Fodder scam: SC rejects Lalu Prasad's plea to change judge

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected RJD chief Lalu Prasad's plea for transfer of trial court judge hearing the case against him in the fodder scam.

A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam, which had on July 9 restrained the trial court from passing the judgement in fodder scam case, gave its order on Tuesday on Lalu's plea.

LoC attack: Kamal Nath defends Antony amid opposition attack on his statement

NEW DELHI: Under attack for his statement on the killing of five Indian soldiers on LoC, defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday maintained that his contention about the involvement of terrorists in the assault was based on "whatever information" he had.

He told Rajya Sabha that he will get back to the House if he got more details about Tuesday's incident in Poonch after the visit of Army chief Gen Bikram Singh to Jammu on Wednesday.

Pak army involved in LoC attack, Antony says

NEW DELHI: Making a fresh statement in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, defence minister A K Antony said that specialist forces from Pakistani army were involved in attack on Indian soldiers at the LoC.

Antony also said that those in Pakistan who are responsible for this tragedy should not go unpunished.

"Our restraint should not be taken for granted," Antony said in Lok Sabha.

Five soldiers killed in attack by Pakistani troops on Indian post

Pakistani troops attacked an Indian post along the Line of Control in the Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir late Monday night, killing five Indian soldiers.

Defence sources on Tuesday said the Pakistani soldiers intruded into the Indian territory past midnight and ambushed the Sarla post on the Indian side of the LoC.

Abu Salem will not be returned to Portugal, rules Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ruled that the extradition of underworld don Abu Salem to India is valid. Salem is being tried for his alleged role in serial blasts in Mumbai in 1993 in which 257 people were killed and another 713 injured.

Salem, 45, was sent by Portugal to  Mumbai in November 2005 along with his then companion, actor Monica Bedi. He is imprisoned at the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai.

JNU student attacks classmate with axe, dies after suicide attempt

In a shocking incident, a 23-year-old student committed suicide after attacking a woman classmate with an axe at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Wednesday.

The incident took place in room no. 213 of the Korean language department around 11.30 a.m.

The attacker was identified as Akash and the woman as 22-year-old Roshani.

Indian shot dead in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur : An ethnic Indian man was gunned down today in Malaysia's Perak state, the latest in a spate of shootings that has shocked the southeast Asian country.

26-year-old N Jeevandran was shot twice on his abdomen, police said.

Bandh in Rayalaseema, coastal Andhra against Telangana formation

Normal life was disrupted in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions on Wednesday as a shutdown began in the two regions against the decision of the Congress and the UPA to create Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh.

Educational institutions, commercial establishments remained closed and the services of state-run Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) were suspended in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra districts such as Kadapa, Chittoor, Visakhapatnam and Krishna.

Telangana effect: Gorkha Janmukti Morcha calls indefinite shutdown in Darjeeling

Darjeeling: Hours after the UPA and the Congress Working Committee endorsed statehood for Telangana, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) announced an indefinite strike in the Darjeeling Hills from Saturday to press for its Gorkhaland demand.

GJM chief Bimal Gurung resigned as chief executive of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration - an autonomous and elected hill development council which the party has been running for a year.

Telangana: CWC meeting tomorrow, D-Day likely for Andhra Pradesh

HYDERABAD: In what could be D-Day for Andhra Pradesh, the Congress has finally called for the meeting of its highest policy making body, the Congress working committee (CWC) on Tuesday evening. In a morning of swift developments on Monday, the Congress also decided to advance the meeting of the UPA coordination committee from Wednesday to Tuesday.

Batla House encounter: Court to pronounce sentence tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The sentencing of Batla House encounter convict Shahzad Ahmed has been deferred for Tuesday.

A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on quantum of sentence to suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Shahzad in the 2008 encounter case for Tuesday.

Additional sessions judge Rajender Kumar Shastri had on July 25 found Shahzad guilty of assaulting police officers and obstructing them from doing their duty.

No proof against Gurunath, Kundra, says BCCI probe panel

KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: Exactly 58 days after he "stepped aside" as BCCI president, the decks have been cleared for N Srinivasan's return to the helm of the richest cricket body in the world.

