The court is hearing an activist's petition seeking to lift curbs on communications and movement that have disrupted normal life and essential services in the Himalayan region.

For Congress, it’s an issue of the right perspective. Once the perspective is set and agreed upon, the party should promote a robust leader who can lead it into the future without getting browbeaten by the BJP and becoming its B team, writes Kingshuk Nag.

Five years later, PM Modi's outreach in the Muslim world cutting across the Sunni-Shia divide has been nothing short of spectacular. Among his friends are the powerful Prince Mohd. Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Makhtoum and Sheikh Nayan of the UAE.

Police and protesters clashed at Hong Kong's international airport on Tuesday after flights were disrupted for a second day as the political crisis in the former British colony deepened. Demonstrators who have been protesting for the past nine weeks against Beijing's growing influence in the special administrative region targeted the international airport for a second day on Tuesday. Thousands of black-clad protesters jammed the terminal chanting, singing and waving banners. Scuffles broke out in the evening after an injured man was held by a group of protesters. Some claimed he was an undercover mainland Chinese agent and initially refused to let him leave. Several police vehicles were blocked by protesters and riot police moved in amid chaotic scenes, using pepper spray to keep people back. A policeman pulled out a gun at one point. Protesters also barricaded some passageways in the airport with luggage trolleys, metal barriers and other objects. Others clambered onto check-in counters as the protesters appeared to control part of the airport for a short while. At least two protesters were taken away by police. The situation calmed down after a few hours without the violence worsening, and the crowds thinned out. Hong Kong media reported that an injunction had been issued by a court to clear the airport of protesters. The action followed an unprecedented shutdown of the airport on Monday. Hong Kong's Airport Authority said operations had been "seriously disrupted" on Tuesday and departing passengers had been unable to reach immigration counters.