Month: July 2022

A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist was apprehended in the higher reaches of Aloosa forest during a joint operation by 26 Assam Rifles, JKP and CRPF, informed the Indian Army on Sunday.

During the search, war-like stores were recovered from him.
“A specific input was recieved from Jammu and Kashmir and Army Intelligence Unit regarding presence of two suspected terrorists in Gen Area Aloosa Forest. On July 30, a joint operation led by 26 Assam Rifles, JKP and CRPF was launched. During a search of higher reaches in Aloosa Forest, a suspected area was identified. The area was cordoned with extreme caution,” said the Indian Army.

During a search of the area one suspected individual (terrorist) was seen and surrounded from all sides and apprehended. During the search, war-like stores were recovered from him, added the Army.

As per sources, terrorist belonged to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and was planning to carry out attacks on Security Forces in the coming days. His aim was to cause major disruption during Amarnath Yatra.

Pakistan’s desperate attempts to cause fear and panic amongst the locals are aimed at disturbing the prevailing peace and normalcy in the valley. All efforts will be made by the security forces to deny terrorists any space to operate freely. By apprehending one hardcore LeT a major incident has been averted, added the Army. (ANI)

Right after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) team reached Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s residence in Mumbai on Sunday morning in connection with a money laundering case, Raut lashed out at the Centre, saying that “Maharashtra and Shiv Sena will continue to fight” and denied having any role in the case.

“Maharashtra and Shiv Sena will continue to fight,” tweeted Raut in Marathi today morning. “False action. False evidence. I will not leave Shiv Sena. Even if I die, I will not surrender. Jai Maharashtra,” the tweet read.
In a flurry of tweets, Raut asserted that he won’t quit the Shiv Sena and keep on fighting amid the ED action against him.

“I have nothing to do with any scam. I am saying this by taking the oath of Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray. Balasaheb taught us how to fight. I will continue to fight for Shiv Sena,” said Raut in a tweet.

The series of tweets further read, “Long live Shiv Sena!!! Will keep fighting..”

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) team reached Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut’s residence in Mumbai on Sunday morning. Raut is being investigated by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities involving the re-development of a Mumbai ‘chawl.’

Meanwhile, supporters of Raut gathered outside his residence, raising slogans against the ED and BJP.

On June 28 this year, Raut was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the money laundering case pertaining to the Rs 1,034 crore Patra Chawl land scam. Refusing to join the probe and citing the Monsoon Session of Parliament as a reason for not joining the probe, he had then dared the probe agency to arrest him. Later, he reached the ED office.

The ED, which took Pune-based businessman Avinash Bhosale into custody earlier in connection with the DHFL-Yes Bank case, wants to grill Raut in this matter too, as per sources. They claim that the Patra Chawl case is also linked to the DHFL case.

In April, the ED provisionally attached assets worth over Rs 11.15 crore of Raut’s wife Varsha Raut and two of his associates as part of this investigation.

The attached properties are in the form of land held by Pravin M Raut, Sanjay Raut’s aide and a former director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, at Palghar, Saphale (town in Palghar) and Padgha (in Thane district).

The attached properties also include a flat in Mumbai’s suburb Dadar held by Varsha Raut and eight plots at Kihim beach in Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Sujit Patkar, the ED said in a statement.

According to the ED, Sujit Patkar is a close associate of Sanjay Raut. After arresting Pravin Raut in February, the ED had said he appears to be “acting as a front” or in collusion with some influential person(s).

The agency had said during the probe it was revealed he made payments to certain “politically exposed persons”. The investigative agency is probing the matter. (ANI)

In a recent strike, a Ukrainian drone attacked the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, injuring five people, Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

“An unidentified object flew into the courtyard of the Fleet Headquarters, according to preliminary data, it is a drone. Five people were injured, they are members of the fleet headquarters, and there were no deaths,” Razvozhayev said on Telegram on Sunday, reported Sputnik.
All the celebratory events that were supposed to take place in Sevastopol on Sunday to mark Navy Day (celebrated in Russia annually, on the last Sunday of July) came to halt over security concerns.

