Jail administration has not told Surinder Koli about the stay on the execution of his death sentence by Supreme Court till October 29.

"We got the news through media but no official communication has reached the jail so far," said SHM Rizvi, jail superintendent. So far, Koli has not been told about the extension of the date of is execution, he said.

"Once we receive the official communication we will convey the news to him," he said. When asked whether the death row convict will be shifted back to Ghaziabad's Dasna jail, Rizvi said that IG jail will take a call on the matter. Koli was transferred from Dasna jail to Meerut jail on Thursday evening.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said neither she nor her party needed money from the Saradha group and accused the opposition and a section of the media of launching a vilification campaign against her. "We are neither thieves nor dacoits.

To shield the real culprits, lies are being spread against us and abuses are being hurled... there should be a limit to everything. I am still tolerating but that does not mean it is our weakness," Banerjee said in an interview to a local TV channel. "Neither I nor my party needed money from Saradha (chit fund company).


"Trinamool is the most transparent party in the country. I paint to raise money for running the party and even for that also, questions are being raised as to whom I am selling my paintings. I am not bound to reply. False campaigns are being made about my meetings," she said.

Army today rescued 13,000 people trapped along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in Ramban district of the state.

"The army evacuated 13,000 trapped people from Ramban and adjoining areas," a defence spokesman said.

They are being provided food and medicines, he said. The Highway has been closed for traffic for nine days due to landslides and sinking of road at various places following heavy rains.

The US today imposed tough economic sanctions on Russia, including measures against its largest bank, several state-owned defence technology and energy companies, for allegedly supporting separatists in Ukraine. The tough economic sanctions comes a day after US President Barack Obama made an announcement in this regard.

The US actions followed similar sanctions imposed by European Union to put pressure on the Russian economy over the country's alleged interference in Ukraine. The American action targets Sberbank of Russia -- the largest Russian bank -- deepens existing sanctions on Russian financial institutions, expands sanctions in Russia's energy sector and targets additional energy- and defense-related Russian entities.

"Today's actions demonstrate our determination to increase the costs on Russia as long as it continues to violate Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen.

After ex-CAG Vinod Rai attacked Manmohan Singh on 2G issue, Congress leader Kamal Nath today said the former Prime Minister may have made a "mistake" in not acting despite his letter to him expressing concern over the spectrum allocation process.

"He may have made a mistake. I would go along with you. I brought it to his notice. He did not understand the import" and he did not act, Nath said to a question whether the then prime minister had made a mistake.

"I was disappointed that the prime minister did not act.... In retrospect and hindsight, gravity and magnitude was not known. It was not known to me and the PM. It is very unfair to say that he knew everything," the former Union Minister and Singh's party colleague told a TV channel.

His remarks came even as several Congress leaders defended Singh on the 2G issue. The party too downplayed Nath's remarks and rejected the contention that the same had vindicated Rai's argument that Singh could not shirk reponsibility for decisions to allocate 2G telecom spectrum and coal blocks.

The Supreme Court today extended till October 29 the stay on execution of death sentence of Nithari rapist-cum-serial killer Surinder Koli.

A bench headed by justice H L Dattu posted the case for hearing on October 28 rpt October 28, on Koli's plea seeking review of apex court's verdict upholding his conviction and death sentence in one of the murder cases.

On September 8, the bench, also comprising justice A R Dave, had stayed the execution of death sentence of Koli for killing children in a house in Nithari village in Noida near here in 2006, for a period of one week.

The plea on behalf of 42-year-old Koli was moved by a team of lawyers led by senior advocate Indira Jaising and was mentioned before the bench after midnight and the order was passed at 1:40 am, hours before his execution.

Koli was to be hanged on the early morning of September 8, in Meerut jail, where he has been kept in a high-security barrack.

Kerala Women's Commission today urged the Central and state governments to intervene immediately for the release and safe return of 350 Malayalee nurses, who are allegedly held in illegal confinement in Kuwait. The nurses had been recruited by a company, which has been blacklisted by the Kuwait government, KWC Member, Lisie Jose said in a statement.

