Breaking News, June 26

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 6,493 COVID-19 cases and five deaths, all in Mumbai, taking the tally to 79,62,666 and the toll to 1,47,905, an official said.

He said the cases that could not be tabulated due to a glitch in the ICMR portal on Saturday were also added to the tally for the day, due to which the caseload had ballooned by 6,493. The active caseload in the state is 24,608, he said.

The overall count of recoveries stood at 77,90,153 until now.

The latest report by the BJ Medical College in Pune stated that three patients of BA.5 and two of BA.4 sub-variant have been found in Mumbai.

A sizable number of Shiv Sena workers on Sunday bucked the trend seen over the past few days in Thane district, a bastion of rebel MLA Eknath Shinde, by taking out rallies in support of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Similar rallies, which were attended by hundreds of men and women workers carrying flags and shouting pro-Thackeray slogans, were also held in Vasai, Virar and some other parts of Palghar, also a stronghold of Shinde.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Sunday said the security forces in the Union territory have an upper hand over terrorism sponsored by the neighbouring country.

Addressing a special National Integration Camp of NCC cadets as part of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' programme here, Sinha also said J&K has the lowest crime rate in the country.

“The UT of Jammu and Kashmir has the lowest crime rate in the whole country and our security forces have upper hand over the terrorism sponsored by the neighbouring country,” Sinha said, while denouncing the myth created around J&K’s law and order situation.

“J&K, which was kept away from industrial growth for decades, has now become a promising destination for investors and industries from all over the world.

“Still, attempts are being made to create a wrong perception about J-K. All of you attending this camp have a responsibility to break these myths and carry the message of peace, prosperity and the change happening in the UT," the LG told the NCC cadets.

UP by-poll results show Samajwadi Party is incapable of defeating BJP, they don't have intellectual honesty. Minority community shouldn't vote for such incompetent parties. Who is responsible for BJP's win, now, whom will they name as B-team, C-team, said AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

Pune's Preeti Maske, a mother of two children, created an ultra cycling world record by becoming the first woman to cycle solo from Leh to Manali in 55 hours and 13 minutes.

Officials claimed the 45-year-old has fulfilled the requirements of the Guinness World Records after covering the 430km stretch.

She holds the record for the fastest woman cyclist on the Golden Quadrilateral comprising a distance of 6,000 kilometers, they said.

Expressing happiness about her feat, Preeti said age is no barrier to exploring one's passion.

Preeti said, "To overcome illness, I started cycling at the age of 40. If I can overcome my fears, then any woman can."

Preeti started the ride on June 22.

Preeti was flagged off by Border Roads Organization (BRO) from Leh at 0600 hours by Brigadier Gaurav Karki, Chief Engineer BRO at Leh, the officials said.

At Manali she finished the ride at 1:13 pm on June 24 in the presence of Col. Shabarish Vachali, Commander, BRO.

Experts said the route was very tough with a 8,000m elevation gain. Guinness World Record had given her a window of 60 hours to complete this challenge, they said.

"Twice I had to take oxygen enroute due to breathlessness at high passes", said Preeti.

Preeti holds several records in long-distance cycling.

Anand Kansal, her Crew member said, "Preeti had to cycle in harsh varying climate on all the high altitude passes fighting the sun, strong head winds, snowfall and freezing temperatures."

Kansal said that this couldn't have been possible with the support of BRO which had deployed two support vehicles with a satellite phone and medical assistant.

Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur flagged off vehicles of the Department of State Taxes and Excise to deal with drug peddling in an effective manner in Shimla.

"A Special Task Force would be constituted headed by ADG of Police CID and officers of Dept of State Taxes & Excise to curb drug menace in the state," said Himachal Pradesh CM Jairam Thakur while launching the ‘Nasha Nahin, Zindagi Chunne’ initiative.

An alleged hardcore criminal has been detained under stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police official said on Sunday. Attam Singh, a resident of Chachwa-Gool, was detained on the orders of district magistrate of Ramban and subsequently shifted to Kot Bhalwal jail in Jammu. "Singh is a declared history sheet who had created terror among the peace loving people by continuously indulging in criminal activities. He had projected himself as 'Don' of his village," the official said. The accused was posing a grave threat to the peace and harmony of the area, the official added. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez here on Sunday and the leaders discussed ways to deepen the commercial and cultural linkages between the two countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised the contributions of the diaspora in promoting India’s growth story and acting as brand ambassadors of the country’s success as he interacted with them here in Germany.

