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US bans Myanmar army chief over Rohingya 'ethnic cleansing'

an hour ago  
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The United States has banned visits by Myanmar's army chief and three other top officers due to their role in the "ethnic cleansing" of the Rohingya minority, urging accountability for their brutal campaign. The State Department said on Tuesday it took action against army chief Min Aung Hlaing and the others after finding credible evidence they were involved in the violence two years ago that led about 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh. "With this announcement, the United States is the first government to publicly take action with respect to the most senior leadership of the Burmese military," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. "We remain concerned that the Burmese government has taken no actions to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, and there are continued reports of the Burmese military committing human rights violations and abuses throughout the country," he said in a statement. The sanctions are the most visible sign..
                 

Patna SP directs all deputies to collect information of RSS, its associate bearers

2 hours ago  
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Iran says assisting ailing 'foreign tanker'

2 hours ago  
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Iran's foreign ministry spokesman has said that the Islamic republic was assisting a "foreign tanker that had encountered a technical problem" in the Gulf after receiving a distress call. "According to international regulations... Iranian forces approached it and using a tugboat brought it into Iranian waters for necessary repairs," Abbas Mousavi said on Tuesday according to an official government Twitter account. The spokesman added that further details would be released later. Earlier TankerTrackers reported that the Panamanian-flagged tanker Riah, used in the strategic Strait of Hormuz "for fuelling other vessels" had crossed into Iranian waters on July 14 "for the first time as she slowed down". According to the online oil shipment tracking service, at that point the tanker's automatic identification system stopped sending signals. The Riah's last known position was off Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions in the region have soared in recent weeks, with the US calling .....
                 

Ukraine language law debate spills into UN Security Council

2 hours ago  
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A clash over a new Ukrainian language law played out in the U N Security Council, where Ukrainian and Russian representatives sparred over whether the legislation promotes Ukrainian unity or jeopardizes the interests of the country's Russian-speaking population. The discussion came amid political transition in Ukraine and hopes for progress in resolving conflicts that has flared there over the last five years. Tuesday's back-and-forth reflected longstanding divisions in the council over Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and Moscow's support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. Russia denies involvement in fighting there that has killed more than 13,000 people. Both Ukrainian and Russian are widely spoken in Ukraine, and many residents use both languages. Ukrainian Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko even pointedly made some remarks in Russian during Tuesday's meeting. Still, Ukraine's linguistic divide has long been a point of political contention in the country ...
                 

India looking forward to investment of over Trillion Pound Sterling in next 5 yrs: Piyush Goyal

2 hours ago  
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India is looking forward to an investment of over a Trillion Pound Sterling in the next five years, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said in London, adding that the relationship that people and governments of UK and India share is an ideal opportunity to quickly grab the deal.While addressing 'India Day' conclave here on Tuesday, Goyal said, "The opportunities that India offers were encapsulated very well when the Finance Minister in this budget brought out the fact that we are looking for an investment of over a Trillion Pound Sterling in the next five years."He continued, "We are looking at huge investments in all of the sectors like infrastructure, betterment of roads and highways, etc and for that I think the close relationship that people of UK and India share, the governments between the two countries share, is truly an ideal opportunity to quickly grab a large share of that buy."Talking at length at the event, Commerce and Industry and Railways Minister Goyal said, "There are huge ....
                 

Congresswomen can go wherever they want: Trump

3 hours ago  
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United States President Donald Trump has said the four Congresswomen, whom he accused of hating the country, could go wherever they want, but they need to love the country to stay here. Trump said it was terrible when people speak so "badly" and "horribly" about the country. "It's my opinion they (the four Congresswomen) hate our country and that's not good. It's not acceptable," Trump told reporters during his cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday. "It's up to them. Go wherever they want or they can stay. But they should love our country. They shouldn't hate our country," he said. The response comes amid outrage over the president's comments against four Democratic progressive women -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley -- that they hate the US and should leave. The Democrats described this as a racist comment, charge refuted by Trump and the White House. "You look at what they've said. I have clips right here. The most vile, horrible .....
                 

Hyderabad: 23 illegal immigrants found residing without proper documents

4 hours ago  
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Hyderabad Police in collaboration with Foreign Regional Registration Office officials (FRRO) and special branch teams have identified 23 immigrants residing illegally in the city.Hyderabad city's Commissioner of Police, Anjani Kumar said that that the operation was conducted on Tuesday at various places in residential areas where more than 75 foreign nationals were questioned out of which 23 were found staying illegally in the city.During the examination, it was found that the foreign nationals, who belonged to countries like South Africa, Somalia and others, were living in the city without any proper documents.The police further said, "As per Indian Passport Act, they will be given time to pay the fees and get the extension documents prepared or if they fail to produce their documents then they will be detained and subsequently will be deported...
                 

US manufacturing sinks into recession amid trade wars

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US manufacturing sunk into recession in June after two consecutive quarters of declines amid President Donald Trump's bitter trade wars and a slowdown in China and other trading partners. The decline comes as the United States enters its 11th year of economic recovery and occurs despite Trump's constant pledges to restore America to manufacturing greatness -- even though services now drive three quarters of the US economy. Despite jumping in June, manufacturing fell by a 2.2 per cent annual rate in the April-June period, and total industrial production lost 1.2 per cent, in both cases the second consecutive quarterly decline, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday. "Manufacturing has borne the brunt of tariff uncertainties and slowing in global economic activity," RDQ Economics said in an analysis. The retreat comes even as American consumers are sustaining their appetite for spending, pushing retail sales higher for the fourth straight month, as shoppers in June took home more new autos .....
                 

LS members raise farmers' problems, ways to increase farm income

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Members in Lok Sabha on Tuesday raised problems related to agriculture including delay in procurement of produce, rise in the cost of inputs, late payment of crop insurance and adversities of weather and sought steps to increase the income of farmers.Taking part in a debate on demands for grants of the ministries of Rural Development and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the members said that about 80 crore people were linked to agriculture and expressed concern over farmer suicides.While BJP members talked of the initiatives of the Modi government, the opposition accused the government of ignoring concerns of farmers.Some opposition members also sought a reduction in GST rate on agricultural equipment and bringing diesel and petrol in its ambit.There were also suggestions for greater integration of MGNREGA with farming through improved water bodies.BJP member Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that Modi government had created conditions for people to turn "to villages from cities" as facilities ....
                 

Peru says former president Alejandro Toledo arrested in US

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'Game of Thrones' breaks record with 32 Emmy nominations

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The divisive final season of "Game of Thrones" smashed the record for most Primetime Emmy nominations by a drama series in a single year, earning a whopping 32 nods Tuesday. HBO's fantasy epic enraged fans with its bumpy conclusion but still trounced the competition to strengthen its iron grip on the small-screen equivalent of the Oscars. "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" -- Amazon's story of a 1950s housewife-turned-stand up comic -- was a distant second on 20 nominations. "Thrones" is the most decorated fictional show in the awards' seven-decade history, and now has 161 nominations overall -- including 47 wins. "For those who will be adding 2019 to their long list of nominations and or wins from other years -- it never gets old!" said Television Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma. The show about families vying for the Iron Throne broke a 25-year nominations record for a drama series in a single year previously held by "NYPD Blue," which earned 27 nods in 1994. Emilia Clarke and Kit .....
                 

NCP seeks equal number of seats from Cong in M'rashtra assembly polls

6 hours ago  
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The NCP wants an equal number of seats from the Congress in the Maharashtra state assembly polls, citing the drubbing of its alliance partner in Lok Sabha elections, party sources said. They said the Congress-NCP had a meeting regarding the seat-sharing arrangement in the Mumbai on Tuesday. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress won only one seat from the state while the NCP bagged four. In 2014, the Congress had won two seats from the state while the NCP won four. The NCP had contested on 21 seats while its partner Congress fielded candidates in 26. The Congress and the NCP have been in an alliance since 1999. It was only in 2014 state assembly polls that the two sides parted ways. In the 2004 assembly polls, the NCP had won more seats than the Congress, but the latter bagged the chief minister's post. "The situation has changed now. We have performed better than the Congress in the last two Lok Sabha polls. So, the seats have to be divided equally,"a party leader said. The .....
                 

