A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted southwest China today evening. Officials said no casualties have been reported so far.

The quake, with a focal depth of just five kilometres, was felt strongly in Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County in Yunnan province, which has a population of 290,000, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The quake shook buildings for several seconds. Residents have been evacuated to open areas, a local official said.

Some phone calls to Jinggu went unconnected. Pictures posted on the internet show cracks on walls. The China Earthquake Networks Centre said the epicentre was monitored about 67 kms away from Lincang city and 85 kms away from Pu'er city.

Image for representation only

Heavy firing exchange erupted this evening between Pakistani and Indian troops along the International Border and Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in which a JCO and two other armymen were injured.

According to a senior army official, shelling carried out by Pakistan along the LoC in the Sabjian area of Poonch district left one JCO and two armymen injured.

The injured have been hospitalised, the official added. Fresh firing from the Pakistani side was also reported in Kathua district along the International Border apart from in Jammu and Rajouri districts, police and BSF sources said.

Heavy exchanges are going on with the BSF and the army troops retaliating to the firing, sources added.

Islamic State militants are continuing their fight for Kobane but coalition airstrikes have restricted their advance. There have been several strikes since an IS flag was raised over a building in the city on the border between Turkey and Syria. If IS captures Kobane its forces will have control of a long stretch of the Syria-Turkey border.

A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake jolted southwest China. Officials said no casualties have been reported so far. The quake, with a focal depth of just five kilometres,was felt strongly in Jinggu Dai and Yi Autonomous County in Yunnan province, which has a population of 290,000. The quake shook buildings for several seconds. Residents have been evacuated to open areas, a local official said.

Against the backdrop of ceasefire violations along the border with Pakistan, the three service chiefs  met Defence Minister Arun Jaitley. The army, air force and navy chiefs are understood to have discussed with Jaitley the prevailing security situation, defence officials said

London's iconic red phone boxes, which have long made virtually obsolete by cell phones, are going green literally and being trasnformed as free solar- powered charging stations for mobiles. The first of six Solarbox was unveiled on Tottenham Court Road this week. The service is free to use although users will be shown adverts as they wait for their phone to charge.

Four people have been hospitalised in Spain to try to stem the spread of Ebola after a Spanish nurse became the first person in the world known to have contracted the virus outside of Africa, health authorities said on Tuesday. The nurse, who tested positive for the virus on Monday, her husband, who is showing no symptoms of the disease, and two other people are being closely monitored in hospital, health officials said. One of those hospitalised is a health worker who has diarrhoea but no fever. The other is a Spaniard who travelled from Nigeria, said Rafael Perez-Santamaria, head of the Carlos III Hospital where the infected nurse treated two Spanish missionaries who contracted the disease in Africa.

More than 2,000 terrorists are waiting across the Line of Control in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to infiltrate into the Indian territory, according to army estimates. There are more than 2,000 terrorists hiding on the other side and are getting trained in the 20 terrorist camps there, army sources said. The army troops and other border guarding forces are keeping an eye on the situation and maintaining extra vigil to thwart any attempts by the terrorists to sneak into the Indian side, they said.

Crowds of protesters who filled Hong Kong's streets with demands for more democracy thinned dramatically Tuesday after student leaders and the government agreed to hold talks in the increasingly frustrated city.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is celebrating his 62nd birthday in the wilderness of Siberia as supporters from across Russia create tributes in his honour. Putin celebrated his birthday today in the Siberian forest some "300-400 kilometres from the nearest populated area," his press secretary told Russian news media. 

Dutch F-16s today carried out their first strikes on the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq, the defence ministry said, with militants possibly killed. "Two Dutch F-16s this morning used weapons for the first time in Iraq against the IS terror group. 

 Seven Ukrainian civilians and five government soldiers have been killed in the past day of clashes with pro-Russian insurgents despite a truce between the two sides, officials said today. 

Five Afghan men are due to be hanged tomorrow for the gang rape of four women after a trial that was criticised by the United Nations and rights' groups amid a nationwide outcry over the savage attack. 

In the wake of cross-border firing in Jammu and Kashmir, India has decided to put on hold the proposal for a flag meet with Pakistan. The BSF  has been told to wait for Pakistan to make the first move.

Top military officials of India and Pakistan today discussed the ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and International Border but failed to address the issue.

Officials of the Directorate Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) talked over the hotline for five minutes during which both sides accused each other of violating the ceasefire, Army sources said.

