Germany will deploy two Tornado reconnaissance jets and 40 troops to Turkey on Thursday to support the fight against terror group Islamic State in Syria, the military said on Tuesday.

Germany will send two of the six Tornados it has pledged. The German troops will leave the Jagel base in northern Germany on an A400M and an A310 MRT aerial refuelling jet will also be deployed.

German lawmakers had last week authorised the deployment of up to 1,200 personnel and the aircraft to join international military operations against the IS, in support of France after the Paris attacks.

Iraqi forces recaptured large areas on the southwestern side of Ramadi from the Islamic State group on Tuesday, officials said.

Ramadi has been under the grip of IS since May this year. Retaking the Al-Tameem area from the terror group is a significant breakthrough for the Iraqi forces.

They have been fighting for months to secure territory around Ramadi, a major city west of Baghdad.

JUST IN: My expectations are good and positive from talks, says Pakistan's National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz on meeting with Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj tomorrow.

Documents related to the last days of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and his death mystery have been released in London which also include parts of classified correspondence between the Indian and Russian governments on the whereabouts of Netaji.

The documents, set to be released in a phased manner by UK-based independent journalist and Bose's grandnephew Ashis Ray, debunk the popular notion that Bose entered into Soviet Union in 1945, the year of his death as per records, and comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed visit to Moscow later this month.

The set of documents includes material Ray claims to have collected in Taiwan, Japan, Pakistan, the National Archives in Britain and the British Library, as well as from the Indian and Russian governments and some intelligence documents.  

The first set of documents released claims to show two official exchanges between the Indian Embassy in Moscow and the Russian foreign ministry.

Two militants have been killed in an encounter in Jammu-Kashmir's Pampore area. The encounter began when police troops demanded that a vehicle halt at a check naka. Militants hiding in the vehicle opened fire, triggering an encounter during which 2 of them were killed. 

Indian chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand is usually seen hogging headlines for his sweeping wins and championships. However, this time Anand is in news because of  his humanitarian gesture for the flood victims of Chennai. The chess grandmaster has thrown open the doors of his house to accommodate the flood-affected from the neighbouring slums. 

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to sources, Mamata is going to apprise Modi about her party's support on GST. Mamata wants to assure the PM about TMC's support over the issue, the source added. 

A local court will hear the bail plea of Patel quota agitation spearhead Hardik Patel and two of his aides tomorrow in a sedition case as the matter was adjourned today. Additional Sessions Judge N G Dave adjourned the hearing in the case today. Hardik and his aides Dinesh Bambhaniya and Chirag Patel, who are facing sedition charges and are presently lodged in jail, had filed their bail application last month.

AAP's Gopal Rai outlines the plan for Delhi's odd-even formula for cars to combat pollution. Highlights...

-- Odd cars to run on dates that are odd, and even cars on even dates.
-- The odd-even car formula will be from 8 am to 8 pm (peak hour traffic).
-- On Sunday - all can run.
-- Samples will be taken from 200 places to see how this is working. 
-- Traffic police has been told of the government plans.
-- The government is holding talks with Delhi metro to increase the frequency of services. 
-- Metro officials will get back with their plans after today's meetings.
-- Exceptions will be made for those with disabilities, emergencies etc.
-- The thermal-based Badarpur plant will be notified in a week to shut down.
-- 1000 new buses to enter the fleet in a month.
-- Next meeting on December 11.
-- Draft blueprint will be explain all the issues.

#OddEvenFormula will be implemented from Jan 1 2016, applicable from 8 am to 8 pm, exempting Sunday: AAP's
6 minutes ago
AAP: working out details on fines etc. more clarity on December 10. Everything will be made clear before December 25.

In fact, the Delhi government last week had suggested that odd-numbered cars will be allowed to ply on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while even-numbered vehicles will run on the other days - Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. But that has been changed for odd dates-odd numbered vehicles, even dates-even numbered vehicles.

Delhi Home Minister Satyendra Jain had confirmed earlier that the government will only allow emergency vehicles like PCR van, fire tenders, ambulances on the roads of the national capital. Jain, who is also PWD and Health minister, said there is a need to take strict measures to clean the city's toxic air and even-odd formula will also be applicable on all ministers and bureaucrats in the national capital region.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee meets PM Narendra Modi at 7RCR. Details awaited. 

