LIVE! iPhone7 comes with big updates

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Wed, 07 September 2016

iPhone7 comes with big updates

Timeline Refresh

23:58 iPhone7: It's packed with features

More Features of the new iPhone7:

* It's gonna come with Lightning connector with Digital Audio. Lightning to 3.5mm audio adapter will ship in the box.

* The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will have stereo speakers, one at the bottom and another at the top. There's also twice the volume with an increased dynamic range.

* The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus display's will be 25 per cent brighter than the 6S and 6S plus with cinema grade wide color gamut, color management and 3D touch.

* The dual camera setup will provide depth of field adjustment giving a bokeh effect. The ISP will scan the screen and use machine learning to create depth map of the image using the two lenses.

23:53 iPhone7 comes with big updates

Tim Cook announces a billion iPhones sold, making it the best selling product of its kind.

Features of the new iPhone

* The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus display's will be 25 per cent brighter than the 6S and 6S plus with cinema grade wide color gamut, color management and 3D touch.

* Jet black finish, seamless surface with the back and glass front with an raised enclosure for the dual-camera. Gold, silver and rose gold are other colors.

* The home button is force sensitive and comes with a taptic engine that are unique for notifications, messages, ringtones and other apps.

* iPhones will now be IP67 water and dust protection.

* TDual-lens, optical image stabilization, wider f/1.8 that absorbs 50 per cent more light, new 6-element lens and an all new high speed 12-megapixel sensor that is 60 per cent faster and 30 per cent energy energy.

* Quad-LED True Tone Flash with 50 per cent more light, flicker sensor and an Apple designed image signal processor that uses machine learning to look for bodies and objects in the image and then adjusts the photos with best exposure, white balance and noise reduction. It will happen everytime you take a picture with 100 billion processes in 25 milliseconds.

* Live photos can be edited on the fly and there's RAW image support as well.

* Along with this, 7-megapixel Facetime full HD front camera , an upgrade from the 5-megapixel one on iPhone 6S.

* The dual camera setup has a Wide angle lens and telephoto lens combined together that gives optical 2X zoom along with 10X digital zoom without any loss of clarity. The digital zoom will be better than the standard as it will be shot by the telephoto lens.

23:31

Apple CEO Tim Cook is now speaking about the new iOS:

* Siri capability is coming to separate apps in iOS 10.

* Maps have been redesigned, and can be used to book reservations at restaurants.

* New Home app, which is used to manage devices -- garage doors for example - throughout your home.

* Confetti, stickers and alternate bubbles are coming to iMessage.

* You can also use it to make payments and put certain emphasis on your texts.

23:22 New Apple Watch is faster, brighter, water resistant

22:57 Super Mario game is coming to the app store

Apple has teamed up with Nintendo to create an iPhone game called Super Mario Run. The platform game involves tapping the screen to make Mario jump as he collects coins, avoids mushrooms and races to the flagpole.

It's the first version of Mario that can be played one handed, so you can play while eating an Apple, Shigeru Miyamoto jokes.

The game also has a battle mode with friends for completing a timed run. The game can be bought for a one off payment, the price will be announced later but it will be released for holidays in 2016. Super Mario stickers for iMessage which will release with iOS 10.

22:55 Oops! Apple jumped the gun on Twitter

Apple jumped the gun again this time revealing the dual-lens camera in a mistaken tweet.

Apple also revealed in the now-deleted tweet that iPhone 7 will be water-resistant

22:45 The new Apple phone is on the way

The new Apple phone is on the way. And, as ever, so are the rumours.

The iPhone 7 will be an important release for Apple: it is the first phone it has launched since sales of the handsets stopped growing.

The company has promised to keep innovating to ensure that those sales stay up and people stay interested so it will be interesting to see how Apple actually manages to do that.

Apple has maintained a rhythm of introducing updated iPhone models on an annual basis, timing introductions to coincide with the year-end holiday shopping season.

In July, the company announced the sale of its billionth iPhone, a milestone for the company as it seeks to keep momentum in a competitive smartphone market.

"We see a large opportunity for the iPhone 7 when we consider the potential number of upgraders coming from the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus," said Kantar Worldwide ComTech consumer insight director Lauren Guenveur.

"Virtually all of those who intend to upgrade have told us they will remain loyal to Apple, making the iPhone 7 an obvious choice."

22:21 Sporadic violence in Kashmir, four hurt

At least four persons were injured in sporadic violence witnessed today in various parts of Kashmir where normal life remained affected due to separatist-sponsored strike.

A police spokesman said barring a few stone pelting incidents and arson during which a school building was gutted, the situation in the valley remained by and large peaceful.

Four incidents of stone pelting were reported from Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Kupwara, the spokesman said.

In Kulgam, he said, about 300 protesters assembled at Mirhama and pelted stones on police and security force deployments and set ablaze Jawahar Navodaya Vidyala School which suffered damages.

Miscreants also hurled a petrol bomb on State Rest House, Chawalgam, which resulted in fire and partial damages to the rest house, the spokesman said.

However, local residents alleged that fire in the school building was caused by intense teargas shelling by the forces to chase away protesters.

The residents also claimed that an elderly person Abdul Gani Wani, 70, died after he suffered a cardiac arrest due to shelling by the forces at Chawalgam.

A police official said that four persons sustained injuries when security forces fired pellets and tear smoke shells to chase away protestors in Anantnag.

There was no curfew in any part of Kashmir but restrictions on the assembly of people were in placed in all districts of the Valley except Srinagar city.

A police inspector has accused a local Bharatiya Janata Party MLA of 'continuous harassment' and threatened to commit suicide along with his family members if action was not taken against the legislator.

Following the SMS sent by Vidyanand Kale, the inspector attached to Badnapur police station, to Jalna district Superintendent of Police Jyoti Priya Singh in this regard recently, the Inspector General of police (Aurangabad range) Ajit Patil today ordered an inquiry into the matter.

Kale accused Narayan Kuche, the sitting MLA from Badnapur constituency, of harassing and abusing him.

