11:28 Anantnag encounter: Terrorists affiliated to IS killed : Two militants reportedly affiliated to the Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) and a policeman were killed today while several civilians injured during an encounter between ultras and security forces in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
“Encounter at Khiram Srigufara on, two terrorists down, firing still continues. Unfortunate we lost one colleague of J&K Police,’ Director General of Police (DGP) S P Vaid Tweeted.
In another tweet, the DGP said the militants were reportedly from the ISJK. “Terrorists reportedly affiliated to ISJK,’ Vaid said.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Khiram in Srigufwara area of the south Kashmir district this morning after receiving specific intelligence input about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said.
He said the search operation turned into a gunfight after the militants fired upon the forces, who retaliated. The gunfight was going on when last reports came in, the official said.
He said clashes broke out near the encounter site as a group of youth started pelting stones on the forces who are engaged in the operation. Security forces used force on the protestors and several civilians have suffered injuries, the official said. Further details were awaited. — PTI
Image: Director General of Police S P Vaid.
11:09 Two new balls in ODIs is recipe for disaster: Tendulkar: Concerned by a spate of run fests recently, Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has criticised the use of two new balls in ODIs, saying it is “a perfect recipe for disaster”.
Mostly a reticent commentator, Tendulkar shared his point of view after watching England batsmen go on a rampage against Australia in the last two ODIs.
“Having 2 new balls in one day cricket is a perfect recipe for disaster as each ball is not given the time to get old enough to reverse. We haven’t seen reverse swing, an integral part of the death overs, for a long time,” Tendulkar tweeted from his official handle.
England posted a world record 481 for 6 against Australia in the third ODI, bettering their own record of 444 vs Pakistan.
In the next ODI, England chased down a target of 312 inside 45 overs. Tendulkar’s view was endorsed by Pakistan’s legendary master of reverse swing Waqar Younis.
“Reason why we don’t produce many attacking fast bowlers..They all very defensive in their approach…always looking for change ups..totally agree with you @sachin_rt reverse swing is almost vanished,” Younis tweeted in response Tendulkar.
The ICC had introduced two new balls from two ends after amending it’s playing rules back in October 2011.
Interestingly, BCCI was one board that protested the move questioning the diminishing role of spinners due to this new rule tweak. However, ICC has stuck to it in its efforts to make the game batsman-friendly.
The logic given was the discolouration of the white ball during the end of the innings and batsmen not being able to sight it properly especially in the dusty sub-continental conditions under lights.
The current rule means that the white kookaburra is bowled for only 25 overs from one end. Therefore when the spinners, who are introduced in the middle overs, are handed the ball, they effectively bowl with a ball that is hardly 8 to 9 overs old. Even by the time, a spinner finishes his spell, the ball is still only 20 overs old. Therefore, unlike earlier era, the ball doesn’t get soft, which would make it difficult for the batsmen to hit through the line like they do nowadays at the back-end of the innings. The chance of reverse swing has decreased even further with the use of two new balls.
— PTI
10:47 ‘I was just ashamed to continue any longer in the BJD’: Baijayant Panda, former Biju Janata Dal MP from Kendrapara, was openly critical of his party leadership in the past one year. So, the news that he had finally quit the party caused little surprise. Panda says the party has changed in the recent years as a new coterie has taken hold of its president Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha. Read the interview here.
10:40 Kate Spade’s heartbroken father dies ahead of her funeral: The family of fashion designer Kate Spade says her father died on the eve of her funeral. The family released a statement saying he’d been unwell and was heartbroken over her suicide.
Spade will be laid to rest yesterday in her hometown Kansas City, Missouri.
The 55-year-old was found dead in her apartment in New York on June 5.
Her death was later ruled a suicide by hanging.
10:37 Boy jailed for refusing free vegetables to cops: The Bihar government has ordered a high-level inquiry into the matter of a minor boy being jailed for three months for allegedly refusing to give free vegetables to policemen in Patna.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has directed a higher official to conduct an inquiry and submit a report within two days.
Meanwhile, the Bihar Police have also took note of the incident and assured an investigation into it.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj told ANI, “It’s a matter of investigation. We have no information of any such incident. So we will have to talk to his family. If anyone is found to be at fault, they won’t be spared.”
The 14-year-old was apprehended by policemen on March 19. While apprehending the boy, policemen refused to reply to the queries raised by his family.
