After an hour-long meeting and addressing the press jointly inside the Oval Office, United States President Barack Obama hosts Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a working lunch in the Cabinet Room of the White House.

Vice President Joe Biden is also present for the lunch.

The last major primaries of the 2016 White House race kick off on Tuesday in New Jersey and California, hours after the United States delegate counts showed Hillary Clinton clinching the Democratic nomination.

The first polls opened at 6 am in New Jersey, with voting to begin four hours later in California, the country's most populous state. Passing the milestone of 2,383 delegates late on Monday secured Clinton's status as the presumptive Democratic nominee, and she becomes the first female standard-bearer of a major US political party.

It's a dramatic political resurgence for a highly experienced but controversial candidate who lost to Barack Obama in their 2008 battle for the Democratic nomination.

PM Narendra Modi arrives at the White House, will hold talks with US President Barack Obama. The two leaders are scheduled to meet over two hours that will include a working lunch to be attended by Vice President Joe Biden. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit Israel early next year as both countries prepare to celebrate 25th anniversary of establishment of full diplomatic relations, an official of the Jewish state has hinted. "Prime Minister Modi, that we know, wants to go and visit Israel. We don't have any specific dates. I can tell you that next year, we are celebrating 25 years of full diplomatic relations. It is a major milestone and it will be celebrated with high-level visits on both sides," the spokesperson of embassy of Israel, Ohad Horsandi said. 

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today slammed the Censor Board after the makers of the film 'Udta Punjab' are said to have been asked by the Revising Committee of the Board to remove all references to the state in the movie and make 89 cuts. 

The Congress today termed the exit of Ajit Jogi from the party as "good riddance", saying that he has saved it the trouble of expelling him and that he will not be able to harm it. 

Under attack from the Congress and other Opposition parties for the alleged forced conversions and contentious statements by leaders from RSS-the parent body of BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly threatened to quit from the PM's post if the RSS leaders do not stop making such controversial remarks.


"Modi, who held a meeting with the RSS leaders to express his disappointment, also said that he does not have greed to remain in the post if the image of the government is hampered by the leaders who keep making controversial remarks," a report in the Marathi newspaper Maharashtra Times said.


The RSS, thereafter, gave a green signal to the government to take action against leaders who indulge in making controversial statements, it said.


The report in a section of local media said that Modi has told the top brass of the RSS that the image of government is getting hampered because of the loose statements made by some their leaders.


BJP leaders are of the opinion that the BJP-led NDA government has come to power on the issue of good governance, and by such controversial statements it is getting a colour of fanaticism, the report said.

Regional satraps like Mamata Banerjee and Nitish Kumar emerged on the political firmament with BJP and RSS support without which they would not remain strong for long, Union Minister Uma Bharti has said.

The senior BJP leader also said the country is already on course to become 'Congress mukt' (free from Congress) and that the party's dipping fortunes could be attributed to it having remained "captive to a family".

In an interview to news agency PTI, Bharti, who had trashed the possibility of Sonia Gandhi becoming the prime minister in 2004, said she has "love and respect" for her on a personal level but Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi "does not exist" in her mind.

Arundhati Bhattacharya, the first woman chairperson of the nation's largest bank SBI, has been ranked among the top five most powerful women in finance by the Forbes magazine.


Bhattacharya has moved up five spots from the previous year to 5th this year, SBI said in a statement.


She is also ranked 25th in Forbes' list of 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women', which features top female leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, philanthropists and CEOs.Bhattacharya has been instrumental in transforming the over 200 year-old bank into technology-driven lender with SBIiNTOUCH digital banking outlet, mobile wallet State Bank Buddy, State Bank Anywhere -- a retail internet banking based application for smartphones, SBI Tech Learning Centres for educating customers and SBI e-Pay, a payment aggregator service, among others.


Under her leadership, SBI grew its network to around 17,000 branches and services over 330 million customers with presence in 36 countries.

Cricketer Suresh Raina's tribute said Muhammad Ali "taught so many lessons to all of us". That Ali certainly did, but have our modern-day sportspersons imbibed them? The Ali path isn't easy to tread. In India, no athlete has ventured anywhere near that road, forget walking in the footsteps of a man who was as sure about the strength of his voice as he was about the power of his punch.  Read more

An FIR has been registered against three intermediate toppers Ruby Rai, Saurabh Shrestha, Rahul Kumar including director of V R College in connection with  the alleged irregularities in evaluation of marks in this year's 10+2 examination.