They said the telephonic talk did not take place between the Director Generals of Military Operations -- Lt General rank officer from Indian side and Maj General rank officer from Pakistani side -- but lower rank officials, in deviation from the regular practice.

Six persons have been killed and 50 others including BSF jawan injured in Pakistani shelling and firing along LoC and IB in Jammu and Poonch districts in the ceasefire violations this month.

The Indian side is giving a befitting reply to the ceasefire violations by Pakistan, the army sources said.

The sources said there have been 125 incidents of ceasefire violation along the LoC and the International Border and 17 terrorists have been killed by the Indian security forces while they were trying to infiltrate into the Indian territory.

It's a dark and stormy evening in Mumbai. Take care. 

The reports about the Special Public Prosecutor not objecting to bail for AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa in Karnataka High Court triggered celebrations among party workers across Tamil Nadu today before disappointment struck them following news of rejection of her plea for the relief.

AIADMK workers and Jayalalithaa supporters, who were waiting with bated breath for the high court verdict on their "Amma", believed the grant of bail to be true as the "news" was flashed by the party-backed Jaya TV as also by several other channels and news portals.

However, soon after they learnt that the high court has rejected the bail, angry party workers sat on the road leading to Poes Garden, Jayalalithaa's residence, and raised slogans, demanding her release.

Several news channels and portals had reported that the 66-year old AIADMK general secretary and three other accused have been granted conditional bail in the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate wealth case, only to retract it after the court rejected the plea.

Crestfallen workers of ruling AIADMK resumed their stir to express solidarity with Jayalalithaa.

In the hill resort town of Udhagamandalam, about 100 AIADMK supporters blocked a Mysore-bound Karnataka government owned transport corporation bus at the bus stand on hearing about the rejection of the bail.

Police personnel rushed to the spot, dispersed them and managed to take out the bus to safety, police said. AIADMK workers also stopped several vehicles bearing Karnataka registration numbers at tourist spots such as Botanical Gardens and Boat house and protested, police said.

PM Modi addressing a rally in Nagpur (Maharashtra). 

Iconic 90's blockbuster Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ) may be ending its record run at Mumbai's Maratha Mandir soon, reports DNA. The film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol was written and directed by Yash Raj Studios head Aditya Chopra and has been running in Maratha Mandir since its release in 1995.

For almost two decades, the film has been screened at the theatre as the morning show at 11:30 am, running full house to this day.

Media reports suggest that the theatre's manager Manoj Desai may be looking to stop screening the film.

The film if it continues to run at the theatre would have completed 1000 weeks at the box office on December 12.

There has been no official comment from YRF on this report yet.

Just in: Heavy shelling by Pakistan at Kirni sector in Poonch (J&K) from 5pm, Indian Army also retaliating. Shelling by Pakistan still on. 

AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa's lawyer Ram Jethmalani has aid he will move the Supreme Court for bail. His client meanwhile will be cooling her heels in jail after the Karnataka High Court denied her bail. 

Just in: The CBI rules out foul play in death of Union Minister Gopinath Munde. The CBI took over the probe into the death of the BJP leader following a road accident in Delhi in June. The home ministry had recommended handing over of the case to the agency after a number of political leaders demanded a CBI probe into the fatal accident, who had just taken charge as the rural development minister in the Narendra Modi government.

64-year-old Munde, a popular backward class leader from Maharashtra, was on his way to Indira Gandhi Airport on June 3 when his car was hit by another vehicle at the Prithviraj Road-Tughlak Road roundabout in the heart of the national capital.

Munde died due to shock and haemorrhage following injuries to his neck and liver in the road accident.

Delhi Police had registered a case against 32-year-old Gurvinder Singh, the driver whose car hit Munde's vehicle.

India, Pakistan DGMOs hold talks on ceasefire violations; accuse each other of violating ceasefire. 

A new charity internet craze is set to sweep the web. Sporting that crusty-eyed, wild-haired 'just woken up' look, The #WakeUpCall -- in aid of Unicef -- morphs elements of two of the most successful viral campaigns of recent times -- the #nomakeupselfie and the Ice Bucket Challenge.

Unicef have thrown down the gauntlet by encouraging people to post snaps or videos of themselves online within moments of waking up. Unicef hopes to raise millions for Syria by encouraging people to post pictures and video of themselves moments after they have woken up

Like the #nomakeupselfie it's set to offer a rare glimpse at celebrities minus their slap and give the wider world a sneak peek at the real lives of the rich.

