LIVE: India expects China to 'sincerely work' on disengagement, says MEA

The floodwaters have destroyed crops and fishes from ponds have been swept away in districts of Assam. Stay tuned for the latest news of the day

10:08 AM

Coronavirus in US: Fauci to testify next week to House panel on coronavirus

Dr. Anthony Fauci and two other top public health officials will testify next week to a House subcommittee that's been investigating the federal response to a coronavirus pandemic still inflicting a relentless toll on Americans, officials with the panel said Wednesday.

 

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has become the government's most visible face in the battle against the virus, and polls show him as its most trusted authority as well.

 

That's in sharp contrast to President Donald Trump, who gets low marks from the public after ceding much of the U.S. response to the nation's governors, resulting in an inconsistent hodgepodge of restrictions and a resurgence of the disease in many states.

10:08 AM

Direct tax refunds down 10% amid Covid-19 pandemic, says CBDT

Direct tax refunds are down 10 per cent, compared to the same period last year, despite the central government’s efforts to expedite these amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Refunds, or cash outflow from the income-tax (I-T) department, stood at Rs 74,000 crore up to July 18 this fiscal, against Rs 82,000 crore worth of refunds disbursed in the same period last year.

 

According to a senior Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) official, refunds have been held up in only cases where response is awaited from assessees and/or where cases have been picked up for scrutiny. Read on...

9:48 AM

Joe Biden calls Donald Trump the country's 'first' racist president

Joe Biden said Wednesday that President Donald Trump was the country's first racist president.

 

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's comments came during a virtual town hall organised by the Service Employees International Union.

 

When a questioner complained of racism surrounding the coronavirus outbreak and mentioned the president referring to it as the China virus, Biden responded by blasting Trump and his spread of racism. Read on...

9:45 AM

Trump sees China as a threat, would work hard to re-elect him: Nikki Haley

US President Donald Trump sees China as a threat, Republican leader and Indian American Nikki Haley said, adding that she would campaign and work "very hard" to get him re-elected in the November elections.

 

Addressing the virtual India Ideas Summit organized by US India Business Council, Haley said on Wednesday that the threat China poses to the US would be one of the factors in the November presidential elections. Read on...

9:37 AM

Sensex advances 33.58 pts to 37,905.10 in opening session; Nifty inches up 24.05 pts to 11,156.65

9:37 AM

In biggest single-day spike, Uttarakhand reports 451 fresh Covid-19 cases, crosses 5,000 cases mark

9:06 AM

460,000 people in 10 Bihar districts have been affected by flood: Disaster management department

9:04 AM

Assam floods claim 89 lives, affect 26 districts, says state Disaster Management Authority

9:03 AM

PM Modi to lay foundation stone for Manipur Water Supply project today

8:57 AM

Tension escalates as Trump orders closure of Chinese consulate in Houston

The United States ordered China to close its consulate in Houston, escalating tensions between the world's largest economies as President Donald Trump ramps up punitive measures against China ahead of the November US election.

 

Beijing denounced the order Wednesday as outrageous and said it would draw a firm response if not reversed.

 

The physical closure of the consulate, one of China's six missions in the United States, marked a dramatic step in increasingly contentious relations that have been strained not only by the conronavirus pandemic but disputes over trade, human rights, Hong Kong and Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea. Read on...

8:54 AM

Trump says administration may close additional Chinese diplomatic missions

8:53 AM

Gehlot writes to PM Modi, alleges attempts to destabilize elected governments through horse-trading

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that "despicable attempts" had been made "to destabilize elected governments through horse-trading".

 

He said attempts to destabalise governments were an insult to mandate of people and violation of constitutional values.

 

"For some time now, there have been despicable attempts to destabilise elected governments through horse-trading, disregarding the spirit of the anti-defection law enacted by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1985 and amended later by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. This is an insult to the people's mandate and a clear violation of constitutional values. Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are examples of this," Gehlot said.

 

"I don't know to what extent you are aware of all this or you are being misled. History will also not forgive those who are complicit in these plots," he added.

8:52 AM

Pilot camp MLA wants Centre to be party in petition against Speaker

Congress MLA Prithviraj Meena filed an application before Rajasthan High Court seeking Centre to be impleaded in the ongoing case filed by rebel Sachin Pilot and 18 other MLAs case challenging Para 2 (1) (a) of the Schedule X of the Constitution.

 

In his petition filed on Wednesday, he said, "It is humbly prayed that Union of India through The Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice (Department of Legal Affairs), be made a Party Respondent to the present writ petition in the interest of justice and law."

 

The Speaker CP Joshi served disqualification notices to 19 rebel MLAs including Pilot for their alleged "anti-party activities" soon after they skipped two meetings of Congress legislative party meetings.