An anti-coup activist in Thailand called Friday for a weekend rally to defy the military government's ban on demonstrations, urging those opposed to the takeover to wear masks and be ready for cat-and-mouse chases with soldiers in the capital.

The head of the military junta that took control of Thailand in a coup last week said today that elections may not occur for more than a year because peace and reforms must be achieved first. 

Dear Shri Durga Prasad,

Racist comments flooded Twitter as two Indian-American teens on Friday scripted history by becoming co-champions of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee. The boys --  Sriram J Hathwar, 14, and Ansun Sujoe, 13 -- made history as they were declared the fourth co-champions in 89 years of the popular spelling bee contest and the first since 1962.

However, not everyone was pleased with the childrens remarkable victory. Some people on social media were outraged at the fact that the finalists of the competition were not Americans. Some took to social media and tweeted, Where are our American kids?Another tweeted, The kids in the spelling bee should only be AMERICAN.

Within a week of his taking charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Saturday meet Bharatiya Janata Party general secretaries at his residence in a bid to touch base with the party and discuss the organisational affairs. According to sources, the reason behind the PM's meeting with the party general secretaries is an attempt to ensure that organisational strength is not weakened in the wake of massive mandate the party received in the recent Lok Sabha elections. 

Priyanka Gandhi has written a letter to the Director of the Special Protection Group, asking that all privileges awarded to her and her husband Robert Vadra be withdrawn. She said that she had never asked for the privileges and they were given by the agency itself.. The letter comes in the wake of BJP saying that they might revoke the privileges that Vadra enjoys at airports. 

IPS officer D G Vanzara, who is behind the bars in connection with fake encounter cases, will retire on Saturday. After serving for 34 years, the suspended officer who is in jail for the last seven years will retire. He is lodged in Sabarmati Central Prison.

Vanzara, 59, has been in jail ever since he was arrested by the state CID in March 2007 in connection with the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. 

The world's largest passenger airline landed in Delhi for the first time at the T3 terminal. The government had given approval for the A380 flights in January. The flight will play on the Singapore-Delhi-Singapore route. 

The first high'"level meeting of the Special Investigation Team  on the issue of black money and special probe into cases of unaccounted funds stashed away abroad by Indians has been advanced and will now be held in New Delhi on June 2.

Officials said the department of revenue under the finance ministry has finalised the date after rescheduling it from the earlier date of June 4 and invites have been sent to all the 11 members of the SIT after obtaining the consent of the chairman and retired Supreme Court judge M B Shah and Vice Chairman Justice (retd) Arijit Pasayat.

"The date of the meeting has been advanced to June 2. It will be held under the chairmanship of Justice Shah," a source privy to the development said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has resigned from the post of the President of Gujarat Cricket association president, GCA officials said here today.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his resignation letter to us yesterday, which said that he is quitting the post of GCA president," GCA secretary Rajesh Patel told PTI. P

Modi had taken over the reigns of GCA replacing the then Congress leader Narhari Amin on September 15, 2009, while Amit Shah, the former Gujarat minister of state for home affairs and a close aide of Modi, was elected GCA vice president in the same year.

After Modi's resignation from the post, the cash rich GCA is likely to declare its new president on June 13. "We will elect our new president in a meeting.

The FBI spied on South Africa's anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela during his historic visit to the US, following his release from prison after 27 years, according to newly released files.

An FBI memo dated May 30, 1990, from the Atlanta field office to then FBI Director William Sessions about Mandela's upcoming visit noted that the bureau had cultivated a confidential informant close to his entourage, who had provided logistical information about his travel itinerary.

The South African leader arrived in the US in June 1990, four months after his release from 27 years in prison, as the world's most celebrated political prisoner and liberation icon for his struggle against apartheid.

The BJP is considering becoming a part of the Telugu Desam Party government in Andhra Pradesh, party's state President K Hari Babu said here today.

"However, the final decision on the issue will be taken by the BJP's central leadership," he told reporters here today.

Hari Babu, who arrived in Vijaywada after formation of the NDA government in Delhi, said that Telangana Rashtra Samithi leaders should not to create obstacles in Polavaram irrigation project since it would be a "national project".

Delhi metro resumes after partial disruption of services following the squall. 

For the second time in two days, India's indigenously developed advanced version of Pinaka, Mark-2 rockets were successfully test fired from a multi-barrel rocket launcher from a defence base at Chandipur, about 15 km from here. The tests were conducted from the Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) at Chandipur firing range No 2, defence sources said.

