The Supreme Court on Friday relaxed the age limit and allowed candidates above 25 years of age to appear in the NEET examinations 2017.
A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra also extended the last date of filling the forms till April 5. It said the age limit can be fixed from the next academic year. The CBSE had fixed the age limit as 25 years for the candidates.
The order was passed by the bench of Justices Dipak Misra and AM Khanwilkar which directed that the age limit for NEET examination would be inapplicable this year. 
It said the age limit can be fixed from the next academic year.
 The bench was hearing a plea challenging the age limit fixed by the CBSE for candidates appearing for NEET 2017 examination. Senior advocates Amarendra Sharan and Indu Malhotra, who appeared for individual applicants in the matter, noted that the age limit prohibited aspirants who after graduation were desirous of pursuing the course.
Apart from rejecting the aforesaid submissions, the bench also directed that the online notification clarifying the age limit and the extension of date should be put up on the official website by this evening.
The NEET exam is due to be conducted on May 7.

The Supreme Court on Friday relaxed the age limit and allowed candidates above 25 years of age to appear in the NEET examinations 2017.
A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra also extended the last date of filling the forms till April 5. It said the age limit can be fixed from the next academic year. The CBSE had fixed the age limit as 25 years for the candidates.
The order was passed by the bench of Justices Dipak Misra and AM Khanwilkar which directed that the age limit for NEET examination would be inapplicable this year. 
It said the age limit can be fixed from the next academic year.
 The bench was hearing a plea challenging the age limit fixed by the CBSE for candidates appearing for NEET 2017 examination. Senior advocates Amarendra Sharan and Indu Malhotra, who appeared for individual applicants in the matter, noted that the age limit prohibited aspirants who after graduation were desirous of pursuing the course.
Apart from rejecting the aforesaid submissions, the bench also directed that the online notification clarifying the age limit and the extension of date should be put up on the official website by this evening.
The NEET exam is due to be conducted on May 7.

A total of 324 people have lost their lives due to rabies since 2014, the Lok Sabha was told on Friday.

In a written reply to the lower house, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that 125 people died in 2014, while the figure reduced to 113 in 2015. The provisional figure for 2016 was 86.

In 2016, a maximum of 47 deaths were reported from West Bengal, which was followed by 19 deaths in Karnataka, the minister said in his written reply.

He said there was a provision under the National Health Mission for supporting states in procuring anti-rabies vaccines. But as health is a state subject, the procurement has to be done by the states.

A total of 324 people have lost their lives due to rabies since 2014, the Lok Sabha was told on Friday.

In a written reply to the lower house, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said that 125 people died in 2014, while the figure reduced to 113 in 2015. The provisional figure for 2016 was 86.

In 2016, a maximum of 47 deaths were reported from West Bengal, which was followed by 19 deaths in Karnataka, the minister said in his written reply.

He said there was a provision under the National Health Mission for supporting states in procuring anti-rabies vaccines. But as health is a state subject, the procurement has to be done by the states.

The Gujarat Assembly on Friday passed a bill against cow slaughter in the state with life imprisonment from the present seven-year term.

The bill also stated 10 years of imprisonment for transportation of cows. People in possession of beef will be slapped a fine of Rs.1-5 lakh along with a jail term of 7-10 years.

Earlier, the maximum jail term for possession of cow meat was seven years and minimum of three years with a fine of Rs.50,000.

The state assembly amended the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act of 1954 which was last amended in 2011.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had earlier said of bringing stringent laws in the state to save cows.

“We had fought a case in the Supreme Court to bring a law in Gujarat to save cows. Now, we want to make this law stricter. We will introduce a bill in the ongoing budget session of the assembly,” Rupani said on March 12 in Junagadh.

Two persons were on Friday arrested here for allegedly trying to exchange demonetised currency notes with face value of over Rs.92.3 lakh, police said.

The duo was arrested under Karkhana police station limits here and scrapped notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 denominations were seized from them, police said.

Earlier, the city police have arrested 41 people and seized the old notes with face value of Rs.7.75 crore from them since March 13.

A woman's body was found on Friday and tens of thousands of people were evacuated from towns in two Australian states after torrential rain caused by a powerful tropical cyclone.

