1. SC admits appeal against Ayodhya verdict
2. Sensex closes below 17,000; IT biggest loser
3. IT hiring could fall by 1/4th after US downgrade
4. Govt nod to debate on Maken's NDA-Kalmadi comment
5. Omar orders probe in civilian encounter death
6. Oil spill from sunk MV Rak has decreased
7. Goldman Sachs upgrades India amid market bear run
8. 100 arrests as London riots continue for 2nd night
9. Lokayukta court summons Yeddy on August 27
10. Sangay sworn in as PM of Tibetan govt in exile
11. FDI into India up 310% is highest in 11 years
12. Bhopal 'killer' Dow to sponsor London Olympics
13. NIA bags crucial evidence against Headley, Rana :

Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa says the crisis in Karnataka has blown over for now with both the factions coming to an agreement and deciding to swear in 21 cabinet ministers at 5.30 pm today.

However, the Reddy brothers including Sriramulu do not find mention in the list of 21, although a clear picture will emerge at 5.30 pm. Although the portfolios are not clear as yet, it has been decided that there shall be no deputy chief minister in the government and R Ashok is most likely to continue with the home portfolio.

The others who have been accommodated are Dr V S Acharya, C M Udasi, Krishna Palemar, Ramdas, Bache Gowda, Shobha Karandlage, Basavarj Bommai, Lakshman Savadhi, Renukacharya, Umesh Kathi among others. Most of the porfolios are expected to remain the same.

The Supreme Court today admitted two more petitions challenging the Allahabad High Court verdict of three-way division of the disputed Ram
Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya.
A bench of justices Aftab Alam and R M Lodhat tagged the petitions with the main case on which it had stayed the operation of the September 30, 2010 verdict of the high court. 

The latest petitions have been filed by Akhil Bhartiya Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Samiti and one Farooq Ahmed challenging the high court judgement, which the apex court had dubbed as "strange" as none of the parties had demanded partition of the land.

From the Firstpost.com: The Sensex closed (provisionally) 315 points lower at 16,990. The Nifty closed at 5,119, 92 points down. IT, realty and metal stocks were under considerable pressure throughout the trading session.

On the BSE, the realty index was the biggest loser, surrendering nearly 5 percent.  DLF and HDIL shed 7 percent each. Frontline IT stocks such as TCS and Infosys lost about 4-5 percent. 

European were drifting lower as the Indian markets closed. Gold is currently trading at Rs 25, 087 per 10 grams. The rupee is trading at Rs 45.14 to the dollar, according to NSE data.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said two securitymen have been arrested in connection with the killing of a civilian in an alleged
fake encounter in Poonch district.

The Army yesterday claimed to have killed a Pakistani militant and divisional commander of Lashker-e-Taiba, Abu Usman, after a 12-hour long gunbattle at Surankote area of Poonch district in Jammu region, and claimed recovery of arms and ammunition from him.

However, during the probe it was found that the deceased was a civilian.

Quick read from MK Bhadrakumar's blog:

The dramatic shift in the UK's energy policy toward Russia speaks volumes about geopolitics of energy in times of recession. The British energy minister Charles Hendry caused a flutter Sunday with his seemingly innocuous statement that London has no objection to the reported plan by Russia's energy leviathan Gazprom to acquire an electricity plant in UK. You may ask, 'What is after all there in an electricity plant to be finicky about?'

Read more

Indian actress Freida Pinto has revealed that though she is living "all over the world'' nowadays, she wants to own a house in Mumbai one day.

The star, who grew up in Mumbai and rose to fame with Danny Boyle''s 2008 Oscar-sweeping film 'Slumdog Millionaire', said she invested some money on a flat in Mumbai when she received her first significant pay cheque but the sale never went through. "I''m still looking for that one place where I can put my name at the door,' she said.

"I know its very ambitious at this point in time but I want homes in [Mumbai], London, New York and Montreal. A girl can dream," she added

Background of that tweet about London.

The Independent says that more than a 100 people have been arrested after bouts of rioting and looting broke out across London overnight.

Emergency services were deployed to respond to "copycat criminal activity" across the capital late last night and early this morning, after trouble flared in Tottenham, north London. Read

US Vice President Joe Biden will embark on an official visit to China from August 17 to 22 to strengthen ties with Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry
announced today. 

During the visit, which comes in the wake of China criticising Obama administration for failing to solve its debt crisis after a prolonged political stalemate, both the nations will discuss key bilateral and wider diplomatic issues.

In the Nation today, the decision of Standard & Poor's to remove the United States from its list of risk-free borrowers by shifting the country's rating from AAA to AA-plus was a predictable enough play out of the absurd debt-ceiling debate. Read

The oil spill from cargo vessel MV Rak off the Mumbai coast has decreased in quantum as compared to yesterday even as the authorities continued their efforts to neutralise resultant environmental pollution.

Freighter MV Rak sank off Mumbai coast four days ago leaking oil and Coast Guard ships have sprayed dispersants to contain the spill which spread to about seven nautical miles around the ship till yesterday.