In other news: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has wasted no time in establishing ground rules and work processes for his government, has reportedly told his ministers that there will be no renaming of projects begun by the previous regime as he bans "old-style functioning." Read

The Met department termed the Delhi storm as "cumulonimbus" and attributed it to western disturbance over Pakistan. NCR areas of east Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad were most affected by the storm. Thousands of people were stranded outside Metro stations and on roads as traffic almost came to a halt due the storm and high-speed dusty winds blowing at a speed of over 90 kmph.

The dust storm which struck at 4:58 pm caused technical snag in the over-head power network of the Noida City Centre- Dwarka metro line affecting metro services in other lines too.

Met office said similar weather conditions are likely to persist for over the next two days. At least 12 flights were diverted due to the storm, an IGI official said.

The city saw massive traffic jams as the storm uprooted trees snapping power lines in many areas and affecting traffic lights leading to chaos on the streets.

"The cumulonimbus brings tall thunderstorms and dusty winds with a speed of over 92 kmph and are caused because of western disturbance, which is currently over Pakistan.

"The meeting of cold air and hot air on the Indo-Gangetic plains causes low pressure area and also lot of instability. This results in severe thunderstorm," IMD Director General L S Rathore said. The storm affected northeast Haryana and the NCR. But parts of east Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad were affected the most, he said.

Pic: Delhi at 5 pm and 6 pm

NCP leader and Baramati MP Supriya Sule today said the Congress-NCP coalition in Maharashtra must pull its socks up and bury the differences ahead of the coming Assembly elections, conceding that "all is not well".

The ruling coalition faced an unprecedented debacle in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, where it could win only six out of the 48 seats.

"I must admit that there has been a little bit of disconnect. We are getting a lot of feedback and four months is enough time for us if we pull our socks together and the entire alliance is one page," Sule, daughter of the NCP chief Sharad Pawar, said today.

Sule, whose victory margin in family seat of Baramati came down to about 70,000 this time from over three lakh in 2009, said, "National issues and state issues are completely different. But we will not be overconfident and say all is well. Of course all is not well."

Calling for serious introspection, Sule said the Congress-NCP have not been able to reach out to the people.

Indigo Airlines tweets: As of now the current departure for 6E 153 is 2030 hours. Flight is delayed due to bad weather at Delhi.

And a tip: @Square_Boxes  Avoid going from BRT to Saket. Massive jam due to several toppled trees on road.

@Observant_Me Delhi people coming from Nehru Place, GK or Lajpat Nagar towards Central Delhi dont wait for metro. Its hell.

@NBTDilli  No, it's not night but day has turned dark. A picture taken few minutes ago.

Here's more from Delhi. Many trees have fallen across the city due to the strong winds, reported to be 92 km per hour. Power cuts have also been reported from some parts of the National Capital Region. The Yellow Line, which operates from HUDA City Centre to Jahangirpuri, saw a train halting near the Vishwavidyalaya in North Delhi.

Here's what tweets say"
@DuttaSank  Experiencing dust storm for the first time in Delhi...  @sibii6886  After 46 degree Temperature at Delhi, its Romantically Raining
@furobiker  Glass windows falling, tree branches flying. What happened to Delhi weather. Stay indoors.
@FaiHaider: First commercial A380 plane to land at Delhi airport today.
@AmbaAzaad  Ok people who live in places with floods, volcanos, cyclones, hurricanes, tsunamis, sharknados, WHATEVER. Delhi has a dust storm don't laugh.
@Bhaktiarora  Huge dust storm in Delhi NCR. Metro services at yellow line suspended temporarily. Most FM stations also shut.
@IndiaToday  At least 25 Delhi-bound flights diverted to nearby airports - Jaipur, Amritsar & Lucknow - due to storm.

@ethicalman3  According to met department, wind speed during the dust storm in Delhi touched 92 km/hour.

'@LALITKRMUKHIJA  Delhi and NCR hit by a squall damaging boundary wall and trees, blocking roads and disrupting traffic.

Heads up, Delhi: Metro services affected due to power outage following rain, thunderstorm.

Traffic on Siri Fort Rd going from Hauz Khas to South Ex side not moving at all.

@shilpakannan At least 4 radio towers in Delhi blown off in freak storm.

@nimishdubey Cold Novermber rain might be famous, but warm May rain in Delhi has its moments too.

@annoyinglyanid  And the metro is running again! Whatever you say, Delhi metro is one hell of a public transport service. Acknowledgement where due.

