Breaking News, June 24 | HIGHLIGHTS

Bihar | Patna District Magistrate issues notice to close schools upto Class XII till June 28, in Patna district due to heatwave.

With the current Punjab government, you know what the (law & order) situation in the state is....I am the Defence Minister and I am aware of Punjab and Punjabiyat. When it comes to the security of the nation, the people of Punjab, forget all grievances and stand together...I expect this (Punjab) government to take steps to control the law & order situation in the state but the state government isn't doing so: Defence Minister & BJP leader Rajnath Singh, in Chandigarh, earlier today.

Jammu & Kashmir | Three terrorist associates have been booked under Public Safety Act in Pulwama after they were identified as active Over Ground Workers and facilitators of different terrorist organizations including LeT and JeM.

Mumbai | Two persons died after falling inside a manhole during underground drain cleaning work at Shivaji Nagar today.

“I met with various Manipur groups and they all have echoed the same sentiments of distrust on the Chief Minister of Manipur. The accountability starts with the state government,” says Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi after all-party meeting on the Manipur situation chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Manoj Jha, RJD MP speaks after all-party meeting over the Manipur situation, he says, "It was an open discussion. The entire opposition went to the extent of saying that the person heading the administration of Manipur is not trustworthy...we can't have peace in Manipur till he is in charge..."

Tiruchi Siva, DMK MP speaks on all-party meeting over Manipur situation..."We expressed our concern about the incidents that are going on in Manipur for the past more than 50 days. The Home Minister just listened to every one of us. And he said that he is looking after it & said trust me. I'll restore peace. The PM has not expressed his concern. We requested that the all-party delegation has to be sent to Manipur. He said we have deployed more police that's what we suggested. It is not law and order breakdown to be controlled by police and army or Assam rifles. It is a failure of the governance in the state and the union government..."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah leaves all-party meeting over Manipur situation; meeting concluded at Parliament.

"The 12th Edition of India-Maldives Joint Exercise Ekuverin concluded after intense validation training. The exercise has strengthened mutual confidence & enabled sharing of best practices," tweets Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG-PI), Indian Army.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah to address a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor on 30th June.

Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Azad Maidan unit Crime branch, Mumbai arrested two drug peddlers with 150 grams of MD (Mephedrone) worth Rs 30 lakhs approx in the Sewri area of Mumbai. A case has been registered against them and both were arrested. Further investigation is underway: Mumbai Police

All India Trinamool Congress demands that an all-party delegation be sent to Manipur, in the next one week. The message till now from the Union Government has been one of ignoring; that needs to change to healing, caring, restoring peace and harmony: Statement by All India Trinamool Congress at the all-party meeting on Manipur.

Delhi: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri speaks on PM's state visit to the US, he said, "This is the moment. If a bilateral visit through critical definition produces a new dawn (India-US relations), this was that visit...AI is the future, America-India is the future..."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chairs an all-party meeting on the situation in Manipur in Delhi.

All-party meeting called by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the situation in Manipur to begin shortly, in Parliament building.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday distributed appointment letters to the next of kin of eight Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty, officials said here. Shah met with the family members of slain police personnel on the second day of his two-day visit to the Union territory at the Police Golf Course, overlooking the famous Dal Lake here, they said. "The martyrdom of numerous Jawans of the @JmuKmrPolice who laid down their lives battling terrorists and securing innocent fellow citizens is a testament to what Kashmir and its people stand for," he said on Twitter. "Today, met the family members of such martyrs in Srinagar and distributed appointment letters on behalf of the J&K govt to the closest kins of the martyrs," Shah added.

The Navi Mumbai police in Maharashtra's Thane district have registered a case against two brothers for allegedly duping five persons of nearly Rs 1.5 crore on the pretext of selling them flats, an official said on Saturday. The case against Kharghar residents Laxman Devaji Vavia (Patel) and his brother Haresh came on a complaint by a tax consultant from Mulund, a Mumbai suburb, and four of his friends. The brothers have been accused of selling flats to the five that were either mortgaged or already sold to others, said the official citing the complaint filed at the CBD Belapur police station.

