Global crude oil prices climbed more than one percent
Men's Cricket: India set target of 378 for England in final game of 5-match Test series at Edgbaston
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Puri says Green Hydrogen will provide momentum to country's journey towards energy independence by 2047
Gold prices gain Rs 325 at Multi Commodity Exchange for August contracts
Rupee appreciates nine paise against US dollar
Punjab CM expands his cabinet by inducting five more Ministers
Union MoS Jal Shakti & Tribal Affairs Bisheshwar Tudu reviews schemes run under Aspirational District Program & other public welfare schemes
Digital India empowered people by making technology more accessible, says PM Modi; launches ‘Digital India Bhashini’ to provide easy access to internet & digital services in Indian languages
Govt hands over Nilachal Ispat Nigam Limited to Tata Steel Long Products Limited
At least 10 people killed after bus falls into gorge in Himachal's Kullu; Prez Kovind, PM Modi and CM Thakur express grief
THE HEADLINES:-
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the Quad Leaders' Summit in Tokyo on the 24th of this month at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will participate in the summit. External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Arindam Bagchi informed about the summit in a media briefing in New Delhi last evening:
Mr Bagchi said, Prime Minister Modi will have a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
During the visit, Mr Modi will participate in business events with Japanese business leaders. He will also address and interact with the Indian community in Japan.
The MEA spokesperson informed that the Prime Minister is also likely to hold bilateral meetings with US President Joe Biden and Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison. With Mr Biden, the Prime Minister is expected to review the India-US Strategic Partnership and follow up on discussions held during their bilateral meeting last September. They will also exchange views of regional and global developments of shared interests.
Mr Modi is likely to review the India-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Mr Morrison, and exchange views on global and regional developments.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the meeting of national office bearers of the Bharatiya Janata Party to be held in Jaipur today through video conferencing. He will also address the party delegates on this occasion. Party President JP Nadda reached Jaipur yesterday evening for the meeting. Apart from Mr Nadda, many other representatives have also reached the state capital. National Vice Presidents, National General Secretaries, National Secretaries, National Treasurer, Presidents of all Morchas, Presidents of all States, State Organization Secretaries and many former Chief Ministers will attend this meeting. It will be followed by a meeting of State Organization Secretaries of all the states on Saturday. More details from our correspondent:
"There will be a total of four sessions in the meeting of the national office bearers. After the meeting, the party's national president JP Nadda will release a book on Sundar Singh Bhandari and interact with the people. Tomorrow there will be a meeting of General secretaries - organization of all states of the party. About 130 senior leaders of the party from across the country have reached Jaipur to participate in the meeting. The strategy for the elections to be held in 12 states before the Lok Sabha elections is to be discussed in the meeting. Apart from this, various topics related to organization are also likely to be discussed in the meeting. JITENDRA DWIVEDI,AIR NEWS, JAIPUR".
President Ram Nath Kovind met Governor General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Dame Susan Dougan on the second day of his visit to the Caribbean nation yesterday. They discussed strengthening cooperation in the fields of IT, health, education, tourism, culture and in the multilateral fora. The two sides also signed MoUs on 'exchange of information and assistance in collection of taxes' and on 'Refurbishment of old Calder Community project'. President Kovind also visited the botanical garden where he planted a sandalwood sapling and attended cultural performances.
Later, President Kovind addressed the parliament of Saint Vincent and Grenadines. President Kovind said, to tackle the complex issues of today, the new world order that we seek to build, is to be an inclusive world order, where every country can express its legitimate interests.
Mr. Kovind said, the need of the hour is reform of global institutions, with the UN Security Council at its core, to reflect the contemporary global reality. He noted that on this issue, India and St. Vincent and the Grenadines share common interest, approach and understanding.
In the afternoon, the President visited Calder Road in Kingstown where he addressed the Indian community. Addressing the gathering, the President said that Indian Diaspora and Indians living in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, reflect India’s rich diversity, cultural heritage and traditions. India is proud of them and their achievements.
In the final engagement of the day, the President attended a banquet hosted by the Governor General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at Government House.
