Highlights: Railways releases helpline numbers to locate relatives affected in Odisha train accident

Dial 139-Indian Railways Helpline and BMC Helpline-18003450061/1929 to locate your relatives affected in the Odisha Rail accident: Railways. 

Former Vice President Mike Pence filed paperwork on Monday declaring his campaign for president in 2024, setting up a challenge to his former boss, Donald Trump, just two years after their time in the White House ended with an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Pence fleeing for his life. Read full story

Embattled Adani Group on Monday said it has repaid loans aggregating USD 2.65 billion to complete a prepayment programme to cut overall leverage in an attempt to win back investor trust post a damning report of a US short seller. Read full story

The National Disaster Response Force on Monday ended its rescue operation with the withdrawal of all its nine teams from the triple train accident site in Odisha's Balasore district that has claimed at least 275 lives, officials said.

The force rescued 44 victims and retrieved 121 bodies from the spot since the teams were deployed after the accident on June 2, they said, reported PTI.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday said a policy would be framed to find alternatives to plastic within a year and industries would also be encouraged to seek substitutes for plastic.

Presiding over a state level function on the World Environment Day here, Sukhu said that gradually thereafter, the state government would enforce a complete ban on use of plastic, reported PTI. 

Union minister and president of Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party Pashupati Kumar Paras on Monday speaking about Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge collapse in Bihar said, “It clearly shows that there is a lot of corruption in Bihar. We demand that a high-level investigation headed by a high court judge should be conducted into this.” (ANI)

Saudi Arabia is planning to offer several sports clubs for privatisation starting Q4 2023, the state news agency said on Monday, reported Reuters. 

The Kremlin said on Monday that a statement by United States national security adviser Jake Sullivan calling for bilateral arms control discussions was "positive", and that Russia remained open for dialogue. Read more

Varanasi court awards life imprisonment to gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari in 1991 Awadhesh Rai murder case.

Delhi HC denies interim bail to former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in connection to the money laundering scam arising out of the alleged excise policy scam, saying that the charges are extremely serious in nature. The court, however, permitted to meet Sisodia with his wife "in custody", on any her of the days convenient to her, either at the hospital or the residence.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday cancelled her four-day trip to Darjeeling at the last minute to supervise the treatment and rehabilitation of passengers of the state who were injured in the triple train accident in Odisha’s Balasore, sources said.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted three-weeks interim bail to former police officer Pradeep Sharma, who was arrested in connection with the Antilia bomb scare case and the killing of businessman Mansukh Hiran, to meet his ailing wife.

Jailed gangster Mukhtar Ansari was today convicted by a court in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi in Awadhesh Rai murder case.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday held wide-ranging talks with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin focusing on various key aspects of India-US defence ties and the regional security scenario including in the Indo-Pacific.

Actor Gufi Paintal, best known for playing 'Shakuni mama' in the epic TV serial "Mahabharat", died on Monday at a hospital here due to age-related issues, his nephew Hiten Paintal said.

He was 79.

A Goods train derails in Odisha's Bargadh.

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman is set to visit India this week.

Altman, whose company deals with artificial intelligence technologies and has created ChatGPT, will be on a six-nation tour.

Altman tweeted on Sunday (local time) he was excited to visit India, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, India, and South Korea this week.

Many districts of Jharkhand are experiencing heatwave conditions with the mercury hovering between 39 and 45 degrees Celsius across the state, weather department officials said on Monday.

The weather department issued a heatwave alert for the northeast and southeast parts of Jharkhand from Monday, the official said. The weather will be mainly dry for the next four days in the state.

Odisha Chief Secretary PK Jena said his government has no intention to hide the deaths in the Balasore train crash and the entire rescue operation was being conducted in full public view.

Reacting to allegations that the death toll figure was being manipulated, he said Odisha believes in transparency.

"Media persons are very much present at the accident site since the beginning. Everything is being done in the presence of cameras," he said.

Protesting wrestlers, who have been demanding the arrest of WFI chief Brij Bhushan, met Union home minister Amit Shah. 

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel shot down a Pakistani drone carrying narcotics across the Attari-Wagah border, officials said on Monday.