Live: India following ideals of Sikh gurus, says Modi at Red Fort event

Live news updates: Speech comes after communal clashes near a mosque in Delhi locality.

10:16 PM

Don't bully and don't accept bullying: PM Modi

Our traditions say that a wise person is one who doesn’t bully anyone and doesn’t tolerate being bullied: PM Modi

10:11 PM

I bow in front of all Sikh gurus: PM Modi

Red Fort has seen the martyrdom of Sikh guru Tegh Bahadur. I bow in front of all Sikh gurus, says PM Modi.

10:06 PM

India following ideals of Sikh gurus: Modi

India is following ideals of all Sikh gurus. It is a land of great traditions, says PM Modi.

10:02 PM

PM Modi begins speech on Sikh guru

8:08 PM

US announces $800 mn in new military assistance for Ukraine

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced an additional USD 800 million in military aid to help Ukraine fight back against the Russian invasion, but he also warned Congress will need to approve additional assistance. The new military assistance package includes much needed heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition, and drones for Ukrainian forces, the AP reported.

6:35 PM

UK has raised Ukraine war issue with Modi: British PM Johnson

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday said his country has already raised the Ukraine war issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a diplomatic level, and added that everybody understands that India and Russia shared "very different relationships historically". Johnson's visit to India comes at a time when India has taken a neutral stand on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and amid the criticism by western countries, especially the US, that India was not taking a clear stance against Russia, PTI reported.

 

5:24 PM

Pakistan Finance Minister leaves for Washington to IMF leaders

Pakistan's new Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Thursday left for Washington to meet top IMF officials to renegotiate a USD 6 billion bailout package that was stalled by the previous Imran Khan regime. Under the agreement signed in 2019, Pakistan would receive USD 6 billion for a period of 39 months.

5:00 PM

Series of explosions kill 10 people in Afghanistan

A series of explosions across Afghanistan on Thursday killed at least 10 people and wounded scores more, according to police and hospital officials. No one immediately took responsibility for the deadly explosions, but they mostly targeted the country's minority Shiite Muslims and had all the hallmarks of a deadly Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province, or IS-K, the AP reported.

4:03 PM

UK sets out 26 new sanctions against Russia

Britain on Thursday added 26 new designations to its list of sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian war, including on military figures and defence companies, Reuters reported. Britain, which has sought to play a key role in the West's response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, has already set out hundreds of sanctions, such as asset freezes and travel bans on prominent Russian billionaires and politicians including President Vladimir Putin.

3:36 PM

Boris Johnson meets billionaire Gautam Adani in Ahmedabad

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday meting with industrialist Gautam Adani in Ahmedabad as part of his appointments during a two-day visit to India. The two men talked about energy transition, climate action, aerospace and defence collaboration, PTI reported quoting sources.

 

3:22 PM

UK's Johnson hopes to clinch Indian free trade deal by year-end

Britain hopes to complete a free trade deal with India by the end of this year, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday as he emphasised the need to reduce reliance on foreign oil and gas due to the conflict in Ukraine. "India and Russia have, historically, a very different relationship, perhaps than Russia and the UK have had over the last couple of decades. We have to reflect that reality but clearly I'll be talking about it to Narendra Modi," Johnson said.

2:58 PM

Wear face mask at crowded places: Punjab govt advisory

The Punjab government on Thursday advised people to wear face masks at crowded places amid a surge in coronavirus cases in some of the states.

Punjab on Wednesday had reported 30 fresh cases, taking its coronavirus tally to 7,59,334.

According to the advisory issued by the Department of Home Affairs and Justice, wearing of masks should be ensured in closed environments such as in buses, trains, aircrafts, cinema halls, shopping malls, departmental stores, offices and classrooms.

2:34 PM

Govt may revisit BPCL privatisation, including revising the terms of sale

The government may take a fresh look at BPCL privatisation, including revising the terms of sale, an official said.

"We need to go back to the drawing board on BPCL. There are issues in terms of consortium formation, geopolitical situation and energy transition aspects," an official said.

The government is selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL for which three expressions of interest (EoIs), including one from billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group, have been received.

Financial bids are yet to be invited.

2:07 PM

Israel offers to host Russia's Putin and Ukraine's Zelensky to end war

Israel has offered to host talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, at a time when Moscow is making crucial military gains in the strategic Donbas region.

