This is where the attack is taking place.

From Jason Burke: @burke_jason: 20 expats in restaurant with 2 to 5 gunmen. Senior police say want 'peaceful resolution'. Thus, sadly, is unlikely I'd say.

The attack is believed to taken place at O'kitchen restaurant, which is connected to the Holey Artisan bakery.According to a witness, gunfire could be heard in the Gulshan area of Dhaka, which is popular with foreigners.

The US embassy in Dhaka has tweeted advisory about hostage situation in Dhaka, to take shelter and monitor news.

The gunmen were shouting slogans as they entered the eatery, several reports say.

From @blueboysRgo/Twitter: A bomb disposal squad is entering the Holey Bakery site in the Gulshan-2 area of Dhaka. The site is also close to other expat sites such as the Nordic Club.

"Our high commission in Dhaka is closely monitoring incidents targetting religious, socio-economic & pol freedom of minorities in Bangladesh," the MEA has said.

From the BBC: A gun battle is taking place between police and unidentified attackers in the diplomatic area of the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, officials say.

Three Central Reserve Police Force jawans were injured late on Friday evening when militants attacked their camp with grenades and rifle fire at Litter in South Kashmirs Pulwama district.

The injured jawans have been evacuated to a hospital and the area around the camp has been cordoned off.

More details awaited. From Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar.

Five dead, four injured in a landslide which took place in Arunachal Pradeshs West Kameng district, earlier today. Rescue operations are underway.

Search is underway for five Intelligence Bureau officials who went missing after the landslide hit West Kameng district.

Lt Col Sombit Ghosh, PRO Defence, said that one Army team has been rushed to West Kameng to assist in the rescue operations.

The Gujarat high court today stayed the Central Information Commissions order asking the Gujarat University to provide information on the degree earned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

A division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi accepted the varsitys demand for stay.

It also issued notices to Central Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu, the Union government and Kejriwal seeking their responses and posted further hearing to September 6.

The university had approached a single judge bench of the high court last week seeking to quash the CIC order. However, justice S H Vora only issued notices to the three respondents but did not stay the CIC order.

The University then moved the division bench.

Senior counsel Tushar Mehta, representing the GU, today argued before the division bench that the varsity was not a party to proceedings before the Information Commission and no hearing was given to it before passing the order, in violation of principles of natural justice.

On April 29, CIC directed Delhi University and Gujarat University to provide information on degrees earned by Modi to the Aam Aadmi Party leader.

The Union Home Ministry today gave a detailed presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the country's internal security scenario and the steps taken to strengthen it through multi-pronged strategy.

Led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the top brass of the Home Ministry briefed the prime minister on issues ranging from terrorism, infiltration from across the border, activities of left wing extremism, situation in Jammu and Kashmir and Northeast during the three-hour-long meeting.

Sources said the prime minister reviewed the steps taken to strengthen the internal security situation in the country and how to improve them further. The multi-pronged strategy include anti-militancy operations in different theatres, peace talks with some insurgent groups and development initiatives in Naxal-hit states, the prime minister was told, the sources said.

The prime minister was also briefed about the illegal immigration from Bangladesh, fencing work along the Indo-Bangladesh border, modernisation of police forces and filling up of vacancies among other things.

As a mark of protest against Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar, a group of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Bajrang Dal members in Bihars Begusarai district purified the statue of Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh Dinkar with gangajal on Friday, after Kanhaiya garlanded and paid floral tributes to it.

ABVP and Bajrang Dal members also organised a hawan puja and sprinkled gangjal over the ground where Kanhaiya addressed a public meeting organised by the Communist Party of India on Thursday.

Kanhaiya, who has been charged with sedition, has made this ground impure by his presence. We have held a hawan puja and sprinkled gangajal to make it pure again, an ABVP member said.

Kanhaiya arrived in Patna on Wednesday and participated in Pratirodh march to support the ongoing agitation at college of arts and crafts.

He is currently visiting his native village -- Bihat in Begusarai, where his parents stay. From M I Khan in Patna.

The suicide attackers who launched the deadly Istanbul airport assault were planning to take dozens of passengers hostage, Turkish media reported today, as CCTV of the bombers' faces emerged.

