LIVE updates: India asks Pakistan to reduce high commission staff by 50%

Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane will visit Leh today to review the on-ground situation and the progress in talks with the Chinese military

5:08 PM

Pakistani troops violate ceasefire along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara

Pakistani troops violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district on Tuesday by firing mortar shells towards Indian positions, army officials here said.

 

"On June 23, in the afternoon hours, Pakistan initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation along the LoC in Machil sector by firing mortars and other weapons," the officials said.

 

They said the Indian Army gave a befitting response to the ceasefire violation. However, there were no casualties reported in the incident.

4:55 PM

Latest News LIVE: IMD issues orange alert for several districts in Kerala on June 26, 27

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued Orange alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts on June 26 and in Wayanad and Kozhikode districts on June 27. As per the IMD, Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam expected to experience isolated heavy to very heavy rains. Extremely heavy rain predicted in Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts.

 

Meanwhile, the IMD has said that the Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of north Arabian Sea, most parts of Kutch, some more parts of Gujarat region, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Uttarakhand.

 

"Conditions are becoming favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into remaining parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, entire Western Himalayan Region, Haryana, Chandigarh & Delhi, most parts of Punjab and some parts of Rajasthan during next 48 hours," it said.

 

The IMD also said that the cyclonic circulation lies over interior Odisha and neighbourhood between 2.1 km and 5.8 km above mean sea level tilting southwestwards with height. The trough at mean sea level runs from northwest Rajasthan to northwest Bay of Bengal across northeast Rajasthan, north Madhya Pradesh, northern parts of Chhattisgarh, southern parts of Jharkhand and northern parts of Odisha and extends upto 1.5 km above mean sea level, the IMD said.

4:34 PM

India is a strong nominee to become a permanent member of UNSC: Russian Foreign Minister

4:28 PM

LIVE: Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar met Russian Deputy Defence Minister in Moscow

4:19 PM

Gold slips ahead of euro PMI data, second virus wave fears cap losses

Gold eased on Tuesday on expectations of positive manufacturing data from the euro zone, but concerns over a second coronavirus wave kept the safe-haven metal near its highest level in more than a month. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,749.80 per ounce by 0701 GMT. On Monday, bullion hit $1,762.84, its highest since May 18. U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,762.30.

 

"We're seeing a little bit of profit taking ahead of the PMI data. Positive data could be a mood shifter and lend more support to the V-shaped recovery," said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at financial services firm AxiCorp.

 

Economists expect the euro zone composite flash PMI to rise to 42.4 in June from 31.9 last month as European economies gradually reopen. US manufacturing data is also due at 1345 GMT.

 

4:06 PM

Sensex rallies 519.11 points to settle at 35,430.43; Nifty surges 159.80 points to 10,471

4:00 PM

India's farm trade may rebound in second half of 2020: Fitch Solutions

The country's farm trade, which was disrupted during the Covid-19 lockdown due to logistic issues in March-June, is expected to rebound in the second half of the calendar year 2020, said analytics firm Fitch Solutions in its latest report. The central government imposed a strict nationwide lockdown from March 25 to April 30, and then a partial lockdown in May to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

 

"These measures were eased in phases from June 8 despite a continued surge in domestic Covid-19 infections, in order to protect livelihoods. We note that some states will remain in lockdown beyond May, which will continue to disrupt the economy and agribusiness operations," it said.

 

Stating that the farm trade was greatly disrupted during the lockdown due to logistic issues, Fitch Solutions said both exports (rice, sugar) and imports (palm oil) collapsed over March-June.

 

"We forecast trade to rebound strongly in H2 (second half) of 2020, but total trade volumes over 2020 will be in line or below 2019 levels due to the scale of the decline recorded in H1 (first half) of 2020," it said.

 

This will be the case for palm oil imports that have been almost 40 per cent lower year-on-year over January-April.

3:59 PM

Indian Army plans to place orders for more Excalibur ammunition for howitzers

After the government allowed the armed forces to go in for emergency procurements to do away with shortages of critical equipment, the Indian Army is planning to place an order for acquiring more Excalibur precision-guided Artillery ammunition which can hit targets at 50 km range, ANI reported.

