LIVE: India sees worst power cuts in 6 years; braces for more heatwaves

Live news updates: The ongoing heatwave sweeping through vast swathes of the country will intensify in the next five days, the IMD said

11:42 PM

Explosions in Ukraine's Kyiv after Zelenskyy's meeting with UN chief

At least two explosions were heard early Thursday evening in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv shortly after a meeting between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Read more

11:27 PM

Ukraine accuses Russia of stealing grain from occupied territory

Ukraine accused Russia of stealing grain in territory it has occupied, an act which it said increased the threat to global food security.

Asked about the allegations, the Kremlin said it had no information on the matter. Read more

11:17 PM

Russia plans fake independence votes in seized Ukraine territory: US

The United States accused Russia of planning to stage fake independence votes to justify its conquest of territory in Ukraine, as Russian forces stepped up a major offensive in the east. Read more

10:51 PM

Delhi records 1,490 new Covid-19 cases, two deaths

Delhi records 1,490 new Covid-19 cases, two deaths while positivity rate stands at 4.62 per cent. 

The infection tally in the national capital now stands at 18,79,948 and the death toll was 26,172.

10:22 PM

India sweats over worst power cuts in six years during extreme heat

India is facing its worst electricity shortage in more than six years just as scorching temperatures force early closures of schools and send people indoors.

Power cuts are expected to worsen in the coming days as the heatwaves and a pickup in economic activity are seen increasing electricity demand at the fastest pace in nearly four decades. Read more

10:06 PM

MK Stalin, Kerala's Vijayan target PM Modi over high fuel prices

After PM Modi appealed to states to cut taxes to reduce fuel prices, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin hit out at the central government, saying, " it was like hiding a whole pumpkin in a plate of rice." His Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan said asserting people's suffering cannot be mitigated by blaming the states. Read more

9:47 PM

IAS officer Shah Faesal reinstated by govt 3 years after he resignation

IAS officer Shah Faesal was reinstated in the service after the government accepted his application to withdraw his resignation. 

Faesal had resigned from his post three years ago and floated the Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM) party. Faesal was detained under the stringent Public Safety Act immediately after the abrogation of special status of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Read more

9:24 PM

Maharashtra records 165 new Covid-19 cases; active tally at 961

Maharashtra recorded 165 fresh coronavirus cases, including 90 from Mumbai, on Thursday.

With this, the state's COVID-19 tally rose to 78,77,429, while the death toll increased to 1,47,840, the department said. Read more

9:05 PM

PM Modi called meeting to blame states for high fuel prices: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee alleged that the agenda of PM Modi's meeting on Wednesday was not Covid situation as announced, but blaming state governments for the high prices of petrol and diesel.

Banerjee demanded that the central government immediately slash the price of domestic LPG cylinders by at least Rs 300. Read more

8:55 PM

Beijing orders closure of schools in tightening of Covid-19 pandemic rules

To further tighten Covid restrictions, Beijing is closing all city schools as China's capital seeks to prevent a wider outbreak.

Beijing announced 50 new cases on Thursday, two of them asymptomatic, bringing its total in the latest wave of infections to around 150. Read more

8:38 PM

CBI opposes bail plea of Chitra Ramakrishna, Arvind Subramanian

A Delhi court on Thursday reserved an order on the bail applications of former managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chitra Ramkrishna and group operating officer (GOO) Anand Subramanian in the NSE co-location case. Read more

8:25 PM

US GDP declines 1.4% in first qtr amid Covid resurgence, trade deficit

The US economy contracted in the first quarter BY 1.4% amid a resurgence in Covid-19 cases and a drop in pandemic relief money from the government. 

The Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates by 50 basis points next Wednesday. Read more

8:18 PM

RBI modifies norms on short term crop loan scheme under KCC for banks

RBI modifies norms for banks to claim the amount of interest subvention provided to farmers under the short-term crop loan scheme through Kisan Credit Card (KCC) during the last fiscal. Read more

7:59 PM

IMD says heatwave to intensify over next five days in India

The IMD said that the ongoing heatwave sweeping through vast swathes of the country will intensify in the next five days. The weather agency issues an "orange" alert for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Maharashtra, and predicting a rise of another two degrees Celsius in northwest region. Read more

7:56 PM

Biden to ask US Congress for additional funding for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden will ask Congress for billions of dollars in new powers to seize and repurpose the assets of Russian oligarchs as part of a new funding request to aid Ukraine in its defence against Russia's invasion.

He will also seek new authorities from Congress to strengthen US sanctions against the Russian government and those who profit from it, the White House said. Read more

7:50 PM

NCLT gives Future Retail till May 12 to file reply on insolvency plea

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) gave crisis-hit Future Retail Ltd (FRL) time till May 12 to submit its reply to the insolvency petition filed against the company by Bank of India.

