LIVE! PM Modi begins 2-day UP tour tomorrow

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Fri, 13 July 2018

PM Modi begins 2-day UP tour tomorrow

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23:29 PM Modi begins 2-day UP tour tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin a two-day tour of eastern Uttar Pradesh tomorrow, visiting his parliamentary constituency Varanasi and laying the foundation stone in Azamgarh for the 340-km Purvanchal Expressway.

The prime minister will also inaugurate other development projects and address rallies in Varanasi, Azamgarh and Mirzapur during the tour, his second visit to the politically crucial state in a week.

Modi will land in Varanasi tomorrow and head straight by helicopter to Azamgarh, where he will launch the expressway project that the opposition Samajwadi Party claims was the brainchild of former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

The six-lane expressway will provide a smooth ride between the state capital and Ghazipur in eastern UP, where the BJP is trying to consolidate its position ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Rs 23,000-crore expressway will be constructed in three years, an official said.

After laying its foundation stone, the prime minister will address a public rally and fly back to Varanasi.

He will address another rally at Kachnar village there in the afternoon and also meet BJP workers at Varanasi's DLW guest house.

On Sunday, he will address a public meeting in Mirzapur. He will also dedicate the Bansagar Canal Project to the nation there and lay the foundation stone for the Mirzapur Medical College.

The Mirzapur Lok Sabha constituency is represented by Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre.

-- PTI

The US Justice Department announced indictments against 12 Russian nationals as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, accusing them of engaging in a "sustained effort" to hack Democrats' emails and computer networks.

All 12 defendants are members of the GRU, a Russian federation intelligence agency within the main intelligence directorate of the Russian military, who were acting in "their official capacities."

The revelations detail a sophisticated assault on the US election in 2016, including the release of emails designed to damage Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The indictment was announced at almost exactly the moment that US President Donald Trump rolled into the quadrangle of Windsor Castle to meet the awaiting Queen Elizabeth II in the symbolic highpoint of his visit to Britain.

Trump is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin -- who has denied election meddling -- in Helsinki on Monday for a summit that includes a one-on-one meeting with only interpreters present.

An Islamic State supporter, who had pleaded guilty to a string of terror charges including a plot to attack Britain's Prince George at his London school, was today sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 years behind bars.

Husnain Rashid, who was on trial on the terror charges at Woolwich Crown Court in London in May, had brought an end to the proceedings with a change in his plea from not guilty to guilty.

Judge Andrew Lees said the 32-year-old made it clear the prince, the first-born son of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and other members of the royal family "should be viewed as potential targets".

"The message was clear - you were providing the name and address of Prince George's school, an image of Prince George's school and the instruction or threat that Prince George and other members of the Royal family should be viewed as potential targets," the Judge said during sentencing.

"You provided what you regarded as inspiration for suitable targets for lone wolf terror attacks," he said.

"Attacks in Western countries were in your eyes the only suitable acceptable alternative to jihad itself," he added.

In October last year, Rashid had posted a photograph on the encrypted Telegram social media forum of Thomas's School in Battersea, south-west London, where the four-year-old son of Prince William and Kate studies.

The image was superimposed with silhouettes of two masked extremist fighters with a follow-up message listing the full address of the school along with the message: "Even the royal family will not be left alone. School starts early."

Prosecutors told the court that Rashid had also encouraged followers to poison ice cream and attack football stadiums and was even planning his own online magazine offering tips for "lone-wolf attacks".

-- PTI

US President Donald Trump arrived for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II today -- a part of his four-day visit to Britain that has rankled with many Britons.

Trump and his wife Melania watched a military ceremony together with the 92-year-old British monarch outside Windsor Castle and were due to have tea later.

After hours of drama, former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam have been arrested shortly after they landed in Lahore.

Earlier, their flight was delayed at Abu Dhabi, increasing the suspense around their arrests.

Earlier, reports suggested that the authorities had decided to divert the plane to Islamabad airport, concerning security threats.

Authorities are expected to shift the two in a helicopter to Islamabad and then onwards to Adiala jail.

Nawaz was sentenced in absentia last week to 10 years in prison by a corruption court over the purchase of high-end properties in London, dealing a serious blow to his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) partys bid weeks ahead of the July 25 polls.

Earlier, talking to reporters from Abu Dhabi over the phone, the former PM said Pakistan had been turned into a battlefield.

He alleged that some forces were forcing the caretaker government to take harsh decisions in Punjab ahead of elections.

The woman, who was held hostage at gun-point at her residence in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal city for over 12 hours, has been rescued.

According to the police, the accused namely, Rohit Singh from Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh claimed that he loved the 30-year-old model and wanted to marry her.

Reportedly, the accused had met the woman in Mumbai during one of the modelling assignments.

At the moment, the condition of the girl is stable and she and the man, who held her hostage, were sent to the hospital for treatment.

"We have rescued the girl, her condition is stable. She has been sent for medical treatment. The man (who held her hostage) has also been sent for medical treatment," said the police.

The police, during the rescue operation, comforted the girl by giving her food and clothing through her balcony, where they reached using a crane.

-- ANI

21:24 Defence Minister rejects UN report on Kashmir

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today rejected a UN report on alleged human rights violation in Kashmir, saying Indian Army exercises maximum restraint in carrying out operations in the troubled state.

"It was a report which was prepared sitting somewhere else. The assessment is totally without basis. The Indian Army shows maximum restraint in conducting operations including in J and K," she told reporters.

Earlier this month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had released the first-ever report on alleged human rights violation in Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and demanded an international probe into it, evoking a sharp reaction from India which had termed the document as "fallacious and motivated".

Sitharaman's criticism of the report came on a day UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres voiced support for the UN human rights chief's call for an independent international investigation into the human rights situation in Kashmir.

