LIVE: 3 Covid vax doses offer better protection from Omicron, finds study

LIVE news updates: The study showed that two vaccine doses provide only limited and short-lived protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection with the variant

10:59 PM

Day 2 of old excise policy regime: Liquor vends gets more stocks, witness improved business

Liquor vends across the capital received more stock and witnessed improved business as customers made a beeline to the shops on Friday, day two of Delhi returning to the old excise policy regime.

The capital returned to regime within a year on Thursday with the opening of nearly 350 government-run liquor vends and exit of private players from retail business.

However, liquor lovers on Thursday had rued the absence of their favourite brands as well as discounts.

10:15 PM

Coal scam: TMC's Abhishek Banerjee attacks Shah after ED grills him for 7 hours

After a seven-hour long grilling by ED officials, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Friday dared Union Home Minister Amit Shah to prove charges of wrongdoing in an alleged case of coal pilferage and to put him behind bars.

The Trinamool Congress MP, considered number 2 in the party, also advised Shah to teach nationalism to his son and make sure that the law and order situation improves in Delhi.

9:37 PM

INS Vikrant assurance of greater capabilities for national security & global good: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that India's maiden indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant is not only an expression of new India, but an assurance of greater capabilities for national security and global good.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned INS Vikrant on Friday, placing the country into a select league of countries with the domestic capability to develop such large vessels.

9:34 PM

Satellite players suggest govt to adopt international best practices for spectrum allocation

Satellite industry body SIA-India on Friday said that it has suggested the Department of Telecom (Dot) to adopt international best practices for spectrum allocation.

SatCom Industry Association of India has made a submission in response to the DoT's decision to bring out a new legal framework for the telecom sector.

9:04 PM

Court grants bail to an accused in Jahangirpuri violence case

A court here Friday granted bail to an accused in the Jahangirpuri violence case, saying the charge sheet makes it clear that he was not armed with a weapon during the incident and no other involvement was attributed to him.

The court was hearing the bail plea of an accused, who was booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including rioting and assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty and under the Arms Act.

8:43 PM

Delhi reports 299 new Covid cases, 2 deaths

Delhi on Friday reported 299 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, against 271 on previous day, and two more deaths, the Delhi health bulletin said.

Meanwhile, the Covid positivity rate of the city stands 2.17 per cent. The number of active cases stands at 1,457 out of which 996 patients are being treated in home isolation.

8:27 PM

Tharoor writes to Mistry, seeks publication of electoral roll for Cong presidential polls

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has written to the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry, seeking the publication of electoral roll for the upcoming poll to the post of AICC president, PTI reported on Friday.

Assam MP Pradyut Bordoloi too has reportedly written to Mistry, asking him to make the electoral roll public.

Their letters come as voices demanding the publication of the electors' list grow louder by the day and a debate within the party intensifies.

7:54 PM

12,500 driving licences suspended in special drive against helmetless riding

The Odisha State Transport Authority (STA) has suspended more than 12,000 driving licences and collected over Rs 60 lakh as fine during a two-week special drive against helmetless riders on the highways of the state, STA official said on Friday.

A total of 888 vehicles have been seized for driving without licence and 24,474 e-challans were issued in the drive against riding two-wheelers without wearing helmets on national and state highways from August 16-30, the STA said on Friday.

Helmetless driving is a major cause of road accidents and grievous injury across Odisha, the official said.

7:40 PM

BSF develops tear gas shells dropping drones for police, security forces

A tear gas shell-dropping drone system has been developed by the BSF that can be used by police for controlling protesters and rioters, a senior officer of the border-guarding force said on Friday.

He said the "drone tear smoke launcher" can be used for launching these shells from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone and it "will be a potential force multiplier for the security forces working in the law-and-order management domain".

7:34 PM

EPS hails HC ruling, OPS says will knock on doors of Supreme Court

AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Friday described the Madras High Court's ruling, that has in effect endorsed his election in July as party's interim chief, as 'historic.'

Rival leader O Panneerselvam said the High Court verdict would be challenged in the Supreme Court.

As the court delivered its judgment, AIADMK workers burst crackers, distributed sweets and thronged Palaniswami's residence to greet him.

6:53 PM

Skyroot Aerospace raises $51 mn in funding round led by GIC India

Space tech start-up Skyroot Aerospace has raised $51 million or around Rs 403 crore in a funding round led by GIC India Direct Investment Group, the company said on Friday.

This is the largest funding round ever in the Indian space-tech sector, the company said in a statement.

6:21 PM

SC to hear on Sep 9 plea seeking release of Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka

The Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear on September 9 a plea which has sought direction to the Centre to negotiate with the Sri Lankan government the release of arrested Indian fishermen.

