German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Russia today of new sanctions if the Ukraine ceasefire accord is not fully implemented, insisting that Kiev be allowed to regain full control of its eastern border. 

A Turkish Airlines jet carrying 238 passengers crash-landed in Nepal after skidding off a slippery runway.

At least two people were killed when a Pakistani Mirage fighter aircraft today crashed during a routine training flight in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 

The Curiosity rover has temporarily stopped work on Mars while NASA engineers investigate a short circuit. 

BBC Four to broadcast Nirbhaya documentary, 'India's Daughter', at 3:30 am IST on Thursday

Congress is contemplating a breach of privilege against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making "several false and misleading" statements in the Rajya Sabha yesterday like UPA copying programmes of the Vajpayee government.

Arvind Kejriwal's resignation as national convenor rejected by the AAP's national executive.

Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the rift within the party, the Delhi CM had resigned earlier in the day as the party's convener.

Kejriwal has said he cannot do justice to both the chief minister's post and that of the convener.

A rapid rise in population has triggered a decline in the quality of life in India's commercial hub Mumbai and capital New Delhi, both of which are trailed by emerging Tier-2 cities of Hyderabad and Pune in a new global survey.

The 'Mercer 2015 Quality of Living rankings' evaluated local living conditions in more than 440 cities around the world for the assessment that placed Vienna on top.

Hyderabad (138) and Pune (145) rank higher for quality of living than the country's more traditional business centres, Mumbai (152) and New Delhi (154).

Considerable population increases in Mumbai and New Delhi in recent decades have increased existing problems, including access to clean water, air pollution and traffic congestion," the report said in its assessment for India.

The Aam  Aadmi Party's national executive meet comes to an end. Its founding members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan have been dropped from key party panel -- Political Affairs Committe. 

The two were voted out for anti-party activities and for their repeated attacks on AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. 

"Members of the PAC have decided that Yogendra Yadav and me will no more be a part of it," Bhushan said after the meet. 

"I am not authorised to divulge the decision made at the national executive meet," Yogendra Yadav tells the media after the meet.

Just in: Union Cabinet gives go ahead for the setting up of a Swachh Bharat Fund.

A mall in Haji Ali south Mumbai has caught fire. Three fire engines and three tankers have been rushed to the Sobo Central Mall.

Details awaited.

Photograph: Sanjay Bafna/Twitter 

And finally, Yogendra Yadav has also been removed as the party's spokesperson.

My way or highway, it seems, for the AAp.

I&B Ministry says Dec 16 gang-rape documentary would make media appear voice of perpetrator. India has banned the broadcast of the documentary about the Delhi gang rape and murder today. The documentary features an interview in which one of the convicted rapists blames the victim.

The Indian Express reports that the advisory issued by the Information & Broadcasting ministry late Tuesday night asking all private satellite television channels "not to telecast' the documentary "India's Daughter -- containing an interview with one of the convicted rapist of the December 16, 2012 gangrape victim -- has, amongst other things, underlined that the telecast of these excerpts would appear to compromise the role of the media and would make it appear as a voice for the perpetrator.

Delhi Police commissioner BS Bassi and LG Najeeb Jung meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh over Nirbhaya documentary

Differences in the Aam Aadmi Party were wide open on Monday. Indications of the party's hardline were seen at a press conference by AAP's senior leader Sanjay Singh, who said accusing Yadav and Bhushan, although without naming them, of attempting to "remove" Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from the post of party convener.

He also targeted party patron Shanti Bhushan for his comment in an interview that Kejriwal should be replaced by Yadav.

"Someone from within the party, certain senior leaders are trying to remove Arvind Kejriwal from the post of national convener, by targeting him and maligning the party," Singh told reporters.

Without naming Bhushan and Yadav, he referred to statements and letters by senior leaders which amounted to making the party a butt of ridicule and a "joke of us".       

Hindustan Times journalist Jasvinder Sidhu files an official complaint with the ICC against India vice captain Virat Kohli.Kohli abused the journalist in an invective-laden tirade yesterday at theMurdoch University ground in Perth where Team India was training. It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity but Kohli unleashed himself on the journalist believing that he had done a story, exposing the fact that his actress girlfriend Anushka Sharma was staying with him in the team hotel during India's tour to England last May despite a ban by the BCCI.