Addressing the Indian diaspora during a massive event at the Audi Dome indoor arena, he highlighted India’s growth story and mentioned various initiatives undertaken by the government to further achieve the country’s development agenda.

Prime Minister Modi also lauded the contribution of the diaspora in promoting India’s growth story and acting as brand ambassadors of India’s success.

Cliff House, known as the seat of power in Kerala, will soon have a new structure as the current resident of the sprawling bungalow - Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family - has decided to build a cowshed on its premises.

Kerala Public Works Department (PWD), which maintains the official residence built in 1939, has granted sanction for the structure.

The order issued by the PWD says Rs 42.90 lakh has been sanctioned for reconstruction of a damaged compound wall and the construction of the cattle shed.

The Chief Engineer (buildings) furnished the detailed estimate for the construction based on the 2018 DSR (district scheduled rate), it said.

Cliff House had been the official residence of Diwan Peshkar of Devaswom Affairs during the rule of the royals in Travancore kingdom.

Since 1957, it has been the official residence of many Chief Ministers, including the first Chief Minister of the State and Communist leader E M S Namboodiripad.

K Karunakaran, E K Nayanar, V S Achuthanandan and Oommen Chandy were also occupants of Cliff House when they were Chief Ministers. 

Union Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Sunday said Nagaland and entire northeast region have rich natural heritage and climatic conditions favourable for producing any crop.

He stressed on increasing quantity and improving quality of the produce for marketability.

Speaking at the inaugural function of the Farmers' Exhibition-cum-Workshop at Central Institute of Horticulture (CIH), Medziphema in Chumoukedima district, he said agriculture and allied sector is a very important aspect of the Union government while Nagaland and North East have immense potentiality due to favourable climatic conditions.

Tomar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given special focus to make agriculture progressive with an aim to increase the income of farmers.

Modi government is also working to provide the state government with adequate funds for agriculture and through the CIH, technology should reach the farmers, the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare minister said.

The BJP on Sunday rejected Congress claims that MP Rahul Gandhi's office in Wayanad was allegedly vandalised, on CPI(M) directions, to appease Union Minister Smriti Irani who had last month visited the high range district in Kerala and claimed that no development has been undertaken there.

In continuation of humanitarian assistance/disaster response efforts to provide relief and succour in #Meghalaya, Indian Air Force has airlifted 3840 kg of relief material to Mahadeo using various aerial platforms flying six sorties today.

Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra Shiv Sena MLA who turned against the ruling-MVA government in the state, moved the Supreme Court against the disqualification notice issued by the deputy speaker against 16 rebel leaders that are camping along with him in Guwahati. A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala is likely to hear Shinde's plea on Monday. | READ MORE

The Telangana government has taken up 7,360-km long road works including expansion and construction at an expenditure of Rs 13,030 crore out of which 6,319 km has been completed involving Rs 7,526 crore. According to an official release issued on Sunday, in the state the total length of double lane roads which was at 6,712 km in 2014 is now pegged at 12,921 km. Similarly, four-lane R&B roads grew to 1,029 km from 669 km in 2014.
Currently the Roads and Buildings Department has been managing 32,445 km roads, out of which 27,461 km is state highways and 4,983 km national highways, it further said. The state has taken up 519 works pertaining to bridges with an expenditure of Rs 2,650 crore, of which 391 works have been completed involving Rs 1,405 crore while 125 bridge works are under progress, it said. As many as 59 roads (698 km) and 33 bridges have been sanctioned for connectivity of left wing affected areas with Rs 447.36 crore central funds. Rest of the expenditure was spent from Rs 854 crore rural development funds. So far, three roads (285 km) and 13 bridges have been completed, it added. 

A retrospective study conducted by researchers at a leading hospital here on a group of patients admitted at the facility during the first Covid wave has claimed that females were "relatively at higher risk of mortality" as compared to males having same co-morbid conditions. The study on 2,586 hospitalised COVID-19 patients has been published on June 25 in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Springer Nature journal, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said in a statement. "A retrospective study was conducted by researchers of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on 2,586 COVID-19 hospitalised patients, who were admitted in the hospital from April 8 October 4 in 2020 (first wave) to observe the association of diabetes, hypertension and chronic kidney disease on the prognosis and mortality of COVID-19 infection in hospitalised patients." it said. 

