A probe has been ordered after it was reported that nearly 2,000 eyes donated in leading hospitals were dumped into the dustbin recently at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences-Rohtak.The report said the eyes, which were donated in the last five years at four big medical institutes of the country, were thrown into a dustbin. "The state government wants to encourage eye donation but such incidents hinders the positive policies of the government," said the state health minister Anil Vij.

A popular bakery chain had to apologise and stop the sale of a commemorative bun it put on sale to mark the death of Singapore's founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew after netizens criticised the move as disgusting attempt to make profits. 

Four Jamia Milia Islamia studentshave been served with a show-cause notice by the varsity's administration for putting up sanitary napkins with written messages across the campus without seeking prior permissionfor their campaign. "We have received various complaints from students and teachers about the campaign. We have nothing against the message being conveyed by these students, but the method usedis not appropriate," said Jamia spokesperson, Mukesh Ranjan.

The German, French and Spanish leaders have arrived together in the French Alps to visit the scene where a Germanwings plane crashed on Tuesday, killing all 150 on board.

A sessions court today rejected Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's plea for a three-week adjournment of the 2002 hit-and-run case in which he is facing charges of killing one person and injuring four by ramming his car into a shop in 2002. 

For the third time in a row, the CBI has filed closure report in a case against senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in connection with 1984 anti-Sikh riots in a Delhi court, which issued notice to the victim.

The filing of the closure report by the investigating agency was protested by the victim's counsel, who asked why was this done "secretly".

CBI said it has conducted further probe in the case, as directed by a sessions court, and filed a closure report in the matter.

In April 2013, CBI was directed by a sessions court to further investigate the case as it set aside its earlier closure report. Tytler had earlier got clean-chit twice from the CBI which had closed the case.

Phillip Hughes' demise will haunt the cricket world for years and to get over the tragedy the New South Wales cricket association did something unique by destroying the ball that fatally struck the young Australian during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG last year.

The 25-year-old Hughes passed away on November 27, two days after he got hit during the fateful Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground. On being asked about the six-and-half ounce of red kookaburra that was delivered by Sean Abbott on that day, the Cricket NSW official said that the ball has been destroyed.

"The ball that was used that day has been destroyed. It is a sensitive issue. We didn't want any trace that would hurt anyone. It was a collective decision taken by the Cricket New South Wales. Now if you ask me how it was destroyed, I won't be able to tell you. All I know is that the ball will never be seen again," Cricket NSW media manager Jodie Hawkins said.

Had that particular piece of leather been preserved, it could have probably hurt the sentiments of innumerable number of people who were close to the cricketer. When asked what happened to gears that Hughes was wearing, Hawkins said that "those were returned to his parents."

Former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao was today appointed as an independent director on the board of Network 18, the Mukesh Ambani-led firm that owns television channels CNN-IBN and CNBC. With this appointment, Network 18 Media & Investments will meet the SEBI rule of having at least one woman director on board before April 1, this year.

12 ships and 4 aircraft types (Dorniers, Kamovs, Chetaks & Dhruvs) engaged in search for the 2 missing navy officers. Now 20 hrs since crash, tweets Headlines Today's Shiv Aroor.

BJP and Shiv Sena, the ruling alliance partners in Maharashtra government, are likely to tie-up for the elections to Navi Mumbai and Aurangabad municipal corporations to be held on April 22. "We feel that having an alliance will benefit both the parties," state BJP unit president Raosaheb Danve told reporters after meeting Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra.

India's biggest telecom spectrum auction ended today after 19 days of fierce bidding that fetched about Rs 1.10 lakh crore to the government. "The auction has concluded," an official source told PTI. The auction for airwaves in four bands ended after 115 rounds of bidding, a source said. The total value of bids stood at Rs 1,09,874 crore.

Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been sacked by the BBC over his fracas with a producer. Clarkson, 54, will be thanked for his work on the hugely popular motoring show, but will be told such behaviour cannot be tolerated at the Corporation.

Read: When India complained to BBC about Clarkson

Government to present Bharat Ratna to the family of educationist Madan Mohan Malviya on March 30.

This is what the MEA advisory said today: "India nationals living in Yemen should consider voluntarily leaving the country at the earliest. The government of India had on January issued an advisory to all Indian nationals in Yemen; we would like to reiterate that security in Yemen is fragile. We urge and advice Indian nationals who are resident in Yemen to consider leaving Yemen on a voluntary basis by earliest available commercial flights."

