Gujarat on alert as cyclonic storm Vayu inches towards coast

Cyclonic storm “Vayu” has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, forcing authorities to put Gujarat on high alert. The State authorities have swung into action, ordering closure of schools for three days in coastal districts and deploying teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and asking fishermen to return to the coast from high seas.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday said the speed of “Vayu” had increased to 17 km per hour and was located in the Arabian Sea, about 350 km west-northwest of Goa, 410 km south-southwest of Mumbai and 530 km nearly south of Veraval (Gujarat).

Militant gunned down in J&K’s Sopore

A terrorist has been killed in an overnight gunfight with security forces in Sopore area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district, a police official said Wednesday.

The exchange of fire began during a search operation launched by security forces on Tuesday evening after they received information that terrorists were present there, the official said.

28 children die of suspected encephalitis in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district

At least 28 children have died in the last one month in Muzaffarpur district of north Bihar, allegedly due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), which is locally known as Chamki bukhar (brain fever).

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has expressed concern over the rising deaths of children in Muzaffarpur. He said, “A team of doctors and medical experts have been sent to Muzaffarpur to monitor the situation and also speed up the awareness drive about complexities and preventive measures about AES”.

Karnataka Congress leader Roshan Baig calls on BJP leaders

After brushing aside the show cause notice sent to him by the Congress following his revolt against the State leadership, former Minister and Congress MLA Roshan Baig on Tuesday called on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and M.J. Akbar in Delhi.

It is being speculated in Congress circles that Mr. Baig might take a decision on quitting the party after consultations with BJP leaders in the national capital.

Missing AN-32’s wreckage located by IAF copter

The wreckage of the AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that went missing with 13 personnel over Arunachal Pradesh on June 3 was located on Tuesday.

“The wreckage of the aircraft was spotted today 16 km north of Lipo, northeast of Tato at an approximate elevation of 12,000 feet by an IAF Mi-17 helicopter undertaking search in the expanded search zone,” the IAF said in a statement. Efforts were on to establish the status of the occupants, it added.

Opinion | Squandering the gender dividend

If labour force survey data are to be believed, rural India is in the midst of a gender revolution in which nearly half the women who were in the workforce in 2004-5 had dropped out in 2017-18. The 61st round of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) recorded 48.5% rural women above the age of 15 as being employed either as their major activity or as their subsidiary activity — but this number dropped to 23.7% in the recently released report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). Is this part of a massive transformation of rural lifestyles or are our surveys presenting a skewed picture? If this change is real, does it offer a cause for worry?

‘UAE paid businessman to spy on Trump administration’

A UAE businessman linked to a probe of illegal donations to Donald Trump’s political campaign was paid by his country’s intelligence agency to spy on the U.S. President’s administration, The Intercept reported Monday.

Rashid al-Malik received tens of thousands of dollars a month for gleaning information on Trump administration policy toward West Asia in 2017, the website said, citing a former U.S. official and documents.

France smashes neo-Nazi cell over plot against Jews, Muslims

The French police have smashed a neo-Nazi cell accused of plotting attacks on Jewish or Muslim places of worship, legal sources said on Tuesday.

Five members of the group, who were “close in ideology to the neo-Nazi movement” were charged between September and May over the alleged plot, a source close to the investigation said.

AAI cancels ground handling tender

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has cancelled its tender for ground handling services at 76 airports following concerns over some short-listed bidders offering steep royalties.

“A decision was taken on Monday to cancel the tender. We will now have to start a fresh bidding procedure,” AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra told The Hindu.

India sweats over Dhawan’s fitness

It rained all night here and as Tuesday dawned moist and cold, the water dripped off tiled roofs, window panes, park benches, garden roses, branches and leaves.

Rivulets slithered on the roads while denizens of this town famous for its Robin Hood tales, clutched their all-weather jackets and walked. There was an acoustic symphony to the pitter-patter and the temperature wavered between seven and 10 degree Celsius.