Veteran actor Dilip Kumar who will turn 93 on December 11, will not be celebrating his birthday.

The actor tweeted: "I have decided to forego all celebrations on my birthday as I am saddened by the tragedy that has swept the lives of so many in Chennai. Saira is never in favor of celebrating my birthday. She feels the evil eye will fall and I will have health issues soon after celebrations."



Dilip Kumar's birthday last year was celebrated in his home town of Peshawar where the legendary actor spent the first 12 years of his life.

The life and achievements of Kumar, who was discharged from hospital in Mumbai today following a brief illness, were celebrated in his home town by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in collaboration with Cultural Heritage Council and Peshawar Press Club.

Indian actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Amjad Ali Khans wife, Manoj Kumar and Dilip Kumars wife Saira Banu shared their thoughts about the Devdas star via phone.

Salman Khan hit-and-run case: Justice AR Joshi to continue dictating order in the Bombay HC tomorrow, as it couldn't be completed today.

FLASH: Six migrant children drown in boat sinking off Turkish coast, state-run news agency reports: AP

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj leaves for Islamabad to attend the annual Heart of Asia conference on December 9. She will meet the Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad this week. Swaraj will visit the Pakistan capital to attend the ministerial segment of the conference.


Aziz said their talks would focus on the resumption of the composite dialogue process. Confirming that Swaraj would also call on Sharif, Aziz said that the deadlock in Indo-Pak ties has eased to some extent.

Leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, reacted to the continued disruption and finally the adjournment of both houses of Parliament over the National Herald case. Jaitely said, "Why stall parliament over a court decision? Nobody enjoys immunity from court proceedings. It is a case based on a private complaint and the govt has
nothing to do with it."


BJP minister Ravi Shankar Prasad added, "There is no political vendetta in the National Herald case; Congress leaders should face the court: it's the court's decision, not the Delhi police or the CBI's decision."

Congress members, upset over the 'National Herald' case, on Tueday disrupted the Parliament, protesting against alleged vendetta politics leading to repeated adjournments in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, son Rahul Gandhi and others were on Tuesday directed to appear in person on December 19 by a Delhi court which allowed their plea seeking exemption from personal appearance for the day in the National Herald case.

No sooner had both the Houses assembled for the day, Congress members stormed the Well, shouting slogans against the government and refusing to heed to the Chairs repeated pleas that they return to their seats and raise the issue.

While no Congress member specified the issue, their vociferous protests came a day after the Delhi High Court, in a blow to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, declined to give them any relief in the case, asking them to appear before a trial court. 'We are protesting in both Houses against this dictatorship. Democracy in danger', says Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Meanwhile, Subramanian Swamy, on the basis of whose complaint the National Herald case against the Gandhis was filed, responded to Congress claims that the BJP was was using proxy litigation to take on the Congress. Swamy said, "I'm not acting on the BJP's behalf. I don't need any minister poking his nose in my case. Cong members are jokers. Their lawyers are misleading them. I don't need support from the BJP to take on Rahul and Sonia."

Actor Salman Khan leaves his Bandra residence for the Bombay High Court. The court will decide today on the superstar's s appeal against his conviction in the 2002 hit-and-run case, in which he was found guilty of running over pavement dwellers with his SUV after a night out drinking.


The Bombay High Court started dictating its order yesterday.


In May this year, the actor was sentenced by a lower court to five years in jail after being convicted of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder".


The 49-year-old actor then appealed against the conviction in the Bombay High Court which suspended his sentence.In the early hours of September 28, 2002, the actor's Toyota Land Cruiser crashed into five men sleeping outside the American Bakery in suburban Bandra and ran over a group of sleeping people.


File pic of the actor taken in July when he was convicted in the hit-and-run case

An amount of Rs 1663.92 crore has been incurred on relief and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants till September this year under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) of Home Ministry, the Lok Sabha was informed today.


