LIVE news updates: BJP government is despotic and egoistic says Mayawati

BSP Supremo Mayawati in a series of tweets has attacked BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, stating that BJP regime is egoistic and despotic and has ignored essential issues like illiteracy, unemployment, price hike, poverty.

Allahabad High court directs state to provide right to shelter to poor as part of state’s constitutional duty

Senior Trinamool Congress leader and strongman Anubrata Mondal underwent a minor surgery at the state-run SSKM Hospital here on Sunday, the hospital sources said.

According to the doctors, Mondal, Trinamool Congress' Birbhum district President, has been kept under observation as he is also suffering from high diabetes and high blood pressure.

"Mondal was admitted to SSKM on Friday (July 5) with high diabetes. Today he underwent a fistula operation. We kept him under observation for the first two days as he had high blood sugar and blood pressure," said the doctor monitoring Mondal.

A five-year-old girl is in critical condition after she was allegedly raped by a teenager in Uttar Pradesh's Etah district, police said Sunday.

The girl was playing outside her house in a village under Awagarh police station area on Saturday. The 15-year-old boy lured her on the pretext of giving her plums and raped her, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sanjay Kumar said.

A crew of 13 people on board a disabled Indian fishing boat 'Tara Shankar' have been rescued from Bangladeshi waters, the Indian government announced on Sunday.

The rescue amid rough sea took place on Saturday evening from about 60 nautical mile inside the Bangladesh waters in a coordinated operation between Indian and Bangladesh Coast Guards, the External Affairs Ministry said.

The Indian Coast Guard's Regional Headquarters at Kolkata contacted the Bangladesh Coast Guard after a SOS on Saturday afternoon from Assistant Director (Fisheries), Diamond Harbour. The men had sailed from Kakdwip, West Bengal.

A 26-year-old man surrendered before police after allegedly slitting throat of his mother with a knife following a quarrel between them in northwest Delhi's Vijay Nagar area, police said Sunday.

The incident took place on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, they added.

According to police, the accused, Deepak, suspected to be under the influence of alcohol, slit the throat of his mother with a kitchen knife following a quarrel.

He surrendered before Model Town police station at about 1.25 am confessing his crime.

Even as embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya was granted permission to appeal against his extradition order in the UK High Court, India suffered another setback as its extradition request in a murder case was turned down by a court here.

The 63-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss welcomed a second chance to disprove the case of fraud and money laundering amounting to an alleged Rs 9,000 crore against him, as the High Court granted him leave to appeal on the grounds of the prima facie case presented by the Indian authorities.

The government is learnt to have withheld its plan to introduce a fresh bill in Parliament to extend the facility of 'proxy voting' to overseas Indians, pending "reconciliation" of varied views on the issue.

A similar bill had lapsed following the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha last month. It was passed by the lower house but was pending in Rajya Sabha.

Sources in the government said the Law Ministry proposal came before the Union Cabinet on June 24 where it was decided that it be held back for "further study".

"The proposal will move forward after various views are reconciled," a senior functionary said.

A mega exercise to fortify the 'anti-infiltration grid' along the Pakistan border in Punjab and Jammu has been launched by the BSF, which has mobilised its entire senior field brass, thousands of troops and machinery deployed in these forward areas.

The operation, code named 'Sudarshan', was launched on July 1 and will cover the entire over 1,000-kms length of the India-Pakistan International Border.

While Jammu shares about 485-kms of the sensitive IB with Pakistan, about 553-kms of the front is in Punjab. Further, it runs down towards Rajasthan and Gujarat on India's western flank.

A mega exercise to fortify the 'anti-infiltration grid' along the Pakistan border in Punjab and Jammu has been launched by the BSF, which has mobilised its entire senior field brass, thousands of troops and machinery deployed in these forward areas.

The operation, code named 'Sudarshan', was launched on July 1 and will cover the entire over 1,000-kms length of the India-Pakistan International Border.

While Jammu shares about 485-kms of the sensitive IB with Pakistan, about 553-kms of the front is in Punjab. Further, it runs down towards Rajasthan and Gujarat on India's western flank.

