THE HEADLINES:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reach Gothenburg this afternoon on a two-day visit to Sweden; Will hold talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to review cooperation in trade, green transition, AI and defence.
- India and Netherlands elevate bilateral relationship to strategic partnership; Seventeen agreements signed to strengthen collaboration in key areas.
- India condemns attacks on commercial shipping in Strait of Hormuz as unacceptable; Says disrupting freedom of navigation cannot be justified.
- World Health Organization declares Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.
- IMD issues heavy to very heavy rainfall alert at isolated places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim today.
- Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa creates history by climbing Mount Everest for 32nd time, breaking his own record.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reach Gothenburg today on a two-day visit to Sweden, marking a historic milestone in India-Sweden relations. He will hold bilateral talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to review cooperation in trade, green transition, AI, emerging technologies, startups, resilient supply chains, defence, space, climate action, and people-to-people ties. This visit is the third leg of Prime Minister Modi’s UAE and European tour and his first to Europe since the India-EU Free Trade Agreement took effect in January 2026. A report from our correspondent covering the visit.
“During the Sweden visit, Prime Minister will hold bilateral talks with the Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations and explore new avenues of cooperation to enhance bilateral trade. They are also expected to hold discussions on avenues of collaboration in green transition, AI, emerging technologies, startups, resilient supply chains, defence, space, climate action and people-to-people ties. The two Prime Ministers will also address the European Round Table for Industry, a leading pan-European business leaders forum, along with H.E. Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
While talking to Akashvani, Mr Robin Sukhia, CEO of India-Sweden Business Council, underlines the importance of people to people connect and excitement of hosting Indian Prime Minister for the second time.
The businesses and industries across Sweden are excited with the visit to Prime Minister and hold high hopes regarding the outcome of the visit. Sakshi Singh, Akashvani News, Gothenburg, Sweden.”
Yesterday, in the second leg of the Prime Minister’s tour, India and the Netherlands elevated their ties to a strategic partnership and inked 17 agreements to boost cooperation in defence, critical minerals and other key sectors. Mr Modi and Mr Jetten also called for freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz, while opposing any “restrictive” measures, and reaffirmed their support for ongoing initiatives in this regard, according to a joint statement.
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India has strongly condemned attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, calling them ‘unacceptable’. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, said targeting civilian crew and disrupting freedom of navigation cannot be justified. He was speaking at a special meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council on safeguarding global energy and supply flows.
Mr Harish’s remarks came days after an India-flagged commercial vessel was attacked off the coast of Oman.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the decision after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths were reported. WHO in a social media post clarified the outbreak does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency like COVID-19, and advised against closing international borders.
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The government has said that the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system in the CBSE Class 12th examinations has enhanced transparency and objectivity in the evaluation process. Addressing concerns over the Class 12 results, Secreatry, Department of School Education and Literacy, Sanjay Kumar said that some concerns have been raised by the students regarding marking and a slight decline in pass percentage. He said that the welfare of students is of utmost importance and no child should feel they have received less marks than they deserve. The Secretary explained that CBSE has implemented this year, which ensures greater transparency and objectivity in evaluation.
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The field operations for the Houselisting and Housing Census under Phase – 1 of Census 2027 have commenced in five States and Union Territories. These States and UT are Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Municipal Corporation of Delhi area in Delhi NCT as part of the ongoing nationwide Census exercise.
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Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah termed AI and Deep Tech as the main pillars of the future economy. Inaugurating the ‘Million Minds Tech Park-Phase 1’ and ‘GREMI City Campus’ in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, today, he said that India has become a leader in every emerging sector of the world.
Mr. Shah, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, will also inaugurate the Innovation and Incubation Centre of the National Institute of Design in Gandhinagar today. He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development works of the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation. He will inaugurate the newly built five-lakh-litre capacity plant of Gandhinagar District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited, Madhur Dairy.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will share his thoughts with the people of the country and abroad in the Mann Ki Baat programme on Akashvani on the 31st of May. It will be the 134th episode of the monthly radio programme. People can submit their ideas and suggestions for the programme through the toll-free number 1800-11-7800. They can also share their input online via the Narendra Modi App or the MyGov Open Forum. The citizens can also give a missed call on 1922 and follow the link received in SMS to directly give their suggestions to the Prime Minister. Suggestions for the upcoming episode will be accepted until the 29th of this month.
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Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa has created history by climbing Mount Everest for a record 32nd time today. The 56-year-old climber broke his own record for the highest number of ascents of the world’s tallest peak.
Born in Solukhumbu district of Nepal’s Koshi Province, Kami Rita began his mountaineering career in 1992 and first climbed Everest in 1994. He completed his 31st ascent on May 27 last year.
Meanwhile, Lhakpa Sherpa, popularly known as the ‘Mountain Queen’, also extended her own record as the first Nepali woman to summit Everest by completing her 11th successful ascent of the peak.
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Within days of levying high customs duties on precious metals, Government has imposed import curbs on silver. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade in a notification said, the import policy for silver, including silver plated with gold and platinum are revised from free to restricted with immediate effect.
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Delhi Metro will run additional train trips to encourage the adoption of the Metro over private vehicles. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said, the decision has been taken keeping in view the significant role of public transport in ensuring energy efficiency, economic viability and environmental sustainability in the prevailing circumstances. DMRC said that from tomorrow, 24 additional train trips will be operated every Monday with the deployment of six extra trains. The corporation added that additional services will also be introduced on other days, depending on the requirement.
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The Railway Ministry has ordered a high-level inquiry into the fire incident involving two rear coaches of the Trivandrum-New Delhi Rajdhani Express. At around 5:15 this morning, there was fire in two rear coaches, which include one guard coach and one AC 3 Tier in Trivandrum-New Delhi Rajdhani near Nagda of Kota Division.
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A major rail accident was averted in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh this morning. Fire broke out in the B-1 coach of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express (Train No. 12431). The incident took place between Luni Richha and Vikramgarh Alot stations in the Kota division around 5.20 am.
Ratlam Railway Division’s Public Relations Officer Mukesh Kumar informed there has been no casualty in this incident. The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim for the day. The Met Department has predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds over Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Maharashtra, and North Eastern States for the next two days. IMD has said Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Vidarbha may experience heat wave conditions till tomorrow.
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Severe Heat wave Grips Madhya Pradesh, Temperature Crosses 43 Degrees in 15 Cities. A report –
“Madhya Pradesh is reeling under severe heat. Life has become difficult for people. Indore and Ujjain divisions are the worst affected. Yesterday, Khandwa and Naugaon recorded temperatures above 44 degrees Celsius. In 15 cities across the state, the mercury touched 43 degrees or above. According to the The Meteorological Department , a strong heatwave is likely in Ratlam, Khargone and Khandwa today. Temperature may cross 44 degrees there. Heatwave conditions will also continue in Indore, Ujjain, Sagar, Rewa, Chhatarpur and more than a dozen other districts. According to the Meteorological Department, the intense heat wave will continue in most parts of the state until May 19th. There is no rain alert for today. Abhinav Goel, Akashvani, Bhopal.”
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In Badminton, World No. 4 Indian pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty went down 12-21, 23-25 to Indonesia’s Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin in the men’s doubles final of the Thailand Open in Bangkok today.
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In tennis, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina stunned World No. 4 Coco Gauff of the US 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 to win the women’s title at the Italian Open yesterday.
In the men’s section, Jannik Sinner will face Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final today. The match will start at 8:30 PM IST.
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In IPL Cricket, today Punjab Kings will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. The match is scheduled to begin at 3:30 PM. In another match, Delhi Capitals will face Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The match will begin at 7:30 PM.
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World Hypertension Day is being observed today. The theme for this year is “Controlling Hypertension Together: check your blood pressure regularly, defeat the silent killer”. The day is a part of Hypertension Awareness Month, aiming to raise global awareness about high blood pressure, promote prevention, detection, and control.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reach Gothenburg this afternoon on a two-day visit to Sweden; Will hold talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to review cooperation in trade, green transition, AI and defence.
- India and Netherlands elevate bilateral relationship to strategic partnership; Seventeen agreements signed to strengthen collaboration in key areas.
- India condemns attacks on commercial shipping in Strait of Hormuz as unacceptable; Says disrupting freedom of navigation cannot be justified.
- World Health Organization declares Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.
- IMD issues heavy to very heavy rainfall alert at isolated places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim today.
- Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa creates history by climbing Mount Everest for 32nd time, breaking his own record.
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