A man dressed up as Santa allegedly threw acid on a 47-year-old woman and her minor son, seriously injuring the both of them on Christmas Eve in Kannur, Kerala.

The man, identified as James Antony, was arrested today, police said, adding that he was upset that the woman, a divorcee, was not responding to his romantic overtures.

The woman, who is on ventilator support, has lost her eyesight while her seven-year-old son, too, is in the Intensive Care Unit.

Along with her father, the woman and her son were headed to a nearby church on December 24 when Antony attacked them, police said.

The construction work on a memorial for former President A P J Abdul Kalam at his home town Rameswaram is slated to begin tomorrow with the Tamil Nadu government allotting land as sought by the Centre and construction material having reached the site.

Kalam's grand nephew, Sheik Salim, said the construction materials have reached the site and thanked the Central and state governments for taking up the initiative.

A state government release today said 1.30 acre land had been allotted for the memorial and the Central Public Works Department has taken steps to fence it.

The announcement about allotment of land and commencement of the construction work came days after media reports stated that the place where the memorial of the former President was proposed to be built was lying neglected.

"Kissing" Pakistani soil "soaked" in Indian blood will prove "costly", Shiv Sena said today as it reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of how trying to get"too close" to that country led to decline in political graph of BJP veterans like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani.

The government on Monday announced that taxpayers with annual income of more than Rs 10 lakh will not get subsidised LPG cylinders. Currently, consumers are entitled to twelve 14.2 kg cylinders per year at subsidised rates.Any requirement above that has to be procured at market price.

Osama Bin Laden's former bodyguard Nasser al-Bahri has died in Yemen after a long illness, according to a media report. Bahri, a Yemeni national, passed away on Saturday in a hospital in the southern city of Mukalla, the BBC reported, quoting medical sources in Yemen as saying. He is believed to have been in his 40s.

Bahri, also known as Abu Jandal, was also a driver for the late al-Qaeda leader, when he was in Afghanistan. Bahri was freed from the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay and returned to Yemen in 2008. He was involved in attacks by Islamist militants in Bosnia, Somalia and Afghanistan during the 1990s, but later renounced al-Qaeda. Bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist, was killed by US special forces in a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011.

Gurgaon Police Commissioner Navdeep Virk holding a press conference on the rescue of a girl who was abducted this morning from outside her college: Virk said that the culprits and the girl knew each other. The girl has been freed, and is now safely at her home,. The three accused have been identified and will be arrested soon. The girl said her life is under threat. 

The Gurgaon girl who was abducted right outside her college this morning has been rescued. Details awaited.

The abducted girl is a second-year student of the college. According to witnesses, a white Maruti Swift suddenly stopped near her when she was entering the college to write an examination. A man in the rear seat reportedly dragged her into the car.

She was walking towards the main gatethe car stopped and I saw a hand coming out of the carhe pulled her inside. We rushed towards the car but they fled from the spot, said Rahul Yadav, a student and an eyewitness.

Police registered a case against four unidentified men. The cars number plate was covered with mud to avoid identification, police said. Police have formed search teams and are ascertaining if anyone had been troubling the girl.

Pic: A video grab showing the part where the girl tried to kick the car door open and escape

Content editor of Mumbai 'Congress Darshan' journal Sudhir Joshi sacked for his comments on Nehru and Sonia Gandhi's father. 

Former Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam on Monday assured Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of a "clean" investigation into the alleged financial irregularities in the Delhi cricket association.

In a letter to Kejriwal, Subramaniam said: "I accept the decision of the cabinet to appoint a commission of inquiry which would be chaired by me. I assure you that I am keeping a completely open mind and starting my work with clean slate."

The advocate said he will investigate the facts about the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) finances to the "best of my ability" and "arrive at conclusions which would stand scrutiny in front of any judicial forum".

Earlier, the Delhi assembly at a special session passed a resolution to set up a commission of inquiry to probe the alleged irregularities in the working of the DDCA. Kejriwal also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sack Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his involvement in the matters of the city`s cricketing association. Jaitley, who headed the DDCA for years, however, has stoutly rubbished the allegations labelled against him.

Here's the full text of the letter

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front Chief Yasin Malik was shifted to Central Jail on Sunday after the authorities charged him with "attempt to murder and waging war against the country", reports say.

Malik and three other members of JKLF were sent to 10-day judicial custody.

A cop was seriously when stones were thrown at him by Malik's followers. 

Vikas Swarup, the MEA spokesperson (and the author of Slumdog Millionaire) sends us wishes for the new year.

At least 14 people were killed and dozens wounded in large bomb blasts today in the central Syrian city of Homs, state media reported.

