Latest live: Kejriwal biggest 'U-turn leader' in India, says BJP's Tejaswi

Live news updates: Earlier, bulk of the JDU MLAs joined the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh giving nightmare to Nitish Kumar's party.

12:03 AM

ISRO demonstrates new tech that can be used for its Mars, Venus missions

ISRO on Saturday successfully demonstrated a new technology with Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD) that it said is a game-changer with multiple applications for future missions including to Mars and Venus.

An IAD, designed and developed by ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), was successfully test flown in a 'Rohini' sounding rocket from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS).

11:39 PM

NASA scrubs Artemis I launch again after liquid hydrogen leak

The US space agency on Saturday once again scrubbed the Artemis I Moon mission launch attempt after it encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading the propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket.

Multiple troubleshooting efforts to address the area of the leak by reseating a seal in the quick disconnect where liquid hydrogen is fed into the rocket did not fix the issue.

Engineers were continuing to gather additional data, said NASA.

 

11:14 PM

Gorakhpur: 'Muslim-sounding names' of wards changed in draft delimitation order

The Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation in a draft delimitation order has changed "Muslim-sounding names" of around a dozen wards, prompting a sharp reaction from leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.

The changing of names was part of the delimitation exercise, under which the number of wards went up to 80 in Gorakhpur, with several of these named after iconic personalities and freedom fighters.

According to a senior official, people can file their objections within a week and after their disposal, the delimitation will be approved.

10:07 PM

Karnataka govt clears investment proposals worth Rs 2,750 crore

The Karnataka government on Saturday cleared a total of 53 investment proposals worth Rs 2,750.55 crore, which is expected to generate over 8,000 jobs.

In the 134th State Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC) meeting held at Karnataka Udyog Mitra office, nine investment proposals with each one above Rs 50 crore were approved and these firms would invest around Rs 1,670.69 crore by creating 4,308 employment opportunities.

9:48 PM

2.5 mn households get zero electricity bills: Punjab Power minister

The AAP government in Punjab has fulfilled its promise of providing 300 units of free electricity per month and as such 25 lakh domestic consumers have received zero bills, state Power Minister Harbhajan Singh said Saturday.

In a statement, he claimed this was the first time a government is fulfilling its election promises in the initial year itself.

8:09 PM

Pilot threatens to crash plane on Walmart store in Mississippi; area evacuated

Police in Tupelo, Mississippi say a pilot has been flying an airplane over the city in circles for hours, threatening to intentionally crash into a WalMart store. Governor Tate Reeves says all citizens should be on alert, said US media reports.

 

Tupelo Police Dept said the Walmart & a nearby convenience store had been evacuated. The plane started circling at about 5 am & was still in the air more than 3 hours later. Police said they have made contact with the pilot directly, reported AP

8:05 PM

Delhi reports 236 new cases, 398 recoveries, and 3 deaths

6:35 PM

Thousands line up to say farewell to Gorbachev; Putin absent

Thousands of mourners lined up Saturday to pay tribute to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, in a farewell snubbed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin's refusal to declare a state funeral reflects its uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev, who has been venerated worldwide for bringing down the Iron Curtain but reviled by many at home for the Soviet collapse and the ensuing economic meltdown that plunged millions into poverty.

5:21 PM

India is likely to get the tag of the 3rd largest economy by 2029: SBI report

India is likely to get the tag of the third largest economy by 2029, a movement of seven places upwards since 2014 when India was ranked 10th, stated a research report from the State Bank of India’s Economic Research Department

4:33 PM

Supertech wants to develop new housing project on twin towers site; to approach Noida authority

Realty firm Supertech Ltd, which incurred a loss of about Rs 500 crore from the demolition of its twin towers, wants to develop a new housing project at the same place and it will seek refund of land cost and other expenses if authorities do not approve the plan, its Chairman R K Arora said.

