According to reports from CNN IBN the talks with Pakistan can't happen without going through details of Pak probe.

JUST IN: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 7 RCR ends.

Comedian Kiku Sharda has been detained again in Fatehabad because another case was registered against him there for mimicking Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Sanjeev Khanna, former husband of Indrani Mukerjea and her co-accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, today filed a bail application in the sessions court in Mumbai contending that the investigators have failed to find any possible motive to commit the crime on his part.

"It will come up for hearing on Saturday," said his lawyer Shreyansh Mithare.

The application states that Khanna has been wrongly implicated in the case.

'After reading the chargesheet, the role which is attributed to Khanna cannot be held sufficient to implicate him in the alleged murder....It isn't the prosecution case that he has strangulated Sheena,' it says.

Nor does the chargesheet suggests that he benefited from the crime and none of the witnesses has explained what motive Khanna could have had, the bail plea says.

The bail application also says that Khanna was in Mumbai on the day of the murder only to meet his daughter Vidhie.

'(Khanna) had only come to Mumbai because Indrani had called him so that he could take Vidhie to Kolkata for a few days to spend some time with his family and celebrate the his birthday. But he could not meet Vidhie as Indrani wanted to go to Kolkata herself first and 'inspect' his family environment to decide if Vidhie would be comfortable staying with Khanna and his family, it says.

Khanna has also denied the CBI's allegation that he tried to access Sheena's email account.

'On seeing the emails, he duly forwarded them to Indrani without sensing any wrongdoing,' the bail application says.

He was implicated solely on the basis of the fact that he had met Indrani Mukerjea during the period when the alleged murder took place, it says.

Syria has taken four Indian youth in its custody, who were planning to the join terrorist outfit Islamic State, and asked the Indian authorities the verify their details.

Syrian Deputy Prime minister Walid Al Moaulem, who is on a three-day visit to India, said the four youth had entered Syria and were taken into custody in Damascus.

He, however, did not specify when they were apprehended.

"Four Indians were taken into Syrian custody in Damascus. The four young Indians were planning to join the IS and had entered Syria from Jordan," Moaulem told reporters in New Delhi.

He, however, did not give details like the name, from where the youth come from and when were they taken into custody.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has arrived at 7 Race Course Road for a crucial meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at which the decision on Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks is likely to be taken.

Foreign secretary S Jaishankar also accompanied Swaraj to PM's residence.

Earlier, Jaishankar met Swaraj after the news of the arrest of Mualana Masood Azhar, the alleged mastermind of the Pathankot attacks, came.

However, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that there has been no official confirmation on Masood's arrest so far.

Local villagers in Alanganallur, Madurai, shave their heads in protest against the Supreme Court's decision banning the bull-taming sport jallikattu. ANI

The Bharatiya Janata Party today described the arrest of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar as a 'positive step' which was a 'good' thing for the peace-loving and development-oriented people of India and Pakistan.

"If the media reports of the arrest (Azhar's) is correct, then it is a positive step which is good a thing for the peace-loving and development-oriented people of the two countries," BJP national secretary and its media cell in-charge Shrikant Sharma said.

"If Pakistan acts against terrorism then it is good for the people of both countries because terrorists are enemies of the humanity. The whole world today is united in rooting out terrorism," he said.

Sharma noted that Prime Minister Marendra Modi had 'conveyed the nation's anger' to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif who, he added, had assured him of action. These arrests have come within 13 days of the incident so it is a positive step, he said.

BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said India has put its position before Pakistan and hoped results will come.

"We want to maintain good ties with them. We want friendship but the balm on the wounds inflicted upon us in Pathankot will only be applied when action is taken against the attackers and the conspirators of the attack," he said.

In the wake of suspected Pathankot attacks mastermind Maulana Masood Azhar's detention in Pakistan, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is likely to brief the prime minister shortly who may take a decision on Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks scheduled to be held on January 15.

CNN-IBN quoted the sources in the external affairs ministry saying that the PM's decision over talks is likely to be positive, adding that if the reports of Azhar's detention are true, it is a welcome step by Pakistan.

According to reports in the Pakistani media, Maulana Masood Azhar's brother Abdur Rauf has also been taken into protective custody and id being questioned in connection with the Pathankot attacks.