Pic: Huge cloud cover over Delhi

And a break from the Delhi storm to tell you that former Intelligence Bureau chief, Ajit Kumar Doval, has been officially named as the National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Reports coming in from various parts of the city about uprooted trees and electricity poles. Traffic jams have been reported from all over the national capital.

Here's what's on Twitter: @irisphotos  Crazy tornados or a hurricane just hit Delhi, trees down, cars smashed. Hope everyone is safe, we made it inside just in time!

@whaddyasayin Dust storm in my head. Dust storm at Delhi. An hr in the plane n then they decide it can't take off. So turn back from the runway.
Perfect!

@TriptiAbhishek  8mGale, duststorm in Delhi.. near zero visibility at 5pm!! Wow!

Heavy winds and rainfall strike Delhi, results in low visibility and drop in temperatures.

Just in: Delhi Metro services stopped at Guru Dronacharya Metro Station on the Yellow Line due to heavy rain.

@siddharth3 broken branches and trees on Central Delhi roads. But surprisingly no jams.

What began as a dust storm, has now changed into a full-fledged rainstorm. There are reports of trees falling coming in. It's best to get off the roads if you're out in this mess.

The temperature at the Safdarjung observatory was 44 degrees Celsius this morning, while Palam observatory recorded a high of 46 degrees Celsius, the highest this summer season.

No rainfall has been recorded in the last 24 hours and a 49 per cent humidity was registered at 8:30 AM, a MeT official said, adding the humidity oscillated between 22 per cent and 71 per cent.

Huge relief for Delhi after a relentless heat wave. At around 5 pm today, Delhi was enveloped in darkness as rain and wind swept the capital bringing down temperatures from a sweltering 43 C. The dust storms and thunderstorms predicted for tomorrow, has happened a day earlier. 

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has criticised the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for raking up the issue of scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution providing special status to Jammu & Kashmir and said it would have an adverse impact on the country.

"Nowadays discussion on removal of Article 370 is going on. Ending Article 370 will have adverse impact on the country," Manjhi said addressing a public reception hosted in his honour at Gaya last evening. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had made sacrifices to form India by merging thousands of princely states, he said.

UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's comment to a a woman journalist asking a question on the Badaun gang-rape, murder --  'you aren't in any danger are you'. Remember his father Mulayam Singh Yadav's comment in April during a poll rally? Akhilesh assured the setting up of a special fast track court to handle the incident.

Mulayam had said he opposed capital punishment for rape, saying "ladke, ladke hain' galti ho jati hai (boys will be boys' they commit mistakes).'

Addressing a rally in Moradabad, he said, "Ladkiyan pehle dosti karti hain. Ladke-ladki mein matbhed ho jata hai. Matbhed hone key baad usey rape ka naam dey deti hain. Ladko sey galti ho jati hai. Kya rape case mein phasi di jayegi? (First girls befriend boys. They when differences occur, they level rape charges. Boys commit mistakes. Will they be hanged for rape).'

Mulayam said his government would try to change such anti-rape laws. "Those who level false allegations will also be punished' In Mumbai also, the rape accused have been sentenced to be hanged,' he said, referring to the Shakti Mills case.

Blaming police laxity for the horrific gang-rape of two Dalit sisters in the district, Union Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi today said that a "rape crisis cell" will be constituted for speedy action on such incidents.

Maneka also assured that if the family members of the two girls want, she would recommend a CBI probe into the incident. "Police laxity is equally responsible for the incident due to which two girls lost their lives. Police is still not acting in the right direction. All policemen involved in the incident should be terminated," she said.

Should the media have used the picture of the sisters hanging from a tree in Badaun? Read Rupa Subramanya's blog. 

UP CM Akhilesh Yadav dismisses question by a woman reporter on Uttar Pradesh rape and murder, says 'you aren't in any danger are you?'

Read:Minority Affairs minister Najma Heptullah's flawed understanding of 'minority'. 

In view of the security situation in Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine marked by frequent violent clashes, Indian citizens, particularly students, are strongly advised to leave these regions as soon as possible.
 
2. Indian citizens in the other parts of eastern and southern Ukraine should remain vigilant about their personal safety and security.
 
3. Indian citizens should avoid non-essential travel to Ukraine for the time being. Indians who  decide to travel to Ukraine should invariably check with the concerned Ukrainian Embassy about any new regulations including those requiring visitors to hold a minimum amount of cash to meet expenses for the duration of their visit and restrictions on use of credit and debit cards.
 
