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First Post July 16, 2018 Helsinki (Finland): US president Donald Trump branded Russia, the EU and China as "foes" as he prepared Sunday to go head to head with Vladimir Putin at a historic summit shrouded in Moscow's alleged manipulation of the 2016 US election. Monday's summit in Helsinki will offer Putin, a former KGB spymaster, and Trump the chance to get the measure of each other on an array of fronts including Syria, Ukraine, Iran and nuclear disarmament. Trump flew into Helsinki from Scotland on Sunday after lumping Russia together with the European Union and China as US enemies, in an interview aired on the eve of his first one-on-one summit with the Kremlin boss. Now, you wouldn't think of the European Union but they're a foe. Russia is a foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly they are a foe. But that doesn't mean they are bad. It doesn't mean anything. It means that they are competitive," he to

THE HINDU July 16, 2018 A suspected ISI agent who was arrested in May for allegedly working for the Pakistani agency while employed as a “cook” in an Indian diplomat’s house in Islamabad has retracted his confessional statement to the police. The suspect, identified as Ramesh Singh, who was posted in Pakistan from 2015 to 2017, was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad. The police said Singh had confessed to helping bug the laptop and tablet of the diplomat. Singh’s confession, accessed by The Hindu, says he came into contact with a Pakistani staffer, “Masih”, at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Singh was posted as a domestic help in the house of the diplomat and gave access to the ISI agents at least on four occasions. “He said that on three occasions, he gave the diplomat’s laptop and tablet to some men waiting in a car outside the house,” a senior police officer said. The officer said Singh disowned his statement when he was produced before

TECH 2 July 16, 2018 The government's proposal to launch a Social Media Hub, which would monitor social media, ran into a bit of trouble on 15 July when the Supreme Court remarked that it may result in India becoming a surveillance state.The problem with monitoring social media in India is that the government can keep a tab on the free movement of information. Under the Telegraph Act of 1885 and the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1933 the airwaves and telecommunications are the sole domain of the Central Government. The legislation provides for methods by which intercepts of data can occur. It is unclear at this stage if amendments to the legislation will be made on launching the social media hub. The key question though at this stage is how does the Social Media Hub tie in with the recently declared fundamental right to privacy?Further, going by Lawrence Lessing's argument that "Code is Law", how practical will it be for the government to be able to go about moni

First Post July 16, 2018 CBI had recorded former J&K CM Farooq Abdullah's statement in January 2018 related to the same case before starting the investigation. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed a charge sheet against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and three others in the alleged multi-crore scam in the state cricket association. The charge sheet was filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Srinagar, Aijaz Ahmad Khan, who directed the agency to provide copies of the charge sheet to all the accused. Abdullah, who is currently out of the country, was not in the court when the charge sheet was presented while the other three accused were present. The Rs 113 crore fund scam in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) surfaced in 2012 and the CBI took over the investigations of the case from the state police in 2015 under orders of the state high court. The investigations was transferred to t

Reuters July 16, 2018 European Council President Donald Tusk said on Monday China, the United States and Russia had a duty not to start trade wars and called on the three countries to reform the World Trade Organization. European Council President Donald Tusk said on Monday China, the United States and Russia had a duty not to start trade wars and called on the three countries to reform the World Trade Organization. Reference:  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-eu-tusk/eus-tusk-calls-on-china-u-s-russia-not-to-start-trade-wars-idUSKBN1K606S

FIRST POST  JULY 16, 2018 Foxconn Technology Group is likely to sign a deal with the Maharashtra government soon to create a manufacturing hub in the state, according to a media report. Executives of the Taiwanese contract manufacturer, which rose to global prominence as the main assembler of Apple Inc's iPhone, reportedly met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and informed his office that the company will set up its plants in the special economic zone (SEZ) of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT),  The Economic Times reported. Following the meeting, the Maharashtra chief minister has reportedly written to union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, asking him to allot 200 acres to Foxconn. The Taiwanese company has already bid for 45 acres of land at the JNPT SEZ. Foxconn aims to invest $5 billion in the manufacturing hub, and create around 50,000 jobs by 2020. Reference:  https://www.firstpost.com/business/iphone-maker-foxconn

The Telegraph July 16, 2018  Inflation based on wholesale prices shot up to 5.77 per cent in June on increasing prices of vegetables and fuel items.  The Wholesale Price Index based inflation stood at 4.43 per cent in May and 0.90 per cent in June last year. According to the government data released on Monday, inflation in food articles stood at 1.80 per cent in June 2018, as against 1.60 per cent in the preceding month. Inflation in vegetables jumped to 8.12 per cent in June, from 2.51 per cent in the previous month. Inflation in 'fuel and power' basket too increased to 16.18 per cent in June from 11.22 per cent in May as prices of domestic fuel increased during the month in line with rising global crude oil rates. Potato inflation was at a peak of 99.02 per cent, against 81.93 per cent in May. Price rise in onion was 18.25 per cent during June, as against 13.20 per cent in the preceding month. Deflation continued in pulses at 20.23 per cent in