Turkish officials have pointed blame at the Islamic State jihadist group for Tuesday night's gun and bomb spree at Ataturk airport, which left 44 people dead including 19 foreigners.

"They say they are doing this in the name of Islam," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on a visit to Istanbul. "That has nothing to do with Islam. Their place is in hell."

State-run news agency Anadolu said 24 people had been detained in Istanbul in a string of raids over the attack over the past two days, including 15 foreigners.

Nine other suspected jihadists were rounded up in the western port city of Izmir, but officials declined to confirm a link with the bloodshed in Istanbul. AFP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reportedly chaired an internal security meet where Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and NSA chief Ajit Doval were also present. All aspects of internal security, including infiltration, were discussed at the meeting.

Turkish police detained 11 foreigners on Friday suspected of belonging to an Islamic State cell linked to the attack on Istanbul's main airport, state media reported, and attention turned to a suspected Chechen mastermind.

India and Pakistan today exchanged the list of each other's nationals lodged in their jails with the latest figures showing that a total of 518 Indian prisoners, including 463 fishermen, are languishing in Pakistani prisons. 

The Centre has renewed for six months its "disturbed area" notification on the entire state of Nagaland, allowing the armed forces power to search, raid and arrest without a warrant under the AFSPA.In its notification, the Union Home Ministry said that it is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of Nagaland "is in such a disturbed and dangerous condition" that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary.

"Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, the central government hereby declares that whole of the said state to be a 'disturbed area' for a period of six months with effect from June 30, 2016 for the purpose of that Act," the notification said yesterday.

The announcement came three days after the demise of Isak Chishi Swu, Chairman of Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), at a hospital here following multi-organ failure.Though the notification did not specify the reasons for declaring the entire Nagaland as "disturbed area", officials said it is continuation of an order issued years ago and is based on the assessment of the prevailing situation in the northeastern state, which has continued to be "critical".

Even through NSCN-IM has been engaged in a peace dialogue with the central government, the group's another faction led by S S Khaplang continues to attack security forces both in Nagaland and Manipur, the officials said.

Many groups in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir have demanded scrapping of AFSPA terming it as "draconian". However, the armed forces are opposed to any move to dilute the Act on the ground that it protects the security forces from "unnecessary harassment".

India on Friday rubbished Pakistan's claims that a 'fresh' letter has been sent to New Delhi asking for 'additional evidences' to draw an early conclusion of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Asserting that India remains committed to provide complete cooperation to Pakistan in terms of expediting the trial in the 26/11 attacks, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup stated that no recent communication has been received from Islamabad in this regard.

"Pakistan has claimed that their Foreign Secretary has written to their Indian counterpart. No fresh letter has been received in this regard. What he is referring to, is a letter that was written in September last year and our Foreign Secretary replied to that letter," he said.

Talking about the list of '24 witnesses' demanded by Pakistan to speed up the trial, Swarup added that India has not received any fresh communication in that regard as well.

However, he added that one can expect further communication between both nations in the coming days because of India's commitment to bring the trail to a speedy conclusion.

The MEA's statement comes after Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said yesterday that Pakistan has written to India asking for 'additional evidences' to draw an early conclusion of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks in which Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi and six others are accused.

"The Foreign Secretary had written to Indian Foreign Secretary regarding evidence required for early conclusion of Mumbai trial. We have said that we require additional evidence. The response from the Indian side is still awaited," he said.

Pakistan arrested seven LeT linked militants, including Lakhvi, for their role in the 2008 Mumbai attack in which 166 people were killed. Mumbai attack mastermind Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hamad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jameel Riaz, Jamil Ahmed and Younis Anjum are accused of abetment to murder, planning and executing the Mumbai attack. New Delhi has been urging Islamabad to complete the trial at the earliest. It has said that enough evidence has been shared with Islamabad to prosecute the accused. The case has been going on in the country for more than six years.

On November 26, 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorist entered Mumbai from the Arabian sea front and went on a carnage killing and injuring a total of 166 people.

A local court today remanded five persons, arrested by the NIA in Hyderabad on charges of their involvement in a terror module suspected to be linked to Islamic State (IS) and conspiring to carry out bomb attacks, in police custody for 12 days.

