Hannah Polites On The Beach Makes Us Want To Get Sand In All The Wrong Places

Don't you just hate going to the beach? The sand gets in all the wrong places doesn't it? But, if you had a hottie like Hannah Polites to accompany you, going to the beach would become much more fun. Since, she's never coming to the beach with any of us, here's a gallery of some of her best pictures at the beach. If these aren't enough and you want more, check out her Instagram account. Never have any pictures made us want to be sand granules before.

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Dera chief filed 30 pleas in HC against trial court orders

Every three months since charges were framed against rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim in September 2008, he filed a review petition against the trial court orders in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The High Court, in one of its orders on July 5, even took strong note of this and recorded that it was an attempt to “prolong the trial” and directed the Special CBI Judge to conclude the trial at the earliest.
The Dera head moved more than 30 applications under various provisions of criminal law, seeking direction or revision of the trial court orders before the high court after September 2008, when the CBI court took over the case. Most of them were, however, dismissed, with the last one being on August 3. They mostly pertained to the examination of the victim’s handwriting or the witnesses in the case. Six petitions were filed this year alone, till August, as the trial in the court reached the final stage.
“The apparent motive of the petitioner, as manifested, is to prolong the trial which is pending for the last nine years, and after conclusion of prosecution evidence in the year 2013, for defence evidence for the last four years,” said Justice Surinder Gupta in his judgment on a plea challenging a CBI court order on July 5. “The trial court is directed to conclude the trial which is at the final stage, at earliest. Copy of this order be conveyed to the trial court,” the judge added.

On Monday, the trail court will pronounce the quantum of sentence in the case and, according to the legal experts, the self-styled godman, who now stands convicted under Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation), is likely to face a punishment of at least seven years or even more depending on the circumstances of the crime.
Maximum punishment in the case can be life imprisonment. The only door for any relief to him is the same High Court — which set the law in motion in 2002 on the case on basis of an anonymous complaint, and where his conduct of prolonging the trial is a matter of record.

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Ram Rahim's village in Rajasthan dejected after finding 'godman' is demon in disguise

If one has to decipher the emotion a place collectively depicts, for Gurusar Modia, it could be one of dejection. Dejection writ large post the realization that the man they revered as a saint, no less than a god, has been termed a demon.
This sleepy village in Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar district wears a sullen look. There are posters, hoardings, big life sized billboards of Gurmeet Singh, later rechristened as Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan, the self proclaimed godman, staring down soon after one enters the village.
He was born on August 15 in 1967, got married at an early age of 15 - 16 and by the time he was 23, he already had three children, including two daughters. And in 1990, an ill and ageing Satanam Shah, the second chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, decided to bequeath the Dera gaddi to him.
India Today visited the village to find out the reason behind the cult following that this man continued to have enjoyed despite the grave accusations against him. The blind faith that made people look the other way despite the court pronouncing him guilty. The kind that made people so violent that they were willing to kill or die on the day the verdict holding him guilty of rape was announced by the court in Panchkula.
On the face of Roopsingh Sidhu, the man who taught him from class 5th till 10th, sense of disbelief is unmissable. Like most houses in this village, there are pictures of Gurmeet Singh across walls in Roopsingh's home.
"He is a very kind person and when it came to studies, was first in studies as well. Otherwise, had lot of interest in cultural programmes, sports and academics. There was never a complaint against him in school," Roopsingh said.