However, CNN-IBN quoted the Indian external affairs ministry saying that there has been no official confirmation about Azhar and his brother's arrest and the ministry will react only after getting official confirmation.

JUST IN: Actor Kiku Sharda who was arrested for mimicking Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim, has been released on surety bond of Rs 1 lakh

Dera Saccha Sauda chief Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh 'Insaan' has said that his 'devotees' were hurt by the actions of comedian Kiku Sharda who was arrested on Wednesday morning.

He also said that now that the actor has apologised, he would not like to take the matter forward.

'Devotees are hurt due to Kiku's action. If he has apologised, no complaint from my side,' he tweeted.

BSP has cancelled the ticket of its Atrauli seat candidate for the 2017 assembly polls Sangeeta Chowdhury on grounds of indiscipline, after she posted a picture on Facebook in which she and her children are seen touching the feet of party supremo Mayawati.

The picture reportedly left Mayawati miffed, resulting in the cancellation of Sangeeta's ticket.

BSP district President Arvind Aditya said Sangeeta's ticket was cancelled due to indiscipline. He, however, did not divulge further details.

Sangeeta's husband, Dharmendra Chowdhury was earlier the candidate from Atrauli seat, but was murdered in January 2015. His wife Sangeeta was drafted in as his replacement.

Saddened at the action against her, Sangeeta said it was not her intention to upset Mayawati. "The motive behind uploading the picture on Facebook was not to upset Mayawatiji but to show my opponents that she is with me and I will win the elections,' she said. Sangeeta said she would apologise to the BSP supremo for the act. 

Turkey said today it had arrested one person in connection with a deadly suicide bombing that ripped through the historic heart of Istanbul, killing 10 German tourists and raising alarm over security in the country.

Ankara has said that yesterday's attack was carried out by a 28-year-old Syrian who belonged to the Islamic State (IS) group and had recently entered Turkey from Syria.

One person was arrested yesterday in connection with the bloodshed, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said today, without explaining the suspect's role in the strike. Turkish security forces over the last two days rounded up 68 suspected IS members across the country, state media said, but it was not clear if any of them were directly connected to the Istanbul bombing.

Lieutenant General Jacob Farj Rafael Jacob (retired) -- Jake to his friends -- passed into the ages on Wednesday, January 13, 2016. In his honour, we re-publish this December 2006 special story where the man who masterminded the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 walked down memory lane in an exclusive chat with then Deputy Managing Editor Ramananda Sengupta. Read

Maulana Masood Azhar's brother has also taken into protective custody, questioning underway in connection with the Pathankot Attack: Pak media.

For all of us cheering the detention of Masood Azhar, remember that the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi who had been briefly jailed in Rawalpindi, was released on bail last year. India could do little except call the release "unfortunate and disappointing".

Just in: Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar has been detained in Pakistan. He has been taken into 'protective custody'.

Earlier in the day, two members of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed were arrested in Pakistan in connection with the Pathankot terror attack, say news reports.
 
Offices of the organization were also sealed on Wednesday, the first major action taken by Pakistan after the January 2 terror attack on the Pathankot air base in which seven Indian soldiers were killed.
 
Reports say Pakistani investigators are likely to travel to India to further the probe.
 
India has alleged that the attack was orchestrated by Jaish and had handed over proof that the terrorists were in touch with their handlers in Pakistan before the attack.
 
Pakistan had, in its initial response, said that phone numbers and call transcripts supplied by India did not check out and that the numbers were not registered there.

NIA recovers Chinese wireless set from vehicle outside the Pathankot air base. It has been sent to the CFSL for data extraction.

If you haven't seen this yet, do. Iman dedicates Instagram page to her husband, David Bowie, in his final days. Take a look.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed one of two Italian marines facing murder charges over the deaths of two Indian fishermen to stay in his home country until April 30 following heart surgery. The decision defuses a possible judicial standoff after an Italian senator said the day before that Massimiliano Latorre would not return to face trial as he had been due to by this Friday, having earlier been allowed home for medical treatment.

The Supreme Court set a hearing on April 13 to take up the case of the marines, who stand accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast almost four years ago in an anti-piracy operation that went tragically wrong.

The second sailor on trial, Salvatore Girone, remains at the Italian embassy in New Delhi.

