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Westminster staff and MPs to be offered counselling after attack

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21:23 Westminster staff and MPs to be offered counselling after attack

Members of parliament and staff in the Houses of Commons and Lords are to be offered counselling in the wake of the terrorist attack in Westminster.

Khalid Masood, 52, killed four people and injured more than 50 when he drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge then attacked two police officers as he tried to enter parliament. He was shot dead by an armed officer.

MPs, staff and journalists were kept in lockdown in parliament on Wednesday as the attack unfolded metres away in one of the UKs busiest tourist spots. Tensions were heightened by conflicting reports of what had taken place and graphic images of victims being uploaded on to social media.

A Commons spokeswoman said the House Service recognised that members of both houses, their staff, house staff and visitors to parliament may want professional support.

21:00 Turn off the lights!

The India Gate goes dark as part of the global Earth Hour initiative. Every year on March 25, people all over the world are asked to switch off their lights and all other electronics for 1 hour as part of the Earth Hour initiative.

20:45 When Obama subtly trolled the Republicans

The former US President has remained relatively quiet on political issues since leaving office two months ago.

But the irony of the Trump administration trying to repeal the affordable care act on the seventh anniversary of it being passed was too much for the former POTUS to keep quiet about.

His office sent out a lengthy memo, commemorating the passing of the bill, thanking it for giving "more than twenty million Americans security and peace of mind of health insurance".

There were also some not-so-subtle digs at Trump's proposed replacement to the bill, which could take away healthcare from millions of women.

The memo read:

"When I took office, millions of Americans were locked out of our health care system.

So, just as leaders in both parties had tried to do since the days of Teddy Roosevelt, we took up the cause of health reform.

It was a long battle, carried out in Congressional hearings and in the public square for more than a year. But ultimately, after a century of talk, decades of trying, and a year of bipartisan debate, our generation was the one that succeeded. We finally declared that in America, health care is not a privilege for a few, but a right for everybody.

The result was the Affordable Care Act, which I signed into law seven years ago today. Thanks to this law, more than twenty million Americans have gained the security and peace of mind of health insurance.

Thanks to this law, more than ninety percent of Americans are insured the highest rate in our history.

Thanks to this law, the days when women could be charged more than men and Americans with pre-existing conditions could be denied coverage altogether are relics of the past.

Seniors have bigger discounts on their prescription drugs.

Young people can stay on their parents plans until they turn 26 years old.

And Americans who already had insurance received an upgrade as well from free preventive care, like mammograms and vaccines, to improvements in the quality of care in hospitals that has averted nearly 100,000 deaths so far.

All of that is thanks to the Affordable Care Act. And all the while, since the law passed, the pace of health care inflation has slowed dramatically.

Prices are still rising, just as they have every year for decades but under this law, theyve been rising at the slowest rate in fifty years.

Families who get coverage through their employer are paying, on average, thousands of dollars less per year than if costs kept rising as fast as they were before the law.

And reality continues to discredit the false claim that this law is in a death spiral, because while it's true that some premiums have risen, the vast majority of Marketplace enrollees have experienced no average premium hike at all.

And so long as the law is properly administered, this market will remain stable. Likewise, this law is no job-killer, because Americas businesses went on a record-breaking streak of job growth in the seven years since I signed it.

So the reality is clear: America is stronger because of the Affordable Care Act.

There will always be work to do to reduce costs, stabilize markets, improve quality, and help the millions of Americans who remain uninsured in states that have so far refused to expand Medicaid.

Ive always said we should build on this law, just as Americans of both parties worked to improve Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid over the years.

So if Republicans are serious about lowering costs while expanding coverage to those who need it, and if theyre prepared to work with Democrats and objective evaluators in finding solutions that accomplish those goals thats something we all should welcome.

But we should start from the baseline that any changes will make our health care system better, not worse for hardworking Americans. That should always be our priority.

The Affordable Care Act is law only because millions of Americans mobilized, and organized, and decided that this fight was about more than health care it was about the character of our country.

It was about whether the wealthiest nation on Earth would make sure that neither illness nor twist of fate would rob us of everything weve worked so hard to build. It was about whether we look out for one another, as neighbors, and fellow citizens, who care about each others success. This fight is still about all that today. And Americans who love their country still have the power to change it."

