President Obama condemned the violence in Baltimore this afternoon, saying there is "no excuse" for the violence, looting and arson that followed the funeral held for Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old African American who died after suffering a spine injury in police custody earlier this month."They're not protesting, they're not making a statement, they're stealing," Obama said in a jointpress conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Sharat Pradhan reports from Lucknow: Buses sent by the Uttar Pradesh government to facilitate evacuation of Indian survivors, stranded in Nepal on account of Saturday's devastating earthquake ,have released the congestion at Kathmandu airport.

Streets in Baltimore looked like a war zone Tuesday morning after a night of riots, fires and heartbreak.

The Hyderabad high court today rejected the plea for the second postmortem filed by the father of a terror suspect, who was killed along with four others, in an alleged encounter in Nalgonda district of Telangana earlier this month.

A high-level team from the Maharashtra government has finalised the purchase of a home, costing around four million pounds, where Dr B R Ambedkar lived during his student days in London.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed Jawaharlal Nehru and said the youth should take inspiration from him and imbibe his scientific temper.

Afghanistan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani met Vice President Hamid Ansari. 

Nepal today thanked India for extending a "blank cheque" and taking initiative in launching relief operations in the aftermath of Saturday's killer earthquake, which was followed suit by other countries. 

Approximately 4000 people left in 80 buses today. Land route has become the primary route as it is not affected by the weather, said foreign secretary S Jaishankar. This is the government's daily media brief on the Nepal quake relief and rehabilitation. Jaishankar also said buses are not going empty; they go with relief material, returning with people.

342 Indians have been evacuated by IAF, bringing the total number to 2,865, says Defence Secy RK Mathur.

Three NDRF teams reached Nepal today; 3 more teams reaching today, making it a total of 16 teams in Nepal, LC Goyal, Home Secy, said.

Indian government briefing on the rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the wake of the Nepal quake. Foreign secretary S Jaishankar says that full assistance has been assured to states, but no assistance sought from them. Home Secretary LC Goyal said that as per the latest reports, the remains of 6 tourists from Assam have been handed over to their families, while the number of Indian fatalities go up by seven, which brings it to 79. .

The Indian Army today intensified its efforts towards rescuing and evacuating quake-affected people in Nepal. The army said it has been able to reach far flung areas like Barpak, which is also the epicenter of the earthquake and is currently  in the process of providing succor to the people in this area with an emphasis on saving precious lives. This is what has been inducted by the army today...           

-- Four ALH and two Cheetah helicopters has completed their sorties and are located close to the epicenter of earthquake.

-- Three field hospitals (18 Medical Teams) are operating in Kathmandu, Pokhara and areas around it. A 45-bed hospital has been established at Lagankhel. Medical support provided so far includes 65 surgeries, 540 trauma cases and over 2000 first aid cases.

-- Apart from this, 10,000 Blankets, 1,000 tents and an equal number of tarpaulins and plastic sheets are being sent. So far approximately 3,000 blankets and 100 tents have been sent.

-- At least 12 satellite phones been sent.So far, 41 tons of water, 22 tonnes of cooked food and dry ration have been sent. In light of its criticality, 25 food and water vehicles were diverted to Sindhupal Chowk. 

Blessings of the almighty and prompt action by IAF had helped the Indian under-14 girls football team escape the devastating earthquake in Nepal, its captain Soni Kumari said today.

Soni, who hails from East Champaran district of Bihar and team member Nisha Kumari of Siwan returned here last night from Delhi.

They were airlifted by an Indian Air Force plane from Kathmandu on Sunday evening.

"We were in the dressing room of Dasrath stadium in Kathmandu on Saturday and mentally preparing ourselves to face a tough match against Iran for the third place when suddenly the lights went off. Our coach started shouting at us to rush to the middle of the stadium ground.

"The entire team and support staff members immediately ran to the middle of the ground as the earthquake shook the ground. "We spent 5-6 hours in the field praying silently and saw so many high-rises collapsing around the ground," she said.

