Seventy-seven Indian and 12 Sri Lankan fishermen were on Tuesday repatriated in line with the decision taken by two countries to set free fishermen in each other's custody to defuse tension following the killing of an Indian fisherman last week.

Sri Lankan Navy handed over the 77 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, arrested over the past two months, to Indian Coast Guard at the International Maritime Boundary Line in the Palk Bay.

Similarly, 12 Sri Lankan fishermen, released from the Puzhal Prison in Chennai on March 10, were handed over to the Sri Lankan Navy.

The twelve were arrested off Nagapattinam coast separately on March 8 and 9 for allegedly fishing in Indian waters.

The Tamil Nadu fishermen are expected to arrive at Karaikal coast in two ICG ships, "Rani Durgavati" and "Abith" by 6 pm, police said.

Later, they would be taken to their respective destinations.

The 77 fishermen from Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram districts were arrested by the Lankan Navy for allegedly fishing in their territorial waters between February and March and lodged in Jaffna and Vavuniya prisons in the island nation.

Sri Lanka and India had on Wednesday agreed to release fishermen held in each other's custody after a high-level discussion between the two sides in Colombo in a bid to defuse the tension following the killing of the 22-year-old Indian fisherman, Bridgo.

Meanwhile, eight fishermen from Karaikal are still in Trincomalee prison there, police added.

North Korea on Tuesday has threatened to launch ultra-precision strikes in response to the military exercises being jointly carried out by South Korea and the US.

If the allies seek to infringe on its sovereignty, Pyongyang's "army will launch merciless ultra-precision strikes from ground, air, sea and underwater", North Korean state news agency KCNA warned in a statement.

Pyongyang also warned Seoul and Washington, who are currently carrying out annual military maneuvers, that the "nuclear-powered carriers and all other strategic assets of the US imperialists are in sight of the Korean People's Army's powerful ultra-precision strike means."

The regime's statement comes after the allies began the Key Resolve simulated military exercise on Monday, which will last until March 24, as well as the Foal Eagle drills, which started on March 1 and will conclude by the end of April.

The deployment of military assets for this year's maneuvers is the largest to date as Washington is deploying its F-35B fighter aircraft as well as the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson – scheduled to arrive in the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, Efe news reported.

Pyongyang, which regularly condemns the non-defensive nature of these maneuvers, on March 6 launched four medium-range ballistic missiles that fell in Japanese waters as its first response after the start of Foal Eagle drills.

The start of the installation of the anti-ballistic missile Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) system on South Korean soil last week has also increased tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The US system, designed to shoot down North Korean missiles, has angered the Kim Jong-un regime and also sparked strong criticism from China, which believes Thaad can interfere with its defence systems.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's first face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump has been postponed due to a winter storm that threatens to shutdown Washington.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday said the planned Oval Office sit-down, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed until Friday, CNN reported.

The day of events was slated to include talks, a news conference, and a working lunch. The same itinerary will occur on Friday, Spicer told the media at the White House.

The storm in Washington is expected to continue into Tuesday. Forecasts said the nation's capital is due for five to 10 inches of snow, the first major snowfall of the year.

New York City could get up to 20 inches of snow, Mayor Bill De Blasio said, with coastal flooding and wind gusts as high as 64 to 80 km per hour.

American Airlines have cancelled hundreds of flights from 40 airports on Monday and Tuesday, including major hubs in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Washington.

A strong earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale hit the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago on Tuesday.

According to National Centre for Seismology, a unit of Ministry of Earth Sciences, the quake, whose epicentre was in the Nicobar islands region, occurred at 8:21 am at a depth of 10 kms.

However, it was not so powerful as to merit a tsunami warning. India has a dedicated tsunami warning centre that sends alerts to states and neighbouring littoral countries in case of an earthquake.

There were no immediate reports of loss of life or property.

Another earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale jolted Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir at 5:48 am.

India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices rose to 6.55 per cent in February 2017 from 5.25 per cent in the previous month, official data showed on Tuesday.

