Xi Jinping has arrived in Seattle, starting his first state visit of the United States since becoming Chinese president in 2013. With economic issues high on his agenda, Xi is expected to meet leading businesspeople from both China and US to strengthen ties and reassure investors that China's economy is stable and open for business.

Two more persons succumbed to dengue in the national capital, taking the toll to 25, even as Lt Governor Najeeb Jung directed authorities to mount full a scale operation to contain spread of the disease which has affected close to 4,000 people. As the city remained under the grip of dengue, Lt Governor Najeeb Jung appealed to people to come together and help tide over the crisis and not to panic. 

European Union ministers approved a plan for individual countries in the bloc to accept a share of the hundreds of thousands of refugees seeking asylum on the continent -- but only after overruling four former Soviet bloc countries. In a meeting, the leaders voted on a plan to apportion 120,000 refugees --still only a small fraction of those flowing into Europe -- among members of the European Union.

Malayalam superstar Mammootty is in trouble over a fairness soap endorsement. An artist, who has been a consumer of the product, has taken the issue to consumer court. He has dragged the company that makes 'Indulekha White Soap' for disappointing results and the actor for endorsing the product without authenticity.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the US later this week, expect pomp, patriotic moments, and plenty of selfies. Modi's visit will be his 16th trip abroad as leader of the South Asian nation, enough to develop a foreign-visit formula, aimed at wowing his host country, engaging with the diaspora and attracting investment to India.

Just in: The government has suspended the passport of Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for four weeks.

Goa govt extends ban on entry of Sriram Sene's Pramod Muthalik in Goa by four months.

A secret letter, dated May 12, 1948, claims that "Subhas Bose married (a) Czech lady' and had a "daughter by name 'Nima' by this lady'. The letter also says that she had a manuscript of Subhash Bose's autobiography that prove that Bose "had not died in the plane crash'.


The files also contain numerous letters from his Emilie Schenkl, who had continued to write to Bose's family after Netaji's disappearances, while referring repeatedly about their daughter Anit, who Netaji saw only once, when she was four years old.


While Netajis' grandnephew and TMC MP Sugata Bose said that the claim was 'absolutely' absurd, others pointed out similarities between Emilie and Netaji's 'other wife', indicating the possibility of a "mixup' by the intelligence agencies.  Read more

Just in: 7/11 Mumbai train blasts: Defence Counsel argument in MCOCA court completed.

Pakistani TV reporter Chand Nawab who is the real-life inspiration for Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, was beaten up by the Karachi Railway Police while covering a story. 


Nawab who considers himself as a "poor journalist" wants Salman Khan to compensate him for using his character in the recent blockbuster, Bajrangi Bhaijan.


Nawab, who works for 92 News Channel as a reporter, was manhandled at Cantt Station with his team by the police. According to reports, Nawab was reportedly covering scalping of train tickets when the railway officials and police allegedly beat him up and his team members.


Now for the good news. Salman Khan called him in the aftermath of the attack, so all should be well for Mr Nawab. 

Just in: Terrorists lob grenades on police search team in Pulwama. Police have cordoned off houses in Kawni village, while a search operation is on for the terrorists.  

China today dismissed any apprehensions in India on its ambitious multi-billion dollar Silk Road projects stretching across continents to build infrastructure and improve connectivity with the avowed aim of expansion of trade and development.


It also sought to assure India that there are benefits for countries joining the projects envisaged under the One Belt and One Road (OBOR) unveiled by President Xi Jinping two years ago.


"There are some media which say China is in an expansion mode and damaging the world. The key objective of OBOR is to share benefits with all countries involved with China, the second largest economy in the world," Liu Yunshan, the fifth ranking member of the powerful Standing Committee of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) said.


He was answering a question on apprehensions in India about the OBOR projects that they may undermine India's strategic economic and security interests.

The Bombay High Court has directed the police not to act on sedition circular issued by the Maharashtra government.


A PIL had been filed in the Bombay HC challenging Maharashtra government's recent circular which said that sedition charges can be imposed on anybody who, by words, signs or visible representation, criticises politicians or elected representatives belonging to the government.


