Latest live: Kejriwal biggest 'U-turn leader' in India, says BJP's Tejaswi

Live news updates: Earlier, bulk of the JDU MLAs joined the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh giving nightmare to Nitish Kumar's party.

Live news updates: Beleaguered former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned from Thailand on Friday midnight. Rajapaksa, 73, returned to Katunayake International Airport on a Singapore airlines SQ-468 flight and a number of Ministers of the present government and politicians from his party, Sri Lankan Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) welcomed him inside the airport. The former President has reportedly gone to a state bungalow prepared for him in the heart of Colombo. 
 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday made five "key promises" to farmers in Gujarat while addressing a rally at Dwarka town in the state's Saurashtra region. He said if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is voted to power, his government will procure wheat, rice, cotton, groundnut etc. at the Minimum Support Price (MSP). The other promises include waiving farm loans, re-conducting the survey of agricultural land earlier conducted by the BJP government which will be scrapped and re-survey will be hold. The AAP leader has promised to give power supply during day time for 12 continuous hours apart from giving assistance -- if crop fails -- Rs 20,000 per acre.

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to activist Teesta Setalvad, who was arrested for allegedly fabricating documents to frame high-ranking officials, including then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, in the 2002 riots cases in the state. A bench headed by Chief Justice U.U. Lalit and justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia said that since the essential custodial interrogation is complete, the matter of interim bail should have been heard, and noted that her bail plea is still pending before the Gujarat High Court.

12:03 AM

ISRO demonstrates new tech that can be used for its Mars, Venus missions

ISRO on Saturday successfully demonstrated a new technology with Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD) that it said is a game-changer with multiple applications for future missions including to Mars and Venus.

An IAD, designed and developed by ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), was successfully test flown in a 'Rohini' sounding rocket from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS).

11:39 PM

NASA scrubs Artemis I launch again after liquid hydrogen leak

The US space agency on Saturday once again scrubbed the Artemis I Moon mission launch attempt after it encountered a liquid hydrogen leak while loading the propellant into the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket.

Multiple troubleshooting efforts to address the area of the leak by reseating a seal in the quick disconnect where liquid hydrogen is fed into the rocket did not fix the issue.

Engineers were continuing to gather additional data, said NASA.

 

11:14 PM

Gorakhpur: 'Muslim-sounding names' of wards changed in draft delimitation order

The Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation in a draft delimitation order has changed "Muslim-sounding names" of around a dozen wards, prompting a sharp reaction from leaders of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.

The changing of names was part of the delimitation exercise, under which the number of wards went up to 80 in Gorakhpur, with several of these named after iconic personalities and freedom fighters.

According to a senior official, people can file their objections within a week and after their disposal, the delimitation will be approved.

10:07 PM

Karnataka govt clears investment proposals worth Rs 2,750 crore

The Karnataka government on Saturday cleared a total of 53 investment proposals worth Rs 2,750.55 crore, which is expected to generate over 8,000 jobs.

In the 134th State Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC) meeting held at Karnataka Udyog Mitra office, nine investment proposals with each one above Rs 50 crore were approved and these firms would invest around Rs 1,670.69 crore by creating 4,308 employment opportunities.

9:48 PM

2.5 mn households get zero electricity bills: Punjab Power minister

The AAP government in Punjab has fulfilled its promise of providing 300 units of free electricity per month and as such 25 lakh domestic consumers have received zero bills, state Power Minister Harbhajan Singh said Saturday.

In a statement, he claimed this was the first time a government is fulfilling its election promises in the initial year itself.

8:09 PM

Pilot threatens to crash plane on Walmart store in Mississippi; area evacuated

Police in Tupelo, Mississippi say a pilot has been flying an airplane over the city in circles for hours, threatening to intentionally crash into a WalMart store. Governor Tate Reeves says all citizens should be on alert, said US media reports.

