A 16-year-old girl has been found after hiking to safety from the scene of a plane crash in a mountainous area of the north-western US.

Two journalists, including an Australian editor, went on trial in Thailand today over a report they published implicating the navy in human trafficking, as the United Nations urged the junta-ruled nation to drop the case. 

Projecting that India can emerge as the third largest aviation market by 2029, Global airlines body IATA today urged the government to exempt international air ticket from service tax, slash airport charges and avoid "onerous" regulations. 

Nepal's former Prime Minister and chief of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) Prachanda arrived in Delhi today on a 7-day visit as the Himalayan nation moves closer to finalising a Constitution that could end years of political instability. During his visit, Prachanda, who led a decade-long armed movement before joining mainstream politics about seven years back, will meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and will call on President Pranab Mukherjee.

Former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi hailed Supreme Court-appointed high-level Committee's verdict banning Mahendra Singh Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the Indian Premier League for two years. In a series of tweets, Modi slammed N Srinivasan and the BCCI. He said that the two franchises should have been suspended permanently and have gotten away with lighter punishments of just two years. Modi also called for N Srinivasan's removal as ICC president.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar  slammed senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid for defending imposition of Emergency in 1975, terming as "shameful" his remarks in this respect. "Salman Khurshid's statement reflects that Congress continues to justify the Emergency. It is highly shameful and we strongly condemn it," he said. "Congress leader's (Khurshid's) mind was corrupted after Congress lost power," Javadekar said.

YSR Congress Party President Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has blamed AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for the stampede at the Pushkar ghat and said that he should quit on moral grounds taking full responsibility for the incident. 

A Pawan Hans helicopter made an emergency landing on a road at Gohpur Balijan in Sonitpur district near Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. According to officials of the State Aviation Department of Arunachal Pradesh, the chopper was on its way from Itanagar to Guwahati with 17 passengers on board. 

India Cements Ltd, owner of Chennai Super Kings  is planning to move the Supreme Court against the order of the court appointed committee suspending the team from Indian Premier League for two years. 

Now, reports say that the PM may not attend the President's iftar party on July 25. The PM is likely to attend a meeting of chief ministers of the north-eastern states.

A Delhi court refused to grant bail to former Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar in the alleged forged degree case, saying the investigation is at a crucial stage. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tarun Yogesh dismissed the bail application of Tomar, who is in judicial custody till July 20, after Delhi Police submitted that he may tamper with evidence if released. Tomar had sought bail on the ground that as the probe in the matter was over, he could not be kept in jail.

@NASANewHorizons tweets: Hello #Pluto! We're at closest approach. Congrats to all! #PlutoFlyby.

In a rebuff to Pakistan, Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has rejected the invite from Pakistan High Commissioner for an Eid Milan party on July 21.


Hurriyat says that the decision to "boycott" the function has been taken in protests against dropping of K-word during talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif in Russia.


"It is sad that there was no mention of Kashmir in the recent meeting of Indo-Pak Prime Ministers," Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar quoted Geelani as saying.


"As a symbolic protest against it Hurriyat has decided to boycott the function. The Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul Basit has invited separatist leaders from Kashmir for a get together in the capital.


The High Commission, earlier, had invited the separatist leaders for an Iftar party on July 4 but later cancelled it. The reason for canceling the invite, sources say, was the scheduled Modi-Sharif meeting in Russia.

This is what you should know about New Horizons historic fly-by. Read

The Nasa spacecraft New Horizons has just flown by Pluto -- the closest a spacecraft has come to the planet. The spacecraft hurtled past Pluto on Tuesday at more than 45,000 kilometres per hour and has so far revealed the dwarf planet to be larger than scientists thought.


Fresh measurements from New Horizons, the first spacecraft to reach Pluto on the outer edge of the solar system, show that it is 2,370 kilometres across, roughly two-thirds the size of Earth's moon.

Hurriyat leader Syed Ahmed Shah Geelani to "boycott" the Eid Milan being hosted by Pakistan High Commissioner in Delhi on July 21.

US President Barack Obama speaking on the Iran nuclear deal: All of Iran's pathways to a nuclear weapon cut off in landmark deal, says Obama. The Iranian nuclear deal is not built on trust, it is built on verification, said the US president. The Iran Deal makes the world a safer place and the US will veto any legislation that is against it, Obama said.

