Indian Sub-continent

Mumbai, Aug 19 (PTI) At least seven first information reports (FIRs) for alleged violation of COVID-19 norms were registered in Mumbai on Thursday against the organizers of the BJP's `Jan Ashirwad Yatra', an official said.

Cases were registered at Vile Parle, Kherwadi, Mahim, Shivaji Park, Dadar, Chembur and Govandi police stations under section 188 of IPC (disobeying an order duly promulgated by public servant) as well as Disaster Management Act and Mumbai Police Act, the official said.

Ferozepur, Aug 19 (PTI) Two-time Ferozepur MLA Sukhpal Singh Nannu on Thursday quit the BJP, citing the death of farmers during the agitation against the Centre's farm laws.

Nannu had won from Ferozepur city twice as BJP candidate in 2002 and 2007. He lost to Congress' Parminder Singh Pinky in 2012 and 2017.

Addressing the media at his residence, Nannu said due to the death of several farmers during the ongoing agitation against the farm laws, his supporters were upset and forced him to take some decision ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.

Kanpur: The station controller-cum-train operators are being trained at COET, a prominent metro simulator training centre,  in Lucknow.

It is equipped with all the applicable and updated technical gadgets. This thorough training requires a practice of train operation for 400 Kms on a simulator.

This training will help them procure a 'Competency Certificate.'  

This training is important to conduct the trial runs of the elevated Priority Corridor, running from IIT-Kanpur to Motijheel, scheduled for November 2021.

19 Aug 2021; MEMO: A Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) producer, Zyrone Dynamics, has received foreign investment from India worth $1 million.

Thirty per cent of the firm's shares – with a total valuation of $3.5 million – were bought by Indian DCM Shriram Industries, Murat Kanber, co-founder of the Turkish company, told Anadolu Agency.

At this week's International Defence Industries Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul, the two companies signed a partnership agreement, he stressed.

19 Aug 2021; MEMO: Dozens of women across the Middle East and North Africa who were likely targeted for surveillance by governments using Pegasus spyware are now at a heightened risk of being blackmailed or harassed, tech experts and victims said, Reuters report.

Developed by Israeli tech firm NSO, Pegasus turns a mobile phone into a surveillance device – using its microphone and cameras and accessing and exporting messages, photos and emails without the user's knowledge.

Kanpur: The Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur has set up the Shivani Centre for the benefit of candidates across the country.

Reportedly, the IIT will flag off the project in a time-bound manner, with focus on strategic interventions.

This will include preparatory material, indexing of objectives, translation of courses into Hindi and OILs along with the development of relevant software and technological tools.

New Delhi, Aug 18 (PTI) Judges are often caught in the dilemma of morality versus legality in quest to deliver justice and it needs moral courage to render an opinion which might displease many, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said on Wednesday while stressing that it is imperative for judges not to be swayed by these external pressures.

The CJI also said impartiality is not an easy quality to possess or apply to the cases and a judge must make a conscious effort to cast aside biases and prejudices.

Alibaug, Aug 19 (PTI) A special court here has sentenced a 30-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl in Maharashtra's Raigad district.

Special and additional judge Shahida Shaikh recently found the accused Shankar Bhau Pawar guilty of charges under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him.

Sultanpur (UP), Aug 19 (PTI) A woman was allegedly raped by four men and later thrown out of a vehicle in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Dostpur area, police said on Thursday.

The woman, aged about 25 years, was found by villagers in an unconscious state on Tuesday late night, Dostpur Station House Officer Sayed Niyazi said.

Police had admitted the woman to a hospital.

She later told police that she is a resident Ambedkar Nagar and was raped by Ravindra, Kavindra, Dharmendra and Pankaj.

Bulandshahr, Aug 19 (PTI) police here detained two minor boys for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl.

The incident had taken place on August 17 evening in the Arniya area here, according to police.

A man complained to police that his niece was raped by the boys, aged 13 and 14, when she was going to a toilet.