Category four Cyclone Debbie hit northeastern Australia on Tuesday between Bowen and Airlie Beach in Queensland state, ripping up trees, washing boats onto land and causing widespread damage.

Debbie was downgraded to a tropical low as it tracked southeast, but continued to pack damaging gusts and dump huge amounts of rain all the way down the east coast to New South Wales state, south of Queensland, and Sydney.

NSW Police said the body of a woman who "disappeared in floodwaters overnight from a rural property" near Murwillumbah just south of the Queensland border was found on Friday.

Lismore, south of Murwillumbah near the NSW coast was hard hit, with the State Emergency Service (SES) warning of three-metre high flood levels in the town.

Earlier Friday, SES acting deputy commissioner Mark Morrow said he had fears for some missing residents from Lismore.

"As we start to go out and try to find people that made… calls overnight, there could be some very distressing news," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"There could be people overnight that perished in that flood, we don't know at this stage." 

Other towns subject to evacuation orders include Tweed Heads, Kingscliff and Murwillumbah.

Farmer Peter Hannigan, whose property is just north of Lismore, said the deluge was the worst he had ever seen in more than 50 years in the area.

"I think a lot of people are going to have a lot of significant damage on the farms," he told the ABC.

"It is the worst I have ever seen I have to admit." 

Further north in Queensland, the popular tourist city of Gold Coast and other nearby regions were also inundated by water. Upper Springbrook in the Gold Coast hinterland recorded 789 mm of water during Thursday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The weather bureau's regional director Bruce Gunn said across southeast Queensland where the Gold Coast is located, there had been widespread rainfall of 100-300mm over the last two days.

"In terms of what happened in the last 24 or 48 hours, we have seen some pretty big rainfall totals," he told Brisbane's Courier Mail.

"There is still that strong risk around the Gold Coast." 

Focus has turned to the restoration of essential services such as water and electricity in the areas hit by Debbie, including Bowen, Mackay and the Whitsunday islands where some 50,000 people were still without power, officials said.

Ellen Pompeo says she is "baffled" that not many women take up a career in politics and hopes if it were the other way round the current US President would have been a female.

The 47-year-old actress, who compares the art of directing to running a country since women do a better job than men at multitasking, says they are completely fit to run a nation which needs constant attention, reported Variety.

"Directing is multitasking. It's baffling to me… that there aren't more women in politics because running the country is multitasking, and women are notoriously better at that than men.

"It's so curious to me how we end up in these dynamics.

Clearly, our president cannot tweet and do anything at the same time. (Hillary Clinton) can manage her emotion and tweet, all at the same time," Pompeo says.

She also talks about her directorial debut with a Grey's Anatomy episode in the ongoing season 13 of the medical drama.

"As far as creativity on Grey's, you're kind of trapped in a hospital and there's only so much you can do, so I wasn't that excited about it creatively," she says.

The National Green Tribunal on Friday slammed the Delhi government for not introducing destination buses to help improve air quality in the national capital.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the Chief Secretary of Delhi government to show cause why point-to-point bus services have not started till date despite its order last year.

"Do you (Delhi government) know the state of affairs in Delhi? Children are not able to breathe fresh air and are going to hospitals every week. This is what you want for your children?

"Why have you not started destination buses despite our specific orders? The Chief Secretary of Delhi is directed to submit as to why destination buses in terms of our orders have not been introduced so far," the bench also comprising Justice R S Rathore said.

Destination buses are the ones which ply from one point to another without any halts in between the journey.

The green panel lambasted the Delhi government after its counsel submitted that there was shortage of buses and said, "It is evident that large number of buses are standing along Yamuna at the depot. We see no reason why state authorities have not implemented our order so far."

The green panel said introduction of destination buses would facilitate an individual to opt for such a service rather than driving a car alone on highly congested roads.

It also said that such point to point buses would result in reducing jams as a large number of people from places like Dwarka and Rohini come to offices in Central Delhi.

"These buses would provide an economical alternative to people to avoid use of private cars and will have direct benefits to reduce congestion and improve the ambient air quality," the bench said.

