Senior IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who has been locked in a tussle with Mulayam Singh Yadav and also booked in a rape case, has been suspended.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for Tajikistan and is set to return to India.

At least 15,000 civilians have been killed and twice as many wounded in Iraq's armed conflict since the start of 2014, the United Nations said in a report today. 

Italy today said it was taking "all necessary measures" to ensure the return from India of one of its marines accused in the 2012 killing of two Indian fishermen, hours after India's Supreme Court allowed his colleague to stay in Italy for six months on medical grounds. 

The UK today announced that it will ban overseas students from outside the European Union to work while they study in the country from the next month, a move that will hit students from countries like India. 

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed new defence chiefs after sacking the heads of the army, navy and air force.

People from the minority Muslim community thronged Iftar party of RJD president Lalu Prasad here in large numbers, but no JD(U) minister or senior party leaders were seen on the occasion. 

India is likely to agree to Italy's plea for an international arbitration over the alleged involvement of two Italian marines in the killing of Indian fishermen off Kerala coast three years ago. 

Apple is giving Greeks free services, to try and keep them getting cut off as the debt crisis leads to a shutdown of the country's financial system. Greek customers are being given free iCloud services because they can't send money to Apple to pay for them. The company is sending out emails telling users that they will get an extension to their plan for a grace period of 30 days. But if the crisis goes on for longer than that, the company warns customers that they might want to start moving their things out of iCloud.

JUST IN: 2 blasts in Kabul, one in Ansari square and the second in Kolola Poshta road. According to reports, only one person has been injured. 

Overnight, Greece reached a deal with its eurozone creditors. Want to know what the actual deal is?

The Delhi court extended the stay on the release of Bollywood film "Mohalla Assi", starring Sunny Deol, till August 25 on a plea alleging that it has offensive scenes and dialogues. Civil judge Kishor Kumar extended the restraint on the release of the film and sought response of Central Board of Film Certification on the plea that content of the film, including its trailer, should not be available even online. 

Despite today's historice agreement, Greek banks are expected to remain closed this week. The banks are acutely short of cash, and Greek depositors may soon find it difficult to withdraw even small sums from ATMs. To reopen, the banks would need more emergency loans from the European Central Bank. But the bank is unlikely to provide more emergency cash at least until the agreement receives approval from the Greek Parliament on Wednesday.

Facing flak over recommendations for a hefty hike in the salary and allowances of MPs, a Parliamentary panel shelved plans for discussing the issue. The Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Membersof Parliament, headed by BJP Yogi Adityanath, also decided to hold its next meeting only after the monsoon Session of Parliament amid indications that it could take back a number of its earlier proposals.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker officially confirmed Monday he was joining the crowded field of Republicans jostling for the party's 2016 nomination as US presidential candidate. Walker, who went from relative obscurity to national attention because of his protracted battle with labor unions, declared his widely expected White House run on Twitter . 

Just in: Pakistan's envoy today sent out an invite to Hurriyat leaders for Eid celebrations on July 21.

There is "nothing unusual about the invite", the high commission said. "The hype over the invite is unfortunate."

Earlier, iftar was cancelled because of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif.   

Tough demands that kept Greece and its creditors from reaching a deal until this morning in Brussels have sparked an outrage on social media.

A large group of critics -- including many Greeks - slammed the proposed terms of a new bailout, using the #ThisIsACoup hashtag to voice their displeasure.

The hashtag is believed to have been started by Sandro Maccarrone, a Barcelona-based maths and physics teachers, The Telegraph reports. In Spanish, "The Eurogroup proposal is an undercover state coup against the Greek people."

"I can't believe what's going on in Brussels," one user said on Twitter. "These demands are insane. #ThisIsACoup"

The Coast Guard Dornier aircraft which went missing last month may have disintegrated after it fell into the sea, a top official said today.

"The Dornier aircraft may have disintegrated after it fell into the sea," Coast Guard Inspector General, (Region East), Satya Prakash Sharma told PTI.

"The water pressure at that depth in the ocean, about 990 meters, is very high and the aircraft would have disintegrated after it fell into the sea," he said.

To another question, he said the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder would be handed over to the Board of Inquiry soon. "They (the board) will make it available to Hindustan Aeronautics authorities (in Bengaluru) for decoding," he said.

