Breaking News June 13 Highlights: PM Modi Heads To Italy For G7 Summit; Ajit Doval Reappointed As NSA

• The National Testing Agency agreed to cancel the NEET UG Results for a total of 1,563 students who were given grace marks and they will be allowed to appear for re-exam on June 23. READ MORE

• PM Modi reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir after many terror attacks took place in the last few days. READ MORE

• Telangana CM Chandrababu Naidu assumed office on Thursday after he took oath earlier this week. READ MORE

• PM Modi is headed to Italy for the G7 Outreach Summit and in his departure statement said that the discussions will focus on AI, energy, Africa. READ MORE

• A massive blast occurred at an explosive manufacturing factory in Nagpur leading to the death of six people. READ MORE

• Spymaster Ajit Doval was reappointed as the National Security Adviser by the government. READ MORE

• The authorities in Kuwait have informed that 45 Indians were identified among the victims of the tragic fire and they also arrested several people involved in the incident. READ MORE

Welcome to Outlook India's Breaking News Live Blog, through which we bring you real-time updates on major events and developments across the globe. Here’s a look at top events and developments in focus today:

• Kuwait fire tragedy,

• Odisha’s new BJP government to open all 4 gates of Puri Jagannath temple on Thursday morning

• Weather updates,

• Back-to-back terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir,

• Pema Khandu to take oath as chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh for third term in a row,

• and more.

In case you missed it, here are the key developments from yesterday that hit headlines:

• Kuwait: Over 40 Indians Among 49 Dead In Fire At Building, Embassy Issues Helpline Number; Modi Reviews Situation

• Mohan Charan Majhi Sworn In As Odisha CM; First-time MLA Pravati, Kanak Vardhan His Deputies | Full List

• WHO Confirms Human Case Of Bird Flu In India, 4-Year-Old In West Bengal Infected

• First Parliament Session Of 18th Lok Sabha To Begin On June 24, Speaker To Be Elected

• Chandrababu Naidu Sworn-In As Andhra Pradesh CM
  

Odisha’s newly sworn-in BJP government in its first Cabinet meeting approved a proposal to re-open all four gates of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on early Thursday morning and set up a corpus fund for immediate requirement of the 12th-century shrine.

Mohan Charan Majhi of BJP took oath as chief minister on Wednesday while several others were sworn in as ministers.

“The state government decided to re-open all the four gates of the Puri Jagannath temple in early morning tomorrow in the presence of all ministers. Devotees will have access to the temple through all four gates,” Majhi said.

The previous BJD-led administration continued to keep the four gates of the temple closed since the Covid-19 pandemic. The devotees were allowed to enter through only one gate and there were demands that all gates be opened.

Over 40 Indians were killed and more than 50 others were injured in a massive fire that broke out at a multi-story building in Kuwait's Mangaf, which was housing foreign workers.

The total number of people killed in the Al-Mangaf building was 49 and 42 of them are learnt to be Indians; the remaining ones are Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian and Nepali nationals, officials said. FULL REPORT HERE

Andhra Pradesh, where the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a sweeping majority in the recently concluded assembly elections which happened simultaneously with Lok Sabha polls 2024, got its new chief ministers on Wednesday.

NDA ally Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) supremo Chandrababu Naidu took oath as chief minister on Wednesday in a swearing-in ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other leaders such as Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Ministers JP Nadda and Bandi Sanjay Kumar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by a high-level delegation, will travel to Italy on Thursday to attend the annual summit of G7 grouping session on June 14. It will be his first trip abroad after assuming charge as prime minister for the third term.

The G7 summit, to be held in the luxury resort of Borgo Egnazia in Italy's Apulia region from June 13 to 15, is expected to be dominated by the raging war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza.

BJP's Mohan Charan Majhi took oath as Odisha chief minister today in a ceremony that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union Ministers and CMs of several states ruled by the party. In the recently concluded state Assembly election, the BJP won 78 of the 147 seats, while the BJD bagged 51 seats. READ FULL STORY

Five people lost their lives in a major fire that broke out at a three-storey building in Uttar Pradesh's Loni area late Wednesday night.