The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Vikram Nath which asked the counsel appearing for the petitioner to serve copy of the petition to the central agency.

The petition, filed by Tamil Nadu resident K K Ramesh, has said Indian naval ships should provide security to the Indian fishermen within international maritime boundary between India and Sri Lanka, and monitor illegal activities in the interest of the nation.

5:33 PM

INS Vikrant: Cong slams Modi for 'taking credit' for collective efforts of past govts

The Congress on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "taking credit for the commissioning of" India's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant and accused him of "hypocrisy" for not recognising the contributions made by earlier governments.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi congratulated the Indian Navy, the naval design bureau and Cochin Shipyard for the commissioning of the first indigenously designed and manufactured aircraft carrier, and termed it a significant step for the country's maritime security.

5:03 PM

SpiceJet likely to get funds under ECLGS next week

SpiceJet, which is facing financial headwinds, is likely to receive around Rs 225 crore under the government's credit guarantee scheme next week, according to a PTI report.

Hit by high fuel prices and rupee depreciation, the budget carrier on Wednesday posted a net loss of Rs 789 crore for June quarter and also said its board has approved raising up to Rs 2,000 crore.

4:37 PM

Nitish mocks Modi, but again rules himself out of PM's race

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday berated the "polarisation to save the corrupt" jibe of Prime Minister Narendra Modi whom he also sought to tick off referring to his own stint at the Centre under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Kumar, whose "national role" has become a matter of much speculation since his break-up with the BJP last month, however also sought to rule himself out, for the umpteenth time, of the Prime Ministerial race.

3:55 PM

High food, petrol prices can trigger protests in Pakistan: IMF

Rising inflation in Pakistan, accelerating to 27.3 per cent in August -- a 47-year high -- can trigger "social protest and instability" in the cash-strapped country, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

Pakistan's inflation measured by the consumer price index (CPI) accelerated to 27.3 per cent in August this year -- the level last seen in May 1975 -- even as the full impact of unprecedented floods on the prices of food items and other commodities is yet to come.

3:45 PM

Supreme Court grants interim bail to activist Teesta Setalvad

3:43 PM

HC seeks response from SII, others on plea demanding Rs 1,000 cr compensation for woman's death

The Bombay High Court has sought response from the Serum Institute of India (SII) and others on a petition filed by a man who blamed Covishield for his daughter's death and demanded a compensation of Rs 1,000 crore from the Indian vaccine-maker.

Petitioner Dilip Lunwat has also made Microsoft founder Bill Gates whose foundation had partnered with the SII, the Union government, Maharashtra government and Drug Controller of India respondents to the plea.

A division bench of Justices S V Gangapurwala and Madhav Jamdar on August 26 issued a notice to all the respondents in the petition. The matter has been posted for hearing on November 17.

3:31 PM

Over 99% of India's population breathes air that exceeds WHO's PM2.5 guidelines: Report

Over 99 per cent of India's population is breathing air that exceeds the World Health Organisation's health-based guidelines with respect to PM2.5, a report by Greenpeace India said.

According to the key findings in the report titled "Different Air Under One Sky", the greatest proportion of people living in India are exposed to PM2.5 concentrations more than five times the WHO annual average guideline.

3:02 PM

Poland to seek over $1tn war reparations from Germany for WWII

Poland's ruling party leader said that his country would seek 6.2 trillion zloty ($1.31 trillion) in compensation from Germany for the destruction caused by the Nazis during the Second World War.

 

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice party, made the claim at a ceremony presenting a report over Poland's losses from the German invasion, reports Xinhua news agency.

 

Kaczynski said that although the reparations process would be "lengthy and difficult", the issue was to "gain damages for everything that Germany, that the German state, that the German nation, did in Poland in the years 1939-1945".

3:01 PM

Modi govt destroying Indian economy with its 'cluelessness', incompetence: Congress

The Congress on Friday hit out at the Union government alleging India's growth story is being pushed back due to the inept handling of the economy and cluelessness on the part of the Modi government.

 

It also asked the government whether it will now go back on its promises of making the country a USD 5 trillion economy, doubling farmers' income, and providing pucca houses to all by 2022.

 

"It is evident now that the BJP government due to its inept handling of the economy, no focus, and cluelessness, is pushing the Indian growth story back," Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh said at a press conference.

 

Citing the GDP growth numbers, he said India has seen a growth of only 3 per cent in the last three years and accused the government of "destroying" the Indian economy.

