The Congress leadership on Tuesday refused to accept the resignation of party General Secretary BK Hariprasad, who offered to quit the post owning moral responsibility for the partys dismal performance in the recent Odisha Panchayat elections.

Hariprasad, who was in-charge of the party's affairs in Odisha, submitted his resignation to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. "The party leadership has refused to accept my resignation," Hariprasad told.

Unique courses that you can pursue abroad: If you have passion it is more likely that you might be able to pursue it. If quirky things are your favourite thing, you might find a place to hone it. You just have to know that it exists.

Call them cool or weird; here are some unique courses that you can pursue abroad.

Astrobiology– If you like studying about life outside Earth and are curious to know how the life evolved on earth, then this course is perfect for you. You can pursue this programme at the University of Washington in USA.

Bagpiping– Not so crazy in theory as it is not rare to learn a musical instrument, but Bagpiping is not offered everywhere. You can try it at Carnegie Mellon University.

Beatles, Popular Music and Society – Fan of the Beatles? Like to enjoy music the whole day? This might be just the course for you. The course allows students to study the music of ‘The Beatles’ and its influence on varied ethnicities and audiences around the world. You can take up this course at Liverpool Hope University in UK.

Tarot Card Reading– This course is offered in various countries and it mainly focuses on the art of Tarot reading. If you are one of those intuitive ones and are keen on discovering what the future holds, this is definitely the programme for you.

Ghost Hunting– Initiated by International Ghost Hunters Society, the course offers an extensive insight into the dos and don’ts of being a professional ghost hunter with a scientific approach.

To Hogwarts, Harry: An Intensive Study of Harry Potter Through the British Isles – Central Michigan University might have been called Hogwarts just for the fact that it offers a magical short-term course that is bound to be a treat for Potterheads. Students can immerse themselves in the magical land of Harry Potter that gets you an exclusive sneak peek into the wizarding world.

Politicizing Beyoncé– It seems that Beyoncé’s music can be seen as one of the important aspects of progressive social change in contemporary times. The course offered at Rutgers University looks at the singer’s lyrics that define dynamics of gender relations and power in the popular culture.

The Physics of Star Trek– Offered at Santa Clara University, the course studies closely explores the empirical science and study the basis for time travel.

Comic Art- During the course, the students will be trained to study the artistic elements of a comic as well as character development. Minneapolis College of Art and Design offers this fun course.

Egyptology – The course allows a peak into the world of ancient Egypt and explores the language and culture that will allow a deeper insight into the history of Egypt. This course is offered by Brown University.

The issue of the alleged suicide by a Dalit student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), J Muthukrishnan, was raised in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday as the government assured the House of necessary action.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar condoled the death of Muthukrishnan, saying: "The death has aggrieved all. A post-mortem examination is being conducted at the AIIMS.

"After this, the cause of death will be known. The Delhi Police is investigating the matter and suitable action will be taken."

Soon after the House met for the day, the AIADMK members wanted to raise the issue, but Speaker Sumitra Mahajan did not allow it.

After the Question Hour, when Mahajan disallowed the notice of adjournment given by AIADMK member V. Elumalai, the AIADMK trooped near the Speaker's podium.

The AIADMK members were seeking permission to raise the matter.

"There are perceived discriminations of Dalit students and those from south India," Elumalai said also raking up the other suicide cases and discrimination against Dalit students, including Rohit Vemula.

Congress member from Kerala K. Suresh also expressed shock at the suicide of Muthukrishnan and demanded a fair probe.

Earlier, the family members of J. Muthukrishnan, an M.Phil student of JNU, who was found hanging on Monday from the ceiling fan in his friend's room, suspected foul play and demanded a probe.

Muthukrishnan, also known as Krish Rajini, had gone to his friend's house in Munirka Vihar to have food, where he locked himself inside a room on the pretext of sleeping and allegedly committed suicide.

Awaiting US Federal Reserve’s interest rates decision, Indian equity markets closed Wednesday’s trading session on a flat note with Midcap and Smallcap indices posting gains.

The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended 45 points down at 29,398 and the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed two points lower at 9,085.