The Punjab government today lashed out at the Akali leadership for their spiteful attacks against the Amarinder Singh government, saying it reeked of their outright panic at the fear of exposure of their alleged financial and other misdeeds of the last 10 years.

A government spokesperson debunked the latest statements of Shiromani Akali Dal leaders, led by former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, as a sign of their total frustration at their shocking defeat in the recent assembly polls and urged them to stop indulging in baseless allegations against the state leadership.

"The Amarinder government's move to probe the various misdemeanours of the erstwhile SAD-BJP regime and to bring out a white paper on the state's fiscal mess, which it has inherited from the Badals, has clearly unnerved the Akali leadership," he said.

This, said the spokesperson, was evident from the fact that the "Badals could not gather the courage to even enter the state assembly on the first day of its maiden session, which commenced on Friday".

Further, referring to SAD MLA and former state finance minister Parminder Dhindsa's comments on the fiscal situation in Punjab, the spokesperson said the white paper will nail the lies of the Akalis on the issue.

"The brazen loot of the coffers by the Badals and their cronies had brought the state to its knees, which the document will clearly prove," he added.

After facing major embarrassment by having to pull the heath care bill, it has emerged that US President Donald Trump is upset with his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner for being notably absent during the crucial week.

Kushner, along with his wife Ivanka Trump, was skiing with his family in the posh Colorado town of Aspen, and was seen taking leisurely strolls, enjoying ice cream cones with their three kids and winding their way down the slopes.

Citing a source close to the president, CNN reports that "Trump is upset that his son-in-law and senior adviser was not around during this crucial week."

However, Kushner did appear at the White House on Friday during the last gasps of the Obamacare repeal effort.

Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson flatly denied the President is frustrated with Kushner.

Taking a cue from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand has launched its own anti-Romeo squads, with police pouncing on young men found loitering around schools and colleges without any reason.

The Jharkhand Police, which launched a special drive on Friday around women-only schools and colleges, rounded up some young men and also slapped them.

The drive has been launched to ensure safety of the girls. Boys will not be harassed. The move is that girls are not harassed, SSP Ranchi, Kuldeep Dwivedi, told reporters. The police have also launched a mobile-based Shakti app in Ranchi and other parts of the state to help women in distress to send messages.

The squad has also been formed in the steel city of Jamshedpur. On Saturday, the squad launched a special drive near womens colleges and other institutions. Four youths were detained.

The Bharatiya Janata Party will host its next two-day national executive committee meeting in Odisha's Bhubaneswar city beginning April 15.

This was confirmed by Union Minister and BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan, who expressed his gratitude to the people of Odisha for permitting them to host the next national executive committee meeting in the city.

Pradhan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Odisha to thank the people for their unprecedented support to the BJP in the recent panchayat polls.

In a maiden visit after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath on Saturday reached his parliamentary constituency of Gorakhpur.

Here are the highlights of his speech:

>> Thank 22 crore people of Uttar Pradesh for choosing me

>> UP has been deprived till now, but won't be neglected now

>> Will implement PM Modi's vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas in the state

>> There will be no goondaraj, no differences in the name of caste, class or religion

>> No one should take law into their own hands

>> There should be no harassment of couples; we have formed anti-romeo sqauds destructive minds, eve-teasers will be dealt with

A woman whose image became an Islamophobic meme after the Westminster terror attack has told of her horror and distress at the incident and the abuse she suffered afterwards.

The picture shows the woman wearing a hijab and looking at her phone on Westminster Bridge as people gathered around an injured person nearby. It was circulated on Twitter and by anti-Islam blogs as supposed evidence of her lack of concern.

Now the woman has approached Tell Mama, a group which monitors anti-Muslim incidents, and asked them to circulate a statement on her behalf in response.

Im shocked and totally dismayed at how a picture of me is being circulated on social media, she said. To those individuals who have interpreted and commented on what my thoughts were in that horrific and distressful moment, I would like to say not only have I been devastated by witnessing the aftermath of a shocking and numbing terror attack, Ive also had to deal with the shock of finding my picture plastered all over social media by those who could not look beyond my attire, who draw conclusions based on hate and xenophobia.

She said her feelings at the time were of sadness, fear and concern, and added that she had talked to other witnesses to try to find out what was happening and see if she could offer help. She then called her family and helped a woman get to Waterloo station. My thoughts go out to all the victims and their families, she said.

