n an escalating spat with Spain over Gibraltar, the tiny British-ruled promontory at the tip of the Iberian peninsula, Britain is considering legal action to confirm its sovereignty over the territory known as The Rock.

Auto rickshaws will be off the roads in Mumbai and rest of the state for three days, from August 21, union leader Sharad Rao said here today. 

Islamist supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi refused to abandon their protest camps in Cairo on Monday and said they would fend off any police crackdown with sticks, stones and their faith.

A federal court judge ordered an independent monitor to oversee reforms to the New York City Police Department's stop-and-frisk practice after ruling the polarizing practice violated the United States Constitution.

Queen Elizabeth II's 92-year-old husband, Prince Philip today made his first public appearance since an abdominal surgery in June, handing out medals at the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 

A special CBI court today rejected a petition by Rajesh and Nupur Talwar seeking from the probe agency tabular charts of the DNA samples of the deceased in the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case.        

 

The court of Additional Sessions Judge Shyam Lal, however, accepted the dentist couple's request to present London-based DNA expert Dr Andre Semikhodskii as a defence witness.        

 

The court has fixed August 16 as the date for recording Semikhodskii's statement. The Talwars are standing trial for the murder of their daughter Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj in the Ghaziabad CBI court.        

 

They had told the court that CBI had not provided them with tabular charts of Aarushi and Hemraj's DNA samples.        

The lone convict in the 2010 Pune German Bakery blast, Himayat Baig, today complained to the Bombay High Court he was not properly defended in the lower court and sought for suspension of hearing into his appeal against the death penalty until NIA completes its probe.

Baig's advocate Mehmood Pracha informed a bench of Justices V K Tahilramani and Mridula Bhatkar that his client has raised grievances that he was not defended properly in the Pune sessions court which convicted him and awarded him the death penalty.

The bench today commenced hearing in the appeal filed by Baig against the conviction and the confirmation petition.

Despite rising India-Pakistan tensions, little planning for the next big crisis. Read

A new member has been added to the 85-strong smokers club of the Members of Parliament. This club is situated inside the Central Hall. The new member is Prabhunath Singh, the newly elected JD-U MP from Maharajganj Bihar, who is a chain smoker. 

Jaswant Singh BJP MP from Darjeeling is fed up with the bugs in his government-alloted bungalow. A nature lover, Singh wants to have a peaceful time in the evening in his small, but beautiful garden, but it seems to have become increasingly tough. Singh wrote to the Lok Sabha secretariat that the Central Public Works Department be instructed to spray chemicals in his garden.

India's Vikas Gowda advanced to the men's discus throw final in the 14th IAAF World Athletics Championships after finishing seventh overall in the qualification round, in Moscow.

The National record holder and reigning Asian champion placed fourth in qualification round A with a best throw of 63.64m which he came up in his first attempt on the third day of the competition at the Luzhniki stadium.

A legal notice has been served against the publishers of the Times of India newspaper for bringing communal harmony into disrepute by publishing a story, that Himalaya Mall was charging only Muslims on the Eid day, based on lies.

In his notice, the activist Tejendar Pal Bagga has attached copy of the receipt, circular and hoardings in front of the Mall as reference to prove Mall was charging reimbursable entry fee irrespective of religion. The notice has warned legal action if the newspaper fails to publish an apology in the front page. Read

This is what the TOI reported

Pakistan requests India to ensure security, safety of offices of Pakistan International Airlines in Delhi and Mumbai after it received threats. Details awaited.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has sent an advisor to the J&K government asking it to be alert in maintaining law and order.

Over two dozen activists of separatist group JKLF, along with its chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik, were taken into preventive custody today as police foiled an attempt by them to hold a march here against recent cases of communal clashes in Jammu and Kashmir.

Malik was detained in the wee hours today following a raid at his house at Maisuma in the heart of the city.

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the situation in Kishtwar and other violence-torn districts of Jammu and Kashmir were presently under control, and that there was no question of selectively targetting one particular community.

"It is unfortunate that this incident happened, which was similar to the violence of 2008 when three people were killed. In this incident, too, three people have been killed and several others were injured. But after that, the situation has been under control. I have full faith that the entire state will now be under control,' Azad said.