The team returned to their hotel room around 8 pm shivering in fear. But the quake struck for a second time that night and its members ran for safety to the hotel lawn and spent the night there, she recounted.

A former two-time MLA in Bihar has been booked for allegedly spreading rumour about earthquake through WhatsApp, a senior police officer said today.

"The case has been registered against Dayanand Rai, the former MLA from Narpatganj in Araria district, with Sachivalay police station in this regard," Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna Jitendra Rana told PTI.

The two-term RJD MLA from 1990 to 2000 has been made an accused of spreading rumour through WhatsApp message that predicated high-intensity earthquake returning on last Saturday night. The SHO said in his complaint he saw people rushing towards a park on Saturday night, hours after Patna and other parts of Bihar along with Nepal witnessed a massive earthquake of 7.99 magnitude.

On inquiry about circulation of message from the people, name of the former legislator cropped up. 

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has met farmers in Sirhind, Punjab, as you read this. Rahul is visiting Khanna and Gobindgarh in Punjab today to take stock of the situation in the state's grain markets where farmers are finding it difficult to sell their produce after the recent unseasonal rains.

The visit comes at a time when farmers in the region have accused the government of tardy wheat procurement. The state has also been witnessed suicides by farmers. Gandhi will be travelling by train and is scheduled to reach the region by the late afternoon, sources said.

Congress leader Amarinder Singh had on Monday suggested that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal stage a dharna along with his ministers outside the Prime Minister's Office to seek his attention on the farmers' issue.

Union Minister and Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur dubbed Gandhi's visit to a mandi as a "drama".

Congress has been alleging that the Punjab government is not purchasing the produce of farmers adequately.

Gandhi had recently attacked the government, alleging that it was "ignoring" the farming community and favouring the industrialists and rich people. He has also accused the government of giving out contradictory figures about the damages suffered by farmers during the recent unseasonal rains.

An AN-32 aircraft with 2 tons of food material lands at Pokhara airfield.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has tried striking up a new relationship with neighboring Pakistan by resisting reliance on its archival India.But after Islamabad failed to deliver to the negotiating table leaders of the Afghan Taliban who are believed to be hiding in Pakistan, Ghani is in now in India to renew Kabul's alliance with New Delhi. Read more

People injured in the deadly earthquake in Nepal are now so traumatised with fear that they prefer receiving treatment in tents rather than inside hospitals after several buildings collapsed burying hundreds of victims.

Kedar Prasad Srivastav, 75, is to be operated upon for an abdomen surgery, but he prefers to get treated in the open ground outside the Kathmandu Medical College (KMC) for fear of tremors and aftershocks after Saturdays quake that devastated the Himalayan nation, killing over 4,300 people with more than 8,000 others injured.

When he felt the tremors, Srivastav got himself shifted outside. The fear of the quake is such that he prefers getting treated in the open ground, amid rain, cold and mosquitoes.

We have been asking patients to shift indoors, but they simply refuse because of the fear of the quake, said Dr Sajipta Panth, a gynaecologist at the KMC.

Initially, even the doctors were fearing to operate on patients inside the buildings.
What do we do? If we have to treat the patients then even we have to stay safe.
For the first two days we operated patients inside the hospital. Now, we have a makeshift mobile operation theatre erected in the open ground of the Nepal Armed Police Force, said Dr Manoj Shah, another gynaecologist at KMC.

Meanwhile, medical help has started pouring in with teams of doctors arriving from different parts of the world.

India has set up three mobile hospitals at Lagan Khel, some 17 kms from the capital and Seni Mangal.

We have despatched teams at Barpak and Sindupalchowk (the two most affected districts), said Col R K Yadava of the Indian Army Medical Corps who also also have paratroopers with them.

So, just in case if we are asked to go into the interiors then we can be para trooped. Our team is well equipped and can even erect a mobile operation theatre in case of an emergency, said Major Abid Aman.

