LIVE
Tue, 17 May 2022
Will break arm of any man who attacks woman: Sule
Timeline Refresh
Representational image
23:54 Delhi govt panel may suggest increase in auto, taxi fares
A Delhi government committee tasked with fare revision of auto-rickshaws and taxis is likely to recommend a proportionate increase in fares with respect to the rise in CNG prices in the national capital, sources said on Tuesday.
Some auto and taxi unions have expressed concerns over the likely increase in fares, saying it will stiffen their competition with cab aggregators who offer rides at subsidized rates, and also shared their concerns with the panel.
Amid rising fuel prices, the Delhi government last month had set up a committee for fare revision of auto-rickshaws and taxis.
The committee is likely to finalise its report by the end of this week.
Some members of the government panel have been travelling by taxis and autos for the past two weeks to understand the demands and expectations of drivers.
"For the last 15 days, officials are roaming around in auto-rickshaws and taxis in Delhi to know the demands of the drivers and their expectations from the fare revision exercise," said a source.
"This is being done to gain their feedback on the fare revision since they are the major stakeholders," said the source. -- PTI
23:26 Will break arm of any man who attacks woman: Sule
Nationalist Congress Party's Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule on Tuesday said she will "break the arm" of any man who dares to assault a woman in Maharashtra.
The Member of Parliament from Baramati was speaking in Jalgaon a day after a woman worker of her party was allegedly assaulted by BJP workers in Pune.
The incident took place on Monday when NCP workers tried to present a memorandum on LPG cylinder price hike to Union minister Smriti Irani during the latter's visit to Pune.
Referring to it, Sule wondered if a man assaulting a woman was consistent with Marathi culture.
"This is a Maharashtra of Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. They always respected women," she said.
"I am telling you, if any man raises his hand to beat a woman in the state henceforth, I will go there myself and file a case in the court against him. I will break his arm and hand it over to him," the NCP leader further said.
The Pune police on late Monday night registered a case of assault and molestation against three BJP workers for allegedly assaulting the woman NCP activist.
The local unit of the BJP termed the allegations as false.
Asked about Sule's comment, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur that she should take such a stand in all cases. -- PTI
22:44 More than 20 hurt in major fire at chemical unit in Gujarat's Bharuch
More than 20 workers were injured, nine of them seriously, in a major fire that broke out at an agro-chemical company at Dahej in Gujarat's Bharuch district on Tuesday afternoon, a senior official said.
The fire started at Bharat Rasayan, a company which manufactures pesticides, around 4 pm, said district collector Tushar Sumera.
More than 20 workers suffered injuries due to the fire and resultant blasts, he added.
"The condition of nine workers is serious and they are admitted in intensive care units of the hospital," the collector said.
All the 50-odd workers who were on the premises when the fire broke out have been accounted for and no one is missing, he further said.
The fire has been almost doused, Sumera said, adding, "We will be in a position to provide the exact figure of casualties once the flames are brought under complete control."
The presence of chemicals made the dousing operation more time-consuming, the official said. -- PTI
Representational image
22:19 1 killed, 3 hurt in terror attack on J-K wine shop
One person died and three others were injured on Tuesday when terrorists hurled a grenade on a newly opened wine shop in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
The terrorists lobbed the grenade towards the wine shop at the court road around 8.30 pm, leaving four people injured, the officials said.
They said the injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment where one of them succumbed.
A police spokesman said all the four were employees of the shop and hailed from the Jammu division.
"Terrorists lobbed a hand grenade inside a newly opened wine shop in Baramulla. O4 employees got injured. One among them succumbed to his injuries. All are from Jammu division. Area cordoned and search started to nab culprits," the spokesman tweeted. -- PTI
21:55 Runway excursion in MP: DGCA suspends licenses of 2 Alliance Air pilots
Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday said it has suspended the licenses of two Alliance Air's pilots whose actions led to their plane overshooting the runway while landing at the Jabalpur airport on March 12.
In a statement, the regulator said the two pilots were operating an ATR-72 aircraft from Delhi to Jabalpur on March 12.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said its probe found that during landing at the Jabalpur airport, the aircraft floated for a long period and touched down approximately 900 metres after the aiming point (touchdown point).
"The decision of pilot flying to continue in spite of long float resulted into long landing and subsequently runway excursion. Pilot not flying did not call out for go-around despite of prolonged flare," the regulator said.
A "go-around" is done when a pilot feels that the aircraft does not have a stabilised approach just before landing.
In the statement, the DGCA said the above "action or inaction" of the crew jeopardized the safety of the aircraft and its occupants and was in violation the Aircraft Rules 1937 and civil aviation requirement.
"The privileges of the licenses held by both the operating crew have been suspended for a period of one year," it mentioned. -- PTI
21:24 Colonel Dharamvir, the lion of Longewala, passes away
Colonel Dharamvir, the hero of the Battle of Longewala in the 1971 war with Pakistan, passed away on Monday in Gurugram.
He had commanded 23 Punjab between 1992 and 94.
His role in the movie Border based in the Battle of Longewala was portrayed by actor Akshaye Khanna.
Colonel Dharamvir was a young officer during the 1971 war. During a border patrol on December 4 from Longewala post, he heard the sound of Pakistani tanks moving towards India and alerted his seniors.
The Indian Army and Air Force took necessary measures after receiving the crucial information.
He had said in an interview that only 20 to 22 Indian jawans were there at the border post and they kept the Pak army occupied for the night. They got help from the IAF in the morning.
Also read: The Hero of the Battle of Longewala
Representational image
21:16 Mumbai reports 158 coronavirus infections, no death
Mumbai on Tuesday reported 158 new coronavirus infections, more than double the previous day's rise, but no fatalities on account of the pandemic, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said.
India's financial capital had recorded 74 new COVID-19 cases on Monday.
Mumbai has logged a three-digit rise in cases on 13 days this month so far, but only three deaths.
The city's caseload reached 10,61,846, while death toll remained the same at 19,566.
With 8,723 tests conducted in the last 24 hours, the total of coronavirus tests conducted so far increased to 1,70,24,941.
Of 158 new COVID-19 patients, only five were symptomatic and admitted to hospital, and only one of them was put on oxygen support, the BMC bulletin said.
Only 25 out of 24,944 hospital beds earmarked for virus patients are occupied in the city.
The number of recovered patients jumped to 10, 41,348 with 122 patients being discharged from the hospitals on Tuesday.
Mumbai has a recovery rate of 98 per cent, as per the bulletin.
The city is left with 932 active COVID-19 patients now. -- PTI
Representational image
20:54 Plea in court against prayers at Mathura mosque
A group of lawyers and law students has filed a plea in a court in Mathura demanding that Muslims be restrained from offering prayers at the Shahi Idgah mosque, which they said has been built at the place believed to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna.
Ten separate petitions have earlier been filed in Mathura courts by different Hindu groups seeking the removal of the mosque, which they claimed was built at the birthplace of the deity, within the 13.37-acre premises of the Katra Keshav Dev temple.
The fresh plea said a majority of the Hindu community believes that Lord Krishna was born at the place where the mosque stands.
