Big day for former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, summoned by the Delhi police for questioning in the cash-for-votes scandal. Unless, of course, he feigns illhealth. Stay with us for all that happens. And, of course, the India-England Test match at Lord's Live

The other stories today...

1. HC nod for proceedings against Yeddy
2. Delhi police to quiz Amar Singh at 11 am tomorrow
3. Lanka PM concerned Sinhalese may die out
4. Cong bays for Yeddy's blood, BJP unmoved
5. ED summons former India skipper Ravi Shastri
6. Space shuttle Atlantis ends final voyage
7. Voluminous evidence against Yeddy: Lokayukta
8. Murdoch's son lied at hearing: Report:
9. Arun Shourie: I have no relationship with BJP
10. 2G trial begins: CBI guns Anil Ambani's RComm
11. Major policy package on Telangana on Aug 4
12. SC: 5-member team to oversee temple treasure
13. 9/11 revenge killer executed

Just in: The Defence Ministry decides to consider Army Chief Gen V K Singh's date of birth as 1950; he will now retire next year.

See here for all that's happened.

Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa reports:

In another set back to Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, the Karnataka High Court has given the green signal for the Lokayukta court to go ahead with the proceedings against the Chief Minister.

The High Court while dismissing a petitition seeking quashing of procedings against the CM stated that there was no discrepancy in the order of the Lokayukta court.

The petitioner had moved the court after the Governor had accorded sanction to prosecute the CM. The court had stayed proceedings against the CM when the matter had come up for hearing the first time.

Also read: Strong evidence against BSY in illegal mining

So, here it is.

The Delhi police has issued a notice to former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh to appear at 11 am for questioning in the cash-for-votes scandal.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister DM Jayaratne expressed concern over the down sizing of families among the majority Sinhala community and feared that Sinhalese as a race may be extinct. "Sinhalese families are getting smaller and smaller with just two kids the most. You often see seven to eight children in a typical Tamil or a Muslim family."

Can you even imagine the consequences of a similar comment from PM Manmohan Singh, not that he would have ever said something so remarkably inflammatory.

Sagarika Ghose on Twitter: The only person in public life who cares about handicapped persons is Sonia Gandhi: Arun Shourie. Watch full interview at 10pm.

The BJP Rajya Sabha MP also says that he's distanced himself from his party.

Must read: It is hard to think of three batting contemporaries who have had such an impact on a nation's cricket fortunes as this trio of Indian superstars about to face England.

Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman -- the genius, the builder and the artist.

A Sikh body in Jammu and Kashmir today said it is contemplating to move court against Karnataka Education Minister for his reported remarks that "those who oppose the teachings of Bhagavad Gita in schools should quit
the country".

The former JK state Gurudwara Parbandak Board chairman said the BJP leader's statement that Gita is the only belief which has originated from India and all other religions have come from outside is shocking.
Kageri had reportedly remarked at Kolar in Karnataka that those opposing inclusion of Bhagavad Gita in school curriculum should leave the country.

BJP today rejected Opposition parties demand for resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister in the wake of a Lokayukta report indicting him on illegal mining, claiming that B S Yeddyurappa had no "direct nexus"with mining activity.

"No, not at all," BJP spokesperson V Dhananjaya Kumar told PTI when asked if the Chief Minister would quit as demanded by the Congress.

According to him, Congress had recently rejected a Delhi Lokayukta report indicting Chief Minister Sheila Dixit and "so is the case with Lokayukta of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh". 

"Congress party in power in all these states has consistently rejected the report submitted by respective Lokayuktas. There cannot be two yardsticks -- one for the Congress and one for BJP", Kumar said.

No, we aren't making this up.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a bill that officially classifies beer as alcoholic. Until now anything containing less than 10% alcohol in Russia has been considered a foodstuff. The move, signed into law yesterday, will allow ministers to control the sale of beer in the same way that spirits are controlled, reports the bbc.co.uk

Follow the India-England Test live from Lord's right here.

Meanwhile, the latest on the cash-for-votes scam is that Sanjeev Saxena and Suhail Hindustani have been remanded to police custody till tommorrow, even as the Delhi police tells court that no Congress or Samajwadi Party leader tried to contact Hindustani.

