Yogu guru Ramdev today announced that 10,000 yoga training centers would be opened in Haryana that could be a combination of Vedic and modern teaching methodologies.

The fastest bullet train in the world has broken its own speed record during a test run.Japan's maglev train reached a record speed of 603 kilometres per hour during a manned test run on Tuesday.

The leader of Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has been seriously wounded in an air strike in western Iraq, sources said. According to the report, Baghdadi suffered life-threatening injuries during an attack by the US-led coalition in March. However, the Islamic leader has made a slow recovery.

Amid stiff opposition from the locals and some political parties against Coca Cola's proposed project in Erode, Tamil Nadu government today said it has cancelled allotment of 71.34 acres of land for the company's unit. 

The Supreme Court has asked the special investigation team to submit a status report on the progress it has made on the black money investigation. 

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives of connecting NRIs across the world, leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul today said the BJP government at the Centre is moving in the right direction and doing everything to uplift the poor.

Five more foreign languages, including Malayalam and Urdu, would be included to the UAE's website of identity authority to make its services easier and more accessible to expatriates residing in the Gulf Kingdom. 

The name of a Palestinian boy who was killed by Jewish extremists was today added to an official memorial wall in Israel for terror victims, in a first such recognition in the country for an Arab fatality.

After having renamed Bombay as Mumbai during its rule in Maharashtra between 1995-99, Shiv Sena, which is sharing power with BJP in both state and the Centre, is now vehemently pressing for its demand to rename the Bombay high court.

It has all the key points you'd expect on a birth certificate -- baby's weight, length and date of birth confirmed with an official insignia.

The AAP has hit back at expelled leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav for attacking the National Disciplinary Committe, saying the dissidents had no respect for procedures and institutions.

Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday made an SOS to Arun Jaitley to seek his intervention in the release of funds for the Jammu and Kashmir government.   

Just In: The NDA government plans to introduce the GST Bill in both Houses of Parliament early next week, and the Land Reforms Bill will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha by May 10.

The Centre is said to be working on a simpler income-tax return form for the aam aadmi. 

William Shatner (Star Trek's Capt Kirk to us) says, California's drought can be solved with Seattle pipeline. Read

Here's an app that all politicians on Twitter need...

If you've ever worried about old tweets or Facebook posts coming back to haunt you -- but don't have time to sift through years of posts to manually delete them -- a new app may be able to help.  Read

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra goes on the offensive once again, two days after Rahul Gandhi's 'Kisan rally' on Saturday. Patra said today that the rally was nothing but a 'Rahul bachaao' rally and that the party was not concerned about land acquisition, but about Rahul acquisition.

"Rahul-ji, aap log nahi samjhenge ki gareebi kya hoti hai, but chai bechne wala jaanta ko pata hai gareebi kya hoti hai," he said. (Rahul, you people will not understand what is poverty. A person who has sold tea (alluding to PM Modi) understands).

"Rahul Gandhi addressing the PM as "aapke PM" shows their mindset, they are not able to embrace him as PM of the country," he said. Rahul continued to address Modi in Parliament, calling him "aapke PM". When he was reminded that he is the country's PM too from the treasury benches, he said with a smile, "Of course, he is. But isn't he yours? Are you telling me he is not yours?

Pic: This picture that is doing the rounds on Twitter shows Indira Gandhi with Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka, at presumably Rahul's birthday celebrations aboard a plane. The picture was tweeted by @saaxenanurag
with the post: "Ajib vidambana hai ki hawa mein bday manae wale log dharti Kisan aur majdur ki baat karte hai #ZameenLooteriCongress "

In all of recorded history, not one person has ever died from consuming marijuana, says a public interest litigation that objects to the ban on cannabis or marijuana in India, saying that the move is not backed by scientific evidence. Marijuana should therefore be legalised in the country so as to help patients, says the petition filed by Aditya Barthakur, a 34-year-old lawyer. Read

A total of 164 ceasefire violations have been reported along the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir, government today said. During these ceasefire violations, two civilians and one security personnel have been killed, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. During the same period, border guarding force BSF apprehended a total of 16 infiltrators along this frontier stretching along Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Nine persons were today killed and six others injured when a roadways bus caught fire in Peeparpur area of Amethi.

