AP reports: A firefighting helicopter crashed while battling a wildfire in southwestern Turkey on Thursday, killing all five of its crew members, state-run TRT television and authorities said.

NDTV reports: A section of China's ancient and global attraction, Great Wall, has collapsed in the current round of rains.

President Pranab Mukherjee today congratulated boxer Mary Kom for winning the bronze medal in London Olympics and said her feat should inspire all sportspersons of the country. 

The Supreme Court today set a six- month deadline for removal and disposal of toxic waste of the the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal and asked the Centre and Madhya Pradesh government to do the job within the stipulated time frame.

A section of China's ancient and global attraction, Great Wall, has collapsed in the current round of rains. Repair work is underway for a section of the Great Wall in north China's Hebei province that collapsed after days of continuous rain, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Double amputee Oscar Pistorius's landmark Olympic campaign gained a reprieve today as South Africa were given a place in Friday's 4x400m relay final on appeal.

"IT'S ON!! We in the FINAL. Team management Protested as Ofentse was taken out and we have been given Lane 9!! @ljvanzyl to take his place!!!" tweeted Pistorius after he heard the news. "Will be up on the 3rd leg tomorrow for the Final! Really can't wait".

Pistorius, 25, thought his adventure had come to an end when second leg runner Ofentse Mogawane fell on the bend into the home straight after tangling with Kenya's Vincent Kiilu. Mogawane suffered a dislocated left shoulder.

Former Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda, accused of abetting the suicide of a former woman employee, evaded police for another day today even as investigators intensified search to arrest him on a day his anticipatory bail plea was rejected.

Six police teams were looking for him in connection with the case of suicide of his former employee Geetika Sharma. Searches were conducted at his residence and office in Sirsa besides recently started MDK International School, a day after they raided his farmhouse and hotel, all in Haryana.

"He is absconding. We are searching for him. We will arrest him," P Karunakaran, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West), said.

The NCP today distanced itself from an invite by a party legislator to Jism 2 star Sunny Leone as a celebrity guest at the dahi handi celebrations organised by him. NCP MLA from Thane, Jitendra Awhad, has invited Sunny Leone at the dahi handi celebrations tomorrow.

"NCP has nothing to do with the invitation. It is not a function organised by the party but by the legislator in his personal capacity," state NCP spokesperson Madan Bafna said.

Fayzarahmanist sect with 70 members -- including 20 children -- discovered in bunker near Kazan without heat or light. Read

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today indicated he might not be tweeting as he used to do earlier. "Do not rely on tweets for what I think any longer because it is a lose-lose situation for me," Omar said at the launch of "Kashmir Tribune", a special daily pullout of the Tribune newspaper.

Omar was known for tweeting on issues and matters of public concern but had surprisingly kept quiet since July 24 even as the Kashmir valley witnessed some unpleasant incidents like the killing of a youth in army firing at Bandipora and subsequent protests.

However, the Chief Minister broke the fortnight-long self-imposed 'gag' by saying he has nothing to say on Twitter. Omar expressed surprise how one newspaper dubs him as 'tweet-a-minute Chief Minister' while another publication questions his silence if he chooses to do so.

Smoke still billowing out of the window of a 9th floor apartment, but no visible signs of the fire. The building apparently has offices of Shyam Benegal, Sunil Gavaskar and ad man Prahlad Kakkar.

Twelve people are believed to be trapped in the fire at Everest building in Mumbai, even as rescue operations are on. Eight fire tenders have been rushed to the spot. As we told you earlier, Everest is a residential building.

And another one on the WSJ by Sadanand Dhume: India Can Go Faster, Higher, Stronger: The way to increase India's Olympics medals haul? Push economic reforms. Read

While we await details of the Mumbai fire, the WSJ has this report on tiger deaths showing a sharp rise in 2012. Read

The fire is in the 9th floor of the Everest building in Tardeo. The building has commercial establishments, shops and offices on the ground floor, while the rest of the floors are residential.
Details awaited.

