NEW DELHI, Apr 27 : The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to operationalise dedicated Heat Stroke Management Units at all health facilities and ensure adequate preparedness of ambulance services in view of the expected above-normal heatwave days during the summer season.
In a letter to chief secretaries of all states and UTs, the Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava reiterated the need for the timely dissemination of early warnings and real-time reporting of heatstroke cases on the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP) portal.
The communication, dated April 23, referred to the India Meteorological Department’s updated seasonal outlook for the hot weather season from April to June 2026 and the monthly outlook for April 2026.
“As per the IMD’s updated seasonal outlook for hot weather season (April to June) 2026 and monthly outlook for April 2026 for rainfall and temperature, it is highlighted that above-normal heatwave days are expected from April to June 2026 across parts of East, Central, and North-West India and the South-East Peninsula, with many coastal areas of Odisha, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andhra Pradesh,” the letter stated.
It further noted that isolated regions of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka are also likely to be affected.
“Considering the above, it is reiterated that states/UTs must ensure operationalisation of dedicated Heat Stroke Management Units at all health facilities; adequate preparedness of ambulance services; dissemination of early warnings for timely action; and real-time reporting of heat stroke cases on this Ministry’s IHIP portal,” Srivastava said in the letter.
The health secretary noted that proactive planning and coordinated action by states and UTs would help mitigate the health impacts of extreme heat during the coming months.
She urged state governments to review heat season preparedness and ensure implementation of the advised measures to safeguard public health and prevent avoidable heat-related mortality. (PTI)
Heatwave: Centre directs nation-wide heatstroke management units across all health facilities
China condemns Italy over extradition of Chinese National to US on hacking charges
BEIJING, April 27 : China on Monday strongly condemned Italy’s decision to extradite a Chinese national to the United States, calling the move unjustified and politically motivated.
A spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said Beijing “strongly deplores and firmly opposes” the extradition, alleging that the case was fabricated by the US and violated the individual’s lawful rights.
The spokesperson further claimed the charges were aimed at “vilifying China” and urged Italy to “respect facts and law, immediately correct its mistake, and stop responding to US demands.”
The reaction follows Italy’s decision to extradite a Chinese man wanted by US authorities on hacking-related charges, after a top Italian court earlier this month approved the move. The individual was arrested in Milan, and his lawyer has argued that he is a victim of mistaken identity.
Meanwhile, the United States Department of Justice said the accused, Xu Zewei, 33, was detained in Italy at Washington’s request. He, along with co-defendant Zhang Yu, faces a nine-count indictment in the Southern District of Texas over alleged involvement in a series of cyber intrusions between 2020 and 2021.
According to US authorities, the hacking campaign, linked to the so-called HAFNIUM operations, targeted thousands of computers worldwide, including systems in the United States. Prosecutors allege that Xu acted under the direction of China’s state security apparatus and worked through a Shanghai-based company involved in cyber operations.
US officials said the case underscores Washington’s commitment to pursuing cybercrime suspects globally, with senior Justice Department figures vowing that those responsible for cyberattacks on American institutions will be tracked down and held accountable.
The case has added to ongoing tensions between Washington and Beijing over cybersecurity, espionage allegations, and the broader use of legal and diplomatic measures in cross-border disputes. (UNI)
Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express derails in Pune; none hurt
PUNE, Apr 27 : A coach of the Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express derailed just before the train was entering Pune railway station on Monday evening, though none of the passengers were hurt in the incident, officials said.
The incident occurred at around 7.30 pm when the premium AC train (No. 22225), running from Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Solapur in south-west Maharashtra, was passing over a crossing near a platform, they said.
“One of the wheels of a coach of the Vande Bharat train derailed at a diamond crossing. The crossing is being replaced on priority. No passenger was injured in the incident,” the officials said.
Railway authorities said the crossing is slated for an upgrade as part of an ongoing yard remodelling work at Pune station.
Notably, a diamond crossing is a Railway junction where two tracks intersect each other at the same level, forming a diamond-shaped layout.
Passengers from the affected coach were seen getting down from the train carrying their luggage and walking to the nearest platform. (PTI)
Trade pact with EU, US in next few months: Goyal
NEW DELHI, Apr 27 : Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said the free trade agreement with New Zealand is the seventh such pact signed under his tenure in the past three-and-a-half years and two more agreements with the European Union and the US are expected in the coming months.
Goyal and visiting New Zealand’s Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay here inked a free trade agreement, which is expected to come into force by the end of this year.
“With this (India-New Zealand) FTA, it is the seventh free trade agreement that I am signing in the last three and a half years. Two more to go very soon in the next few months with the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA),” he told reporters here.
India and the 27-nation bloc EU in January announced the closure of negotiations for a trade pact. It has not been signed yet.
The NDA government has so far finalised FTAs with the UAE (implemented in May 2022), Australia (implemented in December 2022), the UK (signed in July 2025), EFTA bloc (implemented in October 2025), Oman (signed in December 2025), European Union (announced closure of negotiations in January 2026), and Mauritius (came into force from April 2021).
