TUESDAY FRESH TENSIONS AS CHINESE, FILIPINO SHIPS COLLIDE IN DISPUTED WATERS 18 The incident near the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea (SCS) comes amid rising tensions and dangerous military maneuvers by both sides JUNE, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard B I L AT E R A L PUTIN TO VISIT NORTH KOREA During his two-day visit, starting Tuesday, Russian President is expected to meet Kim Jong Un for talks as they deepen their alignment PAGE 9 1,000+KM A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI J8.00 IS THE DISTANCE BETWEEN MAINLAND CHINA AND THE SECOND THOMAS SHOAL BEIJING, MANILA POINT FINGERS AT EACH OTHER The Chinese coast guard said a Philippine supply ship entered the waters near the Second Thomas Shoal, ignored warnings and dangerously approached a Chinese vessel, resulting in Monday’s collision. The Philippines says the shoal and the waters nearby fall within its exclusive economic zone and Chinese ships have no business being there — a claim disputed by Beijing. P9 PAGES 12 Rahul picks Rae Bareli, Priyanka to make poll debut from Wayanad P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Rescue work on after a speeding goods train rammed into the stationary Kanchanjunga Express near Rangapani railway station in West Bengal on Monday morning | PTI Goods train rams express, kills 9 Stationary Kanchanjunga Express hit in the rear by speeding goods train in West Bengal S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA & R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ Kolkata / New Delhi A fast-moving goods train rammed into a stationary passenger express from behind in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district on Monday morning, killing at least nine people and injuring over 40 others. The toll may go up as some of the injured are said to be serious. According to reports, the goods train overshot the red signal at high speed and collided with the Sealdah-bound Kanchanjunga Express. The impact was such that four rear compartments of Kanchanjun- EXPRESS READ Pannun murder plot accused taken to US Indian national Nikhil Gupta, who is accused of being involved in a plot to kill Khalistani Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, has been extradited to the US from the Czech Republic. The 52-year-old Gupta was arrested in the Czech Republic last year at the request of the US government. US federal prosecutors alleged that Gupta had been working as per directions of an unnamed Indian government official. India, however, denied its involvement and has set up a highlevel probe into the allegations.P7 5 Maoists killed in J’khand encounter At least five Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on Monday. The encounter took place around 5 am near Lipunga, within Gua police station limits, 200 km from Ranchi. “Bodies of five Maoists, including two women, have been recovered so far. Additionally, two persons have been arrested,” Jharkhand Police spokesperson Amol V Homkar said, adding that one INSAS rifle, two SLRs, three (.303) rifles, and one (9mm) pistol were found. P8 Yadav, Palshikar warn NCERT of legal action Political scientists Yogendra Yadav and Suhas Palshikar on Monday wrote to NCERT objecting to new textbooks carrying their names even after they had disassociated themselves from the revisions and said that they would be forced to take legal recourse if these books with their names are not withdrawn immediately. Palshikar and Yadav, who were chief advisors for political science textbooks, had last year said that the rationalisation exercise has rendered them “academically dysfunctional”. ga Express were thrown off track. The loco pilot of the goods train, which was on its way from Agartala in Tripura to Sealdah (West Bengal), and a guard of the passenger train are among those killed in the accident. The collision occurred near Rangapani station, 30 km from New Jalpaiguri station. The Kavach anti-collision system has not been implemented on the route, said a senior official. Local media reports quoting police sources pegged the toll at 15. While the Commissioner of Railway Safety has initiated a probe, conflicting versions emerged. Speaking to media persons in Delhi, Railway Board Chairperson Jaya Varma Sinha blamed the loco pilot of the goods train for the accident. “The collision happened because the goods train disregarded the signal and hit the Kanchanjunga Express,” he said. However, the loco pilots’ union said the automatic signalling system was defective since 5.50 am on Monday and the loco pilot had got written authorisation to go past the sig- Fresh peace talks with Meiteis & Kukis: Shah M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi UNION home minister Amit Shah on Monday said the Centre would hold talks with both the Meiteis and the Kukis to bridge the ethnic divide in Manipur and restore peace and tranquility at the earliest. He made the statement at a highlevel meeting to review the security situation there amidst reports of fresh incidents of trouble in the state. Shah was given a detailed briefing on the situation by Security Advisor to the Manipur government Kuldiep S i n g h , D G P R a j iv Singh and Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi. The home minister assured that the head count of Central Armed