The mater is now listed for next hearing on April 29.

During the last hearing the NGT had said, "The traffic on roads of Delhi needs to be reduced by taking various measures that have already been directed to be taken by various authorities including introduction of destination buses which could certainly help particularly the middle class and single driver from opting for destination buses rather than driving a car individually on highly congested roads of Delhi."

It had also asked the AAP government to provide incentives to those using public transport in order to encourage them.

It had earlier directed the Delhi government to convene a meeting of authorities concerned and come up with solutions to tackle the worsening air quality in the city after being told that the odd-even scheme has not helped in curbing pollution.

The NGT was hearing a petition filed by scientist Mahendra Pandey, who has sought independent monitoring of air quality index and also claiming that vehicular emission was not a major contributing factor to pollution.

India's top-seeded Saurav Ghosal lost to third seed Omar Abdel Mequid of Egypt in four games in the semifinal to bow out of the $25000 Montreal Open, a PSA event.

The Egyptian won 10-12, 12-10, 11-7, 17-15, according to the information received here.

The match was closely fought for most part and as a disappointed Ghosal was to state later, he saw a chance in the fourth game to revive hopes.

But despite being pushed to extra points, the Egyptian did not lose focus.

Spin legend Shane Warne says he would be disappointed if Indian captain Virat Kohli did not rethink his "heat of the moment" comment on friendship with the Australian cricketers.

At the end of one of the most bitterly-fought but intense Test series in recent times, Kohli had stated that he would no longer be friends with Australian cricketers, only to insist two days later that his comment was blown out of proportion.

"Virat is a very likeable guy and I love the fact he plays with so much passion," Warne told news.com.au.

"But I am sure he's thinking now there are a few good Aussies out there that I'm friends with and I'd be disappointed if that wasn't the case."

The second highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, Warne recalled that he also had his share of run-ins during his playing days.

"There have been moments in my career and I've probably pushed the boundary as well, but I think afterwards we more or less had a laugh about it."

Targetted by the visiting media and their former players through a major part of the series, the Kohli-led Indian team refused to accept the olive branch Australia offered in the end.

Warne said, "I think it was a heat of the moment comment.

It was a heated series. There was a lot of stuff said and both captains were into each other, but I think overall the series was played in a good hard fighting Test match spirit." 

Acting on the Allahabad High Court's order asking anti-Romeo squads to follow guidelines, the Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday directed the police to ensure that no inhumane measure was adopted in the name of ensuring security to women.

There should be no shaving of heads, blackening of faces or "murga pose" (sit-ups while holding ears), a senior official said here.

The guidelines have been issued after the intervention of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath amidst reports of harassment by anti-Romeo squads.

These special squads of UP Police were formed after the Yogi Aditynath government assumed office this month, fulfilling one of the poll promises of the BJP.

The Allahabad High Court had yesterday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure that guidelines were followed by anti-Romeo squads and action was taken as per the law.

The court's Lucknow bench of justices Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Sanjay Harkauli had given the order on a PIL that alleged that police were not following the guidelines during the drive, aimed at checking eveteasing, and was harassing couples.

The chief minister has also directed administrative and police officials in districts to regularly review the steps being taken for women security and inform senior officials on a regular basis, the official said.

Stressing that his government was firm on upholding the security and dignity of women, he said a state-wide drive has been launched to free public places of anti-social elements and check incidents of eve-teasing, indecent behaviour and passing of lewd comments at women and girls.

The UP Home department has issued fresh directives to identify those involved in misconduct at schools, colleges, bus stations, railway stations, malls and markets.

The government is also firm on checking unnecessary harassment of girls and boys merely in the name of curbing eve-teasing in public places like coffee shops, markets and parks.

The government has also made it clear that vigilantism of any sort in this regard will not be tolerated.

The menace of stray dogs and monkeys in the quarters for Members of Parliament here was highlighted in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with an MP saying they are creating panic in many areas.

Biju Janata Dal MP Kulamani Samal said the population of stray dogs and monkeys was growing so much in places like South Avenue, where many MPs live, that it is difficult to go even for a morning walk.