The petitioner Narendra Sharma had contended that the circular dated August 27 amounts to violation of the fundamental rights of a person and sought the High Court's direction to quash and set it aside.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif will stay at the same hotel here, as speculation grows on whether the two leaders will meet when they arrive in the city for the landmark 70th UN General Assembly session this week.


Modi, who arrives tomorrow evening, will stay at the iconic Waldorf Astoria Hotel, as will Sharif when he reaches New York on the evening of September 25, sources said.


While there has been no official announcement about any possible bilateral meeting, it is interesting to note that Modi and Sharif will be staying at the same hotel.

FLASH: Senior BJP Leader and Former Bihar Cabinet Minister Chandra Mohan Rai resigns from all party posts.

When the Pope sleeps over, as he will in Washington on Tuesday night, you do more than change the sheets. You commission new ones, embroidered with the papal crest. You bring in a custom-made memory foam mattress that has never been slept on and may never be again. And you scrub.

Read

@waglenikhil tweets: People ask me if I am worried. Why should I be worried? Govt n police should be worried about growing influence of these terror outfits.

The Supreme Court grants exemption from personal appearance to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in a case of alleged violation of poll code of conduct in UP.

Here are the people behind the scenes: those who will preside over the fortunes of the Nitish Kumar-led alliance; and those who are devising strategies for the National Democratic Alliance to ride to victory.


As Bihar submerges itself in elections, Archis Mohan and Satyavrat Mishra take a look at the silent strategists in the two rival alliances. Read

Over 1.5 lakh Indians along with tens of thousands of Muslims from across the world today began moving from the holy city of Mecca to nearby tent-city of Mina, marking the beginning of the annual Haj pilgrimage.


Chanting 'Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik' (I come to you, Oh my Lord, I come to you), pilgrims clad in white seamless cloth began moving to the tent-city Mina in groups. During Haj, men pilgrims wear a seamless two-piece white garment, symbolising a state of purity. Women also generally wear white, covering full body except their faces and hands.


While a significant number of pilgrims started the nearly five kilometre journey from Mecca to Mina last night, most of the pilgrims began soon after pre-dawn prayers today. Most pilgrims embarked on the journey on board buses arranged by their respective Haj missions and the Saudi government but some others preferred moving on foot.


Some pilgrims were seen in wheelchairs also. Emotional scenes were witnessed in Mina as on arrival many pilgrims could not control tears and many continued to thank Allah for making it possible for them to perform Haj.


The pilgrims will spend the night in Mina reciting the Holy Quran or praying before heading to Mount Arafat tomorrow. There are 160,000 fire-proof tents in Mina to accommodate pilgrims.


Fire safety measures are in place with an integrated network of water pipes running throughout the Mina valley. After offering prayers at Arafat, pilgrims will travel to nearby Muzdalifa to collect stones for the ritual in Mina Valley, an event which has been marred in the past by stampedes.


The next day the pilgrims will perform the symbolic stoning of the devil by throwing stones at the three pillars. After the stoning, the pilgrims will perform the ritual of animal sacrifice to commemorate Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his only son, Ismail, to God. The stoning ritual is meant to mirror Ibrahim's stoning of the devil when he appeared to try to dissuade the Prophet from obeying God's order to sacrifice Ismail.


The pilgrimage will end after Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice. The Saudi government has arranged foolproof safety and security measures, deploying nearly 100,000 men in uniform at the holy sites to make the journey of a lifetime for the two million pilgrims safe and secure. Saudi Government officials said a total of 13,74,206 foreign pilgrims have arrived for Haj this year.


The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam that should be performed at least once in lifetime by every Muslim who is financially and physically capable.

Maoist leader Sridhar Srinivasan alias Vishnu passed away on August 18, 2015, following a massive heart attack, and has been paid a glowing tribute by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India-Maoist. 

For all Harry Potter fans, it's Draco Malfoy's birthday today. Tweet your wishes to him on this handle @TomFelton. 

A student from IIT Madras was found hanging in his hostel room yesterday, reports NDTV.