Just in: India evacuates 170 nationals stranded in Nepal, from 15 countries. Spain was among the first countries to seek India's help to evacuate its citizens. "We have received requests from various countries to rescue their citizens," Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said yesterday, when 30 foreign nationals were brought back.

However, just 24 hours later, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted this list today of 15 countries whose citizens had been evacuated by India. Spain with 71 citizens topped the list, followed by Poland with 33 citizens, all of who had been evacuated by both commercial and IAF aircraft.

India has announced a 30-day gratis visa on arrival for all foreigners evacuated to India.

Click on the picture for a larger image.

Home sweet home: Indians stranded in Nepal reach Delhi by IAF flights from Kathmandu today. 

All the climbers who had been stranded at camps high up on Mount Everest by the earthquake and avalanches have been helicoptered to safety, reports Reuters.

Taking advantage of Monday's clear weather, three helicopters shuttled climbers all day from camp 1, above the impassable Khumbu icefalls, while others trekked back from camp 2 to be airlifted out.

Eighteen climbers at Everest base camp died in Saturday's avalanche that destroyed half of the tents there, according to Nepal's mountaineering association.

The huge cloud of falling snow and rock was triggered by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 4,000 people across Nepal.

File pic.

Former Union Law minister, senior lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani put the Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on the witness box and slapped him with a dozen questions on the Narendra Modi government's efforts on delivering its key poll promise on black money.

"Whether it was the previous government or the present one, my battle for the return of our national wealth illegally parked in foreign banks estimated to be around $1500 billion or Rs 90 lakh crore, back to our national coffers continues unabated," Jethmalani said in a half page advertisement published in the Indian Express newspaper.

He questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's studied silence and various recent government actions and termed these as "unpardonable betrayal.'

He has asked Jaitley 12 questions and promised, 'more would follow'.

"How many amended double taxation treaties have you entered into till date after becoming the finance minister?

"Was the statement of the new BJP president Shri Amit Shah that the promise of repatriation of black money was mere election 'jumla' made with your concurrence? You have never disowned it, and neither has anyone else in the government. This is confession enough in my opinion of an intentional fraud on the nation."

In October 2014, Jethmalani had written a letter to Jaitley and accused him of misleading the Supreme Court of India over the black money issue. Your action in approaching the Supreme Court with the kind of Petition that you have filed is one of the most ill advised steps taken, Jethmalani had written.

Will Jaitley respond to the 12 questions posed by Jethmalani? Watch this space.

Indians return to Patna by train from Nepal. 

Nepal PM Sushil Koirala calls an emergency meeting over the earthquake. Leader of opposition and Home minister to be in attendance.

Not the land bill or the GST bill, but IPL was the topic of conversation at the Central Hall of Parliament today.

Cutting across party lines, many MPs wanted to know the real story behind IPL.

So, there was Congress MP Rajiv Shukla who was closeted with finance minister Arun Jaitley for over 40 minutes. Shukla is the also the IPL governing council chairman.

Interestingly, BJP senior leader Dr Subramanian Swamy who was in Central Hall cornered NCP leader Praful Patel and the two were seen having a intense conversation about IPL. So, does that mean Dr Swamy is keen to  meet NCP chief Sharad Pawar? Is a new new friendship budding?  BJP MP Anurag Thakur was also seen talking to Patel for more than 10 minutes. Join the dots and figure it out.

Congress VP Rahul Gandhi travels in a general bogie to Punjab to take stock of farmers' issues. Pic was tweeted by ABP News. 

Rahul boarded a train to Punjab at the New Delhi Railway station today. He will visit Khanna and Gobindgarh, called the "grain bowl" of Punjab, to take stock of the situation in the state's grain markets, where farmers are struggling to sell their produce after recent unseasonal rains.

"I've been told the condition of farmers is very bad. I want to see that myself," said Rahul wearing a T-shirt and his stubble.

He took a seat near a window on the train and promised that his fight against the Narendra Modi government on its proposed land reforms is set to become "much bigger."

