A two-day meeting of BJP's Gujarat state executive began here on Friday with a political resolution to target victory on 150-plus seats out of 182 in the state assembly elections elections due this year.

"The way people of Uttar Pradesh gave 73 of 80 Parliamentary seats to BJP in 2014 and repeated the historic win by giving 325 Assembly seats in 2017, the executive committee hopes that people in Gujarat, who gave all the 26 Lok Sabha seats to BJP in 2014, will give a mandate of over 150 seats in the forthcoming Assembly elections," the resolution read.

BJP President Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, who is the outgoing party in-charge of the state Dinesh Sharma as well as his successor Bhupender Yadav are expected to attend the meet on Saturday.

With Somnath being the spot that party veteran L.K. Advani had led his famous Ayodhya Yatra of 1990, with present Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his charioteer, the executive committee members hoped that the work on construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya would begin soon.

"It is of historical memory for us that the light for Ram temple at Ayodhya was lit on this pious land and it was from here that Somnath-Ayodhya Rathyatra had begun. The minds and hearts of crores of people in our country are seeking construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya…. when this executive meet is being held at Somnath, we pray to lord Somnath that the work on construction of temple begins at the earliest amidst religious harmony."

The committee also resolved to strictly implement prohibition in the state.

"Some intellectuals keep giving an argument of revenue value loss to the exchequer due to prohibition but moral values are more important for a society than revenue value to the state," said the resolution.

Nearly five lakh hotels and food joints in Tamil Nadu will participate in the April 25 dawn to dusk state-wide bandh to express solidarity with the farmers agitating in New Delhi to get their demands redressed.

Since various trade and commercial bodies have decided to join the bandh called by a few political parties, hotels in the State also decided to down their shutters on that day, Tamil Nadu Hotel Owners Association president, Venkatasubbu told reporters here today.

Despite various types of agitation,the Central government was not taking any steps to end to the woes of the farmers, who are demanding waiver of loans from National Banks and also drought relief to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore, he said.

The farmers, who have been agitating in the national capital for the past 35 days, have received support from various other outfits and political parties.

They are demanding loan waiver, drought-relief package of Rs 40,000 crore and setting up of Cauvery Management Board from the Centre.

The farmers have been resorting to various methods to attract the Centre's attention, some of which were protesting with half-shaved heads and wearing 'rudhraksha' (seeds traditionally used for prayer beads) indicating a life of saints who has given up all earthly needs.

Indian junior paddlers bagged three bronze medals in the Belgium Junior and Cadet Open Table Tennis Championship, which is part of the ITTF World Junior Circuit, according to information received here.

Archana Kamath won the junior girls' singles bronze medal, while the other two medals came in the junior girls' and boys' doubles events.

The junior girls' pairing of Moumitta Dutta and Selena Selvakumar and the junior boys' combination of Manush Shah and Manav Thakkar both lost in the semi-finals and had to settle for the bronze.

The most outstanding performance amongst the Indians came from Archana who looked impressive till the penultimate round.

In the semi-finals she started well and despite her determined efforts she went down fighting 3-4 to Rebekka Carlsen of Norway.

Earlier in the quarter-finals, Archana was in terrific form and outplayed Croatia's Marta Vukelic winning in straight games at 4-0.

Results – Junior girls' singles (semi-finals): Archana Kamath (Ind) lost to Rebekka Carlsen (Nor) 3-4 (11-7,11-7,11-9,10-12,9-11,6-

11,11-13); Andrea Pavlovic (Cro) lost to Lisa Lung (Bel) 1-4 (5-11,11-9,6-11,6-11,4-11).

Junior girls' singles (quarter-finals): Archana Kamath (Ind) beat Marta Vukelic (Cro) 4-0 (11-9,11-3,11-7,11-7); Moumita Dutta (Ind) lost to Andrea Pavlovic 1-4 (7-11, 11-7, 4-11, 3-11, 6-11).

Junior girls' doubles (semi-finals): Lisa Lung (Bel)/Amy Wang (USA) bt Moumita Dutta (Ind)/Selena Selvakumar (Ind) 3-1 (11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-4).

Junior boys' doubles (semi-finals): Manush Shah (Ind)/Manav Thakkar (Ind) lost to Leo De Nodrest (Fra)/Jules Rolland (Fra) 1-3 (11-9, 7-11, 2-11, 4-11).

