Five governors may be asked to resign

Five governors of the UPA regime -- M K Narayanan (West Bengal), Shivraj Patil (Punjab), Sheila Dikshit (Kerala), Ramnaresh Yadav (Madhya Pradesh) and B L Joshi (Maharashtra) -- may be asked to resign, sources have told Rediff.com.  

 

However, none of the five governors have shown any intent to quit, sources added.

Staging protests over the power and water crisis in the Capital, Congress gave an ultimatum to the Centre that if the electricity supply was not improved within the next 24 hours, party workers will gherao Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. "Congress has given an ultimatum to the Centre that if the power situation is not improved within the next 24 hours, the party workers will gherao the PM's residence," said Delhi Congress spokesperson Mukesh Sharma.

As the Germany-Portugal match begins, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was spotted in the stands supporting her country's team. She has been known to be a football fan and has been present at World Cup matches in the past too. 

Security forces claimed to have busted a militant hideout recovering a huge cache of arms and ammunitions in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. Acting on a tip-off, police and security forces busted the hideout during a search operation in Bonda forests of Chatroo area of district Kishtwar, a police spokesman said. The cache included rifles, pistols, grenades and detonators. 

Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Monday said his party would seek more seats to contest in the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra and he will hold discussions with the Congress leadership in Delhi before deciding contours of the seat-sharing formula. Pawar said that NCP should get to contest more seats in those assembly segments where the party was leading in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

The Prime Minister's Office has rejected the proposals made by some of his ministers including Home Minister Rajnath Singh for the appointment of their private secretaries, reports CNN-IBN. Proposals made by four ministers was struck down. The move comes in wake of Prime Minister Modi's instructions to his ministers of carefully selecting their office staff. 

Maharashtra Police today filed a supplementary chargesheet in a special Court here against Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akthar in the 2011 Mumbai bombings.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad submitted the 300-page document in which it has said Bhatkal was a key conspirator of the terror attack. Three powerful blasts had ripped through crowded areas in Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Kabutar Khana on July 13, 2011, killing at least 21 people and injuring 141.

"We have filed a chargesheet in the designated MCOCA court today," Special Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told PTI. The duo was arrested on February 5 by the ATS after a Delhi Court allowed its plea seeking their custody.

Indigenously-built Dhruv helicopter is likely to be deployed on country's largest warship Russian-origin aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya for carrying out the role of detecting hostile submarines.

If inducted, the Advanced Light Helicopter will be the first indigenous system to be integrated on the warship, which so far operates only imported equipment such as the MiG 29K naval combat fighters and the Kamov-31 helicopters.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-built ALH Dhruv is undergoing trials for carrying out role of detecting hostile submarines using systems developed by the DRDO, Defence officials said here.

The system was put under trial at Vishakhapatnam and would be tried further before any final decision is taken on deploying the twin-engine chopper on board the carrier, they said.

Hearing in the quid pro quo investments case allegedly involving YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy will commence in a special CBI court here from July 21.

The court will also take up hearing on the discharge petitions filed by some of the accused in the case on the same day. Meanwhile, for the first time after Lok Sabha elections, Jagan, who represents Pulivendula assembly seat, today made a personal appearance in the court.

Former Andhra Pradesh ministers Sabitha Indra Reddy, Geetha Reddy, Dharmana Prasada Rao and Mopidevi Venkataramana Rao, who were among the accused in the case, also appeared before the Principal Special Court for CBI cases here in connection with different aspects of the case.

Actress Khushboo quits the DMK saying the party did not like her work. Khusbhoo is believed to have been upset ever since her name didn't figure in the list of DMK's candidate list in the Lok Sabha elections. One of DMK's star-campaigners and crowd-pullers, Khushboo quit hosting a hugely popular reality game show on Jaya TV before deciding to join the DMK more than three years back.

The Mumbai police write to Preity Zinta to record her statement in a week.  The police have recorded statements of two persons in connection with the alleged molestation of Zinta by her former boyfriend and industrialist Ness Wadia, but is unable to reach the Bollywood actor as she is in the US.

