New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) A key bill to provide constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes(NCBC) secured Parliament's approval today with the Rajya Sabha passing the measure that will give the panel full powers to safeguard the rights and interests of the Other Backward Classes(OBCs).

UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations continues to encourage support for all governments for the Iran nuclear deal, a UN spokesperson said Monday, after Washington vowed to re-impose sanctions on Iran lifted under the deal.

Farhan Haq, a UN spokesperson, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres continues to view the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear deal) as a diplomatic achievement and continues to encourage support for all governments for that, just as he did when these sanctions were being contemplated.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 7 (APP): Marking the 73rd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bomb attack on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the top United Nations disarmament official has voiced concern that after decades of momentum towards a nuclear-free world, “progress has stalled.”

BEIJING, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- A giant star, recently identified as the most lithium-rich star ever known, has been added to the list of distinguished discoveries of a telescope in Xinglong, in north China's Hebei Province.

The Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) began regular surveys in 2012. It has collected about 10 million spectra over six years and established the world's largest databank of stellar spectra.

Chicago, Aug 6 (AP) Police say weekend shootings in Chicago have left at least 11 people dead and about 70 wounded.

The violence peaked early yesterday, including one shooting on the city's South Side that injured eight people.

The Chicago Tribune reports that by comparison, at least seven people were killed and 32 were wounded during the long Memorial Day weekend, often one of the most violent weekends of the year.

MOSCOW, August 5. /TASS/. /TASS/. Bolivian President Evo Morales has accused the United States of plotting a military intervention against Venezuela and seeking support from Latin American leaders for these ends.

"Within the last 12 months, US Vice President Mike Pence made 3 trips to Latin America to meet at least 8 presidents from whom he demanded support for a military intervention against our brother president of Venezuela Nicol·s Maduro. Those are the Empire's coup attempts<" he wrote on his Twitter account.

MOSCOW, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Sunday started imposing additional import tariffs of 25-40 percent for a range of U.S. goods, according to the Russian government.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last month signed a government order setting the new tariffs, stipulating that it would become effective 30 days after its official publication on July 6.

PTI; Srinagar, Aug 5 :  Life in Kashmir today came to a standstill due to a complete shutdown called by separatists against the legal challenge in the Supreme Court on the validity of Article 35-A, which bars people from outside Jammu and Kashmir from acquiring any immovable property in the state.

The situation across the valley is peaceful with no untoward incident reported from anywhere so far, officials said.

Shops and business establishments were closed across the Valley while all kinds of transport remained off the roads due to the strike called.

TASS, August 5. First results of the probe into the attempt on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s life indicate that the United States and Colombia were behind it, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said on Sunday.

"The investigation indicates that [US state of] Florida and [Colombian capital city] Bogota were the places where the plot was conspired," the Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information (Minci) said on its Twitter account, citing Arreaza.

Mumbai, Aug 5 (PTI) Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray today lashed out at the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra, saying they were "fooling people".

Addressing members of MNS' civic unions, he said the governments were announcing schemes worth several "crores and crores of rupees" on a daily basis despite having no money to fill the existing vacancies in various government departments.

JINAN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- China on Sunday put into operation a prototype exascale computing machine, the next-generation supercomputer, according to the developers.

The Sunway exascale computer prototype was developed by the National Research Center of Parallel Computer Engineering and Technology (NRCPC), the National Supercomputing Center in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, and the Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao).

TEHRAN, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) confirmed on Sunday that it held a military drill in the Gulf this week with the aim of securing the strategic waterway and deterring potential threats posed by the enemies, state TV reported.

The exercise was conducted within the framework of the IRGC's annual exercises program, IRGC spokesman Ramezan Sharif was quoted as saying by Press TV.