Actor Vinay Pathak has lent his voice for the animated character Popat Sharma from Ruchi Narain's Hanuman Da Damdaar.

"I'm joining the Damdaar toli to report live from Jungle Raaj Tak. Hanuman Da Damdaar," Vinay tweeted on Friday about his character – a parrot.

The film, written and directed by Narain, is under the production of RAT Films. 

Superstar Salman Khan has given his voice to the character of Lord Hanuman in the animated film, which is set to release on May 19. 

Celebrities like Javed Akhtar, Makarand Deshpande, Raveena Tandon and Kunal Kemmu have also given voice-overs in the film.

The Tripura High Court will hear cases during the 11-day summer vacation beginning May 15 to clear the backlog of pending cases, an official said here on Friday.

"The High Court will hear old motor accident and criminal cases from May 15 to May 18, along with other urgent matter," a top high court official said.

He said that during the remaining period till May 25, the court Registry will function daily for three hours from 10.30 am.

Tripura High Court Chief Justice T Vaiphei has taken this special step in view of the public interest involved, the official said requesting anonymity.

"The Supreme Court has taken exemplary step to hear 5,300 cases during its summer vacations starting May 11. These cases are in addition to the proposal to get three Constitution Benches to hear matters of importance like triple 'talaq', WhatsApp user data protection and illegal immigration and Section 6A of the Citizenship Act," the official added.

He said that when the Tripura High Court was set up in March 2013, the number of pending cases was 6,619, which currently had gone down to 2,283. 

Many steps were taken to reduce the number of pending cases, including holding of regular lok adalats.

The official said Chief Justice T Vaiphei had stressed the need for early disposal of cases relating to children, women and elderly people, besides cases concerning marriage and domestic issues.

To raise awareness among the Punjabi youth on the state's heritage, history and culture, Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu intends to introduce a compulsory subject on culture in schools and colleges.

Besides, he also proposes to give a big push to tourism in the state by developing tourist circuits, tapping the potential for religious tourism and improving infrastructure.

The Amritsar (East) MLA also plans to develop a film city and drama schools to promote the Punjabi film industry.

"I want the young Punjabi generation to be connected with our heritage, glorious history and culture as they appear to be moving away from our rich past, culture and folk," the cricketer-turned-politician, who holds the portfolios of Local Government and Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Archives and Museums in the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in the state said.

The youth should be aware of Sarbans Dani Guru Gobind Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Master Tara Singh, Martyr Bhagat Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai. They should know who was Madan Lal Dhingra and what was the Kuka movement about.

"They should be aware of our culture and folk," Sidhu said while pointing out that the youth should be prevented from "going astray".

"I want a compulsory subject on history and culture to be introduced in the schools and colleges of the state," he said, adding that the proposal was "at an embryonic stage".

Sidhu said the suggestion in this regard came from noted poet and writer Surjit Patar. When contacted, Patar said, "Culture and education should be brought closer to enrich our youth with our art, heritage and music."

Sidhu, a former BJP MP who joined the Congress ahead of the recently-held Punjab Assembly polls, said he will discuss the matter with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and state Education Minister Aruna Chaudhary.

The minister has called a meeting of artistes, historians and other experts on Sunday in Chandigarh. He has invited Patar, famous Punjabi singer Gurdas Mann and singer Pammi Bai among others to seek their suggestions in this regard.

Sidhu said he has also invited Punjabi actor and Aam Aadmi Party's state convenor Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi to the meeting to seek his inputs.

Sidhu said he has proposed to tap the immense tourism potential of the state.

"I will propose to develop tourism circuits for the five Takhts. Three of them (Akal Takht, Keshgarh Sahib and Damdama Sahib) are in the state and the other two are Patna Sahib in Patna and Hazoor Sahib in Maharashtra. I want all the Takhts to be connected with flights. I also want to connect Amritsar with Vaishno Devi in Jammu.

"A huge number of people come to Amritsar to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple. We also have Jallianwala Bagh, Durgiana Temple and the retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border. The facilities should be better and there should be more budget hotels," the minister said while pointing out that poor infrastructure had become a stumbling block in unlocking the tourism potential of Punjab.

"Amritsar alone has the potential for the state's economy to stage a turnaround," noted Sidhu.

He also stressed upon increasing the number of international flights from the Amritsar and Mohali airports, which would provide a fillip to tourism in the state.

Sidhu said he has plans to develop the sub-mountainous (Kandi) area as a tourist attraction. "We can develop the Kandi area as a tourist destination. We can develop tourist spots, golf courses and invite the hotel industry there," he added.

"A film city, which can give a push to the Punjabi film industry, can come up in the Kandi area. Drama schools can also be opened there," said the minister.