The World Bank has approved a $375 million (over Rs 2,400 crore) loan for developing the National Waterway-1 (NW-1), the government said on Friday.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Shipping said the loan would provide a major boost to India's inland waterways project.

"The (NW-1) project would enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 DWT," it said. 

The 1,390 kilometres-long Ganga waterway from Haldia to Varanasi is being developed under the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) at an estimated cost of Rs 5,369 crore. 

It passes through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, serving the major cities of Allahabad, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Bhagalpur, Patna, Howrah, Haldia and Kolkata. 

"The rail and road corridors in this region are heavily saturated. Hence, the development of NW-1 would provide an alternative, viable, economical, efficient and eco-friendly mode of transport," the Shipping Ministry said. 

"The waterway will act as a catalyst in the socio-economic development of the region by creating new business and employment opportunities."

The ministry added that while work had started to construct multi-modal terminals at Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Sahibganj (Jharkhand), the construction of multi-modal terminal at Haldia (West Bengal) would "begin soon".

As many as 90 buildings in Haryana's two towns Gurugram and Faridabad would be made disabled friendly so that disabled persons may not face any inconvenience.

Disabilities, Social Justice and Empowerment Department Commissioner Raj Nirbhik on Friday said that with the view to facilitate the disabled persons, 42 buildings have been identified in Gurugram, of which two buildings were in dilapidated condition.

Apart from this, estimates of 20 buildings have been made and sent to the Social Justice and Empowerment Department for approval. These include Mini Secretariat, Court Complex, office of electricity department Kadipur, office of police commissioner, civil hospital, public health department and others, he added.

Nirbhik also highlighted the initiatives being taken by the Haryana government for the welfare of the disabled persons, including the decision to provide pension under the Haryana Divyang Pension Rules, 2016 to persons with 60 per cent disability. Apart from this, pension is being provided to such beneficiaries who are unable to visit banks, at their doorstep, the official added.

Actress Gemma Arterton believes a female James Bond would be great.

The 31-year-old actress – who starred alongside Daniel Craig in the 2008 Bond movie Quantum of Solace – says film producer Barbara Broccoli is one of the biggest feminists in the world and she can, therefore, envision there being a female 007, reported Contactmusic.

“Barbara Broccoli is one of the biggest feminists in the world that I know, so I'm sure she would love to do that. Yeah, I mean why not, great,” Gemma says.

The actress says the roles she is offered have changed markedly over the years, especially as she's become more outspoken in her criticism of Hollywood.

“I'm approached with projects that are much more female- centric because I've spoken out about it so much, which is a good thing.

“But I don't necessarily look for these kind of feminist messages or anything like that, but it's always quite nice when there's a message in there. The future projects I have are all kind-of about women that are great, or not great, they're idiotic, or silly, they're just about women so that's a good thing.”

Singer Ed Sheeran says actress Saoirse Ronan tricked him into getting a tattoo that misspelled his song, Galway Girl.

The 26-year-old musician says the “Brooklyn” star, who features in the titular role in the video, was supposed to tattoo the phrase for real but ended up misspelling it as Galway Grill to mess up with him, reported Spin magazine.

The tattoo was supposed to be “Welcome to the Galway Girl, my name is Brandon and I'll be your server tonight.”

“She really took the —- out of me with this one. I'm actually kind of proud of her. It's the kind of thing that I would do,” Sheeran told a crowd at a Glasgow concert.

The song is a part of “Shape of You” singer's latest album Divide.

American rock band Paramore are set to launch new album After Laughter ahead of their European tour.

Paramore returns after four years with their fifth studio album After Laughter this Spring, coming alongside a series of UK and European tour dates and a new single entitled 'Hard Times'.

The album also sees the return of a long absent original band member, reported Contactmusic.

After Laughter follows Paramore's self-titled previous album which topped UK and US charts in 2013.

Produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen and the group's own rhythm guitarist Taylor York, who previously worked on 'Paramore', the album also sees the original drummer Zac Farro return after seven years.

After Laughter is set to be released on May 12 through Fueled by Ramen and Atlantic records.

Tata Trusts on Friday said it "has no connection" at all with a recent public interest litigation (PIL) on public sector entities' equity holding in the tobacco sector.

"Tata Trusts clarifies that it has no connection whatsoever with a recent PIL on government entities' equity holding in the tobacco sector," it said in a statement.

