LIVE! ICC to impose 6 Tests or 12 ODI ban for ball tampering

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Mon, 02 July 2018

ICC to impose 6 Tests or 12 ODI ban for ball tampering

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23:58 ICC to impose 6 Tests or 12 ODI ban for ball tampering

The ICC will impose a ban of minimum six Tests or 12 ODIs on ball tampering offenders as it has now been upgraded as a Level 3 offence as per it's new code of conduct.

The decision was taken at its Annual Conference in Dublin which concluded today.

Another significant development is the sanction on number of private T20 leagues that a player might be allowed to participate so that there is no compromise when it comes to national duty.

However the most significant development certainly was tougher sanctions for poor player behaviour.

The ball tampering incident involving Steve Smith and David Warner has forced ICC to upgrade it as Level 3 offence which will carry 12 suspension points.

The 12 suspension points is equivalent to a ban of 6 Tests or 12 ODIs from the earlier 1 Test and 2 ODIs.

The new offence added as Level 1 is the audible obscenity if anything is heard on the stump microphone.

Meanwhile ICC wants to reign in on T20 freelancers who are trading national duty in order to play domestic leagues.

While ICC didn't clarify how many leagues a player can take part, it is understood to be not more than 3. -- PTI

India and Afghanistan must stand together to free the two countries from terrorism, Afghan envoy to New Delhi Shaida Abdali said today, condemning the terror attack in Jalalabad in which 19 people, including a number of Sikhs, were killed.

In a clear reference to Pakistan, Abdali said India and Afghanistan have been victims of terrorism from a "common source" and the time has come for the international community to deal with it effectively.

He said the Afghan government will try to find whether the attack in eastern Afghanistan yesterday was carried out by groups from across border or from some other place.

"Afghanistan and India have been victims of terrorism from the same source. We have to stand together with rest of the world to fight terrorism," Abdali said.

He said Afghanistan has been a victim of terrorism almost on a daily basis but it has the resolve to defeat the menace. "It was an attack on Afghan democracy, attack on Afghan values, freedom of religion and on our diversity," he said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met the family members of some of the victims of the suicide bombing attack.

The meeting took place at JN Bhavan in New Delhi. Avtar Singh Khalsa, a Sikh leader who had planned to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, was killed in the attack.

The Afghan envoy said though the attack has been claimed by Daish, or the Islamic State group, it is a fact that terrorism into Afghanistan is coming from across border. -- PTI

In yet another incident of violence triggered by social media messages, a beggar couple was allegedly attacked by a mob in Malegaon town in Nashik district on rumours that they are part of a gang of child-lifters, police said today.

Fortunately, a potential tragedy was averted as police rescued the couple in the nick of time.

The incident occurred last night, hours after five people were allegedly lynched by a mob in neighbouring Dhule district on the same charge of being child lifters.

The couple, part of a group of four families, hailed from Jintur in Parbhani district of Marathwada, said Additional SP Harsh Poddar.

"They had come to Dhule in search of livelihood and were returning to Jintur. They came to Malegaon in hope of earning some money by begging and were staying near Manmad Square," he said.

Last night, Gajanan Gire (40) and his wife Sindhubai Gire (35) were begging in Azad Nagar area when a mob surrounded them and accused them of being the members of a gang of child-lifters, the officer said.

He said the rumours were going around on social media that a gang of child-lifters was roaming in the city.

"The mob started beating the couple. However, a tragedy was averted after some citizens informed the police about the incident, following which a police team rushed to the spot and pacified the people," the officer said.

He said the couple was then taken to a police station and questionned about their presence in the area.

"Police cross-checked the background of the couple by calling up the Jintur police," the officer said, adding that the couple and the group left the town for Jintur this morning.

A case has been registered against unidentified people at Azad Nagar police station. -- PTI

In a historic step, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed accredited and non-accredited journalists to carry mobile phones inside courtrooms but asked them to put the gadgets on "silent mode".

The permission came with a warning that any disturbance likely to be caused by phone users would invite confiscation.

A circular allowing the use of phones was earlier issued and it read, "Hon'ble Chief Justice of India has been pleased to allow the media persons/journalists, who have been issued six months passes by the Registry, to carry mobile phones inside courtrooms on silent mode and that the Deputy Registrar (Public Relations) will endorse suitably on the passes that the person carrying mobile phone be allowed inside the courtroom."

The communication, however, said: "It has been directed that a cell-phone creating any disturbance/nuisance inside courtroom will be confiscated by the court master and handed over to the Additional Registrar (Security)."

In May, a circular stated that only accredited journalists will be allowed inside the courtrooms with mobile phones. Later, some journalists took up the matter with Chief Justice Dipak Misra after which another notification was issued, which allowed mediapersons who have been issued six-month passes by the Registry to carry mobile phones inside the courtrooms.

An official of the apex court said this was for the first time the apex court has allowed journalists to carry mobile phones inside the courtrooms.

He said there was no specific written order prohibiting mobile phones in courts but it was an administrative decision.

Lawyers are allowed to carry mobile phones on silent mode, he said.

Journalists covering the court's proceedings have hailed the step and said it would help in real-time reporting.

"This is really a good news. Earlier, we had to keep our mobile phones outside the courtrooms. We had to come running outside after each hearing to call our office or tweet any news. But the apex court notification allowing mobiles has made our life easier. This should have been done earlier, but better late than never," a senior legal correspondent said.

