LIVE News Updates: Paytm mobile application is again available on Google Play Store, says Paytm

The Southwest Monsoon is likely to start withdrawing from west Rajasthan by the end of next week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.

Conditions are likely to become favourable in the next two days for the withdrawal of monsoon. North Indians plains are also witnessing above normal temperatures, it said

Eighty-nine more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Meghalaya on Friday, taking the state's tally to 4,447, a senior health official said.

Two more fatalities pushed the death toll to 34.

At present, the state has 1,976 active cases, he said.

Altogether 95 patients recovered from COVID-19 on Friday, taking the total number of people who have been cured of the disease in Meghalaya to 2,437, Health Services director Aman War said.

Maharashtra reported 21,656 new coronavirus cases, 22,078 recoveries and 405 deaths today, taking total cases to 11,67,496 including 8,34,432 recoveries, 31,791 deaths and 3,00,887 active cases: State Health Department

All Air India Express flights from/to Dubai will operate as per original schedule starting tomorrow: Air India Express

Paytm mobile application is again available on Google Play Store for download: Paytm

As many as 1,330 more persons tested coronavirus positive in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday, while 15 more COVID-19 fatalities took the Union Territory's death toll to 966.

The Information and Public Relations Department said that 672 new cases were reported in Jammu division and 658 in Kashmir division. Ten of the latest fatalities were reported in Jammu division and 5 in Kashmir division.

So far, 61,041 cases have been reported in J&K, of which 39,305 have recovered.

The active cases now total 20,770, including 11,823 in Jammu division and 8,947 in Kashmir division.

In view of the rising number of coronavirus cases, the Delhi government announced on Friday that all schools in the city will continue to remain fully closed till October 5.

"All government and private schools will remain closed for all students till October 5. However, online teaching and learning activities will continue as usual," an order issued by the Directorate of Education (DoE) said.

According to Media reports, the USCommerce Department plans to issue an order Friday that will bar people in the United States from downloading Chinese-owned messaging app We chatand video-sharing app TikTok starting on September 20, reports Reuters.

The Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force (STF) on Friday arrested four Delhi-based men accused of duping multiple banks to the tune of crores of rupees, officials said.

The men allegedly got credit cards made on forged documents and used stolen Cibil scores (a consumer's credit details) for that purpose, they said.

The accused were held near the Sector 16A-located Filmcity by the Noida unit of the STF, the officials said.

The gang was active since 2011 and four of its members have been arrested today, Additional Superintendent of Police, STF, Raj Kumar Mishra said.

The Yosemite National Park, one of the most visited in the US, on has closed to all visitors and vehicular access due to significant smoke impact from the raging wildfires in the West Coast and hazardous air quality.

All park entrance stations and roads were closed from 5 p.m. on Thursday, officials said in a statement.

With air quality projected to be in the unhealthy to hazardous range over the next several days, the park anticipates the closure will be in effect until at least throughout the weekend, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The park will continue to assess the smoke impacts, air quality index, and fire activity throughout the region," the statement said.

The park will reopen when it is again safe for visitors and employees to return to the park.

The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) on Friday issued a warning to 24 provinces to brace for flooding as tropical storm Noul made landfall in the country's north and north-east regions.

Noul is as devastating as tropical storm Podul, which caused widespread flooding in the Nakhon Phanom province last August, Xinhua news agency quoted the TMD as saying.

Noul is currently increasing in strength as it approaches Vietnam and is likely to develop into a typhoon, said the TMD, adding that it was closely monitoring whether it weakens into a tropical storm as it sweeps through upper Thailand.

Punjab: Farmers in Sri Muktsar Sahib protest against the passage of agriculture reform bills in the Lok Sabha.

Four people were killed after their car fell into a 200-feet deep nullah here, police said on Friday.

The deceased have been identified as Aman Negi (32), Sahil Kanwar (28), Viplav Thakur 33), all residents of Solan district and Tajinder Singh Negi (28), a resident of Kinnaur district, they said.

The car fell into nullah at Gaya village near Sadhupul under Shimla East police station, they added. Shimla Superintendent of Police Mohit Chawla also visited the spot.

Farmers have lost faith in the Modi government because since the beginning there has been a gap in Modiji's words and actions - demonetisation, wrong GST, and heavy tax on diesel.

Awakened farmer knows - With the Farm Bill, the Modi government will increase the business of its 'friends' and will attack the livelihood of the farmer, tweeted Rahul Gandhi, tweeted Rahul Gandhi.

