Latest News LIVE: Brief Rajasthan Assembly session may be held this week

Poltical crisis in Congress-ruled state takes new turn. In Assam, 2,678 villages are under water and 1,16,404 hectares of crop are damaged in floods

2:24 AM

Glenmark under fire for over pricing, 'misguided' claims of Covid-19 drug

Glenmark, which markets favipiravir under brand Fabiflu for treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid-19 patients, has come under the scanner of ‘the country’s drug regulator over pricing of the drug and claims of its therapeutic efficacy.

 

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has sent a letter to the Mumbai-based drugmaker seeking clarifications on pricing as well as claims of therapeutic efficacy. Read more

2:23 AM

Japan govt to pay at least $536 million for companies to leave China

Japan’s government will start paying its firms to move factories out of China and back home or to Southeast Asia, part of a new program to secure supply chains and reduce dependence on manufacturing in China.

 

Fifty-seven companies including privately-held facemask-maker Iris Ohyama and Sharp will receive a total of 57.4 billion yen ($536 million) in subsidies from the government, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday. Another 30 firms will receive money to move manufacturing to Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations, according to a separate announcement, which didn’t provide details on the amount of compensation.

2:23 AM

TikTok considering London for headquarters to distance Chinese ownership

TikTok has been in discussions with the UK government over the past few months to locate its headquarters in London, a source familiar with the matter said, as part of a strategy to distance itself from its Chinese ownership.

 

London is among one of several locations the company is considering, but no decisions have been made, the source said.

2:22 AM

Russian ambassador to Britain rejects Covid-19 vaccine hacking claims

Russia’s ambassador to the UK has rejected allegations that his country's intelligence services tried to steal coronavirus vaccine research.

 

“I don’t believe in this story at all, there is no sense in it,” Andrei Kelin said. However, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said it is “very clear Russia did this”, adding that it is important to call out this “pariah-type behaviour”.

2:22 AM

India is likely to see a wave of peaks in Covid-19 cases, say experts

India is likely to see a wave of peaks in Covid-19 cases across the country instead of one single high, with the coronavirus spreading at a different pace in most states, experts said.

 

While most epidemiologists have predicted a peak of infection in late July-August, many feel the concept of a national peak is nebulous. The three states — Maharashtra, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu — with highest case-counts are slowing down, but infections in eastern and southern states are surging. Reda more

2:21 AM

Corona Kavach health insurance policy evokes good response: Insurers

Amid spurt in Covid-19 cases in the country, Corona Kavach health insurance policy has evoked good response within days of its launch by almost all insurers.

Corona Kavach, which was launched on July 10 and is being offered by both general and health insurers, is a standard health insurance policy created to meet the treatment requirements for coronavirus.
 

The term of the policy ranges from three-and-a-half months to nine-and-a-half months, with maximum insured amount at Rs 5 lakh.

2:20 AM

PM Modi dials CMs, discusses Covid-19 situation amid spike in cases

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday had telephonic conversations with chief ministers (CMs) of several states and discussed the situation of the Covid-19 cases, sources said. Sources added that he spoke to CMs of Bihar, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

 

During the conversation, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami apprised the PM that 48,000 Covid-19 tests — a national high — were being done daily (average), an official release said. The state has crossed 165,000 of cases.

12:32 AM

IIT Kharagpur students demand total waiver of mess fees

A section of students of IIT Kharagpur have demanded a total waiver of mess fees and reevaluation of tuition fees for the final year students pursuing MSc degree.

 

Students' Senate Chairman Ninaad Lohakare in a letter to the institute authorities on Saturday said there should be a complete waiver of the Rs 10,000 mess fee and complete waiver of hostel overhead charges.

 

Majority of students left the campus after suspension of offline classes and those who stayed back also mostly left by the end of June, a member of Students' Senate, the official representative body of IIT Kharagpur, said.

11:48 PM

Ten houses collapse in Delhi's Anna Nagar after heavy rains

Several residents of a slum area in Anna Nagar were displaced as over 10 houses collapsed following heavy rains that lashed the national capital on Sunday morning.

 

The colony is located behind the under-construction WHO headquarters in ITO and is next to a drain.

 

Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service and National Disaster Response Force teams rushed to the spot.

 

According to the Delhi Fire Service, a call was received about a house collapse around 8 am. As heavy rains started lashing the area on Saturday night, some of the people started vacating their houses.

11:47 PM

Kamal Nath holds meeting with Congress MLAs

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath held a meeting with his party legislators here on Sunday night, two days after one more MLA quit the grand old party and joined the ruling BJP, second one do so within a week and 24th since March.

 

Congress leaders said that Nath held talks with the party lawmakers to feel the pulse aftertwo MLAs- Sumitra Devi Kasdekar and Pradymna Singh Lodhi- resigned from the state assembly in just six days and joined the BJP.

 

While Lodhi had resigned last Sunday, Kasdekar had done so on Friday.

 

An MLA said on the condition of anonymity that during the meeting, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) decided to expose those BJP leaders who come to them with allurements.

