Breaking News, July 29

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday expressed his sincere condolences to the government and people of India on the killing of two Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN mission in Congo during a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The number of swine flu deaths in Thane Circle reached four for the month of July after a senior citizen succumbed to the infection on Friday, a local health official said. The circle comprises Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts, he added.

The COVID-19 tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 10,49,435 on Friday after the detection of 247 new cases, while two more patients succumbed to the infection in the state, a health department official said.

Pope Francis on Friday assailed the Catholic missionaries who “supported oppressive and unjust policies” against Indigenous peoples and vowed to pursue truth and healing as he wrapped up his pilgrimage to Canada by meeting with Native delegations and visiting Inuit territory in far-north Nunavut.

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Friday imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on IIFL Securities for flouting regulatory norms in the matter related to ICICI General Lombard Insurance Company block deals back in 2019.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has not had a significant impact on the on-ground sentiments, and the Indian banking system will record a credit growth of over 10 per cent in FY23, a report said on Friday.

The Reserve Bank has imposed several restrictions, including on the withdrawal of funds, on three cooperative banks in view of their deteriorating financial condition. With imposition of restrictions on Jaiprakash Narayan Nagari Sahakari Bank, Basmatnagar, depositors will not be able to withdraw funds from their accounts, the central bank said in a statement.

The Indian Air Force(IAF) has drawn up a three-year timeline to phase out the remaining four Mig-21 fighter squadrons with one of them set to retire from service in September, people familiar with the development said on Friday.

A Delhi court on Friday extended by four days the custodial interrogation of former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey in a money laundering case related to alleged illegal phone tapping and snooping of national stock exchange (NSE) employees.

Six people, including three children, were killed and at least seven others injured in this district on Friday evening when an SUV collided with an auto-rickshaw, police said.

A total of 7.58 crore people have got the precaution dose of Covid vaccine as on July 26, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar informed the Lok Sabha on Friday. In a written reply, she said that according to WHO, 203 countries have included booster or additional dose in their COVID-19 immunisation schedule.

India's foreign exchange reserves declined USD 1.152 billion to USD 571.56 billion for the week ended July 22, according to RBI data. The reserves has been declining amid continuing volatility in the rupee which has also significantly depreciated against the US dollar.

A physical training teacher of a government school here was on Friday arrested on the charge of sexually harassing girl students, police said. Based on complaints from the students, their parents laid siege of the school this morning, demanding the dismissal of the teacher who was transferred from Valparai just a week ago, the police said.

As Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola aims to ramp up its electric vehicle (EV) business, media reports have claimed that the ride-hailing platform is laying off around 1,000 employees from across verticals.

A fire broke out at a film set in suburban Andheri (West) on Friday afternoon, a civic official said.

A real estate developer was shot dead and his brother sustained bullet injuries in Ambernath area of Maharashtra's Thane district on Friday, a police official said.

A 43-year-old man was arrested from northwest Delhi’s Mahendra Park area with over 200 cartons of banned ‘Chinese Manjha’ in his possession, police said on Friday. The accused was identified as Amarjeet, a resident of Jahangirpuri, they said. On Thursday, police received a tip-off that one Amarjeet of Ramgarh, Mahendra Park had been stocking banned Chinese manjha and selling it to retailers through code words, a senior police officer said.

A Sri Lankan trade union leader was arrested on Friday for unlawfully entering the President's Office and desecrating the Presidential Flag by using it as a bedsheet, nearly three weeks after the mass uprising against the government led by former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The 54-year-old man has been identified as Udeni Kalutantri, also a port security officer. He was arrested after he surrendered to the Dam Street Police in the capital Colombo, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported. He had posted a video on social media using the President’s official flag as a bedspread, the Colombo Page news portal reported.

Inflation in the European countries using the euro currency shot up to another record in July, pushed by higher energy prices driven partly by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Annual inflation in the eurozone’s 19 countries rose to 8.9% in July, an increase from 8.6% in June, according to the latest numbers published Friday by the European Union statistics agency. Inflation has been running at its highest level since 1997, when record-keeping for the euro began. Energy prices surged by 39.7%, while food prices rose by 9.8% and other goods by 4.5%.

The cyber police in Mumbai have arrested 14 people who were part of a racket involved in harassing people through mobile phone applications offering instant loans, an official said on Friday. The cyber police have frozen 350 bank accounts, comprising Rs 14 crore, and crypto currency worth $2.17 lakh, Joint Commissioner (crime) Suhas Warke said. The fraud and harassment came to light when a complaint was lodged in May this year and following a probe, the arrests were made in the last couple of weeks, the official said.

Two persons died and one sustained grievous burns in a blaze that erupted while they were lighting a funeral pyre in Kamptee of Maharashtra's Nagpur district, police said on Friday. The incident took place on Thursday evening at Moksha Dham Ghat, a cremation ground in Kamptee, around 30 km from the district headquarters, an official said. The victims had gone to perform the last rites of a man, when the can of diesel, which they were using to light the pyre, caught fire, he said. Sudhir Dongre (45) and Dilip Khobragade (60) died, while Sudhakar Khobragade (50) is battling for life at a hospital, the official said.