The Asian Age July 16, 2018 ED sought orders for confiscation of Nirav Modi and Choksi's assets in India, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The Interpol Washington has said that absconding diamantaire Nirav Modi's uncle Mehul Choksi is not in the United States. According to government sources, the Interpol Washington responded to India's request last Wednesday stating that Choksi is not in the US. India has written back to the Interpol seeking further details of Choksi's whereabouts, the sources added. On June 11, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed two separate applications in a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai against Nirav and Choksi under Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018. The ED also sought orders for confiscation of their assets in India, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Sources said Nirav has not sought political asylum in the UK. The 47-year-old is reportedly

OUTLOOK July 16, 2018 The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah and three others. The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and three others in a special court in Srinagar in connection with alleged irregularities and misappropriation of funds in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. After the fall of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP government, this is the biggest development that has taken place in the state. The National Conference has not reacted to the chargesheet so far. The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah, the then president of JKCA, Md Saleem Khan - the then general secretary, Ahsan Ahmad Mirza - the then treasuer and Bashir Ahmad Misgar, an executive in the J&K Bank. The BCCI gave Rs 112 crore t

THE WIRE July 16,2018 The reporter was asked about a sedition case filed against Dukhtaraan-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi and two of her aides. A Kashmiri reporter, Auqib Javeed, was reportedly questioned for three hours by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) in New Delhi on Saturday (July 14) and summoned again on Sunday. According to the Kashmir Observer, where Javeed works, the reporter was asked about a sedition case filed against Dukhtaraan-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi and two of her aides. In January, Javeed had interviewed Andrabi, who was arrested by the NIA on July 6, for a local magazine. “I was asked questions regarding interviews of various persons done by me, types of stories which I do, my education including schooling and higher studies as well as family background,” Javeed was quoted as saying. “I entered the NIA office at around 4 pm and left at around 7 pm.  Two officers were in the room and their questions centred on my work and my person.”

The Economic Times July 15, 2018 ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan observed a day of national mourning following the massacre of nearly 150 people in terror attacks ahead of the general elections, leading newspapers have questioned the claims of the government and the Army that they have crushed terrorism in the country.  Three deadly back-to-back attacks on election rallies in the restive provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that killed two prominent political leaders along with around 150 civilians have renewed concerns that violence could disrupt the elections scheduled for July 25.  Reacting to the spate of terror attacks, the Express Tribune, in a stinging editorial, said, "There is a blood-drenched hole in the claim of the government to have rolled back the forces of terrorism in Pakistan."  The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is one of the terror outfits said to be in retreat as a result of sustained efforts by the police, paramilitary and m

The Indian Express July 16, 2018 Police sources said that both revealed that their supplier’s son had also died due to drug addiction but still he did not leave this illegal trade. Jalandhar (Rural) police arrested two alleged drug smugglers, including a woman with 560 kg of poppy husk. The woman arrested by police was earlier also sentenced for 10 years imprisonment under NDPS ACT and was out on bail after spending 31 months in jail. They used to bring consignments of poppy husk from Jammu & Kashmir for selling here for reaping huge margins, said police. The woman was also an accomplice of Surjit Singh Deepa, who was a notorious drug smuggler arrested long back. Police said that they had information that Sukhbir Kaur (45) alias Shinder of village Arjunwal, under Adampur police station, was selling poppy husk on a large scale. In this regard case FIR No. 116 dated 15-07-2018 u/s 15 NDPS Act was registered in Maqsudan police station, district Jalandhar (Rural) and a

The Indian Express July 16, 2018 Arun Sharma J&K DGP S P Vaid confirmed reports of a youth from Doda joining Lashkar ranks in the Valley. Another youth is missing from Kishtwar, he said, adding that police are looking for him. Amid the unrest in Kashmir, there has been a rise in militancy in Chenab Valley of Jammu region as well with police confirming that at least two local youths from the area have joined militant ranks. While Abid Hussain Butt of Soujan, 15 km from Doda town, has joined the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Talib Gujjar of Kishtwar district’s Padyarna in Nagsini tehsil has joined the Hizbul Mujahideen, sources confirmed. While the former was working as a labourer in the Valley for the past few months, the latter went missing from home two years ago, they said. Talib was declared an active militant recently following inputs about his movement with an armed group in Dachhan area. Police came to know about Abid, code named Abu Tarab, after the LeT uplo

The Indian Express July 16, 2018 Mahender Singh Manral , Anand Mohan J Four of the 14 district cyber cells set up to tackle complaints ranging from credit card frauds to social media hacking have not registered a single case in the last two years. With outdated gadgets and procedural delays adding to the problem, tackling such crimes remains an uphill task. “With crimes nowadays inevitably linked to technology and the internet, there is a pressing need to have a technical expert available at the police station level, district level and in each cyber cell of the capital.” This observation was made by Justice Najmi Waziri of the Delhi High Court in May, while hearing a plea by a woman seeking protection from sexual harassment by her neighbour, who had uploaded nude photographs of her online. The observation underlines the challenges before security forces today, with criminals increasingly exploiting the digital space in the last half a decade, using sophisticated gadge