The CPI(M) on Saturday attacked the NDA government for not making public the data on the amount of junked currency deposited in banks post note ban.

Taking to Twitter, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury asked whether the Modi government is "that incompetent" that it is yet to come out with the numbers.

"Why don't we have the data on amount of old currency notes deposited even now? Is the Modi government that incompetent? Or complicit?" he said 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 8 last year announced scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

The government had set a deadline of December 30, 2016 to exchange the notes with banks.

NRIs and those who could not deposit the invalidated high value notes because they were travelling abroad can deposit the old currencies with RBI until March 31 subject to verification.

Myanmar has rejected the UN rights council's decision to investigate allegations that security officers have murdered, raped and tortured Rohingya Muslims, saying the probe would only "inflame" the conflict.

The Geneva-based body agreed on Friday to "urgently" dispatch a fact-finding mission to the Southeast Asian country, focusing on claims that police and soldiers have carried out violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine state.

The army crackdown, launched in October after militants killed nine policemen, has sent tens of thousands of Rohingya fleeing across the border to Bangladesh.

Escapees have given UN investigators gruesome accounts of security officers stabbing babies to death, burning people alive and committing widespread gang rape.

The allegations have heaped enormous pressure on Myanmar's one-year-old civilian government, which has vigorously swatted back calls for an international investigation.

Myanmar's foreign affairs ministry on Saturday stopped short of saying it would block the UN-backed probe but said it "has dissociated itself from the resolution as a whole".

"The establishment of an international fact-finding mission would do more to inflame, rather than resolve the issues at this time," it added.

Myanmar is carrying out its own domestic inquiry into possible crimes in Rakhine.

But rights groups and the UN have dismissed the body, which is led by retired general turned Vice President Myint Swe, as toothless.

The recent crackdown is only the latest conflict to beleaguer the stateless Rohingya, who are denied citizenship and face brutal discrimination in the Buddhist-majority country.

More than 120,000 Rohingya have languished in grim displacement camps ever since bouts of religious violence between Muslims and Buddhists ripped through Rakhine state in 2012.

Most are not allowed to leave the squalid encampments, where they live in piecemeal shelters with little access to food, education and healthcare.

A record breaking brown dwarf — a star too small for nuclear fusion — with the purest composition and the highest mass yet known has been identified by an international team of astronomers.

The object, known as SDSS J0104+1535, is a member of the so-called halo – the outermost reaches of our Galaxy — and is made up of the most ancient stars, the scientists reported in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

"We really didn't expect to see brown dwarfs that are this pure. Having found one though often suggests a much larger hitherto undiscovered population – I'd be very surprised if there aren't many more similar objects out there waiting to be found," said lead authors ZengHua Zhang from the Institute of Astrophysics in the Canary Islands in Spain.

Located 750 light years away in the constellation of Pisces, SDSS J0104+1535 is made of gas that is around 250 times purer than the Sun, so consists of more than 99.99 per cent hydrogen and helium. 

It is estimated to have formed about 10 billion years ago and measurements also suggest it has a mass equivalent to 90 times that of Jupiter, making it the most massive brown dwarf found to date.

SDSS J0104+1535 has been classified as an L type ultra-subdwarf using its optical and near-infrared spectrum, measured using the European Southern Observatory's "Very Large Telescope" (VLT). This classification was based on a scheme very recently established by Zhang.

Brown dwarfs are intermediate between planets and fully-fledged stars. Their mass is too small for full nuclear fusion of hydrogen to helium (with a consequent release of energy) to take place, but they are usually significantly more massive than planets.

It was previously not known if brown dwarfs could form from such primordial gas, and the discovery points the way to a larger undiscovered population of extremely pure brown dwarfs from our Galaxy's ancient past.

Resident doctors across Maharashtra on Saturday called off their five-day protest against a spate of assaults and resumed duties following an ultimatum from the Bombay High Court and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The state government had also given an assurance to the protesting doctors that their demands will be looked into.

"Most of the doctors have resumed duties. The OPDs have also become operational per schedule and resident doctors paid a visit to general wards as well. We are hopeful of things getting back to normal soon," said Dr Avinash Supe, Dean of civic-run KEM hospital here.

