The venue where Jwaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar was scheduled to address in Mumbai tomorrow morning has been changed allegedly under 'pressure' from Sangh Pariwar constituents, the event organisers claimed today.

The event 'Student Youth Assembly Against Discrimination', which was earlier scheduled to be held at the Janata Shikshan Sanstha in Worli, has now been shifted to Adarsh Vidayalay in Tilak Nagar area.

The programme has been organised by a number of Left wing organisations including, Student Federation of India, All India Students' Federation, All India Demoratic Students organisations, Purogami Yuvak Sanghathana and Chhatrabharati.

Addressing a press conference here, the organising committee members alleged the change in the venue was due to the 'pressure' created by the Sangh Pariwar constituents on the machinery.

Dr Swarn Singh, special assistant to chief minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Minority Affairs, and former Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee president, was shot dead in Pakistan. on Friday.

He was assassinated in Pir Baba area of Buner District of the province, police said.

The car of Singh was ambushed by unknown assailants on main road near a shrine. The body of the special assistant has been shifted to the district headquarters hospital for postmortem, police said.

The deputy commissioner, ADC Buner and police officials rushed to the site.

Singh was also a doctor, TV anchor, politician and minister of minorities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Before joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, headed by Imran Khan, in 2011 he was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan for nine years.

He was also member of Tehsil council, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and Evacuee Trust Property Board. Singh also hosted programme Za Hum Pakistani Yam for three and a half years with Khyber News.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that he will resign from his post if found guilty in Panama leaks case.

The leaks reveal that three of his children own offshore companies and assets not shown on his family's wealth statement.

Sharif, however, has maintained that the leaks are the work of people 'targeting me and my family for their political aims'.

On Friday, he said, "I have decided to write letter to Chief Justice of Pak for forming a commission to probe Panama leaks."

"After Allah, I am only answerable to the people of Pakistan," he said.

The Panama leaks have come at a time when Sharif is already reeling from his latest battle with the powerful military.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, World Boxing Champion Mary Kom, BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, Senior journalist Swapan Das Gupta, Actor Suresh Gopi and economist Narendra Jadhav to be nominated for Rajya Sabha. ANI

As Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut engage in a war of words, a Mumbai court has asked a US-based firm to hand over information sought by the cyber crime cell in connection with its probe into the fake e-mail ID complaint filed by Hrithik.


The order by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate A R Natu was given on a plea by the cyber crime cell seeking issuance of notice to authorities at Mail and Media Inc to provide details sought by it.


A copy of the order, which was issued two days back, was made available today. Police today said they will also examine laptop and mobile phone of Kangana to find out the trail of e-mails, if any, forwarded to her by the alleged imposter operating through the fake e-mail in the guise of Hrithik.


In its application filed before a local court on April 18, the cyber crime cell requested it to issue a notice to authorities at Mail and Media Inc under section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for production of the said information.


"If the court does not issue notice then the police will not be able to probe the complaint further due to lack of information," the application filed by Cyber Crime Cell police inspector Kalpana Gadekar said.


On March 25, Hrithik had registered a complaint with the cyber crime cell in suburban BKC claiming that the ID 'hroshan.email.com' has been generated by an imposter and that the person was using it to communicate with his fans and others, including Kangana. Kangana's lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui had said that the actress and her sister Rangoli will be available for recording their statements on April 30 at their residence in a western
suburb.

Just in: Ten killed in fire in Bihar's Aurangabad district during a function.

Details awaited

It is the foreign brands like Google and Facebook that rank on top in terms of their influence, while domestic ones are placed lower, as per the new list of ten most influential brands in the country. According to the study by global research firm Ipsos, Google ranks on the top and is followed by Facebook, Gmail, Microsoft and Samsung in the top five -- all of which are foreign brands.


While another foreign brand WhatsApp is sixth on the India's top 10 most influential brands, Flipkart is the top ranked Indian brand at seventh place.


The other two Indian brands on the list - SBI and Airtel- are ninth and tenth, US based Amazon is placed at number eight.The Most Influential Brands study that ranks brands according to their influence in 21 countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, the US and UK, was conducted in December 2015.


Ipsos study has measured the biggest, most well-known and/ or highest spending brands only. As a result, the study did not look at the entire market.

Hyderabad: Union Health Minister JP Nadda escapes unhurt as elevator in Telangana BJP office falls down.

