Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for Delhi after his UAE visit.

Organisations across the West Coast are gearing up for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Silicon Valley on Sunday, September 27, 2015.

The UN's humanitarian chief has said he is "horrified" by the attacks on civilians taking place in Syria.Stephen O'Brien told reporters during a visit to 

Around 50,000 people attended the event.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has concluded his speech at the Dubai cricket stadium.

"Good Taliban, Bad Taliban...Good Terror, Bad Terror...this wont work. A decision has to be taken are you with terrorism or with humanity."

"The way the world is seeing India has changed. And what is the reason -- the reason is the 125 crore people of India. We started @makeinindia. We are asking the world to come and 'Make in India'...there are many opportunities. When there are efforts towards Skill Development, Digital India then it is natural for the world to come to India."

Welcoming the decision of UAE to support India's candidature for permanent membership at UN Security Council, Modi said, "Today India and UAE has decided to give strong message on the issue of terrorism. The voice against terror has been raised in unison from this land. I find this important. Those who need to understand will understand. Those who indulge in terrorism should be punished is the message that has been given today."

Meanwhile, a reason to make Indians smile. Indian footballer Aditi Chauhan has inked a deal with English Premier League club West Ham United's ladies team, becoming the first woman player from the country to have been signed up by a top club in England. The club said that Aditi, who has represented theunder-19 Indian national women's team at AFC Qualifiers in Malaysia, was a late addition to their squad during pre-season.

"Give the Crown Prince a standing ovation for that great gesture, which is an affirmation of trust between two nations." Praising the UAE crown prince, Modi added, "UAE Crown Prince has promised an investment of 4.5 lakh crore in India. The joint statement between our nations is extremely pleasing."

The PM says that he has received lots of love. He said, "His Highness was present with all his five brothers at the airport to receive me. This love, this respect is not for an individual. This is respect for Indias changing place in the world."

In front of a 50,000 strong Indian diaspora at the Dubai Cricket Stadium, Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks of the contributions of the Indians in UAE. Speaking to the diaspora, the PM, amidst chants of Modi, Modi, says, "Today in Dubai I am seeing a mini-India. You are those people who have worked hard and are working here for many years. At the same time you are enhancing India's pride. Even if it rains in India, people in Dubai open their umbrellas."

As their agitation entered the fast-unto-death phase after two months of relay hunger strike, the veterans demanding One Rank One Pension today voiced their dismay over the Centre's "inability" and decided to boycott the upcoming celebrations of 1965-war golden jubilee.  

A bomb blast in Thailand has detonated directly outside the Erawan Shrine in central Bangkok, an important location to the country's Buddhists. The explosion is likely to send shockwaves across the country, partly due to its proximity to the famous shrine. Both the shrine and the area surrounding it are hugely significant in the religious, social and politicial life of the country.

The explosion which shook Bangkok outside the shopping district also had Genelia D'Souza at a nearby mall. The actress who is fortunately safe and secure however, feels for the loss of lives at the unfortunate incident.

Thailand's defence minister said the people who exploded a bomb at a shrine in central Bangkok had targeted "foreigners" to try to damage the vital tourist industry. "It was a TNT bomb... the people who did it targeted foreigners and to damage tourism and the economy," Prawit Wongsuwong said.

The government's permission for exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen to stay on in India expired  amidst indications that it is all set to be extended. "The application (of the writer) to extend her residence permit is in the process. If it is extended, extension in such cases is from date of expiry," a senior home ministry official said adding no final decision has been taken yet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today address a massive Indian diaspora at a huge stadium in Dubai on the second day of his trip to the United Arab Emirates. The cricket stadium where the PM will talk at 9.30 pm IST can hold 40,000 people and has been billed "Marhaba (welcome) NaMo". Organizers said an additional 15,000 people will be seated outside with food stalls, DJs and video walls where the speech will be broadcast. 

Ceasefire violation by Pakistan Army in Balakot sector, J&K from 7 pm.

@narendramodi I strongly condemn the blast in Bangkok. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased. I pray for a speedy recovery of the injured.

Bangkok blast: Indian Embassy Emergency no +66618819218.
Embassy landline: +6622580300-5 via @MEAIndia

Meanwhile, in Dubai a die-hard Modi fan gifts the PM 12 portraits on his achievements.  The self-taught fan, who is called, Akbar, who originally hails from Udupi in Karnataka, and makes a living as an illustrator for a Dubai ad agency. @narendramodi  tweeted: I am thankful to Akbar Saheb for this very touching gesture. It was great meeting him.

