Live: Ukraine says troops hold on in eastern city, advance in south

From Russia-Ukraine war to a sudden spike in coronavirus cases in India, catch all the latest developments from across the globe here

5:33 PM

Assam chief minister expands cabinet; 2 new ministers take oath

BJP lawmkers Jayanta Malla Baruah and Nandita Gorlosa on Thursday took oath as new ministers in Assam as Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma embarked expanded his cabinet for the first time after completing more than a year in office. Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi administered the oath of office and secrecy to the two first-time ministers

4:34 PM

Russia's blockade of Ukraine ports will cause food crisis: Zelenskyy

Millions of people could starve because of Russia's blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that the world was on the brink of a "terrible food crisis" with Ukraine unable to export large amounts of wheat, corn and oil. Russia has blamed the crisis on Ukrainian mines laid at sea and international sanctions against Moscow, said Reuters.

4:29 PM

Ukraine says forces won back some territory from Russia in south

The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said its forces had won back some territory from Russian forces in a counter-offensive in the Kherson area of southern Ukraine, Reuters said. Ukrainian forces still hold the industrial zone and adjacent areas in Sievierodonetsk and the situation is "difficult but manageable", but evacuating 10,000 remaining civilians is now impossible, Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk said.

4:18 PM

Russia says no agreement reached with Turkey on Ukrainian grain exports

The Kremlin said on Thursday that no agreement had been reached with Turkey on exporting Ukrainian grain shipments across the Black Sea. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that work was continuing.

3:28 PM

4,809 electors will vote in the Presidential elections.

As many as 4,809 electors will vote in the Presidential elections. No political party can issue a whip to its members, says Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

3:00 PM

Mamata condemns remarks on Prophet Mohammad, demands arrest of accused BJP leaders

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday condemned the remarks by two BJP functionaries on Prophet Mohammad, terming it "hate speech", and demanded that the accused leaders be immediately arrested so that the country's unity is not disturbed.

 

Noting that such remarks not only cause violence but also lead to societal division, she called upon people from all religions, castes and communities to maintain peace despite provocation.

 

"I condemn the recent heinous and atrocious hate speech remarks by a few disastrous BJP leaders, resulting in not only spread of violence, but also division of the fabric of the country, leading to disturbance of peace and amity," Banerjee said in a series of tweets.

 

"I strongly seek that the accused leaders of BJP be arrested immediately so that the unity of the country is not disturbed and people at large do not face mental agony," she said.

2:54 PM

University of Glasgow opens Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre

The Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre at the University of Glasgow was officially opened by the Nobel prize winning Chemist, Professor Sir David MacMillan, on Wednesday.

 

A flagship research facility, it will be the creative and collaborative heart of cross-disciplinary research at the University of Glasgow.

 

"The Mazumdar-Shaw ARC will provide a unique environment for delivering world changing research; it is designed to promote collaboration and pioneer new ways of working," a University of Glasgow statement said.

 

It will also act as a catalyst for strengthening relationships between the University of Glasgow and its stakeholders including funders, industry, civic bodies, and the public, it was stated.

2:47 PM

India considers curbing fridge imports to boost local industry: Report

 India is considering restricting imports of refrigerators to promote local manufacturing, two industry sources told Reuters on Thursday, potentially freezing out shipments from Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc in the $5 billion market.

The sources, who declined to be named as the talks were private, said the government was considering mandating that importers seek a licence from the authorities, replacing the existing free-import regime.

That could be followed by a ban on imports of refrigerators with refrigerant already added, to create opportunities for value-added operations in India, said one of the sources, who has direct knowledge of the government's discussions.

2:32 PM

SC reserves order on pleas seeking special stray round of counselling for NEET-PG

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its order on a batch of petitions seeking a special stray round of counselling to fill the 1,456 seats in NEET-PG-21 which have remained vacant after the conduct of a stray round of counselling for All India Quota.

A bench of Justices M R Shah and Aniruddha Bose said it would pronounce its order on Friday after the counsel for the parties completed their arguments.

