The Punjab government is streamlining the appointments while bringing transparency into the functioning of the office of the Advocate General (AG) after introducing a draft bill to this effect.

A Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday, also approved key amendments in the qualifications and experience for the post of the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in order to strengthen the organisation and make it more effectual.

The 'Punjab Law Officers (Engagement) Act, 2017' Bill will be tabled for enactment in the current session of the Assembly, an official spokesperson disclosed after the second meeting of the state cabinet, held at the Chief Minister's Office here at the Punjab Civil Secretariat.

Giving details of the proposed legislation, the spokesperson said it was aimed at putting in place an efficacious mechanism for the engagement of law officers in the AG's office purely on the merit, as per the directions of the Supreme Court and the High Court.

"The enactment of the legislation will bring in greater transparency, fairness and objectivity in the appointments of senior additional advocate general, additional advocate general, senior deputy advocate general, deputy advocate general, assistant advocate general and advocate on record," added the spokesperson. 

As per the Cabinet decision, the PSPCL CMD would now be an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, in the rank of Principal Secretary or above, having prior experience of working in the Power sector.

The spokesperson added, the Cabinet has also amended the terms and conditions with respect to qualifications and experience for the said post, adding the streams of civil engineering, electronics and communication engineering, instrumentation engineering and information technology to the existing basic qualifications. In addition, the experience of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) would also be considered for the post of CMD.

In another decision, the Cabinet decided to engage the services of Inspector General of Police (Retd.) Khubi Ram as security advisor to the CM in the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), with entitlement to equivalent status, pay, perks, privileges and allowances, as admissible in such case.

The Punjab government is streamlining the appointments while bringing transparency into the functioning of the office of the Advocate General (AG) after introducing a draft bill to this effect.

A Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday, also approved key amendments in the qualifications and experience for the post of the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in order to strengthen the organisation and make it more effectual.

The 'Punjab Law Officers (Engagement) Act, 2017' Bill will be tabled for enactment in the current session of the Assembly, an official spokesperson disclosed after the second meeting of the state cabinet, held at the Chief Minister's Office here at the Punjab Civil Secretariat.

Giving details of the proposed legislation, the spokesperson said it was aimed at putting in place an efficacious mechanism for the engagement of law officers in the AG's office purely on the merit, as per the directions of the Supreme Court and the High Court.

"The enactment of the legislation will bring in greater transparency, fairness and objectivity in the appointments of senior additional advocate general, additional advocate general, senior deputy advocate general, deputy advocate general, assistant advocate general and advocate on record," added the spokesperson. 

As per the Cabinet decision, the PSPCL CMD would now be an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, in the rank of Principal Secretary or above, having prior experience of working in the Power sector.

The spokesperson added, the Cabinet has also amended the terms and conditions with respect to qualifications and experience for the said post, adding the streams of civil engineering, electronics and communication engineering, instrumentation engineering and information technology to the existing basic qualifications. In addition, the experience of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) would also be considered for the post of CMD.

In another decision, the Cabinet decided to engage the services of Inspector General of Police (Retd.) Khubi Ram as security advisor to the CM in the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), with entitlement to equivalent status, pay, perks, privileges and allowances, as admissible in such case.

Shiv Sena MPs on Monday said the ban imposed by all airlines on fellow member Ravindra Gaikwad should be lifted but the government said airlines had the right to refuse a passenger.

The issue was raised by Sena member Anandrao Adsul in the Lok Sabha.

"There was some dispute, he had beaten an Air India staffer. I agree it is wrong. Air India has filed a police complaint and we will accept whatever the result is, that is not a problem," he said.

"The problem is all airlines have restricted him. The constitution says people can go anywhere in the country. If there is one incident and all airlines ban him, it is wrong," he said.

Adsul cited the example of actor Kapil Sharma who he alleged misbehaved with an airline staffer on a flight to Australia.

"He was not banned. But a person who represents people, and when the session is on, was banned."

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said an MP was another passenger and violence of any kind on a flight can turn into a disaster.

He said airlines have been empowered to deny boarding to any passenger whose demeanour was not proper.

"An MP is also a passenger. Now that the MP has raised it, we can't have unequal treatment to people of different classes… We need to keep safety in mind, we can't compromise safety of airlines," Raju said.

Air India and all private carriers have refused to fly Gaikwad after he repeatedly hit an Air India employee with a slipper last week.

