About 77 per cent electorate cast their votes at the end of the repolling in 34 polling stations in three districts of Manipur on Thursday, an election office official said.

The poll percentage might be changed subject to correction, Chief Electoral Officer Vivek Kumar Dewangan said.

The repolling in 34 polling stations in three districts in eight Assembly segments was conducted peacefully, he said.

Polling in these booths in Imphal, Churachandpur and Kangpoki districts was held in the first phase of the elections on March 4.

The repoll was ordered on Tuesday following electoral malpractices in these polling stations.

Aamir Khan's Dangal has broken stereotypes and inspired many all across the country. Now it inspires a whooping Rs.100-crore worth promotional ad campaign.

It is the first time ever that an ad by a media house has been inspired by a film that went on to break records.

The latest ad starring Aamir Khan where a father’s business is expanded and managed by his two daughters while breaking stereotype that only men can manage business underlines the thought that girls are capable of doing anything and everything. It has become immensely popular and makes the viewer think.

The ad campaign began at a humongous scale and a whooping amount of 100 crore has been spent on it.

The breakdown of the figure has been spent into the promos of the ad across a network channel, hoarding and outdoor ads across India especially the interiors of the country. Also, a part of the figure has also been used for ads on digital media and print ads.

Aamir Khan's look and accent is being loved and appreciated by the audiences as this is the first time he posed as a Sardarji.

Aamir Khan's Dangal has broken stereotypes and inspired many all across the country. Now it inspires a whooping Rs.100-crore worth promotional ad campaign.

It is the first time ever that an ad by a media house has been inspired by a film that went on to break records.

The latest ad starring Aamir Khan where a father’s business is expanded and managed by his two daughters while breaking stereotype that only men can manage business underlines the thought that girls are capable of doing anything and everything. It has become immensely popular and makes the viewer think.

The ad campaign began at a humongous scale and a whooping amount of 100 crore has been spent on it.

The breakdown of the figure has been spent into the promos of the ad across a network channel, hoarding and outdoor ads across India especially the interiors of the country. Also, a part of the figure has also been used for ads on digital media and print ads.

Aamir Khan's look and accent is being loved and appreciated by the audiences as this is the first time he posed as a Sardarji.

The United States has sent a Marine Corps artillery battery into Syria to help defeat the Islamic State group in Raqa, the capital of their supposed caliphate, a US official has said.

The official said troops from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit had deployed a battery of 155mm Howitzers to an outpost in Syria.

The Marines "are ready to conduct their mission" to support the offensive on Raqa, the official said on Wednesday, confirming a report in the Washington Post.

The move marks a significant step for conventional US forces in Syria.

Currently, the United States has limited its ground troops to about 500 special operations fighters whose job has been to train and assist the SDF, a local Arab-Kurdish alliance fighting IS.

According to the Post, the artillery deployment had been in the works "for some time" and was not part of President Donald Trump's demand for a new plan to increase the pace of the anti-IS war.

The artillery will allow the Marines to help support the SDF offensive, which has been gradually closing in on Raqa since last fall.

The Pentagon this week announced that it had also sent extra troops into Manbij to prevent competing factions fighting each other in the former IS stronghold.

US officials estimate there to be up to 4,000 jihadists in Raqa, a city of about 300,000 residents.

Tiger Shroff said that he is not even close to what his father is while responding to director Ram Gopal Varma's comment that the young actor should learn "machoism" from Jackie Shroff.

Varma, known for his controversial comments on the social media, had recently tweeted about Tiger's picture on the cover of a magazine, with this caption: "Truly real men like Bruce Lee and 'bindasbhidu' (Jackie Shroff's Twitter handle) never pose in a 'Urmliaish' way." 

"Please learn machoism from bindasbhidu who even without martial arts poses more like a man and never like this," he continued.

When asked about his response, Tiger said Varma is a senior filmmaker and entitled to his opinion.

"I am not even half the man that my father is. He is the original hero. Even if I tried I can't be like him. But everyone has the freedom of speech. He is a senior director, so, there's not much I can say to him," the 27-year-old actor told reporters at the inaugural day of Mumbai International Motor Show.

Tiger said he does not care if some people react negatively to his "artistic expression." 

"I try to be my own individual self and be different. I try to express my individuality as much as I can. Some might appreciate my artistic expression, some may not. To each his own." 

Jackie and Varma worked together in Rangeela and are back in Sarkar 3.

