LIVE news: BBIL expects regulator's nod for intranasal Covid vax in Aug

Live news updates: The firm completed clinical trials of the nasal vaccine with about 4,000 volunteers

3:00 PM

Cipla appoints Oyo's Vaidya as independent director

Drug major Cipla has appointed Mandar Purushottam Vaidya as an independent director for a period of five years, till July 28, 2027.

On the recommendation of the nomination and remuneration committee and subject to the approval of the shareholders at the ensuing annual general meeting, the company's board has appointed Vaidya, the Mumbai-based company said in a regulatory filing.

In August 2019, Vaidya had joined OYO, a global travel-tech company as CEO - SE Asia & Middle East.

2:58 PM

Delhi's first monkeypox patient discharged from hospital: Officials

Delhi's first monkeypox patient has been discharged from the LNJP Hospital, senior officials said on Tuesday.

 

The 34-year-old man, a resident of west Delhi, had tested positive last month.

 

Fourteen of his contacts, including the doctor who first treated him, were quarantined but none of them developed symptoms, officials said.

 

The man was discharged on Monday night, they said.

2:57 PM

Zawahiri killing: Al-Qaeda-Taliban nexus against Indian interests, say officials

The killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri is likely to deal a blow to al-Qaeda supporters and affiliates in India, officials said on Tuesday but expressed concerns over the Taliban sheltering him in Kabul saying such facilities may also be extended to terror outfits mainly targeting India.

Zawahari, who took over as the leader of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden's death in 2011, has been killed in a "precision strike" carried out by the CIA at a safe house in the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan's capital Kabul.

The killing of Zawahiri is likely to affect the morale of Qaeda supporters and cadres in India. Recently, they were conducting waves of propaganda campaigns and trying to rebuild the al-Qaeda organisational machinery in India, officials privy to the developments told PTI.

2:50 PM

SP Group sells entire stake in Jammu highway project to NIIF

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group on Tuesday announced the divestment of its entire shareholding in SP Jammu Udhampur Highway Ltd to the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) for an undisclosed amount.

The group in a statement said SP Jammu Udhampur is the developer for the Jammu-Udhampur highway project under a concession from the National Highways Authority of India on a build-operate-transfer (annuity) basis.

According to the statement, the 64.5-km long 4-lane Jammu Udhampur Highway is of strategic national interest in India and enhances connectivity to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.

2:47 PM

Opposition not targeted like this even during Emergency: Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena on Tuesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the arrest of Sanjay Raut by the Enforcement Directorate, saying such targeting of the Opposition did not happen even during the Emergency imposed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

 

In an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said democracy and a country perish if the Opposition is not treated with respect.

 

Raut was arrested by the ED on Sunday night in connection with a money laundering case emerging from a chawl redevelopment scheme in Mumbai. He was remanded in ED custody till August 4.

 

2:40 PM

India, Maldives ink six pacts to broad-base ties

India and Maldives on Tuesday inked six agreements to expand cooperation in several key areas with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that New Delhi has been and will continue to be the "first responder" to any need or crisis facing the island nation.

 

After wide-ranging talks with visiting Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Modi announced a Line of Credit of USD 100 million (one million = 10 lakh)for the neighbouring country for the completion of development projects in a time-bound manner.

 

"We also reviewed projects for the construction of 4000 social housing units in Greater Male today. I am happy to announce that we will additionally provide financial support for 2,000 social housing units," he said in his media statement.

2:34 PM

J&K's historic Mughal Road blocked due to landslide

Vehicular traffic on the historic Mughal Road in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir was suspended on Tuesday after it was hit by a massive landslide, officials said.

The road, which connects Poonch and Rajouri districts in Jammu region with south Kashmir's Shopian, is an alternative road to the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

The Mughal Road was blocked due to landslide triggered by heavy rains in Poshana area, thereby bringing the traffic to halt, they said.

2:32 PM

Notices issued to three Chinese mobile companies for tax evasion: Sitharaman

The government is looking into cases of alleged tax evasion by three mobile companies of China and notices have been given to them, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, the minister said the three companies are Oppo, Vivo India and Xiaomi.

The Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has issued a notice to mobile company Oppo for total customs duty of Rs 4,389 crore and these are on the grounds of mis-declaration of certain goods leading to a short payment in customs duty, she said, adding, "duty evasion we think is about Rs 2,981 crore".

"Undervaluation of imported goods for the purpose of payment of customs duty, that we think is an evasion of Rs 1,408 crore," she said.

2:31 PM

Condemn this vendetta politics: Cong on ED raids on National Herald assets in Delhi

The Congress on Tuesday condemned as "vendetta politics" the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on a dozen locations, including the head office of the party-owned National Herald newspaper, and said the action was part of the continued attack on the country's principal opposition party.

 

Officials said the searches are being carried out under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to "gather additional evidence with regard to the trail of funds".

 

"The raids on Herald House, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg are a part of the continued attack against India's principal opposition -- Indian National Congress," Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.

2:22 PM

Country battling 'epidemic of unemployment' but govt polishing image of 'arrogant king': Rahul

The country is battling an "epidemic of unemployment" with crores of families left with no means of a stable income but the government is spending billions just to polish the image of an "arrogant king", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday.

In a Facebook post in Hindi a day after the debate on price rise in the Lok Sabha,

Gandhi said the Congress had tried to get the government to answer the questions of the people during the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament. However, everyone saw how Opposition MPs were suspended, arrested for protests and the House adjourned.

"Yesterday when the discussion did take place, the government clearly said that 'there is no problem like 'mehngai' (inflation)!

2:02 PM

India, Maldives ink six pacts to broad-base ties

India and Maldives on Tuesday inked six agreements to expand cooperation in several key areas with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserting that New Delhi has been and will continue to be the "first responder" to any need or crisis facing the island nation.

 

After wide-ranging talks with visiting Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Modi announced a Line of Credit of USD 100 million (one million = 10 lakh)for the neighbouring country for the completion of development projects in a time-bound manner.

 

"We also reviewed projects for the construction of 4000 social housing units in Greater Male today. I am happy to announce that we will additionally provide financial support for 2,000 social housing units," he said in his media statement.

2:00 PM

World one miscalculation away from 'nuclear annihilation,' warns UN chief

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm over the war in Ukraine, nuclear threats in Asia and the Middle East, and other tensions, warning that humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.

The warning came Monday as a pandemic-delayed conference opened to review the 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which is aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and eventually achieving a nuclear-free world.

The threat of nuclear catastrophe was also raised by the United States, Japan, Germany, the U.N. nuclear chief and many other opening speakers.

1:51 PM

Ex-Pak PM Imran Khan's party received prohibited funding from 34 foreign nationals: Election Commission

Pakistan's electoral watchdog on Tuesday issued a show cause notice to ousted prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party for receiving prohibited funding from 34 foreign nationals.

A three-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), comprising Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, Nisar Ahmed Durrani and Shah Muhammad Jatoi announced the unanimous verdict.

1:32 PM

SC seeks response of Centre, CVC on pleas challenging extension of tenure of ED head

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought response of the Centre and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on a batch of petitions challenging the extension of tenure of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) director and the amended law allowing such extensions up to five years.

 

A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Krishna Murari issued notices to the respondents based on as many as eight petitions, including the ones filed by Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Jaya Thakur and TMC leader Saket Gokhale.

 

1:25 PM

Over 500 pilgrims leave from Jammu for Amarnath cave shrine

A batch of 570 pilgrims on Tuesday left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here to pay obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.

The 43-day Yatra began on June 30 from the twin routes -- the traditional 48-km from Nunwan in Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag, and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir.

The 33rd batch of pilgrims left in a convoy of 21 vehicles amid heavy security of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), they said.

1:09 PM

China slaps export ban on 100 Taiwan brands before Pelosi visit

China barred shipments from more than 100 Taiwanese food exporters in an apparent effort to impose economic pressure on a key industry ahead of an expected visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

 

China’s General Administration of Customs imposed the ban Monday, according to local outlet United Daily News, which said affected goods included seafood, tea and honey. The issue was outdated information on import documentations, the Taipei-based Apple Daily reported, adding that the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration was trying to understand more about the problem.  

