The number of dead or missing after the runaway oil tanker train disaster in a small Canadian town has risen to 60, police announced today, as the railway chairman headed to the scene. 

My earliest memories were borne back in Dehradun (now in Uttarakhand), where I spent my childhood with my mother, Meera Chatterjee, my maternal grandmother, Kamala Bisi and my Jethu, Rathi Jethu (Bengali term for father's elder brother), Rathindra Nath Tagore. 

Hoped-for peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents will not bear fruit until 2015 at best, a year after US-led troops leave the country, the EU's Afghanistan envoy warned today. 

Syrian activists have struck back at Russian allegations that rebels made and used sarin gas in a chemical weapons attack outside of Aleppo in March, calling the claims "false and clearly fabricated."

Rainstorms that are said to be the worst in five decades have flooded large areas of southwest China, washing out bridges, triggering a landslide that buried dozens of people, and destroying a memorial to victims of the devastating 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province that flattened large parts of the same area. 

Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani Ambassador to the US, today accused his country's security establishment of its incompetence and lax attitude that allowed Osama bin Laden to live undetected inside Pakistan for nine years. 

Sixty people are now thought to be dead or missing after a freight train carrying crude oil derailed and blew up in Quebec, Canadian police say.

 Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour has called for national reconciliation as deep divisions threaten to overwhelm Egypt's increasingly chaotic political transition.

The pilots flying the Asiana Airlines jetliner that crashed in San Francisco told federal investigators that an automatic throttle '" a system akin to a car's cruise control '" had failed to keep the jetliner at the proper speed for landing.

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces arraignment Wednesday afternoon in Boston on 30 federal charges, including use of a weapon of mass destruction.

PM Manmohan Singh forms Cabinet committee to oversee reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.

Around 96 per cent bystanders in the New Delhi reluctant to help road accident victims with serious injuries as they fear that they would be subjected to legal hassles and mistreatment by police, said a study. About 88 per cent bystanders across the nation had the same response towards road accident victims, stated the national survey conducted by TNS India Private Limited.   

SaveLife Foundation, an NGO, today released the study done in seven cities to find out why passers-by in India so often fail to come forward to help road accident victims.

NDTV reports: The National Investigation Agency, which is probing Sunday's  blasts in Bodh Gaya, is reportedly looking into a twitter account which has been used to tweet a warning that Mumbai will be the next terror target. 

But, sources say that not much importance is being attached to it as investigators say that the account, purported to belong to the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen , appears to be fake.

Read the full report here

The Centre on Wednesday promised to consider requests for Central Industrial Security Force security to Mohabodhi temple and other prominent religious places in the wake of Sunday's terror attack.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, who visited the Mohabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, on Wednesday said that after the serial blasts, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had requested him to provide Central Industrial Security Force, which so far has not been given the task of protecting any religious site. He said that the Maharashtra government has also sought CISF security for the Sai Baba temple in Shirdi.

The home minister said for a very long time various religious places across the country have been under threat from terrorist groups. "The Mahalaxmi temple in Mumbai, Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai, Akshardham temple and others. We have been alerting them. Police always assess the inputs and accordingly take action for the protection of these religious places," he said.

Four suspects in the Bodh Gaya blasts who were seen on CCTV have been given a clean chit by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Four people had been detained Tuesday in Patna and interrogated by the NIA in connection with the serial bomb explosions. The investigators narrowed down on the suspects using the CCTV footage of 16 cameras at the temple.

Calling the serial blasts in Bodh Gaya "an attack on humanity," External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said the issue should not be spoken of in terms of politics.

"It's a matter of great pain that terror attack happened at a place from where message of peace spread across the world," Khurshid said. "We should not raise fingers on each other (opposition parties) as this is the design of those who have perpetrated the blasts."

Read: WANTED: Rehman brothers for Bodh Gaya blasts

The BJP today charged the government with going soft on terror and interfering with the working of the CBI and IB.

"We condemn the attack in Bodhgaya. The NIA is going to probe the matter. Indian Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for it as per newspaper reports... Increasingly the impression is going around that we are soft on terror," Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajya Sabha Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Prasad wanted to know why the "terrorist angle" has been ignored by CBI in the Ishrat Jahan chargesheet and demanded all angles should be looked into.