Reports of a fire in a residential highrise building in Tardeo, Mumbai. Eight fire tenders have been rushed to the spot.

Canadian equity research firm Veritas Investment Research has lately shaken up the usually complacent world of stock research in India by publishing several reports that question corporate governance at large Indian companies. Read the post on the Wall Street Journal.

For more than 20 years, families in Kashmir have been divided by a stretch of water only 100 metres wide - a river that is part of one of the most deeply disputed borders in the world. And despite easing tensions between India and Pakistan, their hopes of returning home seem as remote as ever.

Read the report on the bbc.

The Centre today moved the Supreme Court seeking an additional four-month extension of the court's August 31 deadline to complete the process of fresh auctioning of 2G spectrum licences.

An application submitted to the apex court by the Ministry of Telecom said it needed time till November 12 to start the auction and another 40 days to complete the procedure and allocate licenses and spectrum.

The decision to approach the apex court for extension of August 31 deadline to complete the auction of the raidowaves was taken at a meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers on telecom on August 7.

And another one from the NYT...

For victim in Sikh temple shooting, a life of separation

A couple of reads from the NYT blogs

Lost boys of the Line of Control

Uttarakhand floods kill scores and displace hundreds

A conversation with: Author Nilanjana Roy

Just in: Police have recovered Rs 1 crore from the house of Fiza Mohammad. Anuradha Bali alias Fiza, the estranged second wife of former Haryana deputy chief minister Chander Mohan, was found dead in her house in Mohali near Chandigarh on Monday with the police in the dark on the cause of the death.

The body of 39-year-old Fiza, a former assistant advocate general of Haryana, was found in her bedroom in a highly decomposed state, Deputy Superintendent of Police D S Mann told the media.

"She may have died four to five days back," he said. Mann said that preliminary investigations did not indicate any scuffle between her and any other persons in the room and the cause of the death could be ascertained only after the postmortem report.

An autopsy report suggested that there were no signs of injury on her body.

A Delhi court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of former Haryana Minister Gopal Goyal Kanda.

Kanda had filed for bail fearing arrest in ex-airhostess Geetika Sharma suicide case. He told the court she was a "hypersensitive girl" with "mixed emotions of love and hatred towards him" and she might have been "jilted".

Kanda's counsel KTS Tusli told Additional Sessions Judge Rajnish Bhatnagar that Geetika's suicide note shows she had "an element of jealousy and mixed emotions of love and hatred" towards his client. "Nowhere has Geetika said in her note that I instigated her to commit suicide" he argued before the court.

Phone snatchers had a field day at Ramlila Maidan, the venue of yoga guru Ramdev's fast, as over 50 mobile phones were reported missing from the ground. Four to five people, who allegedly stole the phones, were caught by the volunteers who were asked by Ramdev not to punish them.

"Give lighter punishments to these small thieves. Catch bigger thieves," the yoga guru said, referring to people stashing black money in foreign banks. Volunteers said over 50 mobile phones are reported to have been stolen from the Ramlila Maidan after the fast protest began this morning.

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's forthcoming venture 'Raaz 3' which contains a slice from Bipasha Basu's life, says, the model-turned actress is not having a good run in the industry primarily due to the competition from the younger lot in the tinsel town.

A lot of films like 'The Dirty Picture' or the upcoming release 'Heroine' revolves around the meteoric rise and downfall of a superstar or a supermodel. Vikram Bhatt's directorial venture, 'Raaz 3' also appears to be similar, as it focuses on two actresses - Bipasha Basu and Esha Gupta -- with Emraan Hashmi playing the role of a director.

"It also coincides with Bipasha Basu's life where she is feeling the breath of extinction as the younger girls have come in who may elbow her out. Today Bipasaha is not as safe as she was 10 years ago when she came into the industry," he said.

Releasing September 7, 'Raaz 3' talks about the turbulent times of an actress, played by Bipasha and how she begins to turn to black magic to destroy a budding star (Esha) and get back the man (Emraan) she loves.

Wannabe model does a Poonam Pandey. See

On a visit to the US to commiserate with the Sikhs after the Gurdwara shooting, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has been hit with a federal lawsuit by a US-based human rights group alleging the "torture" of Sikhs in the state.

The lawsuit contends that Badal had command and control of law enforcement officials, who "inflicted cruel and inhumane treatment and extrajudicial death" on three named plaintiffs and thousands of other unnamed members of a requested class of plaintiffs, the Journal Sentinel newspaper here said.

Badal is visiting Milwaukee for a wedding and to attend the funerals of victims in Sunday's Gurdwara shooting in which six Sikhs were killed.

The hate-filled music subculture is gaining attention amid news that Wade Michael Page, the suspect in the deadly Wisconsin shooting, played in white power bands.
Read

A poster showing Ramdev's close aide Balakrishna alongside Mahatma Gandhi and other freedom fighters at his protest venue today triggered a controversy following which the yoga guru expressed regret.

The poster, which ran into trouble had Balakrishna's image along with that of Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose and other freedom fighters. As soon as TV channels ran a news story about the controversial posters, the organisers suddenly removed it from the protest venue at Ramlila Maidan.

The removal of posters came before Ramdev arrived at the dais. "We regret this. I urge activists not to carry such posters. Attention should not be diverted from the core issue," Ramdev said. Balakrishna is in CBI custody in connection with a fake document case.

A CBI inquiry into the Assam violence has been initiated and the Army put on alert, the government told the Rajya Sabha today as the opposition alleged that the region was not safe because of vote bank politics being indulged by the ruling Congress.

Replying to a debate on the issue of violence in Assam that has so far claimed 74 lives, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the government was taking the issue seriously and has already initiated a CBI inquiry to ascertain the causes behind violent incidents.

"The government is taking this issue very seriously. A CBI team has gone there and an inquiry has started....I have instructed the Army to be alert," he said.

As the opposition created an uproar expressing dissatisfaction over his reply, Shinde said, "I have instructed the Army to be on alert. What else do you want?" He also listed the steps taken by the government to provide relief and rehabilitation, but the opposition dismissed what he said by creating uproar.

Our Delhi sources tell us that, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to bring a Constitution amendment bill for reservation to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, promotions in government jobs.

Responding to the uproar in both the Houses of Parliament today, Dr Singh took the decision in an impromptu meeting with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati and other MPs after the second 15-minute adjournment of the Rajya Sabha with her colleagues storming into the well of the House.

Detailed report on rediff.com

Our Delhi sources tell us that RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat is in New Delhi and plans to meet senior BJP leaders today. He will also interact with the members of the Foreign Correspondents Club where he is expected to discuss Assam, Bangladesh and even the attack on Sikhs in the US.  But that's all we can tell you because the RSS spokesman has said that discussions are off the record, in other words, not for publication.  

The Planning Commission today expressed disappointment over decline in industrial output by 1.8 per cent in June, while hoping the steps announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram would help in boosting growth.

"The industrial number has been disappointing for the first few months (of the fiscal)," Commission's Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said. He added that initiatives announced by Chidambaram to boost investment sentiments last week would help in turn around of the economy.

The killing of six Sikhs in a US gurdwara on Sunday, led to a slanging match between the opposition and treasury benches in the Lok Sabha with Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal accusing Akali Dal of "baking the political cake on funeral pyre" of the victims.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Harsimrat Kaur (Akali Dal) demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lead a delegation of Sikh MPs to the US and the government carry out a global campaign to "enlighten" people abroad that Sikhs were not terrorists.

Heated exchanges between Opposition and Congress members ensued when Partap Singh Bajwa (Cong) started speaking on the issue and Akali Dal members stormed the Well of the House. This prompted M Thambidurai, who was in the Chair, to adjourn the House for over an hour. Like yesterday, Congress President Sonia Gandhi was seen marshalling the forces when Kaur became sharply critical of the Congress and the government accusing them of doing precious little when the community was the target of attacks.