An inter-island ferry with 165 passengers and crew caught fire off a central Philippine province Sunday, leaving one dead and another missing while the rest were safely rescued, the coast guard said.

The fire hit the vessel Mama Mary Chloe shortly after noon near two island villages in Bohol province, coast guard officials said.

A search backed by fishing boats was underway for one missing person.

Footage on social media showed people in life vests bobbing in the sea, with the vessel engulfed in thick black smoke. The ferry, which was carrying eight crew members and 157 passengers, including 15 children, was en route to the eastern province of Leyte from Bohol.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of frequent storms, badly maintained boats, overcrowding and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster. 

India has exported 1.8 million tonnes of wheat to a dozen-odd countries, including Bangladesh and Afghanistan, since the country banned exports of the grain on May 13, according to Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey.
About 33,000 tonnes of wheat as humanitarian assistance has already been supplied to Afghanistan against the commitment of 50,000 tonne, he said.
Pandey, addressing a ministerial conference on 'uniting for global food security' held at Berlin, Germany on June 24, said India has always taken the needs of the world into consideration, even while meeting the onerous obligations of feeding its population of 1.38 billion people, an official statement said.
The secretary said: “It is important here to explain that the recent decision by the Government of India (GoI) to bring about regulation on wheat exports was essentially taken to protect domestic availability as well as availability to vulnerable countries to whom supplies cannot be ensured by market forces."

Aam Aadmi Party's Durgesh Pathak on Sunday defeated BJP candidate Rajesh Bhatia by a margin of over 11,000 votes in Rajinder Nagar assembly bypoll here, officials said. "All 16 rounds of counting have been completed. AAP candidate Durgesh Pathak has defeated his immediate rival Rajesh Bhatia (of BJP) by a margin of over 11,000 votes," Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said. According to official data, AAP's Pathak polled 40,319 votes, while his nearest rival Bhatia managed to get 28,851 votes. The victory margin was 11,468 votes. Congress' contender Prem Lata could get only 2,014 votes in the bypoll.

When the ground heaved from last week's earthquake in Afghanistan, Nahim Gul's stone-and-mud house collapsed on top of him. He clawed through the rubble in the pre-dawn darkness, choking on dust as he searched for his father and two sisters. He doesn't know how many hours of digging passed before he caught a glimpse of their bodies under the ruins. They were dead. Now, days after a 6 magnitude quake that devastated a remote region of southeast Afghanistan and killed at least 1,150 people and injured hundreds more, Gul sees destruction everywhere and help in short supply. His niece and nephew were also killed in the quake, crushed by the walls of their house. “I don't know what will happen to us or how we should restart our lives,” Gul told The Associated Press on Sunday, his hands bruised and his shoulder injured. “We don't have any money to rebuild.” It's a fear shared among thousands in the impoverished villages where the fury of the quake has fallen most heavily — in Paktika and Khost provinces, along the jagged mountains that straddle the country's border with Pakistan.

A 53-year-old school management committee (SMC) member was arrested for allegedly harassing a minor girl student in northwest Delhi's Kanjhawala area, police said on Sunday. The complainant, a 17-year-old girl, studies in a government school in Kanjhawala. Pradeep, an SMC member of school appointed by the MLA, allegedly sent the girl “unusual and vulgar” messages on her mobile and asked her for sexual favours, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Pranav Tayal said. A case under sections 354A (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment) of the IPC and 12 of POCSO Act was registered at Kanjhawala Police Station against Pradeep. Pradeep, a resident of Kanjhawala, has been arrested and sent to judicial custody, the DCP said. 

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The ruling BJP won three assembly seats and the Congress bagged one in the high-stakes by-elections in Tripura on Sunday, officials said. Chief Minister Manik Saha won the bypoll to the crucial Town Bardowali seat by 6,104 votes. He secured 17,181 votes, which is 51.63 per cent of the total votes polled, as per the Election Commission. His nearest rival Asish Kumar Saha of the Congress bagged 11,077 votes or 33.29 per cent of the total votes. Congress candidate Sudip Roy Barman won the Agartala seat by a margin of 3,163 votes. He secured 17,241 votes, which is 43.46 per cent of the total votes polled. His nearest rival Ashok Sinha of the BJP got 14,268 votes (35.57 per cent).