The incident occurred this morning when the roadways bus going to Sultanpur caught fire due to short circuit in the engine near Ramgaon village.

He said 42 passengers were on board the bus. Some passengers managed to escape by smashing window panes of the bus. The SP said that efforts were being made to identify the victims. The injured have been admitted to the hospital in Sultanpur.

Bollywood actor Vivek Obeori and his wife Priyanka Alva welcomed their second child, a baby girl, today April 21, in Bangalore. The couple tied the knot in 2010 and had their first child -- a son named Vivaan Veer -- in 2013. Here's congratulating the proud parents!

The Maharashtra Government today scrapped the Mumbai Development Plan 2015-2034 that proposed to hike the floor space index (FSI) to a maximum of 8. The government has also asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to submit a reworked plan in two months.

The nearly USD 1 billion worth of attack helicopters, missiles and other defense equipment being sold to Pakistan by the US will end up being used in the fight againstIndia instead of being deployed against jihadists, according to a former Pakistani diplomat.

Pakistan's former Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani said the Obama administration's decision to sell US-made attack helicopters, missiles and other equipment to Pakistan will "fuel conflict in South Asia without fulfilling the objective of helping the country fight Islamist extremists."

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will present a chadar on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinduddin Chisti tomorrow.

"The chadar will be offered at the Ajmer dargah tomorrow and the message of the Prime Minister would be read out thereafter," Naqvi, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs said today. The 803rd Urs of the Sufi Saint began in Ajmer yesterday.

Daniel Berehulak was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography on Monday for his coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa for The New York Times.

The staff of the St Louis Post-Dispatch won the prize for Breaking News Photography for their coverage of the aftermath of the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Take a look

The issue of conflict of interest and doctrine of bias once again cropped up today before a constitution bench of the Supreme Court set up to hear the constitutional validity of the law replacing the appointment of judges by the collegium system.

After some of the parties in the matter raised the issue of heading the five-judge bench headed by Justice J S Khehar, it decided that before going into merits of the impugned law it will settle the issue as to which judges of the Supreme Court can hear it.

Egypt's former President Mohammed Morsi has been given a 20 year sentence on charges of inciting the killing of protesters, reports the BBC.  The ruling will be the first in several trials he is facing. Morsi was deposed by the army in July 2013 following mass street protests against his rule.

Since then, the authorities have banned his Muslim Brotherhood party and arrested thousands of his supporters.

Morsi and several other Muslim Brotherhood leaders are accused of inciting supporters to kill a journalist and opposition protesters in clashes outside the presidential palace in late 2012.

Delhi-Rajdhani Bhubaneswar Express and Sealdah Rajdhani Express catch fire at New Delhi Railway station yard. No casualties. 

fter a year, two deadlines and a threat of fines, more than 70% of India's top companies have made only token appointments of women to their boards -- indicating a small pool of talent, an inability to retain women in the workforce and a plain reluctance to induct them. Read 

After a public apology yesterday in Parliament over his racist remarks at Sonia Gandhi, BJP MP Giriraj Singh, ended his day on a worse note.

Reports say he was summoned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his office in Parliament and was given an earful. The PM is believed to have reprimanded the minister so strongly, that Giriraj Singh wept.

Singh however denied either meeting the prime minister or receiving a strong warning. "I had no meeting with the PM and who said I cried? Who saw?"

Singh has been widely condemned for saying earlier this month: "If Rajiv Gandhi had married a Nigerian lady and not a white-skinned woman, then would the Congress have accepted her leadership?"

The minister claimed that the remarks were off record, but was not spared a flood of outrage from across the nation.

Moments after Singh apologised in Parliament and the Speaker announced an adjournment, MPs were seen watching the video where Giriraj had made the comments.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi condoled the passing away of senior Congress leader JB Patnaik. "Having served as the Chief Minister of Odisha thrice, a Union Minister and as a Governor, Shri Patnaik's public life spread over decades in service of people," the message read.