Advocate Shailendra Singh, one of the petitioners, also claimed that the mosque was built at the place where once a temple stood.
"Since the structure has been constructed on the remains of a Hindu temple, it is akin to a temple and does not qualify the merit of a mosque," he said.
They have approached the court with a plea seeking "permanent injunction" on the use of the structure by the Muslim community, he said. -- PTI
Representational image
20:52 One lakh students apply for ISRO's residential training programme
Around one lakh students from across the country applied for a residential training programme of Indian Space Research Organisation of which 150 were selected, the space agency said on Tuesday.
The 'YUva VIgyani KAryakram' is being conducted by ISRO from May 16 to May 28.
ISRO said 150 students were selected from all the states and Union territories of the country.
The training is organised at five centres of ISRO -- Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, UR Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad, and North Eastern Space Applications Centre, Shillong.
The programme includes classroom lectures, hands-on activities, interaction with eminent scientists, lab/facility visits, sky gazing, robotic assembly, and 'Cansat' experiments, according to an ISRO statement.
All the students will be taken to SDSC SHAR -- Sriharikota, the space port of India, for a visit and face-to-face interaction with ISRO chairman S Somanath, it was stated.
"Around one lakh students applied for the programme. Finally, 150 students were selected based on the academic scores and achievements in other co-curricular activities", ISRO said. Somanath inaugurated YUVIKA-2022 in a virtual event on Monday.
Addressing the gathering, Somanath urged the students to fully utilise the opportunity to interact with the senior scientists and technocrats whom they are going to meet in the next two weeks.
He also explained to the students about the vast opportunities and domains like engineering, astrophysics, astrobiology, mathematics, material science, chemistry, and computer science which actually are integral part of space technology "but not known to people." -- PTI
20:41 Naveen Srivastava appointed India's envoy to Nepal
Seasoned diplomat Naveen Srivastava was on Tuesday appointed India's new ambassador to Nepal.
The ministry of external affairs announced the appointment a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Lumbini in Nepal.
Srivastava, a 1993 batch Indian Foreign Service, is currently serving as additional secretary in the MEA.
Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who became foreign secretary over two weeks ago, was serving as India's envoy to Nepal before his appointment.
"Naveen Srivastava, presently Additional Secretary in the ministry, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Nepal. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly," the MEA said in a brief statement.
In his capacity as additional secretary in the east Asia division, Srivastava headed the Indian delegation in several rounds of diplomatic talks in the virtual format with China on the eastern Ladakh border row.
He was also part of the Indian delegation in a few rounds of military talks between the two side on the border row.
Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old "Roti Beti" relationship. -- PTI
20:08 IPL 2022: MI vs SRH: Who Will Win?
MI has won 3 of 12 games played. SRH has won 5 of 12 games played. So, who will win today? Take our poll, here.
20:06 HC slaps fine on ex-CBI chief in Twitter case
The Delhi high court Tuesday imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on former interim director of Central Bureau of Investigation M Nageswara Rao challenging the action of Twitter to remove his verification tag, blue tick, from the microblogging website account.
Justice Yashwant Varma noted that on April 7 also, a plea with similar prayers was disposed of by the court by giving liberty to Rao to re-apply for a verification tag.
"This court takes note that there was absolutely no justification which warranted the writ petition to be filed bearing in mind that the earlier writ petition was disposed of on April 7," the court said.
On April 7, the court granted liberty to Rao to pursue appropriate remedies in case any adverse decision is made by Twitter.
The plea said that in pursuance of the court's order, he reapplied for the verification tag, however, the verification tag attached to his Twitter handle was not re-instated till date after which he filed the fresh petition.
The court said Twitter must be recognised to have at least taken a reasonable time to decide on the representation.
"The petition is thus dismissed with Rs 10,000 costs," the court said. Rao, a retired IPS officer, said his account on Twitter did contain a blue tick but the same was removed in March 2022. -- PTI
19:47 Sensex top gainers
The 30-share BSE benchmark zoomed 1,344.63 points or 2.54 per cent to settle at over one-week high of 54,318.47 points with all of its constituents closing with gains.
Among Sensex stocks, Tata Steel emerged as lead gainer, rising by 7.62 per cent.
The most valuable company Reliance zoomed 4.26 per cent, helping Sensex to close at over one-week high.
Among others, Infosys, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance, SBI and Maruti also added to the rally.
19:38 Rupee recovers from record lows to end 11 paise higher against dollar
The rupee on Tuesday hit its life-time intra day low of 77.79 before closing 11 paise higher against the US currency on a stellar rally in the domestic stock markets and a pullback in the dollar.
After opening lower at 77.67, the local unit plunged further to its life-time intra-day low of 77.79 due to a spike in crude oil prices and disappointing macroeconomic data.
However, a strong rally in the domestic equities helped the rupee rebound and close at 77.44, showing net gains of 11 paise over the last close of 77.55.
The forex market was closed on Monday on account of Buddha Purnima.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.41 per cent to 103.75.
The US dollar has eased around 1.5 per cent from the last week's two-decade high levels. -- PTI
19:32 Student chokes Indian American in Texas school
Shaan Pritmani, an Indian American student, was assaulted and "choked for over four minutes" by a white student at Coppell Middle School in Texas.
A video has been shot by classmates of the student being bullied and shared online.
It shows one student approaching the Indian American boy who is sitting on a bench and demanding that he stand up. When he refuses to give up his seat, the American student gets angry and starts choking him.
He presses the boy's neck from behind with his elbow before choking him and pushing him against his seat.
"Disturbing footage of Shaan Pritmani, a middle school student, being assaulted and choked for over four minutes by a white student. The incident took place in a suburb of Dallas, Coppell Middle School. Shaan received three days of suspension while the assaulter received one day," the North American Association of Indian Students said in a tweet (see pic alongside).
The incident has sparked anger and criticism on social media.
The incident reportedly took place on May 11.
The official Twitter handle of an advocate named Ravi Karkara wrote: "On Wednesday, May 11th, during lunch, Shaan Pritmani was physically attacked and choked by another student at his middle school."
In the video, Shaan is seen sitting at the lunch table while the other student asks him to vacate the seat. "No, I'm not getting up. There is literally no one sitting here," Shaan could be heard saying.
-- ANI
19:15 163 BEST mini buses stay off roads in Mumbai due to flash strike
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking on Tuesday said at least 163 of 275 mini buses stayed off roads due to a flash strike called by the contractor's staff over non-payment of salaries.
This is the second flash agitation by the contractor's drivers in less than a month, inconveniencing scores of passengers.
Earlier on April 22, several of 275 mini buses stayed off roads owing to the flash strike of drivers over delayed salaries.
Of the 275 mini buses of MP Group, only 112 were operated due to the agitation of employees, BEST spokesperson Manoj Varade said.
"To prevent any inconvenience to passengers, the BEST operated its own buses from other depots," Varade said, adding that 94 extra buses were plied during the day.
According to the BEST, it operates mini buses from Colaba, Wadala, Bandra, Kurla and Vikhroli depots, and of these, the operations at Bandra, Vikhroli and Kurla depots were badly affected, as only two, five and 11 mini buses respectively could be plied during the day. -- PTI
19:06 K'taka warns Hindu groups over Tipu mosque prayer
Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra on Tuesday warned a Hindu group not to challenge law and order following their claim that the Masjid-e-Ala at Srirangapatna in Mandya district was a Hanuman temple and they should be allowed to worship there.
