Eight CRPF commandos have been killed in an IED blast in Bihar. Officials say that the toll may rise.

JUST IN: An encounter between Naxalites and Cobra battalion is going on near the border of Imamganj and Aurangabad police stations.

In a major crackdown, 653 crude bombs were seized from West Bengal's Burdwan district and as many as 1,117 people have been arrested in the drive launched by the police.

A freelance Indian journalist, who was recently attacked and harassed in Chhattisgarh, has won the prestigious 2016 International Press Freedom Award, it was announced today. 

The World Anti-Doping Agency's executive board wants the IOC to ban all Russian teams from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

A case of sedition has been registered against the management of a private school in Budhar town in the district for allegedly marking Jammu and Kashmir incorrectly on India's map in the school diary.

Two civilians killed in firing by security forces at Qazigund in south Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has convened an All Party Meeting on July 21 to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the Valley, an official spokesman said today. 

Hours after Navjot Singh Sidhu gave up his Rajya Sabha seat, amidst rumours that he will be joining the Aam Aadmi Party and becoming their chief ministerial candidate in Punjab, AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter and wrote, "People can give their right hand for an RS seat. Ever seen a sitting RS MP resigning to save his state? I salute Sidhu ji for his courage." 

The health of eminent litterateur and social activist Mahasweta Devi, who is in critical condition due to old age complications, is showing slight signs of improvement. She, however, continues to be critical and on ventilation, doctors attending on her at the Belle Vue Clinic, where she is admitted for about 50 days. 

Punjab BJP president Vijay Sampla today said cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu did not take the party into confidence before resigning from Rajya Sabha and asserted the party will not be affected adversely even if he joins AAP.

"They did not (Navjot Singh Sidhu, his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu) inform me about their decision. As far as I know they have not informed about their move to the BJP high-command," Sampla said.


"They are free to make their decision and they can go wherever they want to," said Sampla, adding the party had showered them with 'maan samman' (respect). Taking a dig at the former lawmaker, Sampla, who is also a Union minister, said their quitting will have no effect on BJP in poll-bound Punjab.


"There is not going to be any effect on the party. Sidhu did not enter Punjab for four years. Whether the party was not functioning?" he asked.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan today said India has a long way to catch up with China on per capita GDP and will need years of strong growth but cautioned against expanding economy at the cost of environment.

China's per capita GDP is about four times of India's, he said. "So yes, we have a long way to catch with the level of per capita GDP and that means many years of strong sustainable growth. I want to emphasise here, because a few years of growth will not help. After those few years, we have very slow growth. We need sustainable growth which is why we need systems in place, we need macro-stability in addition to the growth," he added.

Rajan was speaking at an interactive session at National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. The per capita income in India at current prices is estimated to be Rs 93,293, as per data on Provisional Estimates of Annual National Income and Quarterly Estimates of Gross Domestic Product 2015-16.

Evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping by Russian athletes at the Sochi Olympics was confirmed on Monday in a report by an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency. 

Problems on the London Overground delayed morning commuters for the umpteenth time and station staff gave them a cheeky explanation. The sign at Dalston Kingsland station read: "We apologise for yesterday's power failure, this was due to someone capturing the station Pikachu."

Karnataka Minister KJ George has resigned just hours after a police case was ordered against him in the suicide case of a senior police officer, who the minister is accused of harassing. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is yet to accept the resignation, according to reports.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh rises to make his statement on the debate on the situation in Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha. "Burhan Wani was a Hizbul Mujahideen leader, he used to instigate Kashmiri youth," the home minister says.

"Jo kuch bhi ho raha hai poori tarah se Pakistan sponsored hai, kehne ko naam Pakistan hai par harkaten saari naapaak hain. Ek hamare desh mein koi aatankwaadi maara jaa raha hai, aur humare aantrik maamlon mein Pakistan hastakshep karega?


"I told CM Mehbooba Mufti that I wanted to come and talk to people of Kashmir. I am constantly in touch with J&K CM and whatever needs to be done to stabilise the state we will do it.

"We will use force on militants and sympathy on civilians. Talk of referendum is illogical, outdated.  

"Forces were told to use non-lethan weapons, to use maximum restraint. Team of eye specialists have been sent to Kashmir. At least 1671 security personnel have been injured.


"PM despite jet lag chaired a meet on Kashmir.

Ban on  mobile services, internet and newspapers must be lifted soon." 

Just in: BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who put his papers as a Rajya Sabha MP today reacted to reports that he was headed to the Aam Admi Party.

Refusing to corroborate or rebuff reports, Sidhu said Punjab's interest was paramount.

"In the war of right and wrong, you can't be neutral," the former cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP said and added, "Every window leading to Punjab is closing. I am now a mere burden and I prefer not to carry it."

He further said that because he became MP to serve people, he couldn't be sitting on the fence.