Italy and India have been at loggerheads over who has jurisdiction over the case, and Italy has sought international arbitration.

Islamic State claims attack near Pakistan consulate in Afghan city of Jalalabad.

@FinMinIndia  tweeted this view of the finance ministry meeting with financial regulators as part of the pre-budget consultation process.

Three postal department officials, including the postmaster of the main post office of Hajipur have been suspended for non-delivery of New Year greeting cards sent by Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan to the people of his Hajipur Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar.

Superintendent of Post Umesh Chand Prasad said he received a complaint that more than 450 greeting cards were found strewn on the third floor of the district bar council building and preliminary inquiry found the complaint was true.

That's (from left to right) Raghuram Rajan, Shaktikanta Das and Arvind Subramanian at the pre-budget meeting with economists. The RBI chief and the Chief Economic Adviser used to colleagues at World Bank.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley holds a pre-budget meeting with economists begins. At the meeting are RBI chief Raghuram Rajan, secretary of department of economic affairs Shaktikanta Das and chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian. The finance ministry is also set to meet banks & financial institutions on January 15.

The finance ministry yesterday attributed the decline in November industrial production to a four-year low to statistical reasons, particularly due to lesser number of working days due to Diwali and the impact of Chennai floods.

Just in: Supreme Court stay on Jallikattu to continue. Petitions supporting Jallikattu dismissed by Supreme Court, which has put on hold the bull-taming sport in Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court yesterday stayed the Centre's notification lifting the ban on the controversial bull taming game as an interim measure.

The court rejected the plea of ministry of environment and forests and Tamil Nadu that Jallikattu is part of the ancient tradition and culture and should not be stopped as there were enough safeguards provided in the January 7 notification.

Invoking iconic party founder M G Ramachandran, AIADMK General Secretary and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today said her party would secure a massive win in the upcoming Assembly elections and exhorted cadres to work towards such a victory with full involvement.

Declaring open new party district offices at a function here, she told partymen, "This function is a precursor to the massive victory that will be secured by the AIADMK in the Assembly polls to be held in a few months."

She inaugurated the new offices at Villupuram South, Namakkal, Karur, Pudukottai, Theni and Dindigul from the party headquarters through video conferencing. "I urge you all to work towards such a victory with full involvement, hail Anna (top leader of Dravidian movement and former Chief Minister), hail MGR," she said.

Hitting out at arch-rival DMK without naming it, she said, "I regard the AIADMK more than my life and guard it (the party) which was founded by MGR after he was dismayed seeing the political arm (DMK) of the Dravidian movement founded by Anna getting usurped by an evil force." "AIADMK, founded by Puratchi Thalaivar (Revolutionary leder) MGR, will be a movement that will serve the people for many more hundreds of years," she said.

A local court in Visnagar town of Mehsana district today sent quota leader Hardik Patel in police custody till January 15 in a case of rioting and assault registered against him six months back.

On January 11, Visnagar Police had taken custody of Hardik Patel from Lajpore jail of Surat after acquiring transfer warrant and took him to Mehsana in a case of rioting and assault, lodged against him on July 23 in Visnagar police station. Hardik was lodged in Lajpore Jail since last three months, as he faces two sedition cases, one at Surat and another at Ahmedabad.

Hardik is one of the accused in an FIR filed at Visnagar on July 23, when a rally of Patel community seeking reservation turned violent, resulting in damage to property and assault on some media persons.

No direct link between Gurdaspur SP Salvinder Singh and Pathankot terrorists, says this India Today report. Read

Powerful explosion rocks Helmand in south of Afghanistan.

Members of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed have been arrested in Pakistan in connection with the Pathankot terror attack, say news reports.
 
Offices of the organization were also sealed on Wednesday, the first major action taken by Pakistan after the January 2 terror attack on the Pathankot air base in which seven Indian soldiers were killed.
 
Reports say Pakistani investigators are likely to travel to India to further the probe.
 
India has alleged that the attack was orchestrated by Jaish and had handed over proof that the terrorists were in touch with their handlers in Pakistan before the attack.
 
Pakistan had, in its initial response, said that phone numbers and call transcripts supplied by India did not check out and that the numbers were not registered there.