Shiv Sena MPs on Monday said the ban imposed by all airlines on fellow member Ravindra Gaikwad should be lifted but the government said airlines had the right to refuse a passenger.

The issue was raised by Sena member Anandrao Adsul in the Lok Sabha.

"There was some dispute, he had beaten an Air India staffer. I agree it is wrong. Air India has filed a police complaint and we will accept whatever the result is, that is not a problem," he said.

"The problem is all airlines have restricted him. The constitution says people can go anywhere in the country. If there is one incident and all airlines ban him, it is wrong," he said.

Adsul cited the example of actor Kapil Sharma who he alleged misbehaved with an airline staffer on a flight to Australia.

"He was not banned. But a person who represents people, and when the session is on, was banned."

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said an MP was another passenger and violence of any kind on a flight can turn into a disaster.

He said airlines have been empowered to deny boarding to any passenger whose demeanour was not proper.

"An MP is also a passenger. Now that the MP has raised it, we can't have unequal treatment to people of different classes… We need to keep safety in mind, we can't compromise safety of airlines," Raju said.

Air India and all private carriers have refused to fly Gaikwad after he repeatedly hit an Air India employee with a slipper last week.

Shraddha Kapoor's look from her upcoming film Half-Girlfriend" has been released by author Chetan Bhagat.

The Mohit Suri-directed film is based on the 42-year-old novelist's 2014 book of the same name.

Bhagat took to Twitter where he posted an exclusive still of the actress from the movie playing basketball with full concentration.

"Totally engrossed in the game. @ShraddhaKapoor's exclusive still from #halfgirlfriend. Don't miss the cool sporty hair-do!" wrote Bhagat alongside the picture.

Recently, actor Arjun Kapoor, who stars opposite Shraddha also posted a series of his photographs from the film playing the sport and tweeted, "Playing it up for my #halfgirlfriend! #19thMay".

The film slated to release on May 19.

Shraddha Kapoor's look from her upcoming film Half-Girlfriend" has been released by author Chetan Bhagat.

The Mohit Suri-directed film is based on the 42-year-old novelist's 2014 book of the same name.

Bhagat took to Twitter where he posted an exclusive still of the actress from the movie playing basketball with full concentration.

"Totally engrossed in the game. @ShraddhaKapoor's exclusive still from #halfgirlfriend. Don't miss the cool sporty hair-do!" wrote Bhagat alongside the picture.

Recently, actor Arjun Kapoor, who stars opposite Shraddha also posted a series of his photographs from the film playing the sport and tweeted, "Playing it up for my #halfgirlfriend! #19thMay".

The film slated to release on May 19.

Tracking negative global cues, domestic equity markets closed Monday’s trading session in the negative zone with metal shares declining the most.

The Sensex at the BSE closed 184 points or 0.63 per cent down at 29,237 and the Nifty at the NSE ended 63 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 9,045.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices slipped 0.3 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.

All the BSE sectoral indices, except Consumer Durables index, closed in the negative zone with Metal index leading the declines, down 2.6 per cent. Oil & Gas (down 1 per cent), Telecom (down 0.9 per cent) and Healthcare (0.8 per cent) indices were other notable losers. Consumer Durables index gained 0.9 per cent.

On Friday, the BSE Sensex had closed 165 points or 0.56 per cent higher at 29,332 and the NSE Nifty had closed 56 points or 0.62 per cent up at 9,086.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: SBI (up 1.1 per cent), Power Grid (up 1.4 per cent), HDFC (up 0.9 per cent), Dr Reddy’s Labs (up 0.8 per cent) and ITC (up 0.4 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Tata Steel (down 3.2 per cent), Reliance Industries (down 2.8 per cent), Asian Paints (down 2.1 per cent), Coal India (down 2.1 per cent) and Sun Pharma (down 1.9 per cent).

All the Asian markets traded in the negative zone. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plummeted 1.5 per cent, Singapore’s Straits Times Index plunged 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7 per cent each, Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.6 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1 per cent.

European markets were also trading with declines, CAC 40, FTSE 100 and DAX index indices lost 0.3 per cent, 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively.

Back home, the Rupee was trading 33 paise higher at 65.08 against the US Dollar.

Tracking negative global cues, domestic equity markets closed Monday’s trading session in the negative zone with metal shares declining the most.

