China’s Tianwen-1 probe beamed back high-resolution images of Mars’ natural satellite Phobos on Saturday, marking the second anniversary of the launch. Phobos and Deimos are two natural satellites of the red planet.
Phobos is the larger one with an irregular shape with no atmosphere and the closest satellite to the main star in the solar system.
The Tianwen-1 operation team seized the timing when the orbiter was close to Phobos and obtained clear images of the satellite in its “full moon” state, said the China National Space Administration.
It is China’s first time conducting Phobos imaging exploration and obtaining first-hand scientific data at close range. It provides valuable data for scientists to research Phobos’ topography and operation laws and accumulates experience for China’s planetary exploration program, said experts from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The Tianwen-1 probe consists of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. On May 15, 2021, it touched down on its pre-selected landing area in Utopia Planitia, a vast Martian plain, marking China’s maiden probe voyage on the planet.
Ill-informed and agenda-driven kangaroo courts on television debates and social media on issues involving justice delivery are proving to be detrimental to the health of democracy, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said on Saturday.
“Of late, we see media running kangaroo courts, at times on issues even experienced judges find difficult to decide.
Ill-informed and agenda-driven debates on issues involving justice delivery are proving to be detrimental to the health of democracy,” said the CJI while delivering the Justice SB Sinha Memorial Inaugural Lecture in Ranchi.
On the issue of the rising number of media trials, CJI Ramana said, “It cannot be a guiding factor in deciding cases”. He said, “New media tools have the enormous amplifying ability but appear to be incapable of distinguishing between the right and the wrong, the good and the bad and the real and the fake.”
Chief Justice Ramana also cautioned that the judges may not react immediately and this should not be mistaken for weakness or helplessness. “Biased views being propagated by media are affecting the people, weakening democracy, and harming the system.
In this process, justice delivery gets adversely affected,” the CJI added. “By overstepping and breaching your responsibility, you are taking our democracy two steps backward.
Print media still has a certain degree of accountability. Whereas, electronic media has zero accountability as what it shows vanishes into thin air. Still, worse is social media,” he said.
The CJI also highlighted that these days, there is an increasing number of physical attacks on judges. “Can you imagine, a judge who has served on the bench for decades, putting hardened criminals behind the bar, once he retires, loses all the protection that came with the tenure? Judges have to live in the same society as the people that they have convicted, without any security or assurance of safety,” the CJI pointed out.
The CJI also commented on the long-standing matter of contention of the judicial review of legislative and executive actions. “One gets to hear that judges, being unelected, should not get into legislative and executive arenas.
But this ignores the Constitutional responsibilities that is placed on the judiciary. Judicial review of legislative and executive actions is an integral part of the Constitutional scheme.
I would go as far as to state that it is the heart and soul of the Indian Constitution. In my humble view, in the absence of judicial review, people’s faith in our Constitution would have diminished,” he said.
“Only a flourishing and vibrant democracy can lead our country on the path of peace, progress, and global leadership. A strong judiciary is the ultimate guarantee for the rule of law and democracy,” CJI Ramana said.
The Chief Justice also stressed that it becomes a challenge to accept the false narrative surrounding the supposed easy life of a judge. “There exists a misconception in the minds of the people that Judges stay in ultimate comfort, work only from 10 am to 4 pm and enjoy their holidays.
Such a narrative is untrue. When false narratives are created about the supposed easy life led by Judges, it is difficult to swallow,” Justice Ramana further stated. Justice NV Ramana also congratulated the judiciary of Jharkhand for marking the golden jubilee of setting up of the Circuit Bench of Patna and extended wishes to the children who received scholarship under Project Shishu.
Former English batter Jonathan Trott appointed Afghanistan head coach 4
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Friday announced the appointment of former England batter Jonathan Trott as the head coach of the Afghanistan Men’s Cricket Team. He will step up into the role of head coach during Afghanistan’s tour to Ireland in August.
Jonathan Trott played 52 test matches for England from 2009-2015, scoring 3835 runs at 44.08 with 9 centuries and 19 half-centuries to his name with the best of 226. He has also represented England in 68 One Day Internationals (ODIs) during the period, having scored 2838 runs at 51.25 with 4 hundreds and 22 half-centuries to his name in the format.
Trott has worked with England’s senior batting unit in South Africa, during the English Test Summer of 2020 and on England’s red/white ball tour of India last year. He’s also worked with England Lions and the U-19s as a batting coach and mentor, as well as being Batting Consultant to Scotland during the 2021 WT20.
“I am honoured and excited to have the opportunity to take one of international cricket’s most exciting teams through what is a huge year for their development as a team,” Trott said on Friday.
He also believes that Afghanistan has proved to be a hotbed of talent, and has produced players capable of playing the game in their own style and with unrivalled passion.
“I cannot wait to get to work with a group of players who are clearly capable of generating results in a style that will make the people of Afghanistan proud,” Trott added.
Afghanistan Cricket Team will fly to Ireland early in August where the team will feature in 5 T20Is starting August 9.
A UK parliamentary panel on Friday warned the government against accepting a poor deal to rush things through simply to meet a deadline set for the completion of a free trade agreement (FTA) with India.
The House of Commons International Agreements Committee, in a report entitled UK-India free trade agreement: Scrutiny of the Government’s Negotiating Objectives’, questions the Diwali deadline set for the conclusion of the negotiations by outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his visit to India in April.
The committee cautioned that could risk giving up a good deal for a fast one, by setting a time ambition over and above content.
A growing economy, as well as a growing middle class and consumer market, make India an attractive trading partner for the UK.
The UK government, however, must not accept a poor agreement simply to meet a deadline, said Baroness Dianne Hayter, chair of the committee. We have noted that the aspirations in the negotiating objectives are particularly challenging because some would require changes to India’s own cultural and legal approach, which are unlikely to be achieved, or would take a long time, she said.
We reiterate our recommendation that the government should publish a trade policy, showing how trade links into broader foreign policy, security, defence, and other domestic objectives, as well as labour, women’s and human rights, and the environment.
This will enable trade policy to be understood in relation to other priorities and enable us to assess the impacts and trade-offs, she said.
The cross-party committee claims that India’s historically protectionist policies, different regulatory approaches, and business practices would mean changes in domestic legislation, which could be a lengthy process to implement.
It also references the practice in India of requiring businesses to make so-called facilitation payments, different administrative requirements at the national and state level, a lengthy application process for business permits, a complex tax regime, low levels of contract enforcement and limited IP protections.
The committee, therefore, questions the arbitrary Diwali deadline set for the conclusion of the negotiations, cautioning that the government could risk giving up a good deal for a fast one by setting a time ambition over and above content, it said.
Sri Lanka’s Cabinet has met for the first time under newly-elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe and discussed ways to normalise the situation in the economic-crisis hit country within a week by regularising functions of the government institutions such as the Prime Minister’s Office and the Presidential Secretariat, according to a media report on Saturday.
After the appointment of the new Cabinet on Friday, the President called for the meeting, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
They discussed that the country should be normalised within one week by regularising functions of the government institutions such as the Prime Minister’s Office, the Presidential Secretariat, and schools, the newspaper said quoting sources.
The Cabinet was informed that fuel sufficient for one month had been secured and therefore distribution under a quota system should be expedited.
The President said that he empowered the security forces to uphold the Constitution and to create an environment for people to live without fear.
The Cabinet also discussed the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) which are underway to secure financial assistance.
Meanwhile, the Opposition requested Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena to summon the Parliament on July 25 to discuss attacks on peaceful protests at Galle Face on Friday by security forces and the current situation of the country.
Sri Lankan troops and police armed with assault rifles and batons on Friday forcibly removed anti-government protesters camped outside the presidential office here in a pre-dawn raid.
Police have described the pre-dawn raid on the main camp of the anti-government protesters as a “special operation to take [back] control of the presidential secretariat”.
The protesters had vacated the President and Prime Minister’s residences and the Prime Minister’s office after capturing them on July 9, but they were still occupying some rooms of the President’s secretariat.
They also refused to accept Wickremesinghe as the new president, holding him partly responsible for the country’s unprecedented economic and political crisis.
