A cordon and search operation was launched by the Indian Army on Monday late night after unknown number of terrorists exchanged fire with the forces in Ajas area of Bandipora district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pranab Mukherjee delivers a powerful address to the nation -- his final one as the President of India. On July 25, President Pranab Mukherjee's term as President will come to an end as Ram Nath Kovind is sworn in. 

Five people have been injured, two seriously, in an attack by a man armed with a chainsaw in the Swiss town of Schaffhausen, the BBC reports

Central parts of the town on the German border have been sealed off, as police are searching for the attacker.

The police say the attack is not related to terrorism.

Update: Efforts to douse fire at Delhi's Lok Nayak Bhawan still underway; all people rescued safely.

A major fire broke out today in Lok Nayak Bhawan in Central Delhi, the Delhi Fire Services said.

The fire started at the fourth floor of the multi-storeyed building, located next to the upscale Khan Market, a fire official said.

"A call was received around 4 pm. Around 26 fire tenders have been pressed into service," the official said.  -- PTI

The Bombay High Court today dismissed a petition filed by a woman claiming to be the biological daughter of Sanjay Gandhi, seeking a stay on Madhur Bhandarkar's upcoming film "Indu Sarkar".

A division bench of justices Anoop Mohta and Anuja Prabhudessai said petitioner Priya Paul has not made out any case for the court to interfere and stay release of the movie after the Central Board of Film Certification already granted certificate to the movie.

"The filmmaker has submitted a disclaimer that will be shown before the movie saying all characters and incidents of the movie are fictitious and bears no resemblance to any living or dead person. The censor board has also already granted certificate to the movie after initially asking the filmmaker to cut some scenes," Justice Mohta said.

The court also noted that no acknowledged descendant of Sanjay Gandhi has raised objection to the film.

A huge fire has broken out at Lok Nayak Bhawan in the heart of Delhi, which houses many government offices.

Reports say that at least 25 fire engines are at the spot.

The fire is believed to have been caused by a short circuit on the fourth floor from where it spread rapidly.

Eight members of President-elect Ram Nath Kovind's family left for the national capital last night by the Shram Shakti Express. Kovind will be sworn-in as the 14th president of the India at 12:15 pm tomorrow. The time has been decided by Kovind in consultation with astrologers, which has been passed on to Omita Paul, secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee.

Kovind's elder brother Pyarelal, sister-in-law Vidyavati, cousins Deepak, Pankaj, Shivkumar, Hemlata and Kamlesh, and Alok, the elder brother's son-in-law, will be present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Kovind's sister-in-law carried with her 'Rasiaur', a sweet dish made with rice and sugarcane juice, and laddoos, which are among Kovind's favourite foods.

"I will also prepare 'Kadhi' in the Rashtrapati Bhawan as Kovind is very fond of it," Vidyawati said.

Kovind has also invited three friends -- Satish Chandra Misra, Madhusudan Goel and Dr Jai Gopal -- to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Dispatch from Doklam: Indians dig in for the long haul in standoff with China. Do read

Huge blow for the families of the 39 Indians missing in Iraq.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Foreign Minister of Iraq said today that they were not sure 100 per cent they were alive or not. "We don't know. We are going to do our best but we have no substantial evidence that they were killed or whether they are still alive. Can't confirm anything in that regard," al-Jaafari said on the 39 missing Indians.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is expected to make a statement on the issue of the 39 missing Indian citizens in Iraq at 5 pm in the Lok Sabha today.

The EAM met with the Iraq Foreign Minister in New Delhi today. The two leaders reportedly discussed the issue of the Indians reportedly kidnapped by ISIS three years ago from Mosul city.

His visit came just two weeks after Iraq Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the liberation of countrys second largest city, Mosul, from ISIS.


Image: MoS External Affairs VK Singh in Mosul to locate the 39 Indians abducted by IS

Xi Jinping picks war games over military parade for Chinese army's 90th birthday bash. Read more

The Women and Child Development ministry on Monday launched an online platform to enable women employees of the central government to file complaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace.

