The UK police on Monday have identified two of the three men behind Saturday night's terror attack in London as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

India's heaviest rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) was launched on its maiden flight into space along with a communications satellite GSAT-19 this evening.

The countdown began at 3.58 pm on Sunday, an official of the Indian space agency said. The rocket was launched at 5:28 pm.

The rocket, weighing 640 tonnes and standing 43.43 metres tall, will blast off from the second launch pad at India's rocket port at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, around 105 km from Chennai.

It will carry a 3,136-kg GSAT-19 communications satellite the heaviest to be lifted by an Indian rocket till date to an altitude of around 179 km above the Earth after just over 16 minutes into the flight.


The mission's success will enable India to launch four-tonne satellites on its own rocket instead of paying huge amounts of money to foreign space agencies to execute the operation.


According to ISRO, GSAT-19 with a life span of 10 years is a multi-beam satellite that carries Ka and Ku band forward and return link transponders and geostationary radiation spectrometer.

A Pakistani-origin man was among three knife-wielding militants responsible for carrying out the brutal London terror attack that killed seven people and injured 49, according to a media report.

The man, identified as 'Abz' is believed to have been the ringleader of the trio that carried out the horror attack at two London landmarks, The Mirror reported.

Abz, 27, is said to be from Barking in east London, was pictured lying on the ground after police swooped on the attackers on Saturday night and shot them dead in a flurry of 50 bullets.

Seven people were killed and 49 injured when the trio rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing revellers in bars in the nearby Borough Market.

Abz, a father of two children, appeared to pray to an Islamic State flag in a London park in a TV documentary about the behaviour and motivations of British extremists. Police are searching four houses in Barking and have made 12 arrests as part of their investigation into the atrocity.

His neighbours said the Arsenal away fan had been wearing the club's replica shirt the day before the attack, matching the one worn by one of the suspects pictured lying on the ground with what appear to be canisters taped around his body. The terrorist was a home-grown jihadi who came from Pakistan as a child but was brought up in the UK, the report said.

He was twice reported to anti-terror authorities, the report quoted sources as saying. A neighbour said he immediately noticed the Arsenal away shirt Abz was wearing after being shot dead by police outside the Wheatsheaf pub on Saturday night.

He said: "I looked on Twitter and saw one of the terrorists who had been shot by police and he looked 90 per cent like my neighbour - he was even wearing the same Arsenal shirt that I had seen him in at 5 pm that evening."

Abz is the only one of the attackers identified so far. He lived in a block of flats with his wife and two young children which was raided by police early on Sunday.

Ken Chigbo, 26, who lives in the same building, described him as "really sociable" and said Abz had invited him to a barbecue just last week. The latest terror attack, just four days before the general election on June 8, comes less than two weeks after a suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, targeted a Manchester concert on May 22, killing 22 people.

"National unity and acceptance of cultural diversity was never more important than now when the world enters an unstable and dangerous phase," says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd). Read more

The UK Foreign Office @foreignoffice tweets: Flying the flag at half-mast as a mark of respect following the tragic events in London. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal united in their condemnation of the CBI raids at NDTV founder Prannoy Roys New Delhi residence and three other locations for allegedly causing losses to a private bank.


Banerjee described Roy as highly respected and reputed and said the trend of conducting such search operations was disturbing. Shocked at the raids on Dr @PrannoyRoyNDTVs house. He is highly respected and reputed. Disturbing trend, Banerjee tweeted.


In a separate tweet, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condemned the CBI searches, saying it was an attempt to silence independent and anti-establishment voices.


We strongly condemn raids on Dr Roy and NDTV group. Its an attempt to silence independent and anti-establishment voices, Kejriwal tweeted.


The CBI has registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika and RRPR Holdings for allegedly causing losses of Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank, agency sources said. They said the agency was conducting searches at four places in the national capital and Dehradun.

NDTV in a statement said its promoters would fight tirelessly against this witch-hunt by multiple agencies. We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India. We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces, it said.


File pic.

The British police have not yet revealed the identities of the London Bridge/Borough Market attackers.

TTV Dinakaran reaches Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara jail to meet VK Sasikala. Dinakaran, who was arrested in the Election Commission in a bribery case, is out on on bail after spending close to two months in Delhi's Tihar jail.

More on the Sushma Swaraj's statement:

-- There has been a 37.5 per cent increase in FDI since the NDA government took over three years ago.

