Explosion near an oil pump in Minuthong area of Manipur's capital Imphal, one person injured. 

Ram Gopal Varma has done it again. The filmmaker -- known for his brash views -- took to Twitter to comment on the topic du jour, Vijay Mallya and his crores of unpaid debts.

However, according to a Firstpost report, Varma had an unusual suggestion on how the banks might recover the money Mallya owed them.

'I think Vijay Mallya should dip into his personal bank and give one bikini beauty each to every bank he owes and square off all his debts,' Varma tweeted, adding, 'The banks might not agree to Vijay Mallya's bikini proposal but the bankers might.'

Read full report HERE

The United Nations Security Council has endorsed a new policy by which soldiers facing allegations of sexual abuse can be repatriated.Keeping in view of the rise in sex abuse claims against peacekeepers, Egypt abstained from the United States-drafted resolution, which was adopted by a vote of 14 in favour, the Guardian reported.

The resolution endorses a new UN policy of sending entire peacekeeping units back home if their soldiers face repeated allegations of sex abuse.

Under the UN rules, it is up to the country that contributes the peacekeepers to investigate and prosecute any soldier accused of misconduct while serving under the UN flag.

The move by the United Nations was made in view of the allegations that its peacekeepers in the Central African Republic had raped girls and exploited women.

A UN report released last week showed that there has been increase in number of allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers in 10 missions.

The number, which was 52 in 2014, has risen to 69 by 2015.The peacekeeping nations, however, opposed the proposal arguing that it amounted to collective punishment for the actions of a few individuals.

Finally, old-friends-turned-foes, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared stage, and both were smiling.

The occasion was inauguration of Digha-Sonepur rail-cum-road bridge in Hajipur, Bihar.

The PM inaugurated the bridge, saying, "This project was initiated when Nitish ji was railway minister and Atal ji was PM, and now it is being completed."

The crowd cheered as the PM spoke, at which Modi said, "I can guess the importance of this bridge looking at the excitement of the people here."

Nitish, on his part, thanked the Pm for 'taking out time and inaugurating the bridge'.

However, the crowd continued chanting 'Modi, Modi' as Nitish spoke.

At this the PM stood up from his chair and asked the people to quite down.

Asserting that quality of argument and judgement will improve with the introduction of technology, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday batted for the augmentation of judiciary aided by technology.

"Today we have something that we didn't have earlier, that is the power of technology. Let's make the bar, bench and court tech savvy. This is a time for new resolves and to think of new benchmarks," the prime minister said at the centenary programme of Patna high court.

"In the last 100 years, this high court has scaled new heights. I hope the best aspects are carried forward in the years to come," he added.

Modi was in Patna to close the year-long programme on the centenary celebrations of the high court.

President Pranab Mukherjee on April 18 last year had opened the centenary celebrations on the court's famed front lawns, in the centre of which ornamental marble tablets were installed to mark the landmark occasion.

Chief Justice of India T S Thakur and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar were also present during the occasion.

Wing Commander C K Sharma (retd) was placed in judicial custody by a Gurgaon court on Saturday till March 25 for alleged financial irregularities committed in an organisation for defence veterans and their widows.

He has been booked under Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

The police had registered a case against three persons on February 8 after Lietenant General Raj Kadiyan (retd), the chairman of Indian Ex-servicemen Movement, in a complaint alleged that they had taken a lot of cash from the society funds between January and July 2013.

The trio -- Sharma, Major General Satbir Singh (retd) and Group Captain V K Gandhi (retd) -- had recently moved a local court for anticipatory bail, but their plea was rejected.

The three are the office bearers of IESM, formed in 2008. The society's account is being maintained in a private bank. Sharma held the post of treasurer.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda came out in support of Vijay Mallya on Saturday, saying he (Mallya) 'is a son of Karnataka soil and he is not running away'.

"The government has given a reply on Mllya. The ED (Enforcement Directorate) has given the summons and he has already replied," Deve Gowda said.

"These days, every airline is facing losses. So no need to target a person who is a global businessman,' Deve Gowda told reporters.  

Eight defence personnel onboard an Indian Air Force Avro aircraft escaped a major mishap after a tyre burst while landing at the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun.

Lucknow Central Command General Officer Commanding Lt General B S Negi was among the four Indian Army and four Indian Air Force personnel onboard the aircraft that was flying from Lucknow, when the close shave occurred.

Following the incident, operations at the airport have been shut down temporarily and several flights have been cancelled.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has decided to impose restrictions on wilful defaulters. The Board has decided to bar them from public issue of securities, taking control of listed firms.

The Board also discussed the plan of action for FY 2016-17. Important proposed activities include encouraging delisting of suspended companies, enhanced supervision of stock brokers and other intermediaries.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut Scott Kelly will retire from the agency, effective April 1, ending his 20 years of service.

The announcement from the 52-year-old comes barely two weeks after he returned to earth from his year in space.

'This year-in-space mission was a profound challenge for all involved, and it gave me a unique perspective and a lot of time to reflect on what my next step should be on our continued journey to help further our capabilities in space and on Earth," Kelly said.

In total, Kelly flew in space four different times, beginning with a trip to service the Hubble Space Telescope in 1999, Techcrunch reported.

After writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in safeguarding their interest, employees of Vijay Mallya's now defunct Kingfisher Airlines are set to file a case in the Supreme Court in order to get their dues from the company.