On legend Sunil Gavaskar's birthday today: Before Tendulkar, there was Gavaskar. I profess to be a big admirer of the duo. I think it's unfair to compare the two -- I believe that it is not a good idea to compare sporting geniuses across generations.

Gavaskar belonged to the era where TV and mass media were just starting to get hold. An era where Test Cricket dominated and where One-Day-International Cricket was still a relatively new phenomenon...

Read

One of the two Australian radio hosts behind the tragic prank call to the Duchess of Cambridge's hospital is suing the broadcaster for "failing to provide a safe workplace". Read

San Francisco plane crash: Photos taken by passengers moments after disaster. See

Move over, Narendra Modi and Shashi Tharoor. The latest political leader to compete for popularity on the social media seems to be Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot.

But his rivals claim he's faking it - can the majority of his followers be from Istanbul?

The 62-year-old Congress chief minister has been accused of "buying likes" for his official Facebook page, by the opposition BJP in Rajasthan.
Read the full story here.

More on the coal scam probe. The Supreme Court SC wants to know from Attorney General Goolam Vahanvati why a government sanction was needed in the court-monitored probe. What we also know is that Additional Solicitor General Siddharth Luthra has withdrawn as CBI counsel in the case.

The Supreme Court today pulled up the Centre for not responding "comprehensively" to allegations of irregularities in coal block allocations.

The court has directed the government to file a comprehensive affidavit on ALL 164 allocations including supporting documents, records and minutes of the meetings supporting allocation of coal blocks in four weeks.

The Centre has also been asked to file records of all 36 steering committee meetings for allocating coal blocks in 2009 by July 16.

The SC said, "There is lot of deficiency/infirmity in decisions taken by the screening committee. We are concerned urgently with the non-partisan investigation by the CBI."

Udayan Mukherjee, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18 has decided to step down from his full time role, after 15 years of service with the Group.

The reasons for this change are entirely personal; Mukherjee wants to devote more time to other pursuits. However, he will continue his exclusive association with the group, albeit in a contributory and consulting role, through a mix of events and shows.

Shereen Bhan, Executive Editor, CNBC-TV18 will take over responsibility of the day-to-day running of the channel as its new Managing Editor from September 1, 2013. More

The CBI tells the Supreme Court that the probe against Dayanidhi Maran and others in the 2G case is over. The CBI will approach the Centre within a week for the go-ahead of the prosecution of accused in the case.

The allegation against Maran is that he favoured a Malaysian company Maxis while granting telecom licences, while he was telecom minister and instrumental in changing the spectrum pricing.

Maran is believe to have invested Rs 600 crore for a 20 per cent stake in Sun Direct, owned by his brother Kalanidhi Maran.

Details awaited.

Mumbai Joint Police Commissioner (Law and Order) Sadanand Date said, "We have sensitised our policemen and appropriate steps are being taken to ensure security at vulnerable places. We have also alerted the security men at vital locations.

"We appeal to the citizens to be alert and inform the policemen in case they find any suspicious object," Date said.

Nakabandis were being conducted and patrolling had been intensified at strategic locations. Railway compartments were being checked and announcements made to report to police in case passengers found any suspicious object.

Here's what the alleged IM Twitter handle says: Read

A Maharashtra ATS official said the initial assessment suggests that the account does not appear genuine but the investigators are not taking the matter lightly. "All the officers of the ATS have been instructed to be alert and city police has been asked to ensure tight security," the official said.

A a tweet by Indian Mujahidin '" which claims to be the IM's official Twitter handle had said: "9 Dhamake Humne Karay (We carried out the nine blasts)'.

The tweet about Mumbai, dated July 6, a day before the Bihar blasts, read: "Hamara Agla Target Mumbai Hai. Rock Sago Toh Rock Lo, 7 days Left (Our next target is Mumbai. Stop us if you can. Seven days left)'.

The National Investigation Agency and other security agencies are probing the authenticity of the account that. 

Update on the Gaya blasts probe: CNN IBN reports that the Twitter handle purportedly belonging to the Indian Mujahideen has been traced to Pakistan. The alleged IM Twitter handle had claimed responsibility for the blasts which took place on Sunday.

Home minister Sushilkumar Shinde did not rule out the involvement of three to four persons in the attack, but refused to name terror organisations, saying it was too early.

A detailed probe is being carried out by the premier investigating agency, the NIA. 