The Bihar government on Monday dissolved a committee constituted by Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) to probe into the alleged irregularities in evaluation of marks in this year's 10+2 examination.


The decision to dissolve the committee was taken after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a meeting with Education minister Ashok Choudhary, Principal Secretary (Education) DS Gangwar and BSEB chairman Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh.


"The government has dissolved the committee," Choudhary told reporters after the meeting and said it was decided to go for direct action into irregularities without any further delay by registering an FIR against education mafias.

The Union government has imported about 13,000 tonnes of pulses to check rising food inflation, and is expecting another 6,000 tonnes of pulses in the next few weeks, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said on Tuesday. The imported pulses include 11,000 tonnes of Tur and 2,000 tonnes of Urad.


"Besides contracted import of 38,500 tonnes of pulses, the central government agencies have procured 51,000 tonnes of Kharif and 60,000 tonnes of Rabi pulses so far (from the domestic market)," the Ministry said  in a statement. The Union government has also urged the state governments to seek allocation of pulses from the buffer stock to check any increase in the prices of pulses.

The Central government should "ban" Nigerians from entering India, former Goa Chief Minister Ravi Naik (pictured) has demanded, adding that the state does not need Nigerian tourists.


Referring to Nigerians with the pejorative "negroes", the senior Congress leader also told reporters that Nigerians have been causing "problems" in Goa as well other metros.


"The Central government should ban Nigerians," Naik said.Naik also said that even the Aam Aami Party leaders had a fight with Nigerians in Bengaluru."They create problems everywhere... We do not want Nigerian tourists," Naik said demanding a probe into the activities of Nigerians in Goa, who he alleged masquerade as students.

BJP has never said that RBI governor Raghuram Rajan should be removed. If someone has said so, then its the person's personal view, says party president Amit Shah.


Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan took a dig at the media for speculating whether he will continue at the central bank after his present term expires in September.


"I have a prepared statement for that. As far as the question of my continuing with this position after September 4 goes, it will be cruel to spoil the fun that the press is having with all its speculation,' he said during the post-monetary policy press meet on Tuesday.


"I am, personally, intrigued by all the letters that I have written. Seriously, in all such cases a decision is reached after discussion with the government and the incumbent. I am sure you will know when there is news. I cannot do better than point you to the statement of the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister. That's all I have to say," he said.


BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who was recently nominated to the Rajya Sabha, had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him not to extend Mr. Rajan's term. Modi has remained silent so far on the issue, except saying in an interview to the Wall Street Journal that the matter is an administrative one and should not be a subject of media speculation.

US President Barack Obama will visit Poland and Spain in July in what will likely be his final presidential trip to Europe, a continent that has often presented more problems than opportunities during his term. The White House said Obama would travel to Warsaw on July 7-9 for "his fifth and final summit with NATO leaders," before making his first trip to Spain.

During his nearly eight years in office, Obama has at times had difficult relationships with America's oldest allies. For most of his first term, Europe was frustratingly slow to contain sovereign debt crises that were fed by and prolonged the Great Recession.

Six dissident Congress MLAs in Tripura submit a letter to Assembly Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath saying they are quitting the party and will join Trinamool Congress. 

Rahul Gandhi tweets: "Punjab has a crippling drug problem. Censoring Udta Punjab will not fix it. The government must accept the reality and find solutions."

Sunita Manjule, Sairat director, Nagraj Manjules ex-wife, has emerged out of the shadows to cry foul and points fingers at the directors tall claims on his stand on womens place in society. Citing financial, emotional and physical abuse, Sunita alleges that the directors words are all show, and it is she who is going to tell the real tale. Read more

Markets extended gains in late noon trades with select banks leading the gains, amid firm global cues, after the RBI kept key policy rates unchanged but maintained an 'accomodative' stance going forward.

At 2:35pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 234 points at 27,012 and the Nifty50 was up 70 points at 8,271 after hitting an intra-day high of 8,252. In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.5%-1% each. Market breadth was positive with 1451 gainers and 1016 losers on the BSE.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been discharged from hospital, a week after successfully undergoing an open-heart surgery in London. Sharif's wife Kulsum Nawaz and his two sons Hassan and Hussain accompanied the Premier from the Harley Street Clinic in London to his house in the British capital.

