The Editors Guild of India at its Annual General Body meeting held today unanimously elected Shekhar Gupta, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, ThePrint, as its President, A.K. Bhattacharya, Editorial Director, Business Standard as its General Secretary and Sheela Bhatt, Editor, News Affairs, NewsX Channel, as its Treasurer. The General Body of the Guild also placed on record its deep appreciation of the stewardship of the Guild by the outgoing office bearers: Raj Chengappa, Group Editorial Director ( Publishing), India Today Group, its President, Prakash Dubey, Group Editor, Dainik Bhaskar, General Secretary and Kalyani Shankar, senior editor and columnist, Treasurer.
Won’t stake claim to Taj Mahal: Wakf Board to SC
The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Wakf Board on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it won’t stake claim to the ownership of the Taj Mahal.
Asking senior counsel A.D.N. Rao appearing for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take instructions, a bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that once the Board pressed its right over the monument then it has to adjudicate the issue.
“Once you have registered the monument as a Wakf property, your statement that you will not be staking claim will not help,” said the bench and directed the next hearing on July 27.
In its hearing on April 11, the apex court asked the Wakf Board to produce an original title document bearing the signatures of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to prove its claim.
Telling the court the Taj Mahal is owned by the almighty, the Sunni Wakf Board on Tuesday said it has no document from the Mughal rulers or their descendents bestowing the 17th century monument in its favour.
The Board said the monument belonged to it as its members have been continuously performing Urs on the death anniversary of Emperor Shah Jahan and Friday Namaz at the Majid located in the compound of the Taj Mahal.
Such a course would create problems, observed the bench.
In an obvious reference to a decedent of Mughal empire, the Board told the court that no human can lay claim to the magnificent monument.
Y.H. Tucy, who claims to be the great grandson of last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, has said that the Taj Mahal is the nation’s property and no one can claim right over it.
“Remember Emperor Shah Jahan has not written a deed in favour of Waqf,” Tucy had told IANS in an interview.
The Archaeological Survey of India moved the top court in August 2005 after the Wakf Board registered the Taj as Wakf property.
The top court then issued notices on ASI’s plea and stayed the board’s move and the matter is pending since then.
Asian Tour returns to Pakistan for Chief of Naval Staff Open golf meet
The Asian Tour will make a welcome return to Pakistan after an 11-year hiatus for the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Open Golf Championship which will be staged from July 24 to 27, it was announced on Tuesday.
The CNS Open Golf Championship will attract a talented cast of Asian Tour stars to the $300,000 event which will be played in the country’s oldest golf course, the Karachi Golf Club, according to a release.
The CNS Open Golf Championship has been staged on the local circuit since 1995, making it the longest running professional golf event in Pakistan. By joining the Asian Tour, the tournament will receive official ranking points and give local golfers an opportunity to play alongside some of the region’s leading players.
The Chief of Naval Staff was delighted to bring the CNS Open Golf Championship on the Asian Tour. The last time an Asian Tour event was staged in Pakistan was in 2006 and 2007. Last year, the Asian Development Tour (ADT) sanctioned a tournament in the country for the first time.
“This is great news for golf in Pakistan. We are thrilled to welcome the Asian Tour and its talented members to our beautiful country. It has been 11 years since we last staged an Asian Tour event and we are proud to work together with all sponsors to make this tournament a huge success,” said the Chief of Naval Staff.
The staging of the CNS Open will also boost the chances of the local golfers to improve on their OWGR ranking and give them a better opportunity to try and qualify for the Japan Olympic Games in 2020.
“There was a huge representation of Asian golfers in the last Olympic Games and we hope to provide a viable platform for our golfers to improve on their world ranking. It is also our goal to promote golf among the younger generation in hopes that we will have a Pakistani golfer playing and contending regularly on the Asian Tour in the future,” the Chief of Naval Staff added.
Asian Tour Chief Executive Officer Josh Burack applauded the efforts of the Chief of Naval Staff and the Karachi Golf Club to stage an Asian Tour tournament in Pakistan.
