Sabrimala will turn Ayodhya if ban on women scrapped: Petitioners tell SC Petitioners appearing for the ban on women’s entry in Kerala’s Sabrimala Temple, warned the Supreme Court that scrapping the age old tradition will turn the temple into ‘another Ayodhya.’ Representing the temple body, Kshetra Samrakshana Samiti lawyer Kailasanatha Pillay said, “Any interference with the age-old custom will result in another Ayodhya and will create social tension in Kerala.” Another petitioner People of Dharma, represented by lawyer Sai Deepak, said the worshippers of Lord Ayappa themselves form a ‘religious denomination’ and in no way discriminates women. The apex court that is hearing petitions challenging the restriction of women in the temple, the practice will have to face constitutional provisions. ________________ No place in Goa for drunk tourists and those who litter, Tourism Minister warns In a stern message to tourists who visit Goa, Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said ...

32 teams, 31 days, 1 goal: FIFA World Cup 2018 win The 2018 edition of the biggest football tournament, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, more popularly known as FIFA is set to begin today, June 14, in Russia as the ‘most expensive football championship in history.' The all-men tournament featuring over 32 qualified teams from across the world will be competing till 15 July. Hosts Russia, who are currently at a low 70th position in the FIFA World rankings will be seeking to improve their performance while winners of 2014 and four time title holder Germany will look to revive their victory. The first match will feature the host, Russia against Saudi Arabia at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, with the official soothsayer of the tournament, Achilles- the cat, predicting Russia's win. ____________ New Zealand’s 17-year-old becomes youngest run scorer in women’s ODI 17-year-old Amelia Kerr of New Zealand’s women cricket team created history on Wednes...

Parents are responsible for child rapes: BJP leader BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh Surendra Singh has landed himself in controversy once again. After his recent comment that no one can rape a mother of three children, on the Unnao rape case, he has now commented on crimes against children. “Children up to 15 years of age should be kept under strict vigil. It is the duty of parents to take care of their wards. But they allow their wards to roam around freely. This is the main reason for the social evil,” he said. Children should not be given undue freedom, he said and asked parents not to give mobile phones to them. Known for making contentious comments, he had also recently called West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee “Surpanakha”, the sister of demon king Ravana. His comments come even after Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month directed his party’s lawmakers not to make “irresponsible” statements. ______________ BJP leader accuses TMC workers of rapi...

IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh quits, Rahul Bhatia to take interim charge President and whole time director of India’s biggest airline company IndiGo, Aditya Ghosh announced the news of his resignation from his post on Friday after 10 years of association. While Ghosh will effectively leave the office on July 31, IndiGo’s promoter Rahul Bhatia will take charge as the interim CEO. “For the last ten years, it has been a relentless, exhilarating and a most satisfying task building IndiGo,” an IndiGo statement said, quoting Ghosh. In recent times, Ghosh’s role as President was marred by controversy as IndiGo came under the scanner for incidents of disciplinary breach and staff arguing with passengers. _________________   Man stabs seven school children to death in China Seven school children were stabbed to death and 12 were left injured after an man attacked them on Friday in China’s Shaanxi province. The male attacked identified as a 28-year-old Zhao was immediate...

Kim Jong becomes 1st North Korean leader to cross-border into South since war North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Friday crossed the ‘demarcation line’ into the South Korean half of the DMZ to meet rival and  South Korean President Moon Jae for the first time, said media reports. The two leaders are expected to hold the historic inter-Korean Summit in Panmunjom, the truce village on the north-south border of the peninsula. As per a report, Kim and Moon are scheduled to meet at 9:30 AM (KST) and the official talks will begin at 10:30 AM. The summit is also expected to set the stage for the first meeting between sitting US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in May or June. ____________________ Indu Malhotra to take oath as first female judge of SC today The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed senior lawyer Indu Malhotra as a judge of the top court, in a first for a female advocate to be appointed directly from the bar council. Malhotra...

Ayushman Bharat healthcare scheme approved by cabinet The cabinet on Wednesday approved the centrally-sponsored Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) which was announced in the budget. The scheme will provide a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year. The existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), which provided a health cover of Rs 30,000, and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) will be included in the new scheme. It would take care of almost all secondary care and most of the tertiary care procedures, the government said. There will be no cap on family size and age. The benefits cover will include pre and post-hospitalization expenses. All pre-existing conditions will be covered from day one of the policy. A defined transport allowance per hospitalization will also be paid to the beneficiary. ___________________________ 5 soldiers martyred and 5 terrorists killed in J&K's Kupwara ...

INDIA Himachal Pradesh Polls: Voting ends with 75% turnout    The voting day for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections 2017 ended on Thursday at 5pm, with 75% turnout. The numbers went on to beat last year’s percentage of 73.51%. The public seems to have taken PM Modi’s appeal asking them to come and vote in large numbers well. The battle to power is between BJP’s Prem Kumar Dhumal and Congress’ Virbhandra Singh, both veterans of their respective parties, set out on a mission to push their sons into the political limelight. While Anurag Thakur, Dhumal’s kin said the polls will ‘root out’ the Congress from power, Vikramaditya Singh appeared confident of the public establishing the Congress rule again. _______________________________________ Odd- even policy to be back in Delhi Battling the ‘severe’ air pollution levels in the city, the state government on Thursday decided to bring back the car rationing, odd-even scheme for the third time, from Novembe...