A top government spokesman dismissed as a hoax Wednesday a report that Singapore's founding father had died.

Sri Lankan government today said it may lift the ban on Tamil diaspora groups imposed by the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime to achieve reconciliation with the minority community. 

The Twitter hashtag #changethecover had been trending since Friday, when the cover was revealed. It's a variant, aka an optional cover, which tends to grab the attention of collectors but won't be the main cover seen in most stores.

Tunisian lawmakers were debating a new raft of anti-terrorism laws when a reported five gunmen in military-style clothing stormed the Bardo national museum, one of the North African country's leading tourist attractions, killing and wounding as they took over the building.

The attack, targeting the country's parliament and top museum, is a major blow to the government's recent efforts to crack down on militants and to ensure Tunisia remains an Arab Spring success story rather than yet another national casualty of the 2011 uprisings that toppled dictatorships from North Africa to the Arabian peninsula.

According to a few reports, armed Tunisian police was able to capture one of the gunman as the ammunition in his gun ran out. There's an image, showing security forces escorting a man away from the scene. Although there has been mention of suspects arrested, there is no official confirmation.

Jihadism watcher Charlie Winter, from Quilliam, tweets that an IS supporter is claiming there will be more attacks in Tunisa.

Tunisian MPs were discussing a new anti-terrorism law in the adjacent Parliament building when the attack happened, it is believed. A photo reveals parliamentarians being held together under lockdown after gunmen stormed the museum. Apparently the MPs defiantly sang the national anthem as the siege continued.

Solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse-2 has reached to Varanasi. After a delay of over 1.5 hours, Solar Impulse 2 took-off at 7.18 am from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport at Ahmedabad on Wednesday. 

In a press conference, the Tunisian PM, Habib Essid, has said 19 people were killed, including 17 tourists from Italy, Germany and Spain. Another 22 tourists were injured and another two Tunisian men. He added the gunmen were wearing military fatigues. Addressing the shocked nation, he said, "It is a critical moment in our history, and a defining moment for our future."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on his re-election. "Congratulations my friend Bibi @netanyahu! Recall our NewYork meeting last September warmly," Modi tweeted. Netanyahu secured a stunning win against all odds in Israel's closely-fought general elections.

JUST IN: The Wall Street Journal's Tamer El-Ghobashy, quoting security sources reports that 38 people were injured in all and nine killed (not including the two gunmen). It says one of the victims was a cleaner working at the museum.

A pro-Islamic State account tweeted this a few hours before the attack. "Coming good news to #Tunisia's Muslims, and a shock to the disbelievers and the hypocrites, especially those who claim to be cultured."

Tunisian foreign ministry confirms seven foreigners and one Tunisian have been killed in an attack at the Bardo museum, adjacent to the parliament building in Tunis. 

The Election Commission today issued showcause notices threatening de-recognition of six political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, for failing to file their expenditure statements for the last Lok Sabha polls.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi replies to Anna Hazare on the land bill issue saying she agrees with his views that the proposed new land law is not in the farmers' interest.

Replying to the letter sent by social activist Hazare, Sonia on Wednesday said that her party will oppose the contentious Land Bill at all fora and will continue the fight against it. Sonia's reply to Hazare's letter comes within two days after the latter appealed to the opposition parties to resist the government's attempts to pass the Land Bill in Rajya sabha when introduced in the Upper House.

"The proposed new land law is not in farmers' interest. Congress will oppose the bill at all fora. Our fight on the issue will continue," replied Sonia.

@nasseratta5  tweets: Just to remind everyone that #Tunisia sent the biggest number of #ISIS fighters, around 3000 come from Tunisia & make the top of the list. 

The Bardo museum is in the same compound as the Tunisian Parliament, which is why initial reports said it was an attack on the Parliament. 

The Guardian reports that the shooting broke out about midday local time. Radio Mosaique, a private radio station, reported that three men dressed in military-style clothing may have taken hostages inside the museum, adjacent to the national parliament building.

Interior ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui told the radio station that one of the eight dead was a Tunisian.

The Bardo museum, which chronicles Tunisia's history and includes one of the world's largest collections of Roman mosaics, is one of the country's biggest tourist attractions.

