Highlights: Piyush Goyal likely to attend Brics trade ministers' meeting in Moscow on July 26

Latest news updates: Catch all the news updates from around the world here

9:33 PM

Top UN court says Israel's presence in occupied Palestinian territories is illegal and must end

The top UN court says Israel's presence in the Palestinian occupied territories is “unlawful” and called on it to end.

The International Court of Justice said in its non-binding opinion issued on Friday that Israel has abused its status as the occupying power in the West Bank and east Jerusalem by carrying out policies of annexing territory, imposing permanent control and building settlements.

It said such acts render "Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful”. It says its continued presence was ”illegal" and should be ended as “rapidly as possible".

The top United Nations court said Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank and east Jerusalem violates international law, as it delivered a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israel's 57-year occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state, a ruling that could have more effect on international opinion than it will on Israeli policies.

International Court of Justice President Nawaf Salam was expected to take about an hour to read out the full opinion of the panel, which is made up of 15 judges from around the world.

In part of the opinion, he said the panel had found that "the transfer by Israel of settlers to the West Bank and Jerusalem as well as Israel's maintenance of their presence, is contrary to article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention”. The court also noted with “grave concern” that Israel's settlement policy has been expanding.

8:37 PM

Puja Khedkar case: Congress demands high-level panel to probe cases of malpractices in UPSC exam

The Congress Friday said issues surrounding the case of controversial IAS probationer Puja Khedkar raise serious concerns about the integrity of the UPSC recruitment process, and demanded the formation of a high-level committee to investigate the "numerous" instances of malpractices that have come up.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Friday said it has registered a police case against Khedkar for fraudulently availing attempts in the civil services examination by faking her identity.
 

The commission also issued a show cause notice for cancellation of her candidature in the civil services examination-2022 and debarment from future examinations and selections.

Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the UPSC's admission that Puja Khedkar got selected with forged documents raises serious concerns about the integrity of the recruitment process.

"This revelation casts doubt on the effectiveness of the procedures in place, heralded as foolproof by the agency. Now the question arises that how many such unqualified individuals may have slipped through these loopholes in the recruitment process," he said in a post on X.

"The situation demands thorough scrutiny and formation of a high level committee to investigate the numerous cases of malpractices that have come up in the public view since this disclosure," Khera said.

Official sources said the commission had on Thursday filed a complaint with the Delhi Police's crime branch against Khedkar.

7:56 PM

Goyal likely to attend Brics trade ministers' meeting in Moscow on July 26

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to attend the Brics trade ministers' meeting in Moscow on July 26, an official said on Friday. Brics members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It is a grouping of major emerging economies of the world, comprising over 40 per cent of the world population and accounting over 16 per cent in the global trade.

7:37 PM

RIL Q1 net profit drops 5% to Rs 15,138 crore on weak O2C biz

Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 5 per cent drop in its June quarter net profit, hurt by weak refining margins and fuel cracks as well as higher depreciation cost. The consolidated net profit of Rs 15,138 crore, or Rs 22.37 per share, in April-June was compared to Rs 16,011 crore, or Rs 23.66 a share, in the year-ago period, according to a stock exchange filing by the company.

7:25 PM

Industry expects govt to focus on rural economy, agri-infra in Union Budget

With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gearing up to present the first Budget of the Modi 3.0 government, industry players expect that the government would come out with proposals to boost the rural economy and earmark adequate funds for agri-infrastructure development.

On Tuesday, Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2024-25, the first major economic document of the Modi 3.0 government in the Lok Sabha.

6:36 PM

Indian Hotels Company Q1 net profit grows 10.25 pc to Rs 260 cr

Indian Hotels Company Ltd on Friday reported a 10.25 per cent growth in consolidated net profit to Rs 260.19 crore in the June 2024 quarter, on higher revenue from operations. Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), the country's largest hospitality company, which owns the 'Taj' brand of luxury hotels, had a profit of Rs 236.01 crore in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing.

6:15 PM

Indian financial sector remains insulated from global outage in Microsoft Services: RBI

Indian financial sector remains insulated from global outage in Microsoft Services, said Reserve Bank of India.

5:44 PM

Reliance Jio Infocomm Q1 standalone net profit rises 12% to Rs 5,445 cr

Reliance Jio Infocomm Q1 standalone net profit rises 12 per cent year-on-year to Rs 5,445 crore, revenue up 10 per cent to Rs 26,478 crore

5:33 PM

BJP MLA Ering raises concern over China's under-construction mega dam near Arunachal

Expressing concern over the under-construction mega dam by China near Arunachal Pradesh which poses a threat of a flood-like situation in the state, senior BJP MLA Ninong Ering on Friday urged the government to take up the issue with the Centre. China is building a 60,000 megawatt dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Medog, near the international border. Tsangpo is known as Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and Brahmaputra in Assam. The main channel of this river is the Jamuna, which flows through Bangladesh before joining the Bay of Bengal.

5:15 PM

Sunita Kejriwal to launch 'Kejriwal's guarantees' for Haryana: AAP

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita will launch "Kejriwal's guarantees" for Haryana, where the polls are scheduled later this year, AAP's state unit president Sushil Gupta on Friday said.

 

Sunita Kejriwal will launch "Kejriwal's guarantees" during a townhall in Panchkula on Saturday, Gupta told reporters here.

5:02 PM

Stagnant demand, lower steel prices weigh on JSW Steel

Revenue from operations rose around 2 per cent to Rs 42,943 crore, beating analysts estimates of Rs 41,575 crore.

