Karnataka minister D K Shivakumar paid unaccounted money to the All India Congress Committee, the Income Tax Department has claimed in a complaint filed before the Special Court for Economic Offences in Bengaluru.

Makkal Needhi Maiam president Kamal Haasan today met United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi and discussed the current political situation in Tamil Nadu. 

Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra has called for an all-party meeting on June 22 to discuss the situation of the state.

Transparency watchdog Central Information Commission will now decide appeals and complaints even after the death of an appellant or complainant, the government has said.

The first India-United States '2+2 dialogue' will be held on July 6 and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will travel to the US to take part in the meeting that is likely to focus on strengthening strategic and defence ties.

Jammu and Kashmir Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ravinder Raina on Thursday alleged threat to his life. He claimed that the threat call which he received was from Pakistan. Calling Pakistan "a nation of coward people", Raina told ANI, "I have been receiving such calls from Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Muzaffarabad for many years since I constantly raise anti-Pakistan slogans. The frequency has increased after the imposition of Governor's Rule in the state. Even today, I received a call from Karachi after attending the International Yoga Day celebrations in Jammu."The development comes days after the BJP pulled out of an alliance with the People's Democratic Party. 

The Time magazine cover on the US President Donald Trump's controversial decision on immigration that separates immigrant families on the US-Mexico border.


Trump today reversed his controversial decision on immigration by signing an executive order to end the separation of immigrant families on the US-Mexico border, after images of children in cages and audio of them crying for their parents sparked global outrage.


"I did not like the sight of families being separated," Trump said while signing the executive order at the White House, but added the administration would continue its "zero tolerance policy" of criminally prosecuting anyone who crosses the border illegally.


Trump signed the executive order following widespread protests against the move of his administration to separate children from their parents who illegally enter the country. In recent weeks, more than 2,500 such children were separated from their parents.

President Donald Trump today reversed his controversial decision on immigration by signing an executive order to end the separation of immigrant families on the US-Mexico border, after images of children in cages and audio of them crying for their parents sparked global outrage.


"I did not like the sight of families being separated," Trump said while signing the executive order at the White House, but added the administration would continue its "zero tolerance policy" of criminally prosecuting anyone who crosses the border illegally.


Trump signed the executive order following widespread protests against the move of his administration to separate children from their parents who illegally enter the country. In recent weeks, more than 2,500 such children were separated from their parents.


"We're keeping families together, and this will solve that problem. At the same time, we are keeping a very powerful border and it continues to be a zero-tolerance. We have zero tolerance for people that enter our country illegally," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.


The executive order, signed by Trump, asks the Department of Homeland Security to keep families together while people await trial for illegal border crossing. But cases where there is a concern that parents "would pose a risk to the child's welfare" have been exempted from the executive order.


Trump said the executive order is about keeping families together while at the same time making sure that they have a very powerful and strong border.


"And border security will be equal, if not greater than previously. We are going to have very strong borders, but we're going to keep the families together," he said.


Trump's climbdown came after he faced intense pressure from across the political spectrum and from religious, political and world leaders to halt the separations, which led to days of heartrending news coverage of crying children -- some of whom were kept in cage-like detention centres.


The US first lady Melania Trump and the president's daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump had urged Trump to end family separations on the border.

India fared well on Nomura's early warning indicators (EWI) index showing no signs of domestic or financial risks during the last three years. On the other hand, economies of China, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada and Australia threw up several warning signals between 2015-2017, said a Nomura report.


The report also observed that emerging markets are much more vulnerable than developed markets with Asia being most risky, led by Hong Kong. However, for China, the risk is subsiding. Nomura's EWIs flash signals of potential financial crisis which could occur within the next 12 quarters.


The analysis is based on the past 50 financial crisis indicators, which are designed to warn of domestic credit and financial risks, rather than balance of payments risk.


In the EWI Index, India has been placed at par with developed countries like United States, United Kingdom, Sweden and France with zero crisis signal for three years ending 2017. Nomura said that Hong Kong showed a maximum of 52 signals, followed by 33 in case of China and 21 for Thailand.


As regards the other BRICS nations, Brazil shows 11 risk indicators, followed by Russia at 5 and South Africa at zero. BRICS is a grouping of 5 major emerging economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.
-- PTI

The Income Tax Department filed a complaint before the Special Court for Economic Offences, Bengaluru, in which the Karnataka Minister DK Shivakumar has been accused of operating a hawala network.


With the BJP demanding Shivakumar's resignation over the I-T department's notice, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has said that the state's water resource minister has the right to legal recourse.


