MONDAY 15 JUNE, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard MASS PROTESTS ACTIVISTS THRONG GENEVA FOR G7 Thousands of protesters thronged the streets of Geneva Sunday ahead of the G7 summit in Evian in neighbouring France, with police being omnipresent PAGE 9 17-year-old held for fire that killed 3 A D I T I R AY C H O W D H U R Y @ New Delhi DELHI Police apprehended four people, including a minor girl, in connection with a fire at a residential building in southeast Delhi’s Tughlakabad Extension that claimed three lives, officials said on Sunday . According to the police, a fire broke out in a building on Friday at 2.24 am, engulfing the structure from the ground floor to the fifth floor. Eight people were injured and shifted to AIIMS Trauma Centre and Safdarjung Hospital. Among them, Pankaj, his grandmother Sushila Devi, and his sister Sonia Kumari succumbed to their injuries. On the basis of CCTV footage in which a woman is seen entering the premises shortly before the fire broke out, the case was found to be a deliberate act of arson, DCP (southeast) Hemant Tiwari said. A 17-year-old girl was later apprehended. She allegedly disclosed that a 27-year-old Sarita, a resident of Govindpuri, had provided petrol and a matchbox to set ablaze the scooty of one Deepak, a resident of the fifth floor of the building, over a monetary dispute, the DCP said. Sarita in turn revealed that the conspiracy was hatched at the instance of one Niranjan (33) and his brother Rajkumar (27), residents of Navjeevan Camp, to avenge a personal dispute, Tiwari stated. Additional sections 61 (Criminal Conspiracy), 105 (Culpable Homicide), 110 (Attempt to Culpable Homicide), and 331(4) (Lurking House-Trespass by Night) of the BNS were added, and the minor girl along with all three accused have been apprehended. Brazil’s Vinicius Junior (7) celebrates a goal against Morocco | AP SELECAO SURVIVE, SOCCEROOS STUN TURKIYE A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI J8.00  PAGES 12 Let’s not blow India and France deepen strategic it, Trump tells relations with focus on AI, innovation Israel and Iran High-level mechanism to double trade volume J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi Raps Israel for striking Beirut and hindering peace efforts, claims a deal is ‘very close’ A G E N C I E S @ Dubai US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged no further attacks by anyone after Israel’s military said it launched strikes on Hezbollah targets in Beirut, potentially complicating efforts to finalise a deal to end the US-Iran war. Smoke rose over Dahiyeh in Lebanese capital Beirut, where at least three persons were killed and 16 others wounded. Iran threatened a military response. Trump reacted on social media: “We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon” and “Let’s not blow it!” Trump insisted that despite the attack on Lebanon, the deal was on track to be signed on Sunday The deal in its current form is a deep . disappointment to Israel’s government, which has been sidelined in negotiations led by Pakistan and others. The last time Israel struck the Beirut suburbs a week ago, it set off the most serious escalation of fighting since the tenuous ceasefire took hold April 7. Trump has pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop hitting Lebanon hard while a deal is near, but the prime minister has defied him. Netanyahu’s office said the strikes were in response to Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. Israel’s military said Hezbollah launched three projectiles, releasing footage where an audible boom was followed by rising smoke. There was no comment from the Iranianbacked Hezbollah. Iran’s parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a lead negotiator for Tehran, warned the US on X after Israel’s strikes that “if you lack the will and ability to fulfil your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible.” The deal is expected to be signed electronically Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud . Pezeshkian said the country’s highest security authority supports the “path of dialogue”, after hardliners criticised Tehran’s negotiating team in talks with the United States. | P9 We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down... Let’s not blow it! Donald Trump, US President Iran warns of attacks Brig General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s military command, warned that Israel’s strike would not go ‘unanswered’ Putin calls up Trump Russian President Vladimir Putin called US counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday and discussed the wars in Iran and Ukraine, the Kremlin said India Pak a punch in WC opener Opener Smriti Mandhana fifty followed by Deepti Sharma’s fifer helped Women in Blue cruise past Pakistan in their opening game of the T20 WC. A look... Mandhana to the fore PIC: ICC  Facing pressure to win their first World Cup title since 2002, five-time champions Brazil were outplayed early and needed Vinicius Junior’s 32nd-minute goal to gain a 1-1 draw against Morocco in a group match. Earlier in the day, Qatar got a 1-1 draw against Switzerland | P11 Spinners take charge When Pakistan took two early wickets, it seemed