11:24 PM

How the Black Lives Matter generation remembers John Lewis

Of all the ways that John Lewis influenced American life and politics, his indelible impact on young people may be among the most enduring.

 

From student activist to elder statesman, Lewis continually encouraged the nation's youth to start good trouble and modeled just how to do that.

 

He was arrested alongside millennial activists pushing for comprehensive reform of US immigration laws in 2013. He led a sit-in in the House of Representatives over gun control following a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando in 2016.

 

And when he was not protesting, he was helping young people understand history, as when he cosplayed as his younger self at San Diego's Comic-Con to celebrate the release of his Selma, Alabama-themed graphic novel series in 2015.

11:06 PM

10 killed in lightning strikes in Bihar; four die in rain-related incidents in Delhi

Ten people were killed after being struck by lightning in Bihar on Sunday while four people died in rain-related incidents in Delhi, where many low-lying areas were inundated in heavy rains.

 

In Assam, the death toll in flood-related incidents increased to 84 after five more fatalities were reported, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on the flood situation in the state.

 

The total number of people losing their lives in flood and landslides in Assam this year is 110. While 84 died in flood-related incidents, landslides claimed 26 lives.

 

Floods have affected over 25 lakh people in 24 of the 33 districts of Assam and has destroyed houses, crops, roads and bridges at several places.

 

The first heavy monsoon rainfall in the national capital claimed four lives, including that of a mini-truck driver who got trapped in a waterlogged underpass.

11:05 PM

Waterlogging under Minto Bridge a nagging problem for decades

Almost every monsoon in the last decade or so, an old black-and-white image of commuters being rescued off a nearly-submerged DTC bus below the iconic Minto Bridge goes viral on the social media.

 

Reason, its stark similarity to the situation every year below the nearly 90-year-old bridge post heavy rainfall in Delhi.

 

The water woes below the colonial-era bridge has again come into sharp focus in the wake of a56-year-old man drowning after his mini-truck was submerged in water under the bridge in central Delhi following a heavy downpour on Sunday morning.

 

The man, identified as Kundan Kumar, was a resident of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. He was driving a Tata Ace from the New Delhi Railway Station to Connaught Place when he got stuck in the waterlogged area, police said.

10:58 PM

2,426 firms 'looted' Rs 1.47 trillion from banks, will govt launch probe: Rahul Gandhi

10:58 PM

Four die as heavy rainfall lashes Delhi

Four persons, including an eight-year-old boy, died in rain-related incidents in the national capital which received its first spell of heavy rains on Sunday.
 

A 56-year-old man drowned after his mini truck got submerged in water under the Minto Bridge in central Delhi, police said.
 

The man identified as Kundan Kumar, a resident of Uttarakhand, was driving a Tata Ace from the New Delhi Railway Station to Connaught Place when he got stuck in the waterlogged area, they said.
 

In another incident, 8-year-old Md Mateen was found from Chhat Ghat at Saurabh Vihar in an unconscious state.

10:50 PM

Agencies pass the buck on Minto Road waterlogging

Agencies in the national capital on Sunday passed the buck for the heavy waterlogging under the Minto Bridge that led to the death of a 56-year-old man.
 

North Delhi Mayor Jai Prakash visited the site of waterlogging at Minto Road and alleged that the "situation recurs every year" as the Delhi government has not taken this issue seriously.
 

A Public Works Department (PWD) official said a blockage in the main sewer line of the Delhi Jal Board at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg seems to be the reason for waterlogging on the stretch.

10:38 PM

EU needs ambitious financial deal more than fast one, Lagarde says

It is better for European Union leaders to agree an ambitious financial aid package for the bloc rather than to have a quick deal at any cost, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Sunday.

 

"Ideally, the leaders' agreement should be ambitious in terms of size and composition of the package, broadly along the lines of what has been proposed by the Commission," Lagarde told Reuters.

 

"From my perspective, it's better to agree on an ambitious facility along these lines, even if it takes a bit more time. I would hope that the leaders agree on something that's ambitious rather than fast."

10:37 PM

PM Modi likely to visit Ayodhya on August 5 for Ram Temple 'bhoomi pujan'

10:22 PM

TMC prepares for its first mega virtual rally on July 21

The Trinamool Congress is preparing for its first mega virtual rally on July 21 even as a section of the party leadership is apprehensive whether the digital rally would evoke a similar response as it used to during previous years.
 

The July 21 rally is not just a show of strength on the part of TMC but also a platform which sets the tone of the party's policies and politics for the entire year.
 

The July 21 'Martyrs Day' rally is observed annually by TMC to commemorate the killing of 13 people in police firing in 1993, when Mamata Banerjee, then a Youth Congress leader, had launched a march to the secretariat, demanding that voters' card be made the only document to allow people to exercise their franchise.

10:19 PM

Gadkari bats for separate policy for providing capital to poor

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday highlighted the need for a separate policy to support socially, economically and educationally backward people by providing them capital support to become financially independent.