Extending her condolences to the family and friends of Patnaik, Sonia said that he remained a Congressman till the end and his absence will be felt in the years to come.

A great devotee of Lord Jagannath, former Odisha Chief Minister J B Patnaik himself chanted "Vishnu Sahasranam" while having darshan of Lord Balaji at Tirupati temple hours before he breathed his last at Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences.

"While visiting Tirupati temple last evening, my father was chanting Vishnu Sahasranam on his own and had a darshan of the Lord. He is a great devotee of Lord Vishnu," Patnaik's elder daughter Dr Sudatta Patnaik said. After returning from the temple he had discussion with Sanskrit scholars on the Jagannath cult, Sudatta said.

Shanti Bhushan makes a sweeping statement: Ours (Bhushans) is the most honest family in the country, nobody can question either Prashant's or my integrity.

Aam Aadmi Party founding member and former Union law minister Shanti Bhushan hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and called him "new Hitler" after the party expelled four senior leaders late on Monday night. 

President Xi Jinping today described Pakistan as China's "dependable" friend and firmly backed its territorial integrity, as he announced long-term support for the cash-strapped country's economic development.

Addressing a joint sitting of Pakistan's parliament on the final day of his two-day maiden trip during which he oversaw signing of 51 agreements, Xi stressed that the bilateral ties are based on mutual trust and support.

Xi, also the General-Secretary of ruling Communist party, said China and Pakistan will always move forward together and the Chinese people will always stand together with the Pakistani people.

The Pakistan media today hailed the launch of the ambitious USD 46-billion economic corridor with China as "game-changer", as they gave extensive coverage to Chinese President Xi Jinping's maiden visit to the country.

The 3,000-km corridor is an extensive project of investment which is bringing Chinese capital and expertise in key sector of energy generation and infrastructure.

The corridor linking China's far-western region to Pakistan's south-western Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is massive project of road, rail, energy schemes, pipelines and investment parks.

The Dawn newspaper under the headline 'Economic corridor in focus as Pakistan, China sign 51 MoUs' reported that a historic ceremony was organised at the Prime Minister's Office, where Pakistan and China signed 51 MoUs relating to diverse aspects of bilateral relations.

It said that apart from economic cooperation, Pakistan and China have agreed to continue bilateral cooperation in civil nuclear energy under IAEA safeguards, in line with their respective bilateral and multilateral commitments.

The News International on its front page wrote that Pakistan and China agreed to raise their trade volume up to USD 20 billion and pledged to continue their cooperation in civil nuclear technology.

It said Sino-Pak friendly relations touched new heights as both the countries signed 51 agreements and MoUs for cooperation in different fields, rolling a USD 45 billion portfolio agreed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Hrithik Roshan tweets, "Charu Khurana has been inducted as d 1st female make up artiste in d film industry! About time this prehistoric gender battle was won!bravo!"

Khurana won a decade-old court battle over Bollywood's 59-year-old prejudice against women make-up artists.

Women were banned from enrolling as members in Mumbais Cine Costume, Make-up Artist & Hair Dressers Association.

Interesting if true. BJP MP Giriraj Singh on reports of him crying after meeting the PM: "I had no meeting with the PM and who said I cried? Who saw?"

Yesterday, union minister Giriraj Singh was forced to apologise in the Lok Sabha, as protesting Congress MPs refused to allow the house function over a comment he made about Sonia Gandhi.

"I never meant to offend, if my comments hurt anyone's sentiments, I regret it," Giriraj Singh said in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

May 6, Wednesday. That's when a Mumbai Court will give judgement in the Salman Khan hit-and-run case.

The court, which is trying actor Salman Khan in connection with the 2002 hit-and-run case, announced the date of verdict today. The prosecution and defence concluded their arguments yesterday.

While Khan's lawyer has argued that the evidence of eyewitness Ravindra Patil should not be accepted because he passed away and was not available for cross-examination, the prosecution said ample opportunity had been given to the defence earlier for cross examining this witness.