Yesterday, a senior Income Tax official confirmed that the fourth summons had been issued against Shivakumar by the special court dealing with economic offenses.


"Court has issued the summons. One more complaint has been filed. Last time there were three. The case is same. The only thing is different years are involved. The case pertains to tax evasion," said the official speaking on condition of anonymity.


Sources in the Income Tax department said along with Shivakumar, a case has been registered against his associates. Raids were carried out recently against his close friends and relatives of Shivakumar, which drew angry reaction from the minister and his parliamentarian brother DK Suresh.


They had alleged that the income tax department was trying to fix Suresh in the case. When raids were carried out at the residences of Sunil Kumar and Anjaneya, some cash and documents were allegedly seized. In this connection, the I-T department had issued notices to them seeking explanation.

Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Ram Madhav on Thursday asked former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister why he was afraid about the BJP trying to form a government in the state through horse trading and petty politics.


Refuting Omar's allegation, Madhav told ANI, "Why is he (Omar Abdullah) so scared? I'm sure his party men are loyal to him. There is no question of horse-trading from our side. We've seen what kind of horse-trading happened in Jammu and Kashmir under his party (Jammu and Kashmir National Conference), nobody should forget the history. He (Omar) should think of his own party and numbers."


Omar today called for a dissolution of the state assembly and holding of fresh elections to prevent the BJP from resorting to horse trading to form the next government in the state.


His response came after former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta said the BJP was "working on something" in connection with the ongoing political scenario in the state.


"I don't think a new government will be formed anytime soon. Uncertainties are there, but we are working on something and people will get to know about it," he told reporters in Jammu.In response to Congress's allegations that the BJP destroyed the state "economically, socially and politically",


Madhav called the grand old party "one culprit for an utter deterioration of Jammu and Kashmir."Launching a scathing attack on Congress, Madhav said, "Right from the beginning, whether it was secessionism, separatism, alienation and terrorism. Even, Pakistan-sponsored separatism and terrorist elements in Kashmir Valley. All these root causes are due to the wrong policies of the Congress. We tried to clean the mess created by Congress and its alliance partners in the past."Earlier, Congress leader and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad accused the BJP and the People's Democratic Party (PDP) of forming an "unethical alliance" and betraying the people of the state. -- ANI

Aam Aadmi Party's MLA from Ropar in Punjab, Amarjeet Singh Sandoa was allegedly attacked today by the goons of mining mafia near Nurpur Bedi in Ropar district, a party leader said.



"Sandoa was attacked by the goons of mining mafia," AAP senior leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Punjab assembly, said. He said the legislator has been rushed to PGIMER at Chandigarh.


The AAP MLA's turban was tossed up during the attack and even two of his security personnel were thrashed.


"If this is the plight of the elected representatives who are also provided security, imagine what is the fate of ordinary citizens," Khaira told PTI over phone on his way back to Chandigarh from Delhi.


He said he was rushing to PGIMER to see Sandoa. Senior police officials of Ropar too have rushed to the spot where the incident took place. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday called the Bharatiya Janata Party a militant organisation. "We are not a militant organisation like the BJP. They are creating fights not only among Christians, Muslims but also among Hindus," the All India Trinamool Congress supremo said.Mamata's statement comes at a time tensions between the two parties are escalating in the state.


On June 2, body of a BJP worker, Dulal Kumar, was found hanging from a pole in Balarampur area of Purulia district.


Similarly, on May 30, the body of another BJP activist Trilochan Mahato was found hanging from a tree in the same district.This was followed by the deaths of at least two TMC workers.Following these incidents, the TMC accused the BJP for the alleged killings while the latter rubbished their claims. -- PTI

The Press Information Bureau's official YouTube channel was unblocked at 8 am today just after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's yoga event got over, a senior official said.


The channel was blocked as YouTube was updating its "partner agreements", a spokesperson for the website had said yesterday.


"YouTube unblocked PIB's YouTube channel today at 8 am," a senior official said today. But PIB could not live stream the prime minister's event from the Uttarakhand capital Dehradun on International Yoga Day as the function got over at 8 am. The problem was communicated to YouTube India yesterday, a PIB source said.


PIB India's YouTube channel had been experiencing a technical glitch because of which viewers were not able to access content on the channel, the source had said yesterday.  On trying to watch a video, an error message was displayed: 'This video contains content from Press Information Bureau. It is not available in your country." YouTube channels of MIT Open Courseware (which has north of 1.5 million subscribers), Jamendo Music and Blender Foundation (with over 190,000 subscribers) were also blocked.