The main protest group which blocked entry to the President’s Office since April 9, said they would continue their struggle till Wickremesinghe resigned.
The new Sri Lankan government has been criticised for using force to remove the anti-government protesters.
Sri Lanka has seen months of mass unrest over an economic crisis and many blame the former government led by ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family for mishandling the island nation’s economy.
Protesters set Wickremesinghe’s personal residence on fire and occupied his office during protests last week.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials. Sri Lanka’s total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.
United Nations: India along with six others has voted against a draft resolution presented by the US that recommended six human rights groups, which have been blocked for years in the United Nations’ NGO Committee, be granted special consultative status at the UN Economic and Social Council.
At the meeting of the 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations recommended 203 groups for special consultative status.
However, six other non-governmental organizations, including the foundation that runs Wikipedia, were added to the list in a draft proposed by the United States, which, in turn, led to a call for a recorded vote, according to the UN.
A report on the UN website said that the draft resolution on the list of non-governmental organizations receiving consultative status with the Council, presented by the United States’ delegate, caused a brief stir.
The draft resolution, sponsored by a total of 36 countries, recommended six additional non-governmental organizations to the list proposed by the Committee.
It was adopted with 23 votes in favour of China, India, Kazakhstan, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Russia, and Zimbabwe voting against it and 18 abstentions.
The Council decided to grant special consultative status to Diakonia; Inimoiguste Instituut; National Human Rights Civic Association Belarusian Helsinki Committee; Non Ce Pace Senza Giustizia; Syrian American Medical Society Foundation; and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
Superstar Suriya on Saturday vowed to ”work harder” and continue making good films after his Tamil movie ”Soorarai Pottru” emerged as the big winner at the 68th National Film Awards.
The 2020 Tamil-language drama on Friday won five awards, including Best Feature Film, Best Actor for Suriya, Best Actress for Aparrna Balamurali, Best Screenplay for Sudha Kongara, and Shalini Usha Nair, and Best Music Direction (Background Music) for GV Prakash Kumar.
Suriya, who shared the Best Actor award with “Tanhaji – The Unsung Warrior” star Ajay Devgn, posted a statement on Twitter and said he is feeling ecstatic about his film winning five National Awards. ”The National Award gives me the motivation to work harder and walk my talk… and give you all good films, now & always,” the actor, who turned 47 on Saturday, said.
Suriya thanked his fans and followers for showering love on “Soorarai Pottru”, inspired by the life of Air Deccan founder Capt G R Gopinath. ”My heartfelt thanks for all the love and good wishes that has reached us and enriched our lives so far… We are ecstatic with the Five National awards for ‘Soorari Pottru’.
The overwhelming reception for our films, which were released directly on OTT during a pandemic, has made our eyes well up in joy,” the actor said.
The National Award recognition is a testimony of director Kongara’s ”many years of hard work and creative vision of Captain Gopinath’s story”, he added.
Suriya also thanked director Vasanth Sai and filmmaker Mani Ratnam for believing in him and giving him his first film “Nerukku Ner” (1997). “I extend my gratitude to director Vasanth Sai and filmmaker-producer Maniratnam, who placed their faith in my acting abilities and gave me my first film, ‘Nerukku Ner’.”
The “Jai Bhim” star gave a shout out to his actor-wife Jyotika for encouraging him to do “Soorarai Pottru”. ”My special thanks to my Jyotika, who insisted I should produce & act in ‘Soorarai Pottru’. My love and ‘Thank You’ to all those who have encouraged my efforts so far and to my Amma and Appa, Karthi and Brinda, who have supported me always. I dedicate this award to my kids Diya and Dev and to my loving family,” he added.
Suriya also congratulated fellow winner Devgn and all the other National Award recipients. Besides Suriya, Tamil star Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli bagged the Best Supporting Actress award for her performance in ”Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum”. Taking to Instagram, the actor said her heart ”is filled with joy and gratitude”. ”To everyone who ever believed in me, to everyone who gave me an opportunity, to everyone who stood at a distance and wished me well, to everyone who trusted my talent, to everyone who looked down upon me & pushed me and to everyone who is just happy for me… thank you so so so much.
