One good deed has led to another for a man who broke a tenet of his religion to help a little boy hurt in an accident.

A suicide bomb attack during Friday prayers at a Shia mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia has killed 20 people and injured more than 50, according to local residents and hospital officials.

The Prime Minister-led selection committees will meet here tomorrow to decide on appointments of chiefs of Central Information Commission (CIC) and Central Vigilance Commission.

Rupert Murdoch owned 'Sun' tabloid's crime reporter has been found guilty of paying a Heathrow Airport police officer for 38 scoops. Anthony France, a crime reporter who joined the 'Sun' in 2004, had denied aiding and abetting Timothy Edwards to commit misconduct in a public office. 

At least 35 people were killed and 13 others were missing in rainstorms that hammered large swathes of southern China this week, the government said today.

The government has said it will consider the passport application of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani only after he completes the formalities and indicated that it was not averse to approving it.

"If it comes to us after due formalities, we will think over it.... We have no objections," Home Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters today.

The home minister was asked whether the central government will give a passport to the Kashmiri separatist leader.

On Thursday, the External Affairs Ministry had said the passport application of  Geelani cannot be processed in its present form as it was incomplete as he has not yet submitted passport fees, biometric details, and photographs.

India's accomplishment in becoming the only Asian country to send a spacecraft to Mars has earned it a place in the top rankings of space-faring nations, a report by a Chinese research institution has said.

The US, Europe, Russia, China, Japan and India are the leading powers in space, the Beijing Institute of Space Science and Technology Information, affiliated to the China Academy of Space Technology, said in a report.

India became the first Asian country to successfully send a probe to Mars in 2014, marking a breakthrough in its space capability, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying. The institute for the first time evaluated the space capabilities of 20 countries and regions across six aspects: strategy, product systems, infrastructure, industrial scale, innovation and international influence.

China's space capabilities are ranked the fourth in the world, and the gap between the leading powers is narrowing, the report said. Last year saw a record 92 launches around the world, with 262 spacecraft put into orbit, it said. The US' status as the only superpower in space is unshakable, but the gap between the US and other nations is narrowing, it said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah today said the state government is yet to decide on filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against acquittal of Jayalalithaa who is set to stage a comeback as Tamil Nadu chief minister after her acquittal in the disproportionate assets case.

"We have not yet taken any decision; ...law department is examining, they are studying the judgement, we will take a decision after getting inputs from them," Siddaramaiah said.

"We will consider the opinion of Special Public Prosecutor B V Acharya and also the opinion from Law department and the Advocate General and then take a decision," he told reporters in New Delhi. Responding to a question, he said he had not contacted the party (Congress) high command on the issue.

The Karnataka high court gave a clean chit to the AIADMK chief and three others, clearing them of "all charges" in the 19-year-old case on May 11, paving the way for return of Jayalalithaa, who was chosen as legislature party leader by her party in Chennai today, as CM.

In a landmark judgement today, the Kerala high court has observed that being a Maoist is not a crime. The court ruled that only when the laws are broken do they become illegal activities.


Justice A Mushtaq observed that a person cannot be remanded to custody simply for being a Maoist.


The court delivered the judgement in a case related to the detention of a man suspected to be a Maoist.


The court also ordered that a compensation be given of Rs 1 lakh in the case. 

In the second security scare for Rajnath Singh at a CRPF building in New Delhi, the Union Home Minister had to spend anxious minutes in a dark hall today as the power of the building, where he had gone to attend a BSF function, tripped just before his arrival.


The CRPF building where Singh was the chief guest at the Border Security Force investiture ceremony plunged into darkness minutes before his arrival and full power could not be restored even after an hour he left the venue.


Sources said the dark auditorium is a security scare for any VIP even if his security is accompanying him.


An unnerved Singh sat on the dais of the pitch dark large room for ten minutes after which some backup lights came and lit the room partially.


It is not the first time, Singh has to encounter such an embarrassing situation in the CRPF building in Vasant Kunj, as on April 9 the lift carrying him got stuck and he had to be evacuated through its roof.


With no signs of power being restored in the large hall, senior officials were seen scrambling for some backup as the hall went into complete darkness just before Singh's arrival.