Earlier, Russia’s Moskva missile cruiser, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was hit by heavy fire and detonation of ammunition.

The ship, whose initial name was “Slava,” was laid down in 1976 in Mykolaiv and commissioned in 1983.

On February 24, Russia launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine, which the West has termed an unprovoked war. As a result of this, the Western countries have imposed several crippling sanctions on Moscow.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US and its European allies introduced sanctions targeting several major Russian banks and high-rank Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, besides ousting Russia from the SWIFT financial system.

A number of countries, including Japan, South Korea and Australia, have also slapped financial sanctions and travel bans on Russia. They are mulling new targeted penalties to freeze assets and restrict travel against Russia’s most influential political and military officials. (ANI)

Indian weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga created history by capturing a gold medal with a record-breaking combined lift of 300 kg in men’s 67 kg final at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Sunday.

With this, he won the country its fifth medal at CWG 2022 and second gold medal at the event. He had achieved a record-breaking 140 kg lift in the snatch category and 160 kg in the Clean and Jerk category, which combined to give him a lift of 300 kg, a record at the Commonwealth Games.
Jeremy Lalrinnunga successfully lifted 136 kg in his first Snatch attempt to move to the top of the leaderboard. Edidiong Joseph Umoafia was at second with 130 kg and Samoa’s Vaipava Ioane at third with 127 kg at the time of his first attempt.

Lalrinnunga set up a new Commonwealth Games record by lifting 140 kg in his second Snatch attempt.

He tried to better this record by going for 143 kg in his final attempt but failed to do so. He finished the Snatch category with 140 kg, at the top of the table. Edidiong Joseph Umoafia was at second with 130 kg and Samoa’s Vaipava Ioane at third with 127 kg at the end of the Snatch event.

With the Indian at the lead position, proceedings moved to the Clean and Jerk category.

Ditto Titus Ika of Nauru gained an initial lead in the Clean and Jerk category and overall competition with a 135 kg C&J lift and combined lift of 240 kg. Ruben Katoatau of Kiribati took the lead further with combined lift of 250 kg, with 114 kg in Snatch and 136 kg in Clean and Jerk. The lead crossed 250-plus mark when England’s Jaswant Singh Shergill lifted 140 kg, taking his combined lift to 254 kg.

Nigeria’s Umoafia lifted 150 kg in the first attempt to take his combined lift to 280 kg. Jeremy now had to lift 154 kg in his first attempt to match the Nigerian, which he did successfully. With this, he set a new CWG record and brought himself to the lead in the overall competition with a combined lift of 294 kg.

In his second C&J attempt, Jeremy lifted 160 kg to take the lead with a combined lift of 300 kg. By lifting 300 kg combined, he had set another new CWG record.

In his final C&J attempt, Jeremy decided to lift 165 kg but he failed. Nonetheless, his combined lift stayed at 300 kg and was not matched by any other opponent.

Jeremy ended up adding the fifth medal to India’s tally by capturing a gold medal. It was India’s second at 2022 CWG after Mirabai Chanu’s gold in weightlifting women’s 49 kg category.

Vaipava Ioane of Samoa gained the silver medal with a combined lift of 293 kg, consisting of 127 kg in Snatch and 166 kg in C&J. Bronze medal went to Nigeria’s Edidiong Joseph Umoafia, who had the combined lift of 290 kg. He had lifted 130 in the Snatch category while he attained a best of 160 kg in C&J. (ANI)

Former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, an accused in a money laundering case, on Sunday denied his involvement in the School Service Commission (SSC) scam and asserted that the “money does not belong to him.”

He has been brought to ESI hospital for a medical examination on Sunday afternoon. “When the time comes, you will know…the money does not belong to me,” he said to media persons today upon being asked about who is behind this conspiracy.
Arrested Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee – who is now suspended from the Trinamool Congress – and his aide Arpita Mukherjee have separately been claiming that they are a “victim of conspiracy.”

