Live news updates: India reports 9,520 new coronavirus cases, 41 fatalities

Live news updates: The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 5,27,597

9:32 AM

Zaporizhzhya plant could be on 'brink of disaster': Zelenksy after shut down of reactors

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned of a potential disaster at the besieged Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, after a power outage forced an emergency shutdown of two of the plant's reactors.

 

"I want to stress that the situation remains very risky and dangerous," Zelensky said in his Friday night video address. "Any repetition ... will once again bring the power plant to the brink of disaster."

 

Zelensky also reiterated his call for a team of international experts to inspect the plant and for the Russian troops occupying the facility to withdraw, dpa news agency reported.

9:06 AM

Turkey, Sweden, Finland to hold new round of talks on Nordics' NATO bid in fall

Representatives from Turkey, Sweden and Finland met on Friday in the Finnish city of Vantaa and agreed to continue talks on the Nordic countries' ascension to NATO at the expert level in the coming fall, the Finnish government said.

 

Turkey, Finland and Sweden signed a trilateral memorandum in Madrid on June 28, agreeing to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism and establish a permanent joint mechanism to monitor the memorandum's implementation.

 

"Finland hosted the first meeting of the Permanent Joint Mechanism at Konigstedt Manor in Vantaa, Finland on 26 August, with the participation of experts from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Justice and Defense, from the Presidential and Prime Ministerial Administrations, as well as Intelligence Services," the statement said.

9:05 AM

Trump denies mention of 'Nuclear' in Affidavit for FBI Mar-a-Lago Raid, criticizes judge

On a recently released and redacted version of an affidavit used to back a raid on Former US President, Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, Trump said that the document makes no mention of nuclear information as he criticized the judge handling the case.

 

"Affidavit heavily redacted!!! Nothing mentioned on 'Nuclear,' a total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ, or our close working relationship regarding document turnover - WE GAVE THEM MUCH [sic]," Trump said in a statement via social media.

 

Earlier on Friday, the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida released a redacted version of the affidavit used to justify a search warrant on Trump's residence. An FBI investigation, prompted by a referral from the National Archives and Records Administration, determined that there was probable cause to believe that sensitive records may be improperly kept at Mar-a-Lago, according to the affidavit, according to The Hill.

8:29 AM

Taliban restricts female students to leave Kabul for studies in another atrocious move

The Taliban (under UN sanctions for terrorism) has refused to allow female students to leave the Afghan capital to go to study in Kazakhstan and Qatar, reported Sputnik citing sources.

 

Both female and male students were planning to leave Kabul, but only male students were permitted to fly out of Afghanistan for studies, the sources said on Friday.

 

After the withdrawal of US troops from the country and the collapse of the US-backed government, an interim Afghan government led by the Taliban came to power in September 2021.

8:20 AM

Pak Finance Minister slams Imran Khan-led K-P govt for attempting to 'vandalize' IMF pact

Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail has lashed out at the PTI-led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government for attempting to "sabotage" the Pakistan-IMF deal ahead of the global lender's executive board meeting.

 

Referring to the letter written by K-P Finance Minister Jahagra, Miftah slammed the PTI-led government, saying they are playing politics over matters of national interest at a time when the entire country is reeling from historic floods and heavy rains, the Express Tribune reported.

 

"[K-P Finance Minister] Taimur Jhagra assured me that he did not send this letter to the IMF but they [IMF] must have got this letter since it's circulating across the country," the Finance Minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Friday.

8:19 AM

Pakistan Floods: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa govt imposes rain emergency due to gushing floods, at least 193 dead

Due to flash floods triggered by heavy rains, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government imposed a rain emergency in many districts including Swat on Friday.

 

The torrential rains have wreaked havoc in numerous parts of the province, killing at least 193 people, reported the Express Tribune.

 

The rain emergency which has been imposed with immediate effect will remain in place till August 30. This comes as Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) has warned of "high level of floods" in tributaries of the Swat River. Apart from Swat, the flash floods have resulted in widespread devastation in Shangla, Mingora, Kohistan, DI Khan, Kalam valley Hazara division and other areas of the province.

8:12 AM

Excited for India-Pakistan clash: K.L. Rahul ahead of Asia Cup opener

India will begin their Asia Cup campaign with a high-voltage encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

 

K.L. Rahul, addressing a press conference, said, "We all are very excited and we always look forward to the clash between India and Pakistan."

 

"These big tournaments are always exciting and there is a history of rivalry and (thus) the game always comes with high intensity. We learned from our mistakes, and we are looking forward to this match with a new approach," he added.

