India

Jammu, Apr 4: Mehbooba Mufti, president of the Peoples Democratic Party, took the oath as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, thereby ending 11 weeks of political uncertainty. 23 Ministers were sworn in alongside Ms. Mufti. A leader with grassroots-level popularity, Mehbooba Mufti turned Peoples Democratic Party into a regional force and emerged from the shadow of her

Chennai, Apr 4: Ending intense negotiations spread over weeks, DMK today allotted its key ally Congress 41 seats for the May 16 Assembly polls. The bilateral discussions to identify the constituencies each of them would contest will begin later today. "We have signed (an agreement) that allots 41 seats to Congress," senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters here after inking the deal

Kolkata/ Guwahati: Apr 4: The first of the six-phase Assembly election in West Bengal began at 7 AM today in 18 constituencies in the Left-wing extremism-affected areas. A tight multi-layered security ring was thrown in the three districts of West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura to tackle any threat by Maoists. Phase 1(a) of the election will decide the fate of 133 candidates, including 11 women

Guwahati, Apr 3: Thirty candidates have criminal charges against them, including a minister and five sitting MLAs, out of the 539 contestants in 65 consituencies going to polls in the first phase in Assam tomorrow. Altogether 25 candidates have cited serious criminal cases related to murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, crimes against women etc. in their affidavits submitted while filing their

Mumbai, April 3: An Indian priest abducted by gunmen in Yemen last month is safe and could be released soon, a Catholic group said on Sunday, quoting the Indian foreign minister. Father Tom Uzhunnalil was captured from the southern Yemeni city of Aden by gunmen who killed at least 15 people at an old people's home in an attack that was condemned by Pope Francis. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of

Mumbai, Apr 3: Days after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' remarks, a top functionary of the organisation has said that 'Vande Mataram' is the real national anthem as opposed to the 'Constitutionally-mandated' Jana Gana Mana. "Jana Gana Mana is today our national anthem. It has to be respected. There is no reason why it should evoke any other sentiment," RSS General Secretary

Nashik, Apr 2: A day after the Bombay High Court ruled that it is the fundamental right of women to go into places of worship, around 25 women activists led by Trupti Desai today entered the premises of Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra, but were stopped by locals from offering prayer in the inner sanctum. As the standoff escalated, the police took away Ms Desai and other protesters away from

Pune, Apr 1: Women can no longer be barred from entering temples in Maharashtra with the Bombay High Court today holding that it is their fundamental right to go into places of worship and the government's duty to protect it. In directions which are seen as a break from centuries-old traditions and a victory for women's campaign against gender bias, the court asked the Maharashtra Government to

Hyderabad, Apr 1: The city-based IVRCL which was constructing the flyover in Kolkata, a portion of which collapsed yesterday killing 24 people, today described the incident as an "accident", a day after another official of the company had dubbed it as an "act of God". "An act of God was just an expression only to describe that it is under no one's control", P Sita, the construction company's legal

Kolkata, Apr 1: Five officials of the company that was building a flyover that collapsed on to vehicles and street vendors here have been detained. Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar, who paid a visit to the mishap site, told reporters "We have detained a few officials of the construction company. We are taking action against them". Kolkata Police has registered a case against the Hyderabad