An aerial recce of the oil slick was carried out by CG helicopter between 0930 and 1030 hrs today. It was noticed that the oil slick around the source of the spill has decreased in quantum as compared to yesterday and the rate ofspill has reduced to approximately 1 ton an hour, a Coast Guard release said.

Vicky Nanjappa adds that Katta Subramanya Naidu has been arrested by the Ulsoor Gate police immediately after his bail plea was cancelled. He was picked up along with his son Katta Jagadish and has been remanded to judicial custody.

The Lokayukta police have filed a chargesheet running into thousands of pages against the former minister and his son, a corporator, in the multi-crore ITASCA software-KIADB land scam.

Vicky Nanjappa reports that the Lokayukta Court has summoned former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa to appear before it on August 27.

In another case, former minister in the BJP government, Katta Subramanya Naidu may be remanded to judicial custody after the special court cancelled his bail.

Naidu along with this son were facing corruption charges and a case in this regard had been filed by the Lokayukta.

Harvard scholar Lobsang Sangay was today sworn in as the new Prime Minister of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, succeeding the Dalai Lama as the
movement's political leader.
Sangay (43), who replaces Samdong Rimpoche as Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister) of Tibetan Central Administration, was administered oath by Ngawang Phelgyal, the Chief Justice Commissioner, at a public function presided over by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Also read: Rediff.com's Claude Arpi's interview with Sangay

Toral Varia reports that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has received documents from the US on Tahawwur Hussain Rana. 

Rana, was acquitted on charges of plotting the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, but was found guilty of supporting Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba and planning a strike in Denmark.  

The documents, now with Indian authorities, include evidence collected by US authorities presented in the Chicago court during is trial as well as audio tape conversations between David Headley and Abdur Rehman Pasha - conspirators in 26/11. Other evidence includes mobile phone records, personal diaries etc. 

India is ready with a chargesheet against Headley, but these documents will now be included as part of evidence. The contents of the chargesheet will be approved by a committee of the MHA, before a final chargesheet is prepared. Though Headley's extradition is no longer a possibility, the evidence will help nail the ISI's involvement in 26/11.

From the ditzy to the prosaic.

Vicky Nanjappa reports that the Karnataka High Court has directed former Chief Minister, B S Yeddyurappa to place before it the report prepared by Dr U V Singh on the basis of which the Lokayukta had been prepared.

The court while hearing a petition filed by Yeddyurappa challenging the Lokayukta report made this order while adjourning the hearing to Wednesday.

Yeddyurappa had challenged the report of the Lokayukta which he says has presumed that his sons had taken a bribe allegedly for an official favour.

The report states that Yeddyurappa's sons were running a trust to which a mining company had paid a certain amount of money. The Lokayukta while recommending action against Yeddyurappa had stated that it is presumed that the money had been given to the trust since the mining company wanted some favour.

However the High Court stated that the report had been prepared on the findings of the UV Singh report and hence it would be important that it is placed before the court so that they could look into it.  

RTI activist Pramodanand exposed police constable Prashant Pawar taking a bribe from a man on a scooter. Unlike most of us, who watch and go away, Pramodananad shot a video and used the footage to lodge a formal complaint with the Police Commissioner's office.

The cop however, appears to have been let off with a rap on the knuckles. He was transferred to another division, but, as Pramodanand later learned through RTI, a departmental enquiry report was made out to formally state that he was acquitted as there wasn't enough evidence. See the video

The Parliament has been adjourned till tomorrow after the BJP's demand that Sheila Dikshit be sacked over the CAG and Shunglu reports on the Commonwealth Games.

Asif Ezdi's column in the International News.

According to the Indian media, the top Chinese foreign policy official, State Councillor Dai Bingguo, last month assured Sitaram Yechury, a leader of the Communist Party of India, that Beijing is not opposed to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for India.

Yechury, who was leading a CPI (M) delegation that was visiting China at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party, said that Dai had "bent over backwards' to explain that China has "no objection at all' to the Indian bid for a permanent seat, but was firmly opposed to Japan's candidature because of its "historical baggage.'

Read more

In Parliament today, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said the party would, "seek the ouster of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. We will not allow Parliament to function. She should go."
The CAG, in its report, has indicted Delhi chief minister for the Commonwealth Games Scam.
BJP leader Yashwant Sinha added, "We are seeking the suspension of Question Hour in the Lok Sabha. We want a debate in the House on Maken's statement made on the Commonwealth Games. We will also seek a discussion on the CAG report on CWG, in which Sheila Dikshit has been indicted."

Not entirely surprising, but a State of the Nation Poll conducted by  CNN-IBN & CNBC-TV18 reveals that Rahul Gandhi has emerged as the most popular political leader and the preferred choice as the next Prime Minister.

Read

In the UK, children aged seven, joined in the orgy of mob violence and destruction that engulfed Tottenham. Saturday's savagery in North London caused 100million damage, reports the Sun. Cops have so far made 56 arrests and on Sunday, there was looting and in South and East London.