Police Forces would be increased if required and directed them to ensure their strategic deployment. He also asked the officials to take strict legal action against those who indulge in violence, officials said. As for those at relief camps, Shah directed Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi to ensure proper health and education facilities for the displaced people and their rehabilitation. The home minister took stock of the situation a day after Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey called on him here. On June 10, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had expressed concern over peace eluding Manipur for over a year. There were reports of fresh violence in capital Imphal and Jiribam recently, the officials said, adding that the Centre is worried over the violence spreading to new areas like Jiribam, which has been by and large peaceful in the past one year since the ethnic clashes erupted in May 2023, the sources said. Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, Director of Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande, Army Chief-designate Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi were present at the hour-long meeting. Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023 after a tribal solidarity march in the hill districts protesting against a high court order on Scheduled Tribe status to the Meiteis. nals. The document, called TA 912, was reportedly issued to the driver of the goods train by the station master of Ranipatra, authorising him to cross all red signals. However, officials said even with TA 912, the train should have moveed at 15 kmph. This speed limit seems to have been breached, said sources. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw rushed to the accident spot to take stock of the rescue efforts. He also announced `10 lakh ex gratia to the next of kin of the deceased. CM Mamata Banerjee alleged that the rail ministry is not bothered about passenger safety P7 . ENDING suspense, the Congress on Monday announced that former party chief Rahul Gandhi will retain the Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituency and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make her electoral debut from the Wayanad seat. Rahul had won both Rae Bareli and Wayanad with a huge margin of votes. This newspaper was the first to report on June 7 that Rahul would retain Rae Bareli and let go of the Kerala constituency . On fielding Priyanka from Wayanad, Congress leaders said the party wanted to send out a message that it hasn’t abandoned Wayanad and Kerala. Political observers say that Priyanka’s entry is a strategic move by the grand old party ahead of the 2026 Kerala assembly elections. The decision came after the Congress top leadership met at party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s in the national capital. Speaking to the media, Rahul said he has an emotional connection with Rae Bareli and Wayanad and both constituencies will now have two MPs. “Priyanka will contest from Wayanad, but I will also go there frequently and fulfil all <=-6.5°C -6.5 to -4.5 -4.4 to -3.1 -3.0 to -1.6 -1.5 to 1.5 1.6 to 3.0 3.1 to 4.4 4.5 to 6.4 >=6.5 Now, night ‘heatwaves’ Circled regions represent the places where warm nights were observed With the North continuing to bake, warm night to severe warm night conditions were observed in some parts of HaryanaChandigarh-Delhi and isolated pockets of UP on Monday. Warm night conditions were also observed in isolated pockets of Punjab, West MP and Rajasthan THE CLASSIFICATION Warm nights are those when the maximum temperature is at 40°C or above and the departure from normal is 4.5°C to 6.4°C. It gets categorised as a severe warm night if the departure is over 6.4°C Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra before announcing that the Congress general secretary will contest the Wayanad seat after Rahul gives it up | PTI the promises we made to the people. I have an old connection with Rae Bareli and I am happy to represent them, but it wasn’t an easy decision. The people of Wayanad supported me. My doors will be always open for them,” he said. For her part, Priyanka said she will help her brother in Rae Bareli and would be available in both seats. Apart from Rahul and Priyanka, Sonia Gandhi and senior leader K C Venugopal were also present in the meeting at Kharge’s house. If Priyanka is elected from Wayanad, Parliament will see all three Gandhi family mem bers — Sonia, Rahul, and Priyanka — in the House. This will also mark a political shift in the party as the Congress seeks to increase its footprint in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh after its strong show in the recent Lok Sabha elections. The leadership believes that Congress is on a revival path in UP after winning six seats with an increase in its vote share. The SP-Congress alliance won 43 of 80 seats in the elections. “The party is also eying the assembly elections in the state 2027. The Rahul-Akhilesh combo will boost the alliance,” said a leader. India committed to boost strategic ties with US: PM Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi INDIA is committed to strengthening its comprehensive global strategic partnership with the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after meeting