Eight Goa Congress MLAs join BJP in the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said eight of the 11 MLAs of Congress, including former CM Digambar Kamat, have joined the BJP. The newly joined members are Michael Lobo, Digambar Kamat, Delilah Lobo, Rajesh Phaldesai, Kedar Naik, Sankalp Amonkar, Aleixo Sequeira and Rudolf Fernandes. All the eight Congress MLAs met the Goa CM in his chamber.
Queen Elizabeth II leaves Buckingham Palace for final time
The queen’s coffin, draped in the royal standard and topped with the Imperial State Crown, was borne on a horse-drawn gun carriage out of the front gates of her London residence at 2.22 p.m. local time (6.22 p.m. IST). Troops from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, military bands and mounted police are leading the procession of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
President Droupadi Murmu to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in London
President Droupadi Murmu will visit London from September 17 to 19 to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and offer condolences on behalf of the Indian government, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Wednesday. Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8.
Putin, Modi to meet on SCO margins; to discuss Russia-India cooperation in U.N., G20: Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan this week and discuss issues of strategic stability, the situation in the Asia Pacific region and bilateral cooperation within the U.N. and G20, the Kremlin has announced. Mr. Putin and Mr. Modi will attend the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on September 15-16.
Rajnath conveys to Austin India’s concern over U.S. F-16 refit package for Pakistan
India on Wednesday conveyed its concern over the recent U.S. approval of a $450-million sustenance package for Pakistan’s F-16 fighter fleet. This was conveyed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during a telephonic conversation with the U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. This is the first official response from India on this issue.
CDSCO falling short in effectively regulating the medical devices industry: Parliamentary panel
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation is falling short in effectively regulating the medical devices industry, observed the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health, headed by Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav, M.P., Rajya Sabha stating that the organisation in its existing structure and expertise is more pharma centric. He presented 138th Report on the subject “Medical Devices: Regulations and Control” to Rajya Sabha earlier this week.
Look into plight of Hindu migrants from Pakistan living without power supply in slum: HC to Centre
A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma asked the Centre to file its response within two weeks to a petition which concerns supply of electricity to nearly 800 such migrants while asking it to state why no NOC was issued to them for the last five to six years to facilitate electricity distribution.
Pakistani fishing boat with drugs worth ₹200 crore seized off Gujarat
Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in a joint operation with Indian Coast Guard has seized 40KG heroin worth ₹200 crore from a Pakistani fishing boat in the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast. The agencies have also held six crew members — Pakistani nationals who were aboard the boat that was six miles inside the Indian waters. According to officials, the fishing boat carrying drugs was intercepted mid-sea by a joint team of the Coast Guard and ATS near Jakhau harbour in Kutch district.
Hindi not competitor but friend of all regional languages: Amit Shah
Addressing the All India Official Language Conference in Surat city on Hindi Day, Home Minister Amit Shah said that accepting the co-existence of languages was needed and stressed the need to make Hindi flexible by taking words from other languages to expand its dictionary.
AAP will fully support Agnipath scheme: Arvind Kejriwal
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s clarification came after reports that the Punjab Government was not supportive of the recruitment drive. The Aam Aadmi Party had earlier criticised the Agnipath Scheme and appealed to the Central Government to give defence job aspirants the chance to serve the country throughout their life, not just four years.
F-16 programme an important part of U.S.-Pakistan bilateral relationship: U.S.
“We did recently notify Congress of a proposed foreign military sale valued at $450 million for maintenance and sustainment services for the Pakistani Air Force’s F-16 programme,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference. “Pakistan is an important partner in a number of regards, an important counterterrorism partner. And as part of our longstanding policy, we provide lifecycle maintenance and sustainment packages for U. S.-origin platforms,” he said in response to a question.
Zelensky visits recently retaken, devastated city
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Izium, the Ukrainian flag was raised in front of the burned-out city hall building in the largely devastated town. Apartment buildings are blackened by fire and pockmarked by artillery strikes. The entire centre of one residential building had collapsed, a gaping hole and piles of rubble where homes used to be.
EU court largely upholds $4 billion Google Android antitrust fine
The European Court of Justice’s General Court mostly confirmed a 2018 decision by the EU’s executive Commission to slap Google with a fine of more than 4 billion euros ($3.99 billion). “In order better to reflect the gravity and duration of the infringement,” it’s appropriate to give Google a fine of 4.125 billion euros, the court said. That’s slightly lower than the original 4.34 billion euro penalty, with the court saying its reasoning differed “in certain respects” from the commission.
Under COVID-19 lockdown, Xinjiang residents complain of hunger
Residents of a city in China’s far west Xinjiang region say they are experiencing hunger, forced quarantines and dwindling supplies of medicine and daily necessities after more than 40 days in a virus lockdown. Hundreds of posts from Ghulja riveted users of Chinese social media last week, with residents sharing videos of empty fridges, feverish children, and people screaming from their windows.
Wholesale price inflation drops to 12.41% in August
Inflation in August 2022 is primarily contributed by rising in prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, basic metals, chemicals & chemical products, electricity, food products etc. as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said.
Exports growth slows further in August
India’s merchandise exports grew 1.6% in August to $33.92 billion, while imports jumped 37.3% from August 2021 levels to $61.90 billion during the month. The trade deficit in August is at $27.98 billion, lower than the $28.7 billion estimated earlier this month, but nearly 139% higher than a year ago and still the second-highest on record after the $30 billion goods trade deficit this July.
Marsh, Starc, Stoinis ruled out of India tour due to injuries
The Australian selectors have included Nathan Ellis, Daniel Sams and Sean Abbott as replacements for Starc, Marsh and Stoinis. While Marsh and Stoinis suffered the injuries during the ODI series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand, Starc’s was a late exclusion following a scan on his knee on Wednesday. Australia will play three T20s against hosts India at Mohali on September 20, Nagput on September 23 and Hyderabad on September 25.
Former Davis Cup captain and Leander Paes’ mentor Naresh Kumar passes away
Naresh Kumar, who famously mentored a young Leander Paes as India’s Davis Cup captain, has passed away. He was 93. He is survived by his wife Sunita, son Arjun, and two daughters — Gita and Preah. “He was suffering from age-related issues since last week. I was told that his chance of survival was not very good. I’ve lost a great mentor,” said Jaidip Mukerjea, who made his Davis Cup debut under the Kumar’s captaincy.
