LIVE: Lavrov says all will suffer from West's 'total hybrid war' on Russia

In a speech on the 80th day since Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister pointed to the barrage of sanctions imposed by the West against Moscow

10:36 PM

We are 100% behind Finnish, Swedish NATO membership, Norway tells Turkey

Norway on Saturday backed Finnish and Swedish plans to join NATO against criticism from Turkey.

 

"We don't know what Turkey really means but from (the) Norwegian perspective, we are 100% behind Finland and Sweden if they decide to apply for membership in NATO," Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeld said as she arrived for a meeting with her NATO counterparts in Berlin.

 

"This will also strengthen the Nordic cooperation because we chose differently after World War 2, so I think that this is a historic moment right now," she added.

 

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra echoed her, saying it was important that all NATO members showed unity.

10:13 PM

Gennova will soon submit necessary data of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to drug regulator, says its spokesperson

9:48 PM

Egypt in talks with India on wheat export ban exemption: Official

Egypt is in talks with Indian officials about getting an exemption from India's decision to ban its wheat exports, Egypt's plant quarantine head Ahmed El Attar told Reuters.

 

India banned wheat exports on Saturday days after saying it was targeting record shipments this year, as a scorching heat wave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high.

9:39 PM

Foreign ministers of Finland, Turkey to meet over NATO tensions

The foreign ministers of Finland and Turkey will meet in Berlin later on Saturday to try and solve disagreements over Finland's and Sweden's plan to join NATO, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavesto said.

 

"I am sure we will find a solution," he told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin, adding he had spoken to his "good colleague" Mevlut Cavusoglu by phone on Friday.

9:11 PM

No one is speaking about inflation: Uddhav Thackeray

9:01 PM

Turkey 'not closing door' to Sweden, Finland NATO entry, Erdogan advisor says

Turkey has not shut the door to Sweden and Finland joining NATO but wants negotiations with the Nordic countries and a clampdown on what it sees as terrorist activities especially in Stockholm, President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said on Saturday.

 

"We are not closing the door. But we are basically raising this issue as a matter of national security for Turkey," Ibrahim Kalin, who is also the president's top foreign policy advisor, told Reuters in an interview in Istanbul.

 

Erdogan surprised NATO members and the two Nordic countries seeking membership by saying on Friday it was not possible for Turkey to support enlarging the alliance because Finland and Sweden were "home to many terrorist organisations".

8:59 PM

BJP is playing dirty politics, alleges Uddhav Thackeray

8:54 PM

Telangana CM wants to turn this state into Bengal, it has to be stopped now: Shah

8:08 PM

Egypt considers importing wheat from Pakistan, Mexico

Egypt is considering importing wheat from Pakistan and Mexico, the head of the Agriculture Quarantine Authority told Reuters on Saturday.

 

Last month, Egypt, the world's biggest wheat importer, added India as a new import origin for the grain. However, earlier on Saturday, India banned wheat exports as a scorching heat wave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high.

8:06 PM

PM Modi extended his greetings to the new President of UAE

7:50 PM

Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale arrested over 'defamatory' social media post about Sharad Pawar

Thane Police on Saturday arrested Marathi actor Ketaki Chitale after a case was registered against her for allegedly sharing a 'derogatory' post about NCP president Sharad Pawar on social media platforms.

 

The post in Marathi, shared by her on Friday, was purportedly written by someone else.

 

It only mentioned the surname Pawar and the age of 80. The NCP supremo is 81 years old.

 

The post contained phrases like "hell is waiting" and "you hate Brahmins", allegedly referring to Pawar whose party shares power in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena and Congress.

7:13 PM

Lavrov says all will suffer from West's 'total hybrid war' on Russia

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the West had announced a "total hybrid war" against Russia and it was hard to predict how long it would last.

 

In a speech on the 80th day since Russia invaded Ukraine, Lavrov pointed to the barrage of sanctions imposed by the West against Moscow and attempted to portray Russia as the target, not the perpetrator, of aggression.

 

"The collective West has declared total hybrid war on us and it is hard to predict how long all this will last but it is clear the consequences will be felt by everyone, without exception," he said in a speech.

6:23 PM

Manik Saha likely to be the new Chief Minister of Tripura

5:39 PM

Putin tells Finland that abandoning its neutrality would be a mistake: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto on Saturday it would be a mistake for Helsinki to abandon its neutral status and join NATO, the Kremlin said.

 

Putin said there were no security threats to Finland, and the potential change in its foreign policy stance could be negative for bilateral relations.

5:17 PM

Cong likely to raise representation of SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities in organisation to 50%

The Congress is likely to bring in a measure to ensure 50 per cent representation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs and minorities at all levels of the party organisation.

 

A decision on this has been taken by the panel on social justice and empowerment formed by party chief Sonia Gandhi to lead discussions on this issue at the Congress' three-day 'Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir' here, party leader K Raju said.

 

He added that it is likely to be recommended for approval of the Congress Working Committee. Raju said the panel is also likely to propose establishing a social justice advisory council to the Congress president.

4:52 PM

Currently, there is adequate food stock in the country, says govt

4:44 PM

G7 to continue economic pressure on Russia, tackle 'wheat war'

Group of Seven foreign ministers vowed on Saturday to reinforce Russia's economic and political isolation, continue supplying weapons to Ukraine and tackle what Germany's foreign minister described as a "wheat war" being waged by Moscow.

