Ali Khan

Canada has announced fresh sanctions on Russia over its support for rebels in Ukraine, targeting youth leaders, the pro-Moscow Night Wolves motorcycle club and several companies.

Ottawa imposed a ban on the import and export of goods from Crimea in this 15th round of penalties in collaboration with allies.

“Until there is real peace, until occupying forces are withdrawn, and until Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty is restored, there must be ongoing consequences for President Putin’s regime,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement yesterday.

Anxious pensioners swarmed closed bank branches today and long lines snaked outside ATMs as Greeks endured the first day of serious controls on their daily economic lives ahead of a July 5 referendum that could determine whether the country has to ditch the euro currency and return to the drachma.

As strict capital controls took root following Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ surprise weekend decision to call a referendum on international creditors’ latest economic proposals, Greece’s population tried to fathom the sheer scale of the impact on their day-to-day existence.

Ex-servicemen here today began a three-day relay hunger strike demanding implementation of the ‘One Rank, One Pension'(OROP).

Leuitenient Colonel (Retd) Balbir Singh, President ‘Ex-servicemen Welfare Asssociation of Jalandhar Cantt’, today said, “The relay strike will begin from today and will end on July 1. It will be held 10 AM to 7 PM for the three days.”

He said by not fulfilling his promise on one rank one pension, the prime minister was hurting the sentiments of ex-servicemen.

Some 17,000 people took to the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki today to say ‘No’ to the latest offer of a bailout deal, accusing Greece’s international creditors of blackmail.

“Our lives do not belong to the creditors!” read banners held aloft by demonstrators, many of whom support Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras and said they would heed his call to vote against the latest deal in a referendum yesterday — despite the risks the country might then go crashing out of the eurozone.

The founder and chief of Pakistan’s Muttahida Qaumi Movement, under fire for allegedly receiving funds from India, today swore that neither he, nor his party had any connection with India’s external intelligence agency RAW.

“I swear upon God that neither MQM nor I have any connection with RAW (Research and Analysis Wing),” said the party’s London-based chief Altaf Hussain, addressing supporters via telephone at Lal Qila ground here.

US visa processing has returned to full strength after hardware problems, the State Department said Monday, noting that 410,000 visas were issued in a week as officials scrambled to clear a huge backlog.

Deputy spokesman Mark Toner said the State Department does “regret the inconvenience to travelers who are waiting for visas as well as their families and US businesses that have been affected by this problem.”

He complimented the Consular Affairs Bureau’s “exemplary work” in addressing the computer problems and whittling down the visa backlog.

Pakistan’s army is preparing for a final push in the coming weeks in its fight against militants, but there are concerns that rights are being rolled back in the name of defeating terror.

A year on from the launch of a major offensive to eradicate strongholds of Taliban and other militants in North Waziristan tribal area, the military says the job is 90 per cent done.

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court today issued notices to the state government and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board for their “inaction” against a company which has been allegedly polluting wells, farmland and the Sukhna river since long.

According to the petition filed by Vaishnaw Rameshwar and Atmaram Thombe, the distillery has been allegedly dumping chemical wastage in the nearby wells, Sukhna river and adjacent farmland spread over hundreds of acres.

Brussels has given Google an extension until mid-August to answer an anti-trust case alleging that the tech giant abuses its search engine’s market dominance, a company spokesman said today.

The US firm had initially had ten weeks after the European Commission lodged the case in mid-April to respond but has now been given to August 17.

The announcement of charges followed a five-year investigation into whether Google’s preferential use of its own shopping product in its search engine could be harmful to consumers and competitors.

Two persons accused of abetting suicide of a man on June 11 in Shashtrinagar locality, today surrended themselves, police said.

Rakesh Kumar and Kasturi Lal today surrendered before the police in connection with suicide of one Nishan Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (West) Ravindrapal Singh Sandhu said.

Replying to an query, Sandhu said that police have not been able to trace another accused, local BJP leader Pradeep Khullar yet.

Police would present them in a Magistrate’s court tomorrow, he said.

Three persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on a journalist and his family members in his Rafiqabad Colony house under Mussoorie police station in the district, police said today.

Hafiz Sayeedudin and his family members were allegedly attacked by his neighbours who pelted stones and open fired at his house yesterday afternoon, police said.

Sayeedudin filed a complaint with police against four persons, of whom three have been arrested, they said.

A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man repeatedly over a period of months, police said today.

According to a complaint filed by the victim, she was raped by one Sumit Ravidas repeatedly since the last few months, ASI Rajrani said.

A case was yesterday registered with Police Station Sarai Khwaja under IPC section 506 and section 4 of POCSO, police said, adding, investigations are underway in the case.

Meanwhile, a woman was allegedly killed by her in-laws for dowry, ASI Samay Singh said.

