More than a quarter century after being slapped with a fatwa from Iran calling for his murder over his book "The Satanic Verses", Salman Rushdie says the world has learned the "wrong lessons" about freedom of expression. 

As many as 41 women forced to work as sex workers were rescued by a team of Telangana police from Gautam Nagar area of Chandrapur city in eastern Maharashtra today. K Venugopal Rao, superintendent of police, CID, Hyderabad, led the raid.

The tiff between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung is still on, as Jung has rejected the appointment of Swati Maliwal as the chief of Delhi Commission for Women. Maliwal said, "I received a call from DCW office saying I'm not supposed to come for work tomorrow because LG had called DCW office and ordered to communicate that to me that DCW will be closed tomorrow."

The Gujarat high court has extended 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case convict Babu Bajrangi's bail period by 10 days to enable him to undergo medical treatment. On April 23, the high court had granted bail to Bajrangi, which was supposed to end on July 23. However, yesterday, Bajrangi moved the bail plea through his advocate Pravin Gondaliya stating that his bail terms needs to be extended to treat his blindness in a private hospital.

All the 39 Indians held hostage in Mosul town of Iraq by ISIS militants over a year ago were "safe", the government said. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singhsaid government was in "close and regular" contact with relevant Iraqi government authorities to obtain information on their whereabouts and safety. "As per latest information from multiple third party sources, they are all safe. The government is making all efforts and taking all steps to secure their release," Singh said

The body of an Indian sailor has been found on a ship off the Sri Lankan coast, prompting authorities here to ask the captain to dock the vessel at the Colombo Harbour and launch a probe. The ship en route to UAE's Fujairah port from China, was asked to berth at the Colombo Harbour after the ship's agent requested the police to conduct an inquiry and post-mortem examination into the death of the sailor.

Mouthwatering food at dirt cheap prices in Parliament may soon be a thing of past. Following a huge controversy on the matter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his floor leaders to consult the opposition and take a call on scrapping the subsidy, sources said. 

The Central Bureau of Investigation registered FIR against 52 accused persons in Vyapam cases on Wednesday.

A German magazine aimed at gay women has launched with a provocative new advert appearing to show Chancellor Angela Merkel in a lesbian relationship.


The short clip, promoted on Twitter and swiftly picked up by German newspapers, features an actress bearing a strong resemblance to the country's leader looking out of a window before being joined by a younger woman.


As 'Merkel' looks out of her window a radio reports that 62 per cent of Germans are in favour of gay marriage -- but the actress playing Merkel simply shakes her head before the younger woman kisses her. Read more

Bail hearing for Janhavi Gadkar, the lawyer in the drink driving case on the Freeway, will be heard on Friday, July 24. Gadkar is accused of ramming her car into a taxi and causing the death of two persons. She has been in jail for nearly 45 days.

Here's more on that case.

If you did not spot Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in Parliament today, it's probably because he is licking his wounds in private. The MP from Thiruvananthapuram earned a sharp rap on the knuckles from Congress president Sonia Gandhi after his comments at a party meeting went public.


Tharoor had reportedly said yesterday he was not in favour of disrupting Parliament over the party's demand for the resignations of EAM Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje over their links to Lalit Modi.


An NDTV report says that an angry Sonia Gandhi told Tharoor in the presence of other partymen, "You always do this, it's become a habit with you."


Even as embarrassed Congress MPs looked on, party vice-president Rahul Gandhi tried some damage control by changing the subject and ushered the MPs out of the room.


Tharoor has been the Congress cross hairs earlier as well for being more outspoken than most MPs. As MoS External Affairs when the UPA government was in power in 2009, Tharoor ran into trouble for posting a message on Twitter, in which he said he would travel cattle class in solidarity with all our holy cows.


A file picture of Shashi Tharoor in conversation with Sonia Gandhi.

The Centre and states are taking administrative steps to meet the April 1, 2016 deadline for roll out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Finance Ministry said today.


The Select Panel of Rajya Sabha has submitted its report to the House on the GST Constitution Amendment Bill and it is likely to be taken up for consideration and passage in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.


The passage of the bill on GST in Parliament and its ratification by 50 per cent of the state assemblies will pave the way for implementation of the indirect tax regime.


"Administratively, we are taking all steps, both Centre and States, to meet April 1, 2016 deadline. Effort of central government and state government would be to have reasonable rate of GST so that GST experience is a successful experience for the whole country," Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said.

