Raipur, Aug 26; PTI: A 24-year-old man has been awarded death sentence by a court in Chhattisgarh's Durg district for raping and murdering a five-year-old deaf and mute girl in 2015.

Special Judge, POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act), Shubhra Pachouri, pronounced Ram Sona, guilty on Friday and sentenced him to death, Durg's Additional Public Prosecutor Kamal Kishore Verma told PTI.

MOSCOW, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United States and its allies are planning to carry out new missile strikes on Syria on the pretext of a provocation that the Syrian government is behind a "chemical attack," the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's stance on the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue is consistent and clear, and China hopes all relevant parties adhere to the direction of political settlement, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Saturday.

Spokesperson Lu Kang made the comments when asked about recent remarks by the United States that China's attitude toward the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue has changed, which influenced the process of resolving the issue through negotiation between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

GUANGZHOU, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's independently-developed large amphibious aircraft, the AG600, has completed trial flights from a land take-off and entered a new test phase from the water.

The AG600, codenamed "Kunlong," successfully finished a trial flight from an airport in the city of Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, to an airport in Jingmen, a city in central China's Hubei Province, on Sunday, according to China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co. Ltd.

The company said that it marked the start of a new journey for AG600 -- a test phase on the water.

DONETSK, August 26. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military violated the ceasefire regime 2 times in 24 hours, shelling the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, according to Donetsk People's Republic’s Representative to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) Ruslan Yakubov.

According to him, "The total number of violations by the Ukrainian military reached 2 instances. The total number of ammunition used by the military is 3 pieces."

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s parliament voted Sunday to sack the finance minister, dealing another blow to President Hassan Rouhani as he faces mounting discontent over the economy.

Critics of the ousted finance minister, Masoud Karbasian, said the government had failed to do enough to shore up the economy as President Donald Trump began restoring sanctions after withdrawing the United States from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI) Flood-ravaged Kerala may have to wait a few months to get the complete financial aid package from the Centre as the process of assessing the extent of damage and fund release is time-consuming, officials said.

After the initial release of funds, the central government follows certain rules and guidelines before awarding the final aid to any state for a natural calamity, a Home Ministry official, privy to such circumstances, said.

By Pradipta Tapadar

Kolkata, Aug 26 (PTI) Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram has said that a formidable alliance of opposition parties can be stitched together to defeat the BJP and free India from the "reign of fear" in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Chidambaram, however, avoided directly answering a question on the leadership issue or who would be the prime ministerial candidate of the alliance, saying it is a premature question.

Mumbai, Aug 25; PTI: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which is investigating the recent seizure of explosives and arms in the state, has arrested one more person from Ghatkopar here, an official said today.

Avinash Pawar (30) was arrested last night and will be produced before a court today, the official added.

Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Aug 25 (PTI) A complaint was filed against Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a court here today seeking registration of a defamation case against him for allegedly tarnishing and lowering the image of the country.

The complaint was filed by advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Hari Prasad here, which fixed September 4 as the date for hearing the matter.

Islamabad, Aug 25; PTI: Pakistan wants to improve ties with India and resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmir through talks, and is not shy of engaging with New Delhi despite the current impasse in relations, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said.

"But it takes two to tango. You cannot clap with just one hand. We have a positive stance and will remain hopeful," said Qureshi, who was sworn-in as Pakistan's Foreign Minister on Monday.

ANKARA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for joint efforts to "combat attacks on Turkey's economy" amid its persistent row with the United States.

"The commitment and determination of Turks is the guarantee needed to combat attacks on Turkey's economy," Erdogan said in a statement released to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Manzikert in 1071.

The historic battle saw Seljuk Turks defeat a Byzantine army and open up Anatolia for Turkish domination.