India and Russia today discussed key regional and bilateral issues including defence, civil nuclear cooperation and trade ties as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj described Russia as India's "tried and tested" partner and a "real friend".

TimesNow says India leg-spinner Amit Mishra has been accused of allegedly assaulting a woman in Bengaluru, reports said.

President Pranab Mukherjee has yet again come out with an appeal for practicing tolerance and to accept differences while respecting dissent, in remarks that come in the midst of growing intolerance in the country.        

Just in: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has announced that PCB boss Shahryar Khan can hold talks with the BCCI in Kolkata.


This comes after the BCCI-PCB talks were cancelled in Mumbai after Shiv Sainiks stormed the BCCI office yesterday and protested about the potential series between Pakistan and India in December.


PCB Chief Shahryar Khan  has said that he was going home and that there was no meeting scheduled with the BCCI. "I'm not optimistic about Indo-Pak series anymore," Khan said.

Just in: Russia has announced that it look into declassifying files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj contacted her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov requesting Russia to declassify the Bose files. Lavrov has told Swaraj that Russia will consider the request.


This comes a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that that his government will start declassifying the secret files related to Bose from January 23 next year, raising hopes about solving the seven-decade-old mystery about his disappearance.


Modi told Netaji's family members during a meeting in New Delhi that he would also urge foreign governments to declassify files on Bose available with them by writing to them and personally taking up with their leaders, beginning with Russia in December.


Conspiracy theorists say that Bose may have been in the USSR after 1945, after the WWII ended.


Pic: PM Modi with family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at 7 Race Course Road on October 14.

FLASH:  "I am going home. There is no meeting scheduled with BCCI Chief, I'm not optimistic about Indo-Pak series anymore," says PCB Chief Shahryar Khan.

Khan added that Pakistan however will not boycott the World T20 (to be held in India next year).


The meeting between BCCI President Shashank Manohar and Shahryar Khan at the BCCI office was cancelled yesterday after Shiv Sainiks stormed the BCCI office and protested about the potential series between Pakistan and India in December.


Sainiks stormed into the BCCI office in Mumbai and waved placards reading, "Shahryar, Go Back". They also shouted slogans in Manohar's cabin. However, there were no reports of any damage or injuries. Security has been beefed up at the BCCI headquarters following the incident.


According to reports, at least 10 Shiv Sena members have been detained.
"The talks are not happening as of now due to the current situation but you cannot say that it won't happen in future," a top BCCI source told PTI.

Dialogue between agitating students of FTII and Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in New Delhi ends. Rathore says, "The kind of interaction we had with FTII students today, I believe that the problems they have will be resolved soon."


The meeting was held in a bid to end the four-month strike at the Pune institute over the demand for the removal of actor Gajendra Chauhan as its chairman.


The latest meeting follows several rounds of talks between the students and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry officials to break the deadlock at the premier film institute.


Neither side has budged from its stance as the students seek Chauhans removal as the head of the FTII council and the government having rejected that demand.


In the last meeting between the two sides on October 10 in Mumbai, it was decided that the students would meet Rathore, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, for the next round of talks.

One miner has died and five others trapped after the roof of a coal mine collapsed in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district today. About 22 workers had gone to the underground mine early in the morning. Most left a while later, but about six people were still working in the mine when its roof collapsed. Rescue operations are underway. The mine, owned by Bharat Coking Coal Limited, is located in the Pudki Baliharia mining area, about 10 kilometres from Dhanbad Railway Station. -- NDTV.

One of India's most talented actors, Shabana Azmi, posts this picture of Smita Patil (who would have turned 60 on October 17) and Deepti Naval, and writes: "How out of sorts can all 3 of us be." 


Read: Smita Patil: The Woman Behind the Image

Janardan Mahto, a labourer from a village in Bihar, is on a plane to New Delhi.


It's a first for Mahto, a labourer, who has never been inside a plane.


Excited, he may be, but it's what awaits him at the end of the journey that's been really top of mind.  


He will be meeting a young girl called Geeta, after 16 years, who he thinks is his long-lost daughter.


Mahto is being flown on the invitation of union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.


Geeta, a deaf-mute Indian woman has been living in Pakistan after accidentally crossing the border to Pakistan over a decade ago, is on her way back to India.


Mahto, in his late 50s, had claimed two months ago after watching Geeta on TV, that he was her father and her real name was Hira. He is also a father of five sons and two daughters.


"It's a miracle for me that I will finally get  to meet my daughter, who disappeared without a trace so many years ago" he said. According to him, Geeta went missing from Kartarpur near Jalandhar, where she had gone to a 'Baisakhi fair in 2004, when Mahto was working as a daily wage labourer in Punjab.


Mahto said he is ready for any test including a DNA test to verify his claims. "My family, villagers and people in a dozen neighbouring villages, are happy that I am going to bring her back," Mahto said.


Mahto thanked the central government and state government for making his visit to Delhi possible.


Manoj Kumar, an official of the Bihar government, who is accompanying Mahto to Delhi, said, "My job is to go along with Mahto to Delhi. After reaching Delhi, government agencies will help him'."


Mahto said that there will be a big celebration in his village -- Kabira Dhap in Saharsa district -- when he returns with Geeta.


The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier said the Indian authorities narrowed the search down to three families who claimed they were Geeta's kin and had sent photographs of them to her for identification. 

-- MI Khan/Rediff.com

Pic: Janardan Mahto (in a turban) heads to Delhi to meet Geeta.


Read this report if you are not familiar with Geeta's story.

A day after he was arrested, Patel quota agitation spearhead Hardik Patel today moved a petition before the Gujarat High Court seeking to set aside the sedition charges filed against him in Surat. Hardik's father Bharat Patel moved the plea on behalf of his son through his advocate B M Mangukiya and stated that no offence can be attributed to the Patel leader.


"No offence can be disclosed by spoken words of Hardik and no overt act can be attributed to him by those words, thus no offence has been made out," the plea said. The plea is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow. A case of sedition was filed against Hardik for his alleged controversial remarks instigating his community youth to kill cops instead of committing suicide.


Hardik, who was detained by Rajkot rural police ahead of the India-South Africa One-Day International on Sunday as he had threatened to disrupt the match, was arrested yesterday by the Rajkot rural police for allegedly insulting the national flag.

India skipper Virat Kohli tweets: "Pleasure to have played with you @virendersehwag bhai. What an amazing career. Thanks for the guidance and the memories. Modern day legend!"

Former environment minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has been receiving a lot of mail over the last two days.


Hate mail.


On October 18, Ramesh told PTI in an interview that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi would bring with him a new team for the Congress when he takes over as its president by March next year or even earlier. Ramesh indicated that leaders above the age of 60 may only play an advisory role under the new dispensation.

While suggesting a graceful exit for leaders in the 70-plus category, the senior Congress leader emphasised that the transition process would be smooth and that Rahul will not treat seniors the way PM Modi treated his seniors in the party.


Jairam explained that young voters were attracted to the BJP and it was time the Congress attempted to attract youngsters and went to suggest that Rahul Gandhi should focus on this. He added that Canada was a case in point which had just elected a young prime minister Justin Trudeau, who was just 43.


On the hit list are leaders like AK Antony, Motilal Vohra and MLFotedar among others.

Shah Rukh Khan @iamsrk  tweets his reaction to Sehwag's retirment: :Will miss you on the field yaar @virendersehwag. U r the gentlest coolest & bravest of sportsmen I have ever come across. Love & health to u."

In a shocking departure from the norm, staff members of Sola Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, were seen playing garba inside the ICU ward, in front of ailing patients, regional news channel TV9 reported on Monday.


Earlier in the day, the Finance, Medical Education and Health and Family Welfare Minister of Gujarat, Nitinbhai Patel, had inaugurated the new dialysis centre in the hospital. Soon after his visit, the hospital staff started playing Garba with loud music, disturbing the patients present inside the ward.


The ICU ward where even the mobile phones are prohibited as per hospital rules, the staff was playing loud music to celebrate the opening of new centre.


A video of the incident has gone viral. As per TV9 reports, the administration wasn't aware of the proceedings, and went on to shut the loud music as soon as the matter was brought to its notice.


The reports also bring to light the sheer negligence in matters of hygiene where the hospital staff is seen dancing with shoes and slippers inside the ICU ward.


Pic: A grab from the video that seems to have gone viral.

Just in: Virender Sehwag tweets: "I hereby retire from all forms of international cricket and from the Indian Premier League. A statement will follow."

Sehwag retires on his 37th birthday, bringing to a close a 16-year career.


Sehwag had rubbished reports of his international retirement, saying it's not official. There were reports that the batsman had made the announcement in Dubai on Monday, with speculation of him joining the Masters Champions League. The speculations were confirmed with Sehwag's tweet just now.



A day before his 37th birthday, Sehwag was unveiled at the launch ceremony of the veterans 2020 league in Dubai. When Sehwag, who was present alongside Brian Lara, Graeme Smith and Azhar Mahmood at the launch, was asked how he could play as MCL is a retired cricketers' league, Sehwag said "If I am not retired I will not play. I will go back to India and announce my retirement." That casual remark by him (on retirement) seemingly went viral, forcing the player to come up with a denial. Sehwag has scored 8,586 runs in 104 matches, having made his Test debut against South Africa in 2001.

The final trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has debuted online and has its fans shaken and stirred. The film, which is the seventh in the series, reunites original stars Harrison Ford (still steaming hot), Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill. They are joined by newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega.


Not surprisingly, Star Wars has been trending on Twitter, with one fan writing, @BESTRAPPERINDC  Star Wars looks like a must see, they set it even more deep in the future then the last one , like 100 years, the Jedi is a myth in this one."


The release dates for India have not been announced, but the film is set to release in the US on December 17.

Watch the trailer here.

Pic: Fans wearing Star Wars' costumes in Brussels. 

With Shiv Sena throwing a spanner in resumption of bilateral cricketing ties with Pakistan, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said though Samajwadi Party has never been a supporter of cricket, it does not approve of incidents preventing sportsmen of other countries to play in India.


"SP has never been in favour of cricket but it should not happen that you dig the pitch. A debate can be held on another platform but disallowing sportsmen of other countries to play here is not fair," Yadav told reporters.


His comments came against the backdrop of Sena workers storming the Indian Cricket Board headquarters in Mumbai yesterday forcing cancellation of scheduled talks with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shaharyar Khan over resumption of India-Pakistan cricketing ties.

A key dialogue began in New Delhi today between agitating students of FTII and Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in a bid to end the four-month strike at the Pune institute over the demand for the removal of actor Gajendra Chauhan as its chairman.


The latest meeting follows several rounds of talks between the students and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry officials to break the deadlock at the premier film institute.


Neither side has budged from its stance as the students seek Chauhan's removal as the head of the FTII council and the government having outrightly rejected that demand. In the last meeting between the two sides on October 10 in Mumbai, it was decided that the students would meet Rathore, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, for the next round of talks.

Just in: BCCI sources suggest that the India-Pakistan bilateral series scheduled in December is unlikely to take place, say reports.


This comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Anurag Thakur in New Delhi on Monday confirmed that the talks about reviving ties with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have been cancelled.


PCB chief Shaharyar Khan was to meet newly elected BCCI president Shashank Manohar to discuss the resumption of cricketing ties between the two countries before around 70 Shiv Sena activists demonstrated at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, asking Manohar to cancel the talks.


In response to the protest by Sena, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee offered the BCCI to hold the meeting with the PCB chief in Kolkata.


In the current scenario, rumours also spread that the meeting might be shifted to the national capital where BCCIs All India Senior Selection Committee also met on Monday to announce the team for the remaining matches of the on-going South Africa series.


Officially there is no meeting scheduled in New Delhi. If the talks happen, they will take place in Mumbai at the BCCI headquarters. The BCCI and PCB have some outstanding issues and the PCB chief wanted to meet the BCCI president to discuss those things but those have been cancelled now, Thakur told reporters.


I condemn this attack because you cannot barge into the BCCI office and force cancellation of the talks. In a democracy, you can protest but you can do it on the streets but you cant barge into anyones office, home or headquarters, said Thakur, who is a Lok Sabha member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.


Earlier in the day, Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Rajeev Shukla also disapproved the protest that was staged at the BCCI presidents office, which is located in the Wankhede Stadium complex.


The Shiv Sainiks carried a black flag and shouted slogans of Pakistan murdabad and Shashank Manohar murdabad. Later, the police detained more than two dozen protesting Sena activists and whisked them away as Manohar quietly watched from his office.


One of the protesters said that Shiv Sena would not permit any cricketing relations between India and Pakistan until the latter stopped the killing of Indian soldiers and civilians at the border.

It is a sin to allow women in close proximity of the male Muslim saint's tomb at Haji Ali dargah, the trust told the Bombay high court (HC) on Monday.


A division bench of justice VM Kanade and justice Dr Shalini Phansalkar Joshi was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (BMMA) in 2014.


The PIL states women have always been allowed at the dargah, but in June 2012, the trust restricted entry of women to the sanctorum inside the dargah.


During the previous hearing, the court had suggested the trust permit women to enter the inner sanctorum and come up with an amicable solution.


Advocate Shoaib Memon, appearing for the trust, submitted a copy of the resolution passed on August 6, saying a unanimous decision has been taken by the trustees.


The resolution read, "The trust is governed by the Constitution, particularly article 26, which confers upon the trust the fundamental right to manage its affairs in matters of religion and interference is uncalled for by a third agency."


It also said the existing arrangement provides for a secure place for women to offer prayers.


"This has been decided in the interest of women and they are close to the inner sanctorum of the tomb as far as possible.  Considering the rush of men, this arrangement has been welcomed by women pilgrims," it said.


The trustees were unanimous that "at no point were women allowed to come in close proximity of the tomb and the current arrangement of a separate entrance for women is proximate to the tomb."


Advocate Raju Moray representing the BMMA said whether dargah worship forms an essential part of Islam is what the trust has to answer. The court said it had hoped a solution would be found. The next hearing will be held on November 17.

Just in: No cricket series with Pakistan in December, Indian cricket board sources tell NDTV.

A 45-year-old great- granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi has been accused of defrauding two businessmen of more than USD 830,000 in South Africa. Ashish Lata Ramgobin appeared in the Durban Magistrate's Court yesterday on charges of theft, fraud and forgery.


Self-employed Ramgobin is alleged to have defrauded two local businessmen of more than 11 million rands (USD 831,380) by claiming that she had secured a tender to import bedding from India for the private hospital group Netcare.


According to Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi of the elite fraud investigation unit known as the Hawks, Ramgobin allegedly provided forged invoices and documents to convince the investors that three containers of linen were being shipped in from India.


A businessman named as S R Maharaj is said to have provided 6.2 million rands with a promise of a share of large profits after Ramgobin requested this from him, allegedly  to clear import and customs duties for the non-existent consignment.


A second unnamed businessman allegedly advanced 5.2 million rands under similar pretences. Ramgobin is the daughter of renowned human rights activist Ela Gandhi and Mewa Ramgobind, who have both played instrumental roles in reviving the Phoenix Settlement established by Gandhi during his tenure in South Africa.

When meltdowns struck Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the wake of a devastating tsunami in 2011, more than 44,000 workers were deployed take the facility safely off-line. The job was messy: Millions of gallons of radioactive water had to be stored on site as the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., known as Tepco, faced a clean-up some priced at $100 billion.


And now, for the first time, one of the workers involved in that clean-up has been diagnosed with cancer related to his work, as Japan's NHK reported.apan's ministry of health, labor and welfare announced Tuesday that a recovery worker -- a man unnamed in news reports -- has been diagnosed with leukemia. The man, in his late 30s when working at the plant, has been approved for worker compensation, the ministry said.


Read more

Two years after a midday meal took the lives of 23 children in Gandaman, Archana Masih sits down to have lunch at the same government school and discovers that much has changed and much remains the same. Rediff.com looks at Bihar through the lives of its people. Read

The US has downplayed reports of a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan, similar to the Indo-US atomic agreement, during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's visit here, saying a "breakthrough" in this regard was not expected.


"About the sort of reports that the United States and Pakistan were planning a (civil nuclear deal) -- or published reports indicated that there may be a breakthrough in this regard, and I would significantly reduce your expectations about that occurring on Thursday," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference.


Earnest said President Barack Obama is looking forward to welcoming Sharif to the White House later this week.


"There are a range of issues that are important for us to discuss, including the announcement that the President made last week about our strategy in Afghanistan moving forward," he said. "We certainly have an important security relationship, and the security cooperation between our two countries is beneficial to the safety and security of the citizens in both our countries, and I'm confident that will be the focal point of discussions," Earnest said.

Indira Gandhi had a premonition about her death just days before she was assassinated and confided to her close associate M L Fotedar that she saw the possibility of Priyanka Gandhi emerging as her political legatee over time -- a suggestion that did not seem to go down well with Sonia Gandhi.
Read more

Three years after IAS officer Ashok Khemka cancelled the mutation of land deal between UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra's company and DLF, the Haryana government has issued a notice to Vadra seeking details of the transaction.


The Times of India reports that the move came months after a special investigation team claimed that Vadra had prima facie evaded payment of tax in the Rs 58 crore land deal even as his lawyer refuted the allegations. Gurgaon (west) excise and taxation officer-cum-assessing authority issued a notice to Vadra under the Haryana Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, 2003, on October 12.


The government said the license granted to Vadra's firm to develop a commercial project at Gurgaon was covered by the definition of word "goods" under the Act.


"This license was sold by the company to M/s DLF for around Rs 58 crores, aside from selling land the company has also sold a license for huge consideration to the above buyer," mentioned the officer in the notice.


"The proceeds of the sale will, therefore, constitute sale price exigible to tax under the HVAT Act, 2003," mentioned the notice.


Earlier in January, SIT, headed by senior IPS officer Shrikant Jadhav, had stated that the action against Vadra and his company Skylight Hospitality was warranted under the provisions of the Haryana VAT Act "for evading payment of tax due to the state".


However, Vadra's lawyer told the TOI that they had never violated any provisions of law nor avoided payment of any tax and had always conducted their business in accordance with and after complying with all applicable provisions of law.


"Similar transactions have been conducted by numerous other parties but our clients are being singled out without any basis in law or fact or otherwise," he added.


"This quasi judicial notice has been widely leaked and circulated in the media by unknown persons. This is obviously yet another attempt to further harass and defame our clients as is being done for the past several years," he said.

With President Pranab Mukherjee expressing his concern on rising incidents of intolerance in the country, the government has made it clear that incidents of intolerance cannot be tolerated.


Condemning the incidents of intolerance, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that it is against the traditions of our culture. He said publicising the acts of vandalism is also a matter of great concern.


Speaking to reporters, Jaitley said, "Incidents of intolerance are condemnable... In democracy there could be differences, but restraint should be exercised and vandalism should be criticised. No place for violence in democracy. Hope we can conduct debates in public space in a more graceful manner," he added.


President Pranab Mukherjee had yesterday expressed apprehension whether tolerance and acceptance of dissent are on the wane and said that humanism and pluralism should not be abandoned under any circumstances.


