Clarence Thomas: US Supreme Court judge acknowledges paid-for trips

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been at the centre of a row over paid-for trips and gifts.

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"Have Completed Rehearsal For Launch": ISRO Chief On Aditya-L1 Mission

After the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon, India is gearing up for its Sun mission 'Aditya-L1'. Indian Space Research Organisation chief S Somnath has said that the ISRO team has completed rehearsal for the launch.

Speaking to the media, ISRO Chief said, "We are just getting ready for the launch. The rocket and satellite are ready, we have completed the rehearsal for the launch. Tomorrow we have to start the countdown for the launch, the day after tomorrow."

Aditya-L1 would be the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun.

Earlier on August 14, ISRO informed about mission Aditya-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun and said that it is getting ready for the launch.

"PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 Mission: Aditya-L1, the first space-based Indian observatory to study the Sun, is getting ready for the launch. The satellite realised at the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru has arrived at SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota," ISRO said in a post on 'X' (formerly Twitter).

According to an ISRO statement, the Aditya L1 spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic particle and magnetic field detectors. Using the special vantage point L1, four payloads directly view the Sun and the remaining three payloads carry out in-situ studies of particles and fields at the Lagrange point L1, thus providing important scientific studies of the propagatory effect of solar dynamics in the interplanetary medium.

The suits of Aditya L1 payloads are expected to provide the most crucial information to understand the problem of coronal heating, coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities and their characteristics, dynamics of space weather, propagation of particles and fields, the statement said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's Suspension From Lok Sabha Revoked

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's suspension from Lok Sabha was revoked on Wednesday, hours after a parliamentary panel made a recommendation to the effect.

"The suspension of Shri Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, MP from the service of the House which was effected on 10.8.2023 till the submission of the Report by the Committee of Privileges, has been revoked with effect from 30.8.2023," a notification by the Lok Sabha Secretariat said.

Earlier in the day, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appeared before the Privileges Committee of Lok Sabha and expressed regret over his conduct in the House following which the panel unanimously adopted a resolution to revoke his suspension. The report of the committee was immediately communicated to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Appearing before the committee, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury also expressed regret over certain remarks made by him in the House which had led to his suspension from the Lok Sabha on the penultimate day of the monsoon session of Parliament on August 10.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is learnt to have told the committee, chaired by BJP member Sunil Kumar Singh, that it was never his intention to hurt anybody's feelings and expressed regret for certain remarks made by him.

"The committee has adopted a resolution to revoke the suspension of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury from the Lok Sabha. The resolution will be sent to the Speaker as soon as possible," a committee member said.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was named by Om Birla for "unruly conduct" on August 10 and was suspended from the membership of Lok Sabha pending a report from the Privileges Committee.

At the meeting of the committee on August 18, several members were of the view that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been punished for his conduct by Lok Sabha and there was no further need to examine his behaviour by a parliamentary panel.

However, as a process of natural justice, the committee had asked Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to appear before it on Wednesday. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Hurricane Idalia: Incredible footage shows destructive storm from space

Satellite imagery shows the deadly US storm moving in and also Franklin threatening nearby.

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Maharashtra Minister Says Misquoted On "Eyes Like Aishwarya Rai" Remark

Maharashtra minister Vijaykumar Gavit expressed regret days after his comments linking the daily consumption of fish to having "eyes as beautiful" as Aishwarya Rai's triggered a row.

In a written reply to the Maharashtra State Women Commission, the minister stated that news channels quoted him out of context, panel chief Rupali Chakankar said on Tuesday.

"Mr Gavit said that he expresses regret if his comments have insulted any women. He had no intentions of insulting women. He also said that he was speaking in a local dialect and the news channels took his comments out of context. I had never used any insulting remarks against women in my lifetime," Ms Chakankar posted on X (formerly Twitter) quoting the minister.

Remarks by Mr Gavit, a BJP leader and state tribal minister, stoked a controversy after the video of his speech at a public function went viral.

"People who consume fish on a daily basis develop smooth skin and their eyes sparkle. If anyone looks at you, the person will get attracted.

"Did I tell you about Aishwarya Rai? She lived near the seashore in Mangaluru. She would consume fish daily. Have you seen her eyes? You will also have eyes like her," the minister was heard saying. 

"The fish contain some oils, it makes your skin smooth," he had said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Accident Compensation Claims Not To Be Proven Like Criminal Cases: Court

In cases related to compensation claims in road accidents, the case is not expected to be proved like a criminal trial, the High Court of Karnataka has said.

"It is well known that in a case relating to motor accident claims, the claimants are not required to prove the case as it is required to be done in a criminal trial. The court must keep this distinction in mind," the court said recently while dismissing an appeal filed by an insurance company challenging the compensation awarded to an accident victim's family.

The Division Bench of Justices K Somashekar and Rajesh Rai K was hearing two appeals -- one filed by Bajaj Allianz Insurance and another filed by Chikka Thayamma and Rame Gowda, the parents of one Divakar M R who died in an accident on August 13, 2019.

Divakar met with an accident near Durgaparameshwari Temple in Nagarabhavi while riding a motorcycle.

A car is said to have caused the accident resulting in his death in a nearby private hospital where he was taken for treatment. Divakar was working in a bar and restaurant and earning Rs 18,000 per month.

The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) awarded compensation of Rs 15,43,600 to the parents of Divakar. They approached the HC seeking enhancement of compensation. The insurer approached the HC stating that the complaint about the accident did not mention the involvement of the car and it was the negligence of Divakar that had resulted in his death.

The HC, in its judgement, said strict proof of the accident need not be proved by the claimants for compensation.

"A holistic view of the evidence has to be taken into consideration by the tribunal and strict proof of an accident caused by a particular vehicle in a particular manner need not be established by the claimants. The claimants have to establish their case on the touchstone of preponderance of probabilities," the HC said.

Dismissing the appeal filed by the insurer, the HC said: "The standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt cannot be applied while considering the petition seeking compensation on account of death or injury in a road traffic accident. Therefore, the domain it is vested with the tribunal in appreciating evidence in terms of social justice and it should be extended and considered to a greater extent but not in conjectures and surmises but more credentiality must be given to that aspect.

The HC also found the compensation awarded by the MACT to be correct and dismissed the appeal of the victim's parents for enhancement.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Watch: BBC gets as close as possible to Prigozhin grave

Russia editor Steve Rosenberg is at the cemetery in St Petersburg where it is believed Prigozhin is buried.

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Interfaith Couples Blackmailed, Videos Shared Online, 3 Arrested In Gujarat

Three persons were arrested in Vadodara in Gujarat for allegedly targeting interfaith couples, harassing them and uploading their videos on social media in order to cause enmity among religious groups, a police official said on Monday.

The matter came to light when the video of one such couple went viral on social media platform X and a probe found that a gang that actively targeted such couples and shared videos on a WhatsApp group called 'Army of Mahdi' was behind it, Zone 2 Deputy Commissioner of Police Abhay Soni said.

Three administrators of the WhatsApp group, identified as Mustakim Sheikh, Burhan Saiyad and Sahil Sheikh, were arrested under Indian Penal Code (IPC) provisions for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, etc., making statements conducing to public mischief, and disappearance of evidence, the DCP said.

The content they shared could have led to mob lynching and communal clashes, he said, adding that the WhatsApp group in question had a network of members who operated across the city and kept a watch on such interfaith couples.

"As per their modus operandi, they'd keep a WhatsApp group active for three-four months and then delete it before starting a new group with several people being its members. They also used the video to blackmail the family members of the woman," the senior police official said.

The arrested accused said they would first target a woman when she was seen with a man from a different faith and record their video that was then used to blackmail them, he informed.

"We have seized their mobile phones and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). We will try to recover the audio and videos. We will question all the members of the group," he said.

The DCP asked those who have been harassed by the group to come forward and record their statements, adding that the police would keep their identities secret.

"We are trying to find out the motive behind such an act and see whether they were backed by a group operating on a bigger level or whether they were self inspired. From where they got the inspiration to run such a group is being investigated," he said.

The DCP said the accused specifically targeted women from their own religion as a form of moral policing and a probe is underway to find if they extorted money on the basis of such videos.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Bears encroach on evacuated Canadian town of Yellowknife

After wildfires forced residents to leave, bears have been seen in the empty streets.

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A muddy reveal for mysterious West Point time capsule from 1820s

West Point academy unveiled the contents of a nearly 200-year-old lead box. They were unexpected.

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Mancini named new Saudi Arabia football coach

Roberto Mancini is named the new manager of Saudi Arabia two weeks after he resigned as Italy head coach.

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"Peed On, Told To Lick Shoe": Dalit Man Hung Upside Down Over Theft Claim

A Dalit man attacked by six persons in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar, has told reporters that he and three others were urinated on and told to lick shoes on which their assailants had spat. The man, alongwith the others -- accused of stealing some goats and pigeons -- were also allegedly beaten up and hung upside down from a tree. A video of the ordeal shot and circulated by one of the attackers has sparked outrage and a political row. A shutdown was observed today in Haregaon village as part of a protest.