The BBC reports: National police spokesman Lt Gen Prawut Thavornsiri told AFP news agency: "I can confirm it was a bomb, we can't tell which kind yet, we are checking." 

The Independent report confirms what travel blogger Richard Barrow tweeted: Thai police have deactivated a second bomb after a large explosion hit Bangkok, while a third bomb has been found. Fears arise that more bombs have been planted around the city.


Photos posted online showed car windows smashed and debris littering the streets as the area was cordoned off by emergency services.


The explosion was on the Ratchaprasong intersection, which has been the centre of political demonstrations in recent years. Our correspondent says bomb attacks in Bangkok are extremely rare.


Pic: The Erawan shrine in the aftermath of the blast.

Thailand travel blogger Richard Barrow tweets: Thai TV now reporting schools, banks and government offices to open tomorrow as normal


So far, one bomb exploded and then two more unexploded bombs found nearby. Thai TV say first explosion from motorcycle bomb that caused nearby taxis to explode. Two unexploded bombs found at Ratchaprasong. The second unexploded bomb discovered in front of Gaysorn shopping center at Ratchaprasong.


The Thai government has strongly advised people to evacuate shopping malls in the Ratchaprasong area as police continue to search for more bombs. 

Vir Sanghvi @virsanghvi tweets: The Brahma shrine in Bangkok. Prayed there just three hours before the explosion today. Can't believe the news.

Bangkok police say the bomb could have been hidden on a motorbike. The Indian ambassador to Thailand says no Indians are reported killed in the terror strike.


The bomb exploded at 7 pm (5:30 IST) outside Erawan Shrine, which is dedicated to Lord Brahma, in the downtown Chidlom district, police said. The temple is located on a main road through Bangkok's commercial hub and is surrounded by three major shopping malls.


There was major chaos with body parts scattered everywhere, media reports said. There were burnt motorbikes on the main road, with paramedics and police trying to take the injured away. The explosion was on the Rajprasong intersection, which has been the centre of political demonstrations in recent years.

Bomb attacks in Bangkok are extremely rare.

Pic: The crater created by the bomb. The picture was tweeted by @cctvnews.

Meanwhile, India gets its first talkie version of Devadas (1935) in DVD format from Bangladesh, an important addition to the Indian Film Archive.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, who is at the scene, says there is a huge amount of chaos, with body parts scattered everywhere. The attack took place close to the Erawan Shrine in the Bangkok's central Chidlom district.

Another picture of the carnage in the immediate aftermath of the blast. The picture was tweeted by hp @2111015.

The BBC says that the crater at the site indicates that it could be a bomb. No reports of any Indian being injured in the blast.

Just in: Explosion in central Bangkok's commercial hub. BBC says there is a massive amount of damage and a crater that indicates this could be a bomb. The BBC puts casualties as 12, with over 20 injured


The Independent reports local media as saying that the blast happened in Ratchaprasong, a road intersection and shopping district near the Erawan Shrine. Photos posted online showed car windows smashed and debris littering the streets as the area was cordoned off by emergency services.


Picture near the blast site tweeted by @RT_com 

The Congress party is riven by four different approaches to an issue: the Sonia Gandhi way, the Rahul Gandhi method, Lok Sabha MPs' tactic, and Rajya Sabha MPs' style, reports R Rajagopalan. Read

Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the rest of the Sri Lanka Test series following the injury to his right hand. A statement from the Board of Control for India on Monday read: "The BCCI medical team has confirmed that opening batsman Mr. Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the remaining part of India's tour of Sri Lanka - 2015.  Read more

The Naga Accord is an example of what Modi can do in Kashmir. Read

The Gujarat government has issued a show cause notice to suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt after its Home Department received a complaint against him based on an alleged 'sex video'.


The Indian Express reports that the notice, seeking an explanation within 10 days from Bhatt for allegedly having a "relationship with a woman other than his wife', was delivered on August 14 after the complaint was received along with a pen drive containing the 11-minute clip.


Bhatt said he had replied to the notice on the day he received it, saying that the person in the clip was not him but "someone who bears a general resemblance'. He said that a "closer examination' of the clipping "reveals striking differences in facial features, including the shape and size of the nose, the shape and size of the forehead, as well as the shape and size of the ears'.


