India makes concerns known after China blocked UN move
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday and raised concerns about China's move to put a “technical hold” on India’s attempt in the United Nations to question Pakistan on the release of 2008 Mumbai attacks accused Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi. Foreign secretary S Jaishankar said the Chinese side was impressed with India's clarity on the issue during the 95-minute meeting in Ufa, Russia, ahead of the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summits. China had cited "insufficient information" for blocking India's request. Meanwhile, reports suggested that Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif will meet on Friday on the sidelines of the summit.High Court refuses CBI probe in Vyapam scam
After the Jabalpur High Court refused on Wednesday to order an investigation into the multi-crore Vyapam scam by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said his government would approach the Supreme Court with the same request. Chouhan told the media that he said he would be visiting the New Delhi home of Aaj Tak journalist Akshay Singh, who died while investigating the scam.
Kazakhstan and India sign defence, uranium deals
Kazakhstan and India signed five agreements as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The talks focused on boosting trade, energy, defence and security cooperation, according to reports. The five agreements were related to areas of defence, railways, sports and the transfer of sentenced prisoners.
CBI files case against Teesta Setalvad
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday registered a case against activist Teesta Setalvad and two non-governmental organisations run by her. Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand were both named in the First Information Report along with Gulam Mohammed Peshimam, a director at Sabrang Communications and Publishing, one of the organisations run by Setalvad. Officials have indicated that the case has been registered for alleged violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
Hema Malini criticised for tweets about accident
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Hema Malini on Wednesday faced criticism from the father of the two-year-old girl killed in a road accident involving the lawmaker’s car. The girl's father, Hanuman Khandelwal, lashed out against Malini after she claimed in a tweet that he had caused the accident by failing to follow traffic rules. The accident took place on July 2 when Khandelwal’s car collided with Malini’s on the Jaipur-Agra highway.
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