European farms, wildlife parched in post-heatwave drought

6 hours ago  
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Farmers, private households and wildlife around Europe are suffering in a drought following last month's record temperatures that scorched much of the continent. The record June heatwave which smashed all-time temperature records in France may have passed -- for now -- but there has also been little rainfall in recent weeks to alleviate water shortages. In Spain, grape and tomato farmers who depend on water from winter rains that are stored in the soil have seen their crops wilt. In Germany, low water levels forced authorities to cut back on boat travel on the Elbe and Oder rivers. And across the border in France, water restrictions around the country saw families cut back as supplies dwindled. While water shortages are nothing new in countries like France, the ferocious heatwave that hit Europe last month has aggravated the problem. At least 10 countries, from the Netherlands to Slovakia, sweltered in the hottest June since records began, Meteo France weather forecaster Etienne .....
                 

26 IAS officers transferred in Maharashtra

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Two arrested for assaulting traffic police officers

6 hours ago  
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Two persons have been arrested for allegedly assaulting traffic police officials when they were impounding their vehicles in north Delhi, police said Tuesday. Lucky and Aakash have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty, they said The incident took place on Sunday at the NSP complex area of the city. They also misbehaved with personnel who stopped them during a drive against drunken driving, police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police, North West, Vijayanta Arya, said there were three persons on it, including two men and a woman. The person driving the scooty, Lucky, was found drunken. The vehicle was impounded and he was fined, he said, adding that they were stopped for checking at 5:30 pm. Police said when the traffic police officers were seizing the scooty, the men started misbehaving and obstructed officials from performing their duties. Arya said a complainant .....
                 

BIS grants licences to 2 different industries for 2 products

7 hours ago  
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The Bureau of Indian Standards' Hyderabad branch office has granted licences to two different industries for two products. "BIS, HyderabadBranch office has granted licences to two different industries for the first time in India for these products," an official release said late Tuesday night. One is Ultratech Cement Limited, Tadipatri for their product "Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag for use in Cement, Mortar and Concrete according to Indian Standard IS 16714:2018," the release said. It is used in cement, mortar and concrete and results in increase in the compressive strength of concrete besides enhancing resistance to chloride,alkali and sulphates. The other license is for Victory Mattresses Private Limited, Hyderabad for their product "Bed Mattresses according to Indian Standard IS 13489:2000," the release said. "While the consumer choices are defined by brands currently, this certification will guarantee the quality of mattresses irrespective of brand," it..
                 

Delhi govt nominates four representatives for DMRC board

7 hours ago  
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The Delhi government has nominated four representatives, including AAP leaders Raghav Chadha and Atishi, to be appointed to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's board of directors, sources said. This is for the first that non-bureaucrats have been nominated by the government for the DMRC's Board. Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission(DDC) vice chairman Jasmine Shah and AAP's Rajya Sabha MP ND Gupta's son Naveen Gupta are the two other persons nominated by Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot as the government's representatives in the board, a top Delhi government official said. The DMRC board comprises 17 members, including five members each from the Centre and the Delhi government. "The Delhi government has not appointed its chief secretary, as well as finance and transport secretaries to the board. "Currently, Mangu Singh, managing director of the DMRC and Ramesh Chandra, former finance secretary, are serving as Delhi government nominees on the board," a source said. Gahlot did..
                 

Toll reaches 55 as flood situation worsens in Assam, Bihar; 14 killed in UP rain incidents

7 hours ago  
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Raging flood waters battered Assam and parts of Bihar with the death toll in the two states mounting to 55 Tuesday, while rain-related incidents claimed 14 lives in Uttar Pradesh. A red alert was also sounded in Kerala for extremely heavy rains with an India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin saying that over 204 mm rains are likely in 24 hours in six districts of the southern state. In the north, heavy rains continued to lash Punjab and Haryana while the national capital received light showers for a second consecutive day. At least 33 people have been killed in flash floods in Bihar till Tuesday evening and 25.71 lakh people are affected in 16 districts of the state. According to officials, unusual torrential rainfall in Nepal and subsequent massive discharge of water in rivers led to flash floods in Bihar where more than one lakh people have been moved to safer areas. In Assam, the deluge has affected 33 districts of the state and claimed 17 lives. More than 45 lakh people .....
                 

Ambedkar University releases third cu-off list

8 hours ago  
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Ambedkar University on Tuesday released its third cut-off list with some courses seeing a significant dip in marks required for admission in undergraduate courses. The varsity has a provision of 85 per cent reservation for students from National Capital Territory and releases separate cut-offs for students from Delhi. BA (Honours) courses are available at the Kashmere Gate campus while the BA courses are being offered by the Karampura campus. The cut-off for BA (Honours) with a major in Mathematics is 85 per cent, a decline of over four notches, for candidates from Delhi while those from outside the national capital require at least 89.75 per cent. In the second cut-off, the marks required by students from Delhi was 89.25 per cent while those from outside it was at least 92.50 per cent. The cut-off for BA (Honours) with a major in Psychology is 95.50 per cent, a drop of one per cent, for Delhi candidates while those from other cities require at least 97.25 per cent. The earlier .....
                 

Mumbai needs enforcement of building safety norms: Experts

8 hours ago  
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The collapse of a residential building Tuesday in the congested Dongri area has once again put the focus on Mumbai's stressed infrastructure with experts and realtors calling for strict enforcement of safety norms and regular audits to avoid such tragedies in the future. Every year, the financial capital sees instances of building collapse, foot overbridge accidents and other life- threatening but preventable incidents. The situation gets aggravated during the monsoon. The four-storey residential structure in Dongri in south Mumbai caved in shortly before noon, killing at least 11 people and trapping more than 40 people under the debris, civic officials said. This was the latest addition in the list of such tragedies in the Mumbai metropolitan area which is replete with tales of sheer negligence and apathy by authorities tasked with overseeing development and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure assets. "Mumbai needs to urgently work on strengthening existing .....
                 

Chandrakant Patil becomes Maha BJP chief, Lodha to head Mumbai

8 hours ago  
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Ahead of the Maharashtra assembly elections, the BJP Tuesday appointed Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil as its state unit president and MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha as the city unit chief. Patil, considered to be number 2 in the Devendra Fadnavis-led cabinet after the exit of veteran Eknath Khadse, replaced Raosaheb Danve. Danve had resigned as state BJP chief after his induction into the Union cabinet. Lodha, a builder and the richest MLA in the state, will replace Ashish Shelar who was recently appointed a minister in the state government. As per the BJP constitution, a party leader cannot hold the same post for more than two terms. Shelar had served as the president of the Mumbai unit for six years. Patil will have to ensure that the party retains power in the state as well as its dominance in the Assembly, especially when the ally Shiv Sena has not hidden its desire to get the chief minister's post post-elections. The elections for the 288-member Lower House are due in..
                 

GoM discusses revival of BSNL, MTNL

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Group of Ministers led by Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday discussed revival of loss making telecom firms BSNL and MTNL. "The first meeting of GoM on revival of BSNL and MTNL was held on Tuesday evening," an official source told PTI without sharing any additional details. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Law and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad along with telecom seretary Aruna Sundararajan, additional secretary Anshu Prakash and BSNL chairman and managing director P K Purwar are learnt to have attended the meeting. This is the second time a GoM has been constituted for revival of the two ailing public sector firms. The previous GoM was constituted under UPA 2 regime to address various pain points like refund of spectrum fee, pension proposal for 43,000 MTNL employees etc of the BSNL and MTNL. The loss making PSU telecom firms have approached the Department of Telecom for immediate help as they are facing financial stress, which has aggravated due to the tariff war triggered by..
                 

