Breaking News, July 21 | Highlights

On Sunday evening, during internal shunting, the rear guard bogie of a goods train derailed in the goods ward of Ranaghat. Sealdah Eastern Railway DRM Deepak Nigam said, "Railway employees have started the work of bringing the goods train back on track."

Gujarat's state health department on Sunday reported 13 fresh suspected Chandipura virus cases and five fatalities. The health department said, with the latest additions, the tally of the confirmed and suspected infections in the state has gone up to 84 so far, while the death toll climbed to 32.

Update on return of Indian Nationals in Bangladesh: So far, over 4500 Indian students have returned to India. The High Commission has been making arrangement for security escort for safe travel of Indian nationals to the border-crossing points. 500 students of Nepal, 38 of Bhutan and 1 of Maldives have also arrived in India: MEA

As many 36 flights were cancelled at the Mumbai airport on Sunday as intermittent heavy spells of rains hit the city, which also forced the facility operator to suspend runway operations twice within almost one hour, albeit for a brief period, sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 46th Session of the World Heritage Committee Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. It is for the first time that India is hosting the World Heritage Committee Meeting. The session which starts today will commence on July 31, 2024, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. 

He also addressed the event and announced a $1 million contribution to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. He said that the grant will help the countries, especially the Global South, in capacity building, technical assistance and world heritage site conservation.

On the occasion of Guru Purnima, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde visits the memorial of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray in Mumbai and paid floral tributes 

Ahead of the Braj Mandal Yatra on Monday, the Haryana govt ordered the suspension of mobile internet, and bulk SMS services in Nuh for 24 hours beginning at 6 pm on Sunday

Union Health Ministry on Sunday said a Nipah virus patient in Mallapuram district of Kerala, confirmed by NIV, Pune succumbs to the disease. "A joint outbreak response Central team will be deployed to assist the State with case investigation, identification of epidemiological linkages, and technical support," the Ministry added.

About the reports in media over the removal of Biju Patnaik's name from the sports awards, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi said, "Biju Patnaik Sports Awards will continue. I came to know about the removal of Biju Patnaik's name from the sports awards from the media. No decision has been taken to remove Biju Babu's name from the Award. Biju Babu's contribution to the country and the state will be remembered for a long time."

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma thanked his Jharkhand counterpart Hemant Soren for offering Rs 2 crore to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund of Assam to aid flood-affected people. In his tweet, Assam CM said, "On behalf of the people of Assam, I deeply appreciate the generosity of the kind-hearted people of Jharkhand and the Chief Minister."

Ahead of the Union Budget, child rights activists and organisations have urged the government to put children at the centre of the development discourse and increase funding for their education, healthcare, and protection services. Child rights activists expressed hope that the government will heed their calls for a child-centric approach, ensuring the nation's youngest citizens receive the resources and protection they need to thrive. The Union Budget will be tabled on Tuesday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been chosen for the first Oommen Chandy Public Servant Award instituted in memory of the party veteran and former Kerala Chief Minister late Oommen Chandy. The Oommen Chandy Foundation announced the award on Sunday, three days after the first death anniversary of the leader.

In an incident of road rage, a woman riding a two-wheeler with two children was punched in the face by a motorist in Pune city after she advised him to drive properly, police said on Sunday. A case has been registered against the 57-year-old man and his wife for the attack that occurred at Baner-Pashan Link Road on Saturday, an official said.

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday said his party maintained its support among people despite losing seats in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

The Delhi High Court will on Monday hear the bail plea of Umar Khalid in a UAPA case related to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the riots here in February 2020.

If former West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee can be arrested in the school recruitment scam, then why cannot the central agencies arrest Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the NEET irregularities, senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee asked on Sunday.

"The people of Bengal have fought with the BJP and left them behind, the same happened in Uttar Pradesh," he said.

Amid criticism from the opposition BJD, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday announced that the state government's Biju Patnaik Sports Award would not be renamed. The Sports and Youth Services Department on Friday issued guidelines for this year's award, renaming it 'Rajya Krida Samman'.

Former US president Donald Trump has said that Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote him a beautiful note after the Republican presidential nominee suffered a gunshot wound to his ear during an assassination attempt.

