LIVE: Heavy rain lashes Rajasthan, waterlogging in streets of Ajmer

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Around 30 people were rescued in Pali and Jalore districts and a government hospital in Ajmer was inundated as there was no let-up in rains in Rajasthan, officials said on Monday. Parts of Rajasthan have been pounded by heavy to extremely heavy rainfall triggered by a depression, a remnant of Cyclone Biparjoy which made landfall in neighbouring Gujarat on June 15 and left behind a trail of destruction.

President Xi Jinping hosted Antony Blinken for talks in Beijing on Monday, capping two days of high-level talks by the US secretary of state with Chinese officials. Blinken's was the highest-level visit by a US official to China in nearly five years marked by severely strained ties between the world's two largest economies.

US officials have said they hope the visit will bring more stability, if not breakthroughs, between Washington and Beijing.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist and Khalistan supporter, was shot dead at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara in the Punjabi-dominated Surrey city of British Columbia province in Canada, reports HT

The flood situation in Assam continued to remain grim on Sunday as incessant rain inundated new areas across the state, even though the number of people affected by the deluge reduced to nearly 33,500 in 12 districts, an official bulletin said.

Fifty-nine people were rescued on Sunday from Rajasthan's Jalore, Sirohi and Barmer districts which are facing a flood-like situation due to heavy rainfall caused by cyclonic storm Biparjoy, officials said.

Torrential rain triggered multiple landslides in West Sikkim district, damaging nearly 100 houses and sweeping away bridges, officials said Sunday. The downpour caused flash floods along the upper reaches of College Khola Valley, causing maximum impact at Simphok, where a major bridge was swept away, they said.

10:22 PM

Pak visa to 473 Sikh pilgrims

Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi issues 473 visas to Sikh pilgrims from India to attend the annual death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, scheduled to be held in Pakistan from 21 June to 30 June.

 

10:22 PM

Floods, landslides kill 6 people in Nepal

Rain-triggered floods and landslides have killed at least six people and injured as many across Nepal, police said on Monday. Three persons died in Taplejung and one each in Paanchthar, Nuwakot and Sankhuwasabha districts, the Nepal Police said.

 

10:22 PM

Mumbai did not report single Covid-19 case: Official

Mumbai did not report single COVID-19 case, first time there was no addition to tally since February 13, said civic official, according to media reports.

10:20 PM

DGCA permits Vistara, IndiGo to operate flights on new international routes

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has given its permission to full-service carrier Vistara and no-frills IndiGo to operate new international flights from August, a senior official told PTI. Vistara had proposed to launch its flight services to Bali in Indonesia from New Delhi, while IndiGo had sought the regulator's nod to introduce air connectivity to Georgia's capital Tbilisi from New Delhi, the official said.

 

10:03 PM

Seven rain-related deaths reported in 2 days in Rajasthan

Seven people died in rain-related incidents and 265 people were rescued by relief forces as extremely heavy rainfall triggered by a depression, a remnant of Cyclone Biparjoy, battered parts of Rajasthan during the last two days, officials said.

 

3:26 PM

Monsoon in active stage in North-East

2:53 PM

Amit Shah to visit Gujarat tomorrow, attend several public events

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be on a day-long visit to Gujarat on Tuesday and attend several public events that include the worship at lord Jagannath Temple, the inauguration of two parks, a railway flyover and 'bhoomipujan' of a hospital.

Shah will arrive in Gujarat by late Monday evening and will attend five public events scheduled on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Home Minister will start his day early by attending 'Mangla Aarti' (part of worship) at Jagannath Temple in the Jamalpur area of Gujarat's Ahmedabad at around 3.45 am.

2:39 PM

UN complains Russia won't let aid workers into areas hit by dam collapse in southern Ukraine

The United Nations has rebuked Moscow for allegedly denying its aid workers access to Russian-occupied areas affected by the recent Kakhova dam collapse in southern Ukraine, which stranded residents, threatened power supplies and caused an environmental calamity as the war approaches 16 months.

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement late Sunday that the organisation has engaged with Moscow and Kyiv, each of which occupies parts of the southern Kherson region where the dam and reservoir are located, to address the devastating destruction caused by the breach.

The Russian government has so far declined our request to access the areas under its temporary military control, Brown said.

2:35 PM

UCC against religious freedom, will oppose it with steps under legal ambit: Jamiat

Prominent Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Monday claimed that the Uniform Civil Code is against the religious freedom guaranteed under the the Constitution but said it will not take to the streets to protest against it and instead would oppose it by taking all possible steps within the ambit of law.

The statement by the Muslim organisation comes days after the Law Commission initiated a fresh consultation process on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) by seeking views from stakeholders, including public and recognised religious organisations, on the politically sensitive issue.

In a statement, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind said it opposes the UCC as it is "totally against the religious freedom and fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens in Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution."

1:59 PM

WB panchayat polls: Contempt plea filed at HC on central forces deployment

Two separate contempt of court petitions have been filed at the division bench of the Calcutta High Court's Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam on Monday against the State Election Commission for not adhering to the earlier order of the same bench for deployment of central armed forces throughout the state for the forthcoming panchayat polls.

The two separate contempt petitions have been filed by the leader of the opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari and the Congress Lok Sabha member from Malda (South), Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury.

1:18 PM

Army soldier sustained gunshot wounds in unprovoked firing in Manipur

An Army soldier sustained gunshot wounds in his left leg after miscreants resorted to unprovoked firing in Manipur's Imphal West district around 11.45pm on Sunday.

According to sources, the soldier was evacuated to the military hospital at Leimakhong and is said to be stable.

12:38 PM

HC directs plantation of 10k trees across Delhi, money recovered from defaulting litigants to be utilised

Trees serve as "carbon sump by absorbing pollution which plagues the city all year round, the Delhi High Court has observed while directing plantation of 10,000 trees across the national capital by utilising over Rs 70 lakh deposited by defaulting litigants as costs in several matters.

Justice Najmi Waziri, who said such monies that are deposited in court are to be utilised for the larger public good, appointed four lawyers as court commissioners to identify the sites for the drive, preferably public roads.

12:06 PM

SC agrees to hear plea against HC order allowing shifting TN min Senthil Balaji to private hospital

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on June 21 a plea filed by the Enforcement Directorate against an order of the Madras High Court allowing the shifting of arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, who is under medical treatment at a city government hospital, to a private facility.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter before a vacation bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice M M Sundresh seeking urgent hearing.

11:17 AM

Secular parties have teamed up to defeat BJP, not to gain power: D Raja

CPI general secretary D Raja on Monday said all secular democratic parties have teamed up together to defeat the BJP in the upcoming 2024 general elections and not for grabbing power.

In an interview to PTI, Raja, who is on two-day Jharkhand visit, said the current situation in the country "is grave and disturbing" and there is a need to uproot the saffron party for the sake of democracy.

10:33 AM

Earthquake recorded off Myanmar's coast, shakes buildings in Thailand

An earthquake was recorded off the southern coast of Myanmar on Monday with tremors also felt in Thailand, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.

The 5.1 magnitude quake was recorded about 152 kilometers (95 miles) south of Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city, at 10 kilometers (6 miles) below the surface at 8:10 a.m., according to Myanmar's meteorology department.