Japan’s longest-serving prime minister Shinzo Abe resigns. Abe announced this last month that he was stepping down because of health problems. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, long seen as Abe’s right-hand man, was chosen Monday as the new head of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, virtually guaranteeing his election as prime minister in a parliamentary vote Wednesday because of the party’s majority. Suga, a self-made politician and the son of a strawberry grower in the northern prefecture of Akita, has stressed his background in promising to serve the interests of ordinary people and rural communities. He has said he will…
Author: Our Correspondent
The total number coronavirus cases in India crossed the 50 lakh mark on Wednesday as the country recorded 90,123 new cases in the past 24 hours. The country’s caseload now stands at 50,20,359. India also recorded single day spike of 1,290 deaths which is the highest recorded deaths in a day since the pandemic began. In India, over 82,000 people have lost their lives due to coronavirus. According to Union Health Ministry, the caseload includes 9,95,933 active cases and 39, 42,360 recovered patients.
Sara Ali Khan and Rhea Chakraborty frequently partied at Sushant Singh Rajput’s Lonavala farm, Raees, manager of the farm house, corroborating some of the claims of a local boatman. In his statement to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the boatman, Jagdish Das, has claimed that the scenic location was a party destination for Rajput, his core team and Bollywood friends like Rhea Chakraborty, Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, and arrested drug-peddling suspect Zaid Vilatra, among others. He also alleged that ganja and liquor were common in their island parties. An escapist retreat dotted with lakes, cliffs, dams, islands, and caves,…
Three Army personnel including an officer were injured Tuesday as Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by using heavy fire and mortar shells along the Line of Control in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said. The Indian Army launched a befitting retaliation to the Pakistani firing and shelling in Sunderbani sector, they said. “Pakistan initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars. Some injuries have been reported (on our side),” a defence spokesman said, based on preliminary information. However, official sources said three army personnel including an officer, who were manning a forward…
During a video conference, Modi appreciated the efforts of Bihar government under Nitish Kumar. He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of seven urban infrastructure projects worth Rs 541 crore in poll-bound Bihar. In his address via video conference, Modi lauded the efforts of the state government, headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, for a host of issues, including education initiatives for female students, representation of deprived sections of the society in local bodies and other development projects. Without naming anyone, Modi also slammed earlier state governments, saying Bihar used to have tall and visionary leaders, but an era came…
India walked out of a meeting of the national security advisors of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member countries in protest after the Pakistani representative used a “fictitious” map showing Indian territories as part of Pakistan. “This was in blatant disregard to the advisory by the host against it and in violation of the norms of the meeting. After consultation with the host, the Indian side left the meeting in protest at that juncture,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said. The virtual meeting was chaired by Russia. “As was to be expected, Pakistan then went on to present a misleading…
During the monsoon session of the parliament, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India and China border issue remains unresolved and that there has been no mutually acceptable solution and that China doesn’t recognise the traditional and customary alignment of the boundary. The Defence Minister told the Lok Sabha that China maintains that the boundary between the two countries has not been formally delimited. “The two sides have different interpretations of the position of the traditional customary line. The two countries had engaged in discussions during 1950s-60s but these efforts could not yield a mutually acceptable solution. We consider that…
Novak Djokovic was unlucky but his US Open default showed the importance of the need for self-control on the court, according to Rafael Nadal. Djokovic was disqualified in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for inadvertently hitting a ball at a line judge after being broken by Pablo Carreno Busta. Nadal will face Carreno Busta in his return to action in Rome this week and, while he expressed some sympathy with the world number one, the 19-time grand slam champion agreed with the widespread view that tournament officials were left with no other option after Djokovic’s actions. “The consequences have…
After the division bench led by Justice S J Kathawalla had stayed the demolition of Kangana Ranaut, the actor has amended her petition before the Bombay High Court to seek a compensation of Rs 2 crore from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for “illegal” demolition at her bungalow. A division bench led by Justice S J Kathawalla had stayed the demolition, saying that the civic body’s actions seemed “malafide” (having dubious intentions). In her amended plea, Ranaut alleged that the BMC’s decision to demolish her property was a direct consequence of her comments against the Maharashtra government. Recently she has…
Apart from reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions by 75 per cent this year, Facebook will achieve net zero emissions for its global operations and be 100 per cent supported by renewable energy this year. The social network also set an ambitious goal to reach net zero emissions for its value chain — including emissions from suppliers and other factors such as employee commuting and business travel — in 2030. Along with an ambitious new net zero emissions target, the company also announced a new Climate Science Information Center to connect people with science-based information.