Breaking news, August 7 | HIGHLIGHTS

Audit firm Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants has resigned as auditor of Paytm Payments Services Limited with immediate effect, Paytm said in a regulatory filing.

A sessions court here Monday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for killing his three minor daughters 14 years ago. The court of Additional Sessions Judge Mona Singh convicted Dharmendra Kumar, who is a native of Patna, the police said. Kumar had also attacked his wife and another daughter with a knife and injured them, they said.

Three persons were killed and one other injured as a trailer truck overturned on a car in West Bengal's Howrah district on Monday evening, police said. The accident happened on Srirampur Flyover on National Highway 16 in Uluberia police station area, they said.

A fire broke out in a shut cinema hall in Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Monday evening, though no one was hurt in the incident, an official said.

A government official was caught red-handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from a teacher for transfer of land in Madhya Pradesh's Jhabua district on Monday, a Lokayukta official said.

Pakistan's Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Monday that the federal government has decided to withdraw the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023, after journalists' associations voiced concerns over the proposed amendments.

A Chinese-built training aircraft of the Sri Lanka Air Force crashed on Monday shortly after take-off, killing the pilot and an officer, the air force spokesman said. A PT-6 aircraft used for training pilots crashed shortly after takeoff from the Air Force station in Trincomalee, Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa, the Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force, said, the Daily Mirror website reported.

A Palestinian teenager who was shot by Israeli troops last week after throwing a firebomb at soldiers in the occupied West Bank died Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

A 17-year-old girl was killed and eight people were injured when a portion of a temple collapsed in the Shahganj area of this Uttar Pradesh district on Monday, police said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approved a hike in circle rates of agricultural land and land near the Yamuna river to a maximum of Rs 5 crore per acre, Revenue Minister Atishi said on Monday.

The Odisha government Monday announced extension of its social security scheme for the elderly, widows and other vulnerable sections, adding over 4 lakh more beneficiaries, officials said. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik sanctioned the ‘Madhu Babu Pension Yojana’ benefits for additional 4.13 applicants, the official said. The decision was based on the feedback received from people during the CMO’s outreach programme, he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked the Centre over rising inflation and alleged that the government is not even listening to the poor, as he shared a video of his recent visit to the Azadpur Mandi where he had met some vegetable and fruit vendors as well as traders. Gandhi shared the video of his interactions at the Azadpur Mandi on his social media handles.

The Archaeological Survey of India resumed the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque here on the fourth day on Monday but the start of work was delayed by three hours on account of the rush at the adjacent Kashi Vishwanath temple. Government counsel Rajesh Mishra said all the three domes and basements of the Gyanvapi complex were covered in the survey on Sunday. But the resumption of work on Monday was delayed by three hours and it could start only by at 11 am due to the rush of devotees at the Kashi Vishwanath temple, he said.

A court here on Monday extended the police remand of Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh till August 7 for allegedly shooting dead his senior colleague and three passengers on a moving train. The Government Railway Police (GRP) sought the extension of his custody for seven days, saying they need to identify the witnesses and scan CCTV footage. The magistrate, however, granted Singh's custody to the police till August 11.

The GRP has added Indian Penal Code section 153-A, for promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, in the case against Singh. The incident took place on July 31 on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra.

Four low-intensity tremors were felt in Uttarakhand's border district of Pithoragarh and adjoining areas, an official said on Monday. The first tremor of 4.2 magnitude hit at around 1.34 am on Sunday. It was followed by three more tremors, the two of which were of 2.7 magnitude and 2.8 magnitude, respectively, district disaster management officer Bhupendra Singh Mahar said. The three quakes that followed the first one occurred at around 1.37 am, 2.48 am and 6.52 am Sunday, respectively, he added. The tremors were felt in Rongkong, Nabhi and Bundi in the Vyas valley region of the district, causing panic among the residents, Mahar said. The quakes with a depth of 10 km had their epicentre in Milam on the India-China border, he said.

