An Egyptian court today extended for 30 days the detention of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who is being held at an undisclosed location on allegations of murder and spying, besides collaborating with Palestinian group Hamas.        

 

A Cairo appeal court today ordered the renewal of 62-year-old Morsi's detention for 30 days pending investigations into his suspected collaboration with Hamas.        

 

Morsi is facing charges of collaborating with Hamas in attacks on police stations and prison breaks in early 2011 during the uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak.        

 

Egypt's first democratically elected leader, Morsi was ousted by the army on July 3 after mass protests against him\ on the anniversary of his election. He has been held by the army at an undisclosed location since then.

CBI has claimed that the tapes carrying purported conversations of Gujarat government officials discussing ways to save Ishrat Jahan case accused are not doctored.        

 

CBI sources said the tapes provided by one of the accused Gujarat police officer to the agency have not been edited and prima-facie appear to be genuine.        

 

They said that in order to understand whether the voices in the tapes are of those to whom they have been attributed, the agency would require court's intervention.        

 

There are people in the conversation which are purportedly Gujarat government officials identified by some witnesses and accused during their questioning, they said.        

 

Any comparison of the voices in the tapes with the suspected participants can only be done with the voice samples which can be taken only after court's permission, they said.

In an apparent jibe at Narendra Modi, who lashed out Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from Bhuj, senior BJP leader L K Advani today said that on a day like Independence Day leaders should not be critical of others.        

 

"I heard the Prime Minister today...Today on Independence Day, without criticising anybody, we all should realise that India has unlimited potential for the future," he said.        

 

Advani was speaking at his residence in New Delhi after hoisting the national flag, moments after the Gujarat Chief Minister spoke at the Independence Day function in Bhuj, where he hit out at the Prime Minister.

Sending a strong message to the ultras, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today said those trying to rule ballot with the power of bullets will never be accepted.        

 

"Democracy and ideologies within the ambit for our Constitution are welcome in social mainstream but the forces trying to rule ballot with the power of bullets will never be accepted," Singh said while addressing the Independence Day function in Raipur at Police Parade Ground.        

 

"I once again pay rich tribute to security personnel, civilians and all those who sacrificed their life in Naxal violence," he said. Singh appealed to cut across party lines to stand together against anti-constitutional, anti-democracy and anti-development forces.        

 

In a bid to win over the hearts of people in the poll bound state, he also announced to increase the retirement age of state government employees to 62 years from 60.

In a veiled attack on Narendra Modi on Gujarat's industrial development model, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said that inclusive growth model being implemented in his state was a better alternative as it caters to aspirations of all people.  

 

The GDP growth can not be measured as a yardstick for development, but inclusive development does as it takes care of aspirations of all people, he said after hoisting the national tricolour on the occasion of the country's 67th Independence day celebrations at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna.  

 

"The GDP growth and a development model that benefits some people only can not be described as a good model, but inclusive growth and development with social justice agenda with a motto to benefit all people indeed is a good model," Kumar said.     

 

The fruits of development must go to common man under a development model and we have rightly adopted the principle of inclusive growth and development with an agenda of social justice that caters to aspiration of rich and poor, upper castes to OBCs and SC/SCs, women and children, he said.

Normal life in Kashmir was affected today due to a strike called by hardline Hurriyat Conference in support of its demand for resolution of Kashmir issue.        

 

Shops and business establishments remained closed while traffic remained off the roads in most parts of the Valley due to the strike call given by Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and other separatist outfits.        

 

However, shops in some pockets of the civil lines areas of the city and in rural areas of the Valley remained open in defiance of the shutdown call. The effect of the strike was accentuated due to the strict security arrangements made for Independence Day celebrations.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today assured the citizens that his government will not allow dance bars in the state and will weed out drugs and prostitution from the tourist destination.        

 

Addressing the state level function after hoisting the tricolour at Old Secretariat in Panaji on the occasion of Independence Day, Parrikar said the state government has vowed to flush out prostitution and drugs which is spoiling the name of state in the guise of tourism.        

 

"We will not allow dance bars in Goa," Parrikar said, apparently referring to the controversy around the statement by BJP spokesman Wilfred Mesquita who had said that there is nothing wrong in having dance bars.        

 

Admitting that the state government faced difficulties in revenue generation due to shut down of mining business following the Supreme Court order, the Chief Minister said that despite the mining ban, the government has taken enough care of the developmental projects and schemes for the people.

One person injured in serial blasts near the venue of the Independence Day function in Assam's Kokrajhar district, PTI reports.

India Today reports: Top Dawood Ibrahim aide, Iqbal Mirchi, died of heart attack in London on Wednesday night. He was an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts.

Modi also slammed UPA's Food Security Bill; saying it will snatch food from poor.

The country has plunged into deep crisis as Congress is not allowing Lok Sabha to function, Modi alleged in his I-Day speech.

Gujarat Chief Minister, while addressing the nation on 66th Independence Day from Gujarat, castigated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address, ruing the he did not send a tough message to Pakistan. 

 

Modi also lambasted the prime minister for mentioning 'members of the Gandhi family' in his speech, but missing out  on Congress stalwarts and freedom fighters like Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and Lal Bahadur Shashtri.

In a strong message to Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said anti-India activities emanating from there will have to stop for relations to improve and asserted that all steps will be taken to prevent "dastardly" acts like the recent killing of jawans on the LoC.         

 

Addressing the nation on the 67th Independence Day from the ramparts of Red Fort, the Prime Minister said terrorist and naxal violence in the country have reduced but the area of national security calls for constant vigil.         

 

India, he said, has strived for friendship with its neighbouring countries. "However, for relations with Pakistan to improve it is essential they prevent the use of their territory and territory under their control for any anti-India activity," he said.         

 

Referring to the August 6 killing of five Indian soldiers by Pakistan Army in a cross-LoC attack in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, he termed it as a "dastardly" act and said "we will take all possible steps to prevent such incidents in the future."         

 

In his 30-minute speech, Singh also appeared to target the BJP and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, saying there was no place for "narrow and sectarian ideologies" in modern, progressive and secular India. He warned such ideologies will "divide" society and "weaken our democracy".

 

Read PM's full I-Day speech here

Jack Shafer writes for Reuters: I resist making predictions if only to avoid the inevitable disappointment when they fail to peg future events. As best as I can tell, every forecast, every prophecy, every reading of entrails and chicken bones that I've committed to print (or its digital equivalent) has failed to come true.

But this time I think I've read enough into my tea leaves to confidently assert my suspicion that in early October, after Jeff Bezos consummates the deal he made with Donald Graham to purchase the Washington Post for $250 million, one of his first acts of ownership will be to name Vijay Ravindran his publisher of the newspaper.

Read the full article here

A petition seeking to ban the release of bollywood movie Madras Cafe was filed in the Madurai Bench of the Madras high court today.

The petitioner Ezhilarasu, an advocate, claimed the movie was a political thriller set in the backdrop of the assassination of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.     According to the petitioner the film, which is set to be released worldwide on August 23, "is financed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksha so as to enable the Sri Lankan government earn good name ahead of the Common Wealth Conference in the island nation in November."

He said the Sri Lankan government financed the film in order to "hide the human rights violation and to justify the killings of Tamils by the country's military."