Latest LIVE: ED summons Gehlot's elder brother for questioning today

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said at a CLP meeting that he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the current political situation in the state. Stay tuned for latest news live updates

2:40 AM

Former Malaysian PM Najib Razak gets 12-year jail term in 1MDB case

A Malaysia court sentenced former prime minister Najib Razak to 12 years imprisonment after ruling him guilty in the first of a series of trials linked to 1MDB.

 

Najib was guilty Tuesday of all seven charges in the case involving 42 million ringgit ($10 million) of funds deposited in his personal accounts from a former unit of 1MDB. His lawyer has said an appeal against the ruling is a certainty, while seeking to keep him out of jail during the appeal process.

2:39 AM

Google's new subsea cable to link US, United Kingdom and Spain

Alphabet’s Google has commissioned a new subsea cable, which it says will be one of the first new fiber lines linking the US and the UK since 2003 and further entrenches the tech giant in global internet infrastructure.

 

The cable, named Grace Hopper after the computer scientist, will also connect to Spain, becoming the first Google fiber line to land there, the company said in a statement. It joins existing Google subsea cables including Google’s Curie, which runs from the US to Chile, and Dunant, which links the US to France, and Equi­ano.The Mountain View, California-based company expects to complete the project in 2022. A steady stream of trans-ocean cables is being announced by tech giants; Facebook joined forces with telecom carriers to better connect Africa in May.

1:16 AM

South Africa's economic recovery may take two years

The South African economy will take at least two years to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, a leading business forum said on Tuesday.

 

The coronavirus has claimed 7,067 lives with 4,52,529 confirmed cases in the African nation. Around 2,75,000 people have recovered from the disease. The pandemic has also seriously hurt the business sector with thousands of job losses and enterprises shutting shop.

 

Head of Business for South Africa (B4SA), economic workgroup, Martin Kingston said, "Against our latest modelling scenarios we expect that it will take a minimum of two years for the South African economy to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels, keeping in mind that South Africa's economy was already weak at the start of 2020.

11:57 PM

Congress to move no-confidence motion against BJP-led Manipur govt

The Congress in Manipur submitted a notice for a no-confidence motion against the BJP-led coalition government in the state on Tuesday.

Congress legislators K Meghachandra and Th Lokeshwar submitted the notice to the Assembly secretary.

Manipur Congress spokesperson Ningombam Bupenda Meitei said the party was confident that the House will take up the no-confidence motion during the Monsoon Session on August 10.

The Congress has been targeting the Manipur government over what the party called its failure to hand over a 2018 drug haul case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

11:35 PM

Spotlight on 4 Big Tech CEOs testifying in competition probe

They command corporations with gold-plated brands, millions or even billions of customers, and a combined value greater than the entire German economy.

 

One of them is the world's richest individual; another is the fourth-ranked billionaire. Their industry has transformed society, linked people around the globe, mined and commercialised users' personal data, and infuriated critics on both the left and right over speech.

 

Now Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Google's Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook of Apple will answer for their companies' practices before Congress for the first time as a group.

 

Summoned for a House hearing, they'll raise a hand (remotely) and swear to tell the truth, in the manner of tycoons of Wall Street or the tobacco industry in earlier high-octane televised shamings. It will be Bezos' first-ever appearance before Congress.

11:20 PM

Indian scientists have made valuable contributions to ITER project: PM Modi

11:10 PM

ED summons Raj CM's elder brother for questioning in PMLA case

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's elder brother for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in exporting fertiliser, officials said Tuesday.
 

Agrasain Gehlot has been asked to depose before the investigating officer on Wednesday in Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
 

On July 22, the central agency raided Agrasain Gehlot's premises in Jodhpur and a few other places in connection with the case filed under the criminal charges of PMLA.

10:42 PM

Watchdog Group: Trump campaign improperly masking payments

President Donald Trump's reelection effort allegedly hid nearly $170 million in spending from mandatory public disclosure by routing payments through companies tied to his former campaign manager, a government oversight group said Tuesday.

 

The use of firms linked to former campaign manager Brad Parscale masked the ultimate recipients of the money, which the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center described as a "laundering" effort that violates election law, according to a complaint the group filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

 

Trump communications director Tim Murtaugh disputed the allegations and said the "campaign complies with all campaign finance laws and FEC regulations.

 

Most of the payments by Trump's campaign committees were made to American Made Media Consultants, which has received at least $177 million since 2018, according to FEC records.

 

The other firm, Parscale Strategy, has collected at least $32 million during that period, the records show.

