Cricketer Yuvraj Singh and his wife Hazel Keech are all set to participate in the dance reality show Nach Baliye season 8.

The buzz is that Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech have been approached by the management team to make an entry as wild card participants.

“Yuvraj will be busy with the IPL for the next two months but the channel is keen to have Hazel and him on board as wild-card entries as the T20 league will be over by then. They have been in talks for a while now and the channel is hoping that they sign up in the coming weeks,” a source close to the two celebs was quoted as saying.

The BJP does not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed or religion, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday, strongly refuting allegations that certain communities were facing discrimination in Uttar Pradesh.

The statement came after Congress member Ranjeet Ranjan expressed concern in Lok Sabha over incidents involving 'anti-Romeo' squads and alleged discrimination against people of certain communities in the state.

The UP government has set up such squads in the police to keep a tab on eve-teasing incidents in the state.

Touching upon the issue during Zero Hour, Ranjan wondered whether it was wrong to fall in love. She also asked whether it was wrong to have a boy friend or a girl friend.

Taking a swipe at the 'anti-Romeo' squads, she wanted to know whether the government would be telling boys and girls on how to sit in parks.

In response, Singh, who has also served as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, said "the BJP does not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed or religion."

Stating that it is only a few days since BJP government has come to power in Uttar Pradesh, he said if there is any specific incident, the government would look into it.

After registering a landslide victory in the polls, BJP government headed by Yogi Adityanath took charge on March 19.

Singh also said the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister has said the focus would be on "sab ka saath, sab ka vikas".

​​​​​Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday appealed to the resident doctors in the state to call off their strike and assured them that the government would ensure their security in hospitals.

Making a statement in the Legislative Assembly on the ongoing strike and its fallout on the public healthcare system, Fadnavis urged the doctors to follow their professional ethics by serving the people.

"Because of the acts of a few irresponsible people of attacking doctors, it is not right to deny the poor their right to access to the medical facilities. I appeal to the doctors and their organisations to call off the strike and return to work," he said.

The government had spoken to representatives of the striking doctors and accepted all their demands, he said.

"The state has enacted special laws to protect doctors.

The quantum of punishment has been increased and attacks on doctors made a non-bailable offence," he said.

"The laws need continous upgradation and the government is open to discussion," he added.

"We will try to see that attacks on doctors do not happen and if it happens the perpetrators will be punished severely," Fadnavis said.

The Punjab government has termed former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s statement on red beacons as mere tokenism, and has urged him to take up meaningful issues instead of indulging in frivolous opposition.

Dubbing Badal’s remarks as symptomatic of the anti-people, culture in the party, an official spokesperson said on Thursday that if the Akali leader was finding it difficult to connect the elimination of VIP culture with public welfare, then it clearly showed the extent to which the Akalis were alienated from the people of Punjab, which had translated into the party’s poor show in the recent polls.

As the state’s former CM should constructively work with the government in the interest of the people of the state and not indulge in expressing opposition for the sake of opposition. The spokesperson urged Badal to graciously accept that times had changed and there was no place for VIP culture in the modern world, least of all in democratic India, whose Constitution provides for equality for all citizens, without according special privileges to anyone.

The red beacon, though symbolic, had become a tool for politicians to throw their weight around and assert their authority over the common masses, said the spokesperson. Not only do these kind of symbols alienate the people, but send out the wrong message that the politicians are not ordinary men and women, but hold a lofty status that requires others to bow before them, he said.

Further, said the spokesperson, with the red beacon virtually giving the vehicles of the so-called VIPs a free run of the roads, ordinary people ended up being subjected to a lot of harassment while commuting, at times getting stuck for hours and unable to reach their destination in time. People have died because they could not reach the hospital in time as a result of VIP movement, and students have missed out on their exams for the same reason, the spokesperson pointed.

The spokesperson said the government was committed to abolishing the VIP culture, of which the red beacon was one of the most visible insignias, in the state. All public servants, including politicians, need to remain always connected to the people if they are to serve them better, and the VIP culture has turned out to be a huge barrier in this regard, he added.

Besides, the VIP culture had proved to be a major drain on the state’s economy, which was struggling to cope with a massive debt – the biggest legacy of the Badal government, the spokesperson pointed out, adding that Punjab could ill-afford to continue with such frivolous and non-essential expenses.

The scenic HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala is gearing up for its blockbuster Test debut as it will host a high-intense series decider between India and Australia, the fourth Test of the four-match Test series starting Saturday.