The student, who was completing his master's degree, was said to be depressed after he failed to clear the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering to study abroad.

No suicide note has been found, say the police.

The student had reportedly been scouted by L&T but he was looking for a government job.

In a statement, IIT Madras said the student was an MTech scholar from Andhra Pradesh.

"At this time, we have no indication of the reason for death. The student's parents have been notified. The Institute offers its deepest condolences to the parents for the unfortunate and devastating loss," the institute's director said. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constituted a three-member high level team to brief him on developments in the Bihar poll campaign. The PM will on an official tour to Ireland and the US which begins on 23 September and ends on 29 September.


While he is on tour, BJP president Amit Shah, finance minister Arun Jaitley and urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu will coordinate and present daily reports to the PM on the way ahead for the Bihar polls.


The team will be collecting field reports from party sources and will compare it to intelligence inputs. Jaitley has been tasked with keeping track of funding of the poll campaign and will liaise with the election commission and state units.

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at a press conference held now said the proposal for a National Encryption Policy was released for public feedback without his knowledge, and acknowledging that it was poorly worded, and is being reworked.


The minister also clarified that any new rules will not impact individual users, and the government is committed to protecting and promoting the freedom of social media.


The original proposal said that apps and platforms would need to either register the sort of encryption service they use with the government, or sign up to use government-approved encryption services. 

Telecom minster Ravishankar Prasad says that the government has withdrawn the Draft National Encryption Policy. Prasad says the concerns have been noted and since its just a draft, it has been withdrawn.


The Draft National Encryption Policy wants users to store all encrypted communication for at least 90 days and make it available to security agencies, if required, in text form. It also wants everyone to hand over their encryption keys to the government.

The Prime Minister's Office seeks 20 personal assistants from various departments and union ministries to enable the smooth functioning of the monitoring system instituted by PM Narendra Modi. The department of personnel recently issued a circular to 85 departments seeking a panel of names who are already in senior positions. The commerce ministry is happy with this as their pending projects will get a boost. 

Pakistan on Tuesday postponed the hanging of a paralysed death row convict due to lack of clarity of rules on how to execute a physically disabled person.


Abdul Basit, 43, was scheduled to be executed in Faisalabad Central Jail in Punjab but the decision was not implemented. Ordering the postponement, a magistrate said that Basit could not be hanged in compliance with the jail manual because he is in a wheelchair.


According to the local laws, the convict should stand up on the platform for the noose but in case of Basit, he is bound to wheel-chair, an official said. The authorities are considering to seek opinion of the home department in Punjab and inspector general of jails in the province how to carry out the execution.

Sanatan Sanstha today said the claims made by journalist Nikhil Wagle that he has been receiving threats from the outfit is nothing but a "stunt" to attract sympathy.


The right wing Hindu outfit has come under the scanner after its member Samir Gaikwad was arrested in connection with the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare.


The Sansthan also claimed that its another member Rudra Patil, who is suspected by the investigators as the 'prime accused' in the Pansare murder case, is not in touch with them since 2009.


"We have not threatened him (Wagle). It can be a stunt to get sympathy," Sanstha's managing trustee Virendra Marathe told PTI today at its headquarters Ramnathi Ashram, located in North Goa district. He said Wagle has always been writing against them.


"If you check his twitter account, he has always been projecting us as a terrorists. We have ignored him. We have not threatened him," Marathe said.


The Sansthan has also claimed that they are not in touch with Rudra Patil. Patil, who is wanted by National Investigating Agency (NIA) for his alleged role in 2009 bomb blast in Margao, is absconding since then. "He (Patil) was being investigated by NIA after Margao bomb blast. He has been missing since then," he said.


Marathe said Patil was not in touch with anyone in the organisation since the blast took place. "Patil was our seeker and was living in Sangli. He also never visited our ashram at Ramnathi," he claimed. He said the Maharashtra government was against Patil as he had filed a writ petition before the High Court, challenging the Sachar Committee report.


"His lawyer has made a submission to the court that his client always feared that the government will arrest him under false case as he has challenged the (Sachar) committee report," Marathe said.

