After sending stern message with brief house arrest of separatist Hurriyat leaders, India today said it has advised Pakistan that it would not be appropriate for Sartaj Aziz to meet with the Kashmiri separatists. "Such a meeting would not be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Ufa understanding to jointly work to combat terrorism," said the foreign ministry. The separatists, Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, have been invited to a reception in Delhi for Pakistan national security advisor Sartaj Aziz, who will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.On Thursday morning, three Kashmiri separatists were placed under house arrest in Srinagar but were released within two hours. The brief detention was described by government sources as a signal that "the separatists cannot be a third party to talks," and they can be detained if they try to meet the Pakistani delegation.Meanwhile, Pakistan also cancelled a Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference after refusing to invite the Jammu and Kashmir assembly speaker as demanded by India.

Post SC verdict: Uphaar victims to meet Arvind Kejriwal today
The families of those who died in the Uphaar fire tragedy will meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal this morning, and will request him not to accept the Rs. 60-crore fine that builders Gopal and Sushil Ansal have been asked to pay by the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that Sushil and Gopal Ansal, who owned the cinema, will not be jailed and ordered them to pay a fine of Rs. 60 crore to be used by the Delhi government to build a new trauma centre.  The victims and their families want a more stringent law for cases such as the Uphaar tragedy. The Ansals were found guilty of causing death by negligence. It its order, the Supreme Court restricted their jail term to the period they have already spent in prison. Meanwhile, the CBI is free to file an appeal or a review petition against the verdict.

Sensex and Nifty down on global cues
The Sensex plunged over 350 points at 10 am and Nifty slumped nearly 120 points on the back of selloff in the global equity markets triggered on concerns of sustained weakness in the Chinese economy. The rupee also weakened against the US dollar and fell to 65.81. Meanwhile, selling pressure was visible across the board. Banking, metal, oil & gas, power, realty, auto, capital goods, FMCG and healthcare indices fell 1-2.6 per cent each.

After Madhya Pradesh, major win in Rajasthan for BJP
After Madhya Pradesh, the BJP has posted another big win in a high-stakes municipal election in Rajasthan. The BJP will hold at least 78 of the 129 municipal bodies for which elections were held. The Congress won in 34 and the independents in 16. The BJP's chief ministers in both states have been targeted by the Congress, which has demanded their resignation over major controversies - Vasundhara Raje for the Lalit Modi scandal and Shivraj Chouhan for the Vyapam scam.

Suggestion to suspend licence for 3 months on traffic violation
A Supreme Court appointed committee has asked all states and union territories to suspend licence of all traffic rule violators for a minimum of three months, LiveLaw.in reported.  The panel, headed by former supreme court judge K S Radhakrishnan, listed the violations which include over speeding, red light jumping, carrying overload in good carriages, people travelling in goods carriages, driving under the influence of alocohol and drugs and using cell phones while driving. In case of two-wheelers, helmet laws will be mandatory for the main rider and the pillion rider.

Banks to remain closed on 2nd, 4th Saturdays from September
The government has issued notification and declared second and fourth Saturdays as holidays for public sector banks with effect from September 1. In case of a month having five Saturdays, banks will be closed only on second and fourth Saturdays.At present, all PSU and private sector banks work half-day on Saturdays.

Mumbai to face water cut from September
The western megapolis is facing a water cut. It's likely to be implemented from next month (September) and the decision will be announed next week. The present stock in the six lakes supplying water to Mumbai is far below the required levels. The stock, as on August 20,2014, was 1299666 million litres. This would suffice the city for 351 days. This year, the stock is down to 934638 million litres. which may last only for 252 days.

Prime minister to inaugurate FIPIC summit in Jaipur today
Prime minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the summit, Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), on Friday. The summit will be held at Jaipur's Rambagh hotel and is taking place in India for the first time. Formed in 2014, the first summit of FIPIC was organised in Suva, Fiji. As many as 14 countries will be represented by their head of states at this summit. FIPIC includes the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

1993 Mumbai blasts: Gujarat ATS nabs RDX landing case accused from Bijnor
The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) apprehended an accused involved in the Gosabara RDX and arms landing case, in which 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused Dawood Ibrahim is named as one of the key conspirators, from Uttar Pradesh, it was announced on Thursday.Based on a tip-off, a team of ATS officials arrested one Ishtiyak Ahmed Ansari (46) from his native village of Kiratpur in Uttar Pradesh's Najibabad tehsil which is part of Bijnor district.

Anna Hazare gets second threat letter in 10 days
Social activist Anna Hazare has received a threat letter. 10 days ago, Hazare received another threat letter which stated that he would be "bumped off" if he does not dissociate himself from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The letter warned Hazare that he will meet the fate of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, who was killed in Pune two years back.

Central panel to hold talks with protesting FTII students today
A three-member team of central officials are expected to hold talks with students of Film and Television Institute of India in Pune today, who are demanding the removal of TV actor and BJP member Ganjendra Chauhan as its chairman. The team led by the Registrar of Newspapers in India S M Khan will assess the ground situation on the campus before interacting with "all parties concerned" in their bid to end the impasse. The students are on strike for the last 71 days.