Latest news LIVE updates: WHO airlifting medical supplies to Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister declared a national mourning on Wednesday for the victims of the explosions that took place the previous evening. Stay tuned for latest news live updates

2:11 AM

Malls in Mumbai resume operations after four months; rains hinder footfall

Even as torrential rains lashed the city, the malls in Mumbai witnessed 15-20 per cent footfall on Wednesday, on opening after a gap of over four months.

 

The malls were mostly visited by individuals who were middle age and young, however, there were no children and senior citizens among the visitors.

 

Most of the outlets that were open were apparels, electronics, footwear and cosmetics, among others.

 

The city has 12 big malls mostly located in the Mumbai suburbs, excluding Navi Mumbai and Thane.

2:11 AM

Gold breaches $2,000-barrier over prospect for further Covid-19 stimulus

Gold advanced to a fresh record beyond $2,000 an ounce in the international market, as investors assessed increased geopolitical risks and the prospect for further stimulus to combat fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Bullion is up almost 35 per cent this year, with its haven status enhanced by sliding US real yields.

 

In New Delhi, the metal jumped Rs 1,365 to Rs 56,181 per 10 gram, HDFC Securities said.

 

Silver also depicted a strong trend as it zoomed Rs 5,972 to Rs 72,726 per kg from Rs 66,754 per kg in the previous trade.

2:10 AM

As UK eases lockdown, services activity expands at fastest pace in 5 years

Output from the UK’s dominant services industry rose at the fastest pace since 2015 in July as more of the nation’s economy opened up after the coronavirus lockdown.

 

IHS Markit’s Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 56.5 last month, up from 47.1 in June. While that is marginally below the 56.6 flash estimate, it is well above the 50 level that indicates expansion for the first time in five months.

 

New orders climbed as firms reopened and business expectations improved for a fourth straight month, Markit said. Employment, however, slumped amid concerns that longer-term demand won’t fully recover to its pre-Covid levels, and new export sales declined.

12:28 AM

Pakistani groups in UK stage protest outside Indian High Commission

A small group of protesters representing Pakistani groups staged a protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on Wednesday to mark the first anniversary of India's decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

 

Around 150 people gathered opposite the High Commission building with a banner reading Implement UN Resolution but remained barricaded away from the main India House complex at Aldwych in central London.

 

Police are aware of a planned protest outside the Indian High Commission in Aldwych on Wednesday August 5. A proportionate policing plan is in place throughout the duration of the demonstration, a Metropolitan Police statement said.

11:44 PM

Section 144 imposed in areas that fall under limits of Thelamara and Dhekiajuli police stations

11:43 PM

All 55 passengers have been rescued by National Disaster Response Force: Satya Pradhan, Director General of NDRF

11:05 PM

Wall Street gains on Disney's surprise profit, fiscal aid hopes

Wall Street's main indexes rose on Wednesday after Disney delivered a surprise quarterly profit, with sentiment aided by signs that a coronavirus fiscal relief package was imminent.

 

Walt Disney Co's shares jumped 9.5 per cent, among the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 and Dow, as revenue declines for its parks and media networks were not as bad as feared.

 

Payments processor Square Inc surged 8.7 per cent after reporting a 64 per cent rise in second-quarter revenue, as consumers increased online buying and used its peer-to-peer Cash App platform during the pandemic.

11:04 PM

Involvement of parents, communities in children's education a must in rural India: Experts

11:04 PM

DUTA seeks President intervention regarding non-payment of salaries to employees of 12 DU colleges

11:03 PM

India hits out at China for calling reorganisation of J&K as illegal

9:29 PM

Heavy rains claims three more lives in Kerala, monsoon toll rises to 31

9:29 PM

Extremely heavy rains to continue in Mumbai until morning of Aug 6: IMD's special bulletin

8:59 PM

Bihar flood situation worsens, 66 lakh affected; CM Nitish Kumar makes aerial survey

The flood situation in Bihar deteriorated on Wednesday as waters from overflowing rivers originating in Nepal inundated fresh areas and the number of affected people rose to 66.60 lakh across 16 districts, a government bulletin said.