Ahead of the BJP National Executive meeting, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said Odisha will be a laboratory for testing of the BJP-led central government's pro-poor policies.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Odisha to thank the people for their unprecedented support to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the panchayat polls.

The Minister said the BJP will welcome leaders with clean image from rival parties into the party-fold to strengthen its base in the region. 

"Whoever is committed to the leadership of Modi and BJP President Amit Shah are welcome to join us," said Pradhan.

He said the BJP will emerge as the natural party for governance in the state by 2019.

"A few years ago, we were number three in the state. We became number two in the panchayat polls. We will be the natural party of governance in the state by 2019 and that's largely because of the Prime Minister's credibility in Odisha," said the Minister.

Meanwhile, as Amit Shah reached Bhubaneswar to attend the Executive Meeting scheduled for April 15 and 16, he was welcomed by party workers at the airport here.

Shah then proceeded towards AG Square amid tight security, where he paid floral tributes to Indian Constitution's founding father Bhimrao Ambedkar on his 126th birth anniversary.

He is scheduled to join Odia New Year celebrations at the state BJP headquarters in the evening.

CPI-M state Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said that there was a conspiracy behind the protest by Jishnu Prannoy's mother that took place earlier this month in front of the office of the Kerala police chief.

Balakrishnan said in an article on Friday that the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party were hand-in-glove and termed it as a 'grand master design' to change the course of the protest by Jishnu's mother, Mahija, against the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government in the state.

"There was an organised action to change the course of the protest by Mahija against the government and Vijayan who took lot of personal interest in resolving it. There was nothing wrong in the police action of arresting people who had no role in the protest of Mahija," wrote Balakrishnan.

On April 9, Mahija and her relatives ended their five-day fast at the Medical College hospital after they received a written assurance to their demands from the state government, which included the arrest of the remaining accused responsible for the death of her son and action against the police officials who roughed them up in front of the state police chief's office.

Since her son, an engineering student, was found hanging in January, the mother has been demanding justice for her son who, according to her, was 'killed' by the college authorities.

Reacting to Balakrishnan's article, Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala dismissed it as a standard norm of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to blame all and sundry for their failures.

"We had no role in the protest and the CPI-M always blames others for its own failures. The stock word that the CPI-M uses to divert attention is by banking on the theory that there was a conspiracy. Now everyone knows this and none takes it seriously," said Chennithala.

Meanwhile, Mahija who was supposed to meet Vijayan on Saturday has decided not to come from Kozhikode to meet him because she and her family are pained after the Chief Minister said: "We do not know what they gained by this strike as we, the government, did everything possible for them. It's for them to say what else more they wanted."

The CPI — the second biggest ally in the Vijayan government — on Thursday went hammer and tongs against the manner governance was being carried out after its state Secretary Kanam Rajendran warned against "unwarranted and needless" police excesses.

The Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturing Association (IWTMA), in a report, stated that India will strive best to achieve around 6,000 megawatts (MW) of wind power capacity in the ongoing financial year, 2017-18.

"The government's target, for the 2017-18, is 4,500 MW. We know that we have number of challenges in front of us, but we will try our best to give around 6,000 (MW) in the current financial year," Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturing Association (IWTMA) Chairman Sarvesh Kumar said here.

Also, emphasising on the competitive bidding process, Kumar said that "you know that competitive bidding took place for only 1,000 MW. We have requested the Centre to go for at least 4,000 to 5,000 MW of competitive bidding so that we have an absolute clear vision in front of us."

Earlier this month, New and Renewable Energy Ministry (MNRE) informed that India achieved a new record in the wind power capacity by adding over 5,400 MW against the target of 4,000 MW in 2016-17.

States that are leading in the wind power capacity addition during 2016-17 are Andhra Pradesh 2190 MW, followed by Gujarat 1275 MW and Karnataka 882 MW. In addition Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra,Telangana and Kerala have reported 357 MW, 288 MW, 262 MW, 118 MW , 23 MW and 8 MW wind power capacity addition respectively during 2016-17.

The MNRE, in that last one year, has taken various policy initiatives in the wind energy sector that includes introduction of Bidding in Wind Energy Sector, Re-powering Policy, Draft Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy, New Guidelines for Development of Wind Power Projects, etc.

Six workers were seriously injured on Friday after a fire broke out in a chemical factory near Mansurpur village here, police said.

The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital.

The fire was believed to have been caused by a short circuit, police said, adding that an investigation is underway.

