People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti met Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah at the latter's residence in New Delhi today, said sources.

The PDP President, who was in the national capital to attend the budget session of Parliament, drove in a car without security for a meeting that lasted nearly 30 minutes.

The PDP, which toughened its stance after Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's demise by seeking concrete plans for the state's development the before the coalition could be resumed, may latch on to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's statement in the Lok Sabha in which he promised speedy implementation of all the projects.

The Nuclear Fuel Complex at Kushaiguda in Hyderabad today received an anonymous letter threatening presence of a bomb on its premises, prompting police to conduct a thorough check of the site where nothing suspicious was found.

"The letter written in Telugu and dated March 11 was received by the NFC today. It threatened that a bomb has been placed in the Civil Engineering division," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Alwal Division) Syed Rafeeq said.

"A team of Bomb Disposal Unit carried out a thorough security check on the NFC premises, but nothing suspicious was found," the ACP said.

A case has been registered in this connection and further investigation is on. NFC is a production unit of Department of Atomic Energy operative in round-the-clock basis and consists of scientific, technical, administrative and auxiliary employees.

It caters to the fuel and Zirconium requirements of the Nuclear Power Program in India.

(Image used for representational purpose only)

The Pakistan government today allowed ailing Pervez Musharraf to go abroad for medical treatment, a day after the Supreme Court lifted a bar on foreign trips of the former military ruler facing trial in a number of cases including for high treason.

Musharraf, 72, is facing treason trial since 2013 and he was barred from leaving the country in 2014 by the government.

The order was declared as illegal by the Sindh high court in the same year.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Sindh high court, rejecting the appeal of the government.

But it did not stop the federal government from putting new bars on Musharraf's foreign tours.

Interior minister Nisar Ali Khan told a press briefing that after consultation the government decided to let Musharraf leave the country for treatment. He said Musharraf's lawyers had formally asked the government to allow him to undertake foreign travels.

"The government has decided to allow Musharraf to travel abroad for treatment. He has also committed he will face all cases against him in court," Khan said.

When public figures speak violence, the fallout goes beyond their immediate targets. In ways seen and unseen, those most affected are often women.


Recently, we saw an illustration of this during the Jat quota stir. In a sea of men blocking highways and railway tracks, women were invisible. In fact, they were not there at all. Yet, they figured, not as participants but as targets. Although everyone seems to deny that any molestation or rapes occurred at the end of February, there are several reports that suggest that women were attacked and that most of them will not speak out.


Read more

Congress, which had supported suspension of AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan after he refused to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', today objected to the use of a derogatory word against the legislator by Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil.


The party has also sought an unconditional apology from the Shiv Sena leader who yesterday used a derogatory word denoting a canine, while asking Pathan to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said the word was insulting for minority community and should have been expunged from the proceedings.


He also demanded an apology by the Sena MLA. Speaker Haribhau Bagde said the word should not have been allowed to be part of the proceedings and he would direct to expunge it.

A 90-year-old Muslim woman fell ill and was admitted to hospital after she heard AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi saying he refused to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'. Her son has now filed a sedition case on her behalf against the AIMIM chief.


Rashidun Khatoon, a resident of Ekderva village in Bihar's Gopalganj district was admitted to a local hospital. After she recovered, she asked her son Qurban Ansari to file a sedition case against Owaisi. The CJM court in Gopalganj has admitted the case for hearing.


MI Khan in Patna/Rediff.com 

EAM Sushma Swaraj on her meeting with Sartaj Aziz, the foreign affairs advisor to the Pakistan prime minister, in Pokhara, Nepal.  "We discussed issues pertaining to the Pathankot terror strike. A Pakistan Joint Investigation Team is probing the Pathankot terror strike and will arrive in New Delhi on March 27. "We also discussed various issues where we had differences," she said.


Swaraj held the meeting with Aziz on the sidelines of the Saarc ministerial meeting today.