The deceased included two women, a seven-year-old girl and a seven-month-old baby. The building was located in Behta Hajipur locality of Loni.

Officials said the a short circuit probably caused the fire.

In third terrorist attack in 24 hours, a policeman was injured Wednesday evening when terrorists opened fire on a search party in a village in Gandoh area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district. The firing was reported from the Kota top area of Bhalesa around 7.41 pm to which security forces retaliated. READ FULL REPORT

This was the second terror-related incident in Doda in the last 24 hours and fourth in three days in Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier on Tuesday evening, five Rashtriya Rifles personnel and a Special Police Officer were injured in a terrorist attack in Chattargalla pass. Before this, two terrorists were killed in a gunfire that broke out in Kathua on Tuesday evening.

On Sunday, a bus was ambushed by terrorists, killing nine passengers and injuring several others in Reasi.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Wednesday released sketches of four terrorists involved in two attacks in Doda district and announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh for information on the suspects.

On Tuesday, terrorists fired on a joint checkpoint of the 4 Rashtriya Rifles and police at Chattergalla in Bhaderwah. On Wednesday, a search party in the Gandoh area of the district was attacked, injuring a policeman.

The US Federal Reserve left its key lending rate unchanged on Wednesday and scheduled just one rate cut this year, down from the three expected in March after inflation stalled in the first quarter.

The Fed voted unanimously to keep its benchmark interest rate between 5.25 and 5.50 per cent, and said that "modest" progress had been made toward its long-term inflation target of two percent, according to an AFP report.

The Supreme Court will hear today three petitions seeking to cancel the NEET UG 2024 test and conduct of a retest due to alleged anomalies in grant of grace marks.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) examination is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.

Odisha’s newly sworn-in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in its first Cabinet meeting approved a proposal to re-open all four gates of Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri on early Thursday morning and set up a corpus fund for immediate requirement of the 12th-century shrine.

The gates were opened after 8 am on Thursday.

Preparations are underway for the swearing-in ceremony of Arunachal Pradesh CM-designate Pema Khandu and council of ministers.

US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to meet during the G7 Summit in Italy, the White House said on Wednesday. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the two leaders spoke when Biden congratulated Modi for taking oath as Prime Minister for the third term.

Addressing a press conference, Sullivan said, "President Biden actually spoke with President Modi by phone while we were in Paris to congratulate him on the election outcome and on being named Prime Minister for a third term."

"He [Biden] expects to see Prime Minister Modi here. It's up to the Indians to formally confirm his attendance, but our -- our expectation is that the two of them will have the opportunity to encounter one another. What the nature of that encounter is still fluid because so much of the schedule is fluid," he added.

Rupee fell 5 paise to 83.53 against US dollar in early trade on Thursday, June 13.

Weatherpersons said the low-level warm winds from the northwest were dominating the weak monsoon pulse over the Bay of Bengal and prolonging the hot weather conditions in parts of central and northern India.

Former Earth Sciences secretary Madhavan Rajeevan said after a normal progress, monsoon is going into a hiatus mode. "Not much progress is expected in the next 8-10 days, thus delaying onset over north India. This causes extreme temperatures & heat waves over north India, including Delhi, UP and Bihar," Rajeevan said on X.

Users of microblogging platform X, formerly Twitter, will be now be able to like posts on the social media platform without anyone else getting to know about it.

X made the 'likes' private starting Wednesday (US local time).

"Your Likes are now private. We are making Likes private for everyone to better protect your privacy. Liking more posts will make your "For you" feed better," one can see a popup once they log into their accounts.

Users will still be able to see posts they have liked (but others cannot), the engineering team of the X said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be leaving for Italy today to attend annual summit of G7 grouping. PM Modi will be accompanied by a high-level delegation and will attend an outreach session on the summit on June 14.

It will be his first trip abroad after assuming charge as prime minister for the third term.

Sensex, Nifty hit fresh record high levels in early trade on Thursday after US Federal Reserve left its key lending rate unchanged. IT firms, which gain a chunk of their revenue from the US, jumped 1.1% on Thursday, something being attributed to US Fed unexpectedly keeping lending rate unchanged.