She sent her gratitude to Jamie Lorriman, who took the picture, for speaking in her defence.

Pakistan has agreed to allow former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif to head a Saudi Arabia-led 39-nation Islamic military coalition formed to combat terrorism, according to a media report.

This was disclosed by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in a programme of private Geo TV.

Citing Asif, the channel said official documentation to issue the No-Objection Certificate had not been done but the government has agreed in principle to issue the permission because the Saudi leadership had formally requested through a letter to let Raheel take up the command of the coalition.

Asif said he had visited Saudi Arabia for Umrah earlier this year, and had also met officials of the Saudi government.

17:20

Yogi Adityanath arrives in Gorakhpur for the first time after being sworn in as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh

16:59 Kejriwal, 5 others put on trial in Jaitley defamation case

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders were today put on trial in a criminal defamation case filed by Union Minister Arun Jaitley in the DDCA controversy, amid chaotic scenes in a court room.

Advocates from both the sides indulged in a heated argument over non-appearance of Jaitley after Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass started the proceedings.

The accused, including Kejriwal, who were present before the court complained of "serious threat" after which the judge asked all the persons to go outside the court room, barring those who were concerned with the case.

The CMM framed notice against Kejriwal and other AAP

leaders--Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chaddha

and Deepak Bajpai -- after they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.

Earlier, on January 30, the court had dismissed Kejriwal's plea seeking to be heard on point of framing of notice.

Jaitley had filed the complaint alleging that the accused had defamed him in a controversy regarding Delhi and District Cricket Association when he headed for over a decade.

A civil defamation suit has also been filed by Jaitley before the Delhi High Court in the matter seeking Rs 10 crore as damages.

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's unruly bhevaiour on Thursday has stunned his own kin as well. His wife Usha told Mumbai Mirror this was the first time that she witnessed his "violent side".

"I had never imagined my husband would be hitting somebody, like he did in Delhi. For the first time, his violent side has been seen and that was mostly because of the rude behavior by the airline staffers," she insisted.

"My husband has a fairly long experience in politics," Usha said. "He was an MLA for two terms and is now representing the Osmanabad constituency in the Lok Sabha. Teaching was his profession and he has been extremely popular in Osmanabad because of his friendly behaviour. Anyone who knows him personally would have not even imagined that he would be doing something like this," she said.

She claimed that her husband doesn't get angry at all. "Never in my life had I seen anger get the better of him. I called up him up after the incident around midnight and he said the Air India staffers were rude to him even when they knew that he was an MP," she said.

When reminded that no amount of provocation should have led to such goondaism, she said, "My husband wanted to do was register a complaint against Air India's poor service. But, instead of taking down his complaint, they kept on arguing. Finally, when they used the name of our prime minister disrespectfully, he lost his cool and hit the staffer."

16:15

JUST IN: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal put on trial in a criminal defamation case filed against him by Union Minister Arun Jaitley in DDCA matter.

16:14 Gorakhpur prepares to welcome Yogi Adityanath, CM to hold road show

After becoming the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath is going to visit his constituency Gorakhpur on Saturday for the first time. The chief minister is on a two-day tour, where he will also visit temples while performing a road show.

The entire city has been covered with billboards and banners for his welcome, while the local administration has provided adequate security. The Chief Minister will be taking his road shows from Gorakhpur Airport to Nandanagar, Mohdipurpur, University Chowrah, Ganesh Chauraha and the MP Inter College grounds.

After being assigned the charge of India's most politically-crucial state, Adityanath assured that Uttar Pradesh would soon be considered as the supreme state in the country

The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in London says that the Westminster attacker was in the country three times and taught English there.

A statement released says Khalid Masood taught English in Saudi Arabia from November 2005 to November 2006 and again from April 2008 to April 2009.

The embassy says he had a work visa. It says he returned for six days in March 2015.

The embassy says he wasn't tracked by Saudi security services and didn't have a criminal record there.

Before taking the name Masood, he was known as Adrian Elms. He was known for having a violent temper in England and had criminal convictions.

15:12 Rajinikanth cancels visit to Sri Lanka

Superstar Rajinikanth has cancelled his proposed visit to Sri Lanka.