The nurses who had been paid only 30 per cent of their salaries went on agitation demanding their remaining dues following which the company was blacklisted,she stated.

Thereafter, the nurses are kept in the company guest house since the past one month, Lisie Jose said.

A court here today reserved its judgement in the case relating to the murder of the then Railway Minister L N Mishra at a function in Bihar nearly four decades ago.

District Judge Vinod Goel fixed the case for verdict after concluding the final arguments of CBI and the counsel for the four accused. The final arguments had begun in September, 2012.

The case relates to Mishra's assassination in a bomb blast at a function at Samastipur railway station in Bihar on January 2, 1975. He succumbed to his injuries next day.

Two days after courting a controversy over use of red beacon on her official car, Mumbai Mayor Snehal Ambekar reiterated her stand over the issue and said that a red beacon is necessary as her official position is equal to a "state minister".

"Mumbai is an industrial city that has an annual budget of more than Rs 30000 crore. Beside being a Mayor, I have the status of a state Minister. Therefore, I had opined that the use of a red beacon (fitted car) is a necessity," she said addressing her first press conference here today, three days after assuming the post.

Finding Fanny cast and director Homi Adajania with Arnab Goswami. The tweet reads: "The nation wants to know if we have found Fanny!!!thank you sir for being soo gracious...:-)

Author Basharat Peer on what's required for flood-affected Kashmiris: "Things badly needed: Water, water cleaning tablets, biscuits, and medicines."

Sweet story: How India's favourite sweet dish rosugulla was born. Read

Militants suspected of shooting activist Malala Yousafzai have been arrested, Pakistan's army says.

Teenage activist Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head in 2012 by Taliban gunmen but recovered and went on to earn international plaudits for her fight for the right of all children to an education.

A great dane from Michigan that held the title of world's tallest dog has died aged five. Read

JUST IN: Rs. 200 crore relief announced for the two provinces of Jammu and Kashmir by state government.

JUST IN: J-K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announces Rs. 3.5 lakh as ex gratia for each of the deceased in the floods.

90 seats in Haryana and 288 seats of Maharashtra goes to the polls on 15 October. It will be a one-day poll. Counting on 19 October for both states.

The model code of conducting comes into effect immediately in both the states.

September 20 is last date for notification, Sept 27 for filing nominations, scrutiny on 29 Sept and last day for withdrawal of nomination is Oct 1.

Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath is holding a presser to announce the assembly election dates in Haryana and Maharashtra.

While the term of the Haryana assembly expires on October 27, the Maharashtra assembly has time until November 8.

Pistorius case: The case has been adjourned till October 13. Judge Masipa says the state has failed to prove that just because the suspect has sold his properties he will take flight. Sentencing on October 13.

Oscar Pistorius granted bail. He will be a free man until sentencing.

The state has said that the fact that Pistorius had committed a serious offense should be considered in the bail application. 

Pistorius verdict:  The judge has returned and the court is now rising.Judge Masipa will announce whether Pistorius stays out of jail on bail in a bit.

J-K CM calls all-party meeting at 11 am tomorrow to discuss the floods. His government has been accused of inept and poor rescue efforts. 

Soldiers working to rescue the thousands of people who still remain stranded in Srinagar have been asked to remain "very calm" if they are pelted with stones by angry crowds, a senior army officer told NDTV today."

Read more

Telecom operators including BSNL, Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Communications (RCom) will offer free calling facility for a limited period in the Valley.

"Starting yesterday, free calling facility for 60 minutes per day has been extended to all Airtel customers in Kashmir for the next 5 days enabling them to reach out to their loved ones,' Airtel said in a statement.

Vodafone also said as directed by DoT, it is providing 60 minutes free calls per day for 5 days for all customers in Kashmir.State-run BSNL said it will offer free calls(local as well as STD) and free SMS service to all those BSNL customers who will be using its mobile network in Srinagar.

BSNL said not only those customers who belong to that area but also the BSNL customers from other states of North Zone reaching Srinagar area for relief and rescue operations will be able to make free calls.

