Breaking News, July 5 | HIGHLIGHTS

A Singapore court on 5th July directed the US-based engine maker Pratt & Whitney to send 5 engines per month to Go Airlines between August and December.

India will judge UK authorities by what happens on ground, says MEA on threats to Indian diplomats.

Gujarat High Court will pronounce the judgement on Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking stay on his conviction in the defamation case over Modi surname remark on July 7.

Assam tourist arrivals cross 1 crore for the first time in history, tweets CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.

"We are hearing that the people of Maharashtra have not liked what Ajit Pawar said about Sharad Pawar's age & retirement... It's BJP's old habit to split political parties," said National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.

"...On July 14 at 2.35 pm, Chandrayaan-3 will lift off and if everything goes well it will land on August 23... the date is decided based on when is the sunrise on the moon, it will depend on the calculations, but if it gets delayed then we will have to keep the landing for the next month in September...," says ISRO chairman.

"...No agreement signed yet with NASA, this discussion has happened at the highest level. We had a discussion about the Manned mission...I hope we will define how many people will be trained, we are in talks with NASA regarding different agreements...," says S Somnath, Chairman, ISRO during G20 Space economy leaders meeting on mission with NASA.

"...The space is not a formal agenda of G-20 but we want it to become a part of G-20 and all of us are working towards it... We have 18 people from G20, we invited guest countries, 3 industries from G20 nations & Indian companies are also a part of this session... We wanted to showcase the industrial capability of India in the field of space...," S Somnath said.

Indian Naval band perform along with Ladakhi band Da Shuks. Naval band members have been practising with local musicians for over a month in Ladakh for the performance.

BJP legislative party's meeting will be held tomorrow in Mumbai. All MLAs and MLCs are expected in the meeting. Discussions on party's strategy in the coming Monsoon session of the Assembly and other current issues after the recent cabinet expansion to be held.

"We are aware of this video. We have been consistently taking up cases of threats with the Canadian authorities and so-called referendum," MEA on SFJ chief Pannu releasing a video threatening Indian diplomats.

The entire country should be proud of the made-in-India Vande Bharat Express. A lot of people will benefit from it. It is a high-tech train... with all facilities. The best part is that the train is very clean... says a passenger, Abhishek Sharma, on Vande Bharat train to be flagged off by PM Modi from Gorakhpur-Lucknow on July 7.

"...There was a very meaningful, extensive and important discussion. We discussed all the issues...Our organisation, our leaders, our MLAs, and ministers all will work together and as I have always been saying our goal is how to form Congress government again in Rajasthan...," said Sachin Pilot on meeting with Congress leaders at AICC headquarters.

"We condemn this. We have taken up the issue with canadian government. We've seen media reports about comments by PM Trudeau. The issue is not about freedom of expression but its misuse for advocating violence, propagating separatism and legitimising terrorism," said MEA Spokesperson on Khalistani posters targeting Indian diplomats.

A Mumbai local train brushed against the edge of a platform at the Mumbra station in neighbouring Thane district on its way to Titwala on Wednesday night, leading to disruption of services and bunching of trains for some time, officials said. This unusual occurrence happened when the train, which had started its journey from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), was arriving at the Mumbra station. Nobody was injured in it, they said. Talking to PTI, Central Railway's chief public relations officer Dr Shivraj Manaspure, said the incident occurred when the slow train was arriving on platform number 1 of the station at around 9.20 pm.

A man was killed and three people were injured after the shed of a factory collapsed on them following heavy rains near Dehlon area on Ludhiana-Malerkotla road here on Wednesday, police said. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana (Central) Rajesh Sharma said the victim was identified as Surinder Kumar, a native Dirmarbhar village in Uttar Pradesh. He was working as a labourer in the factory. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, police said.

A case was registered on Wednesday against a dog owner here after the canine got accidentally hanged by its own leash while jumping off the terrace, police said. A First Information Report was registered against the owner at Banganga police station under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, said an official. Complainant Priyanshu Jain, president of the local unit of People for Animals, said they learnt about the incident after a picture of the hanging body of the dog went viral on social media. "People in the neighbourhood said that owner Bachchalal Yadav always kept the dog tied on the terrace and it barked in distress," he claimed.

Fintech firm BharatPe Group has appointed former Razorpay senior executive Pankaj Goel as the chief technology officer. Prior to joining BharatPe, Pankaj was the head of payments engineering at Razorpay. He will report to BharatPe chief financial officer and interim CEO Nalin Negi, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. "With a seasoned engineering leader like Pankaj joining the team, we are confident that we will be able to build best-in-class fintech products that will further enable the next level of growth for the BharatPe Group of Companies," Negi said. Goel has held senior positions at various companies, including Intuit, Trilogy, and Sun Microsystems.

A flash flood occurred in a village in Himachal Pradesh's Una district on Wednesday morning, damaging about 10 houses in a village in Haroli area, the state emergency operation centre said. A purported video from the district surfaced on the internet in which a car can be seen being swept away in the water. However, no casualty was reported as the driver jumped out of the vehicle on time. Light to moderate rains continued to lash several parts of the state and Nahan received 92 mm of rain followed by Una 65 mm, Kangra 42 mm, Palampur 32 mm, Mandi 28 mm, Kufri 27.5 mm, Dharamshala 22 mm, Narkanda 16.5 mm and Manali 14 mm. The local Met office has issued a “yellow” alert for heavy rain, thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places in plains, low and mid hills till July 9 and predicted a wet spell in the state till July 11.