After tortuous talks that spanned 20 months, negotiators reached a landmark deal aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear program. The agreement, a focal point of US President Barack Obama's foreign policy.


The nuclear agreement included a compromise between Washington and Tehran that would allow UN inspectors to press for visits to Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties. But access at will to any site would not necessarily be granted and even if so, could be delayed, a condition that critics of the deal are sure to seize on as possibly giving Tehran time to cover any sign of non-compliance with its commitments.


Under the deal, Tehran would have the right to challenge the UN request and an arbitration board composed of Iran and the six world powers that negotiated with it would have to decide on the issue.


Still, such an arrangement would be a notable departure from assertions by top Iranian officials that their country would never allow the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency into such sites.


Iran has argued that such visits by the IAEA would be a cover for spying on its military secrets.

Hurriyat leader S A S Geelani to "boycott" Eid Milan being hosted by Pak High Commissioner in Delhi on June 21: Hurriyat.

Thirty-five days after a Coast Guard aircraft on a surveillance sortie disappeared off the Chennai coast with three crew, the search operation has been "terminated" after recovery of human remains, parts of the plane and personal effects.


"Eighty per cent of the aircraft's parts have been retrieved, besides human bones and wrist watches from the sea bed," I G Coast Guard S P Sharma said here today, adding the search operation was "terminated" last night.


The authorities have called the families of the crew for carrying out DNA tests for identification of the deceased and collecting the remains and personal effects.


The Coast Guard was in consultation with the Tamil Nadu Forensic and Science Laboratory to carry out the DNA tests. On July 11, 33 days after the Dornier aircraft vanished over the sea off Tamil Nadu coast on June 8, its debris and the flight data recorder (FDR) were located 950 metres under water.


Reliance Industries vessel 'Olympic Canyon' and a submarine from National Institute Of Ocean Technology were involved in the operation.


A massive search and rescue operation had been quickly mounted by Indian warships and planes for the missing aircraft and crew comprising pilot S Vidhya Sagar, co-pilot Subash Suresh and observer M K Soni soon after it had gone off the radar.


Along with an INS submarine, a total of eight ships and aircraft had been pressed into action during 'Operation Talaash', described by Coast Guard as "first ever salvage at such depths".


"As the events unfold in terms of decoding the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder and establishing the identity of the crew, I am sure the board of enquiry will submit it's report as early as possible", Sharma said.

A strategic bomber with seven people on board crashed in far eastern Russia today but its crew apparently managed to parachute out and a search for them was underway, the defence ministry said. "The crew abandoned the jet," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement, adding that the Tu-95 bomber was not carrying a combat payload at the time of the crash.

"My stay in Mumbai was taken care of by Vinod Khanna, food by Daisy Irani, work was provided by Feroz Khan, and Sunil Dutt paid me without my doing any work.


"My wife is 12 years younger than me. She was a child artiste. I got the title Shakti Kapoor: Cradle snatcher. But she was too good so I decided to marry her.


"I will marry Shraddha off after three years. I don't want her to be an older heroine or marry at 40. I want her to marry at the peak of her career. But I will not force her."


That's straight talk from Shakti Kapoor.

Read the interview with Patcy N/Rediff.com.

As many as 1585 incidents of rape and 5035 cases of atrocities against children have been reported in Maharashtra since January this year, the Maharashtra Assembly was told today.


Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in a written reply to Nirmala Gavit (Congress) and others said there have been 11 cases of attempt to rape and 5250 incidents of molestation too between January 2015 to May 2015.


Also, there have been 2394 cases of kidnappings of children including 196 cases where minor girls were abducted. 96 minor girls were also raped in this period.


He said a separate assistance cell to prevent atrocities against women have been set up in different parts of the state. He said 27 special courts have been set up for trial of atrocities against women.

In continuing violence in Jammu and Kashmir, militants today opened fire at a village sarpanch in Kashmir's Shopian district this afternoon. "Militants opened fire at Mohammed Yakoob Malla at the bus stand in Shopian. He has been critically injured and was rushed to a local hospital where attending doctors referred him to the main hospital in Srinagar for specialised treatment," a senior police official said.