10:34 PM

United Spirits sees franchise income plunge 40 per cent this year

English brewer Diageo-controlled United Spirits, which has reported a massive loss in the June quarter, expects at least 40 per cent decline in its franchise income this year due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and is focusing on direct home delivery to shore up margins.
 

As a way to help the franchisees, the maker of McDowell's whisky will jointly develop business plans to help them build more profitable business, the management told analysts.

10:29 PM

2 Russian aircraft suspected of violating Finland's airspace

Two Russian military aircraft are suspected of having violated Finland's airspace close to its capital city of Helsinki, Finland's defense ministry said Tuesday.

 

The ministry said in a brief statement that two Russian Su-27 fighter jets allegedly violated Finland's airspace over the Gulf of Finland, near Helsinki, at around 2 p.m. local time (1100 GMT), Tuesday afternoon.

 

The Finnish Border Guard is investigating the incident.

10:25 PM

270 eminent citizens write to Delhi CM for 'independent probe' into February riots

10:24 PM

Bank of Baroda raises Rs 981 cr through bonds

State-owned Bank of Baroda on Tuesday said it has raised Rs 981 crore by issuing additional tier-1 bonds under Basel III norms.
 

The bank had on July 24 issued and allotted the "unsecured rated listed subordinated non-convertible fully paid up Basel III additional tier-1 perpetual bonds" for an issue size of Rs 981 crore, it said in a regulatory filing.
 

As many as 18 allottees were issued the bonds, carrying coupon of 8.50 per cent, on private placement basis.
 

Perpetual bonds carry no maturity date and hence are often treated as equity, not debt.

10:24 PM

Welspun Corp Q1 net profit falls 54 per cent

Welspun Corp on Tuesday reported a 54.54 per cent declined in consolidated net profit at Rs 53.92 crore during the quarter ended June 30, 2020 on account of fall in income.
 

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 118.63 crore during the same quarter a year ago, Welspun Corp said in a BSE filing.
 

Total income fell marginally to Rs 2,085.42 crore during April-June as compared with Rs 2,088.87 crore in the year-ago period.
 

The firm's total expenses rose to Rs 1,970.16 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 1,941.23 crore a year ago.

10:18 PM

Nearly 3 million people affected in 12 flood-hit districts of Bihar: Disaster Management Team

10:15 PM

Assam flood: One more dies, nearly 2 million people in 21 districts affected

9:49 PM

Caterpillar results likely to shed light on economic recovery

When Caterpillar Inc reports earnings on Friday, investors will look for clues about the strength of economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Since the heavy equipment maker is considered a bellwether for global economic activity, signals such as an earnings guidance or resumption of share repurchases should reassure Wall Street about underlying business conditions.

 

Caterpillar's profit is expected to plunge 77 per cent year-on-year to 64 cents a share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Revenue is estimated to decline 35 per cent to $9.38 billion.

 

The Deerfield, Illinois-based company has not yet provided new earnings guidance after it withdrew the 2020 outlook in late March citing uncertainty about the pandemic. To preserve cash, share repurchases have been suspended.

9:39 PM

Three killed in rain-related incidents in Uttarakhand, Bengal; 60 more rescued in flood-hit Bihar

9:39 PM

Govt relaxes export norms for face shields, surgical masks, medical goggles

The government on Tuesday relaxed norms for the export of face shields, certain kind of surgical masks and medical goggles which are in demand due to coronavirus pandemic.
 

The government has made export of face shields free and permitted outward shipments of 2/3 ply surgical masks and medical goggles with certain conditions.
 

Earlier export of 2/3 Ply surgical masks, medical goggles and face shields were banned in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.

9:38 PM

Gold smuggling:suspended IAS officer Sivasankar quizzed by NIA for over 10 hours

9:38 PM

Biden says post-pandemic economy can fight racial inequality

Joe Biden unveiled a plan Tuesday to ensure that the nation's post-pandemic economic recovery is built around promoting racial equality, promising to dramatically spur investment in Black-owned small businesses and encourage home ownership while closing wealth gaps among minority communities.

 

Much of the 26-page proposal and the billions in federal spending needed to pay for it had already been promised as part of previous, larger Biden plans to jumpstart the economy when the coronavirus outbreak begins to recede.

 

But as protests against institutional racism and police brutality have swept the country in recent months, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is attempting to show voters that he's committed to implementing specific remedies that can promote racial and economic equality should he win the White House in November.

