Breaking News, June 11 | LIVE UPDATES

Maharashtra Labour Minister Hasan Mushrif on Saturday appealed to people to dial 1098 to prevent child labour. “Child labour is a very unfortunate practice in the society. We need everyone's support to end the child labour.

An illegal liquor vend was busted here and one person arrested, police said on Saturday. Acting on a tip-off, the excise department and the chief minister's flying squad conducted a joint raid at the unlicensed vend in Aliyar village and seized a large quantity of liquor, they said.

Police on Saturday arrested a law student for sharing messages on Whatsapp asking people in Kanpur to down shutters of their shops on June 10, officials said. The accused has been identified as Kshitij Dwivedi, a resident of Shastri Nagar, Kakadev, the police officials said.

READ HERE

The Indian envoy to Tajikistan on Saturday handed over a 'friendship hospital' to the Tajik authorities, the Indian embassy in the energy-rich Central Asian country said. "On behalf of the government of India, Ambassador of India to Tajikistan Viraj Singh handed over the India-Tajikistan Friendship Hospital (ITFH) to Deputy Defence Minister of Tajikistan Major General Shohiyon Abdusottor on June 11," it said.

The Delhi Government has not only made the infrastructure of its schools world-class but also made them the centre of quality education, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi said on Saturday. Recalling her visits to Delhi government schools in 2015, Atishi said then the schools neither had desks for children nor clean toilets which impacted students' self-confidence.

A shopkeeper was shot dead here on Saturday allegedly by the son of a municipal councillor over a land dispute, police said. The incident took place in the East Mohan Nagar locality, they said.
 

While losing a seat to the saffron party in the Rajya Sabha election has further strained the ties between the Congress and JD(S), who blame each other as the ruling party's 'B' team, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said the fight between the two parties has made it clear that the BJP is the 'A' team.

Hot weather conditions prevailed in Rajasthan on Saturday with Dholpur being recorded as the hottest place in the state at 46 degrees Celsius, the meteorological department said. Alwar, Karauli, Churu and Gangangagar recorded their maximum temperature at 45.8, 45.5, 44.9 and 44.4 degrees Celsius, respectively, while the day temperature was below 44 degrees Celsius at other places.

Maharashtra on Saturday saw a marginal dip in COVID-19 cases, with the state reporting 2,922 fresh infections, 159 less than the previous day, and one fatality due to the infection, a state health official said. Also, a 37-year-old man from Pune, who returned from England on May 12, was diagnosed with BA.5 sub-variant.

Mumbai Police has summoned suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma to record a statement on June 25 in connection with her objectionable remarks against Prophet Mohammad, an official said here on Saturday. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Sharma at Pydhonie police station in the city earlier this week after her comments about the Prophet during a TV debate triggered a huge controversy.
 

Parts of northwest and central India reeled under heatwave conditions on Saturday though the area of impact reduced slightly. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the heatwave spell in isolated areas of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand will continue for up to two more days.

A 32-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing a man who was in a live-in relationship with the accused's wife in central Delhi's Sadar Bazar, police said on Saturday. The accused has been identified as Robin, a resident of Paharganj, they said, adding that he was previously involved in five cases of robbery, hurt and theft.

With the addition of 17 fresh cases of COVID-19, the tally of infections in Maharashtra's Nashik district reached 4,76,215 on Saturday, an official said. Six patients were discharged from hospitals during the day, taking the count of recoveries to 4,67,234, while the toll stood at 8899, as no new casualties were reported, he said.

A week after the city witnessed chaotic protests marred by stone-pelting, the Kanpur Development Authority (KDA) on Saturday demolished a high-rise building owned by a close aide of the main accused in the incident, police here said. Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and order) Anand Prakash Tiwari said that the KDA has demolished a newly-constructed building owned by one Mohammad Ishtiyaq, who is said to be a close relative of prime accused Zafar Hayat Hashmi.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday held a high-level meeting with top police officials against the backdrop of violent protests in Uttar Pradesh and the national capital over "controversial" remarks on Prophet Muhammad made by two now-suspended BJP leaders.

BJP's West Bengal unit president Sukanta Majumdar was arrested on Saturday afternoon when he tried to visit the violence-hit Howrah district, police said. Majumdar, the MP of Balurghat in Uttar Dinajpur, was arrested near the toll plaza on Vidyasagar Setu, they said.

A tiger was found dead with injuries marks near a railway track in Maharashtra's Gondia district on Saturday, an official from the forest department said. A railway trackman spotted the carcass near the tracks between Vadegaon and Wadsa in the morning and the forest department was alerted, he said.