"We are also going to soon conduct a national survey to assess the nature and magnitude of sexual harassment at the workplace," Union minister Maneka Gandhi said after launching the portal at her office.

The WCD minister also instructed officials to make the 'SHe-box' (sexual harassment electronic box) as "interactive" as possible.

"To begin with, central government women employees can file complaints, but we are going to widen the ambit to include the private sector as well," she said.

"We just need to make a few changes in our online interface. Once it is done, employees from private companies would also be able to lodge complaints," Gandhi added.

The decision to host an online platform for sexual harassment cases was taken by the WCD ministry last October after the minister received complaints from women employees in various ministries.

Following the death of a Bandra biker in Maharshtra's Palghar district due to potholes, Minister of Public Works Chandrakant Bacchu Patil assured that the state government has ordered an enquiry on the issue.

Chandrakant said, "All roads do not come under PWD. The Government has ordered an enquiry, taking note of all incidents"

He further informed that the road repair can take place only after the monsoon season.

Meanwhile, the Congress strongly condemned the incident and demanded an investigation against the concerned authorities.

Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil told ANI, "It's an extremely unfortunate incident. We would be demanding Section-302 filed against the concerned officers for such grave negligence, which has become the cause of innocent deaths."

Patil said that the incident reflected the amount of corruption existing in the system.

"This shows the amount of corruption existing in the system. This needs to be fixed", he said.

On Sunday, a 36-year-old biker from Mumbai's Bandra was killed on a pothole-ridden road from Dahanu to Jawahar Road in the state.

Jagruti died on the spot due to severe injuries.

The accident took place around 9am when Jagruti along with two other women, was on a road trip to Dahanu.

The National Investigation Agency today arrested Hurriyat leaders Naeem Khan, Bitta Karate among five others in connection with the Pakistan terror funding case. The Hurriyat leaders arrested are: Naeem Khan, Bitta Karate, Sahid-ul- Islam, Altaf Fantoss, son-in-law of Syed Ali Shah Geelani; Meharajudeen, Peer Saifullah and Ayaz Akbar.

Pandemonium reined in Parliament on Monday when the opposition trooped into the Wells of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to protest against the Centre's recent actions with regard to the Bofors Gun Case, frequent incidents of mob lynching arising out of the ban on cow slaughter and the National Eligibility-cum-entrance Test.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan suspended five Congress MPs for five days for creating a ruckus in the house while discussing cow lynching. The MPs include Gaurav Gogoi, K Suresh, Sushmita Deb, Adhir Ranjan Chaudary, Ranjeet Ranjan.

Uproarious scenes and disruptions were also witnessed as the opposition cornered the government on several issues and also sought a discussion on farmer suicides.

In the Lok Sabha, the opposition disrupted Question Hour by raising slogans against the government over incidents of cow vigilantism. The ruckus continued for over an hour.

Some of the protesting members also threw papers at Speaker Sumitra Mahajan as the treasury benches countered the opposition over questions related to mob lynching and Bofors scam allegations.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the Speaker as to why his adjournment motion on mob lynching and cow vigilantism was rejected. He pointedly asked that when the country is facing incidents of lynching and attacks on Dalits, minorities and women, it was a clear case of failure on the part of the government to protect marginalized sections of society.


Union minister and BJP leader Ananth Kumar countered and retorted by saying that the country worships the cow and the cow must be protected. He said that any crime happening in the name of cow would not be tolerated.

This statement caused pandemonium and led Speaker Mahajan to adjourn proceedings on the House till 2 p.m.

The opposition also raised objections to a six-member sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee on defence looking into non-compliance of certain aspects of the Comptroller and Auditor General report of 1986 on the Bofors howitzer gun deal.

A majority of the members of a parliamentary sub-committee have asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to move the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court's 2005 order quashing proceedings in the Bofors case.

CBI Director Alok Verma and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra were among the officials who appeared before the panel headed by BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab last week and faced questions from members of the sub-committee on defence attached to the PAC on why the premier investigating agency did not approach the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court dismissed proceedings in the case in 2005.

