Twenty years ago, India scripted a success story on May 11 and May 13, 1998 when five nuclear tests were performed in Rajasthan's Pokhran under the guidance of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had assumed power only a little while ago.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who died on Thursday, was admired and respected across the political spectrum. Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi, who was known to take on BJP leaders sharply in parliament, made an exception for Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to whom he was always courteous.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has condoled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's death and praised his vision for famously characterising US-India ties as a "natural partnership of shared endeavours".

 The final journey of the late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee began here on Friday from BJP Headquarters where the mortal remains were lying for people to pay homage.

It is only because of the politics of Karunanidhi that English TV channels, English textbooks, a whole employment ecology with English as currency, exists in India.

Social activist Swami Agnivesh was on Friday roughed up outside the BJP headquarters here when he came to pay his respects to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose body was lying in state for people to pay homage.

Five trains, which connect Mangalore railway station, have been canceled due to heavy rains and landslides in Karnataka and its neighboring state Kerala. Also, some trains will be partially canceled on Friday, said the railway sources.

More than a dozen helicopters, hundreds of defence personnel, NDRF teams and ordinary fishermen with their motor boats on Friday launched a massive rescue operation in Kerala as rains subsided but the death toll touched 164 in 10 days.