"In order to dispel any doubts', he added that he was willing to undergo "Detailed Biometric Examination and Analysis at the Directorate of Forensic Science, Gujarat State or at any other similarly equipped facility of your choice, so as to facilitate proper and conclusive comparison between me and the person in the said video'.


Bhatt has been under suspension since 2011 after he took on the then state government under Narendra Modi over the 2002 Gujarat riots. A 1988 batch IPS officer, Bhatt had filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court, claiming that he had attended a meeting on February 27, 2002 at Modi's residence in Gandhinagar, where he claimed the then CM allegedly told his officers to "allow Hindus to vent their anger'.

It's a huge relief. What I have been saying for 13-and-a-half years, that stand has been vindicated. The highest court of the country has upheld the conviction," said Nitish Katara's mother Neelam Katara who has been fighting a single-handed battle for justice.

The Supreme Court today confirmed the conviction of Vikas and Vishal Yadav, but said it will consider whether the Delhi High Court's sentence of 30 years will be upheld or reduced. The case will come up for hearing after six weeks. Upholding the conviction, the SC ruled that Nitish Katara's murder was a 'well-planned and executed conspiracy'.


The Delhi High Court in February turned down the plea for death sentence by the Delhi Police and Katara's mother, Neelam. It chose instead to give then a lengthy prison sentence.to cousins Vikas and Vishal Yadav and sentenced them to 30 years in jail. They had also been fined Rs 50 lakh each. They were awarded 25 years in jail for murdering Nitish Katara and would spend an additional 5 years in jail for destruction of evidence in the case.


The HC has also awarded life imprisonment to Sukhdev Pehelwan, third convict in murder case, without remission for 20 years. Vishal and Vikas Yadav had appealed the conviction and the sentencing.


All three are serving life term for abducting and killing Katara, a business executive and the son of an IAS officer, on the night of February 16-17, 2002, as they opposed the victim's affair with Bharti, their sister and daughter of UP politician DP Yadav.

The full grant of OROP would raise annual military pensions to Rs 75,000 crore, only slightly less than the salary bill of Rs 93,216 crore. Ajai Shukla reports. Read

CPI-M leader Brinda Karat visits Jantar Mantar in New Delhi where veterans of the armed forces are protesting the failure of the Modi govt to implement the OROP.  

"When Modi went to the mosque, there were thousands of Indians, both Muslims and non-Muslims -- to cheer him. I have never witnessed this scene from a mosque where people cheered with 'Modi, Modi' chants."

Zafar Sareshwala, a close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, shares his impressions about the PM's historic visit to the United Arab Emirates. Read

The full text of the letter written by the 10 former service chiefs to PM Narendra Modi expressing their disappointment on the failure of the govt to implement OROP and the shoddy treatment meted out to veterans by the Delhi police. 

In his treatise, The Art of War, the philosopher and military strategist, Sun Tzu, states, "The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected."


When, in an eventful week, members of both the highest institution of the State - namely, our Parliament - and those who have been the practitioners of the art of war choose to sport black arm bands, one is compelled to fall back on the wisdom of some two thousand years and enquire whether these are symptoms of a State on a road to safety or ruin.

Read IAF Air Marshal (Retd) Brijesh D Jayal's column for the Telegraph.

After serving 10 months for killing his girlfriend, South African Paralympian Oscar Pistorius is expected to be released from prison on Friday, media reports said today.


Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison in October 2014 after he was convicted of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day in 2013. He fired four shots through the locked door of the toilet in his Pretoria home, apparently thinking Steenkamp was an intruder hiding inside.


However, the state is to file its heads of argument in its appeal against the Pistorius' ruling at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein on Monday.


If the court grants the appeal scheduled for November, Pistorius could be re-sentenced to 15 years behind bars.


In March, Judge Thokozile Masipa rejected the bid by Pistorious' lawyers to stop the State from appealing her finding that Pistorius was guilty of culpable homicide. The State wants him convicted of the more serious charge of murder, which carries a heavier sentence.Prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued that Judge Masipa erred in her decision to acquit the athlete of murder under the principle of dolus eventualis, because he should have known that firing four times through a locked bathroom door would have resulted in death.


He will be released from the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria and will remain under house arrest. According to sources, Pistorius will live at his uncle Arnold's home in Pretoria's Waterkloof suburb.


He could be taking part in an electronic tagging programme or will have to check in regularly with a parole officer - and at first will be allowed only to leave the house to go to work or run the occasional errand, Iol online reported.

