Disgraced former Madhya Pradesh minister Raghavji, in custody on the charge of sodomising his domestic help, today demanded the constitution of a medical board to examine him afresh while challenging a police report that declared him "medically fit".        

Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, widely regarded as a powerful backroom operator in the ruling Communist Party of China, has praised President Xi Jinping by calling him a capable and intelligent leader.        

Former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, widely regarded as a powerful backroom operator in the ruling Communist Party of China, has praised President Xi Jinping by calling him a capable and intelligent leader.        

The "mad run" towards westernisation was responsible for "personal and national decay" in the country, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said today.        

Gold may get costlier after the RBI made it mandatory to export 20 per cent of imports in a bid to arrest the Rupee's fall and improve the current account deficit, traders and jewellers said today.     

There would have been fewer casualties in the Bihar mid-day meal tragedy had the children been taken to the hospital on time and provided proper treatment, an HRD ministry report has said, as it blamed the school principal for ignoring the children's complaint about the food served.        

Making clear its opposition to the Food Security Bill, industry body Ficci today called it a "troublesome act", saying that cash transfer will be the best way forward.        

Congress leaders from Telangana and non-Telangana regions can express their views on the separate statehood issue but they have to abide by the decision of the party high command, Andhra Pradesh Congress president B Satyanarayana said today.        

Months before four major states go for assembly elections, the Attorney General has backed a proposal of the Election Commission to block the publication and broadcast of opinion polls between the announcement of election schedule and the final phase of polling.        

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today made it clear that her government would agree to the India-Bangladesh Teesta water sharing treaty only after getting a nod from the people of north Bengal.        

The Afghan president told the top US military commander today that he was ready in principle to let American troops stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014, a month after suspending security talks. 

Two West Bengal ministers today alleged electoral malpractices by Congress in the panchayat elections being held in its strongholds and demanded the arrest of Minister of State for Railways Adhir Chowdhury. 

And another bites the dust. Lonely Plant the must-have travel guide for backpackers the world over, may soon be closed down after one- third of its staff in the headquarters in Melbourne have been rendered redundant, according to reports in the Australian and English press. Read

The Gujarat High Court today issued a notice to the CBI on the bail application of suspended IPS officer N K Amin, arrested in Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.

Amidst the challenge of cleaning huge amounts of debris in calamity-struck areas of Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna visited the Kedarnath Temple today.

After his visit to the shrine, he told mediapersons that the temple is safe, restoration activities are on in full swing and development plans for the area are presently being prepared. Bahuguna assured devotees that the temple was safe saying, "I would like to assure all the devotees that the temple is safe, I have seen it myself. It will not be long before pujas(religious ceremonies) resume at the temple.' However, he said he would not be able to put a date on the resumption of prayers at the temple.

Speaking on restoration plans, Bahuguna said that there would be separate routes to approach and descend from the temple. Methods to build a helipad in the area to accommodate MI26 choppers commissioned to transport heavy equipment like bulldozers, JCBs and powerful stone cutting tools to the Kedar Valley were also discussed.

A Pakistani court hearing the case of seven men, including LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, charged with involvement in the Mumbai attacks has adjourned the hearing for six weeks, a defence lawyer said today.

The anti-terrorism court in Islamabad recorded no progress during the last hearing on Saturday as the judge, Kausar Abbas Zaidi, was on leave. The next hearing was fixed for August 31.

Lawyer Riaz Akram Cheema, part of the team defending Lakhvi and the other accused, said this was the first time that the trial of the accused has been deferred for six weeks. He criticised the postponement, saying that an anti-terrorism court cannot put off any case for more than two weeks.

US Vice-president Joe Biden and his wife Jill visited the Gandhi Smriti in Delhi today. Here's the picture tweeted by ANI's Smita Prakash.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela is showing "sustained improvement", the presidency said today, six weeks after the anti-apartheid hero was hospitalised with a life-threatening lung infection.

"Former President Mandela is still in a critical condition in hospital but shows sustained improvement," President Jacob Zuma said in a statement. Mandela, who turned 95 on July 18, was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on June 8. He has been hospitalised four times since December.

Mandela, South Africa's first black president, is regarded the founding father of the country's multi-racial democracy. Mandela had a long history of lung problems, dating back to the time when he was a political prisoner on Robben Island during apartheid. While in jail he contracted tuberculosis.