The senior sales manager of a prominent FM channel, arrested in a hit-and-run case in which a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) worker died, has been granted bail, the police said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased, Dhiraj Sharma, a LJP worker and sole bread earner of his family, alleged that high-profile people get away after committing such acts. The family demanded justice and adequate compensation.

On June 30 at around 5:30 a.m., the accused Ankit Gulati, senior manager (sales) with a a prominent radio channel, was driving to the Agni Club at the Park Hotel in Connaught Place when his car rammed into a Sharma's scooter on Raisina Road.

Two absconders including a woman facing charges of murder were arrested in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Sunday.

Murat Bi of Chajjla village was arrested from Mendhar on Saturday, a police officer said.

He said the woman was wanted in connection with an FIR registered against her under various sections of Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) including murder and rioting.

The other accused, Gulzar Hussain from Dharana village, was arrested from Mendhar, the officer said.

Iran on Sunday announced it would raise its uranium enrichment level beyond the 3.67 per cent level, beyond limits of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal.

The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Behrouz Kamalvandi, confirmed the move during a joint press conference with Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, saying the enrichment levels would stand at 5 per cent for now, reports Efe news.

"At this phase, Iran's moves will be meant to supply power sources and research needs," Kamalvandi said, according to state-run IRNA news agency.

Two absconders including a woman facing charges of murder were arrested in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Sunday.

Murat Bi of Chajjla village was arrested from Mendhar on Saturday, a police officer said.

He said the woman was wanted in connection with an FIR registered against her under various sections of Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) including murder and rioting.

The other accused, Gulzar Hussain from Dharana village, was arrested from Mendhar, the officer said.

A minor fire broke out on the ground floor of a building in Dwarka where an examination was being held on Sunday, Delhi Fire Service said.

No injury was reported, they said.

The fire department said they received a call about the incident around 11.36 am, following which six fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

"The fire broke out inside the metre situated on the ground floor of a building where an examination was being conducted," a senior fire official said.

Former Jammu and Kashmir and PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti, says if hurriyat leaders are ready to talk, Central govt should use this opportunity & must initiate to have a dialogue with Hurriyat

“It is being said by the moderate faction of Hurriyat, that they are ready to talk. If Hurriyat is ready today to talk then Central govt should use this opportunity & must initiate to have a dialogue with Hurriyat.”

Ace shuttler Parupalli Kashyap continued his good form to enter the men's singles final of Canada Open Super 100 tournament, beating fourth seed Wang Tzu Wei of Chinese Taipei in a three-game encounter here

Kashyap came from a game down to get the better of Wang 14-21, 21-17, 21-18 in a gruelling semi-final clash that lasted an hour and 10 minutes on Saturday night.

Kashyap, 32, will now lock horns with unseeded Li Shi Feng of China in the title clash.

JP Yuva Morcha leader Rahul Singh and five others have been booked for the murder of the former's wife Snehlata who was shot dead on Sunday in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki city.

Rahul and Snehlata were on their way to a village when miscreants stopped their vehicle and shot her.

Rahul told the police that the miscreants tried to rob them and after his wife tried to stop the loot attempt, they killed her.

Police in West Bengal has seized more than 100 live crude bombs and arrested nine persons for keeping illegal arms, police said on Sunday.

Police intensified vigil across Birbhum, a district with a long history of political violence, after two separate blasts took place in Mallarpur and Labhpur here within a span of 10 days

Though no one was killed or injured in the blasts as they took place in empty buildings, the incident brought back grim memories of the 2017 blast that had killed eight persons.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Hong Kong's famous Kowloon tourist hotspot and participated in a first march after the storming of the parliament building to demand the abolition of a controversial extradition law and the resignation of Chief Executive Carrie Lam

Sunday's march was the latest major protest calling for the full withdrawal of the legislation, which would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China and other jurisdictions with which the city had no extradition agreement, reports the South China Morning Post.

Protesters are aiming to take the march to the high-speed train station in western Kowloon, which operates a service connecting Hong Kong to the mainland Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Two inmates at Uttar Pradesh's Etawah jail escaped in the wee hours of Sunday but one of them was run over by a train, officials said

Ramanand, who had been serving a life term after being convicted for murder, got run over by a train while he was trying to board it.

The other inmate, Chandra Prakash, is missing and the police have launched a manhunt to trace him.

