Taking a dig at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his rather off-the-cuff remarks on "women's protection", author-columnist Twinkle Khanna on Friday suggested that he needed to do a yoga asana which eases "releasing gas".

At the India Today Woman Summit and Awards here, Twinkle — popular in the social media world as Mrs Funnybones — was at her wittiest best while fielding questions on her life as a writer, mother, wife and her views on feminism, politicians and motherhood.

Asked what she would have to say to Adityanath, who according to session hostess Koel Purie "doesn't have an amazing track record for his statements on women", Twinkle quipped: "He needs to do an asana…, which helps release gas.

"But I think he's also changing fashion. In fact, I had tweeted as well that Asian Paints must announce the new colour of the season — 'Beguiling Saffron' with a tagline: Orange is the new brown."

Women empowerment and feminism is a subject close to the heart of the actress-turned-writer, whose latest column explored sexual harassment at work.

Of late, Bollywood's leading ladies like Alia Bhatt, Sonakshi Sinha and Deepika Padukone, have been flaunting T-shirts with feminist slogans. But there's a need to go beyond that, says Twinkle, who believes in the event presenter Vivel's "Ab Samjhauta Nahin" tagline.

"As long as you believe in equality, you're a feminist. Having said that, these days I see a lot of proverbial T-shirt wearing feminists, and that's fantastic.

"There's one (T-shirt) by Dior that I really want… But with me, I feel like I need to go a bit beyond that."

What is she doing on that front?

"I think for me, my version of feminism is based on me pushing the envelope by picking stories I tell and projects I plan. So I am making a movie called Pad Man. It revolves around menstruation and sanitary pads.

"I've put my money, my clout, my goodwill and determination behind a project which I believe will alleviate the burden from a lot of women, and will take a part of our biology that is right now wrapped in newspaper and shoved down black plastic bags and bring it out for open discussion.

"That's my version of feminist."

Pad Man is Twinkle's debut film production and it features Akshay. It is based on a real life story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, who devised a cheaper way to make sanitary pads for women in his village and also sells the machine which makes low-cost pads to NGOs to work towards women's hygiene.

Twinkle says she chased Muruganantham for eight months, and when they spoke, she found an instant connect with his one-liners and how he doesn't take himself very seriously. He once told her: "You look like the actress…Raveena Tandon."

"I was about to drop his story," Twinkle quipped, adding another joke when she narrated how she was recently handed over a bag at home, and told that it had her "Pampers".

Filmmaker Shirish Kunder has apologised on social media after an FIR was registered against him for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi.

"I unconditionally apologise. I never meant to hurt anyones feelings or sentiment," Kunder posted on his Twitter page.

The FIR against the director was registered on Friday in Lucknow based on a complaint filed by Amit Kumar Tiwari, Secretary of Thakurdwara Trust of Ayodhya.

In a series of tweets, which have now been deleted, Kunder had written, "Hoping a goon will stop rioting once he's allowed to rule is like expecting a rapist to stop raping once he's allowed to rape (sic)".

In another tweet, he had said: "Going by the logic of making a goon as CM so that he behaves, Dawood can be CBI director. And Mallya – RBI Governor (sic).

Veteran actress and BJP MP Hema Malini on Friday said she is proud to be part of the transition going on in India.

"I am proud to be a Member of Parliament, representing my party which is doing wonderful work and thanks to our Prime Minister Narendra Modiji, we are seeing a great transformation in our country. I'm proud to be part of this transition," Hema, who represents the Mathura constituency, said here.

Widely known as Bollywood's 'Dreamgirl', the 68-year-old — with a sari-clad look defying her age — Hema became emotional as she was about to honour winners at the India Today Summit and Awards.

She said: "Without any goal, one cannot achieve anything, specially without the support of their parents, their good words and encouragement.

"My mother was a great supporter for me. She had a dream for me, she groomed me… She sacrificed a lot to make me achieve my goals. I am really grateful to her for making me what I am today.

"Wherever you go, you must leave your footprint… I remember her beautiful words always."

Barred by seven airlines after allegedly assaulting an Air India staffer, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad on Friday evening boarded a train to Mumbai.

