The Congress party on Thursday said that Navjot Singh Sidhu will contest in the upcoming Punjab assembly elections as a party nominee.

"Navjot Singh Sidhu will contest from the constituency of his wife, Navjot Kaur Sidhu," former Punjab Chief Minister and Congress state unit chief Captain Amarinder Singh told reporters here. 

"Sidhu will contest from Amritsar (East) seat as a Congress nominee," Singh said.

The cricketer-turned-politician had resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party on September 14, 2016.

In a first, astronomers, including one of Indian-origin, have traced the source of a mysterious radio signal to a dwarf galaxy more than three billion light years from Earth.

The "sporadically repeating milliseconds-long signal" is one of the rare and brief bursts of cosmic radio waves that have puzzled astronomers since they were first detected nearly a decade ago.

The new information rules out several suggested explanations for the source of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) including one that suggested the signal could be coming from within or near our own Milky Way galaxy.

"We now know that this particular burst comes from a dwarf galaxy more than three billion light-years from Earth," said lead author Shami Chatterjee of Cornell University. 

"That simple fact is a huge advance in our understanding of these events," Chatterjee, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology -Madras, added. 

Fast Radio Bursts are highly-energetic, but very short-lived (millisecond) whose origins have remained a mystery since the first one was detected in 2007.

That year, researchers scouring archived data from Australia's Parkes Radio Telescope in search of new pulsars found the first known FRB — one that had burst in 2001.

There now are 18 known FRBs. All were discovered using single-dish radio telescopes that are unable to narrow down the object's location with enough precision to allow other observatories to identify its host environment or to find it at other wavelengths. 

Unlike all the others, however, one FRB, discovered in November of 2012 at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, has recurred numerous times.

The repeating bursts from this object, named FRB 121102 after the date of the initial burst, allowed astronomers to watch for it using the US National Science Foundation's (NSF) Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), a multi-antenna radio telescope system with the resolving power, or ability to see fine detail, needed to precisely determine the object's location in the sky.

In 83 hours of observing time over six months in 2016, the VLA detected nine bursts from FRB 121102.

"For a long time, we came up empty, then got a string of bursts that gave us exactly what we needed," Casey Law of the University of California at Berkeley said.

"The VLA data allowed us to narrow down the position very accurately," Sarah Burke-Spolaor, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) and West Virginia University, pointed out.

Using the precise VLA position, researchers used the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii to make a visible-light image that identified a faint dwarf galaxy at the location of the bursts. 

The Gemini observations also determined that the dwarf galaxy is more than three billion light-years from Earth, according to the study published in the journal Nature.

"Finding the host galaxy of this FRB, and its distance, is a big step forward, but we still have much more to do before we fully understand what these things are," Chatterjee said.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Thursday released its first list of 100 candidates for the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls. The list includes 34 Muslims.

Polling to pick a new 403-member assembly will be held between February 11 and March 8.

The BSP list includes Nawab Qazim Ali Khan from Rampur, Ali Yusuf Ali from Chamaruwa, Mohammad Islam Khan from Gunnaur and Syyeda Begum from Budhana in Muzaffarnagar.

Other prominent leaders fielded by BSP supremo Mayawati include Mukesh Dixit from Saharanpur City, Majid Ali (Deoband), Diwakar Deshwal (Kairana), Satyendra Solanki (Meerut Cantonment) and Pankaj Jolly (Meerut City).

Old timers like Dharampal Singh from Etmadpur has been fielded again. Raj Bala has been given ticket from Chaprauli in Baghpat, Hazi Zakir Ali from Loni in Ghaziabad, Amarpal Sharma from Sahibabad and Suresh Bansal from Ghaziabad.

The BSP has fielded Ravikant Mishra from Noida, Satveer Singh Gujjar from Dadri and Vedram Bhati from Jewar. 

Thakur Jaiveer Singh has been fielded from Barauli in Aligarh and former Power Minister Ramveer Upadhyaya from Sadabad in Hathras.

The BSP has 80 MLAs in the outgoing assembly.
 

