The UN system stands ready to help governments in India and Pakistan in their efforts to provide relief and assistance to the hundreds impacted by the severe floods in Kashmir, a spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today.

A large-scale rescue operation has been launched by Indian authorities in Jammu and Kashmir as the army and air force evacuated thousands of people from inundated areas across the state. Nearly 150 people have been killed in the floods and many more stranded, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing Rs 1,000 crore aid for the battered state.

Ban's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told PTI today that UN officials in New Delhi are in touch with Indian authorities "to see how best we can help."

Just in: NDTV reports that the fencing at the Line of Control (LoC) has been damaged in the floods in Kashmir. Details awaited.

Anil Saxena, ADG, PR, Railways, says that after reviewing the situation, it will take about 6-7 days to begin train services in the Kashmir valley. 

Sher Singh Dagar, BJP leader says, "As soon as I receive any notice from party, I will give a reply within few hours, will give my version, am not wrong."

The Aam Aadmi Party today accused the senior BJP leader of offering a bribe to a party legislator to switch sides against the backdrop of government formation moves in the capital. 

Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal claimed at a press conference in New Delhi that AAP legislator from Sangam Vihar, Dinesh Mohania, was offered Rs 4 crore by Delhi BJP Vice President Sher Singh Dagar to quit the party.

Finally, some feel-good news, you may already be aware of, but nonetheless... Martina Navratilova proposed to longtime girlfriend Julia Lemigova at US Open Tennis Championships on Saturday.

The 57-year-old tennis legend popped the question during a break while she was providing colour commentary for the men's matches and the moment was telecast on the Jumbotron, a large screen television, at the New York's Arthur Ashe stadium.

Navratilova got down on one knee and offered her girlfriend a diamond-studded ring, to which Lemigova teared up before embracing her and said 'yes'. Share the moment here.

In other news, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today filed a defamation case against BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in a Chennai court over his remarks related to the issue of state fishermen being detained by Sri Lanka.  Jayalalithaa also filed defamation case against the Editor and Publisher of the daily "Dinamalar" for publishing Swamy's remarks.

Hundreds logged on to social networking sites likes Facebook and Twitter to share information on floods, which have created havoc in Jammu and Kashmir. More have been collecting aid for the victims.

People have been sharing pictures and information of the affected areas and rescue and relief efforts being undertaken by the central and state authorities on these portals.

Responses range from the insensitive and cruel...

Karishma Kaul @karikaul tweeted this message with a picture of her parents, 22 hours ago. "Anyone seen my parents in radio colony RAJBAGH this is 5pm yesterday they r on the roof since. #KashmirFloods.

In response, AIka Lamba ‏@LambaAlka_  32m @karikaul tweets: "They must have died. So forget them and save your life."

That's the kind of help everyone with loved ones stranded in Kashmir, can do without.

And then there are the genuinely helpful...

On the Facebook page, Kashmir Floods, we find this post:
Accommodation for around 50-60 people at JKDLP Chairman Hashim Qureshi's home (Saeeda House near SKUAST) in Shalimar, Srinagar. Anyone in need with no place to stay can contact on 094919002189/09906588666.

Lt Gen DS Hooda, GOC Northern Command update on the J&K floods. He says the priority is to rescue people stranded in their and to ensure relief supplies. The situation is critical, the valley remains cut off. We are looking at four to five days to restore connectivity up to Srinagar and also Reasi. South Kashmir is cut off, food and water supply is being flown in from Chandigarh and more reinforcements will be brought in," he says. The army is working with the civil administration to restore electricity connection and water supply. The Badami Bagh cantonment still remains submerged.   

India's laws restricting religious conversions -- intended to protect people from being forced to change their beliefs -- are an obstacle to religious freedom, a senior United Nations figure said in an interview. Read

On the Facebook page 'Kashmir Floods' a status goes: "I request u all to put on your radio's on medium wave 108 degree 81 metre. If anybody is unable to call their helpline at 0194-2455069, drop a message here which wil be forwarded to them for further action and help. Kindly share this msg to public."

The Home Ministry's control room in New Delhi numbers: (011) 23093054, 23092763, 23093564, 23092923, 23092885, 23093566, 23093563.

In Kashmir, in the worst floods in 60 years, no phone connectivity, in large swathes of the valley. The state government says it needs more rescue boats. In Srinagar, the water level has been receding, but waters still rising in the Dal Lake.

Army chief assures the people that the army won't rest till the last person is evacuated. So far 5000 people have been moved to safety. Over 160 people are dead, according to official figures, with over lakhs stranded.