Read more

Here's how blue-chips fared in the stock market this morning. Infosys, Reliance
Industries and TCS went into a tailspin on the bourses today as investors abandoned their holdings in companies that rely heavily on exports after the US lost its top-notch credit rating.
Reliance Industries, the country's most valued firm, dropped by 3.1 per cent to hit a 52-week low of Rs 767.05 on the BSE.
Among the other major losers, DLF, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, TCS and Infosys fell in the range of 4-7 per cent in morning trade on the bourses.

An excerpt from Mohammed Hanif's new book, that goes with the unusual name: Our Lady of Alice Bhatti.

Alice Bhatti has just come out of prison and is looking for a second chance. She's hungry, tough, and full of fight, but being a Catholic in Karachi means she also needs good luck. A lot of it. Alice's prayers are answered when she gets a job as a junior nurse at the Sacred Heart Hospital, a squalid public facility full of shoot-out victims and homeless drug addicts. There she meets Teddy Butt, a trigger-happy, ex-body builder and part-time goon for the police. The two could not be further apart, and that's why they fall in love, Teddy with sudden violence, Alice in cautious hope. How will their unlikely romance end?

More

Early this morning, stocks on key Asian exchanges dropped modestly on what is likely to be an eventful day in world markets, following Standard and Poor's downgrade of the US credit rating.

In early Tokyo trading, the Nikkei index fell 124 points, or 1.3%. South Korea's KOSPI index slipped 1.6%. In Australia, the All Ordinaries index lost 0.7%. The Shanghai composite started 0.8% lower.

Bahujan Samaj Party has expelled its candidate from Lucknow central assembly constituency, Fakir Siddiqui, from the party.

"BSP supremo Mayawati has expelled Siddiqui, candidate for the forthcoming state assembly elections, from the party for not taking interest in problems being faced by the people of his area," a party spokesman said in Lucknow.

A former SP leader, Siddiqui had joined BSP after the 2007 assembly elections and was named as party candidate from Lucknow central constituency.

Shares of IT companies, which earn a major chunk of their revenue from the US and the Europe, fell sharply on the bourses today on concerns over the US losing its top-notch credit rating due to mounting debts.

All the three top IT companies -- TCS, Wipro and Infosys -- witnessed a huge fall in their share prices in morning trade on the BSE. Shares of the largest IT exporter TCS plunged by 5.18 per cent and were trading at Rs 1,002.

Similarly, India's third largest IT company Wipro shed 5.53 per cent and was quoting at Rs 347.65. The second most weighted scrip on Sensex after RIL, Infosys dropped by 4.51 per cent to Rs 2,473.60.

Weakness was seen in the stocks of other IT companies as well, with Tech Mahindra, HCL Tech and Patni Computer losing up to 7 per cent in early trade.

The sharp fall came after the US lost its 'AAA' credit rating for the first time in history, as ratings agency S&P was not convinced with the efforts being made to tackle the country's debt problems.

TCS, Infosys and Wipro rely on the US and European markets for about 60 per cent of their revenue. Led by losses in these stocks, the BSE IT index was trading down by 4.49 per cent at 5,214 and was the poorest performer among the 13 sectoral indices.

This marks a fresh 52-week low for the index.

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon, who is on a visit to the tsunami and earthquake-ravaged Japan, has said the damage at the Fukushima nuclear plant serves as a reminder that even the best-prepared nations need to improve their capacity to prevent and cope with such disasters.

Expressing the United Nations' solidarity with the people of Japan, Ban said he is "very much encouraged" with the way the Japanese government and people have been trying to "overcome with composure" and determination the unprecedented natural disaster that struck their country earlier this year.

"I believe Japan is one of the best-prepared countries in the world in terms of natural disaster, disaster risk reduction and preparedness. However, the scope of the tsunami and nuclear power accident was so great that we have to learn what needs to be done more in the future," he said in his remarks at a breakfast meeting hosted by State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Chiaki Takahashi.

Ban added that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power accident has "given us a great lesson, that was we need to have a review and full safety and improve our capacity for such emergency response," a UN statement said.

Ban is today expected to visit Haragama beach at Soma, about 40 kilometers north of the Fukushima plant where high radiation levels continue to pose serious hazards even five months after the tsunami and earthquake caused massive damage at the plant.

Indian stocks plunged deep into the red this morning as the Sensex lost more than 500 points within minutes of the market opening on concerns over the US losing its top-notch credit rating due to mounting debts.

The 30-share benchmark index dropped within minutes of opening to 16,793.07 points, its lowest level since June, 2010, registering a fall of 512 points from its previous close.

The NSE's Nifty was also down by 131 points at 5,079.65 points at 0930 hours, after hitting a low of 5,060.05 points earlier in the morning. Stocks like Tata Motors, TCS and Wipro dropped more than 5 per cent, while RIL, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel and Bharti airtel were also trading sharply lower.

The sharp fall of this morning came in the first trading session after the US lost its 'AAA' credit rating for the first time in history, as ratings agency S&P was not convinced with the efforts being made to tackle the country's debt problems.

Today's fall follows an over 1,000-point decline in the Sensex over the last four trading sessions amid weak global cues. All Asian markets were trading in the deep red this morning, with huge losses seen in Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 4.13 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei was trading 2.06 per cent lower this morning.