News updates: AAP MLAs to meet CBI chief, seek probe into 'Operation Lotus'

From India's GDP data for the April-June quarter to Covid-19 updates, catch all the latest news here

10:52 AM

BJP MPs request inquiry into purported 'attempts by BJP to buy AAP MLAs'

BJP MPs from Delhi write to Lt Governor VK Saxena, requesting for inquiry into the allegations of purported "attempts by BJP to buy AAP MLAs" made by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and other AAP leaders

10:44 AM

'Poorly-directed freebies may have adverse consequences on economy'

Poorly-directed freebies may wreak havoc with state finances and have adverse consequences on the economy as in the case of Sri Lanka, experts say while noting it is important to define a freebie and how it is different from welfare expenditure.

 

Recently, the Supreme Court said freebies at the cost of taxpayers' money may push the country towards imminent bankruptcy.

 

Economic think tank ICRIER Chairman Pramod Bhasin said,"Most freebies (unless at a time of huge urgency such as COVID) which are often poorly directed are a fiscal mistake with significant adverse consequences. And these exist in most states and under most forms of governments." Bhasin noted that "political compulsions" cause most politicians to announce freebies as their way of capturing votes.

 

10:30 AM

Death toll in catastrophic Pakistan flooding reaches 1,162

The death toll in Pakistan's catastrophic flooding has increased to 1,162 as the cash-strapped country struggles to rescue and care for millions of people displaced by the surging waters.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said the victims included 384 children and 231 women, and the death toll is expected to further increase in the coming days, dpa news agency reported on Wednesday.

More than 33 million people in some 116 of Pakistan's 160 administrative districts have been affected by the floods triggered by incessant monsoon rain since mid-Jine, with at least 72 districts being declared disaster areas.

10:05 AM

Delhi: Dry end to August; not much rain predicted in 1st week of September

With a spell of rain unlikely on Wednesday, August is set to end with the lowest rainfall recorded in Delhi in at least 14 years.

The Safdarjung Observatory, Delhi's primary weather station, recorded a minimum temperature of 25.9 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 35 degrees Celsius.

Though Delhi will see cloudy skies over the next five to six days, a good spell of rain is unlikely.

10:05 AM

Feds cite efforts to ''obstruct'' probe of docs at Trump home

The US Justice Department has said it had uncovered efforts to obstruct its investigation into the discovery of classified records at former President Donald Trump's Florida estate.

The assertion was made in a court filing on Tuesday night that lays out the most detailed chronology to date of interactions between Justice Department officials and Trump representatives over the presence of the documents at Mar-a-Lago.

In the filing, the Justice Department said FBI agents had uncovered multiple sources of evidence indicating that Trump and his representatives had failed to fully comply with a subpoena to turn over classified records and that additional classified documents remained at Mar-a-Lago.

9:39 AM

Thane district records 268 COVID-19 cases

As many as 268 new cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in Maharashtra's Thane district, a health official said on Wednesday.

With one death reported on Tuesday, the death toll of the pandemic in the district stood at 11,941 while caseload rose to 741,655.

There are currently 2,468 active coronavirus patients in the district.

9:33 AM

Mikhail Gorbachev's death mourned as passing of rare leader

The passing of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union and for many the man who restored democracy to then-communist-ruled European nations, was mourned Wednesday as the loss of as a rare leader who changed the world and for a time gave hope for peace among the superpowers.

But the man who died at age 91 on Tuesday was also reviled by many countrymen who blamed him for the 1991 implosion of the Soviet Union and its diminution as a superpower. The Russian nation that emerged from its Soviet past shrank in size as 15 new nations were created.

The loss of pride and power also eventually led to the rise of Vladimir Putin, who has tried for the past quarter-century to restore Russia to its former glory and beyond.

After decades of brutal political repression, he embraced democratic reforms. He believed in glasnost and perestroika openness and restructuring not as mere slogans, but as the path forward for the people of the Soviet Union after so many years of isolation and deprivation" President Joe Biden said.

9:17 AM

US monkeypox cases cross 18,000

The number of people infected with monkeypox in the US has crossed 18,000, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A total of 18,101 positive cases have been confirmed so far, dpa news agency quoted the CDC as saying in its latest update on Tuesday.

A total of 2,916 new confirmed cases were reported in the country in the last seven days.

9:15 AM

India records 9,808 new Covid cases, 45 deaths in 24 hrs

India records 9,808 new Covid cases, taking the nation's tally to 44,428,393. With 45 new deaths, including 10 reconciled by Kerala, the nation's toll from the pandemic has reached 527,874. India's tally of cured Covid cases reached 43,835,852 after 10,828 people recovered from the diseases in the last 24 hours.

9:11 AM

Suspended BJP leader Seema Patra arrested in Jharkhand

Suspended BJP leader Seema Patra arrested in Jharkhand for allegedly torturing tribal help, reports PTI

8:37 AM

President Murmu wishes nation on Ganesh Chaturthi

8:35 AM

PM Modi extends greetings for Ganesh Chaturthi

8:01 AM

Share markets closed today for Ganesh Chaturthi

The share markets, including the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), are closed on Wednesday, August 31, on the ocassion of Ganesh Chaturthi. 

 

7:31 AM

Preparations underway for Ganesh chaturthi at Eidgah after Karnataka HC order

7:14 AM

Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader who ended cold war, dies at 91

Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the Soviet Union whose attempts to shake up his country’s political and economic system led to the collapse of the Communist superpower and the end of the Cold War, has died. He was 91.

The Interfax and state-run Tass news services cited the Moscow hospital where Gorbachev died. The Central Clinical Hospital said his death followed “a severe and prolonged illness,” according to Tass.