Breaking News, May 29 | HIGHLIGHTS

Union minister Rameshwar Teli on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought the "politics of development" into the mainstream, making it the focal point around which political discourse and policy action now revolves. Teli, who visited Itanagar on the occasion of the completion of nine years of the Modi government at the Centre, said that the PM has been firm in his resolve of keeping "India first" in every policy formulation and action. "This resolve is evident in the government's handling of both external and internal security, economic management, empowerment schemes for marginalised groups and efforts at cultural conservation," the Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas said.

A non-local worker was shot dead by militants on Monday in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. "Terrorists fired upon one civilian namely Deepu R/O Udhampur working at private circus mela at amusement park near Janglaat Mandi in #Anantnag. He was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries," the Kashmir Zone Police tweeted. The police said a case has been registered and investigation is going on.

Over 23 kg of ganja was seized from a person trying to smuggle the drug from Andhra Pradesh to Mangaluru and further down to Kerala, police said on Monday. Based on a tip-off, the Mangaluru City Crime Branch (CCB) led by ACP P A Hegde intercepted the vehicle near Mudipu Kayaragoli cross here and arrested Moidin Shabbir (35), a resident of Bandiyod in Mangalpadi village of Kasaragod district in Kerala.

Aviation safety regulator DGCA has approved the night landing facility at Kalaburagi Airport in Karnataka, an official release said on Monday. The permission that was accorded on May 17, will allow airlines to operate flight services in all weather. The Kalaburagi Airport was inaugurated in November 2019. There has been a demand for providing night landing facilities to the airport for a long time, the release said.

Mumbai on Monday reported seven COVID-19 cases, which took the tally to 11,63,765, while the death toll stood unchanged at 19,772, a civic official said. The city witnessed 11 cases on Sunday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official added. The recovery count increased by two to touch 11,43,907, leaving the metropolis with an active caseload of 86, he added. So far, 1,88,74,179 coronavirus tests have been conducted, including 357 in the last 24 hours, he said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday laid the foundation stone of the new Rajasthan house on Prithviraj Road here. Gehlot said the reconstruction of the historical Rajasthan House has been his government's priority so that the guests coming to national capital from the state can get good facilities. The reconstruction of the state guest house will incorporate the artistic architectural style that represents the rich cultural heritage of Rajasthan, a statement said.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in ethnic strife-torn Manipur on Monday night to restore peace by hammering out a solution between the clashing communities, officials said. He reached the Bir Tikendrajit Imphal International Airport in Imphal aboard a special flight from Delhi, beginning his four-day visit to the state. Shah is expected to hold several rounds of meetings on Tuesday to assess the situation and plan steps to restore normalcy, sources said. On Wednesday, he is likely to address a press conference in the afternoon to announce the measures initiated to control the ongoing violence across the state. He is expected to fly out of Imphal on Thursday morning, security sources told PTI.

Two buses collided at the Mahavir Chowk underpass blocking traffic in the area for nearly three hours on Monday morning, police said. A Haryana Roadways bus and a DTC bus were involved in the accident, which happened around 7 am today. The drivers of both buses sustained injuries but no passengers were wounded in the collision, they said. According to police, the front side of both buses was damaged in the accident. A crane had to be deployed and after three hours of efforts, the buses were removed from the underpass. Traffic was affected at the spot for nearly three hours, police said.

Pakistan aims to eliminate interest from its banking system under the Islamic Sharia law by 2027, the country's top banker said on Monday. Addressing the Islamic Capital Markets conference here, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad said that the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the central bank were working together on reforms to promote the Islamic finance sector.

A man was booked in Nagpur for allegedly giving his wife divorce through the triple talaq method, which has been banned, a police official said on Monday. The man, identified as Ayaz Sheikh (34) of Bhandara, gave divorce to his wife over phone, after which she filed a case with Sakkardara police station, the official said. The man and the 26-year-old woman had got married in 2015 but the former was torturing and harassing her, the official said quoting the complaint. He has been booked under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, the official added.

Eight persons were killed and 26 others injured when a tractor trolley carrying them fell into a gorge in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district, police said. The incident took place in the Udaipurwati area on Monday evening when the victims were returning from a hilltop temple. The tractor trolley fell into the gorge, leaving eight persons dead, Jhunjhunu Additional Superintendent of Police Tejpal Singh said, all the injured are admitted at different hospitals in Jhunjhunu and Sikar districts. Further details in the incident are awaited.