India issues advisory for Indians in Yemen. There are 3500 Indians in strife-torn Yemen. This morning, Yemen's embattled president fled his Aden home for an undisclosed location as Shiite rebels neared his last refuge. The situation in Yemen remains murky, with Houthi militants claiming capture of in the southern seaport of Aden, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's stronghold.

This is India's third advisory asking its citizens to leave the country. In January, the External Affairs Ministry in its travel advisory said, "Our nationals in Yemen are advised to avoid conflict areas and to remain in contact with our Embassy in Sana'a for necessary advice and updated information on the evolving security situation."

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, considered the gold standard of leadership in the BJP, is the first leader from the country's political right to be conferred with the Bharat Ratna. Here are 15 things you should know about him. Read

This is what @narendramodi had tweeted following the announcement last month. "Bharat Ratna being conferred on Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya & Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee is a matter of great delight."

Apart from Vajpayee, the late Madan Mohan Malaviya, educationist and freedom fighter, will also be conferred the Bharat Ratna.

The announcement from Rashtrapati Bhavan was made ahead of Vajpayees birthday in December, last year, and the 153rd birth anniversary of Malaviya.

Finally.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will receive the Bharat Ratna award, India's highest civilian honour, on March 27. Departing from the protocol, President Pranab Mukherjee will personally will visit former PM Vajpayee's residence to confer upon him the prestigious award.

Just in: Early reports suggest that Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis may suspend the plan to build the car shed for Metro III at Aarey Milk Colony. The government plans to constitute a committee of experts which will look into moving the proposed car shed to some other location in the city.

PM Narendra Modi is on the move again. Modi will be making official visits to France, Germany and Canada from April 9 to 16. The first destination is France (9-12 April), PM's second destination will be Germany, he will be there from 12-14 April, says the MEA.

The Narendra Modi led NDA government has incurred a travel bill of Rs 317 crore in the year 2014-15, as per  the revised budgetary estimates, an increase of  about  59 crore over UPA-IIs Rs 258 crore  travel expenditure in 2013-14, but in sync with UPA's average spend on the head through its five year-term.

The bill includes travel expenditure of cabinet ministers, ministers of state and ex-PMs and maintenance of aircraft used by VVIPs:  the ones used by Prime Minister, President and Vice President.

In his first year in office, PM Modi has travelled extensively and logged more flying miles than his cabinet colleagues.

The travel spend is unlikely to come down anytime soon as the 2015-16 budget has made a provision of Rs 269 crore.

Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Aasiya Andrabi was on Wednesday booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly hoisting Pakistani flag on the neighbouring country's national day on Monday.

"A case has been registered against Andrabi at Nowhatta Police station under Section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act," a police officer said.

He said investigations have started into the alleged hoisting of Pakistani flag by the separatist leader on Monday.

"Further action in the case will be taken as per rules," the officer said when asked if the firebrand separatist leader will be arrested. A controversy erupted following media reports claiming that Andrabi had hoisted flag of Pakistan and sung its national anthem on March 23. 

Asked to throw light on what could be the vital contents in the deleted footage, Hanumanthrayappa said, "I would be able to tell only after I can get to see the deleted portion."

However, Hanumanthrayappa said he has heard and read in newspapers that the deleted footage shows Ravi shouting over a telephonic conversation to someone at the other end.

Questioning the intentions of CID in deleting the footage, he said, "I want to know why did the CID delete the footage recorded before 10.30 am  on March 16? What is their intention?"

Hanumanthrayappa said he has asked his technician to help him retrieve the deleted footage, which is possible.

"My technician is not in town. He is out of Bengaluru and expected in a couple of days. He told me it is possible to retrieve the deleted video footage," he said.

Asked whether he suspected the intentions of the state government, which allegedly is trying to give a different angle to Ravi's death, Hanumanthrayappa said, "I do not want to comment on it for now because the investigation is on.

"However, I would make a comment once I watch the retrieved video footage which was deleted by the CID."

In a new twist to the mysterious death of IAS officer D K Ravi, his father-in-law today alleged that the CID probing it has deleted sensitive evidence before the case was handed over to CBI.

"The CID has deleted some of the CCTV footage in the digital video recorder installed at his residence," Hanumanthrayappa claimed.

Facing rising public anger over the death of an upright IAS officer with growing clamour for a CBI probe, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had on Monday announced the government's decision to handover the case to the central agency, saying it had nothing to hide and was not protecting anyone.

Hanumathrayappa, a local Congress leader, said the CID had taken the CCTV footage two days after Ravi's death and returned it on March 23 and he was surprised to see some portions deleted.

"Two days after Ravi's death, the CID took away the footage and returned it on March 23. I was shocked to see the footage recorded before 10.30 am on March 16 was deleted," Hanumnthrayappa said.