Since Monday was the first day, security personnel were unaware of the notification and journalists had to tell them about the order, he said adding that every individual except lawyers is frisked at the entry-gate of the courtrooms.

When the pager service made inroads into the mode of electronic communication, another senior journalist with more than three decades of experience in court reporting said, only one or two people used it.

He said even at that time, nobody was allowed to take the gadget inside the courtrooms. However, when mobile phones arrived, only advocates were allowed to carry them by the security personnel. -- PTI

India can play a major role in the present "unstable world" to achieve global peace and prosperity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told the country's heads of missions in foreign countries at a conference here.

The prime minister addressed the envoys on the last day of the three-day conference during which the country's foreign policy priorities were deliberated upon.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, at the session, said, "India's global profile and prestige have gone up significantly" since Prime Minister Modi has assumed office.

"'India can play a major role in today's unstable world to achieve global peace & prosperity': Inspiring address by PM @narendramodi -- his 4th -- at the 9th Heads of Mission Conference," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

Swaraj, ministers of state for external affairs V K Singh and M J Akbar, senior officials, and heads of missions were present at the event.

The envoys had yesterday deliberated upon the country's foreign policy priorities, including the role of India's soft power in achieving its objectives.

President Ram Nath Kovind has also met the envoys at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The President had told them that the litmus test of India's engagement with the external world is what it is able to do to propel domestic growth and development.

Indian envoys in multilateral forums also attended the conference. -- PTI

The Congress on Monday accused the Modi government of "aiding and abetting" incidents of lynching across the country, saying "anarchy, mob frenzy and jungle raj have become the new symbols of Narendra Modi's New India."

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi alleged that the country is witnessing 28 lynchings a month, almost one per day, which never occurred in 70 years of its independence.

"An absolute anarchy, mob frenzy and jungle raj have become the new symbols of Shri Modi's 'New India' under which an unprecedented atmosphere of hate and violence writs large," he told reporters.

The rumour mongering, state-aided license to kill and decimation of rule of law leading to a lynching movement' have shaken our 'national conscience,' he said.

"It is high time, the BJP government takes note of this widespread mob frenzy and lynching incidents. The BJP would do better to take note of the anger overtaking the citizens of India against vigilantism by their party men," he also said.

Singhvi said four years have passed and it is time for some corrective action as one has seen enough of platitudes, speeches and alibis.

He quoted Mahatma Gandhi, who had said, "Intolerance itself is a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of true democratic spirit".

Singhvi asked as to who has been spearheading a rumour-driven lynching movement' for the last four years when the police, administration and the authorities have remained the same.

"When the state gives the License to Kill' with impunity and abdicates its solemn responsibility to uphold the Rule of Law,' resulting in vigilantism, death and merciless killings of innocent lives, then each one of us should castigate it, decry it and question it.

"Social media (WhatsApp) driven rumours, resulting in killings of innocent people through rogue justice of mob violence has unmistakably shaken the collective conscience of our nation," he said.

Singhvi said in the past four years, Indians have added a new word to our socio-political vocabulary : Lynching.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres today said that Rohingya refugees were facing "a humanitarian and human rights nightmare" after he heard "unimaginable" accounts of atrocities on them during a visit to crammed camps in southeastern Bangladesh where thousands of the persecuted ethnic minority Muslims have taken refuge, fleeing their homes in Myanmar.

The Rohingya Muslims had fled their home in Buddhist dominated western Rakhine state of Myanmar to escape the assaults by the country's security forces, who were accused of rape, killing, torture and arson.

The latest exodus began on August 25 last year following a military crackdown, which drove out over 700,000 Rohingyas in subsequent months.

"In Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, I've just heard unimaginable accounts of killing and rape from Rohingya refugees who recently fled Myanmar," the UN chief tweeted after visiting the refugee camps along with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

Guterres described the situation as "a humanitarian and human rights nightmare" and said his visit is a "mission of solidarity with Rohingyas refugees and the communities supporting them".

The UN chief's visit came in the wake of Bangladesh pushing for more support for the Rohingya refugees whose camps are at risk of being washed away in the monsoon season.

Acknowledging the concern, Guterres said, "The safety of the Rohingya refugees during this monsoon season is priority one...As many as 200,000 (of them) need to be relocated...We cannot allow the monsoons to wash away the hopes of the Rohingya refugees I met today in Bangladesh."

He further said, "The compassion and generosity of the Bangladeshi people shows the best of humanity and saved many thousands of lives."

Bangladesh is currently sheltering over a million Rohingyas.

According to international NGO, Doctors Without Borders, at least 9,400 Rohingya were killed in Rakhine since the Myanmar army launched the crackdown which the UN described as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing" and global rights group called "genocide".

Myanmar stripped the Rohingyas of citizenship and branded them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Earlier this year, Bangladesh and Myanmar had reached an agreement for safe and dignified return of the Rohingyas. However, Dhaka accused its neighbour of taking little step to implement the pact.

The United Nations had also struck an outline deal with Myanmar two months ago for return of the persecuted ethnic muslims safely and by choice. But media reports suggested that the agreement provided no explicit guarantee of their citizenship or freedom of movement in Myanmar. -- PTI

South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrives in India next week on a four-day visit, during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on several issues, including the situation on the Korean peninsula and ways to boost bilateral trade and defence cooperation.

The ministry of external affairs said Modi and Moon will deliberate on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. Moon arrives in India on Sunday.

