Highlights: French President Macron says France will recognise Palestine as state

Highlights: Catch all the latest news developments here

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has strongly criticised France’s decision to formally recognise the state of Palestine. In a sharply worded post on X, Rubio described the move as “a slap in the face to the victims of the 7 October attack,” stating that the United States firmly opposes President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to seek recognition at the United Nations General Assembly. He further argued that the decision serves Hamas propaganda and undermines efforts towards peace. Macron announced on Thursday that France intends to recognise Palestine during the UNGA session in September.

 

Separately, the Haryana government has approved a budget of ₹665 crore for the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) scheme, commonly known as the mid-day meal programme. In the 2024–25 financial year, ₹478 crore was spent on providing meals to schoolchildren across the state. The budget for 2025–26 was cleared at a state-level steering-cum-monitoring committee meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi on Thursday. 

  A magnitude-6.6 earthquake struck in the South Pacific near the island nation of Samoa on Friday, but caused no apparent damage. The quake occurred 440 kilometers (273 miles) southwest of the capital Apia at a depth of 314 kilometers (195 miles), the US Geological Survey said.

 

3:31 PM

Rehabilitation of homeless with psychosocial disabilities sensitive issue: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday said the rehabilitation of homeless persons suffering from psychosocial disabilities was a sensitive issue and directed the Centre to take it up "very seriously". The Centre informed a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that authorities were already deliberating the matter with meetings being underway. The government counsel sought eight weeks' time to update the court on the progress achieved.

 

3:07 PM

YSRCP rejects report on Tirupati stampede, demands CBI inquiry

Senior YSRCP leader and former TTD chairman B Karunakar Reddy on Friday rejected the judicial commission report over the Tirupati temple stampede, demanding a CBI inquiry as the "report seems to be biased and predetermined". The Andhra Pradesh cabinet headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday accepted the report submitted by Justice (retired) M Satyanarayana Murthy on the stampede that occurred at Padmavathi Park in Bairagipatteda, Tirupati on January 8, 2025.

2:59 PM

Narco-hawala syndicate busted in Ferozepur; 1 held with 15 kg heroin

A narco-hawala network was unearthed in Punjab's Ferozepur district on Friday with the arrest of a drug smuggler and recovery of 15 kg of heroin. Director General of Punjab Police, Gaurav Yadav, said that acting on credible intelligence, a covert operation by the Ghall Khurd police station led to the arrest of drug smuggler, Ramesh Kumar alias Mechi.

2:30 PM

Parliament LIVE update: Lok Sabha adjourned for the day

Lok Sabha proceedings adjourned for the day following persistent opposition protests over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.

1:39 PM

SC allows Kerala to withdraw pleas against Guv over assent to bills

The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Kerala government to withdraw its pleas against Governor over the delay in approving bills passed by the state assembly. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar passed the order after senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the Kerala government, sought withdrawal of the plea and said the issue had turned infructuous in view of the recent judgment passed in the Tamil Nadu Governor case.

1:37 PM

Centre set to extend President's rule in Manipur for another 6 months, resolution to come up in RS

The Centre is set to extend President's rule in Manipur for another six months from August 13 and a notice for bringing a statutory resolution on it has been given to the Rajya Sabha, which has been admitted by the chair. The House is yet to take up the notice, which will be listed next week after time for discussing the same is allocated by the Business Advisory Committee of the upper house.

11:25 AM

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

Lok Sabha proceedings adjourned till 2 pm following Opposition protests over revision of electoral rolls in Bihar

11:17 AM

News update: PM Modi arrives in the Maldives on the second leg of his two-nation tour

10:13 AM

Light rain, thunderstorms likely in Delhi

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that light rain and thunderstorms are likely to affect Delhi. The Safdarjung observatory, which serves as the city's base station, recorded a minimum temperature of 28 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature is expected to settle around 36 degrees Celsius.

9:56 AM

Bihar failed to submit utilisation certificates of projects worth over Rs 70,000 crore: CAG

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up the Bihar government for failing to submit utilisation certificates for projects worth Rs 70,877 crore. The report of the CAG on State Finances for the year 2023-24 was tabled in the state assembly on Thursday.

9:46 AM

Court orders auction of ex-MLA’s sports academy in ₹512 cr fraud case

A special anti-money laundering court has ordered the auction of properties linked to former MLA Vivekanand Shankar Patil to facilitate repayment to creditors of a cooperative bank based in Panvel in Maharashtra's Raigad district. The properties, comprising a multi-acre sports academy and a land parcel in Panvel, have been attached by probe agencies in an alleged fraud of over Rs 512 crore at the Karnala Nagari Sahakari (cooperative) Bank.