Vice President Hamid Ansari returned home tonight after concluding his four-day two-nation trip of Cambodia and Laos during which he held talks with the top leadership of the two countries to bolster India's economic engagement with the ASEAN region. 

The United States further eased restrictions on business and travel with Cuba today, as it presses forward in rebuilding long-frozen relations with its former Cold War foe. 

Just in: Ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Balakot sector (Poonch, J&K) continues. Heavy weapons being used. Indians troops retaliating.

More details awaited.

Just in: The Election Commission of India has said that it has "no objection" to the airing of Prime Minister Modi's 'Mann ki Baat' programme on Sunday. 

All the 39 Indians held hostage in Iraq by Islamic State militants for more than a year are "alive", External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the families of the victims today.


Swaraj, who met the families for the eighth time since the abduction of the Indians in June last year from Mosul, reassured them about the well-being of the nationals on the basis of information received from multiple sources.


The government was making all sincere efforts for the safe and early release of the Indian workers, she told the families, who were accompanied by Minister of Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal.


Official sources said the minister also told them that though there was no "first-hand confirmation" about the wellbeing of the 39 nationals but multiple sources have indicated that they were being made to work in Iraq.


Swaraj had earlier personally spoken to her counterparts in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as well as other friendly countries in the region for their assistance in the safe release of Indians in captivity.


The minister also assured the families that as soon as some concrete proof on the well-being of the workers is received by the government, it would be shared with them.

Hrithik Roshan tweets this picture with his parents, children and sister celebrating their guest of honour --  Ganpati.  "ur own vighnaharta (guardian) against ur rakshasas. May lord Ganesha bless us al wth power 2 love n courage 2 fight," Hrithik wrote.

Just in: The Sheena Bora case has been transferred to the CBI.  The investigation team was headed by former Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria, who was transferred as DG Home Guards, amid controversy. The case was then taken over by the present Mumbai police commissioner Ahmed Javed.


However, the Maharashtra government's additional chief secretary KP Bakshi making an announcement today, said the case will now be handled by the CBI. He said Rakesh Maria's transfer had nothing to do with the probe and added that the government does not want any influence in the case and wants the probe to be impartial. He said a financial motive cannot be ruled out in the case.

Sheena Bora, aged 24, was allegedly killed by her mother Indrani Mukerjea, a former media executive and wife of ex-INX media CEO Peter Mukerjea.


Sheena's step-father Sanjeev Khanna and a driver Shyamvar Rai have also been implicated in the murder.


The murder case has received considerable media attention and investigations have led to various relatives of the victim being questioned by Mumbai police. The police apart from questioning media mogul Peter Mukerjea, has also questioned Sheena's brother Mikhail Bora and Peter Mukerjea's son Rahul Mukerjea about his alleged relationship with the victim.

Just in: Tandoor killer Sushil Sharma to leave Delhi jail today. The former  youth Congress leader was convicted for murdering and then burning his wife's body in a clay oven on the roof of a Delhi restaurant,  20 years ago.

Two years ago, his death sentence for killing his wife, Naina Sahni, who he suspected of having an affair with another party worker, was changed to a life term by the Supreme Court.

Sharma, was granted parole by the Delhi High Court on September 15. He has asked for his sentence to be reduced, citing a law that allows a state government to set a prisoner free after serving 14 years in jail. He has said in his appeal that he has already spent 20 years in prison; his request will be decided by Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung.


Till then, the High Court said, he will remain free.

"If India is already involved in helping the insurgents in Baluchistan and Karachi, as Pakistan says, it is but one step for New Delhi to bring Dawood or Hafiz Saeed into its sights," says Amulya Ganguli. Read more

As 64 files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose were made public today by the West Bengal government, his relatives demanded an investigation into alleged spying on the legendary freedom fighter and his family.


The newly declassified files prove that the Bose family was spied on by government after Netaji purportedly died in a plane crash in Taiwan, his grand-nephew Chandra Bose told NDTV.


"Why did they spy on my father, Amiya Bose? He was not Dawood Ibrahim! Yet they deployed 14 men from the intelligence branch to spy on him. Why should the Indian government spy on the families of an Indian revolutionary? I demand that PM (Narendra) Modi institute a probe," Bose said.


