Breaking News, June 14 Highlights: PM Modi Invites Pope Francis To India, Meets Italian PM Meloni At G7 Summit

• PM Modi attends Outreach session G7 Summit in Italy and was greeted by the Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. READ MORE

• Kuwait Fire Accident: IAF Plane With Mortal Remains Of 45 Indians Killed In Fire Lands In Kochi. READ MORE

• NEET 2024 Result Row: SC Refuses To Pause MCC Counselling; Plea Seeking Seeking CBI Probe Set For July 8 READ MORE

• Russia-Ukraine War: Putin Promises Cease-Fire If Kyiv Withdraws Troops; Drops NATO Bid READ MORE

• Sikkim: Rain Fury, Landslides, Claim 6 Lives, Leave 1,500 Tourists Stranded; IMD Forecast Heavy Rainfall Till June 17 READ MORE

• Andhra Pradesh Cabinet Ministry: Pawan Kalyan Deputy CM, Nara Lokesh IT Minister READ MORE

• Delhi LG Sanctions Prosecution Of Arundhati Roy Under UAPA For 2010 Speech READ MORE

• Three New Criminal Laws To Come Into Effect From July 1; DoPT Asks All Ministries, Depts To Train Personnel 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

• Weather updates

• The G7 Summit in Italy

• Investigation into Jammu and Kashmir's terrorist attacks

• Lok Sabha updates, and more.

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

• Supreme Court Refuses To Stay NEET UG Counselling; NTA Cancels Result For 1,563 Students, Re-Exam On June 23

• Kuwait Fire: MoS Kirti Vardhan Meets Victims After 45 Indians Were Killed In Building Fire; 'Electrical Circuit' Caused Fire| What We Know

• J&K Terror Attacks: Modi Chairs Meeting With NSA, Reviews Security Situation

• Govt Re-Appoints Ajit Doval As NSA, PK Mishra As Principal Secretary To PM

• New Caledonia Violence: France Suspends Controversial Vote Reforms, Curfew Extended Till June 17

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the Brindisi Airport in Italy for the G7 Outreach summit. He will also be holding a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the summit.

Police force and ambulances have been deployed at Kerala's Cochin International Airport, where a special Indian Air Force aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 45 Indian victims in the Kuwait fire tragedy will reach shortly.

The elections to appoint a new Lok Sabha speaker for the 18th Lok Sabha is scheduled to take place on June 26. These elections will be held two days after the new session of the parliament begins and all new members are sworn in.

All MPs who won in the 2024 general elections will take their oath to join the Lok Sabha during the first session. READ FULL STORY

As the special Indian Air Force aircraft carrying the mortal remains of 45 Indians victims of the Kuwait fire tragedy is set to arrive in Cochin, Kerala, shortly, the DIG said that all arrangements have been made for the same.

Kochi Range DIG, Putta Vimaladitya, told news agency PTI, "We have made all the required arrangements for receiving the bodies here and ambulances have been arranged for each of the victims and after that a pilot (vehicle) will be arranged for taking the ambulances to the destination."

"We are expecting bodies of other states also, and accordingly we are taking required measures. Family members would be coming here, we are also coordinating with them," he added.

Days after a video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah seemingly 'reprimanding' Tamil Nadu BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan went viral on social media, the latter has rubbished the buzz over the matter.

The former Telangana Governor on Thursday took to X to clarify the matter, saying that the conversation was misjudged from the video. READ FULL STORY

Indian Air Force Mi17 V5 helicopters took off from Sarsawa in the wee hours of Friday to undertake Bambi Bucket ops to extinguish the blazing fires in Almora district.

This comes after the State administration's request for dousing the uncontrollable fire at the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary at Almora yesterday, the IAF said.

According to Rajan Limbu, Chairman of the Phattanglung Rural Municipality-2, at least four people have been killed in a landslide in Eastern Nepal's Taplejung district.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George has claimed that she was denied permission by the Union government to visit Kuwait for coordinating relief efforts.

