Top trending news today (June 18): Wondering what’s happening around the globe? If you feel that you are missing out on big ‘breakings’, we at FE are here for you. Presenting our FE Breaking News Live. Here, we will keep you updated with all major developments as and when they happen.

Net direct tax collection rises 11% to Rs 3.80 lakh crore till June 17

Net direct tax collection till June 17 this fiscal rose by 11.18 per cent to Rs 3.80 lakh crore on higher advance tax mop up, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday.

The Advance Tax collections for the April-June quarter of 2023-24 stood at Rs 1,16,776 crore as of June 17, reflecting a growth of 13.70 per cent over the same period last fiscal. (Read More)

Manipur CM dials his Mizoram counterpart

Amid tension in Manipur, CM Biren Singh spoke with Mizoram CM Zoramthanga. After the telephonic conversation, Mizoram CM took to Twitter to post key points of the discussion

India’s Rankireddy and Shetty triumph in Indonesia, create history

The Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Sunday won a historic men’s doubles title at the Indonesia Open here, becoming the first doubles pair from the country to claim a Super 1000 event. The world No. 6 pair, who won a gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and bronze at the world championships last year, thrashed Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yika of Malaysia in straight games 21-17, 21-18. (PTI)

Tremors felt in Ecuador

A Reuters report says that a moderate earthquake of 5.5 magnitude hit Ecuador region on Sunday. EMSC has confirmed the news. More details are awaited.

Heatwave sweeps Odisha

As Odisha continues to reel under hot and humid weather conditions, the state government confirmed the first heat wave related death and sanctioned an ex gratia of Rs 50,000 for the deceased’s family, a top official said. The victim is a middle-aged person from Balasore district, a senior official at the Special Relief Commissioner’s (SRC) office said on Sunday, adding that the state has so far received allegations of 20 deaths due to heat waves. (PTI)

PM Modi’s Mann ki Baat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said Emergency was a dark era in the country’s history when atrocities were committed on those supporting democracy. He asserted that India is the mother of democracy which holds democratic values and the Constitution supreme and, therefore, “we cannot forget June 25 when Emergency was imposed on us”. Emergency was imposed in 1975 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi also lauded India’s increasing capability to deal with natural disasters as he expressed confidence that the people of Kutch will quickly recover from the devastation caused by cyclone Biparjoy. (PTI)

Setback for Russia

Ukrainian forces destroyed a “significant” ammunition depot near the Russian-occupied port city of Henichesk in the southern region of Kherson, Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa military administration, said on Sunday. “Our armed forces dealt a good blow in the morning – and a very loud one – in the village of Rykove, Henichesk district, in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson region,” Bratchuk said in a morning video message on Sunday.
“There was a very significant ammunition depot. It was destroyed.” (Reuters)

Blaze breaks out in Pune

A massive fire broke out in Pune’s Gangadham area. The blaze was reported from a godown. Several fire tenders have been rushed to the spot. There’s no report of any casualty so far. A total of 22 fire tenders are in place to control the fire. Around 20 to 25 godowns of different materials gutted in fire. Some nearby residents are being evacuated, the Pune Fire Department said.

2 shot dead in RK Puram area

Two women were shot dead by unidentified attackers in Delhi’s Ambedkar Basti area in morning hours today. According to news agency ANI, the victims have been identified as Pinky and Jyoti. Aged 30 and 29, the women were allegedly killed over a money settlement issue. “Case registered under relevant sections of IPC. Further probe underway,” Manoj C, DCP South West, Delhi was quoted as saying.

EMU rake derails in Maharashtra

An empty EMU rake derailed in Ambarnath, Maharashtra at 8:25 am. According to Central Railway zone officials, efforts are being made to rerail empty rake and restore the traffic on the route. “Since it was empty EMU rake derailment, no passengers were on board. No casualties,” CPRO CR said.

Twitter video app soon?

Twitter boss Elon Musk has said that the company is developing a video app for smart TVs and it will be rolled out soon. Talking about the Twitter video app, Musk says that this new plan is part of company’s focus on video content on the micro-blogging site, a Reuters report said.