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Family of Indian 'spy' in Pakistan seek local lawyer for his defence

The family of Kulbhushan Jadhav who has been arrested in Pakistan on charges of spying for India, is looking for a Pakistan-based lawyer to defend him in court.

Jadhav owns a cargo business in Iran, and has a residence permit for the Chabahar Free Trade Zone. The passport Pakistani authorities allegedly seized from Jadhav, which identifies him as Hussein Mubarak Patel, also shows this visa, says The Indian Express.

"Since he is a foreign national, it is Pakistan's responsibility to share details concerning the arrested person and also allow him to avail the services of a lawyer," said a member of Jadhav's family.

Modi to meet Cabinet today to discuss possibly of President's Rule in Uttarakhand

The cabinet at the Centre is likely to meet today to discuss the political crisis in Uttarakhand.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had convened an emergency meeting last night to discuss the possibility of President's Rule in the mountain state. However, the meeting ended without a decision, says The Telegraph. The governor's report on the state had said the situation was "extremely volatile" but did not mention a constitutional breakdown, without which President's Rule cannot be declared in any state.

On Monday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat will face a vote of trust in the assembly.

Telangana CM to raise HCU students' demand to sack VC with Modi

K Chandrasekhar Rao, chief minister of Telangana, said in the assembly on Saturday that he will approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the students' demand to sack Hyderabad Central University vice chancellor P Appa Rao.

The assembly had been debating the recent violence at the university, sparked by the return of Appa Rao from leave after he was charged with abetting the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in January, says NDTV.

Akharas invite Ujjain city Qazi to lead Simhastha procession

Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad visited the home of Ujjain's qazi Khaleel-ur-Rahman to ask him to lead the procession that begins the Kumbh Mela Simhastha on 22 April this year.

Acharya Narendra Giri, head of the apex body of akharas, said: "This is the first time we have formally invited the shahr (city) qazi. The objective is to create goodwill and communal harmony."

The qazi said he was overwhelmed by the offer which he greatly valued at this time of divisive agendas, according to The Telegraph.

Pathankot: Pak probe team will visit air base despite defence forces' objections

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha has described the government's permission to a Pakistani investigation team to enter the Pathankot air base as "a political decision".

Such permission for Pakistani nationals, particularly one from the Inter Services Agency (ISI), to enter a sensitive military base on the frontline is unprecedented, and the Indian Air Force has told the government that this could compromise security, according to The Telegraph.

Mann Ki Baat : PM Modi talks sports, water conservation, and urges the youth to take up new skills

On 27 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation during the 18th edition of his Mann Ki Baat radio program.

He said that it is time to herald a new time for sports, and said that it is important that more and more young people play sports. He talked about how India hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup is a fantastic opportunity to instill passion and fervour for football in the youth of the nation. He congratulated Coal India Limited for creating an eco-friendly tourism destination. He also talked about the potential that tourism might have in terms of generating employment.

Stressing on the importance of water conservation, he went on to talk about the plight of farmers during the summers. He reveals that an app has been developed for farmers, called the 'Kisan Suvidha App', which will provide them with information regarding agricultural issues. He also talked about the upcoming World Health Day, and sought to spread awareness about diabetes and tuberculosis.

A cavefish that can climb waterfalls? Believe it!

A species of cavefish that can climb waterfalls has been reportedly discovered in Thailand. The blind fish, which reportedly shares anatomic features with tetrapods, uses its pelvis to "walk". The Cryptotora thamicola's behaviour has been documented in the Nature Scientific Reports journal. The fish, which can grow up to 2.8 centimetres, is the only known member of its genus. The species is found in eight caves in Thailand and Myanmar. According to estimates, the current population stands at a little under 2000.

Survey: India second most racially intolerant country in the world

A study by the World Values Society has shown India and Jordan to be the bottom of an 80-nation strong barrel when it comes to racial intolerance. The study asked respondents to pick what kinds of people they wouldn't want as neighbours. The more a country's respondents picked 'people of other race', the less tolerant the country. India placed second with 43.5% responding negatively to neighbours of other races, while only Jordan was worse with 51.4% not wanting neighbours of a different race. Spanish and English speaking countries were found to be more tolerant while France (22.7%) was the least tolerant country in Europe.