She also accused the Congress of being responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. "Whatever has happened is a tragedy for the whole nation and it is a matter of concern. .... We should not bake our political cake on the funeral pyre of the victims. It is not good," Bansal said, apparently taking the signal from Gandhi.

The Legislative Discussion in Rajya Sabha on the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute for Youth Development Bill is being taken up. Mani Shankar Aiyar speaking.

Three months after Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan was involved in a row with MCA and police officials at Wankhede Stadium, the Maharashtra Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued a notice to Marine Drive police station and a complainant in the case.

Complainant Amit Maru, through his lawyer Y P Singh, had approached the commission saying that seven cognisable offences were made against Khan and sought a direction from it to police to register an FIR against the actor.

The notice, sent yesterday by the commission to Maru and Marine Drive police station, said the hearing on the complaint will take place on August 16.

Also in Parliament... "The government is seriously engaged in dealing with serious frauds committed by companies, stock brokers and sub-brokers in the corporate sector," Corporate Affairs Minister M Veerappa Moily said during Question Hour today.

Moily who was recently handed the power portfolio as well, said that the Serious Fraud Investigation Office had established Market Research and Analysis Unit to deal with frauds committed by brokers and sub-brokers.

"The ministry is seriously engaging with this matter and a number of measures have been taken," Moily said. He said around 32,000 companies have adopted guidelines issued by the ministry and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office. This will help the SFIO to deal with the menace in a more effective manner.

In Parliament, the HRD Minister moves for a discussion on the National Accreditation Regulatory Authority Bill for Higher Educational Institutions in the LokSabha. What the bill says.

And an update on the political scandal in Haryana: Former Haryana Minister Gopal Goyal Kanda, fearing arrest in ex-airhostess Geetika Sharma suicide case, today sought anticipatory bail from a Delhi court, saying she was a "hypersensitive girl" with "mixed emotions of love and hatred towards him" and she might have been "jilted".

Kanda's counsel KTS Tusli told Additional Sessions Judge Rajnish Bhatnagar that Geetika's suicide note shows she had "an element of jealousy and mixed emotions of love and hatred" towards his client. "Nowhere has Geetika said in her note that I instigated her to commit suicide" he argued before the court, which reserved its order for 4 pm.

Gu Kailai is the wife of Bo Xilai, the former Communist Party chief in Chongqing, was once seen as a high-flyer tipped for top office. The BBC looks at how China's biggest political scandal in years unfolded. Read

The trial of Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Bo Xilai, has ended. Gu did not raise objections in court to charges against her of murdering a British businessman, a court official said.

Reuters reports that, "During the trial (Gu) Kailai was in good shape and mentally stable," court official Tang Yigan said. The court will, during the adjournment, seriously and thoroughly consider the evidence, take into consideration the arguments of both sides, and according to facts and the law ... the trial committee will announce the verdict after discussion. The date of the verdict will be announced.

"Gu and her co-accused, family aide Zhang Xiaojun, are charged with poisoning Briton Neil Heywood last year in a case that has rocked the Communist Party leadership.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today downplayed the reported trouble involving jawans and officers in an army unit in Samba sector in Jammu and Kashmir saying a "small incident" was being blown out of proportion.

Singh's response came in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour after CPI-M members referred to yesterday's incident saying there was breach of discipline in the military camp in the border district after a soldier had committed suicide.

The members were talking about the reported slogan-shouting by the jawans against officers after the suicide. CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said, "It's a serious matter. Let the Defence Minister respond."

As Defence Minister A K Antony was not present, the Prime Minister rose to respond and said, "I request the House not to have a discussion on the subject...This is a very small incident. This is a small incident, which is being blown out of proportion. It is not good for the morale of our armed forces." The members relented after the Prime Minister spoke.

The incident was reportedly triggered when the jawan, Arun V, who hails from Thiruvananthapuram, shot himself with his service rifle in the camp of the 16th Light Cavalry at Samba in the morning. He died on the spot.

