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3:45 PM

Delhi excise policy scam: ED questions AAP minister Satyendar Jain in Tihar jail

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday questioned Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain inside the Tihar jail in a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy, official sources said.

Officials of the agency recorded Jain's statement according to the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED had moved a local court seeking its permission for the questioning. The court authorised the probe agency to carry out questioning on September 16, 22 and 23.

3:37 PM

Sonali Phogat death case: CBI team arrives in Goa for probe

A team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrived in Goa from Delhi on Friday to investigate the mysterious death of Haryana BJP leader Sonali Phogat in the state last month, an official said.

The central agency team would be visiting Anjuna police station and other spots related to the case in North Goa, the senior official said.

3:35 PM

Maharashtra transport dept to hike fees for VIP numbers for new vehicles

The Maharashtra transport department has issued a draft notification to hike fees for VIP numbers for new vehicles, an official said on Friday.

As per the draft notification, the number '0001' will have a proposed fee of Rs 5 lakh, up from Rs 3 lakh now for four-wheelers, while it will be Rs 1 lakh for two and three-wheelers instead of the present Rs 50,000, he said.

3:27 PM

AIADMK hits streets against DMK's power tariff hike

Tamil Nadu's main opposition party AIADMK on Friday staged state-wide protests demanding that the DMK regime roll back the recent hike in electricity tariff.

Addressing a protest at nearby Chengalpet, AIADMK interim general secretary K Palaniswami provided unit-wise break-up on electricity tariff increase for consumers and said domestic users of about 500 units faced a hike of "53 per cent."

3:26 PM

Water begins receding in Pakistan's worst flood-hit sout

Floodwaters are receding in Pakistan's worst-hit southern Sindh province, officials said Friday, a potentially bright sign in an ongoing crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of people homeless in the impoverished South Asian country.

The Indus River, which remained swollen until earlier this month, was now rushing at normal levels towards the Arabian Sea, according to Mohammad Irfan, an irrigation official in hard-hit Sindh. The water level in the past 48 hours receded as much as three feet in some of the inundated areas nearby, including the Khairpur and Johi towns, where waist-high water damaged crops and homes earlier this month.

3:00 PM

Will 'beautify' Delhi if get control of MCD: Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that if Aam Aadmi Party gets control of the MCD, it will “beautify” the national capital and accused the current MCD of trying to turn the city into a city of "garbage mountains." During a press conference, he alleged that the civic body has plans to create 16 new landfill sites.

 

At present, three landfill sites -- Ghazipur, Okhla, and Bhalswa -- are located on Delhi borders.

 

"People living in the vicinity of these landfill sites are affected by the foul smell emanating from these garbage mounds and a host of other issues. Their life is literally like hell. We have heard that there are plans to make 16 new garbage mountains in the national capital," the CM said.

 

2:40 PM

Ukraine finds new mass burials, says Russia “leaves death"

Ukrainian authorities were expected to begin recovering bodies on Friday from a newly found mass burial site in a forest recaptured from Russian forces, a delicate task that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said would help show the world "what the Russian occupation has led to”.

 

The burial site, containing hundreds of graves, was discovered close to Izium after a rapid counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces liberated the northeastern city and other swaths of the Kharkiv region, breaking what was largely becoming a military stalemate in the nearly seven-month war.

2:27 PM

Due to quality education provided in Delhi govt schools, 1,141 students cleared JEE, NEET: Kejriwal

Due to the quality education provided in Delhi government schools, 1,141 students have cleared JEE and NEET exams, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday.

 

Kejriwal was speaking at an event organised to felicitate toppers of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) at Thyagaraj Stadium here.

 

Felicitating the students, Kejriwal said 18 crore children study in government schools across the country and most of them are in a poor state.

2:11 PM

Universities to use 'normalised' CUET scores for preparing merit lists, not percentile: UGC chief

After the results for the Common University Entrance Test were declared, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar on Friday said universities will prepare the rank list for undergraduate admissions on the basis of "normalised" scores and not percentile or "raw marks".

 

Kumar told PTI that the scores have been normalised to provide a level playing field to students who wrote the exam in the same subject on different days or in different shifts.

 

The results for the debut edition of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET)-UG were declared earlier in the day.

2:11 PM

We will support India for its presidency next year: Chinese President Xi Jinping

Samarkand, Uzbekistan | Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulates India for hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, next year. 

 

"We will support India for its presidency next year", said Chinese President Xi Jinping

2:09 PM

We want to encourage traditional medicines among SCO nations: PM Modi

... The SCO needs to focus on bringing diversified and resilient supply chains: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan's Samarkand

 

1:51 PM

Germany seizes assets of Russian oil giant Rosneft

Germany is taking over Russian oil major Rosneft PJSC’s German unit, including stakes in three oil refineries, as Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government reacts to the unprecedented energy crisis sparked by the invasion of Ukraine.

 

Germany is set to stop importing the Russian crude that feeds its refineries later this year as part of Europe’s move to isolate Russia economically. The government’s move “counteracts the impending threat to the security of energy supply and lays an important foundation for the preservation and future of the Schwedt location,” the economy ministry said.

 

It’s an escalation in the economic standoff with Russia and marks another step in Berlin’s increasingly active role in the energy industry as it unwinds decades of tight collaboration with Russia.

 

1:44 PM

Pakistan faces TTP, JeM hurdle in exiting FATF grey list

The UN's anti-terrorism watchdog - the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) - will meet next month to evaluate not just enacting of laws and their enforcement, but also individuals and terror groups suspected to be the beneficiaries in Pakistan, reported local media.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is scrambling to play down the rebellious Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)'s marauding of innocent civilians in the Swat Valley, but also convince the FATF that Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief, Masood Azhar, is absconding and is not being sheltered on Pakistan territory, reported Islam Khabar.

Pakistan's record on the flow of funds into terrorist activities has been under sustained scrutiny by FATF which has placed it on the 'grey' list since 2018.

1:33 PM

After Covid-19 pandemic, world is facing challenge of economic recovery: PM Modi

After Covid-19 pandemic, world is facing challenge of economic recovery: PM Modi at SCO summit.

1:31 PM

Raju Srivastava continues to be on ventilator, recovering slowly: brother

More than a month after he was admitted to hospital following a heart attack, popular comedian-actor Raju Srivastava continues to be on ventilator, his brother Dipoo Srivastava said on Friday.

The family wishes to carry on with Srivastava's treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) where he was hospitalised on August 10. He underwent an angioplasty the same day.

Dipoo Srivastava, also a comedian, said his elder brother is recovering slowly but continues to be unconscious.

"The recovery is slow. He will be fine soon. He is stable and on a ventilator. He is still unconscious. It's been 35 days but doctors are saying they are doing their best. We need all your prayers," Dipoo told PTI.