The nearly 100-metre-tall twin towers -- Apex and Ceyane -- were demolished at 2.30 pm on August 28 as per a Supreme Court order that found their construction within Emerald Court premises in violation of norms. More than 3,700 kg of explosives were used in this operation.

4:17 PM

NGT fines West Bengal Rs 3,500 cr for not managing waste properly

The National Green Tribunal on Saturday has imposed Environmental Compensation of Rs 3,500 crore on the state of West Bengal for allegedly not managing solid as well as liquid waste management causing harm to the environment, ANI reported.

4:07 PM

Only 25 per cent people in Odisha took Covid precaution dose

The Odisha government appealed to the people on Saturday to take the precaution dose against coronavirus as soon as possible as few weeks are left for the period of free jabs and only a quarter of the targeted population got vaccinated with the third shot.

A total of 80.90 lakh people, including frontline workers and those in the 18-60 age group and above 60 years, have taken the precaution dose, Health Director Bijay Panigrahi said at a press briefing in Bhubaneswar.

3:03 PM

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya slams Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, calls him biggest U-turn leader in India

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya on Saturday termed AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal the "biggest U-turn leader" in the country and said his "revdi (freebies) and bevdi (drunk) politics" will be rejected by youngsters in Gujarat.

The national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, also alleged that Kejriwal's politics lacks credibility and integrity.

Addressing reporters shortly before Kejriwal's press conference in Rajkot city, Surya said the AAP leader's claims of good schools, mohalla clinics, and clean politics have been busted by the BJP in Delhi.

3:02 PM

No decision on what will replace Twin Towers till debris is removed: Supertech

After the demolition of the Twin Towers, now a war of words has erupted between the Supertech builder and the Emerald Court RWA on what will be built in place of the Towers. The basis on which the RWA won the case and the Supreme Court had ordered that the towers should be demolished was that the land was marked for a park.

RK Arora, owner of Supertech Group, told IANS that "It has not been decided yet what will be built there. Until the debris is completely removed, it is difficult to say what will be built there. Many people are writing anything, I don't care about all those things, when the debris is removed, then Supertech will clear the situation as to what will be built there."

As of now, Supertech still owns the Twin Tower land. But if it constructs anything there, it will have to take permission from two-thirds of the residents of Emerald Court. According to the RWA, what was marked on the map will be built there.

2:59 PM

Manipur has become 'JDU-free'; BJP will 'very soon' break JDU-RJD alliance in Bihar: Sushil Modi

A day after five Janata Dal (United) MLAs from Manipur merged with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), party leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday said that the state has become JDU-free.

He exuded confidence that the BJP will very soon break the "Mahagathbandhan" alliance of Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress in Bihar.

"Five JDU MLAs joined the BJP in Manipur, the state has become JDU-free. Those MLAs wanted to remain in NDA. Very soon, we will break the JDU-RJD alliance in Bihar and make the state JDU free," said Modi.

2:57 PM

Protesters demand reopening of Sterlite Copper plant

Nearly 20 people, led by Murugan, Secretary, Pro-Sterlite Foundation, presented a memorandum to S.P, Singh Baghel, Minister of State for Law and Justice; Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding the immediate reopening of Sterlite Copper Smelting plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

The Federation, numbering in thousands, consisting of truck owners, truck drivers, raw material suppliers, contractors, women's self-help groups, and others dependent on the plant, a plea for a quick resolution to reopen the plant. The urgency stemmed from more than 15,000 families losing their livelihood since the plant's closure. These also include the port workers, lorry drivers, contract labour workers and sole breadwinning women.

"We have been suffering for more than four years since the Sterlite plant's shutdown, and our livelihoods have been impacted severely," states the memorandum.

2:51 PM

Shaji Prabhakaran appointed new secretary general of AIFF

Delhi Football president and long-time administrator Shaji Prabhakaran was on Saturday appointed the new secretary general of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

 

The appointment, which was on expected lines, was carried out by the newly-formed executive committee of the AIFF, at the helm of which is president Kalyan Chaubey.