On March 16, the IAS officer was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his Koramangala apartment.

Is the Congress losing party workers?

Shashi Tharoor tweets: Open, Accessible and Convenient ! Join @INCIndia through the online Membership process at http://www.inc.in  #INCMembership #JoinINC

After Manmohan Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and ex-coal secretary P C Parakh have also moved the Supreme Court against the SC order summoning them as accused in the coal scam. 

AAP PAC meeting to be held at Delhi CM's residence later today evening.

President Pranab Mukherjee and Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani discuss the long and short of things.

India and Qatar inked six agreements, including one on transfer of sentenced prisoners.

The Emir, who is here on a two-day visit, was in the morning accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on him, after which he held talks with Prime Minister Modi at Hyderabad House.

Pic: That's President Pranab Mukherjee with the Emir of Qatar. And we think Mr Mukherjee has just realised he's stepped on the Emir's robe.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court to challenge a trial court's decision to summon him as an accused in the alleged irregular allotment of Talabira-II coal block to a joint venture of Hindalco.

Manmohan Singh, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla, ex-coal secretary P C Parakh and three others were summoned recently as accused by a special court in a coal scam case pertaining to allocation of Talabira-II coal block in Odisha in 2005 and asked to appear before it on April 8.

JK Rowling responds to Harry Potter fan asking why Dumbledore is gay in incredible tweet. Read

A cockpit voice recorder badly damaged when a German jetliner smashed into an Alpine mountainside and a crucial two-minute span when the pilot lost contact are vital clues into what caused the plane to go down, killing all 150 people on board, officials said Wednesday.

Helicopters surveying the scattered debris lifted off at daybreak, hours ahead of the expected arrival of bereaved families and the French, German and Spanish leaders.

The flight from Spain to Germany went into an unexplained eight-minute dive ahead of crashing Tuesday morning.

The Lufthansa airline is retiring the flight number 9525 after a Germanwings flight with the same code crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday. Germanwings is a low-cost airline owned by the Lufthansa Group.

Germany has been plunged into a state of shock and grief by the crash of an aircraft of Lufthansa's subsidiary Germanwings in the French Alps region, killing all 150 passengers and crew on board, including 67 Germans.

Among the 67 Germans, on board the Airbus A 320 flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, were a group of 16 students and two teachers from a high school in the state of North Rhine Westphalia who were returning after attending an exchange programme in Spain. About 45 Spanish citizens are reportedly among the crash victims.

Actor Salman Khan was on Tuesday asked by a sessions court to appear before it on March 27 for recording his statement on prosecution evidence in the 2002 hit-and-run case, in which he is charged with killing one and injuring four others by ramming his car into a shop.

Salman's statement would be recorded under section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that allows the accused to tell the court his/her side of the story at the fag-end of the trial.

The judge would also get an opportunity to question the accused on certain aspects of the trial, while the latter will get a chance to present his defence on evidence put up by prosecution before the court, said prosecutor Pradeep Gharat.

India was among the 43 countries that voted in support of a Russian-drafted resolution that proposed removing benefits for same-sex partners of UN staff, but the resolution failed to pass in the General Assembly committee after 80 nations opposed it.

The Fifth Committee of the General Assembly, that deals with administrative and budgetary issues, voted against the Russian proposal here yesterday that aimed at stopping the UN from offering marital benefits to its employees with same-sex spouses.

The resolution would have had UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon withdraw his policy laying out the United Nations current rules for the personal status of staff members for determining their benefits and entitlements.

The policy made by Ban last summer had recognised same- sex marriages of all UN staffers, allowing them to receive UN benefits. India, along with China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE voted in favour of the draft resolution, which had 37 abstentions. Same-sex relations are a criminal offense in India.

Ban has been a strong proponent of equal rights for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community and had said that he is proud to stand for greater equality for all staff.

Cautioning AAP's senior leadership over infighting, party MP Dharamvira Gandhi today said they have "no right" to betray aspirations of the people and the party is bound to be "dumped into garbage of history" if the members "act and play petty".

Gandhi, AAP's Patiala MP, stressed that striking a balance between "principles and pragmatism" would play a decisive role in chalking out the future of the party and asked its volunteers to stop being mere "followers".

"I warn all leaders, however big, and grass root volunteers of AAP, however small, that we have no right to betray the aspirations and faith, reposed in AAP by billions of poor and frustrated Indians, on flimsy grounds and petty resolvable differences.

