Highlights: Russian President Putin addresses the nation

At least 5 persons, including 2 BSF personnel, were injured when villagers attacked a border outpost in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district on Sunday night, officials said.

The incident took place around 10pm at Umsyiem village near Dawki town, 100 km south of the state capital, when a mob attacked the outpost, officials said on Monday.

A businessman allegedly received death threats for non-payment of extortion money amounting to ₹10 crore in the Pitampura area of Delhi, the officials said on Monday, reports ANI.

The victim is a resident of the Pitmapura area of Delhi and has a mechanical instrument business, added the officials.

According to Delhi Police, the victim received a call from a man that threatened the victim to kill him or one of his family members if he did not make a payment of ₹10 crore.

India's prestige and stature have increased on the world stage under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday.

Addressing a National Security Conclave at the University of Jammu, he said the world is now listening intently when India speaks, which was not the case earlier.

Under the Modi-led government, the prestige of India has gone up on the international stage and so has its stature. Earlier, when India used to say something at international forums, it was not taken so seriously, the defence minister said.

A once-in-a-generation security crisis in Russia compounded fears in Beijing that a strategic partner central to its global ambitions is not as stable as it hoped, analysts say.

China has emerged as Russia's most important ally since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022, leaving it internationally isolated.

Eight people were killed and some passengers were injured in a truck and rickshaw accident at Asud on the Dapoli-Harne road in Ratnagiri district. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde expressed his condolences & announces to give ₹5 lakh each to the families of the deceased from the CM's Relief Fund. He has also directed the administration to provide proper medical treatment to the injured at government expense: CMO

PM Modi@narendramodi chairs an important meeting in Delhi after return from US and Egypt tour, tweets PMOIndia

A 32-year-old man was lynched allegedly a group of 'cow vigilantes' on suspicion of transporting beef in Maharashtra's Nashik district, police said on Monday, PTI reported.

This is the second incident in Nashik in nearly two weeks of killing of a person by 'cow vigilantes'.

The latest incident took place at around 5.30 pm on Saturday near Gambhirwadi on Ghoti-Sinnar Road in Igatpuri area of Nashik, located more than 150 km from Mumbai, an official said.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said he was cancelling a counter-terrorism regime imposed in the Russian capital during what the authorities on Saturday called an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group.

Sobyanin made the announcement in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging application on Monday. Russian media cited local Federal Security Service (FSB) offices as saying similar regimes had been cancelled in the Voronezh and Moscow regions.

With over 45,000 individuals fleeing Manipur after breakout of violence between two ethnic communities on May 3, Mizoram has been witnessing a daily influx of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the neighbouring state.

The number of IDPs from Manipur have reached 12140, and are spread across all of the eleven districts of Mizoram, a Mizoram home department official said on Sunday.

The word “zoo” is complicated and can have different meanings to different people.

For some, a zoo is an organisation committed to animal well-being and wildlife conservation that offers its visitors a fun and educational experience. To others, it is a place where people pay to see exotic animals in poor conditions.

Zoos — a shortening of zoological gardens — can refer to both zoos and aquariums. Zoos accredited by bodies such as the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria make important contributions to conservation and the recovery of endangered species.

NCP president Sharad Pawar on Monday said no discussion took place on the "prime ministerial post" in the meeting of opposition parties held in Patna last week ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due next year.

There were discussions on issues like inflation, unemployment and "deliberate attempts" at some places to encourage communal forces, Pawar told reporters in Baramati town here in Maharashtra.

He also hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party for its criticism of the opposition meeting.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) on June 23 arrested one person in the CPI (Maoist) terror funding case in connection with efforts being made for the revival of the banned outfit in the Magadh Zone of Bihar. The arrested accused Anandi Paswan @ Anand Paswan, has more than five criminal cases registered against him in various police stations of Bihar, says NIA, reports ANI. 

People with disabilities in Spain and other European countries have been disproportionately affected by unprecedented heat extremes, a leading human rights watchdog said on Monday, urging authorities to provide adequate support.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report that people with disabilities faced risk of death, physical, social, and mental health distress due to extreme heat particularly if "left to cope with dangerous temperatures on their own".

While train services were unaffected by rains in Mumbai, a technical glitch in the engine of a goods train affected services in the Karjat-Badlapur section of the suburban railway network, a Central Railway (CR) spokesperson said.

Passengers flying through Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (BLR Airport) will now have a new way of experiencing the airport with the launch of 'BLR Pulse' – a personalised digital travel buddy to cater to their needs. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) — the operator of BLR Airport, in collaboration with GrayMatter Software Services, has created 'BLR Pulse', an omnichannel platform.

Electoral workers slowly tallied ballots across Guatemala late Sunday, and early counts gave no indication of which two candidates from a huge field of presidential contenders would advance to a runoff.

While some isolated incidents interrupted the vote in some localities, voting appeared to have been orderly and peaceful in much of the country. Voters also cast ballots in hundreds of congressional and local races.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday called for united efforts to create a drug-free world.

In a tweet on the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Vijayan said, "let's remember that treatment, prevention and compassion are crucial in our journey towards a drug-free world."

"Together, let's break the chains of addiction and offer hope to those in need," he said.

A portion of plaster fell from the ceiling of a civic-run hospital in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Monday.

No one was injured in the incident which took place at around 11.30 pm on Sunday at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital located in Kalwa area, Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said.

Russia's bid to build a new embassy near Australia's parliament suffered a legal blow on Monday, with a top court backing the government's effort to seize the land, reports AFP.

Australia has blocked Russia from building a new embassy in Canberra, after intelligence agencies warned it could be used as a base to spy on lawmakers.

A forest fire has so far burned through tens of acres of land in Afghanistan's Dara-e-Pech district, as per a provincial official of the Kunar province, Khaama Press reported.

The Khaama Press News Agency is an online news service for Afghanistan.

The fire damaged 14 hectares and 80 acres of forest, according to Ehsanullah, a representative of Kunar's disaster management department.

Wagner mercenaries headed back to their base on Sunday after Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to allow their leader to avoid treason charges and accept exile in neighbouring Belarus.

The agreement halted an extraordinary crisis -- a private army led by Putin's former close ally Yevgeny Prigozhin trying to storm Moscow -- but analysts said Wagner's revolt had exposed Putin's rule as more fragile than previously thought.

The Australian Government will provide a new A$110 million ($73.54 million) package to Ukraine to defend against Russia's invasion, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday, reports Reuters.

The package includes 70 military vehicles, including 28 armoured vehicles, 14 special operations vehicles, 28 medium trucks and 14 trailers.