Two suspected Naxalites gunned down in Jharkhand

Security forces gunned down two suspected Maoists and unearthed a Naxal camp during a fierce 12-hour-long encounter along the Ranchi-Khunti border, a senior police officer said on Monday.

“Two Maoists were killed in the encounter last night,” Deputy Inspector General of Police (Chhotanagpur Range), R. K. Mallick, told PTI over phone.

The bodies were, however, taken away by the Maoists.

A large cache of weapons and explosives were recovered during a search operation after the encounter in the dense forests bordering Ranchi-Khunti districts, the DIG said.

A camp, which had been put up by the Maoists, was destroyed.

The operation involving personnel from specialised State force for Naxal operation - Jaguar, CRPF and Special Action Force- had began on Sunday following intelligence inputs about the presence of top Naxal leader Kundan Pahan in the forests of Rabou village.

  **Details Here.

Kerala High Court disqualifies Congress MP from Mavelikkara

Kochi:  The  Kerala High Court on Monday  disqualified Congress MP Kodikkunnil.

Kerala High court on Monday set aside the election of Congress MP and AICC Secretary, Kodukunnil Suresh from the Mavelikara Reserved Parliamentary constituency.

The order in this regard was issued by Justice G Shashidharan Nambiar in a 160 page judgment while allowing the election petition of defeated candidate R S Anil of the CPI challenging Suresh's election and two others.

The court found that there were conflicting statements made by Kodikunnil Suresh about his caste status. As per school records, he is a converted Christian and was not entitled for the benefit of being a scheduled caste member.

CBI moves application to interrogate Shah in jail

The CBI on Monday filed an application in a court here to interrogate former Gujarat Minister Amit Shah, accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, in jail.

Mr. Shah, facing murder and extortion charges in the fake encounter case, was arrested on Sunday and was sent to judicial custody till August 7 by special CBI magistrate A.Y. Dave.

According to the application filed in the CBI court here, the Central agency wants to interrogate Mr. Shah inside the jail premises. The hearing on this application is likely to take place later in the day.

Mr. Shah, who resigned from the Modi government on Saturday after being chargesheeted by the CBI in the case, has denied all the charges against him.

The chargesheet has named Mr. Shah as a key accused along with IPS officers D.G. Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian, M.N. Dinesh and Abhay Chudasama. In all, 15 accused have been named.

  **Details Here.

Afghan war logs: webchat with Guardian reporter David Leigh

The Guardian's investigations editor, David Leigh, will be online at 1pm today to answer questions about the Afghan war logs
The Guardian, along with the New York Times and the German weekly Der Spiegel, has today published a series of documents that give a detailed and often disturbing picture of the conflict in Afghanistan.
These disclosures come from more than 90,000 records of incidents and intelligence reports about the conflict obtained by the whistleblowers' website Wikileaks, in what has been described as one of the biggest leaks in US military history.
The three news organisations were given access to the Afghan war logs before publication to verify their authenticity and assess their significance. For the past few weeks, a team of investigative reporters, regional specialists and database experts has been working on the story.

  **Details Here.

Interceptor missile launch successful

India took one more step towards establishing a ballistic missile defence shield when it successfully intercepted on Monday an “enemy” ballistic missile at an altitude of 15 km and pulverised it. While the “enemy” that is, the target missile lifted off from the launch pad P-3 at the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, near Balasore, Orissa, the interceptor took off from the Wheeler Island, off Damra village on the Orissa coast, waylaid the target missile by scoring a direct hit. The interception took place at 10.05 a.m. in what is called the endo-atmosphere, that is, below an altitude of 50 km. Both the target and the interceptor missiles were developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The proposed twin-layered BMD system envisages interception and destruction of incoming enemy missiles in exo-atmosphere (higher altitude of 50-80 km) and endo-atmosphere (lower altitude up to 30 km). While the first phase seeks to protect vital assets against enemy ballistic missiles of up to 2,000 km range, the second phase is intended to defend against missiles of up to 5,000 km range. 

  **Details Here.

CRPF orders inquiry into 'killing spree' in Jharkhand camp

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Saturday ordered an inquiry into the killing of six of its personnel, including an Assistant Commandant, by one of their colleagues in Kuchai village in Jharkhand's Saraikela District.
According to reports, constable Harpinder Singh of the CRPF's C Company of 196 Battalion had opened indiscriminate firing on his colleagues after consuming liquor late on Friday night.
Later, Singh was also shot dead as some of the personnel retaliated.

  **Details Here.

Swine flu: Health dept on alert

KOLKATA: The state health department continues to be on alert though no new swine flu cases were detected on Friday.

Screening of patients went on with around 15 new samples being sent to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED). Twelve have so far tested positive for the H1N1 virus of whom one is critical. Five are under treatment at the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Beliaghata while two are admitted in private hospitals. The rest have been released.

Unlike last year, when the health department struggled to accommodate patients at the ID Hospital, two private hospitals have been roped in this time. Woodlands Hospital and Apollo Gleneagles have got a patient each. In 2009, all major private hospitals had been asked to prepare isolation wards after the ID Hospital got filled up. They had been kept ready, but eventually, the ID managed to handle the situation and none was sent to these hospitals. 