He boarded the August Kranti Rajdhani from Nizamuddin railway station in New Delhi, according to reports.

The Shiv Sena MP booked three berths – 21, 22 and 23 in coach number A-1 of AC II tier of Mumbai Rajdhani, an official said.

Gaikwad was left with no choice, but to travel by train after he was banned by AI and other top airlines with ‘immediate effect’ on Friday for repeatedly hitting a 62-old-year AI staffer with slippers over seat issue.

Meanwhile, the party has summoned him. The party has formed a panel to decide on his suspension from the party.

At a time when marriages and relationships are becoming increasingly volatile, "Mrs Funnybones" writer Twinkle Khanna says she is happy being part of a "great team" with husband and Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.

Twinkle and Akshay have been married for 16 years, and have two children — son Aarav and daughter Nitara.

About their marriage, Twinkle said at an awards event here: "I think it's a great team. We are playing tennis doubles, and I think that's a pretty good foundation for a marriage to last."

On the importance of sex in a marriage, she said: "Sex is important at every stage."

Twinkle even said: "The things that I find attractive in Akshay have changed over the years".

The author-columnist, known for her wit and humour, added that she wants to emulateAAkshay's "calm and composed mind".

She also ensures Akshay — who she says has more pairs of shoes than her — goes through her columns before they are published and he rates them.

"He knows what resonates with people. He has a pulse on what people say and feel," said Twinkle, who says she is "comfortable" in her 40s.

Motherhood, she says, has been a life changing experience.

"You experience love and pain in all its glory."

The US military is investigating whether it was responsible for the deaths of nearly 300 Syrian and Iraqi civilians in three different sets of airstrikes this month, a media report said.

Civilian casualties have been alleged in all three instances, but each situation is different and complex, CNN quoted a US defence official as saying on Friday. 

So far, there is no indication of a breakdown in US military procedures governing airstrikes, the official said, and the US is not contemplating a pause in military operations.

The most severe incident involves western Mosul in Iraq. 

The US military is trying to determine if sometime between March 17 and March 23, bombs dropped in the neighbourhoods of al Jadidah, al Amel and al Yarmouk by American warplanes resulted in the deaths of over 200 civilians. 

The chairman of Nineveh Provincial Council in Iraq, Bashar al Kiki, told CNN: "Most of (those) killed are civilians, among them children and women."

The Iraqi official demanded an end to military operations in the area until civilians' safety can be guaranteed.

The incidents military officials are looking into are based largely on local reports and social media accounts of the strikes.

While in Syria, the US military has begun a formal investigation into a March 16 airstrike, where local reports said a mosque was struck and more than 40 people died. 

For days the Pentagon said there were no civilian casualties in the March 16 incident, even as numerous social media reports showed images of bodies being carried out of the rubble.

However, the US has not ruled out the possibility that the Islamic State (IS) terror group was using civilians as human shields, but the defence official told CNN that there was an urgency to find out if Washington was responsible.

The Central Command was also reviewing an airstrike against a school building on Wednesday near Raqqa, Syria. 

Local activists have said an airstrike may have killed more than 30 civilians seeking shelter there. The US was conducting strikes in the area, the defence official added. 

A large meat processing plant at Kairana town in Shamli district has been sealed after district authorities found "irregularities" during checking.

A team of district officials led by subdivisional magistrate Vijay Prakash conducted the checking at Meem Agro Foods Pvt Ltd on Friday and sealed it, circle officer Bhushan Verma said.

Meanwhile, several meat shops which were allegedly running without licenses were closed down in Thana Bhawan, Jalalabad and Shamli towns yesterday, he said.

In Muzaffarnagar district, several such shops were shut down in Budhana, Khatoli, Shahpur and Charthawal towns.

Slaughterhouses and meat shops allegedly running illegally have been closed down across Uttar Pradesh after a ban by the Aditya Nath Yogi government.

The All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) will decide on signing the tripartite MoU with the government and bank management after knowing its contents, a top leader said on Saturday.