Bodies of four persons of the same family including two children found in a house in the Baiganwadi area of Shivaji Nagar, said police. 

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday met President Droupadi Murmu here, a day after leading the charge against the Congress over party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark. Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned on Friday amid uproar over Chowdhury's comments and other issues. “Had the privilege of calling upon the Honourable President of India Droupadi Murmu Ji along with MOS," Irani said in a tweet. A major political row broke out on Thursday over Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark. The BJP launched an all-out offensive against the Congress and accused Chowdhury of hurling a "deliberate sexist insult" at President Murmu and demanded an apology from Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Chowdhury, who is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, said he never intended to disrespect the President and his 'rashtrapatni' remark was a "slip of the tongue". 

The two Indian Air Force pilots killed in Thursday night's crash of a MiG-21 trainer aircraft in Rajasthan are Wing Commander M Rana and Flight Lieutenant Advitiya Bal. Wing Commander Rana hailed from Himachal Pradesh and Flight Lieutenant Bal from Jammu, an IAF official said while releasing the names to the media on Friday. The two pilots were killed when their twin-seater MiG-21 aircraft crashed during a training sortie near Barmer in the desert state. The IAF said the aircraft was on a sortie from the Utarlai air base and the accident occurred around 9.10 pm.

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Youth Congress activists on Friday waved black flags at Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's convoy in Aluva, as part of their agitation over the gold smuggling issue. According to police, five YC workers have been taken into custody in connection with the incident. The protesters, holding black flags, attempted to obstruct traffic and shouted slogans against the CM, seeking his resignation in connection with the gold smuggling controversy. However, they were caught by the police personnel deployed on the spot to facilitate the smooth travelling of the CM. The southern state had witnessed massive protests a few weeks ago after the key accused in the gold smuggling case, Swapna Suresh, levelled serious allegations against the chief minister and his family in the smuggling case.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday said the Lok Sabha will only function after Congress president Sonia Gandhi apologises for party MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's remark against the President. A major political row broke out on Thursday over Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark with the BJP launching an all-out offensive against the opposition party, accusing Chowdhury of hurling a "deliberate sexist insult" at President Droupadi Murmu and demanding an apology from the Congress chief.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 12 noon on Friday within minutes of commencement of proceedings due to opposition protests. As soon as the House met at 11 am, Congress MPs along with a few other opposition members came to the well of the House shouting slogans against the government. BJP women members, who were standing in the second row of the Treasury benches, too stood up and raised counter slogans. Kirit Solanki, who was in the chair, first requested the members to sit down in their respective seats. Solanki repeated his requests but as the members ignored his please, he adjourned the proceedings till 12 noon. 

A 37-year-old man and his minor son were killed after being struck by lightning in a village in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, police said on Friday. The incident took place on Thursday evening in Harra Dipa village in Bagicha area when the victims, identified as Sitaram and his son Ajay (13), were working in their farm, a local official said. As it started raining heavily, they began looking for cover but were suddenly struck by lightning, he said, adding that they were killed on the spot. Their bodies were sent for post-mortem and a report of accidental death was registered in this connection, he added. On June 29, three persons were killed in the same Bagicha area due to lightning strike, while in a similar incident which took place on May 29, three persons were killed and nine others injured in Burjudih village of the district.

Authorities have advised people to discontinue their morning and evening walks after a leopard was sighted in the Faizabad cantonment area here, officials said. The cantonment board on Thursday issued an advisory urging to people, including school-going children, to remain alert. The usually busy roads and lanes inside the cantonment area were deserted. Yashpal Singh, chief executive officer of the cantonment board, said a leopard has been spotted and pug marks have also been found. "The Board has advised morning and evening walkers to discontinue their walks till the wild animal is caught,” he said.

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The Enforce Directorate raided yet another apartment linked to Arpita Mukherjee, the close associate of arrested West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, in the city's Chinar Park area after recovering around Rs 28 crore cash from another flat belonging to her. The raid by the ED, which is probing the money trail of the school jobs scam, was conducted late Thursday evening, an ED official said. As the door of the flat was locked and the keys could not be traced, the ED sleuths broke it open in the presence of central force officers. "This (Chinar Park) apartment belongs to Arpita Mukherjee and we suspect that like her other flats cash may be stacked here as well," the ED official said.

Kollapur Police Inspector Venkat Reddy said the incident happened late Thursday night. The victims were found lying with injuries in the ventilation shaft being built 100 meters below the ground and they were immediately shifted to the Osmania Hospital here where they were declared brought dead. Reddy said the workers were engaged in building an inner wall of the shaft. He said investigation is on to ascertain the cause of their death. 

The Delhi High Court on Friday is scheduled to hear a case about the pendency of criminal cases against members of Parliament (MPs) and Legislative Assemblies (MLAs). The matter, which will be heard by a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Subramonium Prasad, was instituted in October 2020 by the court on its own after the Supreme Court's direction to all high courts to monitor the pending criminal cases against lawmakers.

