13:30 J-K governor holds high-level security meeting in Srinagar :
After receiving a nod from President Ram Nath Kovind on imposing Governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir, NN Vohra is now holding an important security meeting in Srinagar.
Officials belonging to the three areas — Security, Administration and Governance — are at the meeting headed by Governor Vohra which is being held at the Raj Bhavan in Srinagar.
The list of senior officials from the secretariat, the army and the police are expected to be present at the meeting.
Governor’s Rule in the state came into effect after Mehbooba Mufti resigned as Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s exit from its alliance with the People’s Democratic Party.
Yesterday, Governor Vohra forwarded his report to the President of India for the imposition of Governor’s Rule under Section 92 of the Constitution. — ANI
13:19 MP minister asks CM for cow ministry: Following his elevation to the rank of a cabinet minister in the Madhya Pradesh government, Swami Akhileshwaranand on Wednesday appealed to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to form a cow ministry in the state.
He was of the opinion that if there could be a cow secretariat in Rajasthan, a ministry for happiness in MP, then a cow ministry should be constituted in the state for the welfare of the state.
He said that the formation of the ministry will attract even more budget into the state and that he wanted the cow to be removed from the category of animal. — ANI.
12:56 Mehbooba had no clue about the BJP coup: “From what I know of her,” says Mohammad Sayeed Malik — the distinguished doyen of Kashmir commentators — “Mehbooba will not take too long to recover. How much room she can then find to maneuver in the valley’s extremely harsh political climate only time can tell.”
Read the column here.
12:45 Madurai to get an AIIMS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of a Rs 1500-crore All India Medical Institute branch at Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The PM is expected to lay the foundation for the AIIMS on September 15, on the birthday of CN Annadurai.
The hospital will have 900 beds and will be one of the premier architecturally innovative buildings in the city, a senior official of the Prime Minister’s Office, said.
12:43 Kashmir update: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after meeting family of Sepoy Aurangzeb in J&K’s Poonch: I came to meet the martyr’s family. I have spent some time here. One message I can take back from here is that here’s a family, here’s a martyr, who stands out as an inspiration for the entire nation.
General Bipin Rawat, Army chief: We only stopped our operations during Ramzan. But, we saw what happened. The imposing of Governor’s rule will not affect our operations. Our operations will go on like they used to. We don’t face any political interference.
12:29 UPPSC cancels PCS (mains) 2017 exam after question paper mix up: The UPPCS on Tuesday cancelled the PCS (Mains) 2017 exam for the day, scheduled to be held in two shifts after invigilators distributed the wrong set of question papers at one of the centres. Read the full report here.
Activist Shabnam Hashmi tweets: Strongly condemn the arrest of #RichaSingh and other students who were protesting in Allahabad against the leaking of #PCS paper. Demand immediate release. @Shehla_Rashid @kanhaiyakumar @sardesairajdeep @svaradarajan @yadavakhilesh @SudhinBhadoria @yadavtejashwi @SalmanNizami_
12:23 Nawaz Sharif’s wife’s condition stable : Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s wife Begum Kulsoom’s vital organs have now been functioning normally. After being put on life support, Kulsoom even opened her eyes once.
On Tuesday, the doctors treating her at Harley Street Clinic in London, told Sharif that her wife was highly critical.
Sharif family and the five-member board of doctors discussed Kulsoom’s condition and decided that she would not be taken off the ventilator for now. The doctors asked Nawaz to wait for another review of her condition, the timeline of which has not been given at the moment, as per Geo News.
The doctors informed Nawaz, Maryam and Shehbaz Sharif that Kulsoom’s condition has neither deteriorated nor improved since June 14, when she was shifted to intensive care, after suffering a cardiac arrest. She was then sedated, put on life support and is undergoing treatment. — ANI
11:52 Kashmiri Pandits arrive for Kheer Bhawani festival : Hindu pilgrims attended the annual festival of Mata Kheer Bhawani in Ganderbal, Jammu & Kashmir, today. Thousands of Kashmiri Pandit devotees, who were displaced and were forced to leave the Valley due to militancy, have started arriving at the Kheer Bhawani temple.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had announced free transport for the devotees from Delhi and Jammu to the temple and back to attract more Kashmiri Pandits to the mela to be celebrated from today.
