QBullet: 5 Dead in Ghatkopar Plane Crash; Rupee Hits All-Time Low
Here are the top stories of the day.
1. Plane on Test Flight Crashes in Mumbai, 5 Killed Including a Pedestrian
A small aircraft crashed in a crowded Mumbai neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon, killing five people, including four crew members and a pedestrian.
The plane was bought by Mumbai-based UY Aviation, which runs chartered flights, in 2015 from the Uttar Pradesh government and Thursday’s was its first test flight after repairs. Officials from Juhu aerodrome, where it had been undergoing repairs, said it was in a poor condition when it was brought to Mumbai, where it was being repaired by Indamer Aviation Pvt Ltd.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Rupee Hits All-Time Low of 69.09/$ on Oil Prices, Fears of Us-China Trade War
The rupee breached the 69-level against the US dollar for the first time on Thursday, touching a record low of 69.09 on higher crude oil prices and concerns of a US-China trade war. The rupee crossed the 69-level within the first hour of trade.
The Reserve Bank of India is understood to have sold dollars through state-run banks, helping the currency recover to close at 68.79, against Wednesday's close of 68.63.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. At Least Five Dead in Maryland’s Annapolis Newsroom Shooting
At least five people were killed Thursday when a gunman opened fire inside the offices of the Capital Gazette, a newspaper based in Annapolis, a historic city an hour east of Washington.
Police described the suspect – who was being questioned in custody – as a white adult male who was armed with a rifle or a shotgun and appeared to have acted alone. A reporter for the daily, Phil Davis, tweeted a chilling account of how the "gunman shot through the glass door to the office and opened fire on multiple employees."
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Shujaat Bukhari’s Murder Was Planned in Pakistan, Says J&K Police
Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday, 28 June said the conspiracy to kill senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari was hatched in Pakistan and executed by three Lashkar-e-Toiba militants.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Kashmir IGP SP Pani also released pictures of four suspects, blaming them for killing the editor-in-chief of Rising Kashmir and his two security personnel on 14 June.
“The investigation has established that this terror crime was done by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and the conspiracy was hatched in Pakistan and the execution was done by three accused,” Pani said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Haley Talks Tough on Iran Import Curbs, India May Fall in Line
The US is acting tough on India regarding energy imports from Iran, and New Delhi, despite its efforts to preserve energy independence, may be forced to comply to avoid sanctions from kicking in.
The Iran message was delivered most clearly by US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, during her visit to the city. In a special address on the afternoon of 28 June, Haley said: “The world is united against Iran having nuclear weapons because we all have good reason to worry about what Iran would do with those weapons.”
(Source: The Times of India)
6. Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Manish Sisodia to Be ‘Charged with Conspiracy’ in Delhi Chief Secretary Assault Case
The Delhi police is likely to charge chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia with criminal conspiracy in an alleged assault on the state’s chief secretary Anshu Prakash by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators in the presence of the two.
A senior police officer confirmed, on condition of anonymity, that the chargesheet naming the two would be filed at the Tis Hazari Courts next week. The two will be charged with planning the conspiracy to assault the top bureaucrat by calling him to the CM’s residence for a late night meeting, this person added.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Mehul Choksi Previously Warned Against Pushing Low-Quality Gems at High Value
As early as October 2015, a Dubai-based firm of the Gitanjali Group alerted Vipul Chitalia, vice-president of the group who has since been arrested, on the possibility of penal action if caught by customs authorities in India or Dubai for exporting “low quality” coloured gems at highly inflated value to Dubai.
The probe agencies investigating the firms of Mehul Choksi, promoter of Gitanjali Group, have found that the Dubai subsidiary, in an email sent to Chitalia and a few other top officials of Gitanjali Group on 6 October, 2015, said the consignment of coloured gems received by them were of such “low quality” that the “stones release colour and the bag inside which stones are kept turns red”.
(Source: The Indian Express)
8. PM Narendra Modi Targets SP-BSP Alliance: They Worry About Bungalows, Not Poor
With the SP and the BSP tying up to defeat the BJP in two key Lok Sabha bypolls this year in UP, including in CM Yogi Adityanath’s Gorakhpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the tone for the 2019 elections, warning people to be wary of those who had cheated Dalits, backwards and deprived, and instead focused on building bungalows for themselves.
Addressing a gathering in Maghar, after laying the foundation stone of the Sant Kabir Academy, the Prime Minister took a dig at the Opposition’s attempt to present a united front, saying that who imposed the Emergency and those who opposed it are “walking shoulder to shoulder”. He also said that some political parties do not want peace or development but only unrest.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. After Crackdown Dip, 50% Jump in Swiss Deposits from India
After declining for three successive years, money parked by Indians in Swiss Banks rose 50 percent to CHF (Swiss Franc) 1.02 billion (Rs 7,000 crore) in 2017 over the previous year.
While overall, total foreign deposits rose by only 3 per cent, China also saw a significant jump in the money parked by its residents – up 69 percent, from CHF 9.45 billion in 2016 to CHF 15.95 billion.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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