 

Tupelo Police Dept said the Walmart & a nearby convenience store had been evacuated. The plane started circling at about 5 am & was still in the air more than 3 hours later. Police said they have made contact with the pilot directly, reported AP

8:05 PM

Delhi reports 236 new cases, 398 recoveries, and 3 deaths

6:35 PM

Thousands line up to say farewell to Gorbachev; Putin absent

Thousands of mourners lined up Saturday to pay tribute to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, in a farewell snubbed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin's refusal to declare a state funeral reflects its uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev, who has been venerated worldwide for bringing down the Iron Curtain but reviled by many at home for the Soviet collapse and the ensuing economic meltdown that plunged millions into poverty.

5:21 PM

India is likely to get the tag of the 3rd largest economy by 2029: SBI report

India is likely to get the tag of the third largest economy by 2029, a movement of seven places upwards since 2014 when India was ranked 10th, stated a research report from the State Bank of India’s Economic Research Department

4:33 PM

Supertech wants to develop new housing project on twin towers site; to approach Noida authority

Realty firm Supertech Ltd, which incurred a loss of about Rs 500 crore from the demolition of its twin towers, wants to develop a new housing project at the same place and it will seek refund of land cost and other expenses if authorities do not approve the plan, its Chairman R K Arora said.

The nearly 100-metre-tall twin towers -- Apex and Ceyane -- were demolished at 2.30 pm on August 28 as per a Supreme Court order that found their construction within Emerald Court premises in violation of norms. More than 3,700 kg of explosives were used in this operation.

4:17 PM

NGT fines West Bengal Rs 3,500 cr for not managing waste properly

The National Green Tribunal on Saturday has imposed Environmental Compensation of Rs 3,500 crore on the state of West Bengal for allegedly not managing solid as well as liquid waste management causing harm to the environment, ANI reported.

4:07 PM

Only 25 per cent people in Odisha took Covid precaution dose

The Odisha government appealed to the people on Saturday to take the precaution dose against coronavirus as soon as possible as few weeks are left for the period of free jabs and only a quarter of the targeted population got vaccinated with the third shot.

A total of 80.90 lakh people, including frontline workers and those in the 18-60 age group and above 60 years, have taken the precaution dose, Health Director Bijay Panigrahi said at a press briefing in Bhubaneswar.

3:03 PM

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya slams Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, calls him biggest U-turn leader in India

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya on Saturday termed AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal the "biggest U-turn leader" in the country and said his "revdi (freebies) and bevdi (drunk) politics" will be rejected by youngsters in Gujarat.

The national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, also alleged that Kejriwal's politics lacks credibility and integrity.

Addressing reporters shortly before Kejriwal's press conference in Rajkot city, Surya said the AAP leader's claims of good schools, mohalla clinics, and clean politics have been busted by the BJP in Delhi.

3:02 PM

No decision on what will replace Twin Towers till debris is removed: Supertech

After the demolition of the Twin Towers, now a war of words has erupted between the Supertech builder and the Emerald Court RWA on what will be built in place of the Towers. The basis on which the RWA won the case and the Supreme Court had ordered that the towers should be demolished was that the land was marked for a park.

RK Arora, owner of Supertech Group, told IANS that "It has not been decided yet what will be built there. Until the debris is completely removed, it is difficult to say what will be built there. Many people are writing anything, I don't care about all those things, when the debris is removed, then Supertech will clear the situation as to what will be built there."

As of now, Supertech still owns the Twin Tower land. But if it constructs anything there, it will have to take permission from two-thirds of the residents of Emerald Court. According to the RWA, what was marked on the map will be built there.

2:59 PM

Manipur has become 'JDU-free'; BJP will 'very soon' break JDU-RJD alliance in Bihar: Sushil Modi

A day after five Janata Dal (United) MLAs from Manipur merged with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), party leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday said that the state has become JDU-free.

He exuded confidence that the BJP will very soon break the "Mahagathbandhan" alliance of Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress in Bihar.

"Five JDU MLAs joined the BJP in Manipur, the state has become JDU-free. Those MLAs wanted to remain in NDA. Very soon, we will break the JDU-RJD alliance in Bihar and make the state JDU free," said Modi.