 

Addressing an e-conclave on 'Reimagining MSMEs and Livelihoods', the Minister of MSME, and Road Transport and Highways emphasised upon the need to have a "separate policy for poor people, socially, economically, educationally backward, those who have skill but they don't have capital".

 

He observed that when people migrate from rural India to urban India, it is not because of their wish but due to compulsion.

10:15 PM

EU summit drags into third day amid splits on virus fund

European Union leaders remained fundamentally divided for a third day Sunday over an unprecedented 1.85 trillion-euro (USD 2.1 trillion) EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned that they might not reach a deal despite the urgency imposed by the pandemic.

 

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said in his seven years' experience of European meetings, I have never seen positions as diametrically opposed as this. Even with Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron negotiating as the closest of partners, the traditionally all-powerful Franco-German alliance could not get the bloc's 27 quarreling nations in line.

 

Often negotiating outdoors on a sundeck in the Europa summit center in Brussels, the blue skies and fresh breeze had no impact on the mood. Undiplomatic terms like hate" and grumpy" have been thrown around between leaders during marathon negotiations that should have drawn everyone closer together to fight a historic recession in the bloc.

9:22 PM

10 killed in lightning strikes during thunderstorm in 7 districts of Bihar: Official

9:11 PM

Hughes looking to start retailing satellite broadband services in India

Broadband technology company Hughes is looking to foray into retail satellite-based broadband services in India following the ongoing reforms in the country's space policy, a senior company official said.

 

The government in June allowed the private sector to carry out space activities like building of rockets, satellites and providing launch services.

 

"The lesson for us is we need to get into the HughesNet consumer service in India quickly. Hughes is relatively buffered in this whole thing, we should definitely quickly get that. I would say that that's a learning that somehow we have to get into the satellite consumer broadband segment in India," Shivaji Chatterjee, senior VP and business head- Enterprise, Hughes Communications India told PTI.

8:52 PM

India received 6% more rainfall than normal so far this monsoon, says IMD

The country has received six per cent more rainfall than normal so far in this monsoon season, but precipitation in parts of north India remains deficient, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday.

 

The IMD has four meteorological divisions and rainfall has been more than normal in the south peninsula, central India, and east and northeast India divisions.

 

But the northwest India division, which covers Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan, has recorded a 19 per cent deficiency, according to the IMD. Till Sunday, rainfall deficiency was recorded in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir. Ladakh has recorded large scale deficiency, it said. READ MORE...

8:38 PM

Maharashtra records highest one-day spike of 9,518 Covid-19 cases, taking tally to 3,10,455

8:37 PM

Pakistan shells forward areas along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri

Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling on forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir Sunday evening, a defence spokesman said. Indian Army retaliated befittingly and the cross-border shelling between the two sides in Sunderbani sector was continuing when the last reporters were received, he said.

 

"At about 7.15 pm, Pakistan initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars in Sunderbani sector (Rajouri)," the spokesman said.

 

However, he said there was no immediate report of any casualty on the Indian side. The latest ceasefire violation comes close on the heels of the killing of three civilians -- a couple and their son -- in Pakistani shelling along the LoC in Poonch district Friday night.

8:15 PM

Indian Railways to start private train services by 2023, all 151 by 2027

The first set of 12 private trains will be introduced in 2023, followed by 45 more in the next fiscal, according to an initial timeline drawn by the railways which plans to roll out all 151 such train services by 2027, officials said.

 

In a formal kick-start to its plans to allow private entities to operate passenger trains on its network, the railways earlier this month invited proposals from companies to run 151 modern passenger trains on 109 pairs of routes across the country. The project would entail a private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore.

 

As part of the plan for private trains, the railways has planned to introduce 12 trains in 2022-23, 45 in 2023-2024, 50 in 2025-26 and 44 more in the next fiscal, taking the total number of trains to 151 by the end of FY 2026-2027. READ MORE...

 

7:50 PM

Clash breaks out between security personnel and locals in West Bengal

7:33 PM

Rajnath Singh personally conveyed appreciation to soldiers for displaying bravery in Galwan clash

In his visit to eastern Ladakh on Friday, Defence Miniser Rajnath Singh personally conveyed his appreciation and compliments to the Army personnel from the Bihar regiment for displaying exemplary grit and courage in valiantly fighting the Chinese troops during the Galwan Valley clash on June 15.

 

In an interaction with the Army personnel at Lukung forward post on the bank of Pangong lake, the defence minister patted some of the soldiers of the regiment while commending their bravery in protecting India's pride and self-respect.

 

"Well done. My congratulations to you all on behalf of all of us," Singh told one of the senior members of the regiment when Commander of 14 Corps Lt Gen Harinder Singh introduced the soldier to the defence minister.

 

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Yogesh Kumar Joshi and several other senior Army officials present on the occasion.

 

Chinese and Indian troops clashed in Galwan Valley for several hours on the night of June 15 in their fiercest brawl in last five decades that left 20 Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel, dead. The incident significantly escalated the border tension, with India calling it "a premeditated and planned action by China".

7:07 PM

China continues to occupy the Depsang planes and Daulat Beg Oldie: Randeep Surjewala