PM-CARES Fund is a public charitable trust which has been set up for the people of India. You (Opposition) created trusts for Gandhi family. Nehru & Sonia Gandhi have been members of PM's National Relief Fund. There should be a debate on this: Union Minister Anurag Thakur

A youth and his entire family works hard for him to prepare and get selected in the recruitment process.

The govt waking up after the 'maha hunkar' (roar) of the youth is a good sign

Now please, the deadline for recruitment shouldn't be like the promise of making the state 'pot-holes free' or 'crime-free', that we only get dates after dates, tweeted Priyanka Gandhi.

Indian and Pakistan armies traded heavy fire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Gurez sector of Bandipora district on Friday.

The Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked shelling to target Indian positions, Colonel Rajesh Kalia, defence ministry spokesman said. It used mortars and other weapons at LoC in Kanzalwan area.

"Befitting response is being given by the Indian army," spokesman added. Reports from the area said heavy exchange of fire has been going on between the two sides since 11 a.m.

Panic gripped villagers living close to the LoC in Gurez and some of them started shifting with families to safer places.

Himachal Pradesh records 100 new COVID-19 cases & 15 recoveries today, taking the total positive cases in the state to 11,290 so far, including 4,221 active cases, 6,934 recoveries & 104 deaths: State Health Department, Govt of Himachal Pradesh

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, now several thousand people in northwest China have tested positive for brucellosis, a bacterial disease, the authorities has confirmed recently.

The Brucellosis outbreak was caused by a leak at a bio-pharmaceutical company last year. According to the media reports, the disease, also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever, can cause symptoms including headaches, muscle pain, fever and fatigue.

While these may subside, some symptoms can become chronic or never go away, like arthritis or swelling in certain organs, as per the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Human-to-human transmission is extremely rare, according to the CDC. Instead, most people are infected by eating contaminated food or breathing in the bacteria -- which seems to be the case in Lanzhou.

The Opposition and the Treasury benches unanimously supported the salary cut for MPs, even as the opposition MPs demanded restoration of the MPLAD funds.

The House extended its proceedings for 17 minutes for passing the Bill on Friday.

Intervening in the debate Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "70 per cent members rely on the salary, but I am happy that members have accepted the salary cut."

He, however, demanded that the MPLAD fund should be restored to execute small development projects.

Former Delhi MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa has filed a complaint with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) appealing to launch a probe into an alleged ‘drug party’ reportedly hosted by Johar in 2019. The complaint was forwarded to NCB Director General Rakesh Asthana.

The central government has listed three Finance Bills for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha on Friday, the fifth day of the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Almost an hour after the Lower House will assemble for the day, Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020; Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020; and Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 will be moved by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for passage.

The House will meet at 3 pm on Friday.

The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to amend the Companies Act, 2013. The Bill was moved in the Lok Sabha on March 17, 2020 to introduce certain modifications to the Companies Act, 2013 with a view to promote ease-of-doing business and ease of living to corporates in India

Farmers have been given new independence in agriculture. They'll now have more options & opportunities to sell their produce. I congratulate them on passage of Bills. It was necessary to bring these to protect them from middlemen. These are farmers' shields: PM.

I said government should bring the bills after consultation with stakeholders, what is politics in this? Farmers are agitating not only in Punjab but also in Haryana, Rajasthan, UP, Maharashtra. There is opposition in South India: Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal

The Rajya Sabha on Friday passed two Bills -- the Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

Replying during the discussion on the Bills, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said, "The Ordinance was necessitated as Parliament was not in session."

The Minister said that Yoga and Naturopathy will also be promoted in due course, as demanded by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha.

During the discussion, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Prasanna Acharya supported the Bill, but questioned the need for the ordinance. He said only in extraordinary situations the ordinance route should be adopted.

Madhya Pradesh: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan transfers the amount of Fasal Bima, to the bank account of farmers in Ujjain.

Odisha's COVID-19 tally mounts to 1,71,341 with detection of 4,180 new cases; 13 fresh fatalities push death toll to 682: Health official

Shiv Sena slams Modi govt over economic crisis faced by country, says demonetisation, 'mishandling' of coronavirus-induced lockdown to be blamed for current situation

The Pilibhit jail in Uttar Pradesh has reported 105 cases of COVID-19 among the inmates.

The jail has a capacity for 802 prisoners, but has 946 inmates at the moment.

According to the district jail superintendent Anoop Manmav Shastri, a team of medical officers from the district government hospital visited the prison complex and identified 19 symptomatic infected prisoners, out of 105, for their shifting to L1 facility at the state L. H.Ayurvedic College.