The actor was to travel to Sri Lanka on April 9 to start a Rs 22 crore housing project by the Gnanam Foundation which is a charitable organisation in the northern regions hit by the 26-year-old civil war that came to end in 2009.

His visit was opposed by the group Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.

VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan said, ""I have no personal agenda against Rajinikanth. We are good friends. But, I strongly oppose his decision to visit Sri Lanka and participate in an event organized by Lyca, which has business ties with the Sri Lankan government."

"Artists should only entertain people. We, on behalf of our party 'Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi' request Rajnikanth not to earn Tamil people's hatred by participating in this event."

15:00 Is Akhilesh stepping down as SP president?

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that his Samajwadi Party will choose its next national president before September 30, triggering specualations of his stepping down from the post.

Akhileshs party, which fought the recently held assembly elections in alliance with the Congress, suffered a defeat at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which came to power in the politically crucial state with a brute majority.

The run-up to the elections saw a fierce infighting in Akhileshs family, with the then chief minister snatching the post of national president from his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav. The Akhilesh faction stripped Mulayams brother, Shivpal, of his state presidentship.

On Saturday, Akhilesh addressed an impromptu press conference at the SP office in Lucknow even as his party held a national executive meet.

Referring to Adityanaths last Lok Sabha speech taking a dig at Akhileshs age, the former CM said: Of course, he is an year older to me, but so far the work is concerned, he is far too small than me...

On law and order, Akhilesh said: Incidents are happening all over the state now, but they are not being highlighted with Yogis picture -- the way media used my picture while reporting (such) incidents earlier.

Also read: What led to Akhilesh's downfall

Pakistan's electronic media watchdog has issued a notice to a prominent TV channel for

airing "hate speech" against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority asked private ARY News channel to respond to the

notice by March 31.

According to the details, a guest speaker, who appeared on a programme 'The Reporter' on Thursday, termed a recent statement of Sharif as "blasphemous".

"This is a very dangerous trend. The hosts of the programme neither intervened on this occasion nor stopped him from passing such comments, which is a violation of PEMRA rules," the media watchdog said.

It asked the channel to explain why action should not be taken against it for airing "hate speech".

14:44 No better administrator than Yogi: Mohsin Raza

We will show you in 2019 how Muslims will openly vote for the BJP at the mass level

Mohsin Raza is the sole Muslim member in the newly formed Yogi Adityanath Cabinet. He is a Minister of State in-charge of Waqf and Haj departments along with Science and Technology, Electronics and IT portfolios. A former first-class cricketer, Raza speaks about the new governments priorities in Uttar Pradesh.

Read the full interview HERE

A gunman has reportedly opened fire at a hotel in Las Vegas, USA.

Guests and tourists have had to flee the city's famous Bellagio hotel on the strip because of an 'active shooter'.

Panicked people have tweeted their shock and some have said they had to hide under tables.

Reports suggest that the shooting is linked to an attempted armed robbery of a Rolex shop inside the hotel complex.

It isn't known whether anyone has been hurt in the incident or if it is ongoing.

Pakistan is mulling options to replace its hawkish envoy to India, Abdul Basit, after his tussle with the decisions-makers in Islamabad following the elevation of his junior Tehmina Janjua as Foreign Secretary.

Basit, the Pakistan high commissioner to India, was appointed in March 2014 after he suffered a major

disappointment when he was sure of being appointed Pakistan's Foreign Secretary but last-minute wheeling and dealing resulted in the appointment of Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry.

Basit, who has completed his a turbulent three-year tenure in New Delhi, again failed to get favours from the decisions-makers in Islamabad last month when Janjua was appointed his boss to become Pakistan's first woman foreign secretary.

Reliable sources said Basit in the heat of passions had thought of resigning. But later decided to stay put, making it clear to his bosses he would not work in any 'subordinate' position to Janjua.

As he completes his tenure, Foreign Office bosses are unsure how to deal with Basit. Sources said an option could be to let Basit carry on but the problem is he is considered hawkish by the incumbent government who hardly fits into the prime minister's policy of "good ties with all neighbours".

India has reacted sharply to The New York Times' editorial criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's choice of Aditya Nath Yogi as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and said the paper's wisdom to

write such a piece was "questionable".

"All editorials or opinions are subjective. This case is particularly so. The wisdom in doubting the verdicts of genuine democratic exercises, at home or abroad, is questionable," said external affairs ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay.

