Utkal Daily Morning Top Headlines I June 29, 2026 I Monday

Religion & Festivals

Puri: Today is Deva Snana Purnima. Lord Jagannath and the sibling deities will be bathed with 108 pitchers of scented water and will appear in the Gajanana (Elephant) attire.
Puri: Massive crowds of devotees have gathered in the holy city, making movement extremely difficult.

The BJD has issued a 48-hour ultimatum, demanding the dismissal of the minister over the alleged textbook scam, warning of protests otherwise.
In the Naba Das murder case, the BJP state president said that the government is examining the facts.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Seychelles' highest civilian honour, and nine bilateral agreements were signed between the two countries.

Bhubaneswar and other parts of Odisha are witnessing intense heat despite the Ashadha season. Farmers are unable to transplant paddy due to inadequate rainfall.
The monsoon remained weak during June, with Odisha receiving below-normal rainfall, affecting agricultural activities.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Japan, prompting authorities to issue alerts.
Europe is facing an extreme heatwave, with reports of around 1,000 deaths in France.

In Jagatsinghpur, authorities seized illegally mined sand worth over ₹1 crore, dealing a major blow to the sand mafia.
A Jharsuguda court sentenced a man convicted of raping a minor to 20 years' imprisonment and ordered compensation of ₹8 lakh for the victim.
Commissionerate Police arrested most-wanted fraudster Sachidananda Bhoi in a ₹5 crore fraud case.
In Rourkela, a woman is fighting for her life after allegedly being set on fire by a man she had befriended on Facebook.
New revelations suggest that the murder of Ketan Agrawal in Pune had allegedly been planned since his engagement day.

Allegations of irregularities worth around ₹200 crore have surfaced in the restoration work of Kalinga Studio.

In Ninasapani village of Umarkote, a mother and daughter died after being struck by lightning while collecting Kusum flower buds.
The death toll in the Tamil Nadu gas leak incident has risen to 12.

Malkangiri Police seized a large quantity of Maoist materials from the Andhra-Odisha border, marking a significant security achievement.

English cricketer Ben Stokes announced his retirement from international cricket. His final match will be the third Test against New Zealand.
India's women's cricket team was eliminated from the T20 World Cup after losing to Australia by six wickets.
India's T20 series winning streak ended as Ireland won the series 2–0.