Unidentified attackers gunned down an assistant professor teaching at the Karachi University in Dastageer area of the city on Wednesday, police said.

A 15-year-old French Muslim girl has been banned from her classroom for wearing a long black skirt, seen as going against France's law guaranteeing secularism.

A Colombian journalist could face criminal charges after he admitted sending death threats to himself.

BJP ministers including Chief Minister Anandiben Patel and party MLAs will donate a month's salary to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for the victims of the Nepal earthquake.

Around 400 people from Maharashtra were rescued from earthquake-hit Nepal in the last four days and the state government had established contact with all the persons from Maharashtra who were missing in the

It would appear that India loves a dead farmer more than a living one. Every year thousands of farmers, predominantly men, commit suicide. That is when they become the beloved of the nation. Television crews visit their villages. Socialists blame capitalism. The government gives the families of the dead money or grain. The urban elite tweet that it is a shame that the noble farmer must kill himself.

A four-month-old baby miraculously survived the Nepal earthquake and was pulled out of rubble by rescuers almost a day after being trapped. Rescuers tried to find him after his parents reported him missing, but gave him up for dead after they couldn't find him. Soldiers initially missed the child as they searched through the wreckage for survivors. He was only found when they heard a faint cry from beneath the ruins of the building, leading them to check the entire area again.

For any politician, visits to Vidarbha make for poignant visuals of desolate countryside and desperate farmers that form the backdrop for pro-farmer and anti-establishment rhetoric. Ahead of Rahul Gandhi's trip, here is a wish list.

In 2013,'selfie' became Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year. It's  become such a ubiquitous word, but few stop to think about where it came from. It may come as a surprise to learn that is has its origins in Australia: the first evidence of the word in use comes from an online forum entry by the Australian Nathan Hope, who posted a photo of his lip, which he says he cut while drinking at a mate's 21st birthday party.

Nepali villagers blocked trucks carrying supplies for earthquake victims, demanding the government do more to help after last week's disaster left more than 5,000 people dead and tens of thousands homeless and short of food and water. 

Public transport services are likely to be hit in the city tomorrow due to a strike called by transporters, in protest against the Centre's new bill on road safety and transport. Taxi and auto unions have announced one-day strike in protest against the 'Road Transport and Safety Bill-2014'. Both auto and black and yellow taxies will be off the road.

A day ahead of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's day-long padyatra in Vidarbha to highlight the plight of farmers, suicide of yet another agriculturalist has come to light. The agriculturist, Gajanan Sheshrao Khongal, allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a well in Morshi tehsil of the district, police said. The 35-year-old, who had taken a loan of
Rs 60,000 from aco-operative bank, took the extreme step apparently due to crop failure and mounting debt, they said.

Pakistan's "sincere" desire for good neighbourly ties with India have not been "reciprocated", Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said terming the continuing deadlock in bilateral talks arising out of a "frivolous" issue. 

The Indian Mountaineering Foundation and the living members of the 1965 Everest Team held an emergency meeting, and decided to mobilise the mountaineering and adventure fraternity of India on national basis to lend a hand in Nepal.

India today said that 83 buses with 4500 people were evacuated from Nepal to Raxaul, Sanauli and Tanakpur in India today. The total number of evacuees by road is now more than 9000. 

The first statement from the US after Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, was released from jail on April 10.

Nisha Desai Biswal, who is the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, in the Obama government, said today that terrorism, wherever it takes place -- inside Pakistan, inside Afghanistan or inside India -- is not acceptable.

"When this (Lakhvis) release occurred, the Secy of state also personally made a phone call to urge that efforts be made to re-arrest and to ensure he (Lakhvi) doesn't roam free.

"The need for those responsible for Mumbai terror attacks to be brought to be justice, thats the goal we share with India.

"There is no such thing as good terrorists or bad terrorists. There are only terrorists and support for terrorists of any kind is not acceptable."

On April 10, Lakhvi was released from the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi after the Lahore High Court suspended his detention under a security act.

India lodged a strong protest over the release, saying the negative development reinforced the perception that Pakistan has a dual policy on dealing with terrorists.

Lakhvi, a close relative of LeT founder and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, was arrested in December 2008 and was indicted along with the six others on November 25, 2009 in connection with the case.

He and six others -- Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum -- have been charged with planning and executing the Mumbai attack in November, 2008 that left 166 people dead.