Contrary to its earlier stand of infusing fresh capital in strong banks, the central government has decided to infuse fresh capital totalling Rs.8,586 crore into 10 weak banks subject to commitment to quarterly milestones by bank boards, management, employees and unions.

The government has said the SBI Caps will draw a bank wise action plan based on which a tripartite agreement between the government, bank management and employee unions will be signed committing themselves towards certain milestones.

"We are not averse to sign the MoU (memorandum of understanding). But we should know the provisions of MoU before committing ourselves," C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA, said.

"SBI Caps have not given any detail about the bank wise action plan. Some banks managements want the unions to agree. But agree to what is not spelt out," Venkatachalam added.

He said way back in 2002 when Indian Bank was in serious financial trouble, the union had signed an agreement to forgo some of the employee benefits-like leave travel allowance, overtime allowance and others.

The Indian Bank management had agreed that top officials will not use air travel, officers would not claim travelling allowance and such things, Venkatachalam added.

"Now there is no information as to the contents of the proposed MoU," he said.

The central government in a letter to the 10 bank heads had listed out five parameters under which the milestones would be fixed for capital infusion.

These are: (a) active management of non-performing assets (NPA), strengthening of lending and monitoring processes; (b) arranging capital from the market; (c) plan for disposal of non-core assets; (d) divesting stakes in subsidiaries, closure of loss-making domestic and international branches; (e) reduction in operational expenses including employee benefits to would be reversed once the banks turns around.

Venkatachalam said: "Going by the past experience, the banks would turnaround and then start building up bad loans calling for another turnaround with sacrifices by the employees."

The amount of capital to be infused by the government are:

Allahabad Bank (Rs.418 crore), Andhra Bank (Rs.1,100 crore), Bank of India (Rs.1,500 crore), Bank of Maharashtra (Rs.300 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs.100 crore), Dena Bank (Rs.600 crore), IDBI Bank (Rs.1,900 crore), Indian Overseas Bank (Rs.1,100 crore), UCO Bank (Rs.1,150 crore), and United Bank of India (Rs.418 crore).

US Democrats were joyous after the House of Representatives cancelled a scheduled vote on President Donald Trump's bill to replace Obamacare, the media reported.

In a rare public comment, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that the "victory happened because people in every corner of our country committed their time and energy to calling their representatives, showing up at town hall meetings, and making their voices heard," CNN reported.

The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee also tweeted a series of messages highlighting people she encountered on the campaign trail who spoke to her about their health care issues or crediting Obamacare for helping them.

On Friday, House Speaker Paul Ryan said he and President Donald Trump agreed it would be better to withdraw the bill once it became clear that the measure would fail due to defections among the Republican majority.

Republicans have spent the last seven years denouncing Obamacare or the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA), the signature domestic programme former President Barack Obama.

Other Democrats also joined in the victory celebrations.

"Hey Republicans, don't worry, that burn is covered under the Affordable Care Act," tweeted Bob Menendez, a Democratic senator from New Jersey.

Obama's spokesman, Kevin Lewis, tweeted several photos of the former President in celebratory poses, CNN reported.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said during a news conference on Friday, "Today's a great day for our country…It's pretty exciting for us."

Meanwhile, Trump blamed the Democrats for the failure of his healthcare bill.

Speaking to the Washington Post, Trump said: "We couldn't get one Democratic vote, and we were a little bit shy, very little, but it was still a little bit shy, so we pulled it."

Repealing and replacing the programme known as Obamacare was one of his major election pledges.

Specific intelligence indicators have shown that North Korea is ready for its sixth underground nuclear test at any time, US officials said.

Satellite imagery indicates a potentially significant change at the Punggye-ri test site, the officials told CNN on Friday. 

For weeks, the satellites had observed extensive activity on the surface, including vehicles, personnel and equipment, as well as two tunnel entrances being dug out.

But the latest imagery shows that activity has now stopped, "a similar change in the pattern also observed before previous tests, indicating all final preparations were now complete."

The South Korean government issued a statement on Friday also saying a test can happen as soon as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un orders it.

