LIVE: Bihar flood situation remains grim; over 5.3 million affected

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for 10 districts in Kerala for the next four days. Stay tuned for the latest news of the day

2:07 PM

Latest News LIVE update: Sonia Gandhi discharged from hospital, condition stable

Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi was on Sunday discharged from the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here, three days after she was admitted, according to a health bulletin. Her condition was stable at the time of discharge, said Dr D.S. Rana, Chairman (Board of Management), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

 

The 73-year-old Congress patron was admitted to the hospital for routine tests and check-up on Thursday. She was under the care of Dr Arup Kumar Basu, a chest and respiratory medicine specialist. On Thursday, she had chaired a meeting of the party Rajya Sabha MPs which went on for more than three hours.

2:04 PM

Muzaffarpur faces flood following a rise in water level of Burhi Gandak River in Bihar

1:53 PM

Military commanders of India and China hold fifth round of talks on border row

Senior military commanders of India and China are holding a fresh round of talks on Sunday with an aim to ensure expeditious disengagement of troops from all the friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, military sources said according to a PTI report.

 

It is the fifth round of corps commander-level talks in nearly two months with an aim to defuse the border tensions triggered by a violent clash between the two militaries in Pangong Tso area in eastern Ladakh on May 5. The meeting was scheduled to start at 11 AM in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

 

The sources said the Indian side will insist on total withdrawal of Chinese troops from the Finger areas in Pangong Tso at the earliest besides completing the disengagement process on a couple of other friction points.

 

The previous round of corps commander-level talks took place on July 14 and lasted for nearly 15 hours.

1:41 PM

Sonia Gandhi, who was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on July 30, has been discharged today

1:30 PM

Only 34% approve Trump's handling of pandemic: Poll

Only 34 per cent of Americans approve of US President Donald Trump's handling of the novel coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll. The ABC News/Ipsos poll, whose results were released on Friday, also found that the US public broadly disapproves of the President's handling of other recent crises such as the nationwide protests following the death of African American George Floyd, reports Xinhua news agency. According to the poll's result, "just over a third of Americans (36 per cent) approve of President Trump's handling of the response to the protests across the country".

1:25 PM

IMD plans to use AI in weather forecasting

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is planning to use artificial intelligence in weather forecasting, especially for issuing nowcasts, which can help improve 3-6 hours prediction of extreme weather events, its Director General Mrutunjay Mohapatra said on Sunday. He said the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning is not as prevalent as it is in other fields and it is relatively new in the area of weather forecasting. The IMD has invited research groups who can study how artificial intelligence (AI) be used for improving weather forecasting and the Ministry of Earth Sciences is evaluating their proposals, Mohapatra said.

1:16 PM

Fire breaks out at furniture shop in Delhi's Lajpat Nagar market

A fire broke out at a furniture shop in Lajpat Nagar market in south Delhi on Sunday, a Delhi Fire Service official said. No one was injured in the incident, he said. According to the Delhi Fire Service, a call about the blaze was received at 11.26 am. The furniture shop was in the basement of a two-storey building in Lajpat Nagar market. "Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control. No one was injured," Atul Garg, the director of Delhi Fire Service, said.

1:10 PM

UP Governor, Deputy CM condole demise of Minister Kamal Rani

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel conveyed condolences to the family of State Cabinet Minister Kamal Rani Varun who passed away this morning due to Covid-19. "The sudden death of Kamal Rani is shocking. She was very active during her stint as Member of Parliament in the 11th and 12th Lok Sabha. I express my deepest condolences to her family in this time of grief," Anandiben Patel said in a statement. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya also expressed grief over the demise of Rani and said that it will be very difficult to find a "substitute" for her in the cabinet.

1:00 PM

High time Mehbooba Mufti is released: Rahul Gandhi

12:49 PM

If you're innocent stop playing hide-and-seek: Bihar cops to Rhea

Accepting that it could not trace Rhea Chakraborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput alleged suicide case so far, the Bihar Police on said that their motive is not to punish any innocent. "If Rhea has not done anything wrong than she should stop playing hide-and-seek with the police and come forward to clarify the things," the Bihar Police argued. Director General of Bihar Police Gupteshwar Pandey, on Saturday, interacted with media in a systematic manner and offered an explanation of many things related to the case. In the same sequence, Pandey told a TV channel that if Rhea does not believe herself guilty, then she should stop playing hide-and-seek (Chuhe-Billi ka khel) with the police and come to record her statement. Pandey said, "Why is Rhea running away? If he is not guilty, come forward and help the police in the investigation. We are not advocates of punishing an innocent. We would like her to stand up and if she succeeds in proving herself innocent, we will not even touch her. But if she runs away from me, then I will definitely say that we will definitely reach her one day and separate the milk from water."

12:33 PM

Delhi CM condoles death of UP Cabinet minister Kamal Rani Varun

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday condoled the death of Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Kamal Rani Varun who was being treated for COVID-19 and urged people to take all precautions to protect themselves from the virus. Kamal Rani, the cabinet minister for Technical Education in the UP government, succumbed to COVID-19 at the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow on Sunday. "V sad to hear this news. May her soul rest in peace. We all need to take precautions to protect ourselves. Don't take corona lightly," Kejriwal tweeted

12:16 PM

56,89,584 people have been affected in 30 districts of Assam due to floods

Since 22nd May, total 56,89,584 people have been affected in 30 districts of Assam. The state government has set up 621 relief camps and 109 people have lost their lives in flood-related incidents, till now.

12:10 PM

We are going ahead with women's IPL on time: BCCI President Ganguly

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the Women's IPL or the Challenger series, as it is better known, is "very much on", ending speculation about the parent body not having a plan for Harmanpreet Kaur and her team. The men's IPL will be held between September 19 and November 8 or 10 (final date yet to be locked in) in the UAE due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in India. The women's IPL will also be fit in to the schedule, according to the BCCI chief. "I can confirm to you that the women's IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also," Ganguly told PTI ahead of the IPL Governing Council meeting later on Sunday.

12:04 PM

Gujarat govt orders police transfers, including 58 IPS officers

The government of Gujarat on Saturday issued transfer orders of 74 police officers including 58 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers in the state. The notification in this regard was issued on August 1 by the Gujarat Home Department. IPS TS Bisht, who was the Director-General, Civil Defence and Commandant General, Home Guards, Ahmedabad was transferred to the post of Director General of Police, CID (Crime and Railways), Gandhinagar. Meanwhile, IPS Sanjay Srivastava was transferred from Director General of Police, CID (Crime and Railways), Gandhinagar and appointed on the ex-Cadre post of Commissioner of Police in Ahmedabad.

11:54 AM

Nun Rape Case: SC to hear plea of Franco Mulakkal seeking discharge on Aug 5

The Supreme Court will hear on August 5 a plea of former Bishop Franco Mulakkal seeking direction to discharge him from the nun rape case. A bench headed by Justice AS Bopanna will hear Mulakkal's plea for dropping of rape charges against him. Mulakkal has filed the plea in top court where he claimed to be innocent and said he was implicated after he questioned the financial dealings of the victim nun. He has recently approached the top court after the Kerala High Court has rejected his plea for discharge from the case. On July 7, the Kerala High Court had rejected Mulakkal's plea to quash the charge of sexually assaulting a nun against him and directed him to face trial.