According to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the annual inflation rate was (-)0.85 per cent in February 2016.

 The strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway remained closed on Tuesday prompting authorities to make arrangements to airlift stranded passengers, officials said.

The highway was closed after a portion of the road on the Panthal section was washed away due to heavy landslides.

On Monday, stranded passengers abandoned their vehicles near the landslide area and walked over 15 km to reach Bannihal town in order to board trains to the valley, the traffic officials said.

According to eyewitnesses, over 500 vehicles were stranded at different places on the highway.

Meanwhile, the state government has made arrangements to airlift the stranded passengers from Srinagar to Udhampur and back.

Indian-American Seema Verma has been confirmed by the US Senate to head the government's insurance programmes putting her in a pivotal role to steer President Donald Trump's controversial healthcare reform.

Her appointment as the Administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services faced considerable opposition from the Democrats and she was confirmed by a vote of 55-43 on March 13.

She was the lightning rod for opposition to the Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare", which was one of former President Barack Obama's signature achievements.

He tried to extend health insurance to the entire population through a system of subsidies for the uninsured working people and extending eligibility for free insurance for the poor.

When Trump announced in November that he was appointing Verma for the post, he said that she would be a part of "the dream team that will transform our healthcare system for the benefit of all Americans".

Her role will extend beyond the insurance programmes – Medicare for senior citizens and Medicaid for the poor – to helping craft and implement the Republican healthcare reform plan to replace Obamacare.

"She has decades of experience advising on Medicare and Medicaid policy and helping states navigate our complicated systems," Trump had said.

Verma, who is close to Vice President Mike Pence, helped develop a public healthcare system for implementing Obamacare in Indiana where he was the Governor.

Among other things, her system there required those using it to make contributions to it, even if it was a nominal dollar by the poorest, to ensure they felt responsible and involved. It was opposed by many Democrats.

California Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein, who voted against her appointment, said that making the poorest to pay for insurance was one of the reasons she opposed Verma.

Obamacare was enacted in 2010 against stiff opposition by most Republicans and Trump promised during his campaign to repeal it.

Ironically, many of his supporters who opposed Obamacare may now find themselves without health insurance.

The Republican plan to replace Obamacare could lead to 14 million people losing health insurance, according to the research office of the Congress sparking fierce opposition to it.

It also faces stiff opposition from the right wing of the Republican Party, which opposes subsidies and sees any government-mandated health programme as state intrusion in peoples' lives.

Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu on Tuesday brushed aside reports that his Naga People's Front (NPF) will not support the new non-Congress coalition government in Manipur.

The NPF chief  said that it "did not put any pre-condition" before joining the BJP-led coalition arrangement in Manipur and such reports are absolutely false.

The NPF is a major coalition partner of the North East Democratic Alliance formed last May in Guwahati with the declared aim of ridding the Congress party from the region and to bring all-round development to this part of the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It has also been in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and other non-Congress political parties in Nagaland since 2003 under the banner of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland.

Three people were killed when an oil tanker exploded in Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi district on Tuesday, police said.

"The driver of the oil tanker, bound for Manipur from Guwahati, reportedly lost control resulting in the vehicle to overturn," a police official said.

The tanker exploded due to oil leakage. 

The victims are yet to be identified, the official added.

Britain's Parliament has passed the 'Brexit bill' paving the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger negotiations for the UK's exit from the European Union.

The House of Commons yesterday rejected amendments by the House of Lords, calling on the government to protect the status of EU nationals within three months of the start of Brexit talks, by 335 votes to 287. They also dismissed calls for Parliament to have a meaningful vote on any Brexit deal by 331 to 286 votes.

This meant that the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill passed the House of Commons without any changes.

The bill was then passed unamended by the House of Lords after peers voted by 274 votes to 118 not to challenge the Commons again over the issue of whether Parliament should have a veto on the terms of exit.

The House of Lords had already agreed not to reinsert guarantees over the status of EU residents in the UK back into the bill after they were rejected by MPs.