Update on the situation in Egypt: The prosecutor's office has ordered the arrest of the leader of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement, Mohammed Badie, reports the BBC.


Badie is accused of inciting the violence in Cairo on Friday in which at least 51 people were killed. Several leading Brotherhood figures are already in detention and warrants have been issued for hundreds more.


It comes as the interim prime minister attempts to form a government after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi.


Also see our report on ongoing clashes in Egypt. Read

Here's the historical judgement of the Supreme Court that says that MPs and MLAs have to quit if they are convicted of a crime and can't stay on regardless of appeals to higher courts. Read

Just in: National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon will meet select media representatives today to brief them about his Sri Lanka visit. He will also take questions on China and the possible visit of Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif to the US. Details awaited. 

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court today has ruled that MPs and MLAs convicted by any court shall be disqualified, striking down the legal provision that protects a lawmaker from disqualification even after conviction in a criminal case.


This means that the moment a MP or MLA has been convicted, he/she will will stand to be disqualified from the date of conviction by the trial court.


The court also held that no one can fight elections from jail. Importantly, the judgement will apply to only future cases of MP/MLA getting disqualified.

The Supreme Court has directed the AIIMS director to set up a medical board to examine whether DMK chief M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal is medically fit to depose before court in 2G case.

A petition has been filed by Dayalu Ammal's daughter Selvi, who pleaded before the Supreme Court that a medical board be constituted to find out whether her mother is physically and mentally fit to come to Delhi from Chennai to depose before the special CBI court.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner, contended that Ammal had been diagnosed with cognitive and behavioural abnormalities in June last year and that she is progressively and gradually losing recognition of even her near and dear ones and is unable to move out of the house on her own.

BJP national president Rajnath Singh arrived here today from New Delhi to attend the RSS 'Manthan Shibir'. Landing at Belora airport, the BJP chief drove straight to Vyankatesh Lawns, the venue for the annual national camp of RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, where he is supposed to take part in day-long 'closed-door' deliberations.

The BJP's president for Maharashtra, Devendra Phadanvis, is likely to reach the venue by evening, sources said. The week-long national 'Manthan Shibir' began here yesterday and is tipped to see deliberations over the Sangh's strategies and policies for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, VHP's international executive president, Pravin Togadia, while addressing reporters, expressed concern over the recent serial blasts in Bodh Gaya and said that time had come to root out the 'local links' of international terrorists.

Chinese troops came into India-claimed territory in south-eastern Ladakh on June 17, took away a surveillance camera and returned it after a protest, Indian Army sources have confirmed. Read

An armyman has been killed in an encounter with militants in Lolab in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir. 

Monks from the Belur headquartered Ramakrishna Mission are walking miles carrying food on their shoulders to feed people in the inaccessible villages of flood-ravaged Uttarakhand.

Swami Suhitananda, General Secretary of the Mission, told reporters here that 'sadhus' from their monastic order are actively participating in relief work.

"There are no trucks plying as the roads are badly damaged. At some places monks have to walk for 25 kms to reach food to the victims," officials of the Mission said. They have set up relief camps at Agastya Muni, about 25 kms from Rudraprayag, and at Phata near Gupta Kashi.

The monks have distributed food, utensils, candles and matchboxes to about 30 inaccessible villages around Rudraprayag and Gupta Kashi. Besides this, more than a thousand flood-affected patients have been treated in the medical camp, officials said. Steps are also being taken to distribute clothing and blankets among the distressed people.

When the Indian government announced it would start a Centralized Monitoring System in 2009 to monitor telecommunications in the country, the public seemed unconcerned. Read

Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's wife Rekha has acquired 60 lakh shares in Kesoram Industries taking her shareholding in the B K Birla-promoted company to around seven per cent. The shares were acquired through rights issue. The companyhad recently offered its shareholders to buy additional sharesin the ratio of 7:5 at Rs 65 apiece.

Through rights issue, a firm allows existing shareholders a right to buy additional shares in the company at a specific price. Rekha Jhujhunwala had 15 lakh shares, amounting to 3.2793 per cent stake in Kesoram Industries before the acquisition of shares, credited to her account on July 3.

The Centre will examine the issue of handing over security of religious places like Bodh Gaya to CISF, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said today.

Addressing a press conference after visiting the Mahabodhi Temple along with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has pleaded for CISF takeover of the temple complex for better security.