Congress party's Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana Deepender Singh Hooda on Sunday attacked the Union government over Agnipath scheme for soldier recruitment, and called it a “Nakalchi Bandar”, or a copycat, for exporting ideas from foreign nations to draft policies. “The government has taken the attitude of a 'Nakalchi Bandar', But this is Hindustan. Sometimes it gives the example of America in the context of agriculture laws and at other times talks about Israel in reference to military service,” he said at a press conference at PCC headquarters. He said that when agriculture laws were being opposed in the country, the government had cited the example of America, saying corporates there are engaged in agriculture sector in one way or another. “Now the example of Israel is being given with an argument that there is compulsory military service. But this is Hindustan. Situations in Israel and India are different,” he said, while demanding from the centre to withdraw the scheme.

With Silchar town in Assam’s Cachar district submerged in flood waters for a week now, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday conceded that the administration has not been able to reach all the marooned people yet. He said instructions have been issued to agencies involved in the relief and rescue operations to maximise their reach and ensure help for all affected population at the earliest. Sarma waded through the flood waters on foot at places and sailed in a NDRF rubber boat in some other areas, as he interacted with the local populace to get a first-hand understanding of their situation. Cabinet Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, Silchar MP Rajdeep Roy, several MLAs and officials of local civil and police administration accompanied the chief minister during the visit.

Moussa Tolofidie didn't think twice when nearly 100 jihadis on motorbikes gathered in his village in central Mali last week. A peace agreement signed last year between some armed groups and the community in the Bankass area had largely held, even if the gunmen would sometimes enter the town to preach Shariah to the villagers. But on this Sunday in June, everything changed — the jihadis began killing people. “They started with an old man about 100 years old ... then the sounds of the weapons began to intensify around me and then at one moment I heard a bullet whistling behind my ear. I felt the earth spinning, I lost consciousness and fell to the ground,” Tolofidie, a 28-year-old farmer told The Associated Press by phone Friday in Mopti town, where he was receiving medical care.

SAD (Amritsar) Simranjit Singh Mann appears to be inching towards victory from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, having gained a lead of over 7,000 votes over his nearest AAP rival Gurmail Singh. Counting of votes for the bypoll to the high-stakes Sangrur Lok Sabha was nearing completion. According to the trends available at 1330 hrs, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) candidate Simranjit Singh Mann has so far polled 2,50,174 while AAP's Gurmail Singh secured 2,43,122 votes. In earlier rounds, both the contestants were locked in a neck and neck fight though Mann had maintained a slender lead over Gurmail.

Two minor brothers drowned in a pond at a village in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district when they were playing there, police said on Sunday. The incident occurred on Saturday evening in Mandai village located around 65 kms from the district headquarters, Damua police station in-charge Kaushal Surya said. "Two brothers aged 3 and 4 years, had stepped out of home to play during the rains. When they didn't return for a long time, their family members began looking for them and spotted their bodies floating in a pond in the village," he said. On being informed, the police reached the spot and fished out the bodies. The exact reason behind the death could be known after receiving the post-mortem report, he said. Further investigation is underway, he said, adding that bodies were handed over to the family after post-mortem. 

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Sunday morning, striking at least two residential buildings, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, as elsewhere Russian troops consolidated their gains in the east. Associated Press journalists in Kyiv saw rescue services battling flames and rescuing civilians. Klitschko said two people were hospitalised with injuries and a 7-year-old girl was pulled alive from the rubble. Ukraine Member of Parliament Oleksiy Goncharenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app that “according to prelim data 14 missiles were launched against Kyiv region and Kyiv.”

The CBI has started an investigation against three Income Tax department officials for allegedly facilitating fictitious refunds of TDS deducted for several assessee by misusing system access of senior officers, officials said on Sunday. The probe agency filed the FIR based on a complaint from Joint Commissioner of Income Tax, Muzaffarnagar against three group C officials of the Income Tax who allegedly managed to dupe the department by allegedly misusing RSA tokens of assessing officers to work out and generate fictitious refunds of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS). RSA tokens are unique and time-synchronous solutions that automatically change a user's password every 60 seconds.