Rajaram, a man with grey beard and a heavy voice, tells how he spent time with Gurmeet Singh in school as they happened to be classmates during 9th and 10th. Though of the same age, Rajaram has no hesitation in calling Gurmeet Singh as 'pitaji'. It seems referring to the rape convict by any other name is blasphemous for him.
An attempt to tell him that there have been serious accusations of rape, murder, castration of sadhus against him are met with palpable cynicism. Teary eyed, he starts recounting how the man has done a lot of good things for the village. He says how he used to smoke but left it due to 'pitaji's' influence.
"He was very nice during childhood, was of religious belief, was cultured, good in studies and was one who used to take Ram's name. These allegations have been completely baseless, are allegations without any foundation," Rajaram, Gurmeet's childhood friend, said.
The village has some relatives of Gurmeet Singh who still stay there. And for them, Gurmeet Singh's behaviour did not depict any such tendencies during the more than two decades period that he stayed there. Although his paternal uncle does tell India Today that he is unaware if he changed after leaving from there.
"Not at all. Had studied with us till 10th. Has grown up here. Has stayed a lot here in this house because my three children are older than him. Used to stay here. There was nothing like that in him. Were innocent children and had interest in studies. After he left from here, I cannot say," said Gurbaux Singh, Gurmeet's paternal uncle.
There are people in plenty in this Sri Ganganagar village who have revered him for close to 30 years since he got the Dera gaddi, and despite the court's verdict pronouncing Gurmeet Singh as guilty of rape, there is no dearth of those in Gurusar Modia for whom the accusations against him are still anything but true.

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HC issues notice to Arnab Goswami, Republic TV on Tharoor’s plea

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought a response from journalist Arnab Goswami and his channel Republic TV on Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s plea to refrain from “misreporting” his wife Sunanda Pushkar’s death and asked them to respect his “right to silence”.

Justice Manmohan issued notice to Mr. Goswami and Republic TV after Mr. Tharoor alleged that they continued to engage in “defaming and maligning” him despite an assurance given in the court on May 29 by their counsel.

Taking note of this, the Bench said, “You [Goswami and the channel] have to respect Tharoor’s right to silence.”

Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Mr. Tharoor, submitted that the court must direct Mr. Goswami and the channel to not mention the expression “murder of Sunanda Pushkar”, as it is yet to be established by a competent court that her death was “murder”, to ensure the trial was not prejudiced.

Senior advocate Sandeep Sethi, appearing for Mr. Goswami and the channel, said they have only placed the actual evidence and the police report while broadcasting the news. “We have not called him a murderer in any of the news broadcasts on the channel,” he said.

The judge, however, said orally that he had asked counsel who had promised that names would not be taken. “They will have to abide by that,” he said.

Mr. Sethi replied, “My client stands by what was assured by me.”

The court has now fixed the matter for further hearing on August 16.

The court was hearing an application moved by Mr. Tharoor in his pending Rs 2 crore defamation suit against Mr. Goswami and the channel for allegedly making defamatory remarks against him while airing news relating to the mysterious death of his wife.

Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a five-star hotel in south Delhi on the night of January 17, 2014. The matter is still under investigation.

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Enhance Parliament’s dignity, Modi tells MPs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday termed enhancing the dignity of Parliament the need of the hour, and exhorted NDA MPs to contribute to the effective functioning of the legislature.

He was speaking at a meeting of NDA MPs at the G.M.C. Balayogi auditorium on the eve of the vice-presidential polls, in which M. Venkaiah Naidu will be the NDA’s candidate. He also released two volumes of speeches and writings of Mr. Naidu entitled Tireless Voice-Relentless Journey.

‘Crucial period’


Mr. Modi emphasised that the current government had a full majority after 30 years and could contribute in a substantial measure to nation building.

“I consider the period of 2017-22 as being as important as the period between 1942-47, that got us our freedom. In this, the new President and the soon to be elected Vice-President will be from the NDA, and therefore can do much for the country,” he said. “It is the first time since Independence that this is happening,” he said.

He added that the NDA had its own line that could in concert do much to raise the dignity of Parliament. “The supremacy of Parliament is already enshrined in the Constitution, we need to enhance its dignity,” he said. “By our good behaviour and concern for raising issues related to people we can overcome the sense of disappointment people feel with politics and politicians,” he said.

He said the Upper House needed to reflect on how it could guide the aspirations of 125 crore Indians and be inspired by the spirit of the discussions in the Constituent Assembly about the role of the Rajya Sabha.

