Beleaguered AIADMK (Amma) Deputy General Secretary TTV Dhinakaran on Wednesday said none in the party were against him, asserting that all party MLAs stood behind him.

"There is no opposition to me in the party," he said, breaking his silence since influential section of Ministers revolted against him last night and decided to keep General Secretary V K Sasikala and him out of the party.

According to 'Jaya Plus' Tamil TV channel, Dhinakaran said a "good decision" will be taken in the interest of the party.

Party sources indicated that he was expected to appear at the Economic Offences court here later in the day on a case against him for alleged violation of FERA regulations.

Dhinakaran has called a meeting of party MLAs and District Secretaries at 3 pm on Wednesday.

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has captured a region of Mars sprayed with mysterious secondary craters.

"Secondary craters form from rocks ejected at high speed from the primary crater, which then impact the ground at sufficiently high speed to make huge numbers of much smaller craters over a large region," NASA said in a statement on Tuesday.

"In this scene, however, the secondary crater ejecta has an unusual raised-relief appearance like bas-relief sculpture," NASA added.

So how did that happen?

One idea is that the region was covered with a layer of fine-grained materials like dust or pyroclastics about one to two metres thick when the Zunil impact occurred (about a million years ago), and the ejecta served to harden or otherwise protect the fine-grained layer from later erosion by the wind, NASA scientists said.

 Actor Kurt Russell says he was happy to be part of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" due to all the positive factors including the presence of actors Sylvester Stallone and Michael Rooker.

"I was just talking to Sylvester Stallone, who's one of my favourite people, and he loved doing what he did in this movie too. It's been fun seeing Michael Rooker again. We did ‘Tombstone' together, and I haven't seen Michael since then. So there were a lot of positives in this project for me," Russell said in a statement.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" is written and directed by James Gunn, and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista. It also features the voices of actors like Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper. It is releasing on May 5 in India. 

With the backdrop titled Awesome Mixtape #2,the second part of the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy will take further the team's adventures as they traverse different cosmos to protect their world. This time, the storyline will explore family values and also unravel many family truths and mysteries.

Russell says working with the whole cast was fabulous. 

"Zoe was really fun. Dave was really great. And Groot with Vin Diesel's voice. I got to know Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula, and I got to spend a lot of time, of course, with Pom Klementieff," he added. 
 

Road tax paid by automobile owners will not be subsumed under the GST (Goods and Services Tax), said Najib Shah, former Chairman, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), on April 18.

Shah disclosed this during his address to the managing committee members of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here. 

Besides, Shah said that GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Network) systems will undergo trials for efficient tax collection.

Politician Priya Dutt, who is also the daughter of well-known yesteryear actress Nargis Dutt, says that Cancer survivors should get back to their normal life as soon as possible.

Dutt also stressed on the fact that they should stay positive during their treatment instead of breaking down fearing death.

The politician was present here in Mumbai on Tuesday evening for a social campaign, "My Hair For Cancer", an initiative by Richfeel, hair care expert company in association with Nargis Dutt Foundation. 

The campaign aimed to create awareness about how to deal with the hair loss that Cancer patients face after therapy. The loss not only affect their image but also self confidence, leading to mental trauma.

Talking about handling such situation in a wise manner Priya said, "I think support of your family and loved one is very important. My mother passed away from cancer and I have seen the whole situation from very close quarter." 

"I think patients should not lose their hope and their family should stand strong with them. Don't break down into tears. And once the treatment is over, strive to return to normal life," she added. 

"I think normalcy of life is very important for a cancer survivor."

She also added, "So, if you are a child, go to school, meet your friends. If you are a working professional, prepare to achieve your career goals, there is a life after cancer." 

"Live your life, you have survived the battle of cancer," she said.

Others present at the gathering were actress and cancer survivor Manisha Koirala and Apoorva Shah, the founder of Richfeel among others.

Sharing the idea Shah said, "Hair and skin are the two important parts of human body that creates your image, gives you confidence, boosts your self-esteem." 

"When my mother was diagnosed with cancer we saw how she was scared of losing her hair which was a bigger fear than the disease itself. So we, at Richfeel are trying to give back their (cancer patients) hair so that they can get their confidence back and return to normal life."

Manisha, talking about her interest to join the campaign, said, "It was my dream to contribute for Nargis Dutt Foundation. I am a cancer survivor. I want to tell every cancer patient — just keep your will power strong, you will win the battle." 

"Do not get upset about losing hair due to chemotherapy. After the treatment, hair will come back, look at me!"

Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth, who clinched his maiden Superseries title at the Singapore Open on Sunday, is keen to ensure consistency. He said on his return to the home town on Tuesday that he would work hard to continue winning.

Praneeth defeated compatriot Kidambi Srikanth in a historic all-Indian final in Singapore Open Superseries.

Praneeth and Srikanth — his practice partner at Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy — shared their experiences with the media.

World No.30 Praneeth, who had won the Canada Open Grand Prix last year and reached the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold final this year, defeated Srikanth 17-21, 21-17, 21-12.

He thus became the fourth Indian after Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu and Srikanth to win a Superseries event.

"I was waiting for it for a very long time and I am happy to finally win it," said the Hyderabadi shuttler.

He said he was practicing for this tournament for over two months and did not play All England to focus on the fitness.

For the first time in the history of Indian badminton, the two Indians clashed in the final of a Superseries and both Praneeth and Srikanth were happy to be a part of this feat.

"We both felt very happy. Before the match we did not speak about it. We were not so serious about it. We had a chat like on any other day, we cracked jokes and we dined together," said Praneeth.

The 24-year-old, who came back in the match after losing the first game, said he was not bothered about winning or losing but wanted to give his best. "I wanted to get my rhythm back and after going down in the first, the rallies were showing good," he said.

"We were happy that both of us are in final. No matter who wins or loses, India was already a winner and the crowd was enjoying with the chants 'India jeet gaya'," recalled Srikanth.

He hoped that there will be many more all Indian-finals in future and noted the fact that the academy was producing many champions, which will promote competition and excellence.

IDBI Federal felicitated Praneeth and Srikanth with cheques of Rs.3 lakh and Rs.2 lakh respectively.

It also presented a cheque of Rs.3 lakh to Sindhu for winning the Indian Open Superseries title.

Speaking about Singapore Superseries final between Praneeth and Srikanth, she said it was a fantastic game and both played well.

India chief coach Pullela Gopichand said last few weeks were good for Indian badminton. He also hailed the victories of junior players at the national and international level.

The Supreme Court Wednesday ruled that LK Advani and other top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, including Union Minister Uma Bharti, will be tried for criminal conspiracy in the demolition of the 16th-century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992. The mosque razing incited nationwide riots, leaving around 2,000 people dead. The apex court also ordered daily hearings to ensure a verdict is delivered within two years.

BJP leaders Advani, MM Joshi and Uma Bharti will face trial in the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition case as the apex court has allowed the CBI plea and restored criminal conspiracy charges against them.

The court also clubbed the trial in the matter pending against the leaders and 'karsevaks' and said the proceedings should be completed in two years. "We have allowed the CBI appeal against the Allahabad High Court judgement with certain directions," said a bench of Justices P C Ghose and R F Nariman.

The apex court, however, said as Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh enjoys Constitutional immunity he can be tried only after he ceases to hold office. Kalyan Singh was UP Chief minister at the time of the demolition. 

Making it clear that there would be no de novo (fresh) trial in the matter, the bench also directed that its order should be followed in letter and spirit and granted liberty to the parties to approach it if its directions are not followed.

The court  said no party shall be granted adjournment without the sessions judge being satisfied of the reasons for it. It directed the CBI to ensure that prosecution witnesses appear on each and every date for recording of evidence in the case. It directed that the trial court should start the proceedings within four weeks from today.

The court also gave significant directions that separate trials being conducted in trial courts at Rae Bareli and Lucknow will be clubbed together and conducted in the capital of Uttar Pradesh only.
It also said that the trial judge of Lucknow "shall not be transferred" till conclusion and delivery of judgement in the sensational case.
There were two sets of cases relating to the demolition of the disputed structure. The first involved unnamed 'karsevaks', the trial of which is taking place in a Lucknow court, while the second set of cases relate to the leaders in a Rae Bareli court.

Advani, 89, along with party colleagues like Joshi, is charged with making inflammatory speeches that allegedly motivated lakhs of right-wing volunteers or karsevaks to pull down the mosque in 1992. That trial was being held in Rae Bareli.
Now, the BJP leaders will be tried for more serious charges in Lucknow, where, so far, a separate case is dealing with about 20 people accused of the actual demolition of the mosque. By combining the two trials, the judges want to ensure that a verdict is delivered within two years.

The CBI says that it has evidence that the BJP leaders, who made their speeches on a stage near the mosque on the day it was razed, were part of the plan to bring down the mosque.