The employees are in touch with senior lawyer M V Kini to put their case before the apex court and they have been assured by him that their case will be fought pro bono (for free), given their financial condition.

Earlier today, Kingfisher employees in their letter to the prime minister, highlighting their humanitarian plight as they have not been paid their dues including salaries and statutory dues like the Provident Fund and Gratuity, adding that they are also being hounded by Income Tax notices although the tax default is from the side of the Airlines.

A 112 year-old Israeli man, who is an Auschwitz survivor, has become the world's oldest living man, the Guinness World Records organization said Friday.Israel Kristal, who is 112 years and 178 days as of Friday, received his Guinness World Records' certificate at his home in Haifa.

"I don't know the secret for long life," he told the record keepers. "I believe that everything is determined from above, and we shall never know the reasons why. There have been smarter, stronger and better looking men then me who are no longer alive. All that is left for us to do is to keep on working as hard as we can and rebuild what is lost."

Kristal was born in Poland, near the town of Zarnow, on September 15, 1903.

Read HERE.

Rejecting a report which claimed that an RTI reply received from the Ayush ministry stated that it does not recruit Muslims as a policy, Ayush minister Sripad Naik said it is totally false and he will order a probe into the matter.

"It is totally false. I strongly condemn it. Its an attempt to defame us. I will order a probe into this," Naik, said.

Earlier, a report by the Milli Gazette, a fortnightly newspaper, quoted an RTI reply from the ministry -- formed to promote yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy -- wherein it was stated that it is against the ministry's policy to recruit Muslims.

It was in response to a series of RTI applications by journalist Pushp Sharma, who had sought the number of Muslim yoga teachers and trainers hired for foreign assignments during the first World Yoga Day on June 21, 2015.

Amid the controversy surrounding liquor baron Vijay Mallya, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday put the onus on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the Central Bureau of Investigation could not have let the bureaucrat leave the country without the former's approval as they directly report to him.

'Since the CBI directly reports to PM, PM owes an answer why Mallya was allowed to leave India. CBI cudn't hv allowed without approval from top (sic),' Kejriwal tweeted.

Earlier, the CBI admitted that the first lookout notice for Mallya's detention at the country's exit points was issued in error.

Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday accused the National Democratic Alliance government of helping Mallya escape India.

Earlier on Saturday, employees of Mallya's now defunct Kingfisher Airlines wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi in a 'humanitarian' appeal, seeking his intervention in safeguarding the interest of the employees.

A 27-member Pakistan cricket contingent left for India to take part in the Twenty20 World Cup, finally ending days of uncertainty over their participation in the mega event.

The team will be reaching Kolkata via Abu Dhabi.

The Pakistan squad including 15 players, 12 officials and support staff reached the Allama Iqbal international airport amidst tight security and boarded a flight hours after the Pakistan government finally gave the Pakistan Cricket Board the green signal to fly to India to take part in the International Cricket Council event.

Due to a long stay in Abu Dhabi the squad will reach Kolkata later this evening.

Head coach Waqar Younis, before departing for India, left a message on his Twitter account calling for unity in the team.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump has cancelled his rally in Chicago after protesters packed into the arena where it was to take place. There were isolated physical confrontations between some members of the crowd after the event was cancelled.

The announcement that the billionaire businessman would postpone the rally until another day led a large portion of the crowd inside the University of Illinois at Chicago Pavilion to break out into raucous cheers.

Meanwhile, supporters of the candidate started chanting 'We want Trump! We want Trump!'

There was no sign of Trump inside the arena on the college campus, where dozens of UIC faculty and staff had petitioned university administrators to cancel the rally. They cited concerns it would create a 'hostile and physically dangerous environment' for students.

Before the announcement the event wouldn't take place, a handful of intense verbal clashes took place between Trump supporters and protesters as the crowd waited for his arrival.

For the first time during his White House bid, the crowd appeared to be an equal mix of those eager to cheer on the real estate mogul and those overtly opposed to his candidacy.

When one African-American protester was escorted out before the event started, the crowd erupted into chants of 'Let them stay!'

Managing Director of International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde said on Saturday that India's stars are shining bright with promise of more reforms.   Speaking at Advancing Asia conference, the IMF chief said lauded Aadhaar, saying it is a ground breaking way to deliver targeted subsidies.

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "I am extremely happy that the IMF has decided to finalise the next round of quota changes by October 2017."

"Reform of global institutions has to be an ongoing process," Modi said.   Calling Asia a ray of hope for global economic recovery, Modi said Asia has a large number of women leaders.

"India has historically contributed to Asia in several ways. We all want Asia to succeed," Modi said.

"Corruption and interference in the decisions of banks and regulators are now a thing of the past," he said.

"We have increased investment in rural & agriculture sector, because that is where a majority of India still lives," Modi said.

Two Border Security Force personnel have been killed and four injured in a fierce encounter which is underway with Maoists in Kanker district in Chhattisgarh.

In the special operations which were launched from Kanker last night by 170,122 and 165 Battalions of the BSF with the civil police near Becha village, a gunbattle ensued with Naxals in which six BSF personnel were injured.

The injured personnel were evacuated to Raipur in a chopper during which two of them succumbed to their injuries.

Further details awaited.

Sri Sri's World Cultural Festival starts off on a high