"Bringing down of Malaysian passenger plane was a terrorist act. This is not an accident," Petro Poroshenko, Ukrainian President said.

Indian carriers, Air India and Jet Airways, are likely to avoid the airspace of war-torn eastern Ukraine in view of reported shooting down of a Malaysian airliner in which all 295 people on board were killed today. 

Indian carriers, Air India and Jet Airways, are likely to avoid the airspace of war-torn eastern Ukraine in view of reported shooting down of a Malaysian airliner in which all 295 people on board were killed today. 

A press conference on MH17 incident with PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be held at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport soon.

The number of dead from crash of MH17 more than 300, includes 23 US citizen: interior ministry adviser, quoted by Interfax.

However, a US state department spokeswoman tells reporters they have no information on the cause of the crash or of casualties.

US President Barack Obama has asked his advisers to keep him updated on reports of a plane shot down over Ukraine. But the White House says it cannot confirm the reports.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday that Obama spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin before leaving on a trip to Delaware and New York.

The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama have discussed the Malaysia Airlines plane incident over eastern Ukraine.

The Kremlin website published a statement late Thursday that says "the Russian leader informed the U.S. president of the report from air traffic controllers that the Malaysian plane had crashed on Ukrainian territory, which had arrived immediately before the phone call."

Air France says has decided to avoid airspace of Eastern Ukraine.

The aircraft was "shot down" over Ukraine by "terrorists" operating a Buk surface-to-air missile system, according to the Facebook page of Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.

A spokesman for pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region told Russia's Rossiya TV that they were not capable of bringing down a commercial airliner flying at 10,000 metres.

"The portable air defence systems which we have, they work at a maximum of three to four thousand metres. Therefore, it is possible to say virtually before the start of the investigation that the Ukrainian armed forces destroyed this," separatist spokesman Sergey Kavtaradze says.

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said, "The plane may have been shot down. We did not shoot the plane."   

Al Jazera reports: A Russian jet has shot down a Ukrainian SU-25 attack plane over the east of Ukraine, a Ukrainian military spokesman said earlier in the day.

Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's national defence and security council, said that the plane was shot down on Wednesday night by an air-to-air missile but the pilot safely ejected. 

According to the Reuters news agency, it was the third reported incident this week in which a Ukrainian plane has been hit by a missile.

This image shows path of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight just before it crashed.Image:

Courtesy: Flightradar24.com

The plane was allegedly shot down, says Ukrainian interior ministry. 

A number of Ukrainian military planes have been shot down by missiles in recent weeks, with Ukraine accusing Russia's military of supplying advanced missiles to the rebels, reports BBC. 

Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian officials accused the Russian air force of shooting down one of its ground attack jets on Wednesday.

Malaysian PM Mohd Najib Tun Razak tweets: I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed. We are launching an immediate investigation.

CNN aviation safety consultant Mary Schiavo says: The route taken by the Malaysian flight is a very common one between Kuala Lumpur and the Netherlands. She noted that the plane was flying over a troubled area and said close communication with air traffic controllers would be a key necessity.

In a hostile or disputed areas, "any alteration from your course and you can have a problem," she said.

Here is one the first images of the crash of the Malaysian Airlines flight, which crashed near the Ukraine-Russia border.   

The Ukrainian interior ministry adviser says Malaysian plane was shot down above eastern Ukraine. The 280 passengers and 15 crew dead: Interfax 

An official statement by Malaysian Airlines: We have lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace.

More details to follow.

The Malaysian Airlines plane left Amsterdam at 12.10 am local time and was expected to reach Kuala Lumpur 6.10 am local time.   

The crashed plane is a Boeing 777-200, which is the same as the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing on March 8. 

A Malaysian Airlines passenger plane with nearly 300 people on board crashes in Ukraine near the Russian border.

The plane was reportedly flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

More details are awaited.

Image: Representation purpose     

A witness listed by industrialist Ness Wadia has told police she saw him having a conversation with Bollywood actor Preity Zinta during an IPL match in Mumbai on May 30 but did not see him grabbing arm or pulling her as alleged by the film star.        

 

The witness, Farah Oomerbhoy, recently recorded her statement in the Wadia-Zinta episode involving charges of assault and molestation levelled by the actress.        

 

Oomerbhoy, who was watching the match from Garware Pavilion, said there was no heated argument between the two and she did not see him (Wadia) pulling Zinta by her arm on the day of alleged incident.        