The facility has already been made available since night of September 11, 2014 and will continue for next 10 days, it said.

"There are no retailers or points where from people can get their accounts topped up. BSNL has, therefore decided to help people in that area by providing free call and SMS service with immediate effect," BSNL Board Director Anupam Shrivastava said.RCom is offering free calls at its PCOs at relief camps and the duration of each call is fixed at 3 minutes.

Aircel had also offered free calling for its customers on September 10 and 11. But now the operator is not offering free calls.

Commercial sex workers in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra have raised Rs 10,321 to help flood-hit victims of Jammu and Kashmir. They have contributed to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. The sex workers have contributed to help people in every catastrophe for the last 25 years, which includes 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, 2001 Gujarat earthquake, Kargil war, for tsunami victims, drought in Maharashtra and Uttarakhand landslide calamity last year, the district collector said. 

Pistorius trial: Court is still adjourned. Will shortly hear if Judge Malipa grants him bail pending sentencing.

Sania Mirza called on President Pranab Mukherjee today at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The president had other visitors as well -- Le Yucheng, Ambassador-designate of People's Republic of China presented his credentials as did envoys of DPR Korea, Poland, Chile and Tajikistan. 

Sensex rebounds 65 points to end at 27,061.04, snaps three-day losing trend.

India contributes US$ 500,000 financial assistance to augment WHO efforts to prevent spread of Ebola Virus Disease.

Former CAG Vinod Rai's remarks on the role of former prime minister Manmohan Singh in 2G and coal blocks allocations are "serious" and a "correct" picture is now emerging, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said today.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not have power in his hands, this is true. Power was with 10 Janpath. And that is why the picture that has emerged today is correct.

"And it is the responsibility of the (then) Prime Minister that so many back to back corruption cases happen and you say that I don't know anything, this can't be. So it is serious," Javadekar said.

The Information and Broadcasting minister said that Vinod Rai has been a very successful Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) who brought to the fore irregularities that were going on.

He said there was corruption in CWG, while in 2G and coal scams, it was called "coalition corruption".

In February 2012, a young, beefy Egyptian named Islam Yaken took a shirtless selfie and posted it on a Facebook competitor called Vk.com.

The picture wouldnt have attracted much attention outside his circle of Cairo friends, were it not for the photos of himself he tweeted two years later. In that time, the Wahlberg wannabe with tidy, cropped hair had transmogrified into a bushy-haired hipster with heavy-rimmed glasses who had gone to fight for ISIS.

The jihadi accessories in his new photos included a Kalashnikov, a sword, and a bucket of Shia heads. Read 

The world must not forget Reeva Steenkamp says Nick Boulton, the photographer who worked with the late model for a decade, as he opens up to Emma Barnett about his reactions to the verdict so far. Read

Pistorius's lawyer Barry Roux argues that the athlete's bail should be continued. Pistorius sits passively, reports the Telegraph.

Roux says that Pistorius was previously on bail for a very serious charge of premeditated murder and did not attempt flight. Roux argues that there is therefore no reason not to continue to his bail.

Judge Masipa asks Barry Roux where the accused is staying at the moment? Barry Roux says he is staying with his uncle.

The state is trying to establish that since Pistorius has sold three properties there is nothing to hold him back.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux says it is is premature to consider a sentence in the present case.

Pistorius trial: Defence lawyer Barry Roux is now speaking. The court session has resumed.

Pistorius trial: Defence lawyer Barry Roux is now speaking. The court session has resumed.

Former CAG Vinod Rai's allegations against former prime minister Manmohan Singh is understandable. When he says records indicated that then telecom minister A Raja had kept Manmohan Singh in the loop on allocating 2G spectrum, he is backed by evidence.

But, Rai is not highlighting in the same breath other evidence.

Congress leaders, who are soft on Dr Singh, are asking why Rai is playing partisan politics.

They have no idea why, as former CAG, he hadn't taken a comprehensive view of all the papers.