A gunman stormed into a police station in a northeastern Bosnian town shouting "Allahu akbar", killing a policeman and wounding two others, authorities said. The gunman was also killed during the attack yesterday in the town of Zvornik, police spokeswoman Aleksandra Simojlovic told The Associated Press.  The Bosnian Serb police chief, Dragan Lukac, identified the man as Nerdin Ibric.

All heli-borne rescue operations called off for today because of heavy rain. One IAF helicopter unable to return from Barpak, tweets Rahul Kanwal of Headlines Today

Embassy of India, Kathmandu, tweets: 56 buses carrying over 3000 people on the way to Gorakhpur. 

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has sought clarification over his law minister's fake degree. The Congress on Tuesday demanded that Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar should be sacked immediately after a Bihar-based university informed Delhi high court that his law degree was fake.

Congress leader Ajay Maken threatened to hold a massive demonstration outside Delhi secretariat on Thursday, if Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal did not remove Tomar from his ministry.

"Even after pointing it out to Arvind Kejriwal, we don't understand why is the minister still at his position," Maken said.

A Bihar-based university on Monday informed the Delhi high court that it has no record of Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar completing his law degree from there. 

A convoy of 5000 blankets, 500 tents, 50 tarpaulin and 800 plastic sheets left for Pokhra from Kanpur as part of India's relief and rehabilitation efforts for quake-hit Nepal.

India keeps its promise to Nepal.

Pic: Rescue operations by NDRF underway in Kathmandu.

Both PM Modi and the Afghanistan president began their speeches acknowledging the devastation in Nepal. The PM addressing Nepal, said, "You are not alone at this moment of tragedy and trial. We will do everything possible with rescue and relief. And, we will certainly be there when you rebuild your lives and reconstruct your homes and heritage."

The death toll in Nepal stands at 4,350. But Nepal PM Sushil Koirala has said it could go up to 10,000. If it does, that would be even higher than the 8,500 killed in a massive 1934 quake, the Himalayan nation's worst disaster to date.

Ghani also said, Afghanistan and India are two countries that are bound by a thousand ties and millions of memories. "We are the only countries that need no introduction. Others have to overcome their past to build a future, we (Afg hanistan and India) can build a future based on our past. "

Full text of PM Narendra Modi's statement at the joint press briefing with Afghan President, Dr Ashraf Ghani.  Read

Ghani began his address by expressing his sympathies to the people of Nepal.
"I have had the pleasure of visiting Nepal repeatedly, I have walked those mountains. Let me express my deepest sympathies to the people of Nepal," the Afghanistan Prez said. 

Afghanistan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani at the joint presser with PM Narendra Modi, pays tribute to Rabindranath Tagore. "Kabuliwala gave Afghanistan a bigger brand image than we could have ever paid for, so I thank Tagore."

He said that the shadow of terror haunts Afghan children, women and youth and that terror must be confronted and must be overcome. "We are determined to change regional nature of cooperation, terror cannot be classified into good or bad. We must be united both in region and globally to continue this phenomenon," Ghani said. 

PM Modi at the Indo-Afghanistan joint statement in Delhi: India will walk shoulder to shoulder with you and the Afghan people in a mission of global importance. Afghan children have a special focus in our efforts.  President Ghani shared his impressive vision for Afghanistan's prosperity, based on its talent, resources and location. We are prepared to continue our support for capacity building of Afghanistan security forces. We in India admire courage and resolve of Afghan people to seek a future of peace and prosperity.

Pic: The delegation level lunch between PM Modi and President Ashraf Ghani.

Rich Verma @USAmbIndia tweets: India has demonstrated its global leadership in recent weeks, 1st in Yemen & now in Nepal. We're grateful; We're impressed; We're inspired. 

Dust storm and rain in eastern India. 

Embassy of India Kathmandu reaffirms that foreigners entering India from Nepal will be granted a gratis 30 days, single entry tourist visa upon arrival. This is what Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced in Parliament yesterday.

