T20 World Cup 2024 final: India lifts second T20 WC title after 17 years

The long wait is over. India is world champion again .In a classic ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final sure to be remembered for years to come, India made history with a nail-biting seven-run win over South Africa .And with it came the celebrations. There was an undeniable sense of relief as well, as India finally managed to cross the final hurdle after two heartbreaking falls in just the last year.

Fresh date for NEET-PG to be announced within two days, says Dharmendra Pradhan

Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan said that the new schedule for NEET-PG will be announced by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) in the next two days. Mr. Pradhan was speaking in Panchkula, Haryana ahead of a BJP event where Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressed party workers. The NEET-PG exams were cancelled last week because of the controversy raging over the question paper leak in NEET-UG.

‘Absent’ officer suspended in Kashmir for ‘sabotaging’ Amarnath yatra

A local officer was suspended in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on allegations of “sabotaging” the Amarnath yatra by remaining absent from duty. Syeed Fakhrudin Hamid, Deputy Commissioner, Anantnag, in an order, suspended Pahalgam Naib Tehsildar Ovais Amir for “leaving the station without permission and sabotaging the ongoing Amarnath yatra”. A Sub-Divisional Magistrate-level officer was appointed to “enquire into the matter of noncompliance of the Naib Tehsildar”. “The suspended officer shall remain attached with his office during the period of his suspension,” the order reads.

Virat Kohli announces T20I retirement after India’s World Cup win over South Africa

Star batter Virat Kohli on Saturday announced his retirement from T20 Internationals after guiding India to their second T20 World Cup win here .Kohli anchored the innings with a match-winning 59-ball 76 with two sixes and six fours to lift India from a precarious 34 for three inside the powerplay, to a formidable 176 for seven, cornerstone of India’s 7-run victory over South Africa. Kohli said after collecting the Man of the Match award that it was his las T20I match for India.

Airport canopy collapse: victim’s family considers legal action

The family of a 45-year-old cab driver, who died after a portion of a canopy at Indira Gandhi International Airport collapsed amid heavy rainfall, said they are planning to file a case against those responsible for the incident. On Friday, six persons had sustained injuries while Ramesh Kumar was killed. He was cremated at the Naharpur crematorium on Saturday. The victim’s son, Ravinder, said, “Criminal negligence is what killed him. Now even airports aren’t safe. My father was at the airport after dropping a person. He was a hardworking man, who ensured there was enough for the family, but this kind of infrastructure at the airport killed him.”

Days after restricting bar association, J&K High Court recognises new lawyers’ body in Kashmir

The J&K and Ladakh High Court on Saturday recognised a new lawyers’ body in Kashmir, the Kashmir Advocates Association (KAA), by exercising powers under Section 58 of the Bar Council, which was extended to J&K after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 .The move came days after the District Magistrate, Srinagar, barred the J&K High Court Bar Association (JKHCBA), a lawyers’ body active for several decades, from holding any elections, citing their “anti-national and pro-secessionist” ideology. The order also highlighted the JKHCBA’s history of “providing free legal aid to anti-nationals”.

Parliament discussion on NEET would “expose” BJP’s links with those involved in exam irregularities, alleges Congress

The Congress on Saturday alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government is not keen on allowing a parliamentary debate on the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate medical college admissions as it will “expose” the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) links with those involved in the alleged NEET paper leak scam .At a press conference, Gujarat Congress chief and Rajya Sabha member Shaktisinh Gohil claimed that one of the key accused, Arif Vohra, who has now been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is an office-bearer of the BJP.

NTA’s plan to add more online exam centres languishes in cold storage

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which is under scrutiny for multiple question paper leak controversies, failed to amp up its infrastructure for conducting tests in online mode in 2024, as its tender to multiply testing centres failed to take off, The Hindu has learnt. The NTA had floated a tender in January this year, in order to increase its capacity of computer labs, which could house ‘nodes’, or seating spaces for candidates, in as many as 378 cities. “The work has not progressed as the tenders haven’t been finalised,” a top NTA official told The Hindu.