While on the right to privacy, read this: Privacy and the Indian Constitution. 

The Narendra Modi government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that citizens do NOT have a fundamental right to privacy under the Constitution, reports the Times of India.


Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi told a bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar that constitution does not confer right to privacy to citizens and he referred a SC verdict delivered in 1950s in which a eight judge bench had held that right to privacy was not a fundamental rights.


He told the bench that law on right to privacy is vague in the country and pleaded the court that a larger bench should be constituted to pass an authoritative verdict on the issue.


The court was hearing a bunch of petition challenging constitutional validity of Aadhaar scheme on the ground that the programme violates citizens right to privacy. The AG said that there does not arise any question of violation of right when it is not there.

And that's how her Twitter handle looks now. 

And within minutes of that post, the 'Foreign Minister' is back on Sushma Swaraj's Twitter profile. Media reports suggest that the minister changed her twitter bio very recently, and left it blank. Or that she may have wanted to post some personal tweets, not as the country's foreign minister.

The opposition has been baying for Sushma's blood over the Lalit Modi episode.

This is the union minister's Twitter handle now. 

Sushma Swaraj removes 'Foreign Minister' from her Twitter handle.


This comes hours after the External Affairs Minister tweeted today saying a Congress leader had pressed her to give a diplomatic passport to coal scam accused Santosh Bagrodia.

However, the minister did not disclose the name of the Congress leader, saying she would do so in Parliament.

"A senior Congress leader was pressing me hard to give diplomatic passport to Coal Scam accused Santosh Bagrodia I will disclose name of the leader on the floor of the House," Swaraj tweeted.

Bagrodia, who is a former minister of state for coal, was summoned on Tuesday as an accused by a special court in the coal scam case pertaining to allocation of Maharashtra's Bander coal block to AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd.

Ai Weiwei announced on Instagram that he got his passport back Wednesday, four years after it was confiscated by Chinese authorities, reports AP.


The artist and government critic posted a photo of himself holding a Chinese passport with the caption, "Today, I got my passport."Ai was detained by authorities for about three months in 2011 but not charged.


Ai's design firm later was slapped with a $2.4 million tax bill, which he fought unsuccessfully in Chinese courts.


Ai's representative confirmed the passport had been returned, but didn't immediately respond to further questions.


Chinese authorities often deny passports to dissidents who might embarrass the ruling Communist Party overseas.Ai's work has been shown worldwide, making him one of best-known Chinese dissidents.

The appointment of Swati Maliwal as Chief of Delhi Commission for Women has become yet another flashpoint between AAP government and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung who declared her nomination null and void, saying it did not have legal sanctity and was in violation of constitutional provisions.


Two days after 30-year-old Maliwal took charge of DCW, Jung's office shot off a letter to the Chief Minister's office saying the notification appointing her was "ultra vires and infructuous" as it does not have his approval. Referring to a Home Ministry order, the LG's office insisted that 'Government' meant the "Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital Territory of Delhi" appointed by the President, insisting that he was sole authority in deciding on major issues including appointment to top positions.

The government today criticised Congress for giving a dissent note in the Select Committee on GST, saying it is against its own bill and Chief Ministers and hoped the opposition party will reconsider its "irresponsible" decision.


Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government will go ahead with the GST legislation in Parliament that seeks to create a simplified tax structure across the country which is "revolutionary".


He said the government will try and build a consensus on the legislation and explain the rationale and reasoning to various parties including Congress.


"It is hardly a dissent note on the bill, it is a dissent against the Congress party's own proposals which were originally given. Congress MPs are giving a dissent against the suggestions made by their own Chief Ministers," he said.


Jaitley said Congress has given its dissent note against the wish of traders who are demanding implementation of GST due to which the country's GDP will increase.

Mumbai blasts accused Yakub Memon may not live to receive his second masters degree, in Political Science, which he earned while pursuing studies in the Central Prison here, if he is hanged on his birthday, July 30.


A qualified Chartered Accountant, Yakub has done his MA in English Literature and Political Science in Nagpur jail through Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).


Acdemically inclined Yakub studied Literature from 2010 to 2012 and pursued Political Science from 2012 to 2014. He was awarded the Literature degree in April 2013, though he was not allowed personally to receive the certificate due to security reasons.