Madhu Kishwar ‏@madhukishwar tweets:  Just got @varungandhi80 book of poems entitled "Stillness". V aesthetic layout, reveals totally different persona than the politico we know.

Varun Gandhi ‏@varungandhi80  responds: @madhukishwar Thank you, Madhu aunty. You've been a source of great strength for me.

Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala was heckled today at a Kathmandu relief camp as angry survivors of Saturday's devastating earthquake demanded that relief coming in from foreign countries be made available to them.  


Four Indian Army Aviation Helicopters evacuated 34 people (including 25 women and children) from the area north of Gorkha. A total of 3.8 tonnes of relief material has been distributed till 28 Apr 15.


110 people have been rescued by army aviation in rescue operations from Pokhara.


In addition, one Army ALH and two Cheetah helicopters are on standby at Gorakhpur. Three Army field hospitals which include two field hospitals at Lagaankhel and one at Senamangal have been established and a large number of patients have been treated so far..

The journey of the digitally restored version of The Apu Trilogy is packed with dark stories and years of near detective work by those determined to preserve some of Satyajit Ray's finest works. Aseem Chhabra finds out more from Peter Becker and Lee Kline, the two men behind the restoration. Read

The finest of Indian Literature took centrestage at the Raymond Crossword Book Award 2014 as the countrys finest writers and their books were honoured at a glittering award function at the NCPA in Mumbai.
Winners included...

The Blind Ladys Descendants by Anees Salim, which won the Raymond Crossword Book Award in the Indian Fiction category


This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War by Samanth Subramanian won the award for Indian Non-Fiction


Children, Women, Men By Sundara Ramaswamy Translated by Lakshmi Holmstrom won the Indian language Translation category.


Bankerupt by Ravi Subramanian (pictured) won the Popular Award.


Timmi in Tangles by Shals Mahajan Duckbill won Kotak Junior Children writing award.

Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh wears his heart on his sleeve as he tweets this picture: "My indulgent allowance, as I proceed to meet people in far flung places, under #LokSurajAbhiyaan."

Boys will be boys.

Salman Khan hit the right note today when a court in Jodhpur asked him about his religion.

After some thought, he answered: "Hindu and Muslim".

Salman Khan pleaded 'not guilty' in an arms case being heard at the Jodhpur court.

Before recording Salman's statement, Chief Judicial Magistrate Anupama Bijlani asked him his name, father's name, profession and other details required by the court's form.

Salman answered everything, but was left confused when the court asked about his religion.

As the actor looked puzzled, his counsel and bodyguard, someone from the crowd suggested he say 'Muslim.'

He then told the court: "Hindu and Muslim."Salman explained that his father, writer Salim Khan, is a Muslim and mother Susheela Charak is a Hindu.

Kathmandu limps back to normalcy. The Embassy of India in Kathmandu tweeted this picture of traffic near Balaju in Kathmandu. 

Few MPs, if any, can rise above politics. And Congress MP Shashi Tharoor most definitely can.

Tharoor tweeted his congratulations to BJP MP Varun Gandhi, whose book was released today. In fact, it's Varun's second book of poems.

Tharoor tweeted: @ShashiTharoor "Stillness": beautifully designed & presented book of poems released today by fellowMP @varungandhi80. No politics!

To which Varun Gandhi responded, tweeting:  ‏@varungandhi80  @ShashiTharoor thank you for your kind words, Dr Tharoor. One deserves a life beyond politics.

We second that, and congratulations, Mr Gandhi!

Forty years ago, on April 30, 1975, Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese army, ending the Vietnam War.Military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) debunks myths about the Vietnam War which endure till today. Read

Falling object alert!

An unmanned Russian cargo spacecraft ferrying supplies to the International Space Station is plunging back to Earth and apparently out of control.

Read more

If Rahul Gandhi did this bit for his party (at least for its flagging spirits) so did SAD MP and union food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Immediately, after Rahul delivered his crop procurement speech in the Lok Sabha, Badal launched into a bewildered Rahul. "You went to the Punjab mandi, but where were you when a hailstorm stuck Punjab. Did you wipe the tears of Punjab farmers? You were enjoying foreign hospitality," she said.


Badal was referring to Rahul's 56-day leave, which is when hailstorms destroyed crops across the country. Congress MPs rushed to the well of the House and raised slogans against Badal.