Resident doctors in Sion and Nair hospitals too have resumed work, he added.

The doctors called off their stir after Fadnavis yesterday gave an ultimatum asking them to resume duties or face legal action.

Indicating that the government has run out of patience, Fadnavis had yesterday told the Legislative Assembly that "enough is enough. If the doctors fail to resume work today, government will not sit quietly. We cannot leave the patients to die." 

Also, the Bombay High Court had lambasted them for taking "undue advantage of its sympathy," and asked protesting doctors to report back to work by 8 AM today or be ready for suitable action by their respective hospital managements.

More than 4,500 resident doctors had gone on "mass leave" since Monday after a series of assault took place on resident doctors in various parts of the state, affecting health services in OPDs and general wards at government and municipal-run hospitals.

Though Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) did not extend support or endorse the protest by the doctors, it was involved in negotiations with the state government from day one.

According to a statement issued by MARD in the wee hours today, their meeting with the Chief Minister last night was satisfactory.

"The state government has issued a letter of assurances and we feel our demands are being addressed. We have asked our members to resume the duty from Saturday morning," it said.

Also, the state government, on March 22 had issued a circular stating that a total of 1,100 security personnel will be provided from Police Security Corporation of which 500 will be deployed by April 5 across government hospitals in Mumbai.

In the following phases, armed personnel will be deployed in Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad cities as well by April end.

The Maharashtra chapter of IMA, backing the stir of resident doctors in state government hospitals, had yesterday rolled back their support to them shortly after the High Court warned them against continuing the agitation.

Social media giant Facebook will begin testing a GIF button that will allow users post GIFs from services like Giphy and Tenor as comments.

"Everyone loves a good GIF and we know that people want to be able to use them in comments. So we are about to start testing the ability to add GIFs to comments and we'll share more when we can, but for now we repeat that this is just a test," techcrunch.com quoted Facebook as saying on Saturday. 

After the test, the GIF comment button will only be available to a small group of Facebook users and will be rolled out to everyone who loves it. 

The button will function in the same fashion as in Facebook Messenger, allowing users to both browse trending GIFs and search for specific reactions in-line. 

In a bid to make Messenger more fun and engaging, Facebook may soon add a new reaction "Dislike" for Facebook Messenger. 

In February, Facebook celebrated the first anniversary of "Reactions" and recorded 300 billion "Reactions" on posts and the "Love" reaction was used maximum times by its over 1.79 billion users.

Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, his cabinet colleague Ramesh Chennithala and 11 other Congress-led UDF leaders were on Saturday cleared by the Kerala Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau (VACB) of nepotism charges.

The VACB after a preliminary probe found that there was no misuse of official powers by Chandy and the others and none of their relatives was appointed to key posts when they were in office during 2011-16.

According to officials, the clean chit report will be filed before the Vigilance court here on Saturday.

A complaint surfaced soon after the number two in the present Pinarayi Vijayan government — State Industries Minister and CPI-M strong man E.P. Jayarajan — had to quit as minister last year following reports that he appointed his nephew and another close relative to key posts.

The complainant filed a petition against Chandy and others before the VACB and the Vigilance court.

The VACB in its probe concluded that a few of these leaders' relatives were appointed to clerical posts on a contract basis but it was not proved that there was misuse of power and they continue to hold the same jobs even after the change of government.

Colouring books for adults have in recent years taken up the publishing world by storm. Although not a new concept, in this increasingly hectic and stressful world, people look for an escape route every now and then and these books have come in handy for many people who seem to have found a therapeutic answer to their stress.

Grownups are picking up their colouring pencils to turn to relaxed yet a focused activity that not only calms their mind but also works as a type of meditation. According to psychologists and other experts, activities which allow the brain to be engaged just enough without draining the mind works as a powerful medium to overcome stress.

These books are intricately designed with varied patterns keeping the fact in mind that it is for a more developed and mature mind. The process of thinking about these complex or abstract designs generates substantial brain activity which distracts an individual from possible situations in his or her life that may not seem as a positive one.

