Senior IAS officer D B Gupta, who was removed as the chief secretary on Thursday, was appointed adviser to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday.
 

The appointment order was issued by the Department of Personnel of Rajasthan on Sunday night.
 

Along with this, three more IAS officers have been transferred.

The festering dispute between France and Turkey over a naval standoff in the Mediterranean Sea has shone a glaring searchlight on NATO's struggle to keep order among its ranks and exposed weaknesses in a military alliance that can only take action by consensus. The dispute has also revealed NATO's limits when its allies are or are perceived to be on different sides of a conflict in this case in Libya especially when a major nuclear ally like France has lamented the brain death at the world's biggest security organisation due to a lack of American leadership. According to French accounts of the June 10 incident in the Mediterranean, the French frigate Courbet was illuminated by the targeting radar of a Turkish warship that was escorting a Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship when the French vessel approached. France said it was acting on intelligence from NATO that the civilian ship could be involved in trafficking arms to Libya. The Courbet was part of the alliance's operation Sea Guardian, which helps provide maritime security in the Mediterranean.

Italian super sports car maker Lamborghini is banking on a healthy order book to prevent huge sales dip in India this year due to the coronavirus pandemic as it resumes deliveries of vehicles from this month after restarting operations following lockdown relaxations, according to a senior company official. While new orders are slow to come by, Lamborghini India is not witnessing any cancellations of bookings, although some customers have asked for delayed deliveries due to the health crisis. "We still have a strong order bank for Urus and also we launched the new Evo RWD in the beginning of the year. This helped us to build the order bank for the year, which will be acting as a big support in terms of getting some decent numbers this year," Lamborghini India Head Sharad Agarwal told PTI.

Boeing Co and suppliers set the final number of parts it would need for the 747 jumbo jet program at least a year ago, signaling the end for a plane that democratized global air travel in the 1970s but fell behind modern twin-engine aircraft, industry sources said on Friday. Boeing's "Queen of the Skies", the world's most easily recognized jetliner with its humped fuselage and four engines, marked its 50-year flying anniversary in February 2019, clinging to life thanks to a cargo market boom fueled by online shopping. But the end for the program has been hanging in the air for years amid falling orders and pricing pressure. The coronavirus pandemic has also crushed passenger travel and demand for new jets. The last order for a passenger version came in 2017, when the U.S. government asked Boeing to repurpose two 747-8 jetliners for use as Air Force One by the U.S. president.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to begin phasing out the use of Chinese tech giant Huawei's technology in Britain's 5G network as soon as this year, The Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday. Officials are drawing up proposals to stop installing new Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] equipment in the 5G network in as little as six months, and to speed up the removal of technology that is already in place, the newspaper reported. The move comes after the nation's spy agency GCHQ raised new security fears over Chinese technology. A report prepared by GCHQ's National Cyber Security Centre concludes that new U.S. sanctions on Huawei will force the company to use untrusted technology that could make the risk impossible to control, the newspaper said.

Rapper Kanye West has announced that he is running for the office of President this year. The multiple Grammy winner took to social media on country's 244th Independence Day (July 4) to share the news. "We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States!" West wrote on Twitter using a hashtag #2020VISION. If he were to launch a campaign for the upcoming elections on November 3, West will go up against President Donald Trump, of whom he has been a vocal supporter, and Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden.

We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States

A fresh bout of rain and high-velocity winds lashed the national capital overnight, bringing the mercury down by several notches on Sunday morning. Light rain and generally cloudy weather is expected during the day. The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for Delhi, recorded 33.6 mm rainfall till 5:30 am. The Palam station gauged43.4 mm precipitation, the weatherman said. Rainfall recorded below 15mm is considered light, between 15 and 64.5 mm is moderate, andabove64.5mmisheavy, according to the India Meteorological Department. Humidity levels also shot up to 100 per cent.

It has been more than 48 hours since gangster Vikas Dubey went missing after killing eight police personnel in an ambush in Kanpur, but the state police still has no clue about the whereabouts of the criminal. All the phones of Vikas, his associates and relatives have been put on surveillance but the gangster has not used any communication tool so far. The Yogi Adityanath government, on Saturday night, increased the reward on Vikas to Rs one lakh. A reward of Rs 25,000 each has been announced for his 18 accomplices. Sixty police team are frantically searching for the man, who is now 'most wanted' in Uttar Pradesh.
 