The father of the boy, Sukhpal Singh said, “After looking for him at various police stations, we were told by the Patrakar Nagar police station that he has been arrested in connection with a motorcycle theft case. On the Aadhaar card the age of our son is 14 years but police have mentioned 18 years in FIR to register a case against him. It’s been three months and three days that he is in jail.”
According to the father, when they met the boy in jail, he alleged that the policemen were miffed with him as he had refused to give them vegetables for free. — ANI
10:29 Kashmir: Policeman injured in terrorist attack succumbs :
Policeman HC Habibullah, who got injured during an attack on a police party by terrorists in Srinagar’s Karan Nagar last week, succumbed to his injuries on Friday.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police confirmed the demise of Habibullah, who was undergoing treatment at SKIMS hospital in the state. Since a few days, the state has been witnessing a huge spurt in terror activity.
Recently, veteran journalist and editor of Rising Kashmir newspaper Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead by terrorists in Press Colony in Srinagar.
The same day, the bullet-ridden body of Rifleman Aurangzeb, who was abducted by terrorists from Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama, was recovered from Gusoo area.
On a related note, the Central Government earlier this week announced that there would be no extension of the ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir.In this regard, the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the security forces to take all necessary actions as earlier to prevent terrorists from launching attacks and indulging in violence and killings.
Security operations were earlier suspended in the wake of the holy month of Ramzan. — ANI
09:50 Trump directs officials to keep illegal immigrant families together during the immigration process: US President Donald Trump today said he has directed his administration to keep illegal immigrant families together during the immigration process, after he backed down on the controversial migrant family separations policy.
Trump also blamed Opposition Democrats for the current crisis on the US southern border, which he said is causing tremendous damage and destruction.
“I’m directing the Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to work together to keep illegal immigrant families together during the immigration process and to reunite these previously separated groups,” he told his Cabinet members during a White House Cabinet meeting.
He said the only real solution is for the Congress to close the “catch-and-release loopholes” that have fuelled the child smuggling industry, and advocated for an immigration bill.
“They don’t care about the children. They don’t care about the injury. They don’t care about the problems. All they do is they obstruct. We should be able to make an immigration bill that can really solve the problem, not just this. This is one aspect of it. This is one very important, but small, aspect of it,” he said.
President Trump urged Democratic lawmakers to come out with a legislative solution to the immigration process, which, he said, needs to be merit-based.
“My administration is also acting swiftly to address the illegal immigration crisis on the southern border. Loopholes in our immigration laws, all supported by extremist open-border Democrats and that’s what they are. They’re extremist, open-border Democrats,” he alleged.
These loopholes, he said, have led to massive child smuggling industry. “It’s exactly what it’s become. Human traffickers are making a fortune. It’s a disgrace,” he added. — PTI
09:27 Yoga has no religion, hope it can become a binding force for world: Modi:
As millions around the world celebrated the fourth International Yoga Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoped that yoga can become a “binding force” for the world, asserting it has no religion and contributes to physical and mental well-being of individuals.
Modi made these remarks while inaugurating the ‘YO1 Luxury Nature Cure Centre’ in the Catskills area of New York state yesterday via video-link.
“The word yoga means to unite. Therefore, this surge of interest in yoga fills me with hope. I hope that yoga can become a binding force for the world,” he said in his video address to inaugurate the centre, the brainchild of Rajya Sabha MP and Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra.
The telecast was viewed by Chandra and several members of the Indian-American community at the centre, including Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal.
“I always believe that yoga has no religion. It contains practical steps which can benefit everyone, even those who do not consider themselves religious,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister said in just three years the International Yoga Day has grown into a worldwide public movement and become an integral part of public life in many countries.
“Its impact has expanded far beyond its day of observance,” he said, adding that across nations, the day has become an occasion for initiations of millions of people inspired by the spirit of yoga, who commit themselves to its pursuit.
He added that several people, who already practice yoga, re-dedicate themselves to its pursuit on this day.
Lauding the opening of the centre, Modi appreciated that it will create about 2,000 direct and indirect jobs in the area.
“It will thus be a responsible member of the community,” he said, adding that the facility will also work to bring the benefit of yoga to all those who come there and contribute significantly to the wellness movement in the US.
Underscoring the global impact of yoga, Modi said interest in the exercise form is growing rapidly in western countries.