"Videos on a limited number of sites have been blocked as we updated our partner agreements. We are working with them to get their videos back online," the YouTube spokesperson had said yesterday.


Officials said the channel was blocked from June 15 (Saturday) and came to the notice of officials on June 18 when a press conference of Railway Minister Piyush Goyal could not be streamed live. PIB YouTube channel, which was launched in 2016, has 1,52,804 subscribers and 3,560 uploaded videos. PTI

JKLF chief Yasin Malik was today detained while moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest to prevent the separatists from leading protests, police said. Malik was taken into custody from his Maisuma residence this morning, a police official said.


He said Malik has been lodged in police station Kothibagh. The official said Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest at his Nigeen residence. Hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani continued to remain under house detention.


The separatists, under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership, on Tuesday called for a protest strike for today against the killing of civilians allegedly in security forces firing recently and the killing of veteran journalist Shujaat Bukhari.


Bukhari was shot dead, along with his two personal guards, outside his office in Press Enclave here on 14 June by unknown gunmen.


Malik was among the thousands at Bukhari's funeral.  -- PTI 

Actor-activist Angelina Jolie has urged the world community to unite to fight the global refugee crisis that has rendered millions of people homeless and vulnerable.


The 43-year-old actor, who serves as Special Envoy to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in a special essay for The Economist, wrote the humanitarian support for refugees is chronically underfunded.


"The number of refugees worldwide has climbed for six consecutive years. Some 68m people are now displaced by violence and persecution-equal to a fifth of the population of America, nearly half that of Russia, and more than the entire population of the United Kingdom," Jolie wrote on the World Refugee Day, yesterday.


The "Maleficent" star condemned nations fighting back against helping the millions of refugees around the world amid the criticism of US President Donald Trump's new "zero-tolerance policy" against illegal immigrants that has resulted in the separation of over 2,500 children from their parents at the US border to Mexico, since its implementation in April.


He, yesterday, rolled back the policy after major backlash from around the world. Jolie said there was a need for people and nations to work together to prevent and resolve conflicts.


"It is not surprising that there is deep public concern: not because people are heartless, but because this is not a sustainable situation. But the answer is not countries adopting harsh unilateral measures that target refugees, and run counter to our values and our responsibilities. That will only inflame the problem.


"Instead, we must find ways to lower the number of displaced people worldwide, by preventing and solving the conflicts that drive them from their homes. We must try to rally people and nations to act together based on common interests and universal aspirations for security, dignity and equality: understanding that this does not come at the expense of our safety and economic well-being at home, but is an essential requirement when facing problems of international dimensions. The actor-director said refugees are at their most vulnerable and they deserve protection. "We live in divisive times. But history also shows our ability to unite, overcome a global crisis, and renew our sense of purpose and community with other nations. That is the greatest strength of an open society. We should not leave the debate to those who would exploit public anxiety for political advantage. We are being tested today and our response will be the measure of our humanity."


"A refugee is a man, woman or child at their most vulnerable: forced from their home, living without the protection of their state, and in many cases without the bare means of survival. It is the human condition that tests our belief that all human beings have equal rights and deserve protection," she wrote. -- PTI

On World Yoga Day, we re-promote this story on this 98-year-old woman who is possibly one of the oldest yoga guru's the country. Read it here.

Fifteen members of a family on their way to a condolence meet were killed and five others injured when a tractor-trolley rammed into their jeep in the district this morning, a police official said.


The sand-laden tractor-trolley hit the overloaded jeep carrying nearly 20 people of a family around 6 am at a cross road near Ganjrampur village, Morena Superintendent of Police Amit Sanghi told PTI.


Twelve of the victims died on the spot while three others succumbed to injuries at a government hospital in Morena, he said.


The five other injured people were undergoing treatment in the hospital, he said. The victims, all from Gwalior district, were going to Ghurgan village for a condolence meeting, he said. The driver of the tractor-trolley, carrying sand mined illegally from the National Chambal Sanctuary, fled the spot after the accident, Sanghi said. -- PTI

Union Minister Maneka Gandhi today performed prenatal yoga asanas along with pregnant women and asked them to practice the ancient Indian fitness regime under trained professionals.


The Union Women and Child Development Minister was speaking at an event on International Yoga Day at the Natural Childbirth Centre in New Delhi.


The women performed several prenatal yoga asanas, including the modified version of the Tikonasana, Paschimmottasana and Ashwa Sanchalam, under the guidance of a teacher.