"Can we really strike a balance between principles and pragmatism is the real bone of contention and the key question today. A correct position on this issue will play a decisive role in deciding the future of AAP, and the people of this country," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Shailesh Yadav, the son of Madhya Pradesh Governor Ram Naresh Yadav, has been found dead in Lucknow.

Shocked to hear the news of his son's death, the governor, Ram Naresh Yadav was admitted to the ICU of a hospital in Bhopal.  

According to initial reports, Shailesh was found dead in suspicious circumstances in Lucknow.

Shailesh was named in the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB) or the Vyapam scam.

Last month, a Special Task Force (STF) registered an FIR against the governor and 100 others in the scam. The government has told the high court that till now, 539 people have been arrested and 218 are absconding in the scam.

Also read: Only 5% scams exposed so far: 'Vyapam' whistleblower

The displaced Kashmiri Pandit community recently staged a protest march at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Wearing black badges and bands, the Pandits accused successive state and central governments of marginalising the community since they were forced to move out of the Kashmir valley over 25 years ago. Read the full report on Rediff.com.

One stark shot, and the nation's conscience was under test. At the centre of the image was a grey, unplastered school building and clustered around its windows up across the four floors were friends and family members passing cheat sheets to candidates taking the 10th standard Board examinations at Mahnar in Vaishali district of Bihar.

The photograph has drawn international media attention. But its author remains stoic and humble. The outrage Rajesh Kumar's iconic click generated has forced the Bihar government out of slumber, and the Patna High Court ordered the State Police Chief to take steps to check the rampant examination malpractice.  Read more

A 32-year-old Indian banker in Singapore has been jailed for eight weeks on charges of voyeurism, including taking upskirt videos of women for over two years.

Maha Vignesh Velippan, a former executive at State Bank of India, admitted to 19 charges of insulting modesty and one of having 596 obscene films from last August.

Another 75 charges were considered during yesterday's sentencing.

The court heard that during lunchtime on June 7, 2011, a 27-year old business relationship manager was on an escalator in the Standard Chartered Bank building in the central business district (CBD) when she felt something brush against her legs.

She turned around and saw Maha standing beside her with a paper bag containing his phone whose camera lens was pointed at her, The Straits Times reported today.

The woman asked for his phone and found an upskirt video of herself and then called the police.

Most of the videos were taken near Raffles Place in the CBD and the women's identities were unknown. The offences took place between 2008 and 2011.

Maha's lawyer, Rajan Supramaniam, said his client suffered from voyeurism and sex addiction but was making good progress in his psychiatric treatment. "At the time of the offences, he was facing personal problems with his ex-girlfriend and was in a troubled state of mind," Rajan said.

AAP leader Shanti Bhushan has denied media reports that he was going to hold a meeting with the dissidents ahead of party's National Council meet on March 28.

Bhushan said, "My attention has been drawn to news reports that I called a meet of some members of the National Council of AAP a day before the official meet.

"This is completely false, appears to be mischievous. I've neither called any such meet nor would attend any if called by someone.

"I shall only attend the official meeting on 28th March, 2015 as a member of the National Council and express my views there."

DK Sharma (PRO, Navy) on the aircraft crash in Goa: Not sure of causalities as of now. We are investigating and only then will know cause.

Breaking news: Underworld don Ejaz Lakdawala's aide Mohammad Yusuf arrested; assassination attempt averted, say Delhi Police sources.

Nine ships including navy frigates INS Satpura and INS Betwa engaged in search for the two missing men from the downed Dornier off the Goa coast.

An Indian Navy surveillance aircraft crashed about 25 nautical miles south-west off Goa with two officers on-board missing.

A Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft, which was on a routine training sortie, crashed on Tuesday at around 11 pm and two officers on board have gone missing, navy sources said.

Fire at a commercial complex in Chakala near Andheri in Mumbai; no injuries reported so far.

Oxford University has cancelled a planned lecture by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on India's economy, reportedly citing "logistical and internal issues."

The Oxford University in London teamed up with the Oxford India Foundation and had invited Swamy and Rajiv Malhotra for a lecture on Indian economy - past, present and future.The talks were to be held on April 3.

According to reports, Swamy confirmed the cancellation and added that he would be visiting England on a four-day tour later this month. Read more

The operative word in 'freedom of religion' is 'freedom', and not 'religion'. Religious conversion is thus a matter of individual choice guaranteed as a fundamental right under the Constitution, and not a collective right of any religious community to proselytise. Read

For two years, national political parties have defied the RTI Act that they themselves passed. They have not sought legal remedy either by appealing against the CIC order declaring them to be Public Authorities. If lawmakers defy the law in this fashion, it sets a bad precedent. Political parties should be more accountable if they break the law, not less. Read

The Indian Navy has flagged concern over the deployment of a Chinese nuclear submarine for anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden that transited through waters close to India.