The Centre on Sunday extended Y-plus security cover of CRPF commandos to at least 15 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, officials said. Those who were provided the security cover include Ramesh Bornare, Mangesh Kudalkar, Sanjay Shirsat, Latabai Sonawane, Prakas Surve and 10 others. Their families living in Maharashtra too will be secured as the security blanket entails house protection teams, they said. Officials said the security has been sanctioned to the legislators following a recommendation made by central security agencies to the Ministry of Home Affairs, stating they and their families faced potential threats to their physical security owing to the current political scenario in Maharashtra. About four to five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandos, in shifts, will be securing each MLA once they are in Maharashtra, they added.

President Joe Biden said Sunday that the United States and other Group of Seven leading economies will announce a ban on imports of gold from Russia, a step the leaders hope will further isolate Russia economically over its invasion of Ukraine. A formal announcement was expected Tuesday as the leaders meet for their annual summit. Biden and his Group of Seven allies will huddle on the summit's opening day Sunday on strategies to secure energy supplies and tackle inflation, aiming to keep the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine from splintering the global coalition working to punish Moscow. Hours before the summit was officially set to open, Russia launched missile strikes against the Ukrainian capital Sunday, striking at least two residential buildings, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. They were the first such strikes by Russia in three weeks.

After an initial lead, Samajwadi Party is now trailing on both Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats, counting for which began Sunday morning. A close contest is being witnessed between the Samajwadi Party and BJP on both the seats. According to available trends, SP candidate Mohd Asim Raja, who was earlier leading, is now trailing by 5,381 votes in Rampur behind his nearest rival, Ghanshyam Lodhi of the BJP. 

Suspended IPS officer Basant Rath on Sunday announced his resignation from service on social media, hinting that he is joining politics to contest elections from Kashmir. In his famous twitter handle “KangriCarrier”, which is unverified, as well as WhatsApp status and Instagram post, Rath who will be completing two years of his suspension next month, said “politics is a noble profession”.

AAP candidate Durgesh Pathak galloped ahead with a lead of over 5,000 votes over his immediate rival, BJP’s Rajesh Bhatia, after seven rounds of counting on Sunday for the Rajinder Nagar assembly bypoll, according to the official data. Numbers showed that at the end of the sixth round of counting, Pathak was leading over Bhatia by a margin of nearly 3,000 votes, which rose to over 5,000 by the end of seventh round of counting. Pathak was leading the tally over Bhatia by a margin of over 1,000 votes by the end of fifth round of counting.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that during the Emergency imposed in 1975 attempts were made to "crush democracy" in India, and asserted that it is difficult to find another such example in the world where people defeated a "dictatorial mindset" through democratic means. In his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi recalled the Emergency imposed by the then Indira Gandhi-led government and said all rights were "snatched away" during that time. Emergency was announced in the country on June 25, 1975 when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister, and was lifted on March 21, 1977.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was discharged from a hospital here on Sunday after recovering from COVID-19, authorities said. Koshyari, 80, was admitted to the private hospital in south Mumbai on Wednesday after testing positive for the infection. A statement issued by the Raj Bhavan said the governor returned to his official residence after remaining hospitalised for four days.

Seven labourers were killed on the spot and three others critically injured after a goods vehicle they were travelling in fell into a stream early Sunday morning in a village here, police said. According to police, these labourers hailing from Akkatangiyara Hala village in Gokak taluk were going to Belagavi when the vehicle fell into the ‘Ballari Nala' at Kanabaragi village in Belagavi. The labourers were construction workers who were going to Belagavi. The vehicle fell into the stream after the driver lost control over it.

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka has hiked petrol price by LKR 50 and diesel by LKR 60 respectively, the third price revision in over two months, as the country continues to reel under the worst economic crisis in decades due to a crippling shortage of foreign exchange reserves. State-run fuel retailer Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) has announced that the price hike will come into effect from 2 pm on Sunday. Lanka IOC has also hiked prices by the same proportion. The last fuel price hike was announced on May 24, which saw petrol and diesel prices being raised by 24 per cent and 38 per cent respectively. This is third fuel price revision being enforced in the island nation since April 19.

A helicopter carrying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had to make an emergency landing at the police lines, minutes after take-off. Sources said that the chopper was brought back to the base as a precautionary measure after a reported bird hit. The Chief Minister, who is in Varanasi, is now going to the airport by road and will return to Lucknow by a state aircraft.

