Leaders, including the President and Vice President, react to the bhoomi pujan of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

VHP national working president Alok Kumar also rejected questions about the muhurta of the event, saying the 'best advice' has been taken including from the Head of the Jyotish Department of the Banaras Hindu University on timing of the ceremony.

Ayodhya is decked up for the bhoomi pujan that will be attended at the Ram Janmabhoomi by 175 people, who figure in a select guest list of seers and politicians topped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

If the PM gives the historic opportunity of laying the foundation stone of the Ram temple to a Dalit girl, it will send a transformational message to the Dalits in India and will give them a sense of belongingness, says Dr Sudhir Bisht.

'As a person who has seen the treasure, I am worried about its safety.'

'The logical step is to challenge the very legitimacy of the Chinese claim over Tibet,' recommends Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd).

India is the fifth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic after the United States, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom, according to the Johns Hopkins University data.

A 58-year-old man died after a power transformer fell on him in Raigad district. 2 people died and 3 were injured in two separate cyclone-related incidents in Pune.

Mitron probably would have continued with the free run for quite some time, had it not come to light that the source code of the app was actually developed by a Pakistani developer, reports Neha Alawadhi.

The lockdown, which was first clamped on March 25 and spanned for 21 days, had registered 10,877 cases, while the second phase of the curbs that began on April 15 and stretched for 19 days till May 3, saw 31,094 cases.

Aseem Chhabra imagines a time, 20 years from now, when movie-watching in theatres will be long gone, thanks to the coronavirus, and pens a letter to his grandchild, explaining the magic of the cinema hall.

Bollywood is doing all sorts of things to keep busy during the lockdown.

About 3,500 jurists, academics, actors, artistes, writers and people from other walks of life called the registration of the FIR against The Wire's founding editor an attack on press freedom.

The Union health ministry officials also said India was at the second stage as there is still no 'hard evidence' to say that there has been community transmission of the fast-spreading coronavirus, remarks which may provide anxious citizens with much needed assurance and hope.

Some of them are taking up new hobbies too.

As the Indian Army reported its first case of the infection with a 34-year-old soldier testing positive in Leh, the Army said it has taken a series of precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus among the forces such as checking flu symptoms among soldiers on their return from leave and cancelling non-essential travel, conferences and recruitment drives.

The Union Health ministry put the number of positive cases at 82, eight more since Thursday night, which includes the woman and a 76-year-old man from Karnataka who became the country's first coronavirus fatality besides 17 foreign nationals, Health Ministry officials said.

All international passengers will henceforth be screened at airports, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said at a press conference. Earlier, travellers from only 12 countries were screened at airports for the disease that has claimed over 3,000 lives and infected more than 90,000 worldwide.

More than 86,000 people worldwide have been infected with the novel coronavirus and the global death toll is nearing 3,000. To try to prevent the spread of the virus, local governments have been closing tourist attractions that normally draw large crowds. World-famous destinations such as the Great Wall of China and the Venetian canals resemble ghost towns. As new coronavirus cases are confirmed daily, more closures and cancellations are expected. For the most up-to-date information on the status of an attraction or event, check the institution's or event's main web page.

Japan's next restroom revolution? Phasing out squat toilets for Tokyo 2020

'If men consuming food prepared by women having periods will reborn as bullocks'

Munna Master, who has been singing bhajans for 30 years, earnestly believes the Padma Shri is a result of his devotion to gau mata.

The incident prompted National Commission for Women to set up an inquiry committee which will meet the students who were forced to strip. A girl alleged that the principal of the institute blackmailed and forced them to withdraw the complaint.

If Kejriwal wins the Delhi election, then most regional parties will copy Kejriwal's do's and don'ts of jugaad to win an election against the Modi-Shah juggernaut, reports Sheela Bhatt.

Addressing a rally in Rithala in northwest Delhi, Shah said Kejriwal and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were against the construction of Ram temple, the scrapping of provisions of Article 370 and were not bothered about the country's image and soldiers.

Here's the full text of President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the nation on the eve of 71st Republic Day.

Stressing that both the government and the opposition have 'important roles to play', the President said, "While giving expression to their political ideas both must move forward in tandem to ensure that development of the country and welfare of its people are promoted consistently."

Out on bail, the Bhim Army chief said 'it will be shameful if I don't call him out for saying that those indulging in violence can be identified by their clothes itself'.

'Those leading the current political dispensation, whether at the central or the state level, must recognise the enormous risks that their divisive policies are creating for the national security and wellbeing of the country,' cautions former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.

The Bharatiya Janata Party chief also said that Ram temple will be built in Ayodhya in four months.

Besides criticising CM Arvind Kejriwal on scores of issues, Shah alleged the AAP government made only promises throughout its tenure and now in the last three months, public money was being spent on advertisements for its announcements.

We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.

'The world is reeling under violence, often in the name of religion. This must not happen and humanistic values must be promoted'

Nikhat from Telengana was handed the fourth spot in the 51 kg category which already has the six-time World Champion MC Mary Kom, RSPB's Jyoti Gulia and Haryana's Ritu Grewal as other contenders.

'Despite many advising me otherwise saying "nothing will come of it", I refused to be cynical and dialled the number that had been staring at me from billboards aross the state,' reports Keya Sarkar.

The home ministry can notify Google of the Voice of Punjab app's hateful content and have the app taken down from the app store. The glorification of Beant Singh's assassination alone is enough to have the app taken down.

In the Majnu Ka Tila area in New Delhi, Children carrying tricolour burst crackers and shouted 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'.

The Ayodhya judgment of November 9 draws on both the polytheism of Hinduism and the modern rule of law, says Deepak Lal.

When a university allows a small group of students to prevent classes being held; when the professor selected to hold those classes gives up and goes back to his hometown; what conclusion can be drawn, asks Jyoti Punwani.

The manifesto also commits Labour to constitute a judge-led inquiry into Britain's "injustices of the past", including a public review of the country's role in Operation Blue Star -- referred to as the "Amritsar massacre".