Suspended Indian Police Service officer D G Vanzara, an accused in a string of fake encounter killing cases, was admitted to a hospital in Ahemdabad on Saturday after he complained of chest pain. He was admitted to U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre according to a source in the hospital.

Vanzara is an accused in the cases relating to alleged fake encounter killing of Soharabuddin Sheikh, Tulsi Prajapati and college student Ishrat Jahan.

A team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India will visit the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand to assess the quantum of damage caused by the recent floods and landslides.

Five experts from Dehradun and Delhi will be part of the exercise for the revered shrine. The team is also expected to suggest restoration measures needed for the temple and the surrounding areas, a senior official said.  

With many of its plans to break the impasse over the Telangana issue coming unstuck, the Congress is now reportedly toying with the idea of moving a resolution on the statehood demand in the next session of Andhra Pradesh assembly.

Congress circles were abuzz with this talk on Saturday even as its leaders from Telangana are set to organise a public meeting in Hyderabad on Sunday to proclaim that the party would indeed grant statehood to the region as per the announcement made on December 9, 2009.

Incidentally, the announcement made on December 9 by the then Union Home Minister P Chidambaram referred to moving a "resolution" in the assembly but it was not moved because of the changed political equations within the ruling party as well as the main opposition Telugu Desam Party.

The Election Commission today issued notice to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gopinath Munde for his poll expenditure remarks. The commission had asked Munde to explain within 20 days on his remarks that he spent Rs 8 crore in 2009 Lok Sabha poll campaign.

British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Islamabad today on a two-day visit during which he will hold wide ranging talks with top Pakistani leadership.  

Cameron arrived in Pakistan after his two-day visit to Afghanistan where he met with British soldiers and held talks with President Hamid Karzai on peace process.   

Paistan's Minister for Science and Technology, Zahid Hamid, senior officials and diplomats received the British foreign minister on his arrival in Islamabad.  

Officials say that during his stay in Islamabad' Cameron will hold talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the regional situation, including the Afghan reconciliation process.

NDTV reports: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has dubbed as "inaccurate" the state Assembly Speaker's claim that more than 10,000 people may have died in the flash floods and landslides that were triggered by torrential rain in the state two weeks ago.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has said that more than 900 people have died in the massive calamity.

Entering the last phase of relief operations in flood-hit Uttarakhand, the Indian Air Force today said it has completed the evacuation of stranded pilgrims in Harsil using 26 of its aircraft there.

"The IAF airlifted the last 12 pilgrims from Harsil. Harsil is completely evacuated," IAF spokesperson Wg Cdr Gerard Galway said here. He said 842 pilgrims were airlifted by the force from Badrinath sector and the IAF will continue its operations in the sector for two more days.

The 14 km stretch of National Highway 109 from Guptkashi to Phata was today badly damaged at two places due to landslips caused by heavy rain overnight.

The road, which goes up to Gauri Kund, is now available only till Son Prayag, the route onwards has been destroyed in the flash floods of June 16. Substantial damage to the road is a common occurrence during monsoons in the hills of Rudraprayag district, but this time the troubles for locals here started before the beginning of the wet season.

The death toll in flash floods and landslides that ravaged Uttarakhand is around 900 so far, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said today. "So far, 1.05 lakh persons have been rescued," Shinde told PTI.

Reports our correspondent from New Delhi: Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has developed serious differences of perception with Subramanyam Vijay Kumar, secretary, ministry of rural development, on the implementation of NREGA in Bihar.

Spending of NREGA funds by the Bihar government, Vijay Kumar -- the eldest son of the late K Subramanyam, the legendary doyen of strategic affairs, and the elder brother of Dr S Jaishankar, India's charismatic ambassador to China-- feels is a matter for investigation.

But Ramesh wants Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's support for the Land Reforms Bill and does not want to disrupt that understanding.Ramesh, who is now not on talking terms with S Vijay Kumar, the senior-most civil servant in his ministry, will maintain his maun wrat till October when Vijay Kumar retires.

Reports our correspondent from New Delhi: At a dinner Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia hosted recently, guests debated the pros and cons of projecting Rahul Gandhi as the Congress party's prime ministerial candidate.

Praful Patel was one of those who reportedly argued otherwise.Patel felt the nation's youth preferred Narendra Modi to Rahul.

When Jyotiraditya forcefully argued that Rahul was the youth voters' preferred candidate, Patel asked Mahanaryaman, Jyotiraditya's son, for his view.The younger Scindia -- whose mother hails from the royal family of Baroda- opted for the Gujarat chief minister, to which Patel quipped that 'charity begins at home.'

Reports our correspondent from New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office has received letters from six former directors of the Intelligence Bureau pleading with Dr Manmohan SIngh that the Central Bureau of Investigation desist from 'derailing' the IB's intelligence-gatherings ops.

The letters are a consequence of the CBI's reported move to indict a senior IB officer in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case in court on July 4.

After failing to trace her parents, who had gone to Kedarnath pilgrimage, a 35-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide in Gwalior, police said on Saturday.

The dejected woman, Mamta Tripathi hung herself on Friday when her family could not find the whereabouts of father Nathuram Parashar, 60, mother Kamla Devi, 50, uncle Satish Parashar and aunt Vimla Devi, who had left for the pilgrim town on June 5, they said.

A bookie arrested in connection with the Indian Premier League spot-fixing case tried to rope in Rajasthan Royals player Harmeet Singh but did not strike a deal as he felt he was "young" and could not do much for them, Delhi police claimed today. Bookie

Jitender Singh, alias Jeetu, 38, who was arrested from Ahmedabad yesterday, also claimed he tried to strike deals with some players of 'Uva', a team in Sri Lankan Premier League, but was not successful, they said. These claims were made by Singh, who was allegedly into betting for the past ten years, during his questioning by investigators of the special cell.