 

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made an aerial survey of the affected areas of north Bihar and visited a village in Darbhanga district, which has been hit by the calamity. According to the disaster management departments bulletin, the death toll in flood related incidents remained at 19 as no fresh casualty was reported.

 

The size of the flood-affected populace, however, grew by nearly three lakh since Tuesday and the number of panchayats hit by the calamity was 1,165, a rise of 13.

8:26 PM

Beirut explosions update: WHO airlifting medical supplies to Lebanon

The World Health Organization says it is airlifting medical supplies to Lebanon to cover up to 1,000 trauma interventions and up to 1,000 surgical interventions following the explosion in Beirut, according to a PTI report.

 

WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said supplies airlifted from a humanitarian hub in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates would be used to treat burns and wounds caused by broken glass and other debris from the explosion. The airlift follows a request from the Lebanese health minister, and the supplies were expected to arrive in Lebanon later Wednesday.

 

Jasarevic said in an email that the WHO will stand ready to also provide other urgent support.

8:20 PM

Seven dead, 60 infected by new infectious disease in China: Report

A new infectious disease caused by a tick-borne virus has killed seven people and infected 60 others in China, official media reported on Wednesday, warning about the possibility of its human-to-human transmission.

 

More than 37 people in East China's Jiangsu Province contracted with the SFTS Virus in the first half of the year. Later, 23 people were found to have been infected in East China's Anhui province, state-run Global Times quoted media reports.

8:06 PM

89 killed in lightning strikes in Madhya Pradesh in 6 months of 2020: IMD

The IMD has alerted that due to the environmental changes, the threat of lightning during the current monsoon season has increased in Madhya Pradesh, where 89 people lost their lives due to lightning strikes in the first six months of this year.

 

This figure of lightning strike victims in the state till June this year is more than what it was during the entire year in 2019, an official said.

 

"In the current monsoon season, the threat of lightning strikes has increased as compared to last year due to the environmental changes," India Meteorological Department (IMD) senior scientist, Vedprakash Singh Chandel, told PTI on Wednesday. READ MORE...

7:48 PM

Up to 75 crore beneficiaries got free grains under PMGKAY scheme in April-June period: Govt

Union Food Ministry on Wednesday said free foodgrains under PMGKAY were distributed via ration shops to up to 75 crore beneficiaries during April-June period, according to a PTI report.

 

In March, the government had announced distribution of 5 kg of foodgrains for free under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) to ration card holders for three months as part of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Besides foodgrains, 1 kg pulses per beneficiary family were also to be distributed. This was over and above the subsidised grains given under the National Food Security Act. The PMGKAY scheme has now been extended till November.

7:46 PM

Ajay Tyagi gets 18-month extension as chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi): Personnel Ministry

7:43 PM

15 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed in Maharashtra in wake of heavy rainfall

7:34 PM

UN chief offers condolences to victims of Beirut port explosion

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, has offered his condolences to the victims of Tuesday's massive twin blasts in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, including several UN employees who suffered injuries.

 

"My deepest condolences to families of victims of the horrific explosions in Beirut, and to the people & Government of Lebanon. I wish all injured, including United Nations personnel, a speedy recovery. The @UN remains committed to supporting Lebanon at this difficult time," Guterres wrote in a Twitter post on Wednesday.

 

As many as 48 UN employees suffered injuries as a result of the blasts, which originated in the port of the Lebanese capital, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told the Al Jazeera broadcaster.

7:15 PM

Lebanese confront devastation after massive Beirut explosion

Residents of Beirut confronted a scene of utter devastation Wednesday, a day after a massive explosion at the port rippled across the Lebanese capital, killing at least 100 people, wounding thousands and leaving entire city blocks blanketed with glass and rubble. Smoke still rose from the port, where a towering building of silos was half destroyed, spilling out grain. Hangars around it were completely toppled.

 

The blast knocked out a crater some 200 meters (yards) across that filled with seawater it was as if the sea had taken a bite out of the port, swallowing buildings with it. Much of downtown was littered with damaged vehicles and debris that had rained down from the shattered facades of buildings, news agency PTI reported.

