India

The India girl who took her dad to the police over a toilet

Hanifa Zaara told the police in a letter that her father had "cheated" her and should therefore be arrested. She said that she was "ashamed" to defecate outside.

Many Indians do not have access to toilets and nearly 500 million defecate in the open, according to Unicef.

Even where toilets have been built, many do not use them.

Hanifa who lives with her parents in Ambur, a town in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, has never had a toilet in her house.

India thieves 'ate from stolen royal gold lunchbox'

The lunchbox, stolen last week, was recovered along with a ruby and gold teacup, saucer and teaspoon.

Two men from the southern city of Hyderabad have been arrested.

The items, valued at $7m (£5.4m), once belonged to Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam (king) of Hyderabad and once the richest man in the world.

Police allege the two men had fled to the western city of Mumbai in the hopes of finding a buyer for the stolen goods where they lived a "fancy life" in a five-star hotel for a few days.

Rescue efforts step up as rains begin to ease in Indian state of Kerala

The India Meteorological Department has removed a red weather alert from all districts, though some areas are still under water.

India's air force and navy helicopters are airlifting stranded people from rooftops, and dropping food supplies to those they cannot yet reach.

More than 350 people have died in the floods. Thousands remain marooned.

Officials said rescue teams are focused on the riverside town of Chengannur, where as many as 5,000 are feared to be trapped.

Indian anti-trafficking activists raped after staging street play

The women were forced into cars and raped in a "secluded area", police told BBC Hindi.

Police say they are investigating the incident but have not made any arrests.

The women were working with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to raise awareness about human trafficking in the remote Khunti district.

About 40,000 rape cases were reported in India in 2016.

Many cases, however, are believed to go unreported because of the stigma that is attached to rape and sexual assault.

India girl, 16, burnt alive after Jharkhand rape

Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with the attacks in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

Police said the elders had ordered the accused rapists to do 100 sit-ups and pay a 50,000 rupee (£550; $750) fine as punishment.

They were so enraged they beat the girl's parents then set her on fire.

"The two accused thrashed the parents and rushed to the house where they set the girl ablaze with the help of their accomplices," Ashok Ram, the officer in charge of the local police station, told AFP news agency.

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Modi meets Vanuatu Prime Minister

Sopoaga and Salwai arrived in Delhi earlier in the day to take part in the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that Modi and Sopoaga "exchanged views on strengthening cooperation in renewable energy, developmental assistance, blue economy and international forums".

In a separate tweet regarding the meeting with Salwai, Kumar said: "The two leaders discussed cooperation in capacity building, IT, climate change, solar technology and developmental cooperation."

Man hit by train in quest for perfect selfie

Gym trainer T Siva ignored warnings from a person nearby and the train driver while filming near Borabanda railway station on 21 January.

Mr Siva survived but has suffered head injuries, according to South Central Railways Police.

He has appeared in court and been fined 500 rupees ($7.87, £5.50).

The 21-second-long video was shared thousands of times on Facebook on Wednesday. In it, Mr Siva is seen standing in the foreground as an MMTS train approaches.

Netanyahu and Modi praise 'new era' in India -Israel ties

The deals were announced after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Delhi on Monday.

Mr Modi said he wanted Israeli defence companies to invest in India.

Mr Netanyahu's visit comes a year after Mr Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel.

He arrived in Delhi on Sunday for a six-day visit along with a 130-member business delegation.

The two countries also signed deals where they agreed to cooperate in areas including cyber-defence, security and science.

South Africa dismantle India

Having dismissed India for 209 in the first innings, South Africa resumed on 65-2 with no play possible on day three, but quickly slumped to 130 all out, Mohammed Shami (3-28) and Jasprit Bumrah (3-39) the pick of their bowlers as India had the scent of victory in their nostrils.

The tourists' target of 208 soon seemed out of reach, however, as the Proteas blitzed through India's batting line-up, even without Steyn - whose comeback was curtailed by a heel injury.

India woman burned to death during argument in Hyderabad

Sandhya Rani, a 25-year-old receptionist, was on her way home when she was attacked at about 18:00 local time (12:30 GMT) on Thursday, police told the BBC.

People rushed to help Ms Rani but she died on her way to hospital.

The accused, Karthik Vanga, 28, is a former colleague.

He used to work in the same company as Ms Rani until a few months ago, police told the BBC.

When he approached her on Thursday, the two were seen arguing before the man pulled out a can of kerosene, poured the fuel on her and set her alight, police alleged.