DH Evening Brief: June 14, 2021

Here are the top headlines this evening.

LJP implodes, five MPs oust Chirag Paswan as leader

Five of the six Lok Janshakti Party MPs in Lok Sabha have joined hands against their leader Chirag Paswan and elected Pashupati Kumar Paras, the youngest brother of Paswan's late father and party founder Ram Vilas Paswan, in his place, causing a big churn in Bihar politics. Read more

Centre eyes vaccine drone delivery: How it will work

The Centre is pulling all stops in a bid to vaccinate all Indians above 18 yearsby December-end. The latest plan set in motion is vaccine delivery, especially in remote areas, with the help of hi-tech drones. The ICMR has invited bids from agencies todeliver medical supplies payload at select locations with difficult terrains. Read more

Monuments, museums under ASI to reopen from June 16

The Taj Mahal and all other centrally protectedmonuments, museums and sites, closed for around two months due to the Covid pandemic, will be reopened on June 16, an Archaeological Survey of India order issued on Monday said. These include 3,693monumentsand 50 museums across India. AnASIofficial said visitors will be able to book entry tickets online. Read more

Report on freeze on foreign funds wrong: Adani Group

Adani Enterprises Ltd said on Monday that media reports about the freezing of accounts of three foreign funds which had invested in the group companies were "blatantly erroneous." Read more

Traffic jams return to haunt Bengaluru as lockdown eases; see pics

The notorioustrafficsnarls returned to hauntBengaluruas the lockdown curbs imposed more than a month ago to contain Covid-19 were eased. Hundreds of vehicles coming from the neighbouring Hosur in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu were seen stuck in long queues at Attibele inBengaluru. The chaotictrafficextended up to Bommanahalli and Silk Board Junction. See pics

Looking forward to working with PM Modi: New Israeli Premier Bennett

Israel's newly elected Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Monday that he was looking forward to working with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to further develop the "unique and warm relations" between the two democracies. Read more

Watch: Crane pulls out car that drowned in sinkhole in Mumbai

A car that was completely swallowed by a huge sinkhole in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area was pulled out by a crane. On June 13, the car had been completely swallowed by a sinkhole in the residential area here. The incident occurred due to land subsidence following rain. Watch video

New Covid variant Delta plus: Should India be worried?

The new Delta plus variant has been formed due to a mutation in the Delta or B.1.617.2 variant, first identified in India and one of the drivers of the deadly second wave. Though there is no indication yet of the severity of the disease due to the new variant, Delta plus is resistant to the monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment for Covid-19 recently authorised in India. Read more

Bengaluru eases Covid-19 curbs: What's allowed, what's not from today

As coronavirus cases see a decline, Karnataka decided to ease restrictions in some parts of the state while retaining the strict lockdown in other districts till the positivity rate falls. Thelockdown will continue in11 districts in Karnataka, which have a high positivity rate, till June 21. However, some relaxations have been allowed in the rest of the districts including Bengaluru Urban. Read more

Corruption claimed in Ayodhya Ram Temple land purchase

Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Khestra Trust, which was overseeing the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, found itself mired in corruption after its secretary Champat Rai was accused of purchasing a piece of land worth Rs 2 crore for a whopping Rs 18.5 crore. Read more

Zerodha CEO admits cheating in match against Vishy

Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of India’s stockbroking platform Zerodha and India’s youngest billionaire, landed himself in a soup after "beating" five-time chess world champion Vishwanathan Anand in an online charity stream for Covid-19 only to have his account suspended by the organiser, Chess.com, for violating its fair play policy. Read more

Novavax vaccine more than 90% effective in US trial

Novavax Inc on Monday reported late-stage data from its US-based clinical trial showing its vaccine is more than 90 per cent effective against Covid-19 across a variety of variants of the virus. The study of nearly 30,000 volunteers in the United States and Mexico puts Novavax on track to file for emergency authorization in the United States and elsewhere in the third quarter of 2021, the company said. Read more

Remembering Sushant Singh Rajput: Rare & unseen photos of the star

Remembering Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput on his first death anniversary with some of his rare and unseen pictures. Sushant was found dead at his Bandra residence in Mumbai onJune 14, 2020. Last seen inDil Bechara, Rajput was one of the most promising stars of the younger generation who left an unfulfillable void in showbiz. See pics