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June 18, 2025 9:01 AM

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Morning News

THE HEADLINES:

 

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney; agree to restore high commissioners.

 

  • Prime Minister Modi also holds series of bilateral meetings with world leaders on wide range of issues including counter terrorism.

 

  • PM Modi highlights concerns and aspirations of Global South at G7 Summit at Kananaskis in Canada; Calls for collective action on Climate action, Energy security, Technology and Peace.

 

  • Iran and Israel carry out new strikes as conflict enters 6th day; close adviser of Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Shadmani killed in Tehran.

 

  • IMD forecasts extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places over Meghalaya, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha today.

 

  • In Archery, India assured of two medals as both men’s and women’s reach individual final event at Asian Cup Leg 2 in Singapore.

 

 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Canadian Prime Minister agreed to take calibrated steps to restore stability to the India-Canada relationship, beginning with the early restoration of high commissioners. The decision was taken after both the leaders held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis. In his remarks during bilateral meeting, PM Modi said India and Canada bilateral relations are very important and both nations have to work together to strengthen democracy as well as humanity. Mr Modi said many Canadian companies have investments in India and vice versa. He said he looks forward to taking India-Canada relations forward.

 

In his remarks, Mr. Carney said that India’s regular participation in G7 Summit is a testament to the importance of India and Prime Minister Modi.

 

Later briefing the media, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the bilateral talks were positive and constructive. He added that he agreed to take calibrated steps to restore stability to the India-Canada relationship, beginning with the early restoration of high commissioners.

 

Prime Minister Modi also held a series of bilateral meetings with leaders of Germany, France,  Mexico, and South Korea, among others. Prime Minister Modi and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz discussed ways to strengthen India-Germany bilateral cooperation in key areas. These areas include trade and investment, defence and security,  counter-terrorsim green sustainable development partnership, green energy, technology, innovation, education and mobility. The Prime Minister thanked Chancellor Merz for Germany’s strong solidarity and support to India in the fight against terrorism.

Mr Modi also held meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. In a social media post, Mr Modi said India and France will keep working closely for the betterment of the planet.

 

Following conversation with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Mr Modi said in a social media post that India and UK ties are getting stronger, which is reflected in the ground covered in areas like trade and commerce.  Mr Modi said he had insightful deliberations with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He added that India and Japan remain committed to further deepening bilateral ties across various sectors. Prime Minister Modi also interacted with President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the G7 Outreach Summit.

 

 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today highlighted that ensuring affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is India’s priority. In his address at the 51st G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, Mr Modi stressed that AI itself is an energy intensive technology. He pointed out that renewable energy is the way to sustainably fulfil the energy requirements of a technology driven society.

 

Calling for attention to the concerns and priorities of the Global South, he noted that India took it as its responsibility to bring the voice of the Global South to the world stage. He stated that no one in the Global South should be left behind.  Our correspondent reports that this was the Prime Minister’s sixth consecutive participation in the G-7 Summit.

 

“Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s stand against terrorism and thanked the leaders for condemning the ghastly Pahalgam terror attack. He urged them to galvanize global action against terrorism and underlined the need to take strict action against those who promote and support terrorism. PM also highlighted India’s experience in democratising use of technology and its human-centric approach in deploying it. He called for addressing global governance issues to tackle concerns of AI and to promote innovation in the field. Suparna Saikia, Akashvani News, Delhi”.

 

After concluding his successful visit to Canada, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emplaned for Croatia for the third leg of his three-nation tour this morning.  In a social media post, Mr. Modi thanked the Canadian people and appreciated the efforts of the Canadian government for hosting a successful G7 Summit.

 

 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Zagreb, Croatia this afternoon on a historic visit marking high-level engagement between India and the Central and Southeast European nation. In the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister, Mr Modi will hold a delegation level talk with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. After the talk, four agreements in the field of science and technology, agriculture, culture, and education are expected to be signed.

 

The Prime Minister will also meet Croatian President Zoran Milanović in the evening. Mr Modi will visit the Monument to the Homeland in Zagreb for a wreath laying ceremony in honor of the Croatian fighter for homeland.

Let us now go live to our correspondent Sanjio Singh, who is in Zagreb and is covering the Prime Minister visit, for more updates. Sanjio, what details you have about the Prime Minister’s visit.

