A New York City subway train derailment has sent four people to the hospital. Firefighters say 15 others suffered minor injuries in today's derailment in a tunnel in the borough of Queens and were treated at the scene.

Pakistan today summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner Gopal Baghlay to lodge a protest over denial of visas to some 500 Pakistani pilgrims to visit the famed shrine of Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti at Ajmer. 

A local court on Friday issued arrest warrants against "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram Leela" director -producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, actors Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh in connection with a case alleging that few scenes in the movie hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindus.

BJP today alleged that Robert Vadra had not filed tax returns since 2011 for more than two dozen companies he owns and demanded UPA government to answer why it was so lenient towards him. 

Poll violence has so far claimed eight lives in West Bengal and left 811 people injured in 874 incidents, an Election Commission official said today.

While one person died in Nadia district later in the month of March, the second death took place at Jalangi in Murshidabad district in early April, followed by the third death in Birbhum and fourth death at Manikchak under Malda district also in last month, OSD in CEO's office, Amit Roy Chowdhury said.

Apart from these, two persons died in the state on April 26, the sources said, adding Prahlad Roy of CPI-M died in a clash at ghatal in West Midnapore, while Amitabha Panja of Trinamool Congress died in another incident of clash at Hatgobindapur in Burdwan district.

The seventh and eighth death was also reported from the West Midnapore district late last month in two different incidents of clashes under Keshpur and its adjacent area, Roy Chowdhury said.

Over 35 persons were arrested in all these incidents of violence in different parts of the state, he said. The incidents of violence were either attack on the election personnel by a political party or clash between two major political parties in the state, the sources said.

BJP's Prime Ministerial nominee Narendra Modi will campaign in Amethi on May 5 for party candidate Smriti Irani, who is challenging Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi in his family bastion. Modi will address a rally in Amethi on Monday, the last day of campaigning in the constituency which will go to polls on May 7.

Other senior BJP leaders including L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley will also campaign for Irani. Jaitley said senior party leaders will be campaigning for the favourite television "bahu" in the Gandhi stronghold.

The BJP is giving all the push to the television actor-turned -politician for giving a tough fight to Rahul, whose campaign is being steered by his sister Priyanka Gandhi in the constituency.

A militant belonging to Harkat-ul-Jehad Islami outfit was arrested in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said today.

On specific inputs, police raided a place in Gandoh area of Doda district and arrested HuJI militant, Ashiq Hussain, 29, last evening. Wanted in several cases of militancy in Doda district, he was evading arrest for past five years, police said, adding he was being interrogated.

Alleging total collapse of law and order machinery under Samajwadi Party rule in Uttar Pradesh, BSP supremo Mayawati today said the Akhilesh Yadav government was playing into the hands of the mafia and underworld dons.

"Law and order has touched an all time low in Uttar Pradesh with mafia and underworld dons calling the shots under SP rule," she said at a rally. Citing spurt in crime against Dalits under SP rule, she said when she was chief minister of the state Dalits felt safe and those who committed crimes against them were put behind the bars.

Claiming there was no riot during her rule in Uttar Pradesh, she said riots occurred in the state not long after the SP took over the reigns of power.

The BSP supremo said she distributed tickets in these elections keeping the interest of Sarva Samaj in mind and if Dalit and Muslim votes went collectively to the BSP candidate "no force can stop him from winning".

Max Clifford, Britain's disgraced public relations guru, was today jailed for eight years for a string of sexual assaults against women as young as 15.

The well-known publicist is the first high-profile person to be convicted under Operation Yewtree, a Scotland Yard probe launched over sexual assaults dating back many years.

The 71-year-old was found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault relating to four women between 1977 and 1984. Judge Anthony Leonard, during the sentencing, said Clifford, who had also represented Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty soon after her 'Celebrity Big Brother' win in 2007, had "groomed and degraded" his victims.

He said Clifford had thought he was "untouchable." Leonard ruled that Clifford should serve his eight sentences of between six and 24 months consecutively. Clifford was arrested by detectives in December 2012 and charged in April 2013.

TelegraphIndia reports: Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi's constituency, went to the polls in this latest phase of India's interminable general elections. It would be a good thing, from an anti-BJP point of view, if she lost.

A majority of over three-and-a-half lakh votes is hard to shift so it's probably not going to happen but it's nice to imagine a what-if world where India's two principal dynasts, Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul, lost their seats to candidates from non-feral parties, say the BSP or the AAP.

Read the full story here

It is now mandatory for woman pillion riders to wear helmets in the national capital. The Delhi government issued a gazette notification today and the rule will come into effect immediately.

It also invited objections and suggestions from public within 30 days from today. Delhi's Chief Electoral Office had recently given a go-ahead to the state government's plea to implement the decision of making wearing of helmets mandatory for women two-wheeler riders within the city.

The proposal had already been approved by Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. According to the order, the sub-rule (2)of rule 115 (that exempts women from wearing helmets) in the Delhi motor vehicles rules, 1993 has been deleted.

The new rules may be called Delhi motor vehicles (amendment) rules, 2014, the notification said. Police will now start issuing challans to women riders too, if they do not wear helmets.

According to a recent World Health Organization report, India has the highest number of road deaths in a year in the world - 105,725 deaths, followed by China (96,611), the US (42,642) and Russia (35,972).

Union minister Jairam Ramesh today predicted that YSR Congress chief and Andhra Pradesh chief minister aspirant Y S Jaganmohan Reddy might join hands with BJP at the Centre after the ongoing elections.

"It's the police which filed cases against Jagan based on the court's orders and not the Congress. The Congress had nothing to do with cases filed against Jaganmohan Reddy," Ramesh said while addressing a press conference at the district Congress Committee office in Kadapa.

He said Jagan, who is out on bail, may not be able to discharge the duties of a chief minister if voted to power, since he would be busy with pending court cases.

All welfare schemes mooted and implemented by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajshekhara Reddy were Congress party's brainchild, he said and criticised the YSR Congress for claiming that schemes implemented by Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was his own.

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel's nephew Prakash alias Babubhai Mohanbhai Asodariya was found murdered in his farm at Kukavav town in Amreli district, the police said today.

Forty-five-year-old Prakash, who had gone to his farm on April 29 was found dead in a well there by his family members on April 30, they said. Prakash's brother Rameshbhai has lodged a complaint with the police suspecting that one Rumal from Madhya Pradesh could be behind the murder, police said.

"Prakash was strangulated to death and his body was later thrown in the well," said investigating officer V D Dhorda. He said a hunt was on to trace Rumal who is missing since the incident. "If needed, a police team would be sent to Madhya Pradesh," Dhorda added.

Former Haryana minister and Independent MLA from Sirsa City, Gopal Goyal Kanda, who withdrew support to the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in Haryana two days back, launched a political party today.  

Named Haryana Lokhit Party, Kanda termed it an alternative to existing political system, and assured that his party would work to end "dynasty rule, casteism and regionalism inpolitics" and work for the development of state.

Forty-six-year-old Kanda, who is also the president of the party,said Haryana was deprived of development even after five decades of formation and despite its proximity to the national capital.

BJP president Rajnath Singh today made it clear that he will not be part of a government led by Narendra Modi if the party comes to power after the national election.

"I am the president of the party. My responsibilities have been fixed beforehand. When I wasn't the president, I was in the government. My responsibilities are already decided and I think, in the BJP, I have many colleagues who are capable who should be given a chance in the government," he said.  Read more

The Lok Sabha secretariat has informally prepared a schedule for the newly elected members of Parliament and the President's address.

President Pranab Mukherjee is set to address the newly elected members of Parliament on June 4, according to a tentative schedule kept as a ready reference for the new prime minister and the new parliamentary affairs minister.

There could be a minor changes of dates to suit to the convenience of the newly elected prime minister. But broadly, the dates would be set in the following pattern according to a highly placed source in the government.

The 16th Lok Sabha has to be convened before May 31. This is because the 15th Lok Sabha was convened on June 1, 2009, and its five-year tenure would end on May 31, 2014. Hence, the swearing in of the new government and the convening of the new Lok Sabha must happen before that.

Prasar Bharati CEO Jayant Sircar writes to Prasar Bharti board on the DD interview on Narendra Modi, that it was not censored. The BJP alleged that Doordarshan censored a part of the interview under pressure from the government. Prasar Bharati is an autonomous broadcaster and runs Doordarshan.

BJP senior leader and candidate from Amritsar, Arun Jaitley, holds a press conference on Snoopgate --  charges that the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat regime had mounted illegal surveillance on a woman architect.
 
Jaitley asks how was it that the BJP for the last five months couldn't find a judge to probe Snoopgate -- but in desperation want to fill that position now, hastily.

He said the Congress is not a player in next two phases of polling and hitting out at the third front said talks of a rag tag coalition is a charter for chaos.

"The momentum is clearly with the BJP in the first seven phases of polling, only the BJP can provide a strong leadership and credibility," said Jaitley.

And more breaking news:
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp is buying Mills and Book publisher Harlequin for Canadian $455million.

The Bombay High Court upholds Army's suit claiming ownership of Adarsh society land.

Just in: RTI activist Chandra Mohan Sharma has been found dead in Noida. His burnt body was found in a car. Sharma had been filing RTIs against illegal encroachment of land in Noida. 

A Jharkhand High Court today quashed the arrest warrants issued by a Bokaro court against BJP leader Giriraj Singh who is accused of making a hate speech during poll meetings.

As a controversy raged over Narendra Modi's interview to Doordarshan, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad today said the Gujarat Chief Minister had never said that Priyanka Gandhi was like his daughter and the interview aired on the public broadcaster was deliberately "distorted".

"A probe must be ordered to find out under whose pressure the contents of the interview were edited," he said while addressing a press conference in Varanasi.

"For nearly last 10 years Doordarshan has boycotted Modi in Gujarat. We are extremely hurt that the contents of the interview were deliberately distorted.

"When Modi had never said that Priyanka was his daughter, how come the news of daughter came in newspapers.

"Modi only said it is natural for a daughter to defend her mother and brother. This should be probed under whose pressure the interview was deliberately distorted," Prasad said.

However, the BJP leader said the main issue was the development of the country and not a probe into the interview.

Jammu and Kashmir's high altitude Lok Sabha constituency of Ladakh will witness a four-cornered contest with a direct fight between Congress and BJP candidates, with 1.59 lakh voters deciding their fate.

A total number of 1,59,631 voters will exercise their voting rights at 531 polling stations for the Ladakh Constituency, which goes to polls on May 7, Election department officials said.

Defence Minister A K Antony has said that the government wants to follow all procedures before taking any decision on appointing the next Army Chief.

In a fresh controversy into the appointment of new army chief, a writ petition has been filed in Manipur high court against army personnel including naming Lt General Dalibir Suhag, who is the front-runner for the post of army chief.

A petition filed in the Imphal high court by the family member of one of the Manipuri youth, who were allegedly killed by the military intelligence unit in Dimapur in March 2010.

Bodies of three Manipuri youth were found in Dimapur on March 25, 2010. Army has denied its involvement in the killing and claimed it happened due to "inter-group rivalry."

The petitioner has mentioned that when the local police requested the Dimapur-based 3 Corps to co-operate in the investigation as fingers were being pointed towards the intelligence unit of the same Corps, the then Corps Commander Lt General Dalbir Suhag refused to cooperate with the police investigation citing protection under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.

However, the army has denied any involvement of Lt General Dalbir Suhag, as he was not Corps Commander at the time of the incident.
Read more

Campaigning for her brother Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, Priyanka alleged that dirty books with baseless material written about her family were being dumped a night before at places where her public meetings were scheduled.

Holding that the level of election campaign in the country has stooped down to a very low level, she said, "Politics is seen with a sense of service, but few leaders in the country do not think about that."

However, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's politics was not that to demand, but that of a sense of service, she said. "He wants to give you strength. He also wants to give you power. There is a leader in the country, who wants power for himself. He keeps on demanding to strengthen him...," she said, targeting Modi.

"My father had a visionary political thinking and Rahul has learned from him. The parameter and strategy of Amethi's development was prepared by Rajiv Gandhi 35 years ago, this is the reason barren land is not visible here," she said.

A day after BJP President accused him of being afraid of the Congress, RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav today hit back at Rajnath Singh saying that he was trying to portray himself and not Narendra Modi as the real candidate for the top post.

Singh was telling fellow Rajputs that it was not Narendra Modi but he was the "real" candidate for the top post to sway them to vote for BJP, Prasad told reporters here.

But, neither he nor Modi would be able to "befool" the people of Bihar who were intelligent enough to teach them the "ABCD of politics," he said. The RJD chief also said "Rajnath Singh is a parrot tutored by RSS."

Priyanka Gandhi's campaign for her brother seems to be having a positive impact for Rahul Gandhi, at least on social media.

After a long time, the Gandhi scion has surged ahead of BJP's PM nominee Narendra Modi with regard to the positive sentiment across social media on May 2.

He is, however, still behind Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal. Read

A Delhi court takes cognisance of Enforcement Directorate's charge sheet filed in a money laundering case related to the 2G scam. The Court summons ex-Telecom Minister A Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and 17 others on May 26. Court also summons DMK supremo M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal as accused in the case.

The Cabinet has passed a decision to appoint a judge for the commission that has been set up on snoopgate, says home minister Sushilkumar Shinde. Snoopgate refers to allegations that the Narendra Mod-led Gujarat government had mounted an illegal surveillance on a woman architect.

Hitting out at Narendra Modi, Shinde says, "When as CM he was snooping on women, then what will happen to our women if he becomes PM?"

Chief Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud of the Allahabad HC will be requested to nominate a sitting judge from his court.