The agency says that Advani and other BJP leaders met the night before the mosque was brought down and decided that it would be razed, which makes the demolition a premeditated, deliberate event.

The demolition of the mosque came after a movement led in part by Advani for a temple to be built on the same spot where the masjid was constructed by the Mughals. Many Hindus believe that the mosque was built over the birthplace of Lord Ram and want a temple to be built there.

At its last hearing about 10 days ago, the Supreme Court indicated it was likely to club the two cases ~ that means Advani and his party colleagues would be tried in Lucknow as part of one comprehensive case. Judges also expressed their frustration with the (so-far) twin trials moving slowly over 25 years, and said they could order daily hearings with a two-year deadline for a verdict.

Space missions are likely to encounter a growing threat of more debris, scientists warned on Tuesday at the 7th European Conference on Space Debris.

The four-day meeting was held in the southern German city of Darmstadt, where the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) is located.

Since 1957, over 4,900 space launches have led to an on-orbit population of more than 18,000 tracked objects, Xinhua news agency reported.

Of those, only 1,100 are functional spacecraft and the remaining are space debris, according to European Space Agency (ESA), an intergovernmental organisation consisting of 22 European member states.

As regards tiny objects larger than one millimetre, which are hard to be tracked but able to harm spacecraft in a collision, the amount of those objects has risen to ca. 150 million.

In addition, around 20,000 orbiting fragments with sizes over 10 centimetres have been found nowadays, 12,000 more than the total amount in 1993.

"We are very much concerned," said Rolf Densing, director of operations at the ESA.

In the coming days, experts will further discuss different aspects of space debris research including measurement techniques, environment modelling theories, risk analysis techniques, and protection designs.

World No.2 Novak Djokovic had to dig deep in his opening round match at the Monte Carlo Masters, as a fired-up Gilles Simon pushed the Serbian all the way in a three-set match that lasted over two and half hours on Tuesday.

The final scoreline read 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in Djokovic’s favour but it doesn't do justice to the tension in the match, especially in the deciding set.

Simon was serving for the match at 5-4, but somehow Djokovic clawed his way back to avoid an embarrassing second-round exit (He was given a first-round bye).

The tie had begun in a see-saw manner, with both players breaking in the opening set before Djokovic accelerated to take a 5-3 advantage which he then converted without much fuss.

Fans expecting to see Djokovic demolish his opponent, were sorely disappointed as Simon started to play some aggressive tennis, forcing his Serbian opponent to make some uncharacteristic mistakes. Despite being broken early in the second set, the Frenchman responded with two breaks of his own to force the tie into a deciding third set.

It is the ‘home’ tournament for Djokovic, who resides in Monte Carlo and despite the vociferous support, the 29-year-old was unable to wrest the advantage as both players were broken in successive games.

It was Simon’s brilliant forehand which sizzled down the line to give him a 5-4 lead and serve for the match. Djokovic had other ideas, however, and rattled off three points in quick succession to break back into the tie. He then won the next two games to seal his victory and will face the winner of either Pablo Carreno Busta or Karen Khachanov in the round of 16.

Djokovic is now 11-1 head -to-head against the Frenchman and his record at Monte Carlo reads at 29-8, having won the title twice (2013 and 2017).

Earlier in the day, 10th seed David Goffin recovered from a 1-5 deficit in the first set to beat Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-1 and now faces the winner of the Dominic Thiem-Robin Haase match. Haase overcame lucky loser Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-2 in the first round.

After powering Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a morale-boosting 21-run win over Gujarat Lions, self-proclaimed "UniverseBoss" Chris Gayle on Tuesday warned the other Indian Premier League (IPL) teams that "he is back".

The Jamaican returned to form with a flashy 38-ball 77, laced with seven massive sixes to help RCB reach 213/2 before leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's 3/31 restricted the hosts to 192/7.

Gayle, who also became the first T20 batsman on Tuesday to reach the 10,000-run landmark, said it could not have come at a better time than this.

"I like that name (UniverseBoss). He's back. Even better to be back in the field. Fans want to watch Chris Gayle, it's been fantastic," he said after being adjudged the Man of the Match.

"It all depends on how you feel, determination is important. Its a special occasion to reach 10,000 runs."

Commenting on his change of stance while taking guard, the 37-year-old said: "A lot of guys spoke to me about my stance. Even Shaun Pollock spoke to me about my stance. You're never too old to learn. People still looking out for Chris Gayle."

"The UniverseBoss is still here and alive." 

Elated at the performance of his side, RCB skipper Virat Kohli said: "Happy to get those two points. People told me it's just one run, but I won't change my attitude, I've played my cricket like that."

