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Tamil actor Rajinikanth launches website and an app to enrol members for his party.

California legalises recreational marijuana.

A controversial German law combating online hate speech which requires social media giants to remove illegal content or risk fines of up to €50 million ($ 57 million) comes into force.

Jan. 1

A youth, Rahul Phatangale, is killed and many injured in clashes after violence breaks out during the bicentenary celebrations of the 1818 Bhima-Koregaon battle at Koregaon in Pune, Maharashtra.

The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley outlines in the Lok Sabha the basic contours of the electoral bonds scheme.

The Delhi High Court stays the three-year jail term awarded to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda in a coal scam case.

Salil Parekh takes over as Infosys CEO.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India issues guidelines making label mandatory for food certified as ‘organic’.

Israel’s Parliament passes new legislation requiring a super-majority to cede control over any part of Jerusalem.

Uganda makes public a law signed by President Yoweri Museveni on December 27, 2017 to remove age limit of 75 years for presidential candidates.

Radha Viswanathan, 83, Carnatic singer and step daughter of M.S. Subbulakshmi, in Bengaluru.

Jan. 2

Normal life is hit in several parts of Maharashtra following a bandh called by two organisations belonging to the Maratha and the Dalit communities.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gives nod for the ₹5,369 crore Jal Marg Vikas Project for development of fairway on National Waterway-1. The ₹6,809 crore Zojila tunnel project that will come up at an altitude of 11,578 feet, in Jammu and Kashmir is cleared.

The government notifies the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017.

The Lok Sabha passes amendements to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (1958).

North Korea reopens a long-closed border hotline at the truce village of Panmunjom.

World stocks hit fresh highs and Asian markets scale new peaks, including a record high for Philippine stocks.

Ambalavaner Sivanandan, 94, Sri Lanka-born British writer, best known for his political essays, in London.

Jan. 3

The Delhi High Court commutes the death penalty awarded to two convicts in the 2009 Jigisha Ghosh murder case to life imprisonment.

A Delhi court declares businessman Vijay Mallya a proclaimed offender in a FERA violation case of 1995.

Transport corporation staff go on a flash strike leaving thousands stranded across Tamil Nadu.

The Rajasthan government introduces vendor licencing for the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products within the boundaries of urban local bodies across the state.

The U.S. suspends most of its security assistance to Pakistan.

Jan. 4

The official emblem of West Bengal is unveiled by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the State Secretariat Nabanna in Kolkata.

Tamil Nadu emerges as the leader in the country in terms of Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education as per the All India Survey on Higher Education report.

Sensex gains 184.21 points to close at a new high of 34,153.85.

The Unique Identification Authority of India, files an FIR against Rachna Khaira, a journalist of The Tribune for exposing a breach in its Aadhaar database in a report published on January 3 in the newspaper.

Japan’s Nikkei extends gain, probing 26-year highs.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army fighters ambush a Myanmar military truck injuring many security personnel.

John Young, 87, legendary U.S. astronaut, who walked on the moon in 1972 and the only person to fly in three NASA space programmes, at his home in Houston, Texas, of pneumonia.

Jan. 5

RJD chief Lalu Prasad is awarded three-and-a-half years jail term and fined ₹5 lakh in a fodder scam case by the special CBI Court in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Thirtytwo crew members of Sanchi, an Iranian oil tanker laden with 1,36,000 tonnes of light crude oil go missing after it collides with CF Crystal, a Chinese bulk ship off the coast near Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze River Delta and spews cargo into the East China Sea.

Iran bans the teaching of English in primary schools.

Baldev Raj, 71, director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, while attending a conference in Pune.

Jan. 6

Five power-lifters are killed and another injured in a car crash in the Alipur area on the Delhi-Haryana border.

Sahitya Akademi awardee Indira Parthasarathy is given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the inaugural The Hindu Lit for Life-Tamil awards in Chennai. Writer Imayam bags the Jayakanthan prize for contemporary literature.

Saudi Arabia gives nod to India’s plan to ferry devotees to Jeddah for Haj via the sea route, 23 years after the practice was stopped.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel begins coalition talks with the Social Democrats on reviving the ‘grand coalition’ that has governed the nation since 2013.

Crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri bags four trophies at the 75th Golden Globes Awards in Los Angeles. Oprah Winfrey gets the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award. Indian-origin star Aziz Ansari becomes the first man of Asian origin to bag the best actor in a TV series at the event for role in Master of None.

SpaceX launches a secretive U.S. government payload known as Zuma from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on board a Falcon 9 rocket which later returns to Earth.

Jan. 7

Societal morality changes with time, says the Supreme Court and refers to a larger Bench a writ petition seeking quashing of Section 377 IPC that criminalises homosexuality.

India unveils Pratyush its fastest supercomputer dedicated to weather and climate research that can deliver a peak power of 6.8 petaflops, at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune.

The Supreme Court stays a Karnataka High Court order reducing pictorial warning size from 85% to 40% on packages of tobacco products.

British Prime Minister Theresa May names Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis new chief of the ruling Conservatives in a Cabinet reshuffle. Indian-origin MPs Rishi Sunak and Alok Sharma are made Ministers.

An Italian appeals court in Milan acquits Giuseppe Orsi, former president of Finmeccanica and Bruna Spagnolini, former CEO of the firm’s helicopters subsidiary AgustaWestland of bribery charges in the ₹3,600-crore deal to sell 12 choppers to India.

Jan. 8

The Supreme Court modifies its November 30, 2016, interim order and makes it optional for cinema halls to play the national anthem before every show.

An “irreversible change” is sweeping India, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after inaugurating the First PIO Parliamentarian Conference in New Delhi, and urges the leaders to come forward to join hands.

Sensex closes at a fresh life high of 34,443.19.

North and South Koreas agree on negotiations to resolve problems after their first official dialogue at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone.

Same-sex couples go on a wedding spree in Australia.

A team from Duke University in North Carolina, U.S., announces that it has grown working human cells from stem cells in the lab.

Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, orders the administration to restart the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, that shields yong immigrants in the country illegally from deportation.

The body of Zainab Fatima Ameen, a six-year-old child kidnapped while on her way to a Quran recital six days ago, is found in a garbage heap in Kasur in Pakistan’s Punjab province bearing signs of sexual abuse, triggering massive protests.

Jan. 9

The Centre allows overseas airlines to own up to 49% of Air India under the approval route and permits 100% FDI in single brand retail and construction development under the automatic route.

The UIDAI rolls out a two-tier security process, including the concept of a virtual ID, that will take effect from June 1.

The Supreme Court decides to set up its own three-member SIT to probe 186 anti-Sikh riot cases registered in the wake of the 1984 riots.

The Supreme Court Collegium recommends the name of woman lawyer Indu Malhotra for direct elevation from the Bar as a judge of the apex court.

The SEBI issues an order, barring auditing major, Price Waterhouse from auditing any Indian-listed company for two years, as a fallout of the accounting fraud at the then Satyam Computer Services that came to light in January 2009.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos suspends peace talks with the National Liberation Army rebels following guerrilla attacks.

The federal grand jury in Utah indicts a Bangladesh immigrant Akayed Ullah on terrorism charge for the botched bombing near the Port authority bus terminal in New York on December 11, 2017.

Jan. 10

The Supreme Court directs the Centre, Tamil Nadu and Kerala to set up special panels to prepare disaster management plans for Mullaperiyar dam.

The transport strike in Tamil Nadu comes to an end after eight days after the appointment of E. Padmanabhan, A former judge of the Madras High Court as an arbitrator to adjudicate on wage revision.

The Tamil Nadu Government decides to revert to direct elections for the posts of Mayors of Corporations and Chairpersons of Municipalities.

The Supreme Court appoints former Delhi High Court Judge Justice S.N. Dhingra to head its SIT on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Vikas Barala, son of Harayana BJP chief Subhash Barala, is granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the August 4, 2017 Chandigarh stalking case involving Varnika Kundu, a DJ.

The U.S. House of Representatives votes to extend by six years the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program.

Ecuador grants citizenship to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holed up in the country’s London embassy for over five years.

A bipartisan deal to resolve the immigration issue in return for changes demanded by Republicans in the way visas are allocated collapses after U.S. President Donald Trump’s vulgar disparagement of African countries and Haiti.

Jan. 11

Four senior judges of the Supreme Court publicly accuse the CJI Dipak Misra of selectively assigning cases to judges of his choice without any rational basis, at a press conference in New Delhi.

ISRO workhorse PSLV-C40 puts in space the Cartosat 2 series satellite and 30 others originating from seven countries and places them in two orbits after liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The payload includes a microsatellite and a nano-satellite, Indian Nano Satellite-1C, called technology demonstrators.

The first edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha 2018 is inaugurated in Thiruvananthapuram by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who moots a crowdfunding exercise to attract investments from Malayalis abroad.

The Tamil Nadu Government passes an order declaring nearly 23,000 hectares in Singampatti forest block in Ambasamudram taluk of Tirunelveli district as reserve forest and it will take effect on and from September 19,2018.

U.S. President Donald Trump gives the Iran nuclear deal a final reprieve. The Treasury Department announces new targeted sanctions against 14 entities and people.

Jan. 12

Wesley Mathews, the Indian-American foster father of Sherin Mathews, a three-year-old Indian girl whose body was found near their Dallas home in October 2017, is indicted for capital murder and her mother Shini Mathews on charges of abandonment by a grand jury in Dallas County, Texas.

Jan. 13

A California couple David Allen Turpin and Louise Ann Turpin, are arrested by the police in the small city of Perris, Los Angeles, after being accused of keeping captive and nearly starving their 13 children.

Raghunath Jha, 78, senior RJD leader and former Union Minister, in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi.

Jan. 14

Seven Pakistani soldiers are killed after the Army opens fire along the Line of Control in Jandrot, Kotli sector in Jammu and Kashmir, in retaliation to ceasefire violations in the Mendhar sector.

Deepak Unnikrishnan, a teacher at New York University, Abu Dhabi, is presented The Hindu Prize, 2017 for his novel Temporary People by British novelist Sebastian Faulks. Tamil writer and playwright Indira Parthasarathy receives The Hindu Tamil Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Army prevents a “suicide mission” by the Jaish-e-Mohammed by killing at least five boat-borne militants near the Jhelum on the LoC in the Dulanja area of the Uri sector in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir.

Israel proposes to access India’s “Big data” to “revolutionise” farm production and the two sides conclude four agreements.

Sensex touches a new high of 34,843.51 and the Nifty closes at a record high of 10,741.55.

At least 38 people are killed and more than 100 wounded as two suicide bombings rock Tayran Square in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

Fighting between two militants in Libyan capital Tripoli leaves 20 dead and 63 wounded and forces closure of the Matiga airport.

The Communist Party of China names President Xi Jinping as the lingxiu, a status bestowed only on iconic leaders Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.

Gnani, 64, journalist, theatre personality and literary critic, in Chennai, following a cardiac arrest.

Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan, 46, Irish musician and Cranberries lead singer, in a London hotel, while on a recording trip.

Jan. 15

Three spectators are gored to death and 116 injured by raging bulls at Siravayal in Sivaganga and Palakurichi in Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu during manju virattu (bull race) and Jallikattu. The Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami inaugurates the jallikattu in Alanganallur, Madurai.

Moshe Holtzberg, 11, who lost his parents in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks visits the Chabad House, or Nariman House in Mimbai where Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg were killed.

The Central Government announces the withdrawal of Haj subsidy.

Bangladesh and Myanmar sign a deal to repatriate 650,000 Rohingya refugees, who fled Myanmar’s Rakhine province, in two years, at the first meeting of a joint working group on the issue in Naypyidaw.

More than 5,000 children killed or hurt in Yemen war, says the UNICEF unveiling a report in Sana’a.

Oliver Ivanovic, a prominent Kosovo Serb politician is shot dead outside his citizens’ Initiative Party offices in the Serb-run north of Mitrovica.

Jan. 16

Sensex closes above the 35,000-mark for the first time ever spurred by surge in banking stocks.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, unveils a public cloud policy, which intends to make available government data to the public, at the Maharastra Technology Summit in Mumbai. Cabinet gives nod for the State Innovation and Start-up Policy.

North Korea and South Korea decide to compete as a united team in the Olympics for the first time.

The British Government appoints Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, its first ever Minister for Loneliness.

Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong is jailed for three months for his role in the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

Former Governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, Arjuna Mahendran, is accused of insider trading by a presidential report into a high-profile bond scandal.

Jan. 17

The Assembly elections in Tripura will to held on February 18. Nagaland and Meghalaya to go to the polls on February 27.

Agni-V, the most advanced version of the indigenously-built long-range surface to-surface ballistic missile is successfully test-fired from the Dr. Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha and covers 4,900 km in 19 minutes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with Moshe Holtzberg who was orplaned in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, unveils a living memorial at Nariman House in Colaba, Mumbai.

The GST Council reduces the rates on 29 goods and 53 categories of services.

Eight persons are killed as ferocious gales batter Germany and trains on intercity lines suspended. Insurers estimate the loss at €500 million ($614 million). The Netherlands reports €90 million loss.

The U.S. House of Representatives passes a Bill 230-197 to extend funding through February 16.

K. Kashinath, 67, Kannada actor-director, in Bengaluru, after a brief illness.

Jan. 18

The Election Commission recommends to the President the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs in Delhi for holding offices of profit after being appointed. Parliamentary Secretaries in March 2015.

India joins as the 43rd participant in the Australia Group, which aims to prevent proliferation of biological and chemical weapons.

The TRAI suggests allowing in-flight connectivity in Indian airspace.

The Supreme Court upholds the Tamil Nadu government order declaring 23,000 hectares in the Kalakadu Mundathurai Tiger Reserve in Tirunelveli, including Manjolai estate as Forest Reserve.

The 770-day stir by a Kerala Youth, Sreejith, in front of the State Secretariat since May 22, 2015 bears fruit as the CBI takes over probe into the alleged custodial death on May 21, 2014 of his brother Sreejeev.

The Centre begins work on the country’s first-ever “liveability index” to rank 116 cities.

Reliance Industries becomes the first Indian company to cross the ₹6-lakh crore mark in market capitalisation. HDFC Bank becomes the first bank to cross market capitalisation of ₹5 lakh crore.

Mercedes-Benz India unveils India’s first-ever BS VI-compliant vehicles – S Class 350d and Mercedes-Maybach S560 at a function in Mumbai.

Jan. 19

At least 17 people are killed in a fire mishap at a plastic factory in outer Delhi’s Bawana industrial area.

Ritu Chhabra, Principal of Swami Vivekanand Public School in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana, is shot dead by a Class XII student

Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, launches the official anthem of Bharat Ke Veer, an initiative to help the kin of paramilitary personnel killed in the line of duty, at a function in New Delhi.

K. Ranjith, a bull tamer, dies in and 21 others injured at a jallikattu held near Manapparai in Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu.

The Delhi police arrests Abdul Subhan Qureshi, alleged co-founder of the Indian Mujahideen and operative of the Students Islamic Movement of India and suspected mastermind of 2008 Gujarat serial blasts, who was on the run for the past 10 years, from near the Paper Market at Ghazipur in east Delhi.

Kerala Governor, P. Sathasivam, presents the Nishagandhi Puraskaram 2018 to renowned Bharatanatyam dancers V.P. Dhananjayan and Shanta Dhananjayan after inaugurating the Nishagandhi Dance Festival in Thiruvananthapuram.

The U.S. Government shuts down after the impasse over immigration and border security stalls a funding Bill in the Senate, a day earlier.

Jan. 20

The Union Law Ministry appoints Om Prakash Rawat as the next Chief Election Commissioner. Former Finance Secretary, Ashok Lavasa, is named Election Commissioner.

President Ram Nath Kovind accepts the EC recommendation to disqualify 20 AAP MLAs for holding offices of profit.

At least 22 people are killed and 10 wounded after six Taliban gunmen attack the International Hotel in Afghanistan capital Kabul. The attackers are killed after holding out for 13 hours.

Germany’s Social Democrats Party votes to begin formal coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Conservatives.

Turkey’s ground troops enter Syria, after launching operation “Olive Branch” a day earlier to oust Kurdish People’s Protection Units militia from its Afrin enclave in northern Syria.

Khagen Das, 81, CPI (M) veteran and chairman of the Left Front Committee of Tripura, in Kolkata.

Jan. 21

The Supreme Court transfers to itself two public interest litigation petitions on the death on December 1, 2014 of Justice B.H. Loya, who was probing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, pending before the Bombay High Court.

Congress votes to reopen the U.S. Government as Democrats drop objections to a temporary funding bill after reassurances over immigration of “Dreamers”, brought to the country as children and now there illegally.

A.E. Manoharan, 73, pop singer and actor popularly known as ‘Ceylon Manohar,’ in Chennai due to kidney ailments.

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin, 88, U.S. science fiction and fantasy author, bet remembered for the Earthsea series, at her home in Portland, Oregon.

Jan. 22

A candlelight march by Karni Sena activists in protest against Padmaavat release turns violent in Ahmedabad, and three dozen vehicles are torched and theatres, multiplexes and two malls vandalized in Memnagar and SG Highway.

Sensex gains 341.97 points to close at 36,139.98. It has notched 2,000 points in less than a month’s time.

At least 43 Ankora-backed Syrian rebels, 38 Kurdish fighters and 28 civilians, besides two turkish soldiers are killed in four days of fighting in Afrin, Syria.

Pakistan arrests Imran Ali, a serial killer, and key suspect accused of raping and murdering Zainab Fatima Ameen in Kasur, Punjab.

Protectionism as dangerous as terrorism, says Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland.

Hugh Masekela, 78, “the father of South African jazz” and legendary trumpeter, who used his music in the fight against apartheid, in Johannesburg, of prostate cancer.

Nicanor Parra, 103, Chilean physicist and self-described “anti-poet,” at his home in La Cruces in La Reina, Santiago.

Jan. 23

The Government announces the details of the ₹2.1 lakh crore recapitalisation plan for public sector banks launched in October 2017.

A special CBI Court in Ranchi awards a five-year jail term and a fine of ₹10 lakh to RJD chief, Lalu Prasad Yadav in the third fodder scam case. Former Chief Minister, Jagannath Mishra and 48 others also convicted.

The Multiplex Association of India decides not to screen Padmaavat following violent protests in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Miscreants stone a school bus in Gurugram, Haryana and torch a Haryana Roadways bus. The Jaipur-Delhi National Highway blocked at several places.

The first flight trials of the new version of the Indigenous civilian plane, Saras PT1N (Prototype 1 New) is held successfully at the HAL Airport, Bengaluru, nearly eight yars after the March 6, 2009 Prototype 2 crash at Bidadi that left three dead.

The CBI formally opens probe into the 2014 “custodial death” of Kerala youth Sreejeev.

An appeals court unanimously upholds the corruption conviction of Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, condemning him to 12 years in prison.

At least three people are killed and 20 wounded in an attack by Islamic State gunmen on an office of Save then Children aid agency in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

Disgraced long-time U.S. gymnastics national team doctor and an osteopathic physician at Michigan State University, Larry Nassar is sentenced to 175 years in prison for molesting at least 150 underage girls and young women gymnasts over two decades, by a Michigan Court.

Sri Lankan Parliament passes a set of amendments to the Foreign Fishing Boats Regulation Act of 1979 to levy stiffer fines for poaching in its territorial waters.

T. Krishna Kumari, 84, yesteryear actor and sister of actor ‘Sowcar’ Janaki, at her Bengaluru residence.

Jan. 24

Security and freedom of navigation will be at the heart of India-ASEAN cooperation in the 21st century, says Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit in New Delhi. Delhi Declaration issued after the plenary session supports a common approach to counter terrorism.

Music composer Ilaiyaraaja, Indian classical musician Ghulam Mustafa Khan, U.S. academic Ved Prakash Nanda and P. Parameswaran, a senior RSS ideologue from Kerala are chosen for Padma Bhushan award.

Former Russian Ambassador Alexander Kadakin (posthumous), cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, actor Manoj Joshi, billiards champion Pankaj Advani, historian R. Nagaswamy, painter Laxman Pai among Padma Bhushan awardees.

Tennis player Somdev Devvarman, badminton player Kidambi Srikanth, weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, Gond artist Bhajju Shyam nonagenarian yoga teacher, V. Nanammal from Coimbatore, ‘Plastic Man of India’, R. Vasudevan,, Romulus whitaker, founder of the Madras Sake Park, Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan, an acalaimed Tamil folk artist prominent among 73 Padma Shri recipients.

Karnataka bandh seeking resolution of the row with Goa over sharing of the Mahadayi river waters hits normal life.

Jan. 25

The leaders of 10 ASEAN countries are hosted by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi as chief guests, at the parade marking 25 years of the ASEAN-India Dialogue Partnership, as India celebrates its 69th Republic Day in New Delhi. In a first, an all-women’s bikers congingent of the BSF rides down the Rajpath with 106 riders on 26 motorcycles performing stunts.

One person is killed and three others injured in a communal clash in Kasganj city in Uttar Pradesh.

The U.S. will “no longer turn a blind eye” to unfair trade policies, says Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland. Declares the U.S. “open for business”.

At least 38 people are killed and more than 150 injured in a blaze at the six-storey Sejong Hospital in the South Korean city of Miryang.

Supriya Devi, 85, veteran Bengali actor, best known for her portrayal of Neeta in Ritwik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara, of a heart attack, in Kolkata.

Jan. 26

Rajesh Maru, a resident of a chawl at Chinchpokli, Mumbai dies after getting sucked into an MRI machine at the BYL Nair Hospital in Agripada located between Byculla and Mumbai Central.

Two students are killed and six others injured after the Army opens fire on stone-pelters in Ganowpora village at Shopian in the Kashmir Valley.

At least 103 people are killed and 235 wounded after an explosives-packed ambulance is blown up by Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network in the Afghanistan capital Kabul.

Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in detention since November 2017 in Riyadh is released.

Honduran President, Juan Orlando Hernandez is sworn in for a second term.

Pro-Russian incumbent Milos Zeman is elected to a second term as Czech President after winning a runoff vote.

Ingvar Kamprad, 91, founder of Swedish furniture major, Ikea, at his home in Smaland, Almhult, Sweden, following a brief illness.

Addison Morton “Mort Walker”, 94, American comic strip artist , best known for creating newspaper comic strips Beetle Bailey in 1950 and Hi and Lois, in 1954, from complications of pneumonia at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.

Jan. 27

An eight-month-old baby girl is raped by her cousin brother at her home in northwest Delhi’s Shakurbasti locality.

Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, is arrested after he appears at a rally in Tverskaya Street, Moscow’s main thoroughfare, to urge voters to boycott the March 18 presidential polls.

Yemen accuses UAE-backed southern separatists of an attempted coup after they take over the government headquarters in Aden following clashes.

American singer-songwriter, Peter Gene Hernandez, known professionally as Bruno Mars, sweeps the 60th Annual Grammy Awards held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, winning six of them, including the ‘Album of the Year’ and the ‘Record of the Year’ for 24K Magic. Kendrick Lamar bags five awards, including the ‘Best Rap Album’ for Damn.

Dharmasena Pathiraja, 74, renowned Sri Lankan filmmaker, in Kandy.

Jan. 28

At least 43 people are killed after a bus falls into a deep canal breaking the railing of a bridge in Daulatabad area, near the Domkal subdivision in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district.

An average 63.76% polling is recorded in the bypolls to the Ajmer and Alwar Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan. In the Mandalgarh Assembly bypoll, 76.57% of the electorate cast their votes.

In the bypolls to the Uluberia Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal’s Howrah district, 76% polling is registered. Over 75.4% voting is recorded in bypolls to the Noapara Assembly seat in North 24 Parganas.

At least 11 Afghan soldiers are killed and 16 injured as two gunmen and two suicide bombers try to breach an army battalion near the Marshal Fahim Academy in Kabul.

Heinz Jakob “Coco” Schumann, 93, German jazz musician and Holocaust survivor in Berlin.

Jan. 29

SBI chairman, Rajnish Kumar, unveils the Farmcart and Dealer Bandhu apps, conveived by a Mumbai-based start-up Poorti Agri Services, for farmers, at a function in Kolkata.

Veteran Bengali actor, Soumitra Chatterjee, is presented with Chevalier de la Legion d’’honneur or the Knight of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest civilian award, at a function in Kolkata.

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra recommends the impeachment of Justice Shri Narayan Shukla, the eighth senior-most judge of the Allahabad High Court, following an adverse report about him by an in-house panel set up by the CJI.

Kenyan Opposition leader Raila Odinga takes oath as President of the People’s Assembly, at a park in Nairobi.

U.S. President, Donald Trump, calls for unity, repeats his long-standing promises to rebuild infrastructure and overhaul the country’s immigration system, in his first State of the Union address to the Congress at the Capital, in Washington.

A final sentencing hearing against former U.S. gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar begins in Chicago and the number of identified sexual abuse victims goes up to 265.

Jan. 30

The Navy’s third state-of-the-art Scorpene class submarine, INS Karanj is launched at a function in Mumbai.

Kerala youth, Sreejith, ends his 782-day stir in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram after the CBI records his statement on the alleged custodial death of his brother Sreejeev on May 21, 2014.

People throng planetariums across the counrtry to witness the rare phenomenon of a super moon, a blue moon and an eclipse.

Jan. 31

Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, presents the 2018-19 Union Budget serving up a mix of populism and prudence. The main features being Ayushman Bharat, the National Health Protection Scheme, “the world’s largest government funded health care programme that will benefit 10 crore households for which a provisional al of ₹2,000 crore has been made and ₹1,200 crore committed to health and wellness centres, and a dedicated ‘Affordable Housing Fund`. Announces a capital expenditure of ₹1,48,528 crore for the Railways and proposes to double expenditure on the flagship Digital India programme to ₹3,073 crore for the fiscal year 2019. Reintroduces the long-term capital gains tax, and standard deduction stages a comeback.

The Congress wins the bypolls to Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha seats and Mandalgarh Assembly seat in Rajasthan. In West Bengal, TMC makes a clean sweep, bagging both the Uluberia Lok Sabha seat and Noapara Assembly seat.

Sensex slips into red zone, following the reintroduction of the LTCG tax and ends at 35,906.66. Farm sector shares gain ground following more to raise credit to ₹11 lakh crore for 2018-19, apart from a higher MSP for crops.

NCP leader A.K. Saseendran is sworn in as a Minister in the Kerala Cabinet after being cleared by CJM, Thiruvananthapuram, of sexual misconduct charge, which forced him to quit on March 26, 2017.

Polish Senate approves a bill making it illegal to accuse the nation of complicity in the Nazi Holocaust.

Fidel Angel Castro Diaz-Balart, 68, the eldest son of the late Cuban President, Fidel Castro, and a nuclear physicist commits suicide, in Havana.

Feb. 1

Sensex plummets by over 800 points to close at 35,066.75, registering the sharpest single-day fall in nearly 15 months.

The CBI files an appeal in the Supreme Court against the quashing of charges against the accused in the ₹64 crore Bofors payoffs case following the Delhi High Court decision of May 31, 2005 to end all proceedings.

The U.S. House Intelligence Committee makes public a secret memo that levels accusations of bias against the FBI and the Justice Department in the early stages of the Russia investigation.

Atleast 90 people are reported to have drowned after a boat capsizes off the coast of Zuwara near Libya’s border with Tunisia.

The Maldives Supreme Court nullifies the convictions of exiled former President, Mohamed Nasheed and eight others, terming their trials “questionable and politically motivated”. Orders reinstatement of 12 parliamentarians expelled for defection.

Two Russian astronauts aboard the ISS, Alexander Misurkin and Anton Shkaplerov, set a new record with a spacewalk lasting eight hours and 13 minutes.

Dow Jones sheds 666 points, its worst single-day fall in almost 20 months following inflationary concerns in the U.S.

Feb. 2

Veteran filmmaker Shyam Benegal is conferred with the V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award at the valedictory of the Mumbai International Film Festival 2018.

U.S. officials raid 77 California businesses in a crackdown on the ‘sanctuary State’.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches the world’s smallest rocket, measuring 10 metres in height and 53 cm in diameter, with the ability to put a micro-satellite into orbit from the Uchinoura Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.

A Russian pilot is killed in fighting with Islamists after his warplane is shot down above Saraqib in Idlib provine, Syria. Seven Turkish soldiers are killed during an assault on the enclave of Afrin.

Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, bags the Best Director Feature Film Award at the 70th Directors Guild of America Awards held at Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, California.

Feb. 3

Four Army personnel are killed in firing by Pakistan troops along the LoC in the Poonch and Rajouri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir.

Israel’s Cabinet votes to formally authorise the Havat Gilad outpost, a rogue West Bank settlement.

Maldivian soldiers shut down Parliament building and arrest two MPs.

Feb. 4

Two adults are free to marry and “no third party” has a right to harass or cause harm to them, say Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, speaking against honour killings.

The Supreme Court stays a Madras High Court order passed on January 19 confirming a single judge’s order delivered on November 29, 2017 to freeze sand quarrying in Tamil Nadu within six months, besides a ban on opening new quarries.

The CBI files chargesheet against a teenager for the September 8, 2017 killing of a Class II student at a Gurugram school. Gives a clean chit to bus conductor Ashok Kumar.

Sensex loses 546 points to close at 34,757.16

The Maldives Government declares a state of emergency for 15 days. Troops arrest the Chief Justice and a judge after storming the Supreme Court premises. Hours later, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is arrested.

Samsung Group heir, Jay Y. Lee in detention since February 2017, is freed after a panel of judges suspends for four years the Seoul High Court order, that reduced his term of five years to two-and-a-half years in jail.

Wall Street’s Dow Jones and S&P benchmarks slump by 4.6 and 4.1, their biggest drops since August 2011. More than $1 trillion is wiped from U.S. equities.

The House Intelligence Committee votes to make public a classified Democratic memorandum rebutting Republican claims that the FBI and the Justice Department abused their powers to wiretap Carter Page, a former campaign official of Donald Trump in October 2016.

The Business and Property Courts of the High Court in London awards Singapore-based BOC Aviation an estimated $90 million in claims in a case related to the leasing of aircraft by the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines in 2014.

Feb. 5

Mohammed Naveed Jutt alias Abu Hunzala, a LeT militant escapes after his associates open fire on his escorts when he was brought to a Srinagar hospital, resulting in the death of two policemen.

Sensex falls for the sixth straight session losing 561.22 points, to close at 34,195.94, with 29 of the 30 stocks in the pack ending the day in the red.

Poland’s President, Andrzej Duda, signs into law a controversial Holocaust Bill.

The Westminster Magistrates Court, rejects an attempt by WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to have an arrest warrant quashed, dashing his hopes of an exit from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.

The order to free nine political prisoners, including former Maldives President, Mohamed Nasheed, is annulled by three of the five Supreme Court Justices.

SpaceX successfully test-launches Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful commercial rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. Tesla Roadster, an electric car, with Starman, a mannequin on board, is sent into space.

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake rocks Taiwan leaving 15 people dead and 250 others injured. At least 67 remain untraced. Hualien city badly hit.

Madavoor Vasudevan Nair, 89, Kathakali maestro, while on stage during a performance at the Agasthyacodu Mahadeva Temple in Anchal near Kollam, Kerala.

Feb. 6

The Supreme Court cancels 88 iron ore mining leases in Goa, renewed for 20 years with retrospective effect from 2007, by the BJP-led coalition government in 2015.

Sensex loses 113.23 points to close at 34,082.71. It has shed more than 2,000 points in the last six sessions.

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentences one student to death, five to life imprisonment and 25 others to four years in jail for the April 2017 murder of Wali Khan University student Mashal Khan.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Conservatives and the Social Democratic Party seal a deal on a new coalition, ending four months of political deadlock.

The U.S. Senate seals deal on a two-year budget pact that provides for $300 billion above existing limits.

At least 100 Syrian pro-regime fighters are killed by U.S.-led coalition in Deir Ezzor province.

Top U.S. House Democrat Nancy Pelosi makes history by delivering the longest address to the chamber in at least 108 years — running to eight hours and seven minutes — about protecting young undocumented migrants from deportation.

Feb. 7

The Supreme Court exhorts parties to the 70-year-old Ranjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute to treat it merely as a ‘land issue’. Bench wards off third-party intervenors.

Sensex climbs more than 330 points, to close at 34,413.16, its biggest single-session gain in two weeks.

The Competition Commission of India imposes a fine of ₹136 crore on Google for unfair trade practices in the Indian market for online search.

Group Captain Arun Marwaha, an IAF Officer, is arrested by the Delhi police for allegedly leaking defence secrets to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence after being honey-trapped.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader and three-time Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, is jailed for five years for graft by a Special Judge’s Court in Dhaka. Her son and party’s exiled vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, and four others jailed for 10 years.

Over 170 persons are killed in the past four days, as Syrian regime war planes rain bombs on the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, outside Damascus.

The Dow Jones loses more than 1,000 points — the second such fall in a week.

Feb. 8

Sensex loses 407.40 points to end the day at 34,005.76 as an overall sharp fall in global markets pushes the Indian Indices again in the red.

SBI reports a third-quarter loss of ₹2,416.37 crore due to a rise in bad loans and depreciation on bond investments, the first time since January-March 1999.

The U.S. Congress passes a crucial federal spending Bill that increases limits for the next two years (2018 and 2019) and raises the debt ceiling until March 2019. President Donald Trump signs it later in the day.

Scientists from Britain and the U.S. successfully grow human eggs to maturity outside the body, in a laboratory for the first time, and publish the results in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction.

U.S. President, Donald Trump blocks the release of a classified memo written by congressional Democrats to rebut a Republican document that he allowed to be made public.

Reginald Eurias Cathey, 59, American actor, best known for his roles in TV shows like The Wire, and House of Cards, at his home in New York City, U.S.

Feb. 9

Two soldiers are killed and nine injured after a heavily armed group of fidayeen storms a camp housing families of the Army’s 36 Brigade in Jammu’s Sunjuwan area. Two militants die in the retaliatory fire.

Former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna wins control of 239 local councils out of a total 341 that went to the polls.

Israeli military downs an Iranian drone that infiltrated into the country before launching a “large-scale attack” on at least a dozen Iranian and Syrian targets in Syria. Anti-aircraft fire from Syria results in an Israeli F-16 jet crashing.

Support for the Palestinian cause is a continuing thread in India’s foreign policy, says Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in Ramallah, after holding talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The two sides sign six agreements worth around $50 million. The Prime Minister is conferred the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine, the highest Palestinian honour for foreign dignitaries, by the President.

