The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) why it has not yet approached the court if access to the administrative block of the varsity was being blocked by students since February 9.

The query was put to JNU's lawyer by Justice V K Rao while hearing a plea by five students of the varsity that they be provided their marksheets and certificates as they want to apply for various courses and jobs.

When the court asked the varsity to provide the documents, central government standing counsel Monika Arora, appearing for JNU, said that police assistance would be required to enter the administrative block.

"Even the Vice Chancellor is not able to enter his office," she said.

"I am sorry. What is this? Why has the university not come yet? Is this not a grievance of the university? If the university is sitting silent, then I will say just give them the documents," Justice Rao said and asked JNU's lawyer to take instructions on why the varsity has not yet moved court and listed the matter for further hearing on February 20.

Apart from their documents, the five students in their plea have also sought removal of the protesters and restoration of functioning of the varsity's administrative block.

In their plea, filed through advocate Pradeep Arya, they have contended that no protest can be staged within 20 metres of the administrative and academic complexes as per JNU's Academic Rules and Regulations.

The students – Naveen Kumar Singh, Gaurav Kumar, Chandraveer Singh Bhati, Shivendra Kumar Pandey and Ashish Kumar Singh – have claimed that since February 9, 2017, 150-200 students have surrounded the admin block to protest against a May 2016 notification of the University Grants Commission as per which there is a limit of eight students per professor for M. Phil and Ph. D courses.

The appellants, who claim to be pursuing M. Phil and Ph. D courses from the varsity, have alleged that the administrative block had been locked from outside and inside by the protesting students.

They have sought police protection for varsity officials so that they can enter the administrative block and get the documents which the petitioners want.

The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) why it has not yet approached the court if access to the administrative block of the varsity was being blocked by students since February 9.

The query was put to JNU's lawyer by Justice V K Rao while hearing a plea by five students of the varsity that they be provided their marksheets and certificates as they want to apply for various courses and jobs.

When the court asked the varsity to provide the documents, central government standing counsel Monika Arora, appearing for JNU, said that police assistance would be required to enter the administrative block.

"Even the Vice Chancellor is not able to enter his office," she said.

"I am sorry. What is this? Why has the university not come yet? Is this not a grievance of the university? If the university is sitting silent, then I will say just give them the documents," Justice Rao said and asked JNU's lawyer to take instructions on why the varsity has not yet moved court and listed the matter for further hearing on February 20.

Apart from their documents, the five students in their plea have also sought removal of the protesters and restoration of functioning of the varsity's administrative block.

In their plea, filed through advocate Pradeep Arya, they have contended that no protest can be staged within 20 metres of the administrative and academic complexes as per JNU's Academic Rules and Regulations.

The students – Naveen Kumar Singh, Gaurav Kumar, Chandraveer Singh Bhati, Shivendra Kumar Pandey and Ashish Kumar Singh – have claimed that since February 9, 2017, 150-200 students have surrounded the admin block to protest against a May 2016 notification of the University Grants Commission as per which there is a limit of eight students per professor for M. Phil and Ph. D courses.

The appellants, who claim to be pursuing M. Phil and Ph. D courses from the varsity, have alleged that the administrative block had been locked from outside and inside by the protesting students.

They have sought police protection for varsity officials so that they can enter the administrative block and get the documents which the petitioners want.

 Filmmaker Imitiaz Ali recently shot a portion of his upcoming movie with Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma at the renowned RK Studious in Chembur.

The 45-year-old director called the moment a 'huge occasion' in his life and shared a picture of himself standing in front of the gate of one of Bollywood's most iconic shooting sets.

"Shooting in Raj Kapoor's studio – a huge occasion in my life!" wrote Ali alongside the photo.

The Tamasha helmer and his team filmed at the studio for almost a week and he was grateful to work in an ambience of cinematic brilliance.

"We shot there for six days and I was constantly surrounded by the shadows of the great cinema that has been made here. Gratitude," added Ali.

 Filmmaker Imitiaz Ali recently shot a portion of his upcoming movie with Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma at the renowned RK Studious in Chembur.