9:31 PM

Air travel expected to not recover before 2024

Global air travel is recovering more slowly than expected and will take until until 2024 to return to pre-pandemic levels, the trade association for the airline industry said Tuesday.
 

The International Air Transport Association pushed back its prediction by one year due to the slow containment of the outbreak in the US and developing countries.
 

The industry is seeing a rebound from the depths of the shutdowns in April, but the bad new is that any increase is barely visible, IATA chief economist Brian Pearce said Tuesday during an online briefing for journalists.

9:29 PM

Plea in SC to remove 'socialist' and 'secular' words from Constitution's preamble

8:47 PM

Wall Street slips in early trading; gold hovers near record

Stocks are drifting lower in early trading on Wall Street Tuesday following a mixed set of earnings reports from big US companies, news agency AP reported.
 

The S&P 500 was down 0.4% after the first 20 minutes of trading, while Treasury yields were holding relatively steady and gold inched a bit further into record heights.

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 164 points, or 0.6%, at 25,430, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.5%. 3M was a particularly heavy weight pulling the Dow lower after dropping 4.8%.

8:42 PM

Karnataka Congress chief slams state govt for curtailing chapters on Tipu Sultan, Hyder Ali

Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar on Tuesday criticised BJP-led Karnataka government for limiting or omitting various topics including chapters on 18th century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan and his father Haider Ali, according to an ANI report.

 

Speaking to media here at Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office, Shivakumar said Congress will not allow BJP government in Karnataka to "divert history".

 

"Tipu Sultan does not belong to one caste or a class. He is part of the history of this country. BJP government has removed chapters related to him for its political advantage. It is their decision whether they celebrate Tipu Sultan Jayanti or not, but he is part of our history. The President of this country Ramnath Kovind came to the Vidhan Sabha and praised Tipu's patriotism during a joint session," Shivakumar said.

 

"The BJP government has come to power today. Our history should not change. We will not let these people to covert or dilute history. This is the stand of the Congress party. Our experts will study the pros and cons of this decision," he added.

8:14 PM

Rajasthan MLA files petition in High Court seeking NIA probe in alleged horse-trading case

8:10 PM

Thoothukudi custodial deaths case: Madras HC directs CBI to file status report in a sealed cover on August 17

8:09 PM

Air pollution shortened average Indian life expectancy by 5.2 years: Report

Air pollution has shortened the average Indian life expectancy by 5.2 years and residents of Delhi could see 9.4 years added to their lives if pollution were reduced to meet the WHO guideline, according to a new report.

 

The World Health Organisation guideline stipulates that PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter) not exceed 10 micron per cubic metre and that PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter) not exceed 20 micron per cubic metre.

 

In India, average PM2.5 concentration in 2018 was 63 micron per cubic metre. READ MORE...

7:51 PM

Vikas Dubey encounter: SC rejects pleas seeking removal of ex-DGP from inquiry commission

The Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed the pleas seeking removal of former Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh K L Gupta from the 3-member inquiry commission set up to probe the killing of gangster Vikas Dubey in police encounter.

 

A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said it would not allow the petitioners, who had referred to statements given by Gupta to the media for seeking his removal, to cast aspersions on the member of inquiry commission.

 

The commission will also probe the killing of eight policemen allegedly by Dubey's gang and the subsequent encounter of the gangster and five of his purported associates by the cops.

7:40 PM

Latest News LIVE: Sultry weather in Delhi; rain forecast for Wednesday, Thursday

The national capital reeled under sultry weather on Tuesday, with no rain recorded in the city. However, the weatherman has forecast moderate to heavy rains for Wednesday and Thursday, according to a PTI report.

 

 

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded a maximum temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.

 

The maximum temperature oscillated between 37 and 39 degrees Celsius in most parts of the city. Humidity levels shot up to 95 percent, causing inconvenience to residents.

7:30 PM

Over 6,800 people evacuated from flood-hit areas of Bihar: NDRF

More than 6,800 people have been evacuated by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from the flood-hit areas of Bihar till now, a spokesperson of the federal force said on Tuesday. The NDRF has deployed 21 teams for flood rescue and relief work in Bihar which is "the most flood affected state of the country", he said.

 

"Water flow in several rivers such as Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Bagmati, Kamlabalan, Parman, Adhwara and Koshi has disrupted normal life in several areas. "NDRF rescuers are relentlessly engaged to provide immediate succour to the stranded persons," the spokesperson said. So far, he said, the NDRF has evacuated more than 6,800 people in the state.