 

"Around 30 minutes into the match, Ness went to Preity and leaned over to have a conversation with her after which he just walked away. I couldn't hear them due to noise (in the stadium). But he was leaning over her seat as if to speak to her softly. I didn't see anything that made me to feel that Ness was speaking to her loudly. I didn't see any argument happening between the two," Oomerbhoy said.        

 

"At half time, I, my husband and son went to the air- conditioned box, where Ness was standing with his family members and friends. I was standing with Ness' mother and his sister-in-law. All seemed fine between them (Preity and Ness)," the witness said.

India's monsoon has covered the entire country, the weather office said on Thursday, two days behind the normal schedule in a year that is forecast to bring below average rains.

The revival of rains in the grain bowl of northwest and central regions should help speed up sowing of main summer crops such as rice, corn, soybean and cotton.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat today directed officials to expedite removal of silt from major rivers so that populated areas located close to their banks are safe from flooding.

Keeping in mind the complaints of rampant illegal mining in the state, Rawat said it should be insured that illegal mining is not encouraged on the pretext of silt removal exercise. 

The BJP has served a legal notice to Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of "causing mental agony, harassment and defamation," by accusing the party of "horse-trading."

It has in its notice demanded Rs. one crore in damages and says, "desist and restrain yourself from making false and unsubstantiated allegations forthwith."

Kejriwal has made allegations - in radio ads and on Twitter - that the BJP is attempting to form government in Delhi by trying to "buy" the support of his party's MLAs.-- NDTV

Indian Railways will develop at least 10 major stations of metro cities and important junctions to International standards with modern facilities and passenger amenities through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.

A dedicated organization, Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Ltd. (IRSDC) has been set up to undertake such station redevelopment projects. Stations to be redeveloped are to be identified based on adequacy of land, redevelopment cost, expected returns from real estate development, capacity of approach infrastructure to handle enhanced traffic, etc.

Sulking Maharashtra Industries Minister Narayan Rane today said he will quit the Prithviraj Chavan ministry on Monday, but has decided to remain in the Congress.

"I will announce my future political plans on Monday,' Rane told reporters when asked if he would campaign for the party in the coming assembly elections.

Clarifying that he is very much in the Congress and not joining any other party, Rane said, "I have not met BJP leader Nitin Gadkari. I had met him last when Gopinath Munde  passed away."

Rane, a chief ministerial aspirant, is upset with the party for not giving him the top post, which he always claimed was promised to him when he joined the Congress after leaving the Shiv Sena in 2005.

The ex-Chief Minister will travel by road to Kankavli, his constituency in Konkan on Friday.

BJP serves a legal notice to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and seeks Rs 1 crore in damages for 'causing mental agony harassment and defamation', reports NDTV. Details awaited.

This week has seen the jailing of a man the Americans consider to be one of the most dangerous facilitators of terrorism in the West. But he is likely to be free in less than a year. He was a pioneer when it came to using the web as a tool of jihadist propaganda. Read

A ceasefire reached to end fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militants in Gaza, for five hours today, has officially ended.

It took effect on Friday at 06:00 local time. Hamas have not yet officially commented on the purported ceasefire, said to have been reached after talks in Egypt.

Some 227 Palestinians have died in Israeli air strikes since the current crisis began on 8 July.

Militant mortar fire has killed one Israeli.

Israel launched its military operation in Gaza nine days ago with the stated objective of halting Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.

However, the United Nations says most of those killed in Gaza have been civilians.-- BBC

An Israeli official said the shelling was another example of Hamas using civilians as human shields -- intimating that the boys had been left to play near a rocket launcher.

"What they are deliberately doing is seeking to kill as many Palestinians as possible in order to yell to the world to, 'Help us,' " Israeli Cabinet member Naftali Bennett told CNN.

"This is cynical and this is cowardly."

A Hamas official, however, called the shelling by an Israeli gunship a "massacre" and a "war crime" and demanded UN action.

Four Palestinian children were killed and one was critically wounded on a Gaza beach on Wednesday by a shell fired by an Israeli naval gunboat, a Palestinian health official said.

Asked about the incident, an Israeli military spokesman in Tel Aviv said he was checking the report.

"The kids were playing football on the beach. They were all ... under the age of 15," said Ahmed Abu Hassera, 22. "When the first shell hit the land, they ran away but another shell hit them all," said Abu Hassera, whose shirt was stained with blood.