The expenditure incurred by the Jammu and Kashmir government on relief and rehabilitation of the migrants is being reimbursed by the Home Ministry under SRE (Relief and Rehabilitation), Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary said while giving details of packages of the Government from time to time for Kashmiri migrants, who left the Valley with the onset of militancy in early 1990's. "The government has incurred a total expenditure of Rs 1663.92 crore under SRE (R&R) till September 2015 for relief and rehabilitation of the Kashmiri migrants since 1989-90," he said. Out of this amount, Rs 155.03 crore has been incurred in 2014-15 and Rs 181.75 crore during 2015-16 till September this year, the Minister said. There are about 62,000 registered Kashmiri migrant families in the country out of which nearly 40,000 stay in Jammu, 20,000 in Delhi and remaining 2,000 in other parts of the country.

An Air France flight from San Francisco to Paris has been diverted to Montreal after an unspecified anonymous threat, and all passengers have landed and disembarked safely.

The airline said in a statement today that the crew of Flight 83 decided to divert "as a precautionary measure" and landed just before midnight Montreal time.


Canadian authorities are verifying the plane, passengers and baggage, and an investigation will be carried out into the origin of the threat, the airline said.


It said it would take all measures to send passengers safely to their destinations. France is in a state of emergency since Islamic extremist suicide bombings and shootings in Paris on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people, the deadliest attacks on French soil in decades.

That's what a train collision looks like. A local train rammed into the Lokmanya Tilak Haridwar Express amid foggy conditions in Haryana today, leaving the driver of one of the trains dead and two others injured.

Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi arrived in Puducherry today and visited rain-hit areas of the Union Territory where he distributed relief material.


He is also scheduled to visit flood-hit Chennai and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu later in the day. "I came here to see what has happened. It's very important that instead of doing politics at this time, we should make sure that people of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu are given relief," he said while talking to reporters.


His supporters showered him with flower petals soon after he arrived. In Puducherry, he is slated to visit worst-hit areas like Rodierpet, Riyankuppam, Krimambakkam.

In Chennai, with water receding from most parts, the focus is now on clearing the waste and muck and on rehabilitating affected people. The unprecedented deluge has caused unforeseen havoc and devastation to property, with flooded houses stinking after the water receded. Waste and sludge are deposited in many places such as the worst-affected Kotturpuram.

BREAKING NEWS: South African court grants Oscar Pistorius bail after murder conviction for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Jailed Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt will walk out a free man in first week of March from the Yeravada Central Jail, official sources said on Tuesday.

Dutt was convicted for his role in the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts. He has, however, been out of jail several times on furlough.

In September, Maharashtra Governor CV Rao rejected a pardon plea, but Dutt's lawyers claimed he never applied for any.


In a joint statement issued, advocates Hitesh Jain and Subhash Jadhav said that the news about the governor turning down the actor's plea was "purely based on the application made by Justice Markandey Katju seeking pardon for Dutt and other convicts'.


The actor is on furlough since August 27 for his daughter's medical problems. After his arrest in 1996, Dutt spent 18 months in jail before getting bail.

Dutt was found guilty in 2013 of acquiring illegal weapons from those involved in the deadly 1993 attacks in Mumbai in which 257 people were killed, and hundreds injured. He was sentenced to six years in jail in 2007 by a special TADA court; he served 18 months but then was out on bail, fighting the conviction until the Supreme court in March 2013 ordered that he be jailed.

File pic of Sanjay Dut with his wife Manyataa

Actor Siddharth, who extended help to the people of rain-hit Cuddalore district, says the conditions there are being exaggerated. And all that people need to do is be concerned, rather than be dramatic.


Cuddalore, a coastal town, was one of worst affected places due to the heavy downpour in Tamil Nadu over the last few weeks.

"We went to 15 villages. Many of these were described as drowning, starving, and unserviced on social media. Not true. Do not comment on Cuddalore from outside. There are places that are struggling. Do not confuse relief work. Be concerned. Not dramatic," Siddharth posted on his Twitter page on Tuesday. He further added that Cuddalore needs help, not panic.

"Send bedding, blankets, and mosquito coil. Send smaller trucks that can go on kuchha roads and identify groups that are addressing the hard to reach hamlets. Prioritize small villages away from main road and do not use relief labels or banners on trucks as they will be attacked," he said.