NIA gets permission to conduct a lie detector test on Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Mohammed Naved Yakub. The test will be conducted at 11 am tomorrow. Naved gave his consent to undergo the test before the Delhi court.


NIA Chief Sharad Kumar, who returned from Jammu last week, said the agency has evidence that Naved belonged to Pakistan and was part of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which trained him in the use of arms and ammunition and for recruiting cadre for expansion of the terror group.


"As far as the case of his Pakistani origin is concerned, it's an open and shut case as NIA has enough evidence," Kumar said.


The chief of the anti-terror agency described the case as "very sensitive" which needed to be probed thoroughly and carefully.


Naved, who is in his early 20s and hails from Faisalabad in Pakistan, has been brought to New Delhi for further interrogation by various central security agencies. The NIA chief said since Naved was still hiding certain things he will be made to undergo some scientific tests, including a lie detection test.

Zee Media Corporation Limited today announced plans to foray into English news broadcasting. The company, part of the Essel Group, has appointed Rohit Gandhi as Editor-in-Chief of English news broadcast and related content with effect from August 17.

Flood warning issued to UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, heavy rains over next four days.

After lunch with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, PM Narendra Modi will leave for Dubai where he will address the Indian diaspora at a cricket stadium. Indian Consul General Anurag Bhushan said 70,000 registrations were confirmed for the stadium. "Expecting a lot of people outside the stadium," he tweeted. The capacity of the stadium is 40,000.


Modi is on a two-day visit to the UAE to hold talks on enhancing cooperation in trade and security. On the first day, he visited an iconic mosque in Abu Dhabi and later interacted with Indian workers.

Deep in a desolate, rocky canyon, about 10 miles from the nearest paved road and even farther from any power line, Altai Davaa and her brother, Tsagaana, eke out a simple life. They sleep in a traditional Mongolian yurt, cook over a wood-fire stove, burn animal dung for fuel and use an outhouse. Every morning, she milks her cows.


But when the sun starts to set behind the ruins of a small Buddhist monastery uphill from their encampment, Tsagaana grabs the power cord from his mini solar panel, plugs in his satellite dish and TV, and starts channel surfing. He gets more than 60 stations, offering everything from "Breaking Bad" to Hollywood blockbusters. Read more

West Bengal state boxing champion Krishna Routh, who received accolades at several state and national championships, is today a temporary sweeper in the Howrah Municipal Corporation. He sprays pesticides and disinfectants in the open drains of Ward No 42 and earns Rs 232 a day. Read

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held talks with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on key issues of security and trade even as the two sides looked at elevating the ties to the strategic level.


Apart from key bilateral issues, the two leaders also discussed situation in the region, particularly in wake of the increasing threat of terrorism and extremism from various sources including the Islamic State militant group.


During the talks at the 'Emirates Palace' hotel where Modi is staying, the two sides emphasised on expanding engagement between the two countries, holding that there was a huge untapped opportunities to step up economic cooperation. After the meeting, the Crown Prince also hosted a lunch for Modi.


Modi, who arrived in Abu Dhabi yesterday in first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 34 years, had made it clear that he wants UAE to be India's foremost partner in countering terrorism and trade.

Ten former service chiefs write to PM Narendra Modi on One Rank One Pension (OROP) and the insult of veterans by the police at Jantar Mantar on Friday, August 14.


The letter says the "Delhi police's high-handed treatment meted out to veterans has impacted morale and pride. The inability of the political leadership to find a solution leaves us dismayed." The letter was signed by Gen VN Sharma, Gen Shankar Roy Choudhary, Gen S Padmanabhan, Gen NC Vij, Gen JJ Singh, Gen Deepak Kapoor, Gen Bikram Singh, Admiral Madhavendra Singh, Air Chief Marshal NC Suri and Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi.


Meanwhile, Colonel (Retd) Pushpendra Singh and Hawaldar Major Singh have begun fast unto death at Jantar Mantar over OROP.

The Indian Ex-Servicemen's Movement, which is spearheading the demand for OROP, is trying to convince Col Pushpinder and Hawaldar Major Singh to defer their infinite hunger strike for a few more days.

The veterans say they wish to meet the Prime Minister -- who is on a visit to United Arab Emirates -- before they escalate their protest.

PM Modi acknowledged in his Independence Day address at the Red Fort on Saturday that he is yet to reach a resolution on the One Rank One Pension demand of ex-servicemen, but promised that his government had "accepted OROP in principle."

