Setting all speculations at rest, an MLA of Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), after coming out of a core committee meeting of the party in Patna on Wednesday, said the party had decided to support National Democratic Alliance's presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind.

Retired Calcutta High Court judge C.S. Karnan, who was arrested in Coimbatore on Tuesday night, was brought to Kolkata on Wednesday afternoon.The former judge was calm and he waved to the crowd and the press at the airport as the police escorted him out of the premises.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman was little known outside the palace till 2015 January when his father Salman bin Abdulaziz assumed the throne of Saudi Arabia after the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.Prince Mohammed bin Salman was little known outside the palace till 2015 January when his father Salman bin Abdulaziz assumed the throne of Saudi Arabia after the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

With no breakthrough in sight in the Darjeeling impasse, the situation in the hills remained on tenterhooks on Wednesday as the indefinite shutdown entered the seventh day. There was a near total shutdown in the hills and only essential services like medical shops and hospitals remained open.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said Yoga, akin to its capacity to unite the body, mind and soul, has played a “big role” in binding the world, cutting across linguistic and cultural barriers.Addressing a huge gathering at the Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan on the occasion of the third International Yoga Day celebrations in Lucknow, he asserted that the traditional practice has now become part of every person’s life.

The Karnataka government has decided to waive the crop loans borrowed by farmers from cooperative banks. This will benefit about 22,27,500 farmers. Announcing this in the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said crop loans up to ₹ 50,000 would be waived. Loans outstanding as on June 20 would also be waived. This measure would cost the State exchequer ₹ 8,165 crore.

Additional flights will be flown from June 22 to bring Indian nationals in Qatar back to India, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Wednesday. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj spoke to Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju on June 19 to operate additional flights, primarily to cater to the Kerala sector as a large number of Indian nationals in the Gulf country hail from the State.

Islamic militants occupied a primary school in a southern Philippine village on Wednesday and took hostages, the military said."As of now they are in the school holding the civilians. They are using them as human shields," Captain Arvin Encinas, spokesman for the army division with the responsibility for the area, told AFP over the phone.

The Union government on Tuesday issued a notification allowing banks and post offices still holding demonetised currency notes to deposit them with the Reserve Bank of India within 30 days, along with a reason for why they were not deposited with the central bank within the specified period.

Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick has resigned under mounting pressure from investors over his leadership. The departure of Kalanick, who is also the co-founder of one of the most influential technology companies of its generation, caps a tumultuous period of the world's largest ride-services company, which upended the taxi industry and transportation regulations globally with Mr Kalanick at the helm.