The role of then finance minister and later home minister P Chidambaram and then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is also not commented upon by Rai in his interviews to the media in spite of a huge amount of paper trail.

In fact, Pranab Mukherjee had himself hinted about the finance ministry's role when it was headed by Chidambaram in a letter written to Dr Singh. So why is Rai selectively targeting only Dr Singh?  

Also, Kamal Nath's comment against Dr Singh following Rai's revelations, is not being taken lightly by the Congress party because Kamal Nath was accused of having close relations with one of the 2G spectrum users.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre to inform by Monday the measures taken in the rescue, relief and rehabilitation of the flood-hit people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The SC asks the Centre and the state to put in urgent efforts for making constitutional offices like the J-K High Court functional.

"We have no doubt that the Centre will take necessary steps forthwith," says the court.

The Attorney General tells the SC that the committee headed by the Prime Minister is  overseeing/coordinating rescue efforts, and that armed
forces' operations is in full swing.

The SC asks the Centre to consider the suggestion of forming unified
agency for coordinating rescue operations.

The Paralypian could face a maximum of 15 years in one of South Africa's notoriously violent jails.

Legal experts voiced surprise that Pistorius was found not guilty of murder, and predicted the case would likely not rest with the verdict.

Wits University criminal law professor James Grant noted the state could appeal if they believe there has been an legal error.

"Everyone is a little surprised," said lawyer Audrey Berndt, zeroing in Masipa's finding that Pistorius could not have known that firing four hollow point bullets through the bathroom door would have killed someone.

"She should have explained her reasoning a little more" said Berndt.

The Guardian newspaper reports that Pistorius leaned forward, rubbed his eyes and drank from a water bottle just as the judge announced a break in the proceedings. Steenkamp's close friend Gina Myers breaks down in tears.

Pic: Pistorius with his uncle Arnold.

@tomsteinfort Pistorius is now praying with his sister in the dock. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is readying to welcome Chinese president Xi Jinping to Ahmedabad on 17 September. As part of the high-level preparation, PM Modi met former ambassadors to China and former foreign secretaries Shyam Saran and Shiv Shankar Menon. Modi has understood the scope of dealing with China with help of them. Menon has been National Security Advisor and PM's envoy to handle Boder talks with China.

The court takes a break. The verdict hearing will resume soon. 

The Telegraph's Harriet Alexander reports from the courtroom: There was a sharp intake of breath in the courtroom as Judge Masipa asked Pistorius to stand. He looked calm, but a little stunned.

The verdict was as expected, following yesterday's hearing - guilty of culpable homicide.

Uncle Arnold, with whom Pistorius lives, looked increasingly relieved as the morning wore on. But there was no celebration from the Pistorius side.

Barry Steenkamp, Reeva's father, looked resigned but dismayed as he leant forward to hear the verdict. As Pistorius stood, he looked unflinchingly at him. What must be going through his mind.Sentencing will be done at a later date - after mitigation and appeals.

Culpable homicide means unintentionally killing a person.

Judge Masipa recaps that Pistorius has been acquitted of the two murder charges. He is guilty of discharging a pistol negligently in a public place, but acquitted on the two other firearms charges.

Judge Masipa says it's the unanimous decision of the court Oscar Pistorius is found not guilty of murder, but is guilty of culpable homicide.

Judge Masipa finds Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide.This carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.

@SJFindlay The public gallery in the Pistorius courtroom is filled with the sniffles and shallow breathes of women crying from the Steenkamp side.

Judge Masipa says Pistorius acted promptly in seeking help after he shot Reeva. "He prayed to God to save Reeva. He was distraught," says the judge. 

Reeva Steenkamp's cousin Kim Martins is now crying in court. Pistorius had his share of weeping yesterday.

Masipa is now making a summary of all charges. She revisits the events of Valentine's Day 2013. She is reestablishing her earlier acquittals on the two murder charges.

So, he has been found guilty in one of the three firearms charges.

The judge is now summarising the charges against Pistorius.