"The two leaders will hold discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of shared interest with a view to further strengthen the Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries," the MEA said.

A spokesperson in Moon's office in Seoul said the leaders will focus on expanding "future-oriented cooperation" between the two countries.

"India is fast becoming a major power with the fastest-growing economy in Asia. It is also a key nation for cooperation under the New Southern Policy that our government is actively pursuing," he said, according to Korean news agency Yonhap.

There has been an upswing in India's defence cooperation with South Korea and both sides are expected to explore ways to enhance it.

Sources said the two leaders will also deliberate on strengthening bilateral trade and investment cooperation.

Moon's visit to India comes nearly a month after the historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore. The situation on the Korean peninsula is likely to figure in his talks with Modi.

The South Korean president is scheduled to leave for Singapore after concluding his visit in India. -- PTI

The medical report of an accused in the Kathua rape and murder case who had claimed to be a juvenile was submitted before the district and sessions court in Pathankot today by the Jammu and Kashmir police's crime branch in which his age was stated to be more than 20 years, special public prosecutor J K Chopra said.

The court hearing, which resumed after the summer break, could begin only after lunch.

District and Sessions Judge Tajwinder Singh had issued directions to the crime branch to conduct a bone ossification test to ascertain the age of Parvesh Kumar alias 'Mannu', one of the eight accused in the brutal rape-and-murder case of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir in January.

"The report has been submitted and final arguments on it will be concluded tomorrow after which the judge will pronounce his verdict," Chopra said.

Asked what was the opinion of the doctors about the accused's age, Chopra said, "According to it (medical opinion), his age is stated to be 20 plus."

The court had ordered the test after the defence counsel moved an application in the first week of June, requesting to treat him as a minor citing his matriculation certificate.

The crime branch had constituted a team of doctors, comprising medicos from various streams including the radiology department, and the accused was examined on June 22 and 23.

The court had directed Senior Superintendent of Police R K Jalla to supervise the medical examination and submit the report when the court reopens after a 16-day summer break.

While seven of the accused including Kumar are facing trial in the court here on the directions of the Supreme Court, the eighth accused in the case is facing trial in a juvenile court in Kathua district.

The defence counsel today filed a separate application before the district and sessions court claiming that Kumar had allegedly been subjected to torture on June 23 by the crime branch, a charge denied by the police officials who said it will be contested it in the court.

The petition claimed that the crime branch had been persuading Kumar to turn an approver in the case.

However, police officials maintained that there was no move for making anyone approver in the case. -- PTI

The Law Commission will hold a two-day consultation with major political parties in New Delhi this week on the possibility of holding Lok Sabha and assembly polls together.

Seeking to find a common ground on the issue, the commission has written to the seven recognised national and 59 state parties to participate in the meeting on July 7 and 8.

The law panel's previous attempt to seek the views of the political parties on the issue had evoked no response.

None of the political parties had responded to the Law Commission's "working paper" on holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls.

The proposal is being pushed by the central government.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress, the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India-Marxist, the Trinamool Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Nationalist Congress Party are the national parties recognised by the Election Commission.

Seeking to give shape to the government's concept of "one nation, one election", the Law Commission's internal working paper has recommended holding the Lok Sabha and assembly polls simultaneously but in two phases beginning 2019.

The second phase of simultaneous polls can take place in 2024, the document states.

The document has proposed amending the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act to shorten or extend the terms of state legislative assemblies to effect the move.

The states, which are recommended to be covered under phase-I, are where assembly polls are due by 2021.

States which will come under phase-II are Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi and Punjab. To hold elections in these states along with LS polls, the terms of the assemblies have to be extended.

Based on a suggestion made by the Election Commission, the working paper says that a no-confidence motion against the government should be followed by a confidence motion.

This would ensure that if the opposition does not have the numbers to form an alternative government, the regime in office cannot be removed.

Recently, Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat had a word of caution on simultaneous polls. He said the legal framework required for holding the two elections together will take a lot of time to get ready.

"We cannot put the cart before the horse. Logistical issues are subservient to legal framework. Unless legal framework is in place, we dont have to talk about anything else because legal framework will take a lot of time, making constitutional amendment to (changing) the law, all the process will take time," he said.

He said once the legal framework is ready, the EC will deliver. "EC is a creation of the Constitution. We have to perform willy-nilly, deliver the election, whatever way prescribed in the law," he said. -- PTI

Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said today the country is facing a situation where there is "no ideology" at all.

He also deprecated the trend of politicians switching sides to remain in power.

"There is no crisis of ideological clashes in the country. The crisis is of having no ideology at all.

"There is no 'right' or 'left'; we all are seen as 'opportunists'. Whichever party comes to power, some people join it and then leave it once the party is out of power," he said.

Gadkari was speaking at the first convocation ceremony of the post-graduate course in Leadership, Politics and Governance at the Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership.

The IIDL functions under the aegis of the Rambhau Mhalagi Prabodhini, a training and research academy located near Mumbai.

In a veiled attack on the Congress, the Union minister said those who talk of secularism hardly follow the principle.

"People take names of (social reformers) Shahu (Chhtrapati Shahu Maharaj) (Jotiba) Phule and (Babasaheb) Ambedkar to show their secular line of thoughts.

"However, when it comes to elections, they always demand ticket for their family members and even for their driver, but not for a good party worker," he rued.