Two prisoners among the positive ones had been released on bail three days ago while the remaining 84 asymptomatic prisoners had been kept in an isolation ward within the district jail complex where they would get proper medical treatment, Shastri said.

Police in the Australian state of Victoria on Friday slammed plans for a third weekend of anti-lockdown protests, saying they will take a zero tolerance approach towards anybody breaching COVID-19 restrictions.

A Victoria Police spokesperson told Xinhua news agency that it was a criminal offence for people to gather in public places under the current regulations.

"The Chief Health Officer's directions are clear about the need to avoid mass gatherings to limit the spread of coronavirus.

"This activity has the potential to put Victorians lives at risk," the spokesperson added.

There were no new coronavirus cases in New Zealand on Friday for the first time early August, according to the Health Ministry.

In a statement, the Ministry said that currently there were 54 people linked to a community cluster which was detected last month in Auckland, the country's largest city, reports Xinhua news agency.

They remain in an Auckland quarantine facility, which includes 22 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their household contacts.

There are four people in hospital with COVID-19, including one in ICU, the statement said.

This is one more attempt of this govt to strike at roots of federalism. From the day they assumed office, most Bills passed have taken away powers of state Govt: DMK MP T Siva in RS, on Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill & Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment)Bill

Citing the example of Jammu and Kashmir, Congress MP Ripun Bora opposed the Bill saying that the government has a history of taking away autonomy of institutes and organisations.

The Bill provides for establishing Central Councils for regulation of education and practice of homoeopathic medicine, and system of Indian medicine

The total number of COVID-19 cases in Rajasthan rises to 1,10,283 with 810 new cases reported today till 10.30 am. The number of active cases is 18,282 and the death toll is at 1,301: State Health Department

All operation of Air India Express to Dubai Airports suspended for 15 days till Oct 2 after a COVID-19 positive passenger was found onboard a Jaipur-Dubai flight on Sept 4. It was 2nd such instance: SA Kankazar, Air Transport & Int'l Affairs Sector, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority

Arunachal Pradesh's COVID-19 tally rose to 6,851 on Friday as 159 more people, including 15 security personnel, tested positive for the infection, a senior health official said.

The Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned on Friday for half an hour as a mark of respect to sitting member Ashok Gasti and former member Kapila Vatsayan, who passed away recently.

India's COVID-19 case tally crosses 52-lakh mark with a spike of 96,424 new cases & 1,174 deaths in last 24 hours. The total case tally stands at 52,14,678 including 10,17,754 active cases, 41,12,552 cured/discharged/migrated & 84,372 deaths: Ministry of Health & Family Welfare

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has given Zero Hour notice in Rajya Sabha over farmers' agitation over ban on the export of onion.

CPI(M) MP KK Ragesh has given Zero Hour notice in Rajya Sabha over non-payment of GST compensation to states.

BJP MP Ashok Bajpai has given Zero Hour notice in Rajya Sabha over 'the issue of missing children.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore has given adjournment notice in Lok Sabha 'to discuss about the need to initiate probe over Facebook's alleged interference in the country's electoral democracy.'

The overall number of global coronavirus cases has crossed the 30 million mark, while the deaths have increased to more than 944,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

As of Friday morning, the total number of cases stood at 30,065,728 and the fatalities rose to 944,604, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 6,674,070 and 197,615, respectively, according to the CSSE.

India is currently in the second place in terms of cases at 5,118,253, while the country's death toll soared to 83,198.

In terms of cases, Brazil ranks third (4,455,386), and is followed by Russia (1,081,152), Peru (744,400), Colombia (736,377), Mexico (684,113), South Africa (655,572), Spain (625,651), Argentina (601,713), France (454,266), Chile (441,150), Iran (413,149), the UK (384,083), Bangladesh (344,264), Saudi Arabia (328,144), Iraq (307,385), Pakistan (303,634), Turkey (298,039), Italy (293,025), Philippines (276,289), Germany (269,048), Indonesia (232,628), Israel (175,256), Ukraine (170,373), Canada (142,879), Bolivia (128,872), Qatar (122,693), Ecuador (122,257), Romania (108,690), Kazakhstan (107,056), Dominican Republic (106,136), Panama (104,138) and Egypt (101,641), the CSSE figures showed.

The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are the Brazil (134,935), Mexico (72,179), the UK (41,794), Italy (35,658), France (31,103), Peru (31,051), Spain (30,405), Iran (23,808), Colombia (23,478), Russia (18,996), South Africa (15,772), Argentina (12,460), Chile (12,142) and Ecuador (10,996).