Wholesale inflation Delhi CM’s plea Putin offers
previous month. Onion inflation was 58.05 per cent, while potato inflation was 64.05 per cent. Pulses saw a 21.95 per cent rise in May.
Additionally, rising global metal prices have led to increased inflation in the manufacturing sector. Inflation in manufactured products rose to 0.78 per cent in May from -0.42 per cent in April.
Inflation in the fuel and power category was slightly lower at 1.35 per cent in May, compared to 1.38 per cent in April.
The rise in WPI contrasts with retail inflation data for May. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) primarily considers retail inflation when setting monetary policy.
Retail inflation fell to a oneyear low of 4.75 per cent in May, according to data released earlier this week.
Earlier this month, the RBI kept the interest rate unchanged for the eighth consecutive time.
order, I deem it appropriate to call for a reply from the jail superintendent concerned. The application be kept for tomorrow,” Judge Kumar stated.
During the proceedings, the ED sought a ten-day extension to file a reply to Kejriwal’s bail application, suggesting an adjournment until June 25. However, the judge emphasised that the accused’s convenience would be prioritised over the probe agency’s schedule.
“The accused is in judicial custody (JC), and not in your (ED’s) custody. If he wants some convenience, you do not have any role in that. You have no role to play... He is in JC. I will consider his convenience, not yours,” Judge Kumar remarked.
On June 5, the court dismissed Kejriwal’s interim bail application, which was filed on medical grounds.
Nevertheless, the judge directed Tihar jail authorities to attend to Kejriwal’s medical needs during his judicial custody and extended his custody until June 19.
“Since the health concerns of the accused must be addressed immediately, the Medical Board of AIIMS, which was directed to be constituted vide order dated April 22, 2024, of this court, is
hereby directed to be revived and/ or re-constituted, if deemed fit by the Director, AIIMS, New Delhi, having regard to the nature of ailments the applicant is stated to be suffering from,” the judge had ordered.
The court instructed the AIIMS medical board to examine Kejriwal and prescribe necessary diagnostic tests within three days. The jail authorities were mandated to ensure timely medical evaluations and treatments based on the board’s recommendations.
Kejriwal surrendered at Tihar jail on June 2, following the expiration of his interim bail granted by the Supreme Court. The top court had provided Kejriwal a 21-day interim bail on May 10, allowing him to campaign during the Lok Sabha polls, with the condition to surrender on June 2, after the completion of the election’s final phase.
though no new demands were included. The Kremlin has previously stated that Kyiv should recognize its territorial gains and abandon its bid to join NATO.
However, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry dismissed Putin’s plan as “manipulative” and “absurd,” designed to “mislead the international community, undermine diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a just peace, and split the unity of the world majority around the goals and principles of the UN Charter.”
In addition to seeking NATO membership, Ukraine demands the withdrawal of Russian forces from its territory, including Crimea, which was illegally annexed in 2014; the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity; accountability for Russian war crimes; and reparations from Moscow to Kyiv.
Since launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces have shifted their focus to the south and east after failing to capture the capital, Kyiv. Russia has illegally annexed regions in the east and south, although it doesn’t fully control any of them.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on social media that there was nothing new in Putin’s proposal, describing it as the “standard aggressor’s set” heard many times before.
“There is no novelty, no real peace proposals, and no desire to end the war. Instead, there is a desire to avoid paying for this war and continue it in new formats. It’s all a complete sham,” Podolyak wrote on X.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels, emphasized that Putin “has illegally occupied sovereign Ukrainian territory” and is “not in any position to dictate to Ukraine what they must do to bring about peace.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens
Stoltenberg added, “This is not a peace proposal. This is a proposal for more aggression, more occupation, and it demonstrates that Russia’s aim is to control Ukraine.”
Putin insisted that Kyiv withdraw from all four annexed regions and cede them to Moscow.
In Zaporizhzhia, Russia still doesn’t control the region’s administrative capital; in Kherson, Moscow withdrew from the capital city in November 2022.
If Kyiv and Western capitals reject his offer, Putin said, “It is their business, their political and moral responsibility for continuing the bloodshed.”
The Kremlin has repeatedly expressed readiness for peace talks with Kyiv, blaming the West for undermining efforts to end the conflict.
Putin also claimed that Russian troops never intended to storm Kyiv, describing their presence as an operation to force peace negotiations. Moscow withdrew from Kyiv in March 2022 amid fierce Ukrainian resistance that slowed Russia’s advances.
In the same month, Putin said he had considered withdrawing forces from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and ceding occupied parts back to Ukraine, provided Russia retained a “strong land connection” to Crimea. However, the Kremlin later annexed both regions along with Donetsk and Luhansk, citing sham referendums.
On Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported shooting down 87 Ukrainian drones, most targeting the Rostov region. In Russia’s Belgorod region, a residential building collapsed after Ukrainian shelling, injuring three people.
Ukraine’s military has faced challenges, with troops outnumbered and short on ammunition and weaponry due to delays in Western military aid. Russia has targeted Ukraine’s power grid with drones, and recent attacks injured several people in the Donetsk region and the northern Sumy region.
Additionally, Russia returned the bodies of 254 Ukrainian soldiers to Ukraine, according to Kyiv, where they will be identified and returned to their families.