Feisty wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Saturday said that under "different circumstances" she could see herself competing till 2032 because she still has a lot of wrestling left in her but is now unsure about her future as things "might never be same again".

Vinesh had announced her retirement from the sport after her disqualification from the women's 50kg final for being overweight by 100gms. She had challenged the decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) but her appeal was dismissed.

In an emotional post on social media, Vinesh shared her childhood dream, the hardships she faced after losing her father and also put on record the contribution made by people in her extraordinary journey that ended in heartbreak in Paris.

"....all I want to say is that we did not give up, our efforts did not stop, and we did not surrender but the clock stopped and the time was not fair. So was my fate," she wrote, referring to the work she did with her team before the second day weigh-in.

"To my team, my fellow Indians and my family, it feels like: the goal that we were working towards and what we had planned to achieve is unfinished, that something might always remain missing, and that things might never be the same again.

"Maybe under different circumstances, I could see myself playing till 2032, because the fight in me and wrestling in me will always be there. I can't predict what the future holds for me, and what awaits me in this journey next, but I am sure that I will continue to fight always for what I believe in and for the right thing," she wrote.

9:49 PM

Biden says 'we are closer than we've ever been' to a cease-fire and hostage deal for Gaza, but 'not there yet'

Biden says 'we are closer than we've ever been' to a cease-fire and hostage deal for Gaza, but 'not there yet', reports AP.

8:57 PM

Punjab's former top prison official arrested for alleged links with ex-ISI chief Hameed

Law enforcement agencies on Friday arrested former Inspector General of Prisons of Punjab province Shahid Saleem Baig for his alleged links with former ISI chief retired Gen Faiz Hameed, who is facing court-martial proceedings in a housing scam.

Baig served as IG Prisons Punjab for five years and retired before Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan was jailed over a year ago.

Baig has reportedly been arrested from his Lahore's Shadman residence. “Officials of an intelligence agency raided the residence of Baig and took him into custody in connection with his links with Gen Faiz,” an official said.

8:33 PM

Tenzing Norgay's Sherpa village in Everest region hit by major flooding after glacial lake outburst: Reports

Tenzing Norgay's Sherpa village in Everest region hit by major flooding after possible glacial lake outburst, claim reports.

8:10 PM

Indian student in UK develops revolutionary carbon-extracting biomaterial

An Indian student at University College London (UCL) is working on a new construction biomaterial that uses living microorganisms to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which has the potential to dramatically reduce carbon footprint if mass-produced and widely adopted by the building industry.

Prantar Tamuli, a Master's degree student in the Biochemical Engineering Department at UCL, recently unveiled the material as part of an art installation at St Andrews Botanic Garden in Scotland. It incorporates living cyanobacteria into translucent panels that can be mounted on to the interior walls of buildings and as the microorganisms embedded within the panels grow using photosynthesis, they pull carbon dioxide out of the air.

7:48 PM

Will preferably hold all bypolls in one go: Chief Election Commissioner Kumar

The Election Commission will "preferably" hold 47 bypolls due in one go, Chief Election Rajiv Kumar said on Friday, stressing that these cannot be held immediately due to the weather condition prevailing in various states, including the landslide in Kerala's Wayanad.

Responding to a question on when the poll panel plans to hold bypolls -- 46 to the state assemblies and one to the Lok Sabha -- Kumar said there are some states where the bypolls cannot be held due to the prevailing weather conditions.

Referring to Wayanad, he said the Lok Sabha bypoll cannot be held there immediately due to the landslides.

The seat fell vacant after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi resigned from there while retaining Rae Bareli.

Kumar said the flood situation continues in states such as Bihar and Assam.

"We will hold all (the bypolls) together and well within six months (the period in which vacancies are to be filled as per law). We are waiting for the weather conditions to improve," he said.

The CEC said that Election Commission would want people to settle and have a breather after the calamity.

He said the elections would be held "preferably" together else questions would be raised about holding the bypolls separately.

In Uttar Pradesh, the bypolls are due in 10 constituencies.

7:22 PM

IAS officer Punya Salila Srivastava named new Health Secretary: Govt

IAS officer Punya Salila Srivastava named new Health Secretary, govt said.

7:21 PM

Senior bureaucrat Deepti Umashankar named Secretary to the President of India: Govt

Senior bureaucrat Deepti Umashankar named Secretary to the President of India, said govt.

7:16 PM

Welcome announcement of assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir: Union Home Minister Amit Shah

J-K assembly polls to further strengthen roots of democracy, open door to new period of development for region. I appeal to people of J-K to actively participate in assembly polls, vote in large numbers: Union Home Minister Amit Shah

7:12 PM

Secretary reshuffle: RK Singh appointed defence secretary; Vivek Joshi named new personnel secretary

RK Singh has been appointed as new defence secretary while Vivek Joshi and K Srinivas have been named as new personnel secretary and housing & urban secretary respectively.