Metropolitan Sessions Judge K Rajkumar allowed the NIA's petition seeking their custody and directed that the accused be produced before the court on July 12.

Mohammed Ibrahim Yazdani alias Ibbu, Habeeb Mohammed alias Sir, Mohammed Ilyas Yazdani, Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Amoodi and Muzaffar Hussain Rizwan were arrested by NIA following a series of searches conducted at 10 locations in Old City area on June 29, with the assistance from Hyderabad Police. The agency had detained six others, including a techie, during the operation.

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri warns of "gravest consequences" if Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev or any other Muslim prisoner is executed, reports Reuters.

A federal jury last year condemned Tsarnaev to death for his role in the 2013 attack.

The jury found that death was the appropriate punishment for six of 17 capital counts all six related to Tsarnaev's planting of a pressure-cooker bomb on Boylston Street, which his lawyers never disputed. Tsarnaev, 21, stood stone-faced in court, his hands folded in front of him, as the verdict was read, his lawyers standing grimly at his side.

Flyers will soon have to shell out slightly more for tickets to fund the government's ambitious regional connectivity scheme under which airfares will be capped at Rs 2,500 for one-hour flights on unserved and under-served routes.

The government today unveiled the draft Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), which was mooted in the new civil aviation policy, for consultations with the stakeholders', including state governments, airlines and airport operators. The stakeholders have been given three weeks time to submit their comments and suggestions on the draft scheme, which is expected to be finalised by August.

"The fare for a one-hour flight of approximately 500 kilometre on a fixed-wing aircraft or on a 30-minute helicopter ride has been fixed at Rs 2,500," Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said while unveiling the draft scheme.

A Hindu priest in Bangladesh was today brutally hacked to death by three machete-wielding assailants, the third priest from the community to be killed this year in the Muslim-majority nation which has seen a string of vicious attacks by Islamists on minorities and secular activists.

Shymanondo Das, in his mid 50s, was attacked by three assailants riding a motorcycle who hacked him while he was plucking flowers for morning prayers at a garden in the Radhamodon Gopal Moth premises in Jhenaidah, said Jbahar Ali Sheikh, additional superintendent of police in Jhenidah.

"Three motorbike-borne assailants attacked (priest) Shymanondo Das with machetes....doctors declared him dead at Jhinaidah Sadar Hospital," a police officer told PTI. "To make sure he died, they rained multiple blows on his head and neck with sharp weapons," a police official said.

Suspected terrorists fire on a police party at Pakharpora (J&K), one police sub inspector and three civilians have been injured. The area has been cordoned off and search ops underway.

The Kerala Human Rights Commission has ordered the state government to make immunisation mandatory for getting admission in educational institutions, including schools, colleges and professional institutions.

The direction assumes significance as it came in the wake of the return of diphtheria, a disease believed to have been completely eradicated from Kerala through vaccination, in the northern district Malappuram due to lack of proper immunisation.

Two children have died and eight others affected with diphtheria in the last one month in Malappuram, where a section of people are reportedly reluctant to undergo immunisation drives, according to health department sources.

Uttarakhand cloudburst: Roads blocked due to landslides, being cleared in Chamoli district. 

In a breakthrough in the case of robbery of nearly Rs 9.16 crore from the office of an ATM cash handling company in Thane, police today said they have arrested six persons and recovered Rs 3.12 crore from them. The six persons were arrested yesterday and the hunt is on for around 15 others who were also involved in the robbery that took place in the wee hours of June 28, Maharashtra Director General of Police Pravin Dixit told mediapersons at the police headquarters here.

 Dixit said the six arrests were made from Thane and Nashik in joint effort by a police team, including personnel of the Crime Branch, who cracked the case.

Three four-wheelers, a pistol and a knife used by the accused in the robbery were also seized, and the hunt was on for another weapon and other things like CCTV and DVR taken away by the accused, police said.

A gang of seven robbers, wielding knives and chopper, had on Tuesday robbed the office of the ATM cash handling company and decamped with nearly Rs 9.16 crore.

