THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, under India’s Chairmanship this year BRICS to aim for multilateralism and more inclusive world order.
- Election Commission announces Special Intensive Revision Phase-III to be conducted across sixteen states and three Union Territories.
- In Keralam, Congress leader V D Satheesan meets Governor to stake claim to form government.
- In Uttar Pradesh, over 70 people killed due to rain, storms, and lightning in last 24 hours.
- US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping hold talks in Beijing; Stress on opening of Strait of Hormuz.
- In Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships, Ajith Narayana clinches double Bronze in Men’s 71kg at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that under India’s Chairmanship this year, BRICS will work together to strengthen multilateralism, promote sustainable development, enhance economic resilience and build a more inclusive world order. Interacting with Foreign Ministers and Heads of Delegation of BRICS countries who called on Mr Modi in New Delhi today, Mr Modi said, BRICS has emerged as an important platform for advancing cooperation among emerging economies and giving voice to the aspirations of the Global South.
The meetings took place on the sidelines of the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting which is being held in New Delhi.
Earlier, in his opening remarks at the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that peace and security remain central to the global order.
The theme of the event is Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability. It draws inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Humanity First and People-centric vision for BRICS.
In the session themed on BRICS@20, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar highlighted that BRICS has expanded its agenda and membership in response to changing global realities, while remaining focused on people-centric development and practical cooperation. The Minister said BRICS is strong because it is independent and includes diverse countries. He said the group supports change and reforms, reflects a multi-polar world, helps countries reduce risks by expanding partnerships, and believes in mutual respect and equal rights for all nations.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi tomorrow on the first leg of his five nation visit. He will later visit the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy. Our West Asia Correspondent reports, India and the UAE are preparing to further expand one of Asia’s fastest-growing economic partnerships, during high-level discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The talks are expected to focus on trade, investment, energy security, and emerging technologies. India-UAE trade crossed the 100-billion-dollar mark in the financial year 2024-25, achieving the target set under the 2022 Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, five years ahead of schedule. We have more in this report:
“India and the United Arab Emirates continue to deepen their economic partnership, even as Friday’s talks are expected to focus strongly on energy security.India’s exports to the UAE have now crossed 36.63 billion dollars, making the Emirates India’s second-largest export destination. Key exports include refined petroleum products, gold and diamond jewellery, engineering goods, garments, pharmaceuticals, and processed food. On the import side, UAE shipments to India are largely driven by crude oil, gold, and petrochemicals.Beyond traditional trade, cooperation is expanding into high-value sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, fintech, healthcare, critical minerals, and civil nuclear energy.THIS IS Vinod Kumar FOR AKASHVANI NEWS FROM ABU DHABI.”
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The government has said that effective steps have been taken to ensure the availability of adequate crude oil, LPG and natural gas across the country. During an inter-ministerial briefing in New Delhi today, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Sujata Sharma said that domestic LPG supply across the country remains smooth and no dry-out has been reported at any distributorship. She said that refineries are operating at maximum capacity and LPG connectivity has also increased.
Secretary of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Mukesh Mangal said that two vessels carrying more than 90 thousand metric tonnes of LPG with over 20 crew members crossed the Strait of Hormuz last night and are expected to arrive on the 16th of this month.
Secretary of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Mukesh Mangal, said that two vessels carrying more than 19 thousand Metric tons of LPG with over 21 crew members crossed the Strait of Hormuz last night and is expected to arrive at Kandla on the 16th of this month. He stated that all 14 Indian crew members on board Indian trading vessel MSV Haji Ali are safe.
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The Election Commission today announced Special Intensive Revision SIR Phase-III which will be conducted in phased manner in 16 States and three Union Territories.
This phase will cover Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, and all north eastern states except Assam. Three UTs will also be covered in this phase, NCT of Delhi, Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
Over 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers assisted by 3.42 lakh Booth Level Agents will cover 36.73 crore electors during the Enumeration Phase.
With this, the SIR of Electoral Rolls will cover the entire country in Phase-III except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
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In Keralam, Congress today announced the name of V D Satheesan as the new Chief Minister of Keralam. Party’s Legislative Party held at Thiruvananthapuram today formally elected V D Satheesan as its leader. Our correspondent reports that senior leader Ramesh Chennithala was not present in the parliamentary party meeting.
We have a report:
“Senior Congress leader V. D. Satheesan met Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arlekar this evening and formally staked his claim to form the new ministry in Keralam. The Congress Legislative Party met this evening at Thiruvananthapuram and elected V. D. Satheesan as its leader. Earlier today, the national leadership of the Congress in New Delhi announced him as the leader of the legislative party. This decision was announced after continuous discussions at Thiruvananthapuram and New Delhi over the past ten days following the election results on May 4. V. D. Satheesan said he would take all the leaders into confidence. The searing ceremony is expected to be on Monday. Meanwhile, outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was elected as the Legislative Party Leader of CPM. Smithy M Palluruthy, Akashvani News, Thiruvananthapuram.”