West Bengal's Covid-19 positivity rate deteriorated to 10.42 per cent after 1,495 new cases were reported pushing the tally to 20,90,483, the health department said on Thursday. On Wednesday, the positivity rate was 8.55 per cent. Seven more coronavirus patents died during the day as the toll rose to 21,346, the department said. Altogether 2,439 patients recovered from the disease taking the number of cured people to 20,49,999. The number of active cases in West Bengal now is 19,143. The state tested 14,341 samples since Wednesday evening, the department said. 

The region's rich musical heritage and inclusivity were at the heart of the 22nd Birmingham Commonwealth Games opening ceremony here as a joyful evening offered a stupendous cornucopia of colour, light and dance. Drummer-percussionist Abraham Paddy Tetteh started things off at the Alexander Stadium that was packed to the rafters, and then, Indian classical vocalist and composer Ranjana Ghatak took the lead, the section intended to showcase the diversity of the city. It was refreshing as the Birmingham Games is the first multi-discipline event since the start of the pandemic to be held without major COVID-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, as many as 70 cars in red, white and blue got together to form a Union Jack, even as Prince Charles, representing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, arrived in his Aston Martin car along with the Duchess of Cornwall. The formation of cars was a tribute to the city's incredible motor industry history.

The UN Security Council voted Thursday to extend its political mission in Libya, but at Russia's insistence for only three months rather than a year-long mandate. The council's three African members abstained to protest Russia's blocking the longer extension they say is needed to help the divided country move to elections and stability. Russia's deputy ambassador, Dmitry Poyansky, reiterated Moscow's position that the UN mission must get a new special representative before it has a longer mandate.

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Two women and a five-year-old girl were killed when their two-wheeler collided with an unknown vehicle at Dasna on the Ghaziabad Meerut highway on Thursday, police said. The two women have been identified as Anchal (18) and Sunita (30), they said, adding that the minor girl was Sunita's daughter, police said. The three had gone to a local market from Deena Nathpur Poothi village falling under the Masuri police station area limits, Anchal's father Lala Ram Jatav told the police. 

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday said his government is committed to improve the condition of farmers, and poor people in the state Addressing beneficiaries of Kisan Credit Card scheme at an event on the Vinobha Bhave University Campus here, Soren said he attended various programmes organised recently in the state to ensure improvement of living condition of people in rural areas phase-wise from villages to state capital.

The Prayagraj police have found minor students to be allegedly involved in at least six incidents of bomb hurling in the city. Low intensity bombs were hurled outside a prestigious school in the past few days. According to police, the students learnt bomb-making from online videos and social media platforms. They not only hurled crude bombs outside three prominent convent schools' gates to prove their group's supremacy, but also uploaded videos of the act on the social media. According to the police, the WhatsApp groups and gangs of these students have names like Tandav, Jaguar, Tiger, Immortal and Rangbaz. 

The Biden administration on Thursday authorised completion of the Trump-funded US-Mexico border wall in an open area of southern Arizona near Yuma, where four wide gaps make it among the busiest corridors for illegal crossings. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the work to complete the project near the Morelos Dam will better protect migrants who can get hurt slipping down a slope or drown walking through a low section of the Colorado River. The area is the third busiest crossing for migrants who can easily walk across the river to surrender to border officials.

Authorities in Mexico said Thursday that at least 94 migrants had to bash their way out of a suffocating freight trailer abandoned on a highway in the steamy Gulf coast state of Veracruz. Carlos Enrique Escalante, the head of the state migrant attention office, said migrants had to break holes in the freight container to get out, some apparently through the roof. Some were injured when they leapt from the roof of the trailer, but their injuries did not include any broken bones and were not considered life-threatening. Escalante said local residents near the town of Acayucan heard the noise, and helped open the freight container. A much larger number of migrants were believed to have been aboard and fled after escaping.

Hearing on the maintainability of a suit related to the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Masjid Idgah dispute, and on a plea seeking an order to prevent disfiguring and destruction of "temple signs present in the mosque" has been fixed for August 8 in the court of Civil Judge (senior division) Mathura. On August 8, judge Jyoti Singh will also hear the arguments on the prayer of original petitioner Manish Yadav for clubbing of all the suits related to the dispute, said his counsel Deepak Sharma. He said at the time of filing of the suit, Yadav had prayed in the plaint for passing an order to prevent anybody from entering the premises so that temple signs, which he claims are present in Shahi Masjid Idgah, remain protected. However, no order has been passed on it so far, he said.

A couple was allegedly beaten up by a group of bouncers at Ghamroj toll plaza on Gurugram-Sohna road, police said on Thursday. According to police, Ritu Yadav was travelling from Raisina to Maruti Kunj in her car along with her husband and children on Tuesday. On reaching the toll plaza, she asked the toll worker to remove the barrier and allow her vehicle to go. The toll worker, however, refused to remove the barrier. Devender Kumar, SHO, Bhondsi police station said when Ritu got down the car and tried to remove the barrier on her own, she was attacked by a bouncer. Another bouncer came and jumped on the car bonnet. The officer said Ritu has also alleged that the bouncers touched her inappropriately. "A case has been filed on Ritu's complaint at Bhondsi police station. The matter is being investigated," he added.