With the highest single-day spike of 66,999 cases, India's COVID count approached 24 lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry on Thursday. The Health Ministry said that India has recorded the highest-ever recoveries of 56,383 in a single day. The total coronavirus cases stand at 23,96,638, of which there are 6,53,622 active cases and 16,95,982 patients have been cured, discharged, or migrated, said the Ministry of Health. In the last 24 hours, 942 patients have succumbed to the virus, taking the death toll to 47,033 in the country.With 8,30,391 samples on August 12, the highest in a s

President Donald Trump says the United Arab Emirates and Israel will establish diplomatic ties in a deal halting the planned annexation of occupied land sought by the Palestinians for their future state. The announcement by Trump came in a tweet on Thursday. It means the UAE, which is home to the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, would become the first Gulf Arab state to have ties to Israel. Among Arab nations, only Egypt and Jordan have active diplomatic ties with Israel. Egypt made a peace deal with Israel in 1979, followed by Jordan in 1994.

The Bank of Canada has cut its benchmark five-year mortgage rate to 4.79 per cent, the second cut in three months. The central bank in May had trimmed the rate to 4.94 per cent from 5.04 per cent. Three-year rates now dropped to 3.75 per cent and one-year rates remained unchanged at 3.09 per cent. The Big Six banks had already cut their advertised five-year fixed mortgage rates to the same level, though some special offers reduce rates to as little as 2.19 per cent. Lower rates risk propelling housing demand higher. The Bank of Canada's governor, Tiff Macklem, indicated about a month ago that

Canada's official fiscal watchdog says the federal wage subsidy program might cost $14 billion less than the government predicted. A new report today by Parliamentary Budget Office analyst Ben Segel-Brown estimates subsidizing wages for companies during the COVID-19 pandemic will cost $67.9 billion through the end of December.Finance Minister Bill Morneau estimated in his July fiscal report it would cost $82.3 billion.Segel-Brown says that figure was prudent at the time because of economic uncertainty and ongoing work to update the program's rules.The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy encourages

There are 120,844 confirmed cases in Canada. Quebec: 60,813 confirmed (including 5,709 deaths, 53,270 resolved) Ontario: 40,289 confirmed (including 2,787 deaths, 36,590 resolved) Alberta: 11,893 confirmed (including 217 deaths, 10,632 resolved) British Columbia: 4,196 confirmed (including 196 deaths, 3,469 resolved) Saskatchewan: 1,484 confirmed (including 20 deaths, 1,314 resolved) Nova Scotia: 1,071 confirmed (including 64 deaths, 1,007 resolved) Manitoba: 563 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 368 resolved), 15 presumptive Newfoundland and Labrador: 268 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 263 reso

British Columbia has recorded 85 COVID-19 cases, the third-highest number of new cases in a single day since the pandemic began. A joint statement from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says many of the new infections are of young people from the Lower Mainland. The statement says the public needs to refocus on measures to flatten the curve and that watching the cases climb is concerning. There has been one new death, bringing the death toll to 196, while 3,469 people have recovered. The latest COVID-19 figures come as the province announced it is hirin

British Transport Police say three people died and six were taken to the hospital with injuries after a passenger train derailed in northeast Scotland amid stormy weather. The train's driver is believed to be among the dead, but formal identification is pending. The British Transport Police force said officers were called to the railway line near the coastal town of Stonehaven on Wednesday morning. Photos from the scene showed several cars of the four-carriage train had left the tracks and tumbled down an embankment. Air ambulances and coast guard helicopters came and went as the rescue opera

Democratic US presidential candidate Joe Biden and his newly chosen running mate Kamala Harris campaigned together for the first time today. The former primary rivals sought to solidify their advantage over President Donald Trump. Biden embraced the significance of naming the first Black woman to a major party's presidential ticket, saying representation matters. Biden says Harris is the right woman to help him defeat Trump and then lead a nation facing crises in triplicate, a pandemic, wounded economy and systemic racism. Biden says it's no surprise President Donald Trump is already attacking

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi condoled the death of party spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi due to a cardiac arrest on Wednesday evening. Tyagi, who developed unease in the chest, was taken to hospital. He would have turned 54 in September. Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi tweeted in Hindi, "Congress has lost one of its tigers today. Congress will forever remember his love for the party and struggles. I pay my homage to him and condolences to his family." Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said, "The untimely death of Congress spokesperson Rajiv Tyagi is a matter of personal grief for me. His los