"Chris took his opportunity beautifully, with his kind of batting, it allows me to bat through the innings, and I can chip my way out. We thought we were 30 runs above par."

Hailing the young spin duo of Pawan Negi and Chahal, the 28-year-old said: "Negi was outstanding, very brave, not getting scared. Not many people believed in his abilities. Chahal is not scared, his biggest plus point is he always wants to take wickets."

Fintech company Paytm is believed to be in discussions with Japanese conglomerate SoftBank to raise over $1 billion.

The deal, if successful, will value the Alibaba-backed Paytm at over $7 billion from the current $5 billion, multiple sources said.

When contacted, Paytm and SoftBank declined to comment. Interestingly, SoftBank was an early investor in Alibaba.

The talks come at a time when SoftBank is working on a sale plan of e-commerce firm Snapdeal and is likely to make an announcement in the next few weeks.

SoftBank is the largest shareholder in Snapdeal, which is locked in an intense battle with Amazon India and Flipkart.

One of the sources said Paytm may buy Snapdeal-owned payments firm Freecharge as part of the transaction with SoftBank.

The funding will also help Paytm accelerate expansion ahead of the launch of its payments bank service. The Alibaba-backed company already runs mobile wallet and e- commerce services.

Paytm has seen manifold growth in transactions on its platform after the government scrapped high denomination notes in November last year.

SoftBank, which has committed an investment of over $10 billion in the Indian market, is also engaged in sale discussion for Snapdeal to rival Flipkart.

Paytm, which counts China's Alibaba as a prominent shareholder, was valued at about $5 billion last year when it had raised $60 million from Mediatek.

Also, Reliance Capital recently sold its 1 per cent stake to Alibaba for an estimated Rs.275 crore.

China and the European Union are holding their first high-level talks since President Donald Trump took office, with both eager to push a message of free trade and open engagement with the world.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini will co-chair the Seventh EU-China Strategic Dialogue on Wednesday with State Councilor Yang Jiechi, China's highest-ranking diplomat.

They will discuss cooperation on issues such as climate change, as well as regional and security issues. The dialogue comes ahead of an EU-China summit scheduled for Brussels in June.

Yesterday, Mogherini met with Premier Li Keqiang who told her the international community was looking at how China and the EU would work together to tackle challenges including the world economic recovery, global conflicts and terrorism, and Britain's pending withdrawal from the EU.

Upset with India for allowing the Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh recently despite its protestations, China has sought to add a new dimension to its claim over the Indian state by renaming six places in the North-eastern state that it calls ‘South Tibet’.

Significantly, the ‘standardisation’ of the names in Chinese characters was made by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs and not by the Foreign Ministry as is the practice being followed by Beijing while making such critical announcements. New Delhi is expected to react to the development.

Chinese daily Global Times, which is considered close to the Communist Party leadership, reported Wednesday that the move was aimed at reaffirming China’s claim over the state. It said the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on 14 April on its website that it had standardised the names of six places in ‘South Tibet’ in accordance with the regulations of the State Council. The official names of the six places are Wo'gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidêngarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bümo La and Namkapub Ri.

"These names have existed since ancient times, but had never been standardised before. Therefore, announcing the names is like a remediation," Mr Guo Kefan, a research fellow at the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted as saying. Standardising the names from the angles of culture and geography could serve as a reference or leverage when China and India negotiate border issues in future, he added.

The move by Beijing is being seen in retaliation to the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh earlier this month. At least on three occasions, China went on record to say that his visit to Arunachal would severely damage bilateral ties. However, India refused to buckle under pressure, saying the Dalai Lama was an honoured guest of India who was free to travel anywhere. China’s contention has been that the Dalai Lama was more interested in politics than religious affairs and has been instigating his followers in Tibet to revolt against the Communist Party leadership.

India too has played the name-game as far as Arunachal Pradesh is concerned. It became an Indian state 30 years ago on 20 February 1987. It was initially a Union Territory which was carved out of Assam. The state was known as the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) until 1972.

The Income Tax department on Wednesday launched searches at about 80 locations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala in connection with a tax evasion case.

Officials said the raids are being conducted against a city-based chit fund company and its associates and at about 43 locations in Tamil Nadu, 29 in Kerala and six in Karnataka apart from few others.

They added that the department was acting on some "vital" inputs on black money being stashed and generated by the chit fund or ponzi route and hence the searches were launched early morning on April 18.

