Live: Pak PM heads to Saudi, Qatar and Turkey; US-Iran next talks soon?

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has convened an emergency meeting of DMK MPs on Wednesday (April 15) to discuss the repercussions the state is likely to face due to the Centre's proposed delimitation exercise.

The emergency meeting will be held by Stalin via video conference from Dharmapuri, amid his electioneering schedule, party sources said.

The meeting would commence at 11 am, and the party line to be followed in Parliament on delimitation would be thrashed out, sources added.

Chief Minister Stalin on Tuesday warned of massive agitations bringing Tamil Nadu to a standstill and "protests with full force," if anything was done harming the state or if the political power of northern states was disproportionately increased in the delimitation exercise. He had said that the nation may have to witness again "the DMK of the 1950's and the 1960's," apparently referring to the party's early phase in which it spearheaded a slew of agitations over state rights and against alleged imposition of Hindi.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday (April 15) that the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly “precious” in the face of an international landscape intertwined with change and chaos, while also referencing the war in Iran.

During a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Beijing, Xi said the strong vitality and exemplary significance of the friendship treaty between the two countries stand out even more under such a backdrop.

He said foreign ministries from both countries would need to fully implement the consensus reached between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for strengthening strategic communication and close diplomatic coordination. He also urged them to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow to “stand higher, walk more steadily and go further.” Xi touted the value of the two nations' ties at a time when uncertainty lingered about how long the Iran war would last.

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday (April 15) conducted raids at business entities linked to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal in Punjab as part of a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) probe, officials said.

Mittal, a 61-year-old businessman and educationist who heads the Lovely Group, including a university by this name, was recently made the deputy leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Rajya Sabha, replacing Raghav Chadha.

Officials said the searches are being conducted at multiple business entities linked to Mittal in Jalandhar and Phagwara apart from some other locations.

The US-sanctioned tanker Rich Starry returned to the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday (April 15), a day after exiting the Gulf, according to shipping data, as it failed to get past a newly imposed US blockade targeting vessels linked to Iranian ports. The Chinese-owned tanker was among at least eight ships transiting the waterway on Tuesday, the first day of enforcement.

The US Central Command said no ships breached the blockade in its first 24 hours, with six vessels instructed to turn back.

The Rich Starry and its owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co, are under US sanctions for dealings with Iran. The vessel is reported to be carrying around 250,000 barrels of methanol loaded at the UAE’s Hamriyah port.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Karnataka on Wednesday (April 15) to inaugurate the Guru Bhairavaikya Mandira of Adichunchanagiri Math in Mandya district and address a gathering.

According to the tour programme, the prime minister will arrive at HAL Airport in Bengaluru at 10.05 am. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will receive Modi at the airport.

The prime minister will shortly board an MI-17 helicopter and proceed to Mandya, where he is expected to land at 10.50 am. He will reach Sri Kshetra Adichunchanagiri at 11 am and take part in the inauguration of Sri Guru Bhairavaikya Mandira at noon.

The Mandira is a memorial dedicated to the revered seer, Sri Balagangadharanatha Mahaswami, the 71st Pontiff of Sri Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math.

Modi will also jointly release a book titled "Saundarya Lahari and Shiva Mahimna Stotram" along with former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, the statement said

US President Donald Trump has said that the war with Iran is “close to over,” asserting that if he pulled up stakes right now, it would take Tehran 20 years to rebuild the country.

The US president's comments come hours after the US Central Command said it had successfully blocked all traffic to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas in the first 24 hours of Trump's blockade, saying the US was supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

“I think it’s close to over, yeah. I view it as very close to being over,” Trump told Fox News in an interview that will be telecast later Wednesday (April 15).

The interview for the programme “Mornings with Maria” was recorded on Tuesday (April 14).

“I think it’s — I had to divert because if I didn’t do that, right now you’d have Iran with a nuclear weapon. And if they had a nuclear weapon, you’d be calling everyone over there ‘sir,’ and you don’t want to do that,” Trump said.

A bus carrying devotees overturned in Punjab's Fatehgarh Sahib's while returning from Anandpur Sahib, killing six and injuring 21 others, police said on Wednesday (April 15).

The incident occurred near Himmatpura on Morinda-Chunni road area in Bassi Pathana at around 10 pm on Tuesday (April 14) when the devotees, all residents of Main Majri in Fatehgarh Sahib, were returning from Anandpur Sahib in Rupnagar district after paying obeisance on the occasion of Baisakhi.

The bus overturned on the road due to a malfunction, a police official said.