"As you can imagine, all the action of the Human Rights High Commissioner is an action that represents the voice of the UN in relation to that issue," Guterres told reporters in New York.

Asked about recruitment of youths in Kashmir by militant outfits, Sitharaman said the security forces are keeping an eye on it.

"We are also focusing who is behind motivating them (to join the militant outfits," she said.

-- PTI

At least 75 people, including a top nationalist leader, were killed and more than 150 others injured today as powerful bomb blasts targeted two separate rallies in Pakistan, the deadliest in a string of attacks on candidates ahead of the July 25 general elections.

Militants targeted a gathering of the Balochistan Awami Party leader Siraj Raisani in Mastung area of Balochistan province.

"Raisani succumbed to wounds while he was being shifted to Quetta," District Police Officer Mohammad Ayub Achakzai said.

Raisani is the brother of former Chief Minister of Balochistan, Nawab Aslam Raisani

The nature of the attack was not known and police and intelligence agencies were trying of figure out if it was a suicide bombing.

-- PTI

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said the S-400 Triumf air defence missile deal with Russia will go ahead notwithstanding the US sanctions on military transactions with Moscow.

Referring to Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, under which the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on military deals with Russia, she said it is an American law and not a UN law and India has conveyed its position on the issue to the US.

"Our defence relation with Russia has endured several decades and we have conveyed about it to a US Congressional delegation which visited India recently," Sitharaman told a group of reporters at her office in South Block.

She said negotiations with Russia for the S-400 missile deal have almost come to conclusion.

The defence minister said it may take two-and-a-half to four years to implement the S-400 missile deal after it is signed.

There has been mounting concerns in India over the US sanctions against Russian defence majors including Rosoboronexport as billions of dollars of military purchases may be impacted because of the punitive measure.

The US had announced sanctions against Russia under the stringent law for its alleged meddling in the American presidential election in 2016.

CAATSA mandates the Donald Trump administration to punish entities engaging in significant transaction with the defence or intelligence establishment of Russia.

India wants to procure the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly along the nearly 4,000-km-long Sino-India border.

-- PTI

20:25

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Lahore-bound Etihad Airways flight expected to be diverted to Islamabad: Pakistan media

20:02 Please write FB post on 'who is India's Finance Minister': Cong to Jaitley

The Congress today hit back at Arun Jaitley for his Facebook post criticising the party, saying the senior BJP leader should write social media posts on who is India's finance minister and on the economic woes that "Modinomics has heaped upon India".

Union minister Jaitley, in a Facebook post titled 'The Congress Gave Slogans to Rural India -- Prime Minister Modi Gave Resources', said the Congress party in the 1970s and 1980s followed the model of "populist slogans" rather than "sound policy and actual expenditure for the welfare of the poor".

Asked about Jaitley's post, Congress's communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala, at a media briefing, said, "I would very humbly and with folded hands request Shri Arun Jaitley to write a Facebook post on who is India's finance minister. That is the most important thing he needs to do. He must solve that mystery."

Surjewala said Jaitley should write a Facebook post to clarify as to whether he is India's Finance Minister or Piyush Goyal is, so that "at least India knows, who is pushing the economy on the brink of such misery that the economy currently is."

The Congress spokesperson also urged Jaitley to write a post on the "economic woes that Modinomics has heaped upon India"

"Please write a Facebook post also on the state of India's economy after telling us who is India's Finance Minister because ministers without portfolio speak about Agriculture, Agriculture Minister speaks on Defence, Defence Minister speaks on Social Justice and Social Justice Minister speaks on foreign policy.

"Foreign Minister does not know how to save herself from trolls being followed by the prime minister. What is happening? Is this a government or a banana republic?" Surjewala said.

He said prime minister Modi's slogan was 'minimum government maximum governance', but now it has become 'no government'.

Jaitley held the finance portfolio till he went for a kidney transplant surgery on 14 May. During the period of his indisposition, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has been given the additional charge of the ministry.

-- PTI

The Congress today dismissed a media report which quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying that it was a party of Muslims, and asserted that it was a party of 132 crore Indians.

Congress' communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said when governance fails, rumours take precedence.

"When the government is on the path of lying, then rumours become the main policy of the government," he told reporters.

Noting that the history of the Indian national movement and the history of the Congress are well documented, Surjewala said the Congress is a party of 132 crore Indians, and will remain so forever.

The Congress party is a rainbow of which all religions and all castes are a part, he said.

An Urdu daily had reported that the Congress chief who met Muslim intellectuals on Wednesday told them that the Congress was a party of Muslims.

-- PTI

Intensifying its crackdown on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party workers, the Punjab Police has issued detention orders for senior party leaders, including former minister Saad Rafique.

In a letter, Inspector General of Punjab Police Kaleem Imam wrote to the Lahore Deputy Commissioner ordering the detention of seven PML-N leaders for 30 days, The Nation reported.

The leaders are- Saad's brother Khawaja Salman Rafique, Mian Marghoob, Bilal Yasin, Khwaja Imran Nazir, Malik Saiful Malook and Waheed Alam Khan.

Furthermore, another leader Haji Rana Bakhtiar has been ordered to be placed under house arrest, according to the report.

-- ANI

Mukesh Ambani overtook Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma to become Asias richest person as he positions Reliance Industries Ltd to disrupt the e-commerce space in India.

The chairman of Indias refining-to-telecoms conglomerate, Ambani was estimated to be worth $44.3 billion on Friday with Reliance Industries Ltd rising 1.6 per cent to a record 1,099.8 rupees, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Mas wealth stood at $44 billion at close of trade on Thursday in the US, where the company is listed.