Surinder Koli (pictured) and Moninder Pandher get the death penalty in the 8th case of Pinki Sarkar's kidnapping, rape and murder in the Nithari killings.

A Central Bureau of Investigation court at Ghaziabad gave the death sentence to Surinder Koli and Moninder Singh Pandher on Monday in connection with one of the 16 cases of murder and rape in Nithari, Noida.

The CBI Special Judge who pronounced the sentence called it a rarest of rare case.

"There is no scope for their (the accuseds) reform or rehabilitation. This case falls under the category of rarest of rare and both deserve death penalty, the CBI special judge said.

On Saturday, the CBI court held both the accused guilty of attempted rape, murder and destruction of evidence. Out of the 16 cases, eight have been decided so far and the Ghaziabad court has awarded prime accused Surinder Kohli death penalty in each case.

Arrested in December 2006, Pandher walked out of Dasna jail in Ghaziabad in September 2014 after getting bail in all cases. Koli is still in the same prison. After being held guilty in this case, Pandher was again taken into custody and sent to Dasna jail.

In the end, it was heartbreak by nine runs for India. But to get so close in front of a packed and partisan crowd at Lord's signalled a huge achievement.

Charles Dagnall from the BBC's Test Match Special was brutally honest: "India had this game won. You have got to give them credit for the match but if you are being honest they have only themselves to blame."

But when the tears have dried - and tonight there will be tears - the battle-hardened Indian women will be psychologically better prepared for the next encounter. Read the full report here.

Akshay Kumar, who caught India and England fight for the Women's Cricket World Cup trophy in Lords on Sunday, has apologised for violating the code of conduct for the tricolor.

In a now deleted tweet, the 'Rustom' star, while cheering for the Indian team, was seen waving the Indian flag upside down. Following which, the actor was trolled on social media.

Akshay has now issued an apology which reads, "Extending my sincerest apology for violating the code of conduct for the tricolor. Didn't mean to offend anyone,the picture has been removed"

The 49-year-old has been shooting in Leeds, for 'Gold' - the story of independent India's first Olympic gold win by the country's men's hockey team.

The Supreme Court issues a notice to the Centre on a plea seeking permission to abort a 26-week-long foetus of a 10-year-old rape survivor. The SC fixes the plea for hearing on Friday and asks doctors to ascertain risks on the life of the victim if foetus is aborted. The court also asks member secretary of Chandigarh Legal Services Authority to get the rape survivor examined at PGI Chandigarh on Wednesday.   

Update: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking re-investigation and prosecution of persons, including separatist leaders Yasin Malik and Bitta Karate, in connection with the killing of over 700 Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley during 1989-90.

A bench comprising of Chief Justice of India JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud said that the evidence would be difficult to find as almost 27 years have passed by.

The apex court also asked the petitioner to come up with the evidences, if possible.Advocate for petitioner Vikash Pandora appearing for the organisation 'root of Kashmir', said that Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave their homes.

He accepted that there is a delay from their side but neither the Center nor the State and not even the judiciary have taken any notice.

Relating to the murders of over 700 Kashmiri Pandits, till now 215 FIRs have been lodged but not a single case has reached to their logical conclusion.

The Supreme Court refuses to entertain a plea on the investigation and prosecution of people including Yasin Mallik and Bitta Karate in the killing of Kashmiri Pandits in 1989-90.

The organisations working for Kashmiri Pandits at Jammu had demanded that the Centre take a fresh view of its policy for the communitys rehabilitation in the Kashmir Valley. They claimed that the BJP-PDP Government in Jammu and Kashmir failed to ensure safety of 1,800 Kashmiri Pandit employees under the Prime Ministers special package announced for the displaced communitys return to homeland.

India Today had reported that JKLF leader Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate's admitted on camera that he had killed 20 Kashmiri Pandits. In the video, he is heard saying that his first victim was Satish Kumar Tikoo, whose crime was that he was a Kashmiri Pandit and "was believed to be from the RSS."