-- Indo-US relationship progressing under Donald Trump as it did during Obama's presidency.

-- We opposed China's OBOR project as it involves India's
sovereignty.

-- On Chinese choppers over Chamoli district: India to raise airspace violation issue with China. 

-- No Nawaz-Modi meeting on the cards in Kazhakstan this week. Both Modi and Sharif are to attend a multilateral meeting in Astana. "No meeting is scheduled either on our side or on theirs," Sushma Swaraj said.

-- India wants countries which back its bid for NSG membership to talk to China for Beijing's support.

-- India wants to resolve all issues with Pakistan bilaterally, but talks and terror do not go together. There is no flip-flop in India's policy on Pakistan.

File pic.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addresses an annual press conference on three years of governance.  Addressing the press meet alongside VK Singh (MoS External Affairs), MJ Akbar (MoS External Affairs) and MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay, Swaraj said the security of Indians abroad has always been a priority of her government. She said she has simplified passport laws which saw a 50% increase in applications. 80,000 Indians in trouble abroad rescued in the last three years. She said America's new HI1B visa rules were a matter of concern for India.

On Indo-US ties, Swaraj said: PM Modi has spoken to US President Trump three times, while she has also spoken to his foreign minister.

-- India, US have ties that are mutually beneficial. US is a major defence partner.

-- US has given no indication that it wants to dilute its relationship with India in any way.

Paris climate deal: India is committed to the Paris climate deal. It is a signatory to the deal irrespective of America's participation.

India signed the deal because it believes in a better environment. India committed to creating a better environment, it is in our ethos. It is part of Indian culture. India has neither been forced to sign the accord nor did we receive any monetary benefits for signing the accord.

A speeding bike in a busy south Delhi market ended the life of a journalist working with a leading daily who decided to stop and buy fish for his family on his way home.

Raj Kumar Ray, 46, who worked as associate editor with the Hindustan Times, was killed yesterday evening in south Delhi's Govindpuri market when he was walking to his parked car.

Ray, the sole breadwinner of his family, is survived by his mother, whom he had just dropped to the New Delhi Railway Station, his wife and his six-year-old son.

Police said Ray was on his way to home to Faridabad from the station when he decided to stop and buy fish. It was 5.17 pm when a speeding bike hit him with massive force, leading to severe head injuries.

As you may be aware, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi is reading the Upanishads and the Bhagwad Gita to 'take on the RSS and the BJP'.

In fact, Rahul is being tutored through every chapter of both the religious texts and it can now be revealed that it is former environment minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh who has been hand-holding Rahul by using condensed versions of the texts.

Ramesh has memorised all the 18 chapters of the Gita and can chant some of the important shlokas of the Gita without referring to notes.

Many seniors in the Congress called up Ramesh after Rahul went public with the news that he was trying to understand both the Gita and the Upanishads.

Gandhi spoke at length in the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and evinced a keen interest to read both the texts.

"Nowadays, I study the Upanishads and the Gita since I am fighting the RSS and BJP," he said addressing party functionaries in Chennai.

"I ask them (RSS men), my friend, you are doing this, you are oppressing people, but it is written in the Upanishad that all people are the same and how come you are contradicting what your own religion says," party sources quoted him as having told them.

He alleged that BJP does not fundamentally "understand India," and "understand only Nagpur," headquarters of the RSS.

Update on the hostage crisis in Melbourne, Australia:

Sky News reports: It's understood two police officers have been shot, and a gunman is dead, after a hostage situation at a south-east Melbourne apartment block.

The officers were believed to have been trying to storm the apartment when they were injured, their conditions are unknown.

Emergency services, including SES crews, were called to the scene on Bay Street about 4pm on Monday where they located the body of a man who appeared to have been shot in the foyer of the building.

Police were negotiating with the man who was holding a woman hostage inside one of the apartments.

Yogendra Yadav @_YogendraYadav That's the point. Whatever be the technicalities and the charges against @ndtv Intent is clearly to muzzle the remaining voices of dissent

A Delhi Court seeks reply from Tihar Jail on a plea by Yasin Bhatkal, the founder of the terror organisation Indian Mujahideen, alleging physical harassment and human rights violations by jail authorities. Bhatkal's plea also seeks CBI and ACB probe in the matter. The court has sought a reply from the Tihar Jail authorities by June 8.

A NIA court sentenced to death Bhatkal and four others in December 2016 for orchestrating the twin blasts in Hyderabad in 2013 that killed 19 people and injured 130.