  **Details Here.

Pargat Singh files nomination for Hockey India president's post

Former Indian hockey captain Pargat Singh on Saturday filed his nomination for the post of Hockey India (HI) President in the national capital.
Pargat will contest against HI Interim President Vidya Stokes.
He said that he was confident of winning the elections, and claimed that he wants to bring back the glory of the game, which has been recently talked about for its court cases.
"For quite sometime we have been witnessing the state of the Hockey team. Hockey has become like a football, the authorities have dragged hockey either to courts or some other cases," Pargat said.
"It has become such a divided house, because of that I do not want to see it further divided. We will unite it and bring back the glory of hockey to that level where it was," he added.
Pargat also said that the coaching and the umpiring system should be upgraded.
"We will reconcile hockey and bring it to a higher level than it is, that is the top agenda for us. There are a lot of things in the agenda such as to upgrade the coaching system, to upgrade the umpiring system," Pargat said.

  **Details Here.

'The future is safe' - Salman Butt

How do you summarise the events in the last 24 hours?
I knew nothing about it [Shahid Afridi's retirement from Tests] beforehand. But I have respect for his honest opinion and he made a very good decision. He took the captaincy after we did not have a good tour of Australia, and we'd had a very difficult time, so he has done a great job so far. He has been doing wonderfully well in the one-dayers and Twenty20. I really respect his decision about Test cricket because this is a totally different domain. It is a big decision to make and not too many people would've gone through and made a decision like he did.

Did you predict anything like this might happen when the tour began?
Being the vice-captain meant if anything goes wrong you are the next man. So I was partially ready for something like this, but I didn't expect him to retire like this. So mentally I was partially prepared. 

  **Read out more here...

Muralitharan's farewell to assume centre-stage in the first Test

The occasion bristles with possibilities. Test cricket's most successful bowler will match his craft and mind with the batsmen for one last time.

Off-spinning giant Muttiah Muralitharan will bid adieu to the five-day game after the first Test of the three-match series, beginning here on Sunday. Murali's farewell overshadows just about everything else in the contest.

And the man with big, bold eyes, dexterous wrists, supple fingers and the heart of a lion is only eight short of becoming the first bowler to reach what would be a phenomenal 800 wickets in Test cricket.

He might be in the last stretch of a glittering journey of miles and milestones; however, it would be hard to bet against Muralitharan. The 38-year-old Sri Lankan still loves the sniff of a duel; even after 132 Tests.

  **Details Here.

Cops to SMS jam updates

NEW DELHI: Starting Friday, commuters can get mobile updates from the traffic police on traffic congestion in the city. The updates will be sent via SMS after one subscribes to the service. So all you need to do before setting out from home is check your SMS inbox and decide the route you should take based on the advice of the cops.

The mobile alerts will come on a daily basis and will list points/stretches which commuters should avoid, stating the reason for the congestion. "All a person needs to do is SMS "Join DTP'' to 09219592195 to subscribe to the service. The alerts will be sent automatically as SMSes. To unsubscribe, commuters can SMS "Leave DTP'' to the same number and the alerts will stop,'' said Ajay Chadha, special commissioner of police (traffic). 


  **Details Here.

Apple Offers Free Cases for iPhone 4 Users

Apple's much awaited "Antennagate" press conference is underway as we file this report and if you have been looking for updates on this front, we do have some dope for you.

The press con began with none other than Steve Jobs himself coming up on stage with oodles of data showcasing how this much hyped reception issue isn t an iPhone 4 exclusive. Without revealing dropped call related statistics (which AT&T wasn't keen to divulge due to competitive concerns) Jobs went on to reveal numbers that makes the iPhone 4 seem a victim of bad press. Here are some bullet points that Jobs emphasized upon during the course of the conference.

  **Details Here.

Nelson Mandela turns 92

Nelson Mandela International Day is held on July 18 every year to commemorate the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's birthday.
This was decided last November by the UN General Assembly to recognise Mandela's contribution to resolving conflicts and promoting race relations, human rights and reconciliation.
Ali Abdessalam Treki, president of the 192-member world body, called Mandela "an icon and one of the greatest moral and political leaders of our time".
He was speaking at Friday's UN commemoration, held two days early because Mandela's birthday this year falls on Sunday, where tributes were delivered to the South African anti-apartheid leader's moral leadership and lifelong commitment to fighting racial oppression and promoting peace.

   **Details Here.

African Union summit starts in Uganda a week after bombings

(CNN) -- The African Union summit started in Uganda on Saturday, nearly a week after triple bombings in the nation's capital killed more than 70 people.
The summit will address various issues, including health, infrastructure and food security. It will also tackle security concerns in Somalia, Uganda's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Islamist militants have been battling Somali forces for years. The horn of Africa nation has not had an effective government since 1991.
The Somalia-based Al-Shabaab rebels claimed responsibility for the bombings that killed 76 people Sunday in Kampala.

  **Details Here.

Mass funerals for victims of Iran mosque bombings

Thousands of mourners have thronged the streets of the south-eastern Iranian city of Zahedan as mass funerals were held for victims of the devastating bombings of a mosque.

Police said they had arrested 40 people in connection with Thursday's blasts, which killed at least 27 people.
Those detained were not accused of direct responsibility for the attacks.
Hundreds of worshippers were injured when two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Shia mosque.
The first bomber blew himself up at a checkpoint outside the Jamia mosque in Zahedan, with a more deadly second blast moments later.

  **Details Here.