Soft on Lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi and their daughter Misa Bharti, Narendra Modi today went hard after "Ma-Beta (Sonia and Rahul Gandhi)' in his election speeches in the state. Read

India is in the midst of a high voltage election, which commentators and politicians alike have described as the battle for the idea of India. And yet, there is nothing remarkable about the face-off between the ideas of secularism and Hindu nationalism.

Ideological polarisation is a staple of most democracies across the world. Still, we continue to witness fear and concern at the prospect of Narendra Modi becoming the next Prime Minister.  Read

Not only is the Bahujan Samaj Party holding its ground in Poorvanchal, it also appears to be making substantial gains. Read

Bookies favourite, Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Khalilabad, UP.
He says things are so bad for the Congress that Sonia is remembering the almighty. "She has said that only God can save us from Modi. The truth is that a new government is ready to take power at the Centre. This is the end of the mother-son rule."

The ban imposed by the European Union on the import of Alphonso mangoes and four varieties of vegetables from India until December 2015 after some consignments were found infested with "non-European fruit flies' has naturally upset India. As the biggest producer of the golden fruit, India sends about 70,000 tonnes of mangoes abroad every year. Read

Priyanka Gandhi continues with her high octave campaign trail in brother Rahul's constituency -- Amethi. 

Taking a dig at Narendra Modi, Priyanka said, Rahul is not obsessed with I... that I will do this, I'll do that. Rahul speaks for all, not just for himself. When leaders give their speeches, sometimes it feels that they are teaching you a lesson. If a leader is far sighted, the area will benefit."

What would a victory by Narendra Modi, the current front-runner in the race to become India's next prime minister, mean for the country's 150-million strong Muslim minority? Read

Ramgopal Yadav, of the SP says, "What Rahul Gandhi says (on the 3rd front) is never important, no one takes cognizance of what he keeps saying."

Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi's constituency, went to the polls in this latest phase of India's interminable general elections. It would be a good thing, from an anti-BJP point of view, if she lost. A majority of over three-and-a-half lakh votes is hard to shift so it's probably not going to happen but it's nice to imagine a what-if world where India's two principal dynasts, Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul, lost their seats to candidates from non-feral parties, say the BSP or the AAP. Read Mukul Kesavan's piece for the Telegraph.

The unprecedented voter turnout in Lok Sabha polls in insurgency-hit south Chhattisgarh has apparently upset the Naxals, who are holding meetings to express disappointment over participation of tribals in the electoral process, according to Intelligence inputs.

Some key leaders of outlawed CPI (Maoist) in Dandakaranya region recently held meetings in areas where they found huge participation of people in polling in spite of their poll boycott call and asked villagers about it, IB sources said.

"In some pockets of Bastar, Dantewada, Kondagaon and Narayanpur, Naxal leaders reportedly held meetings with villagers recently after the Lok Sabha election in Bastar constituency," a senior state IB official said.

Attempts at technological filtering usually even affect speech that is not targeted by the filtering mechanism. Read

BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi responds to SP leader Abu Azmi's comment that those Muslims who don't vote for the SP should get their DNA tested. Naqvi tweets: DNA test Congress aur unke sathiyon ka hona chahiye, jo log secularism ke soorma aur communalism ke champion hain. 

Read Ahmed Patel's interview to Rediff.com in January: The BJP has no future.

A reference by Gujarat CM Narendra Modi to Congress leader Ahmed Patel as a "good friend" who has stopped taking calls was edited out by Doordarshan when the national broadcaster telecast an interview with Modi on Sunday.

"Ahmedbhai is among the best friends I have in Congress but not now... I had a good friendship with him and would have preferred that it had remained so... but he now runs away from me and doesn't take my calls," Modi said in the interview.

However, in an interview to NDTV, Ahmed Patel rubbished Modi's claims saying he has never visited Modi's house or asked him for any favours. He said if it is proved otherwise, he would quit public life. He said he did not even remember when he last spoke to Modi.

Seven civilians were killed after suspected militants of outlawed underground outfit National Democratic Front of Bodoland opened fire in Assam's Kokrajhar district late Thursday night, a report said on Friday.

Security was stepped up for BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ahead of his rallies in Seemandhra today in the wake of twin bomb blasts in a train in Chennai this morning. 

The International Criminal Court said today it had rejected a bid by the Muslim Brotherhood of deposed president Mohamed Morsi to probe the military's alleged crimes against humanity in Egypt. 

The United States is contending with too many global humanitarian crises at once to comprehensively fund relief efforts, the State Department told Congress today, urging other nations to step up. 

Poll violence has so far claimed seven lives in West Bengal and left 740 persons injured in 825 incidents, Election Commission sources said today. 

After two decades of trying to build a partnership with Russia, the NATO alliance now feels compelled to start treating Moscow as an adversary, the second-ranking official of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation said today.