"It looked as if the shells were chasing them," he told Reuters.

Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, said four of the youngsters were killed and a fifth youth was in critical condition. "This is a cowardly crime," he said.

The Gaza beach area has been shelled frequently since Israel began its offensive in the enclave on July 8 following a surge in Palestinian cross-border rocket strikes. Gaza health officials said 207 Palestinians, most of them civilians, had been killed in air and naval barrages, in the worst flareup of Israeli-Palestinian violence in two years. Read more

Read the eyewitness report

Drawing comparisons between 'Abenomics and Modinomics', Japanese financial major Nomura has said that Japan can play an important role in developing India's infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.

'Abenomics' is widely used for economic policies and reform measures initiated by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while 'Modinomics' refers to that of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had recently said that partnership with Japan was of high priority for his government.

RP Singh, BJP: If Arvind Kejriwal has any evidence where anyone from the BJP is offering Rs 20 crore to AAP MLA then I will give up my 37yrs of politics.

The bomb that exploded in Pune last week was made by mixing ammonium nitrate with potassium chlorate and small ball bearings were used as shrapnel to inflict injuries, but there was no gelatin or RDX in it, Maharashtra ATS said today.

"The forensic reports we have received suggest that the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) which exploded (in Pune) was a mixture of ammonium nitrate and potassium chlorate. Small ball bearings, like the ones used in cycles, were used as shrapnel. But there was no gelatin, RDX or Trinitrotoluene (TNT) in the bomb," Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Himanshu Roy said.

An analogue clock was used as a trigger for the low intensity bomb, he said. The IED would have caused much more damage had the perpetrators not miscalculated their move, he observed.

BREAKING: Senior Israeli official tells the BBC there will be a comprehensive ceasefire from 6am tomorrow morning following talks in Egypt.

Ved Pratap Vaidik on reports that the NIA will question him on his meeting with Hafiz Saeed: "No investigative agency has called me. I am not scared of anyone, anyone can come and question me."

"You have enjoyed power a lot. Now you agitate on the streets." This was the terse advice of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav to Congress in the Lok Sabha today. Incidentally, SP was a key outside supporter of Congress for ten long years when it was in power in UPA-I and UPA-II.

Congress has now the lowest ever tally of 44 in the 543-member House. The angry remark by Yadav came when he was asked by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to resume the discussion on the Union Budget 2014-15.

Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) hikes power tariff. It's a  8.32 per cent hike across Delhi and 9.52 per cent hike in areas that come under NDMC. DERC says the hike is marginal and the effect will be very minimal on domestic consumers. The bill is likely to fall for those consuming less than 800 units, but a steep rise in bill for those consuming above 800 units. Electricity up to 200 units will hike by 10 paise, 200-400 slab will see hike of 15 paise and 400-800 slab will see hike of 50 paise/unit, says DERC.

"Was wonderful to meet President Zuma in Brazil. We will make India-SA relations stronger in the years to come," tweets the PMO. 

Fantastic story on the Hindustan Times today of a family in MP which accepted a transgender person as their daughter-in-law. Read

Just in: Leak from the underground Mahanagar Gas pipelines at Worli Naka.
People evacuated from the area as a precautionary measure. Fire brigade says the situation is under control.

A 1974 picture of Saddam Hussein, who was then Vice President of Iraq, with then PM Indira Gandhi, as he arrives in India./

Just in: The draft of the amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act is ready and has been presented to the law ministry. It is expected to be tabled in the winter session of parliament.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pushed for a more stringent Juvenile Justice Act. "You can't have a cut-off date for crime like you have for government jobs," the Supreme Court was quoted as saying.

The Supreme Court reaction came after Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Sunday favoured treating juveniles accused of heinous crimes like rape on par with adult offenders.

Speaking to reporters, she said according to the police, 50 per cent of all sexual crimes were committed by "16-year-olds who know the Juvenile Justice Act so they can do it."

Here is what the present JJA says.

Dr V Maitreyan apparently saved the day for the Modi govt in Rajya Sabha today by warding off the Congress's demand for discussing the impact of the Hamas. The Congress and the ADMK's tug-of-war also began on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. The Congress is now trying to settle scores with the ADMK as Dr Maitreyan alleged that the first benchers on the Opposition benches in the Rajya Sabha did not condemn the genocide in Sri Lanka during the UPA regime.

