Nikki Haley has resigned as the US ambassador to the United Nations. 

The Election Commission Tuesday said its decision to hold by-polls to three Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka is in accordance with the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as the poll body face questions over the need for the exercise when general elections are due early next year.


The Commission issued the clarification in the wake of media reports questioning why it had not announced the by-elections to fill five Lok Sabha vacancies from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, as had been done for Karnataka.


It said vacancies from Bellary (ST), Shimoga and Mandya constituencies of Karnataka occurred on May 18 and May 21, 2018 respectively, whereas vacancies from the five parliamentary constituencies from Andhra Pradesh occurred on June 20.


The Commission said Section 151 A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 mandates it to fill the casual vacancies in the Houses of Parliament and state legislatures through bye elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more.


The term of the sixteenth Lok Sabha is upto June 3, 2019. The Commission said, "As the vacancies from Karnataka have occurred more than one year before the expiration of the term of House, bye elections are required to be held under Section 151A of R P Act 1951 to fill these vacancies within six months from the date of occurrence of vacancies, that is 18th and 21st May, 2018."


In the case of vacancies from Andhra Pradesh, there is no need to hold bye elections as the remaining term of the Lok Sabha is less than one year from the date of occurrence of vacancies that is 20th June, 2018, it said in a statement. -- PTI

The Producers Guild of India on Tuesday extended its support to the movement to call out and report sexual harassment and abuse, whenever and wherever it occurs in showbiz.


"We believe that there is an urgent need to set up a robust process to ensure the highest standards of safety for employees and crew members at the workplace -- whether in offices or on sets of productions. We are instituting a committee within the Guild to lead this effort, and we are determined to stay the course till workplaces in the industry are safe spaces for everyone,' read an official statement from the Producers Guild of India.


The statement comes in the wake of the raging #MeToo movement as part of which several celebrities including Nana Patekar, Rajat Kapoor, Alok Nath and members of comedy collective AIB, have been named and shamed among others. -- PTI

The Sharda University in Greater Noida has found eight students guilty of involvement in the violence that erupted on its campus last week between groups of Indian and Afghan students, and asked them to explain why they should not be expelled, officials said.


A three-member inquiry committee was constituted by the varsity on October 4 to look into the incidents of scuffle on the campus between October 1 and 4, a university spokesperson said Tuesday.


The inquiry report was submitted to the university authorities late on Monday evening, days after Gautam Buddh Nagar administration suspected the role of anti-social elements from outside in escalating "a minor scuffle into a communal issue".


According to the orders issued by the Registrar, eight students have been charge-sheeted (found guilty), 10 have been fined on disciplinary grounds, while four others suspended. Those charge-sheeted include Afghan students as well, the spokesperson told PTI.

Writer-lyricist Varun Grover has categorically denied the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by an anonymous person during his college days, calling it an attempt to silence his voice in the #MeToo movement.


Grover, who is one of the few vocal names from the film industry on gender equality, said the screenshot doing the rounds on the social media was "untrue" and "misleading".


"I completely, totally, categorically deny all the allegations being made. The screenshot in question is untrue, misleading, and defamatory to say the least," Grover posted on Twitter.


In a second and more detailed statement, the screenwriter offered a point-by-point rebuttal about the details mentioned in the accusatory screenshot and said they can be cross-checked further.


"The account shared is rife with inconsistencies, blatant lies and details that can be cross-checked very easily with any of hundred or more students who were performing or keenly watching theatre in my college at that time," he wrote in the statement, posted on Twitter.


Grover, 38, said none of the sequence of the events described in that anonymous screenshot happened ever.


"I deny all of it with all the conviction I have in my bone. At the least, it smells like a case to silence my voice at this important time in the #MeToo moment. But in the larger context, it could be a ploy to muddy the waters and sabotage the entire movement all together," he said.


Grover, who is also active as a stand-up comedian and known for his anti-establishment satire, said he was ready to submit himself to any "legal or independent" inquiry.