Describing the Wisconsin gurdwara shooting that claimed six lives as "very shocking", Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has appealed to the Sikhs in the US to keep "peace and harmony", as he met the victims' families and visited the injured. Badal, who is on a private visit to the US along with several of his Cabinet colleagues, reached Milwaukee area in Wisconsin state yesterday and met the victims' families.

The Punjab Chief Minister is also expected to attend the visitation for the gurdwara shooting victims tomorrow, which will take place from 9 am to 11 am local time at the Oak Creek High School. "I came here for a wedding; I never expected such a thing," Badal told the local Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.


Also read the New Yorker story: Lights in Oak Creek
 

In other news, India's market leader Bharti Airtel has reported a 10th straight decline in quarterly profits. Overcrowding has forced prices to rock bottom, and an uncertain regulatory environment is preventing consolidation.

Read

NDTV reports that the Army has foiled a major infiltration bid at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, last night. The Army intercepted 12 militants and after an exchange of gunfire, the militants retreated. Unfortunately, one jawan was killed. 

High drama in the Rajya Sabha today. As home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde was speaking on the Assam issue, in response to what BJP senior leader Arun Jaitley, SP MP Jaya Bachchan tried to butt in.

Shinde turned around snapped at her and said, "this is a serious issue, not a filmy one." The uproar from the opposition benches was immediate and expected. Shinde apologised and said he was sorry if he had hurt Jaya and that she was like his sister.

Youth Affairs and Sports minister Ajay Maken speaking now. The House has not officially announced a lunch break, but most benches are empty. 

Shinde says he is personally monitoring the situation in Assam. 

In defence, Sushil Kumar Shinde says Assam is not witnessing violence for the first time. As far as illegal immigrants go, the government has set up 36 tribunals so far, says Shinde.

Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde replies to Arun Jaitley.  He says talking on communal lines is a threat to national security. 

Back to Arun Jaitley speaking to MPs listening with rapt attention. He says Assam is used as an alternate vote bank, which is the cause of the problem.  He says the government has allowed illegal immigration into Assam. There must be a process of throwing out illegal immigrants, he says. Not a peep out of the Treasury benches.

Following a policy of discrimination against the Muslim victims of violence in Assam in the matter of humanitarian relief could drive some of them into the hands of the Islamic fundamentalist and other extremist organisations active in the affected areas, writes B Raman

Read the column on Rediff.com.

Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitely, takes up the Assam violence issue. He charges the UPA government with treating the Assam violence as a simple crime. He says there has been an unnatural change in the demography in Assam.

Jaitley says the cultural identity of Assam has been disturbed and parties must put aside all political differences in dealing with the issue of violence in not just Assam, but the northeast as well.

Inter Services Intelligence Chief Lt Gen Zaheer ul Islam returned to Pakistan on Sunday after his visit to Washington, DawnNews reported. The ISI Chief  will submit a detailed report of his US trip to Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, sources said. Lieutenant General Zaheer ul-Islam, the new head of the ISI agency, was paying the first visit to Washington in a year by the leader of Pakistan's powerful spy body.

Read more

The Sikh temple gunman's former girlfriend was arrested on gun charges, but the FBI said she wasn't involved in the attack. Experts say women are increasingly involved in white hate groups. Read the report on the CSI Monitor. 

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was recovering from heart surgery, days after his 82nd birthday. It wasn't clear where the surgery occurred or where Armstrong was recuperating.

A NASA spokesman who talked to Armstrong's wife, Carol, said only that the former astronaut was recovering yesterday. His birthday was on Sunday.  "Neil's pioneering spirit will surely serve him well in this challenging time and the entire NASA Family is holding the Armstrong family in our thoughts and prayers," a NASA statement said.

The national emergency unfolding in Assam plunged India's Parliament into chaos on Wednesday, adding pressure on the Congress party-led government to intervene to help the hundreds of thousands internally displaced people in the northeastern Indian state.

Read

Numbers at Ramdev's Ramlila rally have swelled to 15,000 says CNN IBN.