Haryana: The district administration on Monday said that the demolition exercise in Nuh has been halted after stay ordered by Punjab and Haryana High Court. 

Three persons were killed after a speeding high-end car hit three other cars, a motorcycle and a scooter near Goa capital Panaji, police said on Monday. The accident took place at around 7.30 pm on Sunday at Banastarim village on Ponda-Panaji national highway, 15 km from the state capital, an official from Mardol police station said.

The Lok Sabha membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was restored on Monday, days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a defamation case. The former Congress president's membership was restored over four months after he was disqualified. Soon after his membership was restored, Gandhi reached Parliament House and offered floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi's statue. He also attended Lok Sabha proceedings after it resumed at 12 noon but it got adjourned within minutes.

With his Lok Sabha membership restored, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday changed his Twitter bio to 'Member of Parliament' from the earlier "Dis'Qualified MP" description. Following his disqualification from the Lok Sabha in March, Gandhi had edited his bio on Twitter to "Dis'Qualified MP". His status as the MP from Kerala's Wayanad was restored after the Lok Sabha secretariat issued a notification in the wake of the Supreme Court staying on Friday his conviction in a defamation case. His Twitter bio now describes him as a member of the Indian National Congress and Member of Parliament.

Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath on Monday welcomed Rahul Gandhi's reinstatement as the Lok Sabha member and said everyone needs to remember Gandhi's mantra of - "don't be afraid".
Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member in March, after a Gujarat court convicted him in a defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail. A punishment for two years and above automatically disqualifies a lawmaker. The Supreme Court last Friday stayed his conviction, paving the way for restoration of his Lok Sabha membership.

Rajya Sabha on Monday revoked the suspension of Congress MP Rajani Ashokrao Patil with a voice vote. Patil was suspended on February 10 this year during the Budget session for allegedly videographing House proceedings and sharing it on social media against Rajya Sabha rules.

Hailing the revocation of the Lok Sabha membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said he hoped that the Uttar Pradesh assembly membership of party leader Mohammad Azam Khan and his son Abdulla Azam too will be restored. The Lok Sabha membership of Gandhi was restored on Monday, days after the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in a defamation case.

A 32-year-old restaurant owner was shot dead by unidentified people in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district, police said. The incident took place in Patratu area under the jurisdiction of Basal police outpost, around 45 km from state capital Ranchi, on Sunday evening, Patratu Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Birendra Kumar Chaudhary said. The deceased has been identified as Roshan Sao, owner of a restaurant on the Ranchi-Ramgarh state highway in Patratu.

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Monday hailed Rahul Gandhi's reinstatement as the Lok Sabha member and said this has strengthened the opposition bloc INDIA. Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha member Arwind Sawant also welcomed Gandhi's return to the Lower House of Parliament. The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notification announcing that his disqualification has been revoked and his membership restored.

Supreme Court has rejected TN Minister V Senthil Balaji And Wife's Appeal Challenging Arrest In Money Laundering Case.

Three 'kanwariyas' were killed after an unidentified vehicle rammed into their motorcycle on the Bareilly-Budaun road, police said on Monday. The incident took place on Sunday night when Gajendra (30), Veerpal (28) and Ram Bahadur (30) were returning home, Circle officer, Alok Mishra, said. All the three kanwariyas (devotees of Lord Shiva) were rushed to a hospital where they succumbed to injuries, he said.

The Lok Sabha membership of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was restored on Monday. The Lok Sabha Secretariat issued a notification announcing that his disqualification has been revoked and his membership restored. Gandhi was disqualified as a Lok Sabha member on March 23 after a Gujarat court convicted him in a defamation case and sentenced him to two years in jail. A punishment for two years and above automatically disqualifies a lawmaker.

A 35-year-old man was charred to death inside his car on Monday after the vehicle he was in exploded suddenly at Mavelikkara near here, police said. Mavelikkara resident Krishna Prakash was unable to get out of the car when it exploded.