The Coast Guard constituted a board of inquiry recently to go into the issue. Headed by a deputy inspector general, a seasoned senior pilot, it has representatives from Hindustan Aeronauticals, which has the facility to decode the FDR and the manufacturer of the aircraft.

Meanwhile, in a press release, Coast Guard gave an inventory of the items belonging to the Dornier that had been recovered so far by Reliance vessel 'Olympic Canyon.'

Somdev Devvarman had a bit of history added to his name as the Indian tennis player won the longest final on the ATP Challenger Tour to claim his fifth career title in Winnetka, United States.

Seventh seed Indian overcame stiff resistance from American Daniel Nguyen before prevailing 7-5 4-6 7-6(5) in the rain-hit final that lasted three hours and 31 minutes, turning out to be the longest summit clash in the ATP Challenger Tour history.

The match had been moved indoors at 3-3 in the deciding set after rain halted play for the fifth time. "The funny thing is, they all kept happening on my serve," Somdev said, referring to the rain delays.

"Even with those match points I thought I did well. He came up with some great shots and to be honest I'm just happy that I fought so hard. It wasn't the best tennis today, but I'm happy I fought and got through that one," he said.

Since winning Delhi Open in February, Somdev has played 13 tournaments and struggled go beyond many qualifiers or second rounds in main draws.

Downplaying Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz's remarks that no dialogue with India will take place without including Kashmir issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party today said such statements are intended for domestic audience and bilateral talks will proceed on the lines of Ufa joint statement of the two countries.

The BJP, which had termed as "game-changing" the outcome of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, asserted that the joint statement will guide bilateral engagements.

"A lot of statement coming from others are also possibly intended to address their domestic constituencies. As far as we are concerned, the discussion, engagement will largely happen on the lines of the joint statement," party spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao said.

Rao's comments came following statement by Aziz, who is also Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser on National Security, that the talks cannot take place without Kashmir being on the agenda. Pakistan also needed "more evidence and information" from India on the Mumbai attack case, Aziz said.

French special forces evacuated 18 people from a mall near Paris today after gunmen tried to hold up a Primark store inside, in what is believed to be an attempt to rob the shop, police said.


The gunmen -- one of whom was thought to be a Primark employee -- were still on the loose and believed to be inside the Qwartz mall in Villeneuve-la-Garenne just north of Paris.


"Around 6:30 am, three armed criminals went into the Primark store for what we think was initially an attempt at armed robbery," said a police source, who wished to remain anonymous. "But we don't know whether they are still there."


An employee first alerted her boyfriend of the hold-up at around 7 am when she sent him a text message saying they had been taken hostage by two armed men, another source said.


The area around the mall was shut down, all traffic stopped and other stores in the vicinity closed up as special forces rushed to the scene. The mall was promptly evacuated but according to police, some 18 employees had remained inside, holed up in a canteen.

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Monday said ADGP Rishi Raj Singh, who had failed to salute the Home Minister during a police function, would face appropriate action. Singh had not saluted Minister Ramesh Chennithala or bothered to stand up when the minister reached the dais of a police function held in Thirssur last Saturday. 

It is 20 years after Depression-era Maycomb, in the backwaters of Alabama, held its doomed race trial in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Jem is dead of a heart attack; Dill is away in Italy; Atticus Finch has evolved into a small-town bigot who reads pamphlets on "The Black Plague' and regards "our Negro population as backward'.


Scout -- Jean Louise Finch, aged 26 -- is the new moral compass and Civil Rights activist-in-the-making of Go Set a Watchman. Read more

PM Narendra Modi with the President of Tajikistan after unveiling the bust of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The works of great Indian writers like Rabindranath Tagore, Munshi Prem Chand and others have been translated in the Tajik language. Indeed, Tagore became a household name throughout the former Soviet Union, including Tajikistan. Many Tajiks are learning Hindi and every year 250 new students are enrolled to learn Hindi at the Indian Cultural Centre.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi's Iftar party will be held this evening at The Ashok hotel in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.


As the time of Iftar is 7.24 pm, the event is scheduled to start a little early, at 6.45 pm.


Bihar chieftain Lalu Prasad Yadav has already declined Sonia's invitation as he is in a sulk that the Congress party finalised an alliance with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar before he could seal a deal with the latter, thus strengthening his rival's hands.