"Later, it was handed over to him in his cell," Dr Shiva Swaroop, Regional Director of IGNOU, which conducts PG courses in Central Prison, told PTI. Yakub passed his MA Political Science too in December 2014 but the degree has not been conferred upon him so far.


"He may not live to get the MA Political Science degree (as per IGNOU records, Yakub's birth date is July 30, 1962)," Dr Swaroop said. Recalling Yakub as a student, he said, "He (Yakub) showed keen interest in both the subjects and was very quiet. We provided books on the subject and shared inputs with him." "I see all students but our principle is to stick to our business of teaching and providing counselling and not beyond that. We have idea of their criminal background but we never mix our teaching with it," he said.

Yesterday, a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu had rejected Memon's curative petition, saying the grounds raised by him do not fall within the principles laid down by the apex court in 2002. He is due to be hanged on July 30.

AIADMK MPs in the Central Hall of Parliament say that the reason MDMK chief Vaiko met the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was because he wanted permission for Sun TV and Sun FM. The meeting had nothing to do with the CBI inquiry over the killing of the innocent Tamilians by the Andhra Pradesh Police in the sandalwood mafia case. AIADMK MPs want the PMO to refuse permission to Sun TV.

Five companies of Kalanithi Maran-promoted Sun TV have not been allowed to participate in Phase III FM auctions as the information and broadcasting ministry had rejected their applications.

One more pilgrim has died due to cardiac arrest enroute to the 3,880 metre-high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the death toll in the ongoing yatra to 26, officials said today.

Proceedings in Lok Sabha were washed out today on the first working day of the Monsoon session with an aggressive Opposition seeking removal of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje in connection with Lalit Modi row. Members of Congress and Left repeatedly stormed the Well, carrying placards and raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government for not acting against Swaraj and Raje even as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan warned of action over the "unruly" behaviour.


Displaying black ribbons, Congress members repeatedly raised placards with slogans such as:'Bade Modi meherban, toh chhote Modi pehelwan' (a Hindi idiom meaning that a small person is strong if supported by a powerful person) and 'PM chuppi todo' (PM, break your silence) and 'Modi ji 56 inch dikhao, Sushma, Raje ko turant hatao' (Show your 56 inch chest by removing Swaraj and Raje.


Members of the RJD and NCP were seen supporting the opposition demand. TRS members also contributed to the uproar by raising the demand for a separate High Court for Telangana.


At present, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana share the same High Court, two years after the bifurcation. Mahajan disapproved of the action of the protesting members and warned that "in the event of disorderly conduct, I would be constrained to initiate appropriate disciplinary action against erring members".

Gujarat police has opposed in the Supreme Court the anticipatory bail plea of Teesta Setalvad, saying the social activist and her husband "misappropriated" funds meant for charity for personal expenses ranging from wine, earbuds to expensive mobile phone besides tampering with evidence.


The state police in its affidavit said Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand as trustees of two trusts -- Sabrang Trust and Citizen for Justice and Peace (CJP) -- have by "diverse methods" allegedly "misappropriated the funds of charity and converted to their own use funds meant for the rehabilitation and welfare of the unfortunate victims of riots in Gujarat in Feb-March 2002," including construction of "dream museum".


It said the probe into the case of alleged embezzlement of funds for a museum at Gulbarg society, devastated in the 2002 riots, revealed that expenses of "very personal nature" have been debited by them under the head "Secular Education" or "Legal Aid Expenses". It said the probe is supported by evidence like vouchers having dates and amounts incurred on consumption of wine, whiskey and rum, purchase of movie CDs of Singham, Jodha Akbar and PAA, payment for several pairs of spectacles, wining and dining at some of the best restaurants and fast food outlets of Mumbai. The crime branch said under the heading of "secular education" and "legal aid expenses", the investigation revealed that Setalvad claimed reimbursment towards purchase of sanitary napkins in the name of medical expense and "surprisingly" her husband too claimed reimbursment for it. Further, purchases of purely personal items like ear buds, wet wipes, nail clippers, ladies personal items, several books including romantic novels like Mills and Boons and Thrillers like Total Control, Blackberry phone and clothes were made from the funds of Sabrang Trust.


The affidavit said, interestingly the investigation which is based on "limited documents" submitted by the couple recently to the investigating officer, also throws light that funds were used for hair styling expenses incurred by Setalvad during her trips to Rome and Pakistan and also for Gulbarg Society functions.