It was not immediately clear if the latest action had any connection to some politicians or their associates in Tamil Nadu.

The department here had conducted multiple searches few days back and had raided the premises belonging to Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar and others, days before the April 12 bypolls at RK Nagar Assembly constituency, which have now been postponed by the EC after reports of illegal money power being allegedly used to influence the poll

Several shots were fired outside the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Okhla office on late Tuesday night. Party MLA Amanatullah Khan has alleged that he was the target, police said.

Khan said the shooting was "a desperate act by the Congress supporters".

The incident happened post Tuesday midnight outside the AAP office when three rounds were allegedly fired, police said. 

The supporters of the AAP and the Congress clashed outside the party office minutes before the firing.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya said a call was received at 12.10 a.m. regarding the clash between the workers of the two parties at Batla House Chowk after which the police rushed to the spot. 

"Another call was received from AAP MLA Amanatullah about the firing at 12.57 a.m.," the DCP said.

He said that no one was injured in the firing and both parties blamed each other for it. 

"Both parties were asked to give written complaint but no complaint was received from them. Action would be taken as per their complaints," he added.

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that calls for a review of the H-1B visa programme, saying they should never be used to replace American workers and be must given to the most skilled and highest paid applicants.

Trump signed the order targeting the programme popular with Indian technology professionals at the Kenosha, Wisconsin headquarters of tool maker Snap-on Inc on Tuesday.

“Right now, widespread abuse in our immigration system is allowing American workers of all backgrounds to be replaced by workers brought in from other countries to fill the same job for, sometimes, less pay. This will stop,” Trump told an enthusiastic audience in Wisconsin before signing the executive order.

He said the order sets in motion the first steps to initiate “long-overdue” reforms to end “visa abuses”.

“Right now, H-1B visas are awarded in a totally random lottery, and that's wrong. Instead, they should be given to the most skilled and highest-paid applicants, and they should never, ever be used to replace Americans. No one can compete with American workers when they're given a fair and level playing field, which has not happened for decades,” Trump said.

He said his administration is going to enforce 'Hire American' rules that are designed to protect jobs and wages of workers in the United States.

“We believe jobs must be offered to American workers first. Does that make sense?” he said.

The executive order also declares that American projects should be made with American goods.

“No longer are we going to allow foreign countries to cheat our producers and our workers out of federal contracts. Everyone in my administration will be expected to enforce every last Buy American provision on behalf of the American worker, and we are going to investigate every single trade deal that undermines these provisions,” he said.

According to the executive order signed by Trump, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labour, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall suggest reforms to help ensure that H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid petition beneficiaries.

In a statement, the White House said H-1B visas are supposed to bring the highest skilled and paid labour to the United States. But according to studies, 80 percent of the approved applications were for the two lowest wage levels allowed. “Currently, companies routinely abuse the H-1B visa program by replacing American workers with lower paid foreign workers,” it said.

Reforming the H-1B visa system was one of the major election promises of Trump. As per several US reports, a majority of the H-1B visas every year is grabbed by Indian IT professionals.

India accounts for the highest pool of qualified IT professionals, whose services go a long way in making American companies globally competitive.

As mandated by the Congress, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) every year issued 65,000 H-1B visas and another 20,000 to those applicants having masters and higher degrees from a US educational institution.

This month USCIS received 199,000 H-1B visa petitions; as a result the federal agency had to resort to a computerised draw of lots to decide the fate of successful applicant.

Bayern Munich’s week went from bad to worse as on top of their UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid in the quarterfinals, the club confirmed via their website (www.fcbayern.com) that their goalkeeper Manuel Never suffered a fracture in his foot.

The Bavarians had gone to the Santiago Bernabeu trailing 1-2 from the first leg and while initially it looked like they would be able to overturn the deficit, Arturo Vidal’s dismissal towards the end of regulation time changed the complexion of the tie.

The hosts scored three goals in extra-time, clearly benefitting from their man advantage and it was during Ronaldo’s third goal that Neuer was said to have fractured his foot.

The statement read:

“Manuel Neuer suffered a fracture to his left foot in the 4-2 defeat away to Real Madrid according to an initial diagnosis. The Bayern goalkeeper sustained the injury during Cristiano Ronaldo's third goal in extra-time of the Champions League quarter-final return. Neuer will undergo a thorough examination on arrival in Munich prior to a decision on the appropriate treatment.”

While the 31-year-old is expected to undergo scans in the next couple of days, there are fears that his season may be over, as he is expected to sit out for a minimum of 3-4 weeks, if not more.