The Bihar chief minister is expected to attend the Iftar, but his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee has turned down the invitation.


The Iftar assumes political significance as it is being held a week before Parliament's monsoon session begins.

Climate change activists disrupted flights at Heathrow Airport by cutting through a fence and chaining themselves together on a runway today in protest against a possible third runway at UK's busiest airport.


Direct action group Plane Stupid said 13 demonstrators opposed to the airport's expansion plans with a third runway got on to the northern runway.


Six protesters have been arrested on suspicion of Aviation Act offences, Scotland Yard said. The runway was closed for nearly three hours and 13 flights were cancelled.


The airport apologised for the disruption caused and advised passengers to check with their airlines before they travel. Some protesters are still at one of the runways and the police said officers would remain at the scene until all the demonstrators had been removed. The airport's southern runway remained open throughout the protest.

Ongoing developments in Greece have only indirect implications for India and their impact, if any, is difficult to quantify, Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said today.


"We are only indirectly affected by the Greek crisis. If there was any adverse impact (it) is difficult to quantify... Then there would be a positive impact also which is also difficult to quantify," he told reporters.


Greece, which is going through a financial crisis, has reached a desperately-needed bailout deal with the eurozone which will prevent the country crashing out of the European Union having a single currency. Greece's leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has agreed to tough reforms in return for a three-year bailout worth up to 86 billion euros (USD 96 billion), the country's third rescue programme in five years.


Indian stock markets reacted positively to the news of bailout package with the benchmark BSE Sensex rising by over 300 points in the intra-day trade.

Several people have been injured in a suspected explosion in Norfolk. Police said they were dealing with an "industrial incident' at a unit in Spar Road, Hellesdon, that started shortly after 9 am, the Independent reported.


A spokesperson said there were a "number of casualties' but the severity of their injuries had not been confirmed. He added: "All emergency services are at the scene. Firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze from six stations and Norfolk Fire Service said crews had to wear breathing apparatus to enter the building. Road blocks are in place at the junction of Spar Road with Vulcan Road and Concorde Road as the incident continues." 

Just in: All the 10 hostages held by a gunman inside a Primark store near Paris have been released. Special forces had been dispatched to the scene. Around 6.30am, two or three armed criminals went into the Primark store for an attempt at armed robbery. However, the gunmen could not be arrested and a massive man-hunt is on now.

"There is nothing that Pakistan has done which deserves a resumption of dialogue. The assurances made in Ufa contain no commitment except a whole range of talks, which could take place without the paraphernalia associated with a joint statement of prime ministers," says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan. Read

There is no need for the Congress to apologise for imposition of Emergency in 1975 as people realised the decision was right and voted Indira Gandhi back to power, senior party leader Salman Khurshid has said.


"Why should we apologise? Why should we discuss Emergency? Certain things happened. After that, people of India voted Smt. Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister. So, if we have to apologise, then people of India will also have to apologise...why did they elect her," the former External Affairs Minister said.


Khurshid said there was no need of going back into history as the government of the time did what it felt was necessary. "When people thought it was wrong, they voted us out of power. When they realised that the decision was right, they voted us back to power," Khurshid said in an interview.


"I think that's a statement of history... that's a pronouncement of history. Nobody has to apologise for anything. And what difference that apology would make?" he said when asked if Congress should apologise for Emergency.


"I think there are many issues that are only relevant to what happened at that time. I could even ask the Opposition to apologise because they created a situation in which it became necessary to bring about the Emergency," Khurshid said.


The Congress leader said instead of "keeping reviving history over and over again", all should look at the problems the country faces today.


Read: Emergency was a time when everyone was scared

After giving an assurance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that Pakistan would expedite the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack trial, Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz said today said that the country needs more evidence from India.


Addressing a press conference on the meeting between the two Prime Ministers along the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Ufa, Russia, Aziz said, "We need more evidence on Mumbai attack trial."


The remarks also come a day after the prosecution team chief said the Pakistan government will not file a fresh petition in court seeking 26/11 terror attack mastermind and Lashkar-e-Toiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's voice sample.