@thekiranbedi Happy to see Baba Explaining what Movement Anna did. But was not telecast. I am glad it is being done now for larger public awareness.

Brunei's first female Olympian, 19-year-old track athlete Maziah Mahusin, has generated so much buzz here that the country's Chef-de-Mission Haji Mohd Zamri Dato Paduka Haji Hamdani has been mostly handling interview requests from the world media. Hamdani, also the Vice President of Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council, has been inundated with requests from the international media to interview the young athlete who competes in the women's 400 metres. "She has been chased after since she came here," said Dato Paduka Haji Hamdani.

"It seems that she is a celebrity in the Olympic Village. People are asking for comments and viewpoints after being selected as the first female athlete from Brunei in the Olympic Games.

"It is a good signal for Brunei and hopefully there will be more to come if given the opportunity. I am very proud she broke the national record in front of 80,000 people. That is a great achievement for her." Hamdani explained that Maziah had a fever on her first day in the British capital but recovered to race at the Olympic Stadium.

She might have had to settle for a bronze medal after losing in the Olympics semifinals but woman boxer M C Mary Kom (51kg) has won accolades from her fellow Manipuris for her grit and determination at the big event.

"We are very much proud of Mary for her determination and courage which has brought a bronze medal for the country," her former coach Ibomcha Singh said. "We are very happy that Mary has won a bronze medal and it is matter of pride for the country and for a small state like Manipur," Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh said adding that process for promoting Mary in the state police department was over.

Meanwhile, a grand welcome awaits the Manipuri pugilist when she arrives home in the next few days. Several civil organisations said they were prepared to turn out in large numbers to receive the Olympic medal holder when she returns home.

At the Ramlila Grounds, Baba Ramdev says he will not enter politics, but will ensure that the government is forced to pass the Lokpal Bill.

Voicing regret over the shooting incident at a Wisconsin gurdwara that killed six Sikh worshippers, Oak Creek Mayor Steve Scaffidi briefed Indian envoy to the US, Nirupama Rao, about the measures he would put in place to upgrade the security at the shrine.

During a meeting with Rao, who was in the city yesterday, the Mayor also informed her of the steps that would be taken for better interaction with the Sikh community.

"Oak Creek Mayor Scaffidi welcomed the Ambassador to Oak Creek and expressed regret over the tragic incident, adding that he was struck by the peaceful and composed reaction of the Sikh community," the Indian embassy said in a statement. Scaffidi informed Rao of the measures that he would put in place to upgrade the security at the gurdwara, the statement said.


Also read: Wade Michael Page and the rise of violent far-right extremism

In more world news, disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai's wife, accused of murdering a British businessman, went on trial today in a high-profile case following a major political scandal that rocked the ruling CPC and cost her husband his job.

Bo's wife Gu Kailai, herself a former top lawyer, and her orderly Zhang Xiaojun were charged with the murder of British businessman and family friend Neil Heywood, who was poisoned to death in November last year. The murder trial is being held in Hefei city, even though Heywood's murder took place at Chongqing, to avoid any reprisals as Bo, 63, ruled the city when he was the head of the Communist Party of China's local unit and had built his support base.

Her nickname is Babyface, and from the family album snapshots of a cute little girl in pigtails, it's not hard to see why.But Nicola Adams grew up to fight her way to the top in one of the toughest of sports for a woman '" boxing. Last night the determined 29-year-old was on the brink of fulfilling her 17-year dream to win an Olympic gold medal.

Nicola, by the way, is the person who pipped Mary Kom to the silver/gold medal.

Read more

@thekiranbedi Baba must not go by any assurances! Past record shows none of them were honoured. Be it PM's letter or unanimous resolution of Parliament!

Baba Ramdev is addressing a 5000 strong crowd, mostly made up of his supporters, at Ramlila Ground, New Delhi. He says Anna Hazare is still with him in this fight and he is not here to dislodge anyone from power. That is an attempt to put to rest reports that there were serious fault lines between Ramdev and Team Anna.

