Mumbai, May 15; GANASHAKTI: Veteran filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt on Wednesday condemned the desecration of the statue of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar during a road show violence in Kolkata, saying the attack on the social reformer is akin to an attack on the Bengali language.

Clashes broke out between BJP supporters and student activists and those of the Left and Trinamool Congress Chatra Parishad (TMCP) during BJP President Amit Shah's road show on Tuesday.

ISLAMABAD, May 16 (APP): As many as 572 Pakistani prisoners in various jails of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to be released during Ramazan under amnesty announced by the UAE president.

The Pakistanis were among the 3,005 prisoners who were pardoned by UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan as an act of kindness during the blessed month of Ramazan, Foreign Office Spokesman Muhammad Faisal said at a weekly press briefing here at the Foreign Office (FO).

Kanpur: As many as 225 tanneries in Jajmau are now going to face the pang of disconnection of the power supply in the midst of order received from the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board Headquarters. 

On inspection of the tanneries a number of complaints were received regarding running of the tanneries. This prompted the UPPCB for initiating swift action. 

Srinagar, May 16 (PTI) National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Thursday said BJP's attempt to "polarise" the electorate in West Bengal will come to nothing as the Trinamool Congress will sweep the Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Panaji, May 16 (PTI) After the elections for Goa's two Lok Sabha seats, the BJP and the Congress are preparing for a face-off in the bypoll for Panaji Assembly constituency, which was held by former chief minister Manohar Parrikar.

The bypoll was necessitated after Parrikar's death in March.

Refusing ticket to the late chief minister's son, Utpal, the BJP has fielded former MLA Siddharth Kunkolienkar.

Bengaluru, May 15 (PTI) India's second Moon mission that is planned for a July launch will have 13 payloads and one passive experiment from American space agency NASA, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Wednesday.

"Thirteen Indian payloads (8 on orbiter, 3 on lander and 2 on rover) and one passive experiment from NASA," ISRO said in a mission update, but did not specify them or their objective.

The spacecraft with a mass of 3.8 tonnes has three modules--Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan).

16 May 2019; AFP: China warned the United States on Thursday against further harming trade ties after President Donald Trump effectively barred Chinese telecom giant Huawei from the US market, escalating tensions between the world's top economic powerhouses.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is siding with public health groups suing the Food and Drug Administration to begin reviewing thousands of e-cigarettes on the U.S. market.

The ruling handed down Wednesday in district court states that the agency shirked its legal duty when it postponed reviewing all U.S. vaping products by several years.

New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) The Congress on Wednesday condemned the attack on its Rae Bareli legislator Aditi Singh, blaming it on what it called the "hired goons" of BJP in Uttar Pradesh.

It sought a judicial probe to nail the criminal conspiracy behind the incident.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the incident shows the true Modi-Shah model of governance in force in UP.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s Republican governor signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation Wednesday, making performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases.

“To the bill’s many supporters, this legislation stands as a powerful testament to Alabamians’ deeply held belief that every life is precious and that every life is a sacred gift from God,” Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.

New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) Justice (retired) Madan B Lokur has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji as a judge of its non-resident panel, according to sources.

Justice Lokur, who demitted office as a Supreme Court justice on December 31 2018, has been appointed in the new role for a period of three years.

The sources close to the former judge said that he received the offer from the Chief Justice of the Fiji Supreme Court on the day of his superannuation. The judge will join in his new role on August 15 this year, they said.

16 May 2019; DW: Populism, Russian election-meddling, Chinese economic power: the list of challenges facing the EU is long, says the German chancellor. In a wide-ranging interview, she set out what Europe needs to do to survive.

The European Union urgently and "without a doubt, needs to reposition itself in a changing world," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview with daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.