 

8:10 AM

Vande Bharat train records 180 kmph speed in trial run

India's Vande Bharat Express train breached the 180 kmph speed limit during a test run on Friday.

 

Taking to Twitter, Union Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw wrote, "VandeBharat-2 speed trial started between Kota-Nagda section at 120/130/150 and 180 Kmph."

 

During the preliminary check-up of the Vande Bharat train, washing and cleaning was done in the washing pit. Apart from this, all types of instruments and panels of the train were also checked.

8:09 AM

Will launch new party, first unit in J-K in view of impending polls: Azad

Veteran politician Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday said he would launch a new party soon and that its first unit would be set up in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

"I am in no hurry as of now to launch a national party but keeping in mind that elections are likely to be held in Jammu and Kashmir, I have decided to launch a unit there soon," Azad, who resigned from the Congress earlier in the day, told PTI.

 

Azad, who had served as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Union minister under various prime ministers and the chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir, refused to divulge any further details on the formation of his new party.

8:09 AM

Jaishankar pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi in Buenos Aires as part of three-nation visit

As a part of the ongoing three-nation visit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Republica de la India street in Argentina today.

 

Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar wrote, "Paid homage to the Mahatma at Republica de la India street. He is a universal icon of international understanding and goodwill."

 

Moreover, Jaishankar also interacted with the Indian diaspora residing in Argentina and conveyed India's unsurpassable support to the community.

8:03 AM

Deep cover Russian spy posing as jewellery designer 'partied' with NATO staff

A team of investigators claim to have unmasked a deep-cover spy from Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, who spent a decade posing as a Latin American jewellery designer and partied with NATO staff based in Naples.

 

The investigators say the woman went by the name of Maria Adela Kuhfeldt Rivera, and told people she met that she was the child of a German father and Peruvian mother, born in the city of Callao, Peru, The Guardian reported.

 

In fact, she was a career GRU officer from Russia, according to research by Bellingcat in partnership with a number of media outlets including La Repubblica in Italy and Der Spiegel in Germany, and shared with the Guardian before publication.

8:03 AM

Mark Zuckerberg announces launch of new VR headsets in October

Mark Zuckerberg has announced Meta's new VR headset that will cost around UDS 1,000.

 

While speaking to Joe Rogan in his podcast, Zuckerberg announced that the new headsets will be out this October.

 

Zuckerberg referred to the company's Project Cambria, a higher-end VR and mixed-reality headset than the current Quest 2 that uses advanced eye- and facial-tracking features to more naturally represent the wearer's expressions and body language.

 

He said, "There's more nonverbal communication when people are with each other than verbal communication".

 

He added VR headsets are going to give one the ability to "have kind of eye contact in virtual reality". He explained, "if you smile or if you frown or if you pout, or whatever your expression is, have that translate in real-time to your avatar."

8:03 AM

Neeraj Chopra finishes first at Lausanne Diamond League

Neeraj Chopra on Friday finished first at the Lausanne Diamond League, becoming the first Indian to clinch the top spot in a Diamond League meet, after registering an 89.08m throw in his first attempt.

 

The Olympic gold medallist couldn't better his throw in the second attempt, registering a distance of 85.18m. Chopra, who skipped his third throw, had made a foul throw in his fourth attempt.

 

He threw 80.04m in his final attempt.

8:02 AM

Ashwini Kumar's prediction on Congress exodus comes true as Ghulam resigns

Reactions poured in after veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad called it quits from the party on Friday, while Former Union Minister and ex-Congress leader Ashwani Kumar's predictions turned out to be true as he called Ghulam's resignation 'unfortunate'.

 

He further stated that the resignation marked a sad in Congress party and democracy.

 

"His resignation is unfortunate. It's a sad day for the Congress party and for the democracy of the country. Despite it, the party refuses to change and that is why you see senior leaders leave because they feel alienated, humiliated and insulted," former Congress leader Ashwani Kumar told ANI.

 

Kumar in the month of May had predicted that many leaders will leave Congress soon, and party interim president Sonia Gandhi knows the reason for this.

8:02 AM

Freebies row: Poll promises should be met via budgetary provisions, says FM

Weighing on the ‘freebies’ debate, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said promises made to people by political parties during elections should be met through budgetary provisions, duly passed in the state Assemblies.

 

“If a promise has been made to the people at the time of election because you are looking at quid pro quo, then as a responsible party, after you come to power, make a provision in the budget for it,” the finance minister said at a media event in Mumbai.

 

“And, the payment should go through from the provision made in the budget. The promise of a freebie cannot be burdened on somebody else,” she added.