The author of the Indian Constitution, BR Ambedkar is an eminent economist, jurist and reformist who campaigned against social discrimination of dalits. His birthday is observed as Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti across the country. But these are just some of the popular facts about Ambedkar. On the occasion of his 126th birth anniversary, here are some lesser known facts about the great leader.

Lesser known facts about Ambedkar:

1. BR Ambedkar’s real name is Ambavadekar. His teacher changed the name to Mahadev Ambedkar, at school. The teacher saw a lot of potential in young Ambavadekar. In his fondness, Mahadev Ambedkar changed Ambavadekar’s name to Ambedkar.

2. BR Ambedkar has once decided to run away from his family and go to Bombay. Ambedkar even resorted to stealing for this purpose. But later, he was filled with remorse over his action and decided to struggle for whatever he earns, from that day onward.

3. Ambedkar was the first person from India to pursue an Economics doctorate degree abroad.

4. Ambedkar staunchly opposed Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which accords special status to Jammu and Kashmir. He believed that the Indian Government should have limited powers in Kashmir.

Striving to develop culture for cleanliness and cannabis free Himachal Pradesh, the state government is prompted to set off of the cleanliness and cannabis eradication drive yet again this year.

The state government having tested the water is already upbeat with the last year’s performance.

Chief Secretary V C Pharka said, “We were scheduled to start the campaign early, however the recent bad weather was an impediment. While, all districts have firmed up to start the cleanliness drive, we are yet to fix the date soon, so that by June end the queen of Hills, Shimla and other places will have a spruced up look ahead of the tourist season.”

He further disclosed that the Town Hall renovation will be completed by June end and the Bantony Castle will also get some facelift from the Rs.180 Crore Asian Development Bank’s funded tourism project for the upliftment of Shimla.

The cleanliness drive will involve cleaning of the surrounding areas, water bodies, road culverts, offices in both urban and rural areas, involving all the government departments, employees, panchyats, mahila mandals, yuvak mandals, NGOs, self help groups and volunteers from various walks of life.

Last year there was an overwhelming response, he said, adding that the basic idea to continue is to develop the habit of cleanliness amongst the masses in general. Informing about the cannabis drive, he said it will continue throughout the year.

In 2016, the cannabis drive was launched on August 22, this year the state government intends to start early, as the time period for the growth of cannabis varies in the low and high altitude regions of the state.

than the police, Narcotics cell and forest officials, panchyats, Mahila Mandals, Yuvak Mandals, NGOs, self help groups and volunteers will also lend impetus to the drive.

Last year over 2 lakh people had volunteered to participate in the drive.

The year 2016, witnessed clearing of cannabis from 17,627.19 bighas of area with uprooting of 3,56,25,530 plants. Highest till date, it was 486.7 per cent more as compared to the previous years. Meanwhile, in 2012 it was 1830.15 bighas, 4,569 bighas in 2013 and 1,639.17 bighas in 2014.

India’s ace cricketer Virat Kohli will finally make his appearance in the ongoing IPL 2017 when Royal Challengers Bangalore host Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday.

With the clock ticking for Kohli’s grand entry in the IPL, thestatesman.com conducted a poll on social media site Facebook, asking readers, “Who will hit the highest knock for Royal Challengers Bangalore – Virat Kohli or AB de Villiers or Chris Gayle?”

Going by the poll result, fans are eagerly waiting to see Kohli back on field and asking for a spectacular knock from the 28-year-old batsman.

Over 835 users voted in favour of Kohli, while De Villiers and Gayle bagged 600-plus and 165-plus votes respectively.

Kohli suffered a shoulder injury during the third Test against Australia in Ranchi and was on a break from cricket for over three weeks.

In his absence, RCB, under the captaincy of Shane Watson, won a single match and lost two matches so far in the IPL 2016.

Their recent defeat was against Kings XI Punjab, who thumped RCB by eight wickets in Indore.

With the return of captain Kohli in the side, RCB will look to return to winning ways.

Two youth of the over 20 people from Kerala, who were recruited by the international terrorist organisation ISIS, were killed in US bombing on Afghanistan border late Thursday.

The last known location of the two Indian recruits, who were lured by the most wanted terrorist organisation in the world, was Nangarhar, according to Indian intelligence agencies.

The US military dropped their most powerful non-nuclear bomb on the ISIS secret tunnel in Achin district of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, according to officials.

The Pentagon confirmed that GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB) also known as “mother of all bombs” was dropped at the bunkers and caves of IS in Afghanistan, known as ISIS- K (Khorasan). The MOAB is a GPS-guided 30-foot-long and 9,797 kg munition.

The US’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb killed around 36 fighters and destroyed the ISIS tunnel, Afghan officials said on Friday.

