Mobile internet, broadband services, and calling facilities remained disrupted across Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday as heavy rainfall continued to batter the Union Territory, damaging optical fibre networks at several locations.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voiced concern over the widespread outage, describing the situation as reminiscent of earlier crises.

"Still struggling with almost nonexistent communication. There is a trickle of data flowing on Jio mobile, but no fixed line WiFi, no browsing, almost no apps, things like X open frustratingly slowly, and WhatsApp struggles with anything more than short text messages. Haven't felt this disconnected since the terrible days of 2014 & 2019," he posted on the social media platform X.

The Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) are set to clock strong earnings in current fiscal (FY26) due to lower oil prices and reduced LPG losses, according to a new report.

HSBC Global Investment Research believes that OMCs now have a large margin of safety owing to low oil price and a large capex plan which “gives us confidence that a normative level of earnings (assumed) will still be maintained”.

Lower oil price is supportive of strong auto fuel marketing margins (currently Rs 5-9 per litre) and this augurs well for the FY26 earnings.

As the higher US tariffs against Indian goods set to come into effect from Wednesday (US time), sectors such as textiles and gems and jewellery — both labour-intensive industries — are expected to face moderate pressures while pharmaceuticals, smartphones and steel are relatively insulated due to exemptions, existing tariff structures and strong domestic consumption.

A new SBI Research report believes that the US tariffs are likely to affect the US GDP by 40-50 bps and higher input cost inflation.

“As $45 billion of export will be impacted due to 50 per cent tariffs, at worst scenario, India’s trade surplus will convert to trade deficit. However, we believe trade negotiations will restore confidence and improve export to US,” the report mentioned.

Venus Williams' campaign at the US Open is not over yet as 45-year-old will return to the competition in New York after receiving a women's doubles wild-card entry with Leylah Fernandez.

Venus and Fernandez will take on the sixth-seeded team of Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine and Ellen Perez of Australia.

Venus is appearing at her first Grand Slam tournament in two years after making a comeback following 16 months away from the tour.

Williams has won 14 Grand Slam women's doubles titles alongside sister Serena Williams, most recently at Wimbledon in 2016. She has competed just three times in women's doubles at the majors since then, including her most recent US Open appearance in 2022, during her sister's farewell tournament.

Grammy winning singer Taylor Swift and American football tight end Travis Kelce are officially engaged.

The couple shared the big news on Instagram with a carousel of photos and wrote as the caption, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

The photos capture the moment Kelce got down on his knee in a rose garden, including a close up shot of the diamond engagement ring.

Swift and Kelce’s relationship has been a major topic of discussion since they first went public in October 2023. Kelce was the one who made the first move that sparked their relationship, and it started when the Kansas City Chiefs tight end attended Swift’s “Eras Tour” in July 2023, reports.

In a swift multi-agency operation led by the Jammu District Administration, over 3,500 residents have been evacuated to safety following incessant rains that caused flash floods and waterlogging across Jammu in J&K.

Teams from District Administration, J&K Police, NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army and local volunteers have been working on evacuation and relief in the worst-hit areas, while authorities are also focused on restoring critical infrastructure and essential services.

Immediate priority has been to move residents from vulnerable pockets to safer locations while ensuring food, clean water and medical care at temporary shelters, said officials.

In RS Pura, 85 people were shifted from Balool to secure sites and in Pargwal, 347 residents from Hamirpur Kona and Gujral village were relocated to Akhnoor and Jammu.

There will be no trading at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday on the account of Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

Trading in derivatives, equities, Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB), currency derivatives and interest rate derivatives will remain shut for the day.

The commodity derivatives segment will be closed in the morning from 9 am to 5 pm and will open for the evening session from 5 pm to 11.55 pm. Trading on the NSE and BSE will restart on August 28 (Thursday).

The Punjab government has decided to shut down schools for four days, beginning Wednesday, due to heavy rains and flood threat.

Calling it a true example of “Make in India, Make for the World,” Maruti Suzuki Chairman R.C. Bhargava on Tuesday said the company’s Gujarat plant is being developed into a global hub as Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first batch of the company’s electric SUV, ‘e-Vitara’, and inaugurated India’s first lithium-ion battery cell plant at Hansalpur here.

Speaking to reporters, Bhargava said the Prime Minister’s encouragement has infused fresh energy into the company.

“Today is a truly proud and historic occasion for us as PM Modi has inaugurated two landmark steps for India’s future,” he said.

The Prime Minister flagged off the company’s first electric SUV, ‘e-Vitara’, and also inaugurated the lithium-ion battery plant at Hansalpur, Gujarat. The plant rolls out 7.5 lakh cars every year.

Heavy downpour on Tuesday disrupted mobile telephone and Internet services in the Kashmir Valley, while all major rivers in the Jammu division were flowing above the danger level, inundating many areas.

The sudden disruption of mobile telephone services and internet facilities by various service providers affected normal life in Kashmir, as heavy rain threw life out of gear completely in the Jammu division.

A bridge on the Jammu-Pathankot highway collapsed, forcing the closure of the highway as shooting stones blocked the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

Meanwhile, fresh snowfall on Zojila Pass has closed the Srinagar-Leh highway, while Sinthan Pass, connecting the Kashmir Valley with Kishtwar district and Razdan Pass leading to the Gurez border town, have also been closed.