Live news updates: Lanka prez may expand Cabinet to include all parties

Live news updates: Wickremesinghe on Friday appointed an 18-member Cabinet that included Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena

11:30 PM

Maha govt to launch 100-day drive to resolve issues of people after formation of state cabinet: CM

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said a 100-day special programme will be launched once the cabinet is expanded to resolve issues of people in a time-bound manner.

The chief minister was speaking virtually at a function organised by the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) for hawkers to distribute funds in the Thane district.

11:18 PM

Ruckus in Odisha assembly over ED notice to Sonia Gandhi

The Odisha Assembly on Saturday witnessed a noisy scene after Congress and BJP legislators got involved in a war of words over the Enforcement Directorate's fresh summon to Sonia Gandhi for questioning in connection with its probe into a money laundering case.

During the Zero Hour, BJP's deputy leader in the House B C Sethi pointed out the central agency's raid on a West Bengal minister's residence in connection with an alleged school jobs scam.

11:07 PM

Centre released over Rs 7K cr to states for poll expenditure from 2014-22

Nearly Rs 7,000 crore has been released by the Centre to the states since 2014 for expenditure incurred towards conducting various elections.

The matter of simultaneous polls is with the Law Commission for further examination to work out a practicable roadmap and framework for simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.

10:49 PM

C'garh CM Bhupesh Baghel in Delhi; likely to raise with Cong leaders his differences with T S Singh Deo

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel reached the national capital on Saturday and is likely to raise with the Congress leadership the issue of his differences with state minister T S Singh Deo.

They said Singh Deo is also likely to be in the national capital as he is the observer for Gujarat assembly polls along with chief observer Ashok Gehlot.

10:32 PM

Smriti Irani to flag off BJP's Tiranga rally at Srinagar's Lal Chowk on Monday

Union minister Smriti Irani will on Monday flag off BJP's Tiranga motorcyclists rally from the historic Clock Tower at Lal Chowk here to the Kargil War Memorial, the party said on Saturday.

A BJP spokesman said the party's J-K unit has constituted six committees to finalise the arrangements for the event.

9:03 PM

Will take steps against arrested minister if proven guilty of school jobs scam: TMC

The Trinamool Congress on Saturday said that the party and the government will take action against arrested senior minister Partha Chatterjee if he is proven guilty of the school jobs scam.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh also made it clear that presently the party would not remove Chatterjee as a cabinet minister or the secretary general of the Trinamool Congress.

8:35 PM

TMC stands for The Mountain of Corruption: Anurag Thakur

Information & Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday hit out at Trinamool Congress, saying the party is "the mountain of corruption" as West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee was arrested in connection with the school jobs scam in the state.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also detained Chatterjee's close aide Arpita Mukherjee, from whose premises cash amounting to Rs 21 crore was seized.

8:13 PM

Kovind's journey to Prez post inspiring achievement of India's democracy: Om Birla

Outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind's journey from a small Uttar Pradesh village to India's top constitutional post is a wonderful and inspiring achievement of the country's democracy, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Saturday.

Addressing a farewell function organised on behalf of Members of Parliament for the outgoing president, Birla said Kovind's commitment to political fairness and making Rashtrapati Bhavan accessible to citizens will inspire generations to come.

8:10 PM

Outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind to address nation on Sunday

Outgoing President Ram Nath Kovind will address the nation on Sunday, a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement issued on Saturday said.

The address will be broadcast from 7 pm on the entire network of All India Radio and telecast on all channels of Doordarshan in Hindi followed by the English version, it said.

7:23 PM

Maharashtra reports 2,336 Covid-19 cases, five deaths

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 2,336 new Covid-19 cases and five pandemic-related deaths, taking the state's caseload to 80,32,246 and death toll to 1,48,056, an official said.

The addition to the tally was a drop from the 2,515 cases detected a day earlier. On Friday too, five patients had succumbed to the viral infection.

6:54 PM

India's efforts were praised all across the world during difficult times: Kovind during farewell speech

World is struggling because of Covid-19 pandemic. I hope we learn lessons from the pandemic, we forgot that we are all part of nature. In difficult times, India's efforts were praised all across the world, said President Ram Nath Kovind during his farewell address 

6:35 PM

Delhi Excise Policy: LG takes note of 'lapses', seeks report from Chief Secy

LG VK Saxena has directed the chief secretary to submit a report on the role of officers and civil servants in alleged "illegal" formulation, amendments and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, official sources said on Saturday.

