Morning Digest | Maharashtra CM Thackeray resigns ahead of floor test; Pakistan links found in Udaipur tailor murder case, and more

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray resigns ahead of June 30 floor test

Uddhav has resigned, and asked Sena workers not to take to the streets; Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs land at Goa airport, and move to a hotel in Dona Paula for an overnight stay; they had originally planned to return to Mumbai on Thursday.

Initial probe in Udaipur tailer murder case finds Pakistan link

The investigating agencies in Rajasthan, including the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), will extend complete support to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that has taken over the probe into the murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur on Tuesday. Police in Udaipur registered a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against the two accused. Director-General of Police M.L. Lather Mr. Lather said at a press conference here that Ghous Mohammed had links with Pakistan-based Dawat-e-Islami and he had visited Karachi in 2014. The police have detained three persons in Rajsamand district in connection with Tuesday’s incident.

‘Delhi expected to be venue for G-20 summit’

India is expected to host the G-20 summit in Delhi, while a number of States including Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern States have been asked to suggest venues for about 100 “preparatory” meetings expected to be held between December 2022 and November 2023 during India’s G-20 presidency, officials belonging to a number of nodal ministries said.

Assam flood situation worsens due to incessant rain, 24.9 lakh people affected

The flood situation in Assam worsened on Wednesday following incessant rain, with five more people losing their lives in the deluge and the number of affected people rising to 24.92 lakh, while Silchar town in Cachar district continued to remain inundated for the last 10 days, officials said.

Presidential poll | Scrutiny of nominations on Thursday

As many as 115 nominations were filed till Wednesday, the last day of filing papers for the July 18 presidential election, and 87 of them remain for scrutiny, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said.

Countdown begins for ISRO’s PSLV-C53 mission

The countdown began at 4 pm on Wednesday for the prestigious launch of the PSLV-C53/DS-EO mission, which is scheduled at 6 p.m. on Thursday from Satish Dhawan space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota.

Twitter handle which led to Alt News’ Zubair’s arrest deleted

The Twitter account that had raised a complaint against Alt News co-founder Mohd. Zubair’s 2018 tweet on the social media website, which led to the case against the scribe and his eventual arrest by the Delhi Police on Monday, has ceased to exist as of Wednesday evening. Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) K.P.S Malhotra said teams of the Cyber Cell, along with Mr. Zubair, will leave for Bengaluru on Thursday to recover the mobile phone and other electronic gadgets from his residence.

First batch of 4,890 pilgrims leaves for Amarnath yatra

The first batch of 4,890 pilgrims was flagged off from Jammu towards the Kashmir Valley for the Amarnath cave shrine by Jammu & Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday, as the yatra will be officially thrown open for pilgrimage on June 30. Leaders of many mainstream Jammu and Kashmir political parties on Wednesday attended a “high tea” meeting with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhavan here where smooth conduct of the Amarnath Yatra was discussed. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti skipped the meeting.

Tamil Nadu girl forced to sell oocytes, attempts to end life

The 16-year-old-girl who was allegedly forced to sell her oocytes to private hospitals through a forged Aadhaar card attempted to end her life at a government home at R.N. Pudur here on Tuesday night. G.S. Gomathi, Joint Director of Health Services, Erode, told The Hindu that she consumed floor cleaner and was admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital where she is undergoing treatment. She said that the girl was out of danger and would be discharged on Thursday.

Ease of doing business: UT, States ranking to be released on Thursday

The government will release the ranking of States and Union Territories (UTs) in terms of ease of doing business on June 30, the commerce and industry ministry said on Wednesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will release the assessment report of states/UTs under Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), 2020 in the presence of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday, it said.

Neeraj Chopra primed for podium finish in Stockholm Diamond League

Buoyed by a strong start to the season, Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is primed to clinch his maiden Diamond League podium finish in his first appearance in four years in the prestigious one-day meet here on Thursday.

Rohit Sharma not yet ruled out of the decider test, says Dravid

Head coach Rahul Dravid did not rule Rohit Sharma out of the series-deciding fifth Test versus England, starting in Birmingham on Friday. He said the announcement on the stand-in captain, if required, will be made through “official” channels.

Government hikes GST for household products

From July 18, tax hikes will kick in for over two dozen goods and services, ranging from unbranded food items, curd and butter milk to low-cost hotels, cheques and maps, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council decided after a marathon two-day meet that concluded on Wednesday.

Teesta Setalvad arrest | UN Human Rights chief’s comment unwarranted, says India

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said the remarks of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) regarding the arrest of activist Teesta Setalvad were “unacceptable”. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi defended the arrest of Ms. Setalvad and said the matter was being conducted in “accordance” with law. 

New norms to revise electoral rolls in J&K, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh

The Election Commission of India (ECI) this week kicked off a drive to update the electoral rolls in Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, where elections are expected later this year, for the first time allowing those turning 18 as of October 1 instead of January 1 to enrol, and for the collection of Aadhaar numbers of applicants.