New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have the highest number of undertrial prisoners lodged in jails among the states and union territories, Union Minister Nityanand Rai said on Wednesday.

Rai said in Rajya Sabha that while Uttar Pradesh has 80,557 undertrial prisoners as of December 31, 2020, as many as 44,187 undertrial prisoners are in jails in Bihar followed by 31,712 prisoners in Madhya Pradesh.

Dehradun, Mar 16 (PTI) The Kashmir Files', a movie based on the atrocities against Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley, has been made tax free in Uttarakhand.

An order in this regard was issued on Tuesday by Additional Chief Secretary Manisha Panwar.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who had watched the movie on Monday night and praised it, had announced that the Chief Secretary has been asked to make it tax free.

Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana, Goa and Tripura have also made the movie tax free.

Raipur, Mar 17 (PTI) Amid the ongoing debate over Hindi film "The Kashmir Files", which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990s, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has claimed the movie portrays half truth and only shows violence without conveying any message.

Baghel was talking to reporters late Wednesday night after watching the movie at a multiplex here along with his cabinet colleagues and other MLAs.

Kanpur: The dead body of a man was found in a forest area of a railway ground here. The incident took place at Nirala Nagar Railway Ground of the Govind Nagar area.

On getting the information from locals, a team of police reached the spot.

The upper part of the carcass was eaten by animals and the police found a mobile phone in the pocket of the deceased.

The man was identified as Kallu, 32, and was a resident of Jajmau.

He used to work as a labourer here and was living with his wife Soni, two daughters and a son.

Kanpur: A posh school's office remained a spectacle of triviality for a very special reason. Whether it was the window or the door, the throng of the guardians was seen as they were desperately trying to reach the office clerks to show the copies of the fee deposit receipt today morning.

This was an unusual scene on the day of the declaration of the final results of all the classes except tenth and twelfth.

This mob converged due to instructions on the part of the school no fee, no result.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United Nations’ top court is set to rule Wednesday on a request by Ukraine for its judges to order Russia to halt its devastating invasion.

But it remains to be seen if Moscow would comply with any order made by the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, which is sometimes known as the World Court.

Russia snubbed a hearing last week at which lawyers for Ukraine accused their powerful neighbor of “resorting to tactics reminiscent of medieval siege warfare” in its brutal assault.

New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked social media giant Facebook on Wednesday and alleged that it was "worse for democracy".

Gandhi shared a compilation of news reports on Twitter, accusing the social media giant of helping the BJP reach out to voters during the elections.

"Meta-worse for democracy," Gandhi said on Twitter.

15 March 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has invited Chinese President, Xi Jinping, to visit Riyadh as the Kingdom looks to deepen ties with Beijing amid strained relations with Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the plan.

15 March 2022; MEMO: Russia got written guarantees under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that will protect its cooperation with Iran against the recent US and EU sanctions, noting that the guarantees are included in the text of the agreement, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said on Tuesday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Lavrov said Russia causes no obstacles for the restoration of the deal.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A North Korean missile fired from its capital region exploded soon after its liftoff in an apparent failed weapons launch on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, amid speculation that the North has been preparing to launch its longest-range missile in its most significant provocation in years.

15 March 2022; MEMO: A Houthi official said, on Tuesday, that Saudi Arabia cannot be a mediator in the Yemen war, remarking on a Reuters report of a Gulf Arab initiative to hold consultations among Yemeni parties in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with Reuters reporting this, as well.

Mohamed Ali Al-Houthi, head of the Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, said, "Riyadh is a party in the war not a mediator."

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in the Gulf on Wednesday for meetings in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia aimed at easing skyrocketing gasoline prices, as the West grapples with economic headwinds from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Johnson will be seeking greater investments in the U.K.’s renewable energy transition and ways to secure more oil to lessen British dependence on Russian energy supplies.