The money wallet platform, Paytm, on March 8, announced new rules for the credit card users. Paytm will now levy a 2% fee for adding money to Paytm wallet using credit cards. The charges are not applicable on shopping or making payments for any utilities using Credit Card or any other payment mode.

On March 8, Paytm issued the new changes on its social media blog. Paytm has said that it pays a hefty charges when users apply credit card to card networks and issuing banks. 

If user simply adds money and takes to bank, we lose money,” said Paytm.

“Effectively no credit card fee for those who use CC to pay at paytm. But charges for those who add and then transfer it all to bank,” said Vijay Shekhar, CEO, Paytm.

The move to levy 2% fee on using credit card to add money in the Paytm wallet has come on March 8.

The shooting for the fourth installment of director Rohit Shetty's Golmaal series has begun.

The star cast of Golmaal Again took to Twitter to announce the news.

Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, Kunal Kemmu and Tusshar Kapoor will reprise their roles, Parineeti Chopra and Neil Nitin Mukesh are the newest addition to the franchise.

Parineeti tweeted, "Golmaal 1, 2, 3 and now 4!! C'mon let's do this!! The madness begins today. Claps for the last 4 films," along side the picture of clapboards of all Golmaal movies.

Ajay retweeted the actress and wrote, "SOUND. CAMERA.ACTION." 

Arshad also took to social media and tweeted, "The madness starts today. We start shooting for Golmaal 4…" 

Tusshar wrote on Twitter, "Back home…the fun as always is unlimited!!! #golmaalagain #bigger #better #grander #fun #excited #nervous #godbless." 

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has on Thursday arrested two people in connection with the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train explosion and Lucknow terror operation.

"Two suspects – Azhar and Ghouse Mohammad Khan – were arrested in Kanpur," Additional Director General (Law and Order) Daljit Singh Chawdhary said.

"One of the arrested persons is a former Indian Air Force employee," he added.

On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh Police said the youth killed in an anti-terror operation in Lucknow and his five arrested associates were 'self radicalised' and were trying to build an Islamic State Khorasan module in the city.

The Uttar Pradesh Police statement had come hours after its Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) killed Saifullah, a resident of Manohar Nagar in Kanpur, in an 11-hour-long gunfight in Thakurganj's Haji colony.

Two of the terror suspects, Mohammad Faisal Khan and Fakhre Alam, were arrested from their native places in Kanpur and Etawah.

Earlier on Wednesday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in Bhopal that those behind the Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train bomb blast suspected Islamic State links.

The air is filled with great fun, laughter and smiles. It was her best friend's wedding. The music was full on, and Shraddha Kapoor danced her heart out.

Sharing pictures of the joyous celebrations with her fans and friends, Shraddha posted a video of sweet happy moments with her best friend and bride, Eshanka Wahi.

The video captures special moments of the great wedding celebrations and both Shraddha and Eshanka are caught dancing their hearts out! Shraddha is seen enthralling all at the wedding with her thumkas and cool moves.

Several pictures of Shraddha enjoying in various functions of the wedding are shared, She is seen grooving away happily with the bride and their close friends.

Set over the course of a single night, Folio prize-winning author George Saunders' new novel captures the grief of Abraham Lincoln over the death of his 11-year-old son Willie while the Civil War raged on in the United States of America.

Lincoln in the Bardo notes that Abraham Lincoln often visited the crypt where his third son William Wallace Lincoln was buried, after succumbing, most likely, to typhoid fever on February 20, 1862.

Saunders draws from this seed of historical fact to base his novel dealing with death, limbo and what awaits 'beyond'.

Bardo, in Tibetan Buddhism, is a state of existence between death and rebirth, varying in length according to a person's conduct in life and manner of, or age at, death.

The book draws a parallel between the lives of Willie's ghost, that is caught in this limbo, and a similar uncertain state of Lincoln, after the boy's death.

While Willie lingers in this state along with the other ghosts, unable to move forward, his father languishes in his own bardo, grieving the loss of a favourite son and having to steer a country faced with war, while coming to terms with the finality of what has happened.

"No doubt you are feeling a certain pull?… An urge? To go? Somewhere? More comfortable?" the ghosts ask the young Willie.

"The young are not meant to tarry," says the ghost of Roger Bevins III, referring to the duration a child lasts in this state.

However, desperate to be reunited with his father, Willie is reluctant to leave the 'bardo'.