Feb. 10

The toll in the militant attack on the Sunjuwan camp goes up to six, with the recovery of the bodies of three soldiers and a civilian. A third militant holed up inside is shot dead.

All 65 passengers and 6 crew members aboard a Russian passenger plane, operated by Saratov Airlines, bound for Orsk, a city in the Ural mountains, are killed as it crashes in Argunovo village in Ramensky district soon after takeoff from Moscow’s Domodedovo airport.

India and the UAE agree to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism both at the bilateral level and within the multilateral system after talks between Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Five MoUs signed.

“We must use technology as a means to development, not destruction,” says Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in his plenary address at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

Asma Jilani Jahangir, 66, noted Pakistani lawyer and human rights activist, of a cardiac arrest, in Lahore.

Parbati Ghose, 85, Odisha’s first woman filmmaker, at a hospital in Bhubaneswar following a prolonged illness.

Feb. 11

A constable is killed and a policeman injured as paramilitary personnel foil a fidayeen attack on the CRPF’s 23 Battalion headquarters in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.

Kannada litterateur and Jnanpith awardee Chandrashekar Kambar is elected president of the Sahitya Akademi and Hindi poet Madhav Koushik vice-president.

Former Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio is declared winner from the Northern Angami-II Assembly constituency after his lone rival withdraws his nomination.

India and Oman lay stress on the need to isolate the sponsors and supporters of terrorism after talks between Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Sultant Qaboos bin Said in Muscat. Eight MoUs are signed by the two sides.

China launches two Beidou-3 navigational satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

The U.S. Senate starts an open ended debate on immigration.

Mohammed Amin, 89, former CPI (M) Polit Bureau member and veteran trade union leader, at his residence in Kolkata.

Feb. 12

Two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants holed up in a building in Srinagar after an abortive attempt to storm the CRPF headquarters, are killed after a 28-hour operation.

Five workers are killed and seven injured in a blast on the ONGC-owned oil rig Sagar Bhushan, which was undergoing repairs at the Cochin Shipyard in Kerala.

The Delhi police arrest Ariz Khan, bomb-maker of the Indian Mujahideen, and mastermind of serial blasts across the country in 2007 and 2008 that left 165 people dead and 535 injured, in Nepal.

The Seoul Central District Court jails for 20 years Choi Soon-sil, a confidante of former South Korean President Park Geun-hye, after finding her guilty of abuse of power, bribery and interfering in government business.

The Westminister Magistrates Court in London rejects WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s plea to overturn warrant against him for breaching bail conditions when he walked into the Ecuadorean embassy in 2012.

The African National Congress orders South African President Jacob zuma to step down.

Feb. 13

The Punjab National Bank reports the unearthing of unauthorised transactions worth ₹11,500 crore in the Kala Ghoda branch in south Mumbai, in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges. The CBI and the ED register cases against Mumbai-based billionaire diamond merchant Nirav Modi. The bank stock plunge almost 10% through the day on the BSE and its market capitalisation erodes by nearly ₹3,900 crore.

South African President Jacob Zuma is forced to resign, following pressure from his own party, the ANC, ending an almost nine-year long, scandal-hit tenure. Police raid the home of the India-born Gupta brothers in Saxonwold suburb of Johannesburg, accused of using their ties with Zuma to enable “state capture”.

At least 17 people are killed and 15 injured in a mass shooting by a former student, Nikolas Cruz, at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland near Miami, in Florida, U.S.

Feb. 14

The Enforcement Directorate seizes diamonds and gold worth ₹5,100 crore from billionaire Nirav Modi’s firms and carries out searches across five States. His passport is revoked.

Cyril Ramaphosa is elected South African President by ANC legislators.

K.P. Sharma Oli is sworn in Nepal’s Prime Minister for the second time by the President Bidya Devi Bhandari in Kathmandu.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, resigns, in what he described as a bid to smoothen reforms.

The U.S. Senate blocks several immigration proposals, including a bipartisan compromise, leaving in limbo the fate of nearly two million migrants brought to the country illegally as children.

Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, 65, former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, of colorectal cancer at a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Feb. 15

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court reduces Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water from 419 tmcft to 404.25 tmcft. Karnataka will now get 284.75 tmcft, inclusive of 4.75 tmcft for Bengaluru, against 270 tmcft earlier. No change in quantum for Kerala and Puducherry. Affirms that the waters of an inter-State river constitute national asset. Directs the Government to create an implementation mechanism. For strict adherence to monthly release schedule.

The Supreme Court rules that politicians, their spouses and associates must declare their sources of income, along with their assets, to qualify for contesting polls.

The CBI registers a fresh case against three Gitanjali group firms of Mehul Choksi, the uncle of diamond merchant Nirav Modi, for causing an alleged ₹4,887-crore loss to PNB. The ED seizes assets worth ₹549 crore and registers a money laundering case against Mehul Choksi. The MEA suspends their passports.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller announces the indictments of 13 Russians and three firms for alleged interference with the 2016 American presidential polls, handed up by a Washington grand jury.

British charity Oxfam unveils an action plan to tackle sexual misconduct, a week after allegations that its staff hired prostitutes while working in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.

An electric arc furnace is reignited at Liberty Speciality Steels near Rotherham in South Yorkshire, by the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, after more than two years, described as a ‘milestone’ in the U.K. steel sector.

Nineteen people are killed and 10 others injured after three suicide bombers strike at a fish market in Konduga in northeast Nigeria.

Dozens of pro-opposition supporters and 10 reporters are injured and many arrested after police in the Maldives break up countrywide protests demanding the resignation of President Abdulla Yameen.

Feb. 16

India and Iran agree on making transit and trade the core of bilateral ties and stress the role of Chabahar as a door to Afghanistan after talks between Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and President, Hassan Rouhani, in New Delhi.

The government withdraws its petition before the NCLT to take over the management of crisis-hit realty firm Unitech Ltd., over alleged mismanagement and siphoning off of funds.

A special anti-terrorism court in Pakistan hands down four death sentences to Imran Ali for the rape and killing of a six-year-old girl in Kasur, Punjab. Confesses to attacking seven other children, five of whom were murdered.

Feb. 17

Seventynine per cent voting is registered in Tripura Assembly polls.

The ED carries out searches at 45 places across 11 States and seizes more assets worth ₹20 crore, taking the overall value of seizures to nearly ₹5,700 crore.

A Nationalist Congress Party candidate for the February 27 polls in the East Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, Jonathane N. Sangma, is killed in an IED explosion at Samanda.

Parts of north Gujarat and Saurashtra come to a standstill following protests over the death of a Dalit activist Bhanu Vankar (on February 16) who set himself ablaze in front of the Collectorate in Patan a day earlier against the delay in land allotment to a Dalit family.

The Virgin Group of Richard Branson, signs an ‘intent agreement’ with Maharashtra to build a hyperloop transportation system between Mumbai and Pune.

The CBI registers a case against Kanpur-based firm Rotomac Global Private Limited and its directors, Vikram Kothari and his wife and son for an alleged ₹3,695-crore “wilful” loan default, following a complaint from the Bank of Baroda.

All 66 people on board an Iranian passenger plane are killed after it crashes into the Zagros mountains 45 minutes after takeoff from Tehran’s Mehrabad airport.

Saudi Arabia gives the go-ahead to women to start businesses without the permission of a male guardian, in an announcement made via Twitter.

Crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, bags five British Bafta film awards, including best film, at The 71st British Academy Film Awards Ceremony held at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Guillermo Del Toro gets best director award for The Shape of Water.

Feb. 18

A mahila court in Chengalpattu, sentences to death Daswant convicted of rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in an apartment complex at Mugalivakkam, Chennai on February 5, 2017.

Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje announces in the Assembly the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2017 that proposed to bar courts from taking up complaints against ministers, judges and state officials without government sanction.

Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi, becomes the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo, when she flew a MiG-21 Bison from IAF’s Jamnagar base in Gujarat.

M.S. Anantharaman, 94, noted vocalist, in Chennai.

Gundu Hanumantha Rao, 61, Telugu comedian, in Hyderabad.

Feb. 19

The Government opens up commercial coal mining for Indian and foreign firms in the private sector.

The Union Cabinet gives nod for the setting up of a tribunal to settle a row between Odisha and Chhattisgarh on sharing the waters of the Mahanadi river.

The CBI arrests three top officials of the Nirav Modi group, including Vipul Ambani, a nephew of the founder of Reliance Industries, Dhirubhai Ambani.

The Delhi Chief Secretary, Anshu Sharma, is allegedly assaulted by AAP MLAs during a meeting at the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence.

At least 270 civilians, including 57 children are killed in three days of bombings in Syria’s rebel-held Eastern Ghouta.

Feb. 20

Veteran Tamil actor Kamal Haasan launches his party, the Makkal Needhi Maiam (People’s Justice Centre), at a function in Madurai and unveils the flag.

A special CBI court discharges former Gujarat DGP P.P. Pandey, a key accused in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.

The CBI arrests Rajesh Jindal, a general manager of PNB, during whose tenure the issuance of Letters of Undertaking to firms owned up by the Nirav Modi group first started.

The U.K. calls for a 30-day ceasefire, even as the toll in the Syrian bombardment of the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta goes up to 310, with 1,400 suffering wounds.

The Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from heading the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. Declares all orders given by him null and void.

Singers Dua Lipa and Stormzy win two trophies each at the 2018 BRIT awards, Britain’s most high-profile pop music awards held at O2 Arena in London.

William Franklin Graham Jr., 99, U.S. Christian evangelist, and a pioneer of “televangelism” at his home in Montreat, North Carolina.

Feb. 21

The CBI smashes an international child pornography racket, being run for the past few years through a WhatsApp group named “Kids-XXX,” that had 119 members from 18 countries.

The CBI arrests Rotomac Global Private Limited promoter-director Vikram Kothari and his son Rahul in the alleged ₹3,695-crore “wilful” loan default case.

The NIA charges Amir Zubair Siddique, Counsellor (Visa) at the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka and two others in the terror plot to blow up vital establishments in India.

The U.S. announces fresh measures to tighten the scrutiny of H-1B visa petitions, mandating fresh documentary requirements for workers at third-party worksites.

Fresh bombing raids in Eastern Ghouta, Syria leave dozens killed taking the toll in a five-day assault by the regime to more than 400.

Feb. 22

India and Canada conclude a ‘Framework for Cooperation for Countering Terrorism and Violent Extemism’, after talks between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Justin Trudeau, in New Delhi.

Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India ceremonially break ground on the Afghan section of the 1,840 km TAPI gas pipeline at Serhetabat on Turkmenistan’s border with Afghanistan.

At least 45 people are killed and 36 injured in twin car bomb blasts in the Somalia capital Mogadishu.

U.S. President, Donald Trump, imposes new sanctions on North Korea.

Feb. 23

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launches the Amma two-wheeler scheme meant for working women on the occasion of the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s 75th birth anniversary celebrations, in Chennai. A statue of the leader is unveiled at the AIADMK party headquarters by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.

At least nine students of the Dharampur Government Middle School are killed and 14 injured after being run over by an SUV while crossing National Highway 77 in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar.

Over 1,000 civilians stranded are evacuated from Baramulla’s Uri sector in Jammu and Kashmir following three days of Pakistani shelling and firing violating ceasefire in force in the area since 2003.

Sohan D. Shira, leader of the outlawed militant outfit, Garo National Liberation Army, is shot dead in an encounter by the Meghalaya Police at Dobu in East Garo Hills district.

At least 23 people, mostly soldiers are killed and many wounded in a series of attacks and suicide bombings in Afghanistan.

At least 29 civilians are killed in air strikes in Eastern Ghouta, an enclave outside Damascus, Syria. Toll touches 500 which includes more than 120 children.

The U.N. Security Council adopts a resolution calling for a 30-day ceasefire in Syria “ without delay.”

Sridevi Kapoor Ayyappan, 54, multilingual actor, at a hotel in Dubai.

Feb. 24

The CBI registers a case against U.P.-based Simbhaoli Sugar Limited and its nine senior functionaries for allegedly cheating the Oriental Bank of Commerce of ₹109.08 crore.

The DRDO carries out a test-flight of the Rustom-2 UAV at its Aeronautical Test Range at Chitradurga, Karnataka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says Auroville a beacon for the world as a whole, at the golden jubilee celebrations of the township in Puducherry.

China clears the decks for a third consecutive term for President Xi Jingping. The Communist Party of China proposes lifting the two-term limit on Presidency.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is shut in protest against a new Israeli tax policy and a proposed land expropriation law.

Feb. 25

Firestar Diamond Inc., the flagship company of Nirav Modi files a chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in the New York Southern Bankruptcy Court, citing liquidity and supply chain challenges.

At least 55 people are killed and 500 wounded after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea.

T.S.R. Subramanian, 79, former Cabinet Secretary, in New Delhi.

Feb. 26

The CBI questions former PNB MD Usha Ananthasubramanian and ICICI Bank executive Director N.S. Kannan. The size of the fraud goes up to ₹12,636 crore. Investors in the PNB have lost ₹15,400 crore since the scam surfaced on February 14.

Meghalaya and Nagaland register 85.7% and 75% polling respectively in the Assembly elections.

The Haryana Cabinet decides to impose penalty or 14 years RI for rape or gang rape of a girl below 12.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), chooses former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as its ‘leader for life.’ Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif named acting president.

Feb. 27

The CBI arrests Karti Chidambaram at Chennai Airport on charges that he took a bribe of $ 1 million for scuttling a probe against INX Media for violation of FIPB conditions in 2007.

Actor Sridevi is cremated with full State honours at the Vile Parle Seva Samaj Crematorium and Hindu Cemetery in Mumbai.

Aircel Ltd., along with Aircel Cellular Ltd., and Dishnet Wireless Ltd., files for bankruptcy under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

A Special SEBI Court in Mumbai sentences former stock broker Ketan Parekh and his relative Kartik Parekh to three years imprisonment with a fine of ₹5 Lakh each for not paying a penalty imposed by the Board for acquiring shares of Shonkh Technologies International Ltd. without the statutory disclosures.

Afghanistan President, Ashraf Ghani, unveils a plan to open peace talks with the Taliban, including eventually recognising them as a political party in return for recognition for Constitution, at the Kabul Process, a regional conference.

Sri Lankan President, Maithripala Sirisena, officially launches the Office of Missing Persons, a special panel tasked with investigating war-era disappearances.

A signal from universe’s first stars, born after the Big Bang, is detected by a radio spectrometer in Australia, say astronomers in a study published in Nature.

Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, 83, 69th head of the Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, at a hospital in Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu.

S.Ratnavel Pandian, 89, former Supreme Court judge, due to cardiac arrest, at his residence in Anna Nagar, Chennai.

Feb. 28

The Union cabinet gives nod for introduction of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 in Parliament. Approves the creation of a National Financial Reporting Authority.

India and Jordan sign a framework agreement in defence cooperation after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, in New Delhi.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, unveils an array of new nuclear weapons following his annual state of the nation address in Moscow.

U.S. President Donald Trump announces decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.

March 1

Ten naxalites and a Greyhounds commando are killed in an exchange of fire with a joint team of the Telangana and Chhattisgarh police in the Pujarikanker forest in Bijapur district, on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.

Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi, begins performing the duties of the Peetathipati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. He is the 70th pontiff.

World stocks plunge as U.S. President, Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, trigger fears of a global trade war.

Twentyfive people are killed in a fire at a drug rehabilitation clinic in the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

Sixteen persons are killed in the Burkina Faso capital Ouagadougou after gunmen attack the military headquarters, the French embassy and the French cultural centre.

Two persons are shot dead on the Central Michigan University campus in Mount Pleasant in the U.S. State of Michigan by a black youth James Eric Davis.

Access to the EU market will be “less than it is now,” says British Prime Minister, Theresa May, as she outlines new details in the government’s position over Brexit. “This is a negotiation and neither can have exactly what we want”.

Jesus Lopez Cobos, 78, Spanish conductor, in Berlin, Germany, of cancer-related causes.

March 2

The BJP wins the Tripura Assembly elections, ending the 25-year reign of the CPI(M). Hung Assemblies in Meghalaya and Nagaland.

A special court in Mumbai, issues non-bailable warrants against diamond traders Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi in the alleged ₹12,636 crore PNB scam.

India and Vietnam exchange three agreements on enhancing trade and farm research and an MoU on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Tran Dai Quang, in New Delhi.

Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Bangladesh science fiction writer is attacked in Sylhet by Faizur Hasan, a madrasa student.

Krishna Kumari Kohli, a human rights activist fielded by the Pakistan People’s Party, becomes the nation’s first Dalit woman Senator.

March 3

Manik Sarkar resigns as Tripura Chief Minister.

The PNB scam is pegged at ₹13,578 crore, with the bank filing a supplementary complaint with the CBI against Mehul Choksi, his firms for an additional amount of ₹942.18 crore.

Germany’s Social Democrats vote decisively for another coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives at the party headquarters in Berlin.

Italians cast votes in general elections.

Gullermo del Toro’s fairy tale romance, The Shape of Water ,wins top honours — best picture, best director statuettes for production dsign and test original score at the 90th Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Gary Oldman bags the Best Actor award (Darkest Hour) and Frances McDormand Best Actress (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). Christopher Nolan’s World War II thriller Dunkirk picks up three awards. Pixar’s Coco bags Oscar for best animated feature.

A former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are found unconscions on a bench outside a shopping centre in Salisbury, U.K. Nerve agent Novichok use suspected.

Javed Abidi, 53, convenor of the Disabled Rights Group, of a chest infection, in New Delhi.

March 4

Two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants and four civilians are killed in a “firing incident” in Shopian district, Jammu and Kashmir.

Army claims to have killed JeH mastermind of the Sunjuwan camp attack in Awantipora, Pulwama, Mufti Waqas, in a “surgical attack”.

A statue of Communist icon Vladimir Lenin is teared down by five people in Belonia, Tripura. A statue of Dravidian ideologue Periyar is vandalised in Vellore, Tamil Nadu.

All mining activity in Goa, involving iron ore extraction, comes to a halt for the second time since 2015.

The Centre gives environment clearance for the India-based Neutrino Observatory in Pottipuram village in Theni district, Tamil Nadu.

Italian electorate delivers hung Parliament. Anti-establishment party, Five-Star Movement led by Luigi Di Maio emerges the single largest party.

USS Carl Vinson, a 1,03,000-tonne U.S. aircraft carrier arrives in Vietnam for the first time since the end of the war in 1975.

March 5

Conrad Kongkal Sangma heading an alliance of five parties is sworn in as Meghalaya Chief Minister, at the Raj Bhavan in Shillong.

Nagaland Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang resigns.

Sensex loses 425.8 points to close at 33,317.20, after the summoning of top bankers in the PNB scam probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office.

Sri Lanka declares an island-wide state of emergency to curb growing anti-Muslim violence in Kandy in the Central Province.

The Japanese Navy appoints Ryko Azuma its first woman commander of a unit that includes Izumo, the country’s biggest warship.

North Korea expresses willingness to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees to a South Korean delegation in Pyongyang. Both sides to hold summit.

Thirtytwo persons are killed after a Russian military transport plane crashes in Hmeimim airbase in Syria’s Latakia Province.

U.S. Navy veteran, Adam Purinton, pleads guilty to killing Indian immigrant Srinivas Kuchibotla on February 22, 2017 at Austin’s Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas.

At least 18 people are killed after a magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes Papua New Guinea’s Southern Highlands.

The top economic adviser to U.S. President, Donald Trump, National Economic Council Director, Gary Cohn resigns.

Shammi, (born Nargis Rabadi), 89, veteran Hindi actor, after a prolonged illness, in Mumbai.

John Edward Sulston, 75, a Nobel Prize-winning British scientist who helped decode the human genome, of stomach cancer, in Buckinghamshire, U.K.

March 6

Karnataka Lokayukta Justice P. Vishwanatha Shetty is stabbed by a complainant at his office in Bengaluru.

A CBI special court in Thiruvananthapuram acquits Fr.Jose Poothrukayil in the murder of Sister Abhaya at a convent in Kottayam in 1992. The other two accused, Fr. Thomas Kottoor and Sister Stephy are ordered to face trial.

The Union Cabinet approves easing the cap on spectrum holding by telcos. The 50% limit on intra-band spectrum holding too removed. Nod for Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

Architect Balkrishna V. Doshi, a pioneer of low-cost housing design, becomes the first Indian to win the Pritzker Prize, considered architecture’s Nobel equivalent.

Pope Paul VI and El Salvador Archbishop Oscar Romeo are chosen to be declared Saints.

March 7

Union Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Minister of State for Science and Technology, Y.S. Chowdary of the TDP resign, upping the ante in their demand for Special Category Status and more funds for Andhra Pradesh.

The Supreme Court sets aside Kerala High Court order annulling the marriage of Hadiya to Shafin Jahan after her conversion to Islam.

Yasin Mansoor Farooq alias Farooq Takla, a key aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, is arrested by the CBI on arrival at the Delhi airport after being extradited by the UAE.

Karnataka government unveils the red-white-yellow State flag (nada dhwaja) with the official emblem at the centre.

Ottamuri Velicham, directed by Rahul Riji Nair is adjudged the best film at the Kerala State Film Awards for 2017. Lijo Jose Pallisery, is named best director (Ee Ma). Indrans bags best actor award (Alorukkam) and Parvathy best female actor (Take Off).

Neiphiu Rio is sworn in as Nagaland Chief Minister by the Governor P.B. Acharya, at a function in Kohima. BJP leader Y. Patton, assumes office as Deputy Chief Minister.

Sensex zooms 318.48 points to close at 33,351.57, after six straight sessions of losses totalling 1,412.66 points.

Eleven Asia-Pacific countries, including Japan, Australia and Canada sign the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in Chile.

The U.S. imposes 25% import tariff on steel and 10% on aluminium.

March 8

A five judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upholds passive euthanasia and the right to give advance medical directives or ‘Living Wills’ to smoothen the dying process.

The SIT probing the murder of Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh arrests K.T. Naveen Kumar of Maddur and names him as first accused.

Aswini, a college student in K.K. Nagar, Chennai is stabbed by a stalker Alagesan.

Biplab Kumar Deb is sworn in as Tripura Chief Minister. BJP’s Jishnu Dev Varma takes oath as Deputy Chief Minister.

Rajasthan Assembly passes the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2018, providing for death penalty to those convicted of raping girls of 12 years and below.

A gunman and three women are found dead at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville in the Napa Valley, California, after a standoff with police.

Pyare Lal Wadali, 75, noted Sufi singer, of a heart attack, in Amritsar.

March 9

India and France release a Joint Strategic Vision for cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region, after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, in New Delhi. The two sides announce a new phase of cooperation in space security focussed on the maritime domain and a fresh logistics agreement. Deal inked to safeguard classified data.

Commerce and Industries Minister Suresh Prabhu given additional charge of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The European Investment Bank signs a € 150 million loan agreement with the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency.

Syria cuts off the largest town in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta from the rest of the enclave in an offensive that has so far claimed the lives of 975 civilians, including more than 200 children.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Huong Giang is crowned the 2018 “Miss International Queen” in Thailand, at one of the world’s top beauty pageants for transgender women.

Russia test-fires a hypersonic Kinzhal missile from an MiG interceptor jet from an airfield in the South Military District

Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy, 91, French fashion designer, at the Renaissance chateau near Paris.

March 10

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces a $1.4 billion line of credit to cover 27 solar energy projects in 15 countries at the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance, in New Delhi. He presents a 10-point action plan aimed at making solar power more affordable. India to start a solar technology mission with international focus.

At least 20 trekkers are killed after falling down into a 70-foot gorge while trying to escape a forest fire in Kolukkumalai area close to Kurangani hill in the Bodi hills of Theni district, Tamil Nadu. Of the trekkers – 24-most of them women were taken on an expedition by the Chennai Trekking Club and 13 others belonged to Tirupur and Erode.

The Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bypolls in Uttar Pradesh record 43% and 37.39% voting respectively. In Bihar, Araria Lok Sabha bypoll records 57% turnout. In Jehanabad and Bhabua Assembly seats it is 50.6% and 54.6% respectively.

China’s National People’s Congress votes to remove limits on presidential tenure, enabling Xi Jinping to serve as President indefinitely. ‘Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,’ is included in the Constitution.

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s Democratic Centre Party emerges as the largest bloc in the Senate bagging 19 seats in the parliamentary vote.

Ken Dodd, 90, British comedian, in the Liverpool suburb of Knotty Ash.

March 11

Maharashtra offers a six-month road map to address agrarian distress, following the arrival of 15,000 farmers led by the All India Kisan Sabha in South Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, after a march from Nashik covering nearly 200 km.

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 seeking to amend the Chit Fund Act is introduced in the Lok Sabha. The business in both the Houses has been hit for more than a week following Opposition protests over a raft of issuess.

Sensex climbs 601.80 points to close at 33,917.94, following an overall rally in the global markets.

At least 49 passengers on board a US-Bangla Airline flight are killed and 22 injured after it crashes east of runway while landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal and skids into a nearby football field.

Bangladesh’s Opposition leader, Khalida Zia, is granted interim bail for four months by the High Court in the ‘Zia Orphanage Trust Case’.

Nikolai Glushkov, a former senior business executive linked to late Kremlin opponent Boris Berezovsky, is found dead at his house in New Malden in southwest London.

March 12

The Supreme Court, extends indefinitely the deadline for linking Aadhaar with mobile phones and tatkal passports and for opening bank accounts from March 31, 2018 till the Constitution Bench final verdict.

Foreign law firms or foreign lawyers cannot practise law in the country either on the litigation or non-litigation side, rules the Supreme Court. But can “fly in fly out lawyers to offer legal advice.”

Nine CRPF personnel are killed and two injured after Maoists blow up a mine-protected vehicle on the Kistaram-Pelondi road in south Sukma, Chhattisgarh.

The RBI issues a directive barring banks from issuing Letters of Undertaking in the wake of the $2 billion LoU fraud at the PNB.

Mohammad Taufeeq, a militant from Telangana among three terrorists killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir.

U.S. President Donald Trump sacks Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. CIA Director, Mike Pompeo to replace him at the State Department. Gina Haspel is picked up to fill in the shoes of Pompeo.

Nepal lawmakers elect President Bidya Bhandari for a second term.

The Pretoria High Court allows Bank of Baroda to cease operations in South Africa in April, over its links with the Indian-born Gupta brothers who are facing massive corruption charges.

Begum Hamida Habibullah, 101, former Rajya Sabha member, who worked for women empowerment, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

Emily Daoud Nasrallah, 87, prominent Lebanese novelist and women’s rights activist, in Beirut, of cancer.

March 13

The Samajwadi Party wrests both the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats in U.P. from the BJP. In Bihar, the RJD retains the Araria Lok Sabha seat. The RJD and the BJP retain their seats in the Assembly byelections in Jehanabad and Bhabua respectively.

Former Union Telecom Minister, Dayanidhi Maran and his brother and Sun group chairman Kalanithi Maran are discharged by a Special CBI Court in Chennai from the illegal telephone exchange case involving provision of 764 BSNL lines to the former’s Gopalapuram and Boat Club Road residences.

The Lok Sabha passes the Finance Bill, 2018, with 21 amendments, including one to exempt political parties from scrutiny of funds received from abroad since 1976, without discussion amid a ruckus.

The Pune district rural police arrests Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote, the prime accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence on January 1.

British Prime Minister, Theresa May, announces in Parliament decision to suspend all high-level bilateral contacts with Russia over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent. Twentythree diplomats to be expelled.

Angela Merkel is re-elected German Chancellor for a fourth term.

Bangladesh Supreme Court blocks former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s interim bail.

Students across the U.S. take out the #ENOUGH National School Walkout demanding tighter gun safety laws.

At least seven people are killed and 18 wounded in a Taliban suicide attack on a police checkpost, just outside an annual religious congregration in Raiwind, on the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan.

Brazilian lawmaker and Black rights activist Marielle Franco is murdered in Rio de Janeiro.

Stephen William Hawking, 76, English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author, at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, U.K.

March 14

Tamil Nadu Budget for 2018-19 presented in the Assembly contains major policy initiatives in agriculture and a nuanced shift in assistance for industrial projects. A sum of ₹500 crore earmarked for relaunching the Chennai Mega City Development Mission, ₹ 750 crore allocated for the Integrated Urban Development Mission, being relaunched.

Rebel AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran, floats a political party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam and unveils flag at a public meeting at Melur, Madurai.

The in-camera trial of the sexual abuse case against former Tehelka editor, Tarun Tejpal begins in a Goa court.

The Criminal Law (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2018, is passed by the Haryana Government enhancing punishment for sexual offences against women and children.

All mining activity in Goa involving iron ore extraction comes to a halt for the second time since 2015.

The U.S. slaps sanctions on 19 Russian individuals and five groups for meddling in the 2016 presidential polls and malicious cyberattacks.

The U.S. challenges Indian export subsidies schemes at the World Trade Organisation.

March 15

The Telugu Desam Party moves a no-confidence motion against the Government after quitting the NDA.

Social activists and researchers from Maharashtra, Dr. Abhay Bang and Dr. Rani Bang, are presented the first-ever Business Line Changemakers Awards, in New Delhi.

Sensex plummets 500 points, the biggest single-day fall since February 6, to end the day at 33,176 amid political uncertainty.

Facebook suspends the account of Cambridge Analytica, the data firm that helped U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, for failing to delete user data.

March 16

Public demonstrations resorting to violence, including stone-throwing are not protected by the fundamental right to free speech and expression, holds the Supreme Court.

China’s Parliament unanimously elects Xi Jingping as President for a second consecutive term. Xi takes a public oath of allegiance to the Constitution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Wang Qishan re-elected Vice-President. Li Zhunshu is next chairman of the Communist Party of China Russia. Li Keqiang gets second term as Prime Minister.

Russia declares 23 staff at the British embassy in Moscow as persona non-grata.

Mauritius President, Ameennah Gurib-Fakim, embroiled in a financial scandal, resigns.

Phan Van Khai, 85, former Prime Minister of Vietnam, in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City.

March 17

Vladimir Putin wins a fourth term as Russian President after a resounding victory in polls.

Turkish troops and Ankara-backed rebels seize control of Afrin, Syria after driving out Kurdish militia forces.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena lifts the island-wide state of emergency.

Women in Saudi Arabia need not wear headcover or the black abaya, as long as their attire is “decent and respectful”, says Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in an interview with CBS television.

Andria Zafirakou, arts and textiles teacher at the Alperton Community College of Brent, an inner-city school in London, is presented the Global Teacher Prize of $ 1 million for 2018, in Dubai.

Stephen Clark, an unarmed African-American man, is shot dead by the Sacramento Police in his grandmother’s backyard in Meadowview, Sacramento, California, U.S., believing that he had pointed a gun at them.

March 18

Parliament logjam continous for the 11th day in a row.

RJD president, Lalu Prasad, is convicted in the fourth fodder scam case by a Special CBI court in Ranchi.

The Supreme Court admits pleas against the acquittal of Rajesh and Nupur Talwar by the Allahabad High Court in the May 2008 murder of their daughter Aarushi Talwar and domestic help Hemraj in Noida.

The ED challenges in the Delhi High Court a Special CBI Court verdict acquitting former Telecom Minister, A. Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others in a money-laundering case arising out of the 2G spectrum scam.

The initial public offer of Bandhan Bank is subscribed 14.62 times.

India joins Europe’s mega global arrangement of sharing data from earth observation satellites, called Copernicus.

Sri Ranga Ramanuja Maha Desikan, 83, 11th pontiff of the Srirangam Srimad Andavan Ashramam, following a heart attack at a private hospital in Chennai.

March 19

Thirtynine Indians who had been abducted in Iraq, by the IS in June 2014 are dead, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informs the Rajya Sabha. The bodies were recovered from a mass grave in Badush, around 30 km from Mosul. DNA tests confirm identity.

The Supreme Court expresses serious concern over the misuse of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and introduces the provision of anticipatory bail and rules against automatic arrest of anyone booked under the law.

The country’s first sign language dictionary is launched by the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot.

“China’s development will not pose a threat to any country. China will never seek hegemony and will never engage in expansion,” says President Xi Jinping in his address to the closing session of the National People’s Congress after taking office for the second term.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is held in custody and questioned about his campaign funding for his 2007 election bid involved money from Libya.

Two students are injured after a gunman opens fire at the Great Mills High School in Maryland, U.S.

The U.S. Trade Commission begins probe into alleged misuse of data of 50 million Facebook users by data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, a subsidiary of the U.K.-based SCL Group, to target ads during the 2016 presidential polls. Cambridge Analytica suspends CEO Alexander Nix.

March 20

Five security personnel and five militants are killed in an encounter in Halmatpora in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir.

The Union Cabinet approves the launch of the Ayushman Bharat — National Health Protection mission.

Parliament fails to transact any business for the 13th day in a row.

Mark Anthony Conditt, a white man suspended of carrying out a series of deadly parcel bombing in the Texas capital of Austin, that began on March 2 and claimed two lives, blows himself outside a hotel in Round Rock, Texas.

At least 26 people are killed and 18 injured after a suicide bomber detonates a device among a crowd of people in Afghanistan capital Kabul.

March 21

The Brahmos supersonic cruise missile is successfully test-fired with an indigenous seeker for the first time, from the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, presents the G.K. Reddy Memorial National Award for journalism to senior journalist and television presenter, Karan Thapar in New Delhi.

Parliament passes the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 paving the way for doubling the limit of tax free gratuity to ₹20 lakh. Lok Sabha had given the nod on March 15.

U.S. President Donald Trump directs imposition of 25% tariffs on Chinese products worth $ 60 billion and restrictions on Chinese investments in America.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen lifts a 45-day state of emergency.

U.S. President Donald Trump replaces National Security Adviser H.R. McMmaster with John Bolton.

March 22

The Delhi High Court quashes a notification issued by President Ram Nath Kovind disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs for holding offices of profit as Parliamentary Secretaries.

The BJP bags 12 seats and the Congress five in the Rajya Sabha polls for 25 seats across six states. Thirtythree candidates from 10 seats declared elected unopposed.

The Delhi High Court grants bail to Karti Chidambaram, in the INX Media case.

Sensex loses 409.73 points to close at 32,956.54. Nifty falls by 116.70 points to end at 9,998.05.

At least three people are killed and 16 injured after a gunman, Radouane Lakdim, goes on a shooting spree in Carcassonne and Trebes in France. He is shot dead after a hostage drama in a supermarket.

At least 13 people are killed and 45 injured after a car bomb explodes outside a sports stadium in Lakshkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province in Afghanistan.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs a $ 1.3 trillion compromise federal spending Bill, averts shutdown.