According to it, the petitioners have filed the plea, as private citizens. The main petitioner is Sumitra Pednekar, wife of the late Satish Pednekar, former Minister of Maharashtra.

The PIL filed in the Bombay High Court asked the central government's policy of allowing public sector insurance companies to invest in the tobacco industry, contradicting the "anti-tobacco" stance taken by the Union government.

"The other petitioners are Ashish Deshmukh, BJP MLA from Katol (Maharashtra), Abhay Bang, a public health expert, Pankaj Chaturvedi, leading cancer surgeon, Prakash Gupta, public health expert, and R. Venkataramanan and Lakshman Sethuraman, two Tata Trusts employees, all of whom have joined the petition in their individual capacities," the statement said.

The statement came after some media reports suggested that the petition was an initiative of the Trusts trying to draw links with Indian Hotels Company Limited and ITC Limited.

"Tata Trusts denounces such suggestions," it said, adding that it was baseless to describe the petition as initiated by the Trusts just because Venkataramanan and Sethuraman work for the organisation

Service charge in hotels and restaurants are "totally voluntary", Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday.

"Government has approved guidelines on service charge. (It) is totally voluntary and not mandatory now. Guidelines are being sent to states for necessary action," he tweeted.

Paswan said hotels and restaurants must "not decide how much service charge is to be paid by the customer and it should be left to the discretion of the customer".

According to an official from the Consumer Affairs Ministry, hotels cannot levy service charge in the bill and it will be the customer's discretion weather to pay or not. 

It is only after the customers' consent that a hotel can add the charge in the bill.

If hotels defy the government decision, customers can approach consumer courts, the official added.

Actors Soha Ali Khan and Kunal Khemu are expecting their first child together.

Soha, 38, daughter of Sharmila Tagore and Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi married Kunal, 33 in 2015 in a private ceremony. They were in a live-in relationship from 2013.

“Yes it's true. Soha and I are very happy to announce a joint production coming later this year – our first child! We feel blessed and thank you all for your good wishes,” Kunal said in a statement.

The two have acted together in films like 99 and Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge.

Demonetisation-themed feature film Shunyota, which had been stalled by the censor board regional office, has finally released on Friday with six cuts.

“We got the CBFC nod on April 2 after effecting six cuts in the film and I think the cuts will not diminish the concept of the film. All's well that ends well,” director Suvendu Ghosh told.

The cuts include comments on effects of demonetisation by principal characters and some portions of conversation between a mother and her daughter.

The film with U/A certification has been released across 26 theatres in West Bengal.

A CBFC regional office spokesperson said, “The chairperson of CBFC has decided on the matter. The film has been cleared as per recommendations of the examining committee.”

CBFC regional office had examined the film on March 27. Since there were differences of opinion among the members of the committee regarding certificate, the case was referred to CBFC chairperson.

 In a stinging remark, the Supreme Court on Friday said when it passes some directions, it is claimed that the courts are "trying to run the government", which does not want to act.

"You (government) do not want to do it and when we say anything, you say that court is trying to run the government," a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said, while castigating the government for not caring about the destitute widows in the country.

The apex court also imposed a cost of Rs one lakh on the government for not coming out with the agreed directions to improve the condition of destitute widows, despite its direction and granted it four weeks to do so.

"You do not care about the widows of India. You file an affidavit and say you are not concerned with the widows of India. You have done nothing… This is complete helplessness.

Government does not want to do anything," the bench said.

The apex court had earlier asked the Centre to convene a meeting to consider suggestions mooted by the National Commission for Women (NCW) and formulate directions to improve the condition of widows in the country.

The counsel for Ministry of Women and Child Development had intimated the court that a meeting was scheduled on April 12 and 13 to consider the suggestions of the NCW and experts.

During the hearing today, the bench asked the Centre's counsel why this meeting was not convened despite an assurance given to the court.

"You had told us about April 12 and 13 but there was no meeting and now you are giving explanations. Inspite of what was recorded, nothing has been done. You have not done anything," the bench said, adding "we cannot do anything, they are so stubborn".

When the counsel sought time to come back with directions, the bench said, "we will grant you time subject to cost of Rs one lakh".

At the last date of hearing, the court had said the government and other stakeholders should sit together and come out with a list of "agreed directions" which may be passed by it today.