He claimed that the MLA had tried to pressurise him to release the sand trucks seized by police earlier and to delete the name of an accused in the case.

He said he had recorded the matter in a police station diary.

Kale also claimed that Kuche used abusive language against him and that his complaints to higher authorities fell on deaf ears.

"I had forwarded the complaint and evidence against Kuche to the offices of Maharashtra Chief Minister and the Prime Minister," Kale said.

The toll in Bihar floods rose to 213 with eight fresh deaths being reported today, although a majority of rivers are now flowing below the danger mark.

The new casualties have been reported from Vaishali district on the other side of the Ganga from Patna, the state Disaster Management Department said.

With this, the toll in Bihar floods including the earlier inundation in Kosi regions, triggered mainly by heavy rains in neighbouring Nepal, today climbed to 213 in the state.

A total of 86 animals have lost lives in the floods.

As per information available with Water Resources department, Punpun was flowing above danger level in Sripalpur, Kamlabalan in Jhanjharpur and Kosi in Baltara in Khagaria district.

The other rivers including Ganga were flowing below danger mark, it added. Flood condition continued to prevail in 12 districts of Bihar including Patna.

A total of 79 blocks and 613 panchayats are under inundation at present. The flood has affected 40.60 lakh people in 2,190 villages, the department said.

About 3.17 lakh people have been evacuated from the flood-hit Buxar, Bhojpur, Patna, Vaishali, Saran, Begusarai, Samastipur, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, Munger, Bhagalpur and Katihar districts, it said.

The government has deployed 2,973 boats for evacuation while national and state disaster response forces have already been deployed in the affected districts.

With the flood situation easing, the number of relief camps have come down to 181 where 1.15 lakh people continue to take shelter. The extent of damage to agricultural areas and crops loss was being estimated.

A Pakistani minister has demanded an apology from the makers of Hrithik Roshan-starrer Mohenjo Daro for 'distorting' historical facts and 'making a mockery' of the highly-developed 5,000-year-old civilisation.

Sardar Ali Shah, Sindh Minister for Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, said he would soon communicate Sindh's reaction and objections to Bollywood filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker who, he said, misled people through his movie Mohenjo Daro, which was released on August 12.

Shah said the movie depicted Harappan War and recovery of levy which were nothing but figments of imagination of filmmakers and had nothing to do with history of Moenjodaro.

He said the world has widely acknowledged the importance of the heritage sites of Sindh, which was evident from the fact that Moenjodaro has been included in the list of international heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Mohenjo Daro film was written and directed by Gowariker. It features Hrithik Roshan and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles.

Mohenjodaro is an ancient Indus Valley Civilisation city that flourished between 2600 and 1900 BC.

The site, which lies in Pakistan's Sindh province, was discovered in the 1920s.

Notwithstanding separatists snub to outreach bid by some MPs, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday hoped a fresh and productive effort would be made by the country's political leadership to reach out to all stakeholders.

Welcoming the resolution of the all-party delegation calling for dialogue with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir, she said engagement and reconciliation is the only way forward to end the stalemate and make peace, stability and prosperity a reality in the state and the region.

She said the people of Jammu and Kashmir, irrespective of their age, gender, status or the political affiliation, have been suffering the disastrous consequences of the turmoil and unrest and they have to be retrieved from this blood-spattered quagmire, sooner the better.

The onus lies not only on the government but the separatist leadership as well to give the peace and resolution process a chance by coming forward with a concrete roadmap, the chief minister said.

Unfortunately the separatist leadership missed the recent opportunity of engaging with the countrys Parliamentarians, during their visit to the state, to find a solution to the problem, Mehbooba said, referring to the rebuff by separatists to an attempt by some MPs to reach out to Hurriyat Conference and others.

20:04

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for a Gala dinner hosted by Laos PM Thongloun Sisoulith. Photograph: ANI

19:31

All you need to know about Cauvery water dispute.

19:18 Railway introduces flexi fare system for Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto

The Ministry of Railways to introduce flexi fare system for Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi trains from September 9.

The ministry said in a release that the base fares will increase by 10 per cent with every 10 per cent of berths sold, subject to a prescribed ceiling limit.

For Rajdhani and Durunto trains, the ceiling will be 1.5 times the base fare, while in the case of Shatabdi, it will be 1.4 times the base fare.

However, there will be no change in the existing fare for first AC and executive classes in these trains, the ministry said.

Other supplementary charges like reservation charges, super-fast charge, catering charges, service tax and so on, as applicable, shall be levied separately.

Vacant berths left at the time of charting would be offered for current booking. Tickets under current booking shall be sold at the last price sold for that class and other supplementary charges like reservation fee, super-fast charges, catering charges and service tax, as applicable, shall be levied in full.

18:50 PM Modi meets Japanese PM Abe in Laos

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe after arriving in Laos' capital,Vientiane and discussed ways to strengthen strategic bilateral ties.

"Discussing stronger ties with Japan...PM Narendra Modi meets Japan PM Shinzo Abe," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted as the almost 45 minutes-long bilateral talks began.

Modi will attend the 14th ASEAN India Summit and 11th East Asia summit tomorrow. He will also have bilaterals with leaders of Myanmar and South Korea. There could be more "pull aside" talks tomorrow with leaders, officials said.

This is Modi's second meeting with Abe in less than six months. They had met on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington in April.

Earlier, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that the two leaders are likely to discuss cooperation in the defence sector.

BJP's Tamil Nadu unit on Wednesday said although the release of Cauvery water to the state by Karnataka as per the directive of the Supreme Court, came as a relief, it was not adequate to raise samba crops.

"The release of water from Cauvery following the Supreme Court order, though came as a relief, it is not enough to raise samba crops," party state President Tamilisai Soundararajan told reporters.

Karnataka had started releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from yesterday, complying with the Supreme Court directive to release 15,000 cusecs per day for 10 days.

Tamilisai said though Tamil Nadu has equal rights on Cauvery water, the state was in a "peculiar" situation that it has to get the water through legal process.

The state government should convene an all party meeting to discuss and find a solution to the vexed issue, she said.

