Live: Police justified in caning farmers in Karnal, says Haryana CM Khattar

News updates: Farmers union in Haryana to meet after police cane protesters; Joe Biden warns of another militant attack in Afghanistan.

10:41 PM

Jacques Rogge, IOC president for 12 years, dies at 79

Jacques Rogge, who oversaw an era of political and financial stability in the Olympic movement after its worst ethics scandal and pursued a hard line against doping during his 12 years as IOC president, has died, the Olympic organization said Sunday. He was 79.

 

The International Olympic Committee announced his death without giving details. Rogge's health had visibly declined when he attended Olympic events since his presidency ended in 2013.

 

First and foremost, Jacques loved sport and being with athletes and he transmitted this passion to everyone who knew him, Thomas Bach, Rogge's successor as president, said in an IOC statement. His joy in sport was infectious.

 

Rogge, a former orthopedic surgeon from Belgium, guided the IOC through a period of relative calm and prosperity during a term that spanned three Summer Olympics and three Winter Games from 2001-2013.

9:41 PM

US evacuates over 5,500 American nationals from Afghanistan: official

The US has safely evacuated more than 5,500 American nationals from Afghanistan including about 50 people in the last day and there are nearly 250 Americans who are trying to leave the war-torn country, the State Department said on Sunday. Chaos has enveloped Kabul after Afghanistan's government collapsed and the Taliban seized control on August 14.

 

The Taliban insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. Nearly 5,500 American citizens and likely more have been safely evacuated from Afghanistan since August 14. This includes an additional roughly 50 individuals in the last day, a State Department spokesperson said.

9:05 PM

Police lathi-charge on farmers in Karnal triggers protests in Punjab, oppn attack on Khattar govt

Farmers in Punjab blocked highways for two hours on Sunday in protest against the police lathi-charge on their Haryana counterparts as the neighbouring state government defended the police action, which a farm union alleged led to one death.

 

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday defended the police action against protesting farmers in Karnal, saying they promised a peaceful protest but hurled stones at police and blocked highways.

 

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala too condemned farmers' violence in Karnal but promised action against a duty magistrate who was caught on camera telling police to break farmers' heads during their protest.

 

A day after the police action in Karnal, a farm union leader accused police of causing death to a farmer, allegedly injured in the lathi-charge, but Karnal Inspector General of Police Mamta Singh refuted the allegation, saying that he died of natural causes.

9:02 PM

ED summons Maharashtra minister Anil Parab in Anil Deshmukh money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab for questioning in the money laundering case registered against former state minister Anil Deshmukh and others, officials said on Sunday.

Parab, 56, is also a minister of parliamentary affairs in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and is a three-term member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.

8:50 PM

FinMin extends last date for availing GST amnesty scheme till Nov 30

The Finance Ministry on Sunday extended the last date to avail the GST amnesty scheme, under which taxpayers have to pay a reduced fee for delayed filing of monthly returns, by three months till November 30.

The GST council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, had in May decided to come out with an Amnesty Scheme to provide relief to taxpayers in late fee for pending returns.

8:40 PM

Rural parts of MP face 'unscheduled load-shedding', MLA of ruling BJP warns of stir

Rural parts of Madhya Pradesh have started facing power outages, with the officials attributing them to shortage of energy as a result of annual overhaul of some coal-fired electricity generation plants and paucity of coal to operate them.

The situation has come to such a pass that ruling BJP's MLA from Maihar constituency, Narayan Tripathi, on Sunday warned of launching a protest from September 4 against what he called as "unscheduled load-shedding", if the state government does not pay heed to his demand.

8:30 PM

Landowners protest against Noida Authority over 5-year delay in plot handover

A group of landowners staged a protest against the Noida Authority on Sunday, alleging inordinate delays in handing over of residential plots in sector 145 of the city.

Senior citizens and children too were present in the group that held the demonstration at the site where the plots are yet to be demarcated, even though the bulk of the registries were done about five years ago, they said.

8:10 PM

US carried out a military strike targetting suspected ISIS-K terrorists in Kabul: Report

7:47 PM

Official: Missile, drone attack on Yemeni air base kills 30

A missile and drone attack on a key military base in Yemen's south on Sunday killed at least 30 troops, a Yemeni military spokesman said. It was one of the deadliest attacks in the country's civil war in recent years.

Mohammed al-Naqib, spokesman for Yemen's southern forces, told The Associated Press the attack on Al-Anad Air Base in the province of Lahj wounded at least 65. He said the casualty toll could rise since rescue teams were still clearing the site.

7:24 PM

Need innovative ways to promote Indian languages: V-P Naidu

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called for innovative ways to promote Indian languages.

Observing that language is not a static concept, he stressed the need to adopt a dynamic and proactive approach to enrich languages.

He said a people's movement is needed to preserve the "living culture" of language and expressed happiness that a "cultural and linguistic renaissance" in the country is getting increasing support from people, according to an official statement.

7:06 PM

Congress plans to hold press conferences on the National Monetization Pipeline

6:53 PM

Railways floats tender for 58 Vande Bharat trains

The railways has floated a tender for 58 Vande Bharat train sets after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in his Independence Day speech that 75 such trains will be launched in 75 weeks of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' to connect different parts of the country.

Currently, only two such Shatabdi-type semi-high speed trains are in operation.

6:50 PM

BKU workers gherao BJP MLA's car in protest against farm laws

Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) workers Sunday gheraoed the car of BJP MLA Vikram Singh to protest against the saffron party's anti-farmer policy.

Raising slogans like Vikram Singh Vapas Jao, the BKU workers showed black flags to Singh when he went to attend a meeting in Meerapur Dalpat village.

6:30 PM

Nothing to worry about fallout of Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan in Kashmir: Army

The Army on Sunday said the security situation in the Kashmir valley is under control and there is nothing to worry about the fallout of the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.

The General Officer Commanding of the Army's 15 Corps, also known as the Chinar Corps, Lieutenant General D P Pandey, said this to reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

5:56 PM

Uttarakhand CM Dhami conducts aerial survey of disaster affected areas

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday conducted an aerial survey of disaster-hit areas in the Garhwal division of the state, which has been affected by heavy rains.

The chief minister Dhami surveyed the disaster affected areas of Devprayag, Totaghati, Tindhara, Kaudiyala, Rishikesh, Ranipokhari, Narendranagar, Fakot and Chamba of Garhwal division.