As Congress VP Rahul Gandhi heads to Punjab to meet farmers over land procurement and the land bill, the land acquisition law passed by the previous government may not be the villain of the piece when it comes to stalled projects, according to data generated by a Right to Information (RTI) query.  Read more

Heavy rain in Nepal, most rescue operations have come to a standstill. Dust storm and heavy rain in eastern India (Bihar, UP, Jharkhand) as well. NDRF has suspended all relief operations till the rain subsides.

The National Disaster Relief Force on Monday said conducting salvage operations in the earthquake-hit Himalayan country is becoming a time consuming affair as the collapse pattern of the buildings in Kathmandu is much different and unique from what the force has experienced earlier.

"This is because the collapse of the standing structures and buildings is different from what we have seen in India. The buildings have gone down badly and we have to drill holes in maximum number of cases to go through concrete slabs or walls and get inside the rubble," NDRF Director General P Singh said.

This is a picture from the Baluwatar area of Kathmandu.

Members from Opposition and treasury benches had a heated exchange of words in Rajya Sabha today over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on foreign soil that he wanted to clean the dirt of 60 years forcing three adjournments in the pre-lunch session.

Rejecting the Opposition charge that Modi was lowering the dignity" of the country by making such remarks abroad, Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Prime Minister was "perfectly entitled" to say that his government will break away from what happened in last 60 years and give a clean government.

He also took potshots at both Janata Dal (United) and CPI(M) wondering whether they thought that India is not defamed by "acts of corruption" but by referring to those acts.

Congress Deputy Leader Anand Sharma raised the issue through a notice for suspension of business under rule 267 to discuss Modi's remarks in Germany and Canada alleging that the Prime Minister lowered the prestige and dignity of the country, a contention which was supported by members from other Opposition parties including Sharad Yadav of JD-U.

Vehemently countering the charge, Jaitley while he can understand the Congress benches getting upset with the talk of cleaning up corruption, he was surprised at the remarks of JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav and those of the CPI-M leaders.

"I am surprised with this new-found dialectics of the morals of the CPI-M. According to this new ideology ...India is not defamed by acts of corruption. India is defamed only when you refer to the acts of corruption," he said.

Nepal-born Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala tells Rediff.com that she is too shattered to say anything about what has happened in Nepal. "What can one say after a devastation such as this? I want to go to Nepal immediately. But what can I do? I'm stuck in Mumbai as the airport in Kathmandu is closed. I've made other travel arrangements and will be flying to Nepal soon. Luckily my family is safe. But my country is destroyed. "

Read more

China is providing regular update of weather to quake-hit Nepal with latest satellite images and forecast provided by Chinese Meteorological Administration.

Nepal has been checking the FY2E image series and the generated forecast of South Asia region round the clock through its receiver in Kathmandu, at a time when the Himalayan nation has been getting aftershocks after a major earthquake on Saturday.

The Indian Army establishes a 45-bedded hospital at Lagankhel, Nepal. #Respect.

The Indian govt has also set up a camp in Raxaul which is looking after the safe return of Indians from Nepal, says Radha Mohan Singh, Union Agriculture minister, who along with Ananth Kumar and JP Nadda have been tasked with coordinating the relief effort in Bihar. Singh said he would be visiting the camp tomorrow.

In other news, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday met his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

President Ghani was also accorded a ceremonial reception in the capital. Earlier in the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had called on President Ghani before the delegation-level talks between both sides.

Ghani is presently in New Delhi on a three-day visit and will have bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.

Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari would also call on the Afghan President at 4 pm.

Ghani will also address captains of Indian industry during his visit.

India and Afghanistan have a strong relationship based on historical and cultural links.

The relationship is not limited to the government level only. Both nations have strengthened ties through a strategic partnership agreement inked in 2011.

The US has announced fresh aid of USD 9 million for quake-hit Nepal as it launched relief and rescue mission in the Himalayan nation, sending a disaster response team along with rescue dogs to search for survivors.