Sharif moved to his home in Park Lane this evening after undergoing the "successful" surgery last Tuesday. "He is in good spirits with his family by his side," a source close to the family said.

Facebook has appointed Adobe South Asia region MD Umang Bedi as Managing Director, India. Bedi will lead in building and maintaining strategic relationships with top clients and regional agencies in the country, a note from the social network said.Kirthiga Reddy will be returning to United States to take on a new role at the company's headquarters at Menlo Park.

When India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi concludes his three-day visit to Washington on Wednesday, he will likely reflect on how the relationship between the world's two biggest democracies is becoming ever closer, a step towards fulfilling US President Barack Obama's prophesy that India and the United States would form "one of the defining partnerships" of the 21st century.

At the very least, Modi deserves credit for generating an impressive amount of air miles. This week marks his fourth U.S. visit since assuming office in 2014. It is also the seventh time he has met Obama.But there is an important first this week too: Wednesday will mark the first time Modi has been invited to address a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber -- an honor bestowed on just a few world leaders every year.

Wednesday's address to Congress will complete an unlikely turnaround for Modi, going from outcast to prize in just over two years.  Read more

Is former Congress MP Priya Dutt set to join the Shiv Sena? She is believed to have written a three-page letter to Congress VP Rahul Gandhi on the lines of Gurudas Kamat. Kamat, a former Union minister and veteran Congress leader from Mumbai, resigned from the party Monday and announced his retirement from politics.

Priya Dutt commands the goodwill and respect that her father and Congress ex-MP, the late Sunil Dutt, had and had been elected to the Lok Sabha for two terms. Dutt Sr, incidentally, had excellent relations with the Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

Rumours are rife that Priya Dutt is planning to resign from the Congress and join the Shiv Sena after reports said she had met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray twice in the past few days.

However, according to a report in the Free Press Journal, Dutt has rebutted the speculation saying, "Im a loyal member of the Indian National Congress and will not join the Shiv Sena ever.

"I met Thackeray twice regarding the anniversary of Nargis Dutt foundation as we wanted his photographs to be included in the exhibition. My meetings were in that regard."

But Shiv Sena loyalists have told the FPJ that Dutt has been aspiring for a Rajya Sabha ticket and her meeting with Uddhav was in this regard.

A senior Congress leader told Rediff.com that after the Rajya Sabha polls, there were problems in the All India Congress Committee.

Six youth Congress leaders from West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Kerala are contemplating to resign from the party and have addressed individual letters to the AICC in the past one week, according to an insider at 24 Akbar Road, the Congress HQ.

While Congress workers were enthusiastic and jubilant when Chief Minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy took office, but the moment he left for Chennai to take oath, there has been a steady stream of emails and letters from Puducherry complaining against him.

Monsoon in Kerala by 9th June. North and south Tamil Nadu to witness thunderstorm in the next 24 hours, says K Balachandran (Dir, Met Dept).

Yesterday, India Meteorological Department Director BP Yadav said that the monsoon is strengthening over the Arabian Sea and there have been favourable developments in the last 48 hours for bountiful rains in India. on Tuesday pointed out that Kerala has been getting a good amount of rainfall continuously.

"The cloud organisation is not yet fully developed and therefore monsoon likely to set over Kerala by June 9," said Yadav. The normal date of monsoon onset over Kerala is June 1.

Speaking about the unprecedented heat wave in several regions of the country, the IMD chief said severe weather conditions will continue in western and eastern parts of Rajasthan, western Haryana, some parts of Gujarat and western Madhya Pradesh.

"It's now time for heat wave to subside because eastern winds are coming in and moisture is being pumped in. But we have to wait for 48 hours before heat wave in Rajasthan subsides. We are not expecting any heat wave in Delhi and the National Capital Region," he added.

A good monsoon is extremely crucial as several regions are under the spell of severe drought following two years of poor rainfall.

Since time immemorial, all period-related commercials have been obsessed with depicting period blood as everything except what it actually is supposed to be--blood. Now, an ad that shows blood. Take a look.

Three suspected Islamists were killed today in separate gunbattles with Bangladesh police which launched a massive crackdown on extremists as a Hindu priest became the latest casualty in a wave of attacks on secular activists and minorities in the Muslim-majority country.