EAM Sushma Swaraj on Pakistan at her presser: Whenever any talks are to be held, it will always be between the Govt of Pakistan and India, never with the Army or ISI.

On China: When they (China) talk to us about Tibet/Taiwan, we understand sensitivity, want them to understand our sensitivity regarding Arunachal.

In a relief to the Sahara group chief Subrata Roy, the Supreme Court today granted him 15 working days more to finalise negotiations regarding the sale of three hotels abroad.

A bench led by Justice T S Thakur allowed Sahara's application while also making it clear this would be the last extension of time and he must close the deals by the extended period to enable him finalise the negotiations so as to fulfill the Rs 10,000 crore bail condition.

Roy and two other directors have been allowed by the court to stay in the conference room of Delhi's Tihar Jail, with video-conferencing facilities, so as to facilitate him negotiate with the prospective buyers of the group's two hotels in New York and one in London.

Roy was allowed to come out of his cell on the condition he would swiftly finalise the deals and deposit Rs 10,000 crore with SEBI to get bail.

PM Narendra Modi speaking at 152nd birth anniversary celebration of Dalit icon Ayyankali at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi.

EAM Sushma Swaraj's first presser since she took over as a union minister:  "Our tenure has been full of challenges but we faced those challenges and moved forward," she says. Swaraj announces she will be going to Afghanistan in a few days.

This is the foreign ministry's three-month report card. 

Quick takes:

-- India has begun a look-east policy.
-- Pakistan's acceptance of our invite to the PM's swearing in was veryimportant.
-- India covered four SAARC nations in three months.
-- Repatriation of dead bodies from abroad will be facilitated by a website.
-- Told US, you call us a friend and spy on us.
-- Introduce better passport services to all north-eastern states.
-- Passport Sewa Camps will be opened in the North East
-- Sushma Swaraj says the ministry worked with pro-activeness and conveyed a strong message to various nations which shows that our Govt is strong. But Govt is also sensitive. We evacuated many people from Iraq and Libya, many were provided tickets from the embassy.

Heavy floods have snapped Kashmir Valley's telecommunication links with the rest of the country and state-run BSNL along with Army and IAF has launched an operation on a war footing to restore mobile services.

The BSNL is rushing experts on satellite-based services from Hyderabad and Bangalore to immediately restore mobile services.

"Kashmir Valley is cut off from the rest of the country. Mobile link and other services have been affected due to floods which have badly hit BSNL and others telecom infrastructure", Chief General Manager Telecom, J&K Circle, R N Sudhakar said.

Sudhakhar, who is leading the operation to restore the service as soon as possible, said Poonch district of Jammu region is also cut off.

"With the help of satellites, we are trying to restore the service. We are trying to do whatever we can", he said. Mobile, landline and Internet services in Kashmir Valley were snapped last night due to huge damage caused to telecommunication infrastructure of BSNL and private operators.

Just in: The Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant with her second child, Clarence House has confirmed.

The BBC reports that Queen Elizebeth and members of both families were delighted with the news.

As with her first pregnancy, the duchess is suffering from very acute morning sickness and is being treated by doctors at Kensington Palace.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted he was "delighted by the the happy news that they're expecting another baby".

The sickness - called hyperemesis gravidarum - is a condition that may require supplementary hydration, medication and nutrients.

File pic of the Kate and William, with their first born, Prince George.

Sher Singh Dagar, BJP, on AAP Sting: AAP MLA told me he wanted to resign from party and wanted a ticket. I just said that I will speak to my party. If the BJP wants to expel me they can, I have not done anything wrong.

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal today released a "sting tape" which featured the BJP Sher Singh Dagar trying to "poach" his MLA. While screening the video at a media conference, Kejriwal claimed it was shot at the house of BJP state vice president Sher Singh Dagar's house as he tried "to offer"  AAP MLA Dinesh Mohania Rs. 4 crore to help the BJP get a majority in the Delhi assembly. He also alleged that the BJP tried to influence three other MLAs to get the necessary numbers to form a government in Delhi.

Sources say that the BJP leadership is toying with two ideas - to project two of its women Union ministers, Sushma Swaraj and Smriti Irani as Chief Ministerial candidates. Smriti Irani for Delhi, while Sushma Swaraj for Haryana. The second 'idea' so to speak, is that the BJP has decided not to form a government in Delhi, but plans to hold elections in early 2015. 

Kashmir Flood helpline numbers:

Anantnag 01932-224371, 222870, 222836, 222271, 9419051940
Baramulla 01954-237830
Shopian 01933-261891
Kulgam 01955-262295

Sushma Swaraj, MEA External Affairs will hold a media briefing today at 15:45 hours in New Delhi. 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's family performed a house-warming puja at their 2 Krishna Menon Marg residence. Jaitley, we hear, was keen to occupy the Lutyen's bungalow on Saturday, September 6.