4:54 PM

JSW Steel misses Q1 profit view on muted demand, higher costs

JSW Steel reported a first-quarter profit  today that fell more than expected as the Lok Sabha elections led to stagnant demand in the quarter and lower steel prices weighed. Analysts, on average, had expected the OP Jindal Group company's profit to fall 53%, according to LSEG data.

4:52 PM

JSW Steel's total income rises to Rs 43,107 crore from Rs 42,544 crore

The company's total income rose to Rs 43,107 crore from Rs 42,544 crore in the April-June period of preceding 2023-24 fiscal. Its expenses rose to Rs 41,715 crore from Rs 39,030 crore a year ago.

4:51 PM

We see this as an internal matter of that country: MEA on Bangladesh quota protests

Around 15,000 Indians including 8,000 students are in Bangladesh and they are safe: MEA on violent protests in that country. 

 

4:38 PM

News update: Goods train derails between Valsad, Surat; traffic affected, no casualties, says official

4:32 PM

Wipro's growth in European, APMEA markets fall 11.6%, 13.2%

Srinivas Pallia said that the company reported growth in its Americas 1 market, which includes Latin America. Growth in its European and APMEA markets fell 11.6% and 13.2%, respectively. Wipro saw quarterly revenue decline year-on-year in all of its verticals except health, while banking, financial servcies and insurance, its largest vertical, fell 5.3%. It reported its steepest decline in the communications vertical, which was down 21.9%.

4:28 PM

Top accounts continue to grow: Srini Pallia

"Our top accounts continued to grow, accompanied by a growth in 'Americas 1' strategic market unit (SMU), Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) and Consumer sectors," Srini Pallia said. 

4:26 PM

Pleased with the momentum we have built in Q1 across industries and sectors, says Srini Pallia

"We are pleased with the momentum we have built in Q1 across industries and sectors and confident in our ability to execute better on bookings and profitable growth as we transition to Q2... While we continue to build on our ai360 strategy and prepare our workforce for an AI-first future," Srini Pallia said. 

4:21 PM

Largest win in the recent years, says Srini Pallia, CEO, Wipro

Wipro said it expects revenue from the IT Services business segment to be in the range of $2,600 million to $2,652 million, in the September quarter. "This translates to sequential guidance of (-) 1.0 per cent to +1.0 per cent in constant currency terms," it said.

Srini Pallia, CEO and managing director of Wipro said the company recorded another quarter of total large deal bookings of over $1 billion, with its "largest win in the recent years".

4:15 PM

Madras High Court orders issuing notice to Centre over DMK's plea against three new criminal laws

The Madras High Court on Friday ordered issuing notice to the Centre over a plea by the DMK to declare as ultra vires and unconstitutional, the three new criminal laws brought in by the Union government. The three laws-- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam have come into effect from July 1.

3:52 PM

Wipro's Q1 FY25 net profit rose 4.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,003.2 crore

Wipro's Q1 FY25 net profit rose 4.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,003.2 crore; revenue fell 3.8  percent to Rs 21,963.8 crore, according to the company filing.

3:39 PM

Not a security incident or cyberattack, says CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz

CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz posted on social media platform X that the company “is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.” He said: “This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.” 

3:35 PM

UltraTech Cement's total income at Rs 18,235.30 crore,up 1.81 per cent

The cement maker's total income was at Rs 18,235.30 crore, up 1.81 per cent. UltraTech Cement Ltd stock was trading at Rs 11,295.65 on the BSE post-lunch session, down 3.05 per cent from its previous close.

3:25 PM

Aware of issue, we anticipate a resolution is forthcoming: Microsoft on global outage

"We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming. We are aware of the issue affecting Windows devices due to update from third-party software platform," says Microsoft spokesperson on global outage.

3:19 PM

Tharoor slams Karnataka's job reservation bill as 'unconstitutional' and 'unwise'

Congress Working Committee member and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday criticised his party-ruled Karnataka's bill mandating job reservations for Kannadigas in the private sector, describing it as "unconstitutional" and "unwise". He, however, expressed happiness over the Siddaramaiah-led government's decision to withhold the bill.

3:13 PM

In touch with Microsoft to resolve outage, says IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Centre is in touch with Microsoft to resolve the global outage that has disrupted flights, supermarkets, banking operations, stock market and multiple sectors in the world, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said today.  The minister also emphasised that the reason for this outage has been "identified" and updates have been released to resolve the issue.

 

3:06 PM

Air India operates ferry flight from Mumbai to fly passengers stranded in Russia

Air India on Friday operated a ferry flight from here to fly its Delhi-San Francisco flight passengers, who are stranded at the Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA) in Russia since Thursday. The airline had to divert its Delhi-San Francisco flight with 225 passengers and 19 crew members to the Russian city on Thursday after the cockpit crew detected a potential issue in the cargo hold area of the Boeing 777 aircraft.

2:56 PM

News update: Action has been taken against MLAs who cross-voted in Maha legislative council polls, says Cong

2:55 PM

Nitish govt approves Bihar's first 'film promotion policy'

The Bihar government on Friday approved its first film promotion policy, aiming to provide full institutional support to movie makers. The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. After the meeting, S Siddharth, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat), told reporters, "The Cabinet has approved Bihar's new film promotion policy. There is significant potential and numerous opportunities for filmmaking in Bihar. The proposal originated from the state government's Art, Culture, and Youth Affairs department." 

2:31 PM

UPSC issues show cause notice to IAS trainee Puja Khedkar for cancellation of candidature

UPSC has issued a show cause notice to probationary Puja Khedkar seeking her debarment from future examinations. UPSC has  also filed an FIR against probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar for fraudulently availing attempts in civil services exam.