The Belgian police have found two apartments and a house used by suspects before they carried out the terror attacks in Paris, prosecutors said today. "The investigators were able to identify three premises that have been used by the conspiring perpetrators of the attacks of 13th November 2015," a spokesman for federal prosecutor Eric Van Der Sypt said in a statement in English.

The 2012 piece on Lt Gen (retd) JFR Jacob where he says, "I am very proud to be a Jew, but am Indian through and through. I was born in India and served here my whole life; this is where I want die."

Lt Gen Jacob died in New Delhi today.

Read the piece here

Just in: India, Pakistan foreign secretary level talks unlikely to take place on January 15th as previously announced by Pakistan. No date set by India.

The Ministry of External Affairs sources told the media that the decision on holding FS level talks is likely to be taken tomorrow. They pointed out that it was Pakistan, not India which had announced the dates for talks.

MEA sources said that India is 'waiting for Pakistan to act against terrorists' following the attacks on the Pathankot air base on January 2. Reacting to the reports, Pakistan blasted India, claiming it was 'not serious about wanting talks with Pakistan'.

Indian-American Republican Governor Nikki Haley today faced flak from the supporters of her party's presidential candidate Donald Trump as she cited her family's immigrant experience to warn against rhetoric that could make hard-working people feel unwelcome in the US.

During her nine-minute Republican response to President Barack Obama's last State of the Union address, Haley recounted her own Indian American heritage to call for fixing the country's broken immigration system.

"During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation," the South Carolina Governor said.

"No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country," Haley said without mentioning Trump by name. "We must fix our broken immigration system. That means stopping illegal immigration. And it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. Just like we have for centuries," Haley said.

Just in: India, Pakistan foreign secretary level talks unlikely to take place on Jan 15th as previously announced by Pakistan. No date set by India.

First reactions from Tanmay Bhat, writer, comic, and co-founder of All India Bakchod: Section 295A needs to go. Or modified. Or something. It gives every religious group ammo to go after anyone.

Comedian Kiku Sharda, popular as Palak of "Comedy Nights With Kapil", has been booked for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of the followers of self-claimed godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. Singh's followers filed a case against the comedian after he mimicked the self-claimed godman in popular show "Comedy Night With Kapil", which was aired on 27 December. The case was filed on 1 January but the actor was arrested this morning.

Sharda who was sent to has been sent to 14 days judicial custody in Kaithal, Haryana, apologised while explaining his stand. "Usually if some objectionable word is said while performing, it's edited by the channel. This is also channel's responsibility. I am really very very sorry. I'm an artist who is given a role, a get up and told what to do. I've already apologised, I didn't want to hurt anyone's sentiments."

Indian-American South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley today criticised President Barack Obama's policies as having "fallen far short of his soaring words" during his seven-year-long tenure as she asked Americans to resist the "angriest voices" on immigration.

"Barack Obama's election as president seven years ago broke historic barriers and inspired millions of Americans. As he did when he first ran for office, tonight President Obama spoke eloquently about grand things. He is at his best when he does that," she said in formal Republican response to Obama's last State of the Union address.

"Unfortunately, the President's record has often fallen far short of his soaring words," said 43-year-old Haley, seen as a potential Republican vice presidential pick in 2016. "As he enters his final year in office, many Americans are still feeling the squeeze of an economy too weak to raise income levels. We're feeling a crushing national debt, a health care plan that has made insurance less affordable and doctors less available, and chaotic unrest in many of our cities," she said.

The Supreme Court today asked the government laboratory in Mysore to further clarify whether test reports relating to lead and glutamic acid in Maggi noodles are within permissible parameters under the law.

The apex court passed the order after perusing two communications received from the Mysore laboratory which had carried out the test about the monosodium glutamate (MSG) content in the samples.

While Nestle India, makers of Maggi, claimed that the lead content was within the permissible limit prescribed under the Food Safety Act, the Centre said there was a need for comprehensive findings of all other parameters.

Army Chief General Dalbir Suhag holds a press briefing, his first since the Pathankot attack.

The army chief said there was "no issue of coordination" during the operation to neutralize terrorists who attacked the Pathankot air base on January 2. "I can assure that there was no issue of coordination between the forces at Pathankot," General Suhag said, addressing the media.

"The time taken to complete the operations should be left to the commander on the ground," he added.