4. The Embassy of India in Kyiv is constantly monitoring the situation and would be posting  advisories on its website: www.embassyofindiaukraine.in which should be regularly checked for
updates.
 
5. In addition, Indians in Ukraine, especially students, are strongly advised to register  themselves on the Embassys website and provide necessary contact details therein. This would  facilitate Embassys efforts in disseminating relevant information.
 
6. This advisory is effective till Monday, 16 June 2014.
 
7. In case of Emergency, the Embassy can be contacted at any time at:
 
Tel: +380-44-468 6670 & Mobile: +380-933559958 [For Education & Consular related queries]
Tel: +380-44-4686219, 4686661, 4687032 & Mobile: + 380-930913855 [For other queries]

Ministry of External Affairs issues an advisory asking Indian citizens, particularly students, in Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine to to leave.

Ukraine's President-elect Petro Poroshenko has vowed to punish "bandits" after pro-Russian rebels shot down an army helicopter, killing 12. "These criminal acts of the enemies of the Ukrainian people will not go unpunished," he was quoted as saying by the Unian news agency. The helicopter was shot down near the eastern city of Sloviansk. An army general was among those killed. Sloviansk has seen fierce fighting between the rebels and Ukraine's army.

In the wake of the horrific gang-rape cum murders of two sisters in Badaun, UP, yet another gang-rape in Azamgarh, which is Mulayam Singh's constituency. An FIR has been filed against four men for raping a minor. The incident took place in Saraimeer area of Azamgarh when four men allegedly caught the 17-year-old girl and raped her in a nearby field.

The accused have been identified as Mukesh, Arvind, Vikram and Durgesh. One person has been arrested in the case.

President Pranab Mukherjee's welcome dinner to Narendra Modi's council of ministers after their swearing-in earlier this week, is well known.

What is not is that during the evening, ministers like Venkaiah Naidu and Ravi Shankar Prasad kept enquiring about the President's assent to the ordinance greenlighting the Polavaram project in Seemandhra.

But the law ministry had not included the documents for its clearance, leading to Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami going in and out of the dining hall to get the law ministry papers faxed. The procedure was completed at 9 pm, and the ordinance was then signed by the President.

The new Union ministers have that the Congress had struck deep roots within babudom in the last 10 years. In the ministries of home, finance, HRD, for instance, the BJP is said to have found some IAS and IPS officers who remain loyal to their erstwhile Congress ministerial bosses. Two IPS officers who are loyal to former home minister Sushilkumar Shinde are being scrutinised by a team of top BJP leaders, it is said. 

The BJP Parliamentary Party has approached the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha for a bigger chambers for its party office inside Parliament House.

The loser could be the Congress which has been reduced to 44 MPs, and hence be compelled to vacate its massive office room which it has been holding since the 1980s.

Similarly the AIADMK, Trinamool Congress and Biju Janata Dal, which have increased their seat tally in the Lok Sabha, will be eligible for more spacious office rooms inside Parliament building.

'Did you debug your office chambers?' a gentle question posed in a lighter vein to a few senior BJP ministers, has a serious undertone, given the controversy over the discovery of chewing gum adhesives inside Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's chambers in 2011 which led to the suspicion that his office was bugged. The home secretary G K Pillai had debunked the claims of bugging in an interview to Rediff.com, here. 

MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin tweets: India's outpost in Herat receives welcome visitor - Foreign Secy Sujatha Singh flies in to meet brave staff.  Heavily armed insurgents, including suicide bombers, launched a rocket propelled grenade and gun attack on the Indian consulate in Afghanistan's western city of Herat hours before dawn on May 23. Hours within the attack, Narendra Modi, who was yet to be sworn-in as prime minister had called the ambassador offering support.

The National Intelligence Grid (NatGrid), former home minister Sushilkumar Shinde's pet project that envisaged connecting the databases of intelligence agencies and organisations providing information like tax and bank account details, credit card transactions, visa and immigration records and itineraries of rail and air travel, in order to track terror funds, is being merged with the Intelligence Bureau from July 2014.

Reason? The new government does not want a multiplicity of agencies to track terror funds. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has asked for a cabinet note to be prepared on this merger, it is learnt.

Kiddie drawings are very cute and good for the overall development of the children, but things can go very wrong if they draw on the most unimaginable canvas, like on a passport.

Fast gaining traction on Twitter, Facebook and other social media websites like YouTube is the handiwork of a child on his father's passport.