He said the country was fortunate to have the benefit of leadership of Mr. Venkaiah Naidu in the House. “By marking a vertical line against the name of Shri Naidu in the ballot paper, we resolve to stand by him like a rock for the next five years,” he added.

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India still talking to China

Maintaining its silence on claims by the Chinese government that India has reduced troop levels on the Doklam plateau where they have been in a standoff with the PLA, the government on Friday said it would not comment on “operational details,” but continued to affirm that “war is not an option” despite rising tensions.

“As far as questions on deployments are concerned, these are operational matters on our side or the other side and would not like to specifically go into them,” said MEA spokesperson Gopal Baglay, when asked about comments made by a senior Chinese diplomat in Delhi, who said India had reduced the number of troops sent in to stop a PLA road construction team on June 16, from about 400 at peak levels, to 48 as of Thursday.

“We would continue to engage the Chinese side through diplomatic channels on the basis of the Astana consensus between our leaders,” he added, referring to the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping in early June, where they had agreed not to let “differences become a dispute.”

Asked about what diplomatic channels are still available, given a rising number of threatening statements from China, Mr. Baglay said, “If you understand the signs, you should let a secret remain a secret,” (Ishaaron ko agar samjho toh, Raaz ko raaz ko rahne do), a reference to a 1973 Hindi film song.
The remarks by the Ministry followed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s statement in Parliament on Thursday in reply to questions from the Opposition over the government’s handling of foreign policy in general and the Doklam standoff with China in particular.

On Friday, facing several questions on the issue from journalists, the MEA added that its refusal to comment on charges made by the Chinese government over the past few days of a “transgression by Indian troops”, didn’t signify that it was unprepared for an escalation in tensions.

“The govt. of course remains prepared. It’s government’s responsibility to ensure the security of its citizens and territory and we remain prepared but EAM [Sushma Swaraj] also said [on Thursday] that war is not an answer and as far as the construction of road is concerned, the development of any part of India is a legitimate interest of the govt. and its responsibility.”
In an interaction with a few journalists, including from The Hindu on Thursday, Chinese Deputy Chief of Mission Liu Jinsong had warned that India would face “serious consequences” if it doesn’t withdraw all its troops from the area under dispute between China and Bhutan, and even discounted India’s position that its troops were there at the request of Bhutan’s government. The diplomat, whose comments were followed by an equally stern message from the Chinese Ministry of Defence who spoke of “limits to restraint”, also claimed that China had notified India about its proposal to undertake road construction on Doklam twice before the standoff began on June 16.

“Royal Govt. of Bhutan and Govt. of India have been in continuous contact through the unfolding of these developments. In coordination with the Govt. of Bhutan, Indian personnel who were present at the general area of Doka La approached the Chinese construction party and urged them to desist from changing the status quo,” Mr. Baglay, who ended his tenure as official spokesperson on Friday, said in response to the Chinese DCM’s comments.

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Gym rules for beginners

Finally decided to hit the gym after months (or years) of procrastination? While you congratulate yourself on finally taking this big step, here are some things that you need to keep in mind when you start working out at a gym for the first time...
Exercising cannot be done while you wear just about anything, so invest a bit in your gym wardrobe. You don't have to stick to only black colours, rather purchase some gym clothes in funky neon colours. Make sure what you wear isn't too tight or loose.
Exercising means you are bound to sweat, which means you need to wipe certain equipment after use. Most gyms provide abundant towels so you don't have to worry about scrambling for one.
While sweating is inevitable, you don't have to dunk yourself in layers of cologne or perfume before you begin your workout. Apply just a little before your start because too much of it mixed with your sweat will make people around you gag.
Never leave equipment lying around — not only will keeping things back in their place make other gym members happy, it will also lower chances of anyone tripping and injuring themselves.
Don't expect results overnight. Your body needs to get used to a workout regimen and this can only happen when you are consistent and patient. Don't hesitate to ask for advice from trainers — they're there to guide you so that you don't injure yourself.

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