"I know it is hard to reconcile the two - 'believe women' and 'don't put any allegations on me'. I have been thrown this curve ball and I will find a way but at the end of the day, a complete lie cant be allowed to roam free while truth sits concerned in a dungeon. I have complete faith in my own innocence and integrity and will be happy to face any inquiry (legal or independent) and present my case if the person in question decides to go ahead," he said.


Grover said the mythology reference on Vishwamitra and Tillottama may have come from his recent writing work on "Sacred Games" but during college, he never directed any mythological play and his work in the "theatre club" can be independently verified.


"I have never touched any person inappropriately in my life. To sum it up, this play or anything in its vicinity, in terms of themes or characters never happened...


"I know it would be disheartening for so many people to read these allegations about me and I understand if you want to keep distance or believe them for now. But I will promise you, I will clear my name from this defamatory tactic. Till then, keep #MeToo alive and don't let such stray cases hamper your spirits," he added.


Filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Neeraj Ghaywan, who have frequently collaborated with Grover, also came forward in the writer's support. "This man I have known so closely and so so long that I refuse to believe any allegations about him. #believethevictim and investigate the claims and also be careful to not let vested interests sabotage a long pending genuine movement," Kashyap tweeted. -- PTI

BrahMos Aerospace engineer Nishant Agrawal, arrested on charges of espionage, was in touch with suspected Pakistani intelligence operatives through two Facebook accounts -- 'Neha Sharma' and 'Pooja Ranjan', according to the Uttar Pradesh Police.


The UP Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad stated this in the court of Junior Magistrate First Class S M Joshi here Tuesday while seeking Agrawal's transit remand for taking him to Lucknow for a detailed interrogation.


The court granted three-day transit remand to the UP ATS, Additional Public Prosecutor S J Bagde, who appeared for Maharashtra ATS, said. Agrawal was arrested Monday in a joint operation by the ATS units of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra police at BrahMos' Wardha Road facility for allegedly leaking "technical information" to Pakistan. -- PTI

The magistrate refuses to remand Nakkeeran Gopal, Chief Editor of Tamil magazine Nakkeeran, to judicial custody. He was arrested after a complaint was filed against him by Raj Bhavan in Chennai over the publication's reportage on the Nirmala Devi case.


Nakkeeran Gopal, a well-known editor of the Tamil weekly was Tuesday arrested in Chennai while on his way to Pune, airport officials said.


Senior journalist R Gopal, who heads the vernacular 'Nakkheeran', was picked up by a police team from the airport, they said.


The weekly's website claimed Gopal was arrested based on a complaint from the Raj Bhavan over a write-up on Nirmala Devi, an assistant professor of a private college in Virudhunagar who had been arrested for allegedly prodding girl students to extend sexual favours to officials.

The BSE Sensex erased all early gains to end 175 points lower in choppy trade Tuesday, posting its fourth fall in five sessions due to widespread selling in auto, consumer, realty, oil and gas and banking stocks, amid weakening rupee and boiling crude oil prices.


The 30-share Sensex opened higher at 34,651.82 points but slipped into the negative zone to hit a low of 34,233.50 before ending at 34,299.47, recording a fall of 174.91 points, or 0.51 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty after shuttling between 10,397.60 and 10,279.35 points, ended 47 points, or 0.45 per cent, lower at 10,301.05.


"Volatility continued in the market in spite of which short-term investors are accumulating select beaten down stocks with an eye on upcoming quarter earnings," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.


However, negative sentiments from global market on concerns over a slowing world economy led by lingering trade war between the US and China dragged the market, he added. According to a Nomura report, the recent market fall has to a large extent corrected the excess. However, it is still difficult to call a bottom on the valuation and further downside cannot be ruled out. Market sentiment was also dampened on unabated foreign fund outflows and the IMF downgrading outlook for world economy to 3.7 growth on Tuesday.


The Indian currency collapsed to a new lifetime low of 74.27 in intra-day trade, raising concerns on the macroeconomic front.

