Top stories on 18 June

US, Belgium among 5 countries that let Nirav Modi escape: CBI

In the latest development on fugitive businessman Nirav Modi, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday said that diamond jeweller travelled to several countries in spite of his passport being cancelled. “After the passport was cancelled by External Affairs Ministry, we had updated this information in the Interpol database on February 24, to 192 member countries,” Abhishek Dayal, spokesperson for CBI told news agencies. The CBI added that similar reminders were sent to suspected countries- UK, USA, Belgium, Singapore, France and UAE out of which only United Kingdom’s replied to the query and informed that Modi travelled 5 times from their country. As of now, Modi is reportedly present in Belgium.

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Govt rejects China’s request of trilateral ties with India, Pak

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday came down heavily on its Chinese ambassador’s proposal for a trilateral relationship and the two countries and Pakistan, citing there’s is no place for a third country in India- Pak affairs. Saying the comments might be of personal opinion to ambassador Luo Zhaohui, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “Matters related to India-Pakistan relations are purely bilateral in nature and have no scope for involvement of any third country.” Addressing a seminar on “Beyond Wuhan: How far and fast can China-India relations go” Zhaohui on Monday said that the three countries should push for a trilateral cooperation under the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

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Bounced cheques, no flat: Vemulla's mother slams Muslim League over fake promises

Accusing the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) of making fake promises for political gains, mother of deceased student Rohith Vemulla revealed that the party did not provide her with financial help or accommodation as promised. As per a news report by the News Minute, Radhika claims that party members made the promises after the death of Vemulla in January 2016. “We were taken to Kerala and made to participate in a big meeting where they promised that Rs 20 lakh would be sanctioned to construct a house for us,” Radhika said. She further added that cheques given by the IUML bounced. Research scholar Vemulla’s suicide in Hyderabad University’s hostel room had sparked off national debate after allegations suggested he was killed by his seniors over his caste.

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US will not be a migrant camp: Prez Trump

Hitting out at critics on his migrant policy separating children from their parents at the borders, President Donald Trump on Monday said his country will not be entertaining migrants at all. Saying US will not be a ‘migrant camp’ Trump presented the situation at Europe as an example. “You look at what’s happening in other places – we can’t allow that to happen to the United States. Not on my watch. US will not be a refugee holding facility.” Trump said while addressing the White House. Meanwhile backlash from social media on the migrant policy grew overnight after photographer John Moore’s photograph of a crying child at the US-Mexico border taken on June 12th chorused condemnation against the President.
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Rahul Gandhi attacks Kejriwal, BJP; Terms tussle in Delhi as 'drama'

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit out at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and the BJP over the crisis in Delhi and termed it as an issue that was hindering the progress of Delhi and hurting its citizens. In a carefully crafted tweet, Gandhi called the entire tussle between the AAP and the Central government as "drama." Meanwhile, the IAS Association on Monday announced, via a tweet from their official Twitter account, that they are ready to hold formal talks with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal led government which is involved in a tussle reportedly since the past four months. Some officers started a ‘partial strike’ in protest of the state government after allegations of physical violence against a chief secretary erupted in April 2018. Earlier in the day, the Delhi High Court pulled up Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and three of his ministers for holding a sit-in 'protest' at Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal’s residence saying it is not acceptable. "Who authorized to sit on a dharna like this?" asked the bench of Justices AK Chawla and Navin Chawla to senior advocate Sudhir Nandrajog, representing the Delhi government.
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CTET to be held in multiple languages: Prakash Javadekar clarifies after CBSE's decision

The Human Resource Development Ministry led by Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday rejected the Central Board of Secondary Educations’ (CBSE) decision to cancel 17 languages from the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET). As per a report in the Times of India on 18 June 2018, the CBSE had ordered for all languages to be cancelled, restricting the exam to be conducted only in English, Hindi and Sanskrit. Post a hue and cry, Javadekar took to micro-blogging site Twitter and said “CTET examination will be held in English, Hindi, Assamese, Bangla, Garo, Gujarati, Kannada, Khasi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Mizo, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Tibetan and Urdu.” The exams are compulsory for the appointment of teachers in all CBSE affiliated institutions. The exams will be conducted in September 2018.

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Truck owners, drivers on indefinite nationwide strike against rising fuel prices

The All India Confederation of Goods Vehicle Owners’ Association (AICGVO) on Monday launched an indefinite nationwide strike against rising fuel price and a sharp hike of the third-party insurance premium. The lorry operators have expressed that they are suffering owing to escalating diesel price, increase in the cost of tyres and spare parts, vehicle maintenance, interest on vehicle loans and road tax among others along with an increase in third party insurance premiums. Under these circumstances, the AICGVO issued strike notice on April 23, urging the government to check the mounting fuel price and is resorting to indefinite stir accordingly. Over 90 lakh vehicles are off-road from Monday as per the association president Channa Reddy. The strike might cause prices of commodities in the markets to shoot up as a result of insufficient supply. Meanwhile, the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has differed the strike and will launch another strike from July 20 causing confusion amongst both truck owners & the public.

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Audi CEO Rupert Stadler arrested over diesel scandal

German authorities on Monday arrested Audi CEO Rupert Stadler for his alleged role in the Volkswagen Group’s diesel cheating scandal. Earlier this month after the probe into Audi scandal was widened, Rupert Stadler was being held due to fears he might hinder their investigation into the scandal, plunging Volkswagen into a leadership crisis. Mr Stadler, the luxury carmaker’s CEO since 2007 and a VW Group board member since 2010, is the highest sitting executive to be taken into custody since the decade-long diesel cheating scandal was exposed by US regulators nearly three years ago. VW admitted in September 2015 to using illegal software to cheat US emissions tests on diesel engines, sparking the biggest crisis in the company’s history and leading to a regulatory crackdown across the auto industry.

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3 killed as local gangs clash in a Delhi marketplace

3 people, including a 37-year-old woman, were killed and 5 were injured as two criminal gangs clashed in the national capital, Delhi on Monday morning, in broad daylight in a case of alleged rivalry. The act caught in CCTV camera shows the two local gangs firing bullets on each other from their SUVs at the busy market area of Burari Sant Nagar. “While they (the gangs) were firing shots at each other near a gym, eight bystanders were injured out of which three succumbed to their injuries,” a police spokesperson told news agencies. The two gangs, called Gogi and Tillu gangs trace back their rivalry to 2010 when they clashed during Delhi University student elections.

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India has established itself as fastest growing economy: Jaitley

Making a clear statement on the economy of India, incumbent Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday hit out at his critics by saying the country's economy is the fastest growing one globally. Publishing the statements in his blog, Jaitley said, “With structural reforms like demonetisation, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the enforcement of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), we had two challenging quarters. Those who predicted a two per cent decline in GDP growth have been conclusively proved wrong.” He further emphasized that with a phenomenal growth rate of 7.7 %, India has firmly established itself in the global economy and will continue for the next few years.

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