"As a result of the bombing, key Daesh [ISIL] hideouts and deep tunnel complex were destroyed and 36 IS fighters were killed," the Afghan Defence Ministry said.

Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik on Friday appointed Vice Chancellors in King George's Medical University (KGMU) and Madan Mohan Malviya Technical University (MMTU), Gorakhpur for a tenure of three years.

While MLB Bhatt, head of Radiology department of the KGMU has been appointed Vice Chancellor, Prof Srinivas Singh of Electrical Engineering department, IIT Kanpur took charge as VC of MMMTU, Gorakhpur, a release issued by Raj Bhawan said.

The tenure of their service will be for three years from the date of joining.

South Korea is set to open a museum in its capital, aimed at raising awareness about the violation of human rights in North Korea, the Ministry of Unification said on Friday.

The museum, set to open in 2019, will exhibit, through documents and photographs, different testimonies and cases of violation of basic human rights at the hands of the Kim Jong-un regime, Efe news reported.

Stories of various defectors' experiences before they left the insular state will comprise most of the documentation, a Unification Ministry spokesperson told Yonhap news agency.

The ministry, which is currently deciding on whether to directly manage the museum or indirectly through a foundation, launched the project following the passing of a related law in September 2016.

The law established the creation of a South Korean government agency to investigate and document the human rights situation in North Korea.

A report, published in 2014 by the UN Commission of Inquiry, conducted an in-depth analysis that reveals the systematic violations of human rights in North Korea.

The document exposes possible crimes against humanity such as extermination, murder, slavery, disappearances, summary executions, torture, sexual violence, forced abortions, deprivation of food, forced displacement of people, as well as political-, religious- and gender-motivated persecutions.

The report is based on the testimonies of 240 people, including 80 survivors of the labour camps known as "kwanliso".
 

Want a new Facebook profile picture? Let a stranger do the choosing, say scientists who found that people are not good at picking out flattering pictures of themselves for online profiles.

In the first study to investigate the process by which people choose their profile pictures, researchers from University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia found that images selected by strangers convey more favourable first impressions than images people select for themselves.

The findings appear to contradict previous research which showed that people tend to portray themselves more favourably than others.

“Our findings suggest that people make poor choices when selecting flattering images of themselves for online profile pictures, which affects other people's perception of them,” said David White, from UNSW.

“This effect is likely to have a substantial impact on online interactions, the impressions people form and the decisions they base on them, including whether to employ, date, befriend or even vote for someone,” White said.

“Previous work has shown that people make inferences about an individual's character and personality within a split second of seeing a photograph of their face, so our results have clear practical implications,” he said.

“If you want to put your best face forward, it makes sense to ask someone else to choose your picture,” he said.
To find out whether selecting one's own profile picture might have a positive or negative effect on first impressions, the researchers asked 102 students to select two out of 12 photos of their own face that they were most or least likely to use as a profile picture in three online network contexts: social networks, dating sites and professional networks.

Participants were then asked to do the same for 12 images of a randomly selected stranger who had participated in the study previously.
The researchers found that people tended to select images that highlighted positive personality traits in line with the context of the website that the image was for.

“Our results demonstrate that people know how to select profile pictures that fit specific networking contexts and make positive impressions on strangers: dating images appear more attractive, and professional images appear more competent,” said White.

However, when researchers showed these images to strangers they had recruited via the internet and asked them to rate how attractive, trustworthy, dominant, confident or competent the person in them appeared, they found that the images people had selected for themselves made a less favourable impression than images selected by others.

“Future research needs to investigate the mechanisms that underlie the choices people make when selecting profile pictures to find out why people seem to have a limited ability to select the most flattering images of themselves,” said White.

The research was published in the journal Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Friday that anyone who provokes war on the Korean Peninsula will assume responsibility and pay the price.

The minister made the remarks during a joint press conference with his French counterpart, Jean-Marc Ayrault, that if war occurs, "the result is a situation in which everybody loses and there can be no winner", Efe news reported

Amid increasing tensions with the threat of a possible nuclear test by North Korea on the peninsula, Wang urged all parties not to let things evolve into an irreversible and uncontrollable situation.

The warnings came ahead of the birth anniversary celebrations of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, which are scheduled to be held in Pyongyang this weekend.

It is expected that the country may carry out a new nuclear test as USS Carl Vinson, a US aircraft carrier with a navy strike group on board, is sailing in waters near the Korean Peninsula.

Wang also noted that China is always firmly opposed to any action likely to increase the tension, adding that in this crisis the winner will not be the one who exhibits more strength.

The Chinese minister urged all parties to suspend their weapon trials and military maneuvers as a preliminary step to resuming dialogue.

