Nearly a year after the Doklam row strained ties between two nuclear-powered Asian giants India and China, Luo Zhaohui - the Chinese Ambassador to India - has now said that the Doklam chapter is now over and that two countries have reached a consensus to look forward.

Zhaohui said, "That page has already been turned over. We have reached a consensus to look forward. So that's why the Chinese Prime Minister (Xi Jinping) and Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi) have met many a time this year."

The Chinese official further said that he was happy and optimistic about strong bilateral relations between the two countries.

The remarks from the Chinese envoy comes nearly a year after a military stand-off began between India and China after the latter's troops tried to construct a road at the disputed territory in violation of understandings arrived at by both countries. 

The bitter military stand-off between the two powerful nations lasted for about 73 days.

MDMK chief Vaiko today demanded that the Centre posthumously confer Bharat Ratna on M Karunanidhi a day after DMK raised a similar demand in Parliament.

      

While paying tribute to Karunanidhi, Vaiko said in a statement that 'Kalaignar' (as Karunanidhi is fondly called) received love and affection from people across the country and urged the Centre to confer the Bharat Ratna on the late leader as part of honouring him.

      

Yesterday, during the Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, DMK member 'Tiruchi' Siva asked the Centre to 'posthumously' confer Bharat Ratna on Karunanidhi as a tribute to his exemplary work for the people.

     

Many members, including Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi

Azad, supported Siva's demand.

Rishi Kapoor, who's known to voice his opinions strongly, is back in the headlines again. Recently, the actor accused British Airways of being racist after an Indian passenger and family were asked to de-board a flight in the UK. He also mentioned that he had had an unpleasant experience with the airlines.

"Racist. Don't fly British Airways. We cannot be kicked around. Sad to hear about the Berlin child incident. I stopped flying British Airways after the cabin crew were rude and had attitude not once but twice even after being a first class passenger. Fly Jet Airways or Emirates. There is dignity," Kapoor tweeted.

The incident took place on July 23, when the family was travelling from London to Berlin.

Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu asked the aviation regulator to obtain a detailed report from British Airways over the incident.

This comes after the passenger, identified as AP Pathak a Joint Secretary level officer in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, complained that he and his family were discriminated against on racial lines.

National Conference president Farooq Abdullah today said he will fight for Article 35-A until his death, warning that the fallout of any tinkering with the Constitutional provision would be difficult to control.

 

Article 35-A, which gives special rights and privileges to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, is currently facing a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.

"I will fight against them till I go down in my grave," Abdullah said, adding that "they only remember Kashmir and not Himachal (Pradesh), Arunachal (Pradesh) and Nagaland", which also enjoy the special position.

Asked how he sees the situation in Kashmir if the Article 35-A is tinkered with, he said, "You will see the situation yourselves, Delhi will also then see it and it will be very difficult for them to control it".

Abdullah, who is also the Member of Parliament form Srinagar constituency, however, sought to dismiss the uproar around the legal challenge to Article 35-A of the Constitution, saying no one is going to touch it.

"They cannot touch (Article) 35-A. The Constitutional bench has twice said about it already. I do not know why they try to scratch this wound every time. The more they scratch it, the more blood there will be. Time has come for them to stop scratching it," the NC president said.

Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut has a message for Pakistan's Prime Minister-designate Imran Khan.

The 31-year-old, while wishing Khan good luck, said she was impressed by his speech.

At an event, when the 'Queen' star was asked if she thought the relations between the two countries will improve, Kangana said, "Hopefully, we can only hope that we don't have to shed more blood."

"It's unfortunate that our soldiers are dying. But, the kind of speech that Imran Khan has given is very nice and I wish him all the best and with folded hands, I really hope and appeal, that we have a really beautiful relationship," she added, as reported by Geo News.

The actor recently made headlines after she bestowed praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming him as the 'rightful leader of democracy.' She also batted in favour of a second term for the PM.

The Noida police on Saturday arrested a youth, Mohammad Jeeshan, for impersonating the Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved Limited, Acharya Balkrishna Facebook.

The police also recovered mobile phones and two SIM cards from the accused, who created a fake account of Balkrishna on the social networking site and indulged in inappropriate conversations with the latter's followers.