Additional Solicitor General Balbir Singh, appearing for the Centre, submitted that classes have already started in February and now holding classes for another six to eight months is not feasible.

He said the NEET 2022 teaching will also be compromised if further rounds of counselling are conducted.

2:23 PM

Businesses should avoid aggressive short-term reward-seeking culture: RBI Governor Das

The Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday said businesses should avoid having an aggressive short-term reward-seeking culture without considering the build-up of excessive risks in their balance sheets.

 

Das said doing business involves risk taking. But before taking the risk, the upside and downside will have to be carefully considered.

 

"Businesses should avoid aggressive short-term reward-seeking culture without regard for the build-up of excessive risk in the balance sheet," Das said while delivering a speech at the Iconic Week celebrations, as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence.

 

2:13 PM

Gold smuggling case: Kerala continues to witness protests demanding CM's resignation

The startling revelation by the key accused in the gold smuggling case Swapna Suresh against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family continued to keep the political pot boiling in Kerala on Thursday as opposition party activists clashed with police across the state even as the Congress continued to demand the resignation of the CM alleging that he was trying to escape the probe through "blatant abuse of power misusing police."

The workers of the Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha, the youth outfits of the Congress and the BJP respectively, took out marches to the district collectorates in Kozhikode and Kottayam.

Police used water cannons to disperse the agitated activists, who tried to break the barricade raising slogans and holding placards and banners, in Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram.

2:02 PM

Cryptos yet to pass test of fiat currency, difficult to regulate: CEA

Sounding a note of caution, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said on Thursday that the crypto currencies have yet to pass the test to become fiat currency and at the same time it would be difficult to regulate them.

He further said that unlike fiat money, crypto currencies cannot satisfy basic requirements such as having store value, widespread acceptability and unit of account.

Referring to decentralised finance (DeFI), he said: "In my opinion, while it is considered innovation, I would reserve my judgement whether it is truly innovative or truly disruptive in a positive sense or is it something that we will come to regret."

1:57 PM

Monsoon progressing normally, to likely reach Maharashtra in 2 days: IMD

The monsoon is progressing normally and will likely reach Maharashtra in the next two days, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

Senior IMD scientist R K Jenamani said the monsoon covered south and central Arabian Sea, entire Kerala, parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu between May 31 and June 7.

In the meantime, it covered the entire northeast India, which received good rainfall, he said.

12:58 PM

BJP candidates file nominations for UP Legislative Council polls

BJP's nine candidates, including Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, on Thursday filed their nominations for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections. The nominations were filed a day after the party announced the names of the nine candidates for the polls. The nominations were filed in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union minister Swatantra Dev Singh and other BJP leaders.

12:58 PM

Odisha assembly speaker election on Jun 13

The Odisha assembly has issued a notification for election of the speaker of the House on June 13 as BJD MLA SN Patro had recently resigned from the post, an official said on Thursday. Patro had quit the post on June 4 but cited no reason for doing so. However, his son Biplab Patro had said his father has been suffering from renal ailments and an eye infection.

In a notification issued on Wednesday, the state assembly OSD-cum-secretary Dasharathi Satapathy said, "...Governor has been pleased to fix June 13, 2022 (Monday) at 10.30 am for election of the speaker."
 

12:56 PM

SC gives custody of boy orphaned by COVID-19 to paternal grandparents

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted the custody of a six-year-old boy, orphaned in the deadly second wave of Covid last year, to his paternal grandparents, saying that in Indian society, the paternal grandparents always take better care of their grandchildren.

The boy lost his father and mother on May 13 and June 12, 2021 respectively in Ahmedabad and later his custody was granted to his maternal aunt by the Gujarat High Court.

12:01 PM

Fire that broke out in four scrap godowns in the Mankhurd area of Mumbai has been contained

11:39 AM

ECI to announce schedule for elections of President at 3 pm today

Election Commission of India to announce the schedule for election for the next President of India at 1500 hours today.
 