The Sensex today recorded its first drop in seven sessions, edging down by over 42 points, and the Nifty broke below 7,900 following profit-booking amid mixed global leads, but both indices scored gains for the second straight week.


For the week, the BSE Sensex rose 211.39 points, or 0.82 per cent, and the NSE Nifty 48.85 points, or 0.62 per cent. Overnight losses in the US, lacklustre corporate earnings by top US companies and the rupee, at 66.48, giving up some ground against the dollar soured mood.

Opposition parties are set to raise the issue of drought in the country in a big way in Parliament in second half of the Budget session beginning Monday with several members having already given notices to discuss it.


They have been training their guns on the government on drought accusing it of turning a "blind eye" to the problem and asking for an all-party meeting to discuss it and the resultant water crisis in the country.


Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and his party colleagues Anand Sharma, Hussain Dalwai, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Rajani Patil, Viplove Thakur, Mohammed Ali Khan, AU Singh Deo (BJD), K C Tyagi(JDU), Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP), independent member Rajeev Chandrasekhar and nominated member KTS Tulsi have already given a notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari in this regard, which has been admitted. The notice seeks a discussion on the "serious situation arising out of prevailing drought and heat wave conditions and resultant water crisis in the country and the remedial measures taken by the Government in regard thereto."


The notice has been admitted under Rule 177 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business and the issue will be discussed on April 27.The Parliament reconvenes on April 24.

The government will ensure that Vijay Mallya is brought home "to face justice" the government said today about the businessman who left the country while owing nearly a billion dollars to banks. 


Mallya's diplomatic passport has been suspended by the government. Separately, a court in Mumbai has issued an arrest warrant for the 60-year-old after he failed to appear before investigators looking into the finances of his Kingfisher Airlines, which ceased operating in 2012.


The Enforcement Directorate asked the government earlier this week to organize the deportation of  Mallya from Britain; he flew to London early last month as banks stepped up collective efforts to recover their money.  

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, along with senior advocate Harish Salve, pressed for the stay of the HC judgement. He said how one party can be put at advantage and assume the office of Chief Minister when the other party is pushed to disadvantage in the absence of the judgement.


Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal, appearing for Rawat and the Assembly Speaker, argued hard against the passing of any interim order saying "you are allowing the appeal by giving the stay".


Sibal was of the view that allowing stay of operation of the High Court verdict would be like enforcing the proclamation of the President rule. During the jam-packed hearing, the bench sought to pacify both the parties saying that it has to take a balanced view as this is a Constitutional court. "We will take on record the copy of the judgement and go through it. This matter may go to Constitution bench," the bench said.

The HC judgment will be kept in abeyance till the next date of hearing, which is April 27. In effect, the Supreme Court suspends the high court verdict that lifted President's Rule in Uttarakhand.

The SC seeks a signed copy of the Uttarakhand HC's order on the scrapping of President's Rule in the state. 

The Supreme Court has stayed the Uttarakhand High Court's order. Judges Deepak Mishra and Shiva Kirti Singh are hearing the matter. The matter will be heard on April 27.


Which means, that as an interim measure, the SC has revived President's Rule in the state till April 27.


The Centre on Friday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Uttarakhand high court verdict quashing imposition of President's rule in the state.


Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the appeal before a bench comprising Justices Misra and Singh, which asked him to approach the Registry for listing it for hearing on Friday itself.



The bench said that the Registry will seek permission from Chief Justice of India T S Thakur for listing of the appeal before an appropriate bench.


At the outset, the AG said that the Special Leave Petition has been filed on Friday morning but "we don't have the copy of the judgment' as it was not declared and only a speaking order was passed.A bench headed by Justice Misra was sitting in the CJI's court as the CJI was at a scheduled conference of high court chief justices and judges in the national capital.


Justice Misra said in view of the non-availability of the CJI, some arrangement has to be done for its listing.The AG said there was a need for an urgent hearing in view of the apparent problem likely to occur between Friday and Monday.


"I want to press for the stay today itself,' Rohatgi said.A petition was also filed by nine Congress rebel MLAs who were disqualified by the Speaker and they have challenged the HC verdict keeping them away from participating in the floor test scheduled for April 29.

In other news, superstar Shah Rukh Khan wants his children, Aryan and Suhana to complete their education first and then have a career in showbiz. "I am a big believer in education, so they (his kids) have to finish studying first. My son will graduate. He has finished his 12th and he will have four years of college. My daughter is in school, she has two years of school and four years of college. The minimum requirement is to graduate," Shah Rukh told PTI in an interview.


