Relatives of those missing on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are angry at apparent mixed signals over whether part of the plane has been found.

Pakistani singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan was today questioned for close to 10 hours by the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi in connection with an alleged forex violations case against him. 

The UN Security Council will vote tomorrow on a draft resolution that would set up a panel to determine who is responsible for deadly chlorine gas attacks in Syria, diplomats said. 

To control supporters of the 48-hour Manipur strike, police today burst teargas shells and fired rubber bullets after the agitators attacked them with stones, slingshots and catapults. 

Even as Pakistan was in denial mode over assertions from India that the terrorist caught alive after the ambush on a Border Security Force convoy in Udhampur on was a Pakistani national, man from the neighbouring nation identified himself as an "unfortunate father" of the attacker Mohammed Naved Yakub.

"I'll be killed. The Lashkar is after us and the fauj is after us,' Mohammad Yakub told Hindustan Times today when contacted on a phone number disclosed to interrogators by the arrested gunman Mohammad Naved.

"You are calling from India. We'll be killed. I am the unfortunate father,' said Yakub.

Read the complete story here

Flagging concerns over the "surging threat" of terrorism and radicalisation, India today said solutions to stem these maladies should be reached through a sustained political approach.

"All of us are justifiably concerned about the surging threat of terrorism, radicalism and extremism across the world. We have to find solutions through a sustained political approach to pre-empt and prevent radicalisation, recruitment, travel, training and financing aspects of terrorism," Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said at the 5th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

"We appreciate Malaysia's Global Movement of Moderates initiative and the emphasis on de-radicalisation by Indonesia, Singapore, Australia and other countries," he said.

Singh asserted that in a world of inter-dependence and globalisation, there is no option but to follow international laws and norms. "India supports freedom of navigation in international waters, including the South China Sea, the right of passage and overflight, unimpeded commerce and access to resources in accordance with principles of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," he said.

The National Investigation Agency) today took over the case of yesterday's Udhampur terror strike in which a Pakistani terrorist, who was caught alive by villagers, has said that he had undergone training in two different modules with Lashker-e-Tayiba terror group.    

A team of NIA, a central probe agency created after the2008 Mumbai attack, headed by Inspector General Sanjeev Kumar Singh, has been camping in Jammu since yesterday and has visited the site of the encounter, official sources said.    

Singh has been dealing with several terror related cases including the Burdhwan blast of West Bengal. In the Udhampur attack, two heavily-armed terrorists believed to be from Pakistan ambushed a convoy of BSF personnel and opened fire in which two constables and a militant were killed while another terrorist was caught alive in a manner identical to the nabbing of 26/11 attacker Ajmal Kasab.    

A case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Arms Act and various sections of Indian Penal Code has been registered against the arrested Lashkar terrorist Mohammed Naved Yakub, who has claimed that he hailed from Faislabad in Pakistan. His accomplice, identified by him as Noman alias Momin, was killed in retaliatory firing by the BSF.

Former public works department Minister Churchill Alemao was today remanded to four-day police custody by a court in Panaji in connection with the Louis Berger bribery case hours after his arrest by the Goa crime branch, which is now closing in on former CM Digambar Kamat.

Alemao, who was minister in the previous Congress government led by Digambar Kamat, was taken into custody from Agassaim village in South Goa around midnight. His bail petition would be heard by the district and sessions court tomorrow.

The Goa police claimed to have "clinching evidence" against Alemao who contended that his arrest was part of a "political game", a charge rejected by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, heading the BJP-led government in Goa.

A senior crime branch official, requesting anonymity, said, "Alemao was arrested as we got clinching evidence against him after interrogating other accused. We might need custodial interrogation of Kamat too."

Before being produced in court, 66-year-old Alemao told reporters that his arrest was part of a political game.

Radhe Maa, a self-proclaimed god-woman is in trouble after dowry harassment charges were filed against her. Radhe Maa, who has thousands of followers, has been charged by a Mumbai-based lawyer, Falguni Bramhabhatt, with performing obscene and vulgar dance steps during satsangs, conducting shady discourses, mental harassment, and fraud and cheating, according to news reports. An FIR has also been registered under section 498A for dowry harassment and section 420 for cheating.

The godwoman has been given two floors in the Gupta family's five-storey building in Mumbai's Borivili.