"I was hung upside down by a rope around my legs. I had three small children with me, they were also beaten up. We are their neighbors. We are from a lower caste (Mahar). They were angry... They peed on us. We were asked to lick shoes on which they had spat," said Shubham Maghade, who later filed a complaint with the police.

The 20-year-old has also named his attackers -- Pappu Parkhe, Raju Borge, Yuvraj Galande and Nana Patil.  He said the men came and took him to the house of Yuvraj Galande, where they were stripped and beaten up.

The police, who took action after the video of the attack was widely circulated, has detained one of the men accused. The rest are on the run.

"A case has been registered under Section 307, atrocity. Six men have been accused. One accused has been detained and search is on for the remaining accused. The victim was suspected of stealing pigeons and goats. It is claimed that he is from Mahar (caste)," said Swati Bhor, a senior police officer.

Quoting an un-named police officer, news agency Press Trust of India reported that a case under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 364 (kidnapping) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has been registered.

The Opposition Congress has termed the incident a "blot" on humanity.

"Such incidents are a result of hate being spread by BJP for its political gain," Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole was quoted as saying by PTI.

Nationalist Congress Party's chief spokesman Mahesh Tapase accused the government of failing to protect the self-respect of Dalits, PTI reported.

(With PTI inputs)

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Hallstatt: Austrian town protests against mass tourism

Hallstatt, in the Alps, has a population of 700 but can get up to 10,000 visitors a day.

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Lalu Yadav's Party MP Reminds AAP Of INDIA Bloc As It Plans Bihar Expansion

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha reacting to Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) announcement of contesting upcoming elections in Bihar said that during the foundation of INDIA bloc, some principles were laid down and he hopes that AAP would adhere to those.

AAP's general secretary Sandeep Pathak also held a meeting with the leaders of the Bihar organization in Delhi on Saturday regarding AAP's announcement of contesting the election. Notably, Bihar will undergo the assembly elections in 2025.

"We will contest elections in Bihar, but the party will decide when to contest. We cannot contest elections directly in Bihar, for that we have to strengthen the organization first. We will have to form our own committee in every village. We have to work hard from now itself to strengthen and expand the organization. Once the organization becomes strong, then we will contest elections and win too," Mr Pathak said during the meeting.

Reacting to Mr Pathak's statement RJD MP Manoj Jha said, "When the foundation of the INDIA alliance was being laid down some principles were formed. There was a detailed talk held about these principles. Keeping aside this statement, I think they (AAP) will adhere to those principles."

In regard to the same, an MLA from JD(U) which has an alliance with RJD in the state said that every party has the right to expand itself. However, in contrast to his initial statement, he said differences between INDIA alliances within the states will be resolved over a period of time.

"Every party has the right to expand itself...We also expand to other states...Both Mallikarjun Kharge as well as Sanjay Singh have clearly stated that we will fight together...The differences of the INDIA alliance within the states will be resolved over the period of time," said, JD(U) MLA Neeraj Kumar.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar speaking on INDIA alliance meeting to be held in Mumbai on August 31 and September 1 said, "I will be going there and nothing personal that I want, I just want to unite everyone. I will be going and some more parties will be joining the alliance."  

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Goa Minister Complains To Cops Over "Derogatory Post" Linking Him To Woman

The office of Goa minister Mauvin Godinho on Sunday lodged a police complaint over a "derogatory" and "false" message being circulated along with photographs on social media linking his name to a woman deputy sarpanch of a village in the state, an official said.

The minister's personal secretary Nehal Damodar Keni lodged the complaint at Vasco police station, he said.

The complaint said that a derogatory and false message was being widely circulated on social media platforms from Saturday along with the photographs of Godinho with a woman deputy sarpanch of a village in Dabolim constituency.

Godinho, who belongs to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), represents the Dabolim assembly segment. He handles Transport and Panchayat ministries.

The complaint further said, "The message is being circulated along with publicly available photographs of Godinho, thereby creating a wrong and erroneous impression to the readers about the attribution of the said message and photographs to Godinho." Keni said in the complaint that based on the message and the photographs, some unidentified persons have also created video.

"Certain politicians have also attempted to capitalise on this grossly wrong and erroneous impression created by the message to create unrest and derive political mileage out of this patently illegal and mischievous message," the complaint said.

When contacted, a senior police official said, "We have received the complaint and it is being investigated."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Jacksonville shooter, 21, who killed three 'wrote racist manifestos'

The man who shot dead three Black people had a "disgusting ideology of hate", Jacksonville's sheriff says.

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Luis Rubiales kissing Jenni Hermoso unleashes social tsunami in Spain

The Spanish FA's president kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips has sparked a national conversation.

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PM Had This Request For Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Governor For ISRO Pit-Stop

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he had requested the Karnataka Governor, Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister not to come to the airport to receive him as he did not want them to take the trouble of coming early in the morning as he was not sure of his arrival time after a long flight.

Ahead of PM Modi's Bengaluru visit to meet ISRO scientists, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday alleged that he purportedly barred Siddaramaiah and his deputy, DK Shivakumar, from receiving him at the HAL Airport.

Meanwhile, a war of words erupted between BJP MLA and former minister R Ashoka and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar over "ignoring" protocol to receive the Prime Minister at the airport.

PM Modi flew down to Bengaluru around 6 AM directly from the Greek capital of Athens to interact with ISRO scientists involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon.

Addressing a large number of people gathered outside the HAL airport, the PM said since he was coming from a far-off place (Athens) he did not know what time he would reach here, and he requested Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM Shivakumar not to take the trouble of coming to receive him as he would return soon after paying tributes to ISRO scientists.

"So, I had requested them that when I pay a formal visit, they definitely follow protocol," PM Modi said. "They cooperated and I am thankful and grateful to them," he said.

Mr Ramesh alleged that the PM was irritated with Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar for felicitating the ISRO scientists before him, and termed it as "petulant petty politics".

Siddaramaiah on Thursday visited the Missions Operations Complex at ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) and felicitated ISRO chief S Somanath and his team on the successful touch down of Chandrayaan-3 mission's lander on the Lunar surface.

"The government will officially honour them by organising a special programme at the Banquet hall at Vidhana Soudha. About 500 scientists from Karnataka were part of it. ISRO Chairman (S) Somanath and his team will be honoured," Siddaramaiah had said.

Replying to a query on the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister not visiting the airport to receive the Prime Minister, BJP leader Ashoka alleged that the Congress leaders have no sense of protocol.

"The Congress leaders do not want to see scientists. They were the ones who had stopped Chandrayaan-2. They had jailed former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan. He was released after the Supreme Court intervened," Ashoka told reporters.

"They have no knowledge of protocol. They do politics for votes while our Prime Minister's politics is for the country's development," the former minister charged.

Hitting back, DK Shivakumar said there was an official communication from the Prime Minister's Office that he, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and the Chief Minister should not come to receive him.

"Our time sense, political sense, sense of protocol and sense of honouring people is better than the BJP. We were ready in the morning itself to receive the Prime Minister as per the protocol. Our Chief Minister, our government were prepared to receive him because this is his maiden visit to Bengaluru (after Congress government came to power) and this (Chandrayaan project) has succeeded in Karnataka," Shivakumar told reporters.

"Our (Karnataka) Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma 'unofficially' received a phone call from the Prime Minister's Office (that the Governor, Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister should not come) but we did not agree to it and asked the Chief Secretary to request the PMO to get the reply in writing," he claimed.

The PMO then replied officially that the Governor, Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister should not come to receive the Prime Minister, Shivakumar claimed.

The Deputy Chief Minister said he can release the communication received from the PMO.

India on Wednesday scripted history as ISRO's ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) touched down on the lunar surface, making it only the fourth country to accomplish the feat, and the first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite.

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Poland investigates cyber-attack on rail network

Hackers briefly disrupted some train services, amid suggestions that the attack came from Russia.

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Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Expansion Today, 4 Ministers Likely To Be Inducted

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will expand his cabinet on Saturday morning with the induction of three to four ministers, the move coming just months ahead of Assembly polls at the end of the year.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 8:45am, a Raj Bhavan official told PTI late Friday night.

The names of ex-ministers Rajendra Shukla, a Brahmin leader and MLA from Rewa in the Vindh region, and Gaurishankar Bisen, legislator from Balaghat in the Mahakoshal region and chairman of the MP Backward Class Commission, have almost been finalised for induction in the cabinet, a BJP leader said.

Mr Shukla and Mr Bisen have reached Bhopal.

Deliberations are on between Shivraj Singh Chouhan and senior party functionaries on the names of Rahul Singh Lodhi and Jalam Singh, both from the Other Backward Classes that form 45 per cent of the state's population, he said.

The name of former state minister Lalsingh Arya, who is the president of the BJP SC Morcha, is also doing the rounds for a ministerial berth.

Mr Lodhi, a first-time MLA from Khargapur in Tikamgarh district in the Bundelkhand region, is the nephew of senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Uma Bharti.

Jalam Singh, the MLA from Narsinghpur in the Mahakoshal region, is the younger brother of Union Minister Prahlad Patel.