“Partha Chatterjee has been removed from TMC along with the post of General Secretary, National vice president and three other posts. He has been suspended till the investigation is underway,” Abhishek Banerjee said.

Trinamool Congress, which had been distancing itself from its arrested leader Partha Chatterjee, axed him as a minister on Thursday and suspended him from the party leaving it to him to defend himself in the Enforcement Directorate probe in the teacher recruitment scam in which crores of rupees have been seized from residences linked to his aide Arpita Mukherjee.

Trinamool Congress’ decision to part ways with one of its most senior leaders was announced by party leader Abhishek Banerjee at a press conference in which he said “if anyone commits something wrong then Trinamool Congress will not spare him” and ‘there will be zero tolerance for corruption”. He said Partha Chatterjee will remain suspended till probe is underway.

Partha Chatterjee was considered one of the most trusted lieutenants of the Chief Minister, a “go-to” man and was regarded third in party hierarchy after the chief Minister and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

After his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, Partha Chatterjee had reportedly called Mamata Banerjee four times. She did not take his calls.

Partha Chatterjee was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the School Service Commission (SSC) scam in West Bengal.

Abhishek Banerjee told the media here that Partha Chatterjee has been removed from TMC along with the post of general secretary, national vice president and three other posts.

“He has been suspended till the investigation is underway. He can come back if proven not guilty. CM took the decision and the (Partha Chatterjee) minister was removed. The probe into the matter is underway. If anyone commits something wrong then TMC won’t spare him,” he said

Abhishek Banerjee said the investigating agency must complete the probe in a time-bound manner.

“There will be zero tolerance for corruption. Investigating agency must complete the probe within the time limit. Even in Sarada case nothing happened, it’s just lingering. There should be a time-bound investigation,” he said.

“The one (Arpita Mukherjee) from whose house sums of money were recovered isn’t from TMC. We want stringent action against those who are linked to this matter. I am saying this in a hypothetical way that if Partha Chatterjee goes to BJP after two months then he will become a saint. Since he is in TMC, all of these things are happening,” he added.

Admitting that huge sums of money had been recovered, Abhishek Banerjee said “TMC is the only party that intervened within seven days in the matter.”

“I agree huge sums of money were recovered. But, everyday bank frauds are happening what action did BJP take? Nirav Modi flew away, did BJP sack Nirmala Sitharaman, it’s TMC who walk the talk,” he said.

He also took a dig at BJP leader and actor-politician Mithun Chakraborty that 38 TMC MLAs were in touch with the party. “Mithun Chakraborty doesn’t even know how many Assembly seats and districts are there in Bengal. He just wants to brag about how big a leader he has become, if he wants to make a mockery of himself, then, so be it,” Abhishek Banerjee said.

The arrest of Partha Chatterjee followed Rs 21 crore in cash and jewellery worth above Rs 1 crore being recovered from the Kolkata residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of the former education minister.

The ED unearthed many disproportionate assets allegedly of Partha Chatterjee since his arrest, of which were three flats in West Bengal’s Diamond City.

The ED raided Arpita Mukerjee’s house in connection with an alleged teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.

“The said amount is suspected to be proceeds of crime of the said SSC scam,” the probe agency had said in a statement.

A five-time MLA, Chatterjee was appointed as the minister-in-charge of higher education and school education in 2014 and he held the portfolio till 2021. (ANI)

The Pakistani currency depreciated by 14.5 per cent against the US dollar, registering its worst month in over 50 years as the country continues to struggle with high import payments, depleting foreign exchange reserves, and political uncertainty.

The value of the Pakistani rupee was 204.85 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market at the start of July.
Even though fewer trading sessions took place due to the Eid holidays, the currency closed at 239.37 against the US dollar on July 29, Business Recorder reported.

Earlier, the Pakistani currency slumped by 57 per cent in May 1972. The government had termed the decision inevitable and its value reduced from PKR 4.77 to PKR 11 per US dollar.