Ambani has added $4 billion to his fortune this year as Reliance doubled its petrochemicals capacity and investors cheered the success of his disruptive telecom upstart Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. Then earlier this month, the tycoon unveiled plans to leverage his 215 million telecom subscribers to expand his e-commerce offerings, taking on the likes of Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's Ma has lost $1.4 billion in 2018.

18:59

Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ravindra Chavan on Friday assured the state legislature that "there is no ban on patrons carrying outside food to multiplexes but if the multiplex authorities prohibit it, they could face action".

The minister's statement came after a heated debate on the raging issue of the exorbitant rates charged by multiplexes for food, water and beverages which were higher than the printed maximum retail price.

Leader of Opposition in Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde raised the issue of differential pricing of the same product inside and outside multiplexes.

In recent weeks, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena carried out agitations and protests inside various multiplexes in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and other cities where a popcorn pack costing Rs 5 outside was sold for Rs 250 inside.

The agitations, occasionally violent, however seemed to have struck a cord and elicited huge public response even on social media platforms.

The Bombay high court last month demanded to know why the Maharashtra government could not regulate the prices of the food and beverages sold inside multiplexes.

Hearing a petition filed last year by a social activist Jainendra Baxi, the court observed that in many instances, the foodstuffs were priced even higher than the entry ticket rates and ordered the state government to file its affidavit in the matter within four weeks.

Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India President Nitin Datar said that they have not received any orders from the government.

18:42 Sharif to arrive in Pakistan shortly; will be arrested from runway

Following a two-hour delay, Nawaz and Maryam's flight is expected to land in Lahore shortly as it is on the last leg of journey after taking off from Abu Dhabi

Reports say that the former Pakistani prime minister will be whisked away by helicopter to the federal capital of Islamabad via a chopper. He will then be sent to the Adiala prison.

Currently, Nawaz Sharif and Maryam have gone to a hotel near the airport in Abu Dhabi. They have not been arrested and they are holding consultations with some unidentified people as well as some PML-N workers, news agency ANI reported.

The duo are expected to board a flight to Pakistan with a three-member NAB team on board. They will be arrested as soon as they touch Pakistani soil.

18:30 Second priest held in Kerala rape case

Kerala police today arrested the second priest accused of sexually abusing a woman in Pathnamthitta district, while two other clergymen were still absconding.

Johnson P Mathew, a counsellor, was arrested from Kozhencherry in the district and is being questioned by crime branch sleuths, police sources said.

His anticipatory bail petition was pending in court.

The Crime Branch made the first arrest yesterday after Job Mathew, the vicar of a local church, surrendered, a day after the high court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea and that of two other priests, observing they acted as "predators" and took "undue advantage" of the woman.

The two other priests are absconding.

Crime Branch sources said there were no orders from the court against Johnson P Mathew's arrest.

The incident came to light after an audio clip of the purported conversation of the husband of the alleged victim with a church official about the alleged sexual abuse of his wife by the priests was widely circulated on social media.

The woman's husband had last month accused five priests of using his wife's secret confession to "blackmail and sexually abuse" her.

The crime branch registered a case following which the four priests had moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail.

-- PTI

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses the media in Delhi two days after Rahul Gandhi held an hour-long meet with Muslim intellectuals at his residence at Tughlaq Road.

Here are highlights from the media address..

>> As a responsible president of a responsible party, Rahul Gandhi should come out clean. What did he mean when he said that Congress party is a Muslim party

>> Congress party is playing a dangerous game, playing up the card of religion

>> Congress party will be solely responsible if any disharmony breaks between now and 2019 elections

>> Do you (Congress) actually want to win the elections to serve the country or is it your obsession with the Prime Minister that makes you say that we will not let PM Modi come back to power.

17:25

JUST IN: Bomb at campaign rally in Pakistan kills at least four amid tension over ex-PM Nawaz Sharif's return

17:20 IKEA postpones launch of its first India store

Leading Swedish home furnishings retailer IKEA has postponed the launch of its first India store in Hyderabad to August 9, it was announced on Friday. The company said that it moved the opening date from July 19 to August 9 as it needed more time to live up to its expected quality commitments towards customers and co-workers.

"Our main priority is to create an inspiring and safe experience for both customers and co-workers. Opening the first Indian IKEA store in Hyderabad means a lot to IKEA and we want to offer the best possible meeting with IKEA for the many Indian customers," said Peter Betzel CEO, IKEA Retail India.

The company officials had earlier said that the store, spread over 13 acres with a built up space of 4,00,000 square feet, will feature over 7,000 IKEA products of which almost 2,000 will be priced below Rs. 200.

The store will also have a 1,000-seater restaurant which is IKEA's largest in over 400 stores it has globally. The store is coming with an investment of Rs. 1,000 crore. It will create direct jobs for 800 people - half of them, the company promises, will be women.

The company officials said last year that they plan to open 25 stores in India by 2025.

The next store will come up in Mumbai in 2019. This will be bigger than the Hyderabad store with five lakh square feet.

India and United States will conduct their 2+2 dialogue in the first week of September, confirmed Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

She said that the main agenda of the meet will be to to develop andstrengthen strategic defence cooperation and to follow-on with what had transpired during the meeting with Secretary Defence Mattis.

The two delegations were to meet first on April 18 and senior Indian officials were on their way to Washington for preparatory talks when president Donald Trump fired secretary of state Rex Tillerson and gave his job to Mike Pompeo. Set to take place in Washington on July 6, the dialogue was again postponed because Pompeo had to visit North Korea.

16:14 PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi lose Twitter followers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, among others on Friday lost thousands of Twitter followers after the micro-blogging site deleted several suspicious and inactive accounts.

Prime Minister Modi, according to socialblade.com, lost 2,84,746 followers and currently has 43.1 million followers.

