Prime Minister Narendra Modion Tuesday approved the proposal of extending the retirement age of all doctors of the Central Health Service to 65 years.

Goa's Food and Drugs Administration  today said four of the 18 bread samples collected in the state tested positive for potassium bromate, but within permissible limits.

Goa's Food and Drugs Administration  today said four of the 18 bread samples collected in the state tested positive for potassium bromate, but within permissible limits.

The body of mountaineer Subhas Pal, who had died on Mount Everest, was brought to Kolkata today.

A CBI court today sentenced a Tamil filmmaker to five years rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 2.40 crore on him for defrauding a state-run bank to the tune of Rs 2.34 crore. 

Colonel Jasjit Singh, the suspended commandant of 39th battalion of Assam Rifles and one of the main accused in the sensational robbery of smuggled gold bars, was today released on interim bail by a local court. 

Describing Donald Trump as a "demagogue", one of the world's top scientists, Stephen Hawking today said he has failed to understand the rise of the presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee, who he said seems to "appeal to the lowest common denominator". The author of A Brief History of Time was asked in an interview whether his knowledge of the universe meant he could explain the controversial American businessman-turned- politician's mass appeal. 

Security forces have busted a militant hideout in a residential house and recovered a cache of arms and ammunition in Awantipora area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Indian shares edged down on Tuesday after five consecutive sessions of gains as investors took profits, but indexes were still up for a third straight month, outperforming all regional markets.

The Sino-Indian deadlock over a United Nations ban on JeM chief Masood Azhar and others may end if India resubmits its application focussing on evidence against him than attempting to "censure" Pakistan, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said after talks with Chinese officials.

The body of Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who was killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan this month, had been handed over to his relatives in Afghanistan after fulfilling all legal requirements. 

Switzerland today named Lalit Modi and his wife Minal among those about whom information and assistance have been sought from its tax department by the Indian authorities. 

Arvind Panagariya, vice chairman NITI Aayog tweets: @APanagariya  Growth rate in the 4th quarter of 2015-16 at 7.9% almost hits the magical 8% mark. Good days ahead.

The Ministry of Statistics and Propgramme Implementation has released the rate of growth of Indian economy in the quarter of January-March. The GDP growth rate has escalated to 7.9 per cent. This is a sharp 0.6 per cent increase, as compared to the previous quarter of October-December.

The figures indicate a growth in Indian economy as compared to the growth during the same period in 2015-16 (7.6 per cent) and 2014-15 (7.2 per cent). The surge in growth rate has been led by the manufacturing sector which has recorded a massive growth of 9.3 per cent, which is nearly 3.8 per cent more as compared to manufacturing growth in the same period during the past year.

Goans, who obtained Portuguese nationality by registering their names in that country's Central Registry, may lose Indian citizenship with a high- level central panel recommending action against them as per Indian law. The inter-ministerial committee, headed by Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry B K Prasad, has recommended that the issue of citizenship of such persons should be decided as per the Citizenship Act 1955 and Citizenship Rules 2009.

Twenty-five students studying Hindi at Peking University met President Pranab Mukherjee in Beijing. Interestingly, the students have been given Indian names like Neelam, Ganga, Yamuna, Rama, Sita and Lakshmi.

The Hindi teacher explained to the President that generally names of rivers are given to students. Even their examination papers and certificates bear their Indian names.

The 18 female and seven male students, some are keen to come to India after they graduate. Few of them would like to take up teaching Hindi in remote villages of China.

Senior correspondent R Rajagopalan who accompanied President Mukherjee to China. 


Image: Chinese student Rama, who studies Hindi at university in Beijing. All the students studying Hindi have been given Indian names. Pic credit: R Rajagopalan.

Santosh Gangwar, Union Minister for Textiles, was caught in between the doors of the lift at Chinese President Xi Jingping's home. The incident  happened after the banquet ended when the entire delegation was waiting to take the lift down from the first floor. Gangwar was designated as the minister-in-waiting to President Pranab Mukherjee during his four-day visit to China.

And talking about timing. As Gangwar got into the lift, Military Secretary to the President, General Anil Khosla, said that Gangwar had fractured and twisted his shoulder bone -- a streak lift accident in India a few years ago. Fortunately, it was not a major injury.