The body of a 39-year-old woman was found in a well in a locality of Virar in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Saturday. The victim identified as Jagruti Raut was found dead in a well by locals in Shirsad locality of Virar on Friday night, an official said. The police were alerted and the body has been sent to a government hospital in Vasai for post-mortem, he said.
Preliminary reports indicate that it was a case of suicide, the official said, adding that a case of accidental death has been registered.

A court in Goa has granted bail to Sudhir Sangwan, prime accused in last year's murder of Haryana-based Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sonali Phogat. Phogat (43) died in Goa's beach village of Anjuna in August last year, after partying with her two associates, both of whom were accused of administering her banned drugs. The district and sessions court on Friday granted bail to Sangwan directing him to furnish a bail bond of Rs one lakh. The court also directed him not to leave the state and appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) every Friday, a lawyer representing him said. Sangwan and his accomplice Sukhwinder Singh were arrested by the Goa police last year in connection with the case.

The Odisha government's Forest department has planted around 30,000 'phassi' saplings in Ganjam district as this specific variety of tree is in demand for construction of chariots of Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra. The wheels of the chariots of Jagannath Rath Yatra are made from phassi logs. As many as 72 numbers of phassi logs of 14-feet long and six-foot girth are required for making wheels of three chariots of the deities for rath yatra. "To cater for the requirement of the phassi logs for making the chariots for the Jagannath Rath Yatra in future, we have planted around 30,000 phasi and 2,000 neem plants in two major areas of Ghumusar South Forest division in Ganjam district", said Prabhakar Nayak, assistant conservator of forests, Ghumusar South division.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is addressing the nation Saturday, after mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called for armed rebellion and reached a key Russian city with his troops. Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner private military company, has claimed that his forces had military facilities in Russia's southern city of Rostov-on-Don under their control. “We will destroy anyone who stands in our way,” Prigozhin said in one of a series of angry video and audio recordings posted on social media beginning late Friday. “We are moving forward and will go until the end.” Russia's security services had responded to Prigozhin's declaration of an armed rebellion by calling for his arrest. In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took the threat, security was heightened in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other regions. It was not immediately clear how he was able to enter the southern Russian city or how many troops he had with him. 

A 20-year-old youth was allegedly stabbed by his neighbour in a petty dispute in northeast Delhi's Dayalpur area, police said on Saturday. On Friday around 10 pm, Sonu, 19, from Brijpuri, had gone to have ice cream with his cousin Rahul after dinner near Shibban School, a senior police officer said. There Rahul had an encounter with a 20-year-old Mohammad Zaid who lives in the same street as he does, and got into fight with him, during which Zaid stabbed Rahul in the lower abdomen, the officer said. Sonu also sustained injuries on his arms.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah Saturday laid foundation stone of ‘Balidaan Stambh’ (martyr’s memorial) at Pratap Park in the heart of the city here. Shah, along with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, laid the foundation stone at the park near the Lal Chowk city centre – the commercial hub of the Srinagar city, officials said. The memorial, a project under the Srinagar Smart City, is a tribute to the martyrs' who sacrificed their lives for the nation, the officials said. Immediately after laying the foundations stone, Shah went to Raj Bhavan, the LG's official residence.

A award carrying fugitive with eight criminal cases including that of rape and murder of minor children against him was arrested by police after a brief gun encounter here, a senior officer said Saturday. "Our team arrested Ramji Verma, a resident of Khudaganj in nearby Farrukhabad district. Verma has over eight cases ranging from rape and murder of minor children against him in Kannauj and Farrukhabad," Superintendent of Police Kunwar Anupam Singh said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced a four per cent hike in the dearness allowance (DA) for the state government employees, a move that comes ahead of the state Assembly elections scheduled by the year-end. Chouhan made the announcement while addressing a mass marriage function at Gillor village in Sehore district on Friday evening.

Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of investigating the cause of the fatal Titan submersible implosion even as they grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded. A formal inquiry has not yet been launched because maritime agencies are still busy searching the area where the vessel was destroyed, killing all five people aboard, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday. Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore.