Not far from where he addressed the nation, ex-servicemen sitting on a relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar, the designated site for protests, watched the PM's speech keenly on a large TV screen. They switched it off the moment his brief OROP mention ended and said they "reject the PM's speech".

Chief of radical women's outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Asiya Andrabi, was booked for hoisting Pakistan's flag on the neighbouring country's Independence Day in Kashmir, police said.


"A case FIR no 84/2015 under Section 13 of Unlawful Activities Act has been registered against Andrabi," a police official said.


He said investigations in the case were in progress and, if need be, more sections will be invoked against the separatist leader.


The DeM chief unfurled Pakistan's flag and sang its national anthem on the neighbouring country's Independence Day in Bachpora area on the outskirts of the city.


Hours later, Andrabi stoked another controversy by addressing a rally organised by Mumbai mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud Dawa in Pakistan and greeted the people of the neighbouring country on their Independence Day in a telephonic address.


Andrabi had earlier also celebrated Pakistan's National Day on March 23 this year and hoisted the flag of country and sung its national anthem, following which the police had registered a case against her under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

When the first bucket of concrete was poured into the Bhakra in November 1955 by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the then communist party in the state (which used to be a flourishing mass movement in the western state of Punjab at that time) encouraged a disinformation campaign that the proposed multipurpose dams were an "anti-farmer' move by the Congress government ruling India. Read more

Muhammad Naved alias Usman, the main accused in the Udhampur terror attack, wants to go back to Pakistan and kill those who sent him on a fidayeen mission, the Hindustan Times reports.


Naved, who had reportedly came to India to avenge the atrocities inflicted on Kashmiris, had attacked a BSF bus on August 5 at Narsu nallah in Udhampur district, killing two troopers and injuring 11 others.


According to the HT report, the interrogation of Naved also revealed that the he might have been administered a psychotropic substance before the attack on a BSF convoy. The investigator who spent time with Naved, has claimed that Naved has realised that his gamble with Lashkar had cost him heavily and now wants to go back to kill all those who sent him to Kashmir.


Pic: Naved (in the van) brought to the Patiala House Court, Delhi.

As he did in his first year as Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has used the occasion of his address to the nation on Independence Day to talk up his government's development agenda, offering hope to all and offending none. Last year he promised governance based on consensus without relying on his party's majority in the Lok Sabha. Read more

Luo Shuhui's home was 700 meters from the chemical warehouse that exploded last week, hurling fireballs into the sky.


Now, Luo and other nearby residents are livid at the government and want it to pay for their homes."I just want an answer from the government," Luo said Sunday at a protest by local apartment owners. "Are the officials corrupt, or what? Why did they build a hazardous chemical warehouse near our home without telling us? Who would want to live next to a ticking time bomb? No one!"


It's been four days since the explosions rocked the northeastern coastal city of Tianjin on Wednesday, killing at least 114 people, officials said -- with many more bodies likely trapped in the rubble. At least 70 people are still missing, according to authorities. Read more

UAE economy minister, speaking after meeting with PM Modi, says UAE open to meeting any demand for oil from India.

A ghost which could have bedevilled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's passage to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday has been exorcised. Read more

Also see: Photo album: Modi@UAE.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a tour of the Masdar City, a hub of clean technology and innovation, on the second day of his two-day UAE visit. The authorities briefed the Prime Minister about various aspects of the zero-carbon smart city, situated around 17 kilometres South-East of Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital.

"Science is life," Modi digitally wrote in visitors' book at Masdar city. Modi was seen taking keen interest in various aspect of the city built on innovative scientific ideas.


"Discussing urban development and next generation urban spaces at Masdar City," he tweeted. The Prime Minister also had a ride in a self-driving car, part of Masdar city's Private Rapid Transit or PRT.


"We have heard about BRT. Masdar City has PRT or Private Rapid Transit," he said in another tweet. A group of Indians had gathered in Masdar to have a glimpse of Modi who was seen waving hands at the crowd.


"Pondering the possibilities. PM @narendramodi discusses the future of urban innovation with Masdar City's architects," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in a tweet along with a picture of Modi's visit to the unique city.


Modi arrived in UAE yesterday on a two-day visit, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 34 years.


Within hours of his arrival, Modi visited the historic Sheikh Zayed Grand mosque. The mosque is third largest in the world after the ones in Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. He had also interacted with Indian workers at their camps I-CAD to know the problems they face and discussed ways Indian government can help them.