In this instance at least, Gangwar emerged unscathed.

-- Senior correspondent R Rajagopalan who accompanied President Mukherjee to China. 

JUST IN: Indian economy grows at 7.9 per cent in January-March quarter of 2015-16.

Shashi Tharoor @ShashiTharoor Agree completely on need to defend @thetanmay's right to be obnoxious. Democracies don't censor jokes, even bad ones

In a rare appearance since shifting base to the United Kingdom, troubled Indian businessman Vijay Mallya was seen having a good time in London as he watched the Indian Premier League final between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.

In a video gone viral, Mallya senior is seen having a great time with his son Siddharth along with a few others. The video was posted by Siddharth as he watched the IPL final with his father. Siddharth also mentions Force India's third place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix, which also took place on Sunday.


"Here we are, watching together from London. It doesn't get better than Sergio Perez getting a podium (for Mallya co-owned Force India). Hopefully we can add to what has been an epic day of sports so far," says Mallya junior in the video as he catches the IPL action with his father on the big screen. When Siddharth turns the camera on his father, "go RCB" says Mallya while rooting for his team.


Mallya, who owes more than Rs 9000 crore to Indian banks, had quit as RCB director days after stepping down as chairman of the United Spirits. However, he remains the chief mentor of the IPL side with Siddharth on its board. India was not able to get Mallya deported as UK asked India to seek his extradition instead. Mallya, wanted in India by various authorities, has been in the UK since March.

Just in: New test, new result. A meat sample recovered from the Dadri incident victim's house, belongs to cow or it's progeny, says a new forensic report.

The meat was found in the freezer of  50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq, who was attacked by a crowd on September 28, 2015. His son Mohammad Danish was also brutally beaten up. The family was suspected of cow slaughter and beef consumption, which is illegal in Uttar Pradesh.

But a forensic test conducted later said the meat recovered from his freezer belonged to an animal of "goat progeny". Chemical analysis now says the sample belongs to cow or its progeny.

Akhlaq's brother reacted saying, "The earlier report says it was not beef. Which report is correct? People are politicising the issue. This is another attempt to insult my brother."

Searchers combed a forest in Japan on Tuesday for a missing seven-year-old boy with no clues about his fate as social media erupted in anger towards his parents who said they abandoned him by a road as punishment for being naughty.


Police on horseback were among 130 rescuers scouring a mountainous area of the northernmost island of Hokkaido from dawn for Yamato Tanooka, who went missing on Saturday.


His parents first said he had disappeared while the family foraged for edible plants. They later told police they had left him by the road to discipline him after he threw stones at people and cars.


They said they drove about 500 metres (yards) down the road but when they went back a few minutes later he had disappeared.The area is so remote that residents of the region say they rarely go through it.


"We have done an unforgivable thing to our child, and we have caused a lot of trouble for everyone," Yamato's father, Takayuki Tanooka, told television reporters."I just hope he is safe."


Thousands of people took to social media, some to pray for Yamato's safety in an area where the temperature at night falls to 7 Celsius (45 Fahrenheit).


Heavy rain is forecast for Tuesday night and the boy was wearing only a T-shirt and jeans.


"When I think of him being alone in the woods like that, my heart aches," said one person posting on social media.


But most people on social media rebuked the parents as neglectful.


"If he was actually throwing stones at cars, that shows there wasn't a lot of discipline anyway - and probably not enough love either," said one person.


"Whatever the result, this is parental neglect. It's cold in the Hokkaido mountains, and I hear there are bears, too," said another person.


Pic: People search for the seven-year-old boy who went missing two days earlier, in Nanae town on the northernmost Japanese main island of Hokkaido, Japan, in this photo taken by May 30, 2016.  Kyodo/via
REUTERS

The Pulitzer-winning cancer specialist is back with a study of genes that is also a memoir of his family and its history of mental illness. Read Dr Siddhartha Mukherjee's interview to the Guardian. 

Just in: Union Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday held a meeting with a delegation of African students in Delhi in the wake of the death of a Congolese national in the national capital.

"We tried to explain them that the incident is huge but it isn't an incident of racial discrimination," Sushma Swaraj said after meeting with delegation of African students.