These are intricately designed books; some created specifically to help you de-stress and focus the mind. As an individual creates the artwork it helps them reconnect with their innermost feelings and possible conflicts. It has also been observed that in many cases the process helps in managing other socio-emotional skills as well. As a person puts down their expression on paper it helps them clear out the emotional and psychological baggage that they may have been carrying.

Though many experts have said that colouring a design cannot be termed as an art therapy, but it sure can be termed as therapeutic due to its calming effect on the person undertaking the activity.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up that crayon and choose from a wide variety of colouring book themes and colour the world inside the book as you wish and de-stress!

Bajaj Auto on Saturday said it has agreed with Japan's Kawasaki to end their decade-old alliance for sales and services in India from next month.

The Pune based company is focusing on its partnership with Austrian firm KTM, under which it has been converting its Probiking outlets, where Kawasaki motorcycles were also sold, into KTM dealerships.

"Kawasaki and Bajaj have mutually arrived at an amicable decision to end their alliance in India from April 1, 2017," Bajaj Auto President (Probiking) Amit Nandi said in a statement.

Consequently, Kawasaki motorcycles will be sold by India Kawasaki Motors Pvt Ltd — 100 per cent subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Japan — through its dealer network. The unit was established in India in July 2010. It will also provide after sales service, including that for past customers.

"Bajaj and Kawasaki will continue to maintain their co-operative relationship across the rest of the world for current and future businesses," Nandi said.

Bajaj Auto formed an alliance with Kawasaki for the sale and after sales service of Kawasaki motorcycles through its Probiking network in 2009.

"We have progressively converted our Probiking network to be KTM dealerships," Nandi said.

The Bajaj-KTM partnership, launched its first co-developed product, the 200 Duke in 2012.

He said over the last 5 years, KTM achieved a CAGR of 48 per cent and sales volume in 2016-17 is estimated at 37, 000 units.

"Now the Duke & RC models are being offered in five SKU's through the over 300 KTM dealerships in India. Going forward, Bajaj intends to focus on the KTM brand," Nandi said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday promised to abolish residential house tax if the Aam Aadmi Party wins the civic polls.

"We will abolish residential house tax and waive off all arrears of such taxes of all citizens of Delhi if AAP comes to power in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections," Kejriwal said.

According to him, the AAP has made all calculations related to the residential house tax.

Kejriwal said that his party has delivered most of his promises including reducing the rate of electricity.

The leader complained of corruption prevailing in the corporations and accused councillors of earning money through such practices.

He said the money paid to corporations through taxes was being stolen by corrupt people.

Elections to the 272 wards in three municipal corporations are scheduled for April 23. The results will be out on April 26.

Pakistan is mulling options to replace its hawkish envoy to India, Abdul Basit, after his tussle with the decisions-makers in Islamabad following the elevation of his junior Tehmina Janjua as Foreign Secretary.

Basit, the Pakistan High Commissioner to India, was appointed in March 2014 after he suffered a major disappointment when he was sure of being appointed Pakistan's Foreign Secretary but last-minute wheeling and dealing resulted in the appointment of Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry.

Basit, who has completed his a turbulent three-year tenure in New Delhi, again failed to get favours from the decisions-makers in Islamabad last month when Janjua was appointed his boss to become Pakistan's first woman Foreign Secretary.

Reliable sources said Basit in the heat of passions had thought of resigning. But later decided to stay put, making it clear to his bosses he would not work in any 'subordinate' position to Janjua.

As he completes his tenure, Foreign Office bosses are unsure how to deal with Basit. Sources said an option could be to let Basit carry on but the problem is he is considered hawkish by the incumbent government who hardly fits into the Prime Minister's policy of "good ties with all neighbours".

Reality TV star Kris Jenner is reportedly making a bid for an animated TV series featuring the Kardashian and Jenner family.

Kris is keen to score the family another primetime slot with an animated show about "the entire family" including Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian and their step sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner, reports tmz.com.

Kim met with Harvey Weinstein's company in Los Angeles earlier this month to pitch the idea.

The news portal said that the show will not include Kris' former husband Bruce Jenner, who has now become Caitlyn Jenner since undergoing gender transition.

Kris wants the show to be another primetime drama, which is not for children.

