Breaking News, August 13 | HIGHLIGHTS

A man allegedly strangulated his wife to death inside a car in front of their children on the Lucknow-Purvanchal Expressway here in the early hours of Sunday, police said. The accused, Rahul Mishra, has been taken into police custody, they said. During interrogation, the accused told police that he suspected his wife Monika Gupta's (32) fidelity and hence killed her, a police official said. Station House Officer (SHO) of Kurebhar Police Station Praveen Yadav said the accused had left Lucknow for Rae Bareli with his family in a car.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the nation in marking the 77th Independence Day as the stage is set for celebrations at the historic Red Fort on August 15. Around 1,800 people from different vocations, with their spouses, have been invited as "Special Guests" from across the country to be a part of the celebrations at the Red Fort, the defence ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has questioned Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's statement in Parliament over the alleged attack on the late CM J Jayalalithaa in 1989 in the state Assembly, drawing strong rebuke from AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami.

A partially decomposed body of a newborn baby girl was found in a swampy area alongside a road near Thiruvalla in this district, police said on Sunday. The body of the about six months old baby was discovered on Saturday evening after one of the workers of a nearby shop went looking for the source of a bad smell emanating from the area, they said.

Jammu and Kashmir's top cop on Sunday said adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful conduct of Independence Day celebrations in the union territory. Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said people should come in large numbers to participate in the Independence Day celebrations across Jammu and Kashmir. "There is a lot of enthusiasm and people want to participate in the Independence Day functions. We have made adequate security arrangements for the Independence Day celebrations," Singh told reporters at a 'tiranga' rally here.

Security arrangements were beefed up in Manipur on Sunday after some Imphal valley-based banned organisations called for a strike on Independence Day, officials said. Security forces also conducted search operations in vulnerable areas of five districts and recovered arms and ammunition, the police said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that his government has rendered the health system of the country "sick" with even AIIMS facilities grappling with shortage of doctors and staff. The Congress chief also claimed that people have been awakened and the time has come for the Modi government's "farewell".

A worker got stuck in a 70 feet-deep borewell after sand fell on him in Punjab's Jalandhar district, officials said on Sunday. The incident took place on Saturday evening near Kartarpur when Suresh along with another worker was in the borewell to free some part of the boring machine, which had got stuck underneath. Though the other worker came out, Suresh got stuck after sand fell on him, they said.

A female elephant trapped in the Ken river water in Madhya Pradesh's Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) has been rescued, officials said on Sunday. The incident took place on Thursday, they said, adding the stranded jumbo managed to keep its trunk up for breathing and was rescued after a four-hour operation. PTR's deputy director Ripudaman Singh Bhadoria said information was received on Thursday that a female elephant got trapped in the Ken river water flow in Madla area of the reserve.

Jammu and Kashmir's top cop on Sunday said adequate security arrangements have been made to ensure peaceful conduct of Independence Day celebrations in the union territory. Director General of Police Dilbag Singh said people should come in large numbers to participate in the Independence Day celebrations across Jammu and Kashmir. "There is a lot of enthusiasm and people want to participate in the Independence Day functions. We have made adequate security arrangements for the Independence Day celebrations," Singh told reporters at a 'tiranga' rally here.

A mild tremor of 3.6 magnitude hit the border area of Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi (GPM) and Korba districts in Chhattisgarh on Sunday morning, officials said. The aftershocks were felt in some parts of the two districts, but so far there was no report of any loss of life or property, according to officials. “A 3.6 magnitude tremor was felt in Pendra town and adjoining areas at 9.09 am, with its epicentre five kilometres deep from the earth's surface in Chandauti village, on the border of Korba and GPM districts,” a Meteorological department official here said.

A mega 'tiranga' rally was held here on Sunday with Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha asserting that the youth of Jammu and Kashmir loves the national flag. Participating in the rally organised as part of Independence Day celebrations, Sinha, in an apparent reference to PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, said those who claimed that there won't be anyone left in Jammu and Kashmir to raise the tiranga should have seen the turnout at the rally.