Hours before the files were made public this morning, it was "leaked" to the family that a crucial file was destroyed in 1972 when Siddharth Shankar Roy was Chief Minister of Bengal.


"The information is that the file relates to the disappearance angle of Netaji," Bose said.


Whether Netaji died in the 1945 crash, as was reported, has been questioned by his family and followers and has been an abiding mystery for 70 years.


His relatives say the surveillance by the government between 1948 and 1968 - Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister for most of those years - proves that the revolutionary was alive along after he was presumed dead. Asked what he thought was the reason for the alleged snooping, Chandra Bose said: "One theory is that Nehru had fear psychosis about Subhas Bose, that he felt that if Netaji returned, he would be finished. But I feel there is no substance in Nehru's fear." Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who announced the decision to declassify the Netaji files recently, said it was unfortunate that so much remained a mystery about the iconic leader who fought for India's freedom.


"We made a beginning. The people should know the truth. Let the central government also declassify files (on Netaji)," Ms Banerji said.

India's number two player Somdev Devvarman (ranked 164 in world) beat Czech Republic's number one Jiri Vesley, who is ranked 40 in the world (124 places above him) in the second singles match 7-6 6-4 6-3 of the World Group play-off tie between India and Czech republic.


India and Czech Republic are level at 1-1 after the singles matches were played on Friday. Earlier in the day, Yuki Bhambri, India's top singles player, lost 2-6, 1-6, 5-7 to World Number 85 Lukas Rosol in the opening singles rubber. World number 85 Rosol stamped his class as he thrashed 125th ranked Yuki 6-2 6-1 7-5 in one hour and 55 minutes at R K Khanna Tennis stadium.

Social networking giant Facebook has released a new tool to help journalists find, organise and publish content found on its extensive network, a move seen as an attempt to counter Twitter's dominance in the media sector.


The tool called Signal, helps journalists find, source, and embed content from 1.5 billion Facebook users and Instagram's 300 million users for storytelling and reporting. The tool will be free for journalists.


"We've heard from journalists that they want an easy way to make Facebook a more vital part of their newsgathering with the ability to surface relevant trends, photos, videos, and posts on Facebook and Instagram for use in their storytelling and reporting," Andy Mitchell, director of media partnerships at Facebook wrote in a blog post.


He stated that media organisations had been asking for a strategy to higher use the social community for reporting functions. Journalist currently use Twitter to track breaking news and they also use it as a platform to share and re-distribute their work.


But Facebook has been trying to challenge Twitter by offering journalists and media outlets a range of tools and services for finding and distributing their content. This launch comes a week after Facebook made its 'Mentions' app available to journalists with verified profiles.


That app, which lets users track mentions of themselves and stream live video, was previously only for public figures like athletes and actors. If 'Mentions' is for outward-facing content and self-promotion, 'Signal' -- which is desktop-only for now -- is designed to make the backend of the news-gathering process easier.


'Signal' is simply the newest of Facebook's efforts to intertwine itself with the journalist and media publications which have discovered success attracting an enormous viewers by way of the social community. The group of tools will give journalists a behind-the-scenes look at what is trending on Facebook and find more on those topics

First reactions on an Indian fishermen shot by Pak Rangers: Former Home Secretary and BJP leader RK Singh says, "This is very wrong. This is the first time I remember that shots have been fired at (fishermen).  Goli chalane ki baat pehli baar hamari memory hai." 

Pakistan lodges protest with the Indian Deputy High Commissioner over "civilian causalities in the latest unprovoked ceasefire violations by India at LoC".  The Indian Deputy High Commissioner was summoned to Pak MoFA to "protest the death of three civilians, in Nikial sector due to unprovoked ceasefire violations by Indian Security Forces at the LoC". 

MI5 and anti-terrorism police are monitoring more than 3,000 homegrown Islamic extremists willing to carry out attacks in Britain, security sources have told The Times. Read

See the gravity of the charge. JD Group gave Rs 8.64 cr loan free of interest to Vasan Eye Care group -- in cheque. It also gave substantial amount of Rs 40 cr in cash '" that is, black money -- 'all on a single day', 'as a single transaction' to one Dr A M Arun, Vasan Eye Care's original promoter. The cash paid to Arun went to an influential politician in Tamil Nadu who was a Cabinet minister in the UPA regime for 10 years. What is JD Group? Which is Vasan Eye Care? And who is Dr A M Arun? These can wait. Now move to the heart of the story.