Firm on its demand to have Kashmir on agenda to initiate a dialogue between the two countries, Aziz said, "No discussion will take place with India if Kashmir will not be discussed. We will stay firm on all our primary issues."


Aziz also made it clear that the meeting between the two leaders was informal and none of the agreements were binding.


Aziz said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also requested for more information in the 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case in which over 60 people were killed.

Advice from the master himself. @sachin tendulkar tweets: Congratulations Sumit Nagpal on the Wimbledon Junior Doubles title. This is just the beginning.... Work hard and follow your dreams.

In a four-pronged attack on the BJP government and its law officers, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.


In the letter Swamy, bemoans the "poor judgment of our Law Officers in crucial matters,' ranging from the now-defunct Section 66A of the IT Act to amenities for Ram Bhaktas.


In the letter, which has four instances listed by Swamy as failure of the Law Officers, Swamy writes that if the seeming malaise persists, "our Party and Government will get a very bad name in the public just as Indira Gandhi got during the Emergency of 1975-77."


The 75-year-old leader cites the following four instances where "poor judgment has been exercised":


Section 66A: The SC had quashed Section 66A of the IT Act, terming it "vague" and "unconstitutional", but Swamy says that the current government's stand to oppose the move "shocked all those who take pride in India being a democracy." He mentions that the move goes against the International Covenant of Civil and Political rights which India had endorsed during the time of the Janata Party regime in 1979 and that it has attracted "heavy criticism from international organisations".


NJAC and the collegium system: Swamy writes that the Attorney General has been "specially critical' of the selection of judges by the prevailing collegium system. He adds that personal remarks were made about lady judges and that the Bar had not taken too well to it. The BJP leader though criticizes the move for the government constituted NJAC too. "The government-proposed Judicial Accountability Commission as an alternative to the collegium system has not been debated in any forum of our party and appears to be an arbitrarily unreasonably conceived idea,' he writes. Swamy adds that the move has not been received well, neither by the judiciary nor by the Supreme Court.


De-criminalisation of defamation: Swamy writes that the learnt from a leaked story in the TOI that the government was planning on opposing his writ petition to the SC to decriminalize the defamation law. He mentions that several democracies including Britain, Singapore and "even some African countries' had de-criminalised defamation. He says that as is in the case of Section 66A, the "Supreme Court may disregard the Government of India stand and could go ahead and quash the said section as unconstitutional.' He adds that the hearing in the case begins two days from now.


Amenities for Ram Bhakts: The BJP leader writes that six months ago the SC had taken "very seriously' his Special Leave Petition (SLP) to provide amenities for the worshippers of Lord Ram who visit Ayodhya. He adds that the permission for them to visit the makeshift temple was given by a court order by a SC bench in 1994.


Swamy says that the temple is in bad shape and that the SC had asked him for a list of proposals to help the Ram Bhaktas. Swamy laments though that "disregarding the urgency of the matter", the "ASG has sought one adjournment after another perhaps because the Attorney General and other Law Officers had no time to think about Ayodhya."


Towards the end of the letter, Swamy writes that if "this trend in the thinking and inclination of Law Officers continue as before then our party and government will get a very bad name in the public just as Indira Gandhi got during the Emergency of 1975-77."


Swamy also mentions that he wrote to BJP President Amit Shah in March seeking for a meeting of the National Executive in March to "discuss implementation of the Hindutva agenda included in the 2014 Manifesto."


He writes that the Ram temple could only be built "by legal measures" and asks Modi to convey the following message to Shah."I hope it is possible for you to prevail upon the Party President to convene such a meeting since he has failed to reply to my letter even after four months on such a crucial issue dear to the hearts of all our party workers and Sangh Parivar," he ends.

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed marine Massimiliano Latorre to stay in Italy for six more months on medical grounds with the Central government saying it has no objection to this.


The government said it will participate in international arbitration invoked by Italy over India's jurisdiction to try the two marines, accused of killing Kerala fishermen in 2012, for homicide.



In April, the court had allowed Latorre to extend his stay in Italy till July 15 on medical grounds. The two marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, are accused of killing the two fishermen while assigned to anti-piracy duty aboard an Italian cargo ship.


Italy maintains the shooting occurred in international waters, that the fishermen were mistaken for pirates and that the case should be heard in an Italian court.

