NEW DELHI: Faced with an uphill task in Haryana and Maharashtra, Congress has much riding on the twin challenges that not only threaten to shrink the party's ruling arc but also compound the post-Lok Sabha despondency in the party.

ICHEON: Akashdeep Singh today scored a fabulous field goal against hosts South Korea to guide Indian men's hockey team into the finals of the Asian Games after a gap of 12 years, setting up a summit showdown with arch-rivals Pakistan.

 INCHEON: Ace discus thrower Vikas Gowda was the country's top performer with a silver as India added four medals to maintain their 10th position in the overall standings on a controversy-marred day for the boxers at the 17th Asian Games on Tuesday.

BEIJING: As pro-democracy movement intensified in Hong Kong, China on Monday signaled it won't tolerate "disrupters" and "mischief-mongers", even as it betrayed its own increasing nervousness about the protests by canceling the island's national day celebrations on October 1 and ordering Chinese websites to delete any mention of the unrest. October 1 has traditionally emphasized nationalism in this former British colony.

LONDON: The UK on Monday expressed concern over the developing situation in Hong Kong and said that its prosperity and security were based on its fundamental rights and freedoms including the right to demonstrate.

 NEW DELHI: An India-US military exercise, underway in Uttarakhand, has seen combined training between detachments of both armies' special forces as well as given a platform for both sides to share their experiences in UN-mandated counter-insurgency/counter-terrorism missions, a defence ministry release said on Monday.

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today rejected any need for outside arbitration to resolve the vexed issue of India's boundary dispute with China, saying the two countries are competent to find a solution through talks.

INCHEON (South Korea): Asian Games organisers on Tuesday expelled Malaysia's wushu gold medal-winner Tai Cheau Xuen after she failed a drug test, becoming the tournament's third doping case.

HONG KONG: Police repeatedly fired tear gas in clashes with protesters fighting for democracy as parts of Hong Kong descended into chaos on Sunday with tens of thousands on the streets to demand Beijing grant the city full universal suffrage.

KABUL: Afghanistan will host a grand presidential inauguration on Monday, with former US-based academic Ashraf Ghani taking power as Nato troops end their 13-year war without defeating the fierce Taliban insurgency.