Currently, the state has 31 ministers, including the Chief Minister, while the figure can go up to 35, or 15 per cent of the strength of the state Assembly, which has 230 members.

The last expansion of the Chouhan cabinet took place in January 2021.

According to party insiders, the expansion is being done on the recommendation of the BJP's central leadership to beat any anti-incumbency, balance caste equations and address regional aspirations.

Manish Gupta, resident editor of a leading Hindi daily, said anti-incumbency is palpable in Mahakoshal, Vindh and Bundelkhand regions of eastern Madhya Pradesh.

The BJP had put up a good show in Vindh and Bundelkhand regions in the 2018 polls, but its performance was below par in Mahakoshal, he said.

Representation of MLAs from Mahakoshal and Vindh was negligible in the cabinet, he said.

"People are feeling their regions have been neglected as far as cabinet representation is concerned. Inclusion of MLAs from Mahakoshal and Bundelkhand in the ministry would prove useful for the BJP in the Assembly polls," Mr Gupta claimed.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan became the Chief Minister in March 2020 after a revolt by MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia brought down the then Congress government under Kamal Nath, which had come to power in December 2018 after the Assembly polls.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Security Agencies Need To Be Ahead Of Predictive AI Methods: Amit Shah

Criminal law and technology have always been seen as mutually exclusive fields. But with advancing artificial intelligence and technology, crime patterns have been redefined. These were discussed, apart from new laws and changing dynamics with them, by top police officers during the National Security Strategies Conference 2023, being hosted by the Intelligence Bureau in Delhi.

Home Minister Amit Shah presided over the meeting and directed the top cops of the country to work for a criminal justice system based on new technologies like AI, changing laws, forensic use to ensure speedy justice delivery and constitutional rights for citizens.

"The Home Minister particularly stressed on the use of modern technology in policing and suggested the implementation from lower police ranks of constabulary to the higher formations," a senior official said.

According to him, the Home Minister highlighted the need to revamp the entire criminal justice system as per new laws.

Mr Shah underscored the significance of use of digital technology in the entire process of investigation and prosecution.

"He called for initiatives for ushering technology-led policing for meeting the future demands of a revamped criminal justice system," an officer who attended the meeting said.

"In today's world, due to AI's predictive nature, it has become increasingly popular in criminology, law and forensics. Today, algorithmic risk assessments are widely being used in law enforcement. But security agencies need to be a step ahead of this predictive assessment, so discussions were held in this regard too," a senior officer said.

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Company Changes Its 50-Foot Office Sign After Chandrayaan-3 Landing

India's third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, landed on the Moon's south pole on August 23. The successful moon mission has made India the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface after the US, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union. Parties and prayers were held with great fervour across the country ahead of the historic lunar touchdown. Celebrating the occasion, Magicpin, which describes itself as a local savings super app on X, formerly Twitter, has recently changed its 50-foot office sign in Gurugram's IFFCO Chowk to commemorate the historic achievement by the scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation.

On the afternoon of August 23, the company took to the microblogging platform and said, "If Chandrayaan lands on the moon, We'll change our 50 FOOT Office Sign from magicpin to magicISRO @IFFCO chowk Gurgaon."

If Chandrayaan lands on the moon ?
We'll change our 50 FOOT Office Sign
from magicpin to magicISRO
@ IFFCO chowk Gurgaon ❤️?

QT & tell us what you'll do if Chandrayaan 3
lands on the moon and WIN Food & Fashion
GOODIES AT 1/10th THE COST, just like the cost
of #Chandrayaan3 ?… pic.twitter.com/a03hRZnQiR

— magicpin (@mymagicpin) August 23, 2023

Around 6 pm on the same evening, Vikram lander reached the Moon and the country entered an elite space club that had only three nations so far. Keeping up their promise, the company tweeted an image of the changed company board at their Gurugram office on August 24. The office board read "magicISRO" with a moon made on the letter "i". "WE KEPT OUR PROMISE Just like #Chandrayaan3 Hope you've kept yours For India, even sky is not the limit And for you & us, the only way is up," they said in the tweet alongside a picture of the office sign.

WE KEPT OUR PROMISE ❤️???
Just like #Chandrayaan3 ?
Hope you've kept yours ?

For India, even sky is not the limit ??
And for you & us, the only way is up ?#Chandrayaan3Landing #Chandrayaan3Success https://t.co/V9rhxyzhmu pic.twitter.com/dYyina3nfg

— magicpin (@mymagicpin) August 24, 2023

Since being shared, the post has amassed over 1.4 lakh tweets and a thousand likes.

Anshoo Sharma, the co-founder and CEO of the company said, "ISRO has inspired a billion plus people to believe that we can all reach the moon, and beyond!"

"Proud of you bhai," said a user.

"ISRO created magic indeed," added a person.

A third person wrote, "Indeed a wonderful gesture!!"

Meanwhile, ISRO shared the first selfies from the moon's surface of India's robots Vikram and Pragyan. Vikram lander took images and a video of its ramp as the Pragyan rover was at its snail's pace. It is to be noted that Vikram has landed in an area that seems relatively plain which should give Pragyan the opportunity to do its moonwalk.

Chandrayaan-3's accomplishment is special as no other spacecraft has been able to achieve a soft landing near the Moon's South Pole. The south pole - far from the equatorial region targeted by previous missions including the crewed Apollo landings - is full of craters and deep trenches.

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Attack On India Mission In London A "Disgrace": UK Trade Secretary

UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch on Friday said the attack on the Indian High Commission in London by pro-Khalistani elements in March was a "disgrace, and the British government will do everything to ensure people feel safe and secure.

She said this in response to a remark by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal that the UK has a very large Indian population, and still the Indian High Commission was not feeling very safe.

"In any country no matter how much of a global superpower there will always be problems and in the UK one of the most interesting things, and I say this as one of the immigrants to the country, is that quite a lot of the times people don't integrate the way we want them to and they bring problems and the same negative attitudes and the same issues from wherever they come from and bring it to the UK," she said.

In March, the tricolour flying atop the Indian High Commission in London was pulled down by a group of protesters waving separatist Khalistani flags and chanting pro-Khalistani slogans.

"I personally thought that what happened and I speak on behalf of the UK government not just personally, what happened at the Indian High Commission was a disgrace," Badenoch said.

Mr Goyal was moderating a 'trade ministers session' at B20 Summit India 2023, in which Badenoch and several other trade ministers participated. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Pestering Son-in-law To Abandon His Parents Amounts To Cruelty: High Court

Pestering a son-in-law to abandon his parents and start living with his in-laws as 'ghar jamai' amounts to cruelty, the Delhi High Court has held while granting a divorce decree in favour of a man.

A bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Neena Bansal Krishna set aside an order of a family court, which had dismissed the husband's divorce petition, and granted divorce to the couple on the ground of cruelty and desertion by the wife.

The man said in his plea that he got married in May 2001 and, within a few months of the marriage, his wife left her matrimonial home and went back to her parents in Delhi during pregnancy.

He said he made sincere efforts to convince her to return to the matrimonial home but she refused, while she and her family members insisted that he shift from Gujarat to Delhi and stay in their house as 'ghar jamai' (resident son-in-law), a proposal to which he did not agree as he had aged parents to take care of.

The woman, however, claimed she was harassed for dowry and that the man was a drunkard and used to beat her up and treat her with cruelty after which she left her matrimonial home in March 2002.

The high court referred to a judgment of the Supreme Court wherein it had observed that asking a son to separate from his family amounts to cruelty. The judgement said for a Hindu son in India, it is not a common practice or desirable culture to get separated from his family after marriage and that he has a moral and legal obligation to take care of his parents when they become old and have negligible or no income.

"Thus, the insistence of the family of respondent (wife) for the appellant (husband) to abandon his parents and become a 'Ghar Jamai' and live in their house amounts to cruelty," the high court held.

The bench said it needs no reiteration that the bedrock of any matrimonial relationship is cohabitation and conjugal relationship, and the gravamen (the most essential part) of any marriage is the succour and peace that the couple derive from the company of each other.

"The very fact that the parties were able to live together barely for six months and since February 2002, they have been living separately proves that the parties were unable to sustain their matrimonial relationship. For a couple to be deprived of each other's company, proves that the marriage cannot survive, and such deprivation of conjugal relationship is an act of extreme cruelty," it said.

The high court noted that the man was acquitted in the criminal case lodged by his wife for allegedly treating her cruelly and breaching her trust.

It said the woman claimed she was beaten and subjected to cruelty but she was not been able to substantiate any of her allegations.

"The making of false complaints in itself is an act of cruelty. Though the acquittal under Section 498A/406 IPC in itself may not be an act of cruelty, the onus was on the respondent to establish that she was subjected to cruelty or had any cogent reason to live separately from the appellant/ husband," it said, adding that the the false complaints filed by the wife against the husband constituted mental cruelty against him.

While the man alleged the woman was in a live-in relationship with someone else, the high court noted she has alleged that her husband had re-married during the subsistence of their marriage in 2015, and also has a child from his second marriage.

