Live: Centre sets May 22 as date for unifying Delhi municipal corporations

Live news updates: From Russia-Ukraine war to Covid surge in North Korea, catch all the live updates here

10:04 PM

Russian economic growth slows to 3.5% y/y in Q1: State data

The Russian economy expanded by 3.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022 after growing 5% in the previous quarter, data from federal statistics service Rosstat showed on Wednesday. The first quarter is expected to have been the last with sound growth before the Russian economy took a hit from sweeping sanctions for Moscow's decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24. The economy ministry said this week it expected gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 7.8% in 2022, Reuters reported.

9:16 PM

3 Delhi municipal corporations to be merged on May 22

The three municipal corporations of Delhi will be formally merged on May 22, the central government announced on Wednesday. According to a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry, the Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2022 will come into effect from May 22. The legislation was approved by Lok Sabha on March 30 and by Rajya Sabha on April 5. President Ram Nath Kovind had given his assent on April 18, PTI reported.

6:54 PM

AC-PM recommends employment scheme for urban jobless, universal basic income

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) on Wednesday suggested that the government should come out with a guaranteed employment scheme for the urban unemployed as well as introduce a universal basic income and allocate higher funds towards the social sector to reduce inequality in India. The report titled 'The State of Inequality in India', commissioned by the EAC-PM, was prepared by the Institute for Competitiveness. It was released by EAC-PM Chairman Bibek Debroy, PTI reported.

 

6:24 PM

West Bengal minister appears before CBI in recruitment scam probe

West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee on Wednesday evening appeared before the CBI in Kolkata for questioning in connection with the federal agency’s probe of an alleged recruitment scam. Chatterjee, the state's industry minister, would be questioned about the alleged irregularities in the appointments given by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education on recommendations by the School Service Commission (SSC), a CBI officer said. " We have arranged a set of specific questions for him," an officer told PTI. 

6:14 PM

Pakistan opens talks with IMF seeking more cash to aid economy

Pakistan opened long-delayed talks with the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday, seeking the release of more funds from a $6 billion rescue package agreed in 2019 to help shore up the South Asian nation's battered economy. Pakistan has already asked the IMF to increase the size and duration of its $6 billion programme, with foreign reserves falling as low as $10.3 billion so that they cover less than two months of imports, a widening current account deficit, surging inflation and a plunging currency, Reuters reoprted.

6:02 PM

Mahinda Rajapaksa attends Parliament for first time after quitting as Sri Lanka PM

Sri Lanka's former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa made his first public appearance on Wednesday and attended Parliament, nine days after he was forced to resign and evacuated by the military to a heavily guarded naval base amidst massive anti-government protests. On May 9, Rajapaksa resigned after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters, triggering deadly clashes in the country.

5:36 PM

Global 'storms' prompted RBI to hike rate: MPC minutes

Global political and economic "storms prompted the Reserve Bank to hike the key interest rate in an off-cycle review by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), said the minutes of the rate-setting panel released on Wednesday. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, as per the minutes, said the off-cycle monetary policy actions were aimed at lowering inflation and anchoring inflation expectations with a view to strengthening the medium-term growth prospects of the economy and protecting the purchasing power of the weaker sections of society.

5:23 PM

Russia expels 27 Spanish diplomats in tit-for-tat move

Twenty-seven Spanish diplomats must leave Russia within a week, Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Spain said in April it would expel some 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff from Madrid, joining other European Union countries that have ordered Russian officials to leave.

5:04 PM

UP govt not to give grant to any new madrassa

No new madrassa will be given a grant by the Uttar Pradesh government, the state cabinet has decided. UP minister of state for minority welfare Danish Azad Ansari told PTI on Wednesday that the decision was taken at the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a day earlier.

4:33 PM

Google's Russian subsidiary files for bankruptcy: Report

The Russian subsidiary of Alphabet Inc's Google has filed for insolvency, according to a message posted on Russia's official registry Fedresurs on Wednesday.