6:56 PM

NDRF evacuated over 14,000 people across India during the current monsoon season

6:52 PM

Beirut explosions update: French President to visit Lebanon tomorrow

French President Emmanuel Macron will leave for Lebanon on Thursday in order to affirm Paris' solidarity with the Middle East country following the powerful explosion in the port of Beirut, the Lebanese Council of Ministers confirmed on Wednesday, according to an ANI report.

 

"(President) Macron will travel to Lebanon on Thursday and meet with the country's political officials," the Elysee Palace said earlier in the day, as quoted by the BMF TV broadcaster.

 

The explosion has left over 4,000 people injured and more than 100 killed. A large number of countries, including Lebanon's Middle East neighbours, have already offered their assistance to Beirut and extended their condolences over the tragic incident.

 

According to Beirut's governor, half of the city's buildings have been damaged, and hospitals are overcrowded over a large number of the blast's victims.

6:50 PM

25,000 non-Kashmiri migrant workers return to Jammu and Kashmir

A total of 25,000 non-Kashmiri migrant workers, out of the 40,000, who had left Jammu and Kashmir after the coronavirus outbreak, have returned to the Union Territory for work, a top official said on Wednesday.

 

A total of 3.2 lakh people, including the migrant workers, arrived in Jammu and Kashmir from outside since the nationwide lockdown came into effect on March 25, and all of them were subjected to COVID-19 tests.

 

"A total of 25,000 non-Kashmiri migrant workers, who had gone to their respective states after the coronavirus outbreak, have returned to Jammu and Kashmir," Divisional Commissioner (Kashmir) Pandurang Kondbarao Pole told PTI.

6:32 PM

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray reviewed situation after heavy rainfall in Mumbai

6:26 PM

89 people killed in lightning strikes in Madhya Pradesh in the first six months of 2020: IMD

5:52 PM

Around 300,000 people displaced after deadly blast in Lebanon's Beirut: Governor Marwan Abboud

Around 300,000 people became homeless as a result of the recent powerful explosion in the port of Beirut in Lebanon, the city's Governor Marwan Abboud, said on Wednesday. The explosion rocked the city late on Tuesday. According to the Lebanese authorities, it was caused by improper storage of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, according to an ANI report.

 

"About 300,000 people have been displaced in the Lebanese capital after the port explosion. The cost of the destruction exceeds $3 billion," Abboud said, as quoted by the Al Mayadeen broadcaster.

 

Earlier in the day, the official estimated the amount of damage from the explosion at around $3-5 billion.

5:43 PM

63 villagers evacuated from flood water Sonyachi Wadi village in Raigad

As many as 63 villagers, who were stranded in Sonyachi Wadi village in Raigad due to flood in the area, were rescued on Wednesday, Raigad Police said.

 

According to the police, at least 75 people were stuck in the floodwaters. Police and Disaster Management personnel are carrying out the rescue operation to evacuate the rest of the people.

 

"At a distance of a few km from Goregaon in Mangaon taluka, Sonyachi Wadi was surrounded by the floodwaters of the river, leaving 70 to 75 people stranded in the villages. Raigad Police and Disaster Management Department Raigad have evacuated 63 villagers by boat, rescue operation is underway," Raigad Police tweeted.

5:23 PM

Heavy waterlogging and traffic congestion reported in Girgaon following heavy rainfall in Mumbai

5:05 PM

Latest News LIVE: Fireworks, ammonium nitrate likely fuelled Beirut explosion

Fireworks and ammonium nitrate appear to have been the fuel that ignited a massive explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut, experts and videos of the blast suggest. The scale of the damage from the epicentre of the explosion at the port of Beirut to the windows blown out kilometres (miles) away resembles other blasts involving the chemical compound commonly used as an agricultural fertilizer, according to a PTI report.

 

But the compound itself typically doesn't detonate on its own and requires another ignition source. That likely came from a fire that engulfed what initially appeared to be fireworks that were stored at the port.

 

Online videos of the disaster's initial moments show sparks and lights inside the smoke rising from the blaze, just prior to the massive blast.

 

That likely indicates that fireworks were involved, said Boaz Hayoun, owner of the Tamar Group, an Israeli firm that works closely with the Israeli government on safety and certification issues involving explosives.