sheena bora, jnu, ju, afzal guru, rohith vemula, nationalism, psu bank

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Peter Mukerjea charged with murder in Sheena Bora case

The CBI on Tuesday charged media mogul Peter Mukerjea with murder, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence in the Sheena Bora murder case, reports The Telegraph. Mukerjea is the husband Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the case.

The charges were made in a supplementary chargesheet three months after his arrest and filed in a Mumbai court. "Peter actively participated in the conspiracy, whether he was in India or abroad," the CBI said.

SC terms PSU banks' bad debts 'a big fraud'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday took suo motu cognisance of news reports that public sector banks had written off Rs 1.14 lakh crore as bad loans between 2013 and 2015 and ordered the Reserve Bank of India to provide the court with the names of all the defaulters who owe over Rs 500 crore but continue to lead "lavish lifestyle", reports The Indian Express.

"People are owing thousands of crore to the public banks. it is a big fraud," said a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice TS Thakur to Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar.

JNU anti-national activities include Mahishasura worship, beef-eating: Police

Amongst other charges against students of Leftist organisations at JNU, the Delhi police have cited "beef eating" and "worship of Mahishasura" as evidence that they are involved in "anti-national" activities, reports The Telegraph.

These claims were made in a status report sent by the police to the home ministry on Monday about the activities by Leftist groups on 9 February when JNU Students Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar and others were arrested for sedition for making anti-national slogans.

In the report, the police said they had been watching these organisations since October.

Hyderabad University unfair to Dalits: HRD Min report

A confidential report filed by the HRD ministry's fact-finding team on the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohit Vemula at Hyderabad University on 17 January has condemned the university authorities for an unsound process of inquiry that led to the expulsion of five Dalit students in the first place, reports The Economic Times. The report also says that on campus, there is a "trust deficit and a feeling of academic discrimination among some of the students" which the university administration has not addressed.

BJP will capitalise on JNU controversy with 3-day national roadshow

The BJP is planning a three-day national road show between February 18 and 20 to capitalise on the debate on nationalism that was sparked by the arrest of students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after they organised a protest meeting against the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru.

The debate raised by sedition charges made against JNU students who reportedly chanted anti-national slogans during their protest meeting on 9 February has given the party an opportunity to woo the youth across caste barriers, say BJP leaders.

After sedition charges against JNU students, Kolkata's JU students raise pro-Afzal Guru slogans

In solidarity with students of JNU who were charged with sedition last week for making anti-national statements at a meeting on 9 February to protest the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, students of Jadavpur University in Kolkata on Tuesday afternoon held a pro-Afzal Guru rally, reports DNA. The students also made pro-Ishrat Jahan statements and anti-Hindutva statements such as "Modi ka Hindutva nahi sahenge, Modi ke Brahmangiri nahi sahenge."

Bassi meets PMO; Raids in Bihar, UP, Delhi to track students who raised anti-India sloganeers

The Delhi Police conducted several raids across different states to track down students who allegedly shouted anti-India slogans on the 9 February event at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus to commemorate the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. The raids were conducted at Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra. Delhi Police Chief BS Bassi met PMO amid the raids.

MHA seeks report pro-Afzal sloganeering in Jadavpur University

The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked a report from West Bengal government over the raising of slogans supporting Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru and demands for "azadi" in Jadavpur University on Tuesday.

In solidarity with students of JNU who were charged with sedition last week for making anti-national statements at a meeting on 9 February to protest the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, students of Jadavpur University in Kolkata on Tuesday afternoon held a pro-Afzal Guru rally. The students also made pro-Ishrat Jahan statements and anti-Hindutva statements such as "Modi ka Hindutva nahi sahenge, Modi ke Brahmangiri nahi sahenge."

JNU row: Lawyers and JNU students clash again outside Patiala House Court

In another brazen display of disregard for the law, lawyers at the Patiala House Court clashed with Jawaharlal Nehru University students. JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, charged with sedition, makes his second appearance before the court today.