Ramdev reiterates that his agitation is not against any political party. He says his agitation is not against any political party and his doors are open for Sonia Gandhi. The movement is only against black money.

The yoga guru visited Rajghat and Shahid Park in Delhi before hitting Ramlila Maidan. If you recollect, his last rally at the Ramlila Maidan in June last year, ended abruptly when police stormed the venue of the fast at midnight, resulting in the death of one person.

Just in: CNN IBN reports that four bombs have been found in a Lucknow district court. Details of the type of bomb and the intensity are not yet known. Police have reached the spot. 

Industrial production declines by 1.8 per cent in June, against a growth of 9.5 per cent in the same month a year ago. Industrial production contracts by 0.1 per cent in April- June quarter as against a growth of 6.9 per cent in year ago period

Moving on to the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, yoga guru Ramdev said that had he not fled from the Ramlila ground in Delhi during the police crackdown in the early morning on June 5, he too would have met the same fate as Rajbala. In reply to a question from one of his followers here last night, Ramdev claimed he would have been killed had he not fled from the Ramlila maidan.

"I would not have been here among you had I not fled that day," he said. Ramdev is currently undertaking a 'Swabhiman Yatra' and is touring various districts of Uttar Pradesh.The yoga guru was agitating against corruption with thousands of his followers at the Ramlila ground in June when police had allegedly lathicharged on the gathering.

A 51-year-old woman, Rajbala, was seriously injured and succumbed in a Delhi hospital last year.

Just in: The Supreme Court has dismissed YSR Congress leader Jaganmohan Reddy's plea challenging his arrest in a disproportionate assets case. The Andhra Pradesh high court last month dismissed a bail petition filed by YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy in an alleged disproportionate assets case.

Jagan, who was named as the key accused in the case, was arrested on May 27 and is under judicial remand at Chanchalguda jail in Hyderabad.

Question Hour begins in the Lok Sabha on the black marketing of railway tickets.
Yesterday, proceedings were disrupted twice after senior BJP leader LK Advani called the UPA 2 government an illegitimate child. Read

A south African man on Wednesday pleaded guilty of being hired by a British-Indian to kill his wife while on their honeymoon and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, raising the prospects of early extradition and trial of the accused businessman husband.

Mziwamadoda Qwabe was one of two men accused by prosecution of being hired by British-Indian businessman Shrien Dewani to kill 28-year-old Anni Dewani, a Swedish of Indian-origin, in a township near Cape Town during the couple's honeymoon in November 2010.

@raydeep OMG!!! Balkrishna in the same poster as Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru in Ramleela ground.

The much-hyped Lokpal bill could be tabled in Rajya Sabha in the ongoing monsoon session if a parliamentary panel looking into the legislation gives its report before the end of the session, the government said today.


"I am told that the select committee could probably give its report on Lokpal bill by September three. If it happens, we will bring the bill", Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said. He said a total of 118 bills of the government were in various stages and much would depend on the recommendations of standing committees and the time available for their introduction or tabling in either House of Parliament.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has said that Baba Ramdev has the right to voice his opinion within the country's democratic set up. Nitish said the yoga guru has been proactive in raising several issues to the fore, and added that he even has the right to organise a campaign.

"Everyone in the country within the democratic set up has the right to voice their opinion on an issue or organise a campaign about the same. Baba Ramdev also has the right to do so and I appreciate his initiative. He has always been proactive in raising this issue," he told mediapersons in Patna yesterday.

The Punjab and Haryana high court yesterday ordered to restore the pension benefits to the former Haryana DGP, S P S Rathore, who was convicted in Ruchika molestation case.

However, while directing the central government to restore Rathore's pension, Justice S K Mittal has made it clear that restoration of pension to Rathore would be provisional and subject to the outcome of the appeal filed by Rathore before the Supreme Court against his conviction.

S P S Rathore's pension was withheld by the MHA in June 2010, following his conviction in the Ruchika molestation case by a district court in Chandigarh and the Punjab and Haryana high court.

More on the Times of India.