Times of India reports: The CBI's chargesheet in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case to be filed next week may spell trouble for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

It is likely to explain that an important accused in the encounter case has given leads to the March 2003 murder of Haren Pandya, who was Mod''s bitter political enemy. Pandya was gunned down at Law Garden in Ahmedabad in what the CBI had described as a reprisal attack in the wake of 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom.

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Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today said the loss to the public and private property due to flash floods in the state could be much higher than the state government's preliminary estimate of around Rs 2,575 crore.   

He said the detailed estimate of flash floods loss wouldbe assessed after normal life is restored in the entire area. He said revenue officials would conduct a detailed survey of the loss of property and the state government will givesuitable compensation to kin of people who have lost lives and property in the devastating floods.   

The state government has demanded an immediate relief package of Rs 1,000 crore from the prime minister.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today arrived in Amethi and met the family members of Indian Air Force officer Akhilesh Kumar Singh who died in Tuesday's chopper crash in Uttarakhand.  

The Congress vice president and local MP arrived at Fursatganj airport this afternoon and drove to Pure Nagovillage under Deeh area to meet the family of the junior warrant officer.   

Gandhi met Akhilesh's father Vikramjit Singh and wife Anju Singh and assured all possible help to the bereaved family.   

After the Supreme Court order rescheduled dates of the panchayat elections in West Bengal and directed that it be held in five phases, the state election today called an all-party meeting on July 4.

"We have called an all-party meeting on Tuesday to discuss election matters and campaign schedules, among other issues," SEC Secretary Tapas Roy told PTI.

The number of people killed in cloudbursts and flash floods in Uttarakhand recently may cross 10,000, state Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said today.           

Phase I of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu might be commissioned any time now, principal scientific adviser to the government R Chidambaram said today.       

Commonwealth Games scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi is set to preside over a crucial two-day Congress of the Asian Athletics Association, which will also vote on his re-election bid as president of the continental body.     

Warning its citizens against travelling to Egypt, the US today said its non-emergency diplomatic staff could leave the country, after an American freelance photographer was killed during protests against President Mohamed Mursi a year after his election.

Ecuador's government has reportedly cancelled the travel documents of NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, which could have helped him exit the transit area of Moscow's Shermetyevo airport.   

A month after the NIA filed its supplementary charge-sheet in connection with the 2006 Malegoan blasts, an accused today challenged its legality, saying that further investigation in the case by the probe agency was totally "illegal".      

A stable Afghanistan and Iran are critical to India's energy security as these two countries can provide greater access to the Central Asian region, which has an abundance of hydrocarbon wealth, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said today.        

According to a tweet by CNN, United States President Barack Obama will meet with ailing peace icon Nelson Mandela's family during his visit to South Africa, which started today.

Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia on Saturday praised Indian Police Service officer Satish Verma for bringing out the truth in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case.   

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Saturday took the Congress-led UPA government to task over the latest petrol hike, claiming that the latter has lost its hold and control over the economy.     

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi knew about the planned encounter of four people, including Ishrat Jahan, in 2004, a senior police official has told the CBI.

Congress today demanded the disqualification of senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde from the Lok Sabha for his remarks that he had spent Rs 8 crore on his election campaign in the last general elections.        

From Brussels to Beijing, Brazil to Turkey, Syria to India, protests against the government and its faulty ruling system is rocking the world.

The bait set forth by United States interlocutors worked surprisingly well when Pakistan's representatives in Doha owned up to the nation's cosy relationship with the Taliban, after decades of denying the same.

A generation of youth in India today want to be like Narendra Modi -- the leader whose attire, and heart, is suspected to be completely saffron, says Zahir Janmohamed.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today slammed the Centre on the issue of rupee depreciation and said the latest petrol price hike spurred by the weak currency showed the Congress-led UPA's "administrative incompetence and incapability."        

The Election Commission is likely to seek an explanation from senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde sooner than later over his reported claim that he had spent Rs 8 crore as poll expenses during the 2009 general elections as against the official sanctioned limit of Rs 25 lakh.   

DMK leader Kanimozhi today thanked Congress president Sonia Gandhi for supporting her in getting elected to Rajya Sabha earlier this week.        

The Politburo of the Communist Party of India - Marxist has slammed the rise in the price of petrol.

While the United States and Israel are getting all hot and bothered about the threat posed by nuclear warheads that may be built by Iran some day, the powerful nations seem to be ignoring another major nuclear threat in the same region -- Pakistan. 

China has denied reports about lifting the ban on worshipping the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, Dalai Lama, which has been restricted for years in the Chinese region.   

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's former personal assistant Tenny Joppan was today remanded to judicial custody in connection with the solar panel scam, which has been rocking the state for the last two weeks.              

Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius was reportedly 'overcome with emotion' as he put on his carbon fibre running blades for his first track training since the killing of model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, according to his agent. 

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's father Lonnie Snowden has reportedly said that people at the WikiLeaks website have manipulated his son, who has not committed any treason.   

Afghanistan has been granted the Associate membership of the ICC, making it the eighth Asian nation and the 38th overall to get the status.     

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday stated that the representation of women in the All India Congress Committee was less and expressed hope that "we can make it to 50 per cent in the next two-three years".

The ministry of external affairs has said it is yet to identity the Indian prisoner who died in Pakistan.   

Security forces have killed eight Maoists during a prolonged shoot-out in the jungles near Kumandih in Jharkhand's Latehar district.   

A team of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India will visit the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand to assess the quantum of damage caused by the flood fury and restoration required for the shrine.        

The US will continue with its efforts to open its consulate in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, a State Department official has said, as the top American diplomat in Beijing concluded his rare six-day trip to the Chinese region.        

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