Senior BJP leaders' meeting with PM Modi at 7RCR begins.

Jitendra Singh (MoS PMO) on Pakistani and Lashkar-e-Toiba flags being raised by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's supporters at a rally in Srinagar: "The State govt has assured us that necessary action shall be taken. Our policies and stand is clear and consistent."

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar makes an aerial survey of Siachen   glacier and laid a wreath at the Siachen War Memorial.

Around 200 Buddhist monks and nuns were killed and about 1,000 monasteries collapsed in the massive April 25 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks in Nepal, according to authorities.


Buddhist Philosophy Promotion and Monastery Development Committee (BPPMDC), under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, said that all 215 monasteries in Sindhupalchok district were flattened due to impact of the earthquake.


A total of 150 Buddhist monasteries collapsed in Gorkha, 105 in Dhading, 60 in Rasuwa and 60 in Solukhumbu. Monasteries also collapsed in Nuwakot, Dolakha, Ramechhap, Okhaldhunga, Makwanpur, Lamjung and Syangja districts as well.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has been discharged from hospital after undergoing knee surgery. 

Working president of the Opposition National Conference, Omar Abdullah today hit out at PDP-BJP coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir over the remarks of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on the strategy of eliminating militants in the state.


"Looks like (Chief Minister) Mufti (Mohammad) Syed (sic) is reviving & empowering the Ikhwanis (counter-insurgents). That's the only way to carry out 'terrorists killing terrorists' policy of MOD," Omar tweeted.


He was referring to the statement made by Parrikar in an interview with an English daily.


"Our proactive attitude is to identify terrorists and then effectively neutralise them. Every case is handled firmly with clear-cut intelligence for targeted kills.


"We ensure minimal collateral damage. You have to neutralise terrorist through terrorist only. Why my soldier has to do it all the time?" Parrikar had said.


Several groups of counter-insurgents, known as Ikhwanis in Kashmir, actively helped the security forces to tackle militancy in the valley during second half of 1990s and early 2000s.


However, the groups were disbanded and many of the cadres were absorbed in regular forces like army and police when PDP-Congress coalition government came to power in 2002.

This is why we love Twitter. Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen's tweet to former Supreme Court judge Justice Markandey Katju makes us smile, broadly. Take a look. Click on the picture for a larger image. Something fishy?


The former Press Council chairman has faced criticism on social media in January after he tweeted that Shazia Ilmi was more beautiful than Kiran Bedi and if Shazia was made the CM candidate for Delhi assembly polls, BJP would have won the elections.


The former Press Council chief further said in his tweet that people vote for beautiful faces, adding, someone like him who does not vote would also have voted for Shazia. 


Katju tweeted a clarification after suitable outrage on Twitter, and urged his critics to develop a sense of humour and claimed that his remarks were in a lighter vein and should be seen as such.

Update on the Film City shootout. Fateh Singh Patil (additional CP, Mumbai) says that Rajeev Shinde, who works as a security contractor at Balaji films was shot at. "There may be possibility of personal rivalry, he was shot from a close range. The victim is serious in hospital and initial investigation is under process," he says.

Mallika Sherawat in a Georges Hobeika gown wearing Boucheron jewellery and carrying a Swarovski clutch tweeted this picture. Nice, but not quite stunning.


And this, is Aishwarya in Elie Saab. Loooove the dress. Take a look.

ABBA singer Bjorn Ulvaeus is 70!

And says he wants to use euthanasia if he becomes too ill, insisting "it is my life". The star said he has been suffering from endless pain, reported Daily Mirror.


"It's the thought of the endless pain and suffering that I am afraid of. This should not be necessary. I have seen this misery up close. "My parents lived long but would have preferred a more painless and dignified ending. The same goes for the parents of my wife. My mother-in-law has lived for a long time but she could not express her feelings," he said.


Bjorn shot to fame in 1972 with Swedish group ABBA'" alongside Agnetha Faltskog, 65, Benny Andersson, 68, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 69. They had nine British No 1 hit singles.

Just in: Reports of firing at Mumbai's Film City. What we know so far is that  two men on a bike opened fire at gate no 2 near Adlabs injuring the owner of a security outfit. The victim identified as Raju Shinde has been hospitalised with a stomach wound.