In her FIR, Bramhabhatt said, "She invites people late in the night, holds sleazy satsangs where she gets drunk and dances to Bollywood songs, she even allows her followers, men to kiss her, hug her carry her in their arms. All this vulgarity and obscenity in the name of religion in unacceptable."


Radhe Maa was born as Sukhvinder Kaur. She married a sweet shop owner in Punjab at the age of 17. She left her husband, moved to Mumbai and became Radhe Maa at the age of 23. She is 49 years old now and has a massive following.


That's boring history. What has caught the attention of her 'fans' on Twitter is a picture believed to be Radhe Maa in a miniskirt which has now gone viral. Then there's this incredible video of her dancing (running around like a headless chicken) to a popular Bollywood hit of the eighties.

Enjoy.

A day after the gun battle in Udhampur which led to the arrest of Pakistani terrorist Usman Khan, an encounter has begun between security forces and terrorists in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. At least one terrorist has died in the gun battle. The terrorists are believed to be from the Lashkar-e-Toiba.


The encounter is on between a joint team of Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police in Astan Mohalla area of Kakapora in Pulwama.


Reports said that security forces had cordoned off the area and surrounded a house where the terrorists are holed up. Security forces suspect that there may be two terrorists inside the house.


Pic: The terrorist killed in the encounter.

Shiv Sena MP Rajkumar Dhoot today announced a award of Rs 5 lakh for the men who apprehended the terrorist in Udhampur district on Wednesday. "In appreciation of tremendous bravery and patriotism shown by the two young citizens of India namely Rajesh Kumar and Rajesh Sharma in capturing the dreaded terrorist in Udhampur while putting their own lives at risk, I, Rajkumar Dhoot, Member of Rajya Sabha from Shiv Sena, offer Rs 5 lakh to be shared between both of them," Dhoot said in a statement.

Deadly suicide attack at a mosque in Saudi Arabia's Aseer kills 17 security personnel: Al Jazeera reports.

Firing between security forces and suspected militants in Astan Mohalla, Kakapora (Pulwama, J&K). Army cordoned off the area. 3 militants reportedly hiding in Astan Mohalla, Kakapora (Pulwama, J&K) which has been cordoned off. 

Louis Berger bribery case: Former Goa Minister Churchill Alemao sent to four days police custody by Panaji sessions court.

Former finance minister P Chidambaram is likely to enter the Rajya Sabha from Puducherry. It is Chidambaram's last chance to try his Parliamentary luck. Chidambaram will not be fielded to the Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh or from Karnataka.  Interestingly, the All India N R Congress  (AINRC), a breakaway group of the Congress led by N Rangaswamy of Puducherry is wooing the AICC to forge an alliance before March 2016 polls. Presently, the NR Congress is part of the BJP. It may recalled that Narendra Modi during the poll campaign addressed Chidambaram as a Recount Minister, a reference to the Sivaganga polls. 

In New Delhi, Youth Congress workers' are on a shirtless protest against MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and EAM Sushma Swaraj.


Rajya Sabha proceedings were virtually paralysed again today as opposition Congress members mounted a vociferous protest over the suspension of 25 of their party members in the Lok Sabha as the government tried to introduce a bill to amend the anti-corruption law.


The protests started from the word go as slogan-shouting Congress members trooped into the Well raising slogans against the "dictatorial" attitude of the government.


This led to two adjournments in the pre-lunch session before being finally adjourned for the day a few minutes after 2 PM. Rajya Sabha has failed to transact any business ever since it met for the Monsoon session starting July 21.


The Congress has upped its protests, boycotting the Lower House and staging dharna inside the Parliament complex since 25 of its MPs were suspended by the Speaker on Monday.


When the House reassembled at 2 pm after two adjournments, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien called Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh to move a Bill to further amend the Prevention of Corruption Act for consideration of the House.


Congress members, who were already in the Well, raised slogans that government's "dictatorship" will not be allowed. As the Minister spelt out the amendments proposed by the government in the Bill saying that government was "committed" to bringing more transparency, Congress as well as other opposition members raised objections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to meet Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa in Chennai tomorrow. BJP sources say it's a courtesy call.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to congratulate the AIADMK chief after her acquittal by a Karnataka High court in a disproportionate assets case, which cleared the decks for her return as Tamil Nadu chief minister.

Aam Aadmi Party MLA Surinder Singh has been booked by the Delhi police for allegedly abusing and beating up a worker of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation on Wednesday evening.