"The preliminary toll in simultaneous terrorist explosions that hit the city's Al-Zahraa neighbourhood is 14 dead and 132 wounded," state television reported in a news flash.

It said two explosions caused by car bombs and a blast caused by a suicide attacker wearing an explosives-laden belt hit Al-Zahraa's main square. The residents of Al-Zahraa are mostly Alawites, the minority sect of Syria's ruling clan. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group confirmed the blasts and reported at least 32 dead.

The attack came less than three weeks after the Islamic State jihadist group claimed explosions in the same neighbourhood that left 16 people dead. IS has seized large parts of Homs province, including the historic city of Palmyra.

More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria's war, which began in 2011 with anti-government protests but spiralled into a bloody conflict. Homs city, once dubbed "the capital of the revolution", came under full government control earlier this month after a ceasefire deal with rebels.

Sensex climbs 195.42 pts to end above 26,000 at 26,034.13; Nifty reclaims 7,900, up 64.10 pts at 7,925.15.

A girl in Gurgaon girl kidnapped from right outside her college gates on Monday morning. The incident took place outside the Guru Dronacharya College in Gurgaon on MG Road, near Sikandarpur. The incident took place around 9.15 am. The victim has not yet been identified.
The entire incident took place in just 10 seconds.


The girl had just reached the college gate when she was forcibly pulled into a Maruti Swift. Witnesses said there were four men in the car.


CCTV footage of the incident shows the girl struggling and trying to raise an alarm to escape from the men. A couple of men are also seen running after the car to try and stop the kidnappers.


The eyewitnesses said that the car used in the abduction did not have any number plates on it. The police have lodged an FIR and are trying to locate the car as well as the men.

Japan and South Korea have reached a historic deal to settle the issue of "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War Two.

Japan offered an apology and will pay 1bn yen ($8.3m, 5.6m) to a South Korean-administered fund for victims.

The issue has long strained ties, with South Korea demanding stronger apologies and compensation for victims.

The agreement represents the first deal on the issue since 1965 and comes after both sides agreed to speed up talks.

The announcement comes after Japan's foreign minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Seoul for discussions with his counterpart Yun Byung-se.
Read more

What Narendra Modi said about Akhand Bharat when he was Gujarat CM. Read

Ace director Christopher Nolan next project will reportedly be about the Second World War. The film already has a release date that is July 21, 2017, but details about the project are scarce.

It will be a World War II film based on Operation Dynamo, which was a near-miraculous evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and other Allied troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk which took place from May-June in 1940, reported The Independent.

The current mayor of Dunkirk, France says that filming of an American blockbuster would take place in June 2016 "by a world-famous director" and a regional daily newspaper from the north of France, says their sources are saying it is Nolan, who has been doing early location scouting with screenwriting partner and brother Jonathan.

As the BJP-led NDA government prepares to present its second full year budget, the Finance Ministry will become out of bounds to media from next Monday.

With preparations of the Budget underway, the quarantine period for media will begin from January 4 and last till presentation of the Budget, most likely on February 29.

A media advisory issued by Finance Ministry said, "with effect from January 4, 2016 till presentation of the Budget, media persons may be permitted in the ministry only on appointment and only in such cases where specific prior permission has been accorded by designated officers duly authorised."

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his second budget, third if the interim presentation of 2014 is counted, is likely to focus on steps to accelerate economic growth that seems to have stagnated in 7-7.5 per cent range amid global slowdown.

Media personnel with valid PIB cards are allowed to enter North Block, the seat of Finance Ministry, without a prior appointment. But during the quarantine period such entries will be barred.

Just in: Meat taken from Mohammad Akhlaq's home was that of a goat. Veterinary department report confirms it. Forensic lab tests also being conducted on the meat.

On September 29, Akhlaq was dragged out of his home and stoned to death on a village street after a public announcement from the local temple that the family had slaughtered a calf and eaten its meat.

The family members of Akhlaq had also claimed that there was no beef, but the mob did not listen to them.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is off to Europe and is likely to be spending the new year there.‏ @OfficeOfRG  tweeted: I will be traveling to Europe for a few days. A very Happy New Year to everyone. Hope the new year brings much joy and happiness to you and everyone close to you!

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav apologises for his Akhand Bharat remark saying it was made in context of a cultural union. He said he was however sad that his comments took away from PM Modi's visit to Pakistan. 