The 45-year-old director called the moment a 'huge occasion' in his life and shared a picture of himself standing in front of the gate of one of Bollywood's most iconic shooting sets.

"Shooting in Raj Kapoor's studio – a huge occasion in my life!" wrote Ali alongside the photo.

The Tamasha helmer and his team filmed at the studio for almost a week and he was grateful to work in an ambience of cinematic brilliance.

"We shot there for six days and I was constantly surrounded by the shadows of the great cinema that has been made here. Gratitude," added Ali.

Real Madrid have the chance to further extend their lead at the top of the La Liga on Saturday which promises to be decisive in the outcome of the title race.

Real entertain Espanyol in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium before travelling to play one of the two games they have in hand over their title rivals in Valencia on Wednesday.

Saturday's game comes on the back of Madrid's 3-1 win at home over Napoli in which they played some of their best football of the year to come back from a goal down. 

And Real coach Zinedine Zidane will probably make some changes to his starting 11 with players such as Matteo Kovecic, Isco and Nacho Fernandez in with the chance of starting, reports Xinhua news agency.

The big news for Saturday is the likely return of Welsh forward Gareth Bale to action after almost three months out with an ankle injury. Bale is unlikely to start the game, but will probably be introduced as a substitute sometime in the second half.

Espanyol have traditionally been a comfortable rival for Real Madrid and last season saw them beaten 6-0 at home and away to the league leaders. 

However, they have toughened up considerably under Quique Sanchez Flores and after a slow start to the season have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe next season.

Gerard Moreno is a handful in attack, while former Valencia winger Pablo Piatti is usually at the heart of their best moves and has been involved in half of their goals this season, either scoring them himself, or supplying the final pass.

Meanwhile former Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez is assured of a warm reception on his return to the Bernabeu, although most Madrid fans will be expecting to see him pick the ball out of the net on more than one occasion.

Next time you order pizza with extra cheese or paranthas with dollops of butter, remember, you may be twice at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, researchers have warned.

The findings in the study led by Marta Guasch-Ferre, researcher at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the US, showed that people who consumed 12 grams per day of butter had a two-fold higher risk of developing diabetes. 

Saturated and animal fat such as cheese and butter that are rich in saturated fatty acids and trans fats, their intake creates greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, whereas whole-fat yogurt intake is associated with a lower risk.

On the other hand, plant-based diets — rich in legumes, whole-grain cereals, fruits, vegetables and nuts — have been found more beneficial for health than animal-based foods such as red meat and processed meat, and also have less impact on the environment.

In addition, a Mediterranean diet — rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, high on healthy fats like olive oil and low in refined sugars and saturated fats — may be useful for preventing chronic diseases, particularly Type 2 diabetes, the researchers stated in the paper, published in the the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Consumption of dietary fat has been previously associated with cardiovascular disease.

For the new study, the team analysed data from 3,349 participants who were free of diabetes at baseline but at high cardiovascular risk. 

After four-and-half years of follow-up, 266 participants developed diabetes.
 

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said PM Modi has made empty promises.

"PM Modi makes empty promises and government is not doing enough for farmers,” Rahul said while addressing an election rally in Rae Bareilly.

The Congress vice president said that two crore farmers have asked PM Modi to waive their loans, but there was no response from him and he didn’t speak about loans, about farmers.

“They (BJP) has promised they’ll waive off farmers’ loans. Congress had waived Rs.70,000 crore of farmers’ loans when it was in Centre, not UP. Modi can waive off loans in 15 minutes but no one does it,” he said.

“Modi had promised Varanasi about cleaning up the city, providing free internet, but hasn’t delivered,” he said and added that relationships aren’t made that way.

Priyanka joined her brother Rahul in Rae Bareli, a parliamentary seat held by her mother Sonia, and earlier by her grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi.

Rahul and Priyanka are scheduled to hold multiple election rallies in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathgaon Maharajganj districts on Friday.

Rae Bareli accounts for five assembly seats and goes to vote on February 23, the fourth of seven phases of polling in the state.

