LIVE: Price shocks from Ukraine war to last 3 years, says World Bank

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11:36 PM

Moscow hoping for peaceful settlement: Putin tells UN chief Guterres

Moscow still hopes to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Ukraine, even as the fighting has continued, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said while speaking at a Kremlin meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Read more

10:48 PM

Mandaviya says 86% of India's adult population fully vaccinated against Covid

Over 86 per cent of India's adult population is now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus infection, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said. His statement came as the number of cumulative vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 188 crore today. More than 19 lakh (19,67,717) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm on Tuesday. Read more

10:28 PM

China says no one wants to see a World War on Russia's nuclear conflict warning

After Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's warned of a "serious" possibility of nuclear conflict over the Ukraine war, China played it down, saying no one wants to see a 3rd World War.

"No one wants to see the outbreak of a 3rd World War," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said. Read more

10:17 PM

US VP Harris Covid positive; White House says Biden not close contact

US Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, the White House announced. The White House added that while Harris "has exhibited no symptoms" she will isolate at her residence. 

Neither President Joe Biden nor first lady Jill Biden were considered a “close contact" of Harris in recent days, the White House said. Read more

9:56 PM

Ukraine heading for collapse into several states, says Putin's ally

Ukraine is spiralling towards a collapse into several states because of what he cast as a US attempt to use Kyiv to undermine Russia, said One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies.

"Using their henchmen in Kyiv, the Americans, in an attempt to suppress Russia, decided to create an antipode of our country, cynically choosing Ukraine for this, trying to divide essentially a single people," Nikolai Patrushev said.

 

9:29 PM

Delhi records 1,204 new Covid-19 cases, one death

Delhi reports 1,204 new Covid-19 cases and one fatality, while the positivity rate stood at 4.64 per cent. 

The national capital had on Monday reported 1,011 cases and one death, while the positivity rate rose to 6.42 per cent. Read more

 

8:48 PM

India calls on developed countries to enhance climate promises

India calls on developed nations to enhance their commitments, ahead of the next climate summit COP27 to be held later this year.

"We should join hands to fight climate change to ensure climate justice to all, especially to the developing countries," said Bhupender Yadav during a meeting with Aminath Shauna, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Republic of Maldives. Read more

8:27 PM

Mumbai logs 102 new Covid-19 cases, highest since Feb

Mumbai recorded on Tuesday 102 new cases of Covid-19 and a daily positivity rate of 1.4 per cent. This is the highest spike in infections since February 27, 2022, reports said.

8:10 PM

China reports first case of H3N8 bird flu, officials say risk low

China recorded the first human infection with the H3N8 strain of bird flu, the country's health authority said on Tuesday as a four-year-old boy from central Henan province was found to have been infected with the variant. Read more

7:48 PM

World Bank says food, fuel price shocks from Ukraine war to last at least 3 yrs

Global food and fuel price shocks linked to the Russia-Ukraine war are set to last until at least the end of 2024 and raise the risk of stagflation, the World Bank said in a report. 

The bank, in its first comprehensive analysis of the war's impact on commodity markets, said the world faces the biggest commodity price shock since the 1970s.

 

7:26 PM

Covid 4th wave expected to peak after June: Karnataka minister

According to experts, the fourth wave of Covid-19 may peak in India after June and will have its effect till October, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar said.

Referring to the rise in number of cases in the country in the last one week, Sudhakar said situation in all the states will be analysed at the PM's meeting with Chief Ministers of all the states via video conferencing tomorrow. Read more

7:03 PM

LIC policyholders likely to get Rs 60 discount on shares, IPO to open on May 2

The government will offer a Rs 60 discount to the policyholders of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in the company’s initial public offering (IPO). It has fixed the Rs 902-949 price band for the issue, sources said. Read more

6:48 PM

PM Modi to virtually interact with CMs on Covid tomorrow

PM Narendra Modi will interact with chief ministers on the emerging Covid-19 situation in the country on Wednesday through video conferencing, an official said. PM Modi on Sunday had urged people to stay alert to the threat from the coronavirus and continue to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour such as wearing masks and frequently washing hands. Read more

6:13 PM

Russia says no military operations underway in Mariupol

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol had been "liberated" and that no military operations were underway there, the Kremlin said, directly contradicting Kyiv's version of events. The Kremlin said Putin told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan that Kyiv should "take responsibility" for the people holed up in Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant, and call on fighters there to lay down their arms, Reuters reported.

 

5:46 PM

Moscow court orders seizure of $7 mn in Google's Russian funds, property

A Moscow court has ordered the seizure of 500 million roubles ($7 million) worth of Google's property and funds in Russia, Reuters reported. Russia's lawsuit comes amid concerning restrictions the US tech firm has placed on the YouTube channel of a prominent television firm. Read more

5:22 PM

DCGI nods emergency use of Covaxin, Corbevax and ZyCoV-D across age groups

The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) grants emergency use approvals to COVID-19 vaccines Covaxin, Corbevax and ZyCoV-D.