-- Mukhtar Ahmad/Rediff.com

Here's what Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra said yesterday ahead of the SC verdict: @TheRajKundra "A trap is only a trap if you don't know about it. If you know about it, it's a challenge. Goodnight. Tomorrows going to be quite a day! :)"
 

Kundra and former Chennai Super Kings team official Gurunath Meiyappan have been suspended for life from any cricketing activity by the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Lodha Committee today.

According to the panel both Meiyappan and Kundra damaged the faith the people in the sport, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and IPL.

The panel also said Raj Kundra's actions caused serious disrepute to BCCI and IPL and also the game of cricket. Kundra, part owners of Rajasthan Royals, was found guilty of misconduct. He was further declared ineligible for participation in cricket for five years.

Update on the Rajamundhry stampede: At least 27 pilgrims, 13 of them women, died and 20 others injured in a stampede at a major bathing spot on the banks of the Godavari river where a huge crowd of devotees had gathered on the opening day of 'Pushkaralu' festival today.


A major religious event held once in 12 years, hundreds of people drawn from different parts of the state had converged on the river bank to take dip in the river on the auspicious occasion. The tragedy struck between 7.30 am and 8 am and most of the victims were elderly people.

Business activity picked up in the second quarter of 2015, largely on the back of better investment demand and improvements in commercial vehicle sales, Goldman Sachs said today.


The global financial giant said its composite gauge of business activities is showing a gradual recovery after a "surprising slowdown since the last quarter of 2014", but it cautioned that there is not yet a broad-based recovery.


"While on balance activity data seem to be turning more positive, we would caution that there is not yet a broad-based recovery," Goldman Sachs said in its Global Macro Research Report authored by Tushar Poddar and Vishal Vaibhaw.


The Goldman Sachs India Current Activity Indicator (CAI) increased to 5.6 per cent in May from 4.3 per cent in April and 4.4 per cent in the first quarter of this year. CAI is an activity index that maps monthly and sequential

"The nuclear deal required Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to gamble the future of his government on a vision for the future of his nation," Joe Biden marks the 10th anniversary of the India-US nuclear deal. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com, in Washington, DC, listens in. Read

Justice RM Lodha, who is heading the committee appointed by the Supreme Court to decide the fate of the IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), said that the panel has examined all the facts and worked to the best of its ability.


After delivering the landmark verdict, which proposed identical two-year suspensions on Indian Premier League franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in the spot-fixing scandal that rocked the sixth edition of the T20 tournament in 2013, Justice Lodha said, "We have worked to the best our ability."


Set up in January by the apex court to determine the quantum of punishment in the case, the panel also recommended life suspensions on Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals's Raj Kundra from all cricket-related activities.

The army has launched a joint operation with the Assam Police in Surenderpur Ghat in Gossaigaon Sub Division of Kokrajhar today. During the search one NDFB (S) terrorist identified was apprehended. He is a 2011 batch trained NDFB(S) cadre. Two hand grenades and some 7.65mm ammunition was recovered from the terrorist, says the army.

Shares of India Cements saw huge selling pressure today, falling 6.5 per cent, after its franchisee Chennai Super Kings was suspended from IPL for a period of two years. Reversing its positive opening, the stock fell sharply by 6.31 per cent to Rs 88.25 on BSE. At NSE, India Cements' scrip tumbled 6.47 per cent to Rs 88.15.

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu meets people injured during the Pushkaralu ghat stampede. Death toll in the stampede rises to 29.

On the day of BJP president Amit Shah's meeting in Guwahati, the party's MPs from Assam claimed that several leaders from opposition parties, including the ruling Congress, have expressed willingness to join the saffron party and contest the Assembly polls scheduled next year.


Shah arrived in the city this morning along with other national office bearers on a day's tour to attend the 'Maha Sampark' meeting of all the BJP units of North East.


Moments before his landing, senior party leader and MP Bijoya Chakravarty told reporters at the airport that many senior leaders, mostly from the Congress, have expressed willingness to join BJP. "They are likely to join our party by the end of this month. Apart from public and government staff, even their (Congress') own legislators are disillusioned with Congress rule in Assam," she claimed. She, however, declined to share any name.

Toll in stampede at Rajahmundry climbs to 27, says a district official.

Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu says the Iran nuclear deal is a bad mistake of historic proportions.