Several factors including escalating domestic political tension, low foreign exchange reserves, and speculative behaviour on part of stakeholders have contributed to the freefall of the currency, local media reported.

The currency depreciated in 10 out of 17 sessions. The depreciation took place after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced its staff-level agreement with Pakistan authorities on July 14.

Success with the IMF could lead to a depreciation break, IGI Securities Head of Research Saad Khan said.

“If everything goes as per the plan, pertaining to the IMF, it could push the rupee down to 225-230. However, in the long-term, the rupee would remain lower,” Khan said.

Despite the agreement, the ongoing political and economic turmoil in the country has raised concerns among investors, it reported.

This downfall of Pakistani rupees comes as Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings said they expect Pakistan to secure the USD 1.2 billion bailout from the IMF.

Once the deal amount will be secured, it is expected that pressure on the country’s currency and forex reserves will ease.

“We assume IMF board approval of Pakistan’s new staff-level agreement with the lender,” Krisjanis Krustins, a Hong Kong-based director at Fitch, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg on Wednesday. “This will unlock significant additional financing from the IMF and other multilateral and bilateral sources and may well provide a significant confidence boost to the markets.” (ANI)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the mandatory evacuation of people in the eastern Donetsk region after a fight between Russia and Ukraine escalated in the DPR region on Saturday.

In a television address late on Saturday, Zelenskyy also said the hundreds of thousands of people in combat zones in the larger Donbas region are at life-threatening risks and needed to leave, Al Jazeera reported.
“The more people leave (the) Donetsk region now, the fewer people the Russian army will have time to kill,” he said, adding that residents who left would be given compensation.

Logistics and support operations were being handled by the authorities “from A to Z”, he said.

The governor of Donetsk, in a statement, said six civilians were killed and 15 others were wounded in the attacks on Friday.

As the region’s natural gas supplies had been destroyed due to the ongoing conflict, the evacuation was subjected to take place before winter, Ukrainian media outlets quoted Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk as saying.

Ukraine’s Donbas region which is one of the most powerful industrial centres in Europe is heavily devasted due to Russian strikes.

In a further statement, Zelenskyy said that numerous people were still living in areas of Donbas where fighting was fierce.

“Many refuse to leave but it still needs to be done,” Al Jazeera reported, quoting the president.

Donetsk and Luhansk are the two regions that together form Donbas, the eastern part of Ukraine where the conflict between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists started in 2014.

Russian troops have already taken over almost all of the Luhansk region, the head of Luhansk’s region military administration Serhiy Hayday said in a telegram post earlier, adding that some 300,000 people from the area have been forced to flee their homes.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US and its European allies introduced sanctions targeting several major Russian banks and high-rank Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, besides ousting Russia from the SWIFT financial system.

A number of countries, including Japan, South Korea and Australia, have also slapped financial sanctions and travel bans on Russia. They are mulling new targeted penalties to freeze assets and restrict travel against Russia’s most influential political and military officials.

On February 24, Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics requested help in defending themselves. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. (ANI)

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said the allocation of ministries for state Cabinet formation will be decided as soon as possible.

He said that he and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis are working on the growth of the state.
While talking about raids conducted at Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s residence, he said, “The investigation is underway. If he hasn’t done anything wrong, why is he scared? He was a big MVA leader. Just because one’s scared of the ED, one shouldn’t come to our party.”

“ED also conducted investigations earlier. If ED works under the fear of the Central govt then the Supreme Court should take action on this. ED is doing their work,” he added.

He announced a cash reward of Rs 37 lakh to Sanket Sargar who won a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022.

“Sanket Sargar is from a poor family, hence we are giving him Rs 30 lakh and for education, we are giving them Rs 7 lakh from the state government,” said Shinde in a press conference.

While talking about the Marathwada suicides, Shinde, “Overall Marathwada suicides are not happening we assure that. In this meeting, we discuss this too. State banks, District banks and Central banks must give them loans with less interest.”

