Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen today declared a state of emergency for 30 days citing threat to national security and gave sweeping powers to security forces while suspending right to freedom of movement and assembly after arms and explosives were found near his palace. 

BJP today strongly disapproved of Hindutva leader and its MP Adityanath's controversial comments comparing Shah Rukh Khan with Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed, terming them "uncalled for" which did not reflect in any way the core belief of the party or Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

An estimated Rs 39 crore in cash and over 1.67 lakh litres of illicit liquor has been seized by Election Commission-appointed teams in the Bihar assembly elections till now.

India today said an effective action by Pakistani government against LeT and other terror outfits will have to go far beyond "merely" proscribing their publicity through electronic media, asserting a complete and enforceable ban on them by Pakistan has been long overdue.

Union Minister Najma Heptulla today said claims of "intolerance" against the NDA government were aimed at distracting attention from Narendra Modi government's development works and averred that the government is committed towards protecting Constitution and welfare of minorities.

Just in: The Election Commission says no election advertisements in newspapers tomorrow in Bihar unless cleared by empowered media committee. The order comes after the mahagathbandhan -- the grand alliance of RJD, JDU and Congress in Bihar -- complained about the BJP's cow ad.


An advertisement by the BJP on beef (see picture alongside) in newspapers in areas going to polls in the final phase, including Seemanchal, on Wednesday created controversy, with the rival Nitish Kumar-led alliance knocking the doors of the Election Commission seeking against it.

The BJP advertisement questioning the "silence" of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over "repeated insult" to revered cow by his "friends" everyday appeared in vernacular newspapers in Kisanganj, Saharsa and other areas that will witness voting on Thursday in the fifth and final round of assembly election.

The BJP ad asked CM to "stop politics of vote bank and answer if he agrees with statements of his friends on beef." Additional Chief Electoral Officer R Lakshamanan told PTI the EC would seek a report from the district magistrates where such advertisements have come up in newspapers to verify if there was any violation of election code.

Just in: Gangster Chhota Rajan is likely to leave Bali for India at 5:30 am IST. He is likely to be taken to Delhi where the CBI will take his custody.


Rajan on Tuesday alleged that "some members" in the Mumbai Police have links with wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and said he will keep on fighting against him.

"Some members of the Mumbai police are working in tandem with Dawood. I will keep on fighting against terrorism and Dawood. I am not scared of Dawood," said Rajan, a close confidante-turned-rival of Dawood, the prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

Rajan was arrested in Bali on his arrival from Australia on October 25.

While on France, read this: A French mayor ranted against kebabs. His critics retaliated by declaring an international kebab festival. Read

France will lift a ban on gay men donating blood, introduced in the 1980s to prevent the spread of AIDS but criticised by rights groups, the health minister said today.


"Giving blood is an act of generosity, of civic responsibility, and the donor's sexual orientation cannot be a condition," Marisol Touraine announced in Paris.


"While respecting patient safety, today we are lifting a taboo," she said. Touraine said the lifting of the ban, promised by Francois Hollande in his presidential campaign, will happen in stages, starting next year.


At first, donation of "whole blood" - the red cells, plasma and platelets - will be open to gay men who have not been sexually active for the preceding 12 months, she specified.

Justice T S Thakur will succeed Justice H L Dattu as the next Chief Justice of India. Justice Thakur, the senior-most judge of the apex court, will take over as the CJI after Justice Dattu retires on December 2.


His name was recommended to the government by Justice Dattu on Monday, official sources said.


After the law ministry clears the file of Justice Thakur's appointment, it would be sent to the Prime Minister's Office. His Warrant of Appointment will be issued when the President clears it.


Justice Thakur, who would be the 43rd CJI, was born on January 4, 1952 and enrolled as a Pleader in October 1972. He began practising in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and dealt with all types of matters, including civil, criminal, tax and Constitutional and service cases.


He then joined the chamber of his father D D Thakur, an eminent advocate who became a judge of Jammu and Kashmir High Court and later a union minister. Justice Thakur, who was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court and assumed charge on November 17, 2009, would have a tenure of little over one year. He would retire as CJ on January 4, 2017.

Just in: Anupam Kher who will be leading the anti-award-wapsi march to Rashtrapati Bhavan and has said the intent to return awards instituted by the government like the Sahitya Akademi award, the National Films Award or the Padma awards are motivated to tarnish India's image, comes to the defence of his colleague Shah Rukh Khan.


Kher tweeted: "Some members of the BJP really need to control their tongue & stop talking rubbish about @iamsrk. He is a national icon & We r PROUD of him."


Kher's tweet comes after  BJP senior leader Kailash Vijayvargiya tweeted yesterday saying Shah Rukh Khan's heart lies in Pakistan, while Yogi Adityanath, the BJP MP from Gorakhpur compared the popular actor with 26/11 terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed of Pakistan. "Shah Rukh should understand that if Muslims don't see his films, he will be on the roads. There is no difference in what Shah Rukh Khan and Hafiz Saeed say," said Aditynath.

@AnupamPkher  Will give details about our March to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 7th by artists, writers, painters etc by tomorrow.:) #ToleranceDebate

Just in: After the Congress, BJP ally Shiv Sena defends Shah Rukh Khan, saying one should not target him just because he's a Muslim.

Just when the ruling BJP, thought all was well after senior leader Kailash Vijayvargiya retracted his statement on Shah Rukh Khan, now Yogi Adityanath, the BJP MP from Gorakhpur comparing the popular actor with 26/11 terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed of Pakistan.

"Shah Rukh should understand that if Muslims don't see his films, he will be on the roads. There is no difference in what Shah Rukh Khan and Hafiz Saeed say," said Aditynath.

Vijayvargiya said that he was withdrawing his anti-Shah Rukh tweets that have earned him strong criticism from his own party and others.

BJP senior leader Venkaiah Naidu said earlier that India is proud of SRK.

Anupam Kher has said that the intent to return awards instituted by the government like the Sahitya Akademi award, the National Films Award or the Padma awards are motivated to tarnish India's image. Kher, whose wife Kirron Kher is the BJP MP from Chandigarh, accused the 'Award Wapsi Gang' of being politically motivated.

Subhash K Jha speaks to Anupam Kher... 

For the first time,  the outspoken Anupam Kher is quiet about his plans.

When I quiz him about eyebrow-raising plans to undertake a march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 7 to protest against artistes who have returned their awards as a mark of protest, Anupam answers cautiously, "Yes, it's a fact. I am undertaking an anti-awardsvapsi march on the morning of November 7 to Rashtrapati  Bhavan. I've an appointment with President Pranab Mukherjee at 10 am. And that's all I am willing to tell you right now," Kher says.

When I quiz him on how much support he has from within the film and theatre fraternity for this unusual protest against the protesters, Kher shoots back, "There is support, of course, thought it may not be direct or open. The march on November 7 is not about numbers. It's about conviction. Even if I've to march alone to the Rashtrapti Bhavan on November 7,  I'll do so."

Just in: Justice TS Thakur has been named as the next chief justice of India. He will be take over from HL Dattu.

Until recently it was common for people in Bhutan to share stories of their encounters with the Himalayan yeti. But with the arrival of modernity, villagers no longer need to climb high into the mountains, where they once saw traces of the yeti - or thought they did. So a legend is slowly fading away. Read

"One way of looking at the frantic attempt by Washington to stoke up the tensions in the South China Sea (while also playing it down from getting out of hand) is that Beijing may be steadily outwitting it on the diplomatic front. If it was the instrument of economic partnerships with the Asia-Pacific to begin with, where China elbowed out the US."

Read MK Bhadrakumar's blog here.

The National Geographic Society says it will lay off about 9 percent of its staff of 2,000 as a deal to sell the magazine and other media properties to 21st Century Fox nears completion. Spokeswoman MJ Jacobsen said in an email late Tuesday that all employees have been told what their employment status will be once the deal closes later this month. Buyouts have been offered to some employees, Jacobsen said. 

Sachin Tendulkar tweets @sachin_rt  The city of #NewYork to witness the #CricketAllStars inaugural game on Nov 7 at Citi Field. @T20AllStars @ShaneWarne


Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar lead an all-star cast of cricketing greats in the United States this weekend, on what the former legends hope will be just the first leg of a world tour.

No, we're not joking.

A anti-awardwapsi march has been announced by actor Anupam Kher. The march led by Kher, will comprise artistes who believe it is wrong to return awards as a mark of protest. The march to Rashtrapati Bhavan is on November 7.

Kher has criticized the group of filmmakers returning their National Awards.

Last week, Dibakar Banerjee, Anand Patwardhan and eight others announced they were returning their awards, condemning the murders of rationalists like MM Kalburgi and recent killings related to rumours of beef-eating and cow slaughter. The group of 10 were preceded by some 40 writers who have returned their awards or quit posts in literary body Sahitya Akademi.


Kher says #awardwapsi was motivated to tarnish India's image. Kher, whose wife Kirron Kher is the BJP MP from Chandigarh, accused the 'Award Wapsi Gang' of being politically motivated. He also blamed them for having had him ousted as Censor Board chief in 2004 by Manmohan Singh's UPA government


We hear President Pranab Mukherjee has asked for a fresh supply of Crocin.


Also read:Anupam Kher: People don't want to give Modi a chance

Plane crash near South Sudan Airport: More than 40 bodies at the crash site, how many of them were onboard is unclear - Reuters.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency on Wednesday giving sweeping powers to security forces to arrest suspects ahead of a major anti-government protest rally, his spokesman said. "(The) Maldives declares state of emergency for a period of 30 days starting 12 pm Wednesday," the presidential spokesman Muaz Ali tweeted. -- AFP.

Immediate gag order required on BJP fringe elements like Yogi Adityanath, who now equates Shah Rukh Khan to JuD chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafeez Saeed. 

Just in: Rejoice, Maggi lovers! Nestle says newly-manufactured Maggi found safe in tests; to start retail sales this month. Nestle India on Wednesday said its flagship product Maggi noodles are safe for consumption after 100 per cent of the samples from its newly manufactured stocks have been cleared.


In August this year, the Bombay high court quashed the orders of the Indian food regulators banning the nine variants of noodles in the country after observing that principles of natural justice were not followed.


A division bench of the high court allowed Nestle to go in for fresh testing by sending five samples of each variant of noodles to three independent laboratories in Punjab, Hyderabad and Jaipur which were accredited with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). These samples would be taken out of the 750 samples preserved by the company following the ban.


A huge stock of Maggi noodles was destroyed by Nestle after the ban was imposed by the food regulators. If the lead content is found below permissible limits by these three labs, Nestle, would be allowed to manufacture Maggi noodles.


Last month, Nestle India said it had cleared tests conducted by three laboratories as per Bombay High Court directions. The company, however, said it would commence manufacturing and marketing the brand "only after the newly manufactured products are also cleared by the designated three laboratories".  Now, that it has happened, Maggi will back on shelves in a month.

First reactions from Indian artistes on Ghulam Ali's decision not to perform in India.

Singer Abhijeet: Ghulam Ali will return to India, he wants money. "He is making statements only for publicity. Artists in Pakistan are doing hawala, They become famous in India, but pay tax in Pakistan. Why should we welcome anyone from a terrorist country? India needs people like me to counter sickularists."


Sarod player Ustad Amjad Ali Khan:The land was divided but music cannot be divided.

Just in: Maldives declares state of emergency, says AFP.

Just in: Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali tells CNN IBN that he has cancelled all future concerts in India including the one in New Delhi. He says he feels hurt at being used to score political scores and won't come to India till things settle down. He has also cancelled is December 3 concert in Lucknow.

Ghulam Ali's concert in Mumbai was cancelled after threats from the Shiv Sena. Ghulam Ali was given an invitation to perform in Delhi by the Aam Aadmi Party government after the cancellation of his Mumbai programme. The concert in the national capital was scheduled to be held on November 8.


Soon after the date for Delhi concert was announced, Shiv Sena had issued an ultimatum for Delhi, saying that it will not allow the concert to take place. The Delhi government had said that it would put together all resources and post AAP volunteers for additional security to ensure the concert happens.


Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis too had extended an invitation to the ghazal maestro, saying his government will ensure foolproof security if he still wishes to perform in the city. 

Pakistan seems to be on everyone's mind. BJP MP Ashwani Kumar Choubey on Wednesday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad should go to Pakistan. "Lalu and Nitish Kumar ko Pakistan chale jana chahiye," Choubey said.

MI Khan/Rediff.com reports that after the Bihar assembly poll results on November 8, Lalu and Nitish would be left with no work, so they should go to Pakistan.

He said, it would be the people of Bihar who in fact will send both Lalu and Nitish to Pakistan after Nov 8.

The comments come a day ahead of the fifth and final phase of Bihar assembly polls.

Choubey is following the path of other BJP leaders. Last week Union Minister Giriraj Singh said Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad want to make Bihar Pakistan.

Earlier BJP President Amit Shah said if BJP lost in Bihar, firecrackers would be burst in Pakistan.

"If by mistake BJP loses in Bihar, firecrackers will be burst in Pakistan," he had said. 

The BJP government in Haryana drops the chargesheet against IAS officer Ashok Khemka for "exceeding his jurisdiction".


Khemka had said he had been allegedly persecuted by the Congress for cancelling a land deal involving Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, The IAS officer has been transferred multiple times since November, 2012, when he cancelled the sale of 3.5 acres of land in Gurgaon near Delhi by Robert Vadra's company Skylight Hospitality to real estate giant DLF for Rs 58 crore.


An auditor's report said the Congress, which was in power at the time, bent rules to enable windfall gains for Vadra's company. The report was ignored by the Congress government, which set up its own inquiry and then chargesheeted Khemka for "causing damage to Robert Vadra's reputation" and "illegally" cancelling the deal. T


When the BJP government came to power Khemka had requested the government to cancel the charge-sheet against him.

After marathon deliberations spread over three days, a 12-member jury hearing the case of police brutality on an Indian grandfather in the US, has decided to meet again today.


Yesterday afternoon, the federal jury in Alabama's capital Huntsville, came back to District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala, saying that they have not been able to arrive at a consensus on the second trial of Eric Parker, the cop charged with use of excessive force on 58-year-old Sureshbhai Patel that left him partially paralysed.



"We have voted a couple of times and haven't come up with a unanimous decision. What do we do next?" the jury asked. Haikala then encouraged the jury to try to arrive at a consensus. There is no reason to believe the federal government could select a more confident nor more conscientious jury for a new trial, she apparently told the jury.

The Congress Party today lashed out at senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya for his controversial comments on Shah Rukh Khan, saying the Bollywood superstar hailed from a family of freedom fighters so how could he be branded as a 'Pakistani'.


"I want to convey this to all those who are commenting irresponsibly on Shah Rukh, that he comes from a family of freedom fighters. How can he become a 'Pakistani' when his family fought for the freedom of this country? On the other hand, none of your family members have fought for the freedom of this country and you call yourself patriot?" Congress leader Rashid Alvi told ANI.


"The BJP want to further degrade the atmosphere in the country by commenting in this way," he added. Coming down heavily on Vijaywargiya's comment, Alvi asked whether all those protesting against the rising intolerance in the country were 'Pakistanis'.


"This hasn't been told only by Shah Rukh, it has been said by many people in the country that the intolerance is rising. Is the President a Pakistani, is the RBI Governor a Pakistani. Are all those protesting artists Pakistanis?" he said.


"Is the Congress Party Pakistani because we submitted a memorandum to the President? Just because Shah Rukh is a Muslim, to accuse him of being a Pakistani is highly condemnable," he added.

Just in: Arthur Road jail authorities in Mumbai have asked for a dialysis machine as they await gangster Chhota Rajan. Rajan suffers from a kidney ailment and has been under dialysis for a while. A video conference facility has also been put in place in Rajan's cell. The gangster is likely to be housed in the jail's anda cell to ensure his security.


