Analysts now believe that if the DMK had projected him the chief ministerial face instead of his 91-year-old father the whole hog, probably the election verdict could have been different

This is for the first time since MGR's death in 1987 that a party will return to power for a second straight term in Tamil Nadu

She is likely to be sworn in as chief minister for a second consecutive term on May 23

AIADMK Supremo hands over a list of 29 legislators who will be appointed as the ministers

Officials said a better indicator of productive and general expenditure will be replacing the plan and non-plan distiction that has lost relevance post Planning Commission abolition

The government had in September scrapped the 92-year old practice of presenting a separate railway budget

From the next financial year, the railways will not have to pay any dividend, which will save the carrier approximately Rs 10,000 cr

They have decided that by 2019 all its accounting will move to accrual system

The ministry plans to achieve this target by doubling the current pace of electrification

But rail officials expect to achieve at least last year's actual, which is close to Rs 1 lakh crore

26% bridges are over 100-year old, 5% crossed 140 years

The investors are looking for a safety fund for Railways

Government will continue to use the ETF route for disinvestment of PSUs

Railway authorities termed listing of these companies as a 'shocker'

Prabhu spoke about priority being given to safety and need for more funds for railways to move ahead

Biocon gained 1.82% to Rs 356 after the company said it received establishment inspection report (EIR) for small molecules API manufacturing facility in Bengaluru.

Key benchmarks extended gains in mid-morning trade. The Nifty was trading above the 9300 mark. At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 494.49 points or 1.57% at 31,937.87. The Nifty 50 index rose 137.15 points or 1.49% at 9,336.20.

The benchmark indices pared gains in early afternoon trade as profit booking emerged at higher levels. The Nifty held above the 9300 mark. At 12:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 397.91 points or 1.27% at 31,841.29. The Nifty 50 index rose 106.05 points or 1.15% at 9,305.10.

IndusInd Bank Ltd is quoting at Rs 461.45, up 1.56% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is down 68.75% in last one year as compared to a 17.57% slide in NIFTY and a 31.78% slide in the Nifty Bank index.

HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd is quoting at Rs 519.65, up 5.08% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 26.88% in last one year as compared to a 17.57% slide in NIFTY and a 20.42% slide in the Nifty Financial Services index.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.22% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index down 0.1%.

Adani Gas rose 3.55% to Rs 107.85 after standalone net profit surged 61% to Rs 122 crore on 1% fall in revenue from operations to Rs 490 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019.

As per provisional closing, the barometer S&P BSE Sensex gained 199.32 points or 0.63% at 31,642.70. The Nifty 50 index gained 51.55 points or 0.56% at 9,250.60.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) jumped 4.81% to end at Rs 2088.35 after a foreign brokerage reportedly maintained an 'outperform' rating on the stock with a target of Rs 2,400 per share.

As fears of the novel coronavirus spread through the U.S., the high-contact tradition of presidential campaigning came to a halt. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib explains what Americans may see as campaigning resumes. Photo: Shutterstock/Zuma Press

RBI issues revised Calendar for issuance of Marketable Dated Securities for the remaining period of H1 (11 May - 30 September 2020)

On 08 May 2020

Venezuela's chief prosecutor ordered the arrest Friday of a former Green Beret and two opposition figures living in the United States for their purported role in a botched operation aimed at removing Nicols Maduro from power. Tarek William Saab said Venezuela will seek the capture of Jordan Goudreau, a military veteran who has claimed responsibility for the attack, as well as Juan Jos Rendn and Sergio Vergara, two U.S.-based advisers to opposition leader Juan Guaid. They are living in impunity, Saab said. In tranquility over there. US law enforcement is investigating Goudreau, though it remains unclear if he will charged. President Donald Trump does not recognize Maduro's government, making it highly unlikely that his administration would accept any extradition request. The Trump administration has denied all responsibility in the armed raid, which resulted in the arrests of two Americans, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, who were purportedly hired by Goudreau's private firm to ...