Qatar Airways suspends all flights to Saudi Arabia.

Just in: Police are responding to an apparent hostage situation in Brighton near Melbourne, Australia. Reports of possible explosion in area as well. The Daily Express reports that a man is dead and one woman has been held hostage.

Sky News confirms the report: "One man is dead and Victoria Police are responding to a hostage situation after an explosion at a south-east Melbourne apartment block."

Sky News says emergency services were called to the scene on Bay Street about 4pm on Monday where they located the body of a man who appeared to have been shot in the foyer of the building.

Police are trying to negotiate with a man inside one of the apartments, who is believed to be holding a woman hostage.

Shots have rung out at the scene with residents told to take cover at a nearby Coles, while those in the building have been evacuated.


Image: Emergency crew outside the building where the woman is being held hostage. The image was tweeted by the Daily Express.

R Sooraj, the PhD scholar from IIT-Madras, who was thrashed by students believed to have an allegiance to right-wing groups, for holding a beef festival in the campus, is still in the ICU.

Sooraj's friend told Rediff.com that the PhD scholar was hit so hard on the eye, that the bone below the eye was fractured. He underwent surgery two days ago and is recuperating at the ICU of a private hospital.

The beef festival was held last week to protest the central government's ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets. The organiser of the festival at the prestigious institution told Rediff.com that six to seven students surrounded Sooraj, an aerospace engineering student during the lunch hour at the hostel canteen and attacked him.

No action has been taken either by IIT or the Chennai police on the assaulters, say the students.

-- A Ganesh Nadar in Chennai.

China today welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks in Russia that not a single bullet has been fired at Sino-India border in the last 40 years despite the simmering boundary dispute between the two neighbours.

"We have noted positive remarks made by Prime Minister Modi. We welcome that," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing when asked about Modi's comments made during his visit to Russia last week. Modi said the world has increasingly become inter-connected and inter-dependent, a transformation that has made it necessary for India and China to cooperate on trade and investments despite a simmering border dispute.

"It is true that we have a border dispute with China. But in the last 40 years, not a single bullet has been fired because of border dispute," Modi said speaking at a panel discussion at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The Director General of Military Operations of the Indian Army met his Pakistani counterpart today and discussed the current situation along the LoC and highlighted the needless escalations by the Pakistani Army.

Lauding the Indian Army for its alertness and bravery during the retaliatory fire by the 45 Battalion Central Reserve Police Force and the Jammu and Kashmir Police at Sumbal in Bandipora, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday said that efforts are on to identify the terrorists and the organisation they belong to.

"The terrorists were not local. They had come with an intention to create mayhem but fortunately our armed forces retaliated effectively. We are trying to identify who these terrorists were and which organisation they belonged to," Jammu and Kashmir DGP SP Vaid said. He added that the Army retaliated the fire and the exchange of fire continued for some time.

"The police and army enforcements were rushed to the spot. Four dead bodies of the terrorists were found later," he added.

Meanwhile, CRPF Director General R. R. Bhatnagar said that the terrorists were armed with automatic grenades and other weapons.

"Their intention was to enter the camp and then cause huge damage. It was the alertness and bravery of our troops which stopped these terrorists from entering the campus. We were able to liquidate them without any losses on our side," he added.

At least four militants were killed in retaliatory firing by 45 Battalion CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) at Sumbal in Bandipora district this morning.

The militants were reportedly attempting a suicide attack on the CRPF camp.

"The terrorists tried storming camp around 3:30 a.m. to execute a fidayeen attack. Four terrorists have been gunned down," Yogesh Kumar, Sub Inspector CRPF said.

The CRPF also confirmed about the neutralization of four militants on its Twitter handle while stating that CRPF and Sumbal Police successfully foiled fidayeen attack on army camp.

The army also recovered four AK-47 rifles, one fitted with UBGL, grenades and huge cache of ammunition.


Image: CRPF jawans celebrate the end of the encounter with unidentified terrorists at Bandipora in Kashmir. Pic: Umar Ganie

One Special Operation Group (SOG) jawan lost his life while 10 others sustained injuries due to a Maoist ambush in the forest area near Khamankhol under Baliguda sub-division in Kandhamal district of Odisha.

The incident reportedly took place last night when the jawans were returning from a  combing operation.

Three soldiers have been admitted to the Baliguda Hospital, while the other seriously injured have been referred to the MKCG Medical college, Berhampur.