Guj: Thakor community bans cellphones for unmarried women

8 hours ago  
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Members of the Thakor community in Gujarat's Banaskantha district have issued a diktat banning unmarried women from carrying mobile phones and fining parents of youngsters opting for inter-caste marriages. The diktat was passed "unanimously" in a meeting on July 14 by elders of the community from 12 villages in the district's Dantiwada taluka, a leader from the community said Tuesday. Congress MLA Ganiben Thakor said she saw nothing wrong in the move to ban mobile phones for girls. They should stay away from the technology and spend more time studying, she told reporters. According to the diktat issued at the meeting, "Unmarried woman should not be given mobile phones. If they are caught with mobile phones, their parents will be held responsible," . Parents have been asked not to give mobile phones to their college-going daughters so that they can "focus more on studies rather than waste time on mobile phones", another community leader said. The leaders during the meeting said parents..
                 

Declare drought in 435 Mandals in Telangana: BJP leader Dattatreya

8 hours ago  
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In the backdrop of prevailing "drought situation" in the state, a BJP delegation led by Bandaru Dattatreya met Telangana Chief Secretary SK Joshi here on Tuesday asking him to declare drought in 435 Mandals across the state.There are 584 Mandals in Telangana."The farmers are facing the worst kind of situation due to drought and the government is sleeping. 435 Mandals are reeling under severe drought condition. The government is delaying declaration of drought in those Mandals," said Dattatreya while speaking to ANI."Khammam, Nalgonda, and Suryapet districts are the most affected. Cultivation has not reached up to the mark in this season. The state government has not taken proper steps to contain the situation and has not planned for alternative arrangement too," he said."Telangana farmers are worried. There is no rainfall. 45 lakh acres of the cotton crop is at stake. The government should come up with a concrete plan," added Dattatreya."Under the present situation, seeds should be .....
                 

Adani Ports & SEZ plans USD 650 mn fund mop-up via issuing unsecured notes

8 hours ago  
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Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Tuesday said it will raise up to USD 650 million by issuing unsecured notes. "The Finance Committee of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd has approved the issuance of fixed rate senior unsecured notes aggregating to USD 650,000,000 and has approved the pricing, tenure and other terms of the notes," it said in a regulatory filing. The company intends to use the proceeds of the issue of notes, together with cash on hand of the company, to fund the tender offer and to redeem for cash any and all of its senior notes due 2020. If the tender offer and the redemption are not completed for any reason, the net proceeds of the issue of notes will be used by the company to refinance the existing indebtedness of the company as borrowed under the external commercial borrowing guidelines and/or other existing indebtedness with RBI approval, it added. The company is proposing a tender offer to redeem any and all of its outstanding USD 650 million 3.50 per..
                 

CEOs of Korean companies to discuss business over a game of golf in Gurgaon

8 hours ago  
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To develop better business relations with South Korean investors, a golf event will be organised in Gurgaon, Haryana, on July 19, an official said Tuesday. The Haryana government will conduct 'The India Korea Golf Meet', in which chief executive officers (CEOs) of 25 top Korean companies, representatives of Korean Embassy along with secretaries from the central government and the Departments of Haryana government will participate. "Usually, seminars and conferences are organised for developing business relations but promoting Korean investment through golf is innovative and out-of-the-box idea of the Haryana government," the official said. Invest India, a national investment promotion and facilitation agency, and the Haryana government are the organisers of this event. On behalf of the state government, the Department of Industries and Commerce will make arrangements for organising the game and the venue is DLF Golf and Country Club on Golf Course Road in DLF-5 of Gurgaon, said .....
                 

45 cows seized from smugglers die in a Tripura shelter after being kept in open during rains

8 hours ago  
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At least 45 cows, seized by the BSF while being smuggled to neighbouring Bangladesh, died due to alleged neglect at a cow shelter being run by an NGO in Tripura. The incharge of the cowshelter at Devipur in Sipahijala district, about 26 km from capital Agartala, said the cows died of "hyperthermia" as they were kept in open due to paucity of space and there were incessant rains over the last six days. The deaths took place during last three days starting from Sunday, officials said. Altogether 159 cows, which were kept in a cattle shelter (Gaushala) have died since May 14 last, the officials said. At present 700 cattle are lodged in the gaushala, Joshine Antony, in-charge of the cow-shelter, told reporters on Tuesday. The cow shelter was constructed by a Delhi-based Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) on May 14 last following an agreement with the Tripura government for housing the animals seized by the Border Security Force personnel from cattle smugglers, She said 45 cows died in .....
                 

Chronology of building collapse incidents and other mishaps in

8 hours ago  
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Following is a summary of incidents of building collapse and accidents involving infrastructure in the country's financial capital and its satellite towns in the last few years. April 4, 2013: 74 people, including 18 children, killed as an unauthorized under-construction building collapses near Mumbra in neighbouring Thane. September 27, 2013: 61 people killed and 32 injured as four-storey Babu Genu Market building housing civic body employees collapses. July 26, 2017: 17 dead and 22 injured after four- storey Sai Siddhi apartment in suburban Ghatkopar collapses. Local Shiv Sena leader arrested for allegedly carrying out structural changes on the ground floor which led to collapse. September 1, 2017: 33 people killed as 117-year-old five-storey Husaini Building collapses in Bhendi Bazar in South Mumbai. September 27, 2017: 23 railway commuters killed and 39 injured in stampede on a foot overbridge at then Elphinstone Road railway station. July 28, 2018: A part of the .....
                 

Rajnath Singh reviews defence corridor project of UP, Tamil Nadu

8 hours ago  
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Five-year-old girl dies of Chandipura virus in Gujarat

9 hours ago  
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Recent death of a five-year-old girl in Gujarat has been attributed to Chandipura virus, a state government medical officer said Tuesday. Blood test reports of the victim confirmed that she succumbed to the infection caused by Chandipura virus, said chief district health officer, Dr Uday Tilavat. The girl, a resident of Bhayli village on outskirts of the city, was admitted to hospital attached to Gotri Medical College on June 28. "Though she was given treatment for the advanced-stage viral infection, she died on June 30 during treatment," said Dr Tilavat. "We had sent her blood samples to Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV). The report received by us recently suggested that she was infected by Chandipura virus," he said, adding that five such cases have been reported from various parts of Vadodara district in the last few days. He said these patients are now doing well after receiving proper treatment. "The infection spreads through sandfly. We have deployed ...
                 

Union Jal Shakti minister reviews Assam flood situation, assures all help

9 hours ago  
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Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Tuesday reviewed the flood situation in Assam with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and assured all support to the state by the Centre to deal with the situation. The Centre has released RS 251.55 crore to the State Disaster Response Fund for management of disaster, he said. The flood situation in Assam turned critical on Tuesday with all 33 districts of the state coming under the grip of the deluge, which has so far claimed 17 lives and affected over 45 lakh people, officials said. After the meeting with Sonowal and government officials concerned, Shekhawat told reporters that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with the chief minister on Monday to review the flood condition in the state and he was sent to take stock of the situation. The central and state governments will work together to tide over the situation, he said after an aerial survey of Majuli Island and Dibrugarh in the morning. After the state .....
                 

No changes made in Income Tax Return forms: CBDT

9 hours ago  
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The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday said that no changes have been made in any of the Income Tax Return (ITR) forms."No changes have been made in any of the ITR forms including ITR-2 and ITR-3 since the notification made on April 1, 2019, i.e., on the first day of the assessment year 2019-20," read a CBDT press note."There were reports in certain social media that the taxpayers are facing difficulties in filing return of income in ITR 2 and ITR 3 due to large scale changes in the ITR form on July 11," it said.The CBDT said that the software utility for e-filing of all the ITR forms has been released long back."The utility for e-filing ITR-2 and ITR-3 were released on May 2 and May 10, 2019 respectively. However, the software utility update is a dynamic process and is continuously taken up as per the feedback received from the users/filers to ease their experience in electronic filing of the return," it said.It clarified that the updating of utility does not hamper .....
                 

