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New Delhi : India on Saturday categorically rejected the reference made to Jammu and Kashmir in a joint statement issued by Pakistan and China after talks between foreign ministers of the two countries. Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is an "integral and inalienable" part of India and that it expects the parties concerned not to interfere in the country's internal matters. "As in the past, we categorically reject the reference to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the joint press release of the 2nd Round of China-Pakistan foreign ministers' strategic dialogue," he said. In their second annual strategic dialogue on Friday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi discussed the Kashmir issue and progress on the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, among a host of other issues. Srivastava said, "India has repeatedl

New Delhi : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reviewed the overall security scenario in eastern Ladakh, two days after India and China held a fresh round of diplomatic talks to resolve the border row in the high-altitude region, people familiar with the developments said. Separately, the Indian Army said a meeting of the Army commanders took place from 20-21 August to review the security situation and operational preparedness on both the northern and western fronts. The meeting chaired by the defence minister was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria. All "important aspects" of the border row with China in eastern Ladakh were discussed in great detail, the people familiar with the developments said, adding the meeting also deliberated on the future course of approach in dealing with the situation. Gen Naravane made

09:07 (IST) Coronavirus in Jharkhand LATEST Updates Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh test COVID-19 positive सभी राज्यवासियों को जोहार, मैंने कल अपना कोरोना जांच कराया, जिसकी रिपोर्ट देर रात्रि पॉजिटिव आई हैं।विगत कुछ दिनों में जो भी लोग मेरे संपर्क में आये हैं उनसे विनम्र अनुरोध है कि अपनी जांच करा लें। आप सभी से अनुरोध हैं घर पर रहे सुरक्षित रहें। — Badal (बादल) (@Badal_Patralekh) August 23, 2020 09:05 (IST) Coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh LATEST Updates Weekend lockdown being observed in Prayagraj today Weekend lockdown being observed in Prayagraj, to curb the spread of #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/fjj4uHqCXG — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 23, 2020 08:55 (IST) Coronavirus in Assam LATEST Updates Toll due to COVID-19 rises to 234 in Assam The toll in Assam due to the pandemic rose to 234 with seven more succumbing to it, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday. The seven deceased are from Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Cachar, Kamrup,

00:02 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak in Maharashtra LATEST Updates COVID-19 cases in Pune district cross 1.42 lakh; 69 die The COVID-19 tally in Maharashtra's Pune district rose to 1,42,461 with addition of 3,280 new cases in the last 24 hours, a health official said on Saturday. The cumulative toll mounted to 3,495 with 69 deaths, he said. "Of the total 3,280 cases, 1,577 patients are from the limits of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), which now has 82,170 patients. With addition of 1,039 cases, the count in Pimpri Chinchwad area now stands at 40,898. The number of cases in rural, civil hospital and the Pune Cantonment Board area stands at 19,393," the official said. A total of 1,427 patients were discharged from hospitals in the day, he said.   PTI 23:47 (IST) Coronavirus Outbreak in Bihar LATEST Updates Bihar reports 2,238 new cases Bihar's COVID-19 tally increased to 1.19 lakh on Saturday with the detection of 2,238 fresh infections, while 13 more

New Delhi: The Centre has asked all states to ensure that there should be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods during the ongoing unlocking process. In a communication to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said there were reports that local level restrictions on movement were being imposed by various districts and states. Drawing attention to the Unlock-3 guidelines , Bhalla said such restrictions are creating problems in inter-state movement of goods and services and are impacting supply chains, resulting in disruption in economic activity and employment. The unlock guidelines clearly state that there shall be no restrictions on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods, he said in the letter. The guidelines also stated that no separate permission, approval or e-permit will be required for movement of persons and goods for cross land border trade under treaties with neighbo

The Bihar School Examination Board, or BSEB, is going to allow students, who were unable to register or denied permission to sit for the Class 10 exam, 2021, earlier, to apply now. The application submission started today (Saturday, 22 August) and will continue till 25 August, 2020. The board announced that eligible students who wish to appear for the secondary board exams next year must visit the official site at biharboardonline.bihar.gov.in submit their application online along with a late fee. The BSEB shared a copy of official circular in Hindi on Twitter as well. वार्षिक माध्यमिक परीक्षा, 2021 में सम्मिलित होने के लिए पंजीयन/अनुमति से वंचित छात्र/छात्रा का दिनांक 22.08.2020 से 25.08.2020 की अवधि में - पंजीयन/अनुमति आवेदन विलम्ब शुल्क के साथ ऑनलाइन भरने के संबंध में आवश्यक सूचना। pic.twitter.com/lonut2XFCu — Bihar School Examination Board (@officialbseb) August 22, 2020 Those students, who were in need of performing any correction in their application forms, can also appl

Political parties in Kashmir on Saturday unanimously resolved to fight for restoration of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir as it existed pre-5 August, 2019, saying the measures taken were "spitefully shortsighted" and "grossly unconstitutional". The parties reiterated that they are bound, wholly, by the contents of the ' Gupkar Declaration' , a resolution issued after an all-party meeting on 4 August, 2019 at the Gupkar residence of NC president Farooq Abdullah. The resolution at the end of the meet on August 4, 2019, a day before the Centre announced its decision of revocation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status and split it into two union territories, said the parties unanimously resolved that they would be united in their resolve to protect and defend the identity, autonomy and special status of Jammu and Kashmir against all attacks and onslaughts. "That modification, abrogation of Articles 35A and 370, unconstitutional delimitation o

A day after being at the centre of an online uproar over a recently published title on the 2020 Delhi riots, and a launch event featuring BJP leader Kapil Mishra, Bloomsbury India has withdrawn the book in question. As previously reported by Firstpost , Bloomsbury India was the focus of social media users' ire following an announcement of the speaker panel at the launch of its title, Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story. Scheduled for   Saturday, 22 August, the book launch listed among its guests Mishra, whose pro-CAA speeches preceded the February 2020 communal riots in Delhi. Even as several  Twitter users  called out Bloomsbury for including Mishra in the event, a representative from the publishing house told Newslaundry that it had no role in organising the launch. "The authors did not inform us of this event and our logo has been used without our knowledge. We are not organising any launch event for the book Delhi Riots 2020 ," the representative said. Delhi Riot

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has said that it will conduct the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main) 2020 and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2020 as per schedule in September. JEE Mains would be held between 1 and 6 September and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET UG would be conducted on 13 September. The NTA has also created a detailed protocol on how to conduct the examination. As per a notification by NTA, to avoid crowding at the examination centre, candidates will be given staggered time slots for reporting. Both staff members and candidates will be checked with Thermo guns at every point for fever. If any of them show a temperature, or display any COVID-19 symptoms, they will be placed in separate Isolation rooms. Candidates are allowed to only carry a mask, gloves, personal transparent water bottle, personal 50 ml hand sanitizer and exam related documents as instructed. The notification further states that body pat frisking will not be done