The doubles pair of Martina Hingis and Leander Paes suffered a defeat at the hands of Katarina Srebotnik and Horia Tecau in Round 2 of the French Open. The second seeded pair of Paes and Hingis lost 7-6, 3-6, 6-10

Shepard Fairey says he's run out of hope for US President Barack Obama. Fairey is a street artist who is behind Obama's famous "Hope" poster. 

Her Facebook page is overflowing with messages complimenting her for her new job. Congratulations, you have hit the headlines, writes a student, attaching a newspaper story headlined 'Bengal college to have India's first transgender principal'. "We salute your courage," writes a friend. "Yes, it has taken some courage. It's been a struggle to be accepted as a transgender professional," says Manobi Bandyopadhyay, 51, shouting over the din of heavy traffic down a telephone line from Kolkata. 

Delhi government denied that it had issued any cabinet note proposing to buy high-tech equipment for surveillance by its anti-corruption branch."I don't even know the meaning of word snooping. If wehave to strengthen ACB then it will need things like car,computers, stationary and other things," said Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain.

In an attempt to reclaim lost ground among Dalits ahead of crucial Bihar and UP polls, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked party men to undertake year-round vigorous programmes to mark the 125th birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar. At a meeting of top leaders of the party, including Rahul Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh, the party chief wanted year-round vigorous programmes to be undertaken to take the message of Ambedkar far and wide.

The tiger known as T24 is currently under scrutiny for his mauling of forest guard Rampal Saini on May 8, and his mauling of three other guards. Several biologists and conservationists are of the opinion that it is indeed T24 who is responsible for all four deaths, while there are others who believe that human greed and encroachment has caused the tiger to kill. 

Saudi Arabia's branch of militant group Islamic State has said it wants to clear the Arabian Peninsula of Shi'ite Muslims and urged young men in the kingdom to join its cause. Islamic State claimed two suicide bombings carried out on May 22 and May 29 on Shi'ite mosques in eastern Saudi Arabia, where the bulk of the Saudi Arabia's Shi'ite minority lives. The attacks killed 25 people.

A recently released document reveals a pattern of grave abuses by India's Border Security Force against both Bangladeshi and Indian nationals in the border area along India's 2,000 kilometre long international fontier with Bangladesh in West Bengal state. The abuses include cases of indiscriminate killing and torture. 

Madhuri Dixit, who is in the midst of a controversy for endorsing Maggi noodles, met officials of Nestle and said they assured her that there would be no compromise on the quality of the popular snack which is under the scanner. 

The 90-minute talkathon with 3 Union ministers -- Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman -- to commemorate one year of the Modi sarkar became the top Twitter trend in India this evening. 

The onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala has been delayed from the date forecast by the MeT department due to its "sluggish" pace. The normal date for onset of monsoon over Kerela is June 1. It also marks the official onset on rains in the country. This year, the Indian Meteorological Department had predicted that it will hit the southern state on May 30.

Bharatiya Janata Party's Subramanian Swamy is once again in the spotlight after the comments he made at an event in Vadodara. You should understand that whoever lives in this country is Hindu, or his forefathers were Hindus. All those residing in this country are Hindus, this I can prove through DNA test. Even the DNA of Muslims and Christians are like ours (Hindus). They are all product of the same soil and should accept that they have not come from outside," said the leader. 

When asked about the timeline to achieve zero illiteracy, HRD Minister Smriti Irani responds, "Our agenda is that educational resources reach every citizen. PM Modi's vision of a National e-library is a mega project in this regard."

HRD Minister Smriti Irani speaking at the talkathon to commemorate Modi's one year in power, said that finally India was being recognised as a global power. 

After the Cabinet re-promulgated the controversial land ordinance for the third time, the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi hit back at the Modi sarkar saying, "Congress  will continue to fight for the rights of the kisan and mazdoor against this suit boot ki sarkar. Modi ji in an amazing hurry to grab land from poor farmers at any cost. A third attempt at pushing the anti-farmer land ordinance."

A strong earthquake shook buildings in Tokyo today, setting off car alarms, reports AFP

Residential buildings swayed for around a minute as the quake built in intensity at around 8.30 pm local time. 