Saxena has already recommended a CBI probe into the alleged violations of rules and procedural lapses related to the Excise Policy 2021-22 of the Kejriwal government.

The recommendation of CBI probe by the LG was based on a report of the Chief Secretary.

5:56 PM

Sedition case: Delhi court dismisses interim bail plea of Sharjeel Imam

Delhi court on Saturday has dismissed the interim bail plea of Sharjeel Imam in the Sedition case connected with seditious speech, ANI reported.

5:50 PM

Fresh supply of office space rises 96% in Jan-Jun across 6 cities

New supply of office space nearly doubled in January-June to 23.7 million square feet across six cities on lower base effect and rise in demand, according to Colliers.

The supply stood at 12.1 million square feet in the January-June 2021 across these six cities - Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR.

5:24 PM

Smriti Irani denies the allegations of her 18 year old daughter running an illegal bar in Goa

5:01 PM

Latur forestation drive: Over 28,000 sapling to be planted on Sunday

Over 28,000 saplings will be planted in 14 villages located along the banks of the Manjara river in Maharashtra's Latur district as part of a mega forestation drive on Sunday, Collector Prithviraj BP said.

A human chain 10 kilometres long will be formed for the plantation drive, he said, adding that pits for the saplings were dug amid heavy rains in the region.

4:35 PM

Delhi Congress demands Sisodia resign over alleged lapses in excise policy

The Delhi Congress on Saturday staged a protest outside the AAP office here, demanding the resignation of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia over alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses in the Kejriwal government's Excise Policy, 2021-22.

Several Delhi Congress leaders and workers gathered near the DDU Marg office of the AAP, holding banners and raising slogans against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Sisodia.

4:10 PM

Delhi riots: Court seeks presence of jail officials on Aug 1 in case involving Sharjeel Imam

A Delhi court on Saturday directed Tihar jail officials to appear before it on August 1 during the hearing on the matter related to the alleged assault on former JNU student Sharjeel Imam on prison premises.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat passed the directions after watching the CCTV footage submitted by Tihar jail authorities related to the alleged incident.

During the hearing, the judge observed that prima facie, it was not an assault. But the counsel said that pushing, shoving and slapping were within the ambit of assault.

3:56 PM

Murmu's victory a reply to those who pay lip service to tribal empowerment, but divide communities: Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday termed Droupadi Murmu's election as India's President a "historic event", and said her victory was a reply to those who only talk about empowerment of tribals, but divide communities.

He said empowerment of tribals is achieved not by talking about it, but through the moves like these (Murmu's election).

Shah added that a person belonging to a tribal Santhal community and coming from a very backward region, occupying the country's top post is a "huge victory of democracy".

3:08 PM

Ladakh reports 17 fresh Covid cases

Ladakh has reported 17 fresh cases of Coronavirus, thereby increasing the COVID-19 tally to 28,726, while 13 patients were cured and discharged a hospital, officials said.

All positive cases were received in Leh.

So far, 228 people have succumbed to COVID-19 in Ladakh. Of these, 168 deaths were reported from Leh and 60 from Kargil, according to the officials.

3:06 PM

Punjab CM's Chandigarh residence fined Rs 10,000 for littering

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation on Saturday imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the Punjab chief minister's residence here for littering.

 

A challan has been issued in the name of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Battalion Deputy Superintendent of Police Harjinder Singh.

 

The house address mentioned in the challan is: House number-7, Sector-2, Chandigarh.

 

Local BJP councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu said he had been receiving complaints for some time from residents regarding the disposal of waste by the staff of the chief minister's residence behind house number-7.

3:00 PM

US pledges more military aid to Ukraine, peace seems far off

The United States promised more military support for Ukraine, including drones, and is doing preliminary work on whether to send fighter aircraft, as fighting raged on in the east of the country five months into Russia's invasion.

 

Moscow and Kyiv signed a landmark deal on Friday to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports. However, representatives declined to sit at the same table and avoided shaking hands at the agreement ceremony in Istanbul, reflecting wider enmity.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed Friday's agreement as unlocking around $10 billion worth of grain exports, needed to ease a food crisis. But on the war, he said there could be no ceasefire unless lost territory was retaken.