Judge now talking about count one, the killing of Reeva Steenkamp.

Judge rules Pistorius not guilty of possession of ammunition.

And now the final firearms charge: Judge Masipa is now setting out the evidence in the final charge -- possession of a .38 calibre ammunition, for which Pistorius did not have a licence.

This charge carries a possible 15-year sentence.

Pistorius has claimed he was holding the ammunition for his father.

Judge Masipa says Pistorius "should not have asked for a firearm in such a public place, let alone handle it". This charge carries a possible sentence of five years, there is no minimum sentence. Pistorius guilty of count three firearm charge.

So, Judge Masipa rules that the state has not provided enough evidence for her to find Pistorius guilty of count two, which is that he fired his 9mm pistol from the sunroof of a moving car in 2012.

On to count three: Pistorius accidentally fired a pistol at a Cape Town restaurant in 2013.

Judge finds Pistorius NOT guilty of firing gun through sunroof, which means he has been let off in the firearms charge. This is a separate incident and is not specifically linked to the Steenkamp murder.

The next count is that he discharged a firearm at Tasha's restaurant on 11 January 2013.

Pistorius verdict: Yesterday, the judge abruptly adjourned the hearings as she discussed the charge of culpable homicide -- equivalent to involuntary manslaughter -- which covers a range of allegations related to negligence rather than intent. A sentence of premeditated murder would, under South African law, have left the judge no option but to impose a minimum jail term of 25 years, culpable homicide carries a maximum of 15 years but gives the judge wide latitude in sentencing. Read more

To bring you up to speed, paralympian Oscar Pistorius was dramatically cleared of murder charges over the Valentine's Day shooting at his home in Pretoria last year. 

Meanwhile, the Oscar Pistorius trial resumes. Yesterday, on the first day of the verdict trial, Judge Masipa ruled out premeditated murder.
Now, she is talking about count three - the firearms charges.

Italian Marines case: SC allows ailing Italian marine to visit Italy for medical treatment.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh does not answer question on 'love jihad', answers: "What is that? I need to understand its definition."

Home Minister Rajnath Singh begins his press conference by condoling the loss of lives in flood affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir.

Rajnath says that the Kashmir floods are a national calamity and assured that the MHA was ready to strengthen the internal security mechanism. 
He praised the active role played by the armed forces and the NDRF personnel in the rescue and relief operations in J&K. "As far as internal security is concerned, insurgency is a major issue, we have made a comprehensive policy on these issues. The SIMI ban continues for another five years," said the Home Minister.

Around 1 lakh people have been rescued in Jammu and Kashmir by the joint operations of the Indian Army, Air Force and NDRF, want to laud them, says Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The Election Commission is set to announce assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra at 4 pm today. Both the states are likely to have a single-day poll in mid-October. While the term of the Haryana assembly expires on October 27, the Maharashtra assembly has time until November 8.

Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand will go to polls separately, possibly in November-December. However, with J&K witnessing its worst floods in the last 60 years, the Election Commission will hold discussions with the meteorological experts in the coming days to assess the weather conditions, including the likely onset of winter and snow, before firming up the schedule.

Women, you don't have to be loud to be good leaders. Read

Jama Masjid in Hyderpora area has turned into a major relief centre for those affected by the devastating floods in the Kashmir valley, housing hundreds of people, including women and children.

Significantly, in this hour of tragedy, this mosque has become a symbol of communal harmony as a number of Hindus, who had come from outside the state for work, are also taking shelter here.  Read

CBI chief Ranjit Sinha files an affidavit in the Surpeme Court on Prashant Bhushan's allegations that he interfered in the 2G probe.

A CBI official has said that Sinha will not hide anything from the court and explain why he met the people accused in the 2G and coal scam cases. Sinha has found himself in the throes of a raging controversy after lawyer Prashant Bhushan asked the Supreme Court to order the CBI director to recuse himself from the 2G and coal scam probes as he had met people linked to those accused in these scams as well, in one instance, an accused person.

