Rahul Gandhi's Telangana padyatra starts tomorrow at 7:30 am in Adilabad highlighting the issues of farmers over which he has aggressively taken on the Narendra Modi government.

The Congress vice president, who had attacked the Modi government on land bill issue in Parliament and also reached out to farmers in Punjab and Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in recent weeks, is visiting Telangana for the first time since it was carved out from Andhra Pradesh on June 2 last year.

Rahul will meet the families of farmers who have allegedly committed suicide due to agrarian distress in Telangana and will address farmers at Koratikal village at the end of his padyatra.

A former Research and Analysis Wing officer was today arrested by the CBI for allegedly taking a bribe from a businessman on promise to settle a disproportionate assets case against him.

The ex-RAW officer had cited his purported links with a SP-ranked officer in the agency, which was probing the case. The businessman was also arrested and both were produced before a court which remanded them to two days in police custody.

Agency sources said that Nirvikar Singh, former Aide-de-camp of Lt Governor in Chandigarh, who was also facing CBI probe in disproportionate assets case was arrested with businessman Bhupinder Singh for allegedly receiving bribe of Rs 15 lakh on behalf of the SP-ranked officer of CBI.

The sources said that Singh had told Bhupinder that he could settle an ongoing case against him using his contacts with a Superintendent of Police in CBI and had demanded Rs 30 lakh for the same. They said they were nabbed from posh Khan market while first installment of Rs 15 lakh of the alleged bribe was being exchanged this evening.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Beijing tonight on the second leg of his three-day China visit during which he will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang tomorrow on issues of mutual interests including the boundary issue and the trade imbalance.

Modi, who arrived this morning in Xi'an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi province and the hometown of President Xi Jingping, held "very substantive" discussions with him during the day before arriving in Beijing. He will meet Premier Li tomorrow at the Great Hall of the People and they are expected to discuss the boundary issue.

The talks will also focus on the trade imbalance which is in favour of China to the tune of $38 billion. Modi is expected to seek support for his 'Make in India' initiative while inviting Chinese investments in the country. He will meet Zhang Dejiang, the Chairman of the National People's Congress (China's Parliament).

Photograph: ANI/Twitter

High optics highlighting the"highest level reception" extended by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Xi'an today has become the buzzword for the official media in Beijing which said that it pointed to "warming relations" between India and China.   

"It is not quite often for top Chinese leaders to travel outside Beijing to meet foreign guests. The tour of the ancient Xi'an City, a place closely connected to China and India's deep historical links, was a carefully orchestrated choice," state-run Xinhua news agency said in a special commentary.   

Xi returned the favour by offering Modi a visit to his family origin of Shaanxi, it said, referring to the similar welcome accorded to Xi when he visited Ahmedabad last year.

"The exchange of visits by the leaders from the world's two largest emerging economies soon after both took office has signalled warming relations between the two oriental giants,"it said. 

Deputy chief fire officer Sudhir Amin, who had suffered 80 per cent burn injuries during last week's fire-fighting operation at a building in south Mumbai, today died.

The fire at Gokul Niwas building in Kalbadevi on April 9 ad claimed the lives of assistant divisional fire officer S W Rane and station officer M N Desai the same day.

Amin was battling for life for the last six days, and had undergone a few surgeries. "We tried our best, but could not save him," said a doctor at the National Burns Centre, Airoli. "We operated on his lower limbs and wanted to perform further operations, but his kidney was not functioning well and he was on ventilator for the last three days," said a hospital official, adding that Amin showed a remarkable willpower to survive.

Chief Fire Officer Sunil Nesrikar, who suffered 50 per cent burns, was responding well to the treatment and recuperating, he added. Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao expressed grief over Amin's death.

Special Public Prosecutor B VAcharya has advised Karnataka government to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against acquittal of former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa and three others in the disproportionate assets case, saying it was a "fit case" to do so.   

"As per rules, I have to submit my opinion. I have done it. I have said it is a fit case for appealing in the SC," Acharya told PTI.   

