The toll in the flash flood and mudslide in Nepal and China increased to 552. Five deaths were reported on the Chinese side of the border and 547 on the Nepali side.More than 1,400 persons are missing. Rescue operations were halted citing risks of renewed flooding caused by the bursting of a debris dam.India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that 320 Indians in Nepal were not contactable. The numbers are based on preliminary information and are expected to change, said ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. Read on.Trinamool Congress leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien were booked for allegedly assaulting police personnel and obstructing them from discharging their duties when they went to remove a signboard of the party from a building on Kolkata’s Camac Street. Three first information reports have been registered in connection with the incident.At least 13 persons have been arrested in the case so far.On Thursday, an altercation broke out between Banerjee and the Kolkata Police when security personnel and officials of the municipal corporation arrived at the party office to remove the signboard. Read on.Penguin Random House India denied a report that it decided not to publish Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love in India after she rejected certain “editorial changes and deletions”. Penguin India maintained that it is not the publisher of the book, and that it was incorrect to claim that it decided not to publish the book because Sonia Gandhi declined to make editorial changes.“As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of the book,” it said. “…Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India’s position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book.” Read on.India plans to buy Javelin anti-tank guided missile systems from the United States, US Ambassador Sergio Gor said. He said on social media that the deal was a “great step forward” in the US-India defence relationship and opened the door to co-production opportunities.“The engagement between our two nations is at record high levels,” he wrote. New Delhi is yet to comment on Gor’s announcement.The Javelin is a portable anti-tank missile that can be carried and operated by a single soldier. Read on.If you haven’t already, sign up for our Daily Brief newsletter.