The EU Summit in Brussels recalls the bloc’s envoy from Moscow.

The threat of a trade war sends global stock markets sliding.

Martin Vizcarra is sworn in as Peru’s new President.

Philip Ballantyre Kerr, 62, Scottish author and creator of the Nazi-era thrillers featuring detective Bernie Gunther, in London, of bladder cancer.

March 23

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad is sentenced to 14 years in prison — seven years each under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act — in the fourth fodder scam case, by a special CBI Court. A fine of 60 ₹lakh slapped.

Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame, a French Police Officer, who offered himself up in exchange for a hostage at a supermarket dies of injuries and is honoured as a national hero of “exceptional courage and selflessness.”

About 8,00,000 people take out rallies, March For Our Lives, across the U.S. seeking tougher gun laws. Yolanda Renee King, the nine-year-old granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., asks for a “gun-free world”, at a huge protest in Washington.

Marvia Malik becomes Pakistan’s first transgender news anchor and makes debut appearance on Kohenoor TV.

March 24

Catelonia’s former President Carles Puigdemont is arrested by the German police while crossing the border with Denmark in a car, following the issuance of an international arrest warrant by the Spanish Supreme Court.

Facebook runs full-page ads in nine major British and U.S. newspapers to apologise for a huge data privacy scandal dating back to 2014.

At least 64 people, many of than children, are killed in a blaze at the Winter Cherry shopping centre which also houses a sauna, a bowling alley and a multiplex cinema, in the city of Kemerovo in Siberia, Russia.

Missiles fired by the Houthi movement that controls northern Yemen crashes into the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh causing casualties.

March 25

Sensex gains 469.87 points to close at 33,066.41 following strong recovery in global markets. Nifty goes up by 132.60 points to 10,130.65.

The Supreme Court decides to look into the constitutional validity of the prevalent practices of polygamy ‘nikah halala’, ‘nikah mutah’, and ‘nikah misyar’ in the Muslim community.

The U.S. expels 60 Russian officials and orders closure of the consulate in Seattle. Fourteen EU states announce decision to expel 30 Russian diplomats.

The Anti-Fake News Bill, 2018, is tabled in Malaysian Parliament.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission launches probe into Facebook Inc. over the data breach issue.

March 26

“Honour killing guillotines individual liberty, freedom of choice and one’s own perception of choice”, says the Supreme Court and upholds choice of consenting adults to love and marry as part of their fundamental rights.

The Karnataka Assembly election will be held on May 12 and the results declared on May 15, says the Election Commission.

Parliament fails to function for the 16th day in a row.

Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank makes a strong debut on the bourses with the shares rising more than 27% on the first day of trading.

Political consulting company, Cambridge Analytica worked “extensively” in India and operated a system of “modern-day colonialism,” says Chrristopher Wylie, the whistleblower who blew the lid on the firm’s gathering of data from Facebook via an academic researcher’s personality prediction app, giving evidence to a House of Commons Committee in London.

NATO expels seven Russian diplomats and cuts down the size of the mission from 30 to 20. Twenty-four countrires have expelled more than 100 diplomats from Moscow.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledges to denuclearise the peninsula after holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Stephane Audran, 85, French actor, best known for her leading role in the Oscar-winning Babettte’s Feast, in Paris.

March 27

The Securities and Exchange Board of India tightens the corporate governance norms fored firms by accepting most of the recommendations of the Kotak Committee. Strengthens guidelines.

Facebook unveils new privacy settings.

Myanmar’s Parliament picks Win Myint as the new President.

Atleast 68 people are killed in rioting and a fire in the cells of a Venezuelan police station in the Central city of Valencia.

The U.S. announces decision to declare the Milli Muslim League, the political arm of the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan and the Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Jammu and Kashmir, a LeT front organisation, terrorist organisations.

March 28

ISRO places GSAT-6A, a communication satellite in orbit after launch on board a GSLVF-08 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Union Cabinet approves a slew of reforms for school education, with the focus on backward districts, disabled students and women.

Any stay of a criminal or corruption trial, or even a civil case, will be valid only for six months, observes the Supreme Court.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is re-elected for a second term following a three-day polling.

Britain starts the one-year countdown to Brexit.

Russia decides to expel 150 western diplomats, including 60 from the U.S. and close the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg.

India and Japan agree to step up cooperation in their “Special Strategic and global Partnership” and exchange yen loan agreements for $ 1.4 billion, during the 9th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue in Tokyo.

Scientists announce the discovery of the first and only known galaxy without dark matter — DF2, some 65 million light years from the earth in a report in the journal Nature.

March 29

The CBSE announces that re-examination of the class 12 economics paper will be held on April 25. The step follows leak of the question paper. Teenage whistleblower who blew the lid off the class 10 maths exam question paper leak identified by the Delhi Police.

At least 18 Palestinians are killed and 400 injured as Israeli security forces fire on thousands of demonstrators, pressing for a right of return for refugees, along the Israel-Gaza border.

Russia expels 59 diplomats from 23 countries.

Win Myint assumes office as Myanmar President.

Anna Chan Chennault, 94, Beijing-born war correspondent and a prominent socialite, who played a significant role in bringing former U.S. President Richard Nixon to power, at her penthouse in Washington’s Watergate Complex.

March 30

Tamil Nadu moves the Supreme Court to initiate contempt proceedings against the Centre for its “wilful disobedience” in not implementing the court’s February 16 judgment in the Cauvery dispute.

Sameer Bhat alias Tiger, a “commander” of Hizbul Mujahideen is killed by the Army in an encounter at his native village of Drabgam in Pulwama district, Jammu & Kashmir.

Votes are cast in Sierra Leone presidential run-off.

Pakistan’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai visits her home town Mingora in the Swat valley, for the first time since a Taliban militant shot her in 2012 for advocating girls’ education.

Captain M.K.Kachru, 93, pilot of the IA plane hijacked to Pakistan in January 1971, in Faridabad, Haryana, after a prolonged illness.

March 31

Twentyone people, including 13 militants and three Army personnel are killed in “coordinated” multiple operations in Shopian and Anantnag in South Kashmir. Over 100 protesters are injured in the ensuing clashes in Kachidoora and Draghad.

ISRO begins operations to correct glitch, after the GSAT-6A satellite goes silent on day two of the launch after the second firing of the on-board engine.

Three persons, including two teachers are arrested by the police in New Delhi for allgedly leaking of the CBSE class XII economics question paper.

More than 1.7 lakh e-way bills are generated on inter-state movement of goods on day one of re-introduction of the new system under the GST.

The Centre left’s Carlos Alvarado Quesada wins Costa Rica’s presidential run-off.

C.V. Rajendran, 81, veteran Tamil film director, in Chennai.

Steven Ronald Bochco, 74, U.S. television writer and producer, the creator of iconic shows such as NYPD Blue, LA Law, in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

April 1

At least nine people are killed and hundreds injured in violence across several States in North India during a nationwide bandh called by Dalit groups against the alleged dilution of The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The remains of 38 people killed by the IS in Mosul, Iraq are handed over to their relatives. Of them 27 were from Punjab, four from Himachal Pradesh, five from Bihar and two from West Bengal.

The Gujarat High Court observes that non-consensual intercourse by a husband cannot be dubbed as rape.

China’s State Council imposes additional tariffs up to 25% on 128 items imported from the U.S., mostly on farm products.

Malaysian Parliament gives nod for law that makes “fake news” punishable with a maximum six-year jail term.

China’s defunct Tiangong1 space station launched in 2011, breaks up over the Central South Pacific upon re-entry into the atmosphere.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 81, anti-apartheid activist and former wife of South African President, Nelson Mandela, at the Netcare Milpark Hospital, in Johannesburg.

April 2

The ruling AIADMK observes a one-day fast demanding the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board, all over Tamil Nadu. Most pharmacies across the State down shutters.

The I&B Ministry withdraws its order issued a day earlier which provided for cancellation of accreditation of any journalist found guilty of disseminating “fake news” .

Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Payments Bank Limited begins work.

French rail workers launch three months of rolling strikes and stoppages planned two days out of five until June 28 protesting moves to overhaul the CNCF, the heavily indebted state rail operator.

Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer with direct knowledge of contacts between Russian intelligence and a top official in Donald Trump’s campaign, is sentenced to 30 days in jail and a $ 20,000 fine by a Washington court, becoming the first person put behind the bars in special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s probe.

Reporters Without Borders and leading broadcasters launch the Journalism Trust Initiative to fight fake news.

Nasim Najafi Aghdam, a resident of San Diego, opens fire at the California headquarters of YouTube injuring three people before killing self after accusing the channel of limiting views of her videos.

S. Madhavan, 85, veteran DMK leader and former Minister, in Singampuneri, in Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu.

April 3

A seven-member committee is formed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to examine ways to prevent question paper leaks in th CBSE.

The Rajya Sabha is adjourned for the day after witnessing 13 adjournments. Work in Lok Sabha remains hit for the 20th day. NDA MPs decide to forgo pay for the session.

Sensex loses 351.56 points to end the day at 33,109.07 following fresh concerns over a trade war between the U.S. and China.

China’s Commerce Ministry decides to impose 25% tariff on 106 U.S. products in retaliation to Washington’s intent to impose fresh tariff on Chinese products worth $ 50 billion outlined a day earlier.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe defeats a no-confidence vote in Parliament after an 11-hour debate.

Diante Yarber, an unarmed African American is gunned down by U.S. Police in the parking lot of a Walmart supermarket in California.

April 4

Actor Salman Khan is sentenced to five years in jail by a court in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, for poaching two black buck on the night of October 1-2, 1998.

Normal life is partially hit in Tamil Nadu during the DMK-led Opposition-sponsored bandh demanding the setting up of the Cauvery Management Board.

The CBI examines Rajiv Kochhar, brotherin-in-law of ICICI Bank MD and CEO, Chanda Kochhar in connection with the probe into the ₹3,250-crore loan extended to the Videocon group in 2012.

The CBI books Vadodara-based Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited for allegedly cheating 11 banks to the tune of ₹2,654 crore.

Sensex surges by 577.73 points to close at 33,596.80.

Brazil’s Supreme Court rejects former President Luiz Inacia Lula da Silva’s plea to avoid prison while he appeals a corruption conviction.

Richard Branson’s company Virgin Galactic conducts a supersonic test flight over the Sierra Nevada mountains of its SpaceshipTwo passenger rocket ship abroad the VMS Eve carrier plane from Mojave, California, U.S.

Isao Takahata, 82, Japanese anime film director and writer in Tokyo, of lung cancer.

April 5

Both the Houses of Parliament are adjourned sine die as a tumultuous Budget session ends amid repeated disruptions. The Lok Sabha loses 127 hours of work and the Rajya Sabha 120 hours. During the session, five Bills, including the Appropriation Bill, Finance Bill and amendments to the Gratuity and Specific Reliefs Bills were passed.

Five YSRC MPs hand over resignations to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

The Central Vigilance Commission issues new set of guidelines for projects funded by international agencies such as the World Bank, IMF and ADB.

The mutilated body of an 11-year -old girl bearing 86 marks of injuries is found in the Bhestan locality of Surat, Gujarat.

The U.S. imposes sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs, 12 firms they own or control, 17 senior officials and a state-owned arms export company in response to attacks on western democracies.

South Korea’s former President Park Geun-hye, is jailed for 24 years for graft after a trial which lasted more than 10 months. She is ordered to pay a fine of 18 billion won ($ 17 million).

Israeli troops kill nine Palestinians and injure 491 people in the second mass protest in as many weeks along Gaza’s volatile border.

At least 27 civilians are killed in air strikes on the last rebel-held Douma town in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta.

April 6

A sessions court in Jodhpur, Rajasthan grants bail to actor Salman Khan in a 19-year-old black buck poaching case.

At least three people are killed and 20 injured as a van ploughs through a crowd outside a bar in the western German city of Muenster. The driver then shoots himself dead.

Japan’s military launches its first Marines unit tasked with defending remote islands.

Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, turns himself in to police and begins jail term at the cell in Curitiba’s federal police headquarters, ending a day-long standoff.

At least 75 persons are killed and 1,000 injured in an alleged ‘chemical weapons attack’ in Douma, Syria.

Munin Barua, 72, National award-winning Assamese film-maker, in Guwahati after a prolonged illness.

April 7

A minor girl from Unnao along with her family members threatens to commit suicide outside the U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath’s residence over the police failure to act on her complaint against a BJP MLA from Bangermau, Kuldeep Singh Sengar, of gang-raping her on June 17, 2017.

Hungarian President Viktor Orban wins a fourth term in general elections.

Historical hip-hop musical Hamilton bags seven trophies, including best new musical at British theatre’s Laurence Olivier Awards.

Chuck McCann, 83, American comedian, in Los Angeles, California.

April 8

The father of the girl from Unnao dies in judicial custody almost a week after he was thrashed by supporters of the BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.

Thirty people, including 27 schoolchildren are killed when a private bus in which they were travelling veers off the road and plunges into a 200-ft-deep gorge at Malakwal in Nurpur in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

A person’s right to choose a religion and marriage is an intrinsic part of her meaningful existence, holds the Supreme Court in its 61-page judgment in the Hadiya case.

The ED searches the premises of Diamond Power Infrastructure Ltd. in Vadodara, Gujarat and its directors, who allegedly cheated 11 banks by not repaying loans of ₹2,654-crore.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation gives nod for seaplane services.

Google files an appeal at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal against a verdict of the Competition Commission of India finding the search giant guilty of ‘search bias’.

An eight-year-old girl from the nomadic Bakherwal community, abducted on January 10 and allegedly raped by six men and killed later was held captive in a temple in Rassana village, Kathua, reveals the chargesheet filed by the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Crime Branch in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Jammu. Her body was recovered on January 17.

Over 100 students are injured in police action following two days of anti-quota protests in Dhaka University, Bangladesh.

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is formally indicted for corruption.

April 9

Atul Singh Sengar, brother of Bangermau MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar facing gang-rape charges, is held in the case of custodial death of the .victim’s father.

The IPL match between CSK and KKR is held in a tense atmosphere in Chennai, with thousands of people blocking all roads leading to the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in protest against the delay in the formation of the Cauvery Management Board.

Union Environment Ministry notifies fresh draft rules doing away with curbs on sale of cattle for slaughter.

April 10

Owing to security concerns, the remaining six IPL matches are moved out of Chennai. Pune to be CSK’s new home venue.

The Chief Justice of India is an ”institution in himself” with ”exclusive prerogative” to set up Benches and allocate cases, declares a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court.

Consent of a bride to marriage is an inherent part of the Hindu Marriage Act and there is no need for a judicial declaration when the statute itself is amply clear, says the Supreme Court.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launches the Bhuseva project, under which government and private lands across the state will be assigned 11digit Bhudhaar members on the lines of Aadhaar, in Vijayawada.

Saudi Aramco signs and initial deal with a consortium of Indian refiners to build a $44 billion refinery and petrochemicals project on India’s west coast.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his own data was shared by Camrbidge Analytica at the joint hearing of two Senate committees in Washington.

All 257 people on board an Algerian military transport plane are killed after it crashes soon after take off at Boufarik airbase, southwest of Algiers.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ‘scraps’ the quota system in government services for descendants of veterans of the 1971 Liberation War.

Sixteen Ministers quit the Sri Lankan national unity government.

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev is re-elected for a fourth term.

April 11

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hits out at previous governments for being lax in procurement of defence equipment, inaugurating the Defence Expo 2018, in Thiruvidanthai in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. The ‘Innovation for Defence Excellence’ scheme for setting up Defence Innovation Hubs throughout the nation is launched.

The 1,425 kg navigation satellite IRNSS-1I is launched into space from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Launch completes the first phase of the NavIC constellation of Indian regional navigation satellites.

The Unnao rape case is handed over to the CBI and BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar is booked on the charges of kidnapping and raping.

April 12

Two BJP Ministers quit the Mehbooba Mufti government in Jammu and Kashmir. They had defended the Kathua rape accused at a rally organised by the Hindu Ekta March.

The CBI arrests BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.

Actor Vinod Khanna is pasthumously awarded the Dada Saheb Phalke Award at the 65th National Film Awards function in New Delhi. Sridevi is posthumously honoured with the Best Actress Award for her role in the rape revenge drama Mom. Best Actor Award goes to Riddhi Sen for role in Bengali film Nagar Kirtan. Rima Das’ Assamese film Village Rockstars is adjudged Best Feature Film.

The CBI cracks the rape and murder of a girl in the Haliala forest of Kotkhai in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh using an advanced percentage-based DNA lineage analysis method and arrests Kangra resident Anil Kumar.

The Pakistan Supreme Court bans the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, from contesting polls for life.

Writer Anders Olsson is appointed head of the Swedish Academy which awards the Nobel Literature Prize following the resignation of the incumbent,Sara Danius a day earlier amid allegations of sexual harassement by 18 women against a man with close links to the institution.

U.S. British and French forces strike Syria with more than 100 missiles in a span of 70 minutes targeting chemical weapons sites in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack in Douma.

Milos Forman, 86, Oscar-winning Czech film director, known for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus, at Danbury Hospital near his home in Warren, Connecticut, U.S.

April 13

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugrates the first health centre under the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Jangala in Bihar district, Chhattisgarh.

Ram Kumar, 93, Indian artist, writer extraordinaire, at his residence in New Delhi.

April 14

The audio clip of Nirmala Devi, an assistant Proffesor at Devanga Arts College in Aruppukottai in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu “luring” four girls, (suspended on March 21) is leaked online triggering public outrage.

Vittorio Taviani, 88, Italian film maker, in Rome, Italy.

April 15

All the five accused in the May 18, 2007 blast at the Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad, including Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand are acquitted by a special NIA court in Hyderabad due to lack of evidence.

The 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service is bagged by the The New York Times and The New Yorker magazine for their revelations of sexual harasement. The national reporting prize goes to The Times and The Washington Post for their coverage of U.S. President Donald Trump’s possible ties to Russia. Rapper Kendrick Lamar is awarded the Pulitzer for music for his album DAMN, at the Pulitzer prize ceremany at Colombia University in New York City.

Surendra Nihal Singh, 88, veteran journalist, at the National Heart Institute, in New Delhi.

April 16

India and Sweden agree upon a joint action plan after talks between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Stefan Lofven, in Stockholm. A joint declaration on a Sweden-India Innovation Partnership for a Sustainable Future issued.

China announces move to scrap ownership limits on foreign carmakers.

T.V.R. Shenoy, 77, veteran journalist and columnist, at the Manipal Hospital in Karnataka.

Bhimsain Khurana, 81, veteran filmmaker and animation pioneer, in Mumbai.

Barbara Bush, 92, wife of former U.S. President George Bush and mother of former President George. W. Bush, at her home in Houston, Texas.

April 17

Britain and India agree to forge a new India-U.K. Trade partnership after talks between Prime Ministers Theresa May and Narendra Modi in London. The two sides sign a statement of shared values.

NASA’s planet-hunting spacecraft, Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a $ 337 million satellite, blasts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on board a SpaceX rocket.

April 18

The Supreme Court concludes that there is no foul play in judge B.H. Loya’s death on December 1, 2014 in Nagpur and there is ”absolutely no merit” in PIL petitions.

Retired IAS officer R. Santhanam, begins probe into the audiotape scandal involving ‘luring’ of girl students at the behest of Madurai Kamaraj University officials.

India and Finland resolve fax dispute involving Nokia under the Mutual Agreement Procedure system.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges the Commonwealth to put sustainable development and climate change, particularly of small island states, at the heart of its agenda, addressing the 25th Comonwealth Heads of Government summit in London.

Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez is sworn in as Cuba’s President replacing Raul Castro after being elected in a landmark vote of the National Assembly.

April 19

The Congress and six other Opposition parties in the Rjya Sabha move an impeachment motion against the CJI Dipak Misra on grounds of ”misbehaviour” and level five charges against him.

The Gujarat High Court acquits former Minister Dr. Maya Kodnani who was sentenced to 28 years in jail by a trial court in connection with the February 28, 2002 Naroda Patiya massacre case in which 97 people were killed bya mob. Upholds the conviction of 12 persons, including Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi.

The Madras High Court becomes the first court in south India and eighth in the country to introduce e-court fee payment facility.

Tim Bergling also known as Avicii 28, Swedish DJ, is found dead in the Omani capital Muscat.

Rajinder Sachar, 94, human rights activist and former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, who brought to the fore the socio-economic conditions of Muslims, at Fortis Hospital in New Delhi.

April 20

The Union Cabinet approves the promulgation of The Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance providing for death penalty for rapists of girls below 12 years. Minimum jail term goes up to 20 years. No anticipatory bail for accused in rape or gang-rape of a girl under 16 years.

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018, empowering the government to seize the domestic assets of those so deemed by a court gets the Union Cabinet nod.

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha quits the party.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, says he will halt nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.

Verne Jay Troyer, 49, American actor, best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers film series, in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

April 21

At least 39 naxalites are gunned down by C-60, Maharashtra police’s special Anti-Maoist unit in the Kasanur area of Gadchiroli bordering Chhattisgarh.

President Ram Nath Kovind gives his assent to an ordinance providing death for those convicted of raping girls below 12 and Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance.

Sitaram Yechury is re-elected CPI(M) general secretary for a second term at the end of the five-day 22nd Party Congress in Hyderabad. A new 17-member Polit Bureau and a 95-member Central Committee also in place.

At least 57 people are killed and 119 wounded following a suicide bomb attack by the IS outside a voter registration centre in the Afghan capital Kabul.

Three people are shot dead by a nude gunman Travis Reinking at a Waffle House restaurant in the Antioch neighbourhood of Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.

At least 11 people are killed in Nicaragua amid a wave of anti-government porotests over the last four days.

April 22

Rajya Sabha Chairman, M. Venkaiah Naidu, rejects the impeachment motion against CJI Dipak Misra. , a first in India’s constitutional court.

Tata Consultancy Services becomes the second Indian firm after Reliance Industries Limited to cross the $100 billion mark in market capitalisation.

Six Maoists are killed in an encounter in Rajaram Khanda area of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra.

Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks, is jailed for 20 years by a Belgian court over a gun-battle with the Police in Brussels on March 15, 2016 that led to his arrest three days later.

Armenian leader Serzh Sargsyan resigns after mass protests against his election as Prime Minister with sweeping powers.

Jailed Egyptian photographer Abu Zied is awarded the UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize.

At least 10 people are killed and 15 others injured after Alek Minassian drives a rental van into pedestrians in Yonge Street in Toronto, Canada.

April 23

Resume Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, rules the U.S. District Court for Columbia and asks the administration to start accepting new applications.

Jordanian-Palestenian writer Ibrahim Nasrallah is presented the International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his novel The Second War of the Dog, set in a dystopian future society, at a cermony in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

Joseph James DeAngelo, a former California policeman accused of being the “Golden State Killer”, and charged with eight murders during a crime spree from 1976-86, is arrested at his home in a Sacramento suburb.

April 24

Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu is convicted for rape and sexual assault of a teenage girl at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur, Rajasthan on August15, 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment till death by a special SC/ST court.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives in-principle approval for the diversion of 77 hectares of forest land for the ₹1.08 lakh crore bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

A Copenhagen Court finds Danish inventor Peter Madsen guilty of premeditated murder and sexual assault of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on his home-made submarine in August 2017.

A 3-D map of more than a billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy produced by Europe’s Gaia satellite, is launched in Germany.

April 25

Thirteen children are killed and seven others seriously injured when a train rams their school van at an unmanned level crossing between Tamukhi Road and Dudahi Stations in Kushinagar district, Uttar Pradesh.

The Supreme Court upholds the August 22, 2007 verdict of the Delhi High Court acquitting Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren in connection with the murder of his private secretary Shashi Nath Jha in 1994.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif is disqualified from holding office by the Islamabad High Court for concealing assets abroad from tax authorities.

The U.S. Senate confirms Mike Pompeo to be the Secretary of State.

U.S. comedian Bill Cosby is convicted of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his Philadephia home in 2004 in the first big celebrity trial of the # MeToo era, during retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

April 26

The Madras High Court dismisses plea seeking disqualification of O. Panneerselvam and 10 other AIADMK MLAs for having voted against a no-confidence motion moved by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on February 18, 2017.

Another oil leak from an ONGC pipeline damages a paddy field in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, even as the sit-in protest by Kadiramangalam residents enters the 344th day.

Indu Malhotra takes oath as Supreme Court judge, becoming the first woman judge to be appointed to the top post directly from the bar.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal stays an order of the CCI imposing a penalty of ₹136 crore on Google for unfair trade practices.

Eight persons are charged with the gang-rape and murder of a minor girl on March 23, by the police in central Assam’s Nagaon district.

North Korean President Kim Jong-un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in pledge to work for the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula after a historic summit in the peace village of Panmunjom. Kim promises to move clocks 30 minutes forward to show the same time as the South.

China and India are both important engines for global growth, says President Xi Jinping after talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Wuhan, China.

Seven schoolchildren are stabbed to death and 12 injured in a knife attack by a man at the Number Three Middle School in Mizhi county in China’s Shaanxi province.

April 27

Alfie Evans, the sick British toddler, whose parents won support from Pope Francis during a protracted legal battle over his treatment for a rare degenerative brain condition, dies at the Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, England, five days after withdrawal of life support.

The Australian Olympic Committee posthumously awards an Order of Merit to Peter Norman, a record holding sprinter, who supported American track stars Tommie Smith and John Carlos in their famous Black Power salute at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

April 28

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd resigns. Sajid Javid, a South Asian, is appointed in her place.

At least 26 pro-regime fighters are killed in missile strikes on central Syria.

Lester James Peiris, 99, Sri Lankan filmmaker and a national icon, in Colombo.

April 29

Bhogi Suraj Krishna from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, tops the Joint Entrance Examination-Mains for admission to engineering colleges across the nation.

At least 25 people, including 10 journalists are killed as two suicide blasts rip through Kabul, Afghanistan.

April 30

The Supreme Court directs the High Courts to set up panels of judges to regulate and monitor trials under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

The Telecom Commission gives nod to TRAI proposal to allows Mobile Communication on Aircraft services. Internet can be accessed using the onboard Wi-Fi. Nod for proposal to set up an ombudsman to address consumers’ grievances.

Maharashtra becomes the first state to provide digitally-signed land record receipts (also known as 7/12 receipts).

Shailbala Sharma, an Assistant Town and Country Planner, is shot dead by a hotel owner while overseeing a Supreme Court-ordered demolition drive in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expels U.S. actor Bill Cosby and film director, Roman Polanski in the light of sexual assault cases against them.

Ashok Mitra, 90, former West Bengal Finance Minister, in Kolkata.

May 1

Gangster Chhota Rajan and eight others are sentenced to life imprisonment in the June 11, 2011 murder of journalist Jyotirmoy Dey in Mumbai by a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act Court. Journalist Jignesh Vora is acquitted.

The Supreme Court questions the government’s justification for passing Aadhaar Act of 2016 as a Money Bill. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 11.

At least 100 people are killed and around 180 injured after a high-velocity dust storm followed by thunder showers wreaks havoc in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Cambridge Analytica, the U.K. marketing analytics firm at the heart of the Facebook data scandal, announces it was “immediately ceasing all operations” and filing for insolvency in Britain and the U.S.

Kottayam Pushpanath, 80, prolific Malayalam novelist, in Kottayam, Kerala.

May 2

President Ram Nath Govind hands over the Best Actress Award conferred posthumously on actor Sridevi to husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Janhvi and Khushi at the 65th National Film Awards function in New Delhi. Best Actor award goes to Riddhi Sen. K.J. Yesudas is presented the Best Male Playback Singer Award. A.R.Rahman gets the award for Best Music Direction.

The Punjab Government withdraws the Indian Penal Code (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2016 that proposed life imprisonment for sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs.

May 3

The Goods and Services Council decides to convert the GST network into a 100% government enterprise, and implement a single form for filing of returns.

Adam Purinton, the Kansas man who killed Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an Indian immigrant at a bar in February 2017 in the suburb of Olathe in the Midwestern U.S. State is sentenced to life.

Nobel Literature Prize 2018 is put off to 2019, after the Swedesh Academy that selects the laureate fails to contain a deep crisis stemming from the #MeToo campaign.

The U.S. lodges a complaint with the WTO Committee on Agriculture that India has substantially under-reported its market price support for wheat and rice.

May 4

Fifteen of the 18 accused, including the main accused Dhanu Bhuiyan in the alleged gang-rape and burning alive of a 16-year-old girl a day earlier in Chatra district, Jharkhand, are arrested at Champaran in Hazaribagh district.

Twentythree people are killed and 11 injured after gas explosions tear through two coalmines in Marwaarh and Spin Carez in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

May 5

Five militants are killed in an encounter with security forces in Badigam in Shopian, Jammu and Kashmir. Five civilians are killed and 30 injured in the ensuing clashes.

At least 13 people are killed and 33 wounded in a blast at a voter registration centre in Khost province, Afghanistan. Seven shopkeepers are killed in Faryab province after their vehicle hits a roadside bomb.

Lebanese cast votes in the first parliamentary election in nine years.

Pakistani Interior Minister, Ahsan Iqbal survives an attempt on his life while leaving a political rally near his home town of Narowal district, Punjab.

Six Indians employed in KEC, an Indian infrastructure and electricity major in Afghanistan are abducted by unknown gunmen in Baghlan province.

May 6

A five-judge Constitution Bench is to hear a writ petition filed by two Raya Sabha MPS, Partap Singh Bajwa and Dr. Amee Harshadray Yajnik, challenging Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu’s rejection of the impeachment motion against the CJI Dipak Misra.

The Supreme Court transfers trial in the case of abduction, gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl at Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir to Pathankot district, Punjab.

India signs an agreement with the World Bank for a $200 million loan for implementing the National Nutrition Mission across 315 districts of the country.

R. Thirumani Selvan, a tourist from Chennai is killed in a stone-throwing incident on the Srinagar-Gulmarg road in Jammu and Kashmir.

Vladimir Putin is sworn in as Russia’s President for a fourth term at a ceremony at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow.

Anitha-SAT, a lightweight satellite developed by Villet Oviya, a medical aspirant from Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu to measure the effects of air pollution and global warming, is launched from Aztra Labs in Mexico City.

May 7

The Supreme Court “dismisses as withdrawn” a petition moved against the Vice-President’s rejection of the impeachment motion against the CJI Dipak Misra.

U.S. President Donald Trump announces decision to pull out of the landmark nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions.

Armenia’s Parliament elects Opposition leader, Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister.

Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya loses plea in the U.K. against freezing of international assets and the registration of a ruling by India’s Debt Recovery Tribunal from January 2017.

May 8

U.S. retail giant Walmart to agrees to pay $16 billion for a 77% stake in Indian e-commerce startup Flipkart, in what will be biggest acquisition in the nation by a foreign firm. American e-commerce from eBay to sell holdings worth $1.1billion in Flipkart.

The government approves green licence plates bearing numbers in white fonts for private e-vehicles and yellow for taxis.

North Korea frees three American detainees, Kim Dong-chul, Kim Sang-duk and Kim Hak-song, after talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

Malaysians cast votes in parliamentary polls.

At least seven persons are killed and 17 wounded after gunmen launch coordinated attacks in the Afghanistan capital Kabul.

At least 47 people are killed as a dam on a commercial flower farm in Kenya’s Rift Valley bursts after weeks of torrential rain

May 9

Ishaan K. Shaan and Surya create history by becoming the first transsexual couple in Kerala to tie the knot, in a function at the Mannam Memorial National Club in Thiruvananthapuram.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s nephew Vinay Bansal is arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for his involvement in an alleged ₹4.9 crore scam related to work on a drainage network, from his home in west Delhi’s Pitampura.

The Supreme Court directs the West Bengal State Election Commission not to declare without its permission the results of the panchayat polls where the ruling TMC has won 34% or over 16,000 seats uncontested.

Nonagenarian Mahathir Mohamad is sworn in Malaysian Prime Minister after his Opposition alliance, Pakatan Harapan or Alliance of Hope, unsaddles the Barisan Nasional coalition which had been holding power without break since 1957.

Israel strikes nearly all of Iran’s military installations in Syria in response to an Iranian rocket barrage on the former’s positions in the occupied Golan Heights.

David Goodall, 104, a British-born Australian biologist, dies after an assisted suicide in Liestal, a town outside the city of Basel, Switzerland.

Neelu, 82, Tamil comedian, in Chennai after prolonged hospitalisation.

May 10

Additional Director-General Himanshu Roy Dasondi, an IPS Officer from the Maharashtra cadre, who cracked the 2013 IPL betting scandal and the J.Dey murder case, among others, commits suicide at his home.

The Gujarat High Court upholds the conviction of 19 of the 23 persons found guilty in the March 1, 2002 maasacre of 23 people in Ode village in Anand district, Gujarat.

At least two persons are killed and more than 35 injured in the Moti Karanja area of Aurangabad, Maharashtra, following clashes triggered by a crackdown on illegal water lines.

Sensex gains 289.52 points to close at 35,535.79, its highest since February 1.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi says India stands for a united, rich, strong Nepal after talks with his Nepalese counterpart K.P. Sharma Oli in Kathamandu. The two jointly inaugurate the 900 MW Arun III hydroelectric power project.

Malaysian King Sultan Muhammad V agrees to pardon Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of The People’s Justice Party serving a jail term over a sodomy conviction.

The Philippines Supreme Court votes to remove its Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno after battling with President Rodrigo Duterte over his war on drugs.

A family of seven is found dead with gun shot wounds at a home in Osmington village, southwest Australia, in what could be the country’s worst mass shooting in 22 years.

India and Myanmar conclude the Agreement on Land Border Crossing after talks between External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj and top regime leaders in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.

May 11

A record 72% voting is registered in Karnataka Assembly polls.

At least 80 people are killed and 136 injured after dust storms and thunderstorms wreak havoc in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and the national capital.

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister, Najib Razak, is barred from leaving the nation.

At least 19 people are killed after the Ta’ang National Liberation Army rebels attack security force posts and a casino in an area in Myanmar near the border with China.

Iraqis cast votes in parlaimentary election.

An Indian tribunal lifts a ban on former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from holding public office.

Former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif admits to Pakistan’s role in the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Israeli singer Netta Barzilai wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisbon, Portugal for Toy, a pop anthem about female independence.

Ramesh Hassan, 73, iconic Indian-origin South African musician, of a heart attack.