1:06 PM

ED raids National Herald assets in Delhi

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided a dozen locations including the head office of the Congress party-owned National Herald newspaper here as part of an ongoing money laundering probe, officials said.

 

They said the searches are being carried out under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to "gather additional evidences with regard to the trail of funds".

 

Officers of the federal agency also searched the 'Herald House' office located at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, ITO in central Delhi.

 

1:04 PM

COVID-19 infection may accelerate brain ageing: Study

COVID-19 infections may predispose individuals to developing irreversible neurological conditions, according to a study.

The finding, published in the journal Ageing Research Reviews, also shows that COVID-19 may increase the likelihood of strokes and the chance of developing persistent lesions that can lead to brain bleeding.

The team, led by Joy Mitra and Muralidhar L. Hegde, from the Houston Methodist Research Institute, US, noted that a great deal of research has shown that the impacts of COVID-19 go far beyond the actual time of infection.

COVID-19 is known to invade and infect the brain, among other major organs, the researchers said.

12:49 PM

Sri Lankans bide time as leaders seek fix for economic woes

Sri Lankans who have endured months of fuel and food shortages are bracing for more pain as a newly installed government scrambles to find solutions to the Indian Ocean nation's economic emergency.

Like many others, fish monger Gamini Mallawarachchi says he is pinning his hopes on President Ranil Wickremesinghe 's ability to revive the economy and restore stability after months of turmoil and protests.

Things are really, really bad now and my life is almost ruined, said Mallawarachchi, who has given up on selling fish because he can't find fuel to get to the village where he used to buy it, and anyway his customers were buying less and less.

12:15 PM

Twitter may soon let you see 'tweets per month'

Microblogging platform Twitter is testing a new feature that will let users see how many times someone tweets per month.

Reverse engineers spotted this in development about a month ago, but as of this morning, some Twitter users have shared that they have gained access to this feature, reports TechCrunch.

"This is part of an ongoing experiment in which we want to learn how providing more context about the frequency of an account's tweets can help people make more informed decisions about the accounts they choose to engage with," a Twitter spokesperson was quoted as saying.

11:53 AM

Bharat Biotech expects regulator's nod for intranasal COVID-19 vaccine in Aug

Bharat Biotech, which is working on an intranasal COVID-19 vaccine candidate is hopeful of getting regulatory licenses this month, if all goes well, Chairman and Managing Director of the company, Krishna Ella said.

He also has said BBIL (Bharat Biotech International Limited), which has a vaccine manufacturing plant in Ankleshwar in Gujarat is one of the two plants in the world capable of producing vaccine for monkeypox disease. The other one is in Bavarian Nordic, Germany.

"We will be applying for licenses and (they) should come. If everything goes well, we know by next month (August). You (people) would rather get the coronavirus nasal vaccine and if any variant comes it is easy to plug in quickly and move fast. So we are optimistic that both injectable and nasal strategy will work protecting people's lives in the future, any variant comes also we can handle," he said in a recently held event.

11:29 AM

Glowing tributes paid to national flag designer Pingali Venkaiah on birth anniversary

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy paid glowing tributes to freedom fighter and designer of the National Flag Pingali Venkaiah on the latter's 146th birth anniversary on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister hoisted the national tricolour at his camp office and took salute. He also inaugurated a photo exhibition on the life of Pingali Venkaiah.

Energy Minister P R C Reddy, Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma, Special Chief Secretary (Tourism and Culture) Rajat Bhargava, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Ravi Shankar Ayyanar and other officials attended.

 

11:21 AM

World is safer place following Ayman al-Zawahiri's death: US Secretary Blinken

The world is a safer place following the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, as he accused Afghanistan's Taliban regime of grossly violating its commitments to the international community by "hosting and sheltering" the al-Qaeda chief in Kabul.

Blinken said the US will continue to act against those who threaten the country, its people and its allies.

"We have delivered on our commitment to act against terrorist threats emanating from Afghanistan. The world is safer following the death of al Qa'ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. The U.S. will continue to act against those who threaten our country, our people, or our allies, he said in a tweet.

11:20 AM

IndiGo to reinstate pilots' salaries

India's leading carrier IndiGo has said that it will fully reinstate pilots' salaries by November.

Aviation sector was badly impacted during the Covid pandemic and all domestic carriers had cut staff salaries following the Covid-19-induced lockdowns.

As per sources, the airline is likely to reinstate pay by 8 per cent in August from 6.5 per cent proposed in November earlier.

10:47 AM

Haqqani network tried to conceal al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri presence at safe house in Kabul: Report

Members of the dreaded terror group Haqqani network tried to conceal that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri was at a safe house in Kabul where he was killed in a precision US drone strike and restricted access to the site, a media report said on Tuesday.

The American drone strike killed al-Zawahiri, a key plotter of the 9/11 terrorist attacks who took over as the leader of al-Qaeda after Osama bin Laden's death in Pakistan in 2011, at a safe house in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden announced on Monday.

Al-Zawahiri, 71, was the No. 2 in al-Qaeda when the group conducted the September 11 terror attacks, and American officials considered him a central plotter. While he lacked the charismatic leadership of bin Laden, he profoundly shaped al-Qaeda and its terrorist movements with his writing and arguments.

10:35 AM

Assam logs 508 new COVID cases, no deaths

Assam registered a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases as 508 people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, 448 more than the previous day, taking the overall coronavirus tally in the state to 739,514, a National Health Mission (NHM), bulletin said.

The new cases were detected from 7,549 samples tested for the virus during the day with the positivity rate of 6.73 per cent, it said on Monday.

The state had logged 60 fresh infections with a positivity rate of 6.32 per cent the previous day.

No deaths were reported during the period and the toll remained unchanged at 6,670. Another 1,347 positive patients have died due to co-morbidities so far.

10:29 AM

Heavy rains continue to lash Kerala, Red alert in 10 districts

As incessant rains continue to lash Kerala with reports of landslides and rising river water levels in some parts of the state, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red alert in 10 districts of the southern state for Tuesday.

IMD also issued a Red alert in the same 10 districts for August 3 also.

The red alert is issued in all the districts of the state barring Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Kasaragod, where Orange alerts have been issued for August 2 and 3, according to an IMD district rainfall forecast issued for Kerala at 10 AM on Tuesday.

The department also warned of widespread and isolated heavy and very heavy rainfall in the state till August 5.

10:23 AM

Telangana BJP Chief to launch 3rd phase of 'padayatra' on Tuesday

Telangana BJP president Telangana Bandi Sanjay Kumar would launch the third phase of his 'padayatra' from the temple town of Yadadri on Tuesday.

He would offer prayers at the famous temple of Lord Lakshmi Narasimha at Yadadri before launching the 'padayatra.'

Union Minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat would be the chief guest at a public meeting to be held at Yadadri town on the first day of the walkathon.

10:16 AM

ED expanded by over 50% since Sanjay Kumar Mishra assumed office in 2018

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is in the news over its action in various cases of alleged money laundering, has witnessed a remarkable growth over the last nearly four years since Sanjay Kumar Mishra assumed office as its Director.

When Sanjay Mishra took charge as ED Director in 2018, the agency had five Special Directors and 18 Joint Directors. Many of them were from the Indian Police Service (IPS). Officers come to ED from deputation from central and state governments or union territories.

Sources said the agency now has nine Special Directors, three Additional Directors, 36 Joint Directors and 18 Deputy Directors. For deputation in ED, preference is now given to the officers from Income Tax, Directorate General of GST Intelligence and Customs and Excise Department. ED has set up offices in states such as Meghalaya, Karnataka, Manipur, Tripura and Sikkim.

10:06 AM

Ensure protests are strictly under rules: HC to Karnataka govt

Disposing of a public interest litigation, the Karnataka High Court has directed the authorities concerned to strictly implement the 'Licensing and Regulation of Protests, Demonstrations and Protest Marches (Bengaluru City) Orders 2021'.

The orders issued under the Karnataka Police Act, restricts protests in the city to 'Freedom Park'.

The court initiated the PIL on its own after protest and demonstrations on March two last year caused massive traffic disruptions in the city.