Cloudburst in Parliament, by all accounts.

Just in: CBI files charge sheet against industrialist Naveen Jindal and 14 others in Amarkonda Murgadangal (Jharkhand) coal block allocation case. Former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, ex-Minister of State for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao and ex-Coal Secretary H C Gupta also chargesheeted by CBI. 5 companies, including Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and Jindal Realty Pvt Ltd, also named as accused in the CBI chargesheet.

While Rahul Gandhi did speak in Parliament today, a keen observer would have noticed that the Congress VP looked tense and ill at ease while making his presentation on the crop procurement. Sources say Rahul finds it difficult to take on the collective might of the Opposition when he enters 'dangerous territory' by making personal remarks against PM Narendra Modi. Rahul made a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi today in Parliament, when he said, "The PM is visiting India, let him also visit Punjab and see the situation for himself."

After a 56-day self-imposed hiatus (introspection leave as the Congress called it), a resurgent Rahul Gandhi has made not just the BJP, but also the Congress sit up and take notice.


After his anti-Land Bill speech on Sunday, a train ride to meet farmers in Punjab yesterday and a speech in Parliament today, the Congress think tank is having second thoughts on whether Rahul should in fact be relaunched now.


They feel that it may be a little too early to fire the engine, since the BJP has four more years in government. They also feel they should wait and watch and see how Rahul performs. If the Congress loses in Bihar, it would  directly affect the theory that Rahul can save the beleaguered party.


Our fly on the wall observed senior Congress MPs huddled in a corner of the Central Hall of Parliament, analysing the relaunch of Rahul Gandhi.


First time MPs like Gaurav Gagoi, a Congress MP from Assam and Sushmita Dev, daughter of former MP Santosh Mohan Dev were thrilled to see Rahul in action in the Lok Sabha today.


The very articulate Jyotiraditya Scindia, the MP from Guna, who also accompanied Rahul to Punjab to meet farmers yesterday, is in the forefront to push Rahul to take a decision to lead the Congress.


In fact, all Congress leaders behind the 'Rahul lao, Congress bachao' campaign are young MPs. As you may have noticed, old timers like Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha, has been sidelined in the Lok Sabha. 

In its report to the Union Home Ministry on the suicide of Gajendra Singh, the Delhi Police, Wednesday, blamed the Aam Aadmi Party and the crowd present at its Jantar Mantar rally for the farmer's death.

Zee News reports that as per the Delhi Police report, AAP leaders were making provocative speeches, and the crowd present at the rally venue instigated and provoked Gajendra to commit suicide.

The report also alleged that AAP did not heed to the police's request to change the rally's venue to Ram Lila Maidan.

The Delhi Police also alleged that the SDM of the New Delhi district, who was mandated by the Kejriwal government to conduct a probe, had asked the police not to conduct a post-mortem on the body of Gajendra.

The report was submitted amid reports that the Delhi Police is trying to piece together the last 24 hours of farmer Gajendra Singh's life by analysing his mobile phone data and questioning people to find out where he had visited and whom he had spoken to before his alleged suicide at Jantar Mantar.

One of the relatives of the deceased farmer, whose mobile phone number was found on Singh's call log, has told police that he was asked by him to switch on his TV as "something big was going to happen".

"The relative, who lives in Singh's native village in Dausa of Rajasthan, received a call from him at around 1 pm (on April 22). Singh had told him, 'TV kholo, dekho kuch bada hone wala hai' (switch on your TV, something big is going to happen)," said a senior police official associated with the probe.

Thirty- two foreign tourists, stuck in a quake-hit Tibetan town along the Nepal border, are awaiting evacuation. A total of 39 tourists from nine tour groups were stationed in Zham Town, an important customs checkpoint on the China-Nepal border when a powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit neighbouring Nepal.

Five Dutch tourists left the town on the day of the quake and two other Belgians did not enter Zham. All the tourists are safe and have been contacted by regional tourism authorities, Yuan Xiaorong of the Tibet Tourism Bureau was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

 The tourists are from countries including the US, Israel, Malaysia, France and Australia. Summer is the peak tourist season in Tibet. Some 26,000 overseas tourists visited it in the first five months of last year.

It's a study in contrasts.

Haryana MLAs have decided to gift themselves laptops and a substantial hike in car and home loans, even as its agriculture minister said the government would not do anything for farmers who commit suicide.