11:33 AM

Plane crashes in China, sets houses on fire

A plane crashed in central China's Hubei province on Thursday, setting several houses on fire, the third aviation accident in the country in over two months. The plane crashed in Laohekou city near the airport. The pilot parachuted from the plane and received minor injuries, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted Chinese official media as saying. Videos circulating on Chinese social media showed several houses on fire at the accident scene.

11:32 AM

Satyendar Jain's custodial remand extended for 5 days in PMLA case

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain's custody to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was extended by five more days on Thursday. He is being probed in a money laundering case. Jain was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court by the ED officials, which had demanded that his custodial remand be extended by five more days.

"During the raid we have recovered a number of things and have to confront him with the people whose houses were raided," the ED official said.

11:30 AM

About 30K died daily from Covid since talks on vax IP began: Report

Nearly 30,000 people have died daily from Covid since the World Trade Organization (WTO) initiated talks on relaxing Covid-19 vaccine intellectual property (IP) to make the shots more accessible, particularly in poor countries, according to a report on Thursday.

The IP waiver, which India and South Africa proposed in October 2020 and was backed by over 100 countries, would allow low- and middle-income countries to produce their own cheaper generic Covid-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.

11:29 AM

West Bengal: Nadda offers prayers at Belur Math

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda who is on a three-day visit to West Bengal, offered prayers at Belur Math in Howrah on Thursday.

Nadda arrived in Kolkata on Tuesday evening. The BJP chief has been holding several important closed-door meetings with party leaders since his visit said sources.

10:18 AM

Global cases of monkeypox surpass 1,000: US CDC

Global cases of the monkeypox virus have surpassed 1,000, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said and urged people to take extra precautions. As of June 6, 1,019 confirmed and suspected cases of monkeypox have been reported in 29 countries, according to the CDC.

10:08 AM

Fire in office building in South Korea kills at least 7

At least seven people were killed and dozens of others were injured Thursday in a fire that spread through an office building in South Korea's Daegu city, local fire and police officials said.

Shin Ju-han, a Daegu Fire Department Official, said dozens of firefighters and vehicles were deployed to put out the blaze that burned through the second-floor of an office building behind the city's district court. He said seven people were so far confirmed as dead and 35 others were hurt.

9:34 AM

Rupee slips 9 paise to 77.77 against US dollar in early trade

Rupee slips 9 paise to 77.77 against US dollar in early trade

9:34 AM

NIA conducted raids at multiple locations in Chennai in connection with probe linked to a terror activity case

National Investigation Agency today conducted raids at multiple locations in Chennai in connection with its ongoing probe linked to a terror activity case, agency says.

8:49 AM

India logs 7,240 new cases in 24 hours

India reported  7,240 news cases. The active tally has gone up to 32,498. 

8:20 AM

Govet high school of Gopalpora in Kulgam to be named after Rajni Bala, a teacher who was killed by terrorists

The government high school of Gopalpora in Kulgam will be named after Rajni Bala, a teacher who was killed by terrorists. I met her family members and all their demands & concerns will be resolved on a priority basis: LG Manoj Sinha

8:15 AM

Technical snag hits Metro Blue Line again, services affected

Services on Delhi Metro's Blue Line were delayed Thursday morning due to a technical snag, sources said. Blue Line connects Dwarka Sector-21 in Delhi and Noida Electronic City, along with a branch line to Vaishali. Three days ago, a large number of commuters on the Blue Line had faced hardship as services across the corridor were impacted for nearly an hour and a half due to a technical snag.

7:28 AM

Jordan, UAE launch $100mn investment fund to boost tech cooperation

Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have launched an investment fund of $100 million to support the their cooperation in technology, state-run Petra news agency reported. The two Arab countries launched the investment fund on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Speaking at the launching ceremony in Amman, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh said the fund is established by joint efforts between Jordan's Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship and the ADQ, an Abu Dhabi state holding company.