LIVE News Updates: Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit tests positive for COVID-19

President Ram Nath Kovind in his message on the eve of Raksha Bandhan on Sunday urged people to pledge to stand for the honour and dignity of women so that they can contribute their best for the nation and the society.

"On the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan, I extend my warm greetings and good wishes to all my fellow citizens," the President said in his message.

He said that Rakhi is the sacred thread of love, affection and trust that sisters tie on the wrists of their brothers, and that the unique festival strengthens our will to protect the interests of women and work for their well-being

"On this day, let us all take a pledge to stand for the honour and dignity of women so that they can contribute their best for the nation and society," the President said.

Wishing Mr Amit Shah a speedy recovery, tweets Rahul Gandhi

Uttar Pradesh BJP President Swatantra Dev Singh tests positive for COVID. He has been advised by the doctors to stay in home quarantine, reports ANI

Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan discharged from hospital after testing negative for COVID-19, announces his son & actor Abhishek Bachchan.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah tests positive for COVID-19. He is being admitted to the hospital, reports ANI

Delhi records 961 fresh coronavirus cases, tally now 1,37,677; death toll mounts to 4,004: Authorities

Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi was on Sunday discharged from the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here, three days after she was admitted, according to a health bulletin.

Her condition was stable at the time of discharge, said Dr D.S. Rana, Chairman (Board of Management), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

A furniture showroom was gutted here after a fire broke out in Lajpat Nagar Central Market on Sunday, officials said. No casualties, however, have been reported.

Ten fire tenders rushed to the spot and doused the flames.

"We received a call at 11.26 am. about the fire. Our teams reached the spot and it was brought under control. No casualty has been reported so far," said Atul Garg, Director Delhi Fire Services.

The overall number of Covid-19 cases in Odisha has increased to 34,913 after 1,434 more persons tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours, the health department said on Sunday.

The death toll due to the virus rose to 197 after 10 new fatalities were reported in the same period

Of the 10 deaths, four were reported from Ganjam district, three in Khurda and one each in Jajpur, Kalahandi and Sundergarh districts, the department added.

The death toll in Ganjam district crossed the 100 mark, with the total number currently at 103.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demands CBI probe into the Punjab hooch tragedy which has claimed 86 lives so far.

Tragedy struck a family for second time in 24 hours, as three persons were killed in an accident in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district on Sunday while they were on their way to Visakhapatnam to attend the last rites of a relative who was killed in crane crash at the Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) on Saturday.

The car in which they were travelling rammed into a stationary truck at Kanchili in Srikakulam district.

Nagamani (48), who was coming to Visakhapatnam to see for the last time her son-in-law P. Bhaskar Rao died in the road accident along with her daughter-in-law Lavanya (23) and driver Routu Dwaraka (23).

India’s democracy is damaged when GOI illegally detains political leaders. It’s high time Mehbooba Mufti is released, tweeted Rahul Gandhi.

Agra reported its 100th COVID-19 death on Saturday, while the total number of cases shot to 1,851 with 37 fresh additions to the tally till Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, the district authorities have scaled up testing in hot zones. A total of 87 teams surveyed homes while 23 camps were held in different localities in the last 24 hours.

Between March and June, a total of 22,751 samples were tested out of which 428 were found to be positive, while in July the number of samples was 28,008, of which 677 were found positive. Health officials claim that an examination of the available data suggests things were under control and there was no need for alarm.

Rajasthan recorded 561 new COVID-19 cases and 9 deaths today, taking total cases to 43,804 out of which 12,391 cases are active. A total of 30,710 patients have been discharged after treatment while 703 others have died so far: State Health Department.

Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Kamal Rani dies in Lucknow hospital where she was undergoing treatment for COVID-19: UP govt spokesperson

Telangana registered 10 new COVID-19 deaths and 1,891 confirmed cases during the last 24 hours, officials said on Sunday.

The fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 540, while the overall caseload rose to 66,677.

The state on Saturday had recorded the highest-ever spike of 2,083 cases.

According to the director of public health and family welfare, 517 of the new cases were detected in Greater Hyderabad.

Kuwait has resumed commercial flights after remaining suspended for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's civil aviation authorities said.
The flights resumed on Saturday at the Kuwait International Airport, reports Xinhua news agency.

Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, president of Kuwait's Directorate-General for Civil Aviation, said in a statement on Saturday that the first day of resuming commercial flights was a success in cooperation with all governmental and non-governmental agencies operating at the airport.

Britain is considering minting a coin to commemorate India's independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, the Treasury said on Saturday, amid growing interest in recognizing the contributions of minorities.

British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak asked the Royal Mint Advisory Committee (RMAC) to pursue recognition of Black, Asian and other minority individuals, the Treasury said.

"RMAC is currently considering a coin to commemorate Gandhi", the UK Treasury said in an emailed statement, reports Livemint.

India's COVID tally crosses 17 lakh mark with 54,736 positive cases & 853 deaths in the last 24 hours. Total COVID-19 cases stand at 17,50,724 including 5,67,730 active cases, 11,45,630 cured/discharged/migrated & 37,364 deaths: Health Ministry, reports ANI

A wildfire burning near the US Arizona-Utah state line has now spread to 11,168 acres, authorities said, adding that the blaze would get extreme due to dry fuel, high heat and erratic winds.

The blaze, dubbed "Pine Hollow Fire", was caused by lightning on Wednesday night and then was fueled by dry grass, brush and woodland, InciWeb, an interstate incident information system, reported on its official website on Saturday.

It added that complex terrain and bad weather hampered efforts to contain the fire, reports Xinhua news agency.

Some 208 firefighters are battling the blaze, the report said.

The body of a Bulandshahr lawyer, who had been missing since July 25, has been found, police said.

Dharmendra Chaudhary's body was recovered from a marble godown in Khurja area on Saturday.

Police have arrested Vicky, the godown owner and a close associate of Chaudhary, and two of his domestic helps - Hakimuddin and Amit.

A money dispute is suspected to be the motive behind the crime.

Despite the rising number of coronavirus cases in Germany, about 17,000 people took to the streets of Berlin rallying against social distancing rules imposed to curb the pandemic.

On Saturday, protesters marched from the landmark Brandenburg Gate through central Berlin before holding a rally on a wide boulevard, reports Xinhua news agency.

Police then broke up the rally, saying the organizers were unable to ensure that safety and health regulations were being observed.

An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale jolted Maguindanao province in southern Philippines on Sunday, authorities said.

The Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (Phivolcs) said the quake, which struck at 1.08 a.m., hit at a depth of 543 km, about 13 km southeast of Cotabato City, reports Xinhua news agency.

Phivolcs said the quake was also felt in the towns of Alabel, Kiamba and Malungon in Sarangani province, Tupi in South Cotabato province, General Santos City and Koronadal C

Odisha government on Saturday allowed private hospitals, nursing homes and laboratories to conduct COVID-19 tests through Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR methods, a notification issued by the health and family welfare department said.

The department issued a separate set of guidelines for conducting sample tests both under Rapid Antigen and RT-PCR.

The overall number of global coronavirus cases has topped 17.5 million, while the deaths have increased to more than 683,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

As of Sunday morning, the total number of cases stood at 17,791,377 and the fatalities rose to 683,988, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US accounted for the world's highest number of infections and fatalities at 4,620,182 and 154,360, respectively, according to the CSSE.

Brazil came in the second place with 2,707,877 infections and 93,563 deaths.

Russia registered 5,462 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its total to 845,443, the country's COVID-19 response center said in a statement.

Meanwhile, 95 new deaths were reported, taking the nationwide count to 14,058, according to the statement on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Moscow, the country's worst-hit region, reported 690 newly confirmed cases, taking its total number of infections to 242,049, the response center said.

The number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in Iran rose to 306,752, after 2,548 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours, state TV reported.

In her daily briefing, Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said out of the new cases, 1,067 have been hospitalized, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

The pandemic has so far claimed the lives of 16,982 Iranians, up by 216 in the past 24 hours, she said.

So far, 265,830 infected have recovered and been discharged from hospitals in Iran, while 4,011 remain in critical condition.

California, the most populous state in the United States with a population of around 40 million, became the first state in the country to have more than half million confirmed cases of COVID-19, authorities said.

A daily report released by the California Department of Public Health on Saturday showed a daily jump of 6,542 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 500,130, Xinhua news agency reported

The 7-day average number of new cases is 7,819 per day. The 7-day average from the week prior was 10,005, according to the California Department of Public Health.