All the 90 legislators received laptops from Chief Minister ML Khattar today. In addition to this, they will get a Rs 20 lakh car loan, a 100 per cent hike from the earlier figure. Home loans have also been hiked from the earlier Rs 20 lakh to Rs 60 lakh.

The component for salaries to private staff has gone up to Rs 15,000, from the earlier Rs 10,000.

This, when the state's BJP government is yet to compensate farmers who have suffered huge crop loss.

There have been a dozen suicides in the state since January. The Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar faced condemnation today for his insensitive comments on farmer suicides. Addressing a press conference, Dhankar said, "According to Indian law, suicide is a crime. A person who commits suicide runs away from his responsibilities. Such people are cowards and the government cannot stand by such cowards, such criminals." he said on Tuesday.

He attempted to justify those remarks today, saying, "Haryana is the land of the brave, we don't want to encourage suicides here." 

Is the govt having second thoughts on the Land Bill? Reports say that the bill is not listed for discussion in the Lok Sabha next week.

On Sunday, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that the NDA government would not do a rethink on the Land Acquisition Bill, and said it is pro-development and in the interest of farmers and poor.

"The government feels that this Bill is in interest of farmers, in interest of development and in interest of the poor people. There is no thinking of going back on Land Rehabilitation, Fair Compensation and Acquisition Act," the Union Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister said.

He said it (Land Acquisition Amendment Bill) is in the larger interest of farmers. "They will be the biggest beneficiaries, unless you want to keep them away from development and exclude them from development," he said.

The threat of landslides and mudslides remains high in the earthquake-hit Nepal in the coming weeks, and the risk is likely to increase when the monsoon rains arrive this summer, scientists have warned.

The region at highest risk for landslides and mudslides is the mountainous area along the Nepal-Tibet border, north of Kathmandu and west of Mount Everest, directly above the fault rupture, according to researchers at the University of Michigan (U-M). U-M geomorphologist Marin Clark and two colleagues have assessed the landslide hazard in Nepal following Saturday's magnitude-7.9 earthquake.

They looked for locations where landslides likely occurred during the earthquake, as well as places that are at high risk in the coming weeks and months. The analysis found tens of thousands of locations at high risk, Clark said.

The improbable thread between a World War I genocide, Salman Rushdie and Kim Kardashian. Read

Former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav says he raised the issue of the possible fake degree of Delhi law minister two months ago in a letter to AAP convener, Arvind Kejriwal, but party ignored him.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today reviewed quake relief operations in border areas of the state even as schools and colleges reopened in the capital and other parts after remaining closed for two days due to the tremors.

Kumar, who inspected the relief centre at Bettiah in the morning and instructed officials to maintain hygiene while preparing food packets, said about 5000 food packets, milk, and water are being sent to Nepal for quake victims daily through border points in Raxual, Bargania in Sitamarhi and Bettiah.

From Bettiah, the CM went to Sitamarhi to review relief operation in the district.

The CM had yesterday supervised relief work at Raxual which is witnessing maximum flow of people from Nepal. Kumar told reporters at Sitamarhi that the state government was sensitive towards victims of earthquake in various parts of the state as well Nepal which is a "friendly country."

The Chief Minister also held a meeting with officials at Sitamarhi air strip and gave necessary instructions regarding relief for victims of earthquake and the tropical storm earlier.

The quake that jolted parts of Bihar left 58 dead and 180 injured, the state Disaster Management special cell said. Schools and colleges reopened today in Patna and other parts of Bihar after remaining closed for two days in the wake of earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.

Just In: Union Cabinet approves policy to allow development of contentious gas discoveries of RIL and ONGC. The companies can develop fields at own risk, says policy.

Just In: Government hikes import duty on sugar to 40 pc from 25 pc, announces Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Technology to predict earthquakes has not been developed yet, government today said in Lok Sabha as members expressed concern over the massive destruction caused by the recent temblor in Nepal and wondered whether the disaster could be forecast.

Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space Jitendra Singh said India was second to none in the world in space technology but predicting quakes was still a work in progress the world over.

Aid reached a hilly district near the epicentre of Nepal's earthquake for the first time Wednesday, four days after the quake struck and as the death toll from the disaster reaches 5,006.

But it will still take time for the food and other supplies to reach survivors in remote communities who have been cut off by landslides, warned said Geoff Pinnock, a WorldFood Program emergencies officer.

