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Fatullah: India ended the first day of the one-off Test against Bangladesh at 239 for no loss at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium here on Wednesday.
After opting to bat, Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay piled on runs in the 56 overs they batted in a rain-marred day. Rain wiped out the entire second session and parts of the first and third periods of play.
Dhawan scored his third Test century and was at 150 not out at stumps with partner Vijay batting at 89 not out.
(IANS)
New Delhi: Mr. Mishra replaces Jitender Singh Tomar who had resigned after his arrest on charge of possessing fake degrees.
Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Kapil Mishra was on Wednesday named as the new Law Minister replacing Jitender Singh Tomar who had resigned from the post on Tuesday night following his arrest on charge of possessing fake degrees.
“I had a meeting with Arvind (Kejriwal) ji and have been informed about the development (of appointment as the Law Minister),” Mr. Mishra, a first time MLA, told PTI.
Other names which were discussed were Chandani Chowk MLA Alka Lamba, former Law Minister Somnath Bharti (Malviya Nagar) and Kailash Gahlot, legislator from Najafgarh.
Mr. Mishra’s name was also doing rounds for a ministerial berth when AAP had won a landslide victory in February this year. However, he was made the vice-chairman of Delhi Jal Board.
Known as a Kejriwal loyalist, Mr. Mishra has been associated with him since the India Against Corruption (IAC) days.
When Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan upped their ante against the party leadership, he took a lead in starting a signature campaign urging all MLAs to back Mr. Kejriwal.
Mr. Mishra, a former activist with an international organisation, won from Karawal Nagar by a margin of over 44,000 votes and took oath in Sanskrit in the Delhi Assembly.
Mr. Tomar was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly forging his science graduation and law mark sheets and a migration certificate. He was sent to four days police custody by a court.
He had sent his resignation letter through his lawyer from lock-up to the Chief Minister on Tuesday night which was accepted.
(PTI)
No apparent injuries or damage, with epicentre located under the sea between island of Evia and the Greek mainland
An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 has been felt in Athens, the Greek capital. Photograph: Alamy
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake rattled Greece’s capital early on Tuesday but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The Geodynamic Institute in Athens said the quake occurred at 4.09am in the Gulf of Northern Evia, about 50 miles (80km) north of Athens in a narrow strip of sea between the island of Evia and mainland Greece.
Greece’s Civil Protection Agency said police in the city of Halkida, near the quake’s epicentre, and elsewhere in the surrounding region reported no damage.
Earth tremors and quakes are frequent in Greece and neighbouring Turkey.
“It was an earthquake that occurred quite near the surface and was felt quite intensely in Athens — from an area where quakes are fairly common but rarely stronger than today’s event,” said seismologist Efthimios Lekkas, director of the state-run Earthquake Planning and Protection Organisation.
“There have already been two aftershocks after this earthquake … I don’t think there is any particular cause for concern.”
The US Geological Survey recorded the earthquake as being of magnitude 5.2 and a depth of 3.6 miles.
(AP)
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates the death count could be far higher due to a large number of inconclusive disappearances. (AFP/File)
by Arutz Sheva
Syria’s brutal conflict has left more than 230,000 people dead, including almost 11,500 children since it broke out in 2011, a monitoring group said Tuesday.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had documented the deaths of 230,618 people, according to AFP.
The toll includes 69,494 civilians, among them 11,493 children and 7,371 women.
Combatants account for a majority of those killed, with 49,106 regime forces and 36,464 government loyalists among the dead.
The loyalist fighters killed were mostly members of local militias, but also included 838 from Lebanon’s powerful Shiite terror group Hezbollah and 3,093 Shiite fighters from other countries.
The Observatory documented the deaths of 41,116 rebels, Syrian extremists and Kurdish fighters.
Anti-regime foreign fighter deaths numbered 31,247, most of them extremists.
Abdel Rahman said another 3,191 of those documented killed in the conflict remained unidentified.
The Britain-based Observatory relies on a broad network of activists, fighters, and medics across the war-ravaged country.
May was the bloodiest month of 2015 in Syria, with 6,657 killed — the majority of them regime forces and extremist fighters locked in fierce clashes on several fronts.
The Observatory’s toll does not include some 20,000 people who have disappeared after being arrested, 9,000 people in government detention, and at least 4,000 people held by Daesh (ISIS).
The monitoring group said thousands of people had disappeared or were unaccounted for after clashes.
As a result, the Observatory estimates that the conflict’s actual death toll is likely tens of thousands higher than its figure.
Opposition fighters take control of a major base that was used by the regime to shell all eastern areas of the province.