The taxman will "suo motu" allot a fresh PAN to a person who files I-T returns with only Aadhaar as part of a new arrangement to link the two databases, the CBDT chief said after the Budget proposed that only the biometric ID is enough for tax purposes.

The PAN (permanent account number) is "certainly not dead" and the recent Budget announcement of interchangeability of the two databases is an "additional facility" to ensure their linkage, which is now mandatory under the law, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Chairman, Pramod Chandra Mody, said.  "In cases where Aadhaar is being quoted and PAN is not there, we could possibly think on the terms of allotting a PAN to the person (who is filing income tax return)," he told PTI in an interview.

Mody was asked if the Income Tax (I-T) Department issued permanent account number will be dead after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech announced that PAN and Aadhaar are being made interchangeable as the government will allow those who do not have PAN to file I-T returns by simply quoting their Aadhaar number and also, use it wherever they are required to quote PAN.

Two people were killed and four others injured on Sunday after their car overturned on the Nahargarh Highway in Baran district of Rajasthan and rammed into a huge roadside rock, police said.

The accident occurred after the driver lost control of the vehicle while trying to avoid hitting a two-wheeler moving ahead of them, Bhanwargarh police station House Officer SHO Nand Singh said.

The victims were enroute to the Srinathji temple in Nathdwara from Guna district in Madhya Pradesh, he said.

In a shocking incident of police brutality, a man was allegedly given third-degree torture by the Uttar Pradesh police personnel after he approached them to file a complaint against kidnapping and rape of his wife.

The incident took place in the district of Mainpuri, which is the parliamentary constituency of Samajwadi patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

According to reports, the incident took place under Bichhwan police station when the victim and his wife were travelling towards Mainpuri on a two-wheeler.

A madrasa teacher has been arrested for allegedly raping eight students aged between 8 and 11 inside the institution in north Bangladesh, police said Sunday.

Abul Khayer Belali, 33, who joined Maa Hawa(a) Qawmi girls' madrasa in Netrokona district a year ago, confessed to the crime after being arrested on charges of trying to rape another girl student, bdnews24.com reported.

Belali, also a cleric at a nearby mosque, was caught by locals who beat him up before handing him over to the police after the eight-year-old class II student cried for help as he attempted to rape her on Friday, the report said.

A 56-year-old doctor was shot dead by three motorcycle-borne persons here, the Haryana Police said Sunday. Rajiv Gupta, who owned a hospital, was shot when he was going towards a market in his car on Saturday and he succumbed to injures at a hospital, police said.

Following the incident, opposition Congress slammed the BJP government in the state, alleging that it had failed to ensure the safety of its citizens.

Three people, who had covered their faces, stopped the motorcycle in front of the doctor's SUV and fired at him. Two of three bullets hit Gupta, they said.

Police said Gupta was attacked when he along with his driver were going towards Chaura Bazaar.

Junior doctors at Patna Medical College, Bihar have been on strike for the last 3 days seeking re-evaluation of exam results.

Jr.Dr. Saurabh,says,"Dr Vijay Kumar should be transferred as he has failed in exam junior doctors who did not recommend names of medicines of a particular brand"

At least 12 people were killed and 80 others injured on Sunday in a suicide car bombing in Afghanistan's Ghazni city, authorities said.

The bombing, which appeared to target a military base, has been claimed by the Taliban.

"The attack took place in the morning at around 8.30 a.m. near a local base of the National Directorate of Security in Ghazni city," Arif Noori, a spokesman for the governor of Ghazni province, told Efe.

At least 12 people - eight security personnel, four civilians - were killed in the powerful blast, Noori said.

The Delhi High Court will on Monday hear a plea seeking formulation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

The court had issued notice to the Home Ministry and Law Commission on May 31 but neither has filed a response as of now.

A Division Bench of then Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Brijesh Sethi had listed the matter for hearing on July 8.

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.

Voters across Greece voted on Sunday in the first parliamentary elections since the 2008 global financial crisis that triggered financial bailouts leading the Greek economy to shrink by 28 per cent and increasing unemployment.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m. About 9.9 million citizens of 17 years and above are eligible to vote, reports Xinhua news agency.