"There are also requests for CISF cover for the Shirdi Sai Temple and the Jama Masjid. We will examine and take a call on the issue," he said. He, however, appeared to suggest that it was difficult to fulfil the demand for all religious structures, saying that "many complexes are vulnerable". Shinde and the Congress President were briefed about the sequence of terror attack in the temple town by the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC) member secretary N Dorje.

A minor fire broke out today in Krishi Bhawan here, which houses several ministries, but no one was injured, Delhi Fire Service said. The blaze broke out in the third floor of the building around 11:40 am when an air-conditioner suddenly caught fire, a Delhi Fire Service official said. Four fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the flames were doused within minutes, the officer said.

Rediff.com's Ganesh Nadar reporting from Dharmapuri says the Madras High Court has asked two doctors, one from the Ramchandra Medical College, Chennai and the other from the Christian Medical College, Vellore to examine Ilavarasan's body and give their opinion on whether a second postmortem is required, says the boy's father, Elangovan's lawyer. 

The two doctors are expected to reach Dharmapuri later today. It could thus be Thursday evening, or even Friday morning before the court gives its verdict on conducting a second post-mortem.

Bangalore-based e-commerce firm Flipkart today said it has raised USD 200 million from its existing investors, including Naspers, Accel and Tiger Global. The funds will be used for building and strengthening Flipkart's technology capabilities, bolstering the robust supply chain and developing the talent pool, the company said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Flipkart.com Co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal said: "With this investment, we can now take Flipkart to the next level, pioneering technology and supply-chain innovations that will change the face of online shopping."

This will not only enable the company to reach its goal of USD 1 billion gross merchandise volume by 2015 but also help it achieve bigger milestones in the future, he added.

"Each round of funding has come at a strategic point during our growth. Our aim is to continuously improve the shopping experience for customers and provide sellers with a highly scalable platform on which to do business," Flipkart.com Co-founder and COO Binny Bansal said.

As the NIA started its probe into the serial blasts in this temple town, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today did not rule out the involvement of three to four persons in the attack.

Shinde, who visited the bomb blast sites along with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party leader Ambika Soni, said a detailed probe was being carried out by the premier investigating agency.

"We condemn the bomb blasts in Lord Buddha's holy land. Such blasts in the peaceful land of Bodh Gaya is a matter of serious concern... "We have put in two big teams for investigation. It is the top investigating agency on par with the CBI. It is particularly looking into the problem of terrorists. We have started investigations and questioning a number of people," Shinde told reporters after visiting the site.

He said the Centre had entrusted complete investigations to the NIA after the request of Bihar government in this regard. "We have visited all the places.
10 out of 13 bombs went off...Small gas cylinders of two to three kilos and nails and ball-bearings were filled and connected with detonators and a watch was kept. All this happened between 5 to 6 am. They must have kept (bombs) at night. "We are conducting complete investigations. Three-four people may be involved...with a car. We are conducting detailed investigations," Shinde said.

Asked why no arrests have been made in the case, he said, "Arresting anyone in a hurry is not right. Investigations should go into detail and catch hold of the real culprits."

On the failure of intelligence despite information, he said Delhi Police had handed over information to them in October and on July 3 a DIG had conducted a review of the security with the local administration.

"Information was received and we are holding detailed investigation. I have asked details about the information received," he said. Asked about the involvement of Naxals in the Gaya blasts, he said, "There are so many complex problems. Infiltration from other countries is there, naxalites are there, local communal disturbances are there. We have to see all angles."

TV reports add that a Special Investigations Team (SIT) may also be formed to investigate the blasts.

The Muslim Brotherhood's message of non-violent Islamism could be drowned out following the Army's overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi. Read

Pixar's films have won 26 Oscars and taken $8 billion. But are their films as much fun to work on as they are to watch? As Monsters University is released, the Telegraph finds out what it's like to work there. Read 

A court in Umariya has sentenced a resort manager to eight years' rigorous imprisonment for raping a South Korean woman tourist on January 14 this year in Bandhavgarh.

Umariya District and Sessions Judge Akhilesh Pandya, while announcing the sentence yesterday, also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the accused resort manager Deepak Vishwakarma. In case Vishwakarma fails to pay the fine, the term of his sentence would be extended by another three months.

The judge also sentenced Vishwakarma to one-year rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 1,000 under sections 7 and 14 of the Foreigners Act.