Def Min nod to allow pvt firms to compete for Raksha Mantri's Awards for Excellence

9 hours ago  
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has accorded approval to allow private firms to compete with ordnance factories and defence PSUs for the Raksha Mantri's Awards for Excellence, officials said Tuesday The move will give a major boost to the 'Make in India' initiative, according to a Defence Ministry statement. "This is a significant departure from the past wherein only OFB units and DPSUs (defence public sector units) competed only among each other for the Annual Raksha Mantri's Awards, and the private sector industry was not eligible for any national level award competition," it said. The defence minister has accorded approval to allow private companies to compete with ordnance factories and DPSUs for the award, the statement said. The revised format includes awards in institutional, and individual and team category for excellence in technological breakthroughs; indigenisation or import substitution; and excellence in exports, it said. Separate sub-categories for large, medium, small .....
                 

NHRC issues notices to UP govt, power company over Balrampur incident

9 hours ago  
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Taking suo motu cognisance, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh government and a power distribution company after 55 students were injured when a high-tension cable fell on a school in Balrampur.The panel also recommended ex-gratia relief to the victims."The commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights. Accordingly, it has issued notices to the Chief Secretary, the government of UP and the chairman, Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (MVVNL), calling for a detailed report on the matter within four weeks," an NHRC press release said.Fifty-five students were injured after a high-tension cable fell on a government primary school in Utraula Tehsil of Balrampur district on Monday.The commission sought details about the medical treatment being provided to the injured and steps taken by the authorities to prevent such incidents. "The commission also expects..
                 

HC rejects anticipatory bail petition of JVM(P) MLA

9 hours ago  
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The Jharkhand High Court Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail petition of JVM(P) MLA Pradip Yadav in a sexual harassment case filed against him by a woman leader of the party. Dismissing the petition, the bench of Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary observed that a political leader should behave in an orderly manner. The police probe against Yadav has found serious charges against him, so anticipatory bail cannot be granted, the bench said. The accuser, who is also an advocate, had on May 3 filed an FIR against Yadav with the Deoghar Women's Police Station, accusing him of sexual harassment in Deoghar during the Lok Sabha elections. On June 13, Yadav was questioned by the police and his statement was recorded. Yadav has already resigned from the post of JVM(P) principal general secretary on the instruction of party chief Babulal Marandi...
                 

Raj govt to enact laws against mob lynching, honour killing: Gehlot

9 hours ago  
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The Rajasthan government has decided to enact laws to curb incidents of mob lynching and honour killing, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot told the state assembly Tuesday. Gehlot made the announcement while replying to a debate on the state budget in the assembly. Expressing concern over the rising incidents of mob lynching, Gehlot said his government will soon enact a law on the pattern of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to curb incidents of mob lynching. Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Law Commission framed a draft legislation to combat mob lynching. The Congress-led Madhya Pradesh also reportedly plans a similar law. In July last year, the Supreme Court had urged Parliament to consider enacting a new law to tackle incidents of lynching. A few months later, the Manipur Assembly passed a Bill against mob violence. The previous BJP government in the state had drawn flak after the 2017 killing of Pehlu Khan over alleged cow smuggling by a mob in Alwar district. The chief minister said a strict ...
                 

2,800 violations daily since July 1, fine worth Rs 3.56 cr: Noida Traffic Police

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Over 42,000 vehicles have been penalised, and challans worth Rs 3,56,00,000 issued for violation of traffic rules in Noida and Greater Noida since July 1, police said Tuesday. While the fine money of Rs 64,29,000 has been recovered from the 12,882 erring vehicles till July 15, the Gautam Buddh Nagar Traffic Police said. Since July 1, the district police has launched a special campaign Operation Clean to check violations of law especially pertaining to road traffic, which has remained a major issue for the twin-cities adjoining Delhi. "From July 1 till July 15, challans have been issued to 42,011 vehicles, totalling Rs 3,56,00,000. 6,436 erring vehicles have paid their fine amounting to Rs 31,40,600 online, while 6,446 vehicles owners paid Rs 33,88,400 offline in penalty, the traffic police said. Meanwhile, 122 vehicles parked in no-parking zones in Noida were towed away by the police on Tuesday, while e-challans were issued to 422 others for traffic violations, officials said. The ....
                 

Broadband index to help states build communication infra, attract investments: Dhotre

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The telecom department plans to release ranking of states this year based on their readiness to build digital infrastructure and help them attract investments. "This (Broadband readiness) index will help states in creating digital and high quality communication infrastructure, attract investments for creating next generation communication infrastructure, create institutional mechanism between Centre, state, local bodies and other stakeholders," Minister of state for telecom Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre told reporters. He was speaking at an event, where the Department of Telecom (DoT) signed memorandum of understanding with Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) to develop a Broadband Readiness Index (BRI) for states and Union Territories (UT). The first estimate will be made in 2019 and subsequently every year until 2022. "This is expected to give a big fillip because for the first time we are assessing what is the status of digital infrastructure and what ....
                 

Thakor community in Banaskantha bans unmarried girls from using cell phones

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
In the 21st century, where women have been at par with men and even surpassed them in various fields, Thakor community of Banaskantha's Dantiwada has come up with a new rule which prohibits unmarried girls from keeping mobile phones.The community held a meeting on Sunday in Jalol village where some decisions were taken which the village people termed their "constitution."According to new rules, unmarried girls will not be given mobile phones and if any girl violates society's norms, it would be considered as a crime. As a punishment, Rs 1.50 lakh will be collected from the girl's father."On Sunday, our community met and it was decided extra expenses in marriages like arrangement of DJ and firecrackers should be stopped. We can save money from this. We have not implemented what we had discussed on mobile and punishment. After ten days, a meeting will be called to discuss not giving mobile phones to unmarried girls," said Jayantibhai Thakor, Zila Panchayat member.Besides this, if any .....
                 

RBI rejects proposed appointment of ex-interim CEO, other on Religare's board

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Religare Enterprises said Tuesday that the Reserve Bank of India has rejected proposed appointment of two persons to the company's board of directors. "The Reserve Bank of India vide its letter dated July 15, 2019 has communicated that the company's request for appointment of Ashok Mehta and Ashwani Mehta as non-executive non-independent directors has not been acceded to," Religare Enterprises said in a regulatory filing. Ashok Mehta has served as the interim chief executive officer of the company in the past. Religare had approved to appoint Ashwani Mehta as the non-executive non-independent director of the company on November 20, 2018. Ashwani is an MS in general surgery and is one of the pioneers to start laparoscopic surgery in northern India. In June, the company's group chief executive officer (CEO) Milind Narendra Patel had resigned from his post which he had assumed in August 2018, after stepping down of Ashok Mehta as the interim CEO. Patel continues as the group CEO, serving..
                 

Twitter buzzes with 2.9 mn tweets on India-Pak World Cup clash

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The face-off between India and Pakistan at the Cricket World Cup this month saw 2.9 million tweets being posted, making it the most tweeted about One Day International (ODI) match during the championship. The finals between England and New Zealand was the second most-tweeted match during the World Cup, followed by the clash of India and the Kiwis in the first semi-final, data from Twitter Tuesday showed. The #CWC19 conversation generated 31 million tweets from May 20 to July 15, it added. Comparing the hashtag #CWC19 to the last Cricket World Cup hashtag #CWC15, there was more than a 100 per cent growth in tweet volume containing the official hashtag. "With 2.9 million Tweets, the most-Tweeted about match was #INDvPAK, making it the biggest One Day International (ODI) match ever on Twitter! The second most-Tweeted was the final between #ENGvNZ followed by the first semi-final #INDvNZ," Twitter said. Interestingly, India was the most tweeted about team in #CWC19, with wicket-keeper and..
                 