The inside story of how Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan patched up at Baba Siddique's Iftar party. Read

Reliance ADAG Chairman Anil AmbaniAnil Ambani has been summoned as CBI witness on July 26 by a Delhi court in the 2G spectrum case. This, even as Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani moved the Supreme Court today, challenging the trial court's summons to them as prosecution witnesses in 2G spectrum allocation scam case.

An Afghan Church Grows in Delhi. Read

Far away from Mr Modi, a story worth a read. An US soldier goes back to Korea , 60 years after the war, to pay his respects to the ruler who led that fight against him and his fellow Americans. Read

Coming out strongly against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen today said he does not want him to become India's prime minister as he does not have secular credentials.


The prominent economist also criticised Modi's model of governance saying he did not approve of it. "Yes, I don't want him," Sen told CNN-IBN in reply to a question on whether he wanted him as his prime minister.

"He has not done enough to make minorities feel safe," he said. On being asked why he did not want so, Sen said, "He could have first of all been more secular and he could have made the minority community feel more secure." "No, I don't approve of it... I don't think the record is very good. I think I don't have to be a member of the minority in order to feel insecure... We Indians don't want a situation where the minority feel insecure and could legitimately think that there was an organised violence against them in 2002.

"I think that is a terrible record and I don't think Indian Prime Minister as an Indian citizen... Of who has that kind of record. No, I do not." Sen said.

Headlines Today's Shiv Aroor tweets: Four sitting Congress MLAs in Delhi want to cross over to the Aam Aadmi Party. 

The world might have to wait for some more hours for the news of the arrival Kate Middleton's first child, as babies, even royal babies, don't always keep to schedule.

The biggest determinant of when a baby will appear is whether it is your first child. If it is, then giving birth generally takes longer, experts say. The late Diana, Princess of Wales, was in labour for 16 hours with William.

However, Harry was born just nine hours after Diana arrived in hospital. Kate is planning to have a hypnobirth, in which relaxation techniques are used to limit the need for pain medication.

There is little research into the efficacy of this technique, and none showing conclusively that it speeds up the process, The Times reported.

After being admitted to hospital at 5.30am (local time), if Kate follows what would be expected of a first-time mother, it is more likely than not that she will have given birth to the would-be British monarch by early evening.

Dr Manmohan Singh has made 1300 speeches since he took office in 2004. You can find all of them here.

And you thought the PM did not speak! That's 144 speeches every year.

A Norwegian woman at the centre of a Dubai rape case dispute has been pardoned and is free to leave Dubai, she has said.

Interior designer Marte Deborah Dalelv was on a business trip in Dubai when she says she was raped in March.She reported the attack to the police, but found herself charged with having extramarital sex, drinking alcohol, and perjury. -- BBC

A teen has allegedly been gang-raped in a moving car by four people in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. The survivor, a student of Class 12, was abducted on Saturday by the suspects in a black SUV, the police said. She was allegedly Facebook friends with one of the men involved.

Investigators say that after being raped in the car, she was taken to a house nearby, where she was sexually assaulted again before being discarded on the road near a local mall.

The survivor's family says that the next day, the suspects reached her house and warned they would kill her younger brother if she reported the crime to the police.The four suspects are missing. -- NDTV 

Narendra Modi has been celebrated for his clarity of vision and powerful oratory. But lately he has begun to look like a wordsmith who trips on his own words. Read

The Delhi Police has filed a chargesheet in a 13-year-old match-fixing case, which involves some South African players, including Hansie Cronje, their then captain.

The case dates back to the year 2000 when the Crime Branch of Delhi Police revealed that an India-South Africa One Day International (ODI) match played in March was fixed.

The police said they intercepted phone conversations between London-based bookie Sanjeev Chawla and Cronje which suggested that money was exchanged to fix the match.  More

Even as the Uttarakhand government readies to handle the tonnes of debris in the flood-wracked state, a paean to the Indian Air Force, which fought a valiant battle against nature to save thousands of lives in the state, scripting India's greatest rescue operation. Read

Rains lashed Delhi Monday morning causing further headaches for commuters after monsoon downpours last weekend led to traffic jams, power outages and more flooding at the city's international airport.

On Saturday 123.4 millimeters of rain was recorded in 12 hours in Delhi, the highest level since 2009 when 126 mm fell, and the third highest in a decade. Read

Update on the mid-meal horror. A Chhapra court has issued an arrest warrant against the principal of the school where 23 kids died after consuming a mid-day meal laced with organophosphorus.

Police raided the home of the headmistress's parents on Sunday as the search for her and her husband continued. "We are trying our best to get hold of the lady as she is key to the investigation. Everything ends at her," said the police.