![The majority of Deraa province is controlled by opposition fighters [Getty]](https://i0.wp.com/nasheman.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Deraa.jpg)
The majority of Deraa province is controlled by opposition fighters [Getty]
An umbrella group of opposition fighters have seized the largest army base in the southern province of Deraa – the birthplace of Syria’s four-year uprising – after 24 hours of fighting, a rebel spokesman and monitoring group have said.
Essam al-Rayes, a spokesman for the Southern Front rebel alliance operating in the province, told the AFP news agency on Tuesday that the “fully liberated” base “was one of the main lines of defence for regime forces”.
“It was a nightmare, because they used it to shell all the areas to the east of the province,” he added.
He said at least 2,000 rebel forces overran the base, which lies near a major highway running from Damascus to Syria’s southern border with Jordan, in a “short and quick” assault.
Diaa al-Hariri, a spokesman for Faylaq al-Awwal, one of the armed groups in the Southern Front coalition, also confirmed the significance of the base.
“The base is also an important infantry base, from which the regime attacked towns and villages in the south,” he said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group that relies on a network of activists on the ground, reported that opposition groups had taken the 52nd Brigade base after clashes and intense shelling that left 14 rebel fighters and 20 government forces dead.
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said regime troops withdrew to the nearby village of al-Dara.
Rebel groups control a majority of Daraa province and its capital, according to Abdel Rahman.
Syria’s official news agency SANA did not mention the capture of the base. But earlier, citing a military source, it said the air force had struck the area, killing at least 40 “terrorists”.
String of regime losses
Regime forces have suffered several defeats over the last three months at the hands of opposition fighters.
One of the most recent major losses was Idlib province, which rebels claimed full control over since Saturday.
The Observatory also said on Tuesday that it has documented the deaths of 230,000 people since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011.
The Observatory said the dead include 69,494 civilians, among them 11,493 children. The conflict has also claimed the lives of 49,106 troops, 32,533 pro-government fighters and 38,592 rebels, it said.
Abdurrahman said the real death toll could be above 300,000, since there are tens of thousands of people who are missing or were buried without being counted.
Syria’s conflict began with peaceful Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations demanding political reform, but eventually escalated into a civil war after the government responded with a violent crackdown on dissent.
Today the country is split among forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, opposition factions, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group.
New Delhi: Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Monday announced his “break-up” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said his “diminishing respect” for Modi has “ended”.
The expelled BJP MP, who had strongly supported Modi’s prime ministerial bid, had been opposed to the appointment of former CBDT chairman K V Chowdary as Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) and said he will now fight the government in Supreme Court after his appointment was cleared by the President on Monday.
“Now we shall fight out in the Supreme Court and the court of the people of India. My diminishing respect for you ends now,” Jethmalani wrote in a letter to Modi.
Expressing strong reservations over the move to make Chowdary as next CVC, he had written to President Pranab Mukherjee and Modi, questioning his credentials.
He posted the communication on Twitter and called it “My break-up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
My breakup with the Prime Minister @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/8xmiPCKVAu
— Ram Jethmalani (@RamJethmalani5) June 8, 2015
(PTI)
New Delhi: In a dramatic escalation of the row between the central and AAP governments, Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar was arrested here Tuesday over his alleged fake law degree. The AAP cried foul and linked it with its anti-corruption campaign.
Delhi Police, which does not report to the AAP government but to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and the union home ministry, told IANS that Tomar was arrested on charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery.
The Aam Aadmi Party, which took power in Delhi in February, accused police of roughing up Tomar. Delhi assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said he wasn’t informed about the arrest.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused Lt. Governor Jung of unleashing an “Emergency-like situation” and said vested interests were ganging up against the AAP government because of its anti-corruption campaign. The AAP, he vowed, won’t be cowed down.
A visibly livid Sisodia said although the issue of Tomar’s alleged fake degree was in the court, about 40 policemen swooped on Tomar’s office early in the morning and took him away as if he was a fugitive.
“The police told Tomar they had come to see some documents… They asked him to accompany them to his house. On the way they told his driver to get off and took charge of his vehicle and told him he was being detained.
“They told Tomar that he could ask someone to bring the documents to the police station…
“What is going on?” asked Sisodia. “Was he (Tomar) running away? Did he explode bombs in Delhi? There is an allegation (against him). The matter is in the court. What was the need to arrest him?”
Sisodia added: “There is something wrong… This arrest is illegal. There is an Emergency-like situation. This is supposed to be a democracy… Maybe it is an attempt to teach the AAP a lesson (for what we are doing).”
AAP supporters, including Tomar’s family members, gathered in large numbers at the Vasant Vihar police station in south Delhi where Tomar was being questioned.