MP: Mother-son held for killing 3-year-old boy, charring body

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
A mother-son duo was Tuesday arrested after the charred body of a three-year-old boy was found near his house a few hours earlier in Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, police said. Varun, son of a local resident Vipin Meena, was Sunday kidnapped when he went out of his home at Baragarh in Chichali area here to buy chocolates. The child's burnt body was found around 50 feet away from his home on Tuesday afternoon, Kolar police station inspector Anil Bajpai said. Sunita Solanki (40) and her son Shubham (20) have been arrested for the crime, Bhopal Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Irshad Wali told reporters Tuesday evening. "Sunita put the charred body in an empty house nearby. Shubham helped her in the act. When the Solankis had gone out last month, their house was burgled and they suspected Varun's family. In an act of vengeance, they killed the boy," Wali said. The child had taken Rs 10 from his grandfather to buy chocolates on Sunday. When he did not return after an .....
                 

Kerala: Congress MLA demands CBI probe into answer sheet seizure from SFI activist's house

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Congress MLA PT Thomas on Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into the seizure of answer sheets of the state civil services examination from the house of a Students Federation of India (SFI) leader who is accused of stabbing another SFI activist in a college in Thiruvananthapuram.Addressing a press conference here, the MLA said the seizure has put a question mark on the credibility of the exam conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission (KPSC)."It is suspected that irregularities took place in the PSC examination. Therefore, it is only through the CBI probe that the truth can be revealed. The credibility of the PSC exams has come under question," he said.Thomas attacked Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan over his "silence" on the seizure of answer sheets from the house of an SFI leader.He also slammed the government over the attack on an SFI activist in University College in Thiruvananthapuram.The legislator said, "The state is controlled by the SFI-led mafia. It is these criminals who .....
                 

Director in PMO, Joint Secretary in Cabinet Secretariat repatriated prematurely

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Two officers from Prime Minister's Office and Cabinet Secretariat have been prematurely repatriated to their parent cadres, officials said on Tuesday. Brijesh Panday, a 2004 IAS officer of Tripura cadre, was repatriated back to his home cadre before completion of his central deputation which was to end in 2020. He had earlier served as Deputy Secretary in the PMO and was last year promoted as the Director. His repatriation order was cleared by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) on Tuesday. The ACC "has approved the premature repatriation" of Panday to his parent cadre from July 31, this year, the officials said. The other officer repatriated was Gyanesh Bharti, a 1998 IAS officer from the Union Territory cadre. He was posted as Joint Secretary with the Cabinet Secretariat. His repatriation was ordered by the ACC on Monday. The ACC "has approved the proposal moved by the ministry of home affairs for premature repatriation" of Bharti to his parent cadre, the officials said...
                 

We will transform to reach new heights: Wipro chairman

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Wipro will continually transform to scale new heights as the world changes while remaining firmly committed to its values, the company's chairman and tech magnate Azim Premji, who will retire as the company's head this month-end, said. Also, he expressed confidence that the future of Wiprowould far outshine "anything that we have done before." The IT major last month had announced that Premji, who turned a small maker of vegetable oil into a USD 8.5-billion software behemoth, will retire as the company head by July-end and hand over reins of the firm to his son Rishad. Premji, who turns 74 in July, would retire as executivechairman upon the completion of his current term on July 30 after having led the company for 53 years, it had said. Informing company's shareholders that Rishad Premji,chief strategy officer and member of the board, would take overas the executive chairman with effect from July 31 during thecompany's annual general meeting, he said Rishad brings to .....
                 

Donate Quran, court's bail condition to woman arrested for offensive post

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
A 19-year-old woman, who was recently arrested for sharing an offensive social media post targeting Muslims, has been granted bail by a local court here on the condition that she donate five copies of Quran to separate institutions in the city. The court of Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Manish Kumar Singh, after granting the conditional bail on Monday, asked Richa Bharti to submit one copy of the holy book to the local Anjuman Committee in the presence of police authorities, and four more copies to different libraries in the city, her advocate Rampravesh Singh told PTI. The magistrate has also sought the receipt or the acknowledgment of the donation within a fortnight, he said. Md Jamil Khan, a member of the Anjuman Committee, said it has welcomed the court verdict. "The committee, which looks after the health, education and welfare of the local people, has accepted the verdict whole-heartedly. The woman has been asked to donate copies of the Quran to the committee as well as .....
                 

Kanwar fair begins Wednesday, security tightened

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The annual kanwar fair is set to begin Wednesday and security has been tightened on routes to be used by Shiva devotees to collect sacred waters of the Ganga river from Har ki Pauri and other ghats here. Around 10,000 police and para-military personnel, including bomb disposal and anti- terrorist squads have been deployed along the routes besides installation of CCTV and drone cameras on chosen locations in the fair area to maintain a tight vigil, IG (law and order) Ashok Kumar said. Police personnel in plain clothes have also been deployed at sensitive spots to keep an eye on suspicious activity, he said. An estimated three crore Kanwariyas are likely to descend on Haridwar during the Kanwar mela this year which will conclude on July 12. The city has been divided into 12 super zones, 31 zones and 133 sectors for crowd management. Addressing sectoral magistrates and police officials in Rishikesh, Kumar asked them to use the social media platforms fully to keep kanwariyas informed .....
                 

Pakistan opens airspace for all civilian traffic

9 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
In a big relief to Indian and international airlines, Pakistan on Tuesday opened its airspace for all civilian air traffic, lifting nearly five-month-long ban that was imposed after the Balakot air strikes. The move will give relief to international airlines as well as Air India, which suffered a huge financial loss of around Rs 491 crore as it had to re-route its various international flights due to the closure of the Pakistan airspace. Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) at around 12.41 am Indian Standard Time, stating that "with immediate effect Pakistan airspace is open for all type of civil traffic on published ATS (air traffic service) routes". After lifting of the ban, Air India flights AI 184 as well as AI 784 --coming from San Francisco-- were among the first flights by an Indian carrier to pass through Pakistan airspace on Tuesday. "The pilot on AI 184 came to know about the opening of Pakistan airspace while en-route from San Francisco. The..
                 

Three held after brief encounter in south Delhi

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Three men, who used to dupe people after swapping their ATM cards, were arrested after a brief encounter with police in south Delhi's Munirka area, police said Tuesday. The accused have been identified as Abid and Sakib, residents of Haryana's Palwal district, and Adil, a resident of Ballabhgarh in Haryana, they said. Total 95 ATM cards, Rs 20,000 cash, one pistol, two live cartridge and a car were recovered from them, a senior police officer said. "Police got information on Monday that the accused would come near Munirka Metro Station. When they came there, they were signalled to stop but instead of stopping, they tried to flee after firing at police," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rahesh Deo said. They were chased and later arrested on Nelson Mandela Marg near Coolie Camp signal, he said. Interrogation revealed that they used to operate across India and targeted elderly people, the officer said. They managed to see the PIN code of the user and after swapping the ATM cards, ....
                 

No plan to completely ban petrol, diesel vehicles: Pradhan

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The government has no plans to ban petrol and diesel vehicles in the near future but will continue to push for greater use of electric vehicles with a view to cut oil imports and save the environment, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Tuesday. Conventional energy sources of coal and oil constitute more than 80 per cent of India's energy basket and the demand for energy will continue to grow as the country's economy expands further. "EV is a priority but the incremental requirement of fuel will have to be met through a combination of BS-VI grade petrol and diesel, CNG and biofuels alongside EV," he told reporters on sidelines of an industry event here. The Niti Aayog has reportedly proposed that after 2030, only electric vehicles should be sold in India. A panel headed by Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant had earlier suggested that only EV (three-wheelers and two-wheelers) with an engine capacity of up to 150 cc should be sold from 2025 onwards. The policy think-tank ....
                 