"We are working very closely with the government of Nepal to provide assistance and support. I am announcing that the US will provide an additional USD 9 million for Nepal earthquake response," the Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in New York.

This is in addition to the USD 1 million already provided to the quake victims in Nepal on Saturday.

Nepal PM Sushil Koirala has warned that the quake toll could reach 10,000, but assures that his government is working on a war footing on rescue and rehab.

Reuters reported that a Nepal home ministry official put the latest death toll at 4,350. If the death toll does reach 10,000, that would be even higher than the 8,500 killed in a massive 1934 quake, the Himalayan nation's worst disaster to date.

Responding quickly in one of its most extensive response to an international crisis, India has flown in relief material, rescue teams and medical supplies to quake-hit Nepal, where the death toll has soared past 4,000 and is expected to rise.

Also widening 'Operation Maitri', India has moved its rescue mission outside Nepal's capital into the epicentre of the devastating earthquake at Barpak village in Gorkha district, while its engineers opened up the road to Kathmandu from India.

The opening up of the road from India to Kathmandu means that relief materials and equipment can now be moved by road instead of just the air in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Nepal.

Seven months after taking over as Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani arrived on his first state visit to India today. President Pranab Mukherjee received President Mohd Ashraf Ghani at a ceremonial reception this morning. Since his inauguration, Ghani had visited China and Pakistan. When asked whether the timeline of his foreign visits was a reflection of his priorities, the Afghanistan President used a popular Dari proverb, "Der ayad, durust ayad (Better late than never)."

On day 4 of the Nepal earthquake, a 100 buses sent by the Indian government to Himalayan country will carry stranded Indian nationals to Gorakhpur and Raxaul today from Kathmandu. The MEA announced that with the road becoming operational, buses are being organized between Kathmandu, Gorakhpur and Raxaul (the entry points to India).

In parts of quake-hit Bihar and UP, the PMO has said that union ministers Ananth Kumar, Radha Mohan Singh and JP Nadda will go to Bihar to take stock of the situation and co-ordinate the relief effort. The PM held a review meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh and top officials on the situation arising due to the earthquake.

The PMO has also announced that MoS Dr Jitendra Singh, a doctor by profession, has arranged to send free insulin to diabetes patients among the earthquake victims in Nepal.

Just in: The Supreme Court has stayed the privilege motion moved against columnist Shobhaa De in the Maharashtra Assembly.  The SC issues a notice to Pratap Sarnaik, a member of the legislative assembly, staying the breach of privilege motion issued against De.

Sarnaik stated that she had criticized the move of the government of making rule for Marathi language movies be shown on the prime time. Criticising Maharashtra government decision, Shobhaa De had tweeted, "No more pop corn at multiplexes in Mumbai? Dahi misal and vada pav only. To go better with the Marathi movies at prime time."

Radio Pakistan reports that tremors have been felt in Peshawar, Dir Bala, Shangla, Swat, Malakand, Lower Dir and surrounding areas.

A court in Jodhpur on Monday called for the record of the subordinate court regarding the case relating to illegal possession and use of arms by Salman Khan on the Bollywood actor's revision plea.

District and Sessions Judge, Jodhpur, Manoj Kumar Vyas, while admitting the revision petition moved by Salman for hearing, ordered summons of the record from the court of chief judicial magistrate and posted the matter on May 1 for detailed hearing.

Salman and a few other Bollywood actors were accused of poaching blackbucks on the midnight of October 1-2, 1998, during the shooting of Hindi movie "Hum Saath Saath Hain'.

Accused of carrying and using illegal arms also as he allegedly had arms with expired licence and a case under Arms Act registered against him thereafter, the actor, through his advocate, moved an application before the CJMs court in Jodhpur on April 22 demanding re-examination of five witnesses of the case.

So, Union Minister Smriti Irani is trending on Twitter yet again, this time for her fiery speech in Parliament yesterday. Irani responded to allegations from opposition members on what they called, the "saffronising" or giving a Hindu tinge to education.