Hit by a wave of terror attacks, which it blames on militants from Afghanistan, the Pakistan army on Friday summoned Afghan embassy officials and handed over a list of 76 terrorists hiding in the neighbouring country.

According to Inter Services Public Relations, the Deputy Head of Mission and other officials of the Afghan embassy were summoned to the Pakistani Army headquarters in Rawalpindi to lodge protest against the use of Afghan soil by terrorists to carry out attacks in Pakistan, Dunya news reported.

The officials were told to take immediate action or hand over the militants to Pakistan, Pakistan media reported.

The development comes after a series of terrorist attacks hit Pakistan within a week, including Thursday's bombing at a crowded Sufi shrine in Sehwan city of Sindh province in which 75 persons died and about 300 were injured.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the bombing at the shrine of Lal Shehbaz Qalandar, a revered 13th century Muslim saint.

The security officials believe that militant groups now operate from the Afghanistan border region to launch attacks in Pakistan.

Hours after the Thursday bombing, Pakistan closed the Torkham border with Afghanistan due to security concerns.

On Wednesday, the Foreign Office had taken up evidence against the Jamaatul Ahrar based inside Afghanistan at the diplomatic level. The Ahrar split away from the TTP in 2014 and is believed to have with links with Daesh or the IS.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share a border of about 2,600 km, mostly porous, and the military seeks cooperation of the Afghan government to closely monitor the illegal cross-border movement.

Joining a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with her brother Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday slammed Modi over his ‘outsider’ remarks.

“PM Modi said that UP adopted me. UP doesn't need any outsider. Every youth in the state has the capability to become a leader,” Priyanka said while addressing a rally in Rae Bareli.

 “PM Modi says he is against women persecution, but still makes women stand in queues,” she further added.

After weeks of delaying and cancellations, Priyanka campaigned with her brother for the ongoing Uttar Pradesh assembly elections in Rae Bareli, a parliamentary seat held by mother Sonia Gandhi. The party workers have long been demanding Priyanka to campaign, however she restricted her campaigning to Amethi and Rae Bareli.

Priyanka is among the 40 'star campaigners' that the party has listed for the polls.

Working as a silent spectator and carrying out backend work, Priyanka is said to be one of the key negotiators with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav when the alliance talks were underway.

The Samajwadi Party sealed its alliance with the Congress on January 22 after days of negotiation. The Congress party was allotted 105 seats out of 403 seats.

Rae Bareli is set to go for polling on February 23 in the fourth phase of the seven-phase UP election and Amethi on February 27 in the fifth phase.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi is scheduled to address a rally on February 20.

The Gandhi siblings who jointly campaigned in the previous elections were last seen campaigning together during the 2014 Lok Sabha election in Amethi, a seat which Rahul won.

Actress Shilpa Shetty is all praise for Tiger Shroff's dedication for fitness and says her son is a big fan of the actor.

Shilpa says she has seen Tiger grow up and knew him well before he became an actor.

"He is someone I have respect for. I live on the beach and there was a time I used to wake up at 6 in the morning and used to see this boy, alone on the beach, right in front of my house doing martial arts," the actress said.

"Whether it was 6 in the morning or evening, I've seen this 'child', I can call him that because I've seen him since a young age. I call him the true tiger of fitness jungle. He is the superhero, my son is a huge fan of him," she said.

She was speaking at the launch of her new health website, 'Shilpa Shetty Wellness Series', last evening.

Tiger, who was present at the launch of the website, said, "I love her son, he is actually the real Flying Jatt." 

The 26-year-old actor said he doesn't like using the word 'diet' and believes fitness is nothing but a state of mind.

"There is so much more to fitness than just going to the gym, there are so many aspects to it. I don't like using the word 'diet' when it comes to fitness. It sounds very depressing. Fitness is also a state of mind. If you're happy, then you're fit," he said.

Country greats Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert leads the list of nominations for the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards announced on Friday.

Multiple ACM Award winner Lady Antebellum announced the nominations in five categories-including Entertainment of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year.

The event will be hosted by Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley.

With a total of seven nominations, Keith Urban leads the list with Miranda Lambert closely coming in second on the list with six nominations.