'Sridevi Bungalow' makers assured me there's no connection between Sridevi and film: Arbaaz

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Arbaaz Khan said he initially had concerns about starring in "Sridevi Bungalow" as the subject of the film appeared to be linked with superstar Sridevi's death. The film features Priya Varrier in the title role, while Arbaaz will be seen in a guest appearance portraying the part of a Bollywood actor. "Sridevi Bungalow" was mired into controversy as the plot line of the film seemed to make a reference to Sridevi's demise. The last shot of the trailer ends with Priya's character dying in a bathtub. Sridevi, aged 53, died of accidental drowning in her hotel room's bathtub in Dubai in February 2018. The late actor's husband-producer Boney Kapoor had issued a legal notice to the makers of the film earlier this year. Asked about the film's run-in with controversy, Arbaaz said, "When they offered me the film, I'd asked them if it has anything to do with the unfortunate incident with Sridevi ji and they denied it completely. "They said the story has no relevance with her and that they had .....
                 

Flood situation worsens in Assam, Bihar; red alert sounded in Kerala

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The flood fury continued in Bihar and Assam Tuesday with the death toll in the region mounting to 47, even as a red alert was sounded in Kerala after the weather office predicted extremely heavy rains in the state. Heavy rains continued to lash Punjab and Haryana in the north, while the national capital received light showers for the second consecutive day. An India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin said extremely heavy rains-- over 204 mm rains in 24 hours-- are likely in six districts of Kerala. In flood-hit Bihar, 25 people have so far been killed in flash floods and 25.71 lakh people affected in 16 districts. According to officials, unusual torrential rainfall in catchment areas in Nepal and subsequent massive discharge of water in rivers led to flash floods in Bihar where more than one lakh people have been moved to safer areas. The deluge has affected 33 districts of Assam and claimed 17 lives. More than 45 lakh people have been hit by the nature's fury, they said. Ninety..
                 

Can't be directed to decide on resignations of MLAs within a time-frame: Speaker to SC

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar Tuesday told the Supreme Court that he, being a constitutional functionary, cannot be directed to first decide on the resignations of rebel Congress-JD(S) MLAs, that too within a particular time frame. Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy questioned the jurisdiction of the apex court in entertaining the pleas of 15 rebel MLAs, who are seeking a direction to the Speaker to accept their resignations, and said these lawmakers are "hunting in a pack" to bring down the government. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the Speaker, told a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that disqualification applications against these MLAs were moved prior to their resignations and the Speaker was well within his right to choose his course of action. Singhvi urged the bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, to modify its earlier interim order directing him to maintain the status quo in the ongoing political crisis in .....
                 

76000 drugs samples examined in 2018-19, 2500 substandard: Govt

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Of the 76,101 drug samples examined in the country last fiscal, over 2,500 did not meet the prescribed quality standards, while more than 200 were found to be spurious, the government told the Rajya Sabha Tuesday. Answering a query in the Upper House, Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey said the figures were provided by the drugs controllers of various states and Union Territories. He said that of the 76,101 medicine samples tested in 2018-19, 2,549 were found to be substandard and 205 were adulterated. The minister said the government is committed to ensuring that the quality, safety and efficacy of drugs are not compromised. Asked about the steps being taken in this regard, he said the government has put in place several measures including "strengthening of legal provisions, conducting workshops and training programmes for manufacturers and regulatory officials and measures such as risk based inspections." "Drugs manufactured in the country...whether generic medicines..
                 

Indian Coast Guard continues search for 24 missing fishermen

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Tuesday said search operations are underway for 24 fishermen who went missing in the Bay of Bengal on July 7 after venturing into the deep seas in inclement weather. It said the Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG), naval ships and aircraft were conducting search operations for the missing fishermen in the country's waters, while ICG ships, hovercraft and aircraft were carrying out the search off the coast of West Bengal and along the International Maritime Border Line. Twenty-five fishermen had gone missing after two fishing boats allegedly sank at the confluence of the Haribhanga river and the Bay of Bengal on July 7, amid heavy rain and rough seas. One of them, Rabindranath Das, managed to remain afloat for four days, holding onto a piece of bamboo, before being rescued by a Bangladesh-flagged cargo ship near the Chittagong port on July 11. Meanwhile, the BCG repatriated 516 fishermen, along with 32 Indian fishing boats, on Tuesday, an ICG spokesperson said .....
                 

222 lions died in Gir forest region in 2017-19: Minister

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
As many as 222 lions died, most of them due to natural causes, in the Gir forest region in Gujarat in the last two years, the Legislative Assembly was told Tuesday. Among them, only 23 lions died because of "unnatural" causes such as getting hit by trains or falling into wells between June 2017 and May 2019. In a written reply a query by Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar, Forest Minister Ganpat Vasava stated that 82 lions, including 30 cubs, have died between June 2017 and May 2018 while the number of deaths stood at 140, including 60 cubs, for the June 2018--May 2019 period. "While 199 deaths occurred because of natural causes, such as infection and ailments, 23 deaths have been attributed to unnatural causes," Vasava stated. Though the state government did not mention the last year's viral outbreak as one of the main reasons for high number of deaths between 2018-19, Vasava had told the Assembly in Februarythat as many as 34 lions had died last year due to diseases .....
                 

Madras HC allows jailed Saravana Bhavan founder to shift to pvt hospital

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The Madras High Court Tuesday permitted Saravana Bhawan founder P Rajagopal, who has been admitted to a government hospital here after he surrendered to serve life sentence in a murder case, to shift to a private facility for further treatment. Passing an interim order on a petition filed by Rajagopal's son, a bench comprising justices M M Sundresh and M Nirmal Kumar directed the state government and the prison authorities to transfer the hotelier from the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital to the Vijaya Hospital here. "Considering the medical reports and the condition of the detenu, we are inclined to permit the transfer," the bench said. The petitioner would have to bear the cost of treatment, the bench said, adding the transfer and treatment would be subject to the compliance of conditions as per the prison manual. Referring to a report filed by authorities of Stanley hospital that Rajagopal had already suffered two episodes of cardiac arrest and shifting him was risky, .....
                 

Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh get new governors

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Sitting Rajya Sabha member Anusuiya Uikey and senior BJP leader Biswa Bushan Harichandan were Tuesday appointed as governors of Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh respectively. The files of their appointment was cleared by President Ram Nath Kovind after which a formal order was issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The post of Chhattisgarh governor was under the additional charge of Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel since August after the demise of Balram Das Tandon. Hailing from Chhindwara, 62-year old Uikey, whose Rajya Sabha term was to end in 2022, has taken special interest in the delivery of justice to women, specially tribal women and solution of their problems. She has also worked for awareness of rights of tribal women leading to their empowerment, her bio-data on the Rajya Sabha website says. In his early 80s, Harichandan will be the 23rd governor of Andhra Pradesh and will succeed ESL Narasimhan, who had held the gubernatorial post in various states for last 13 years which ...
                 

Take steps to prevent fire accidents in hostels: Minister

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Telangana Minister for Welfare Koppula Eshwar Tuesday directed officials to take measures on a permanent basis to prevent fire accidents in social welfare hostels in the state. The minister's response came in the wake of the death of a nine-year-old girl due to asphyxiation and burn injuries in a fire caused by a short circuit at a state-run girls hostel at Khammam Sunday night. The minister directed that teams be formed with authorised electrical engineers and fire safety officials to check fire safety in 15 days in social welfare hostels, an official press release said here. Steps would be taken as per the findings of the checking process, he said. Eshwar, who expressed anguish over the death of the girl student, asked the director of SC welfare department to issue orders increasing the ex-gratia from Rs two lakh announced Monday to Rs five lakh, the release said. The government is ready to provide funds to take measures for the prevention of such accidents, Eshwar .....
                 