The Sensex at the BSE closed 184 points or 0.63 per cent down at 29,237 and the Nifty at the NSE ended 63 points or 0.69 per cent lower at 9,045.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices slipped 0.3 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.

All the BSE sectoral indices, except Consumer Durables index, closed in the negative zone with Metal index leading the declines, down 2.6 per cent. Oil & Gas (down 1 per cent), Telecom (down 0.9 per cent) and Healthcare (0.8 per cent) indices were other notable losers. Consumer Durables index gained 0.9 per cent.

On Friday, the BSE Sensex had closed 165 points or 0.56 per cent higher at 29,332 and the NSE Nifty had closed 56 points or 0.62 per cent up at 9,086.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: SBI (up 1.1 per cent), Power Grid (up 1.4 per cent), HDFC (up 0.9 per cent), Dr Reddy’s Labs (up 0.8 per cent) and ITC (up 0.4 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: Tata Steel (down 3.2 per cent), Reliance Industries (down 2.8 per cent), Asian Paints (down 2.1 per cent), Coal India (down 2.1 per cent) and Sun Pharma (down 1.9 per cent).

All the Asian markets traded in the negative zone. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plummeted 1.5 per cent, Singapore’s Straits Times Index plunged 0.5 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.7 per cent each, Korea’s KOSPI shed 0.6 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1 per cent.

European markets were also trading with declines, CAC 40, FTSE 100 and DAX index indices lost 0.3 per cent, 0.7 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively.

Back home, the Rupee was trading 33 paise higher at 65.08 against the US Dollar.

The American University of Afghanistan in Kabul reopened on Monday, seven months after a terror attack at the centre killed 17 people.

"Classes have been resumed completely," the head of the university, Sharif Faiz, told Efe news.

Faiz said that despite the attack, the university has 76 new students although he did not reveal the exact number of students enrolled at the centre.

Around 750 students and professors were present in the campus during the August 24 attack when a suicide attacker drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the university gate.

He was followed by two other insurgents, who entered the campus and killed, among others, seven students and a Professor and wounded nine police officials and 36 students and staff members over the next 10 hours, until they were finally shot dead by the security forces.

Faiz also appealed to the insurgents to keep in mind that those studying at the university were "Afghans and Muslims" and so "like their sons and daughters, and none would target their children".

"This mindset is very dangerous, they should think at least once why they are killing students. They are not in a war with them, they are just students," he added.

Faiz explained that during the seven months, "lots of work had been done in upgrading the security of the university" and added that "if any group dare to attack the university, they would be eliminated before reaching their target."

The August 24 attack took place a few weeks after a group of armed men abducted two Professors — an American and an Australian — working in the university.

In January, the Taliban released a video which showed the two teachers asking US President Donald Trump to agree to a swap for Taliban prisoners being held by US troops. 

The American University of Afghanistan in Kabul reopened on Monday, seven months after a terror attack at the centre killed 17 people.

"Classes have been resumed completely," the head of the university, Sharif Faiz, told Efe news.

Faiz said that despite the attack, the university has 76 new students although he did not reveal the exact number of students enrolled at the centre.

Around 750 students and professors were present in the campus during the August 24 attack when a suicide attacker drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the university gate.

He was followed by two other insurgents, who entered the campus and killed, among others, seven students and a Professor and wounded nine police officials and 36 students and staff members over the next 10 hours, until they were finally shot dead by the security forces.

Faiz also appealed to the insurgents to keep in mind that those studying at the university were "Afghans and Muslims" and so "like their sons and daughters, and none would target their children".

"This mindset is very dangerous, they should think at least once why they are killing students. They are not in a war with them, they are just students," he added.

Faiz explained that during the seven months, "lots of work had been done in upgrading the security of the university" and added that "if any group dare to attack the university, they would be eliminated before reaching their target."

The August 24 attack took place a few weeks after a group of armed men abducted two Professors — an American and an Australian — working in the university.

In January, the Taliban released a video which showed the two teachers asking US President Donald Trump to agree to a swap for Taliban prisoners being held by US troops. 

Australia on Monday regretted the attack on a taxi driver of Indian origin in Hobart which occurred over the weekend.

‘’We place great importance on the safety and security of everyone who resides in Australia, including our Indian community,’’ a spokesperson for the Australian High Commission here said.

The matter was current and under investigation by Tasmania Police, which took all assaults seriously. Whether the assault was racially-based would be a component of the investigative facts, the spokesperson added.