The three were operatives of the outlawed Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) outfit which was targeted by Superintendent of Police Babul Aktar whose wife was brutally killed by the militants on Sunday.

The biggest hurdle in the follow-up on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Iran will be the Indian bureaucracy. The security establishment, which has profound difficulty in understanding Iran and sees it as the land of Islamic fundamentalists, never wanted India to get entangled with that country.
Read MK Bhadrakumar's blog

A bomb ripped through a Turkish police vehicle near Istanbul's historic centre today, killing seven officers and four civilians and adding to security concerns after a string of attacks in Turkey's biggest city.

The bomb targeted a service shuttle bus carrying officers from Istanbul's anti-riot police as it was passing through the central Beyazit district close to many of the city's top tourist sites, Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said in a live statement on Turkish television.

Thirty six people were wounded, three of them seriously, he added. Reports said the explosion took place close to the Vezneciler metro station, which is within walking distance of some of the city's main tourist sites including the famed Suleymaniye Mosque. The metro station was closed as a security precaution.

The US today returned to India over 200 stolen cultural artifacts, some dating back 2,000 years, estimated at USD 100 million, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing the cultural heritage as a great binding force in bilateral relationships.

"Usually relationship between the countries of the world are very often covered by the present. It is present that plays a big role, but sometimes heritage becomes important in the relations of two countries. Sometimes what cannot be done by living persons is done by idols," the Prime Minister said at a ceremony held at the Blair House for the return of stolen artifacts to India.

Speaking in Hindi, the Prime Minister said that in the last two years various countries have endeavoured to return India's stolen cultural heritage.

Raking up the issue of fishermen, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has said the situation at sea remains "precarious" due to "offensive acts" of the Sri Lankan Navy despite repeated appeals to the Centre to ensure safety of Indian fishermen. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jayalalithaa referred to the arrest of four Indian fishermen who had ventured from Rameswaram, on June 5 and pointed out that this was the third such incident since May 31.

A total of 15 fishermen and 91 boats were now under the custody of the island government, she said while seeking Modi's intervention to secure their release.

The four members of Swedish pop group ABBA performed together on stage on Sunday night for the first time in more than 30 years -- a reunion they had pledged would never happen and which fans had long ceased to expect.
Read more

At least two people were injured after an explosion took place in a private bus on Bhuna road in Haryana's Fatehabad district on Tuesday. It is reported that one of the passengers was carrying some chemicals which exploded in the bus. The bus was carrying around 50 passengers. The two people have sustained minor injuries and have been provided with medical treatment. This is the second explosion that has taken place in Haryana over the last two weeks.

11 including 7 police killed in Istanbul bomb attack: Governor.

Kerala is all set to become open defecation-free with the state-run Suchitwa Mission aiming to achieve the goal by November 1 this year. State Chief Secretary S M Vijayanand convened a meeting of all stakeholders and higher officials recently to evaluate the progress of the mission.


The meeting was a follow-up of the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Delhi visit last month.


During the meeting, the Chief Secretary said Kerala could not go back from its target of declaring the state as open defecation-free by November 1 as the state should always remain as a model to other states, an official release said. The meeting was attended by several officials including T K Jose, state Principal Secretary (Local Self Government), and Arun Baroka and Nipun Vinayak, the Joint secretary and deputy secretary respectively of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, central government. Officials observed that availability of funds will not stand as a hindrance in achieving the target but mobilisation of other resources may be a challenge, especially when it comes to tribal, hilly and coastal areas.

In those areas, adequacy of fund may be a challenge unless Scheduled Tribes and Fisheries departments came forward with their contributions, the release said. Fisheries Principal Secretary James Varghese assured that wherever it is necessary among the coastal communities, they can top-up funds from their side. Suchitwa Mission is the state nodal agency for sanitation. It is constituted under the state local self government department with the vision of creating a waste free Kerala with a pollution-free environment, public hygiene and cleanliness.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama are scheduled to meet at the White House today for over two hours that will include a working lunch to be attended by Vice President Joe Biden.


The seventh Modi-Obama meeting will highlight the deepening of the US-India relationship in key areas since the President's visit to New Delhi in January 2015, the White House said.