The Aam Aadmi Party sources have said that he may be the chief ministerial candidate for AAP in the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.

Aam Aadmi Party Punjab Convenor Sucha Singh, tweeted, "Appreciate Navjot Sidhu & Navjot Kaur Sidhu move, looking forward for their Welcome to AAP."

AAP leader Sanjay Singh told TV channels: "We welcome the resignation of Sidhu from Rajya Sabha. For other queries you have, it's all premature. But you can expect that  Navjot Singh Sidhu will join the side of "dharma" in the fight against "adharma".

Russian President Vladimir Putin did on Sunday what no major western leader from the NATO member countries cared to do when he telephoned his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan to convey his sympathy, goodwill and best wishes for the latter's success in restoring constitutional order and stability as soon as possible after the attempted coup Friday night. (Kremlin website).

Read MK Bhadrakumar's blog here.

Kashmir's print media gag of three days has been achieved without any written order, which would have required citing of  some law, writes media watcher website, The Hoot. It has been achieved by brute force on day one, with police teams raiding  printing presses and seizing copies of papers printed, followed by a verbal explanation on day two by  a government minister and spokesperson.

He said a three day ban had been decided on "reluctantly." No newspapers were published in the valley on Sunday. There seems to be no move on the part of media houses to go to court over this  summary verbal ban, which they are all complying with.

Image: Protesters take to the streets in Tral, J-K

Zakir Naik, a gentle, rockstar televangelist, is dangerous as young Muslims may be swayed by his fundamentalist interpretations of Islam and justify victimhood and extremism, says Shekhar Gupta. Read more

France fell silent today for the victims of the Nice truck attack, but the mourning was overshadowed by politicians tearing into each other over the massacre.

A sea of people thronged the Nice promenade for the emotional minute's silence just days after a Tunisian attacker drove a truck into a crowd at the same place on Bastille Day, killing 84 people and injuring around 300.

Similar gatherings were held across the country, with the minute's silence accompanied by the ringing of church bells.

Prime Minister Manual Valls was booed and faced shouts of "resign" as he arrived and left the seaside promenade in Nice, in a sign of the anger and bitterness gripping France after its third major terror attack in 18 months.

French investigators have yet to find links between attacker Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a 31-year-old Tunisian, and the Islamic State group which claimed responsibility for Thursday's carnage, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told France's RTL radio.

He defended government efforts to halt terror attacks, calling for "dignity and truth" from fiercely critical opposition politicians as the national mood soured further nine months ahead of a presidential election.

Till Narendra Modi took over as prime minister and put an end to the practice, it was normal practice for media organisations to accompany prime ministers and Presidents on their official visits abroad.

The practice that began with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the mid-1980s was continued by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but it was really put into effect in Dr Manmohan Singh's tenure.

Now, through the use of RTI and data available on the ministry of external affairs' website, jansatyagrah.in has put together a report on the media houses and journalists who were regulars on Air India One during Dr Singh's prime ministership.

The graphic here shows that out of 91 VIP visits abroad, Jagdish Chandra of ETV was on board for 27 trips, Siddharth Zarabi of CNN TV18 coming a distant second with 10 visits. For newspapers, Dainik Jagran's Prashant Mishra was on board for 21 visits.

Among TV networks, NDTV topped the list with 44 visits, CNN News 18 giving them a run for their money with 43 visits, while among newspapers it was The Hindu at the top with the Hindustan Times coming second.

There were other journalists, too, says jansatyagrah.in, who were part of the PM's media contingent during UPA rule, and uses this graphic.

Among the many names listed is Suhasini Haidar then of News 18 (now the Diplomatic Editor of The Hindu), a media star in her own right but who is also Dr Subramanian Swamy's younger daughter.

Given that connection, her mention led to tut-tuts on social media about media cronyism, all which Dr Swamy swatted away in typical style, tweeting: 'She is nobody's crony. I brought her up to be fearless...'

To that we can add that Suhashini -- a former colleague at Rediff -- is a very fine journalist, someone who has excelled in print, television and internet journalism.

Jansatyagrah.in also mentions Rediff in passing, saying: 'It is strange to know the only single digital media platform of Rediff.com whose editors got the opportunity to join the visits.'


Image: Sanjay Baru (in beige suit), former PM Manmohan Singh's media advisor, adjusts the mic during a press conference on board Air India One.

Amid the clamour within a section of Congress for Priyanka Gandhi to take an active political role, senior leader Jairam Ramesh has said no individual has a magic wand to revive the party and a team effort is the only way forward.


"I have always believed that the answer to the Congress' revival lies not in one individual but in a collective endeavour," Ramesh said when asked if Priyanka should campaign extensively in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections or 2019 Lok Sabha poll is the "right time".