2:56 PM

Home Minister Amit Shah to chair Southern Zonal Council meet in Kerala Saturday

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a meeting of the Southern Zonal Council in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Saturday where issues like sharing of river water, coastal security, connectivity and other issues of common interests will be discussed, officials said on Friday.

The Southern Zonal Council comprises Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The meeting will be attended by chief ministers, ministers, chief secretaries, principal secretaries and senior officers of the member states and senior officers of central government, a home ministry official said.

2:51 PM

INS Vikrant: "Proud moment, India moving towards becoming global power," says Russian envoy

Russian Ambassador to India, Denis Alipov on Friday said it is a proud moment for India and the commission of the first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant has shown that the country is moving fastly towards becoming a self-reliant and major global power.

"It's a proud moment for India they built an indigenous major aircraft carrier. India is moving towards self-reliance and has shown that it's moving fastly towards becoming a major global power. The world needs super strong India," Russian Ambassador said.

"We are very much committed and enthusiastic about future cooperation between Russia and India in trade, technology, production and other fields despite current difficulties and tensions in the world," he added.

2:47 PM

GST officers can launch prosecution in cases of over Rs 5 cr tax evasion

GST officers can now launch prosecution against offenders in cases where the amount of evasion or misuse of input tax credit is more than Rs 5 crore, the Finance Ministry has said.

However, this monetary threshold will not be applicable in the case of habitual evaders or in cases where arrests have been made at the time of investigation.

"One of the important considerations for deciding whether prosecution should be launched is the availability of adequate evidence, the GST investigation wing under the Finance Ministry said, while issuing instructions for launching prosecution.

2:21 PM

Three Covid vax doses offer better protection from Omicron: Study

The third Covid-19 vaccine dose increases the level and duration of protection against the Omicron variant and hospitalisation compared to two vaccine doses, finds a new study.

The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, showed that two vaccine doses provide only limited and short-lived protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection with the variant.

"Our findings indicate that a third dose is necessary to maintain protection against infection for a longer time and to ensure a high level of protection against Covid-19 hospitalisation with the Omicron variant," said researcher Mie Agermose Gram at Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.

2:20 PM

700 passengers stranded at Delhi airport after Lufthansa cancels flights

Around 700 passengers on Friday were stranded at the IGI airport's Terminal-3 after Germany-based Lufthansa airline cancelled two of its flights due to a pilots' strike, police said.

According to police, more than 100 people, relatives and family members of the stranded passengers, gathered outside the airport and demanded refunds or alternate arrangements.

An information was received on Friday at 12.15 am that a crowd has gathered on the main road in front of departure gate number 1, Terminal 3 IGI Airport, a senior police officer said.

2:15 PM

Air India to have systems to proactively alert fliers about flight changes, delays

Air India will put in place new systems to proactively alert fliers about changes or delays in flight schedules and also set up a coordination team to address airport-specific issues, according to an internal communication.

After reviewing block times, airport connecting times and aircraft as well as crew rotations, Tatas-owned Air India has identified various improvement areas for bettering overall performance.

In the internal communication on Friday, Air India CEO and Managing Director Campbell Wilson said the airline would seek airport slots to carry out the improvements.

1:25 PM

Centre spent Rs 5 lakh crore on MGNREGA scheme in 8 years: Nirmala Sitharaman

The Centre has spent Rs 5 lakh crore on MGNREGA scheme during the past eight years, out of which 20 per cent was spent during the COVID-19 pandemic, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said.

 

Speaking to reporters in Kamareddy district of Telangana on Thursday, she said the state was given Rs 20,000 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme in the past eight years.

 

1:08 PM

Lufthansa flights grounded as pilots up pressure over pay

Hundreds of Lufthansa were cancelled Friday as pilots staged a one-day strike to press their demands for better pay and conditions at Germany's biggest carrier.

 

The airline said about 800 flights were grounded at its two biggest hubs, Frankfurt and Munich, due to the walkout. More than 100,000 passengers would be affected, it said.

 

Lufthansa said it had offered a one-off increase of 900 euros (USD 900), amounting to a 5 per cent increase for senior pilots and an 18% increase for those starting the profession.

1:07 PM

Rajasthan model has failed miserably: BJP

Terming Rajasthan model a "failure", BJP state president Satish Poonia on Friday said it is because of this that the state ranks first in rape, corruption, inflation, diesel-petrol price hike, unemployment and cyber crime.

He was attacking Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for praising the Rajasthan model of governance in Gujarat.

Speaking to the media in Jaipur, the BJP leader said that in the 2018 poll manifesto, The of the 2018 election, gave an assurance and promised that we will give public security to women, will modernize police, equip them with resources etc. However, this model of Rajasthan has been a failure," said Poonia.