May 12

At least 13 people are killed and dozens injured after a family of six, including two daughters aged nine and 12 stage suicide bombings at three churches in Surabaya, Indonesia.

At least 10 people are killed and more than 40 injured after militants detonate bombs and storm a government building in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Eight attackers too killed.

China’s first domestically made aircraft carrier known only as “Type 001A”, begins sea trials.

May 13

The Centre files the draft Cauvery water management scheme in the Supreme Court.

Senior Congress leader, Shashi Tharoor abetted the suicide of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, on January 17, 2014, says the SIT probing the case in the chargesheet filed against him.

The CBI files the first chargesheet in the PNB scam of over ₹13,500 crore before a special CBI Court and names former CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian, billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and 20 others.

At least 20 people are killed and hundreds injured during voting in the West Bengal panchayat polls. During the six-week run-up, more than 20 had died.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, divests Smriti Irani of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and elevates junior Minister Col. Rajyavardan Singh Rathore. Assigns Finance to Railways Minister, Piyush Goyal.

The R. Santhanam panel submits report on the Aruppukottai audio-tape scandal.

At least 61 Palestinians are shot dead and 2,700 injured by Israeli trops on the Gaza border.

The U.S. Embassy is opened in Jerusalem following re from Tel Aviv.

Nineteen persons die in an Ebola outbreak in DR Congo between April 4 and May 13.

Four police officers and six civilians are wounded in another family-led attack at a checkpost outside a police station in Surabaya, Indonesia. Four suicide bombers are killed.

Australian climber Steve Plain completes his quest to conquer the highest peaks on all the seven continents after scaling Mt. Everest 117 days since beginning his mission in Antarctica.

E.C.G. Sudarshan, 86, eminent physicist who made path-breaking discoveries in quantum optics, in Texas, U.S.

Tom Wolfe, 87, American journalist and novelist, in New York.

May 14

Karnataka Assembly polls result in a hung Assembly. The BJP bags 104 seats, Congress 78 and the JD(S) 38. The Congress offers ‘unconditional support’ to the JD(S) to head a coalition government.

At least 18 persons are killed and 14 seriously injured when a girder of an under-construction flyover collapses in the Cantonment area of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

The Kerala High Court clears former Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy of sexual charges and expunges the solar commission’s findings based on a letter written by Saritha S. Nair, one of the accused in the solar scam cases.

The rupee breaches the psychological 68-to-a-dollar mark to hit a 16-month low.

The principal bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal gives nod to Tata Steel bid for debt-ridden Bhushan Steel.

At least 19 persons are killed after a boat capsizes in the Godavari river between Vadapalli of West Godavari and Manturu village in East Godavari district.

Balakumaran, 71, Tamil writer, in Chennai.

May 15

Karnataka Governor, Vajubhai Vala, invites BJP leader, B.S. Yeddyurappa to form the government. The Congress challenges decision in the Supreme Court.

The CBI files a first chargesheet pertaining to the second case registered against Mehul Choksi in the PNB scam involving ₹7,080.96 crore.

The Union Cabinet gives nod for a national policy on biofuels that allows use of sugarcane and other raw material for ethanol production.

Ajeet Bajaj and Deeya Suzannah become the first father-daughter duo to scale Mt. Everest.

Jailed Malaysian leader, Anwar Ibrahim is granted a full pardon and freed. He was sentenced thrice and had spent 11 years behind bars, six of them in solitary confinement.

Hundreds of women sexually abused by gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar tentatively agree to a $500 million settlement with his former employer Michigan State University.

Bernard Lewis, 101, British-American historian, in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, U.S.

May 16

BJP state president, B.S. Yeddyurappa takes oath as the 29th Chief Minister of Karnataka at the Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru. In a pre-dawn hearing, the Supreme Court refuses to stay the swearing-in.

The ruling Trinamool Congress sweeps the West Bengal panchayat polls.

The European Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, “launches the formal process to activate the blocking statute by updating the of U.S. sanctions on Iran falling within its scope”, after a meeting in Bulgaria.

Actor Sridevi is posthumously honoured with the Reginald F. Lewis Film Icon Award at the Cannes film festival.

May 17

The Supreme Court upholds the Centre’s draft Cauvery Management Scheme and asks the government to notify and give effect to it before the “impending monsoon”.

A BSF jawan and four civilians are killed and nine injured in 11 hours of continuous firing by Pakistani troops on the International Border in Jammu.

Sensex falls 300.82 points to close at 34,848.30. It has lost more than 700 points in the last four consecutive sessions.

At least 110 passengers on board a Cuban State airways plane are killed after it crashes soon after takeoff from Havana’s Jose Marti airport.

At least 10 people, including eight students and two teachers are killed and 10 injured after Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a student, opens fire at the Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe city in Texas, U.S.

May 18

B.S. Yeddyurappa resigns as Karnataka Chief Minister without facing the floor test.

A Delhi court sentences former Second Secretary in the media section of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, Madhuri Gupta, to three years imprisonment for passing on sensitive official information to Pakistani intelligence officials.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurates work on the 14.15 km Zojila tunnel project, Asia’s longest bidirectional road tunnel, which will provide all-weather connectivity to Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.

Populist Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr’s Marching Towards Reform bloc wins 54 of the 329 seats in Parliament in a major upset. Victory Alliance bloc of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi gets 42 seats.

Britain’s Prince Harry, grandson of Queen Elizabeth II marries Meghan Markle, former American actress at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Shoplifters bags the Palme D’Or at the 71st Annual Cannes Film Festival in France. Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowsi’s Zimna Wojna (Cold War), wins the Best Director Award. Samal Yeslyamova (Ayka) gets Best Actress Award and the Best Actor Award goes to Matteo Garrone (Dogman).

Reginald Grant Lucas, 65, Grammy-winning American musician, who produced the bulk of Madonna’s debut album in the 1980s, in New York City, U.S.

May 19

Seven policemen are killed in an improvised explosive device blast triggered by Maoists targeting a police vehicle in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh.

Kerala Health Department confirms Nipah virus infection in the State with the blood samples of two people who had died in Kozhikode district a fortnight ago indicating the presence of the zoonotic disease. Another of the family from Sooppikkada village too had died.

The U.S. and China agree to back off from imposing tariffs on each other, a day after reaching an accord on slashing the American trade deficit with Beijing.

Nicolas Maduro wins a new six-year term in the Venezuelan presidential polls.

Bill Gold, 97, American graphic designer best known for iconic film posters such as for Casablanca and A Clockwork Orange in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S., of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

May 20

The Nipah toll goes up to four with the death of Lini, a nurse attached to the Perambra taluk hospital in Kozhikode.

INSV Tarini, becomes the first Indian vessel with an all-woman crew to successfully circumnavigate the world and is received at the INS Mandovi jetty at Verem in north Goa. The team sailed for 254 days and covered 22,000 nautical miles during the expedition flagged off on September 10, 2017.

Arunachal Pradesh becomes the last of the seven north eastern states to be on the nation’s commercial flight service map, after the State’s first flight lands at the Pasighat airport.

China launches a relay stallite named Queqiao, or “Magpie Bridge”, after an ancient folk tale from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan, to explore the far side of the moon.

Pakistan approves order from Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to integrate the region of Gilgit-Baltistan into the federal structure of the country.

May 21

At least 12 people, including Snowlin a 17-year-old girl, are killed in police firing after a section of participants in a massive rally to the Collectorate seeking closure of the Sterlite Copper, a Vedanta group firm in Thoothukudi, resorts to violence. Around 60 persons are injured in stone-throwing. Many vehicles in the Collectorate complex are destroyed in arson.

The toll in the Nipah Virus outbreak in Kerala goes up to 11. Eight of them are from Kozhikode district and three from Malappuram district.

At least 16 people are killed and 38 injured when a minivan packed with explosives explodes while security forces have been trying to defuse it in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Sixteen security forces personnel are killed fighting Taliban in Ghazni province a day earlier.

Polish author Olga Tokarczuk wins the Man Booker International Prize for works of translated fiction for Flights, a philosophical rumination on modern day travel at a function in London. She shares it with translator Jennifer Croft.

Philip Roth, 85, American author, at a hospital in Manhattan, U.S. of congestive heart failure.

May 22

One more person dies in fresh police firing in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. The government invokes ‘public emergency,’ sounds high-level alert. Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, retired Madras High Court Judge to probe firing. Protests erupt across the State.

The Madras High Court directs Vedanta to cease work at the proposed Unit-II of the Sterlite Copper smelter plant in Thoothukudi.

H.D. Kumaraswamy is sworn in as the 30th Chief Minister of Karnataka, heading a JD(S)-Congress coalition government, at a function on the grand steps of the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.

Four civilians are killed and 30 injured in fairing and shelling on the International Border in Jammu by Pakistani troops for the third consecutive day.

The Union Cabinet gives nod for the promulgation of an ordinance to amend the 16-month-old Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code which proposes to classify homebuyers as “financial creditors” at par with lenders.

North Korea demolishes its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in a series of huge explosions.

Richard Wayne Peck, 84, American writer of children’s fiction, at his home in New York City, after a battle with cancer.

May 23

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board orders closure of the Sterlite Copper unit and cuts power supply to the plant.

Nipah Virus claims one more life in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, taking the toll to 12.

Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, launches the ‘Clean Air India Initiative’ in New Delhi. The two sides sign 51 agreements.

“The Malaysian flight MH17 downed over Ukraine on July 17, 2014 by a missile from a Russian military brigade,” says the Joint Investigation Team.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is given a third term by lawmakers.

Indian botanist Kamaljit S. Bawa, president of Bengaluru-based non-profit Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, receives the Linnean Medal in Botany from the Linnean Society of London.

May 24

“We want to settle all issues with India in a friendly ambience,” says Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Santiniketan in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, at the inauguration of Bangladesh Bhavana, a cultural complex with a museum narrating the history of the 1971 Liberation War, on the Visva Bharati University campus in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Congrerss-JD(S) government in Karnataka wins confidence vote in the Assembly amid a walkout by the BJP.

All the five accused in the July 7, 2013 serial blasts at the Bodh Gaya temple complex in Bihar which left several injured are found guilty by a local court in Patna.

Ireland votes in a landmark referendum on whether the constitutional ban on abortion enabled by the 1983 Eighth Amendment should go.

Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein surrenders to the New York City Police on the charges of rape and sexual abuse and is freed on a $1million bail by a Manhattan court.

MeerLICHT – Dutch for more light – the world’s first optical telescope located in Sutherland linked to the MeerKAT radio telescope in North Cape province is launched by scientists in South Africa . It forms part of the Square Kilometre Array project in the remote Karoo desert.

The assembly of Pakistan’s Sindh province passes a landmark bill, the Sindh Hindu Marriage Act, 2016 (Amendment) Bill, 2018, allowing Hindu widows to remarry.

May 25

Irish republic votes by a landslide to legalise abortion. All but one of the 40 constituencies vote yes to repeal the 8th Amendment.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in holds a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Panmunjom border village.

Alan Bean, 86, former Apollo astronaut and lunar module pilot for the second moon landing mission in November 1969, in Houston, Texas, following a short illness.

May 26

Colombia’s presidential polls head off for a run-off after right winger Ivan-Duque wins the first-round vote against leftist Gustavo Petro.

May 27

Sterlite Copper, the Vedanta Group’s Copper smelter plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu is sealed after the State Government orders its permanent closure.

Polling in Lok Sabha byelections in UP’s Kairana, Bhandara-Gondiya and Palghar in Maharashtra and Nagaland, besides several Assemb ly constituencies are marred by reports of malfunctioning of EVMs and glitches in VVPAT machines.

Sensex gains 240.61 points to close at 35,165.48.

Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella appoints Carlo Cottarelli, a former IMF official as interim Prime Minister.

Mamoudou Gassama, a Malian migrant who scaled a four-storey Paris apartment block with his bare hands two days earlier to save a child is offered French Citizenship by President Emmanuel Macron.

Pakistan appoints former Chief Minister Nasir-ul-Mulk as caretaker Prime Minister until a general election on July 25.

Serge Dassault, 93, French billionaire and aviation magnate, at his office in Paris of heart failure.

May 28

The Small Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu decides to take back 342.22 acres of land allotted to the Vedanta Group in Thoothukudi for expansion.

Kummanam Rajasekharan is sworn in Mizoram Governor.

A man kills two policewomen and a bystander in the Belgian city of Liege before being shot dead in a gun battle at a school.

Hurricane Mario which struck Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017 may have killed 4,600 people, from the day of the storm until Dec. 31, 2017, says a survey by researchers at Harvard University.

Muktha V. Srinivasan, 88, renowned Tamil film director and producer, in Chennai.

May 29

The CBI begins probe into the gutkha scam in Tamil Nadu exposed by the The Hindu in June 2017.

Branch operations across the country badly hit on day one of the two-day strike called by bank staff to protest against a meagre wage increase proposal.

The chargesheet is filed in the journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh murder case by the Special Investigation Team and it names Naveen Kumar as the key accused.

The U.K. decides not to deport skilled migrants. Home Office suspends use of anti-terror rule, pending the findings of a review.

India and Indonesia elevate their bilateral ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joko Widodo in Jakarta. Fifteen deals, including one to boost defence cooperation are signed.

The U.S. renames its strategically important Pacific Command as the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, at the change-of-command ceremony in Hawaii.

The U.S. imposes tariffs on steel and aluminimum imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico.

Denmark bans burqa in public places.

Karthik Nemmani, an Indian-American, wins the 91st Scripps National Spelling Bee contest at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, U.S.

May 30

A united opposition wrests the Kairana and Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seats from the BJP, which manages to retain Palghar while its ally NDPP bags the lone Nagaland seat. The opposition parties win 10 Assembly seats across the nation and the BJP only a single seat in Uttarakhand.

The Nipah toll in Kerala touches 17.

Curfew is imposed in parts of Meghalaya capital Shillong after rumours on social media about the death of a tribal man trigger communal tension.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi resigns.

May 31

The Congress and Janata Dal enter into a pre-poll alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The parties arrive at an understanding on portfolio-sharing in the Karnataka Assembly.

The Centre notifies the Cauvery Water Management Authority.

All five accused in the July 7, 2013 Bodh Gaya serial bomb blasts case are awarded life sentence by a special NIA court in Patna, Bihar.

Farmers in at least seven states begin a ten-day strike or gaon bandh, demanding higher support prices and a complete loan waiver. Two debt-ridden Madhya Pradesh farmers commit suicide.

The Enforcement Directorate attaches assets worth more than ₹4, 700 crore in the bank loan fraud involving Vadodara-based Sterling Biotech group.

The Securities Appellate Tribunal quashes the June 2016 SEBI order barring the then MD of Tata Finance, Dilip Pendse from the capital markets for three years and criticises the regulator for letting off the firm despite finding serious violations in its preference share rights issue in 2001.

Spain’s Parliament ousts Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote after his Popular Party is implicated in a corruption scandal. Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez replaces him.

Giuseppe Conte is sworn in Italian Prime Minister heading a coalition formed by the nationalist League and anti-establishment Five Star Movement.

Nasir-ul-Mulk, a former Chief Justice is sworn in Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister hours after the President Mamnoon Hussain dissolved the Lower House of Parliament. The Supreme Court reverses a life-time ban on former Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif.

Spain gives nod to new Catalonia separatist government led by President Quim Torra.

India and Singapore agree to deepen their economic and defence ties as they sign eight agreements, including one on logistics cooperation between the Navies after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong.

India rejects the doctrine of “containment,” opposes protectionism and backs globalisation as a template of progress, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the Shangri La dialogue of defence leaders of the Asia-Pacific region in Singapore.

June 1

Pedro Sanchez is sworn in as Spain’s Prime Minister by King Felipe VI at a ceremony at the royal Zarzuela Palace in Madrid.

Catalonia’s new separatist government headed by President Quim Torra is sworn in at the regional presidency in Barcelona.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah-al-Sisi is sworn in for a second four-year term in Cairo.

June 2

Two BSF jawans are killed and 10 civilians injured in fresh shelling and firing by Pakistani troops on the International Border in Jammu.

More than 50 migrants drown in the Mediterranean, the majority off the coasts of Tunisia and Turkey.

At least 25 people are killed after Guatemala’s Fuego volcano erupts.

June 3

Kalpana Kumari from Sheohar in Bihar emerges all-India topper in the NEET securing 691 marks out of 720.

Curfew is reimposed in Shillong and the Army conducts flag marches after fresh violence, including an attack on a CRPF camp a day earlier.

Pradeepa, the daughter of a labourer from Peruvallur in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district commits suicide after failing to crack the NEET.

At least 14 people are killed after a motorcycle suicide bomber strikes in Kabul targeting a meeting of Shia clerics that had issued a fatwa against suicide bombings a day earlier.

Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki resigns after days of anti-austerity protests by citizens.

Saudi Arabia begins issuing its first driving licenses to women in decades.

Seychelles cancels an agreement with India for the development of Assumption Island in the Indian Ocean.

June 4

A Delhi court summons Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor as an accused in the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.

The Tamil Nadu government announces decision to ban plastic products except as packing material for milk, curd, oil and medical products from January 1, 2019.

India is committed to reducing the use of plastic and will join the Clean Seas Programme, a Sweden- led initiative to reduce littering of marine ecosystems, says Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 43rd World Environment Day celebrations organised in partnership with UNEP, in New Delhi.

Air Commodore Sanjay Chauhan, an ace fighter pilot of the IAF, is killed after the Jaguar aircraft he was flying crashes in Bareja village near Mundra in Gujarat’s Kutch district, soon after takeoff from the Jamnagar Air Force Station.

Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault at the Manhattan Supreme Court, after a grand jury indictment in two cases.

Jordan’s King Abdullah appoints former World Bank economist Omar al-Razzaz to form a new government.

Same-sex partners of EU citizens have the right to live in any member-state whatever their nationality, rules the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice.

A six-member caretaker federal Cabinet takes charge in Pakistan.

Kate Spade, 55 American fashion designer is found dead at her home on Park Avenue on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Ethiopia announces that it will accept a 2000 peace agreement with Eritrea over their disputed border.

June 5

The RBI’s monetary policy committee, in the first hike in four-and-a-half years, increases the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% as crude oil price surges .

The Pune police arrest five people — Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling — after raids in Delhi, Mumbai and Nagpur, in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence on January 1.

Five Lok Sabha members of the YSR Congress Party re-submit their resignations. They had first put in papers on April 6.

The President gives his assent to promulgate the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018, which provides relief to home buyers by recognising their status as “financial creditors.”

Sensex gains 275.67 points at close at 35,178.88.

The European Commission announces move to impose tariffs as high as 25% on imports worth $3.3 billion from the U.S. beginning July.

June 6

“We derive our strength from tolerance. We accept and respect our pluralism. We celebrate our diversity”, says former President Pranab Mukherjee at the concluding ceremony of the RSS’s third year ‘Shiksha Varg’ in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

A court in Pathankot, Punjab, frames charges against seven of the eight accused in the Kathua gang-rape and murder case.

A Delhi court awards seven years RI for gangster Abu Salem in an extortion case of 2002.

Britain’s Supreme Court says it would have declared Northern Ireland’s abortion laws incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights if not for a procedural technicality.

Jordan decides to withdraw a controversial IMF-backed Income Tax Bill following week-long protests.

June 7

The Tamil Nadu government announces a ₹115 crore Kuruvai package for the benefit of farmers.

An emergency meeting of the UDF high-power committee in Thiruvananthapuram, decides to bring back Kerala Congress (M) into the front fold.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar puts on hold the April 30 notification of the State Sports Department asking sportspersons to deposit a portion of their income to the Exchequer.

Two Guwahati-based youth – Nilotpal Das and Abhijeet Nath are bludgeoned to death on suspicion of being child lifters, by tribal villagers at Panjuri Kacharigaon in Karbi Anglong district.

Chinese President Xi Jinping presents the nation’s first friendship medal to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a function at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

At least four persons are killed and 618 injured in Israeli action against protesters at the Gaza border.

Indonesia is elected a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council in the plenary session at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

Anthony Michael Bourdain, 61, American celebrity chef and author, is found dead in his room at a luxury hotel, the Chambard, in France.

Sukracharya Rabha, 41, noted Assamese theatre personality, of cardiac arrest at Rampur village in Goalpara district.

Danny Kirwan, 68, British guitarist and songwriter for British-American blues rock band, Fleetwood Mac during its early years, in London.

June 8

China agrees to provide hydrological data of the Brahmaputra river in flood season. The two nations also sign an agreement under which China agrees to import non-Basmati rice from India, after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation summit in Qingdao in Shandong province.

SAG-AFTRA, the largest U.S. actors’ union and the country’s four major television networks agree to limit auditions to private hotel rooms and homes, following the #MeToo uproar.

L.P.Shahi, 98, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister at the AIIMS, in New Delhi.

June 9

The Army kills six militants after foiling an infiltration bid along the LoC in the Keran sector of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pranav Goyal of Panchkula, Haryana, tops the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) for admissions to the IITs by scoring 337 out of 360.

The Union government invites “outstanding individuals” from the private sector to join the administration at the level of Joint Secretary at the Centre.

The 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Qingdao, China issues a Joint declaration indicating its resolve to deepen cooperation to contain terrorism, extremism and separatism. The leaders adopt a Joint Appeal to Youth. Calls for a unified global counter-terrorism front under the coordination of the UN. India and Pakistan participate in the summit for the first time as full-fledged members following their admission into the grouping in 2017.

The G7 summit in Quebec, Canada, approves a joint communique which resolves “to work together in creating a healthy, prosperous, sustainable and fair future for all.” The U.S. pulls out of the statement, saying Canada backstabbed it on the tariffs issue.

June10

An organ transplant racket surfaces in Tamil Nadu, after a message posted by Prof. Vimal Bhandari, Director, National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation on a WhatsApp group set up for the express purpose of organ al, goes viral.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and two other Cabinet Ministers, stage a sit-in at Raj Niwas in New Delhi seeking the Lt. Governor Anil Baijal’s intervention to end a” four-month long strike” by bureaucrats in the wake of the alleged attack on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by AAP MLAs in February.

Shahzahan Bachchu, prominent Bangladesh secular writer and publisher, is dragged out of a shop and shot dead in his Kakaldi village in Munshiganj district.

The European Parliament bureau adopts a measure to phase out plastic bottles by 2019 and build a network of drinking fountains.

June 11

The RBI blames the board of directors of PNB for the embezzlement of over ₹13,000 crore by jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.

At least four BSF personnel are killed and three others injured as Pakistan Rangers resort to firing on the International Border in Jammu’s Ramgarh sector.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledge to move towards complete denuclearisation at a historic summit at the Capella Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa, a resort island. Washington promises old foe security guarantees and says it will stop military exercises with South Korea. Sanctions to remain in place for now.

A U.K. information tribunal tells the government to declassify a number of documents relating to British involvement in the run-up to the 1984 Operation Blue Star.

Jean-Claude Arnault, a Frenchman who is married to a member of the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Literature Prize, is charged with two counts of rape of a woman in Stockholm on two occasions in 2011.

June 12

The Union Cabinet gives nod for a proposal to grant private sector lender HDFC Bank permission to raise additional capital of up to ₹24,000 crore through FDI. Approves the draft Dam Safety Bill, 2018.

The Centre notifies the World Trade Organisation of its decision to increase import tariffs on 30 items from the U.S. amounting to $240 million.

President Ram Nath Kovind, gives assent for the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015.

A Saudi Arabia-led alliance of Arab states launches air strikes on the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah as part of operation “Golden Victory.”

A court in the Maldives sentences former President Maumoon Gayoom to 19 months in prison for obstructing a probe into an alleged plot to oust President Abdulla Yameen.

Toyota Motor Corp. agrees to buy a $1 billion stake in Southeast Asia’s Grab in the biggest investment by a carmaker into a ride-hailing firm.

London Breed is set to take over as San Francisco’s first Black Mayor after her victory in a knife-edge election.

Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak is honoured with Japan’s prestigious ‘Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture and Community’ for his significant work in tackling poor hygiene and discrimination.

June 13

President Ramnath Kovind rejects the Tamil Nadu government’s request to release the seven prisoners convicted for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991.

Veteran journalist and editor of Rising Kashmir newspaper, Shujaat Bukhari, is shot dead close to his office in Pratap Park in the heart of Srinagar. His two personal security officers are also killed.

The first Division Bench of the Madras High Court delivers a split verdict in a batch of cases filed by 18 AIADMK MLAs challenging their disqualification by the Speaker on September 18, 2017. Cases to be heard afresh before a third judge.

At least 13 people are killed in a landslip at Karinchola in Kozhikode district, Kerala.

At least 39 fighters are killed in heavy clashes outside Yemen’s rebel-held port city of Hodeidah.

A man fatally stabs two people and wounds two others in an attack at a mosque in Malmesbury near Cape Town, South Africa before being shot dead by the police.

Argentina’s lower house of Congress casts a historic vote to legalise abortion during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazhullah, responsible for the 2012 attack on Malala Yousafzai and the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, is killed in a United States-Afghanistan air strike in the border area of Marawera district of Kunar province in Afghanistan.

June 14

Parashuram Waghmore, a Sri Ram Sene activist from the border town of Sindagi, Vijayapura district, Karnataka, pulled the trigger on journalist Gauri Lankesh on September 5, 2017, says the SIT probing the case.

U.S. President Donald Trump announces hefty tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports and accuses Beijing of intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices. China retaliates and says will impose “equal” tariffs on U.S. goods.

The toll in the Saudi Arabia and UAE-backed operation to reclaim Hodeidah port in Yemen, from Houthi rebels goes up to 139.

A federal court in Washington jails Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016, pending trial after being charged with witness tampering following a June 8 indictment.

Over 2,000 children are being held in detention after separation from their parents or adult guardians who illegally crossed into the U.S. between April 19 and May 31.

The Nicaraguan government and civic groups agree to halt violence to end months of political unrest that has left 170 dead.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who spent a record-breaking 665 days in space, retires.

Britain excludes India from reform of its international student visa application process.

June 15

China imposes additional duties on $ 50 billion worth of American products. Extra tariffs on 545 items worth about $34 billion to take effect on July 6.

At least 31 people are killed in a twin suicide bomb attack in Damboa in Borno State, northeast Nigeria.

Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras survives a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

Black Panther bags four honours, including two awards for its star, Chadwick Boseman, at The 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards held from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, U.S. Stranger Things emerges the top TV honouree bagging four awards, including a repeat win for best show.

June 16

At least 18 people are killed and 49 wounded in a suicide attack outside the office of the Nangarhar Provincial Governor in Jalalabad city, eastern Afghanistan. At least 36 people had been killed and 65 injured in a suicide assault in the province a day earlier.

Aquarius, a migrant rescue boat, with 629 sub-Saharan Africans turned away by Italy and Malta, arrives in Valencia, Spain.

Greece and Macedonia sign an accord to rename the former Yugoslav republic the “Republic of North Macedonia.”

Ivan Duque wins Colombian presidential runoff defeating his rival, Gustavo Petro, an erstwhile insurgent.

At least five people are killed and many others hurt as an SUV carrying more than a dozen during a suspected “smuggling event” crashes while fleeing from Border Patrol agents in South Texas.

June 17

ICICI Bank’s MD and CEO Chanda Kochhar, at the centre of a row over conflict of interest, decides to go on leave till completion of probe by a committee headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court Justice B.N. Srikrishna. Sandeep Bakshi appointed as whole-time director and Chief Operating Officer to run the bank in the interim.

Survey by the Tamil Nadu Revenue Department officials for the eight-lane Salem-Chennai green corridor project begins amid protests. Police arrest activist Piyush Manush for allegedly instigating people.

The ED files a charge sheet against liquor baron Vijay Mallya and his two firms for fraudulently “diverting” over ₹3,700 crore from bank loan funds to a U.K.-based F1 motorsport firm, a T20 IPL team and towards private jet sorties, before a special court in Mumbai.

The Government decides to shelve its plan to privatise Air India.

The Centre decides to locate the ₹1,100 crore AIIMS project on 300 acres at Thoppur in Madurai.

Audi CEO Rupert Stadler is arrested in Munich, Germany as part of a probe into the rigging of U.S. emissions tests on diesel engines nicknamed ‘dieselgate’.

The U.S. Senate passes the National Defence Authorisation Act for 20109 sans waiver provisions. The House of Representatives version, Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, allows for waivers for 180 days.

June 18

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti resigns after the BJP pulls out of the alliance with her Peoples Democratic Party that has ruled the State since March 2015.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ends nine-day sit-in at the Raj Niwas after bureaucrats attend meetings called by Ministers.

Survey Work for the Salem-Chennai ‘green corridor’ continues amid protests for the second day. Student activist M.Valarmathi is arrested by police in Achankuttapatti village for ‘instigation’.

Centre begins work to create a national database and an Aadhaar-seeded Unorganised Workers Identification Number Platform.

Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar formally launches the National Digital Library of India, which will give citizens access to 1.7 crore books, across disciplines in 200 languages, in New Delhi.

Five women activists of an NGO are gang-raped after being kidnapped from Kochang village in Jharkhand’s Kunti district.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, announces Washington’s withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council, accusing it of bias against Israel.

At least 30 Afghan soldiers are killed in multiple attacks by the Taliban on two bases and an ambush on a convoy in Badghis Province. Fifteen militants are killed and 21 wounded.

Nerella Venu Madhav, 85, renowned mimicry artiste, after a brief illness at his home in Mattewada in Warangal, Telangana.

June 19

Governor N.N.Vohra takes charge in Jammu and Kashmir and places the Assembly under suspended animation. B.V.R. Subrahmanyam is appointed Chief Secretary. All orders issued by the government on June 19 “kept in abeyance.”

Chief Economic Adviser Aravind Subramanian resigns.

The Madras High Court rejects an election petition challenging the victory of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader T.T.V.Dhinakaran in the December 21, 2017 byelection to the R.K.Nagar Assembly seat as an independent.

India notifies higher tariffs on several items imported from the U.S. effective August 4.

The Competition Commission of India attaches riders to its approval for the merger of Bayer and Monsanto in India.

The Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan notifies the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Regulations, 2018.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order to “keep families together” amid protests over separation of children from parents on the border with Mexico.

Syrian government committed war crimes in Ghouta through heavy bombardment and “deliberately starving” 2, 65,000 people, says the U.N.

Saudi Arabia-led coalition seizes Yemen’s main port city of Hodeidah, even as the battle spills into residential districts.

Hungary’s Parliament passes a package of Bills that criminalises helping illegal immigrants.

RemoveDEBRIS, the first-ever satellite to test possible solutions in cleaning up space junk is deployed by the International Space Station.

Britain’s upper house of Parliament approves the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

June 20

The Kashmir Valley is shut down by the separatists’ Joint Resistance Leadership to protest against the assassination of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahjan, accepts the resignation of five YSR Congress MPs, 76 days after they first submitted resignations on April 6.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s announcement in the Assembly on the Cabinet decision to exempt plantations from the ambit of the Kerala Forest Act, 2003 triggers a row.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India eases norms for share buy-backs and scraps grading of initial public offers and deletes provisions related to safety net feature.

Iraq’s Supreme Court orders a manual recount of the 11 million ballots cast in the May 12 legislative elections, after Parliament annuls the result and decides on recount on June 6.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbroug, France, rejects an appeal by Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik (who on July 22, 2011 killed 77 people in Oslo and at a summer camp in the island of Utoya), who says his near isolation in prison amounts to inhuman and degrading treatment.

Fortythree people are kidnapped by the Taliban from a road construction camp in Spin Boldak district in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and four police personnel are killed in an exchange of fire.

June 21

Four militants affiliated to Islamic State Jammu-Kashmir are killed in an encounter in Srigufwara’s Nowshar-Khiram area in Anantnag district.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announces in the Assembly a compensation package for the land and other properties to be acquired for the ₹10,000 crore 277.3km Salem-Chennai green corridor project.

Dev Bhagwandas Tadvi, a class IX student of Shree Bharti Vidyalaya in Baranpora area in Vadodara, Gujarat, is found murdered in the toilet.

The Centre notifies the formation of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.

The European Union slaps revenge tariffs on U.S. products, including bourbon, jeans and motorcycles, worth €2.8 billion ($3.3 billion).

Italy refuses to extradite Carlo Valentino Ferdinando Gerosa, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland bribery scandal in the ₹3,600 crore VVIP helicopter deal.

The Seychelles National Assembly refuses to ratify India’s plan to build a naval base on the Assumption Island in the western Indian Ocean region.

North Korea still poses an “extraordinary threat” to the U.S., says President Donald Trump, and by an executive order extends for one year the so-called “national emergency”, in place since 2008, re-authorising economic curbs against it. Pentagon indefinitely suspends major military exercise with South Korea, known as Freedom Guard.

June 22

Mumbai becomes the first major city to impose a tough plastic-free regime.

One person is killed and 83 others wounded after an explosion at a huge rally addressed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed at Meskel Square in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Italy declares that its ports are closed to foreign-flagged rescue ships as German charity vessel Lifeline lay off the coast of Malta in limbo with more than 230 migrants aboard. More than 400 migrants are rescued in three operations off the coast of Spain.

Kim Jang-pil, 92, the founder of South Korea’s spy agency, who also served twice as Prime Minister, at Seoul’s Soonchunhyang University Hospital.

June 23

The board of Beijing headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank approves the first tranche of $100 million investment in the National Infrastructure and Investment Fund.

The ruling Justice and Development Party takes comfortable lead in Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary polls which record a high 87% turnout nationwide.

Saudi Arabia lifts the ban on driving by women, in place since 1957.

A blast at a rally of the ruling party in Zimbabwe leaves 49 injured, including Vice-Presidents Kembo Mohadi and Constantino Chiwenga.

June 24

The Gujarat High Court awards 10 years rigorous imprisonment in the February 28, 2002 massacre of 97 people in the Naroda Patiya area of Ahmedabad.

Heavy rain lashes Mumbai bringing life to a standstill. Santacruz records 231 mm and Colaba 99 mm rainfall. Malad West registers around 300 mm.

India extends Seychelles a $ 100 million line of credit for the purchase of defence hardware after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Danny Faure in New Delhi .

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins sweeping new executive powers after his victory in landmark polls. His Justice and Development Party and its nationalist allies win a majority in Parliament.

Iran bans the import of 1,339 goods, amid rare public protests against the plunge of rial to record lows.

Illegal migrants from Mexico will not be referred for prosecution, says the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, in Texas.

A U.S. judge in San Diego issues a nationwide injunction directing the administration to reunite children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border with immigrant parents within 30 days.