A court in Ahmedabad on Monday convicted prime accused Vismay Shah in the BMW hit and run case, and sentenced him to five years in prison. The court also ordered Shah to pay a Rs 5 lakh compensation to the victims.


On February 24, Shah rammed in to a motorcycle near Lad Society. The two youths riding the bike - Shivam Dave, 25, and Rahul Patel, 21 - died. Shah managed to escape from the spot and surrendered before police a couple of days later as pressure mounted from all sides.


During the hearing, Vismay Shah submitted before the court that he was not involved in the accident and that he came to know about it through media reports.


Police had filed a chargesheet against him holding him accused under section 304 Part II of IPC, which has provision of imprisonment up to 10 years. He was also accused of rash driving on public way and driving dangerously under sections 177, 184 and 134(1) of the Motor Vehicle Act.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the Director General of Police across states to hold an annual conference in Kutch, Gujarat in mid-November this year.


DGPs of 30 states and numerous IPS officers are expected to participate in the conference that will be organised by the Intelligence Bureau.


The first DGP conference of 2014 after the BJP government took charge at the Centre, was held in Guwahati in Assam. Modi is believed to be keen to move the New Delhi-centric annual events to state and district capitals.


The PM also wants the DGPs to stay in a tents while the conference will be held in pandals. There won't be air-conditioners or plush five-star facilities normally associated with such conferences.

Not surprisingly, the DGPs are cursing the BJP government for these 'innovative' ideas and are now worried about mosquito bites.

Gunmen are holding 10 people hostage in a Primark store near Paris after what appears to be an attempt to rob the shop, police said this morning.

Special forces have been dispatched to the scene.


"Around 6.30am, two or three armed criminals went into the Primark store for what we think was initially an attempt at armed robbery," a police source, who wished to remain anonymous, said of the incident at Villeneuve-la-Garenne.


Pic: A file picture of a Primark store.

The sound of silence in the Congress is baffling.


After a relentless name-andshame campaign against Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia and External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in the Lalit Modi case, the Congress is suddenly mum.


So, what's the inside story?
Did someone intervene and get the agenda changed?
And why is senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh who spearheaded the campaign against Vasundhara Raje now maintaining a stoic silence?


A section of the Congress in Rajasthan and also in Madhya Pradesh have been pressuring Rahul Gandhi not to go overboard in the campaign against Vasundhara, as her relatives in the Congress are also petitioners about the properties.


Political circles say that while the apex court has ordered a CBI probe in the Vyapam scam, the Dholpur palace ownership issue ended up as a damp squib. The Congress now feels isolated and feels the Dholpur issue could in fact turn up some nasty truths for them. Which is why they've dropped it like a hot potato.

Just in: Gunmen hold up a store with at least 10 people inside, near Paris, say police.

Details awaited.

Senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back terrorists from Pakistan with him when he goes there next year for the SAARC summit.


"The Prime Minister while returning should bring back terrorists wanted in the country in his own plane from Pakistan the way they were taken to Kandahar on a flight," the UP Parliamentary Affairs and Urban Development Minister told reporters said last night after attending an Iftar party.


Khan was referring to the release of three hardcore terrorists including Maulana Masood Azhar, who were taken out of the country in a special plane, by the Indian government in exchange for the lives of the 155 passengers and the crew members of Indian Airlines plane IC-814, which was hijacked and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan.


India has been demanding that Pakistan hands over 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Jamaat-ud- Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and others involved in terror activities in India. India has also sought custody of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aides, who are believed to be in Pakistan.


Prime Minister Modi had last week accepted his counterpart Nawaz Sharif's invitation and agreed to visit Pakistan next year for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit to be held in Islamabad. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Ufa in Russia.

Informed sources tell us that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in touch with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Karnataka CM Sidharamaiah and Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa to ensure that the GST bill is passed in the Rajya Sabha.


Sources confirmed that back-channel efforts are now on to get the GST Bill passed in the monsoon session of Parliament. Prime Minister Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley have also discussed and solicited support of leaders of six regional parties.


So, a senior leader is likely to fly from Delhi to Chennai to meet Jayalalithaa and the anvil will be a discussion on the GST issue. The government wants the negotiations to be over by the time the monsoon session commences on July 21. The session concludes on August 13.