Update on the investigation in murder of Deputy SP Ayub Pandit:

Munir Khan, IG Kashmir, said, "20 accused have been arrested and more arrests will be made soon. One accused involved in lynching the DSP was killed in an encounter between police and security forces at Budgam on 12th July.

"The case is going on expeditiously and effectively. The lynching of Deputy SP was a very serious incident and the first of its kind in the Valley," the IG said.

The deputy superintendent of police was stripped naked and stoned to death by a mob outside the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar in a bizarre incident which drew all-round condemnation, including from Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and separatist Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.

Describing the incident as 'shameful', the Chief Minister wondered how long the police would show restraint as she warned that there could be a backlash if the force loses patience.

Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University Jagdish Kumar said, that the presence of an Army tank in the varsity will remind the students of sacrifices and valor of the defence forces.

Kumar called on Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh to help the University procure a tank.

"Would like to request VK Singh ji to help us procure an Army tank so that we can put it on display in the university. Presence of an Army tank will constantly remind students of great sacrifice and valor of Indian Army and defence forces," said Kumar.

On the occasion of 18th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas, the JNU organised a programme to commemorate India's glorious victory and to pay homage to the Indian Army and the Kargil martyrs.Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, General (Retired) V.K. Singh, and the Mentor of Veterans India, Major General G.D. Bakshi, and cricketer Gautam Gambhir took part in Tiranga March.

Addressing the gathering, Pradhan said, "The JNU has set an example in the country for its respect for the Indian Army. I congratulate the JNU VC for organising this kind of historic event. It is a proud day for every citizen of the country."

The victory of Ram Nath Kovind in India's 15th presidential election last week was a foregone conclusion. As the candidate of the ruling National Democratic Alliance, Kovind always had an edge. It became a cakewalk once Nitish Kumar and Naveen Patnaik and sundry other regional satraps decided to back him. As such, the result of the election declared on July 20 was not exactly breaking news. But in today's world where there is little difference between news and hype, the media went into a breathless tizzy over the Kovind victory. Read more

The Samajwadi Party on Monday demanded a strict action against Bihar's Aurangabad District Magistrate Kanwal Tanuj (pictured), who stated those who cannot afford a toilet, should sell off their wives.


"He is an IAS officer and they are trained to have control on their language. Their salary comes out of the tax paid by people. His remark is against his conduct rules. Action should be taken against him. I would want to urge the government and the Chief Minister (Nitish Kumar), to take strict action against him," SP leader Juhi Singh told ANI.


Yesterday, the Aurangabad DM said that those who cannot build a toilet for their wives, should sell them.He was addressing a public gathering on Saturday during a cleanliness drive in Jamhore village of the Aurangabad district.


"Due to lack of toilets, women get raped and harassed. It only costs Rs. 12,000 for the construction of the toilet. Is 12,000 more than anyone's wife's dignity? Who can let her wife get raped in return of Rs. 12000?" Tanuj said.


"If this is your mentality then go and sell your wife. Those who cannot build toilet should sell or auction his wife," he added.

What a day for the markets!

Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex hits lifetime high of 32,135.91 points in opening trade, up by 108.98 points.

NSE Nifty also scaled a new peak of 9,939.30 points.

Lauding Punjab's girl Harmanpreet Kaur for her brilliant performance in ICC Women World Cup tournament, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday offered the star cricketer a post in Punjab Police, if she still desired to join the force.

The young girl has made the state proud with her performance that had steered team India to a semi-final victory and given a tight fight to England in the final match to emerge a close second.

Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh said Harmanpreet deserved all the adulation and recognition that was coming her way.

Taking cognisance of media reports that Harmanpreet had wanted to join the Punjab Police some years ago, the chief minister said his government was keen to correct the wrong perpetrated on the young cricketer by the Badal government, which had refused to accommodate the national player in the Punjab Police.

The chief minister earlier promised to review the state's sports policy to provide government jobs to young sportspersons like Harmanpreet, and also announced Rs 5 lakh cash award for the cricketing marvel.