In other news: Diana, Princess of Wales thought US Presidential candidate Donald Trump gave her "the creeps" after he attempted to woo her after her divorce from Prince Charles. Read

Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice overnight by pounding civilian hamlets and Indian forward posts with 120 mm and 82 mm mortar bombs along the LoC in Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the Army.


This is the ninth consecutive day that Pakistan has violated the ceasefire. There have been 40 violations of the 2003 ceasefire accord in August. There has been over 230 ceasefire violations along the Indo-Pak border this year.


PRO, Defence, Jammu, Col Manish Mehta said today that "Pakistan troops resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violations in Saujiyan and Mandi sectors of Poonch district and shelled forward posts and civilian areas with 120 mm and 82 mm mortar bombs and heavy machine guns (HMGs) along LoC from 2200 hours last night to 0100 hours." Army gave effective reply resulting in exchanges, he said.

Modi@UAE: There are a lot of possibilities for hospitality industry in India. I want investments from UAE to build infrastructure for India's economic growth.

-- In the agriculture sector we need cold storage network and warehousing network where UAE businesses have another advantage.

-- Infrastructure development and real estate offer tremendous opportunities for UAE businesses in India.

-- I will send my Commerce Minister to try and find solutions to the problems faced by some UAE investors.

-- Today there is a immediate possibility of 1 trillion dollars of investment in India, yes 1 trillion dollars. We need to erase the deficit of 34 years

-- Since yesterday I have been thinking and feeling ashamed that it took 34 years for an Indian PM to come here.

PM Modi addressing the investors' meet in Abu Dhabi. Highlights...


-- India's growth potential and UAE's strength together can make this Asia's century.

-- We want technology, speed and quality construction when it comes to housing. Low cost housing is very important for us.


--  It took 34 years for an Indian PM to come here. I promise, it won't take this long again.


-- It needs to be said that the big countries of the 'first world' have begun to falter. The eyes of the world are now on Asia. I believe India is a land of possibilities.

-- 125 crore people aren't just a 'market'. They are a power bank. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Asia is incomplete without UAE.We want to see Asia do well in the future.

-- India's potential, and UAE's power can help shape India's future.

-- I have inherited a few troubles - government's lethargy, indecision and the image that it has created. I want to fix all that.

Former Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth assumed office as Chairman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board today. The appointment, is in fact, considered to be a demotion for Seth. Apparently, Ajit Seth applied for the job after reading an advertisement in a daily newspaper. Insiders say that never has a retired Cabinet Secretary accepted a position which is equivalent to the stature of a retired Secretary to Government of India.

Retiring Chairman Atul Chaturvedi, like Seth, is also from the 1974 IAS batch. Seth will hold office till August 2016 which is when he turns 65. 


Interestingly, the other members are a retiring secretary Gauri Kumar,  former chairman of NALCO -- Anshuman Das, apart from R Gopalan and Acharya. 

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor was flown in by UAE hosts for a special vegetarian menu in honour of the PM. That's what he served up. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday on a two-day visit to the strategically important United Arab Emirates where he will seek enhanced cooperation in key areas of trade and counter-terrorism as well as promote India as an attractive investment destination.

If you liked English Vinglish, heads up.

The director of Sridevi's comeback film, Gauri Shinde is "almost" ready with the script of her next project and she will start shooting it soon. Shinde, wife of director-producer R Balki, made a successful directorial debut in the 2012 drama about a housewife, who discovers herself while learning English to fit in the 'world' of her husband and kids.


Shinde also wrote the film's screenplay and story. She took to Twitter to share the information about her next venture. "Yes I am making my next film. Script done... well almost... Going on the floors soon. Looking forward to be back in action," she tweeted.

Meanwhile, a red corner notice likely to be issued against former IPL chief Lalit Modi, say media reports. 

PM Modi being briefed about more aspects of Madsar city. He is now meeting investors in Abu Dhabi

Former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda moves application in special court seeking summoning of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as an accused in a coal scam case.

PM Modi spends time with Indian workers in UAE. On Day 2 of his visit to the UAE, Modi paid a visit to the Masdar City, which relies on renewable energy sources and is designed to be a hub for clean-tech companies. He will reach Dubai later in the day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal for winning a silver medal at the prestigious World Badminton Championships in Indonesia.

ANI reports: Maharashtra CID arrests Nationalist Congress Party MLA Ramesh Kadam from Pune on corruption charges. 

Good Morning...