“Mid-term, long term and short-term plans we will discuss in this meeting for farmers,” he added.

On the Nanded-Jalna highway, he said “it must be developed, it will be helping people for travelling. The municipal corporation has issues, we are also working on this.”

On Balasaheb Thackeray statue, he said, “we will it build as soon as possible. I gave an order on this to complete this work as soon as possible.”

After the silver of Sanket Sargar in the 55kg weightlifting event, Gururaja Poojary settled for bronze in the 61kg event, at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, on July 30, 2022.

Gururaja Poojary was leading the table after the lift of 148 kg in the second clean and jerk attempt.

In the third attempt, Gururaja Poojary confirmed India a medal. In the end, Gururaja Poojary settled for bronze with a total of 269 kgs. With this India’s medal tally went to two (one silver and one bronze). (ANI)

After clinching a silver medal in the Women’s 55kg final at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Saturday, Bindyarani Devi said that her performance in the event was her career best.

Bindyarani Devi won India’s fourth weightlifting medal of the day after successfully lifting 86kg in the third attempt at the snatch round and a 116kg lift in the final attempt at the clean and jerk round in the women’s 55kg category at CWG 2022.
“I am very happy with my performance. I am playing in the first games of my career and I am very happy that I won the silver medal in this,” Bindyarani Devi told ANI.

Talking about her performance in the event, the silver medallist said, “I’m very happy to get a #silver in the first time of playing #CWG. Today was my life’s best performance… gold slipped out of my hand. When I was at the podium, I wasn’t at the centre, will do better next time.”

Describing her future targets Bindyarani said that she will try her best in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“My next targets are national games, World Championship, Asian Games and then the 2024 Paris Olympics. I’ll do better in them,” said Bindyarani Devi.

Bindyarani Devi successfully lifted 81kg in her first snatch attempt in the women’s 55kg category. In her second attempt, Bindyarani lifted 84kg without breaking a sweat. In her final snatch category attempt, Bindyarani nailed the 86kg snatch in her third attempt.

In the Clean and Jerk lift category, she lifted 110kg in her first attempt. In her second attempt for 114kg, she failed to lift it. In her final attempt of category 116kg, she lifted it with ease to claim the silver medal for India and fourth overall.

The Indian weightlifter set a Commonwealth Games record with her final clean and jerk lift in the women’s 55kg category.

Nigeria’s Adijat Adenike Olarinoye won the gold medal with a combined lift of 203kg, one more than Bindyarani Devi. (ANI)

After an action-packed Day 2 of the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, all eyes will be on Indian women’s cricket team which will take on arch-rivals Pakistan and other medal contenders across sports like Gymnastics, Weightlifting, Table Tennis, Badminton etc in which the country’s contingent will be looking forward to progress further during the third day of the multi sport event.

Action will start from 1:00 PM in Lawn Bowls, where Tania Choudhary will continue her campaign against Shauna O Neill of Northern Ireland after suffering losses against Dee Hoggan (Scotland), Arthur Almond (Falkland Islands) and Laura Daniels (Wales) in her previous games.
At 1:30 PM, Indian gymnast Yogeshwar Singh will be eyeing a podium finish atleast in the Men’s all-round final. In the qualification round, he had made it to top 18 with score of 73.600.

2:00 PM will be the time when India’s two other medal contenders will be in action. Men’s table tennis team will be taking part in the quarter finals after wins against Barbados, Singapore and Northern Ireland.

On the other side, Indian weightlifters will be looking forward to get more medals in this sport, with Jeremy Lalrinnunga in action in Men’s 67 category final. Sanket Sargar (silver in 55 kg), Gururaja Poojary (bronze in 61 kg) and Mirabai Chanu (gold in 49 kg) have already won medals for India in weightlifting.

From 2:30 PM onwards in Men’s Sprint Qualifying, cyclists Esow Alben, Ronaldo Laitonjam and David Beckham will be in action looking forward to make it to finals.

