Here's a quick glance at today's top stories:
1. >Seventh Pay Commission: Central staff, pensioners to get more
In what can be termed a bonanza for Central government employees and pensioners, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the government has accepted the recommendations of the Seventh Pay Commission.
2. >41 people still in intensive care, says Turkey's Health Minister
Suicide attackers armed with guns and bombs killed 41 people and wounded scores of others at Istanbul’s busy Ataturk Airport in an attack the government blamed on Islamic State extremists.
3. >Ganguly hits back at Shastri on coach controversy
The raging feud between two former Indian captains on Wednesday turned uglier after Sourav Ganguly lashed out at Ravi Shastri saying the Mumbaikar was “living in a fool’s world” if he held him responsible for not getting the coveted India coach’s job.
4. >Chennai murder: Friend, sister say Swathi talked about stalker
Ending accusations of the public not calling for help after software engineer S. Swathi was murdered at the Nungambakkam Railway Station in Chennai on Friday last, sources in ambulance service 108 said they received two calls from the station seeking help immediately after the attack.
5. >Parliament: Monsoon session from July 18
The government on Wednesday asserted that it has “enough” support for passage of the GST Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament that will commence from July 18 to August 12.
6. >Rumours about ‘Kabali’ refuse to die down
With no official word yet on the release date of superstar Rajinikanth’s ‘Kabali’, directed by Pa. Ranjith, fans took to various social networking sites on Tuesday stating that the probable release date of the movie had been pushed from July 15 to July 22.
7. >Sensex rallies 216 points on govt. wage hike, GST hopes
Shaking off Brexit jitters, the market rallied nearly 216 points on the back of a string of government measures aimed at reviving the economy and talk that the GST Bill may be passed in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
8. >Parched Panchayati Raj Ministry on verge of closure
After facing a massive budget cut last year, the future of the Panchayati Raj Ministry continues to look bleak. After the BJP government shuttered two of its key programmes — the Backward Regions Grants Fund (BRGF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) — several officials at the Ministry feel it would soon be closed down and turned into a department under the Ministry of Rural Development.