In an interview to India Today, Ram Madhav hit out at his detractors and has categorically mentioned that he is saddened that his  comments were used to diminish the PM's visit by critics. "My comments were made in an interview to Al Jazeera much before the PM's visit to Pakistan. To present my views on Akhand Bharat as RSS' attempt to sabotage the peace process is wrong", he added

A day after Ram Madhav set off a controversy with the idea of Akhand Bharat, or a greater India with Pakistan and Bangladesh, "through popular goodwill coming together," the BJP clarified that neither the party nor the party's government shared the view.

Party spokesperson M.J. Akbar said the text cannot be separated from the context. "A particular question was asked to him [Ram Madhav] to which he gave this reply. As far as the BJP and the NDA government are concerned, we consider India and Pakistan sovereign States and our position was best articulated by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Lahore."

Vajpayee had, in Lahore in 1999, described how he was being dissuaded from visiting the Minar-e-Pakistan, the country's national monument, as it would endorse the creation of that country.

From January 1, 2016, the income tax department has made it mandatory to quote your PAN for the following transactions. Take a look

Peter Mukerjea's judicial custody extended till January 11.

Suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad today demanded a CBI probe into graft allegations against DDCA and insisted that his fight was against corruption in the cricket body and not against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Rejecting BJP's charge that he had indulged in anti-party activities, Azad, who was suspended after his strident attacks against Jaitley, said he had done nothing against BJP or the central government.

"It has nothing to do with BJP. It is about corruption in sports. I have been fighting against corruption in sports for years and will continue to do so," he told the media. "Don't bring Arun Jaitley into this." Azad claimed he has "evidence" of corruption in Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) including about few-month old companies being given contract worth crores of rupees which he was willing to share with the agency.

He claimed he had shared the evidence with the then DDCA head, a reference to Jaitley, but nothing happened. He brought CBI in his line of fire, questioning its notices to the DDCA instead of raiding it, saying attempts were being made to hide "corruption".

Replying to a query, Azad said he was willing to share details with the commission of inquiry ordered by the Arvind Kejriwal government into the DDCA issue.


"If they call me, I will definitely go. It is not a big thing. It is a government commission, not a private commission. It is set up in accordance with the rules and if I am called them I will definitely go," he said.


Naming a number of private firms which, he alleged, made money through illegal means, he asked his detractors to find out if they really existed as he wondered if this was not "fraud".

The CPM yesterday promised that factories would hum in Singur if the party was voted back to power, signalling that its campaign for the Assembly elections next summer would focus on Trinamul's poor track record on industry.

"Amra okhaney factory abar chalu kortey parbo. Shekhan theke dhowan orate parbo (We will be able to restart factories there, get smoke to billow from there)," Surjya Kanta Mishra told a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground Sunday afternoon that the CPM described as the biggest since its 2011 defeat. The party put the turnout at "over 8 lakh" while police estimated that it was around 4.5 lakh. The presence of youth and their active participation - they were raising slogans and cheering the speakers - was the key takeaway today, party leaders said. If voted to power, the Left government's priority would be to create jobs for "lakhs of people" across the state - from Nayachar in East Midnapore to Raghunathpur in Purulia, Mishra said.  Read more

No-frills airline SpiceJet on Monday announced a four-day sale, offering one-way base fares as low as Rs 716 for the journey period between January 15 and April 12 next year for domestic fliers.The special fares under "Happy New Year Sale" are available for flying on domestic routes, SpiceJet said in a release.

As a part of this sale launched today, for which bookings will remain open till midnight of December 31, one-way base fares start at Rs 716 (excluding taxes) for domestic network, the release said.

The travel period for tickets availed under this offer stands between January 15 and April 12, 2016 and only for flying on direct flights on the domestic network, it said.Tickets under this offer are refundable (only taxes and fees) and changeable with a change fee and payment of fare difference, the airline added.

SpiceJet operates 293 daily flights to 40 destinations, including six international routes, with a fleet of 25 Boeing 737s, 14 Bombardier Q-400s and two Airbus A320 family planes.

Citing examples of BJP stalwarts A B Vajpayee and L K Advani, ally Shiv Sena today said that political careers of leaders who got too close to Pakistan have been on the wane as it criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surprise visit to Lahore.

The Sena also said that the neighbouring country's soil is "cursed" because it is soaked in the blood of lakhs of innocent Indians. "What needs to be remembered is that there is an orthodox belief that in the past, no politician who has tried to get too close to Pakistan has been able to remain in politics for long. L K Advani has once been on the tomb of (Mohammed Ali) Jinnah and had praised him. After that, his political graph started declining and today he has been sidelined," the Sena said in an edit in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"(A B) Vajpayee, in a bid to mend the strained relations between both countries started the 'Lahore bus' service and also went out of his way to meet General (Pervez) Musharraf in Agra. After that, never did a BJP government come to power under the leadership of Vajpayee," it said.