Swimming action will start from 3:00 PM onwards, with Sajan Prakash set to partake in Men’s 200 m Butterfly Beat 3. From 3:30 PM onwards, in Mens 50 m Backstroke Heat 6, Srihari Natraj will be looking forward to make an impact.

From 3:30 PM onwards will take place Mens sprint 1/8 finals.

The much anticipated women’s Cricket clash between arch rivals India and Pakistan will start at 3:30 PM onwards.

Action will be back to Lawn bowls area, where the Mens pairs team will meet England at 4:00 PM. Mens pairs will be looking forward to solidifying their chances at progress after wins over Cook Islands and Falkland Islands that came after loss against Malaysia in first round.

At 4:04 PM, fans could get to see Venkappa Kengalagutti and Dinesh Kumar in Mens Sprint Quarterfinals (subject to qualification). They will also featured in Mens 15 km scratch race qualifying which can take place at 4:20 PM or 5:00 PM.

From 4:45 PM onwards, boxer Nikhat Zareen, who recently won IBA Women’s World Championships in June, will start her campaign against Ismael Bagoo (Mozambique) in over 48-50 kg category round of 16 match.

Shiva Thapa will continue his campaign after win over Pakistan’s Murad Ali, against Reese Lynch in round of 16 match in over 60-63.5 kg category from 5:15 PM onwards.

Joshna Chinappa will continue her Squash campaign against Kaitlyn Watts of New Zealand in round of 16 from 6:00 PM onwards after registering a win over Meagan Best of Barbados.

At 6:30 PM, India’s Popy Hazarika will be in action in women’s 59 kg weightlifting final, with an aim to add one more medal in the sport to India’s count.

The action will once again shift to Squash courts at 6:45 PM onwards, with Saurav Ghosal taking on David Baillargeon of Canada in a round of 16 match after gaining a win over Sri Lanka’s Shamil Wakeel.

At 7:00 PM, India’s women gymnasts could be in action in All Round final (subject to qualification).

At 7:40 PM in track cycling, fans could get to see Indian cyclists in Mens Sprint Semi Finals action.

From 8:30 PM onwards, Indian hockey fans will get to see their Men’s team open up their campaign against Ghana in Pool A game.

Fans will be able to see Triyasha Paul and Mayuri Lute in Women’s 500 m Time Trial final in track cycling from 9:00 PM onwards.

India’s Badminton mixed team will play quarter finals from 10:00 PM onwards after thumping wins over Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Mens Sprint finals in track cycling will take place from 10:12 PM onwards.

At 10:30 PM, quarterfinals in Women’s Fours category of Lawn bowls could take place, given the team of Rupa Rani Tirkey, Nayanmoni Saikia, Lovely Choubey and Pinki Singh qualify for it. They have lost one game to England and won in other game against Cook Islands and have a game against Canada waiting for them.

From 11:00 PM onwards, 14 year old Squash player Anahat Singh could play in her round of 16 match if she beats her round of 32 opponent. She had qualified for round of 32 after win over Jada Ross of Saint Vincente and Grenadines.

Also at the same time, weightlifter Achinta Sheuli will be in action in Men’s 73 kg category final, going into it as another potential medal winner for India.

Mens 15 km scratch race final will take place from 11:12 PM onwards.

Srihari Natraj could be a part of Men’s 50 m backstroke semi final if he does well in heats. The semi final will start from 11:37 PM.

In Squash from 11:45 PM onwards, Abhay Singh could partake in his round of 16 match, given he beats Alan Clyne of Scotland in his round of 32 match. He had defeated Joe Chapman of British Virgin Islands in his round of 64 match.

In Swimming, Sajan Prakash could be part of Mens 200 m Butterfly final taking place from 11:58 PM onwards, if he does well in his heats.

At 12:15 AM, August 1, Indian boxer Sumit will take on Australia’s Callum Peters in round of 16 match of Over 71-75 kg category. (ANI)