Highlights: Cyclone Mocha intensifies into extremely severe cyclonic storm

Congress leader P Chidambaram, former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders attended the engagement ceremony of AAP MP Raghav Chadha and actress Parineeti Chopra, in Delhi today.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday gave a 72-hour deadline to officials for arresting those involved in vandalism in protests that erupted after the former PM Imran Khan's arrest on May 9. Read more

In a major crackdown, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Indian Navy conducted a successful joint operation in the Indian Ocean that led to find a drug racket worth around Rs. 15,000 crore, ANI reported.

 The route of the drugs originated from the Chabahar port in Iran and the source of the drugs is Pakistan, according to the officials. The mother ship was being stationed at different points in the sea. 

The smaller boats would go from various countries & collect consignments from the mother ships. The consignment was meant for Sri Lanka, Maldives & India. One Pakistani national has been arrested.  

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that the severe cyclone Mocha has intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm over the east-central Bay of Bengal. The storm is expected to move towards the north-northeast direction and is likely to make landfall along the southeast coast of Bangladesh and north coast of Myanmar on Sunday. Read more

Kupwara police along with Army in Jammu and Kahsmir have arrested four smugglers on Saturday who were involved in running an Inter-state narco terror module, ANI reported. 

Police said that about eight kilograms of heroin and ₹5 lakhs cash were recovered and a case has been registered under relevant sections of NDPS Act & UA(P) Act in Police Station Trehgam.

Actor Salman Khan meets West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at the latter's residence in Kolkata.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw attends Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting in Delhi.

As the Cyclone Mocha approaches Bangladesh and Myanmar, volunteers in coastal districts of Bangladesh are using loudspeakers to urge people to seek shelter and take necessary precautions, AFP reported. The cyclone is expected to hit the coast in the next 24 hours, and the authorities are taking measures to minimize its impact and ensure the safety of the people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday arrived in Rome for expected talks with Italy's leaders in his first visit to the EU and NATO nation since Russia's invasion, AFP reported.

Israel and Palestinian militants unleashed salvos of fire for a fourth day on Saturday, with the Islamic Jihad militant group launching over a thousand rockets and the Israeli military pounding targets inside the Gaza Strip.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy is making a trip to Rome and he will meet with Pope Francis and Italian leaders on Saturday, the Vatican said.

'I delivered...' - an emotional Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar's message to his party Saturday morning shortly after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election. "I assured Sonia Gandhiji, Rahul Gandhiji and Priyanka Gandhiji, and (Congress boss) Mallikarjun Khargeji I will deliver Karnataka to the fold..." he said.

Read Here.

Bangladesh and Myanmar have warned hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate as Cyclone Mocha intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm over east central Bay of Bengal and was 570 km north-northwest of Port Blair and 730 km south-southwest of Cox's Bazar at 11:30 pm IST on Friday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Read Here.

The death toll in Manipur following the recent clashes in the State has gone up to 71 according to Security Advisor to Manipur Government Kuldeep Singh.

Speaking to ANI, Singh on Friday said, "Death figure is now approximately 71..."

"Yesterday there was an exchange of fire between Manipur commandos and militants. Six commandos got injured and one of them got killed," Kuldeep Singh said on Friday.

Singh further said that three PWD labourers were also found dead in a vehicle in the Churachandpur area. He said the exact cause behind the incident was yet to be ascertained.

(ANI)

As the Congress crossed the half-way mark in the early leads in the Karnataka Assembly Elections, the party office in Delhi on Saturday saw fireworks and laddoos were distributed outside Delhi and Bengaluru officers to celebrate the early trends.

Videos showed Congress party workers celebrating with fireworks outside the All India Congress Committee (AICC) office in Delhi.

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Massive fire breaks out at a chemical factory due to a short circuit in Parsakhera Industrial Area of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. The area has been vacated as a precautionary measure. Six fire tenders are present at the spot. 

(ANI)

The Indian Army troops foiled an infiltration bid in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours of Saturday, forcing the quadcopter flown by Pakistan to withdraw, an Army source told ANI.

As per the source, there was an exchange of fire between terrorists and Indian Army troops.

"An infiltration bid by terrorists was foiled in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, early morning today. There was an exchange of fire between terrorists and their own troops. Pakistan side tried to fly a quadcopter over the incident site but on being fired at by the Indian side it quickly withdrew," the source said.

(ANI)

A 17-year-old student of a state-run institute allegedly died by suicide after being “beaten up” by a teacher, police said.

Rudra Madhav Rana, a first-year student of electrical trade at the Industrial Training Institute (ITI), was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room, they said on Friday.

“The family members of Rana have alleged that he ended his life after he was beaten up by a teacher,” a police officer said.

Rana’s mother, in her complaint, said he had earlier called her up and informed that he was thrashed by the teacher.

His body has been sent for post-mortem examination.

(PTI)

The Maharashtra police have arrested 8 persons, including women, from Rajasthan for allegedly stealing jewellery from people at a religious discourse on the outskirts of Mumbai and recovered valuables worth ₹50 lakh from them, an official said on Saturday. 

A two-day event was held at Mira Road in March and was attended by nearly 1.5 lakh people, he said. During and after the programme, police received 61 complaints about theft of 990 grams of gold jewellery and registered four first information reports (FIRs), he said.

(PTI)

Karnataka chief minister Basavraj Bommai is leading from the Shiggaon seat in the state's Haveri district as counting of votes for the 2023 Assembly election continues. At 9.30 am the Bharatiya Janata Party leader - who has expressed confidence his side will get a clear majority despite exit polls handing the Congress an advantage - was ahead by over 1,200 votes. In second place is the Congress' Pathan Yasir Ahmed Khan with Shashidhar Yeligar of the Janta Dal (Secular) a distant third.

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As the counting of votes in the Karnataka Assembly Elections begins, the Congress party voices confidence in gaining a majority. Congress leader and son of former CM Siddaramaiah, Yathindra Siddaramaiah said on Saturday that it is necessary to keep the BJP out of power and the Congress party would do anything for that.

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Hours before the counting for the Karnataka Assembly Elections begins, ex-Karnataka chief minister and Janata Dal Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy said on Saturday that JD(S) was a small party and he was only looking for development.

Speaking to media, Kumaraswamy said, “In the next 2-3 hours, it will become clear. Exit polls show that the two national parties will score in a big way. The exit polls have given 30-32 seats to JD(S). I am a small party, there is no demand for me...I am hoping for a good development.”

 Read Here

Heavy security has been deployed at counting centres and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's residence in Karnataka ahead of counting of votes for the assembly election. 

Amid reports of disunity among the ranks of the Pakistan army, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Maj-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Friday refuted allegations of imposition of martial law in the country, reported Geo News.

"I want to say very clearly that General Asim Munir and the army's leadership wholeheartedly support democracy and will continue to do so. The imposition of martial law is out of the question," said Chaudhry.

This comes after an almost four-day political turmoil erupted due to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan's arrest, in which army's installations were also targeted, reported Geo News.

(ANI)