The then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had also joined the celebrations at the shrine on June 3, offering kheer to the shrine of the goddess. She said she prayed that the day comes soon when Kashmiri Pandits can return to their homes with dignity, with children.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police had put up signboards en route to the temple to welcome the Kashmiri Pandits. The name ‘Kheer Bhawani’ is derived from the fact that thousands of devotees offer kheer (rice pudding) to the sacred spring. The kheer is believed to turn black to warn of impending disaster.
The number of Pandits at the festival this year is much lower than the last few years in the wake of the increased militancy in the Valley.
The festival is seen as a hallmark of Hindu-Muslim amity with many Muslims setting up stalls at the shrine to sell flowers and other offerings for the pooja.
Every year on June 20, Kheer Bhawani melas are organised at five shrines across Kashmir. These are Ragnya Bagwati shrine at Tulmul in Ganderbal, Ragyna Bagwati shrine at Manzgam in Kulgam, Tripursundri shrine at Devsar in Kulgam, Ragnya Bagwati shrine at Logripora in Anantnag and Ragnya Bagwati temple complex at Tikkar in Kupawara.
11:25 Why Were Leaving the So-Called Human Rights Council: “Our withdrawal from the council will not end America’s own steadfast commitment to human rights. The U.S. delegation remains proud of American leadership in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Our country has always championed freedom, individual dignity, human rights and the rule of law, and that will never change. The U.S. will continue to lead on human rights outside the council, even as we push for institutional reform with like-minded partners.”
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley explains why the
United States is withdrawing from the UNHRC.
Read the column here.
11:19 Former J-K CM Omar Abdullah @OmarAbdullah says that the J&K state assembly should be dissolved immediately & fresh elections should take place as soon as appropriate. The former DCM has admitted that BJP can’t be trusted not to horse trade for govt formation.
11:08 Defence minister visits slain soldier Aurangzeb’s family: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets the family of Rifleman Aurangzeb in J&K’s Poonch. Aurangzeb was abducted from Pulwama by terrorists and later his bullet-ridden body was recovered on June 14.
Aurangzeb was a rifleman with the 44 Rashtriya Rifles. He was in a
private vehicle when he was abducted near Kalampora. Originally a
resident of Poonch, Aurangzeb was on leave and going home when he was abducted by terrorists. His body was found with two gunshot wounds – one in the head and one in the neck.
The defence minister is also likely to review the security situation in the state with two major security concerns — the Kheer Bhavani festival that begins tomorrow and the 60-day Amarnath Yatra on June 28.
Yesterday, the BJP dumped the PDP, its alliance partner in Jammu and Kashmir. One of the reasons cited by BJP general secretary Ram Madhav at the press conference announcing the decision to withdraw support was that the Mehbooba Mufti government had failed to contain militancy and radicalisation of youth in the Kashmir Valley.
10:57 You have to take children away: Trump : United States President Donald Trump defended his policy of separating children from their families who have been illegally crossing the southern US-Mexico border, saying, to prosecute parents for illicit entry, “you have to take the children away.”
“I don’t want children taken away from parents. When you prosecute the parents for coming in illegally — which should happen — you have to take the children away,” CNN quoted Trump, as saying.
He delivered his remarks at the National Federation of Independent Businesses 75th Anniversary Celebration.”They are fake. They are helping these smugglers and these traffickers like nobody would believe,” he added.
The Trump administration’s immigration policy is facing a backlash from both Democrats and Republicans, who call it inhuman to separate the minors from their families during immigration.
Nearly 2,000 children were taken away from their parents in a six-week period in April and May under the new Trump administration policy, according to several media reports.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new “zero-tolerance” policy on the border in April to prosecute immigrants for entering the country illegally.
By virtue of this policy, families who crossed together illegally would in some cases be separated, prompting a sweeping outcry from Democrats and immigration advocates.
Parents have since been arrested and placed in quick federal court proceedings near the border, while children are placed in shelters. Mexico’s foreign minister has called the US policy “cruel and inhuman”. — ANI
10:34 Agri budget doubled to help double farm income by 2022: PM:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his government has doubled the budget for agriculture to Rs 2.12 lakh crore to achieve its objective of doubling farm income by 2022.
Interacting with farmers from over 600 districts via video conferencing, Modi said the four cornerstones of the government policy for raising farm income are cutting input cost, fair price for the crop, preventing the produce from rotting and creating alternate sources of income.
He said the budget for the agriculture sector has been doubled to Rs 2.12 lakh crore during first four years of his government compared to the previous five years of the UPA regime.
