Midday News -

THE HEADLINES::

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds talks with Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña Palacios in New Delhi; Says India and Paraguay are together in fight against terrorism.
IIT Kanpur releases JEE Advanced 2025 Result; Rajit Gupta tops the exam with 332 out of 360 marks
IMD forecasts heavy rainfall over Northeast India during the next five days.
Hamas agrees to begin indirect negotiations on US proposed Gaza ceasefire deal.
Australia’s star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell announces retirement from One Day International cricket.
And in Boxing, India concluded its campaign at Thailand Open with eight medals, including two gold.

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A delegation level talk was held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Paraguay President Santiago Peña Palacios in New Delhi today. During the meeting the two leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations. Speaking on this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, both the countries have lots of potential avenues in the sectors including digital technology, agriculture, defence, railways, space among others. He said, India and Paraguay are together in the fight against terrorism.

Mr. Palacios is on a three day state visit to India. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar also met President Palacios and appreciated his positive sentiments and guidance for enhancing India-Paraguay cooperation in many domains. Dr Jaishankar expressed confidence that Mr. Palacios talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi will open new avenues for India’s engagement with Paraguay and the South America region. The Paraguayan President is also scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu, and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar.

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As part of India’s continued efforts under Operation Sindoor and in line with India’s principled and resolute stance against terrorism, seven all-party delegations comprising Members of Parliament are in different countries with their outreach programme. The all party delegation led by NCP-SCP MP Supriya Sule, reached Egypt. The delegation concluded its Ethiopia visit yesterday.

Another all party delegation led by JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha met with representatives of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) – People’s Justice Party in Kuala Lumpur.

Earlier, the All-Party Delegation, led by Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde interacted with members of the Indian community in Liberia. During the interaction, Shrikant Shinde said that despite fighting against terrorism for 4 to 5 decades, India is still a great power in technology.

The delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is presently in Brazil and will head to the US tomorrow.

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Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur has announced the JEE Advanced Result 2025 today. Students can access their results on the website- result25.jeeadv.ac.in. The JEE Advanced is for admission to undergraduate courses at Indian Institutes of Technology and other participating institutions of technical education. The first rank was secured by Rajit Gupta while the second rank was secured by Saksham Jindal.

Expressing elation over his result, top ranker Rajit Gupta urged the aspiring students to consult with their teachers whenever needed during the preparation and prepare with complete dedication.

Meanwhile, Saksham Jindal who secured an All India Rank of 2 revealed that he would primarily devote his schedule for studies, but would spare an hour for his health as well. He also said that he had eyed a rank under Top 10 and was happy with his result.

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Over three thousand nine hundred sixty active cases of Covid-19 have been reported across the country. According to the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, the highest number of fourteen hundred 35 cases have been recorded in Kerala followed by 506 cases in Maharashtra and 483 cases in Delhi.

Talking exclusively to Akashvani News, the in-charge of the Covid unit at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Dr. Pawan Kumar, has said that the hospital is fully prepared for the management of the Covid patients. He said that as of now the hospital has a nine-bed isolation center.

Calling the new variant mild, Dr. Pawan assured the public that there is no need to panic. He informed that till now four Covid-19 patients were admitted to the hospital, and they all recovered.

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India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rainfall over Northeast India during the next five days. The Met Department predicted heavy rainfall over East and Central India over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim today and light to moderate rainfall in these areas over the next seven days.

In Sikkim, 3 persons have lost their lives due to a landslide last evening at Chatten area which caused damages to nearby habitat. It is suspected that more people are missing due to landslides and rescue operations are on. So far 3 bodies have been recovered. Meanwhile, over 1,600 tourists have been safely evacuated from Lachung. The first batch, comprising 18 tourist vehicles, successfully reached Phidang in Lower Dzongu today. Speaking to the media, Lachung DC Anant Jain confirmed that the tourists stranded in Lachung have been rescued.
In Northwest India, rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, gusty winds and lightning is expected over Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi till Thursday. Similar conditions are expected over Southern Peninsular India in Kerala, Mahe and Coastal Karnataka till Wednesday.