"It is a very good step to do yoga during pregnancy, but I urge them to perform the asanas under the guidance of trained teachers," she said. -- PTI 

The other side of the story:

Vikas Mishra, the officer who allegedly harassed Tanvi Seth at the Lucknow passport Office said he asked the woman, Tanvi Seth, to get the name 'Shadia Anas' endorsed as it was mentioned on her Nikahnama, but she refused. "We have to do thorough checks to ensure no person is changing their name to obtain a passport," he said.


The officer has since been transferred.

 
The External Affairs Ministry has now sought a report on the allegations that the inter-faith couple was harassed and humiliated by the officer at a Passport Seva Kendra in Lucknow.


Responding to complaints from Mohammad Anas Siddiqui and Tanvi Seth, who wrote about their ordeal on Twitter and tagged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday, secretary, consular, passport and visa division, D M Mulay said he had asked for a report from the regional passport office in Lucknow and would take appropriate action.


"Regret for inconvenience. I sought report from @rpolucknow Will take appropriate action," Mulay said on Twitter last night. Siddiqui and Seth had applied for their passports on June 19 and took an appointment for June 20 at a Passport Office in Lucknow. They were allegedly humiliated and shamed by passport officer Vikas Mishra before he rejected their application, they said.


Siddiqui said on Twitter that he and his wife were seeking "urgent action against this cruelty". "@SushmaSwaraj hello ma'am I type this tweet with immense faith in justice and in you and ironically with a lot of anger/hurt and agony in my heart because of the way I was treated at the Lucknow passport office at Ratan Square by Mr. Vikas Mishra the reason because I married a Muslim and not changed my name ever," Seth tweeted.


She added that the officer had spoken to her very rudely and loud enough for others to hear while discussing her case. "I have never felt so harassed ever before. The other workers at the office acknowledged his rude demeanour," Seth said.

The External Affairs Ministry has sought a report on allegations that an inter-faith couple was harassed and humiliated by an officer at a Passport Seva Kendra in Lucknow.


Responding to complaints from Mohammad Anas Siddiqui and Tanvi Seth, who wrote about their ordeal on Twitter and tagged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday, secretary, consular, passport and visa division, D M Mulay said he had asked for a report from the regional passport office in Lucknow and would take appropriate action. "Regret for inconvenience. I sought report from @rpolucknow Will take appropriate action," Mulay said on Twitter last night. Siddiqui and Seth had applied for their passports on June 19 and took an appointment for June 20 at a Passport Office in Lucknow. They were allegedly humiliated and shamed by passport officer Vikas Mishra before he rejected their application, they said. Siddiqui said on Twitter that he and his wife were seeking "urgent action against this cruelty". "@SushmaSwaraj hello ma'am I type this tweet with immense faith in justice and in you and ironically with a lot of anger/hurt and agony in my heart because of the way I was treated at the Lucknow passport office at Ratan Square by Mr. Vikas Mishra the reason because I married a Muslim and not changed my name ever," Seth tweeted.


She added that the officer had spoken to her very rudely and loud enough for others to hear while discussing her case. "I have never felt so harassed ever before. The other workers at the office acknowledged his rude demeanour," Seth said. -- PTI

"June 14 was a horrific day for me and my family. It was the day I heard the horrible news of my father's untimely death.On reaching the hospital in Police Control Room (PCR) Srinagar, I heard someone say, "He is no more.'The moment I heard it, my legs started trembling but I was still hoping against all hopes.A thousand thoughts flooded my mind. May be, he is still in the operation theatre? May be, he will come running toward me and hug me? However, his fate had befallen, his soul ascended.I still couldn't understand why someone would do this to a righteous man like my father, Shujaat Bukhari."

The son of Shujaat Bukhari, the slain editor-in-chief of Rising Kashmir writes about his father.

Read it here.


Image: Shujaat Bukhari's son (in blue T-shirt) at his father's funeral.

Normal life was affected in the Kashmir Valley today due to a strike called by separatists against the killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari. Most shops, fuel stations and other business establishments in Srinagar were shut, a police official said. He said public transport was minimal in the city, but private cars, cabs and auto-rickshaws were seen plying.


The official said similar reports were received from other district headquarters of the valley. The separatists, under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership, on Tuesday called for a strike for today against the killing of Bukhari and also civilians allegedly in security forces firing.


The spokesman said the JRL demands an international probe into Bukhari's gruesome murder. Bukhari was shot dead, along with his two personal guards, outside his office in Press Enclave here on 14 June by unknown gunmen. Authorities have suspended train services in Kashmir as a precautionary measure, the police official said. -- PTI


Image: A deserted street in Srinagar. All shops were closed with only a few private vehicles out on the streets. Pic: Umar Ganie

The interfaith couple who was harassed by a passport in officer in Lucknow and told to change their religion to Hinduism and take 'pheras' have been issued a passport.


