News updates: Rajasthan reeling from intense heat wave, temperature crosses 50 degrees C in Churu

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Heatwave conditions intensified in Rajasthan on Tuesday, with Churu recording the highest temperature of the season at 50.5 degrees Celsius. The day temperature reached 46.6 degrees Celsius in Jaipur, 49.4 degrees Celsius in Ganganagar, 49 degrees Celsius in Pilani (Jhunjhunu) and Phalodi, 48.3 degrees Celsius in Bikaner and 48.2 degrees Celsius in Kota, according to the Meteorological Centre here. Amid the searing heat, 18 people, mostly homeless, were found dead at various places in Kota in the last four days but the district administration said the exact reasons behind the deaths will be clear only after the receipt of their postmortem report.

Delhi on Tuesday, May 28, recorded its all-time high maximum temperature as the mercury in India's capital, touched 49.9 degrees Celsius. Several areas, like Mungeshpur, Najafgarh and Narela, have recorded temperatures of 49.9 degrees Celsius, 49.8 degrees Celsius, and 49.9 degrees Celsius, respectively, facing severe heatwave conditions.

Pope Francis apologised Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gays to reaffirm the Catholic Church's ban on gay priests. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the media storm that erupted about Francis' comments, which were delivered behind closed doors to Italian bishops on May 20. Italian media on Monday had quoted unnamed Italian bishops in reporting that Francis jokingly used the term “faggotness” while speaking in Italian during the encounter. He had used the term in reaffirming the Vatican's ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and be ordained priests.

Delhi Water Minister Atishi  today accused Haryana of not releasing Delhi's share of water since May 1 and said the state government will  implementing a slew of measures including rationalising the supply of water.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders had filed a defamation case against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Cabinet Minister Atishi Marlena over poaching allegations made by the two who had said that Aam Aadmi Party leaders were approached by the BJP to join them in return for cash.

A fire broke out on the second floor of an eye clinic located in West Delhi’s Paschim Vihar today. Six fire tenders were swiftly dispatched to the scene, and the blaze was quelled without any injuries reported. Officials are currently investigating the cause of the fire, said Delhi Fire Service (DFS) Chief Atul Garg.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others in the murder case of Dera manager Ranjit Singh. Rahim, who is also serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples, is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, Haryana.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that CJI Chandrachud will take appropriate decision on listing of CM Kejriwal's plea for extension of interim bail as verdict is reserved in main case. 

An IndiGo flight heading to Varanasi from Delhi received a bomb threat at the Delhi airport today,  prompting authorities to inspect the plane, officials said. The flight, 6E2211, was set to take off from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport around 5:35 am and was stopped on the runway minutes before departure. The passengers were evacuated safely via the emergency exits, and the aircraft was moved to an isolation bay for inspection. The Delhi Fire Services said a quick response team reached the spot shortly, which has so far not found any suspicious items.

An Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer has been taken into custody by police in connection with with the suicide of a woman whose body was discovered hanging from a noose in his  Noida apartment.  Police said that they found the body of Shilpa Gautam, a Human Resources official at Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), at the Lotus Boulevard apartment complex in Noida's Sector 100. Shilpa Gautam's family have alleged that Shilpa and Saurabh had been in a relationship for the past three years after meeting through a dating app.

The Maharashtra government will not go ahead with all the recommendations from the recently proposed Maharashtra State Curriculum Framework for School Education, said State Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar. At a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday, Kesarkar clarified that the inclusion of lines from Manusmriti as reference in one of the chapters in the draft had not received government's or the guiding committee’s nod before being made public.

11:23 PM

Rajasthan reeling from intense heat wave, temperature crosses 50 degrees C in Churu

Heatwave conditions intensified in Rajasthan on Tuesday, with Churu recording the highest temperature of the season at 50.5 degrees Celsius.

 

The day temperature reached 46.6 degrees Celsius in Jaipur, 49.4 degrees Celsius in Ganganagar, 49 degrees Celsius in Pilani (Jhunjhunu) and Phalodi, 48.3 degrees Celsius in Bikaner and 48.2 degrees Celsius in Kota, according to the Meteorological Centre here.

 

Amid the searing heat, 18 people, mostly homeless, were found dead at various places in Kota in the last four days but the district administration said the exact reasons behind the deaths will be clear only after the receipt of their postmortem report.

11:20 PM

Four killed, 18 injured as storm, rain lash Assam

Four people, including a woman, were killed and 18 others injured in separate incidents in Assam on Tuesday as heavy rain accompanied by strong wind lashed the state in the aftermath of cyclone 'Remal', officials said.

 

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is in Odisha for the Lok Sabha poll campaign, said the inclement weather is likely to continue in Nagaon, Hojai, West Karbi Anglong, Golaghat, Dima Hasao, Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj with very heavy rainfall and squally wind of about 40-50 km/hour, gusting up to 60 km/hour.

 

The storm over east Bangladesh is moving east-northeast at 15 km/hour and is expected to weaken by tonight, he said.

 

Mintu Talukdar, aged 19, died in Nabajyoti Nagar in Satgaon area of Kamrup (Metropolitan) district when a tree fell on their house and his father was also injured.

 

A 60-year-old woman, identified as Labanya Kumari, was injured when a tree fell on her in Kamrup district. She later died in Gauhati Medical College Hospital.

10:43 PM

Aid deliveries suspended after rough seas damage US-built temporary pier in Gaza

A US built temporary pier that had been used to deliver additional humanitarian aid into Gaza was damaged by rough seas and has temporarily suspended operations.
 

That's according to three US officials who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday. The Joint Logistics Over The Shore, or JLOTS, pier only began operations last week and had provided an additional way to get critically needed food to Gaza. 