Salons, barbershops, nail salons and tanning facilities in the US state of Texas were allowed to open their doors on Friday for the first time in well over a month, giving a relief to several people who gave up their sleep to squeeze in a much-needed haircut and other services. Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced beauty salons, barbers, nail salons and tanning salons can open Friday, May 8, as long as they practice social distancing guidelines. Each stylist, nail tech and tanning salon employee can only have one customer at a time. Waiting customers should stay outside unless they can stay six feet apart. Abbott said customers and clients should wear masks Abbott also added an important clarification regarding phase one of reopening the state. He said weddings, funerals, memorials and burials should follow the same guidelines as churches by keeping people six feet apart and leaving every other row empty. Remote options should continue to be offered for high-risk groups. Abbott ...

Nepal police on Friday arrested 45 Chinese nationals stranded in the country because of coronavirus restrictions after a protest turned violent, authorities said. Holding placards such as "I want to go home!" they attempted to push towards a prohibited zone near the prime minister's office in Kathmandu. Some police as well as demonstrators were injured after police used batons to stop them and the protesters threw stones. "They may face charges of protesting in the restricted zone and violating the lockdown under existing laws," police spokeswoman Kiran Bajracharya told AFP. Nepal suspended international flights on March 22 as part of precautionary measures against the spread of the coronavirus, and remain so until at least May 31. While several countries, including the US, the UK, Australia and France have chartered evacuation flights for their citizens in Nepal, no official flights have been made to rescue stranded Chinese nationals.

Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee and former US vice president Joe Biden alleged on Friday that President Donald Trump utterly failed to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic and said his entire economic strategy is focussed on helping the wealthy and big corporations. Referring to the record 2.05 crore jobs lost in April alone, resulting in an unprecedented unemployment rate of 14.7 per cent now -- the highest since the Great Depression -- Biden, in a major policy speech, said it is an economic disaster, worse than any in decades, and it was made all the more worse because it did not have to be this way. "Donald Trump utterly failed to prepare for this pandemic and delayed in taking the necessary steps to safeguard our nation against the near-worst-case economic scenario we are now living in," he said in his remarks on "Trump's Disastrous Economy". COVID-19 caused a massive economic challenge, but the crisis hit the US harder and will last longer because Trump spent the

Barcelona returned to training after the La Liga champions allowed their stars to enter their facility to prepare for a potential restart to football in Spain. Lionel Messi and company took the fields at Joan Gamper training centre for individual sessions, for which the players arrived alone in kit and took to the three pitches without passing through the changing rooms. As well as doing their routines, they were also subjected to tests to see what effect two months of coronavirus quarantine has had on their bodies. "Finally we are getting back to normal. We hope to carry on and that soon we can get back to enjoying what we like to do most," Arturo Vidal told sports daily Marca. Sevilla, Villarreal, Osasuna and Leganes also returned to training, while Real Madrid -- who were two points behind league leaders Barca when play stopped in mid-March -- will likely start again on Monday should their players pass virus tests carried out on Wednesday. That would mark almost two months since ...

World Cup winning-Australia captain Meg Lanning has used the extra time in hand amid the COIVD-19 pandemic to provide a virtual batting class to Ireland women's cricket squad. Lanning was joined by former Ireland skipper Isobel Joyce in the initiative that took place this week to help the players keep their skills sharp during the forced break from cricket. The duo touched upon a number of topics, including the mental preparation going into a big game, shot selection and an analysis of the Australian captain's T20I century against England last year. The session was chaired by Irish women's team head coach Ed Joyce and also featured Australia boss Matthew Mott. "Any time you can pick the brains of experienced cricketers such as Meg and Isobel is valuable, and I know that our entire squad enjoyed this unique opportunity," Ireland skipper Laura Delany said. "People often underestimate the mental aspect of the game, and both players spoke about the importance of mental preparation before .

President Donald Trump says he's in no rush to negotiate another financial rescue bill, even as the government reported that more than 20 million Americans lost their jobs last month due to economic upheaval caused by the coronavirus. The president's low-key approach came Friday as the Labor Department reported the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression and as Democrats prepared to unveil what Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer calls a Rooseveltian-style aid package to shore up the economy and address the health crisis. Some congressional conservatives, meanwhile, who set aside long-held opposition to deficits to pass more than USD 2 trillion in relief so far, have expressed reservations about another massive spending package. We've kind of paused as far as formal negotiations go, Larry Kudlow, the director of the National Economic Council told reporters Friday. He said the administration wanted to let the last round of recovery funding kick in before committing to ..