The commerce ministry is seeking views from different ministries and government think tank Niti Aayog on draft bills pertaining to five cash crops like tea and tobacco, an official said. The ministry has circulated separate notes for the bills related to cash crops of tea, coffee, spices, rubber and tobacco, which seek to promote their growth and create a conducive environment for businesses by decriminalising minor offences, the official said. After taking the comments, the ministry will approach the Union Cabinet for approval on the drafts of the Spices (Promotion and Development) Bill; the Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill; the Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill; the Tea (Promotion and Development) Bill; and the Tobacco Board (Amendment) Bill.

The country's electricity output witnessed a marginal growth of 1.3 per cent in April-June quarter of 2023, compared to 17.1 per cent in the same period a year-ago, mainly due to unseasonal rains, government data shows. According to the latest Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data, a measure for factory output, electricity output contracted by 1.6 per cent in March and 1.1 per cent in April this year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to change the display picture of their social media accounts to the tricolour in the spirit of the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign. Modi also changed the display picture of his social media accounts to the national flag. The prime minister on Friday called on people to take part in the 'Har Ghar Tiranga' movement between August 13 to 15.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has said that all parties working together in works of public interest is a sign of a mature democratic system. Inaugurating the MLA housing project near the state assembly here on Saturday, he also said that under 'Vision 2030', his government's target is to bring the state in the developed category.

One person is dead, another critically injured and several people are unaccounted for following a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others, authorities said. Allegheny County officials said three people were taken to hospitals after the blast that happened shortly before 10.30 am Saturday in the borough of Plum.

The Indore Police on Saturday said it has registered an FIR against the "handlers" of the 'X' accounts of senior Congress leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath and former union minister Arun Yadav over a post accusing the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh of corruption. In a statement released on Twitter, now known as X, the Indore Police Commissioner said late on Saturday night that local BJP's legal cell convenor Nimesh Pathak complained that a fake letter bearing the name of a person called Gyanendra Awasthi was circulated on social media.

The Delhi BJP on Saturday alleged that the AAP-led dispensation has "discontinued" the school health service running in the civic body, thus neglecting poor students. There was no immediate reaction from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Delhi BJP general secretary and councilor Kamaljeet Sehrawat, spokesperson  Praveen Shankar Kapoor and Leader of Opposition in MCD Raja Iqbal Singh held a joint press conference on Saturday, and alleged that the special school health services in the corporation had been "closed" and "merged with general health services".

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra on Saturday said his wife Priyanka Gandhi has all the qualifications to be in Parliament and she should be there. He expressed hope the Congress party would plan for her Lok Sabha entry. "I feel she (Priyanka Gandhi) should be in Parliament. She should be in Lok Sabha for sure. She has all the qualifications for it. She would be very good in Parliament and she deserves to be there. I hope that the Congress party accepts and plans better for her," he told PTI.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha Saturday dedicated various digital initiatives to the people of the union territory for an improved doorstep delivery of services. Sinha attended the 'Yug Parivartan, Badalta Jammu Kashmir' programme in Srinagar. In his address, the Lt Governor appreciated the IT Department and other stakeholder agencies for their endeavours to ensure seamless access to government services.

Ahead of the G20 Summit, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has planned a special drive starting August 16 for cleaning and upkeep of 26 prominent roads in the city, officials said on Saturday. The G20 Summit is slated to take place on September 9-10 at a recently-inaugurated state-of-the-art convention complex at Pragati Maidan. As the G20 Summit date approaches, the MCD has "accelerated its efforts to enhance the look and feel of the city," a senior official said.

Seven new laws, including the one related to the control of services matter in Delhi, passed by Parliament this week came into force on Saturday after they received the assent of President Droupadi Murmu. An official gazette notification in this regard was issued by the government. The legislations that become operational are the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023; The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023; The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023; The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Act, 2023; The National Dental Commission Act, 2023; and The Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2023.

The Delhi government is considering sending senior citizens to pilgrimage sites near the national capital on luxury buses under the Mukhya Mantri Tirth Yatra Yojna, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday. More than 71,000 people from Delhi have gone on pilgrimages by 72 trains under the scheme so far, he said.

The CBI has registered FIRs against four Indians who had allegedly committed financial frauds in Abu Dhabi and escaped from there to evade the conviction given by the courts there, officials said Saturday. The central probe agency has booked -- Arun Kumar Madhu Sudan, Vinod Vasudevan, Sanjoy Kumar Dutta and Mety Eslave Joseph -- in four separate cases on the request of Abu Dhabi authorities routed through External Affairs Ministry to the CBI, they said.