LIVE news updates: Pakistan violates Ceasefire in Poonch, J&K

Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing of small arms and intense shelling with mortars along Line of Control in Shahpur & Saujiyan sectors in Poonch district Jammu and Kashmir at about 1700 hours, today

Indian army is retaliating to the attack

Seven Indian fishermen were arrested by Sri Lankan navy on Sunday for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters, officials said.

Fishermen from Rameswaram and nearby places were near the Katchatheevu island - handed over to Sri Lanka by India several years back - when a Sri Lankan navy patrol arrested seven Indian fishermen and seized their boats.

Located in the narrow sea dividing the two countries, Katchatheevu has rich marine life in the waters surrounding it.

Manjhi in touch with NDA partner for Jharkhand Assembly polls

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday disclosed that his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), a constituent of the opposition Mahagathbandhan in the state, would be contesting the upcoming Assembly polls in Jharkhand in collaboration with an NDA partner.

"Our talks with Ajsu is in the final stages. Seat sharing arrangements will be decided soon. We hope it will be mutually beneficial and there will be a seamless transfer of votes during elections", Manjhi told PTI in Gaya, his native district.

The mutilated carcass of a leopard was recovered from the Sharda barrage on Sunday, officials said.

Dudhwa Buffer Zone Deputy Director Anil Kumar Patel rushed to the spot with his team after the carcass was found in the river.

He said it was badly decomposed, though all vital organs were found intact.

"Autopsy will be carried out by a panel of veterinary doctors to ascertain the cause of death and further action will be taken after the report,

Tribal youth from two villages in Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra on Sunday burnt banners exhorting them to observe 'Naxal Week', an official said.

According to a statement from Gadchiroli police, the Maoist banners were put up on Jarawandi-Kasansur Road in the district.

"Tribal youth from Tadguda and Kusarwahi villages assembled here and set the banners ablaze. They raised slogans against the Maoist ultras as well as their Naxal Week," the statement said.

In another development, Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Shailesh Balkawde announced the celebration of "Adivasi Vikas Week' from June 28 to August 3

Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir issue exceeded Islamabad’s expectations.

Floods and landslides triggered by incessant monsoon rains across Nepal have claimed at least 113 lives while 38 people are still missing, officials said Sunday.

Parts of central and southern Nepal including some areas of Kathmandu valley have been inundated due to incessant rains since last two weeks.

At least 113 people were killed and 67 others injured in the rain induced disasters in this monsoon, Home Ministry officials said.

A 26-year-old State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) guard allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service rifle while on duty at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) building in Nagpur in Maharashtra, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday night at the security guard room on the gate number 8 situated at Samvidhan Chowk in Civil Lines area in the city, over 800 km from Mumbai, an official said.

The guard, identified as Prasnna Maske, killed himself by firing an SLR round through his chin which pierced into his head, the official said.

The exact trigger behind Maske taking the extreme step is not known yet, he said, adding that no suicide note was found at the spot.

Maske's body was spotted by his colleague who came to relieve him this morning, he said.

All the 14 Karnataka rebel legislators, who were disqualified by Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar on Sunday for defying their party whips to attend the House on July 23, said they would challenge the Speaker's decision in the Supreme Court on Monday.

A day before the trust vote on the B.S. Yediyurappa government in the Karnataka Assembly, the Speaker disqualified 14 rebel MLAs of the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) for defying their party whips to attend the House on July 23, when former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy put the confidence motion to vote for proving majority, but failed to do.

The rebel MLAs said they would challenge their disqualification in the Supreme Court as their joint petitions had sought its directive for accepting forthwith their resignations re-submitted on July 11 before the Congress and the JD-S issued a whip to them to attend the session on July 23 and long before former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy moved the confidence motion on July 18.

Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom claimed the gold medal without breaking a sweat in the 23rd President's Cup, asserting her supremacy in a lop-sided 51kg bout final in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia on Sunday.

The Olympic bronze medallist pugilist decimated Australian April Franks 5-0.