Both Saxena and Hindustani have been arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Hindustani, a BJP worker alleged that he was approached by former SP leader Amar Singh and several Congress leaders for arranging the BJP MPs for the trust vote.

The match has finally started afer a 30-minute rain delay. Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra will bring you all the action from Lord's. Read the commentary

Also read: Is Sachin Tendulkar the greatest sportsman?

From the Daily Mail: Alan Duncan may not exactly be a household name in English cricket, but that could change if Sachin Tendulkar ends his Lord's drought with a century in the first Test.

Read

Just in: Space shuttle #Atlantis lands safely at Florida's Kennedy Space Center, bringing an end to NASA's 30-year shuttle program. 

First picture of the shuttle touching down

Just in: The start of the 100th India-England Test at Lord's has been been delayed by rain. More bad weather is expected later in the day.

Up ahead next week is the meeting between the foreign ministers of Indian and Pakistan.

Pakistan's new foreign minister, and the first woman to hold the portfolio, Hina Rabbani Khar will visit India next week to discuss ways to make the peace process between the two countries more result-oriented. External Affairs Minister SM and Khar will meet on July 27 in New Delhi.

Read: Aatish Taseer's essay on his father -- assassinated Pakistani leader Salman Taseer -- Why my father hated India.

Aatish Taseer is half Indian -- his mother is senior journalist and columnist Tavleen Singh.

Gross, but interesting read.

The former bodyguard of Britney Spears, who is suing her for allegedly forcing him to join her in bed, has now opened a can of worms against his ex-employer's terrible personal hygiene and usage of drugs.

Fernando Flores' new court documents, said that, "She broke wind or picked her nose unselfconsciously and unapologetically and others and she was constantly and gratuitously loud and profane in her speech.

She did not bathe for days on end, did not use deodorant, did not brush her teeth, did not fix her hair, did not wear shoes or socks."

CBI tells the trial court that Swan Telcom is a front for Anil Ambani's ADAG. The CBI also says Spice Telecom's eligibility higher than Swan or Unitech Wireless, but former telecom minister A Raja and aide Chandolia favoured the two over Spice.

The CBI also charged Raja over Tata Tele's application for dual technology.

The trial against former telecom minister A. Raja, daughter of DMK chief Kanimozhi and others accused of looting Rs 30,000 crore from the state in the 2G spectrum scam has just begin.

On the Telangana issue, our Delhi correspondent adds that Congress president Sonia Gandhi today directed the Congress MPs and MLAs from Telangana to withdraw their resignations

This will pave the way for the UPA2 to come out with a package on the long pending Telangana issue.

Moreover, to create a conducive atmosphere, Sonia has asked Gulam Nabi Azad to convey to the Congress MPs to withdraw their resignations. The Telangana Congress MPs reached Delhi on Tuesday and are likely to meet Azad in the evening.

This one line direction is likely to be conveyed to the Telangana Congress MPs by Azad, who is the Union Minister and Observer for Andhra Pradesh today.

A policy announcement on the Telangana issue is expected on August 4th in Parliament. Ghulam Nabi Azad is now the nodal personality for a solution on the Telangana tangle and is meeting Telangana Congress MPs today to discuss a "package".

Sonia Gandhi has directed Telangana Congress MLAs and MPs to withdraw resignations. This will pave the way for a major package on August 4th in the Parliament Congress Core Group. She has also authorised Azad to initiate discussions with MPs and MLAs for a 'broadbased package".

Indian intellectuals are defending their participation in seminars organised by arrested Kashmiri separatist Ghulam Nabi Fai.

A report on the CNNIBN website says the US arrested Fai after the FBI filed a 43 page affidavit against him for being an ISI agent.

The FBI Investigation has exposed Pakistan's two-decade-long covert game plan to influence American policy against India on the Kashmir issue. However, those Indians who attended his seminars say that they has no clue of Fai's ISI connections.

Member of the interlocutors panel Dileep Padgaonkar said, "I had no clue of Fai's ISI connection. I had checked the list of guests before agreeing to attending the conference. Fai was a gracious soft spoken guest at the conference.

