Breaking News, August 25

The World Health Organisation chief made a passionate appeal for his embattled home region of Tigray in Ethiopia on Thursday, saying he has relatives he cannot communicate with or send money to amid a blockade by government forces.

The Covid tally in Madhya Pradesh rose to 10,53,134 on Thursday after the detection of 63 new cases, while no fresh death linked to the infection was registered in the state, a health department official said.

An 18-year-old girl was stabbed to death on Thursday evening in Gujarat's Valsad district, police said. Two suspects have been arrested and search is on for a third person, they said.

The BJP claimed on Thursday that the opposition's attack on the government over the Pegasus issue was all part of a "motivated campaign" aimed at weakening and defaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the country.

The death toll from a Russian rocket attack as Ukraine observed its Independence Day has risen to 25, including an 11-year-old boy found under the rubble of a house and a 6-year-old killed in a car fire near a train station that was the target, a Ukrainian official said on Thursday.

The government has given time till the end of December 2025 for aircraft maker Boeing to ensure its 787 Dreamliners are compliant with the GAGAN navigation system as major design changes will be required, according to a senior official. GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GAGAN has been jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Four persons were arrested after a 16-year-old gang-rape victim hanged herself to death here, police said on Thursday. While one of the accused was arrested on Wednesday, three others were nabbed on Thursday, they said. The girl took the extreme step after allegedly being pressured by the families of the accused for a settlement, according to police officials.

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday decided to convene the monsoon session of the state legislature for 10 working days from September 12. Briefing about the cabinet decisions, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said, the session will be held at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru for two weeks, except on Saturdays and Sundays.

The rupee declined by 7 paise to close at 79.93 (provisional) after moving in a narrow range against the US dollar on Thursday. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the domestic currency opened at 79.80 per dollar. It hovered in a range of 79.80 to 79.93 during the session.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will meet people from various sections of society, including the youth, farmers groups, fisherfolk and those belonging to the poor and marginalised strata during his Bharat Jodo Yatra through Kerala to highlight the problems in the country and the BJP-ruled Centre's alleged anti-people policies, party leaders said here on Thursday.

South Korea has signed a 3 trillion won ($2.25 billion) deal with a Russian state-run nuclear energy company to provide components for Egypt's first nuclear power plant.

Former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, a finalist in the race to succeed Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and British prime minister, on Thursday spoke out candidly against the “fear narrative” and partial analyses behind the country’s Covid lockdowns.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Thursday said the city government will launch a 15-point action plan in October to fight air pollution in winter. The plan will focus on stubble management, dust pollution, vehicular emission, open burning of garbage, industrial pollution, green war room and Green Delhi application, pollution hotspots, real-time apportionment study, smog tower, e-waste parks, plantation, eco-farming, public participation, firecrackers and joint action with neighbouring states. Rai will discuss all the action points in detail with the 33 departments concerned in a meeting on September 5.

The outgoing UN human rights chief suggested Thursday that her office may not make good on her promise to release its long-awaited report on China's Xinjiang region by the end of her term next week. Speaking to reporters, Michelle Bachelet said her office is “trying” to meet the deadline that she herself set in June, shortly after announcing that she would not seek a new four-year term after the current one ends on Aug 31. The office of UN Security-General Antonio Guterres has not indicated who her successor might be. The final months of Bachelet's term have been overshadowed by extended delays in releasing the report about Xinjiang, which many Geneva diplomats believed to be nearly completed a year ago. Bachelet said her office - as is common practice when the UN rights office reports on countries - has informed China about its “findings” and officials have come back with a “substantial” number of comments. She said her office was focusing only on possible factual errors now.

A Nationalist Congress Party leader was arrested in connection with the death of a 'govinda' at a Janmashtami function organised last week in Vile Parle in the western part of Mumbai, a police official said on Thursday. NCP district president Riyaz Sheikh (36) was held on Tuesday, the Vile Parle police station official said. "In the event held on August 19, Sandesh Dalvi (22), a participant in the human pyramid formed to break the handi (butter pot), fell and suffered serious head injuries. He died in a hospital on Monday night," the official said. A case was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 304A (causing death by negligence) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life) and Sheikh was held, he said. 