He also tweeted his 'learnings from Cuddalore':
1.Send bedding and blankets, mosquito coil.
2 Send smaller trucks that can go on kuchha roads.
3 Identify groups that are addressing the hard to reach hamlets.
4 Prioritize small villages away from main road.
5 Do not use relief labels or banners on trucks. They be will be attacked. 6 Find local teams that have police support.
7Do not send provisions unless you know where they will be cooked and served.
8 Cuddalore needs help. It doesn't need panic. Doesn't need stockpiling of unnecessary items or over supplying some places.
9 We went to 15 villages. Many of these were described as drowning, starving, unserviced on social media. NOT TRUE.
10 Do not comment on Cuddalore from outside. There are places that are struggling. Do not confuse relief work. Be concerned. Not dramatic. #TNflood

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's first reactions to the summons in the National Herald case on December 19.

Rahul who is visiting flood-hit Puducherry and Chennai today, said, "I absolutely see a political vendetta. This is the way the Central government functions. Centre thinks they can stop me from asking questions
about them by "vendetta" politics. That is not going to happen." 


Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul will appear in a Delhi court on December 19 to face allegations that they illegally acquired property worth Rs 5,000 crore belonging to the National Herald newspaper, a case over which the Congress forced repeated disruptions in Parliament today.

Sonia Gandhi told reporters today: "Why should I be upset? As I told my friends, I am Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law and I am not scared of anybody." Asked whether she and her son Rahul were being targeted for political vendetta, the Congress president replied: "I leave it on you to judge." 

A court in Mumbai will decide today on superstar Salman Khan's appeal against his conviction in the 2002 hit-and-run case, in which he was found guilty of running over pavement dwellers with his SUV after a night out drinking.


The Bombay High Court started dictating its order yesterday. In May this year, the actor was sentenced by a lower court to five years in jail after being convicted of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder".


The 49-year-old actor then appealed against the conviction in the Bombay High Court which suspended his sentence.In the early hours of September 28, 2002, the actor's Toyota Land Cruiser crashed into five men sleeping outside the American Bakery in suburban Bandra and ran over a group of sleeping people.


One person, Nurullah Sharif, died in the accident and four were injured - Abdullah Shaikh, Muslim Shaikh, Munnu Khan and Mohammed Kalim. Eyewitnesses have told the trial court that the actor was seen getting out of the driver's side of the car.


However, Salman Khan's lawyers have argued that it was driver Ashok Singh, and not the actor who was driving that night.


The High Court will give its ruling on whether the actor was indeed driving the car in a drunk state.


Last month, Salman Khan's plea to make singer Kamaal Khan a witness in the case was dismissed by the court. Kamaal Khan was in the car with Salman Khan on the night of the accident.Salman Khan has starred in more than 100 films and television shows and is one of Bollywood's busiest actors. He is said to have Rs. 200 crore riding on him with many films in the pipeline. He also endorses 10 brands.

Just in: The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Tuesday announced two new teams for the next two editions of the Indian Premier League.

Sanjiv Goenka bought the Pune IPL team, while Intex Mobiles bagged the Rajkot team. The Pune team will replace the Chennai team, while the Rajkot team will replace the Jaipur team.

The sale of two new franchises and 50-plus players - including those from Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals took place in New Delhi in a unique auction process during the IPL governing council meeting.

(Details to follow) 

The government has initiated a series of steps to check the spread of ISIS in India, including the launch of a counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation strategy, the Lok Sabha was informed today.


Responding to a supplementary in the Lower House, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said the government has adopted a series of strategies to tackle the spread of ISIS in the country. He said a counter-radicalisation and de-radicalisation strategy has been initiated and the government is planning to check the threat through cultural, education and employment activities.


In a written response, the other Minister of State for Home, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary, said ISIS was trying to attract new recruits through a variety of means, especially the social media.


He said though the ISIS has not been able to attract many youths in India, its attempts are a concern for national security in the long run. The intelligence and security agencies have been mandated to keep an eye on such youth who could become possible recruits of the terror organisation.