West Indies knocked out New Zealand and qualified for Super Eight with 13-run win in T20 World Cup.

The Delhi government reportedly told the Supreme Court on Thursday that 'tanker mafia' were entering the city from Haryana. Delhi government was asked by Supreme Court on Wednesday about action it has taken against tanker mafia amid water crisis in the city.

A woman found a piece of human finger inside an ice cream cone that was ordered online in the Malad area of ​​Mumbai. The woman then reached Malad police station where a case was registered against the ice cream brand - Yummo ice cream - and the ice cream was sent for investigation.

Police have sent the human organ found in the ice cream to FSL (Forensic), Malad Police said.

Kerala government is convening an emergency Cabinet meeting in view of Kuwait fire tragedy. The meeting will discuss the repatriation of bodies and whether any ministers need to go to Kuwait to coordinate relief efforts, Chief Minister's Office said.

Supreme Court reiterated on Thursday that it will not stay the counselling of NEET-UG, 2024. “Counselling will go on and we will not stop it. If the exam goes then everything goes in totality so nothing to fear,” said Supreme Court.

Pema Khandu took oath as the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday. Chowna Mein also took takes oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Supreme Court of India has refused to stay the counselling for NEET UG 2024 and stated that the counselling process conducted by MCC should continue as per schedule. Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency has agreed to cancel the NEET UG Results for a total of 1,563 students who were given grace marks. READ FULL STORY

The Central Government has stated that the committee formed to look into the result controversy has suggested the cancellation of the marks of those students who received grace marks.

All pleas, including those seeking cancellation of NEET-UG, 2024 on account of allegation of malpractices, will be taken up on July 8, SC said.

Kerala Government on Thursday said that 12 people from the state have so far been identified among the 49 people who lost their lives in the major fire that broke out in Kuwait's Mangaf area.

The state cabinet decided that Health Minsiter Veena George and an IAS officer will immediately go to Kuwait.

The mortal remains of CRPF jawan Kabir Das Uikey, who lost his life in action during anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua, have been brought to his residence in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara.

In the past three days, four terror attacks have been reported from Jammu and Kashmir. The first one was reported in Reasi when a tourist bus carrying pilgrims was attacked by terrorists. The second attack took place in Kathua and two encounters occurred in Doda.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George and state mission director (NHM) Jeevan Babu will depart for Kuwait immediately to coordinate medical operations and to oversee the efforts to bring the mortal remains of the victims home.

The state government has also called for the setting up of a global contact centre and help desk at NORKA in Kuwait to coordinate efforts in connection with the fire tragedy. These decisions were made in an emergency meeting chaired by CM Pinarayi Vijayan.

Palestinian news agency WAFA had reported that Israeli miltary had launched land, air and sea strikes on Al-Mawasi, a humanitarian zone in Rafah. However, Israel has denied these reports and stated that the IDF has not carried out any strikes in the Al-Mawasi area.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday that there is no evidence of paper leak in NEET-UG 2024. Allegations of corruption in NTA unfounded, Pradhan said, calling the testing agency "a credible body."

Kerala government to provide Rs 5 lakh financial assistance to families of 19 Keralites who died in Kuwait fire incident which killed 49 people.

Bengaluru Section 144 has been imposed within 200 meters of Annapoorneshwarinagar police station where actor Darshan and others kept in police custody.

Issue concerning sharing of Yamuna water between states is complex, this court doesn't have technical expertise, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while hearing pleas pertaining to Delhi water crisis.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the Upper Yamuna River Board shall convene meeting on Friday and decide on Delhi government's application for water supply at the earliest.

In an about turn, Himachal Pradesh government told the Supreme Court that it does not have surplus 136 cusecs of water and withdrew its earlier statement. The top court had earlier directed the Himachal Pradesh government to release 136 cusecs of surplus water to Delhi amid shortage and asked Haryana to facilitate its flow.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday had said the state released water for Delhi, but it has to go to the national capital through Haryana.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh on Thursday reached Kuwait to oversee the assistance to those injured in a massive fire at an apartment housing foreign workers and for the early repatriation of the bodies of about 40 Indians killed in the tragic incident.

