LIVE: Qatar, Kuwait summon India envoy over BJP leaders' remarks
Nupur Sharma had made some controversial remarks about Prophet Muhammad
 "Nupur Sharma")
Nupur Sharma
Patidar leader Naresh Patel seen with Gujarat BJP chief at inaugural event
Patidar community leader and Khodaldham Trust Chief Naresh Patel was seen with Gujarat BJP chief C R Patil during the inauguration of a gym in Rajkot on Sunday.
The development came months before the Gujarat Assembly polls in December 2022. Earlier, the Congress was making attempts to ensure that Patel joins the party (INC).
Earlier sources had said the Congress was in the process of making Patel its Chief Ministerial face by getting him into the party in the Gujarat assembly elections, slated to be held by the year end.
Ahead of the Gujarat polls, all the political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party are striving to ensure their victory in the state.
BJP action against its leaders placatory, taken following 'threats from external powers': Cong
The Congress on Sunday said the BJP's action against its two spokespersons over their remarks against Prophet Muhammad came under duress following "threats from external powers" and exposed its "muscular posturing".
The ruling BJP on Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after their alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad.
Congress general secretary and chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala accused the BJP of pushing India into a dark age of religious polarisation to "subserve its parochial political agenda in the short term".
"The placatory expulsion of two key members and spokespersons of the BJP from its primary membership, done obviously under duress of threats from external powers, exposes the much touted 'muscular posturing' and positioning of the BJP and the Modi government," he said in a statement.
"Is the BJP sincere in course correcting? Is the BJP trying to atone for its immeasurable sins or is it more chameleon-like posturing," he also asked.
Amid protests by Muslim groups over the remarks, the BJP also issued a statement aimed at assuaging the concerns of minorities and distancing itself from these members, asserting that it respects all religions and strongly denounces the insult of any religious personality.
Fake international call centre duping US citizens busted, four held
Delhi Police has busted a fake international call centre and arrested four members of a gang who allegedly cheated US citizens on the pretext of providing them with technical support from Microsoft, officials said on Sunday.
The accused have been identified as Subham (23), Mohit Khanna (50), Bhupinder Singh (32) and Rahul Makhija (22), they said.
Police said that 28 telecallers have also been bound down.
The cyber cell police station of outer district on May 31 received a tip-off about an illegal call centre being run in Rani Bagh area.
According to police, the accused persons were involved in large scale cyber cheating with US citizens by impersonating as the executives of Microsoft support team from the US. They cheated their targets by inducing them to pay money for solving a non-existent problem, police said.
"A raid was conducted at the call centre premises during night where more than 25 persons, including females, were found engaged with computers in two separate halls. Computer sets and accessories were installed to communicate with the US citizens. These telecallers would call US nationals with English names in order to impersonate themselves as Microsoft support executives from the USA," said Sameer Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer).
They used illegal techniques like VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calling, causing loss to government exchequer, he said.
They also used remote access applications such as Ultraviewer, TeamViewer and AnyDesk. The dialling software was checked and a list of US telephone numbers in the dialled and received calls was found, he added.
49 killed in fire at Bangladesh chemical container depot
A massive fire and a series of subsequent explosions at a private chemical container depot in southeastern Bangladesh killed at least 49 people, including nine firefighters, and injured more than 450 others, officials said on Sunday, as firefighters were still struggling to put out the blaze.
According to doctors, the toll could rise further as many of the injured people were being treated with severe burns. The firefighters backed by army troops were yet to enter deep down the blast site to douse the fire nearly 23 hours after the fire broke out on Saturday.
"The fire was caused by chemicals including hydrogen peroxide, making the situation difficult, fire service chief Brigadier General Mohammad Mainuddin told reporters at the scene where the firefighters were trying to extinguish the blaze amid intermittent explosions since Saturday evening.
The official expected the firefighters to put out the blaze and halt the explosions by tonight.
The disaster prompted authorities to call out army sappers to prevent the spread of chemicals in nearby canals and the coastlines of the Bay of Bengal.
If Punjab govt recommends, Centre ready to get Moose Wala death probed by NIA: BJP's Sirsa
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Sunday said the Centre is ready to get the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala probed by a central agency like NIA if the Punjab government recommends it.
Sirsa visited Moosewala's village in Mansa and met the singer's family to express his condolences.
Asked to comment on the demand of the singer's family to get the death investigated by a central agency, the BJP leader told reporters, "If they want it to be probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), we will get it probed."
He, however, said the Punjab government will have to recommend for a probe by NIA or CBI after which the central agency will take over the investigation.
Replying to another question, he expressed concern over the 'deteriorating' law and order situation in the state.
Meanwhile, many other political leaders from various parties met Moosewala's family and expressed their condolences.
Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Kumari Selja, who also met the aggrieved family, termed the late singer a multi-talented artist.