SP’s Awadhesh Prasad could be Opposition’s Deputy Speaker candidate

The Opposition is likely to field Faizabad MP and Samajwadi Party leader Awadhesh Prasad, for the post of Deputy Speaker. Learning from their experience during the Speaker’s election, where differences between Congress and Trinamool Congress came to the fore, the Opposition has decided to present a united front to force a contest for the position .Though constitutionally mandated, the 17th Lok Sabha functioned without a Deputy Speaker. Besides speculation, there has been no formal indication from the government that the position will be filled in the 18th Lok Sabha either.

Yogi government refutes Union Minister’s allegation of bias against OBCs, SCs, STs in State jobs

Days after Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel alleged bias against applicants from Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in government jobs in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath-led State government sent a detailed reply to Ms. Patel, explaining that quota posts remaining vacant after the selection process could not be converted to unreserved posts, as claimed by her .Ms. Patel is the national president of the Apna Dal (Soneylal), an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in U.P.

Supply chain issues delay deliveries of LCA-Mk1A jets

After some delay, the deliveries of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to the Indian Air Force (IAF) are now expected to begin by end of July with officials stating that the delay is due to supply chain issues, including at HAL and General Electric (GE) in delivering the engines. One jet is now expected to be handed over to IAF by end of July, two officials independently confirmed.

BJP demands CBI probe into alleged assault of minority woman leader in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Agnimitra Paul on June 29 demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged assault of a female leader of the BJP’s Minority Morcha in post-poll violence in the State. She said a team from the National Commission for Women (NCW) will arrive at Cooch Behar later in the day to assess the situation.

Endemic dengue may have helped stem severity of early COVID wave in India: study

Can the dengue virus beat the coronavirus and is it why the early wave of the pandemic in 2020 resulted in fewer COVID deaths or severe infections compared to Europe or North America where dengue is not endemic? Research from the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata hints at these intriguing possibilities following an analysis of antibodies from people infected with dengue and testing them against a kind of coronavirus called murine hepatitis virus (mouse coronavirus). In research settings, this virus — being part of the same family of human coronaviruses — is considered a good surrogate to study the behaviour of the coronavirus strains that infected people during the pandemic..

New Delhi:

The longest-ever Amarnath yatra, lasting 62 days, is nearing its completion and has been incident free this year as more than four lakh seventy thousand pilgrims did darshan.

“Resolve of the government supported by locals of Kashmir ensured that the Yatra not only remained terror-incident free but also no law and order issue was also reported during the days yatra was on,” a senior official in the Ministry of Home Affairs said.

The 62-day long Amarnath Yatra commenced on July 1 and is set to end on August 31. Till August 21 more than 4.70 lakh people paid obeisance at the holy cave. Last year total of 3,04,493 pilgrims performed darshan.

The Yatra, however, has been suspended since last nine days due to weather conditions.

“Amidst elaborate security arrangements by J&K Police, CAPFs and UT administration, the yatra has been incident free with excellent arrangements for langar, health-care, sanitation and transportation,” a senior official in charge of operation said.

According to him security apparatus in the valley was at an all-time high during the yatra period.

“Hi-tech equipment including drones, advanced technical instruments etc were deployed while quick response teams, avalanche rescue teams, medical teams and NDRF teams have ensured safe passage of devotees in the difficult mountainous terrain,” he explained.

The Yatra this year also witnessed foreign pilgrims from the USA, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia and South-Korea.

Several distinguished personalities from various walks of life including badminton player Saina Nehwal, Bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan, spiritual guru Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami also visited the holy cave.

Commemoration of Kargil Diwas was also honoured at all yatra base camps.

“Kashmir is on path of peace and recovery from old days of strikes. Security forces managed to provide full security cover to G20 summit first and then Yatra,” a senior functionary of JK administration said.

The weather favoured the yatra. However, 46 yatris lost their lives due to different health reasons. Last year, 71 deaths were reported.

The saffron-robed holy mace of Lord Shiva, popularly known as ‘Chhari Mubarak’, Tuesday reached Sheshnag where it will halt for the night before heading for the Amarnath holy cave shrine, officials said.

Amidst religious chants, the Chhari was taken from Chandanwari to Sheshnag by Mahant Deependra Giri, the custodian of the holy mace.