LIVE updates: PM Modi begins 'dhyan' at Kanyakumari Vivekananda Rock Memorial

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday embarked on a near two-day meditation exercise at the famed Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari.

Watch this space as we bring latest updates on this and other important news developments to you...

May 30, 2024 19:34 IST
PM Modi begins 'dhyan' at Kanyakumari Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his 45-hour long meditation at the famed Vivekananda Rock Memorial here on Thursday evening.
 
After arriving from nearby Thiruvananthapuram by a helicopter, Modi worshipped at the Bhagavathi Amman temple and reached the rock memorial by a ferry service and started meditation that is scheduled to go on till June 1.
 
Clad in a dhoti and a white shawl, Modi prayed at the temple and circumambulated the 'garbhagriha'. Priests performed a special 'arthi' and he was given temple 'prasad' that included a shawl and a framed photograph of the presiding deity of the temple.



May 30, 2024 18:24 IST
Campaigning for final phase of Lok Sabha polls ends, 57 seats in fray

The high-pitched campaigning for the seventh and final phase of Lok Sabha elections in 57 seats in seven states and the Union territory of Chandigarh on June 1 ended Thursday evening.
Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third consecutive term from Varanasi.
Voting is already over in 486 seats in 28 states and Union territories. The turnout in the first six phases was 66.14 per cent, 66.71, 65.68, 69.16, 62.2 and 63.36 per cent respectively. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.
The campaigning saw BJP leaders led by Modi accusing the Congress and the INDIA alliance of being corrupt, anti-Hindu and engaging in loot, appeasement and dynastic politics.
The Opposition parties have been claiming that the BJP is anti-farmer, anti-youth and will change and scrap the Constitution if they win the elections.



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May 30, 2024 17:58 IST
Akhnoor bus accident: 21 killed, 47 injured as bus falls into gorge

Twenty-one people were killed and 47 injured after a bus carrying pilgrims skidded off the road and rolled down into a gorge in Jammu district on Thursday, officials said.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha has expressed anguish at the loss of lives in the accident.
The accident took place at the Tungi-Morh in the Chowki Chora belt of the district, the officials said, adding that the bus rolled around 150 feet down into the gorge.
A police spokesperson said at about 12:35 pm, the bus bearing registration number UP81CT-4058 fell into the gorge, killing 21 passengers and injuring 47.
The bus was carrying devotees from Haryana's Kurukshetra and was headed towards Shiv Khori in the Pouni area of Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district. It had started its journey from Uttar Pradesh.



May 30, 2024 17:39 IST
At age 73, PM Modi notches up over 200 rallies, roadshows as LS poll campaign ends

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended his whirlwind Lok Sabha poll campaign with a rally in Punjab's Hoshiarpur on Thursday, closing out his electioneering the way he began -- by focussing on a region where he has invested heavily over the years for the BJP to make a mark outside its strongholds.
Modi notched up a total of 206 public-outreach programmes, including rallies and roadshows, since the Election Commission (EC) announced the poll schedule on March 16.
The prime minister surpassed his nearly-145 public engagements on the stump during the 2019 polls by a big margin. The campaign period this time was of 76 days, compared to the 68 days in the polls held five years ago.



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May 30, 2024 14:11 IST
Delhi court seeks response from ED on Arvind Kejriwal's bail plea, next hearing on June 1
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday moved a court here seeking regular bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja took up the matter.
The court sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate on Kejriwal's bail plea and posted the matter for the next hearing on June 1.
Kejriwal is currently on interim bail, granted by the Supreme Court, till June 1.



May 30, 2024 12:57 IST
Arvind Kejriwal moves Delhi court seeking regular bail in excise policy case

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday moved a court here seeking regular bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja is likely to take up the matter later in the day.
Kejriwal is currently on interim bail, granted by the Supreme Court, till June 1.



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May 30, 2024 11:19 IST
Monsoon arrives in Kerala, Northeast early
Spurred by cyclone Remal, the southwest monsoon set in over the Kerala coast and parts of the northeast on Thursday, a day ahead of the date forecast by the weather office.
 
Kerala has been receiving heavy rains for the past few days resulting in a surplus May rainfall, the weather office data showed.
 
The normal monsoon onset date for Kerala is June 1 and for Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Assam is June 5.



May 30, 2024 11:15 IST
Unprecedented security for India-Pakistan clash following terror threat
New York's Nassau County will have unprecedented security arrangements in place for the T20 World Cup clash between India and Pakistan on June 9 due to the threat of a terror attack here even though state Governor Kathy Hochul insisted that it is not credible "at this time."
 
A report on CNN said that New York officials are putting safety precautions in place "after terror group ISIS-K made a global threat earlier this year" against the World Cup.
 
Read more...



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May 30, 2024 11:02 IST
Light rain, dust storm likely in Delhi; max temp likely to reach 45 deg C
The weather department has predicted partly cloudy sky and heatwave conditions with possibility of dust storm or thunderstorm and very light rain accompanied with gusty winds today.
 
On Wednesday evening, there was a sudden change in weather with drizzle in some parts of the city.
 
The maximum temperature is likely to reach 45 degree Celsius.



May 30, 2024 10:48 IST
Siblings Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali lead the Norway Chess tournament
Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa crushed world number one Magnus Carlsen for the first time in Classical format to emerge as the sole leader in the Norway chess tournament here.
 
Having beating him a few times in online and faster versions of the game and after losing to him in the finale of the last World Cup, Praggnanandhaa finally got past the home favourite in what would be known as a clear classical triumph.



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May 30, 2024 10:47 IST
INDIA bloc to pick PM candidate within 48 hrs after results: Jairam Ramesh
The INDIA bloc will get a "decisive mandate" in the Lok Sabha polls and may take even less than 48 hours to decide on its prime ministerial pick, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday, asserting that it stands to reason that the party which gets the maximum seats in the alliance will be a "natural claimant" for its leadership



May 30, 2024 09:17 IST
Agnikul becomes India's 2nd private entity to launch sub-orbital Agnibaan rocket

Chennai-based space start-up Agnikul Cosmos on Thursday successfully carried out a sub-orbital test-flight of its home-built 3D-printed semi-cryogenic rocket -- Agnibaan -- from its own launch pad at Sriharikota, making it India's second private entity to do so.
After four unsuccessful attempts, the test-flight on Thursday was carried out without any live-streaming and in presence of fewer dignitaries at the Sriharikota launch pad located within ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre.



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May 30, 2024 09:05 IST
Israel takes control of Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza-Egypt border
Israel’s military said Wednesday it seized control of a strategic corridor along Gaza’s border with Egypt to cut off smuggling tunnels as it tries to destroy the militant Hamas group in a war now in its eighth month.
 
An Israeli military official said Israel had notified Egypt of the takeover. Some 20 tunnels, including some previously unknown to Israel, were found, as well as 82 access points to the tunnels



May 30, 2024 08:34 IST
Modi's meditation begins at 6 PM today
Prime Minisster Narendra Modi is scheduled Kanyakumari's 'Dhyan Mandapam' at 5.15 PM on Wednesday for a 48-hour meditation spell at Rock Memorial, a monument built in tribute to Swami Vivekananda.
 
Modi's meditation is set to kick-off at 6 PM today and will end at 6 pm on Saturday with the end of the last phase of polling in the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.