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Sanjay Raut to appear before ED tomorrow

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ANI
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Sanjay Raut, MVA, Maha Vikas Agadhi, Shivsena
Image : Agencies

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that he would appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office tomorrow after the investigating agency declined his request to provide some extra time for his appearance in connection with a money laundering case.

The ED had sent him a second summons to appear before July 1, after he failed to appear in his first summon on Monday due to the then political crisis in Maharashtra.

Notably, Raut is being probed in connection with the re-development of Mumbai’s Patra Chawl. His lawyer had sought 13-14 days time to present the documents in front of the probe agency, however, the request was declined by the Agency.

“I will be going to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office tomorrow,” said the Shiv Sena leader while speaking to the media here.

Referring to Uddhav Thackeray’s resignation from the post of the Chief Minister on Wednesday evening, he said that Shiv Sena will work and come to power “on our own once again”.

“Shiv Sena is not born for power, power is born for Shiv Sena. This has always been Balasaheb Thackeray’s mantra. We will work & come to power on our own once again,” he said.

Raut said that Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar have trust in Uddhav Thackeray.

“We got emotional yesterday when Uddhav Thackeray resigned as Chief Minister. Everyone has faith in Uddhav Thackeray; people of every caste and religion support him. Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar trust him,” he said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor’s orders the special session that was scheduled on Thursday will now not be convened.

The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy.

Minutes after the order by the top court, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council.

The announcement brought an end to the political crisis that erupted in the state for over a week with a faction of Shiv Sena MLAs revolting against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government.

Meanwhile, the stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government in the state with the party, which is the single-largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly with 106 MLAs, likely to stake claim to form the government.

As Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis is set to stake claim to the Chief Minister’s post for the third time. Fadnavis, who met the party’s top brass twice in a week in Delhi, said that the future course of action will be announced today.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C53/DS-EO) set to launch tomorrow

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Web Team
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ISRO, PSLV-C53/DS-EO, Space,
Image Screengrab

ISRO recently twitted that they are ready for launch for PSLV-C53/DS-EO the rocket will launch on Thursday at 17:32 PM. The count down for 25 hours began.

The Indian rocket will carry three satellites — the 365 kg DS-EO and 155 kg NeuSAR, satellites belonging to Singapore and built by Starec Initiative of South Korea.

The third satellite is a 2.8 kg Scoob-1 of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

The rocket will launch from the second launch pad at the Sriharikota rocket port.

The ISRO will use the rocket final and semi final (fourth and fifth) stage an orbital platform for six payloads, including two from Indian space start-ups, Digantara and Dhruva Aerospace.

The mission proposes to demonstrate the utilisation of the spent upper stage of the launch vehicle as a stabilised platform for scientific payloads, subsequent to the separation of the satellites.

Anyone can watch their live telecast from ISRO website or from their official YouTube channel.

According to Gaurav Bhatia, Teesta Setalvad is merely a minor branch of Congress, which is the source of all communal hate

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ANI
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Gaurav Bhatia
According to Gaurav Bhatia, Teesta Setalvad is merely a minor branch of Congress, which is the source of all communal hate 4

After a metropolitan court granted the remand of social activist Teesta Setalvad to the Ahmedabad crime branch till July 2 on charges of forgery and criminal conspiracy, BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia has hit out stating that she was only a “small branch of spreading communal hatred” while its “headquarter is in the Congress party”.

Notably, Teesta Setalvad was arrested on Sunday for questioning after Union Home Minister Amit Shah in an interview with ANI said that Setalvad-run NGO gave baseless information about the 2002 Gujarat riots to the police.

“A landmark judgment was delivered by the Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, dismissing the petition submitted by Zakia Jafri. After this decision, some comments were made, which revealed the real character of some people sitting on the contract to protect human rights. For the last two decades, a political conspiracy and effort were being run against the world’s most respected leader,” Bhatia said.

“The Ahmedabad Crime Branch registered an FIR and a woman named Teesta Setalvad, who calls herself a champion of human rights, came to the fore. Teesta Setalvad was only a small branch of spreading communal hatred, its headquarter is in the Congress party,” he alleged.

Alleging that they were not fighting for justice for the families of the victims, Bhatia said that their “main target” was only to “end the political term” of then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

“It is clear from the statements of one of his associates who were with Teesta Setalvad that these people are not fighting for justice for the families of the victims. Their target was to end the political innings of the then Chief Minister of Gujarat,” he said.

Earlier on Sunday, the Gujarat government decided to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad DIG Deepan Bhadran to investigate the role of Setalvad, Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots.

An FIR was lodged against Setalvad, Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for giving false testimonies in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots, a top police official said.

The six-member SIT will include DCP (Crime) Chaitanya Mandlik, ATS SP Sunil Joshi, Deputy SP (Special Operations Group) BC Solanki, who will be the investigating officer, and a woman police inspector, among others, the official said on conditions of anonymity.

