THE HEADLINES:
- Supreme Court dismisses Centre's curative petition against its earlier verdict giving police the liberty to probe role of Armed forces in alleged encounter cases.
- CBI files charge sheet against Trinamool Congress MPs, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Paul for their alleged involvement in the 17-thousand crore rupees Rose Valley chit fund scam.
- India and Cyrpus to sign several agreements today for expanding cooperation in agriculture, aviation and education sectors.
- Centre to launch an extensive water conservation programme today for drought-prone areas of Bundelkhand, Marathwada and Kalahandi.
- Poland supports India's bid for a permanent membership of UN Security Council and Nuclear Suppliers Group.
- China warns North Korea of unilateral sanctions if it carries out another nuclear test, says US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
- And, Pankaj Advani to play China's Lv Haotian in the finals of Asian Snooker Championship in Doha.
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The Supreme Court has dismissed the Centre's curative petition seeking a recall of its verdict giving police the liberty to probe the role of armed forces in alleged encounter cases in areas where AFSPA is in force. A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said on Wednesday that no case is made out within the parameters indicated in the decision of the apex court.
The Centre had moved the Supreme court on 12th April seeking recall of its verdict in the alleged extra-judicial killings case in Manipur. The Centre said the verdict negated the protection available to the armed forces under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, AFSPA, during anti-militancy operations.
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Supreme Court has warned Sahara Chief Subrata Roy that failure to pay 1,500 crore rupees, as promised, may again land him in jail. The apex court took note of the affidavit and a personal undertaking of Roy that he will pay the amount on or before 15th June.
Extending Roy's parole, the court directed him to personally appear before it on 19th June. It also asked the Bombay High Court's Official Liquidator to prepare the terms and conditions for auctioning of Sahara group's Aamby Valley properties and bring them before it for approval.
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CBI has filed a charge sheet against Trinamool Congress MPs, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Tapas Paul for their alleged involvement in the 17-thousand crore rupees Rose Valley chit fund scam. The charge sheet was filed in a special CBI designated court in Bhubaneswar. CBI indicted Bandyopadhyay and Pal for criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and cheating. Both MPs are lodged in a Bhubaneswar jail after CBI arrested them in the case.
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President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades will meet President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi today. He will also present Mr Mukherjee with the Grand Collar of Order of Makarios III, the highest ranked order of Cyprus to foreign heads of state and governments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold delegation-level talks with Mr Anastasiades.
Agreements and MoUs will be signed in the areas of merchant shipping, agriculture, aviation, education and culture to widen cooperation between the two countries after the talks. The Cypriot President will also meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The visiting dignitary will be accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourts of the Rashtrapati Bhawan this morning.
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The Centre will today launch an extensive water conservation programme for drought-prone areas of Bundelkhand, Marathwada, Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput in Odisha. Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti will launch the programme at Sagar in Madhya Pradesh.
"Irrigation ministers of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh will be present during the launch of the programme at Baandri. Development of Water bodies' to improve socio-economic situation in drought prone areas has been undertaken through Jal Sanrakshan Karyakram in the country. Bundelkhand faces water crisis most of the time. The state government has given momentum to small irrigation programmes in the entire Sagar division. Now the Centre and the state government are making joint efforts to increase the irrigation area. SHARIQ NOOR, AIR NEWS, BHOPAL."
The Water Resources Ministry has prepared a master plan for artificial recharge of ground water in Bundelkhand region.
In Maharashtra, the drought situation is mainly due to successive years of low rainfall and unseasonal rains. This has resulted in falling groundwater levels and drying of natural streams. More from our correspondent -
"While the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan struggles to cope with the magnitude of Maharashtra’s rural water crisis, it has worked in some cases-mainly for farmers with large land holdings. It is part of the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan on which the Bharatiya Janata Party led government has spent Rs 1,400 crore in 2015 to make Maharashtra drought-free. The success-or failure-of Maharashtra’s drought-proofing programme is likely to be closely followed by other states. SONALI GHADYALPATIL, AIR NEWS, MUMBAI."
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Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari will inaugurate a new Embassy Complex in the Polish capital, Warsaw today on the final day of his two-nation tour. Prior to the inauguration, Mr. Ansari is scheduled to deliver a lecture at Warsaw University. Yesterday, the Vice President met the top leadership of Poland and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations. Cooperation in various sectors was agreed upon and an MoU was signed in the field of agriculture. More from our correspondent:
"The agreement envisages cooperation in agriculture through exchange of information, research and technologies and the formation of a special Joint Working Group to oversee this cooperation. Mr. Ansari also communicated, that Poland supports India's permanent membership at the extended UNSC. The Poland has reiterated its support to India at Nuclear Suppliers Group and has appreciated on being a member of Missile Technology Control Regime. The Vice President also said that Poland agreed with India on early adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN."MEEQAT HASHMI, AIR NEWS, WARSAW."
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China has told the United States that it warned North Korea of unilateral sanctions if it carries out another nuclear test. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, disclosed this on a TV channel yesterday. He also said that US intelligence reports suggest that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was not crazy, indicating he might be a rational actor who could be negotiated with as the international community seeks to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. Tillerson's comments suggest that efforts by President Donald Trump may have yielded China's toughest threat yet to take action against its defiant neighbor and ally, North Korea.
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President Donald Trump says a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the standoff over its nuclear and missile programmes. Trump, however, said he would prefer a diplomatic outcome to the dispute. He said his administration is preparing a variety of new economic sanctions while not taking the military option off the table. Trump spoke just a day after he and his top national security advisers briefed US lawmakers on the North Korean threat and one day before Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will press the UN Security Council on sanctions to further isolate Pyongyang.
