LIVE news: India says committed to resolve all outstanding issues along LAC

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India and China on Tuesday held another round of military talks to ease escalating tension triggered by fresh confrontation between the two sides on the southern bank of the Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh. The Brigade Commander-level talks began at 10 am in Chushul on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh with a specific agenda to discuss the situation around the Pangong lake.
 

In another major development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted 10 years to telecom firms such as Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices for paying the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)-related dues to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) with certain conditions. The apex court asked telcos to pay 10 per cent of the AGR-related dues by March 31, 2021.

Meanwhile, the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Mains for admission to engineering colleges were conducted today amid stringent precautions and social distancing measures in view of Covid-19 pandemic. Staggered entry and exit for candidates, sanitisers at the gate, distribution of masks and maintaining social distancing as candidates queued up, were among the scenes witnessed at the exam centres across the country.
 

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3:02 AM

China using coercive tactics in pursuit of territorial, maritime claims: Pentagon

China has been using coercive tactics in pursuit of territorial and maritime claims in the South and East China Seas, as well as along its border with India and Bhutan, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
 

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are vital to global trade.
 

China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims over the area.
 

"China's leaders use tactics short of armed conflict to pursue China's objectives. China calibrates its coercive activities to fall below the threshold of provoking armed conflict with the United States, its allies and partners, or others in the Indo-Pacific region," the Pentagon said in its annual report on China to the Congress.

3:01 AM

Kafeel Khan released from Mathura jail after Allahabad HC quashes his detention under NSA

Dr Kafeel Khan was released from Mathura jail after the Allahabad High Court on Tuesday quashed his detention under the National Security Act and ordered his immediate release, saying his speech at the AMU didn't promote hatred or violence and gave a call for national integrity.
 

The bench comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh said the Aligarh district magistrate, who passed the order for Khan's detention, did a "selective reading" of his speech, "ignoring its true intent".
 

Khan's lawyer Irfan Ghazi told PTI, "Mathura jail administration informed at around 11.00 pm that Dr Kafeel will be released, and at around midnight, he was released".
 

The high court allowed the writ petition filed by Khan's mother Nuzhat Parveen and said the detention order by the district magistrate was illegal.
 

The petition argued that Khan was granted bail in February by a competent court and he was supposed to be released on bail. However, he was not released for four days and the National Security Act (NSA) was subsequently invoked against him. Hence, his detention was illegal.
 

Khan was in jail since January after he delivered the allegedly provocative speech at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests in December last year. He was lodged in Mathura jail.
 

On Tuesday evening, his family members said they would file a contempt plea in the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday if he was not released as per its orders.
 

2:59 AM

Dr Kafeel Khan released from Mathura jail

2:57 AM

Sumit Nagal becomes the first Indian man to win a match at the US Open in 7 years

2:56 AM

Mortal remains of former president Pranab Mukherjee immersed in Ganga

10:32 PM

Will file contempt plea in HC if Kafeel not released: Kin

Family members of Dr Kafeel Khan said they will file a contempt plea in the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday if he was released as per its orders.
 

The court on Tuesday morning had ordered the release of the Gorakhpur doctor and quashed his detention under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). The doctor was arrested in January for an alleged provocative speech during an anti-CAA protest at Aligarh Muslim University.
 

Mathura jail Senior Superintendent Shailendra Kumar Maitreya on Tuesday evening said he is yet to receive the court orders.
 

Meanwhile, District Magistrate Mathura Sarvagya Ram Mishra said orders of the court will be complied with. "Since, the NSA was imposed on Kafeel by the Aligarh district magistrate, he should be contacted," Mishra said.
 

Irfan Ghazi, advocate of Kafeel, alleged that the Aligarh DM is not meeting him on the pretext of attending a meeting or other, despite hours of efforts made by him.

10:29 PM

Ganpati Visarjan: Teen drowns in quarry pit in Pune

An 18-year-old boy drowned in a water-filled quarry pit during Ganpati immersion in Wagholi area of Pune on Tuesday, police said.
 

He failed to judge the depth of the water and slipped and drowned, a Lonikand police station official said.
 

His friends and local residents who were taking part in visarjan alerted police after which the body was fished out, he added.

10:29 PM

Bedi designates Development Commissioner as Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner in Puducherry

Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedion Tuesday designated the Development Commissioner A Anbarasu as the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner in the fight against Covid-19 in the Union Territory.
 

Anbarasu, an IAS officer in the Puducherry administration, will in his capacity as Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner, strengthen the oversight and coordination among all departments and private medical colleges here to fight Covid-19 and improve the messages to the people to feel assured, a release said.
 

Chief Secretary Ashwani Kumari stated in a release that the Lt Governor's order came into immediate effect.
 

Anbarasu will also work closely with the teams deputed by the Centre to Puducherry in the context of evolving measures to battle the pandemic.
 

He will review and mobilise more resources to lead the strategies already proposed by the teams from JIPMER and ICMR to tackle the situation.

10:26 PM

Durga Puja Committee in Kolkata to play Pranab Mukherjee's 'Chandi Path' as a tribute to the former president

10:21 PM

Arunachal Pradesh CM inspects flood damages

9:45 PM

BJP govt's faulty economic policies, financial mismanagement behind slump in economy: Pilot

Faulty economic policies and financial mismanagement by the BJP government at the Centre led to a steep decline of 23.9 per cent in GDP in the first quarter of the current financial year, former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot said on Tuesday.
 

Expressed concern over the decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Congress leader said the economy of the country has reached such a phase wherein it will have a very bad effect on the common people, including labourers, farmers and the youth.
 

India's economy suffered its worst slump on record in April-June, with the gross domestic product (GDP) contracting by 23.9 per cent as the coronavirus-related lockdowns weighed on the already-declining consumer demand and investment.
 

The GDP contraction in the world's fifth-largest economy compared with 3.1 per cent growth in the preceding January-March quarter and 5.2 per cent expansion in the same period a year back, according to official data released on Monday.
 

This is the sharpest contraction since quarterly figures started being published in 1996 and worse than what was expected by most analysts.

9:45 PM

Railways to run 20 pairs of special trains from Sept 2-15 for JEE, NEET, NDA exam candidates in Bihar

9:43 PM

Nodal officer appointed for coordination between Bengal and Kolkata police

The West Bengal government has appointed a nodal officer to ensure smooth coordination between the state police and the Kolkata police.
 

An order issued recently by the state home and hill affairs department said Santanu Sinha Biswas, the officer-in- charge of the Kalighat police station, has been appointed as the nodal officer.
 

The police station is just a few metres away from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence.
 

"Biswas will be coordinating between the two forces and look after welfare and grievance-related matters," a senior official of the state government said.

Sources in the police fraternity said his proximity to the CM has earned him the post.
 

9:01 PM

JEE Exam was conducted smoothly all over India: Secretary of Higher Education

8:48 PM

Over 43,000 students to take JEE examination in Karnataka

As many as 43,894 students are expected to write the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Main) at 33 centres in Karnataka from September 1 to 6. Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister C. N. Ashwath Narayan said the department and National Testing Agency are set to conduct the exam as arrangements similar to KCET have been made, according to an IANS report.

 

"I convey my best wishes to the entire student community across the nation for the JEE examination. May God bless you all with success. Stay calm. Stay focused," said Narayan on Tuesday.

 

Meanwhile, the number of candidates who applied for JEE Main has dropped by almost 50 per cent compared to January. From 82,859 candidates, it came down to 43,894.