Karnataka legislative assembly election process starts from today
Documenting of nominations for the upcoming get-together race will start from today. As parties will begin issuing B structures and candidates start to hand over nomination papers,
The office of the state chief election commissioner has made elaborate preparations under the guidance of Central Election Commission.
The authorities have made courses of action to get nomination papers, scrutinize them, and allow withdrawals thereof. The commission has trained the officials about the legal intricacies of filing of nominations, how to discover arrangements if there should be an occurrence of lawful entanglements,
April 24 will be the last date for recording of nominations. Nominations papers can be documented on all working days with the exception of occasions, from 11 am to 3 pm. The commission, which was occupied with changing voters list, conveying of election staff, giving preparing and making mindfulness among voters, has now started to focus on nominations, election battles by parties and candidates, consistency with set of principles, overseeing of peace circumstance and guaranteeing smooth polling.
The nominations will be examined on April 25, and April 27 is the last day for withdrawal of nominations. Polling will happen on May 12, including of votes will be on May 15, and the whole assembly election process will finish up on May 18 according to the schedule reported by the commission.
Congress, which has released the list of 218 candidates until this point, and BJP, which brought out two records containing 154 names, will battle in the race. JD(S), which released list of 125 candidates in February itself, is yet to turn out with names of different candidates.
Congress, BJP and JD(S) have likewise started the undertaking of issuance of B forms to competitors. It is said that Congress will start issuance of B forms in a resort in the outskirts of the city from Tuesday.
Part of 2002 FIFA World Cup winning squad, Lucio to play on beyond 40
Veteran defender Lucio, a member of 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning Brazil squad, has signed a contract with Serie D football club Brasiliense that will see him play on beyond his 40th birthday.
The central defender has agreed to represent the Brasilia-based club until the end of 2018 after completing a three-month spell with Brasiliense’s local rivals Gama, Globo Esporte reported on Monday.
After more than a year away from the game, the former Brazil captain signed with Gama in January and represented the club 10 times, scoring one goal, reports Xinhua news agency.
The retirement of former AC Milan and Real Madrid playmaker Kaka last year means that Lucio, who turns 40 on May 8, is the only member of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup-winning team who is still playing.
Lucio was capped 105 times for Brazil and his club career has included spells at Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan and Juventus.
(IANS)
Modi meets Swedish PM ahead of talks
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven ahead of their bilateral summit here on Tuesday.
“A relationship that has grown in intensity over the years and has a huge potential! PM @narendramodi met with @SwedishPM Stefan Löfven,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
“The two leaders had a productive exchange of views on bilateral and regional issues,” Kumar said.
Earlier in the day, Modi called on Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf at the Royal Palace here and the two leaders exchanged views on strengthening bilateral cooperation.
Following Tuesday’s summit, a number of agreements across various sectors are expected to be signed.
This apart, Modi and Lofven will attend a round table of Swedish CEOs.
India and Sweden will on Tuesday also co-host the first ever India-Nordic Summit, where, apart from Modi and Lofven, the Prime Ministers of the other four Nordic countries — Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway — will also be present.
Modi will hold separate bilateral meetings with the leaders of the other four Nordic countries on the sidelines of the summit.
The Indian Prime Minister arrived here on Monday evening on the first leg of his three-nation tour of Europe that will also see him going to Britain and Germany.
This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Sweden in 30 years after Rajiv Gandhi’s visit in 1988.
After attending an Indian community event here late on Tuesday night, Modi will depart for London on the second leg of his tour.
(IANS)
HC orders Rs 20 lakh compensation to slain Akali leader’s wife
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday directed that a compensation of Rs 20 lakh be paid to the wife of a Shiromani Akali Dal leader of Punjab who was killed in 2015 in a shootout by the police who mistook him for a gangster.
The high court ordered the compensation to Mukhjit Singh Mukha’s wife Harjit Kaur. She had approached the high court against the Punjab government.
Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain gave the order as the court found the Rs 5 lakh compensation given by the then state government was inadequate.
The victim was only 38 years old when he was waylaid by a team of the Punjab Police in Amritsar district on June 16, 2015, and was indiscriminately fired upon.
Mukha received 23 gunshot wounds and died.
The Punjab Police later set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the incident. The police team responsible for the shootout admitted that they mistook Mukha to be a gangster.