Tunisian security forces were surrounding two militants holed up inside the Bardo museum that shares grounds with the country's parliament on Wednesday, an interior ministry spokesman said.

@H_NAILI  tweets that the shooters followed a tourist bus before entering the Bardo museum in which they killed at eight people including several foreigners.

Unconfirmed picture of the hostages inside the Bardo museum.

Gunmen reportedly dressed in military uniforms still holding 20-30 hostages inside the museum, reports the Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail also reports that Tunisian security forces have surrounded a group of militants holed up inside the country's leading museum after they shot dead at least eight people today.

The country's parliament, which sits adjacent to the country's Bardo Museum, was today filled with leading politicians and was swiftly evacuated after shooting broke out.It is believed several hundred people may have fled the museum, while another 20-30 remain as hostages with three shooters in control of the building.

Pic: That's a picture from Al Jazeera of the gates of the museum.

Tunisia Bardo museum hostage-taking include 2 Britons, 1 French, 1 Italian, 1 Spaniard, 1 Tunisian and 2 unknown

There were unconfirmed reports that tourists from several European countries had been taken hostage.

The BBC reports that the shooting happened at the Bardo Museum, which is next to the parliament building in central Tunis.

At the time of the attack deputies were discussing anti-terrorism legislation. Parliament has now been evacuated.

An interior ministry spokesman told Reuters that two militants were holed up inside the museum, surrounded by security forces.

The museum, renowned for its collection of antiquities, is a major tourist attraction in Tunis.

Concerns about security in Tunisia have increased as neighbouring Libya has become increasingly unstable.

Just in: At least seven foreign tourists and a Tunisian have been killed after gunmen targeted a museum in the the Tunisian capital, state TV reports.  It is believed to be a hostage situation.

Details awaited. 

First reaction from the BJP on the alleged enrollment drive at Ryan International School. Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain says, "The  BJP doesn't force anyone to be a member, we are a party of love. People who join us do it with love."

The Delhi government has slapped  a show-cause notice on Ryan International school and ordered a probe against it following reports that its management had asked teachers and students to take membership of BJP.

A senior official at the Education Department said Ryan International school has been asked to file a reply to the show-cause notice within three days and a probe has already been initiated against it.

The action against the school, which has campuses in Vasant Kunj, Rohini and Mayur Vihar, came following direction by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who also holds the Education portfolio.

Bertand Piccard, the pilot manning the solar plane, did not fill the general disclosure form among other necessary documents, says the government. He  went directly to the hangar instead of completing necessary documentation as required by Ahmedabad airport authorities.

The Solar Impulse 2, which is out to make history by being the first plane to circumnavigate the earth solely on solar power, got a taste of India's legendary bureaucracy today.

It's departure from Ahmedabad to Varanasi was delayed by several hours Wednesday morning. Solar Impulse's Twitter handle tweeted the frustration of the pilots as they awaited customs clearance.

This is what @solarimpulse tweeted: #Flight3 is delayed due to custom issues! #Si2 is still on the ground, @andreborschberg is waiting.

The round-the-world flight took off from Abu Dhabi, halted at Muscat (Oman), Ahmedabad and is now on its way to Varanasi. From Varanasi it will fly to Mandalay in Myanmar and Chongqing and Nanjing in China.

The Delhi government has slapped  a show-cause notice on Ryan International school and ordered a probe against it following reports that its management had asked teachers and students to take membership of BJP.

A senior official at the Education Department said Ryan International school has been asked to file a reply to the show-cause notice within three days and a probe has already been initiated against it.

The action against the school, which has campuses in Vasant Kunj, Rohini and Mayur Vihar, came following direction by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who also holds the Education portfolio.

The report first appeared in the TOI. Read

For one who rarely interacts with the media and speaks even less, Sonia Gandhi today emerged as a prime-time ballerina in the era of political drama on television. Days after she led a solidarity rally to Manmohan Singh's home after he was issued summons in the coal scam, the Congress chief stole the show as she marched to Rashtrapati Bhavan at the head of a united Opposition protesting against the land acquisition bill.  Read

Cricket obsessed?

Prove it and click your #SelfieForTeamIndia in blue clothes. Right here

Thailand's military government has clarified the country's computer crimes legislation, saying that it prohibits "underboob" selfies.

The 2007 Computer Crimes Act bans the creation of electronic content that might cause "damage to the country's security or causes public panic" in addition to "any obscene computer data which is accessible to the public".

In a statement on Monday, the government said this included the current underboob selfie trend, in which women take photographs of the underside of their breasts, often while lying on a beach.

The penalty for such actions is up to five years imprisonment.

Read more

The body of a 75-year-old woman inmate of an ashram was found today at Katwa, 60 kilometres from Burdwan, West Bengal, fuelling allegations of a second rape of a senior citizen in West Bengal in a week. Read more

A small number of Indian youths has joined the dreaded terror outfit ISIS after travelling to Iraq and Syria while a certain number of ISIS sympathisers is under surveillance by security agencies.

Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary also said in Rajya Sabha that intelligence and security agencies have foiled the plans of some youths to travel to Syria and Iraq, and they are under counselling and being monitored at present. "A certain number of ISIS sympathisers is also under surveillance by security agencies," he said.

The BJP-led Maharashtra government today decided to rename the area at Girgaum Chowpatty in the city where veteran freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak was cremated, as 'Swaraj Bhoomi'.

"Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has accepted a proposal in this regard by the Mumbai Municipal Corporation," a senior government official said. The BJP had last year demanded that the little garden along Girgaum Chowpatty where Tilak was cremated should be named as 'Swaraj Bhoomi', a demand that Lokmanya Tilak Gaurav Samiti, an independent outfit, has been raising for long.

Dolce & Gabbana under fire AGAIN just days after referring to children born through IVF as 'synthetic' as critics discover ad that depicts 'woman being gang raped'. Read

'One year of corruption-free Modi government' is the focus of the three- day BJP national executive which is scheduled to begin from April 2. The political resolution devotes one paragraph on promoting the corruption-free government agenda.

Two senior Union Ministers who were shown the draft political resolution added some sentences to emphasize this theory.

BJP president Amit Shah has constituted three groups to draft the foreign policy, economic policy and the political resolutions.

Stay with us on April 2.

On Monday, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan called upon BJP MP Poonam Mahajan to ask supplementary questions during Question Hour. But Poonam said she had not sent any slip for a supplementary question nor was she interested in asking a question to union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

It was then that Gujarat MP Poonamben Hematbhai offered to ask a question to Rudy.

Sumitra Mahajan, who has been in the Lok Sabha for seven terms, rose to the occasion and commended both Poonams on their debut in Parliament saying they asked good questions for first timers. The Speaker said she always encouraged women MPs and therefore called upon Poonambhen to ask a supplementary question to Rudy.

There has always been a full attendance among women BJP MPs in Parliament on Wednesdays. Why?

Wednesday is when Prime Minister Modi is put on roster duty in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

The women MPs have been vocal in saying that but for Modi, the BJP would not have won 18 seats out of 46 for women MPs in the Lok Sabha. 

All eyes in the Lok Sabha are on the sixth row of the treasury benches. That's the row reserved for women MPs. Around 20 women MPs occupy these benches during the hour-long Question Hour which begins at 11 am.

Parliament, which is well-known as a repository of sexist MPs, has been buzzing with male MPs wanting to change their seat all because the women have been found to be talking while the house is in session.

Just in: Investigations into the alleged gang-rape of the 71-year-old nun goes to the CBI. The nun, who was raped by a gang of bandits in West Bengal's Nadia district is believed to be physically and mentally stable, an attending doctor said on Tuesday.

People have demanded a CBI probe into the matter, drawing angry reactions from WB CM Mamata Banerjee. She blamed the opposition, including the BJP, for politicising the incident.

Actor Salman Khan tweets this picture of his dad, with the simple message: "My dad Abdul Rashid Saleem khan"

The resignation of noted nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar as Chairman of Board of Governors of IIT Bombay was raised in the Rajya Sabha with Congress alleging government "interference" in the institution and wanting a clarification. Raising the issue during Zero House, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said it was a matter of serious concern that top people from educational institutions were resigning allegedly over differences with HRD Minister Smriti Irani.

He questioned why Kakokdar resigned and what had transpired between the Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Bombay and the Minister, who is chairman of the Search Committee, over the appointment of three new directors as there were reported differences.

Azad said this is not the first time such things have happened and raised previous such instances where R Shevgaonkar resigned as a director of IIT Delhi citing some "unforeseen situations". He also cited instances where differences with Delhi University Vice Chancellor had cropped up last year and questioned why such instances were leading to resignations.

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) Board of Governors chairman and nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar has resigned from his post after a reported 'disagreement' with the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

According to reports, Kakodkar, who was also Standing Committee of the IIT Council (SCIC) chairman, resigned last week after he was at variance with the choice for an IIT director.

He resigned ahead of a crucial meeting of a selection committee to interview candidates for the post of director for three IITs, which was to be chaired by Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani.

This incident follows the December resignation of IIT Delhi director Raghunath K Shevgaonkar, who put in his papers more than two years before the end of his term.

On International Women's Day, while the rest of India debated the validity of a monster problem over a documentary on India's most horrible rape in recent times, patriarchy was flexing its arms elsewhere in Tamil Nadu. Read

More on the Solar Impulse flight.

The world's only solar-powered aircraft 'Solar Impulse-2' will make a stop in Varanasi this evening after hovering over the river Ganga to spread the message of cleanliness and clean energy, as a part of its maiden global journey.

"The plane took off today after a delay of two hours from its scheduled time from Ahmedabad. We are expecting it to reach at around 9 pm, which is close to its earlier arrival schedule," said S K Malik, Director of Varanasi Airport.

The plane will first hover over the Ganga to spread the message of cleanliness and clean energy and subsequently land at the airport, he said.

Prashant Bhushan denies reports of him offering to resign from AAP.

In a startling episode, reminiscent of the recent gang rape of a nun in Kolkata, a young nun was allegedly kidnapped and manhandled in a broad daylight by four men here on Tuesday. However, the nun in this case managed to escape from the clutches of the assailants, just in nick of time.  Read more

The Solar Impulse 2, which is out to make history by being the first plane to circumnavigate the earth solely on solar power, got a taste of India's legendary bureaucracy today.

It's departure from Ahmedabad to Varanasi was delayed by several hours Wednesday morning. Solar Impulse's Twitter handle tweeted the frustration of the pilots as they awaited customs clearance.

This is what @solarimpulse tweeted: #Flight3 is delayed due to custom issues! #Si2 is still on the ground, @andreborschberg is waiting.

@solarimpulse BREAKING: #Si2 could not takeoff due to custom issues in #India. #RTW is a real human adventure! Stay tuned.

The flight to Varanasi was delayed by around seven hours as the Solar Impulse team experienced delays dealing with custom officials. The flight finally took off at 7 am.

Capable of flying over oceans for several days and nights in a row, Si2 will travel 35,000 km around the world in 25 days over the course of roughly five months. It will pass over the Arabian Sea, India, Myanmar, China and the Pacific Ocean.

A top Catholic functionary arrived in West Bengal's Ranaghat to express solidarity with the nun of a convent school, who was allegedly gang-raped on Saturday.

Soon after his arrival, President of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India Baselios Cardinal Cleemis went to the convent to meet the other nuns to give them moral support.

"I would like to assure our sisters that the whole church in India is with them. We would like to see that justice is brought to the people affected," he said.

"We request the authorities to ensure that justice is done; it is visible. The whole Catholic church's fervour will continue, we won't be stopped by such violations. We thank the public of the country who are showing sympathy for us,' he said.

"We are also here to personally verify what has happened. Such inhuman acts should be stopped.' The cardinal is scheduled to meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday evening. "We request the CM to make a fast approach and see that justice is brought to us at the earliest,' he said talking to reporters. 

JUST IN: Delhi High Court asks MHA to give complete record of why advisory banning India's Daughter was issued. The Court said it would consider the PIL to lift ban.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had issued an advisory to all television channels to not broadcast the documentary on the Delhi gang-rape victim.

The Delhi High Court last week refused to lift the ban to broadcast the documentary on the December 16, 2012 gang-rape incident. The PIL filed by lawyer Vibhor Anand sought lifting of the ban on the telecast of the documentary.

The court has made two observations - the ban on documentary is not illegal as it is applicable for the state to impose a ban in exceptional cases. The ban cannot be lifted as the case is still going on in Supreme Court and airing it may influence the judicial process.