The incident took place in Dharamsati primary school in Masrakh in Saran district on Tuesday.

The Congress too disapproved of the remarks of party General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed and party MP Rashid Masood that the 2002 Gujarat riots had led to the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM).

"It is not the party line as of now," spokesperson Renuka Choudhary said. Her response was the same to a question about Masood's similar remarks. She, at the same time, attacked the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat for the riots saying the way a particular community was targeted has no parallel anywhere else.

"Whatever happened in Gujarat, the manner in which people of a particular community were killed, such an incident has not happened anywhere else," she said.

And a comeback from the RSS.

A senior RSS leader has slammed Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed for his remark that 2002 Gujarat riots led to the formation of Indian Mujahideen, saying he is acting like spokesman of the terror outfit.

"Terrorism flourishes in India courtesy apologists like Ahmed," RSS National Executive member Ram Madhav wrote on Twitter - the micro blogging site.

"Shakeel Ahmed's justification of terrorism is shocking. It is the Congress brand of politics that has bred all forms of terror in India," Ram Madhav wrote.

His tweet was in response to Congress general secretary Ahmed's remark that Indian Mujahideen was formed after the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed targeted the BJP on Sunday claiming it was the 2002 Gujarat riots that led to the formation of terror outfit Indian Mujahideen. "Indian Mujahideen was formed after Gujarat riots, says NIA in its charge sheet. Even now BJP and RSS will not desist from their communal politics?" Ahmed tweeted.

The BJP was quick to react. "They are trying to make it communal. There has been peace in Gujarat for 10 years, and it is developing. They know they have no answer," party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi later tweeted, "Shakeel Ahmed seems justifying IM, shares their objective and is sympathetic to their cause? Congress's political alliances with similar outfits have preceded Gujarat an excuse to justify such a mindset. Alliance with Muslim league, MIM, TNMMK!"

"It is a stupid argument. Pakistan had been funding these outfits so please desist from helping enemies of the country.... too much of tweeting will lead to quitting," BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said.

Amid reports of students falling ill after consuming mid-day meal at schools in Dhenkanal and other districts of Odisha, tribal-dominated Koraput requires immediate steps to check the unhygienic condition in which food is prepared.

According to official reports as many as 2,14,000 students have been enrolled at the 2,757 primary schools of the district but at least 1,378 schools lack proper kitchen to prepare food forcing the officials concerned to cook food in open and unhygienic conditions.

"Due to lack of kitchen rooms at schools the cooks prepare food under the shade of tree or any other places in unhygienic condition. There is every possibility that the food may get contaminated and a disaster could happen," said Koraput based activist Bhabani Mishra.

"Apart from making all new rules to ensure safe and hygienic food for the school chidren's, the government should ensure that each school has a kitchen room," he added. Also, at least 1160 schools in the district don't have proper cooking utensils for preparing food. Old, damaged and uncleaned utensils are being used for cooking food and the food is kept in uncovered utensils. Admitting that over 50 per cent of the schools don't have kitchen, officials blamed it to the lack of funds.

BJP today began the offline registration of participants for the public meeting to be addressed by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Hyderabad on August 11.

The online registration, being done by collecting Rs 5 from each participant, began about a week ago, state BJP unit president G Kishan Reddy said.

He took exception to the criticism being levelled by Union Minister Manish Tewari and other Congress leaders against the party's move to collect Rs 5 from participants.

"There is a debate on collecting five rupees. Congress leaders are sore over the growing popularity of Narendra Modi. Congress needs to understand that small donations used to be collected even when Mahatma Gandhiji and Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan. We are doing this to help the victims of Uttarakhand rains and to make the youth a part of this service initiative," Reddy said.

Objecting to the remarks of Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed that some terror outfits were formed after Gujarat riots, he asked whether terrorism did not exist prior to 2002.

"Was Congress not in power both in Maharashtra and Centre when the 1993 Bombay blasts took place? Did Rajiv Gandhi die of terrorism or not? Narendra Modi was not there then. Why are you trying to mislead people? Why are you trying to distort history? You are a failure on tackling terror," he said.

It's too early to rejoice, Mumbai.
The Maharashtra government has indicated that it is contemplating a blanket ban on dance bars. Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil has told the state assembly that the discrimination in the amendment to the Bombay Police Act (which allows for dance performances in 3 star hotels and above) will be addressed by the state.