Karnataka Speaker trying to "prop" Kumaraswamy's minority govt: Rebel MLAs to SC

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The 15 rebel Congress-JD (S) MLAs told the Supreme Court Tuesday that Karnataka Assembly Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar is trying to "prop" the H D Kumaraswamy-led government which has lost the majority and his non-acceptance of their resignations is a violation of fundamental right. They told a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that it is their fundamental right to resign from the membership of the Assembly and the Speaker cannot "frustrate" it by not accepting the resignations. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for these MLAs, argued that once a resignation is tendered, "notwithstanding pendency of disqualification proceeding, has to be decided in its own course and the parameter for this is to see whether its voluntary or under coercion". "When an MLA says that he want to resign voluntarily, there is no rule not to accept it. It cannot be mixed up with disqualification process. If an MLA says he will resign, nobody can compel him to discharge his duty as a member of the ....
                 

Portals of Badrinath closed due to a lunar eclipse

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The portals of the Badrinath temple have been closed ahead of the Lunar Eclipse. It will remain closed till 4As per the Hindu beliefs, no religious ritual can be performed during the lunar eclipse. Accordingly, temples remain closed for a specified period of time before, after and during an eclipse.In India, the partial lunar eclipse will be visible during the intervening night of July 16 and 17.The Moon will enter penumbra on July 17 at around 12.12 am, after which the Moon will enter umbra at 1.31 am. The maximum of partial lunar eclipse 2019 will be witnessed at around 3 am.This year's Char Dham yatra started with the opening of portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines on May 7. While doors of Kedarnath were thrown open for devotees on May 9, the portals of Badrinath reopened on May 10.The circuit of four ancient pilgrimage sites in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, that is, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath is referred to as 'Char Dham Yatra'...
                 

Six held for engaging 54 boys in bonded labour

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
: Six people were arrested here Tuesday for alleged child-trafficking after 54 boys of Bihar were rescued from bonded labour in different bangle manufacturing units, police said. On Saturday last, the children from the units were rescued and cases under relevant sections of IPC, Juvenile Justice Act and Child Labour Act were registered. During course of investigations, police arrested six out of the 11 accused and found they were involved in trafficking of 54 children, a press release from the Rachakonda police commissionerate said. The children, aged below 14, were made to work continuously from 6 AM to 11 PM daily without rest and were also detained in the houses by the accused and not allowed to move freely or go outside, the release said. The children were provided stale food and were also not given proper accommodation and other required amenities, it said. The arrested accused, most of them from Bihar, ran small bangle-manufacturing units here and exploited .....
                 

India, Italy to set up fast-track mechanism to facilitate investment

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
A fast-track system would be set up for companies and investors of India and Italy to facilitate investment proposals in both the countries, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said Tuesday. "In order to facilitate Italian companies and investors in India and Indian companies and investors in Italy, it has been decided to establish fast-track system for companies and investors of both the countries," the ministry said in a statement. The key objectives of the system in India will be to pave the way for and identify and solve problems faced by Italian companies and investors with their operations in India. It will also serve as a platform for discussing general suggestions from the point of view of Italian companies and investors with regard to ease of doing business in India. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the ministry, will represent Indian side in this system. The department will facilitate the participation of other relevant ministries and..
                 

AI cabin member faces DGCA action for physical altercation inside plane

10 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Taking serious note of a physical altercation inside an Air India aircraft, watchdog DGCA Tuesday suspended the authorisation of a crew member for six months, according to a senior official. On June 17, cabin crew member Rajat Verman was involved in an heated argument and physical altercation with a pilot when the plane was to depart from Bengaluru to Kolkata. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has already suspended the flying licence of Milind M, who was involved in the incident. The official told PTI that the authorisation held by Verman has been suspended for six months from the date of the incident. Investigation found that the two personnel were involved in a heated argument and thereafter physical altercation when the aircraft was on the ground and preparing for departure. An Air India spokesperson did not offer any comment. More than 20 pilots of various airlines have been temporarily taken off duty on the orders of the DGCA so far in July, an official said on .....
                 

Power Minister reviews first ever PDS draft plan

11 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Power Minister R K Singh on Tuesday reviewed the draft plan for power distribution sector (PDS) in the country and emphasised on integrating the planned reforms and improved processes of operations.The draft plan is the first-ever plan at Distribution level which has been prepared by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) under the guidance of the Ministry of Power.During the review meeting, going beyond the infrastructure and technology, the power minister laid emphasis on integrating the planned reforms and improved processes of operations into the Draft Distribution Perspective Plan.This would enable the distribution sector to address all the people, process and technology-related aspects required for making the Power sector robust and resilient.The minister directed that a core group of ministry officials should study the power sector 'Reforms 2.0', which would be integrated with Distribution Perspective Plan before it is released.The efforts towards making a Distribution plan is..
                 

Centre asks Delhi govt to complete survey of identifying beneficiaries in slums

11 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The Centre has asked the Delhi government to complete the demand survey of identifying eligible beneficiaries of the PMAY (U) living in slum areas, according to an official statement issued Tuesday. Union Housing and Urban Affairs (HUA) Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra had directed the Delhi government to submit status report on 17,660 constructed and nearly 16,000 under-construction houses, the statement said. Mishra Monday chaired a meeting of Delhi government's officers, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) regarding the large number of applicants queuing up outside the HUA and for allotment of house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) PMAY (U). "The secretary has asked DUSIB to complete their demand survey for identifying eligible beneficiaries (slum dwellers) squatting over Jhuggi Jhopri Clusters (JJCs) in Delhi," according to the .....
                 

Abortion of abnormal foetus cannot be denied even if gestation is beyond 20 weeks: HC

11 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
Right to terminate an abnormal pregnancy cannot be denied merely because gestation has continued beyond 20 weeks, the Delhi High Court has said while allowing a 25-week pregnant woman's plea to abort her foetus which had enlarged kidneys and was not expected to survive. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar said the section of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act which prohibits abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy even if the foetus is abnormal, and the provision which relaxes this restraint if there is an immediate threat to the life of the mother, have to be considered cumulatively and not in isolation. "Seen thus, we are convinced that, even in a case where the condition of the foetus is, as in the present case, incompatible with life, the rigour of section 3(2) deserves to be relaxed, and the right to terminate the pregnancy cannot be denied merely because gestation has continued beyond 20 weeks. "Law, needless to say, cannot be construed in a manner ....
                 

DCB Bank net profit rises 17 pc to Rs 81 cr in June quarter

11 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
DCB Bank Tuesday reported a rise of 17 per cent in its net profit to Rs 81 crore for the first quarter ended June 30. The bank's net profit in the April-June 2018 quarter had stood at Rs 70 crore. Total income during the quarter rose 10 per cent to Rs 392 crore as against Rs 356 crore in the year-ago period, the bank said in a regulatory filing. Net interest income moved up to Rs 305 crore from Rs 273 crore, while the non-interest income during the quarter stood at Rs 87 crore as compared with Rs 83 crore a year ago. DCB Bank said its net advances as on June 30 rose to Rs 24,044 crore, up by 13 per cent from Rs 21,243 crore in the year-ago quarter. Deposits grew 15 per cent to Rs 28,789 crore. "We are focussing on granular retail term deposits in order to further improve our deposit profile. Some margin pressure will be felt for two more quarters, beyond which, we expect stability due to re-pricing profile of long-term refinance and renewal cycle of customer deposits," said Murali M ....
                 