This month, Washington's Watergate Hotel, which opened in the mid-1960s, reopened for the first time since closing in 2007 with a gleaming $125 million makeover that the new owners hope will restore some of its original glamour and generate new heat 44 years after the scandal that gave us a suffix for the Nipple-, Monica-, and Panama-gates to come. Read more

A delegation of National Conference (NC), led by Omar Abdullah, today called on Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra and submitted two memorandums, accusing the ruling PDP-BJP coalition of "shredding democracy to pieces".

"Through these memorandums, we submitted our apprehensions about the way democracy was shredded to pieces in the Legislative Assembly yesterday," Omar told reporters outside Raj Bhavan.

The former Chief Minister said the first memorandum was on the "sabotage" of a bill to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Alienation of Land Act and the Transfer of Property Act, which was referred to a Select Committee after Revenue Minister Basharat Bukhari moved a motion.

The option of work from home may not be available for all working women, but an amendment in the Maternity Benefit Act will provide 26-week maternity leave to all mothers, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said.

"There are certain establishments where they can get (the permission to work from home). But in other establishments they get the facility of (26 weeks maternity leave) after amendment in the Act," Dattatreya told reporters.

The minister was replying to a query about the steps being taken by his ministry to promote the concept of work from home to increase women participation in the workforce.

He said that the new Maternity Benefit Bill, which seeks to enhance maternity leave to 26 weeks from existing 12 weeks, will be shortly taken up by the Cabinet for approval and the ministry will push it for passage in the Monsoon session of Parliament. Asked about the paternity leave and other benefits for fathers, the minister said, "the Bill is about mothers and children. It is not about the men (fathers)."

The minister also said that the model law that allows shops, malls and cinema halls, among other establishments, to run 24x7 throughout the year will increase women participation in the workforce as it allows them to work in night shits.

"The is a pro-women law. Besides, it will help in employment generation. This will help increase women participation in workforce," the minister said. The Model Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Bill, 2016, was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday.

"The law also allows women to work in night (shifts).. There is provision for all facilities for women like drinking water, lavatory, creche, first aid and security," he said. The Model law provides for creches if establishment has 30 women/50 workers. As per the proposal mooted by the Labour Ministry, the model law can be adopted by states with a provision of modifying it as per their requirements.

The UK has certainly become more European in the 43 years of its membership of the European project. But it says a great deal on the quality of that experience that the generation that voted so enthusiastically for the Common Market in 1975 has now resoundingly turned its back on the EU in 2016. That in itself tells a story - if only we could gauge its complex meaning.

Read Swapan Dasgupta's column here.

The Army today foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LOC) in the Karnah area of Kupwara district of Kashmir. However, no casualties were reported. "Army personnel noticed movement of heavily armed militants trying to infiltrate into Indian territory near the Eagle Post in Safar forest area of Karnah," a police official said.

There was exchange of fire between the troops and militants for nearly an hour but no casualties have been reported so far, he added. "Searches are on in the area," he said.

In a 12-page statement, accused-turned-approver in the Sheena Bora murder case, driver Shyamvar Rai, has claimed that Indrani Mukerjea, the main accused in the case, had strangled her daughter inside a car on April 24,2012. On Indrani's instruction, both Rai and Indrani's ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna were helping her. While Rai covered Sheena's mouth, Khanna held Sheena tightly, reports the Times of India.

The statement was handed over to all the accused, including Indrani's husband, ex-media baron Peter Mukerjea, by the special CBI court on Friday.

The statement in Hindi also claimed that the "katta" (pistol) that Rai was caught with at the time of his arrest in August last year was handed over to him in a parcel on Indrani's instructions.

Kajal Sharma, Indrani's assistant, had asked Rai to take three months severance pay, an amount paid to an employee on the early termination of a contract, and leave, the statement claims.

"Indrani madam Sheena Ke mandi par baith ke Sheena ka gala daba rahi thi...Sheena ne jor se meri ungli Kat li. Meri ungli se khoon nikla. Indrani madam Sheena ke muh ke upar baith gayii (Indrani sat on top of Sheena and was strangling her. Sheena bit my finger. It was bleeding)..." reads a portion of the statement.