The Congress president, on the other hand, lost 17,503 followers. He currently has 7.33 million followers on Twitter.

Other politicians who lost the followers are as follows:

-External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj - 74,132

-Congress leader Shashi Tharoor - 1, 51,509

-Trinamool Congress leader Derek O' Brien - 10,902

-Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani- 41,280

Meanwhile, Twitter accounts across the globe saw a drop in their follower count as the micro-blogging site removed "locked accounts" - accounts which have not validated their ownership.

"As part of our ongoing and global effort to build trust and encourage healthy conversation on Twitter, every part of the service matters," read its blog post.

It added, "This week, we'll be removing these locked accounts from follower counts across profiles globally. As a result, the number of followers displayed on many profiles may go down."

-- ANI

A court in Patna has convicted two women teachers of a renowned English-medium school for 'unnatural sexual act' with a five-year-old girl student.

The order was passed by Special POCSO judge Ravindra Nath Tripathi, who fixed July 20 as the date for deciding the quantum of sentence for Nutan Joseph and Indu Anand.

Special Public Prosecutor Suresh Chandra Prasad said the two women have been held guilty under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Joseph and Anand were arrested in November, 2016, after the girl's parents lodged a complaint against them at Mahila Thana in Patna.

According to the FIR, the parents had said that the two teachers asked their 5-year-old girl to undress in a classroom and then sexually assaulted her.

A medical test conducted on the minor also confirmed the assault. -- PTI

President Donald Trump has rubbished embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit strategy, saying it will probably 'kill' the chances of a bilateral trade deal, inviting sharp criticism from MPs, many of whom described it as an insult to the country.

The Brexit strategy, spelt out in a White Paper yesterday, has proved controversial as it led to the resignation of two senior cabinet ministers, including Brexit minister David Davis and foreign secretary Boris Johnson.

In an interview with the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun newspaper, Trump became the latest critic of May's Brexit plans, which foresee a closer relationship with the European Union (EU) after Britain leaves the 28-member economic bloc next year, than many hard-Brexit supporters are demanding.

"If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal," the US President told the newspaper in reference to May's Brexit strategy.

Trump also said he had told May how to do a Brexit deal, but, 'she didn't agree, she didn't listen to me'.

"I told her how to do it. That will be up to her to say. But I told her how to do it. She wanted to go a different route," Trump, who is in London on his first official visit, said.

The US President's interview attracted sharp criticism from British MPs, many of whom described it as an insult to the British prime minister and the UK.

Conservative party MP Sarah Wollaston said Trump was 'determined to insult' May, adding: "If signing up to the Trump world view is the price of a deal, it's not worth paying."

"Our Prime Minister is so weak she still rolls out the red carpet for a man who does nothing but insult her. Humiliating," Opposition Labour party MP Ben Bradshaw added.

In the interview, Trump said he was 'cracking down' on the EU because 'they have not treated the United States fairly on trading'.

Trump described Johnson, one of leading critics and who is seen as a potential challenger to May, as a 'very talented guy' and said the former foreign secretary would make a 'great prime minister'.

"I have a lot of respect for Boris. He obviously likes me, and says very good things about me. I was very saddened to see he was leaving government and I hope he goes back in at some point. I think he is a great representative for your country," he said.

In the wide-ranging interview to the tabloid, the US President also took aim at one of his most vocal critics, London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

He blamed the Pakistani-origin mayor for making him feel 'unwelcome' in the UK, in light of mass street protests and said he 'used to love London'.

Khan had authorised protesters to raise a giant helium-filled balloon showing a nappy-wearing Trump next to the British parliament today.

Trump said that Khan was doing a 'terrible job' in fighting crime and believed the mayor was responsible for the terror attacks that had taken place in the British capital because he had 'done a very bad job on terrorism' as well as a 'bad job on crime'.

Responding to Trump's criticism of his response to terrorism, Khan said it was 'interesting' that the US president 'is not criticising the mayors of other cities' which have also experienced terror attacks.

He defended his decision to allow the giant Trump baby inflatable to fly over London, saying: "The idea that we limit the right to protest because it might cause offence to a foreign leader is a slippery slope."

Trump went on to claim that the UK and the rest of Europe was 'losing its culture' because of immigration.

"Allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame," he said.

The interview was conducted in Brussels before the US President and First Lady, Melania, arrived in the UK yesterday afternoon. -- PTI

A former sugar mill manager allegedly shot himself after being pressured by a retired Indian Administrative Service officer to get demonetised currency notes worth Rs 10 crore exchanged in a village in Shamli district, police said today.

The incident occurred in Badhev village under the Adarsh Mandi police station area last evening, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Shalok Kumar said.

The victim, Vijay Singh, 51, left a suicide note accusing brother-in-law and retired IAS officer Vinod Kumar Pawar of putting pressure on him to get the demonetised notes exchanged, he said.

According to the suicide note, the victim had helped the accused exchange demonetised notes worth Rs 50 lakh earlier, the ASP said, adding that he also alleged that Pawar had forcibly captured a piece of land belonging to Singh's mother.

The pistol used in the suicide was seized and the note sent to handwriting experts for verification, the ASP said.

A case was registered under various sections of the law and an investigation was underway, he added.

Pawar, a resident of Ghaziabad, was earlier posted as an additional district magistrate in Muzaffarnagar and as a district magistrate in Bijnore. -- PTI

A mass grave with 38 skeletons has been discovered in Sri Lanka's former war zone where the government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels were engaged in pitched battles in 2009, officials said today.

Skeletal remains of around 38 people have been found during the ground digging to build a new construction at the old cooperative store site in the north eastern town of Mannar.