Syed Akbaruddin, MEA spokesperson tweets: Mission in Iraq in touch with nurses in Tikrit. International Red Crescent Society volunteers visited today to ensure safety.

Amid escalation in violence in Iraq, India on Sunday asked its citizens not to travel to the troubled-torn country and set up a 24-hour helpline to offer assistance to those living there.

The government also asked Indians residing in Iraq to consider leaving the country in view of the 'precarious' security situation there.

"In view of the precarious security situation prevailing in Iraq, Indian nationals are advised to avoid all travel to Iraq,' the External Affairs Ministry said.

The Indian Embassy in Baghdad has set up a 24-hour helpline which can be accessed for information or assistance.

The MEA also said, "Indian nationals in Iraq may consider leaving the country by commercial means if it is safe to do so.'

It also asked Indians living in violence-affected areas in Iraq to remain indoors and remain in contact with Indian Embassy in Baghdad. "Those nationals who do not have travel documents or need other consular services are advised to seek assistance from the Indian Embassy in Baghdad,' the MEA also said.

The MEA has given the following phone numbers for those who need any assistance - +964 770 444 4899; +964 770 444 4899, +964 770 484 3247 and +964 770 484 3247.

The Indian embassy in Iraq has said that all Indian nurses working in the strife-torn country are safe. Forty-four Indian nurses working in Iraq had been asked to indicate in writing whether they want government assistance in returning home. Most of them reportedly say they would prefer to stay on, said sources in the Ministry for External Affairs.

The Indian embassy said the nurses have been advised to stay in hospital as the streets are controlled by the militia.

The Kerala government had said that it received an SOS call from a group of nurses on Friday after which Chief Minister Oomen Chandy  called Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to brief her.  

Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor on 'why Modi shouldn't disdain chamchas'. Read. Remember, on June 4, Tharoor had praised Modi saying he has remodelled himself from a "hate figure' to an "avatar of modernity and progress'. He also said it would be "churlish' of the Congress to ignore his "inclusive and accommodative' outreach. 

Huge relief for residents of the 96 Campa Cola apartments in Mumbai. The BMC agrees to defer the demolition date to June 20. Since the rains have started in Mumbai authorities usually refrain from any demolition work during the monsoon.

Residents of Campa Cola Compound in Mumbai's up-market locality Worli have put forth a list of 14 conditions for complying with the civic authorities' notice to vacate unauthorised flats and surrender keys even as the deadline to evict flats ended on Thursday evening.

The Campa Cola Compound Residents Association's demands include that no law will ever be passed by the government to regularise illegal construction in the city.

As the elections bring the Aam Aadmi Party's internal squabbles to the fore, Arvind Kejriwal faces his biggest challenge yet. Read

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has concluded his first foreign visit to Bhutan, struck a chord with the nation and its leaders, we know. But the biggest gesture was reserved for the last, when he broke protocol and stepped out of his car to mingle with the local population. 

How quickly time flies! It's so hard to believe that it's one year since Bahutkumbi Raman, one of the founders of the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency, and one of India's foremost security experts, passed away in Chennai. 

There is no hope unless Rahul learns to love the Congress. Read

Aam Aadmi Party in Kerala today denied reports that well-known journalist, Anita Pratap, who had unsuccessfully contested on the party ticket from Ernakulam, had resigned from the party.

Manoj Padmanabhan, state convener of AAP, said that in an e-mail message sent to him today, Anita stated she had been getting media calls that she has resigned from AAP.

"Not True. Where does such news come from," she said in the message. Anita had been appointed as the media coordinator of the party.

With an aim to revive its original movement, 55 members of the Aam Aadmi Party have turned to the spiritual guru. Read the report on Rediff.com.    

"Total impatience! Unpreparedness, over reach, unilaterlism, manipulation, over- exposure, overestimation, negativism, holier than thou approach, over-confidence, lawlessness, rowdyism, self centered, uncivil behavior."

