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8:44 AM

Xi Jinping to attend virtual SCO summit hosted by India: Chinese Foreign Ministry

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend next week's virtual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) being hosted by India, an official announcement here said on Friday. At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Xi will attend via video conference in Beijing, the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads meeting of the SCO on July 4 and deliver important remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a brief press release.

 

8:05 AM

Uttar Pradesh: Six dead in road accident in Banda

Six people were killed and two others were critically injured after their speeding SUV rammed into a parked truck at Baberu Kamasin Marg in Banda district, police said.

The accident took place at Baberu Kamsin Marg of Baberu police station area on Thursday, said a police official.

8:04 AM

Preparedness reviewed in Himachal after IMD rain alert

Himachal Pradesh PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh held a meeting here and visited various locations on Thursday to review the preparedness after the IMD rain alert in the region.

"All major roads have been opened in the state, and only 28 rural roads have yet to be opened. Over 400 machines have been deployed across the state, and the state is under alert and prepared for the IMD rain alert in the region," he said.

Shimla is also on alert ahead of the rain warning. The legislator of Shimla, Harish Janartha, said that a task force has also been constituted to monitor the rain situation in Shimla town.

8:03 AM

IMF deal expected in next 24 hours: Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar

Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said a staff-level agreement for a crucial bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is "very close" and expected in the next 24 hours, Dawn reported.

Dawn is a Pakistani English-language newspaper.

The Pakistan government is racing against time to unlock at least $1.1 billion under the lender's ninth review of a USD 6.5-billion Extended Fund Facility agreed in 2019. The programme expires on Friday.

8:02 AM

China's Xi to attend, deliver speech at SCO summit via video link: Foreign ministry

China's President Xi Jinping will attend and deliver a speech at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) via video link on July 4, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.

 

The SCO is a political and security union of countries spanning much of Eurasia, including China, India and Russia.

 

8:01 AM

NATO tentatively agrees to ask Stoltenberg to remain head for another year

NATO members have reached a tentative agreement to ask Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to remain head of the 31-member transatlantic alliance for another year, according to a US official familiar with the decision.

 

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the decision still needs to be finalized by alliance members. The much-anticipated decision to formally ask Stoltenberg to extend his tenure for another year is expected to happen relatively soon, the official said.

 

NATO members are scheduled to hold their annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12. President Joe Biden conveyed to Stoltenberg during their recent meeting at the White House that it was evident there wasn't going to be consensus in the near term among NATO allies on picking a new permanent leader, the official said.

7:59 AM

PM Modi to participate in Delhi University's centenary celebrations today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be participating in the valedictory ceremony of the centenary celebrations of Delhi University on June 30th.

 

Taking to Twitter PM Modi wrote "Looking forward to joining the University of Delhi's centenary celebrations at 11 AM tomorrow, 30th June. As a premier centre of learning, DU has been nurturing talent and fostering intellectual growth for a century. Congratulations to the DU fraternity on this milestone."

 

During the programme, Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the Delhi University Computer Centre and the building of the Faculty of Technology, and the academic block which will be built in the North Campus of the University.

7:58 AM

Heavy rainfall expected over Konkan, Ghat areas of Maharashtra: IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) updated about heavy rainfall activity over a few places of Konkan and adjoining Western Ghat areas of central Maharashtra.

 

"Due to active monsoon conditions enhanced rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected at a few places over parts of Konkan and adjoining ghat areas of Madhya Maharashtra during the next 2-3 days," said the official statement.

 

According to the official release, the Konkan and Ghat regions of Maharashtra experienced extensive rainfall, with isolated areas receiving moderate to extremely heavy rainfall, while the monsoon remained active across most of these regions.

7:58 AM

TN governor reserves dismissal order of Senthil Balaji to consult AG

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi has decided to keep the dismissal order of state minister V Senthil Balaji in abeyance for the time being and informed Chief Minister M K Stalin about it, sources said on Thursday.

 

In a late evening communication to the chief minister, the governor said he would consult the attorney general and seek his legal opinion about the move.

 

The order to dismiss Balaji from the Council of Ministers has been kept in abeyance by the governor until further communication, the sources said.

 

Earlier, the governor had dismissed Balaji from the Council of Ministers, days after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged cash-for-jobs scam.

7:58 AM

Parl panel calls representatives of Law Commission, law ministry on UCC

A parliamentary standing committee has called representatives of the Law Commission and the law ministry on July 3 on a recent notice issued by the law panel seeking views of stakeholders on the issue of a uniform civil code.

 

According to the schedule of the standing committee on law and personnel, it will hear the views of representatives of the law panel and legal affairs and legislative departments of the law ministry "on public notice issued by the Law Commission of India on 14th June, 2023, inviting views from the various stakeholders on the Uniform Civil Code, under the subject Review of Personal Laws'".

 

Till Tuesday evening, the law panel had received nearly 8.5 lakh responses on its public notice.

 

7:57 AM

Triple train crash: CRS submits report to railways, CBI also investigating

The Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) probing the triple-train accident in Odisha's Balasore has submitted its report to the Railway Board, sources said on Thursday.

 

The contents of the report could not be immediately ascertained. Senior Railway Board officials refused to comment on the report's findings.

 

On June 2, three trains collided in Balasore district, claiming more than 280 lives and injuring over 1,000 people. The Coromandel Express entered the passing loop instead of the main line near Bahanaga Bazar railway station at full speed and collided with a stationary goods train.

7:57 AM

Mumbai got 95% of rainfall recorded this month in just six days: IMD data

Mumbai received more than 95 per cent of the rainfall recorded this month so far between June 24 and 29, the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) data showed.

 

Despite the heavy showers over the last six days, the city has recorded overall deficit in rains this month. The June normal for Colaba observatory in south Mumbai is 542.3 mm. This year, it recorded 395 mm rainfall, of which 371.4 mm rain was received during June 24 to 29. In the suburbs, Santacruz weather station's normal rainfall for June is 537.1 mm. This year, from June 1 to 29, it recorded 502.9 mm of rainfall, including 485 mm received between June 24 to 29.

 

The southwest monsoon made onset over Mumbai on June 25 against the usual date of June 11.

7:57 AM

Manipur doesn't need visit by leaders to exacerbate fault lines: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the situation in Manipur demands bridging differences through compassion and not a visit by a political leader to exacerbate the fault lines, in an apparent reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's daylong trip to the ethnic strife-torn state.

 

Sarma, who is also the convenor of the North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the NDA's northeast chapter, said Gandhi's visit to Manipur is nothing but media hype and at this point, no one should try to take political mileage from the northeastern state's "tragic" situation.

 

"Situation in Manipur demands bridging differences through compassion. It's not in the nation's interest for a political leader to use his so-called visit to exacerbate fault lines. Both the communities of the state have clearly rejected such attempts," Sarma said in a tweet.

 

7:56 AM

Stalin vows to fight legally as TN Guv dismisses Balaji from Cabinet

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Thursday dismissed Minister V Senthil Balaji from the state Cabinet days after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate(ED) in a cash-for-jobs scam, in a rare move that has escalated the confrontation with Chief Minister M K Stalin.

 

Reacting to the governor's dramatic action, Stalin said he has no authority to dismiss a minister from the Cabinet and that the DMK government would challenge the decision legally.

 

The governor's action also sparked outrage among the non-BJP opposition parties which condemned the dismissal, calling it "outrightly unconstitutional" and "murder of democracy".