Breaking News August 5, 2020 | As it happened

Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by resorting to mortar shelling on forward posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Wednesday, officials said. The shelling from across the border started in the Krishnagati sector around 7.00 pm, prompting strong retaliation by the Indian Army, a defence spokesperson said.

In the shelling, one cattle shed was damaged, they said.

The Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire 49 times last month and shelled areas along the LoC in Rajouri, Poonch, Kupwara and Baramulla districts on a daily basis.

Assam's COVID-19 death toll rose to 121 on Wednesday with six more fatalities, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

The total number of positive cases stood at 48,161.

Several temples and members of the Indian diaspora in the UK marked the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony for Ram Mandir in India with prayer ceremonies on Wednesday. The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the temple took place on Wednesday in Ayodhya with Prime Minister Narendra Modi performing the ‘bhoomi pujan’ of the temple.

With COVID-19 lockdown restrictions still in place to curb large crowds at places of worship in Britain, many of the temples continued to make use of digital media to mark Prime Minister Modi leading the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the new temple.

Uttar Pradesh reported 4,078 COVID-19 cases and 40 new fatalities on Wednesday, bringing the infection tally to over 1.04 lakh and death toll from the disease to 1,857.

However, the state government said 4,154 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infected people to 1,04,388.

Delhi recorded 1,076 fresh coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the tally in the city to over 1.4 lakh, while the death toll from the disease climbed to 4,044, authorities said.

A total of 25,000 non-Kashmiri migrant workers, out of the 40,000, who had left Jammu and Kashmir after the coronavirus outbreak, have returned to the Union Territory for work, a top official said on Wednesday.

The rupee rose by 10 paise to close at 74.94 against the US dollar on Wednesday tracking positive domestic equities and weak American currency.

Landslides hit rail and road traffic on Goa-Karnataka borders, while low-lying villages were inundated, as incessant rains continued to pummel the coastal state for the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday.

A total of 51,706 patients have recuperated from COVID-19 in India in a span of 24 hours, the highest in a day, pushing the recovery rate to 67.19 per cent on Wednesday while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 2.09 per cent, the Union health ministry said.

Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra on Wednesday congratulated the people on the foundation laying of Ram temple in Ayodhya while Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed hope that it would become a symbol of unity in the country.

Mishra said he will hold the recitation of Sundarkand with his family members and light 101 earthen lamps at the Raj Bhawan in Jaipur on Wednesday evening.

Heavy rains triggered by a low-pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal battered many parts of Odisha and the weather office on Wednesday forecast that rainfall in the state will persist till Sunday.

 Light to moderate rain and thundershower occurred at many places over east Uttar Pradesh and at isolated places over western part of the state in the last 24 hours, the Meteorological Department said.

Jaunpur recorded 6 cm rainfall, Soraon 5 cm, and Lucknow, Kanpur (City), Khalilabad (Sant Kabirnagar) and Lalitpur witnessed 4 cm rainfall each, it said.

At 37.2 degrees Celsius, Etawah was the hottest place in the state.

Puducherry recorded seven COVID-19 deaths, including three women, on Wednesday while 286 fresh cases, the highest-ever on a single day here, were reported taking the overall tally of cases to 4,432.

Veteran singer-actor SP Balasubrahmanyam on Wednesday said he has been admitted to a hospital after testing positive for coronavirus. The 74-year-old singer, who has worked across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam film industries, shared the news in a video message on Facebook.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi who started his speech with Jai Siya Ram chant, said the entire country today is in the trance of Lord Ram. He said that a grand temple will now be built for Ram Lalla deity who had been living under a tent for many years.

The apex court has adjourned the hearing for the day in the Sushant Singh Rajput death cases. During the hearing, it was stated by the government that the case will be handed to the CBI for further investigation, as was demanded by the Bihar authorities including CM Nitish Kumar and Governor.

In the case of Rhea Chakraborty's petition seeking direction for transfer of investigation from Patna to Mumbai, the SC has directed all parties to file their replies within three days, after which further hearing will take place. 

Official notification of the CBI taking charge is likely to be out by evening. 

Several low-lying areas of Thane and Palghar districts of Maharashtra were inundated as heavy rains continued to lash the regions since Tuesday night, a district official said on Wednesday.

Supreme Court dismisses the plea of Bishop Franco Mulakkal seeking direction to discharge him from the nun rape case.

RamTemple 'Bhoomi Pujan' concludes at Ayodhya. Soil from more than 2000 pilgrimage sites and water from more than 100 rivers was brought for the rituals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes part in Ram Temple 'Bhoomi Pujan' at Ayodhya

Sushant Singh Rajput case handed over to CBI: Centre tells SC

Konkan is likely to receive heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours, predicts IMD, Mumbai. Parts of South Madhya Maharashtra and adjoining Marathwada region are also likely to get very heavy downpour, along with intense spells.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Lucknow, will proceed to Ayodhya in a chopper for the RamMandir event

A senior Mumbai police official has claimed that Sushant Singh Rajput's brother-in-law, an IPS officer, had asked him to pressurise the actor's girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty to end their relationship.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Paramjitsingh Dahiya told a TV channel that O P Singh, brother-in-law of Rajput and senior IPS officer of Haryana police, had made the request in February this year.

Sushant Singh Rajput, 34, was found hanging at his apartment in suburban Bandra on June 14.

India's COVID-19 tally crosses a 19-lakh mark with a single-day spike of 52,509 new cases and 857 deaths in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases is 19,08,255 including 5,86,244 active cases, 12,82,216 cured/discharged/migrated and 39,795 deaths. READ MORE

The idol of 'Ram Lalla' at the Ram Janambhoomi site in Ayodhya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform 'Bhoomi Poojan' for RamTemple at the site later today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Ayodhya to take part in RamTemple event

Today is a historic day. This day will be remembered for long. I am confident that with construction of Ram Temple, 'Ram Rajya' will be established in India, says Yog Guru Ramdev at Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya.

Lebanon Prime Minister Hassan Diab says 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded in port. At least 73 dead and 3,700 injured in blasts at Lebanon's Beirut. 

Supreme Court to hear Rhea Chakraborty's petition seeking direction for transfer of investigation from Patna to Mumbai, today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya today

Ayodhya decorated ahead of the foundation stone laying ceremony of Ram Mandir today; visuals from Saryu Ghat.

Hello and welcome to today's live coverage of coronavirus news in India and across the world, with me, Sushmita Panda and my colleagues  Himanshu Shekhar, Shashwat  Bhandari, Vani Mehrotra, Priya Jaiswal,  Sidhant Mamtany and Rashi Hardaha. You can get in touch with us directly on twitter​​​​ @sushmitapanda, @himaanshus, @ShashBhandari​ @vani_mehrotra​ @priyajais, @SidMamtany, and  @rashihardaha for news, tips, photos, questions and comments. Stay tuned to Indiatvnews.com (@indiatvnews) for all the latest updates on what's happening around the world. 

Here's a quick overview: 

The total number of global cases has surpassed 18.6 million, including more than 704,000 fatalities. More than 11,913,000 patients are reported to have recovered.

Total positive cases country-wise: