A public interest litigation filed in the Chhattisgarh High Court here today demanded shifting of the two matches of ongoing Indian Premier League from the state capital Raipur because of the drought. 

Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who was hospitalised for respiratory problems last Friday, will be discharged tomorrow as per the decision of his family members. Kumar, 93, was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in suburban Bandra on April 15.

At least seven policemen were shot dead by motorcycle-borne unidentified gunmen in two brazen attacks during an anti-polio campaign in this Pakistani port city, forcing the suspension of vaccination drive. Four policemen were killed while escorting the polio vaccine team in Orangi. Three others were shot dead in another part of the area, Inspector-General Sindh A D Khawaja told reporters.

Misogynistic remarks against women politicians in India are common enough, but a Trinamool Congress MP's comments on actor-turned-BJP politican Roopa Ganguly has touched a new low. 


Ganguly famously played Draupadi in the blockbuster television serial Mahabharata.


"I know the length of the cigarettes she smokes" and "She really is Draupadi" were among the vicious and offensive remarks in a character assassination by Rezzakh Mollah, who was a minister in the Left government. He was expelled by the Left in 2014 and joined the Trinamoool in February. 
 

Ganguly told NDTV that it was "beneath my dignity" to comment on the remarks made against her. Her party has complained about his statements, made on a local television channel, to the Election Commission and has asked for "the strictest action".
 

Ganguly is running from Howrah North near Kolkata against former cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla who is a member of the Trinamool. Bengal has completed three of seven days of voting spread over this month and next.

First reactions from the Congress: Former Congress MP Milind Deora tweets: Will Shaktimaan's murderer be brought to justice?

Just in:  Shaktiman, the police horse injured during a BJP protest in Uttarakhand on March 14, has died. The horse's leg had to be amputated after it was badly broken during clashes between BJP protesters and the police. Shaktiman was part of the Uttarakhand Mounted Police.


The 13-year-old animal was then fitted with a prosthetic leg, but was confined to the police lines in Dehradun. Doctors treating him say he may have died of the shock of his new prosthetic leg.


Animal lovers had said that Shaktiman should have been euthanised because of the pain and discomfort he had to endure every time he stood up.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley launched a sharp attack on Congress over the Ishrat Jahan case, accusing it of "seriously compromising" national security for "overt political reasons".Jaitley, who is in New York on a seven-day official tour, however did not say if a fresh probe may be ordered in the case but remarked that he was "not in touch with what is happening at home."


"National security was seriously compromised and all evidence now seem to be suggesting that this was done for overt political reasons," he told ET Now.


His comments were aimed at the fresh controversy over reports suggesting former home minister P Chidambaram had cleared an affidavit in 2009 which described college student Ishrat Jahan as a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist involved in a plot to assassinate the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.

The Bombay High Court today posted for hearing tomorrow a petition filed by Shoma Banerjee, mother of actress Pratyusha Banerjee who allegedly committed suicide on April 1, seeking probe by Mumbai Police Crime Branch into the case.


Pratyusha's parents have been alleging that their daughter could not have committed suicide and that her partner Rahul Singh must have murdered her.


Rahul is at present out on pre-arrest bail. Last week, the parents of the TV star had written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking a probe into her death by Mumbai Police Crime Branch following which the state government said it may be done.


Pratyusha's mother Shoma had alleged that Rahul was "solely responsible for her death".

A Sikh-American teenager, who penned a book about bullying of children from the community, was forced to remove his turban by airport personnel in the US state of California, according to a media report.

Karanveer Singh Pannu, an 18-year-old high school student from New Jersey, had gone to talk about his book 'Bullying of Sikh American Children: Through the Eyes of a Sikh American High School Student' as an inspirational speaker to address the kids participating in the annual Sikh Youth Symposium in Bakersfield, California.

"After going through the metal detector at the airport, I was asked to do a self-pat down of my turban and a chemical swab test for explosive material. After a positive swab test, I was taken to a secondary screening room to be given a full pat down and was asked to remove my turban to be further scanned," Pannu was quoted as saying by NBC.com.

"I refused at first but when they threatened me that I could not fly, I agreed, provided they gave me a mirror to retie my turban," he added.

Women activists were allegedly manhandled by a group of locals while they were trying to enter into the sanctum sanctorum of the famous Trimbakeshwar temple today, following which the police booked 200 persons.


Former president of Trimbakeshwar Municipal Council Anagha Phadke is also among those booked, police said. Talking to reporters, Vanita Gutte, president of Pune-based 'Swarajya Sanghatana' said, "I was standing along with our women activists in the queue since 5 am to gain entry into the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. We also followed the dress code - wearing wet cotton clothes - for the purpose."


"The entry into the sanctum sanctorum is restricted between 6 am and 7 am, the time that has been fixed by the temple trust. However, some local priests and women deliberately stood in the queue before us and obstructed us from entering the sanctum. They also manhandled us," Gutte added. Thereafter, the activists lodged a complaint with Trimbakeshwar police against the priests and women.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has appointed Rahul Johri as its Chief Executive Officer. Johri, who last served as Discovery Networks Asia Pacific's Executive Vice-President and General Manager for South Asia, will take up his new assignment on June 1. He will report the BCCI's honorary secretary and be based at the board's Mumbai office.

The International Yoga Day event this year will be held in Chandigarh on June 21 as the government plans to make it bigger than the maiden show on Rajpath last year, Ayush Minister Shripad Naik said today.

With the onset of summer tourist season in Goa, lifeguards have threatened to go on strike if the state government fails to make "positive intervention" on their demands, including regularisation. 

People's Welfare Front constituent Vidhthalai Chiruthaikal Katch today fielded well-known educationist and intellectual Vasanthy Devi from RK Nagar constituency in Chennai against Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for the May 16 assembly polls. 

Suspected naxals today triggered a bomb blast at an under-construction constable training centre, beside a CRPF camp, under Jadugora police station limits in Jharkhand. No casualty was reported in the incident, superintendent of police (rural), Mohammed Arsi said. 

New photographs have been released of the Royal Family to celebrate the Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday on Thursday. Royal Mail will be using the photographs to feature on ten special stamps which will be available to buy on Thursday 21st April.


The set features images of The Queen: with her father as well as attending the State Opening of Parliament in 2012.She can also be seen alongside her children, Princess Anne and Prince Charles in 1952, visiting New Zealand in 1977, alongside The Duke of Edinburgh in 1957, as well as being with with Nelson Mandela back in 1996.

Read more

A survey conducted by the British Council found a huge groundswell of international love for William Shakespeare -- to the extent that the great Bard appears more popular overseas than in the land of his birth.

Saturday marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, an occasion that is being commemorated with a host of events in Britain and abroad.

Read more


Pic: Saif Ali Khan in Vishal Bharadwaj's Omakara, an adaption of Shakespeare's Othello.

The NIT-Srinagar management will consider formation of a students' council and all national festivals will be celebrated in the institute, it has said a day after outstation students put forth their demands at a meeting in Srinagar in the wake clashes with local students.


The minutes of the meeting, attended by NIT Sringar Director Rajat Gupta, officials of HRD ministry and students representatives, and decisions by the Board of Governors were put on the institute's website but it did not refer to another major demand of students that HRD minister Smriti Irani or the Prime Minister should hoist the tricolour at the campus.

It has been decided to allow optional external evaluation for recent exams. Also, a committee constituted for students grievance redressal having two external members will go for further fact finding into incidents that led to tension at NIT Srinagar and is expected to submit its report around May 15, according to NIT-Srinagar website.

An official said that earlier an interim report had been given by a panel and this committee would further take up the matter. As per the the Institute's website, among the main decisions taken is that "a new Committee for students Grievance Redressal which has been constituted with two external members will do the fact finding now and its Report is likely to be submitted by 15th May, 2016."

It has been decided that the Board of Governors will consider the report and formation of students council and its modalities. Optional external evaluation "for the minor one exam, on written request and irrevocable basis," has also been approved.

Just in: The Delhi government is planning to ban surge pricing by app-based cab platforms.

This comes after the Delhi government on Monday directed the Transport department to cancel permits and impound commercial vehicles if they are found "overcharging'. The move comes in the wake of complaints by commuters of overcharging by app-based operators such as Ola and Uber.

Since its first phase, the odd-even road rationing scheme has heavily depended on cab services. Despite increase in frequency of Metro trains and more buses on roads, commuters have fallen back on hiring cabs. 

Yesterday, 18 taxis belonging to Ola and Uber have been impounded in Delhi for overcharging clients.

The Delhi govt's odd-even scheme, which ends on April 30 and is aimed at reducing the egregious air pollution in the capital, restricts cars to alternate days according to whether they carry odd or even-numbered licence plates.

The scheme began last week but its first test was on Monday, when schools and offices re-opened after a four-day-long weekend. Commuters complained angrily on social media about surge pricing - fares for taxis provided by Ola and Uber shooting up to nearly five times the standard rate.

The shocking news report that India has been served an ultimatum by its RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) negotiating partners to either give up its "obstructionist, defensive and half-hearted approach' or "quit' the forum testifies to the headwinds that our so-called Act East policy is encountering on the ground. (Hindu)


The Indian bureaucrats negotiating the RCEP are apparently beseeching Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a "strategic call' '" whether India should be in the RCEP tent at all. This is an absurd proposition, to say the least. Does Act East have a future without trade and investment?

Read MK Bhadrakumar's column here.

Just in: Kabul attack death toll more than doubles to 64, say officials in Afghanistan.

An explosion rocked the Afghan capital of Kabul on Tuesday morning -- the apparent work of Taliban militants targeting a security team that protects government VIPs, a police official said.


Kabul's police chief said at least 28 people died with over 300 wounded, according to authorities.

The Delhi government's Odd-Even plan has affected around 30 MPs from the south, especially MPs from Kerala.


The Kerala MPs have one car shared by at least three MPs when they are in Delhi. With the Odd-Even rule in force since April 14, these MPs have been facing huge problems getting around the capital city.


Enter union minister Nitin Gadkar.


It is now Gadkari's brainchild -- e-cars -- which have come to their rescue. These electric cars which run on lithium ion batteries do not emit smoke and are exempt from the odd-even rule.


The only problem is that these cars are not available easily and there is in fact an advance booking for them. 

History rarely produces moments of epiphany, where politics appears as a creative act of redemption and the future becomes a collective act of healing.


Each society carries its wounds like a burden, a perpetual reminder that justice works fragmentarily. Suddenly out of the crassness, the crudity of everyday politics, comes a moment to treasure.


On May 18, standing before the House of Commons, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will offer a full apology for the Komagata Maru incident.

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A Jet Airways Mumbai-Ahmedabad -Mumbai flight carrying 125 passengers and six crew members was today delayed after a bomb scare, which later turned out to be a hoax even as one person was detained after a chit with "bomb" written on it was recovered from under his seat.


The flight from Mumbai to Ahmedabad was taken to the isolation bay immediately after it landed here this morning due to the bomb scare.


According to police, one of the cleaning staff while preparing the flight for the next trip found a "chit" with "bomb" scribbled on it under one of the seats after which authorities were informed. The aircraft was then taken to an isolation bay where it was throughly checked by police and bomb disposal squad.

Warning against being "euphoric" about India being the fastest-growing economy, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today sought to contextualise his "one-eyed king" remarks about India's growth and said the country has a long way to go before it claims to have arrived.


"As a central banker who has to be pragmatic, I cannot get euphoric if India is the fastest growing large economy," he said.

Seeking to explain his 'one-eyed king' comments, Rajan said his comments were "hung out to dry out of context" and even offered an apology to the visually-impaired for hurting them by the use of the proverb.

Just in: DMDK Chief Captain Vijaykanth threatens to slap journalists in Salem. Details awaited.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court in Hyderabad is staring a huge space crunch. It needs to accommodate at least 65 more courtrooms, which is impossible in the existing building. 


Andhra Pradesh governor ESL Narasimhan has now intervened and sorted out the issue.


Both the chief ministers -- KCR of Telangana and Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh have thanked the governor for paving the way for a smooth transition of the high court from Hyderabad to the new capital that is being built at Amaravati -- in three years.


What will happen is this...Chief Justice of India Tirath Singh Thakur has assured Andhra Pradesh governor Narasimhan that he will attend to concerns regarding the setting up of a separate high court for the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.


There 25 to 30 vacancies for high court judges in Andhra Pradesh and non-availability of staff menas the vacancies cannot be filled. CJI Thakur has invited Governor Narasimhan to New Delhi to have detailed discussions with senior judges and the registrar general to sort out the construction of the Andhra High Court in Amaravati in two years.


He has also got assurances from Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Governor Narasimhan that 65 houses will be built for judges in Amaravati before 2018 in the event the high court moves from Hyderabad to Amaravati.

Searchers found a man's body today in a landslide-hit area in southern Japan, bringing the death toll to 48 from two powerful earthquakes last week. Three people remain missing. Kumamoto prefecture said that another 11 have died from illnesses believed to be related to the physical stress of evacuation.


More than 100,000 people are homeless or have fled their homes as aftershocks continue to shake the area. Many are living in cramped conditions in shelters or even their cars, with limited food and water.


A magnitude 6.5 earthquake on Thursday night followed by a 7.3 quake early Saturday morning caused widespread damage in parts of Kumamoto city and surrounding communities on the island of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands.


The body was found in the mountain village of Minamiaso, where the second quake triggered landslides that slammed into buildings and across roads.


Soldiers and other rescue workers used backhoes and shovels to search through dirt and debris for the missing. In all, 14 victims have been found in Minamiaso. The hardest-hit town appears to be Mashiko, where 20 people died. Kumamoto prefecture has tallied 1,453 homes destroyed so far, of which 1,026 are in Mashiko

Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who was hospitalised for respiratory problems, will be discharged this evening. Kumar, 93, was admitted to Lilavati hospital in suburban Bandra on April 15.


"He is much better and is on road to recovery. He will get discharged today at 4 pm," Dr Jalil Parkar, who is attending to him along with other doctors, said.


His wife, actress Saira Banu had earlier said that the actor was hospitalised as he was suffering from high fever, chest infection and respiratory problems.

Bearded men have done their bit. Now India's tourism ministry is banking on a Pretty Woman.


Sources in the Union government said the ministry was planning a global advertisement drive to promote India as the land of yoga with Hollywood star Julia Roberts as the face of the campaign, reports The Telegraph.


The Pretty Woman star has been associated with yoga for several years and is likely to be approached for the campaign, a senior official told The Telegraph.


"The plan has to be approved by tourism minister Mahesh Sharma and the Prime Minister's Office before we approach the actress, but having an international face recognised for practicing yoga is crucial for the success of the campaign.


"Roberts, the official said, often speaks about how yoga has helped her cope with stress. "This has helped promote yoga in the West. The actress is also an Indophile and keeps coming to the country incognito."

Captain Amarinder Singh, the Congress party's chief ministerial face for Punjab has decided to visit Canada and the USA. He leaves on the last week of April and returns in the first week of June. The purpose, ostensibly is to meet NRIs and address the Sikh community in these countries.

The move has apparently sent sent shock waves to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and this is why.

Captain Amarinder Singh, an astute politician and the primary reason behind meeting the large expat Sikh community in Canada is to ensure funding when Punjab goes to the polls in 2017.


As is well known, the captain has Sonia Gandhi's backing, but Rahul Gandhi is keen on Pratap Singh Bajwa and younger MPs like Pappu Ravneet Singh.


Money in the kitty can help ensure his campaign trail at least is smooth sailing. Getting a nod from the boss is best left for another day.

Even after campaigning came to an end in some constituencies of the city where Assembly polls are scheduled tomorrow, electioneering can go on in adjacent areas, barring a radius of 100 meters, where elections are slated for later this month.


Election Commission officials said campaigning can go on in adjoining areas of constituencies where campaigning has already ended.


"In such cases, a radius of 100 meters from the border of the constituency where campaigning has ended has to be kept sanitised from all political campaigning," officials said.


In Kolkata, there are seven seats in northern part - Chowringhee, Entally, Beleghata, Jorasanko, Shyampukur, Maniktala and Kashipur-Belgachhia - where campaigning ended at 6 pm yesterday for the third phase of assembly polls tomorrow. Other parts of the city will go to polls in the fourth and fifth phase on April 25 and 30.

Government willing to discuss and debate 'Kohinoor' diamond issue in the forthcoming Parliament session: Sources

Bengal is a police raj where the police when required are non-existent. This paradox demands some explication. Let us begin with the first part of the paradox. Where else but in a police raj would you find a former very senior police officer put in charge of an academy devoted to the cultivation of the fine arts? Read

The Centre has rejected the proposal of the Tamil Nadu Government to release seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.


This is the second time in two years that the state had written to the Centre seeking its views on its decision to remit their sentence.


The first letter was sent during the UPA government's tenure in February 2014.


The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has told the state that "Since the matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court, it has no authority to release the prisoners."

On March 2, two days before the model code of conduct came into effect in the state, which goes to the polls on May 16, Chief Secretary K. Gnanadesikan sent the letter to the MHA.

Just in: Women to get permanent commission in Navy.

Just in: The Bombay High Court grants permission to BCCI for May 1 IPL match. at MCA stadium in Pune.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India had moved the Bombay High Court to allow the May 1 match of the IPL between Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians in Pune to be held as scheduled.

The cricket board is citing logistical difficulties to shift the match out of Maharashtra.

On April 13, taking note of the severe drought situation in several places, High Court had ordered all matches out of Maharashtra from April 30.

But BCCI later moved the court "post haste" through its "authorised representative" Ratnakar Shetty pointing out that Pune has home matches against Gujarat Lions on April 29 and against MI on May 1. And, how it is "practically impossible" for BCCI and the franchise to shift the May 1 match to an alternative venue outside Maharashtra "and make all the arrangements for the same in just a single day."

Three sailors sustained injuries after a cylinder blast aboard Naval diving support ship INS Nireekshak. The ship was 40 nautical miles off the coast of Vizhinjam.


The ship returned to port around midnight and all the three sailors were shifted to a military hospital.


Two of the sailors were treated for splinter injuries, but one was not so lucky, as his right leg had to be amputated above the knee.

The condition of all three is said to be stable. 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has moved the Bombay high court seeking permission to hold May 1 Indian Premiere League Match at MCA stadium in Pune.

Earlier, the HC had directed the BCCI to shift all the IPL matches after 30 April out of Maharashtra in view of the severe drought in the state.

During the hearing, the BCCI told the court that it will not be feasible to shift IPL matches out of Pune so late in the day, with the tournament already underway.

Now, the board seeks permission to go ahead with the May 1 match between Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians.

JUST IN: Three Assam Rifles jawans injured in an improvised explosive device blast in T Minou area near the India-Myanmar border town of Moreh in Manipur.

Last rites of Kirpal Singh, the Indian prisoner who died in a Lahore jail under mysterious circumstances, are underway in his hometown Mustafabad in Gurdaspur, Punjab.

Attending the last rites of Kirpal, Dalbir Kaur, sister of Sarabjit Singh -- another Indian prisoner who died in similar circumstances last year -- said her doubts have turned out to be true as vital organs are missing from Kirpal's body.

