The Allahabad high court has declined to entertain a public interest litigation seeking a direction to restrain the electronic and print media from alleged glorification of the Kairana incident which may disturb communal harmony.

However, the court left it open to the authorities concerned to take appropriate action or the aggrieved person to approach the appropriate forum, if any such action was required be taken under the law.

A division bench of justices Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Shamsher Bahadur Singh passed this order on June 23 on a PIL filed by a journalist impleading major political parties and news channels as well as the Press Council of India.

'We have considered the submissions raised and we find that in absence of statutory obligations, the nature of the advisory or administrative direction as sought may not be possible at this stage on the material placed on record but in the event any such publication of views, ideas or news either by electronic or print media is likely to cause communal disharmony, then it would be appropriate for respective central and the state governments through their authorities as well as the PCI to issue such necessary instructions that maybe required for the purpose of containing any such situation that is being apprehended,' the court said.

The petition had alleged that the entire atmosphere which had been created in connection to a particular incident at Kairana amounts to a clear violation of ethical principles pronounced by PCI and also leads to a situation, which may precipitate communal tensions.

The allegations were about the alleged exodus of certain members of a particular community from Kairana that were being 'glorified' and were being 'politically utilised' to the detriment of the public at large in order to disturb communal harmony.

Antoine Griezmann scored two goals to rally France to a 2-1 victory against Republic of Ireland and help them advance to the quarter-finals at the Euro 2016 football championship in Lyon, on Sunday.

Ireland took an early when Robbie Brady converted a penalty in the second minute as the visitors led 1-0 at the halftime.

Griezmann led France's superb comeback by scoring two goals in the space of three minutes -- in the 58th and 61st minute to give the hosts a superb victory.

History professor Gudni Johannesson won Icelands presidential election with 39.1 per cent of the ballots, according to final results announced on public television channel RUV today.

The political newcomer only decided to run for the presidency after the so-called Panama Papers leak in April, which detailed offshore accounts and implicated several senior Icelandic politicians.

Throughout the campaign, Johannesson rode a wave of anti-establishment sentiment, emphasising his non-partisan, independent vision of the presidency.

The victory was especially sweet for the academic as he celebrated his 48th birthday today.

Businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir, also without party affiliation, came second with 27.9 per cent of the ballots.

Johannesson will now replace Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, 73, after 20 years as head of state.

Bihar board Class 12 'topper' in arts Ruby Rai, who was arrested yesterday, has been sent to judicial custody till July 8.

Rai, who had triggered a controversy by telling a television channel political science pertained to cooking, was arrested on Saturday after appearing before the Bihar School Examination Board for a re-test.

Earlier in the day, Rai was brought to the Chief Judicial Magistrate's residence by Bihar police.

She was missing after her name came to limelight following BSEB toppers' scam was exposed.

Rai failed to appear in a re-test on two occasions -- June 3 and June 17 -- despite multiple invitations from the board.

She reportedly informed the board that she is not well and unable to appear for the re-exam.

President Pranab Mukherjee met war widows of slain soldiers of 8 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (Siachen) at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday.

The 8 JAK LI is organising a pilgrimage tour for these war widows from Rashtrapati Bhavan to Rishikesh, Haridwar and Badrinath to commemorate the 30th year of the recapture of Bana Top, the highest peak in the Siachen area. The post was taken back from the Pakistanis by the soldiers of 8 JAK LI in 1987. Photograph: PTI Photo

An online petition pressing for a second referendum on Britain's decision to leave the EU passed 3 million signatures today, all garnered in just 48 hours, signalling a major backlash against the shock Brexit vote.

By this morning, as many as 3,048,000 people had signed the petition on the official UK Parliament website.

The figure takes it well over the 100,000-signature threshold required to trigger a debate in the House of Commons.

Ben Howlett, a Conservative MP, confirmed on Twitter than the petition would be discussed by the House of Commons petitions Select Committee on Tuesday.