Gadkari said those who swear by secularism do not hesitate to engage in politics of communalism.

"Those who talk of secularism all the time are the one who are mired in communal politics," maintained the BJP leader. -- PTI

The handwritten notes found at a north Delhi home where 11 members of a family died under mysterious circumstances detailed a set of rituals a person needed to follow to attain "salvation", a police official said today.

The notes were found in two registers and stated the rituals should be performed either on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday.

"The notes said that on the day of performing the ritual, one won't cook food at home and the phones will be kept on silent mode for six hours. The notes also instructed that one person had to stand guard to ensure that others have hanged themselves," said the official privy to the investigation.

They detailed how by following the rituals, one would not actually die "but would be saved by God and attain something great". They had instructions on how an elderly person, who has problems in climbing a stool, can perform the rituals.

The 11 people aged between 15 and 77 were found hanging from an iron-mesh in the ceiling of their home in Burari area on Sunday. The deceased had their mouth taped and their faces covered with cloth pieces cut from a single bed-sheet.

Except for the 77-year-old woman, the other 10 people were found hanging from the iron-mesh in the ceiling.

Police are probing whether the family followed any godman, who might have issued the instructions detailed in the notes.

The notes had stated that "the human body is temporary and one can overcome fear by covering their eyes and mouth."

Two members of the family, however, insisted today that even though their family was religious, they did not believe in babas or tantriks and could not have committed suicide.

Police said the registers will be sent for forensic analysis to determine which family member wrote or were they written by different members at different points of time.

They are scanning through the cell-phones of the deceased to know about the details of their internet search history. The cell-phones were found in an almirah wrapped in a polythene bag.

Police have claimed that there could be a "religious" or "spiritual" angle to the deaths. -- PTI

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will embark on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Amethi from July 4, the party's district committee president Yogendra Mishra said today.

Giving the details of Gandhi's visit, Mishra told PTI that the Congress president will hold discussions with selected activists over issues related to the party and other political developments at Fursatganj under the Tiloi assembly segment on July 4.

In the evening, Gandhi will meet a delegation of small traders at Gauriganj, he added.

Mishra said Gandhi will spend the night at the party office in Gauriganj, the district headquarters - a departure from the tradition of staying at the guest house of Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital at Munshiganj.

The Congress has repeatedly been attacked by arch-rival BJP in the past for allegedly flouting rules by using the guesthouse whose land was leased by the government for charity work.

On July 5, the three-time Amethi MP will meet a group of farmers in Tala village on the Amethi-Gauriganj road to take stock of their problems and will try to offer solutions on the spot, Mishra added.

He said the Congress president may leave Amethi after this programme.

Gandhi may also discuss matters relating to the next year's parliamentary elections, some party activists said on condition of anonymity.

This election will be of great importance for the Congress' future and for Gandhi himself, they said. -- PTI

The trolling of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is wrong, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said today.

Singh is the only minister to have spoken out in support of his colleague, who has been the subject of offensive tweets following a passport row involving an interfaith couple.

"In my opinion, it is wrong," Singh told reporters in New Delhi when asked to comment on the issue.

Swaraj had re-tweeted some of the offensive tweets directed at her over the transfer of Passport Seva Kendra official Vikas Mishra in Lucknow for allegedly humiliating the interfaith couple.

The external affairs minister had also conducted a poll on Twitter asking users whether they "approve" of such trolling to which 43 per cent said yes and 57 per cent no. -- PTI

The Punjab government today decided to recommend to the Centre to provide for death penalty for drug peddlers and smugglers.

The decision to make the recommendation to the Centre was taken by in a meeting of the Punjab Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

The drug peddling is destroying entire generations and it deserves exemplary punishment, said the Chief Minister.

"My govt has decided to recommend death penalty for drug peddling/smuggling. The recommendation is being forwarded to the Union government. Since drug peddling is destroying entire generations, it deserves exemplary punishment. I stand by my commitment for a drug free Punjab," tweeted Singh after the Cabinet meeting.

The Cabinet meeting also reviewed the progress of probes in drug peddling cases and discuss ways and means to curb drug menace.

The chief minister had called for the meeting to discuss the issue, particularly in the wake of recent spate of deaths due to drug overdose in the state.

The opposition parties including the AAP and the SAD have been criticizing the 15-month old Captain Amarinder Singh government for allegedly failing to contain the drug menace in the state despite promising to wipe it out before 2017 assembly polls. -- PTI

As many as 23 people were arrested in connection with the lynching of five people by a mob in Dhule district over suspicion that they were members of a gang of 'child-lifters', a senior police officer said today.

"We have arrested 23 people in connection with the incident. A few more have been identified and five teams have been formed to nab them," Dhule Superintendent of Police (SP) M Ramkumar told PTI.

The incident took place yesterday and all the five victims were identified, the IPS officer said.

"All the deceased hailed from Solapur and belonged to a nomadic community. They had come in search of livelihood due to a drought-like situation in their district," he added.

Those arrested have been booked under Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder) and the sections pertaining to rioting. The incident took place at the tribal hamlet of Rainpada, 25 km from Pimpalner in Dhule district, the police said.

The five victims, along with a few others, were seen getting off a state transport bus at Rainpada, they added.

When one of them apparently tried to speak to a six-year-old girl, the villagers, who had gathered there for the weekly Sunday market, pounced on them, thrashing them with stones, sticks and chappals.