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As we celebrate the success of Operation Sindoor, the Nation salutes the valour of Indian soldiers. As a tribute to the Armed Forces, Akashvani News is presenting a special series. Today we remember Param Vir Chakra awardee Company Havildar Major Piru Singh, who made the supreme sacrifice during the India-Pakistan war of 1947-48.

Born in 1918 in Rajasthan, Company Havildar Major Piru Singh was enrolled in 6 Rajputana Rifles in 1936. In July 1948, during an intense operation in the Tithwal Sector of Jammu and Kashmir, Piru Singh’s company was assigned the task of securing a heavily fortified enemy ridge. Advancing along a narrow path under intense enemy fire, the unit suffered heavy casualties. With most of his section either killed or wounded, Company Havildar Major Piru Singh pressed on alone. Despite being wounded by grenade shrapnel, he bayoneted the crew of the enemy medium machine gun with his sten gun, and took the position. Bleeding and nearly blind, he continued his assault. After exhausting his ammunition, he hurled grenades and bayoneted enemy soldiers in successive trenches. Just as he moved to attack another post, a bullet struck him in the head. Even in his final moments, he managed to throw a grenade into the enemy trench. Company Havildar Major Piru Singh’s singularly brave act set a unique example of determined courage. He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra. Saklen Akhtar, Akashvani News, Delhi.

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Hamas has announced its willingness to immediately begin fresh indirect negotiations on US proposed a Gaza ceasefire deal, just one day after submitting a response to US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal that Washington dismissed as “totally unacceptable.” We have more from our correspondent :

The renewed diplomatic push comes as mediators pressure Hamas to soften its stance on key sticking points that have repeatedly derailed the ceasefire negotiations. According to sources familiar with the talks, Witkoff’s latest framework proposal calls for Hamas to release 10 living Israeli hostages and return the bodies of 18 deceased captives during a 60-day ceasefire period. Hamas has demanded guarantees for a pathway to permanent ceasefire rather than accepting a temporary pause that could allow Israel to unilaterally restart military operations, as occurred in previous agreements. The group also insists on the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and resumption of humanitarian aid to the besieged territory. Central to Hamas’s concerns is the timeline for the hostage releases. While Witkoff’s proposal reportedly requires all the releases within the first week of the 60-day pause, Hamas fears Israel would resume bombing immediately after recovering its captives. The group has countered by proposing to stagger releases throughout the entire ceasefire period as a safeguard against renewed hostilities. Vinod Kumar, Akashvani News, Dubai.

Meanwhile, more than 30 people were killed and dozens injured near a food aid distribution centre in the Gaza Strip yesterday. The Israeli military has denied its involvement, stating in a preliminary inquiry that its forces did not fire on civilians near or within the distribution site.

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Star Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell announced has retirement from the One-Day Internationals format today. We have a report:

“Glenn Maxwell, who witnessed some of the key moments in the history of Australia’s One-Day Cricket has announced retirement from the format after a 13-year long ODI career. Maxwell was part of Australia’s squad during the two ICC World Cup titles in 2015 and 2023. His final ODI appearance came against India in the Champions Trophy earlier this year. The star all-rounder made his debut in August 2012, scoring 3,990 runs and picking up 77 wickets during his 149 ODI appearances. The all-rounder took the call to prioritise his preparation for the next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, the domestic Big Bash League, and his other global commitments. The world of Cricket will definitely miss Maxwell for his contributions to the game. CHIRAG JHA, SPORTS DESK.”

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In the 4th Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament, Deepak and Naman Tanwar spearheaded India’s campaign securing two golds as part of an impressive eight-medal haul.

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds talks with Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña Palacios in New Delhi; Says India and Paraguay are together in fight against terrorism.
IIT Kanpur releases JEE Advanced 2025 Result; Rajit Gupta tops the exam with 332 out of 360 marks.
IMD forecasts heavy rainfall over Northeast India during the next five days.
Hamas agrees to begin indirect negotiations on US proposed Gaza ceasefire deal.
Australia’s star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell announces retirement from One Day International cricket.
And in Boxing, India concluded its campaign at Thailand Open with eight medals, including two gold.