However, broader markets closed in the positive zone. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices surged 1.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Telecom index jumped the most, up 1.8 per cent, while IT index became the top loser, down 1.8 per cent.

On Tuesday, the Sensex had closed 496 points higher at 29,443 and the Nifty had closed 152 points up at 9,087 after touching all-time high at 9,122.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Hero Motocorp (up 1.2 per cent), Tata Steel (up 1.2 per cent), Reliance Industries (up 1.2 per cent), SBI (up 1 per cent) and Tata Motors (up 0.7 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: TCS (down 2.4 per cent), Infosys (down 2.2 per cent), HUL (down 1.5 per cent), Wipro (down 1.4 per cent), and Coal India (down 0.9 per cent).

Asian markets also registered declines. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1 per cent but Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index slipped around 0.2 per cent each.

However, the Rupee was trading 21 paise higher at 65.75 against the US Dollar.

At least two dozen people are feared trapped after a cold storage building collapsed in Kanpur district on Wednesday, police said.

The building at Shivrajpur was crowded when the tragedy occurred as many farmers were there to stock the potato harvest.

Officials said the building apparently came down after a gas leak in the chiller plant led to an explosion. 

Twelve persons, including five farmers and seven cold storage staff, have been rescued from the rubble.

The cold storage owner, his son and many labourers and farmers are still trapped in the rubble. 

After the building came crashing down, officials said there had been leakage of ammonia gas and masks have been requisitioned from Kanpur city so that rescue operations can be taken up at the earliest.

Pakistan is planning to declare the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region as the fifth province, a move that may raise concerns in India as it borders the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Pakistan's minister for inter-provincial coordination Riaz Hussain Pirzada told Geo TV that a committee headed by Advisor of Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had proposed giving the status of a province to Gilgit-Baltistan.

"The committee recommended that Gilgit-Baltistan should be made a province of Pakistan," Pirzada said on Tuesday.

He also said that a constitutional amendment would be made to change the status of the region, through which the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passes.

Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan. It has a regional assembly and an elected Chief Minister.

Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh are four provinces of Pakistan.

The move may raise concerns in India as the disputed region borders Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

It is believed that China's concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to change its status.

According to an earlier report in Dawn newspaper, Pakistan was mulling to elevate the constitutional status of the region in a bid to provide legal cover to the CPEC.

The move could signal a historic shift in the country's position on the future of the wider Kashmir region, the paper had quoted experts as saying.

Popular singer Shreya Ghoshal's wax statue will be unveiled at India's first Madame Tussauds museum, which is to open here in June. She is thrilled.

"I am thrilled to be a part of history here at Madame Tussauds, and it is an honour to be featured among such talented stars, artists, historians and renowned celebrities," Shreya said in a statement.

Her statue will be alongside those of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, megastar Amitabh Bachchan and American pop star Lady Gaga.

"To be immortalised forever is a fabulous feeling. With its brilliant concept, Madame Tussauds has always been famous for bringing joy all across the world," added Shreya, known for songs like Teri meri, Dola re dola, Deewani mastani, Agar tum mil jao, Sunn raha hai, Saans and Piya o re piya.

She turned a year older on March 12.

The wax attraction, which will open its doors for the public in June, will exhibit over 50 figures from diverse leagues such as history, sport, music, films and TV. 

"We are pleased to unveil Shreya's figure in the Delhi attraction. She is one of the most loved singers of today's generation. We are excited to see our visitors sing along with her. She was one of the most requested figures for us to include in the attraction, and we are delighted to be able to honour those fans with this wax figure," said Anshul Jain, General Manager and Director, Merlin Entertainments India Pvt Ltd.

This is the 23rd branch of Madame Tussauds across the world.

The UP board exams are set to begin on March 16 amid concerns that there are few invigilators to supervise the students. According to a national daily, the UP board has not sought the help of any primary teachers this year.

For 149 test centres across the State, the UP board has appointed just 4800 invigilators. The biggest concern is for self-financing schools, who have appointed their own teachers as invigilators. Government schools, on the other hand, are known to have enough invigilators. 19 government schools, 80 government-aided and 50 self finance schools are going to act like exam centres in the UP board exams in 2017.