USA backs Qatar, urges Gulf states to address differences and stay united.

"This government does not believe in interfering. They (CBI) must have some information, that's why they might have taken steps. Law is taking its own course, there is no witch-hunting at all," I&B Minister Venkaiah Naiduon CBI raids at Prannoy Roy's residences in New Delhi and Dehradun.

Authorities today prevented separatists from holding a meeting at residence of hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Geelani, placing several leaders including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq under house arrest.

A posse of police personnel were posted outside Geelani's residence at Hyderpora where the separatists leaders were to hold a meeting and later address a press conference, a police official said.

He said no one was allowed to enter Geelani's residence. "Mirwaiz has once again been put under arrest since late last evening. He was to attend the joint resistance meeting at veteran leader Geelani's residence today," a Hurriyat spokesman said.

"The anti-Kashmiri state resorted to its usual tactic of curbing the leadership, once again showing that Kashmir is ruled by the forces' might," he added.

JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik was taken into preventive custody and lodged at a police station.

The meeting was convened by the separatists to discuss the NIA raids on several of their second rung leaders as part of crackdown on funding street protests and businessmen suspected of carrying out hawala operations.

Update: India's heaviest rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) is set for its maiden flight into space along with a communications satellite GSAT-19 this evening.

The countdown began at 3.58 pm on Sunday, an official of the Indian space agency said. The rocket is scheduled to be launched at 5:28 pm today.

The rocket, weighing 640 tonnes and standing 43.43 metres tall, will blast off from the second launch pad at India's rocket port at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, around 105 km from Chennai.

It will carry a 3,136-kg GSAT-19 communications satellite the heaviest to be lifted by an Indian rocket till date to an altitude of around 179 km above the Earth after just over 16 minutes into the flight.


The mission's success will enable India to launch four-tonne satellites on its own rocket instead of paying huge amounts of money to foreign space agencies to execute the operation.


According to ISRO, GSAT-19 with a life span of 10 years is a multi-beam satellite that carries Ka and Ku band forward and return link transponders and geostationary radiation spectrometer.


Image: Panoramic view of the GSLV-Mk III-D1 to be launched today.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of deceased in Bareilly truck-bus collision and also Rs 50,000 for those injured. The death toll rose to 22 this morning in a truck-bus collision in Bareilly.

A NGO led by Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra will adopt 208 farmer families, whose only earning members have committed suicide, the NGO's top official told PTI.

The Padma Bhushan Dr Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil Foundation will be launched on June 15 and adopt distressed farmer families from Ahmednagar district, the NGO's chief executive Sujay Vikhe Patil said.

Balasaheb Vikhe Patil, a former union minister, was engaged in social work. The Congress leader's son Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil is currently leader of opposition in the Maharashtra assembly. He has served as agriculture minister in the previous Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government.

The initiative will commence on his birthday on June 15, the NGO's CEO said, adding programs are organised every year on the occasion. The foundation will provide aid to the wife, parents and children of 208 farmer families in Ahmednagar district, he said.

It will take care of education, marriage and healthcare needs of these families, and also try to provide a source of income by supporting the families to start a business or secure a job, he said.


Also read: P Sainath: How states fudge the data on declining farmer suicides

Dr Rashmi Singh, a professor of International Relations at Brazil's PUC Minas and a former lecturer in Terrorism Studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, speaks to Rediff.com's Archana Masih on the challenges to fending off lone wolf terrorism.  Read the interview here.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today condoled the loss of lives in a bus accident in Uttar Pradesh and sanctioned Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of those killed. He also announced Rs 50,000 for each of those injured in the collision between a truck and a bus in Bareilly.

Twenty-two persons were burnt alive and 15 were injured in the accident.

"The bus accident in UP's Bareilly is heart-rending. I condole the loss of lives. I pray that those injured recover at the earliest," Modi said in his message.

NDTV has issued a statement on its website, hours after a CBI raid at co-founder Prannoy Roy's residence. Reports said that the CBI registered a case against Prannoy and his wife and co-founder of NDTV Radhika Roy and others for causing an alleged loss to ICICI Bank to the tune of 48 crore.

The NDTV statement reads:

"This morning, the CBI stepped up the concerted harassment of NDTV and its promoters based on the same old endless false accusations.

"NDTV and its promoters will fight tirelessly against this witch-hunt by multiple agencies. We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India.

"We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces."

Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad says it is suspending flights to Qatar amid Gulf diplomatic rift.

No, the image has not been photo-shopped. In Jaipur, a horse broke into a car's windshield after a collision between the two. The horse and the car driver suffered injuries. The collision happened yesterday.  

Sonia Singh‏ @soniandtv Stand fully with Prannoy & Radhika Roy,the most honest, decent & courageous people I know. We will not be cowed down by false charges


Ajai Shukla‏ @ajaishukla CBI raid on @PrannoyRoyNDTV is watershed for free media in India. Media house's reactions will go down in history, just as in the Emergency.

Rahul Gandhi, who has accused BJP-RSS of attempting to thrust one idea on the nation, said every individual, be it in Tamil Nadu or Uttar Pradesh, had a right to express dissent if they were aggrieved, and imposition of one idea was not acceptable.


While expressing his appreciation for the people of Tamil Nadu, their language, culture and culinary, "which is a strength for India like other states," Gandhi said he had a special connect with the state.


He also said that "he has decided to start watching Tamil movies," and "read about the culture of Tamil Nadu people."


"Sent an SMS to my sister, I told my sister that I love coming to Tamil Nadu. I don't know ... Some how I feel very connected to Tamil people," Gandhi said."I wrote (to Priyanka), I love Tamil, Tamils. She wrote back I love them too," he added.


Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Su Thirunavukkarasar, Congress Legislature Party leader K R Ramasamy were among the functionaries who attended the meeting.

Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said he was reading the Upanishads and the Bhagwad Gita to take on the RSS and the BJP.

"Nowadays, I study the Upanishads and the Gita since I am fighting the RSS and BJP," he said addressing party functionaries in Chennai.

"I ask them (RSS men), my friend, you are doing this, you are oppressing people, but it is written in the Upanishad that all people are the same and how come you are contradicting what your own religion says," party sources quoted him as having told them.

He alleged that BJP does not fundamentally "understand India," and "understand only Nagpur," headquarters of the RSS.

Taking potshots at Narendra Modi, he said BJP men were under the impression that the "entire universal knowledge" came out of the Prime Minister.

Severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, Bahrain's foreign affairs ministry on Monday issued an advisory for all Qatari diplomatic staff to leave the country within the next 48 hours and also issued an 14-day ultimatum to Qatari citizens to leave Bahraini territories.


Bahrain has accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, media incitement and funding linked to Iranian groups to carry out sabotage and spreading chaos in Bahrain.


Bahrain said it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from the Qatari capital of Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period.


The ministry's statement has also given 14 -day ultimatum to Qatari citizens as they have to leave Bahrain within two weeks and that air and sea traffic between the two countries would be halted.Bahrain has announced it is cutting all ties and relations what so ever with Qatar, according to a statement carried on Bahrain News Agency.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have broken off diplomatic relations and all land sea and air contacts with fellow Gulf Arab state Qatar over allegations that the latter is encouraging terrorism and extremism.


Riyadh has accused Qatar of backing terrorism and extremism, while Bahrain has charged Qatar with interfering in it internal affairs.


Saudi Arabia had decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar "proceeding from the exercise of its sovereign right guaranteed by international law and the protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism," The Guardian has reported.


Saudi Arabia said the move was necessary to protect the kingdom from what it described as terrorism and extremism.


Bahrain's foreign affairs ministry issued a statement that it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period.


The ministry's statement said Qatari citizens needed to leave Bahrain within two weeks and that air and sea traffic between the two countries would be halted. It wasn't immediately clear how that would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers.


Image: US President Donald Trump at the Arab Islamic American Summit last month.

CBI registered a case against Prannoy, Radhika Roy and others for causing an alleged loss to ICICI Bank to the tune of 48 crore, says news agency ANI quoting CBI sources.

Stock markets came off their peak and turned weak early today on emergence of profit-booking after recent rally amid mixed Asian cues.

The 30-share Sensex, which had gained 135.70 points to close at record high at 31,273.29 on Friday's trade, slipped by 40.64 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 31,232.65 with sectoral indices like FMCG, Metal and IT trading in the negative zone, falling by up to 0.27 per cent.

On similar lines, the NSE Nifty retreated from life-time high as it succumbed to profit-booking to quote 11.75 points lower, or 0.12 per cent, at 9,641.75. It had closed at an all-time high of 9,653.50 on Friday.