Nearby, five cargo trucks filled with rice, cooking oil and sugar stood on a grassy field fringed with banana and acacia trees beneath the soaring Himalayas, waiting for a helicopter carry the supplies to remote, quake-hit villages.

Soon, the U.N. food agency was expected to deliver shipments of high-energy food biscuits to be sent out to areas without enough water for cooking, Pinnock said.

The first aid shipments had reached Dhading district, just east of Gorhka, he said. -- AP

A passenger on board an Indian Airforce flight from Kathmandu to Delhi. 248 passengers were on board.

Quake relief efforts continued, but officials warned that they were hampered by problems of getting aid into the country and then delivering it to some of the remote communities in desperate need in the Himalayan nation.

Landslides in remote mountainous areas around the epicentre of the quake hampered rescue and relief teams.

A government spokesman said that helicopters had been dropping tents, dry food and medicine to remote villages but they were yet to reach many isolated communities.

When helicopters managed to land, they are often mobbed by villagers pleading for food and water, or to be evacuated.

Pic:  A C-17 flight from Kathmandu arrives in Delhi this morning with 248 passengers on board.

So Zee has banned singer Sonu Nigam.

According to reports, Nigam was banned because he tweeted in support of AAP leader Kumar Vishwas.

Zee News ran a video of Kumar Vishwas apparently saying 'Latak Gaya' (with reference to the suicide of farmer Gajendra Singh who hanged himself from a tree during an AAP rally).

Nigam retweeted it saying, 'I am far from politics but I feel that the truth should come out for the sake of my poet friend Kumar Vishwas'.

Media reports say that Zee Music will not buy any music with Sonu Nigam songs.

Nigam tweeted this morning, "So now Zee announces a ban on me. :) What do I say.. God bless everyone. Wonder should it not be illegal to ban someone on the pretext of nothing in a democracy? Influencing others to not work with an individual. Well legal or illegal, one thing's for sure.  Banning someone, is definitely unGodly."

In April this year, Breeze Sharma set off on a mission to climb Mt Everest and Lhotse (the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8,516 metres). Lhotse was his first destination. Breeze was to embark on an acclimatisation climb on May 24 night from the Everest Base Camp to Camp 1.

However, bad weather forced them to abandon the trek and instead the team set out on a glacier walk.

And that's when all hell broke loose, he tells Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com.

Read

SAD MP and Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processin Harsimrat Kaur reacts to Rahul's speech in Parliament: Desh ki janata unke (Rahul Gandhi) drame ko pehchaan chuki hai.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi speaking in the Lok Sabha on the farmers' crisis. His party had given a notice to suspend the Question Hour but it was rejected by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

Hitting out at PM Modi's frequent foreign trips (he has just returned from a three-nation tour), Rahul said the PM is now visiting India and should meet farmers personally. (Punjab bhi chale jaye thodi der ke liye, kisano se mil le.)

He said the government was not farmer friendly. "Farmers suffered hailstorm, rain, the government did nothing," Rahul said.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Rahul was heckled when he said "aapki sarkar", to which the Speaker pointed out that the government was his as well.

Rahul recovered quickly and said, "Hamari sarkar hai, aapki sarkar hai, par kisano aur majdooron ki sarkar nahin. We have a government, you have a government, but farmers and labourers don't have a govt."

He added, "If you (BJP govt) give farmers compensation it will be to your benefit."

Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh, was not just a poet, playwright, dancer and patron of the arts, says Payal Mohanka. He was a royal who hand-created his personal calendar. Read more

Fresh details of the controversial execution of eight prisoners, convicted of drug crimes, in Indonesia have emerged.

A report published on the website of Australian newspaper Sydney Morning Herald says that all eight prisoners refused to wear blindfolds at the time of their execution, choosing to stare right ahead at the firing squad, which shot bullets into their bodies.  Read

In an interim order, the Bombay high court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra government not to arrest anyone for possessing beef, reports Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com.

A division bench of Justices V M Kanade and M S Sonak, which was hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the governments recent ban on consumption and possession of beef, said that because the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act was enforced suddenly, no one can be arrested for possessing beef, even though an FIR can be filed for the same.

Holding the slaughter of bulls and bullocks as illegal, the bench decided to give the benefit of the doubt to those who, because of the suddenness of the ban, were in possession of beef.