Swaraj says the death of Congolese student is not a case of racial attack, should not be seen in that context. "CCTV footage clearly shows that Indian citizens who were present at spot, tried their best to save Masunda Oliver. The day this incident took place, I sought a report from Lt Governor and I was informed that two people have been arrested."

"We've chalked out a plan as per which, our MoS along with the Secretary will visit every metro city and hold discussions with African students. We will initiate programmes of awareness and sensitization in areas with the maximum population of African students so that such incidents don't recur," Sushma Swaraj said.

More from senior correspondent R Rajagopalan's China diary. He accompanied President Mukherjee during the China visit last week.

President Pranab Mukherjee has a policy of not deviating from the prepared text of his speech during his foreign visits. In China too, during his four meetings, the President strictly followed the prepared text. The reason the President does this is because he is aware it is an official document and will go down in the pages of history.

Moreover, it is easy for interpreters to follow the speech and translate it from the prepared text, which can be heard by the audience through their ear phones.


However, when the President interacted with the Indian community in Guangzhou, he spoke extempore for 30 minutes with historical and statistical data. Mukherjee quoted from epics like the vedas and shastras.

A local BJP leader in Gujarat has been arrested after a 13-year-old girl complained that he had harassed her on a flight from Goa to Ahmedabad on Friday last.

As Bollywood choose to remain silent or roundly lambast AIB's Tanmay Bhat's video of a mock conversation with Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar, the only person in the industry who took up for the comedian is Sonam Kapoor.

Sonam Kapoor ‏tweets: @sonamakapoor  Being living legends I know @sachin_rt and @mangeshkarlata don't even know and care about what's going on! stop spewing hate on their behalf!"

Anupam Kher tweeted about the actor's humor 'NOT' being funny!
While ‎@CelinaJaitly tweeted, "Absolutely.. Shocked n appalled!! Not amused @mangeshkarlata ji needs to be apologised to .. NOW !!"
Riteish Deshmukh tweeted, @Riteishd Am absolutely shocked. Disrespect is not cool and neither is it funny."

Sonam has supported AIB when it had been heavily panned during its Celebrity Roast Show featuring Karan Johar, Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor. Sonam had said then, ""I love the comments that AIB has already made. It doesn't matter what the content is, people should be allowed to put out anything that they feel. I don't believe in censorship. That's all that I have to say."


The Mumbai police has initiated a probe on a complaint against comedian Tanmay Bhat's video of a mock conversation with Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar that has sparked a massive outrage with the Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Monday demanding action against him and AIB.

The inquiry is underway against Bhat on a complaint by Raj Thackeray's MNS, which has also threatened to beat him up. ollywood has also reacted sharply to the comedian's portrayal of the music and cricket icons with many actors slamming the video made by a member of online comedy group AIB, saying it is in poor taste.

Titled Sachin v/s Lata Civil War, Tanmay, in a video posted on Facebook on May 26, took jibes at the 86-year-old melody queen and the 43-year-old cricketing legend.

Just in: Defamation case against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for defaming PM Modi has been dropped.


A private criminal complaint had been filed against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a Delhi for using defamatory words against Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the recent CBI raid at the office of his Principal Secretary.

The complainant, an advocate, has sought Kejriwals prosecution under sections 124A (sedition) and 500 (defamation) of the IPC.

Advocate Pradeep Kumar Dwivedi has in his complaint alleged that when CBI raided the Chief Ministers Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumars Delhi Secretariat office on December 15, Kejriwal made offensive remarks on his Twitter account against Modi.

Being fully aware of the autonomy and independence of the CBI, the accused (Kejriwal) owing to his personal interest and political enmity, made some offended remarks on his Twitter account towards the Prime Minister of this country, just because of the said raid by the CBI, the complaint said.

On December 15, the accused posted the remarks on his Twitter account which reads as, Modi is a coward and a psychopath. The remarks were made against the democratically elected Prime Minister of the largest democracy of the world, it said.

The complainant alleged that Kejriwal had intentionally used such defamatory words with a view to spreading a sense of hatred and contempt towards the Prime Minister.

Dwivedi said he was aggrieved by the alleged defamatory and seditious remarks of Kejriwal.

