New Delhi: Following are the top stories at 1 pm:
NATION
- Tax department raids media groups Dainik Bhaskar, Uttar Pradesh-based news channel
New Delhi: The Income Tax Department on Thursday conducted raids against two prominent media groups, Dainik Bhaskar and Uttar Pradesh-based Hindi news channel Bharat Samachar, in multiple cities on charges of tax evasion, official sources said.
- COVID-19: Active cases register increase for second day
New Delhi: India saw a single day rise of 41,383 coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,12,57,720, while the active cases registered an increase for the second consecutive day and were recorded at 4,09,394, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.
- 200 farmers reach Jantar Mantar for protest against farm laws amid Parliament session
New Delhi: A group of 200 farmers reached Jantar Mantar in central Delhi on Thursday to protest against the Centre’s three contentious farm laws as the Monsoon session of Parliament was underway.
- Lok Sabha proceedings adjourned for second time amid opposition uproar
New Delhi: Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the second time on Thursday till 2 PM following sloganeering by opposition members over various issues.
- Rajya Sabha proceedings adjourned twice amid opposition ruckus
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned twice on Thursday after opposition members tried to raise the issues of income tax raids on the Dainik Bhaskar group and alleged snooping using Pegasus spyware.
- All NLFB militants to surrender today: Assam CM
Guwahati: In a major development that can bring peace in Assam’s Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), all militants of the newly formed insurgent group National Liberation Front of Bodoland (NLFB) will surrender on Thursday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
- Will abide by high command directions, Yediyurappa on future as K’taka CM
Bengaluru: Indicating that he is on his way out, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday broke his silence for the first time amid heightened buzz that his exit was on the cards and said he will abide by the BJP central leadership’s decision.
- FIR against IPS officer Param Bir Singh, 5 other cops on charges of extortion
Mumbai: Mumbai police have registered an FIR against senior IPS officer Param Bir Singh, five other police personnel and two more persons for allegedly demanding Rs 15 crore from a builder to withdraw cases against him, an official said on Thursday.
- NDRF deploys 9 rescue teams in Maha after heavy rains
Mumbai: The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed nine rescue teams in Maharashtra, including four in Mumbai, after heavy rains caused flooding in some coastal areas of the state on Thursday.
- Given robust system of reporting, missing out on Covid deaths unlikely: Govt
New Delhi: Refuting media reports that alleged India’s COVID-19 death toll was “vastly undercounted”, the government on Thursday said the reports assume that all excess mortality figures are Covid deaths, which is not based on facts and totally fallacious.
FOREIGN
- China floods: Death toll goes up to 33
Beijing: The death toll in central China’s unprecedented flash floods triggered after the heaviest rainfall in 1,000 years has reached 33 with eight people missing, officials said on Thursday. By K J M Varma*
- Prevalence of COVID-19’s Delta variant among specimens sequenced over past 4 weeks exceeded 75 per cent: WHO
United Nations/Geneva: The prevalence of the highly-transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 among specimens sequenced over the past four weeks exceeded 75 per cent in many countries worldwide, including India, China, Russia, Israel and the UK, the WHO has said. By Yoshita Singh. (PTI)