THE HEADLINES::
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi successfully concludes his visit to Italy, marking final leg of his five-nation official tour.
- India and Italy to celebrate 2027 as “Year of Culture and Tourism” to strengthen dialogue between the two ancient civilisations.
- Centre ropes in major social media platforms to crack down on rumours and fake paper leak claims, ahead of NEET-UG re-examination.
- West Bengal government begins handing over land to BSF for barbed-wire fencing along Indo-Bangladesh border.
- Repolling begins in Falta Assembly Constituency of West Bengal.
- And in IPL Cricket, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians by 4 wickets to keep their Playoff hopes alive.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to New Delhi after successfully concluding his visit to Italy, marking the final leg of his five-nation official tour. India and Italy yesterday announced the upgradation of their ties to a Special Strategic Partnership, marking a major step forward in bilateral relations. The two countries signed several agreements in areas including agriculture, critical minerals, Ayurveda, science and technology, and facilitation of mobility of Indian nurses from India to Italy. Both nations also signed MoUs for curbing tax crimes, Money Laundering and Terror Financing. In a Joint Press statement with his Italian counterpart, Georgia Meloni in Rome, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Italy is renowned worldwide for design and precision, and India’s identity is that of a powerhouse of scale, talent, and affordable innovation. The Prime Minister said, India and Italy will move forward on the principle of Design and Develop in India and Italy and Deliver for the World. He said the India-Italy Defence Industrial Roadmap has paved the way for co-development and co-production.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s successful visit has been a part of his ongoing efforts to strengthen India’s international relations and cultural cooperation. This is Prime Minister Modi’s first bilateral visit to Italy and third overall. His visit was marked by a series of significant events and engagements. He called on Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Held delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, focusing on enhancing cooperation between India and Italy. The visit to the Food and Agriculture Organisation was to strengthen India’s commitment to multilateralism and global food security, where he was honoured with the prestigious UN Agricola Medal. Both sides also decided to launch the Italy-India Year of Culture and Tourism for 2027, which is a unique opportunity to have the century-old cultures develop a dialogue and make them more and more connected. He also met enthusiastic Indian diaspora and Italian artists who welcomed him on his arrival in Rome. This is Superna Bhatia, For Akashvani News, From Rome, Italy.”
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India and Italy will celebrate 2027 as the “Year of Culture and Tourism” to promote cultural exchanges and strengthen dialogue between the two ancient civilisations. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, the initiative will help deepen mutual understanding and further strengthen cultural diplomacy between the two countries. She said, stronger ties between countries are measured not only through political and economic relations but also through connections between people and societies.
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Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan held a meeting with representatives of major social media platforms including Meta, Google and Telegram yesterday, raising serious concerns over the growing spread of misinformation related to competitive examinations, particularly through Telegram channels and anonymous online groups. The meeting was crucial ahead of the re-examination of NEET (UG) 2026 on 21st of June. Officials noted that several such channels become highly active in the run-up to major examinations, circulating fake paper leak claims, clickbait content and unverified information that trigger panic, anxiety and confusion among students and parents. It was highlighted that many such links redirect users to automated bots and fake groups designed to amplify misinformation.
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In West Bengal, repolling has begun for the Falta Assembly Constituency in South 24 Parganas district. Voting, which started at 7 AM, will conclude at 6 PM. Election Commission had ordered a complete repoll in Falta assembly constituency, scrapping voting held on April 29 following multiple reports of irregularities, including voter intimidation, unauthorised presence inside polling booths and possible tampering with voting machines.
A total of six candidates are in the fray, including two independents. Trinamool Congress candidate Jahangir Khan has announced that he would not contest the election. However, his name remains on the ballot as the deadline for withdrawal of candidature has already passed. The BJP’s candidate is Debangshu Panda. The Congress has fielded Abdur Razzak Molla, while the CPIM has fielded Sambhu Nath Kurmi.
Now we go over live to our correspondent, Kalyan Laha for the latest update on polling.
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West Bengal government has begun handing over land to Border Security Force (BSF) for barbed-wire fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh border.
“Yesterday at the state secretariat Nabanna, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari formally initiated the process in the presence of BSF officials. The Chief Minister accused the previous government of obstructing border security through “non-cooperation”. He stressed that fencing the border is vital for national and state safety, citing issues such as infiltration, smuggling, counterfeit currency, forced religious conversions, and crimes linked to illegal Bangladeshi entrants. West Bengal shares nearly 2,200 kilometers of the 4,000-kilometer India-Bangladesh border. While fencing already covers about 1,600 kilometers, 600 kilometers remain unfenced. Yesterday’s handover includes land for 27 kilometers out of which 18 kms for fencing and 9 kms for BSF outposts and infrastructure. The Chief Minister assured that more land will be transferred soon, with costs fully covered by the central government and BSF. BSF Director General Praveen Kumar praised the state government, noting that cooperation long needed in border operations is now being received under the new administration. Sandipon Dasgupta RNU Kolkata.”
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India has called out Pakistan’s long-tainted record of genocidal acts, at the United Nations Security Council. Speaking at the Annual UNSC Open Debate on ‘Protection of civilians in armed conflict’ yesterday, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Harish Parvathaneni said that Pakistan’s inhuman conduct reflects its attempts over decades to externalise internal failures through acts of violence within and beyond its border. He further said, it is ironic that Pakistan, with its long-tainted record of genocidal acts, has chosen to refer to issues that are strictly internal to India.
Mr Parvathaneni’s remarks came after Pakistan’s representative raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir at the debate.
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US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has said that he is looking forward to celebrating America’s 250th birthday with partners in India. In a video message shared ahead of his visit, Mr Rubio said that India is the world’s largest democracy and US is world’s oldest, so the US look forward to celebrating it together. US Embassy in India also shared the video.
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President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, along with a high level delegation, arrived in Mumbai last evening on a 4-day official visit to India. In a social media post, Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said President Christodoulides’ visit highlights the growing momentum of India-Cyprus partnership and both the nations share time-tested and close relations rooted in shared values and strong people-to-people ties. The state visit comes at a moment when Cyprus holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will expand his cabinet today. Rajesh Kumar, leader of Congress legislature party and P. Viswanathan, Melur MLA, will be inducted into the cabinet. This is the first time after 1967 that the Congress members will join the State Cabinet.
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In IPL Cricket, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Mumbai Indians by 4 wickets at their home ground Eden Gardens last night to keep Playoff hopes alive. Chasing a target of 148 runs in a rain affected match, Kolkata Knight Riders overhauled the target with 4 wickets in-hand and 7 balls to go. Manish Pandey scored highest 45 runs, while Rovman Powell contributed 40 runs in the chase.
In today’s fixture, Gujarat Titans will take on Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad at 07:30 PM. Gujarat Titans have already qualified for the Playoffs, while the Chennai Super Kings are eying for the fourth spot in the points table.
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India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for heat wave conditions today at places over Delhi, Haryana, and Chandigarh. Heat wave conditions are also likely to prevail during the day over parts of Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha.
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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,
- Prime Minister’s visit to Italy is widely noticed by the press today along with developments in US-Iran conflict.
- Hindustan Times writes ‘Rome, Delhi dial up ties during Modi’s Italy visit,’ The paper also carries a picture of Prime Minister Modi and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni at the colosseum and a screen grab of the video widely circulated on social media where PM Meloni is thanking PM Modi for presenting her a bag of toffees – Melody- a play on their names. The video has been viewed over 11 million times. The Pioneer writes, ‘PM Modi’s Melody gift to his Italian counterpart sends internet into a frenzy.’
- The Asian Age writes, ‘After talks with Putin, Xi calls for ‘immediate’ end to West Asia War.’ Hindustan Times headlines, ‘Talks in final lap, strikes if no deal’ says Trump. Iran says conflict will expand beyond region if US resumes attacks.’
- Financial Express headlines, ‘RBI lines up five billion dollar swap to aid liquidity’.
- In the growing market of cosmetics, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has issued an advisory saying cosmetics can only be rubbed, sprayed or sprinkled on body. The newspaper headlines, ‘No cosmetic job with jabs, warns drug regulator.’
- The Indian Express in an exclusive writes ‘Working in my own grave: How workers are training robots that may replace them.’ The news item writes about workers in factories who are asked to wear smart glasses throughout their day. The exercise reflects a growing global push by AI and robotics companies to gather what’s called ‘egocentric data’, first person recordings of human activity that can teach machines how people perform physical tasks.’
- And finally, The Economic Times writes, ‘Google rejigs Iconic Search Box for AI Era’ adding Google is redesigning its iconic search box and adding new artificial intelligence coding tools in its first step to expand influence in the age of AI.
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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN,
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi successfully concludes his visit to Italy, marking final leg of his five-nation official tour.
- India and Italy to celebrate 2027 as “Year of Culture and Tourism” to strengthen dialogue between the two ancient civilisations.
- Centre ropes in major social media platforms to crack down on rumours and fake paper leak claims, ahead of NEET-UG re-examination.
- West Bengal government begins handing over land to BSF for barbed-wire fencing along Indo-Bangladesh border.
- Repolling begins in Falta Assembly Constituency of West Bengal.
- And in IPL Cricket, Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians by 4 wickets to keep their Playoff hopes alive.
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