Deep floodwaters and the risk of more mudslides that left about 20 people confirmed or presumed dead hampered search and rescue operations on Sunday in southern Japan, including at elderly home facilities where more than a dozen perished and scores are still stranded. Rescue helicopters plucked more people from their homes in the Kumamoto region. Up to 10,000 defense troops, the coast guard and fire brigades are taking part in the operation. Large areas along the Kuma River were swallowed by floodwaters with many houses, buildings and vehicles submerged almost up to their roofs. Mudslides smashed into houses, sending people atop rooftops waiving at rescuers. At a flooded elderly care home in Kuma Village, 14 residents were presumed dead after rescuers reached them on Saturday, officials said. Three others had hypothermia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday extended wishes to Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on his birthday saying that latter's administrative experience and insight on key policy issues are a major asset for the Centre. Taking to Twitter, Prime Minister Modi wrote, "Best wishes to my senior Cabinet colleague Shri Ram Vilas Paswan Ji. Paswan Ji's administrative experience and insight on key policy issues are a major asset for our Government. His contribution towards social justice is immense. Praying for his long and healthy life." Various politicians also extended their wishes to Paswan, including Union Ministers Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

Without vying much attention of South-East Asian countries, China has discreetly initiated a maritime law enforcement initiative aimed at enhancing marine environmental protection and combating "illegal activities in key areas", including offshore oil exploration as well as shipping and related operations. The US-based Diplomat magazine, in its report, said that China's Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Ministry of Transport and China Coast Guard, in a joint statement released on April 1, had announced the commencement of an eight-month-long "Bihai 2020" (or "Blue Sea 2020") initiative.

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed against Twitter India Pvt. Ltd. and others by petitioner, Gopal Jhaveri before the High Court at Bombay with the prayer to direct the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take action against Twitter under various penal provisions of the law. These include Section 39 the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967; section 107, 121 A, 124A, 153A, 153 B, 34 of the Indian Penal Code, section 66f of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The petitioner also demanded for the regulation of social media platforms to tackle various anti-national and unethical activities on Twitter.

Telangana police on Saturday booked controversial filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma as per a court directive in connection with his proposed movie 'Murder' based on an alleged incident of honour killing. A case against Varma and producer Natti Karuna was booked at Miryalaguda Town- I police station in Nalgonda district. The court issued the direction on a petition filed by P.Balaswamy, whose son Pranay Kumar was murdered in 2018 by his father-in-law Maruthi Rao who had refused to accept his marriage with his daughter.

Network problems, incorrect question papers and difficulty in logging in -- these were some of the issues that Delhi University students faced on the first day of a mock online exam. The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) alleged that its members were inundated with panic mails from students. When many students tried accessing the site, they got messages like wrong email ID even though it was the same id used in the form they filled up and earlier received communication from the university, the DUTA said. Some other students didn't get the one-time password (OTP) to access the site, it added. Many students who managed to access the site found that of the 37 question papers slotted, not even a single question paper belongs to their course, they said.

Pankaj Munjal, CMD Hero Cycles on Saturday said that the cycle industry in the country is moving towards self-reliance in a phased manner. He said the people were looking at Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan for shifting manufacturing facilities out of China and India has an opportunity to increase its market share in cycle industry. "With media bashing of China, people are looking at Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan to some extent and to India. We have to be competitive. We stand a great chance," he said. He was answering a query about the cycle industry in the wake of COVID-19 and trade with China.

Paradip Port has become the number one port in India in handling cargo, said Rinkesh Roy Chairman, Paradip Port trust chairman. As the COVID-19 Pandemic continues to stifle the global supply chain, the maritime industry is no doubt facing a daunting task to function smoothly. In spite of all the obstacles, the team PPT has come out with flying colours and has clocked a remarkable 25.73 Million Metric Tonnes cargo handling mark and emerged as the number one major Port of India.

AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government for their 'Thok Denge' policy, which has left eight police personnel dead in Kanpur encounter. Speaking on the Kanpur encounter, Owaisi said, "What happened in Kanpur, the complete blame and responsibility lies with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. As he started killing in the name of 'Thok Denge' policy, that is, killing people in the name of encounter." Owaisi urged to him, "It is high time that he (Chief Minister Yogi) should change the policy of 'Thok Denge'. We cannot run the country or state on the basis of rule by 'Gun'. You run a Country and a State on the basis of Constitution, on the basis of law."

A man was shot dead and three others were wounded on Saturday at a sports bar in the US state of Mississippi, officials said. The incident took place after an altercation broke out at M-Bar Sports Grill in Jackson, the capital city of Mississippi, Xinhua reported. The deceased has been identified as 41-year-old Cortez Shelby, police said in a release, adding that the woman and two men who were wounded in the shooting have been hospitalised, with their injuries were not considered life-threatening.

At least 43 people were killed after being struck by lightning in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as rains and thunderstorm occurred in several parts of the country on Saturday, officials said. Instances of wall collapse, uprooting of trees and waterlogging were reported in Maharashtra as heavy rains lashed large parts of the western state, including Mumbai, for the second day on Saturday. However, there were no casualties. North India witnessed predominantly sultry weather, with Punjab and Haryana recording above-normal day temperatures.

President Donald Trump has a vision for his second term, if he wins one, of establishing a National Garden of American Heroes that will pay tribute to some of the most prominent figures in US history, a collection of the greatest Americans to ever live. His idea, conveyed in a speech on Friday night at Mount Rushmore and expanded on in an executive order, comes as elected officials and institutions are reckoning with whether it is appropriate to continue to honour people, including past presidents, who benefited from slavery or espoused racist views, with monuments or buildings and streets named after them.

Two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed and an Army man suffered injuries during an encounter between the ultras and security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Arrah area of Kulgam district of south Kashmir on Saturday based on specific information about the presence of terrorists there, a police official said.

The Indian Air Force is significantly enhancing deployment of its frontline jets, attack helicopters and transport fleet in all its key bases guarding the airspace along the Line of Actual Control in view of heightened border tension with China in eastern Ladakh, people familiar with the development said on Saturday.

The IAF has also pressed into service a fleet of C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft as well as C-130J Super Hercules in transporting heavy military equipment and weaponry to several forward bases to further ramp up India's military preparedness in the region.

At least 43 people were killed after being struck by lightning in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar as rains and thunderstorm occurred in several parts of the country on Saturday, officials said.

Instances of wall collapse, uprooting of trees and waterlogging were reported in Maharashtra as heavy rains lashed large parts of the western state, including Mumbai, for the second day on Saturday. However, there were no casualties.

The CB-CID on Saturday warned against fake news and photographs being circulated on the sensational father-son duo death case in the social media and directed removal of such posts or face legal action.

Also, the Crime Branch-CID said a summons was being issued to the editor of an online Tamil news portal for inquiry for posting alleged morphed photographs of Jeyaraj and his son Bennicks.

Two more persons on Saturday lost their lives in the flood which has affected 10.75 lakh people in 18 districts of Assam, a government report said.

One person died in Morigaon and another in Tinsukia district, taking the toll to 61 across the state, of which 37 people were killed in the flood and 24 died due to landslides triggered by incessant rainfall, the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said in its daily bulletin.

Flood waters receded from Lakhimpur and Bongaigaon on Saturday even as Dhemaji, Biswanath, Chirang, Darrang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts were affected by the deluge.

 

The Delhi University on Saturday announced that the online registration process for admission to undergraduate, postgraduate, M.Phil and Ph.D programmes has been extended till July 18.
 

The registration process has received tremendous response despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision to extend the date has been taken in view of the notification of declaration of CBSE result and the postponement of JEE and NEET examinations, according to an official of the varsity.

West Bengal's unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent in June was "far better" than the national average, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday, citing a report by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
 

According to the report, West Bengal's unemployment rate stood at 6.5 per cent last month, while the figure for the country was at 11 per cent.
 

This is an outcome of the economic strategy adopted by the state government to tackle the Covid-19 crisis and the devastation caused by cyclone Amphan, Banerjee said.

Haryana's Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala on Saturday said 30 lakh smart meters would be installed in homes and other installations of electricity consumers in the state by the year 2024.
 