The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre on a PIL seeking a direction for fixing the age of consent of a wife at 18 years for having sexual relations with her husband.

Agreeing to hear the PIL, a bench headed by Justice K S Radhakrishnan sought response from the Centre on the issue. The court passed the order on a petition filed by an NGO, iThought seeking its direction for amendment of section 375 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code which makes an exception on age of consent of the wife for sexual relations with her husband.

PTI puts the number of casualties in the Antop Hill landslide at one. The report says that one person was killed and several others are feared to be trapped under debris after a landslide hit the Antop Hill area in Mumbai this morning, civic officials said.

"The mishap took place on Mistry Dargah Road near Old Post office in Antop Hill area, in which one person was killed. Several others are feared to have been trapped under the debris," an official of the BMC said.

Rescue operations have been launched by the Fire Brigade and an National Disaster Response Team team.

This is what Ilavarasan's 'suicide note' said. The letter was addressed to his wife N Divya, a Vanniyar girl, who had left him under pressure from community leaders.

"If ever there is a rebirth, I wish we both are born in the same community and marry with the approval of our parents. I love you so much Divya,' Ilavarasan has said in a telling commentary on how narrow caste politics ruined the life of the young couple.

Referring to Divya's remorse that her father, who committed suicide in November last year soon after her inter-caste wedding, had put the burden of his death on her, Ilavarasan said in  the letter: "I know Divya, now you will ask me the same question (as to why she should be the reason for Ilavarasan's death also). But I am unable to live without you' Please forgive me.'

Expressing the hope that Divya would at least attend his funeral, he appealed to his parents not to blame or scold her and allow her to see his body.

Ilavarasan also asked his father, mother and elder brother Balaji, whom he described as his best friend, to forgive him for ending his life. -- The New Indian Express.

Ganesh Nadar says that the collector of Dharmapuri is believed to have asked Ilavarasan's wife Divya if she wanted to attend his funeral. While Divya remained non-committal, Ilavarasan's mother says Divya has to attend the funeral or "only then will my son's soul rest in peace." 

Ganesh Nadar reporting from Dharamapuri, says the railways have categorically denied that there was any accident on July 4, rubbishing the suicide theory. Dalit youth Ilavarasan, who was found dead near a railway track on Thursday, was believed to have committed suicide out of dejection. Afour-page letter purportedly written by Ilavarasan started doing the rounds.

Meanwhile, Ilavarasan's father says his son's body will be kept for 24 hours for the public to pay homage.

Here's what the government doctors have said on the second autopsy. Read

Update on the Antop Hill landslide: Two persons have died in the incident, with five others injured. 

Home minister SushilKumar Shinde addressing the media Bodh Gaya says all possible angles to the blast will be explored. Shinde who is at the blast site with Sonia Gandhi said, "Cylinders filled with ball bearings were used for the blast. The NIA will be probing the blasts."

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation of the serial bomb blasts at Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya on July 7. Principal secretary, home, Amir Subhani said the state government received a communique from the MHA on Tuesday night.

At least five people are feared trapped and two people have sustained minor injuries in a landslide at Antop Hill in south-east Mumbai this morning. Rescue teams and ambulances are at the spot.It has been raining continuously in Mumbai this morning.

The constant rain has resulted in minor traffic jams on the eastern and western express highways, which are the two main roads of Mumbai connecting the central and western suburbs to South Mumbai respectively. -- NDTV

Pic: Firemen at the landslide in Antop Hill today/ANI

A day after Hindustan Times carried a report on how alleged CCTV clips of couples getting intimate on near empty Delhi Metro trains had been posted on pornnography sites, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Tuesday approached the cyber crime cell of Delhi Police. Read

Update on the Asiana plane crash: The senior pilot in the cockpit of Asiana flight 214 realised the plane was too low when it was flying at only 500ft (152m), an official has said. The Boeing 777 crash-landed at the San Francisco airport on Saturday, killing two passengers and injuring 180.The pilot at the South Korean plane's controls was about half-way through his Boeing 777 training, an official said. Read

The Supreme Court yesterday saw a sharp exchange between Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and additional solicitor-general Indira Jaising -- both ladies with over three decades of legal experience -- at a hearing related to the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case. Read the report on the Telegraph.