At least three terrorists were killed and a police man was injured in an ongoing operation between security forces and terrorists in Kupwara's Kalaroos area of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.

The three terrorists were initially suspected to be holed up in the area in the joint operation of 41 RR, 98 Bn CRPF and SOG Kupwara Jammu and Kashmir Police.

The security forces acted on information about terrorists from the Lashkar group hiding in the region and the area was cordoned off as soon as the encounter started.

According to reports, the forces were conducting house-to-house search operations in the area and they were greeted by sudden gunfire from one of the house, where the terrorists are suspected to be holed up.

Actor Ben Affleck has announced he has completed a stint in rehab to treat alcohol addiction.

He says he underwent treatment to "be the best father I can be".

The Hollywood star, 44, checked into rehab straight after the Oscars two weeks ago, reports mirror.co.uk. 

Writing on Facebook on Tuesday, Affleck said alcoholism has been an ongoing battle for him. But he wants people to know there's no shame in getting help.

He said: "I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I've dealt with in the past and will continue to confront. I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be."

The actor — who has Violet, 11, Seraphina, eight and Samuel, five, with his estranged wife Jennifer Garner — went on to admit he felt "lucky" to have his family and friends as well as Garner by his side.

"I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step.

"I'm lucky to have the love of my family and friends, including my co-parent, Jen, who has supported me and cared for our kids as I've done the work I set out to do. This was the first of many steps being taken towards a positive recovery."

The Batman star had previously entered rehab for alcohol addiction in 2001.

Affleck and Garner announced their separation in June 2015, and while they aren't officially back together, it was recently claimed they've decided to keep working on their marriage.

Himachal Pradesh’s declaration less more or eradicate Tuberculosis by 2021 seems a distant dream, given the stumbling blocks in effective implementation of Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) in the hill state.

While the toughest terrain across majority districts in HP is a regular hurdle in reaching people for awareness, detection and treatment compliance of the communicable disease, the alleged ‘rigid mindset’ of policy makers in letting the things happen on ground too hampers success.

Official records say 14,500 fresh cases of TB are registered on an average annually in government health institutions in HP. The number may go up to 20,000 at a point of time if private clinics are also included.

Two hundred and fifty cases of Multi Drug Resistant (MDR) TB were reported in 2016. There were over 500 TB deaths in HP last year.

Eight of 12 districts of HP formed part of the top 30 districts of country, which had high annual TB case notification rate (more than 180 new TB cases per lakh population per year) as per 2015 data.

Sources said that the RNTCP does have contractual staff lined up in field, but it is mostly demoralised for not having been given revised scales in tune with central guidelines for past over three years, despite repeated requests by them.

Sources said HP is one of the few states in India, which has not implemented the salary structure approved by Government of India for TB control staff. And that’s why the RNTCP is grappling with shortage of Medical Officers (MOs) too, who are an important link up in meeting the complex procedures in programme, which involves hectic monitoring.

Sources said that seven posts of Medical officers under RNTCP were advertised on 25 November, 2016 by the National Health Mission (NHM) in HP, but no MBBS doctor applied for the posts, deadline for which closed on 25 Dec 2016. The reason: The state government offers them salary of Rs 26,250 per month against Rs 36,364 per month fixed by the Central TB Division of Government of India.

Mission Director of NHM, Hans Raj Sharma, however, told The Statesman that the Medical Officers in the RNTCP are being given a salary at par with those recruited by state government. “It is the government’s decision. We will discuss it again if there are no applicants for job.” The doctors, however, reject it as they say the MOs recruited by the state government are given financial incentives over and above salary, and their service is counted for Post Graduation and regularisation. “In RNTCP, we just get the salary.”

The TB experts say the training of doctors in TB management are highly skilled task and lack of key persons in place will dent the ambitious efforts to eradicate TB.

The government’s new rules for e-wallet companies may hurt the firms. The Information Technology (IT) Ministry has released a set of guidelines for digital wallet companies to boost a secure electronic payment and grievance redressal system.

According to top e-wallet player Paytm, the new rules will change the way their business is being run. Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma feels that the new authentication system will put extra burden on them as the government will decide on the customer authentication system including the way you log in and pay. The companies will also have to disclose information from all sources to the government and purpose for it.