The situation in Gaza rocked Rajya Sabha for the second consecutive day today with a determined opposition demanding an immediate discussion even as Chairman Hamid Ansari said the matter can be taken up at a later date while rejecting the government's plea against a debate.

Giving his ruling on External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's request made yesterday, Ansari said, "I am unable to accede to the request of the Minister" and cited rules in favour of the notices given by the opposition in this regard.

The alleged rape of a six-year-old girl inside the premises of a prominent school in Bangalore has enraged the city and triggered massive protests by parents.  Parents protested outside the Vibgyor International School today, waiting for the authorities to address their demands for action.

The school has now promised that additional CCTVs will be installed and that "no stone will be left unturned to ensure the safety of students." The school founder/principal has promised that additional verification of the staff will be done. Saying that the culprits should be hanged, the principal said they were ready to cooperate fully with the parents.

The parents say they will not send their children to this school and demand action against the staff members. 

A form that many schools have now asked parents to sign, declaring that they can't be held responsible for the child's safety has led to even more rage.

The child, a student of Class 1, was allegedly raped by two gym instructors during school hours on July 2. The incident was reported a week later.

The doors of a metro train on the HUDA City Centre-Jahangirpuri route were found to be open between two stations, following which the train operator has been suspended for negligence, a DMRC spokesperson said today.

Around 9:40 am today, the left side doors of the train moving from Arjangarh to Ghitorni metro station on Line-2 were found to be open.

Prima facie, it is an error by the train operator and he has been suspended with immediate effect, the spokesperson said. There is no report of injury to any passenger or damage and metro trains are running as per schedule. The spokesperson said the matter is being investigated.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has written to Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari requesting that a short discussion on the Gaza attacks by Israel be "de-listed' from the House's agenda.

The proposal for the discussion, which was scheduled for Wednesday but did not take place, and the "de-list' request have brought to the fore several pulls and pressures under which the Narendra Modi government is working.

One, Sushma's request has reflected the Modi government's reluctance to be seen as taking sides against Israel in West Asia. Read

Two engineers in the Public Works Department have received a notice to explain why Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was served lunch without ice-cream for dessert on Monday.

Pawar had stopped at a state-run guest house in Aurangabad for lunch on his way to Jalna, where he was to address workers of his Nationalist Congress Party after its crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.

Lunch ended without incident, but the the trouble began when Pawar asked what was for dessert.

Embarrassed housekeeping staff at the guest house said there was none.

Pawar left without a fuss, but his supporters complained to the District Collector's office and insisted that it shoot off show-cause notices to the two engineers for the "lapse."

MB More, the executive engineer in charge of the guest house explained, "The menu is decided by the liaisoning officer. I was not aware of the menu or if it had dessert. I wasn't even around when lunch was served."
-- NDTV

Delhi politics heated up some more this morning with Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal speculating in a series of  tweets on whether Delhi's Lieutenant Governor would invite the BJP to form government today.

Kejriwal tweeted, "I hv sought an appointment from LG for all AAP MLAs to meet him today. Waiting for his response."

AAP sources say the Lieutenant Governor has not agreed to meet them yet.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad convenor Ashok Singhal's statement that Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in Lok Sabha polls 2014 was a "setback to Muslim politics' has created a furore, reports Zee News.

The Congress has not only condemned Singhal's statement but also hit out at the BJP.

Manish Tewari, the Congress leader, said the statement given by Singhal is "condemnable".

"True colours of a party is seen in how they protect their minority,' added Tewari.

Another Congressman Rajiv Shukla said that Muslims and Hindus live together in India. "I don't think even PM Narendra Modi will agree with Ashok Singhal's statement,' added Shukla.

When asked to share his views over Singhal's interview, senior Shiv Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut said that India belonged to everyone and "everyone is equal".

"This time Muslim vote bank politics did not work," Raut, however, added.

In an interview to a daily, the right-wing Hindu leader cited Narendra Modi's major win in the Lok Sabha polls for claiming that "tables had turned'.

He added that the results had proven that a poll could be won "without Muslim support'. It was time the minority community learn to respect Hindu sentiments, said the senior RSS leader.

The 88-year-old went on to add: "Muslims will be treated as common citizens -- nothing more, nothing less. And, they must learn to respect Hindu sentiments. If they keep opposing Hindus, how long can they survive?"