Wang added that Beijing is ready to listen to any useful proposals.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Geng Shuang, said the North Korean nuclear test "would be dangerous and irresponsible".

Wang and Ayrault revealed at the press conference held after their meeting that they had discussed bilateral issues and major international crises such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the civil war in Syria.

The French minister said they also addressed the growing threat of North Korea's military programme, adding that China and France are determined to achieve denuclearisation on the peninsula.

Kerala on Friday saw a contrast as Hindus celebrated Vishu while Christians commemorate Good Friday.

Vishu is the traditional New Year's Day believed to signal the arrival of good luck and fortune for the coming year, while Good Friday is a day filled with prayers, penance and fasting to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary Hills nearly 2,000 years ago.

When it came to the menu, Friday again saw a contrast as the major meal for the day for the Hindus is the traditional 26-course vegetarian lunch, served on a banana leaf. In northern Kerala districts, the menu also consists of non-vegetarian dishes.

But for the Christians, more specifically for the devout ones, it's a day where 'kanji' – the hot steaming hot gruel made with rice is served immediately after the mass ends at churches in bowls with mango pickle and a serving of pulses.

The common factor for the two communities is that both the temples and churches were very crowded.

On Vishu, the Hindus begin the day with the 'Vishukani darshan' — auspicious sight of their favourite deity in the first thing in the morning.

For this, elders and women begin preparations for 'Vishukani' the previous night with 'urali' (a special vessel) cleaned and then filled with fresh farm produces.

The items that are placed include rice, grains, cucumber, pumpkin, coconut, plantains, mangoes and areca nut.

All these are arranged in their worship room that is decorated with bright yellow konna flowers (cassia fistula — also known as the Golden Shower Tree).

The young and old come blindfold in front of the 'Vishukani' that is placed in front of their favourite deity and see this as the day's first sight.

Another important feature on this day is the giving away of 'vishukaineetam' (a gift) and it is mostly given in coins.

The general custom is the head of the household gives away coins to other members and there are some who are particular to get theirs from people who are considered as lucky charms.

"I have to set aside Rs.10,000 on this day as I give offerings of Rs.100 to the temple staff where I frequent and then comes the various workers in and around my general provision store. I have been following this practise for close to four decades, ever since I started my business," said K Ramesan, a trader in the capital city.

For the Christians, Friday morning is considered one of the most sacred days when churche are packed with faithfuls. Even the not-so-faithful's also pay a visit to the church to take part in the service, which extends from morning 8.30 to around 3 p.m, in certain church denominations.

Among the key religious ceremonies listed for the day in churches is the 'Way of the Cross' – the 14 stations on Christ's Journey to Mount Calvary from Pilate's palace.

The bishops or the chief priest along with a large number of the laity re-enact Jesus journey with the worshippers moving to each station singing hymns as the story of the betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion of Christ is narrated by the priest.

Another important ceremony is the drinking of the 'choruka' (a decoction made of bitter gourd juice and vinegar) by all.

When the Good Friday mass reaches its last lap, the priest pours out a spoon of 'Choruka' into the mouth of all those attending the mass.

This symbolises the cry a crucified Jesus made just before he died, and how some of those watching took a piece of cloth, dipped it in wine, put it on a stick, lifted it to his mouth and tried to make him drink.

While Hindus celebrate Vishu in new dresses for all in the family, it's not the case for the Christian as they wait for Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, with wine and the traditional non-vegetarian dishes.

In Kerala, Hindus constitute more than 50 per cent of the population while Christians account for around 21 per cent of the 33 million of the state's population.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar on Friday said India was trying to secure justice for Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court.

"Injustice has been meted out to him (Jadhav). A kangaroo court has slapped this charge. In spite of all these, we are trying to secure justice for him. We are eager for his return," he told a press conference here.

Akbar said the government's stand on the issue was clarified by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Home Minister Rajnath Singh .

A military court has awarded death sentence to 46-year- old Jadhav on charges of espionage and sabotage.

Singh had stated yesterday that India will go to any extent to ensure justice for Jadhav.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay had said yesterday, "India has no knowledge of Kulbhushan Jadhav's location and condition. We are making all efforts to get him back but we can't reveal the steps that will be taken in this regard." 

On the Kashmir issue, Akbar said, "Anti-democratic forces are instigating from behind. We want a free and fair atmosphere in Kashmir." 

Regarding the controversy on beef in Uttar Pradesh, the Union minister said, "Uttar Pradesh's Health Minister Siddharth Nath Singh has given a clarification." 

Stating that West Bengal was facing a "deep crisis", Akbar said "lack of jobs, rising corruption and a stagnant economy" were the main problems of the state.