David Goldblatt, 87, South African photographer who “chronicled apartheid,” of cancer, at his home in Johannesburg.

June 25

The Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopts a special resolution urging the Centre to keep the Dam Safety Billl, 2018, in abeyance.

The U.S. Supreme Court upholds President Donald Trump’s ban (imposed in September 2017) on travellers from the five mainly Muslim nations Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.

The EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which repeals the 1972 European Communities Act through which Britain became a member, becomes law after Queen Elizabeth II gives her assent.

June 26

The Centre decides to swap the UGC and replace it with a Higher Education Commission of India, which is likely to be without the grant-giving powers that the UGC possesses.

Hayabusaz, a Japanese probe reaches Ryugu, an asteroid 300 million km away to collect information about the birth of the solar system and the origin of life after a more than three-year voyage through deep space.

Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics co. Ltd. settle a seven-year patent dispute over the latter copying the design of the iPhone by filing the terms in the U.S. Northern District Court of California.

Pakistan is placed on the Financial Action Task Force’s ‘grey’ for failing to curb terror financing, at the FATF plenary in Paris.

Joseph Walter Jackson, 89, American talent manager and patriarch of the Jackson family of entertainers, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

June 27

The Lashkar-e-Taiba behind the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, says the Jammu and Kashmir police.

Five persons are killed after a Beechcraft King Air C-90 aircraft on a test flight crashes into an under-construction building at Ghatkopar in Mumbai.

The CBI files chargesheet against Winsome Diamonds promoter Jatin Mehta, two former CMDs of Canara Bank and others for allegedly cheating the bank of ₹146 crore.

The RBI steps in as the rupee hits the record low of 69-a-dollar mark for the first time ever.

Four journalists and sales assistant of The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, U.S. are shot dead at the office by a gunman Jarrod Ramos. He had unsuccessfully sued the paper for defamation in 2012.

June 28

Sterling Biotech Limited, a pharmaceutical company in the Nilgiris is served with a closure notice by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for flouting environmental norms.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India approves the LIC’s proposal to raise its stake in troubled IDBI bank.

European Union leaders reach a deal to share out refugees arriving in the bloc on a voluntary basis and create “controlled centres” inside the EU to process asylum requests, after nine hours of talks in Brussels.

A Pakistani High Court overturns an Election Commission tribunal decision disqualifying former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi from running in his home constituency in the Murree hill district close to Islamabad.

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed exits the September 23 presidential polls after the Election Commission bars his candidacy.

Crew Interactive Mobile Companion or CIMON, a robot hardwired to assist astronauts on the International Space Station, is launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida, U.S.

A secret deal struck by the UN and Myanmar reached in May-end leaked online does not provide citizenship guarantee to Rohingya refugees.

Stephen Ditko, 90, U.S. comic artist and co-creator of Marvel superheroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, is found dead at his home in New York City, U.S.

June 29

The Karnataka Government decides to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the setting up of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.

Germany’s Thyssenkrupp and Tata Steel agree to establish a joint venture that will create €5 billion in additional value for both

June 30

At least 48 people are killed and 10 injured after a private bus falls into a 200-metre deep gorge before crashing into a shallow stream near Gween village, close to Dhumkot in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district.

Five persons are beaten to death by a mob which assaults a group of 78 people on suspicion of being child-lifters at the tribal Ranipada hamlet in Sakri tehsil in Maharashtra’s Dhule district.

Eleven members of a family, are found dead at their home in Sant Nagar area of North Delhi’s Burari.

Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wins Mexican presidential polls.

At least 19 people are killed and 20 others injured after a suicide bomber targets a convoy of Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

The UAE announces halt in offensive against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Commander Abilash Tomy of the Indian Navy, the only invitee from Asia among 18 people to take part in the historic Golden Globe Race, sets sail from Les Sables-d’Olonne harbour in western France.

Massive protests rock Russia over the government move to raise the pension age to 65 for men and 63 for women.

Holocaust survivor and women’s rights icon Simone Veil is given the rare honour of burial at the Pantheon in Paris, France.

Dawn Sturgess, a resident of a flat on Muggleton Road in Amesbury in Salisbury, England, dies and her partner Charlie Rowley falls critically ill after they handle a container of nerve agent Novichok.

July 1

The Cauvery Water Management Authority, at its first meeting in New Delhi, directs Karnataka to release 34 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court rejects plea to shut down the Kudankulam Power Plant in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu till the Away From Reactor facility to store spent nuclear fuel is ready. Grants extension of time till April 30, 2022 to NPCIL to build the AFR.

The Interpol issues a Red Notice against diamond merchant Nirav Modi on the request of the ED and the CBI in connection with the ₹13,578 crore PNB fraud.

The Supreme Court upholds the appointments of Central Vigilance Commissioner K.V. Chowdary and Vigilance Commissioner T.M. Bhasin almost three years after they assumed office in 2015.

Twelve boys and their assistant football coach are found alive by rescuers in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave complex in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province nine days after they went missing.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel clinches a deal on limiting migrant arrivals in high stakes crisis talks in Berlin. Austria and Italy say they too will introduce controls at borders.

July 2

Mumbai receives 131mm rainfall in 24 hours throwing life out of gear. Five people are injured and suburban Western Railway service affected for several hours after a foot overbridge collapses in Andheri.

Fruit bats primary source of the Nipah outbreak in Kerala’s Kozhikode and Malappuram districts, says the ICMR.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is arrested at his home by anti-corruption investigators for wrongdoing at state fund 1MDB.

The Trump administration rescinds seven Obama-era policy guidelines on affirmative action that “advocate policy preferences and positions beyond the requirements of the Constitution.”

July 3

Delhi Lt. Governor Anil Baijal is bound by the “aid and advice” of the Arvind Kejriwal government, says a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court. Delhi as the national capital belongs to the nation as a whole, it says reproducing excerpts from the 1987 Balakrishnan report.

The Election Commission launches voter identity cards with Braille signage features.

The Union Cabinet clears the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018 that allows enforcement agencies to collect DNA samples, create “DNA profiles” and special data banks for forensic-criminal investigations.

The Union Cabinet gives nod for accession to the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty which extends coverage of copyright to the Internet and digital environment.

The RBI gives in-principle approval for the Bank of China to open branches.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announces an annual dope test for all government staff, including police personnel, through every stage of service.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is formally charged with corruption linked to a multi-billion dollar scandal.

July 4

“Regulate” gambling in sports, the Law Commission says in its report to the government.

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy announces waiver of ₹34,000 crore in crop loans, while presenting the budget in the State Assembly.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly passes Bills to permit setting up of two private universities — Shiv Nadar University and Sai University. Tamil Nadu Private Schools (Regulation) Act, 2018, is passed in the Assembly.

ISRO conducts its first ‘pad abort’ test demonstrating the safe recovery of the crew module in case of any exigency at the launch pad at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The rupee slumps to its lowest-ever close as it weakens further against the dollar to end at 68.95.

The European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg, France, rejects a highly controversial EU copywright law proposal that has pitted Beatles legend Paul McCartney against Internet giants and the creators of Wikipedia.

A High Court clears Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to run for the July 25 general election from Rawalpindi.

July 5

The Chief Justice of India alone is the master of the roster, rules the Supreme Court.

The Madras High Court refuses to stay land acquisition for the Salem-Chennai expressway.

An anti-corruption court in Islamabad sentences former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to 10 years in prison and imposes a fine of $10million over the purchase of four flats in London, worth over £200 million. His daughter Maryam Nawaz gets eight years and his son-in-law Captain (retd.) Muhammad Safdar one year.

The U.S. and China launch tit-for-tat 25% tariffs on $34 billion of each other’s imports.

Japan executes Shoko Asahara, leader of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, and six of his followers at a Tokyo detention house, for the March 20, 1995 sarin nerve agent attack on the Tokyo subway, which killed 13 people and injured thousands more.

Britain’s Cabinet gives nod for Brexit plan following a summit at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country retreat. It will see an EU-UK Free Trade Area and London remaining closely aligned with the EU.

Syrian government, rebels reach ceasefire deal in the south after more than two weeks of bombardment that has displaced 3,20,000 people since June 19.

A French policeman who shot dead a black youth Aboubakar Fofana, under surveillance for suspected drug trafficking, during a stop-and-search operation in Breil district triggering four nights of rioting in Nantes, is charged with manslaughter.

July 6

Three civilians, including a teenage girl are killed after Army’s 1 Rashtriya Rifles opens fire when confronted by protesters in Hawoora area in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

The JEE (Mains) and NEET are to be held twice a year and will be computer-based, says Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi. Encryption to check foul play.

Assam government to enforce pay cut for staff who neglect their parents bringing into force the Assam Employees’ Parents Responsibility and Norms for Accountability and Monitoring (PRONAM) Bill, 2017 passed in the Assembly on September 15, 2017.

At least 76 people are killed after heavy rain batters southwestern Japan. More than 3,60,000 people ordered to be evacuated in Okayama prefecture.

The Donald Trump administration freezes payments under an Obama-care programme that protects insurers with sicker patients from financial losses.

July 7

Fourteen of Mumbai’s 26 weather stations record more than 100 mm rain in the last 24 hours. Chembur receives the highest 184.2 mm rainfall followed by Goregaon 162.2 mm.

Four of the 12 schoolboys stuck in the Tham Luang cave in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province for more than 2 weeks are rescued by a 13-strong foreign divers team.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law Captain (retd.) Muhammad Safdar is arrested in Rawalpindi.

Turkey sacks 18,632 state employees over suspected links to terror organisations.

Canadian author Michael Ondaatje’s novel, The English Patient, wins the Golden Booker Prize, after being voted readers’ favourite in 50 years, at a function at the Royal Festival Hall, London to mark the literary award’s 50th anniversary.

Ethiopia and Eritrea restore relations, ending 20 years of enmity after talks between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki in the Eritrean capital Asmara.

M.M.Jacob, 91, senior Congress leader and former Governor of Meghalaya, at a private hospital in Ramapuram in Kerala’s Kottayam district.

July 8

A three judge bench of the Supreme Court favours live-streaming of court proceedings and the government moots a separate TV channel for the purpose.

A Special Bench of the Supreme Court rejects the plea of three of the four convicts in the December 16, 2012 Nirbhaya rape case to review its May 5, 2017 judgment confirming their death penalty.

A two-member Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal dismisses former Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry’s plea challenging his ouster from the firm in October 2016.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, inaugurate Samsung’s mobile manufacturing plant, touted to be the world’s biggest, in Noida.

The Telecom Ministry gives nod for Vodafone India-Idea Cellular merger.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly adopts legislation for setting up Lokayukta.

Six higher education institutions, including the IISC, Bengaluru, the Bombay and Delhi IITs and the proposed Jio Institute of the Reliance Foundation are named Institutions of Eminence by the Centre.

Mumbai records its wettest July 9 in five years. Fort receives the most rain at 203 mm, while Marol receives 172 mm-135 mm of it in just seven hours.

British Foreign secretary Boris Johnson resigns from the Theresa May Cabinet. Jeremy Hunt is appointed in his place. Brexit Minister David Davis and his deputy Steve Banker had quit a day earlier.

The toll in torrential rain in Japan goes up to 114, making it the nation’s worst flood disaster since 1983. Over 11,200 households go without power and hundreds of thousands without safe water.

Four more members of the “Wild Boars” football team are rescued by Thai Navy SEALS.

Nissan Motor admits to misconduct in testing of exhaust emissions and fuel economy for 19 vehicle models sold in Japan.

British oil firm Cairn Energy Plc. reveals that the Indian IT department had sold 40% of the company’s shares in Vedanta worth $216 million to recover a part of the ₹10,247 crore demanded as retrospective tax.

July 9

Choice of a partner is a person’s fundamental right, and it can be a same-sex partner, says Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, part of a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court that begins hearing petitions challenging the constitutionality of Section 377, IPC, that criminalises private consensual sex between consenting adults.

India and South Korea sign a joint statement agreeing to discuss an ‘early harvest’ package for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Moon Jae-in New Delhi. The two sides sign 11 MoUs and pacts and issue a joint vision statement on enhancing defence projects.

The Madras High Court confirms the death sentence on Chennai youth Daswant imposed by a Mahila Court in Chengalpattu on February 19, 2018 for the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl at an apartment in Mugalivakkam on February 5, 2017. To stand trial for murdering his mother on December 3, 2017.

Around 450 passengers of Vadodara Express are rescued by the NDRF and RPF personnel after being stranded in floods near Nalasopara station in Mumbai for over 10 hours.

Sensex gains 304.90 points to close at a five-month high of 36,239.62. It has gained more than 650 points in the last three trading sessions.

All the remaining four members of the Thai football team and their coach are rescued from the Tham Luang cave complex, where they got stuck since June 23.

At least 22 people are killed and 65 others injured after a Pakistan Taliban suicide bombing at a campaign rally of the Awami National Party in Peshawar.

Fiftyseven migrant children under five are reunited with their parents by U.S. officials. The remaining 46 kids are deemed “ineligible.”

July 10

A Delhi Court sentences former Navy Officer, Captain (retd.) Salam Singh Rathore to seven years in jail in the 2005 Navy war room leak case. Commander (retd.) Jarnail Singh Kalra is acquitted.

The CBI files a charge sheet against BJP MLA from Bangermau in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh in the case of gang-rape of a minor girl in June 2017.

The Telecom Commission approves net neutrality, which means that telecom and Internet service providers must treat all data equally. Critical services are exempted. Nod for 12.5 lakh Wi-Fi hotspots in all gram panchayats.

The Kerala High Court rejects the anticipatory bail pleas of three priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, accused of raping a married woman, threatening to misuse her confession, since 2009.

At least 11 people are killed and 10 others are injured after gunmen storm an education department compound in Jalalabad, Pakistan.

Prominent Chinese political campaigner Qin Yangmin is jailed for 13 years by the Wuhan City Intermediate People’s Court after finding him “guilty of subversion of state power.”

Sri Lanka announces end to moratorium on capital punishment and says it will hang drug offenders.

Veteran French actor Catherine Deneuve, the star of such classics as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Belle de Jour is awarded the Praemium Imperiale prize worth 15 million yen ($137,000) backed by Japan’s royal family.

At least 40 Afghan soldiers are killed in Taliban attacks on military bases and posts in Dashte Archi district in Kunduz province.

Twitter announces a move to purge fake accounts which eventually results in the closing of 67.5 million accounts.

Sri Ranga Narayana Jeer, 89, the Jeer of the Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and 50th Pontiff of Sri Ramanuja Mutt, at a private hospital in Tiruchi.

July 11

Sensex rises 282.48 points to close at a record 36,548.41 aided by a surge in banking and energy stocks. Reliance Industries Limited re-enters the $100 billion market capitalisation club.

N. Logeswari, a student of the Kovai Kalaimagal College of Arts and Sciences, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, dies after an unauthorised disaster preparedness drill on the campus conducted by a fake trainer, goes awry.

The Securities Appellate Tribunal refuses to revoke its May 30 order criticising the SEBI for letting off Tata Finance Ltd. despite finding serious violations in a 2001 preference share issue.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to “go it alone” if NATO allies, notably Germany, did not raise their defence spending for 2019, at a summit in Brussels.

Dada J.P. Vaswani, 99, spiritual leader, educationist and the moral force behind the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, on the mission premises in Pune, Maharashtra.

July 12

Inadequate monitoring of adventure activities by the Environment and Forest departments, lack of knowledge of the terrain and poor training among trekkers led to deaths in the forest fire at Kurangani hills in Theni district, Tamil Nadu, says probe report.

Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who had resigned his post and quit the Congress in protest over the bifurcation of the state in 2014, rejoins the party in New Delhi.

The Enforcement Directorate files its first chargesheet in the Madhya Pradesh Vyapam scam case before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Indore.

Mohammed Azam, a Hyderabad-based software engineer, is beaten to death by a mob in Bidar, Karnataka on suspicion of being a child-lifter.

Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam are arrested at the Lahore airport after their surrender before a team of National Accountability Bureau.

At least 149 people are killed and 150 others injured in a suicide bombing on an election rally in Matsung town, near the Balochistan capital Quetta in Pakistan. Four people are killed and 39 injured in a bomb attack on a rally in Bannu, near the Afghan border hours earlier.

Twelve Russian intelligence officers are indicted by a U.S. grand jury for interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

An apology is tendered by former rebel FARC commanders in Colombia who appear at the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, a historic tribunal examining the period between 1993 and 2012.

July 13

Fertilizer major IFFCO launches an e-commerce app, IFFCO iMandi, in partnership with a Singapore-based firm iMandi, at a function in Chandigarh.

Harith Augustus, a black man is shot dead by police near his home in Chicago’s South Side, and it sets off skirmishes in which four officers suffer injuries.

Haiti Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigns following violence and looting triggered by a now-abandoned plan to raise fuel prices.

July 14

Prominent Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam is selected for the 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi Award by the Music Academy executive committee meeting in Chennai.

A suspect in the July 6 killing of Indian student Sharath Koppu at a restaurant in Missouri, Kansas City, U.S., is shot dead in an exchange of fire with the police.

Maria Butina, a covert Russian agent is arrested by U.S. officials and charged with spying for Moscow.

July 15

The LIC board gives nod to buy 51% shares in the state-run IDBI Bank.

The IT Department searches the offices and properties belonging to the SPK Group of Companies, one of the major road contractors in Tamil Nadu, in Chennai, Madurai and Aruppukottai.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he sees no reason to believe in Russian meddling in the 2016 polls after an historic summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland.

China challenges at WTO the U.S. proposal to impose additional 10% tariffs on $200 billion of goods from Beijing.

Eritrea’s President, Isaias Afwerki, reopens his country’s Embassy in Ethiopia more than 20 years after the two broke off ties.

Christian Michel, a key accused in the AgustaWestland chopper deal is held in Dubai.

July 16

The Supreme Court condemns lynchings as “horrendous acts of mobocracy” and asks Parliament to make such attack a separate offence.

Seventeen persons are held for sexual assault on an 11-year-old hearing-impaired girl in an apartment in Ayanavaram, Chennai between January 15 and July 5. They are thrashed by lawyers at the Additional City Civil Court complex on the Madras High Court campus.

Social activist Swami Agnivesh is beaten up by a mob in Pakur district, Jharkhand.

At least nine people are killed as a six-storey building under construction crashes on a five-storey building next to it, bringing it down as well, in Shahberi village in Greater Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi.

Britain’s official Brexit campaign, Vote Leave, is fined £61,000 for breaking spending rules in the 2016 EU membership referendum.

At least 20 people are killed in an Islamic State suicide bombing in northern Afghanistan’s Sar-i-Pul province.

Japan and the EU sign a sweeping free trade deal, that is expected to enter into force in 2019, in Tokyo.

British Prime Minister Theresa May narrowly wins another key Brexit vote in Parliament after defeating an amendment introduced by Conservative backbench MPs.

July 17

The Enforcement Directorate files a chargesheet against 34 persons accused and also against firms in the ₹3,700 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal. Among those arraigned is former IAF chief S.P.Tyagi.

Lok Sabha passes The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017, to abolish the ‘no detention policy’ in schools.

The Lok Sabha passes the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill.

The Union Cabinet gives its nod for the withdrawal of the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017.

The EU slaps Google with a record €4.34 billion ($5 billion) antitrust fine for using its Android mobile operating system to squeeze out rivals.

At least 19 migrants drown and 30 go missing after a boat with 150 on board sinks in the Mediterranean off the village of Gialousa off the north of Cyprus.

British pop star Cliff Richard wins a privacy case against the BBC after it broadcast live on television a police raid on his home in 2014.

July 18

The CBI files a supplementary chargesheet against former Finance Minister P.Chidambaram, his son Karti and 16 others in the Aircel-Maxis deal case alleging criminal conspiracy and corruption.

Rajya Sabha passes the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013.

Eight naxalites, including four women are killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.

Lakshmivara Tirtha Swami of Shiroor Mutt, one of the Ashta mutts of Udupi, Karnataka, dies of ‘suspected poisoning’ at the Kasturba Hospital in Manipal.

Israel’s Parliament adopts a law defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people.

Seventeen people, including nine of a family are drowned after a duck boat sinks on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, U.S., during a thunderstorm.

Gopal Das Neeraj, 93, Hindi poet, at the AIIMS trauma centre in New Delhi, while under treatment for head injury sustained in a fall at his home in Agra.

July 19

The BJP-led NDA government defeats the no-confidence motion moved against it by the Opposition and initiated by the Telugu Desam party after a 12-hour debate in the Lok Sabha. Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacks the Rafale deal and crony capitalism.

The Supreme Court stays an order passed by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on July 10 directing CBSE to award grace marks to students who suffered from erroneous Tamil translation of 49 questions in the NEET.

Truckers go on an indefinite strike across the nation.

An arbitration tribunal rules in favour of SpiceJet in a 2015 share purchase dispute with former promoter Kalanithi Maran and rejects his ₹1,323-crore claim for loss on account of non-issuance of share warrant.`

Former South Korea President Park Geun-hye is sentenced to eight more years in jail for abusing state funds and violating poll laws.

Pakistan’s Frontier Corps kill Hidayat Ullah, an IS operative and mastermind of the suicide bombing at a poll rally in Balochistan, in a shootout following a raid in a house in Darenjo village in Qalat district in Balochistan province.

The Upper House of Japan’s Parliament passes the Integrated Resorts Implementation Bill smoothening the way for large-scale gambling. It was greenlighted by the House of Representatives earlier in 2018.

Satellite images show work on dismantling of key facilities at North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Station used to develop engines for ballistic missiles.

July 20

Rakbar Khan, a Muslim youth from Kalgaon village in Haryana’s Nuh district, is lynched by a group of seven persons on suspicion of cow smuggling in a forest area in Lalwandi village in Ramgarh of Rajasthan’s Alwar district.

The GST Council at its 28th meeting in New Delhi, reduces the rates of more than 50 items, including television sets, washing machines and refrigerators. Returns filing simplified for small businesses.

A Special Court hands down death penalty to a youth for raping a seven-month old child on May 9 in Laxmangarh area of Alwar, Rajasthan.

Malayalam writer S.Hareesh withdraws his novel Meesha being serialised in Mathrubhumi weekly following threats and abuse in social media over a conversation between two characters.

The FBI suspected Carter Page, a former Trump campaign advisor of having ties with Russia, according to secret documents released to U.S. news organisations which the New York Times publishes.

At least 422 members of Syria’s “White Helmet” civil defence group are evacuated to Jordan over the Golan Heights frontier with the help of Israeli soldiers.

Jonathan Gold, 57, Pulitzer Prize winning U.S. food critic, of pancreatic cancer, at St. Vincent Medical Center, in Los Angeles, California.

July 21

The western Odisha town of Burla, receives rainfall of 622 mm shattering a 36-year record in the State.

John Johnsas Tidu, the mastermind behind the gang-rape of five women activists in Jharkhand’s Kochang, is arrested from East Singhbhum district.

At least 11 people are killed and 14 others injured at the entrance to the Kabul International airport after a suicide attack on supporters of Afghanistan Vice-President Abdul Rashid Dostum who had returned from Turkey where he was in exile since May 2017.

Two persons are killed and 13 others injured after Faisal Hussain, a gunman opens fire in Danforth Avenue in the Greektown neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada.

July 22

The Centre announces the setting up of a high-level panel to check cases of “mob lynching.” A Group of Ministers to study report and submit suggestions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The rape of at least 34 girls at a shelter in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, is brought to light in a social audit report prepared by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai in May 2018, after inspection of homes across the state in 2017.

The Lok Sabha passes the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill.

Rajasthan police suspends an assistant sub-inspector and sends three constables of the Ramgarh station to the Police Lines following reports of delayed response to the lynching incident in Alwar district.

The British government decides not to recognise caste as an aspect of race in The Equality Act, 2010, an anti-discrimination legislation.

Bangladesh police charges eight Islamist extremists over the July 1, 2016 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan Thana, Dhaka.

India extends $200 million lines of credit to Rwanda after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Paul Kagame in the capital Kigali.

Over 6,600 people are displaced and several are feared dead in Laos after the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in San Sai district of Attapeu province collapses releasing five billion cubic metres of water.

At least 74 persons are killed and 172 people are injured after wildfires tear through Attica region in Athens, Greece. The seaside village of Mati is devastated. Over 700 people who had fled to the coast are rescued by the coast guard. The EU activates its Civil Protection Mechanism.

The U.S. Congressional Committee agrees to allow presidential waiver of its controversial Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) ending a stand-off with India.

Douglas Grindstaff, 87, creator of the original Star Trek’s beeps and whistles, in Peoria, Georgia, U.S.

July 23

Stray incidents mar the statewide shutdown in Maharashtra called by the Maratha Kranti Morcha to protest the suicide a day earlier of a youth Kakasaheb Dattatrey Shinde in Aurangabad seeking reservation for the Maratha community.

The Lok Sabha passes the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018 that seeks to punish bribe-givers and bribe-takers. It provides for jail terms of three to seven years, besides fine.

Sensex gains 106.50 points to close at a record 36,825.10 and the Nifty rises by 49.55 points to end at a peak of 11,134.30.

A U.K Court of Appeal rejects industrialist Vijay Mallya’s appeal to overturn a ruling of the Business and Property Courts of the Queen’s Bench Commercial Court allowing registration of the Bangalore Debt Recovery Tribunal’s order dated January 19, 2017.

July 24

The Madras High Court sets aside an order, passed by a special CBI court in Chennai on March 14, discharging former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his elder brother Kalanithi Maran, and five others from the BSNL illegal telephone exchange case. Directs court to frame charges and complete trial within 12 months.

A CBI special Court sentences to death two senior police officers for the 2005 custodial death of a youth Udayakumar at the Fort police station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

A day-long bandh in Mumbai organised by the Maratha Kranti Morcha is called off midday amidst incidents of violence. The Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Goa highways blocked for hours by protesters.

The initial public offer of HDFC Asset Management Company worth almost ₹2,800 crore is fully subscribed on the first day of bidding.

The Patidar Anamat Andolan leader Hardik Patil and two of his aides are awarded a two-year jail term by a court in Gujarat in connection with a July 23, 2015 incident in Visnagar town.

Pakistanis cast votes in election to the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies marred by a suicide bomb attack outside a polling station in Bhosa Mandi area in Balochistan capital Quetta that leaves 31 dead.

At least 96 people are killed and 176 wounded in a series of attacks by the IS on government-held parts of southwestern Syria.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlines 10 guiding principles for deepening India’s engagement with Africa in his address to the Ugandan Parliament.

The U.S. and the EU agree to “launch a new phase” in the relationship following talks between President Donald Trump and the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House.

Sergio Marchionne, 66, Italian-Canadian businessman and former Fiat Chrysler CEO, in Zurich, Switzerland.

July 25

The West Bengal Assembly passes a resolution to change the name of the State as Bangla in three languages – Bengali, English and Hindi.

The Lok Sabha passes the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018.

Sensex touches the 37,000-mark for the first time ever before closing at a new high of 36,984.64.

Japan executes six Aum Shinrikyo members for their role in the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway.

Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg loses $16 billion as the market value of the social media giant goes down by more than $100 billion in the biggest one-day wipeout in U.S. stock market history.

July 26

The processing of sensitive personal data should be on the basis of “explicit consent,” suggests the Justice B.N.Srikrishna panel submitting the draft personal data protection Bill, 2018. Recommends setting up of a Data protection Authority and also provides for setting up an Appellate Tribunal.

The All India Motor Transport Congress withdraws nationwide stir after eight days.

Sensex gains 352.21 points to close at a record 37,336.85.

The Union Earth Sciences Ministry unveils a blueprint of the ₹8,000 crore ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ planned on the lines of the ISRO by the Centre, in New Delhi.

North Korea returns the remains of U.S.servicemen killed during the 1950-53 Korean war, with an American military plane making a rare trip to retrieve 55 cases from Wonsan, a northern coastal city.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerges as the single largest party with 117 seats, in the National Assembly. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz bags 64 seats and Pakistan Peoples Party 43 seats.

Two Indians – Sonam Wangchuk, educational reformer from Ladakh and Bharat Vatwani, who works for mentally ill street people in Mumbai, among six winners of the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Awards, announced in Manila. The others are Youk Chhang from Cambodia, Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz from East Timor, Howard Dee of the Philippines and Vietnam’s Vo Thi Hoang Yen rom.

A consortium of astronomers, for the first confirms a key theory of relativity of Albert Einstein by observing on May 19 the gravitational effects of a blackhole on a star zipping past it .

Skygazers across the globe get to witness two celestial events – the longest “blood moon” eclipse and Mars’ closest approach in 15 years.

The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve of Sikkim is included in the UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere reserves at the 30th session of the International Coordinating Council of Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme, UNESCO, in Palembang, Indonesia.

July 27

At least 33 persons are killed after a bus with staff of the Dr.Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, plunges into a ravine 1,000 feet below, in Raigad district’s Poladpur area in western Maharashtra. The lone survivor Prakash Sawant-Desai alerts the varsity.

Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi is chosen for the 24th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for promoting communal harmony and peace.

An Egyptian court sentences to death 75 Islamists, including Muslim Brotherhood leaders for killing policemen and vandalising property during clashes in 2013.

July 28

Fifty two Bangladeshis termed ‘convicted foreigners’ are deported through the Mankachar sector on the Assam-Meghalaya-Bangladesh tri-junction, on the eve of publication of the draft of the updated National Register of Citizens.

Cambodians cast votes in general election.

Tomasz Stanko, 76, Polish avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer, in Warsaw.

Ramapada Chowdhury, 95, eminent Bengali writer whose story Abhimanyu was made into a Hindi movie Ek doctor ki maut, at a hospital in Kolkata.

July 29

More than 40 lakh of the 3.29 crore applicants in Assam are left out of the complete draft National Register of Citizens published at the end of a five- year exercise in Guwahati. Allowed time till September 28 to file claims. Among them are 2.48 lakh Doubtful-Voters and their siblings and descendants.

The Supreme Court asks former Union Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran to face trial in the illegal telephone exchange case.

The Lok Sabha passes the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018, that provides for death sentence to rapists of girls aged under 12.

Sensex goes up by 157.55 points to close at 37,494.4. Nifty ends the day at a new high of 11,319.55.

An FIR is registered against Brajesh Thakur, main accused in the rape of women at a shelter home in Muzzafarpur, in Bihar, managed by his NGO Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti, after 11 women are reported missing from another home run by him in the same town.

High voter turnout nationwide marks Zimbabwe’s first presidential and parliamentary polls since the ouster in November 2017 of Robert Mugabe after being at the helm for 37 years.

The U.S. eases export controls on high technology product sales to India by designating it as a Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 country.

The final report into the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight with 239 people on board on March 8, 2014 fails to provide any concrete proof.

Japanese scientists announce the first human trial to treat Parkinson’s disease by injecting stem cells into brain.

July 30

At least 15 persons are killed and 15 injured in a suicide bomb and gun attack on an Afghan government building in Jalalabad. Over 11 people are killed and 31 injured in a bomb attack on a bus in Farah province.

July 31

Union Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu launches a logo and tagline for Geographical Indications to raise awareness about intellectual property rights, at a function in New Delhi.

Malayalam writer Hareesh’s novel Meesha hits the stands.

The Union Cabinet gives nod to LIC raising to 51% its stake in the IDBI Bank.

At least six persons are killed in Zimbabwe capital Harare as soldiers open fire to disperse Opposition supporters who have accused the ruling ZANU-PF party of trying to rig presidential polls.

Denmark’s ban on the Islamic full-face veil in public places comes into force.

Indian-origin mathematician Akshay Venkatesh, Caucher Birkar, Alessio Figalli, and Peter Scholze are named 2018 Fields Medal winners at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Bhishma Narain Singh, 85, former Governor of Assam and Tamil Nadu, in a Noida hospital after prolonged illness.

Aug. 1

Sensex sheds 356.46 points to close at 37,165.16. On the BSE, 20 of the 30 stocks on the Sensex end in the red.

The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018 is introduced in Parliament.

The Lok Sabha passes by a two-thirds majority the Bill extending constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.

Rajya Sabha gives nod to a Bill awarding death penalty to those convicted of raping girls below 12.

Pope Francis declares death penalty as “inadmissible” as it “attacks” the inherent dignity of all humans, announcing a new policy in Catholic Church teaching, in the Vatican City.

Aug. 2

The Madras High Court orders suspension of the Justice R. Ragupathi Commission of Inquiry probing the alleged irregularities in the construction of the Assembly-cum-Secretariat complex by the DMK regime between 2006 and 2011.

The Lok Sabha passes the National Sports University Bill, 2018 setting up a varsity in Manipur.

Assam begins work on deleting the names of “declared foreigners” from the NRC.

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa narrowly wins the landmark polls bagging 50.8% of the votes ahead of Nelson Chamisa of the Opposition HDC party with 44.3%. The ruling ZANU-PF wins the parliamentary polls too.

At least 35 people are killed and more than 90 wounded as two burqa-clad suicide bombers strike at a Shia mosque in the Khwaja Hasan area of Gardez in eastern Afghanistan.

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams is among the nine astronauts chosen by NASA to fly the first space missions on new commercial spacecraft built and operated by Boeing and SpaceX, starting 2019.

Aug. 3

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro survives bid on life using an explosive-laden drone as he gives a speech during a military parade in the capital Caracas.

At least 105 people are killed and thousands of buildings damaged after a magnitude 7 earthquake rocks the Indonesian resort island of Lombok.

The eight-day-old students’ protest over road safety turns violent in Bangladesh capital Dhaka with more than 100 people injured as police fire rubber bullets.

Aug. 4

The Uttar Pradesh government orders a probe after two dozen girls are rescued during a raid on August 4 from an illegally-run shelter home in Deoria, following allegations of sexual abuse of inmates.

President Ramnath Kovind calls upon all people to do their utmost to curb political violence, inaugurating the “Festival on Democracy”, a series of conclaves to mark the diamond jubilee of the Kerala Assembly, in Thiruvananthapuram.

Rajya Sabha gives nod for the Constitution (123rd) Amendment Bill, 2017, giving constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.

The Lok Sabha passes the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018.

Britannia Industries Limited to issue non-convertible debentures as bonus debentures. A new logo unveiled during the 99th AGM in Kolkata to mark the BIL centenary.

Bangladesh Law and Justice Minister Anisul Huq announces the Cabinet decision to impose death penalty for deliberate road deaths.

Saudi Arabia expels Canadian Ambassador Dennis Horak and recalls its envoy, besides freezing all new trade in retaliation for Ottawa’s vigorous calls for the release of jailed activists.

