1:05 PMUkrainian counter-attack effective, not end of war: NATO's Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday Ukraine's counter-attack against Russian troops had been very effective but warned nations should prepare for the long haul as this did not signal the beginning of the end of the war.
"It is of course extremely encouraging to see that Ukrainian armed forces have been able to take back territory and also strike behind Russian lines," Stoltenberg told BBC radio.
"At the same time, we need to understand that this is not the beginning of the end of the war, we need to be prepared for the long haul."
12:56 PMSC refuses to entertain PIL for common dress code in educational institutes
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking a direction to the Centre, states and union territories to implement a common dress code for staffers and students in registered educational institutions.
A bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia said this is not a matter which should come to the court for adjudication.
12:31 PMMaha CM Shinde had invited Vedanta-Foxconn to sign MoU on July 29 to set up semiconductor plant near Pune
Amid a row over Vedanta-Foxconn choosing Gujarat for its semiconductor plant, officials said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had invited the company to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government on July 29 to set up the facility near Pune.
A senior government official said Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were in regular touch with Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal and had spoken to him over phone.
Shinde had written to him (Agarwal) assuring that the state cabinet's approval and the central government's nod for 20 per cent capital subsidy for the semiconductor facility would be taken, the official said.
12:26 PMDelhi liquor policy: ED conducts fresh raids at 40 locations
The ED on Friday launched fresh raids at about 40 locations across the country as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the now scrapped Delhi Excise Policy, official sources said.
The searches are being conducted at premises linked to liquor businessmen, distributors and supply chain networks in Nellore and some other cities in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Delhi-NCR, they said.
The action started early morning with agency teams being escorted by police personnel at the locations being searched by them.
12:05 PMCBI, ED unnecessarily troubling everyone, don't understand what liquor scam is: Kejriwal
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are "unnecessarily troubling everyone" and said the country can't progress like this.
Addressing a press conference, the chief minister said the Lieutenant Governor, the CBI and the BJP have quoted varying amounts of money involved in the alleged liquor scam but he doesn't understand what it is really about.
His remarks came after the ED launched fresh raids at about 40 locations across the country as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.
11:52 AMKyrgyz-Tajik border conflict escalates with alleged use of heavy weaponry
Kyrgyzstan's border guard service said on Friday that Tajik forces once again opened fire on several of its outposts, an escalation of tension between the Russian allies after a brief confrontation earlier this week.
Kyrgyz border guards were returning fire as clashes took place along the whole length of the border, the service said, adding that Tajik forces were using tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and mortars.
In turn, Tajikistan accused Kyrgyz forces of shelling one of its outposts and seven villages with "heavy weaponry". A civilian was killed and three injured, authorities in the Tajik city of Isfara said.
11:49 AMMizoram, Assam CMs to hold border talks on Sep 19
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma will hold talks on September 19 to find an amicable solution to the border dispute between the two northeastern states, an official said on Friday.
The CMO official, who is accompanying Zoramthanga in New Delhi, said the meeting will take place in the national capital but the venue is yet to be decided.
"The two chief ministers conversed over the phone on Friday and decided to hold a meeting on the border issue on September 19 in New Delhi," the official told PTI.
11:31 AMPM Narendra Modi attends SCO summit
Samarkand, Sep 16 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attended the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of the other member states of the influential grouping.
It is for the first time that Xi and Modi came face-to-face since the border standoff between India and China escalated following the deadly clash in Galwan Valley in June 2020.
11:26 AMFresh rules for babus to declare assets under Lokpal law yet to be notified: DoPT
Fresh rules to prescribe the form and format for filing details of assets and liabilities by central government employees under the Lokpal Act are yet to be notified, the Department of Personnel and Training has said.
The declaration under the Lokpal law is in addition to similar ones filed by the employees under various service rules.
As per rules notified under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, every public servant was required to file asset details under Section 44 on March 31 every year or on or before July 31.
11:05 AMChidambaram takes jibe at Sitharaman over her 'half-baked' statement
Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday criticised Union FM Nirmala Sitharaman over her statement on the 1991 economic reforms.
Chidambaram tweeted, "The FM is reported to have said that the 1991 reforms were "half-baked", Thank God, Dr Manmohan Singh did not serve over-cooked and unpalatable food like Demonetisation, multiple-rates GST and savage taxes on petrol & diesel
"We thank the FM for revealing that she took bakery and cooking courses in University," he added
10:47 AMSitharaman chairs 26th meet of Financial Stability and Development Council
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday reviewed the state of the economy at the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) meeting in Mumbai, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
The council stressed on the early warning indicators for the economy and the preparedness to deal with them, improving the efficiency of the existing financial and credit information systems, and issues of governance and management in systemically important financial institutions.
"It was noted that there is a need to monitor the financial sector risks, the financial conditions and market developments on a continuous basis by the Government and the regulators so that appropriate and timely action can be taken so as to mitigate any vulnerability and strengthen financial stability," the Finance Ministry statement read.
10:06 AMChina's retail, factory sectors perk up in August
China's economy showed surprising resilience in August, with faster-than-expected growth in factory output and retail sales shoring up the recovery from the crippling effects of COVID curbs, heatwaves and a deepening property slump.
The better-than-expected figures show the world's second-largest economy is gaining some steam, after narrowly escaping a contraction in the June quarter and lifting recovery prospects slightly for the rest of the year.
Industrial output grew 4.2% in August from a year earlier, the fastest pace since March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The figure beat a 3.8% increase expected by analysts in a Reuters poll and the 3.8% expansion in July.
10:03 AMUber investigating 'cybersecurity incident' after report of breach
Uber Technologies Inc said on Thursday it was investigating a cybersecurity incident, after a report that its network was breached and the company had to shut several internal communications and engineering systems.
A hacker compromised an employee's workplace messaging app Slack and used it to send a message to Uber employees announcing that the company had suffered a data breach, according to a New York Times report on Thursday that cited an Uber spokesperson.
It appeared that the hacker was later able to gain access to other internal systems, posting an explicit photo on an internal information page for employees, the report added.
 "SCO summit")