The Guardian reports: Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem tells the press conference that Euro 50 billion of Greek assets will be transferred to a new fund. That fund will contribute to the recapitalisation of Greek banks. But this fund will be based in Athens, not Luxembourg as originally planned.

Eurozone leaders have talked through the night in Brussels in a bid to agree terms for a new bailout for Greece. So, it's a fresh fund infusion for Greece as the Eurozone leaders reach an agreement. 


Reports say a draft compromise has been put to the emergency summit. Without a new bailout, Greece's banks face collapse and the country could exit the euro.


Greece is being told to pass legislation on a series of reforms by Wednesday before any talks on another bailout can begin, reports the BBC.

European Council President Donald Tusk just tweeted: Today we had only one objective, to reach an agreement. And after 17 hours, we have it. Some could say we have an a Greekment. I think someone needs to go to bed!

Eurozone leaders have reached an agreement after marathon talks over a third bailout for Greece, officials say.


EU President Donald Tusk said the agreement was unanimous. He tweeted that a bailout programme was "all ready to go" for Greece, "with serious reforms and financial support".


Eurozone leaders have been meeting in Brussels for more than 16 hours.

Details awaited.

Provide "clinching evidence" that can prove allowing Sun TV network's operation would impinge upon national security, reported the media on July 11.


This is not Marans demanding from the Home Ministry. But this is the Information and Broadcasting Ministry asking the Home Ministry. The issue has ceased to be Maran versus the Home Ministry anymore. It is now I&B Ministry versus the Home Ministry. Marans no more need to argue their case. The I&B Ministry seems to have taken their Vakalat.


Read S Gurumurthy's column for the New Indian Express.

Can Anand Mahindra, chairman and MD of the Mahindra Group make a difference to this sportsperson's life and India's fortunes?

Inderjeet Singh qualified for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and then won five gold medals in international meets within a span of 36 days.

But he remains unemployed and would not have been able to compete or train for meets but for a few kind souls.

I had to spend something like Rs. 50,000 from my pocket to travel to Chennai along with my coach, for the National inter-State meet, and it is frustrating that I have to continue to struggle despite all these medals I have won for my country, Inderjeet told The Hindu over telephone from his home in Haryana.

Reading the report, Anand Mahindra tweeted: @anandmahindra If anyone knows him, please connect me to him.


Here's hoping it all works out for Mr Singh.

Denying that criminal defamation had a chilling effect on free speech, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Saturday that defamation should remain a penal offence in India as the defamer may be too poor to compensate the victim.


The government said that since there was no mechanism to censor the Internet from within, online defamation could only be adequately countered by retaining defamation as a criminal offence.


A person would be charged with criminal defamation only if his speech had no social utility or added nothing to the value of public discourse and debate.Besides, the Centre said, criminalisation of defamation was part of the state's "compelling interest' to protect the right to dignity and good reputation of its citizens.


The submission was part of an affidavit filed by the Union Home Ministry in response to petitions filed by political leaders cutting across party lines urging the court to declare criminal defamation unconstitutional.


BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal are among those who filed the petitions.


Dr. Swamy, who filed the lead petition, said criminalisation of defamation deterred free speech, was liable to abuse and choked the legitimate criticism of public officials.If found guilty under Sections 499 and 500 (criminal defamation) of the Indian Penal Code, a person could be jailed up to two years.

To counter the argument by the petitioners that defamation was a civil liability in most countries, the Home Ministry cited the U.S. to show how different conditions in India were.


In its affidavit in the Supreme Court, it argued that in the US, the mainstream media was owned and controlled by corporations whose managements "checked' the kind of material being published, reducing the likelihood of defamation.


Again, defamation could be a civil liability in the U.S. as media corporations there had enough financial liquidity to pay victims compensation.

The Supreme Court refuses to entertain a PIL filed by Congress leader Ajay Maken accusing the Delhi govt of violating its advertisement guidelines.


The opposition had united against the AAP government for reportedly hiking allocation for information and publicity, saying spending public money on "self publicity" amounted to corruption.


"They (Delhi Government) have set aside Rs 526 crore just for information and publicity and last year only Rs 24 crore was spent for the same.


"They have cut budget from various other infrastructure development works and they are spending money on their own party workers and consultants. Is it not a form of corruption by spending more money on self publicity?" Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief Ajay Maken had said.