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In Tamilnadu, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi Palanisamy today met the State Governor Vishwanath Arlekar and gave him a petition regarding the faction of AIADMK MLAs led by S.P.Velumani. The former Chief Minister appealed to the Governor to take up the issue with Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar. The issue is that 25 AIADMK MLAs in the faction led by S.P. Velumani voted for the TVK Government, not heeding the Whip issued by O.S. Manian to vote against the TVK Government. Twenty-two AIADMK MLAs led by Edappadi Palanisamy also appealed to the Speaker, asking him to disqualify the faction led by Velumani. Previously, Palanisamy, had removed some MLAs from holding various positions in the Party.
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Delhi High Court judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma today initiated criminal contempt proceedings against Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Durgesh Pathak and others over alleged vilifying social media posts linked to the excise policy case. Justice Sharma said a calculated campaign was launched against her instead of pursuing legal remedies. She also accused Arvind Kejriwal of destroying her reputation instead of availing legal remedies. She clarified that she was not recusing herself but transferring the CBI plea against the discharge of the accused to another bench after initiating contempt proceedings. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, thanked the judge for upholding the dignity of the institution.
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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two more accused persons in connection with alleged irregularities in paper leak related to NEET-UG 2026 examination. The agency has conducted searches at 14 locations in the last 24 hours, across the country. The agency said that two accused are Dhananjay Lokhande from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune. CBI said that In this connection, five accused were arrested yesterday, three are from Jaipur, one from Gurugram and one from Nashik. The CBI said that all they were produced before the competent Court in Delhi today and have been remanded to 7 Days Police Custody for interrogation.
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In Uttar Pradesh, more than 70 people have died in the last 24 hours due to rain, storms, and lightning. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the District Magistrates and relevant officials to immediately conduct a survey on the spot. He also asked them to update the status of compensation every three hours. A report:
“Gusty winds with speeds of around 80 to 100 km per hour caused widespread damage. Many trains including Patna Rajdhani stopped at various stations because of trees falling on tracks and OHE wire damage. Many people who took shelter under the tree became victims of the bad weather. The worst-hit areas included Prayagraj, Bhadohi, Mirzapur, Fatehpur, and Varanasi. Twenty-one people have died in Prayagraj, 15 in Bhadohi, 18 in Mirzapur, nine in Fatehpur, five in Badaun, and four in Bareilly. More than 200 people have been injured and admitted to hospitals. SUSHIL CHANDRA TIWARI, AKASHVANI NEWS LUCKNOW.”
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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today said that self-reliance and jointness are must to secure strategic autonomy and remain future-ready for emerging security challenges. Mr Singh said this in a video message during the inaugural session of the third edition of Kalam and Kavach in New Delhi.
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US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping today held talks in Beijing. Both leaders stressed on cooperation over confrontation despite tensions over trade, technology and regional security. The meeting marked Trump’s first visit to China during his second stint of presidency. According to the White House, the two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy.
Addressing the gathering after the meeting, President of China Xi Jinping stressed on fostering cooperation over confrontation saying that the China and the United States should be partners, not rivals. Mr. Trump responded with an equally positive tone, saying US-China relations would become better than ever before.
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In Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships, India’s Ajith Narayana delivered a remarkable performance to secure a bronze medal each in both clean and jerk and overall in the men’s 71kg category at Gandhinagar, Gujarat today. Competing against some of Asia’s finest weightlifters, Ajith showcased exceptional strength and composure to register a total lift of 314 kg, including 174 kg effort in clean and jerk, to earn India a place on the podium.
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In the Asian Boxing Under 15 Championships, India finished with an impressive 27 medals, including nine gold, six silver and 12 bronzes, in Tashkent Uzbekistan today. India topped the U-15 girls standing with seven gold, two silver and five bronze medals, while the U-15 boys contributed two gold, four silver and seven bronze medals.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Kerala, Mahe, South Interior Karnataka, Sub Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu Puducherry, Karaikal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands tomorrow.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, under India’s Chairmanship this year BRICS to aim for multilateralism and more inclusive world order.
- Election Commission announces Special Intensive Revision Phase-III to be conducted across sixteen states and three Union Territories.
- In Keralam, Congress leader V D Satheesan meets Governor to stake claim to form government.
- In Uttar Pradesh, over 70 people killed due to rain, storms, and lightning in last 24 hours.
- US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping hold talks in Beijing; Stress on opening of Strait of Hormuz.
- In Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships, Ajith Narayana clinches double Bronze in Men’s 71kg at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
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