The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for June 25.

Vowing to raise voice for farmers on very platform, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said government should take into account their concerns and not just extend monetary assistance.

The Congress Vice President, who met farmers hit by unseasonal rains in Punjab and stayed here overnight after travelling by train to the NDA-ruled state, also took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking whether the farmers are not contributing to 'Make in India' by providing food to the entire country.

"I will raise the voice and pain suffered by farmers and atrocities on them on every platform,' said Rahul, a day after BJP and its ally in Punjab Shiromani Akali Dal termed his visit as a "political drama' over the land bill.

As political parties attempt to reach out to distressed farmers in the wake of crop failure and a procurement crisis across the country, a minister has made an insensitive statement on the increasing number of farmers committing suicide.

Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar called farmers committing suicide "cowards" at a press conference yesterday. Dhankar also made it clear that the Haryana government would not help families of those farmers and agricultural labourers who have committed suicide because the administration is not for cowards.

He said farmers who commit suicide run away from responsibility.

Rahul Gandhi is expected to speak in the Lok Sabha today on the farmers issue.

According to the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University, on an average, one farmer commits suicide every 30 minutes in India.

The decision by PEN American Center to give its annual Freedom of Expression Courage award to the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo has prompted six writers to withdraw as literary hosts at the group's annual gala on May 5, adding a new twist to the continuing debate over the publication's status as a martyr for free speech. Read

Atal Bihari Vajpayee built the Golden Quadrilateral. Narendra Modi wants to build Bharat Mala.Bharat Mala is the name given to a ambitious programme of the Modi government -- a road built along India's vast west-toeast land border, from Gujarat to Mizoram, at a cost of around Rs 14,000 crore, and linking that to a road network in coastal states, from Maharashtra to Bengal. This is a road network that will, as it were, garland the territory of India. Hence the name.  Read more

Congress leader Ambika Soni on Wednesday hailed party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's visit to Punjab to take stock of the farmers' woes.

"Many farmers have told him about their problems. After understanding the pain of the farmers, Rahul Gandhi decided that this issue should be discussed in the Parliament today itself," said Soni.

The Congress vice-president, who left for Punjab by train yesterday to assess the plight of the farmers, earlier in the day took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' campaign.

Speaking to the media in Chandigarh, Gandhi said the farmers contribute the maximum to the 'Make in India' initiative and added that the government should help the farming community.

Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who had sought exemption from appearing in the Jodhpur court last week citing health reasons, reached the court today to record his statement in connection with the Arms Act case.

Nigeria's army says it has rescued 200 girls and 93 women from Boko Haram camps during a military operation to wrest back control of the Sambisa Forest.

A citywide curfew will take effect Tuesday night in Baltimore, where brooms have replaced bricks after a night of riots.

More than 300 Senegalese and Malian migrants have died in recent sinkings in the Mediterranean, their governments said today, as pressure mounted on European nations to take action.

At least 52 people are dead after a landslide engulfed up to 100 houses in a remote mountainous area in Afghanistan's northeastern Badakhshan province.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Madison Square-style event in Shanghai during his upcoming visit to China has generated a 'terrific response' from Indian professionals and students based in various cities in the Communist nation.

Tense protests and a massive cleanup were underway Tuesday as the city braced for whatever comes next after a long night of violence.The governor and mayor promised increased security.

The Tamil Nadu government today announced a relief of Rs five crore to the quake-ravaged Nepal.

Saudi Arabia has arrested 93 people suspected of belonging to Islamic State and foiled several plots, the interior ministry has announced.

Eight convicted drug smugglers have been executed by firing squad in Indonesia.The executions took place in Besi prison on the island of Nusakambangan early on Wednesday morning local time.Among those executed were Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

In a major milestone, an indigenous cryogenic engine, that will help India put satellites of upto four tonnes in geostationary orbit, was tested successfully at ISRO's propulsion complex at Mahendragiri in this district. 

Nepalese woman pulled out alive from debris by Indian rescuers
Court battle lays bare inner intrigues of Bohras' priestly family
India taps Gorkha soldiers to join in Nepal rescue ops
20,000 Indian nationals evacuated from Nepal: Pradhan
TMC scores landslide victory in West Bengal civic polls
Land bill: Rahul takes train to meet farmers in Punjab
Nepal PM puts toll at 10,000, says rescue ops not effective