Jaitley considers six is his lucky number -- his mobile phone and his car numbers end with six.

Jaitley was discharged today after bariatric surgery at a private hospital in Saket, New Delhi, but he will stay in a guesthouse for three or four days, so that the smell of fresh paint in his house, dissipates.

Jaitley, meanwhile has been clearing files from hospital. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan called on Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan here this morning.

This was the first meeting between the Chief Minister and the Governor since the latter took charge on August 30, a Raj Bhavan statement released here today said. The meeting lasted for nearly 35 minutes, it said.

Vidyasagar replaced K Sankaranarayanan, who resigned from his post after being transferred to Mizoram.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has unveiled his new chiselled body and eight pack abs, which is part of his look for upcoming film 'Happy New Year', directed by Farah Khan.

The 48-year-old actor had previously done rigorous training to achieve six pack abs for the choreographer-turned-director's 2007 film 'Om Shanti Om'.

SRK shared the picture, clicked by Dabboo Ratnani, on Twitter in which he is seen bare-bodied and clinging on to a rope: "And this one is by Dabboo Ratnani. Thanks my friend. And thanks Avi Gowariker. Now Farah don't exploit me anymore," Shah Rukh posted alongside the picture.

Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth has been tipped to become the Vice Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDRMA) which means he gets a Union Cabinet Minister status.

His 1974 IAS batchmates who have retired, have now got in touch with the Prime Minister Office's opposing his elevation. In fact, at least four batchmates describe Seth as a low profile person, who cannot handle the natural disasters like flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir.

BJP's Subramanian Swamy on the AAP STING: BJP doesn't need to buy anyone, why take Arvind Kejriwal seriously? natak kar rahe hai, shoot and scoot.

This is the video of the sting posted by AAP. Watch

Congress reacts to AAP's alleged sting op on the BJP attempting to bribe AAP MLAs for Delhi. Ajay Maken says, "BJP's attempts to bribe leaders, is an attack on democracy. In video Sher Singh Dagar is seen talking to someone senior on phone, we want to know who that person in the High Command is."

EAM Sushma Swaraj meets her German counterpart Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier in New Delhi today.  The German foreign minister met the PM later on.

Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party today showed what it called proof that the BJP is trying to "buy" its legislators with offers of money or posts, to make up numbers for a shot at forming government in Delhi.

"Our operation to expose the BJP's horse-trading has been going on for over a month. The BJP doesn't have the numbers and so they are indulging in such malpractices," Kejriwal told reporters today.

AAP showed a video clip that it says shows two BJP leaders allegedly asking two AAP legislators to join them, offering them money.

The clip, allegedly recorded in BJP leader Sher Singh Dagar's residence, is available on the AAP website and would be submitted to the Supreme Court, the party said. "Prove that you have the numbers, the Lieutenant Governor is your man, the home minister is your man," the AAP chief dared the BJP. Read

While economic diplomacy in India has been going on for two decades, Narendra Modi's test is to ensure that the number of States that reach out to the outside world increases, and that sub-regional linkages within South Asia get strengthened through political will.  Read more

Malaysia has expressed concern over safe passage of the investigation team to the crash site of Flight MH17 that is believed to be shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine, despite the declaration of ceasefire by the conflicting parties.

Ceasefire between Ukraine government forces and the pro-Russian rebels went into effect last Friday evening following an agreement signed in Minsk. Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.

The much-hyped Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Teachers' Day speech was lost on some students in the State, thanks to either the barrier of language or technology.

About 350 children studying in four Kannada, Tamil and Telugu-medium schools in Viveknagar area of Bangalore, who were watching the telecast live, were initially excited about the Prime Minister talking "directly' to them on television. They cheered and applauded as Mr. Modi appeared onscreen.

The excitement was, however, short-lived as nothing he was saying -- which was entirely in Hindi -- made sense to them.

They soon started growing restless and began making up excuses to get out of the class. Hands kept going up, asking for a break to visit the toilet. From the toilet, many made their way to the playground. Those who failed to leave the room were seen dozing off. Read more

Where's the Left when you need it? Time was when you didn't have to be a party member or a fellow traveller to admire its virtues.

After Indira Gandhi's assassination, when Sikhs were being attacked and killed in their thousands at the Congress's prompting, Jyoti Basu's steely peace-keeping in Calcutta was the stuff of urban legend.