 

The decision was taken during the new dispensation's first executive committee at the Football House, and was chaired by Chaubey.

 

The president proposed Prabhakaran's name as the new secretary general of the AIFF, which was unanimously approved by all the members, the AIFF said in a statement.

2:45 PM

Kejriwal biggest U-turn leader in India: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya on Saturday termed AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal the "biggest U-turn leader" in the country and said his "revdi (freebies) and bevdi (drunk) politics" will be rejected by youngsters in Gujarat.

The national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, also alleged that Kejriwal's politics lacks credibility and integrity.

Addressing reporters shortly before Kejriwal's press conference in Rajkot city, Surya said the AAP leader's claims of good schools, mohalla clinics, and clean politics have been busted by the BJP in Delhi.

2:36 PM

Fast-moving wildfire in California forces thousands to evacuate

A fast-moving wildfire in California has exploded to over 2,500 acres with zero containment, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.

The Mill Fire that began on Friday afternoon amid dangerous fire weather has grown to 2,580 acres by Saturday morning in Siskiyou County, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

On Friday night, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for the county to support the response to the rapidly-spreading blaze, reports Xinhua news agency.

2:20 PM

Anand Mohan incident: Attorney General declines consent for contempt proceedings against 13 people

Attorney General K K Venugopal has declined consent for initiating contempt proceedings against 13 people, including jail and police officials, over controversial politician Anand Mohan being allegedly allowed to visit his residence in Patna after his production before a trial court there.

Venugopal said attorney general's contempt jurisdiction is limited to dealing only with instances of criminal contempt of the Supreme Court of India.

Mohan is serving life sentence for the murder of IAS officer G Krishnaiah in 1994.

2:19 PM

NSA Ajit Doval visits Maha CM's Mumbai residence

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Saturday visited the official residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai.

Doval was welcomed by Shinde with a bouquet and a shawl after he offered prayers at Lord Ganesh's idol at the chief minister's residence, Shinde's office said in a statement.

The idol of Lord Ganesh was installed at the CM's residence 'Varsha' on the first day of the ten-day festival on August 31.

2:03 PM

India vs Pakistan: Focus on top-order approach, Avesh Khan

The famed top-order would be desperate for a course correction while the bowling attack could be rejigged as India aim for a 'Sunday Encore' against Pakistan in an Asia Cup 'Super 4s' clash.

If top-order's Powerplay philosophy is a problem, the inexperience of Avesh Khan at the death is no less a worry as the team management may need to revamp the bowling attack against a strong Pakistan side which is coming into the game after demolishing Hong Kong by more than 150 runs.

With no Ravindra Jadeja available in this game, Axar Patel seems a straightaway replacement but the team combination does take a hit in the absence of Saurashtra all-rounder.

2:03 PM

Booker-winning 'Tomb of Sand', other translations dominate 2022 JCB Prize longlist

With six out of 10 nominated works being translations, including Geetanjali Shree's International Booker-winning novel "Tomb of Sand", the longlist for 2022 JCB Prize for Literature announced on Saturday was overwhelmingly dominated by translated works from multiple languages.

The translation works on the list include "Rohzin" by Rahman Abbas (translated from the Urdu by Sabika Abbas Naqvi), "Paradise of Food" by Khalid Jawed (translated from the Urdu by Baran), "Song of the Soil" by Chuden Kabimo (translated from the Nepali by Ajit Baral), "Valli" by Sheela Tomy, (translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil) and "Imaan" by Manoranjan Byapari (translated from the Bengali by Arunava Sinha).

It is for the first time that the titles in Urdu, Hindi and Nepali have been featured in the longlist of the coveted literary award, which is currently in its fifth year.

1:55 PM

SC to hear plea on violence against doctors

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Monday a plea seeking directions to authorities to ensure adequate security at hospitals and medical centres to prevent attacks on doctors and healthcare workers by relatives of patients and others.