Police have arrested a 59-year-old man from Dombivli in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly molesting a teenage girl, an official said on Saturday. The incident occurred on Friday morning in Gopal Nagar area, he said. "The victim, a 14-year-old girl, had stepped of her house when the accused, a pedestrian, caught hold of her and molested her. The minor raised an alarm, following which the people around held the man and took him to the police," assistant police inspector Vaibhav Chumble of Tilak Nagar police station in Dombivli said.

A man allegedly killed his friend and four family members before shooting himself dead in a village here on Saturday, police said. 
Mainpuri Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar said police received information early in the morning that Shiv Veer Yadav (28), a resident of Gokulpur Arsara, has allegedly killed his brothers Bhullan Yadav (25) and Sonu Yadav (21), Sonu's wife Soni (20) and brother-in-law Saurabh (23) as well as friend Deepak (20) with an axe.

A suspected Pakistani drone that intruded into the Indian territory along the International Border in Punjab's Tarn Taran has been shot down by BSF jawans, an official of the force said on Saturday. According to the official, Border Security Force troopers noticed the drone on Friday night and immediately reacted to intercept it. During a joint search operation of the BSF and the Punjab Police, the shot down drone was recovered on Saturday morning from a field in Lakhana village. "BSF troops intercepted and brought down a Pakistani drone that violated Indian airspace in village Lakhana of Tarn Taran district. Yet again, the nefarious designs of Pakistan have been foiled by the BSF," the force said in a tweet. 

The flood situation in Assam remained grave on Saturday with over 4.88 lakh people affected so far, an official report said. Major rivers remained in spate across the state with the meteorological department warning of more rainfall and thunderstorm in different parts. A Central Water Commission report on Friday evening said the Brahmaputra was flowing over the danger level in Nematighat (Jorhat). The water level of the Puthimari and Pagladiya rivers have breached the red mark in Kamrup and Nalbari districts respectively, it added.

Two youths were killed when their motorcycle allegedly got crushed between a bus and a container lorry on a highway in Tamil Nadu's Erode district while returning from a joyride with a group of friends, police said on Saturday. According to the police, a group of six youths from Palladam Valayapalayam area in Tiruppur district went to Hogenakkal in Dharmapuri district riding three motorcycles on Friday. After sightseeing, they were on their way back home when the accident happened around 7.30 pm.

An Indian national allegedly died when a concrete wall of a building collapsed on him at a worksite in Singapore’s Central Business District. The incident took place on June 15 when he was walking along a path outside the site where he was working, the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council said on Friday. The body of the construction worker, Vinoth Kumar, was recovered from the rubble after a nearly four-hour-long effort, it said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday left for Egypt after concluding his US State Visit during which he held talks with President Joe Biden and addressed the Joint Session of Congress. This is the prime minister's first visit to Egypt. The two-day State Visit to Egypt at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is also the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister since 1997. Modi was in the US at the invitation of President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. His visit to the US started in New York, where he led a historic event at the UN Headquarters to commemorate the 9th International Day of Yoga on June 21. Later, in Washington DC, he was given a red-carpet welcome at the White House by President Biden.

Wrapping up his four-day State Visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asserted that a new and proud journey of India-US ties has begun and the world is watching the two great democracies strengthening their bond. Addressing a cheerful gathering of Indian community members here, Modi said the full potential of partnership between the two countries is yet to be realised and their ties is all about making the world better again in the 21st century. The two countries have seen convergence on global issues and their growing ties will be a boost for "make in India and make for world" efforts, he said, referring to agreements on technology transfer, boosting manufacturing and strengthening industrial supply chain.

The relationship between India and the US has transformed in the last two-and-half years making them indispensable partners, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. Speaking at a luncheon hosted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's honour at the White House on Friday, he said from semiconductors to space and from education to food security, India and the US are working closely together on more issues than ever. Modi is on a State Visit to the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. "During the last two-and-a-half years, we have transformed the relationship between our countries. We are working closely together on more issues than ever before. From semiconductors to space, from education to food security. The energy, ambition, and potential of our cooperation are boundless," Blinken said.

Authorities in Russia launched a criminal probe Friday against the owner of the Wagner Group military contractor over his alleged threats to oust Russia's defense minister. The announcement follows a statement from owner Yevgeny Prigozhin accusing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering a rocket strike on Wagner's field camps in the Ukraine where its soldier are fighting on behalf of Russia against Ukranian forces.

