A National Democratic Front of Bodoland-Songobjit militant suspected to be closely associated with those involved in the attack in Kokrajhar that claimed 14 lives was apprehended today from Assams Nalbari district, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of the army and police nabbed the militant from a bus at Ganesh Mandir Chowk on NH 31 in the district and a 7.65 pistol, four rounds of ammunition and some documents were seized from him.

The police claimed that the militant, identified as Bodoland Boro, was associated with those involved the Balajan Tiniali market attack on August 5.

The militant hails from Dhurmopur village in Kokrajhar district and was on his way to Guwahati from Kokrajhar, police said.

The Centre has asked Assam government to hunt down those involved in the attack and bring them to justice, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh told Lok Sabha today in a suo motu statement.

Following reports that a school in Allahabad had refused to allow recital of the national anthem by students and staff members on Independence Day, the Centre today said it has taken a serious view of the incident and emphasised that the anthem is 'above all'.

Speaking to reporters, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Mahendra Nath Pandey said the HRD ministry had taken serious note of the issue. He said it would be examined if the school comes under the ambit of the HRD ministry and if so action will be taken against it.

The national anthem is above all, the minister emphasised. Earlier there have been reports that the school disallowed the national anthem claiming that its words violated the tenets of Islam, following which eight teachers, including the principal, quit in protest.

All you need to know about GST.

"I think it's a good step for the country," Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said after the Lok Sabha passed Rajya Sabha amendments to the Goods and Services Tax Bill.

We earlier had three major differences on GST, weve worked that out. Still have one issue on 18 per cent cap, which will be discussed in December, the Congress vice president said.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said that GST is comparable in importance and scope to the 1947 political integration of 562 states by Sardar Patel.

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the amendments in Goods and Services Tax Bill made by the Rajya Sabha with 443 votes in favour and zero against.

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam walked out of Lok Sabha during the discussion on the bill and hence its members were not available for voting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated and thanked the Opposition for supporting the Bill.

Speaking on the bill in Lok Sabha, the prime minister said, GST will give security to small scale manufacturers. They are the strength of our nation. The more we secure them, the more this country will benefit.

Terming GST as Great Step by Team India and Great Step towards Transparency, the PM said that the passage of the bill was a victory for India.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took questions from the Opposition and issued clarifications on the bill.

Two Border Security Force personnel were injured when three powerful bombs exploded at Kangpokpi in Manipur's Senapati district today.

Police said the three improvised explosive devices exploded at a place 3 km away from Kangpokpi town when the BSF personnel were trying to board a vehicle. After the explosion, Manipur police and BSF officials rushed to the spot and conducted search operation but no one was arrested, police said.

The injured were given first aid by Assam Rifles doctors at Kangpokpi and referred to a hospital in Imphal. No organisation or individual has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack so far.

In another incident, an IED weighing 3 kg was recovered by a combined team of Manipur Police and 25 Assam Rifles early today while frisking passengers and checking bus near Tendongyan village in Manipur's Imphal West district, said Th. Vikramjit, Additional Superintendent of Police.

The IED, which was recovered after a tip-off, Intelligence said was to be used to attack security forces, he added.

Image used for representation only.

JUST IN: Pakistani Taliban-linked Jamaat-ur-Ahrar claims responsibility for hospital attack in Quetta.

The toll, meanwhile, climbed to 70.

Bidding rounds for the country's biggest-ever spectrum auction will begin from September 29, in which mobile airwaves worth Rs 5.63 lakh crore at the base price value will be put up for sale. "Large chunk of spectrum is being put for auction which address issue of fragmentation, improve quality of service and rules have been made bidder friendly," Telecom Secretary J S Deepak said.

Speaking after holding a meeting with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said, "I am hopeful that PM Modi will take this an opportunity to initiate dialogue with people in J&K to address their problems. 

In aftermath of a coup attempt in Turkey, the country's Consul General Erdal Sabri Ergen has alleged that there are various institutions in Mumbai and other parts in India that are connected to Fethullah Gullen network.In a letter addressed to the ministry of home affairs, Ergen also asked India to shut down such institutions.

TKV Desikachar, son of Indian yoga master T Krishnamacharya , passed away in Chennai on Monday. He was 78. 

Congress chief ministerial candidate for Uttar Pradesh assembly polls Sheila Dikshit launched an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that mere "lip service" on gau raksha will not work and in order to improve the situation, he should initiate strict action. 

Pakistan has directed a top official to follow up with India the matter of sending 24 witnesses of the Mumbai attack case to Pakistan to record their statements so that the trial in the case could be completed at the earliest.