Editors Guild of India issues a statement on 'incidents of sexual harassment on women journalists by male colleagues'; states 'It calls upon media organisations to hold unbiased inquiries into all reported cases. Anybody found guilty of sexual harassment/assault should be punished'

Meanwhile, Nana Patekar and dance director Ganesh Acharya have been asked by the Maharashtra State Commission for Woman to file their replies within next 10 days.

The Delhi High Court Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking cancellation of Shashi Tharoor's anticipatory bail granted by a trial court in the Sunanda Pushkar death case.


A bench of Justice RK Gauba dismissed the plea filed by lawyer Deepak Anand challenging the Congress MP's move to bypass a magisterial court and directly approach a sessions court for anticipatory bail in the death case of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.


On September 25, the Delhi Police had partly supported the plea where the Delhi Police Standing Counsel (Criminal) Rahul Mehra informed the high court that Tharoor ought to have first gone to the magisterial court that had summoned him as an accused, to seek bail. -- PTI

BSP supremo Mayawati asserted Tuesday that her party will rather fight elections on its own than "beg" for seats in any alliance. Her comments assume significance as she had last week called off talks with the Congress to fight the upcoming assembly polls in three states together as it did not agree to part with as many seats for the BSP as she demanded.


A Bahujan Samaj Party statement quoting her also lashed out at the Congress and the BJP, saying the BSP will never compromise with the self-respect of the Dalits, tribals, backwards, Muslims, other minorities and the upper castes' poor irrespective of the "malice and torture" of the governments run by these two parties. That is why the BSP has put forth the condition of being given a "respectable number" of seats to enter into an electoral alliance, Mayawati said, according to the statement. "What it clearly means that the BSP will not beg for seats in any alliance. If this (respectable number of seats) does not happen, then it will continue to fight polls on its own," she said.


Speaking on the occasion of the death anniversary of the BSP founder Kanshi Ram, she said neither the Congress nor the BJP works in the interests of the upper castes' poor and the remaining majority. Mayawati, however, also added that her party will continue to strive to oust the Bharatiya Janata Party government, describing it as casteist, communal, arrogant, malicious and narrow-minded.-- PTI

Writer and producer Vinta Nanda, holds a press conference a day after her Facebook post accusing actor Alok Nath of raping her 20 years ago. She said she would be meeting her lawyers but has not decided whether she would be filing a police complaint against Nath. She said he did not deny it even in 2003, 2004 or 2005 when she had written about it.


"Now I am feeling fearless, he is feeling scared," she said. She said she wrote the post because she wanted to get it off her chest. She added that the #MeToo movement has just begun and would strengthen women and men for many generations. "I am meeting consultants and advisors this evening, so by tomorrow I will have the next course of action ready. I am not ashamed of anything, it is he who should feel ashamed."


Image: Vinta Nanda at the press conference today.

Writer-director Vinta Nanda, who has accused Alok Nath of raping and harassing her, says there was no tension in naming him but she did not realise that the incident, which has affected her for 20 years, would blow up on social media.


Nanda said she is yet to decide what her next course would be but her first instinct was to "protect" herself. "It has been ages since I have held on to something that has affected me for 20 years. It has been the nucleus of my every situation. I lost my confidence as a writer and as a human being. It changed me fundamentally," she told PTI.


"I want someone who did that to me to be punished but I am not saying anything right now as I don't know what I am going to do next. I did not plan anything," she added. When asked why did she not name Nath directly, Nanda said there was no fear but she was addressing a specific audience.


"It was my personal Facebook page and I was not expecting the situation to blow up. It was between me and my friends and relatives and everyone understands who is 'sanskari'. There were thousands of comments and an lot of people have asked me who is the person. There was no tension in naming him," she said.


When told that Nath, in a statement, had said that it was probably someone else, she asked, "Do you think he will admit?" Nanda said she decided to out Nath because she was feeling guilty for having kept the incident to herself while asking others to speak up. "I have not thought anything beyond this point. I was feeling guilty for holding back and telling others to talk. It was not thought or planned. I will see what to do next. Nothing has been decided. I will be exploring things, I want to protect myself."