"I do not remember him taking active participation in the seminar," added Padgaonkar.

Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy who attend one of Fai's seminar said that he saw nothing wrong with attending the seminar.

In a strong indictment of Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, state Lokayukta Justice Santosh N Hegde today said he has given 'substantive' and 'voluminous' evidence against him in the illegal mining scam which has cost the state exchequer Rs 1800 crore in a period of 14 months.

Terming the illegal mining scam as a 'huge racket,' Hegde said, "In the time period of 14 months, it is more than Rs 1800 crore. The time period is between March 2009 and May 2010. It is loss to the state exchequer". Report has given substantive evidence whether it's the chief minister, ministers and miners. "It's a voluminous evidence", he said.

The arrest of separatist Kashmiri leader Ghulam Nabi Fai on charges of working for the ISI could very well add to the already tensed atmosphere
between the US and Pakistan. 

"In a move that could add to the tension between the United States and Pakistan, the FBI Tuesday accused a Pakistani-American of secretly funneling at least USD 4 million from Pakistan's top spy agency into American political activities, aiming to influence US policy on Kashmir," reported ProPublica.

The detention hearing of Ghulam Nabi Fai arrested by the FBI for illegally lobbying for Pakistan and its spy agency to influence US policy on Kashmir,
has been set for tomorrow.

#Fai, 62, arrested by the FBI on Tuesday made donations to Congressmen and presidential candidates and organised conferences and seminars to reflect the viewpoint of Pakistan on Kashmir.

The FBI in its affidavit before the US court alleged that Kashmir-born US national received hundreds and thousands of dollars from the ISI and the Government of Pakistan with the sole objective of molding the view of American policy makers on Kashmir.

Also read: Rediff.com exclusive on why India shouldn't get too excited about Fai's arrest

Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha on Twitter says the the daughter of slain cop Vijay Salaskar gunned down during 26/11 has been given a government job (Assisstant commissioner, sales tax) at the intervention of the Home minister, P Chidambaram.

Here's the story in the Deccan Herald

David Koubbi, representing Tristane Banon, the young French writer who alleges Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted her in 2003, flew from France for the meeting with Kenneth Thompson, the lawyer for the hotel maid whose accusations led to Strauss Kahns arrest in May. 

And while on #Clinton, read MK Bhadrakumar's blog on the subject. Excerpted.

A shrewd way of flattering someone is to suggest that he or she has in it them to write a book. However, smartness lies in seeing through the flattery and in knowing that writing a book is a tough call. Hillary Clinton did the easiest thing under the sun by issuing a stirring call from Chennai that India should lead Asia. Our smartness lies in knowing that India first needs to lead itself.

More

More on the News of the World phone hacking scandal, a Guardian report says that British PM David Cameron's nemesis, Andy Coulson, was never given top security clearance in government. Coulson was granted only mid-level clearance, so avoiding the most rigorous security checks into his background.

Coulson, was former News of the World editor and was appointed by Cameron as his director of communications. Read

Read: Cameron defends himself in Parliament

More news of the landmark hearing in the British Parliament of the News of the World phone hacking scandal.

A report in the Daily Beast says that James Murdoch (News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch's son) lied before Parliament at his hearing Tuesday, covering up the sum of a hush-money payout to an alleged hacking victim.

Murdoch told Parliament that the company's settlement with Gordon Taylor, chief executive of a footballers' union, likely amounted to 250,000.

But The Guardian says the figure is actually 425,000 and with legal costs thrown in, the amount of the entire coverup is almost 1 million. 

Read more

Fodder for the gossip mills in the NRI community in the UK.

Santanu Roy, an Indian-origin computer expert has been arrested and asked to pay 1000 pounds compensation for leering at a young woman on a train from
Liverpool to Manchester and performing a sex act on himself. 

Roy, 38, was in the largely empty train carriage with the victim and one other woman who was asleep. He had reportedly consumed alcohol before boarding the train at night. Roy, the father of two, stared at his victim for 15 minutes before carrying out the 'deeply shocking' behaviour on the journey. 