The army chief was responding to allegations that there was a lack of inter-agency cooperation and coordination.

On being asked why the mop up ops took so long, the army chief said, "'It was not an easy operation, it took time to minimise casualties.  All casualties of soldiers were in the first few minutes.

"In our efforts to fastrack technological progress, a new Army design bureau is being set up. Have told all army commanders to do a security audit "

Lt Gen JFR Jacob (retd) died in New Delhi today. He was 93. Jacob was the Chief of Staff Eastern Army Command during the 1971 war with Pakistan. Lt Gen JS Aurora was heading the command at Kolkata when the Indian Army and Air Force liberated Bangladesh, which was then known as East Pakistan.

Jacob was a former Governor of Punjab and administrator of Chandigarh between November 1999 and November 2003.  Jacob, a bachelor, was living in Delhi's RK Puram.  He died after a brief illness at the Army's Research and Referral hospital.

He authored the book. 'Surrender at Dacca' in which he explained the surrender of 90,000 Pakistani troops.

Jacob as the Administrator of Chandigarh brought in people oriented changes. He was famous for dropping in unannounced in public offices to check the functioning.


In this iconic photo of Pakistan''s formal surrender in 1971, that's Lt Gen JFR Jacob to the right, craning his neck. The picture was tweeted by Shiv Aroor.

AIADMK chief and Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa at the AIADMK headquarters in Chennai waving to to euphoric party workers.

Yesterday Jayalalithaa sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking an ordinance for facilitating the conduct of jallikattu, the traditional bull-taming sport in the state during Pongal festival. "The Supreme Court has granted interim stay of the Centre's notification. Considering the urgency of the issue, I strongly reiterate my request to the Government to promulgate an ordinance forthwith to enable the conduct of jallikattu," she said in the letter.

"On behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu, I urge you to take immediate action," said Jayalalithaa.

With the Pongal festivities beginning January 14, people in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu have made preparations and are eagerly looking forward to the nod for the bull sport.

"It is very important that the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu, who have a deep attachment to the conduct of the traditional event, are respected," she said.

Reminding Modi that she had written to him on December 22, seeking the promulgation of an ordinance, she said the environment ministry had issued a notification enabling the conduct of the traditional sport.

And that's AIADMK party workers reacting to Jayalalithaa's public appearance at the party office.

Just in: SC asks Mysore lab to clarify if test reports relating to#Maggi are within permissible parameters under the law.

Lt Gen JFR Jacob, hero of Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, passed away today at 8:30 am, says Army R&R hospital.

South Korea has fired warning shots after North Korean drone seen across border, says Seoul media.

The prestigious Yale School of Management will name its deanship in honour of PepsiCo's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi as she gifted an undisclosed amount to her alma mater, becoming the school's biggest alumni donor and the first woman to endow a deanship at a top B-school.

Yale did not disclose the amount gifted by Nooyi but said her "landmark gift" to endow the deanship of the school and inaugurate an innovation fund has made her the "most generous graduate" of Yale School of Management in terms of lifetime giving to the school.

ISIS militants who lost a key town to Iraqi forces were burned alive in full public view by their own men after they fled to the group's stronghold of Mosul, in a terrifying message to other fighters, a media report has said.

Several Mosul residents claim that when the black clad jihadists made it to Mosul, some 250 miles north of Ramadi city retaken by Iraqi forces, they were set on fire in the town's main square, FoxNews.com reported.

"They were grouped together and made to stand in a circle. And set on fire to die," a former resident of northern Iraq now living in the US but in touch with family back home was quoted as saying by FoxNews.com.

Several other Iraqis with relatives in Mosul said defeated ISIS militants were being punished and executed for not fighting to the death in Ramadi, it added. "There is no surprise on executing ISIS fighters from Ramadi. They did the same to fighters after Tikrit," said Michael Pregent, a terrorism expert and former intelligence adviser to General David Petraeus in Iraq.

The retaking of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar Province which ISIS took over last May, was a major setback for ISIS.With Iraqi government mustering to recapture Mosul, an increasingly paranoid ISIS has stepped up murders of women and children, it said, citing people trapped in the city.

"They come to the house and take the children and accuse them of being spies,' said a stateside Iraqi with knowledge of the situation. "If the mom cries and gets upset at them, they accuse of her being a spy too and take her to the jail and later kill her."