Early reports also say that superstar Amitabh Bachchan was also shooting on a set in Film City near this gate, when the incident occurred, and is reported to be safe. One person has been nabbed, while the other escaped.


This is what Bachchan tweeted,  @SrBachchan  "The 1873... Okay !! Shooting at Film City .. and a gang war shootout 20 feet from where we are ... !!1 dead .. cops all over .."


Pic of the site where the incident happened.

It is not necessary to be a multi-millionaire in Mumbai to live in a sea facing house.


Junior level employees working at Raj Bhavan will be living in sea-     facing houses soon, a far cry from the 100 square feet dwelling in a chawl they occupied earlier. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will hand over keys of 63 sea-facing quarters to the Governor's staff on May 26.


Fadnavis will unveil the newly constructed 14-storey building for the staff, at a function to be presided over by Governor C Vidyasagar Rao.


The Chief Minister will hand over the keys of the sea-facing flats to Group C and Group D employees on the occasion, an official spokesperson said. '


The high-rise building equipped with two lifts has 63 flats. While 43 one BHK flats on the first nine floors, all measuring 360 sq ft, will be given to Group D employees, including gardeners, sweepers, kitchen and other support staff, 20 flats from 10th to 14th floors, all measuring 490 sq ft and having 2 or 1 BHKs, will be given to Group C employees including the clerical staff.


Till 2007, all the Group D employees of Raj Bhavan were living in old chawls in 10 feet by 10 feet rooms having a common toilet and bathroom on each floor.


In 2004, the then Governor late Mohammed Fazal asked the then Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to demolish the dilapidated chawls and create a single tower to provide decent, 360 sq ft houses to each of the employees.

AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa returns home to her Poes Garden residence in Chennai after meeting Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah and staking claim to form the government. The swearing-in ceremony will take place at the Madras University Centenary Hall at 11 am tomorrow.

Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's supporters raise Pakistan Flags and Lashkar-e-Taiba flags in Srinagar.


Authorities yesterday, placed Mirwaiz under house arrest to prevent him from attending today's rally to commemorate the death anniversary of his father, who was assassinated in 1990.


"Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest this morning, thus preventing him from attending Hafta Shahadat (martyrdom week) programme," a Hurriyat spokesman said.


"It is state-sponsored terrorism and an example of aggressive politics.
When Kashmiris were peacefully organizing Hafta Shahadat to remember martyrs, placing the Mirwaiz under house arrest was akin to rubbing salt over wounds of Kashmiris and playing with their emotions," the spokesman said.


The moderate Hurriyat Conference had planned a rally at Eidgah to pay tributes to Mirwaiz's father Moulvi Mohammad Farooq and Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone on their death anniversary today.


Last month, an FIR was filed against hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Masarat Alam Bhat and other separatist leaders 'for provocative  activities and hoisting Pakistan flag' in Srinagar. Geelani's supporters also shouted anti-India and pro-Pak slogans.

Maharashtra BJP unit has convened a national executive meeting in Kolhapur starting tomorrow, where the party is expected to lay out a roadmap to address issues within the party and the state government. BJP president Amit Shah is scheduled to address the inaugural session tomorrow while Union Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari will address the valedictory session on Sunday.

And Digvijaya Singh @digvijaya_28 tweets his opinion on the turf war between Arvind Kejriwal and Najeeb Jung: " I am not a great admirer of Kejriwal but not allowing the CM to decide on transfer & postings of officers is to negate the People's mandate."

Claiming that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung were responsible for the "mess" in Delhi, Congress today said both of them have "crossed their limits" and were "not following set rules of governance".


"Governance is a very delicate issue, people don't know who takes the decision as it's a faceless thing. But unfortunately, Jung and Kejriwal who themselves come from a bureaucratic background are not following the set rules of governance and are washing their dirty linen in public," Congress MP P L Punia said today.


He said the Lt Governor and the CM have crossed the limits and was not following the set procedure of governance. "They both are responsible for the mess as both of them have crossed their limits. The role of BJP which rules at the Centre is also not good, BJP has not taken a balanced stand on the issue," he said.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's supporters raise Pakistan Flags and Lashkar-e-Taiba flags in Srinagar.