An Indian teenager here has recorded songs in over 20 languages, including Arabic, to spread awareness on the COVID-19, saying music has always been her choice for effective communication, according to a media report on Saturday. Suchetha Satish's songs advise the people to keep distance, maintain cleanliness and practice hand washing regularly, the Khaleej Times reported on Saturday. Satish, who hails from Kerala, released her first coronavirus awareness song on March 16 in English, titled 'Say No To Panic', the daily reported. Since then, 14-year-old Satish, who holds the world record for singing in most number of languages in a concert, has recorded the awareness songs in Malayalam, Bengali, Arabic, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Marathi, Gujrati, Rajasthani, Sindhi, Himachali, Odiya, Manipuri, Nepali, Urdu, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Telugu, Kashmiri and Sanskrit. Her songs in Malayalam, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Assamese were used by the Kerala government in its 'Break the Chain' campaign, the .

Diego Maradona has lent a hand in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in his hometown by autographing an Argentina national team jersey for a raffle. The sale raised money for an underprivileged area on the outskirts of Buenos Aires affected by quarantine rules. "We're going to get through it," Maradona wrote on the jersey, a replica of the one he wore when he led his country to victory in the 1986 World Cup. The jersey was first offered at auction, but is being raffled to those who have given donations in an initiative that has collected hygiene products, masks and around 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of food for charity. "Diego can't even imagine what he has done for us, it's priceless. I'll be grateful to him until the day I die," said local resident Marta Gutierrez. In addition to the pandemic, Argentina is facing a serious economic crisis and is in laborious negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors.

A two-week course of an antiviral therapy, started within seven days of experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, may improve clinical recovery of patients and reduce their hospital stay duration, according to the first randomised trial of this triple drug combination. The study, published in the journal The Lancet, involved 127 adults from six public hospitals in Hong Kong, and tested the effectiveness of an antiviral drug combination in reducing the load of the novel coronavirus in their bodies. According to the researchers, including those from the University of Hong Kong, treatment involving combination of the drugs interferon beta-1b, plus the antiviral therapy lopinavir-ritonavir and ribavirin, is better at reducing the viral load than lopinavir-ritonavir alone. They stressed on the need for larger phase 3 trials to examine the effectiveness of this triple combination in critically ill patients, adding that these early findings were only observed in patients with mild to moderate ...

The UK is planning to bring in compulsory 14-day quarantine for all travellers arriving in the country from any part of the world, except the Republic of Ireland, as part of measures to track the spread of coronavirus, according to UK media reports. The new restriction, which means travellers including Britons arriving in the UK would have to self-isolate at a private residence and fined up to 1,000 pounds or deported for flouting the rules, is expected to take effect at the end of this month. According to The Times', the quarantine will form part of the announcements when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson makes a televised address to the nation on Sunday in relation to the COVID-19 lockdown. He has vowed to move with maximum caution as he reopens the economy by lifting some of the social distancing measures and stay-at-home orders next week, enabling people to exercise more than once a day and visit garden centres. These measures will help protect the British public and reduce the

The first Air India flight from the UK, scheduled as part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indians stranded overseas due to the coronavirus lockdown, took off from London's Heathrow Airport on Saturday and will land in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday. Around 250 Indian students and tourists were seen queuing with their luggage at the airport from early on Saturday as they prepared for the journey home. Each one of them underwent temperature tests before boarding and could face 14 days of quarantine at a hotel or other location designated by the Maharashtra government on landing, with those details to be made available on arrival in Mumbai. "Finally going back to India! Although it was at the last moment but I was lucky enough to get the ticket of the first flight to India under Vande Bharat Mission," said a relieved Indian student, who was part of a group of seafarers who came to the UK for an examination. "We got continuous updates from NISAU (National Indian Students ...

A shootout erupted on Saturday at a protest in western Afghanistan by residents demanding economic assistance, leading to the deaths of at least six people, including a local reporter and two police officers, officials said. Interior Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian said the protesters had gathered outside the governor's office in Feroz Koh, the capital of the western Ghor province. They were demanding relief after weeks of restrictions aimed at containing the coronavirus pandemic. He said some people at the protest opened fire at police, igniting a gun battle that killed the six people and wounded another 19, including nine police. The ministry has launched an investigation and plans to send a delegation to the province. Afghanistan was already mired in poverty before the onset of the pandemic, which has infected nearly 3,800 people in the country and killed at least 109. Many Afghans rely on day labour, which has dried up because of the closure of nonessential businesses.

Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery's life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man, a struggle with punches thrown, three shots fired and Arbery collapsing dead. The February 23 shooting in coastal Georgia is drawing comparisons to a much darker period of US history when extrajudicial killings of black people, almost exclusively at the hands of white male vigilantes, inflicted racial terror on African Americans. It frequently happened with law enforcement complicity or feigned ignorance. The footage of Arbery's death was not the only thing that rattled the nation's conscience. It took more than two months for his pursuers who told police they suspected he was a burglar to be arrested and taken into custody. That is fuelling calls for the resignation of local authorities who initially investigated the case and reforms of Georgia's criminal justice system. The modern-day lynching of Mr. Arbery is yet another ...

Nepal on Saturday raised objection over India inaugurating a strategically crucial link road connecting the Lipulekh pass at a height of 17,000 feet along the border with China in Uttarakhand with Dharchula, saying this "unilateral act" runs against the understanding reached between the two countries on resolving the border issues. Nepal's Foreign Affairs Ministry in a statement said the government "has learnt with regret" about the inauguration of the link road connecting to Lipulekh pass, which Nepal claims to be part of its territory. The 80-Km new road inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday is expected to help pilgrims visiting Kailash-Mansarovar in Tibet in China as it is around 90 kms from the Lipulekh pass. After inaugurating the road through video-conferencing, Singh said pilgrims going to Kailash-Mansarovar will now be able to complete their journey in one week instead of up to three weeks. The road originates at Ghatiabagarh and ends at Lipulekh pass, the ...

The first Air India flight from the UK, as part of the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indians stranded overseas due to the coronavirus lockdown, took off from London's Heathrow Airport on Saturday with 326 passengers to Mumbai. The packed flight took off with Indian students and tourists, who were seen queuing with their luggage at the airport from early on Saturday as they prepared for the journey home. Each one of them underwent temperature tests before boarding and face 14 days of quarantine at a hotel or other location designated by the Maharashtra government on landing, with those details to be made available on arrival in Mumbai in the early hours of Sunday. While there is no social distancing possible on the packed flight, Air India is providing a kit for all passengers confirmed to fly, with meals, snacks, sanitizer, mask and gloves. Finally going back to India! Although it was at the last moment but I was lucky enough to get the ticket of the first flight to India under ..

Two flights carrying a total of 335 people from the Gulf countries landed in Kerala's two airports on Friday night, as India's Vande Bharat Mission to bring home its nationals stranded due to COVID-19 lockdown in various countries entered second day. While an Air India repatriation flight from Riyadh carrying 153 passengers, including 84 pregnant women, 22 children and four infants landed at the Kozhikode airport 8 pm on Friday night, another Air India Express flight from Bahrain with 177 passengers, including 5 infants, reached Kochi airport at 11.32 pm. Two flights had landed at Kochi and Kozhikode on Thursday from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively. According to Kozhikode airport sources, the flight from Riyadh carried five people having some health issues and they would be shifted to Manjeri and Kozhikode medical college hospitals. Ten passengers from neighbouring states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also travelled in the flight from Riyadh, the sources said. The passengers were ...

A case has been registered against office-bearers of Bandra Gymkhana in the city for violation of lockdown after a video purportedly showed members celebrating its completion of 85 years despite the lockdown restrictions. A lawyer filed a complaint saying that a video on social media showed Gymkhana members singing and dancing during the celebration of completion of 85 years of the club, a police officer said. A case under IPC sections 188 (defying public servant's order) and 269 (act which may spread infection) was registered against office-bearers and some members, he said, adding that probe was on.

Indian Navy Ship Jalashwa has set sail from Male to Kochi in Kerala with 698 Indians nationals who were stranded in Maldives amid the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, senior Navy officials said. This repatriation is part of the Vande Bharat Mission that began on Thursday to bring stranded Indians home from various countries like the UK, the UAE, the US, Maldives, Bahrain and Singapore. "Total 595 males and 103 females have boarded INS Jalashwa. 19 women are pregnant. The ship has departed from Male," the Navy officials added. When the ship arrived at the port of Male, the Defence Attache visited it to discuss and coordinate procedures for embarkation, they said. "Baggage disinfection stations, medical screening and reception desks at the jetty were set up to ensure safe embarkation while following social distancing norms," the officials said. Priority was accorded to pregnant women and children to embark the ship first and bunk allocation was also undertaken by the ship's crew catering

With Gujarat reporting a large number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities, medical experts from AIIMS, including its Director Dr Randeep Guleria, have rushed to Ahmedabad to provide expert guidance to doctors there on COVID-19 management. Following directions from the Centre, Dr Guleria, who is a pulmonologist, and Dr Manish Soneja from the AIIMS department of medicine left for Ahmedabad on special Indian Air Force flight on Friday evening, official sources said. With 390 more people testing positive for COVID-19 and 24 fatalities, the total number of cases in Gujarat climbed to 7,403 and the death toll reached 449 on Friday. Of the total coronavirus cases in the state, 5,260 have been reported from Ahmedabad district alone. "They will visit the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and SVP hospital on Saturday to provide expert guidance and advice to the doctors on treatment for coronavirus-infected patients there," a source said.

Right to peaceful protest and open criticism of government policies does not extend to disturbing public order, a Delhi court said on Friday, dismissing the bail plea of Shahrukh Pathan, who allegedly pointed a gun at a head constable during the northeast Delhi riots. Taking note of the viral video footage of the incident, Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra refused to grant relief to Pathan. "The right to protest is a fundamental right in a democracy but this right of peaceful protest and open criticism of government policies does not extend to disturbing the public order... Keeping in view the totality of facts and circumstances of the case at this stage, I am not inclined to grant bail to the accused. Bail application accordingly stands dismissed," the judge said in the order. During the hearing held through video conferencing, Special Public Prosecutor, appearing for the police, opposed the bail application saying Pathan was leading the mob and the whole country saw ..

India played out a 2-2 draw against Europe in Online Nations Cup chess tournament in the eight round, a setback after their first win in the event notched up against the Rest of the World. Vidith Gujrathi ended his barren spell with a win over Levon Aronian of Europe with white pieces while Jan-Krystozf Duda beat P Harikrishna to level the scores in the match on Friday. Former world champion Viswanathan Anand and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played out a 60-move draw while the game between world rapid champion Koneru Humpy and Anna Muzychuk too ended in a stalemate to end the match on 2-2 draw. Earlier in the seventh round match, Anand and Harikrishna won their respective matches to help India beat Rest of the World and post their first win in the tournament. Anand beat Teimour Radjabov in 37 moves to help India win 2.5-1.5 score. The Indian had posted his maiden win in the tournament on Thursday by thrashing Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi in just 17 moves. Harikrishna posted his first win ...

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the West Bengal government is not allowing trains with migrant workers to reach the state that may further create hardship for the labourers. In a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shah said not allowing trains to reach West Bengal is "injustice" to the migrant workers from the state. Referring to the 'Shramik Special' trains being run by the central government to facilitate transport of migrant workers from different parts of the country to various destinations, the home minister said in the letter that the Centre has facilitated more than two lakh migrants workers to reach home. Shah said migrant workers from West Bengal are also eager to reach home and the central government is also facilitating the train services. "But we are not getting expected support from the West Bengal. The state government of West Bengal is not allowing the trains reaching to West Bengal. This is injustice with West Bengal migrant labourers. This ...