The Uttar Pradesh government has done away with the age bar of 60 years for inmates lodged in the state's prisons to avail a premature release, a senior official said on Saturday. "A decision to this effect was taken 7-10 days ago. Earlier, the age restriction was of 60 years, and no prisoner could avail premature release before attaining the age of 60," Uttar Pradesh Director General (DG), Jails, Anand Kumar. 

The CIDCO on Saturday said it has evicted over 3,000 structures in the Navi Mumbai International Airport project area and the entire site of 1,160 hectares has been handed over to the concessionaire. The CIDCO is developing the international airport project on an area of 1,160 hectares by acquiring 10 villages in Panvel taluka of Raigad district. The development authority said the rehabilitation of more than 5,000 families from these villages is nearing completion, an official said. At least 3,070 buildings in the airport core area have been evicted. Public buildings, churches and 56 temples have been relocated to the rehabilitation area, the official said. 

Amidst opposition parties' clamour for his resignation in the wake of fresh revelations against him in the gold smuggling case, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday hit back at detractors, saying the allegations were not going to affect him nor his government in any way and that they still enjoy the complete support and confidence of the people of the state. Without mentioning the recent disclosure by gold smuggling case key accused Swapna Suresh against him and his family, Vijayan said there was a flood of similar allegations against his government before the state election but the people rejected the charges and gave the mandate to rule the state again with 99 seats.

The last of the fuel shipments due under the Indian Line of Credit are arriving in Sri Lanka this month with no indications on the sustenance of future supplies which are dependent on India's assistance. Sri Lanka is going through the worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948. The economic crisis has prompted an acute shortage of essential items like food, medicine, cooking gas and other fuel, toilet paper and even matches, with Sri Lankans for months being forced to wait in lines lasting hours outside stores to buy fuel and cooking gas.

A woman cannot be compelled to work to eke out a living, merely because she is educated, the Bombay High Court observed, while hearing a man’s plea against a court order directing him to pay maintenance to his estranged wife. A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre was hearing a revision application filed by the man challenging an order of the family court in Pune. During the hearing on Friday, the court said that a woman had the "choice to either work or stay at home" even if she was qualified and had an educational degree. "Our society has not yet accepted that the woman of the household should contribute (financially). It is a woman's choice to work. She cannot be compelled to go to work. Just because she is a graduate, does not mean she cannot sit at home," Justice Dangre said.

A total of 227 people were arrested from various districts of Uttar Pradesh in connection with Friday violence, a senior police official has said.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, "227 persons have been arrested in the state for Friday violence. This includes 68 in Prayagraj, 50 in Hathras, 48 in Saharanpur, 28 in Ambedkarnagar, 25 in Moradabad, and eight in Firozabad." People pelted stones at police personnel in Prayagraj and Saharanpur as people took to rowdiness during their protests after Friday prayers.

Amid protests over the remarks against Prophet Mohammad by two now-suspended BJP functionaries, a senior leader of the ruling Awami League has said that the Bangladesh government is under pressure to take "action" as events in India have consequences in this country. Khandakar Goulam Moula Naqshbandi, Chairman of the Religious Affairs Sub-Committee of the ruling Awami League and a member of the Advisory Committee, also said that disruptive forces try to take advantage of such a situation to disturb law and order in Muslim majority Bangladesh.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will hold a meeting with the representatives of wholesale market associations across the city on Monday to get inputs and suggestions on organising the Delhi Wholesale Shopping Festival to boost job avenues, officials said. Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) Chairman Brijesh Goyal said representatives of over 20 wholesale markets of the national capital are likely to attend the meeting.

Police fired at two murder accused who were trying to flee after assaulting three policemen at Mulki on the outskirts of the city Saturday morning. The police personnel were taking them to trace another accused involved in the murder case, police sources said. CCB police inspector Mahesh Prasad fired one round in the air and two at the legs of the accused. Both the accused got injured in the legs. The injured accused are Arjun Moodushedde and Manoj alias Bindas Manoj. Sub-inspector Nagendra, assistant head constable Sudhir Poojary and assistant sub inspector David were injured in the attack by the accused. The injured policemen and the accused have been admitted to Srinivas hospital at Mukka in the city, the sources said. 

