‘Chant Jai Shri Ram with fervour,’ says suspended Kerala DGP Jacob Thomas

Kerala’s suspended Director General of Police Jacob Thomas has said people should chant the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” more vociferously. Thomas made the comments on Thursday while addressing a “Ramayana Fest” event in Thrissur district. He asserted that Ram, a Hindu deity, was not hailed anymore.

Rebel AAP MLA Kapil Mishra disqualified under anti-defection law

Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Friday disqualified rebel Aam Aadmi Party MLA Kapil Mishra under the anti-defection law. Mishra, who represented Karawal Nagar in the Assembly, had campaigned for Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the Lok Sabha elections.

Water level of Vishwamitri river in Vadodara recedes, six killed in rain-related incidents so far

The residents of the city of Vadodara in Gujarat on Friday heaved a sigh of relief as rains stopped after 24 hours of incessant downpour and the water level of Vishwamitri river receded.

AgustaWestland case: Court reserves order for August 6 on Ratul Puri’s anticipatory bail plea

A court in Delhi on Friday reserved the order for August 6 on the anticipatory bail plea of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s nephew Ratul Puri. This is in connection with a money laundering case related to the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter scam. Puri, who is the chairperson of Hindustan Powerprojects Pvt Ltd, is accused of receiving money transacted during the scam.

Two complaints filed in Telangana against Akbaruddin Owaisi for alleged hate speeches, say reports

Two complaints have been filed against All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Akbaruddin Owaisi in courts in Hyderabad and Karimnagar cities in Telangana for allegedly making hate speeches last month.

J&K: Amarnath pilgrims and tourists advised to cut short stay amid threats of terrorism

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday asked pilgrims of the annual Amarnath Yatra and other tourists in the state to cut short their stay in the Valley after intelligence inputs said there were “specific terror threats”. This came hours after security forces in the state alleged that Pakistan-based militants backed by the country’s Army were plotting attacks on the Amarnath Yatra, The Indian Express reported. The yatra is scheduled to end on August 15.

NIA seeks in-camera trial of 2008 Malegaon blasts case in which Pragya Thakur is among the accused

The National Investigating Agency on Thursday sought an in-camera trial in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case in which Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Singh Thakur is one of the accused, PTI reported. Six people were killed and 100 injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon in north Maharashtra on September 29, 2008.

Karnataka: Top police officers investigating VG Siddhartha’s death transferred in major reshuffle

Two senior Mangaluru police officers investigating the death of VG Siddhartha Hegde, the chairperson and managing director of Coffee Day Enterprises, were among 11 Indian Police Service officers, who were transferred on Thursday, PTI reported.

Supreme Court to hear Ayodhya land dispute case on a daily basis from August 6

The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear the Ayodhya land dispute from August 6 after the mediation panel it had set up in March to resolve the Ayodhya land title dispute failed in its objective. The panel had submitted its report to the court in a sealed cover on Thursday. A five-judge Constitution bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer said the hearing would be held on a daily basis.

‘Scrap GoaMiles’: Taxi owners refuse CM Pramod Sawant’s proposal to join app-based service

A union of taxi owners in Goa have rejected Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s plea to try the app-based taxi service called GoaMiles. The state tourism department came up with the GoaMiles app after tourists kept complaining of high fares and unregulated service. The Association of Tourist Taxi Owners of Goa met Sawant at the Assembly on Thursday and refused to agree to his request to register with the app for three months.

Supreme Court gives Centre until August 14 to decide on judge’s elevation pending for three months

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to decide by August 14 on the pending appointment of Justice Akil Kureshi as the chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, PTI reported. The Centre had in June named another judge as acting chief justice, ignoring the collegium’s recommendation of Kureshi’s name.

Delhi: Doctors at top government hospitals continue strike against NMC bill

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday met doctors who are protesting against the National Medical Commission Bill and urged them to end their protest. Vardhan told reporters that he had cleared the doctors’ misunderstandings about the legislation, most of whose proposals have been passed by both Houses of Parliament.