A fringe group called 'Narendra Modi Vichar Manch' recently approached the Mandya deputy commissioner on May 13 claiming that the Masjid-e-Ala was 'Moodala Bagilu Anjaneya Swami temple', which the 18th century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan had destroyed and built a mosque over it.
The group led by CT Manjunath, secretary, demanded that Hindus should be allowed to perform prayers to Hanuman inside the mosque.
Reacting to the incident, Jnanendra said he was aware of the development. And called upon people not to challenge law and order to resolve the dispute on their own.
"If anyone challenges law and order then they will be dealt with accordingly. Hence, everyone should live harmoniously. We will go by the court order," he added.
In his petition to the deputy commissioner of Mandya, Manjunath said many historians have documented the existence of Moodala Bagilu Anjaneya Swami Temple, which Tipu Sultan had allegedly destroyed during his regime and converted into a mosque.
"The Mysuru Gazzettier by Luis Rice, the proceedings of the royal court, the life of Maharaja, Tareekh-e-Tipu and Hyder-e-Nishani and the letter written by Tipu to the Khalifa of Persia to prove our point." -- PTI
Representational image
18:56 Budding Kannada actor dies as cosmetic surgery allegedly goes awry
A promising young television actor died after undergoing plastic surgery at a city facility here, police said on Tuesday, with the victim's family alleging medical negligence over the 'fat-free' procedure she underwent at the cosmetic centre.
Chethana Raj (21), who is said to have had a promising career, had made a mark in daily soap operas such as Doresani and Geetha.
She was admitted to Dr Shetty's Cosmetic Centre on Monday for a plastic surgery.
While undergoing the 'fat-free surgery' in the hospital, things went wrong during operation after anesthesia, police said.
As she suffered a cardiac arrest, anesthetist Dr Melvin rushed her to the Kaade Hospital.
According to a complaint lodged by Dr Sandeep V, the ICU intensivist at the Kaade Hospital, Dr Melvin rushed her to the hospital and 'threatened' everyone to treat her the way he was directing.
He also stated there was no pulse on the victim and tried CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) for 45 minutes to revive her but there was no response. He suspected she was brought dead.
"We strongly object to this kind of behaviour by these doctors and if necessary we may decide to file a report against them. This report is sent to you to bring to your notice that this incident does not appear normal," Dr Sandeep said in his complaint.
There was no immediate response from Dr Shetty's Cosmetic Centre despite repeated calls and messages. -- PTI
Representational image
18:14 RFID, Rs 5 lakh insurance for Amarnath pilgrims
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held three back-to-back meetings with top officials of the security establishment to assess the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, including the recent killings of civilians as well as reviewed arrangements for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra for which the UT administration will provide RFID tags to every pilgrim.
While Lt Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha was present in all the three meetings, national security advisor Ajit Doval and Army chief Gen Manoj Pande attended the meetings to discuss the security situation in the UT.
Senior officials from the centre, para-military forces and the UT administration were also in these meetings.
Later in a statement, the Union home ministry said the J-K chief secretary informed the meeting that each pilgrim will be provided with a Radio Frequency Identification Card and will be insured with Rs 5 lakh.
Shah said a 'hassle-free' journey for the pilgrims is a priority of the Modi government and directed that all arrangements, including additional electricity, water, and telecom facilities be made.
The home minister also stressed for enhancement of mobile connectivity along the Yatra route as he directed that earth moving equipment should be placed at vantage points to clear the route in case of landslides.
This is the first Yatra after the COVID-19 pandemic, and due to the high altitude, adequate arrangements will have to be made for yatris who have any health-related problems, he said.
18:11 Fire at chemical factory in Bharch district, six injured
At least six workers were injured after a major fire broke out in a chemical factory at Dahej in Gujarat's Bharuch district on Tuesday, the police said.
The fire broke out at Bharat Rasayan's unit and rescue operation was underway, said superintendent of police Leena Patil.
Six workers have been taken to a hospital in Bharuch city, she added.
District collector Tushar Sumera said fire fighting was still underway.
"The picture will become clear once the fire is doused and rescue teams enter the premises," he said.
The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, officials said. -- PTI
18:03 MNREGA worker's body found in drain in Rajasthan; kin allege rape and murder
The body of a 45-year-old woman was found in a dry drain of a village in Rajasthan's Baran district, the police said on Tuesday.
The police suspected that the woman, whose body was discovered late Monday evening, had died after falling into the drain while crossing it on Sunday evening.
However, the family of the woman, an MNREGA worker, alleged on Tuesday that she was raped and murdered.
They also held a demonstration demanding justice and compensation and blocked roads in the area on Tuesday, deputy superintendent of police Pooja Nagar said.
The family members of the woman, who was also mentally challenged, had lodged a "missing person report' on Monday after she failed to return home on Sunday, SHO Ravinder Singh of Chipabarod police station said.
After the discovery of the body, the police sent it for the post-mortem, which was done on Tuesday morning, he said, adding it was then handed over to the family.
The police suspected that the woman had fallen into the drain while crossing it on Sunday evening and died on the spot.
The woman had no injury mark or the signs of any assault, the SHO said.
DSP Nagar said the victim's family members made no allegations immediately after the discovery of the body but they blocked a road for some time demanding compensation.
She said they, however, withdrew the agitation after the police assured them of a fair investigation in the case besides the compensation according to the government rules, she added.
A case has been lodged under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, she said, adding the reason for death will be known only after the post-mortem report is received. -- PTI
17:34 Investors richer by Rs 12 lakh cr amid mkt surge
Equity investors became richer by over Rs 12 lakh crore on Tuesday, helped by a smart rally in the broader market. The 30-share BSE benchmark zoomed 1,344.63 points or 2.54 per cent to settle at 54,318.47 points with all of its constituents closing in the green.
Tracking the sharp rally in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms jumped Rs 12,05,523.65 crore to Rs 2,55,55,447.68 crore. "Markets witnessed a sharp rebound and gained over 2.5 per cent, thanks to favourable cues.
The benchmark opened higher led by supportive Asian markets as China eased lockdown restrictions. As the day progressed, healthy buying across sectors and short-covering supported the market to maintain its momentum.
17:34 Gyanvapi case: Court removes advocate commissioner
A Varanasi court, which had ordered the videography survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex, Tuesday removed advocate commissioner Ajay Mishra on grounds of non-cooperation, an official said.
The court also gave two more days to the commission to submit the survey report. "Ajay Mishra, the advocate commissioner has been removed by the court," assistant advocate commissioner Ajay Pratap Singh told PTI. Singh further said Mishra was removed on the grounds of non-cooperation.
File pic
17:31 Orange alert in Kerala for 'very heavy rain'
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued an Orange alert in nine districts in Kerala for today while it issued the same for seven districts on Wednesday indicating heavy rainfall.
Even though the Red alert, which indicates extremely heavy rainfall, issued in the last few days at various districts has been withdrawn, various weather forecasting centres in the country have predicted isolated heavy rains across the state.