During the meeting, Aziz handed over to Sushma Swaraj an invitation from Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to attend the South Association Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) summit scheduled to be held in Pakistan later this year.


This was the first formal meeting between the two leaders after the January 2 cross-border terror attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot, Punjab, that claimed the lives of seven Indian security personnel.

Just in: Chhagan Bhujbal sent to judicial custody till March 31. Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal was on Tuesday remanded in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for two days by a PMLA court in Mumbai. His custody with the ED ended today. The former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister was arrested by the ED on Monday on charges of money laundering, resulting in a loss of Rs. 887 crore to the State exchequer.

Pakistan foreign minister Sartaj Aziz hands over SAARC summit invitation for PM Modi, to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Pokhara, Nepal. 

Jat agitation: PM speaks to Home Minister, Haryana Chief Minister, asks them to ensure law and order. "There can be no repeat of last time", the  Prime Minister warned Rajnath Singh and ML Khattar as the Jat community warned of a new round of aggressive demonstrations demanding a quota of government jobs and places in state-run colleges.


Haryana was again on the edge today with the 72-hour deadline set by Jats for resuming their agitation over quota from tomorrow set to come to an end tonight. Paramilitary forces and police were out in the sensitive districts and carrying out Flag Marches in various places as the 72-hour deadline given by various Jat organisations to the BJP-led Haryana government was coming to an end later today.


Various Jat organisations had on Monday threatened to resume their quota agitation, which rocked the state last month and claimed 30 lives, if the Manohar Lal Khattar government does not meet their demand by today.

Loans defaulter and owner of long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya has finally responded to the Enforcement Directorate summons ordering him to appear before it on March 18. Mallya has asked for time till early April.

Mallya has been embroiled in a money laundering case involving Rs 900 crore and is currently in Britain. He left India on March 2, despite a look-out notice on him by the Central Bureau of Investigation for his alleged money laundering of the Rs 900 crore loan he took from IDBI bank.

In fact, the former liquor baron, who founded the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, owes more than Rs 9,000 crores to as many as 17 banks that have a case against him in the Debt Recovery Tribunal.


The ED last week issued directives to these 17 banks to gather all the documents related to the issuing of loans to Kingfisher Airlines.


Last week, the ED issued summons to more than half a dozen officials of IDBI bank and Kingfisher Airlines in connection with its investigation into Mallya's IDBI loan default

The agency is also investigating the overall financial structure of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

News at this hour:

-- Vijay Mallay seeks time till early April to appear before the Enforcement Directorate.

-- India has granted visas to members of the Pakistani Special Investigation Team, dispatched to assist Indian authorities in the probe into the January 2 Pathankot airbase attack.

-- SC directs status quo in the canal dispute between Punjab and Haryana.

Goa government on Wednesday classified 'Feni', a form of spirit produced exclusively in the coastal state, as "Heritage Spirit of Goa"."Feni has achieved first geographical indication in Goa and is also the first liquor product in the country to obtain that status," Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said during his budget speech in the Legislative Assembly. Parsekar said Feni, a brew made from coconut or cashew, is synonymous with the Goan ethos and identity.

German bakery bomb blast case convict Himayat Baig awarded life sentence in one case, acquitted of nine charges.

For the first time in its history, Muslims in their thousands will hoist the Indian tricolour, sing the national anthem and will then chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' outside the sanctum sanctorum, but within the premises of the Mahim dargah in Mumbai to celebrate the 603 Urs of Peer Maqdoom Shah Baba.


Sohail Khandwani, president of the Dargah Trust said that the Muslims will do it out of their love for the nation. "Bharat Mata Ki Jai' is a praise in victory of the nation and we will chant it this evening," he added.


Reacting to the controversy that erupted after Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and member of Parliament from Hyderabad gave a speech there refusing to chant the slogan under duress from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Khandwani said that it is wrong to force people to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and it should not be used as a test of one's patriotism.

"It is wrong to force somebody to do that but it is not restricted in Islam to praise the victory of a nation," he said. "India is a progresive, secular country," he added. 

