Daily bulletin: Petrol, diesel prices touch record high, probe in Kerala nun rape case underway, final day of India-England test series; day's top stories

Petrol, diesel prices on all-time high Prices in Delhi, where rates are the cheapest among all metros and most state capitals because of lower VAT, saw petrol touch an all-time high of Rs 80.73 per litre on Monday while diesel scaled to new high of Rs 72.83 a litre. Though the government has ruled out cut in fuel prices, it anticipates that international oil prices, which together with a drop in the value of rupee has been fuelling the fuel price rise to record levels, will moderate in coming days to take the pressure off. Sporadic incidents of violence reported during Bharat bandh against fuel price hike, Congress calls it a success Sporadic incidents of violence were reported on Monday during a Congress-led opposition sponsored Bharat bandh against spiralling fuel prices that disrupted normal life mainly in Bihar, Kerala, Karnataka, Assam and Odisha. As the Congress top brass, including party chief Rahul Gandhi, targetted the Modi government at a protest rally in Ramlila maidan in Delhi, offices and educational institutes remained closed and vehicles were off the roads in the states hit by the bandh that drew a mixed response. The bandh was called by 21 opposition parties which included the Congress, its allies and the Left. Thousands of Congress activists were taken into police custody in several states for forcibly trying to enforce the bandh, according to reports from the state capitals. While the Congress and other opposition parties claimed the bandh was a success, the ruling BJP claimed it was a flop. [caption id=“attachment_5156311” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Congress workers stop a trains during the Bharat Bandh called over fuel price hike, at Cuttack Railway Station. PTI[/caption] Kerala sexual assault case: Bishop Franco Mulakkal likely to be summoned for interrogation this week A Roman Catholic bishop facing rape charges by a nun was likely to be summoned for questioning this week, police probing the case said, amid protests over delay in taking action against him. Police said there were a “lot of contradictions” in the statements given by the nun, witnesses and accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar diocese and that a decision on further action would be taken after clearing all the doubts. Meanwhile, reports from Kottayam said police have initiated action against independent MLA PC George who had levelled derogatory charges against the victimised nun. First-ever BIMSTEC military exercise begins near Pune, Nepal not to participate In a first such initiative, militaries of BIMSTEC member nations barring Nepal began a week-long anti-terror exercise at Aundh near Pune on Monday to enhance cooperation in dealing with the challenge of terrorism in the region. Indian Army officials said the exercise is focused on boosting inter-operability among the forces and exchanging best practices to contain terror-related activities. The Nepal Army decided not to participate in the first-ever joint military exercise, amid reports that the political parties in the country have expressed concern over the drill. The government’s decision came after strong criticism from different quarters, including influential leaders from the ruling Nepal Communist Party, The Kathmandu Post reported. Over a million told to flee as Hurricane Florence stalks US East Coast More than a million people were ordered on Monday to evacuate the path of Hurricane Florence as the powerful Category 4 storm packing winds of 220 kilometres per hour bore down on the East Coast of the United States. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster told up to one million residents of the state’s eastern coast to leave their homes ahead of the storm’s possible arrival on Thursday. The governor of neighbouring North Carolina ordered an evacuation of the Outer Banks, a popular tourist destination, and parts of coastal Dare County, while a state of emergency was declared in Virginia. India versus England five match test series Tuesday will witness the final day of the five-match Test series between the two sides. India will resume from their overnight score of 58/3, chasing a massive target of 464 to win. KL Rahul, batting overnight on 46, will hope to bring up his first fifty of the series in the final outing. The Indian batting lineup though, have a herculean task before them if they are to salvage even a draw on Day 5, given the rhythm that James Anderson and Stuart Broad were in in the last hour of Day 4. Play begins at 3.30 pm Indian time. PV Sindhu in action at Japan Open The $700,000 Japan Open gets underway on Tuesday. PV Sindhu, who finished with a silver medal in the recently-concluded Asian Games, will be in action on the opening day alongside Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy among others. Saina Nehwal, who won bronze at the Jakarta Asiad, and B Sai Praneeth had earlier pulled out of the event. The matches begin at 6.30 am IST. Mahesh Bhatt makes acting debut Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who has directed many critically acclaimed film like Saaransh, Naam and Zakhm, will make his acting debut with a film titled ‘The Dark Side of Life: Mumbai City’. Bhatt launched the trailer of the film on Monday with his co-actors Nikhil Ratnaparakhi, Allisha Khan, director Tariq Khan and producer Rajesh Pardasani in Mumbai. New Lenovo gaming laptops to be unveiled today Lenovo will be unveiling a new gaming laptop in India, which is sure to take on heavyweights from the likes of Dell, Asus and Acer. The gaming industry in India has been booming for the last two years with a massive upswing in users participating in eSports both casually and professionally. We’ve also seen reports of the PC market growing again, and a significant portion of this appears to be driven by gaming. The device will make its debut in the country at 12 pm today.