Soon after the arrest was made, Patanjali spokesperson SK Tijarawala claimed that a deliberate effort was being made to defame religious leaders, and called for stern action against the accused.

He also urged the police to considered the accused at par with a rape convict.

"What has happened is against the culture, religion, and values of Indian society, and an attempt to defame religious leaders by spreading false information about them. Accused in such cases should be given the same punishment as that given to those guilty of rape," he tweeted in Hindi.

Tijarawala had earlier appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to introduce a stern law to protect social media from becoming a weapon of sabotage.

This came after a morphed image of Yoga Guru Ramdev was posted in a WhatsApp group on International Yoga Day. 

Former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said defending the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was not confined to a particular region or religion anymore as the people of the state have realised its importance and sanctity.

She was referring to the reports of two of BJP MLAs from Jammu region coming out in support of Article 35-A, which is facing a legal challenge in the Supreme Court.

Heartening to know that two MLAs from BJP, Rajesh Gupta followed by Dr Gagan (Bhagat), have raised their voice in defence of Article 35-A. Defending the special status of J-K is not confined to a region or religion anymore. People of the state have realised its importance & (and) sanctity, Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.

The former chief minister said while her government had fought the case legally in the Supreme Court, she stood alone in the political battle emphasising that any dilution of Article 35-A would set the state on fire.

Today I feel relieved that regardless of political views or affiliations, we are all on the same page as far as protecting the special status of J-K is concerned, Mehbooba wrote.

The Supreme Court had, on August 6, said that a three-judge bench would decide whether the pleas challenging Article 35-A should be referred to a five-judge Constitution bench for examining the larger issue of alleged violation of the doctrine of basic structure of the Constitution.

The earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok killed 387 people, authorities said Saturday, increasing the death toll from the temblor seven days ago.

An additional 13,688 were injured and 378,067 people displaced, according to Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency.

The Red Cross has said aid was struggling to reach the northern parts of the island due to debris from the quake and the ongoing risk of landslides.

"A lot of people are displaced, and many have migrated to the hilly and mountainous areas because of fear of a tsunami," Red Cross representative Husni Husni said.

Relief agencies have warned the full impact of the earthquake may take days to become known.

Suspended Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Saturday came up with a fresh comment that may soon evoke strong reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Speaking at the inauguration of 'Enough With intolerance National Campaign' event at India International Centre, Aiyar said he could never imagine that any person who called Muslims as puppy can become Prime Minister of India.

"Before 2014, I would have never thought, that a chief minister thinks of Muslims as puppy. The individual, who was when asked about whether you have any regrets that so many Muslims lost their lives in 2002, had said that even if a puppy comes under a car, I will feel the pain. I have thought over this statement. He never visited any Muslim refugee camp for 24 days (after Gujarat riots) and reached Shah Alam mosque in Ahmadabad only when (then) Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee came, as it was the necessity of the protocol. I had never thought that any such individual can become Prime Minister," Aiyar said.

He went on to mention former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's contribution in promoting secularism. "Our first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru taught us the real definition of nationalism. I learned from him that majority communalism is worst than minority communalism. He taught us that we can either be secular or cannot remain one single country," Aiyar added.

He further said: "I am proud of Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Christians and I am very proud of Muslims. Muslims ruled India for 666 years from the throne of Delhi. From Muhammad Ghori in 1152 to Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1858 -- Muslims ruled India but we remained a large nation. During this vast period, only 24 per cent Hindus converted to Islam and 76 per cent did not." Interestingly, years from 1152 to 1858 total to 706 years and not 666 as mentioned by Aiyar.

In a provocative remark against Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajasthan BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja said the country's first prime minister was not a 'pandit' as he ate beef and pork.

Often in the news for his contentious statements, the legislator from Ramgarh constituency of Alwar district blamed the Nehru-Gandhi family for all the social evils prevailing in the country.

Nehru could not be a pandit as he ate beef and pork. Congress has prefixed pandit before his name, Ahuja told reporters, reacting to state Congress chief Sachin Pilot's statement that Rahul Gandhi had learnt to visit temples from his grandmother Indira Gandhi.

