News brief: Big stories of the day

The United States accused Russia on Monday of blocking international inspectors from reaching the site of a suspected poison gas attack in Syria and said Russians or Syrians may have tampered with evidence on the ground.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Sweden late night on Monday 9:30 pm (local time) as part of the first India-Nordic Summit. He was received by his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven at the Stolkhome Arlanda airport.

The AICC released the first list of 218 candidates on Sunday night for the Karnataka assembly elections, prompting a series of protests across the state. Protests were witnessed in Nelamangala, Siraguppa, Bengaluru, Ballari, Mandya, Chikkamagalur, Udupi, Tumkur, Bagalkote and Haveri. Supporters of ticket aspirants who were left disappointed took to the streets, shouted slogans against Siddaramaiah and burnt tyres as a mark of protest.

Kendrick Lamar has won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his album ‘DAMN.’ which “captures the complexity of modern African-American life”. Lamar is the first rapper to win the prize, which is usually given to classical or jazz artists.

Syrian anti-aircraft defences shot down missiles fired at the Syrian air base of Shayrat in Homs province late on Monday and another base northeast of the capital, Damascus, Syria's state television and pro-Iranian Hezbollah media said.