However, Mumbai may have to wait for a while. Reports say that Rajan, who is still in Bali, may not be taken to Mumbai, but will head to Delhi first. He is wanted for over 70 cases of murder, extortion and drug trafficking in Mumbai. Reports say that all cases he has been charged with will be clubbed together and he may be tried in a special court.


The stopover in Delhi comes after Rajan had told reporters that "some people in the Mumbai police have links with Dawood Ibrahim. The Mumbai Police has done a lot of 'atyachar' (atrocities) on me...the government should look into that. Some in the Mumbai Police are mixed up with Dawood," he said.


Sources say the government is looking at "ease of investigations and safety and security of Rajan".


Rajan's deportation was deferred on Tuesday due to the closure of the airport in Bali as a result of the spewing of volcanic ash from a nearby mountain.

Rajan was to be taken to India by a special aircraft on Tuesday night, but remains in detention in Denpasar.

A suitably chastised Kailash Vijayvargiya, the senior BJP leader, who said 
"Shah Rukh lives in India, but his soul is in Pakistan", has now withdrawn his remarks.


On Tuesday, he attacked the Bollywood superstar over his "extreme intolerance" comment, saying his "soul" is in Pakistan though he lives in India and also painted him as an "anti-nationalist".


The comments by Vijayvargiya, a BJP general secretary and a former state minister, came notwithstanding the refrain of top BJP leaders in the recent weeks that insensitive comments should be avoided by party men. Vijayvargiya is one of the party strategists for the Bihar assembly elections.


Vijayvargiya today said his "intent was not to hurt anybody. I retract my tweets. But had India been intolerant SRK wouldn't have been a big star. "

Margaret Thatcher's clothes and personal possessions could be saved for the nation as the Victoria & Albert museum changed its position by saying it would welcome a new offer to show the collection. Read more

Among the conditions imposed on the RSS by Sardar Patel for the removal of the 1948-49 ban on it after Mahatma Gandhi's assassination was "explicit acceptance" of the National Flag.


For Patel, whose 140th anniversary was celebrated by the government days ago, the flag "stood for secular society'. Last month, RSS leaders said that many members of the Flag Committee constituted by the Congress Working Committee in 1931 saw the idea of representing different religions on the flag as "communal".


However, their views here are at odds with that of Patel, whom many in the BJP and Sangh celebrate for his integration into India of more than 500 princely states after Independence. Patel said at a Congress meet on December 17, 1949, in Jaipur that any organisation seeking to supplant the National Flag by another would be sternly dealt with.


"Sardar Patel, who vehemently condemned the activities of the RSS, was loudly cheered at the conclusion of his speech,' says a newspaper report of the event, reproduced in Vol. XIII of the Collected Works of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, edited by P.N. Chopra and Prabha Chopra.


"There was a challenge to the National Flag that had come to be respected by kings and rulers and the power that ruled over India for 200 years. It was under that flag that the Congress made great sacrifices, and today, under no circumstances would they give up the ideal for which they had lived and worked."

The complainant in the sexual harassment case against climate scientist R K Pachauri has resigned from TERI alleging that the organisation treated her in the "worst possible manner" and harmed her "mentally, professionally and economically".


In her resignation letter to TERI HR Director Dinesh Verma, the complainant, a research analyst, has said that despite the enquiry committee finding Pachauri guilty of misconduct, the organisation has "failed" to do the "bare minimum" to ensure that she is not impacted.


"Your organisation has treated me in the worst possible manner. TERI failed to uphold my interests as an employee, let alone protecting them.


"The organisation has instead protected R K Pachauri and provided him with full immunity, despite being held guilty of sexual harassment at the work place by your own inquiry committee.The Governing Council too let me down in an unprecedented way," she said.


"The Council could not even suspend a man pending inquiry and took no action despite the indictment. You also created a hostile environment for me which has only escalated and showed no signs of subsiding whatsoever.It is becoming clear that the Governing Council works for the DG and under his instructions.