The Akali Dal was in power when the incident took place.
The then Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president, Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was also the state Home Minister, announced the Rs 5 lakh compensation. He also promised a government job to the victim’s wife but it was not given.
(IANS)
China calls Trump’s charge of currency devaluation contradictory
China on Tuesday said accusations by American President Donald Trump that Beijing allegedly devalued its currency contradicts a semi-annual report by the US Treasury Department.
“We have seen these reports and we have also noted the twice yearly report by the Treasury Department of the US and it seems that the US is sending out confusing signals,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said during a press conference here.
Hua added that China will continue with its reforms to come up with mechanisms to counter the flip-flops in foreign currency exchange rates.
A US Treasury Department report from last week had said that China did not manipulate its currency in the second half of 2016.
“Russia and China are playing the Currency Devaluation game as the US keeps raising interest rates. Not acceptable!” Trump had tweeted on Monday.
BJP again demands Congress apology for ‘defaming Hindus’
The BJP on Tuesday again criticised the Congress for allegedly coining the term “saffron terror” to defame the Hindus and sought an apology from its leadership, even though the opposition party had a day earlier denied the charge.
“(Congress leaders) Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the Hindu community for defaming them globally and taking the Hindus for granted. You can’t take the Hindus for granted. We believe in development of all and appeasement of none,” Bharatiya Janata Party Spokesperson Sambit Patra said at a press conference he addressed along with newly elected Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narsimha Rao.
Patra had on Monday also, accused the Congress of coining the term and sought an apology from its leadership. However, the Congress had maintained that neither its President Rahul Gandhi nor any other party functionary had ever used the term “saffron terror” and that its political rivals were levelling “baseless allegations”.
On Tuesday, Patra demanded an apology from former Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for allegedly using the term “saffron terror”.
The BJP leader said: “Rahul Gandhi and Chidambaram should hold a joint press conference and speak on the issue.”
Dubbing Rahul Gandhi’s thinking as “anti-Hindu”, the BJP leader said a telegram sent in 2009 by then US Ambassador Tim Roemer to the US State Department mentioned that “Rahul Gandhi told the US envoy that there was some support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba in certain sections of India’s Muslims, but the bigger threat may be of the rise of radical homegrown Hindu groups which create tension”.
“This is the position of the Congress. Rahul Gandhi needs to answer all these questions. We demand that he should seek apology for what he told the US Ambassador against the Hindus. He can’t just say that it was a passing statement and nothing to do with the party,” Patra said.
The fresh war of words between the two parties on the term “saffron terror” began after a Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Hyderabad acquitted all five accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case on Monday.
(IANS)
Vicim’s statement recorded before magistrate : Unnao Case
A written statement of the Unnao rape victim was recorded before a special CBI magistrate here on Monday, an official said.
The victim, along with her mother, was brought to the court amid tight security where her written statement was recorded, under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, by Magistrate Sapna Tripathi, the official said.
The victim has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bangarmau legislator Kuldeep Singh Sengar had raped her after which she had been running from pillar to post to get her complaint lodged but to no avail. She tried to set herself on fire near the Chief Minister’s residence on April 8 after which her father was picked up by police and beaten up by them, Sengar’s brother and his aides. He later died in custody due to injuries inflicted on him.
Sengar was arrested on basis of a SIT preliminary report. He was presented before a remand magistrate on Saturday and sent to seven days Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody. His aide, Shashi Singh, who is accused of taking the victim to the lawmaker, was also arrested on Sunday and sent to four days police custody.
The agency is also probing the complicity of doctors at the Unnao district hospital in the matter and are learnt to have recorded statements of the doctors who treated the father of the girl first and then later conducted his post-mortem. They are trying to ascertain, sources told IANS, on whether they were under pressure or lure by either the administration or the MLA or his aides in the matter.
Police records of the legislator, his aides has also been sought by the CBI, which was handed over the case by the state government after huge public outrage and media outcry. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that no body, however might he may be, will be let off in this case and the guilty will be brought to justice.
Meanwhile, after recording the statement, the victim told media persons that she was satisfied with the CBI probe so far and hopeful now that justice would be done.