The budget for 2018-19 fiscal has taken steps to provide farmers a price equivalent to 150 per cent of their cost of production, he said.
“We are working towards ensuring that the income of our hardworking farmers doubles by 2022. For that we are facilitating proper assistance wherever required. We have faith in the farmers of India,” he said.
Modi said the country is not just witnessing record foodgrain production but milk, fruit and vegetable output too are at all-time highs. In 2017-18, 280 million tonnes of foodgrains were produced as compared to an average of 250 million tonnes between 2010 and 2014. Pulses production has increased 10.5 per cent.
“Our effort is to provide farmers assistance at all stage of agriculture — at the time of sowing, after sowing and at the time of harvesting,” he said, adding the policy interventions are being planned to help farmers right from seeds to markets.
First, soil health cards are being provided to help farmers better understand soil nutrient status of his/her holding and advice them on the dosage of fertilisers.
Thereafter, loans are being made available to farmers to help them procure good quality seeds, he said, adding neem coating of urea has ensured that black-marketing of the crop nutrient is stopped and farmers get it without any problem.
To ensure farmers get the right price for their crops, online platform e-NAM has been started to eliminate middlemen. — PTI
10:15 Your family and party ruined Kashmir: Rijiju hits back at Rahul :
Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kiren Rijiju has hit back at Rahul Gandhi after the Congress president criticised the BJP for dumping People’s Democratic Party.
Gandhi had said that the “opportunistic BJP-PDP alliance” set fire to Jammu and Kashmir, killing many innocent civilians and brave soldiers, and that the damage would continue even if the state was put under central rule.
However, Rijiju said that it was India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Rahul’s family who created trouble in Kashmir.
“Sardar Patel ji solved all other regions. Nehru ji took charge of Kashmir & created more trouble. Thousands of people were killed, Kashmiri Pandits were slaughtered while more than 1,60,000 were forced out. Your family & party ruined Kashmir & you are accusing BJP?” Rijiju said on Twitter.
Hours after the BJP pulled out of the alliance government,Gandhi had said, “Incompetence, arrogance & hatred always fails (sic).”
“It cost India strategically & destroyed years of UPA’s hard work. The damage will continue under President’s rule (sic),” he tweeted.
The BJP blamed the PDP for failing to improve the security conditions in the Kashmir Valley.
The saffron party cited last week’s killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari in the heart of Srinagar in the highly secured area of Press Enclave by unidentified gunmen. The same day — two days before Eid — an army jawan was abducted while going on Eid leave and killed.
09:45 Sensex opens in green on value-buying :
The BSE Sensex rebounded over 130 points in opening trade today, reversing its two-session losing streak on value-buying in select blue-chips amid a strengthening rupee.
Overseas, mixed trend at other Asian markets also influenced trading sentiments here.
The rupee recovered from its nearly one-month low by strengthening 32 paise to 68.06 against the US dollar in early trade today.
The 30-share BSE index was trading higher by 130.41 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 35,417.15 in early trade today.
The gauge had lost 335.40 points in the previous two sessions, tracking a sell-off across global markets after the US and China reignited their trade dispute.
The NSE Nifty too rose by 39.45 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 10,749.90.
All sectoral indices, led by healthcare, realty and auto, were in the positive zone, rising up to 0.93 per cent.
Major gainers were Axis Bank, Vedanta, M&M, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, Infosys, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC Ltd and RIL, rising up to 1.77 per cent.
Domestic institutional investors bought shares worth a net Rs 653.686 crore while foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold equities to the tune of Rs 1,324.92 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.
Among other Asian bourses, Japan’s Nikkei was up by 0.16 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.03 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.19 per cent in early trade.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 1.15 per cent lower yesterday. — PTI
09:28 Trump defends zero tolerance immigration policy, blames Democrats for impasse:
United States US President Donald Trump defended his administration’s “zero tolerance” policy towards immigration, blaming the opposition Democrats for the current mess and urging the Congress to change the “ridiculous” laws.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, under President Trump’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy, nearly 2,000 children have been separated from their parents and guardians and placed into holding facilities between April 19 and May 31 of this year.
“Change the laws. Now is the best opportunity ever for Congress to change the ridiculous and obsolete laws on immigration. Get it done, always keeping in mind that we must have strong border security,” Trump said in a tweet.
He blamed the opposition Democrats for the loopholes in the existing laws.