Sixteen-time ACM Award winner Tim McGraw has received five nominations in four categories.

Meanwhile, first-time ACM nominee Maren Morris earned six nominations in four categories.

Acknowledging the country music genre’s top stars, the awards will be telecast on April 2.

Minister of State in the PMO Jitendra Singh on Friday accused the Congress and the National Conference of behaving like separatists for criticising Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's warning to protesters who try to rescue militants from shootout sites in Kashmir.

"The same political party, for example like the National Conference, is talking like this which as a part of the UPA was the one which even went to the extent of demanding bombardment of the terror camps in Pakistan," Jitendra Singh told the media.

The army chief's statement on counter-terror operations has led to a political furore in the Kashmir Valley. 

General Rawat had issued a warning to Kashmir stone-pelters for interfering during anti-militancy operations saying that they will be treated as anti-nationals. A dangerous trend has emerged in the valley where youth carrying Islamist flags and stones flock to shootout sites during gun fights to help militants flee.

"We would request the local population… local boys if they want to continue with the acts of terrorism, displaying flags of the IS (Islamic State) and Pakistan, then we will treat them as anti-national elements and go helter-skelter for them… If they do not relent and create hurdles, then we will take tough action," the chief said.

The opposition National Conference in Kashmir expressed dismay over the "belligerent remarks" of the army chief that it said would "increase the hostility in the valley".

"Youth rushing towards encounter sites and incidents of stone-pelting on the forces during encounters are worrying and alarming signs of the sense of alienation and disenchantment in Kashmir," the National Conference said in a statement.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was on Friday reported by a section of the media as saying that the government was to blame for the worsening situation in the state. 

He said threatening Kashmiri youth was "unjustified" and could be the central government's policy and "not the army's".

Jitendra Singh said the Congress statement was unfortunate and similar to that of Kashmiri separatists who have slammed the army chief's threat to stone-pelters in Kashmir.

"When they (the Congress and the National Conference) are in power, they swear by India and Kashmir as an integral part of India. The moment they are shunted out of power, they overnight become wiser and question the role of the army in Jammu and Kashmir," the Minister said.

"The Congress is also falling for the same separatist and semi-separatist jargon for short term electoral gains."

Despite negative global cues, domestic bourses extended Thursday’s gains and closed Friday’s trading session on a higher note. The Sensex at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended 167 points higher at 28,469, and the Nifty at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 44 points up at 8,822.

In the broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices plunged around 0.5 per cent each.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, Oil & Gas index jumped the most, up 1.6 per cent, while IT index became the top loser, down 1 per cent.

On Thursday, the Sensex had closed 146 points up at 28,301 and the Nifty had closed 51 points higher at 8,775.

Top gainers in the Sensex-30 pack: Sun Pharma (up 4 per cent), HDFC Bank (up 3.8 per cent), Cipla (up 1.6 per cent), Tata Motors (up 1.5 per cent) and ICICI Bank (up 1.5 per cent).

Top losers in the Sensex-30 pack: TCS (down 1.6 per cent), Infosys (down 1.2 per cent), Hero Motocorp (down 1.2 per cent), Wipro (down 1.1 per cent), and Asian Paints (down 0.9 per cent).

Meanwhile, the Rupee was trading two paise higher at 67.05 against the US Dollar.

The Haryana government has deputed senior IAS officers to guide and support the Deputy Commissioners in eight districts in view of Basant Melas and Jat agitation.

They have been asked to reach the respective district latest by the noon on Saturday and remain present there till the forenoon of February 20 to appropriately guide and support the Deputy Commissioners as per their needs and based on any input that might independently be received by them.

These IAS officers included Dhanpat Singh at Rohtak, P K Das at Jind, R R Jowel at Jhajjar and Anurag Rastogi at Hisar.

Similarly, Anand Mohan Sharan has been deputed in district Kaithal, Anil Malik at Sonipat, Shrikant Walgad at Bhiwani and A K Singh at Panipat.