The 36-year-old Indian had also won a gold medal at the India Open boxing tournament in May, but skipped the Asian Championships as part of a larger plan to enhance her chances of Olympic qualification.

Mary Kom, who claimed her sixth world title last year in

Three people were killed and 13 injured on Sunday morning after their tractor was hit by a truck in Davva village of Gondia district, an official said.

After being hit by the truck, the rear part of the tractor swerved and the vehicle fell off the bridge into a nullah, an official said.

"There were 16 people in the tractor. Three of them died on the spot. The others are injured and have been hospitalised. The truck was trying to overtake the tractor when the mishap happened. We have registered a case," he said

A former primary education officer here has been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act here for allegedly possessing illegal property, an official said.

Dinesh Kumar Singh, the then district primary education officer of Muzaffarnagar, was booked on Saturday by the Uttar Pradesh vigilance department, the official said.

The district authorities had ordered a probe against Kumar for allegedly acquiring illegal property during his tenure in 2012.

Reacting to a controversy over namaz on roads, All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli on Sunday said prayers should not be offered by causing inconvenience to anyone.

"Namaz is a prayer before Allah. It is not right to offer the prayer by causing inconvenience to anyone," Farangi Mahli told PTI.

However, he said namaz on roads was not a daily affair and seen only on Friday.

The body of a 19-year-old man, who had been missing for two days, was found in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, police said on Sunday.

Sachin went missing on Thursday and his body was found with bullet injuries in a field in Bhaju village on Saturday, they said.

The body was sent for post-mortem and the matter is being probed, police said

The Army Sunday paid floral tributes to Lance Naik Rajinder Singh who was killed as troops foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Machhil sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

“In a solemn ceremony at Badamibagh Cantonment, Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen K J S Dhillon and all ranks paid homage to the martyr on behalf of a proud nation. In a show of solidarity, representatives from other security agencies also joined in to pay their last respects to the martyr,” an Army spokesman said.

He said Singh was hit by a bullet in the gun fight while foiling an infiltration bid by militants and was provided immediate first aid and evacuated to 92 Base Hospital, but succumbed to the injuries.

A 64-year-old retired Army captain was beaten to death by unidentified assailants in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday night in Godiyan ka Purva village under Kamrauli Police Station limits, they said.

The retired Army personnel, Amanullah, and his wife were in their house when a group of people attacked them with sticks, his son told the police, ASP Dayaram said.

The attackers thrashed Amanullah across the head due to which he died on the spot, his son said in his statement. He said no family member other than his parents were in the house when the incident took place.

The BJP has called a meeting of its Jammu and Kashmir unit's core group on Tuesday to discuss the political atmosphere in the state and also the party's preparedness for assembly elections whenever they are held.

Sources said Union minister Jitendra Singh, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and state unit president Ravinder Raina and other senior leaders from the state will attend the meeting, to be chaired by its national working president JP Nadda.

Earlier, Madhav, who is the party's pointsman for Jammu and Kashmir, had urged the election commission to held polls in the state this year.

The state BJP has asserted that it is ready for elections anytime with its general secretary Narinder Singh saying that there is still enough time left for the Election Commission to hold polls in this year.

In 2014, the state polls were held in November-December, he said.

A part of a vacant four-storeyed building collapsed in the early hours of Sunday in Byculla area of south Mumbai, injuring a teenager, an official said.

Noor Mohammed Alishkar (17) was trapped in the debris when a portion of Nand Vilas building on Maulana Shaukat Ali Road, near JJ Hospital, caved in, the official said.

"He was rescued by the fire brigade. Alishkar is a daily wage labourer and was part of the team demolishing the building. He has been admitted in JJ Hospital. His condition is stable," the official added.

At least 13 people were killed by a massive landslide which hit a jade minde in Hpakant township, Myanmar's northernmost Kachin state on Sunday, a local official said.

The incident occurred as the cliff wall at a suspended jade mine near Kayin Chaung village in Hpakant collapsed, killing company staff and security personnel at 2 p.m. local time, the official from the township general administration department told Xinhua news agency.

So far, 13 bodies have been recovered and five are still missing, the department official added.