The terrorist group is feeling the heat of a coming onslaught, said Pregent. "They are using women and children executions to intimidate the harsher the tactic the more desperate the leadership is.

At least 15 people, mostly security officials, were killed and over 10 others injured today in a bomb blast apparently carried out by a suicide bomber outside a polio vaccination centre in Pakistan's southwestern city of Quetta.

"The blast was apparently carried out by a suicide bomber," Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti told media after the blast. The deceased include 12 policemen, one paramilitary and two civilians, a police official said.

Eyewitness at the site said they heard firing after a loud blast rocked the area. The victims have been shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta, where an emergency has been imposed, the Dawn reported.

Police and rescue workers reached the site soon after the blast, while security forces have cordoned off the area. Today is the third day of a three-day anti-polio campaign which was launched in Quetta and other districts of Balochistan on Monday.

The campaign is to target 2.4 million children under the age of five. Over 55,000 children of Afghan refugees are to be immunised under the campaign.

Polio teams were being dispatched from the polio centre targeted today in the blast, security sources said. Pakistan remains one of only two countries on the World Health Organisation's (WHO) list of polio-endemic countries.

Polio workers have long been targeted in the country due to rumours that the polio immunisation drive is a front for espionage or a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.

Commentator Swapan Dasgupta is likely to be appointed Director of the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) in New Delhi. He is currently a member of the NMML Society which is presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When Dasgupta was reached for comment, he said: "I don't know."

Official sources said as Director of NMML, Dasgupta will enjoy the status of a Minister of State. "The government is in the process of upgrading the status of the Director of NMML as part of its effort to make relevant the life and works of Jawaharlal Nehru,' an official said.


Also read: 'Swapan Dasgupta is not untouchable for me'

Pic: Dasgupta receiving the Padma Bhushan from President Pranab Mukherjee last year. 

A speeding car on Wednesday morning knocked Corporal Abhimanyu Gaud, Air Force drill instructor, at the Red Road in Kolkata which was temporarily closed for the Republic Day rehearsal.

An explosion and gun fire has broken out near the Indian consulate in Afghanistan's Jalalabad area, which houses quite a few foreign missions. 

Following the news that one of the two Italian marines -- accused of murdering Indian fishermen off Kerala coast almost four years ago -- will not return to India for their trial, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to interfere and bring the culprits back to the country.

India is preparing dossiers on terrorists based in Pakistan, including alleged mastermind of the Pathankot airbase attack Abdul Rauf, seeking a ban on the militants under the United Nations Security Council resolution. Other than Rauf, names of members of Indian Mujahideen who fled the country and are reportedly based in Pakistan could be part of the list. 

Differences within the Congress's Mumbai unit were out in the open when two MLAs and their supporters squabbled over the route and programme for the two-day visit of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

And Donald Trump takes no time to diss US President Barack Obama. Taking to Twitter, the presidential hopeful writes, "The #SOTU speech is really boring, slow, lethargic - very hard to watch!"

At his final State of the Union address, US President Obama speaks of one of his biggest regrets as US president. "The rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. There's no doubt a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and I guarantee I'll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office. But, my fellow Americans, this cannot be my task -- or any President's -- alone. There are a whole lot of folks in this chamber who would like to see more cooperation, a more elevated debate in Washington, but feel trapped by the demands of getting elected. I know; you've told me. And if we want a better politics, it's not enough to just change a Congressman or a Senator or even a President; we have to change the system to reflect our better selves."

Speaking at his final State of the Union address, US President Barack Obama discusses how to keep America safe and strong without either isolating ourselves or trying to nation-build everywhere there's a problem. 

Barack Obama is delivering his final State of the Union address. Among other aims, the speech looks to mark where the US has been over the past year.

US President Barack Obama says he wants to look forward '" 'the next five years, ten years and beyond' -- and promises to push for progress 'on the work that still needs doing'. 

Amidst cheers and applause, US President Barack Obama is set to strike an optimistic and hopeful tone in his final State of the Union address. The US president will focus on cementing his legacy rather than unveiling new policies, officials have said. Obama is expected to frame some of the key issues in a way that fellow Democrats can embrace during campaigning for the upcoming election.