Once. Chinese media covering the four-day visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to China said there was just one occasion when he smiled. The incident happened at the forecourt of the Great Hall of People, which is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the PRC and the Communist Party of China.

At the end of the guard of honour for President Mukherjee around 50 children between 5 and 8 years of age waited to greet Presidents Mukherjee and Chinese president Xi Jingping.

Pranab Mukherjee beamed when he saw them and may have even wanted to linger and talk to the children but being a stickler for protocol walked by.

Senior diplomats from both China and India remarked that the normally serious demeanor of the president changed when he was near the children and he seemed younger. 

France's envoy to India Francois Richier leaves for Afghanistan. @FranceinIndia  tweets: Leaving India today for my next posting in Kabul. Already nostalgic about my compelling 4 years and 7 months here

Senior correspondent R Rajagopal who travelled with President Pranab Mukherjee to China last week writes that Omita Paul, the Secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee found Chinese hospitality remarkable. Paul was particularly impressed by the band of the People's Liberation Army of China's renditions of popular Hindi songs like Gore Gore, Roja Janeman, Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo and Baar Baar Dekho. Chinese themes like Nostalgia, Elm Forest, Under the silver moonlight, were also played. The Conductor of the band -- Zhao Chuanze -- received long and sustained applause from the entire Indian delegation attending the banquet with desks being thumped as well. Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo was a particular favourite with the delegation. 

A super-rich village in Switzerland, one of the wealthiest in Europe, has chosen to pay a fine of 200,000 pounds instead of accepting 10 refugees under the country's newly imposed quota system.

Residents in the picturesque Oberwil-Lieli village, which has 300 millionaires in a population of 22,000, voted 'no' in a referendum over whether to accept the refugees. The vote has resulted in a division in the town and led to people slamming residents for being "racist".

But Andreas Glarner, the mayor of the village, denied that they were being racist by refusing the refugees. "We were not to be told if the 10 were from Syria or if they are economic migrants from other countries. Yes, the refugees from Syria have to be helped and they are better served by being helped in the camps nearer their home," said Glarner.


"Money could be sent to help them, but if we are housing them here it sends out the wrong message. Others will come and risk their lives crossing the ocean and paying people smugglers to bring them," he was quoted as saying by metro.co.uk. Glarner added that the language barrier would also be an issue.

"They are not likely to be able to speak the language and if some of the refugees have children they will have to go into the local school where they will need special focus," he said. The Swiss government had recently announced a quota system to take in about 50,000 asylum seekers. The plan was to distribute the refugees across the country's 26 counties according to the quota system.

President Pranab Mukherjee was so garrulous at the state banquet in China that he barely pecked at his food. The menu was essentially vegetarian and had unusual courses like Coconut Tofu soup, Mixed Vegetable stew, Beancurd Curry, Grilled Tofu, among others. This was followed by pastries and fruits, which included a blueberry compote with yam. And finally, coffee was served. Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmishta daughter spent time talking to the First lady of China, Peng Liyuan.

Takeaways from President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to China. Senior correspondent R Rajagopalan travelled with the President on Air India One and writes that Chinese President Xi Jingping is a good listener.

This was evident from the fact that Pranab Mukherjee went on and on talking to Xi, on what one can only assume is a variety of subjects, while the state banquet was being held. The President's monologue was so lengthy and he spoke so fast, that translators could barely keep up.  This was the scene of over an hour. 

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has dared the government to "conduct an inquiry if you have proof " over the NDTV report into whether her son-in-law, Robert Vadra bought a benami house in London by an arms dealer who was raided last month.

"They make these false allegations every day," Sonia Gandhi told NDTV. "Let them hold an inquiry... the truth will then emerge," she said, adding this is part of the government's agenda to deliver a "Congress-mukt Bharat", a phrase coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the opposition party.

"Truth will come out once probe is done. Prove it. Doodh ka doodh pani ka pani ho jayega. This is a conspiracy. False allegations every other day. PM is the prime minister of the nation, not a shahenshah," she said. 

Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, is being probed after Income Tax raids on controversial arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari revealed alleged links between the two and cryptic references to a London property, NDTV reported on Monday.