Read the first-person account by the journalist.

PTI reports that AAP leader Yogendra Yadav has been shunted out of the party's Political Affairs Committee.

Hours before the Aam Aadmi Party's meeting to decide on action against him, Yogendra Yadav said he wouldn't "break the party or quit." (See our 13:31 pm post)

Yadav, who is the party spokesperson was removed from the AAP's Political Affairs Committee. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal decided to skip the meet after offering to resign as party chief.

Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan have openly criticised Kejriwal and the party.

Lok Sabha passes Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2015.

News at this hour:

AAP's Yogendra Yadav is likely to be removed from party positions and be made head of the Kisan Morcha. Yadav is currently PAC member, chief spokesperson of the party. 

Prashant Bhushan is likely to be made internal Lokpal panel member.

Nirbhaya documentary: An FIR has been registered by the Delhi Police under IPC sections 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) 505(1)(b) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and section 66A of the IT Act (punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service).

Home Ministry plans legal action against documentary filmmaker for violating stipulated permission conditions. Home Ministry asks BBC, MEA, I&B Ministry and Department of IT to ensure that the documentary on December 16 gang-rape victim is not broadcast. Home Ministry convenes meeting of top officials including Delhi LG and police on the issue of the December 16 gang-rape documentary.

Prompt action from the government on this matter, while the convicted rapists are yet to be hanged a year after they were sentenced to death.

Nearly 240 people on board a Turkish Airlines jet had a lucky escape when the plane missed the runway on landing in dense fog at the Kathmandu airport on Wednesday and skidded on to the grass bank.

The Airbus A330 from Istanbul skid after over-shooting it at the Tribhuvan International Airport as it missed the central line of the runway while landing.

There were 227 passengers and 11 crew members in the aircraft and all were safely evacuated from the emergency door without any injuries, airport authorities said. The flight from Istanbul had both Nepalese and foreigners on board.

Nilanjana S Roy on the government's decision to ban India's Daughter. "Indian women found their voice after the Delhi rape. Could this film help silence them again?" she writes in the Guardian. Read

MJ Akbar tweets the picture of his new book: "The book has just been released. A Mirror to Power, Notes on a Fractured Decade (Harper Collins)."

And going by Akbar's prose, it's going to be must read.

TMC leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien says a few party leaders had a late night dinner last week and worked out the formula to defeat the BJP motion of thanks to the President in the Rajya Sabha.

He added that the the Trinamool Congress and CPM have now come closer on one issue -- the anti Modi sentiment.

The TMC's  main rival is not the CPM or the BJP but Mukul Roy who might have a tale to tell next week.

Roy like a disciplined solider voted against the government today, but may in fact have been bought over by the BJP, claim a few TMC leaders. Roy is out of favour with Mamata Banerjee after his name cropped up in the Saradha scam.

The Congress has assets worth Rs 35,000 crore -- most of which is immovable property. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have decided to appoint senior leader Motilal Vora to chair a special committee of AICC to assess the assets and liabilities of the Congress Party properties spread all over India.

We hear Mr Gandhi's name has been struck off the list of movable assets.

Sonia Gandhi will be the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Board, the highest policy making body of the party once Rahul Gandhi assumes office as the President of the All India Congress Committee.  Informed sources in the AICC confirmed that a broader compromise formula has been worked out to accommodate six senior leaders in various capacities. Sonia Gandhi will not have a everyday workload, but will be there to guide Rahul.

Apart from the row over the India's Daughter documentary, this is what happened in Parliament house.

There was full house in the Central Hall of Parliament. The political menu for today was the defeat of the motion of thanks by President Pranab Mukherjee.

Although BJP does not have sufficient numbers in the Rajya Sabha, senior party leaders were  worried about poor floor coordination and the missed opportunity of getting close to the Congress and work out a peace formula.

A few BJP leaders in Central Hall admitted that was a slip to have underestimated the combined forces of the JDU-TMC-CPM in the Rajya Sabha.

This is the Delhi assembly result effect. The formula to win votes as seen in the Delhi polls is to have a single party that is anti BJP and anti Modi, MP were heard saying.