Exit polls are expected to be released shortly afterwards, as the first official estimates will arrive at around 9 p.m., and the final results on Monday, according to the Interior Ministry.

A whopping 5.28 lakh police posts are lying vacant in the country of which nearly 1.29 lakh are in Uttar Pradesh, 50,000 in Bihar and 49,000 in West Bengal.

There are 23,79,728 sanctioned posts in police forces of all states of which 18,51,332 were occupied as on January 1, 2018, according to Home Ministry statistics.

On that date, a total of 5,28,396 posts were lying vacant, a Home Ministry official said.

Uttar Pradesh, which has a sanctioned strength of 4,14,492 posts in its police force, has an actual strength of 2,85,540 personnel.The state has 1,28,952 vacant posts.

Actor Tanshuree Dutta has opposed before a Mumbai court the city's police claim that it has no evidence to prosecute actor Nana Patekar in a molestation case filed by her against him.

On June 12, the suburban Oshiwara police filed a 'B Summary' report before a metropolitan magistrate in Andheri.

A 'B-Summary' report is filed when police do not find any evidence against the accused to file a charge sheet and seek trial.

The magistrate had then directed Dutta to present her reply to the police's report.

Family members of four country boat fishermen who have been missing since July 4 after they set out for fishing from Pamban, demand to intensify search operation

A 40-year-old Christian priest was arrested Sunday for allegedly sexually assaulting inmates of a boys' home here, police said.

George alias Jerry was arrested on a complaint lodged by the parents of the children who ran away from the home in Perumbadom near here on Saturday night when he allegedly attempted to sexually assault them, they said.

The Calcutta High Court has set aside an order of compulsory retirement to a lower court judge, which was issued to him by the HC's administration on charges of overstepping jurisdiction.

Mintu Mallick, a judge and a railway magistrate at the Sealdah court, was suspended in 2007 and in 2013, inflicted a punishment of compulsory retirement for hauling up a driver and a guard of a suburban train for habitual delay.

A bench comprising justices Sanjib Banerjee and Suvra Ghosh Thursday observed that the punishment was "disproportionate" and "shocking" even if the guilt was established.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Maryam Nawaz has released a video clip purportedly showing an accountability court judge allegedly confessing that he was "blackmailed and forced" to convict former premier Nawaz Sharif in a corruption case.

Addressing a press conference in Lahore on Saturday alongside the top leadership of the PML-N, Maryam, the daughter of 69-year-old Sharif, said that her father's entire judicial process was severely compromised.

BJP President Amit Shah and the party's Working President J.P. Nadda will hold a high-level meeting with BJP office bearers here on Sunday.

According to a senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Shah and Nadda will hold the meeting at the BJP headquarters at 3 p.m. and take stock of the party's membership drive and other issues.

Organisers fire back after Messi accuses them of corruption, favouring Brazil

The city is likely to witness a cloudy sky along with light rain today, which will help keep the mercury in check, the the Safdarjung Observatory said.

At 8:30 a minimum temperature of 27.6 degrees Celsius was recorded,and humidity levels at 79%. The maximum temperature is likely to be 38 degrees Celsius.

Google on Sunday splashed its home page doodle with colours of the US and the Netherlands ahead of the teams' face off in the FIFA Women's World Cup final in Lyon, France.

The eighth edition of the prestigious tournament, which started on June 7, will come to an end on Sunday where the US and the Netherlands will fight it out for the coveted trophy.

While the American team were seen in stars and stripes and wearing the crown of the Statue of Liberty maiden, the Dutch were vibrant in their oranges and strong action mode with Ruud Gullit-styled hair flying all over palce spotted with Tulips in the interactive doodle.

Wishes pour in as team India’s former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 38!

Aircrafts flying over the Headingly Stadium with anti-India banners is "unacceptable", a miffed BCCI has said while raising concerns over the safety of its players with an "incredibly disappointed" and red-faced ICC.

In yet another incident with political overtones, planes displaying anti-India banners flew over the Headingley ground during the World Cup match between India and Sri Lanka on Saturday.

The unsavoury incident has prompted the BCCI to file a written complaint with the International Cricket Council.

Minutes after the match began, an aircraft carrying a message 'Justice for Kashmir' flew above the ground.