Patil was the police bodyguard of Khan at the time of the accident. He had filed a complaint alleging the actor was in an inebriated condition when he rammed his Toyota Land Cruiser into a bakery in suburban Bandra on September 28, 2002 killing one person and injuring four others.

Describing CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury as the "captain of a sinking ship", Shiv Sena today said the left party has "lost relevance" in the country and does not have the strength to stand up as a strong opposition.

Terming former CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat's tenure as a "failure", the Sena said that party which once had a sizable number of nearly 50 MPs in Lok Sabha has reduced to below 10 today.

"Prakash Karat's tenure was a failure. The party which ruled West Bengal for nearly three decades was washed away by Mamata Banerjee. There used to be a time when about 50 members represented the party in Lok Sabha. Today, there are not even 10 members," the party said in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"There is immense frustration and despair within the party ranks. Sitaram Yechury has actually been made the 'captain of a sinking ship'," it said.

"When you go through the ups and downs of life you need someone who says that no matter what happens to you, whether you are successful or not, I am there with you. In the absence of that person and that love, you have a society which is depressed."

Wise words from Prasoon Joshi. The first of a two-part interview with  Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com. Read

Day 2 of the reconvened Budget session of Parliament. The Lok Sabha discusses compensation for farmers whose crops have been destroyed by unseasonal rains.

BJP MPs have been told to read up facts on the Land Bill before they come to the house. The party held a parliamentary meet early this morning. The Land Bill will come up in the second session of Parliament today.

The Economic Times reports that former Prime Ministers Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi will be part of the government's attack on Congress, which has positioned itself as a pro-farmer party.

Nehru's speech at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Hirakud Dam over the Mahanadi in 1948 will be part of the attack on Congress. Senior ministers, who will be defending the bill in Parliament, have decided to go for the jugular, in this case both Nehru and Indira Gandhi's  track record on rehabilitation, and what they had to say about oustees of projects and big dams.

Nehru had exhorted oustees of the project to look at their suffering as forming part of the greater common good. "If you have to suffer, you should do so in the interest of the country," he had said in his speech.

Baba Ramdev refuses the cabinet rank offered by the Haryana government, says he is a yogi. "I'm a sanyaasi, service to humanity is my only objective, I'm not looking for any ministerial position or status,"  Ramdev said.

Speaking to reporters along with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Ramdev said, "A sage is above insult and and respect. He is above politics."

Ramdev said he was always there for service and would do whatever has been asked by the Haryana government for the spread of yoga and ayurveda.

"I humbly decline the offer of being accorded the status of Cabinet minister,' the yoga guru stated.

Khattar on his part said that Baba Ramdev has only raised his status with his decision, but still asked him to accept the protocol to be accorded to him by the state government whenever he is in the state.

The hasty and perfunctory manner in which new requirements were sought to be included in the income tax return forms from the assessment year 2015-16 does not augur well for hassle-free tax administration. Read

A Mumbai court, which is trying actor Salman Khan in connection with the 2002 hit-and-run case, is expected to announce the date of verdict on Tuesday.

The verdict date is being announced a day after the prosecution and defence concluded their arguments yesterday.

While Khan's lawyer has argued that the evidence of eyewitness Ravindra Patil should not be accepted because he passed away and was not available for cross-examination, the prosecution said ample opportunity had been given to the defence earlier for cross examining this witness.

Patil was the police bodyguard of Khan at the time of the accident. He had filed a complaint alleging the actor was in an inebriated condition when he rammed his Toyota Land Cruiser into a bakery in suburban Bandra on September 28, 2002 killing one person and injuring four others.

Meanwhile Sessions Court judge D W Deshpande has, on a plea of Salman Khan, issued contempt notices to inspector of Bandra police station for recreating the crime scene and to two city newspapers for publishing photographs of a police team recreating the same. 

Whether or not it was timed for Rahul Gandhi's return from a nearly two-month sabbatical, the huge rally in Delhi on Sunday against the land acquisition legislation seems to have primed the Congress for the role of a more active opposition. Read

Hitting out at party chief Arvind Kejriwal over his expulsion from the AAP, Prashant Bhushan said the party is being run by a dictator. Terming the party as a Khap Panchayat, Bhushan said, "Unfortunately all dreams seem to be shattered at hands of that small coterie and one dictator who are today controlling this party."

In his first reaction after his expulsion from the party, Bhushan said, "The letter we have received from party doesn't even say what points they have found contradicting our response to showcause notice. No doubt that the action taken against us is unconstitutional and illegal."

"These are issues involving entire country, public interest and sentiments of lakhs of volunteers," he added.

The Aam Aadmi Party national disciplinary committee on Monday night decided to expel Prashant Bhusan, Yogendra Yadav, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha because of anti-party activities and violation of code of conduct.

Earlier in the day, (AAP) rebels Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav accused party chief Arvind Kejriwal of "gross violation" of its constitution and attacked two members of its disciplinary panel for allegedly doing a "planted" story and accepting donations from dubious firms.

Ajit Jha and Anand Kumar, the two other AAP leaders issued with show-cause notices, too, submitted their responses.

"The evidence about a plane crash that killed Netaji is quite strong. None of the files that I read bear any evidence that it was Nehru who ordered this kind of intrusive surveillance."

Harvard historian Sugata Bose, Subhas Chandra Bose's grandnephew, discusses the reports that his family was under surveillance for 20 years. Read

Google has used its Street View cameras to search for the Loch Ness Monster - and one image in particular will attract the attention of Nessie hunters. Read

The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard have in a joint operation, intercepted a Pakistani boat off the coast of Porbandar on Monday, sources said. Large quantities of heroin and satellite phones were allegedly seized from the boat.

The boat reportedly had eight men on board, who have been arrested. The vessel is being towed to Porbander.

The boat was being monitored for a few days based on intelligence inputs. It was intercepted yesterday in an operation that involved two Indian Navy ships, one Coast Guard ship and the Navy's surveillance aircraft, Dornier.
-- NDTV

Former Odisha Chief Minister and ex-Assam Governor Janaki Ballabh Patnaik passed away in Tirupati early today. He was 89. The veteran Congress leader was admitted to a hospital in Bhubaneswar following chest pain around midnight but could not be saved, his family said. Patnaik, a three-time Odisha chief minister, was in Tirupati to attend the convocation ceremony of the Rashtriya Sanskrit University.

The Bombay High Court will be renamed soon, following a demand from the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party MPs, Union Law and Judiciary Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said. 

A flood alert has been sounded in Srinagar after rains caused water levels of the River Jhelum to rise. The water levels at two measuring points Sangam, in south Kashmir, and Ram Munshibagh crossed the 'alarm' level on Monday, officials said. Officials have asked people living on the banks of the river and in other low lying areas of south and central Kashmir to be alert.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has decided to add to the pastoral programming with a round-the-clock operation to create a channel for farmers and rural dwellers -- called Kisan TV (or Farmers' TV). It will feature everything from water conservation and organic farming to how to get credit through government agriculture programs. 

The Haryana government will felicitate yoga teacher Ramdev, the brand ambassador for promotion of yoga and ayurveda in the state, today in Sonipat. "A felicitation programme will be organised in the honour of Ramdev on April 21 in Sonipat where he will sign an agreement for promoting yoga and ayurveda in the state," Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said.

A pioneering plane attempting to circumnavigate the globe powered only by the sun took off in China early Tuesday for the next stage of its journey, organisers said. The Solar Impulse 2's departure from Chongqing came after repeated meteorological delays. With pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls, the plane took off, heading for the eastern city of Nanjing, organisers said in a statement. The 1,190 kilometre flight was expected to take 20 hours.

The New York Times won two prestigious Pulitzer prizes for coverage of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, described by the Pulitzer board as courageous and vivid journalism that engaged the public and held authorities accountable.

Hours after the Aam Aadmi Party expelled Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan and others for anti-party activities, Shanti Bhushan has come out in the open, criticising Arvind Kejriwal calling him the new Hitler. In his stinging criticism, Bhushan said, "Why not expel me too? I attended the rebel meet also. 

China and Pakistan just did something that will anger India