Steve Smith-led Australia started resilient on Indian soil as they swayed the first Test in Pune by a mammoth margin of 333 runs. India, under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, bounced back in the second Test, beating the Aussies by 75 runs in Bangalore.

The third Test, held in Ranchi on March 16-20, however, was marked to be the most dramatic twist in the story. On the final day of the third Test, it looked as India have already win the clash, but then the resolute pair of Peter Handscomb and Shaun March emerged from the dark side to haunt the hosts.

The middle-order pair stood tall in front of the wickets in needy hours and put 124 runs for the fifth-wicket partnership to help Australia avoid a defeat and the match ended in a draw.

Consequently, the Dharamsala Test would host sparkling action when the two sides meet to vie for the shimmering Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“Massive game in Dharamsala, can't wait to get there,” the concluding phrase by Steve Smith in the post-match ceremony of the drawn Ranchi Test expresses the best of emotions, excitement and enthusiasm that promises to grip the cricket-lovers world-wide.

Well-crafted in the valley of Dhauladhar mountain range, the HPCA Stadium gives a picturesque sight, which is so serene that one may come up with the best at what he do or might go lost in the beauty of the nature, leaving every concern behind.

In March 2016 during the World T20, Australia’s celebrated all-rounder Shane Watson announced his retirement from international cricket here, surrendering to the nature’s delight.

“One morning I woke up in Dharamsala to the beautiful view and I don't know what it was exactly but I knew now was the right time,” Watson said.

With carrying such a charm underneath, Dharamsala is ready to host its first ever Test. The nature of the turf favors batsmen the most, however, pacers get an added advantage as being located at a high altitude, the ball travels faster on this pitch.

Keeping the nature of the wicket in perspective, Australia appear a step forward in bowling, while India’s batting promises to balance or in fact weigh heaver for that matter.

Opener Kl Rahul has done justice at the position he play, scoring swift 282 runs from five innings of the series. Rahul’s opening partner Murali Vijay also displayed refined batting in Ranchi, smashing 82 runs off 183 balls.

Captain Kohli has not been up to the mark so far in the series, but the highest ODI run-scorer at the HPCA Stadium (212 runs off three matches) would look to earn a series' breakthrough in Dharamsala. 

In the middle-order, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha, Ajinkya Rahane and Karun Nair hold major responsibility. Pujara and Saha shouldered the responsibility greatly in the third Test as they put a record 199-run partnership stand for the seventh-wicket.

Along with leading the bowling attack, spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja has contributed well with the willow as well in the lower middle-order.

For Australia, the most-concerning fact is the form slump of David Warner, who managed to score just 131 runs from past six innings. Conversely, the 20-year-opener Matt Renshaw has done reasonably well scoring 223 runs so far in the series.

However, it is Australian skipper Steve Smith, who inspires the team the most. His exemplary knock of 178 tuns (not out) laid foundation for Australia in Ranchi added to his kitty that contains 371 runs from three Test matches.

For the fourth Test, Smith may play three pace bowlers as only they can help them clinch the series. Jackson Bird, who has taken 34 wickets from eight Tests, may come in place of spinner Steve O'Keefe, while Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are expected to lead the pace havoc at the high-altitude venue.

India Probable XI: Virat Kohli (C), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Karun Nair, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Umesh Yadav

Australia Probable XI: Steven Smith (C), David Warner, Jackson Bird/Steve O'Keefe, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Matthew Wade (WK)

Experts from Worldwide Fund for Nature-India, who mapped the abundance of and threats to Gangetic dolphins in the Hooghly, say one of the most "striking features" of the study was that the endangered mammals were sighted in highly polluted pockets of the river.

The study was conducted by observing and counting dolphins from the riverbank at specific locations along the 534-km stretch of the Hooghly in West Bengal.

The current global population of the species is between 1,200 and 1,800 individuals.

"We sighted around 75 to 80 dolphins, between Farakka and Ganga Sagar, during the period. We know that in locations where pollution levels and man-made disturbances are high, dolphins are usually not found. However, there are some highly-polluted points such as Kolaghat and Gadiara where we sighted the mammals.

"If we take measures now, if we can reduce the level of pollution and generate awareness, then we can protect them," Saswati Sen, State Director, WWF-India, West Bengal, told IANS on Wednesday.

Sen spotted around seven to eight dolphins with calves in Kolaghat, a town located on the banks of the Rupnarayan river in the East Midnapore district.

