LIVE: Nitish top choice for CM's post, says India Today pre-election survey

The three farm legislations along with proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 are clearly against interests of farmers & landless workers, said Punjab CM. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

1:51 AM

Presidential debate commission adopts rules to mute microphones

Ahead of the final US presidential debate, the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates has announced new rules under which it will mute microphones for two minutes of the rival speakers so as to give them uninterrupted opening remarks.

 

Incumbent Republican President Donald Trump, 74, and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden, 77, are slated to face their final debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee on October 22.Under the new rules, Trump and Biden will each have two minutes of uninterrupted time to speak at the beginning of every 15-minute segment of the debate.

 

"The only candidate whose microphone will be open during these two-minute periods is the candidate who has the floor under the rules," the commission said in a statement on Monday.

12:24 AM

Wall Street bolstered by stimulus bet

Shares on Wall Street climbed on Tuesday on growing optimism that talks among US lawmakers are progressing with respect to a US stimulus package aimed at cushioning the economic shock from the coronavirus pandemic.

 

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was optimistic Democrats could reach a deal with the White House that could get aid out by early next month. She added there should be an indication of a possible agreement later on Tuesday.

 

Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will also talk at 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) on Tuesday, according to a source.

 

King Lip, chief investment strategist at Baker Avenue Asset Management in San Francisco, said he doesn't believe a full stimulus package would be passed though.

 

"It's kind of hard to bridge the gap between $1.8 trillion and $2.3 trillion, but a deal could at least get us through the elections or until December," Lip said. "By that time, we may have a comprehensive package."

10:40 PM

Rajasthan govt to bring bill against Centre's farm laws: Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said his government will bring a bill against the Centre's farm laws on the lines of Punjab.

 

The chief minister announced this on Twitter, hours after the Punjab assembly unanimously passed four bills and adopted a resolution against the Union government laws.

10:17 PM

5.6-magnitude earthquake hits Iceland, no injuries reported

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit southwest Iceland on Tuesday, shaking buildings in the capital, Reykjavik. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

 

The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the quake struck at 1:43 p.m. (1343GMT) and was centered near Krysuvik, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Reykjavik.

 

Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir was speaking at a live Zoom event hosted by the Washington Post when she paused mid-sentence at the time the quake struck. Oh my god, there is an earthquake, she said.

10:11 PM

Violations of law cannot be condoned under pretext of human rights: India to UN Human Rights chief

10:08 PM

Fraud attempts against businesses in India doubled in lockdown: Report

There was a doubling of online fraud attempts against businesses in India during the initial days of the lockdown and the same went down subsequently as the economy began unlocking, an American information and insights company said on Tuesday.

 

TransUnion found that suspected online fraud attempts against Indian businesses increased 121 per cent in the first phase of the pandemic (between March 11 to May 18), as compared to before the pandemic (between January 1 to March 10).

 

As businesses began reopening (May 19 to July 25), there was a 29 per cent decrease in suspected digital fraud attempts in India against businesses when compared to the first phase of the lockdown, it added.

9:46 PM

FDI up 16% to $27.1 billion in Apr-Aug compared to $23.35 billion year ago: Govt data

9:43 PM

Congress says Punjab has given Centre another opportunity to rectify 'blunder' of farm laws

9:37 PM

Assam govt committed to restore normalcy in border with Mizoram : Official

9:14 PM

Congress demands that Prime Minister Narendra Modi come out with concrete solutions to control Covid-19 pandemic and revive economy, instead of giving "plain speeches"

9:04 PM

Cyber crimes in India caused Rs 1.25 trillion loss last year: Official

Cyber crimes in India caused Rs 1.25 trillion loss in 2019 and cyber threats will continue to increase as the country starts developing smart cities and rolling out 5G network, among other initiatives, National Cyber Security Coordinator Lt Gen (Dr) Rajesh Pant said on Tuesday. He said that there are only a few Indian companies who are making some of the cyber security products and there is a big vacuum in the sector.

 

Further, Pant called for setting up a dedicated industry forum for cyber security to develop trusted indigenous solutions to check cyber attacks.

 

"Last year, our official figures were Rs 1.25 trillion lost due to cyber crimes in India. Ransomware attacks are increasing everyday and these criminals have been working from home. They have no qualms. They are heartless people. They are attacking hospitals because they know in an emergency hospitals will pay," Pant said at an event organised by industry body Ficci.

8:58 PM

Railway employees stage protest across India over delay in payment of bonus

Thousands of railway employees staged protests across the country on Tuesday against the "inordinate delay" in payment of productivity-linked bonus, defying warning of stringent action by the Railway Board, according to the All India Railwaymen's Federation (AIRF).

 

The AIRF has said if the bonus is not released immediately, they will be compelled to intensify their protest and take "direct action".

 

"Today all affiliated unions of AIRF have launched various agitational programmes all over the country to strongly protest the inordinate delay in payment of PLB (productivity-linked bonus) to railwaymen and condemned the government for this delay," AIRF general secretary Shiv Gopal Mishra said in a statement. Read more

8:46 PM

Bihar elections: NDA projected to win 133-143 seats

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is projected to win between 133 to 143 seats in Bihar elections, according to a survey done by India Today and Lokniti-CSDS before the state votes. The state Assembly has 243 seats and the halfway mark to form a government is 122 seats. The Opposition led Mahagatbandhan (Grand Alliance) is projected to get between 88 to 98 seats. The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which pulled away from the NDA in the state to contest elections on its own, is expected to get between 2 to 6 seats. Other parties will get 6 to 10 seats, says the survey.
 

Bihar will vote in three phases on October 28, November 3 and 7. Votes will be counted on November 10.

8:38 PM

Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Vadodara leading cities in mobile gaming: Opensignal

Ahmedabad, Navi Mumbai and Vadodara have been rated as top Indian cities in terms of overall mobile gaming experience, according to a ranking released by mobile analytics and insights company Opensignal on Tuesday. Opensignal analysed the mobile network experience in 48 of India's largest cities to see how they stacked-up on its games experience metrics.

 

The ranking represented how users perceive real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on cellular networks - on a scale of 100 - across some of the most popular genres. "The best games experience was enjoyed by our users in Gujarat's metro city of Ahmedabad with a score of 71.7, followed by Navi Mumbai (70.1) and Vadodara (69.8)," Opensignal said releasing its findings. Read more

8:30 PM

NDA projected to win 38% vote share, Mahagatbandhan to get 32%: Survey

The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is projected to win 38 per cent of the vote share in Bihar, according to a pre-election survey done by India Today and Lokniti-CSDS. Opposition led Mahagatbandhan (Grand Alliance) gets 32 per cent of the vote share. The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which pulled away from the NDA in the state to contest elections on its own, gets 6 per cent of the vote share. The Grand Democratic Secular Front (GDSF) gets 7 per cent of the vote share and other parties 17 per cent