The big question after the announcement of a potential $53 billion investment agreement between Brazil and China on Tuesday is whether it should be a cause for concern, especially as the deal includes discussions about defense, plans for a 'bi-oceanic' railway to connect Brazil's Atlantic coast to Peru's Pacific rim, and talk of a "new global order."


Read more

AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa meets Governor K Rosaiah at Raj Bhavan to stake claim to form government in Tamil Nadu. It's her first public appearance in eight months. Jayalalithaa hands over a list of her new cabinet to governor Rosaiah and leaves Raj Bhavan to garland statues, including one of her mentor, AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran.


Earlier in the day, outgoing Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, his Cabinet colleagues and all other party MLAs exhibited a jubilant mood on the occasion as Jayalalithaa was showered with praises.


Even as Panneerselvam began his brief address by referring to Jayalalithaa as "manbumigu makkalin muthalvar," (honourable people's chief minister, a term used by AIADMK workers after she was disqualified following her conviction), a thunderous applause broke out. Outgoing ministers, senior functionaries, including party Presidium Chairman E Madusudanan and all other party MLAs kept clapping at the event.

Has Modi's lion gone rusty? That's Keshav's cartoon on the Hindu today.

Just in: AIADMK chief heads for Raj Bhawan to meet the governor and stake claim to be Tamil Nadu chief minister. This is her first public appearance in eight months. 

@tavleen_singh tweets: Thank you all for your inputs on Kejri's 'achievements'? Now can anyone confirm the rumour that he plans to ditch Delhi for Punjab?

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal holds a press conference on the Centre's notification today on the distribution of power between Delhi's lieutenant governor and the chief minister.


Kejriwal says Narendra Modi with his three MLAs is trying to run the government of Delhi through the backdoor. The PM has back-stabbed the people of Delhi, he said.


He points to one of the para's in the notification that says the anti-corruption branch police station shall not take cognizance of offences against officers, employees and functionaries of the Central government and says that it is in fact the anti-graft agenda of the Delhi govt that has struck fear with the Centre. "Within three months, the AAP govt in Delhi has finished off the transfer posting industry.


"I have no jung with LG Jung. He is just like a viceroy in the time of the British Raj. He listens to the orders of the PMO like the viceroy would obey the Queen of England," Kejriwal says. 


"The Narendra Modi-led government is trying to control the Delhi government by proxy," he said.  

J Jayalalithaa was today set to return as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for the fifth time after she was formally elected the leader of AIADMK Legislature party.


Governor K Rosaiah invited her to form the government soon after her election, following which incumbent Chief Minister O Panneerselvam tendered his resignation.

#ModiMurdersDemocracy trends on Twitter after the Central govt notification to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal specifying the role and powers of the Lt Governor.


The central government has clearly told Kejriwal that it is not essential for him to be consulted by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi on matters like the appointment of key bureaucrats.


Kejriwal has alleged that the Centre is trying to rule Delhi through the Lieutenant Governor, and said his "interference" in Delhi is unconstitutional.


Following the gazette notification today, there was outrage on Twitter, which lamented the end of democracy in Delhi and the beginning of autocracy. Here's a look at some of the tweets.


Kapil ‏@kapsology 
He killed 1000 in 2002
He killed Lokayukta in Guj
He killed Lokpal in India
Today he killed democracy in Delhi
#ModiMurdersDemocracy


Not that Mehta ‏@DaarubaazMehta 
M=Murdrer
O= of
D= Democratic
I= India


Social Panda ‏@SocialitePanda 
Today my respect for @ArvindKejriwal has increased thousand folds. He is fighting against all odds just for us. #ModiMurdersDemocracy


@Komal_Indian 
Delhi govt -- by the ppl, of the ppl, for the ppl
LG -- electd by the CG, works for the CG, fools the common man
#ModiMurdersDemocracy


Rohit Pandey ‏@aaprohit 
Question in the mind of delhiites, why did they vote in Del election fr CM, when CM can't do anything fr Delhi. #ModiMurdersDemocracy


Jayant Kumar ‏@OnlineExpertLiv 
Dear Mr. @narendramodi, I feel ashamed to get a PM like u who stand as bodyguard 4 corrupts. I was never such ashamed #ModiMurdersDemocracy


Smruti Ranjan Biswal ‏@smruti_ranjan_b
Smruti Ranjan Biswal retweeted Ashutosh Mishra
#ModiMurdersDemocracy RIP Democracy :( 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who also holds the Information and Broadcasting portfolio addresses a press conference on one year of the Narendra Modi government.