The IMD has issued an Orange alert today for the districts of Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod. However, for tomorrow, there is no Orange alert for Ernakulam and Idukki.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority on Tuesday said that the cyclonic circulation which was situated near Lakshadweep area has moved towards Kerala and predicted isolated heavy rains in some parts of the state.
The weatherman has said that squally weather with speed reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph is likely to prevail over Gulf of Mannar, Comorin area, along and off south Tamil Nadu coast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Southeast Arabian Sea, Andaman sea and adjoining southeast and East central Bay of Bengal. "Fishermen are advised not to venture into these sea areas," the IMD said. Kerala has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the past few days and it has disrupted normal life in certain places of the state. -- PTI
17:28 Mapped: Covid-19 numbers in India
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections fell below 2,000 after 28 days taking India's tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,31,25,370, while the active cases dipped to 16,400, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
17:15 CBI raids wrong, party stands behind Chidambaram: Cong
The Congress Tuesday put its weight behind party leader P Chidambaram, saying the CBI raids against him and his in connection with an 11-year-old case are "wrong" and aimed at diverting attention from the key issues of inflation and unemployment.
The party also said P Chidambaram is a nationalist and patriot whose commitment to the country is beyond question.
The CBI registered a fresh case against Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram to probe the allegation of facilitating visas of 250 Chinese nationals in lieu of Rs 50 lakh when his father P Chidambaram was Union home minister.
The agency also conducted coordinated searches at 10 locations in multiple cities including the Chidambarams' residences in Chennai and Delhi. Senior Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken told reporters at a press conference here that the "raids were wrong".
"The Congress party stands behind P Chidambaram. This is being done to divert the attention of people from the issue of rising inflation and unemployment," he told reporters.
"The issue is being raised 12 years later and Chidambaram has also raised questions on the timings of the raids," Maken said.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, "Mr P Chidambaram is a nationalist and a patriot, whose commitment to the country is unquestionable."
"To plant source-based preposterous allegations against a former Home Minister and Finance Minister by CBI reflects the lowest ebb in political discourse," Surjewala said on Twitter. -- PTI
17:11 Sri Lankans look towards India amid unprecedented economic crisis
As Sri Lanka continues to face a dearth of fuel across the country, the island nation is looking toward India for assistance in the face of the unprecedented economic crisis.
Sri Lanka is currently struggling with acute food and electricity shortages and the recession is attributed to foreign exchange shortages caused by a clampdown on tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country is unable to buy sufficient fuel and gas, while the people are being deprived of basic amenities as well. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in an address to the nation on Monday gave an account of the grave economic situation facing the island nation and said that the people need to be prepared to make sacrifices.
"The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives. We must prepare ourselves to make some sacrifices and face the challenges of this period," he said.
In a response to the Sri Lankan prime minister's announcement for 'No Fuel', Chairman of Sita Amman Temple in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, V Radhakrishnan said, "Our Prime Minister told the truth. However, he should also work on future plans to pull out Sri Lanka from the grave economic crisis that the country is currently facing." -- ANI
17:02 Flowers that heal
Anastasiia Lapatina, a journalist with the Kyiv Independent, tweets this image of hope: "Ivanka Siolkowsky came to Ukraine from Toronto to help turn destruction back into life -- shes been painting flowers on fences in Bucha that were shot at by the Russian army."
16:52 Gyanvapi filming: SC gives 2 days for report
Gyanvapi mosque case: Official leading the filming (survey) removed by Varanasi court. The panel of judges has given 2 days to submit the report in the case.
Assistant Court Commissioner Ajay Pratap Singh on Gyanvapi mosque report survey, "Court has granted two days time to submit the report. He (Advocate-Commissioner Ajay Kumar Mishra) was not cooperating."
The SC is hearing the plea of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, challenging the order of Varanasi court which ordered a videographic survey of the Gyanvapi Mosque complex, which is adjacent to the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi.
Senior advocate Ahmadi for the Masajid Committee says, "Premises cannot stay sealed and the orders are illegal. If premises are sealed, there is alteration of the status quo. Section 3 of the Places of Worship Act makes it clear that it can't be done."
16:30 260 Ukrainian soldiers evacuated from Mariupol
More than 260 Ukrainian soldiers have been evacuated from the Azovstal plant in the embattled city of Mariupol, the government-run news agency Ukrinform reported Tuesday, citing Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar.
Malyar said that 53 seriously wounded soldiers were evacuated from Azovstal to a healthcare facility in Novoazovsk for medical treatment, while 211 other troops were taken to the Olenivka through the humanitarian corridor.
Later, the Ukrainian soldiers will be exchanged for the captured Russians, Malyar said.
The operation to evacuate the Ukrainian military from the Azovstal steel plant is continuing, the press service of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Facebook.
Mariupol, a key Azov Sea port city in eastern Ukraine, saw one of the worst bouts of violence in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Azovstal plant, which covers an area of about 11 square km, is the holdout of the Ukrainian forces in Mariupol. -- ANI
Image: A view of a residential area destroyed by Russian bombing in Kharkiv. Pic: Ricardo Moraes/Reuters
16:13 Sensex zooms 1,345 pts to reclaim 54,000 mark
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty on Tuesday spurted by over 2.5 per cent to log their best single-day gains in three months, propelled by heavy buying in metal, energy and banking stocks amid a global rally in stocks.
The 30-share BSE benchmark zoomed 1,344.63 points or 2.54 per cent to settle at 54,318.47 points with all of its constituents closing with gains. During the day, it jumped 1,425.58 points or 2.69 per cent to 54,399.42. The broader NSE Nifty rallied 417 points or 2.63 per cent to finish at 16,259.30 points. All the 50 stocks advanced led by steel and energy stocks.
Both Sensex and Nifty logged their best single-day gain since February 15. Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Wipro, ICICI Bank, HCL Technologies and Maruti were the major gainers among Sensex stocks. -- PTI
Representational image
16:07 UK sounds monkeypox alert for gay/bisexual men
Gay and bisexual men are being urged to be alert to unusual rashes or lesions after four new cases of the monkeypox virus were confirmed by UK health authorities, taking the total number of infections in the country to seven since the first case emerged earlier this year.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Monday evening that all of the new cases, three in London and one in the north east of England, self-identify as gay, bisexual or other men who have sex with men (MSM).
There is no link to travel to a country where monkeypox is endemic, and exactly where and how they acquired their infections remains under "urgent investigation", including whether they have further links to each other, it said.
"We are particularly urging men who are gay and bisexual to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service without delay," said Dr Susan Hopkins, UKHSA Chief Medical Adviser.
"This is rare and unusual. UKHSA is rapidly investigating the source of these infections because the evidence suggests that there may be transmission of the monkeypox virus in the community, spread by close contact," she said, adding that potential close contacts of the seven known cases are being contacted to provide health information and advice.
Currently, common contacts between the cases have been identified for two of the four latest cases. Those patients needing medical care are all in specialist infectious disease units at the Royal Free Hospital, Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle upon Tyne and Guys' and St. Thomas' in London. The UKHSA said they all have the West African clade of the virus, which is mild compared to the Central African clade.
