Latest live: Kejriwal biggest 'U-turn leader' in India, says BJP's Tejaswi

Live news updates: Earlier, bulk of the JDU MLAs joined the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh giving nightmare to Nitish Kumar's party.

2:57 PM

Protesters demand reopening of Sterlite Copper plant

Nearly 20 people, led by Murugan, Secretary, Pro-Sterlite Foundation, presented a memorandum to S.P, Singh Baghel, Minister of State for Law and Justice; Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman demanding the immediate reopening of Sterlite Copper Smelting plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

The Federation, numbering in thousands, consisting of truck owners, truck drivers, raw material suppliers, contractors, women's self-help groups, and others dependent on the plant, a plea for a quick resolution to reopen the plant. The urgency stemmed from more than 15,000 families losing their livelihood since the plant's closure. These also include the port workers, lorry drivers, contract labour workers and sole breadwinning women.

"We have been suffering for more than four years since the Sterlite plant's shutdown, and our livelihoods have been impacted severely," states the memorandum.

2:51 PM

Shaji Prabhakaran appointed new secretary general of AIFF

Delhi Football president and long-time administrator Shaji Prabhakaran was on Saturday appointed the new secretary general of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

 

The appointment, which was on expected lines, was carried out by the newly-formed executive committee of the AIFF, at the helm of which is president Kalyan Chaubey.

 

The decision was taken during the new dispensation's first executive committee at the Football House, and was chaired by Chaubey.

 

The president proposed Prabhakaran's name as the new secretary general of the AIFF, which was unanimously approved by all the members, the AIFF said in a statement.

2:45 PM

Kejriwal biggest U-turn leader in India: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya on Saturday termed AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal the "biggest U-turn leader" in the country and said his "revdi (freebies) and bevdi (drunk) politics" will be rejected by youngsters in Gujarat.

The national president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, also alleged that Kejriwal's politics lacks credibility and integrity.

Addressing reporters shortly before Kejriwal's press conference in Rajkot city, Surya said the AAP leader's claims of good schools, mohalla clinics, and clean politics have been busted by the BJP in Delhi.

2:36 PM

Fast-moving wildfire in California forces thousands to evacuate

A fast-moving wildfire in California has exploded to over 2,500 acres with zero containment, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.

The Mill Fire that began on Friday afternoon amid dangerous fire weather has grown to 2,580 acres by Saturday morning in Siskiyou County, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

On Friday night, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for the county to support the response to the rapidly-spreading blaze, reports Xinhua news agency.

2:20 PM

Anand Mohan incident: Attorney General declines consent for contempt proceedings against 13 people

Attorney General K K Venugopal has declined consent for initiating contempt proceedings against 13 people, including jail and police officials, over controversial politician Anand Mohan being allegedly allowed to visit his residence in Patna after his production before a trial court there.

Venugopal said attorney general's contempt jurisdiction is limited to dealing only with instances of criminal contempt of the Supreme Court of India.

Mohan is serving life sentence for the murder of IAS officer G Krishnaiah in 1994.

2:19 PM

NSA Ajit Doval visits Maha CM's Mumbai residence

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Saturday visited the official residence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai.

Doval was welcomed by Shinde with a bouquet and a shawl after he offered prayers at Lord Ganesh's idol at the chief minister's residence, Shinde's office said in a statement.

The idol of Lord Ganesh was installed at the CM's residence 'Varsha' on the first day of the ten-day festival on August 31.

2:03 PM

India vs Pakistan: Focus on top-order approach, Avesh Khan

The famed top-order would be desperate for a course correction while the bowling attack could be rejigged as India aim for a 'Sunday Encore' against Pakistan in an Asia Cup 'Super 4s' clash.

If top-order's Powerplay philosophy is a problem, the inexperience of Avesh Khan at the death is no less a worry as the team management may need to revamp the bowling attack against a strong Pakistan side which is coming into the game after demolishing Hong Kong by more than 150 runs.

With no Ravindra Jadeja available in this game, Axar Patel seems a straightaway replacement but the team combination does take a hit in the absence of Saurashtra all-rounder.

2:03 PM

Booker-winning 'Tomb of Sand', other translations dominate 2022 JCB Prize longlist

With six out of 10 nominated works being translations, including Geetanjali Shree's International Booker-winning novel "Tomb of Sand", the longlist for 2022 JCB Prize for Literature announced on Saturday was overwhelmingly dominated by translated works from multiple languages.

The translation works on the list include "Rohzin" by Rahman Abbas (translated from the Urdu by Sabika Abbas Naqvi), "Paradise of Food" by Khalid Jawed (translated from the Urdu by Baran), "Song of the Soil" by Chuden Kabimo (translated from the Nepali by Ajit Baral), "Valli" by Sheela Tomy, (translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil) and "Imaan" by Manoranjan Byapari (translated from the Bengali by Arunava Sinha).

It is for the first time that the titles in Urdu, Hindi and Nepali have been featured in the longlist of the coveted literary award, which is currently in its fifth year.

1:55 PM

SC to hear plea on violence against doctors

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Monday a plea seeking directions to authorities to ensure adequate security at hospitals and medical centres to prevent attacks on doctors and healthcare workers by relatives of patients and others.

A bench of Justices S K Kaul and Abhay S Oka is likely to take up the matter.

The plea filed by the Delhi Medical Association and Dr Satyajit Borah, who is the president of Assam State Branch of Indian Medical Association, also seeks directions to the Centre and states to have a distress fund to grant compensation to the victim or family of the deceased healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, in such violence.

1:42 PM

Taiwan calls for Dalai Lama's visit to Taipei during celebrations of Tibet Democracy Day

Taiwan Parliament Group along with other rights groups has called for the Dalai Lama's visit to Taipei over the human rights situation in Tibet.

Celebrating the 62nd anniversary of Tibetan Democracy Day on Friday, the Taiwan Parliament Group for Tibet held a commemorative event along with other groups concerned with the development of human rights.

"We should make more Tibetan friends and contacts with other Tibetan associations and organisations," Lin Changzuo, Chairman of the Taiwan Parliament Group for Tibet said addressing the gathering.

1:33 PM

Gorbachev to be buried in modest funeral snubbed by Putin

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, is set to be buried on Saturday in a relatively low-key ceremony snubbed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin's refusal to declare a state funeral reflects its uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev, who has been venerated worldwide for bringing down the Iron Curtain but reviled by many at home for the Soviet collapse and the ensuing economic meltdown that plunged millions into poverty.

On Thursday, Putin privately laid flowers at Gorbachev's coffin at a Moscow hospital where he died.

1:15 PM

Don't quit BJP but work for AAP internally: Kejriwal tells Gujarat BJP workers

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Gujarat to work for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while staying in the ruling party.

Kejriwal said BJP workers should continue to get "payment" from the BJP but work for AAP "from inside".

Addressing a press conference in Rajkot on the final day of his two-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat, Kejriwal said BJP workers will benefit from all the "guarantees" promised by him to people when his party comes to power in the state.

12:43 PM

Big jolt for Nitish Kumar in Northeast, 5 JD(U) MLAs merge with BJP

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has delivered a big jolt to the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) in the northeast as five out of seven MLAs from Manipur have joined hands with BJP.

Earlier bulk of the JDU MLAs joined the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh giving nightmare to Nitish Kumar's party.

Five JDU MLAs merged with the ruling party BJP on Friday, according to a statement from Manipur Legislative Assembly Secretariat.

As per the statement issued by the Legislative Assembly Secretariat, "the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly is pleased to accept the merger of five JD(U) MLAs with the BJP under the tenth schedule of the Constitution."

These names include Joykishan Singh, Ngursanglur Sanate, Md. Achab Uddin, Thangjam Arunkumar and LM Khaute.The Bharatiya Janata Party secured a majority of 32 seats in the 60-member state Assembly in the recently held Assembly elections, results of which were declared on March 10.

11:55 AM

Pondy logs 47 fresh COVID-19 cases, tally reaches 172,000

Puducherry confirmed 47 fresh cases of coronavirus on Saturday, raising overall tally to 172,981.

While Puducherry region alone witnessed 39 new cases, Karaikal reported five and Yanam three.

Mahe an enclave of Puducherry in Kerala had zero new case of viral infection. The 47 fresh cases surfaced during examination of 871 samples, Director of Health G Sriramulu said in a release. He said the active cases were 278 which comprised 10 patients undergoing treatment in hospitals and the remaining 268 in home quarantine. As many as 62 patients recovered during last twenty-four hours and the overall recoveries were 170,734.

11:37 AM

Amit Shah to inaugurate 30th southern zonal council meet in Kerala on Saturday

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on Saturday inaugurate the 30th southern zonal council meeting of the south Indian states and Union Territories, here.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Ministers and Ministers of other southern states -- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana -- and Lieutenant Governors of the southern Union Territories of Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands will take part in the meeting.

The council meeting will discuss matters of interest among the states and also between the states and the central government, a release issued by the Chief Minister's office (CMO) said.