"It is assessed that North Korea is ready to carry out a nuclear test anytime if its leadership decides to do so," Lee Duk-haeng, spokesman for South Korea's the Ministry of Unification, said in the statement. 

He said that "South Korean and US intelligence authorities evaluate that North Korea is ready to carry out a nuclear test anytime on the leadership's decision."

North Korea also continues to move equipment and personnel that could be used to launch ballistic missiles, the US officials told CNN. 

They warned that it was impossible for the US to know when a mobile launch or an underground nuclear test will happen. 

According to the officials, the US is maintaining the presence of a WC-135 aircraft in the region that can conduct air sampling after a suspected underground test. 
 

The US military is investigating whether it was responsible for the deaths of nearly 300 Syrian and Iraqi civilians in three different sets of airstrikes this month, a media report said.

Civilian casualties have been alleged in all three instances, but each situation is different and complex, CNN quoted a US defence official as saying on Friday. 

So far, there is no indication of a breakdown in US military procedures governing airstrikes, the official said, and the US is not contemplating a pause in military operations.

The most severe incident involves western Mosul in Iraq. 

The US military is trying to determine if sometime between March 17 and March 23, bombs dropped in the neighbourhoods of al Jadidah, al Amel and al Yarmouk by American warplanes resulted in the deaths of over 200 civilians. 

The chairman of Nineveh Provincial Council in Iraq, Bashar al Kiki, told CNN: "Most of (those) killed are civilians, among them children and women."

The Iraqi official demanded an end to military operations in the area until civilians' safety can be guaranteed.

The incidents military officials are looking into are based largely on local reports and social media accounts of the strikes.

While in Syria, the US military has begun a formal investigation into a March 16 airstrike, where local reports said a mosque was struck and more than 40 people died. 

For days the Pentagon said there were no civilian casualties in the March 16 incident, even as numerous social media reports showed images of bodies being carried out of the rubble.

However, the US has not ruled out the possibility that the Islamic State (IS) terror group was using civilians as human shields, but the defence official told CNN that there was an urgency to find out if Washington was responsible.

The Central Command was also reviewing an airstrike against a school building on Wednesday near Raqqa, Syria. 

Local activists have said an airstrike may have killed more than 30 civilians seeking shelter there. The US was conducting strikes in the area, the defence official added. 
 

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has issued a show cause notice to ARY News channel over comments on a statement by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The regulator on Friday took exception to remarks made by Shahid Latif, a guest on an ARY News programme, that termed a recent statement by Sharif blasphemous, Dawn online reported.

Shahid Latif made the remarks during 'The Reporters' programme which aired on Thursday.

"This is a very dangerous trend. The hosts of the programme did not intervene nor stopped him from passing such comments, which is a violation of Pemra rules," a Pemra statement said.

According to the statement, airing any offensive, provocative or derogatory remarks violate PEMRA Act 2007 and various sections and clauses of the PEMRA Code of Conduct 2015.

The ARY News was directed to submit its reply by March 31 and explain why action should not be taken against it for airing "hate speech".

Pemra said if the channel was found guilty, the regulator could ban 'The Reporters', cancel ARY's operating licence and impose Rs 1 million fine.

Pemra also issued show cause notices to nine TV channels — Ab Tak TV, Waqt TV, Channel 5, Sach TV, 7 News, Aaj TV, Roze TV, News One and Capital TV — for airing "fake news" of a plane crash near Rawalpindi.

The channels have been directed to submit a reply by March 31.

The penalty for airing fake news includes a fine of up to Rs 1 million and cancellation of the operating licence.

The Pemra also issued a show cause notice to Dawn News for not complying with its orders of suspending 'Zara Hat Kay' for three days.

The presenters of 'Zara Hut Kay' discussed a reference against Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), which is pending before the Supreme Judicial Council, in an episode aired on March 9.

According to a Dawn News official, the channel had already obtained a stay order from the Sindh High Court against the notice.

Musician John Legend's suitcase got stolen at JFK airport in New York – but police quickly retrieved it.