Ernakulam Collector NSK Umesh told news agency ANI, "he last respects will be paid by Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Ministers of the state, local people representatives...Exclusive ambulances have been arranged for each of the bodies...We will ensure smooth transport of the bodies to their homes."

The mortal remains of the victims are being brought to Kochi from Kuwait by a special Indian Air Force aircraft.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said, "We are expecting the bodies in another few minutes. CM Pinarayi Vijayan will also be reaching here. All arrangements have been made, ambulances are ready. Police will be accompanying all the bodies."

"It is very unfortunate that we did not get the consent (to travel to Kuwait). More than half of the people who died were from Kerala. The majority of the people who are under treatment are also from Kerala...Embassy did not give us the exact data on the number of seriously injured people," she added.

George further said, "The data that we have collected from there is that a total of 7 people have been admitted to the hospital and 4 of them are from Kerala, but this is not officially declared. The purpose of my visit (to Kuwait) was that I wanted to be with the injured and bring their needs to the attention of the Central Govt."

Day 1 of the G7 summit kicked off with a focus on the Ukraine war and the G7 Countries approving an aid package worth $50 billion for the war-torn country.

The group of seven agreed upon using frozen Russian assets and turn them into a loan for Ukraine. This $50 billion package will help Kyiv buy more weapons and rebuild damaged infrastructure.

Read the FULL STORY here

Following the terror attack in Kathua on Tuesday, security has been tightened in the Hiranagar Sector of the district in Jammu and Kashmir. On Tuesday, a suspected Pakistani terrorist was killed by security forces after the ultras attacked a village near the International Border.

Kerala Assembly LoP and Congress leader VD Satheesan arrived at the Cochin International Airport ahead of the arrival of the special Indian Air Force aircraft which is bringing back home the mortal remains of the 45 Indian victims who lost their lives in the Kuwait fire tragedy.

Kerala BJP president K Surendran arrived at the Kochi International Airport ahead of the arrival of the special IAF aircraft which is carrying the mortal remains of the 45 Indian victims in the Kuwait fire tragedy.

"It is a very unfortunate incident but the Central government and the MEA have taken up the issue very seriously and the procedures were carried out quickly in Kuwait and the bodies are coming today... All procedures were completed by yesterday evening itself... We will visit the houses of all deceased and offer our condolences to the families," he added.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi arrived at the Cochin International Airport where the special IAF carrying the mortal remains of the 45 Indian victims in the Kuwait fire mishap will reach shortly.

A fire broke out in the forest areas of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, officials said. More details on the matter awaited.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is also present at the Kochi International Airport as the Indian Air Force aircraft carrying mortal remains of the 45 Indian victims of the Kuwait fire tragedy landed there.

Nagpur's Solar Industries delivered the first indigenous Loitering Munition, Nagastra-1, to the Indian Army.

The Indian Army has placed an order to Solar Induatries’ Economics Explosives Ltd (EEL) to supply 480 Loiter Munitions under Emergency Procurement Powers.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday searched multiple locations in Chhattisgarh in connection with the CPI(M)-led IED attack on a poll party convoy during the 2023 Assembly elections.

Trinamool Congress on Friday released a list of candidates for the impending West Bengal Legislative By-elections scheduled for July 10.

The mortal remains of the 45 Indian victims in the Kuwait fire tragedy are being taken out of the special Indian Air Force aircraft at the Cochin International Airport.

Police on Friday said that the co-owner of Rajkot's TRP game zone, where 27 persons were killed last month, has been arrest, taking the total tally of arrests to ten.

The official said that Ashoksinh Jadeja, one of the six owners of the game zone, surrendered before the police on Thursday evening.

Earlier, police had arrested five co-owners and a manager of the game zone. They also took into custody four government officials, including Rajkot's Town Planning Officer (TPO) M D Sagathia, assistant TPOs Mukesh Makwana and Gautam Joshi, and former station officer of Kalavad Road fire station Rohit Vigora.

