Top news: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi stopped while on her way to meet kin of Sonbhadra victims

Karnataka: Deadlock continues in Assembly, governor asks chief minister to hold floor test by 6 pm

The governor had issued the Assembly the first ultimatum on Thursday evening. However, coalition legislators on Friday questioned Vala’s power to issue such a direction and accused him of partisanship.

Bihar: Three men lynched in Saran district for allegedly attempting to steal cattle

While two of the men died on the spot, the third died during treatment, the police said. They were identified as Paigampur village residents Naushad Alam, Raju Nut and Videsh Nut. A fourth man is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Banipur.

Babri Masjid demolition case: Deliver verdict in nine months, Supreme Court tells CBI judge

A bench of Justices RF Nariman and Surya Kant ruled that the recording of the evidence in the case should be completed within six months. The court also directed the Uttar Pradesh government to pass appropriate administrative orders to extend the tenure of CBI court judge Sirendra Kumar Yadav, who is conducting the trial.

Arvind Subramanian defends his claim that GDP growth rate was overestimated between 2011 and 2017

The original paper drew a lot of criticism from the Economic Advisory Council to the prime minister for its methodology and assertions. In the new paper, titled Validating India’s GDP Growth Estimates, Subramanian said he had expressed doubts about the growth numbers in the 2015 Economic Survey and mid-year economic analysis.

IMA Jewels scam: Main accused Mansoor Khan arrested in Delhi, questioned by ED

Khan has been accused of running a ponzi scheme in Karnataka that has allegedly duped more than 30,000 people of Rs 5,000 crore. People from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, New Delhi, and Tamil Nadu are said to have invested into the company.

Kathua case: High Court issues notice to six accused and Jammu and Kashmir government

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday issued notices to the six accused and the Jammu and Kashmir government in connection with the gangrape and murder case of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua last year. It was issued based on a petition filed by the girl’s father seeking enhancement of the sentences awarded to the convicts.

UP: Priyanka Gandhi stopped from visiting Sonbhadra district to meet families of shootout victims

Congress General Secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday was stopped from visiting a village in Sonbhadra district where at least 10 people were killed in a shootout on Wednesday over a land dispute. She was detained at Narayanpur police station. “We were only going peacefully to meet victim families,” ANI quoted the Congress leader as saying. “I don’t know where are they taking me, we are ready to go anywhere.”

‘India cannot be world’s refugee capital’: Centre urges Supreme Court to extend NRC deadline

The Centre and the Assam government on Friday urged the Supreme Court to extend the July 31 deadline for publishing the final National Register of Citizens in the state. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the governments, insisted that the authorities need to tweak the processes for including the names of genuine citizens in the list. “India cannot be the refugee capital of the world,” the government counsel told the top court.

Over 100 people dead as floods worsen in Bihar and Assam

More than 100 people have died due to the floods in Assam and Bihar so far on Thursday. Millions of people and animals were displaced in both states. Seventy eight people died in Bihar and 36 people in Assam.

Chhattisgarh: Child actor Shivlekh Singh killed, parents injured in accident near Raipur

Popular child actor Shivlekh Singh died on Thursday after the car he was travelling in collided with a truck on the outskirts of Raipur in Chhattisgarh. His mother Lekhna and father Shivendra Singh and another person identified as Naveen Singh were injured in the accident.

$5 trillion economy isn’t coming out of heaven, former governments laid foundation: Pranab Mukherjee

Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said India’s target to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024 would be achieved only because of a “strong foundation” built by previous governments. “Finance Minister, while presenting the budget, had said that by 2024, India’s economy will reach $5 trillion,” Mukherjee said. “It isn’t coming out of heaven. There’s a solid foundation and the foundation has been built not by Britishers but by Indians after Independence.”

TikTok: IT ministry questions app on user safety and data storage after calls for ban

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has asked Chinese video applications TikTok and Helo to explain how it collects user data and creates awareness for safe use of its platform. The ministry sought details after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling for a ban on TikTok and Helo. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch had alleged that Beijing Bytedance Technology Co, which developed the app, had a poor track record on privacy protection and that TikTok’s content was “against Indian culture and morality”.

Karnataka in the spotlight as governor sets 1.30 pm deadline for trust vote

The Karnataka crisis deepened on Thursday after Governor Vajubhai Vala asked Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to prove his government’s majority on the floor of the Assembly by 1.30 pm on Friday.

Election Commission issues notice to NCP, Trinamool Congress, CPI over national party status

The Election Commission on Thursday issued show cause notices to the Nationalist Congress Party, the Trinamool Congress and the Communist Party of India on withdrawing their national party status after their poor performances in the Lok Sabha elections.

Karnataka crisis: Governor asks HD Kumaraswamy to prove majority in House by 1.30 pm today

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala on Thursday wrote to Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy asking him to prove majority on the floor of the Assembly by 1.30 pm on Friday. The governor had earlier suggested that Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar hold a trust vote on Thursday itself. However, the House had adjourned for the day without a floor a test.

Pakistan will grant consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, says foreign ministry

Pakistan will grant consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, according to the country’s laws, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement late on Thursday. Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of “espionage and terrorism” in April 2017, following which India moved the International Court of Justice, seeking a stay on his death sentence.

UP: Police arrest 25 people after 10 villagers shot dead in Sonbhadra district

The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested a total of 25 people in connection with the shootout in Ubha village of Sonbhadra district that killed 10 people. As many as 19 people were injured in Wednesday’s incident. The police had said the incident took place when Ubha village head Yagya Dutt had gone to take possession of the land that he had purchased two years ago. Villagers gathered at the spot and started to protest. Dutt and his supporters allegedly opened fire on the victims.

Delhi Police charge wife of ND Tiwari’s son with killing her husband

The wife of late Congress leader ND Tiwari’s son Rohit Shekhar Tiwari, was on Thursday charged with killing her husband. The Delhi Police claimed lawyer Apoorva Shukla smothered and strangulated him following an argument over him drinking alcohol with his sister-in-law from the same glass.

Tamil Nadu: Two new districts, Tenkasi and Chengalpattu, to be formed, says CM

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday announced that two new districts – Tenaksi and Chengalpattu – will be created by bifurcating Tirunelveli and Kancheepuram districts. The state will have 35 districts after these two districts are carved out. Palaniswami, while speaking in the Assembly, said separate officers would be appointed to govern the districts.