Author: Mike Harrison

The FIR, registered by the slain judge’s son Majid Afridi, named 10 suspects including the Supreme Court Bar Association President and his son. Nine suspects were arrested on Monday in connection with the murder of an anti-terrorism court judge and his family members in northwest Pakistan, police said.Anti-terrorism court judge Aftab Afridi and three members of his family, including wife, daughter-in-law and a two-year-old grandson, were shot dead after unidentified gunmen attacked their vehicle while they were travelling from the Swat Valley to Islamabad on Sunday.Two security guards who were part of the judge’s convoy were also injured in the…

Palace releases a letter in which Prince Hamza has placed himself at the monarch’s disposal. Jordan’s Prince Hamza pledged allegiance to King Abdullah on Tuesday after mediation by the royal family, two days after he was placed under house arrest and accused of trying to destabilise the country.Prince Hamza signed a letter in which he placed himself at the monarch’s disposal after a meeting on Monday with Prince Hassan, the king’s uncle, and other princes, the royal court said.”I place myself in the hands of his majesty the king… I will remain committed to the constitution of the dear Hashemite…

Sasikala was sad about it and legal action would be initiated against the official responsible, her counsel said. The name of V K Sasikala, confidante of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, has been ‘removed’ from the voters list and it is an ‘injustice,’ her legal counsel said in Chennai on Monday. She was sad about it and legal action would be initiated against the official responsible, he said. As Tamil Nadu goes to the polls on Tuesday, the name of Ms. Sasikala, which figured in the Thousand Lights Assembly constituency in Chennai, was deleted, N Raja Senthoor Pandian said She…

Janet Yellen says the Biden adminisitration would work with other advanced economies in the Group of 20 to set a minimum. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday urged the adoption of a minimum global corporate income tax, an effort to offset any disadvantages that might arise from the Biden administration’s proposed increase in the U.S. corporate tax rate.Citing a “thirty-year race to the bottom” in which countries have slashed corporate tax rates in an effort to attract multinational businesses, Ms. Yellen said the Biden administration would work with other advanced economies in the Group of 20 to set a…

The constitutional vote held on July 1 last year allowed the Russian President to run for two more terms. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law allowing him to potentially hold onto power until 2036, a move that formalises constitutional changes endorsed in last year’s popular vote.The July 1 constitutional vote included a provision that reset Mr. Putin’s previous terms, allowing him to run for President two more times. The change was rubber-stamped by the Kremlin-controlled legislature and the relevant law signed by Mr. Putin was posted on Monday on an official portal of legal information.The 68-year-old Russian…

Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, who is set to demit office on April 13, said on Monday the Election Commission was among the finest institutions in the country and “almost like a place of pilgrimage”. Mr. Arora was addressing day one of the EC’s two-day international virtual election visitors programme for election officials from other countries. The programme includes virtual visits to five polling stations — one each in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal — during polling on Tuesday for 110 delegates from 26 countries. Mr. Arora said he always had great respect for the Commission as…

The BJP said Mr. Stalin falsely alleged that Mr. Modi who visited Dharapuram for an election campaign came with bundles of money bags The BJP on Monday sought immediate and exemplary action by the Election Commission of India against DMK president MK Stalin for his allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an election campaign rally on April 2 at Jayankondam.In a letter to the Election Commission of India, the BJP said Mr. Stalin falsely alleged that Mr. Modi who visited Dharapuram for an election campaign came with bundles of money bags and that he gave those there. The party…

10-member Subject Expert Committee had cleared Covaxin for restricted emergency use in January Names of the 10-member Subject Expert Committee (SEC) that approved Covaxin for restricted emergency use in clinical trial mode — after meetings on December 30, 2020, and January 1-2, 2021 — were made public by the Health Ministry on March 23.The identity of the SEC members, which has been kept under wraps, was finally disclosed by the Ministry in response to a Rajya Sabha question by Congress MP Syed Nasir Hussain.Also read: Developed Covaxin for a cause, not to make money: Krishna EllaThe 10 members are: Dr.…

The Railways on Monday said it had completed the arch closure of the 1315m Chenab bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge.Terming it one of the biggest civil engineering challenges faced by any project in India, the Railways added that at 359m above the river bed level, the bridge would be 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris.The Chenab bridge is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project (USBRL) and completion of the steel arch is an important construction milestone. “This was one of the most difficult part of the bridge over Chenab. This achievement is a major leap…

The Uttar Pradesh police on Monday said it had so far seized, freed or demolished property worth an estimated ₹192 crore linked to jailed MLA Mukhtar Ansari and people associated with him.Meanwhile, a senior police officer said Mr. Ansari would be brought to U.P. from a jail in Punjab with adequate security in place following the directions of the Supreme Court and as per the Rules for Guards and Escorts 1970.The State police had underlined that the apex court’s direction to the Punjab government to hand over custody of the MLA from Mau to U.P., was an “important sucess”. Days…