Bhushan has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to remove CBI Director Ranjit Sinha and initiate disciplinary and criminal action against him.  Read more

Offering a chilling reminder to the world that the first rule of Twitter is to never tweet, federal prosecutors on Wednesday rejected conservative filmmaker and campaign finance fraudster Dinesh D'Souza's plea for a reduced sentence, and pointed to his recent behavior online -- particularly his insinuations that his prosecution is politically motivated -- as evidence that his claim to be "ashamed and contrite" was insincere. Read

Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, as Tolstoy once noted, but there is something uniquely nasty about an upper-crust family fighting over real estate in Lutyens' Delhi, the lush, spacious bungalow zone at the heart of India's capital.

This is the principal message of "Daughter by Court Order,' a novel published this spring by Ratna Vira, about a woman who has been cut out of her inheritance by her relatives, among them prominent political and intellectual figures.  Read

FYI: Ratna Vira is Nalini Singh's daughter and Arun Shourie's niece. 

In the 10 days since the army began "Operation Megh Rahat' -- as the effort for rescue and relief in the Valley has been named -- the government is just about getting a measure of how different a natural disaster in a conflict zone can be from, say, the one in Uttarakhand last year.

Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in a conflict zone that is due for Assembly elections is posing complex questions to the armed forces and the central and state administrations.

Television images showing helicopters swooping down and winching up people do not tell the full story. Read

It was as if Saddal village in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir never existed. It is no longer in the map. The 40-odd houses or the people who lived in them too don't exist anymore.

The mountain - on which it was nested for hundreds of years - came crashing down and in way gobbled it up all last Saturday. Looking at the mountain now and the landslide you could say after five days of incessant rain, it was on "self destruct" mode.  Read more

Representational picture.

JUST IN: Delhi HC sets aside EC show cause notice to ex-Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan holding him guilty of furnishing incorrect poll expenses.

First reactions from the NCP to CAG Vinod Rai's allegations that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leaders had sought to apply pressure on him to keen the PM's name out of audit reports.

Rai, whose loss estimates in 2G spectrum and coal block allocations pushed the UPA government into a corner, was also critical of the coalition politics under Dr Singh and alleged that he was more interested in remaining in power.

Majid Memon, NCP leader, said today that the 2G case is ongoing for years, if there is truth in what he is saying, then Vinod Rai has done disservice by keeping quiet. Why didnt Rai speak till now, was he waiting for someones invitation or was he waiting for Govt to change?

Just in: Nithari serial killer Surinder Koli's execution stayed till October 29. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear Koli's review petition.

Koli, the self-confessed cannibal found guilty of murdering a series of young women and children at a bungalow near Delhi, has asked prison officials if hanging is "painful", says IANS.

Koli, 42, was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2005 and was set to be hanged between September 7 and 12 in Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. His execution was stayed for a week on Monday by judges after a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court which said every death-row convict has the "fundamental right" to a fresh appeal in an open court.

Impending elections invariably colour a government's actions. Whether the filing of a charge sheet for hate speech against Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah just two days before by-elections to 11 Assembly seats and one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh is politically motivated, is a moot question. Read

The newly-formed Indian subcontinent division of transnational terror group al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for Saturday night's attack on a Naval dockyard in Karachi -- the organisation's first strike since its existence was made public last month.

The attackers, the statement said, were former Pakistan Navy officers-turned-jihadists who were attempting to hijack a missile frigate to stage an attack on a United States aircraft carrier.  Read more

The external affairs minister is by no means the only 'foreigner' to view a possible secession of Scotland from the United Kingdom with a measure of disbelief.

The dissolution of long-established national boundaries has invariably been preceded by civil strife and bloodshed: Biafra, Bangladesh, East Timor and South Sudan being recent examples.