"No individual has a magic wand. The magic wand lies in a collective entity called the Congress party. Each of us has a responsibility to contribute to the revival. We cannot sit back and say: 'A' will do this, 'B' will do this and 'C' will do this. I think that era is over," the leader told PTI.


"Nobody has a magic wand any more. The magic wand is a collective entity. It's a collective effort, it's a team effort," the Rajya Sabha member said.


On whether "delay" in Rahul Gandhi taking over as Congress president is hurting the party's prospects, he said, "I think it (Rahul's taking over) is a last mile issue right now. I think it's only a matter of time. I am not privy to his time- frame, but I am sure it's going to happen sooner rather than later."

"For desi travellers on a budget, consuming London is a challenge. It's so large, there's so much information and if there's more than one of you, reconciling different notions of what's worth seeing is a tense, snappy business. So we did the sensible thing; we gave up.

"We were living in a small flat in Tufnell Park and we had a week in which to do London. We bought ourselves an Oyster card which gave us unlimited travel on buses and the Underground in Zone 1 and 2. The kind West Indian station-master who helped us decipher the mysteries of the Oyster Card machine was certain we would never stray into Zone 3. I wasn't so sure. What if we did? One of the tasks of travel is to worry."

Read Mukul Kesavan's column for the Telegraph.

Just in: Navjyot Singh Sidhu resigns from Rajya Sabha.


The veteran cricketer and three-time Amritsar MP, seemed to have headed towards a rehabilitation within the Punjab unit of the BJP after the Narendra Modi-led government nominated him to the Rajya Sabha.


Sidhu has been on the sidelines of Punjab politics as well as the state BJP for a long time now and his antagonism with the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its senior leadership resulted in him not getting a Rajya Sabha seat from the state.


As per reports in the Indian Express, Sidhu may be joining the Aam Aadmi Party. AAP has been campaigning in Punjab for the upcoming assembly elections in 2017.

Sidhu was MP from Amritsar from 2004 to 2014. His wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu is also a senior BJP leader and a member of Punjab Legislative Assembly. She has also submitted her resignation.


Image: Navjot Singh Sidhu with his wife Navjot Kaur

The Supreme Court ruling on the Lodha Committee recommendations on the functioning of the Board of Control of Cricket in India. Highlights...

The SC accepts the massive Lodha commission recommendations. Recommendation on having no minister in BCCI and age cap of 70 accepted.

"It accepts recommendations on One state One vote. However, Maharashtra allowed to have 3 associations on rotational basis. SC also accepts Lodha panel's recommendation to be a member of CAG within BCCI Governing council."


BCCI opposed the Lodha panel suggestion of one state, one vote policy. It argued that over the years different associations across the state have developed which would be devoid of representation.

The board also opposed the presence of an ombudsman with voting powers. It said that this will violate the ICC rules

SC had repeatedly questioned BCCI's rationale relating to the allocation of funds to state bodies. SC said that they were arbitrary and politically motivated.

The board also contested the panel recommendations on the advertising policy and asked them to be sent back to the panel for reconsideration.

Kashmir is being discussed as the Rajya Sabha begins after lunch. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, beings the debate, saying, "I stand here as a deeply hurt man."


He says India has not learnt its lessons from Kashmir. "Militants and common people cannot be treated alike. The situation is a lot worse than 2008, 2010 clashes with over 1800 people injured in the Valley. Who has what role to play? Who is responsible? What is Pakistan's role in the unrest.?

"Be it state or central government, I don't want to blame anyone. Pellet guns were used brutally in the Valley, but they were not used during the Haryana riots.


"I stand with government to end militancy. No one supports militancy, but we cannot treat militants and civilians alike? "

Also read: Kashmir remains paralysed

Turkey detains 103 generals, admirals in total after coup, says state media.

Turkish authorities have detained 6,000 people over Friday's failed coup. The sweep includes high-ranking soldiers and about 2,700 judges.  The number is expected to rise further, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag has said. "The clean-up operations are continuing," he was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Turkey witnessed violence after an attempted military coup in which at least 250 people died. After the bloodiest challenge to his 13-year autocratic rule, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged his backers to stay on the streets to prevent a possible "flare-up" of Friday's chaos in the strategic North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member of 80 million people.


"The situation is completely under control," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said outside his Ankara offices, flanked by Turkey's top general who had himself been taken hostage by the plotters. Describing the attempted coup as a "black stain" on Turkey's democracy, Yildirim said 265 people had been killed in the night of violence and 1,440 wounded. This toll did not appear to include 104 rebel soldiers killed overnight, bringing the overall death toll from the bloodshed to 265.

Image: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan waves to the crowd

British foreign minister and top Brexit backer Boris Johnson pledged today that the country would continue to play a leading role in Europe as he met his European Union peers for the first time.


"We have to give effect to the will of the people and leave the European Union but... we are not going in any way to abandon our leading role in European participation," Johnson said.