Asked if the ball is now in the government's court, he said, "Yes."  

Jayalalithaa was on May 11 acquitted by the Karnataka high court in the disproportionate assets case that came as a huge relief to the AIADMK chief, clearing the decks for her political comeback and return to the chief minister's post. After the verdict, Acharya had said that prosecution case had been "seriously prejudiced" in the case as the state of Karnataka and the SPP appointed by it were denied an opportunity to convince the high court through oral arguments.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for Beijing as part of his three-day trip to China.

"Despite the language barrier, communication is taking place. People here are emotionally touched by our films," director Rajkumar Hirani pitched in with Aamir's tune.

And the other gift -- a replica of the stone casket of Buddhist relics.  

The Prime Minister today presented President Xi Jinping replicas of a stone casket of Buddhist relics and a stone statue of Buddha that were excavated from a 3rd -4th century AD stupa at Dev-ni-Mori -- a site 80 km east of Vadnagar, Gujarat -- in 1957.  Vadnagar is Modi's hometown.


In addition, the Prime Minister presented archaeological drawings of excavations at Vadnagar which was one of the places visited by the great Chinese traveller Xuanzang -- also known as Hieun Tsang -- around 641 AD.


The Prime Minister visited the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda today where Xuanzang worked for years to translate the sutras that he brought to China from India. 

Now that the pagoda visits are done, PM Narendra Modi will head to a dinner banquet hosted by President Xi Jinping in the ancient city of Xian, which also happens to be Jinping's hometown.


The two leaders will walk out to the courtyard of the Pot City for a cultural performance. Modi was also given a traditional Tang Dynasty welcome.   


The five-course menu on the banquet is strictly vegetarian, since Modi is one. So, there's Sour and Spicy Soup with Fired Dough (not hot and spicy, the Indian favourite), Assorted vegetables with pancake with red bean rice, Beancurd with Mushroom, Water Chestnut in Bean Sauce, Braised Asparagus with Bamboo and Lotus Root. For desserts there are sorbets and fruit.  Click on the picture for larger image.


In September last year, when President Xi visited India, he had strolled with PM Modi on the banks of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad and he too was treated to a cultural performance.


The two leaders had famously sat on a traditional Gujarati swing, after which Xinping was treated to a only-Gujarati food dinner banquet. 


Pic: The veg menu at the banquet dinner in the honour of PM @narendramodi in Xian. 

A visit to the factories of Guangdong would have been a good place to start for Prime Minister Modi. It is the crucible of economic reform, says Rahul Jacob. Read

The members of the US men's 4100 metres relay team that won silver at the 2012 Olympics have been stripped of their medals following the doping conviction of sprinter Tyson Gay.

Meanwhile, Sahara chief Subrata Roy will stay on in jail after the Supreme Court today reserved its orders on his plea for immediate release from Delhi's Tihar jail to enable him to raise money to refund around Rs 36,000 crore to investors. 

So, why was Big Wild Goose Pagoda chosen? There's a reason Xi Jingping choose this over many other cultural stopovers PM Modi could have made on this first day in the Xi'ian province which is the Chinese President's hometown.


The pagoda draws its importance from Xuanzang  or Hieun Tsang as we were told in history books, the Buddhist scholar, monk, traveller, who spent years in India and described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang dynasty.


Xuanzang planned to have a huge stone pagoda built to house the Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures he had brought back from India, but the plan fell through because it was difficult to find the needed stone and the cost was prohibitive.


He decided instead to build a mud pagoda reinforced with bricks, but the mud pagoda was not strong and the construction was not done properly. The pagoda collapsed not long after it was built. It was rebuilt between 701 and 704 on the order of Empress Wu Ze Tian. And that is what you see.


The monument, which currently stands at a height of 64 metres, was built in recognition of monk Hiuen Tsang's 17-year-long journey to India and his efforts to popularise Buddhism in China.