"If you have an undying passion for films then get into it, not because you are good looking or Shah Rukh Khan's kids or because I am an actor so they also have to be one. These are wrong reasons (to enter films)," the "Dilwale" star said. SRK's friend and frequent collaborator Karan Johar has often said that he would launch Aryan, but the actor says if his children choose to pursue acting then they should do something that will take the Indian cinema forward.


"If they (kids) want to act, I would be very proud as it's my line of work and we will have something to chat about. When I came here, I got into theatre, did television and then I got into films. I have strangely studied for 10 years before becoming a film star," the 50-year-old actor said. "They (kids) will also have to do the same thing; develop a passion, get educated and come back and do something that will take Indian cinema forward. Don't come back or rely on it to take you forward. Indian cinema has helped your dad become a star, now it's the duty of his family to take it forward."

The hearing has begun in the Supreme Court against the Uttarakhand HC order which set aside President's rule in the state. Centre questions the Uttarakhand high court's right to review President's decision.

Earlier today, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the matter before the SC bench headed by Justice Deepak Mishra, seeking a stay on the verdict, which has revived the Congress government headed by Rawat.


Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said the central government is very clear that there was a constitutional breakdown in Uttarakhand because the Appropriation Bill was not passed in the Assembly.

An explosion at a gurudwara in Germany's Essen city was a "terror attack" carried out by radical Islamists, authorities have said for the first time, terming it as an "entirely new" strike targeting the Sikhs.


After the interrogation of two detained teenagers, the investigators hold the view that the blast was a "religious motivated terror of the Islamist scene", Essen's police commissioner Frank Richter said yesterday.


The blast ripped through the entrance hall of the gurudwara on Saturday evening during a wedding ceremony and severely damaged part of the building besides shattering windowpanes and injuring three persons, including the priest.


The interior minister of the state of North Rhine Westphalia Ralf Jaeger spoke of an "Islamic background" to the blast and called for a thorough investigation to establish to what extent the two youths were radicalised by jihadists.

Chappals and eggs were hurled at the car of former union minister and DMK leader A Raja near Udhagamandalam today as he faced the wrath of a group of party workers opposed to the choice of M B Mubarak as the candidate for Coonoor in the May 16 assembly elections.


Police said around 400 DMK workers reportedly owing allegiance to former state minister D Ramachandran gathered in front of a hall in Kothagiri where Raja, former Lok Sabha member from Udhagamandalam, was to introduce the candidate.


As the car reached the venue, chappals and eggs were hurled at the vehicle. Some of the missiles landed on the car even as the workers ghearoed Raja, by preventing him and Mubarak from getting out, they said.


The protest came a day after party patriarch M Karunanidhi appealed to the cadres to put behind their disappointments over choice of nominees and work unitedly for DMK's victory assuming that he himself is the candidate in all the constituencies.

File pic.

This ad starring Kangana Ranaut, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli is going to be the best thing you'll see today. Take a look.

Singer Prince's ex-spouse Mayte Gracia says she is "beyond deeply saddened and devastated" by his death but is taking comfort with the fact he is with their baby son, who died just a week after he was born in 1996.

The 57-year-old singer was found dead at his Paisley Park estate yesterday and Garcia, who he wed in 1996, says the iconic star was her "everything," reported People magazine. She said in a statement through her manager Gladys Gonzalez, "I can't even think of the words of what I'm feeling. This man was my everything, we had a family. I am beyond deeply saddened and devastated."


Prince and Gracia were devastated when their only child, Boy Gregory, was born with rare genetic disorder Pfeiffer syndrome and died just a week after he was born. "I loved him then, I love him now and will love him eternally. He's with our son now," Gracia said. The pair divorced in 2000.


Prince's second wife, Manuela Testolini, who he wed in 2001 before divorcing her five years later, is not coping well with the tragic news. "I'm not OK," she said. An official cause of death for the 'Beautiful Ones' singer has not yet been revealed, but he was taken to hospital with flu symptoms earlier this month.