He also said that Muslims should withdraw claims over Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura and also accept a uniform civil code. "We'll then give them love, and not claim any other mosque sites even though there are thousands built on the ruins of temples. But if they don't accept it, they should be prepared for further Hindu consolidation. It has happened at the Centre, it will happen in other states,' the daily further quoted Singhal as saying. Singhal also said that he sees an "ideal swayamsevak" in Modi.

"Want to ask Modi ji on what grounds BJP will form Govt in Delhi when they still dont have the nos?" AAP leader Manish Sisodia tweets.

Dr Bharat Barai and his wife Panna with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The couple will be organiser an event at Madison Square Garden in New York where NRIs will felicitate Modi during his visit to the US in September. 

India have a history of blowing things out of proportion in an attempt to unsettle the opposition, like at Trent Bridge in 2007, but this will inspire England to fight harder. Read

Will India's first aircraft carrier be scrapped or made a museum? Read

AFP reports that a brazen Taliban attack on Kabul airport ended this morning more than four hours after it began after all the insurgents involved were killed, officials said.

Gul Agha Hashimi, a senior police official, said: "The attack is over, and the area is cleared from the insurgents. All the insurgents who were holed up in an under-construction building were killed."

Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement on govt formation in Delhi. Singh said today that the BJP has never done any horsetrading nor will it do in future.

The BJP on Wednesday indicated that it may take a shot at government formation in Delhi if invited by Lt governor Najeeb Jung. Sources said in case BJP decides to form government, senior leader and former finance minister Jagdish Mukhi could be a strong contender for the chief minister's post.

The Aam Aadmi Party has accused the BJP of trying to "buy" its MLAs and engaging in horse-trading. AAP leader Ashutosh on Wednesday said the way the BJP is shamelessly indulging in horse-trading to lure MLAs to form a government in Delhi is a blot on democracy.

The benchmark BSE Sensex today rose over 60 points in early trade, extending gains for the third straight day as funds and retail investors made selective buying ahead of the TCS and Bajaj Auto quarterly earnings.

The 30-share index gained 60.75 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 25,610.47 with IT, power, FMCG, healthcare and consumer durable sector stocks leading the rise. The index had gained 542.74 points in the last two sessions. The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up by 15.65 points, 0.20 per cent, to 7,640.05.

With Gaza reduced to Hamas, 1.8 million people who live in Gaza are made responsible for Hamas. This is the doctrine of collective responsibility, illegal by international law. Read

India under the Narendra Modi government has become the first country in the world to ratify the Marrakesh Convention that codifies exemptions to copyrights to benefit blind and vision-impaired readers.

The government should now build on this momentum and enact the comprehensive and path-breaking law, now before a Parliamentary Standing Committee, that could transform the lives of millions of people with various disabilities. Read

Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, the star attraction of a 2011 friendly football match between Argentina and Venezuela at Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium, refused to take the field unless he was paid Rs 20 crore as his fee. It was then that Saradha group boss Sudipto Sen came up with the money and saved the day. It was part of his Rs 2,500 crore chit fund scam money. Read

Germany's 1-0 victory over Argentina in the football World Cup final was watched in real-time by 40,000 airline passengers, a record for a live in-flight television broadcast. Read

Global press baron Rupert Murdoch has urged Australia to be open to immigrants and engage more deeply with Asia, as he celebrated 50 years of the national newspaper he founded, The Australian. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left for home after a three day visit to Brazil for attending the BRICS summit in the coastal city of Fortaleza. 

A US judge sentenced a British computer engineer to 12.5 years in prison today for conspiring to provide and for providing equipment and personnel to the Taliban in Afghanistan. 

A Swedish court has upheld an arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

New UN peace envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura will meet members of the Security Council on Friday as he sets out to revive efforts to end the devastating war. 

A typhoon blew out of the northern Philippines today after causing at least 20 deaths, knocking out power in entire provinces, damaging two parked jetliners and forcing nearly half a million people to flee from its lethal wind and rains, officials said. 

Fugitive US intelligence agent Edward Snowden deserves shielding from prosecution for having thrown the spotlight on state snooping, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said today. "Those who disclose human rights violations should be protected. We need them," Pillay told reporters.

The EU moved closer to tightening sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine today, though stopping short of the tough line called for by Washington. 

A 35-year-old woman was today sentenced to 18 years in prison for sending poisonous ricin-laced letters to US President Barack Obama and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

Irael's hard-line foreign minister on Wednesday pressed for expanding the nation's offensive in the Gaza Strip to include a ground operation in hopes of ending rocket fire from the coastal enclave into Israel.

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