Sri Lanka troops kill two suspected IS gunmen

Sri Lankan security forces raided a safe house of Islamic State affiliated militants in the east of the country and killed at least two men in an exchange of fire, the military said Saturday.

Gunmen opened fire on troops when they attempted to storm the house in the town of Kalmunai, spokesman Sumith Atapattu said. "In our retaliatory fire, two gunmen were killed," he said adding that a civilian caught in the crossfire was also killed.

Suspected mastermind Zahran Hashim spent time in south India

Zahran Hashim, believed to have masterminded the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka, spent “substantial” time in “south India,” a top Sri Lankan military source said on Friday.

Investigators identified Hashim as the leader of the National Thowheed Jamaath, which they said executed the highly coordinated blasts on Sunday.

Let S.A. Bobde panel finish probe first, says ex-judge A.K. Patnaik

Justice A.K. Patnaik, the retired Supreme Court judge appointed by the court to check a lawyer’s claim of a “larger conspiracy” against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, said on Friday that he would not begin his assignment until the in-house inquiry into a former court staffer’s complaint of sexual harassment against the Chief Justice was completed.

Supreme Court gives RBI ‘last chance’ to alter disclosure policy

The Supreme Court on Friday gave the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) “a last opportunity” to withdraw a November 2016 Disclosure Policy to the extent to which it stonewalls revelation of every other kind of information under the Right to Information Act, including the list of wilful defaulters and annual inspection reports.

A Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and M.R. Shah found the policy of the central bank to be directly contrary to the court’s judgment of December 2015 that the Reserve Bank could not withhold information sought under the RTI Act.

PepsiCo offers to settle case against Gujarat potato farmers

In the wake of criticism over its ₹4.2 crore lawsuit against four Gujarati potato farmers, food and beverages giant PepsiCo has offered to settle the case if the farmers stop growing the registered potato variety used in its Lays chips.

In an Ahmedabad civil court on Friday, PepsiCo’s lawyer offered a settlement on these terms: the farmers must give an undertaking that they will not use its registered variety and destroy their existing stocks, or must enter PepsiCo's collaborative farming programme where farmers buy seeds from the company and sell the produce back to the company.

Opinion | Lessons from a military encounter

The lesson from the long history of warfare and India’s own experience in dealing with past crises is that talking to one’s adversaries is a crucial requirement for de-escalation and for bringing the two sides back from the brink. Such talks are often done discreetly and soberly via the ‘back channel’, away from media attention and focussed on de-escalation, meeting the aims behind the war-talk and achieving an honourable exit from the tussle.

U.K. court further remands Nirav Modi in custody till May 24

Diamond merchant Nirav Modi will remain in custody till the next hearing in the extradition proceedings against him on May 24 as his legal team failed to make a further application for bail before the court in London.

During the brief procedural hearing on Friday, Mr. Modi — the main accused in the $2 billion Punjab National Bank fraud case — appeared by video link from Wandsworth Prison in south London.

China, Russia pose threat to U.S.: FBI

FBI Director Christopher Wray described China the most significant “intelligence collection” theat. His comments were made at a discussion at the Washington DC offices of the Council on Foreign Relations, a think-tank.

“No country poses a broader more severe intelligence collection threat than China,” Mr Wray said, adding that he was seeing increased instances of “blended threats”, a combination of cybercrimes and espionage. “Economic espionage dominates our counter-intelligence program today.”

Yes Bank in red due to IL&FS, airline loans

Private sector lender Yes Bank posted a whopping ₹1,507 crore loss during the Jan.-March period of 2018-19, as bad loans surged due to its exposure to troubled firms like Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. (IL&FS) and an airline company. The bank, however, has refrained from naming the airline.

IPL 2019: Mumbai Indians ambushes Super Kings

This is CSK’s first loss at home after seven successive wins. The host missed Dhoni’s inspirational presence.

Only M. Vijay, back at the top of the order, offered some resistance with a fighting 38; he was controversially dismissed, caught at point, when replays seemed inconclusive about the ball bouncing before Suryakumar Yadav held it.