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to parties on plea of National Testing Agency (NTA) seeking transfer of petitions from High Courts to the top court.

A Delhi court on Friday fixed for June 19 the bail plea of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam.

Additional Sessions Judge Mukesh Kumar adjourned the matter after the ED sought time to file reply in the matter.

MoS MEA Kirti Vardhan Singh said, "I want to pay my heartfelt condolences to the families of the people who lost their lives in this accident. It is a very tragic incident and we are all very sad about it. The moment our Govt got to know that this incident had taken place, PM Modi immediately convened a meeting and instructed us to reach Kuwait immediately and take all possible steps so that the mortal remains could be brought back as soon as possible."

"We reached Kuwait and PM Modi had already spoken to the authorities there, to the foreign minister there and to the Emir of Kuwait. I would like to thank to the authorities as they did everything possible, they took all possible measures and fully cooperated in having all the papers completed, identification was done in such a short time because normally this could have taken a week or at least ten days," he added.

The Supreme Court of India, on Friday, continued to hear the pleas regarding the irregularities in the NEET 2024 Result and Exam. After hearing the latest pleas, the top court has maintained its stance on refusing to stay or pause the NEET counselling process. READ FULL STORY

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, MoS MEA Kirti Vardhan Singh and others paid tribute to the 45 victims of the Kuwait fire accident at the Cochin International Airport.

The Delhi High Court has sought response from Delhi Police over a bail plea moved by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide, Bibhav Kumar's bail plea, in the alleged assault of Swati Maliwal.

Security forces on Friday continued their search operation in Kota Top area of Gandoh in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda after a Police jawan was injured in the fire exchanged between them and terrorists.

Florida is gearing up for more heavy rainfall amid rare flash flood emergency in most parts of its southern region, which was triggered by a topical disturbance.

The incessant downpour did not just affect the daily lives of people but also delayed the Florida Panthers who were on their way to the Stanley Cup games in Canada against Edmonton Oilers. READ FULL STORY

BJD MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain on Friday took oath as the Pro-term Speaker of the Odisha Assembly. CM Mohan Charan Majhi and Governor Raghubar Das were also present there.

The India Meteorological Department forecast light rain with possibility of thunderstorm or lightning with slight heatwave conditions in Delhi for Friday.

The weather office said that partly cloudy skies and drizzle is possible in some areas during noon and evening. However, the IMD said that heatwave conditions will continue in the national capital till June 19. READ FULL STORY

Stepping up its attack on the government over the NEET exam issue, the Congress on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" on the matter. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the Modi government has started "covering up the NEET scam" through Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the National Testing Agency (NTA).

"If the paper was not leaked in NEET then -- why were 13 accused arrested in Bihar due to paper leak? Did the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Patna police not expose the payment of Rs 30 lakh-Rs 50 lakh to the education mafia and organised gangs involved in the racket in exchange for papers?" he said in a post in Hindi on X.

"Has NEET-UG cheating racket not been busted in Godhra, Gujarat? In which three people are involved including a person running a coaching centre, a teacher and another person and according to Gujarat Police, transactions of more than Rs 12 crore have come to light between the accused?" Kharge said.

Five residents of Jammu and Kashmir's Makdi village have been rewarded for foiling a bid to smuggle about 10 kg of heroin from across the Line of Control, an official said on Friday.

The police headquarters has sanctioned Rs 4 lakh as reward money for the villagers for their "heroic display of bravery and patriotic act", a police spokesman said.

Makdi, he said, is a village that falls ahead of the anti-infiltration obstacle system near the LoC in the Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Without caring for their safety, the villagers intercepted four narcotics smugglers in April, leading to the seizure of the heroin consignment that weighed 9.94 kg, the spokesman said.

(PTI Inputs)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday met French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership.

"Taking Strategic Partnership to new levels! PM @narendramodi met President @EmmanuelMacron of France on the sidelines of the 50th G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X.