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Thursday described as "bold" the decision of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to step down from captaincy of limited overs game and voiced hope that he would continue to serve the state and the country.

"Only a person like him can take such a bold decision," Das said.

Dhoni took the nation to the pinnacle of the game, Das said and hoped the cricketer would continue to serve the state and the country.

Stocks are having a super Thursday as the Nifty finally managed to overcome the 8,200-point resistance with volume and vigour. Overseas cues were strong with Asian stocks ending mostly higher and European equities trading flat-to-positive.

Here are the major events of the trading day:

* Nifty at day's high. Index surges 86 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 8,276 points. The Nifty is the 2nd best performing index in Asia and is trading at its highest level since November 15.

* Yes Bank, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Tata Motors and Bosch surged between 3.2-4.5 per cent and were among 45 shares that rose on the index.

* Bharti Infratel, TCS, Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and Mahindra & Mahindra fell between 0.2-1.3 per cent, and were among 6 stocks that dropped lower on the  Nifty.

* The Sensex gained 222 points to quote at 26,854 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Adani Ports was the top gainer while Infosys lost the most. Tata Steel was the top traded share by volume on the index.

* Broader benchmarks were in the thick of buying action. The Nifty 100, 200 and 500 indices rose between 0.9-1.0 per cent.

* All sectoral indices, except the IT benchmark, rose between 0.6-2.9 per cent; The four banking indices gained between 1.1-1.6 per cent. The software index was down 1 per cent.

* The trend was strong in the wider market where 1187 shares rose versus 406 that fell.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has banned the keeping of wild animals as pets.

The new law banned dealing in and ownership of "all types of wild and domesticated but dangerous animals', Xinhua news agency said citing media reports

According to the law, only zoos, wildlife parks, circuses, breeding and research institutions would be authorised to keep exotic animals.

Keeping endangered creatures, including cheetahs and tigers, as pets was regarded as a symbol of social status in some oil-rich Gulf countries. 

Pictures of UAE citizens playing with big cats in cities were posted on social media.

A video emerged online in October showing five tigers paddling in the water on the beach near Dubai's iconic Burj Al-Arab Hotel.

Another footage in May showed a tiger roaming through the traffic on a highway in Qatar, with a broken chain attached to its collar.

According to the new law, taking an exotic animal out in public could result in a jail term of up to six months and a fine of about $136,000. 

Those who use wildcats to terrorise other people would be jailed or fined up to $191,000.

Meanwhile, dog owners were required to get permits and keep their pets on leashes in public, or face fines of up to $27,000.

A high-level committee headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday cleared a financial grant to Uttarakhand and Karnataka that were recently hit by flood and drought respectively.

The committee approved to assist Uttarakhand with Rs.208.91 crore and  Karnataka with Rs.1782.44 crore.

The decision was taken after examining the reports of the inter-ministerial central team which visited the two states, approved the assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) and National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).

Marching forward for the third straight day, gold prices on Thursday surged by another Rs.180 to a nearly month high of Rs.28,730 per 10 grams, in line with a firming trend overseas amid increased buying by local jewellers.

Silver followed suit and advanced by Rs.350 to Rs.40,600 per kg due to increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Traders said sentiment took a turn for the better after gold advanced to its highest level in four weeks in global markets as the US dollar retreated from a 14-year peak hit earlier this week, which kept the precious metals higher.

Globally, gold rose 0.9 per cent to $1,173.51 per ounce, the highest level in almost a month in Singapore.

In addition, persistent buying by local jewellers at the domestic spot market provided more traction, they said.

In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity climbed by Rs.180 each to Rs.28,730 and Rs.28,580 per ten grams, respectively, a level last seen on December 8 when it closed at Rs.28,710. The precious metal has gained Rs.250 in the last two days.

Sovereign went up by Rs.200 at Rs.24,200 per piece of eight grams.

Following gold, silver ready hardened by Rs.350 to Rs.40,600 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs.360 at Rs.40,580 per kg.

Silver coins, however, held steady at Rs.71,000 for buying and Rs.72,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday greeted Sikhs around the world on the auspicious occasion of the 350th birth anniversary of the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.