A first phase of U.S. sanctions against Iran takes effect, targeting Tehran’s access to American banknotes and key industries.

Pepsico announces that CEO Indra Krishnamoorthy Nooyi is stepping down after being at the helm for 12 years.

Rajinder Kumar Dhawan, 81, former Congress MP and Indira Gandhi’s personal secretary when she was Prime Minister, at a private hospital, in New Delhi.

Aug. 6

M. Karunanidhi, 94, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK president, passes away at the Kauvery Hospital in Alwarpet, Chennai where he was being treated for the past 11 days. The State government announces seven-day mourning. Centre announces a State funeral.

Three persons die and nine fishermen go missing after an oil tanker rams a fishing boat off Chettuva barmouth in Thrissur, Kerala.

Mohammed Jahidul Islam, a top Indian operative of Bangladesh-based militant outfit Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and an accused in the 2014 blasts in Burdwan, West Bengal, is arrested in Bengaluru.

Justices Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran and K.M. Joseph are sworn in Supreme Court judges by the CJI Dipak Misra, in New Delhi.

The U.S. reimposes nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. German automaker Daimler halts work.

Bangladesh students return to classes after nine days of protest over road safety.

Sumatheendra Nadig, 83, Kannada writer, in Bengaluru, after a brief illness.

Aug. 7

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi is buried on the Marina alongside his mentor C.N. Annadurai with full State honours. Three persons are killed and many injured in a melee at Rajaji Hall, where his body was kept for the public to pay their homage. Both Houses of Parliament are adjourned for the day. Earlier, the Madras High Court in a special sitting, quashes a press release issued by the Chief Secretary expressing inability in allowing space on the beach.

Indrans gets the Best Actor Award at the 48th Kerala Film Awards function in Thiruvananthapuram. Parvathy bags the Best Female Actor Award and Lijo Jose Pellisserry the Best Director Award. Filmmaker Sreekumaran Thampi is presented the J.C. Daniel Award.

Sensex gains 221.76 points to close at a new high of 37,887.56. Nifty ends at a new high of 11,450 up 60.55 points.

Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Najib Razak pleads not guilty to money laundering charges and is granted bail by court.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, proposes to introduce a new category “outstanding achievement in popular film” for the February 2019 ceremony in Hollywood.

The U.S. decides to impose sanctions on Russia under the provisions of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, in response to the bid to assassinate a former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in England.

Venezuela’s National Constituent Assembly strips two Opposition lawmakers, Julio Borges and Juan Requesens, of their immunity from prosecution accusing them of having roles in a drone attack. Six suspects arrested earlier face charges of treason, terrorism.

Aug. 8

National Democratic Alliance candidate and Janata Dal (United) MP Harivansh is elected Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, the first non-Congress person to occupy the post in over 4 years.

Kerala is battered by torrential rain triggering flash floods and landslips. Twentytwo people are killed, 17 in Idukki and Malapurram districts. Sluice gates of 24 dams are opened. Wayanad district remains cut off from the rest of the State. Army deployed in worst hit Idukki, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Malappuram.

The Supreme Court finalises the new Constitution for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Rejects the ‘one state-one vote’ recommendation of the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee and alters the cooling-off period for bosses, which will be after two terms of three years.

Sensex surges to a new closing record of 38,024.37 on sustained stock purchases. Nifty reaches a new high of 11,470.70.

The National Green Tribunal grants permission to Vedanta to access the administrative section at the Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

The Rajya Sabha clears the amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Union Cabinet gives nod to three crucial amendments to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017.

The Hindu Playwright Award 2018 is presented to Annie Zaidi for her play Untitled-1 at the launch of the 14th edition of The Hindu Theatre Fest in Chennai.

At least 29 children are killed and 48 others wounded in a Saudi-Arabia-led coalition air strike on a bus in rebel-held Houthi stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen.

Argentina’s Senate votes against legalising abortion after a marathon session that began the day before. The Lower House had given its nod for the Bill in June after a 20-hour debate.

Aug. 9

Rain toll goes up to 27 in Kerala and a red alert is sounded in eight districts.

The Supreme Court admits the CBI plea against the acquittal of dentist couple Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the 2008 murder of their daughter Aarushi and domestic servant Hemraj, by the Allahabad High Court in October 2017.

Four persons, including two police officers are killed in a shooting in the Brookside neighbourhood of Fredericton in eastern Canada. A suspect is arrested.

Ecuador declares a state of migration emergency after more than half a million Venezuelans fleeing crisis enter into the country, so far in the course of 2018.

Thirty civilians are killed in air strikes across Northern Syria.

U.S. President Donald Trump announces move to double steel and aluminium tariffs on Turkey, even as the lira hits new record lows against the U.S. dollar and euro. The free fall rocks world markets.

Aug. 10

V.S. Naipaul, 85, Trinidadian-British writer and Nobel laureate, at his home in London, England.

Aug. 11

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announces an immediate relief of ₹100 crore to rain-ravaged Kerala. Toll up to 38 and more than 1,00,000 people shifted to 1,026 relief camps. Crops on 1,513 hectares damaged.

India’s largest multiplex chain, PVR Ltd., buys SPI Cinemas in a deal valued at ₹850 crore.

Justice Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani is sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court by the Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, in Chennai.

At least 39 civilians, including 12 children are killed in an explosion at a weapons depot in Sarmada in Syria’s Idlib province.

NASA launches a $1.5 million spacecraft, Parker Solar Probe, named after solar physicist Eugene Parker, who first described the solar wind in 1958, toward Sun on a historic seven-year mission to protect the earth by studying solar storms, on board a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the U.S.

Thomas Abraham, 91, veteran Indian diplomat, who espoused the cause of Sri Lanka’s Tamils, at his home in Kadapra village in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district.

Aug. 12

The Delhi Police charge-sheets Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia in the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash in February.

The government dismisses Usha Ananthasubramanian, former MD of Punjab National Bank in the ₹14,000 crore fraud committed by diamond merchant Nirav Modi. Gives sanction for her prosecution.

Rupee slumps 1.6%, its biggest one-day fall in five years, to hit a new closing low of 69.93 to a dollar.

Justice R. Regupathi, who headed the panel probing the alleged lapses in the construction of the new Secretariat complex in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, submits his resignation.

At least 100 Afghan soldiers and 30 civilians are killed in four days of fighting in Ghazni. At least 194 Taliban insurgents are killed and 147 wounded.

The toll in the earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok goes up to 436. More than 1,300 people are wounded and 3,53,000 displaced.

Imran Khan among the 329 newly-elected members of Pakistan’s 15th National Assembly who take the oath at the maiden session of the lower house of Parliament.

Somnath Chatterjee, 89, former Lok Sabha Speaker, and veteran parliamentarian, at a private hospital in Kolkata, due to multiple organ failure.

Aug. 13

The Madras High Court orders CBI probe into the police firing on anti-Sterlite protests, in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu that claimed 13 lives.

The Mahadayi Water Tribunal allows Karnataka to divert 2.18 tmcft of water at the proposed Bhandura dam and 1.72 tmcft at the Kalasa dam for providing water to North Karnataka. Maharashtra permitted to use 1.33 tmcft and Goa, a maximum of 24 tmcft, over and above the existing utilisation of 9.39 tmcft.

The CJI Dipak Misra launches mobile apps to help litigants file cases and even make e-payments to courts.

The rupee breaches the psychological barrier of 70 to a dollar for the first time.

A car crashes into barriers outside Britain’s Parliament in London in a suspected terror attack injuring a “number of pedestrians.” Police arrest the driver.

At least 17 Afghan soldiers are killed, with dozens feared captured after Taliban militants overrun an Army base in Ghormach district of Faryab province after days of heavy fighting.

At least 30 people are killed as a section of Northwestern Italy’s Morandi motorway situated in Genoa collapses following torrential rains.

Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania covered up child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests over 70 years, says a report issued by a grand jury.

Aug. 14

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces that the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Abhiyan, also known as Ayushman Bharat or the National Health Protection Mission, will be rolled out on September 25, during his Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort, New Delhi. A permanent commission for women officers on short service commission in the uniformed services and plans for Gaganyaan, the ₹9,000 crore manned space mission by 2022 also announced.

Kerala receives 127.8mm rainfall, the highest on a single day this monsoon season, even as 24 people die in rain-related incidents. Thirtyfive dams and barrages are opened to let out water from fast-filling reservoirs. The level at Mullaiperiyar dam touches the capacity mark of 142 ft. Munnar town in Idukki and Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta remain cut off by floodwaters.

The first Humboldt penguin to be born in India hatches in captivity at the Byculla Zoo in Mumbai.

Turkey doubles tariffs on some U.S. imports, including alcohol, cars and tobacco in response to Washington’s “deliberate attacks on our economy.”

At least 25 people are killed, and 35 injured after a suicide blast rips through a school in a Shia area of Kabul, Afghanistan.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate Asad Qaiser is sworn in as the Speaker of the National Assembly.

The U.S. dollar surges to new 13 month highs and puts pressure on commodities, emerging markets and global stocks.

The U.S. President Donald Trump, revokes the security clearance of the former CIA Director, John Brennan.

Aug. 15

Former Prime Minister and BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 93, dies at the AIIMS, New Delhi.

The rain toll in Kerala goes up to 156. More than 1.5 lakh people shifted to 1,200 relief camps. The Navy airlifts stranded people from Aluva, Perumbavur, Thrissur and Pathanamthitta.

Rupee slides to a new low against the dollar and closes at 70.16.

The RBI Governor, Urjit Patel, unveils UPI 2.0, the upgraded payments interface of the National Payments Corporation of India, in Mumbai.

The Boston Globe and The New York Times join more than 350 other newspapers in a coordinated defence of press freedom a rebuke of U.S. President Donald Trump for labelling the media as enemies of the American people.

Bangladesh police detain 97 people “for violence and incitement in the social media,” as they step up crackdown against students over protests in Dhaka seeking better road safety.

Aretha Franklin, 76, American soul singer, of pancreatic cancer in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

Aug. 16

A massive operation is launched to rescue 82,000 people from flooded s in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts in Kerala.

The former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is accorded a state funeral at Smriti Sthal in New Delhi. The King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and special envoys from South Asian neighbours lead the diplomatic delegation. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi walks with the cortege from Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg.

The flood situation along the course of the Cauvery in the western and the delta districts of Tamil Nadu remains grim. Over 8,400 people are shifted to 96 relief camps.

Pakistan MPs endorse Imran Khan as their next Prime Minister, after he scrapes together a simple majority in a confidence vote held in the Lower House of Parliament.

Nepal introduces a new criminal code that makes sharing confidential information a jailable offence.

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, announces a single exchange rate to his government’s petro cyrptocurrency and raises the minimum wage by 3,000 per cent.

Australia’s Federal Court quashes challenge to block Adani Enterprises Ltd. from developing its Carmichel coal mine in the remote Galilee Basin, a 2,47,000 sq.km. expanse in the central outback.

The Khaplang faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland impeaches its chairman and last Indian Naga leader Khango Konyak for violating “party discipline” in a meeting at its central headquarters deep inside Myanmar’s Sagaing region.

Aug. 17

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces an immediate financial aid of ₹500 crore to Kerala. He does an aerial survey of worst-hit Aluva and Thrissur regions.

Tamil Nadu bans use of cellphones in colleges.

Karnataka Chief Minsiter H.D. Kumaraswamy does an aerial survey of flood-ravaged Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts.

The Hindu announces The Hindu Photojournalism Awards to be presented in five categories. The awards to be made public at the Chennai Photo Biennale in February 2019.

The CBI arrests Sachin Andure, one of the two suspected shooters involved in the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar on August 20, 2013 in Pune, Maharashtra. This follows the arrest of Sharad Kalaskar and two other accused on August 10.

The L&T board gives nod for ₹9,000-crore buyback proposal.

Imran Khan is sworn in as Pakistan Prime Minister by the President Mamnoon Hussain at a ceremony in Islamabad. Shah Mahmood Qureshi is appointed Foreign Minister and Pervez Khattak is the Defence Minister in a 15-member Cabinet.

U.S. retail giant Walmart Inc., completes deal with Indian e-commerce major Flipkart. It now holds 77% stake.

The toll in the motorway bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy goes up to 43.

Kofi Atta Annan, 80, former U.N. Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize winner, at a hospital in Bern, Switzerland.

Aug. 18

The rain toll in Kerala goes up to 210, even as there is a gradual decrease in rainfall. A total of 7,24,649 displaced people housed in 5,645 relief camps. Railways to transport aid material for free.

Iraq’s Supreme Court ratifies the May 12 parliamentary poll results.

Aug. 19

Rail and road services are partially restored in Kerala. Toll up to 223. Floods a calamity of severe nature, says Centre.

Many coffee plantations in Kodagu district are totally destroyed in the rain havoc.

Former West Bengal Governor, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, is conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award (2016-17) at a function in New Delhi.

Sensex gains 330.87 points to close at a new high of 38,278.75. Nifty closes at 11,551.75.

The CBI seeks the extradition of Nirav Modi a day after the U.K. confirms his presence there.

The Taliban kidnaps 190 passengers after amushing three buses in Kunduz, Afghanistan.

Greece emerges from the biggest bailout in economic history after nine years of creditor-managed austerity.

Uri Avnery, 94, Israeli peace activist, lawmaker and journalist, at a Tel Aviv hospital.

Aug. 20

The Supreme Court scraps the use of NOTA (none of the above) option for Rajya Sabha polls and criticises the EC for introducing it in the indirect election.

The Centre releases ₹600 crore aid for relief work in Kerala. Sanctions 89,540 tonnes of additional grains under the National Food Security Act. The UAE offers ₹700 crore.

Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik is appointed Jammu and Kashmir Governor. Lalji Tandon to be Bihar Governor.

The Centre rules out a national ban on firecrackers and suggests production of “green crackers,” while making a submission in the Supreme Court.

A jury in Virginia finds Paul Manafort, former campaign chief of U.S. President Donald Trump guilty of financial wrongdoing. His former lawyer Michael Cohen pleads guilty to tax and bank fraud and violation of campaign finance rules, allegedly at the behest of Trump, in a deal with federal prosecutors in New York.

Iran unveils Kowsar, its first domestic fighter jet at the National Defence Industry exhibition in Tehran.

Aug. 21

Four people are killed and 23 injured in a blaze at the 16-storey Crystal Tower in Parel, Mumbai.

The European Sapce Agency launches the Aeolus satellite, as part of the world’s first space mission to map global winds and improve weather forecasts, from French Guyana.

Gurudas Kamat, 63, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader, at a private hospital in New Delhi.

Aug. 22

Arun Jaitley resumes duties as the Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister after a three-month gap.

The NGT appoints former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar to head panel to hear Vedanta plea challenging Tamil Nadu government order that resulted in the shutdown of the Sterlite plant in Thoothukudi.

Satya Pal Malik is sworn in Jammu and Kashmir Governor. Lalji Tandon takes charge as Governor of Bihar.

A Division Bench of the Patna High Court passes an order restraining the media from reporting on the probe into the Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case.

The U.S. slaps steep tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods, triggering a swift tit-for-tat retaliation from Beijing.

At least 22 children are killed by a Saudi-led coalition air strike while fleeing fighting in Al-Durayhimi district, Yemen.

Kuldip Nayar, 95, veteran journalist and former Rajya Sabha member, after a brief illness, in New Delhi.

Aug 23

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal restrains Tata Sons from forcing ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry to sell stake. Refuses to stay its conversion to a private firm.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeks allround support to rebuild state. Puts loss of lives at 372 and number of homes affected at 26,000. Crops on 40, 000 hectares laid waste and two lakh polultry killed, he says in a statement.

The Bureau of Indian Standards to set new standards for the services sector too and to focus on 12 champion sectors identified by the government.

Scott Morrison is sworn in as Australia’s seventh Prime Minister in 11 years, after a party revolt unseats incumbent Malcolm Turnbull.

Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court dismisses Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa’s bid to have the July 30 poll results annulled on grounds they were rigged.

Aug. 24

Kaptan Singh Solanki is sworn in Tripura Governor.

John McCain, 81, Vietnam war veteran and six-term Senator, of brain cancer, in Cornville, Arizona, U.S.

Aug. 25

The Crime Branch CID of the Tamil Nadu police cracks the looting of ₹5.75 crore from the Salem-Chennai Express on August 18, 2016 and says it is the handiwork of a Madhya Pradesh gang.

Iran’s Parliament impeaches Economy Minister Masoud Karbasian. This follows the August 8 impeachment of Labour Minister Ali Rabiei.

Emmerson Mnangagwa is officially sworn in Zimbabwe President at a stadium in Harare.

David Katz, a gamer kills two people and injures nine others at a video gaming tournament in Jacksonville Landing, Florida, U.S., before turning the gun on self.

Pope Francis begs for God’s forgiveness for the sexual abuse of children in church-run homes in Ireland at a mass attended by 1,00,000 people at Dublin’s Phoenix Park.

Neil Simon, 91, American playwright, at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, in New York City.

Aug. 26

A Delhi court acquits two members of the erstwhile Dal Khalsa in a case of hijacking of a Delhi-Srinagar IA flight to Lahore in 1981. Three others declared absconders.

A special court in Ahemdabad, Gujarat, sentences to life two more persons in the February 27, 2002 Godhra training burning case involving the killing of 59 persons on board the Sabarmati Express. Three others freed.

The nation’s first-ever bio jet fuel-powered flight is operated on the Dehradun-Delhi route.

Sensex gains 442.31 points to close at a new high of 38,694.11 and Nifty ends at 11,691.95, up 134.85 points.

Amaravati bonds worth ₹2000 crore (issued by the AP-Capital Region Development Authority on Aug. 14), are listed on the BSE.

Myanmar Army acted against Rohingya people in Rakhine state with ‘genocidal intent’, says a report by a U.N. fact-finding mission. Blames de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to protect civilians.

Iran files a suit at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, seeking suspension of U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. and Canada reach a deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Aug. 27

M.K. Stalin assumes charge as DMK president at the party’s general council meeting in Chennai. Post of working president is scrapped. Durai Murugan is elected treasurer.

The Maharashtra police arrests Telugu poet Varavara Rao, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha for their ‘links’ to the Communist Party of India-Maoist, after co-ordinated crackdown across six States.

The Punjab Assembly passes two Bills to make desecration of all religious texts punishable with life imprisonment.

Sensex ends on a new high of 38,896.63 on strong global cues on the back of favourable U.S.-Mexico trade talks.

Subarna Akter Nodi, a Bangladesh journalist, is hacked to death at her home in Radhanagar area of Pabna district by unidentified assailants.

Aug. 28

The Supreme Court orders the Pune police to place the five rights activists under house arrest and that too, in their own homes.

All the demonetised ₹500 (old) and ₹1,000 notes — 99.3% returned, says the RBI.

Nandamuri Harikrishna, son of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao and former Rajya Sabha MP dies in an accident at Anneparthy in Nalgonda district, Telangana.

The Union Cabinet gives nod for a ₹1,623 crore mission to map coasts.

Rupee plummets to an all-time low of 70.65 a dollar, before closing at 70.59. Sensex loses 173.70 points to close at 38,722.93.

Aug. 29

Reservation is State-specific, but Delhi is a ‘miniature India’ where the “pan-India reservation rule” applies, holds the Spreme Court.

The rupee ends at an all-time closing low of 70.74 a dollar.

Tamil Nadu challenges in the Supreme Court the NGT’s order setting up a panel to look into the Sterlite plant closure issue.

Aug. 30

The rupee hits the psychological mark of 71 against the US dollar for the first time.

The Telecom Commission gives nod for a National Trust Centre for certifying devices and applications for machine-to-machine communication.

Mobile operators Vodafone India and Idea Cellular complete merger and the entity is named Vodafone Idea Ltd.

The Supreme Court directs States and Union Territories without solid waste management policy to stop construction activities.

The Kathmandu Declaration adopted at the end of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation deplores terror attacks across the world and stresses that there could be no justification whatsoever for any act of terrorism.

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull resigns from Parliament.

Alexander Zakharchenko, leader of the Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, is killed in a blast at a cafe in Donetsk city.

Two Indians, Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk, and four others are presented with the Ramon Magsyasay awards at a function in Manila, Philippines.

The U.S. decides to end all funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees.

Brazil’s top electoral court bars jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from running in the October 7 presidential polls.

U.S-Canada trade talks end without a deal to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The EU announces plan to abolish seasonal clock changes, under which the clocks are moved forward by an hour in the spring and back an hour in the autumn.

Aug. 31

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the India Post Payments Bank, aimed at providing last-mile connectivity in rural areas and promoting hassle-free transactions, at a function in New Delhi.

A first information report is registered against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Robert Vadra, son-in-law of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, in connection with the 2007 Shikohpur village land deal between Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality and real estate firm DLF, at the Khedki Daula police station in Gurugram.

United Nations kicks off talks on a 2020 treaty that would regulate the high seas.

More than 100 people are killed in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya.

Sep. 1

A special court grants the Pune police a 90-day extension for filing the chargesheet aginst five activists arrested on June 6 for their alleged links with the outlawed Communist Party of India ( Maoist) and their role in the Bhima-Koregaon clashes of January 1.

The National Green Tribunal restrains the six Western Ghats states, including Kerala from giving environmental clearance to activities that may adversely impact the eco-sensitive areas of the mountain ranges.

A massive fire at Brazil’s 200-year-old National Museum in Rio de Janeiro destroys much of its collection of more than 20 million items.

Sep. 2

Rupee hits a fresh all-time low of 71.21 to the dollar. Sensex falls 0.86% to end at 38,312.52.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledges a $60 billion fund to bolster industry and enhance security in Africa in his inaugural address at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Beijing.

A Myanmar court jails two Reuters journalists — Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo — for seven years after finding them guilty of breaching the colonial-era Official Secrets Act. They were detained on December 12, 2017.

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet assumes office as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

France imposes a nationwide ban on use of mobile phones in schools.

Sep. 3

Two Indian Mujahideen members among seven accused in the August 25, 2007 twin blasts in Hyderabad which killed 44 people are convicted by a special court inside the Cherlapally Central Prison in Hyderabad. Two others acquitted.Three are absconding.

The Madras High Court upholds the validity of Section 105 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act of 2013.

Arif Alvi, a close ally of Prime Minister Imran Khan is elected Pakistan’s 13th President through a scret ballot by the National Assembly and the Senate.

The Taliban announces the death of Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the Haqqani network, one of the most powerful groups in the Afghan insurgency.

Russian warplanes resume bombing of Idlib province, Syria after a 22-day pause.

Qatar amends its residency laws to allow most foreign workers to leave the country without exit permits from their employers.

Eleven people are killed and hundreds injured as Typhoon Jebi, the most powerful powerful one in 25 years, batters Japan.

Sep. 4

The Supreme Court throws out a petition seeking a ban on the Malayalam novel Meesha written by S. Hareesh.

The CBI searches the houses of Tamil Nadu Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, DGP T.K. Rajendran and others in 35 places in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Guntur in connection with the gutkha scam.

The Supreme Court extends to minor rape survivors the National Legal Services Authority’s compensation scheme for women rape and sexual assault survivors.

Sensex sheds 139.61 points to close at 38,018.31. It has lost 880 points in the last six trading sessions.

Britain charges in absentia two Russians with the attempted murder of a former Russain spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia using Novichok, a nerve agent.

At least 26 people, including two journalists from Tolo News are killed and 91 others injured following suicide attacks at the Maiwand sports club in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Sep. 5

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court decriminalises homosexuality. Sets aside its 2013 judgment in the Suresh Koushal case. Declares Section 377 “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.”

The Telangana Assembly is dissolved by the Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, in keeping with a Cabinet resolution of the K. Chandrasekhar Rao-led Telangana Rashtra Samiti government.

The CBI arrests three gutkha firm owners and two government officials in Chennai.

The Tamil Nadu government notifies a solid waste management policy and strategy.

India and the U.S. sign a landmark defence pact, Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, at the end of the inaugural ‘2+2’ Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi.

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge rejects former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s plea that he be allowed to run in the October presidential polls.

Three people are killed after a gunman opens fire at the lobby of the 30-storey Fifth Third Bank building in the U.S. city of Cincinnati. The assailant is shot dead by police.

Botham Shem Jean, a West Indian immigrant is shot dead at his apartment in Dallas, Texas by Amber Guyger, a police officer who mistook it to be her home.

Burt Reynolds, 82, Hollywood actor, of a heart attack at a hospital in Florida, U.S.

Sep. 6

Iraqi protesters storm the Iranian consulate in Basra after five days of deadly demonstrations, in which 10 people have lost their lives.

Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma wins the Golden Lion Award at the 75th Venice Film Festival in Italy. Olivia Colman bags the Best Actress Award (The Favourite) and Willem Dafoe gets the Best Actor Award (At Eternity’s Gate). Canadian filmmaker, David Paul Cronenberg wins the special Golden Lion for lifetime achievement.

Fifteen people, including seven Indians and five India-based call centres are indicted in a multimillion-dollar scam that defrauded over 2,000 U.S. citizens between 2012 and 2016, says the Department of Justice.

Mac Miller, an American rapper whose debut album Blue Slide Park topped the charts in 2011, is found dead at his home in Los Angeles, U.S.

Sep. 7

An Egyptian court sentences to death 75 people and jails more than 600 others over a 2013 sit-in at Cairo, which ended with the killing of hundreds of protesters by security forces.

Sep. 8

The Tamil Nadu Cabinet recommends to Governor Banwarilal Purohit that all seven life convicts in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi be freed under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Swedes cast votes in legislative polls.

Arif Alvi is sworn in Pakistan’s 13th President at a ceremony in Islamabad.

Russian police arrest more than 150 people among thousands taking part in nationwide protests against plans to raise the state pension age to 60 for women and 65 for men.

At least 60 security staff are killed in a fresh Taliban offensive in four provinces of Afghanistan.

Myanmar inks an agreement with China to set up a 1,700 km cross-border economic corridor.

Sep. 9

A Bharat bandh is observed by the Congress and 21 other Opposition against the soaring fuel prices.

A special court in Hyderabad sentences two convicts owing allegiance to the Indian Mujahideen to death in connection with the August 25, 2007 twin blasts at Lumbini Park and Gokul Bhandar in the city. One other is handed life sentence.

The Delhi government launches doorstep delivery of public services.

The first-ever mid-air refuelling of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is successfully carried out in Bengaluru.

The Bombay High Court dismisses pleas challenging the discharge of the then Gujarat Anti-terrorist Squad DIG, D.G. Vanzara and others from the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case.

The RBI intervenes as the rupee breaches 72.5 to dollar, after touching an all-time low of 72.67 intraday. Sensex loses 467.65 points to close at 37,922.17.

The Delhi High Court upholds life sentence to an Uber driver for raping a woman executive in his cab on December 5, 2014.

Swedish election results in a hung assembly.

Jack Ma, Chinese e-commerce and digital payments company Alibaba’s co-founder and executive chairman retires.

Sep. 10

Fiftyseven people, including four children are killed and 53 injured after a bus on its way from the Kondagattu temple in Jagtial district, Telangana falls into a gorge.

Sensex plunges 509.04 points to end at 37,413.13, its lowest close since August 2. Nifty ends at 11,287.50 after losing 150.60 points.

The Election Commission withdraws the provision for the NOTA option for Rajya Sabha and State Legislative Council polls.

Jailed former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva bows out of presidential polls.

Ethiopia and Eritrea reopen crossing points on their shared border for the first time in 20 years.

At least 32 people are killed and 128 wounded after a suicide attack on protesters in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.

Sep. 11

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gives nod for the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan, a ₹15,053 crore procurement policy to ensure minimum support price for oilseeds, pulses and copra every year.

The AIADMK launches the logo, website and app of News J, the party’s forthcoming TV channel at a function in Chennai.

The Supreme Court quashes the Kerala Professional Colleges (Regularisation of Admission in Medical Colleges) Ordinance, 2017 promulgated to “blatantly nullify” the top court’s order on March 22, 2017 freezing illegal medical admissions made in the State.

The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Hardik Patel calls off fast seeking quota for Patidars and farm loan waiver after 19 days.

A Haryana teenager and CBSE topper is allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by three men while on way to coaching class in Narnaul in Mahendragarh district.

Two persons Britain suspects of poisoning former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are civilians, not criminals, says Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing an economic forum in Vladivostok.

The European Parliament gives nod for a controversial EU copyright law that gives more powers to news and record firms against Internet giants like Google and Facebook.

The UN begins work inside Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state for the first time since August 2017.

Sep. 12

President Ram Nath Kovind appoints Justice Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India.

Former Chief Minister of Meghalaya D.D. Lapang quits the Congress.

Sep. 13

Former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan a victim of trumped-up charges of spying by the Kerala police, says the Supreme Court and orders Kerala to pay a compensation of ₹50 lakh for loss of dignity suffered by him since arrest on November 30, 1994.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort pleads guilty in a federal court in Washington to charges of conspiracy against the nation and obstruction of justice. Agrees to cooperate with the federal probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina, U.S. More than 4,40,000 homes and businesss go without power in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Citigroup is ordered to pay more than $12 million by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission following probe into a “ dark pool” operated by an affiliate.

Sep. 14

Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay’s People’s Democratic Party suffers a surprise defeat in the first round of parliamentary polls.

Five persons are killed as tropical storm Florence lumbers across North, South Carolina.

Typhoon Mangkhut tears through Philippines leaving three dead and triggering at least 42 landslips.

NASA launches the $1 billion ICESat-2 laser satellite mission to track ice loss and improve forecasts of sea level rise on board a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force base in California, U.S.

Sep. 15

ISRO launches two satellites from the U.K. — NovaSAR and S1-4 — aboard a PSLV-C42 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh.

A massive fire destroys the Bagree Market, a part of the 150-year-old Burra Bazar in central Kolkata.

Typhoon Mangkhut slams into China after leaving a trail of destruction in Hong Kong and Macau. The toll in Philippines rises to 59 and vast swathes in Luzon remain under water.

The toll from Florence up to 13 as the Carolinas brace for widespread river flooding.

Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne are to buy U.S. news magazine Time for $190 million, says a company statement.

Sep. 16

The Congress stakes claim to form government in Goa.

Firefighters continue battle to douse the flames still raging in at least three floors of the Bagree Market building in central Kolkata.

Sensex loses 505.13 points to close at 37,585.51 following weak global cues and a downgrade of Indian equity markets by Goldman Sachs for the first time in nearly four-and-a-half years.

The Centre proposes merger of Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank and Bank of Baroda.

Nine people, including four students are arrested for the August 14 gang-rape of a Class X girl at a boarding school at Sahaspur in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

EU and non-EU nationals will have the same immigration rights after Brexit, syas British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Russia and Turkey agree to create a demilitarised zone around Idlib, Syria, after talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

U.S President Donald Trump declassifies a trove of documents related to the early days of the FBI’s Russia probe.

Germany rolls out the world’s first hydrogen-powered train built by French TGV-maker, Alstom, running a 100 km route between the towns and cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde and Buxtehude.

Anna Rajam Malhotra, 91, India’s first woman IAS officer after Independence, in Mumbai.

Sep. 17

The rupee closes at a record low of 72.98 a dollar.

The Enforcement Directorate launches a money laundering probe against Karnataka Minister D.K. Shivakumar in connection with the seizure of about ₹8 crore by the IT Department in Delhi in 2017.

An anti-corruption court in Thiruvananthapuram rejects a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau report absolving former Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani of any guilt in the 2014 bar licence bribery case.

RCom to exit telecom business, says Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani at the company’s 14th AGM in Mumbai.

India and Bangladesh begin work on the first bilateral energy pipeline project that will take refined diesel from Assam’s Numaligarh refinery to Parbatipur across the border.

A BSF head constable Narender Singh is killed and his body mutilated by Pakistan’s Border Action Team inside Pakistani territory along the International Border in Ramgarh sector, Jammu.

The U.S. announces 10% tariff on $200 billion of imports from China. Beijing retaliates slapping between 5% and 10% tariffs on $60 billion of imports from Washington.

Ngar Min Swe, a former columnist for state media is jailed for seven years for “abusive” Facebook posts on Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

A United Arab Emirates Court allows the extradition of Briton Christian Michel, alleged middleman in the ₹3,700-crore VVIP chopper deal, to stand trial in India.

Sep. 18

The Union Cabinet clears an ordinance that makes talaq-e-biddat, or instant triple talaq, a criminal offence that will attract a maximum jail term of three years.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gives nod for the ₹3,466 crore Dam Rehabilitation Improvement Project.

The Islamabad High Court suspends the jail sentences handed to the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Captain (retd.) Muhamad Safdar in a corruption case.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agrees to abolish key missile facilities after holding talks with the South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang.

Bangladesh Parliament passes the Digital Security Act, giving sweeping powers to the police to crack down on cyber offences.

Sep. 19

The first-of-its-kind sex offenders’ registry is launched in New Delhi and it has names and details of 4.4 lakh people convicted for sexual offences since 2005 across the nation. Another portal, cybercrime.gov.in, that will receive complaints on objectionable online content too launched.

The Supreme Court orders an IT probe into the assets of Brajesh Thakur, the prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter home abuse case. The CBI arrests four people.

Jalandhar bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of raping a nun, is relieved of duties after Pope Francis accepts his request.

A special court to try criminal cases against MPs and MLAs is inaugurated on the Chennai Collectorate campus.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority allows live-in partners to adopt children overturning a May 31 circular.

At least 207 people are killed after a ferry sinks in Lake Victoria, Tanzania.

A woman holding a temporary job at a drugstore warehouse in Maryland, U.S., kills three colleagues before turning the gun on self.

The U.S. State Department puts 33 Russian individuals and entities on its sanctions blacklist.

Typhoon Mangkhut toll touches 95 in Philippines. At least 29 are killed in a landslip following a massive hillside collapse in the tourist island of Cebu.

In a first, scientists in Cincinnati, U.S., have successfully grown miniature human food pipe using stem cells, says a study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Sep. 20

The special investigation team of the Kerala police probing the alleged rape of a nun belonging to the Missionaries of Jesus arrests Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal in Kochi.

Three special police officers are killed by militants after being kidnapped from their houses during a raid on the twin villages of Batagund and Kaprin in south Kashmir’s Shopian.

Sensex loses 279.62 points to close at 36,841.60, triggered by fears over fresh defaults by NBFCs and curbs on housing finance firms.

India proposed Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as the offset partner of French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation in the €7.87 billion deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets for the IAF, says former President Francois Hollande.