Due to the recent increase in cases and uncertainties around where some of these individuals acquired their infection, we are working closely with NHS [National Health Service] partners to identify if there may have been more cases in recent weeks, as well as international partners to understand if similar rises have been seen in other countries, the health agency said. Monkeypox is a viral infection usually associated with travel to West Africa.
It is usually a mild self-limiting illness, spread by very close contact with someone with monkeypox and most people recover within a few weeks. The virus does not spread easily between people and the risk to the UK population is low.
However, the most recent cases are in gay, bisexual and other MSM communities, and as the virus spreads through close contact, we are advising these groups to be alert to any unusual rashes or lesions on any part of their body, especially their genitalia, and to contact a sexual health service if they have concerns, the UKHSA said.
Initial symptoms of monkeypox include fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can develop, often beginning on the face, then spreading to other parts of the body including the genitals. The rash changes and goes through different stages, and can look like chickenpox or syphilis, before finally forming a scab, which later falls off. PTI
15:54 WPI inflation at record high of 15.08% in April
Wholesale price-based inflation spiked to a record high of 15.08 per cent in April on rising prices across segments from food to commodities. The WPI-based inflation was 14.55 per cent in March and 10.74 per cent in April last year.
"The high rate of inflation in April 2022 was primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, crude petroleum & natural gas, food articles, non-food articles, food products and chemicals & chemical products etc. as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year," the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement. -- PTI
15:39 Haridwar hate speech seer gets bail
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted three months of interim bail to Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi, formerly known as Wasim Rizvi, in connection with the investigation into the hate speeches at the Hardiwar Dharam Sansad held in December last year.
A bench headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi granting interim bail to Tyagi on medical grounds said he has to give an undertaking that he would not indulge in hate speech and not give any statement to electronic or digital or social media.
It asked Tyagi's counsel senior advocate Vikas Singh to advice his client not to indulge in hate speeches and harmony has to be maintained in the society.
The counsel appearing for the Uttarakhand government submitted that the maximum punishment for the offence under which Tyagi was booked has three years of punishment.
"The moment Tyagi comes out on bail he should not make a statement on hate speech again," the advocate said. "We have to maintain communal harmony at all costs. If he makes hate speech his bail should be cancelled automatically without notice. As regards his medical condition is concerned, it is stable. He has some cardiac problems," the counsel told the bench. -- ANI
15:28 SC extends deadline for demolition of Supertech towers
The Supreme Court on Monday extended till August 28 the deadline for demolition of Supertech's twin 40-storey towers in its Emerald project in Noida, which have been held as illegal for a violation of norms.
A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and PS Narasimha passed the order on an application filed by Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) seeking an extension of the timeline of May 22 by three months till August 28 after the agency appointed for demolition Edifice Engineering sought time.
Counsel appearing for IRP for Supertech said that after the test blast conducted by the Edifice Engineering it was found that the structure was stronger and stable than it was expected. -- PTI
14:53 '93 Bombay serial blasts: 29 years later 4 arrests
Gujarat ATS arrests four accused in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts case.
"We had detained the 4 on suspicion of fake passports. On a detailed probe, it was ascertained that they were wanted accused in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts. They were then arrested. Their original names are Abu Bakar, Yusuf Bhatka, Shoeb Baba, Sayyed Qureshi," Gujarat ATS DIG Deepan Bhadra said.
"They were trained in PoK for weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices. They had (recently) come back to India for passport modification which is when we received inputs and traced them."
The 1993 Bombay serial blasts took place on 12 March 1993. The single-day attacks of 12 blasts resulted in 257 fatalities and 1,400 injuries.
The attacks were coordinated by Dawood Ibrahim through his subordinates Tiger Memon and Yakub Memon.
14:44 Bicycle owners highest in West Bengal
In West Bengal, 78.9 per cent of the households have bicycles, the highest in the country, as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). While the national average is 50.4 percent, Uttar Pradesh holds the second rank with 75.6 per cent of the households owning a bicycle, it said.
In Odisha, 72.5 per cent of the households own a bicycle, while in Chattisgarh, the figure is 70.8 per cent. It is followed by Assam (70.3 per cent), Punjab (67.8 per cent), Jharkhand (66.3 per cent) and Bihar (64.8 per cent), said the 2019-21 report. Nagaland has the lowest number of households owning a bicycle at 5.5 per cent, while in Sikkim it is 5.9 per cent. Among other states, 29.9 per cent of Gujarat households own a bicycle, and in Delhi, it is 27.2 per cent, the report stated. A senior West Bengal government official said the top spot could be bagged because of the state government's 'Sabooj Sathi' scheme.
"As a part of the scheme, bicycles are given to students of classes 9 to 12. This is the primary reason why we have seen a surge in the number of bicycle users in West Bengal. This scheme is not only helping the students but also their families," the official said. "The bicycle is also the preferred mode of transportation for many in areas where there is a gap in public transport," he said.
"Not only in rural Bengal, bicycles are also preferred in areas such as New Town near Kolkata as it is environment friendly. There are separate bicycle lanes being built alongside roads in Salt Lake and New Town. There are plans to build such lanes in other cities as well," the official said.
Till May 11, 1,03,97,444 students have received bicycles in West Bengal under the 'Sabooj Sathi' scheme. PTI
14:22 Musk: Twitter deal will go through only if...
Elon Musk said on Tuesday his $44 billion offer would not move forward until Twitter Inc shows proof that spam bots account for less than 5% of its total users. This comes hours after he suggested he could seek a lower price for the company.
"My offer was based on Twitter's SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter's CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5% (spam accounts). This deal cannot move forward until he does," Musk said in a tweet.
Kim Kardashian in Marilyn Monroe's gown
14:07 Big mistake: Designer on Kim Kardashian's Monroe dress
Kim Kardashian's decision to wear Marilyn Monroe's iconic 1962 Jean Louis gown for Met Gala had already divided fashion pundits and now fashion designer Bob Mackie, who drew the sketch for the original dress, has weighed in on the topic.
Monroe famously sang Happy Birthday to President John F Kennedy in the dress.
Fashion historians believe that the gown is a part of the movie costume history and should be preserved as such, while Kardashian's fans have hailed the socialite for her nod to the movie icon. "I thought it was a big mistake," Mackie told EW, while previewing the new Turner Classic Movies' fashion on film series Follow the Thread.
Mackie drew the sketch for the original gown in his early career working as an assistant to Jean Louis. He was only 23 when he did the sketch for the gown without an inkling about its history making future.
"(Marilyn) was a goddess. A crazy goddess, but a goddess. She was just fabulous. Nobody photographs like that. And it was done for her. It was designed for her. Nobody else should be seen in that dress," he said.
Mackie also echoed historians' concerns that wearing the gown was damaging to its preservation and structural integrity. TCM host Alicia Malone, who spoke with Mackie as part of the network's forthcoming Follow the Thread also raised similar concerns.
"There are all the issues with the actual preservation of the dress and things like oxygen can affect a dress. Usually, these outfits are kept very much in controlled environments and we see that with the Met. The Costume Institute is so careful about how they are handling these historic items. So, it was quite alarming that she was able to wear it. I personally wish she wore a replica instead of the real thing," Malone said.