Delhi Police reaches AAP MLA Somnath Bharti's residence. 

The seven peak-hour serial explosions on July 11, 2006 in Mumbai came as a blow to the collective consciousness of Maximum City. For months after the explosions, daily commuters entered the compartments of suburban trains, rightly called the lifelines of Mumbai, with suspicion in their eyes, and fear in their hearts, every single day. Read

An account of Sri Lanka's civil war by Indian author Samanth Subramanium has been longlisted for the Samuel Johnson prize, one of United Kingdom's most prestigious award for non-fiction.


Subramanium's book "This Divided Island" is among the 12 books longlisted for the 20,000 pounds worth prize whose shortlist will be announced in October during the London Literature Festival and the winner in November, publishers Penguin Random House said in a statement today.


"The book tracks the rise of militant Buddhism, driven by monk politicians who hold extraordinary, extreme opinions," publishers said. Driven by curiosity about the scars and legacies of a long war, Subramanian moved to Sri Lanka in 2011 and over the next year, he travelled across the island, and through Sri Lankan communities living overseas, talking to hundreds of people about how their lives were twisted out of shape by the war.


The prize is open to authors of all non-fiction books in current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography autobiography and the arts.


Subramanium, a Delhi-based journalist won the 2010 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize for his first book of narrative non-fiction "Following Fish: Travels around the Indian Coast", which was also shortlisted for the 2013 Andre Simon Prize. This year's judging panel, chaired by the Pulitzer prize-winning historian Anne Applebaum also longlisted the books "Guantanamo Diary" by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, "Ted Hughes: The Unauthorised Life by Jonathan Bate", "Black Earth" by Tim Snyder, "Fighters in the Shadows by Robert Gildea", "The Unravelling: High Hopes and Missed Opportunities in Iraq" by Emma Sky. "Nothing is True and Everything is Possible: Adventures in Modern Russia" by Peter Pomerantsev, "The Four Dimensional Human" by Laurence Scott, "Landmarks" by Robert McFarlane, "The Planet Remade" by Oliver Morton, " Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism" by Steve Silberman and "The Four-Dimensional Human" by Laurence Scott complete the shortlist.

Describing the Strategic and Commercial Dialogue that would be taking place between the United States and India today as one the most important with any country on the planet, Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that both the United States and India must believe and also be seen as countries of innovation and opportunity.


Suggesting that both the United States and India have come from the same colonial background, and had a number of commonalities, Kerry, who was addressing a U.S.-India Strategic and Commercial Dialogue Summit reception here, said, "We think alike. We believe in human rights and opportunity for people. We have incredible diversity in our counties and tolerance. We have an ability to be able to build on this future.Each of our countries is ethnically and culturally diverse, and each is a labourer for peace, and each seeks a world in which the light of the human spirit overcomes darkness. And although, differences of ideology have separated us in the past . we are in the end, the most natural of partners."

An academic ambience that privileges sciences over the humanities, English as the medium of instruction over other local languages and one identity marker over the other will create humans rich with knowledge but short on empathy. A more integrated pedagogy needs to be devised to make humanities more inclusive. Read

"Normally I don't reply to every open letter by 'senior' journalists but this time I thought if I didn't, the Goebbels law -- speak what is untrue several times over and it becomes the truth -- may prevail. Your letter is an excellent example of how a section of the media, without having sound knowledge, bashes a government with an agenda."

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis replies to Rajdeep Sardesai. Read

Read Rajdeep's letter here.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has extended its support to the Sanatan Sanstha, the radical Hindu organisation in news these days following the arrest of its member Sameer Gaikwad in connection with the murder of a top rationalist of Maharashtra.


In the latest editorial of Saamana, the Sena described late rationalist Govind Pansare as a "dharma virodhi' (anti-religious) even as it glorified the work of Sanatan Sanstha.


The unabashed support has shocked many, including the family of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, who have termed the Sena support to the right- wing organisation "dangerous for democracy'. The Congress and the NCP have also condemned the Sena.