The government has observed that even as some districts are nearing the holding of last of their Basant Melas for promotion of cashless transactions and disseminating information on all citizen services being extended by various Departments of the state government, the Deputy Commissioners are to focus on coordinating efforts to ensure that the ongoing dharnas remain peaceful.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Friday slammed Union Minister Jitendra Singh for his remark over Army chief’s statement on Kashmiri youth and asked whether the morale of jawans was not affected when Prime Minister Modi landed in Lahore to have a feast with his Pakistani counterpart Sharif.

“Dr Jitendra Singh, please tell if morale of our Jawans wasn't effected when Prime Minister Narendra Modi feasted with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif even as soldiers of the country were sacrificing their lives,” Surjewala said in a series of tweets.

Questioning the NDA government’s move to invite Pakistan’s spy agency ISI to probe the Pathankot terror attack, he asked whether the Army’s morale wasn’t affected after nearly 188 jawans lost their lives in last 30 months due to terror attack.

He also questioned whether the Army’s morale was not affected when PDP-BJP government gave compensation to family of terrorists.

Earlier in the day, Union Minister Jitendra Singh came in support of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and said that he was within his right to urge the people of the state and the youth to stay away from stone pelting in Kashmir.

He had also said that the Army should not be politicised in any manner as it might affect its morale.

(With inputs from agencies)

Friday night is the night when you don’t set an alarm for the next morning. The thought of unlimited sleeping hours is so relaxing that the stress melts away with this thought but sometimes not even sleep can fix the damage a hectic routine does to the mind and body.

A little escape from the chaotic schedule, a small getaway for a couple of days into a different world can be a great remedy and works like a therapy for the mind and body. Weekend is here and weather is pleasant. So why not utilise it and take a trip leaving behind all the worries.

Pleasant weather, cool breeze and energetic ambience, the city of gardens Bengaluru has been eventually conquered by the concrete jungle and has now turned into the silicon valley of India.

With so many brilliant brains working day and night in the IT industry, a weekend getaway becomes a must. Here are some selected getaway destinations near Bengaluru to reboot your system for the next working week.

Mysore

Rich history, gigantic forts and beautiful gardens, Mysore makes it a perfect weekend getaway destination. It is 151 km away from Bengaluru.

Chikmangalur

Also called Chikkamagaluru is 242 km away from Bengaluru. It is the place where India’s coffee plantation debut took place. For all the coffee enthusiasts this place is a good choice for trekking and camping.

Coorg

The Scottish paradise of India, Coorg is nature-lovers magnet. About 243 km away from the Silicon Valley, this lush green escape is a little world that offers perfect amount of seclusion and leisure.

Ooty

Botanical gardens, picturesque mountains, high attitudes and cold weather, Ooty is a hill station with fog and clouds making the site milky and dreamy. About 275 km away from Bengaluru, it makes it for an amazing road trip on serpentine roads.

Wayanad

At a distance of 281 km from Bengaluru, Wayanad is a perfect destination for cave exploration, trekking and wildlife enthusiasts.

If you are wondering how to escape the hazardous situation in the city due to the Bellandur lake fire, one of these places can be your saviour. And if you are a traveller and an explorer then these are the places which have so much to offer that can sooth the wanderlust in you.

Actress Kangana Ranaut, who has gone through her share of tumultous relationships, has revealed that she has found someone she loves "deeply", but dating is not on her mind — she wants to take the plunge and get married.

In a tete-a-tete for film critic Anupama Chopra's digital platform Film Companion, Kangana spoke candidly about her ideology of marriage and how it has evolved with time, reads a statement.

She said: "In your early 20s, you wonder why people get married. In late 20s, maternal instincts kick in and you see things differently. It's nice to come back to a partner who's watching your back."

"I wanted to give my best to a relationship without the baggage of legal relationships. I now want to give marriage my best but the other person must also come with the same attitude. I have found someone who I deeply love but I'm not keen on just dating. I want to get married."

The actress has been reportedly romantically involved in the past with celebrities like Aditya Pancholi, Adhyayan Suman and Hrithik Roshan. She was also said to have been dating a British man.

The mystery around her present love interest is yet to be unravelled.