Jammu, June 29 (IANS) The Second batch of pilgrims left for the Valley early on Saturday morning in escorted convoys for the Amarnath Yatra which has begun. Officials said that the second batch of 4,029 Yatris left Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for Kashmir valley in two escorted convoys of 200 vehicles. Of these, []

Hyderabad, June 29 (IANS) Senior Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha member Dharampuri Srinivas passed away here early Saturday after prolonged illness. Srinivas, 76, who headed the Congress and served as a Minister in undivided Andhra Pradesh, breathed his last at his residence around 3 a.m., family sources said. The senior leader was not keeping []

Canberra, June 29 (IANS) Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed he and his family were threatened by an accused teenage terrorist. Albanese said on Friday that he and his family were among those threatened in an extremist manifesto in which 19-year-old Jordan Patten allegedly outlined his intention to kill Members of Parliament from the []

New York, June 29 (IANS) Four people were killed and nine others were injured when a minivan crashed into a nail salon in US state of New York, authorities said, citing media reports. Officials say the minivan drove all the way through the strip-mall business, Hawaii Nail and Spa, on 796 Grand Boulevard in Deer []

Moscow, June 29 (IANS) At least five persons were killed as a fire raced through a dormitory in a Moscow suburb, Russian media reports quoted emergency services as saying early on Saturday. TASS news agency said an initial investigation showed the fire in the suburb of Balashikha was caused by an electrical fault. Several residents []

Aden (Yemen), June 29 (IANS) The UN is set to facilitate a new round of negotiations between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group representatives concerning prisoner and detainee exchanges, a government official told the media. The local government official, who asked to remain anonymous, said on Friday that the talks are scheduled to commence []

Tehran, June 29 (IANS) Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has condemned recent meddlesome remarks by a US official about Irans 14th presidential election. Kanaani made the remarks on Friday on social media platform X, reacting to a series of posts by US Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley on his X account on []

Moscow, June 29 (IANS) Russia needs to start the production of intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) strike systems in response to the actions of the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. In 2019, we announced that we would not produce these missiles, and we would not deploy them until the US completes the deployment of these []

Ulan Bator, June 29 (IANS) Mongolias ruling party, the Mongolian Peoples Party (MPP), declared victory in the parliamentary elections held after provisional results from the General Election Commission (GEC) showed that the party had won a majority. I would like to thank all the voters who actively participated and voted in the ninth parliamentary elections. []

Tripoli, June 29 (IANS) The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said it has provided critical support for more than 4,800 Sudanese refugees in Libya so far this year. Critical support such as access to medical assistance, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, solar lamps, and cash assistance has been provided to over 4,800 Sudanese refugees []

Tehran, June 29 (IANS) Voting for Irans 14th presidential election ended at Friday midnight after 16 straight hours, said Spokesman of Irans Election Headquarters Mohsen Eslami. He made the remarks in a live interview with Irans state-run IRIB TV, noting that though the polling stations doors were closed, those people who had come before the []

Istanbul, June 29 (IANS) A dry cargo vessel loaded with wheat bound for Tunisia from Russia ran aground off Turkeys largest city, Istanbul, in the Marmara Sea. After anchoring off the Bakirkoy district on the European side of the city, the 169-metre dry cargo ship named Lady Ayana ran aground, according to the Demiroren news []

Istanbul, June 29 (IANS) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that there is no reason not to re-establish relations with Syria, according to media reports. Just as we were together in the past in developing relations with Syria, we will act together in the same way, Erdogan told reporters after Friday prayers in Istanbul. []

New York, June 29 (IANS) Nikhil Gupta, the Indian national accused in an alleged murder-for-hire plot, has appeared for the first time before the trial judge as lawyers laid out the preliminary steps. Federal Senior Judge Victor Marrero set the next court date for September 13 during the brief hearing on Friday at which he []

Sanaa, June 29 (IANS) Warplanes of the US-British coalition launched four airstrikes on the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah airport in western Yemen, the media reported. The Houthi-run al-Masirah TV did not provide further details, but residents said on Friday that the strikes hit Houthi military mobile targets inside the airport. The airport has been closed since late []

United Nations, June 29 (IANS) The UN Security Council has adopted a presidential statement calling on member states to redouble efforts to strengthen the protection of civilians in armed conflict. Expressing concern about the reports of a dramatic increase in missing persons in armed conflict, the council unanimously adopted the presidential statement aimed at reversing []

Ramallah, June 29 (IANS) The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned the Israeli cabinets move to legalise five settlement outposts in the West Bank and advance plans to build thousands of new units across the occupied territory. The Ministry said on Friday in a press statement that it views with extreme seriousness that the Israeli government []