A satirical website has accidentally broken a real news story '" by revealing that America offered Israel "a nice, big shipment' of weapons to try and salve its anger of the Iran nuclear deal. A spoof news story on The Onion, headlined "US Soothes Upset Netanyahu With Shipment Of Ballistic Missiles", appeared 24 hours before reports emerged that this had actually happened in real life. Read

East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh: Three people injured in a blast in a fire cracker unit. One person shifted to hospital.

East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh: 3 people injured in a blast in a fire cracker unit. One person shifted to hospital.

For decades, Bollywood has been content to churn out Hindi song-and-dance extravaganzas, secure in its position as the continent's largest filmmaking centre.


But now a Telugu-language battle epic from southern India's rival "Tollywood' has broken the country's box office records and shaken Mumbai's traditional big screen dominance. Read

Fund embezzlement case: Teesta Setalvad and her husband 'misappropriated' funds of charity for personal nature like wine and luxury goods, the Gujarat govt tells the Supreme Court. The Gujarat police in its affidavit accuses Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand of not cooperating in the probe and trying to tamper with evidence.


A special CBI court in Mumbai has adjourned the verdict on the bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand till July 24. A case has been filed against their firm for allegedly receiving around $2.9 lakh in foreign donations in violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.

The Supreme Court asks the Centre if a governor can decide over a mercy plea of any convict when the mercy plea has already been declined by the President of India. The SC Constitution bench raised this question while hearing the matter related to Rajiv Gandhi assassins. The matter is also pertinent in the case of Yakub Memon.


Memon has filed another mercy petition to Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao through the jailor.


Yesterday, hours after an SC bench led by Chief Justice HL Dattu gave its ruling, Memon -- younger brother of prime accused Tiger Memon -- handed over to authorities at Nagpurs Central Prison a personal mercy plea to be forwarded to President Pranab Mukherjee. A similar plea earlier had been rejected by Mukherjee in April 2014, but that was filed on Memons behalf by brother Suleiman.

Even if his fresh mercy plea is rejected by the President, Memon cannot be hanged on July 30 in view of a Supreme Court verdict that prescribes a 14-day gap between rejection of mercy plea of a death row convict and his execution.

Both houses of Parliament adjourned for the day. The cost of running each day of Parliament is estimated at Rs 6 crore. That's two days of zero business, which is Rs 12 crore. Chew on that.

External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has listed out the arguments favouring her side in the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting held this morning. But interestingly she set the tone of the debate by tweeting about a Congress leader presssurising her to give a diplomatic passport to someone involved in the coal scam.

A few Congress MPs were not wearing the black arm band flouting Rahul Gandhi's orders. Many Congress MPs are disturbed over frequent adjournments and do not want to be perceived as a party that is blocking Parliament proceedings. In fact in the Central Hall of Parliament many Congressmen were seen removing their black bands and were heard being critical about senior leaders for adopting such a 'bad strategy'.

The select panel on Goods and Services Tax has submitted its report in the Rajya Sabha with a proposal for three modifications to the Bill. The modifications are related to Clauses 12,18, and 19. Clause 12 (4) (e) is on GST Council's powers on recommending rates within a band and the panel may propose that the 'band' be defined within GST laws.


Finance minister Arun Jaitley says the government will go ahead with the GST Bill despite opposition and slams the Congress for opposing 'it's own bill'.

The NCP (Congress ally), SP, JD-U support the bill. The AIADMK and the Left parties are aga

BJP president Amit Shah has asked party spokespersons to hold press conferences to send out a message to the public that the Congress is a stumbling block to debates in Parliament. Shah is in charge of handling the media and ensures that the government's message is heard in TV and print media.

Pakistani sufi singer Abida Parveen has survived a road accident when she was travelling from Lahore to Islamabad. 

Avind Kejriwal's latest confrontation with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung is likely to spiral considerably, courtesy a letter that declares Jung is meant to function as the "government" of Delhi, reports NDTV.


The letter has been issued by Jung's office. It says the "Constitutional definition of 'Government' is the LG." Jung's missive was issued as he declared Kejriwal cannot appoint the head of the Delhi Commission for Women without his sanction. Kejriwal had picked Swati Maliwal, wife of an AAP leader, for the post, and denied "nepotism".

The Supreme Court, in its 1980 Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab ruling, laid down the "rarest of the rare' principle in handing out the death penalty. However, the high frequency of the award of capital punishment by trial courts across the country should give pause for thought.


