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Patidar agitation spearhead Hardik Patel was on Friday rushed to a hospital on the 14th day of his indefinite fast as he complained of difficulty in breathing.
He was admitted to the Government Civil Hospital in Sola two weeks after he gave up even taking water in protest against the government ignoring his demands.
(IANS)
The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar on Friday announced its support to the nationwide protest on September 10 called by the Congress against the hike in fuel prices, a party leader said here.
RJD state President Ramchandra Purve said thousands of party leaders and workers will participate in the protest across the state.
The RJD is a major ally of the Congress in Bihar.
Michelle Bachelet, the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Friday applauded the Indian Supreme Court’s decision to decriminalise homosexuality by repealing a 2013 verdict which had criminalised gay sex.
“This is a great day for India and for all those who believe in the universality of human rights,” Efe news quoted Bachelet as saying in a statement.
“With this landmark decision, the Indian Supreme Court has taken a big step forward for freedom and equality. I hope that other courts elsewhere in the world will look to India’s example and be encouraged to move in the same direction.
“Throughout the world such laws have led to a litany of abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people including arbitrary arrests, violence, bullying in schools, denial of access to health and harassment at work.
“Such discriminatory laws have no place in the 21st century, and I’m delighted the Indian Supreme Court has recognised that,” she added.
In a historic verdict, a five-judge Constitution Bench on Thursday declared Section 377 of IPC, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as “manifestly arbitrary”.
The court said it was no longer an offence for LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community to engage in consensual sex between two adults in private.
The Delhi High Court in July 2009 legalised homosexual acts between consenting adults.
But in December 2013, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court ruling saying that it was for the legislature to look into the desirability of deleting Section 377.
(IANS)
Four members of a family were hacked to death here in Uttar Pradesh early on Friday, police said.
The murders took place in Bigahiya in Madhavnagar. The dead include two women, a child and one man. The deceased have been identified as Kamlesh Devi, 52, her son-in-law Pratap Narayan, 35, her daughter Kiran, 32 and five-year-old grandson Virat.
The throats of all the victims have been slit. The murders were discovered in the morning by the neighbours.
Senior Superintendent of Police Nitin Tiwari said a police patrol party was in the area till 1.30 a.m. and there was no such incident till that time.
A forensic team has been at the spot.
(IANS)
The Japan Football Association decided on Thursday to suspend a friendly match between the national teams of Japan and Chile on the island of Hokkaido after a powerful earthquake struck the region.
Earlier in the day, Chile’s team was caught off guard by a 6.7-magnitude tremor that struck Japan’s Hokkaido island, where they were scheduled to play a friendly match at the Sapporo Dame stadium on Friday, reports Efe news agency.
“This decision was made upon careful evaluation of the magnitude of damage incurred, including damage to critical infrastructure such as power outages and significant transportation disruptions, as well as to ensure the security of all spectators,” the JFA said in a statement.
“We send our deepest condolences and sincerest sympathies to those affected by the earthquake that struck the central-eastern part of Iburi region in Hokkaido,” the JFA added.
Chile’s coach Reinaldo Rueda tweeted that all the team members were safe while a JFA spokesperson confirmed to Efe that the team is still in Hokkaido but will depart for South Korea — where they will play a friendly on September 11 — as soon as preparations are complete.
(IANS)
Keeping Haryana’s flag flying high in the medals tally for the country in the Jakarta Asian Games, sportspersons from Haryana have bagged nearly 25 per cent of the total medals.
Haryana Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Vij said on Thursday that sportspersons from the state won 17 medals in these games.
Of the total 69 medals won by India, 15 are gold medals, 24 silver and 30 bronze medals.
Athletes from Haryana won five gold, five silver and seven bronze medals.
“In these games, as solo player, Manjit Singh of Jind won gold medal in 800 meters and Neeraj Chopra of Panipat won gold medal in javelin throw. Amit from Rohtak in boxing and Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat won gold medals in wrestling,” the Minister said.
Among other players, Lakshay Sheoran and Sanjeev Rajput won silver medals in shooting.
“Fifteen men and 11 women players have won medals in Asian Games, including solo and team competitions. All these players will be provided prize money and jobs as per sports policy of the state,” Vij added.