Gaza, June 29 (IANS) At least 11 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli attack on tents housing displaced individuals in western Rafah, Gazas southernmost city, Palestinian security and medical sources said. The Israeli army fired artillery shells and bullets at the tents in the Al-Mawasi area, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. The shelling began []

Colombo, June 29 (IANS) The Sri Lankan government disbursed nearly 12 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($39 million) to the bank accounts of people selected as beneficiaries under Aswesuma welfare benefit payment program, the Presidents Media Division (PMD) said. The PMD said on Friday that money was deposited in the accounts of 622,495 beneficiaries for payments []

Baku, June 29 (IANS) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed a decree dissolving the sixth National Assembly and scheduled early parliamentary elections for September 1. The decision to dissolve the Parliament and call for early elections came on Friday following an official request from the National Assembly to the President on June 21 in a []

Islamabad, June 29 (IANS) A polio vaccination campaign was launched in Pakistans northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province with a target to vaccinate nearly 1.3 million children, the Provincial Emergency Operation Center said. Around 9,921 teams have been formed to vaccinate children under the age of five and about 15,000 security personnel will be deployed to []

Jakarta, June 29 (IANS) Indonesias Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has called for a 12-year prison sentence and a fine of 500 million rupiah (nearly $30,600) for former Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo on charges of extortion and corruption. During the trial on Friday, prosecutor Meyer Simanjuntak revealed that Limpo is also required to repay 44.27 []

Riga, June 29 (IANS) The Latvian Meteorological Authority has issued a hot-weather alert as air temperatures are expected to surge above 30 degrees Celsius. The Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center said on its website that temperatures on Friday ranged from 30 to 33 degrees Celsius, with a slightly cooler weather forecasted only along the []

New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday announced fresh dates for the recently cancelled NCET, Joint CSIR-UGC NET, and UGC-NET June 2024 cycle examinations. Earlier, citing unavoidable circumstances, the examinations were cancelled/postponed, leaving scores of tense aspirants waiting for new dates. The June cycle UGC-NET exam was earlier held on []

Jaipur, June 29 (IANS) BJP MP from Rajasthans Jalore, Lumbaram Choudhary, has written to Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, urging him to facilitate the repatriation of the mortal remains of a trader from the state who was reportedly kidnapped and murdered in Guangdong, China, recently. The deceased Satish Kumar, a resident of Bhinmal town []

Jaipur, June 29 (IANS) Former SBI Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya on Friday raised concern over the fact that a very small percentage of women make it to the senior management in different organisations. She made the comments while delivering her special address during CIIs Rajasthan Women Leadership Summit in Jaipur. The reason for this is that []

Patna, June 29 (IANS) A special vigilance court in Bihars Muzaffarpur on Friday awarded four years imprisonment to a retired engineer in connection with a scam of Rs 20,000 related to the Triveni canal repair case that occurred around 38 years ago. Special judge Satyaprakash Shukla found retired engineer Surendra Nath Verma (76), a resident []

Shillong, June 29 (IANS) Customs officials of India and Bangladesh, in their meeting here, have resolved to enhance trade facilitation and cooperation between both nations, officials said. Officials said that the two-day 7th Commissioner-level India-Bangladesh Joint Group of Customs meeting, which began on Thursday, marked a significant milestone in bilateral relations, emphasising a shared commitment []

Srinagar, June 28 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached a house, belonging to a drug trader linked to funding for terrorist activities, in J&Ks Srinagar district on Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, a statement said. The ED, in a statement, said that the house, valued at Rs 1.50 crore, in the Bemina []

Bhopal, June 28 (IANS) After a disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress has been preparing to put up a good show in a bid to win the Amarwara Assembly seat in the states Chhindwara district where bypoll is scheduled to be held on July 10. The by-election to Amarwara []

Barcelona (Spain), June 28 (IANS) Spain may have won all their matches so far at Euro 2024, but many Spaniards remain unconvinced about their national teams chances of going all the way to the title. This edition of the quadrennial European football tournament began on June 14 and is entering its knockout stage, when the []

Bengaluru, June 28 (IANS) Former Karnataka Minister B. Nagendra, who quit his position following corruption allegations of Rs 187 crore in connection with the state tribal welfare board, is fearing arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), sources said on Friday. One of the accused Satyanarayan Varma, who is named in the scam, has []

Hyderabad, June 28 (IANS) ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has developed Nutrition Atlas, an online virtual, interactive web application that helps access nutrition data from different national surveys from different time points and geographies on a single platform. NIN Director Dr R. Hemalatha launched the application available at www.nutritionatlasindia.in or www.nurtritionatlasindia.com. The interactive tool has []