If the BJP loses Bihar then the first term of the Modi govt will be a lame duck government conceded a senior BJP leader. At the same time, Modi, who is a quick learner will reach out to the SP and the BJP, like the AIADMK has done with the AIADMK with the BJP.

Former home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde says he wasn't consulted for the rape convict's interview permission.

While promising to ban the broadcast of the documentary in India, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today that the No Objection Certficiate to shoot the documentary was given by his Ministry in July 2013.

The UPA government was in power in 2013, with Shinde the home minister.

Spend any length of time in New York City and a rat will show its whiskery face or worm-like tail. It could be on the subway tracks or nibbling through the garbage on the side of the street.

It could also be carrying the bubonic plague.Scientists studying rats in New York found the flea that carries the plague - the Oriental rat flea - hosting on some of the city's rat population, according to the study published Monday in the Journal of Medical Entomology. Read more

Pakistani doctor's role in health campaign sparked local suspicions that efforts to fight polio were part of a Western plot. Read

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is to be admitted to the Jindal Nature care institute on Thursday. He will stay there for the next 10 days for treatment.

The Times of India reports that ill health has been touted as one of the reasons why Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal may skip the crucial national executive meeting of the party on Wednesday, triggering speculation over the seriousness of the chief minister's diabetes condition.

Doctors say the 45-year-old CM's post-meal sugar readings are as high as 300mg/dl, while normal levels should be below 180.

Despite increasing insulin dosage, there is no reprieve and he has now decided to try naturopathy treatment at a Bangalore centre.

Dear Mr Naidu is missing the wood for the trees: Union minister Venkaiah Naidu says of the Nirbhaya documentary, "An interview which will defame India internationally is totally unacceptable."

The government today said it would not allow broadcast of a controversial documentary featuring a Nirbhaya gang-rape convict as members of Parliament, cutting across party lines, expressed outrage over the incident.

Maintaining that it would not allow commercial use of such incidents, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he was "stunned" as to how permission was granted for the convict's interview inside Delhi's Tihar Jail in the first place.

Making a statement in both Houses, Singh assured Parliament that Government would order a probe into it to fix responsibility for the shooting of this controversial documentary film of Nirbhya gang-rape convict.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he was "stunned" as to how permission was granted for the convict's interview inside the Tihar Jail in the first place.

Making a statement in both Houses, he said he has asked Information and Broadcasting Ministry to look for ways to ban its broadcast abroad. Singh said he would also review the existing provisions for allowing such shoots inside prisons to ensure that such incidents are not repeated.

The Home Minister's statement in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha came after Opposition protests in the Upper House, including a walkout by Samajwadi Party members, and vociferous protests in the Lower House with members demanding action over the December 16, 2012 gang rape convict being allowed to give an outrageous interview from inside the high- security prison.

Singh informed both the Houses that the No Objection Certficiate to shoot the documentary was given by his Ministry in July 2013. Subsequently the jail authorities gave the permission with any prior conditions like the film-makers would have to show the unedited version of the shoot or take prior approval for telecasting or publishing any part of the shoot.

Noting that the conditions were violated, he said, "under no circumstances, this documentary will be allowed to be broadcast... Government has taken necessary action and secured an order restraining the telecast of the film.

Prashant Bhushan offers to quit from AAP's political affairs committee, say reports. Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, founder members of the Aam Aadmi Party, are in any case set to be removed from the party's top decision-making panel -- the PAC -- after their repeated attacks on Arvind Kejriwal

Kejriwal, meanwhile, has offered to resign as AAP chief, but will not attend the PAC meet where the decision to retain or remove Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from the PAC is likely to be taken. 

AAP's Yogendra Yadav tweets: Na todenge, na chhodenge, sudhrenge or sudharenge. (We will not break the party nor quit the party, we will change and bring about change.)

Yadav refutes allegations that he wanted to remove Kejriwal as AAP convenor.   

Nirbhaya documentary case: Tihar Jail DG Alok Verma summoned by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. 

Prashant Bhushan leaves for AAP's national executive meet, Arvind Kejriwal's resignation as convener also to be discussed.

Delhi HC allows plea of Uber cab rape case accused to recall 13 prosecution witnesses. HC also allows accused driver's plea to re-examine the victim.

