Republic Top 10 Headlines: Jammu drone attack; Vijay Mallya spotted in London and more

'Every Indian should feel proud of Tamil language', says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday pointed out that was a "big" admirer of Tamil culture and language and said every Indian should cherish and feel proud of the most ancient language in the world. PM Modi during his "Mann Ki Baat" radio programme while talking about a letter he'd received from a show's listener, said, "I am a big admirer of Tamil culture. I am a big admirer of Tamil, the oldest language in the world, every Indian should cherish and feel proud that the most ancient language of the world belongs to our country. I take a lot of pride in Tamil". 

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Pakistan drone attack

Two high-intensity blasts took place inside the technical area of the Air Force Station in Jammu within a 5-minute gap. A terrorist carrying 5kg IED has been arrested near the blast area. Post drone attack at Jammu Air Force Station, senior officers of the Border Security Force are reviewing the security situation along the International Border. As per sources, the International Border in Jammu region has been put on high alert. As per top NIA sources, the probe so far suggests that the drone came from across the border. 

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TN govt allows temples to reopen from June 28 amid COVID

Temples in Tamil Nadu are set to reopen from June 28 even as the DMK government announced an extension of the statewide lockdown until July 5 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. As per reports, all places of worship across the states will be allowed to reopen from Monday while restrictions will remain in place for devotees. As per sources, devotees above the age of 60 with comorbidities along with pregnant women and children below 10 years of age will not be allowed to visit the places of worship. Further, the devotees will not be allowed to prostrate themselves, touch the idols or ring the temple bells as a precautionary measure as the state battles the second wave of COVID.

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Naidu appeals for use of mother tongue as medium of instruction at primary level

Speaking at the 6th annual ‘Rashtretara Telugu Samakhya’ conference, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, on June 27, emphasised the need for people's collective appeal or movement to preserve vernacular languages in order to deliver the benefits of lingo traditions to future generations. "People’s movement needed for the preservation of our languages. Let's move forward united to propagate Indian languages, cultures and traditions," VP Naidu said. Complementing the efforts of the government and highlighting the power in languages to unite people across geographies and generations, VP Naidu hailed for a unified effort to preserve and propagate languages, cultures and traditions. 

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Vijay Mallya spotted outside London’s most exclusive club

A couple of days after the Indian government assured that economic fugitive Vijay Mallya will be brought back to India, he was spotted in London outside a club. As is evident from the pictures brought to you by Republic Media Network, the Kingfisher owner was spotted stepping out of a swanky Rolls Royce, which had a personalised number plate on it. Dressed in a casual ensemble, he was then seen standing outside an exclusive club in London, which goes by the name Annabel's. Mallya is out on bail on an extradition warrant executed three years ago by the Scotland Yard on April 18, 2017, and is presently living in the United Kingdom.

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Mayawati announces 'will contest 2022 UP & Uttarakhand polls solo'

Amid reports of an AIMIM-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh, BSP Supremo Mayawati on Sunday maintained that her party will fight polls alone in UP and Uttarakhand while allying only with Akali Dal in Punjab. Appointing BSP MP Satish Chandra as Media Cell in charge, Mayawati urged to verify any such BSP alliances with him. Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Gujarat, Manipur, Goa and Himachal Pradesh is set to go to the polls in 2022.

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Rahul Gandhi takes jibe at PM Modi's Mann Ki Baat

On Sunday, June 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation through the "Mann Ki Baat" radio program. Commenting on PM Modi's program, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter and said, "Please just vaccinate all people in the country, even if you do 'Mann Ki Baat' after that". With respect to the Centre's vaccination drive, Rahul shared a graph and asked the government to just vaccinate people.

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Classified British military documents found at Kent bus stop

A top-secret Ministry of Defence dossier containing 50 pages of classified information was found by a member of the public at a bus stop in Kent, UK. According to BBC, the classified documents contain details about HMS Defender and the British military. It also discusses the likely Russian reaction to the ship’s passage through Ukrainian waters off the Crimea coast on Wednesday. The dossier, which includes emails and PowerPoint presentations, originated from the office of a senior UK official at the MoD and were passed to BBC by a member of the public after they made the discovery early on Tuesday. 

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Kate Middleton 'off the guest list' for unveiling of Diana statue

The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton may be off the guestlist for the much-anticipated unveiling of Princess Diana’s statue next week. According to Daily Mail, invitations had already been drastically scaled back in recent days from the 100-plus guests originally planned. Now, the Kensington Palace reportedly revealed on June 25 that Prince William and Prince Harry will be joined by Diana’s close family, the statue committee, the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley and garden designer Pip Morrison. 

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WHO says Delta Plus strain calls for urgent measures

Highly transmissible Delta plus variant of the SARS-COV-2 calls for urgent measures including vaccination, a top World Health Organisation (WHO) official has asserted. Melita Vujnovic, who serves as WHO representative to Russia, warned that just masks were “not enough with Delta” and that safety protocols needed to be paired with vaccines in order to fight the more contagious strain. Speaking at Soloviev Live YouTube show, she also called for urgent action saying a failure to act immediately could lead to another lockdown.

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