"This is a pretty significant amount of time for the President and Prime Minister. They would be able to cover every single issue in the time allotted," a senior US official said,adding that the actual time has been expanded to provide ample opportunity to cover all issues.


"The President looks forward to discussing progress made on our climate change and clean energy partnership, security and defence cooperation, and economic growth priorities," the White House said, adding that Biden would will also attend.


After an hour-long meeting, the two leaders are briefly scheduled to address the press inside the Oval Office for about 15 minutes. Soon thereafter Obama would host Modi for a working lunch in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Biden would also be present for the lunch. "They have two pretty lengthy meetings. One would be in the Oval Office. Then there is a little bit of a press spray. Then they would shift to a lunch meeting as well. It is pretty significant," the official said.


Modi is currently on a three-day US visit. On Wednesday, he would address a joint meeting of the US Congress.


IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays homage to Indian-American astronaut late Kalpana Chawla at the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial. Photograph: MEA/Flickr

Warning signs over schools controlled by Narendra Modi's BJP party in India, says Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, the famous professor from Columbia University. Read

"I hate these bird analogies - hawkish, dovish, etc" says the RBI Chief Raghuram Rajan on inflation.

Just in: Explosion in a bus on Bhuna road in Haryana's Fatehabad district. More details awaited.

Continuing its upward trend, the benchmark BSE Sensex rallied by over 129 points despite the Reserve Bank keeping the interest rate unchanged.


The Sensex, which gained over 100 points in the early trade, was quoting higher by 129.13 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 26,906.58 during late morning trade after the RBI maintained the key lending rate at 6.50 per cent in its 2nd bi-monthly monetary policy review today. The gauge had lost 65.69 points in the previous two sessions.


Similarly, the NSE index Nifty was trading at 8,240.30, up 39.25 points, or 0.47 per cent. The BSE banking index was up 0.65 per cent to 20,337.21, while the realty index was quoting up 0.29 per cent to 1,427.55.


Brokers said RBI's decision to keep key interest rate unchanged was largely in line with investor expectations and did not have much immediate positive impact.


RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan kept the key policy rates unchanged citing higher upside risks to 'inflation trajectory' but said the central bank will remain accommodative provided data are supportive.

The party high command has perfected the art of blowing hot and cold with opposition leaders based on their current usefulness. The most glaring example of this, of course, is the way the Gandhi family has been targeted. Read more

Highlights of RBI governor Raghuram Rajan's press conference, which is on now...

-- The RBI retains growth projection at 7.6%  for 2016-17 citing corporate profits and surge in consumption

--  Have to see how the monsoon plays out.

-- The RBI is working with the government on bank clean-ups.

-- The RBI may sell dollars in case of extreme volatility in forex market due to outflows related to FCNR deposits

--  Inflationary pressures a concern.

-- April inflation data is something we did not expect.

-- Stance of RBI's monetary policy remains accommodative.

On whether he would be given a second term.

-- It would be cruel of me to spoil the fun the press is having on my tenure. I am personally intrigued by the letters that are supposedly written by me. A decision is reached after discussions between the government and the incumbent. You will know when there is news."

This was Rajan's second bi-monthly monetary policy statement for the year 2016-17. The central bank's decision to maintain status quo could be seen as a wait-and-watch for the impact of delayed monsoon rains.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today kept the key policy rate unchanged citing higher upside risks to 'inflation trajectory' but said the central bank will remain accommodative provided data are supportive. Accordingly, Rajan retained the short-term lending rate at 6.5 and the cash reserve requirement of banks at 4 per cent.


"The inflation surprise in the April reading makes the future trajectory of inflation somewhat more uncertain... rising crude prices and implementation of the seventh pay commission awards being the key risks," Rajan said in the second bimonthly monetary policy for the current fiscal.


Explaining the rationale for keeping the rates unchanged, Rajan said: "Incoming data since the April policy announcement show a sharper-than-anticipated upsurge in inflationary pressures emanating from a number of food items (beyond seasonal effects), as well as a reversal in commodity prices."

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will today again question Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat today in connection with the ongoing preliminary enquiry into an alleged sting operation against him. The CBI had earlier questioned Rawat on May 24 for over five hours in connection with the sting operation where he was shown offering bribe to rebel Congress MLAs to save his government.

The Uttarakhand chief minister had said that this was a conspiracy against him. "I believe the entire nation is watching this. And very soon there will be a solution to this conspiracy," he said.

