In The Headlines: BJP leads in MCD poll results

In Delhi’s civic polls the BJP registered lead in almost all wards, pushing the ruling party AAP to second place. The BJP is leading in 110 wards, the AAP in 28 and the Congress in 23 wards. While members of AAP are meeting at Kejriwal's residence to decide party's next move, the BJP has dedicated this victory to the CRPF jawans who were killed in Sukma on April 24

CBI registers FIR against ex-chief Ranjit Sinha

The CBI has registered an FIR against its former director Ranjit Sinha for allegedly trying to influence the coal scam probe as the agency's chief.

The action against Sinha came after the Supreme Court directed the agency to constitute a special investigation team to look into the allegations against Sinha.

The Supreme Court had tasked a former special director of the CBI with looking into the visitors’ diary at Sinha's official residence which allegedly showed that several accused of the coal block allocation scam case were regular visitors to his house.

On the basis of Sharma's report, the Supreme Court had directed the CBI to probe Sinha as it found there was prima facie material against him.

Sinha, an 1974-batch IPS officer, was the CBI director between 2012 and 2014.

New video of militants in Kashmir does rounds on social media

A new video of at least 30 militants in army fatigues brandishing assault rifles at an unknown location in the Kashmir Valley is doing the rounds on social media.

The video showing the militants posing for camera and flaunting their assault weapons, mostly AK-47 rifles, runs one-and-a-half minutes.

It appears it was shot recently in an orchard at an undisclosed location. The militants wearing bullet-proof vests and ammunition pouches can be seen parading one by one.

Police officials said they were checking the veracity of the video.

SP leader Gayatri Prajapati gets bail

Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati and his two accomplices were granted bail by a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in connection with the case of an alleged sexual assault of a minor girl. The SP leader, who is also accused of allegedly raping the girl’s mother, evaded his arrest for nearly a month before he was arrested in Lucknow last month.

PDP wants bypolls to be postponed indefinitely

Jammu and Kashmir’s Ruling PDP has urged the Election Commission to defer indefinitely the bypoll to the Anantnag Lok Sabha constituency in the backdrop of the volatile situation prevailing there. PDP candidate for the bypoll Tassaduq Hussain, who is the brother of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, made the plea during a video conference with Election Commission officials on Monday.

India will monetise 105 highway projects: Nitin Gadkari

India will monetise 105 highway projects for about ₹1,45,000 crore in the coming years as part of new innovative models of financing, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday. "The traffic density in India is very high and the internal return on rates is very good," the Minister of Road Transport and Highways said during a presentation on India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit 2017, which will be held in New Delhi from May 3-5.

US Senate will get a briefing on North Korea

The entire US Senate will be given a briefing in White House on April 26 by senior administration officials about the brewing confrontation with North Korea. This unusual briefing hints at the seriousness with which Trump administration is looking at the threat posed by North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and missile technology.

North Korea celebrates its military anniversary

Tensions shot up in the Korean peninsula on Tuesday as North Korea celebrated its military anniversary with a massive firing drill while a US guided-missile submarine docked in South Korean waters to check North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

China bans Islamic names

China has banned dozens of Islamic names like 'Saddam' and 'Jihad' for babies in the Muslim-majority Xinjiang province, which is home to the Muslim Uighur minority community the Human Rights Watch said. According to the move, children with the banned names like Saddam or Midina will not be able to get a residence permit, which is required for access to medical and educational services.

with PTI inputs