Claiming that the Gandhi scion never visited temples with Indira Gandhi, Ahuja vowed to step down from his post if anyone could prove him wrong.

Congress leaders including Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot and Ghulam Nabi Azad should tell when Rahul Gandhi's 'yagnopaveet sanskar' (sacred thread ceremony) took place, he said.

He said that if he is wrong he will quit his post, otherwise Pilot should resign.

He further accused the Congress party of indulging in politics of caste to contest elections and sought the demolition of all statues of members of the Nehru-Gandhi family and the monuments named after them.

The Trinamool Congress today dubbed the rally of BJP president Amit Shah a "flop show" and refuted the charge that the TV coverage of his meeting was blacked-out due to pressure from the ruling party. 

 

Shah, who addressed the rally at Mayo Road in the city today, criticised the ruling TMC for blacking out news channels which covered his programme. 

"You can blackout channels, but our BJP workers will carry my message to every corner of the state," he said at the meeting. 

Refuting the charges, the TMC said in a statement, "The BJP has just concluded another flop show in #Bangla. After the flop meeting, BJP is looking for excuses. They are saying their meeting was blacked-out. Black outs and blackmailing is what BJP does. Do not insult the media. All showed. We challenge BJP. Either they prove it or resign". 

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release sufficient funds to the Kerala government to help respond to the flood crisis and restore critical infrastructure in the state.

In a letter to the prime minister, Gandhi said the torrential rains, floods and wide-scale landslides have left behind a trail of destruction across Kerala.

Terming it as the "most severe disaster" that has struck the state in the last five decades, he said this natural calamity has resulted in massive economic and human losses

"At this juncture, it is critical to acknowledge the looming humanitarian crisis facing Kerala, he said.

He expressed the hope that the Centre would cooperate with the state government in the massive relief and rehabilitation efforts which were underway.

"I request you to release sufficient funds immediately to the state government, to enable the state to respond effectively, and work towards restoring critical infrastructure," Gandhi said in his letter to Modi.

He said the fishermen community is one of the worst affected and this disaster has dealt a "deadly blow" to them at a time when the fishing industry is yet to recover from the adverse impact of Ocki cyclone.

The Congress chief said the disaster has already claimed over 150 lives in the past month and the hilly and coastal districts of Idukki, Wayanad, Kottayam, Alapuzha, Ernakulam and Kozhikode have borne extensive damage. 

He noted that incessant rains have forced the state to open the shutters of 24 dams, and the resultant deluge is likely to cause massive destruction in downstream areas. 

A group of Dalit lawyers in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh "purified" the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar with milk and 'gangaajal' soon after it was garlanded by Bharatiya Janata Party's state secretary Sunil Bansal on Friday.

The lawyers say that the statue placed near the district court here got "dirty" after Bansal garlanded it.

"We are purifying this statue because Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Rakesh Sinha came and garlanded it.BJP government oppresses Dalits. They have nothing to do with Ambedkar, but still they use his name just to promote their party and allure the Dalit community," a lawyer said.

Ambedkar played a pivotal role in inspiring the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination towards Untouchables.

In a similar incident, a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur town was purified with 'Gangaajal' and statutes of deities were sent to Allahabad for purification after the visit of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Manisha Anuragi.

Manisha Anuragi visited the temple on July 12 while she was in her assembly constituency to attend a function. 

People in Assam are yet to receive the forms for claims, objections and corrections in the state's National Register of Citizens, even as the process has been delayed by at least a week from the original schedule.

The NRC Sewa Kendras had yesterday started informing the public about the reasons for excluding names from the complete draft. The exercise, however, was slated to start from August 7. 

These centres were supposed to distribute the forms for claims, objections and corrections from the day of detailing the reasons for exclusion, but people visiting the kendras had to return without any forms.  

The NRC officials declined to comment on the matter, citing Supreme Court guidelines.

Sources said the forms are now likely to be distributed from August 16.

The NSKs will accept the forms from August 30 to September 28, following which the process of their verification and disposal will begin.

Former captain of Indian cricket team Sunil Gavaskar will not be attending Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan's oath-taking ceremony on August 18 as the prime minister.

Gavaskar told India Today that he spoke to Imran Khan and wished him luck before the latter takes over as the prime minister of Pakistan.

Gavaskar attributed his inability to attend the ceremony to a test match in England on August 18, where he is due to be present.

"As a cricketer, Imran Khan has visited India a number of times. He has interacted with Indians. He understands India, so I have a lot of expectations from him as far as India's relations with Pakistan are concerned," Gavaskar told India Today.

Imran Khan also invited other Indian cricketers including Kapil Dev and Navjot Singh Sidhu. Sidhu also accepted Khan's invite.

We do not have lift off. Nasa's much-anticipated Parker Solar Probe - a spacecraft which it is claimed will "touch" the sun - failed to launch following a countdown on Saturday morning.

Engineers "scrubbed" takeoff at the last second for as-yet unknown reasons. It has been rescheduled for Sunday morning instead.

The car-sized satellite was due to blast into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 4.28 am eastern time but millions of viewers watching online were left disappointed as nothing happened.

"This mornings launch of @NASASuns #ParkerSolarProbe was scrubbed," Nasa tweeted. "Launch teams will attempt to launch on Sunday morning."

Over the next seven years, it will dip directly into the Suns roasting hot outer atmosphere in a bid to unlock some of the solar systems greatest secrets.

In particular, scientist hope Parker will provide information about solar winds and solar energy particles.

The craft will endure temperatures of more than 1,300C while looping round the Sun a planned 24 times and sending its data back to Earth. At some points, it will move to just 3.83 million miles from the stars broiling surface.

Sri Lankan Navy on Saturday detained a group of Indian Tamil fishermen, for allegedly straying into Sri Lankan waters.

The authorities apprehended 27 fishermen along wit their four boats off Delft island.

The investigation into the matter is underway at Karainagar, the north of the island nation.

Further details are awaited.

Straying of Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen into each other's waters is a recurrent problem as terrorities on the sea are not clearly demarcated.

Last month, 7 Indian fishermen were taken into custody near the Sri Lankan city of Jaffna along with their boats. 

Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Saturday reached Kolkata to address a rally. The BJP leader was shown black flags by youth Congress workers as he came out of the NSC Bose International airport. The youth Congress workers raised slogans against Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Here are updates from the BJP chief's address: 

>> Change is going to come to West Bengal

>> All Mamata ji has done, is to object against NRC. But NRC is the process to throw illegal immigrants out. Shouldn't Bangladeshi immigrants be thrown out?

>> For us country first comes, before vote bank. Oppose us as much as you want but we will not stall the process of NRC

>> Signals of all Bengali channels have been lowered so that people will not be able to watch us. But even if you try to suppress our voices, we will go to every district of Bengal and throw TMC out

>> Earlier we used to hear the sound of 'Rabindra Sangeet' everyday in Bengal but now you hear only the sound of bomb explosions here

Salman Khan took some time off his busy schedule and participated in the 'Hum Fit Toh India Fit' fitness challenge. 

On Saturday, Salman accepted the challenge and shared a video on social media and guess who reacted to the actor's video? 

It was none other than Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, who not only thanked the actor for accepting his challenge but also praised him. 

Rijiju tweeted: "Great Salman Khan bhai. You inspire millions to stay fit and healthy. Thanks for accepting my challenge." 

Salman shared a 25 second video, in which he can be seen cycling and working out. Salman wrote: "Fabulous campaign by Sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore on #HumFitTohIndiaFit. I accept the Fitness Challenge of Kiren Rijiju. Here is my video."

'Hum Fit Toh India Hit' is a social media campaign which was started by Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports- Rajyavardhan Rathore. The challenge gained massive popularity and was endorsed by several Bollywood celebrities including Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Hritik Roshan and Malaika Arora among others.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is visiting the flood-affected areas of the state on Saturday as the death toll climbed to 29 due to floods and incessant rains. The centre assured all assistance to the state government after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke about the situation with the chief minister.

The Kerala government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the families of those killed in floods, and Rs 10 lakh for people who lost their land.