"The two leaders discussed ways to further strengthen the partnership including in areas of defence, nuclear, space, education, climate action, digital public infrastructure, critical technologies, connectivity and culture. They also exchanged views on key global and regional issues," he wrote.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of G7 Summit in Italy.

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday has promised a cease-fire in Ukraine with a condition - if Kyiv withdraws troops from occupied regions. He also renounced plans to join NATO.

“We will do it immediately,” Putin said in a speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow.

His remarks came as leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations met in Italy and as Switzerland prepared to host scores of world leaders -- but not from Moscow -- this weekend to try to map out first steps toward peace in Ukraine.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Friday criticised online memes showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, calling them "absolutely cringe". Priyanka Chaturvedi's remarks came as the internet continues to circulate jokes and memes about the two leaders, playfully suggesting a romantic connection between them.

“This PM Giorgia Meloni and PM Modi memes have gone too far, they are absolutely cringe and also poor reflection of the level of humour that prevails in India. Just saying,” Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote in a post on X.

READ FULL STORY

South Africa's second biggest party says it will back Cyril Ramaphosa for president, almost guaranteeing his reelection, reports AP.

Karnataka High Court on Friday during a hearing in the POCSO case involving BS Yediyurappa has directed the police not to arrest the ex-CM and asked him to cooperate in the probe.

Sweden's Foreign Ministry said officials summoned the Iraqi chargé d'affaires Friday to protest against death sentences handed down to Swedes in Iraq.

Swedish media reported in recent days that two Swedes have been sentenced to death in Iraq after being convicted of killing a member of criminal gang there. On Friday, Sweden's news agency TT cited the foreign ministry in Stockholm's confirmation that at least one person with a Swedish passport has received a death sentence.

“We condemn the use of the death penalty. We oppose it always, everywhere and regardless of the circumstances,” Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said in a statement.

(AP Inputs)

Flight carrying bodies of those who died in Kuwait fire has landed at Palam airbase in Delhi.

-PTI

Odisha’s eight-time MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain was Friday administered oath as the Pro-tem Speaker of the assembly by Governor Raghubar Das.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi was also present at the Raj Bhavan here when Swain took oath.

"I was appointed as the Pro-tem Speaker on the recommendation of the CM,” Swain said.

Swain, a former minister and lawmaker from the Athagarh assembly segment in Cuttack district, will also conduct the election for appointment of a regular Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly on June 20.

PM Modi was greeted by his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on Friday as the former arrives to attend the 50th G7 Summit in Apulia.

PM Modi greeted Pope Francis at the G7 Summit, being held in Apulia, Italy. Francis will address G7 leaders on Friday at their annual gathering in southern Italy which is a first for a pope.

Italian PM Georgia Meloni addressing the G7 Outreach Session in Apulia explained the significance of the location, she said, “We chose Apulia (for the event) because it is in the southern region of Italy and because it is a land that has historically represented a breach between West and East, a place of dialogue in the Middle Sea. We wanted to send a clear message from the G7 and Italian presidency, we will never accept the narrative that wants the West against the rest.”

Delhi LG VK Saxena on Friday gave prosecution sanction against author Arundhati Roy under UAPA for 'provocative' speech at an event in 2010.

Pope Francis while addressing the G7 Summit Outreach Session in Apulia, Italy said, "The holy scripture says that the God gave to human beings, his spirit in order for them to have wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge in all kind of tasks. Science and technology are, therefore, extraordinary products of the potential that are active in us human beings. This is an extremely powerful tool which is used in many areas of action from medicine to labour, from culture to communications, from education to politics. We can take it for granted that its use will influence in a growing way, our social interactions, our way of life, and in future also the way we understand our identity as human beings."

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar condoled the demise of 2 people from the state who died in the fire incident in Kuwait. The CM announced a compensation of Rs 2 Lakh each for the bereaved families.

PM Modi on Friday at the G7 Summit Outreach in Italy, invited Pope Francis to visit India and said that he admires his commitment to serve people and make the planet better.