Live News June 21: Sensex, Nifty up; rupee slides 16 paise against dollar 

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was charged with fraud and breach of trust on Thursday over the alleged misuse of state funds, the Justice Ministry said. In a case known as the "Meals-Ordering Affair", prosecutors said Sara Netanyahu used state money to fraudulently pay for $100,000 worth of meals at the Prime Minister's residence between 2010 and 2013, according to an indictment filed at the Jerusalem magistrate's court on Thursday.

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on Thursday announced that Sunil Bharti Mittal would assume the Honorary Chairmanship of the business chamber from July 1, on stepping down as its Chairman. Chairman of Bharti Airtel, Mittal has been the Chairman of ICC since June 15, 2016 and would be succeeded by Unilever CEO Paul Polman, ICC said in a statement.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday accused the BJP of doling out cash to win elections and said such practices by the Centre's ruling party will soon be the reason for its downfall. "We are not like the BJP that snatches away people's money in the name of demonetisation and then distributes that cash among the voters to win the elections unethically. "They are getting snubbed by people in the recent elections for such practices. Soon, more people will reject them," Banerjee said during her party's extended core committee meeting at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.

The Central Information Commission (CIC) on Thursday announced it would continue hearing a case and decide it even if an appelant dies in the course of the hearing. "Instances have occurred wherein an appellant/complainant dies before his case is considered by the CIC. Further action to be taken in such a situation has engaged the attention of the Commission.

A Hindu woman married to a Muslim got her passport on Thursday, following External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's intervention, barely 24 hours after a passport officer rejected her application on the grounds that she had not changed her surname. Regional Passport Official Piyush Verma on Thursday gave the passport to Tanvi Sethi while the passport of her husband Mohammad Anas Siddiqui was renewed and also handed over.

Capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), on Thursday announced it has amended regulations governing initial public offerings (IPO) and buybacks. Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi told reporters here after a board meeting that as per the amendments "aimed at simplifying language and removing redundancies", the regulator has decided to reduce the time to announce the price band of an IPO to two days from the earlier five-day limit. Sebi has also streamlined the norms on buyback of securities, he said.

Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra has called an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss the situation in the wake of the implementation of governor's rule in the state, officials said on Thursday. Jammu and Kashmir was placed under Governor's rule on Wednesday, a day after the PDP-BJP government collapsed as the BJP snapped its three-year-old alliance with the regional party citing "larger national interest" and "deteriorating security situation".

At least 13 kindergarten students were injured on Thursday when their school bus skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, police said. The students, belonging to a private school in Sarkaghat area, were returning home from school when the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn near Garli. Five critically injured children were admitted to the Zonal hospital in Mandi, some 150 km from the state capital.

Former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's condition is improving and he is likely to be discharged soon, sources at the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here said on Thursday. The BJP stalwart is admitted to the ICU of the cardio-thoracic centre at the hospital and has shown improvements in the last 10 days.

A Delhi court on Thursday extended by one day the custodial interrogation of journalist Upendra Rai by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case related to alleged extortion and dubious financial transactions. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat granted the remand to the agency after the Delhi-based scribe was produced before the court on expiry of his five-day ED custody. Rai denied before the court all the allegations levelled against him by the agency.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday ordered a high-level inquiry into the reports of a 14-year-old boy having been arrested here and sent to jail three months ago, allegedly on trumped-up charges upon his refusal to give vegetables to local policemen for free. The Chief Minister's Office, in a statement said that Kumar has "directed an officer of IG rank to conduct an inquiry and submit report within two days. Based on the findings of the report, speedy action will follow".

On the first day of work since his sit-in at the Raj Niwas ended, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday met officials from the water and electricity departments to study the problems faced by people in the city. In a meeting held at the Delhi Secretariat, Kejriwal, who is also the Chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board, took stock of various projects of the Board for water augmentation and sought a report on the water situation in the capital.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Amarjit Singh Sandoa was injured on Thursday after he and his security personnel were attacked by sand mafia goons in Punjab's Ropar district. Sandoa was hit on the chest by a stone. He was admitted to a hospital in Anandpur Sahib. He was later referred to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. Sandoa was attacked near Bihara village when he had gone to see an illegal sand mining site.

Noted transgender activist Akkai Padmashali today said she fears being evicted from her rented house after she was denied a home loan by banks, which she claimed was because of her sex. "I am living in fear of being evicted from my rented house because of the lease period, which expires on June 28.

I had approached the banks, but they have denied me a loan of Rs 10 lakh because I am a transgender," she said. Padmashali said she does not want to return as a sex worker and deserves to lead a dignified life. She had shot to limelight by becoming the first transgender in Karnataka to have registered for marriage in January this year.

On the first day of work since his sit-in at the Raj Niwas ended, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday met officials from the water and electricity departments to study the problems faced by people in the city.