Tuesday’s arrest peaked a simmering row between the central and AAP governments over the powers of the Delhi government over the posting and transfer of senior officials. This dispute too is also now facing judicial scrutiny.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh said police arrested Tomar without giving any notice.
“If the case relates to a fake degree, will ministers Smriti Irani and Ram Shanker Katheria (of BJP) will also be taken to police station without any prior notice?” Singh asked.
Tomar told CNN-IBN that he didn’t know why he was arrested. “Around 30-40 policemen asked me to accompany me to the police station without any prior notice.”
He said this was done to tarnish the AAP’s image.
Delhi Police said Tomar would be produced in a court later on Tuesday.
Two cases are pending against Tomar in the Delhi High Court, alleging he enrolled himself as an advocate on the basis of a fake law degree and seeking cancellation of his election. Tomar says his degree is genuine.
The Congress took potshot at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, demanding his resignation as the Tomar episode had punctured his claims of ushering in clean politics. It also sought Tomar’s resignation from the assembly.
(IANS)
Shahjehanpur: A gruesome incident has been reported in Uttrar Pradesh’s Shahjehanpur, where a journalist was reportedly burnt alive for writing against SP MLA Ram Murti on Facebook.
The victim, journalist Jagendra Singh had written about the Samajwadi Party MLA’s involvement in illegal activities in newspapers, according to a media report.
An eyewitness revealed that a police officer, who wanted to arrest Jagendra Singh, set him on fire and the journalist succumbed to the injuries while he was being rushed to hospital.
However, the Shahjehanpur police stated that journalist Jagendra Singh committed suicide when they were arresting him.
(Agencies)
Varanasi: Firebrand BJP leader Yogi Adityanath has stoked a controversy with his remarks that those opposing ‘surya namaskar’ should “drown in the sea”.
With certain minority groups protesting against inclusion of ‘Surya namaskar’ exercise during the June 21 International Yoga Day celebrations, the Gorakhpur MP said, “Sun is the source of life giving energy. Whoever thinks Sun is communal, I would like to humbly request them to drown themselves in the sea or they should stay in a dark cell.”
“Sun God has never deprived anyone of its light based on caste, creed or religion. Despite that if they are calling sun communal, I feel amused at their mindset,” said the BJP leader yesterday at a religious event in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency.
“And my request to them would be that they should not take the sunlight or even its warmth,” said the saffron-clad leader, who is known for courting controversy with his inflammatory remarks.
Adityanath’s remarks came after the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board said that it will move the Supreme Court against inclusion of Surya namaskar and Yoga in schools.
Congress and Samajwadi Party hit out the BJP leader, saying he was trying to create a communal divide, and stressed that nobody can force their own belief system on any citizen.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah mocked Adityanath’s remarks saying many people “will have to pack” their bags.
Congress leader Rita Bahuguna said, “Every time he (Adityanath) speaks, he spits venom. He tries to create a communal divide by giving communal statements. What is the reason to say that those who don’t want to do this should leave the country?
“Talking about certain communities that have certain reservations about some parts of yoga, what is the use? It is an exercise for physical and mental well-being. Those who don’t want to do it should be allowed not to do it.”
SP’s Gaurav Bhatia recalled that the Prime Minister had recently told his partymen that such statements will not be tolerated.
“And again we hear the habitual offender Yogi Adityanath making such a statement. In our country everyone has the right to profess his religion, to have his own belief system and no body can force his own belief system on any citizen,” he said.
Reacting to Adityanath’s remarks, Omar said on Twitter, “The solution to overcrowding in India since so many of us will have to pack our bags. Ek teer do shikar (killing two birds with one stone).”
(PTI)
Dhaka: The Virat Kohli-led Indian cricket team arrived here on Monday morning to play a short series, comprising a Test and three One-Day Internationals (ODI).
The lone Test will be played at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah, Wednesday onwards while the three limited overs matches will be played at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, on June 18, 21 and 24.
The Indian cricketers flew to Kolkata on Friday to undergo a fitness test ahead of their tour.
Following recurrent injuries to players, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), for the first time, decreed that all cricketers must undertake the test before embarking on the tour. So long, only injured players were subjected to fitness tests.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who played his last Test against Australia in 2013 in Hyderabad, made a comeback into the Test squad, replacing left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
Karnataka’s right-handed batsman Lokesh Rahul, who was selected for the series, failed to make it to the neighbouring country because of illness. A replacement has not been named.
India have won six out of seven Tests played between the two countries with one drawn match. The two sides last met in a Test in Mirpur in January 2010, where India emerged victorious by 10 wickets.
(IANS)