The NYT in the highly critical editorial, titled 'Modi's Perilous Embrace of Hindu Extremists', said since he was elected in 2014, Modi has played a "cagey game, appeasing his party's hard-line Hindu base while promoting secular goals of development and economic growth".

The move by Prime Minister Modi's party to name "firebrand Hindu cleric" Adityanath as Uttar Pradesh's chief minister is a "shocking rebuke" to religious minorities, the editorial said.

Read the NYT editorial HERE

Member of Parliament Sushmita Devs petition to remove tax on sanitary napkins has crossed two lakh signatures on Change.org. The MP petitioned to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister for Health & Family Welfare JP Nadda and Union Minister For Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi to make sanitary napkins tax free as they are not luxury products. She had earlier in February written to Jaitley and started the petition on March 8, International Womens Day. The signature received more than two lakh signatures in two weeks.

The petition also calls for completely tax-free biodegradable and reusable napkins and minimally taxed non-biodegradable sanitary napkins, due to the environmental harm that they cause.

Her petition has received support not just from the people but also from various parliamentarians, including Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and BJP MP Varun Gandhi. Other leaders too have extended support to the petition, urging to remove tax on sanitary napkins.

12:49 EC transfers Chennai police commissioner

The Election Commission has ordered the transfer of Chennai Police Commissioner S George following a complaint by DMK, ahead of the RK Nagar assembly bypoll in Tamil Nadu.

Sources in the poll panel said George's transfer order was issued last night.

Karan Singh has been appointed as the new city police chief, they said.

The poll body had sought a panel of officials from the Tamil Nadu government to select George's replacement.

The bypoll to the prestigious R K Nagar constituency is scheduled for April 12. It was necessitated following the demise of then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa last year.

12:37 Justice Misra headed to ICJ?

If the buzz in the Supreme Court's corridors is to be believed, Justice Jasti Chelmeshwarmay be elevated as Chief Justice of India by early next year.

There is speculation that Justice Dipak Misra will be India's next representative at the International Court of Justice at The Hague when Justice Dalveer Bhandari's term at the ICJ expires on February 5, 2018.

As it stands currently, Justice Misra will succeed Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar as Chief Justice of India on August 28, 2017 when the CJI retires.

Justice Misra would serve on the Supreme Court till October 2, 2018.

Justice Chelameshwar, who retires on June 22, 2018, has been a dissenting voice on the collegium system of appointing judges and reportedly did not attend collegium meetings convened by Chief Justice Khehar or his predecessor, Chief Justice T S Thakur.

Accoring to the Indian Express newspaper, the collegium of judges headed by Chief Justice Khehar, recently rejected the Centre's desire that it retain the power to reject any judge the collegium recommends on the ground of 'national security.

For more on that, please click Here.

Justice Chelameshwar with Justice Rohinton Narriman struck down the draconian Section 66A of the Information Technology Act in March 2015.

A three-judge Supreme Court bench, headed by Justice Chelamesnwar, also in August 2015 ruled that the Aadhar card would be optional for availing government welfare schemes and ordered that no personal information of the holders of such cards would be shared by any authority.

12:24

JUST IN: Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shivpal Singh Yadav and Azam Khan not present at Samajwadi Party's national executive meet underway in Lucknow.

12:12 When Finance Minister Arun Jaitley cancelled his appointments

On Saturday, Finance Minister cancelled appointments given to 2 actors from Tamil Nadu, as they provided misleading reasons for the meeting.

According to sources, the two actors got appointments with the finance minister after the intervention of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. The two actors sought meetings under the pretext of sorting out their personal issues, but later told the minister's office that their purpose for meeting was to discuss the Tamil farmers' problems.

Sources said that Jaitley got angry and told off the TDP leadership.

A Sikh-American girl was harassed on a subway train in New York when a white man, mistaking her to be from the Middle East, allegedly shouted "go back to Lebanon" and "you don't belong in this country," the latest in a series of hate crimes against people of South-Asian origin.

Rajpreet Heir was taking the subway train to a friend's birthday party in Manhattan this month when the white man began shouting at her, according to a report in the New York Times.

Heir recounted the ordeal in a video for a Times section called 'This Week in Hate', which highlights hate crimes and harassment around the country since the election of US President Donald Trump.