Iran and six major powers have reached a historic nuclear deal, which will grant Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme.


The nuclear agreement included a compromise between Washington and Tehran that would allow UN inspectors to press for visits to Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties.


But access at will to any site would not necessarily be granted and even if so, could be delayed, a condition that critics of the deal are sure to seize on as possibly giving Tehran time to cover any sign of non-compliance with its commitments.


Under the deal, Tehran would have the right to challenge the UN request and an arbitration board composed of Iran and the six world powers that negotiated with it would have to decide on the issue.


Still, such an arrangement would be a notable departure from assertions by top Iranian officials that their country would never allow the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency into such sites.


Iran has argued that such visits by the IAEA would be a cover for spying on its military secrets.


This morning, the European Union announced that the final plenary of Iran and the six countries negotiating with it will take place at 10:30 Vienna time, followed by a news conference.

All the accused in the last month's Mumbai hooch tragedy in which 104 people were killed have been booked under IPC section 302 (murder) and the case will be tried in fast track court, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.


"We will request the High Court to try the case on fast track with day-to-day hearing," Fadnavis said. Replying to a discussion on the hooch tragedy in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly through a Calling Attention notice, Fadnavis said the prosecution will build a strong case in which capital punishment will be sought for the accused.


Nine police personnel and four excise officials in the Malwani area of Mumbai have been suspended for their alleged involvement in the case. Fadnavis said more than 80 per cent methanol was found in the spurious liquor seized from the accused. "This means that the spurious liquor owner was deliberately selling poison," he said, adding, search for some more accused was still on.

Heaping encomiums on legendary music director M S Viswanathan who passed away here, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today expressed regret that the musician was deprived of the prestigious Padma awards despite she herself making pleas since 1991.


Jayalalithaa said that MSV, as Viswanathan was fondly addressed, was hailed as the 'King of Melody' and remained a legend in Tamil cinema. She expressed grief over his demise, recalling that he was a loving, humble, affable and spiritual person, whose musical journey had started at the age of 13.

Read the live updates on the Justice Lodha's verdict on CSK and Rajasthan Royals. 

For Narendra Modi's electoral effort, Surat sari traders are again going the whole nine yards. As the Bihar Assembly polls draw near, the saris sold by these traders in the state are being packed in bags or boxes with Modi or BJP symbols on the cover.


Local MP C R Patil met 100-odd textile traders on Friday to discuss strategies to campaign using the Modi brand in Bihar. It was decided that down to the detail of the tapes on the carton, everything would have a symbol of the BJP or Modi's name on it.  Read more


File pic of a Modi sari.

Pushkaralu ghat stampede: Death toll in the stampede rises to 16, at least 25 injured. Andhra Pradesh govt announces Rs 10 lakh compensation to next of kin who died in the stampede.

The Supreme Court committee headed by ex-CJI RM Lodha is set to prescribe punishment for Chennai Super Kings official Gurunath Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Raj Kundra for being involved in betting in IPL 2013. The verdict will be announced at 1 pm today.

The apex court, on 22nd January 2015, had held that the allegation of betting against Meiyappan, son-in-law of former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president N Srinivasan, and Kundra stands proved while the charge of cover up against Srinivasan was "not proved".

The court then set up the three-member committee of retired judges including Justices Ashok Bhan and RV Raveendran to determine the punishment for Meiyappan and Rajasthan Royals co-owner Kundra.

A 14-hour general strike in Manipur called by Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) to press its demand for introducing an effective bill on the implementation of the Inner Line Permit System in the Assembly began at 5 am today.


The strike is coinciding with the curfew relaxation hours as notices by the authorities of Imphal East and West districts had said the prohibitory order would be relaxed between 5 am and 4 pm today.


The strike affected normal life with shops, schools and offices remaining closed. Roads are deserted with hardly any vehicles. No untoward incident was reported till noon, police said. The state government has directed the authorities to keep all educational schools closed.


Today's general strike is the second in a week by JCILPS which had asked the state government to "Give up the habit of waking up to the public issues only when there are violent protests."

Superstar Rajnikanth at the residence of late music director MS Viswanathan in Chennai. Viswanathan, one of the most popular music composers of south Indian cinema, passed away at a Chennai hospital this morning. He was 87.

More on the nuclear agreement.