Police on Thursday said they recently found a man with stab injuries lying on a road in west Delhi's Vikaspuri area. He was rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, but the doctors declared him dead, they said. Deceased Omkar was a resident of Baprola and worked as a labourer-cum-manager at a small assembly unit in Chander Vihar, they said. The motive behind the crime is yet to be ascertained but all angles are being probed, the police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Ghanshyam Bansal said they received a call on Wednesday saying a man was found in an unconscious state near Keshopur Naala in Vikaspur. "There were stab injuries on his body and a scooter was parked nearby. There was no eye witness," he said. A case has been registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at  Vikaspuri police station, the DCP said. CCTV footage from cameras installed in the area is being scanned to identify the culprit and establish the sequence of events, police said. 

Two female elephants were electrocuted in Odisha's Keonjhar district, forest officials said on Thursday. The jumbos died on the campus of Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Judia in Keonjhar Sadar range after coming in contact with a live wire, they said. Elephants often visit the campus, which is full of greenery. On Wednesday night, a herd was on the campus and two elephants came in contact with low-lying electric wires, they added. Their trunks were stuck with the electric wire when the carcasses were recovered, officials said. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra claimed that it had informed the electricity department about the low-lying live wire. An investigation has been started, officials said. Odisha recorded the deaths of 245 elephants due to different reasons between 2019-20 and 2021-22, they said. 

Two female elephants were electrocuted in Odisha's Keonjhar district, forest officials said on Thursday. The jumbos died on the campus of Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Judia in Keonjhar Sadar range after coming in contact with a live wire, they said. Elephants often visit the campus, which is full of greenery. On Wednesday night, a herd was on the campus and two elephants came in contact with low-lying electric wires, they added. Their trunks were stuck with the electric wire when the carcasses were recovered, officials said. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra claimed that it had informed the electricity department about the low-lying live wire. An investigation has been started, officials said. Odisha recorded the deaths of 245 elephants due to different reasons between 2019-20 and 2021-22, they said. 

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday hit out at its detractors for "concocting" his statements for a "nefarious and fabricated" campaign for political mileage. The outspoken minister, who last week was dropped from the BJP parliamentary board, hinted at taking legal recourse in the larger interest of the government and the party. "Today, once again, efforts were being made to continue the nefarious and fabricated campaign against me for political mileage on my behest by some section of mainstream media, social media and some persons in particular by concocting my statements at public programmes without context or correct reference," he tweeted.

The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine a plea seeking a review of the PMLA verdict which upheld the Enforcement Directorate's powers, including those relating to arrest, and sought response from the Centre on the issue. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said prima facie two issues, including not providing Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), requires reconsideration.  The top court on Wednesday had allowed an application of Congress MP Karti Chidambaram seeking an open court hearing of his petition to review the top court's last month's verdict upholding the sweeping powers of the ED relating to arrest, investigation, and attachment of property under the PMLA Act.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees on Thursday marked the fifth anniversary of their exodus from Myanmar to Bangladesh, while the United States, European Union and other Western nations pledged to continue supporting the refugees' pursuit of justice in international courts. Bangladesh is hosting more than 1 million Rohingya refugees who fled from Myanmar over decades, including some 740,000 who crossed the border in August 2017 after the Myanmar military launched a “clearance operation” against them following attacks by a rebel group. The safety situation in Myanmar has worsened since a military takeover last year, and attempts to send them back failed.

Supreme Court asks petitioners to implead those granted remission as parties in the matter, and lists it for hearing after two weeks. 

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will conduct an aerial survey of the areas that have been severely hit by rains in the state and meet the affected people on Thursday. The chief minister will conduct the aerial survey of the rain-hit areas of Bundi, Kota, Baran and Jhalawar districts. He will also meet the affected people in Kota, Anta (Baran) and Jhalawar, an official spokesperson said. There is a flood-like situation at many places in Kota division because of heavy rains, an increased inflow of water in rivers and opening of the gates of dams. Several residential areas were submerged and more than 4,000 people had to be shifted to safer places. Kota, Jhalawar and Bundi districts have been affected the most. The Army and the Air Force were asked for their support in the relief-and-rescue operations in the affected areas.