One of the options being considered by the state Home Ministry is an ordinance, say sources. This comes after the Supreme Court scrapped an earlier ban on dance bars last week.

The Supreme Court had ruled that dance bars can be reopened in Maharashtra. Dance performances in Maharashtra bars were banned in 2005. The dance bar owners will now have to apply for a licence to the government before reopening. Read more

The toll in the two powerful earthquakes that struck China's north-west Gansu province, has risen to 50, with over 300 injured. The first earthquake near Dingxi city had a magnitude of 5.98 and was shallow, with a depth of just 9.8 km (6 miles), the US Geological Survey said. -- BBC.  

Girls as young as five are still being sold into marriage in Pakistan. And no one will stop it. Read

Is it inevitable that successful Hollywood actors become caricatures of themselves? It happened to Brando, Nicholson and De Niro. And now it's happening to Johnny Depp. Read

There has been a bizarre twist in the death case of a 48-year-old woman in an accident while trying to avoid a pothole in Mumbai. The police have now now filed an FIR against the deceased and in its FIR the police have cited death due to negligence citing the fact that the woman was not wearing a helmet.

The 48-year-old woman died in Mumbai after falling from a two-wheeler while trying to avoid a pothole on a road in Vasai. The incident took place on Friday near the Vasai rail bridge. She succumbed to her injuries on Sunday. The woman who had her daughter pillion riding with her, died after suffering head injuries. Read the full story here.

Indian police investigating a poisoning at a school that killed 23 children raided the home of the headmistress's parents Sunday, as the search for her and her husband continued. "We conducted a massive search to find out if she or her husband were hiding there," said Sujeet Kumar, superintendent of police in Chapra, the district in Bihar state where the school is located. "We are trying our best to get hold of the lady as she is key to the investigation. Everything ends at her." Read the full story here.

In other news: With the removal of huge amount of debris in Kedarnath posing the biggest challenge to the state government in calamity-hit Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today visited the Himalayan shrine along with a team of EIPL experts to speed up the mammoth exercise.

EIPL, which has a dedicated team of 500 personnel with expertise in debris removal, was roped in by the state government to clear the shrine area of tonnes of debris left over by the recent calamity in the state so that regular prayers could be started there at the earliest.

The task is mammoth as a huge quantity of debris with a strong possibility of decomposing bodies lying under them has to be removed from the premises and over 40 badly damaged structures nearby have to be razed to the ground.

Feverish reporting on the Kate Middleton going into labour continues. Here's what Hello! magazine says. Read

Kate Middleton in labor: Her best royal maternity style moments. See 

And for the doubting Thomases, here's why the Kate Middleton story touches a chord. Read this woman's blog. 

Unless you are British, or anglophile, Kate Middleton's baby is unlikely to stir you out of your mid morning stupor. But for those who know their earls from their dukes, here's more on the big British story.


The couple do not know the gender of their first child, who will be third in line to the throne.

The BBC's Nick Witchell said there was likely to be no more news until the official announcement of the birth.The world's press have been camped outside St Mary's for days in anticipation of the birth.

The due date had never been officially announced but had widely been expected to be mid-July. The Duke of Cambridge has been with his wife on annual leave and will have two weeks' paternity leave.Catherine's final public appearance before the birth was at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in June.

Under new laws to succession the baby will remain third in line to the throne regardless of gender.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were married at Westminster Abbey in April 2011, watched on television by millions of people around the world.

Kate Middleton travelled by car from Kensington Palace to the Lindo Wing of the hospital with the Duke of Cambridge.

Prince Williams wife Catherine is at the hospital to give birth to their first child.
When the baby is born, a formal bulletin signed by medical staff will be rushed by car with a police escort to Buckingham Palace. Then, the bulletin will be placed in a frame on an easel -- the same one used to announce William's birth -- and placed in a palace courtyard for all to see.

Buckingham Palace confirms that Kate Middleton has been admitted to St. Mary's Hospital, London, in early stages of labor. The Duchess of Cambridge has secretly met an antenatal guru, twice, to prepare for the birth of her first child. 