State-owned Bank of India (BOI) on Wednesday paid the government a dividend of Rs 668.17 crore for the financial year 2022-23. BoI managing director Rajneesh Karnatak presented the dividend cheque to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the presence of Vivek Joshi, Financial Services Secretary. The dividend of Rs 2 per equity share (20 per cent) was declared by BoI's Board of Directors on May 30, 2023, the bank said in a statement. The dividend payout is based on the bank's financial performance for the full year 2022-23. BoI's net profit jumped by 18.15 per cent from Rs 3,405 crore in FY22 to Rs 4,023 crore in FY23. The operating profit increased by 34.09 per cent from Rs 9,988 crore in FY22 to Rs 13,393 crore in the financial year ended March 2023.

Dalits and tribals staged a protest at Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday to condemn the incident in which a man allegedly urinated on a tribal youth in Sidhi district of the state. The protesters, under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Balai Mahasangh, raised slogans and waved placards alleging that atrocities on members of Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities in the state were increasing. Police on Wednesday arrested Pravesh Shukla, who is accused of urinating on a tribal youth in Sidhi district. Action under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) was also initiated. A video of the incident went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday, following which the police registered a case against him.

An incident of firing was reported at Tis Hazari Court premises in Delhi this afternoon. No injuries were reported. Police say that this happened after an argument among lawyers. 

The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended interim protection from arrest till July 19 to activist Teesta Setalvad in a case linked to the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai, A S Bopanna and Dipankar Datta issued notice to the Gujarat government on the appeal filed by Setalvad against the Gujarat High Court order.

"Issue notice returnable on July 19, 2023. Whatever documents parties want to place on record shall be filed prior to July 15 after exchanging with each other. Interim order to continue until further orders," the bench said.

Mumbai, Maharashtra: Part of a road collapsed at an under-construction site in Rahul Nagar, Eastern express highway, Chunabhatti at around 9 am. Around 8-10 two-wheelers and 4-5 four-wheelers are damaged during the incident. The area has been evacuated. No injuries were reported during the incident.

 Police have apprehended two bike-borne men during checking on the Mathura Road here and seized Rs 85 lakh cash from them, officials said on Wednesday

Incessant heavy rainfall across Kerala since the night of July 4 led to the death of one person and brought life to a standstill in several areas as roads got flooded, water levels rose in rivers and dams, homes got damaged by uprooted trees.

As the heavy rains continued on Wednesday also, Orange alert was sounded in 12 of the 14 districts of the state for the day. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange alert for all districts of Kerala except Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram for the day.

According to the IMD forecast at 10 AM, the intensity of the rains is likely to go down in the next few days.

Parts of Mumbai witnessed light rainfall on Wednesday morning even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an 'orange' alert, predicting heavy to very heavy showers at a few places in the metropolis.

A civic official said the island city, eastern and western suburbs recorded an average rainfall of 53.93 mm, 27.97 mm and 45.59 mm, respectively, in the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Wednesday.

The rain intensity reduced in most parts of Mumbai since Tuesday night and there were light showers in parts of the city and suburbs on Wednesday morning.

Sidhi viral video: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra, says "The accused (Pravesh Shukla) was arrested last night. He is in the lock-up and strict action has been taken against him. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that NSA will be registered against him. Bulldozer does not work according to Congress, it works according to law."

A large portion of road caved in Delhi's Janakpuri area this morning. No injuries were reported.

Delhi can expect light to moderate rain on Wednesday, with the Met office issuing a yellow alert, warning the showers could flood low-lying areas and disrupt the flow of traffic on key roads.

The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded a minimum temperature of 27.8 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 35 degrees Celsius.

Parts of Delhi saw a spell of rain on Tuesday and the India Meteorological Department said cloudy weather and occasional showers are likely over the next six to seven days.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday during his Delhi visit to flag pending issues concerning the state, sources said.

Reddy is also expected to meet Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during his visit, they said. "The Chief Minister will be meeting the PM and HM to press for the unresolved and pending issues related to the state," the sources said.

Supporters of Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar met him at his Devgiri Bungalow in Mumbai before the NCP leaders meeting called by Ajit Pawar.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will hold an online meeting at 10 am Wednesday to discuss the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The meeting will be attended by 51 executive members from across the country.

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan arrives at Mumbai airport from US.

Three people were killed and eight others injured when shots were fired into a crowd of hundreds following a festival in a Texas neighbourhood, authorities said.

The shooting in the Fort Worth neighbourhood of Como happened at about 11:47 p.m. Monday, and police said a chaotic scene followed as people tried to flee on foot and in vehicles as shots rang out.

The shooting happened just hours after the end of the Independence Day celebration called ComoFest in the historically Black neighbourhood.

The Israeli military began withdrawing troops from a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank late Tuesday, security officials said, winding down an intense two-day operation that killed at least 12 Palestinians, confiscated hundreds of weapons and left a wide swath of damage in its wake.

But heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants continued in parts of the Jenin refugee camp, delaying the planned pullout. The development came hours after a Hamas militant rammed his car into a crowded Tel Aviv bus stop and began stabbing people, wounding eight, including a pregnant woman who reportedly lost her baby.
The attacker was killed by an armed bystander.

Four died and five sustained injuries after a car met with an accident in the Thanamandi area of Rajouri. The injured are under treatment at Government Medical College & Associated Hospital in Rajouri: Dr Mehmood Hussain Bajar, Medical Superintendent, GMC, Rajouri

Russian air defences on Tuesday foiled a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow that prompted authorities to briefly close one of the city's international airports, officials said, as a Western analysis said that Russia has managed to slow Kyiv's recently launched counteroffensive.

The drone attack, which follows previous similar raids on the Russian capital, was the first known assault on the city since an abortive mutiny launched 11 days ago by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. His Wagner troops marched on Moscow in the biggest — though short-lived — challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin in more than two decades of his rule.