The counsel for the ministry had told the court that it would be appropriate "if agreed directions are formulated and issued, so that immediate steps are taken to improve the conditions of widows".

The apex court had taken note of situation of widows after a petition was filed in 2007 portraying their pathetic condition in the welfare homes at the holy city of Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh.

The apex court had earlier referred to various reports filed by the National Legal Services Authority, the District Legal Services Authority and the NCW on the condition of shelter homes for widows in Vrindavan.

One of the reports had said that there was lack of proper toilets and bathrooms in the shelter homes, besides poor water and electricity facilities.

The court was hearing the pleas seeking directions to the Centre and the state government to provide shelter and other necessary facilities to the widows in Vrindavan who have been abandoned by their family members.

The apex court had also appointed a seven-member panel to collect data on their socio-economic conditions. A majority of the 1,000-odd widows interviewed earlier in Vrindavan by the NCW have children who do not care for them.

In a report filed in the apex court, the statutory women's body had recommended fixing of liability on the children under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.

It had said an estimated 5,000-10,000 widows were living like beggars in ashrams dotting the two holy cities of Mathura and Vrindavan.

When Real Madrid play Barcelona, the whole world stops and watches. Such is the arresting power of famed El Clasico.

Now, stakes have been raised manifold. And, the fate of the La Liga title race hangs in balance as Los Blancos host La Blaugrana on Sunday. 

But, who are the star performers for the clubs this season? More importantly, who makes it to The Statesman’s combined XI of the arch-rivals?

The players (in a 4-3-3 formation) are:

Goalkeeper: Marc Andre ter-Stegen
Barcelona’s German keeper comfortably wins this individual battle against Real’s Costa Rican custodian. The reason being not just because of the number of clean sheets they have gathered (9 for ter-Stegen, 4 for Navas), also Stegen is pretty handy with his feet, makes fewer mistakes and is more commanding of his penalty area than Navas is.

Left-Back: Marcelo
On current form, it would be difficult to find a better left-back in the world than Marcelo. His displays on the flank have been excellent all season. Had Jordi Alba been starting game for La Blaugrana consistently, he might have had a stronger edge. But as things stand, Marcelo is the clear winner here. 

Centre-Back: Sergio Ramos
Probably the easiest pick, Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos was a shoo-in for the first central defensive slot. He has an incredible seven goals to his name this season, all in the La Liga! It’s not just about goals, however, as the centre-back is a real leader and while he has a propensity towards yellow cards, remains among the finest central defenders in the world.
Summer-signing Samuel Umtiti has tailed off after an impressive start. And, with Javier Mascherano starting to show signs of aging, Ramos doesn't even have much competition for this spot. 

Centre-Back: Gerard Pique
Pique remains a divisive figure in footballing debates, but currently it would be hard to argue against his inclusion. Real Madrid’s centre-backs, Pepe and Raphael Varane are both injured and while Nacho has acquitted himself well in their absence, he hasn't had enough of game time to seriously challenge Pique. From his own club as well, he doesn't have much completion as Umtiti isn't quite the finished product yet and while Mascherano isn't quite over-the-hill, he isn't the player he was a couple of seasons ago.

Right-Back: Dani Carvajal
Carvajal took his time, but has now firmly established his place as the first-choice right-back for Los Blancos, ahead of summer signing Danilo. His competitor, Sergio Roberto, is a decent right-back but had Aleix Vidal been fit, probably would not have been in the starting line up for the Catalans. Carvajal’s energy, speed and quality crosses make him a solid right-back and at 25, there is plenty of upside for the Leganes native.

Left Midfield: Toni Kroos
A model of efficiency on the pitch, Kroos never once looks rushed while playing. While he may not score many goals, a tally of 11 assists (league only) suggests his season has been quite fruitful. It’s not just about assists, however, as with Kroos in the side, Los Blancos are able to dictate the pace of the game without much fuss. Andres Iniesta just doesn't have it anymore, perhaps that is why he has started just nine league games in the 2016-17 season. Ivan Rakitic would have had a serious chance of dislodging the German had he not been so inconsistent for Barcelona, especially in the big games.

Centre-Midfield: Sergio Busquets
The biggest battle was not upfront but in the middle of the park. Casemiro vs Sergio Busquets. Contrasting styles as the Brazilian has a high-energy, extremely robust approach while the Spaniard prefers to be squeaky clean and utilises his high footballing IQ to intercept his opponents. Granted, Casemiro has been excellent all season, but Busquets deserves his place in the heart of this XI due to his supremely-consistent displays and whenever he doesn't play, Barca suffer greatly.