The death toll in floods in West Bengal rose to 97 today even as the situation improved with the water level receding slowly following little or no rain and reduced water discharge from barrages.


Disaster Management Department officials said the toll rose to 97 after 12 more deaths were reported today. As the water level receded some people in the relief camps started returning to their homes.


"Altogether, 2,719 relief camps have been set up to shelter nearly 4.19 lakh marooned people. Also 592 medical camps have been opened," the officials said. A total 89 lakh people have been affected and 1,26,594 houses were damaged.


As many as 4,24,140 houses have been damaged partly, while crop over an area of 9,45,433 hectares has been damaged. The affected areas included 235 blocks, 55 municipal bodies, four municipal corporations and 814 gram panchayats (GPs) covering 17,546 villages, they said. Steps were also being taken to protect the affected people from health hazards and medicines and drinking water pouches were being distributed, they added.

A 1977 picture of Sushma Swaraj with Jayprakash Narayan (seated).

The terror strike in Udhampur is a part of "persistent attempts by terrorists" from Pakistan to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir, government told the Lok Sabha today while informing that the two attackers had infiltrated from across the border.


Making a suo motu statement in both Houses of Parliament on yesterday's attack, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the interrogation of one of the two terrorists, who was captured alive, is expected to reveal their modus operandi, including the details of their infiltration from across the border and their targets.


"We strongly condemn the attack and the persistent attempts by terrorists from across the border to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.


He said that there were five infiltration attempts in a month, four of which were foiled and eight terrorists were neutralised. Giving details about yesterday's incident, Singh said the apprehended terrorist was Mohammad Naveed Yakub alias Usman, a resident of Faisalabad in Pakistan, and he had identified his slain accomplice as Mohammad Nomen alias Nomin, a resident of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.


Usman was brought to Jammu, where he is being questioned by the authorities concerned, he said.

A 1.8 inch difference in a TV screen and a 12-year-long court case.
Read more

Just in: Fresh ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Sawjian sector of Poonch (J&K), Indian troops retaliate.

30 NDA MPs write a letter to the Rajya Sabha Chairman to take action against those who are disrupting the house. Details awaited.

Suresh Grover's family came to the UK from Kenya in 1966 for a better life and a British education. But what he saw and heard growing up in the 1970s changed him.

A must read from the BBC. Take a look.

Just in: Pakistan denies that captured terrorist Usman is a Pakistani national. The terrorist, who is believed to be in his early 20s, was captured alive yesterday in Udhampur, Jammu. He has given his interrogators various names since his capture - Qasim, Usman and then Naved.


During his questioning through the night, Usman has revealed that he was a Pakistani from Faisalabad and was trained by the Lashkar-e-Taiba and entered India 90 days ago.


The terrorist has reportedly disclosed that he entered India through the Kashmir Valley during Ramzan, along with his accomplice, who was shot dead by the BSF during the attack on the convoy. They had been hiding in the Kashmir Valley for over a month.

The family of martyred BSF jawan Rocky grieve for him. BSF IG Rakesh Sharma told media persons that Constable Rocky stopped the terrorists from entering a bus. He fired at the terrorist and shot him dead even after he was injured which saved many lives.

Trinamool Congress MPs quipped in the Central Hall of Parliament today that the Congress should now add the colour black to their party flag since many Congress MPs have been wearing black arm bands in protest over their suspension. And there's also that oft-quoted statement from Sonia Gandhi about the decision being a black day for democracy. 

Lok Sabha Congress MPs are upset with their colleagues in the Upper House that while they are on the streets boycotting Parliament, their colleagues have been able to draw their travel allowance and dearness allowance.


The suspended Lok Sabha MPs feel they are being isolated and want the Rajya Sabha MPs to stop signing the attendance register as well. When MPs do not sign the attendance register they cannot claim travel allowance or dearness allowance.


The Congress is "divided" in Parliament - according to a three time Congress MP - who is keen to end the impasse. First-timers in Parliament like Gaurav Gogoi and Sushmita Dev do not know the rules and regulations and mislead Rahul Gandhi to boycott Parliament with black arm bands and placards.

Intelligence Bureau interrogators on the captured Pakistani terrorist Usman Khan, say one should not go by his smiling face. He is thoroughly brainwashed and a hardened terrorist. He is psychologically strong and has been cheerful and smiling throughout interrogation. 