BJP leaders on Friday claimed cracks have already appeared in opposition ranks even before they could come together as the AAP announced it may not attend future meets after failing to garner support from the Congress on the Delhi ordinance. The AAP skipped the press briefing after the opposition meeting in Patna and came out with a statement condemning the Congress' "silence" over the Delhi ordinance on administrative services. Party founder Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Rajya Sabha members Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chaddha were conspicuous by their absence at the press conference. Union minister Smriti Irani held two press briefings - one before the meeting and the other after it ended - and launched a scathing attack on the opposition leaders calling them a "pack of wolves".

Maharashtra on Friday recorded 15 new coronavirus cases and one death, the state health department said. The state's caseload rose to 81,69,736, and death toll on account of the pandemic to 1,48,554. The state had recorded eight cases and zero fatalities on Thursday. Mumbai recorded two cases. The sole COVID-19 fatality in the state was recorded in Kalyan-Dombivli area in neighbouring Thane district. There are 101 active cases in the state now. With 20 patients recovering from coronavirus infection since previous evening, cumulative recoveries rose to 80,21,081. The recovery rate in the state is 98.18 per cent.

All-round development has come to Jammu and Kashmir ever since the abrogation of Article 370, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday, as he exhorted the youth of Kashmir to ensure that they carry pens and laptops instead of stones. Shah also said that during the rule of the previous governments in Jammu and Kashmir, democracy was limited to 80- 85 people only and three families -- the Abdullahs, Muftis and the Gandhis -- had taken control over democracy but now its future is decided by 35,000 elected representatives. Addressing an event after the inauguration of the three-day Vitasta Festival here, Shah said those who have known only the history of Jammu and Kashmir in the last four decades think that this is a disputed or disturbed area. "But Kashmir is a land which has borne the brunt of bloodshed in the past and emerged victorious and more stable and peaceful," he said, adding this land saw nearly 40,000 deaths due to terrorism in the last three to four decades but today the same Kashmir is celebrating Vitasta Festival and marching ahead.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Amarnath pilgrimage, sources said. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and top officials of the intelligence agencies, paramilitary forces, police and the civil administration attended the meeting here. "Held a comprehensive security review in Srinagar. Glad to see the agencies adopting a multi-pronged approach to ensuring security. Continued peace and stability in Jammu and Kashmir is one of the prime goals set by PM @narendramodi Ji,” Shah tweeted.

India and the US are working with renewed trust in areas of new and emerging technologies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday as he thanked the American leadership for giving him a grand welcome. Speaking at a luncheon hosted in his honour by US Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House, Modi said the two countries have added and expanded the scope of the cooperation in the defence and strategic areas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the combination of technology and talent will be a guarantee for a bright future for the world. Modi made the remark at the India-US Hi-Tech handshake event organised at the White House and attended by US President Joe Biden and CEOs of top Indian and American companies. "This morning (meeting) is only among a few friends but has brought with it the guarantee of a bright future," he said as President Biden nodded. Modi, who is on a state visit to the US, also stressed that there is a great opportunity for everyone to take along Biden's vision and capabilities and India's aspirations and possibilities.

The Noida Police have arrested three Delhi-based persons in connection with a multi-crore GST scam which has resulted in the loss of revenue to the government, officials said on Friday. With this, the total number of arrests in the case has increased to 15. Noida Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ACP) Shakti Mohan Avasthy said the scam pertains to thousands of bogus companies being floated and input tax credit (ITC) being claimed on their behalf. The three suspects involved in the case were arrested by officials of the Sector 20 police station on Thursday while they were en route to Greater Noida via the DND, police said. Those arrested have been identified as Atul Gupta, Sumit Garg and Manan Singhal, all residents of the Rohini area in Delhi, a police spokesperson said. "The trio was involved in generating fake, bogus bills which were used to claim ITC, resulting in revenue loss," Avasthy told PTI

American defence major GE Aerospace will transfer 80 per cent of the technology to India for production of F 414 fighter jet engines under its deal with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, a senior official said on Friday. The General Electric (GE) Aerospace inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Thursday to jointly produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The pact was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's current visit to the United States.