News Digest: A sharp, speedy recap of the day\'s headlines

Mumbai: Have you missed any news today? Here are the top national, international headlines of the day.

Naidu reacts on 4 TDP MPs join BJP: TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday condemned BJP's "attempts at weakening" the party in the wake of four of his party's MPs deciding to merge themselves with the BJP.

READ | BJP attempting to weaken TDP: N Chandrababu Naidu

4 TDP MPs resign, join BJP: TDP MPs of Rajya Sabha- YS Chowdary, CM Ramesh, TG Venkatesh and GM Rao, today passed a resolution to merge Legislature Party of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) with BJP on Thursday.

READ | 4 TDP MPs submit letter in Parliament to merge party with BJP

Gowda calls 'one nation, one election', 'confusing': Former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda on Thursday said, "’One Nation, One Election’, holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies -- would create confusion among the voters.

READ | 'One Nation, One Election' will create confusion among voters: Deve Gowda

Devastation in Kullu: At least 25 people were killed and 35 others severely injured when a bus fell into a deep drain in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, officials said. The private bus (bearing registration number HP 66-7065) fell into the over 300-metre-deep nullah near the Dhoth Morh in Banjar tehsil of the district, Kullu Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri said.

READ | 25 dead, 35 injured as bus falls in drain in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh

Truck driver shot dead for Rs 20: A truck driver was shot dead by security guards of a sand mine in Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur district on Thursday for allegedly paying Rs 30 as 'rangdaari' (extortion) to them instead of Rs 50, a police official said.

READ | Truck driver shot dead over Rs 20 in UP

Tamil Nadu Assembly: The first session of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly will be convened on June 28, state Governor Banwarilal Purohit said on Thursday.

READ | Tamil Nadu Assembly session from June 28

Rahul Gandhi on new Congress chief: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday made it clear he would stick to his decision of stepping down from the post and would not be involved in the selection process of the new party chief.

Read | 'Won't be involved in selection process of new party chief,' says Rahul

Mamata calls meeting after clashes kill 2: A 17-year-old boy was shot dead and three were injured in West Bengal's violence-hit Bhatpara, just north of Kolkata, in North 24 Parganas district in clashes between unidentified people on Thursday morning. Later, Mamata Banerjee called the state police chief, the Chief Secretary and other top officials to hold an emergency meeting.

Read | Political clashes kill 2 in Bengal, Mamata calls urgent meeting

India cautions against hasty US-Taliban deal: As a new round of negotiations between the US and the Taliban is to start in Qatar, India has cautioned against a hasty deal with the terror group that is dictated by a Washington timeline rather than the best interests of Afghanistan. He also cautioned that terrorist organisations cannot be allowed to negotiate from a position of strength that is guaranteed to them by the sanctuaries given to them by Pakistan.

Read | India warns against hasty US-Taliban peace deal

T Raja Singh hurt in clash: BJP MLA T Raja Singh on Thursday said that he was attacked by the police when he and his supporters were erecting a 25-feet statue of Avanti Bai Lodh, the former queen of Madhya Pradesh’s Ramgarh.

Read | BJP MLA hurt in clash with cops in Hyd; police say injuries ‘self inflicted’

AN-32 aircraft rescue operation: Six bodies and seven mortal remains have been recovered from the site where the AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was crashed on June 3. On Wednesday, the IAF, Army and the civil administration of Arunachal Pradesh started a massive operation at the crash site.

Read |  6 bodies, mortal remains of 7 recovered from IAF AN-32 crash site

India under threat?: Intelligence reports have warned that India and Sri Lanka are likely to be under threat with terror group ISIS in wake of losses across Syria and Iraq.

Read | India, Sri Lanka under threat from ISIS' new strategy: Intel report

Ram Nath Kovind's joint address: Kovind said that the work is underway on a large scale to develop the 112 ‘aspiration districts’ of the country.

Read | ‘Clear mandate in 2019 LS polls,' says Kovind in joint Parliament address

Om Birla's rule in Lok Sabha: Newly-elected Lok Sabha Om Birla on Wednesday said that he would not allow a repeat of the shouting of religious slogans or heckling in the House, as witnessed during the swearing-in of some opposition MPs on Tuesday.

Read | 'Won't allow religious slogans or heckling in the House,' says Om Birla

Medical negligence in Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the suspension of a doctor and departmental proceedings against another after reports of negligence in attending to an infant at a government hospital in Bareilly surfaced, officials said here.

Read | 4-day-old dies due to negligence in Bareilly, doctor suspended

India-Pakistan ties: India on Thursday rejected claims of having responded to Islamabad's call for dialogue and clarified that New Delhi seeks normal and cooperative relations with all neighbours, including Pakistan.

Read | India rejects claim of having agreed to hold talks with Pakistan

Xi Jinping meets Kim Jong Un: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pyongyang on Thursday on a historic visit to burnish an uneasy alliance, with the two men each facing challenges of their own with US President Donald Trump.

Read | Xi Jinping meets North Korea's Kim Jong ahead of talks with Trump

Turkish President warns killers of Jamal Khashoggi: Shortly upon the release of a UN report regarding Jamal Khashoggi's killing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said that late journalist's killers "will pay the price."

Read |  Khashoggi's killers will pay the price, says Turkish President

Hong Kong student groups threatens to protest again: Hong Kong student groups were preparing to mobilise support for another major demonstration, a union leader said, as a Thursday deadline approached for the pro-Beijing government to respond to demands of protesters who have shaken the city with massive rallies.

Read |  Hong Kong protesters threaten more demos if demands not met

New York Times over treason row: The publisher of the New York Times hit back Thursday at accusations of treason by Donald Trump, saying it "crosses a dangerous line in the president's campaign against a free and independent press." Writing in the Wall Street Journal and not his own newspaper, Arthur Sulzberger warned there was "no more serious charge a commander in chief can make against an independent news organization".

Read | Trump escalated attacks with treason claim: New York Times publisher

US on Iran's 'shot down drone' claim: The US military did not fly over Iranian airspace on Wednesday, the US military said, after a news website run by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said a US drone was shot down over the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan.

Read | No airspace violation: US after Iran claims to shot down drone

China's former Interpol chief pleaded guilty: Former Interpol chief Meng Hongwei pleaded guilty at a trial in China on Thursday to accepting USD 2.1 million in bribes - a remarkable fall from grace for the former vice minister of public security. The Tianjin No 1 Intermediate Court said Meng "showed repentance" during the hearing, which was the culmination of a dramatic case that shook the international police organisation and put a spotlight on China's opaque judicial system.

Read | China's former Interpol chief pleads guilty to bribery, shows repentance

US-China ugly fight in Djibouti: The United States military on Thursday claimed that China had harassed troops posted at the US military base in Africa's Djibouti and had also tried to sneak into the US facility. However, Beijing has strongly denied the allegations. China said it was the United States who misbehaved.

Read | US, China fight it out in Djibouti, accuse each other of aggression