Where separation has been relatively peaceful, though not necessarily devoid of bitterness, there has been a near-unequivocal assertion of the popular will. Ukraine, often regarded as the alter ego of Russia, for example, broke away from the Soviet-established 'Union' in 1991, after nearly 88 per cent of its citizens voted for independence. Read

Former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns is to be charged with perjury by British police. The charges relate to the 2012 libel trial in London's high court in which Cairns successfully sued former Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi over allegations he had been involved in match fixing. Cairns said, "I have now been notified by the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK that it is their intention to lay charges against me on 25 September for perjury. I'm obviously extremely disappointed, however, at least there will now be an opportunity to face my accusers in an open forum, with some rigour and proper process around that, so that I can clear my name once and for all."

Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda's son Karthik Gowda finally appeared before the cops today and underwent a medical examination. Sources said he is likely to record his statement today. Karthik, facing rape charges, had been granted anticipatory bail by the city civil and sessions court, Bangalore. City police had booked him for alleged rape and cheating two weeks ago based on a complaint lodged by a model and Kannada actor. 

After services were snapped owing to the floods, Radio Kashmir resumed services today from a make-shift camp. Services began on Thursday evening but snapped and only resumed this morning. The services have been snapped since last Saturday. Radio Kashmir's station was submerged and engineers and programme executives had to leave in a hurry. The main building of the Radio Kashmir is still submerged about 10-feet.

Acting on the orders of the Election Commission, the Gorakhpur police filed an FIR against Bharatiya Janata Party's Yogi Adityanath.   Adityanath, addressed a rally at the Munshi Pulia area, despite being denied permission to do so. "Cases were registered at the Ghazipur police station against Yogi Adityanath late last night for defying the orders. Others who participated in the rally have also been booked," SSP Praveen Kumar told reporters.  

The CIA said that the number of Islamic State fighters has grown to as many as three times previous estimates; a day after President Obama announced he is drastically expanding the US military campaign against the militants.A spokesperson said that new assessments show that the militant group can muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria. The spokesperson said the increase is likely due to the militant's group recruiting gains after its success on the battlefield.

After battling the floods, Kashmir residents are now being hit by landslides. On Thursday night, more than 40 people lost their lives in a landslide in Sadal, a village near Udhampur. The village has been completely submerged by a landslide and has been buried under the debris. Rescue operations continue with the army, National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force personnel deployed in the area.   The entire village slid down in a matter of minutes, burying all houses under tonnes of rock and mud. The villagers had no time to run to safety.

A terror alert was sounded at the White House when a man jumped the perimeter fence on the 13th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Witnesses said he was quickly apprehended by two armed Secret Service officers who had scrambled to intercept him. A Secret Service spokesman said the man, who was not named, was taken into custody. US President Barack Obama was not at home at the time. 

Former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai, whose tell-all book Not just an Accountant is to hit the stands soon, said that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could have easily prevented high-profile scandals like 2G spectrum allocation scam, coal blocks allocation scam and the Commonwealth Games scam had he shown his stamp of authority.   In an interview on Times Now, Rai said had Singh been firm, the government may not have been mired in as much controversy.   Rai said that he was approached by three Congress MPs - former Law minister Ashwani Kumar who had to resign for allegedly pressuring the CBI to dilute PMO's role in the Coalgate scam, Sanjay Nirupam and Sandeep Dikshit -- to drop the name of the PM from the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was today booked by the police here for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of a community.

The 48-year-old actor was booked under Indian Penal Code Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) on the basis of a complaint lodged by one Mohammad Asim Mohammad Arif, a city resident, police said.

According to the complainant, Khan's NGO Being Human had recently organised a fashion show in Mumbai where a model walked down the ramp wearing a T-shirt on which a word was inscribed in Arabic. This hurt the religious sentiment of Muslim community, Arif claimed.

Investigating Officer Dilip Chavan confirmed receiving the complaint and said a probe was on. "We are investigating the case. The complainant has provided a video clipping of the fashion show," he said.

Will abide by constitutional modalities: Irani on school books
Pak to resume capital punishment after six-year moratorium
Talks with Pak possible if situation improves: Rajnath
Pak army deploys choppers, boats for flood relief, toll 261
Students recount tales of hunger and thirst after escape from Kashmir
J&K: One lakh evacuated, focus shifted to relief