Indian Sub-continent

Mumbai, Aug 1 (PTI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday sought in-camera trial of the 2008 Malegaon blast case in which BJP MP Pragya Thakur is one of the accused.

In in-camera hearings, general public as well as the press are not allowed to be present.

The NIA filed an application before special judge V S Padalkar here, seeking in-camera proceedings. The judge posted the matter for hearing on Friday.

Mumbai, Aug 1 (PTI) In order to reach out to young voters, the Maharashtra Youth Congress on Thursday announced a 45-day `Wake up Maharashtra' campaign.

It is aiming to reach out to four to five crore youngsters in the state before the party comes out with a `youth manifesto' for coming Assembly elections.

New Delhi/Lucknow, Aug 1 (PTI) Faced with public outrage, the BJP on Thursday expelled its jailed Uttar Pradesh lawmaker Kuldeep Sengar, accused of raping a minor girl from Unnao two years ago and killing two members of her family, from the party.

UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh said in Lucknow that the party's central leadership has expelled him.

His statement earlier in the day that Sengar was suspended and not sacked from the party had created confusion over the MLA's fate.

Ballia (UP), Aug 2 (PTI) A man allegedly killed his father over a property dispute in Ekwari Mathiya village here, police said on Friday.

The incident took place around 10 pm on Thursday.

Subhsh Giri, who has been arrested, hit his father Nand Giri (65) with a stick and then with a stone, killing him, Superintendent of Police, Devendra Nath, said.

It is suspected that Subhsh Giri killed his father over a property dispute.The body has been sent for postmortem, police said.

Simdega (Jharkhand), Aug 2 (PTI) A local court has sentenced a juvenile to 20 years in prison in connection with gang-rape of a minor girl in Simdega district last year.

Additional District Judge, Niraj Kumar Srivastav on Thursday also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the 16-year-old boy, additional public prosecutor (APP) Subhas Prasad said here.

"Cases of heinous crime can be shifted to the district courts," Prasad said, adding that the boy will not be lodged in a prison as he is a minor but will be kept in a probation home till he attains the age 21.

New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) Opposition parties on Friday slammed the amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act which will empower government to declare individuals as terrorists, saying the new law was "draconian" and could be misused against anyone opposed to the ruling establishment.

Resuming the discussion in Rajya Sabha on the amendment, Elamaram Kareem (CPM) said the government was imposing "state terrorism" and dissenting individuals can be declared terrorist.

"This will lead to large-scale harassment and injustice," he said

Islamabad, Aug 1 (PTI) Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, who is on death row in Pakistan, will be granted consular access by Friday, Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said on Thursday.

Jadhav, 49, a retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "espionage and terrorism" in April 2017 following which India had moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ), seeking a stay on his death sentence and further remedies.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 1 (APP): Pakistan and Saudi Arabia Thursday, while reaffirming the closeness of the bilateral fraternal ties, reiterated their shared resolve to forge a stronger partnership, covering all aspects of the bilateral relations.

The bilateral ties were discussed as Prime Minister Imran Khan telephoned Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on Wednesday evening. The prime minister offered his sincere condolences on the sad demise of the crown prince’s uncle Prince Bandar Bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, a PM Office statement said.

ISLAMABAD, Aug 1 (APP): Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday expressed satisfaction on his successful visit to the US and acknowledged the vision of President Donald Trump regarding peace in the region as well as bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States.

01 August 2019; DW: Violent attacks in Afghanistan have continued despite ongoing peace talks between the Taliban and the US in Qatar. Is the international engagement with the Taliban actually emboldening Islamist militants?

At least 34 Afghan civilians lost their lives in a bomb attack on Wednesday. Most of the victims were women and children, according to Afghan authorities.