The all-powerful GST Council at its meeting in Chandigarh this week is likely to make changes in goods and services tax (GST) rates on a handful of items and may go with the officers panel's recommendations to maintain status quo in rates of over 215 items. The 47th meeting of the GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising representatives of all states and UTs, is scheduled for June 28-29. The Council is meeting after a gap of six months.

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Thane district in Maharashtra has reported 383 new coronavirus positive cases, which has taken its overall infection count to 7,24,165, a health official said on Sunday. With the addition of these cases on Saturday, there are 5,687 active cases in the district now, he said. vThe death toll in Thane stood at 11,902, while the recovery count has reached, 7,06,104, the official added. 

Counting of votes polled during the Rajinder Nagar assembly bye-election in Delhi began on Sunday amid tight security arrangements. Bypoll to the crucial assembly seat had taken place on June 23 with a low turnout of 43.75 per cent, sealing the electoral fate of 14 candidates in voting machines. Counting of votes began at 8 am, officials said. "We have made all the arrangements for the exercise. The strong room is fully secured with a three-tier security cover. The counting centre has been set up at ITI Pusa. Postal ballots will be counted first, and only those ballots which have been received from service voters till 8 am on June 26 will be considered for counting. After that the EVM votes shall be counted," a senior official had said on Saturday.

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Counting of votes for the by-elections to the Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh got underway at 8 am Sunday amid tight security, a senior official said. The two constituencies voted on June 23, with Azamgarh recording a turnout of 49.43 per cent and Rampur 41.39 per cent. The counting began at 8 am Sunday, a senior official at the Election Commission's office here said. The bypolls were necessitated due to the resignations of Samajwadi Party (SP)chief Akhilesh Yadav and party leader Azam Khan from Azamgarh and Rampur seats, respectively.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh to enquire about his health, official sources said on Sunday.
Singh underwent a successful spinal surgery in a London hospital on Saturday. He had gone to London recently. The former chief minister heads the Punjab Lok Congress outfit, which was an ally of the BJP in the recent state assembly polls. 

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi will rejuvenate 20 ponds across the city under the first phase of Amrit Sarovar Mission, an official statement said on Saturday. The MCD will complete the rejuvenation and beautification work of these water bodies by March 31, 2023, it said. AMRIT Sarovar Mission has been started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate 75 years of Independence, the statement said. The mission aims at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country, which will address the problem of depletion of ground water. The civic body said after beautification, these ponds will become centre of attraction for citizens. "The MCD has decided to rejuvenate and beautify its 20 ponds under first phase of AMRIT Sarovar Mission conceptualised by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. MoHUA will provide the funds to MCD for rejuvenation and beautification of these 20 ponds," the statement said.

A 33-year-old male patient, who had gone out of his room in a private hospital in Kolkata and sat on the edge of a cornice on the seventh floor of the building for over two hours, died after a fatal fall on Saturday, police said. The man, identified as Sujit Adhikary, was scheduled to be discharged during the day. Personnel of the police, Fire Brigade and the hospital had tried hard to bring him back to the ward. He fell from there shortly after 1 AM critically injuring himself and died in the evening. The state government sought a report from the hospital authorities in this regard. He had sneaked to the cornice through a gap in the glass window in the ward where he was under treatment at the Institute of Neuroscience at Mullickbazar in the southern part of the city. The resident of Dumdum area in north Kolkata then sat on the edge precariously for around two hours as anxious bystanders looked on.

India's preparations for the re-scheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham from July 1 have suffered a setback as captain Rohit Sharma has tested positive for Covid-19. The BCCI confirmed early on Sunday morning that Rohit Sharma had tested positive via a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) on Saturday, with the India skipper currently in isolation at the team hotel ahead of the Test. Rohit had been participating in India's warm-up match against a Leicestershire XI at Uptonsteel County Ground, with the 35-year-old having made 25 in the opening innings of the match on Thursday. However Rohit did not feature during India's second innings on Saturday, with the BCCI confirming the right-hander will undergo further tests on Sunday to determine the extent of his ailment.

A Guatemalan court has tossed out an agreement that made it easier to prosecute bribery involving the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht- a ruling that favours a former cabinet official accused of corruption. The decision announced late on Friday adds to a series of moves reversing efforts to uproot corruption involving the Central American country's political and business elite. The appeals court annulled an agreement under which Odebrecht had promised to give Guatemalan anti-corruption prosecutors information about bribes it had paid in Guatemala — one of many countries across the hemisphere where it systematically suborned public officials.