Britain will not alter Brexit offer, says Prime Minister Theresa May, even as the EU summit in Salzburg, Austria terms the Chequers Plan unworkable.

Tran Dai Quang, 61, Vietnam President, after a serious illness at a military hospital in the capital Hanoi.

Sep. 21

The Navy launches a search and rescue operation after Commander Abilash Tomy, who is taking part in the Golden Globe Race 2018 suffers a severe back injury after his boat Thuriya is dismasted due to rough weather off the coast of western Australia.

The first case of Zika virus infection surfaces in Rajasthan.

At least 29 people are shot dead and 57 wounded by militants in an attack on an Iranian Army parade in Ahvaz near the Iraqi border.

The Vatican announces a historic accord with China on the appointment of Bishops.

Sep. 22

Kidari Sarveswara Rao, Araku MLA and Siveri Soma, a former MLA, both of the TDP, are killed by a 40-member Maoist crack team near Livitiput village in Dumbriguda mandal in the Visakhapatnam agency area. Irate villagers attack the Dumbriguda and Araku police stations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches Ayushman Bharat, also known as the Pradhan Mantri-Jan Aarogya Yojana, touted as the world’s largest health scheme from Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Maldivians cast votes in presidential polls.

Kalpana Lajmi, 64, filmmaker, known for movies like Rudaali, Chingaari, at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.

Sep. 23

India becomes the first and only SAARC country to have a quitline number on tobacco products.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen concedes defeat in presidential polls, making way for the joint Opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

A French shipping vessel Osiris rescues Indian Navy Commander Abhilash Tomy, stranded in the Southern Indian Ocean for the past three days after the mast of his boat Thuriya breaks while taking part in the Golden Globe Race, 2018.

The tit for tat trariffs by the U.S. and China take effect.

The Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel, is awarded to three jailed Saudi Arabian human rights defenders and two Latin American anti-corruption crusaders.

The EU announces move to set up a payment system to allow oil firms to continue trading with Iran.

Sep. 24

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the first airport in Sikkim at Pakyong, about 30 km from the capital Gangtok.

Sensex loses 536.58 points to close at 36,305.02 and Nifty goes down by 175.70 points to end at 10,967.40. More than 2,100 stocks end in the red on the BSE.

A court in Gobichettipalayam, Erode district, Tamil Nadu, acquits all the nine accused in the case relating to the abduction in July 2000 of Kannada thespian Rajkumar and three others by forest brigand Veerappan.

The Supreme Court forms a Committee on Prison Reforms headed by a former judge of the apex court, Justice Amitava Roy.

Shortage of forms upsets NRC applicants as Assam begins collecting claims, objections and name corrections to help those left out of the National Register of Citizens draft published on July 30.

Swedish Parliament ousts Prime Minister Stefan Lofven in a vote of no-confidence.

U.S. actor Bill Cosby is sentenced to between three and 10 years in jail by a judge in Pennsylvania for the 2004 sexual assault on his one-time friend Andrea Constand, a former Temple University administrator, in Philadelphia.

Facebook announces detection of the largest breach in the history of the platform that occurred on September 16 — an unusual spike in the number of times the platform’s ‘View As’ feature was being used.

Sep. 25

The Supreme Court upholds the constitutional validity of Aadhaar. It partially strikes down Section 57 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial And Other Subsidies, Benefits And Services) Act, 2016. Upholds passage of Act as a Money Bill. Not mandatory for opening bank accounts, it rules and declares seeding of Aadhaar with SIM cards unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court upholds plea for live-streaming of its proceedings.

The Supreme Court holds that there is no need to collect quantifiable data of backwardness to provide quota in promotions in government jobs for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The Hindu’s mobile app Briefcase bags the silver trophy for Best Digital News Start Up at the Third South Asia Digital Media Awards at the 26th annual conference of WAN-IFRA India 2018 in Hyderabad.

An ordinance is issued dissolving the MCI and replacing it with a seven-member Board of Directors.

Mumbai police arrest a serial rapist Rehan Abdul Rashid Qureshi after a year-long vigil.

Russian Parliament approves President Vladimir Putin’s pension reform amendments.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron and four other individuals and organisations are awarded the Champions of the Earth Award, UN’s highest environmental honour.

Sep. 26

The Supreme Court declines to refer the question if a “mosque as a place of prayer is an essential part of Islam” in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid appeals to a seven-judge Bench. Hearings on Ayodhya title suits to resume from October 29 under new three-judge Bench to be set up.

Adultery not a crime, holds the Supreme Court and strikes down Section 497 off the IPC.

The Kerala Cabinet approves a one-year moratorium on loans and 20% cut in the State’s annual Plan outlay as part of the post-flood recovery programme.

The United Nations Human Rights Council votes to set up an international body to help prepare evidence of human rights abuses in Myanmar for any future prosecution.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges Tesla CEO Elon Musk with securities fraud over “false and misleading” tweets on August 7 that promised to take Tesla private.

Sep. 27

Women of all age groups can enter and pray at the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, says the Supreme Court. “The ban is discriminatory,” says the CJI Dipak Misra.

The pan-India crackdown and arrests of five activists in the Bhima-Koregaon case on August 28 not an attempt to silence dissent, holds the Supreme Court. Extends their house arrest for four weeks.

The Supreme Court dismisses a curative petition by Karnataka, challenging the abatement of its appeal against the acquittal of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in a disproportionate assets case.

The Ministry of Railways enters into a partnership with search giant Google for an online showcase of its history, which will allow enthusiasts to undertake a virtual journey of more than 150 places.

Al least 832 people are killed and 534 injured after a powerful earthquake hits central Indonesia causing a tsunami that slams into Palu city on Sulawesi island. Anthonius Gunawan Agung, an air traffic controller at Palu’s Mutiara SIS Al-Jufrie airport dies in saddle.

U.S. President Donald Trump orders a new FBI probe into sexual assault charges against his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh.

Sep. 28

The Elections Commission of Maldives officially names Ibrahim Mohamed Solih President-elect.

Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk agree to pay $40 million to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision to settle a lawsuit that was triggered by a tweet by the latter on financing to take Tesla private. To relinquish role as chairman.

Pandit Tulsidas Borkar, 83, legendary harmonium exponent, at a private hospital in Mumbai after a brief illness.

Sep. 29

The quake-hit regencies of Donggala, Sigi and Parigi Moutong in Indonesia still remain unassessed.

The jailed former Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and his son Faris Maumoon are freed on bail by the High Court in Male.

Macedonians cast votes in a referendum supporting plan to change its name to Republic of North Macedonia to end a decades-long dispute with Greece, which has a province named Macedonia.

Canada and the U.S. reach a deadline deal on a new free trade pact that will include Mexico. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement updates and replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Sep. 30

The government takes over the debt-ridden Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services group and appoints Uday Kotak, MD and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank as non-executive chairman. Orders probe by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office.

The Delhi High Court sets free journalist and social activist Gautam Navlakha from house arrest, quashing a magistrate court order granting transit remand to the Maharashtra police to transfer him to Pune.

The Enforcement Directorate attaches ₹637 crore worth of assets of fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi and family in India and four other countries in the PNB fraud case.

Bombay Stock Exchange starts offering delivery-based futures contract in gold and silver.

Two immunologists, James Allison of the U.S. and Tasuku Honjo of Japan are awarded the 2018 Nobel Medicine Prize for their research into how the body’s natural defences can fight cancer.

U.K.’s new immigration plan will be a skills-based system where it is workers’ skills that matter, not where they come from, says Prime Minister Theresa May in a statement after her address at the Conservative Party conference.

A Swedish court hands down a two-year jail term for rape to Frenchman Jean-Claude Arnault, at the heart of a Nobel scandal, for a 2011 incident.

The EU ratifies the 2013 Marrakesh treaty to ease access to books for those who are print-disabled at a ceremony in Geneva and the pact now covers 70 countries.

Charles Aznavour, 94, legendary French singer and actor, at his home in Alpilles, southeastern France.

Oct. 1

Delhi police fire water cannon and tear-gas shells after a rally by thousands of farmers affiliated to the Bharatiya Kisan Union which tried to enter the national capital at Ghazipur, turns violent. The Kisan Kranti Yatra began from Tikait Ghat in Haridwar on September 23.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges world leaders to move towards a future of ‘one world, one sun, one grid, at the inauguration of the first general assembly of the International Solar Alliance in New Delhi.

Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurates the world’s largest dome at the Maharashtra Institute of Technology’s World Peace University campus at Loni Kalbhor near Pune on Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.

Noted violinist Balabhaskar, dies of injuries suffered in a road accident on September 25, at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

Arthur Ashkin of the U.S., Gerard Mourou of France and Donna Strickland of Canada win the Nobel Physics Prize for their groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics.

At least 13 people are killed and more than 40 wounded in a suicide attack on a political rally in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.

The Indonesian earthquake toll goes up to 1,234, with many more lying trapped in Sigi and Balaroa.

A Saudi Arabian dissident journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi is killed at the Kingdom’s consulate in the Turkey capital Istanbul.

Oct. 2

Ranjan Gogoi is sworn in the 46th Chief Justice of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is conferred the Champions of the Earth Award by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at a ceremony in New Delhi for his pioneering work in promoting the International Solar Alliance and pledge to ban single-use plastic.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court stays an order by Sipcot cancelling the land allotted to Vedanta in Thoothukudi for setting up an additional copper smelter.

The Supreme Court upholds the validity of the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act of 2017 and also the legality of the Goods and Services Tax Compensation Cess Rules.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague orders the U.S. to lift sanctions on humanitarian goods for Iran.

Two Americans, Frances H. Arnold and George P. Smith and a Briton, Sir Gregory P. Winter are awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for pioneering science in enzymes and antibodies.

A Japanese probe, Hayabusa2, lands a new observation robot on the Ryugu asteroid, as part of a mission to shed light on the origins of the solar system.

Oct. 3

Sensex loses 806.47 points to close at 35, 169.16, even as the rupee crashes to an all-time low of 73.81 against the dollar.

Chanda Kochhar quits as MD and CEO of ICICI Bank. Sandeep Bakshi is named her successor.

Seven Rohingya Muslim men arrested in 2012 for illegally entering Assam, are officially handed over to Myanmar authorities at Manipur’s border town Moreh.

The U.S. Justice Department indicts seven agents of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency as part of a joint crackdown with Britain and the Netherlands on a series of major hacking plots.

Oct. 4

India and Russia sign the ₹40,300-crore contract for five S-400 ‘Triumf’ air defence missile systems, after the annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi. Eight deals are inked in a variety of sectors, including railways, fertilizers and space.

The Delhi High Court acquits Suhaib Ilyasi, the anchor of ‘India’s Most Wanted, of murder charges, 18 years after the death of his wife Anju Ilyasi of stab wounds at the AIIMS, New Delhi on November 11, 2000.

The Centre issues an order to set up an Experts’ Group to formulate a draft policy on reducing the weight of school bags in pursuance of a May 29 ruling of the Madras High Court.

Sensex plummets 792.17 points to end the day at 34,376.99. Nifty ends at 10,316.45, losing 282.80 points.

Denis Mukwege, a Congolese doctor and Nadia Murad of Iraq, a Yazidi rights activist and survivor of sexual slavery by the Islamic State, are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018.

Pakistan Opposition leader and former Chief Minister of Punjab, Shehbaz Sharif, is arrested by the National Accountability Bureau on corruption charges, in Lahore.

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is jailed for 15 years for graft and ordered to pay a fine of 13 billion won ($11.5 million).

The Indonesian earthquake and tsunami toll touches 1,500.

British street artist Banksy’s ‘Girl with Balloon’ self-destructs after passing through a hidden shredder moments after fetching more than £1 million at an auction in Sotheby’s, London.

Oct. 5

The Election Commission announces the poll schedule for five States — Chhattisgarh (November 12 & 20), Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram (November 28), Rajasthan and Telangana (December 7). The results to be declared on December 11.

Thirtyfour girl students of a government school inTriveniganj in Bihar’s Supaul district are attacked for resisting harassment.

Conservative U.S. judge Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in amid protests, soon after being confirmed to the Supreme Court by a razor-thin margin in the Senate.

The body of a television journalist Viktoria Marinova is found in a park in Ruse, Bulgaria.

Montserrat Caballe, 85, renowned Spanish soprano, at the Sant Pau hospital in Barcelona.

Oct. 6

Brazilians cast votes in presidential polls.

Iran’s Parliament approves a Bill to counter terrorist financing.

Natwar Thakkar, 86, peace activist known as Nagaland’s ‘Gandhi,’ at a private hospital in Guwahati, Assam.

Oct. 7

Nishant Agarwal, an engineer working at the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited centre in Nagpur, is arrested on charges of illegally possessing highly sensitive and secret documents by the anti-terror units of U.P. and Maharashtra.

Nine persons are arrested in connection with the attack on 34 schoolgirls in Supaul, Bihar.

The Delhi High Court allows the CBI probing the case of the JNU student Najeeb Ahmed who went missing on October 15, 2016, to file a closure report in a local trial court.

Migrants from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, continue leaving Gujarat following attacks on Hindi-speaking workers in six disticts triggered by the September 28 rape of a toddler in a village in Sabarkantha district by a worker from Bihar.

Rupee hits a fresh low of 74.06 a dollar.

Americans William Nordhaus and Paul Romer are awarded the 2018 Nobel Economics Prize for constructing “green growth” models that show how innovation and climate policies can be integrated with economic growth.

Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid signs into law a digital security act despite protests by journalists and rights groups.

Brazil to hold presidential runoff on October 28, as the first round fails to produce results.

Bosnian nationalist parties win general election held a day earlier.

Fernando Alban, a Venezuelan dissident accused of taking part in a drone attack on August 4 on President Nicolas Maduro ‘kills self’ while in pretrial detention at the headquarters of the intelligence service in Caracas.

Alphabet Inc. announces move to shut down Google+ after a data breach caused by a bug potentially affected up to 500,000 user accounts between 2015 and March 2018.

Oct. 8

R.R. Gopal, Editor of Tamil magazine Nakkheeran is arrested at the Chennai airport for publishing defamatory reports insinuating that the Governor had links with Nirmala Devi, an assistant professor, arrested in April on charges of attempted trafficking of college girls. He is freed by the XIII Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hands over a cheque for ₹50 lakh as compensation to former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan in Thiruvananthapuram.

At least nine employees of the SAIL’s Bhilai Steel Plant in Durg, Madhya Pradesh are killed and 14 injured in a blast in a gas pipeline connected to the coke oven section.

The rupee ends at a rcord low of 74.39 against the dollar.

Nikki Haley resigns as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

China passes revised rules to govern “reeducation centres” in Xinjiang region aimed at curbing religious extremism.

Google files an appeal in the European Union’s General Court against a $5 billion anti-trust fine by the EU for allegedly abusing the dominance of its Android operating system to stifle competitors.

Oct. 9

At least five people are killed and four seriously injured after nine coaches and the engine of the New Delhi-bound New Farakka Express derails in Harchandpur area of Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.

Sensex surges 461.42 points to close at 34,760.89 on the back of a strong rally by banking and financial stocks.

The Progressive Party of Maldives of former President Abdulla Yameen challenges poll defeat claiming the September 23 election was rigged.

A Bangladesh court sentences 19 people to death for the 2004 attack on a rally in Dhaka by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, then an Opposition leader, which left 20 dead. Tarique Rahman, top Opposition leader and son of the then Premier Khaleda Zia is awarded life sentence.

Sri Lanka’s Parliament passes a broad reparations Bill to compensate the civil war victims, nearly a decade after the end of the conflict in May 2009.

At least 17 people are killed as Hurricane Michael pummels Florida.

The U.K. Supreme Court upholds the appeal of a bakery run by a Christian family in Northern Ireland over its refusal to make a cake decorated with the words “Support Gay Marriage.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average loses 3% to register its largest single day fall in eight months, following a plunge in U.S. equities.

Oct. 10

Fortyeight people are killed as Cyclone Titli batters Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha’s Gajapati and Ganjam districts. The toll includes 20 persons killed in landslides in Gangabada and Kainpur panchayats in Gajapati district. Over 40 lakh people in 12 districts of the State hit.

Self-styled godman Sant Rampal is found guilty in two cases of murder that took place in November 2014 during a standoff between the police and his supporters at his Satlok ashram, by a court in Hissar, Haryana. Twentyeight others too convicted.

The Enforcement Directorate attaches properties worth ₹54 crore of Karti Chidambaram and a private firm in India, Spain and the U.K. in connection with the money laundering probe in the INX Media case.

Sensex plunges by 759.74 points to close at 34,001.15 in tandem with a sell-off in the U.S. market.

French military major Dassault Aviation says it chose Reliance Defence as “offset partner” freely for the Rafale aircraft deal.

Malaysia decides to abolish death penalty.

Asian indices Hang Seng and Nikkei shed 900 points each following massive selling in the stock markets across the globe driven by the spike in the interest rates in the U.S. Wall Street drops again as investors continue to shun risky investments.

A New York judge dismisses one of the six criminal charges against movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

Gauri Lankesh is honoured at a memorial commemorating journalists killed in the line of duty at the Bayeux-Calvados Awards held in Bayeux city, France.

G.D. Agrawal, 86, on a fast since June to save the Ganga, of a heart attack , at the AIIMS in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand.

Oct. 11

The Madras High Court orders a CBI probe into allegations of nepotism and corruption in awarding of civil contracts by the Highways Department.

A Division of the Kerala High Court sets aside the Employees Pension (Amendment) Scheme effecting changes that have drastically reduced pension eligibility of staff.

The Supreme Court stays an Uttarakhand High Court order issued on August 30 banning religious outfits from issuing ‘fatwas.’

The Tamil Nadu Crime Branch CID police arrests two members of a gang from Madhya Pradesh in Chennai in connection with the heist on the Salem-Chennai Express on August 8, 2016 in which ₹5.78 crore was looted by drilling a hole on the roof of the parcel van.

Sensex gains 732.43 points to end the day at 34733.58.

The government notifies the Tamil Nadu Forest and Wildlife Areas (Regulation of Trekking) Rules, 2018, banning trekking between February 15 and April 15 every year, in the wake of the Kurangani forest fire tragedy that claimed 20 lives in March.

A Turkish court orders the release of American pastor Andrew Brunson in detention since 2016, that had triggered a diplomatic row with the U.S.

Guadeloupean author Maryse Conde wins the New Academy Prize in Literature, an alternative award formed in protest to denounce what its founders called the “bias, arrogance and sexism,” of the Swedish Academy.

An Airbus jetliner arrives in Newark, New York, after a nearly 18-hour, 16,500 km trip from Singapore, completing the world’s longest commercial flight.

Nine climbers, five South Koreans and four Nepali guides, are killed after a violent snowstorm sweeps them off a cliff on Nepal’s Mount Gurja.

Roelof “Pik” Botha, 86, former South African Foreign Minister, at his home on the outskirts of Pretoria.

Oct. 12

An Army court in Assam orders the dismissal from service and life imprisonment of seven personnel, including a Major General for the February 1994 killing of five youth in a fake encounter in eastern Assam’s Dangari.

At least 22 people are killed and 36 injured after a blast at an election rally in Afghanistan’s Takhar province. At least 18 Aghan soldiers are killed and 15 others captured in Taliban raids on two military posts in Pusht-a-Rud district of Farah province.

Pope Francis defrocks two Chilean bishops for the alleged sexual abuse of minors.

At least 15 civilians are killed and 20 others injured in attacks on minibuses in Jabal Ras district in Yemen’s Hodeida province.

Annapurna Devi, 91, doyenne of Hindustani classical music, at a hospital in Mumbai.

Parithi Ilamvazhuthi, 58, former Tamil Nadu Minister and six-time MLA, of a heart attack, in Chennai.

Oct. 13

Union Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar, files a criminal defamation complaint against senior journalist Priya Ramani for levelling sexual harassment charges against him, at the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi. Bollywood actor Alok Nath files a civil suit in a Mumbai court against writer-director Vinta Nanda who had accused him of rape.

The Kerala High Court grants bail to Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of rape by a nun.

A Delhi court grants bail to industrialist and Congress leader Naveen Jindal and 13 others, accused of money laundering in a coal block al case in Jharkhand.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal stops proceedings against Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services and its 348 subsidiaries till November 13.

The CBI registers an FIR against its Special Director Rakesh Asthana naming him as the main accused in a bribery case.

U.S. retailer Sears Holdings Corp. files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.

Paul Gardner Allen, 65, the co-founder with Bill Gates of Microsoft in 1975, of blood cancer, in Seattle, U.S.

Oct. 15

Kerala police arrest eight tribal women protesters at Nilackal in Pathanamthitta district on the eve of the opening of the Sabarimala temple. Activists block road to Pampa to prevent entry of young women.

Self-styled godman Sant Rampal and 14 others are sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of four women during a standoff between the police and his supporters at Hisar, Haryana in 2014.

Bishop Franco Mulakkal, accused of rape by a nun, is freed on bail from the Pala sub-jail in Kottayam, Kerala.

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet adopts a proposal to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj.

Northern Irish novelist Anna Burns is presented the Man Booker Prize for fiction 2018 for Milkman, a story set during Northern Ireland’s years of Catholic-Protestant violence, at a function in London.

China tests Feihong-98, the world’s largest unmanned transport drone which can carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes, at the Baotou test site in Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Oct. 16

Over 200 protesters and 12 police personnel are injured in violence at Nilackal and Pampa as the Sabarimala temple in Kerala reopens. Women journalists are heckled and their vehicles smashed. No woman makes it to the shrine on the first day after the lifing of ban by the Supreme Court.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs M.J. Akbar quits the Cabinet.

Kulgod in Karnataka’s Belagavi district is adjudged the best village under the Centre’s Antyodaya scheme on the basis of a survey by the Rural Development Ministry. However, m ore than a third of the gram panchayats ranked among the top 10 are in Andhra Pradesh.

Manvendra Singh, former BJP leader and son of former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, joins the Congress.

Canada becomes the first industrialised nation to legalise recreational marijuana.

Mohammad Imran, convicted of killing eight children is executed at a Pakistani prison.

At least 17 people are killed and many injured as a teenager Vladislav Roslyakov goes on a shooting spree at a college in Kerch, Crimea, before turning the gun on self.

Oct. 17

Three top provincial officials are killed and four persons, including the Governor Zalmay Wesa are injured after a Taliban gunman opens fire at a high-level meeting inside the Governor’s compound in southern Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Narayan Dutt Tiwari, 93, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, at the Max Super Speciality Hospital, in New Delhi.

Oct. 18

At least 59 people are killed and 57 injured as a train mows down a crowd of Dasara revellers which had strayed on to the tracks watching ‘Ravana dahan’ at Joda Phatak in Amritsar, Punjab.

Kavitha Jakkal, a TV journalist from Hyderabad and Rehana Fatima, an activist from Kochi are forced to give up their bid to enter the Sabarimala temple after protesters block their path. Priests squat near the 18 steps.

Sensex lose 463.95 points to close at 34,315.63 following weak global cues and sell-off by index heavyweights like Reliance Industries and HDFC.

The U.S. charges Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, a Russian national, with a crime for trying to interfere in the 2018 mid-term polls.

Oct. 19

The Cyclone Titli toll in Odisha goes up to 61.

Three soldiers of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and two “Pakistani intruders” are killed in a gun fight along the LoC near the Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district, Jammu.

The U.S. President Donald Trump announces that Washington is pulling out of the landmark Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed on December 8, 1987 with the Soviet Union.

Riyadh admits to the death of Saudi Arabian dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a fight at its Istanbul consulate. Eighteen Saudi nationals arrested and five senior officials are dismissed.

Afghans cast votes in parliamentary polls amid violence that claims the lives of at least 36 people, including 27 civilians in nearly 200 attacks.

Thousands take to the streets in Britain calling for a second Brexit referendum.

European and Japanese space agencies launch BepiColombo, an unmanned spacecraft on a seven-year journey to the Mercury on board an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana.

China’s amphibious aircraft AG600, touted as the world’s largest, passes tests and lands on the water in Hubei province’s Jingmen.

Canadian rapper Jon James McMurray dies after a stunt which involved him walking on the wing of a plane while rapping goes awry.

Oct. 20

Seven civilians are killed in a blast at a hideout at Laroo village in Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir, soon after a five-hour gunfight in which security forces eliminated three Jaish-e-Muhammad militants holed up there.

The Kerala Crime Branch police opens a criminal probe against former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy for allegedly sexually abusing solar scam accused Saritha Nair in Thiruvananthapuram in 2013.

In a first, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurls the Tricolour at the Red Fort in New Delhi, to commemorate Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. Announces a decoration in Netaji’s name for security personnel engaged in disaster relief, after opening the revamped National Police Memorial and a museum at Chanakyapuri.

Sri Varaha Mahadesikan Swamigal takes charge as the 12th pontiff of Srirangam Srimad Andavan Ashramam at a ceremony in Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu.

The Maldives Supreme Court rejects a petition by outgoing President Abdulla Yameen to annul the September 23 presidential polls.

Afghans cast votes for a second day, even as 11 people are killed in a roadside bomb blast in Nangarhar province.

At least 18 people are killed and 168 injured after a train derails near Xinma station in Taiwan.

Oct. 21

Father Kuriakose Kattuthara, who had deposed against Bishop Franco Mulakkal, is found dead at the St. Paul Convent School in Dasuya in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district.

India and China sign an internal security agreement in New Delhi.

Oct. 22

The Supreme Court restricts bursting of crackers during Deepavali and other festivals to two hours

The CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana are divested of their responsibilities. Joint Director M. Nageswara Rao is appointed interim Director.

Chinese President Xi Jinping inaugurates the 55 km Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge, the world’s largest sea-crossing bridge, which will be at the heart of an integrated Greater Bay Area, from the Zhuhai port in mainland China.

Harper Lee’s 1960 book To Kill A Mockingbird is voted America’s best-loved novel by readers nationwide in PBS’ “The Great American Read” survey.

Oct. 23

The Centre sets up a Group of Ministers to suggest ways to implement laws against sexual harassment at workplace and bolster the legal framework. Nod for setting up of the Appellate Tribunal and Adjudicating Authority to try cases related to benami deals.

The government notifies new rules on granting citizenship to six “persecuted minorities,” who came to India from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh before 2014.

Malayalam author Benyamin is presented the inaugural JCB Prize for Literature, funded by the British construction giant JCB, for his novel Jasmine Days at a function in New Delhi.

The European Parliament votes for an EU-wide ban on single-use plastics.

Israel signs a $777 million missile deal with India.

N. Muthuswamy, 82, veteran theatre personality and founder of Koothu-p-pattarai, in Chennai.

Oct. 24

Justice M. Sathyanarayanan of the Madras High Court upholds the validity of an order passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal on September 18, 2017 disqualifying 18 AIADMK MLAs owing allegiance to Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran under the anti-defection law.

The Enforcement Directorate files the secondary supplementary chargesheet naming former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and eight others as accused in the Aircel-Maxis deal case.

At least 1,400 people are arrested by the Kerala police in a crackdown that began a day earlier in connection with the protests in Nilackal, Pampa and Sabarimala against the entry of young women into the hill shrine.

President Ram Nath Kovind dismisses a plea seeking disqualification of 27 AAP MLAs in Delhi for allegedly holding office of profit.

Ethiopia appoints Sahle-Work Zewde its first woman President.

Oct. 25

A Pune police team takes into custody activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves from their Mumbai homes, after a special court rejects the bail petitions filed by them and civil rights activist Sudha Bharadwaj.

Essar Steel goes to ArcelorMittal, after the Committee of Creditors selects the firm as the ‘successful applicant’ with a lower bid of ₹50,000 crore to the Ruias’ offer of ₹54,389 crore.

Agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan is presented the first World Agriculture Prize by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu at a function in New Delhi.

The Supreme Court rejects the review petition filed by historian Romila Thapar and four others against the September 28 verdict, upholding the August 28 arrest of five activists for alleged Maoist links in the aftermath of the Bhima-Koregaon violence.

The first national unity government in Sri Lanka falls, as President Maithripala Srisena pulls out his United People’s Freedom Alliance faction. Sacks Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is sworn in Prime Minister.

Irish voters cast ballots in a referendum on blasphemy ban and the presidential polls.

Cesar Sayoc, a ‘Trump supporter’, is arrested in Florida in connection with the mailing of 13 package bombs to CNN, top Democrats and donors to the Democratic Party.

Japan and China decide to work together to develop new overseas markets after talks between Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Li Keqiang in Beijing. A raft of of pacts, including a bilateral currency swap deal of $26.7 billion signed.

Oct. 26

A special court in Pune remands activists Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves in police custody till November 6.

Four CRPF personnel are killed and two others injured after Maoists blow up their bulletproof vehicle in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena suspends Parliament.

At least 11 people are killed and six, including two police officers are wounded after a gunman, Robert D. Bowers, opens fire during Shabbat services at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighbourhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. The assailant is arrested following an exchange of fire.

Madan Lal Khurana, 83, former Delhi Chief Minister, at his home in west Delhi’s Kirti Nagar.

Ntozake Shange, 70, American playwright and poet, best known for the 1975 play For Colored Girls, in Bowie, Maryland, U.S.

Oct. 27

Former Army Captain Jair Bolsonaro is elected Brazilian President after defeating leftist opponent Fernando Haddad in the runoff election.

One person is killed and two injured after the bodyguards of Petroleum Minister Arjuna Ranatunga open fire as a mob loyal to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena besieges his office in Colombo.

Oct. 28

The Supreme Court orders the Ayodhya dispute appeals to beed in January 2019 before an appropriate Bench to fix a date for hearing.

The ICF, Chennai, unveils to the public the 16-coach ‘Train 18,’ the semi-high speed trainset that will soon replace the box cars of the inter-city Shatabdis.

Sensex gains 718.09 points to close at 34,067.40, as banking stocks lead the rally.

The Supreme Court stays a Madras High Court order transferring the probe into a complaint of corruption against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to the CBI from the DVAC.

All 189 people on board an Indonesian Lion Air jet from Jakarta to the tin-mining town of Pangkal Pinang are killed after it crashes into the Java Sea soon after takeoff from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport.

India and Japan sign a $75 billion currency swap agreement after talks between Prime Minister Narendra and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at the 13th annual summit in Tokyo. Talks begin on Acquisition and Cross-servicing Agreement, a logistics-sharing pact. A new Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue, termed 2+2, also announced.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena swears in 14 Ministers at a ceremony in the Presidential Secretariat.

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khalida Zia is sentenced to seven years in jail by a special court in Dhaka for misusing her power while in office to collect $375,000 for the Zia Charitable Trust Fund.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel announces move to stand down as CDU chairwoman, after the party suffers heavily in regional polls.

Oct. 29

The Supreme Court modifies order restricting the time for bursting crackers and allows the Sothern States to fix own two-hour slots. Green crackers rule limited to Delhi and the National Capital Region.

Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur among seven indicted by the NIA for their role in the September 29, 2008 blast in Malegaon, Maharashtra that claimed six lives and left 101 injured.

Three policemen and a DD cameraman are killed in an attack by Naxalites in Aranpur area in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh.

A Bangladesh court doubles the jail term of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from five to 10 years for embezzling money meant for an orphanage, upholding a lower court verdict delivered in February.

The Maldives Supreme Court suspends former President Mohamed Nasheed’s 13-year jail sentence handed down in 2015 after conviction on terrorism charges for ordering the arrest of a top judge in 2012. It also overturns the disqualification for defection of the remaining four of the 12 MPs.

A two-seater variant of the Rafale fighter jet built by Dassault Aviation for IAF, named RB 008, makes its maiden flight in France.

Oct. 30

The Delhi High Court jails for life 16 former Provincial Armed Constabulary jawans for the killing of 38 Muslims on May 22, 1987 in Hashimpura area in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils a 182-metre tall ‘Statue of Unity’ of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel built at a cost of ₹2,989 crore on an islet, Sadhu Bet, overlooking the Narmada river in Gujarat.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan acquits Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death in November 2010 for blasphemy.

At least 25 people are killed after an Afghan Army helicopter crashes in Anar Dara district bordering Iran. At least seven people are killed and eight wounded after a suicide bomber targets a bus carrying staff of the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul.

Oct. 31

Five Bengali youth are gunned down by suspected extremists in Bisonimukh-Kherbari village near Tinsukia in Upper Assam.

The Supreme Court throws open its doors for guided tours.

The U.S. revokes duty-free concessions on the import of at least 50 Indian products, mostly from the handloom and farming sectors under the Generalised System of Preferences.

Jammu and Kashmir BJP State secretary Anil Parihar and his elder brother Ajeet Parihar are killed by gunmen near their residence in Kishtwar.

Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed returns home from exile.

Nov. 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces 12 measures to boost the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector, including a portal that would enable the units to get a loan in just 59 minutes and interest subvention of 2%, in New Delhi.

The Supreme Court rejects a CBI plea to revive charges against the Hinduja brothers in the ₹64-crore Bofors guns payoffs case, 12 years after acquittal by the Delhi High Court.

Sensex gains 579.68 points to close at 35,011.65 and the rupee posts its highest gain in a day in five years against the greenback to end at 72.44 a dollar.

The National Green Tribunal stays implementation of the Neutrino project in Pottipuram area in Theni district, Tamil Nadu, pending nod from the National Board for Wildlife. Refuses to stay environmental clearance given to TIFR.

A tigress Avni is killed by a sharpshooter in a forest in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district.

Pakistan government puts Asia Bibi on no-fly and allows Islamic hardliners, who had blocked roads in Islamabad for three days, to appeal against her acquittal by the Supreme Court of blasphemy charges.

Maulana Samiul Haq, a top Pakistan cleric known as the ‘godfather of Taliban’ is stabbed to death at his residence in Bahria town, Rawalpindi.

SpiNNaker, the world’s largest brain-mimicking supercomputer is activated at the University of Manchester in the U.K.

Nov. 2

Karthik K.P., an Ayurveda doctor from Ernakulam, Kerala, is presented the 7th The Hindu and Saregama M.S. Subbulakshmi Award 2018 Voice of the Year at the Music Academy, Chennai.

Nov. 3

Bahrain sentences to life imprisonment Sheikh Ali Salman, head of the country’s Shia opposition movement for spying for Qatar.

The South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia votes against independence from France in a long-awaited referendum.

Shillong-based Big-Ri & Meba Ofilia win the Best India Act for their song Done Talking at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards in Bilbao, Spain. Cuban singer-songwriter Camila Cabello wins the Best Artist Award, apart from the Best Song and Best Video accolades for Havana and best U.S./Worldwide Act.

