External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday spoke to his Afghan counterpart Zalmay Rassoul and thanked him for the Afghan forces' efforts to thwart a terror attack on the Indian consulate in Jalalabad.   

An inquiry has been ordered into the reported denial of permission to the Tamil Nadu DGP by an official of the Prime Minister's Special Protection Group to enter the VVIP area at the airport.     

Congress leader Digvijay Singh's son Jaiwardhan today alleged that Madhya Pradesh minister K L Agrawal "misbehaved" with his driver and tried to attack him over parking of the car, a charge denied by the minister.        

Twenty Tamil Nadu fishermen were today taken into custody along with their boats by Sri Lankan naval personnel for allegedly trespassing into Lankan waters, a report of the fisheries department said.        

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has once again written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanding that the Sardar Sarovar Project should be given 90 per cent central assistance under the Desert Development Programme for accelerated irrigation benefit to such areas.        

A suspected Indian drone allegedly entered Pakistani airspace in Sialkot sector today, officials said.        

Stepping into the raging controversy over Ramesh Chennithala's entry into the Oommen Chandy-led UDF government, senior Congress leader P J Kurien today said the KPCC chief should have been made deputy chief minister as it would have helped maintain the "communal balance" in the Cabinet.        

Terming the creation of Telangana as an election gimmick by the Congress before the Lok Sabha polls, BJP spokesperson Menakshi Lekhi today said a State Reorganisation Committee should be set up to look into the justified and unjustified demands of statehood.          

The Congress high command today put the onus on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana to ensure the withdrawal of resignations that were submitted by five ministers and several legislators from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions over the proposed bifurcation of the state.        

BJP President Rajnath Singh today demanded immediate revocation of the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, claiming the action against her has "hurt" the morale of honest officials.       

Normal life was paralysed when an indefinite bandh began today in Darjeeling for a separate Gorkhaland state, with a GJM supporter who had attempted immolation five days ago succumbing to his injuries.        

CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta today took potshots at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the government's efforts to attract FDI and said India should stop looking at the US and other countries for help.        

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi today alleged that Congress President Sonia Gandhi's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the suspension of UP IAS officer Durga Nagpal was 'politically motivated'.        

Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy today visited Aditi Hotel in central Mumbai, which was forced to down its shutters by Youth Congress activists  for carrying an anti-UPA government footnote on its cash bill.        

More than 100 buildings were damaged and two people were injured when an earthquake of moderate intensity shook Kishtwar and Doda districts of Jammu and Kashmir today.           

Appearing reconciled to the decision to carve Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh, Congress leader and Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi today said Hyderabad should be made a Union Territory or the permanent joint capital of both the states.        

BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha has been asked by the party high command to restrain himself as his comments against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and in favour of his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar, who has snapped ties with the NDA, is harming the party's interest.    

Normal life was paralysed as an indefinite bandh began today in Darjeeling to demand a Gorkhaland state.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said he was looking forward to free and fair elections in the Maldives while stressing on the close bilateral relationship.        

Noting that both UPA and NDA are "collapsing",  CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury today maintained that only time would decide whether a "third alternative" would emerge in the country.       

Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil today said the government will examine the controversial statement by youth leader Nitesh Rane regarding Gujaratis living in Mumbai, and take action if he was found guilty.        

The special court for CBI cases today reserved its order on the anticipatory bail plea of Additional Director General of Police Prithvi Pal Pandey, an accused in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter killing case, till August 6.     

Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict on death row for the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, was today sentenced to a two-and-half-year prison term in an 18-year-old Arms Act case.        

The NIA has arrested an operative of banned outfit SIMI, Abdul Sathar, in connection with a 2010 probe in the unlawful training of SIMI cadres in Kerala.        

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about UP IAS officer Durga Nagpal's controversial suspension.

Senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh today joined the voices within the party who are not in favour of naming Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, saying India does not have a presidential system of democracy.        

Under fire over his remarks about Gujaratis living in Mumbai, Swabhimaan Sanghatana chief Nitesh Rane today said his statement was not against all Gujaratis, but directed at only those amongst them who felt that Gujarat under Narendra Modi was doing better than Maharashtra.

Nitesh, son of senior Congress leader Narayan Rane, said his comments were aimed at those who favoured the Gujarat Chief Minister's development model. "I only said that those who feel Modi is doing a good job can move there," he told reporters.

"My remarks were not aimed at all Gujaratis but only at those who feel there is more development in Gujarat," he said. "I have taken a political stance... I have stated clearly that people living in Mumbai who feel that Gujarat is developing more than us (Maharashtra), or those who feel Modi is developing Gujarat more than us, why don't they go there," Nitesh said.

Two terrorists and an army jawan were killed in the latest gunbattle along the LoC in Kupwara, taking the number of terrorists killed in the six-day-long counter-infiltration operations in the north Kashmir district to 13.

A fresh encounter took place between terrorists and security forces in Tandghar sector of Kupwara during the night, resulting in the death of a terrorist, a defence spokesman said.

The slain terrorist's associate was killed yesterday after the troops observed them trying to sneak into the valley from across the border under the cover of darkness, the spokesman said.