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, which said the earthquake had a magnitude of 8.5, was at a depth of 696 kilometres. 

The Japan quake is reportedly epicentered in Bonin Islands. Reports are just coming in of mild tremors being felt in Delhi.   

Just in: A 7.8 earthquake has hit Japan. It struck at about 2:28pm local time at a depth of 5 0km, weather services reported.

The quake was centered in Ibaraki Prefecture, Kanto Region on the main island of Honshu. The prefecture has a population of about 3 million.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake took place 34 km from Tokyo, a city with a population over 13 million. AFP reports that the termors shook buildings in the capital.

However, no tsunami warning has been issued immediately.

More details awaited.

Fares for first class and AC class in passenger trains besides freight charges will be increased by 0.5 per cent from June 1 as new service tax will come into effect.

"Currently, 3.708 per cent service tax is levied on train fares for AC Class, First Class and freight. This will go up to 4.2 per cent from June which means the rise is only 0.5 per cent," said a senior railway ministry official.

If the AC fare is Rs 1,000, then you will be charged Rs 10 more. Increase in service tax will be applicable on tickets purchased on June 1 and onwards, he added. While the increase in passenger fare is applicable on AC and First Class only, service tax will be levied on all goods transported by Railways.

The official said the hike is marginal and it is being done as per the general budget proposals.

Three Gorkha Rifles jawans were injured when a grenade in their truck went off in the high security Garhi Cantonment area in Dehardhun this afternoon.   

Four persons including the jawans and the driver of the truck were on board the vehicle when the explosion took place, a source at the SSP office said adding details are awaited and all senior officials have rushed to the spot.   

Jawans who sustained injuries in the explosion have been hospitalised. The jawans are said to have been on their way to the market to buy vegetables when the explosion took place, the source said.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD President Lalu Prasad once again would not share the dais at a programme today triggering speculation of a logjam in the coming together of the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The two, along with JD-U President Sharad Yadav and other leaders, were scheduled to be present on the stage on the occasion of a "maha rally" of Nishad (fishermen community) to project a united picture ahead of the Bihar poll.

Nitish Kumar, who was scheduled to inaugurate the maha rally, today announced cancellation of his programme. When reporters asked him about skipping the rally in which he was to share dais with Lalu Prasad, Kumar said it was because of his recent eye operation.

"I will not be able to make it to the programme due to laser surgery of my eye. I had informed organisers about it beforehand," Kumar told reporters.

The development has triggered speculation if everything was fine between the two amid suspense prevailing over the fate of merger or alliance between the JD-U and the RJD ahead of crucial Bihar poll.

But, Bihar Animal Husbandry department minister Baidyanath Sahni, who is playing an important role in organisation of the Nishad maha rally at Gandhi Maidan today, said no politics should be read into it. "Nitishji will not be able to make it to the programme because of his recent eye operation and political meaning should not be be read into it," Sahni told PTI.

A group of 16 student groups came together on Saturday to condemn the ban on the Ambedkar Periyar Student Circle at IIT Madras for criticising PM Narendra Modi and his policies. They demanded that IIT Madras withdraw the ban on the APSC immediately, The Times of India reports.  

"IIT-M must withdraw the ban immediately and not interfere in the activities of student groups as it is a matter of freedom of expression," said U Thilagavathi, a coordinator of the yet to be named umbrella organisation.

Read the full report here

Just in: A CISF jawan shoots himself dead while on duty at Raghunathpur thermal power project in West Bengal. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who recently completed one year in office, has, in an exclusive interview with Smita Prakash, editor, ANI, said the opposition alleging that his government is a "Suit Boot Ki Sarkar' is definitely better and more acceptable than being labelled a "Suitcase' (ki Sarkar), and satirically added, that after ruling for sixty years, the Congress has suddenly remembered the poor. 

On the recovery of black money, Modi said, "My government is fully committed on the issue of black money. We want to crack down severely on tax evasion and black money. I had taken up this issue with world leaders during the G-20 summit."

"In our very first cabinet meeting, we formed an SIT. Then, we presented a new legislation in Parliament which is very stringent. We want to make it more difficult to evade taxes and siphon money abroad. We are also aggressively pursuing cases against those who have stashed funds illegally in foreign banks. Recently the names of some such persons have been revealed," he added.