The government, he said, has banned 39 organisations under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. These include Babbar Khalsa International, Harkat-Ul- Mujahideen, United Liberation Front of Asom, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Students Islamic Movement of India and CPI-ML People's War group.

The Pakistani woman suspect in the California mass shooting may have travelled to India from Saudi Arabia once in 2013, a year before she came to the US with her husband, a media report said today.

Tashfeen Malik, 27, had visited Saudi Arabia twice, the New York Times quoted a Saudi Interior Ministry official as saying. After one of the visits to the kingdom, she had left for India, the report said.

The report quoted Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Turki as saying that Malik had arrived in Saudi Arabia in June, 2008 from Pakistan to visit her father and stayed for about nine weeks before returning to Pakistan.

"Then, in 2013, she arrived on June 8, from Pakistan, and departed for India on October 6 of the same year," Turki was quoted as saying in the NYT report. But there is no further detail about whether Malik had reached India or for how long and where in India she stayed.

The details of her life before arriving in the US emerged as investigators probed the background and motivation of Malik and her Pakistani-American husband Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, for carrying out last week's mass shooting that killed 14 people before both were shot dead by police.

Turki said there was "no evidence" that Malik had met her husband in the kingdom, but they were in Saudi Arabia at the same time for about five days in October 2013.

Farook visited Saudi Arabia twice, once for the Hajj pilgrimage in October, 2013, and once for an off-season Umraah pilgrimage for nine days in July, 2014. American officials reported that the couple flew to the US together from Jeddah in July, 2014.

The NYT report said that according to Malik's relatives and acquaintances in Pakistan, she had grown up in Saudi Arabia and had been influenced by its deeply conservative interpretation of Islam.

The southwest monsoon started with a bang; the showers on the first day brought 30 per cent more rain than normal. The bounty continued for a while: there was another burst of rain in the fourth week of June. Things were all right till the end of July; rains were not too far below the seasonal average.

And then the monsoon took flight.

Read more

Referring to Azam Khan's reported statements on Paris attack and Babri mosque, Shiv Sena today alleged the SP leader was more dangerous than Dawood Ibrahim, as it asked him to "learn a lesson" from AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi who the party said has never spoken against the interest of the country.


"Azam Khan had said that if Babri Masjid was not 'martyred', bomb blasts would not have taken place in Mumbai. This means he supported the Mumbai bomb blasts. Even at the time of Paris carnage, Khan had supported terrorists by saying it is a result of action taken by European nations in Syria," the party said in an edit in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.


 "If we have such snakes and scorpions within our country, we do not need external enemies. Before talking about fighting Pakistan, people like Azam Khan should be straightened. Dawood will be brought back from Pakistan sometime or the other, but people like Azam Khan are doing more dangerous activities in the country than the underworld don," it said.


The Sena said that AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi is more temperate than Khan and that Owaisi has never spoken against the interest of the country.

Sitarist Anoushka Shankar and 'Amy' director Asif Kapadia are among the Indian origin names featuring in the nominees list at the 58th Grammy awards, which were announced in Los Angeles last night.


Shankar, 34, has been nominated in the Best World Music Album category for her solo album 'Home', which is a pure Indian classical album showcasing the meditative and virtuosic qualities of the Indian raga. 'Home' features two ragas, one of which is a creation of her late father Ravi Shankar. This is her fifth nomination in the same category.


Anoushka's Facebook post read: "Overwhelmed to have just received my fifth Grammy nomination!!! Grateful to have a traditional album like Home be recognized, and want to acknowledge my collaborators. Unending gratitude to my father and guru."

Indo-British director Asif Kapadia features in the nominees list of Best Music Film category for 'Amy', his documentary on late singer Amy Winehouse.

Indian origin musician Jeff Bhasker features in the top category '"Record of the Year '" for Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' 'Uptown Funk'. His other nomination is in the Producer of the Year, Non-Classical category.


Pic courtesy Anoushka Shankar's FB page.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy who filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, urging it not to pass any order without hearing his side in the National Herald Case, said on Tuesday said that Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi are out of luck now as the apex court won't intervene with the trial process.


"Due process of law will begin. If they want to try their luck in the Supreme Court, I think they have very little chance, because two courts have held that there is a prima facie case. So, the Supreme Court would not like to intervene with the trial process," Swamy told ANI.


"I am working on the possibility that there has been money laundering, because the people who made the decisions are the same in all the three situations. Young Indian- Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandez. In Congress Party, president, vice-president, treasurer, general secretary, they are the same people. In National Herald, Motilal Vora is the chairman of the board of directors and Oscar Fernandez is the director. So, they are all the same people, so there must have been money laundering. Young Indian has only Rs 5 lakh share capital, how did it get Rs 5000 crore property from another company?" he asked.

Update on the train collision in Haryana:


A local train rammed into the Lokmanya Tilak Haridwar Express amid foggy conditions near Paliwal in Haryana today, leaving the driver of one of the trains dead and two others injured.


While the driver of the Palwal-Ghaziabad EMU was killed, the assistant driver of the train and guard of the express train were injured in the mishap, Northern Railway spokesperson Neeraj Sharma said.


"There was fog in the morning and the EMU driver probably could not see the signal and hit the train from behind," he said. Sharma said further details were awaited.


The mishap hit road traffic on the route, disrupting the movement of about 15 trains. General Manager of Northern Railway AK Puthia along with senior railway officials have rushed to the spot and are monitoring the situation.

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Monday called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States in the most dramatic response by a candidate yet to last week's shooting spree by two Muslims who the FBI said had been radicalized.


"We have no choice," Trump said at a rally in South Carolina, warning of more September 11-style attacks if stern measures are not taken.


Trump's statement on "preventing Muslim immigration" drew swift and fierce blowback from many directions, including the White House, rivals for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and Republican former Vice President Dick Cheney, who said the idea "goes against everything we stand for and believe in."


"Donald Trump is unhinged. His 'policy' proposals are not serious," Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said in a tweet.


Other social media reaction led hashtags such as #racism, #fascism and #bigot to trend heavily. Withering reaction also came from Ohio governor John Kasich, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

A shortlist of candidates chosen by TIME magazine's editors for the 2015 Person of the Year was revealed on NBC's TODAY show.


The eight contenders are, in alphabetical order:

Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, who as leader of ISIS has inspired followers to both fight in his self-declared caliphate of Iraq and Syria, and also stage attacks in countries like Tunisia and France.


Black Lives Matter activists, who have protested inequality towards African Americans, especially in their treatment by law enforcement.


Caitlyn Jenner, whose coming out as a transgender woman prompted widespread conversations about gender identity and issues of equality for the LGBT community.


Travis Kalanick, who as CEO of Uber drove his car-hailing company to an early $70 billion valuation, but also drew criticism about the downside of the sharing economy.


Angela Merkel, who as German chancellor has been at the center of major news events this year, from economic strife in the Eurozone to Europe's ongoing migrant crisis.


Vladimir Putin, who as president of Russia has defied Western sanctions over his country's military activity in Ukraine to play a critical but precarious role in the war on ISIS.


Hassan Rouhani, who as president of Iran is seeking to bring his country out of pariah status and repair its sanctions-crippled economy by pursuing a nuclear deal with the West.


Donald Trump, whose populist rhetoric has made him frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential candidacy and stirred debate about the party's future.


The 2015 Person of the Year will be unveiled on Wednesday morning, when the news will also be shared on Time.com. 

Asked if the case was political vendetta, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said: "I leave it on you to judge."She also said she was Indira Gandhi's daughter-in-law and was not afraid of anyone and neither was she upset.  Congress senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi who is the counsel for the Gandhis told reporters outside the court, "We made it clear that each accused is extremely keen and willing to appear before the magistrate court at the earliest possible date. The ruling party in power is using proxy litigation to attack senior Congress persons out of political malice. This is political vendetta at its worst." he said. Dr Swamy the complaint is senior member of BJP Central Committee.Meanwhile, the Congress has raised the political vendetta issue in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha leading to ruckus in the house. Both houses have being adjourned till  11:30 am.  