TMC takes out protest rallies against Centre's delay in releasing Bengal's MGNREGA dues
Trinamool Congress (TMC) activists on Sunday took out protest rallies across West Bengal against Centre's alleged delay in releasing the state's dues under MGNREGA.
Party leaders and workers took out rallies in Kolkata, Howrah, Canning and Pandabeswar among other places and raised slogans against the Narendra Modi government.
In Kolkata, a rally was brought out in Rajabazar area in which around 3,000 people took part.
Newly elected TMC MLA from Ballygunge, Babul Supriyo, led a protest rally in Park Circus-Mallickbazar area of the city, and denounced the "step-motherly" treatment of West Bengal by the BJP-led government at the Centre.
"While there are TMC flags in our rally, some common people have also participated, waving black flags and condemning the Centre's indifference towards their plight," he said.
Thousands of party supporters participated in similar rallies across the state.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had recently announced that protest rallies would be brought out in every block of the state on June 5 and 6 in protest against delay of over five months in releasing the dues.
Odisha CM revamps team; inducts 12 fresh faces into new ministry
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday effected a major reshuffle in his three-year-old ministry inducting 12 fresh faces into his new team of 21 ministers.
Patnaik, also the president of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), had on Saturday asked all ministers to resign to pave the way for reconstituting the ministry ahead of the 2024 elections to the Lok Sabha and Assembly.
Among the 20 ministers who quit the previous day, Patnaik re-appointed only nine. Some of those who were dropped include ministers whose resignations the opposition was demanding over various issues.
Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal administered the oath of office to 21 ministers including five women. The programme was held at the new convention centre in Lok Seva Bhavan, the state secretariat.
Of the new ministers, 13 were of cabinet rank while the remaining eight were appointed as ministers of state (independent charge). Three of the five women -- Pramila Mallick, Usha Devi and Tukuni Sahu -- have been given cabinet berths.
Representation has also been given to leaders of the scheduled tribe, scheduled caste and Other Backward Class (OBC) categories.
Besides, Patnaik has focused on Western Odisha, considered the stronghold of the opposition BJP. Of the eight BJP MPs elected from the state in 2019, five are from that region. In the new team, seven ministers are from Western Odisha, one more than the previous ministry's figure.
Fire at Noida factory, none hurt; second incident in same area in a week
A fire broke out on one of the floors of a multi-storey factory in Sector 7 of Noida on Sunday - the second incident within a week in the area.
No individual was harmed in the incident, according to the fire authorities.
The blaze was reported around 5.45 PM from a thermocol-making unit located in Sector 7 of the city, Chief Fire Service Officer Arun Kumar Singh said.
On May 31, a fire had broken out around 4 AM at another factory in Sector 7.
The fire broke out on the third floor and contained there only. Three water tenders were rushed to the spot immediately along with firefighters while later two more water tenders were called in for assistance, Singh said.
No individual was harmed during the episode, said the officer, who was leading the relief operation at the site.
The fire has largely been controlled and efforts are underway to completely douse it, he added.
Telangana logs 63 new Covid-19 cases
As many as 63 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in Telangana on Sunday taking that state's total to 7,93,607.
Hyderabad reported the highest number of cases with 47, a Health department bulletin said.
As many as 47 people recuperated from the infection and the cumulative number of recoveries till date was 7,88,933.
The recovery rate stood at 99.41 per cent.
No fresh fatality occurred due to the infectious disease and the death toll continued to be 4,111.
The bulletin said 8,392 samples were tested on the day. The number of active cases was 563, it said.
Qatar summons Indian envoy over BJP leader's controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad
Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that it has summoned Indian Ambassador Deepak Mittal here and handed over to him an official note on what the Gulf country called "total rejection and condemnation" of the controversial remarks of a BJP leader against Prophet Mohammed.
In a press release, a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy here said that the Ambassador had a meeting in the Foreign Office in which concerns were raised with regard to some offensive tweets by individuals in India denigrating the religious personality.
"Ambassador conveyed that the tweets do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. These are the views of fringe elements, the spokesperson said.
Earlier, Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the State, handed the note to the Ambassador of the Republic of India, the ministry said in a statement.
It welcomed the statement issued by the ruling party in India in which it announced the suspension of the party's leader and said Qatar is expecting a public apology and immediate condemnation of these remarks from the Government of India.
"Strong action has already been taken against those who made the derogatory remarks, the spokesperson of the Indian Embassy here said.
"In line with our civilisational heritage and strong cultural traditions of unity in diversity, Government of India accords the highest respect to all religions, the official added.
Qatar summons Indian envoy over BJP leader's controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad
Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that it has summoned Indian Ambassador Deepak Mittal here and handed over to him an official note on what the Gulf country called "total rejection and condemnation" of the controversial remarks of a BJP leader against Prophet Mohammed.