The nuclear agreement included a compromise between Washington and Tehran that would allow UN inspectors to press for visits to Iranian military sites as part of their monitoring duties. But access at will to any site would not necessarily be granted and even if so, could be delayed, a condition that critics of the deal are sure to seize on as possibly giving Tehran time to cover any sign of non-compliance with its commitments.


Under the deal, Tehran would have the right to challenge the UN request and an arbitration board composed of Iran and the six world powers that negotiated with it would have to decide on the issue.


Still, such an arrangement would be a notable departure from assertions by top Iranian officials that their country would never allow the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency into such sites.


Iran has argued that such visits by the IAEA would be a cover for spying on its military secrets.


This morning, the European Union announced that the final plenary of Iran and the six countries negotiating with it will take place at 10:30 Vienna time, followed by a news conference.


A Western diplomat said they will endorse the deal, reached in the early morning hours. He demanded anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the confidential talks.

The Amarnath yatra resumed today after being suspended for two days due to inclement weather and Jammu-Srinagar highway closure as a fresh batch of 4,633 pilgrims left from Jammu base camp to Amarnath cave shrine amid tight security.


"Amarnath yatra has resumed from Jammu today after two-day long suspension. A fresh batch has been sent from here today," a police officer said. The batch, with 3,302 men, 1,012 women, 80 children, 238 sadhus and another person, left in a cavalcade of 119 vehicles from Bhagwati Nagar base camp at 4:45 am today, he said.


The convoy reached Kud on the national highway at 10 am and would reach its destination at Baltal and Pahalgam base camps by this evening, he added.


With today's batch, as many as 27,098 pilgrims have so far left from Jammu base camp for Amarnath shrine. Over 1.5 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance so far at the 3888 meters high cave shrine

Oil prices fall as Iran, global powers reach nuclear deal. 

Army will give a "befitting" reply to Pakistan in case of violation of ceasefire, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here today. "Our Army will give a befitting reply to Pakistan if that country violates ceasfire... Kashmir is an integral part of India," Singh said while replying to queries at a presser.


Asked about the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Russia and the decision of the Pakistani authorities not to petition in court for 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi's voice sample, Rajnath said, "Modiji ne haath nahi failaya tha lekin unka dono desh mein dosti ka prayatna tha (Modi did not plead but had only tried to foster friendly relations between the two countries)."


On the 'Vyapam' scam in Madhya Pradesh, Rajnath accused the opposition of "maligning" the image of the BJP government.


"Opposition parties are maligning our image. Madhya Pradesh government led by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is transparent and it was Chouhan who had written a letter to the Supreme Court seeking a CBI probe into the scam," Singh said.


On Kumbh Mela, Singh said, "I am happy and prayed to Almighty to make India a 'samrudhha' (prosperous) nation." Singh attended 'Dhwajarohan' (flag-hoisting) ceremony that marked the beginning of the 'Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2015' in Trimbakeshwar this morning.

The media controversy that has erupted over the India-Pakistan joint statement issued at Ufa, Russia, following the meeting between the two prime ministers last Friday, has a familiar ring about it, but is all the same tragi-comic.


Why tragedy? Because, the India-Pakistan diplomatic history is littered with unborn fetuses. The ease with which L.K. Advani and camp follower Sushma Swaraj (who was the then Minister for Information) could derail the Agra Summit between Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf is useful to recall. 


Read MK Bhadrakumar's blog right here.

So, what is the nuke deal with Iran all about? Read it here.

Iran and six major powers have reached a historic nuclear deal, which will grant Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme, an Iranian diplomat has told Reuters. "All the hard work has paid off and we sealed a deal. God bless our people," the diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Another Iranian official confirmed the agreement.


Representatives of the six major powers began a brief meeting in the early hours of Tuesday, a US official told Reuters.


The deal calls for UN inspectors to have access to all suspect Iranian sites, including military, based on consultations between the powers and Tehran.

At least 12 children were seriously injured while others suffered minor injuries after a school bus carrying them overturned in Kashmiri Gate area of north Delhi today.


The injured children were rushed to hospitals nearby. "The incident happened at around 8 am when the bus was coming from the ISBT flyover. Some pedestrians were crossing the road and the driver in a bid to stop the bus applied brakes. He is believed to have lost control over the vehicle and overturned," said the official.