 

The Excalibur ammunition was inducted last year by the Army to acquire the capability to hit enemy positions close to populated areas without causing collateral damage on the western sector under emergency financial powers.

 

"Now the financial powers have been again given to the armed forces and there are plans to place repeat orders for the Excalibur ammunition used by the Ultra Light Howitzers which can be deployed with ease on high altitude mountains," Defence sources told ANI.

 

After the last year's orders, the Army had started inducting the ammunition from America by October time frame and was fired at targets with pinpoint accuracy.

 

The development is taking place when the Chinese have also placed their artillery in rear positions along the Line of Actual Control along the Eastern Ladakh sector. The Vice Chiefs of the three services have been given the financial powers up to Rs 500 crore per project to acquire the required weapon systems under fast track procedures needed to fill whatever shortcomings or requirement is felt.

 

The requirement of granting this power again to the forces was felt by the government after the Chinese aggression in Eastern Ladakh and the way they have deployed their troops in large numbers there along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Similar financial powers were given to the armed forces after the Uri attack and the Balakot aerial strikes against Pakistan.

3:44 PM

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik watched live telecast of Jagannath Rath Yatra at his office in Bhubaneswar

3:35 PM

S Jaishankar stresses on need to follow ethos of international relations in presence of Chinese FM at RIC meet

In an address at a virtual conference of the Russia-India-China trilateral, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday underlined the need for recognising legitimate interest of partners in a multilateral set-up and following ethos of international relations. His comments in presence of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi came in the midst of an escalating border row between India and China following killing of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash. Last week, India termed the killing of Indian soldiers a "premeditated and planned action" by the Chinese troops.

 

"This special meeting reiterates our belief in the time-tested principles of international relations. But the challenge today is not just one of concepts and norms, but equally of their practice," Jaishankar said. "The leading voices of the world must be exemplars in every way. Respecting international law, recognising the legitimate interests of partners, supporting multilateralism and promoting common good are the only way of building a durable world order," he added.

 

The external affairs minister's comments are seen as an indirect message to China which has been adopting an aggressive posturing along its land boundary with India besides increasing its activities in the Indian Ocean region.

 

In his initial remarks, Jaishankar also said that India did not get its due recognition in the global order post World War II and that the historical injustice remained "uncorrected" for the last 75 years.

3:27 PM

Don't think India and China need any help from the outside: Russian Foreign Minister

3:20 PM

Army Chief General M M Naravane interacting with soldiers at Military Hospital

3:19 PM

India, China armies to disengage from friction points in Ladakh: Report

Chinese and Indian armies have arrived at a consensus on the "outstanding issues" between them and agreed to take necessary measures to "cool down" the situation at their borders, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.

 

On Monday, Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the commander of the 14 Corps, held a nearly 11-hour meeting with Commander of the Tibet Military District Maj Gen Liu Lin in an attempt to lower the temperature between the two sides.

 

The talks were held in the midst of escalating tension between the two countries following the violent clashes in Galwan Valley last week that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead. The commanders level meeting was held on June 22 and the two sides exchanged views. READ MORE...

3:06 PM

Leading voices of world must be exemplars in every way: Dr S Jaishankar

2:58 PM

Lt Governor's 5-day mandatory quarantine order done away with: AAP govt to HC

The AAP government on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that the Lieutenant Governor's order on mandatory five-day institutional quarantine for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients has been replaced, which makes the PIL challenging it infructuous, Press Trust of India reported.

 

Taking note of the submission, a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan said the grievances raised in the plea have been brought to an end by the latest Delhi government order of June 20 which replaced the L-G's June 19 direction for mandatory five-day institutional quarantine for asymptomatic Covid-19 patients.

 

The court said if the petitioner, Nancy Roy, was aggrieved by the latest order she can challenge it before the appropriate forum and disposed of her plea. The petition had challenged L-G Anil Baijal's June 19 order for a five-day institutional quarantine for all asymptomatic Covid-19 patients or those with mild symptoms in place of home isolation.

 

The petition had termed as a "harsh direction" the L-G's order and said it amounts to forcing patients to undergo five-day institutional quarantine, specially when the government is unable to provide adequate number of beds and nurses to patients who are in dire need of hospitalisation.