Kardashian, 41, has gone on record to say that she went on a crash diet to lose 16 pounds within three weeks to fit into the 60-year-old dress, which has been on display in Orlando, Florida, at Ripley's Believe It or Not!.
She also dyed her hair blonde in a nod to the movie legend. According to a report in People magazine, the dress originally cost USD 12,000 and was reportedly so tight that Monroe, 36, had to be sewn into it prior to her performance for President Kennedy on May 19, 1962 at a Madison Square Garden fundraiser, just three months before her death. -- PTI
14:01 SL Prez survives no-confidence motion in Parl
Sri Lankan Parliament defeats no-confidence motion tabled by Opposition against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The motion by Opposition Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M A Sumanthiran to suspend Parliament's standing orders in order to debate an expression of displeasure over President Rajapaksa was defeated with 119 MPs voting against it, the Economy Next newspaper reported. Only 68 MPs voted in favour of the motion, it said.
With the motion, the Opposition sought to demonstrate how nationwide calls for President Rajapaksa's resignation is reflected in the country's legislature, the report said
The economic situation led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with the former finally succumbing to public pressure and resigning on Monday, soon after the protests outside the Prime Minister's residence turned violent. -- PTI
13:22 Marital rape: Plea filed in SC against HC verdict
An appeal has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi high court's split verdict on the issue of criminalisation of marital rape on a batch of petitions challenging the exception in the law that exempts husbands from being prosecuted for non-consensual sexual intercourse with their wives.
The appeal has been filed by Khushboo Saifi, one of the petitioners before the high court.
The high court on May 11 had delivered a split verdict on the issue.
However, both the judges --Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice C Hari Shankar--on the bench concurred with each other for granting a certificate of leave to appeal to the Supreme Court in the matter as it involves substantial questions of law which requires a decision from the top court.
While Justice Shakdher, who headed the division bench, favoured striking down the marital rape exception for being "unconstitutional" and said it would be "tragic if a married woman's call for justice is not heard even after 162 years" since the enactment of the IPC, Justice Shankar said the exception under the rape law is not "unconstitutional and was based on an intelligible differentia".
The petitioners had challenged the constitutionality of the marital rape exception under Section 375 IPC (rape) on grounds that it discriminated against married women who are sexually assaulted by their husbands.
Under the exception given in Section 375 of the IPC, sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being minor, is not rape.
The bench delivered a 393-page split verdict in the matter.
Justice Shakdher, in the 192 pages penned by him, regretted that he was not able to persuade Justice Shankar to his point of view and said he, perhaps, hears a beat of a different drummer. I respect that.
Justice Shankar, who gave dissenting views in 200 pages written by him, said the challenge to the vires of the second exception to Section 375 and Section 376B of the IPC and Section 198B of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as raised in these petitions, must fail.
13:01 Rajnath launches 2 indigenously built warships
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched two indigenously built warships 'Surat' and 'Udaygiri' at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai.
This is the first time that the two indigenously built warships have been launched concurrently, the Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) said. The MDL is a premier ship and submarine building defence public sector undertaking.
'Surat' is the fourth ship of Project 15B Destroyers, which heralds a significant makeover of the P15A (Kolkata Class) destroyers, and is named after the commercial capital of Gujarat and also the second largest commercial hub of western India after Mumbai, the Navy said.
The Project 15B class of ships are the Navy's next generation stealth guided missile destroyers being built at the MDL.
'Udaygiri', named after a mountain range in Andhra Pradesh, is the third ship of Project 17A Frigates. It is a follow on of the P17 Frigates (Shivalik Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems, the Navy said.
The new warship is the reincarnation of the erstwhile 'Udaygiri', the Leander Class ASW Frigate, which saw numerous challenging operations in its illustrious service to the country, spanning over three decades from February 1976 to August 2007, it added. PTI
Sri Lankas wait to buy kerosene
12:54 Ramayana's 'Ashok Vatika' in Lanka faces financial crunch
Amid the ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka, Ashok Vatika of the Ramayana fame located in Nuwara Eliya of the island nation, which is also known as Sita Amman Temple, is facing the financial crunch.
The temple management is facing a lot of difficulty amid the economic meltdown. Temple chairman and Nuwara Eliya Member of Parliament, V Radhakrishnan expressed very serious concern that the temple and its staff are facing a tough time to run the Sita Mata Temple, in an exclusive interview with ANI.
"Ashok Vatika played an important role in Ramayana, and many devotees from India especially from North India come here but no one is coming now. It's tough to run the temple while its development is dependent on devotees and tourists. Staff is also facing problems," V Radhakrishnan, Chairman of Sita temple told ANI.
"Tourists are afraid to visit Sri Lanka right now," he further added.
It is mentioned in Ramayana how Ravana brought Sita and kept her in Ashoka Vatika.
The economic condition is deteriorating in Sri Lanka with shortages of basic necessities, including medicines, cooking gas, fuel and food, because of a shortage of hard currency to pay for imports.
Pramod, a tour guide, having experience of more than 10 years said that he has had no income for so long.
"I have never seen Sita temple empty before. People used to offer prayers here every time but now no devotees come here. People are afraid to come because Sri Lanka is suffering from huge power cuts, there is no diesel-petrol and gas," he told ANI.
According to reports, business in Sri Lankan has come to a standstill as hotels, restaurants. A local told ANI, "Sri Lanka has many places to explore, including the sea, beaches and the history of Ramayana, but people are not coming now because of the crisis." -- ANI
12:47 CBI team found nothing: P Chidambaram
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Tuesday said a CBI team searched his residence in Chennai as well as his official residence in Delhi but "found nothing and seized nothing".
The former Union minister also said the "timing of the search is interesting".
In a statement, Chidambaram said this morning, a CBI team searched his residence in Chennai and his official residence in New Delhi.
"The team showed me an FIR in which I am not named as an accused. The search team found nothing and seized nothing," he said. "I may point out that the timing of the search is interesting," he added.
The CBI has filed a fresh case against Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram, son of P Chidambaram, for allegedly facilitating visas of 250 Chinese nationals after receiving illegal gratification of Rs 50 lakh in 2011, officials said on Tuesday.
The agency on Tuesday morning started coordinated search operations at 10 locations in multiple cities in the country, including Karti Chidambaram's residences in Chennai and Delhi, they said.
A CBI team also visited the official residence of Karti Chidambaram and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram at Lodhi Estate in Delhi, the officials said. PTI
12:33 Teacher climbs tree to get mobile network
And the ground reality of India's mobile network connectivity: Subrata Pati, who is in Ahanda village in West Bengal's Bankura district, climbs atop a neem tree each day to receive uninterrupted signal on his cell phone, which he uses to teach his pupils with. Read the report here.
12:30 India aims for 6G telecom network in 8 years: PM
India is targeting the rollout of 6G telecom network, which will provide ultra high speed internet connectivity, by the end of the decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday.
India currently has 3G and 4G telecom networks and companies are gearing up to launch 5G over the next few months.
