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Explosion rocks SpaceX launch site in Florida

An explosion rocked the SpaceX launch site in Florida, US today when it was reportedly conducting a test firing of its unmanned rocket.

According to reports, the test was in advance of a planned launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Buildings several miles away shook from the blast, and multiple explosions continued for several minutes.

Delhi man who filed case against PM Modi, alleges threat to life

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an, who lodged a complaint against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly "insulting" the national flag, today told a Delhi court that he apprehended that he could be killed because of the case.

The complainant, Ashish Sharma, alleged before Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Sarvaria that on 12 August, he was arrested and tortured by the Delhi Police "without any crime" and released after four days.

"I may be murdered, attacked or vanish from this world. Nevertheless, I am requesting the court to keep in record that how and how much I am being tortured because of this case," complainant Ashish Sharma said.

10 trade unions to go on strike tomorrow, likely to hit banking and transport services

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sential services such as banking, public transport and telecom may be hit tomorrow as 10 central trade unions (CTUs) will go on one-day nationwide strike against government's "indifference" towards their demands and effecting "anti-worker" changes in labour laws.

The unions have claimed that this year's strike will be bigger as the number of striking workers is expected to swell to as much as 18 crore, larger than last year when around 14 crore workers participated.

Petrol, diesel prices hiked

Petrol price was today hiked by a steep Rs 3.38 per litre and diesel by Rs 2.67 a litre, reversing a two-month declining trend.

Petrol will now cost Rs 63.47 a litre in Delhi, up from Rs 60.09 a litre, said Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer. Similarly, a litre of diesel will cost Rs 52.94 a litre as against Rs 50.27.

The hike in fuel price, necessitated by a 13% rise in international oil rates in the last fortnight, comes on the back of four reductions. Rates were last cut by Rs 1 per litre in case of petrol and Rs 2 in diesel on 16 August

Brazil's Dilma Rousseff removed as President in impeachment vote

Brazil's Dilma Rousseff was removed of the country's presidency on 31 August in a Senate impeachment vote ending 13 years of leftist rule in Latin America's biggest economy.

Rousseff, 68, was convicted of illegally manipulating the national bubdget by 61 of the 81 senators. After the vote, that required two-third majority, she was immediately removed from office.

Michel Temer has been named the new president, after Rousseff was ousted in Senate impeachment trial

3-kg, 36-cm long Rhino horn - one of the world's largest- found in Assam

One of the largest Rhino horns in the world was located in Assam's Nagaon treasury, on Tuesday, during an official verification process by the Rhino Horn Verification Committee. The horn weighs 3 kg and is 36 cm long. It was first found in the Bagori range of Kaziranga National Park in August 1982.

A total of 210 rhino horns were verified by the committee on Tuesday. Of which, 206 belong to Nagaon treasury, three from Jorhat and one from Diphu. The verification committee will move on to Morigaon treasury on Wednesday, where 22 rhino horns from the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary are kept. Read the full story here.

Government schools in Northwast India go decades without teachers, matriculates

India has a total of 11 million out-of-school children at the primary level. However, access to primary education remains elusive for some. For instance, Keviphe village in Nagaland's Kohima district has not produced a single matriculate till date.

The only government primary school in the village - established in 1978 - has only one teacher. A decade ago, there were two teachers, who were suspended due to irregularity.

Currently, there are only eight students and the lone teacher handles four classes (I-IV) daily. Though a memorandum was sent by the Village Education Committee to the school education department to recruit more teachers, no action has been taken till now. Read the complete report

Singapore: 13 Indians test positive for Zika, says Foreign Ministry

Thirteen Indians have tested positive for the Zika virus in Singapore, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on 1 September. This come to light after three dozen workers were affected at a construction site. Vikas Swarup, spokesperson, MEA, in response to Reuter's inquiry, said, "According to our mission in Singapore, 13 Indian nationals have tested positive for Zika."

As the number of Zika virus related cases rose to 115, Singapore confirmed its first case of a pregnant woman testing positive for the same.