In a meeting held at the Delhi Secretariat, Kejriwal, who is also the Chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board, took stock of various projects of the Board for water augmentation and sought a report on the water situation in the capital.

He also looked at the ongoing projects along with the ways to improve groundwater recharge and treatment of water.

The mastermind of Gorakhpur terror funding case has been arrested in Pune by the Uttar Pradesh ATS in a joint operation with its Maharashtra counterpart, officials said on Thursday.

The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Ramesh Shah (28) on Wednesday. He is being brought to the Uttar Pradesh capital on transit remand, an ATS spokesman said.

Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom on Thursday said that its subsidiary Nikiret has signed an agreement with Indian engineering services firm Core Energy Systems Pvt Ltd for the promotion of its technical security equipment in India.

Actor Kamal Haasan, who has floated a new political party Makkal Needhi Maiam, on Thursday met United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi .

Informed sources described the meeting that took place at the residence of Sonia Gandhi as a "courtesy call".

Pitching for more pro-farmer policies, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said loan waiver is not a permanent solution and in the long-term, it would affect the agriculture sector and "hurt" cultivators.

Claiming that farmers who take up allied activities such as poultry and dairy along with traditional farming, do not commit suicide, he said cultivators must be able to export their produce for better returns.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday left for his maiden three-day visit to Mongolia, aimed at strengthening India's relation with the strategically important East Asian country that shares its boundaries with China and Russia. The minister in his pre-departure message said India wants to realise the huge potential of bilateral relations with Mongolia.

The Press Information Bureau's official YouTube channel was unblocked at 8 am today just after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's yoga event got over, a senior official said. The channel was blocked as YouTube was updating its "partner agreements", a spokesperson for the website had said on Wednesday. "YouTube unblocked PIB's YouTube channel today at 8 am," a senior official said on Thursday. But PIB could not live stream the prime minister's event from the Uttarakhand capital Dehradun on International Yoga Day as the function got over at 8 am. The problem was communicated to YouTube India yesterday, a PIB source said.

JKLF chief Yasin Malik was on Thursday detained while moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest to prevent the separatists from leading protests, police said. Malik was taken into custody from his Maisuma residence this morning, a police official said. He said Malik has been lodged in police station Kothibagh. The official said Mirwaiz was placed under house arrest at his Nigeen residence.

Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Thursday said that he was all set to return to the country but the Supreme Court order for his arrest forced him to change his mind. Musharraf,74, who has been in exile in Dubai and London since 2016 is facing several cases in the Supreme and High Courts, including one for treason for allegedly subverting the constitution and the Supreme Court earlier this month asked him to return to Pakistan if he wanted to contest the General Elections scheduled on July 25. The former president told reporters through a video link that the apex court order "barring the authorities from arresting me till my appearance before the august court has forced me to rethink my plans about return".

Recruitment of officers from the private sector, corporates and multinational companies will pose a serious threat to the nature of public service in the bureaucracy, the CPI-M has warned. "Such appointees would be prone to serve corporate interests disregarding the public interest," said an editorial in the CPI-M journal "People's Democracy". "This would be the aping of the American model where corporate executives and posts in the administration are inter-changeable." The central government has advertised for 10 posts of joint secretary to be recruited by a committee headed by the cabinet secretary.

In a vitriolic attack on the BJP, the Shiv Sena on Thursday charged that the saffron party opted out of power in Jammu and Kashmir after spreading anarchy, and said history will never forgive the party for its "greed". It also lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying "running a nation is not a child's play." Jammu and Kashmir was yesterday placed under Governor's rule for the fourth time in the last one decade after the BJP withdrew support to its alliance partner PDP, prompting Mehbooba Mufti to resign as the chief minister. "The BJP opted out of power in Kashmir after spreading anarchy in the valley," the Sena alleged in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

External Affairs Ministry has sought a report on allegations that an inter-faith couple was harassed and humiliated by an officer at a Passport Seva Kendra in Lucknow. Responding to complaints from Mohammad Anas Siddiqui and Tanvi Seth, who wrote about their ordeal on Twitter and tagged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday, secretary, consular, passport and visa division, D M Mulay said he had asked for a report from the regional passport office in Lucknow and would take appropriate action. Siddiqui and Seth had applied for their passports on June 19 and took an appointment for June 20 at a Passport Office in Lucknow. They were allegedly humiliated and shamed by passport officer Vikas Mishra before he rejected their application, they said.

The Bihar government will urge the 15th Finance Commission to raise the allocation of tax revenue shared by the states on the pattern of the 11th Finance Commission recommendations, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi has said. It will also demand that henceforth the entire expenditure for disaster management in Bihar be borne by the Centre, Sushil Kumar Modi said. A team of the 15th Finance Commission, led by its Chairman N K Singh, will be on a three-day tour of Bihar from July 10.