A woman who works with an IT company in Kolkata is in a hospital in the city after she jumped off a train to avoid being molested by a man who entered a compartment she was travelling in. There was nobody else in the compartment at the time of the incident.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has offered to cover all medical costs and spoke to the woman's father on Sunday.The woman jumped off the train about 42 kilometres from Kolkata on Sunday evening.. Some locals reportedly found her on the train tracks and rushed her to hospital.  She has a head injury and has hurt her hands but is reportedly in stable condition. She has told the police that she can recognise the assailant.  More

Willing to travel in India, but want the experience to be different? Try this. Chaandni,  a series of concerts featuring traditional Rajasthani desert minstrels, is being held during the full moon until September, in Jodhpur. Take a peek

Hate train food? You can now book your meal online and have it delivered to you on board a train at a station of your choice. Read

US Vice President Joe Biden arrives in New Delhi Monday for a visit focused on improving business ties between the two nations. Biden, 70, begins his four-day India tour with a trip to Gandhi Smriti in New Delhi, a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, who led India to independence from Britain in 1947. Here's what lies ahead during his India visit. Read

"I never expected this from priests," Italy-born Odissi danseuse Ileana Citaristi said, still in shock a day after she was allegedly manhandled during the famous Lord Jagannath procession.The Padma Shri award-winner had on Sunday filed a complaint with the Puri temple authorities alleging that she was beaten on the chariot of Lord Jagannath for "refusing to pay money for a sighting of the deity". Read

The Supreme Court will hear Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy's Special Leave Petition on the Juvenile Justice Act with reference to the Nirbhaya Rape case. The CJI agreed to treat the SLP as urgent since the Juvenile Justice Board JB has fixed July 25 as the date to deliver the judgment. 

Meanwhile, Reliance ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani have moved the Supreme Court against the trial court's order summoning them as prosecution witness in 2G scam case.  The SC agrees to hear Ambani's plea and has posted the case for a hearing on Wednesday.

A Delhi court last week ruled that the couple would have to testify as witnesses in the telecom case. The CBI said that Ambani, as a prosecution witness, can help explain the actions of his executives, Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair, who are on bail. The agency also said that Tina Ambani had presided over the meetings where key decisions related to Swan Telecom were taken, but in the event that Anil Ambani's testimony was complete, Tina would not have to testify.

As China hardens its position on disputes with neighbours over islands and reefs in the South China Sea, the American move to pivot strategically towards the Asia-Pacific region has pushed India's growing alliance with Japan and the US into sharp focus for Beijing and its military. Read the report on the Telegraph.

The toll in the China earthquake has gone up to 47 people. Two shallow earthquakes struck northwest China this morningt, officials said, as rescuers battled to reach survivors in the remote, mountainous area. The website of the earthquake bureau in Gansu province, where the 5.9 and 5.6 magnitude tremors struck, also said over 296 people were severely injured.  

As a controversy rages over a ruling Trinamool Congress leader asking party workers to attack houses of independent candidates in the ongoing panchayat polls, a Trinamool legislator on Sunday publicly threatened to decapitate a Congress leader. The threat was directed at Bapi Dutta, a Congress leader of Birbhum district.  Read more

India has been named as among the countries that face the highest risk of importing the deadly MERS coronavirus. International scientists on Saturday warned India that the new SARS-like virus that has emerged in the MiddleEast could spread faster and wider during two international mass gatherings involving millions of people in the next few months. Read the full report on the TOI.

Alert students and a cook saved their hostel inmates from consuming poisonous food by facilitating its disposal after they saw a suspended panchayat official allegedly mixing some harmful substance in it.    

 

Three students and the cook of Palaspani tribal boys hostel in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district saw suspended panchayat secretary Bhajansingh Marskole allegedly mixing some poisonous substance in the water boiled for cooking last evening, police said.     

 

Bhajansingh, in order to settle scores with the hostel watchman, allegedly mixed some poisonous substance in the water boiled for cooking pulses in the hostel when the latter was busy in some other work, Inspector General Ajay Sharma told PTI today.     

 

As the pungent smell spread in the room, the students and the cook alerted hostel superintendent Vijay Kumar Salve about it following which the entire food material was disposed of after collecting its samples in the presence of police.   

 

Later, police sent the seized sample to a forensic science laboratory in Sagar for testing and on the complaint of Salve booked a case under sections 307, 294 and 506 of the IPC against the accused, who is absconding. Efforts are on nab him, the IG added.

PTI: More than 13,000 officials were investigated in China in the first six months of this year on suspicion of corruption, the country's anti-corruption bureau said today. 

 

"Prosecutors investigated 9,747 cases of public funds embezzlement and bribery with the total sum of money involved reaching USD 287 million," said a statement issued by the anti-corruption bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.  

 

In January, the procuratorate launched a campaign targeting violations of norms in key sectors including land acquisition and house demolition, affordable housing projects, education, employment, medical services, social security, environmental protection and food and drug safety.  