The development came as some voters who had backed the 'Leave' campaign took to Twitter to register their regret -- adopting the #Regrexit hashtag. A 'Leave' voter told the London Evening Standard she would change her vote if given the opportunity.

"This morning the reality is actually hitting in and the regret is hitting in," she said. "I wish I had the opportunity to vote again, simply because I would do things differently."

The petition, started by William Oliver Healey, states: "We the undersigned call upon (the UK) Government to implement a rule that if the Remain or Leave vote is less than 60 per cent, based on a turnout less than 75 per cent, there should be another referendum." Demand for a fresh vote was so high that it crashed the parliament.uk website on Friday as the petition was shared widely on social media and new signatures were added at a rate of more than 1,00,000 an hour.

Even Indira Gandhi and her advisers were surprised by the ease with which they could silence democracy, writes senior journalist K R Sundar Rajan.

Emergency was imposed on the country on June 25-26 41 years ago.

Rajan writes that there were people around Indira Gandhi, chiefly her son Sanjay, who were certain that outside the opposition parties, defiance would be nominal and could be taken care of. And this is exactly what happened.

Read full HERE

Actor Saif Ali Khan was hospitalised after suffering a thumb injury on the sets of his upcoming production.

Saif was rushed to Kokilaben Ambani Hospital here yesterday morning after he injured his thumb during the film shoot. He underwent a minor surgery.

He was taken to the hospital yesterday as he had hurt his thumb. A minor surgery was performed and he is doing fine. He will be discharged tomorrow or day after tomorrow, sources said.

Saifs sister Soha also said that the Phantom actor is doing fine.

He is recovering well, thank you for asking -- had hurt his thumb quite badly but is on the mend happily, Soha said.

The 45-year-old actor recently wrapped up the shoot for Rangoon and is currently working on his home production directed by Akshat Verma.

Soha said the actor will be discharged as per the doctors advice. Yes (he was admitted) in the early hours of yesterday, as for release doctor will advice but not today, she said.

In the past, Saif had suffered a hand injury while shooting for Vishal Bhardwajs Rangoon. He had also got hurt while filming an action sequence for Agent Vinod.

All India Congress Committee secretary and Himachal MLA Asha Kumari, who was convicted in a land-grab case in February, has been appointed in-charge of Punjab, replacing Kamal Nath who had to quit in wake of 1984 riots controversy.

Kumari, lawmaker from Dalhousie, was sentenced to one-year imprisonment in February this year in a case of grabbing of forest land in her constituency. She is out on bail.

Kumari, who is married in the royal family of Chamba, had once described Chief Minister Virbhadra Singhs choice as one between the devil and the deep sea.

amal Nath quit as general secretary in-charge of Punjab over his alleged role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and said he did so to ensure that attention was not diverted from the issues affecting the state.

In an apparent reference to China, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Sunday that there was only one country which persistently raised procedural hurdles as a result of which no result could be arrived over the issue on Indias Nuclear Suppliers Group membership, adding that India will continue discussions with China on the issue.   

There are some processes which take longer, Id evaluate the NSG membership process in that category, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

India will continue discussions with China on the NSG issue. There is a possibility of Indias inclusion, he said.

Some countries did raise procedure-related issues but not a single country apart from that one country opposed Indias membership of NSG, the MEA spokesperson said in an obvious reference to China.

Asserting that India has already implemented all Non-Proliferation Treaty provisions, Swarup said, Our position on the NPT is very well known. As far as the NSG is concerned, it said the implementation of NPT is important to the extent that goal post remains implementation of the NPT, we believe we have met the criteria and have all credentials to be an NSG member.

Claiming that Indias case on NSG membership cant be equated with that of Pakistan, Our credentials on non-proliferation are very well known, our track record speaks for itself. As far as other countries are concerned, their track record speaks for themselves. I dont think anyone in global community can ever equate India with Pakistan on Nuclear non-proliferation issue.

