Markets in Uttarakhand's Purola and neighbouring towns remained closed amid heavy police deployment on Thursday in protest against the imposition of prohibitory orders to prevent a 'mahapanchayat' that was scheduled to be held there over alleged incidents of 'love jihad'.

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the Karnataka high court judgment refusing to lift the ban on hijab in educational institutions of the state.

The Supreme Court said on Thursday it is not the 'interpreter' of the Holy Quran and it has been argued before it in the Karnataka hijab ban matter that courts are not equipped to interpret religious scriptures.

In 2017 the Bangladesh supreme court on his watch annulled the 16th amendment to the constitution which empowered parliament to impeach SC judges for misconduct or incapacity. As it upheld the independence of the judiciary, it miffed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who accused Justice Sinha of 'humiliating' the country. He was accused of corruption and misuse of power, allegations that he denied. Prakash Bhandari reports.

The government's focus is on urban areas, so rural areas are neglected and the COVID situation in Bihar's villages -- neither the positive cases nor the deaths -- are reported, notes M I Khan.

'... That they should emerge as role-models to be emulated by the fellow countrymen; and that the middle classes should not stick only to hate-filled and scornful criticism and condemnation against the state of affairs,' remembers Mohammad Sajjad.

Taking exception to Health Minister Harsh Vardhan not mentioning the death of healthcare workers due to Covid-19 in his statement in Parliament, the Indian Medical Association has published a list of 382 doctors who died due to the viral disease and demanded that they be treated as "martyrs".

Maharashtra has reported 31 positive cases, Kerala 19, Uttar Pradesh 11, Delhi and Karnataka six each, Ladakh three, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Telangana two each; and Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab one case each. The total number of confirmed cases also includes 17 foreigners -- 16 Italian tourists and a Canadian, it said.

'For Muslims, India is now a Hindu Rashtra, no matter what kind of Constitution is still in place,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.

Nirahua, a Bhojpuri star and the BJP's candidate, is drawing huge crowds in his road shows and meetings after he entered the poll fray against Yadav, but voters with caste and local equations appear favourable for the senior Yadav.

Taking note of a Hindu outfit's assertion that a large number of people will be converted on December 25, district authorities on Friday issued a warning to those trying to disturb communal amity while asking citizens not to get provoked.

"They call me the Class 10 vice-chancellor," he says as his thin lips flirt with a smile. You almost feel that the tall man of spare build is being facetious. And then you see that his deep set eyes are not twinkling. There is a sense of the combative in them.

A Delhi court on Tuesday extended till September 17 the National Investigation Agency custody of Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his close associate Asadullah Akhtar after the agency claimed they were involved in a deep rooted conspiracy and had executed various blasts in India.

Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his close associate Asadullah Akhtar were on Friday remanded to 12-day police custody by a Delhi court after the National Investigation Agency said their custodial interrogation was required to unearth larger conspiracy of terror attacks.

The law and order situation in the capital cities of Pakistan's Sindh and Balochistan provinces continued to deteriorate today with nine people killed and several injured in both cities.

A motley group of Indian entrepreneurs, an economics professor and a leading Indian Muslim leader and industrialist are among more than 250 from nearly 60 countries, who have descended on Washington, DC on the invitation of the White House to attend the two-day Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship hosted by President Barack Obama beginning today.