A bench of Justices S K Kaul and Abhay S Oka is likely to take up the matter.

The plea filed by the Delhi Medical Association and Dr Satyajit Borah, who is the president of Assam State Branch of Indian Medical Association, also seeks directions to the Centre and states to have a distress fund to grant compensation to the victim or family of the deceased healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, in such violence.

1:42 PM

Taiwan calls for Dalai Lama's visit to Taipei during celebrations of Tibet Democracy Day

Taiwan Parliament Group along with other rights groups has called for the Dalai Lama's visit to Taipei over the human rights situation in Tibet.

Celebrating the 62nd anniversary of Tibetan Democracy Day on Friday, the Taiwan Parliament Group for Tibet held a commemorative event along with other groups concerned with the development of human rights.

"We should make more Tibetan friends and contacts with other Tibetan associations and organisations," Lin Changzuo, Chairman of the Taiwan Parliament Group for Tibet said addressing the gathering.

1:33 PM

Gorbachev to be buried in modest funeral snubbed by Putin

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, is set to be buried on Saturday in a relatively low-key ceremony snubbed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin's refusal to declare a state funeral reflects its uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev, who has been venerated worldwide for bringing down the Iron Curtain but reviled by many at home for the Soviet collapse and the ensuing economic meltdown that plunged millions into poverty.

On Thursday, Putin privately laid flowers at Gorbachev's coffin at a Moscow hospital where he died.

1:15 PM

Don't quit BJP but work for AAP internally: Kejriwal tells Gujarat BJP workers

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Gujarat to work for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while staying in the ruling party.

Kejriwal said BJP workers should continue to get "payment" from the BJP but work for AAP "from inside".

Addressing a press conference in Rajkot on the final day of his two-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat, Kejriwal said BJP workers will benefit from all the "guarantees" promised by him to people when his party comes to power in the state.

12:43 PM

Big jolt for Nitish Kumar in Northeast, 5 JD(U) MLAs merge with BJP

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has delivered a big jolt to the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) in the northeast as five out of seven MLAs from Manipur have joined hands with BJP.

Earlier bulk of the JDU MLAs joined the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh giving nightmare to Nitish Kumar's party.

Five JDU MLAs merged with the ruling party BJP on Friday, according to a statement from Manipur Legislative Assembly Secretariat.

As per the statement issued by the Legislative Assembly Secretariat, "the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly is pleased to accept the merger of five JD(U) MLAs with the BJP under the tenth schedule of the Constitution."

These names include Joykishan Singh, Ngursanglur Sanate, Md. Achab Uddin, Thangjam Arunkumar and LM Khaute.The Bharatiya Janata Party secured a majority of 32 seats in the 60-member state Assembly in the recently held Assembly elections, results of which were declared on March 10.

11:55 AM

Pondy logs 47 fresh COVID-19 cases, tally reaches 172,000

Puducherry confirmed 47 fresh cases of coronavirus on Saturday, raising overall tally to 172,981.

While Puducherry region alone witnessed 39 new cases, Karaikal reported five and Yanam three.

Mahe an enclave of Puducherry in Kerala had zero new case of viral infection. The 47 fresh cases surfaced during examination of 871 samples, Director of Health G Sriramulu said in a release. He said the active cases were 278 which comprised 10 patients undergoing treatment in hospitals and the remaining 268 in home quarantine. As many as 62 patients recovered during last twenty-four hours and the overall recoveries were 170,734.

11:37 AM

Amit Shah to inaugurate 30th southern zonal council meet in Kerala on Saturday

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on Saturday inaugurate the 30th southern zonal council meeting of the south Indian states and Union Territories, here.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Ministers and Ministers of other southern states -- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana -- and Lieutenant Governors of the southern Union Territories of Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands will take part in the meeting.

The council meeting will discuss matters of interest among the states and also between the states and the central government, a release issued by the Chief Minister's office (CMO) said.