Rubbishing the BJP claim that people of one community were "selectively targeted', Azad said that there was no question about it because the District is equally populated with Hindus and Muslims.

"The area has a 50-50 population of Hindus and Muslims. They (BJP) probably don't know that. There is neither a majority in the area, nor a minority. Therefore, there is no point in making a statement on the basis of majority or minority in the District.

Secondly, people from both communities have been targeted and killed. Thus, there is no question of a particular target. When the enquiry is carried out, the BJP will feel sorry that what they thought was not true,' Azad added.

On Tuesday morning, Abdul Rasheed Deedar, a 36-year-old laborer in Churunda village on the Line of Control, the disputed mountainous border dividing the Indian- and Pakistan-administered portions of Kashmir, rushed into a cave-like bunker dug into the gentle slope of the village mountain.

This what villagers at the LoC go through each time there are ceasefire violations. Read

Ashoke Pandit on Twitter: Mr Chidambaram says he will not allow 1990 forced migration in Kashmir. Can somebody tell him it wasn't migration but ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits.

The launch of INS Vikrant has raised hackles in China, with Chinese defence experts saying the aircraft carrier would have great significance for India as it would allow the Indian Navy to wade into the Pacific Ocean - which Beijing considers as its backyard.

"This bears great significance to Indian Navy. It makes India only the fifth country after the US, Russia, Britain and France to have such capabilities," Senior Captain Zhang Junshe, Vice-President of China's Naval Research Institute, told the state-run CCTV today. The Indian Navy will have lead over China as it will have two aircraft carriers by the end of this year with INS Vikramaditya, the refitted carrier from Russia joining INS Viraat, which is already in service even though Vikrant was expected to be operational by 2018, he said. "Which means by the end of this year India will become the only country in Asia to have two aircraft carriers. This will enhance the overall capabilities especially the power projection capabilities of the Indian Navy," Zhang said.

Pakistan today summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner to protest "ceasefire violations" by the BSF along the LoC, claiming that it resulted in the death of a civilian at Rawalakot in PoK.

Pakistan also asked India to uphold the 2003 ceasefire agreement while committing itself to a "constructive, sustained and result-oriented process of engagement" between the two countries.

The Foreign Office summoned Deputy High Commissioner Gopal Baglay this afternoon to raise its "serious concern over the continuous ceasefire violations by Indian Border Security Force" across the Line of Control over the past couple of days.

Pakistan has summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner over what it believes to be continuous ceasefire violations by the BSF across the LoC. 

With it's legislative agenda getting derailed, the UPA government has convened an all-party tomorrow morning to discuss pending bills.

The Lok Sabha was set to debate the Food Security Bill today, which was tabled last week, but the house was adjourned following opposition protests over the violence in Kishtwar.

The UPA government is particular on pushing this bill through the house as it believes it can pay rich political dividends in Lok Sabha polls. The Centre is also interested in getting the Land Acquisition bill passed in this session. The ongoing session closes on August 30. -- Anita Katyal in New Delhi

Reports for fresh violence in Kishtwar. Six people have been injured in skirmishes between protestors and police. Of the six, three are civilians and three are cops. Details awaited.

MoS Home RPN Singh says Mayawati's demand for President's rule in the state is nothing new.

The Lok Sabha has been adjourned for the day following uproar over various issues. The third and final adjournment of the day. 

Ghulam Nabi Azad says the BJP is politicising the situation in Kishtwar. "I come from Kishtwar and even I did not go there," he said in the context of reports that Arun Jaitely had been barred from entering Kishtwar after the outbreak of violence. He however admitted that there may have been some delay by government in stepping in to curb the violence. 

Chidambaram says political leaders will be allowed in Kishtwar once the situation normalises. The government said the situation in Kisthwar was near-normal today with curfew on in seven places. Arrests have been made and more arrest will follow.

Chidambaram says the Centre will extend all help to the J&K govt to maintain law and order. He said the government will not allow a repetition of 1990. "We will not allow forced migration," asserts Chidambaram and defended the J&K government's decision not to allow BJP leader Arun Jaitley to visit Kishtwar.