3:00 PM

PM Narendra Modi urges people to take part in paying digital tributes to freedom fighters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people on Saturday to take part in a "unique" endeavour that allows every tribute made online to add to the intensity of the illumination of the "Digital Jyot" at Central Park here.

 

"A sky beam light has been installed at Central Park in Delhi. Every tribute paid will intensify the illumination of the Digital Jyot. Do take part in this unique endeavour and strengthen Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav," Modi said in a tweet.

 

2:51 PM

Thirteen Russian missiles hit central Ukraine region, local governor says

Thirteen Russian missiles hit a military airfield and railway infrastructure in Ukraine's central Kirohovrad region on Saturday, killing and wounding a number of people, the local governor said.

 

Governor Andriy Raikovych wrote on Telegram that rescue teams were working at the impact sites, and that one small district of the regional capital, Kropyvnytskyi, had been left without electricity by the strikes.

 

2:49 PM

BCCI aims to cut costs by 80 percent with experiment on age detection software

New Delhi, Jul 23 (PTI) The BCCI will be using a software on an experimental basis to detect age fraud alongside the existing TW3 method with an aim to save costs by as much as 80 percent.

 

The BCCI, which has a zero tolerance policy towards age fraud, currently uses the TW3 method (based on X-ray of left hand and wrist) for age determination.

 

The current method costs Rs 2400 per bone test and takes about 3-4 days while the proposed usage of BoneXpert Software will give instantaneous result and costs only Rs 288.

2:45 PM

EC takes note of fight over Shiv Sena symbol, seeks submissions by Aug 8

The Election Commission has asked the rival factions of the Shiv Sena, led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde, to submit documents by August 8 in support of their claims on the election symbol of the political outfit.

 

Election Commission sources said the two sides have been asked to submit documents, including letters of support from the legislative and organisational wings of the party and the written statements of the rival factions.

 

They said the requirement were made in line with the Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

 

2:34 PM

Human rights group urge new Sri Lankan president not to use force on anti-government protesters

An international rights group has urged Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cease the unlawful use of force against anti-government protesters and probe those responsible for abuses of human rights during the pre-dawn assault on them on Friday, a day after he assumed office.

 

According to a statement by the Human Rights Watch group, Sri Lankan security forces on Friday forcibly dispersed people at a peaceful protest site near the President's Secretariat and assaulted protesters that left more than 50 people injured.

 

At least nine persons were arrested in the incident at Galle Face protest site where several key government offices are located.

2:25 PM

SC order: Lakshadweep administration to continue meat products in school mid-day meal menu

School children of Lakshadweep will not miss chicken and other meat products from their mid-day meals anymore as the administration of the Union Territory (UT) directed the school authorities to comply with a recent Supreme Court order in this regard.

 

The Directorate of Education here on Friday issued an order asking the "school principals of all islands and Headmaster Bitra" to comply with the top court order dated May 2 which directs them to continue to serve food including meat, chicken, fish, egg and other items to the children as done in the past.

 

The Directorate, in the order, also attached relevant portions of the apex court directive for their reference: "Food, including meat, chicken, fish and egg, and other items, prepared and served to the school going children of Lakshadweep, as done in the past, should be continued until further orders. To make it clear, the earlier system should continue."

2:16 PM

NDA is 'No Data Available' govt with no accountability: Rahul Gandhi

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday dubbed the NDA government as a "No Data Available" regime which gives no answers and has no accountability.

 

"'No Data Available' (NDA) government wants you to believe: No one died of oxygen shortage. No farmer died protesting. No migrant died walking. No one was mob lynched. No journalist has been arrested," he said on Twitter.

 

2:10 PM

At 80 new COVID-19 cases, Arunachal records highest single-day spike in July

Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday reported 80 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike this month, pushing the total caseload to 65,231, a senior health official said.

The toll remained at 296 with no new fatality recorded in the last 24 hours, State Surveillance Officer (SSO) Dr Lobsang Jampa said.

Arunachal Pradesh, which remained virus-free for the last couple of months, has been witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases since July 1, much like the other parts of the country, the SSO said.