Patna June 28 (IANS) The girder of an under-construction bridge collapsed in Bihars Madhubani district on Friday, making it the fifth such incident in the past 10 days after Araria, Siwan, East Champaran, and Kishanganj. The construction of the bridge was underway on the Bhutahi Balan River under the Madhepur block. The girder, whose concretisation []

Panchkula (Haryana), June 28 (IANS) Seasoned woman javelin thrower Annu Rani bagged the gold medal in her discipline but could not dip under the Olympic Qualification mark in the 63rd National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships 2024 here on Friday. Asian Games champion Annu Rani won the gold medal in the womens javelin throw with a []

Bhubaneswar, June 28 (IANS) A court here on Friday sentenced a person to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life by holding him guilty of sexually abusing his own daughter. The convict, identified as Jyotirmaya Samal, was an auto rickshaw driver in Bhubaneswar. On September 1, 2021, the convict tried to rape his daughter who, along with []

Gurugram, June 28 (IANS) On the lines of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, plants to manufacture green coal from waste items will be set up soon in Gurugram and Faridabad. The project will also be expanded to other cities in Haryana, said a spokesperson for the Gurugram civic body. The decision in this regard was taken []

Guwahati, June 28 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday expressed his strong displeasure with the Deputy Commissioner of states Nalbari district over the extravagant food arrangements during the Cabinet meeting on Thursday. The Chief Minister, in a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Nalbari district, mentioned that in spite of repeated instructions []

Aizawl, June 28 (IANS) A programme was held here on Friday to celebrate the signing of the Mizoram Peace Accord in 1986 between the Central and the state governments and the Mizo National Front (MNF) to end insurgency in the state, raging since 1966. The historic tripartite accord, referred to as Remna Ni, was signed []

Guwahati, June 28 (IANS) Assam Forest and Wildlife officials accompanied by conservationists have recorded the first photographic proof of the Mainland Serow, a vulnerable mammal species notified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an official said on Friday. Forest officials said that the Mainland Serow was spotted in the newly declared Raimona []

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Milind Deora, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde camp) MP in Rajya Sabha on Friday extended greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his third consecutive tenure and said that despite three terms in power, the leader with global appeal enjoys massive support of the masses. His unique style of congratulating []

Bhopal, June 28 (IANS) The police in Madhya Pradesh are gearing up for the three new criminal laws that will come into force in the country from July 1. The new criminal laws, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code []

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) The Centres fiscal deficit narrowed to 3 per cent of the full-year estimate in the first two months of the current financial year (2024-25) compared to 11.8 per cent during the same period of the previous fiscal on the back of strong revenue growth and higher dividend from the RBI, []

Hyderabad, June 28 (IANS) At least five workers were killed and 10 others injured in a blast in a factory in Telanganas Rangareddy district on Friday, officials said. The blast occurred in South Glass Private Ltd on the outskirts of Shadnagar town, about 55 km from Hyderabad. According to officials, a compressor exploded at the []

Amritsar, June 28 (IANS) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Friday offered prayers at the Golden Temple and Ram Tirath, saying he found great peace of mind by visiting the sacred city of Sikh Gurus. After paying obeisance with folded hands before the holy book at the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine, the Chief []

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) The Centre has set up a 247 war room to ensure full refunds for cancelled flights or provide alternate travel route tickets as per availability following the closure of Terminal 1 (T1) of Delhi airport following a roof collapse amid heavy rain. At around 5 a.m. on Friday, a roof []

Hyderabad, June 28 (IANS) With another of its MLAs defecting to Congress on Friday, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) President and former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said the defections would have no impact on the party. Interacting with BRS workers at his farmhouse at Erravelli in Siddipet district, he said that it is the []

Jaipur, June 28 (IANS) Rajasthan Minister Jogaram Patel on Friday held a public grievance redressal session at the Jodhpur Circuit House after making a surprise inspection in the ditrict. Speaking on the incident of a man drowning in Jodhpur after heavy rain on Thursday, Patel, who is in-charge of the Parliamentary Affairs and Justice Departments, []

New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Delhi witnessed a sizeable jump in temperature-related electricity demand in the last 12 months (up to June 22), a new report by Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), an independent think-tank, said on Friday. As per the IEEFA report, the peak power demand in the national capital increased []

Mumbai, June 28 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has hailed the please all budget presented by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in the state Assembly on Friday, saying that it is a comprehensive budget aimed to cover almost all sections of the society, including farmers, women, youth, and workers. Shinde, whose stamp is there in []