The subsidiary was "submitting a notice of the intention to declare itself insolvent (bankrupt)", the note said, according to Reuters. "Since March 22, 2022, it foresees its own bankruptcy and inability to fulfil its monetary obligations, demands to pay severance payments and (or) the remuneration of staff working or previously working under an employment contract, and (or) the obligation to make mandatory payments within the prescribed period," the note said.

4:20 PM

IOB net profit jumps 58 pc to Rs 552 crore in Q4

State-owned Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) on Wednesday reported a nearly 58 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 552 crore in the quarter ended March 2022, mainly due to lower provisioning for bad loans. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 350 crore in the year-ago period. The bank’s total income in the latest March quarter fell to Rs 5,719 crore as against Rs 6,074 crore in the same period, PTI said.

4:11 PM

Jacqueline Fernandez withdraws plea from court

Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez, being probed in a Rs 200 crore extortion case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar, on Wednesday withdrew her application filed before a Delhi court for suspending a Lookout Circular (LOC) issued against her and permit her to travel abroad, PTI reported. The actor withdrew her application from a court in Delhi, citing that the dates of the event, 2022 IIFA Weekend & Awards in Abu Dhabi, UAE, earlier scheduled from May 17 to 22, were postponed to June.

4:08 PM

Pieter Elbers named new Indigo new CEO

InterGlobe Aviation, the parent company of India's biggest airline Indigo, said on Wednesday Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta would resign at the end of September. Dutta will be replaced by Pieter Elbers, the company said.

 

3:28 PM

India traders should fulfill local cotton, yarn demand before exports: Goyal

Indian traders and spinning mills should first meet demand from the local textile industry and only then export surplus raw cotton and yarn, Textile Minister Piyush Goyal told industry officials in a meeting. Goyal's comments came after textile mills in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, a leading exporter of garments, went on a two-day strike earlier this week demanding a ban on exports, said Reuters.

3:27 PM

Saudi Arabia's wealth fund takes 5% Nintendo stake

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has taken a 5.01% stake in Nintendo Co Ltd as the sovereign wealth fund increases its exposure to the Japanese video gaming industry. The investment in the Kyoto-based group company was made for investment purposes, a filing said, and comes as PIF has also taken stakes in video game companies Nexon, Capcom and Koei Tecmo, Reuters reported.

 

1:44 PM

Cabinet empowers boards of PSEs to decide on closure, divestment of units/subsidiaries

The Cabinet on Wednesday empowered boards of state-owned companies to decide on the closure and divestment of units/subsidiaries.

 

Presently, the Board of Directors of holding or parent public sector enterprises have been delegated certain powers to make equity investments to establish financial joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries and undertake mergers/acquisitions, subject to certain ceilings of net worth.

 

However, the Boards do not have powers for disinvestment or closure of their subsidiaries or units or stake in JVs, except for some limited powers given to Maharatna PSEs for minority stake disinvestment in their subsidiaries.

11:31 AM

Parliamentary panel holds meeting for discussing railway connectivity to ports

Parliamentary panel holds meeting for discussing railway connectivity to ports

 

11:29 AM

Nine new Judges take oath of office in Delhi High Court, strength rises to 44

Nine new Judges take oath of office in Delhi High Court, strength rises to 44

 

10:27 AM

Kim criticises problem in early response to Covid crisis

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un criticised officials for failing to respond properly to the Covid-19 outbreak in its early stages, state media said on Wednesday. His criticism came as the country reported more than 232,880 people with fever symptoms nationwide and six additional deaths, raising total fatalities to 62, reports Yonhap News Agency.

At a ruling Workers' Party meeting on Tuesday, Kim said that "immaturity" in coping with the crisis from the early stages and the slack response of the country's leading officials has fully revealed the "vulnerable points", according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

10:27 AM

Netflix lays off 150 employees amid slow revenue growth

Streaming giant Netflix has laid off nearly 150 employees, primarily in the US, as it suffers from slow user growth amid stalled paid subscription. Several top-notch creative professionals from its original series vertical, such as Sebastian Gibbs and Negin Salmasi, have been asked to go, reports TechCrunch.