New research findings from the Centre on the Death Penalty at the National Law University in Delhi show that trial courts handed down 1,800 death sentences over the last year.


Trial courts have been handing out death sentences at the rate of ten a month for the last 15 years. Much of the debate around the death penalty in India centres on Supreme Court rulings and observations, and with good reason. Read more

Five days, one hour and 15 minutes after Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar warned Islamabad of an "effective and forceful response' to unprovoked firing and cross-border terrorism, that discordant note was drowned by greetings and laughter at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi where Indians and Pakistanis gathered Tuesday for an Eid Milan over seekh kebabs, malai tikkas, vegetarian fare, kheer and gulab jamuns. Read

@DilliDurAst  Citizens don't have right to privacy under the Constitution, Modi Sarkar tells Supreme Court regarding a UPA scheme, Aadhar. Achche Din!

Rajya Sabha Select Committee endorses almost all of the 21 clauses in the GST Constitution Amendment Bill.

With Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis having turned down the demand to write-off farm loan, Shiv Sena today said the curse of farmers, with whose blessings the government came to power, could ruin everything.


"Farmers should not be shooed away like the beggars standing on one's doorstep are. The government has come to power with the blessings of these farmers...They are the kings...Let their curse not ruin everything," Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.


"The question is if waiving off loans will not stop farmers' suicides, what will?" it asked. "It is being said that the CM is firm on not waiving off the debts of farmers. If he is firm on his stand, he should also clarify on how does the government plan to revive the lives of farmers whose spinal cord has been broken," it said.


The unseasonal rains in some parts of the state and lack of showers in other parts destroys the crops of farmers, thereby causing losses, Sena said, noting that the banks and money lenders then pressurise them to pay their debt that ultimately leads the farmers to commit suicide.


"The Chief Minister wants farmers to stand on their feet. This decision of his is good. But how will you make those farmers stand on their feet who have already been crippled and are standing with the help of crutches?" the ruling alliance partner sought to know.

Author Ravi Subramanian's new fiction, a thriller has been acquired by Penguin Random House, which will also publish an anthology compiled by the author, publishers said today.


Subramanian, who is a career banker and finance service professional has penned seven novels so far and is thrice winner of the Crossword Popular Choice award.


"I am delighted that we will continue our relationship with Ravi Subramaniam and publish his next thriller due next year as well as an anthology. Ravi is one of the most popular and talented authors in the country today and I am really looking forward to continuing to work together to build his list," Milee Ashwarya, Editor-in-Chief, Commercial and Business, Penguin Random House India said in a statement today. 

KFC has issued a statement today saying the fire in Bandra yesterday, took place at a shoe store and not at the outlet on Linking Road. The statement says, "There is no report of a fire at the KFC store. We have shut the store until further notice to ensure everyone's safety."

A fire broke out in a shopping centre that houses the KFC outlet at Bandra Linking road yesterday. Passersby informed the fire brigade and eight fire engines were rushed to the spot. The mall is situated on a busy and crowded area of Linking Road. 

An Uber driver was arrested for allegedly misbehaving with a woman passenger in the city, police said today.


According to a senior officer in Kolkata Police, Pintu Yadav, driver of Uber cab service, was arrested late Monday night based on a 25-year-old woman passenger's complaint lodged at Bhowanipur police station on July 8.


The woman working at a shopping mall had booked an Uber cab on July 8 evening when it was raining, police said. She in her complaint alleged that Yadav was constantly looking at her on the rear-view mirror.


She spotted him masturbating while driving and hurriedly got out of the cab on reaching her destination.


The woman kept quiet fearing "something worse" would be done by the driver. She did not press the SOS button (emergency number) on Uber app but contacted company officials, police said.


Yadav was tracked down using his mobile phone tower location and arrested late Monday night, they said. Uber had initially suspended the driver and then removed him permanently based on its internal probe into the incident, a senior official of Uber said.


Yadav, booked under IPC sections 354 (assault or criminal force to outrage modesty of a woman) and 506 (criminal intimidation), got a bail yesterday, police added. A similar case involving a TaxiForSure cab was reported from Delhi earlier this month.

Explosives were found lying close to railway tracks near Shahbad railway station in Haryana's Kurukshetra district today, following which rail traffic was briefly suspended on the route.


Police said that some passersby noticed the explosives in Dolu Majra village after which the police was alerted. Police and Army personnel reached the spot and took the explosives into their possession.


Rail traffic on the route had to be temporarily suspended and a thorough search of the area was conducted, they said. Later, the rail traffic on the route resumed.


Twelve trains were stopped on the route for a while as a precautionary measure, police said. Among the trains which were briefly halted included Shan-ePunjab, Delhi- Amritsar express and Kalka-Delhi Shatabdi.

Indian-American Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal is unlikely to figure in the first Republican presidential debate on August 6 as his national poll ratings have kept him out of the list of popular top 10 candidates so far.


Top Republican presidential contenders have begun preparations for their maiden Republican debate on August 6 to be hosted by the Fox News, which has announced that only those figuring in first 10 of the average of recent polls would be invited.


As of now the lead is taken by billionaire Donald Trump followed by Jeb Bush, former Florida Governor. In none of the opinion polls so far, Jindal has figured in the top 10 list, with his national popularity rating hovering around two-three per cent.


Politico yesterday reported that Jindal and Rick Santorum are the two major candidates who are out of the first Republican debate.


Jindal might get a chance only if he makes a significant improvement in his national polls or popularity of those in the bottom of top 10 falls down. Bush, who is leading in raising maximum amount of money so far, yesterday launched a debate watch party.


"Today we're officially launching our first Debate Watch Party contest where we'll fly one lucky winner on an all- expense paid trip to Cleveland to attend our first Debate Watch Party," Bush said in an email to his supporters. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Texas Governor Rick Perry are the closest to being knocked out of the debate along with Jindal.

BJP MP and Supreme Court lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Sushma Swaraj's tweet this morning threatening to expose a senior Congress leader. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Jethmalani says, "Kyon nahin kartiin hain? Usii time khulasa kartii... sab miley hue hain (Why doesn't she reveal names, she should have done it right then. They are all in it together)."

Sounds just like Mr Kejriwal with this 'sab miley hue hain' litany.

We keep good company.

India has abstained from voting on a UN resolution that granted special consultative status to an American NGO that works to free political prisoners across the world. Nine nations, including China and Pakistan voted against the resolution.


India was among the 11 countries that abstained from voting on the resolution in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Monday to grant special consultative non-governmental organisation (NGO) status to the Freedom Now group.


Of the 54 ECOSOC members present, 29 voted in favour of the resolution sponsored by Albania, Australia, Estonia, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, UK, US and Uruguay.


Freedom Now said being granted the status is important not merely as acknowledgement of its important work but to provide the organisation, its imprisoned clients, and their families a platform to address the UN Human Rights Council, ECOSOC, and the General Assembly during relevant discussions.

Rail traffic hit after seven bombs found on Shahbad track near Kurukshetra. 

Meeting in Venkaiah Naidu's chambers in Parliament underway. Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari in attendance.The meet is to finalise the strategy against the opposition.


The Parliament on Wednesday met for the second day of the Monsoon Session, which saw the Rajya Sabha adjourned thrice and the Lok Sabha once.


The government and the Congress-led opposition are at loggerheads over Lalit Modi row and Vyapam scam.

Congress MPs wearing black arm bands in Parliament protesting against the government's refusal to take action against Sushma Swaraj and Vasundhara Raje Scindia.

The Rajya Sabha is once again adjourned till noon. Minutes earlier, Jaitley asks the house to state in what way did EAM Sushma Swaraj err in the Lalit Modi issue? Pandemonium breaks down and the house is adjourned.

CPI-M chief Sitaram Yechury says people have died outside Madhya Pradesh so the Vyapam issue cannot be a state issue. 

External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tells BJP Parliamentary Party she offered no help to Lalit Modi and also defends the MP govt over the Vyapam issue, BJP spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi says. The Prime Minister tells BJP MPs that they should be proud of government's work.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha has resumed after a 15-minute break. BJP chief  Mayawati slams the government over Lalit Modi and the Vyapam issue saying both are national issues, not state issues. Parliamentary Affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu had said that state subjects would not be allowed for discussion.

Leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley speaking.

A confident Amit Shah and his team obviously means that the BJP has a strong counter-strategy in place to turn the tables on the Congress before the monsoon session is over, reports Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.

Read more

The monsoon session of Parliament began on a stormy note on Tuesday with the Congress raising the Lalit Modi issue in the Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha was adjourned as soon as it began. Congress is all set to corner the Modi govt on day 2 of the monsoon session over Lalitgate and Vyapam issue and is adamant on the 'first resignation, then discussion' policy.