Khandwani said that Maharashtra's chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will be hoisting the national flag at 5 pm this evening following which the gathered assembly will sing the national anthem, Maqdoom Shah Baba's flag will be hoisted and then Bharat Mata Ki Jai will be chanted.

"I am doing it out of the love for my country but I will not call anybody who refuses to do so as anti-national or unpatriotic. I can't say that this is reaction to what Owaisi has said but it is out of love for my motherland that I will be doing it," Khandwani said.


Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi took on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat when he said he would refuse to chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' even at 'knife-point.' Addressing RSS leaders at a conclave on March 3, Bhagwat said the new generation needed to be taught to chant slogans hailing mother India, comments which came against the backdrop of the row over alleged anti-India sloganeering on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus. Owaisi's statements have drawn sharp criticism across political lines, including from poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar who remarked in his farewell address in the Rajya Sabha: Owaisi 'will not say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' as the Constitution does not require him to say so. But the same Constitution does not ask him to wear the sherwani either.' Owaisi spoke to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com about the controversy. Read

PM Narendra Modi to begin West Bengal poll campaign from Kharagpur on March 27. Modi will attend at least seven rallies in three phases, claimed the state BJP leadership.


Besides the PM, other top BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah, central ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley and Smriti Irani besides chief ministers of some BJP-ruled states will also campaign in the poll-bound state, reports say.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi's programme in the Lucknow today was cancelled after he was denied permission by the district administration to hold a meeting on grounds of "law and order situation" in the state.


An angry AIMIM slammed the Samajwadi Party (SP) government's decision to deny permission, saying it was "afraid" of Owaisi as the Uttar Pradesh government had "done nothing" for the minorities.


Owaisi is currently facing fire for refusing to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', claiming that it is matter of personal choice and no one can be forced to do so.   


Owaisi, who had to visit Lucknow today, was denied permission by the district administration to hold a meeting on grounds of "law and order situation" in the state, Additional District Magistrate JS Dubey said in his order. "He is, however, free to visit Lucknow," the order stated.


During his proposed two-day visit to the state, Owaisi was to visit Azamgarh in connection with a programme also but that too has been cancelled.

The Goa government's decision to propose Rs 50 crore for "marketing" tourism in 2016-17 has invited strong criticism from the Opposition benches which dubbed it as a "scam".


"Stakeholders like Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) in their pre-budget memorandum had specifically requested not to promote junkets, and were of the opinion that money should be spent on providing infrastructure," Independent legislator Vijai Sardesai said.


TTAG had objected to junkets as the government was marketing Goa at wrong places and despite that Rs 50 crore is earmarked for the purpose, he said. "Junkets have their own reasons. There are vested interests who want to enjoy at the cost of state exchequer," he said.

Just in: No bids for Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher House in Mumbai. The base price of the house was set for Rs 150 crore.

The SBI-led bank consortium set up the auction of Kingfisher House at Vile Parle in Mumbai in a bid to recover a part of Rs 6,963 crore debt due from the now grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

The house, which served as Kingfisher headquarters, would be sold through e-auction. The e-auction will be done under Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002.

Two flights have been grounded at the Indira Gandhi International ( IGI) airport here on Thursday due to a bomb scare. The Kathmandu-bound Nepal Airlines flight, which was supposed to take off at 11.30 am, and Bhubaneswar-bound Air India flight, scheduled for 11.00 am departure, have been grounded till security clearance. The authorities rushed into action after receiving a threat call at around 10.00 am. All the passengers have been de-boarded from the aircrafts while the security personnel are screening the aircrafts and the baggage. The flights have been taken to an isolation zone in the airport.

The emergence of real estate tycoon Donald Trump as Republican presidential nominee sounded the death-knell for the party establishment, Indian-American former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has said.


"The GOP (Republican) establishment is done for. This race shows that," Jindal told MSNBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday. The 44-year-old was one of the 17 Republicans in the race to the White House, but dropped out as he was unable to gain any support.