Finance minister P Chidambaram speaking in the Rajya Sabha. "Loss of three Indian lives matter of great sorrow and regret. But it is wrong to assume that every such incident is linked to terror. Stray azadi slogans are common. In this case, an argument between two friends led to the clashes between two groups. Some arrests have been made."

"

The RTI Amendement Bill has been tabled in Parliament. The Bill keeps political parties out of the purview of RTI. This is one bill that has seen unanimity among all political parties. Six major political parties including Congress, BJP, NCP, CPM, CPI and BSP are public authorities and come under the ambit of RTI. The Union Cabinet on August 1 had approved an amendment to the RTI Act saying political parties were an association of individuals and not public authorities.

Another update: BJP has called for a bandh in Jammu and Kashmir. Army has conducted a flag march in Jammu, Kishtwar remains tense. 

Omar Abdullah tweets: Unfortunate deaths - 1 Hindu, 2 Muslim & we've a judicial inquiry with my Minister resigning. Would the BJP care to recount 2002 response. Oh that's right they can't because their star PM hopeful waited days to call out the army & has yet to apologise. Hypocrites.

Omar Abdullah has called for an all-party meeting over the Kishtwar violence. 

Farooq Abdullah tells the house that during the 2002 Godhra riots, the Army was not allowed in the state and neither were outsiders. So, then, was Gujarat a property a property of Modi? he asks. 

Jaitely added Jammu and Kashmir was not the personal fiefdom of one family. You cannot bar anyone from entering the state. How would it feel if the BJP-led states imposed section 144 and stopped Congress party members from entering the states? Is this a banana republic?" he asks. 

Earlier, Arun Jaitley said that Kishtwar has always remained calm and there has rarely been riots between the two communities. So, why did violence break out out on Id, just a few days after the five Indian soldiers were killed in the LoC by Pakistani troops.

"Government functionaries remained mute targets when the violence broke out. This is not a localised law and order situation, but affects national interest. Anti-national elements should not take advantage of the situation," said Jaitley.

And yes, Omar Abdullah has accepted Sajjad Kichloo's resignation as state home minister. 

J&K home minister Sajjad Kichloo offers to resign after the opposition says he was present during the Kishtwar violence. BSP chief Mayawati and BJP senior leader Arun Jaitley have demanded action against Kichloo. Jaitley said government functionaries remained mute spectators when the violence unfolded.
Kichloo says he is innocent and political parties were trying to malign him.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has ordered a time-bound judicial probe into the violence.

More than 100,000 people are eager to make themselves at home on another planet. They've applied for a one-way trip to Mars, hoping to be chosen to spend the rest of their lives on uncharted territory, according to an organization planning the manned missions. Read

More than 400 hydroelectric schemes are planned in the Himalayan region, which could be a disaster for the environment in both China and India. Read

Speaking at Edinburgh international book festival, Salman Rushdie gives insight into years he was forced to live under police protection. Read

Younger, better-educated militants are being drawn to the separatist cause in Kashmir, but violence and support is waning after a decades-long insurgency in the disputed territory. Read

The BJP today charged the Jammu and Kashmir government with playing politics on the Kishtwar riots and cautioned that this was another Pakistan design in which separatist forces were involved.

"It is an anti-India flare-up in which anti- India slogans were raised. The separatists have gone on a rampage. It is yet another Pakistan design. We do not want to inflame the issue," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told reporters outside Parliament House.

He maintained that Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley should have been allowed to visit the riot- affected areas of Kishtwar yesterday.

Samajwadi Party asked the government to take appropriate action against whoever is involved in the riots. "The government should find out whether this violence is sponsored by Pakistan or by some political party. The government should act against whoever is involved, be it a political party or some terrorist organisation," SP leader Naresh Aggarwal said.

BJP demanded a discussion and a statement from the government on the issue in Rajya Sabha. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had yesterday accused BJP of trying to flare up the situation in Kishtwar to polarise the population with an eye on next year's general elections and Assembly polls.

In other news: Black and yellow Premier Padmini taxis are a familiar sight on Mumbai's streets, but soon there might be few of these cars left.

The Mumbai government passed a law in April that said only Premier Padminis under 20-years-old could run as taxis from August.