Following the discovery in late March, the site was kept under supervision of Mannar magistrate M Prabhakaran for further digging.

While the judicial medical officers are carrying out investigations, the skeletal remains are being kept at the Mannar hospital. The construction site has been cordoned off, the police said.

The town was occupied by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam during Sri Lanka's civil war between 1983 and 2009.

International rights groups have said that at least 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by government forces under the command of former president Mahinda Rajapakse in the final months of the war.

Since the end of the military battles, Sri Lanka has faced international accusations of rights abuses by its troops . -- PTI

The Bombay high court today declined to relax the ban on sale of decoration items made of thermocol for use in the forthcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Maharashtra.

A division bench of Justices A S Oka and Riyaz Chagla dismissed a petition filed by the Thermocol Fabricators and Decoration Association, seeking relaxation of the ban only for this year's Ganesh festival to be celebrated in September.

The manufacture and use of a large number of plastic and thermocol items have been banned in Maharashtra.

The petition claimed the association's members would suffer huge financial losses if decoration material made of thermocol is not permitted to be sold in the market.

The association also submitted an undertaking stating they will themselves dispose of the material. The state government opposed the petition and said the last day to dispose of the banned items was June 23.

Despite this, the petitioner (the association) did not dispose of their material and instead kept it as it is and is now seeking relaxation, it argued.

The HC said it cannot ignore the government's arguments, made during a hearing on petitions challenging the plastic and thermocol ban, that 1,200 tonnes of plastic waste is generated each day and there is no proper scientific provision for its disposal.

Amid tight security, a fresh batch of 3,451 pilgrims today left a base camp here for Kashmir to undertake the annual Amarnath yatra, the police said.

The 60-day yatra to the 3,880 metre high holy cave in south Kashmir Himalayas commenced on June 28 and so far over 1.51 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the shrine.

The pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu in two separate convoys for the twin base camps of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district in the early hours, a police official said.

While 2,281 pilgrims are performing the yatra from the traditional 36-km Pahalgam track, 1,170 pilgrims have opted for the shortest 12-km Baltal route.

The official said the pilgrims left in 110 vehicles amid rains which lashed wide parts of the state this morning. -- PTI

The south-bound arm of the Parel flyover in central Mumbai was closed for traffic on Friday due to repair work on a water pipeline near the flyover, causing massive traffic congestion.

The water pipeline had burst at the entrance of the flyover on Babasaheb Ambedkar Road.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials, the repair work, which started on July 12, is expected to be completed today.

The repair work has affected water supply to many areas in Mumbai and surrounding suburbs like Ghatkopar, Chembur, Sion, etc.

A 19-year-old student died when she jumped off the third floor of a college building in Coimbatore during a disaster management drill, following which a trainer was arrested for allegedly prodding her to take the leap, police said today.

In a video of the incident, which went viral, the girl appeared to be reluctant to take the jump even though a net was put up for her safe landing and, it seemed, the trainer was trying to push her, they said.

Lokeshwari, a second-year BBA student, who finally took the jump, hit a sunshade on the second floor, the police said. She suffered serious head injuries and died while being taken to a government hospital yesterday, they said.

Students also claimed that Lokeshwari was not willing to jump. The police said R Arumugam, who claimed to be a trainer of the National Disaster Management Authority, was arrested based on a complaint by the student's father and remanded to custody.

However, the NDMA said it was not associated with the drill and that the trainer was not authorised by it to conduct the exercise.

"Unfortunate that this incident has happened and we have lost a young life. Our heartfelt condolences to the family," it said.

"However, the National Disaster Management Authority wasn't involved in this drill. The trainer wasn't authorised by NDMA to conduct such a drill," it said in a tweet.

Ahead of his imminent imprisonment, former prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif urged his followers to stand with him to 'change the fate of the country'.

Maryam Nawaz, who is en route to Pakistan from London, along with her father Nawaz Sharif, tweeted a video message by the deposed prime minister in which he said, "I am aware that I have been sentenced to 10 years [in prison] and I will be taken to a jail cell straight away. But I want the Pakistani nation to know that I am doing this for you. I urge everyone to come and stand with me and let's change the fate of the country." -- ANI

A special court today ordered framing of an additional charge of abetment of bribery against Congress leader and industrialist Naveen Jindal in a case pertaining to irregularities in the allocation of a Jharkhand coal block. Special judge Bharat Parashar said the charge will formally be framed against the accused on August 16.

The court had in April, 2016 ordered framing of charges against Jindal, former MoS for Coal Dasari Narayan Rao (since deceased), former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, former Coal Secretary H C Gupta and 11 others for the alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code and sections of Prevention of Corruption Act in the case.

However, the charge under section 12 (punishment for abetment of offences defined in section 7 (public servant taking gratification) or 11 (public servant obtaining valuable thing, without consideration from person concerned in proceeding or business transacted by such public servant)) of Prevention of Corruption Act was not framed then.

The case pertains to allocation of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block in Jharkhand. In today's order, the court said the charge under section 7 of the Act was made out against Rao, but since he was deceased, the charge will not be framed against him.

The court also ordered framing of section 120-B (criminal conspiracy against Jindal Steel's then adviser Anand Goel, Nihar Stocks Ltd Director BSN Suryanarayan and Mumbai's Essar Power Ltd Executive Vice-Chairman Sushil Kumar Maroo.

The three were named in an additional charge sheet filed by the agency in the case.

The court discharged Mumbai-based KE International's Chief Financial Officer Rajeev Aggarwal and Gurgaon-based Green Infra's Vice-President Siddharth Madra from the case, citing lack of evidence against them.

While arguing on charge, CBI's deputy legal adviser V K Sharma had told the court that there were enough evidence against Jindal for trying him under sections 7 and 12 of the Act.