"Voters are angry and frustrated and, in some part, the Republican Party deserves some of that frustration. Donald Trump should serve as a wake-up call," Jindal said.


A brokered convention to prevent Trump from becoming the presidential nominee would only further discredit party leadership, said Jindal, who has been one of the billionaire's most vocal critics. "When huge chunks of your base are telling you something, you have to listen to them. Let's let the voters speak," he said and opposed the idea of a 'brokered convention."

A little over 170 passengers of the Nilgiris Mountain Railway train were today left stranded on the tracks as it stopped mid-way following a technical snag. 

It is still a week a to go for Holi but festivities have already begun in Brijbhumi Vrindavan. 

The National Investigation Agency has arrested an alleged 'sympathiser' of the banned ISIS terror group from West Bengal. 

Just in: Bomb threat at Delhi's IGI airport delays Nepal Airlines (Delhi-Kathmandu) and Air India (Delhi-Bhubaneswar) flights. 

f you have a ticket to the blockbuster at the Eden Gardens this Saturday, you didn't just buy a ticket. You also won a lottery. For the first time in Indian sport, an online lottery is being used to determine who gets to buy tickets to some matches featuring India along with the knockouts at the ICC World T20 2016.

The model, while introducing an element of luck in the race for tickets, eliminates the possibility of early birds blocking out the rest in a first-come-first-served system.  Read more

The condition of the injured police horse 'Shaktimaan' deteriorates, says Sadanand Date, SSP Dehradun.


The police horse that was allegedly attacked by a BJP MLA, causing a nation-wide outrage, underwent a surgical procedure to fix one of its hind legs after which authorities said no amputation was required.

The alleged attack on the horse took place during a protest on Monday after which the Congress and BJP were locked in a verbal clash in the Uttarakhand assembly even as people poured their wrath on Mussoorie MLA Ganesh Joshi for showing cruelty to the animal.

Police have registered a case against Joshi and his supporters under Cruelty to Animals Act in connection with the incident, while several animal rights activists including Puja Bahukhandi have also lodged a police complaint against the MLA for his "inhuman" act.


Shaktiman,13, was operated upon by a team of doctors from PantnagarVeterinaryCollege after which Senior Superintendent of Police Sadanand Date said, "The injury has been fixed and no amputation was required."


The attack on the horse of Uttarakhand Mounted Police occurred near Rispana bridge during a protest march by BJP to the state assembly. When intercepted near the bridge, BJP workers tried to jump over the barricades prompting security personnel, including the mounted police, to swing into action to control the protesters.


Joshi (pictured in beige kurta) visited the injured animal in Dehradun today and said that the horse needs better treatment and must be send to the national capital in that regard.

Also read Uttarakhand BJP MLA's interview to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com: 'I was not there when the horse fell'

US seed company Monsanto is welcome to leave India if it does not want to lower prices of genetically modified cotton seeds as directed by the government, a minister said on Wednesday, in a sign the rift between New Delhi and the firm is widening.


The comments come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist government expects to develop its own genetically modified (GM) cotton varieties early next year to end Monsanto's dominance; it controls over 90 percent of cotton seed supply. Read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among the most influential people on the Internet, TIME magazine said, describing the Indian leader as an "Internet star" who often uses social media to "conduct diplomacy."

The magazine cited Modi's unconventional announcement on Twitter of his visit to Pakistan last year while naming him among 'The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet' for the second year in a row in this year's unranked list.

The list includes U.S. Presidential hopeful Donald Trump, reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her husband Kayne West, author J.K. Rowling, former Olympic athlete Caitlyn Jenner and soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo.

On Trump, the magazine noted that he is "redefining how political candidates use social media, for better and for worse."

Despite facing flak for his often insulting tweets and comments online, Trump has almost 7 million followers on Twitter, more than any other presidential candidate including Hillary Clinton, it said.