Axis Energy Ventures India on Saturday said it has commissioned a 445 MW solar plant in partnership with Brookfield Renewables in Rajasthan. In a statement, Axis Energy Ventures India Private Limited said the project is part of the joint venture platform 'ABC Renewables' -- signed with Brookfield Renewables -- to set up a 5 gigawatt (GW) large utility renewable energy portfolio in India. "Under ABC Renewables platform, Axis Energy and Brookfield Renewable (have) commissioned 445 MW solar project in a record time of 6 months in Jodhpur, Rajasthan," the statement said. The company did not give any financial details of the project.

India will press for a permanent solution to the issue of public stock holding of grains for food security programmes and strongly protect the interests of farmers and fishermen at the 12th ministerial meet of the World Trade Organization, beginning on Sunday. The Indian delegation is being led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The four-day 12th ministerial conference (MC) will start on June 12 in Geneva. The meeting is taking place after a gap of four years and in the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russia war and uncertain global economic situation.

The minimum temperature in the national capital on Saturday settled at 29.7 degrees Celsius, two notches above the normal, even as the India Meteorological Department predicted partly skies with possibility of light thunderstorms during the day. The city's maximum temperature is expected to settle at 43 degrees Celsius, the IMD said. Isolated pockets of Delhi, Haryana, northwest Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh may experience heatwave conditions, a Skymet Weather report said. According to the IMD, the maximum temperature in Delhi-NCR and other parts of northwest India will come down by a few notches over the weekend but no major relief is likely till June 15.

READ FULL STORY HERE

A Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said. They said the encounter happened after the police launched a cordon and search operation in Khandipora area of the south Kashmir district following a specific input about the presence of terrorists there. He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the hiding terrorists fired upon the forces. In the exchange of fire, one terrorists was killed, the official said, adding the deceased belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen terror outfit. The operation is going on, he said. 

President Joe Biden, speaking to donors at a Democratic fundraiser here, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “didn't want to hear it” when U.S. intelligence gathered information that Russia was preparing to invade. The remarks came as Biden was talking about his work to rally and solidify support for Ukraine as the war continues into its fourth month. “Nothing like this has happened since World War II. I know a lot of people thought I was maybe exaggerating. But I knew we had data to sustain he” — meaning Russian President Vladimir Putin — “was going to go in, off the border.” “There was no doubt,” Biden said. “And Zelenskyy didn't want to hear it.”

Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut were among the 16 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha from four states where polling was held on Friday after tussle over cross voting and alleged breach of election rules delayed the counting by around eight hours in Maharashtra and Haryana. In a show of astute election management, two BJP candidates and an Independent backed by the party, who had an outside chance of getting elected, clinched victories in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana.

An encounter has started between terrorists and security forces at Khandipora area in south Kashmir's Kulgam district, police said on Saturday. "Encounter has started at Khandipora area of Kulgam. Police and security forces are on the job," police added. There have been a series of anti-terror operations in Kashmir over the last few months in which many terrorists and their commanders have been eliminated. Most of the operations have been jointly conducted by the police and the Army on the basis of specific intelligence inputs. There were two encounters on Tuesday in Kashmir. One terrorist was killed in an encounter in south Kashmir's Shopian district while two LeT terrorists were killed at Chaktaras Kandi area in north Kashmir's Kupwara district.

A Texas 18-year-old was charged with first-degree murder Friday in the stabbing of her baby after giving birth on her own while visiting Colorado with family, prosecutors said. Leiyla Cepeda told an investigator the baby was quiet and not moving and did not seem to be breathing when she was born but declined to explain why the baby had stab wounds, according to court documents. In an interview with her mother present, Cepeda said she thought she had been pregnant but was not sure, explaining that a pregnancy test she had taken about three to four months before was negative. A coroner determined the baby was alive when born at the home of Cepeda's relatives in the small town of Nunn and died of multiple sharp force injuries, according to Cepeda's arrest affidavit. A pair of scissors was found near the baby's body, the document said.

Federal law enforcement officials have arrested an Indian national in Virginia on charges of participating in an alleged nationwide scam targeting senior citizens. Anirudha Kalkote, 24, was produced before a US magistrate in Houston on Friday to face the charges. The 12-count superseding indictment charges Kalkote with conspiracy and mail fraud. Also named in the indictment is MD Azad, 25, an illegal resident of Houston, who was originally charged in August 2020. He will appear again in court on the new charges in the near future.

In a major setback to Maharashtra's ruling alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, the BJP on Saturday won three of the six Rajya Sabha seats, while the ruling combine questioned the eight-hour delay in counting of votes. The BJP winners include Union minister Piyush Goyal and former state minister Anil Bonde, and Dhananjay Mahadik. Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut, NCP’s Praful Patel and Congress’ Imran Pratapgarhi also won the fiercely-fought elections.