The Division bench of the Delhi High Court dismissed the petitions of WhatsApp and Facebook challenging a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order calling for an investigation into the messaging apps new privacy policy. The bench of Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad on Thursday (August 25) while dismissing both appeals moved by WhatsApp and Facebook refused to further extend the stay granted on notices issued to messaging apps by CCI. The bench said that the appeals were devoid of merits. The bench had kept the order reserved on July 25, 2022, after the completion of the submissions by all sides. Appearing for Facebook Inc Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi submitted that because Facebook is the formal owner of WhatsApp and the platform is said to share its data with Facebook (parent company) doesn't mean that it is a necessary party to investigate.  While opposed to the CCI probe against Facebook, Rohatgi further argued that there is no prima facie material available with the CCI to proceed with investigating it while conducting the investigation of WhatsApp's new privacy policy.

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Four people were detained in connection with the gang-rape of a 20-year-old woman in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Thursday. The incident took place near Govindpur railway station on the night of August 22 and the victim lodged a police complaint the next day. The four were detained for questioning on Wednesday. “On the statement of the victim, an FIR was registered against unknown persons. Four men have been detained in this regard and they are being interrogated," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar said. The woman, a resident of Simdega district, had come to Govindpur to meet a relative. A man had befriended her and took her to various places in Karra on his motorbike before returning to the railway station. He called up his friends who reached the place and all of them raped her, according to her statement given to the police. A medical examination of the woman was conducted on August 23, the SP said. 

A woman has been arrested from Kunnamkulam area of Thrissur district in Kerala for allegedly killing her mother by mixing rat poison in her tea for the sake of property, police said on Thursday. A senior officer of Kunnamkulam Police Station said the arrest was recorded early Thursday morning and the woman would be produced before the court during the day. The accused's mother was hospitalised on August 18 after consuming tea and at two hospitals they could not ascertain what was wrong, police said. At the third hospital, they suspected poisoning but before anything could be done, she died. Thereafter, the post-mortem conducted on Wednesday revealed the presence of rat poison in the victim's body, leading to the daughter being questioned, the officer said. During the questioning, she admitted to having killed her mother to get the property which she was to receive only after her parents death according to their will, police said.

Demanding the arrest of suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said protests in some parts of the city were a direct result of the alleged hate speech by the saffron party leader. In a tweet, Owaisi said the police picked up 90 people from the Shah Ali Banda area on Wednesday and on his representation they were released. "This situation is a direct result of Raja Singh’s hate speech. He must be sent to jail at the earliest. I also reiterate my appeal to maintain peace. #Hyderabad is our home, it should not fall prey to communalism," Owaisi tweeted.

Two days after the death of BJP leader Sonali Phogat in Goa, a family member on Thursday said they have agreed to give their consent for the postmortem, but with a condition that the procedure be video-graphed. The autopsy was earlier scheduled at the state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) near here on Wednesday. But, Phogat's brother Rinku Dhaka on Wednesday claimed she was murdered by two of her associates. He said the family will allow the postmortem only after the Goa Police register a First Information Report (FIR) against the two persons. On Thursday morning, Sonali Phogat's nephew Mohinder Phogat told PTI that the family has given consent for the postmortem with a rider that the entire procedure be video-graphed. "The police have told us that the FIR in connection with our complaint would be filed after conducting the postmortem," he said.

The CBI has filed a charge sheet in an alleged bribery case in which a senior official of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) and a Biocon Biologics executive were arrested in June this year, officials said It is alleged that the bribe payment of Rs nine lakh to Joint Drug Controller S Eswara Reddy was cleared by the associate vice president of Biocon Biologics L Praveen Kumar, they said. The bribe was allegedly for favourably recommending the file of Insulin Aspart Injection to the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) meeting on May 18 for waiving the phase 3 clinical trial, they said.  The agency had filed a charge sheet on August 18, they said. 

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A senior official of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has expressed the need to control tourist footfall at the world famous Ajanta caves in Maharashtra to preserve its paintings for a longer time. The popular UNESCO world heritage site, comprising 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments, is located about 100 km from the Aurangabad district headquarters. The caves have paintings depicting the life of Gautam Buddha. Every week, thousands of tourists visit the monument.