“Democrats are the problem. They don’t care about crime and want illegal immigrants, no matter how bad they may be, to pour into and infest our country, like MS-13. They can’t win on their terrible policies, so they view them as potential voters!” Trump said.
Trump called for arresting anyone who comes into the country illegally.
“If you don’t have borders, you don’t have a country!… Be smart America,” he said.
“We must always arrest people coming into our country illegally. Of the 12,000 children, 10,000 are being sent by their parents on a very dangerous trip, and only 2000 are with their parents, many of whom have tried to enter our country illegally on numerous occasions,” he said.
Crime in Germany is up 10 per cent plus, since migrants were accepted and others countries are even worse,Trump said, adding that officials do not want to report these crimes.
Later addressing the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Trump alleged that as a result of the Democrat-supported loopholes in the federal laws, most illegal immigrant families and minors from Central America who arrive unlawfully at the border, cannot be detained together or removed together, but only released.
“These are crippling loopholes that cause family separation, which we don’t want. As a result of these loopholes, roughly half a million illegal immigrant family units and minors from Central America have been released into the United States since 2014, an unbelievably great taxpayer expense,” Trump said. — PTI
08:51 Tamil Nadu girl Anukreethy Vas crowned Femina Miss India 2018:
Anukreethy Vas, a 19-year-old college student from Tamil Nadu, has been crowned fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2018 in an extravagant ceremony held in Mumbai,, hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana.
Meenakshi Chaudhary, 21, from Harayana was declared the first runner-up while Andhra Pradesh’s Shrey Rao Kamvarapu, 23, stood as the second runner-up in the beauty competition.
The crowning ceremony saw performances by Bollywood stars like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jacqueline Farnandez and Madhuri Dixit, and also by Miss World 2017 Manushi Chillar.
The judges panel included names of cricketers — K L Rahul and Irfan Pathan — actors Bobby Deol, Malaika Arora and Kunal Kapoor. — PTI
08:26 US withdraws from UN rights council:
The United States withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council in protest of what it perceives as an entrenched bias against Israel and a willingness to allow notorious human rights abusers as members.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has announced that the United States is withdrawing from the UNHRC, alleging the 47-member council of “political bias.”
“For too long, the Human Rights Council has been a protector of human rights abusers, and a cesspool of political bias. Human rights abusers continue to serve on, and be elected to, the council,” Haley said.
“The world’s most inhumane regimes continue to escape its scrutiny, and the council continues politicising scapegoating of countries with positive human rights records in an attempt to distract from the abusers in its ranks,” she added.
The announcement came barely a day after the UNHRC condemned the Trump administration for its policy of separating children from the families at the US-Mexico border.
Haley threw a couple of other adjectives at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, calling it “hypocritical” and “self-serving” organization.
“I want to make it crystal clear that this step is not a retreat from our human rights commitments. On the contrary, we take this step because our commitment does not allow us to remain a part of a hypocritical and self-serving organisation that makes a mockery of human rights,” she said.
The Trump administration has already pulled the US out of several enormous international organisations and deals, including the Paris climate accord and the Iran nuclear deal, as well as the UN’s educational and cultural organizations.
08:11 President approves governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir:
President Ram Nath Kovind has approved governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect after the ruling coalition collapsed on Tuesday.
The three-year-old Jammu and Kashmir government, wracked by bitter political feuds and worsening security challenges, collapsed on Tuesday with the Bharatiya Janata Party pulling out of its alliance with the People’s Democratic Party.
Last evening, Governor NN Vohra had forwarded his report to the President for imposition of central rule.
In all states of India, the state government’s failure results in President’s rule. The process is slightly more nuanced in Jammu and Kashmir where not the President’s but Governor’s rule is imposed.
Under the provision of Section 92 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, Governor’s rule is imposed for six months, but only after the consent of the President of India.
Vohra will be presiding over the governor’s rule in the state for the fourth time, having done so in 2008, 2015 and 2016.
00:40 3 top JeM terrorists killed in Tral encounter: Three top Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, including its operational commander, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Tral in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, police said.
The encounter broke out after security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area following specific intelligence inputs, a police official said.
Earlier, Director General of Police (DGP) S P Vaid wrote on Twitter, “Encounter going on at Hyena Tral, 3 (three) important JEM Terrorists trapped…’
The police official said the gunfight was going on when last reports came in. Further details were awaited, he added. — PTI
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Source: Rediff