Hope for all those who think it's necessary for India and Indians to watch the documentary on the Nirbhaya rapists. Kiran Bedi says, "It's a BBC film, you can't ban it outside India. If seminars run it you will get to see it."

Arvind Kejriwal resigned from convener post on 26th Feb, and National Executive members had opposed it: Ashutosh 

AAP's Ashutosh says that Arvind Kejriwal had in fact resigned from the convener post on February 26 and National Executive members had opposed it.

Unbelievable this. Union minister Venkaiah Naidu in Parliament says the government needs to investigate whether the Nirbhaya documentary was a criminal conspiracy to defame India. 

Arvind Kejriwal had offered to resign in an earlier meeting, and everyone had opposed it, says AAP's Ashutosh. 

Just in: Arvind Kejriwal quits as AAP convenor saying he will not be able to handle both jobs efficiently. Kejriwal writes letter to the National Executive Committee offering his resignation saying says he is busy with work in Delhi as the CM and feels overburdened.

AAP leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav may be removed from the party's top-decision-making body today by way of a resolution at the national executive (NE) meeting scheduled to begin in the afternoon. If that happens, the two dissenting leaders will be offered new roles in the party.

Ahead of the meeting, Yadav, said, "Politics is a huge journey, what seems problematic is actually an opportunity. I believe that we are like a new born baby and learning to walk, in that circumstance there are times when there is imbalance."

Government will institute an inquiry into the incident and responsibility will be fixed: Rajnath Singh.

Ajit Ranade gets it right with this tweet: World's largest democracy's parliament stops work, because a convicted rapist spoke to a filmmaker, and showed a mirror to society.

Prima facie, nothing wrong in granting conditional permission for interview: Delhi police commissioner BS Bassi on the Nirbhaya Documentary.

SP members walk out of Rajya Sabha protesting December 16 gang-rape convict's interview.

MoS I&B Rajyavardhan Rathore has very little of consequence or sense to say on the Nirbhaya documentary: "The language that the accused has used in this documentary is unacceptable, promotes violence," he says.

And shifts blame to the former government. "Conditional interview permission was given by previous Govt. BBC director went to Tihar to interview the rapist in Nirbahaya case. This entire documentary is against the programming code of I&B ministry. I&B issued a notice that documentary wont go on air because of the language used by culprit in the documentary. Airing of documentary would be contempt of court...broadcasting would be against I & B broadcast code." 

Row over the airing of the BBC documentary India's Daughter in Parliament, in the Rajya Sabha.

Home minister Rajnath Singh, says, "I am surprised about the circumstances in which such orders (to shoot documentary) were given. Government has taken necessary legal action, our govt condemns the incident of 2012 and we have obtained a restraining order on broadcasting of the film.

To MP Ali Anwar's question, why the rapists had not been hanged till now, Rajnath replies, "This is court's decision, I can't say anything on that."

SP MP Jaya Bachchan says, "I dont want any more assurances, I want to know what actions are being taken. I have kept quiet for three years, and I refuse to keep quiet any more."

Ambika Soni, RS MP from Congress says the question is how those people got the permission to shoot the documentary.

Javed Akhtar adds, "Achcha hua kii documentary banii, ab pata chalega kitne log hain jo uss rapist jaise soch rakhtey hain."

It's a shame that the overwhelming majority of MPs who spoke out against the delay in justice in the Delhi gang rape were women. 

Anu Aga, former chief of Thermax, says the documentary exposes the mindset of men.  "Let us not pretend that all is well," she said.

Ashok Chavan's plea in Bombay High Court to drop charges against him in Adarsh Scam has been rejected. Chavan had approached the HC in December 2014, a month after Justice Tahaliyani refused CBI the permission to delete his name from the charge sheet.

He pleaded that certain observations in the order were on the points which had not been argued and he had not got the opportunity to address these.

Renowned Supreme Court lawyer and former Additional Solicitor General of India KTS Tulsi on the government's decision to ban the broadcast of the documentary India's Daughter. Tulsi says, "It's important to get into the perpetrators' minds to make rules. There should be more such interviews. Criminal's mind needs to be studied."