The names of Goel, Madra, Suryanarayan, Aggarwal and Maroo had cropped up in the additional charge sheet filed by the agency in the case. The CBI had alleged that Koda had favoured Jindal group firms -- Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) and Gagan Sponge Iron Pvt Ltd (GSIPL) -- in allocation of Amarkonda Murgadangal block.

It had later alleged that five accused named in the second charge sheet tried to hamper the investigation and threatened Suresh Singhal, a chartered accountant who was earlier arrayed as an accused but later turned approver.

All the accused have denied the allegations levelled against them and said there was no evidence to show that there was any conspiracy during the coal block allocation process.

The CBI has filed another chargesheet against Jindal and others, including Goel and Maroo, for allegedly cheating the government by misrepresenting facts to get the Madhya Pradesh based Urtan North coal block. -- PTI

Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy returned to the Congress fold today, four years after quitting the party.

Congress' communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala announced Reddy's return to the party after the former chief minister met party president Rahul Gandhi at his residence today.

Reddy joined the party in the presence of All India Congress Committee Andhra Pradesh in-charge Oomen Chandy, Surjewala and Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee chief N Raghuveera Reddy at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.

Reddy had quit as chief minister and the Congress in February 2014, protesting against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

His meeting with the Congress chief came following talks with the party's leaders over two months. Reddy, the last chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh, had floated the Jai Samaikyandhra party after quitting the Congress.

He fought the 2014 elections, but failed to make a mark. -- PTI

13:30

Visuals of flood due to heavy rains in Jhalawar, Rajasthan. Photograph: ANI

13:06 'Like creating a surveillance State': SC on govt's social media hub plan

The Supreme Court today took a strong note of the information and broadcasting ministry's decision to set up a social media hub for monitoring online data, observing that it will be "like creating a surveillance State".

The top court said the government wants to tap citizens' WhatsApp messages and sought its response within two weeks

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud issued notice to the Centre on a plea by Trinamool Congress legislator Mahua Moitra and sought Attorney General K K Venugopal's assistance in the matter.

"The government wants to tap citizens' WhatsApp messages. It will be like creating a surveillance State," the bench said.

Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Moitra, said the government has issued a request for proposal and the tender will be opened on August 20.

"They want to monitor social media content with the help of this social media hub," Singhvi said. The bench then said it is listing the matter on August 3, before the opening of tender on August 20 and AG or any law officer for the government will assist the court in the matter.

Earlier, on June 18, the apex court had refused to accord urgent hearing on the plea seeking to stay a central government move to set up a 'Social Media Communication Hub' that would collect and analyse digital and social media content.

The counsel for Moitra had said that the government is trying to monitor the social media contents of individuals by tracking their social media accounts such as those on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and their e-mails.

Recently, the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited, a public sector undertaking under the ministry, had floated a tender to supply a software for the project.

Pfizer's manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur is not following quality control norms and lacks data related to laboratory records, report Gireesh Babu and Aneesh Phadnis in Business Standard.

These are among the 11 observations the US Food and Drug Administration has made following inspections at the Hospira Healthcare India in Sriperumbudur conducted in last March-April.

The company said it had "voluntarily paused' production in the facility, which became a part of Pfizer following its acquisition of US-based Hospira in February 2015 in a $17-billion deal.

A Pfizer spokesperson said they were disappointed with the outcome of the drug regulator's inspection.

"We have submitted a comprehensive response to the USFDA and are committed to implementing the necessary improvements and ensuring the quality of our medicines. Pfizer is committed to product quality and we have voluntarily paused production at our Irungattukottai site."

The facility had earlier received observations from the USFDA as part of inspections in 2013 and 2015, according to reports.

Two Central Reserve Police Force personnel lost their lives when terrorists fired upon their party in Anantnag's Sheer Pora earlier today.

The two personnel were critically injured in the attack and succumbed later.

More details awaited. -- ANI

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has voiced support for the UN human rights chief's call for an independent international investigation into the human rights situation in Kashmir, saying his action 'represents the voice of the UN' on the issue.

"As you can imagine, all the action of the Human Rights High Commissioner is an action that represents the voice of the UN in relation to that issue," Guterres told reporters at a press conference in New York yesterday.

He was responding to questions whether he supports an independent international probe into the human rights situation in Kashmir as recommended by High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein in his report on Kashmir last month.

India has rejected Al Hussein's report in which he had called for a commission of inquiry by the Human Rights Council to conduct an independent international investigation into the human rights situation in Kashmir.

India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Tanmaya Lal said this week that the 'so-called' report reflects the 'clear bias of an official who was acting without any mandate whatsoever and relied on unverified sources of information'.

Lal had said the report 'was not even found fit to be considered by the membership of the forum where it was submitted'.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, responding to the Secretary General's remarks, said the Human Rights chief's report was not followed up by anyone in the Human Rights Council.

"That the High Commissioner for Human Rights represents the UN Secretariat on the issue of human rights is a factual issue. But that his report was not followed up by anyone is also a reality that no one sees it as something they are ready to support. So referring to the report is like flogging a dead horse," Akbaruddin told PTI.

Guterres was asked by PTI about India's assertion that Al Hussein was acting without any mandate and that Kashmir is a bilateral issue that needs to be resolved between India and Pakistan.

He said, "One thing is the definition of the mechanism for a political solution of a situation in a country.

"The other thing is the general mandate of human rights instruments in relation to human rights everywhere.

"And so what the Human Rights High Commissioner did was the use of its own competencies and capacities, as it does in all other parts of the world, to report on what he considered to be relevant human rights violations."

"It doesn't mean that there is in that a preference for any kind of methodology for a political solution. They are two completely different things, and the same applies in relation to the other report," he said, referring to his report on children and armed conflict.