Reports say a four-year-old Chinese child left his father stranded after he scribbled all over the dad's passport when the two were on a trip to South Korea.

The child used the passport as a colouring book and coloured into his father's eyes, and drew him whiskers and a beard. Some online readers have commented that the work looks rather fake and has been done on photoshop.

Narendra Modi's Council of Ministers have been provided with top-secret RAX telephones (the four-digit phones meant exclusively for Union ministers and top government functionaries).

While one instrument is in the ministers' official chamber, the other is at their official bungalow.

The RAX phone, which is not for public consumption, is meant solely for communication between Union ministers and the bureaucracy. The Union home ministry is the nodal agency to install and monitor the RAX phones, whose exchange is housed in Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

The BJP government on Thursday issued orders to cancel the bungalows allotted by the UPA. Ignoring the Model Code of Conduct the UPA granted extensions to 26 leaders of the Congress, RJD and SP. The cancellation includes the bungalow turned office of the National Advisory Council that is situated bang opposite 10, Janpath, Sonia Gandhi's residence.

Badaun gang-rape case will be fast-tracked, says UP CM Akhilesh Yadav. 

A reshuffle of secretaries to the Government of India will be effected soon after the Parliament session, say, around mid-June. Sources say a list of  25 IAS officers has been readied for transfer, and the drill will begin once the BJP government names its new Cabinet Secretary by the first week of June. The present Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth's extended term ends on June 13, 2014.

With the Gandhi family out of power, son-in-law Robert Vadra may lose his exalted exempt-from-frisking-at-airports status.

After taking over as aviation minister of Friday, Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati said that "security should be meaningful not ornamental" in reference to Vadra who is the only individual named in the list of dignitaries exempt from security checks at airports.

All others on that list are high constitutional positions with Vadra being the only individual. "It is for the home ministry to see the threat perception of individuals. But generally, by and large, Indians should go through security checks," Raju said. Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the creation of four more Cabinet Committees on the lines of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, on Security, and on Economic Affairs. The announcement is likely to be made tomorrow. Modi has also abolished the Empowered Group of Ministers system, as adopted by the previous Manmohan Singh government.

Raghav Bahl, Managing Director of Network 18 quits from his post a day after RIL announced that it is taking over Network 18.

Here's the full text of his resignation letter.

Actress Rani Mukerji made her first post marriage appearance with mother-in-law Pamela Chopra today. The 36-year-old actress got married to Yash Raj Film's scion Aditya Chopra on 21st April in Italy. Rani reportedly stepped out to launch the first look of her upcoming film 'Mardaani' which has been produced by Aditya.  

Low cost carrier AirAsia India today said its maiden daily flight will be on the Bangalore-Goa route, with a price tag of Rs 990 including taxes. The airline will open the bookings this evening.

The first A320 flight is scheduled to leave Bangalore on June 12 afternoon, AirAsia India CEO Mittu Chandilya told reporters here.AirAsia India, a joint venture between Malaysian carrier AirAsia, Tata Sons, and Arun Bhatia's Telestra Tradeplace, was granted flying licence by aviation regulator DGCA earlier this month after 9-month-long wait and various legal hurdles."AirAsia will be opening up the bookings this evening.

By 9.30 pm our fares will be up there in our website. Our first route will be from Bangalore to Goa and Goa to Bangalore. We are very excited about that,' Chandilya said.

In an instance of increased lawlessness in UP, the mother of a rape victim was allegedly beaten up in Etawah by family members of one of the accused when she refused to withdraw the FIR in the case, police said today.

The 16-year-old girl was allegedly raped by two men Sunny and Umesh on May 12 when she was sleeping on the roof of her house in the Civil Lines area in the home district of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

One of the accused Sunny was arrested on the complaint of the victim's mother, police said.

The victim's family has alleged that it was after the arrest that the family members of the accused started pressurising victim's mother to withdraw the complaint, they said.

When the mother refused, she was allegedly assaulted by the family members of the accused on May 25, leaving her seriously injured, they said.

An FIR has been registered in this regard against Sunny's father Basant Yadav and other members of the family, Munesh and Rahul, in the Civil Lines police station.

UP CM Akhilesh Yadav says the police are looking into the case. 

The incident had triggered protests in the area with villagers alleging police apathy, following which an FIR was registered against seven persons.

