Terrorists tonight attacked a mobile security picket in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, injuring a policeman. 

Justin Timberlake has a reason to smile. His song 'Don't Stop the Feeling' for the animated movie 'Trolls' has been nominated for Original Song. 

And the actors nominated for the Oscars in a leading role:

Actor Rimi Sen joins the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of upcoming assembly elections. "I am inspired by PM Modi and will fulfil all responsibilities given," she said. Photograph: ANI

After having played a key role in sealing a deal with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been announced as one of the star campaigners of the Congress for the upcoming assembly elections.

Priyankas name figures in the list of 40 star campaigners and it is expected that she would play a prominent role in the elections.

With the alliance almost seeing a deadlock, it was saved by the last minute intervention of Priyanka with the Congress settling with 105 seats and the Samajwadi Party with 298 seats.

Besides Priyanka, the other star campaigners include Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Congress general secretary Ahmed Patel and senior Congress leaders Raj Babbar, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Pramod Tiwari, Randeep Surjewala, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Manish Tewari.

Earlier, it was reported that she will not campaign beyond Rae Bareli and Amethi, but her name figuring in the star campaigners' list fuels speculations that she might get a larger role in the campaigning. -- ANI

The Centre today told the Supreme Court that it would withdraw its 2016 notification allowing bull taming sport Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu in view of the fresh legislation, passed by the state assembly, on the issue.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra that the Centre has decided to withdraw the January 6, 2016 notification issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forest allowing the sport.

The court, which had reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the notification, said the concerned bench would take a decision on when the application of the Centre would come up for its consideration.

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment), Act, 2017 piloted by Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, was yesterday adopted unanimously by a voice vote in the assembly after a brief debate. The Bill would now be sent for approval to the President.

Nearly 70 caveats have been filed in the Supreme Court seeking prior hearing if pleas challenging the new legislation allowing Jallikattu in the state come up for consideration.

In a special gesture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today received at the airport Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who will be the Chief Guest at this year's Republic Day parade.

'Special gesture for special guest! PM receives H H Mohammed Bin Zayed The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi,' Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Al Nahyan, also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE armed forces, arrived in New Delhi on a three-day visit and will hold comprehensive talks with Modi tomorrow after which the two sides are expected to sign nearly 16 pacts including Strategic Cooperation Agreement.

The two leaders will first meet for one-on-one talks with Modi at his official residence before holding delegation-level meeting at Hyderabad House.

Apart from providing boost to trade and investments ties, enhancement of cooperation in strategic areas of energy, defence and security will dominate the talks tomorrow.

A Goa-bound SpiceJet plane from New Delhi, which had Digvijay Singh among the passengers, was diverted to Mumbai inviting sharp reactions from the senior Congress leader who alleged the flight was 'low on fuel' and he would think twice before taking the airline in future.

However, the airline denied the Congress leader's allegation of inadequate fuel in the aircraft and said the flight was diverted to Mumbai only due to congestion at the Goa airport runway.

'Spice Jet SG 141 Delhi to Goa diverted to Mumbai for lack of fuel because of air traffic congestion in Goa. Heard for the first time (sic),' Singh said in a tweet.

'Would think twice to take Spice Jet next time!' he said in another tweet.

SpiceJet flight SG-141 Delhi-Goa was diverted to Mumbai due to air traffic congestion in Goa, the airline's spokesperson Tushar Srivastava said in a statement.

"The flight had adequate holding fuel and held overhead Goa airport for some time before being diverted to Mumbai," he said.

India Today reports: Politician Amar Singh was a close friend of Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, until their fallout a few years ago. Amitabh Bachchan had earlier remarked, "He is a friend, he has the right to say what he wants to say," when Amar Singh claimed that Big B warned him not to accept Jaya as a member of the Samajwadi Party. However, his latest remark may not go down too well with the superstar.


Amar Singh has claimed that Amitabh and Jaya live separately, and also hinted at a rift between Jaya and bahu Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. ABP Majha quoted the Rajya Sabha MP as saying that the media believes him to be responsible for every rift, whether it concerns the Samajwadi Party, the Ambanis or the Bachchans.