The remarks are important as an Indian official team returned from Washington last week after holding three-day talks with US authorities on finalising the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement.
Both sides discussed several areas, such as market access, non-tariff measures, technical barriers to trade, customs and trade facilitation, investment promotion, economic security alignment and digital trade.
India and the US issued a joint statement on February 7 finalising a framework for an interim trade agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade.
The framework requires recalibration in view of changes in the US tariff landscape. (PTI)
British Sikh London Marathon runners raise thousands for charity
LONDON, Apr 27 : Among the thousands who participated in the 2026 London Marathon were two British Sikh runners who had been training to raise thousands of pounds for charity.
Baldev Singh Bains, 80, and Manny Singh Kang, 52, joined the estimated 59,000 runners on Sunday at the annual marathon sponsored by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
They were cheered on by over 19,000 people who gathered along the over 42-km route for the long-distance race, which saw Kenyan Sabastian Sawe beat the marathon time barrier to complete the challenge in just under two hours.
“It’s been incredible, truly historic. We’ve got some incredible sports performances, incredible people raising money for charity, and we have the highest number of participants with a disability and the most diversity we’ve ever had,” said Hugh Brasher, London Marathon Event Director.
Bains was inspired to raise funds for a charity in memory of Fauja Singh – the well-known UK-based marathon runner who died aged 114 in a hit-and-run incident in Punjab last July.
The over 7,500 pounds raised through the GoFundMe fundraising online platform will go towards the creation of the Fauja Singh Clubhouse, a multi-use sports club proposed by the Sikhs in the City charity to provide facilities to improve community wellbeing in the London Borough of Redbridge.
“The Creator/Vaheguru arranged to meet Bhai Fauja Singh Ji, Marathon Runner, in his 100 plus years age, who encouraged me to start walking around Beal High School, Redbridge, and then joining Parkrun. This is where in his memory the Fauja Singh Clubhouse will be built,” shared Bains.
“Due to his encouragement, guidance and love I started getting good health and happier. My doctor, who had been increasing my medicine regularly, started decreasing them,” he said.
Bains has been guided by the same coach who worked with Fauja Singh to help him with his running and preparing for the London Marathon. A second beneficiary of the octogenarian runner’s fundraising efforts will be the non-profit social enterprise One Humanity, working on carbon emission reduction.
Kang, meanwhile, is a regular runner who had dubbed his 2026 challenge as “Manny’s Marathon Madness” as it included walking to London from his home in Wolverhampton – an estimated 209km distance.
“I walked to London and ran the marathon without any sleep,” Kang announced on social media as he hit the finish line.
He raised over 325,000 pounds via the Just Giving online fundraising platform for Dementia UK, a specialist nurse charity providing care for families affected by Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
“The energy inside us all is the same and using it means we do justice to the human life we have been given. I thank all those that join me to help the causes we support,” he said.
Football fan Kang is popular for his “Samosa Saturdays” campaign, cooking and selling samosas for a small donation every Saturday during a Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, or Wolves, home game.
“Next Samosa Saturday on May 2nd before we play Sunderland,” he announced.
The London Marathon is among the world’s largest annual day-long fundraising events, with TCS as its title sponsor since 2022. Among the thousands who took to the UK capital’s roads on Sunday were more than 700 fundraising finishers for the Charity of the Year – end-of-life care provider Marie Curie.
The event holds the record as the biggest one-day fundraiser, with nearly 90 million pounds raised last year and the 2026 total to be announced in the coming months. (PTI)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calls US-Israel war with Iran ‘totally unnecessary’
BERLIN, Apr 27: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticising the US-Israeli war with Iran, and its impact both in Germany, and worldwide has called it a “totally unnecessary war”, warning that the West Asian crisis’ geopolitical shockwaves were hammering energy markets in Europe, Asia and the US.
Speaking after returning from an informal EU summit in Cyprus, Merz said that Berlin can only solve these problems with Europe, with its success and failure being dependent entirely on the rest of Europe.
He further said that the new realities underscoring the current energy markets, as painful as it may be, must be accepted regardless, and stated “when supply chains are disrupted, when energy prices rise, when geopolitical uncertainty grows, this has a direct impact on Germany.”
Slamming the country’s powerful theocratic guard, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for its harsh crackdowns, and brutalities, he said that an entire nation was now being humiliated by the Islamic Republic’s leadership at the hands of the IRGC.
“An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards,” he said, speaking to students in Marsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia.
He added that Iranian officials were negotiating with the US “very skilfully” and appeared stronger than previously thought, seeming more in control than estimated.
Merz also said the Strait of Hormuz had been partially mined, adding that he did not see what exit strategy the US was pursuing in the war, given how deeply it is now entangled.
(UNI_
Nearly 3 lakh pilgrims visit Char Dham in opening week
DEHRADUN, Apr 26: Nearly 3 lakh pilgrims visited the Himalayan shrines of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath since the Char Dham Yatra commenced on April 19, officials said on Monday.
According to official data, a total of 2,98,048 devotees reached the four shrines by 7 pm on April 26.
The official data shows a daily surge, with single-day footfall rising from 9,800 on the opening day to 59,458 on Sunday.
