Guj HC grants 21-day bail to convict, serving life term in Naroda Patiya riot case, for treatment of heart blockage.

In 2006, Human Rights Watch released a report on hospitals in Burundi that detained patients for weeks, and even months, simply because they couldn't pay their bills. Patients stopped receiving care, got no food, nor often a bed to sleep on while the hospital awaited payment. Guards made sure they were unable to leave the hospital grounds. Read

India seems to have more history wars than a genuinely historical consciousness. Representing the past is fraught with controversy. This is even more so when the contemporary political stakes of history are high, writes Pratap Bhanu Mehta. Read

Rishi Kapoor @chintskap  tweets: Why this fuss and hullabaloo? Someone just back after a holiday yaar give him a break. When is he to enjoy his money. In faltu days na? Samjho.

Rashtrapati Bhavan was taken by surprise when Deputy Chief Minister and Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia inspected a school within the compound of the President's Estate.

Sisodia and his team of officials suspended the principal of the Rajinder Prasad Secondary Sarvodaya School at the Presidents Estate.

Sisodia came down heavily on the principal after finding that the school allegedly maintained fake bills for training students in food processing when there was no food-processing laboratory in the school.

But officials of President's Secretariat are upset at the gatecrash and are planning to communicate their displeasure to the Chief Secretary of the Delhi administration.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Rahul's return: "There is nothing called as part-time politics, it's a complete full-time job. You just cannot shy away from your duties that you have promised to deliver."  

In Delhi, celebrations outside Rahul Gandhi's residence. Two boxes of firecrackers to celebrate Rahu's return. Sigh.

Sources also said that plans are underway to organise an interaction of Rahul Gandhi with a delegation of farmers on April 17 two days before he will address the Kisan-Khet Mazdoor rally of the party.

Congress leaders had announced that Rahul would be back by April 19 as he would be addressing a farmers' rally on land bill issue at the Ramlila maidan here on that day. The rally is being held on the eve of the second phase of the Budget session of Parliament. Rahul had skipped the first phase which saw the Congress taking on the government over the land bill issue as he went on the sabbatical shortly before it commenced.

Just ahead of Rahul Gandhi's arrival in Delhi, Congress spokesperson PC Chacko said Rahul would join the farmers' rally on April 19. He will also be meeting Congress leaders tomorrow.

"Rahul will meet farmers on April 17 and on April 19, he will address the farmers' rally along with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the Ramlila Ground," Chacko clarified.

Chacko said that Rahul Gandhi was away for few weeks and that he had issued a statement about the same, adding that his privacy must be respected.

"Every individual has the right of privacy," said Chacko.

Rahul reaches his 12, Tughlaq Lane residence in New Delhi. Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka have been at his home since this morning.

Rahul's return coincides with the Congress' planned mega farmers' rally in the national capital on April 19. The rally is being seen as a sort of a comeback announcement of Rahul and a show of strength by the party, which has been strongly opposing changes in the original Act. Congress is pulling out all the stops to make the rally a success, with the party launching an aggressive media campaign, besides booking a special train.

Rahul Gandhi trends on Twitter. And almost all the tweets are caustic. 

The Congress Vice President arrived at 11.15 am on a Thai Airways plane from Bangkok. The plane, which was scheduled to land at 10.35 am, was delayed by 40 minutes, sources said. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi reached the 12, Tughlaq Road residence of Rahul before 11 am and was soon followed by daughter Priyanka, PTI confirms.

While Rahul was away, dissent about whether he should in fact takeover the reigns of the ailing party, grew. Congress stalwart and former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit echoed her son Sandeep Dikshit's reservations saying there was "skepticism" over his leadership qualities and pitched for continuance of Sonia Gandhi at the helm.

Congress spokesperson PC Chacko has said that senior leaders of the party should refrain from making such open comments which contribute to the confusion.

It is the responsibility of Kashmiris within the Valley to reassure Pandits returning of their welcome. Read

Various news reports place Rahul in Thailand, UK, Italy and Myanmar. CNN IBN reports that he was at a meditation centre in Yangon. 

The movement of the Taliban in Pakistan eulogized two senior al Qaeda leaders who were killed in US drone strikes at the beginning of this year. The statement highlights the close working relationship between the two jihadist groups. Read

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has received a threatening e-mail following which his security has been stepped up, a top Home department official said here today.

"The said letter was received a few days back. We have taken note of it and the RBI Governor's security has been beefed up," Maharashtra's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) K P Bakshi said.

