These are the top stories of the evening
Beginning of end for frustrated BJP: Mamata reacts to TMC delegation being detained at Silchar Airport
A delegation of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) was stopped and allegedly roughed up at the Silchar Airport on Thursday. The delegation comprising MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag, Nadimul Haque, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Thakur, minister Firhad Hakim and MLA Mahua Moitra, was scheduled to visit Silchar on the of Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft. Read the full copy here.
Pakistan: Imran Khan opts for 'simple oath ceremony', rules out invitations to Indian VVIPs
Imran Khan has decided against inviting foreign leaders and celebrities to his oath taking ceremony as Pakistan's new prime minister as he wants to keep the event very simple, according to a media report. Read the copy here
Penal provision on adultery violate right to equality: SC on 158-year-old law
The Supreme Court on Thursday said matrimonial sanctity is an issue, but the penal provision on adultery apparently violates the right to equality under the Constitution as it treats married men and married women differently. Read the full copy here.
India v/s England, 1st Test: Familiar ghosts come back to haunt visitors at 100/5
Team India found themselves in a deep hole on Thursday as Sam Curran picked three quick wickets for England in the first Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The visitors went into Lunch on Day 2 at 76/3 after 21 overs. Eventually, they lost their top order with the score at 100 with skipper Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya at the crease. Follow updates here
World's first mission to touch the Sun set to launch next week, confirms NASA
NASA's Parker Solar Probe, mankind's first mission to 'touch' the Sun, has been moved to its launch pad and is on schedule take off next week, the US space agencies said. Read the full copy here
1. Mamata Banerjee
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A delegation of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) was stopped and allegedly roughed up at the Silchar Airport on Thursday. The delegation comprising MPs Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Ratna De Nag, Nadimul Haque, Arpita Ghosh, Mamata Thakur, minister Firhad Hakim and MLA Mahua Moitra, was scheduled to visit Silchar on the of Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft. According to reports, anti-government slogans were raised outside the Silchar airport and the AITC delegation was stopped sensing a fear of agitation. Lashing out, a defiant Mamata Banerjee said: “These atrocities being done, aren't only being condemned, I think this is beginning of the end. They are frustrated, they are political tense & depressed. And that's why they are showing muscle power.” - PTI
2. Imran Khan
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Imran Khan has decided against inviting foreign leaders and celebrities to his oath taking ceremony as Pakistan's new prime minister as he wants to keep the event very simple, according to a media report. Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the single largest party in the elections held on July 25. The 65-year-old leader is expected to take oath on August 11. His party had initially planned to invite several foreign leaders and personalities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood superstar Amir Khan and Indian cricketers like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavasker and Navjot Singh Sidhu to the event - Reuters
3. Adultery law
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The Supreme Court on Thursday said matrimonial sanctity is an issue, but the penal provision on adultery apparently violates the right to equality under the Constitution as it treats married men and married women differently. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, which is hearing a petition challenging the constitutional validity of Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, was also critical of a part of the provision stating that no offence of adultery is made out if a married woman enters into a sexual relationship with a married man with the consent of her husband. "If sexual freedom is a fundamental right then why should adultery remain in civil law," asked CJI Dipak Misra. - Representational image
4. NASA wants to send craft to Sun
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NASA's Parker Solar Probe, mankind's first mission to 'touch' the Sun, has been moved to its launch pad and is on schedule take off next week, the US space agencies said. The car-sized spacecraft will travel directly into the Sun's atmosphere, about four million miles from its surface - and more than seven times closer than any spacecraft has come before, thanks to its innovative Thermal Protection System.The mission, targeted to launch on August 11, will perform the closest-ever observations of a star when it travels through the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona. It will rely on measurements and imaging to revolutionise our understanding of the corona and how processes there ultimately affect near-Earth space. The probe was moved on July 30 to Space the Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
5. India struggle after lunch
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Team India found themselves in a deep hole on Thursday as Sam Curran picked three quick wickets for England in the first Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The visitors were at 102/5 with Kohli and Hardik Pandya at the crease. England were bowled out for 287 in the second over on Day 2, but the hosts came roaring back into the contest thanks to left-arm pacer Curran. India were reduced to 59/3 in the 16th over with opener Shikhar Dhawan walking back for a 46-ball 26.