The navy has told the government that the submarine, probably a Shang-class Type T094 nuclear-powered boat, was capable of "profiling the coastline", a source in the Indian Navy has told The Telegraph.

Read more

Jeremy Clarkson is to be sacked as Top Gear presenter after a BBC investigation concluded he did attack a producer on the programme.Lord Hall, the Director General of the BBC, is expected to announce his decision on Wednesday after considering the findings of an internal investigation.Clarkson, 54, will be thanked for his work on the hugely popular motoring show, but will be told such behaviour cannot be tolerated at the Corporation.

Read more

Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani was accorded a ceremonial reception and a Guard of Honour at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.

National anthems of both nations were also played to welcome the Emir.Among the personages present to receive the Qatari Emir were President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affair Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Colonel (Retd.) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Chief of Naval Staff R.K. Dhowan, along with several other dignitaries.

Talaash, gumshuda.

Those are the words on posters of Rahul Gandhi in various places in Uttar Pradesh.

Rahul Gandhi is missing, announce the posters.

The posters are basically a dig at the Congress vice president's (and possible party president in waiting) month-long 'introspective' sabbatical .

In fact, posters in Rahul's own constituency Amethi, go with the lines, 'Amethi Without a Leader' and have this message - "Jaane woh kaunsa desh, jahan tum chale gaye (who knows where you have gone)." 

The posters are obviously anonymous and go with the signature, "people of Amethi".

On Twitter, we stumbled across this line: Rahul Gandhi pahele Congress ke upadhyakshya the, ab woh Congress ke chhupa-dhakshya hain

The Congress, with its 52 spokespersons, has spent all of March defending the still missing Rahul from opposition barbs.

It's easy -- and perhaps tempting -- to try to draw parallels between the crash of the Germanwings Airline in the French Alps on Tuesday and previous tragedies like that of AirAsia Flight 8501, which crashed in December.

Two separate infiltration bids by militants on the international border in Samba and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir were foiled by the Border Security Force troops in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

ick Costolo, CEO, Twitter, called on Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, on Tuesday.The prime minister spoke about avenues through which Twitter can help in initiatives such as 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan' and 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' not just by providing a platform but also by initiating a prolonged effort to support these initiatives.

The iconic Taj Mansingh Hotel in the heart of the national capital will go under the hammer on Wednesday with New Delhi Municipal Council initiating proceedings after getting a go-ahead from the Union Home Ministry for its auctioning.

In the late 1800s to well into the 1900s, Europeans created "human zoos' in cities like Paris; Hamburg, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; Barcelona, Spain; London; Milan; Warsaw, Poland; St Louis; and New York City. 

Indian Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag will attend an inaugural UN conference on peacekeeping operations later this week that will bring together the defence chiefs of UN member states.

Seven Germanwings flights from Dusseldorf have been cancelled because crew members felt they were unfit to fly after the stricken 4U9525 plane crash.

he Congress, a party of 44 MPs, has appointed 52 spokespersons.As it fights for relevance after a string of election defeats, the party yesterday announced an army of four senior spokespersons, 17 new spokespersons and 31 media panelists, besides two media coordinators.

A missionary school in north Bengal has lodged a police complaint about four hand-written letters in Hindi found in the premises threatening to burn down the school and a nearby church if the nuns who run it did not leave immediately.

The Germanwings air crash has broken the hearts of all of Germany, with even those unconnected with victims feeling shock.

The CBI arrested a Bhubaneswar-based builder late on Monday night on charges of raping a woman and filming the act.

An Indian Navy surveillance aircraft crashed about 25 nautical miles south-west off Goa with two officers on-board missing.

Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh on Tuesday night said he has not offered to resign in the wake of the raging controversy over his tweets after attending the national day reception at Pakistan high commission and that he is 'fully committed' to the BJP and the government.

With its snow-capped mountains and picturesque deserted hamlets, the Bleone Valley, where a Germanwings jet crashed Tuesday, is a stunningly beautiful but sparsely populated spot.

US President Barack Obama has expressed condolences to Germany and Spain and the victims of a plane crash in the Alps.

The U.N. will now give benefits to all spouses of gay U.N. staffers who are legally married after Russia and other opponents of same-sex marriage failed Tuesday in an attempt to scuttle the plan by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

A case was today registered against actor Shekhar Suman on the charge of provoking religious sentiments with his remarks on Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, police said.

The Islamic State has recruited at least 400 children this year '" far more than the number of new adult recruits, activists said.