A special CBI court today listed for August 17 the arguments on a plea by Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy that the written statement given by former Telecom Minister A Raja to the JPC on 2G scam be placed before court.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini, who was scheduled to pass an order on the plea, posted it for August 17 after the counsel appearing on behalf of Swamy said that he would advance some arguments in the matter.

The lawyer told the court that Swamy was not in Delhi while the counsel, who was to argue on the plea, was unwell.

Swamy had earlier argued that Raja's statement to the JPC is an important piece of document to arrive at the truth and the logical conclusion in the 2G spectrum case.

It was a drama that had all ingredients of a Hindi tearjerker with a happy ending when a turbaned Gurubaj Singh knocked the door of the Maharashtrian Domale family here which was ecstatic to see the "guest".

It was the return of the prodigal son - Ankush - who had left home in a fit of anger 11 years ago, finding his way back to the city this week thanks to Facebook.

Santosh, the younger brother of Ankush - who adopted Sikh religion during his travails away from home -- received a message on his FB profile on July 21 night when he was about to go to bed which startled him

 It said, "I am your brother. call me". When he called on the messaged number, it was his brother Ankush who had run away from home at the age of 13, trying to communicate in Hindi.

The Obama Administration has announced a grant of more than half a million dollars for the victims of the Oak Creek Gurdwara shootout a year ago, as the Sikh community began a four-day memorial service observing the tragic incident in Wisconsin that killed six Sikh worshippers.

"I'm pleased to announce that the Justice Department's Office on Victims of Crime will offer an emergency assistance grant to the Wisconsin Department of Justice providing over $512,000 to help reimburse, and continue to pay for, mental health and trauma services for the victims and survivors of this horrific shooting," US Attorney General Eric Holder said in a blog posting yesterday.

"These funds are intended to assist all those affected - including family members, witnesses, first responders and the wider Oak Creek community -- as they continue to rebuild their lives and keep displaying the extraordinary resiliency so many of us have come to admire," he wrote.

Comedienne Ellen Degeneres has been chosen to host the upcoming 86th annual Academy Awards.

This would be the second stint for DeGeneres, 55, the star of her own daytime talk show "Ellen," who previously hosted the Oscars in 2007, reported Ace Showbiz.

"I am so excited to be hosting the Oscars for the second time. You know what they say - the third time's the charm," she said.

Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron said, "We are thrilled to have Ellen DeGeneres host the Oscars. As a longtime friend, we had always hoped to find a project for us to do together and nothing could be more exciting than teaming up to do the Oscars."

A moderate intensity earthquake, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale shook Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar and Doda districts and parts of the Valley today, a day after a similar quake hit the region.

The quake, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale, hit the area around 3.08am today, Met officials said. The quake lasted for 9 seconds, and was followed by two aftershocks measuring 3.7 and 2.9 on the Richter Scale at 4.12am and 3.12am today respectively, they said.

The epicentre of the quake was 12 kms north-east of Kishtwar area and 78 kms south-east of Anantnag (Kashmir Valley) of Jammu and Kashmir.

There was no immediate report of any casualty or injury reported from anywhere, the officials said. However, the quake and aftershocks triggered fear psychosis and panic among the people, who rushed out of their homes and spent the night in the open in Kishtwar and Bhaderwah belts of Chenab Valley.

Germany canceled a Cold War-era surveillance pact with the United States and Britain on Friday in response to revelations by National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden about those countries' alleged electronic eavesdropping operations.

At least five people were killed and one injured while 150 persons were left homeless due to floods in northwest Pakistan, rescue officials said. 

The next Israeli-Palestinian peace talks session will be held in Israel in the second week of August and a first group of Palestinian prisoners will be freed by then, Israel's chief negotiator said on Friday.

The driver of a Spanish train that derailed, killing 79 people, ignored three warnings to reduce speed in the two minutes before the train hurtled off the tracks on a treacherous curve, crash investigators said Friday.

Maoists blew up a railway track near here late tonight, disrupting traffic on the Gaya-Mugalsari route of East Central Railway. 

Egypt's interim vice president Mohamed ElBaradei has called for a halt to violence followed by talks with the Muslim Brotherhood and other backers of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. 

On the same day Edward Snowden, the former NSA contractor now on the run from U.S. authorities, was issued temporary asylum by Russia and travel documents so he could leave Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, he also got a job offer. 

Defaint supporters of Egypt's deposed president Mohammed Morsi today staged defiant protest rallies against his removal, with police firing teargas at demonstrators, amidst raising fears of renewed violence as the interim government authorised police to disperse them. 

The US Justice Department will begin keeping numbers on hate crimes committed against Sikhs and six other groups, in connection with Monday's one-year anniversary of the killing of six Sikh worshippers. 

The FBI today said it could not have done more to prevent the Boston Marathon bombings despite having been alerted to one of the suspects two years earlier. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued advance warnings predicting extreme weather conditions in Uttarakhand before the flash-floods in June, its chief said here today. 

So far, there is no clear information on where he would be living or how far he'd actually be allowed to travel. But in case he's able to take in some sights, TIME compiled a list of seven things he should definitely put on his calendar.

African election observers on Friday generally approved Zimbabwe's voting process, giving the main opposition party that has alleged massive fraud few apparent options for dislodging Robert Mugabe from power after 33 years.