According to Rai, after the murder Khanna and Indrani were speaking something in English which Rai could not understand. But their conversation had mentions of Mikhail (Indrani's son), Rahul (Peter's son) and Worli.

A lawyer privy to the statement also said that Rai had not made any allegations about Peter.

The court has recently allowed Rai's plea to turner approver in he case. In May, Rai had applied to be an approver and said that he wanted to "disclose all truths" as he had taken part in Sheena's murder. 

The Army today foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LOC) in Karnah area of Kupwara district of Kashmir. However, no casualties were reported.

"Army personnel noticed movement of heavily armed militants trying to infiltrate into Indian territory near the Eagle Post in Safar forest area of Karnah," a police official said.

There was exchange of fire between the troops and militants for nearly an hour but no casualties have been reported so far, he added. "Searches are on in the area," he said.

File pic

Expressing grief over the loss of lives in torrential rains in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Harish Rawat today announced a compensation of Rs two lakh each to families of the victims.

Rawat said he was personally monitoring the situation and added that disaster management teams and security personnel have already been asked to reach the sites to carry out rescue works and ensure safety of locals.

"We are sad to know about the deaths. I am personally monitoring the situation from here. Chief Secretary too is keeping a tab ... we will give them (kin of victims) immediate compensation of Rs 2 lakh as per norms," he said.

Twelve persons were killed in Uttarakhand's Chamoli and  Pithoragarh districts and 25 others went missing as torrential rains and cloudbursts hit different parts of the state in the wee hours today.

Muslim cleric Qalam Raza Nuri today condemned Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan over his comment on 'Bakra'-slaughtering in the name of 'Qurbani.'

"May be he has made the statement to spread misconception; or maybe he was trying to prove himself knowledgeable. He is absolutely wrong. To speak about a religion, one must know about it first," he said.

Raza Nuri, while explaining the meaning of 'Qurbani,' said that it is practiced to keep up the spirit of fighting social evils. "Qurbani brings forth the passion to fight the evil. It also spread the message that we are ready for Qurbani to demolish evil from the society," he said.

"Whatever he has said can be his own perception. Whichever religion it be - Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian, Qurbani has its own significance everywhere. Somewhere it's named 'Bali' and somewhere Qurbani," added the cleric.

For the uninitiated, Irrfan has landed himself in the midst of a controversy following his comment on the traditions of fasting during Ramzan and sacrifice during Bakri Eid. During the promotion of his upcoming flick ' Madari' in Jaipur, the ' Jazbaa' star said "slaughtering of 'Bakra' does not mean Qurbani, the traditional style of sacrifice by Muslims."

Elaborating further, the actor said, "The meaning of Qurbani is to sacrifice something which is close to you instead of any goat or sheep which you just buy to sacrifice. Before sacrificing we should share a bond with that thing otherwise just killing of an animal will not serve the purpose. Nowadays we have lost the relevance behind such religious activities and perform these rituals without knowing the meaning behind them."

Commenting on Muharram, the actor said that Muslims have turned Muharram to a joke because instead of mourning, people celebrate it like a festival.

The ED has issued a fresh notice to a firm linked to Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in connection with its probe into alleged money laundering in a land deal in Rajasthan's Bikaner district.

Officials said the summons for production of documents was issued for the second time as the agency had earlier dismissed as "unauthorised" the appearance of a lawyer in response to the notices first sent in this regard last month. They said the firm, Ms Skylight Hospitality, has been given two weeks time to furnish financial statements and other documents of the firm to the Investigating Officer (IO) of the case.

Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan were clicked enjoying a bike ride together. The 50-year-old "Fan" actor took to Twitter to share the picture of him and good friend Salman sitting on their bikes. "Bhai bhai on bike bike. No pollution... Bhai says 'Michael Lal Cylcle Lal," Shah Rukh captioned the photo.

While Salman, 50, is casually dressed in blue denims and black t-shirt, SRK is wearing formals. Salman is currently busy promoting his upcoming release "Sultan" which features him in a role of a Haryanvi wrestler. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Yash Raj Films, the movie also stars Anushka Sharma. It will hit the theaters on July 6.