This is more like it --  Gurgaon Police Commissioner Navdeep Virk goes to work on a car-free day.  The picture was tweeted by @VishnuNDTV 

Will AAP MLA spend the weekend in jail? Somnath Bharti's anticpatory bail has been rejected in a domestic violence and attempt to murder case filed against him by his wife.


Somnath Bharti's wife, Lipika, had filed a complaint of domestic violence with the Delhi Commission for Women on June 10 alleging that her husband had been abusing her since their marriage in 2010. She had also given a complaint to police in this regard.

The Delhi Police had last week registered an FIR against Bharti under sections 307 (attempt to murder),  98A (cruelty towards partner in marriage), 324(voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC.

It's a Car Free Tuesday in Guragaon today. In order to make the campaign a success, four major IT corridors that have the heaviest traffic flow in the city have been identified -- DLF Cyber City, Cyber Park area, Golf Course Road and Electronic City. And while many were seen cycling to work including top cop Navdeep Singh Virk, there was no relief from traffic snarls.

#CarFreeDay Gurgaon? Really? I am stuck in a traffic jam. And guess where? IN BLOODY GURGAON!, tweets @XAmitSharmaX

@Priyankit16: #CarFreeDay is a farce. I see thousands of idiots still driving their cars in #Gurgaon. We should stop cribbing about roads then....

@Nevil_GT: #CarFreeDay in Gurgaon ... Really ??? Bhai koi MSG ko bulao ab toh wahi kuch kar sakte hai.

Photograph: @Nevil_GT/Twitter

Car free Tuesdays will start in Gurgaon from today to coincide with the World 'Car Free Day' to promote use of public transport among commuters.

Software companies, real estate houses, Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon and even private schools have come out in support of the concept directing their employees to shun cars and offering buses and other logistics for the D-day.

'Car Free Day' is being organised by the the city's traffic police and Gurgaon Municipal Corporation with support from NASSCOM, Embarq India, Raahgiri Foundation and Rapid Metro.

Joint Commissioner of Police Bharti Arora had said that with one lakh new cars being registered every year in Gurgaon, this was the best time for the city to take up the 'Car Free' challenge.

Gurgaon Police have sourced 20 cranes from MCG and DLF, which will be employed equally in all four corridors to tow away cars parked on roadsides and taken to Leisure Valley Park. The only parking available would be those at Cyber Park and other institutional and commercial parking spaces.

Just in: At Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays homage to 1965 war heroes. He is accompanied by three service chiefs -- Indian Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha and Navy chief Admiral Robin Dhowan. 

Bahujan Samaj party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati  will address the media on her reported involvement in the National Rural Health Mission scam today.

Mayawati revealed her plans after the Central Bureau of Investigation reportedly said that they would be investigating her alleged role in the multi-crore NRHM scam.

The CBI has so far filed 74 first information reports and 48 chargesheets in connection with the scam, in which a former minister and a former principal secretary of the state government have been named.

The CBI reportedly believes that by examining Mayawati, they might "unearth a larger conspiracy".

Media reports so far are saying that the CBI is seeking clarification on the funding of NRHM projects.

Dismissing Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Mohan Bhagwat's suggestion that the country's reservation policy should be reviewed, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has said it does not favour "any reconsideration of the existing constitutional provision of reservation".

"The BJP very firmly supports the constitutional reservation for the SC, ST, OBC, Backwards and Extremely Backwards classes," the party said adding it "believes that reservation is important for the social, education and economic development of these groups." But added, "The BJP is further of the view that if further measures are suggested for those who are economically and socially backwards, then the same is welcome."

Amid the continuing Patel quota stir in Gujarat, Bhagwat pitched for a review of the reservation policy, contending it has been used for political ends and suggesting setting up of an apolitical committee to examine who needs the facility and for how long. Interest groups are formed because we have certain aspirations in democracy. At the same time, we should remember that through interest groups we should not strive to address those aspirations at the cost of others, he said. 

We should have integral approach of welfare for all. It is sensible to realise that my interest lies in larger national interest. The government also has to be sensitive to these issues that there should not be any agitations for them, Bhagwat told Sangh mouthpiece Organiser and Panchjanya in an interview on Sunday.