Kedarnath Dham remains the most visited temple, recording a cumulative total of 1,56,913 pilgrims. The shrine saw 32,131 devotees visiting on Sunday alone.
Badrinath Dham, which opened later in the week, has already witnessed 52,225 pilgrims visiting the shrine. Gangotri and Yamunotri dhams recorded 44,335 and 44,575 total visitor footfall respectively since the start of the season.
The officials said that improved travel management has ensured smooth ‘darshan’ for devotees at all Himalayan shrines.
Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) chairman Hemant Dwivedi said on Monday that total registrations for the annual pilgrimage have neared the 24-lakh mark.
Dwivedi noted that under the direction of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, arrangements at all four shrines remain systematic despite the heavy influx of visitors.
The administration remains alert regarding pilgrim movement, health services, housing, and emergency management, he added. (PTI)
‘Condemn illegal violence’, China on attack on White House Correspondents’ Dinner
BEIJING, Apr 27 : China on Monday said it opposes and condemns “illegal violence” in its cryptic reaction to a shooting incident at White House Correspondents’ Dinner attended by the US President Donald Trump.
“The shooting incident has come to China’s attention”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here when asked for his reaction to Saturday’s attempt by a gunman to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which was termed as an attempt to target Trump.
“We oppose and condemn illegal violence,” Lin said in his brief reaction to a question on the attack.
Armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, the gunman, identified as Cole Allen from California, stormed a security checkpoint outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, exchanging fire with Secret Service agents and forcing Trump and dozens of senior officials to be evacuated from the prestigious event.
Lin also strongly condemned the US sanctioning one of China’s largest private oil refiners over its links to Iran.
Reports from Washington said the US announced on Friday it would sanction Hengli Petrochemicals in China’s port city of Dalian.
The measure blocks the company and others that transport Iranian oil from accessing the US financial system.
Hengli Petrochemicals is among dozens of Chinese buyers of Iran’s oil.
China, which shared strategic ties with Iran in recent years, was the largest buyer of Iranian oil, disregarding US sanctions. (PTI)
High-tech ‘Speed Bridge’ rises over Sabarmati for bullet train corridor
MUMBAI, Apr 27: A key infrastructure link is taking shape over the Sabarmati River, where a high-tech “Speed Bridge” is being constructed as part of the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project, an official said on Monday.
The bridge, rising approximately 36 metres above the river, is expected to significantly boost the pace and efficiency of India’s first high-speed rail corridor.
Built using advanced balanced cantilever technology, the structure represents a major engineering feat. Eight big pillars, each ranging between 31 and 34 metres in height, have already been erected to support the bridge. Of these, four have been constructed within the riverbed, while the remaining pillars are positioned along the banks and beyond, ensuring that the natural flow of the river remains unaffected during construction, the official explained.
The bridge spans a total length of around 480 metres and is being developed parallel to the Ahmedabad-Delhi main line of Western Railway. Strategically located between the Sabarmati and Ahmedabad bullet train stations, the structure is expected to strengthen connectivity within the high-speed rail network.
Work on the superstructure is progressing at a rapid pace. Under the project design, five spans of 76 metres and two spans of 50 metres are being constructed, of which three spans have already been completed. Special engineering measures have been adopted throughout the construction process to preserve the natural flow of the river, ensuring that the project maintains a balance between technological advancement and environmental sustainability.
The ongoing work highlights the integration of cutting-edge construction methods with ecological sensitivity, positioning the bridge as a standout component of India’s modern transport infrastructure push.
(UNI)
Crude oil prices surge by 2pc as US Iran ceasefire reaches standstill
NEW DELHI, April 27 : The global crude oil prices on Monday surged by 2pc amid renewed tensions between the US and Iran. The benchmark ICE Brent crude futures contract rose nearly 2pc to USD 107.28 per barrel, while WTI Intermediate crude gained 1.5 per cent to USD 95.78 per barrel.
The spike comes as ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran reached a standstill, raising concerns over supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.
Goldman Sachs has raised its oil price forecasts for the fourth quarter to USD 90 a barrel for Brent crude and USD 83 for WTI citing reduced output from the Middle East.
The uncertainty over the US and Iran talks intensified after the US President Donald Trump cancelled his trip to Pakistan by his envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, after Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad before any direct engagement could take place between the sides.
Araghchi has travelled between Oman, Pakistan and Russia to sustain dialogue and explore de-escalation pathways.
IEA has noted that global oil supply plummeted by over 10 million barrels per day (mb/d) last month as a result of the ongoing naval blockade and infrastructure damage in the region.
Goldman Sachs projected that Brent crude, the international benchmark, will trade at about USD 90 a barrel in the last three months of this year, up from an earlier projection of USD 80.
It expected US oil to trade at about USD 83 a barrel in the fourth quarter, up from its previous USD 75 forecast. Brent was up more than 1 per cent on Monday, exceeding USD 106 a barrel.
Goldman further noted there would be long-term “scarring” of Gulf production capacity of about 500,000 barrels a day, primarily due to losses in Iraq.
(UNI)