On Saturday, Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) team detained Setalvad from Mumbai in connection with a case on her NGO and later in the night she was taken to Ahmedabad.

The Gujarat ATS team took Teesta Setalvad to the Santacruz police station. The Supreme Court had on Friday, dismissed as “devoid of merit” an appeal by Zakia Jafri in a plea challenging SIT’s clean chit to the then chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi and others in cases related to the riots. Zakia Jafri is the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was killed in the riots.

Leopard rescued by forest department from school

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PTI
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Leopard in Aaray colony school
Image : Agencies

A leopard was safely rescued from a school in the western suburb of Goregaon here on Wednesday, officials said.

The animal had entered a school in Bimbisar Nagar area of Goregaon (east) on Tuesday night and was first spotted by a security guard, they said.

The leopard was hiding in the washroom of the school, it was stated.

After receiving a distress call, the Mumbai range rescue team of the Thane forest department and a team from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) rescued the big cat in the early hours of the day, they said.

The animal was tranquilised before being rescued from the premises, as redirecting it to the forests was not possible, they said.

The leopard was later shifted to SGNP for medical examination, before being released into the wild. 

78.96 Rupees against US Dollar in early trade

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Web Team
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Rupee Value Down, Dollar, Rupee, Market
Copyright: Afternoon voice

Rupee value has decreased by 11 paise to reach at 78.96 against US dollars in Wednesday opening trade. We have reach at low value against US dollars.

We have jumped up 48 paisa on Tuesday and close at 78.85 against the US dollar. But on Wednesday it open with lowest as 78.96 paise as renewed focus on the weak economic outlook prompted losses on Asian currencies shares, said Sriram lyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities. “The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could be present to curb volatility, but the strength of crude oil could cap appreciation bias,” Iyer said, adding that the range for the rupee on Wednesday is 78.50-79.10.

The rupee has depreciated a startling 6.28 percent since the beginning of this year, down 1.87 percent so far this month. Benchmark Brent crude futures for world oil decreased by 0.88 percent to USD 116.94 per barrel. The dollar index, which measures the value of the dollar against a basket of six different currencies, was trading 0.8% lower at 104.42.

The 30-share Sensex was down 474.05 points, or 0.89 percent, at 52,703.40 on the domestic equities market, while the larger NSE Nifty fell 137.75 points, or 0.87 percent, to 15,712.45. According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,244.44 crore on Tuesday, making them net sellers in the capital market.

Maharashtra assembly party position

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PTI
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Maharashtra Assembly
Maharashtra assembly party position 8

Following is the party position in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly – Shiv Sena 55 NCP 53 Congress 44 BJP 106 Bahujan Vikas Aghadi 3 Samajwadi Party 2 AIMIM 2 Prahar Janshakti Party 2 MNS 1 CPI (M) 1 PWP 1 Swambhimani Paksha 1 Rashtriya Samaj Paksha 1 Jansurajya Shakti Party 1 Krantikari Shetkari Party 1 Independents 13 There is one vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke last month.

Out of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs, 38 are in Guwahati along with 10 independents.

Two NCP members – Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal – have tested COVID-19 positive, while two other party legislators – Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik – are currently in Jail. 

After sharing a message in favor of Nupur Sharma, a man was beheaded in Udaipur; the attackers posted a video threatening PM Modi’s life

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ANI
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Jaipur beheaded case
Image : Agencies

A man was beheaded by two men in Udaipur’s Maldas street area today. He had shared a social media post in support of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma a few days ago.

The two men posted a video boasting about the beheading and threatened PM Modi’s life as well.

Locals protested after the incident that took place in broad daylight. Shops in Maldas street area of Udaipur have been closed following the incident.

Udaipur Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Choudhary said few accused have been identified and a thorough probe will be conducted.

“A heinous murder has been committed and a thorough investigation will be conducted into the incident. Few accused have been identified. Police teams have been constituted to locate the accused. We will take action on the video of men claiming to have committed the act,” Choudhary said.

District Collector of Udaipur Tara Chand Meena urged people to maintain peace and law and order.

“I appeal to all to maintain peace and law and order. The affected family will be provided help from the government. Stringent action will be taken against the accused,” he said.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot promised the strictest action against the culprits and said the police will go to the bottom of the matter.

“I condemn the heinous murder of youth in Udaipur. Strict action will be taken against all the criminals involved in this incident and the police will go to the bottom of the crime. I appeal to all parties to maintain peace. Strictest punishment will be given to every person involved in such heinous crime,” he said.

The BJP had suspended party spokesperson Nupur Sharma earlier this month for her controversial remarks during a TV debate.

Amnesty on Zubair’s detention states that harassment of human rights defenders is frighteningly prevalent in India

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ANI
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Mohammed Zubair
Image from Twitter @zoo_bear

Harassment and arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders for tirelessly seeking truth and justice have become alarmingly commonplace in India, Amnesty India said on Tuesday, demanding immediate and unconditional release of fact-checking website Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair.

Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday night for allegedly hurting religious sentiments and promoting enmity on Twitter.