That's BJP member Kiran Bedi on why AAP failed. Read

Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha issues a written statement apologising for calling BJP leader Subramanian Swamy a CIA agent. Read

Sunni militants captured the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar early today, its mayor and residents said, the latest blow to the Shiite-led government a week after it lost a vast swath of territory in the country's north.

The town, with a population of some 200,000 people, mostly ethnic Shiite and Sunni Turkomen, was taken just before dawn, Mayor Abdulal Abdoul told The Associated Press.

The ethnic mix of Tal Afar, 420 kilometres northwest of Baghdad, raises the grim spectre of large-scale atrocities by Sunni militants of the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, who already claim to have killed hundreds of Shiites in areas they captured last week.

Deprecating the hue and cry over acquittals in rape cases, a Delhi court has said that judiciary cannot be swayed by emotions or media reporting and has to limit itself to the ambit of law, testimonies of witnesses in deciding such cases.

"It would not be out of place to mention here that today there is a public outrage and a hue and cry is being raised everywhere that courts are not convicting the rape accused.

"However, no man, accused of rape, can be convicted if the witnesses do not support the prosecution case or give quality evidence, as in the present case where the prosecutrix is hostile... "It should not be ignored that the Court has to confine itself to the ambit of law and the contents of the file as well as the testimonies of the witnesses and is not to be swayed by emotions or reporting in the media," Additional Sessions Judge Nivedita Anil Sharma said.

The court made the remarks while acquitting two Delhi residents Pawan Kumar Tyagi and Kailash Chand of the charges of rape, abduction and criminal intimidation after the alleged victim turned hostile.

And PM Narendra Modi bids farewell to Bhutan, his first visit abroad after he assumed office. India on Monday proposed new ideas for further enhancing cooperation with Bhutan while asserting that commitments made by the previous government will be fulfilled.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bhutan on his maiden foreign visit, told media persons that the Indian  side was "extremely satisfied" with the "extremely successful" visit. Swaraj said Prime Minister Modi gave some new suggestions to Bhutan.

Prime Minister Modi proposed to hold a joint sports festival between Bhutan and northeastern states of India, establish e-libraries in 20 districts in Bhutan and set up a university on Himalayan studies, she said.

"We reiterated that the commitments made by the previous government will be fulfilled. These commitments are made by a country to a country and not by government to government," Swaraj said.

Kanchan Gupta tweets: Michael Schumacher coming out of induced coma is not news enough for @timesnow -- anchor repeatedly demanding his location post-release.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Nepal in the first week of August 2014, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have wide-ranging discussions with the Kathmandu leadership on upgrading ties. This will most likely be Modi's third bilateral visit since he took office, following Bhutan and Japan, and the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Nepal since 1997.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, national security adviser Ajit Doval and foreign secretary Sujatha Singh are likely to be on the delegation along with a few other ministers, sources have told The Telegraph. Read more

In other news: Claiming the government is making a "mockery" of fitness by making candidates run five kilometres during the ongoing police recruitment drive, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray today asked if Home Minister R R Patil was himself fit to govern.

The Sena leader's remarks came after the gruelling physical test claimed four lives, with candidates made to run 5 km under the scorching sun.

"Is the home minister himself fit to govern? Half the ministry is pot-bellied and their flab is hanging loose," Uddhav said in a statement published in Sena mouthpiece Saamana.

"Even if the criminals are caught after a five km chase, they are going to be free for lack of concrete evidence," the Sena leader said, adding "This farce should stop."

MNS chief Raj Thackeray had also targeted the home minister on the issue yesterday.

"Will Patil run even a 100 metres, forget about five km," Raj had said after releasing a book on speeches made in the Legislative Assembly by MNS leader Pravin Darekar.

In a statement issued today, Schumacher's official spokesperson Sabine Kehm said he has left the Grenoble hospital to continue rehabilitation and is no longer in a coma.

The statement did not say where the seven-time F1 champion was taken or give any details of his condition.

Schumacher, 45, fell while skiing in France on December 29 and hit the right side of his head on a rock, cracking his helmet.