This was 1984; the Left Front government's great experiment in land reform, Operation Barga, was yet to run its course. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) was a redistributionist, social democratic party, committed to secularism: every parliamentary system ought to have one.

Read more

Over 150 people have been killed and lakhs have been stranded in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been hit by the worst floods in five decades. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who undertook an aerial survey of the flood-affected Jammu and Srinagar regions on Sunday, said the current crisis was a "national level disaster".

He annnounced a special assistance of Rs 1,000 crore for flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir besides a Rs 2 lakh compensation from the prime minister's relief fund for the kin of each dead and Rs 50,000 each for the seriously injured. Read

While economic diplomacy in India has been going on for two decades, Narendra Modi's test is to ensure that the number of States that reach out to the outside world increases, and that sub-regional linkages within South Asia get strengthened through political will. Read

The Supreme Court says that it finds merit in the allegations made against the CBI director then it would quash all the decisions taken by him during the pendency of the 2G case. The court will take up the case for further hearing on September 15.

The SC said that the allegations made against the CBI director are serious and he cannot say that he won't file an affidavit.

Consequently, the CBI director agrees to file an affidavit in a sealed envelope.

The SC takes the original register of entry list at CBI director's residence after it was handed over by advocate Prashant Bhushan in a sealed envelope.

Sinha asks the SC to tell Bhushan to declare the source from which he got all the documents.

Sinha faces allegations for interfering in the probe in the 2G case.

The Supreme Court asks CBI director Ranjit Sinha to file within a week his response on the allegations leveled against him in an application. "Whatever you want to tell us, tell us in black and white," SC tells Sinha.

Last week, the Supreme Court turned down the plea of the CBI Director to gag the media from carrying news stories on documents pertaining to the entry of various people who are under its probe at his residence. A bench headed by Justice H L Dattu, however, said that the issue arising out of visitors' log book at the Director's residence is very "sensitive" and hoped that media would act with some responsibility.

The SC today took the visitor's book in a sealed envelope, submitted by advocate and petitioner Prashant Bhushan into its custody.  Bhushan says he is depositing the visitor's book with the SC since it could be destroyed.

Sinha, meanwhile leaves his residence, evades questions.

On the 10th and final day of Ganpati, Mumbai gets ready for major traffic blocks. Traffline tweets, "Ganesh gully Ganapati starts its immersion Journey. Expect traffic regulations to start by noon in South Mumbai towards Girgaum Chowpatty."

The country's largest Ganesha idol in Hyderabad will be given a grand immersion today, the last day of Ganeshotsav.

To mark the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee's 60th year of installation, the idol, in the form of Kailasha Vishwaroopa Maha Ganapathi, is 60 feet tall this year. It took almost three months and 200 artisans to make the idol.

The BSE Sensex surged over 200 points to hit a new record-high above 22,225, while the 50-share Nifty rose over 55 points to another all-time high of 8,143 on Monday. The rupee traded at a five-week high of 60.21 per dollar, NDTV reports. 

Read the full report here

A goods train derailed after Maoists blew up a stretch of railway tracks between Latehar and Bendi railway stations in the Latehar district in Jharkhand early today.

The rebels damaged the tracks around 2 am, causing the derailment of the coal-laden goods wagon, the police said.

United States President Barack Obama will on Wednesday announce the strategy to tackle the threat posed by ISIS, the terrorist outfit which has gained control over a large part of Iraq and Syria, and has brutally killed two American journalists in recent past.

"On Wednesday I'll make a speech and describe what our game plan is going to be going forward. But this is not going to be an announcement about the US ground troops. This is not the equivalent of the Iraq War," Obama told NBC's Meet the Press in an interview. "What this is... is similar to the kinds of counter terrorism campaigns that we've been engaging in consistently over the last six-seven years," he said. Obama said the entire international community understands that ISIS was something that has to be dealt with.

The Supreme Court has stayed Nithari killer Surinder Koli's execution for seven days in an order passed at 1.30 am. 

"Through the district magistrate we got the SC has stayed orders to withhold Surinder Koli's execution." SM Rizvi, jail superintendent, Meerut said this morning.

Koli's mercy petition was rejected by the President. He was was transferred from the Dasna jail in Ghaziabad district to Meerut on September 4 for the execution of his death warrant issued by the CBI court. Officials earlier said he was to be hanged any time between September 7 and 12, The Times of India reported.

Koli was shifted to Meerut because of the absence of hanging facilities in Dasna.

Forty two-year-old Koli was found guilty of serial rapes and murders between 2005 and 2006 at his employer, businessman Moninder Singh Pandher's house in Nithari. Remains of several missing children were found near the house.

Koli was sentenced to death in four cases and his death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2011.