A public interest litigation has been filed in the Supreme Court questioning the sacrifice of animals on Bakr-Eid and the validity of a provision of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, saying the practice was "cruel, inhuman, barbarian" and cannot be protected in the name of religion.

The PIL, filed by seven Uttar Pradesh residents, has sought the court's direction to ensure that no animal is killed during the festival, called the feast of sacrifice, which is to be celebrated early next week.

"Issue a writ, order or direction or declaration to the effect that the practice of sacrifice of animals on Bakr-i-Eid day is unconstitutional and same cannot be resorted to by any member of the public," the petition said.

The plea, filed through lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain, has challenged the constitutional validity of Section 28 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act which exempts the killings under religious practices and reads: "Nothing

contained in this Act shall render it an offence to kill any animal in a manner required by the religion of any community."

"Issue a writ, order or direction striking down Section 28 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 as unconditional, being ultra vires to Article 14,21 and 25 of the Constitution," it said.

18:29 Fire in Mumbai building; no casualties

A fire broke out on Wednesday in two-storey wooden building at Mazgaon in South Mumbai, fire officials said.

However, no one was hurt in the incident, they said.

The blaze erupted on the second floor of the building around 12.30 pm and was doused within two hours after eight fire engines and seven water tankers were rushed to the spot, the officials said.

The building is quite old and houses both residential and commercial units. During the fire fighting exercise, people living in the building were evacuated and shifted to a nearby locality.

18:25

Former Siwan MP Mohammad Shahabuddin granted bail by Patna HC. He was arrested for killing 2 brothers 12-years-ago, reports ANI

17:58 Car used by Netaji being restored

The car in which Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had made his 'great escape' from his ancestral house in Kolkata in 1941 when he was under house arrest by the then British government, is being restored by his family.

Officials of Netaji Research Bureau said German automobile manufacturer Audi has been appointed to restore the four-door German Wanderer sedan, parked at his ancestral home.

"They have now started painting, changing old parts etc. All we want is to increase the longevity of the car which has great national significance. We want it to be able to drive for small distances like 100 or 200 metres," Kartik Chakraborty, secretary of the bureau told PTI.

The restoration work of the car is expected to be completed by December, he said.

It was in this car bearing number plate BLA 7169 that Netaji was driven from Kolkata to Gomoh in Jharkhand by his nephew Sisir Kumar Bose in January 1941.

The car was last driven in 1971 again by Sisir Bose, son of Netaji's elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose while shooting for a documentary of Films Division.

"We had kept it (the car) for public display but it was never brought out on the roads. Our staff Naga Sundaram who used to drive it also passed away," Chakraborty said.

The NRB is run by Krishna Bose and her son Sugata and is located in Netaji Bhawan, which is the ancestral house of the Bose family.

Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha was the victim of a freak injury after being hit by the ball on the back of the head while fielding during the Duleep Trophy clash between India Blue and India Green.

The incident occurred during India Blue's second innings and the 30-year-old was immediately rushed to hospital.

More details awaited

Citizens will now be spared from the hassle of carrying physical driving licences and vehicle registration certificates (RCs), which can be accessed online or on their mobile phones using DigiLocker.

Launching the integration of DigiLocker with the driving licence and vehicle registration system of the ministry of road transport and highways on Wednesday, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said citizens can use these as valid identification at airports too.

The digital driving licence and vehicle registration documents will be available on citizens' cellphones via the DigiLocker mobile app and this will ensure authenticated on the spot verification by various law enforcement authorities like the traffic police.

"The system will not only eliminate corruption but is a mega step towards realising Prime Minister's Digital India drive. The citizens can use this at airports as valid identity document," Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari said.

According to Gadkari, this move is vital for the transport sector where 19.5 crore vehicles are registered and there are 10 crore driving licences.

"If someone is stopped anywhere, he or she can show driving licence on mobile phone. This will benefit common masses and ensure a corruption free, transparent system devoid of red tapism. Crores of people will benefit," he said.

He said the proposed new motor vehicle legislation will have provisions for online driving licences.

Aam Admi Party leader Ashutosh will meet National Commission for Women chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam on Thursday after he was summoned for his controversial blog defending sacked party minister Sandeep Kumar over an "objectionable CD".

"I have decided to appear before NCW tomorrow as I have been asked by the panel, to present my views (sic)," he tweeted.

He will visit the National Commission for Women office at 11:30 am.

THe NCW summoned Ashutosh for his blog on NDTV website titled, "The Sex Was Consensual, Private Act. Why AAP Punished Its Man."

In the blog Ashutosh, referring to Sandeep Kumar, asked, "What wrong has the man done?"

He wrote, "This video encompasses pictures of a man and woman indulging in a sexual act. The video clearly establishes that both individuals knew each other and consented to sex in a private space away from the public glare."

"...The question then is that if two consenting adults are physically involved with each other,is it a crime?"

While issuing summons Kumaramangalam said, "The summons are in response to what we feel is a very reprehensible and demeaning blog Ashutosh wrote, where he defended a man accused of rape."

She also said that Ashutosh was wrong to jump the gun and pronounce Sandeep Kumar innocent when a police investigation was on.

Britain is to begin work on 1.9-million-pound "new big wall" in the French port of Calais, to block refugees and migrants jumping on to lorries to cross the English Channel via ferries and enter the UK illegally.

The four-metre-high wall, being dubbed the "Great Wall of Calais", is part of a 17-million-pound package of joint Anglo-French security measures to tighten precautions at the port connecting France and England, UK immigration minister Robert Goodwill told the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee yesterday, soon after scandal-hit Indian-origin MP Keith Vaz had resigned as its chair.

"People are still getting through. We have done the fences. Now we are doing the wall," Goodwill told MPs.

"The security that we are putting in at the port is being stepped up with better equipment. We are going to start building this big new wall very soon as part of the 17-million-pound package we are doing with the French," he said.

The BJP today held a protest in Lucknow against controversial UP minister Azam Khan for his "objectionable" statement against Bhim Rao Ambedkar dubbing the Constitution-giver as someone who grabs land.