The World Health Organization said the escalating monkeypox outbreak in more than 50 countries should be closely monitored but does not warrant being declared a global health emergency. In a statement Saturday, a WHO emergency committee said many aspects of the outbreak were "unusual" and acknowledged that monkeypox — which is endemic in some African countries — has been neglected for years. "While a few members expressed differing views, the committee resolved by consensus to advise the WHO director-general that at this stage the outbreak should be determined to not constitute" a global health emergency, WHO said in a statement.

Six more deaths were reported due to COVID-19 in Delhi on Saturday while the positivity rate stood at 7.8 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. In its latest bulletin, the department said at least 666 fresh coronavirus cases were reported, adding that the data pertained only up to 12:59 PM on June 24, due to "technical issues with the ICMR portal". The number of tests conducted for that period the previous day stood at 8,544, it said. Delhi on June 20 had reported 1,060 Covid cases and six deaths, the highest in around four months, while the positivity rate had stood at 10.09 per cent. Delhi on Friday had recorded 1,447 Covid cases and one death, while the positivity rate was 5.98 per cent.  The infection tally has risen to 19,29,507 while the death toll has mounted to 26,249.

Pope Francis celebrated families on Saturday and urged them to shun “selfish” decisions that are indifferent to life as he closed out a big Vatican rally a day after the US Supreme Court ended constitutional protection for abortion. Francis didn't refer to the ruling or explicitly mention abortion in his homily. But he used the buzzwords he has throughout his papacy about the need to defend families and to condemn a “culture of waste” that he believes is behind the societal acceptance of abortion. “Let us not allow the family to be poisoned by the toxins of selfishness, individualism, today's culture of indifference and waste, and as a result lose its very DNA, which is the spirit of welcoming and service,” he said.

The Centre has approved the West Bengal government's Rs 1,500-crore 'Ghatal masterplan', a mega project to dredge riverbeds and strengthen embankments of at least 10 major rivers in the state, a senior official said on Saturday. The Union government will bear 60 per cent of the expenses, while the state government will bear the remaining amount. "We have received a go-ahead from the project investment commitee but still two more clearances are required, including one from the Union Finance Ministry, before the Ghatal masterplan takes a concrete shape," he said.

Amid cases of public land being "fraudulently" transferred to private entities, the Delhi government has started uploading data pertaining to evacuee properties, Gram Sabha and acquired land on its portal to prevent such scams. Recently, on the intervention of Lieutenant Governor, two sub-divisional magistrates and a deputy secretary were suspended while recommendation was made for the suspension of an additional district magistrate over the alleged transfer of evacuee land in North Delhi. Also, a sub-registrar and a 'kanoon' were suspended for their alleged involvement in a similar "fraud" in South Delhi. "We are uploading data on evacuee properties, Gram Sabha land and acquired land or under the process of acquisition, on our portal," a senior revenue department officer said.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Saturday evening arranged a stretcher for an elderly patient an also got him admitted to the emergency ward of the district hospital. Pathak, who was on a surprise inspection of the district hospital, found the patient near the X-ray room of the hospital. He then inspected various hospital wards and enquired about the well-being of the patients. Some of them narrated their tales to the minister. Speaking to reporters, Pathak said the state government is committed to providing high-end facilities for treatment and efforts are being made to improve the functioning of the health department. 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Saturday that the US Supreme Court decision to overturn a constitutional right to abortion could lead to the loss of other rights and indicated his country would continue to allow Americans to get abortions in Canada. Trudeau called the court's decision "horrific" and voiced concern that the ruling could someday allow a rollback of legal protections for gay relationships, including the right for same-sex couples to marry. "We know that this is an extremely, not just scary, but disheartening time for so many women," Trudeau said at a news conference in Kigali, Rwanda, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena Saturday directed civic officials to randomly check a ward with the highest number of births recorded at home, and find out the reasons behind it. His direction comes in view of 26 per cent of births registered by the municipal corporation having taken place at homes and not at health facilities. Municipal corporation keep records of births and deaths in a city. With the process of registration of births and deaths being fully computerised by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the LG asked for linking of this database to the government departments that provide services related to food security, pensions, maternity benefits and other welfare schemes, so that automatic updating or deletion of names could happen upon birth or death, according to a statement issued by the Raj Niwas.