Doctors operated to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded. Schumacher's condition stabilized after he was placed in a drug-induced coma.

In late January, doctors at a hospital in the French city of Grenoble began the process of withdrawing sedatives to try to wake him up.  Read more

Six months after Michael Schumacher's tragic skiing accident, the F1 champion is out of coma and leaves the Grenoble hospital. 

"Pichle 15 saal se toh woh the satta mein, humne kya kar diya?," AAP chier Arvind Kejriwal on the Congress blaming the AAP for the power crisis.

The Congress party on Sunday continued its power protest in the national capital, threatening to cut supply to the houses of former Delhi minister Manish Sisodia and BJP leaders if the crisis is not resolved soon.

A day after Congress leaders were detained when they tried to obstruct the movement of trains at Nangloi railway station in west Delhi, the party's senior leaders Ajay Maken, Shakeel Ahmed and Arvinder Singh Lovely protested in central Delhi's Karol Bagh area.

Lovely, who is the party's Delhi unit chief, burnt effigies of former chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Scores of party workers, joined by locals, shouted anti-BJP and anti-AAP slogans.

"If the crisis is not resolved soon, we will cut the electricity supply to the houses of Manish Sisodia (AAP leader) and BJP leaders," Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said.

The national capital has been reeling under long hours of power cuts, following a 30 May storm, which damaged transmission lines.

The Congress - out of power both at the centre and in Delhi - has held a string of protests over the outages.

President Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha joined one such protest Saturday. Congress general secretary Ajay Maken blamed Delhi's former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the power crisis in the capital.

"Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi are responsible for this condition of Delhi. Arvind Kejriwal wanted to be seen on television, so he protested at Rajghat," Maken said.

"I want to ask Piyush Goyal (union power minister) that last year approximately 5,800 MW electricity was supplied in Delhi, then why you are not able to fulfil the requirement of just 5,600 MW," he added.

"Pichle 15 saal se toh woh the satta mein, humne kya kar diya?," AAP chier Arvind Kejriwal on the Congress blaming the AAP for the power crisis.

The Congress party on Sunday continued its power protest in the national capital, threatening to cut supply to the houses of former Delhi minister Manish Sisodia and BJP leaders if the crisis is not resolved soon.

A day after Congress leaders were detained when they tried to obstruct the movement of trains at Nangloi railway station in west Delhi, the party's senior leaders Ajay Maken, Shakeel Ahmed and Arvinder Singh Lovely protested in central Delhi's Karol Bagh area.

Lovely, who is the party's Delhi unit chief, burnt effigies of former chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Scores of party workers, joined by locals, shouted anti-BJP and anti-AAP slogans.

"If the crisis is not resolved soon, we will cut the electricity supply to the houses of Manish Sisodia (AAP leader) and BJP leaders," Delhi Congress chief spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said.

The national capital has been reeling under long hours of power cuts, following a 30 May storm, which damaged transmission lines.

The Congress - out of power both at the centre and in Delhi - has held a string of protests over the outages.

President Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha joined one such protest Saturday. Congress general secretary Ajay Maken blamed Delhi's former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the power crisis in the capital.

"Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi are responsible for this condition of Delhi. Arvind Kejriwal wanted to be seen on television, so he protested at Rajghat," Maken said.

"I want to ask Piyush Goyal (union power minister) that last year approximately 5,800 MW electricity was supplied in Delhi, then why you are not able to fulfil the requirement of just 5,600 MW," he added.

The misguided approach of building more institutions is not only bad public policy, but also creates social expectations that get belied very quickly. Read

UP CM Akhilesh Yadav said the UP government has decided to give 20 lakh each to the families of the two policemen murdered in Firozabad yesterday. The police officers were shot dead in Ramgarh district, Firozabad, as they questioned two people suspected of committing a robbery. The assailants fled the crime spot immediately. The police have said that there might have been six assailants.