"There has been no changeover in the DG as well as stated on 23 July, 2015.I am tendering my resignation from TERI with immediate effect," the complainant wrote in the letter. The complainant had registered a complaint against Pachauri for sexual harassment at the workplace and lodged an FIR with Delhi Police in February 2015.

Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton is tied in a dead heat with Republican Ben Carson and leads three other major Republican candidates for 2016 elections in a hypothetical match-up.


Clinton is tied up with Carson at 47 per cent each, while she leads Donald Trump by 8 points, Jeb Bush by 4 points and Marco Rubio by 3 points, NBC News/The Wall Street Journal poll said.

Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has problems with Pakistan and Muslims. In an interview to Channel 92, Musharraf said that the present conflict between India and Pakistan was not an ideology based issue of a particular ruling party, but due to an 'individual'. "We have dealt with both the BJP and Congress and it is not an issue of parties, but of an individual. In India, there is a new prime minister. I don't know what his problem with Pakistan and Muslim," Musharraf said.

The 'half-pants' traditionally worn by RSS swayamsevaks could soon make way for trousers as the Sangh considers a new dress code to attract the youth. A discussion on this was held last week at a meeting in Ranchi, where some swayamsevaks wearing the new uniforms paraded before RSS members, sources said. 

A fresh incident of alleged sacrilege was today reported in this district of Punjab, which was recently rocked by a series of protests over such cases. A police spokesman said three torn pieces of the holy book were found in Maleke village in Baghapurana area of the district. Additional Police force had been rushed to the village, where a large number of locals and outsiders have gathered.

With Diwali round the corner, Delhi ministers have appealed not to offer them gifts on the occasion.Outside their offices, the Aam Aadmi Party ministers have pasted a hand-written appeal - "Please don't embarrass by offering Diwali gifts, including idols of Gods". 

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who was attacked by right wing groups for his comments against intolerance, has now been invited by 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind Hafiz Saeed to Pakistan. 

The dismay that many ordinary Indian citizens feel about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's willingness to tolerate, even encourage, the Hindu hard-liners in his own party has now spread to the financial community. Last week, Moody's Analytics, a division of the bond rating and risk management company, warned that Mr. Modi "must keep his members in check or risk losing domestic and global credibility' '" meaning, in so many words, its attractiveness to international investors.

Continuing to extend his support to his Bihar counterpart, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter and wrote, "It is imp that BJP lose Bihar so that they know that hate politics will not work in this country. People want love and peace, not hate."

Asserting that "divisive forces cannot be allowed to prosper", the BJP-led NDA government supported the prosecution of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy for making a hate speech, and told the Supreme Court that he has violated provisions of the Indian Penal Code with his writing, which allegedly tends to promote hatred between Hindus and Muslims. Submitting its affidavit in response to a notice by the top court, the ministry of home affairs contended that Swamy, in his book titled Terrorism in India, had made a "hate speech against a community of India".

Veteran Bollywood scriptwriter Salim Khan in an interview spoke of intellectual returning their awards in response to the government's lack of action about the growing intolerance in the nation. When asked about Arun Shourie's latest scathing criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "I wonder if Arun Shourie would have said the same things if he was holding an important ministry in the current government."

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Singapore on Saturday, Ma's office said, in what will be the first meeting between leaders from the two rivals since the end of a civil war in 1949. The two presidents will "exchange views on cross-strait issues" Ma's spokesman Charles Chen said, referring to the stretch of water separating mainland China and Taiwan. The intention of the visit is to "secure cross-straitpeace" but no agreement will be signed and there will be no joint statement, he said.

The charred bodies of the daughter-in-law and three grandchildren of a former Congress lawmaker, Siricilla Rajaiah were found after a fire broke out at his residence this morning in Warangal in Telangana. A gas cylinder leak reportedly triggered the fire, which killed Sarika and her three sons - Abhinav, Ayan, Sriyan. Rajaiah was supposed to file his nomination papers for the Warangal Lok Sabha bye-election today on behalf of the Congress.