Male, 26, single, quite well-educated but not an expert on the Quran this is the profile of an average fighter joining ISIS. Read more

As if controversies surrounding Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar are not enough, a little-known right wing Hindu organisation is now worried about the "treatment that will be meted out to his patients' once he completes his doctorate. Read more

The National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's 2-day talks with Chinese leaders in Beijing through Wednesday and Thursday appear to have gone well. There was of course no breakthrough on the border issue; nor was one expected. Read MK Bhadrakumar's blog for more.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to take its television production to a different level with an idea that seriously threatens the boundaries of sanity -- an academy to teach commentary.


According to a report in The Indian Express, the BCCI is mulling over a "new broadcasting enterprise" which could be titled the National Commentators Academy, where the board will tutor those interested in the profession on how to speak on air.


"We are planning to have a commentators' academy where interested youngsters who want to take up the profession will be able to hone their skills," BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur was quoted by the newspaper.


"It will also cater to various regional languages. Look how people liked Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman's commentary,' he added.

Just in: Supreme Court to hear Centre's plea on Uttarakhand at 3:30 pm today. Judges Deepak Mishra and Shiva Kirti Singh will hear the matter.


The Centre on Friday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Uttarakhand high court verdict quashing imposition of President's rule in the state.


Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the appeal before a bench comprising Justices Misra and Singh, which asked him to approach the Registry for listing it for hearing on Friday itself.



The bench said that the Registry will seek permission from Chief Justice of India T S Thakur for listing of the appeal before an appropriate bench.


At the outset, the AG said that the Special Leave Petition has been filed on Friday morning but "we don't have the copy of the judgment' as it was not declared and only a speaking order was passed.A bench headed by Justice Misra was sitting in the CJI's court as the CJI was at a scheduled conference of high court chief justices and judges in the national capital.


Justice Misra said in view of the non-availability of the CJI, some arrangement has to be done for its listing.The AG said there was a need for an urgent hearing in view of the apparent problem likely to occur between Friday and Monday.


"I want to press for the stay today itself,' Rohatgi said.A petition was also filed by nine Congress rebel MLAs who were disqualified by the Speaker and they have challenged the HC verdict keeping them away from participating in the floor test scheduled for April 29.

Facing a non-bailable arrest warrant, liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Thursday told the Supreme Court that he was prepared to deposit an additional Rs 2,468 crore over and above the earlier offer of Rs 4,400 crore against the demand of Rs 9,000 crore by a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India.


The Times of India reported that Mallya remained silent on the court's question about his return to India, and said this was the best offer he could make given that his attempt to run Kingfisher Airlines was ruined because of high oil prices, excessive taxation and faulty aircraft engines, which together resulted in a loss of Rs 6,107 crore to him, his family, UB group and Kingfisher Finvest.


The fresh offer was being made "in the interest of overall settlement" though the validity of the corporate guarantee of UB Group and his personal guarantee was under challenge in the Bombay high court, he said.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Purohit, seen for many years as the face of what the Congress calls "saffron terror," was not involved in the 2008 bomb blast in Maharashtra's Malegaon, witness after witness seem to suggest.

Seven people were killed when two bombs fitted on a motorcycle exploded on September 29, 2008. Lt Col Purohit was arrested along with some others and they were charged with plotting the blasts as part of a pro-Hindu group. Read more

Prince was the soundtrack of our lives, the inspiration for a generation of musicians. He was one of us. He was all of us. And now he's gone. Hailed worldwide as a versatile musical genius, Prince Rogers Nelson died Thursday morning at his Paisley Park recording studio complex in Chanhassen. He was 57.

How the world is paying tribute. Read

And while on Sunny Leone, the actor says she is happy that superstar Shah Rukh Khan showed faith in her by working with her in 'Raees' and she now hopes more A-listers would be open to work with her.

Leone has shot a special song with Shah Rukh, 50, in the upcoming action-thriller. "I hope different people in Bollywood of the calibre that of the three Khans (Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir) and others decide to work with me. He (SRK) has taken a leap of faith by working with me, giving me a chance. I feel so happy. It was a very proud and amazing moment for me, my husband and my team," Leone said, when asked if she thinks her appearance in 'Raees' will make her more popular.


When the 34-year-old actress was offered the song, her initial query was if the king of romance would be in the same frame with her or not. "I was flattered. I was on cloud nine. I was so happy and excited and nervous as well to see both of us (SRK and I) in the same frame. I was so emotional," the 'Jism 2' star said.


"After the first shot, I went upto to him (SRK) and said 'thank you for our first shot together'. I kept saying thank you every two seconds. I think he felt I was crazy," she added.


