Live news updates: ED attaches worth assets Rs 415 cr in Yes Bank-DHFL case

Live news updates: ED has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 251 crores of Sanjay Chhabria and assets worth Rs 164 crores of Avinash Bhosale, in Yes Bank- DHFL fraud case under PMLA, 2002

8:36 AM

Farmer unions call off proposed protest against Punjab govt after 'most of the demands' accepted

The farmer unions on Tuesday called off their proposed protest against the Punjab government after meeting Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann who accepted "most of the demands".

The decision was taken after a meeting with the Chief Minister at the Punjab Bhawan.

Notably, several farmer organisations including Bharti Kisan Union (Sidhupur) had announced to protest against the Mann government on many issues which included the non-payment of sugarcane dues.

8:26 AM

China imposes economic curbs on Taiwan with sand, fruit bans

China halted some trade with Taiwan in retaliation to the high-profile visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island.

 

China’s General Administration of Customs said in a statement Wednesday that some fish and fruit imports were suspended due to excessive pesticide residue detected “multiple times” on products since last year, as well as some frozen fish packages that tested positive for coronavirus in June. The Ministry of Commerce said in a separate statement it banned natural sand exports based on provisions of related law, but gave no further details.

 

8:18 AM

Afghanistan receives $40 mn cash aid

Afghanistan has received $40 million in cash as humanitarian aid, the Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the country's central bank, said in a statement.

"As part of a series of humanitarian aid, the country received 40 million dollars in cash that arrived in Kabul today (Tuesday), the second batch in three days," the statement was quoted as saying Xinhua news agency.

The cash package has been delivered to a commercial bank, said the statement.

The DAB thanked the international community for the aid, and asked for the continuation of interaction and cooperation with the people of Afghanistan in other fields.

8:17 AM

Israel to open southern Ramon Airport to Palestinians: Report

Israel has approved a plan to allow Palestinian passengers to use Ramon International Airport in southern Israel, a local news site reported.

The first charter flight for Palestinian passengers under the plan will be bound for the Turkish city of Antalya in later August, Xinhua news agency reported, citing Ynet.

However, travellers from the West Bank still need to cross the Israeli-run border crossings to Jordan and enter Israel from the neighboring country. They would also undergo security procedures before and after arriving the airport.

8:17 AM

N Korea slams Pelosi's Taiwan visit, backs China's position

North Korea strongly denounced Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan on Wednesday, calling it an "impudent interference" by Washington into another nation's internal affairs.

The speaker of the US House of Representatives arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night despite fierce protests from China, becoming the highest-level official to make a formal trip there in decades. In a statement, she said her move "honours America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy".

In a quick response, however, Pyongyang's foreign ministry said that the visit is "arousing serious concern of the international community", as it stated support for China, which labeled Pelosi's trip as infringing its "sovereignty and territorial integrity", Yonhap news agency reported

7:58 AM

China summons US ambassador over Pelosi's visit, says US must pay price for its mistake

China's Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng on Wednesday summoned US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns to protest against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan island on Tuesday, stressing that the nature of her visit is extremely vicious and the consequence is very grave.

 

Xie said the Chinese side will not sit idly by. The US must pay the price for its own mistake. China will take necessary and resolute countermeasures and "we mean what we say", Global Times reported.

 

He maintained that the US government should have restrained Pelosi's unscrupulous move and prevented her from going against the historical trend but instead indulged her and colluded with her, which exacerbates the tension in the Taiwan Straits and seriously damages China-US ties.

7:58 AM

China calls Pelosi's visit as 'political provocation' to escalate US-Taiwan official exchanges

China on Tuesday called US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, a major political provocation to escalate official exchanges between the US and Taiwan and said that China will never accept it.

 

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the US side is trying to "use Taiwan to control China", constantly distorting and hollowing out the one-China principle, strengthening official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan, and supporting the "Taiwan independence" separatist activities.

 

"Her visit to Taiwan in any form and for any reason is a major political provocation to escalate official exchanges between the US and Taiwan. China will never accept it, and the Chinese people will never agree to it," the Ministry said in a statement.

7:57 AM

Shinde faction MLA Uday Samant's vehicle attacked in Pune, Maha CM calls it 'act of cowardice'

Uday Samant, MLA from Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde faction, whose vehicle was attacked by some people in Pune's Katraj Chowk on Tuesday, said that the police will investigate if the attackers were following him or the Chief Minister.

 

Earlier on Tuesday, Samant's vehicle was attacked by some people while passing by a location where Aaditya Thackeray held a public meeting, earlier.

 

Condemning the incident, Samant said that this is not how politics is done in Maharashtra.

7:57 AM

Missiles strike Ukrainian border area near Poland

Two explosions occurred near Ukraine's western border with NATO member Poland.

 

A Russian missile hit a Ukrainian military facility in the Chervonohrad district on Tuesday evening, the administration of the Lviv region announced, dpa news agency reported.

 

There was still no information on the damage caused, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi wrote on Telegram.

 

The Ukrainian Air Force High Command reported that the Russian army fired eight missiles at Ukraine from long-range bombers over the Caspian Sea on Tuesday evening.

 

7:57 AM

China to begin military drills around Taiwan as Pelosi visits

Within minutes of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landing in Taiwan on Tuesday night, China said it would immediately begin "a series of joint military operations around the island", including using long-range live ammunition in the Taiwan Strait, a media report said.

 

An announcement from the People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command said beginning Tuesday night a series of exercises would be held on the sea and in the air surrounding Taiwan, the self-governed island that China says is its sovereign territory, CNN reported.

 

"This action is a solemn deterrent against the recent major escalation of the negative actions of the United States on the Taiwan issue, and a serious warning to the 'Taiwan independence' forces seeking 'independence,'" Col. Shi Yi, spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement.

7:56 AM

Pelosi arrives in Taiwan, voicing US 'solidarity' as China fumes

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late on Tuesday on a trip she said was intended to express American solidarity with the Chinese-claimed island, the first such visit in 25 years and one that risks pushing relations between Washington and Beijing to a new low.

 

Pelosi and her delegation disembarked from a U.S. Air Force transport plan at Songshan Airport in downtown Taipei and were greeted by Taiwan's foreign minister, Joseph Wu and Sandra Oudkirk, the top U.S. representative in Taiwan.

 

"Our congressional delegation's visit to Taiwan honors America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy," Pelosi said in a statement shortly after landing.