The court said the husband admitted to having a child outside marriage from a live-in relationship, while the woman claimed the man she was accused of having an affair with was her "muhbola bhai", a person who she treated as brother though he was not a blood relation.

"Here is the case where long separation has forced both the appellant and respondent to apparently find companionship in a third person. Be that as it may, it is evident that the evidence on record sufficiently proves that the respondent had withdrawn from the company of the appellant for which she has not been able to give any cogent reason," the high court said.

The high court said the woman had withdrawn herself from the company of her husband without any cogent reason.

"Considering the entire evidence, it is proved that the parties had drifted away and that respondent has deserted the petitioner/ appellant without any reasonable cause," it said, and passed the decree for dissolution of the marriage.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Mandatory Prescription Of Generic Drugs Rule Put On Hold By Medical Panel

The National Medical Commission (NMC) on Thursday put on hold the regulations that make it mandatory for doctors to prescribe generic drugs and bar them from accepting gifts from pharma companies or endorsing any drug brands.

The Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023, were published on August 2.

However, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) had expressed concern over the NMC making it mandatory to prescribe generic medicines saying this was not feasible because of the uncertainty about their quality.

They also suggested that registered medical practitioners should be allowed to attend conferences sponsored by pharmaceutical companies or the allied health sector.

They said the regulation barring doctors from attending conferences sponsored by pharma companies warrants reconsideration and also demanded that associations and organisations should be exempted from the purview of NMC guidelines.

Members of the IMA and IPA had met Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday and expressed their concerns over the regulations.

The NMC in its 'Regulations relating to Professional Conduct of Registered Medical Practitioners" stated that all doctors must prescribe generic drugs, failing which they will be penalised and even their licence to practice may also be suspended for a period.

It also asked doctors to avoid prescribing branded generic drugs. In a notification issued on Thursday, the NMC said, "... That National Medical Commission Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023, are hereby held in abeyance with immediate effect.

"That for removal of doubts, it is clarified that the National Medical Commission Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023, shall not be operative and effective till further Gazette Notification on the subject by the National Medical Commission." The commission also said that it adopts and makes effective with immediate effect the "Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002", as if the same have been made by the commission by virtue of the powers vested under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019. "That for removal of doubts, it is clarified that Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, shall come into force with immediate effect," the notification by NMC said.

According to the regulations, registered medical practitioners and their families "must not receive any gifts, travel facilities, hospitality, cash or monetary grants, consultancy fee or honorariums, or access to entertainment or recreation from pharmaceutical companies or their representatives, commercial healthcare establishments, medical device companies, or corporate hospitals under any pretext". However, this does not include salaries and benefits that registered medical practitioners may receive as employees of these organizations, the regulations stated.

Also, these practitioners should not be involved in any third-party educational activity like CPD, seminar, workshop, symposia, conference, etc., which involves direct or indirect sponsorships from pharmaceutical companies or the allied health sector. A registered medical practitioner "individually or as part of an organization/ association shall not give to any person or to any companies or to any products or to software/platforms, whether for compensation or otherwise, any approval, recommendation, endorsement... concerning any drug brand, medicine, nostrum remedy, surgical, or therapeutic article, apparatus or appliance or any commercial product or article with respect of any property, quality or use thereof or any test, demonstration or trial thereof, for use in connection with his name, signature, or photograph in any form or manner of advertising through any mode nor shall he boast of cases, operations, cures or remedies...", the regulations said.

The practitioners who attend to the patient will be fully accountable for his actions and entitled to the appropriate fees.

"In case of abusive, unruly, and violent patients or relatives, the registered medical practitioners can document and report the behaviour and refuse to treat the patient. Such patients should be referred for further treatment elsewhere," the regulations said.

It also specified that use of alcohol or other intoxicants during duty or off duty which can affect professional practice will be considered as misconduct.

Also, for the first time, the term emergency has been defined as 'life and limb saving procedure. Previously, the term emergency was not clearly defined.

According to the regulations, any request for medical records to a registered medical practitioner responsible for patient records in a hospital either by the patients or authorized attendant has to be duly acknowledged and documents has to be supplied within 5 working days instead of the existing provision of 72 days.

In case of medical emergencies, efforts should be made to make the medical records available at the earliest.

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Former Cop Pradeep Sharma Gets Bail In Antilia Bomb Scare Case

The Supreme Court has granted bail to former Mumbai Police officer Pradeep Sharma, who was arrested in connection with the Antilia bomb scare case and the killing of businessman Mansukh Hiren, saying he has strong roots in Mumbai and would be available to stand trial.

On February 25, 2021, an explosives-laden SUV was found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani's residence 'Antilia' in south Mumbai.

Businessman Hiren, who was in possession of the SUV, was found dead in a creek in neighbouring Thane on March 5, 2021.

Mr Sharma along with police officers Daya Nayak, Vijay Salaskar and Ravindranath Angre was a member of the Mumbai Police's encounter squad that killed over 300 criminals in numerous encounters. Salaskar had died during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

Dismissed police officer Sachin Waze is the main accused in the Antilia bomb planting case and the killing of Hiren.

Mr Sharma was arrested in the case in June 2021.

A bench of justices A S Bopanna and P S Narasimha said Mr Sharma is alleged to have conspired with Waze and others to eliminate Hiren which is a matter of circumstantial evidence to be proved by the prosecution.

"Though the High Court has arrived at the conclusion that the appellant being a retired police officer, there is the likelihood of interference in the course of trial, in our opinion the fact that he was a police officer and has retired after rendering 37 years of service is a factor which should weigh in favour of the appellant as he has strong roots in Mumbai and would be available to stand trial," the bench said in an order uploaded on Thursday.

The court noted there was no adverse report about Mr Sharma's conduct while he was out on interim bail.

"Further, he would also be aware that violating any of the conditions of bail would be detrimental to his own interest. In addition, it has also been urged before us that he has his mother aged about 93 years to care for, his wife who is also not enjoying good health has to undergo a reversal of bariatric surgery," the bench said.

The top court said it had taken note of this aspect for granting him interim relief but the operation advised could not be performed during the short period he was out on interim bail.

"Therefore, if all the above aspects are kept in view, we are of the opinion that in the present facts, taking note of the role assigned to the appellant as also the circumstances stated to connect the appellant to the crime and also the fact that the chargesheet has already been filed, there would be no purpose in continuing the appellant in custody," the bench said. 

"We are therefore of the opinion, that the appellant is to be released on bail subject to appropriate conditions being imposed by the trial court and the appellant diligently adhering to the said conditions and participating in the process of trial," the court added. 

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"Neither Afraid Of Dying Nor...": Bhupesh Baghel After Aide's Home Raided

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday hit out at the Central government after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the premises of his political adviser and two Officers on Special Duty (OSDs), saying that people of the state are neither afraid of dying nor being jailed.

At a press conference at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in New Delhi, Chief Minister Baghel mocked the former Chief Minister Raman Singh saying the government that ruled for 15 years got winded up in 15 seats.

"We are people of Chhattisgarh and we are neither scared of dying nor going to jail...15 saal ki sarkar 15 seats mein simat gayi," the Chief Minister said.

He further alleged that there was an attempt by the BJP to suppress and defame the Chhattisgarh government.

"The BJP started this after losing the Jharkhand elections in July 2020. They were silent for two-and-a-half years, but have become active again as soon as the elections approach.

The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister further said that if ED had to catch hold of someone then it should have got those outside the country.

"But they didn't do it. You only saw the political angle and how an official can be trapped...In the coming days, the ED will be going to the places of more workers and trouble them so that they are unable to work," he added.

He also claimed that there would be a raid by the Income Tax department in the coming months.

"In the next few months, a team of 200-250 personnel of I-T will conduct raids across Chhattisgarh...As they conduct more raids, their seats will decrease...." Mr Baghel added.

Mr Baghel further accused the federal agency of asking political questions during its raids.

"ED people go to homes, confiscate mobiles, seize jewellery-cash and bank accounts. Then keep the whole family hostage for several days and ask political questions," he said.

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday carried out searches at the residences of the Chhattisgarh CM's political advisor Vinod Verma and OSD's Manish Banchhor and Ashish Verma in connection with the alleged liquor scam.

Searches were also conducted by the agency at the premises of a businessman in Durg.

ED investigation earlier claimed that in the years -- 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, the illegal sale of liquor was almost 30-40 per cent of the total sale of liquor in the State. This allegedly generated Rs 1,200-1,500-crore illegal profits.

Bupesh Baghel on Wednesday took a dig at the central government over ED raids at the residences of his political advisor and Officers on Special Duty (OSD).

Taking to 'X', formerly Twitter, CM Baghel wrote, "Respected Prime Minister and Mr Amit Shah! Thank you very much for the priceless gift you have given me on my birthday by sending ED to my political advisor and close friends including my OSD".

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Article 370 Has "Self-Limiting Character": Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Wednesday said there is "intrinsic evidence" that Article 370 has a "self-limiting character" and it seems to have worked itself out after the term of the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly ended in 1957.