A report submitted by a two-member panel that probed allegations of betting and spot-fixing against Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, India Cements Ltd (owner of Chennai Super Kings) and Jaipur IPL Pvt Ltd (owner of Rajasthan Royals), found no direct evidence of wrongdoing on the part of any party. The panel consisted of two former judges of the Tamil Nadu high court, Jayaram Chouta and R Balasubramanian.

Now, Farooq Abdullah says you can fill your stomach for rupee 1

NEW DELHI: After Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar and Rajya Sabha MP Rasheed Masood's claim of 'super cheap' food available on the streets of India, another minister is of the view that one can have a filling meal for just Re 1.

Union minister of new and renewable energy and National Conference party leader Farooq Abdullah said that one can fill his stomach for just Re 1.

Batla House encounter genuine, main accused guilty of killing inspector MC Sharma: Court

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Thursday ruled that 2008 Batla House encounter was genuine and convicted lone suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Shahzad Ahmed for killing Delhi police inspector MC Sharma.

Additional sessions judge Rajender Kumar Shastri had on July 20 reserved the judgement after conclusion of final arguments by the prosecution and the defence.

Modi US visa row: CPM MP Yechury says he didn't sign any letter

New Delhi: The controversy over Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's US visa has got more twists and turns. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury has been denied signing the letter sent to US President Barack Obama against a visa to Modi while MPs say he must have forgotten that he signed it.

Yechury, whose name figures at number 9 on the letter written in late 2012, on Tuesday had refuted claims that he was one of the MPs who has reached out to Obama to halt Modi's visit. He had said, "I would be the last person to write to the US Administration and to do something like this. We don't want anyone to interfere in the internal affairs of the country. Secondly, it is up to the US government to decide on giving visa."

Heavy rains lash Mumbai, several schools ask students to stay at home

The Brihan mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities have asked people not to step out of their house unless absolutely necessary, as heavy rains are predicted in Mumbai in the next 72 hours.According to television channel reports, Mumbai's Colaba area has so far recorded 158.6 millimeters  of rain in the last 20 hours, while Santa Cruz has recorded 168.6 millimeters of rainfall since Tuesday.

The temperature in Mumbai has dipped to a minimum of 22 degree Celsius due to the continuous rainfall.As heavy rain lashed the metro this morning, the Brihan mumbai Municipal Corporation advised parents to take children already in school back home.

Eight dead in Karnataka bus mishap, two critical

Hassan, Karnataka: Eight people drowned when a Karnataka State Road Transport  Corporation bus plunged into Vishnusamudra lake at Belur today, with police and locals rescuing 40 passengers.

Eleven passengers were admitted to a local hospital where two were stated to be critical, police said.

Representational image. PTI Representational image. PTI

The bus proceeding from Sakleshpur to Belur had several students on board, police said. There were reports that the bus was carrying 50-60 passengers.

Security forces kill top JeM commander Qari Yasir in shootout

Srinagar: Security forces in Kashmir today killed terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s (JeM) top commander, Qari Yasir, in an shootout in the wee hours of morning in north Kashmir’s Lolab area.

Yasir was gunned down by security forces at a village in Kupwara district, police said.

Yasir had been the JeM chief in Kashmir for the last three years, Abdul Ghani Mir, Inspector General of Police, told Firstpost.

Pakistani troops fire across LoC in J&K

Heavy firing continued between Indian and Pakistani troops on the Line of Control (LoC) Tuesday in Poonch district of Jammu region.A defence spokesperson said Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing at Indian positions in Digwar sector along the LoC in Poonch district late Monday night.

"The unprovoked firing at our positions started at 10 pm yesterday. We retaliated and the exchange continued till 2 am on Tuesday morning.

Mamnoon strongest PML-N candidate

ISLAMABAD: With two days remaining for submission of nomination papers for the presidential election, the PML-N is reported to have narrowed down the list to three candidates.

Senior PML-N leaders told Dawn that former governor of Sindh and party loyalist Mamnoon Hussain was the front-runner followed by PM’s adviser on foreign affairs and national security Sartaj Aziz and former chief justice of Pakistan Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui.