Breaking News, September 9

A person who fired at officers, wounding one, was killed when police returned fire while answering a call at a Kentucky hotel, a statement from Lexington Police said.

A magistrate court has declared as null and void the election of a JD(S) councillor to a local body here, after he did not rebut the petitioner's claims of possessing 500 kg ornaments despite having a BPL card.

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan today.

People from Thailand worship the idol of Lord Ganesh before immersing it in the sea at Juhu beach in Mumbai.

ED files a charge sheet in Rouse Avenue Court in a money laundering case related to National Stock Exchange Phone Tapping case. A charge sheet has been filed against NSE's ex-Chief Chitra Ramakrishna, Ravi Narain & former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey

Yakub Memon is an accused in Bombay Blast, and cannot be glorified. We won't accept this or let it happen. I have informed BMC & Mumbai Police about it, the Home Ministry will take appropriate action: CM Eknath Shinde.

A man tried to confront Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma by dismantling the mike on a stage at a rally in Hyderabad.

Due to fund deficit, pay cut of teachers happening since last 2 yrs in 12 colleges under Delhi govt. We've held demonstrations outside CM's house, and gone to Dy CM, nobody listened to us. We want the Central govt to take these colleges under its wing: AK Baghi, DUTA president.

After 2 years people celebrated Ganesh festival with a lot of excitement. Immersion is underway at various spots in the city. There are huge crowds, and personnel are vigilant. We've done adequate arrangements at all the immersion spots, says Vivek Phansalkar, CP, Mumbai.

This Onam season, tipplers in Kerala contributed over Rs 624 crore to the state's coffers with the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC), also known as Bevco, registering a record sales from September 1-7. Five outlets in Kerala--Ashramam in Kollam, Power House Road in Thiruvananthapuram, Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, Court junction in Cherthala and Payyannur in Kannur--recorded a sale of over Rs one crore each on September 7, 'Uthradom day', which is a day before Thiruvonam.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin condoled the demise of Queen Elizabeth II and said on Friday that she will be long remembered for her dignity, decency in public life and her unwavering commitment. He said he was deeply pained over the demise of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. "After a reign spanning seven decades, 15 Prime Ministers and several major turning points in modern history, the second Elizabethan era has come to an end," the Chief Minister said in his tweet. Posting her photograph, he said "Queen Elizabeth II will be long remembered for her dignity, decency in public life and her unwavering commitment."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release cheetahs, to be brought from Africa, into two enclosures at Kuno National Park in Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh next week as part of India's ambitious project to reintroduce these fastest land animals, officials said on Friday. Eight cheetahs - five males and three females - are expected to reach KNP from Namibia, officials earlier said. PM Modi will launch the cheetah reintroduction programme on September 17, which happens to be his birthday. These cheetahs will initially be kept in small open fenced areas before being shifted to larger spaces. Once they acclimatize with the local environment and after a review by experts, male cheetahs will be released in the open forest areas followed by the female ones as per the standard protocol, the officials said.

An infant was found abandoned on Friday morning at Thumpoly beach near here, police said. Police said they were informed about the child at around 9.30 AM by locals. "It seems the scrap collectors found the baby from a bush in a property near the beach. The locals informed us," police told PTI. The child has been admitted to a nearby hospital. Police said the health condition of the child was stable. A probe has been launched to find who had abandoned the child, police added. 

The Supreme Court on Friday granted two weeks' time to the Centre to file its reply on pleas challenging the validity of certain provisions of a 1991 law, which prohibit the filing of a lawsuit to reclaim a place of worship or seek a change in its character from what prevailed on August 15, 1947. A three-judge bench headed by Chief justice Uday Umesh Lalit permitted all the applications, including the plea filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, to intervene in the hearing of the pleas on the validity of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991. The bench, also comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and P S Narasimha, ordered that the matters be heard by a three-judge bench on October 11 and asked the parties to complete the pleadings by then.

India's rice production could fall by 10-12 million tonnes during the Kharif season of this year, due to a fall in paddy sowing area, the government said on Friday. However, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey asserted that the country will have surplus production in rice. He pointed out that the paddy acreage is lower by 38 lakh hectare so far this kharif season, because of less rains in many states. The Kharif season contributes about 80 per cent of India's total rice production.

A court has sentenced for life three convicts in connection with a 21-year-old dacoity and murder case of the then chief judicial magistrate Balak Ram. Additional District Judge Anil Kumar Yadav II also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on each of the three convicts, Ram Lakhan, Shyamu Singh and Prem Pal Singh on Thursday. Assistant district government counsel (ADGC) Rama Raman Saini said the court also held the three guilty under section 412 (dishonestly receiving property during commission of dacoity) and sentenced them to 10 year rigorous imprisonment besides a fine of Rs 10,000 on each of the convicts. Lakhan was also held guilty under section 25 of the Arms Act and the court sentenced him to one year imprisonment and Rs 2,000 fine under this section, he said.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday expressed sympathies to all the people affected by the floods in Pakistan and condoled the loss of lives in the tragedy. The devastating floods in Pakistan have killed 1,391 people since mid-June. The floods in Pakistan, which began in mid-June, have also injured 12,722 people, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. "The floods in Pakistan are a terrible tragedy. My heartfelt sympathies to all the people affected and deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones," Gandhi said in a tweet. The former Congress chief is on a "Bharat Jodo Yatra" from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. 

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday appealed to the world to help Pakistan which is reeling from devastating floods that have killed thousands and affected more than 33 million people. Secretary-General Guterres arrived in Pakistan on Friday for a 2-day solidarity visit amidst the catastrophic situation caused by floods in Pakistan. The visit comes less than two weeks after he appealed for USD 160 million in emergency funding to help those affected by unprecedented rains and floods that have killed nearly 1,350 people in the country and inundated about a third of Pakistan since early June. The Flash Appeal for USD 160 million to support the response, led by the Government of Pakistan, will provide 5.2 million people with food, water, sanitation, emergency education, protection and health support. “I have arrived in Pakistan to express my deep solidarity with the Pakistani people after the devastating floods here,” he tweeted after his arrival in the country.

The district administration here has said it will bear the treatment expenses of the father of an 11-year-old boy, who appealed to Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya for help. The boy, Sachin, had met Maurya on September 4 during his visit to the district. District Magistrate Sujit Kumar on Thursday said Sachin's father Ram Naresh was being provided free treatment at a government hospital. "His dialysis is done three times a week."

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Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul lauded the outstanding achievements of Queen Elizabeth II during her 70 years reign. Expressing his heartfelt condolences at the passing away of the Queen on Thursday, Lord Paul said, "She had been our longest-ever reigning monarch. It is an extraordinary achievement to have presided with such dignity and grace for seven decades. “She was loved and admired by the people in the United Kingdom and all around the world,” he said. Neeraj Patil, founder, Lambeth Basaveshwara Foundation and Basava Samiti of the United Kingdom, said in a statement, “We express our deep sadness about the death of Queen Elizabeth II.”

Forces were beginning to collide in California as wildfires threatened communities, an epic heat wave stressed the electrical grid and as moisture from a tropical storm was expected to bring thunderstorms and floods along with cooling. Firefighters on Thursday struggled to control major wildfires in Southern California and the Sierra Nevada that have grown explosively, forced extensive evacuations and produced smoke that could interfere with solar power production.

Clearing the air as to why she decided to skip the unveiling of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's statue at the Indian Gate canopy in Delhi on Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the invitation sent to her was not proper. "A letter, probably written by an under secretary, reached my office only on Wednesday. In the letter, it was written that the Prime Minister will unveil the statue at 7 pm on Thursday and I should be there by 6 pm. Do they think that I am their servant or bonded labour?

A body recovered near the site of a floatplane crash in the waters of Washington state's Puget Sound has been identified as Gabby Hanna, a 29-year-old Seattle attorney. The Island County Coroner's Office confirmed Thursday that the recovered body was Hanna and that her family was notified on Wednesday, The Seattle Times reported. Hanna was one of 10 people on the Sunday flight from Friday Harbor to Renton, which crashed near Whidbey Island. Her body was found shortly after the crash by witnesses who were searching for survivors. No other bodies have been recovered and all are presumed dead.

Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has been receiving abusive and hate messages over phone. On Thursday, she posted a collection of five such audio messages. In all these, portions of which have been redacted because of obscene and abusive content, the male caller is heard threatening her with dire consequences and in one instance she is being asked to go back to her country of origin India. “Typically, political figures don't show their vulnerability. I chose to do so here because we cannot accept violence as our new norm. We also cannot accept the racism and sexism that underlies and propels so much of this violence,” Jayapal said in a tweet. Early this summer, a man with a pistol had showed up outside the Congresswoman’s house in Seattle. The man, identified by police as Brett Forsell, 49, was arrested later.

The new parliament building will have a special gallery dedicated to workers engaged in its construction, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Thursday after inaugurating 'Kartavya Path' stretching from Rasthrapati Bhavan to India Gate. "Workers working on the new Parliament building will get a place of honour in one of the galleries," he said. At the event, Modi also met a group of sixteen workers, who were engaged in the redevelopment of the entire stretch, and invited them along with their families as special guests on the 2023 Republic Day Parade.

Five people were killed and 11 others injured after the jeep they were travelling in collided with a truck in Rajasthan's Nagaur district on Thursday night, police said. The accident took place in the Burdi area when the jeep was going to Ringas in Sikar district from the Ramdevra temple in Jaisalmer. The passengers were residents of Abawas village in Ringas, Circle Officer (CO) Jayal Rameshwar Lal said. After the collision, the injured passengers were rushed to a nearby hospital, where five of them, including a child, were declared dead. The deceased were identified as Phoolchand, Rohitash, Kaushalya, Rukma and Hemraj, he said. The injured are undergoing treatment at the Nagaur district hospital, the CO said. 

NASA is replacing leaky seals in its moon rocket at the pad in hopes of launching it on its first test flight by the end of this month. Managers said on Thursday they will conduct another test after the repairs to ensure all hydrogen fuel leaks are plugged. If that test goes well- and if the Space Force extends a flight safety waiver- then NASA could take another stab at launching the 322-foot rocket in late September. Otherwise, the rocket will return to the hangar for additional work, delaying liftoff until at least October. A series of hydrogen fuel leaks and other problems halted back-to-back launch attempts last week. The Space Launch System rocket- the most powerful ever built by NASA — holds a crew capsule with three test dummies. The space agency wants to send the capsule into lunar orbit on a trial run, before putting astronauts on the next flight, in 2024. That around-the-moon mission would pave the way for the first human moon landing in 50 years, currently scheduled for 2025.

The US Forest Service is resuming its practice of intentionally lighting fires to clear brush and small trees from forested areas nationwide after a three-month hiatus to review the risks of runaway wildfires under increasingly severe climate conditions, the agency announced. The prescribed fire program was put on hold in late May in the midst of a devastating wildfire sparked by the federal government near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The flames burned across more than 500 square miles (1,300 square kilometers) through remote communities in the southern reaches of the Rocky Mountains.

US President Joe Biden and the First Lady drove down to the British Embassy here to sign the condolence book and pay their respect after the death of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. “We mourn for all of you. She was a great lady, I’m so delighted I got to meet her,” Biden said on Thursday as he walked over to the embassy staff. According to a White House pool report, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were greeted by the British ambassador and her husband. Biden walked over to the condolence book and asked if he could write a message, taking a card with notes out of his jacket pocket. The ambassador said, “If you would like to, Sir.”