”A huge thanks to my director @directorvasanth.official for this! Big congratulations to all the other winners and especially to the winners from our own Tamil industry!” she wrote.
In the Non-Feature Film category, filmmaker-composer Vishal Bhardwaj won the Best Music Direction award for the song ‘Marenge Toh Wahin Jaakar’ from director Vinod Kapri’s “1232 kms”, a documentary about the migrant workers’ exodus during the lockdown.
Bhardwaj said he is happy to have won an award for a film that represented the sentiments of migrant workers during COVID-19. ”I’m so happy to get an award for the film which represents and acknowledges the pain that the whole country and especially the migrant workers went through in the Covid-19 pandemic,” the filmmaker said in a statement.
“The song was actually a poem that Gulzar Saab wrote to express the suffocating feelings of not being able to do anything to help the migrants. It was a catharsis for both of us which we expressed through Sukhwinder’s voice,” he added.
ECI asks Uddhav, Shinde factions to 'submit documentary evidence' to prove majority in Sena 10
The Election Commission has asked the rival factions of the Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde, to submit documents by August 8 in support of their claims on the election symbol of the political outfit.
Election Commission sources said the two sides have been asked to submit documents, including letters of support from the legislative and organisational wings of the party and the written statements of the rival factions.
They said the requirements were made in line with Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
Earlier this week, the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena had written to the Commission seeking allocation of the party’s ‘bow and arrow’ election symbol to it, citing the recognition granted to them in the Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra Assembly.
The Shiv Sena split last month when more than two-thirds of the party’s MLAs withdrew their support from the Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray, throwing their lot with Shinde.
Shinde was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister on June 30 with support of the BJP.
On Tuesday last, at least 12 of the 18 Shiv Sena members in the Lok Sabha expressed ‘no confidence’ in floor leader Vinayak Raut and declared Rahul Shewale as their floor leader.
Lok Sabha Speaker recognised Shewale as the leader the same day.
To ensure that neither faction is deprived of information, the poll panel has also directed exchange of documents submitted by the two groups over the past two days.
“This is the initial step, checking may come much later,” explained a former EC official.
The claim over the symbol assumes significance as the Supreme Court had on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission to notify elections to local bodies within two weeks.
Elections are due in several civic bodies in Maharashtra, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which would indicate which Sena faction gets the popular support.
Earlier, the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena had written to the EC, requesting it to hear its views before making any decision on representations for claims over the party name and its poll symbol.
Imran Khan wants to create political chaos in Pakistan: Marriyum 12
Pakistan Minister of Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb lashed out at former Prime Minister Imran Khan saying that he wanted to spread political unrest and chaos in the country to cause economic instability.
The federal Minister’s remarks come after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Fawad Chaudhry said that the people of the country have rejected the “politics of thieves, hypocrites, and liars.”
Marriyum’s statement was cited by local media Daily Times. She said that Imran Khan’s “electoral framework” was seen in 2018, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Senate and Daska by-elections.
Earlier, Marriyum Aurangzeb had said that Imran Khan’s era was the darkest period for the media and that the PTI chairman had left no stone unturned to make the country another Sri Lanka.
She also said that Imran Khan claims that the media was the most independent in his time whereas the Reporters Without Borders reports show that there were threats to the lives of journalists in his regime, News International reported.
“If any news was published against him, the journalist would not be left alive. Imran is saying that the media was the most independent in his time, there was no restriction and censorship on the media, but reports show that during Imran Khan’s time, media agencies were banned, channels were closed, and there were threats to the lives of reporters and Imran Khan threatened journalists,” she said.
Marriyum also said the report of Reporters Without Borders is Imran Khan’s original worksheet.
With the addition of 124 coronavirus positive cases, the infection tally in the Thane district of Maharashtra has gone up to 7,33,236, a health official said on Saturday.
With these cases reported on Friday, the active tally in the district currently stands at 950.
The count of active cases has dropped below 1,000 for the first time in the past several months.
The death toll remained unchanged at 11,924 as nobody succumbed to the infection during the day, while the recovery count has reached 7,22,651, the official added.