More than 15,600 people have been evacuated from the flood-affected areas and around 500 relief camps have been set up across the state. The army, navy, air force, coast guard, and National Disaster Response Force have been carrying out evacuation and relief operations across flood-hit districts. According to Union Minister KJ Alphons, Kerala is experiencing the heaviest rainfall in 50 years.

A team of Central Bureau of Investigation and Forensic Science Laboratory officials on Saturday opened the sealed rooms of Balika Griha, the shelter home where 34 minor girls were allegedly raped in Bihar's Muzaffarpur. 

"The CBI team along with Central Forensic Science Laboratory visited the shelter home, opened sealed rooms and conducted a search to collect more evidence in the case," a district police officer said. 

According to the police, a team of Central Forensic Science Laboratory from New Delhi, is collecting evidence for scientific investigation into it. 

"All the action is being videographed for record purposes," the police official said. 

The shelter home was sealed by the district administration after Brajesh Thakur along with nine others were arrested after the case surfaced. 

The district administration has deployed additional security forces in and outside the shelter home as CBI and FSL teams are likely to conduct their operation for hours.

The CBI, which is probing the rape of the 34 minor girls at the shelter home in Muzaffarpur, is likely to file an application in the local court to take Brajesh Thakur on remand for interrogation. 

The CBI team has already obtained the medical report of Brajesh Thakur from Muzaffarpur central jail before filing an application in the court to take him on remand for interrogation. "The CBI will take Brajesh Thakur on remand for interrogation and for that it will file an application in the court," sources in the CBI said. 

Meanwhile, the CBI is also set to issue a summons to former social welfare minister Manju Verma's husband Chandeshwar Verma to appear before it in connection with the ongoing investigation into the case. 

Early this week Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma, who was under attack from the Opposition and in the eye of the storm resigned after call details record of Brajesh Thakur's mobile phone revealed that her husband was in regular touch with him. 

A special Fugitive Economic Offenders Act court in Mumbai today issued public summons to the sister and brother of absconding diamantaire Nirav Modi, the main accused in the $2 billion bank fraud case, asking them to appear before it on September 25.

  

It said if they fail to appear, their assets will be confiscated under the newly enacted Act aimed at curbing big ticket economic crimes.

The court of M S Azmi, also the special judge for Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases in Mumbai, issued three public notices in leading dailies today naming Nirav Modi's sister Purvi Modi and brother Neeshal Modi as they have been "enumerated as an interested person" in an application made under the new Act by the Enforcement Directorate against the diamond merchant.

The two have been charged by the ED to have indulged in money laundering and subsequently, escaping from India as the alleged scam came to light.

The notice against Purvi and Neeshal show causes them to explain as to "why the properties mentioned in the application (filed by the ED earlier), in which you have pecuniary interest and/or otherwise, should not be confiscated under the said Ordinance (now the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act)."

The court has asked the duo to appear before it on September 25 at 11 am, the same date on which Nirav has also been summoned by it under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.

The third public notice against Nirav Modi asked him to depose on the same date and time as it said that he is accused in a money laundering case and "as you have left India and are refusing to come back to face trial in that case, you should be declared a fugitive under the above-mentioned Ordinance (now the Act)."

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today expressed concern over the flood situation in

Kerala and urged party workers in the rain-battered state to help those in need.

  

He said the unprecedented rainfall has wrecked havoc in the southern state, destroying property and forcing thousands to abandon their houses.

"Unprecedented rainfall has created havoc in Kerala, destroying property and forcing thousands to abandon their homes.

"I urge each and every Congres worker in Kerala to step up and help those in need. My prayers and thoughts are with the people of Kerala in this difficult time," he said on Twitter.

The floods in Kerala have caused widespread devastation in the state, killing many people.

Twenty-nine people have so far lost their lives in the heavy rains since August 8 and over 50,000 persons have been shifted to relief camps.

A labourer was injured when a slab of an under-construction flyover of National Highways Authority of India collapsed at Phutaiyya Chauraha in Basti district today, an official said.

  

The labourer on duty in the night shift was immediately admitted to the district hospital for treatment, District Magistrate, Basti, Raj Shekhar said.

The local administration spoke to the contractor who had hired the labourer and local workers and they confirmed that no other person is injured or missing, the DM said.