At least 49 foreign workers were killed and 50 others injured in the fire on Wednesday at the seven-storey building housing 195 migrant workers in the southern city of Mangaf. A total 42 of the victims are said to be from India. Of them 19 were Keralites.

Security Forces along with a canine soldier were seen conducting a search operation in the Kota Top area of Gandoh in Doda district, where a search party was attacked by suspected terrorists on Wednesday.

Finance Minister is likely to table the Union Budget in Parliament by the third week of July, reports said, adding that preparation for same has commenced. "Yesterday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took charge of the Finance Ministry and held a meeting with senior officials. FM directed the officials to initiate the budget preparation process, emphasizing the need for meticulous planning and comprehensive analysis," a news agency ANI report said.

"This early start aims to ensure a well-structured budget that addresses the country's economic priorities and challenges effectively. The collaborative efforts of the ministry's team are expected to contribute to a robust and strategic financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year. The Union Budget is likely to be tabled in Parliament by the third week of July," the report added.

Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar files papers as NCP candidate for Rajya Sabha election. Sunetra Pawar lost the Lok Sabha election to another NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction's Supriya Sule from the Baramati seat.

The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the June 14 release of Annu Kapoor’s movie ‘ 'Hamare Baarah' after taking note of allegations that the film is derogatory to the Islamic faith and married Muslim women.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta took note of the submissions of lawyer Fauzia Shakil, who represented the petitioner Azhar Basha Tamboli, and asked the Bombay High Court to take an expeditious decision on the plea, according to a PTI report.

Newly appointed Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu on Thursday said that he himself has seen the significant surge in airfares, adding that the government was committed to addressing the issue.

“Since the Covid days, there has been significant fluctuation in airfare prices. As a passenger myself, I have observed these hikes. We are going to reviewing this situation,” said Ram Mohan Naidu, who took charge of the Aviation Ministry.

A total 24 of the 42 Indians who died in the Kuwait building fire were from Kerala, reports said. At least 49 people died and many others were injured on Wednesday in the fire that broke out in a building that housed foreign workers in southern Kuwait.

At least 24 people who died in the tragic accident were from Kerala, Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) CEO Harikrishnan Namboothiri told Hindustan Times.

Uttar Pradesh Police have booked actor Kamaal Rashid Khan for allegedly making objectionable remarks against BSP chief Mayawati, a senior official said on Thursday.

The FIR against Khan alias KRK was lodged at Deoband police station by the Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) district unit chief Sushil Kumar, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sagar Jain said.

Over the issue of Compensatory/Grace Marks, NTA said it will issue a public notice shortly and will also contact 1,563 candidates through email to ensure that they receive the official communication. This comes after Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the decision to give grace marks to 1,563 NEET-UG, 2024 candidates for admission to MBBS, BDS and others courses has been cancelled and they will be given an option to take a re-test on June 23.

Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange announced that he is suspending his indefinite fast on Thursday.

Following the recent attack, Prime Minister Modi reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and directed officials to deploy counter-terrorism capabilities.

At least ten workers were injured with three of them serious condition after a blast occurred at an explosive-manufacturing factory near Nagpur city on Thursday afternoon.

The incident took place at Chamundi Explosive Pvt Ltd at Dhamna village under Hingna police station limits which is around 25 km from Nagpur.

Bengaluru court on Thursday issued non-bailable arrest warrant against former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in POCSO case.

This comes after the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing which is probing the accusations of molestation case against former Karnataka CM, moved to a special court, seeking his arrest.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who took an oath for the fourth time on Wednesday, took charge of his office today.

The 2024 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections resulted in a landslide victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which snapped up 164 of the 175 seats. Chandrababu Naidu's TDP alone won 135 seats.

