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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued directions asking all educational institutions in the state to remain closed on January 22 in view of the Ayodhya Ram Temple consecration ceremony. Additionally, all liquor shops will also remain closed across the state on the day to mark the occasion.

The decision comes in wake of the massive preparations underway for the consecration ceremony at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya which will have Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance. Tight security arrangements have been put in place to ensure that there are no untoward incidents during the ceremony. As many as 7,000 invitations have been sent out to notable personalities and celebrities for the event.

Amid growing tussle between the Punjab Congress leadership and him, several party leaders on Tuesday sought immediate decisive steps to discipline former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for holding rallies without consulting the state unit.

The demand for action against Sidhu was raised during the meetings held by newly appointed Punjab affairs in-charge Devender Yadav with the state unit leaders, MLAs, MPs among others, people privy to discussions said on the condition of anonymity. Yadav had called the state leaders to discuss the alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections where some party leaders stressed the need to maintain discipline in the state.

France's president Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday named country's education minister Gabriel Attal with which the the 34-year-old became France's youngest and first openly gay head of government, news agency AFP reported after Elisabeth Borne resigned from the post.

Elisabeth Borne served less than two years in office and resigned ahead of a widely expected cabinet reshuffle.

A row triggered by some Maldivian ministers ridiculing PM Narendra Modi escalated on Monday, with government discussing the matter with Male's envoy even as some travel companies stopped sales of packages to the archipelago and issued boycott calls.

Amid growing outrage over the provocation from the ministers of Maldives, which has, after the recent polls, taken an anti-India position, travel portals reported a massive surge in search for idyllic Indian destinations like Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands by potential holidayers. The campaign against Maldives appears to be driven by sheer fury, considering that Lakshadweep does not have the infrastructure to host a large number of tourists.

The Supreme Court Monday declined to interfere with the Allahabad High Court order, which had upheld the acquittal of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni in the alleged murder of SP worker Prabhat Gupta in Lakhimpur in Uttar Pradesh 23 years ago.

Dismissing the plea, a bench of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal said the trial court as well as the high court had returned concurrent findings acquitting the accused and it did not want to interfere with it.