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Odisha’s sport-loving Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday spent some time watching an Ultimate Kho Kho league match to encourage the players of the state team. Odisha Juggernauts defeated Chennai Quick Guns in the match. “Watching a wonderful #KhoKho match of ongoing @ultimatekhokho league. Join me to cheer our own team, #OdishaJuggernauts (@od_juggernauts),” he tweeted. Patnaik also shared a photograph of him watching the match on television in his residence. 

Amazon is shutting down the hybrid virtual, in-home care service it's spent years developing, a surprising move that underscores the challenges it faces as it moves into health care. The service, called Amazon Care, will end by December 31, according to an email sent to staff by Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services. Amazon Care was launched in 2019 for Seattle-based Amazon's Washington state employees, who served as trial users before the company made it available last year to its workers in all 50 states. The service connects patients virtually with doctors and nurses who can provide treatment 24 hours a day. It does not have physical locations, but offers in-person services for things like vaccinations and flu testing in several cities, including Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Thane Nagar police has registered a case of alleged extortion against three persons including cricket bookie Sonu Jalan, a police officer said here on Wednesday. Based on an order passed by a magistrate's court, the criminal case was registered on Tuesday under IPC sections 384,389 and 120 B against Sonu Jalan, Ketan Tanna and his son Jai Tanna. No arrest has been made. The complainant Vikas Dabade, a civic contractor, had alleged that between April and June 2021 the accused sought his help in a criminal case registered with the Thane police against them. When he refused to oblige, they threatened him and demanded Rs 50 lakh for not implicating him in a false case, he alleged. 

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Two earthquakes, of magnitudes 4.1 and 3.2, hit Jammu and Kashmir late on Wednesday night but no loss of live or damage to property was reported, officials said. The epicentre of the quakes was 62 kilometers northeast of Katra area in Jammu region at a depth of 5 kilometers, they said. On Tuesday, six earthquakes jolted Jammu and Kashmir but there was no report of loss of life or damage to any property. The quakes hit Katra, Doda, Udhampur and Kishtwar districts of Jammu and Kashmir. 

The United States sees India as an indispensable partner, the White House asserted Wednesday even as the two countries are pursuing their own national interests in Ukraine. "We see … the (Indian) partners as indispensable partners. And the US-India Strategic Partnership is grounded in our shared commitment to the advancement of a free and open Indo-Pacific region," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters during her daily news conference. The press secretary was responding to a question if the relationship is drifting apart in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "You've heard the President say this, the rule of law and the promotion of human freedom and dignity," she said.

Army troops foiled an infiltration bid by terrorists along the Line of Control in the forward area of Jammu district, officials said on Wednesday. A group of terrorists tried to infiltrate into the Indian territory in the Pallanwala sector on Tuesday night. Alert troops fired at them, forcing them to retreat, they said. This is the third failed infiltration attempt by terrorists in the last 72 hours along the LoC in the Jammu region. On August 21, alert soldiers deployed in the Jhangar sector of Rajouri's Naushera spotted the movement of two to three terrorists on the Indian side of the LoC and challenged them, the officials said. A terrorist tried to flee, but was injured in firing by the soldiers and captured alive. Two other terrorists who were hiding behind him managed to flee, they said. In the second infiltration bid on the intervening night of August 22 and 23, a group of two to three terrorists tried to infiltrate in the Lam sector of Naushera. As they moved ahead into minefields, a series of mines got activated and two terrorists were eliminated on the spot, the officials said. 

Pakistan has rejected India's action over the March 9 accidental firing of a supersonic missile that landed in its territory and demanded a joint probe.The services of three officers of the Indian Air Force were terminated on August 23 after a Court of Inquiry (CoI) found that deviation from the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) by them led to the accidental firing of the missile. The Foreign Office in a late Wednesday night statement said Pakistan has seen India's announcement of the findings of an internal CoI regarding the "incident of firing of a rogue supersonic missile" into its territory and the decision to terminate the services of three IAF officers reportedly found responsible for the reckless incident.