LIVE: Wagner chief, who led revolt against Putin, dies in plane crash

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Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin killed in plane crash in Russia, with nine other people on board also dead.

India's moon mission Chandrayaan-3 made a perfect landing today near the South Pole of the moon. The next big manoeuvre was the rolling out of the Pragyan rover, which will send data from the spot to the lander that will be relayed to space agency Isro. The launch of the rover, though, took time. This is because the rover cannot be launched till the dust kicked up by the touchdown of the Vikram lander is dissipated. The gravity of moon being a fraction of that of Earth, dust does not settle the way it does on Earth.  

Vegetable prices in India have begun to soften and are likely to decline from September, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said in a speech on Wednesday. Spiralling prices of vegetables and cereals have led retail inflation in July to surge 7.44 per cent, its highest in 15 months.

After over one hour of intense competition, R Praggnanandhaa and world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen decided to draw the second game of the Chess World Cup Final. From the early moves, it was apparent that Carlsen was playing for a draw to take the game to the tie-breakers on Thursday. Praggnanandhaa is playing with black pieces today. Both Grandmasters are eyeing their maiden World Cup title.

PM Modi at the open plenary session of the 15th Brics Summit in Johannesburg. "India fully supports the expansion of Brics, we welcome moving forward with consensus on this, he said. During the group photo at Brics Summit in Johannesburg, PM Modi noticed the Indian Tricolour on the ground, which was kept to denote standing position of leaders. PM Modi immediately picked the national flag and kept it with him. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who had already stepped on his country's flag, saw PM Modi's gesture and later picked his flag.

At least 17 workers were killed on Wednesday after an under-construction railway bridge collapsed near Sairang area of Mizoram, police said. Several others are feared trapped at the site, as 35-40 workers were present when the incident occurred around 10 am, about 21 km from Aizawl, they said. Seventeen bodies have been recovered from the debris so far... many others are still missing, a police officer said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in South Africa to attend the 15th BRICS Summit, will virtually witness the historic landing attempt on the lunar surface as part of the country's third lunar mission - Chandrayaan-3. According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Chandrayaan-3 is all set to create history by landing on the uncharted south pole of the moon. The attempted soft-landing has been scheduled at 18:04 hrs IST.

Also Read: Chandrayaan-3 LIVE updates: India prays for successful landing on Moon

G20 countries allocated a staggering $ 1.4 trillion of public funds to support fossil fuels in 2022, aiming to counter the impact of their soaring prices due to the Ukraine war and strengthen energy reserves, a new study has said. The study by independent think tank International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and partners comes as G20 leaders prepare for their summit meeting scheduled for September 9-10 in New Delhi.

 

9:31 PM

Isro releases image captured by the Landing Imager Camera after the landing

9:20 PM

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the success of Chandrayaan-3

5:37 PM

Brics need to oppose decoupling and economic coercion, says Xi

China's Xi says Brics countries need to oppose decoupling and economic coercion. Here are highlights from his plenary session speech:

 

China will also work with all parties to jointly establish the Brics framework on industrial cooperation for sustainable development.

We should expand political and security cooperation to uphold peace & tranquillity. The Cold War mentality is still haunting our world and the geo-political situation is getting tense.

Brics countries should keep to the direction of peaceful development and consolidate the Brics strategic partnership.

We need to make good use of the Brics Foreign ministers' meeting, a meeting of high representatives on national security & other mechanisms

We need to support each other in our core interests and enhance coordination on major international and regional issues.

We need to tender good offices on hotspot issues pushing for a political settlement and lowering the temperature.

5:36 PM

Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft successfully fired ASTRA indigenous BVR air-to-air missile off the coast of Goa

Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) LSP-7 successfully fired the ASTRA indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile off the coast of Goa today. The missile release was successfully carried out from the aircraft at an altitude of about 20,000 ft. All the objectives of the test were met and it was a perfect textbook launch: Defence Ministry. The test launch was monitored by the Test Director and scientists of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) along with officials from the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) and Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DG-AQA). The aircraft was also monitored by a Chase Tejas twin-seater aircraft.