A candle march was taken out on Monday on the first death anniversary of singer Sidhu Moosewala who was shot dead by six assailants at Jawahar Ke village in Punjab's Mansa district. Moosewala's fans and supporters gathered in a large number in Moosa village to participate in the candle march to seek “justice” for him. Carrying placards, the participants raised slogans like 'Sidhu Bai zindabad' during the march which was also attended by Moosewala's mother Charan Kaur. Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, was killed on May 29 when he, along with his friend and cousin, was travelling in a jeep to Jawahar Ke village in Mansa.

Bajrang Dal workers and cattle smugglers exchanged fire after a late-night car chase on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway, according to an FIR lodged by police. Police said three cows and a calf were rescued from the black Scorpio, on which alleged cow smugglers had pasted Haryana Police stickers. The incident happened around 3 am on Monday in the Farukhnagar area, they said, adding that the vehicle has been seized.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said land records in the state will be made online and other routine administrative work hassle-free. The CM, who was chairing a high-level meeting of Punjab Land Record society, said all land related records must be put online so that people can get access to them with a single click. Mann, according to an official release, also said the records must be available in simple Punjabi language so that people have no difficulty reading it.

Two persons were arrested with country-made pistols and cartridges on Juhu-Versova Link Road in suburban Mumbai, police said on Monday. Based on a tip-off, the accused, both in their 20s, were nabbed with two country-made pistols and cartridges on Sunday, an official from DN Nagar police said. The duo, who hail from Rajasthan, were living in Malwani area, he said. While the accused don't have a criminal background, investigations are underway to find out how they had procured the weapons, the official said. A case under relevant provisions of the Arms Act has been registered in this regard, he added.

Delhi government schools are now preferred over private schools, Education Minister Atishi said on Monday after inaugurating a new building of a school in Rithala on Monday. Atishi said Rana Pratap Rajkiya Sarvodaya Kanya/Bal Vidyalaya in Sector 5, Rohini is much better than private schools of the country.

The Delhi government aims to "reshape the lives" of underprivileged children by providing them with "exceptional" educational opportunities, the AAP leader said. "The state-of-the-art Delhi government school inaugurated today is better than private schools in the country. Parents now willingly opt for Delhi government schools over private schools. To make the country number one in the world, we must ensure that every child gets quality education. Delhi's education revolution has given a bright future to lakhs of children," Atishi said.

President Droupadi Murmu will pay visit to Suriname and Serbia from June 4 to 9, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday.  These will be her first State visits after assuming office in July 2022. The President will be visiting Paramaribo, Suriname, from June 4-6 at the invitation of Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President of the Republic of Suriname, the MEA said. On the second leg of her visit, President Murmu will pay a to the Republic of Serbia on from June 7-9 at the invitation of Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia.

The ruling BJP sailed comfortably in the MLC bypolls held on Monday with both its candidates clinching victory over Samajwadi Party nominees. Returning Officer of the election Mohd Mushahid told PTI that BJP's Manvendra Singh bagged 280 votes while his rival from the Samajwadi Party, Ram Jatan Rajbhar, got 115 votes. The BJP's other candidate, Padmasen Chowdhary, got 279 votes in the bypolls while Samajwadi Party's Ramkaran got 116 votes. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath congratulated both the winners.

Light to moderate rains lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh on Monday with the local weather office issuing a warning for thunderstorms and lightning, hailstorms and gusty winds at isolated places till June 2. Light to moderate rains lashed parts of Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts. Mandi received 25 mm of rain, Kufri 11 mm, Shimla 9.5 mm, Bhuntar 9 mm, Sundernagar 6 mm, Mashobra 5 mm, and Kasol 4 mm. The local MeT office issued an ‘orange’ alert for thunderstorms and lightning, hailstorms and gusty winds on May 30 and a ‘yellow’ warning of thunderstorms and lightning from May 31 to June 2.

At least 25 miscreants with arms, ammunition and grenades have been rounded up by Indian Army and para-military forces across ethnic-strife riven Manipur, officials said on Monday. A spokesperson for the defence forces said a number of people were detained with weapons after fresh incidents of firing and clashes broke out in and around Imphal valley.