In his address at the inauguration of Haj House in Ghaziabad on Monday, Khan without naming Ambedkar had said, "All across Uttar Pradesh, there are statues of a person whose finger seems to say that not only does it own the plot of land on which it is standing, but also the plot towards which it is pointing its finger."

"The BJP held protests in the state capital and the similar protests were also stagged across the state," Uttar Pradesh BJP President Keshav Prasad Maurya said.

A BJP delegation led by Maurya handed over a memorandum to Governor Ram Naik at Raj Bhavan demanding Khan's dismissal from the cabinet for "hurting sentiments" by making "derogatory remarks" against Ambedkar.

"We request you to make such an arrangement that those making such statements against great persons should be brought to book irrespective of their stature," he said.

Maurya also attacked the Opposition parties for being silent over the remarks.

"The silence of BSP proves that it is hand-in-gloves with the ruling Samajwadi Party and Congress. The BSP has not initiated any action against Naseemuddin Siddiqui for derogatory remarks against women and also not sent any representative for the Kashmir talks. This shows the way in which the party is running," Maurya said.

The Opposition in Maharashtra today took a jibe at the BJP-Sena ruling alliance saying the former has "no respect" for its ally as Amit Shah visited Ganesh pandals in the city but did not meet Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray who resided just "10 minutes away".

BJP national president Shah visited Ganesh pandals in Mumbai on Wednesday as part of the ongoing 10-day Ganpati festival.

On a day-long visit to Mumbai, Shah first visited a Ganpati mandal in Bandra west, headed by BJP MLA and the party's city chief Ashish Shelar, to have a 'darshan' of Lord Ganesh.

He then proceeded to 'Lalbaugcha Raja', which is the most famous public Ganpati idol put up in Lalbaug area of central Mumbai (image alongside).

Later, Shah visited the 'Girgaoncha Raja' mandal, located in Girgaum area of South Mumbai.

However, the Opposition Congress and NCP seized the opportunity to take a jibe at the ruling alliance, saying the BJP even "refused" to acknowledge that its ally Shiv Sena's chief Uddhav Thackeray resides in Bandra, but on the east side which is some 10 minutes away.

Speaking at the event, 'The Economist - India Summit 2016', Finance Minister Arun Jaitley sounded confident on the tax rates coming down once the indirect taxation regime is put in place.

Here are the key observations by Jaitley on India's economic health.

17:06 Army chief cancels visit to Kashmir

Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag will not be visiting Jammu and Kashmir today to review the security situation in the unrest-hit Valley, Army sources said.

Though there was no official word, defence sources in Kashmir had said the Army chief was expected in the valley today.

However, officials at the Army headquarters said Suhag had no plans to visit Kashmir today. There was no official word on the development either in Kashmir or in the national capital.

Meanwhile, sources said the apparent reason for the change in the plan could have been the attack on the Army convoy today in Kashmir and the visit would have sent wrong signals.

"There was never a plan (to visit Kashmir today) nor is there a plan now," an Army official, however, said.

Over 70 people have died and more than 10,000 injured in the clashes followed by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen's Burhan Wani in July.

17:00 I stand with the people of Kashmir: Malala

Pakistan's teenage Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has called on the United Nations, the international community, Pakistan and India to work together to improve the conditions in Kashmir, which is presently witnessing a period of massive unrest.

"The Kashmiri people, like people everywhere, deserve their fundamental human rights... They should live free of fear and repression," Malala said.

"I call on the United Nations, the international community and India and Pakistan to work together with utmost urgency to right these wrongs, providing the people of Kashmir with the dignity, respect and freedom they deserve," the Dawn quoted Malala as saying.

Killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani had sparked protests across the Indian side of Kashmir after which curfew was imposed in the region.

Malala said that due to the weeks-long curfew imposed in Kashmir "many schools have been closed... keeping children away from their classrooms."

"I stand with the people of Kashmir. My 14 million Kashmiri sisters and brothers have always been close to my heart," she said.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has questioned the all-party delegation who visited the Valley.

"I'm struggling to find a single achievement that the all party delegation can lay claim to after visiting J&K. Nothing comes to mind as yet," the National Conference leader said in a series of tweets.

"If all they had to do was issue this tame & sterile appeal they could very easily have done so without wasting the time & money on a visit," he added.

Meanwhile, the all-party delegation in his the state government has failed to deal with the situation on the ground.

"The Jammu and Kashmir government has failed to deal with situation," the delegation said after its visit.

"Separatists should be isolated and dealt with separately," the delegation added.

The manufacturer of pellet guns, used against protesters by armed forces in Kashmir, said they are generally used for hunting. The company added no tests have been conducted regarding their effect on the human body.

Defence Ministry's Pune-based ammunition factory has said the pellet shots are generally used to scare animals away, protection of crops and hunting. "Ammunition Factory Khadki does not conduct any tests vis-a-vis the effect of the Bore ammunition on the human body,' a letter addressed to the Jammu and Kashmir Police's Director General of Police from the Additional General Manager of the ammunition factory read.

A car packed with gas cylinders was discovered close to the Notre-Dame cathedral in central Paris.

The vehicle was found with its hazard lights flashing with seven canisters inside close to the landmark in the French capital.

Police say the car's owner, who is now in custody, is on an intelligence services watchlist of people suspected of religious radicalisation.

One of the canisters was empty when police found the vehicle last Saturday night.

France has been in the eye of a storm since early last year with several concerted acts of terrorism being perpetuated on its territories.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today that the "cursed, evil" Saudi ruling family did not deserve to manage Islam's holiest sites.

Meeting with the families of victims of a deadly stampede during last year's hajj pilgrimage, Khamenei said: "The Saudis' failure and incompetence in this incident proves once again that this cursed, evil family does not deserve to be in charge and manage the holy sites."

As part of Pakistan's efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's special envoy has briefed the Human Rights Council President and the ICRC President in Geneva on alleged human

rights violations in Kashmir.

Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Chairman Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly who is currently visiting Geneva as the Prime Minister's special envoy, briefed the "Geneva international community on the grave human rights situation" in Kashmir yesterday, a Pakistan Foreign Office statement said.

Leghari met the President of the Human Rights Council, President ICRC and other ambassadors to brief them about the "atrocities" being committed by the Indian forces "on the defenceless people" of Kashmir, the statement said.

15:22 China tightens quarantine against Zika

China has tightened quarantine and inspections in its southeast Guangdong Province to prevent the entry of Zika virus which has spread in some Southeast Asian countries.

Since the beginning of August, the inspection and quarantine bureau of the Guangzhou Baiyun Airport has carried out checks on 74 passengers with symptoms from Zika-hit countries or regions.

No Zika infection cases have been found, said the Guangdong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

The airport alone has a daily average of 14 flights to and from Singapore, about 2,500 entry or exit passengers.

Current high temperatures and humid weather in Guangdong increased the likelihood of a Zika epidemic, said the provincial bureau.

Singapore had confirmed 17 new cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 275.

The Supreme Court has refused to grant protection from arrest to music composer Vishal Dadlani for allegedly making scathing remarks against Jain monk Tarun Sagar.

The SC asked Dadlani to approach the concerned high court for quashing of FIR against him.

AAP supporter and music composer Vishal Dadlani raked up a controversy after he mocked Digambar Jain monk Tarun Sagar for giving a speech in Haryana assembly following which the music director and singer announced on Twitter that he was quitting from all active political work and affiliations.

Dadlani had tweeted the following: "If you voted for these people, YOU are responsible for this absurd nonsense! No #AchcheDin, just #NoKachcheDin."

A farmer attempted suicide by jumping into a canal in Karnatka's Mandya as part of a protest against the disbursement of 15,000 cusecs of water from Cauvery river to the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.

The farmer was rushed to a hospital and is currently receiving treatment.

Agitated farmers and activists belonging to pro-Kannada outfits on Tuesday blocked Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway as protests intensified in the wake of the Supreme Court directive to the state to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

Mandya district, the nucleus of Cauvery politics, saw a bandh with protesters holding road blockades and dharnas at several places, as hundreds of security personnel, including Central forces, were deployed in the Cauvery belt to maintain law and order.

The CBI filed a chargesheet in the special CBI court Pune against accused Virendra Singh Tawade in Narendra Dabholkar murder case

CBI had arrested Virendra Singh Tawde, a member of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member, in June this year in connection with the murder of noted rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013.

The Samiti is linked to Goa-based radical Hindu group Sanatan Sanstha, which had come under the scanner for the murder of another rationalist Govind Pansare in February 2015.

Just in: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Vientiane, Laos where he is scheduled to attend the ASEAN summit.

On the eve of his visit to Laos to attend ASEAN and East Asia Summits, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday night said India wishes to enhance physical and digital connectivity with the South East Asian nations and leverage the modern interconnected world for the mutual benefit.

The 29-hour countdown for the launch of ISRO's advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR on-board GSLV-F05 commenced at 11.10 hours today, the space agency said.

Earlier, the Mission Readiness Review committee and Launch Authorisation Board cleared the countdown.

"The 29 hr countdown operation of GSLV-F05/INSAT-3DR Mission has started at 11.10 hrs on September 7," ISRO said.

The lift-off is scheduled to take place from the second launch pad at the spaceport of Sriharikota, about 110 km from here, ISRO said, adding, tomorrow's launch is an advanced weather satellite that would provide a variety of "meteorological services to the country."

GSLV-F05 is the flight in which the indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage will be carried on-board for the fourth time during a GSLV flight.

GSLV-F05 is significant since it is the first operational flight of GSLV carrying Cryogenic Upper Stage.

Earlier with similar configurations, GSLV flight successfully launched D5 and D6 missions in January 2014 and August 2015, putting GSAT-14 and GSAT-6 satellites in the intended GTOs 'very accurately'.

14:01 Asteroid named after rock star Freddie Mercury

An asteroid has been named after rock star Freddie Mercury, lead vocalist of the British rock band Queen, to mark what would have been the singer's 70th birthday.

The Asteroid 17473, which was discovered in 1991 - the year Freddie died, will henceforth be known as Asteroid 17473 Freddiemercury.

The honour marked "Freddie's outstanding influence in the world," Queen guitarist Brian May said to a gathering of 1,250 fans who were celebrating the singer's 70th birth anniversary at Montreux Casino in Switzerland.

Issuing the certificate of designation, Joel Parker of the Southwest Research Institute in the US said the asteroid was a celebration for a "charismatic singer".

"Freddie Mercury sang, 'I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky' - and now that is even more true than ever before," Parker was quoted as saying by the 'BBC News'.

A certificate issued by the International Astronomical Union and the Minor Planet Centre, said that "the name is in honour of Freddie Mercury".

RSS rebels in Goa, who recently floated a parallel outfit under the leadership of sacked state chief Subhash Velingkar, will hold a convention on September 11 to work out the future course of action to step up their

campaign over the medium of instruction issue.

Velingkar, who launched the "RSS Goa Prant" on being "relieved" of his responsibilities by the Sangh after he crossed sword with the BJP over the MOI issue, today said they will chalk out programmes in the meet to strengthen the stir to press for regional launguages like Konkani and Marathi to be made the MOI in schools and stopping of the state support to English medium institutions.

The meet would also reach out to women to join the mother tongue campaign under the banner of Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch.

As the convener of BBSM, Velingkar had taken on the Goa's BJP government over its support for English-medium schools and was ousted from his post as Goa unit chief of RSS on August 31.

"Besides various other agenda, we will also deliberate on involving more women in this cause towards the country," Velingkar said.

Just In: The Supreme Court has asked states and Union territories to upload FIRs on their websites within 48 hrs of registration; the court has granted 72 hrs for those in difficult terrain.

The SC exempted uploading of FIRs on websites in sensitive cases like insurgency, sexual offences against women and kids.

The Uttar Pradesh police today arrested the prime accused in connection with the attack on senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Brijpal Teotia and his convoy, who were fired upon by assailants.