Unicef are banking on the craze taking off -- especially as both men and women can get stuck in.

Actor and presenter Stephen Fry and celebrity Jemima Khan (pictured) have already posted pics on Twitter. 

Old habits die hard, it seems. It's been nine years since Raj Thackeray broke away from the Shiv Sena, but the party symbol -- the bow and arrow -- still seems to have made its mark in his psyche. 

Raj recently made a faux pas over his own party symbol -- the train engine -- and urged people to vote for "the bow and arrow" -- the Sena's symbol -- before quickly correcting himself, reports NDTV.
In footage from a rally a few days ago, Thackeray, the chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, is seen saying, "...this election vote for dhanush...err..rail engine."

And the Hindu cartoon on the chaos in Maharashtra politics. 

The Karnataka HC says there is no grounds for granting bail to Jaya.

Earlier media reports had said that Jayalalithaa had in fact been granted bail.

Jayalalithaa bail refused, judge says Supreme Court has sent clear message that corruption cases must be fast-tracked.

The Karnataka High Court has refused bail to Jayalalithaa. The court says there is no grounds for granting her bail. The former Tamil Nadu CM was convicted in the disproportionate assets case and sentenced by a Special Court in Karnataka to four years imprisonment on September 27.

Jayalalithaa is presently in a prison at Bangalore.

AIADMK party workers celebrating the 'conditional bail' granted to Jayalalithaa, even before it was actually granted. 

List of all the Nobel Physics winners. Read 

Red, blue, and green light combine to make the bright white produced by LED light bulbs. Bulbs using blue light-emitting diodes are more efficient and have a longer lifetime than old fashioned bulbs (up to 100,000 hours, compared to 1,000 for incandescent bulbs and 10,000 hours for fluorescent lights).

This is the Nobel Committee's press release on the physics prize. Read 

"There will certainly be Ebola patients from Africa who come to us in the hopes of receiving treatment. And they might even infect a few people here who may then die.

"But an outbreak in Europe or North America would quickly be brought under control.

"I am more worried about the many people from India who work in trade or industry in west Africa.

"It would only take one of them to become infected, travel to India to visit relatives during the virus's incubation period, and then, once he becomes sick, go to a public hospital there.

"Doctors and nurses in India, too, often don't wear protective gloves. They would immediately become infected and spread the virus."

Peter Pilot, who was part of the team that discovered that Ebola virus, on his fears of how easily the virus can spread in India.

Read.

Just in: Prosecution says it has no objection to granting conditional bail to Jayalalithaa. The former Tamil Nadu CM is seeking bail in the disproportionate assets case. The bail hearing is underway now in the Karnataka High Court.

@stefangeens When the entire world uses LED screens to see the Physics Nobel go to the inventors of LED screens, you know it's a good choice.

Just in: Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano at Nagoya University, Japan and Shuji Nakamura at University of California at Santa Barbara have been awarded the Nobel for Physics. For the invention of efficent blue light emitting diodes.

Home minister Rajnath Singh says that the Modi government has sent a message to Pakistan that they should re-think its ceasefire violation or India will give a befitting reply each time. 

Pakistan records protest with UN military observer group over LoC situation.

LeT founder and mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, Hafiz Saeed tweets: "We strongly condemn Indian violations at the #LOC - This is the real face of Modi Gov. Pak Army should render a Jaw breaking response!"

A day after five villagers were killed and 34 injured in heavy mortar shelling and firing from across the international border and Line of Control, Pakistani Rangers kept the onslaught going by targeting 40 border outposts and 25 villages in four sub-sectors of Jammu district.

Border Security Force troops gave a befitting reply to four ceasefire violations by Pakistan resulting in exchanges, which are still on in some areas.

"Pakistani Rangers again resorted to unprovoked mortar shelling and heavy firing on BSF posts along the International Border since 2100 hours on Monday night", BSF Spokesman Vinood Yadav said.

PM Narendra Modi in Khamgaon (Buldhana, Maharashtra), will address a rally shortly. That's the third rally in Maharashtra today -- first in Dhule, followed by Jalgaon. 

The union government has said that passport holders in J&K whose passports have been damaged/lost in floods, will be issued same validity passports with a waiver of fee. 