These smart power meters can be monitored even by consumers' mobile phones, said Chautala, adding these meters are of both pre-paid and post-paid varieties and can be recharged like mobile phones as and when needed.
 

In the first phase, the work of installing 10 lakh smart meters is going on, said Chautala, adding 1.5 lakh of them have already been installed in Gurgaon.

Taking serious note of incidents of men using naval uniforms or badges for allegedly posing as Navy officers in Kerala,the Indian Navy on Saturday said it will approach the state government seeking a ban on unauthorised sale of Armed forces uniforms in the state.
 

Impersonation of service personnel by others is a cognizable offence and those indulging in such activities would be subject to stringent measures in order to avoid anti-national elements from utilizing this method for ulterior motives, which pose a potentially grave threat to national security, the navy said in a statement.
 

The Navy noted that District administrations of Kutch (Gujarat) and Srinagar, and Punjab government had issued orders for ban on unauthorized sale of Armed forces uniform under section 144 of the CrPC.

The government on Saturday launched programme for Indian tech entrepreneurs and startups to build strong ecosystem to develop and promote indigenous world class apps.
 

The Ministry of Electronics and IT in partnership with Niti Ayog announced that it will run the programme in two stages.
 

"With an objective to support and build a strong ecosystem for Indian Apps, MeitY in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission Niti Aayog launches Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge for Indian tech entrepreneurs and startups.

People on Saturday rejected the Referendum 2020 of the Sikhs For Justice as not even a single person from Punjab registered as a voter, said senior BJP leader Vineet Joshi.
 

The Indian government has banned the Sikhs For Justice for calling Punjab's liberation for the past few years through its Referendum 2020 campaign.
 

The organisation started a voter registration programme on Saturday that didn't evoke any response from the masses.

The three-day nationwide strike by coal workers against the government's decision to open the sector for private players led to almost nil production in most of the mines, and dispatch of the fuel was totally blocked, a trade union leader said on Saturday.
 

Five trade unions, including RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), of Coal India (CIL) have been on strike since Thursday to protest against the government's decision to start commercial coal mining.
 

"The three-day strike in coal industry is big success...In most of the mines (in all the three days), production was nil and the dispatch was totally blocked," Nathulal Pandey, president of HMS-affiliated Hind Khadan Mazdoor Federation, said.

The Jammu and Kashmir Congress continued its protest in the city for the sixth consecutive day on Saturday against the hike in fuel prices.
 

The party said its week-long nationwide protests were an attempt to "awaken the government to the hardships of the people".
 

Pradesh Congress Committee president G A Mir led the protest at Guru Nanak Nagar locality in the city. Holding placards, the Congress activists raised slogans against the government. The protesters dispersed peacefully afterward.

The Karnataka government will soon build a massive pilgrim amenities complex and marriage hall at Tirumala, the hill abode of Lord Venkateswara, at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore, a temple official said here on Saturday.
 

The state would soon submit a blueprint for the construction of the Rs 200 crore mega complexes to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) that governs the hill shrine, the official told PTI.
 

Consequently, based on the designs, TTD would construct the complexes with the given fund and after completion, they would be handed over to the Karnataka government, he said.

A man was fatally shot and three others were wounded in a shooting early Saturday at a nightclub in Mississippi's capital, an official said.
 

The shooting happened at M-Bar Sports Grill in Jackson, Hinds County Capt. Tyree Jones told The Associated Press.
 

Cortez Shelby, 41, was shot in the neck and died at the scene, Jones said in a news release. A woman and two men were also shot and taken to a hospital. Their wounds were not considered life-threatening.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation is the process of constructing as many as 3,000 toilets under build-operate-transfer (BOT) model to be completed before August 15.
 

Minister KT Rama Rao ordered the civic body to construct 500 toilets each in every zone under GHMC limits, an official press release said.
 

Accordingly, suitable places have been identified in LB Nagar, Kukatpally, Charminar, Serilingampally and Khairatabad zones, it said.

Real estate regulators will write within a week to the RBI, seeking one-time debt restructuring for the industry to help developers overcome the liquidity issues, Uttar Pradesh RERA Chairman Rajive Kumar said on Saturday.
 