Hiuen Tsang undertook the journey to India through the ancient Silk Road and returned home after the 17-year sojourn with precious Buddhist scriptures.


One of the Pagoda's many functions was to hold sutra and figurines of the Buddha that were brought to China from India by Hiuen Tsang.


Pic: An exchange of special gifts at the pagoda. PM Modi gifts a Bodhi sapling to the temple, while the Abbot of the monastery gifts a figurine of Xuanzang

Sushma Swaraj on reports that Indian's abducted in Iraq have been killed: "I did not believe Harjit Masih''s claims that 39 Indians were killed. Earlier I had 6 sources, now I have 2 more, 8th source is reliable, there's no point in doubting my source. We will continue our search for them."

A skull relic purported to be that of Xuanzang was held in the Temple of Great Compassion, Tianjin until 1956 when it was taken to Nalanda - allegedly by the Dalai Lama - and presented to India. The relic is now in the Patna Museum. The Wenshu Monastery in Chengdu, Sichuan province also claims to have part of Xuanzang's skull.

A beautiful and traditional Tang Dynasty welcome for Narendra Modi. He will now head for the state banquet. Modi is still at Xi Jinping's city, Xi'an. He will head to Beijing tonight at around 8:30 pm IST. 

PM Modi and Pres Xi leave the pagoda for the state banquet.

When India, China went beyond incursions. In 1982, China released a postal stamp on Dr Kotnis. Dwarkanath Shantaram Kotnis was one of five Indian physicians dispatched to China to provide medical assistance during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938. If you haven't, watch Dr Kotnis ki amar kahani. Worth your time. 

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today expressed hope that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be able to resolve the issue of stapled visa with Chinese authorities during his ongoing visit to the neighbouring nation.


"I hope @PMOIndia is able to resolve the 'stapled visa' issue so that I can also visit the Terracotta Army and Great Wall of China," Omar wrote on  Twitter.


Omar was referring the stapled visa issued by China for residents of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh. His comment came soon after Modi visited the Terracota Army heritage site in China.


The National Conference working president also commented on a photograph of Modi waving at the crowd during his China visit. "Waving at the crowd would be a better caption because 'interaction' actually requires people to interact," Omar wrote.


@officeOfRG, this is one handle you must follow, if you want to learn what to tweet.

The man who saw history happen. ANI meets Victor Gao, the English translator of Deng Xiaoping. Xiaoping led China from 1978 until his retirement in 1992.


Talking about the relationship between the two countries, Gao, "For China, we have altogether 14 land neighbours and China has signed a border treaty with 13 out of 14; India is the only exception. We hope eventually both China and India will have courage, wisdom and vision to resolve border issues; it takes two to tango."

This is how PM Modi will spend the rest of day 1 on his China visit...

18.10 (3.40 PM IST): Arrive South City Wall. Traditional Tang Dynasty welcome ceremony

18.30 (4 PM IST): Dinner Banquet hosted by President Xi Jinping.

19.30 (5 PM IST): Walk to the Pot City (courtyard) for the cultural performance.

22.35 (8.05 PM): Arrive Beijing. 

Modi, Xi met for almost 90 minutes after the delegation level talks. 

Foreign Secy S Jaishankar on the Indo-China delegation level talks said, "There was a discussion on the strengthening of trust and increasing convergence; trade deficit was also discussed. Discussions were wide ranging and detailed, atmosphere was very comfortable. UN security council reform was discussed and India's NSG membership came up."

Next stop for PM Modi in China is at the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an. Modi and Chinese President Xi took a guided tour at the pagoda. Modi will handover a Bodhi tree sapling here.


Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar talking about the delegation level talks held earlier said, :There was some talk of Nepal and how India and China had responded to the earthquake situation in Nepal and also to Maldives when they had that problem with water.


"Political issues were discussed, boundary issues were discussed including peace and tranquility across border. Some time was spent on discussing connectivity issues, and the issue of terrorism naturally came up."


