LIVE news updates: Lanka cops arrest principal, teacher for links to extremist group blamed for Easter attack 

Sri Lankan Police said on Friday they have arrested a school principal and a teacher for their alleged links to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaath (NTJ) blamed by the government for the deadly Easter Sunday bombings which killed nearly 260 people.

The 56-year-old principal and the 47-year-old teacher at a school in Ataweerawewa were arrested from Horowpathana city on Thursday, police said.

A JNU student allegedly committed suicide Friday by hanging himself from a ceiling fan in a study room of the university, police said.

They said they were informed about the incident around 11.30 am.

The MA 2nd year student of the prestigious university was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead, a senior police officer said.

Police and crime team are at the spot and further details are awaited.

Criticising the BJP government in Gujarat over the recent incidents of wedding processions of Dalits being stopped by some sections of the society, Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad on Friday issued a warning saying such atrocities will no longer be tolerated.

Talking to reporters here, Azad said 'jungle raj' is prevailing in Gujarat as members of the Scheduled Caste (SC) community are deprived of their fundamental rights given by the Constitution.

Seven people were killed after their car rammed into a truck here, police said on Friday. The accident took place Thursday night at Bairona village under Khukhundu police station, they said.

The deceased have been identified as Ache Lal (52) of Siwan district in Bihar, Santosh Singh (32) of Gorakhpur, and Rakesh Yadav (22), Shashank Mani (30), Chandresh Singh (60), Anil Srivastava (50) and Om Prakash Yadav (45) of Deoria, Station House Officer, Khukhundu, Shyamlal Yadav, said.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, he added.

Special NIA court in Mumbai directs all accused of Malegaon 2008 blast case to remain present before the court at least once a week. Accused include Pragya Thakur, Lt Col Prasad Purohit and others.Court expressed displeasure over their absence in courtroom. Next hearing on May 20

Normal life was affected in Kashmir on Friday due to a strike called by separatists to protest the killing of a civilian following an encounter between militants and security forces in Pulwama district.

Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut in Srinagar -- the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

Public transport was off the roads, but a few private cars, cabs and auto-rickshaws were seen plying in some areas of the city, they said.

The authorities ordered closure of schools and colleges in Srinagar as a precautionary measure in view of the strike, the officials said.

The Supreme Court on Friday vacated its order granting protection from arrest to former Kolkata police commissioner Rajeev Kumar in the Saradha chit fund scam case.

The apex court said its February 5 order granting interim protection to Kumar will continue for seven days from today to enable him to approach the competent court for legal remedy.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi asked the CBI to act in accordance with law in the case.

Amid strong objections from the Goa Forward Party (GFP), the Goa University has withdrawn its advertisements issued for recruitment of teachers, in which it had dropped the 15-year domicile clause.

The GFP, a constituent of the BJP-led government in the state, had expressed its opposition to the advertisements, saying the exclusion of the domicile clause would lead to non-Goans applying for all the 80-odd vacancies.

In Yemen, at least six people including women and children have been killed and dozens of others wounded in Saudi-led coalition air strike on the rebel-held area in the capital city, Sana.

A revenue official was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹20,000, police said on Friday.

Lekhpal Sunil Kumar was arrested Thursday after he was caught accepting the bribe from an IAF personnel for measurement of a disputed land, they said.

The IAF personnel had complained to police that Kumar was demanding a bribe of Rs 20,000 for measurement of his land which was in unauthorised possession of some people, an officer of Uttar Pradesh Police's anti-corruption unit said.

Naxals have called for a 'bandh' in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on May 19 to protest the killings of two fellow women in an encounter last month, police said.

Naxals had put up banners in some villages in Etapalli tehsil of Gadchiroli on Wednesday night, in which they gave the 'bandh' call, an official from Gadchiroli superintendent of police (SP) office said Thursday.

In the banners, the Naxals alleged that the killings of the women cadres- Ramco alias Kamla Narote and Shilpa Durva- by the securtiy forces on April 27 was an infringement of their constitutional rights.

Intelligence input warns against terrorists’ plans to carry out an attack on Srinagar and Awantipora air bases. Security forces on high alert in and around these bases, said government sources

The rupee declined by 29 paise to 70.32 against the US dollar in opening trade Friday as crude oil prices firmed up and US-China trade related concerns weighed on investor community.

Forex traders said, besides the US-China trade concerns, foreign fund outflows also kept pressure on the Indian rupee.

The rupee opened weak at 70.22 at the interbank forex market and then fell further to 70.32, down 29 paise over its last close.

The rupee had settled at 70.03 against the US dollar on Thursday.

The benchmark BSE Sensex jumped over 200 points and the NSE Nifty reclaimed the 11,300 level in early trade on Friday amid value-buying in banking, IT and metal stocks.

The 30-share index was trading 201.24 points, or 0.54 per cent, higher at 37,594.72. The broader NSE Nifty was also trading 57.20 points, or 0.51 per cent, up at 11,314.30.

In the previous session on Thursday, the BSE bourse closed 278.60 points, or 0.75 per cent, higher at 37,393.48; and the Nifty rose 100.10 points, or 0.90 per cent, to settle at 11,257.10.

A woman was allegedly killed by her husband over a family dispute in Garhi Pukhta area of Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, police said Friday.

Sonam was strangled to death by her husband Abdul Kalam, 40, on Thursday in Bunta village of the district, they said.

Victim's father Ali Hasan in his complaint to the police has alleged that Kalam, along with his family members, killed his daughter over a family dispute, Station House Officer, Garhi Pukhta police station, Vijay Kumar said.

If you happen to board a bus or visit a grocery store in Manipur with ₹10-denomination coins in wallet, chances are there that you might be shown the door.

Despite regular clarifications by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), people in Manipur, especially small traders, are reluctant to trade with ₹10 coins.

While some are aware that the coin is in circulation, skepticism still runs high over the validity of the particular tender among local vendors and shopkeepers.

A Silicon Valley-based IT company has filed a lawsuit against the US government for denying the most sought-after H-1B visa to a highly qualified Indian professional, terming the renunciation "arbitrary" and a "clear abuse of discretion".

Xterra Solutions alleged in its lawsuit that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) improperly denied H-1B visa to Praharsh Chandra Sai Venkata Anisetty, 28, whom it had hired as a Business System Analyst.

The company's H-1B petition on behalf of Anisetty was denied on the sole ground that the job offered to him did not qualify as an H-1B specialty occupation, the lawsuit said.

An Army jawan, who was injured in an encounter with militants in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, has succumbed, police said.

"The injured Army jawan Rohit Kumar Yadav has succumbed at the hospital and attained martyrdom," a police spokesman said.

Yadav had suffered grievous injuries during a gun battle with three militants in Handew area of Shopian on Thursday. All the three ultras were killed.

Boeing said it has completed software update and tests for 737 Max planes that have been grounded worldwide since March this year following two deadly air crashes in a short span of five months.

"Boeing has completed development of the updated software for the 737 MAX, along with associated simulator testing and the company's engineering test flight," said the US top aircraft manufacturer on Thursday, Xinhua reported.

An F-16 fighter jet returning to March Air Reserve Base in Moreno Valley of California in the US has crashed into a building after its pilot was ejected, the media quoted base officials as saying.

The jet slammed into the side of a commercial building off the base, on Van Buren Boulevard, about 3.45 p.m. on Thursday, March Air Reserve Base Deputy Fire Chief Timothy Holliday was quoted as saying.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department confirmed on Twitter that the crash occurred around Van Buren and the 215 Freeway, Xinhua news agency reported.

The pilot was ejected and being medically evaluated. "Multiple agencies responding. Please stay out of area and clear emergency vehicles," the department tweeted.

Details on the crash and the pilot's condition have not been disclosed. Authorities did not have details on any other injuries.