The police arrested Manoj from Uttar Pradesh's Muradnagar city.

Teotia and five others were shot at by unidentified assailants at Muradnagar in Ghaziabad on August 11. The assailants allegedly fired over 100 rounds of ammunition on his convoy.

The police have picked up large amounts of ammunition, including an AK-47 and two 9mm pistols from the crime scene.

Earlier, during August, the Uttar Pradesh police had arrested four of the 12 accused in the shootout at Teotia in Ghaziabad. The remaining eight have been identified, the police said.

The BJP leader was returning to Ghaziabad after addressing a protest against the Bulandshahr gang-rape incident where a mother-daughter duo were dragged out the car and allegedly gangraped.

In response to a PIL filed with the Gujarat high court claiming that Pokemon Go offends religious sentiments notices have been sent to the Centre, the state government and the US based Niantic Inc.

The petitioner has said eggs are considered as non-vegetarian food, and it is blasphemous to carry non-vegetarian food inside a place of worship of Hindus and Jains.

Eyes may be a reservoir for Zika virus, say scientists, including one of Indian origin, who found evidence of the virus in eyes and tears of infected

mice, a discovery that raises the possibility that the infection may spread through tears.

Zika virus causes mild disease in most adults but can cause brain damage and death in foetuses.

About a third of all babies infected in uterus with Zika show eye disease such as inflammation of the optic nerve, retinal damage or blindness after birth.

In adults, Zika can cause conjunctivitis redness and itchiness of the eyes and, in rare cases, a condition known as uveitis that can lead to permanent vision loss.

"Our study suggests that the eye could be a reservoir for Zika virus," said Michael S Diamond, a professor at Washington University School of Medicine.

"We need to consider whether people with Zika have infectious virus in their eyes and how long it actually persists," Diamond said.

To determine what effect Zika infection has on the eye, the researchers infected adult mice under the skin and found live virus in the eyes seven days later. The observations confirm that Zika is able to travel to the eye.

According to the all-party delegation that visited J&K last week the state government has failed to deal with the situation on the ground.

"The Jammu and Kashmir government has failed to deal with situation," the delegation said after its visit.

"Separatists should be isolated and dealt with separately," the delegation added.

The delegation stated that severity of the unrest was more evident in the southern part of Kashmir.

"Control people on the streets. Law and order must be maintained," the delegation advised the state.

Security has been increased at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata after a threat call was made to the Kolkata Police Headquarters in the city.

Thorough security checks are being carried out at the airport, both at the cargo and the passenger terminal.

Officials in charge of airport security suspects the call is a hoax.

According to sources, the call which was made at 01:30 at night, and the anonymous caller warned someone was planning to attack the airport. Sources the caller warned of a human bomb.

Special checks are being carried out at the airport. The police are trying to trace from where the call was made and the identity of the caller.

3 Turkish soldiers were killed and four were wounded in a missile attack by the Islamic State group in northern Syria the first Turkish casualties caused by the militants in Turkey's two-week-old incursion into Syria.

The Turkish fatalities came after Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels on Sunday expelled IS from the last strip of territory the militant group controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border, effectively sealing the extremists' self-styled caliphate off from the outside world.

Turkey launched the incursion into the so-called Euphrates Shield operation to back Syrian rebels in their fight to push IS out of the town of Jarablus and to limit the Syrian Kurdish forces' advance west of the Euphrates River.

11:45 Crude bomb hurled at BJP office in Kerala

A crude bomb was hurled at a BJP office in the heart of the city here, with the party alleging that CPI-M workers were behind the attack.

No one was injured in the incident, police said.

The incident occurred around midnight last night, shortly after BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan had left the office for Kozhikode, where preparations are on for the three-day National Executive and Council meeting from September 23 which is being attended by senior party leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party sources said.

At least four workers were on the top floor of the building, housing the office, when the bomb was hurled.

Though no one was injured, glass panes of the main entrance door were damaged in the incident, Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner S Sparjan Kumar told PTI.

The incident comes close on the heels of a series of sporadic clashes between CPI-M and BJP workers in the past few months in northern Kannur district.

After its visit to strife-torn Kashmir, the all-party delegation meets up in New Delhi to chalk out a blueprint for future plan of action in the troubled state.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who led the delegation, is chairing the meeting.

After the meet, Singh is scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee in the evening to apprise him of the situation.

Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh will visit Jammu and Kashmir today to review the security situation and brief the Union home minister.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will continue with his 'Khat Sabha' campaign today to woo farmers of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Gandhi will also undertake door to door campaign and road shows to interact with the farmers in the run-up to the UP assembly polls.

Yesterday, Gandhi reached Rudrapur via chopper and launched the party's door-to-door campaign. He began his 2500 km-long 'Kisan Yatra' as an effort to reach out to the people of Uttar Pradesh. He reached out to the farming community while cornering the Centre and Samajwadi Party government for not addressing their concerns despite making tall claims.

'Day1 of the Kisan Yatra ends in Gorakhpur. Tremendous energy & support from the people throughout the journey today.Looking fwd to tomorrow!' Rahul had said in a tweet.

The Congress vice president had earlier said his yatra is aimed at helping the poor, farmers and labourers secure their rights.

Yesterday's 'Khat Sabha' with Uttar Pradesh farmers took a dramatic turn when all the local supporters began decamping with the "khats" from the venue that had been laid out by his party.

There was unprecedented ruckus and commotion at the ground in Deoria, where the rally was held, after which people started fighting over the cots to take them home.

An American astronaut who set the US record for cumulative time in orbit safely returned to Earth today along with two Russian cosmonauts after a

six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

NASA's Jeff Williams, 58, logged 534 days in space over four missions. The ISS commander landed at 7:13 local time on the steppes of central Kazakhstan aboard a Russian-made Soyuz capsule along with Alexey Ovchinin and Oleg Skripochka.

"Touchdown! Welcome home @Astro_Jeff, officially back on Earth after 172-day mission & total 534 days on 4 missions," NASA tweeted.

