PM in Karnataka live | Bengaluru is key to create a ‘shreshtha Bharat’: Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a two-day visit to Karnataka, on June 20 and 21. The hectic visit will see him inaugurating a series of developmental and public utilities projects in Bengaluru, including the much-awaited suburban rail for the city. But the highlight of this trip will be his participation in the International Day of Yoga event in the backdrop of the iconic Mysuru palace on Tuesday.
ED questions Rahul Gandhi for 4th day in National Herald case
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for the fourth day of questioning in the National Herald money laundering case. Gandhi, 51, arrived at the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi at 11 am with his Z+ category CRPF security escort.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that forces inimical to India had constituted “cyber armies” to launch cyberattacks against India but the Home Ministry was ready to thwart any such attempt. The Minister stated that data privacy and protection of critical infrastructure from cyberattacks were imminent challenges in the wake of the digital revolution in the country and it was a matter of happiness that 80 crore Indians had online presence. The current population was estimated to be 135 crore.
Sri Lanka | Protesters block entrances of Gotabaya’s presidential secretariat, 21 arrested
A group of protesters in Sri Lanka demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for the mismanagement of the economy blocked all entrances of the presidential secretariat here, forcing the police on Monday to arrest 21 people, including a Buddhist monk and four women. The island nation, home to around 22 million people, is currently facing its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years. Sri Lanka’s economy is experiencing extreme fuel shortages, soaring food prices and a lack of medicines.
Sterlite Copper is up for sale
Sterlite Copper, part of the Vedanta Group has invited Expression of Interest (EOI) for its Thoothukudi based plant, which has been under lock and key since 2018. The company has put out an advertisement which said: “Vedanta, in conjunction with Axis Capital, invites Expression of Interest for the sale of its Copper plant along with its other units which includes Smelter Complex (primary and secondary), sulphuric acid plant, copper refinery, continuous copper rod plant, phosphoric acid plant, effluent treatment plant, captive power plants, RO units, oxygen generation unit and residential complex.”
Russia-Ukraine live updates | June 20, 2022
Amid the ongoing crisis, NATO’s chief warned that the war in Ukraine could last “for years” as President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed on Sunday that his forces would not give up the south of the country to Russia after his first visit to the frontline there. Mr. Zelensky, after making a trip to the Black Sea-city of Mykolaiv and the Odessa region on Saturday, said, “We will not give away the south to anyone, we will return everything that’s ours and the sea will be Ukrainian and safe.”
The Army on June 20 issued a notification for induction of soldiers under the ‘Agnipath’ military recruitment scheme. The Army said the online registration on the force’s recruitment website is mandatory for all the job aspirants under the new model. It said the online registration will commence from July. The Army said ‘Agniveers’ would form a distinct rank in the Indian Army, which would be different from any other existing ranks.
Also read: Agnipath Bharat Bandh live updates | June 20, 2022
Teachers, parents unhappy with extended vacation for West Bengal schools
Teachers and guardians are unhappy with the prolonged summer vacation for schools that was declared by the West Bengal government citing heatwave conditions, saying the students were losing precious time due to this extended absence from the classroom.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on June 20 laid importance on organic- and ancient methods of farming and said it would be wrong to reject such local knowledge as unscientific without examining them. He was speaking at the annual ‘Convocation-cum-Scientific Convention’ jointly organised by National Academy of Veterinary Sciences (India), New Delhi and Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University, Nagpur.
Telegram goes paid with 4GB file uploads, voice to text conversion features
Telegram has launched a paid subscription plan offering add-on features, and faster download speed. It will also give the users an avenue to donate to the company.
Russia’s Natela Dzalamidze switches nationality to Georgia to play Wimbledon
Moscow-born Natela Dzalamidze will be able to compete at Wimbledon despite a ban on Russian and Belarusian players at this year’s championships after she changed her nationality to represent Georgia. The 29-year-old is listed as being from Georgia in Wimbledon’s entry list for the women’s doubles, where she is set to partner Serbian Aleksandra Krunic. Her nationality is Georgian on the WTA Tour’s website.
Karthik, Hardik our enforcers at the death: Dravid
India head coach Rahul Dravid stated that comeback man Dinesh Karthik is “banging the doors down” after his splendid match-winning knock in the fourth T20I against South Africa at Rajkot. He added that Karthik’s performance opens options in terms of his long-term international prospects.
Class 12 results declared in T.N., 93.76% students pass
Class 12 and Class 10 students recorded a pass percentage of 93.76 and 90.07 respectively in the State Board public exams held this year in May. This was the first round of board exams that the Class 12 students had taken up as both their Class 10 and Class 11 exams had been cancelled owing to the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years.
Desperate to come to India, over 150 Sikhs in Kabul gurdwara counting days since Taliban takeover
More than 150 Sikhs who were staying in a gurdwara in Kabul that was struck by terrorists on June 18 have been desperately waiting for visas to move to India ever since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, according to a top shrine official. Gurnam Singh, the president of Gurdwara Karta-E-Parwan who spoke to PTI over phone from the Afghan capital, also urged the Indian government to step up evacuation efforts for Hindus and Sikhs.
India calls off more than 500 trains as more Agnipath protests loom over
Authorities in India cancelled more than 500 trains services on Monday because of calls for protests by young men angry with a military recruitment plan that they say will rob them of the opportunity of a career in the armed forces. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government last week unveiled the plan called Agnipath, or “path of fire”, aimed at bringing more people into the military on short, four-year contracts to lower the average age of India’s 1.38 million-strong armed forces.