Two top Senators have urged the Trump administration to push for the sale of F-16 fighter jets to India to build its capability to counter security threats and balance China's growing military power in the Pacific.

Senators Mark Warner from Virginia and John Cornyn from Texa in a joint letter to US Defence Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, the Trump administration must make the fighter jet acquisition a priority during initial bilateral discussions with India.

India has launched an effort to expand its combat aircraft fleet and the competition has reportedly narrowed down to Lockheed's F-16 and Saab's Gripen.

Noting that the last F-16 for the US Air Force rolled off the production line in Fort Worth in 1999, the two Senators said India remains the only major F-16 prospect customer.

"A primary factor in India's decision will be compliance with Prime Minister Modi's 'Make in India' initiative, which will require establishing some level of local production capacity," Warner and Cornyn wrote.

"Given the strategic significance of India selecting a US aircraft as the mainstay for its future Air Force and the potential for a decision this year, we ask that the administration make the fighter acquisition a priority during initial bilateral discussions," they said.

Warner, who is a Democrat and Cornyn from the Republican Party are the co-chairs of the influential Senate India caucus, the only country specific caucus in the US Senate.

"We urge you to weigh in forcefully with the White House on the strategic significance of this deal, both to America s defence industrial base and to our growing security partnership with India," said the letter dated March 23.

Making a strong case for the sale of F-16s to India, the two Senators said this would represent a historic win for America that will deepen the US-India strategic defence relationship and cement cooperation between our two countries for decades to come.

"It would increase interoperability with a key partner and dominant power in South Asia, build India's capability to counter threat from the north, and balance China's growing military capability in the Pacific," they said.

India, they said, increasingly serves as an integral partner in the United States' security architecture in the volatile South Asia region, helping to protect our joint interests and deter common threats, and has emerged as a critical trading partner, they noted.

As such "it is in our national interest to work with India to progress democratic principles through regional security partnership and burden sharing," they said.

"To this end, we support the co-production of our legacy F-16 aircraft in India to help sustain the United States' current fleet of aircraft and aid a critical Indian security need with a proven American product," Cornyn and Warner wrote.

The competition for the fighter jets, they wrote, presents an opportunity to solidify and strengthen the significant gains made in the bilateral US-India defence relationship over the two previous administrations, they said.

What better way to wow yourself with a beautiful fruit platter on weekends. Summer in Delhi has just begun and watermelons are flooding the fruit markets. If you are bored with the traditional way of eating plain watermelon, here is a creative watermelon recipe that will delight you and your family this weekend.

Ingredients:

Condensed milk 1 tin

Watermelon pulp ½ kg

Method:

Remove seeds from watermelon and cut into small pieces.

With a handy mixer make a pulp of it.

Add condensed milk and blend again.

Pour in an airtight container and set in freezer for few hours till it solidifies.

Take out small balls with a small ice-cream scoop and serve frozen in a clear glass bowl.

We become a little choosy when it comes to weekend snacks and meal. Eating plain fruits is the last thing we want to have on these days.

Nevertheless, the brilliant red colour and sweet flavour of watermelon makes it a perfect weekend party favour. With extra nudging, you would love it. With few ingredients, easy and quick to make, it's a great fruity food for the weekend!

Electing to bat, Australia were 131 for one against India at lunch on day one of the fourth and final cricket Test at picturesque HPCA Stadium, here on Saturday.

Australia lost Matt Renshaw (1) cheaply before captain Steve Smith (72) and David Warner (54) strengthened the innings.

The series is locked 1-1.

Brief Scores:

Australia 1st innings: 131 for 1 in 31 overs. (Steve Smith batting 72, David Warner batting 54; Umesh Yadav 1/29).

Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav on Saturday dared new Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to ban liquor and set up an "anti-Daru squad" on the lines of the much hyped anti-Romeo squad.

"Liquor is dangerous, it pollutes health and society. Yogiji don't divert people's attention and constitute anti-Daru squad (anti-liquor squad)," Tejaswi, the younger son of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, told media here.

Tejaswi said if Adityanath is a 'Yogi' and an honest advocate of religion, he should order a total liquor ban in Uttar Pradesh like in Bihar.