In his Prakash Utsav message, Captain Amarinder said the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh continue to inspire millions of people, while the Khalsa installed by him remains, till today, the torchbearer of the executive, military and civil authority in the Sikh community.

Captain Amarinder, who offered prayers at the holy Takht Shri Patna Sahib – the birth place of Guru Gobind Singh – earlier this week, said the devotion of Sikhs to the 10th Guru underlines his sustained importance in the Sikh philosophy.

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the CBI to investigate an alleged scandal in the purchase and leasing of aircraft by Air India between 2004 and 2008 when the Congress-led UPA was in office.

The allegations, made by NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation, include allotment of bilateral routes to private airlines at the expense of the national carrier.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel was the Civil Aviation Minister when the aircraft were purchased and taken on lease.

The bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice N.V. Ramana and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said it would be open to the petitioner organisation to move the court if it was not satisfied with the outcome of the CBI probe.

Disposing off the PIL, the court expressed hope that the investigating agency would adhere to the deadline of completing the probe by June 2017.

The counsel for the petitioner organisation CPIL had sought a court monitored probe. But Chief Justice Khehar said one could understand the plea if the same government was there.

"When the government is different, (the) party in power is different… We must have faith in our investigating agency," the Chief Justice said. 

In its ongoing investigation in the Rs.3,767 crore VVIP chopper scam, the CBI is focusing on the roles of several top political leaders, sources revealed on Thursday.

The CBI sources said that the leaders include former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her aide Ahmed Patel.

They came under the agency's radar following the arrests of former Indian Air Force chief S.P. Tyagi, his cousin Sanjeev Tyagi and Delhi-based lawyer Gautam Khaitan. The trio was now out on bail.

The agency was also looking into the role of the then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Sources revealed that the probe would cover all the leaders in the erstwhile Congress-led-United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, who were alleged to be connected when the deal for the 12 VVIP choppers was being finalised.

The agency would be taking action on the basis of two notes by Italian middleman Christian Michel that were taken into cognizance by an Italian court.

The court had earlier in April 2016convicted former Finmeccanica chief Bruno Spagnolini and Giuseppe Orsi, who headed the chopper division AgustaWestland, for bribing Indian officials.

Amitabh Bachchan came to be known as Bollywood's "Angry young man" and gradually worked his way to being tagged its "Shahenshah". After years of stepping into different characters, India's cinematic legend says his evolving on-screen persona is a reflection of the change in roles offered to him in sync with his age.

The 74-year-old has for a while dwelt upon the "interesting offers" coming his way, but he has been unable to take them on because of paucity of time.

In one of his first interviews of 2017 — a year which will see him feature in "Aankhen 2" and "Sarkar 3" — the cine icon has spoken about his new projects, his desire to be a part of socially-relevant cinema and how age is playing a decisive role in choosing his films.

"The process (of choosing a film) is the same, but the nature of the work offered and accepted has changed. The change is not in the process, the change is in the age. The work that comes to me is commensurate with my age," Amitabh told IANS in an email interview from Mumbai.

Despite the rare stardom that he enjoys, Big B — as he is fondly called — follows a very simple rule when it comes to his professional life.

"I am an actor employed to work in a particular project, and I attempt to do my best for it," said the Padma Vibhushan awardee, who aims to ensure that his work is always done to the "satisfaction of my (his) employer".

For some, he is best remembered as the towering lead in films like "Deewar", "Zanjeer", "Don" and "Sholay"; for some, his portrayal as a strict teacher from "Black" is etched in their memory. Whether it was his role as 12-year-boy Auro from "Paa" or the grumpy Bengali father from "Piku" — Amitabh has left lasting impressions with his varied avatars for the camera.

The "Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap" star, who has also confessed that he is surviving only on 25 per cent of his liver, having lost the rest to the Hepatitis B virus, keeps a check on his health with his no drinking, no smoking, no aerated drinks policy. He makes it a point to hit the gym regularly.