"I had suspected that they might remove Kirpal Singh's heart the way they removed Sarabjit's heart, I expressed this to the external affairs minister too. Kirpal's heart has also been removed as it could've been used to test if he was poisoned," Kaur said.

A special court hearing treason charges against Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf, issued non-bailable warrants of arrest today for him over his failure to appear before the court despite repeated notices.

The Chandigarh administration has made provisions to ban short skirts in discos with an aim to 'control places of public amusement'.

The administration said that the decision has been taken as the bureaucrats find discos a breeding ground for 'anti-national' elements, CNN-News18 reported.

According to the new policy, 'scantily dressed women' or any 'indecency' could bring the shutters down at discos.

The new policy 'Controlling of Places of Public Amusement, 2016' has also curtailed the bar timings by two hours from 2 am to 12 midnight.

Read the full report HERE

Rescuers in Ecuador are losing hope of finding more survivors from the deadly earthquake that killed nearly 500 people and dealt a shattering blow to the country's already fragile economy.

Distraught family members beseeched rescue teams to find missing loved ones as they used dogs, bare hands and excavators to hunt through debris.

The 7.8 magnitude quake, which struck late Saturday, also left 107 people missing, and injured more than 4,000, according to the latest government tallies.

The mortal remains of Kirpal Singh, the Indian prisoner who died under mysterious circumstances in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail, has been brought to his hometown in Mustafabad, Gurdaspur in Punjab.

Earlier, during a second post-mortem, doctors found that heart and stomach were missing from Kirpal's body.

Kirpal's nephew alleged that both Sarabjit (who died in a Pak jail last year) and Kirpal were killed as part of a conspiracy.

JUST IN: Sensex up by 44.55 points, currently at 2,5860.91. Nifty at 7,918.70

Jet Airways flight from Ahmedabad to Mumbai has been halted after bomb scare.

According to CNN News 18, Jet Airways received a threat call early this morning.

Search operations are on.

The 50-wagon train arrived in Maharashtra's drought-hit Latur this morning with 25 lakh litres of water.

The train had left Miraj in Sangli district of Maharashtra last night.

In the past few days, the same train has already made nine trips to Latur with 10 wagons, carrying 5 lakh litres of water each time.

Latur and other districts of Marathwada are reeling under severe drought and only three per cent water is left in the dams.

Water expert Pradeep Purandare warned that Marathwada is heading towards desertification.

"In fact, there are possibilities of desertification if present situation continues. The situation is very serious in Osmanabad, Beed and Latur. Six projects have been completely dried up," he said.

Meanwhile, in a tragic incident, a Class V student died of a heat stroke while trying to fetch water for her family in Beed.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton have won the New York primary, galvanising their bids to win the Republican and Democratic nominations for the White House.

United States networks called the race for Trump seconds after the polls closed in the country's fourth most populous state, signaling a crushing victory over his rivals.

"I have to say to the people that know me the best -- the people of New York '" when they give us this kind of a vote it's just incredible," the 69-year-old businessman told a victory party at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Trump, whose campaign has appalled the Republican establishment, led on 65.1 per cent to 13.7 per cent for his evangelical rival Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich on 21.2 per cent, with nine per cent of the vote counted CNN said.

He told supporters his campaign was going to 'get a lot more delegates than anyone projected even in their wildest imagination.'

Clinton was declared the winner over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders around 40 minutes after the polls closed.

The former first lady and New York senator had 60.5 per cent of the vote, against 39.5 per cent for Sanders, CNN said based on nearly half of precincts reporting.

Clinton had banked on victory in her adopted home state to stall the momentum generated by her self-styled democratic socialist rival and get a needed shot in the arm after losing seven out of the eight previous nominating contests.

It was New York's most decisive primary in decades and Trump's victory in the state, which has 95 Republican delegates in play, will bolster his quest to sew up the nomination before party grandees can swing behind another candidate at the convention in July.