Last Indian hostage returns from Afghanistan, as intra-Afghan talks with Taliban begin in Doha
The start of Intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha, which was contingent on the release of the last batch of Taliban prisoners, meant good news for the family of an Indian hostage being held in Afghanistan. Officials in Delhi and Kabul confirmed to The Hindu that Mantu Singh, the last of a group of seven employees of an Indian engineering company who were kidnapped in 2018, returned to India on Saturday, after being released by the Taliban group holding him.
Naomi Osaka beats Victoria Azarenka to win U.S. Open
Naomi Osaka won the most unique of U.S. Open titles on Saturday when she beat Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, to lift the trophy for the second time in three years.
Police link Sitaram Yechury, Yogendra Yadav to Delhi riots
A supplementary charge sheet in the communal riots issue filed by the Delhi police Crime Branch has named Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, along with Swaraj India president Yogendra Yadav and some other prominent individuals.
PM CARES: Entitled to give any non-political organisation FCRA exemption, says Home Ministry
The Home Ministry has clarified that it has the power to exempt in the public interest “any person or association or organisation” not being a political party or a candidate for election from the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
India-China standoff casts shadow on Nathu La border trade
Tenzing Tsephel Bhutia, a second-generation trader at Nathu La in Sikkim, has been doing business with Chinese traders for the past few years. The Gangtok resident got into the business in 2015 after his uncle Gnawang Norbhu, who started trading at Nathu La when border trade reopened in 2006, hung up his boots.
Coronavirus | Oxford vaccine trials to resume in U.K.
Oxford University in a statement Saturday has said it is resuming the ‘paused’ vaccine trial of the ChAdOx1 COVID vaccine in clinical trial sites in the United Kingdom.
Sonia, Rahul among MPs to skip monsoon session
Many parliamentarians, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi are expected to skip the upcoming monsoon session, which is the first meeting of the Parliament during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation | A counter-coalition of Eurasian powers
The grouping, which works for regional stability and cooperation, also provides a platform for member states to discuss their differences
Anti-Shia protesters march for second day in Karachi
Tens of thousands of anti-Shia protesters, including demonstrators linked to Sunni extremists, rallied in Pakistan’s Karachi on Saturday, in the second day of protests that have sparked fears of sectarian violence.
Train18 officer Shubranshu, not in Railways promotion list
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved a proposal of the Ministry of Railways to empanel 25 seniors officers for appointment to the post of General Manager or equivalent in the Zonal Railways. The name of Shubranshu, the architect of India’s first semi-high speed train – Vande Bharat Express — has been dropped.
Afghan groups urged to reach ceasefire
Afghan government representatives and the Taliban insurgents gathered on Saturday for peace talks aimed at ending two decades of war that has killed tens of thousands of combatants and civilians.
Bihar Assembly Elections 2020 | Nadda, Nitish discuss seat-sharing plan
Amid talks of seat sharing between NDA alliance partners in Bihar, BJP national president J.P. Nadda on Saturday met Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar at his official residence.
Discoms’ liquidity line to rise to ₹1.2 lakh cr.
The ₹90,000-crore liquidity package for discoms to help them pay their dues till the month of March would soon be enhanced to ₹1.2 lakh crore factoring in these utilities’ outstanding till June, said Power Secretary S. N. Sahai.
Coronavirus | Can universal masking be a crude ‘vaccine’?
Masks decrease risk of infection and if infected decrease the amount of viral particles, leading to only asymptomatic infection or mild disease.