Read S Gurumurthy's column here.

If you're headed to Pune, this is what the Mumbai-Pune Expressway at the Kamshet tunnel looks like at both ends. Drive carefully. The picture was tweeted by @sagarpawar24 

An Indian fishermen was killed by Pakistan marines near Dwarka, off the Gujarat coast. The boat with Indian fishermen was fired upon in international waters today. Early reports say that the name of the fisherman killed is Iqbal and he is from Porbander. It is believed that Pak Marines had targetted two fishing boats. Two Indian coastguard ships -- Vijit and Meeraben -- are en route for investigations.


In June, about 113 Indian fishermen were released from the Landi Kotal prison near Peshawar in North-Western Pakistan. The fishermen had allegedly strayed into Pakistani waters.


In March, at least 45 Indian fishermen were arrested by Pakistani authorities for allegedly violating territorial waters in the Arabian Sea. Pakistan Maritime Security Agency arrested the fishermen yesterday near the Sir Creek area in the Arabian Sea close to Karachi's coastal area and seized their boats.

Just in: Former International level Kabaddi player Pratap Kablana dies of dengue in a Gurgaon hospital.


Two girls, aged three and nine, have become the latest victims of dengue in the city, taking the death toll to 16 today in what is being billed as the worst outbreak of the vector-borne disease in the national capital in the past five years.


According to municipal corporation officials, over 2,000 people have tested positive for the vector-borne disease. The death toll as per the official data still stands at 5. 

Desperate 2.3 million Indians apply for 368 low-level government jobs. Read

Just in: Paris-bound train evacuated after terror suspect locks himself in the toilet. 


Police in the Netherlands evacuated a Thalys high-speed train heading for Paris early Friday.


Rotterdam police said in tweets that the train and several platforms at Rotterdam Central station have been cleared and negotiators were in contact with the man. No further information on the man was immediately available.


Thalys said in a tweet that, "Security forces have situation under control. No risk for our passengers." The incident comes less than a month after passengers subdued a gunman on board a Thalys train in northern France as it was traveling from Amsterdam to Paris. State television pictures showed heavily armed police with protective shields and equipment scanning the train cars from the platform.


Last week, European rail operators met with interior and justice ministry officials to discuss whether to beef up train security in the European Union.

File pic of a Thalys train.

Pakistan's army now says the Taliban killed 16 people inside a mosque during a brazen morning attack on an air base in the country's northwest.


The information was sketchy but the military says the attackers managed to break into a mosque inside the compound of the base, where worshippers were praying, and gunned down 16.


Spokesman Maj. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa says the "terrorists" entered the Badaber base from two different points on Friday, but that the attack was later repulsed, following a ferocious firefight with the troops there. Earlier, Bajwa said 13 attackers were killed in the assault. He added that an army captain also died in the battle. -- Star Tribune

A day after he spent his 65th birthday at a war exhibition - and posed in a soldier's cut-out complete with fatigues and a gun - Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have to do battle with time as he meets 40 delegations in just 90 minutes in Varanasi this afternoon.


PM Narendra Modi began his visit in his Lok Sabha constituency by attending an event where he distributed E-rickshaws, reports NDTV.


Addressing the gathering, he said education is the best way to fight poverty. "I urge all of you (in this gathering)...whatever the circumstances...ensure that your children receive education. Education is the best and the least expensive way to fight poverty," he said.


Later in the day, he is expected to launch a clutch of road and power projects including a ring road that is expected to ease the congestion in the city, and also inaugurate a trauma centre at the Banaras Hindu University that he could not do in July.


Twice this year, the PM had to cancel trips because of heavy rain and those organising the functions that he will attend today in a packed seven-hour schedule, have been looking heavenwards all this week, hoping that there will not be another washout. The weatherman says that while the sky is overcast in many parts of eastern UP, there should be no more than a drizzle.