Traffic was disrupted for some time but later opened after installing some barricades.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while taking cognisance of the incident, directed the district administration to provide the best possible treatment, ensure smooth flow of traffic and take all possible measures effectively to see that such incidents did not recur.

The district administration has informed Project Director NHAI and has asked him to look into the issue immediately and take appropriate measures on priority, the DM added.

United States President Donald Trump has announced that he will be dining with Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook on Saturday night.

Taking to Twitter, US President Trump said, "Had a very good phone call with @EmmanuelMacron, President of France. Discussed various subjects, in particular Security and Trade. Many other calls and conversations today. Looking forward to dinner tonight with Tim Cook of Apple. He is investing big dollars in USA," President Trump tweeted.

President Trump and Tim Cook last met in April this year when the Apple CEO visited the White House.

According to The Hill, last week Tim Cook in a conference said that Apple was looking at whether Trump's tariffs in a trade war with China would hit the company on the purchases it must make. 

The incident took place last evening and a case of murder was registered against several people.Two persons were arrested, Station House Officer (SHO), Chapar, Subhash Rathore said.

The deceased was identified as Kapil Tyagi.

His family along with others staged a protest and gheraeod the Chapar police station demanding more arrests in the case, the officer said.

They claimed that Tyagi was innocent and was beaten to death when he gone to work at Bijopur, Rathore said. 

The protest was led by former Bharatiya Janata Party district president Devert Tyagi. 

The matter is being investigated.

Security personnel have been deployed in the village to thwart any untoward incidents,the SHO said.  -- PTI

Due to inclement weather, the chief minister's helicopter could not land at Kattapana in Idukki, where he had called a meeting to review the situation in the backdrop of the opening of five shutters of Idukki Dam, government sources said.

The helicopter has left for Wayanad and the chief minister would be visiting a relief camp and attend a review meeting at the Collectorate, they said.

The chief minister is accompanied by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, Revenue minister, E Chandrasekharan, state Chief Secretary, Tom Jose and state Police Chief Loknath Behara. 

At least 29 persons have so far lost their lives in the heavy rains since August 8 and over 50,000 persons have been shifted to relief camps.

A red alert has been issued for 8 districts-- Idukki, Wayanad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Kottayam, Alappuzha of the 14 districts in the state by the Indian Meteorological department. 

Over 54,000 people have been shifted to relief camps across the state. Water level at the Idukki reservoir has decreased, providing some relief to the authorities.

Meanwhile, Kochi Airport in a statement said flight operations are continuing uninterrupted and there has been no cancellations.

"We surmounted a night of anxiety. All systems worked properly. Our efforts to protect the operational area succeeded.Water levels in the surrounding having stabilised, flight operations at Kochi Airport continue uninterrupted," it said. -- PTI

The woman attempted to end her life by consuming poison yesterday, Station House Officer (SHO), Jhinjhana, Rajkumar Sharma said. 

Two people are accused in the case and one of them was arrested yesterday. 

The woman is undergoing treatment at a hospital, the officer said. Family members claimed that she was upset over the police not taking adequate action against the perpetrators. 

The woman was raped by the youths on August 5, according to the complaint lodged by her father. 

He has also alleged that the youths had threatened his daughter with dire consequences if she reported the matter, the SHO said. 

Sharma said the matter is being investigated and a search had been launched to nab the other accused.  -- PTI

NASA counted down Friday to the launch of a $1.5 billion spacecraft that aims to plunge into the Suns sizzling atmosphere and become humanitys first mission to explore a star.

The car-sized Parker Solar Probe is scheduled to blast off on a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida early Saturday.

The 65-minute launch window opens at 3:33 am and the weather forecast is 70 percent favourable for takeoff, NASA said.

The probes main goal is to unveil the secrets of the corona, the unusual atmosphere around Sun.

Not only is the corona about 300 times hotter than the Suns surface, it also hurls powerful plasma and energetic particles that can unleash geomagnetic space storms and disrupt Earths power grid.

The Parker Solar Probe will help us do a much better job of predicting when a disturbance in the solar wind could hit Earth, said Justin Kasper, one of the project scientists and a professor at the University of Michigan.