He replies, "My father was here and has promised to return, the boy said. I am trying to last."

The major chunk of characters in the novel are ghosts waiting in this liminal state, reliving their deaths and rambling tales of how their lives would have been had it not been cut short.

West Bengal Irrigation Minister Rajib Banerjee told the assembly today that the state government was unable to undertake dredging of rivers as it was facing funds crunch and the Centre was not providing any financial assistance.

The state is fund starved at the moment, he said during question hour when some members pointed out the issue of dredging of rivers.

Banerjee said earlier the Centre used to provide 80 per cent of the total funds requirement, a pattern which was later altered to 75:25.

But now, the Centre has brought down the ratio to 50:50 and was still not providing the required funds, he said adding the state was repeatedly writing to the concerned central ministry but to no avail.

Regarding reconstruction of embankments which were destroyed by cyclonic storm Aila in 2009, he said the Centre had provided only Rs 1339 crore and not Rs 5000 crore as rumoured.

The state with its own resources was carrying out the reconstruction work giving priority to vulnerable points, Banerjee added.

Paving a way for safe release of Indian fishermen who are currently in Sri Lankan custody, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Gopal Baglay on Thursday said that all 85 Indian fishermen currently in custody there will be released soon.

"All 85 Indian fishermen currently in Sri Lankan custody will be released," the MEA spokesperson said in a statement.

"We are awaiting further orders in this regard," he added.

Earlier, the foreign ministry had said that the government is deeply concerned at the killing of an Indian fisherman and the Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka has taken up the matter with the prime minister of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan navy has promised a full and thorough investigation.

A 22-year-old Indian fisherman was shot dead on Monday while he was fishing in a mechanised boat a short distance off Katchatheevu islet. Local fishermen alleged that he was killed by the Sri Lankan navy while another was injured.

President Pranab Mukherjee has called for "urgent collective action" in order to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from which no country is immune.

Mukherjee said this while interacting with visiting Chief of Royal Court of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Fayez Al-Tarawneh who called on him on Wednesday at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The President said India attaches great value to its ties with Jordan.

"India appreciates Jordan's proactive role under the leadership of King Abdullah on regional issues, especially towards resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and addressing the scourge of terrorism that has affected our regions and the world," he said.

Mukherjee added no country is safe from terrorism and urgent collective action is needed to eradicate it.

The President said India lauds Jordan's exceptional humanitarian assistance in hosting refugees from its war-torn neighbourhood despite the tremendous strain on its socio-economic resources.

He said India was happy that it could make a contribution to help mitigate the crisis adding he had warm memories of his recent visit to Jordan, the first-ever visit by an Indian head of state to Jordan.

Mukherjee said India-Jordan bilateral trade which was at USD 1.35 billion in 2015-16 is expected to touch new heights.

"India is happy that Jordan is interested in cooperation in security and defence, space, and fertilisers among others," he said.

In an open letter from her new book of essays titled 'Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me', Lily Collins reveals that she has forgiven her father and singer Phil Collins for not being there for her.

The 27-year-old actress also addresses the difficult relationship she shares with her father, reported a leading news portal.
"Because my dad was often gone, I never wanted to do anything that would make him stay away even longer.

"I became extra careful about what I said and how I said it, afraid he'd think I was angry or didn't love him. And the truth is, I was angry. I missed him and wanted him there," she writes in the chapter titled 'A Letter to All Dads'.

Lily's parents divorced when she was five and Collins then moved from England to Switzerland, creating a vacuum of estrangement between the two, which had its effect on the 'Mirror Mirror' star over time – ranging from relationship issues to her struggle with eating disorders.

She writes that she forgives him for his mistakes and "for not always being there when I needed and for not being the dad I expected."

Bypolls to Srinagar and Anantnag Lok Sabha seats will be held on April 9 and 12 respectively, the Election Commission said on Thursday while announcing the schedule for byelections to three parliamentary and twelve assembly constituencies.

The assembly bypoll in Radhakrishnan Nagar seat in Tamil Nadu which fell vacant following the demise of then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will be held on April 12.

The byelection to the Malapuram Lok Sabha seat in Kerala which fell vacant following the demise of IUML leader E Ahamed will also be held on April 12.

Among the 12 assembly seats for which bypoll will be held is Delhi's Rajouri Garden. It fell vacant after Jarnail Singh of AAP decided to contest the Punjab assembly polls held on February 2017. The byelection for the seat is on April 9.