6:14 PM

Gold plunges Rs 400; silver rallies Rs 800

Gold prices plunged Rs 400 to Rs 72,750 per 10 grams in the national capital on Friday, according to the All India Sarafa Association. The precious metal had closed at Rs 73,150 per 10 grams in the previous session. The commodity markets were closed on Thursday on the occasion of Independence Day.

5:48 PM

Kolkata rape-murder: CBI probe shouldn't lead to case being buried, says TMC's Derek O'Brien

TMC leaders on Friday said the public outrage and outpouring of grief over the rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor in Kolkata is understandable but the CBI taking over the case shouldn't lead to it "being quietly buried".

5:46 PM

RBI tightens rules for peer-to-peer lending platforms

India's central bank on Friday tightened norms for peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms as some of these entities have violated regulations. P2P lending sidesteps banks and financial institutions by connecting individual lenders with borrowers. Such platforms shall not assume any credit risk arising out of transactions, provide credit enhancement or guarantee, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement.

4:56 PM

Almost clear Marathas won't get quota, govt only listening to OBCs, alleges Manoj Jarange

It is "almost clear now" the Maharashtra government will not give reservations to the Maratha community as it is only listening to the OBC groups, activist Manoj Jarange alleged on Friday. Speaking to reporters in his native Antarwali Sarati in Jalna, some 60 kilometres from here, he said the Eknath Shinde government is disrespecting the Maratha community.

4:43 PM

'Very disappointing': BSP chief Mayawati slams PM Modi over I-Day speech

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Independence day speech and called it 'very disappointing.' In a post on X in Hindi, Mayawati said, "The PM also forgot to remember the assurance given to the BJP MPs in this regard, whereas the SC-ST sections of the country have a bigger complaint than the Congress about adopting such a casteist attitude, because this party, like the BJP, has maintained silence till now on their sub-classification and division, which is unfair."

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday led a protest rally, demanding justice for a woman doctor, who was allegedly raped and murdered at a state-run hospital last week. A civic volunteer has been arrested in connection with the crime. A group of around 40 people entered the hospital and vandalised the emergency department, nursing unit and medicine store in the early hours of Thursday.

The Election Commission on Friday announced that the Assembly elections will take place in Jammu and Kashmir in 3 phases on Sept 18, 25 and Oct 1. The results will be declared on Oct 4. Haryana will vote in a single phase on Oct 1 to elect a new state government, the ECI announced today. The results for the assembly polls will be declared on Oct 4.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned four doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital today amid the ongoing protest over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor, news agency ANI reported.

Calling it an absolute failure of the state machinery, the Calcutta High Court on Friday reprimanded the West Bengal government over the mob attack at RG Kar Hospital.

The Election Commission will announce the schedule for Assembly polls today afternoon. The press conference is to be held around 3 pm, but the invite did not mention the states for which the election schedule would be announced. The terms of the legislative assemblies of Haryana and Maharashtra end on November 3 and November 26, respectively. The election panel also plans to hold Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir before Sept 30, the deadline set by the Supreme Court.

Isro launched its third and final developmental flight, Small Satellite Launch Vehicle-D3, carrying the Earth Observation Satellite EOS-08. The launch took place at the predetermined time of 9:17 AM from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, located approximately 135 kilometers east of Chennai. The SSLV-D3-EOS-08 mission follows the successful launch of the second test flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2-EOS-07) in February 2023. This is Isro's third major mission in 2024, after the successful launch of PSLV-C58/XpoSat in January and GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS missions in February. Isro issued an update saying, "SSLV-D3-EOS-08 Mission -- Six-and-a-half-hour countdown leading to the launch commenced at 02.47 hrs IST".

The CBI, now probing the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, has summoned five doctors for questioning. Meanwhile, the Kolkata Police has arrested 19 people and detained three for the vandalism incident at the hospital during the early hours of Aug 15 while protests were on by those seeking justice for the 31-year-old woman.

As per the police, at least 40 people posing as protesters entered the hospital, hurled stones at cops and vandalised property, targeting the nursing station and medicine store, while also damaging CCTV cameras.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders on Friday paid tribute to former-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his death anniversary at the 'Sadaiv Atal' memorial in Delhi. Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP chief JP Nadda among others were also present at the memorial. Vajpayee served as Prime Minister thrice, briefly in 1966, then for two terms in 1999 and 2004. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2015 for his contributions to India's growth and development.

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First Published: Aug 16 2024 | 9:20 AM IST

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We did not surrender, don't know what future holds for me: Vinesh Phogat