Leone will be seen grooving to the iconic '80s track 'Laila O Laila' with Shah Rukh. "The song fits in a scene in the film. There are different moments in the song. There are moments when we (SRK and I) are together and it was really cool," she adds.

In the Juggernaut Books blog, there's a post from December that leads with a collage of their 'Blockbuster authors.' Among them are Nobel Prize for Literature winner Svetlana Alexievic, historian William Dalrymple and writer Arundhati Roy. And actor Sunny Leone, who has authored a book of erotic fiction which will be among the publishing house's initial offerings.


It is not only proof of the growing value of Leone's brand that a newly launched publishing house is expecting to cash in on. It is also testimony to a certain respectability that is attached to her name today. The adult entertainer-turned-Bollywood actor is now a symbol of a liberated woman, an assault on the double standards of the great Indian morality. Juggernaut's website describes her as someone who stands for, "glamour, sex appeal and girl power' and "the epitome of a strong woman who is unapologetic about decisions she has taken and choices that she has made in life.'  Read more

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat today said the Centre should allow the state governments to function and not take any step violating the Supreme Court rulings in the S R Bommai and others cases on the issue of imposition of President's rule. The remarks came on a day when the Centre moved the apex court challenging the Uttarakhand High Court verdict quashing President's rule in the state. Stressing that there should be no violation of the top court's rulings in the Bommai and other cases, Rawat said, "The Centre should allow the state governments to function on their own under the federal structure. The states have their own role."

Govt approves Rs 842.7 crore to Karnataka, Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, affected by drought and floods.

Ironically, at a time when the Jammu and Kashmir state government, seen here as an alliance of the "soft separatist" People's Democratic Party's and the "nationalist' Bharatiya Janata Party, is held up as a bold political experiment to bridge the deep divide between J-K. Read

Though it would be wonderful for Indians to have the Kohinoor and the Peacock Throne displayed in all its glory at the Red Fort, it seems unlikely that the British will part with the Kohinoor in a hurry.Rashme Sehgal reports.

Read

"I don't think that I have done anything great. I haven't won any Olympic gold medal. I am not saying that I won't sleep until and unless I win an Olympic medal, but I will surely give my best performance."

Rio Olympics-bound gymnast Dipa Karmakar speaks to
Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com after becoming the first Indian woman gymnast to qualify for the event. Read

Also readthe 2009 interview with Kobad Ghandy's brother-in-law for a peep into the other side of the Maoist ideologue. 

"The walls of Tihar shut out not only the warmth of the sun, but also of society. The high walls of the high risk wards block out the sun and also most facilities, OPD and entertainment in jail. The inhumanity of the atmosphere within the jail is even colder. Extreme levels of manipulativeness and selfishness would make even our politicians look like gems. Truth is a rarity, falsehood the norm, naturalness a casualty, pretence is natural, " writes Kobad Ghandy, who is currently in Tihar jail facing trial in Delhi under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Read the full article here.

At least 15 people have been killed in a landslide in the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh, with several feared buried. An NDRF team has left for the spot, even as rescue operations are on.

The landslide swept through a labor camp at a construction site in Tawang. Three workers escaped from the camp at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters (7,500 feet).

Incessant rain for the past week has triggered the landslide.

Nine labourers killed in landslide in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh: Additional Deputy Commissioner (HQ) L Gambo.

US President Barack Obama has arrived in Britain, where he is set to wade into the poisonous Brexit debate and have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II. Air Force One touched down at London Stansted Airport, northeast of the British capital, at around 9:45 pm (local time), beginning what is Obama's fifth and likely final presidential visit to the kingdom. The president, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, will pay tribute to the queen, who turned 90 yesterday, when they meet at Windsor Castle, west of London. "The president has very much enjoyed his engagements with the queen over the years," said top Obama foreign policy aide Ben Rhodes. The queen has reigned since 1952, during which time she has met with a string of US presidents from Harry Truman to Obama, who leaves office in January.

Pic: The Obamas with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip in 2011.

A 60-year-old Congress worker was on Friday shot dead allegedly by three assailants when he was out on a morning walk in Rohtak, police said. Police suspect that the victim, Ashok, could have been killed over some land dispute.

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) and Maharashtra Cricket Association have filed a joint Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court to allow IPL matches to be held according to the original schedule in Maharashtra.