PM Narendra Modi on Thursday arrived on a three-day visit to China during which he is expected to hold summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a range of issues including the festering border dispute and China's plans for infrastructure projects in PoK. The Prime Minister was accorded a colourful welcome at the airport on arrival.

Delhi police have registered an FIR against Arindam Chaudhuri, founder of Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), on the basis of a complaint by the University Grants Commission of  "misleading, cheating and fooling" its students as its courses were not recognised by any recognised authority.


"We have registered an FIR under Section 420 of IPC against IIPM Dean Arindam Choudhari and his father Malayendra Kisor Chaudhuri, who is a Director, based on the UGC complaint. We are probing the matter,' Joint CP (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said. A notice has been sent to both of them to join the investigation, police said.


IPM, however, has questioned the UGC complaint and said the institute was not cheating its students. The UGC, in its complaint, has said that despite the fact its courses are not authorised, the institute was fooling the students by charging a hefty fee from them.

That's where the phrase 'red carpet welcome' comes from.

Chinese President Xi Jinping during talks with PM Modi: You received me warmly in your hometown. Glad to receive you.


Modi's retort: It is an honour for 125 crore Indians whom I am representing as Prime Minister.

A Jodhpur Court has struck down Salman Khan's plea to re-examine three witnesses under the Arms Act in the black buck poaching case.

Salman recorded his statement before the Jodhpur Court last month to say he was innocent. He further added that he is being framed over the illegal arms case in connection with black buck poaching.

The actor has been accused of using an unlicensed weapon to poach two blackbucks during the shooting of a film in 1998.

Former Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will be joining a leading Australian think-tank as an international fellow. Shyam Saran, 68, a distinguished career diplomat who has played an important part in India's rise in the world would be joining the Lowy Institute as its 2015 Telstra Distinguished International Fellow.

And read this: Shyam Saran: A glorious innings come to an end

Pic: Shyam Saran with former US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice in 2008

The India-China relationship today is marked by low levels of mutual trust and the lack of knowledge of the other among the people of both countries.  Modi's test will be to introduce more rationality to the relationship and to convince his Chinese interlocutors about this.

Read Nirupama Rao's column on the Hindu. Rao was former Indian Ambassador to China and the United States and foreign secretary.

Vikas Swarup @MEAIndia tweets: Speaking for a third of humanity. PM @narendramodi and President Xi meet in Xian.

Xi'an: Delegation level talks between PM Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

So, how has the Modi govt fared? Take Rediff.com's Pulse of the Nation poll and let the nation know if Modi has passed or failed. Here you go. 

Meanwhile, as the NDA govt nears one year in office, PM Narendra Modi will hold a mega rally on May 25th to mark the occasion. Venue undecided. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his three-day visit to China arriving in Xi Jinping's hometown Xi'an and visited the famous Terracotta Warriors Museum and Da Xing Shan temple. Click on this link and take a walk with Modi. 

PM Modi begins talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping in his hometown, Xi'an. Modi arrived in China today and arrived in Xian on a three-day visit to the country during which he will hold summit talks with the Chinese President on a range of issues including the festering border dispute and China's plans for infrastructure projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.


Xi joined Modi in the afternoon and the two leaders will spend nearly about five hours with restricted as well as informal talks to build on their rapport discussing the most contentious issues like border dispute and China's big push to rope in reluctant India into the Silk Road projects, specially the maritime silk road over which India has strong reservations.

India has raised with China its concerns over huge Chinese investments in PoK following President Xi Jinping's trip to Pakistan last month.

Also read: Red carpet welcome for PM Modi in Chinese President Xi's hometown

Asma Javed, who had grabbed headlines in 2011 as the first woman in the history of the Aligarh Muslim University to contest for the post of president in the Students Union for 2010-2011 session, was found dead in her apartment in Aligarhs Shamshad Market area by the police on Wednesday. Read more

Afghanistan president Abdul Ghani expresses sadness on the unfortunate killing of Indian citizens in the attack.