"The Foreign Ministry has written to its director general South Asia to take up the matter of sending 24 Indian witnesses to Pakistan for recording of their statements in the trial court in the Mumbai attack case here with the Indian Government," Prosecution chief (in Mumbai case) Chaudhry Azhar told PTI.

He said earlier the Foreign Ministry had directly written to the Indian Government about sending the 24 witnesses to Pakistan and now it has asked the DG South Asia to follow-up the matter.

BJP's aim to capture power in Uttar Pradesh today received a shot in the arm with Swami Prasad Maurya, an OBC leader in Uttar Pradesh who had recently quit BSP, joining it today.

The four-time MLA joined the saffron party in presence of BJP President Amit Shah here and claimed that if he received ample support from the party's leadership, then it would come to power in the state with a strong majority.

The assembly polls are due early next year. Maurya, who was the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly before he left BSP in June, said he was impressed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's work to empower the weaker sections and lashed out at BSP chief Mayawati for turning her party into an "industrial house" and allegedly selling tickets.

Expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa's maid files a sexual harassment case against Sasikala Pushpa and her family members. Pushpa was expelled from the AIADMK after an altercation with DMK MP Tiruch  Siva at Delhi airport.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa expelled Sasikala Pushpa from the party for her "anti-party activities." In a brief statement, Jayalalithaa said Pushpa was being expelled from all party posts, including primary membership, as she had acted in violation of the party principles and ethics.

"Her behaviour has brought great disrepute to the party,' she said. Jayalalithaa also asked the party supporters not to have any truck with the Thoothukudi-based Rajya Sabha member. The Rajya Sabha member had courted controversy after she claimed she slapped DMK MP 'Tiruchi' Siva as he allegedly made offensive remarks against Jayalalithaa. Following this, the DMK and AIADMK summoned their respective MPs. Both haven't given any public statement.


Last week, Pushpa made a statement in the Rajya Sabha on the issue. She said she "is being compelled to resign her MP post" and repeatedly said her life is under threat.

She has now been given police protection.

Delta Airlines has said that all its flights have been grounded due to a system outage. And we thought Air India was bad.

J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti to meet PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi over the J&K situation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to spring a surprise by wearing a Telangana-style headgear during his Independence Day address from the ramparts of Red Fort.

In 2014, Modi wore a saffron pagdi with white dots from Jodhpur followed by headgear from Madhya Pradesh in 2015.

But this year, Modi wants to shift the focus to southern states, especially the newly-created state of Telangana. The reason is that in Kerala and Tamil Nadu no formal headgear are worn, while in Andhra Pradesh,  Telangana and Karnataka, tribes do wear headgear, and the PM is expected to adopt one. 

Opposition parties on Monday said they were unimpressed with PM Narendra Modi's speeches over the weekend when he dramatically urged that instead of committing atrocities against Dalits people should just shoot him, reports the Times of India.


The BSP, SP and the Congress said his anguish about atrocities against Dalits is not real."PM Modi and the BJP kept quiet for two years. How have their eyes opened now? Uttar Pradesh and other states have elections soon, and they knew that Dalit people are not going to vote for them, that's why the statement has come," Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said.


The BSP head was referring to the PM's long silence after the atrocities against the Dalit community in Una, the suicide of a Dalit scholar in Hyderabad University, and other similar cases. 

Five gunmen wearing Afghan military uniforms have abducted an American and an Australian in the Afghan capital, Kabul, a security official said today. The two foreigners were taken from their SUV while driving last night on a main road near the American University of Afghanistan, according to Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry. They are believed to be employees of the university and were traveling between the university and their residence, he said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the abduction.


Sediqqi also added that initial reports show that up to five armed men stopped the foreigners' vehicle and carried out the kidnapping. The two abducted are both men, he said. He did not reveal any more details except to say that an investigation is underway. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement confirming "the apparent kidnapping of an Australian in Kabul"

Elegant and erudite, Luku Sanyal, the first English news reader in Mumbai who graced television screens in the 70s and 80s with her poise and crisp voice, passed away early on Sunday. She was 75.

Olympic schedule today

The prime minister's 'town hall' meeting was intended to showcase the way in which Narendra Modi had brought governance to the people through initiatives like MyGov and apps that allowed citizens to communicate digitally with the Prime Minister's Office. It was Modi's prime time commercial for himself. Above the prime minister, as part of the stage setting was an electronic screen that juxtaposed Modi's photograph with the MyGov logo; the aura of sole proprietorship that is the prime minister's signature political style was neatly (if unintentionally) captured by that graphic. Read more

President Pranab Mukherjee has modernised Rashtrapati Bhavan. His August 15 'At Home' will be his last as his tenure ends in July 2017.

For the last 69 years, the 'At Home' by President on Independence Day is always held at the Mughal Gardens. An At Home is an informal soiree where the president invites the who's who of New Delhi -- Delhi ministers, military chiefs, Supreme Court justices etc., with the press looking on.