The Regional Transport Office said old taxis pollute the streets of Mumbai, and because they are old, they are not as luxurious and comfortable for passengers. Read

And a retrospective on the Padmini. Read

The bail condition of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah has been relaxed. What this means he will not have to make the mandatory alternate Saturday appearance before the CBI.  

Shah, recently inducted as BJP general secretary and assigned a key post in the run-up to the 2014 general elections, has sought exemption from marking fortnightly attendance before the CBI, which had chargesheeted him in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.

Rajya Sabha chairperson PJ Kurien says allowing members to speak during Zero Hour would deviate from practice. Rajiv Shukla says Home Minister will make a statement on the matter, other members can speak after that during the day and seek clarifications. Finance Minister P Chidambaram says that the government is ready to make a statement on the Kishtwar issue.

Lok Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm after continued ruckus over the violence in Kisthwar. In the Rajya Sabha, P Chidambaram and Arun Jaitley have not been allowed to make statements on the issue. 

INS Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier was today launched at the Kochi shipyard. It is the biggest warship to be built in the country and will mark India's entry into a select club of countries capable of designing and building a carrier of this size. More

Meanwhile, nine union ministers from Andhra Pradesh including HRD minister Pallam Raju and Textiles minister KS Rao have decided to submit their resignations on Tuesday in protest against the go-ahead for the formation of the Telangana state.

All nine ministers have held informal discussion inside Parliament. Rao has called for a meeting over dinner to get signatures of the nine ministers on their individual resignation letters.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said the state government has decided to order a judicial inquiry into the communal clashes in Kishtwar district that left two persons dead and 20 others injured.

"In order to establish the truth behind the Kishtwar violence and what followed, the State Government has decided to order a Judicial inquiry," Omar tweeted.

"The inquiry will be held by a retired High Court judge in a time-bound manner to establish the facts and share them publicly," he said. The decision was taken at a high-level ministerial meeting chaired by the Chief Minister in Jammu today.

Communal clashes broke out in Kishtwar area of Jammu province on Eid day which later spread to other parts of the region including Jammu city and Rajouri town.

The state government has imposed curfew and prohibitory orders on movement of people in most parts of the Jammu region including Kathua and Doda districts.

Earlier, the state government had ordered an inquiry by the Divisional Commissioner in to the incident and promised severe punishment to those found responsible for death and destruction in Kishtwar.

Omar had yesterday accused the BJP of trying to flare up violence in the state and appealed to people not to allow any political party to exploit their sentiments.

India's contested borders with China and Pakistan are seeing more frequent military tension. The UPA government's failure to effectively manage these borders has pushed India into crises of the kind that followed the recent Chinese intrusion in Ladakh and the violent incidents on the Pakistan frontier. Read

Every evening after dinner, at 10pm in Beijing, software executive Sangeetha Narayan flips open her laptop and logs into her Skype account for a chat she describes as "soul-saving'.

At the other end of the call is her seven-year-old daughter Meena, a Class II student who lives nine months each year with her grandparents in Bangalore.

Meena is a victim of an unlikely tension shearing families apart at the frontiers of the growing ties between India and China. Read

Rajya Sabha, like the lower house, has been adjourned till noon. 

MoS Home RPN Singh likely to make statement on the Kishtwar violence today. Speaking to the media outside Parliament, Singh said he had spoken to J-K chief minister Omar Abdullah and asked him to arrest the miscreants. He said the Centre is giving all support to the J-K government.

Five students from Delhi have been arrested in Agra for following a tourist bus, which had 13 American girls and teachers on board. The students had made lewd gestures and intimidated the girls, police said on Monday.

Police said the incident took place on the Yamuna Expressway on Sunday evening. District Magistrate Zuher Bin Sagir said it was a serious matter.

The students were accused by the tour operator of making lewd gestures and eve-teasing.

Tour operator Anil alerted the Etmauddaula police station after he failed to persuade the students to mind their own business and not indulge in making lewd gestures and scaring the American girls.

The students in their car followed the bus from the Jevar toll plaza. A few of them climbed into the bus, while some others parked the car in front of the vehicle.

"The girls were frightened," tour operator Anil told the police. Police said the students are from Rohini and Patel Nagar in Delhi.

Both houses of Parliament have been adjourned over the violence in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir. The Rajya Sabha will reconvene in about 15 minutes, the Lok Sabha at noon.

