1. Lankan President Rajapaksa escapes to the Maldives: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled to the Maldives islands with his wife and a personal guard in an Antonov-32 military aircraft, according to immigration officials in Colombo. The President had earlier announced that he would step down to pave the way for a peaceful transition of power.
2. Heavy rains batter Maharashtra: With torrential rains battering several parts of Maharashtra, IMD has given a red alert to Kolhapur, Nashik, Palghar, Ratnagiri, and Pune districts till July 14. Mumbai has been given an orange alert for three days.
3. Rahul Gandhi leaves for Europe before a key internal meeting: Rahul Gandhi is on a personal trip to Europe ahead of a crucial Congress party meeting scheduled for Thursday. With the party set to discuss the upcoming Presidential election and the ongoing crisis in its Goa unit, the absence of Mr. Gandhi is likely to raise questions about his willingness to take up the party leadership.
4. Union Minister clarifies about National Emblem: Amid controversy over the newly unveiled Nation Emblem, Union Housing Minister Hardeep Puri has issued a statement saying the new emblem is a perfect replica of the original in Sarnath. He added that the difference cited by critics from the opposition is just a sense of proportion and perspective.
5. Uddhav Thackeray extends support to Murmu: With little or no options left, Uddhav Thackeray has consented to party Shiv Sena’s support for NDA’s Presidential nominee Droupadi Murmu, stating that he doesn’t have a narrow mindset.
6. SpiceJet has suffered its 9th malfunction: Raising safety concerns among flyers yet again, SpiceJet’s Boeing B737 Max said to fly the Dubai-Madurai route was delayed as its nose wheel malfunctioned.
7. Top IS leader in Syria killed: A US Military statement on Tuesday said that Maher al-Agal, one of the top five commanders of the IS group in Syria, was killed in a US drone attack.
8. US raises concerns over Putin’s visit to Iran: Russian President Vladimir Putin is said to visit Tehran next week to attend a trilateral meeting with the leaders of Iran and Turkey. However, the US has warned that Tehran could supply drones to Russia for its operations in Ukraine.
9. At least 53 unarmed Afghans were killed under suspicious circumstances: A BBC investigation has revealed that Commandos of Britain’s Elite Special Air Service (SAR) corps killed unarmed Afghans “in cold blood” during their nighttime raids. However, the ministry of defense has said no new evidence has come to investigate the allegations.
10. Rain-related tragedy in Pakistan: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan has said that 150 people have lost their lives to rain fury, mostly from Sindh and Southwestern Balochistan.
Image: TOI