He said, "Even before I met Amitabh Bachchan, he and Jaya Bachchan were living separately. One of them was living in Pratiksha and the other lived in his other bungalow Janak. There were also speculations about a problem between Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Jaya. I am not responsible for that."
Amar Singh has earlier gone on record to say that it was Amitabh's decision not to stay friends with him.

BJP National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya not very well known for his finesse strikes again. The target -- Shah Rukh Khan.


Reacting to the the incident where a person died and two policemen suffered injuries as the crowd went berserk wanting to get a glimpse of the Bollywood superstar at Vadodara railway station, Vijayvargiya compared Shah Rukh with fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.


"If Dawood Ibrahim comes on street, there would be crowd to see him...you can't gauge the popularity on the basis of crowd," the top BJP leader said.
I will not comment further... people have understood what it means," Vijayvargiya added.


The leaders rant come just days after he posted a poster of him on Twitter hitting out at Shah Rukh Khan's soon to be released film Raees.


"The Raees that couldn't be of its own country is of no good. On another side we should support Kaabil that is patriotic," he said without naming Shah Rukh.


Shah Rukh's Raees and Hrithik Roshan's Kaabil are slated to be released on the same day - January 25.

The UK government loses Brexit Article 50 case as Supreme Court dismisses its appeal. The UK Supreme Court ruling means the government requires parliamentary assent to start the Brexit process, reports the BBC.

Its decision is one of the most important constitutional cases in British legal history.

The Supreme Court had ruled on whether or not Prime Minister Theresa May had the right to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to begin the process of leaving the European Union, or whether she must first obtain the consent of the British parliament.

In November, the British High Court ruled that the prime minister could not start the process of leaving the EU without first getting the consent of parliament. 

Priyanka Gandhi to campaign only in Amethi and Rae Bareli. She will not go for any extensive campaigning in UP, reports NDTV.


Belying reports that Priyanka would in fact be taking on a much larger role in the upcoming UP elections, she will now restrict her campaign trail to the Gandhi bastions of Amethi (Rahul Gandhi) and Rae Bareli (Sonia Gandhi).


Priyanka has been managing the twin constituencies in the run up to every election campaign since 1999. Party sources feel that Rae Bareli, represented by Indira Gandhi, will be the ideal launch pad for Priyanka in 2019.

"Our problem is that there is too much democracy in India -- that's why difficult decisions never get taken,' declared Sunil Alagh, marketing consultant and supporter of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).


The bon vivant was responding to the uproar over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock decision to invalidate 86 percent of India's currency. Alagh's lament betrayed a longing oft expressed by the country's affluent and well heeled -- a craving for the precision and order of authoritarian leadership.


"You know, we need someone like Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore,' can be heard in many swish Delhi drawing rooms, whose attendants are in any case inoculated by wealth against the vagaries of India's economy.  Read Barkha Dutt's column for the Washington Post

Supreme Court holds back order on the names of the BCCI administrators to be appointed. 

Diner hospitalised after head chef throws bowl of hot chilli powder in his eyes. Read more

"I feel there's so much I know of life -- and I am not being pompous -- but I have lived a very full life. I have read a lot, said a lot through my characters. I am very glad to be such a big star but sometimes it takes time, being a star, not being able to say anything because there's an entrapment of stardom.I have a lot more to say in life, as a person, as my experiences, I don't know how good or bad they are. I don't take anything back from characters; I like to give to characters."

Read the SRK interview with Jahanvi Patel/Rediff.com.

This Republic Day, in the 70th year of our Independence, Rediff.com takes you on a Discovery of India as well known Indians highlight our great nation's finest treasures.