In a far-reaching decision likely to start a heated political debate, the Modi government has asked the Law Commission to "examine" the issue of implementing the uniform civil code, reports the Economic Times.

This is the first time a government has asked the commission, which has a crucial advisory role on legal reform, to look into the politically controversial issue of a uniform civil code.

A uniform civil code will mean a set of common personal laws for all citizens.

Currently, for example, there are different personal laws for Hindus and Muslims.

Personal law covers property, marriage and divorce, inheritance and succession. The political debate on a uniform civil code has been highly charged, and it is often entwined with a debate on secularism.

A two-year-old girl fell into a 700 feet deep borewell in Rajasthan's Jodhpur city on Friday. Efforts are currently underway to rescue the girl. The mishap took place at Binjwadia village where the locals opened the borewell to repair its pump. Late last night, all the pipes and pump were pulled out of the well and it was left open.

Two-year-old Neha wandered off from her home while playing and went to the borewell, where she slipped and fell inside.

Earlier in April, a seven-month-old girl had fallen into a 500 feet deep borewell in Surendranagar district of Gujarat. In the same month, a two-year-old girl fell into a 25-feet borewell in Nawabganj area of Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district.

ED issues fresh summons to firm linked to Robert Vadra in connection with its money laundering probe in the Bikaner land scam case.

Former IAF officer Dinesh Nair has built an airplane from scratch and provides a cockpit experience to enthusiasts and those with a fear of flying. Rediff.com's Archana Masih and photographer Rajesh Karkera take a joy ride. Read

Britain's decision to leave the European Union has created "significant uncertainty" that will have repercussions not only for the UK and Europe, but also for the global economy, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said the Brexit was likely to cause a dampening of growth in the near term, and urged policy makers to act decisively while dealing with the situation.

"Brexit has created significant uncertainty, and we believe this is likely to dampen growth in the near term, particularly in the UK, but with repercussions also for Europe and the global economy," he said yesterday. Rice said policy makers needed to stand ready to act, if the impact of financial market turbulence and higher uncertainty threaten to materially weaken the global outlook, adding that "decisive policies will make a difference."

The Maharashtra Home department has suspended the then prison superintendent of Nashik prison for granting parole to convict Sajjad Mogul, who was serving life sentence in the sensational Pallavi Purkayastha murder case and later went missing.

Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) B K Upadhyaya said that the suspension order of the then jail superintendent J S Naik was signed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last evening.

"Based on the report of Deputy Inspector General (Jails) Rajendra Dhamne, who headed a probe into the incident, the Home department has decided to suspend Naik with immediate effect. He committed a grave error in granting parole to Mogul," Upadhyaya told PTI.

Naik was given charge of Amravati jail a few weeks back. According to a source in the Home department, Naik was already facing a departmental inquiry for granting furlough to two persons, who were convicted in terrorism related charges and had escaped while out on leave.

As per the jail manual, furlough is not granted to those who are convicted under such charges. Mogul, a native of Jammu and Kashmir, had sought parole citing ill health of his mother in February, which was granted as per due procedure. He had then sought an extension of two months, Nashik Central Jail Superintendent Ramesh Kamble had earlier said.

The jail authorities informed Nashik Road Police that Mogul did not return after completion of his parole, following which a complaint was lodged against him on April 28.

Corporate lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha (25) was murdered by Mogul on August 9, 2012, at her apartment after he made advances at her which she resisted. Mogul was employed as a watchman in the building. He had managed to get a duplicate key of the main door of Pallavi's house where she lived with her fiance, Avik Sengupta. Avik had found her body lying in a pool of blood when he returned home on the fateful day. A little over a year, he also died of a brain disorder. A local court had sentenced Mogul to life imprisonment in 2014.

The Arvind Kejriwal government has moved the Supreme Court today over who should call the shots in Delhi. The court will hear the case on Monday, reports NDTV.

The Delhi government's lawyer Indira Jaising told the court that there has been a "virtual paralysis" in the capital because of the fight over jurisdiction and the court should decide whether Delhi is a state.

Delhi only has partial statehood, which means that important subjects like policing and land are still controlled by the central government.

The Aam Aadmi Party has had incessant battles with with the Centre and its representative Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on key appointments.

