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

9:59 PM

Hurricane Isaias lashes Bahamas while Florida battens down

Hurricane Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas on Saturday and headed toward the Florida coast, where officials said they were closing beaches, parks and coronavirus testing sites.
 

Florida authorities said they have prepared shelters, but didn't expect to have to evacuate people.
 

“The most important thing we want people to do now is remain vigilant,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.
 

Authorities in North Carolina ordered the evacuation of Ocracoke Island, which was slammed by last year's Hurricane Dorian, starting Saturday evening.

9:58 PM

Do not discredit your own legacy: Cong veterans to young leaders

Amid an ongoing tussle between the young and old guard in the Congress, party veterans urged their colleagues on Saturday not to discredit their own legacy and said by doing so, they would only be aiding the BJP's designs to undermine the party in the public eye.
 

Advising restraint in airing grievances in public, several former Union ministers cautioned party colleagues, saying such tendencies divide the Congress at a time when unity is needed. They also said one needs to learn from past defeats and revive the party rather than play into the hands of its "ideological enemies".

9:57 PM

Astronauts face final leg of SpaceX test flight: coming home

A pair of NASA astronauts face the final and most important part of their SpaceX test flight: returning to Earth with a rare splashdown.
 

Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken took part in a farewell ceremony Saturday at the International Space Station, several hours ahead of their planned departure on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.
 

Despite approaching Hurricane Isaias, NASA said the weather looks favourable for a Sunday afternoon splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City, Florida. It will be the first splashdown for astronauts in 45 years. The last time was following the joint US-Soviet mission in 1975 known as Apollo-Soyuz.

9:56 PM

Sunil Chhetri voted 2019 Asian Cup's favourite player by fans

Indian talisman Sunil Chhetri was on Saturday voted as the favourite player of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup by fans as he finished ahead of Eldor Shomurodov of Uzbekistan.
 

Chhetri beat Shomurodov 51-49 in the poll after trailing in the initial stages of voting.
 

"19 days, 561,856 votes The #AsianCup2019 favourite player has been decided. Congratulations Sunil Chhetri!" the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) wrote on its Twitter handle.
 

The 35-year-old Indian captain scored twice during the group stage of the Asian Cup in the beginning of last year. Both goals came in their 4-1 drubbing of Thailand in the opening match.
 

9:56 PM

Beware of 'virtual kidnapping', Maharashtra Cyber advises parents

Maharashtra Cyber, the police's specialised wing keeping a tab on online activities, has said that internet crooks have devised a modus operandi in which they make parents fall prey to technological and psychological tricks to make them believe their child has been kidnapped, and force them to pay a ransom.
 

Officials, however, added that no case of this kind of "virtual kidnapping" has been reported here so far.
 

They are using technology to spoof calls and morph images to carry out such crimes and target children who are alone at home as their parents are working, an official explained.

9:54 PM

Sports university to come up in Kangra: HP minister

Newly-appointed Minister of Forests, Youth Services and Sports, Rakesh Pathania on Saturday said a sports university will be established soon in Kangra district.
 

He paid a courtesy visit to senior BJP leader and former chief minister Shanta Kumar in Palampur.
 

Pathania, an MLA from Nurpur constituency of Kangra district, was inducted in CM Jai Ram Thakur's cabinet on July 30.

9:50 PM

Indian Army prepares to maintain current strength in eastern Ladakh

The Indian Army is preparing to maintain its current strength of troops, tanks and other weaponry in all key areas in eastern Ladakh in the harsh winter months as a resolution to the border row with China in the mountainous region shows no signs of early resolution, people familiar with the developments said on Saturday.
 

They said the Indian Air Force(IAF) will also remain on high alert in the forward air bases along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) while the Navy will maintain its aggressive deployment in the Indian Ocean Region(IOR) to keep up pressure on China.
 

The Indian Army is making elaborate preparations for the long haul in eastern Ladakh even as it awaits confirmation from the Chinese military for the fifth round of military talks which was earlier expected to take place this week, they said.

