42 civilians die in U.S.-led strike in Syria; Centre not in favour of TN's NEET ordinance; 'no' relief to Karti Chidambaram in INX case

In a majority 3:2 judgment, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside 'talaq-e-biddat' or instant and irrevocable 'talaq' as a "manifestly arbitrary" practice, which is not protected by Article 25 (freedom of religion) of the Constitution.

A day after the merger of two AIADMK factions, 19 MLAs owing allegiance to ''ousted'' deputy general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran on Tuesday submitted letters to Governor Ch.Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan, expressing lack of confidence in Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and withdrawing support to him.

Unveiling a new strategy for South Asia on Monday that has many elements of continuity from the past, President Donald Trump said the U.S troops would stay in Afghanistan for an open-ended period of time and America would no longer tolerate Pakistan’s policy of harbouring terrorists. Mr. Trump said America’s strategic partnership with India will deepen in South Asia and the Indo-Pacfic and demanded that India make more financial contribution for the stabilisation of Afghanistan. The President linked this demand to India’s trade surplus with America saying, India makes “billions and billions of dollars” in trade.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu government to start counselling for admissions for MBBS and BDS seats in the State based on the NEET merit list and complete the process by September 4. A Bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra directed the State government to initiate the admission process after the Centre told the court that it was not in favour of the recent ordinance passed by Tamil Nadu to exempt it from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) this year.

At least 42 civilians were killed on Monday in a barrage of US-led air strikes on Islamic State (IS) group territory in the Syrian city of Raqqa, a monitor said. Nineteen children and 12 women were among those killed in the raids, which hit several neighbourhoods in the northern city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP on Tuesday.

A once-in-a-century total solar eclipse is spanning the continental US on Monday, creating a 70-mile-wide (112-kilometre-wide) path of totality stretching from Oregon in the Pacific Northwest to South Carolina on the East Coast.

The Madras High Court today refrained from granting any relief to former Union minister P. Chidambaram’s son Karti, who sought quashing of the FIR filed by the CBI and its subsequent summonses in the INX Media case.

Former Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Mohammad Shahabuddin was on Tuesday charge-sheeted by the CBI in a special court in New Delhi for the offences of murder and criminal conspiracy in the killing of journalist Rajdeo Ranjan in May last year.

Four alleged members of a terror cell accused of killing 15 people in attacks in Barcelona and a nearby resort appeared in court on Tuesday, a day after the last missing member of the cell was gunned down by police. The four men were arrested last week for their alleged involvement in planning or carrying out vehicle attacks on pedestrians in Barcelona on Thursday and the northeastern town of Cambrils early Friday.

Bangladesh’s High Court on Tuesday upheld a trial court verdict sentencing to death 15 people including three army officers and a gangster, who had fled to India after the gruesome killing of seven people three years ago.