And a great read on the Telegraph: Narendra Modi sees what no PM has in 30 years. Take a look

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India is committed to good neighbourly relations and assured Bhutan that change in government will not alter the dynamics of India-Bhutan ties. "India is committed to good relations with its neighbours," Modi said in his address to joint session of Bhutan's Parliament here. On second day of his two-day visit to the Himalayan country, Modi said if India progresses, it will directly impact the development of its neighbours.

People of Bhutan do not clap as a congratulatory gesture as they believe that clapping is done only to ward off evil spirits. But they made an exception for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who gave a rousing speech at the joint session of Bhutanese parliament today.

As Modi finished his extempore speech, delivered in Hindi, which the members of parliament including the Bhutanese prime minister Tshering Tobgay and other important dignitaries listened to in rapt attention with the help of interpreters, the gathering broke into spontaneous applause.

The clapping began in one corner of the national assembly - the lower house where the joint session was held - and it soon spread among the VVIPs seated at the chamber, as also the visitors' gallery where a large number of Indian and Bhutanese journalists and other officials as also some meritorious students were present.

As the applause reverberated from almost all corners of the assembly, some of their countrymen smiled embarrassedly.

In fact, an advisory issued to the media on Sunday itself had referred to the custom. "It may kindly be noted that there will be no clappings/applause in the Bhutanese parliament during the prime minister's address to the joint session of the Bhutanese parliament.

External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj says the Bhutan visit was extremely successful. Swaraj, who is accompanying Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bhutan on his maiden foreign visit, told reporters that the Indian side was "extremely satisfied" with the "extremely successful" visit.

Swaraj said Prime Minister Modi gave some new suggestions to Bhutan.  Prime Minister Modi proposed to hold a joint sports festival between Bhutan and northeastern states of India, establish e-libraries in 20 districts in Bhutan and set up a university on Himalayan studies, she said.

Pic: Sushma Swaraj poses with the Bhutan royals

Home minister Rajnath Singh says the law and order situation in UP is a matter of concern. A 32-year-old woman was allegedly held captive and gang-raped on Friday night by three persons, including the son of a policeman, in Badaun where the gang rape and hanging of two teenage cousins last month had triggered global outrage. There has been a string of rapes in the state after the May 27 assault on the two cousins.

Not long ago, the BSP grew even as the BJP declined. Election-2014 is a comprehensive reversal of the trend. Read

PM Modi with Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his father, 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuck.

Except for Mulayam's ministers and Azam's buffaloes,no one else is safe in UP, be it women, Muslims, BJP leaders or anyone: Shahid Siddiqui

The INS Vikramaditya, India's most modern and largest warship, smells of fresh paint. American super-carriers such as the USS Nimitz, on which this correspondent has sailed, smell of aviation turbine fuel and grease. Read

Also read Nitin Gokhale's blog on the INS Vikramaditya.

Michael Douglas has revealed that he took his actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones "for granted".

The 69-year-old actor said that he learnt from his past mistakes after temporarily splitting from his wife last year, reported Digital Spy.

"When you are younger you care what other people think. And you take the person closest to you for granted. You waste a lot of energy on strangers to make a good impression. When you're older you focus that energy on the people closest to you, on your family. And you're courteous," he said. Douglas also explained that he thinks mistakes are only bad if people fail to learn from them.

Alleging that Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was "hostage" to the mining lobby in the state, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has reiterated its demand to set up a corporation for this industry.

"AAP Goa reiterates the urgency of its previous demand of setting up a mining corporation in Goa to release our natural resources from the grip of the private mining companies and rejuvenate the economy and ecology of Goa," Goa unit of AAP said in a statement released  yesterday.

The CBI takes over the investigation into the fatal accident of Union minister Gopinath Munde. The Union home ministry decided to recommend a CBI probe into the fatal accident of rural development minister Gopinath Munde last week.

This follows a demand by the Maharashtra unit of the BJP for a central probe into allegations suggesting a possible conspiracy angle to the mishap. Munde was killed in a collision with a Tata Indica car while on his way to Indira Gandhi International Airport on the morning of June 3. The driver of the Indica car was arrested and later released on bail.