The postmortem report of the two girls confirmed that they were raped before murder, Saxena had said. Katra Sadatganj outpost incharge Ram Vilas Yadav, constables Sarvesh Yadav and Chhatrapal Yadav were suspended following the incident. Of the seven accused, Sarvesh and Chhatrpal have been booked under section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC, while the three brothers --Pappu, Awadhesh and Urvesh-- and two others have been booked under Section 302 (murder) and 376 (rape) of IPC.

Of the seven accused, three (policeman Sarvesh Yadav and brothers Pappu and Awadhesh Yadav) have been arrested so far in the matter, he said. Sarvesh and Pappu were arrested yesterday. Four other accused Urvesh Yadav (brother of Pappu and Awadhesh), policeman Chhatrapal Yadav and two unidentified persons are yet at large.

Two cops have been suspended and one more accused has been arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district in connection with the alleged gang-rape of two teenage sisters who were assaulted and then hanged from a tree in their village. Two of her alleged attackers were arrested yesterday. One is still on the run.

Rahul Gandhi is also expected to visit Badaun today.

The girls, cousins aged 14 and 15, had gone missing from home the on Tuesday night after they stepped out to go to the bathroom.

They were found hanging from a tree in an orchard the next morning. Initial medical examination has confirmed that they were raped and died from hanging.

Their families have named four men of the village as accused. They have also alleged that for many hours after the girls went missing the local police refused to register a first information report. -- NDTV

Entertainment break: Dolly Bindra fights with neighbours. Watch

OK, another departure from the norm. Narendra Modi, who was staying temporarily at the nearby Gujarat Bhawan, is moving in to 5, Race Course Road, not 7, Race Course Road. Most of his belongings have been shifted to the 5, Race Course Road-- a bungalow which he will occupy as residence instead of bungalow number 7, which has been the residence of his predecessors.

Manmohan Singh vacated the Race Course Road residence after Modi's swearing-in on May 26, but the new Prime Minister did not shift as it was being refurbished. Modi will use the bungalow number 7, Race Course Road as his office.

Mayawati on SP: Except for their (SP) family constituencies, rest of the state is suffering from major power crisis.

Mayawati on BJP: By showing terror and talks can go hand in hand, Modi also sang the same tune, like Manmohan Singh.

Reading out from her notes, Mayawati, says the BJP is not acting on the promises they made. 30 per cent of their ministers have criminal cases against them, she says.

Former UP chief minister Mayawati holds forth on the gang-rape and murder of two sisters in Badaun, UP. "The gang-rape and murder of two backward caste minor girls in UP is proof of the declining law and order in the state, I want a CBI inquiry into the case. Rapes and riots are taking place in UP. Impose president's rule in UP. There is a huge power shortage in the state. BJP is not working, they are only talking. Modi govt is all talk, no work. Modi's choice of Smriti Irani as HRD minister is deplorable," she says. 

Meeting begins between Union Minister Uma Bharti, N Chandrababu Naidu and Jairam Ramesh in Delhi's Shram Shakti Bhawan.

Priyanka Gandhi made a low-key visit to Kashmir during which she offered prayers at the Mata Kheer Bhawani shrine in Ganderbal district, officials said today.

The daughter of Congress President Sonia Gandhi arrived by an early morning flight yesterday and drove straight to the shrine at Tulmulla in north Kashmir's Ganderbal district, the officials said.

Priyanka stayed at the temple for nearly two hours and offered prayers at the shrine which is revered by Kashmiri Pandits.

She later visited the Swami Lakhsmanjoo Ashram along the banks of Dal Lake in Nishat area of the city. "She was there for two hours before she left for the airport to return to Delhi," the officials said.

Given the context, the meeting between RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and the new Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, was expected to be significant. In the event, the meeting, which was among the first between a senior government officer and a senior Minister of the new government, has been noteworthy for several reasons. Read

Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan meets Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, rejected demands made by some Maharashtra ministers and leaders for the chief minister's  removal, in the wake of the Congress' defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. Gandhi indicated she was not ready for any new experiment such as bringing in a new leader ahead of elections to the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, slated for September-October. 

In its dying moments, the UPA II government has appointed Lieutenant General D.S. Suhag as chief-designate to replace the current chief of army staff who is due to relinquish his post at the end of July.

The decision is one of the last major decisions of this government and stands justified on grounds that it is based on the twin traditions of the seniority principle and the need to provide adequate time for overlap for the chief designate to familiarize himself.

To stave off criticism, it has been clarified that the government is legally empowered to take such a decision.

