Daily Bulletin: Toll in Kerala rains rises to 37, VS Naipaul passes away, India faces stiff task to save Lord's Test; top stories of the day

Novelist VS Naipaul passes away VS Naipaul, the Trinidad-born Nobel laureate whose celebrated writing and brittle, provocative personality drew admiration and revulsion in equal measures, died Saturday at his London home, his family said. He was 85. In an extraordinary career spanning half a century, the writer travelled as a self-described “barefoot colonial” from rural Trinidad to upper class England, picked up the most coveted literary awards and a knighthood, and was hailed as one of the greatest English writers of the 20th century. Naipaul was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 “for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.” [caption id=“attachment_4946611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] NDRF personnel rescue the flood-hit people in Wayanad, Kerala on Saturday. PTI[/caption] Toll in Kerala rains rises to 37 After being pounded by rains for the past few days, there was a brief let-up in the downpour on Friday in Kerala, but the government remained on high alert with more rains forecast, even as the toll in the monsoon fury since 8 August climbed to 37. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who undertook an aerial survey of rain ravaged areas of Idukki and Wayanad, said Kerala was in the midst of an unprecedented flood havoc and the calamity has caused “immeasurable misery and devastation”. Encounter in Jammu and Kashmir kills one A policeman has been killed and three security forces personnel injured during an early morning encounter with militants in Batmaloo area in Srinagar on Sunday, police said. “On a specific information about the presence of terrorists in a hideout, an operation was launched in Batmaloo Srinagar leading to exchange of fire, one SOG boy martyred, one Jammu and Kashmir Police and two CRPF Jawans sustained injuries, operation continues,” Director General of Police (DGP), Jammu and Kashmir, SP Vaid wrote on Twitter. IOC Q1 net profit up by 50 percent to over Rs 7,000 crore Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Friday reported 50.27 percent jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 7,092.42 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal. The country’s largest fuel retailer had posted net profit of Rs 4,719.71 crore in the same quarter of last fiscal. IOC said in a regulatory filing that its net income increased to Rs 1,52,377 crore during April-June quarter of the 2018-19, from Rs 1,32,234 crore in the year-ago period. NASA to try re-launching Parker Solar probe After a last-minute technical problem forced NASA to postpone by 24 hours the launch of its first mission to explore the Sun, the agency plans to try again on Sunday. The new, 60-minute launch window opens at 3.31 am (0731 GMT) for the Parker Solar Probe, a $1.5 billion unmanned spacecraft that aims to get closer than any human-made object in history to the center of our solar system. India vs England, 2nd Test, Day 4 With a lot of rain expected, England will look to seal an innings win after ending the third day a with a 250-run lead. India seemed to have the opening to bounce back in the second Test match after taking four wickets in the first session but Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes stitched together a mammoth 189-run stand to put the hosts back in control. India will face a stiff task to save the Lord’s Test. Premier League Arguably the biggest clash of the weekend will be played on Sunday with Arsenal taking on defending champions Manchester City. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool meet West Ham United while Southampton lock horns with Burnley FC.