Focus on fitness is a common New Year resolution — what has Big B resolved for 2017?

"Why wait for a New Year to make a resolution — personally or professionally. If there is a need to resolve something, do it now, immediately or tomorrow. Why wait for a year to make up your mind for it? And, no, I do not keep any resolutions.

"If there is a desire for something that I feel needs to be done, I shall do it, why wait till 2018 or 19 or 20," he questioned.

Last year, Amitabh got critical acclaim with "Pink", a movie about issues that women face. Would he like to pick more socially relevant films?

"Yes, why not? If the issue narrated in a story concerns values and issues that are socially and morally relevant, I would, if the prospective producer-director offer and agree, want to get associated with it," said the National Award-winning actor.

Talking about his upcoming projects, Amitabh said: "'Aankhen 2' is a sequel and begins from where the first one was left. And 'Sarkar 3' is already shot and will be ready for release by March 17. Here, the settings and the ambiance of the film retains the original temperament, but the story is different. There are references to the past, but the screenplay is new."

South Korean President Park Geun-hye was again absent from her impeachment trial on Thursday as the Constitutional Court proceeded to review her case.

Park, whose presidential powers have been suspended pending a court decision, was asked to testify after she skipped the first formal hearing on Tuesday, Yonhap News Agency reported. 

However, the law does not require her attendance, and her lawyers have said she was likely to remain absent from the proceedings.

Confirming her absence, the nine-member bench opened the session to the oral arguments of Park's lawyers and the National Assembly that impeached her on December 9, 2016, over a corruption scandal linked to her confidante, Choi Soon-sil.

Rep. Kwon Seong-dong, chairman of the parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee, called on the justices to remove Park from office, saying her actions amounted to a violation of the Constitution and the law.

He especially cited allegations that the president gave confidential documents to Choi Soon-sil and extorted large sums of money from conglomerates with the aim of benefiting her confidante.

Lee Joong-hwan, one of Park's attorneys, rebutted the accusations, citing a lack of evidence and even legal basis. 

He also denied that the President pressured Samsung to make large donations to two culture and sports foundations in return for her backing of a merger between two Samsung affiliates.

Park has insisted on her innocence, saying the allegations against her have been fabricated. She has also claimed that any possible wrong-doings were done without her knowledge. 

Choi too has contested the corruption charges levelled against her and denied any conspiracy between her and the president. State prosecutors have named Park an accomplice in Choi's indictment.

The court is scheduled to hear from four key witnesses later in the day, but their attendance remains unclear.

It has until early June to decide whether to unseat or reinstate Park.

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan's sports drama film "Dangal" has surpassed the collections of "Sultan" by crossing Rs 300 crore by raking in Rs 304.38 crore at the domestic box office in just 13 days since its release.

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, "Dangal", which released on December 23 last year, collected Rs 9.23 crore on Wednesday, read a statement issued on behalf of Disney India, which has backed the project.

"Dangal" has now become the fourth Bollywood film to cross the Rs 300 crore mark at the domestic box office after Aamir's 2014 film "PK" and Salman Khan's "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" and "Sultan".

"'PK' crossed Rs 300 crore on Day 17… ‘Dangal' crosses Rs 300 crore on Day 13. Indeed, Aamir is setting new benchmarks," trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted.

The movie has tugged at the heartstrings of audiences for its powerful portrayal of the tale of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former national champion who, much to the disapproval of his wife and his whole village, trained his daughters Geeta and Babita to wrestle.

It has been made tax free in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

Film: A Monster Calls 

Director: Juan Antonio Bayona

Cast: Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, Liam Neeson, Geraldine Chaplin

A Monster Calls is a suspense-packed, coming-of-age tale of a boy who is "too old to be a kid and too young to be a man and a nightmare". It is based on the book written by Patrick Ness from an original idea by Siobhan Dowd.

As a fantasy fable, the story has faint traces of the Arabian Nights and our own series of "Vikram Aur Betaal".

Set in present-day England, the film features a young boy Conor (Lewis MacDougall), who struggles to cope with the consequences of his mother, Lizzie's terminal cancer and escapes into the world of his art and imagination. This includes him envisioning a giant living tree who repeatedly visits him.