The 38-year-old singer was almost left without his luggage – which is reported to have included a pair of USD 30,000 Cartier Panther jewel-studded cuff links and a USD 500 pair of sunglasses, as well as designer clothes – when it was left unattended by his greeter and an opportunistic thief tried to grab it.

Luckily for the "All of Me" hitmaker, airport police saw the events unfold on the CCTV cameras around the area, and managed to catch the culprit before he made off with John's possessions, reported TMZ.

Taking to Twitter, John quoted a tweet from one fan asking whether the thief had approached him and said: "This story is untrue. We use a trusted car service and they did not rob me.

Our Delta greeter made a mistake and left a bag on the cart (sic)." 

He then tweeted: "The bag was taken because it was left unattended. The airport police caught the person who took it (on video) and retrieved my bag.

"Thanks to the airport police/security. One could say it's been "handled". (sic)" 

It is not known whether John was travelling alone at the time, or if his wife Chrissy Teigen and their 11-month-old daughter Luna were with him.

The parents of an Indian woman who along with her seven-year-old son found dead in their home in New Jersey, suspect the involvement of their son-in-law.

N Hanumantha Rao allegedly found the bodies of his wife N Sasikala (40) and son Anish Sai when he returned home from work on Thursday evening, his family said in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.

Sasikala's parents, who live on the outskirts of Vijayawada, however said they suspect the involvement of their son-in-law.

Venkateshwarlu and Krishna Kumari alleged that he was not treating their daughter well for last two years and he was also carrying on an extramarital affair.

Sasikala's parents said she had told them over phone several times that he is not looking after her well and was continuing the affair with another woman.

They said Hanumantha Rao telephoned them Friday just to say that his wife and son have died and did not say anything more.

Y. Sambasiva Rao, the lawmaker from Prakasam district, meanwhile spoke to representatives of Telugu Association of North America (TANA) over phone about the incident.

He said the mother and her son were strangulated to death.

Hanumantha Rao and Sasikala both were software professionals. Sasikala used to work from home for an IT company while Hanumantha Rao is working as an associate director in another firm.

The couple married in Vijayawada in 2004 and had been living in the US for nine years.

This is the latest in a series of incidents involving Indian techies.

Telangana aeronautical engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed when Adam W. Purinton, who earlier served in the US Navy, shot him in Olathe, Kansas, on February 23.

Vamshi Reddy Mamidala, also from Telangana, was shot dead in Milpitas, California, on February 10 in a garage in his apartment building.

The government has asked the US to provide details of the 271 illegal immigrants it wants New Delhi to take back.

"This is an ongoing matter. The US authorities had conveyed to us sometime back that out of certain statistics provided to us earlier, 271 cases remained to be addressed."

"However, no details of these cases were provided. We have asked for the same," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday said in Parliament, "We have not accepted this list and have sought more details. We have said that it is only after we verify the details, can we issue an emergency certificate for their deportation." 

The Donald Trump administration has given a list of 271 people, claiming they were illegal migrants from India.

Asked about the killing of an Indian woman and her seven-year-old son in the US last night, Baglay said India is in touch with the US authorities who are trying to ascertain details of the "very unfortunate incident".

He also said the Indian consulate was ready to extend all possible help to the family.

An FIR was lodged against Bollywood producer Shirish Kunder on Friday for his "objectionable" and "abusive" post on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, police said.

The FIR was lodged based on a complaint filed in the Hazratganj police station here by Amit Kumar Tiwari who while referring to the Chief Minister as "Hindu Hriday Samrat Sant Shiromani Yogi Adityanath", quoted extensively from a tweet done from Kunder's official handle on March 21, wherein he says: "Going by the logic of making a goon as CM so that he behave Daud can be CBI director and Mallya RBI governor."

Tiwari complained that in the tweet, the Chief Minister has been compared to international terrorist Dawood Ibrahim and demanded that appropriate legal action be taken against the film producer. 

An official told IANS that based on the complaint, an FIR has been lodged and a probe initiated.

Kunder, who however has deleted the tweets concerned, later extended an apology on the micro-blogging site.

"I unconditionally apologise. I never meant to hurt anyones feelings or sentiment," he tweeted.