National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval on the Ishrat Jahan case. Watch

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday laid the foundation stone of the 600MW Kholongchu Hydro- electric project, a joint venture between India and Bhutan.

The project's foundation stone was laid by Modi electronically from the courtyard of Bhutan's Parliament building after addressing a joint session.

Three Hydro-electric projects (HEPs) totalling 1416 MW (Chukha, Tala and Kurichu) are already operational.

Three more HEPs [Punatsangchu I (1200 MW), Punatsangchu II (1020 MW) and Mangdechu (720 MW)] are under construction.

They are scheduled to be commissioned in 2017-18.In April, 2014, the two countries had signed a framework agreement on four more JV-model HEPs totalling 2120MW.

As police probe accusations made by actor Preity Zinta against former industrialist boyfriend Ness Wadia for use of force and foul language to shame her in public, her lawyer said that she has nowhere alleged ''sexual molestation".  Read more

India exempts Bhutan from any ban or quantitative restrictions on export of items like milk powder, meat, edible oil and non-Basmati rice.

BJP Asansol MP Babul Supriyo has claimed that he got a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections on the recommendation of Baba Ramdev. The popular singer wrote this in the first part of a two-part article he is writing for the Sunday supplement of Bengali newspaper Anandabazar Patrika. Read more

A Cabinet expansion is on the cards before the Budget session to take away additional portfolios from those unable to keep up with the pace of work.  The effect of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'minimum government, maximum governance' philosophy is showing -- not only in bureaucrats' punctual ways and cleaner office spaces but also in the bleary eyes of overworked ministers. Read more

Social media in India has suddenly become a decidedly dangerous place for dissent or irreverence, especially if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at the centre of your dissidence.

State administrations, be it in Goa, Karnataka or Kerala, have shown great alacrity in arresting, browbeating and often simply terrorizing anyone who is even slightly critical of Modi on networking sites. On a few occasions, at the receiving end of the police's anger -- and anxiety -- have been students not even out of college.

Children in Bhutan put up a stunning spectacle ahead of King of Bhutan's lunch for the PM, tweets MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's slip in his address to the Bhutan Parliament, where he said "Nepal" while praising the nation's royal family, became prime fodder for Twitter on Monday.

Modi, who is on his first foreign visit since taking charge as prime minister, said, "I want to begin with a tribute to the Nepal...Bhutan royal family that ensured democratic values and protected people's rights..."

The minor gaffe did not go unnoticed on social media, where hash-tags like #Bhutan #Nepal and #TravelTipstoModi started trending. Read more

And in West Bengal, news from CM Mamata Banerjee. Irked by the BJP sending two teams of its central leaders to the state over the alleged incidents of violence against its workers, Banerjee today threatened to send her MPs to BJP-ruled states if there was any incident there.

"I feel that from now on, if there is any incident in any BJP-ruled state, we will also send a central team Trinamool Congress (TMC) central team there because it cannot be one-sided," the TMC chief said in Kolkata.

"They will get just as they do, tit for tat. We don't want any unnecessary tension, but if BJP thinks that it will indulge in violence by joining hands with the CPI(M) goons, then that cannot be tolerated by a democratic government," she said.

Meanwhile, two more persons have been arrested in Muzaffarnagar for allegedly being involved in the killing of BJP leader Om Vir Singh with police today saying that they have also recovered the licensed revolver of the deceased which the assailants had snatched at the time of the crime.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is in Bhutan with PM Narendra Modi announces e-libraries in all 20 districts of Bhutan.  

The Supreme Court has refused to hear urgent bail plea against N Srinivasan.

The plea by the Cricket Association of Bihar demanded that Srinivasan should be restrained from contesting for the post of International Cricket Council chief. The polls are slated for June 27.

Nalini Chidambaram, appearing for CAB, argued that court must list the petition at the earliest otherwise Srinivasan would assume charge as ICC Chairman. Srinivasan is among 13 persons being investigated by the Justice Mukul Mudgal panel for corruption in IPL 2013.