The PM had to cancel visits in June and July. The PM's supporters in Varanasi plan to gift him with a "Swachchh (clean) Kashi" for his birthday.


With the PM in his 66th year, the BJP supporters plan to distribute 660 dustbins to boatmen who ferry pilgrims and tourists across the river Ganga. They also plan to give away 6600 "hygiene kits" with toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo etc to daily wagers in the city.


The Swachchh Bharat or Clean India mission is very close to the PM's heart.   PM Modi's visit is expected to find political resonance a little over 100 km from Varanasi in Bihar, where assembly elections will be held from mid-October.


The Prime Minister is leading the BJP's campaign against the Nitish Kumar-Lalu Yadav-Congress alliance. There is more than usual security in Varanasi today on account of thousands of protesting teachers on contract reaching the city to try and meet the PM.

"I belong to a clan of Shaktos (devotees of the Mother Goddess or Shakti) and we worship Ma Durga and Ma Kali. It's my fortune that I live in Kolkata's Chetla locality that is across the nearly-dead Adi Ganga (the original flow of the Ganga) river from the powerful divine seat of Ma Kali called Kalighat. This Shaktipeeth is one of the holiest sites of our Shakto universe. Here, our people have always offered animals as sacrifice to our divine mother. We consider this meat as Ma Kali's prasad. For those who can't afford to sacrifice a whole goat, the meat of animals that have been offered to the goddess are sold from small outlets near the temple."


Read more

The Army on Friday foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Gurez sector in north Kashmir's Bandipora district, killing five  militants.


Defence Spokesman Lt Col N N Joshi said post midnight, the alert troops posted on guard duty along the LoC intercepted the militants while they were trying to sneak into the Valley from across the border.


"An encounter erupted and during the exchange of fire, five terrorists were killed," Joshi said.The spokesman said two AK-47 rifles have been recovered from the site of the encounter."The search operation is going on,' he said.The identity of the militants has not been ascertained so far, the spokesman said.

A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death in north Delhi on Wednesday, allegedly by his friends in an argument over a metro seat. Five teenagers have been taken into custody by the police.


The incident took place at around 1 pm on Wednesday, the police say. The boy who was killed, Ishu, and two of his friends had just left a metro train and were heading towards another metro station in the Kingsway Camp area.


Five boys allegedly confronted them and picked up a fight with Ishu. The boys, aged between 16 and 17 years, were allegedly angry with Ishu after a fight the previous day over a seat on the metro.


The two groups, belonging to different government schools, started shouting at each other and one of the teenagers allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed Ishu multiple times.


They ran away when Ishu collapsed, the police said. Ishu was taken to hospital by people in the area. He died at around midnight on Wednesday.


The police first filed an attempt to murder case and later turned it into a murder charge. The weapon has reportedly been seized. The accused boys were produced before a juvenile board and sent to a reform home, the police said. Ishu lived with his family in Burari in a north Delhi and went to a government school.

As it stands at present, the Indian economy is headed for a crisis and a crash by early 2016. The government needs a Crisis Management Team of politicians and economists who are rooted in Indian ethos and not compliant to finance institutions like the IMF and the World Bank.

Read senior BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy for The Hindu.

World renowned sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik on the ongoing dengue menace. 

PM Narendra Modi is visiting his Lok Sabha constituency -- Varanasi -- today. Highlights:


-- My government's first aim is to make poor self-sufficient.

-- For years we have only heard the slogan of 'garibi hatao'.

-- It is a tradition to talk about the welfare of the poor day and night. But there has been very little change in the lives of the poor. With technology poor can earn more.

-- Rickshaw wallahs are the guide to the city, they make an impression on tourists. E-rickshaws will change the future of Varanasi. I appeal to rickshaw wallahs here, you have the right to be upset with me, but don't compromise on your children's education because of poverty.


-- If we educate our children, no power on earth can stop us.

The favourability rating of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has jumped significantly after he led BJP to power last year, according to a latest Pew survey released today. Through his policies and governance, Modi has not only increased Indians' pride in the country, his favourability ratings have jumped to 87 per cent and is being supported even from traditional Congress base, Pew said as it released details of the survey it conducted among 2,452 respondents in India from April 6 to May 19, 2015.