However, he did not elaborate on the contents of the threatening e-mail. After the e-mail was received, the RBI officials alerted the police crime branch. The cyber crime investigation cell of police is looking into the matter and trying to trace the origin of the e-mail.

Gloating over its by-poll victory against Narayan Rane, Shiv Sena today said those who dare to come into the backyard of Thackerays' Matoshree "will be buried and won't be forgiven."

The 63-year-old Congress heavyweight Rane yesterday lost to ruling Shiv Sena's Trupti Sawant in Bandra (East), home turf of party founder Bal Thackeray, his second consecutive defeat in six months.

Sena said Rane will lose by even greater margin if he contests the elections for the third time.

"This election teaches that those who try and come into Matoshree's (Thackeray family residence) backyard will get buried and won't be forgiven. Let us see who can beat us," an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.

"This seat had fallen vacant following the demise of (Sena leader) Bala Sawant. The by-poll should have been held uncontested. But, by fielding an egoistic man against us, the Congress has bared itself in front of the people," it said.

In the by-election, Trupti Sawant secured 52,711 votes while Rane garnered only 33,703 votes, losing by a margin of 19,008 votes. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) candidate Rehbar Khan was a distant third with 15,050 votes.

To the consternation of Western governments and large sections of the Israeli electorate, Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu was the victor in the elections he called, two years before schedule, for March 19, voted back for a third successive term as prime minister and fourth overall.  Read

While India waits with bated breath and beating heart for a glimpse of Rahul Gandhi after a 56-day disappearance, India has successfully test-fired the nuclear-capable Agni-III ballistic missile from a test range off Odisha coast.

Reports say Priyanka Gandhi is at Rahul's home.

Rahul returned to Delhi via a Thai Airways flight. The Sunday Guardian reports that Rahul was holidaying in Italy with his childhood friend Samir Sharma, the son of family friend Satish Sharma.

These sources also claim that he left New Delhi abruptly after differences of opinion with his mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka.

His sister had apparently told him to take a back seat for some time and let their mother lead the party.

At that, Rahul Gandhi is said to have pointed out, in that case he should not have been called from abroad to lead the party. That same night he left for Bangkok.

After a few days, he went to London and then joined Samir Sharma in Italy.

While in Italy, he spent one week with his maternal aunt, one week in Milan and one week at a fancy hotel on Lake Como.

His family managed to mollify him only after making some of his candidates Pradesh Congress Committee presidents.

Rahul has probably never been in the news as much as he has during his absence. He has been on leave since February 22, when the Budget session of Point is, can the Congress do without him?

Just in: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has reached New Delhi, say reports. He has been on leave for 56 days. Sources say he has been in south-east Asia. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is at Rahul's home.  

According to media reports, Rahul is expected to land in Delhi at around 11 am. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has already arrived at Rahul's Delhi residence.

The Congress was quick to react on hisn return. "Let's not speculate on anything," said a spokesperson.

Just In: CNN-IBN, quoting sources, has said that Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has returned to New Delhi from Vietnam, after a two-month long sabbatical.

The PCB is planning to plead the case of banned cricketer Salman Butt with the International Cricket Council. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shaharyar Khan said in an interview that the former test captain, who is serving a five-year ban for spot fixing, had shown willingness to meet all the requirements before the board can plead his case with the ICC for some relaxation.

And this is what Chetan Bhagat has to say about Rahul Gandhi:

In the first few days after the Sewol disappeared beneath the Yellow Sea, divers pulled body after body from the watery wreckage, bringing the dead home.

Just in: Home Minister Rajnath Singh has called Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayedd, and has asked him to take the strictest possible action against separatist leader Masarat Alam, who had hoisted Pakistan flag' in Srinagar yesterday.

Pakistan on Wednesday successfully conducted the training launch of the Ghauri Missile System.The Ghauri Ballistic Missile can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads up to a distance of 1,300 kilometres, the Inter-Services Public Relations said.

A Florida mailman landed a small gyrocopter on the lawn of the US Capitol on Wednesday, in an act of protest against the influence of money in politics.

There is a new atmosphere of trust in our nation... We say 'jan gana man adhinayak' -- that 'Jan Man' has changed," Modi said addressing in Hindi an estimated over 10,000-strong Indian diaspora at Ricoh Coliseum.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Indian Diaspora in Toronto's Ricoh Coliseum a few hours ago today. He was given a ceremonial welcome earlier in Canada's capital Ottawa. This is the last leg of PM Modi's 3-nation tour, which included France and Germany.