Last week, the court had rejected a similar petition.   

The benchmark BSE Sensex plunged 104 points in morning trade today on persistent selling on the back of weak Asian cues amid an escalating violence in Iraq.

Shares of capital goods, power, realty, banking, consumer durables and auto sectors fell on heavy selling pressure.

On the macro front, the government will announce data on inflation based on the wholesale price index for May today.

Geopolitical concerns shifted from the crisis in Ukraine to the worsening situation in Iraq. US President Barack Obama has said he will consider over the next several days options to help Iraqi forces turn back militants sweeping across the country. The insurgency highlights the risks to the world's oil supply.

On Day 2 of his Bhutan visit, Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi today proposed a special sporting event for Bhutan, Nepal and India's Himalayan states.

"The Himalayas are India and Bhutan's common heritage. Can't all the Himalayan states of India and Bhutan do a shared sports tournament together," he asked.

Modi said that Bhutan has a good potential for tourism. "Terrorism divides, tourism unites," he said.  

Addressing the Bhutan Parliament, PM Modi said, "I am delighted that in 2014 Budget, Bhutan has devoted a lot of resources towards education. They are looking at future generations."

"India has decided to help set up an e-library network in Bhutan. When a country provides teachers to educate its society, it strengthens democracy. If you walk a few steps ahead, we too feel like walking those steps ahead and supporting you," he added. 

"India and Bhutan share a cultural heritage. We are one because we have kept our hearts open to each other. Our power draws from unity," said PM Narendra Modi during his speech at the Bhutan Parliament.

"India investigating in hydel projects in Bhutan will help combat global warming. It will also help the economies of both the nations."  

"There will be no change in ties with Bhutan because of change in government in India," says PM Narendra Modi in Bhutan.  

"Indian voters have provided the BJP an opportunity to serve the nation. Bhutan will benefit from a strong and prosperous India. We cannot take care of neighbours if it is per-occupied with its own problems," said PM Narendra Modi as he addressed a joint session of the Bhutan Parliament.   

"India and Bhutan are bound my rich cultural traditions," said the PM> 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the Bhutan Parliament. Here are the highlights of his speech: 

The smooth transition from monarchy to democracy shows political maturity in Bhutan. 

I commend the way Bhutan has transitioned into a democracy.

Energy security is a key issue in the coming decade.    

Prime Minister Narendera Modi addresses joint session of the Bhutan Parliament. "I feel privileged to address this Parliament," said Modi as he spoke in Hindi. 

He praises Bhutan's royal family for protecting the rights of its ordinary citizens.   

On Day 2 of this trip to Bhutan, Prime Minister Narendra Mod will address the joint session of the Bhutan Parliament and is likely to stress on his B for B -- Bharat for Bhutan -- relations theory in that address, CNN-IBN reports. 

Modi will also lay down the foundation stone of the 600 MV Kholongchu hydropower project.

The Bhutanese King will host a lunch for the PM and his delegation before they leave Thimphu later on Monday.

On Sunday, Modi inagurated the new Supreme Court building in Bhutan and promised greater educational opportunities to Bhutanese students. He also attended a banquet hosted by Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay.

This is the PM's first foreign visit.

The Sunni extremist group that has taken territory across Iraq has posted photos online that appear to show its fighters massacring 17,00 Iraqi soldiers.

The army personnel are pictured being led away and then lying in trenches before and after their "execution".

Iraqi military spokesman Lt Gen Qassim al-Moussawi said the pictures were authentic and depicted events in Salahuddin province, according to BBC. But the images' authenticity has not been independently confirmed.

Bharat to Bhutan: PM Modi vows to nurture ties

Mamata blames 'BJP, CPI(M) goons' for jute mill CEO's death

Ceasefire violations by Pak must stop to enable dialogue, says Jaitley

Explosives found in Varanasi were to be used to carry out blasts

Zinta molestation case: Police record statement of two persons

Yesterday's live commentary