A 16-year-old girl was stabbed over 20 times and bludgeoned to death by a youth in a busy bylane as passersby looked on in northwest Delhi's Shahbad Dairy area - an incident that has drawn massive outrage as the video of the horrific killing appeared online. Delhi Police said the accused, 20-year-old Sahil, was arrested from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh on Monday. He and the victim, Sakshi, were in a "relationship" but had a quarrel on Saturday. The victim had gone shopping on Sunday evening for the birthday party of her friend's child when she was accosted by the accused in the densely populated neighbourhood, they said.

A man has been arrested for allegedly bludgeoning a 60-year-old healer to death in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Monday. The police arrested the accused from Shirsad village in the district on Sunday, an official said. The victim Bhiva Bikya Wayda was found dead on the side of the road leading up to Usagaon lake on May 25, senior inspector Prafulla Wagh of Mandvi police station said. A case under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code was registered and a probe was initiated, he said.

A day after Delhi police action against protesting wrestlers as they marched towards the new Parliament building, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday said they were not touched till the protest was confined to the designated spot at Jantar Mantar. Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sangeeta Phogat, Sakshi Malik and several others were detained by Delhi police on Sunday when they attempted to move towards the new Parliament building for a women's 'Mahapanchayat'. The wrestlers, who had been protesting at Jantar Mantar since April 23 seeking the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for allegedly sexually harassing women grapplers, were detained and later let off on Sunday.

The AIIMS Delhi has signed a memorandum of understanding with the healthcare sector skill council for the skilling, reskilling, and upskilling of various cadres of hospital staff. The HSSC is a recognised awarding body by the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) under the ambit of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), an office memorandum issued by AIIMS said. It assess and certifies candidates on skill qualifications in the healthcare sector including AYUSH, social sector and hospital management services with the support of industry experts, academia, line ministries and regulators, it said. The HSSC has expressed its willingness to recognise AIIMS as its centre of excellence (CoE), Director Dr M Srinivas said.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge here on Monday as the party stepped up efforts to resolve the infighting in the state unit. Kharge is also scheduled to meet Gehlot's bete noire Sachin Pilot later in the day. Earlier, Gehlot said the party high command is strong and it will never offer any position to any leader or worker to pacify him. The meeting comes close on the heels of Pilot's "ultimatum" that if three demands he made from the state government were not met by the end of this month, he would launch a state-wide agitation. Pilot has asked for a high-level inquiry into the alleged scams that took place during the tenure of the former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje government, as one of his demands. Speaking to reporters earlier, Gehlot said there is no such tradition in the party to offer posts to any leader in order to pacify him.

An Apache attack helicopter of the Indian Air Force made a "precautionary landing" near Bhind in Madhya Pradesh on Monday, an IAF official said. There was no casualty, he said. Precautionary landing means there could have been some minor issues, due to which the aircraft was landed as a precaution, officials said. "An Apache AH-64 helicopter of the IAF carried out a precautionary landing near Bhind, during routine operational training. All crew and the aircraft are safe. The rectification party has reached the site," the IAF tweeted. "The aircraft was on a normal routine training mission. The pilot did the precautionary landing near Bhind," an IAF spokesperson said in Delhi.

Ten people died and at least three persons were injured in a road accident involving a car and private bus in T Narasipura taluk here on Monday, police said. The incident took place near Kuruburu village on Kollegala-T Narasipura main road. According to sources, the car has been completely crushed due to the impact of the accident in what seems to be a head-on collision between the two vehicles. The injured have been rushed to various hospitals and are being treated for injuries.

A total of 18 persons have been arrested here under Uttar Pradesh's anti-conversion law for allegedly offering money to convert people to Islam, a senior police officer said on Monday. An Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate sent the accused to nine days of police remand on Monday. The incident took place on May 21 when people attending a Qawwali event at Chirkihit village in the Devgaon area here were allegedly offered money and lured into converting to Islam, Superintendent Anurag Arya said. The people were also being tricked into adopting Islam by highlighting the shortcomings of Hinduism, he added. When the police raided the spot following a tip-off, a few accused fled the spot taking advantage of the commotion, Arya said.