Just in: RBI keeps policy rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent. 

As expected, the Reserve Bank of India has kept its policy interest rate unchanged at a five-year low of 6.50 per cent on Tuesday, while signalling the prospect of another cut later this year if monsoon rains dampen upward pressure on food prices.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, a much admired former International Monetary Fund chief economist, could be chairing his penultimate policy review, with investors waiting to hear whether the government plans to extend his three-year term beyond September.

However, market buzz is that he is likely to be offered another two years, should he want it, but markets were spooked after a regional newspaper cited sources close to Rajan saying he could walk away.

Just In: A Hindu priest murdered in western Bangladesh. 

MLA Biswabandhu Sen expelled from primary membership of Congress for 6 years for anti-party activities: Tripura Cong President Birajit Sinha

"My gratitude to the US government for the sensitivity shown to India's heritage. This will evoke great respect among the people of India," say Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ceremony for returning India's stolen artefacts at Blair House in Washington. Photograph: @MEAIndia/Twitter

'Restoring India's cultural heritage: PM @narendramodi attends ceremony for return of idols with US Attorney Genera,' tweets Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

"Today we begin the process of returning more than 200 stolen cultural objects back to India," the US attorney general says.

"I am grateful to President Obama for returning to us these treasures which join us to our past," says Modi at the event.

JUST IN: PM  lays wreath at the Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial in the Arlington Cemetery. Sunita Williams and family of Kalpana Chawla were also present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches Arlington National Cemetery, lays wreath at tomb of US soldiers who were martyred during American conflicts.

He will also lay wreath at Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial.

President Barack Obama edged closer to a formal endorsement of Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee on Monday, suggesting the next 48 hours would be pivotal.

With a series primary votes on Tuesday that could see Clinton all but seal the party nomination, the White House refused to rule out an endorsement within days.

"Once the voters in New Jersey and California have an opportunity to express their preference," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, "Then we may be in a position where we have a much greater sense of what the outcome is likely to be."

It is an open secret in Washington that President Barack Obama intends to endorse Clinton. But the White House has publicly been wary of putting Obama's hand on the scale during a surprisingly long and sometimes bitter primary race against leftist Bernie Sanders.

White House officials have been wary about alienating millions of young voters who have flocked to Sanders' strident campaign, which has given voice to popular anger about income inequality.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that both the alliance and the European Union were stronger with Britain inside, and warned that a 'Brexit' could cause instability.

Stoltenberg, the former Norwegian premier who heads the 28-nation military grouping, said that it was 'up to the British people' whether they choose to remain in the European Union in a referendum on June 23.

"What really matters for NATO is I strongly believe a strong UK in a strong EU. It is good for both the UK and the EU but also for NATO," Stoltenberg told an event in Brussels held by the Politico Europe newspaper.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Washington, DC in the United States for the fourth leg of his five-nation visit.

He also met his supporters gathered at Joint Base Andrews.

Residents on Florida's Gulf coast filled sandbags, schools closed early and graduation ceremonies were postponed as Gov Rick Scott declared a state of emergency with Tropical Storm Colin churning toward the state today, threatening serious flooding.

A large portion of Florida's western and Panhandle coast was already under a tropical storm warning when the National Hurricane Center announced that a swift-moving depression had become a named storm.

The center said it is the earliest that a third named storm has ever formed in the Atlantic basin.

Colin's maximum sustained winds Monday morning had increased to near 50 mph (85 kph) with some slow strengthening possible during the next two days.

The storm was centere dabout 285 miles (455 kilometers) west-southwest of Tampa and moving north-northeast near 16 mph (26 kph). AP

Congress leader Gurudas Kamat quits politics

AOL finally pays fine imposed by NGT, refutes charges

Sushil Kumar to approach WFI, larger bench of High Court

Ajit Jogi forms new outfit, says he is "Independent" now

Newly-appointed Puducherry LG Kiran Bedi bans sirens of VIP cars

Mathura violence: DM, SSP transferred in aftermath of clashes

Malegaon blast case: NIA doesn't oppose Sadhvi's bail plea

Bihar exam row: Nitish dissolves BSEB probe committee

Pakistan rejects India's request for consular access to Indian 'spy' Jadhav

Read yesterday's commentary HERE