 

 

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Israel’s military has confirmed the killing of Ali Shadmani, Iran’s wartime Chief of Staff and a close adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike on a command centre in Tehran. Shadmani assumed the office following killing of his predecessor during Israel’s initial offensive on Friday.

Iran’s Cyber Security Command has accused Israel of launching a widespread cyber war targeting its digital infrastructure, reportedly disrupting essential services, according to the state-run IRIB news agency.

 

“Continuous and intense explosions are being heard in west Tehran, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA, as the conflict enters its sixth day with no signs of abating. Iran’s newly appointed  Army chief has issued a stark warning, saying the strikes carried out against Israel so far were merely a deterrent message. In a televised address, the new army chief General Abdolrahim Mousavi declared that punitive action will be carried out soon, signalling further escalation. Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump made a social media call for Iran to surrender unconditionally. As tensions rise, the Pentagon announced it is speeding up the deployment of the USS Nimitz and other naval hardware to the Middle East, the second carrier strike group to be deployed to the area. Calls for restraint are growing louder. Egypt has urged both Iran and Israel to pull back. This is Vinod Kumar for Akashvani News Dubai.”

 

Amid renewed air strikes between Israel and Iran, the IAEA confirmed that one of Iran’s nuclear facilities was hit. Israeli authorities and US President Trump claim that Israel has full control over Iran’s skies.

 

 

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The Indian Navy is set to commission INS Arnala, the country’s first Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam today. The commissioning ceremony will be presided over by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.

 

 

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In a significant development following plane crash in Ahmedabad, nearly 177 DNA samples of the deceased have been successfully identified. Minister of state Harsh Sanghavi informed this in a social media post. Medical Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, Dr Rakesh Joshi told news persons that 24 mortal remains will be handed over this morning. Meanwhile, the state administration has stated that DNA sampling for identifying the plane crash victims is nearly complete.

 

 

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places over Meghalaya, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha today. Parts of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Coastal Karnataka, Gujarat, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, and north-eastern states are also likely to witness heavy rainfall during the next 2-3 days. IMD further predicted thundersquall in parts of Madhya Pradesh today.      

 

 

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India’s junior compound archers continued their dominant run at the Asian Cup Leg 2, reaching the finals in both the men’s and women’s individual events in Singapore.

In the men’s individual events, top seed Kushal Dalal secured a place in the men’s final with a 147-143 semifinal win over Bangladesh’s Himu Bachhar yesterday.

In the women’s individual compound section, India is assured of a gold and silver.

 

 

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TODAY’S NEWSPAPERS HEADLINE,

 

  • The G7 summit at Kananaskis is covered by all the dailies. “Modi joins G7 leaders for outreach session” reports Hindustan Times.
  • “Air India cancels 16 flights; DGCA finds no major safety issues with Boeing 787s” informs the Hindu.
  • “Army holds Chiefs’ Chintan to enhance coordination” says the Statesman.
  • “All Amarnath Yatra routes declared ‘no-fly zones” states the Asian Age.
  • The Times of India quotes US President Donald Trump as saying, “Know where Khamenei is hiding, Iran must surrender.”
  • Modi to meet Carney to ‘reset’ India-Canada ties, informs Business Standard.
  • “Government plans green cover in Himalayas to ward off climate change threats” reports the Tribune.
  • And finally, “Break from heat spell in the National Capital: Rain lashes city, yellow alert issued for thunderstorm today”, writes the Indian Express.

 

 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN,

 

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney; agree to restore high commissioners.

 

  • Prime Minister Modi also holds series of bilateral meetings with world leaders on wide range of issues including counter terrorism.

 

  • PM Modi highlights concerns and aspirations of Global South at G7 Summit at Kananaskis in Canada; Calls for collective action on Climate action, Energy security, Technology and Peace.

 

  • Iran and Israel carry out new strikes as conflict enters 6th day; close adviser of Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Shadmani killed in Tehran.

 

  • IMD forecasts extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places over Meghalaya, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha today.

 

  • In Archery, India assured of two medals as both men’s and women’s reach individual final event at Asian Cup Leg 2 in Singapore.

 

 

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