The BJP has maintained that even though Sushma Swaraj is ready to make a statement, the Congress is running away from a debate.

Congress MPs enter Parliament House wearing black hands and rush to the well of the house. The Congress has refused to hear Sushma Swaraj's statement on the Lalit Modi issue saying she should quit. 

Within minutes, Lok Sabha is adjourned till noon amid Opposition protests over Lalit Modi controversy.

An apolitical movie about a very political decade. "My movie will be denuded of any political agenda and bereft of any political leanings. It will be a true reflection of what has been authored by Mr Baru in his book." That's the stated intent of producer Sunil Bohra, who's just acquired the rights to The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh, a 2014 book authored by the latter's former media adviser Sanjaya Baru.  Read more

E. L. Doctorow, a leading figure in contemporary American letters whose popular, critically admired and award-winning novels -- including Ragtime, Billy Bathgate and The March -- situated fictional characters in recognizable historical contexts, among identifiable historical figures and often within unconventional narrative forms, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. He was 84 and lived in Manhattan. The cause was complications from lung cancer, his son, Richard, said. Read more

Just in: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi  have called off a silent protest outside Parliament, for now.

The protest was against BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Vasundhara Raje and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, whose resignations the party has been pressing for in the wake of the Lalit Modi controversy and the Vyapam scam.   

The protest was cancelled after External Affairs Minister Sushama Swaraj threatened to expose a senior Congress leader in a tweet this morning.

CNN-IBN reports that the protest was called off as the Congress is divided over the demand for resignations.   

India has abstained from voting on a UN resolution that granted special consultative status to an American NGO that works to free political prisoners across the world.   

India was among the 11 countries that abstained fromvoting on the resolution in the UN Economic and Social Council on Monday to grant special consultative non-governmental organisation status to the Freedom Now group.   

Of the 54 ECOSOC members present, 29 voted in favour of the resolution sponsored by Albania, Australia, Estonia,France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, UK, US and Uruguay.   

Nine nations, including China and Pakistan voted against the resolution.   Freedom Now said being granted the status is important not merely as acknowledgement of its important work but to provide the organisation, its imprisoned clients, and their families a platform to address the UN Human Rights Council, ECOSOC, and the General Assembly during relevant discussions.   

Freedom Now is a US-based non-partisan NGO that works to free individual prisoners of conscience through focused legal,political, and public relations advocacy efforts.

Pulitzer winning Indian-American doctor Siddhartha Mukherjee has been nominated for an Emmy Award for his documentary series on cancer.

The six-hour programme based and titled after Mukherjee's Pulitzer Prize-winning 2010 book 'Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies' is among five nominees for the award for documentary or nonfiction series, his publishers Penguin Random House said. The series on cancer on American TV channel PBS has been directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and writer Barak Goodman and executive produced by Ken Burns, who has won multiple Emmys.

The film portrays the history of the illness and unfolding scientific mysteries, illustrated by intimate personal accounts and geared to the layman's understanding and fear of this once-unmentionable disease. It contains archival film and interviews with experts besides illustrations and computer graphics.

Mukherjee, who has previously authored 'The Laws of Medicine', is currently an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University and a staff cancer physician at Columbia University Medical Center in the US. The New York-based oncologist and a Rhodes scholar graduated from Stanford University, University of Oxford, Harvard Medical School.

Mukherjee won the India Abroad publisher's award for excellence in 2011.

The war between Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung continues.

Jung today said that the appointment of a new chairperson for the state's women's panel is "null and void".

Kejriwal had appointed Swati Maliwal, the wife of Aam Aadmi Party leader Navin Jaihind, to head the Delhi Commission for Women four days ago. She took charge on Monday, but was yet to receive word from the Lieutenant Governor's office approving her appointment. 

Maliwal replaced Barkha Singh, a member of the Congress, whose term ended this month.

And we thought there would be no more 'jung' after the iftar party. 

The benchmark BSE Sensex stretched its losses for the third day today, declining over 109 points in early trade on sustained selling by investors amid weak global cues.

The NSE Nifty fell below the 8,500-mark to trade at 8,498.65 points, down by 30.80 points, or 0.36 per cent over previous close. The 30-share Sensex fell further by 109.20 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 28,072.94 with IT, metal, teck, banking, capital goods and power stocks leading the fall.

