1. Shed Hate Not Blood, Say Protesters
Holding placards that read “Break the Silence,” “No Place for Islamophobia” and “Shed hate not blood”, among others, scores of people gathered at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday to protest against rising cases of mob violence.
The protest comes in the backdrop of the recent killings of Junaid Khan in Ballabgarh and Pehlu Khan in Alwar.
Junaid was allegedly called a “beef eater” while Pehlu Khan was killed allegedly by cow vigilantes.
Protests were held in over 16 cities, including Mumbai, Lucknow, Bengaluru, London, Toronto and Karachi, where people came out in large numbers against violence perpetrated in the name of ‘protecting’ the cow and the nation.
Source: The Hindu
2. PM Narendra Modi to Boost Ties With Israel During 3-Day Visit Next Week
Narendra Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel on 4 July. His three-day visit will boost bilateral ties in areas of mutual interest between the two countries, the External Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday. Modi’s visit will also commemorate 25 years of establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Israel, reported PTI.
Modi will be received by his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at the airport and a “top protocol team” of Israelis from various sectors including rabbis. According to Israeli Ambassador Daniel Carmon, this gesture is only accorded to the Pope and the US President. Netanyahu will host a dinner for Modi on 4 July.
Source: The Indian Express
3. Stunt Gone Wrong: Teen Made 26 Phone Calls From Pit Before Death
From inside a tightly knotted jute sack at the bottom of a six-feet-deep pit, Sumit Khati made 26 calls from his mobile phone. On the first call, he was reassured that the stunt was going according to plan – that he would make it out alive the next day. The other 25 calls to his friends went unanswered. At the end of them all, the 17-year-old was dead.
Khati, from Kurar village in Haryana’s Samalkha, had volunteered for the “daredevil” stunt on 24 June. At 10 pm that night, over 11,000 residents of Chulkana village, 30 km from Khati’s home in Panipat district, had gathered around the freshly dug pit on an empty patch of land. Jagdeep alias ‘Kalia’, the 25-year-old organiser, was busy collecting cash from onlookers.
Source: The Indian Express
4. 2002 Naroda Patiya case: Seniors Told Me to Hand Bodies to VHP Leader, Says Former Godhra Officer
Appearing before a designated court hearing the 2002 Naroda Gam riot case, ML Nalvaya, who was then executive magistrate (mamlatdar) of Godhra, on Wednesday said he prepared a letter for handing over the bodies of kar sevaks to Jaideep Patel on the orders of his senior officers.
Patel, who was then a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, is an accused in the Naroda Gam case. He is currently out on bail. The killing of kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya triggered riots in the state. Eleven Muslims were killed in Naroda Gam and there are 82 accused, including former Gujarat Minister Maya Kodnani.
Source: The Indian Express
5. Fighting Like Mahatma, Says Meira Kumar
Filing her nomination as the Opposition’s candidate for the post of President, Meira Kumar said on Wednesday that the Opposition was fighting the same battle that Mahatma Gandhi had waged all his life. Asked before leaving Parliament soon after noon what the fight for secularism meant for her in this context, Kumar told reporters, “We are fighting the same battle that Mahatma Gandhi was fighting.”
The former Lok Sabha speaker went into the office of the secretary-general at Parliament shortly after 11 am and returned after filing her papers around 11:30 am.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh followed her.
Source: The Hindu
6. After Modi-Trump Meet, India And US to Sign Pact For Enhancing Security Cooperation
India and the US will soon sign a pact for enhancing bilateral security cooperation that will include sharing of information on terror groups and counter-terror initiatives.
A meeting of the Union cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved signing of a memorandum of cooperation between India and the United States on homeland security.
The Union cabinet’s nod to the agreement came hours after the prime minister returned from the US where he had his first meeting with President Donald Trump.
Source: Hindustan Times
7. Road Construction Part of China’s Plan to Gain Strategic Advantage, Say Experts
China's aggressive road building exercise into Chumbi valley in the strategically located tri-junction between India, Bhutan and China, the source of the current stand-off between the two neighbours, is part of Beijing's plans to gain strategic advantage in the region, say experts.
India stopped China's road building, which was followed by Chinese troops destroying Indian bunkers and stopping pilgrims from travelling to Kailash Mansarovar through the Nathu La route.
Ashok Kantha, former envoy to China said:
While both sides broadly agree on the alignment of the boundary in the Sikkim Sector, there are differences on the tri-junction point, which involves India, Bhutan and China.
Source: The Times of India
8. Govt Denies Permission to Sikhs to Visit Pak for Ranjit Singh Death Anniversary
The Centre has denied permission to a 251-member Sikh delegation to visit Pakistan on the occasion of the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the 19th century Sikh empire, citing security reasons, the SGPC said on Wednesday.
The delegation, sponsored by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), was scheduled to visit Pakistan from June 21 to 29.
“The Centre has declined permission to the delegation to visit Pakistan due to security reasons,” SGPC secretary Harcharan Singh told PTI.
Source: Hindustan Times
9. In Jharkhand, 15 Policemen Stave off 1,000-Strong Mob to Rescue Dairy Farmer Whose Cow Died
A police team of just 15 managed to hold off a mob of around 1,000 people for around two hours before reinforcements from a CRPF camp nearby arrived to rescue a 60-year-old dairy farmer, who was attacked after the carcass of a cow was found outside his house at Barwabad village in Jharkhand’s Giridih district.
According to eyewitnesses and police, the mob also set fire to a portion of the house on Tuesday afternoon and wanted to throw the victim, Mohammad Usman, into the flames before police dragged him into their jeep and prevented attackers from pulling him out, twice.
Source: The Indian Express
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