Breaking News | July 20

India is set to get its next President on Thursday, July 21. At the end of the counting of votes — which will begin at 11 am — the nation would know who would succeed incumbent Ram Nath Kovind to become the country’s 15th President. READ MORE

Assam reported 830 new COVID-19 positive cases with 10.85% positivity rate in last 24 hours. Two people died due to infection of COVID-19 in the state. Active cases at 5,243.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is set to appear before the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday in connection to the National Herald case. The ED had earlier issued summons to Gandhi but the leader had requested the agency to defer the call owing to her health. The date for questioning was finally set for July 21. READ MORE

Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made it through to the final stage of the leadership contest to replace UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Reuters informed on Wednesday. READ MORE

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announces an ex-gratia of Rs 4 Lakhs each for five people across five districts of the state who died of thunderstorms.

Punjab reports 459 fresh Covid-19 cases and 232 recoveries in the last 24 hours, no deaths reported in this period.

"In another reaffirmation of our Neighbourhood First policy, today the Cabinet approved signing of an MoU for judicial cooperation between India & Maldives. Will accelerate court digitization and boost prospects for IT companies & start-ups in both countries," tweets External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Karnataka: Four people were injured after a speeding ambulance toppled at a toll gate, near Byndoor. The Ambulance was carrying a patient to Honnavara. Further details are awaited. READ MORE

Ahead of Congress interim chief questioning tomorrow by ED, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said, "...as the political vendetta unleashed by the Modi-Shah duo against our top leadership continues, the entire Congress party across the country will demonstrate its collective solidarity with Sonia Gandhi in a most telling manner."

BJP national president JP Nadda attends 'Dhanyawaad Karyakram' organised by BJP supporters for announcing Jagdeep Dhankhar as NDA's Vice Presidential candidate.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case, asking him to appear before them on 27th July.

Kerala Governor Arif Mohd Khan speaks on PFI's viral document "India Vision 2047" and says, "If someone is hallucinating, they speak nonsense. There's no restriction on speaking nonsense. The more attention you give, the more you help them. They should be ignored.."

Congress leaders arrive at the residence of the party's senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge for a meeting, ahead of Sonia Gandhi's questioning by ED tomorrow in National Herald Case.

Disgusting politics is entering the nation. Never before was such political misuse of agencies against rivals seen. Party will demonstrate across the nation & register our protest, said Pawan Khera.

Locals in Rairangpur prepare laddu ahead of the counting of votes for the Presidential election tomorrow. NDA's Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu resides in Rairangpur.

https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1549766454027104257

IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar takes charge as ADGP Law & Order Kashmir Zone. 

The Reserve Bank of India is in the process of implementing the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in a phased manner for the wholesale and retail segments, an official said on Wednesday.

The Madras High Court on Wednesday set aside the proceedings of the Tamil Nadu Revenue department locking and sealing the AIADMK headquarters here, following the July 11 violence and directed that the keys of the office be handed over to party chief K Palaniswami.

A worker of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena was attacked by unidentified persons at Kalyan in Thane district on Wednesday morning, police said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday highlighted the struggle, grit and determination of the Commonwealth Games-bound athletes in a light-hearted interaction as he urged them to forget expectations and focus only on giving their best at the Birmingham multi-sport event.

The Congress on Wednesday alleged the Parliament's functioning is being affected because of the government's obstinacy to not allow the Opposition's demand for a discussion on hike in GST on food items.

Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka’s new President by Parliament, following a high-voltage political drama which saw his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing the country and resigning after a popular uprising against his government for mismanaging the economy.

India saw a considerable rise in daily Covid cases with 20,557 new infections in the past 24 hours against previous day's 15,528 count, Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

Assam logged 755 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths in the last 24 hours, a National Health Mission (NHM), bulletin said. The overall COVID-19 tally in the state has increased to 7,31,662, it said on Tuesday.

Opposition parties on Wednesday staged a protest in Parliament premises against inflation and the hike in the Goods and Services Tax on certain commodities of daily use.

The Corporations and Municipalities in Kerala will soon have Solid Waste Management (SWM) Engineers to handle the waste management issues and help the urban civic bodies to find lasting solutions to the growing menace of solid wastes.

A three-member committee set up by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to look into the alleged incident of a NEET aspirant in Kerala asked to remove her bra before the exam, will submit its report in four weeks, according to officials.

Ninety-five of the 132 non-attainment cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), which targets 20 to 30 percent reduction in particulate matter concentration by 2024, have witnessed an “overall improvement” in PM10 levels in the last four years, the government has said.

The government on Wednesday slashed the windfall tax on petrol, diesel, jet fuel and crude oil following a decline in international rates.

China will take “resolute and strong measures” should Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi proceed with reported plans to visit Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Myanmar's military has laid landmines that have killed and injured people in and around villages in Kayah, a conflict-affected region near the border with Thailand, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

It was forecast since last week, when the Meteorological (Met) Office issued its first-ever red warning of danger to life from extreme heat, but nothing could have prepared for the sweltering effect as the temperatures soared to cross the 40 degrees Celsius mark across London and other parts of the United Kingdom.

A civic group in Nepal has submitted a memorandum to Minister of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Shashi Shrestha, demanding to claim country's territory occupied by China.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday asked his ministers to interact with public representatives of opposition parties and take their feedback on government policies during their visits to the districts under the ‘Sarkar Aapke Dwar’ campaign. The chief minister asserted that corruption and irregularities will not be tolerated and directed the ministers to take all decisions based on merit.