Former AAP leader Prashant Bhushan also criticised government's move. He alleged that Arvind Kejriwal government's new FM radio ad was a contempt of court and the issue would soon be brought to the notice of the Supreme Court.


"The TV advertisement brought in by Kejriwal government was in complete violation of the Supreme Court's order and it amounts to contempt of court. To think that you can do anything by way of radio advertisements because it doesn't carry a photograph would be total misunderstanding of court's order.


"If the radio advertisement is used to publicise and promote a party, government or a political leader, that would be in violation of Supreme Court's order and it will be soon brought to the notice of the court that this is how political parties are violating the spirit of court's order," Bhushan said.


According to a senior government official, to connect with people of Delhi, government has released a 70-second long advertisement which is being played on FM radio channels.

The BCCI today suspended Mumbai Ranji cricketer Hiken Shah for making a "corrupt approach" to a fellow player during the IPL and referred the matter to its disciplinary committee for further action. "BCCI would wish to inform that Mumbai Cricketer, Hiken Shah, has been suspended with immediate effect.


He was found guilty of breaching BCCI's Anti-Corruption Code for participants," the BCCI said in a statement issued by Board Secretary Anurag Thakur.


"His involvement in any form of cricket, affiliated with the BCCI stands suspended till the time the disciplinary committee of the BCCI passes appropriate orders," it added.


The 30-year-old batsman, who is not part of any IPL team, has played 37 first-class matches for Mumbai and has 2160 runs at an average of 42.35. "Hiken Shah made a corrupt approach to one of his colleagues from first-class cricket, who is also a member of one of the IPL teams. The approached player immediately informed the incident to his franchise team. The franchise team followed the process of informing the incident to the Anti Corruption Unit of the BCCI," the BCCI stated. A source told PTI that the player approached by Shah was Rajasthan Royals' Pravin Tambe, who promptly took the matter to the BCCI. "Based on the information, BCCI President, Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya, instructed ACU to conduct an immediate enquiry into the matter.


After a detailed inquiry into the reported incident, the inquiry commissioner found Hiken Shah guilty of 'committing breach of Articles 2.1.1; 2.1.2; and 2.1.4 of the BCCI Anti-Corruption Code for participants and recommended their provisions to the BCCI President'," the Board stated.

Just in: Mumbai Ranji cricketer Hiken Shah suspended after being found guilty of corruption in IPL.

The Supreme Court today dismissed liquor baron Vijay Mallya's plea seeking quashing of criminal proceedings against him in a case pertaining to violation of foreign exchange rules.


A bench headed by Justice J S Khehar also imposed Rs 10 lakh as costs on Mallya in the case. Earlier, the apex court had issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the UB Group chief's plea against the Delhi High Court order turning down his appeal for quashing criminal proceedings in a trial court for alleged "wilful" disobedience of summons issued to him by the ED.


The ED had alleged that Mallya violated the provisions of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) in arranging funds to advertise his liquor products abroad over a decade ago.


The agency wanted to question Mallya in connection with a contract signed in December 1995 with London-based firm Benetton Formula Ltd for promotion of the Kingfisher brand abroad.


Mallya had allegedly paid 200,000 dollars to the British firm for displaying the Kingfisher logo in Formula One World Championships in London and some European countries in 1996, 1997 and 1998.


The money was allegedly paid without prior approval from the RBI in violation FERA norms.

Before Old Monk, there was Hercules rum that was distilled exclusively for the armed forces. In the 1960s the navy canteen in Bombay sold it as rations to sailors at Rs 8 a bottle. Much of it ended up with bootleggers who sold it to us at Rs 25 a bottle. If you find the price astonishing, please remember that fifty years ago anyone with a monthly salary of a thousand rupees was doing quite well. I used to buy my bottle from my chemist in Colaba who moonlighted as a bootlegger.


As sales dip for the old favourite Old Monk, a dirge. Read

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has shot down a proposal to open a creche at North Block, which houses the home and finance ministries. Read more

Supreme Court dismisses industrialist Vijay Mallya's request for scrapping a foreign exchange violation case against him.

Shocking, but true.


For students at a government-run primary school in Chhattisgarh, D stands for 'Daaru' and P stands for 'Piyo'.


