Afternoon News Headlines (July 17, 2018)

ONI Bureau: ——  Orissa High Court grants conditional bail to Congress leader & former Pipili MLA Judhistir Samantaray in connection with clash between BJP and Congress activists during Odisha Bandh in Pipili area.

——  BJP Leader Jayanarayan Mishra gets conditional bail in Banabira Firing case.

——  Hundreds of farmers under the aegis of Jay Kishan Sangathan stage road blockade at Dasmile chhak in Bargarh dist protesting a gainst non-settlement of crop insurance claims under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

——  Odisha Crime Branch detains 8 persons over alleged links with arrested gangster Tito after raids at several places in Cuttack.

——  Odisha focuses in on eco-tourism, aims to get 23 mn tourists by 2021.

——  Students of Pattamundai College, Kendrapara lock main gate, burn tyres protesting entry of non-students into campus.

——  Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs all party meeting ahead of Monsoon session of Parliament.

——  Bihar: Compensation for acid-attack and rape survivors increased from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. Compensation will be increased by 50% for survivors below 14 years of age.

——  Five-judge Constitution bench of Supreme Court resumes hearing the pleas seeking scrapping of Section 377 of IPC which criminalises homosexuality.

——  Appointment of Lokpal and Lokayukta issue: Selection committee has to convene a meeting on July 19 on the issue.

——  18 men held for allegedly raped & sexually harassed a 12 yr old girl in Chennai for 7 months. The accused involve security men, lift operator & water suppliers in the apartment where the minor girl stays.

——  BSP chief Mayawati sacks BSP leader Jai Prakash Singh over Rahul remarks

——  Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan among world’s highest-paid celebs according to Forbes’ World’s Highest-Paid Celebrities 2018 list.