India News Highlights: Monsoon has brought Gurugram to a grinding halt on Tuesday, stranding thousands of commuters on National Highway 48. Severe waterlogging exposed structural vulnerabilities in the city’s rapid drainage infrastructure, as rains bring about the same problems every year.
Torrential rains triggered a fatal landslide in Wayanad, Kerala, on Tuesday yet again, killing 3 people and leaving 7 tunnel construction workers missing. The disaster struck just four kilometers from the site of 2024’s catastrophic mudslides, which claimed over 300 lives, raising fresh alarms over infrastructure development in the region’s increasingly fragile, deluge-battered hills.
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The Delhi High Court has ordered the restoration of the Cockroach Janta Party’s X account, setting aside the Centre’s blocking order. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the account was blocked to avoid “chaos” ahead of the NEET re-test.
In a departure from its earlier attempts to curb app-based bike taxi operations, the Maharashtra government will begin issuing permits for such services from August 1 under a new regulatory framework that will require drivers to possess a Maharashtra domicile certificate, fulfil prescribed eligibility conditions and operate through registered aggregators, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik told The Indian Express on Tuesday.
The Gujarat High Court has upheld the death sentence for 38 convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case. The remaining 11 convicts will serve life imprisonment. The verdict upholds the 2022 special court judgment in the case, in which 56 people were killed and around 200 injured in a series of bomb blasts across Ahmedabad in 2008.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a ceremonial welcome in Jakarta ahead of talks with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. Modi is on the first leg of his three-nation tour to strengthen India’s Act East Policy, MAHASAGAR Vision and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. He also signed the guest book at Istana Merdeka, with officials describing the visit as an important step in deepening the India–Indonesia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. During the visit, India signed BrahMos, Astra missile deal as part of maritime safety and security cooperation and inked minerals and technologies agreement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Indonesia’s highest honour ’Bintang Adipurna of the Republic of Indonesia’ medal of honour.
The SIT report into the alleged donation theft at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has flagged major lapses in security, CCTV monitoring and cash-counting procedures. The nine-page preliminary report identified 70 suspected theft incidents and found that security protocols were not properly followed during the counting process. The SIT report highlighted poor supervision, gaps in CCTV monitoring, lack of frisking of staff and failure to enforce the prescribed dress code.
If you are just joining us, this is The Indian Express Realtime breaking news blog – where we bring you the latest news updates of the day in real time. Scan the top headlines of the day here, or keep scrolling to see the latest updates stream in. This blog is curated by Richa Shrivastava and Sneha Sharma.
Mumbai rains: Orange alert issued by IMD as rain-related accidents continue
Mumbai woke up to overcast skies and an IMD orange alert on Tuesday, with all government, private and civic-run schools and colleges shut as a precautionary measure amid warnings of heavy rain and gusty winds. The monsoon’s toll on the city deepened overnight as a man lost his wife and four children in a building collapse in Mankhurd — hours after he had told authorities the family would vacate the next day. Mankhurd has long been a hotspot for deadly building collapses, with illegal construction and delayed action by authorities at the heart of a recurring tragedy.
Purge in Bhupender Yadav’s office: Private Secretary and two additional PSs removed
Three senior officials in Union Minister Bhupender Yadav’s office have been removed in quick succession — one shunted out on “administrative grounds,” one prematurely repatriated, and one’s appointment terminated. No explanation has been offered publicly, which may itself be part of the message.
Lawrence Bishnoi gang: Foreign guns, six young men, twin shootings in Delhi and Haryana
An Indian Express investigation lays out how twin shootings targeting singer Guru Randhawa’s gym were executed — a careful operation involving six young men and weapons traced back across borders, all bearing the hallmarks of the Bishnoi network.
Bengal rape-murder: ‘Had police acted, she’d be alive’
The mother of the Baruipur victim says the family had complained to police before — and been ignored. What followed is now a case that has combined the horror of a crime with the spectacle of a mob, and left Bengal’s administration with uncomfortable questions on both counts.
Government likely to delay 25% ethanol petrol blend after backlash
The government is expected to push back its timeline for introducing E25 petrol after pushback from motorists and industry, even as critics argue the broader rice-to-ethanol policy is deepening both economic and environmental stress. A Toyota executive, meanwhile, makes the opposite case — that ethanol remains the fastest and cheapest route to decarbonising Indian roads.
US blames Iran for tanker attack off Oman; Hormuz tensions persist
US officials have attributed an attack that set a tanker ablaze off Oman to Iran, even as diplomatic channels between the two sides remain nominally open — a reminder that in the Strait of Hormuz, the gap between a peace deal and peace itself remains considerable.
Ronaldo’s World Cup dream ends in Dallas; Belgium thrash USA
Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup ended not with glory but with a last-minute winner from Mikel Merino, as Spain knocked Portugal out in Dallas. Elsewhere, Belgium ended the United States’ home tournament with a ruthless 4-1 victory, advancing to the quarterfinals.