But from this year, Pranab Mukherjee has moved the venue from Mughal gardens to the Convention Hall -- a newly constructed multipurpose hall inside the Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

During his five years in office, the president has brought about massive changes inside Rashtrapati Bhavan.

This multipurpose convention hall can accommodate 3000 people. It's airconditioned and has huge paintings gracing the walls, apart from an art gallery.

Whatever the season, the President has decided to host public functions in this ceremonial hall. The hall was in fact inaugurated during US President Barack Obama's  visit during Republic Day last year, but the president has
added bits and pieces to the hall over the years. 

Venu Rajamony, Press Secretary to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee, has been promoted to the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India in the Union Ministry of External Affairs.

Rajamony, a career diplomat, is from the 1986 batch of the Indian Foreign Service and is due for a posting as an ambassador by the year end.

The Prime Minister's Office is waiting for the US Presidential elections to conclude, after which it will take a decision on whether to continue the present Ambassador to US Arun Kumar Singh, or appoint a new person.

Once this decision is taken, postings in other world capitals will also be made clear, which include China, Great Britain, France -- all of which fall vacant. Rajamony, we hear, could find a slot in any of these positions.

Just In: Congress walks out of Lok Sabha in protest against atrocities faced by Dalits across the country.

Just in: Low intensity IED blast near Kangpokpi town along Imphal - Dimapur road, NH-01; 2 BSF personnel injured, provided medical aid.

It was a bit touch and go for Hiroshima officials, but the atomic bomb memorial park in the western Japanese city is now Pokemon No. The city had asked the developer of the popular "Pokemon Go" smartphone game to remove the creatures and sites that appeared in the park by last weekend, when a solemn annual ceremony was held to mark the anniversary of the atomic bombing that killed 140,000 people in the final days of World War II.


The "Pokestops" and gyms, and the clumps of players that they attract, were gone by last Thursday, but the monsters that gamerss try to catch were still popping up. The city sent an email inquiry to game developer Niantic, and got a repsonse at 1:56 am Saturday, just six hours before the start of the ceremony. "We were so relieved," city official Tatsuya Sumida said.


"We were worried if those "Pokemon" were really going to go away in time." He said city officials expect the monsters will stay away from the park permanently.

The Emperor of Japan has expressed concern over his ability to carry out his duties fully as he ages, reports the Independent.


In his second-ever televised address to the public, Emperor Akihito suggested a need to consider how to make the succession process smoother.

The 82-year-old did not explicitly refer to abdication in his pre-recorded address, which lasted around 10 minutes.

However he did suggest the possibility that a regency could be established if an emperor could not fulfil his duties because of age or illness.

Even in that case, the emeperor would continue to be emperor until the end of his life, he added.

His remarks follow recent media reports suggesting he may want to abdicate in the coming years.

The monarch has reportedly told palace officials and his family he doesn't want to cling to his title with severely reduced responsibilities, and his two sons have accepted the idea.Emperor Akihito came to the throne on 7 January, 1989.

PM Modi discusses Kashmir strategy with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Home Minister Rajnath Singh as opposition in Parliament demands an all-party meeting.

The Opposition has criticized the Centre and the state government for its silence on the stir in which at least 57 people have lost their lives and more than 3,000 were wounded.

In parliament, the month-long curfew in Kashmir is being discussed. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi tells the Rajya Sabha. "We are committed to restoring peace in Kashmir. We are ready for a discussion on Kashmir."

Earlier, CPM's Sitaram Yechury in the RS said that an all-party delegation needs to be sent to J&K and that the PM needs to respond on the atrocities civilians are facing.

"Why are we still using pellet guns in Kashmir? It is inhuman. We were told it will be stopped, but it hasn't," he said. 

In a rare televised speech, Japan's Emperor Akihito has addressed his people directly about his declining health. 

Ajmal Jami @ajmaljami  Unfortunately death toll raises up to 25 now including a cameraman from Aaj TV. Another sad day in Pakistan.

Pakistani police raise death toll from the hospital bombing in southwestern city of Quetta to 30; dozens are wounded, reports AP.

The person gunned down in Shadnagar (Telangana) identified as Naeem, a 'Most Wanted' gangster in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

At least 15 people were killed when a blast hit a hospital in Pakistan's Quetta city.The blast that hit the the Civil Hospital followed the killing of President of the Balochistan Bar Association Bilal Anwar Kasi, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Quetta earlier in the day, reported Dawn online.

The explosion took place soon after lawyers arrived at the hospital when the Kasi's body was brought in, police said. Several lawyers were reported injured in the explosion and aerial firing could still be heard at the premises.