The decision to challenge the Bombay High Court's order to shift all IPL matches out of the state post April 30 owing to the water crisis was taken earlier by the two associations and filed on Thursday.


Mumbai is home to Mumbai Indians whereas debutant franchise Rising Pune Supergiants led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni play their home games at Pune's Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has moved the Supreme Court  against the Bombay High Court order on shifting of IPL matches. The SC to hear the matter on 25th April. "We are not against people of Maharashtra and have full sympathy with them," Senior advocate Kapil Sibal who's appearing for MCA, tells court.

Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad may not find anything unusual in overseeing the work of the key ministries headed by his two sons in Bihar but he remains an 'outsider', at least for the babus of the Nitish Kumar government.


A press release issued by the Delhi-based Bihar Information Centre of the state government has 'censored' the presence of Lalu Prasad during a recent meeting between his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and Union minister for highways and surface transport Nitin Gadkari.


An India Today report says that Tejaswi, the deputy chief minister in the Nitish Kumar government who also holds the additional portfolio of road construction, had called on Gadkari to discuss the Bihar's related projects on Tuesday evening.


The meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes, was also attended among others by Lalu. Tejashwi subsequently posted a picture of their meeting on his Twitter handle in which his father and he were seen holding a bouquet with Gadkari.


A similar picture was later released by the Bihar government's public relations office, though it did not contain Lalu's image. Curiously, the portion of Lalu's photograph was conveniently Photoshopped out of the picture. And a very bad job it was, we may add.


In the 'censored' photograph, a ghost image of a white cutout of Lalu appears alongside the photographs of Tejaswi and Gadkari.
Lalu's 'censored' picture came close on the heels of the widespread criticism over his alleged interference in the day-to-day affairs of the ministries headed by Tejashwi as well as his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav in the Nitish Kumar government.


Earlier, Lalu had visited the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna to oversee the facilities prompting the Opposition to question his authority to do so. Similarly, he had asked the Darbhanga civil surgeon to look into the retrenchment of some of the para-medical workers at the medical college and hospital in the district.

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said on Thursday that he tried to open a dialogue with ISIS, but the terror group rejected it by sending him a photograph of a beheaded man.

"I tried to initiate peace talks with the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) recently but they sent me a photograph of a beheaded body of a man. Thus, my effort for a peace dialogue with the ISIS ended," Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said.

"I think the ISIS does not want any peace talks," he told reporters in Agartala. "Hence, they should be dealt with militarily."

Mr Ravi Shankar left for Kolkata after a three-day visit to Tripura.

Holding a series of meetings across the state, he stressed on the need to bring peace to India's northeastern region.

The 59-year-old said his aim was to unite all cultures, religions, faith and ideologies. 

The Centre has moved the Supreme Court against the the Uttarakhand high court verdict quashing President's rule in the state.   

Over three weeks after she became the global face of the Brussels blasts terror attack on March 22, Jet Airways flight in-charge Nidhi Chapekar, who had sustained burn injuries during the twin blasts at Zaventum Airport, is on the road to recovery.

With several parts of the country recording above normal temperatures, the summer of 2016 could possibly be the hottest summer, the India Meteorological Department said. 

With India set to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change in New York today on the occasion of Earth Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the nation to offer 'reverence and gratitude' to mother Earth, which has given mankind everything it needs for survival.

Priyanka Chopra joined the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicki Minaj, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Christine Lagarde and Lin-Manuel Miranda as the chosen few to get their own unique covers for Time magazine's '100 most influential people of 2016' issue, which also includes other Indians Sania Mirza, Raghuram Rajan and others. 

Despite being told that its decision to impose President's Rule in Uttarakhand was illegal, the Centre is not winding up its effort to have the Congress government removed in the hill state. This morning, it will take its case to the Supreme Court, said Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi.  

Radhika Apte has won the best actress at the TriBeCa Film Festival in New York for the short film Clean Shaven, directed by Anurag Kashyap. It's part of an anthology of six shorts in a feature called Madly, which is produced by Nusrat Durani.

JUST IN: An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale strikes Ecuador. The country is already reeling from the after-effects of the deadly 7.8 magnitude quake last week, which killed nearly 600 people. 

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi  interacted with party workers over 'laiyya-chana' - a staple snack in this part of Uttar Pradesh, giving a chance to Congressmen to coin the new term for the session - 'Chane pe Charcha'.