Eight months after the tsunami, the region will hold the next election to the panchayats on September 24.
Sania Mirza, world No. 17 Karolina Sprem of Croatia and Thai star Tamarine Tanasugarn have also confirmed for the September 19 to 25 WTA tournament.
The West Bengal government said the situation was under control in Baduria, Swarupnagar, Deganga and Basirhat, which had witnessed violence. Prohibitory orders are in force there. No untoward incident was reported.
Inaugurating the 'Yuvashree' scheme, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said 100,000 youths enrolled in employment exchanges would receive the amount every month in the first phase, while maintaining that it was not an unemployment allowance but 'assistance' for them to meet their expenses.
The Madras high court passed an interim order restraining the newly-elected members from functioning.
Sourav Ganguly has yet to make a final decision on whether to appeal against the six-ODI ban on him.
Adding that the two leaders had shared an 'excellent personal rapport'.
Shikha Uberoi carved out a fluent 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ryoko Fuda of Japan in the first round of the Sunfeast Open.
The Indo-Japanese pair was beaten by the Hungarian-Ukrainian combination of Melinda Czink and Yulian Fedak at the Sunfeast Open.
While seventh seed Bhambri faced some resistance from Poonam Reddy at the Sunfeast Open on Saturday.
He also accused TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee of nepotism, insisting she wants to politically establish her nephew in West Bengal.
It was on the occasion of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's birth anniversary.
On the eve of the sixth and penultimate phase of the marathon Uttar Pradesh elections, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani reports on what's at stake.
The idea is to reinforce Mulayam's 'dhartiputra' or son-of-the-soil image, say party sources.
Nothing spawns the creation and perpetration of conspiracy theories more effectively than an official obsession with secrecy.
The Indian cricket team on Tuesday returned home after a successful Test and one-day series in Bangladesh.
'He was a very shrewd politician. He was a lawyer who really knew how to work the system and manipulate people in a positive sense,' says Netaji's daughter.
'Some people in India say, 'If they were alive, things would be different.' This is an emotional reaction,' feels Netaji's only child.
Here is Rediff.com's selection of some stories from Thursday that you may not have read in the morning newspaper.
Francis officially cleared Mother Teresa for sainthood on December 17, 2015, recognising her "miraculous healing" of a Brazilian man with multiple brain abscesses, the Vatican said.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hit back at Narendra Modi for the "56-inch chest" remark alluding to his father and Samajwadi Party supreme Mulayam Singh, saying the BJP prime ministerial candidate is the "biggest liar" with a "56-inch belly".
The meeting was convened by the Congress. Six major parties -- the DMK, the SP, the BSP, the TMC, the AAP and the Shiv Sena -- choose to stay away. The BJP took a swipe at the absence of major opposition parties at the meet and also said that their anti-CAA resolution must've made Pak happy.
All family members will be happy if former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee gets the Bharat Ratna, his niece Karuna Shukla has said.
The 34-ranked third seeded Indian ace proved too good for the 283-ranked Japanese in the first round of the Sunfeast Open.
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu reported one case each, officials said.
The Australian Test skipper would also discuss plans for setting up another home for girls with the Foundation.
The police is in touch with Dr Sharma's family as well for background check to make sure that there were no shortcomings in the investigation.
Here is what influenced the realty picture of Kolkata in the 2016's first quarter that just went by:
'Many members of the INA were reduced to poverty and some of them died in hunger.' An exclusive interview with Anita Bose Pfaff, Netaji's only child.
Amid controversy over Centre's move to give priority to Hindi on official social media, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said the Samajwadi Party government and the party had always been in favour of Hindi and Urdu.
Police had clashed with about 3,000 followers of obscure sect Azad Bharat Vidhik Vaicharik Kranti Satyagrahi which had encroached on 260 acres government land. Twenty-four people, including a superintendent of police and a station house officer, were killed in the violence which took place when police went to evict the sect from the land.
The dean of a Jabalpur Medical College, suspected of having links to some accused in the Vyapam scam, was found dead under mysterious circumstances at a hotel in south-west Delhi's Dwarka on Sunday morning.
Udayveer Singh, a Samajwadi Party MLC and one of the closest aides of Akhilesh Yadav, was on Saturday expelled from the party for "undignified" conduct days after he wrote to SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav suggesting him to elevate the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister as the party's national president.
Electric mobility in India is touted to be the way to the future, but implementation of large-scale projects to bring infrastructure for charging is still lacking.
Many states like Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu were opposed to opening up of their airports in view of rising cases of the coronavirus infection.
'People ask, "Are you envious of Raj?" I mean, are you envious of your brother or sister or your mum and dad?' 'No. You feel a sense of pride when you see the other person excel.' 'Both of us are from the industry, so seeing the other person excel is what inspires me and instills faith and hope in me.'
More suspected SARS patients have been detained in several places around the country.