The complete interview will be published on Rediff.com shortly.

Former Odisha chief minister and nine-time MP Giridhar Gamang today announced his resignation from the Congress alleging humiliation by theparty which he served for over 43 years.   

"I have sent my resignation letter to AICC president Sonia Gandhi. Since the time of Vajpayee government's fall due to one vote in 1999, I have been humiliated and lost selfrespect. Though I voted against the Vajpeyee government inwake of a whip, the party did not come to my rescue at anypoint of time," Gamang told reporters.   

Stating that he has not decided whether to join any other political party, Gamang said, "There is no question of returning to the Congress again after resigning from it."   

In his letter to Sonia Gandhi, Gamang said, "With a heavy heart and deep agony, I tender my resignation from the primary membership of the Congress. Please accept my resignation."   

Gamang, who was elected from Odisha's Koraput LokSabha segment eight times in a row from the 5th Lok Sabha in1972, said he was again elected to the lower house of Parliament from the same seat in 2004 for the ninth time.

Sponsorship deals linked to the Russia and Qatar World Cup tournaments are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Telegraph reports.

An indictment released by the US authorities describes how a businessman "negotiated a contract to acquire the media and marketing rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifier matches' and agreed a $3 million bribe in exchange for the deal.

Costas Takkas, a British citizen who has been accused of using his global network of bank accounts to funnel bribes for another football official charged, was involved in negotiating the payments.

The disclosure is likely to increase pressure on Sepp Blatter, who was re-elected as FIFA president yesterday.

Read the full report here

Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is mounting a political comeback, has expressed fears that the separatist Tamil Tigers could regroup and revive terrorism in the country. "We are glad that terrorists are no more. But I have a suspicion that we may return to see terrorism," Rajapaksa said.

"We don't want to see that happening we want everyone to live in peace and harmony," he told a religious gathering in the north central town of Anuradhapura yesterday.

Rajapaksa, who led the Sri Lankan forces in the bloody victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009, plans to contest parliamentary polls in another bid to return to power. He first won in 2005, surfed a wave of popularity among the Sinhala majority to win again in 2010. He then had the Constitution changed to allow the third term he hoped to win in January's poll.

But the veteran politician suffered a surprise defeat in snap presidential polls he called. Rajapaksa's defeat to President Maithripala Sirisena came despite his popularity among the Sinhala Buddhist majority.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has ruled out recruiting women for combat operations in armed forces due to apprehensions about their safety but said they would be encouraged to join other operational areas with their inclusion being stepped up in phases.

"No. Think of what can happen if a woman is taken as a prisoner in combat operation," he said, implying at possible atrocities they might suffer if held captive by enemy forces. He, however, said except for combat role women will be encouraged to join other operational areas of the forces.

"This inclusion will be increased in phases," Parrikar said during a brief interaction with reporters on the sidelines of a passing out parade at the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla near Pune.

On shortage of officers in the forces, he said the deficit is being reduced and the gap currently stood at 7,000 as against 11,000 earlier. Parrikar said the admission capacity of the academy, the premier institute which trains future officers of the three wings of the Armed Forces, too will be enhanced from existing 1950 to 2400 in next two years.

India's economy grew faster than China in the quarter through March, data showed yesterday, but a sharp downward revision for the previous quarter has added to doubts about the accuracy of a new method used to measure economic activity, NDTV reports.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said it is absolutely clear that the economy is in recovery mode.

Asia's third-largest economy grew 7.5 per cent year-on-year in the last quarter, outstripping China's 7 per cent growth in the same quarter and beating a Reuters poll of economists who forecast 7.3 per cent growth.
 
"We have already surpassed China's growth rate" Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said after the data was released.

Dismissed as a power transformer blast initially, the explosion near the venue of the second Pakistan-Zimbabwe ODI cricket match was a terror attack but the tourists have decided to continue with the series, which ends tomorrow.

The incident occurred last night near the Gaddafi stadium -- the venue of the second ODI here.

Federal Information minister Pervez Rasheed confirmed on Geo News that the blasts heard around 9.00pm during the match were the result of explosives planted in a rickshaw.

