Latest live updates: Delhi reports 2,311 new Covid cases in past 24 hours

Live news updates: Delhi reported 1,837 Covid-19 recoveries. Positivity rate at 13.84 per cent. Active cases at 7,349

10:09 AM

Indian Army plans to use 5G to boost frontline troops communication

The Indian Army is planning to use 5G services to boost frontline troops communication services that will be essential in a tactical battlefield area, sources in the defence establishment said on Saturday.

The Army was the lead service when a joint services study was recently conducted on implementation of 5G in armed forces, they said.

9:54 AM

Order of acquittal ought not be interfered with lightly, says SC

An order of acquittal ought not be interfered with lightly, the Supreme Court has said while restoring the exoneration of a man accused of subjecting his wife to cruelty.

The apex court observed that the appellate court must deal with every reason, which weighed with the court concerned while recording acquittal, before setting aside such order.

9:32 AM

Over 85 pc MPs vote till 2 PM to elect next Vice President; Modi, ex-PM Manmohan Singh cast ballot

Over 85 per cent votes were polled in the Vice Presidential election till 2 PM, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Manmohan Singh casting their ballots early in the day, officials said.

Of the 780 MPs in both Houses -- another eight Rajya Sabha seats are vacant -- around 670 of them had cast their vote so far, they said.

The Trinamool Congress, which has 39 MPs, including 23 in Lok Sabha, has already announced its decision to abstain from this election.

National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) Jagdeep Dhankhar (71) is pitted against Opposition's Margaret Alva (80) for the post.

Polling to elect the next Vice President of India began at 10 am, with Modi being among the first ones to do so.

9:31 AM

Vistara takes Dreamliner aircraft on lease to boost international flight operations

Vistara on Saturday said it has taken a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on lease, which will help the airline increase its number of flights to Frankfurt and Paris.

 

This is the first Dreamliner plane taken on lease by Vistara. The private carrier already has two Dreamliner aircraft, which were purchased from Boeing, in its fleet.

 

Vistara had to take the plane on lease because Boeing has not delivered four more Dreamliner planes to it for two years. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US aviation regulator, wants Boeing to make rectifications in Dreamliner's production line before restarting the deliveries.

9:27 AM

Feeling of capturing gold is different: Sakshi Malik's parents on CWG triumph of "golden girl"

After Sakshi Malik's gold medal win in the 62 kg category in freestyle wrestling at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022, there is an atmosphere of happiness and pride at her residence in Rohtak.

 

Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik clinched the country's third medal in wrestling at CWG 2022 on Friday by defeating Ana Paula Godinez Gonzalez in the finals of the women's freestyle 62 kg category.

 

She won a bronze for India during the 2016 Rio Olympics. It was followed by a bronze at the 2018 CWG in Gold Coast, Australia. Now she has made the country proud once again with another medal at the prestigious platform of CWG, that too a gold.

 

Her family members feel that her hard work is the reason why their daughter is where she is now.

 

Her mother Sudesh said that Sakshi is the daughter of Haryana and she has made her state and country proud at the Commonwealth Games.

9:23 AM

Monkeypox: Strict vigil at K'taka ports, airports

The Karnataka government has intensified vigilance along the state borders to keep the monkeypox virus at bay, Health Minister Dr K. Sudhakar said here on Saturday.

"We are being vigilant. We are taking up surveillance measures at our state borders and we have taken all precautionary measures," he said.

He further stated: "We have also made sure there is thermal screening at every port and airport round the clock. There are three officials at each place working in 8-hour shifts. This is the reason why no case has been reported in the state."

9:22 AM

Gujarat: Vice President Naidu visits Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace, offers prayers at temples in Dwarka

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday visited Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace in Gujarat's Porbandar and offered prayers at two temples in Dwarka during his one-day visit to the state.

His visit to Gujarat comes on the day polling to elect the next vice president is underway.

The outgoing vice president and his wife Usha Naidu arrived at Jamnagar Air Force Station, where Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel received them. From there, the Naidus left for Dwarka, where they offered prayers at Nageshwar Jyotirling temple and Dwarkadhish temple.

9:11 AM

SAD supports NDA nominee Jagdeep Dhankhar in VP polls

Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday said his party has supported NDA nominee Jagdeep Dhankhar in the polling to elect the next Vice President of India.

 

Dhankhar is pitted against joint Opposition candidate Margaret Alva.