The victim of the attack had suffered minor injuries and had been discharged from Royal Hobart Hospital. Police in Australia's Tasmania state were quoted as saying that they have launched a probe into the assault to assess whether it was a racially- motivated incident.  

Li Max Joy, who is pursuing a nursing course and working as a part time taxi driver in Australia, alleged that five people including a girl hurled racial abuses like “you bloody black Indians” at him and assaulted him up at the McDonalds restaurant at North Hobart.

In a statement, the police said they have spoken to a number of witnesses and were following a particular line of inquiry in relation to the offender.

“The complainant will be kept informed of the status of the investigation as it progresses,” police said.

Australia on Monday regretted the attack on a taxi driver of Indian origin in Hobart which occurred over the weekend.

‘’We place great importance on the safety and security of everyone who resides in Australia, including our Indian community,’’ a spokesperson for the Australian High Commission here said.

The matter was current and under investigation by Tasmania Police, which took all assaults seriously. Whether the assault was racially-based would be a component of the investigative facts, the spokesperson added.

The victim of the attack had suffered minor injuries and had been discharged from Royal Hobart Hospital. Police in Australia's Tasmania state were quoted as saying that they have launched a probe into the assault to assess whether it was a racially- motivated incident.  

Li Max Joy, who is pursuing a nursing course and working as a part time taxi driver in Australia, alleged that five people including a girl hurled racial abuses like “you bloody black Indians” at him and assaulted him up at the McDonalds restaurant at North Hobart.

In a statement, the police said they have spoken to a number of witnesses and were following a particular line of inquiry in relation to the offender.

“The complainant will be kept informed of the status of the investigation as it progresses,” police said.

Researchers have identified more than 100 genes that can help them understand correlations between these genes and human brain activity during memory processing.

"This is very exciting because the identification of these gene-to-behaviour relationships opens up new research avenues for testing the role of these genes in specific aspects of memory function and dysfunction," said Genevieve Konopka of University of Texas Southwestern in the US.

"It means we are closer to understanding the molecular mechanisms supporting human memory and thus will be able to use this information someday to assist with all kinds of memory issues," Konopka added.

The genes identified as important for human memory are distinct from genes previously correlated with other types of cognitive processing and resting state MRI activity. 

"At this point, we cannot say whether the gene expression itself might drive memory or whether it is simply a reflection of the brain activity patterns needed for proper memory formation," Konopka said.

In the study, presented at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS) annual conference in San Francisco, the memory genes were found to overlap with several genes associated with autism, which means "we have identified a window into the molecular pathways important for normal memory function that are at risk from a genetic perspective in autism", Konopka noted. 

The study is part of the nascent but growing field of "imaging genetics," which aims to relate genetic variation to variation in brain anatomy and function. 

"Probing the genes-brain relationship is likely to yield a rich understanding of the human cognitive and neural architecture, including insights into human uniqueness in the animal kingdom," said Evelina Fedorenko of Harvard Medical School.

Researchers have identified more than 100 genes that can help them understand correlations between these genes and human brain activity during memory processing.

"This is very exciting because the identification of these gene-to-behaviour relationships opens up new research avenues for testing the role of these genes in specific aspects of memory function and dysfunction," said Genevieve Konopka of University of Texas Southwestern in the US.

"It means we are closer to understanding the molecular mechanisms supporting human memory and thus will be able to use this information someday to assist with all kinds of memory issues," Konopka added.

The genes identified as important for human memory are distinct from genes previously correlated with other types of cognitive processing and resting state MRI activity. 

"At this point, we cannot say whether the gene expression itself might drive memory or whether it is simply a reflection of the brain activity patterns needed for proper memory formation," Konopka said.

In the study, presented at the Cognitive Neuroscience Society (CNS) annual conference in San Francisco, the memory genes were found to overlap with several genes associated with autism, which means "we have identified a window into the molecular pathways important for normal memory function that are at risk from a genetic perspective in autism", Konopka noted. 

The study is part of the nascent but growing field of "imaging genetics," which aims to relate genetic variation to variation in brain anatomy and function. 

"Probing the genes-brain relationship is likely to yield a rich understanding of the human cognitive and neural architecture, including insights into human uniqueness in the animal kingdom," said Evelina Fedorenko of Harvard Medical School.

Reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian has been criticised by her fans for sharing "materialistic" photographs of her children over social media.

Kourtney who has three children — Penelope, Mason and Reign — had last week posted two photographs of Penelope and Reign posing on the hood of Mercedes G-Wagon. 

Later, she was slammed for boasting about her wealth following her sister Kim Kardashian's Paris robbery last year, reports aceshowbiz.com.

The first image showed Penelope and Reign kneeling on all fours on top of the white lavish car, which costs approximately $122,000. 

Kourtney, meanwhile, gave them some directions to get a good pose. 

"No wonder you guys get robbed. Just keeping showing off what you have and keep getting robbed," one social media user wrote.

Another one commented: "Did you not learn a valuable lesson about displaying materialistic items? So you basically just showed someone what kind of car you drive… I thought you were the smarter sister." 

They hinted on how Kim flaunted her jewellery pieces on a Snapchat video before she was robbed at gunpoint in Paris last year. 

More than 100 countries are set to launch the first UN talks on a global nuclear weapons ban on Monday over objections from the major nuclear powers.

Some 123 UN members announced in October that they would launch the UN conference to negotiate a legally binding nuclear ban treaty, even as most of the world's declared and undeclared nuclear powers voted against the talks.

Britain, France, Israel, Russia and the United States voted no, while China, India and Pakistan abstained.

Even Japan — the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, in 1945 — voted against the talks, saying the lack of consensus over the negotiations could undermine progress on effective nuclear disarmament.

The countries leading the effort include Austria, Ireland, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and Sweden. Hundreds of NGOs back their efforts.

They say the threat of nuclear disaster is growing thanks to mounting tensions fanned by North Korea's nuclear weapons program and an unpredictable new administration in Washington.

Supporters point to successful grassroots movements that led to the prohibition of landmines in 1997 and cluster munitions in 2008.

"I expect that this will take a long time, let's not be naive," Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said at the UN last week.

"But it's very important in these days when you see more of this rhetoric, and also sort of power demonstrations, including threatening to use nuclear weapons."

"Quite a high number of countries are actually interested in saying we have to break the deadlock that has been on this issue for so many years," she added. "So it's also the expression of frustration."

No progress has been made on nuclear disarmament in recent years despite commitments made by the major nuclear powers to work toward disarmament under the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Beatrice Fihn, director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an international coalition of NGOs.

"There was disappointment with the Obama administration, which made some pledges, but then ignored most of them," she said. "And now there are raised worries with the new US president."

Then-president Barack Obama announced a drive in 2009 to reduce the role of nuclear weapons and eventually eliminate them.

But his administration strongly encouraged NATO allies to vote against this year's UN negotiations, saying a ban would obstruct cooperation to respond to nuclear threats from adversaries.

The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to inform it about the line of action to be taken by states for dealing with the "serious issue" of farmers' suicide.

"It is a very serious issue and the Centre should file the proposed line of action to be taken by states with regard to the farmers' suicide with the apex court registry within four weeks," a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said.

During the hearing, the bench also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul said the government should come out with a policy which deals with the root causes of farmers taking the extreme step.

Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha said that the government is taking all possible steps like procuring food grains directly from farmers, increasing insurance cover, granting loans and crop loss compensation.

He said the government is coming up with a comprehensive policy to deal with the issues of farmers committing suicide.

The bench said, "Agriculture is a state subject and the Centre will cordinate with states and come up with a line of action to address root cause of farmers committing suicide." 

Appearing for the petitioner NGO 'Citizens Resource and Action and Initiative', senior advocate Colin Gonsalves said over 3,000 farmers have committed suicide and the government should address all the real issues and implement a proper policy.

Expressing grave concern over farmer suicides, the apex court had earlier said that it felt the government was going in a "wrong direction" in tackling the real problem.

Asking the Centre to apprise it of the policy roadmap to address the burning issue, the court had said the issue of farmers' suicide was of "extreme importance" and paying compensation to the families of such victims "post-facto" was not the real solution.

The ASG had earlier told the court that the government has initiated many schemes for farmers and the 2015 crop insurance scheme would drastically reduce such fateful incidents.

He had said other schemes also needed to be strengthened to make farmers feel that the government would stand behind them in distress.

The plea was filed by the NGO on the plight of farmers in Gujarat and suicide committed by many of them there. The bench had expanded the scope of the petition to the entire country.