"I urge the government to do something regarding the menace created by stray dogs and monkeys. They are creating panic," he said during Question Hour.

However, Health Minister J P Nadda, who was present in the House, did not reply to the question.

After Mumbai and Pune, Nashik will have a separate cyber police station, considering rising number of crimes through internet and other online media, city Police Commissioner Ravinder Kumar Singhal said on Thursday.

"The Police Commissionerate has decided to open a separate cyber police station soon," the commissioner told reporters.

He also listed various initiatives launched by the city police for citizens, including spreading awareness about wearing helmets for two-wheeler riders.

The top cop said the rate of crime in the city has come down due to the police cracking the whip on the "big criminals and slumlords."

He said the police will operate a dedicated "tourist police van" to cater to tourists visiting the temple town, which will be equipped with city maps and information booklets.

The van will quickly attend to the complaints of tourists, the officer said.

Reality TV personality Kim Kardashian has ditched her long extensions in favour of a new shorter hairstyle.

The 36-year-old star showed off sleek shorter hair do for a casual family dinner here, reported Mirror.

Kim complimented the new style with a tube top and straight leg, washed out jeans.

The star, who also shared a video on Snapchat of her hair, kept her make-up minimal for the outing.

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan has completed 25 years of his journey in the city, which he says has given "me my life".

"25 years in Mumbai, which has given me my life. For the first time at the opening of RC (production banner Red Chillies Entertainment) VFX new office. I felt, I must have done something right," Shah Rukh tweeted on Friday.

The 51-year-old, who hails from Delhi, started his acting career with the television series Fauji in the late 1980s. He made his debut in movies with Deewana in 1992.

The actor attained superstardom with Baazigar and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, he has given blockbusters like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Yes Boss, Devdas, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Chak De! India, Chennai Express and Dear Zindagi.

SRK is currently busy filming director Imtiaz Ali's tentatively titled The Ring opposite actress Anushka Sharma.

Nine Malaysians freed by Pyongyang made an emotional return home on Friday, after Kuala Lumpur sent back the body of the assassinated half-brother of North Korea's leader to end a bitter diplomatic feud.

Kim Jong-Nam was killed with the lethal nerve agent VX on February 13 at Kuala Lumpur airport, triggering a major clash between Malaysia and North Korea, which saw them expel each other's ambassadors and bar citizens from leaving.

But a deal announced by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and confirmed by North Korean state media on Thursday said the two countries had lifted their respective travel bans, and Kuala Lumpur would send Kim's body to North Korea.

The Malaysians — three embassy staff and six family members, including a baby and three other children — landed in Kuala Lumpur before sunrise where they were met on the tarmac by Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.

There were emotional scenes as they were embraced by tearful relatives who had also gathered to meet them.

Mohamad Nor Azrin, counsellor of the Malaysian embassy in Pyongyang, said that while they had not been threatened and were free to move around they were not allowed to leave.

"We were very concerned because we had done no wrong. But we had to keep our spirits up," he told reporters.

Najib yesterday said his government "worked intensively behind the scenes" to bring its citizens home and vowed "to bring those responsible for this murder to justice".

The Malaysians were flown out on a government-owned business jet piloted by a senior Royal Malaysian Air Force officer.

Lieutenant Colonel Hasrizan Kamis said the Bombardier jet left for Pyongyang from a Malaysian airbase yesterday, apparently after talks reached a breakthrough.

The jet turned around in the evening with the nine on board, making a two-hour refuelling stop in the southeastern Chinese city of Fuzhou.

"There was a feeling of nervousness until we exited North Korean airspace," Kamis told AFP. "Everyone felt relieved." 

Najib on Thursday declared on Twitter that the diplomatic crisis with North Korea was over.

He had earlier announced that the body was being sent back "following the completion of the autopsy on the deceased and receipt of a letter from his family requesting the remains be returned to North Korea".

He did not specify who in the family had made the request. Kim's wife and children, who were living in exile in the Chinese territory of Macau, are believed to be in hiding after the murder.

On Friday, foreign minister Anifah confirmed the body was on its way back to North Korea after being kept in a hospital morgue in Kuala Lumpur for more than six weeks.(AFP)