Roy's wife collapsed when he was arrested and was treated by paramedics.

Just in: The Supreme Court has appointed a five-member committee to supervise the unearthing and preservation of assets of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The committee will be headed by the Director General of the National Museum and will consist of representatives of the Archaeological Survey of India and the RBI.

The SC has also asked the media not to speculate on the worth of assets of the temple before its valuation is done. 

Priceless treasures found in the cellars of the temple in Kerala is estimated to be around Rs 90,000 crore.

Also read: Treasure belongs to the temple and nobody else

A nobody in India, but biggish in Hollywood, a hurt Frieda Pinto says, "I was upset initially. I guess everybody in India has tried really hard to do what they do and then move into the West... The reason why I'm doing these things outside my country, bit by bit, is to be able to come back to India equipped with the knowledge and understanding of how to hopefully produce my own films one fine day."
The 26-year-old Mumbai-born rose to international fame in 2008's 'Slumdog Millionaire' and she has since appeared in a string of Hollywood projects such as Woody Allen's 'You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger' and 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Immortals'.
But she continues to give Indian films a miss, saying she hasn't come across a good script as of yet.

India today successfully conducted the first test-fire of its indigenously developed short-range, quick reaction, tactical missile Prahar from the Integrated Test Range off Orissa coast. 

"The test launch was fully successful as the surface-to-surface, sleek missile mounted on a road mobile launcher, roared into an overcast sky, seconds within it's blast off," defence sources said.

A 41-year-old man in the US has been executed for killing a convenience store clerk from India during a shooting spree in 2001 that he had said was retaliation for the September 11 terrorist attacks. 

Mark Stroman, a Texas death row inmate, shot at least three men he mistook for Arabs in the weeks after the attacks, killing two of them. He was convicted of killing Vasudev Patel, 49, during the attempted robbery of a convenience store near Dallas in October 2001.

He was also charged in the fatal shooting of Waqar Hasan, 46, a Muslim born in Pakistan. He was executed after the US Supreme Court yesterday rejected a last-minute appeal by one of his victims to save his life.

Good morning. The headlines this morning...

Cops zero in on Amar Singh in cash-for-vote probe (The Times of India)

The home ministry on Wednesday told Delhi Police that it was free to question Amar Singh and BJP MP Ashok Argal in connection with the cash-for-vote scam. Read

Illegal mining: Lokayukta report indicts Karnataka CM Yeddyurappa (The Times of India)
BSY faces charge for land sale of companies owned by his kin to a mining company by over 20 times the market value and favouring Reddy brother. Read

2G scam: Arguments on framing of charges today (Hindustan Times)

Delhi court will today start the arguments on framing of charges against former telecom minister A Raja and former telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura in 2G spectrum allocation scam. Read

Narayana Murthy backs making bribe-giving legal (Hindustan Times)

N R Narayana Murthy, chairman emeritus at Infosys, a pioneer of outsourcing industry and leader of one of country's biggest IT firms has argued that legalising paying bribes would help reduce endemic corruption in the South Asian country. Read

We will become human bombs to keep Andhra united: TDP MLA (DNA)
A Telangana legislator retaliated with a call to kill those opposing the creation of a separate state. Read

Mumbai blasts: Sleuths struggle to zero in on perpetrators (DNA)
Though the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad and the Mumbai Crime Branch officials have been claiming that they have got vital leads and are working on them to identify the terror outfit involved, but the outfits signature is yet not clear. Read

U.S. looking at creative ideas to break impasse in Sri Lanka (The Hindu)
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed the hope that the U.S. move would enable the Sri Lankan Tamils to return to their original places of dwelling. Read

ISI paid millions to influence U.S. on Kashmir (The Hindu)

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence secretly pumped millions of dollars into a United States-based non-governmental organisation to influence politicians and opinion-makers on the Kashmir issue, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has said. Read

Al Qaida plans cartoon recruiting film for kids (Hindustan Times)

An al Qaida affiliate says it plans to roll out what some have called a Disney-like animated cartoon aimed at recruiting children to the terror network. Read