The hunger strike of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange continued in Antarwali Sarati in Maharashtra's Jalna district on the second day on Sunday. He is seeking immediate implementation of the state government's 'sage soyare' (kin by blood and marriage) notification, which will pave the way for the Maratha community to avail OBC quota benefits after getting Kunbi certificates.

Apart from Finance Bill, the government is also expected to table:

• The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill
• The Boilers Bill
• The Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak
• The Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill and The Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill.

The session is scheduled to continue from 22 July to 12 August.

(With inputs from Vijai Laxmi)

A man was shot dead in Manipur's Imphal East district, police said on Sunday. The incident happened at Tekcham in Lamlain police station area on Saturday, they said. The man, identified as RK Prithibi Singh, was blindfolded, his hands were tied behind his back and shot from a point-blank range, they added.

Three wagons of a goods train derailed in Alwar Yard in Rajasthan in the early hours of Sunday, Railway officials said. According to CPRO, North Western Railway, "It happened on side line of the yard hence traffic movement on Delhi-Alwar route remained unaffected." The incident happened at 2:30 am, the officials said.

For the past seven years, Brijesh Pal, a daily wager, would work at a roadside dhaba in Khatauli area of Muzaffarnagar during the two months of Shravan to help his Muslim owner manage the heavy footfall of customers, mainly the Kanwariyas. He would get Rs 400-600 and at least two meals every day for the job.

Two persons were killed and six others injured when a cab rolled down a hilly road in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, officials said. The vehicle was on its way from Thandikassi towards Lam when the accident took place near village Chalan, they said.

The implementation of crop loan waiver and other poll 'guarantees' of the Congress government in Telangana, issues of unemployment and BRS MLAs joining the ruling party are likely to figure prominently during the budget session of Assembly beginning July 23. The government would present the budget on July 25.

A 29-year-old newly wedded Indian-origin man was shot dead in front of his wife in a suspected road rage incident in the US state of Indiana, police and media reports said. The incident happened when Gavin Dasaur was on his way home with his Mexican wife.

Three people died while some others sustained injuries after a landslide occurred near Chidwasa on the Kedarnath pilgrimage in Uttarakhand on Sunday (July 21), the officials said. The incident took place at around 7.30 am, approximately 3 kilometres ahead of Gaurikund on the footpath leading to Shri Kedarnath Dham as the debris and stones fell from the hill at a place called Chidwasa, hitting pedestrians on the path, they added. The devotees were going from Gaurikund to visit Kedarnath Dham. The injured were rushed to a nearby health centre in Gaurikund immediately and the rescue operation was launched, considering the possibility of others being trapped.

Lakhs of people from across West Bengal gathered in Kolkata on Sunday to take part in the TMC's mega rally, its first show of strength following the remarkable performance in the Lok Sabha polls. TMC supporters from the far-off districts started arriving two days back and were staying at camps set up in various places in the city.

Another batch of pilgrims left  for Amarnath Yatra from Pantha Chowk base camp, amid tightened security.

He will join TMC's Dharmatala Rally in Kolkata later today.

A fire broke out in a scrap godown in Thane district's Ambernath area in the early hours of Sunday, though no one was injured in the incident, a civic official said. The blaze started at 2am in the godown located in Bhuvapada, Kulgaon-Badlapur municipal council chief of fire services Bhagwat Sonawane said.

All tourist vehicles entering Sikkim will now have to mandatorily carry a large garbage bag, according to an official order. The decision has been taken to ensure community participation towards achieving the goal of environmental sustainability, said the order issued by the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department.

The United States has recommended that its citizens do not travel to Bangladesh and allowed the voluntary departure of its non-emergency government employees and family members in view of the ongoing civil unrest in the South Asian country. The development comes just a day after the US issued a new travel advisory for Bangladesh, urging Americans to reconsider their travel to the strife-torn country.

CM Yogi Adityanath offered prayers at Gorakhnath Temple, on the occasion of Guru Purnima 2024.

Devotees took a holy dip in the Ganga River, at Prayagraj Sangam, on the occasion of Guru Purnima.

Delhi rains: Early morning rains lashed parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) on Sunday (July 21), as Delhi and nearby region woke up on the weekend. Some areas received heavy rainfall. The RWFC New Delhi has predicted more rains for the next two hours.