For its second annual roundup of the most influential people on the Internet, TIME said it looked at the contenders' global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news.

On Modi, TIME said the leader of the world's largest democracy is also an "Internet star", boasting more than 18 million Twitter followers and over 32 million Facebook likes.

It also cited Modi's use of social media to break news and conduct diplomacy.

"And unlike some of his contemporaries, he often uses social media to break news and conduct diplomacy. On Christmas Day, for example, Modi tweeted that he would visit the Pakistani city of Lahore to wish Nawaz Sharif, the leader of India's chief regional rival, a happy 66th birthday," it said.

Well, also mentions his blooper

TIME, however, also cited the faux pas Modi made when he took to Twitter last month to convey his birthday wish to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, who politely corrected him that his birthday was in May.

"That tweet made headlines for the wrong reasons, though: the Afghan President replied with his thanks, and a polite note that he was actually born on May 19," the magazine said.

Last year, Modi was named by TIME among the 100 most influential people in the world in its annual list, with U.S. President Barack Obama penning a flattering profile of him.

This year's list also includes Indo-Canadian vlogger Lilly Singh, who TIME has said is rapidly becoming one of the biggest stars on YouTube, both on and off-screen.


Pic: An artist takes measurements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his wax statue for Madame Tussauds

One of the consequences of the rise of Donald Trump is the global equalization of awfulness. Time was when desis would lament the loneliness of the long-distance liberal in India and gesture, by way of contrast, at the West where liberal virtues were institutionalized and where political differences were civilly expressed. If this was ever true, it isn't true any more.


Read Mukul Kesavan's column on Mr Trump. 

Lenders to long-grounded Kingfisher Airlines, owned by beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya, today began auctioning the KFA headquarters - Kingfisher House - situated near the domestic airport here.


The property, with a built-up area of over 17,000 sq ft in Vile Parle area, is being auctioned by SBICAPS Trustee, a subsidiary of SBI Caps through an e-auction.


The auction is being conducted on e-auction property platform, AuctionTiger. The base price for the property has been set at Rs 150 crore.


The auction is being conducted under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act (Sarfaesi), 2002.


The property was taken over in February 2015 by a consortium of 17 banks lead by State Bank of India in a bid to recover Rs 9,000 crore loan given to the airlines.


Burdened under huge losses and liabilities, including to the lenders, the airline was grounded in late 2012. While lenders have stepped up their efforts to recover dues totalling over Rs 9,000 crore, the founder and main promoter Mallya left the country earlier this month.


Recently, the Enforcement Directorate registered a money laundering case against Mallya and others based on a CBI FIR registered last year.


The agency is also investigating the overall financial structure of Kingfisher Airlines and will look into any payment of kickbacks. Kingfisher Airlines faces a probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) into its allegedly 'inflated' brand valuation of over Rs 4,000 crore.


The government's white-collar fraud detection agency is probing whether such a high valuation was arrived at fraudulently to get more funds from banks and siphon off the additional money for purposes other than proposed investment in the airline.

 Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Mussourie Ganesh Joshi who is accused of assaulting and severely injuring a horse that belonged to the Dehradun Police, visited the injured animal in Dehradun on Thursday and said that the horse needs better treatment and must be send to the national capital in that regard.


Speaking to ANI after meeting 'Shaktimaan', Joshi said that he and his delegation came to meet the horse out of humanity and reiterated that he was not guilty of hurting the animal.


"The horse has multiple fractures and he will take time to heal. He surely needs better doctors and I have recommended that he be sent to New Delhi for better quality of treatment. Senior Superintendent of Police, Dehradun Sadanand Daate briefed ANI regarding the current status of the horse and said that an expert team will be visiting the animal soon.

Supreme Court agrees to hear a petition of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee against Sikh jokes.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley on the Vijay Mallya case: The case is pending in court and every govt agency is going to take strong action wherever he has violated the law. Banks are going all out to recover every penny that they have given to Mallya.

The Delhi High Court today fixed for March 23 the hearing on the pleas seeking cancellation of interim bail granted to JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case.


"The petitions have been received on transfer. Renotify for March 23," Justice Suresh Kait said.


However, when the judge fixed the hearing on next date, advocate R P Luthra, who appeared for one of the petitioners seeking cancellation of interim bail as well as initiation of perjury proceedings against Kanhaiya, told the bench that it was an urgent matter and it should be heard on March 21.

"My request is that since it is a sensitive and urgent matter, it should be heard on Monday (March 21)," Luthra said, adding that the country's reputation is at stake. The bench declined his oral request saying, "The police is there and they are taking care of it."

Bharti Airtel to acquire Videocon Telecom's 1,800 MHz spectrum for Rs 4,428 crore.

The Enforcement Directorate has announced that liquor baron and owner of grounded Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya has to appear in person before the court. His lawyers cannot appear on his behalf, the ED told news channels.

The first hearing in the Vijay Mallya loan default case by the ED has been fixed on March 18.

The Mallya's passport  could be revoked if he fails to turn up before the ED in the alleged money laundering case.

This will be the first step to ensure his deportation, sources said.

Today, a consortium led by the State Bank of India is likely to auction the Kingfisher House at Jogeshwari in Mumbai in a bid to recover part of the Rs 6,963 crore debt due from the now grounded Kingfisher Airlines. The base price has been fixed at Rs 150 crore.

Actor Anupam Kher, an ardent Narendra Modi supporter and flies the nationalist flag tweets that the "only definition of nationalism for Bharatwasis should be "Bharat Mata Ki Jai". 


Yesterday, the Congress joined the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra Assembly to get AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan suspended. They backed a resolution moved by Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil, disapproving of Pathan's behaviour and suspending him for the remainder of the Budget session.

At one point, cabinet minister and BJP leader Eknath Khadse said an apology from the AIMIM MLA would do but he was shouted down by Congress members who sought suspension of Pathan and were immediately backed by the NCP, BJP and Shiv Sena.

BJP members isolated AIMIM's Waris Pathan and Imtiaz Jaleel  the two MLAs of Asaduddin Owaisi's party during the debate on the Governor's address to the House for refusing to chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'


This comes in the aftermath of Owaisi challenging the RSS a couple of days ago by saying he would never chant Bharat Mata ki Jai.

These are among hundreds of episodes recorded over the past year that show how young Muslims have been branded IS recruiters, sympathisers or active members by people looking to settle personal scores. Read more

Frank Sinatra Jr, the son of legendary singer Frank Sinatra and an artist himself, has died. He was 72. The Sinatra family said in a statement that he died of cardiac arrest while on tour in Daytona, FL, and that they mourn the untimely passing of their son, brother, family, and uncle, reported RollingStone magazine.

Though his father may have discouraged his son from going into the music business due to its challenges, Sinatra Jr followed in the footsteps of his famous father as well as worked by his side. When he was 19, he was kidnapped and held for ransom, though he was released a few days later and the kidnappers were caught and convicted.

Nandan Nilekani, the first Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India and considered one of the chief architects of Aadhaar, says the NDA government's Aadhaar Bill has enough safeguards and this is probably the most stringent law on privacy till date in India.


"In fact, this (the Bill on privacy) is stronger than the original Bill. The Bill has very robust privacy protection beyond what any other legislation has ever provided in India. It is as good as it gets,' Nilekani told The Indian Express. Read more

Delhi High Court adjourns for March 23 the hearing on a plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to Kanhaiya Kumar

Airport Authority of India employees union threaten to go on a hunger strike from April 4 if bonus is not paid to them: ANI

JUST IN: Vishwa Hindu Parishad wants name of Mangalore district collector be dropped from temple event invite, says they don't want non-hindu official to attend temple event

NCP's Sameer Bhujbal who had been arrested in a money laundering case brought to ED office

Asaduddin Owaisi's visit to Lucknow cancelled. He was denied permission by the city administration on Wednesday to hold a public meet.