like India were in trouble. But the ever-soconsistent Mandhana, along with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (36), rose to the occasion. Her 44-ball 68 took the team from 18/2 to 109/3 in 63 balls. Richa Ghosh’s (17-ball 34) explosive cameo in the death overs gave the final push help India finish with 170/6 One of intriguing things about this WC is the number of used surfaces on offer and how much spinners could control proceedings. India are aware of it as well, fielding three tweakers on Sunday. And it came in handy with Deepti Sharma (5/10), NR Sree Charani (3/21) and Shafali Verma (1/22) taking all nine wickets (one was a run out) as India beat Pakistan by 64 runs. They play Netherlands next on Wednesday No change While Kaur did not answer the question when asked if she would shake hands with Pakistan in handshake counterpart Fatima Sana on the eve of the match, there was no handshake between the two teams policy on Sunday. Since the men’s Asia Cup last year, the two teams have not shook hands on the field Today’s matches (Southampton): NZ vs SL, 7PM; England vs Ireland, 11PM; Live on Star Sports and JioHotstar Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday elevated the momentum in IndiaFrance ties with a strong push for innovation-led growth, positioning India and France as key partners in emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, defence manufacturing, space exploration, and resilient supply chains. Earlier in the day addressing , innovators, investors and entrepreneurs at Bharat Innovates, Modi projected India as a rising innovation powerhouse and called for technology that serves humanity rather than markets alone. “An India that is emerging not merely as a consumer of solutions, but as a contributor of solutions. Here, some are working to transform rural life through AI, while others are using satellite technology to support farmers. Some young innovators are shaping the future through smart cities, advanced manufacturing, and new materials. At the same time, several start-ups are developing new technologies in the fields of defence and security,” Modi said. India and France also announced creation of a high-level mechanism for realising the goal of doubling bilateral trade in the next five years. The current bilateral trade volume is $16 billion. The two sides also decided to expand the use of UPI at Paris and Nice airports Innovation Roadmap 2030 launched Prime Minister Narendra Modi with French President Emmanuel Macron during ‘Bharat Innovates’ event in France on Sunday | PTI The India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030 seeks to deepen cooperation in critical and emerging technologies as well as startup and incubator ecosystems besides promoting academic mobility and industryacademia linkages, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said He urged startups to build technologies that are “trusted, inclusive and human-centric”, arguing that companies should be judged not only by their valuation but by their contribution to society . The Bharat Innovates conclave, launched during Modi’s France visit, brought together was reinforced during Modi’s bilateral meeting with Macron at Villa Kerylos in Nice. Following extensive discussions covering defence, technology, space, trade, mobility and global affairs, the two sides announced 13 agreements and initiatives aimed at strengthening long-term cooperation. startups, venture capital funds, researchers and innovators from India, France and other countries. Modi interacted with entrepreneurs working in frontier sectors, including quantum computing, semiconductors, biotechnology, defence, space, healthcare, med-tech and clean energy. The innovation push Rebel TMC MPs ‘merge’ with regional party, seek separate bloc in Lok Sabha P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi CLAIMING the support of 20 of the 28 Lok Sabha MPs of the Trinamool Congress, the party’s rebel lawmakers on Sunday evening met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking recognition as a separate bloc, and said they had merged with a regional outfit, the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). Earlier, TMC parliamentary party leader Abhishek Banerjee wrote to the Speaker, urging that no recognition, status, or facilities be granted to any group claiming to be a separate faction of the party The letter . was submitted to the Speaker by MPs Kirti Azad and Sagarika Ghose on Sunday evening. Speaking to reporters after meeting with the Speaker, rebel MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the faction has merged with NCPI. “It is a regional party We . have merged with it.” When asked if they claim to be the real TMC, he said it would be decided in court. TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said, “We 20 MPs, who were elected from the AITC, have met the Speaker and given him a letter urging him to allow us to sit as a separate bloc. And these 20 MPs, who constitute more than two-thirds of the TMC’s strength, have merged Below-normal maximum temperature in capital The national capital recorded a maximum temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 1.4 notches below seasonal average, as per