While these are legal arguments in defence of the decision it may be worthwhile looking at them in the wider context of ethics and morality when dealing with the sensitive institution of the armed forces. Read more

Celebrity TV journalists Rajdeep Sardesai and Sagarika Ghose are likely to resign from CNN-IBN by end of June, as Reliance Industries Ltd is taking over the channel's holding company, Network 18.  Here's more on that

More on Narendra Modi's move to 7RCR: Normally, the cooks from government run India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hotels work at the PM's residence. However, most PM's bring their own cook who is assisted by the ITDC staff members.

Modi is not the first vegetarian Prime Minister. There have been many vegetarian Prime Ministers in the past. Lal Bahadur Shastri was a strict vegetarian. Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who was also a Gujarati, was also a vegetarian. Charan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao were also vegetarians. HD Deve Gowda, too, is also a strict vegetarian. Read more here.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who had boycotted the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will meet him on June 3 to take up issues relating to the state's growth.

Jayalalithaa will meet Modi at his South Block office in New Delhi on June 3, a state government release said, adding, she will present a memorandum to the Prime Minister.

"This memorandum will include some crucial issues relating to Tamil Nadu which have been pending with the Government of India," the release said, in an apparent reference to Jayalalithaa's demand for a relief package from the Centre among others. She had first taken up the matter with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2011 after winning the assembly polls and has been pressing for the demand ever since.

The release said the memorandum will also highlight some issues which require the urgent attention of the Centre "to safeguard the legitimate interests of the state and to propel the state on a faster growth path."

7 Race Course Road houses five bungalows spread over about 12 acres. Modi will be the first Prime Minister who will move into the official residence of the Prime Minister of India without his family. Till now all the other 14 Prime Ministers have had a family or at least have had some family members who moved in with them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi moves to his official residence, 7 Race Course Road.  A PMO official said the residence, vacated by former prime minister Manmohan Singh last week, needed only a coat of paint and some cleaning of the furniture and curtains. No new furniture or decor is required. "It is ready to move in. Modi believes in spartan living and will continue to do so." In that at least, he shares a trait with predecessor Manmohan Singh, who's also known for his simple lifestyle.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi moves to his official residence, 7 Race Course Road.  A PMO official said the residence, vacated by former prime minister Manmohan Singh last week, needed only a coat of paint and some cleaning of the furniture and curtains. No new furniture or decor is required. "It is ready to move in. Modi believes in spartan living and will continue to do so." In that at least, he shares a trait with predecessor Manmohan Singh, who's also known for his simple lifestyle.

After flooring the neighbourhood by inviting Saarc leaders for his swearing-in, Prime Minister Narendra Modi enthralled Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday when he referred to the memoirs of 7th century Chinese scholar Hiuen Tsang to underline the importance of ties between the two countries. Read

Fresh hope for Campa Cola residents. The Supreme Court agrees to hear on Tuesday a fresh plea against the imminent eviction of residents of illegal flats in Campa Cola society in Mumbai.

As the May 31 deadline to vacate their homes from the illegal Campa Cola premises approaches, residents continue to dig in their heels and refuse to move out.

Meanwhile, the civic body is considering a conciliatory approach by taking legal recourse.

The local municipal office, on Monday, sent notices to 140 illegal flats spread across 35 floors in the seven buildings of the Campa Cola Complex in Worli. Residents had been given time until June 2, to hand over the keys and possession of their flats.

Minister of State for Commerce & Industries Minister (Independent charge), Nirmala Sitharaman has approved the Cabinet note proposing hike in FDI cap in Defence to 100 per cent, say sources.

 

Currently, the FDI cap in Defence is 26 per cent. AK Antony, who was the Defence Minister during the UPA regime was reportedly strictly opposed to hiking the FID cap to 100 per cent.

 

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Two Indian-Americans -- Sriram J Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe -- have scripted history by becoming co-champions of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee, the first since 1962.        

 

This is the seventh consecutive year that Indian-Americans have retained the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which was watched live by millions of people in the US last night.      

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An eighth grader from the Alternative School for Maths and Science, Sriram (14) is from New York, while Ansun (13) is a seventh grader from Texas.         In fact like last year, the last three contestants were Indian-Americans -- Sriram, Ansun and Gokul Venkatachalam from Missouri.        

 

"It's a dream come true," Sriram said soon after being declared the co-champion with Ansun.   "I was happy when I entered the final. I am even happier that I am the co-champion," said Ansun who correctly spelled "feuilleton" in the last 22nd round.        

 

And in the 21st round Sriram correctly spell "stichomythia." This was the fifth appearance for Sriram.