A woman and her son were killed on Sunday after their scooty rammed into a stationary tractor-trolley on the National Highway-2 here, police said.

The incident took place near the Imamganj crossing when Gabol Pandey (45) and her son Akshat Pandey (16) were going to Allahabad, a police officer said.

They died on the spot, police said.

A young man and a young woman were killed and two others were injured on Sunday when a car in which they were travelling hit an electric pole and railing at high speed in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar area, police said.

The accident occurred at 5.40 a.m. at Surya Nagar.

Police found a Honda City car in a damaged condition and the pole and railing uprooted from the road divider, Deputy Commissioner of Police Meghna Yadav said.

The car's four occupants were identified as Keshav, 21, a resident of Kamla Nagar, Prabhjot Singh, 18, from Malka Ganj, Arshpreet, 19, from Haryana's Sirsa, and Rubal, 20.

Several Dalits have staged a protest after some sanitation workers were allegedly not allowed to drink water from a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, police said on Sunday.

The workers were cleaning a drain outside the temple in Thana Bhawan town on Saturday. The priest refused to allow them to take water from a handpump inside the temple and closed the door, an officer said.

Several people belonging to the Valmiki caste staged a demonstration and demanded registration of an FIR against the priest. Police reached the spot and pacified the crowd by assuring an investigation, the officer said.

Bangladesh's ex-premier and opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia on Sunday filed a petition in the High Court seeking bail on medical grounds in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case in which she was jailed for seven years.

In the petition, Zia said she has was suffering from several diseases, including diabetes and dental problem, the Daily Star reported.

The 73-year-old three-time former prime minister also argued that since she has already served two-and-a-half years in jail in the case, she deserves the bail.

A high court bench of Justices Obaidul Hassan and SM Kuddus Zaman will hear her bail petition on Tuesday, the report said.

The Amarnath yatra from the three main base camps was suspended Sunday due to widespread intermittent rains in Jammu and Kashmir for the fourth successive day, with the weather department predicting snowfall in the cave area later in the day, officials said.

They said that any decision on resumption will be taken later in the day based on the weather condition.

However, nearly 1,000 pilgrims who had reached the cave shrine situated at an altitude of 3,880 metre in south Kashmir Himalayas were allowed to offer prayers in the morning, they said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday condoled the demise of veteran Congress leader and former Union minister Jaipal Reddy.

Banerjee described him as an experienced parliamentarian and a good communicator.

"Saddened at the passing away of Jaipal Reddy. His abilities as an experienced Parliamentarian, a Union Minister and a good communicator will be remembered by many.

Condolences to his family and admirers," Banerjee tweeted.

Reddy died at a hospital in Hyderabad in the early hours of Sunday.

Former J&K CM and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti warned about the implications of altering article 35A.

Three persons died and another was seriously injured in a collision between two trucks in Pilibhit district, police said on Sunday.

The accident occurred on Saturday night near Mala turn under Gajraula police station area. Sikander Shah, Bali Sher and Irjan died on the spot, inspector Naresh Chand Kashyap said.

The vehicles were badly damaged due to the impact of the collision and the injured has been hospitalised, the officer added.

Speaker Ramesh Kumar has disqualified 14 MLAS s (rebel Congress-JDS)

Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya has moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the confiscation of his properties by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Mallya escaped from India after defaulting on bank loans worth Rs 9,000 crore in India and is currently facing extradition proceedings in the United Kingdom.

His appeal is likely to be taken up for hearing by the top court on Monday.

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister S. Jaipal Reddy passed away in the early hours of Sunday in Hyderabad following a brief illness, his family said. He was 77.

Jaipal Reddy breathed his last around 1.30 a.m. at a private hospital in Hyderabad, where he was admitted recently and was diagnosed with pneumonia. He is survived by two sons and a daughter.

The last rites will be performed here on Monday. Congress leaders said the body will be kept at Raj Bhavan, the party headquarters, to enable party leaders and workers to pay their last respects.

His last rites are likely to be performed close to the PV Ghat, the Samadhi of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao near Hussain Sagar.