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In Germany, lawmakers have partially banned burqa, the Islamic veil, as part of security measures to prevent extremist attacks. The prohibition will apply to public servants, including election officials, military and judicial staff. The measures follow several attacks, including a Berlin Christmas market attack that claimed 12 lives, and come ahead of the September elections.
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International Monetary Fund has said the ambitious Goods and Services Tax to be implemented from July would help raise India's medium-term growth to above eight per cent. Adding that the reforms being done are expected to pay off in terms of higher growth in the future, the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund told PTI in an exclusive interview that the government has made significant progress on important economic reforms that will support strong and sustainable growth going forward.
International Monetary Fund has said the ambitious Goods and Services Tax to be implemented from July would help raise India's medium-term growth to above eight per cent. Adding that the reforms being done are expected to pay off in terms of higher growth in the future, the Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund told PTI in an exclusive interview that the government has made significant progress on important economic reforms that will support strong and sustainable growth going forward.
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The Uttarakhand High Court has ordered the sealing of all EVM machines used in Vikasnagar constituency during the recently-concluded assembly elections. It came on a petition by Congress leader and former state minister Navprabhat, who alleged that BJP MLA from Vikasnagar, Munna Singh Chauhan manipulated EVMs to trick a victory. The court asked the BJP legislator, the Returning Officer of Vikasnagar, the Chief Secretary and the Chief Electoral Officer to respond to the petition within six weeks.
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The government has dismissed media reports that it has asked for data on caste, religion and Aadhaar from teachers. In a statement, Human Resource Development Ministry, said the reports are factually incorrect. The Ministry said no caste data has ever been sought from teachers. However, it said, the Ministry has been collecting data on SCs, STs and OBCs since the beginning of the All India Survey on Higher Education in 2010-11 for the monitoring of reservation. The Ministry said, it is incorrect to say that government has started collecting data from this year.
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Union Health Minister, J.P. Nadda has said Government will eradicate Tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the target. In an interview to All India Radio's programme "Countrywide", he said programmes are being implemented to eradicate the disease.
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Twenty-nine Indian fishermen were arrested by Pakistan's authorities for allegedly fishing in its territorial waters. Five Indian boats were also seized. A Pakistan Maritime Security Agency spokesman said the fishermen were apprehended for fishing illegally in the Arabian Sea in Pakistan’s coastal area.
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President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the Jnanpith Award on an eminent Bengali poet Professor Sankha Ghosh at a function in New Delhi. He was awarded for his outstanding contribution in the field of literature. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Mukherjee said, Prof. Ghosh's poetry often takes on superficiality in the society and is indeed a candid commentary on contemporary issues.
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Pankaj Advani will play in the finals of the 33rd Asian Snooker Championship in Doha today. He will face China's Lv Haotian.
Pankaj defeated Pakistan’s Mohamed Bilal 5-0 with ease in the semi-final yesterday. In another semi-final, the Chinese teen overcame Mohamed Shehab of the UAE 5-3 to clinch a place in the final.
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In IPL, Gujarat Lions defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets at Bengaluru last night. It achieved the target of 135 runs in 13.5 overs. Earlier, put in to bat, the Bengaluru team was all out for 134.
Today, Kolkata Knight Riders will play Delhi Daredevils at the Eden Gardens. The match will start at 4 pm. In another match, Kings XI Punjab will meet Sunrisers Hyderabad this evening. The match will begin at 8 pm in Mohali.
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The International Cricket Council (ICC) has slashed Indian cricket board's revenue share by nearly half. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will now get a total of 293 million US dollars or nearly 1875 crore rupees for the eight-year revenue cycle. This is a major drop from the 570 million or about 3647 crore rupees the BCCI was getting till last year. The ICC declared the amounts that would go to its affiliated members. Notwithstanding the whopping cut, the BCCI will still get the biggest share in the new ICC revenue model.
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NEWSPAPER HEADLINES
- Most newspapers have reported on the militants strike in J&K. "Militants strike Army camp near LoC, Captain is among 3 personnel killed" is the Indian Expressheadline. The Pioneer reports that the "Army's vulnerable security needs a fund boost".
- Another story that has found space on many front pages is the launch of the UDAN program by the Prime Minister. The Hindu headlines, "PM launches low-cost regional flights". The Tribune features a photo of the Prime Minister waving to a huge crowd at his rally in Shimla under the caption - "Talk of winds of change as Shimla gets cheaper Delhi flight".
- The Statesman reports that the apex court has rapped the Centre over the pending Lokpal legislation. Its headline reads "Delay in Lokpal not justified, says SC".
- "Be honest, don't ditch party, Kejriwal tells his councillors" writes the Hindustan Times. Kejriwal's appeal came on a day that saw a string of resignations from senior leaders, adds the paper.
- Some good news for PF subscribers. You can now withdraw your PF savings to pay hospital bills in case of serious illness, reports the Hindu. Instead of the usual process of approvals, this would require just a self-declaration by the subscriber.
- The Economic Times leads with a poll of the top 25 brokerages. The paper reckons that the markets will continue their winning streak and by December 2017, Nifty may touch 10,000 and Sensex may touch 32,000 levels.
- The Asian Age reports that carrying forward its successful strategy of fielding new faces in elections, BJP may drop many MLAs to retain Gujarat.
- "Women cops to take on stone-pelters". DNA reports that the Centre has asked J&K to induct at least 33 percent women in India Reserve Battalions to tackle stone pelting schoolgirls better.
- Many newspapers have paid tributes to film actor Vinod Khanna who passed away yesterday. "Amar' to live forever in our hearts!" says The Pioneer.
- And finally, a 17 year old Dalit boy who is the son of an Udaipur based compounder has topped the JEE with full marks, reports Hindustan Times. He will be an inspiration for many.
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