Nitin Gokhale @nitingokhale  tweets: The suicide attack in Kabul was targeted at Indians and Westerners. Reportedly 4 Pakistani guests in the restaurant were spared.

Revolutionary changes could take place in Asia if China and India forge closer ties overcoming mistrust, the Chinese state media said on Thursday as Prime Minister began his three-day visit to the country.


"Anyone with some geopolitical knowledge understands what revolutionary changes would happen to the political and economic landscape in Asia if China and India could join hands to forge ahead,' an article in the state-run Global Times said.


"But people are also aware that there seems always to be a lack of mutual trust between the dragon and the elephant,' the article said.


Noting that China is the worlds largest textile exporter followed by India, it said the ranking implies where the Sino-Indian relationship stands and unveils one of the reasons for the lack of trust: There is more competition than complementarity.

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government's circular which said that the government will pursue the case against any person for making defamatory allegation against its employees.


A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra stayed the circular issued on May 6 allowing the government to proceed against a person who publishes defamatory imputation against Delhi CM, ministers, or any public servant. According to the circular issued by the directorate of information and publicity department, if any officer associated with the Delhi government feels that the published or aired news item damages his or the government's reputation, he should file a complaint with the principal secretary (home).

Narendra Modi @narendramodi Spoke to President @ashrafghani & offered condolences on loss of lives due to the Kabul attack. We are one when it comes to fighting terror.


That was about a terror attack in Kabul last night. Gunmen stormed a guesthouse in the Afghan capital on Wednesday evening as it hosted a party for foreigners. Authorities said 14 people, including 4 Indians and the attackers, were killed during the five-hour long siege that ended early Thursday morning. Six people were wounded and 54 hostages rescued. The brutal assault was reminiscent of two attacks by Taliban fighters in Kabul last year, one on a restaurant and another on a hotel.

Back home, in a major setback to farmers, the Supreme Court today quashed their plea while upholding land acquisitions in Noida Extension by the Greater Noida Authority between 2006 and 2009.


The apex court overturned the Allahabad High Court order which had scrapped acquisitions.The order came as a relief for flat owners and builders else buildings would have been demolished.


Farmers had wanted their land back while Greater Noida authority was unwilling to give the developed land.

PM Modi tweets from the Daxingshan Temple in Xi'an, China, saying the temple is beautiful. "Visited various Halls of the Temple & interacted with monks,"  he said.


Originally built in 265-289 AD in the Jin Dynasty (265-420), this temple is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in China and a birthplace of Chinese Tantric Buddhism (Vajrayana). Many Indian monks translated Buddhist sutras and promulgated Buddhist doctrines here.


India and China are likely to sign over 20 business agreements during PM Modi's three-day visit, the Indian envoy said on Wednesday, emphasising that both sides are trying to look for synergies in their respective agendas.


Pic: The PM's message at the Daxingshan Temple. 

How many visiting heads of state have touched China's Terracotta Warriors? That's Modi's claim to fame today.


The Terracotta Army or the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses" is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210-209 BC and was created to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

May be he should have taken a cue from his mentor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who visited Peking in 1979 and knew the drill before artifacts. 

At least four Indians were killed among 14 dead when gunmen stormed a guesthouse in the Afghan capital on Wednesday evening as it hosted a party for foreigners. The five-hour long siege ended early Thursday morning. Six people were wounded and 54 hostages rescued.

The brutal assault was reminiscent of two attacks by Taliban fighters in Kabul last year, one on a restaurant and another on a hotel.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on the Park Palace guesthouse, but the assault comes as the Taliban -- who have attacked such guesthouses in the past -- press their annual spring offensive.

Ranjit Sinha probe: The Supreme Court also rejected the perjury case on Prashant Bhajan and said it was inappropriate for Sinha to meet the accused in the coal scam case. A vigilance panel to inform the SC how to probe the case by July 7.