The Reserve Bank has found gaps in banks' corporate governance despite issuing guidelines on the matter, Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday. Addressing directors of bank boards, Das said such gaps, which have been mitigated, could have caused "some degree of volatility". He also hit out strongly against "smart accounting" to conceal stress and bloat financial performance. "It is...a matter of concern that despite these guidelines on corporate governance, we have come across gaps in governance of certain banks, with the potential to cause some degree of volatility in the banking sector," Das said at the meeting specially convened by the Reserve Bank.

Six labourers were electrocuted to death after an electric pole they were erecting fell on a high-tension overhead wire in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district on Monday, railway officials said. Baghmara deputy superintendent of police Nisha Murmu said that the incident took place near Nichitpur railway station, around 145 km from Ranchi. All of them were working under a small contractor, who reportedly fled the spot after the incident, an official said. Dhanbad divisional railway manager Kamal Kishore Sinha rushed to the spot after the incident.

The CBI has registered an FIR against Rolls-Royce and its senior officials for alleged corruption in procurement of Hawk 115 advance trainer aircraft.

Congress to get 150 seats in Madhya Pradesh: Rahul Gandhi after meeting with state leaders on assembly poll preparedness.

Delhi High Court issues notice to JKLF leader Yasin Malik on National Investigation Agency's (NIA) appeal seeking death penalty for him in terror funding case.

Vande Bharat Express will boost tourism, education, trade and employment opportunities in the NE, said PM Modi.

King Norodom Sihamoni of Cambodia arrives in New Delhi on his maiden State visit to India. MoS MEA Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh welcomes him.

"Chandrayaan-3 will be launched in July this year," said S Somanath, chief of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually flags off the inaugural run of Northeast's first Vande Bharat Express train in Assam. The northeast-bound Vande Bharat will run between New Jalpaiguri Station in West Bengal and Guwahati in Assam.

Guwahati: "It's a proud moment for us that PM Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat Express today. It will connect Assam and West Bengal. I thank PM Modi and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw," said Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Assam: Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw speaks on the first Vande Bharat Express of the Northeast to be flagged off today by PM Modi.

 President Droupadi Murmu administers the Oath of Office to Praveen Kumar Srivastava, the Central Vigilance Commissioner at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

NIA's appeal before the Delhi High Court seeking death penalty for Yasin Malik (chief of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front).

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Manipur from May 29 to June 1. He will arrive in Imphal this evening. The Home Minister will hold several rounds of security meetings to assess the situation and plan further steps to restore normalcy.

Delhi HC dismisses plea challenging permission to exchange Rs 2,000 currency notes without requisition slip, ID proof.

GSLV-F12 carrying navigation satellite NVS-01 blasts off from Sriharikota.

Singapore: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met DeputyPM of Singapore, Lawrence Wong. The Union Minister is on a three-day visit to Singapore.

Delhi: Army Chief General Manoj Pande lays a wreath at the National War Memorial on the occasion of International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

Tamil Nadu: Nine people, including a DMK Councillor, arrested for preventing Income Tax officials from doing their duty.  Earlier, when IT officials tried to search premises linked to Minister Senthil Balaji, his supporters allegedly attacked and prevented them from conducting the raid.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his re-election as the President of Türkiye. "I am confident that our bilateral ties and cooperation on global issues will continue to grow in the coming times," PM Modi tweets.

Moving a step closer to theatreisation, the air maintenance team of Dhruva Command successfully carried out maiden airdrops of warfighting loads by AN 32 aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) in support of Mechanised Forces on Western Borders: Northern Command, Indian Army.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.4 on the Richter Scale hit Sonitpur, Assam at 8:03 am today, informed National Centre for Seismology.

Assam | At least seven dead and several others injured in a road accident that took place in the Jalukbari area of Guwahati on Sunday late night. "As per preliminary investigation, we have found that the deceased are students. The incident took place at Jalukbari area," says Thube Prateek Vijay Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police, Guwahati to ANI.

Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge will meet Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot in the national capital today to resolve the internal feud.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off Assam’s first Vande Bharat Express today. "I am delighted to flag off Assam’s first Vande Bharat Express tomorrow, 29th May, at 12 noon. This state-of-the-art train embodies our commitment to providing speed, comfort and enhanced connectivity.  It will also boost tourism and enrich socio-economic development," Modi said in tweet on Sunday.