This comes after Bank of India last week had moved the tribunal seeking to initiate insolvency resolution proceedings against FRL, which has defaulted on loan repayments. Read more

7:15 PM

SBI Life sees 26% rise in Q4 net profit at Rs 672 cr

SBI Life Insurance (SBI Life) reported a 26.3 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 672 crore for quarter ended March 2022.

Total income of the company during the January-March quarter of 2021-22 rose to Rs 21,427.88 crore, from Rs 20,896.70 crore in the same period of 2020-21, SBI Life said in a regulatory filing. Read more

 

7:00 PM

Make arrangements amid Covid situation, heatwave: CBSE to exam centres

The CBSE issued directions to the board examination centres to make proper arrangements in the wake of the current Covid situation and the heatwave. The second-term CBSE exam for class 10 and 12 started on Tuesday. This comes as the nation is witnessing a slight spike in Covid-19 cases. Read more

6:50 PM

Left attacks govt over LIC IPO, calls the move a 'scam', 'sell-off'

Left parties attack the government over its move to float the LIC IPO alleging that it was a "scam" and a "sell-off" as the CPI, in a statement, says it was a part of the "privatisation spree" of the government. Read more

6:37 PM

Twitter's quarterly earnings climb to $1.2 bn at $513 billion

Twitter posts quarterly earnings of $513 million days after it agreed to be sold to billionaire Elon Musk.

Twitter reports an average of 229 million daily active users in the quarter, up 16% from last year. Read more

6:09 PM

Fertiliser subsidy may go up 55% to record Rs 2.5 trn in FY23, say sources

India's fertiliser subsidy bill is likely to shoot up by 55 per cent to record Rs 2.5 lakh crore this fiscal as the government will provide additional funds to make up for the spike in cost from higher import price, top sources said. Read more

5:43 PM

India likely to miss tea export opportunity opened after Sri Lanka crisis

India, the world’s second-biggest tea producer, will likely fail to take advantage of an export gap in the global market sparked by Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, according to a top grower.

Sri Lanka could cut tea supplies by about 40 million kilograms in 2022, said Azam Monem, director at Mcleod Russel India Ltd, adding that India, which is touted to fill the gap, will not be able to do so due to high costs involved. Read more

5:33 PM

Tata Motors to build 80,000 EVs this financial year

Tata Motors expects to aggressively ramp up annual production of electric vehicles (EVs) to more than 80,000 units this financial year, Reuters reported quoting sources.
Tata last year announced plans to launch 10 EV models by March 2026, investing about $2 billion on new vehicle architecture, related technology and infrastructure.Read more

5:11 PM

Bajaj Finserv Q4 net profit up by 34% at Rs 1,346 crore

Bajaj Finserv Ltd reports a 37 per cent jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1,346 crore for the fourth quarter ended in March 2022. It had posted a net profit of Rs 979 crore during the corresponding period of 2020-21. Read more

5:00 PM

Sri Lanka trade unions strike demanding ouster of president and PM

Nearly 1,000 trade unions in Sri Lanka staged a one-day nationwide strike today demanding the immediate resignation of the government, including President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, over its failure to tackle the country's unprecedented economic crisis. Read more

4:46 PM

Climate change may increase risk of new infectious diseases

Climate change will result in thousands of new viruses spread among animal species by 2070 and that's likely to increase the risk of emerging infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans, a new study has stated. Read more

 

4:43 PM

Russia's military offensive in east picks up momentum: Ukraine

Ukraine says Russia's offensive in the east picked up momentum, with several towns coming under intense attack as Moscow's forces attempt to surround Ukrainian troops.

The General Staff of Ukraine's military said Russian forces were exerting intense fire in several places as they pushed on with the second phase of their invasion. Read more

4:30 PM

NATO chief says Finland, Sweden's membership would be embraced with open arms

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Finland and Sweden would be embraced with open arms should they decide to join the 30-nation military organisation and could become members quite quickly.

It's their decision," Stoltenberg said. "But if they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed, and I expect that process to go quickly." Read more

4:15 PM

Bank of Maharashtra's Q4 profit doubles to Rs 355 cr

Bank of Maharashtra reports an over two-fold increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 355 crore in the quarter ended March.

The Pune-based lender had posted a net profit of Rs 165.23 crore in the year-ago period. Read more

4:13 PM

Impact of Covid 'down but not out': Health experts

With India recording more than 3,000 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, health expert Dr Rakesh Mishra advised all not to let their guard down by being careless and said that the impact of coronavirus is 'down but not out'.

"We should not be complacent at the moment. The Coronavirus is 'down but not out'. So, we should exercise all precautions including wearing a mask in public places, avoiding crowded places, etc. Don't be careless," the Director of Tata Institute for Genetics and Society in Bangalore said. Read more