 

Russia's Tass news agency is reporting that Israeli Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Ben Zvi has confirmed in an interview that Tel Aviv is keen to host the dialogue.

 

'Certainly,' Ben Zvi said when asked about Israel's readiness to mediate an end to the conflict at the highest level. 'However, they (Putin and Zelensky) need to make a decision,' the envoy added.

 

Israel, he said, would consider it 'a great honour' to host possible talks between the Russian and Ukrainian heads of state.

1:44 PM

British PM Johnson signals visa flexibility with India to win trade deal

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated he was ready to offer more visas to India in return for this year clinching a free-trade deal that could boost annual bilateral trade by billions of pounds.

Speaking on the plane on his way to the world's second-most populous country, Johnson signalled he was ready to be more accommodating on an issue that could have stalled the talks.

"I have always been in favour of talented people coming to this country," Johnson told reporters. "We are short to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people in our economy and we need to have a progressive approach and we will."

1:43 PM

Putin tells forces not to storm Ukraine holdout in Mariupol

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces not to storm the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged city of Mariupol but to block it "so that not even a fly comes through.

 

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Putin on Thursday that the sprawling Azovstal steel plant where Ukrainian forces were holed up was securely blocked.

 

He said the rest of the city was liberated and Putin hailed that as a success.

1:33 PM

Ukraine's Mariupol captured, claims Russian state television

Ukraine's Mariupol captured, claims Russian state television

1:32 PM

Report: Chinese credit card processor rebuffs Russian banks

China's credit card processor has refused to work with banks in Russia for fear of being targeted by sanctions over its war on Ukraine, cutting off a possible alternative after Visa and Mastercard stopped serving them, according to the Russian news outlet RBC.

UnionPay's decision affects Sberbank, Russia's biggest commercial bank, and smaller institutions, RBC reported Wednesday. It cited five unidentified sources in large Russian banks.

Mastercard and Visa suspended operations in Russia after the United States and other governments imposed trade and financial sanctions on President Vladimir Putin's government for its attack on Ukraine.

1:23 PM

WHO says global COVID cases, deaths declined again last week

The World Health Organisation says that the number of reported new COVID-19 cases worldwide decreased by nearly a quarter last week, continuing a decline since the end of March.

The Geneva-based UN health agency said in a weekly report that nearly 5.59 million cases were reported between April 11 and 17, 24% fewer than in the previous week. The number of newly reported deaths dropped 21% to 18,215.

WHO said new cases declined in every region, though only by 2% in the Americas. The report was dated late Wednesday and sent to journalists on Thursday.

12:50 PM

British PM visits Sabarmati Ashram, gets Gandhi's book on how to live in London

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is on a two-day visit to India, visited the Sabarmati Ashram, also known as Gandhi Ashram, here on Thursday after landing in the country.

The Ashram trust gifted him two books, one of them an unpublished guide for the benefit of those seeking to live in London, penned by Mahatma Gandhi himself.

12:47 PM

ATP condemns Wimbledon on barring Russian players, calls it discriminatory

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) -- the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits -- has strongly condemned the All England Club's decision to bar Russian and Belarusian players from competing at Wimbledon 2022 because of the invasion of Ukraine, saying that "it has the potential to set a damaging precedent for the game".

The men's world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev of Russia and women's world No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus are the highest-ranked players to be affected by the All England Club's decision.

Ian Hewitt, chairman of the All England Club, had said on Wednesday that in the circumstances of such unjustified and unprecedented military aggression by Russia, it would be unacceptable for the Russian regime to derive any benefits from the involvement of Russian or Belarusian players with 'The Championships'.

12:27 PM

SC stops demolition drive in Jahangirpuri till further orders

The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the status quo order in connection with the demolition drive carried out by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) in Jahangirpuri until further orders.

A bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai said it will take a serious view of the demolition, which was carried out by the authorities, after the top court's order on Wednesday was communicated to the NDMC Mayor.

The bench said it will take up this matter later.

The top court issued a notice on the petitions filed by Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind and others, against the demolition drive carried out in Jahangirpuri.

The top court has scheduled the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

 

12:26 PM

Walmart opens platform for Indian sellers to reach 120 mn US consumers

Retail giant Walmart on Thursday said that it is now offering manufacturers and trading firms in India to reach a growing market of more than 120 million US consumers each month.