A NASA live video feed showed Williams on the ground smiling and waving while talking on a satellite phone before being carried away for medical tests.

10:49 Army chief to visit J-K today

Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh will visit Jammu and Kashmir today to review the security situation in the unrest-hit Valley.

Gen Singh is scheduled to arrive here later in the day to review the security situation in the hinterland of the Valley and along the Line of Control, defence sources said.

The Army chief will be briefed about the security grid along the Line of Control and anti-militancy operations in the hinterland by senior army officers and local formation commanders, the sources said.

Over 70 people have died and more than 10,000 injured in the clashes followed by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July.

Asserting that the National Commission for Women's approach towards Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ashutosh reeks of "political favouritism", the Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal lashed out at the former for completely disregarding Union Minister Mahesh Sharma and Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who made controversial comments on women and rape.

Speaking to ANI, Maliwal said that the DCW does not agree with what Ashutosh has said because there are two problems.

"One is that somewhere he has pre-judged that the entire activity was consensual when later on the woman actually came forward and said it was not consensual and was rape. The second problem is that he has actually compared the likes of Sandeep Kumar with Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru, which the Commission completely disagrees with," she said.

Further stating that the larger issue is that the NCW has summoned Ashutosh for his views, Maliwal added that if people were being pulled up for expressing themselves, why has the NCW not issued summons to Mahesh Sharma, who equated wearing skirts with actually getting raped and Azam Khan, who said that the horrific Bulandshahr gangrape, is a political conspiracy.

A French woman who underwent the world's first partial face transplant has died in hospital aged 49 after a long illness.

Isabelle Dinoire, who lost her mouth and nose after a dog bite, made medical history in 2005 when she was given a partial face transplant using tissue from a brain-dead woman in a 15-hour operation at Amiens Picardie hospital.

Dinoire died in April, Le Figaro revealed, which was confirmed by doctors in Amiens who said they had not previously announced her death to protect her family's privacy.

Doctors did not reveal the exact cause of death. Le Figaro reported that Dinoire's body had rejected the transplant last year "and she had lost part of the use of her lips".

The drugs that she had to take to prevent her body from rejecting the transplant left her vulnerable to cancer and two cancers had developed, the paper said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Laos this morning. He is scheduled to attend the ASEAN summit which is to be held in the national capital of Vientiane.

Almost 50 million children throughout the world are "uprooted," forcibly displaced from their home countries by war, violence or persecution, the United Nations children's program said today.

"Indelible images of individual children -- Aylan Kurdi's small body washed up on a beach after drowning at sea or Omran Daqneesh's stunned and bloody face as he sat in an ambulance after his home was destroyed -- have shocked the world," United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund Executive Director Anthony Lake said in a statement.

"But each picture, each girl or boy, represents many millions of children in danger -- and this demands that our compassion for the individual children we see be matched with action for all children."

In its analysis of global data, UNICEF found that 28 million of those children were displaced by violence and conflict, including 10 million child refugees.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is unfit and unqualified to be the president of the US, his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton has said as she criticised his various policies.

"He (Trump) is temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be president of the US," Clinton said at an election rally in Tampa where she unveiled a list of allegation against the Republican leader to buttress her

point.

At a voter registration rally in Tampa, Clinton also criticised Trump's lack of policy proposals other than trillions in tax cuts to big corporations, millionaires and Wall Street money managers.

Highlighting the alleged dangerous vision for America of Trump, she said that his divisive policies would endanger the US at home and abroad.

Trump has no plan to combat ISIS and has frequently insulted US military, she said.

"His whole campaign has been one long insult to all those who have worn the uniform to protect our most cherished American values. And a man who is so wrong about our veterans isn't right to serve as our commander-in-chief," she said.

A first in the history of the United Nations, the international body's charter has been translated into Sanskrit by Dr J K Tripathi.

The translation was promoted by National Mission for Manuscripts in India & authored by Dr J K Tripathi.

"Commendable and pioneering effort that needs broader recognition. We will pursue this (effort)," India's permanent representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin told ANI.

An army convoy was attacked by militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.

According to reports, 3 soldiers were injured in the attack.

More details awaited.

PM Narendra Modi will meet Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe in Vientiane in Laos on Wednesday where they will both be present to attend the ASEAN summit..

"ASEAN is a key partner for our 'Act East' policy, which is vital for the economic development of our Northeastern region, he said in a statement ahead of his two-day visit that begins on Wednesday.

In Vientiane, the capital of Laos, Modi will attend the 14th ASEAN-India Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit.

"Our strategic partnership with ASEAN is also important for safeguarding and promoting our security interests and countering traditional and non-traditional security challenges in the region," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Chicago hit 500 homicides before the end of the summer. In 2015, the city had 480 homicides total.

According to a piece by the Chicago Tribune, the day-to-day breakdown of those figures is alarming. For example, there were 12 murders on Father's Day weekend alone. The youngest victim was just 16.

A lot of the homicides in Chicago are gun-related. There are nearly 82 shootings per week. In just one weekend in August, there were eight gun-related homicides and 64 non-fatal shootings.

Read full story HERE.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is disqualified to seek the highest office in the US in the wake of new documents released by FBI in email corruption scandal, her rival Donlad Trump has said.

"The new revelations about Hillary Clinton from the just-released FBI documents make more clear than ever that she fails to meet the minimum standard for running for public office. If she applied for a low-level job at the State Department today she couldn't even get a security clearance,"

Trump said at an election rally in North Carolina.

"Her conduct is disqualifying," Trump said as he listed out his allegations against Clinton in the wake of the FBI report.

Emboldened by latest poll, which indicates that he has eliminated the popularity gap with the former Secretary of State, Trump said it is clear from the FBI report that Hillary Clinton lied about her handling of confidential information.

She repeatedly told the country that she understood the classified system, then she told the FBI she didn't understand that the letter "C" meant confidential in the documents she emailed, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for Laos today on a two-day visit to attend the annual India-ASEAN and East Asia summits.

Hours prior to his departure, PM Modi said India wishes to enhance physical and digital connectivity with the South East Asian nations and leverage the modern interconnected world for the mutual benefit.