A special orientation programme for newly elected members of Uttar Pradesh assembly will start today. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla will inaugurate the two-day orientation programme which is being organised to apprise the newly elected members about the rules and activities of the house. The programme will also have technical training for all the members of the assembly. A report on this from our correspondent:
"Loksabha speaker Om Birla will inaugurate the two day Orientation and training program which has been termed as 'Prabodhan and e-Vidhan Prashikshan'. After the inaugural address of Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, leader of opposition Akhilesh Yadav and then Chief Minister of state Yogi Adityanath will also address the newly elected members of the assembly. A team of technical experts from NIC will provide training to all the members of state assembly regarding e Vidhan program for the paperless functioning of the assembly. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath yesterday inaugurated NEVA National e Vidhan application service centre which will be instrumental in providing orientation and training to the members for the upcoming session of the assembly starting from 23rd may. This is the first time when the proceedings of the UP assembly will be paperless. SUSHIL CHANDRA TIWARI, AIR NEWS, LUCKNOW".
India’s COVID vaccination coverage has crossed 191 crore 91 lakh mark. More than 13 lakh vaccine doses were administered yesterday. The Union Health Ministry said, more than four crore 57 lakh vaccine doses have been administered to children belonging to the age group of 12 to 14 years so far. Over three crore eighteen lakh precautionary doses have been administered to the identified categories of beneficiaries.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the Universities should become the platform for exchange of views and not a space for ideological battles. He said this while addressing an International Seminar on Revisiting the ideas of India from Swaraj to New India organised by Delhi University yesterday. He said, any ideology can flourish by debate and discussion only
Mr. Shah lauded the National Education Policy saying it is the first such education policy that has not been opposed by anyone and welcomed to by all.
The Reserve Bank of India has directed banks and ATM operators to provide cardless cash withdrawal facility at all ATMs. In a circular, the RBI said, all banks, automated teller machine (ATM) networks and White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs) may provide the option of ICCW at their ATMs. The apex bank informed that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been advised to facilitate Unified Payments Interface (UPI) integration with all banks and ATM networks.
The RBI said, while UPI would be used for customer authorisation in such transactions, settlement would be through the National Financial Switch (NFS) and ATM networks. It added, the on-us and off-us ICCW transactions shall be processed without levy of any charges other than those prescribed under the circular on Interchange Fee and Customer Charges
According to the RBI, withdrawal limits for ICCW transactions shall be in-line with the limits for regular on-us and off us ATM withdrawals.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS New Delhi has removed the user charges for all diagnostic procedures such as blood tests and X-rays that cost up to 300 rupees. Medical Superintendent of AIIMS, Dr D K Sharma informed this through an official order.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur and his Bangladeshi counterpart Dr Hasan Mahmud have jointly released a 90-second intriguing trailer of the India - Bangladesh co-production feature film on ‘Bangabandhu' at the Cannes Film Festival. The film is named Mujib - The Making of a Nation and has been directed by Shyam Benegal.
Addressing the audience on the occasion, Mr. Anurag Thakur said, the movie, while being a co-production of India and Bangladesh, was an initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the movie is a gift on birth centenary of Bangabandhu Shekh Mujibur Rahman. Commenting on the struggles in the making of the movie, Mr Thakur said that when the world was going through a challenging time during the COVID pandemic, the work on the movie went on.
This year being the 75th anniversary of India’s independence and India being the Country of Honour at Marche du Film, there could be no better opportunity to release the trailer and put the friendship of India and Bangladesh on display, the Union Minister added. He thanked the entire Bangladesh delegation for attending the ceremony.
Group of Seven (G7) nations have agreed to provide financial support to Ukraine. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told reporters at the G7 finance leaders' meeting in Germany that they agreed to provide Ukraine the financial resources it needs in its struggle against Russia.Yesterday, the US Senate approved a 40 billion US dollar aid package of military, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Out of this, 7.5 billion US dollars was earmarked for filling gaps in Kyiv's budget.
Germany currently hosts the G7's rotating presidency. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has announced a contribution of 1.1 billion US dollars for Ukraine's budget. The European Commission has said it would pledge up to 9.5 billion US dollars of macro-financial assistance in the form of loans, to be complemented by support from international partners including the G7.
And in Sports news,
Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen clinched the gold medal at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships after registering a dominating 5-0 victory in Istanbul yesterday. Nikhat thrashed Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas without breaking a sweat in the 52kg final with judges scoring the bout unanimously in her favour. Nikhat became the only fifth Indian woman to secure gold medal at the World Boxing Championships.
Apart from Nikhat, two Indian boxers Manisha Moun in 57 kg and Parveen Hooda in 63 kg category signed off with bronze medals after their semi-finals finish in the championships.
The Prime Minister has congratulated Nikhat Zareen on winning the Gold Medal. He also congratulated Manisha Moun and Parveen Hooda for their Bronze medals in the same competition. The Prime Minister said, our boxers have made us proud.
