Over 128 killed, 40 injured after suicide bomber attacks election rally in Pakistan Over 128 people were killed and 40 were injured after a suicide bomber hit a campaign event in southwestern Pakistan. Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) leader Siraj Raisani was also killed in the attack. He was the candidate of the party and the second electoral candidate to be killed in a week. The Pakistan General Elections 2018 is scheduled to be held on July 25. This is the second election-related attack on Friday amid tensions over ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's return. Senior police official Qaim Lashari told news agency Reuters that the bomber attacked a campaign meeting where Raisani was due to speak.   _____________ Bank, insurance firm unions threaten nationwide stir over govt policies Unions representing banks and insurance companies have formed a coordination committee, threatening to hold demonstrations and strikes starting tomorrow if their demands are not met. A clutc...

UIDAI: Biometric information purely for generating Aadhaar, cannot be shared The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Friday stated that as per Sec 29 of the Aadhaar Act, the biometric data collected by UIDAI can be used only for the purpose of generating Aadhaar and for authentication of the identity of Aadhaar holders and cannot be used for any other purpose. The clarification came after a report emerged about purported use of Aadhaar biometric data for the purpose of investigating a crime. The UIDAI has said it cannot share Aadhaar biometric data for crime investigations, as proposed by the chief of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Ish Kumar on Thursday. The NCRB Director had yesterday stated that around 50 lakh cases were registered every year in the country and most of them committed by first-time offenders, who leave their fingerprints, which would not be available in police records and hence had asked for biometric information from Aadhaar to which...

Tollywood sex racket busted in US Investigating agencies of the United States have busted a sex rackets involving trafficking of Tollywood and Kannada actresses to America on the pretext of attending Telugu and other Indian conferences. The international racket was run by a Telugu businessman identified as Kishan Modugumudi, 34 and his wife Chandra. The couple, both natives of Hyderabad but illegally living in the US, took Tollywood actresses and models to USA in the name of various conferences and ‘star nights’ but conducted a prostitution racket instead. According to the complaint filed, the offences took place from May 11, 2017 to January 22, 2018. The news broke on Wednesday after the Chicago media reported the police had filed a charge sheet in the case. _________________  Flight tickets to go up to compensate zero cancellation charges Airlines are likely to increase ticket prices by a few hundred per flight in order to curb loses to be occured after governme...

J&K Encounter: 13 terrorists gunned down, 3 jawans & 4 civilians killed At least 12 terrorists and three soldiers were among 20 people killed in three gunfights in the Kashmir Valley on Sunday. Taking to Twitter, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) S.P. Vaid informed the encounter has been concluded. Three separate encounters took place in the valley -- one in Anantnag during the night and two on Sunday morning in Dragad and Kachdoora villages. As many as 25 others were injured in the encounters. Authorities have ordered the closure of all schools and colleges in the valley on Monday as a precautionary measure. _________________________________ CBSE Paper Leak: HRD ministry suspends official for negligent supervision at centre The Human Resource Ministry on Sunday said a Central Board of Secondary Education official has been suspended for alleged lax supervision of the Class 12 economics examination, reported media. HRD Ministry Sec...

Dalit Law student dies after beaten up by public in Allahabad A second-year law student was beaten to death by a group of men outside a restaurant in Allahabad. The entire incident was caught on CCTV. Twenty-six-year-old Dileep, a second-year LLB student, had reportedly gone to a restaurant for a meal in Karnalganj along with two friends on Friday. An altercation broke out between Dileep and few persons, outside the eatery. The men soon started assaulting Dileep with bricks and sticks, leaving him seriously injured. He succumbed to his injuries on Sunday _________________ 71 ‘onboard’ dead as Russian plane crashes in Moscow A plane operated by Russia’s Saratov Airlines crashed in the Moscow region on Sunday, killing all 71 people on board, Russian news agencies said, citing sources in the emergency services. There were 65 passengers and six crew members onboard the plane which went missing from radars less than 10 minutes after taking off from Moscow’s Domodedovo a...

INDIA Serious problem at home: Rahul Gandhi in Bahrain While addressing the NRI’s in Bahrain on Monday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that there is a serious problem at home (India), and they a part of the solution. He also accused the government of dividing people on the basis of caste and religion, alleging it was converting the anger of jobless youth into hatred among communities. Gandhi claimed that the government's failure to create jobs is resulting in "tremendous unrest" in India and this anger is visible in the streets and is rising with each passing day. Noting that Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and B R Ambedkar were also NRIs, he said "Our ancestors needed you in 1947 to protect the idea of India and I have come to seek your help to transform India now." _____________ Italy court acquits main accused in VVIP Chopper Scam An Italian appeals court on Monday acquitted two former Leonardo executives who were accused of pa...

Guj Polls: BJP releases first list, All Congress rebels get tickets BJP on Friday released its first list of 70 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections for the poll bound state of Gujarat. The 182 seater assembly polls will take place in two phases, on December 9 and 14. Most of the MLAs have been retained in the first list. Chief Minster Vijay Rupani is all set to contest from Rajkot West, which also happens to be the first ever seat from where PM Modi contested the state polls. Congress rebels who had switched sides at the last moment too have made it to the first list. Deputy CM Nitin Patel too will be contesting from the Mehsana seat. Considering the Patidar protests in the state, 15 leaders of the community have featured in the list out of which four are women candidates. ----------------------- Kashmiri footballer who joined terrorists surrenders to J&K police A 20-year-old Kashmiri youth, who had joined Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) surrendered before the secu...

Nifty, Sensex reach new records of 32,000 for 1st time Breaking its own record for the fourth day in a row, the Indian Indexes touched a  new high on Thursday as the Sensex crossed 32,000 points gaining 100 points in the last 33 sessions, and the Nifty neared 9,900 points. The Sensex and the Nifty have surged more than 20 percent so far this year, the best in Asia, riding on the  $14 billion of purchases by foreign and domestic funds. An interest cut by the RBI can trigger the Nifty to reach 10,600 points soon, media reports and analysts predicted. _____________________________ NGT imposes Rs 50,000 fine for dumping waste in Ganga The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday declared a fine of Rs 50,000 for dumping waste within 500 meters of the River Ganga between Haridwar and Unnao. The tribunal also declared the area within 100 meters of the river as a no-development zonE and observed that even after spending more than 7,000 crores within the river’s stretch,...

PM Modi begins 4 Nation Tour  Prime Minister Narendra on Monday began his four-nation tour of Germany, Spain, Russia and France in a bid to give a major boost to India's economic engagement and investment, several media reports said. Modi's first stop will be in Germany where he will hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Modi's visit to Spain on Tuesday will be a first by any PM in almost 30 years where he is likely to meet CEOs and push for the 'Make in India' initiative. _____________________ Bihar rains kill 23, heat wave kills 12 in Odisha At least 23 people were killed in different parts of Bihar after strong winds combined with rain and lightning triggered wall collapses and uprooted trees on Sunday even as the country reeled under a severe heat wave, media reports quoting officials said on Monday. While eighteen people were killed in lightning strikes, the rest of the people died due to wall collaps...