the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who is on an official visit to India. “Met US National Security Advisor @JakeSullivan46. India is committed to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership for global good,” Modi wrote on X. Sullivan briefed Modi on the progress achieved in various areas of bilateral cooperation, particularly under the Initiation on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET). “PM expressed satisfaction at the speed and scale of the growing bilateral partnership in all areas and the convergence of views on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said. Sullivan also met the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. “We had a comprehensive discussion on a broad range of bilateral, regional and global Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issues. We are confident that India-US strategic partnership will continue to advance strongly in our new team,” Jaishankar wrote on X. Earlier in the day, Sullivan and Doval co-chaired the second meeting of iCET where they reviewed the progress in implementing the ambitious initiative. The two discussed ways to bridge the innovation ecosystems in various sectors. India and the US will provide more than $90 million over the next five years for the India-US Global Challenges Institute which will forge collaborations between institutions in critical and emerging technologies like semiconductors. 40% cut in DJB water supply, crisis all IndiGo flight to Bagdogra delayed by 3 hrs due to ‘high ground temperature’ at IGIA set to grip ‘powerful’ Lutyens’ Delhi P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi THIRST has arrived where it should matter most: Lutyens’ Delhi, where the country’s most powerful people live. Water supply disruptions are expected due to reduced water inflow to the Tilak Marg and Bengali Market underground reservoirs from the DJB, said NDMC officials on Monday. The New Delhi Municipal Council area is experiencing a 40% cut in water supply from the DJB. “Production of potable water from Wazirabad plant is not up to the full capacity due to nonavailability of raw water,” said an official. Ergo, water supply in Tilak Marg and Bengali Market Supply once a day “Use water judiciously,” NDMC advised residents while cautioning that the supply will be available once a day. This shortage will impact Bengali Market, Ashoka Road, HC Mathur Lane, Copernicus Marg, Purana Quila Road, Babar Road, Barakhamba Road, KG Marg, Windsor Place, Firozshah Marg, Canning Lane and adjacent areas. reservoirs will be made available once a day, preferably in the morning, the official said. This shortage will impact Bengali Market, Ashoka Road, HC Mathur Lane, Copernicus Marg, Purana Quila Road, Ba- bar Road, Barakhamba Road, KG Marg, Windsor Place, Firozshah Marg, Canning Lane, and adjacent regions. In response, the NDMC has urged residents to use water judiciously . Residents in various parts of Delhi have been enduring severe water shortages, leading to daily queues at water tankers. The crisis has triggered protests, acts of vandalism, and a political war of words. On June 6, the water production in Delhi was 1,002 MGD, which declined to 939 MGD by June 13. “The production is decreasing because we are not getting adequate supply from Haryana,” claimed AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh. P4 A S H I S H S R I V A S TA V A @ New Delhi THE Delhi airport suffered two disruptions on Monday being blamed on the severe heatwave that has gripped the national capital. In the first instance, an IndiGo aircraft had to return to the terminal even after the passengers boarded it. Reason: high ground temperatures. In the second incident, a power outage caused by a voltage imbalance from the Delhi Transco Limited grid threw IGIA operations into disarray for a brief period with passengers complaining about boarding and check-in services. The IndiGo flight to Bagdogra was scheduled to take off at 2:10 pm. After two hours, the No respite in sight The national capital recorded maximum temperatures in excess of 45 degrees Celsius, which was seven notches higher than normal for the season. The weather office forecast offers no respite as it issued ‘red alert’ for Tuesday. The ‘red alert’ is issued when the maximum temperature exceeds 45 degrees C or it’s 6.5 degrees C or more above normal. P4 flight was called back to the terminal. It finally took off at 5:51 pm, almost three hours behind schedule. Sitting for hours amid the heat, the passengers started feeling uneasy . “The flight was delayed due to high ground temperatures impeding operations. Passengers are being provided with regular updates,” stated an IndiGo statement. It blamed the disruption on “factors beyond the airline’s control.” In the power outage case, it all began around 2 pm. “The airport’s main receiving substation (MRSS) detected a significant voltage spike at the grid, reportedly due to the tripping of a 765KV line. This voltage imbalance from the Delhi Transco Limited grid briefly impacted all IGI terminals, affecting baggage acceptance and e-gates,” said a spokesperson for Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL). The voltage stabilised by around 3 pm after backup procedures, the DIAL said.
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