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the abrogation of Article 370 that accorded special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Really speaking, though the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir framed its relationship with Union of India, unless that relationship was embodied in the Indian Constitution, how will it bind the dominion of India or Parliament for successive years after 1957," the bench, also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and Surya Kant, said.

The bench posed questions to senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for one of the petitioners Soayib Qureshi, who has challenged the Centre's August 5, 2019 decision to abrogate the provision.

CJI Chandrachud said in his view, Article 370 has two terminal points--first in clause 2 where it has been said that all decisions taken prior to the existence of the constituent assembly shall be placed for its approval and second, in proviso to clause 3, where it was said that the President can issue a notification declaring that Article 370 shall cease to exist or shall be operative with exceptions and modifications only on the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir. "Interestingly, Article 370 is silent on what the regime should be once the constituent assembly is formed and has taken a decision. There is a complete silence. If there is complete silence in Article 370, then Article 370 possibly has worked itself out…," the CJI said.

CJI Chandrachud asked Sankaranarayanan that if this reasoning is to be accepted, then it means that once Article 370 worked itself out, the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir will fill the void and that it will be the supreme document.

"Now the question will be, can the Constitution of federating unit rise above the source of federating unit," the CJI said.

He added then the point is does the court say that Indian Constitution must be read in a manner to treat the Constitution of J-K as an overriding document over the Indian constitution.

Sankaranaraynan said it is their argument that Article 370 has worked itself out once the constituent assembly ceased to exist and, therefore, it should not have been touched.

"But, if the terminal point of Article 370 is the constituent assembly, then is it not necessary that the work of constituent assembly of the state of J-K has to be embodied in this (Indian) Constitution to make it operational," the bench said.

CJI Chandrachud said that Article 370, which continued to exist in the Indian Constitution, itself points to its self-limiting character.

"It's there in the Constitution but the provision itself points to its self-limiting character. So it is not obliterated but the text itself shows it is a self-limiting character. The operation of Article 370 has to come to an end once the constituent assembly of the state was formed….There is enough intrinsic evidence that Article 370 has itself a self-limiting character," he said.

The bench, however, clarified it is not saying that all constitution amendment orders issued for the application of the provisions of the Indian Constitution with respect to Jammu and Kashmir are unconstitutional.

"We are not saying that all these constitutional orders (COs) may have been unconstitutional. It would be improper to say that after all these (COs) were issued by statesmen who have operated this nation for the last 70 years, and we should not say that what they did was unconstitutional. It was to further the course of governance in the nation," the CJI said.

Sankaranarayanan contended the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir has almost all the provisions that Indian Constitution has with nominal changes.

"Does that mean that anything said by the Constituent Assembly of the state of Jammu and Kashmir would bind the nation or bind Parliament or the Executive here? It had to be embodied subsequent to 1957 in a binding arrangement reflected in our Constitution which was never done," the bench said.

The top court also heard the arguments advanced by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, Nitya Ramakrishnan, Sanjay Parikh and PC Sen on behalf of the petitioners.

The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue on Thursday with Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta presenting their arguments on behalf of the Centre. CJI Chandrachud said in order to maintain the continuity of the hearing, the constitution bench will sit on August 28 (Monday), which is otherwise reserved for hearing miscellaneous and fresh matters.

Several petitions challenging abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which split the erstwhile state into two union territories - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh - were referred to a Constitution bench in 2019. 

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Moon Landing Done, ISRO Now Sets Eyes On Mars

ISRO Chairman S Somanath on Wednesday toasted the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, crediting it to the “pain and agony” of all the scientists who persevered on it and expressed confidence that the space agency would similarly land a spacecraft on Mars in the coming years.

Acknowledging the contribution of a generation of leadership by the scientists of the country's space agency for the Chandrayaan-3 mission's success, he said this is an "incremental progress" and "definitely a huge one”.

The journey to the Moon is tough and soft-landing is difficult for any nation to achieve today even with the advancement of technology, he said, pointing out that India achieved it in just two missions. Chandrayaan-2, the first mission with the objective of soft landing on the Moon had a narrow miss, while the Chandrayaan-3 mission was perfectly executed.

Chandrayaan-1's objective was only to place an unmanned spacecraft in an orbit around the Moon.

"It (success of Chandrayaan-3 mission) gives the confidence to configure missions to not only go to the Moon, but also to go to Mars, sometimes (perhaps) land on Mars, maybe in future go to Venus and other planets...", he said.

Undertaking the Chandrayaan-3 mission was difficult, he said. "We went through a lot of pain and agony".

Key scientists behind Chandrayaan-2 were also part of the Chandrayaan-3 team, he said. "Most of the people who were with Chandrayaan-2 are with us helping us to do Chandrayaan-3. They are a part of this, they have gone through such an agony..." "...the technology that we have in Chandrayaan-3 is no less complex or inferior to any other technology that goes to the Moon. So, we have the best of the sensors of the world, best in class (equipment) in Chandrayaan-3", he said, explaining that it was a completely ‘Made-in-India' mission using world-class components.

Conveying the greetings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the ISRO team, he said, "The Honourable PM called me and conveyed his greetings to each one of you and your family for the wonderful work you did in ISRO.” Speaking about the support from the government to pursue further space missions, both scientific as well as commercial, he said, “Thanks to him (PM) for the support he is giving to us for missions like Chandrayaan-3 and missions that are in the offing. That's the great word of comfort that we are receiving for pursuing the inspirational work that we are doing for the nation.” The ISRO chief said the Prime Minister is “very, very clear about the long-term vision, and wants to make sure that we remain very, very dominant in the area of space exploration and science”.

Addressing the ISRO team at the Mission Operations Complex, he thanked all those who prayed for the mission's success, and in particular named ISRO veterans like A S Kiran Kumar (former ISRO chief).

"They have been helping so much, they were part of the team to help them (team) to get the confidence and get the reviews done, and to ensure that nothing goes with any mistakes," he said.

India on Wednesday scripted history as ISRO's ambitious third Moon mission Chandrayaan-3's Lander Module (LM) touched down on the lunar surface, making it only the fourth country to accomplish the feat, and the first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth's only natural satellite.

The LM comprising the lander (Vikram) and the 26 kg rover (Pragyan) made the soft landing near the south polar region of the Moon this evening.

Noting that this is the work of a generation of ISRO's leadership and scientists, Somanath said, "This is the journey we started with Chandrayaan-1, continued in Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-2 craft is still working and doing a lot of communication work with us. All the team that contributed to building Chandrayaan-1 and 2 should be remembered and thanked, while we celebrate (the success of) Chandrayaan-3." "This is an incremental progress and definitely a huge one," he added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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100 Haryana Farmers Heading For Chandigarh Protest Taken In Police Custody

Around 100 farmers from Haryana were taken into custody on Tuesday as they marched towards Chandigarh for a demonstration to seek compensation for losses caused by floods, the police said.

In Longowal in Punjab's Sangrur, the farmers continued their 'dharna' over the detention on Monday of some farm leaders who were going to Chandigarh for the planned demonstration. There was a clash with police when farmers tried to block a highway in the district.

Security was tightened at the inter-state borders of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh due to the protest in the Union Territory, while in Sangrur, some leaders of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) joined the protest there on Tuesday.

In the Sangrur clashes, a farmer had died after he came under a tractor-trolley, while five policemen were injured. Police have booked several farmers under the Indian Penal Code, including for attempt to murder.

The Chandigarh protest was called by 16 farmers' organisations such as the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU)-Karantikari, the BKU-Ekta Azaad, the Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU-Behramke and the Bhoomi Bachao Mohim.

Police said around 100 farmers were detained at the Shambhu border in Haryana's Ambala when they were headed towards Chandigarh. 

They were taken to police stations in buses, they said and added that the farmers were trying to forcibly move towards the Union Territory.

Farmers also blocked the Hisar-Chandigarh National Highway near Ambala when they were not allowed to march towards Chandigarh.

On the Ambala-Chandigarh road, the police had set up check-posts and vehicles passing through them were also being searched. 

The Inspector General of Police, Ambala range, Sibash Kabiraj also took stock of the situation in his jurisdiction.

Many farmers could not reach the Shambhu border due to heavy police deployment and strict checking at many places.

In Chandigarh, security personnel have been deployed at entry and exit points to prevent farmers from entering the Union Territory.

On Monday, farmer leaders, including Amarjit Singh Mohri, the national president of the BKU-Shaheed Bhagat Singh, from Haryana's Ambala were detained by police, while in Punjab, the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) president Sarwan Singh Pandher, Satkar Singh Kotli of KMSC, Bohr Singh of BKU-Behramke were among those detained.

In a statement, the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Punjab chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang said it is the responsibility of the Punjab government to maintain law and order and is fulfilling its responsibility.

The leader of the ruling party in Punjab also appealed to farmer organisations to maintain peace and cooperate with the government.

At the farmers' protest in Sangrur's Longowal, the Krantikari Kisan Union leader Gurmeet Singh said they demand the release of detained leaders and compensation for flood-hit farmers.