Captain Amarinder, who called up Harmanpreet's father Harmandar Singh during the day, said his government would initiate steps to change the sports policy to accommodate budding sportspersons in government jobs, which the erstwhile Badal Government had denied to the young lady. -- ANI

United States President Donald Trump on Sunday lashed out at some members of his party who gained from his electoral win but now 'do very little to protect' him.

He tweeted, 'It's very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President.'

The President, however, did not mention any names.

However, what issue Trump wants to be protected on, is still not clear.

His administration is currently beleaguered with continuing investigations into potential ties between his campaign and the Russian government. -- ANI

A car bomb has exploded in western Kabul.

At least 10 people killed in the car bombing, a minister said.

More details awaited.

President Pranab Mukherjee will address the nation today on the eve of demitting office.

In a grand ceremony yesterday, Parliamentarians from both the Houses gathered at the Central Hall to bid farewell to the outgoing Raisina Hill occupant.Overwhelmed with the ceremony, President Mukherjee thanked everybody present in the Hall, most particularly the Parliament for 'creating' him and spoke about his warm association with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while also lauding him for various 'transformational changes'.

"If I claim I am the creation of this Parliament, perhaps it will not be treated as immodesty. The Parliament gave a direction to my political vision as I got to learn a lot from the serious discussions held in both Houses of the Parliament," he said, adding, he attended the first session of the Parliament on July 22, 1969.

Mukherjee also said the government should avoid the ordinance route and it should be reserved only for compelling circumstances.

Concluding his address as he shouted 'Jai Hind', the President thanked the gathering again for the farewell given to him, adding, "I leave with a sense of fulfillment and happiness of having served the country." -- ANI

A mob on Sunday set ablaze a truck after it overturned on the National Highway in Odisha's Berhampur, alleging that it was carrying beef, police said.

The driver and the cleaner of the truck fled from the spot when the mob attack took place near Golanthara, the a police official said.

The truck was on its way from Bihar to Mumbai when it overturned after losing balance, the official said.

After it overturned, a packet fell off from it, which the locals alleged contained beef, the police official said.

"We will examine the contents of the packets to ascertain wheather it was beef or not," said sub divisional police officer, Berhampur Sadar, Ashok Kumar Mohanty.

Meanwhile, tension gripped the area and people blocked the national highway, demanding immediate arrest of the driver and the cleaner.

Senior police officers rushed to the spot to control the situation. They also seized some packets from the truck.

"The National Highway has been cleared," Mohanty said.  -- PTI

Image for representation only.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets:

'Saddened by demise of renowned scientist, prof UR Rao. His remarkable contribution to India's space programme will never be forgotten.'

Eminent space scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Udupi Ramachandra Rao passed away in Bengaluru in the wee hours today due to age related ailments.

He was 85. "Rao breathed his last during the early hours, around 3 AM today," ISRO Public Relations Director Deviprasad Karnik told PTI.

He was suffering from age related ailments and breathed his last at his residence in the city.

Rao is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter, ISRO officials said.

Born in Adamaru area of Karnataka's Udupi district, Rao was involved in all ISRO missions till date in one capacity or the other.

He is credited for contributions to the development of space technology in India and its extensive application to communications and remote sensing of natural resources.

He was currently serving as the chairman of the governing council of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad and the chancellor of the Indian institute of science and technology in Thiruvananthapuram. Rao served as the chairman of ISRO for 10 years from 1984-1994.

After taking charge as chairman of the space commission and secretary, department of space in 1984, he accelerated the development of rocket technology which led to the successful launch of ASLV rocket and the operational PSLV launch vehicle, which can launch 2.0 ton class of satellites into polar orbit, his profile on the space agency's website reads.

He also initiated the development of the Geo Stationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the development of cryogenic technology in 1991.

Rao was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1976 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2017 for his contribution to Indian space technology.

He has published over 350 scientific and technical papers covering cosmic rays, interplanetary physics, high energy astronomy, space applications, satellite and rocket technology and authored many books.

Rao also became the first Indian space scientist to be inducted into the prestigious 'Satellite Hall of Fame' in Washington, DC on March 19, 2013, and the 'IAF Hall of Fame' in Mexico's Guadalajara.  -- PTI