In her post, Nanda accused the "most Sanskaari person", as Nath is known, of raping her more than once 19 years ago. Nanda, best known for the TV show "Tara", gave a detailed account of the alleged assaults in a lengthy Facebook post Monday night, the latest expose in the #MeToo movement sweeping India.


She did not name Nath but referred to her attacker as "the most Sanskaari (cultured) person", a sobriquet attached with the actor courtesy his on-screen image of playing the goody-goody father, uncle and grandfather.


Nanda alleged that Nath sexually assaulted her on more than one occasion after he was fired from the 1993 show for misbehaving with its lead actor, Navneet Nishan. -- PTI

BJP MP Udit Raj Tuesday termed the #MeToo movement in India a "wrong practice" and questioned the relevance of making sexual harassment allegations against anybody after 10 years. The #MeToo storm has intensified in the country with more women recounting their experiences of sexual harassment in the entertainment and media industry. "#MeToo movement is important but what is the relevance of making sexual harassment allegations against anybody ten years later? How will the truth in these allegations be established after so long? "The person on whose the allegations will be levelled, how much it will tarnish his image is worth giving a thought. A wrong practice is being initiated," he tweeted in Hindi.


The lawmaker from the north-west Delhi constituency said the #MeToo movement was being used for blackmailing. "How is it possible that a girl who is in a live-in relationship can level rape allegations against her partner and he is booked and sent to jail. Such incidents are happening so frequently these days. Isn't it being used for blackmailing?," he said. -- PTI

Reacting to the rape allegations by veteran writer-producer Vinta Nanda, Bollywood and TV actor Alok Nath told ABP News: "Kuch to log kahenge. People will talk."


Dismissing the accusation made by Nanda who in a Facebook post recounted the horror, Alok Nath said, "Neither I am denying this nor do I would agree with it. It (rape) must have happened, but someone else would have done it. Well, I do not want to talk much about it as for the matter if it has come out, it will be stretched."Alok Nath further said that Vineeta's allegations are the result of the ongoing #MeToo movement across the country.


He acknowledged the movement and said there are many disclosures been made under this campaign, "However, we only have to hear to women's stand because they are considered weak," he added.


When asked about his clarification on people's reaction and his tainted image in the eyes of the masses after the allegation, the actor told ABP News, "What do I have to do with people? People will say anything to spoil the image. Leave my image, whatever has been said, it is absurd."


Citing his friendship with Vinta, Alok Nath said, "At one time she used to be such a good friend... today she said such a big thing. In a way, it was me who made her what she is." Ending his point on this issue, Alok Nath said, "It is useless to react on the allegations as in today's world whatever a woman says, only that will be considered. In such a situation, it would be wrong to say anything."

Taking his attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi to poll-bound Rajasthan, Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax, which he referred to as Gabbar Singh Tax, had destroyed India's economy.


Addressing a rally in Dholpur's Mania area, Gandhi said the prime minister had declared during elections that he wanted to be a 'chowkidar' but never clarified who he wanted to guard.


The Congress president alleged that he benefited 15-20 industrialists of the country instead of farmers. According to Gandhi, the former UPA government led by his party had waived farmers' loans worth Rs. 70,000 crore. But bad debt worth Rs. 3.5 lakh crore was written off by the present government and the prime minister did not help farmers with even a one rupee waiver, he alleged.


Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the state, named several industrialists, including Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Lalit Modi and Anil Ambani, and said the PM benefited them but did not take care of farmers and youths. Gandhi claimed the government had destroyed the country's economy with decisions like demonetisation and GST. Modi, he said, benefited his industrialist friend in Rafale deal and did not speak a single word when he raised the matter in Parliament.