Aakar Patel, chair of board for Amnesty International India, said the Indian authorities are targeting Zubair for his crucial work to combat the rise in fake news and disinformation and call out discrimination against minorities.

“The arrest of Mohammed Zubair shows the danger facing human rights defenders in India has reached a crisis point,” Patel said in a statement.

“The fact that he was not provided a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) and was detained incommunicado during the initial hours following his arrest shows just how brazen the Indian authorities have become.

“Harassment, intimidation, unlawful and arbitrary arrests, and imprisonment of human rights defenders for tirelessly seeking truth and justice has become alarmingly commonplace in India,” he said.

Calling on the Delhi Police to immediately and unconditionally release Zubair and end its “relentless harassment” of journalists, human rights defenders and activists, Patel said the Alt News co-founder’s arrest is a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression, abuse of power by the authorities and sends a message that dissent is not tolerated in the country.

Zubair was arrested in connection with one of his recent tweets that had a questionable image with the purpose of deliberately insulting the god of a particular religion, according to police.

Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha alleged that the police did not any prior notice to Zubair, even though it is mandatory for the sections under which he has been arrested.

AS Roma pulls out of the Joan Gamper Trophy contest versus FC Barcelona

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ANI
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Football Stadium 1
Image ; Agencies

FC Barcelona on Monday announced that AS Roma have decided to unilaterally, without reason, withdraw from the agreed contract for both parties for the Joan Gamper Trophy game.

The pre-season clash was to be played on August 6 at Camp Nou, in a fixture that would have witnessed a men’s and women’s game once again.

The La Liga club is working on finding a new opponent for this year’s edition.

“In the next 24 hours the return of money already spent on tickets will begin and the Club wants to make it clear that the suspension of the games has been due to circumstances outside the control of FC Barcelona, the express wish of AS Roma,” FC Barcelona in a statement said.

The Club’s Legal department is studying possible action against the Italian club for damages caused to FC Barcelona and its fans due to this unexpected and unjustified decision.

Joan Gamper Trophy returns to the Camp Nou after being played at the Estadi Johan Cruyff last season. The women’s game will start at 5.30 pm local time, while the men’s game kicks off at 9.00 pm. The official presentation of the two squads will take place in between at 7.50 pm.

AS Roma were also the guests at the Joan Gamper in 2015, with Barca winning 3-0 thanks to goals from Neymar, Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic.

In pre-season, FC Barcelona will also meet Real Madrid again this summer for a game in Las Vegas on July 23, one of the four that the Catalans will play on their US tour.

In addition to friendlies already announced against Inter Miami FC on July 19 and the New York Red Bulls on July 30, Xavi Hernandez will also be preparing for the forthcoming season with games against Real Madrid on July 23 in Las Vegas and Juventus on July 26 in Dallas.

Football fans in the US are going to be treated to another Clasico on July 23 at Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, which holds 65,000 spectators and is the home of the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL.

Jens Stoltenberg: NATO allies stand with Ukraine

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ANI
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Jens Stoltenberg
Image : Agencies

Ahead of the NATO summit that will be held today in Madrid, Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO allies stand with Ukraine and will step up their support for the country.

The development comes after a telephonic conversation between Stoltenberg and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Russia’s war of aggression.

“Spoke with President @ZelenskyyUa on #Russia’s war of aggression. At our #NATOSummit we will step up support for our close partner #Ukraine, now & for the longer term. #NATO Allies stand with you,” the NATO secretary-general said in a tweet.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also addressed the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) on Monday to press Western nations for accelerated sanctions on Russia.

The Ukraine-Russia conflict has been at the centre of the summit being held inside a century-old mountainside castle in Germany’s Bavaria region.

During the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made India’s position clear on the Ukraine conflict and he reiterated that there must be an immediate end to the hostilities and a resolution should be reached by choosing the path of dialogue and diplomacy, said Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra.

PM Modi had also spoken with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and expressed his deep anguish about the loss of life and property due to the ongoing conflict.

Leaders have decided on new steps to isolate Russia’s economy, including a ban on new imports of Russian gold, and are pledging support for Zelenskyy as his country suffers setbacks in the east.

Moreover, US President Joe Biden announced that the group will impose new import bans on Russian gold as a punishment for Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

The G7 leaders also held discussions on the impact of Russia’s war on food and energy supplies including the global economy and said the bloc is determined to support Ukraine in producing and exporting grain, oil, and other agricultural products as well as to address the causes of the evolving global food crisis.

They called upon Russia to cease, without condition, its attacks on agricultural and transport infrastructure and enable free passage of agricultural shipping from Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.

The leaders also agreed to further strengthen Ukraine’s resilience by expanding cooperation in intelligence and information sharing, information security, as well as maritime security.

Condemning unprovoked and unjustifiable war, the leaders pledged USD 29.5 billion worth of support to Ukraine to help the country close its financing gap and continue ensuring the delivery of basic services to the Ukrainian people.

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