the India Meteorological Department. The weather department has forecast very light to light rainfall on Monday. On Sunday, the maximum temperature logged ranged between 38.4–39.1 degrees. | P3 ‘INDIA bloc should have Rahul against Modi’ Rebel TMC MPs meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday | SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Under para 4 of 10th Schedule of the Constitution, MPs or ML As have no freedom to merge with any party. Only the original political party can merge with another party. After such merger, MPs/ MLAs can only ‘agree’ with the merger — Former Lok Sabha secretary-general P D T Achary with the NCPI. We will support the NDA under the leadership of PM Modi,” she said. Before meeting Birla, the dissident camp, including Saayoni Ghosh, Mala Roy, Satabdi Roy, and Arup Chakraborty huddled together at the residence of Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, with Kakoli Ghosh claiming two more MPs would be coming to their side. In his letter to Speaker Birla, Abhishek Banerjee contended that any merger claim would require both a merger of the political party and the support of two-thirds of legislators, and that satisfying only one of these conditions would not be suffi- EXPRESS READ cient under the law. Constitutional expert and former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Achary told this paper that a merger can only take place between two parties —the original political party and another entity “So long as . the MPs continue to be members of TMC, only the political party can merge with another party. That’s the law, the MPs cannot escape the law whether they merge with any other party Achary said. ,” In his letter, Banerjee cited a 2023 Supreme Court ruling saying no set of members can carve out a parallel group and claim independent recognition. P7 Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday pitched for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as the face of the opposition alliance, saying the INDIA bloc should openly accept his leadership and present a clear Modi-versus-Rahul contest. He also said the time has come for the “BJP versus all”, rather than “Congress versus all”. NTA releases admit cards for NEET re-test The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Sunday announced that it had released the admit cards for candidates who will be appearing for the medical entrance re-exam on June 21. It has also asked the students to cross-check the bank details they had submitted for the reimbursement of fee. | P7 L-G DIRECTION Every Saturday, police stations to become complaint boxes of citizens A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi MURDER IN A FIT OF RAGE DEFINES CITY CRIME Ordinary moments of ordinary people turn into killing acts, claiming five lives in recent months | P4 DELHI Police has issued a comprehensive circular, asking senior officers to extend public outreach, enhance accessibility of police services, and ensure the prompt redress of public grievances. The guidelines, issued after Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu’s meeting with the Commissioner of Police Satish Golchha and other senior officials, will ensure structured public grievance redressal, enhanced police-public interface, and improved ac- countability at all levels. It will involve creating an open platform to address complaints, receive suggestions, and handle local public safety issues quickly . The circular issued by CP addressed to all Spe, cial CPs, Jt CPs and DCPs, seeks to institutionalise the conduct of Thana Divas-Jan Sunwai at police stations. “The Thana Divas-Jan Sunwai will be organised at every police station, every Saturday, from 10 am to 2 pm. The programme shall commence from the coming week and be conducted regularly thereafter. This shall serve as an open public hearing platform where the public may present their grievances, complaints, suggestions, requests for assistance, or matters relating to police functioning and public safety,” the circular read. The presence of senior officers will ensure to facilitate expeditious resolution of grievances and to strengthen public confidence in grievance redress mechanism. The circular also asked to ad- here instructions like every Police Station shall maintain a separate information sheet for recording grievances received during the public hearing. Any complainant who comes in Jan Sunwai shall be heard, irrespective of facts that his/ her complaint is registered on ICMS or not. Complaints received during the Jan Sunwai shall be accepted and subsequently uploaded on ICMS. SHOs shall ensure proper seating arrangements, assistance desks, and a citizen-friendly environment during the conduct of Thana Divas-Jan Sunwai. WEEKEND AT THE THANA THANA DIVAS-JAN SUNWAI EVERY SATURDAY AT ALL POLICE STATIONS 1 Spl CP to ACPrank officers to attend hearings on rotation 2 All complainants to be heard, regardless of ICMS registration 3 Grievance disposal to be monitored at all supervisory levels 4 Separate register/ information sheet for Jan Sunwai grievances 5 Complaints needing inquiry/ verification to be assigned immediately 6 SHOs, ACPs and district DCPs personally accountable for implementation