He said he had had a "very good conversation" on the subject with EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini late Sunday -- although his dinner with her was called off after his plane had to make an emergency landing.


"I am very much looking forward to meeting my colleagues," he added. Johnson was a key player in the June 23 Brexit referendum and his appointment last week stunned many in Europe, with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault saying he had lied to voters during the campaign. He also infuriated many by comparing the EU's ambitions for closer integration to Adolf Hitler's. Mogherini, arriving just after Johnson at a regular EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, said the two had had "a good exchange on the main issues on the agenda today."


She refused to be drawn on Britain's negotiations for its departure from the bloc, which EU leaders insist can only start once London invokes Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to trigger the divorce.

Just in: China to hold South China Sea military drills despite tribunal ruling against country's claim to waterway ownership, reports AP.

A United Nations-backed international tribunal last week struck down China's claims of "historical rights" in the strategic South China Sea, prompting Chinese President Xi Jinping to reject its ruling and asserting that Beijing will not accept the verdict "under any circumstances".

Xi's strong remarks came immediately after The Hague- based tribunal dismissed the core of China's claims over the 90 per cent South China Sea, ruling that "there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights within the sea areas falling within the 'nine-dash line'", which is based on a Chinese map dating back to the 1940s.

In his meeting with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President Xi, also the General Secretary of the ruling Communist party and commander-in-chief of the military, said China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests in SCS will not be affected by the ruling under any circumstances.

Turkish security forces today carried out new raids against suspected plotters of the botched coup against the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as international concern grew over the scale of the crackdown.

The authorities have said around 6,000 people have been detained so far in the investigation into Friday's coup which Erdogan has blamed on his arch enemy the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. Special Istanbul anti-terror police units this morning raided the prestigious air force military academy in the city in search of new suspects, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Exploring the most controversial aspect of the Sunanda Pushkarmurder case, Delhi Police have examined Pakistan-based columnist Mehr Tarar, highly placed sources have told TOI.

Only a handful of people in the department knew about it, they added.Tarar came to India two, three months ago for the questioning, which was conducted at a five-star hotel in central Delhi.

The police wrote to her last December asking her to cooperate in the probe. After promising cooperation, she sent a confirmation to the DCP (south) in February, the sources said.Pushkar, wife of then Union minister Shashi Tharoor, was found dead at Leela Hotel's suite number 345 on January 17, 2014.

The death came just a day after she was involved in a spat with Tarar on Twitter over the latter's alleged affair with Tharoor.

The Modi government has planned to introduce GST in the Rajya Sabha on July 25, a week after the monsoon session of Parliament began today.

But before that happens, the bill has to have get the go-ahead from congress leaders at different levels.

Sources say the prime minister has drawn up a calendar for GST.  The bill has to be passed between July 25 and August 5. There are a  total of 20 working days in this session of parliament, but there are 45 bills pending in the Rajya Sabha and 11 in the Lok Sabha.

The government feels prospects of the bill being passed is high since Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been maintaing a telling silence on the bill. Moreover, Priyanka Gandhi seems to have taken control of the party to ensure that there is less damage to the congress during the parliament proceedigns.

But as the old adage goes, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip and if Modi misses the monsoon session to pass the GST bill he may not get another opportunity.

If the state electons up ahead and pressure from business and industrial houses, the government has to deliver now.

Apart from the GST, there are other crucial bills including the land reforms bill which the Congress has stalled.

At an all-party meeting convened by the government on Sunday, a day before Parliament meets, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "GST is of national importance. Issue is not which government gets credit. Important Bills, including GST will be taken up in the monsoon session and I hope for meaningful discussions and outcomes."

He urged all the political parties to keep national interests above any other considerations. "We represent both the people and parties and there is a need to keep national interests above anything else".

Ruling PDP MLA from Pulwama Mohammad Khalil Band was injured in an attack by a stone pelting mob in his native district late last night, police said today.

Band was on his way to Srinagar at around 11.00 pm when a mob attacked his vehicle with stones at Prechu in Pulwama, 26 km from Srinagar.

The driver lost control of the vehicle, which resulted in the car turning turtle, a police official said. He said the MLA was injured in the incident. He has been admitted to Army's base hospital for treatment. The personal security guard and the driver of the MLA suffered minor injuries.

Kashmir has been rocked by violence following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. 39 people have been killed and over 3,160 injured in clashes between security personnel and protesters who have attacked police stations, vehicles, pickets and army camps.

Lok Sabha adjourned for the day after paying tributes to sitting member Dalpat Singh Paraste, 6 former MPs who died recently.

ANI reports: PDP MLA Mohammad Khalil Bandh injured after being allegedly attacked by a mob in Srinagar, admitted to hospital

123 live bombs recovered from a house in Burdwan in West Bengal. 10 people detained