According to the police, rumours that a gang of child-lifters was active in the area were doing the rounds of social media. Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan alleged that the lynching incident in Dhule was a result of the 'inefficiency' of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government and police administration.

"In a similar incident in Jalgaon district, a BJP MLA was part of a mob assault on some people, who were thought to be child-lifters," the former Maharashtra chief minister said.

Meanwhile, video clips of the purported incident, aired by some TV channels, showed the victims being thrashed with slippers, before being dragged to the Rainpada gram panchayat office, where they were beaten up with sticks.

Minors were also seen punching, kicking and dragging the victims by their collars. In one of the clips, a victim was seen pleading for help, while the bloodied bodies of the other four were lying on the floor.

Earlier this month, two persons were lynched at Chandgaon village in Vajipur taluka of Aurangabad on suspicion of being robbers. Similar cases have also been reported from various other states, including Assam, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Telangana, in the recent past. -- PTI

The AAP government was pulled up today by the Delhi high court for lack of infrastructure and basic amenities, like water and toilet facilities, in a fully-aided, government school.

Terming the situation in the 100 per cent government- aided school as "pathetic", a bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar ordered the immediate provision of water and toilet facilities in the school.

The court also directed the deputy director of education to conduct a physical inspection of Alok Punj senior secondary school at Karawal Nagar in north east Delhi to ascertain its other infrastructural inadequacies.

The school was run earlier by a society, but was taken over by the Delhi government later. The bench ordered the education department official to file a status report within 10 days after carrying out the inspection and listed the matter for further hearing on July 30.

"It is 100 per cent aided. Look at the facilities. This is pathetic," the bench said, adding, "Immediate steps be taken to ensure water and toilet facilities are made available (at the school)".

The direction came on a PIL by NGO Social Jurist, filed through advocate Ashok Agarwal and seeking directions to the Delhi government to provide adequate infrastructure and amenities to the faculty and over 2,600 students of the school.

The NGO has also claimed in its plea that the land earmarked for a playground for the school kids was being used for dumping garbage and domestic waste.

The petition also alleged lack of sufficient teaching faculty in the school with 72 posts of teachers being vacant.

The health condition of the eight-year-old girl, who was allegedly gang-raped in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, was improving and she was likely to be shifted out of the Intensive Care Unit soon, a hospital official said today.

The girl, who was allegedly raped on June 26 and left severely injured by two men in Mandsaur, located about 200 km from Indore, is undergoing treatment at the Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital in Indore.

She suffered grievous injuries to her neck, face, head and private parts.

"There has been a lot of improvement in the girl's health in the past 24 hours. She is having adequate semi-solid food," MY Hospital superintendent V S Pal told reporters.

"She was able to walk in the ICU today with the help of medical personnel. She can be sent to the general ward from the ICU soon," he added.

The hospital administration is also taking the help of psychiatrists to ensure that the girl recovers from the trauma caused by the incident.

The minor was allegedly lured away by the two men while she was waiting for her father outside her school on the fateful day. The police had earlier said that after raping her, the accused slit her throat with a knife and fled. Following a complaint lodged by the girl's parents after they failed to trace her, the police launched a search and found her lying unconscious in bushes in the Laxman Darwaja area.

The police subsequently arrested the two accused -- Irfan alias Bhaiyu (20) and Asif (24) -- and booked them under the relevant sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The National Green Tribunal today ordered status quo on tree felling in South Delhi colonies and directed that no trees would be cut till July 19 by the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).

A bench headed by Acting NGT Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim also issued notices to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Central Pollution Control Board, CPWD and others, asking them to file their responses before July 19.

The green panel also directed the project proponents to make a categorical statement and inform it about the exact number of trees which are proposed to be cut for the redevelopment project.

The tribunal was hearing a plea by NGO -- Society for Protection of Culture, Heritage, Environment, Traditions & Promotion of National Awareness seeking a stay on the proposed felling of more than 16,000 trees for re-development of the colonies.

The petitioner claimed that environmental clearance has been granted for seven general pool residential colonies without taking into account possible adverse effect on the ecology.

It said the clearance has been granted for colonies in Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Nauroji Nagar through the NBCC and in Kasturba Nagar, Thyagraj Nagar, Srinivaspuri and Mohammadpur through the CPWD.

The plea claimed that planting of saplings at another location as compensatory afforestation would not reduce the burden put on the environment due to the large-scale felling of trees.

The petition has made the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the CPCB, the Delhi Development Authority, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the CPWD and others as parties in the case.

Anil Sood, president of the NGO, said the Centre had given clearance to the projects without considering several factors, such as existing population density and the impact of cutting 16,500 trees on the ambient air quality in the area.

The plea said an environment impact assessment report for the project around south Delhi showed that 11,000 trees will be cut in Sarojini Nagar, 1,465 will be cut in Nauroji Nagar, 3,033 will be chopped off from Netaji Nagar and another 520 will be cut in Kasturba Nagar, out of a total of 19,976 trees in these areas.

The re-development scheme plans to replace existing flats of Type I to IV with a built-up area of around 7.49 lakh square metres with Type II to VI units with built-up area of around 29.18 lakh sq m with supporting infrastructure facilities.

The projects will also develop government office accommodation of nearly 2.42 lakh sq m in Netaji Nagar.

The total estimated project cost of Rs 32,835 crore includes maintenance and operation costs for 30 years and will be completed in five years in a phased manner. -- PTI

14:57 Congress core group on J&K meets

The Congress's core group on Jammu and Kashmir met today to discuss the political situation in the state.

