Highlights | Mumbai reports 1,201 Covid-19 cases, highest since June-end

Breaking news Highlights August 18, 2022: Get latest news, breaking news, latest updates, live news, top headlines, breaking business news and top news of the hour.

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• 18 Aug 2022, 10:26:17 PM IST

  Mumbai reports 1,201 new Covid cases, highest since June 30; 2 deaths

  Mumbai on Thursday reported 1,201 new coronavirus infections, highest since June 30, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.

• 18 Aug 2022, 08:52:08 PM IST

  Delhi reports 1,964 new Covid cases, 8 deaths; positivity rate at 9.42%

  Delhi on Thursday registered 1,964 new Covid cases and eight related fatalities, the positivity rate dropped to 9.42%, according to the health department's latest bulletin.

• 18 Aug 2022, 07:55:18 PM IST

  Union minister Nitin Gadkari called on veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan

  Union minister of road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari called on legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan in Mumbai to seek the veteran actor's support to champion the cause of the National Road Safety Mission in India.

• 18 Aug 2022, 07:09:21 PM IST

  'Dahi Handi' gets adventure sport tag in Maha; payouts announced for injuries

  The Maharashtra government has decided to accord adventure sport status to 'Dahi Handi', a popular festival in which a human pyramid is formed to break an earthen pot filled with curd hanging mid-air, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced in the Assembly on Thursday.

• 18 Aug 2022, 06:57:39 PM IST

  Cong's Halla Bol rally in Delhi rescheduled

  The Congress' mega rally against price rise at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan is being rescheduled from August 28 to September 4 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic situation, said the party's key spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Thursday.

• 18 Aug 2022, 05:35:08 PM IST

  Security arrangements made in Mathura for Shri Krishna’s birthday

• 18 Aug 2022, 05:07:44 PM IST

  Congress to fight alone in 2024 Assembly constituencies: Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar

  There will be no coalition. Congress will fight alone in 224 Assembly constituencies and we are confident that we'll form the govt with a thumping majority of over 130+ seats, said Karnataka Congress Chief DK Shivakumar to ANI

• 18 Aug 2022, 05:02:35 PM IST

  Odisha: CM Naveen Patnaik conducts aerial survey of flood-affected areas 

  Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik today conducted an aerial survey of flood-affected areas of Khurdha, Puri, Cuttack Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts.

• 18 Aug 2022, 04:51:53 PM IST

  Anurag Thakur slams Arvind Kejriwal, says he distributed 'Revdis' to Rohingyas

  Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government on Thursday for distributing "Revdis" to Rohingyas and said why Kejriwal could not agree to detention centres for them. 

  “Rohingyas who live here & are illegal migrants are given free water, electricity, ration; now even flats were to be given to them by Delhi govt... they have lied again, distributed 'Revdis'... why could he (CM Kejriwal) not ready detention centers”, Thakur was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

• 18 Aug 2022, 04:20:52 PM IST

  Woman withdraws plea from Delhi HC to stop friend from flying for euthanasia

  A 49-year-old Bengaluru-based woman on Thursday withdrew a plea which she had filed in the Delhi high court last week seeking to stop her friend from travelling to Switzerland for active euthanasia on account of his debilitating inflammatory disease. Read more

• 18 Aug 2022, 04:17:21 PM IST

  Boat with Ak-47s, 10 boxes of bullets found off Maharashtra coast belongs to Australian, says deputy CM Fadnavis

  Three AK 47 rifles were found on the boat. The boat in a half-broken condition came towards Kokan coast due to high tide. Central agencies have been informed. No possibilities of any consequences would be taken lightly: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told news agency ANI.

• 18 Aug 2022, 03:50:06 PM IST

  Ex Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, aide Arpita Mukherjee sent to judicial custody till Aug 31 in SSC scam case, reports ANI

  Former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and Arpita Mukherjee have been sent to Judicial Custody till August 31 in the SSC Scam case.

• 18 Aug 2022, 03:40:02 PM IST

  AAP releases second list of 9 candidates for Gujarat Assembly polls

  The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday released its second list of nine candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections due later this year, PTI reported. 

• 18 Aug 2022, 03:15:00 PM IST

  Service charge can be continued for now, Delhi HC seeks stand of restaurants on CCPA appeal

  Restaurants across the country would continue to levy service charge, even as the Delhi high court on Thursday observed that eateries are under a legal obligation to pay their employees but the cost cannot be put on the consumers.

• 18 Aug 2022, 02:59:32 PM IST

  Who took the decision, asks Sisodia amid row over resettling Rohingyas in Delhi

  Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Thursday that he had written to Union home minister Amit Shah urging him to clarify the Centre's stand on shifting of Rohingya Muslims to EWS flats in the national capital. Read more

• 18 Aug 2022, 02:55:03 PM IST

  Boat with weapons, explosives found off Maharashtra's Raigad coast, investigations on, say reports

  A suspicious boat with weapons and explosives was found in the sea off the Maharashtra coast in Raigad.

• 18 Aug 2022, 02:17:45 PM IST

  Ghulam Nabi Azad calls on Jagdeep Dhankhar at Vice President's House in Delhi

  Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad called on Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar at Vice President's House in Delhi.