 

After meeting at a 400-year-old castle estate in the Baltic Sea resort of Weissenhaus, senior diplomats from Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union also pledged to continue their military and defence assistance for "as long as necessary".

 

They would also tackle what they called Russian misinformation aimed at blaming the West for food supply issues around the world due to economic sanctions on Moscow and urged China to not assist Moscow or justify Russia's war, according to a joint statement.

4:25 PM

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb resigns

4:24 PM

CBI books 3 persons for alleged match-fixing and betting in 2019 IPL

3:37 PM

Mundka fire: 29 still missing; death toll likely to rise as more charred remains found

A day after a massive building fire in outer Delhi's Mundka claimed 27 lives, frantic relatives were still searching for their loved ones as police said 29 people were unaccounted for.

 

According to the fire department, the death toll could rise up to 30 as charred remains were found in the building during cooling operations on Saturday morning. Twelve injured were undergoing treatment at a hospital here.

 

They said the four-storey building, which did not have a fire safety certificate, had a single entry and exit point which could have been the reason for the high number of casualties.

 

"The building had a single escape route which is why there were so many casualties. Twenty-seven people have died," Chief Fire Officer Atul Garg said.

3:29 PM

Delhi Mundka fire: 'We received 27 dead bodies. All severely burnt and charred,' says hospital official

3:05 PM

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed elected UAE president: State news agency

The United Arab Emirates' federal supreme council elected on Saturday Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the new president of UAE, state news agency (WAM) reported.

3:04 PM

Severe heatwave to worsen in North today and tomorrow, says IMD DG

2:57 PM

Chinese social media abuzz with rumours of Xi Jinping stepping down for COVI-19 mismanagement

Chinese social media is buzzing with speculations that President Xi Jinping might step down from his position following the mismanagement of the stringent Covid-19 lockdowns accompanied by the economic slump in the country.

The rising rumours about Xi Jinping stepping down started after a meeting of the party politburo standing committee, which is the collective leadership group that rules China. Further, a video made by a Canadian-based blogger was doing the rounds on social media before China censored it.

According to the blogger, until a major party meeting was organized in the latter part of the year, Xi Jinping would be forced to step aside from the Chinese Communist Party. The current Premier Li Keqiang will be assuming the place on Jinping's behalf to take over daily management of the party and government.

2:56 PM

Delhi Secretariat to ban single-use plastic items from June 1

Single-use plastic items will be banned in the Delhi Secretariat from June 1, a month before the nationwide ban on SUP comes into force, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Saturday.

It will be ensured that only alternatives to SUP items such as paper plates, cups, straws are used in the Delhi Secretariat premises, he said.

Staff will be asked to avoid SUP water bottles and use kulhads, stainless steel glasses or paper cups to drink water, the minister said.

2:47 PM

Musk's team now gets busy counting fake, spammy accounts on Twitter

Annoyed at the presence of fake users on Twitter after putting the $44 billion takeover deal on hold, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Saturday that his team was busy finding out the presence of fake/spam accounts with the random sampling process.

 

Musk on Friday stunned the world by saying that he was putting the Twitetr take over on hold because he does not believe in Twitter findings which say that false or spam accounts represent fewer than 5 per cent of its monetisable daily active users (229 million).

2:43 PM

Peace shall only prevail when people's rights, dignity protected: CJI

Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana on Saturday said peace shall only prevail when people's dignity and rights are recognised and protected.

The CJI, who made the remarks after laying the foundation stone of a new high court building complex in Srinagar, emphasized that mere laws were not enough to build tradition, it requires men of high ideals to infuse life in the skeleton of law.

"Denial of justice would ultimately lead to anarchy. Soon the institution of judiciary would be destabilized as people will look for extrajudicial mechanisms. Peace shall only prevail, when people's dignity and rights are recognised and protected."

2:35 PM

Sri Lanka's ruling party decides to back PM Ranil Wickremesinghe

Sri Lanka's ruling SLPP party has decided to offer crucial support to new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has just one seat in Parliament, to help him prove a majority in the House.

The 73-year-old United National Party (UNP) leader was appointed as Sri Lanka's 26th prime minister on Thursday as the country was without a government since Monday when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's elder brother and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned after violence erupted following an attack on the anti-government protesters by his supporters.

We have political differences with him, but he is known as someone with international support to pull this country out of the economic problems we are facing," S M Chandrasena, a former minister and a senior leader of ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, told reporters.

2:35 PM

Delhi Secretariat to ban single-use plastic items from June 1

Single-use plastic items will be banned in the Delhi Secretariat from June 1, a month before the nationwide ban on SUP comes into force, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Saturday.

It will be ensured that only alternatives to SUP items such as paper plates, cups, straws are used in the Delhi Secretariat premises, he said.

Staff will be asked to avoid SUP water bottles and use kulhads, stainless steel glasses or paper cups to drink water, the minister said.

1:53 PM

Ukraine’s president Vplodymyr Zelenskiy says Russia being driven from Kharkiv

Ukraine’s president says Kyiv’s forces are steadily pushing Russian troops away from Kharkiv, the nation’s second largest city. India prohibited most wheat exports that the world was counting on to alleviate supply constraints sparked by the war in Ukraine.

 

Sweden has received no indication that Turkey would oppose it joining NATO, and will raise the issue at a meeting this weekend in Germany, Foreign Minister Ann Linde said. Earlier Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed concern about Sweden and Finland potentially becoming members of the military alliance. NATO foreign ministers are set to meet on Saturday, when the issue of enlargement is likely to dominate.