The condition of Singapore's 91-year-old founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, has deteriorated further at the hospital where he's been treated for about six weeks, the government said Wednesday.

Lee was admitted to Singapore General Hospital on February 5 for severe pneumonia and was later put on life support.

The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement Wednesday that Lee "remains critically ill in the ICU and has deteriorated further.'

On Tuesday, it had said that Lee's "condition has worsened due to an infection. He is on antibiotics. The doctors are closely monitoring his condition."

Singapore's first prime minister, Lee ruled for 31 years until 1990, and has been credited with transforming the city-state from a sleepy tropical port to a wealthy, bustling financial hub with one of the highest average incomes in the world.

Under Lee and his successors, including his son, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore -- known for its ban on chewing gum sales and canings for crimes some countries would rule as minor -- has strictly controlled public speech and assembly, though it has become socially more liberal and allowed greater artistic freedom in recent years.

Lee commands immense respect among Singaporeans, who this year will celebrate the country's 50th independence anniversary.

So, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav has blinked.

After remaining unapologetic (not that he has apologised now) after his dark south Indian women comment and a sexist jibe at HRD minister Smriti Irani in Parliament, Yadav today said, "I have great respect for Smriti Irani; I was the first to defend her when the issue of her educational qualifications came up."

He also brought up union minister Nirmala Sitharaman (she's south Indian) and said he considers her to be the best minister.

On Monday, when the 'saanvli women' issued was raked up in Parliament Yadav said he was ready for a debate on the issue.

"What have I said ... 'saanvli' (dark complexioned) women are more in number in India, they are more in number the world over. I am ready to debate with anyone on the struggle of (Ram Manohar) Lohia and others for them," he said in the Rajya Sabha.

As Yadav explained his position on the issue, he was interrupted by both treasury and opposition members including HRD minister Smriti Irani.

"I appeal to the gentleman (Yadav) not to make comments on colour of skin of women in this manner. Very wrong message is going," she said

This infuriated Yadav, who, in turn, hit out at Irani, saying, "I know what you are." His comments stunned other leaders and Irani herself.

A new biography of Narendra Modi, which grants rare access to the Indian prime minister, assesses his campaign to become leader of the world's largest democracy from a spin doctor's perspective.

"The Modi Effect: Inside Narendra Modi's Campaign to Transform India,' written by Lance Price, a former adviser to Tony Blair when he was prime minister of the United Kingdom, is the result of hours of meetings with Modi at his official residence in New Delhi after his election.

Read

Rajya Sabha adjourns briefly after Congress uproar over Select Committee reports on Mines and Coal Bills not taking views of all stakeholders.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra posted his outrage on his Facebook page over the gang-rape of the nun in Ranaghat, West Bengal.

Vadra, who is married to Priyanka (Sonia's daughter) posted:

"Really shocks and disgusts me to to read and watch the Rape of a 71 year old woman.

"Especially one who has dedicated her life to living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience and to serving all other living beings.

"An ascetic who voluntarily chose to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent.

"The event of rapes in our country seems to be out of frustrations and to simply overpower. Could be little girls or older women.

"Till there is no instant justice, no matter which strata of society they may belong to this heinous act will continue.

"When abroad, its a shame to answer as an Indian, the happenings in our country."


Pic: That's Vadra's profile picture on his Facebook page from 2013.

If successfully passed, an unintended consequence of the Land Ordinance Bill could also mean the end of some of our long-celebrated village morals, which Ambedkar rightly considered as just plain narrow-mindedness.

Read

Just in: The govt says it is open to extending the first half of the Budget session by two days if needed. The Budget session ends on Friday.

With the government running short of time to pass some key bills, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs will meet today to decide whether to extend the first half of the budget session for a few more days or prorogue it on March 20.

Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda has demanded a CBI probe in the death of 36-year-old IAS officer DK Ravikumar, who took on the sand mafia.

The Karnataka government must refer the matter to the CBI. I will apprise Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. D K Ravi's death case has created suspicion in minds of people. They feel the CM and state government cannot conduct a free and fair investigation."

