Live news: Russia renews assault on Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol

Live news updates: Ukrainian President says Russia's invasion of his country was just the beginning.

6:05 PM

Missile strikes infrastructure of Ukraine's Odes: City council

A missile struck infrastructure in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Saturday, the local authorities said in an online statement without giving further details.

"Odesa was hit by a missile strike. Infrastructure has been hit," the statement said.

5:15 PM

Ukrainian officials meet with IMF’s Georgieva

Ukrainian officials including Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and central bank Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko met with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Washington on Friday to discuss further short-term aid and long-term renewal, Bloomberg reported.

 

4:42 PM

Russia to deploy nuclear-capable Sarmat missiles

Russia said on Saturday it plans to deploy its newly tested Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of mounting nuclear strikes against the United States, by autumn. The target stated by Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Roscosmos space agency, is an ambitious one as Russia reported its first test-launch only on Wednesday and Western military experts say more will be needed before the missile can be deployed, Reuters reported.

3:29 PM

Evacuations planned from Ukraine's Mariupol

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Saturday that if all went as planned, evacuations from the besieged city of Mariupol would start at noon (0900 GMT). "Today, we again will be trying to evacuate women, children and the elderly," Vereshchuk wrote in a social media post.

 

3:29 PM

Russia says it shot down Ukrainian fighter jet

Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday that its forces had shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet and destroyed three MI-8 helicopters at an airfield in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine regarding the Russian claims, Reuters reported.

3:03 PM

Dump sites in Delhi and other cities are like time bombs: NGT

The National Green Tribunal has expressed serious concern over fire incidents at Ghazipur landfill site in the national capital saying dump sites are like "time bombs".

A massive fire erupted at the Ghazipur landfill site on Wednesday, the third such incident since March 28, sending a dense plume of smoke into the sky and exacerbating the already polluted air in nearby areas.

Last year, the authorities reported four fire incidents at the Ghazipur landfill. In 2017, a large part of it broke away, crashing onto a road and killing two people.

1:58 PM

Ukrainian president says Russia’s invasion ‘only a beginning’

The war on Ukraine was just the start, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said late Friday after comments by a Russian commander that Moscow wants control of all of southern Ukraine. 

 

“This only confirms what I have said many times: the Russian invasion of Ukraine was intended only as a beginning, then they want to capture other countries,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address. “Who is next?” 

 

On Friday, a Russian general said the Kremlin aims to secure control of the entire south of Ukraine, create a land bridge to Transnistria, a pro-Russian region of Moldova, and assume control of key Black Sea ports. 

 

1:57 PM

Beijing on alert after COVID-19 cases discovered in school

Beijing is on alert after 10 middle school students tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, in what city officials said was an initial round of testing.

 

City officials suspended classes in the school for a week following the positive test results. The Chinese capital also reported four other confirmed cases on Friday that were counted separately.

 

Mainland China reported 24,326 new community-transmitted infections on Saturday, with the vast majority of them asymptomatic cases in Shanghai, where enforcement of a strict zero-COVID strategy has drawn global attention.

 

1:13 PM

New Zealand reports first Omicron XE variant

New Zealand reported its first case of Omicron XE variant at the border, said the Ministry of Health in a statement on Saturday.

A person who has travelled from overseas to New Zealand has been confirmed as having the XE variant of Omicron, said the ministry.

This is the first known detection of the Omicron XE variant in New Zealand, it said.

According to the ministry, the person, who is currently isolating at home, arrived in New Zealand on April 19 and was tested on April 20. The whole-genome sequencing subsequently confirmed the XE variant.

1:13 PM

UGC, AICTE caution students against pursuing higher education in Pakistan

University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) advised Indian students not to travel to Pakistan for pursuing highereducation while stating that such degrees wouldn't be recognised in India.

Secretary of UGC and Member Secretary, AICTE in joint advisory said that any Indian national/overseas citizen of India who intends to take admission in any degree college or educational institution of Pakistan shall not be eligible for seeking employment or higher studies in India on the basis of such educational qualifications (in any subject) acquired in Pakistan.

The UGC and AICTE further informed students, "However, migrants and their children who have acquired higher education degrees in Pakistan and were awarded citizenship by India would be eligible for seeking employment in India after obtaining Security Clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs."

12:55 PM

French election: Macron in pole position, Le Pen racing hard

President Emmanuel Macron is in the pole position to win reelection Sunday in France's presidential runoff, yet his lead over far-right rival Marine Le Pen depends on one major uncertainty: voters who decide to stay home.

A victory in Sunday's runoff vote would make Macron the first French president in 20 years to win a second term.

All opinion polls in recent days converge toward a victory for the 44-year-old pro-European centrist yet the margin over his nationalist rival appears uncertain, varying from 6 to 15 percentage points, depending on the poll.

12:49 PM

Delhi R-value 2.1; 1 Covid patient infecting 2 others: IIT Madras analysis

Delhi's R-value, which indicates the spread of COVID-19, was recorded at 2.1 this week, implying that every infected person is infecting two others in the national capital, according to an analysis by IIT-Madras.

 

The 'R' or reproductive value indicates the number of people an infected person can spread the disease to, and a pandemic is considered to end if this value goes below one.

 

The preliminary analysis by computational modelling was done by IIT-Madras' Department of Mathematics and Centre of Excellence for Computational Mathematics and Data Science headed by Prof Neelesh S Upadhye and Prof S Sundar.

 

12:43 PM

Ukrainian counterattacks slowing Russian offensive in east

Russian troops are pressing their offensive in the eastern Donbas region in an attempt to fully seize Ukraine's industrial heartland but have made little headway as fierce Ukrainian counterattacks have slowed their efforts, Ukrainian and British officials said Saturday.

Russia continues to fight for full control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that make up the Donbas and seeks to secure a land route between these territories and the occupied Crimea including by wiping out the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the besieged port city of Mariupol, Ukraine's General Staff said in its morning update.

Ukrainian forces over the past 24 hours repelled eight Russian attacks in the two regions, destroying nine tanks, 18 armoured units and 13 vehicles, a tanker and three artillery systems, the General Staff said.

11:49 AM

Looking to deepen pain for Putin, West studying oil and gas

The United States unleashed some of its toughest actions against Russian President Vladimir Putin right after he rolled his troops into Ukraine.

 

Polls in the U.S. find that people want Washington to do more. So what's left, financially, diplomatically and militarily, to step up the pressure?

 

The U.S. could get strong results from any number of next steps, economists and current and former U.S. officials say.

 

 

11:38 AM

IAEA chief to head mission to Chernobyl next week

Rafael Grossi, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will head an assistance mission to the now-defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine aimed at stepping up efforts to help prevent the danger of a nuclear accident in the wake of the ongoing Moscow-Kiev war, the Vienna-based UN watchdog announced.

 

"The team of IAEA nuclear safety, security and safeguards staff will be in Chernobyl from April 26 to deliver vital equipment and conduct radiological and other assessments at the site, which was held by Russian forces for five weeks before they withdrew on March 31," the Agency said in a statement published on its website on Friday.

 

According to Grossi, the IAEA team's visit to the plant "will be of paramount importance for our activities to support Ukraine as it seeks to restore regulatory control of the plant and ensure its safe and secure operation".

 

11:18 AM

China logs 2,971 new local COVID-19 cases in past 24 hours

The Chinese mainland reported 2,971 new locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, of which 2,736 were reported in Shanghai, said the National Health Commission on Saturday.

Besides Shanghai, the rest of the local cases were reported in 16 other provincial-level regions including 136 in the northeastern province of Jilin, and six in Beijing, reported Xinhua citing the commission.

China also reported 21,355 locally transmitted asymptomatic infections of the novel coronavirus on Friday, of which, 20,634 were reported in Shanghai.

10:56 AM

IIT Madras turns Covid-19 cluster with 55 testing positive

With 25 more testing positive, the total number of persons infected with Coronavirus in the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) has gone up to 55, said Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J.Radhakrishnan.

According to him, the tests are being conducted in the 19 hostels in IITM complex. The infection rate is higher in a hostel that has students from other states.

Out of 1,420 persons, 55 have tested positive.

10:56 AM

Russia shifts forces for battle over Ukrainian heartland

Russia and Ukraine hurtled toward what could be an epic battle for control of the country's industrial heartland as Ukrainian officials reported that Moscow had shifted a dozen crack military units from the shattered port of Mariupol to eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia reported Friday that one serviceman was killed and 27 others were left missing after the fire on board the warship Moskva, which sank a week ago following what the Ukrainians boasted was a missile attack.

The Russian military previously reported everyone aboard had been rescued.

10:49 AM

Delhi's R-value 2.1 this week, every COVID-19 infected person infecting two others: IIT-Madras analysis

Delhi's R-value, which indicates the spread of COVID-19, was recorded at 2.1 this week, implying that every infected person is infecting two others in the national capital, according to an analysis by IIT-Madras.

The 'R' or reproductive value indicates the number of people an infected person can spread the disease to, and a pandemic is considered to end if this value goes below one.

The preliminary analysis by computational modelling was done by IIT-Madras' Department of Mathematics and Centre of Excellence for Computational Mathematics and Data Science headed by Prof Neelesh S Upadhye and Prof S Sundar.

10:42 AM

Security tightened ahead of PM Modi's visit to J-K tomorrow

Security arrangements have been strengthened ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir's Palli on Sunday.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to address panchayats across the country on 'Panchayati Raj Diwas' tomorrow.

Every year, April 24 is celebrated as the National Panchayati Raj Day.