Additional troops deployed in Kashmir due to internal security situation, says Centre: Reports

The Union Home Ministry on Friday said that the decision to deploy extra paramilitary personnel in Jammu and Kashmir was based on the security situation in the Valley and requirements of rotation, PTI reported. On July 27, the Centre had decided to deploy 100 additional companies of paramilitary forces in the state. Less than a week later, the government decided to deploy 25,000 more paramilitary personnel to Jammu and Kashmir, several reports said on Thursday.

Delhi: Doctors at top government hospitals continue strike against NMC bill

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday met doctors who are protesting against the National Medical Commission Bill and urged them to end their protest, ANI reported. Vardhan told reporters that he had cleared the doctors’ misunderstandings about the legislation, most of whose proposals have been passed by both Houses of Parliament.

Ayodhya: Mediation in land dispute fails, say reports; SC to take up matter today

The mediation panel set up by the Supreme Court to resolve the Ayodhya land title dispute has failed to resolve the matter, multiple reports said on Friday. The panel had submitted its report to the top court on Thursday in a sealed cover. A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court will decide on the matter on Friday afternoon.

Unnao case: Supreme Court asks for complainant’s uncle to be shifted to Tihar jail for safety

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that the imprisoned uncle of the Unnao rape complainant be transferred from the Rae Bareli jail to Delhi’s Tihar jail immediately due to safety concerns. The top court said it would give an order on Monday on airlifting the injured woman to Delhi for treatment.

Rajya Sabha clears UAPA amendments that allow individuals to be designated terrorists

The Rajya Sabha on Friday cleared the amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, following heated debates. The bill was already passed by the Lok Sabha on July 24. It will now go to President Ram Nath Kovind for clearance. Until now, the law allowed the government to proscribe terrorist organisations. The amendment proposes to allow the government to also proscribe individuals as terrorists and proposes to empower more officers of the National Investigation Agency to investigate cases.

Karnataka: Two BJP MLAs urge BS Yediyurappa to drop cases against Hindutva activists

Two Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs in Karnataka have urged Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to drop cases filed against more than 2,000 Hindutva activists since 2014. While one MLA referred to cases filed against activists protesting against Tipu Jayanti celebrations, the other wrote about the arrests of protestors after communal clashes in Uttara Kannada district in 2017.

Any discussion on Kashmir will ‘only be with Pakistan, and only bilaterally’, India tells US

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said he had told the United States that any discussions on the Kashmir dispute will only be directly with Pakistan. His statement came hours after United States President Donald Trump reiterated his offer to help India and Pakistan resolve the decades-old dispute “if they wanted”.

India drops in GDP rankings, now seventh largest economy, shows World Bank data

The United Kingdom and France pushed India down to the seventh position in the list of the largest economies in the world, according to the World Bank figures for 2018.

Kashmir dispute: Donald Trump repeats offer to mediate, says it’s ‘really up to PM Modi’

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday again expressed willingness to help India and Pakistan resolve the decades-old Kashmir dispute “if they wanted”. He reiterated his claim that he had spoken to India about the matter.

Demonetisation showed fake currency was a myth, says Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court on Thursday said the government’s demonetisation exercise showed that it was a myth that fake currency was in circulation. While hearing hearing a public interest litigation seeking to make currency notes and coins easily identifiable for vision-impaired people, the court asked the Reserve Bank of India why it kept changing the sizes and features of currency notes.

Journalist Ravish Kumar wins 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award

NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar is one of the five winners of the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Awards, the foundation that gives the honour announced on Friday. The awards will be presented in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, on September 9.

India expresses ‘grave concern’ over US military assistance to Pakistan

India on Thursday expressed “grave concern” over the United States’ decision to provide military assistance to Pakistan. Ministry of External Affairs said that it had taken up the matter with the US ambassador in Delhi and with the Donald Trump-led administration.

Rahul Gandhi warns PM Modi of ‘train of a recession’ amid reports of economic slowdown

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the slowdown of the economy, saying that a “train of a recession coming at full throttle”.