United States President Barack Obama has signed an order implementing United Nations-backed sanctions on North Korea, amid a series of reprisals from Pyongyang.

The White House on Wednesday said Obama had signed an executive order targeting the volatile hermit state's energy, financial and shipping assets.

The measures were agreed to at the United Nations in response to a January 6 nuclear test and February 7 ballistic missile launch.

'The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea, but rather is aimed at the government,' said the document signed by Obama.

Among the entities targeted are the 'Propaganda and Agitation Department' of the Workers' Party of Korea and mining firms that provide the regime with much-needed revenues. AP

Assam Agriculture Minister Rockybul Hussain on Wednesday filed a police complaint against an Election Commission Election Expenditure team for allegedly defaming him by searching his vehicles.

Hussain said that he along with his wife had come to his house in Panjabari area in Guwahati at around 6.30 pm when the EC team, who was waiting there, asked them along with Hussain's security forces in another car to get out of their vehicles toconduct search operations there.

The team did not state the exact reason for conducting the search, the minister said.

United States network Fox News today called off a Republican debate next week after front-runner Donald Trump announced he wasn't taking part.

The debate -- being organised in partnership with the Republican Party -- would have been held Monday in Salt Lake City, Utah.

'The Salt Lake City debate is canceled,' said a statement from Fox News' executive vice president of news Michael Clemente.

"I think we've had enough debates," Trump had told the same network earlier.

Already on Friday, the billionaire had told reporters he thought it was time to end the debates.

Twelve Republican debates have been held since August.

Trump already boycotted one such forum held in Iowa in late January, also hosted by Fox News.

"I think we've had enough, how many times can the same people ask you the same questions?" Trump said. "So I was very surprised when I heard that Fox called for a debate, nobody told me about it, and I won't be there, no." AFP

Silver anklets, weighing around 6 kg and printed with pictures of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leaders M Karunanidhi and M K Stalin, were today seized by an election flying squad here.

Police said the seizure was made from the house of DMK functionary Gopalakrishnan, who is into silver anklets business.

The flying squad personnel, along with police, seized a total 105 silver anklets weighing six kg, they said.

The Delhi high court on Wednesday refused to grant any interim stay on the money laundering proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate against Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and others.

In a notice to the ED, Justice Pratibha Rani sought its response before May 31 on Virbhadra's plea, seeking stay on the proceedings and quashing of the money laundering case against him.

The ED had last year registered a money laundering case against Virbhadra and others under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act after taking cognisance of a criminal complaint filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in this regard. 

The first part of the budget session of Parliament came to end on Wednesday evening, with both the Houses adjourned till 11 am on April 25.

The first part of the session turned out to be a very productive.

The lower house worked 123 per cent of the scheduled time, while productivity of the Rajya Sabha has been 103 per cent.

Both the Houses deliberated on issues relating to women and most of the female MPs were given time to participate on International Women's Day. There were quality debates on motion of thanks on President's address, the real estate bill and the general and railway budgets.

Disruptions of proceedings came down substantially during the period.

As many as 10 bills were passed by Parliament during the first part of the session, which began on February 23 of last month, with the Lok Sabha passing nine bills whereas the Rajya Sabha approving 11.

The important bills which got Parliament's nod included the real estate regulation and development bill, the Aadhar bill and the election laws amendment bill.   Besides, the Rajya Sabha took up two Calling Attention Motions and the Lok Sabha one.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu termed the first part of the budget session as most significant and rewarding on several counts.

AI plane searched at Bangkok airport after bomb threats

Complaint against Owaisi for refusing to say 'Bharat Mata ki jai' -

Group of JNU teachers' release report, say Afzal event could have been avoided

Merrick Garland nominated as US Supreme Court judge

Pak diplomats get travel permission as India relents in T20 visitation row

Read yesterday's commentary HERE