As part of its efforts to expand sourcing from India to $10 billion a year by 2027, Walmart, along with Flipkart and cross-border commerce company Payoneer, has laid out a detailed roadmap for local sellers with export ambitions.

"Now is the ideal time for sellers from India to get started as exporters on Walmart Marketplace. It's already one of the top online marketplaces in the US, and we're investing heavily to help new sellers bring great products and services to the platform," said Michelle Mi, Walmart Vice President, Emerging Markets and Business Development-Global Sourcing.

12:08 PM

Shehbaz orders foolproof security for Imran

In the wake of security threats to Pakistan's former premier Imran Khan related to a PTI rally in Lahore on Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the provision of foolproof security to his predecessor, Geo News reported.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office on Twitter said that Sharif has directed the Interior Division to take measures in this regard.

"PM Shehbaz Sharif has directed the Interior Division to take effective and immediate steps for provision of fool-proof security to ex-premier Imran Khan. He further said that peaceful public meetings are part of democracy & instructed that no hurdle should be created in this regard," it added.

11:19 AM

Shanghai Sees Number of Severe Covid Cases Triple in 24 Hours

Shanghai reported a sharp increase in its number of seriously-ill Covid patients, raising concerns that the Chinese financial hub is likely to record more fatalities even as its worst virus outbreak appears to be coming under control.

 

The number of the patients in severe or critical condition in the city more than tripled to 159 as of Wednesday from just over 50 the previous day, Wu Qianyu, an official with the city’s health commission, said at a briefing Thursday. 

 

The city, currently the epicenter of China’s worst outbreak since Wuhan more than two years ago, also reported eight deaths Wednesday, bringing total fatalities from the current outbreak to 25.

 

11:04 AM

World faces human catastrophe due to Russia-Ukraine war: David Malpass

World Bank President David Malpass said that the global community is facing a "human catastrophe" in the wake of Russia's continued war against Ukraine.

Speaking to the BBC on Wednesday, Malpass said that if the war continues, there will be record increases in food prices which would push hundreds of millions people into poverty and lower nutrition.

"It's a human catastrophe, meaning nutrition goes down. But then it also becomes a political challenge for governments who can't do anything about it, they didn't cause it and they see the prices going up.

10:45 AM

Xi calls for Asian unity against outsiders; proposes Global Security Initiative amidst Ukraine war

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called on Asian nations to keep the future of the region in their hands and proposed a Global Security Initiative respecting the sovereignty of all countries amidst Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in a veiled attack on the US' forays into the region with the Indo-Pacific strategy.

President Xi, speaking via video link at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022, outlined a six-point proposal for global security which broadly confirms China's stand on Russia's war against Ukraine to protect what Moscow states its security interests against Kyiv joining the NATO alliance.

China has declined to condemn Russia's military offensive against Ukraine and highlighted Moscow's concerns over NATO expansion threatening its security.

10:15 AM

Lanka lifts curfew in Rambukkana; probe begins on police firing at unarmed protesters

Sri Lankan authorities on Thursday lifted the curfew imposed in the southwestern region of Rambukkana where one person was killed and 13 others were injured in violence after the police opened fire at unarmed anti-government protestors demonstrating against the latest fuel price hike.

 

The curfew was lifted at 5 AM (local time) on Wednesday, police said.

 

At least three of the 14 hospitalised protesters at Rambukkana, some 90 kilometers northeast of Colombo, were critical at the Kegalle hospital, according to an official. Fifteen police personnel have also been injured.

 

9:59 AM

UK PM Boris Johnson to announce raft of commercial pacts

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce a raft of commercial agreements and hail a "new era" in bilateral trade and investment ties during his visit to India, the UK High Commission said on Thursday.

 

It said the UK and Indian businesses will confirm more than 1 billion pounds (1 GBP= Rs 99.63) in new investments and export deals on Tuesday in areas ranging from software engineering to health, creating almost 11,000 jobs across the UK.

 

 

9:45 AM

In a veiled attack, Imran Khan blames Pakistan Army chief for his ouster

In a veiled attack on Pakistan's Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, former prime minister Imran Khan has alleged that "some elements" in the powerful establishment who indulged in "bad practices" were responsible for his unceremonious ouster from power.

 

According to experts, Khan, who was ousted from power on April 10 after the National Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against him, had apparently lost support of the Army after he refused to endorse the appointment of the ISI spy agency chief last year.