Ajit Doval was on Thursday re-appointed as India's national security advisor, the government said. The appointments committee of the cabinet also re-appointed PK Mishra as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

With PM Narendra Modi reappointing Dr P K Mishra as Principal Secretary to PM and Ajit Doval as National Security Advisor, the two retired bureaucrats have become the longest-serving principal advisors to the Prime Minister.

MoS Kirti Vardhan called on Foreign Minister of Kuwait H.E. Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya in Kuwait. FM Yahya conveyed his condolences on the tragic incident. He assured full support including for medical care, early repatriation of mortal remains and investigation of the incident.

(Source: Indian Embassy in Kuwait)

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday hit out at the Jammu and Kashmir administration for allegedly arresting and harassing people in the aftermath of terror attacks in Jammu region.

"'If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail'. This incompetent J&K administration only knows how to arrest, detain & harass people. They repeatedly make the same mistakes & still hope for a different outcome. To end militancy you need the local population on your side, not alienated & angry," Abdullah posted on X.

The Jammu and Kashmir Board of Secondary Education (JKBoSE) has released the class 10 board results on June 13. The result is active now.

Candidates can check it on jkbose.nic.in using the roll number and registration number.

Hours after PM Narendra Modi held a review meeting to assess the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, police in the Union Territory announced that 50 people have been detained in connection with Sunday's terrorist attack on a bus in Reasi district in which nine people were killed and 41 were injured, NDTV reported. 

As part of the major crackdown, the search operation to track down the terrorists has been expanded to cover the district's Arnas and Mahore areas which were terrorist hotbeds between 1995 and 2005.

US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who has been jailed for over a year in Russia on espionage charges, will stand trial in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, authorities said on Thursday.

An indictment of the Wall Street Journal reporter has been finalised and his case was filed to the Sverdlovsky Regional Court in the city about 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) east of Moscow, according to Russia's Prosecutor General's office.

-AP

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for Italy to attend G7 summit. This is the PM’s first foreign visit since he assumed office for the third consecutive term on Sunday.

The United States and European countries have agreed to lock up sanctioned Russian assets until Moscow pays reparations for its invasion of Ukraine, a senior US official said on Thursday. The move clears the way for leaders to announce a USD 50 billion loan package for Kyiv at the Group of Seven summit.

The highly anticipated agreement will leverage interest and income from the more than USD 260 billion in frozen Russian assets, largely held in Europe, to secure a USD 50 billion loan from the US and additional loans from other partners.

-AP

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday filed charge sheet against seven persons for recruiting and radicalising vulnerable youths as "mujahideens" to operate as terrorist sleeper cells, an official statement said.

They were part of a bigger conspiracy by proscribed terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to prepare 50 such sleeper cells in each district of India by 2025, it said.

The sleeper cells were being prepared to carry out guerrilla attacks on Indian soldiers, police personnel and leaders of specific religious organisations, the statement issued by the NIA said.

The accused were also involved in the fabrication of explosives for furtherance of the ISIS goal to establish the Caliphate system in India by waging jihad against the government of India, it said.

(PTI inputs)

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators took over a building Wednesday at California State University, Los Angeles, where campus police were monitoring the situation as employees inside shelter in place, an official said.

University spokesperson Erik Frost Hollins said a group of 50 to 100 people barricaded exits on the first floor and blocked paths around the building, so the university asked employees to shelter in place, The Los Angeles Times reported.

(PTI Inputs)

A Kuwaiti citizen and several foreigners were arrested on Thursday in connection with charges of manslaughter and causing injuries due to negligence in security and safety measures following a fire incident that killed 49 people, including 45 Indians, in the Gulf Kingdom.

At least 49 foreign workers were killed and 50 others injured in the fire on Wednesday at the seven-storey building where 196 migrant workers were staying in the southern city of Mangaf.

"The Public Prosecution has mandated the provisional detention of a Kuwaiti citizen and several expats in connection with charges of manslaughter and causing injuries due to negligence in security and safety measures, following a fire incident in the Al-Mangaf area," the English language daily Arab Times reported.

(PTI Inputs)

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang's wife Krishna Kumari Rai resigned as MLA for Namchi Singhithang Constituency in the state.