The Congress president said the Centre and state governments worked against people, small scale business, farmers, women and youths. -- PTI

If the Ram temple is not built in in Ayodhya, the Bharatiya Janata Party would be termed a "liar" and ousted from power, the Shiv Sena said Tuesday. Lord Ram brought "achche din" (good days) for the BJP, but the party failed to fulfil the promise of building a temple dedicated to him at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, it said.


The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has been targeting the BJP for "delaying" the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya despite having a majority in Parliament.


"The BJP is in power at the Centre and in many states. It can easily go for the construction of Ram temple, otherwise it would be considered a liar and get thrown out of power," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.


The Sena pointed out that the temple chief priest recently said Prime Minister Narendra Modi merely gives slogans of "Jai Shriram" but does not utter a single word about the (temple) construction. "This is also the sentiment of Hindus," it added. The feeling during the UP elections was that if the BJP wins, it can easily go for the temple construction. But, the ruling party has started harassing those who speak for it, it said. -- PTI

Just in: Blast in Bhilai steel plant leaves six dead, 14 injured. Details awaited. 

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj ignores a question put to her on action if any to be taken against her colleague and junior minister (Home Affairs) MJ Akbar.

Akbar, a former editor, has been accused by several journalists of sexual harassment. The Ministry of External Affairs has refused to comment on this issue and has said no action has been initiated in the matter as of now.

Journalist Priya Ramani tweeted, referring to an article she wrote for the Vogue magazine in 2017.

The Vogue article was an open letter to Dear Male Boss that referred to a purported job interview in a hotel room in Mumbai that appeared to have taken place in 1994 as the age of the Boss then was put at 43.

The account said I escaped that night, you hired me, I worked for you for many months even though I swore I would never be in a room alone with you again.

The article written in the backdrop of the Harvey Weinstein #MeToo movement did not name the editor, when she wrote the piece in October 2017.

But yesterday, Ramani, along with a host of other journalists outed Akbar citing several incidents of sexual harassment.

Another woman wrote in to say, she was called to Akbar's hotel room for an interview for Asian Age, in Kolkata's Taj Bengal in 1995. She clarifies that he didn't actually "do" anything, but that "the whole experience of an interview sitting on a bed in a hotel room followed by an invitation to come over for a drink that evening was rattling and deeply uncomfortable". She declined the job offer.

The Telegraph today put out a story #MeToo finger at Union minister naming him. Akbar is the founding editor of The Telegraph and was with the newspaper till 1989.

Will Sushma Swaraj sack Akbar or will Akbar step down on moral grounds? 

Market indices registered significant gains on Tuesday morning after days of rallying in red, backed by significant gains in the Indian Rupee and select sectoral indices.


The BSE's Sensex opened nearly 100 points higher at 34563.86, while Nifty managed to regain the 10,350 mark to trade at 10,365.60.


Pharmaceutical, financial and energy sectors saw maximum gains in morning trade. Shares of JSW Steel and Coal India witnessed 2-5 per cent rise, with the former witnessing an upgradation in long-term ratings.


Meanwhile, the Indian Rupee opened 19 paise higher at Rs 73.87 per dollar from its previous close of Rs. 74.06. -- PTI

Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga scripted history by winning India's maiden gold medal at the Youth Olympics, claiming the top honours in the men's 62kg category in Buenos Aires.


The 15-year-old from Aizwal , who is also a world youth silver-medallist, lifted a total of 274kg (124kg +150kg) to finish on top in the Argentine capital on Monday night.


The silver medal went to Turkey's Toptas Caner, who lifted 263 kg (122kg+141kg), while Colombia's Villar Estiven Jose took the bronze with an effort of 260 kg (115kg+143kg). The Mizo sensation, who will turn 16 on October 26, is being touted as the next big thing in Indian weightlifting.

The Center for American Progress, where senior Indian editor Gautam Adhikari was a senior fellow, has removed his web page.    

A well-known editor of a Tamil weekly was Tuesday arrested in Chennai while on his way to Pune, airport officials said. 

Netflix's India-based original series based on Aravind Adiga's novel, Selection Day, will have a global launch on December 28, 2018.