India

Ahmedabad, Sep 23 (PTI) The Gujarat government has opposed Congress leader Hardik Patel's application filed in a sessions court here seeking temporary suspension of his bail condition that restricts him from leaving the state.

Patel, who is the working president of the Gujarat Congress unit, was arrested in January this year for failing to appear before the trial court in a 2015 sedition case.

New Delhi, Sep 24 (PTI) India's COVID-19 caseload raced past 57 lakh, while over 46 lakh people have recovered from the disease pushing the national recovery rate to 81.55 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

The total coronavirus cases mounted to 57,32,518 with 86,508 people testing positive in a day while the death toll climbed to 91,149 with 1,129 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The total recoveries surged to 46,74,987 in the country so far.

Srinagar, Sept 24 (PTI) A CRPF officer was killed in an attack by militants in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, police said.

Militants shot at and injured the Assistant Sub Inspector of the CRPF of 117 battalion at Kaisermulla in Budgam district, a police official said.

He said the militants also decamped with the service weapon, an AK assault rifle, of ASI N C Badoley.

Badoley succumbed to injuries at the Army's 92 base hospital at Badami Bagh here, the official said.

Delhi; 24 Sep 2020 (UMMN): Indian PM Narendra Modi has made it to the Time Magzine’s list of 100 Most Influential People of 2020 along with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping,

However, the magazine does not have kind words for Modi. Following is what Karl Vick, TIME editor at large has has to say;

Kolkata (WB), Sep 23 (PTI) Four BJP leaders from West Bengal's Kharagpur, along with hundreds of their supporters, joined the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday, giving the ruling party in the state a fillip in the industrial region ahead of the assembly elections due in April-May next year.

BJP leaders Sailendra Singh, Ajoy Chatterjee, Rajdip Guha and Sajal Roy joined the TMC in the presence of Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Chandrima Bhattacharya, at the party's headquarters here.

Amritsar, Sep 23 (PTI) Punjab MLA and former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday staged a protest against the farm bills which, he said, will "ruin" the farming community.

The cricketer-turned-politician, who was accompanied by his supporters, sat on a tractor here and held placards that read, "We are united in fight for farmers", in English and Punjabi.

This is Sidhu's first public appearance after he resigned from the state cabinet last year.

Kanpur (UP), Sep 23 (PTI) Two unidentified men allegedly barged into a woman's house and raped her in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place late on Tuesday night in Bidhnu area here, said SHO Pushpraj Singh.

The 45-year-old woman, who is married, told police that she was sleeping in her room when the two masked men barged into her house and raped her.

The men fled when the woman's son woke up hearing the noise, the station house officer said.

New Delhi, Sep 23 (PTI) The Indian and Australian navies on Wednesday began a two-day mega exercise in the Indian Ocean region that featured a range of complex naval manoeuvres, anti-aircraft drills and helicopter operations, officials said.

It is the first major military exercise by India and Australia after they elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support in June.

Balasore (Odisha), Sep 23 (PTI) India on Wednesday conducted a successful night testfire of its indigenously developed nuclear capable surface-to-surface Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a base in Odisha, defence sources said.

The state-of-the-art missile was testfired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here in darkness and the trial was successful in meeting all the parameters, they said.

Indore, Sep 23 (PTI) Amid rising COVID-19 cases in Madhya Pradesh, state home minister and BJP leader Narottam Mishra on Wednesday caused a flutter saying he doesn't wear a face mask in any programme.

However, as the Congress attacked him, the minister later tempered his remarks, saying he cannot continue to wear a face mask for a long time due to a medical condition.

"I don't wear a mask in any programmes. 'Isme kya hota hai?' (so what)," the home minister told reporters when they asked him why he was not wearing a mask at a function here.