Filmmaker Raghava Lawrence, who stepped down as the director of Akshay Kumar's 'Laxmmi Bomb' after the first look poster was released, has said he has no issues with Akshay. "I don't want him to feel bad as he has been preparing intensely for the character," Raghava added. "That's the reason I'm willing to give my script to them," he said.

Vivek Oberoi on Tuesday apologised for sharing an election meme featuring Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan and Abhishek Bachchan after receiving criticism. "Even if one woman is offended by my reply to the meme, it calls for remedial action. Apologies...tweet deleted," he wrote. Earlier, Vivek had said, "What wrong have I done? Somebody tweeted a meme and I laughed at it."

Filmmaker Raghava Lawrence, who had stepped down as director of Akshay Kumar's 'Laxmmi Bomb', has said it made him feel like a fool when he got to know about the release of the first look poster from a third person. "All I wanted was...they keep me updated," he added. Raghava earlier said the poster was released without informing him.

After videos showing unescorted movement of EVMs surfaced online, the Election Commission has called them frivolous. A video showed EVMs stored at local shops, while in other videos EVMs were seen stacked in the boot of private vehicles. The EC further said that protocol was being followed to secure the voting machines ahead of the vote count on May 23.

With VVPAT counting to be introduced in this Lok Sabha election, the results on May 23 may get delayed by 5-6 hours, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said. He stated that five VVPATs will be randomly selected for counting from each of Delhi's 70 Assembly segments. "This'll delay the formal results but trends will be already out," Singh added.

After BJP leader Vijay Goel said Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal should have the personal security officer of his choice if he doubts him, Kejriwal tweeted, "Not my PSO, it's [PM Narendra Modi] who wants to get me killed." This comes after the Delhi CM said he will be assassinated by his personal security officer, like former PM Indira Gandhi.

Amid Opposition parties criticising the Election Commission over its alleged inaction against violations of the Model Code of Conduct, former President Pranab Mukherjee praised the poll body for the "perfect" elections. "If democracy has succeeded, it is largely due to perfect conduct of elections by Election Commissioners starting from Sukumar Sen to the present Election Commissioners," Mukherjee said.

A man from Haryana's Rohtak who lost lakhs in betting on the recently concluded Indian Premier League was arrested along with his juvenile son for killing his father, a prominent furniture trader. The victim had refused to loan his son more money. After killing his father, the accused called his son who helped him dispose of the body.

Former Formula One driver Niki Lauda passed away at the age of 70 on Monday, after receiving a lung transplant last year. Lauda, who had suffered serious burns in a near-fatal crash at German Grand Prix in 1976, won three championships (1975, 1977 and 1984). The Austrian competed in a total of 171 races, winning 25.

The Border Roads Organisation reopened Rohtang Pass on Monday for the movement of small vehicles and vehicles belonging to residents of Lahaul and Spiti. Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus said, "Tourists will have to wait a bit longer to see Rohtang Pass as work is underway to ensure basic amenities in the area including parking, toilets, food outlets and dustbins."

Pakistan on Monday appointed Moin-ul-Haque as the High Commissioner to India. Haque's appointment comes after Sohail Mahmood left the High Commission to take over as Pakistan's Foreign Secretary. He earlier served as Pakistan's Ambassador to France. Besides India, Pakistan also announced appointments of High Commissioners to China, Japan and Brussels.

The Gujarat government has set up a call centre to keep a check on absenteeism and "non-seriousness" of over 1.95 lakh school teachers after the new academic session starts on June 10. The call centre employees will ask questions about their assignment for the day, task, and who assigned it. GPS-enabled tablets will be given to those monitoring the teachers.

A middle-aged man has made a full recovery months after a tree branch pierced his neck by entering from one side and exiting through the other during a car crash in Karnataka. Doctors had removed the branch and repaired major structural damages. "I never thought I'd speak again, but now I am back to normal," the man said post recovery.

A Muslim man in the US has posted a video of his experience at a Taco Bell drive-thru, where he was subjected to Islamophobic abuse by an employee while she served him. "Muslims are terrorists," she told the man. Later in the video the woman says, "Until you call me and change my mind, Muslim motherf**kers can suck my d**k."

US billionaire Robert F Smith who pledged to pay off ₹278-crore education loans of 400 students is the founder of the private equity firm Vista Equity Partners and one of the nation's most prominent African-American philanthropists. Smith's net worth is estimated to be around $5 billion, according to Forbes. He had quit his job at Goldman Sachs to found Vista.

The Sensex gained over 200 points to hit a new high of 39,565 while Nifty rose to 11,883, also a new high. On Monday, Sensex and Nifty saw their biggest single-day gain in 10 years after exit polls showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to win a second term. Meanwhile, the Rupee traded at 69.73 a dollar.

Actress Sonam Kapoor, who arrived in Cannes on Monday, took to Instagram to share some of her looks from the 72nd Cannes Film Festival. For her first appearance, Sonam wore a red sheer multi-tiered gown by Valentino and was later seen in a purple Elie Saab creation. The actress also wore a cream-coloured strapless Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla gown.

The Rajasthan High Court on Monday issued fresh notices to actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam Kothari in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. This comes after an appeal by the Rajasthan government against their acquittal by a local court on April 5, last year. The court directed the case to be listed for hearing after eight weeks.

Nushrat Bharucha said the "maths and equations" of her acting career changed for the better after the success of her film 'Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety'. "[T]his is the first time..two of my films are releasing in the same year," she explained. "Otherwise, it used to be one film in two years...And I am getting interesting offers too," Nushrat added.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Spokesperson Amar Patnaik on Monday said BJD would support the party or combination at the Centre, which agrees to settle some of the long pending issues of Odisha. "We have several long-pending demands including special category status," he added. He further said that the results of the exit polls seem to be far fetched.

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at her Kolkata residence on Monday. According to reports, the two discussed the importance of uniting all the anti-BJP parties and constituting a common agenda before the results of Lok Sabha polls are declared on May 23. This comes after majority of exit polls predicted BJP-led NDA's victory.

After majority of exit polls predicted victory for BJP-led NDA, Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha on Monday said that TV Channels showing such exit polls are famous for their "Raag Darbari". "They (TV channels) haven't given any details about the sample size or the agencies which have done surveys," he added. Sinha further said that such TV channels have no credibility.

In an audio message to party workers, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said exit polls and rumours are being spread to discourage them. Asking them to not lose confidence, she further said, "Be watchful and persistent in strong rooms and at counting centres." Various exit polls predicted a majority for BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections.

Chinese technology company Lenovo has denied online speculation that it has stopped supplying its products to Huawei, adding that supply is proceeding as usual. Huawei is an important client for Lenovo's PC and service sectors, it said. The company will continue to sell its products and services to Huawei based on regional regulations, the computer maker added.

Global steel major ArcelorMittal on Monday told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that it will pay ₹42,000 crore to acquire debt-laden Essar Steel under the insolvency process. This includes a minimum guarantee of ₹2,500 crore as working capital. The firm further accused Ruias, former Essar Steel promoters, of creating hurdles in the resolution process of the bankrupt steelmaker.