PM Modi interacts with people outside the Daxingshan Temple in Xi'an, China.



This is PM Modi's schedule in China today.

07.30 AM (5 AM IST): Arrive Xi'an

10.20 AM (7.50AM IST): Arrive Terracota Warriors Museum

11.55 (9.25AM IST): Arrive Da Xing Shan Temple

15.30 (1pm IST): Restricted talks with President Xi Jinping

16.50 (2.20PM IST): Arrive Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Handing over of Bodhi Tree sapling

18.10 (3.40PM IST): Arrive South City Wall

Traditional Tang Dynasty welcome ceremony

18.30 (4PM IST): Dinner Banquet hosted by President Xi Jinping

19.30 (5PM IST): Walk to the Pot City (courtyard) for the cultural performance

22.35 (8.05PM): Arrive Beijing.

Ranjit Sinha, the former chief of the CBI, abused the powers that came with his post and must be investigated, the Supreme Court said today.


Sinha retired in December. His last few weeks in office were seeped in controversy and ignominy, with the Supreme Court ordering his removal from his agency's investigation into the massive telecom scam.


The judges accepted that he was guilty of trying to subvert the inquiry against telecom firms and  executives who were charged with colluding with government officials to get out-of-turn mobile network licenses and free spectrum or airwaves.

Railway minister Suresh Prabhu has planned to observe the Narendra Modi-led government's first anniversary by sending his officers out in the field. 

That's PM Modi's message in the visitor's book at the Terracotta Warriors Museum. Modi keenly listened to the guides at the museum who shared information about the history of the warriors. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Da Xing Shan Temple in Xi'an. Modi, who is on his first visit to China after becoming PM, earlier visited the Terracotta Warriors Museum in Xi Jinping's home town. The PM was accorded a very warm welcome when he arrived in China early this morning. 

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar warned that five lakh people would die if the epicentre of an earthquake was in Patna, and stressed the need to make buildings quake-proof. "We only felt the tremors as the epicentre was in Nepal. If it would have been in Patna, at least five lakh people would lose their lives in minutes," the Bihar CM said. 

With two earthquakes killing more than 8,000 people in Nepal and injuring thousands of others, many are wondering when the shaking will stop. The answer? Not any time soon. 

Rahul Gandhi will embark on his two-day visit to Telangana beginning today which would include a 15-km padayatra in Adilabad district. The Congress vice-president's visit is to highlight the plight of farmers in the country in general and state in particular. According to party members, Rahul will meet the families of farmers who have allegedly committed suicide due to agrarian distress in Telangana and console them. 

The India-China relationship is marked by low levels of mutual trust and the lack of knowledge of the other among the people of both countries. Modi's test will be to introduce more rationality to the relationship and to convince his Chinese interlocutors about this. 

Search teams scouring the floor of the Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have come across some wreckage -- just considerably older than the airliner which disappeared in March 2014. Startlingly clear images of a previously uncharted wreck, most likely from the 19th century, emerged after underwater drones were dispatched to investigate the potential lead. An anchor, as well as parts of a destroyed hull, can clearly be seen in the photos. The wreck lies at a depth of 12,795 feet.

After arriving in China earlier this morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his way to the Terracotta museum in Xi'an. Modi's arrival in Xian is significant, and a departure from protocol by the Chinese government. It is being seen as a sign of the importance China is attaching to this visit and a reciprocal gesture after President Xi was first hosted by PM Modi in Gujarat last year.

Authorities in Nepal raised the death toll from a magnitude 7.3 aftershock to 91 people as troops combed a remote district northeast of Kathmandu for a US military helicopter that was missing with eight people aboard. More than 2,400 were injured in the Tuesday afternoon quake, the largest of a series of aftershocks centered in Nepal since a massive April 25 temblor, according to police officials.

Indian ambassador Amar Sinha has said that all Indians are reportedly safe in the Park Palace Guesthouse attack and the embassy is in constant touch with security forces and evacuation is on.