He said a meeting of the SKM over the issue of compensation for losses caused by floods will be held on September 2 in Chandigarh.

Farmers are demanding a package of Rs 50,000 crore from the Centre for damages caused by floods in the northern region. 

They are also demanding Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, Rs 5 lakh for a damaged house and Rs 10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in the floods.

The farmers claimed that several of their leaders were detained on Monday in different parts of Punjab, while some farmers were also held in Ambala and Kurukshetra in Haryana ahead of their protest plan.

They even laid siege on some toll plazas in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Hoshiarpur in Punjab in protest against the detention of their leaders.

During their protest, they did not allow toll plaza authorities to charge fee from commuters.

"I appeal to farmers' organisations that instead of becoming the cause of problems for people, they should focus on solving the problem together with the government." "People will be in trouble due to closed toll plazas and roads in Punjab. It is everyone's democratic right to protest peacefully, but peace and order should be maintained during protests," Kang said in the statement," the AAP spokesperson said, 

He assured farmers about compensation, adding that the process of 'girdawari' (survey to assess losses) is underway in different areas of Punjab. "Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has never turned away from problems of farmers. From day one, he has been working for the betterment of farmers," Mr Kang said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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UK's National Army Museum Marks Indian Army's World War Contributions

A new display at the National Army Museum in London tells the story of the essential contributions of the Indian Army during the First World War, illustrated by photographs, illustrations of artwork, documents and medals from the museum's collections.

‘British Indian Army: Soldiers of the First World War', which opened earlier this month and runs until November 5, is created in partnership with the United Service Institution of India in New Delhi.

It commemorates the important role played by troops from the Indian subcontinent during the war as part of the British Indian armed forces during the colonial era in the 20th century.

“The Indian Army was essential during the war as the imperial reserve both on the Western Front at the beginning of the war and during the Palestine campaign in 1918,” notes the museum display.

“Nearly 1.4 million men from India served in various theatres, making it the largest all-volunteer force the world had seen at the time,” it said.

Created in partnership with the United Service Institution of India, our new temporary display British Indian Army: Soldiers of the First World War, is open until 5 November. #southasianheritagemonth @HCI_London @UKinIndia @USI_CAFHR @USIofindia https://t.co/JxgVHUKSLn pic.twitter.com/IXQAPGsacV

— National Army Museum (@NAM_London) August 11, 2023

The Indian Corps went on to fight in the battles of Neuve Chapelle, Second Ypres and Loos in 1915.

The infantry was withdrawn from the Western Front in December 1915 to reinforce the troops in Mesopotamia, with the two cavalry divisions remaining until 1918.

The display, which is free of charge, highlights how Mesopotamia was the main theatre for the British Indian Army.

India provided over three-quarters of the force employed, three-quarters of the river craft and the entire railway material and personnel.

The initial objective was to secure the oil supplies around Basra which was achieved at relatively little cost by April 1915.

In Palestine, a process of “Indianisation” from late 1917 onwards meant that British Army units were sent back to the Western Front and replaced by Indian Army units. PTI AK MRJ MRJ

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Probe Agency Questions Kerala Congress Chief For Hours In Cheating Case

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran was on Tuesday questioned for several hours by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a financial fraud allegedly committed by self-styled controversial antique dealer Monson Mavunkal.

Mr Sudhakaran was questioned for nearly nine hours starting from 11 am at the ED office in Kochi.

Prior to reaching the ED office, the KPCC chief, also a parliamentarian, told reporters that he did not commit any wrong and hence was not scared when summoned for questioning by the agency.

"I am not concerned or scared in any manner. I am going for the questioning with full of courage and confidence as I have never done anything wrong nor will I do so in future," he said.

He also claimed that he had several opportunities during his political career to earn money through illegal means, but he never did.

After being questioned, Mr Sudhakaran told reporters that he answered all the ED's questions satisfactorily as he had nothing to hide. "They (ED) were satisfied with it," he said.

The KPCC chief also said that his questioning was not over and he has been asked to appear before the agency again on August 30.

Monson Mavunkal had allegedly made false representations about himself and his business to various people and collected money from them. Many photos of Mr Mavunkal with senior police officers and bureaucrats of the state have surfaced. Among them some are with K Sudhakaran.

The KPCC chief has claimed that he had gone to Mr Mavunkal's home for treatment, as the latter claimed to be a trained cosmetologist.

Cherthala-native Monson Mavunkal, who claims to be in possession of rare and historic antiques, was arrested by the Crime Branch in September 2021.

He is facing charges of having swindled Rs 10 crore from several people.

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27% Quota For Other Backward Classes In Gujarat Local Bodies: Congress

The Congress on Tuesday demanded a 27 per cent reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in local bodies in Gujarat and asked the government to make public the Justice Jhaveri Commission report.

The opposition party also made a strong pitch for a caste-based census.

These demands were made during a sit-in protest organised under the "Jan Adhikar Samiti" banner by Congress legislature party leader Amit Chavda, state unit president Shaktisinh Gohil, Jagdish Thakor, and others, at the Satyagrah Chhavni ground here.

Chavda said OBC leaders belonging to the ruling BJP were also invited to join the dharna but none came. In a dig, he said it seems "the BJP leaders are following the directions of their party high command".

He said the Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste and OBC communities will organise a Mahapanchayat for their rights and protest "discriminatory policies of the government".

"We had invited leaders of the OBC community sitting in the government to come to this dharna but no one joined us. They ignored their community and decided not to participate as per the order of their party. If the community has voted you to power, then you should come forward and support them," said Chavda.

He demanded the government conduct a caste-based census, publish Justice Jhaveri Commission's report, and allot 27 per cent reservation to the OBC community in all local self-government institutions.

Chavda also demanded a 27 per cent allocation to the OBC community in the annual state budget, and implementation of reservation to the ST, SC, OBC, and minority communities in cooperatives.

The main contention of the opposition party is the "delay" in making public a report submitted by the Justice Jhaveri Commission formed last year by the BJP government to ascertain the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies to decide on reservation for OBCs in them.

The report was submitted to the government in April this year.

The Congress has been alleging that since this report has not been made public, elections to several local bodies have been put on hold in Gujarat.

The BJP government set up the commission, headed by Gujarat High Court Judge KS Jhaveri (retired) last July to collect and analyse data about the nature and implications of backwardness in local bodies, an exercise necessary for fixing the OBC quota in elections for institutes of local self-governance in the state.

As directed by the Supreme Court, seats to be reserved for OBC candidates in each local body will be decided as per the recommendations of the commission following a detailed study.

Chavda also demanded that sub-plan committees be formed to oversee the budget spending on OBCs and sought the reservation for them, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in cooperative bodies of the state.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Pakistan cable car: student brought to safety in zip line rescue

Pakistan student brought to safety in zip line rescue

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"She Never Spoke To Me About Her Anger Issues": Shraddha Walkar's Father

The father of Sharddha Walkar told a Delhi court on Monday that his daughter never spoke to him about her "serious anger issues" or getting "abusive first" with Aaftab Amin Poonawala, her live-in partner, accused of killing her and chopping the body into pieces.

He also denied having been told by her daughter that she felt guilty about not defending her mother properly against her father's aggressive or abusive behaviour.

Vikas Madan Walkar was being cross-examined as a prosecution witness by Poonawala's counsel before Additional Sessions Judge Manisha Khurana Kakkar.

Poonawala is accused of killing Shraddha Walkar on May 18 last year.

Defence counsel Akshay Bhandari posed several questions to Vikas Madan Walkar after playing some video clips where the victim was speaking to a psychologist or counsellor.

"Is it correct that in the said videos your daughter is telling the counsellor that you used to beat your wife? Is it correct that your daughter is also saying that she feels guilty that she did not defend her mother properly against your aggressive, abusive behaviour? Is it correct what your daughter is saying that (when) she tried to defend her mother once you scared her off?" Bhandari asked.

"It is correct that she has stated so in the videos. However, she never said the same to me," Walkar responded.

After a few other clips were played in the open court, Bhandari resumed the cross-examination.

"Is it correct that in the video your daughter is stating she has anger issues and she gets abusive first (with Poonawala)?" the defence counsel asked Walkar.

"Is it correct that your daughter is stating that the accused used to be very supportive of her and never stopped her from doing anything? Is it correct that the counsellor is heard saying that the victim has very serious anger issues…?" Bhandari continued with a flurry of questions.

Walkar's response to every question was his daughter never told him about any of these issues.

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad objected to the questions on the ground that the video clips did not pertain to Walkar's examination-in-chief and that the alleged victim's father was not present when the videos were made. Examination-in-chief is the first questioning of a witness by the party which has called that witness to give evidence in support of the case being made.

"Further, the questions are intended to annoy and insult the witness, therefore the questions should be disallowed," he said.

Walkar's cross-examination got over on Monday, following which the court has posted the matter for examining further prosecution witnesses on Tuesday.

After allegedly strangling Sharddha Walkar, Poonawala was claimed to have sawed her body into pieces and kept them in a fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in south Delhi's Mehrauli. He later threw the pieces at different places in the national capital to avoid getting caught.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Greece wildfires: Authorities on alert for new spate of blazes

Officials warn that high temperatures and strong winds on Tuesday could see more devastating fires.

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ISRO Recruitment Test Cancelled After 2 From Haryana Caught Cheating

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) on Monday cancelled the test held a day ago to hire technical staff, after two men from Haryana were arrested for allegedly impersonating and cheating in the exam.

The VSSC, in a notification, said that the written tests to the posts of technician-B, draughtsman-B and radiographer-A held on August 20 at various centres in Thiruvananthapuram now stand cancelled.

"The revised schedule for the test will be informed to all the candidates through the VSSC website in due course. Inconvenience caused is regretted," the statement said.

The move comes after the Kerala Police caught two people red-handed at separate test centres as they cheated and arrested them.

On checking their identities, the police realised they were proxying for the actual candidates when their names did not match with those appearing for the exam.

Besides these two, four others from Haryana are in police custody for cheating.

The police launched a full-fledged investigation into the incident, had also urged VSSC to cancel the test.

As more than 400 candidates from Haryana had taken the test, there are suspicions over whether coaching centres may be involved. An investigating team will be sent to the state to collaborate with the state's police for the probe, the police had said earlier.

A case under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and various other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act has been lodged against those arrested, the police said.

"The two arrested accused will also be charged for impersonating the actual candidates," they said.

The national-level recruitment test was held only in Kerala at 10 exam centres, the police added.

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Hawaii wildfires: The red Lahaina house that survived Maui fires

The 100-year-old wood structure was recently renovated but not fireproofed, say owners.

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Ecuador chooses president amid spike in violence

The campaign was overshadowed by a wave of shootings, including the assassination of a candidate.

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Baghdad advertising boards turned off over porn screening

Electronic screens were shut down after a hacker used one to run a pornographic film.

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Rajinikanth Offers Prayers At Ram Mandir, Hanuman Temple In Ayodhya

Superstar Rajinikanth offered prayers at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Sunday and saw the construction work. He also visited the Hanuman Garhi temple and paid obeisance.

"I wished to come here for a long time and I am fortunate that the wish has been fulfilled. If Lord wishes, I will come again after the construction of the temple is completed," Rajinikanth told reporters.

At the Ram Janmabhoomi, he was welcomed by senior officials, including the Ayodhya Commissioner Gaurav Dayal, the Inspector-General of Police Praveen Kumar and the Municipal Commissioner Vishal Singh.

The chief priest of the Ram temple Acharya Satyendra Das presented Rajinikanth a model of the Ram temple and a stole with the name of Lord Ram woven on it.

Mahant Raju Das of the Hanuman Garhi temple told news agency PTI that the actor spent around 10 minutes at the temple.

"I express my thanks to Rajinikanth ji. Today, people from different parts of the country, of different professions and Bollywood are being attracted towards Ayodhya," he said.

Earlier in the day, Rajinikanth met Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav at his residence in Lucknow.

The Tamil superstar reached Lucknow on Friday to promote his film "Jailer", which hit the screens on August 10. On Saturday, he met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The actor said his meeting with the UP Chief Minister was "very good".

On Saturday afternoon, Rajinikanth along with UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya watched "Jailer" in Lucknow.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Two men die swimming during Ireland triathlon

The pair, aged in their 60s and 40s, were competing in a weather-affected Ironman event.

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Why Union Ministers Are Thanking Rahul Gandhi For His Ladakh Trip

As Rahul Gandhi posted pictures on social media of his motorcycle ride in Ladakh, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday complimented him for promoting the excellent roads built in the Himalayan region under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

Mr Rijiju also posted a video on 'X', formerly Twitter, claiming to be of 2012 in which a series of sports utility vehicles can be seen trying to navigate a makeshift road full of stones and boulders en route Pangong Tso in Ladakh.

The Earth Sciences Minister also posted a picture of Mr Gandhi riding a motorcycle on a smooth blacktop road en route Pangong Tso, where a prayer meeting is scheduled to mark the birth anniversary of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on Sunday.

"Thanks to Rahul Gandhi for promoting the excellent roads of Ladakh built by the Narendra Modi government,” Rijiju said in a post on 'X'.

Thanks to Rahul Gandhi for promoting excellent roads of Ladakh built by the @narendramodi govt. Earlier, he also showcased how Tourism is booming in Kashmir Valley & reminded all that our "National Flag" can be peacefully hoisted at Lal Chowk in Srinagar now! pic.twitter.com/vta6HEUnXM

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) August 19, 2023

The minister said earlier too Mr Gandhi had showcased how tourism was booming in Kashmir Valley and reminded all that the national flag can be peacefully hoisted at Lal Chowk in Srinagar now.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said on 'X', "To witness and spread the word about post-Article 370 developments in Leh and Ladakh, Shri Rahul Gandhi himself has taken a trip to the valley. We are elated and delighted to watch glimpses of his road trip." Gandhi is currently on a tour of Ladakh -- his first since the region was made a Union territory after being carved out of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Gandhi is likely to visit Kargil next week.

The erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was also turned into a Union territory and its special status under Article 370 of the Constitution was revoked.

Mr Gandhi reached Leh on a two-day visit on Thursday and later decided to extend his stay in the region by four more days to cover Pangong Lake, Nubra Valley and Kargil district.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Jagan Reddy To Raise Andhra Students' Deportation From US With Centre

In wake of some students from Andhra Pradesh being deported from US, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided to take up the issue with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to resolve it, said an official on Saturday.

An unspecified number of students from the southern state were deported by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) federal law enforcement agency officials recently from the American airports on landing, reports said.

"Reddy is looking into this matter and will address it to the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India for resolving this at the earliest as all students have a valid USA visa for higher studies…and also keeping in view of the careers of these students of AP," said an official of the state-government body Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRTS) in a statement without divulging details.

Though the students possessed valid visas, the Andhra Pradesh government has said that CBP officials should consider granting entry to the students.

Issuing an advisory, the state government appealed to the students to be prepared to answer any question from the American officials and also carry all proofs on financials and other relevant documents, including understanding non-immigrant visa laws and gaining knowledge about the varsity and course.

Calling the deported students to reach out to it, APNRTS, which also functions as a specialised body for overseas education admission and counselling process has shared its helpline numbers.

The helpline numbers are 91 863 2340678 and 91 85000 27678, and email addresses, "mailto:info@apnrts.com"info@apnrts.com and "mailto:helpline@apnrts.com"helpline@apnrts.com Moreover, APNRTS cautioned students to be wary of misleading private education consultancies. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Taking Drum To Field, Man Leaves It On Tracks After Spotting Train

A man was arrested in Jalna in Maharashtra for allegedly leaving a drum filled with stones on the railway tracks after spotting an incoming train, a police official said on Saturday.

Balu Makhmale (25) was arrested by the Railway Protection Force on Friday in connection with the incident that took place a month ago, he said.

"The drum was spotted by the driver of the Devgiri Express on the Satona-Osmanabad route. He applied emergency brakes and averted an accident. A probe found Makhmale was taking the drum to his field nearby but abandoned it on the tracks after the Devgiri Express reached close by," he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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New shooting mars election campaign in Ecuador

Another shootout prompts a call to tackle gang violence ahead of Sunday's presidential vote.

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Twitter, now X, to remove blocking feature

Elon Musk says the feature "makes no sense", but users are concerned about protection from abuse.

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Arvind Kejriwal's "Styles Of Democracy" Jibe At BJP Over Services Law

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday attacked the BJP-led Centre, saying the ordinance on services matter was brought as money power and the threat of the ED and the CBI failed in Delhi.

In a speech in the Assembly, he also claimed that the BJP has brought the "Sanghi" model of democracy through the Services Bill while asserting that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be fought on the issue of full statehood for the national capital.

Mr Kejriwal alleged that the "democratic rights of the people of Delhi were trampled through the ordinance and the bill".

"There are several styles of democratic systems like the Westminister style and parliamentary style. These people (BJP) have brought the Sanghi style of democracy through this bill," he said.

"The ordinance on services matter was brought because money power and the threat of the ED and the CBI had failed in Delhi," he added.

Mr Kejriwal also claimed that recently, someone from BJP had threatened him, saying, "We will make you bow down".

"But I want to tell them that no power can make Mr Kejriwal and the two crore people of Delhi bow down," he said.

The AAP national convener said that the BJP will lose all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi in the 2024 polls.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Sebastian Kurz: Ex-Austria leader charged with misleading parliament

Sebastian Kurz denies accusations of lying to a committee probing corruption in state appointments.

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Rajasthan Announces Rs 15 Crore Financial-Aid To Rain-Hit Himachal

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday announced a financial assistance of Rs 15 crore to Himachal Pradesh where heavy rains and landslides have caused massive damage.

"An assistance of Rs 15 crore will be given by the Rajasthan government to help the people suffering from the difficult situation created by heavy rains and landslides in Himachal Pradesh," Mr Gehlot said in a post on X, formerly called Twitter.

Mr Gehlot said the people of Rajasthan are standing with the people of Himachal Pradesh in these difficult circumstances.

This comes after Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced a financial assistance of Rs 11 crore to the flood-hit state earlier in the day.

Officials in Himachal Pradesh have said the total number of deaths in rain-related incidents in the state since Sunday night has increased to 75 with Shimla alone accounting for 22 fatalities. 

Heavy rains have hit the hill state since Sunday, triggering landslides in Shimla and several other districts.

Since the onset of the monsoon on June 24, 217 persons have died in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh and 11,301 houses have been partially or completely damaged, according to the state emergency operation centre.

A total of 506 roads are still closed in the state and 408 transformers and 149 water supply schemes have been disrupted.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Child Rights Body Notice To Jadavpur University Over No CCTV On Campus

Top child rights body NCPCR has sought an explanation from Jadavpur University over no CCTV cameras in the hostel premises where a first-year student died after he was allegedly ragged and sexually harassed.

The 17-year-old died after falling from a second-floor balcony of the hostel last week. His family has alleged he was a victim of ragging.

Terming the lack of CCTV cameras in the hostel premises a violation of UGC guidelines on the safety of students in higher educational institutions, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has sought an explanation from the university.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, the NCPCR asked for an action taken report from the university within seven days. The NCPCR also wrote to the Kolkata Police, seeking an inquiry into the matter.

Six more former and current students of Jadavpur University were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly ragging and sexually harassing the freshman leading to his death. They were remanded in police custody by a Kolkata court till August 28.

Nine people have been arrested in the case so far, the police said.

The Kolkata Police has taken cognisance of the students' social media posts, including photographs, which suggest that there was an element of sexual harassment in the ragging of the student.

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Channel migrants: France arrests four people over fatal sinking

The suspects may face charges including manslaughter after six people died last weekend.

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Chinese Man Involved In Rs 2,300 Crore Hawala Transactions: Gujarat Police

A Chinese national, accused of duping hundreds in Gujarat by floating a fraudulent football betting app, was involved in money laundering and hawala transactions worth Rs 2,300 crore, an official of the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) said on Thursday.

A Look-Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against Wu Choumbo, the Chinese national, who had visited Gujarat in 2018 and left after a brief stay.

After finding hawala transactions worth Rs 2,300 crore from the bank accounts of some persons who were arrested recently, CID-Crime and Railways officials in March had requested the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to conduct a separate probe from the money laundering angle, said the official.

Last year, several people approached Gujarat police after losing money through the football betting app "Dani Data". Lured by promises of high returns, they had placed bets through the app and deposited money. The app, however, shut down soon and the people lost their money.

An investigation by the CID revealed that 1,175 people from Gujarat lost Rs 3.5 crore in this scam.

First Information Reports (FIRs) were also registered in other states including Uttar Pradesh and Bihar against the app operators for duping people, said the official.

The CID subsequently arrested ten persons allegedly linked to the betting app as well as the hawala scam.

Wu Choumbo is believed to be the mastermind behind the fraudulent app, said the official.

During his stay in India, he became a director at TK Color Pvt Ltd. After his exit, two Indians became its directors and also allegedly carried out hawala transactions on his behalf for commission, the CID official said.

"While investigating the betting scam, we learnt that hawala transactions of Rs 2,300 crore had been carried out from the bank accounts of many shell firms floated by the accused. This indicated that apart from collecting money through the betting app, the accused were also laundering money received from other sources and sending it to other countries through hawala," he said, adding that further investigation in the betting scam is underway.

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Pregnant Wife Killed In Accident, Man Gets "Loss Of Foetus" Compensation

The Delhi High Court has awarded Rs 5 lakh as compensation to a man who lost his 27-year-old pregnant wife, a police constable, in a road accident, saying he is entitled to the amount for the "loss of the foetus" carried by the woman.

Justice Navin Chawla said a foetus is another life in a woman and its loss is actually a loss of a child in the offing and the husband of the deceased "lost his entire family in the accident, including the child whom he could never see".

The Uttar Pradesh Police constable died in July 2013 as a result of injuries she suffered after a truck at high speed hit a motorcycle on which she was riding with her colleague from behind. The constable was riding pillion.

The court opined that the husband was entitled to a "just" compensation.

Stating that the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal's decision to give a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh for loss of the eight-month-old foetus was not adequate, the judge directed that an enhanced compensation of Rs 5 lakh be given by the insurer.

"There can be no doubt that the appellant herein is entitled to compensation that may be found 'just' for the loss of the foetus carried by the deceased at the time of the accident/her death," the court said in a recent order.

"Keeping in view the facts of the present case, I find the compensation of Rs 2,50,000 awarded by the learned tribunal to be inadequate. The same shall stand enhanced to Rs 5,00,000," the judge ordered.

The court's order came on an appeal by the husband against the amount of compensation granted by the tribunal.

The tribunal had held that the constable died due to the negligent driving and awarded compensation to the husband on the basis of the "loss of estate at 1/3rd of the income of the deceased".

It had further also awarded a sum of Rs 2.50 lakh towards the death of the foetus.

The appellant argued before the high court that the tribunal erred in restricting the compensation towards the death of the foetus only to Rs 2.50 lakh as he was expecting his first child with his deceased wife and his entire family "wiped-out" in the accident.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Delhi Minister Atishi Gives New Order On Transfer-Posting, Vigilance

Delhi Services Minister Atishi Wednesday issued a fresh order asking Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to ensure files on transfer-posting of officers and vigilance matters be presented to the National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA) only after her approval.

She said the three-member NCCSA will meet regularly until any new order is issued by the Supreme Court. "Despite challenging this legislation (GNCTD ordinance) in the Supreme Court, we will comply with it as long as it remains prevalent as a law passed by Parliament," she said.

The NCCSA was formed after the Centre issued an ordinance in May. The ordinance has now been replaced by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023.

The AAP has been alleging the Centre was trying to take control of Delhi's services matter through the ordinance which was promulgated a week after the Supreme Court ruled that the transfer and posting of official working in Delhi was under the city government's domain.

Under the NCCSA envisaged in the new law, the three-member body is headed by the chief minister with the chief secretary and the principal secretary (home) of Delhi as members. All decisions will be taken by majority, effectively meaning decisions taken by the two bureaucrats would prevail.

Kejriwal had earlier said the authority was created as part of a "conspiracy" to control the capital by stealth.

Atishi, who was recently allocated the Services and Vigilance portfolios, issued fresh directions on Wednesday to the chief secretary which means no file related to transfer-posting of grade A officers would be put to NCCSA unless approved by her.

Atishi asked the chief secretary to follow the provisions of Sections 45H(1) and 45H(2) of GNCTD (Amendment) Act 2023 for "better functioning of the National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA)".

"All proposals for transfers and postings under Section 45H(1) will be put up to NCCSA with the approval of Minister Services. After obtaining the approval of Minister Services, Secretary Services shall send the proposals to the Member Secretary of the NCCSA for putting up before the NCCSA," she said in the order.

"All proposals for vigilance and non-vigilance related matters under Section 45H(2) will be put up to NCCSA with the approval of Minister Vigilance. After obtaining the approval of Minister Vigilance, Secretary Vigilance shall send the proposals to the Member Secretary of the NCCSA for putting up before the NCCSA," she said.

She said that under Section 45H(1) of the GNCTD (Amendment) Act 2023, the NCCSA will be responsible for the transfer and posting of all Group-A and DANICS officers in Delhi, she has said in the order.

And as per Section 45H(2), she said, it will be the responsibility of the NCCSA to recommend initiating disciplinary action for all Group-A and DANICS officers associated with vigilance and non-vigilance cases in Delhi, with the aim of starting disciplinary proceedings and recommending sanctions for the same.

"We have issued an order outlining procedures that facilitate coordination between the Delhi Govt's departments and NCCSA with regular meetings planned. This comprehensive order includes all the necessary steps and procedures for said coordination to ensure the smooth functioning of the authority and the NCT, " Atishi told reporters outside the Delhi Assembly.

Atishi also said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will now participate in all its meetings as the chairperson.

The AAP had vehemently opposed the GNCTD Act, 2023 and the ordinance that preceded it, saying it gives control to the LG, appointed by the Centre, over the transfer of posting of officials working under the Delhi government.

However, Atishi told reporters on Wednesday now regular meetings will be held.

"Meetings of the authority have not been held in the past few months due to some reasons, resulting from a deadlock between officers and the government. But now, the Kejriwal Government has issued orders to conduct these meetings on a regular basis, because the Kejriwal government firmly believes in and abides by the authority of India's Constitution." She added the decision was made to ensure effective coordination between departments of the Delhi government and the National Capital Civil Services Authority, preventing any disruption of work for the people of Delhi.

"Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will participate in all NCCSA meetings as the chairperson because he is concerned for the citizens of Delhi and he respects the Constitution.

The minister said they have challenged the Bill in the Supreme Court and key question raised still remain unanswered.

Atishi was also questioned about the clocking of Delhi Jal Board funds, she said, "Due to the ordinance brought by the Centre, the officers are working as per their whims because they know they are answerable to the Lieutenant Governor and not the elected government in Delhi."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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