 

In a tweet, Badal said, "Shiromani Akali Dal supports a peasant's son, crusader for farmers' rights and the man who secured OBC status for the farming community (Jats) in his state, Sh Jagdeep Dhankhar for the Vice Presidency."

 

8:59 AM

Varun Gandhi takes 'muft ki revdi' swipe at govt with list of defaulters

BJP MP Varun Gandhi took a swipe at the government on Saturday over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "muft ke revdi" (freebies) comment, saying loans up to Rs 10 lakh crore of corrupt businessmen were waived in the last five years.

Mehul Choksi and Rishi Agarwal top the list of those who received "muft ki revdi", Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi, sharing a government reply in Parliament about the top 10 defaulter firms. Choksi and Agarwal are associated with two of those firms.

"The same Parliament that expects the poor to express thanks at receiving five kg grains also says bad loans of Rs 10 lakh crore of corrupt businessmen have been waived in the last five years. Who has the first right over the government treasury?" Gandhi asked.

8:45 AM

Max Estates wins bid to acquire 4 acres land in Noida for Rs 220 cr

Max Ventures & Industries Ltd (MaxVIL) has won a bid to acquire about 4 acres of land in Noida for Rs 220 crore for development of a commercial project.

In a statement, MaxVIL said its real estate arm Max Estates through its special purpose vehicle (SPV) had bid for the two land parcels being auctioned by Axis Bank.

"Axis Bank has sent a confirmation letter ascertaining the company as the successful bidder for both the land parcels," MaxVIL said.

The two land parcels are located in Sector 129, Noida and next to Max Estates' under-construction grade A+ commercial office project 'Max Square'.

8:39 AM

Telangana ideologue Jayashankar remembered on his birth anniversary

Telangana on Saturday paid rich tributes to Telangana ideologue Professor K. Jayashankar on his birth anniversary.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, state ministers and leaders of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) recalled the key role played by the former vice-chancellor of Kakatiya University in the Telangana movement.

Ministers, MPs and state legislators offered tributes to the late leader at various programmes held across the state.

8:28 AM

US-based gurdwaras seek improvement in security funding

Ten years after a white supremacist gunned down six Sikh worshippers at a gurdwara in the US state of Wisconsin, the White House is calling for a sharp increase in funding for a federal programme that provides security grants for houses of worship.

But a Sikh-American advocacy group has said that many gurdwaras have not been able to take advantage of the six-year-old funding programme because of a complicated application process and tight deadlines, VOA reported.

"Too many gurdwaras are not getting funding, and that's a real challenge," said Sim Singh Attariwala, senior policy and advocacy manager for the Sikh Coalition in Washington.

"We do think that more needs to be done to ensure that houses of worship across the nation are able to take advantage of some of the federal resources that would provide additional funding, which would then be used to harden security (and) to improve training," Attariwala said.

8:21 AM

Lanka's hard economic times would last another year; need to look at new sectors for recovery: Wickremesinghe

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that Sri Lanka's economic woes would last for another year and it will have to think outside the box and look at new sectors like logistics and nuclear energy to revive the bankrupt economy.

Speaking at a two-day conference titled Let's reset Sri Lanka held on Friday, Wickremesinghe said that reforms in the country also would need higher taxation.

The next six months to one year I think till about July next year, we will have to go through a hard time, he said, adding that for recovery Sri Lanka would have to look at new sectors such as logistics and nuclear energy.

8:19 AM

Hiroshima vows nuke ban at 77th memorial amid Russia threat

Hiroshima on Saturday remembered the atomic bombing 77 years ago as officials, including the head of the United Nations, warned against nuclear weapons buildup and as fears grow of another such attack amid Russia's war on Ukraine.

Nuclear weapons are nonsense. They guarantee no safety only death and destruction," said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who joined the prayer at the Hiroshima Peace Park.

Three quarters of a century later, we must ask what we've learned from the mushroom cloud that swelled above this city in 1945," he said.

7:58 AM

Storms ground US air travellers as airlines cancel flights

Tens of thousands of flyers had their travel plans upended Friday after airlines cancelled about 1,400 US flights as thunderstorms hit the East Coast.

Another 6,300 flights had been delayed by early evening, according to tracking service FlightAware.

It was the second straight day of major disruptions and the worst day for cancellations since mid-June.

The three major airports in the New York City area and Reagan National Airport outside Washington, DC, recorded the most cancellations.