The Regional Passport Officer, Lucknow, told ANI, "Their passports have been issued. A show cause notice has been issued to the official who was at fault, action will also be taken. We regret the incident and will ensure it is not repeated.


Reports say that the passport officer has been transferred.


The woman, Tanvi Seth, alleged she was harassed by an officer at Lucknow Passport Office as she was married to a Muslim and had not changed her name. She tweeted to Sushma Swaraj seeking help, and said, "It was a humiliating experience, the officer was very loud & made attacking hand gestures."


The woman, who is a Hindu, said, 'We hope it doesn't happen to anyone else. In 11 years of marriage we never faced this. Later officials apologized & we got our passports."


In a series of tweets directed at External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Seth, who married Mohammad Anas Siddiqui, 2007, described how she and her husband were allegedly shamed by a passport officer named Vikas Mishra.


On the day of their appointment, the couple cleared the first two stages of the interview at counters A and B, but the problem started at counter C where one has to interact with an official.

Read their ordeal here.


Image: Tanvi Seth holds up the passport. The passport officer told her husband, Mohammad Anas Siddiqui, told to convert to Hinduism.

And another picture tweeted by @IndiaHistorypic of Marilyn Monroe learning Yoga from Indra Devi in the 1950s. Indra Devi (Eugenie Peterson) born in Russia is known as the 'First Lady of Yoga'. She is believed to have spread Yoga in the West.

A 1950s picture of Marilyn Monroe doing the shirshasana. The picture was tweeted by @IndiaHistorypic.

International Yoga Day celebrated in Kolkata with the backdrop of the imposing Victoria Memorial. 

The PM has said that yoga has become the biggest mass movement across the globe in the quest for good health and wellbeing, which is crucial to the creation of a peaceful world.


The PM was performing Yoga with over 50,000 enthusiasts at the Forest Research Institute campus in Dehradun. He said the ancient Indian discipline has emerged as the most powerful unifying force in a strife-torn world.

"Dehradun to Dublin, Shanghai to Chicago, Jakarta to Johannesburg, Himalayan highlands or sunburnt deserts, Yoga is enriching millions of lives all over the world.


"Yoga fosters amity in societies which can form the basis of national unity," the prime minister said. He said the proposal for the Yoga Day at the UN was accepted in record time with a majority of nations supporting it. Today people all over the world have come to look upon yoga as something which belongs to them," Modi said. 

Union minister Piyush Goyal follows his leader. Goyal tweeted this image and said, "On this #InternationalYogaDay2018, let us all take a pledge to practice Yoga everyday to achieve a better physical, mental and spiritual health. Sharing few pictures from a Yoga programme attended in Noida today."

International Yoga Day was observed across Haryana and Punjab today, with Union minister Smriti Irani and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar participating in programmes in Chandigarh and Jhajjar.


In the joint capital of the two states, Chandigarh, Punjab Governor and the Union Territory's administrator V P Singh Badnore was the chief guest at a Yoga event in Sector 17.


Union Textile Minister Irani performed asanas along with around 4,000 enthusiasts at the event. Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher and Chandigarh unit BJP chief Sanjay Tandon were also present. In Haryana, Khattar and agriculture minister O P Dhankar rolled out their Yoga mats along with several other people, including children, at a state-level event in Jhajjar.


To mark the day, a seminar on Yoga was also organised at the Nehru Government Postgraduate College at Bahadurgarh Road, officials said. In Punjab, a state-level event was held at a sports complex in Mohali.


The day was picked by the United Nations to celebrate the ancient Indian practice and people across the country today marked the fourth International Day for Yoga. -- PTI

In Assam, saints at Guwahati's Kamakhya temple perform yoga, the ancient Indian discipline that gained relevance only after it was practiced in the West.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi today performed Yoga with over 50,000 enthusiasts at the Forest Research Institute campus in Dehradun, saying the ancient Indian discipline has emerged as the most powerful unifying force in a strife-torn world.


Addressing the large gathering in the backdrop of the iconic British-era building of FRI, Modi said yoga has shown the world the way from "illness to wellness" and enriching lives across the globe. He said in fact yoga has become the biggest mass movement across the globe in the quest for good health and well-being, which is crucial to the creation of a peaceful world.

Instructors of Paratroopers Training School of the India Air Force practising Yoga in the blue sky. 

Renowned Sudarsan Pattnaik's celebrates International Yoga Day with a lovely sand art piece. 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to fly to Bengaluru today to join a 10-day naturopathy course, officials said.