 

5:36 PM

SC holds social and recreational clubs liable to pay tax on interest accrued on FD

The Supreme Court in a batch of appeals has held that social and recreational clubs are liable to pay tax on interest accrued on the fixed deposits, parked with banks and financial institutions, which are their corporate members. It rejected the stand of the assessee clubs that they should be given tax exemption on the interest received citing the principle of mutuality, reported ETbureau

 

5:35 PM

Himachal Pradesh: Rainwater gushes down Shimla streets as the city continues to receive heavy rainfall

2:50 PM

DGCA derosters air traffic controller for the runway incursion incident at Delhi airport: Official

DGCA derosters air traffic controller for the runway incursion incident at Delhi airport: Official

 

2:47 PM

Seized incriminating documents: ED after raids on company in which TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee is CEO

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it seized "incriminating" documents after it raided multiple premises of a company in Kolkata whose CEO is Abhishek Banerjee, TMC MP and the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

 

The searches were undertaken on August 21-22 at three premises of the company, Leaps and Bounds Pvt. Ltd., as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation into the West Bengal teachers' recruitment 'scam'.

2:31 PM

Board exams twice a year, class 11, 12 students to study 2 languages: Govt

Board examinations will be conducted twice a year with students having the option to retain the best score, while class 11 and 12 students will have to study two languages instead of one, according to the Ministry of Education's new curriculum framework.

 

According to ministry officials, the curriculum, as per the New Education Policy (NEP), is ready and textbooks will be developed on its basis for the 2024 academic session.

 

In classes 11 and 12, students will have to study two languages and one of them has to be an Indian language, the final NCF (National Curriculum Framework) document accessed by PTI said.

2:15 PM

Adani group EBITDA grows 42% in first quarter, reaches Rs 23,532 crore

Billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate clocked a 42 per cent year-on-year growth in pre-tax profit, as businesses ranging from airports to power and sea ports registered impressive growth, the group said on Wednesday.

 

All-time high EBITDA of Rs 23,532 crore in April-June was almost equal to the full-year FY19 (April 2018 to March 2019 fiscal year) EBITDA of Rs 24,780 crore, Adani group said in a statement.

 

The conglomerate that spans 10 listed companies ranging from flagship incubator Adani Enterprises Ltd to ports business (Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd), renewable unit (Adani Green Energy Ltd), power utility (Adani Power Ltd), electricity transmission firm (Adani Energy Solutions), and city gas business (Adani Total Gas Ltd), had a net debt of Rs 18,689.7 crore after accounting for a cash balance of Rs 42,115 crore.

1:52 PM

India records 56 new Covid cases, total active cases at 1,475: Govt

India saw a single-day rise of 56 new coronavirus infections while the number of active cases was recorded at 1,475, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

 

The death toll was recorded at 5,31,926, the data updated at 8 am stated. The country's Covid case tally is 4.49 crore (4,49,96,732).

 

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,44,63,331, and the national recovery rate stands at 98.81 per cent, according to the health ministry's website.

1:38 PM

Sachin Tendulkar is EC's national icon; to encourage voter participation

As the Election Commission battles urban and youth apathy towards voting, cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar was on Wednesday appointed as a "national icon" of the poll panel to encourage greater voter participation in elections.

 

Tendulkar was made the national icon as the EC gears up to hold assembly polls in five states sometime in October-November and Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

 

A memorandum of understanding was signed between Tendulkar and the poll panel. As part of the three-year agreement, the cricketer will spread voter awareness.

1:21 PM

ED raids 'political vendetta' to tarnish INDIA bloc's image before 2024 polls: Congress

The Congress, a constituent of the ruling JMM-led coalition in Jharkhand, on Wednesday described ED raids at premises linked to a state minister's son and some others as a 'political vendetta' at the behest of the BJP government at the Centre to tarnish the image of opposition bloc INDIA before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

 

Several of the places raided by the ED as part of a money laundering investigation in connection with an alleged liquor scam in the state were linked to senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Rameshwar Oroan's son Rohit Oraon.

 

"The ED raids are nothing but an action of a political vendetta at the behest of the BJP at the Centre to tarnish the image of the INDIA alliance before the 2024 parliamentary elections," Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur told PTI.

1:01 PM

PayPal moves HC against order holding it as payment system operator under money laundering law

American online payment gateway PayPal on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court against an order which ruled that it was a "payment system operator" under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and has to thus comply with "reporting obligations" under it.

 

Senior counsel appearing for PayPal argued before a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma that the order passed by a single judge of the high court was wrong.

 

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the appellant, also said that the single judge's order cannot be sustained in view of a recent decision of the high court on the issue of payment system operator.

12:48 PM

Chinese coast guard blocks Philippine vessels near disputed shoal

As a US Navy plane circled overhead, two Philippine boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in a dangerous confrontation in the disputed South China Sea to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces guarding a contested shoal.

Two Philippine coast guard vessels escorting the supply boats, however, were blocked by at least four Chinese coast guard ships for about five hours Tuesday in a tense standoff off Second Thomas Shoal.