"As we explained on earnings, our slowing revenue growth means we are also having to slow our cost growth as a company. So sadly, we are letting around 150 employees go today, mostly US-based," a Netflix spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report late on Tuesday.

 

10:26 AM

Thane logs 30 new Covid-19 cases

Maharashtra's Thane district has recorded 30 new cases of coronavirus, raising its infection count to 7,09,410, an official said on Wednesday. These new cases were reported on Tuesday, he said. There was no fresh fatality and the death toll stood at 11,895, he said, adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane is 1.67 per cent.

10:12 AM

Global Covid caseload tops 524.6 mn

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 524.6 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 6.28 million and vaccinations to over 11.42 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Wednesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 524,630,337 and 6,281,109, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered increased to 11,421,738,326.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 82,720,354 and 1,000,167, respectively, according to the CSSE.

India accounts for the second highest caseload at 43,125,370.

10:09 AM

India records 1,829 new Covid cases, 33 deaths

India recorded a single-day rise of 1,829 new coronavirus infections, raising the tally to 4,31,27,199, while the active cases have declined to 15,647, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

The death toll due to the pandemic has climbed to 5,24,293 with 33 fresh fatalities, the data updated by the ministry at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprised 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was 98.75 per cent, the health ministry said.

A decrease of 753 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours, it said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.42 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.57 per cent, as per the data.

The 33 new fatalities include 31 from Kerala and 2 from Delhi.

10:08 AM

PM Modi greets Deve Gowda on birthday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday greeted former PM H D Deve Gowda on his 89th birthday.

The former Karnataka chief minister was prime minister for over 11 months between 1996 and 1997 when a coalition of parties, named United Front, was in power with the support of the Congress.

Modi tweeted, "Birthday greetings to our former PM and respected statesman Shri H D Devegowda Ji. May Almighty bless him with a long and healthy life.

10:02 AM

I am ready to meet farmers: Bhagwant Mann

I am ready to meet them (farmers), but 'Murdabad' (sloganeering) is not the way... I myself am a farmer's son... When I am saying basmati and moong dal will be on MSP...At least put in efforts... Not everything can be 'Murdabad': Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann (17.05)

8:39 AM

President Ram Nath Kovind's Jamaica visit

We have enough wheat import today, but we don't know what will happen tomorrow as the world changed on Feb 24; Russia now has a war engagement with Ukraine. So we're opening discussions with our friend, India: Aubyn Hill, Jamaican Minister of Industry, Investment & Commerce

 

8:36 AM

President Ram Nath Kovind's Jamaica visit

8:16 AM

Ensure last-mile vaccine coverage of beneficiaries: Delhi govt to districts

The Delhi government has directed district magistrates to ensure effective last-mile coverage of those needed to be given second and precaution doses of Covid vaccine.

 

The government has made arrangements for free vaccination of people in the age group of 18 to 59 years, in addition to providing free precaution doses to those above 60, health care and frontline workers.

8:15 AM

Assam floods: Amit Shah assures all help, army joins rescue operations

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday discussed the overall flood situation in Assam with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over phone and assured all possible help from the Centre.

 

Defence spokesman, Lt Col Angom Bobin Singh on Tuesday night said that on receipt of urgent request from Cachar's Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli, two columns of army and Assam Rifles personnel of Masimpur garrison rushed for flood rescue operations in various parts of the district.

 

8:15 AM

Ukrainian PM Zelenskyy opens Cannes Film Festival, links war and cinema

The 75th Cannes Film Festival kicked off Tuesday with an eye turned to Russia's war in Ukraine and a live satellite video address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called on a new generation of filmmakers to confront dictators as Charlie Chaplin satirised Adolf Hitler. After tributes and musical numbers, Zelenskyy was streamed live for the formally attired audience who had gathered for the premiere of Michel Hazanavicius' zombie comedy Final Cut."

 

Zelenskyy, dressed in his signature olive green shirt, drew a thunderous standing ovation and spoke at length about the connection between cinema and reality. He referenced films like Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now and Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator as not unlike Ukraine's present circumstances.