Quick takes...

-- The direction is towards growth, decisions are being taken in the direction which will promote development.


-- There is absolute clarity with regard to the direction in which the Govt wants to grow.


-- There was a general environment of gloom one year back, on the economic front in this country.


-- Now there is an environment of enthusiasm in this country:


-- There has been transparency in the decisions that have been taken by this Govt.


-- High taxation rates are never economic friendly, we want to convert the distant dream into reality.


--  Earlier decisions fell pray to coalition politics.


--  The revenue realized through Coal Block auctions shall go to states - an example of cooperative federalism.


-- The overwhelming support of regional parties to mining law, coal law and GST is directly attributable to the attitude of Govt of India to states.

The centre's notification is bound to upset the Delhi CM in the turf battle with LG Najeeb Jung. Arvind Kejriwal reacted saying the Centre's notification backing the Delhi Lt Governor shows the BJP's nervousness about AAP's anti-graft efforts.

In the ongoing battle for supremacy between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung, for now the winning stakes are with Jung.


The Union Home Ministry issued a gazette notification specifying the role and powers of the Lt Governor and Kejriwal has been told clearly by the central government that it is not essential for him to be consulted by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, on matters like the appointment of key bureaucrats.


The gazette, which is the Centre's response to the demarcation of authority between the Kejriwal and Jung says, the Lieutenant Governor, "may, in his discretion, obtain the views of the Chief Minister... wherever he deems it appropriate."


The gazette is an attempt to finally put an end to the longstanding feud between the Chief Minister and the Lieutenant Governor, who have spent the last week appointing and removing bureaucrats to prove who is really entitled to call the shots.


The Centre's statement endorses what the Lieutenant Governor has claimed all along - that as the representative of the union government in Delhi, he is the authority for the Delhi Police, issues related to Land, and the postings of key government officers.


The notification comes after discussions between Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Union Home Ministry issues a gazette notification specifying the role and powers of the Lt Governor. What we know so far is that the gazette notification says that the LG has the jurisdiction over matters of services, public order, police and land. 

Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal, ex-Minister of state for coal Dasari Narayan Rao, former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and seven other accused persons were granted bail today by a trial court in connection with a coal block allocation case.


Special CBI court Judge Bharat Parashar asked all the accused not to leave the country.


Earlier today, Jindal and others appeared before the court in pursuance of the summons issued against them by the court.


Besides the 10 accused individuals, five accused companies through their authorized representatives also appeared in court in pursuance of the court's summons.


The accused were granted bail on furnishing a bail bond and surety amount of Rs 1 lakh each.


The five firms which are accused in the case are Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), Jindal Realty Pvt Ltd, Gagan Infraenergy Ltd (formerly known as GSIPL), Sowbhagya Media Ltd and New Delhi Exim Pvt Ltd.

In comments set to embarrass the Narendra Modi government days before it completes a year in office, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday said "those who cannot survive without eating beef, should go to Pakistan." 

Ten trains have been cancelled and 57 others, including two Rajdhanis from Delhi to Mumbai, have been diverted as nearly 1000 protesters sit on rail tracks in Rajasthan's Bharatpur district to demand reservation in the state for Gujjars.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam met Governor of Tamil Nadu Konijeti Rosaiah and tendered his resignation, which has been accepted. 

After weeks of small-scale, small-town events with "everyday Americans," Hillary Clinton has set a date for the first major campaign rally of her 2016 presidential run. 

All Indian Anna Dravida Muunetra Kazhagam leader J Jayalalithaa has been elected by party lawmakers to take over as chief minister of Tamil Nadu at a party meeting in Chennai this morning. 

An Algerian-born terror suspect wanted in the United States walked free from a Dublin court after five years behind bars and a two-year legal battle against extradition.