TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s many woes briefly went up in smoke as Iranians observed a nearly 4,000-year-old Persian tradition known as the Festival of Fire.

The celebration is held on the last Tuesday night before Nowruz, or the Iranian New Year, which will be celebrated Thursday. The annual ritual dates back to at least 1700 B.C. and is linked to the Zoroastrian religion.

Jammu, Mar 19 (PTI) The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti Tuesday dismissed reports of an alliance with the Congress and said the party is preparing to contest all the six Lok Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir.

"We are preparing to contest all the six seats," Mehbooba told reporters late Tuesday night.

Dismissing media reports of parleys with the Congress party on an alliance, she said, "We had no talks with Congress (on alliance). It is mere speculation. If they want to have an alliance with the NC, that is there internal matter".

Kolkata, Mar 19 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday lashed out at the BJP for questioning her

religion and said neither she nor the people of the state need to learn the meaning of 'communal harmony' from the "divisive BJP".

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Robbers fled with an entire ATM machine which contained around Rs 30 lakh near the Nawada metro station in Dwarka, police said on Tuesday.

Police said the incident took place on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. The robbers covered the CCTV cameras with grease.

The manger of the Corporation Bank filed a complaint on Tuesday in which he said the bank operates from 9 am to 9 pm and after which, the security guard on duty pulls the shutters down on both- the bank and the ATM.

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has chosen, Stephen Dickson, a former Air Force pilot and executive for Delta Air Lines, to be the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the White House announced on Tuesday.

Trump is planning to nominate Dickson, who oversaw flight operations at Delta, to be the FAA administrator for a term of five years and to be the chairman of the Air Traffic Services Committee under the Department of Transportation.

Bengaluru,Mar 19 (PTI) The ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka Tuesday said they would jointly campaign for the Lok Sabha polls and vowed to reduce the BJP to a "single digit" in the state.

Leaders of both parties said they would resolve all the issues and fight the polls unitedly, amid tension between them at the local level.

Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) Five bags with Rs 1.5 crore in cash was Tuesday seized by district election officials in Maharashtra's Beed, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of election officials from the district collector's office intercepted a luxury car in the afternoon at Pandharwadi Phata, over 375 kilometres from here, and made the seizure, an official said.

"The Rs 1.5 crore cash was packed in five bags. Income Tax officials have been alerted. Counting of cash is currently underway in Amalner police station. The man in the car has been detained," he added.

GENEVA, March 19 (Xinhua) -- A International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) official Tuesday described damage caused for 1.7 million people in the path of Tropical Cyclone Idai as the worst humanitarian crisis in Mozambique's history.

IFRC spokesperson Matthew Cochrane said at a UN press briefing here that rescuers are scrambling to pull people trapped on rooftops and in trees to safety in the port city of Beira with a population of more than half a million.

KANPUR: Indignation over hockey Astroturf on Green Park field appears to have resolved after thorough discussion among former players and the Regional Sports Officer here on Tuesday. They have followed sportsman’s spirit in finding out a satisfactory way. 

A delegation comprising of R Dixit, secretary, Kanpur Olympic Association, A Singh, secretary, District Football Association and other former players met the Regional Sports Officer Ajay Kumar Sethi on Tuesday.

New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Metro services will not be available till 2.30 pm on Thursday due to Holi, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said on Tuesday.

In addition, Metro feeder bus services will also not be available till 2pm and will run as per schedule thereafter, it said.

On the day of the 'Holi' festival (March 21), Metro services will start from 2.30 pm on all lines of Delhi Metro including Airport Express Line, the DMRC statement said.

NANNING, March 19 (Xinhua) -- China and Vietnam officially opened a new cross-border bridge on Tuesday linking the city of Dongxing in China and the city of Mong Cai in Vietnam.

The 27.7-meter-wide Beilun II bridge has four main lanes and two auxiliary ones. Its opening means that the busy port of Dongxing will have two bridges, and improved capacity to serve booming border trade between China and Vietnam.

New Delhi, Mar 19 :  The Election Commission Tuesday issued a notification kick starting the poll process in 97 constituencies spread across 13 states where phase two of the Lok Sabha elections will be held on April 18.

The process of nomination began with the issuance of this notification and will continue till March 26.

Scrutiny of the nomination papers will be held on March 27 and the last day of withdrawing nomination is March 29.

By the evening of March 29, a clear picture on the number of candidates in each of the 97 constituencies will emerge.