The bill is now expected to receive Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II to become a law.

May could then theoretically trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty any time this week, but indications are that she is unlikely to trigger the negotiations until the end of this month.

Opposition Labour party had earlier urged May to consider keeping the "really important" Lords amendments.

"The issue of the rights of EU nationals to remain here is a decent human one and part of our economic success or not," said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The bill was passed even as Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she will be seeking the Parliament's permission to hold a referendum on Scotland's independence from the UK, a move described as "divisive" by Downing Street.

Sturgeon wants this referendum to be held between the second half of 2018 and first half of 2019 for Scotland to be able to have a say over its relationship with the European Union (EU) post-Brexit.

If it gets parliamentary approval, this will be the second such Scottish independence referendum after 2014, when the region had voted to remain part of the UK.

Britain's Brexit Secretary David Davis had called on Parliament over the weekend to not block the bill any longer or "tie the prime minister's hands" over Parliament getting a final vote on the deal and on EU citizens' rights in the UK.

Ahead of the Commons vote, the heads of 35 Oxford University colleges had pleaded with MPs to allow European Union citizens the right to stay after Brexit.

In a letter to The Times, signed by Louise Richardson, the Oxford vice-chancellor, and the heads of all but three of the colleges, the academics dismiss as insufficient the indications by ministers that European citizens already resident in Britain were likely to be allowed to stay.

May has committed to triggering Article 50 by the end of March.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday paid tribute to the martyrs of the anti -land acquisition movement in Nandigram and said her government was committed to protecting the rights of the farmers.

"Remembering the martyrs of Nandigram on the 10th anniversary of the shameful event.

We are committed to protect our farmers," Banerjee said in a tweet.

"To mark the occasion we will honour farmers with Krishak Ratna Samman at a function at Nazrul Mancha," she added.

Nandigrarm epitomised Bengal's anti-land acquisition movement in the face of the Left Front government's bid to set up a SEZ developed by the Indonesian Salim group in 2007.

The prolonged agitation led to the ouster of the 34- year old Left regime in Bengal, following violence on March 14, 2007, when 14 villagers were killed and several others were injured in police firing.

In a fresh twist to the political developments in Goa over government formation, the Supreme Court has on Tuesday refused to stay swearing in of Manohar Parrikar as Goa CM and has ordered a floor test on March 16.

Manohar Parrikar must take a trust vote in Goa on Tuesday to prove he has the right to take over as chief minister, the apex court ruled.

The BJP has been invited to form the government in Goa despite winning fewer seats in the election.

That decision – taken by Governor Mridula Sinha – has been challenged by the Congress in court. The Congress had told the Supreme Court that it wants a floor test conducted on Tuesday. The party claimed they have the numbers.

After proving he had the required 21votes needed to form the government, the BJP's Manohar Parrikar, who resigned as Defence Minister on the weekend, was supposed to take oath on Tuesday.

The Congress won 17 seats in the election; the BJP won 13, but secured the support of small regional parties.

Third-seeded Stan Wawrinka continued his dominance of Philipp Kohlschreiber, rolling past the German 7-5 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the ATP Indian Wells Masters.

Wawrinka on Monday recorded his fifth victory over Kohlschreiber in as many meetings in a performance that left him cautiously encouraged about his prospects of making it past the quarter-finals in the California desert for the first time.

"It was a really good match," said Wawrinka, who owns three Grand Slam titles but has won just one of the tour's coveted Masters titles.

"The first set was not easy, for sure, but in general I'm happy with my game. I was serving well. I think I'm moving better and better and it's all positive so far."

A break in each set was enough for Wawrinka, who didn't face a break point himself as he advanced to a meeting with lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan, who staged a remarkable rally to get past 13th-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 1-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-4.

The 21-year-old from Mie saved a match point against his own serve in the 10th game of the second set.

After Nishioka forced the decisive set by winning the tiebreaker, the two traded breaks to open the third before Nishioka broke for a 2-1.