Coming down on the functioning of Property Registration Department which did not verify necessary documents during registration, the Madras High Court today said “if this was the way they function, a day would come when the Secretariat and the High Court would be sold by land grabbers”.

At least 10 persons were injured when police resorted to lathi-charge on a protest rally against the BJP government’s move to bring Primary Health Centres (PHCs) under PPP mode outside Swasthya Bhawan here, a spokesman of Rajasthan Nursing Association (RNA) said.

It was a peaceful demonstration by hundreds of nursing staff outside the Health Directorate Building against the Raje government’s move to “privatise 90 PHCs” and attempt to remove the nursing staff, RNA state President Narendra Singh Shekhawat told reporters.

EU president Donald Tusk urged China today to restart a dialogue with representatives of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

“I expressed our concerns on freedom of expression and association in China including people belonging to minorities including Tibetan and Uighur,” Tusk said at a press conference in Brussels with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

“In that context, I have urged China to restart a meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s representatives.

Britain and the United States said today it was too soon for UN peacekeepers to leave Sudan’s troubled Darfur region as the Security Council extended the mission for another year.

The United Nations is holding talks to address Sudan’s demands for an exit strategy for the 17,000-strong UNAMID force run jointly with the African Union.

But the resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member council made clear that the Sudanese government must show progress in resolving the Darfur conflict before any pullout can be decided.

Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova reached the Wimbledon second round today as 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt’s 17-year All England Club career came to a bruising end.

Defending champion Djokovic enjoyed a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber with crucial breaks in the ninth game of each set.

But the world number one and top seed again found himself defending allegations that coach Boris Becker is using various means to coach him from the sidelines, a practice which is banned.

China is about to submit its long-awaited national pledges to reduce carbon emissions beyond 2020, ahead of the Paris climate summit, Premier Li Keqiang said today.

“By the end of this month, the Chinese side will submit to the UN secretariat on climate change our intended nationally determined contribution,” Li told a press conference after a summit in Brussels with EU leaders Donald Tusk and Jean-Claude Juncker.

There has been speculation that the announcement would be made during Li’s visit this week to Brussels and Paris, where December’s climate talks will be held.

A local court today acquitted journalist Priyabhansu in connection with the mysterious death of his girlfriend Nirupama Pathak, also a journalist, five years ago.

Following the trial, the court of Additional District and Session Judge Arun Kumar Singh acquitted Priyabhansu in the death case of Nirupama, who was found dead in her house on April 29, 2010.

The report of post-mortem performed on the body of a 21-year-old Dalit youth, found dead beside railway tracks in Namakkal district, was today submitted in the Madras High Court.

The report, along with the videography of post-mortem on the body of Gokul Raj, was submitted by the Dean of Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Hospital in Salem in a sealed cover to the high court registrar, complying with a court directive.

Land of Gram Samaj worth Rs 70 lakh was today cleared of encroachments in Dhanori village under Dankaur.

On directions from district magistrate N P Singh, Sub Divisional Magistrate Bachu Singh directed demolition of unauthorised construction in Dhanori village.

Tehsildar with police and PAC force reached the village and JCB machines started demolition of unauthorised constructions, clearing all encroachments from the Gram Samaj land.

After a week long hot and humid weather, heavy rains tonight lashed Jaipur city and adjoining areas giving respite to people from sweltering heat, a MeT official said.

Jaipur and adjoining sub-urban towns recorded about 40 mm of rainfall, the official said.

Scattered rainfall also occurred at many places in eastern parts of the state and a few places in western region.

South-West monsoon would further get activated in the next 24 hours in the state, according to a MeT forecast.

A Kurukshetra University professor today claimed that schemes introduced by Bibipur Sarpanch Sunil Jaglan, who was praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his ‘selfie with daughters’ idea, have made no difference to the lives of women in the village.

A senior Kurukshetra University (KU) Geography Professor, Mahabir Jaglan today claimed that a survey done by KU students in 2012 disputed Bibipur’s claim to fame in terms of efforts made in the drive against female foeticide and to bring changes in the women’s lives.

A parliamentary delegation today visited the Delhi Police Headquarters to meet senior officers and discuss various issues including their functioning and the problems faced by them.

The visit came after a gap of many years.

The 14-member parliamentary delegation met the top brass of Delhi Police who apprised them of functioning of the force. They also visited the control room and Central Police Command to have an on-the-spot survey of the functioning.

Tamil Nadu government today told the Madras High Court that an interim compensation of Rs three lakh each would be paid to people infected with Hepatitis C Virus (HPV) due to alleged negligence after they underwent dialysis at the Stanely Medical College Hospital here from March 1 last year.

State Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan made the submission before the first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T S Sivagnanam, and filed the report of an expert committee consisting of three eminent doctors who went into the issue.