On day 3 of the Congress boycott of the Lok Sabha, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan says it's not her fault that the opposition has boycotted Parliament. "I haven't asked everybody to go out, they have gone on their own," she said. 


A day after Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan ordered the suspension of 25 lawmakers for disrupting proceedings in the Parliament, senior Congress leaders including party president Sonia Gandhi, vice president Rahul Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh have been protesting in front of the Gandhi statue inside the Parliament premises. They were wearing black arm bands, raising black flags and shouting slogans against the government.

Contrary to reports yesterday that the two Pakistani terrorists were tasked with disrupting the Amarnath Yatra, the Inspector General of BSF, Jammu frontiers, Rakesh Sharma, said today that the men were in fact looking for another target and not the BSF convoy.


The two terrorists, who may have been trained by the Lashkar-e-Toiba attacked a BSF convoy at Chenani along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Wednesday.


"The attack on BSF convoy was just a chance. The BSF convoy was not their primary target,'' said Sharma, speaking to the Indian Express, after laying wreaths at the mortal remains of two BSF soldiers who died in terrorist attack on the highway on Wednesday.


"They were looking for something else and it just per chance that the BSF happened to pass from there and they attacked it,'' he added. The real targets of the terrorists would be known only after the interrogation is over.

The deadly derailment of two trains in Madhya Pradesh presents the sorry dichotomy that marks Indias rail ambitions: the inability to run a safe, dependable and comfortable railway system on the one hand, and aspirations to move to flashy bullet trains on the other. Read more

Pakistan remained tight-lipped over the arrest of the Pakistani terrorist in Udhampur Wednesday. The militant claimed he belonged to Faisalabad, a city some 250 km from Islamabad. The Inter-Services Public Relations and Pakistan Foreign Office did not respond to queries. Read more

Key points of External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha. Since the Congress has boycotted the Lok Sabha, the EAM gets a chance to make her statement without interruptions and adjournments.


-- Mai dono sadno mein baithti rahi ki shayad charcha ho jaye, lekin charcha hona to door, mujhe charcha hone ke asaar bhi nazar nahi aye. I have waited in both houses waiting for a chance to make a statement or for the discussion to take place, but it did not happen.


--  Injustice is being done with me as I didn't even get a chance to clarify or put forth my opinion.


-- I'm not speaking because the Opposition is not in the house. It's unjust for me not to get an opportunity to defend myself.


-- People who respect me, now want my resignation. But I haven't got a chance to defend myself.


-- Charges against me are baseless. May be my stars will be realigned and I will get back the goodwill of my colleagues. Those colleagues who used to love and respect me, today are speaking bitterly against me. They have even asked for my resignation.


--  I had never requested the UK government to furnish travel documents to Lalit Modi. If I had requested/recommended then the British govt would have answered the Economic Times query saying as much. They said I didn't.


- Mai kehna chaahti hoon, kaise kia aur kyun kia se pehle ye to bata do ki maine kya kia? I want to say that before asking how it was done and why it was done, at least tell me what I have done?


-- Lalitgate is a non issue now. UK govt allowed Lalit Modi to travel as per rules.


-- Lalit Modi's wife is suffering from cancer for the last 17 years and it has recurred 10 times. Did not request or recommend anything to the UK government. There is nothing in the UK Home department papers to back it.

--  I challenge anyone to produce even one shred of evidence. The message I sent was on humanitarian grounds.

-- Agar ek mahila ki madad karna apraadh hai, to haan maine ye apraadh kia hai. Meri jagah agar aap (Speaker) hotin toh kya kartin? Agar Soniaji hotin toh kya kartin? Marney kay liye chhod detiin?
If it is a crime to help a woman like her (cancer patient), then, yes, I have committed a crime. If you (Speaker) were in my place, what would you have done? If Sonia-ji was in my place, what would she have done? Would you have left her (Lalit Modi's wife) to die?

Border Security Force DG DK Pathak holds a presser a day after an attack on his men in which one of two Pakistani terrorists were captured alive, another shot dead.

Reacting to reports that the Union Home Ministry had warned the Jammu and Kashmir police more than two months ago about a possible attack on the Udhampur highway, Pathak says, "The BSF had no specific input about the Udhampur attack. There were 24 people on the bus, if Rocky (a BSF jawan) had not neutralized the militant, then I think most of the 24 would not have survived."


