'Take Steps To Stop Sand Mining Along Yamuna': Delhi Chief Minister To Yogi Adityanath

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has written to her Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath, urging immediate action to curb illegal sand mining along the Yamuna River near the Delhi-UP border.

In the letter, Ms Gupta said mining activities are weakening river embankments and increasing the risk of flooding in the national capital.

The illegal extraction of sand is not only posing a flood risk but also causing long-term ecological damage, she said, and cited repeated observations made by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which has expressed concern over unregulated mining along the river.

"The NGT has consistently flagged illegal sand mining as a serious environmental issue," the letter said, adding urgent regulatory intervention is needed to prevent further damage.

The Delhi chief minister also raised concerns about the impact on local communities living near the river, many of whom are directly affected by changes in the river flow and degradation of the riverbed. These activities, she wrote, alter the natural course of the river and contribute to erosion and ecological imbalance.

Ms Gupta described the matter as an inter-state issue requiring joint enforcement. She proposed coordinated action between the Delhi and UP governments, including a joint demarcation of jurisdiction along the river to avoid confusion in enforcement responsibilities.

"The absence of clear boundaries has complicated monitoring and action," she said, suggesting that ambiguity has allowed illegal operations to continue unchecked.

The Delhi government is seeking a collaborative approach, with Ms Gupta requesting that UP start administrative coordination to address the issue.

The letter follows several reports of continued sand mining along the Yamuna River despite restrictions and earlier warnings by environmental authorities.

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Google Offers Free Battery Replacements For Pixel Phones. Check Eligibility

Google is offering a free battery replacement or a compensation of $100 (Rs 8,500) for Pixel 6a users, including in India, experiencing battery drain and overheating issues. The company will also implement a mandatory Android 16 update to all Pixel 6a devices to improve battery efficiency and reduce overheating risks, with rollout starting July 8, 2025.

"The battery replacement program provides one battery replacement at no charge for eligible Pixel 6a devices following an initial eligibility check and physical inspection of your device," said Google.

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Who is eligible and how to check eligibility?

All eligible Pixel 6a users can get their batteries replaced for free at authorised service centres. The users can opt for a cash payout of Rs8,500 via Payoneer or $150 (Rs12,700) in Google Store credit.

Google said that the battery replacement will be available starting July 21, 2025, at walk-in repair centres in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore, Japan, and India. Via mail-in repair service, it will be available for customers in the US and India.

Additional battery replacement capability is expected in Japan, France, some other parts of Europe, and Australia soon.

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Follow these three steps to check eligibility:

Step 1: Visit Google's dedicated eligibility checker page

Step 2: Enter your device's IMEI number

Step 3: Submit the email ID linked to the device

What are the conditions?

Google clarified that devices with liquid damage or significant physical damage may not qualify for the free battery service. Out-of-warranty issues like broken screens may incur a service fee.

"Before we start any repairs, we'll provide a cost estimate. You then have the option to proceed with the repair or have your device returned to you," noted Google.

"Payments will be converted to your local currency and the final amount will be calculated using the exchange rate in effect at the time you select your support option," it added.

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"Condemning Terrorism Should Be Our Principle, Not Convenience": PM Modi At BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on Pakistan for supporting terrorism and thanked nations that stood with India in condemning the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.

PM Modi's criticism of Pakistan came during his address at the BRICS Summit in Brazil.

The Pakistan-linked terror attack in Pahalgam had killed 26 tourists, following which India launched Operation Sindoor and smashed terror infrastructure in Pakistan, along with military targets like airbases and anti-aircraft missile systems.

PM Modi told world leaders at the BRICS Summit that India is a victim of terror while Pakistan is a supporter, and so victims and supporters cannot be weighed on the same scale.

He also alluded to those who say or do nothing against the spread of terror for the sake of personal or political gain, and pointed out that giving silent consent to terrorists should not be acceptable.

India has for the umpteenth time shown with clear evidence how Pakistan has been using terror as a State policy by sheltering terrorists on its soil.

India will host the BRICS Summit in 2026.

In a joint declaration, or the 'Rio de Janeiro Declaration', leaders of the BRICS grouping expressed strong condemnation of any acts of terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, whenever, wherever and by whomsoever committed.

"We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 22 April 2025, during which 26 people were killed and many more injured. We reaffirm our commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the cross-border movement of terrorists, terrorism financing and safe havens," the joint declaration said, without naming Pakistan.

However, in the 2017 BRICS Summit in China's Xiamen, the BRICS declaration had explicitly named Pakistan-based terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Hizb-ut-Tahrir, as regional security concerns. Pakistan itself was not named directly though.

"... We look forward to further deepening counter-terrorism cooperation. We call for an expeditious finalization and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN framework. We call for concerted actions against all UN designated terrorists and terrorist entities," the Rio de Janeiro Declaration said.

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"False": Police On Pune Techie's 'Rape By Delivery Agent' Complaint

The rape complaint lodged by a 22-year-old IT professional in Pune, who alleged that a 'delivery agent' had entered her flat and sprayed some chemical rendering her unconscious before committing the 'crime', was false and misleading, a top police officer said on Sunday.

She had also claimed that the man clicked a selfie using her phone and typed a message threatening to circulate her photos if she disclosed the "incident".