Earlier, Karnataka CM K Siddaramaiah had rejected the opposition's demand for a CBI probe in the case.

A 25-year-old Indian student at a prestigious US university has been found guilty of murdering his friend in 2013 over suspicion that his girlfriend was cheating on him with his high school buddy and faces life in prison when sentenced.   

Rahul Gupta was found guilty on Monday of first-degree murder by a jury in Maryland after an 11-day trial. He had initially told the police that he killed his friend 23-year-old Mark Waugh as he suspected that his girlfriend was cheating on him with Waugh.   

Gupta, a graduate student at George Washington University later sought to put the blame on his girlfriend Taylor Gould, saying that he had lied to protect her. 

He will be sentenced on April 16 and faces life in prison.

According to charging documents, Gupta, his girlfriend,Waugh and another friend spent a night drinking and celebrating Gupta's birthday in his apartment which he shared with his girlfriend. Later in the wee hours of October 13, 2013, Gupta's girlfriend called the police saying she woke up and saw Gupta kneeling next to Waugh, who was bleeding heavily.  

When officers arrived, Gupta told them he thought his girlfriend was cheating on him with Waugh, a Georgetown University law student and his best friend since high school. "I walked in on my girlfriend cheating on me," Gupta told the officers.

The Uttar Pradesh police have arrested a Std XI student, believed to be a minor, for uploading a fake comment on Facebook, attributed to senior Samajwadi Party leader and the state's Urban Development Minister Azam Khan.

A student of a reputed school in Bareilly district, the boy was booked by the Rampur police, following a complaint by Azam Khan's aide Fasahat Ali Khan on March 15.

Later, in a court which sent the student to 14 days in judicial remand, his family members said that he had merely shared the post on Facebook and not uploaded it, The Times of India reported. 

The Aam Aadmi Party's political affairs committee has decided to expand the party and contest polls in other states. The decision to go national is a significant one and was taken after Arvind Kejriwal returned from a 10-day break at a Bengaluru health farm.

"Welcome the PAC's statement to expand the organisation nationally & to consider contesting elections outside Delhi. Step in the right direction. (sic)," Yogendra Yadav tweeted.

Yadav briefly met Kejriwal yesterday when they were summoned to a Delhi court for a case that accuses them of defamation. This was the first time the two AAP leaders met since the rift in the party.  

The White House has received poisonous cyanide packed in an envelope carrying the address of a man who had earlier sent a similar package covered in urine and feces to the US president's official residence, according to the US Secret Service.

"On Monday March 16, an envelope was received at the White House mail screening facility. Initial biological testing was negative; however, on March 17, the chemical testing returned a presumptive positive for cyanide," Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said in a statement yesterday.

"The sample was transported to another facility to confirm the results," a statement said.

The envelope listed a return address for a man who has a record with the Secret Service dating back to 1995, which includes sending a package covered in urine and feces, according to online publication The Intercept.

Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah has rejected the opposition's demand for a CBI inquiry into the death of 36-year-old IAS officer DK Ravikumar, who took on the sand mafia, reports NDTV.  

"It will be a CID probe. The police are perfectly capable of investigating the matter. There is no requirement for a CBI inquiry," he said.

The 36-year-old officer was found dead in his apartment in Bengaluru on Monday. His wife returned home to find him hanging from a ceiling fan.

The police have said they suspect suicide, though they found no note.

BBC reports: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed victory in the parliamentary election.

Netanyahu said he had already spoken to the leaders of other right-of-centre parties about forming a new government/ But opposition leader Yitzha Herzog said the result showed his alliance could not be ignored.

Estimates by two Israeli broadcasters gave both sides 27 seats each in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset.

In a speech to his jubilant supporters in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu described Tuesday's vote as a "great victory" for the right-wing Likud party, which is now credited with a better result than expected, reports BBC. 

Buzz Aldrin, one of the first two men to walk on the moon back in 1969, has used one of mankind's oldest monuments as a backdrop for his call for a new leap in space exploration.

A United Airlines flight made a U-turn in the sky after a passenger ran toward the cockpit screaming "jihad, jihad," according to a government official with direct knowledge of the incident.

Government troops in South Sudan killed up to 130 rebels in the latest fighting following the collapse of peace talks between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, a military official said on Tuesday.