The first inputs of the threat of a terror attack had been given to the J&K police at the end of May, and since then multiple advisories were sent both by the Home Ministry and the Intelligence Bureau that Udhampur was a possible target.

On the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, former Pakistani Lt Gen and former DG ISI, Hameed Gul tweets: India should mend it's ways else we will not hesitate to make Delhi & Mumbai as today's Hiroshima & Nagasaki #Beware.

Gul's Twitter profile says it all: Fear is no policy & Surrender is no option.

The Mumbai Police have launched a massive manhunt for a man who has expressed his desire to join the Islamic State terrorist group. In his Facebook post, the suspect wrote he wished to give up his Indian citizenship and become a spokesperson for the ISIS -- the terror group which currently controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria. The suspect, who says his name is Zuber Ahmed Khan on social media and claims to be a journalist, addressed his post to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.


The Hindustan Times reported that Crime Branch officers believe the man lives in Navi Mumbai. On Tuesday, the police came close to arresting him when he was traced to Bandra, but the man managed to evade arrest.

Home minister Rajnath Singh makes a statement on the terror attack in Udhampur, Jammu, yesterday in which one Pakistani terrorist was caught alive.


On Pakistani terrorist Usman Khan's arrest in Udhampur, J&K: "There was a terrorist attack on a BSF convoy in Udhampur yesterday in which two BSF jawans died and 17 were injured. One terrorist was killed and one was arrested alive. Preliminary inquiry reveals both terrorists were Pakistanis. The terrorist caught alive has been taken to Jammu and is being interrogated. A case has been registered. The BSF, the J&K Police and the CRPF played a crucial role in the operation.


"I appreciate the unarmed villagers of the area who without fearing for their lives helped in arresting the terrorist. I will request the government to recognize their contribution."

Three senior Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah Naidu have worked out a strategy to focus only on the Lok Sabha and not get bogged down to get the Bills passed in the Upper House by incorporating a taxation clause in each of the Bills. If taxation is included it becomes a Money bill and therefore needs the authorisation by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. As per the Constitution of India, the Rajya Sabha does not have a say in Money bills. What this effectively means is that the Congress will be totally sidelined if this is put into action.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on roaster duty in the Lok Sabha on every Wednesday and for Rajya Sabha on Thursday.


The PM today sat through the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha yesterday and today is expected to be present in the Rajya Sabha. Will the Congress recognise his presence, asks a senior BJP minister?

So far, the Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till noon.

Services have been held in Hiroshima to mark 70 years since an atomic bomb destroyed the city. Some 70,000 people were killed instantly in the city when the US bomber Enola Gay dropped the world's first atomic bomb on August 6th 1945. The death toll would later rise to 140,000. Read more

'Little about this regime, given its vindictive credo, is a complete surprise. But we were still taken aback by the CBI raid as it was a complete abuse of due process.

''These are not legal inquiries, but abusive use of State power. They are not legitimate investigations, but a witch-hunt.

"Ours is a typical, classic case of the State and its organs being used as an outlet for motivated vendetta of the vilest kind."


Teesta Setalvad, the face of the movement to secure justice for the 2002 Gujarat riot victims, speaks to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com.

Read

Congress president Sonia Gandhi who is leading protests over the suspension of 25 party MPs by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan disses the just-concluded Naga accord. Speaking to reporters at the Gandhi statue outside Parliament, Sonia said, "I have no doubt that it may be historic, but what about consulting our CMs? Here's another show of arrogance of this government. We're actually shocked that the PM didn't even think of taking into confidence CMs of Manipur Assam, Arunachal Pradesh who are directly affected. Isn't that proof of arrogance of this government?"


The government on Monday signed an accord with key outfit Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland- Isaac-Muivah which Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as a "historic" step to usher in peace in the state.


The signing of the pact is the culmination of over 80 rounds of negotiations that spanned 16 years with first breakthrough in 1997 when ceasefire agreement was sealed.

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu: Home Minister Rajnath Singh to make a statement on Udhampur attack, in both the Houses of Parliament after the question hour

Taking umbrage over India's move to include Japan in Malabar exercises, an official Chinese analyst today warned that the Indo-Japan defence cooperation is "dangerous for Asia" and the two countries should be "careful about it".                 

This New York Times animation shows where floating debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 could have drifted if experts are correct about where the plane went down, based on a model released by Australian officials on Tuesday.