Raising 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram' slogans, the lawyers waved the national flag. There were over 50 lawyers present on the court premises. Some of these lawyers were seen beating up students. BJP legal cell member Vikram Chauhan was leading the protests.

Kanhaiya sent to judicial custody for 14 days; Bassi ready to give him second chance

Photo: ANI/ Videograb

Jawaharlal Nehru University Student's Union President Kanhaiya Kumar has been sent to a 14-day judicial custody. He has been charged with sedition for allegedly raising anti-national slogans at a pro-Afzal Guru event organised in JNU.

He was also roughed up by lawyers when he was produced at the Patiala House Court. Doctors within the court premises were called to examine him.

Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi, who is under attack for not being able to control the violence reported from the court premises, justified restrained police action saying it would have been inappropriate to take stern action. He also refused to confirm the assault on Kanhaiya Kumar and was ready to only acknowledge that the student leader lost a slipper during the "jostling".

Alok Verma to be next Delhi Police Commissioner after Bassi

Senior IPS officer Alok Verma will replace Bhim Sen Bassi as next police commissioner of Delhi.Verma, a 1979 batch officer of the Union Territories cadre, is currently serving as director general of prisons in the national capital and will take over as police chief on 1 March. Bassi's tenure will end on 29 February.

Office bearers of ABVP in JNU resign over #JNUCrackdown, Rohith Vemula

Registering a protest against the ongoing rift in Jawaharlal Nehru University, three office bearers of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad resigned from their respective posts on Wednesday, 17 February.Pradeep, Rahul Yadav and Ankit Hans wrote an open letter on Facebook where they also mentioned the reasons for their joint resignation.Full letter here.

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T-cell therapy spells hope for terminally ill cancer patients

A revolutionary cancer therapy that uses the body's own immune cells to attack metastatic tumours that have spread is being hailed as a "paradigm shift" in treatment of the disease.

Patients with advanced blood cancers who were not expected to live beyond five months have shown complete remission after 18 months of follow-up checks with no signs of the disease returning, scientists have revealed.

They call it the secret of teaching the body's immune system to attack cancer cells, according to a report in the Independent.

In one trial of a patient's own T-cells - a type of white blood cell - that were engineered in the laboratory to identify and attack tumour cells, more than 90 per cent of the 35 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia went into complete remission.

It's getting hot in here - January sets new global temperature record

2015 was the warmest ear in recorded history and it looks like the trend is only set to continue. According to data released by NASA, January has set a global temperature record for being the warmest January in recorded history. Not just that, it also managed the distinction of being the most anomalously warm month on record, with temperatures just over 2 degrees Fahrenheit more than the average. January was the fourth month in a row where temperatures were higher than the recorded average by more than 1 degree Celsius.

Virtually flawless mega diamond unearthed in Angola

Some serious bling was just found in Angola. The Lucapa Diamond Company announced that a massive 404.2 carat diamond has been found in Angola. While the diamond is only the 27th largest diamond ever, it's the largest ever found in Angola, weighing in at almost double the previous record holder. The diamond, which is almost 3 inches long, was categorised as a type II a diamond, a classification that means that it's virtually flawless. Less than 1% of the world's diamonds are type II a, making this find exceedingly rare.

India's now home to the world's cheapest smartphone

Ringing Bells, an Indian company, have today launched the Freedom 251, the world's cheapest smartphone. Priced at Rs 251, the phone comes packed with the sort of features you'd expect from a regular smartphone, including dual cameras, 3G capability as well as 8GB of internal storage. Ringing Bells had recently launched the Smart 101, one of the country's cheapest 4G phones, and looks set to establish itself as a disruptor in the budget smartphone market.

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Nigerian 'witch boy' rescued by aid workers

A starving two-year-old Nigerian boy was rescued after being discovered naked and wandering the streets because his family thought he was a witch. The boy, who has been named Hope, was found emaciated and riddled with worms after being forced to live off scraps of food thrown to him by passersby for eight months.

He was rescued by Anja Ringgren Loven, a Danish woman living in Africa who bent down and began feeding the boy and giving him water.

She then wrapped the boy in a blanket and took him to the nearest hospital, a report in the Independent said.