In a press release, a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy here said that the Ambassador had a meeting in the Foreign Office in which concerns were raised with regard to some offensive tweets by individuals in India denigrating the religious personality.
"Ambassador conveyed that the tweets do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. These are the views of fringe elements, the spokesperson said.
Earlier, Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the State, handed the note to the Ambassador of the Republic of India, the ministry said in a statement.
It welcomed the statement issued by the ruling party in India in which it announced the suspension of the party's leader and said Qatar is expecting a public apology and immediate condemnation of these remarks from the Government of India.
"Strong action has already been taken against those who made the derogatory remarks, the spokesperson of the Indian Embassy here said.
"In line with our civilisational heritage and strong cultural traditions of unity in diversity, Government of India accords the highest respect to all religions, the official added.
BJP's Hans Raj Hans meets Sidhu Moose Wala's family in Punjab's Mansa
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Hans Raj Hans met the family of late Punjabi singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moose Wala in his hometown Mansa, Punjab.
"First of all, I have not appeared here for politics, but showed up being an artist and a father, kindly allow me to mourn," he said while addressing reporters.
Earlier in the day, BJP's Manjinder Singh Sirsa also met with Moose Wala's family to mourn the death of the singer and said that they are ready to help the family in every possible way, but the Centre cannot initiate a National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe until the State government demands it.
Meanwhile, the state Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also mourned the late singer's death by visiting his family at Mansa on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The singer-turned-politician was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Jawaharke village in Mansa district of Punjab on May 29, a day after the Punjab government curtailed his security cover.
Notably, Moose Wala's body had 19 bullet injury injuries and he died within 15 minutes of being shot, according to the post-mortem report, which also stated that the cause of his death was "haemorrhage shock" due to antemortem firearm injuries.
Dozens feared dead in Nigeria church attack, says official
Gunmen opened fire on worshippers at a Catholic church in southwestern Nigeria on Sunday and also detonated explosives, a state lawmaker said. Dozens were feared dead including children.
Ogunmolasuyi Oluwole said the attackers targeted the St. Francis Catholic Church in Ondo state just as the worshippers gathered on Pentecost Sunday.
Among the dead were many children, said Oluwole, who visited the scene and also the hospital where many of the wounded were being treated.
While much of Nigeria has struggled with security issues including Islamic extremism, Ondo is widely known as one of Nigeria's most peaceful states.
Russia hits Kyiv with missiles; Putin warns West on arms
Russia took aim at Western military supplies for Ukraine's government with early Sunday airstrikes in Kyiv that it said destroyed tanks donated from abroad, a claim denied by a Ukrainian official.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that any Western deliveries of long-range rocket systems to Ukraine would prompt Moscow to hit objects that we haven't yet struck.
The cryptic threat of a military escalation from the Russian leader didn't specify what the new targets might be, but it comes days after the United States announced plans to deliver USD 700 million of security assistance for Ukraine.
Those weapons include four precision-guided, medium-range rocket systems, helicopters, Javelin anti-tank weapon systems, radars, tactical vehicles and more.
Military analysts say Russia is hoping to overrun Ukraine's the embattled eastern industrial Donbas region, where Russia-backed separatists have fought the Ukrainian government since 2014, before any US weapons that might turn the tide arrive.
The Pentagon said last week it will take at least three weeks to get the precision US weapons onto the battlefield.
Ukraine's General Staff said Russian forces fired five X-22 cruise missiles from the Caspian Sea toward Kyiv, and one was destroyed by air defenses.
Four others missiles hit infrastructure facilities, but Ukraine said there were no casualties.
Kabaddi player's murder: Five more, including two shooters, arrested
Punjab Police has arrested five more persons, including two shooters, in connection with the murder case of international kabaddi player Sandeep Singh in March this year, taking the total number of arrests to nine, officials said on Sunday.
Police have also recovered seven pistols, including five foreign-made .30 bore pistols, and three vehicles from their possession, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jalandhar-Rural, Swapan Sharma.
Police have identified the arrested persons as Harwinder Singh alias Fauji of Bulandshahr, UP; Vikas Malhe of Gurgaon, Haryana; Sachin Dhaulia of Alwar, Rajasthan; Manjot Kaur of Sangrur, and Yadwinder Singh of Pilibhit, UP, an official statement quoting the SSP said.
On March 14, Sandeep Singh alias Sandeep Nangal Ambia was shot dead by five unidentified assailants during a kabaddi match at Mallian village in Jalandhar.
The SSP said Harwinder, who was nabbed from a village near Bulandshahr in UP, is the main coordinator in this killing, who also provided logistics support, including weapons to sharpshooters, getaway vehicles, safe houses, and training in weapon handling. Harwinder also provided financial support and helped organize recce for the execution of the crime.
Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel
First Published: Jun 05 2022 | 6:51 AM IST