9:48 PM

PM asks students to come up with innovative concepts

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked students to prepare innovative models and forward them for their use in a big way.
 

Following an interaction with a student here through video conference after she came up with a model on embankments during the Smart India Hackathon (SIH), the Prime Minister asked her to make her presentation before the authorities concerned.
 

The student was M Shwetha, a fourth year student of M.Sc (Software Systems) of Sri Krishna Arts and Science College.
 

She had developed the model of an embankment and how the replica could help prevent loss of life and property if there were a breach.

9:40 PM

Odisha CM, Union ministers condole Amar Singh's death

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi on Saturday condoled the death of Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh.
 

"Deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of veteran leader & Rajya Sabha MP #AmarSingh. My thoughts & prayers are with the bereaved family. May his soul rest in peace," Patnaik tweeted.
 

Union Petroleum and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan described Singh as a seasoned politician.
 

"Saddened to learn about the passing away of seasoned politician and Rajya Sabha MP, Shri Amar Singh ji. My deepest condolences to his family and friends in their hour of grief.
 

May God grant eternal peace to the departed soul. Om Shanti!," Pradhan tweeted. Read more

9:37 PM

Mobile companies commit Rs 11,000 cr investment under PLI scheme: ICEA

Industry body ICEA, which represents top mobile phone makers like Apple, Foxconn, Wistron, Lava, etc, on Saturday said companies have committed investments worth Rs 11,000 crore under the PLI scheme and they will surpass manufacturing estimates by 2 to 2.5 times.
 

Major global players Samsung Wistron, Pegatron, Foxconn and Hon Hai and Indian companies such as Lava, Dixon, Micromax, Padget Electronics, Sojo, UTL and Optiemus have applied for benefits under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
 

According to the estimates of India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), mobile phone companies will increase devices production in the country to around Rs 27.5 trillion on higher side under the PLI compared to government's announcement of Rs 11 trillion.
 

9:35 PM

FA Cup final: Arsenal Vs Chelsea

Giants of English football Arsenal and Chelsea will clash in the final of FA Cup tonight at 10:00 pm IST. 

Arsenal has won the FA Cup for a record 13 times while it's London rival has won it 8 times. Both teams have met twice before in the FA Cup finals and both times the gunners emerged victorius. 

Both teams last met in 2019 Europa League final when Chelsea won the match 4-1.

You can watch the match live on Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 3 TV channels in India. You can watch the match online on SonyLiv app.

9:01 PM

Flood situation worsens in Bihar; 2 more die, close to 5 million affected

Floods claimed two more lives in Bihar on Saturday taking the death toll to 13, while the number of people affected by the calamity inched closer to 50 lakh as the waters of overflowing rivers reach fresh areas of the state's northern part.
 

According to the bulletin issued by the state disaster management, two fresh casualties were reported from Muzaffarpur district. Earlier, Darbhanga and West Champaran had reported seven and four deaths respectively.

8:42 PM

Extension of Mehbooba Mufti's detention abuse of law: Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said the extension of PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti's detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) is an "abuse of law" and "assault" on the constitutional rights of every citizen of the country.
 

Wondering how a 61-year-old former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister is a threat to public safety, he sought her immediate release from detention.
 

"The extension of the detention of Ms Mehbooba Mufti under PSA is an abuse of law and an assault on the Constitutional rights guaranteed to every citizen," the former Union minister wrote on Twitter.

8:26 PM

Punjab hooch tragedy: CM suspends 7 excise officials

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday ordered the suspension of, and inquiry against, seven Excise and Taxation Officers and Inspectors, along with two DSPs and four SHOs of Punjab Police, in connection with the hooch tragedy, which has so far claimed 86 lives in the three districts of Tarn Taran, Amritsar rural and Gurdaspur.
 

He has also announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia compensation to each of the families of the deceased, most of whom are from Tarn Taran, which accounts for 64 deaths, followed by Amritsar Rural (12) and Gurdaspur (Batala) (11).

8:12 PM

Ayodhya illuminated ahead of foundation stone laying ceremony of Ram Temple