Top stories on 6th July in a capsule
China rules out G20 talks with India over border face-off
China on Thursday said the current ‘atmosphere’ was ‘not right’ for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Germany on Friday. China's statement has come within the third week of the standoff over the construction of a road in Donglam area by Chinese troops. State-run Chinese daily, Global Times too warned that Beijing might support "pro-independence appeals in Sikkim" if India does not stop pursuing "regional hegemony" through the border face-off. Tension escalated earlier this month, between both the countries when the Chinese army reportedly entered the Indian Territory and destroyed a bunker leading to a face-off.
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SC bans use of fake caste certificate for jobs, degrees
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that anyone found guilty of using a forged caste certificate for their education and employment purposes are entitled to lose their job or their degree, media reports said. The report added that even if the person has been in a job for 20 years on the basis of a fake caste certificate, he or she can lose their job and is also liable for penalties. The Central Government has asked all its departments to collect information about such appointments in the organisations under them.______________________________
Army jawan with an AK-47 goes missing from Baramulla Camp
An army jawan with the 173 Battalion of Territorial Army of Jammu and Kashmir, went missing on Thursday along with his AK-47 rifle gun and three magazines in Baramullah district, North Kashmir, media reports quoting officials said. “Jawan Zahoor Ahmad Thoker, deserted the army on the intervening night of July 5-6", the officials said. All the checkpoints in the area are alerted in a bid to locate the missing jawan. Though there has been no been official confirmation on media reports that claimed that the jawan may have joined the militancy, many security agencies have expressed apprehensions over the report.
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Jatin Das, MF Hussain paintings worth Rs 200 crore missing from Air India HQ
An unknown-number of paintings by Jatin Das and MF Hussain worth Rs 200 crore went missing from the Mumbai Headquarters of Air India adding to the piling woes of the debt-ridden airline, media reports quoting officals said. Though, there hasn’t been any official confirmation, media reports claimed that the painting “may have reached the open market”. Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation said, “We are monitoring the media reports very closely. Air India has been keeping quite meticulous records over the years and making sure that all of the inventory is properly accounted for.” The airline is currently burdened with a debt of around Rs 52,000 crore and the Centre has expressed its desire to sell its stake last week.______________________________
Russia ‘could have’ interfered in US Elections, says Trump
United States President, Donald Trump on Thursday said, Russia ‘could have’ interfered in the 2016 US Elections but said other countries may also have been involved in the alleged fraud. The statement was made during a joint press conference with Polish President, Andrzej Duda in Warsaw, Polland. Earlier Russia had denied all the allegations. The Trump administration is facing a probe over the possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Trump is expected to meet Russian President, Vladimir Putin in the upcoming G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany on Friday.______________________________
Railways’ new “Give-it-up” campaign ask people to let go of train subsidy
After LPG cylinders, the Indian Railways is now all set to launch a 'Give-It-Up' campaign that will give travellers the option to forgo the subsidy on their train tickets. Media reports quoting senior railway officials said that, "The scheme will be launched from August. Through this, the passengers will have the option to forgo either 100 per cent of the subsidy or 50 per cent or to avail the subsidy. It will be a voluntary decision that we leave to the customers." The Railways is in talks with two financial institutions, including the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, to devise ways to reduce its subsidy burden._______________________________
Tamil Nadu calls off theatre strike on day 4
After losing almost 5-7 crore daily, Tamil Nadu theatres have called off their strike today, four days after protesting against the local bodies act which was announced in addition to the Goods and services tax (GST). Theatre owners had feared they would incur losses with the Tamil Nadu government cap on ticket prices, which were rupees 50 for single screens and 120 for multiplexes. A total of 1,127 theatres remained shut during these 4 days, making the release of the upcoming movies uncertain. Theatres would start working from 7th July in the morning, the Tamil Nadu Cinema Theatres owner’s federation chairman confirmed.
