Heatwaves push power demand in North India to record high

Amid the longest spell of heatwaves in the past 15 years, the power demand in North India surged to 89 GW (89,000 MW) , the highest ever for a single day. To meet this demand, nearly 25%-30% of power had to be “imported” from outside the region, the Power Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Most of the northern States continue to reel under heatwaves, with Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh reporting a maximum temperature of 47.6 degrees Celsius.

41 airports go into a tizzy after receiving bomb threat by email

As many as 41 airports in the country received an email threat warning of a bomb on their premises and all of them were later found out to be hoax calls. Airport sources said that on Tuesday, 41 airport directors received a bomb threat mail at 12.40 p.m. The mail was received from exhumedyou888@gmail.com stating: “There are explosives hidden in the airport. The bombs will soon explode. You will all die.” All airports constituted Bomb Threat Assessment Committees and declared the threat as “non-specific” or hoax. 

PM to inaugurate Nalanda University; visit will send positive message, says interim VC

On the eve of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bihar’s Nalanda University to inaugurate its new campus on Wednesday, the university‘s interim vice-chancellor professor Abhay Kumar Singh termed the occasion “historic”. Mr. Singh said after the Prime Minister’s visit, the university will become more popular at the international level. At present, students from 26 countries are studying here.

Despite rising number of accidents, Kavach work still on the slow track

The accident involving the Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express, which claimed 10 lives, has brought to the fore once again the delay in installing Kavach, an indigenously developed automatic train protection (ATP) system, across the country’s rail network. On Monday, a goods train hit the Kanchanjunga Express between Rangapani and Chatterhat in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, derailing four coaches of the passenger train and five wagons of the goods train.

Days after ‘attack’, U.P. cattle transporter dies

Saddam Qureshi, the sole survivor in which three cattle transporters from Uttar Pradesh were allegedly attacked by a mob in Chhattisgarh’s Arang earlier this month, succumbed to his injuries. On June 7, two cattle transporters, Guddu Khan (35) and Chand Miya Khan (23), were found dead under suspicious circumstances after being allegedly chased by a mob.

Railways backs out of human error claim; toll climbs to 10

The death toll from a goods train’s collision with the Sealdah Kanchanjunga Express rose to ten on Tuesday, with a six-year child succumbing to injuries at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) will begin his inquiry into the cause of the accident on Wednesday, even as the Railways seemed to walk back its initial claim that human error was behind the accident by acknowledging that the automatic signalling system was not working along the route.

Uttar Pradesh tops list of complaints with National Commission for Women

The highest number of complaints received by the National Commission for Women so far this year has been from Uttar Pradesh followed by Delhi and then Maharashtra. Strife-torn Manipur has recorded only three complaints of “crime against women” with the commission. Of the total 12,648 complaints received by the NCW till now in 2024, 6,492 were from Uttar Pradesh. 

When can Rashid take oath as MP, court asks NIA

A Delhi court directed the National Investigation Agency to file its reply on the date Sheikh Abdul Rashid, alias Engineer Rashid, has to take oath as a parliamentarian. The court’s directions came during the hearing of an interim bail plea filed by Mr. Rashid, who won the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat in Jammu and Kashmir, seeking bail to take oath in the Parliament.

Congress plans strategy meetings for poll-bound States of Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and J&K next week

Buoyed by the Lok Sabha results, the Congress on June 18 announced a series of strategy meetings for Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu and Kashmir where Assembly polls are expected later this year. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi would be meeting leaders from Jharkhand on June 24 to discuss the party’s election preparedness in the State and it will be followed by a meeting with leaders from Maharashtra the next day.

As first Lok Sabha session approaches, BJP tightens coordination among allies

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting of senior Ministers, as well as some National Democratic Alliance allies in New Delhi, to approach the upcoming Parliament session with a degree of coordination between various partners in the government, and to fine tune the President’s address to both Houses of Parliament before it’s placed before the Union Cabinet.

Jaishankar to visit Colombo on June 20

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankarwill arrive in Colombo on June 20, in his official first visit to a neighbouring country since the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s coalition government assumed charge in India earlier this month. Confirming his Indian counterpart’s visit, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told The Hindu on Tuesday that projects that India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly implement will be reviewed.

Priyanka’s Lok Sabha electoral bid from Wayanad supercharges UDF and miffs LDF and BJP

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s upcoming electoral bid to supplant her brother, Rahul Gandhi, as the party’s MP from the Wayanad  Lok Sabha constituency has buoyed the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and nettled the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress strategises that Ms. Vadra’s pivot to Kerala would invigorate the Opposition’s future electoral campaigns, potentially broadening its path to victory in the 2025 local body elections and beyond.

In a first, CDS releases its blueprint for warfare in cyberspace

Acknowledging that cyberspace has emerged as a crucial and challenging domain in modern warfare, the Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan released India’s first joint doctrine for cyberspace operations during a meeting of the Chiefs of Staff Committee on Tuesday. The joint doctrine is a keystone publication that will guide commanders of the armed forces in conducting cyberspace operations in today’s complex military operating environment, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Prajwal Revanna remanded into 14 days judicial custody

Former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, accused in three cases of rape, was remanded into judicial custody for 14 days by the Special Court of Magistrate for Criminal Cases against former and present MPs and MLAs. The SIT has taken him into custody in two rape cases till date, even as he has another rape case pending against him.  

PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat to resume from June 30

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ monthly radio broadcast will resume from June 30 and urged people to share their ideas and inputs for it. Prime Minister Modi’s monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ broadcast was last aired on February 25 and then took a break for the Lok Sabha polls.

Sikkim: More stranded tourists evacuated from Lachung; schools closed in landslides-hit Mangan

Fifteen more stranded tourists were evacuated from Lachung and adjoining regions of Sikkim’s landslides-hit Mangan district on June 18, officials said. Sixty-four tourists were evacuated from North Sikkim’s Lachung on June 17 and moved to Mangan town, officials said.

Israeli intel warned of Hamas plans before October 7 attack: report

An Israeli intelligence brief prepared weeks before Hamas’s October 7 attack had warned military officials of the Palestinian group’s preparations for an assault, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan. The Israeli military’s signals intelligence unit drafted the brief in September, less than a month before the Hamas attack that sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, Kan reported on Monday.

US sues Adobe over subscription plan disclosures

The U.S. government sued Adobe, accusing the maker of Photoshop and Acrobat of harming consumers by enrolling them in its most lucrative subscription plans without clearly disclosing important terms. The government said Adobe hides important terms in fine print and behind textboxes and hyperlinks, clearly discloses the fees only when subscribers try to cancel, and makes canceling an onerous and complicated process.