9:12 PM

At 49.9 degrees Celsius, Delhi records all-time high maximum temperature

Delhi on Tuesday, May 28, recorded its all-time high maximum temperature as the mercury in India's capital, touched 49.9 degrees Celsius. Several areas, like Mungeshpur, Najafgarh and Narela, have recorded temperatures of 49.9 degrees Celsius, 49.8 degrees Celsius, and 49.9 degrees Celsius, respectively, facing severe heatwave conditions.

7:10 PM

Pope apologises after being quoted using vulgar term about gays regarding church ban on gay priests

Pope Francis apologised Tuesday after he was quoted using a vulgar term about gays to reaffirm the Catholic Church's ban on gay priests. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni issued a statement acknowledging the media storm that erupted about Francis' comments, which were delivered behind closed doors to Italian bishops on May 20. Italian media on Monday had quoted unnamed Italian bishops in reporting that Francis jokingly used the term “faggotness” while speaking in Italian during the encounter. He had used the term in reaffirming the Vatican's ban on allowing gay men to enter seminaries and be ordained priests.

7:08 PM

BYD launches new hybrid vehicle tech with lower fuel consumption

China's BYD launched its latest generation of plug-in hybrid technology that achieves a record low fuel consumption of 2.9 litres per 100 km (62.1 miles) on depleted batteries. BYD Chairman Wang Chuanfu unveiled the technology while speaking at an event in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, the site of the company's first automaking factory after it acquired Qinchuan Automobile Co in 2003.

7:07 PM

Fire engulfs rubber belt-making factory in Haryana

Fire broke out at a rubber belt-making factory in Rai Industrial Area of Sonipat today. Burn injuries reported. The injured were rushed to a hospital. Firefighting operations are underway. Fire Department personnel and Police official present at the spot. More details awaited.

7:07 PM

Shaktikanta Das launches three major initiatives of RBI

Reserve Bank of India Governor, Shaktikanta Das has launched three major initiatives of the Reserve Bank of India, namely the PRAVAAH portal, the Retail Direct Mobile App and a FinTech Repository.

7:07 PM

Heavy rainfall lashes Kochi; four dead

Heavy rains across Kerala, including a suspected cloud burst at Kochi, left four people dead and caused large destruction across the state.

 

Kottayam and Ernakulam districts have been the worst-hit and the IMD has announced a Red alert in these two districts. Likewise, an Orange alert has been announced for Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Idukki.

 

According to S. Abhilash, Associate Professor at the Cochin University of Science and Technology, a record 98.4 mm of rainfall was recorded in a matter of 90 minutes at the rain gauge on their campus.

7:02 PM

Heat intensifies in Rajasthan, Churu records season's highest at 50.5 deg C

Heat conditions intensified in Rajasthan, with Churu recording the highest temperature at 50.5 degrees Celsius, 7.5 degrees above normal and the highest of the season, the local weather office said on Tuesday.

 

According to the Meteorological Centre, Jaipur, Churu saw its highest temperature at 50.8 degrees Celsius on June 1, 2019. The day temperature reached 49.4 degrees Celsius in Ganganagar, 49 degrees Celsius in Pilani (Jhunjhunu) and Phalodi, 48.3 degrees Celsius in Bikaner, 48.2 degrees Celsius in Kota, 48 degrees Celsius in Jaisalmer, 46.6 degrees Celsius in Jaipur and 46 degrees Celsius in Barmer, it said.

4:55 PM

Delhi Water Minister Atishi says Haryana not releasing Delhi's share of water, warns of rationalising supply

Water Minister Atishi today Haryana of not releasing Delhi's share of water since May 1 and said the government will be implementing a slew of measures including rationalising supply of water in the national capital. Addressing a press conference, Atishi said many areas in Delhi are grappling with water shortage and appealed to people to use water judiciously. She also warned that if people do not heed this appeal, the government may have to impose challan for excess use of water in coming days.She said that the Delhi government is constantly talking to Haryana about the issue and if it is not resolved in the next couple of days, it may approach the Supreme Court over the matter.

4:51 PM

'KCR tried to use MLAs poaching case to arm twist BJP over ED case against daughter: former police official

Former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao reportedly wanted to employ the "BRS MLAs" poaching case to force BJP into a compromise to get rid of the ED case against his daughter and MLC K Kavitha, according to the confession statement of a former police official arrested in connection with the phone-tapping case. As per former Deputy Commissioner of Police P Radha Kishan Rao's confessional statement, one of the accused in the phone tapping case, 'Peddayana'--an indirect reference to  former CM K Chandrasekar Rao(KCR)-- wanted the arrest of BJP National General Secretary Organisation, B L Santhosh in connection with alleged attempt to poach his party MLAs.

4:38 PM

AAP cannot make defamatory statements against BJP repeatedly and not be accountable: BJP

"AAP cannot make defamatory statements against BJP repeatedly and not be accountable. Atishi ji will now have to appear before court to present her side," BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj said today. A Delhi Court has summoned minister Atishi to appear before it on June 29, in relation to a defamation case filed by BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor.

 

 

4:24 PM

Pune Porshe crash: Court sends teenager's father in police custody in driver kidnapping case

A Pune court today remanded the father of a juvenile allegedly involved in the Porsche car crash in police custody till May 31 in a case of alleged kidnapping and wrongful confinement of the family driver. The court also extended the police custody of the juvenile's grandfather till May 31 in the same case.

4:10 PM

22-year-old Patna college student beaten to death by masked men armed with sticks, bricks

A 22-year-old student at Patna’s BN College was beaten to death by 10-15 men armed with sticks and bricks when he went to take an exam at the Sultanganj Law College on Monday. The incident put the city on edge, with protesters demanding justice for the youth.