"But distrust remains, perhaps in part because incidents of communal violence were up by nearly a quarter in the first five months of 2015, under BJP rule, compared with a comparable period in 2014 when a Congress-led government was in power," said the survey which was conducted before last month's violence in Gujarat in the wake of agitation over reservation issue.


Modi's lowest approval on domestic issues comes in his management of communal relations -- the day-to-day interaction between majority Hindus and minority Muslims, Jains, Sikhs and Christians among others, as well as the relationship between the various castes in the country.


However, the Modi phenomenon transcends Indias traditionally partisan politics, Pew said in a statement, adding that on most of the challenges facing the nation, the prime minister and his party enjoy support from both the BJP faithfuls and followers of the opposition Congress.


Moreover, Modi and the BJP now have greater backing than Congress in rural areas, traditionally a Congress stronghold, according to the survey.


Roughly six in ten or more self-identified Congress supporters approve of Modis handling of a range of issues: access to clean toilets (66 per cent), unemployment (62 per cent), helping the poor (61 per cent) and inflation (61 per cent).

And majorities of Congress backers approve of the prime ministers efforts against terrorism (56 per cent) and corruption (56 per cent), the survey said.

Communal relations is the only surveyed issue on which fewer than half of Congress followers (47 per cent) approve of Modis efforts, the Pew report said.

Modi has also succeeded in winning over rural Indians, both for his party and himself, Pew said.

The BJP is now slightly more popular in the Indian countryside than in its cities.

And the partys favourability now exceeds that of Congress in urban areas by 31 points (83 per cent for BJP, 52 per cent for Congress) and in rural India by 25 points (89 per cent for BJP, 64 per cent for Congress).

Modi is more popular than presumptive Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in both rural areas by 23 points (Modi 89 per cent, Rahul 66 per cent) and in cities by 31 points (Modi 84 per cent, Rahul 53 per cent), Pew said.

Right wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha, which is again in focus after a man allegedly having links with it was arrested in connection with the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare, has claimed that it was being wrongly targeted as it did not have any political backing.


"Time and again we are being targeted by the government because they find us as a soft target. We don't have political backing. Be it Congress or BJP, we have been speaking out against all governments when they are indulging in wrong things," Sanatan Sanstha's managing trustee Virendra Marathe said.


"Other Hindu organisations have some or the other backing. They have not been taking the hard stance on certain issues like we do," he said. Sameer Gaikwad, an active member of 'Sanatan Sansthan' since 1998, was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the murder of Pansare at Kolhapur in February this year.

As Delhi grapples with dengue, Yoga guru Ramdev claimed that ayurvedic products can increase the platelet count in patients suffering from the vector-borne fever faster than allopathic medicines.

He advocated the use of medicinal herbs such as giloy and aloe vera to counter the virus, which has affected over 2,000 people in the national capital.

He was speaking at a press conference on treatment of dengue through Ayurveda, where products from his firm 'Patanjali Ayurved' were presented.


"Having juice made of giloy leaves, aloe vera, papaya leaves and pomegranate not only increases platelet count but also increases overall immunity of the body. Having goat or cow milk slightly help as well, but in case of their non- availability, one need not worry," he said.

On suggestions that he was trying to market his products at a time when people are in a state of panic over cases of dengue, he said, "Did I for once take the name of any product? I was merely endorsing natural remedies."
On the lack of any third party endorsement for his products, Ramdev said it was not needed as he had "first hand evidence".

In a bad news for lovers of the Taj Mahal and other historical buildings across country, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has hiked the ticket prices for monuments by a whopping 200% in all categories after an interval of 12 years. For category 'A' monuments, which include World Heritage sites, ticket price has been raised from Rs 10 to Rs 30 for Indians and from Rs 250 to Rs 750 for foreigners.  Read more

So, did Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose die in a plane crash or did he survive and go into hiding?

Sixty four files on Netaji, declassified by the West Bengal government, may finally solve the enduring mystery.