Normal life was affected in Kashmir Valley on Thursday due to a strike called by separatists against the killing of journalist Shujaat Bukhari. Most of the shops, fuel stations and other business establishments in Srinagar – the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir – were shut, a police official said.

Twelve members of a family from Gwalior district died on the spot on their way to a condolence meet and eight others from the family injured when a tractor-trolley hit their jeep in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh on July 21 morning, a police official said. The driver of the tractor-trolley, carrying sand mined illegally from the National Chambal Sanctuary, fled the spot after the accident, police said. A case was registered against the driver.

A fire destroyed at least 10 warehouses, where tyres and rags were stored, in the Mumbra township in Thande district, Maharashtra in the wee hours of June 21, a Thane Municipal Corporation official said. No casualty was reported. The blaze erupted around 4 am in one of the godowns on Khardi road and spread rapidly engulfing nine other warehouses located in the vicinity. Three scooters parked in the area were also charred. The fire was doused and cooling operations are underway. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

The rupee slipped 16 paise to 68.24 against the US dollar in early trade today due to fresh buying of the American currency by importers amid sustained foreign fund outflows. Yesterday, the rupee had staged a good comeback to end with a sharp gain of 30 paise at 68.08 against the US currency on heavy bouts of dollar selling by banks and exporters with equities gaining ground.

The 50-share NSE Nifty edged up 37.55 points, or 0.34%, to 10,809.60. Sentiment was largely buoyed by continued pumping of funds into markets by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) amid a mixed trend at other Asian markets. Japan's Nikkei was up 0.52%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.84% in early trade today. Shanghai Composite too was marginally down. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.17% lower yesterday.

The benchmark Sensex climbed over 123 points to 35,670.39 in opening trade today, led by gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries, amid continued buying by domestic institutional investors. The 30-share index was quoting higher by 123.06 points, or 0.35%, at 35,670.39. It had gained 260.59 points in the previous session. All the sectoral indices were trading higher, led by capital goods, consumer durables, infrastructure, banking, realty and oil and gas.

A 14-year-old girl was allegedly raped by three persons in a village in Muzaffarnagar, police said today. The incident took place on June 20 when she had gone to take water from a hand pump near her house, they said. The girl was taken to a house by the youths and raped at gun point. One of the perpetrators made a video of the incident, Circle Officer (CO) Rajiv Kumar Singh said. He said a case was registered against the three youths on a complaint by the girl's father. The accused are at large, the CO said. They have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including rape, and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the officer said.

The US has not seen Pakistan taking sustained and decisive actions required to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, a top Trump adminstration official told lawmakers who demanded suspension of all American aid to Pakistan.

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan told the lawmakers that Pakistan has a particularly crucial role to play in the war-torn country as without its support it will challenging to achieve the US' objectives under the South Asia strategy. “While we've seen some positive steps, our assessment has been that we have not seen the sustained and decisive actions that are really required to ensure that the Taliban take this peace process seriously,” she said

A shutdown called by separatists affected life across the Kashmir Valley on Thursday.

The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), a grouping of separatists headed by Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, called for the shutdown against the killing of senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari and continuing killings of civilians in Kashmir.

Algeria has turned off its internet nationwide during high school exams in a bid to tackle cheating. Blackouts will continue throughout the exam season, till June 25. Internet service, both mobile and fixed line, is to be off for an hour after the start of each high school diploma exam to stop any leaks, the BBC reported.

The move follows widespread cheating in 2016, with questions leaked online before and during tests.

In a show of opposition unity, top leaders from various opposition parties including Ahmed Patel, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and Sitaram Yechury attended an Eid Milan hosted by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind here on June 20 night

Aiming to speed up train movement over the Yamuna and also decongest the Ghaziabad-New Delhi rail corridor—one of the busiest in the country—Indian Railways has proposed an additional rail bridge over the river in the capital.

While the old Yamuna rail bridge—also known as Loha Pul—will give way to a new double-line rail bridge by March next year, another bridge is set to come up near the existing Nizamuddin rail bridge to ensure faster and seamless movement of about 150 outbound and inbound passenger and freight services.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from China to the United States declined 30% in 2017 compared to a record high in 2016, says the 2018 Annual Business Survey Report report released on June 20 by the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA (CGCC). One important factor contributing to the decline, as CGCC's report pointed out, is that "a chaotic new administration” in the United States is not making things any easier for Chinese investors to satisfy their still strong appetite for allocating funds to the United States.

• International Yoga Day celebrations get underway
• Chidambaram disappointed but not surprised at CEA Arvind Subramaniam quitting
• Congress demands Piyush Goyal apologise for 'tarnishing Vemula's memory'
• Russia warns of action against NATO forces near its border
• Create congenial atmosphere to hold election in J&K, Congress to centre

Follow National Herald’s live news blog to get all the news in one place on events, happenings and newsmakers on June 21