Irani had a direct face-off with Trinamool Congress member and historian Sugata Bose, who is also the grand-nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra  Bose.

Bose had criticised the HRD ministrys functioning over the past 11 months during the discussion on the Demand for Grants for HRD. The  debate in Parliament yesterday was on the demand for grants for her human resource development ministry.

She addressed Dr Bose as 'that professor' and pointed her finger at him while replying to the debate.

This agitated the Trinamool Congress members and party senior Saugata Roy intervened. The way she raised her finger at an eminent historian like Prof. Sugata Bose is just not acceptable in the Lok Sabha. As an old-time member, I would like to submit that a Minister should not point a finger and ask a member, that too an eminent historian like Prof. Sugata Bose, to sit down."

Irani hit back saying, there was no question of an apology to him and addressed the TMC members in Bengali saying, "Aapni jokhon bolechhen, boshey shojjo korun. Aamar jobab aashete din. (If you have made allegations, then sit through my reply)," she said as Trinamool Congress MPs interrupted her.

Officials of the Nepalese consulate in Kolkata are spending sleepless nights as they have not been able to get in touch with their families back home since Saturday, when the massive earthquake jolted the Himalayan country and killed over 4000 people.

"I have not been able to contact my family since Saturday. I don't know the condition of my family, whether they are alive or not. I am really tense," said Dulal, a person on the staff at the Nepal consulate.

Hit by severe shortage of food, water, electricity and medicines and buffeted by fear, tens of thousands of people are out in the open as quake-hit Nepal is desperately seeking international help to tide over the crisis.

Sita Basnet, a senior official of the consulate, said there are three more staff in the consulate, who are unable to get in touch with their family members in Nepal.

"Apart from Dulal, there are three more staff in our consulate, who could not make any contact with their family members. They are very tense. The communications lines are completely snapped... its very tough to get in touch with them," Basnet said.

A UN inquiry has found that at least 44 Palestinians were killed and at least 227 injured by direct mortar strikes and other 'Israeli actions' while sheltering at UN locations during last year's Gaza war.

Nearly 200 people hailing from Maharashtra were today rescued from the quake-ravaged Nepal, where the State Government is sending medical teams and medicines to assist in relief operations.

Nigeria is set to be the first African country with an economy larger than $1 trillion, according to the latest projections from the US Department of Agriculture.

The United States and Japan are boosting their defense relationship, allowing Japan to play a bigger role in global military operations with an eye on potential threats from China and North Korea.

1 hour ago From the sectionAsiaInternational teams of rescuers and medical experts are arriving in Nepal to help hunt and care for earthquake survivors.

A letter threatening to blow up a bus stand here, purportedly written by Lashkar-e-Tayiba, was found inside a security room near its gate, police said today. It was found by a bus driver yesterday at Maharana Pratap bus stand, commonly known as Ballabgarh bus stand.

An army Jawan was today killed while another injured when a truck carrying them was hit by a landslide on Jammu-Srinagar Highway in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Kazakhstan's long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev apologised on Monday for winning re-election with 97.7 per cent of the vote, saying it would have 'looked undemocratic' for him to intervene to make his victory more modest.

Apr 27 (PTI) RSS leader and former BJP general secretary Sanjay Joshi today lauded the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for providing generous help to the quake-hit Nepal.

The executions of nine of 10 mainly foreign prisoners on death row in Indonesia will "go ahead as planned" and could take place as early as Tuesday, Indonesia's attorney general's office said Monday.

Three policemen accused of raping and extorting money from a model were tonight suspended, while two officers have been transferred for "inept" handling of the entire episode.

The George Washington University here today said it is not attempting to ban religious symbols after reports emerged that the prestigious varsity is contemplating a ban on swastika, a sacred symbol for Hindus and Buddhists.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tonight took stock of the rescue and relief efforts in quake-hit areas at home and in Nepal and pushed for streamlining the operations and greater coordination among the stake-holders.

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