Former IRS officer D Murlikumar appointed special expenditure observer for Vellore LS by-poll

11 hours ago  
Business / Business Standard/ General News  
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday appointed former IRS officer D Murlikumar as the special expenditure observer for the Lok Sabha by-poll to Vellore constituency scheduled to be held on August 5.The counting of votes will take place on August 9.The ECI had earlier cancelled polls for the parliamentary seat in the wake of the seizure of a large amount of unaccounted cash."Muralikumar was Director-General of Income Tax (DG, I-T), Chennai, when a single seizure of Rs 11 crore was unearthed as an organised racket of distribution of cash to voters," EC spokesperson Sheyphali Sharan tweeted.The then Special Expenditure Observer Madhu Mahajan had recommended the countermanding of election to Vellore constituency in May, she said.Voting in Vellore parliamentary constituency was rescinded by President Ram Nath Kovind on the EC's recommendation on April 16.A large amount of unaccounted cash had allegedly been seized from a warehouse belonging to a DMK candidate in the .....
                 

Vardhan asks Punjab govt for proposal to dedicate AIIMS in state to Guru Nanak

11 hours ago  
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Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday sought a detailed proposal from the Punjab government on its plan to dedicate the state's second All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to Sri Guru Nanak Dev on his 550th birth anniversary.In a letter to the Union health and finance ministers, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had sought permission for the same. The first AIIMS is coming up in Bathinda and the state has proposed the second one be built either in Ludhiana or Jalandhar.Singh pointed out that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had assured consideration of the matter after the release of the Union Budget.The chief minister raised the issue during his meeting with Vardhan earlier today.He said that the health minister had promised to consider the demand after receiving a formal proposal.Singh also sought approval for PGI Satellite Centre at Ferozepur from Vardhan."The state government has transferred land to PGI, but the file is pending for approval before the .....
                 

Doctors go on flash strike over attack on colleagues

11 hours ago  
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Doctors and health staff of a government hospital here went on a two-hour-long strike Tuesday to protest against the alleged assault on their colleagues by a group of people for the delay in arranging a hearse to take their relative's body, police said. Doctors and employees in various primary health centres and government hospitals in the peripheral pockets also resorted to a strike to seek protection to the medicos and arrest of all those who allegedly assaulted the doctors and damaged property. A health department source said a patient hailing from Tirukanchipet village, who had committed suicide by hanging, was brought dead to the hospital. The authorities kept the body in the mortuarytill the arrival of the hearse. Since there was a delay in the arrival of the hearse, the patient's relative restive and used abusive language against the doctors and assaulted the staff, the source said. A police complaint was lodged and the hospital staff demanded the arrest of those ...
                 

MP govt, varsities sign MoUs with Cambridge Assessment English

11 hours ago  
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A department of the University of Cambridge that lays down tests for those learning English signed Memorandums of Understanding with the Madhya Pradesh government and private institutions in the state on Tuesday. The MoU with Cambridge Assessment English (CAE) is aimed at developing English language skills of students to enhance their employability, officials said. On the occasion, CAE Global Network Deputy Director Liam Vint said, "We are delighted universities in MP are taking steps to implement international standards of English. English language skills are key to graduate employability." MP is the third state the CAE has ventured into after Chhattisgarh and Gujarat, its South Asia Regional Director Arunachalam TK told PTI. "CAE is training students in Gujarat while it was focusing on developing English language skills of teachers in Chhattisgarh. In MP, we are going to hone English skills of both teachers and students," he said. Arunachalam said CAE provides .....
                 

After bail in defamation case, CM and his deputy have no moral right to continue on their posts: BJP

11 hours ago  
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Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari Tuesday said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia have lost their right to continue on their posts, hours after the two AAP leaders were granted bail in a criminal defamation case. Leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including their chief Kejriwal, are sustaining their political journey through "lies", Tiwari said at a press conference. Kejriwal and Sisodia were granted bail by a court here in a criminal defamation case by Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly and BJP leader Vijender Gupta, who accused them of "maligining" his image by referring him to an alleged conspiracy to kill the chief minister. The chief minister also got bail in another defamation case over his allegation that the BJP got deleted 30 lakh names from voters list, particularly of the Purvanchali, Bania and Muslim communities, during the Lok Sabha polls. "They are used to getting bail and tendering apologies for their lies. They have lost the moral .....
                 

Assam floods cause of worry for all of us: Nadda

11 hours ago  
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Pilgrims paying obeisance at Amarnath shrine cross 2 lakh mark

11 hours ago  
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Centre to launch awareness drive in Delhi from tomorrow to combat vector-borne diseases

11 hours ago  
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The Union Health Ministry will launch a three-day public awareness drive in Delhi from tomorrow to sensitise people on measures for prevention and control of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya.The campaign will focus on increasing community engagement to combat the menace."Community engagement is the key to combating malaria, dengue and chikungunya," Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a press statement on Tuesday."It is going to be a people's movement through active involvement of the people's representatives, officers from central and Delhi governments, all three municipal corporations, New Delhi Municipal Council, railways and cantonment board and other stakeholders to combat malaria, dengue and chikungunya," he said. The minister appealed to the people for active participation to make their neighbourhoods free of mosquitoes, adding, "Probably for the first time, the Centre, state and all local bodies will put together their efforts to mobilise .....
                 

Vijayveer wins his 3rd gold at Junior Shooting World Cup

11 hours ago  
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Vijayveer Sidhu picked up his third gold medal of the ongoing ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, combining with Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu and Adarsh Singh to clinch the men's 25m pistol event on Tuesday. For Adarsh, it was his second gold of the competition. India maintained its top spot at the medal standings after day three with seven gold in a total of 16 medals won so far. The day's second medal came in the men's 10m Air Rifle with the trio of Hriday Hazarika, Yash Vardhan and Paarth Makhija winning the team silver with a combined score of 1877.4, which was just 0.4 less than the gold winning Chinese team's score. China also equalled the junior world record in the process. Junior world champion Hriday, however, endured heartbreak in the 10m Air Rifle individual competition. He was leading till the 18th shot of the 24-shot final, but an effort of 9.6 in his 19th shot saw him slide down to fourth, which is where he eventually finished on a score of 207.3. Russian Grigoril Shamakov..
                 

Cattle trade impacted due to mob lynching:BSP member in LS

11 hours ago  
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A Bahujan Samaj Party member on Tuesday raised the issue of mob lynching in the Lok Sabha saying it has impacted the cattle trade and resulted in lot a difficulties for farmers. Ritesh Pandey (Bahujan Samaj Party) who raised the issue during the discussion on the Demands for Grants for Ministries of Rural Development and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare for 2019-20, earned the praise of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi who applauded him for the same. "Due to mob lynching the cattle trade has been impacted," Pandey said. Terming the present government at the Centre as "Anti farmer," he said, it will have to seriously look at the challenges that would come in the way of doubling the farmers income. Stating that the farming land is getting reduced due to urbansiation and industralisation, he said, there was a need to spend wisely on research and development. Participating in the discussion, Uday Pratap Singh (BJP) also stresssed upon the need to come up with a legislation to .....
                 

NGT directs District Magistrates to monitor compliance of Bio-Medical Waste Rules

11 hours ago  
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The National Green Tribunal has directed the District Magistrates in all the states to monitor compliance of Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules twice every month. The NGT said that it is necessary to have a District Environment Plan to be operated by a District Committee with representatives from Panchayats, Local Bodies, Regional Officers, state pollution control boards (SPCB) and a suitable officer representing the administration, which may in turn be chaired and monitored by the District Magistrate. "Such District Environment Plans and Constitution of District Committee may be placed on the website of districts concerned. The monthly report of monitoring by the District Magistrate may be furnished to the Chief Secretary and may be placed on the website of the District and kept on such websites for a period of one year. This may be made operative from August 1, 2019. Compliance of this direction may also be seen by the Chief Secretaries of the States/UTs," a bench headed by NGT .....