Heir said she was looking at her phone when the white man shouted at her saying, "Do you even know what a Marine looks like? Do you know what they have to see? What they do for this country? Because of people like you."

He told Heir he hoped she was sent "back to Lebanon" and using expletives said, "You don't belong in this country," before he left the subway.

Heir said as the man left the train, she saw a young white woman in the train staring at her "with tears in her eyes."

"What had just happened provided evidence of what I had sensed beneath the surface for a long time - racism that can turn violent and lately does," she said.

Not just buffalo meat, Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow is fast heading towards a non-vegetarian crisis as entire chicken, goat meat and egg markets have begun shutting down.

While more than 80% markets of non-vegetarian items already downed shutters on Friday, various traders associations have declared strike from Saturday.

Under the circumstances, vegetable prices, which were on the decline for last one week, are likely to register a steep hike.

The indefinite strike begins tomorrow (Saturday), but most of the shops have shut down today (Friday). We have advised the sellers who have stocks in their shops, to sell till tonight and then shut shops from Saturday morning, said Md Rizwan Siddiqui, Lucknow Murga Mandi Samiti member.

Cow slaughter is banned in Uttar Pradesh that has seen frantic activity since Yogi Adityanath took charge as chief minister with a vow to crack down on cattle smuggling. The BJP fought on a poll plank of shutting down illegal abattoirs, a move that was seen as hurting Muslim-run businesses. In the past week, several mutton and fish shops have been set on fire as the supply of buffalo meat which is legal has dried up.

How did BJP's first CM in Manipur N Biren Singh ensure that one of the biggest poll promises his party made could be fulfilled days after he took over.

The new CM had made up his mind to deal with the issue as first thing after taking office. He was averse to initially make any show of force.

Read full story HERE

The Shiv Sena does not support Ravindra Gaikwad's behaviour but party leaders would "raise their hand" wherever needed, its Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said.

He was responding to a question at a press conference in Mumbai bout the party's stand on Gaikwad hitting an Air India employee with a slipper on Thursday.

"The Shiv Sena can never support Ravindra Gaikwad's behaviour. But there should be an inquiry to find out why our MP was forced to behave this way," Raut said.

"Hitting anybody can never be the culture of the Sena, but we will surely raise our hand wherever required," Raut said.

It is not about a single MP but thousands of passengers who have to face numerous troubles due to Air India's poor service, he said.

"It would have been better had Air India been as quick in improving its service as it was in banning our MP from flying on its aircraft. Passengers are fleeced at airports like Mumbai and Delhi. What happens to their (AI's) quick decision-making then?" he asked.

Before the party take any action against Gaikwad, the MP will have to face action as per the law, Raut said.

Former Congress leader S M Krishna, who joined the BJP on Wednesday, showered fulsome praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying India is on par with superpowers like the United States and China because of

his programmes.

"Modji has given new status to India. Today, India is on par with superpowers like United States, France, Russia and China. This has been possible because of the various programmes PM Narendra Modi has started," he told BJP workers in Bengaluru.

The former external affairs minister said he was "impressed with Modi's courage to carry out surgical strikes".

"During my tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan never understood the kind of language we spoke. Look at the turnaround after surgical strikes. Modi's step was hailed across the world as bold and courageous," he said.

"Modiji answered Pakistan in the language it understands. I had the privilege to meet him and he was kind enough to explain the contours of surgical strikes.

"I was impressed and this was possible only because of a leader who had guts, a vision and a strategy. Today, India has become very bold in the eyes of other countries," he said.

Krishna also praised Modi's demonetisation decision, saying that though it has not eradicated black money menace entirely, but has curtailed it.

"Demonetisation is one of the biggest economic makeover that the prime minister thought necessary to be implemented. The black money menace has been a great curse. It was eating into the very vitals of the economy. Even though it cannot be eradicated overnight but it certainly curtailed the menace. As a Congressman, I had welcomed it," he said.

09:55 Lalu Prasad injured in dais collapse

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Friday suffered minor injuries in his back during a religious event in Patna after the dais he was sitting on collapsed due to overcrowding.

Prasad, along with his sons -- Deputy CM of Bihar Tejaswi Yadav and Health Minister Tej Pratap -- and daughter Misa Bharti, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, had gone to attend a yagna at Digha when the dais they were sitting on caved in.