Part 1: Architect Aman Nath, co-founder and chairman of the Neemrana hotels, which restores ruins and transforms them into heritage properties, briefs Rediff.com's Archana Masih about what he treasures most.  Do read

The Guardian is weighing up the option of becoming a tabloid newspaper and outsourcing its printing operations to one of its big rivals, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources. Read more

There is no record available of the fake currency which has been detected in the demonetised notes deposited in banks, Reserve Bank of India has said. 

Cabinet gives ex-post facto approval for interest waiver for November and December 2016 for farmers' short-term crop loans from Cooperative Banks.

"We started the journey thinking we all will travel, spend time with each other when one of your own loses someone one trip like this, it saddens us all.


"One of our colleagues was traveling with us. Her uncle came down to see her at Baroda. He suffered from a cardiac arrest. It was really unfortunate.


"We have some of our people with the family members there. Hopefully God will bless her soon.


"On behalf of everyone, our prayers and blessings with the whole family. She has reached there. I just spoke to her. I think the burial is in an hour or half hour."

The Survey of India would soon "re-measure" the height of Mount Everest to verify doubts expressed over it in some sections of the scientific community following the major earthquake in Nepal two years ago and to help scientific studies, Surveyor General of India Swarna Subba Rao has said.   

Tamil actor Kamal Haasan holds forth on Jallikattu.


In a press conference in Chennai today, the actor said he wants "a reasonable explanation" for the alleged police violence against peaceful pro-Jallikattu protesters in Chennai yesterday.


The actor, who doesn't support the ban on jallikattu, also said the protests in Tamil Nadu are a culmination of Tamilians wanting a bill to allow the bull-taming sport for the last 20 years. "This ban is intruding on Tamil culture," he said.


The actor was only half joking when he said he hoped "the cops in the video weren't real". He was referring to photographs and videos of police personnel torching auto rickshaws on the streets."I hope there is an explanation on the clips of cops committing arson. No law or legal system is infallible," Haasan said, adding that he is against bans of any kind as a matter of principle.


The protests in Tamil Nadu, he said, "felt right."

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy on Monday demanded President's rule in Tamil Nadu to redeem the state from the "Naxals, Jehadis and Porkis', after the protests over Jallikattu at Marina Beach in Chennai turned violent.

In the tweet, he contradicted his earlier position where he asked for Sasikala Natarajan to be made the Chief Minister of the state in place of incumbent O. Panneerselvam.


"Sasikala should take over. NRH Natarajan be kept far away from power. Panneer (O. Panneerselvam) is a good man but the road to hell is paved with good intentions,' Swamy, a Tamil himself, had tweeted earlier.


"President's Rule necessary. CRPF, BSF and Army must be mobilised for strike. It is now or never to recover TN from Naxals & Jehadis & Porkis,' Swamy wrote in Twitter.

Genuine agitators have dispersed. The main organiser said he is leaving Marina. Today there are people with Prabhakarans and Hafiz Sayeeds posters. This is now an ISI-financed agitation, Swamy said.

All of Delhi is at Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station.


As a part of the promotional campaign of Raees, Shah Rukh Khan boarded the August Kranti Rajdhani Express from Mumbai to Delhi, and reached Delhi station today with stopovers at Mathura, Vadodara, Kota, Hyderabad and Delhi.


"I am travelling in a train after a long time. The last time I had boarded a train from Delhi to Mumbai was when I came here to make my career. And now I am again taking the train. I am excited and nervous," Shah Rukh had said.


In Vadodara, one person died and two policemen were injured after police lathicharged a crowd following a stampede after his train arrived at the station.  

Fans wait for a glimpse of the SRK at the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station.

This is what Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station looks like when a superstar arrives. Shah Rukh Khan took a Mumbai-Delhi August Kranti Rajdhani Express for the promotion of Raees.


One person was killed and two policemen were injured in a stampede at Vadodara railway station.


The actor said it was unfortunate the incident took place despite security. 

So how did the Centre tame Maneka Gandhi, the enfant terrible when it comes to championing the cause of animal protection?  Read it here.

At least two foreign militants have reportedly been trapped in a massive gun-battle that is underway between security forces and terrorists near Khimber's Hadoora area in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir.