10:27 AM

Mask mandates return to US college campuses as Covid cases rise

The final weeks of the college school year have been disrupted yet again by COVID-19 as universities bring back mask mandates, switch to online classes and scale back large gatherings in response to upticks in coronavirus infections.

Colleges in Washington, DC, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Texas have reimposed a range of virus measures, with Howard University moving to remote learning amid a surge in cases in the nation's capital.

This is the third straight academic year that has been upended by COVID-19, meaning soon-to-be seniors have yet to experience a normal college year.

10:26 AM

Russia's standing in G-20 not threatened by Ukraine invasion

The last time Russia invaded Ukraine, in 2014, outraged world leaders booted Russia out of the Group of Eight industrialised nations, which quickly rebranded itself the Group of Seven.

Eight years later, the G-7 is still holding at seven a collection of countries that meet to talk through big issues like trade, economics and security.

This past week, as global leaders gathered in Washington for spring meetings involving officials from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, G-7 and the larger Group of 20, it quickly became apparent that despite Russia's ongoing assault on Ukraine, its membership in the G-20 remains firmly intact.

9:51 AM

2,527 fresh COVID-19 infections push India's tally of cases to 43,054,952

With 2,527 coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of cases rose to 43,054,952, while active cases have increased to 15,079, according to Union health ministry data updated on Saturday.

The death toll has climbed to 522,149 with 33 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.75 per cent, the health ministry said.

An increase of 838 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

9:44 AM

Over 11mn people fled Ukraine since war began: UN

More than 11 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia began its war against Kiev on February 24, according to the latest UN figures.

The world body further revealed that while 5.1 million people left for neighbouring countries, another 6.48 million were believed to have been displaced inside the war-torn nation, reports the BBC.

Of the 5.1 million people, Poland has taken in 2,867,241 refugees, the highest number, followed by Romania (769,616), Russia (578,255), Hungary (480,974), Moldova (430,170), Slovakia (349,286) and Belarus (23,900), according to the UN.

9:29 AM

Over 11mn people fled Ukraine since war began: UN

More than 11 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia began its war against Kiev on February 24, according to the latest UN figures.

The world body further revealed that while 5.1 million people left for neighbouring countries, another 6.48 million were believed to have been displaced inside the war-torn nation, reports the BBC.

Of the 5.1 million people, Poland has taken in 2,867,241 refugees, the highest number, followed by Romania (769,616), Russia (578,255), Hungary (480,974), Moldova (430,170), Slovakia (349,286) and Belarus (23,900), according to the UN.

8:42 AM

Amid multi-layered security for Modi's visit, Jammu's Palli village waits eagerly to welcome him

A multi-layered security set-up is in place on Saturday for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu's Samba district on Sunday.

The security set-up was beefed up with traffic restrictions after Friday's terror attack in Jammu city in which two terrorists and a CISF officer were killed.

Despite the attack, residents of Palli village remain unfazed and jubilant about Modi's visit.

The otherwise sleepy village has come to life in a big way as the locals are enthusiastically waiting for the VVIP visit.

8:31 AM

Sitharaman makes India's stand clear with the US on the Ukraine crisis

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said India's stand on the Russia-Ukraine war was predicated on the security challenges in its own neighbourhood and the US should understand that though it has a friend in India, that "friend can't be a weak friend (and) the friend should be not weakened".

The Union Minister said she found that understanding in her interactions during her ongoing visit to the US for the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group.

She met many US officials on the sidelines, including National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and other officials, over a dinner hosted by Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

8:24 AM

Baltic states mull joint air defence procurement

The Baltic states -- Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -- are planning to organise joint procurement programmes to beef up their air defence capabilities, the Prime Ministers of the three countries said following their meeting in the Latvian state capital Riga.

The Prime Ministers of the three Baltic states met on Friday.

Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said their talks focused on strengthening defence cooperation through joint purchases of air defence systems, Xinhua news agency reported.

8:23 AM

India carving out opportunities from challenges amid Ukraine crisis

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that India is "carving out" opportunities from challenging situations as the world continues to face hikes in fuel prices and shortage of food grains amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Addressing a press conference in Washington alongside Indian envoy to US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Sitharaman said that India is trying to find a market for its exports and provide meaningful assistance to end hunger.

The Finance Minister said she voiced her concern that countries like India which have potential for floating its agricultural produce, particularly cereals, have faced difficulties with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

8:22 AM

Russia aims at full control of Donbas, southern Ukraine: General

One of the tasks of the Russian Armed Forces during the ongoing second stage of the special military operation is to "establish full control over Donbas and southern Ukraine," Deputy Commander of Russia's Central Military district, Rustam Minnekaev said.

The control of Donbas will make it possible for Russia to create a land corridor to Crimea and influence Ukraine's vital facilities, including Black Sea ports where agricultural and metallurgical products are delivered to other countries, Minnekaev added on Friday at a defence industries meeting.

The Major General said control of Ukraine's south will open another way out to Transnistria, Xinhua news agency reported.