Breaking News, June 8

The Katihar-Barauni rail route still remains a stiff challenge for railway cops. In a shocking video, a man was seen stealing a phone from a moving train. In the video, which went viral, a man was seen sitting by the edge of the train while it was crossing a bridge and even before he could blink, his phone was gone. Yes, gone... stolen. Read More. 

A parents of youth in Bihar's Samastipur are begging to collect money to get the mortal remains of their son released from Sadar Hospital after a hospital employee allegedly asked for Rs 50,000 to release the body.

Speaking on the matter, the deceased's father Mahesh Thakur said, "some time ago my son had gone missing. Now, we've received a call that my son's body is at Sadar Hospital, Samastipur. A hospital employee has asked for Rs 50,000 to release my son's body. We're poor people, how can we pay this amount?" Read More...

Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi is the mastermind behind the killing of the singer-politician, Delhi Police said on Wednesday. Addressing a presser, Delhi Police Special CP HGS Dhaliwal said: "Lawrence Bishnoi is the mastermind behind the killing... Maharashtra Police has been given Mahakaal alias Siddhesh Hiraman Kamble's 14-day police custody remand. He is a close associate of one of the shooters, but he's not involved in the killing."

India has achieved a Guinness World Record of constructing the longest piece of road 75 kms in a record time of 105 hours and 33 minutes on NH-53, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways informed on Wednesday. READ MORE

2701 new COVID cases were reported on Wednesday in Maharashtra while 1327 patients were discharged. With zero deaths today, active cases stood at 9806 in the state.

PM Modi will visit Gujarat on 10th June. He will inaugurate & lay the foundation stone of multiple development initiatives during ‘Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan’ in Navsari. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate headquarters of IN-SPACe at Bopal, Ahmedabad, PMO informed.

In line with the Delhi High Court order, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued new Covid norms for airports, and aircraft, making masks mandatory throughout the journey and permitting mask removal only under exceptional circumstances. Violators may be treated as "unruly passengers". As per HC order, violators can be put on the 'no-fly list'.

In a bid to conserve energy, the cash-strapped Pakistan government has decided to ban wedding functions in Islamabad city after 10 pm, according to media reports on Wednesday. Pakistan, which is facing a worsening power crisis, has taken various steps to bring down the consumption of electricity to reduce load shedding, will now ban wedding functions after 10 pm in Islamabad with effect from June 8, Geo News reported. READ MORE

The border security force apprehended four people and seized nearly 3kg of narcotic substance dropped by a Pakistani drone in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan.

A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped on a moving bus in Bihar, police said on Wednesday. Four people were arrested in connection with the incident that happened on Tuesday, they said. "The girl was waiting at the Motihari bus stand in East Champaran district for a bus to Bettiah in West Champaran. The bus driver told her that it was going to Bettiah and she hopped on it," sub-divisional police officer (Bettiah-Sadar) Mukul Pandey said. "She was given a spiked drink on the bus, following which she fell unconscious. She told police that she was gang-raped after that," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday greeted Kashmiri Pandits on the occasion of Jyeshtha Ashtami. "Greetings to everyone, especially my Kashmiri Pandit sisters and brothers on Jyeshtha Ashtami. We pray to Mata Kheer Bhawani for everyone's well-being and prosperity," he tweeted. Kashmiri Pandits offer prayers at the Kheer Bhawani temple in Ganderbal district in Jammu and Kashmir on this day. 

The Border Security Force on Tuesday said it apprehended four persons and seized over three kilogram of narcotics substance dropped by a Pakistani drone in Sri Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. Villagers in the Khyaliwali area near the Indo-Pak border nabbed two suspected persons early Tuesday morning and informed the BSF, an official of the force said. On their information, two more persons were nabbed while they were escaping in a car, he said.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal against the Delhi High Court order dismissing a plea challenging the final answer keys of the Delhi Judicial Service Preliminary Exam 2022. A vacation bench of Justices M R Shah and Aniruddha Bose dismissed the plea saying that the High Court has considered each and every question in detail. “Prepare for the next exam. High Court has considered in detail all answers and issues,” the bench said.