• 18 Aug 2022, 01:40:26 PM IST

  Nitish Kumar on party MLA's objection to cabinet expansion: ‘Not possible…’

  Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday hit back after one of his party colleagues expressed discontentment over the cabinet expansion carried out earlier this week. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 01:32:43 PM IST

  Dalit boy death: AAP stir outside Cong HQ after party announces ₹20 lakh aide

  Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said that the matter of giving a job to a family member of the Dalit student - who died last month after he was allegedly thrashed over touching a water pot - is now being fast-tracked. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 01:14:31 PM IST

  BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain moves SC in appeal against Delhi high court ordering FIR against him in alleged rape case

  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shahnawaz Hussain moves Supreme Court in appeal against Delhi high court ordering FIR against him in alleged rape case.

• 18 Aug 2022, 12:44:03 PM IST

  SC stops panel of administrators from taking over Indian Olympic Association

  The Supreme Court on Thursday restrained a committee of administrators (CoA) from taking charge of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) while ordering a status quo on a Tuesday order of the Delhi high court. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 11:31:12 AM IST

  Centre bans 8 YouTube channels

  Centre bans 8 YouTube channels - 7 Indian, 1 Pak-based - for spreading 'disinformation' over national security, foreign relations.

• 18 Aug 2022, 11:18:10 AM IST

  In Gujarat, ATS recovers 225kg of mephedrone worth ₹1,125cr; six detained

  In a major drug haul, Gujarat’s anti-terrorist squad (ATS) officials seized 225kg of mephedrone worth ₹1,125crore, during a raid at an under-construction factory near Vadodara city on Tuesday and detained six people in connection with the matter.  Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 11:08:28 AM IST

  CCTV footage shows man shooting Bihar girl, cops suspect 'love affair fallout'

  In a shocking incident, the daughter of a vegetable vendor was shot in the neck on Wednesday in Patna near a busy road. The attack took place at the Indrapuri area. The girl is said to be critical and undergoing treatment in a private hospital. Cops suspect that the attack was a fallout of a love affair, news agency ANI reported. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 10:40:43 AM IST

  Ghulam Nabi Azad’s move caught Congress brass off guard

  Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s refusal to accept new responsibilities in the state Congress has shocked several central leaders of the party who contended that he was consulted extensively before reorganising the party panels in J&K, and his suggestions were considered by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 10:33:14 AM IST

  'Precaution dose necessary': Top Covid expert amid concern over spike

  Booster dose is necessary to take, Dr VK Paul, who is one of the top Covid experts in the country, has said. “Covid is still there. The number of cases have increased in recent days,” said Dr Paul. His remarks come amid concern over laxity among people about taking the third shot of the vaccine. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 10:23:12 AM IST

  India Covid update: 12,608 new cases; 72 deaths recorded, Punjab, Kerala revise data

  India on Thursday saw an uptick in the daily Covid-19 tally as the country clocked 12,608 new infections in the last 24 hours, according to the health bulletin by the ministry. For the last two consecutive days, the tally was hovering below the 10,000-mark. 

• 18 Aug 2022, 08:42:36 AM IST

  US officials to hold trade talks with Taiwan in new show of support

  The US government has announced talks with Taiwan on a trade treaty in a new sign of support for the self-ruled island democracy claimed by China's ruling Communist Party as part of its territory.

• 18 Aug 2022, 08:40:42 AM IST

  ‘Not consulted by Centre for rehab plan’: Manish Sisodia on Rohingyas

  Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said the central government has prepared a blueprint to permanently settle Rohingya in flats meant for people from the economically weaker sections in Bakkarwala in Outer Delhi. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 08:33:52 AM IST

  'Living with Covid doesn't mean....': WHO chief as deaths rise by 35% in 4 weeks

  With the pandemic in its third year, it has been repeated multiple times by leaders and experts that the world has to learn to live with Covid. But in a warning against dropping guards, WHO chief Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus has said that this does not mean that “we pretend it’s not there”. “It means we use all the tools we have to protect ourselves, and protect others,” he said. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 08:32:19 AM IST

  1.5% interest rebate on short-term farm loans gets Cabinet approval

  The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an interest subvention (or a rebate) of 1.5% on short-term agriculture loans of up to ₹3 lakh provided by all lending institutions for the current and next financial years, a move aimed at ensuring easier credit flow to the farm sector, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said after a Cabinet meeting. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 07:25:12 AM IST

  Delhi tops list of world’s most polluted cities, Kolkata close 2nd

  Delhi and Kolkata are the two most polluted cities in the world in terms of average annual population-weighted PM 2.5 exposure, according to a new report, Air Pollution and Health in Cities, released by the Health Effects Institute’s (HEI) State of Global Air Initiative. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 06:30:27 AM IST

  India was never defensive about stand on Russian oil: Jaishankar

  External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday justified India’s decision to buy discounted Russian oil by saying it is aimed at overcoming shortages and cushioning the people from high energy prices, even as his Ukrainian counterpart criticised India’s move. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 05:37:32 AM IST

  1.5% interest rebate on short-term farm loans gets Cabinet approval

  The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an interest subvention (or a rebate) of 1.5% on short-term agriculture loans of up to ₹3 lakh provided by all lending institutions for the current and next financial years, a move aimed at ensuring easier credit flow to the farm sector, information and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur said after a Cabinet meeting. Read More

• 18 Aug 2022, 05:34:21 AM IST

  Cabinet clears ₹50,000-crore boost for hospitality sector

  The Union Cabinet on Wednesday enhanced the corpus of sovereign-guaranteed credit facility for small enterprises, Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), from ₹4.5 lakh crore to ₹5 lakh crore, exclusively for the hospitality sector. Read More