"ASEAN is a key partner for our 'Act East' policy, which is vital for the economic development of our Northeastern region, he said in a statement.

In Vientiane, the capital of Laos, Modi will attend the 14th ASEAN-India Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit.

He added that East Asia Summit is the premier forum for discussions on the challenges and opportunities before the Asia Pacific region.

Noting that India's ties with the countries of South East Asia are "truly historic", he said, "our engagement and approach can be best encapsulated in just one word -- connectivity."

"We wish to enhance our physical and digital connectivity; to see greater people to people links; to strengthen our institutional linkages; and, to leverage the modern interconnected world for the mutual benefit of all our people," the prime minister said.

Bilateral meetings with fellow world leaders to discuss key issues are also included in the schedule of Prime Minister Modi, who arrives in Vientiane on September 7 to attend the two Summits -- both of which are scheduled for Thursday.

The People's Liberation Army Air Force intends to field a new long-range strategic bomber, the PLAAFs top officer, General Ma Xiatian, told reporters on August 30, according to China Military Online.

"We are now developing a next generation, long-range strike bomber that you will see sometime in the future," the air force general said, without providing additional details.

The PLAAF commander's remarks publicly confirm for the first time that China has been working on a long-range bomber project.

It is unclear whether the bomber will be a based on a completely new design, or a further development of the nuclear-capable H-6K, a derivative of the Soviet-era Tupolov Tu-16 twin-engined jet strategic bomber.

The PLAAF currently operates 13 to 15 H-6K bombers, and around 100 older H-6 variants.

According to one reports, the new long-range bomber should be capable of reaching targets as far as the "second island chain" -- an area stretching from the Kurils in the north through Japan, the Bonins, the Marianas, the Carolines, and Indonesia in the south.

The settlement 21st Century Fox announced Tuesday regarding former anchor Gretchen Carlson, who filed a lawsuit this summer claiming sexual harassment by the powerful -- and now ousted -- Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, was extraordinary in many ways.

There was the speed with which the suit went from being filed, on July 6, to being settled, just two months later.

There was the reported size of the settlement, $20 million, which employment lawyers say is the largest single plaintiff pre-trial settlement for sexual harassment charges they know of (many are settled privately).

But perhaps the most striking aspect of the settlement was the company's public apology to Carlson in its statement, a move employment lawyers said was extremely rare, if not unprecedented, when it comes to sexual harassment claims.

Read more HERE

As many as 200 inmates from Yerwada Central Prison in Pune have threatened to go on hunger strike against the latest amendments in the Prison Rules which deny regular parole and furlough to convicts in the cases of rape and murder, smuggling of narcotics, dacoity and terror acts.

The inmates have given a representation to the jail superintendent which will be forwarded to the state government, jail officials said.

In a notification issued on August 26, the state government had made an amendment to the Prison Rules, 1894, denying parole and furlough to convicts in a list of crimes and also to those inmates whose appeals against convictions are pending in higher courts. The decision was taken in the wake of a convict in a serious murder case in Mumbai jumping parole.

When contacted, Yerwada Jail Superintendent UT Pawar said, "The inmates have submitted a representation to us expressing their opposition to the changes in the rules for parole. They have said if this decision is not rolled back, they will go on a hunger strike."

The amendments brought in by the government are not just about eligibility for parole and furlough but also about procedures in which these jail leaves are granted. For the last four years, state government has been meticulously registering offences against inmates who jump parole or furlough, after a large number cases came to light.

A 10-hour siege by Taliban militants on a compound that houses a local charity in the Afghan capital ended Tuesday when security forces shot dead the last of the attackers and rescued dozens of people, government officials said.

One person was killed and six others were wounded after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed vehicle late Monday in Kabul's Shar-e Naw district.

The blast occurred outside the compound used by a charity for Afghan veterans and their families, said an Afghan security official familiar with the group.

The blast opened the way for three gunmen to enter the facility, setting off a gun battle with Afghan security forces, who eventually killed the attackers and rescued 42 people, including 10 foreigners, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying their target was foreign spies. They said militants were involved in the assault on the compound, which had been under surveillance for three months.

Two members of the assembly that awards the Nobel prize for medicine are to quit for failing to heed warnings about a major ethics scandal, the panel said today.

The secretary of the Nobel Assembly, Thomas Perlmann, said Harriet Wallberg and Anders Hamsten were being asked to step down.

"The crisis of trust is such... that we are going to ask them to leave the Nobel Assembly," he told the Swedish news agency TT.

The pair are former rectors of the Karolinska Institute (KI), Sweden's top medical university, where the scandal coincided with their spells in office.

The affair centres on Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, who in 2011 soared to fame for inserting the first synthetic trachea, or windpipe.

It was a plastic structure seeded with the patient's own stem cells, immature cells that grow into specialised cells of the body's organs. Hired as a visiting professor at Karolinska in 2010, Macchiarini performed three of these operations in Stockholm and five others around the world.

His work was initially hailed as a game-changer for transplant medicine. But two patients died and a third was left severely ill.

Six firms including two offshore companies have evinced interest to partner with Indian Railways for developing levitation based train systems.

Railways had floated global Expression of Interest for major players involved in levitation-based train system for developing, constructing and running an ultra high speed rail system in India on a public private partnership basis.

However, only two global players -- American Maglev Technology from USA and Swissrapide AG from Switzerland -- responded besides four Indian firms including BHEL showed interest in the project.

Railways is looking for an average speed of 350 km per hour and a peak speed of approximately 500 km per hour for the levitation-based trains.

The last date for submission of Expression of Interest was September 6.

01:46 Bill Cosby sex assault trial date set

A judge in Pennsylvania, US has set a trial date for Bill Cosby, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at his home in 2004.

Former Temple University employee Andrea Constand alleges the 79-year-old actor drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia home.

The trial is tentatively due to begin on 5 June 2017 near Cosby's home.

At least 50 women have accused Cosby of sexual assault, and prosecutors want 13 of them to testify.

The former star of The Cosby Show faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

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