A look at the headlines right now:

  1. An alliance with the BJP in Bihar was not the people’s mandate, says JD(U)’s Sharad Yadav: The senior politician said he did not approve of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to join hands with the saffron party in the state.
  2. SBI cuts interest rates by 0.5% on savings account deposits: Accounts with balance of less than Rs 1 crore will now earn 3.5%.
  3. Political parties should ask workers to refrain from violence, says Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan: He held a meeting with BJP and RSS leaders after a member of the Sangh died following an assault in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
  4. Seven, including candidate, shot dead during violent Venezuela Assembly vote: The Opposition and many sections of the public boycotted the vote, which they said was a way of consolidating President Nicolas Maduro’s power.
  5. Four Arab countries say they are ready for talks with Qatar, but with conditions: The foreign ministers of the states said Doha must stop funding terrorism and not interfere with the external affairs of other nations.
  6. JD(U) will support Opposition’s VP candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi, says leader KC Tyagi: Tyagi said the decision to support Gandhi was made by Nitish Kumar before he formed an alliance with the BJP.
  7. Bring electricity losses below 10% within six months, Centre tells states: Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar, which lose up to 90% of power, are resisting the move as theft and technical problems are a huge challenge for them.
  8. Tamil parties oppose Bhagavad Gita sculpture at Abdul Kalam’s memorial: Some groups said the Thirukkural should have been placed beside the former president’s statute.
  9. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says people from outside the state should adapt to Kannada culture: The Congress leader said the people of the state ‘will not tolerate any attack on our language, land and water’.
  10. Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg calls for stronger corporate policies to ensure equal pay for women: She made the statement on a radio programme by the BBC, which had revealed wide wage gaps between its female and male presenters earlier in July.