Industry bodies CREDAI and Naredco have been demanding one time restructuring of developers outstanding loans with financial institutions to prevent bad loans and making them eligible for fresh borrowings.
 

Addressing a webinar, he said the decision to extend timelines for completion of projects by six months has been taken for the benefits of homebuyers and ensure customers get possessions of their flats.

Asserting that the proposed Rs 8,250 crore Chambal Expressway could be a game changer for the poor and tribals living in far-flung areas of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday urged these states to expedite land acquisition, environment clearances and tax relief for the project.
 

The project will also provide cross-connectivity with the Golden Quadrilateral's Delhi-Kolkata corridor, North-South Corridor, East-West Corridor and Delhi-Mumbai -Expressway.
 

"The upcoming expressway could be a game changer for tribals and poor living in the far-flung areas, specially Chambal region which is considered as one of the most backward areas in the country.

In what may be music to the ears of solar power producers setting up their projects using Chinese equipment, government proposes to exempt those having power purchase agreements (PPAs) with procuring states from the steeper customs duty levy.
 

Sources in the power ministry said that all solar power projects having valid PPAs as on August 1, 2020 will escape the proposed import duty on solar equipment and components even if such imports are to be done from China. This would be an one time exemption as the government under its Atmanirbhar Bharat mission wants to restrict imports of all equipment for which domestic manufacturing is existing.
 

Power ministry has proposed a 20-25 per cent basic customs duty on solar module imports for the current year that will go up to 40 per cent level in the next year. Also, the duty on solar cells has been proposed at 15 per cent level for the first year and a higher 30-40 per cent level in the next year. The levy has been proposed to become effective from August 1, when the existing 15 per cent safeguard duty on solar component imports expires.

As swarms of locusts continue to be a menace across the country, the locusts' control authorities in Jaisalmer is using helicopters to spray pesticides on a wide scale.
 

"The helicopter has left for the area where aerial spraying will be done after the pesticide was loaded on it. The use of helicopters will help in managing large areas efficiently. One more helicopter is scheduled to arrive today as well," Dr Rajesh Kumar, Locust Control Officer, Jaisalmer told media reporters here on Saturday.

Criticising the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi termed it as "jungle raj" during a video conference with party leaders on Saturday. The virtual meeting was called to discuss what the Congress called the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
 

Priyanka alleged during the course of the meeting that, "Uttar Pradesh has turned into a jungle raj. Even police personnel are not safe here. The law and order in the state has collapsed because of the alliance between criminals, ruling party leaders and officials." She said that the morale of criminals has been boosted in the state.
 

This sharp attack comes soon after eight police personnel, including a circle officer, were shot dead and six policemen seriously injured when a local criminal, Vikas Dubey, and his gang sprayed bullets on them in Vikru village under Chaubeypur police circle in Kanpur in the wee hours of Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday applauded BJP workers for extending help to those in need during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, saying for his party workers the nation comes first.
 

Before he chairs the 'Seva Hi Sangathan' meet this evening, Modi said in these challenging times, the party workers have being working tirelessly across India, helping those in need.
 

"For BJP karyakartas, serving the nation comes first," he wrote on Twitter.

The three-day nationwide strike by coal workers, which entered the third day on Saturday, has been "100 per cent peaceful", a trade union leader said.
 

Five trade unions, including RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), of Coal India (CIL) have been on strike since Thursday to protest against the government's decision to start commercial coal mining.
 

The five unions have a virtual meeting scheduled on Saturday to decide the next course of action.

Israel was responsible for two blasts at Iranian facilities, one related to uranium enrichment and the other for missile production, over the past week, a Kuwaiti newspaper has claimed.
 

The Al-Jareeda daily cited an unnamed senior source as saying that an Israeli cyberattack caused a fire and explosion at the largely underground Natanz nuclear enrichment facility on Thursday morning, reports The Times of Israel.

According to the source, this was expected to set back Iran's nuclear enrichment program by approximately two months.
 

Natanz, located some 250 km south of Tehran, includes underground facilities buried under some 25 feet of concrete, which offers protection from airstrikes. The facility is a Fuel Enrichment Plant covering 100,000 square meters.