The BJP on Wednesday declared names of five candidates for the upcoming polls to 10 seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, but former minister Pankaja Munde's name did not figure in the list. Earlier, there were speculations that the party may nominate Pankaja Munde, the daughter of late BJP leader Gopinath Munde, for the MLC polls, to be held on June 20. As per a release issued by the BJP, it has chosen Pravin Yeshwant Darekar (currently leader of opposition in the Council), Ram Shankar Shinde (former minister), Shrikant Bharatiya, Uma Girish Khapre (BJP's state wome's wing chief) and Prasad Minesh Lad as its candidates for the polls.

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday sought default bail from a special court here in a corruption case against him being probed by the CBI, claiming the probe agency has filed an "incomplete" charge sheet in the case. The CBI had last week filed a 59-page charge sheet in the case against NCP leader Deshmukh and his two former aides - Sanjeev Palande and Kundan Shinde - in the corruption case. Deshmukh is currently in judicial custody in a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He is lodged in the Arthtur Road jail in Mumbai.

Vietnam's health minister and the mayor of the capital Hanoi have been arrested as part of an expanding investigation into massive price gouging of COVID-19 tests, state media reported. Nguyen Thanh Long was dismissed from his ministry post and Chu Ngoc Anh, who previously was the science minister, was fired as Hanoi mayor, Tuoi Tre online news outlet reported Tuesday. They are being investigated for abuse of power, according to the Ministry of Public Security, and have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party. An investigation concluded earlier that mismanagement in the science and health ministries had allowed Viet A Technology Corporation to inflate prices for test kits supplied to hospitals and health centers in Vietnam.

Two juveniles were apprehended for allegedly stabbing a man to death in south Delhi's Central Market, police said on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as 27-year-old Manish, a resident of Deoli. He worked at a footwear shop in Central Market, they said. The incident took place on Tuesday night, police said. According to the police, over a month ago, one of the two minor boys was slapped by Manish. To take revenge, the juvenile along with two other minors went to the market where Manish worked, lured him out and attacked him with knives. The third minor, however, stayed away from the spot when Manish was attacked, they said.

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Girls performed better than boys in the annual Class 12 exams conducted by the Maharashtra Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, the results of which were declared by the board on Wednesday. A total of 94.22 per cent students state board's Higher Secondary Education (HSC) exams this year, which is less compared to 99.63 per cent of students who passed the exams last year. The pass percentage of girls was 95.35 per cent, while that of boys was 93.29 per cent, according to the results announced by the board's chairperson, Sharad Gosavi.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has invited online applications from eligible candidates for the post of Junior Executive (Air Traffic Control). The application window will open on June 15 and the last date to apply is July 14. No application through any other mode except online will be accepted. For application, visit AAI's official website www.aai.aero Candidates with 60 per cent marks or equivalent in full-time three years Bachelors' degree in Science (BSc) with Physics and Mathematics or full-time Bachelor's degree in Engineering in any discipline (Physics and Mathematics should be subjects in any one of the semesters' curriculum) are eligible to apply for the post.

NASA will launch a research rocket from remote northern Australia this month in the agency's first blast off from a commercial space port outside the United States. Three suborbital sounding rockets will be launched from the Arnhem Space Center on Indigenous-owned land near the mining town of Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory on June 26, July 4 and 12, said NASA and the launch pad's owner, Equatorial Launch Australia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Tokyo Paralympics champion Avani Lekhara for winning gold at the Para Shooting World Cup, lauding the "historic accomplishment". Modi also expressed delight at shooter Sriharsha Devaraddi winning the gold in his category.  Lekhara won gold at the Para Shooting World Cup with a world record score of 250.6 in women's 10m air rifle standing SH1 in Chateauroux, France on Tuesday. The 20-year-old Lekhara broke her own world record of 249.6 to secure her a spot at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Two men were apprehended for allegedly creating ruckus and pelting stones causing damages to vehicles in the Jahangirpuri area of northwest Delhi, police said on Wednesday. They were identified as Vishal (18) and Veeru (18), both residents of Lakhi Park, Jahangirpuri, the police said. The two were under the influence of alcohol during their unruly act, they said. The incident took place when Zahir, along with his friends including Vishal and Veeru, went to a residential area to take revenge for an argument he had with members of another group two-three days ago, police said.

Uttar Pradesh news: Banda Jail Deputy Jailor Vireshwar Pratap Singh has been suspended with immediate effect "after being found guilty of grave irregularities and causing obstructions in the inspection at the jail premises."

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The recent murder of the Gujarati couple at their residence in south Kolkata's Bhabanipur might have links to the stock market, and the killings could have been executed by someone close to them, police said. The couple had significant investments in the share market, they said. "Circumstantial evidence indicates that those who came to their house were known to them and the woman might have opened the door. There is a deep injury on the shoulder of the woman, whose body was found lying near the entrance," a senior police officer said.

The Uttar Pradesh government has increased the security of civil judge (senior division) Ravi Kumar Diwakar, who ordered the survey of Gyanvapi mosque, after he received a threat letter from an organisation called 'Islamic Aghaz Movement'. Official sources said on Wednesday that immediately after receiving this letter through a registered post, the civil judge alerted the additional chief secretary (home), director general of police and commissioner of police, Varanasi. Varanasi commissioner of police A. Satish Ganesh said, "After being alerted by the civil judge regarding the letter, which also has many attachments, the deputy commissioner of police (Varuna zone) has been assigned to probe the matter."

The FBI has seized the electronic data of a retired four-star general who authorities say made false statements and withheld “incriminating” documents about his role in an illegal foreign lobbying campaign on behalf of the wealthy Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.

Delhi's Jahangirpuri is again in news for stone pelting incident that allegedly took place between two communities on Tuesday's night in its J Block. The incident has triggered panic in the area which already had seen a communal tension during Ram Navmi. According to the sources, two groups had an altercation which snowballed into big brawl. Soon both the sides started pelting stones at each other. A CCTV footage of the incident has been accessed by the IANS where people can be seen running and pelting stones at each other.

A motorist had a gun in his hand as he stepped out of a pickup truck during a traffic stop for not wearing a seat belt and was fatally shot by a North Carolina state trooper, a video released Tuesday by the State Highway Patrol showed. Trooper Rodney Cook, a 16-year veteran of the patrol, shot and killed Mark Anthony Diaz, 21, of Staley, on May 30.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency says Russia has so far turned over the bodies of 210 Ukrainian fighters killed in the battle for Mariupol. It says most of them were among the last holdouts in the Azovstal steelworks. The agency did not specify Tuesday how many more bodies are believed to remain in the rubble of the plant. Russia now controls the destroyed port city. It began turning over bodies last week. Ukraine said Saturday that the two sides had exchanged 320 bodies, with each getting back 160. It is unclear whether any more bodies have been given to Russia. The Ukrainian fighters defended the steelworks for nearly three months before surrendering in May under relentless Russian attacks from the ground, sea and air. 

Police are investigating a fire at an anti-abortion centre early Tuesday as arson. The fire was reported at about 3 a.m. and left the building temporarily unusable, CompassCare Chief Executive Jim Harden said. “Essentially, they firebombed the operation,” Harden said. “They broke the two main windows in the reception area and the nurse's office and lit the fires.” The Amherst police news release announcing the investigation did not include a suspected motive. The FBI declined to comment on whether it was involved in the arson investigation.

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot has directed officials to clear bus lanes of illegally parked private vehicles to ensure seamless traffic movement, an official statement said on Tuesday.  As on June 6, nearly 28,000 challans have been issued under the bus lane enforcement drive of the Transport Department that kicked off on April 1. The minister undertook a combined inspection of bus lanes and Bus Queue Shelters (BQS) in various parts of southwest Delhi along with senior officials.  The bus lane enforcement drive has currently reached 67th day and 10th week of its implementation and has been receiving a good response and feedback from bus commuters and citizens, the statement said. During the inspection, Gahlot directed the transport department officials to ensure clearance of bus lanes occupied by unauthorized parking of private vehicles near the Mahipalpur crossing through awareness and continuous monitoring with support of bus marshals, it said. 

The ruling Congress in Rajasthan on Tuesday night demanded registration of an FIR against Independent candidate Subhash Chandra and BJP leaders for alleged horse-trading attempts ahead of the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls. Deputy Chief Whip of the Congress Mahendra Chaudhary wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner, demanding that an FIR be registered against Chandra, state BJP president Satish Poonia and other party leaders.

Russia on Tuesday claimed to have taken control of 97% of one of the two provinces that make up Ukraine's Donbas, bringing the Kremlin closer to its goal of fully capturing the eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow's forces hold nearly all of Luhansk province. And it appears that Russia now occupies roughly half of Donetsk province, according to Ukrainian officials and military analysts.