Daily Current Affairs for July 31,2018 ( English)

2.   The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 to provide death penalty to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years has passed by Lok Sabha. It provides for stringent punishment of jail term of minimum 20 years or life imprisonment or death for rape of girl less than 12 years. It provides provides punishment with imprisonment for rest of life or death sentence in case of gang rape of girl below 12 years. It increases minimum punishment from 10 years to 20 years for crime of rape of girl under 16 years, which can be extended to imprisonment for rest of life. It increases minimum punishment for rape of women from rigorous imprisonment of 7 years to 10 years, which can be extended to life imprisonment. It provides for speedy investigation and trial, which must be completed in two months. It proposes 6 months’ time limit for disposal of appeals in rape cases in time bound manner. It provides no provision for anticipatory bail for person accused of rape or gang rape of girl under 16 years. It has also been provided that court has to give notice of 15 days to Public Prosecutor and representative of victim before deciding bail applications in case. It has provision for maintaining national database and profile of sexual offenders by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). This data will be regularly shared with States/UTs for monitoring, tracking and investigation including verification of antecedents by police. The Bill replaces ordinance promulgated by President in April 2018 and amends Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Evidence Act.

3.   Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018 has passed by Lok Sabha by voice vote to replace Ordinance promulgated by President in May 2018. The Bill amends 1973 Act to provide for supersession of Central Council with effect from May 18, 2018. 

2.   The voting has been closed in Zimbabwe's first election since Robert Mugabe was ousted after 37 years of being in power. With 5.6 million registered voters, the results of the presidential, parliamentary and local elections are due by August 4. A run-off vote is scheduled for September 8 if no presidential candidate wins at least 50 per cent of the votes. The historic vote saw President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former right-hand man in the ruling ZANU-PF party, face off against opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change).

3.   U.S. spy satellites have detected renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. According to the images, North Korea appears to be building one or two new liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles at the large research facility on the outskirts of Pyongyang.

4.   European Union countries decided to move the headquarters of the bloc's anti-piracy Atalanta patrols from London to the Spanish port of Rota on March 29 next year, when Britain exits the EU. An EU statement said that the member countries also agreed to transfer the London-based Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa, which informs shipping about piracy threats off Somalia, to the French port of Brest. The security centre will remain under the Atalanta command.