WASHINGTON, August 9. /TASS/. Washington has not provided any facts and evidence to prove Moscow’s involvement in the Skripal incident, the Russian embassy in the United States said in a statement.

"On August 8, 2018, our Deputy Chief of Mission was informed in the State Department of new "draconian" sanctions against Russia for far-fetched accusations of using the "Novichok" nerve agent against a UK citizen S.Skripal and his daughter by the "Russian Government". We grew accustomed to not hearing any facts or evidence," the statement reads.

Jalandhar (PB), Aug 8 (PTI) A Class 8 Dalit student attempted suicide in Punjab's Jalandhar after he was allegedly tricked into drinking urine by his classmates and his teacher slapped him for complaining about it, police said today.

The teacher, Shriki Sharma, has been booked yesterday for allegedly assaulting and using casteist slurs against the 12-year-old boy. The student is hospitalised with multiple fractures after he jumped from the roof of his house following the incident in a private school last Friday, a police officer said.

LOMBOK, Indonesia, Aug 9 (NNN-ANTARA) - The death toll from the Lombok earthquake has risen, dramatically, to 347.

Another Indonesian government agency, has put the figure at 381, a significant increase from the figure of 131, reported on Wednesday.

The number of the dead may still climb higher, as rescuers work to free people trapped in the rubble.

The deadly 6.9-magnitude earthquake, hit the Indonesian island on Sunday night, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless.

New Delhi, Aug 8 (PTI) The government has appointed Chartered Accountant Swaminathan Gurumurthy, who is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch, on the board of the Reserve Bank of India.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment as non-official director on the central board of the RBI for a period of four years, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

By Yoshita Singh

New York, Aug 8 (PTI) A US Navy veteran has been sentenced to three consecutive life sentences on hate crime charges for killing Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and wounding two others after he thought they were Iranians at a suburban Kansas City bar last year.

Adam Purinton of Olathe shot and killed Kuchibhotla, and wounded two others Indian national Alok Madasani and Kansas resident Ian Grillot at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas, in February 2017.

NAGASAKI, Japan, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a world free of nuclear weapons when meeting with representatives of atomic bombing victims here on Wednesday.

"When we see a lack of commitment to (nuclear) disarmament, to amplify the voice of the surviving victims becomes more and more important," Guterres told representatives of the atomic bombing victims.

He said that the UN would make joint efforts with these victims of atomic bombing to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.

Jabalpur (MP), Aug 8; PTI:  A labourer has been arrested for allegedly raping a 30-year-old woman in a moving train in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district, police said today.

The woman, a ragpicker, boarded the empty general compartment of the Vindhyachal Express from the Madan Mahal station in Jabalpur city on Monday evening. After the train left the station at around 8.40 pm, the victim fell asleep, following which the accused allegedly raped her, said Y Mishra, station in-charge, Government Railway Police (GRP), Jabalpur.

By Yoshita Singh

New York, Aug 8 (PTI) US President Donald Trump has nominated a prominent Indian-American law professor and legal expert to an agency on privacy and civil liberties.

Aditya Bamzai, a professor at University of Virginia's School of Law, has been nominated by Trump to be a member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board for the remainder of a six-year term expiring January, 29, 2020.

Islamabad, Aug 8 (PTI) Pakistan's deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif's sons Hassan and Hussain have been placed on the blacklist by the authorities, barring them from travelling on their Pakistani passports, media reports said today.

Sharif's sons, who live in London, were declared as absconders by a court after they failed to appear in any of the three corruption cases lodged against them along with their father after a Supreme Court decision in July 2017.

7 Aug 2018; DW: In the past few years, the media industry in India has expanded tremendously. But at the same time, corporate and political influences on journalists have also increased. Murali Krishnan reports from New Delhi.

BERLIN 7 Aug 2018; A German mother, identified as Berrin T, and her partner have been convicted for raping her son and selling him to paedophiles.

The Freiburg state court convicted the couple for a total of 40 counts of serious sexual abuse of children.  Couple were also convicted for of rape and human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

New Delhi, Aug 7; PTI:  The Supreme Court today expressed concern over incidents of rape in the country and said that women are being raped "left, right and centre".

A bench comprising Justices M B Lokur, Deepak Gupta and K M Joseph pulled up the Bihar government for funding an NGO which ran the shelter home in Muzaffarpur where girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused.

The bench referred to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data and said that  every six hours, a woman is raped in India.