India reaching the unprecedented milestone of 100 medals at the ongoing Asian Games is a momentous achievement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, announcing that he will host the country's contingent on October 10.
India were already assured of a century in the medals tally on Friday which saw India pocketing 95 medals. More medals in compound archery (3), kabaddi (2), badminton (1), and men's cricket (1) were already assured.
On Saturday, which is the final day for Indian athletes' events in Hangzhou, India added four more medals in archery while the women's kabaddi team's win over Chinese Taipei in the final officially took India to the 100-medal mark.
More than 3,000 tourists are stranded in Lachen and Lachung in Mangan district of Sikkim after flash flood hit the area and cut off all road communications are safe on Saturday, officials said.
The Indian Air Force made multiple attempts to carry out rescue and relief operations by Mi-17 helicopters but was unable to fly from Bagdogra as well as Chaten due to the inclement weather, low-lying cloud cover and low visibility conditions in the Lachen and Lachung valley, they said. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang visited the flood-hit areas of Mangan district and inspected the rescue and relief work being carried out by the army and the local administration.
The ruling Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented, multi-front attack on Israel at daybreak Saturday, firing thousands of rockets as dozens of Hamas fighters infiltrated the heavily fortified border in several locations by air, land and sea and catching the country off-guard on a major holiday.
Six hours after the invasion began, Hamas militants were still fighting gunbattles inside several Israeli communities in a surprising show of strength that shook the country.
With assembly elections approaching, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced the state will conduct a caste survey on the lines of the one done in Bihar.
The issue was discussed on Friday at a core committee meeting of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) held at the party's war room here. Apart from Gehlot, the meeting was attended by Congress in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Randhawa, RPCC president Govind Singh Dotasra and other leaders.
The indefinite sit-in demonstration outside Raj Bhavan by TMC activists led by senior leader Abhishek Banerjee entered the third day with protesters asserting their stir will continue till Governor C V Ananda Bose meets them at the protest site even as a team of agitators will call on him in Darjeeling on Saturday.
Raj Bhavan sources said Bose has agreed to meet the delegation in Darjeeling's Gubernatorial Mansion at 5.30 pm after receiving an email request from TMC leader Derek O'Brien.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he hopes to see a de-escalation of the India-Canada diplomatic row in a call with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, which was dominated by the standoff over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in June.
According to a Downing Street statement, the British Indian leader spoke to Trudeau on Friday evening during which he was updated on the situation relating to Canadian diplomats in India. Both leaders agreed to stay in contact as Sunak reaffirmed the UK position of respect for the rule of law after Canada‘s allegation of Indian involvement in the killing of a pro-Khalistan wanted terrorist.
The Congress on Saturday alleged that the Narendra Modi government has "forced digitalisation" in MGNREGA in the name of transparency, and using it as a tool to discourage demand for the programme among those who genuinely need the scheme.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh's attack on the government came after a media report claimed that six months into the financial year, the flagship rural employment programme, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), has run out of funds.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday said it is on course to commence unmanned flight tests for the country's ambitious Gaganyaan mission, and preparations are underway for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1).
In a post on social media platform 'X, the space agency said, "ISRO to commence unmanned flight tests for the Gaganyaan mission. Preparations for the Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-1 (TV-D1), which demonstrates the performance of the Crew Escape System, are underway." According to ISRO, the first development flight Test Vehicle (TV-D1) is in the final stages of preparation.
The BCCI is working hard on procuring visas for the Pakistani journalists waiting to travel to India for the World Cup, the International Cricket Council said after PCB expressed its disappointment again over the delay in visa clearance for its fans and media.
Around 60 Pakistani journalists are expected to make the trip across the border. Pakistan had plenty of local support for their World Cup opener against Netherlands here on Friday but no member of their media contingent or fan was present.