Rasheed said the explosion in the rickshaw took place near Kalma Chowk which is around one kilometre from the Gaddafi stadium. Initially, the Pakistan Cricket Board and police officials had said that the blasts were caused by an explosion in a power transformer near the stadium that was packed for the one-day international.

A PCB spokesman confirmed to PTI that steps were taken not to cause panic among the people last night. "The blasts were heard and word spread around but the people who came to watch the match remained orderly and there was no incident," Agha Akbar said.

"The main thing is that the Zimbabwe team is continuing the tour and will play the last ODI as planned on Sunday," he said. Akbar said the tickets for the match were sold out like the first four games of the tour.

NDTV reports: The cabinet today cleared the land acquisition ordinance. It was set to lapse on June 3.

Details awaited.

Just in: The Union Cabinet has recommended a re-promulgation of land ordinance, official sources tell PTI. The earlier ordinance brought into force in March will lapse on June 4. 

The cabinet may clear land bill ordinance which lapses on June 3, sources tell NDTV.

The Bharatiya Janata Party workers protested outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence today over the Aam Aadmi Party allegedly procuring 'snooping' equipment.

The police used water canons to quell the protests leaving one protester injured. 

"The AAP wants to break into people's privacy. Who gave them the right to tap Delhi people's phone calls," asked BJP's Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay.

"We will protest against this wherever possible. Who gave Arvind Kejriwal permission to buy snooping equipment?"

The Kejriwal-led government has triggered another controversy after it turned out it was considering buying high-end equipment for surveillance and monitoring for its anti-corruption branch. The plan to buy the equipment for "research, analysis, surveillance and monitoring purposes" was part of a Rs 36-crore proposal to run the ACB, up from Rs 7 crore spent on it currently, The Hindustan Times reported.

A cabinet note prepared for the Kejriwal cabinet proposes to spend Rs 3.2 crore on the high-end equipment  and the rest on vehicles, mobile phones, computers and salaries for additional staff, according to the report.

Mumbai nurse Aruna Shanbaug's assailant, Sohanlal Bhartha Valmiki, who has been traced to Parpa village of Hapur district near Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, said that he committed no crime.

"I did not rape Aruna... I don't remember anything from that day," he told the Marathi daily Sakaal whose correspondent found him staying with his family in the UP village which is around 75km from Delhi.

Shanbaug died on May 18, 42 years after being in a vegetative state caused by the brutal sexual assault by Valmiki, then a ward boy with KEM Hospital in Parel.

Valmiki was not charged with rape or sexual assault but with attempted murder and robbery and after a seven-year jail term, walked a free man in 1980.

Fresh protests were held outside IIT-Madras this morning over the de-recognising a students' body for reportedly criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The protests were led by the Democratic Youth Federation of India and also saw the participation from other youth organisations, who condemned the HRD ministry. Several protesters were detained as the clashed with policemen outside the institute.

Anticipating strong protests security was tightened outside IIT.

On Friday, scores of Congress party-affiliated National Students Union of India workers on Friday held a protest outside Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani's official residence. They raised anti-government slogans and accused the HRD ministry of being behind the action against the body.

Ahead of Home Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Chhaittisgarh today, security forces have recovered two powerful tiffin bombs from Naxal-hit Sukma district's Dornapal region.

"The explosives, planted by Naxals, were recovered by a joint team of security personnel near Misma village on Sukma-Dornapal route under the Dornapal police station limits yesterday," Sukma sub-divisional officer of police, Prafulla Kispotta, said.

The joint party of the Central Reserve Police Force and district force was patrolling Sukma-Dornpal route when they found two tiffins containing IEDs, weighing 10 kg each, placed beneath the ground near Misma, located nearly 450 km away from Raipur, he said.

The IEDs were immediately destroyed by the bomb disposal squad at the spot, the SDOP said.

The home minister will arrive at Raipur this afternoon on two-day tour of the state where he is expected take part in a number of programmes in the capital and Bastar division.

Singh will inaugurate the new police headquarters building at Naya Raipur today, following which he will convene a unified command meeting to chalk out strategies to deal with Maoist menace.

In Kerala's Alappuzha as pre-monsoon clouds gather people wait eagerly for some relief from the heat wave.