Prasad was taken to IGIMS Hospital. Later, he told reporters that he had suffered a back injury.

Doctors said they conducted an X-ray to assess his injury.

A US state department official told Associated Press on Thursday that Washington wants to work with Moscow on regional efforts to end the 16-year Afghan war and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would be discussing this during his visit to the Russian capital on April 12.

The Trump administrations idea of seeking Russian cooperation to bring about national reconciliation in Afghanistan signifies a radical departure from the consistently negative approach taken by the Barack Obama presidency aimed at keeping Moscow out of the Afghan problem as far and as long as possible. This is of course brilliant news.

Resident doctors in Maharashtra today resumed their duties after receiving assurances from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and intervention from the Bombay high court.

The doctors called off their five-day strike after Fadnavis yesterday gave an ultimatum to striking resident doctors to resume duty or face legal action.

Bombay high court had rapped the striking doctors and asked them to call off their strike on Thursday.

Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors said in a statement that their meeting with the Chief Minister last night was satisfactory.

More than 4,500 resident doctors had gone on mass leave for last five days after a series of assault took place on resident doctors in various parts of the state.

Except OPDs and general wards at government and municipal-run hospitals, the health services were not affected.

09:07 NSA Doval meets US Defence Secy Mattis

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held talks with Unites States Defense Secretary, Gen (rtd) James Mattis at Pentagon in Washington DC.

Apart from Mattis, Doval also met Secretary of Homeland Security Gen (rtd) John Kelly, and National Security Advisor Lt Gen H R McMaster.

In all these meetings, the common threat was expansion and deepening of India-US co-operation in collectively addressing the challenge posed by terrorism in South Asia.

He also met Senator John McCain, Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Richard Burr, Chairman of the powerful Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

"Mattis specifically applauded India's efforts to promote stability in the South Asia region. Both leaders reaffirmed building upon the significant defence cooperation progress made in recent years," Pentagon Spokesperson Capt Jeff Davis said in a read out of the meeting, adding that the two leaders discussed their role in cooperating to uphold international laws and principles.

In a major setback to President Donald Trump, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan withdrew a healthcare bill aimed at repealing and replacing the Obamacare policy from vote as the Republican party failed

to muster the votes needed to get the legislation passed.

The US House of Representatives -- similar to the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament -- has 435 members. The Republican party enjoys a simple majority in the House with 235 members.

However due to opposition from some of its own party lawmakers, in particular the one that have grouped themselves under the banner of Freedom Caucus, Ryan, who had been leading the effort on behalf of Trump, could not muster the majority 215 votes.

As a result, in an effort to avoid the humiliation of a defeat, Ryan announced that he was withdrawing the move to have a vote on Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).

The White House and Trump had put up a brave face even till the last minute when they tried their best to muster support for their effort to repeal and replace Obamacare.

With the writing on the wall, Ryan drove to the White House to inform Trump to inform him he does not have enough votes to see the important legislation pass through the Congress.

Unlike India, the US Congress does not have an anti-defection bill, as a result of which US lawmakers are free to exercise their right to vote on a bill as per their wish and not according to dictate of the party leadership.

The White House said Trump did everything he could for the passage of the bill. "There's no question in my mind at least that the President and the team here have left everything on the field... It is now going to be up to the members of the House to decide whether or not they want to follow through on the promise to that," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters.

With visuals on TV suggesting harassment and humiliation of young couples by anti-Romeo squads in some places, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked officials to ensure there was no "unnecessary harassment".

The chief minister asked the Principal Secretary-Home to chalk out clear guidelines for anti-Romeo squads and ensure there is no unnecessary harassment of boys and girls moving around or sitting at any place, an official release said.

Anti-Romeo squads, a poll promise of the BJP that won a remarkable victory in the Uttar Pradesh election, drew criticism from certain quarters are visuals of policemen targeting young boys and girls going viral on TV and in social media.

"The idea is to question, check group of boys or boys alone near colleges and other places, and create fear among potential harassers in public places," said a police officer.

According to police sources, the modus operandi of the squads will be the same as that of the infamous 'Operation Majnu' in 2005, in which boys at crossings and markets were pulled up, and couples in gardens were thrashed by police.

It was seen as an attempt at moral policing and widely criticised.

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