The draft titled Information Technology (Security of Prepaid Payment Instruments) Rules, 2017, requires digital wallets or Prepaid Payment Instruments (e-PPIs) to adopt multiple-factor authentication when a customer initiates payment. That could hit mobile wallets, which often highlight seamless transactions as one of the biggest advantages over credit and debit cards.

The draft rules make it mandatory for e-wallets to develop and implement a privacy policy and an information security policy for their payment systems.  All e-wallet firms will have to display on their website and mobile app the privacy policy and the terms and conditions in easy language.

As part of the privacy policy, the company will have to publish information that includes information collected directly from the customer or otherwise, its usage, period of retention and the circumstances under which can be disclosed and the recipients including law enforcement agencies.

Payments Council of India chairman and ItzCash MD Naveen Surya says the reporting authority may change from Reserve Bank of India to IT ministry. PCI, a lobby group of e-wallet companies which has about 50 mobile wallet companies under its umbrella, is planning to approach the government on seek clarity on the issue.

The draft has also listed security measures that e-wallet companies will have to follow. It mentions standards for data protection and redressal methods for customers including appointing a grievance officer. These will have to be reviewed once a year. The draft policy also says that in case of any breach, the company will have to revamp its policies.

The PPIs will have to put in place a mechanism for monitoring, handling, and follow-up of cyber security incidents and security breaches. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), an expert group that handles computer security incidents, has to notify the kind of incidents and breaches that need to be reported to them and to the customers.

Mobile wallet transactions in the country have hit a record high following the demonetisation of high value currency notes by the government in November, last year. However, there are no standardised security terms for e-wallet companies at present. The draft rules have been put up for public consultation. The last date for sending responses is 20 March.

On his daughter and actress Alia Bhatts 24th birthday on Wednesday, her father and veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt got nostalgic and called her his princess and his masterpiece.

"Happy birthday princess. You are my masterpiece," Mahesh posted on Twitter alongside a throwback photograph in which he can be seen cuddling Alia when she was a toddler.

Alia, who ventured into Bollywood with Karan Johar's Student Of The Year in 2012, is best known for her roles in films like Highway, Udta Punjab and Dear Zindagi. She is currently seen in Badrinath Ki Dulhania.

Besides her father, various other Bollywood celebrities like Riteish Deshmukh, Shraddha Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi also wished Alia on her birthday.

"Happy birthday dear Alia Bhatt. Have a tremendous one and congratulations on the super success of Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Big hug," Riteish wrote on Twitter.

Shraddha tweeted: "Happy birthday fellow fish Alia Bhatt. Keep killing it and may all your dreams keep coming true. Big squishy hug."

Vivek wrote: "Here's wishing the immensely talented Alia Bhatt a very happy birthday! Vaidehi was fantastic in ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania'! Have a superb year and stay blessed!"

Researchers have found evidence of a white dwarf star orbiting a likely black hole at a distance of only 961,000 km — just about 2.5 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

In a tightest orbital dance ever witnessed for a black hole and a companion star, the star whips around the black hole at an astonishing speed — about two orbits an hour, said the study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

"This white dwarf is so close to the black hole that material is being pulled away from the star and dumped onto a disk of matter around the black hole before falling in," said study lead author Arash Bahramian, affiliated with the University of Alberta in Canada and Michigan State University in the US. 

"Luckily for this star, we don't think it will follow this path into oblivion, but instead will stay in orbit," Bahramian said.

Although the white dwarf does not appear to be in danger of falling in or being torn apart by the black hole, its fate is uncertain.

The stellar system, known as X9, is located in the globular cluster 47 Tucanae, a dense cluster of stars in our galaxy about 14,800 light years away from the Earth. 

"For a long time astronomers thought that black holes were rare or totally absent in globular star clusters," study co-author Jay Strader from Michigan State University said. 

"This discovery is additional evidence that, rather than being one of the worst places to look for black holes, globular clusters might be one of the best," Strader added.

For the study, the researchers used data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array as well as NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NuSTAR telescope.

