New Delhi, Apr 19 (PTI) The Election Commission is learnt to have finalised its stand on whether the ban imposed by it on the biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi should continue.

Officials, drawn from the poll panel's model code and legal divisions, had on Wednesday watched the biopic on the directions of the Supreme Court.

On Thursday, the producers had put forth their views before the Commission.

New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) With Jet Airways suspending operations, as many as 440 slots are vacant at Delhi and Mumbai airports which will be allocated to other airlines in a transparent manner, a senior official said Thursday.

Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola also said Jet Airways is expected to provide information next week to the ministry about tickets booked by passengers and how it plans to refund them.

New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) Hardening its stand against Pakistan, India Thursday indefinitely suspended cross-LoC trade at two points along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir effective Friday, following reports that it was being "misused" by elements from across the border to smuggle weapons, narcotics and fake currency.

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has been nominated as BJP candidate for Bhopal LS seat. Thakur, on bail, is an accused by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for conspiracy and allegation that her bike was used to plant the explosives that killed six in Malegaon bomb blasts in 2008.

Bengaluru, Apr 17 (PTI) Employment opportunities declined and five million men lost their jobs between 2016 and 2018, according to a report released by the city-based Azim Premji University.

The decline in job opportunities coincided with demonetisation in November 2016, although no direct causal relationship can be established based only on these trends, the State of Working India-2019 (SWI) report said.

New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) Polling began Thursday morning for 95 Lok Sabha seats spread across 11 states and the union territory of Puducherry with Tamil Nadu witnessing contest in 38 constituencies.

Voting was also underway in 35 assembly constituencies in Odisha and in 18 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu.

Bhubaneswar, Apr 17 (PTI) The Election Commission Wednesday suspended an officer posted as general observer in Odisha for allegedly checking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's helicopter in Sambalpur in violation of norms.

Mohammed Mohsin, a 1996-batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer, has not acted in conformity with the EC's instructions concerning Special Protection Group (SPG) protectees, according to an order issued by the commission.

Phulbani (Odisha), Apr 17 (PTI) Maoists gunned down a woman polling officer in Kandhamal district of Odisha Wednesday when she was taking a team of poll personnel to a booth on the eve of second phase election, police said.

Sector Officer Sanjukta Digal was shot dead when she got down from the vehicle to check a suspicious object lying on the road while passing through a jungle, DGP B K Sharma told PTI.

Other polling personnel were in the vehicle and were unhurt.

Banda (UP), Apr 17 (PTI) Huge stock of explosives, including 200 detonators and 1200 gelatin rods, were recovered from two houses in the district and two persons arrested, police said Wednesday.

Additional Superintendent of Police Lal Bharat Kumar Pal said, "Based on a tip-off, police conducted raids at two houses in Barua Syogarh and Chandranagar villages".

"200 detonators, two quintal ammonium nitrate, 1200 gelatin rods, and exploder and other material used for explosion have been recovered," he said.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) A defamation complaint has been filed against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a Bulandshahr court over his remarks why all "thieves" share the "Modi" surname.

Citing Gandhi's statement, which was made at a public meeting and carried widely in the media, Jagdeep Kumar Modi, a resident of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, filed the complaint on Monday.

He said Gandhi's comment during a rally had dealt a blow to his and his family's reputation as many people made fun of him.

Mumbai, Apr 17 (PTI) Teetering for over four months due to cash-drought, Jet Airways, flying for over 25 years, Wednesday said its last flight will takeoff later this night, after its lenders refused to offer a Rs 400-crore lifeline.

"With immediate effect, we are compelled to cancel all our international and domestic flights. The last flight will operate today," Jet Airways informed the exchanges.

Srinagar, Apr 17 (PTI) National Conference leader Omar Abdullah Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the "self-anointed chowkidar" has failed on every front.

"Every vital sector of the country is narrating the grim tale of failure. The self-anointed chowkidar has failed on economic front (as) his much touted note ban wasn't able to yield the anticipated results. His undertaking on getting back the black money also turned out to be a damp squib," said the NC vice president.