Right-Midfield: Luka Modric
Modric may not have the energy as he used to, but he makes the cut ahead of the likes of Iniesta and Rakitic. As mentioned above, the former is too old to play every game and the latter hasn't been as consistent as expected. Modric is still hard to beat one-on-one and his technical abilities remain undiminished. 

Left-Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo
Plenty of talk of Neymar surpassing Messi has been doing the rounds but if you look at the stats, he is far away from displacing the Argentine maestro. His tally of nine goals is dwarfed by Ronaldo's tally of 19, a staggering difference if one considers this to be the Portuguese sensation’s worst season at the Santiago Bernabeu. Yes, the Brazilian has more assists, but CR7 is just too consistent to not be picked. Ronaldo’s powers may well be on the wane, but the fact remains that he is still head and shoulders ahead of the likes of Neymar, at least for now.

Centre-Forward: Luis Suarez
Despite scoring 24 goals in the league, Suarez is still not Barcelona’s top scorer. A strange stat but considering he plays alongside the brilliant Lionel Messi, an understandable one. Suarez has been on fire in all competitions this season, banging in goal after goal. A striker that battles for each and every ball and is always making space for himself and his teammates, he is arguably the finest No. 9 in the world at the moment. Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has been quite poor the whole season and in all honesty, would need to be in the form of his life if we were to even think of being picked over Suarez.

Right-Forward: Lionel Messi
Like Ronaldo before him, there is very little that hasn't been already said on this great talent. Twenty-nine league goals in a team which haven't been firing on all cylinders all season is no mean feat. Very rarely does he have an off game and while he can play a number of positions due to his immense versatility, he is perhaps at his devastating best when he cuts in from the right wing. Gareth Bale plays for Madrid in this position and while he is a fine player, he is too injury-prone to be considered seriously.
 
Final Score: Real Madrid 6 , Barcelona 5

Arrival star Amy Adams and Indian origin English actress Fagun Thakrar are set to work together.

"Looking forward to be working with one of my favourite actresses Amy Adams," Thakrar tweeted on Thursday. 

She also posted a photo of the two in which they are seen sitting next to each other and posing for the camera.

In the past, Thakrar has featured with stars like Martin Sheen, Donald Sutherland and Brie Larson in films.

She is best known for her act in the 2014 film Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain, which was set amidst the Bhopal disaster that took place in India in 1984. 

A major fire broke out in the upper floors of Bank of India's heritage building here on Friday evening, officials said. There were no reports of any casualties so far.

Thick clouds of smoke could be seen billowing out of the top floors of the building, located close to the Bombay High Court and the Flora Fountain-Hutatma Chowk memorials in the central business district in south Mumbai.

At least four fire tenders and ambulances were rushed to the spot and efforts were on to contain the conflagration even as the building was quickly evacuated.

Pakistani singer Atif Aslam says he is elated over getting a chance to sing a romantic track titled Hoor for the Bollywood film Hindi Medium, and hopes it gets a positive response from the Indian audience.

Atif reunited with Bollywood composers Sachin-Jigar after working with them for a song in Badlapur. The new song features the lead cast – Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar. 

" Hoor is a very special song. It's close to my heart. It is also one of the biggest songs for me this year. The entire team of 'Jeena jeena' has reunited for this song as well," Atif said in a statement. 

He added: "'Jeena jeena' was well received by the audience. Sachin-Jigar have done a fabulous job with the song, and I hope the audience gives it same love that they gave 'Jeena jeena'."

Directed by Saket Chaudhary, Hindi Medium also marks the debut of Pakistani actress Saba in Bollywood. It is a story about how education that is supposed to be a tool of enlightenment has become a tool to create inequality. 

Talking about collaboration, Jigar said: " Hoor is more rooted, mature and Sufi than Jeena jeena. This song will grow on people slowly. Lot of love songs that we hear today are more about heart break and separation. However, this song highlights the beauty of falling in love and how he describes his lover as 'Hoor'."

Irrfan is also very happy with the response to the song. He said: "It's a soulful and heartwarming song and it will definitely make you fall in love."

Hindi Medium, a T-Series and Maddock films presentation, is set to release on May 12.