While the emergency use authorisation (EUA) was granted to Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for the age group of 6-12 years, Biological E's Corbevax bagged the nod for 5-12 years age group and Zydus Lifesciences Ltd.'s ZyCoV-D for 12 years and above. Read more

 

5:10 PM

Party needs to fix structural problems: Prashant Kishor declines to join Congress

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor declines to join the Congress party and evolve its poll strategy. He said more than him, the party needs leadership and collective will to fix deep-rooted structural problems through transformational reforms. Read more

4:50 PM

Over 32.79 lakh foreigners visited India in 2020 during lockdown

More than 32.79 lakh foreigners, including over 61,000 Americans, visited India in 2020 when the country was on a long spell of nationwide lockdown due to the Covid pandemic, the annual report of the Home Ministry said. Read more

 

4:45 PM

DCGI gives nod to emergency use to Zydus' two-jab Covid-19 vaccine for 12 yrs-plus

The DCGI gave emergency use authorisation to Zydus Lifesciences Ltd's novel Covid-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D as a two-dose vaccine, the company announced. Read more

4:26 PM

India-Europe will be on same page on Ukraine, says Polish minister

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on Tuesday expressed confidence that Going forward, India would be on the same page as the European nations on the Ukraine issue, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said. He added that there can be different reactions for a certain period due to various reasons, including domestic politics.

 

4:03 PM

US, allies pledge more arms for Ukraine; Russia cites risk of nuclear war

Russia accuses NATO of engaging in a proxy battle that created a serious risk of nuclear war as US convened its allies to pledge the heavy weapons Ukraine needs to achieve victory,

3:50 PM

Jaishankar say Ukraine war 'wake-up' call for Europe to look at Asia

EAM S Jaishankar counters criticism of India's position on Ukraine, says the Western powers have been oblivious to the pressing challenges facing Asia including last year's events in Afghanistan and the continuous pressure on the rules-based order in the region.

 

3:31 PM

Kremlin says Putin, Turkey's Erdogan discuss Ukraine in phone call

The Kremlin on Tuesday said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan discussed Ukraine in a phone. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said more details would follow later. 

3:25 PM

IMF urges Sri Lanka to tighten monetary policy, raise taxes to overcome crisis

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) official urged Sri Lanka to tighten its monetary policy, raise taxes and adopt flexible exchange rates to overcome its ongoing debt crisis.

"The requirement for fund lending will be progress toward debt sustainability. Monetary policy has to be tightened to keep inflation in check. We see a need for flexible exchange rates," Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, acting director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, said.

1:40 PM

Govt has blocked 16 YouTube channels for spreading false to create panic: Anurag Thakur

Govt has blocked 16 YouTube channels for spreading false, unverified information to create panic, incite communal disharmony and disturb public order in India. We will continue to take similar action in the future also to protect India’s national security: I&B min Anurag Thakur

 

1:34 PM

Russia's war heats up cooking oil prices in global squeeze

For months, Istanbul restaurant Tarihi Balikca tried to absorb the surging cost of the sunflower oil its cooks use to fry fish, squid and mussels.

But in early April, with oil prices nearly four times higher than they were in 2019, the restaurant finally raised its prices. Now, even some longtime customers look at the menu and walk away.

We resisted. We said, Let's wait a bit, maybe the market will improve, maybe (prices) will stabilise. But we saw that there is no improvement, said Mahsun Aktas, a waiter and cook at the restaurant.

The customer cannot afford it.

1:28 PM

DCGI grants emergency use authorisation to ZycovD for children above 12 years: Report

DCGI grants emergency use authorisation to ZycovD (Zydus Cadila vaccine) for children above the age of 12 years: Report

12:56 PM

As Shanghai struggles with Covid, cases spike in Beijing

As the situation in Shanghai threatens to spiral out of control in its battle against Covid-19, Chinas capital Beijing has been hit by a surge in infections with alarmed residents lining up at supermarkets and provision stores struggling to control crowds as people try to stock up to prevent Shanghai-type shortages.

Though the media focus shifted from Shanghai to Beijing, there was nothing to point at a let up in the cases in China's financial capital.

The hub of international trade and major port has been found grappling on several fronts in echoes of the early days of the epidemic when Wuhan became the epicentre of the affliction.

12:46 PM

More Sri Lankans to slip into poverty this year, warns World Bank

More Sri Lankans will slip into poverty this year, the World Bank has warned, as it urged the debt-ridden island nation to undertake urgent policy measures to address the high levels of debt, trim the fiscal deficit, and mitigate the adverse impacts on the poor and vulnerable.

Sri Lanka is currently in the throes of an unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948.

The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.

12:30 PM

Pak former PM Nawaz Sharif's sons refute Saudi travel news

Dismissing the news alleging that the former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's both sons were part of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's official delegation to Saudi Arabia, Hassan Nawaz Sharif, son of Nawaz Sharif said that the news about his trip is fake and run with malicious intentions.

"The news run about my Saudi visit is completely fake and run with malicious intentions. I never had any plan to go to Saudi Arabia. I didn't apply for a visa and I am very much in London. I am in London with my father and I have no plans of visiting Saudi Arabia anytime soon," Hassan was quoted as saying by Geo TV.

When the publication contacted Nawaz's other son, Hussain Nawaz then he also denied the news and said that he arrived in Saudi Arabia on March 25 at his own expense and alone.