Ending years of wait on classified information on Subhas Chandra Bose and his family members the West Bengal government today declassified 64 such files which were in the possession of the Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police. The files are being kept at the Calcutta Police Museum, which is housed in the Office of Deputy Commissioner of Kolkata Police, North Division on 113 APC Road.


Files in their original form will be kept in a glass cabinet in the Kolkata Police Museum.


The digitised files in the form of a compact disc were handed over to members of the family of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose which included grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose and former MP Krishna Bose.


On Friday, the museum was opened only for members of Netaji family and media. The files will be opened for public on first come first serve basis from Monday. The announcement to declassify the files was made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on September 11.

Pic: An image of one of the declassified files.

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Friday jumped over 400 points after the US Federal Reserve decided on Thursday to leave key rates unchanged on global concerns.


The 50-share Nifty index reclaimed its crucial psychological level of 8,000, last seen on August 31. The rally in Sensex was led by gains in HDFC, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank. In a major relief to India and other developing countries, US Federal Reserve on Thursday decided not to lift interest rates to near zero for the first time in nearly a decade.

RBI governor Raghuram Rajan expresses disappointment over the use of Aadhaar being curbed; says it can help regulators contain over-borrowing.  Limping global growth coupled with uncertainty about US growth probably compelled US Fed to stay on hold, he says, and adds that the key for sustainable growth is low inflation not just today but also in future. With payments banks and small finance banks in, going forward all banking licensing to be on-tap.

Social networking giant Facebook has released a new tool to help journalists find, organise and publish content found on its extensive network. The tool called Signal, helps journalists find, source, and embed content from Facebook and Instagram. The tool will be free for journalists.

"We've heard from journalists that they want an easy way to make Facebook a more vital part of their news-gathering with the ability to surface relevant trends, photos, videos, and posts on Facebook and Instagram for use in their storytelling and reporting," Andy Mitchell, director of media partnerships at Facebook wrote in a blog post. He stated that media organisations had been asking for a strategy to higher use the social community for reporting functions.

This launch comes a week after Facebook made its 'Mentions' app available to journalists with verified profiles. That app, which lets users track mentions of themselves and stream live video, was previously only for public figures like athletes and actors.

If 'Mentions' is for outward-facing content and self-promotion, 'Signal' '" which is desktop-only for now '" is designed to make the backend of the news-gathering process easier.

Just in: The West Bengal government has released 64 files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. 

The classified files are on display at the Kolkata police museum, which is open to the public. The files were first given to the family of the legendary freedom fighter.

CDs of digitised form of 64 files are being distributed to Netaji's family members and the public. 

As the files are thrown open to the public, many more secrets are expected to emerge on Netaji, whose death has been an enduring mystery for decades.
Netaji purportedly died in an air crash in at Taihoku in Taiwan on 18 August, 1945.

Secret files on freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will be made public by the West Bengal government today. The files which will be on display at the Kolkata police museum are expected to reveal many more secrets on the leader, whose death has been a mystery for years.

The files may contain enough circumstantial evidence that he was alive till at least 1964, sources told The Times of India.

An American intelligence report prepared in the early 1960s suggests that Netaji could have returned to India sometime in February 1964 -- 19 years after it was claimed that he died in an air crash in Taihoku, Taiwan.

Though Russia is not mentioned, Netaji researchers believe American intelligence units had learned about his imminent return from Russia via China. He would have been 67 years old at the time, the report says.

Read the full report here 

Update on the Peshawar attack: Eight terrorists who attacked the Pakistan air base have been killed. Ten soldiers including 2 officers have been injured in the clearance operation. 

Around 10 terrorists attacked the Badaber air base this morning. 

Separatist leader Asiya Andrabi was arrested today for raising the Pakistan flag in Srinagar and addressing JuD chief Hafiz Saeed's rally via phone conference in Pakistan recently.

Asiya, chief of the radical women's outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat, has been sent to women's police station Rambagh, Srinagar.

In her telephonic address to the rally, organised in Lahore on August 14 of this year, Andrabi greeted the people of the neighbouring country on their Independence Day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a day-long tour of his Lok Sabha constituency today during which he is likely to launch important schemes relating to power and road sectors, inaugurate a trauma centre inside Banaras Hindu University premises, and address a public meeting.

