Srinagar: 7 jawans were killed when a bus carrying security forces fell into a river in Jammu and Kashmir. There were 37 ITBP officials and two policemen in the bus. The bus met with an accident between Chandanwari and Pahalgam.
The bus was carrying security personnel for the Amarnath Yatra. The injured were admitted to the military hospital in Srinagar. Rescue operation is going on. The primary conclusion is that the vehicle lost its break, is the reason behind the accident.
Thiruvananthapuram: Cabinet approves Bill to reduce Governor’s powers in VC appointment. A bill to change the composition of the VC Appointments Committee will be introduced in the Assembly as it has been approved. The Cabinet has approved a bill to limit the Governor’s powers to the extent that the Government nominates the Governor’s representative. The number of search committee members will be five.
The state government had already sent the bill to curtail the governor’s powers for consideration by the law department. At present, the cabinet has approved the bill that limits the governor’s powers in relation to the appointment of vice-chancellors in universities. The Bill will be presented in the Assembly on 22nd of this month.
Currently, the Vice Chancellor is selected by a three-member search committee. These include the Governor’s representative, the UGC representative and the University representative. In this, the Governor’s representative is appointed by the Governor himself. In contrast to this, the government is moving to amend the way in which the government nominates the representative of the governor.
Thiruvalla: Film-serial actor Nedumbram Gopi passed away. He was 85 years old. Died in Thiruvalla. Nedumbram Gopi made his film debut in the 2004 film by Blessy playing the role of Mammootty’s father. He has also acted in many serials.
He has acted in about 15 films like Shilabati, Anachantham, Taniye, Ashwarudhan, Anandabhairavi, Utsahakammity.
Kozhikode : Anticipatory bail for the police officers accused in the death of Vadakara Sajjeev. SI M. Nijesh, CPO Prajeesh, ASI Arun and CPO Girish were granted anticipatory bail. Kozhikode Principals Sessions Court granted bail to the accused policemen.
The defendant told the court that the death was due to a heart attack and that he was not beaten up and it would be clear if the CCTV footage of the station is examined.
The district prosecutor said mental and physical stress led to the heart attack. He said he was not feeling well but ignored it for an hour. On the night of 21st of last month, Sajeevan died after collapsing in Vadakara station premises. The crime branch had registered a case of involuntary manslaughter against Nijesh and Prajeesh.
Lahore: 20 people were burnt to death in a collision between a bus carrying passengers and an oil tanker in Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Eyewitnesses said that both the vehicles were not speeding. The bus was traveling from Lahore to Karachi and collided with the oil tanker. The impact of the collision caused the oil tanker to catch fire and the fire spread to the bus. 20 people trapped inside the bus were burnt to death without being able to escape.
The rescue team rushed 6 passengers of the bus and admitted them to Nishtar Hospital in Multan. The hospital authorities informed that their condition is very serious. Rescue-1122 spokesperson informed that the bodies will be handed over to the relatives after the DNA test. Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi expressed condolences over the accident. He said that the hospital authorities have been directed to provide better treatment to those injured in the accident and relatives should cooperate in conducting urgent DNA tests to identify the dead bodies.
Sabarimala: Sabarimala temple will be opened today at 5 pm for Chingamasa pujas. Melshanti N. Parameswaran will open the Namboothiri temple and light the lamps under the patronage of Tantri Kantarar Rajivara.
Ayyappa devotees will be allowed to enter the temple after the pujas. The temple will be open for special pujas from August 17 to 21.
Ayyappa devotees can reach for darshan by booking through the virtual queue system. Spot booking facility is also provided for Ayyappa devotees arriving at Nilaykal. The temple will be opened at 5 am on Chingam 1. After that Abhishekam, Ghee Abhishekam, Mahaganapati homam, and other pujas will be performed.
After completing the temple puja ceremonies of the month of Chingamasa, on the 21st at 10 pm, the temple will be closed. It will reopen in the evening on September 6 for Onam pujas.
Palakkad: Two persons are in police custody in the murder of Palakkad CPIM local committee member Shahjahan. One person who directly participated in the murder and another who helped him have been arrested. The arrested persons are being interrogated by a special investigation team headed by DySP Palakkad. There are eight accused in the case. The search is on for the rest.
A special team was formed to investigate the Shahjahan murder case. A 19-member team was appointed under the leadership of Palakkad DySP. District Police Chief R Vishwanath announced the new investigation team.
The police FIR says Shahjahan’s was a political murder. The FIR also states that the assailants inflicted fatal injuries on the neck and legs.
Patna; Cabinet development in Bihar today. It is indicated that 31 people may take oath as ministers. RJD will get the highest number of ministerial positions.
Only Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister and Tejashwi Yadav as the Deputy Chief Minister in the Mahagadbandhan government. As per the existing agreement, RJD, the single largest party in the alliance, will get 18 ministerial posts. Nitish Kumar’s JDU will be given 12 ministerial posts. The Congress will get three ministerial posts and the post of Speaker. HAM will have a minister. The CPI-ML will support the government from outside. But Nitish Kumar has asked them to join the cabinet.
The government has the support of 164 MLAs. Last day, Tejashwi Yadav reached Delhi for cabinet development discussions. Tejashwi met with CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI General Secretary D Raja, and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Nitish Kumar will meet with RJD President Lalu Prasad Yadav tomorrow.
Naypyidaw: Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to six more years in prison by a military court in a corruption case. The verdict was delivered by a special court inside the prison compound in Naypyidaw. Since it was a secret trial, no further information has been released. This is the sixth verdict against Suu Kyi since the military seized power in February 2021. The 77-year-old Soochi has been charged by a military court with charges of corruption and election violations. These are sections punishable by 190 years in prison. Suu Kyi also maintains that all the charges are fabricated.
Mandalay Region High Court Judge Myint San observed that Suu Kyi had caused a loss of $1.3 million to the country by leasing the land in Naypyidaw. The court also assessed that the lease of land to the voluntary organization Dr. Khin Ki Foundation was a very small amount.
Suu Kyi, who is in solitary confinement in Naypyidaw prison, has already been sentenced to 11 years in prison in various cases. The military seized power in February last year, toppling Suu Kyi’s government after winning general elections last year.
London: Britain has become the first country to approve the omicron vaccine for the covid variant omicron. Reuters reported that the ‘Bivalent’ vaccine has been approved by the UK Medicines Regulator (MHRA).
Bivalent is a vaccine manufactured by Moderna as a booster dose for adults. The MHRA’s decision to approve was based on clinical trial data demonstrating the bivalent’s efficacy against covid and its variant omicron (BA1).
Britain also reported the world’s first omicron death. Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an official announcement in this regard.
Omicron, the first variant of Covid, was confirmed in South Africa. Then it spread to states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chandigarh, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat in India.