The entire area has been cordoned off as security forces are engaging in an attempt to smoke out the militants.


Earlier on January 16, three terrorists were gunned down by security forces during an encounter operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.More details awaited.

The domino effect has begun.

After the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday unanimously passed an amendment bill for conducting the bull-taming sport of Jallikattu, the Karnataka government is pressuring the Centre to revoke its ban on the traditional kambala or water buffalo race.


Replacing an ordinance promulgated two days ago to allow jallikattu, the Bill to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 was unanimously adopted by the House after members of all parties spoke welcoming the legislative initiative.


Karnataka Chief minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the state government was in favour of kambala, and sought the Centre's support just as it has supported jallikattu in Tamil Nadu.


Hundreds of people, along with about 250 pairs of buffaloes, will protest at the Swaraj Maidan, Moodbidri in Karnataka on January 28.


Image: Kambala supporter Praveen Naik tweeted this image ‏@pravee_putt saying, "Kambala is our pride.. Words can't describe the emotion we carry behind of these... #Isupportkambala #Savekambala #Jaikambala  #Kambalabeku

The soon-to-be White House chief strategist laid out a global vision in a rare 2014 talk, one where he said racism in the far right gets "washed out' and called Vladimir Putin a kleptocrat. And of course, there's the comment on Narendra Modi. Read more

Coming out in support of the Supreme Court's order which dismissed a plea seeking postponement of Union Budget presentation ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in five states, former home secretary and BJP MP RK Singh on Tuesday said it won't influence the voters' minds either way.


Singh told ANI that the apex court's decision indicates the government's stand.


"The situation is such that state polls now keep happening. If you start postponing constitutional functions because of the polls then you will probably not be able to perform your constitutional functions on time," he added.


Singh further stated that the state polls are decided on the basis of specific issues where the Union Budget is for the entire country.


"Therefore, it is not that Union Budget will sort of influence the voters' minds this way or that way. So, I believe that this order is right," he added.


The Election Commission yesterday ordered that no state specific schemes shall be announced in national budget in the interest of free and fair elections.It may be ensured that in the budget speech the government's achievements in respect of five poll-bound states will not be highlighted.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in his new role as the Samajwadi Party national president will kick off his party's election campaign today from Sultanpur.


This will be the Chief Minister's first election rally in the state after he was coroneted as the head of the ruling party, replacing father Mulayam Singh Yadav, who has been made the Samajwadi Party patron.


Five constituencies in Sultanpur district will go to polls in the fifth phase on February 27.


Akhilesh earlier on Sunday released the "please all" Samajwadi Party manifesto with focus on women and youth empowerment and has been busy finalising list of candidates after forging an alliance with Congress "to keep communal forces at bay".


The poll process in Uttar Pradesh begins on February 11.73 constituencies in western Uttar Pradesh will go polls in this phase. The filing of nominations for these constituencies will end on January 24.Uttar Pradesh is set to have a seven-phase polling between February 11 and March 8.

Foreign secretary S Jaishankar has been given a one-year extension after his two-year tenure ends on January 28.

Jaishankar, a 1977-batch IFS officer, became foreign secretary has led Indias push for NSG membership.


We would like to take a moment to blow our trumpet to tell you that Rediff.com broke the news hours before it became public. (See the image alongside.)

Just another of the many times that Rediff.com has been ahead of the pack. Stay with us for all the news as it happens.  

As dense fog continues to engulf northern India due to the fall in temperature, several trains and flight services have been affected on Tuesday morning.  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday conferred the National Bravery Award ahead of Republic Day to Jammu and Kashmir's Payal Devi posthumously, acknowledging her act of valour.  

Paralympic swimmer Binod Singh was found dead on Monday in a village in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, with the police suspecting that he was strangulated to death.   

Despite all the hype around surgical strikes carried out in Myanmar and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir by the elite Para Commandos, the Indian Army has decided not to showcase these heroes at Rajpath during the 68th Republic Day.