 

This led the prosecutorial agencies to look into 13,842 officials across China. Of these, 7,132 were officials or workers working in administrative bodies at grassroots levels, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The Mumbai Police has sounded a high alert in the face of recent terror attacks in other parts of the country. The police have given strict instructions to malls, hospitals, schools and other public places to increase surveillance. The decision was taken after major terror threats were made to the city.

 

The police department has also been stressing on installation of CCTVs and better communication with the police. Two initiatives have already been taken by the police under the name of Operation Bravo and Mumbai Kavacch are being formed.

 

Read the full report on CNN IBN

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Monday fell by nearly 20 points in early trade today as funds and retail investors booked profits after recent gains. The 30-share barometer, which had gained nearly 299 points in the previous three sessions, declined by 19.89 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 20,129.96.         Stocks of oil and gas, power and realty sectors were the major losers due to profit- booking.       

 

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index, Nifty, moved down by 7.90  points, or 0,13 per cent, to 6,021.13. Brokers said profit-booking by funds and retail investors after three sessions of gains  mainly influenced the trading sentiment.        

 

However, firm trend in Asian region restricted the fall, they said. In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei Index rose by 1.23 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index by by 0.64 per cent in early trade today.

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe says his win in Sunday's upper house elections will help him form a stable cabinet, ending political volatility. Exit polls suggest his ruling coalition won at least 76 of the 121 seats contested, broadcaster NHK says.

 

This would give Mr Abe control of both houses of parliament - a first for a prime minister in six years. Mr Abe said the result was an endorsement of his more conservative economic and political reforms.

 

Read the full report on BBC

Polling for the fourth phase of panchayat polls have begun in four districts in West Bengal, amid violence and arson. In Birbhum, bodies of two CPM supporters were found this morning at Mayureswar.

 

An independent candidate's father was shot at in Kasba and has been moved to a hospital in Kolkata.In Murshidabad district, two people have been reportedly killed in a bomb blast in Raninagar. Bombing incidents have also been reported in Sultanpur, Jitpur and Raipur in the district.

 

A ballot box has been snatched in Judinda in the district. The situation is also tense in the two other districts of Nadia and Malda where clashes have been reported over the last couple of days.

 

Read the full report on NDTV

PTI; A 6.6-magnitude earthquake today jolted two counties in northwest China's Gansu Province, according to the country's Earthquake Networks Centre.         The earthquake occurred at 7.45 AM (local time) at the junction of  Minxian and Zhangxian counties.        

 

The local people in Minxian county said strong tremor was felt and saw noticeable shake of trees and homes, adding that the quake lasted for about one minute.        

 

Meanwhile, the earthquake was also felt in neighbouring cities of Dingxi, Longnan, Tianshui, as well as the provincial capital city of Lanzhou, state run Xinhua news agency reported.

PTI: At least two passengers were injured when eight coaches of a passenger train derailed near Wadsa railway station in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, South East Central Railway officials said today.        

 

The mishap occured at around 10 PM last night when eight coaches, including the engine, of the Godia-Chandra Fort passenger train jumped off the track, they said.       

 

Reasons behind the derailment are yet to be ascertained and an inquiry into the accident will be conducted, official said.

Acknowledging that better indigenous snooping capabilities may not be enough to protect India's cyber security, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon has advocated formulating a set of "standard operating procedures' (SOPs) '" ground rules for cooperation which would help India succeed in obtaining

 

Internet information from major powers that control much of cyber space. In an internal note focusing on the cyber security challenges that India faces today and the way forward, Mr. Menon has said that apart from striving to augment its own capabilities, India needs to counter cyber warfare/terrorism through international cooperation rather than go it alone, particularly when attacks, espionage and anarchy in cyber space would remain a reality for a long time to come.

 

Read the full report on The Hindu

Despite recent statements by Beijing of its intent to improve ties with New Delhi, reports of Chinese incursion into Indian territory continue. Sources have told NDTV that Chinese troops intruded into Chumar sector in Ladakh region thrice - on July 16, 18, and 20 - in the last five days.  

 

On each of these occasions, the soldiers intruded about three kilometres into the Indian side and spent several hours before going back. The reported incursions in Chumar come on the back of the Indian Army getting the go-ahead to raise a 50,000-strong Mountain Strike Corps along the border with China.   

 

The move is a major boost to the Army's war-fighting capabilities along the Line of Actual Control that has witnessed several instances of incursion by Chinese troops.

 

Read the full report on NDTV