Authorities clamped indefinite curfew and deployed army and paramilitary personnel in Kisthwar on Friday following violent clashes between two communities that left at two persons dead and injured 30 others. Mobs went on rampage and set fire to around 30 structures, including a hotel and a petrol pump besides over half a dozen vehicles.

In a bizarre incident, doctors treating Rahul, a two-and-half-month-old boy who has caught fire on his own, are expecting test results on Monday that may reveal how and why the baby went up in flames.

A native of a village near Tindivanam, Rahul has been undergoing treatment at Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital since Friday.

He has caught fire four times since he was born. Doctors are debating the possibility of spontaneous human combustion (SHC). It is a rare condition in which a person could catch fire due to the emission of highly inflammable substances through the body. More

Indefinite curfew continues today in eight districts of the Jammu region, but except for some minor incidents, the overall situation remained peaceful throughout the region.

Curfew continued for the fourth day without any relaxation in Kishtwar town, where communal clashes erupted on Friday, resulting in the death of two people and destruction of public and private property. More

Pakistani troops violated the bilateral ceasefire thrice since Sunday, firing at Indian positions from across the border, a defence spokesman said on Monday.

"Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Digwar village of Poonch district at our positions around 10 pm last night (Sunday), the spokesman said. 

India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, as part of a user trial for the defence forces.

The sophisticated surface-to-surface missile was test fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur at 9.15am, defence sources said.

Describing the trial as successful, they said the launch of the sleek missile was conducted as part of operational exercise by the strategic force command (SFC) of the defence services, they said.

BJP chief Rajnath Singh has appointed Dr Subramanian Swamy as Convenor of the Vision Document Cell of BJP to work with Nitin Gadkari. Dr Swamy will also be given the coordination of the Tamil Nadu and Kerala BJP chapters, which will work under Narendra Modi, who as we all know is the convenor of the 2014 poll strategy of the party.

India's indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile test-fired from a test range in Odisha

Pakistani high commissioner Salman Bashir on Sunday said India's reaction to the August 6 killing of five Indian soldiersmay have been based on an "afterthought".

Bashir claimed the Indian DGMO did not raise the killings with his Pakistani counterpart in a hotline conversation hours after the incident last Tuesday.

The Indian Army, however, said the August 6 scheduled talks was at the staff level, and the DGMO himself did not speak to his counterpart. Read more

India will launch its first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant today, making an entry into a select club of countries capable of designing and building a carrier of this size and capability.

Defence Minister A K Antony's wife Elizabeth will launch the 37,500 tonne carrier at Kochi shipyard close to four-and-a-half years after its keel was laid by the minister.

A bill to amend the Right to Information Act in order to keep political parties out of the ambit of the transparency law is slated to be introduced in Lok Sabha today by the government.

The bill will be introduced in the Lower House by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V Narayanasamy. The Union cabinet had, on August 1, cleared a proposal to amend the RTI Act to give immunity to political parties.

The Haryana government has denied allegations against its Department of Town and Country Planning in connection with the Robert Vadra-DLF land deal in the light of claims made by whistle blower Indian Administrative Service officer Ashok Khemka.

Khemka has alleged that Vadra, a businessman and son-in-law of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, "falsified documents" to execute a series of "sham transactions" for the sale of 3.5 acres of land in Gurgaon to real estate giant DLF for Rs 58 crore.

"These allegations are wrong and misleading, aimed at sensationalisation of an issue which is non-existent," a Haryana government release said, quoting a DTCP spokesperson.

Six days after killing five Indian soldiers in an ambush at the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has violated the ceasefire agreement yet again. The firing continues in the Poonch sector.

This is the fifth violation in two days. 

Sixty ceasefire violations have been reported along the LoC since January.

Meanwhile, the BSF jawan injured in the August 5 firing died at AIIMS yesterday.

Modi stitches up a wider political alliance at Hyderabad

'TRS will not settle for a Telangana without Hyderabad

BSF jawan injured in cross-border firing dies at AIIMS

Curfew in various J-K districts; army stages flag march

India's 1st indigenous aircraft carrier to be launched tomorrow

Yesterday's live commentary link