This will be the third visit of the PM to the ancient temple town after assuming office in May last year.

The much-awaited tour comes nearly nine months after his previous trip on December 25 last year. However, his proposed tours were cancelled twice recently because of heavy rainfall -- on June 28 and on July 16.

The army today claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid on the Line of Control in North Kashmir's Gurez sector and killed two infiltrators.

Officials said that last night army patrol guarding the LoC noticed movement of militants on the border. The militants were allowed to enter inside the Gurez and then cordon was established around them, The Indian Express reports.

When the militants opened fire, the troops retaliated resulting in two infiltrators being killed. The army said that operation is going on and Special Forces are taking part in the operation.

Just in: Markets open 200 points up after US Federal Reserve has decided not to lift interest rates to near zero for the first time in nearly a decade.

"To support continued progress toward maximum employment and price stability, the committee today reaffirmed its view that the current 0 to 1/4 percent target range for the federal funds rate remains appropriate," the Federal Reserve said in a statement after the meeting of its committee.
 

Earlier in the day Pakistan police arrested a suicide bomber and claimed to have foiled a terrorist attack being planned on the Kamra airbase in Punjab province.

Counter Terrorism Department SSP Junaid Shaikh told the media in Karachi that they had arrested a high-profile militant of the largely unknown Tehreek-e-Imarat Islamia Afghanistan.

"Umar Hayat alias Darvesh was planning to carry out a terrorist attack on the Kamra airbase in Punjab and we have recovered suicide jackets, jihadi material, CDs and maps from his possession," Shaikh said.

"We arrested Umar who is a suicide bomber from a safe house in MPR colony in the Orangi town after conducting a raid on an intelligence tip-off," he added. "We got a tip-off that a high profile militant from Afghanistan was hiding out in Orangi," he stated.

The SSP said the held suspect has allegedly trained two suicide bombers identified as Raz Mohammed and Taj Mohammed. "The purported suicide bombers had been sent to Punjab to carry out a terror act at the Kamra airbase but they couldn't do it due to extensive security arrangements and had to return to Karachi," Shaikh said.

The suspect, he added, was also planning to carry out terror attacks on Eidgahs in Karachi during Eidul Azha, in addition to planning attacks on military installations in the metropolis.

Update on the terror attack in Pakistan: Six terrorists have been killed so far. While the search continues for hidden terrorists. 

One  more soldier has been injured in the attack on the air base in Peshawar. 

We wake up to the news of a terror attack in Pakistan. Elsewhere in the business world here's what's happening.

In a major relief to India and other developing countries, the United States Federal Reserve has decided not to lift interest rates to near zero for the first time in nearly a decade.

"To support continued progress toward maximum employment and price stability, the committee today reaffirmed its view that the current 0 to 1/4 percent target range for the federal funds rate remains appropriate," the Federal Reserve said in a statement after the meeting of its committee.

In determining how long to maintain this target range, the Committee will assess progress -- both realized and expected -- toward its objectives of maximum employment and two percent inflation, it said. The Federal Reserve said it anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen some further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its two percent objective over the medium term.

Later at a crowded news conference the Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L Yellen said the committee continues to anticipate that the first increase in the federal funds rate will be appropriate when it has seen some further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its two percent objective over the medium term.

A heavy contingent of the Quick Reaction Force has reached the the Pakistan air force base in Badaber which is under attack. 

Exchange of fire with the militants is ongoing. The area has been sealed by security forces, reports Dawn news.

Major Haseeb of the QRF is injured in an exchange of fire. He received a bullet in thigh. The clearance ops are progress, tweets DG Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Asim Bajwa.

Image: Police at the scene of the attack. Photograph: DawnNews screengrab

Just in: Terrorists attack Pakistan air force base in Babader area in Peshawar.

Security forces have reached the base and cordoned off the area. A search operation has also been initiated, reports Geo TV.

DG ISPR Major General Asim Bajwa tweeted that seven to 10 terrorists tried to break deep into the base but were contained around the guard room. He said that the entire response mechanism had reacted quickly, effectively surrounded and contained terrorists in a small area. The DG ISPR added that three terrorists had been killed.