A FIR has been lodged against a Canada-based Indian and his aide based in Delhi for threatening Anna Hazare on March 3. 

Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan will be asked to put forth their clarification before the National Executive in the meeting today, say AAP sources and add that it's too late for reconciliation in the PAC.

AAP) has convened a meeting of its National Executive today to decide on many crucial issues, including the latest controversy over differences in the party.

AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal could skip the important meeting where a decision is expected on the fate of the party's founder members, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, who have been vocally critical of Kejriwal and the party's functioning.

This is what Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian says on the RBI rate cut: Rate cut will be good for industry; govt and RBI have a shared assessment of economic outlook.

The BJP's transformation of its Hindu nationalist ideology into Hindu populism has allowed the party to further some of its old aims in a new and relatively uncontroversial way. Read

India's financial capital has woken up to the news that the Roast Beef (Medium) at Leopold's, the restaurant that was attacked during 26/11, has become a lost institution from this morning.

The fine print has not been dissected yet but the general consensus in Mumbai is that the sale and possession of beef, including the meat of oxen and calves, have been banned in Maharashtra. Which means beef-eaters will have only water buffalo meat left on the menu.

The ban has kicked in because President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to a bill that was passed over 19 years ago by the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra in 1995. The state is back under BJP rule. So is the Centre. Read

RBI rate cut to give a boost to economy; EMIs will come down significantly, says MoS for Finance, Jayant Sinha.

The Reserve Bank of India lowered its policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 percent on Wednesday, delivering its second cut this year on the back of easing inflation and a government commitment to fiscal discipline. The RBI had lowered interest rates by 25 bps on Jan. 15. Both rate cuts this year have took place outside of the central bank's scheduled policy review meetings.

Senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav tweets before the national executive: The AAP was born out of hopes and aspirations of people, these hopes cannot go in vain, you will hear good news in the evening. If I have done anything wrong, I should be punished for that, If I have violated discipline, action should be taken.

Sejnior AAP leader Prashant Bhushan is likely to be expelled after the party's national executive meet today.

The deadline to finalise the outline of an agreement is the end of March. Here's what's at stake for each of the key players and what an agreement might look like.

At a time when the Modi government is gearing up to surpass Nehru's non-aligned policy on an international level, President Pranab Mukherjee has given them a reson for worry.

By now, the details of that horrible night are well known. A young woman, 23, had just completed a four-year study program and was about to begin an internship when she ventured out one December night to see a movie at a local Delhi cineplex with a male friend.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not attend the Aam Aadmi Party's National Executive meeting on Wednesday when it meets to decide on the fate of its two senior leaders -- Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, sources said.

In a surprise move, Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday slashed repo rate by 25 bps to 7.5 per cent from 7.75 per cent earlier.

New Delhi: British filmmaker Leslee Udwin, whose latest film on December 16 gangrape has created furore in India for showing the interview of one of the convicts, on Tuesday said the film is her attempt to examine the attitude of men towards women.

Norway's influential Nobel Peace Prize committee on Tuesday demoted its controversial chairman Thorbjoern Jagland in a move unprecedented in the history of the award.

An Australia court today ruled that the two DJs broke the law in a hoax call to a UK hospital treating a pregnant Kate Middleton, paving way for the country's media watchdog to take an action against their radio station. 

One of South America's most active volcanos erupted early Tuesday in southern Chile, spewing heavy smoke as lava surged down its slopes and prompting authorities to evacuate thousands of people.

Home ministry sources said an internal inquiry has found that permission for taking the interview by the British filmmaker of a rape convict was granted by the ministry in July 2013, which lawyers consider 'contravention' of jail manuals.

The ministry of information and broadcasting has issuedn an advisory to all television channels to not broadcast the Nirbhaya documentary, after a British filmmaker's interview of one of the December 16 gang rape convicts  in which he showed no remorse triggered a storm on Tuesday.

Govt faces embarrassment in RS; oppn's amendment crticising it adopted

Worrying days ahead for Modi sarkar in Rajya Sabha 

Deeply hurt by the betrayal of trust: Kejriwal opens up on AAP rift 

Mufti announces portfolios, holds on to key ministries

Sahara's Grosvenor House put on sale; may fetch Rs 5,000 cr