The CBI says raids on activist Teesta Setalvad has no political agenda. 

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal says AAP has run out of money and appeals for more donations. Kejriwal said today, "After we came to power, our funds were exhausted. The public funded us, we never took any money under the table. We gave a record of every rupee we got. Now we want funds to run our party and we want it from the public."


In February, the union government had informed the Delhi High Court that nothing has been found against the Aam Aadmi Party in its probe regarding allegations that it had received offshore funds in violation of FCRA provisions.

The counsel appearing for the Home Ministry told a bench, comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice R S Endlaw, that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) report has found nothing against the AAP.

The court, however, directed the government to file a fresh status report in a sealed cover regarding its findings in the matter.

The court reserved the verdict on the plea seeking CBI probe into the past and present foreign funding of AAP in alleged violation of FCRA provisions.

"We will take into consideration all the facts and then decide the matter. Judgement reserved," it said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation raided the home and office of activist Teesta Setalvad, who has been accused of illegally receiving funds from abroad.


A team of 16 CBI officers carried out the raids in Mumbai. Setalvad has  said she did not understand why the raids had been ordered when she had written to the CBI offering full cooperation with their inquiry and said it was vendetta by the BJP. "They are trying to humiliate us," she told NDTV. 

He was a magnificent looking man -- perhaps the best looking international actor of the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, even in the current century. And quite definitely the first actor from Asia to make it big in the West, says Aseem Chhabra. Read

As the opposition attacked it over Amit Shah's reported comment that it will take 25 years for the promised 'achhe din' to come, the BJP today termed the report as "baseless" and said the party president had stated that it will take these many years to restore India its "ancient glory".


"Shah said the BJP government had curbed corruption and brought down inflation.It is working to end corruption and create many jobs in five years. But the dream of making India 'Vishwa guru (world leader) will take 25 years to realise," BJP secretary and media cell in-charge Shrikant Sharma said.


A media report today quoted Shah as having told party leaders and workers at a meet in Bhopal yesterday that the good days promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take 25 years to come.


Latching onto it, Congress leader Digvijay Shah took a dig at Shah, saying his good days had arrived and people can forget about theirs. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal wondered in a tweet, "Would people have voted for BJP had it told them that it will take 25 years for good days to arrive".

CBI raids Teesta Setalvad's home and office since early morning. Sixteen officers at her residence.

Sonia Gandhi's iftar was meant to be a powerful show of unity of Opposition parties to take on the Modi Sarkar, but that was not to be, writes Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com, who attended the iftar. Read

M S Viswanathan, one of the most popular music composers of south Indian cinema, passed away at a Chennai hospital this morning. He was 87.


Viswanathan, known in the industry as MSV, has a huge body of work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam with over 750 films. Sivaji Ganeshan's Panam in 1952 was his debut creation.


MSV is popular for his collaboration with fellow composer TK Ramamoorthy. The duo composed music for 86 Tamil films during their association of over a decade.


"Sonnathu Needhana' (Nenjil Oru Alayam), "Viswanathan Velai Vendum' (Kadalikka Neram Illai), "Kettavarellam Padalam' (Thangai) are among MSV's all time favourites that are still popular in Tamil Nadu.


"Mellisai Mannar', as his fans called him, had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and had initially shown signs of recovery. Viswanathan's son Gopi had said his father was being treated for geriatric disorders.

A special court today ordered the framing of charges against former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda and eight others in a coal scam case. 

Sixteen Central Bureau of Investigation officials raid activist Teesta Setalvad's house and office in Mumbai. The raid began early this morning.

"I don't understand rationale behind this CBI raid. The raid was conducted despite offering my full cooperation," Setalvad told NDTV.

Last week, the agency registered a case against Setalvad and her organisation for alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in receiving funds from abroad without taking prior permission from the home ministry.

In the first information report, the agency also named Setalvad's husband Javed Anand and Gulam Mohammed Peshimam, both directors in Sabrang Communications and Publishing based in Santacruz, Mumbai.   

Just in: Two women have been killed and several injured after a stampede broke out at the Godavari Pushkaralu event which began today in Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, reports NDTV.

The 12-day Pushkaralu event is similar to the 'Kumbh Mela' which also began today.

Details awaited.

Photograph: @AndhraCM/Twitter