TV reports showed people trying to exit the hospital. Journalists present at the premises also came in the line of fire, added Dawn online.

Representational picture

Two people, including a gangster have been killed in an encounter in Shadnagar, Telangana ahead of August 15. Reports say this is not a terror encounter. Police operation on to flush out terrorists at Shadnagar. The encounter has been on since early this morning. Heavy security force has been deployed. A house has been surrounded by the security forces in the Millennium Township area. Shadnagar is 50 km away from Hyderabad.

Just in: 15 killed 20 injured in a bomb explosion in civil hospital in Quetta, capital of Balochistan province of Pakistan

The man who puts gobar on his cellphone to ward off radiation. Yeah, he's an RSS ideologue. Read

In Archery, Laxmi Rani (pictured) will be seen in action against Slovakia's Alexandra Longov in Round of 64.

Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Kynan Chenai will feature in 2nd day of qualification of Men's trap event

Indian Men's and Women's Hockey team will play their second encounter today.

India's shooters Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang will feature in 10m Air Rifle event today. 

French gymnast Samir Ait Said underwent surgery on the gruesome double break of his leg suffered at the Rio Olympics but vowed to try to come back for Tokyo 2020.

The 26-year-old snapped the lower part of his left leg landing badly from the vault in the men's qualifying on Saturday. Ait Said fell to the mat in agony clutching the back of his knee and his leg, which was left at an angle that shocked many in the crowd.

"I want to thank you all for your messages of support, it really heartened me, it felt good, it really boosted my morale," the gymnast said in a video posted after undergoing emergency surgery in Rio. Ait Said explained that the double open fracture of the tibia and fibula "required immediate surgery, which went very well. I can be back on my feet in not very long, well 'on my feet', everything is relative."

"I'm going to return to the venue to encourage my friends because the competition is not over," he continued, referring to teammates Axel Augis and Cyril Tommasone who qualified for all-around and pommel horse finals respectively.


"I've gotten into the spirit of things with my blue-white-red plaster, allez la France!" said At Said, showing his plastered foot in the French national colours. Gymnastics federation medical commission chief Dr. Michel Leglise said they expected the French gymnast to recover well.

After the American men's 4x100-meter relay team won gold, Michael Phelps reached down to help anchorman Nathan Adrian out of the pool. While he did it, millions of Americans watching at home saw several purple dots on his back and shoulder.

Some kind of new tattoo? Did he take a nap on a bed of tennis balls?

No, the circles are the result of cupping, a therapy technique that athletes use to help their muscles recover and perform at their best. It involves a therapist heating small glass cups, then placing them on the skin and pulling them from the body to loosen and relax the muscles. Read more

"Once every four years, the world unites to humiliate Indians. Cities even bid with great aggression years in advance to host the torture and billions are eventually spent to achieve the end. No other nation is as shamed by the Olympics as India is. Among nations that have won at least one medal, Indians are indisputably shown as the least talented, strong, competent, hardworking, productive, useful' you get the drift."

Manu Joseph on why we shouldn't feel bad about India's perennially dismal Olympics performance. Read the column here.

In Bhilwara, Rajasthan, a school bus falls into a river, around 50 children were on board and were rescued by villagers.

While we know that Argentine Juan Martn del Potro downed the world's #1 player, Novak Djokovic, in straight sets -- a result that earned del Potro a warm embrace and some words that brought him to tears, what we may not, is that just ahead of the game, del Potro was stuck in an elevator for 40 minutes. The incident happened at Rio's Olympic Village before his opening match at the Olympics.

The picture alongside of del Potro looking resigned in the elevator was tweeted by BBC.

Lesson to be learnt is not to take the annoyance to court. Years of injuries have dropped his once-top-five ranking down to #141, but the Argentine still went ahead and beat Djokovic.

A Dalit truck driver hailing from Gujarat became a victim of the cow vigilantism sweeping through parts of the country when he jumped into a river in Madhya Pradesh to escape Bajrang Dal activists and drowned. Mani Lal Parmar had accidentally hit three stray cows while driving along the river Barna's banks in Raisen district, some 65km from Bhopal.


As local Bajrang Dal activists came looking for him, Mani Lal jumped into the river along with the truck's cleaner, Mohsin, who has lived to tell the tale. The incident took place on Thursday night - 48 hours before the Prime Minister started speaking out against cow vigilantism that has been claiming lives for nearly a year now. Mani Lal's body was found this afternoon at Pipliya Ghat on the Barna.

Read more


Representational image.

Michael Phelps has just won his 19th gold medal. The US Olympian with 18 golds in his kitty won a gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay, a title the Americans were looking to reclaim after getting chased down by the French in 2012. Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history, wants to do his part for the men's relay team. And he just did.