The monsoons are likely to hit before June 3, the meteorological department predicts. 

The nationwide death toll rose to 2005 as the intense heat wave continued to sweep many parts of the country, with Palamau in Jharkhand recording the highest temperature of 47 degrees Celsius.

Photograph: ANI/Twitter

The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration has given its go ahead to prosecute Nestle India, which manufactures instant noodles Maggi, a batch of which was found to contain dangerous levels of lead, reports NDTV. 

A complaint case against Nestle will be filed in the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Barabanki district, which is where the samples had been taken for testing.

Last month, the UP Food Safety and Drug Administration had asked Nestle India to withdraw a batch of Maggi noodles "which were manufactured in February 2014" after it found high levels of added monosodium glutamate, a taste enhancer, in the noodles and lead beyond permissible limits.

Local FSDA officials had said the packets of instant noodles tested in the state-run laboratory were contaminated.

The United States has spotted a pair of mobile artillery vehicles on an artificial island that China is building in the South China Sea, a resource-rich stretch of ocean crossed by vital shipping lanes, US officials told The New York Times.  

China's construction programme on previously uninhabited atolls and reefs in the Spratly Islands has already raised alarm and drawn protests from other countries in the region, whose claims to parts of the South China Sea overlap China's.

Defence Secretary Ash Carter called this week for China to halt the construction, saying that international law did not recognise Chinese claims of sovereignty over the new territories and that US warships and military aircraft would continue to operate in the area.  

A suicide blast last night near the Gaddafi stadium where an ODI between Pakistan and Zimbabwe was being played claimed the life of a policeman who stopped the bomber from targeting the cricketing venue.

During the day-night match between Pakistan and Zimbabwe here, a suicide bomber blew himself up while riding a rickshaw at 9 pm near Kalma Chowk less than a kilometre away from the ground.

Four people were rushed to a nearby hospital where sub-inspector Abdul Majid was pronounced dead. Soon after the blast, the Pakistan Cricket Board issued a statement, saying it was a "power transformer blast" that was caused by malfunctioning.

Police cordoned off the area and no one including the media was allowed to enter the blast site. Senior police officials kept denying that it was a suicide blast. "The gas cylinder fixed in the auto rickshaw was exploded. Forensic samples had been collected from the site to determine the nature of the explosion," Lahore police chief Amin Wains told reporters. He said it would be premature to say that it was a "suicide attack".

However, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid told Geo News, "An attempt to attack the Gaddafi Stadium was foiled by the gallantry of a police official, who lost his life while trying to stop the attacker near Kalma Chowk."

Day after protests by war veterans, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today tweeted, "The government is committed to One Rank One Pension and there's no doubt about it.

He further tweeted what he said in his interview to The Tribune, "I can say with pride that there has not been a single instance of corruption. There has to be zero tolerance on this matter at the top. The way to achieve this is to lay down policy on everything in black and white. Grey areas should be minimal."

On relief given to farmers and the land bill, Modi said, "The farmer is the backbone of our nation. We need to modernise agriculture to improve productivity and quality." 

"Development, development & development. Jobs, jobs & jobs," the PM answered when asked what is expected from his sarkar. 

Read the full interview here

The Italian coastguard said it had coordinated the rescue of more than 3,300 migrants sailing across the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, but also found 17 corpses on several of the rickety boats.

The United States has formally dropped Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the US State Department has announced, adding a symbolic punctuation mark to the talks that aim to end decades of antagonism.

Until now, if you wanted to try out Google's Inbox by Gmail app but couldn't score an invitation you were out of luck. That's about to change.

At least 19 passengers were shot dead today after being abducted by militants from two Karachi- bound buses in Pakistan's troubled Balochistan province.

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel purportedly posted a recording swearing to finish off the corrupt narco-government in Mexico.Fear has permeated Michoacan.

Libya's Islamic State affiliate took control of a civilian air base in the central city of Sirte, a militia spokesman and an IS statement said, in the latest gains by the extremist group exploiting Libya's lingering chaos.

You often hear politicians and strategic thinkers talk about establishing "facts on the ground" - the need to take account of what actually exists when framing policy.

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