India has also expressed its disappointment that the Secretary General's report on children and armed conflict included situations that do not meet the definition of armed conflict or of threat to international peace and security.

The report had mentioned the Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir, saying children continued to be affected by incidents of violence between armed groups and the government, particularly in the three states.

Noting 'grave violations', the report had said three incidents of the recruitment and use of children were reported in Jammu and Kashmir in the context of clashes with national security forces.

"One case was attributed to Jaish-e-Mohammed and two to Hizbul Mujahideen," the report said, adding that 'unverified' reports also indicate the use of children as informants and spies by national security forces.

The report added that the United Nations also continued to receive reports of the recruitment and use of children, including by the Naxalites, particularly in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

"The other report is a report about situations in which the rights of children have been put into question," Guterres said.

When asked if he has made any attempt to bring about dialogue between India and Pakistan, Guterres said, "It is clear for me that only political solutions can address political problems."

He added that whenever he meets the leaders of both India and Pakistan, he always offers his good offices, and 'I hope that the future will be able to create the mechanisms of dialogue that will allow for this problem to find also an adequate political solution that the people can benefit from.' -- PTI

11:31

JUST IN: Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif move from UAE's Abu Dhabi International Airport.

They are being brought to Lahore, Pakistan in Etihad EY 243 Abu Dhabi to Lahore flight. -- ANI

11:02 Sharif, Maryam reach Abu Dhabi

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif have landed at the United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi International Airport.

It is not known yet whether they will be taken to Islamabad or Lahore from here.

"I'll be taken straight to jail. But I'm doing this for people of Pakistan, sacrificing for generations to come. Such opportunity won't come again. Let's build destiny of Pak together," Sharif earlier said, on board the flight to Abu Dhabi. -- ANI

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party's estranged ally People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has 'warned' New Delhi that if it tries to 'divide' people of Kashmir, and 'rob them of their voting rights like it did in 1987', then the consequences would be dangerous.

"If Delhi tries to dismiss the voting rights of people like 1987, if it tries to create divisions and interfere like that, then I think, like one Syed Salahuddin and one Yasin Malik were born in 1987...if it tries to break PDP like that then outcomes will be dangerous," Mufti said.

Last month, the BJP had withdrew support from the PDP, resulting in the collapse of Mufti's government.

The BJP blamed the PDP for failing to improve the security conditions in the Kashmir Valley. -- ANI

The Indian Ambassador to the United States has exuded confidence that the two major issues of Iranian and Russian sanctions that have become an irritant in the Indo-US relationship would be sorted out soon.

Referring to a series of recent topics, including the Iranian sanctions under which India is required to stop its import of oil from Iran by November 4, Navtej Singh Sarna said none of these were issues over which one can lose sleep.

"This (the Indo-US) relationship has been through far more fundamental differences. I remember being in Washington three months after the nuclear tests in May '98' and those were differences," Sarna said yesterday at the inaugural Annual Leadership summit of the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum.

Asserting that the relationship between the two countries has seen a 'steady upward graph', he expressed hope that both sides would find a way to resolve the thorny issues.

"India and the US have been down this road in the past and we have handled it in the past," he said, underlining that the South Asian nation was dependent on several countries for its oil and energy needs.

Pointing out the development of Chabahar port by India in Iran -- which is crucial for its developmental role in Afghanistan -- the top Indian diplomat said the US would have an interest in having that port open.

That factor has been recognised several times, including during the meeting between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi last June, Sarna said.

Acknowledging that there are going to be questions on resolving this issue about sanctions and India's energy needs, Sarna said it was far too early to predict where this needle would stop.

"But I can share with you that these conversations are already ongoing and we'll see more of this in the coming weeks," the Indian ambassador said.

Responding to a question on CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act), Sarna said India was not the target of the federal law and it should not become collateral damage of it.

The administration has to find a way in which they can find a waiver for the partner on this particular thorny issue, he said.

"We are hopeful that given the broad understanding on this issue on the Hill as well as the administrations enthusiasm behind it, he added. -- PTI

The FIFA World Cup on Sony Pictures Network India has garnered over 192.7 million viewers across 58 matches played so far, reports Urvi Malvania in Business Standard.

This includes LIVE matches, wraparound shows, highlights, repeats, surround programming on the SPN Sports Network and its online streaming platform SonyLIV.

Of this, 63.1 million viewers in rural markets have tuned in to the television coverage of the tournament, amounting to 42 per cent of the overall TV reach.

The 58 live matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia have been watched by 96.7 million viewers. The 8 pre-quarter final and 2 quarter final matches telecast in Week 4 have been watched by 57.1 million viewers.

The France versus Argentina pre-quarter final, image alongside, has been the most watched game with 22.2 million viewers.

Local language feeds (Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu) have contributed to 47 per cent of the viewership.

The regional commentary provided has seen 9 million viewers in Kerala and 9.2 million viewers in West Bengal. In all, 36.3 million viewers across India have sampled the regional commentary feed.

09:59 UP Min performs pooja to mark his 'rebirth'

While people usually celebrate their birth anniversary, Uttar Pradesh Minister Nand Gopal Gupta performed a pooja to mark his 'rebirth'.

During former chief minister Mayawati's rule Nand Gopal was attacked with a remote bomb but was saved from the mishap.

Since then, he performs this pooja for his safety.

State administration and other ministers attended the event, organised in Allahabad yesterday.

As the city celebrated Nand Gopal's reincarnation day, security arrangements at Bahadurganj were increased to avoid any untoward incident during the ongoing event. -- ANI

Just In: Fortis says it has decided to go with IHH Healthcare for an investment of Rs 4,000 crore at Rs 170 per share.