AAP says Jung cannot ignore an elected government and also alleges that with just three MLAs in Delhi - the other 67 belong to AAP - the BJP at the Centre wants to control the capital.

Last year, the AAP government challenged in the high court a notification in which the Centre declared that Mr Kejriwal has limited powers in Delhi and has no role in the appointment of bureaucrats.

The high court called the notification "suspect", after which the Centre went to the Supreme Court.

Just in: The third round test of Barak 8 missile from launchpad 3 of Chandipur Integrated Test Range (Odisha) successful today.

Barak-8, developed in collaboration with Israel, was test fired from launch pad no-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at 8:16 am, said reports.

The four-meter long ballistic missile, which can hit the target within a range of 70 km, weighs 275 kg and can carry a payload of 60 kg.

Baywatch babe Priyanka Chopra reveals she will not be signing up to Tinder any time soon. Read 

The Indian Air Force on Friday raised its first squadron of the home-grown Light Combat Aircraft Tejas with the induction of two aircraft into the force at the Aircraft System Testing Establishment in Bengaluru. Here's a quick takeaway.


Image: A water salute for the newly inducted Tejas aircraft in Bengaluru.

And a landslide in China too.

One person was killed and 20 others were missing today in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in southwest China. The landslide buried 29 people in Pianpo village, Bijie city of Guizhou Province, officials said.

Nine people have been pulled out of the rubble, but one died of injuries. The other eight have been rushed to hospital. The rescue work is ongoing, and the local government has dispatched personnel to relocate residents to avoid secondary disasters, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Rainstorms have battered the region over the past few days.

Nearly 25 people are feared dead following a cloudburst in Bastadi area, 50 km from Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh town. Local villagers said five bodies have been recovered so far while more are feared buried in the debris.

Meanwhile, another cloudburst in Chamoli washed away houses in Gopeshwar on the banks of river Mandakini. At least two people were carried away in the high current of a 'barsati nala' in Gopeshwar's Siro village. Many other houses are also reported to be in danger.

All major rivers in the hilly tracts have also swollen after over 54 mm rainfall was recorded in the state in the last 24-hours.

The MeT department has issued a warning of heavy rains in isolated places in Uttarakhand especially Nainital, Udhamsingh Nagar and Champawat districts over the next 72 hours?starting tomorrow morning.

Light to moderate rains are also likely to occur at most places during the period, the MeT department said. Nainital, Udhamsingh Nagar, Champawat, Almora,, Pauri, Haridwar, Dehradun and Tehri may be hit by heavy to very heavy rains during the period, it said.

Official sources said the district administration concerned have been asked to remain alert in view of the MeT department warning.

The Thal-Munsyari road has been cut-off and dozens of vehicles remained stranded on both sides. The Yamunotri highway, near Kharadi, has also been damaged leading to traffic being halted.

Entry of heavy vehicles was halted on the Kedarnath highway after a landslide at Gangolgaon.

Image: Locals in the town of Pithoragarh where five bodies have already been recovered in the flash floods. 

Just In: FIR filed after court order against Munna Marandi, son of Jharkhand BJP President Tala Marandi in an alleged sexual harassment case.

Just In: SC agrees to hear on Monday AAP govt's plea seeking to restrain the High Court from giving verdict in a case relating to Delhi govt's powers

Just In: Two Indian nationals kidnapped in Nigeria. Nigerian authorities have launched a search operation

The Indian Air Force will raise the first squadron of home-grown Light Combat Aircraft Tejas with the induction of two aircraft into the force today.

Portugal edged past Poland 5-3 via penalties to advance to the semi-finals of the Euro 2016 in Marseille on Thursday.

The three men who carried out Tuesday's deadly attack on Istanbul's Ataturk airport were all from parts of the former USSR, Turkish sources say.One is said to be from Russia's North Caucasus region and the others from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by six points, 44% to 38%, in a Fox News poll of registered voters released Wednesday, marking an uptick from similar polls released in May and June.

Former DSP Anupama Shenoy, who resigned her post earlier this month over alleged interference in her work by a minister, today claimed that she was a victim of both system and corrupt politics.

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