Curfew in the Imphal East and West districts of Manipur was relaxed from 5 am to noon on Monday. Separate statements were issued by the office of the respective district magistrates in this regard.

A 22-year-old man drowned after venturing for a swim in a water-filled quarry in Maharashtra's Thane district, a civic official said on Monday. Himanshu Mhatre, a resident of Indira Nagar in Turbhe area, went for swimming in the quarry on Sunday evening, but could not gauge its depth and drowned, Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi told PTI.

Representatives of an influential tribal group from Manipur will fly to Delhi on Monday to attend a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the prevailing situation in the strife-torn northeastern state, sources said. The delegation of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), a body representing various Zo ethnic groups in Manipur, responded to an invitation extended by Shah.

The ninth session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly will commence on Monday with tributes being paid to Congress stalwart and MLA Oommen Chandy, who died last month. The session will commence with an obituary reference on the demise of Chandy and veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Speaker Vakkom Purushothaman.

With the Delhi services bill set to be taken up in Rajya Sabha on Monday, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party have issued whips to their MPs asking them to be present in the Upper House till its adjournment. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, has already been passed by Lok Sabha. Jairam Ramesh, the Congress' chief whip in the Upper House, issued a three-line whip on August 4, saying that "very important issues will be taken up for discussion in Rajya Sabha on Monday i.e. August 7, 2023".

A terrorist was gunned down in a gunfight as Army troops guarding the Line of Control (LoC) on Monday scuttled an infiltration attempt from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials said. The alert troops in Degwar sector noticed the movement of some terrorists attempting to sneak into this side under the cover of darkness in the early hours of the day and engaged them in an encounter, the officials said. They said one terrorist was gunned down but his body was yet to be retrieved from the scene.

Elon Musk says his potential in-person fight with Mark Zuckerberg would be streamed on his social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. The two tech billionaires seemingly agreed to a “cage match” face-off in late June. Zuckerberg is actually trained in mixed martial arts, and the CEO of Facebook's parent company Meta posted about completing his first jiu jitsu tournament earlier this year. “Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X,” Musk wrote in a post Sunday on the platform. “All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.”

Two people in their 90s died and a third person was injured when a fire and reported explosion destroyed a home in west-central Indiana, authorities said. Crawfordsville Fire Chief Scott Busenbark said crews were called Saturday morning to a house fire and found one person on the home's front lawn. He said the injured person was flown by helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital in stable condition, WXIN-TV reported.

Samajwadi Party leader Swami Prasad Maurya on Sunday said there are only three seats of power and all of them are looting the country. In a video clip in Hindi released by him on Twitter, Maurya identified the three "gaddis" (seats) as the "raj gaddi" of the prime minister and chief minister, "mutt gaddi" of the shankaracharyas and seers, and "seth gaddi" of businesses like the Adani and Ambani groups.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said celebrations for the forthcoming Independence Day will begin from August 8 with village-level programmes. Sarma said freedom fighters and martyrs in security forces will be remembered by installing granite plaques in every village on the first day. "From August 9-14, every gaon panchayat will plant 75 saplings to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav," he said.

Body of a 43-year-old man with a gunshot wound was found inside his house in east Delhi's Vishwas Nagar on Sunday, police said. Jitin Arora, a resident of Arjun Gali, was declared brought dead by doctors at the GTB Hospital, they said. Arora was alone at the time of the incident as his wife was out for some work and his son and daughter had gone for tuition classes, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Rohit Meena said.

A day after Chandrayaan-3 entered the lunar orbit, the ISRO on Sunday released a video of the Moon 'as viewed by Chandrayaan-3'. The space agency put out the video with a caption "Chandrayaan-3 Mission: The Moon, as viewed by Chandrayaan-3 during Lunar Orbit Insertion". The video showed the Moon in bluish green colour with many craters. The video was released hours before the second major manoeuvre which is to take place on late Sunday night.