Breaking News, July 18

The Noida Police on Monday arrested five people in connection with burglaries in over a dozen houses in Uttar Pradesh, officials said. Police have also recovered jewellery worth around Rs 8 lakh from the gang's possession, a senior officer said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Rajesh S said four of the arrestees are burglars while the fifth dealt in stolen jewelleries.

Rajasthan on Monday reported 146 new Covid cases, while one more person died due to the viral disease, according to officials.

Uttar Pradesh minister and former IPS officer Asim Arun on Monday appeared before a special NIA court to give his statement in connection with a case relating to an encounter of an alleged terrorist in 2017.

A heat wave broiling Europe spilled northward on Monday to Britain and fuelled ferocious wildfires in Spain and France, which evacuated thousands of people and scrambled water-bombing planes and firefighters to battle flames spreading through tinder-dry forests.

A two-and-a-half-month-old baby was recovered with the arrest of five women and two men, all part of gang which allegedly sold newborns to clients on pretext of giving them for adoption, police said on Monday

A man was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Maharashtra's Thane district on Monday for raping his stepdaughter between 2016 and 2018, an official said on Monday.

The flood situation in Assam improved on Monday with a decrease in the number of affected people, though the death toll increased by one and fresh areas were inundated.

Delhi on Monday reported 378 fresh Covid cases with a positivity rate of 6.06 per cent, while two more people died due to the viral disease, according to data shared by the health department here. With this, the capital's Covid caseload climbed to 19,44,393 while the death toll rose to 26,294, the bulletin stated.

Gujarat on Monday reported 596 fresh COVID-19 cases, raising the tally of infections to 12,43,327, an official from the state health department said.

Two teachers of a school near here were arrested on Monday in connection with the death of a girl student, police said. In all, 329 persons have been held so far and they are being questioned for their involvement in violent acts on July 17, they said.

In a bid to provide employment opportunities to women in the public transportation sector, the Delhi government will bear 50 per cent of the cost for each woman undergoing training at its centres.

An 11-year-old boy was swept away in a swollen nullah in Maharashtra's Bhandara district on Monday, an official said. Dipesh Vinod Bramhankar, a resident of Ranala in Paoni tehsil, was attempting to cross the overflowing nullah along with his bicycle and was swept away by strong currents around 8.30 am, said Abhishek Naamdas, the district disaster management officer.

Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali boycotted the presidential poll held on Monday, saying issues related to Punjab remain unresolved and he was not consulted by his party leadership before deciding to back NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu.

All the 40 eligible Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Goa, including Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, voted in the Presidential poll on Monday. Elected members of state/UT assemblies and Parliament form the body to elect the President and voting to decide the new occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan took place in different state capitals and also in New Delhi.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has busted an illegal wildlife trade racket and arrested three people with 26 tiger and leopards claws, officials said Monday.

In a setback to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, its senior leader and former Maharashtra minister Ramdas Kadam resigned from the party on Monday. Kadam wrote a letter to former Maharashtra chief minister Thackeray, tendering his resignation as "Shiv Sena leader".

Light to moderate rains occurred in many parts of Rajasthan on Monday, with Khajuwala in Bikaner recording the highest eight cm rainfall, the Met office said.

It was a humid morning in the national capital on Monday with the minimum temperature settling at 27.8 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's average. The weather office has forecast cloudy skies with the possibility of light rain or drizzle.

The Congress-led UDF opposition on Monday sought an adjournment of the Kerala assembly proceedings to discuss the increase in power tariffs, contending that the same ought not to have been done as Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has been indicating profits in the previous years. The adjournment motion of the UDF was opposed by state Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty saying the tariff increase was decided by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission and not the government.

Assam's COVID-19 tally rose to 7,30,143 as 149 more people tested positive for the infection while three new fatalities pushed the death toll to 6,668, a National Health Mission (NHM) bulletin said. The three deaths were reported from Kamrup (Rural), Nagaon and Udalguri districts on Sunday.

Two teachers of a school near here were detained on Monday in connection with the death of a girl student, police said. Also, about 300 men have been detained and are being questioned for their involvement in violent acts and for vandalising the school on July 17, they said. On Sunday, 70 people were arrested for violence and 2 men and a woman holding senior positions in the school management were held in connection with the girl's death.

Maharashtra: 38 students from a private school located in Jaitala locality in Nagpur tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday, July 17

Ever wondered why electronic voting machines, used in four Lok Sabha elections and 127 assembly polls since 2004, are not deployed in polls to elect the President and Vice President of India, members of Rajya Sabha, and members of state legislative councils? The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

Muted protests were organized by a handful of Singaporeans as ousted Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived here last Thursday, leaving behind a economically-shattered country. Shortly after he arrived in Singapore on Thursday, the police reminded any would-be demonstrators about the consequences of breaking the law.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has served notice to senior CPI(M) leader Thomas Isaac seeking his appearance before it in connection with its probe into alleged violations in the financial dealings of KIIFB when he was the Kerala Finance Minister in the previous LDF government, official sources said on Sunday.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh lost key mayoral posts in Gwalior, Jabalpur, Chhindwara and Singrauli to opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has made a victorious debut, in the 11 civic bodies. The BJP has won a majority of corporators' posts in the local and urban body elections held in the first phase on July 6, the results of which were announced on Sunday.

A CRPF officer was killed in a terrorist attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said. A police spokesperson said around 2.15 pm, terrorists fired at a checkpoint jointly manned by police and CRPF at Gangoo crossing area of Pulwama.