The meeting was held at the residence of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who heads the group.

The group also includes senior Congress leaders Karan Singh, P Chidambaram, Congress general secretary in charge of the state Ambika Soni and Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir.

The party will hold a meeting of its legislators in the state in Srinagar this week and discuss the way forward, sources said.

The Congress is in a wait and watch mode in the state, which is under Governor's Rule after the Bharatiya Janata Party pulled out of its alliance with the People's Democratic Party.

There are reports of the National Conference and the PDP approaching the Congress for government formation in the state.

However, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has ruled out that the party will form a government with the PDP. -- PTI

14:22 Journalist Rajat Sharma elected new DDCA chief

Senior journalist Rajat Sharma today beat World Cup winning India cricketer Madan Lal by 517 votes to become the new president of Delhi and Districts Cricket Association.

The results of the DDCA polls were announced today and Sharma's group swept the elections winning all 12 seats.

Sharma got a total of 1,531 votes while former Test cricketer Lal could only poll 1,004 votes.

The third candidate in the fray, advocate Vikas Singh, got only 232 votes.

It was a major setback for Board for Control of Cricket in India acting president C K Khanna, whose wife Shashi lost the vice-presidential battle against Rakesh Bansal, younger brother of former DDCA president Sneh Bansal.

Rajesh beat Shashi by 278 votes while Bansal junior got 1,364 votes to Shashi's 1,086 votes.

The defeat might prove to be the end of the road for Khanna in DDCA, where he enjoyed supreme power for nearly three decades.

Sharma and his panel's candidature was backed by a political heavyweight from the ruling party with the IOA president Narinder Batra throwing in all his might. Batra incidentally is a former DDCA treasurer.

"The moment Sharma got blessings from a senior cabinet minister, there was no chance in hell for any other candidate to win this election. What was not expected was a clean panel sweep. It will be good that Sharma will get a free hand to run the body. This also means that CK Khanna's reign in DDCA ends unless he strikes some deal with Sharma," a senior DDCA official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Sharma was always considered as the favourite to win against Lal, who was backed by Khanna and former India opener Chetan Chauhan's group.

With DDCA being the first among equals to go into elections after the Supreme Court appointed Lodha Committee suggested path-breaking structural reforms, the polling also witnessed abolition of proxy system with nearly 3000 voters turning up to cast their vote.

Among the other notable winners was former sports committee head Vinod Tihara, (1,374 votes) who became secretary defeating nearest rival Manjeet Singh (998) by 376 votes.

Tihara is expected to run the daily affairs of DDCA including a big say in all the representative teams -- especially Ranji Trophy and men's age group. The joint secretary's post went to Rajan Manchanda (1,402), younger brother of former treasurer Ravinder, who beat Pushpender Chauhan (953) by 449 votes.

Pushpender is the younger brother of Chetan Chauhan. For treasurer's post, Om Prakash Sharma beat Deepak Singh by 1241-891 votes.

Coach Sanjay Bhardwaj was elected for the director's post (first-class cricketer) while Renu Khanna became the woman director.

Notable among other directors were Apruv Jain, son of former media manager Ravi Jain, who polled 1286 votes, Alok Mittal, Nitin Gupta, Shiv Nandan Sharma and Nitin Agarwal. -- PTI

The Supreme Court today sought a response from the Uttar Pradesh government on a plea alleging that several fake encounters have taken place in the state in recent past.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on the public interest litigation filed by the non-governmental organisation, People's Union for Civil Liberty.

Lawyer Sanjay Parikh, appearing for PUCL, alleged that as many as 500 encounters have been carried out in Uttar Pradesh recently, in which a total of 58 persons have been killed.

The bench did not accept the plea that the National Human Rights Commission, which had earlier issued notice to the state government on the issue, be also made a party in the present proceeding. -- PTI

12:51 Rahul misses the Kailash-Mansarovar bus

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has missed the last date to apply for the Kailash-Mansorovar pilgrimage, which he had announced during the Karnataka poll campaign on April 29, well after the last day for registration, which was March 23.

Gandhi had said after a mishap involving his private aircraft near Mysuru in April that he had made a vow (sankalp) to visit Kailash-Mansorovar, the legendary abode of Lord Shiva. The Congress president is a self-confessed Shiv bhakt.

Enquiries with the ministry of external affairs revealed that Gandhi had not applied for inclusion in this year's pilgrimage. With around 12,500 applications coming in for 250 slots, pilgrims are chosen by lottery held before the media.

Apart from the MEA-run pilgrimage, one can also undertake the journey through private operators. However, it is not clear if Rahul Gandhi has chosen this option.

This year's pilgrimage to Hinduism's holiest site, which lies in Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, is scheduled from June 8 to September 8.

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The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to apprise it within 10 days about the time frame for appointing the anti-graft ombudsman Lokpal in the country.

A bench comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi asked the government to file an affidavit within 10 days giving details of the steps which are likely to be taken for appointing the Lokpal.

Attorney General K K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre, placed before the bench the written instructions which he had received from the government on the issue of appointment of Lokpal.

The bench has posted the matter for hearing on July 17.

The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by NGO Common Cause, which had raised the issue of non-appointment of the ombudsman despite the apex court's verdict of April 27 last year.

The Supreme Court, in its last year's verdict, had said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of the Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.