At the very onset of the meeting, the monster tells Conor that he would tell him three stories and in return, demands Conor to tell him the fourth story and warns him to "speak the truth". This is what keeps you glued to the screen as you wait in anticipation as to how the fourth story would end.

The screenplay, written by the author Patrick Ness, is flawless as it is able to convey with conviction the agony and adventure of Conor when he finally admits that truth to himself. What is fascinating about the plot is, how it circumvents the tragedy of cancer and how it never allows the disease to take centrestage as it just concentrates on Conor's grief and anger.

Lewis MacDougall, in his debut film, is remarkably natural and convincing, as Conor the lonely kid who is bullied at school and hates his overbearing grandmother, played by Sigourney Weaver.

Felicity Jones as his mother, does the best she can to bring life, the dying character. With her short, bluntly cut hair and fragile demeanour, she looks like a patient in her last stage. Toby Kebbell in a miniscule role, essays Conor's estranged father.

The eponymous monster who appears out of a yew tree in the local churchyard telling Conor mysterious stories over successive nights, dramatized in animated sequences, is voiced by Liam Neeson. Though his voice is of fine timbre, he speaks with an unenergetic pace and there is never a dull moment.

On the visual front, with decent production values, the film is constructed in an old-fashioned expressionistic style that calls attention to its own artifice. Every element from the set to the costumes, seem conjured to build the fantasy effect. The locales and the animation of the monster are photo-realistic and appealing. The viewing experience is accentuated with Fernando Velarquez's pleasing, orchestral score.

Overall, this film from the director, who had earlier given us films like "The Orphanage" and "The Impossible", mesmerises us once again.

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed pleas, including that of Rajya Sabha MP and expelled AIADMK leader Sasikala Pushpa, seeking a CBI probe or a judicial investigation by an apex court judge into the death of J Jayalalithaa.

A bench of Justices P C Ghose and R F Nariman said that a similar petition is pending before the Madras High Court.

"We are not inclined to entertain the matter as a similar one is already pending before the Madras High Court. The petitions are dismissed," the bench said.

The apex court, besides Pushpa's plea, also dismissed a writ petition of an NGO on similar lines.

Pushpa had moved the Supreme Court on December 18, 2016 alleging that former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's death was "suspicious" as her actual medical condition was not disclosed, no one was allowed to visit her, her funeral photographs showed embalming marks and everything from her hospitalisation to her death "was kept under wraps".

She had sought directions to the Centre, the Tamil Nadu government and Apollo Hospital, where Jayalalithaa was hospitalised, to disclose details of her health report and treatment in a sealed cover to the apex court.

A similar plea was filed by Tamil Nadu Telugu Yuva Sakthi claiming that doubts have been raised over the circumstances of the AIADMK leader's death and her medical reports needed to be examined by experts.

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has slammed the molestation incident that took place on New Year's eve in Bangalore, calling it "truly shameful".

The actor posted a video on Twitter, which he captioned as, "The Bangalore incident makes me feel we are evolving backwards, from humans to animals, rather beasts because even animals are better! Truly shameful." 

Akshay said he found it disgusting that some people would justify it by blaming women for their choice of clothes.

"I am ashamed to be a human being today. I was returning from my New Year's vacation with my four-year-old daughter in my arms when I learnt about the molestation incident in Banglore. I don't know how did you all feel about it, but my blood started boiling.

"I am a daughter's father but even if I was not one, I feel if a society cannot respect its women, it doesn't deserve to be called a humane society. What's most disgusting is that people have the guts to justify such shameful acts by criticising women for their choice of clothes," Akshay said.

The actor is the latest Bollywood celebrity to express his concern over the incident, that has snowballed into a huge controversy.

The star, who is the father of two children, also said, "Women should not consider themselves inferior to men… Just be fearless, be alert and learn self-defence." 

Several women were allegedly molested despite huge police presence at a large gathering in Bangalore during New Year's Eve revelry.