Latest news today (August 20): Presenting FE’s Breaking News today. We will keep you updated on all major news, views and much more throughout the day.
HP govt to take action against 21 dam managements for violation of safety norms
Himachal Pradesh government has found out that out of 23 dams 21 dams have violated safety norms of the state and soon the government will take action against the dam management. Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena said, “As many as 21 dams have not adhered to the safety norms and legal action will be taken against them.”
Pakistan’s president refuses to sign new national security laws
Pakistan’s President Arif Alvi said on Sunday he had refused to sign into law two bills that would give authorities more power to prosecute people for acts against the state and military, a move the law ministry said was unconstitutional. The bills have already been passed by both houses of Pakistan’s parliament but Alvi is a member of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which opposes the coalition government that passed the two bills. (REUTERS)
Floodwater submerges several BSF posts along International Border in Punjab’s Ferozepur
The rise in the water level of the Sutlej has submerged several BSF outposts and the barbed wire fence along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab’s Ferozepur district, an official said on Sunday. In Ferozepur, many villages close to the International Border are forced to relocate to safer areas.
Demolition drive in central Delhi’s Paharganj
In central Delhi, civic authorities in the nation’s capital conducted a demolition drive with the assistance of the police, according to officials. According to a senior police officer, teams from the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi carried out demolition drives in Paharganj and Desh Bandhu Gupta Road while being directed by SDM Karol Bagh.
Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft crashes into the moon
The Russian space agency says its Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the moon. Russia’s unmanned robot lander crashed after it had spun into uncontrolled orbit, the country’s space agency Roscosmos reported on Sunday. The agency said it lost contact with the spacecraft on Saturday after it ran into trouble while preparing for its pre-landing orbit. (AP) (READ MORE)
Chandrayaan-3 mission’s Moon landing will be covered live on multiple platforms
The ISRO’s milestone, Chandrayaan 3, will be making its moon landing and normal citizens can witness this experience from different platforms including the ISRO Website, its YouTube channel, ISRO’s Facebook page, and DD National TV channel. As reported by ISRO, the event will be broadcasted live on August 23, 2023, starting from 17:27 hours IST.
Coal scam: CBI seeks maximum punishment for ex-steel minister
The CBI has asked a Delhi court to sentence Gautam Kumar Basak, a former officer of the Ministry of Steel, to seven years in prison after he was found guilty in a case involving suspected irregularities in the distribution of a coal block in Chhattisgarh. On August 22, the judge will impose the appropriate penalty.
The judge found Basak guilty of corruption in the distribution of the Vijay Central Coal Block on August 18 in the case’s 14th conviction.
DRI seizes drug worth Rs 15 cr at Mumbai airport; Indian passenger and Ugandan woman held
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has seized a white powder, purported to be cocaine, worth about Rs 15 crore from an Indian passenger at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here, a DRI official said here on Sunday. Based on intelligence, the passenger who came via a flight from Addis Ababa to Mumbai was apprehended on Friday, he said. (PTI)
Manohar International Airport now authorised immigration check post for e-visa holders
The Goa airport, Manohar International Airport (MIA) will now have an authorised immigration check post for e-visa holders, according to a media statement released by the airport spokesperson on Saturday. (READ MORE)
J-K admin selectively terminating Kashmiri employees from service: Mehbooba
PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday slammed the Jammu and Kashmir administration for selectively terminating Kashmiri employees from service by labelling them as “terrorist sympathisers”. Mehbooba’s reaction comes a day after the Jammu and Kashmir Bank sacked its chief manager Sajad Ahmad Bazaz for allegedly being a “threat to the security of the state”. (PTI)
PILs against operations of Google Pay dismissed by HC
The Delhi High Court dismissed two public interest litigations (PIL) filed by Abhijit Mishra against Google Pay, online payment platform by Google. The PIL claimed that Google Pay is violating regulatory and privacy norms in the country as it doesn’t have the authorisation of the State’s central bank.
‘OMG 2’ breaches Rs 100 crore-mark at domestic box office
The makers of “Oh My God 2” (“OMG 2”) reported Sunday that in the ten days since its debut, the film has earned Rs 101.61 crore at the national box office. The movie, which was written and directed by Amit Rai, stars Akshay Kumar as a divine messenger and Pankaj Tripathi as Kanti Sharan Mudgal, a devotee of Lord Shiva.
Kerala govt commences distribution of social security to 60 lakh beneficiaries
The welfare board pension of Kerala government has initiated the distribution of social security worth of Rs 3,200 each to around 60 lakh beneficiaries for the month May and June. The government has been allotted Rs 1,762 crore, in the light of upcoming Onam festival. Earlier the government used to distribute Rs. 1,600 only.
18 killed in road accident in Pakistan’s Punjab province
As many as 18 people were killed and 15 others injured in a road accident at a motorway in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Sunday. Many women and children were among those killed when a passenger bus carrying about 40 persons smashed into a pick-up carrying diesel drums and caught fire on the Faisalabad Motorway near Pindi Bhattian, Geo News reported. (PTI)
PM Modi pays tributes to Rajiv Gandhi on birth anniversary
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to former Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi, who served in office during 1984-89 and also India’s youngest Prime Minister, on his 79th birth anniversary.
DMK’s anti-NEET hunger strike underway in Tamil Nadu
Under the leadership of state minister and head of the party’s youth wing Udhayanidhi Stalin, the ruling DMK has launched a state-wide hunger strike calling for the elimination of the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET). At the beginning of the demonstration in Valluvar Kottam, major DMK figures like Duraimurugan, Ma Subramanian, and PK Sekar Babu, as well as party MPs and MLAs and Chennai Mayor Priya R, joined Udhayanidhi. On one stage, a collage of medical aspirants, including S Anita of Ariyalur, who allegedly committed suicide because of NEET was on show, along with flower tributes. (READ MORE)