After al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed by US special forces in Pakistan's garrison town of Abbottabad, his body was kept in a heavy black bag of 300 pounds of iron chain and dropped into the sea, former CIA Director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said.

After Osama was shot dead, Panetta said, as planned the body of the world's most wanted terrorist was transported by marines flying an Osprey to waiting aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson for his burial by sea.

"Bin Laden's body was prepared for burial according to Muslim traditions, draped in a white shroud, given final prayers in Arabic, and then placed inside a heavy black bag," Panetta wrote in his latest book 'Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace' which hit the book stores today. "Three hundred pounds of iron chains were put inside as well, to ensure that the body would sink," he wrote.

Jayalalithaa's bail plea hearing adjourned to 2.30 pm.

Wondered why Cong and NCP was troubled by my visit to Maharashtra. Now I see they were troubled by the amount of ppl who hv turned up here: Modi in Jalgaon. 

Supporters offer special prayers for Jayalalithaa in Chennai. She was arrested for corruption late last month after being convicted by a Bangalore court. 

PM Modi addressing a rally in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. This is his second rally this morning. The first was at Dhule.

Modi says, "October 15 is your day of freedom. 15th October is an opportunity to end the wrongs, and end the corruption going on for 15 years.

Maharashtra goes to the polls on October 15.

On the Shiv Sena's statement that Modi had left Delhi and was campaigning in Maharashtra, he says, "Congress, NCP are scared of people supporting me. This isn't the first time I have been campaigning in Maharashtra. Why is a big deal being made out of this?"  

PM Modi addressing a rally in Jalgaon (Maharashtra). 

A gold medal in hockey in the Asian Games is always a great moment to cherish, rare that it has been since the sport was introduced in the Games in 1958.

India's triumph in the 17th edition of the Games in Incheon, Korea, only its third, at the expense of eight-time champion Pakistan, should once again revive interest in the national game that had plunged to an all-time low at the London Olympic Games only two years ago. Read

As the Karnataka High Court hears J Jayalalithaa's bail plea, read this report on how Jaya could very likely get out of jail. 

"As long as I am in Delhi, no one can break Maharashtra," says Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Election fever is making ppl who are on the verge of defeat to speak lies. Such politics went on for 60 years."

PM Modi: Is there anyone born who can divide Chhatrapati Shivaji's Maharashtra?
Crowd: No!

In this campaign trail, the BJP has consistently usurped the Sena's hold on Chhatrapati Shivaji's legacy, asking people to vote for a party that believed in unifying the country like Shivaji did.

Without Mumbai there is no Maharashtra, without Maharashtra there is no India, says Modi. 

Election fever hots up in Maharashtra. PM Narendra Modi addressing a rally in Sindkheda, Dhule, says India's progress is incomplete without Maharashtra's progress.

Modi says politicians have the habit of making promises during campaigns and then forgetting them. "But I am not a politician, but your sevak. Your reputation is ours. We don't make false promises like the Congress. We never make promises to win elections. We make promises to transform lives of tribal communities.

"That is why I have come back to remind you of the promises I had made to you. I will give a detailed tab of my work, but has the Congress ever come and given an account of their work done in 60 years? And they are asking me for what I did in 60 days."

ANI reports that the Karnataka High Court didn't accept Ram Jethmalani's request to listen to Jayalalithaa's case at earliest. Hearing to take place according to the number.

A sitting AIADMK MP puts up a poster in Chennai threatening to hold Kannadigas hostage if former Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa is not released today. Prohibitory orders have been imposed around the Bangalore jail. 

A Karnataka High Court is all set to hear the bail plea of party chief Jayalalithaa today even as protests continued in Tamil Nadu against her conviction in the disproportionate assets case.

AIADMK workers and Jayalalithaa supporters, including state ministers, MPs and MLAs continued their protests and fasts in various parts of the state for the release of Jayalalithaa, who is presently in a prison at Bangalore, after a Special Court there sentenced her to four years imprisonment in the case on September 27.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today said that he is ready to embrace Maoists if they give up their path of violence and join the mainstream of society.

"People involved in Maoist activities are part of our society. We are ready to hug them if they wish to join the mainstream by laying down arms and quitting violence," Singh said while addressing a 'Muria Darbar' meeting of tribals in Bastar's Jagdalpur district headquarters, according to an official release.

Appealing to Maoists to return to the mainstream of democracy and development, the CM emphasised they should introspect that no issue can be sorted out with violence and guns, the release said.