Speaking at the silver jubilee event of telecom sector regulator TRAI in New Delhi, he said it is estimated that the 5G network rollout will add USD 450 billion to the Indian economy.
"This is not just increasing internet speed but also the pace of development and creating jobs," he said, adding the 5G technology will bring positive change in governance of the country, ease of living and ease of doing business. It will boost growth in agriculture, health, education, infrastructure and logistics," he said.
Connectivity, Modi said, will decide the progress of the country in the 21st century and so modern day infrastructure needs to be rolled out. According to the prime minister, a task force has started work on rolling out 6G network by the end of the decade.
Taking potshots at the previous Congress-led UPA government, Modi said the 2G era was symbolic of policy paralysis and corruption. The country, under his government, has moved transparently to 4G and is now going to 5G.
Teledensity and internet users are fast expanding, he said, adding that mobile manufacturing units in India have expanded from 2 to over 200 and the country is now the world's biggest mobile manufacturing hub.
The prime minister also said that his government has encouraged healthy competition that has led to India having one of the cheapest telecom data charges in the world. Indigenous 5G test bed in telecom sector is an important step in India's self-reliance, he added. PTI
Representational image
11:59 Idol near dargah: Prohibitory orders in MP city
Prohibitory orders were imposed in a part of Neemuch city after a dispute between two groups over the installation of an idol near a dargah here in Madhya Pradesh, which led to tension in the area, officials said.
The two groups on Monday night indulged in arguments and pelted each other with stones, following which the police lobbed teargas shells to disperse them, they said.
Later, Additional District Magistrate Neha Meena ordered the imposition of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) Section 144 (prohibiting gathering of five or more people) in the Neemuch city police station limits.
Four cases were registered and nine people rounded-up so far, Neemuch's Superintendent of Police Suraj Kumar Verma told reporters, adding that a police officer suffered knee injury in the incident.
He said some people placed an idol (of Lord Hanuman) near the dargah, which led to an argument between the two groups gathered at the spot, falling under the Neemuch city police station area.
The police then told members of the two groups to come to the police control room for a discussion, but some people allegedly started hurling stones, damaging some motorcycles, the official said.
There was no report so far of injury to any citizen in the incident, he said. Later, adequate police force was deployed in the area and residents were asked to stay at home, he said. The official said members of the two groups gathered at the spot as it is a mixed population area.
The police lobbed teargas shells to disperse the crowd, he said.
The official also said that the police will examine the CCTV footage of the area and take action against those involved in stone-pelting. Asked if any religious place was damaged in the incident, he said the area's videography was being done to ascertain it. PTI
11:39 1.48 million N Koreans suffering from fever
The number of persons suffering from fever in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) or North Korea, has reached 1.48 million on Monday with around 269,000 more cases of fever, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Tuesday.
Some 170,460 recovered and six died, the KCNA reported, citing the state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters.
Since the outbreak of the fever in the country in late April, more than 819,000 fevered persons have recovered and more than 663,900 are under medical treatment, with the death toll reaching 56, the report added.
In another report on Tuesday, the KCNA said urgent measures have been taken to ensure the supply of medicines and the military medical forces of the People's Army were deployed on Monday to all pharmacies in Pyongyang and began to supply medicines under the 24-hour service system to the patients.
The central emergency epidemic prevention sector has made efforts to curb and root out the spread of the epidemic so as to prevent re-infection among those who had recovered from the disease, it said.
At the same time, pharmaceutical factories and medical appliances factories across the country have increased their production of medicines and medical supplies in urgent need, it added.
Pyongyang announced the country's first Covid case on Thursday, and declared a nationwide lockdown. -- ANI
11:20 Russia bombed more than 1,000 schools in Ukraine
Ukraine updates:
-- The Ukrainian government says Russia has shelled more than 1,000 schools, destroying 95. The International Criminal Court, prosecutors from across the globe and Ukraine's prosecutor general are investigating more than 8,000 reports of potential war crimes in Ukraine involving 500 suspects. Many are accused of aiming deliberately at civilian structures like hospitals, shelters and residential neighbourhoods.
-- The Ukrainian government says Russia has shelled more than 1,000 schools, destroying 95. The International Criminal Court, prosecutors from across the globe and Ukraine's prosecutor general are investigating more than 8,000 reports of potential war crimes in Ukraine involving 500 suspects. Many are accused of aiming deliberately at civilian structures like hospitals, shelters and residential neighbourhoods.
The western Ukrainian city of Lviv has been rocked by number of very loud explosions.
An Associated Press team in the city witnessed the glare of bright explosions which lit up the night sky to the west of the city shortly after midnight local time.
-- The head of the world's largest humanitarian network said Monday that Europe's speedy acceptance of millions of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's aggression demonstrates its 'double standard' in dealing with people fleeing violence in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere who cross the Mediterannean Sea and are not welcomed.
-- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the evacuation of the fighters from Azovstal to separatist-controlled territory saved their lives.
More than 260 Ukrainian fighters, including some who are badly wounded, were evacuated Monday from a steel plant in the ruined city of Mariupol and taken to areas under Russia's control, according to a Ukrainian military said.
10:58 Twitter staff 'hate, hate. hate' Musk takeover
Twitter does not believe in free speech and people working at the company hate 'hated' Elon Musk's USD 44 billion bid to take control of the company, said a man, who is being described as a senior engineer with the social media giant.
An American far-right activist group Project Veritas released a video purportedly showing a senior Twitter engineer Siru Murugesan admitting that the company has a strong left-wing bias, and that right-wingers were openly censored.
Murugesan was caught on camera saying that the company culture at Twitter is extremely far left, and said his colleagues 'hate, hate, hate' the proposed takeover by the Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
According to Murugesan, Twitter's office politics was so left-leaning that the people working at the micro-blogging site have changed their original views to adjust to the prevailing atmosphere.
Twitter recently agreed to an acquisition by Tesla CEO in a deal worth USD 44 billion, although it is still subject to shareholder approval. However, Elon Musk declared that the USD 44 billion takeover bid of the micro-blogging site is on hold.
Musk himself has frequently complained about a left-wing bias on Twitter. He had said Twitter's decision to ban former US President Donald Trump was a mistake and he would reverse it if his acquisition of the social media company is successful. -- ANI
10:53 PM to launch 5G Test Bed project today
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a programme marking silver jubilee celebrations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today via video conferencing.
The Prime Minister will also release a postal stamp to commemorate the occasion.
During the programme, Prime Minister will also launch a 5G Test Bed, developed as a multi-institute collaborative project by a total of eight institutes led by IIT Madras.
The other institutes that participated in the project include IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT).According to the Prime Minister's Office, the project has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 220 crore.
The Test Bed will enable a supportive ecosystem for Indian industry and startups which will help them validate their products, prototypes, solutions and algorithms in 5G and next-generation technologies.
TRAI was established in 1997 through the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997. -- ANI
10:28 US hopes India will reconsider wheat exports curb
US Ambassador to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Tuesday said that they hope to convince India to reconsider its decision to limit exports of wheat due to possible shortages in future amid excessive heat in the Indian subcontinent.
The Centre last week amended the country's export policy of wheat by putting its export under the "prohibited" category.
The order that was rolled out by the Ministry of Commerce stated that the government has banned the wheat exports with "immediate effect". Speaking at a press briefing in New York on Global Food Security, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said that they have seen the report on India's decision and that they are ensuring India reconsiders its decision.
"We're encouraging countries not to restrict exports because we think any restrictions on exports will exacerbate the food shortages. But you've - again, India will be one of the countries participating in our meeting at the Security Council, and we hope that they can, as they hear the concerns being raised by other countries, that they would reconsider that position," she said on India prohibiting wheat export.
India on Saturday made its position clear saying that decision to restrict wheat exports will control food prices and strengthen the food security of the country and countries facing a deficit. -- ANI
10:17 India's biggest IPO: LIC lists at Rs 867.20/share
The country's largest insurer LIC on Tuesday listed its shares at a discount of 8.11 per cent at Rs 872 per share on the NSE. On the BSE, the shares got listed at Rs 867.20 apiece, down 8.62 per cent over the issue price of Rs 949 a share.
LIC had fixed the issue price of its shares at Rs 949 apiece after a successful initial public offering, which fetched Rs 20,557 crore to the government.
LIC policyholders and retail investors have got the shares at a price of Rs 889 and Rs 904 apiece, respectively, after taking into account the discount offered. The shares got listed on the BSE and NSE on Tuesday at a discount of Rs 81.80 and Rs 77 apiece, respectively, over its issue price of Rs 949 a share. The government sold over 22.13 crore shares or a 3.5 per cent stake in LIC through the IPO.
The price band of the issue was Rs 902-949 a share. However, shares were allocated to investors on May 12 at the upper end of the price band. The LIC IPO -- India's largest to date -- closed with nearly 3 times subscription, predominantly lapped up by retail and institutional buyers, but foreign investor participation remained muted.
So far, the amount mobilised from the Paytm IPO in 2021 was the largest ever at Rs 18,300 crore, followed by Coal India (2010) at nearly Rs 15,500 crore and Reliance Power (2008) at Rs 11,700 crore. PTI
10:06 Active Covid cases in India dip to 16,400
The daily rise in new coronavirus infections fell below 2,000 after 28 days taking India's tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,31,25,370, while the active cases dipped to 16,400, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.
A total of 1,579 new Covid cases were reported in a span of 24 hours and the death toll climbed to 5,24,260 with 19 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.
The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said. A decrease of 917 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.44 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.59 per cent, according to the ministry.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,25,84,710, while the case fatality rate was 1.22 per cent. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 191.48 crore. -- PTI
09:59 Sensex climbs inches up in early trade
Benchmark indices continued to rise on Tuesday, with the Sensex jumping 363 points in early trade, tracking gains in Asian markets and buying in index major Reliance Industries.
The 30-share BSE benchmark was trading 362.9 points higher at 53,336.74 points. The broader NSE Nifty gained 122.25 points to 15,964.55 points. Among the Sensex firms, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, ICICI Bank and Maruti were the major gainers in early trade. In contrast, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, NTPC and Infosys were among the laggards. -- PTI
09:38 CBI raids P Chidambaram, son's properties
Central Bureau of Investigation is conducting searches at multiple locations (residence and office) of Congress leaders P Chidambaram and his son Karti Chidambaram, in connection with an ongoing case. "I have lost count," Karti Chidambaram said on the number of CBI searches at his premises.
Raids are being conducted at Mumbai, Chennai and Sivagangai in Tamil Nadu.
The searches are reportedly being conducted at around seven premises of the former Union Minister across these cities, in connection with an ongoing case against his son Karti Chidambaram, the Congress MP from Sivaganga.
The CBI has registered a fresh case against Karti Chidambaram, over alleged foreign remittances between 2010-14.
Karti Chidambaram is being probed in several cases, including the one relating to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving foreign funds to the tune of Rs 305 crore when his father was the finance minister.
09:06 SC to hear plea against Gyanvapi survey today
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Tuesday the plea of the management of Gyanvapi mosque against the survey of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
The apex court will hear the matter amidst an important development with a Varanasi court on Monday directed the district administration there to seal the spot of the survey inside the complex where allegedly 'Shivling' has been found by the surveying team.
As per the updated list of business of the apex court for Tuesday, a bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and P S Narasimha would be hearing the plea of the Committee of Management Anjuman Intezamia Masjid, which manages the affairs of Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi.
The written order, passed on Friday by a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, had ordered the listing of the plea before a bench headed by Justice Chandrachud.
On Friday last, the bench, however, had refused to pass any interim order of status quo against the ongoing survey of the religious complex on the plea of the Muslim side.
But, the CJI-led bench had agreed to consider listing the plea for hearing.
08:33 Shivling claim unfair: Muslim Personal Law Board
The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board has termed as "unfair" and an "attempt to create communal disharmony" the sealing of a pond in the Gyanvapi Masjid complex after it was claimed that a Shivling was found there during a survey.
During a court-mandated videography survey, the counsel representing the Hindu side claimed that the Shivling was found close to the "wazookhana"-- a small reservoir used by Muslim devotees to perform ritual ablutions before offering the namaz.
A mosque management committee spokesperson disputed the claim, telling a television channel that the object was part of a "fountain".
He said lawyers representing the mosque committee were not fully heard before the sealing order was pronounced.
In a statement issued late Monday night, AIMPLB general secretary Khalid Saifullah Rahmani said, "The Gyanvapi mosque is a mosque and will remain a mosque. The attempt to term it a temple is nothing more than a conspiracy to create communal disharmony. It is a matter of constitutional rights and is against the law."
"In 1937, in the case of Deen Mohammad Vs State Secretary, the court had decided on the basis of oral testimony and documents that this entire compound (Gyanvapi mosque complex) belongs to the Muslim Waqf and Muslims have the right to offer namaz in it," he said.
The court had also decided that how much area is of the mosque and how much is of the temple. At the same time, the wazookhana was accepted as the property of the mosque, Rahmani added.
"Then in 1991, the Places of Worship Act was passed by Parliament, which states that the places of worship as they were in 1947 will be maintained in the same condition. Even in the Babri Masjid judgment, it was said that now all places of worship places will be under this law," he said.
The AIMPLB general secretary also said the claim of the mosque being a temple should have been immediately rejected by the court but the civil court of Varanasi ordered the survey and videography.
The Waqf Board has approached the high court in this matter and the case is pending there.
The Gyanvapi mosque management committee has also approached the Supreme Court against the civil court's decision.
"The issue is being heard. But by ignoring all these things, the civil court first issued the order of the survey and then, accepting its report, issued an order to seal the portion of wazookhana," Rahmani said.
"This order is an excess and also a violation of law which cannot be expected from a court. The government should stop the implementation of the order and wait for the Allahabad High Court's decision. The government should protect all religious places as per the 1991 Act," he said.
Representational image
00:50 Lashkar terror module busted in J-K, 7 held
The police and security forces in a joint operation busted a terror module of proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba and arrested seven terrorists in Bandipora in Jammu and Kashmir, said the police.
Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition recovered from their possession, added the police.
Six vehicles including four two-wheelers were also seized in the operation. -- ANI
TOP STORIES
© 2024 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances