Severe cyclonic storm ‘Fani’ heading towards Odisha

Cyclone ‘Fani’ intensified into a ‘severe cyclonic storm’ on Monday evening and is headed towards the Odisha coast, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

It could take a shape of an ‘extremely severe cyclone’ by Wednesday, prompting the government to put the National Disaster Response Force and the Indian Coast Guard on high alert, officials said.

NIA arrests youth planning suicide attack in Keral

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday said it had arrested a 29-year-old resident of Palakkad in Kerala, allegedly planning a suicide attack in the State.

In a statement, the NIA said it arrested Riyas A., who goes by the aliases Riyas Aboobacker and Abu Dujana, as part of its probe into the ‘ISIS Kasargod case’ filed in July 2016 after 15 young men from the district disappeared and later joined the Islamic State — 14 in Afghanistan and one in Syria.

TMC’s 40 MLAs are in touch with me, claims Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed at a rally in Hooghly district on Monday that “40 Trinamool Congress MLAs” would join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the party’s victory in the Lok Sabha election.

The Trinamool accused Mr. Modi of “horse trading”, and said it was taking the issue to the Election Commission.

Army invokes emergency powers for missile deal

The Army is in the process of procuring Spike-LR Anti-Tank Missiles from Israel and Igla-S Very Short Range Air Defence Systems (VSHORAD) from Russia through a set of new financial powers for emergency procurements sanctioned by the Defence Ministry earlier this month, Defence sources said.

Opinion | No good options in Afghanistan

During the last 50 years, Afghanistan has been through different governance systems — monarchy till 1973; communist type rule, initially home-grown and then imposed by the U.S.S.R. with its 1979 intervention; jihadi warlordism in the early 1990s; shariat-based Taliban rule; and a democratic republic based on a presidential system since 2004. Wracked by a growing Taliban insurgency, peace today remains elusive. Reconciliation with the Taliban is increasingly projected as the way forward. But ‘reconciliation’ means different things to different players and to different groups of Afghans.

IS chief Baghdadi appears in propaganda video for first time in five years

The elusive chief of the Islamic State group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has purportedly appeared for the first time in five years in a propaganda video released on Monday by the jihadist organisation.

It is unclear when the footage was filmed, but the man said to be Baghdadi referred in the past tense to the months-long fight for Baghouz, IS's final bastion in eastern Syria, which ended last month.

Sri Lankan President Sirisena appoints new Defence Secretary, acting police chief

President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday appointed a former Army commander to the post of Defence Secretary, and named a new police chief, as part of his promised effort to overhaul Sri Lanka’s security establishment in the wake of the Easter blasts that killed over 250 people.

General S.H.S Kottegoda was appointed the Secretary of Defence, after Hemasiri Fernando resigned from the post. While taking responsibility of for the attacks, Mr. Fernando had said, “there was no failure” on his part.

It’s thumbs down for Yes Bank from brokerages

After reporting a surprise loss — its first-ever — in the fourth quarter, Yes Bank has been at the receiving end in terms of quick downgrades by brokerages.

In a rare instance, global financial major Macquarie did a ‘double-downgrade’ while lowering the target price by 30%.

Sunrisers delights the faithful with an emphatic win

David Warner’s pre-match wish to see his fans go back home with a smile in his last match this season was fulfilled as his continued brilliance with the bat and a disciplined bowling effort helped Sunrisers Hyderabad score an impressive, 45-run win over Kings XI Punjab, and stay in the hunt for a slot in the playoffs, at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Monday.