India

New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) The government has finalised the broad contours of a new defence space agency which will develop capabilities to protect India's interests in outer space and deal with threats of space wars, officials sources said Tuesday.

The agency is being tasked with developing a range of platforms and co-orbital weapons to protect Indian assets in space and to have deterrence, they said.

Panaji, Jun 11 (PTI) Onset of cyclone "Vayu" will trigger heavy rains in Goa and the Konkan area for the next two days, the IMD said Tuesday.

The department has issued the "orange" warning for Goa in view of the deep depression over East Central and adjoining South East Arabian sea, which has intensified into cyclonic storm.

"Goa will receive widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy falls at isolated places on June 12. There will be fairly widespread rainfall with heavy falls at isolated places on June 13 too," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) Union Minister Thawarchand Gehlot was appointed on Tuesday the Leader of the Rajya Sabha, a position occupied in the previous Narendra Modi-led government by senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley who has had health issues and is currently recovering, official sources said.

Gehlot, the social justice and empowerment minister, is an experienced parliamentarian and a Dalit face of the saffron party.

The appointment for the Leader of the Rajya Sabha is made by the party in power at the Centre.

Patna, June 11 (PTI) Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh Tuesday charged the BJP with having "denied" an honourable share in the Union Council of Ministers to its alliance partner JD(U), headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The AAP Rajya Sabha member and state in-charge said his party had "ideological differences with Nitish Kumar" but, nevertheless, was of the view that "JD(U) should have been granted a representation in the Union council of ministers that was commensurate with its standing in the Parliament."

Srinagar, June 12: A Kashmiri has been killed in an alleged encounter with Indian security forces in Sopore area of Baramulla district in Indian administered Kashmir, an Indian official said.

The Indian security forces' spokesman alleged that a cordon and search operation in the area was conducted following information about presence of Kashmiri separatist.

Kanpur: Scam after scam surfaces. After scam in construction of Butterfly Park at Kanpur Zoo, there has surfaced another scam in renovation of the pulia in the same area. As many as 16 pulia exist in the zoo, while 12  pulia are to be renovated. There has been estimated a sum of 96 thousand on renovation of one pulia, as was reported. 

The state government has initiated probe into butterfly park scam and now stands another scam. 

11 June 2019; AFP: A two-year-old Indian boy stuck in a narrow well for more than four days was pulled out dead on Tuesday, triggering protests over delays in reaching the toddler.

The case of Fatehveer Singh captured national attention after he fell into the 33-metre (110 feet) deep well in the Punjab state district of Sangrur while playing on Thursday.

New Delhi, Jun 10; PTI/GANASHAKTI: A group of journalists and activists held a protest here on Monday over the arrest of scribe Prashant Kanojia and the editor and the head of a Noida-based TV channel by the Uttar Pradesh police, alleging that it is an attack on the freedom of expression.

They demanded the immediate release of Kanojia, Ishita Singh, who is the editor of Noida-based TV channel Nation Live, and its head Anuj Shukla, who have faced police action over release of alleged objectionable content against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

New Delhi, Jun 10; PTI/GANASHAKTI: CPI(M) general-secretary Sitaram Yechury said the party will mobilise the Opposition to ensure that election commissioners are appointed by a collegium-led by the President rather than by the government.

He said the recent Lok Sabha elections underlined the need for far reaching electoral reforms, adding the Election  Commission could not implement its assurance to conduct "free and fair polls".

New Delhi, June 11 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to journalist Prashant Kanojia who was arrested for allegedly making objectionable comments against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on social media.

A vacation bench, comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi, said Right to Liberty, a fundamental right, is non-negotiable as it granted bail.

However, the bench said granting bail does not mean that it approves of the journalist's tweets or posts on social media.