At least that's what a teacher at their school in the Korea district was caught teaching them. 


He even confessed that he was drunk at the time, and had come to school drunk on many occasions earlier.


He, however, later apologised for being drunk.


Meanwhile, the district administration condemned the matter and said that it will investigate and take necessary action against the teacher.

The Supreme Court issues notice to Surender Koli, the Nithari killings case convict, on the UP government's plea against the Allahabad HC verdict to commute his death penalty into life term.

In other stories, the father of the slain witness in the sexual assault case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu has once again demanded a CBI inquiry into his son's murder.


Naresh Gupta has sought a CBI probe into the murder of his son Akhil alleging that the local police failed to trace the accused here yesterday.


He was reacting to one more witness' killing in Shahjahanpur. Talking to reporters, Naresh said that he has sent a letter to the Gujarat government, demanding a CBI probe into his son's murder.


He said that local police has failed to trace the culprits even after six months since the incident took place. 35-year-old Akhil Gupta, a former cook and personal aide of Asaram, was the prime witness in the rape case against the self-styled godman in Surat.


He was shot dead on Jansath Road under New Mandi police station area in Muzaffarnagar on his way back home by unidentified assailants on January 11.

One militant dead during infiltration bid foiled by Army in Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir. Details awaited.
  

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal welcomed Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung with a warm hug at his Iftaar party on Sunday and later said that the "sour relationship should go away."


After months of an acrimonious power struggle, the two top men of the capital sat together and beamed as camera teams had a field day capturing the moment.


"The sour relationship should go away because, anyway, there are no hard feelings as such. Everybody is doing their work. If we work together, only then will the country progress," Kejriwal told reporters.


The Chief Minister and the LG have clashed almost constantly in the past few months over key appointments. Kejriwal says the Lieutenant Governor, who represents the Centre in Delhi, has no right to take decisions without consulting his government.


Delhi is not a full state and some crucial functions like land and policing are under the Centre's control. The bitterness was not evident when Mr Kejriwal embraced the Lieutenant Governor as soon as he was ushered in by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.


Besides Jung, the Chief Minister's Iftar at Chanakyapuri in central Delhi also featured Vice President Hamid Ansari, former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Police Commissioner BS Bassi and Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit. Kejriwal took turns sitting with Ansari, Dikshit and Jung. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was invited too but her party colleague Derek O'Brien attended the event.


Kejriwal, who was seen chatting with the Trinamool parliamentarian, told reporters that he had invited leaders from across the political spectrum, unlike other "VIP Iftars".


"VIP iftars are of one type and our iftar of the other. Even VIPs felt good about the presence of common people at the event. We had called people cutting across party lines, including BJP, Congress, Trinamool and Janta Dal United," he said.

Vece Paes (Leander Paes' father) on Paes and Hingis winning the mixed doubles at Wimbledon. "We are very excited, he plays for his country. More the number of wins, better is the confidence and the performance."

He refused to pick a favourite among his 16 Grand Slams but veteran Indian tennis star Leander Paes said lifting the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Swiss legend Martina Hingis does rank among the most special triumphs of his career.


Paes and Hingis, seeded sixth, drubbed the fifth seeded Austrian-Hungarian team of Alexander Peya and Timea Babos 6-1 6-1 in the lop-sided summit clash which was over in just 40 minutes yesterday.


"It's not about which one is the best among all of them but coming out and playing like that in one of the most prestigious courts that we have grown up knowing and winning a title in a Grand Slam without losing a set, that's very special," Paes said in the post-match press conference.


It was Paes' eighth mixed doubles title and second with Hingis after the Australian Open early this year. The 42-year-old Indian has eight men's doubles crowns in his Grand Slam collection.


"To be able to play this game for so many years and play with two of the greatest female players (former partner Martina Navratilova and now Hingis), it is fantastic. They epitomise greatness, they are the greatest on this planet across any sport," Paes said.


"We can talk of female athletes in other sports as well but to me in tennis, Martina Hingis and Martina Navratilova are right at the top. The champions that they are off the court is what I really respect," he added. For Hingis, it was her second title in as many days, having won the women's doubles with Sania Mirza. Overall it was the 18th Major title for the Swiss and third in mixed doubles.