“It would be no exaggeration to say that yoga has been appreciated a lot by the western world. In the US alone, more than 20 million people are practicing yoga and this number is increasing at an average of five per cent every year,” he said. — PTI
Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs yoga during a mass yoga event on 4th International Yoga Day at Forest Research Institute ground in Dehradun on Thursday, June 21, 2018. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo
09:22 Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer dies at 68:
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Charles Krauthammer, whose weekly column was syndicated to more than 400 publications worldwide, has died at the age of 68.
Krauthammer had announced on June 8 that doctors had given him just weeks time to live, reported the Variety.
In a statement he had written, “This is the final verdict. My fight is over.”
Krauthammer said he had been recovering from the surgery since last year to remove a cancerous tumor in his abdomen, and while he has been gradually making his way back to health, recent tests showed that cancer has returned and was spreading rapidly.
“I wish to thank my doctors and caregivers, whose efforts have been magnificent. My dear friends, who have given me a lifetime of memories and whose support has sustained me through these difficult months. And all of my partners at The Washington Post, Fox News, and Crown Publishing,” he further wrote.
Born on March 13, 1950, in New York City, Krauthammer’s family moved to Montreal when he was young, and he later attended McGill University before pursuing a medical degree at Harvard.
While in his first year studying at Harvard Medical School, Krauthammer became permanently paralyzed from the waist down after a diving board accident that severed his spinal cord at C5.
In the 1980s, Krauthammer embarked on a career as a columnist and political commentator.
In August 2017, due to his battle with cancer, Krauthammer stopped writing his column and serving as Fox News contributor. — ANI
09:08 Melania wears ‘I don’t care’ jacket on trip to migrant children :
United States First Lady Melania Trump has surprised the world by visiting child migrants on the United States-Mexico border — but it was her choice of clothing for the trip that stunned the Internet.
As she was boarding a plane to Texas border, she appeared to be wearing a Zara jacket with the caption: “I really dont care. Do U?”
Photos taken as she boarded the plane at Andrews airbase didnt capture the jackets full text, but it seems to be the same as the one is available from the Zara website.
According to a pool report, Trumps communications director Stephanie Grisham told a reporter via email: “Its a jacket. There was no hidden message. After todays important visit to Texas, I hope the media isnt going to choose to focus on her wardrobe.
However, President Donald Trump later suggested in a tweet that his wife was trolling the ‘fake news media’ rather than traumatised children.
Trump tweeted: “I REALLY DONT CARE, DO U?” written on the back of Melania’s jacket, refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!
This is not the first time that Melania’s fashion choices raised eyebrows.
Last year the First Lady wore needle-thin high stiletto heels when she went to visit Hurricane Harvey disaster site.
Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
08:47 Trump says he is looking into possibility of meeting Putin:
United States President Donald Trump said that he is looking into the possibility of meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“We are looking at the possibility (of meeting Putin),” he told reporters, responding to a query on the speculation of their meeting.
Trump, who recently held a historic summit with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, said he is also planning to meet other world leaders as well.
Earlier in the day, the White House said US National Security Advisor John Bolton will be travelling to Moscow next week to discuss a possible meeting between Trump and Putin. — PTI
08:30 Encounter breaks out between security forces and terrorists in J&K:
An encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir this morning, police said.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Srigufwara area of the district in south Kashmir after receiving specific intelligence input about the presence of terrorists, a police official said.
He said the search operation turned into a gunfight after the terrorists fired upon the forces, who retaliated.
The gunfight was going on when last reports came in, the official said, adding further details were awaited. — PTI
00:24 Urban moms avoid breastfeeding to maintain figure: Anandiben: Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel said women in urban areas do not like to breastfeed their children as they fear it will spoil their figure.
“Women in cities these days don’t breastfeed babies as they fear their figure will be affected, the baby is fed milk through bottles since birth. As bottles break, one day their ‘naseeb‘ (destiny) will also break,” Patel said on Wednesday while attending an event at an Anganwadi centre in Mayakhedi, Indore.
Before the start of the event, Patel asked her security personals to not stand in front of the women in the audience and go at the back.
The governor advised pregnant women to register themselves with the Anganwadi centres to avail the benefits of government schemes.
She also urged women to take advantage of the various schemes by the central government. — ANI
Source: Rediff