(IANS)
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Alok Kumar Verma on Thursday felicitated sailor Harshita Tomar who won the bronze medal in the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia. Harshita’s mother Rani Tomar is a CBI official.
The 16-year-old, Harshita won the bronze in 4.7 Laser event of sailing competition at the Asiad. She had totalled 62 points after race 12 to finish third.
She has earlier won 19 gold, three silver and five bronze medals at national swimming competitions.
The Director praised the young sailor for her achievements at such a young age.
“On behalf of the CBI family, he extended best wishes to Harshita and her family and assured her all possible assistance from the CBI in her future endeavours,” a statement said.
Verma also praised her mother Rani Tomar, an official in CBI, for her wonderful parenting.
The Income Tax Department on Thursday raided the residence of senior BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi’s sister, Rekha Modi, who is one of the accused in Rs 1,900 crore Srijan scam, police said.
“A team of the IT Department raided Rekha Modi’s residence — a flat in Saraswati Apartment at posh commercial S.P. Verma road here. The team conducted searches in connection with the Srijan scam,” a district police official said.
According to the police officials, Rekha Modi is accused of purchasing huge jewellery gifts from the kingpin of multi-crore Srijan scam that is being probed by the CBI.
After Rekha Modi’s name surfaced in Srijan scam, opposition RJD attacked Sushil Modi, saying his family had links with those accused in the scam.
Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Legislative Assembly Tejashwi Yadav has repeatedly alleged that Sushil Modi’s family has direct links with the accused in the multi-crore Srijan scam case involving an NGO that allegedly pilfered funds meant for government welfare schemes.
“Sushil Modi’s sister Rekha Modi and niece Urvashi Modi received crores of rupees from Srijan scam,” the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister had said earlier this year in a series of tweets, attaching the statement of Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Ltd’s Indian Bank’s Bhagalpur branch account in which few transactions showed the names of Rekha Modi and Urvashi Modi.
However, Sushil Modi had claimed that he had no relation with Rekha Modi.
The Srijan scam involves Bhagalpur-based NGO Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Ltd, which used to provide vocational training to women. The NGO allegedly pilfered funds meant for government welfare schemes from the bank accounts of the Bhagalpur district administration.
Nitish Kumar had on August 18, 2017 recommended a CBI probe into the scam after RJD chief Lalu Prasad accused him of “murdering democracy” in Bihar.
In August last year, the CBI registered 10 cases related to the scam and filed four fresh cases in June this year.
(IANS)
The US State Department has imposed financial sanctions on four individuals and five entities, accusing them of having facilitated weapons or fuel transfers, or provided other financial or material support, to the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria.
According to a statement released on Thursday by the State Department, the sanctioned individuals were Syrian and Lebanese nationals, and the targeted entities included companies based in Syria, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, Xinhua reported.
“Today’s action shows that the US will continue to take concrete and forceful action to cut off material support to the Assad regime and its supporters. The US will continue to use all available mechanisms to isolate the Assad regime,” read the statement.
In a separate statement, the US Department of the Treasury said the targeted were involved in transactions with the Assad government and with the IS, noting the fact that the Idlib province has been encircled by the government forces.
All of the sanctioned individuals’ and entities’ assets within the US jurisdiction would be blocked, and US individuals and entities would be generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
Since earlier this year, the Syrian rebels were driven out of key areas in the capital Damascus, the central province of Homs and the southern region. The government’s army has been amassing forces and military gear around Idlib in recent weeks, as a major battle against the rebels in Syria looms.
(IANS)
Police in the Philippines have arrested 34 people for not standing while the national anthem was being played at a movie theatre, an official report said on Friday.
The report said the incident took place on Thursday in the theatre inside a mall in Lemery, a town in Batangas province, reports Xinhua news agency.
The national anthem called “Lupang Hinirang” is played in every theatre across the Philippines before the screening of a movie.
The police said the 34 people violated RA 8491 also known as the “Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines”.
“As a sign of respect, all persons shall stand at attention and face the Philippine flag, if there is one displayed, and if there is none, they shall face the band or the conductor,” the Act says.
According to the law, any person or judicial entity which violates any of the provisions, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than 5,000 pesos ($93) but not more than 20,000 pesos ($371), or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both.
(IANS)