Anantnag seat fell vacant in June last after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti won the assembly polls and resigned from the Lok Sabha. The Srinagar Lok Sabha seat was vacated by former PDP leader Tariq Hamid Karra who had resigned in protest against alleged "brutalities" on Kashmir protesters.

The other assembly seats are: Dhemaji in Assam, Bhoranj in Himachal Pradesh, Ater and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh, Kanthi Dakshin in West Bengal, Dholpur in Rajasthan, Nanjangud and Gundlupet in Karnataka, Litipara in Jharkhand and Upper Burtuk in Sikkim.

Young Australia batsman Peter Handscomb, who took the blame for his captain Steve Smith's "brain-fade" fiasco, on Thursday said he is now familiar with the DRS rules and it's time to move on from the incident that sparked a huge controversy.

Handscomb had admitted that it was he who suggested Smith to seek dressing room opinion after being LBW off Umesh Yadav during their second innings of the second Test against India.

"No, just completely unaware that you couldn't do that.

But now I know I have been well and truly informed and I'm just looking forward to moving on from this. It's still new in my international career, so I haven't had a lot to do with the DRS and I'm now a lot more familiar with it," said the 25-year-old right-hander.

There was significant amount of banter on display from both the Indian and Australian players during the second Test with home team skipper Kohli leading from the front.

But Handscomb said the visitors are not too worried about what their opposition do.

"I thought we handled him (Kohli) quite well on the field. Like I said before we just go about our business, not too worried about trying to get into verbal stash. We know what we have been doing, we were definitely not chatting that's for sure. We are in the public eye and we understand that views were being exchanged," Handscomb, who is on his first overseas tour, said.

Thirteen years after their naked protest here against the alleged rape of a 32-year-old woman by Assam Rifles troops, the "Mothers of Manipur" want their fight to go on till the controversial AFSPA is scrapped.

It was on July 15, 2004 when the 12 elderly women staged the naked protest outside the historic Kangla Fort, then a camp of the Assam Rifles, holding placards that read "Come Indian Army Rape Us", which had shaken the conscience of the entire nation.

The women, fondly called "Mothers of Manipur", now say their protest 13 years ago had not borne fruit and so they would continue to fight till the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) is completely withdrawn from the state.

"We all felt like we are mothers of the hapless girl who was gangraped and murdered. The women of Manipur have been the worst victims of insurgency. Both the militant groups and a section of security forces torture women as we are soft targets. Our mode of protest then came from within," 66-year- old Gyaneshori said.

"We wanted a message to be delivered to the whole world and the rest of the country that we too have the right to live with dignity and Manipuri women can't be just raped and killed," Gyaneshori says.

Besides Gyaneshori, the other 11 elderly women who took part in that protest were Loitam Ibetombi, Thokchom Ramani (88), Keisam Taruni (83), Yumlembam Memma (82), Mutum Ibemhal (75), Soibam Momon (70), Ningthoujam Ongbi Sorojini (67), Chungkham Jamini (66), Lourenbam Ongbi Nganbi(64), Haobam Tombi (58) and Angom Jibanmala (56).

Loitam Ibetombi passed away in 2013 at the age of 67.

Haobam Tombi says although the protest, which had drawn global attention, led to the Kangla Fort being vacated by the Assam Rifles and the AFSPA being withdrawn from seven Assembly constituencies in the Imphal municipal area, the fight will go on till the complete withdrawal of the law which gives the army enormous emergency powers.

"The fight is not over until and unless AFSPA is withdrawn from the entire state and those involved in rapes and fake encounters are punished," she says.

Manipur was brought under the AFSPA in 1980 after being declared a "disturbed area" due to insurgency in its hill districts.

"The struggle of Manipuri women has been globally acknowledged. Our courage, dedication and commitment to strive and fight for a better Manipur, where our next generation don't has to live under the shadow of the gun, have kept us going," Soibam Momon says.

Mutum Ibemhal, who sells clothes in the traditional "Mother's market" or Ima-Kheitel in Manipuri, says, "Fighting for truth and justice has taken a toll on my family life. I have lost two of my sons. The women's movement in Manipur has slowed down in the last few years and we need to strengthen it."

Lourenbam Ongbi Nganbi, who is still engaged in social work, feels although the protest in front of Kangla Fort in 2004 gained a lot of media attention, a lot more need to be done to ensure that the AFSPA is withdrawn and those violating human rights are punished.