With this, Indian contingent concluded its campaign with three medals at the world’s biggest boxing event.
In Badminton, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu advanced to the women's singles quarter-finals of the Thailand Open 2022 in Bangkok yesterday. The world No. seven Sindhu beat Sim Yu Jin of South Korea in straight games 21-16, 21-13 in the second round match. She will take on second-seeded Japanese Akane Yamaguchi in the quarterfinal today.
In IPL Cricket, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Gujarat Titans by eight wickets in their final league match at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai last night to keep their play-off hopes alive. Batting first after winning the toss, Gujarat posted 168 for five in the stipulated 20 overs.
Today, Rajasthan Royals will lock horns with Chennai Super Kings at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai at 7:30 p.m.
Southwest monsoon is likely to reach Kerala on the 27th of this month, five days earlier than its normal date of onset on June 1. India Meteorological Department (IMD) attributes the early onset of monsoon over Kerala to the influence of the remnants of cyclone Asani. In 2009, the south-west monsoon had reached Kerala on 23rd May. IMD said advancement of Monsoon into some more parts of South and Central Bay of Bengal and some parts of South Arabian Sea likely during next two days.
Kerala has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the past few days disrupting normal life in several places.
The Met Department has forecast heavy downpour in the State for the next four days.
Orange alert has been issued in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram and Yellow alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha districts today.
The shutters of dams in different districts will be raised further. Water level of major rivers in the State continues to go up and people have been asked to remain alert. The State Disaster Management Authority has also advised people to avoid travel to hilly regions.
As squally weather with strong wind is likely to prevail in the coming days, fishing activities have been suspended till further notice.
In Tamil Nadu, a flood alert has been issued in five northern districts that are situated along the River Tenpennaiyaar (तेनपेन्नेयार). The catchment area of the Krishnagiri (कृष्णगिरी) Dam is witnessing continuous rain for the past many days. It has led the Krishnagiri Dam brimming to the full, with water level reaching the maximum height of 52 feet. The surplus water is being let into the River Tenpennaiyaar.
Meanwhile, heavy floods in the River Palar (पालार) in Tirupattur (तिरुप्पत्तूर) district in adjoining Andhra Pradesh led to the collapse of a major causeway connecting two key towns of Ambur (आम्बूर) and Gudiyatham (गुडियाथ्थम). More detailsfrom our correspondent:
"The summer rains have helped the state's biggest Stanley Reservoir at Mettur to store water continuously above a height of hundred feet. The famous waterfalls at Hogenakkal in Dharmapuri has got more footfalls of tourists as there is copious inflow of water in the River Cauvery. Valparai in Coimbatore district has received a maximum of ninety millimeters of rain in the last twenty four hours. The India Meteorology Department in Chennai has said Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are expected to get light to moderate rain at a few places at least till Monday. The pre-monsoon rains that are showering especially the Western Ghats and its adjoining areas have helped dip the soaring temperatures. Jayasingh, AIR News, Chennai".
In flood hit Assam, 80 thousand displaced people have taken shelter at relief camps in several districts. Surging water washed away roads, bridges, culverts causing massive problems in road communications. Official sources said, essential food items are being airdropped at worst affected Barak valley and Dima Hasao district. Over seven thousand people were evacuated by various agencies yesterday. The Health department deployed 50 medical teams at relief camps.
In Bihar, 37 people were killed and 13 injured in lightening and rain related incidents in different parts of state.The victims were mostly farmers working in their fields. Maximum 9 people died in Bhagalpur followed by seven in Muzaffarpur and three in Vaishali districts. Eighteen casualities have been reported from 17 districts including Katihar, Kishanganj, Darbhanga and Nalanda. Rail and road traffic were paralysed at several places due to uprooting of trees and electric polls. Air services disrupted for half an hour at Patna and Darbhanga airports.
Now, let us have a look at the weather forecast for today.
NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE:-
"PM in Tokyo for Quad on May 24, talks with Biden" writes The Asian Age.
Upholding the country's cooperative federal structure quoting the Supreme Court, "GST Council suggestions not binding on govts" headlines The Pioneer.
On the Covid front The Statesman reports "Delhi records 520 fresh Covid cases, one death".
With intention to keep human safety on top priority, "For Safety of Gaganyaan crew, ISRO will simulate failure with 'abort missions'" is a front page headline in the Indian Express.
"Nikhat Zareen wins world championship gold", most newspapers carry the picture of the proud 'Boxing's New Star".
THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:-