Hundreds of people from various walks of life, Indian-Americans in particular, gathered in cities across the US to mourn the killing of six Sikh worshippers at a Wisconsin gurdwara, describing the incident as an "ugly and dark day" in the US history.

Be it Manhattan in New York City, the Lafayette Square Park in front of the White House in Washington or places like Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, the mood was same everywhere, with people, including children and women, displaying pictures of the six worshippers shot dead by a lone gunman at the Oak Creek gurudwara on Sunday.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev visited Rajghat before he began his indefinite fast at Ramlila Maidan today in his demand of bringing back the black money stashed abroad.  

Around 10,000 supporters have gathered at Ramlila Maidan. The yoga guru has the permission to protest at this venue till August 30.  

Along with bringing back black money, Baba Ramdev will also demand for the anti-graft legislation -- the Lokpal Bill, which till now was championed by Anna Hazare. Ramdev had invited Hazare to fast with him but he refused.  

Ramdev's previous protest in Ramlila Maidan in June last year ended in a midnight police crackdown with authorities claiming that he violated the norms agreed upon. He was caught by police while trying to flee from the venue in woman's attire.

Sharpening its missile teeth, India today successfully test-fired its medium range nuclear capable Agni-II missile with a strike range of 2000 km as part of a user trial by the army from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.

"The trial of the surface-to-surface missile was conducted from a mobile launcher from the Launch Complex-4 of Integrated Test Range at 8:48 am," defence sources said.

Describing the launch as a complete success, ITR Director MVKV Prasad said, "All mission parameters were met during the trial of the indigenously developed missile." Agni-II Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile has already been inducted into the services and today's test was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command of the Army with logistic support provided by the Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation.

The wife of former high-flying Chinese politician Bo Xilai has gone on trial charged with murdering British businessman Neil Heywood, reports BBC.

Gu Kailai is accused of poisoning Heywood in 2011 in Chongqing, where her husband was the Communist party head. State media has called the case against her and an aide "substantial".

The country is preparing to install a new generation of leaders, and Bo Xilai had once been seen as a strong contender for one of the top jobs. He was sacked in March and is currently under investigation for unspecified "disciplinary violations".

Gu, 53, who is a well-known lawyer, is being tried in the city of Hefei.

Dozens of uniformed and plain-clothes police were stationed around the court building, at which a convoy of black cars was seen arriving on Thursday morning

The police are raiding the residences of ex-Harayana minister Gopal Kanda in Delhi and NCR. He resigned after airhostess Geetika Sharma named him in her suicide note. She was found dead on August 5.  

Kanda did not appear for his scheduled interrogation by the Delhi police on Wednesday. Six police search teams are hunting for him -- one even visited his farmhouse yesterday in Faridabad, near Delhi. The police have declared Kanda an absconder but his counsels have filed for anticipatory bail.

Eleven people have been killed in a car bomb attack near the central town of Suwayrah, officials say.

The attack took place close to a group of Shia Muslims who had gathered to break their Ramadan fast. At least 20 others were wounded in the blast.

Read the full story on BBC

The Taliban have threatened to kill Pakistani cricket star turned politician, Imran Khan, if he holds a planned march to their tribal stronghold to protest US drone attacks.

Although the Pakistani Taliban also oppose the strikes, spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said they would attack Imran Khan because he calls himself a "liberal" a term they associate with a lack of religious belief.

The threat could surprise many in Pakistan who have criticised Khan for not being tough enough on the Taliban and instead focusing his criticism on the governments alliance with the US.

Read the full story on Dawn

Gurdwara shooter died of self-inflicted gunshot: FBI

1 killed as crane collapses on metro site in Chennai

Kashmir: 7 injured in grenade attack at police station

1.53 lakh people affected by floods in Bihar

Geetika death probe: Ex-Haryana minister 'absconding'

MJP merges with Keshubhai's Gujarat Parivartan Party

'No motive established yet in gurdwara killing'

Deshmukh's condition stable, says hospital executive

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