The gauge lost 281.17 points in the previous two consecutive sessions.

Brokers said investors indulged in selling after a weak trend at other Asian markets following overnight sell-off at the US markets on corporate earnings concern.

The adorable Prince George turns 2 today.  

Kensington Palace shared a new photo of the prince yesterday. The photo shows a playful Prince George leaning towards the camera as he is held by his father, Prince William, in the garden at Sandringham House.

The photo was taken on the occasion of the July 5 christening of Prince Georges younger sister Princess Charlotte.

Photograph: @KensingtonPalace/Twitter

Tom Moore, the cartoonist who brought to life the escapades of a freckled-face, red-haired character named Archie, has died in Texas. He was 86.

Moore drew Archie Andrews and his friends on and off from 1953 until the late 1980s when he retired. He began drawing cartoons while in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.

Read the full report here

Sushma Swaraj is not the one to go down without a fight. 

The external affairs minister, who is under fire over the Lalit Modi controversy, today launched a counter attack.

"A senior Congress leader was pressing me hard to give diplomatic passport to the coal scam accused Santosh Bagrodia," she tweeted this morning. "I will disclose name of the leader on the floor of the House."

Bagrodia is a former minister of state (coal) and an accused in the multi-crore scam that has even cast aspersions on former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

Swaraj has been under attack for lending help to former scam-tainted Indian Premier League chief to obtain British travel documents. The Opposition has been demanding her resignation.

Yesterday she said she was ready for a debate in the Parliament on the issue.     

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code were imposed in Jamshedpur's Mango police station area late last night following a clash between members of two communities over a molestation incident, official sources said.

Keeping in view the prevailing situation, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC have been promulgated to maintain law and order situation, Alok Kumar, Sub-Divisional Officer (Dalbhum), said.

The clash took place over a molestation incident by a member of a particular community, forcing the other community members to assemble near a temple in Mango area and put up a road blockade. Kumar said a similar incident had taken place two days ago in the area.

Amid the prevailing tension, members of both the communities indulged in brick-batting even as the district police force intervened to pacify the warring groups.

Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi chief Dilip Pandey alleged that a Delhi police bus tried to run over him in front of Rajinder Nagar police station.

Pandey alleged that the incident happened around 10.30 pm on Tuesday when he was talking to the media over police action on AAP volunteers at Anand Parbat earlier in the day. "Since there were women volunteers who were detained, I went to the police station so that they could be released. Around 10.30 pm while I was talking to the media outside Rajinder Nagar station, a Delhi police bus tried to run over me but one volunteer pushed me aside," Pandey said.

Pandey said that he has filed a written complaint with Rajinder Nagar police. "Hopefully they will file an FIR in the case."

"Shocked to see the sad state of Delhi police. A police bus tried to run over - kill me from behind while I was talking to media. Someone pushed... saved me!" Pandey tweeted.

The alleged leader of Al-Qaeda's Khorasan Group was killed in an air strike by the US-led coalition in northern Syria, the Pentagon has said. The "kinetic strike" killed Muhsin al-Fadhli on July 8 while he was traveling in a vehicle near Sarmada, Syria, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said. 

The Federal Aviation Administration has said it was investigating a viral Internet video showing a home-made "drone" firing a handgun in the Connecticut countryside. 

The Federal Aviation Administration has said it was investigating a viral Internet video showing a home-made "drone" firing a handgun in the Connecticut countryside. 

Italy violates human rights by failing to offer enough legal protection for same-sex couples, a European court has ruled.

US officials say a key al-Qaida figure has been killed in an American airstrike in Syria. The officials say that Muhsin al-Fadhli is dead. He was a leader of the Khorasan Group, a cadre of al-Qaida operatives who were sent from Pakistan to Syria to plot attacks on the West.

US officials say a key al-Qaida figure has been killed in an American airstrike in Syria. The officials say that Muhsin al-Fadhli is dead. He was a leader of the Khorasan Group, a cadre of al-Qaida operatives who were sent from Pakistan to Syria to plot attacks on the West.

President Barack Obama today ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff until Saturday in honor of five US servicemen who died in a shooting rampage in Tennessee last week. 

Turkey today stepped up security on the border with Syria after a suicide bombing blamed on Islamic State extremists killed 31 people and raised fears of a spillover of the Syrian conflict onto its territory.