It further questioned BJP's response, had a Congress Prime Minister made an unannounced stopover in Pakistan.

She has been one of Hollywood's busiest actresses over the last few years, working on a host of new films and taking part in a treadmill of publicity. But Cate Blanchett, the Oscar-winning actress, has revealed she is to take a step back from work in 2016 as she welcomes her adopted baby daughter to her family. Blanchett, who adopted baby Edith in February, told Harper's Bazaar she has felt like a first-time mother all over again, despite having three older biological sons. Read more

Even though Rajya Sabha has passed the amended Juvenile Justice Act, a survey of 182 youngsters lodged in the capital's observation homes between last year and early this year reveals a story of childhoods scarred by abuse, poverty, illiteracy and lack of parental care. Read

Founder of the fringe outfit infamous for moral policing, Sri Rama Sene's Pramod Muthalik may get reprieve from the Congress government in Karnataka.

An India Today report says that the Siddaramaiah government, in the coming days, is set to drop 13 cases against the leader, who is known for his vitriolic speeches.

Ever since the BJP and the Sangh Parivar abandoned Muthalik during the parliamentary polls in 2014, strangely, the Congress in Karnataka has developed a soft corner for him.

Though several cases were registered against him and his followers for his infamous "hate speeches" in the last one year, Muthalik, in particular seems to enjoy a free run in Karnataka.

Now, there are strong indications that 13 cases against him could be withdrawn. But the Karnataka Cabinet has to approve the withdrawal of the cases.

"The issue figured in the previous Cabinet meeting with several leaders informally calling for pardoning Muthalik. Now that he is no more with the BJP or the Sangh Parivar, they don't see him as a major threat. But the home ministry is yet to respond to this proposal," sources in the government said.

The government had written a letter to the director of prosecution on December 14 seeking its opinion on withdrawing the cases, which are pending in various courts. Some of the cases referred are as old as those registered in 2002. The cases were registered in Uttara Kannada, Dharwad, Mysuru, Vijayapura, Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts between 2002 and 2014.

However, it is not known whether the case pertaining to the infamous attack on girls partying in Mangaluru in a pub in 2009 is being withdrawn.

The Nationalist Congress Party on Monday said the Congress mouthpiece 'Congress Darshan' (Hindi edition) should not rake up decade old issues against former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and party president Sonia Gandhi.

"Sonia has had her own experiences of success and turmoil in the last 20-25 years after Rajiv Gandhi and her mother-in-law's assassination. She has also successfully run Manmohan Government for about ten years," NCP leader Majeed Memon told ANI.

"These things which are being spoken are almost two decades old. It's a matter of history. It need not be raked up again without any justification. I am only wondering as to how Congress' own mouthpiece could just dig up these all ancient maters," he added.

Memon further said that the editor of the mouthpiece Sanjay Nirupam has expressed his regret and apologised for the publication.

The Congress in Maharashtra has landed in an embarrassing spot with its mouthpiece featuring articles that have criticized Sonia Gandhi and also questioned Jawaharlal Nehru, the party's biggest icon.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday extended his wishes to Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on his 62nd birthday. "Dear Arun ji, wishing you a very happy birthday. May you be blessed with the best health & a long life. @arunjaitley," the PM said in his tweet.

Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirti Azad held a press conference in which he said, " I have not done anything against party line. I would tell BJP spokespersons to be careful while speaking in public." The statement comes in wake of claims that Azad raised the DDCA issue in Parliament on the instructions Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Azad added, "Companies with no experience got contracts in DDCA. If this is not a fraud, then what is?"

A senior Congress leader on Sunday made a defamatory comment against Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani. Nilamoni Sen Deka, the former state Agriculture minister, kicked up a storm yesterday when he said that many people refer to Smriti Irani as the second wife of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reacting sharply to the remarks, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav said it was a "shameful assertion" by the Congress leader towards Irani.

An explosion followed by gun fire was reported at the east gate of the Hamid Karzai International airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. According to reports, passengers have been stopped from entering the airport. The explosion occurs at a time when Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif is in the country to revive stalled peace talks with the Taliban. 

In an unprecedented move, the administration of Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Budh Nagar has decided to alter working hours and timings of schools, shops, factories and corporate offices in Noida, Greater Noida and other surrounding areas from January 1, to bring down vehicular pollution. The decision was taken after discussions with various stakeholders in the last one month. 

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wore a pink turban gifted to him by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for his granddaughter's wedding.