The Centre had on May 15 informed the apex court that senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi has been appointed as an eminent jurist in the selection committee for appointment of the anti-graft ombudsman Lokpal. -- PTI

Post-mortem of six of 11 bodies found in a Burari house in North Delhi has been completed.

Police sources mention 'ligature hanging' as the reason behind the deaths and that no signs of struggle were found on the bodies.

The family members had donated their eyes.

Earlier, police sources said that according to CCTV footage, a delivery man came to the house to deliver food at 10:40 pm.

No one came inside or went outside the house before the local man who found the bodies in the morning.

Family of the man whom one of the deceased was due to marry will also be interrogated.

Call Data Records of the family members and search history on the internet are being scrutinised.

It's also being investigated whose handwriting was there in diary (notes pointing towards observance of spiritual/mystical practices). Why was it written and from where did the information come is also being probed. -- ANI

The Supreme Court will hear Congress leader Ahmed Patel's petition seeking a direction to the Gujarat high court to not proceed with a plea challenging his election to the Rajya Sabha on July 9.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said the court will hear Patel's plea seeking to dismiss the petition filed against him at the Gujarat high court next Monday.

Patel was elected to the Rajya Sabha last year after beating Bharatiya Janata Party nominee Balwantsinh Rajput, who had resigned from the Congress to join the BJP.

The win for the Congress leader came after the Election Commission cancelled the votes of Congress MLAs Bhola Bhai Gohil and Raghav Bhai Patel.

This had brought down the requirement for an outright victory for a candidate to 44 from 45.

Immediately after Patel got elected, Rajput filed a petition in the high court challenging the Election Commission's decision to invalidate votes of the two rebel MLAs.

Had these votes been counted, he would have defeated Patel, Rajput said. Rajput's petition in the high court also alleged that Patel took party MLAs to a resort in Bengaluru before the election, amounting to bribing the voters.

Patel had challenged Rajput's plea and sought its dismissal at the 'threshold level' for not serving respondents an attested copy of the petition as required under the law.

The high court, however, rejected his plea and said the petitioner had substantially complied with the provisions of law and the defects could be easily cured.

Patel has now moved the top court against the high court order saying that Rajput's petition is 'devoid of merits' and fails to show any 'cause of action'. -- PTI

On Sunday, July 1, Astad Deboo, India's finest contemporary dancer, was conferred the Yagnaraman Living Legend Award 2018 by the Chennai-based Sri Krishna Gana Sabha.

Photograph alongside shows Deboo receiving the award from critic and author Leela Venkatraman and industrialist and arts patron Dr Nalli Kuppuswamy Chettiar, whose family is behind the popular Nalli silk saris.

To know more about Astad Deboo's remarkable life, do read this article on Rediff.com, The dancer, the legend.

The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea challenging the appointment of Central Vigilance Commissioner K V Chaudhary and Vigilance Commissioner T M Bhasin.

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said there were no grounds to quash the appointments of Chaudhary and Bhasin.

The court was hearing a plea challenging the appointment of incumbent CVC Chaudhary and VC Bhasin.

The plea alleged that they did not have a 'clean record' and a non-transparent procedure was followed while appointing them. -- PTI

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider urgent listing of petitions challenging practices of polygamy and 'nikah halala' among Muslims.

Chief Justice of India Justice Dipak Misra allowed the Centre to file response to petitions challenging polygamy and 'nikah halala'.

The government had said on Friday that it would oppose the practice of 'nikah halala', which allows a man to remarry his divorced wife, when the top court examines its legal validity in the coming days.

The government believes that the practice is against the principles of gender justice and had made its stand clear in the apex court on the issue, a senior Law Ministry functionary had said.

But the top court had then decided to only take up the issue of instant triple talaq and consider the issues of nikah halala and polygamy separately.

In March, the SC had issued notice to the Centre on the issue of nikah halala and polygamy.

"The stand is the same ... the Union of India is opposed to the practice. It will be reflected in the Supreme Court," the functionary said.

The apex court had last year declared instant triple talaq as unconstitutional.

The government had later brought a bill to make triple talaq a penal offence.

The bill, passed by the Lok Sabha, is pending in the Rajya Sabha. It makes instant triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail for the husband.

The legal validity of nikah halala will now be examined by the Supreme Court. A Constitution Bench of the top court will hear four petitions challenging the legal validity of the practice.

Under nikah halala, a man cannot remarry his former wife unless she marries another man, consummates the marriage, gets a divorce and observes a period of separation period called 'iddat'. -- PTI

A Students' Federation of India leader was stabbed to death and two others were injured in an attack allegedly by members of a pro-Islamic outfit at a college in Kochi, police said today.

They were attacked allegedly by workers of the Campus Front and its parent outfit Popular Front of India inside the Maharaja's College, Ernakulam, campus last night, they said.

The condition of one of the injured students is said to be serious.

Three workers of the PFI and the Campus Front have been taken into custody in connection with the incident, police said.

The SFI, the student wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, has called for a state-wide protest today against the killing of Abhimanyu, 20.

The SFI leader, a second-year degree student at the college, was a resident of Vattavada in Idukki district and also a member of the organisation's Idukki district committee.

The body has been kept at the Ernakulam General Hospital's mortuary. Police suspect that issues between student activists over using college walls led to the attack.