Citing a preliminary report prepared by the Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate following raids last month on 18 premises owned by Bhandari, NDTV said that emails were found which were allegedly sent by Robert Vadra and his executive assistant, Manoj Arora, to London-based Sumit Chadda, a relative of Bhandari.

The cement slab covering a gutter alongside platform number 1 at Vasai railway station caved in this morning. Around 15 commuters heading towards the platform fell into the dirty gutter and sustained injuries. The incident took place at around 9am. While most sustained bruises, at least three to four commuters sustained serious injuries and have been admitted to a nearby hospital, reports the Times of India.


Image: Commuters fell inside the cesspool in the gutter at Vasai station this morning. Pic credit: Kirtan Upadhayaya

Hindu and Muslim leaders have met for a negotiated settlement of the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute with both sides saying a peaceful way to resolve the issue must be found.Mahant Narendra Giri, the newly elected President of All India Akhara Parishad, met Hashim Ansari, the oldest surviving litigant in the Babri Masjid case, yesterday. Giri, along with other mahants and sadhus, had a half-an- hour-long meeting with Ansari.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today termed as "very unfortunate" the fire at the central ammunition depot at Pulgoan in Wardha district where 17 security personnel were killed. He said he has spoken to Wardha collector and instructed him to provide all help.

Following the mishap, Fadnavis said in a tweet: "News of fire at Central Ammunition Depot, Pulgaon is very unfortunate and disturbing. Spoke to Wardha collector & took stock of the situation."

"Instructed Wardha collector to provide all required help in this situation. Also asked collectors of the neighbouring districts to be alert," the CM said.

At least 17 security personnel, including two Army officers, were killed in the fire at the depot in Pulgoan that houses the biggest stockpile of weapons in the country.

For its massive festival held on the banks of the River Yamuna in Delhi, the Art of Living, led by spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, must pay nearly Rs 5 crore as a fine, the country's top environment court said today, offering strong criticism of the organization, reports NDTV.


The Art of Living had been allowed to go ahead with the three-day "World Culture Festival" on the banks of the River Yamuna on the condition that it would pay a five-crore penalty for damage to the area's delicate ecosystem. Hundreds of thousands of devotees attended the event which included what was billed as the world's largest stage, spreading over seven acres.


The organisers paid Rs. 25 lakh at the time, and said the rest would be given later. They then asked that the Rs. 4.75 crore that they owed be treated as a bank guarantee and that it should apply towards their efforts to create a biodiversity park in the area. The Art of Living "used the order of the court to hold the event and then went back on its commitment," the National Green Tribunal said today, adding that the organisers have tried multiple legal cases "in order not to pay the fine" as a result of which the "conduct of the foundation has been called into question."


Environmentalists had accused organisers of ripping up vegetation and ruining the river's fragile ecosystem by damaging its bed and disrupting water flows.


The opening of the event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though President Pranab Mukherjee dropped out after the controversy over environmental clearances erupted.

A group of African students in the national capital today called off a demonstration to protest the spate of assaults against the community after the government assured them of better security.


The students said they had a meeting with officials of the Ministry of External Affairs where they were assured of security and safety. The government officials also requested them not to go ahead with their planned protest at Jantar Mantar.


"There was a high-level meeting with the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of External Affairs yesterday. He listened to our grievances and has made commitments to ensure our safety in India. Leaders of 15 African countries were also present during the meeting," the Association of African Students in India said in a statement.

It further said, "There was also a meeting with Delhi Police Commissioner and other senior officials where contact details of high level officials were shared with us and they promised us of better policing with respect to Africans".

"There was also a meeting with the African Ambassador body in which they advised us to take the path of diplomacy and hold the Indian government to their words....and also fast track justice for past cases. The parents of Congolese youth M K Olivier have also requested us to not take part in the protest," it said.

Just In: 15 railway commuters were injured after falling into a gutter following a stampede on platform number 1 at Vasai railway station on Tuesday morning due to peak hour rush, reports Ram Parmar. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reacts on Twitter to the loss of lives in the ammunition depot fire at Pulgaon near Nagpur:

JUST IN: MP government slaps National Security Act against two people for offensive Facebook post on goddess Kali

Sri Lankan Navy apprehended seven fishermen from Tamil Nadu when they were fishing near international maritime boundary line last night.