Although Berdych saved one match point in the ninth game, Nishioka closed it out in the next with a love game to reach the fourth round of a Masters tournament for the first time.

"It's going to be interesting. I've never practiced with him, so it's going to be the first time we going to be against each other.”
Wawrinka is the highest-ranked player remaining in the top half of the draw after world number one Andy Murray's shock loss to 129th-ranked qualifier Vasek Pospisil in the second round.

With superstars Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all jammed into the bottom quarter of the draw, Wawrinka's path looks wide open.

But the Swiss said he didn't think of it that way.

"It's not like I have been in a lot of semi-finals, finals in Masters 1000," he said. "So I need to focus on every match."

Eighth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem powered into the fourth round with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Germany's Mischa Zverev.

World number nine Thiem, riding high after winning the title in Rio, had little trouble from Zverev's serve-and-volley style.

Although the German saved five match points in the ninth game of the second set, Thiem served out the victory in the next game in less than an hour.

Thiem next faces either big-serving American John Isner or France's Gael Monfils, who were to wrap up the night's action under the lights on Stadium Court.

Elsewhere, Pospisil was unable to build on the best win of his career falling to fellow qualifier Dusan Lajovic 7-6 (7/4) 3-6 7-5 just two days after toppling Murray.

Pospisil served for the match at 5-3 in the third set but was broken to love, then failed to convert a match point in the 10th game as Lajovic won the last four games to take the match. 

The issue of government formation in Goa and Manipur is set to rock the Lok Sabha with the Congress deciding to move an adjournment motion today.

Sources said that the leader of Congress in the lower house, Mallikarjun Kharge, along with some other party MPs, will move the motion while seeking to raise the issue and demand a discussion on it.

The Congress has alleged that the BJP is moving against the law and precedent in forming their governments in Goa and Manipur, saying they are the single largest party in both states.

In Goa, the Congress has 17 legislators followed by BJP with 13, Goa Forward Party and MGP with three each, three independents and NCP (one).

The party has won 28 seats in Manipur while the BJP has secured 21. The NPP and the NPF have won four seats each, with the LJP and the Trinamool Congress bagging one seat each.

The BJP leadership with their MLAs had met the Manipur governor along with the NPP president, the four MLAS of his party and the lone LJP and TMC MLAs, besides one from the Congress.

The saffron party has claimed it enjoyed the support of 32 MLAs in the 60-member Manipur assembly.

Peeved with the BJP, many Congress leaders have said that the single largest party should have been invited by the governors of both states to form the government.

The Congress has already moved the Supreme Court challenging Goa Governor Mridula Sinha's decision to appoint BJP leader Manohar Parrikar as the chief minister of the state.

In Manipur too, the Congress is exploring legal options.

Celebrating Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh (UP) Assembly elections 2017, domestic equity markets registered notable gains in the late morning trade on Tuesday with banking stocks leading the rally.

The Banking index at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was trading at 24,175, up 549 points or 2.32 per cent. All the stocks in the index were trading with small to medium jumps.

ICICI Bank and Yes Bank jumped the most, up by 6 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively while Federal Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India and Axis Bank were other notable gainers, up between 1.2-2.2%. HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank rose around 0.8 per cent each.

Meanwhile the Sensex was trading at 492 points up at 29,438 while the Nifty was trading 145 points higher at 9,079 at 11.40 am.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday took additional charge of the Defence Ministry after Manohar Parrikar resigned to take over the new role as Goa chief minister.

President Pranab Mukherjee had on Monday accepted the resignation of Parrikar from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect and assigned the charge of the Ministry of Defence to Jaitley, in addition to his existing portfolios.

"The President has accepted Manohar Parrikar's resignation from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect under clause (2) of Article 75 of the Constitution," a President Office statement said.

It said that the President, as advised by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has directed that Jaitley shall be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Defence in addition to his existing portfolios.

Earlier on Monday, Parrikar resigned from the position as MoD to head a new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Goa.