The organisation has initiated a dialogue with municipal corporations and panchayats to help generate awareness in these locations.

The survey was conducted from 2012-2014 to explore the behaviour, abundance, habitat-use and potential threats of the dolphin in the lower, middle and upper stretches of the river Ganga and its tributaries in southern Bengal.

The findings were published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa in August 2016. The paper was co-authored by marine biologist Mahua Roy Chowdhury and Sangita Mitra (presently associated with National Biodiversity Authority).

Observations were made during the day-light hours at 12 stations and their adjacent river stretches (from a boat) and along river banks during the study period.

Global positioning system (GPS) was used during navigation for recording the locations of sightings around every station and adjacent water channels.

As for threats, the study notes: "It was noticed during this study that potential threats in the dolphin habitat have an adverse impact either directly on their prey species or confine the habitat into isolated pockets."

Some of the key concerns raised by the study are: Entanglement of the mammals in fishing gear such as nylon gill nets, availability of fish, the presence of dams and barrages in the river that prevent their migration and lead to the segregation of populations.

"Farakka Barrage on the Ganga is one major impediment in the movement of dolphins since its commissioning in 1975. Currently, there are five connecting bridges over the river Rupnarayan at Kolaghat and a series of sluice gates over river Damodar near Garchumukh obstructing the movement of the dolphins," the study highlights.

Now the researchers plan to go for observations in stretches between two points along the river. "We plan to do it after the monsoon when the water recedes," Sen added.

The Ganges River dolphin inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
 

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said there was no reason to worry about the curbs on H1B visas or the job security of Indian IT professionals working in the US for the time being as the Indian government is in talks with the US regarding this.

"Currently there are four bills in the US Congress about curbs on H1B visas. We are engaged (in a dialogue) with the US at very high level regarding this… We are making all efforts (through diplomatic channels) to ensure these bills are not passed," Sushma said in the Rajya Sabha.

"So there is no reason to worry about it as of now," she added.

The Minister pointed out that even before Donald Trump became President, there had been a "flip-flop" in the H1B visa policy by the US.

"In 1990 when H1B visas were first introduced, the cap was 65,000. In 2000 it was raised to 1,95,000 for three years. In 2004 the number of these visas was again reversed to 65,000 by the US. So there has been a flip-flop on this policy even before Donald Trump government," she said.

The Minister also informed the house that the visa facility extended to the spouse of the Indian professionals has not been withdrawn by the US so far.

On illegal migrants, Sushma said that the US authorities have given a list of 271 persons who they have identified for deportation.

"We have asked for more details about these 271 persons. Once we check their antecedents and find they are actually Indian citizens, we'll provide them travel documents back to India so that they are not put behind bars by US authorities," she said.

She said India will once again raise the issue of totalisation once "the jobs of Indian IT professionals are ensured to be secure".

 Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad on Thursday allegedly assaulted an Air India staff with his slippers.

Accusing the Air India staffer for misbehaving with him, Gaikwad, the first time MP from Maharashtra’s Osmanabad admitted to hitting the staffer.

“Haan maine usko maara tha, usne badtameezi ki thi (Yes, I hit him as he had misbehaved with me),” Gaikwad said in New Delhi.

According to reports, the tussle between the MP and the on-board staffer broke out due to seating issue. He was denied a business class seat.

"I had paid for a business class ticket. I have complained several times but no action has been taken. So, this time I lost my cool,” he said.

However, the Air India staffer accused the Shiv Sena MP for using 'bad words' and 'humiliating' him in front of his crew.

"R Gaikwad hit me, he used bad words and not only did he broke my spectacles but humiliated me in front of the whole crew," said the victim.

Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju after being aware of the misconduct discouraged the incident.

"No political party will encourage physical assault. It should never have happened,"

Air India has lodged two FIRs against the MP – one, for assaulting their staff member and the other, for forcibly holding the flight and delaying it for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, Air India has constituted a team to probe the whole controversial incident.

The government has not taken a decision to replace the over 70-year-old law that mandates working of the CBI, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) derives its legal powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.

"No decision has been taken for enactment of a separate Act for the CBI," said Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, in written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

Terming as "inadequate" the powers given to the CBI, a parliamentary committee has recently suggested separate statute for the premier probe agency.

"The committee is of the view that the powers given to the CBI under the DSPE Act are not adequate considering the pace of changing times and in this context, the committee recommended for a separate statute for the CBI," The Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice had said in its recent report.