Vice-Admiral (Retd.) M.P. Awati, 91, naval icon of the 1971 India-Pakistan war, at his home-town near Satara, Maharashtra.

Nov. 4

India declares its nuclear triad operational, after nuclear submarine INS Arihant achieves a milestone by conducting its first deterrence patrol.

Mizoram Speaker Hiphei resigns from the House and joins the BJP.

Veteran journalist and The Hindu Group of Publications Chairman N. Ram is chosen for the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award by the Press Council of India.

India, China, Japan among eight nations granted relief, as U.S. reimposes sanctions against Iran, following the 180-day cool-off period after Washington withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Work related to Chabahar port and railway line from Chabahar to Hajigaj in Afghanistan are exempted.

At least 81 children are kidnapped by armed assailants from a school in Bamenda city in western Cameroon.

Nov. 5

The Congress- JD (S) combine in Karnataka bags the Ramanagaram and Jamkhandi Assembly seats and the Ballari and Mandya Lok Sabha seats in the bypolls. The BJP bags the Shivamogga seat.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announces decision to rename Faizabad city as Ayodhya.

The Democrats manage to take the U.S. House of Representatives after eight years, winning 220 seats in the 435-member chamber, but the GOP retains its majority in the Senate bagging 51 seats in the 100-member body, in the mid-term polls. Voters in Minnesota and Michigan elect the first two Muslim women to serve in the Congress — Democrats Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

Indian-origin candidates, Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Pramila Jayapal are re-elected to the U.S. Congress. Other Indian-Americans win in at least six new State legislative seats. A record 99 women make it to the House. Native Americans notch historical victories.

China unveils a replica of Tiangong or “Heavenly Palace,” its first permanently crewed space station, at the biennial Airshow China in the city of Zhuhai.

Nov. 6

Deepavali celebrations push the Air Quality Index in Delhi to hazardous level as crackers are burst violating Supreme Court deadline.

Sensex gains 245.77 points to close at 35,237.68 in the special one-hour trading session to welcome Samvat 2075, the new year as per the Hindu calendar.

Twelve people are shot dead by Ian David Long, a former U.S. Marine, during ‘college night’ at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks, Southern California. He later turns the gun on self.

Pakistani Christain woman Asia Bibi cleared of blasphemy charges by the Supreme Court is freed from a prison in central Pakistan and flown to the capital Islamabad.

U.S. Attorney-General Jeff Sesssions is sacked by President Donald Trump. Matthew G. Whitaker is made acting AG.

Tesla names Robyn Denholm as chairman in place of Elon Musk.

China’s news agency Xinhua, unveils a pair of virtual news anchors.

At least 12 Afghan Army personnel are killed and eight injured after the Taliban attacks an Army base in the border area between the northern provinces of Takhar and Kunduz. Earlier, the militants launch a pre-dawn attack on two checkpoints in Jhagori district of Ghazni province, Afghanistan, heavily populated by minority Hazaras.

Francis Lai, 86, French composer, who won an Oscar in 1971 for his movie score in Love Story, in Nice, France.

Nov. 7

Four civilians and a CISF jawan are killed in an IED blast triggered by Maoists near Bacheli village in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district.

Bangladesh to hold general elections on December 30.

Nov. 8

The Madras High Court directs a special court for CBI cases to frame charges afresh against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and others in the alleged illegal BSNL telephone exchange case.

The Kerala High Court sets aside the election of K.M. Shaji of the IUML from the Azhikode Assembly seat in 2016 and disqualifies him for six years from contesting any polls for indulging in allegedly corrupt practices.

The National Health Mission cofirms control of Zika virus in Rajasthan, after the detection of more than 150 cases of infection.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena dissolves Parliament and calls for a snap general election on January 5, 2019.

U.S. President Donald Trump invokes extraordinary national security powers to deny asylum to migrants, who enter the country illegally.

One person is killed and two are injured after a Somali immigrant goes on a stabbing spree in Melbourne, Australia, before being shot dead by police.

British Transport Minister Jo Johnson resigns over Brexit plan and calls for a second referendum.

An Indian War Memorial is unveiled by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu at Villers Guislain near Paris, France as the world commemorates the centenary of the armistice that ended the First World War.

Nov. 9

A massive protest erupts as a 16-year-old schoolgirl dies at the Government Medical College Hospital in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, five days after being gang-raped by two men at the tribal hamlet of Sitling in Harur.

A Dalit youth Nandhish and his wife Swati of the Vanniyar caste from Hosur, Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu are kidnapped and murdered near Shivanasamudra in Karnataka’s Mandya district.

Eightythree people are killed and more than 9,800 homes razed in the town of Paradise as wildfires that broke out two days earlier rage across California, U.S. destroying 1,11,000 acres. At least 1,000 go missing. Over 85,500 acres are destroyed in the Woolsey Fire.

Nov. 10

A BSF sub-inspector is killed and another injured after Maoists trigger a series of blasts in a forest in the Koylibeda block of Kanker district, Chhattisgarh.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa quits the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and joins the Sri Lanka People’s Party.

Fighting rages in Yemen’s Hodeidah city and more than 400 combatants killed in 10 days of clashes.

North Korea and South Korea begin destroying 20 guard posts along their heavily-fortified frontier.

A memorial attended by 70 world leaders is held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France to mark 100 years since the end of World War I.

At least 40 people are killed in a Taliban attack on the Khak Safid district in Afghanistan’s Farah province.

T.N. Srinivasan, 85, eminent economist and free trade advocate, in Chennai.

Nov. 11

Over 76.42% polling is recorded in phase I of Chhattisgarh Assembly polls.

Over 1,000 fireworks units in Sivakasi and other parts of the country announce an indefinite closure, in the wake of the Supreme Court curbs on the industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives the country’s first container consignment to be sent on an inland waterways after 1947, at a function in Varanasi, U.P. He inaugurates the first multi-modal terminal on the Ganga as part of the Jal Marg Vikas project.

At least six people are killed and 20 wounded as a suicide bomber blows himself up in front of a high school in the Afghanistan capital Kabul.

Democrat Krysten Sinema wins the Arizona Senate race.

H.R. Ananth Kumar, 59, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, of lung cancer at a private hospital in Bengaluru.

Stan Lee, 95, American comic book writer and co-creator of Marvels’ iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and The Hulk, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Nov. 12

The Supreme Court refuses to stay ruling allowing women of all age groups to offer worship at the Sabarimala temple. Agrees to hear review pleas in open court on January 22, 2019.

Binny Bansal resigns as Flipkart CEO following probe into ‘serious personal misconduct.’

Vinod K. Dasari bids adieu as CEO and MD of Ashok Leyland. The resignation to take effect on March 31, 2019.

The number of people affected by Zika virus in Madhya Pradesh goes up to 109.

The government notifies the Tamil Nadu Lokayukta Rules, 2018.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court stays until December 7 President Maithripala Sirisena’s dissolution of Parliament and restrains the Election Commission from preparing for snap polls.

The U.K. and EU negotiators agree on the text of a draft withdrawal agreement in Brussels.

Nov. 13

France did not offer sovereign guarantee in the Rafale deal signed on September 23, 2016 in case of default by Dassault Aviation, admits the Centre in the Supreme Court.

ISRO successfully launches the 3,423 kg GSAT-29 communication satellite on board its GSLV-MkIII D2 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

News J, a television news channel is launched by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and the Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, in Chennai.

The NIA files a chargesheet against Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi and two of her associates for waging a war against India, at the Patiala House court in New Delhi.

A majority of MPs in the Sri Lankan Parliament votes against the Mahinda Rajapaksa government in a no-confidence motion.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman quits after disagreement over a Gaza ceasefire deal.

British Prime Minister Theresa May announces ‘Cabinet backing’ for the Brexit deal after a five-hour meeting.

T.S. Kanaka, 86, Asia’s first woman neurosurgeon, in Chennai after a brief illness.

Nov. 14

Cyclone Gaja makes landfall between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu, with wind speed touching 90-100 kmph.

The Pune police file chargesheet against lawyer Surendra Gadling, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, activists Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Raut and Rona Wilson arrested on June 6 for their role in the Bhima-Koregaon clashes on January 1.

Britain’s Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, the Works and Pension Secretary Esther McVey and four junior Ministers quit the May Cabinet following differences over the Brexit deal.

Saudi Arabia indicts 11 people accused of murdering journalist Jamal Khashoggi and seeks death penalty for five of them. Admits to his being drugged and the body dismembered. The U.S. State Department sanctions 17 individuals.

Chaos in Sri Lanka Parliament as former President Mahinda Rajapaksa refuses to endorse the no-confidence motion on his address to Parliament and calls for snap polls. A few MPs try to assault the Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

Nov. 15

At least 63 people are killed as Cyclone Gaja wreaks havoc in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Ramanathapuram and Pudukottai districts of Tamil Nadu. It destroys 3.4 lakh houses. Over 3.78 lakh people are housed in 556 relief camps. It uproots over 1.27 lakh trees and damages crops on 88,000 hectares, besides downing 100,000 electric poles. Six hamlets in Nagapattinam wiped out. The Point Calimere bird sanctuary is badly hit.

Activist Trupti Desai and six other women return to Mumbai without offering prayers at the Sabarimala Temple after a 14-hour standoff at the Cochin International Airport.

John Allen Chau, an American missionary is allegedly killed by the reclusive Sentinelese tribespeople when he tried to enter the North Sentinel Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The SEBI comes out with new rules for re-classification of a promoter as a public investor.

The High Court in London quashes a lower court’s decision to discharge alleged bookie Sanjeev Chawla, whom India sought to extradite.

Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa lose a trust vote for the third time, amidst ruckus in Parliament. MPs owing allegiance to Rajapaksa again try to assault Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

In a historic vote, the kilogram gets a new definition at the General Conference on Weights and Measures held at Versailles, France. Nod to update definitions of ampere, the kelvin and the mole.

William Goldman, 87, American Oscar-winning screenwriter behind Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men, in Manhattan, U.S.

Nov. 16

Revolutionary writer Varavara Rao, under house arrest for 79 days at his Ashoknagar residence in Hyderabad, is taken into custody by the Pune police for role in plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is sworn in Maldives President at a ceremony in the capital Male.

Republican Ron DeSantis wins Florida governorship after his Democrat rival Andrew Gillum concedes defeat.

Alyque Padamsee, 90, ad guru and theatre doyen, at a hospital in Mumbai.

Brigadier Kuldip Singh Chandpuri, 78, hero of the ‘Battle of Longewala’ during the 1971 war, in Mohali, Punjab.

Cheng Kaijia, 101, the father of China’s atomic arsenal, in Beijing.

Nov. 17

Three people are killed and 15 others injured in a grenade attack on a religious congregation at the Sant Nirankari Satsang Bhavan in Adliwal village near Amritsar, Punjab.

The Maharashtra Cabinet gives nod to extend reservation to the Marathas by creating a new category called Socially and Educationally Backward Class.

Two tonnes of oil leaks into the sea following the rupture of a hose connected to an oil tanker MT Coral Stars at the Kamarajar Port in Ennore, Chennai.

For the first time in more than 25 years, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, ends with its leaders failing to agree on a joint communique.

Bill Nelson, incumbent Democrat Senator from Florida, concedes the Senate race to his Republican opponent, Governor Rick Scott.

G. Veeraiyan, 86, senior CPI (M) leader and former MLA from Nagapattinam, in Chennai, after a prolonged illness.

Nov. 18

The government and the RBI agree to trudge a middle path after a marathon board meeting. Expert panel to review economic capital framework for future earnings.

Three AIADMK men, serving life terms for setting ablaze a bus in Dharmapuri on February 2, 2000 resulting in the death of three girl students of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, are granted remision and set free from the Vellore Central Prison.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is conferred with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2017 by former CJI T.S. Thakur at a function in New Delhi.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. chairman Carlos Ghosn is detained in Tokyo by Japanese authorities after a probe reveals financial misconduct.

A federal judge in San Francisco issues a temporary restraining order on U.S. President Donald Trump’s proclamation denying asylum to those entering the nation illegally.

Nov. 19

Six people are killed and 10 injured in an explosion at the Central Ammunition Depot at Sonegaon in Pulgaon in Wardha district, Maharashtra.

One person is awarded death penalty and another life term for the killing of two persons on November 1, 1984 in Mahipalpur, south Delhi during the anti-Sikh riots, by a court in New Delhi.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launches ‘Bhudhaar’, an 11-digit unique code aimed at easy identification of land parcels, at a function at Undavalli near Amaravati.

India and Russia sign a $500 million deal to locally build two stealth frigates, at a function in New Delhi.

Former Bihar Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma, wanted in the Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case, surrenders at a court in Begusarai and is arrested.

Over 71. 93% voting is recorded in the second phase of Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh.

The Supreme Court dismisses Tamil Nadu government’s plea to review its September 10 order allowing an NGT panel to look into the closure of the Sterlite Copper Plant in Thoothukudi district.

“India offers a cooperation model that does not require its friends to make choices but rather expands choices and expands opportunities for all; that opens not one but many doors,” says President Ram Nath Kovind in his address to the National Assembly in Hanoi, Vietnam.

At least 55 people are killed and 80 others injured in a suicide attack on a religious gathering in the Afghanistan capital Kabul.

Nov. 20

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik dissolves the State Assembly after a day-long political drama, as both the Peoples Democratic Party and the National Conference stake claim to form a government.

South Korea’s Kim Jong-yang is elected Interpol president by the general assembly at the annual congress in Dubai.

The EU rejects Italy’s big-spending budget, clearing the path for sanctions.

Nov. 21

The Supreme Court sets aside a Madras High Court direction to the CBSE to grant grace marks for 49 questions to 24,000 students who took the NEET 2018 in Tamil for faulty translation.

The Centre gives nod for a proposal to make jute packaging mandatory for all foodgrains. Approves the Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2018.

India and Pakistan exchange letters, committing to build the infrastructure for visa-free direct travel by Indian Sikh pilgrims from Dera Baba Nanak to Pakistan’s Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara.

Analysis of IT seizures at Tiruchengode-based Christy Friedgram Industry in July reveals payment of kickbacks to the tune of ₹2,400 crore in purchases made for the Tamil Nadu noon meal scheme.

The Central Water Commission gives nod to Karnataka to prepare a detailed project report on the Mekedatu dam project across the Cauvery, after approving the feasibility report.

Nissan Motor Co.’s board votes unanimously to oust Chairman Carlos Ghosn and representative director Greg Kelly.

Nov. 22

Azad Ahmad Malik, a supect in the murder of Rising Kashmir Editor Shujaat Bukhari among six militants killed in an encounter in a jungle at Seikpura, in Bijbehara in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir.

Over 122 Sri Lankan MPs challenge the authority of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in a court of appeal.

At least 31 people are killed and 50 injured after a suicide blast rips through a marketplace in Kalaya town in the Orakzai tribal district in Pakistan.

Turkey indicts 28 people, including U.S.-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen over the December 2016 murder of the then Russian envoy Andrei Karlov.

Brazil opens criminal proceedings against former Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff in a fresh graft case.

Nicolas Roeg, 90, British director known for movies like Don’t Look Now and Performance, in London.

Nov. 23

At least 30 people are killed after a private bus plunges into the Visvesvaraya Canal, near Pandavapura in Karnataka’s Mandya district.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik releases 21 tribal language lexicons.

The Uttar Pradesh government clears the proposal to build a 221-metre-tall bronze statue of Lord Ram on the banks of the Saryu river in Ayodhya.

Bahrain votes in parliamentary polls, boycotted by the Opposition.

At least 30 people are killed and more than 60 feared dead after a party boat sinks in Lake Victoria in Uganda.

Voters in Taiwan reject same-sex union in a referendum.

More than 100 people are wounded in Syria’s Aleppo in a suspected toxic gas attack.

Tens of thousands take part in rallies across Europe against sexist violence.

M.H. Ambareesh, 66, noted Kannada actor and former Union Minister, at a hospital in Mandya, Karnataka.

L. Santhanam, 79, All India Forward Bloc leader and former MLA, at his residence in Mela Perumalpatti near Usilampatti in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

Nov. 24

Nine people, including seven militants are killed in Army operations in south Kashmir. Eleven people, including 19-month-old Hibba suffer pellet injuries during clashes in Shopian.

Suresh Nair, an accused in the October 11, 2007 Ajmer dargah blast case, on the run for 11 years, is arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad in Bharuch.

Leaders of the 27 EU nations agree to the terms of the Brexit deal and the political declaration after 18 months of negotiations, at a summit in Brussels.

Around 500 Honduran migrants who tried to force through a Mexican police blockade in Tijuana and surged towards San Diego are pushed back by U.S. border agents with tear gas and rubber bullets. Fortytwo people are arrested.

Russia seizes three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 sailors off the coast of Crimea.

C.K. Jaffer Sharief, 85, veteran Congress leader and former Railway Minister, at a private hospital in Bengaluru, of a cardiac arrest.

Devadas Mallya Mangalore, 65, chairman of InterGlobe Aviation, which operates IndiGo Airlines, in New Delhi.

Nov. 25

The Kartarpur corridor between India and Pakistan will “open new doors,” says Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu after laying the foundation stone for the four-lane “human corridor” in Gurdaspur, Punjab.

Got government sanction to prosecute Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case, the CBI informs a Delhi court.

Constitution the “modern scripture of independent India,” says President Ram Nath Kovind at a function to mark the Constitution Day in New Delhi.

The Maldives Supreme Court quashes former President Mohamed Nasheed’s terrorism conviction in 2015 and overturns his 13-year jail sentence.

Mexico arrests and deports 98 Central Americans, even as many who tried to cross the border a day earlier retreat to a camp in Tijuana.

Ukraine declares martial law for 30 days in border areas after Parliament votes in favour of the move.

NASA’s Mars rover InSight lands on the Red Planet after a seven-year journey.

A UAE court pardons Matthew Hedges, a British academic days after sentencing him to a life term on espionage charges.

Iravatham Mahadevan, 88, noted epigraphist, in Chennai after a brief illness.

Bernardo Bertolucci, 77, renowned Italian director of Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers, at his home in Rome, of cancer.

Nov. 26

The Kerala High Court lifts restrictions imposed by the police at Sabarimala Sannidhanam. Section 144 to be in force. Women’s rights activist Fathima Rehana is arrested for bid to foment enmity between communities through social media posts.

The Supreme Court allows IUML’s K.M. Shaji to continue as Azhikode MLA, but denies him voting rights in the Assembly.

A court in Crimea orders 24 Ukrainian sailors to be held in custody for two months till January 2019.

In a major setback to former President Khaleda Zia, a top Bangladesh court rules that a person jailed for more than two years cannot contest polls.

Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith wins the Mississippi Senate run-off beating her Democrat rival Mike Espy.

Mohammed Aziz, 64, veteran playback singer, at a hospital in Mumbai.

Nov. 27

Naveed Jatt, Lashkar-e-Taiba militant from Pakistan and a suspect in the murder of Rising Kashmir Editor Shujaat Bukhari and his associate are killed in an encounter at Chattergam in Budgam in central Kashmir.

The Delhi High Court upholds the conviction of 70 persons for arson and rioting in Trilokpuri area in New Delhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Madhya Pradesh registers a record 74.61% turnout in the Assembly polls. Mizoram records 80% polling.

The closure of the Sterlite plant in Tamil Nadu not sustainable, says NGT committee.

The Supreme Court directs the CBI to probe the Bihar shelter homes case.

Ukrainian film Donbass directed by Sergei Loznitsa wins the Golden Peacock at the 49th International Film Festival Of India in Panaji, Goa. Lijo Jose Pellissery bags the Silver Peacock for Best Director for Malayalam film Ee.Ma.Yau. Best Actor (Male) goes to Chemban Vinod (Ee.Ma.Yau). Veteran dialogue writer Salim Khan is honoured with the IFFI 2018 Special Award for lifetime contribution to cinema.

Tech magnate and philanthropist Azim Premji is bestowed with the Knight of the Legion of Honour, France’s highest civilian award, at a function in Bengaluru.

A court in Colombo orders detention of Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Wijegunaratne for allegedly harbouring a key suspect in a case of disappearance of 11 men in the final years of the war.

The U.S. Senate votes to move forward a bipartisan resolution ending Washington’s support to the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen.

Pakistan’s Army and political leadership are on “one page” to take dialogue with India forward, says Prime Minister Imran Khan at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Kartarpur corridor in Narowal district, Punjab.

Chinese scientist He Jiankui, who claims to have created the world’s first genetically-edited babies, announces a halt to the clinical trial at a meet in Hong Kong following an international outcry.

Nov. 28

The CBI files a new case of criminal conspiracy against police and revenue department officials in connection with the anti-Sterlite protests and the police firing that killed 13 people on May 13 in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

ISRO’s PSLV C-43 rocket puts into orbit Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS), an Earth Observation Satellite, dubbed ‘Sharp Eye’ and 30 small commercial satellites after liftoff from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The Maharashtra Assembly passes a Bill proposing 16% quota for Marathas in government jobs and education.

The Supreme Court allows candidates aged 25 years and above to apply and appear for NEET-UG 2019 exam.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen pleads guilty to misleading Congress over probe regarding Russian contacts pursued during the 2016 election.

Canada announces targeted sanctions against 17 Saudi nationals for their complicity in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

UNESCO adds Reggae music to its collection of “intangible cultural heritage,” at a meeting in Mauritius. Chidaoba, a form of Georgian wrestling and the Irish sport of hurling too make it to the.

Nov. 29

Farmers take out a Kisan Mukti March from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street in New Delhi and release the ‘Farmers’ Charter.’

The Tamil Nadu government challenges the Central Water Commission order on Mekedatu project in the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court dismisses Army officers’ plea against its decision to order a CBI probe into the encounter deaths in Manipur between 2000 and 2012.

A Delhi court convicts former Coal Secretary H.C. Gupta and five others for graft in allotment of coal blocks in West Bengal.

Ukraine bars the entry of Russian men between 16 and 60.

The Marriott International hotel chain informs the database of its Starwood reservation system was hacked and details of 500 million guests going as far back as 2014 compromised during September.

India presents a nine-point agenda calling for “strong and cooperative action” to deal with fugitive economic offenders, at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

George H.W. Bush, 94, former U.S. President, at his home in Houston, Texas.

Nov. 30

At least 412 people are arrested as French police clash with “yellow vest” protesters around the Champs Elysses in Paris, marking the third weekend of demonstrations against high living costs. The Arc de Triomphe is vandalised. Over 263 people are injured nationwide.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador assumes office as Mexican President.

Abdul Manan, a top Taliban commander and 29 others are killed in an air strike in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies, is arrested during transit in Vancouver, Canada and faces extradition to the U.S. for violating American export and sanctions laws.

Dec. 1

Sunil Arora takes over as the new Chief Election Commissioner.

China and the U.S. agree to halt additional tariffs for 90 days. after talks between Presidents Xi Jinpeng and Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina. Beijing agrees to buy American farm products.

Dec 2

A Uttar Pradesh police inspector and a youth are killed as a mob attacks an outpost at Chingravati in Syana tehsil, Bulanshahr district following rumours of alleged cow slaughter at Mahav village.

A.N. Jha is appointed Union Finance Secretary.

The board of Hindustan Unilever Ltd., approves the merger of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare India with the firm in an all-equity deal worth ₹31,700 crore.

Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal restrains Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Cabinet from functioning in their posts.

Qatar decides to pull out of the OPEC effective January 2019.

U.N. evacuates wounded 50 Houthi rebels from the Yemeni capital Sana’a for treatment in Oman.

SpaceX launches 64 satellites at one go on board its Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

A Soyuz spacecraft with three astronauts arrives at the International Space Station in the first manned mission since a failed launch in October.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REX spacecraft finds traces of hydrogen and oxygen molecules on asteroid Bennu.

Dec. 3

British national Christian Michel James, wanted in the ₹3,700 crore AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal bribery case, is brought to Delhi after being extradited by the UAE.

The U.K. govt. is set to publish the full and final legal advice from the Attorney-General on Brexit, after a cross-party coalition of MPs wins a motion finding the adminstration in contempt of Parliament. Debate on withdrawal deal begins.

China announces stiffer punishments for serious infringers of intellectual property, including barring them from buying real estate.

France suspends fuel tax rise for six months following protests.

India and the UAE sign a currency swap agreement. at the 12th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting in Abu Dhabi.

Karre Mastanamma, 107, YouTube celebrity cook, at Gudivada village near Tenali in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh.

Dec. 4

The Witness Protection Scheme, 2108 is put in place by the Supreme Court.

Tamil writer S. Ramakrishnan bags the Sahitya Akademi Award for 2018 for his novel Sancharam.

The 5,854 kg communication satellite GSAT-11 is put into orbit after launch from the European Spaceport in Kourou, Guiana in South America.

Former Coal Secretary H.C. Gupta and two others are awarded three-year jail terms for irregularities in the coal block allotments in West Bengal. Granted statutory bail.

Britain publishes the legal advice on Brexit.

Researchers report the birth of a baby girl (born in December 2017, after a procedure in September 2016 in Sao Paulo, Brazil) following a uterine transplant from a dead donor.

Xavier Bettel is sworn in Luxembourg Prime Minister for a second term and the coalition promises free mass transit for all beginning 2020.

Dec. 5

A special session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly passes a resolution against permission to Karnataka to prepare a project report for a dam across the Cauvery at Mekedatu.

The 175th conference of the OPEC in Vienna, Austria, agrees to an oil ouput cut.

A U.S. resolution to condemn the Hamas movement for firing rockets at Israel fails at the U.N. General Assembly.

Nel Jayaraman, 54, farmer and consumer activist known for reviving traditional paddy varieties, in Chennai, of cancer.

Pete Shelley, 63, British singer-songwriter and co-founder of the punk band Buzzcocks, at his home in Tallinn, Estonia.

Dec. 6

Krishnamurthy Subramanian is appointed the Chief Economic Adviser for three years.

Rajasthan registers 74% turnout in Assembly polls and Telangana records 67% voting.

U.S. President Donald Trump picks William P. Barr, former Attorney-General during the George H.W. Bush regime for the post again. Chooses State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert to replace Nikki Haley as U.N. Ambasador.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, an Angela Merkel loyalist, is elected as the ruling Christian Democratic Union leader in Hamburg, Germany.

Dec. 7

At least six people are killed and 50 injured in a stampede during a concert at a nightclub in Corinaldo town, near Ancona in central Italy.

China launches Chang’e-4 lunar probe mission to uncover moon’s ‘dark side’ on a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang launch centre.

French riot police clash with ‘yellow vest’ demonstrators , who set afire barricades and hurl rocks in Paris, even as 31,000 people take part in protests nationwide.

Vanessa Ponce de Leon, a Mexican model, is crowned Miss World 2018 at an event in the Chinese island of Hainan.

Dec. 8

RBI Governor Urjit Patel resigns.

Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Upendra Kushwaha quits the Cabinet and announces the exit of Rashtriya Lok Samata Party from the NDA.

The Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London orders businessman Vijay Mallya’s extradition to India.

British Prime Minister Theresa May defers House of Commons vote on Brexit deal. Rejects call for a second referendum.

Ousted Nissan Motor Chairman Carlos Ghosn is indicted by Tokyo prosecutors for under-reporting his income.

Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege and Yazidi activist Nadia Murad are presented the Nobel Peace Prize at a function in the Norwegian capital Oslo.

China detains Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing.

Mushirul Hasan, 71, eminent historian and educationist, in New Delhi.

Dec. 10

The Congress wins the Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi retains power in Telangana winning 88 of the 119 seats. The Mizo National Front is back in the saddle in Mizoram after 10 years.

Shaktikanta Das is appointed RBI Governor.

The Supreme Court bars the media from revealing the identity of victims of sexual crimes.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel rules out further talks on Brexit.

Jamal Khashoggi, two jailed Reuters reporters, Philippine writer Maria Ressa and Capital Gazette newspaper are chosen Time’s Person of the Year 2018.

The British Home Office backtracks on move to suspend the Tier-1 (investor) visa scheme.

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer is granted bail by a Canadian court.

Three people are shot dead and 13 wounded by a gunman Cherif Chekatt at a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France.

Dec. 11

The Congress wins the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls after a see-saw battle with the BJP.

The Dam Safety Bill, 2018 is introduced in the Lok Sabha.

British Prime Minister Theresa May wins a vote of confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party by 200 to 117.

Ousted Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe wins vote of confidence in Parliament.

Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer of U.S. President Donald Trump, is jailed for 36 months and fined $2 million for financial crimes and lying to Congress by a federal court in Manhattan.

Dec. 12

The Madras High Court quashes GO on DVAC probe into alleged irregularities in the construction of the new Secretariat on Anna Salai in Chennai.

K. Chandrasekhar Rao is sworn in Telangana Chief Minister for a second term at the Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad.

President Maithripala Sirisena’s move to dissolve Parliament and call for snap polls illegal, rules the Sri Lankan Supreme Court.

The Senate votes overwhelmingly to end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen. A second resolution holds Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

The Yemeni government and Houthi rebels agree on a ceasefire in Hodeida port at peace talks in Sweden.

Russian national Maria Butina admits to acting as an illegal foreign agent in the U.S.

Nepal declares Indian high denomination notes illegal.

Nancy Wilson, 81, Jazz legend, at her home in Pioneertown in California, U.S.

Dec. 13

The Supreme Court rejects pleas for probe into the Rafale jet deal.

At least 17 people are killed after eating prasadam laced with pesticide at a temple in Sulwadi in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district.

The government notifies the Flight and Maritime Connectivity Rules, 2018.

Eminent novelist Amitav Ghosh is chosen for the 2018 Jnanpith Award.

Obamacare unconstitutional, rules a federal judge in Texas, U.S.

China announces move to cut extra tariffs on U.S.-made cars for three months from January 1, 2019.

Strausbourg gunman Cherif Chekatt is shot dead by the French Police.

The U.S. sets March 2, 2019 as the scheduled date of a tariff rate increase on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Dec. 14

The National Green Tribunal sets aside the Tamil Nadu government’s order for the closure of Sterlite’s copper smelter in Thoothukudi.

Seven people, inluding a school student are killed and 37 injured in clashes with security forces in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, following the killing of three militants in an encounter in Sirnoo village.

Mizo National Front president Zoramthanga is sworn in as the ninth Chief Minister of Mizoram.

Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as Sri Lankan Prime Minister.

Australia recognises West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Hanif Hamgam, 56, Afghan comedian, in Kabul.

Dec. 15

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi unveils an eight-foot bronze statue of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi at the party headquarters in Chennai.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena reinstates UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister.

A ‘rule book’ designed to deliver on the 2015 Paris summit goals of limiting temperature rise to well below 2°C is finalised at the climate talks in Katowice, Poland.

Colin Kroll, who co-founded Vine and popular gaming app HQ Trivia, is found dead in his Manhattan apartment of an apparent drug overdose.

Geeta S. Iyengar, 74, daughter of B.K.S. Iyengar and noted yoga exponent, at her home in Pune.

Dec. 16

The Delhi High Court sentences Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to life term for the murder of five Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Kamal Nath takes office as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister. Rajesh Pilot takes oath as Rajasthan Chief Minister and Bhupesh Baghel is sworn in Chhattisgarh Chief Minister.

The Lok Sabha passes the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2018. New triple talaq bill to replace ordinance introduced.

Ten people are killed in a massive fire at the ESIC Hospital in Andheri, Mumbai.

The Union Cabinet gives nod for AIIMS at Thoppur in Madurai and in Bibinagar, Telangana.

Cyclone Phethai destroys crops on thousands of hectares in Andhra Pradesh as it crosses the coast between Kakinada and Yanam.

Catriona Gray of the Philippines is crowned Miss Universe 2018 at a pageant in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dec. 17

Hamid Nehal Ansari, who had been missing in Pakistan since 2012, reunites with family at the Attari-Wagah border crossing on repatriation after serving a three-year jail term.

The U.S. Senate passes the First Step Act, a criminal justice reform bill.

The Sri Lankan Speaker names Mahinda Rajapakasa Leader of the Opposition.

Dec. 18

The Lok Sabha passes a Bill banning commercial surrogacy.

GSAT-7A, a 2,250 kg communications satellite to primarily cater to the IAF’s needs, is launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The U.S. decides to pull out troops from Syria. Orders 7,000 troops out of Afghanistan.

Dec. 19

Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha joins the UPA.

The Lok Sabha passes the Consumer Protection Bill, 2018 and the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

The government issues an order allowing 10 Central agencies to intercept, monitor information stored in any computer.

FinMin’s Alternative Mechanism gives nod for Bank Of Baroda’s merger with Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena names a 30-member Cabinet.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis quits.

Chip supplier Qualcomm Inc. wins a second round in its patent battle with Apple in a Munich court.

Dec. 20

A special CBI court in Mumbai acquits all the 22 accused in the November 2005 Sohrabuddin Shaikh-Kausar Bi fake encounter case.

The Delhi High Court orders release of former Youth Congress leader Sushil Kumar Sharma, serving life term for the murder of his live-in partner Naina Sahni on July 2, 1995.

Japan re-arrests ousted Nissan Motor Co. chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Prapanchan, 73, Tamil writer, of cancer, in Pondicherry.

Dec. 21

At least 429 people are killed and 1,400 injured in the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra following a tsunami triggered by the eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano in the Sunda Strait.

The U.S. government shuts down after Congress adjourns without passing a federal spending bill.

Cuban MPs give nod for a revised draft of a new Constitution.

Paddy Ashdown, 77, former U.K. Liberal Democrats leader, of bladder cancer.

Dec. 22

An 11-member group of women from Tamil Nadu is forced to return by protesters at Pampa, Sabarimala after a 10-hour standoff.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces the institution of a national unity award at the annual DGPs’ meet at Kevadiya in Narmada district, Gujarat.

K.P. Aravanan, 77, Tamil scholar and former Vice-Chancellor of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, in Chennai.

Dec. 23

The Tamil Nadu Cabinet clears projects worth ₹16,000 crore. Nod for Aerospace and Defence Policy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases a ₹100 commemorative coin on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi.

The Supreme Court to hear Ayodhya dispute appeals on January 4, 2019.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is jailed for seven years in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills graft case by an anti-corruption court. Disqualified from holding any public office for 10 years. Acquitted in the Flagship Investment case.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls for snap polls in April.

At least 43 people are killed as militants storm a government compound in Afghanistan capital Kabul

Nirupam Sen, 72, veteran CPI(M) leader and former Industries Minister of West Bengal, at a hospital in Kolkata.

Dec. 24

 

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