Breaking News: October 18, 2020 | Highlights

The flood situation in parts of Telangana and Karanataka remained grim on Sunday as an overnight spell of rains in Hyderabad battered the city yet again while the Army was pressed into service in four affected districts in Karnataka.

The Delhi University's admission process under the second cut-off list will commence from Monday, with principals saying they are all geared up for the process after the first round. Students had complained about experiencing technical glitches, problems in paying fees during the admission in the first round.

The varsity announced its second cut-off list on Saturday with many popular courses being closed for admissions and some courses seeing a minor decline in cut-offs.

The admission process under the second list will end on October 21.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will pay a day-long visit to the rain-affected parts of Solapur district on Monday to take stock of the damage. As per the official tour itinerary, Thackeray will visit Sangavi Khurd, Akkalkot and Rampur in the district.

He will also chair a review meeting with senior officials in Solapur, the statement said.

BJP national president J P Nadda will visit Siliguri in North Bengal on Monday to take stock of organisational matters, ahead of 2021 Assembly elections, party sources said.

The weekly flea market in the heart of the city, popularly known as 'Sunday Market', re-opened for business on Sunday after remaining closed for over eight months in view of the coronavirus-induced lockdown, officials said.

A high-level delegation of American and Israeli officials landed in Bahrain on Sunday on a mission to cement an agreement to establish formal diplomatic relations between Israel and the Gulf Arab state.

The navies of India and Sri Lanka will conduct a three-day military exercise off Trincomalee beginning Monday, in a show of growing congruence in their strategic interests and operational convergence in the region, officials said. The eighth edition of the annual SLINEX exercise will feature a series of complex drills including surface and anti-air weapon firings and cross deck flying operations with an aim to further fine-tune the "high degree" of inter-operability between the two navies, they said.

The Indian Navy will deploy anti-submarine warfare corvettes INS Kamorta and INS Kiltan as well as a sizeable number of advanced light helicopters, Chetak helicopter and Dornier maritime patrol aircraft in the exercise, the officials said.

The Sri Lanka Navy will be represented by offshore patrol vessel Sayura and training ship Gajabahu.

Switzerland is introducing new restrictions across the country to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has been growing at a record pace in recent days.

As the Italian government considers yet more restrictions to try to curb the resurgence of coronavirus, the 179 Italian doctors who have died in the COVID-19 crisis were remembered Sunday in a ceremony in the northern Italian town of Duno, north of Milan.

Their names were inscribed in marble at a sanctuary in the Lombardy region, which has been the hardest-hit area in the country. The names include Dr. Roberto Stella, the first-known Italian physician to die of COVID-19. His death at 67 on March 11 death shocked the Italian medical establishment and underlined the risk that the coronavirus pandemic to family doctors.

The Integrated Flood Warning Systems developed for Mumbai and Chennai to cater to the needs of coastal cities will be extended to Kolkata, Earth Sciences Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday.

Congress on Sunday said that it will hold a nationwide protest over the Hathras incident on October 26. Party will hold a protest at all party district headquarters against farm laws on October 31, Congress sources said. ANI reported.

Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy at a public rally in Leh claimed, "Farooq Abdullah said that NC, PDP and Congress will restore Article 370 with the support of China and take back the status of Union Territory from Ladakh. Do you want UT status or Article 370?"

Car bomb explosion close to police Headquarters in Firozkoh, capital of Afghanistan's Ghor. Security forces have blocked roads to the Ghor blast site and victims are being transferred to the hospital. 

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar writes to CM over recent custodial of one Madan Ghorai. Letter reads, "There is outrage at such lawlessness in state and outside, and consequent to October 8 police excess Balwinder Singh is already poster boy for blatant human rights violations in the state."

Indian Air Force today congratulated Akanksha Singh, daughter of veteran sergeant Rajendra Kumar Rao (Retd), for securing All India Rank 2 in NEET 2020.

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik spoke to NEET 2020 topper Soyeb Aftab and congratulated him on his astounding success. CM Patnaik also wished him a bright career ahead. Soyeb was very elated on getting a call from the Chief Minister and thanked him. 

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat flagged off a walkathon and played badminton at an event organised in Dehradun today, for 'Corona Winners' - people who have recovered from COVID-19.

Kerala's first water taxi service, launched in the backwaters of Alappuzha, ferries passengers.

Catamaran diesel-powered craft, with seating capacity for 10 passengers, is 1st in a series of 4 boats, that State Water Transport Department is planning to introduce.

A Policeman takes classes for poor children in a temple complex near Delhi's Red Fort.

"I'd been running this class since before pandemic. These children can't take online classes and I want them to study so they don't get mired in bad company and criminality," says Constable Than Singh.

India reports 61,871 new COVID-19 cases, 1,033 deaths in last 24 hours.

Total cases - 74,94,552 (dip by 11,776 since yesterday)
Active cases - 7,83,311 
Cured/discharged/migrated - 65,97,210 (rise by 72,615 since yesterday)
Deaths - 1,14,031 (rise by 1033 since yesterday)

11th Battalion ITBP launches a cycling expedition from its Pegong base in Sikkim to border villages of the state. 218 kms will be covered by ITBP team in the course of 20 days in difficult terrains. The team will create awareness among border villages on COVID-19 related issues. 

Rashtriya Janta Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said, "Nitish Kumar's first and last love is to only stick to his CM chair. How will he eliminate unemployment? Why does he not speak on migration, poverty, starvation? Youth knows that if NDA isn't defeated, such a useless govt won't do anything for the unemployed."

Lok Janshakti Party president Chirag Paswan said, "I believe Bihar CM's stopped envisioning policies and become saturated. He dismisses young leaders, calling them inexperienced but himself started as a young activist during JP movement. We're aware too and can think for Bihar. The state's given him 15 years already."

"Why should I not respect Modi ji. Only he called me for support when my father was admitted to ICU. The CM is anxious to portray a distance and wedge between LJP and BJP. I'd like to allay this fear by saying that I welcome criticism from BJP leaders, even from PM," he added. 

BJP in-charge for the Bihar Elections Devendra Fadnavis said, "A lot of enthusiasm is seen among people, wherever we go in Bihar and take PM Modi's name. The country and its people have placed their trust in PM Modi. This trust will benefit not only us but also our allies."

Eight new coronavirus cases reported in Mizoram yesterday, taking the total cases in the state to 2,253. Active cases stand at 108. 

Decapitated body of a 12-year-old girl was recovered in Dantiwada area of Banaskantha district of Gujarat. Police investigation underway.

Nominations of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh (JCC) chief Amit Jogi and his wife Richa Jogi for upcoming bypolls in Marwahi constituency was disqualified. A high-level investigation committee on October 15 cancelled Amit Jogi's caste certificate.

Hello and welcome to today's live coverage of coronavirus news in India and across the world, with me, Madhu Rao (@MadhuL13) and my colleagues Vani Mehrotra (@vani_mehrotra), Priya Jaiswal (@jaiswalpriyaa), Nidhi Taneja (@nidhiindiatv), Shashwat Bhandari (@ShashBhandari​), Rashi Hardaha (@rashihardaha), Analiza Pathak (@analizapathak) and Abhinav Ranjan. Stay tuned to Indiatvnews.com (@indiatvnews) for all the latest updates on what's happening around the world.

Here's a quick overview:

The total number of global cases has surpassed 39 million, including more than 1,114,547 fatalities. More than 29,884,019 patients are reported to have recovered.

Total positive cases country-wise:

USA- 8,342,665
India-  7,492,727
Brazil-  5,224,362
Russia- 1,384,235
Spain-  982,723