Swarup said that not getting NSG membership in Seoul was not a failure but certainly we did not get the expected results.

But these are continuing processes and we will continue to work very actively on this. Today, the Indian diplomacy doesnt have fear of failure. If we dont get desired results it only means that we redouble our efforts, he said.

Spaniards are voting in an unprecedented repeat election that aims to break six months of political deadlock after a December ballot left the country without an elected government.

Opinion polls in recent weeks have unanimously predicted the new ballot today will also fail to deliver enough votes for any one party to take power alone.

That would likely consign Spain to another period of protracted political negotiations and, possibly, another ballot if there is no breakthrough.

Recent polls have suggested the conservative Popular Party would win most votes but would again fall short of a parliamentary majority.

Political negotiations could be complicated by increased support for a new far-left alliance called Unidos Podemos (United We Can), which is expected to finish second. AP

Bharatiya Janata Party veteran and former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha on Sunday criticised the Modi government's Pakistan policy and said that it has been misguided 'by some people on entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group'.

"With great sadness, I would like to say that our government's Pakistan policy has completely failed," Sinha, who has been critical of the Modi government on several occasions in the past, said.

He also advised the government not to seek the NSG membership.

"I would like to say strongly that India must not accept NSG membership, there is no need to go there as an applicant," he said.

"The Indian government is being regularly misguided by some people sitting in the Centre on entry into NSG," Sinha added.

Asserting that he has always been ignored by the government, Sinha said, For the government, I am under the category of brain-dead as I do not even have the status to give an opinion. But I have continuously opposed the governments policy towards Pakistan.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group will meet again this year to consider the process to include non-NPT (Nuclear Proliferation Treaty) states as members, including India, sources said.

According to sources, NSG members in Seoul have agreed to meet at a special session despite China's opposition to India's NSG membership. The United States will push for India's NSG membership.

The NSG has also decided on informal consultations on India. Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi has been appointed to lead discussions on India's case, sources said. From R Rajagopalan in New Delhi.

Urging everyone to disclose undisclosed income by September 30 while addressing the nation through Mann ki Baat on radio, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that this is the last chance to avoid any problems.

Those who do not disclose undisclosed income by September 30 will face difficulties, he said.

The PM said, We lose our peace by violating rules, why not give correct information about our income and assets to the government?

Remembering the Emergency which was imposed in the intervening night of June 25-26 41 years ago, the PM said, Democracy has given us strength, but the night of 25-26th June 1975 was the darkest night for democracy. All rights of citizens were taken away, country was turned into jail. Many political leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan were put behind bars. We must not forget that our power is democracy, our power lies in every citizens strength.

Hailing the success of International Yoga Day, he said, International Yoga Day was celebrated at over 1 lakh places in our country with enthusiasm .Yoga has the power to connect the entire world, if only each one of us connect ourselves with Yoga.

PM Modi also invited citizens to share their experience on Yoga fight Diabetes.

Amidst the Modi government's push to popularise yoga, the AYUSH ministry has decided to certify institutes imparting training in the ancient discipline for physical and mental wellbeing, to ensure quality control and check the mushrooming of centres which do not meet even the basic standards. 

In a bid to end the confusion over the retrospective applicability of the new Krishi Kalyan Cess, the government has stated that the 0.5 per cent tax will not apply on services whose invoice had been issued on or before May 31. 

The judicial probe into the Jawahar Bag incident in Mathura has begun its work with a former Allahabad high court judge inspecting the scene where 24 people including two police officers were killed on June 2 during an anti-encroachment drive.

Mounting a scathing attack on Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy today alleged that she wanted to declare a state of emergency in the country by "cooking up Hindu terror business" in the period 2011-12.

Senior Congress leader Prithviraj has said the Shiv Sena may break off its ruling alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra before next year's civic polls in Mumbai and other cities of the state.

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