Union Minister of Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that the government expects investments of over Rs.50,000 crore through India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit.

India is hosting the India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit from May 3 to 5, 2017, in New Delhi.

"It will see several international technology companies participate during the summit which will help in reduction of the logistics cost," said Gadkari while addressing the media here.

The summit will focus on road freight corridors for economic development, urban transportation, and multi modal logistic parks under public private partnerships.

More than 10,000 youths have been offered jobs in multiple Rozgar Melas organised by the Skill Development Ministry, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy said so far multiple Rozgar Melas have been organised with the participation from more than 350 employers.

Around one lakh unemployed youths including women participated in various Rozgar Melas and were interviewed for various jobs across multiple sectors and industries.

"As an outcome, more than 10,000 youths, including women, have been offered jobs by the participating employers," he said during Question Hour.

Rudy said under the Deen Dayal Upadhayaya Grammeen Kaushal Yojana, placement linked skill development is imparted to rural youths, including women. A total of 53,180 women have been skilled under the scheme during 2016-17.

The Minister said under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY), in 2015-16, out of 19.8 lakh candidates, about 8.64 lakh trained (i.e. 44 per cent approximate) were women.

Under PMKVY in 2016-20, launched on October 2, 2016, 97,040 women candidates (over 40 per cent of total enrolled) have been enrolled so far out of which 4,019 have been assessed and another 85,099 women are undergoing training till now, he said.

To another query, Rudy said there is no delay in issuance of certificates for ITIs (Industrial Training Institute) and short term courses under Modular Employable Skills (MES) as they are issued online.

"There is a delay in issuance of about 10,277 Apprentice Certificates of Mumbai Zone due to non-receipt of data from the State Directorate.

"To avoid delay, an online system has been implemented for ITI students and for trainees under MES courses since more than two years," he said.

Efforts are being made to ensure that the ecosystem for skill development is at a single place, he added.

Besides, Rudy said the government would work towards having at least one state-of-the-art skill centre in tribal areas.

Stimulating the brain with electricity may synchronise brain waves and help improve short-term working memory, an advance that could help treat people with traumatic brain injury, stroke or epilepsy, a new study has found.

Researchers at Imperial College London found that applying a low voltage current can bring different areas of the brain in sync with one another, enabling people to perform better on tasks involving working memory.

They hope the approach could one day be used to bypass damaged areas of the brain and relay signals in people with traumatic brain injury, stroke or epilepsy.

The brain is in a constant state of chatter, with this activity seen as brainwaves oscillating at different frequencies and different regions keeping a steady 'beat'.

The team found that applying a weak electrical current through the scalp helped to align different parts of the brain, synchronising their brain waves and enabling them to keep the same beat.

"What we observed is that people performed better when the two waves had the same rhythm and at the same time," said Ines Ribeiro Violante, a neuroscientist at Imperial, who led the research.

In the trial, carried out in collaboration with University College London, the team used a technique called transcranial alternating current stimulation (TACS) to manipulate the brain's regular rhythm.

They found that buzzing the brain with electricity could give a performance boost to the same memory processes used when people try to remember names at a party, telephone numbers, or even a short grocery list.

Violante and the team used TACS to target two brain regions – the middle frontal gyrus and the inferior parietal lobule – which are known to be involved in working memory.

Ten volunteers were asked to carry out a set of memory tasks of increasing difficulty while receiving stimulation to the two brain regions at slightly different times (unsynchronised), at the same time (synchronous), or only a quick burst (sham) to give the impression of receiving full treatment.

In the working memory experiments, participants looked at a screen on which numbers flashed up and had to remember if a number was the same as the previous, or in the case of the harder trial, if the current number matched that of two-numbers previous.

Results showed that when the brain regions were stimulated in sync, reaction times on the memory tasks improved, especially on the harder of the tasks requiring volunteers to hold two strings of numbers in their minds.

"The classic behaviour is to do slower on the harder cognitive task, but people performed faster with synchronised stimulation and as fast as on the simpler task," said Violante.

"We can use TACS to manipulate the activity of key brain networks and we can see what is happening with fMRI," Violante said.

The study was published in the journal eLife.