Bizarre news: A man in the US remained jailed Monday on a peeping Tom complaint after authorities discovered him inside a septic tank beneath a women's bathroom at a Sand Springs water park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Kenneth Enslow, 52, was arrested Sunday after a woman called police. She had taken her 7-year-old daughter to the bathroom and noticed a man looking up at her from inside the toilet, Tulsa County Sheriff's Maj. Shannon Clark said. More of that here.

Another update on the Uttarakhand floods: Nearly a month after floods ravaged several parts of Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is working towards re-linking the state with the rest of the country and is hopeful of providing full connectivity to the Kedarnath shrine by September.

"The restoration work has started but there are stretches where the entire road has been washed out, where we have to build new roads. This may go beyond one or two months," Road Minister Oscar Fernandes said.

Exuding confidence Fernandes said, "by September, we will be able to restore connectivity to the (Kedarnath) shrine". Heavy monsoon rains wreaked havoc in the hill states of Uttarakhand on June 16 and 17, with thousands of people affected and several hundreds dead. Himachal Pradesh was also hit by floods due to rains.

Broken roads in the worst hit Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts affected supply of relief material to the areas. The supplies are being dispatched in choppers to affected areas of Uttarakhand.

The first phase of the crucial panchayat polls in West Bengal will begin tomorrow even as the ruling Trinamool Congress kept up its attack against the State Election Commission.

Criticising the state government for 'dilly-dallying', the Supreme Court had on July two refused to reschedule the dates of the polls which are to be conducted in five phases beginning from July 11 as per its direction. In the first phase, polling will be held in Bankura, West Midnapur and Purulia districts in the former Maoist stronghold of junglemahal.

Of the total 58,865 seats going to polls, 6,274 have been won uncontested, a majority by the Trinamool Congress. In all 1.7 lakh candidates are in fray in over 17 districts. Most panchayats and zilla parishads are now under control of the Left Front.

The Supreme Court asks Tata Motors to clarify its stand on its rights over the Singur land in West Bengal after the company moved out its proposed car plant from West Bengal.

The Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act 2011 had sought to empower the state government to take back 400 acres of land given to Tata Motors for its car project.

The court, on an appeal by Tata Motors Ltd, had observed that the President's assent had not been taken for the Act and as such it was void and unconstitutional. The implementation of the order was, however, stayed for two months by the division bench of the high court to allow the aggrieved party to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

Also read: 4,000 Still Missing in Indian Floods

Nearly 4,000 people missing in the Uttarakhand disaster will be declared dead by the state tomorrow, a senior official said this evening."There are 3,975 people missing, including 975 locals. The number of dead (after the missing are included) is likely to be between 4,000 and 5,000,' the official said.The missing count -- and hence the casualty figure -- contrasts sharply with a recent report by a UN disaster management team that put the number at 11,600. Read

Ganesh Nadar reporting from Dharmapuri says Ilavarasan's relatives have started gathering outside the hospital. The mood is sombre, foul, after newspapers report that the likelihood of a second postmortem is poor. The high court is expected to announce its opinion at 4 pm today.  

President Obama is still considering the "zero option" in Afghanistan -- no U.S. troops there after 2014.

Saudi Arabia's finance minister says the kingdom has pledged USD 5 billion in grants and loans to Egypt's new government, a second major promise of aid from the Gulf to the cash-strapped country after the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi. 

The wife of US Secretary of State John Kerry was recovering in a hospital today after suffering a health scare, with doctors ruling out that she had had a stroke or heart attack. 

The United States today rejected Russian claims raised at the United Nations that Syrian rebels had used chemical weapons. 

The Obama Administration today said it was open to all options, including the so-called "zero option", in regard to troops withdrawal from war-ravaged Afghanistan, but noted that no decision has been made so far. 

More than one in two people think corruption has worsened over the last two years, according to a public opinion survey by Transparency International.

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has not yet accepted an offer of asylum in Venezuela, the WikiLeaks website said today, after a Russian lawmaker sparked confusion over the American's status. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named as Israel's new ambassador to Washington today a peace process hawk seen as close to President Barack Obama's Republican opponents. 

Pakistan has struggled for the past two years to explain just how Osama bin Laden managed to hide out in one of its military towns. 

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday rejected a new timetable announced by the military-backed interim leadership that sets a fast track for amending the Islamist-drafted constitution and holding new parliamentary and presidential elections by early next year.