Insisting that there was no interference from the team management, HPCA curator Sunil Chauhan on Thursday said he has prepared a typical bouncy wicket for the decisive fourth Test, starting Saturday.

"Till date I have never taken any instruction from anyone and I have always prepared wicket keeping the traditional nature of this track in mind. This will be a bouncy wicket and preferred by those who play the cut and pull shot well. Rohit Sharma got a century in a T20 International at this ground," Chauhan said on the eve of the match.

Chauhan said he is confident that pitch will last five days.

"At Dharamsala, we have always tried to provide result oriented wicket. Even during this season's Ranji Trophy, the outcome was decided on fourth day lunch. As usual, the trend says that the pacers will get more wickets. Ishwar Pandey of MP and Ashok Dinda of Bengal got a lot of wickets in their respective Ranji matches."

Chauhan said that every season they have changed the top soil in order to keep the binding intact.

"There is a particular kind of soil found in Ludhiana which we have been using for some time now. That has helped us maintain the bind of the track," Chauhan said.

In what comes as a relief to comedian Kapil Sharma, the Bombay High Court on Thursday stayed an FIR against him and asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to give him a personal hearing on the demolition of alleged illegal construction.

The court’s decision came after the BMC informed that it has decided to withdraw all litigations from the lower court against Kapil and others involved in an alleged illegal construction in Mumbai's Goregaon area.

The comedian courted controversy when he alleged that BMC officials had asked him to pay a bribe of Rs.5 lakh. However, the BMC later claimed that the comedian had flouted norms in both his buildings in Versova and Goregaon.

Kapil made the headlines recently due to an on-air altercation with co-star Sunil Grover. Reports suggested that during a flight from Australia to Mumbai, Kapil had physically assaulted Sunil, known for essaying the role of Mashoor Gulati in The Kapil Sharma Show. The comedian on Monday took to Facebook to deny all rumours. However, as fallout of this incident, Sunil Grover is rumoured to have left the show.

You finally bought that dream phone with the latest specs and features and as you hold that bar of glistening glass and moulded metal in your hands, careful not to smudge the screen or scratch the surface, all you can think about is how to protect the precious device.

Fret not for we have compiled some basic and easy steps that you can follow to ensure that your phone survives the grit and grime of everyday life or worse if it gets nobbled.

Here are the top 5 tips:

1.       A screen guard: First and foremost, invest a puny amount in a good quality screen guard or tampered glass as it will go a long way in protecting the most vital part of the phone—its display screen. If the phone has a glass body, get a guard at the back as well.

2.       A sturdy case: You can get all kinds of cases made of metal, plastic, silicon, and even wood. However, it’s best to avoid the bulky ones and instead go for a lightweight silicon case that offers superior grip while not adding mass to the phone. If you’re a fan of minimalist designs, opt for a ‘bumper case’ that only covers the phone’s edges.

3.       Avoid phones in the loo: It’s so convenient to check Facebook and Twitter in the calm environs of the washroom and so is listening to that favorite track while showering. However, wet hands, a slippery floor, a bath tub full of water and that dreaded toilet bowl, there’s plenty that can go wrong in a bathroom.

4.       Mind those tight pockets: Don’t ever put your phone along with keys and coins in the same pocket, it’s a recipe for disaster as you’ll easily get scratches on the screen and the body. If you are one of those who keep their phones in the back pocket, always remember to take your device out before parking yourself to prevent a bendy phone.

5.       Get your device insured: This makes all the sense for high end phones. The insurance usually covers physical and liquid damage, fire damage and even theft. An insurance cover for a phone costing around Rs.10,000 usually starts at just Rs.600.

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo on Thursday launched its new "selfie expert" smartphone- the F3 Plus in India at Rs.30,990. Here are the top ten features of the phone:

1.    The phone has dual cameras at the front, a 16 megapixel primary camera and an 8 megapixel secondary camera. The former gets a 76.4-degree wide-angle lens and the latter sports a 120-degree wide-angle lens that offers 105 degree field of view for group selfies.

2.    The smartphone comes loaded with many camera features, including the selfie panorama, screen flash, palm shutter, smart facial recognition among others. 

3.    The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 SoC paired with the Adreno 510 GPU and runs on  Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

4.    It has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage which can be expanded to 256 GB via a microSD card.

5.    The dual SIM smartphone houses three separate slot-trays for two SIM cards and one microSD card.

6.    The battery at 4,000mAh is powerful and should easily last a day. Oppo claims that the F3 Plus can deliver up to 2 hours of talk time in just 5 minutes of charging.

7.    The 6-inch screen is full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) with a curved display and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

8.    The phone has a fingerprint sensor housed in the home button and the company claims that the phone can be unlocked in as little as 0.2 seconds.

9.    The Oppo F3 Plus will go on sale on April 1 from both offline and online channels. Pre-orders have begun and will go on till March 31.

10.    The smartphone weighs 185 grams and is available in two colours– Black and Gold.

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo on Thursday launched its new "selfie expert" smartphone- the F3 Plus in India at Rs.30,990. Here are the top ten features of the phone:

1.    The phone has dual cameras at the front, a 16 megapixel primary camera and an 8 megapixel secondary camera. The former gets a 76.4-degree wide-angle lens and the latter sports a 120-degree wide-angle lens that offers 105 degree field of view for group selfies.

2.    The smartphone comes loaded with many camera features, including the selfie panorama, screen flash, palm shutter, smart facial recognition among others. 

3.    The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 SoC paired with the Adreno 510 GPU and runs on  Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

4.    It has 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage which can be expanded to 256 GB via a microSD card.

5.    The dual SIM smartphone houses three separate slot-trays for two SIM cards and one microSD card.

6.    The battery at 4,000mAh is powerful and should easily last a day. Oppo claims that the F3 Plus can deliver up to 2 hours of talk time in just 5 minutes of charging.

7.    The 6-inch screen is full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) with a curved display and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

8.    The phone has a fingerprint sensor housed in the home button and the company claims that the phone can be unlocked in as little as 0.2 seconds.

9.    The Oppo F3 Plus will go on sale on April 1 from both offline and online channels. Pre-orders have begun and will go on till March 31.

10.    The smartphone weighs 185 grams and is available in two colours– Black and Gold.

The UN Human Rights Council is expected to adopt this week a resolution condemning the "dismal" human rights situation in North Korea, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is to convene a meeting in Geneva to adopt the resolution either on Thursday or Friday, according to ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck.

Cho noted that the UNHRC has adopted a resolution on the North's human rights since 2003 and, in particular, since 2014 it has reflected recommendations made by the Commission of Inquiry's report with greater emphasis on holding human rights violators accountable, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The spokesman added that the Seoul government has "actively" engaged in the process of drafting this year's resolution, sharing international concerns over the "systemic" and "widespread" violations of human rights taking place in the North.

North Korea has long been labelled as one of the world's worst human rights violators. 

The country does not tolerate dissent, holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps, and keeps tight control over outside information.

But North Korea has slammed the criticism, calling it a US-led attempt to topple its regime.

The UN Human Rights Council is expected to adopt this week a resolution condemning the "dismal" human rights situation in North Korea, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is to convene a meeting in Geneva to adopt the resolution either on Thursday or Friday, according to ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck.

Cho noted that the UNHRC has adopted a resolution on the North's human rights since 2003 and, in particular, since 2014 it has reflected recommendations made by the Commission of Inquiry's report with greater emphasis on holding human rights violators accountable, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The spokesman added that the Seoul government has "actively" engaged in the process of drafting this year's resolution, sharing international concerns over the "systemic" and "widespread" violations of human rights taking place in the North.

North Korea has long been labelled as one of the world's worst human rights violators. 

The country does not tolerate dissent, holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps, and keeps tight control over outside information.

But North Korea has slammed the criticism, calling it a US-led attempt to topple its regime.

What does British singing sensation Ed Sheeran have to do with tourism in Odisha?

A lot, if an Odissi cover of Sheeran's chartbuster Shape of You is to be seen and believed.

Joining the bandwagon, after IIT-Roorkee's memorable hip-hop cover, is a troupe of five Odissi dancers whose classy 'bhangas' (stances) interpreting the song against the gorgeous backdrops of state capital Bhubaneswar's monuments, has got over 10,000 views on YouTube in less than two days.

Detour Odisha, a travel company, shot the video in Sisupalgarh (a fortified township dating back to the third century AD), the exquisite Dhauli Shanti Stupa and Brahmeswara Temple (erected at the end of the ninth century).

In multi-hued traditional attires, danseuses Biswarupa Dixit, Smruti Pushpa Panda, Sulagnna Jena, Priyadarshini Pradhan and Madhusmita Swain demonstrate the elegance of one of India's major classical dance forms while also showcasing the rich architectural heritage of India's temple city.

Proving that music has no language barriers, the video also reinforces the use of 21st century digital media to popularise and record ancient Indian history.