Ahead of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and daughter Maryam's arrest, Nawaz's wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, opened her eyes after a month-long coma.

The news was confirmed by Kulsoom's son, Hussain Nawaz.

In an emotional appeal, Hussain requested people to remember his mother in their prayers.

"She (Kulsoom) has opened her eyes after exactly one month. I don't have anything else to share. Her sedatives were being reduced. My only request is, please remember her in your prayers," he told media in London.

Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Maryam, will be arrested at Abu Dhabi airport in United Arab Emirates (UAE) today morning.

The duo, who are convicted in Avenfield reference case, will stay at the Abu Dhab iairport for seven hours and will reach Lahore at 6.15pm (2.15 UK time), sources said.

All arrangements have been made to arrest the three-time Prime Minister and his daughter by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team.The father-daughter duo, who was in London to meet Nawaz's ailing wife, left for Pakistan on Friday. -- ANI

India has invited United States President Donald Trump to be the chief guest at next year's Republic Day parade and celebrations, The Times of India has reported.

While an official response by the US is still awaited, it is being said that the Trump Administration is favorably considering India's invite.

Read the full report HERE

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that if anyone dares to point fingers at women, their fingers will be chopped off.

Khattar further said that people accused of rape and molestation in Haryana will not be allowed to avail benefits from state schemes.

"Hamare yaha ek bhi behen beti ki taraf agar koi ungli uthayega to uski ungli kaat di jaayegi, aisa hum prabhand karenge (If anyone dares to point fingers at our women.their fingers will be chopped off. We will make arrangements regarding this)," Khattar said during the launch of Ek aur Sudhar project in Panchkula.

After receiving criticism over his statement, Khattar later clarified stating that he didn't mean for any barbarian rule towards anyone.

"Dekhiye kehne ki bhav ye hai ki sirf dandit karenge. Aisa koi barbarian rule hamara nahi hai (The intention of the statement was not a barbarian rule but to punish the accused/culprits)," Khattar told media.

Khattar on Thursday said that if the accused is acquitted of all charges then that person can avail the benefits.

The chief minister also said that if a rape victim wants to hire a lawyer of her choice except for the one provided by the state government, she would be provided financial assistance of Rs 22,000.

Khattar also said that he will announce a comprehensive scheme for the safety and security of women either on Independence Day (August 15) or Raksha Bandhan (August 26). -- ANI

Pakistan former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam had an emotional farewell meeting with former finance minister Ishaq Dar in London before leaving for Pakistan on Thursday.

The pictures of the farewell shows emotional scenes, wherein Nawaz's friends and relatives can be seen weeping.

Maryam's kids can also be seen embracing her and kissing her forehead.

The father-daughter duo, who left from London on Thursday, will be arrested by a special National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team at Abu Dhabi Airport in United Arab Emirates (UAE) later today.

NAB sources in Islamabad said that both the convicted would be kept at Adiala jail for a day before being transferred to the notorious Attock Fort prison.

Flights that were to arrive at Islamabad airport this morning have been diverted to Lahore airport. Sharif and Maryam will be taken to jail under heavy security.

Meanwhile, Junaid Safdar and Zakaria Hussain, grandsons of Sharif, are arrested by London police for punching a demonstrator outside their residence in Park Lane yesterday.

Junaid Safdar is the son of Maryam Nawaz and Zakaria Hussain is the son of Hussain Nawaz.

On July 6, Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, and a fine of eight million pounds was slapped on him in the Avenfield Reference case.

Maryam was sentenced to seven years of jail and fined two million pounds, by the Accountability Court. -- ANI

00:22 Pak must stop supporting terrorism: India

India hit back at Pakistan over its comments on the alleged human rights abuse in Kashmir, saying Islamabad must first stop terrorism emanating from its soil.

The Pakistan foreign office alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. It also raised concern over shifting of woman separatist leader Syeda Aasiya Andrabi to Tihar jail and detention of Hurriyat leaders Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Masarrat Alam Bhat.

Andrabi was arrested by the National Investigating Agency under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly carrying out secessionist activity and waging war against India.

"They sometimes forget that what they preach they don't follow. Time and again we have told them to stop supporting terrorism, stop supporting terrorist entities, which are operating out of Pakistan. That is something (on which) they have taken no action. Our position on this remains clear and consistent," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in response to a question at a media briefing.

According to media reports, Zafar Bangash, a Pakistani-origin journalist based in Canada has claimed that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, was in constant touch with him while preparing the controversial report on Kashmir which was rejected by India.

In a report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights last month, the UN body talked about alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and sought an international inquiry into these abuses.

"We also question the intention of bringing out this report. The document that was brought out reflected the clear bias of the official, who was acting without a mandate whatsoever and who relied on unverified source of information. The report which had put out was very motivated. It had a clear bias. And when I say motivated, it explains what you are alluding to," he said.

Responding to a question on Gulab Singh Shaheen, the Pakistan's first Sikh police officer, forcibly evicted from his home along with his children and wife, following a property dispute with the government, Kumar said India strongly condemns the act.

"This is not for the first time that the religious minorities in Pakistan have been subjected to such a behaviour. In the past, there have been reports of persecution of people from other communities," he said.

Kumar added that in May, Charnjit Singh, a prominient Sikh leader was also killed in Peshawar.

"We want Pakistan to probe the matter with sincerity and act as per its international obligation to protect the minorities," he said.

Kumar said Don Pramudwinai, the foreign minister of Thailand, in a letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, has thanked India for the moral support it had extended during the operation to rescue 12 boys trapped in the cave.

In the letter, the Thai foreign minister also thanked the Indian community in Thailand for solidarity it displayed during the operation. -- PTI

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