In an effort to evacuate Indian nationals in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the capital city Kabul, an Indian Air Force (IAF) C-130J transport aircraft took off from Kabul with over 85 Indians, informed official sources on Saturday.

An Indian Air Force C-130J transport aircraft took off from Kabul with over 85 Indians. The aircraft landed in Tajikistan for refuelling. Indian government officials are helping in evacuation of Indian citizens on the ground in Kabul, sources told ANI.

A single-day rise of 34,457 COVID-19 cases pushed India's tally to 3,23,93,286 on Saturday, while the number of active cases declined to 3,61,340, the lowest in 151 days, according to Union health ministry data.

The death toll climbed to 4,33,964 with 375 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

A team of researchers has identified an antibody that is highly protective at low doses against a wide range of viral Covid-19 variants.

Moreover, the antibody attaches to a part of the virus that differs little across the variants, meaning that it is unlikely for resistance to arise at this spot.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday said Delhi recorded 139 mm rainfall, the highest one-day rain for August in at least 13 years, and issued 'orange alert' for the city.

Officials said heavy rains lashed parts of the national capital that brought the mercury down and provided relief to Delhiites.

The price of 10 gm of 22-carat gold gained Rs 270 to sell at Rs 46,400 on Saturday. In previous trade, gold had closed at Rs 46,130 per 10 grams.

Silver was selling at Rs 62,200 per kg, down by Rs 300, according to the website Good Returns.

US-based pharmaceutical major Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has sought permission from the Indian drug regulator to conduct trials of its Covid-19 vaccine on adolescents aged 12 to 17 years.

The company said on Friday that it had submitted an application to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) on August 17 in this regard.

The UNICEF on Thursday said in a report that nearly one billion children all across the world are at high risk of the impacts of the climate crisis.

Climate change threatens the health, education, and protection of children, particularly those in the Central African Republic, Chad, and Nigeria, among other countries, the UNICEF said.

While addressing the scientists and engineers of Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) Bengaluru, Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu said that indigenous products will play a key role in leapfrogging India as an aerospace and defence powerhouse in the coming years on Friday.

M. Naidu emphasized the need to develop cutting-edge technologies indigenously to make India self-reliant in defence technology and emerge as an export hub of modern military hardware.

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 210.7 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 4.41 million and vaccinations soared to over 4.86 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload, death toll and vaccination tally stood at 210,783,833, 4,413,673 and 4,867,003,253, respectively.

The Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has kept the initial public offering (IPO) of Adani Wilmar in abeyance.

The website of the capital market regulator showed that the Rs 4,500 crore issue has been kept in abeyance.

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