CPI-M state secretariat member and former Rajya Sabha MP P Rajeev condemned the attack on the SFI workers and described it as a 'planned' one carried out by forces with 'extremist nature'.

"We have not heard about such a heinous attack on student activists in recent times. All the progressive forces should come forward to fight against such outfits with extremist nature," said Rajeev, a former state leader of the SFI from Ernakulam district. -- PTI

10:39 Trump greets Mexico's Leftist president-elect

Left-winger Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Sunday scored a resounding victory in the race to be Mexico's next president.

The 64-year-old pursued the voters with his battle cry against corruption and promises to the poor.

The former mayor of Mexico City is estimated to have won with 53 percent of the votes.

The victory makes him the first leftist president since Mexico began its transition to democracy more than 30 years ago.

Both his main opponents, Ricardo Anaya and Jose Antonio Meade, conceded to Lopez Obrador and offered their congratulations.

According to the exit polls, Claudia Sheinbaum (56), a Jewish scientist and left-wing politician, became the first woman ever to be elected the mayor of Mexico City on Sunday.

She won the election with about 47.5 to 55.5 per cent of the votes. Sheinbaum is known for fighting deep-rooted problems of gender inequality and violence against women.

United States President Donald Trump promptly congratulated the newly elected president of Mexico, saying he looks forward to working with the latter.

"Congratulations to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on becoming the next president of Mexico. I look very much forward to working with him. There is much to be done that will benefit both the United States and Mexico!" Trump tweeted.

JUST IN: A Red Corner Notice has been issued against Nirav Modi by Interpol in connection with the Punjab National Bank scam case.

Diamantaire Nirav Modi is an accused of defrauding the PNB of about Rs 14,000 crore, the biggest ever baking fraud of the country.

Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, in connivance with certain bank officials, allegedly cheated PNB of about Rs 14,000 crore through issuance of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs).

A Mumbai branch of PNB had fraudulently issued LoUs for the group of companies belonging to Nirav Modi since March 2011. -- PTI

Nashik Police had rescued a total of five people from a house in Azad Nagar in Malegaon last night, who were kept hostage on suspicion of child theft.

Meanwhile, the police has arrested 23 people in connection with the lynchings in Dhule yesterday.

Dhule Superintendent of Police M Ramkumar said, "We have also identified some more accused in this case. Five teams have been formed to identify the accused."

Five people were lynched to death on suspicion of child theft in Rainpada village of Dhule district yesterday. -- ANI

Angry protesters attacked the convoy of Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto in the party's traditional stronghold Lyari, leaving two people injured and vehicles damaged, police said.

The incident took place yesterday when Bhutto was campaigning in Baghdadi area of Lyari in Karachi for upcoming elections, they said, adding that around 100 protesters shouted slogans of 'go Bilawal go' and pelted stones at the convoy.

A truck and a car were damaged during the violence, officials said, and added that the PPP chairman was unhurt.

The PPP has traditionally won from Lyari and Bilawal is contesting from the NA-247 constituency in the July 25 general elections in Pakistan.

Bilawal, the only son of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and grandson of PPP founder Zulfiqar Bhutto, is contesting the general elections for the first time.

An eye witness claimed that Bilawal left the area as the protests began.

With violent gang wars becoming commonplace, Lyari residents have often accused the party of doing nothing to improve the situation.

Party leader Saeed Ghani said two workers were injured in the attack and accused other parties like the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf and the Mutthaida Qaumi Movement for the violence.

A statement issued in the evening quoted Bilawal Bhutto as saying that he would not be deterred by the violence.

"Lyari is in my blood. I will go to every nook and corner of the country with my party manifesto. We have to defeat these violent elements; not give in to them. I will not be scared into submission by such forces," the PPP chairman said, according to a spokesperson. -- PTI

India has condemned as 'heinous and cowardly' the terrorist attack on a convoy of Sikhs in Afghanistan that left 20 people dead and said the incident underlined the need for united global fight against international terrorism.

A suicide bomber targeted the convoy on their way to meet Afghanistan's President in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday.

Police chief Ghulam Sanaei Stanikzai told Pajhwok Afghan News that the suicide bomber detonated his explosives when the minority community members wanted to enter the governor's house to meet President Ashraf Ghani, who was visiting the region.

'We strongly condemn the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack in #Jalalabad today evening which resulted in the death of 20 innocent Afghans, including 10 members of the Afghan Sikh Community, and injured more than 20 persons,' the Indian Embassy in Kabul tweeted.

'We convey heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and pray for early recovery of the injured...The attack again underlines the need for united global fight against international terrorism without discrimination and accountability of those who support terrorists in any manner,' it said.

Some reports said 19 people were killed in the attack and 17 of them were from the minority Sikh and Hindu community.

Avtar Singh Khalsa, a longtime leader of the Sikh community who had planned to run in the parliamentary elections set for October, was killed in the attack. -- PTI

IMAGE: Afghan policemen inspect the site of the blast in Jalalabad city on Sunday. Photograph: Parwiz/Reuters

A suicide bomber targeted the convoy on their way to meet Afghanistan's President in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday.

Some reports said 19 people were killed in the attack and 17 of them were from the minority Sikh and Hindu community.

Avtar Singh Khalsa, a longtime leader of the Sikh community who had planned to run in the parliamentary elections set for October, was killed in the attack. -- PTI

IMAGE: Afghan policemen inspect the site of the blast in Jalalabad city on Sunday. Photograph: Parwiz/Reuters

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