Both Rahul and Sonia Gandhi will have to appear in court on December 19, along with the other accused. Observing that the conduct of Congress office-bearers named in the National Herald case "smacks of criminality", the Delhi High Court dismissed Monday appeals filed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice president Rahul Gandhi and five others against summons to face trial.


Hours after the bench of Justice Sunil Gaur turned down the pleas for exemption from personal appearance in the case in the trial court, where it is listed Tuesday, a stunned Congress said it will approach the Supreme Court Tuesday morning against the High Court order. The trial court is likely to issue a date for personal appearances of all accused.


A file pic of Sonia with Indira Gandhi

Next date of hearing in the National Herald case on December 19, which is when Rahul and Sonia Gandhi will appear in court.Observing that the conduct of Congress office-bearers named in the National Herald case "smacks of criminality", the Delhi High Court dismissed Monday appeals filed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, vice president Rahul Gandhi and five others against summons to face trial. Hours after the bench of Justice Sunil Gaur turned down the pleas for exemption from personal appearance in the case in the trial court, where it is listed Tuesday, a stunned Congress said it will approach the Supreme Court Tuesday morning against the High Court order. The trial court is likely to issue a date for personal appearances of all accused.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi today left for a visit to flood-affected areas of Chennai and its suburbs and Puducherry.


Gandhi would first visit Puducherry and later Cuddalore and Chennai during the day-long visit.


Earlier there was speculation that Rahul and his mother Sonia Gandhi would appear before a Delhi court in the National Herald case after the Delhi High Court turned down their plea for exemption from personal appearance but a senior counsel is likely to appear before court today and press for new dates when the case comes up for hearing.

During his visit to Tamil Nadu, Rahul would also be visiting Kancheepuram. Chennai, Cuddalore and Kancheepuram were the worst-hit during the torrential rains that battered TN leading to over 270 deaths.

After arriving at Puducherry airport, Gandhi will visit Rodierpet, Riyankuppam, Krimambakkam and a few other areas here and distribute relief materials to the affected people.

The condition of CPI veteran AB Bardhan, who was admitted to a hospital here after he suffered a paralytic stroke, continues to remain "critical". "He continues to remain critical. Doctors are trying their best," CPI national secretary D Raja said today. Besides leaders from the Left party, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had visited the GB Pant Hospital, where the 92-year-old leader is being treated, yesterday. "His daughter and grandson too are in the city to be by his side," senior CPI leader Atul Anjan said. Bardhan, who lives in the CPI Headquarters in New Delhi, lost consciousness yesterday and was immediately rushed to the hospital. Bardhan's wife, a professor in Nagpur University, had died in 1986.

JUST IN: While Congress president Sonia Gandhi is attending a meeting with party MPs in Parliament, Rahul has left for flood-ravaged Chennai and Puducherry. He will also be visiting the neighbouring Cuddalore district in Tamil Nadu.

As many as 13 people were killed after a train collided with a car at a railway crossing in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district in the early morning hours. 

An empty Mumbai local hit the dead end at the CST station at around 2 am today. It may be recalled that a similar incident had happened a few months ago. No casualties/injuries have been reported.

JUST IN: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived for the BJP Parliamentary party meeting, which is underway in Delhi.

Two new teams of the Indian Premier League will be announced after a meeting of the tournament's governing council in New Delhi today.

The Bombay high court has said it would give its ruling on the applicability of culpable homicide charge against Bollywood actor Salman Khan in the 2002 hit-and-run case and also on other key questions such as the admissibility of the statement of the actor's former bodyguard as evidence.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul have to appear in a Delhi court to face allegations that they illegally acquired property worth Rs. 5,000 crore belonging to the National Herald newspaper.

China's capital issued its first-ever red alert for pollution on Monday, as a new blanket of choking smog was projected to descend on the city. From Tuesday morning half of Beijing's private cars will be ordered off the road, with an odd-even number plate system in force, and 30 percent of government vehicles also garaged.

Shashank Batham,8, became India's youngest marathon runner to have completed 11 km in 59 minutes in a'Run Bhopal Run' event on Sunday. 

13 people have died after a train collided with a car at a railway crossing in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district (Bhurkunda).