Girls cover their face to protect themselves from the scorching heat on a hot summer day, in Jaipur. Image for representation
| Photo Credit: PTI

Marathon Lok Sabha polling exercise ends with seventh phase on June 1

The world’s largest polling exercise to elect the 18th Lok Sabha ends on June 1 after one and a half months, with 57 parliamentary constituencies going to the polls in the seventh and final phase. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among the 906 candidates in the fray in this phase, during which 10.06 crore electors are eligible to cast their votes.

Heatwave claims 61 lives across India in a day

With a heatwave roiling several parts of the country, at least 61 deaths from suspected heatstroke have been confirmed from multiple States on May 31 with 23 of the fatalities being poll personnel involved in the final phase of the Lok Sabha election that is set to culminate on Saturday.

At least 25 poll staff among 40 heat-related deaths as north India boils

India on Friday reported at least 40 suspected heat-related deaths, 25 of them of staff deployed on Lok Sabha poll duty in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, as heatwave conditions gripped a large swathe of the country.

17 more dead in landslips, floods in the Northeast

Floods and landslips killed 13 people in Assam, Manipur, and Meghalaya during the last 48 hours, taking the rainfall-related death toll in the Northeast to 17 since Wednesday.

NDA members will queue up to join INDIA bloc: Congress

A day before the final phase of voting in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Congress expressed confidence that “a clear and decisive” mandate for the INDIA bloc will prompt many NDA constituents to join the Opposition alliance.

Lok Sabha on full swing to welcome new members

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has taken a host of measures to welcome the newly elected members of the 18th Lok Sabha, including setting up guideposts at all three domestic terminals at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and railway stations from June 4 to June 9.

Biden says Israel has offered to Hamas a three-step road map to an enduring ceasefire

President Joe Biden on Friday detailed a three-phase deal proposed by Israel to Hamas militants that he says would lead to the release of remaining hostages in Gaza and could end the grinding, nearly 8-month-old Mideast war.

Congress not to participate in Lok Sabha exit poll debates

The Congress has decided not to participate in any Lok Sabha exit poll debates on the television channels and said it does not want to indulge in speculation and slugfest for TRP.

Donald Trump blasts ‘rigged trial’, says will appeal guilty verdict

Donald Trump launched into attacks on the judge in his criminal trial and continued to undermine New York’s criminal justice system on May 31 as he tried to repackage his conviction on 34 felony charges as fuel, not an impediment, to his latest White House bid.

Bomb scare on Vistara flight halts air traffic for two hours at Srinagar airport

Srinagar International Airport was put on high alert on Friday following a bomb threat call received about an aircraft heading from Delhi to Srinagar. However, the call turned out to be a hoax, officials said.

ISL’s Golden Boot winner Diamantakos to leave Kerala Blasters

Dimitrios Diamantakos, the Indian Super League’s Golden Boot award winner this season, will leave Kerala Blasters FC after two years with the club.

Closing arguments are expected on Tuesday in Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial in New York, wrapping up what is likely to be the only case against the former U.S. president to reach a jury before the November election.

Here is a look at what comes next.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING CLOSING ARGUMENTS?

Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office will present their summations first and seek to convince a dozen New Yorkers that Trump falsified business records to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with porn star Stormy Daniels – a liaison Trump denies.

Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump intentionally made or directed others to make false entries in business records, did so with intent to commit another underlying crime and sought to conceal the commission of that crime. They must also prove the 34 records in question were falsified.

Trump’s lawyers face a lower burden and only need to sow sufficient doubt in jurors’ minds to secure an acquittal, or sway at least one holdout among the 12 to deadlock the jury and trigger a mistrial.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER CLOSING ARGUMENTS?

The judge overseeing the case, Juan Merchan, will give the jury lengthy instructions on how to interpret the law and evidence during their deliberations.

Jurors will be told that they can only convict Trump if they believe he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

During deliberations, jurors will have access to all of the evidence and be able to ask questions of the judge, who will confer with prosecutors and defense lawyers before deciding how to answer.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN JURORS REACH A VERDICT?

The verdict must be unanimous, and if the jury deadlocks, Merchan will declare a mistrial.

Once jurors inform the court they have reached a verdict, Merchan will summon the parties to the courtroom to hear it read by the foreperson. Merchan must still affirm the verdict and enter a final judgment. Either side can ask him to effectively overrule the jury.

WHAT HAPPENS IF TRUMP IS CONVICTED?

If Trump is convicted, it would likely be several weeks or months until he is sentenced. As a first-time offender of a nonviolent crime, he would likely be released on bond in the meantime.

It is rare for people with no criminal history who are convicted only of falsification of business records to be sentenced to prison in New York. Punishments like fines or probation are more common.

The maximum sentence for Trump’s crime of falsifying business records is 1-1/3 to four years in prison, but in cases involving prison time, defendants are typically sentenced to a year or less.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)