The Nitish Kumar-led Grand Alliance government enforced total prohibition on April 5 last year in the state.
 

The Liberation Panther Party aka Vidhuthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) has advised superstar Rajinikanth to re-consider his decision to visit Sri Lanka to inaugurate a housing scheme. They said it might earn him the wrath of the Tamil community.

As part of his visit, being organised by Lyca Productions, Rajinikanth is expected to speak at a public meeting and plant tree saplings.

According to a source in VCK, Rajinikanth's visit might prove to the world that things are back to normal in Sri Lanka.

"Nothing has changed in Sri Lanka, especially the lives of displaced Sri Lankan Tamils following the civil war in 2009. They're using Rajinikanth's visit to fool the world that life has returned to normal but it hasn't. We want Rajinikanth to reconsider his decision. If not, he will face the wrath of Tamil community," the source told IANS.

VCK – a political party that supports the cause of Dalits in Tamil Nadu – is led by T. Thirumavalavan, who is spearheading the protest against Rajinikanth's visit.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the "Enthirana actor will hand over the keys to 150 homes built for Tamils by Gnanam Foundation on April 9 in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, according to a statement released by Lyca Productions.

Lyca Productions is also bankrolling Rajinikanth's upcoming release 2.o, a sequel to his 2010 Tamil blockbuster Enthiran.
 

India and the US have pledged to deepen defence partnership and decided to collaborate on a wide range of regional issues including maritime security and counter-terrorism.

This was decided during National Security Advisor Ajit K Doval's meetings here with US Defence Secretary General (rtd) James Mattis, Secretary of Homeland Security General (rtd) John Kelly and National Security Advisor Lt Gen H R McMaster.

In all these meetings, the common thread was expansion and deepening of India-US co-operation in collectively addressing the challenge posed by terrorism in South Asia.

He also met Senator John McCain, Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee and Senator Richard Burr, Chairman of the powerful Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

"Mattis specifically applauded India's efforts to promote stability in the South Asia region. Both leaders reaffirmed building upon the significant defence cooperation progress made in recent years," Pentagon Spokesperson Capt Jeff Davis said in a read out of the meeting, adding that the two leaders discussed their role in cooperating to uphold international laws and principles.

"Secretary Mattis and NSA Doval further discussed collaboration on a wide range of regional security matters including maritime security and counter terrorism. The two pledged to continue the strong defence partnership between both nations," Davis said.

Doval and McMaster during their meeting at the White House on Thursday "committed" to work together as partners to "combat the full spectrum" of terrorist threats, affirming that both great democracies stand together in the fight against terrorism, a senior Trump administration official said.

"All the meetings were very warm, very positive, very constructive. I think there is an open approach to India," Indian sources said as Doval concluded his meetings in Washington DC yesterday.

This was Doval's second trip to the US after Donald Trump won the presidential elections in November.

In December, Doval had met NSA-designate Gen (rtd) Michael Flynn, who resigned a few weeks after he took over the job due to the controversy surrounding Russian diplomats during the transition and election campaign.

Flynn was replaced by McMaster, who according to the officials, has a very positive view about India.

"The discussions (in all these meetings) covered India's economic plans, reforms, growth. They covered our core security concerns, regional concerns, defence and security aspect of the India-US engagement," the senior official said on condition of anonymity.

For instance, the meeting at the Pentagon covered India-US defence relationship, issues like maritime security.

"Naturally the challenge, nature and manifestation of terrorism and co-operation with regard," the official said, adding that the sense from these meetings came out that the Trump administration seeks to take forward the upward trajectory of this bilateral relationship.

With Homeland security, issues of radicalisation, cooperation in border controls, issues of information sharing which can help fight terrorist sides popped up.

The Trump administration officials were interested in hearing from Doval on New Delhi's views in the region, in particular Afghanistan and vice versa, informed sources said.

In some of the conversations, issues like demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST) also popped up, reflecting the close interest that the US has in the economic growth of India.

There was no specific discussion on Pakistan, but it figured in the context of terrorism in the region.

Inside the Trump administration, it is clear how Pakistan is closely associated with terrorism, the official said.