The President was addressing a gathering in Birbhum district of West Bengal during a function organized by Nayaprajanma, a local weekly newspaper and Suri Sabujer Abhijan, a cultural organization

What is this Indian culture that feels threatened and slighted by a visiting Australian man sporting a tattoo of a Hindu goddess? What is this Indian culture that is so intolerant of people from other faiths, especially Muslims and Christians, who do not worship the same gods and who do not have similar food habits and tastes? And who exactly are the self-styled proponents, upholders and protectors of Indian culture?  Read more

Former Pakistan pacers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar have pulled out from the commentary team for the fifth and final ODI between India and South Africa in Mumbai in the wake of Shiv Sena's protest against Indo-Pak bilateral cricket ties.


Talks between BCCI President Shashank Manohar and PCB Chairman Shahryar Khan were cancelled in Mumbai yesterday after Sena workers stormed the BCCI headquarters demanding no interaction with Pakistan on and off the field.


Fearing more such protests, the Akram and Akhtar decided to from the Star Sports commentary team for the October 25 match. Akram's agent Arsalan Haider confirmed that the pair would commentate during the fourth ODI in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and return to Pakistan on October 23, two days before the Mumbai match.


"Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar will not be commentating in the last ODI between #IndvsSA on account of potential security hazard," tweeted Haider.

The Congress on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Maharashtra government for their failure to curb Shiv Sena's persistent demonstrations against Pakistani nationals in Mumbai, saying what could possibly be stopping the Centre from taking action on the Shiv Sainiks.


"Is Maharasthra not part of India? Whoever enters Maharashtra now is going to need a visa from the Shiv Sena? The Prime Minister needs to answer this. The government needs to stick to its policy on Pakistani nations who come here. If the government gives someone the visa to enter the country, no one has the authority to stop them on brute strength alone," Congress leader Rashid Alvi said.


Further expressing his disappointment over the 'unfortunate' series of incidents by the Shiv Sena in Mumbai, Alvi questioned the Maharashtara government's inability to take action.


"The Maharashtra government has clearly become a silent spectator. Why are they not taking action? Why is Uddhav Thackeray not being arrested? The Shiv Sena was slammed across the nation yesterday for derailing the BCCI-PCB talks. Earlier, Shiv Sena activists had stormed the BCCI office in Mumbai and disrupted a crucial meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to protest against the India-Pakistan cricket series slated to be held later this year. Following the protest, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday withdrew Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar from the remaining matches of the ongoing India-South Africa series.

Just in: Uber cab driver Shiv Kumar Yadav convicted by Delhi court of raping a 25-year-old woman executive in his taxi last year. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on October 23. The trail was completed in just 10 months. Yadav has been found guilty of all charges.


The incident took place on the night of December 5 last year when the victim, a finance executive working in Gurgaon, was heading back to her house at Inderlok.


The accused driver Shiv Kumar Yadav was arrested on December 7, 2014 from Mathura and is currently in judicial custody.


Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava had earlier said that an accused can be convicted on the basis of sole testimony of the victim if it is trustworthy.


But Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja had on October 7 reserved the verdict after concluding hearing final arguments from both the sides in the case.


He had said there was sufficient evidence on record to hold Yadav guilty in the case and none of the 28 prosecution witnesses has spoken contrary to the police case.


Advocate DK Mishra, appearing for Yadav, had argued that there were several contradictions in the prosecution's story and the alleged victim's version and false evidence was planted to implicate his client.


He had also argued that the woman had made various improvements in her statements before the court and police. The Supreme Court had earlier set aside the Delhi High Court order allowing the accused to re-examine 13 prosecution witnesses, including the victim.


The woman and the Delhi Police had moved the top court against the high court order. The proceedings in the case were stayed by the Supreme Court for six months from March 10 to September 10.

JUST IN: Inter-caste violence in Sunped village of Ballabhgarh (Haryana), family of four has been burnt alive, says ANI.