The case took a dramatic turn after the investigation revealed that the 'delivery agent' was the friend of the woman who visited the flat with her consent. Police ruled out forced entry and the use of spray.

"The evidence, including phone chats, the sequence of events, mobile communication, and the conduct of the woman points out that it is not a case of rape. The complaint filed by her was entirely false and misleading," Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar told reporters.

Police are yet to decide the potential action against the woman, Kumar added.

The motive of the woman is being investigated, police said.

The woman had earlier told the investigators that her unstable mental condition prompted her to make the false claim of rape.

Addressing a function after inaugurating a police beat, Mr Kumar lamented the circulation of "narratives" portraying Pune as an unsafe city for women.

Within 24 hours, police established that the case was entirely false and misleading, he added.

"A complaint of a serious crime was registered two days back which spawned narratives about the law and order situation in Pune and questioned the safety of women," he said.

Mr Kumar reiterated that Pune remains a safe city for women and urged people not to spread false information.

"Pune Police are committed to maintaining law and order, and we will continue to strengthen the safety with the support of citizens," he added.

The woman had claimed that an unidentified man who posed as a courier delivery agent entered her flat in the Kondhwa area on Wednesday evening when she was alone, and forced himself on her. She passed out, and when she regained consciousness, he was gone, she had stated in her complaint.

The woman told the police that the "accused", before leaving, clicked a selfie using her phone in which her back and a part of his face are seen, and left a message warning that he had taken her pictures and would release them on social media if she reported the incident.

The investigation, however, revealed that neither was there any sign of forced entry nor any spray that could be used on the victim, the police commissioner had said.

Moreover, the selfie in question was taken with the consent of both, and it was the victim who edited the photo and typed a threatening message on her phone after he left her place around 8.30 pm on Wednesday, the officer said.

Police obtained a clear image of the accused from CCTV cameras installed on the society premises. However, when the picture was shown to the woman, she refused to identify him.

"Despite this, our teams continued working from various angles to trace the suspect, as no one other than this individual had accessed the particular floor where the woman lives. We also showed the photo to residents of the housing society, but none of them recognised him," Kumar had said.

Police detained the man after tracking the movement of his motorcycle across localities and analysing volumes of footage sourced from five to six CCTV cameras.

During questioning, he told police that he had visited the woman's house on Wednesday night with her consent.

"She was aware that he was coming over, and he was not posing as a courier delivery agent. There was no forced entry, and no spray was used. He was known to the victim," the top police officer had said.

Police served a notice to the man and allowed him to go on Friday evening. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Reuters' X Account In India Withheld "In Response To Legal Demand"

The official X handle of the international news agency Reuters has been withheld in India due to a "legal demand".

Reuters has not given a statement yet on what led to the blocking of its main account on X in India.

Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters. The company says it employs 2,600 journalists in over 200 locations.

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Astronomers Discover "Water-Rich Super-Earth" Twice As Big As Our Planet

Scientists have discovered a new "super-Earth" that is located about 154 light-years away and is nearly twice as big and four times as massive as our planet. According to a paper published on the arXiv preprint server, the team of astronomers, led by Abderahmane Soubkiou of the Oukaimeden Observatory in Morocco, discovered the exoplanet using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). They stated the newly discovered alien world, designated TOI-1846 b, is likely a water-rich super-Earth and is estimated to be 7.2 billion years old. 

"We have validated TOI-1846 b using TESS and multicolour ground-based photometric data, high-resolution imaging, and spectroscopic observations," the researchers wrote in the paper, as per phys.org. 

According to the study, the exoplanet has a radius of about 1.792 Earth radii and is about 4.4 times more massive than our planet. It orbits its host every 3.93 days, and the equilibrium temperature of the planet is estimated to be 568.1 K. 

Based on their research, scientists concluded that the new "super-Earth" is likely water-rich. But they noted that radial velocity (RV) observations of TOI-1846 b should be conducted in order to unveil its composition. "These findings make TOI-1846 b well-suited for mass determination via RV observations. This could be possible with the MAROON-X instrument. (...) We find a TSM [transmission spectroscopy metric] of 47 for TOI-1846 b, which is below the 90 benchmark for small sub-Neptunes," the authors of the paper wrote, according to the outlet. 

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When it comes to the parent star TOI-1846, the researchers said that the exoplanet is about 0.4 times the size of the Sun, and its mass is approximately 0.42 solar masses. The star has an effective temperature of 3,568 K and is estimated to be 7.2 billion years old, study authors said. 

Meanwhile, earlier this year, researchers discovered another "super-Earth" located outside our solar system. The exoplanet, designated HD 20794 d, is six times the mass of Earth and could harbour liquid water on its surface. Located 20 light-years away, it orbits within the habitable zone of a star similar to our sun, according to findings from the University of Oxford. 

However, unlike Earth's circular orbit, HD 20794 d follows an elliptical path, making it uncertain whether the planet could support life, researchers said. 

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Russia Launches Progress 92 Cargo Freighter with 3 Tons of Supplies to the ISS Successfully

Russia’s Progress 92 cargo ship launched on July 3 atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur, carrying nearly 3 tons of supplies to the International Space Station. The uncrewed freighter is set to dock on July 5, replacing Progress 90. NASA will livestream the event, as Progress 92 continues supporting ISS operations alongside Cygnus and SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.

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