1.Lakhs of devotees soaked in spiritual fervour took part in the Bahuda Yatra (return car festival) of Lord Jagannath and His siblings, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra, in the pilgrim town of Puri Saturday.

2.The Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) has moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Election Commission's direction for a Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls in Bihar.

3.Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray Saturday said he and MNS head Raj Thackeray have come together to stay united as the cousins shared a political stage for the first time after two decades on the issue of Marathi identity and ‘imposition’ of the Hindi language.

4.Union minister Nitin Gadkari Saturday expressed concern over the ‘rising’ number of poor, and said wealth was getting concentrated in the hands of some affluent people.

5.The Dalai Lama Saturday put to rest rumours surrounding the announcement of his successor, saying he hopes to live for another 30-40 years more to serve people.

6.A robust digital platform is being developed to enable real-time monitoring of mega piped water supply schemes in Odisha, offi cial sources said Saturday.

7.The Odisha government Saturday withdrew the restrictions on three private banks and allowed them to handle state business. The government had June 21 removed HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank from the list of empanelled banks due to their poor performance in handling state-run schemes and on the basis of general banking parameters.

8.The Hirakud dam authorities are all set to discharge the fi rst fl oodwater of the year from the reservoir Sunday at 10am, sources said

9.Two police constables on duty for the Bahuda Yatra in Rayagada died in separate incidents Saturday casting a pall of gloom over the district police force.

10.Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Saturday laid the foundation stone for a transformative Rs479.92 crore infrastructure project at the Central University of Odisha (CUO) here.

11.The world’s tallest chariot of Sri Baladevjew was stopped mid-way ahead of Galagandi during the Bahuda Yatra Saturday here due to heavy downpour. Thousands of devotees had gathered to witness the grand return procession of the deity to the Sri Baladevjew temple in Keonjhar.

12.US authorities have arrested fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi's younger brother, Nehal Modi, following extradition requests from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), officials said Saturday.

13.Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah Saturday said India’s first national university for cooperatives coming up in Gujarat will work to end nepotism as only persons trained by it will get jobs in this sector in the future.

14.Inequality in India has come down significantly between 2011-12 and 2022-23, making it the fourthmost equal country globally, according to a World Bank report.

15.Gold prices surged Rs1,135 and silver prices soared over Rs2,000 this week amid uncertainties around the US tariff deal deadline (July 9) and a decline in the US dollar index.