Our correspondent in New Delhi reports: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has summoned Andhra Governor ESL Narasimhan at 11:30 am to PMO today to discuss the Telangana bifurcation process.

 

The governor meeting the PM before chief minister-elect Chandrababu Naidu assumes significance.  A huge economic package for Andhra is being contemplated, sources tell Rediff.com. The governor will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee at 1 pm today.

My life's struggle should not be included in school curriculum, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi decrying a move by Madhya Pradesh government to include him in school textbooks.

 

'Life story of living individuals shouldn't be included in books. India has a history of stalwarts. Young minds should read them,' Modi tweeted.

NDTV: Even after arrests a rape survivor and her family constantly live under the threat of backlash from the accused and his family.

 

The mother of the rape survivor was allegedly beaten brutally by the father of the accused on May 26 in Etawah, the home district of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

 

The accused, who lives in the neighbourhood had entered the woman's house and allegedly raped her daughter. He was caught and arrested by the police and a case was registered. Since then, the woman was being pressurised to withdraw the case.

 

The woman was allegedly attacked by Basant Yadav and four others after she refused to withdraw the rape case against Yadav's son. She is in critical condition and has been rendered speechless after the attack. She is under intensive care at a hospital in Etawah.Even after three days since the attack, the men who attacked her are yet to be arrested.

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal sought to clarify that he opted for fresh elections despite having requested the Delhi Lieutenant Governor not to dissolve the Assembly after Najeeb Jung told him that the government formation was not possible due to technical reasons.

 

"I agree that I wrote to the Lt Governor (last week) asking him not to dissolve the Assembly as I wanted to ask people on whether we should form the government," Kejriwal told volunteers at a meeting held here. "The next day when I met the Lt Governor, he said that government formation was not possible due to technical reasons and fresh election was the only solution," he said.

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The Malaysia Airlines plane missing since March isoutside the region of the Indian Ocean that search teams have been scouring for weeks, officials said Thursday.

Turkey's top court has ruled that the country's ban on YouTube is unconstitutional, in the latest of a series of rebuffs the tribunal has delivered to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister.

China will soon send an infantry battalion to reinforce the United Nations peacekeeping mission in war-torn South Sudan, officials has said. In December, the Security Council voted to send an extra 5,500 peacekeepers -- some re-assigned from other UN missions in Africa -- to the UN mission in the world's newest country, bringing the total deployment there to 12,500.

UN peacekeeping missions should deploy more drones and state-of the art technology to become more effective, limit boots on the ground and keep aid workers safer, their chief said today. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered officers to take "immediate action" over the stoning of a pregnant woman outside the nation's top court.

Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden told a U.S. television interviewer on Wednesday he was not under the control of Russia's government and had given Moscow no intelligence documents after nearly a year of asylum there.

After months of hesitation, Ukraine is now pressing a military offensive against pro-Russian militias operating in the east, intensifying the bloodshed in a risky gambit to quickly crush the revolt.

South Africa's police watchdog today launched a probe into a deadly shooting at Cape Town's international airport after it emerged that the alleged gunman was a police officer. Three people were injured in the shooting at an airport restaurant yesterday, before the officer apparently turned the gun on himself. He died from his injuries.

In October 2012, Yuri Syrotyuk, a Ukrainian parliament member, stood up in a security and defense committee meeting to announce that if Ukraine didn't reverse the trend of deterioration in its military and change its defense strategy, "we're going to see Russian troops on our soil within a year." 

US lawmakers moved today to toughen sanctions against North Korea by targeting money laundering and human rights violations, voicing impatience with the hardline regime. 

Syrian government forces rained barrels bombs on Aleppo today, as they pressed a campaign against rebels in the northern city where dozens have been killed this week, a monitor said. 

Brazil's military will reinforce police providing security at hotels and training camps for the teams playing in the World Cup, the defence ministry said today. 

Kerala Congressman suspended for calling Rahul a joker
Kejriwal promises not to leave Delhi again, to re-haul AAP
Shelter home HORROR: 'Children sexually abused, made to eat faeces'
3 cops suspended, 2 nabbed in UP girls' gang rape case
SIT on black money to meet on June 4
Modi gives up Vadodara, retains Varanasi
Maya Angelou passes away: Her life in PHOTOS
PM Modi to ministers: Set a 100-day agenda
Rajnath Singh takes charge as Union home minister
7 of Modi's Cabinet ministers are not even graduates
FAQ: Why is Article 370 so contentious?