Indian Sub-continent

Chennai, Mar 5 (PTI) The DMK on Tuesday announced that it would contest from 20 seats in Tamil Nadu in the Lok Sabha elections, with the M K Stalin-led party finalising its seat-sharing agreements with all of its allies -- a total eight of them.

The DMK's announcement virtually closes the door on Vijayakanth's DMDK, which is yet to forge an alliance though the ruling AIADMK is positive about aligning with the actor-politician's party. The DMK had earlier wooed the DMDK for an alliance.

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Accusing the BJP of trying to co-opt the armed forces, the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday said the forces belonged to India and not any party

In a tweet, the party's national spokesperson Derek O'Brien said the BJP's tenure at the Centre was over

Srinagar, Mar 5 (PTI) The cross-LoC trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road resumed on Tuesday after it was suspended last week following an aerial engagement between the air forces of India and Pakistan.

As many as 70 trucks crossed the Kaman Post in Uri sector on the LoC as part of the barter trade between the divided parts of Kashmir which takes place four days in a week from Tuesday to Friday, an official said.

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Congress president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi "lives for the camera" and accused him of ignoring the problems of the sanitation staff in Prayagraj, where he washed their feet during the Kumbh Mela.

"Narendra Modi lives for the camera. Once the cameras were shut, the prime minister did not even hear the problems of the sanitation staff," Gandhi said in a Facebook post along with Modi's picture washing the feet of sanitation workers at the Kumbh Mela.

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Six death-row convicts were acquitted on Tuesday by the Supreme Court which re-visited its 10-year-old decision in a case of murder of five persons and rape of a woman and her daughter and held that the jailed men were wrongly implicated.

Deprecating the manner in which the police conducted the probe in the matter, the court directed the Maharashtra government to take disciplinary action against officials whose "lapses" allowed the real culprits to go scot free.

Jhabua, Mar 5 (PTI) Twenty one years after four nuns were raped by 26 persons in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, a 45-year-old absconding accused in the case has been nabbed, police said Tuesday.

Kalu Limji was arrested from Aamba village in the district Monday, a police official said.

In September 1998, the accused, mostly tribals, raped the nuns at the Priti Sharan Mission at Naupara village in the predominantly tribal district. Nauapara is 25 km from the district headquarters.

Nagpur, Mar 5 (PTI) India beat Australia by 8 runs in the second ODI to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series here Tuesday.

Brief scores:

India: 250 all out in 48.2 overs (Virat Kohli 116; Pat Cummins 4/29).

Australia: 242 all out in 49.3 overs (Marcus Stoinis 52; Kuldeep Yadav 3/54).

New Delhi, Mar 5 (PTI) Congress President Rahul Gandhi will host ambassadors of G20 countries on Wednesday at a hotel here.

According to sources, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and other senior Congress leaders will also attend the lunch.

Senior Congress leader and former minister Anand Sharma has been coordinating with the ambassadors and heads of missions of G20 countries for the lunch.

It was earlier slated for February 15 but had to be cancelled in view of the attack on February 14 in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) The Indian Navy on Tuesday dismissed as "false propaganda" Pakistan's claim that it had thwarted an attempt by an Indian submarine to enter the country's territorial waters.

In a statement, the Pakistan Navy claimed in Islamabad that it used specialised skills to ward off the Indian submarine from entering Pakistani waters.

"We have witnessed Pakistan indulging in false propaganda and spread of misinformation. The Indian Navy does not take cognizance of such propaganda. Our deployments remain undeterred," the Indian Navy said.

Mumbai, Mar 5 (PTI) The Maharashtra cabinet Tuesday cleared a 29-kilometre metro line for Thane which will be implemented by the Maha Metro on behalf of the Thane Municipal Corporation.

A statement from the Chief Minister's office said the project will take four years to be completed and will be built at a cost of Rs 13,095 crore.

Of the 29 kilometres, 2.2 kilometres will be underground and the rest will be elevated, it added.