New Delhi Television (NDTV) co-founder and executive chairperson Prannoy Roy's Delhi residence was today raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation department in the early hours. The reason behind the raids is not known yet.

Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy had last year written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing NDTV of money laundering. He had urged the PM to direct the CBI to file a case against NDTV under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In April last year, the income-tax department had served a tax notice to RRPR Holding, a promoter group company of listed broadcaster New Delhi Television on two transactions dating back to 2009-10, totalling a sum of nearly Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion).

According to the I-T notice, served earlier this year, the first of the two transactions was a Rs 403.85-crore (Rs 4.03 billion) "interest-free loan" granted by Vishvapradhan Commercial Pvt Ltd (VCPL) in July 2009. Read more on that here.

Last month the Indian Army honoured Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi with a 'Commendation Card' for his 'sustained efforts' in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

The recognition comes barely a month after he tied a supposed stone-pelter to his jeep, using him as a human shield to prevent violent protesters from attacking his vehicle.

Major Gogoi was responding to a call from an officer who had informed him that around 1,200 people had cornered his polling booth and were trying to burn it with petrol bombs during a by-election in Budgam on April 9.

Defence and strategic affairs expert Maroof Raza -- a former military officer himself -- speaks to Dhruv Munjal about the army's decision to award Major Gogoi amid a public outcry, and if the force has let itself down with the handling of this situation. Read the full interview here.

The 180 degree metamorphosis of Narendra Modi's image -- from the monster of 2002 to the messiah of 2014 -- was largely achieved through the undisguised co-option of mainstream media using standard mercantile methods. Now other parties are following in his lead. Read more

President Donald Trump has vowed to do whatever was necessary to protect the US and its allies from a "vile enemy" that has "waged war" on innocent lives, his first public comments after the van and knife attack in London.

"America sends our thoughts and prayers and our deepest sympathies to the victims of this evil slaughter and we renew our resolve, stronger than ever before, to protect the United States and its allies from a vile enemy that has waged war on innocent life, and it's gone on too long," Trump said yesterday, a day after three knife-wielding men unleashed a grisly terror rampage in London, killing seven people and injuring 48 others. It was his first public comments on the London attacks. He previously had commented via a series of Twitter posts.


IMAGE: Counter terrorism officers at the scene of Saturday night's terror attack in London. 

Union minister Uma Bharti said it would take 10 years to completely clean the Ganga, and that it would be done in a phased manner.

"In order to ensure clean Ganga, the industrial units which are located on the banks of Ganga will be shifted to other places.

"The framework of this plan has been drawn. The Uttar Pradesh government is making efforts to shift the tanneries located in Kanpur to other places," said Bharti, minister for water resources, river development & Ganga rejuvenation, who was here to participate in Ganga Dashera celebrations.


She also said once the Ganga is cleaned, mass awareness will be needed to maintain its cleanliness, for which she will herself undertake a 'padyatra' from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar.


This is exactly the timeline Uma Bharti had given to clean the Ganga in an interview to Rediff.com shortly after she became a minister. Read the interview here.

Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester concert -- held almost two weeks after a terrorist attack outside her concert killed 22 and injured over 100 people -- ended on an emotional note as the 23-year-old, while fighting back tears, performed 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'.


At the Manchester Benefit Concert, the 'Side to Side' singer, who opened her performance with her hit song 'Be Alright,' followed by 'Break Free', also recalled meeting the mother of victim Olivia Campbell, 15, who died in the deadly explosion.


"As soon as I met her I started crying and I gave her a big hug and she said I should stop crying because Olivia would have wanted me to stop crying," she said as she fought back tears. "And she said Olivia would have wanted to hear the hits," she said as reported by E! Online.


Grande also said that meeting Campbell's mother made her change the set list at the last minute to include more of her chart-topping songs. "She said Olivia would have wanted to hear the hits."


During the star-studded concert Grande was joined by Marcus Mumford, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, the Black Eyed Peas, Chris Martin, Oasis, Pharrell, Little Mix and others to celebrate and honor the 22 victims of the bombing that occurred after Grande's concert on May 22.

At least 22 people were killed and 15 others injured when a passenger bus collided with a truck and caught fire on National Highway 24 in Bareilly early today.   

On one hand, 'Digital India' is being emphasised and on the other facilities like electricity, mobile network are not available in villages across the country.  

The British police accidentally shot a civilian during response during the response to Saturday night's terror attack in London that left seven people dead and several others wounded.