Live: Sri Lanka President says he will appoint new PM, cabinet this week

Live news updates: From the crisis in Sri Lanka and Ukraine to coronavirus developments and more, catch all the live updates here

9:04 PM

Ukraine official blame Russia for reduction in Russian gas flows to Europe

Ukraine's top gas officials said Russia was fully responsible for the reduction in Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine on Wednesday. The head of the state gas transit operator told a news briefing that Ukraine had never been the cause of a transit stoppage and blamed the reduction in gas flows on Russian forces occupying parts of Ukraine.

7:00 PM

Toyota to make EV parts in India for domestic, export markets

Toyota Motor Corp plans to make India a manufacturing hub for electric vehicle parts to meet demand there as well as for export to Japan and some ASEAN countries, a senior company executive told Reuters. The carmaker plans to start by producing e-drives or electric powertrain parts used by different electric vehicle types, including battery EVs, plug-in hybrids and other hybrid models, Vikram Gulati, executive vice president at Toyota Kirloskar Motor said.

6:54 PM

Gaurs Group acquires Rs 200 crore worth of land from IndusInd Bank

Realty firm Gaurs Group on Wednesday said it has acquired a land parcel in Jaypee Greens township in Greater Noida for Rs 200 crore to develop a luxury housing project. The land amidst the luxurious golf-centric township has been bought from IndusInd Bank. The transaction has already been done and the payments have already been made to the bank, the company said in a statement.

6:30 PM

Modi to attend Biden's summit on Covid-19

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Thursday attend the second international summit on Covid-19, said India’s external affairs ministry about a virtual event US President Joe Biden is hosting. It said the summit intends to galvanise new actions to address the challenges of the pandemic and build a stronger global health security architecture. Modi participated in the first global virtual summit on Covid hosted by Biden on September 22 last year.

6:21 PM

Fare caps protect passengers and airlines: Scindia

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Wednesday said fare caps protect air passengers and airlines and indicated that doing away with the curbs could be looked at once the environment stabilises in terms of passenger traffic and jet fuel prices. "I still have an environment where ATF prices are still very high, I want to protect the passengers and also the airlines,” he said, referring to aviation fuel.

6:02 PM

ED arrests Jharkhand IAS officer Pooja Singhal in money laundering case

5:44 PM

UN's Guterres 'deeply concerned' about violence in Sri Lanka: Spokesperson

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “deeply concerned” about the escalation of violence in Sri Lanka and calls on all parties to exercise restraint and find a solution to the ongoing crisis through dialogue, his spokesperson has said. “We continue to encourage all Sri Lankan stakeholders to find a solution to the current challenges through dialogue and with the interests of the country and the people in mind,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, told PTI.

4:53 PM

Sri Lanka president holds talks with political parties

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is in talks with ruling party dissidents and Opposition SJB to end a political impasse caused after Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as prime minister. “We will have more talks today (Wednesday). Hopefully we will see an end (of the political impasse) today,” Anura Yapa, a senior leader of the independent group that had split from the ruling SLPP coalition, told Indian news agency PTI.

4:48 PM

Networks 'colluded with' govt officials money to get FCRA clearance for NGOs

India’s Home Ministry found that at least three networks, working closely with government officials, were charging “speed money” and “problem-resolution fees” to expedite the FCRA clearance to NGOs so that they can get foreign donations, following which it has ordered a CBI probe, PTI reported quoting officials on Wednesday. In a countrywide crackdown on Tuesday, the CBI searched 40 locations and apprehended around 14 people, including home ministry officials, NGO representatives and alleged middlemen, for their suspected involvement in the racket.

 

4:23 PM

UN chief does not see Ukraine peace negotiations any time soon

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday the time would come when there are peace negotiations over Ukraine, but he did not see that time in the immediate future. "This war will not last forever. There will be a time when peace negotiations will take place," Guterres told a news conference with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. "I do not see that in the immediate future. But I can say one thing. We will never give up," he added.

 

3:42 PM

Sri Lanka central bank says he needs political stability to do his job

Sri Lanka Central Bank head Nandalal Weerasinghe said he had taken the job in April with expectations that political instability will be established within two weeks. Little has been achieved in the last month, he told reporters in capital Colombo, adding that he didn’t wish to continue if political stability is not achieved.

3:16 PM

Sri Lanka may lift curfew on Thursday: Defence Secretary

Defence Ministry Secretary Kamal Gunaratne, an ally of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, said he hopes to lift the curfew Thursday while denying that the state of emergency declared last week was a step toward military rule. Bloomberg reported “We know people have difficulties. But we also have to protect people,” Gunaratne said in press briefing in Colombo. “We are called to calm the situation. We are under civilian government. When the situation is calm we will stay back.”

 

3:07 PM

India Inc must think outside of sops, subsidies: CII president

Indian companies must think outside the regime of incentives and subsidies and improve its competitiveness and productivity while ramping up research expenditure, CII President T V Narendran said on Wednesday. A responsible and conscious industry must think beyond its own priorities to drive positive change for the nation, said Narendran at a business summit, according to PTI.

2:06 PM

It's very unfortunate the way minorities are being attacked, their houses are being bulldozed: Mufti

1:42 PM

There's a 'Lakshman Rekha' that must be respected by all organs of the state in letter & spirit: Kiren Rijiju

We've made our positions very clear & also informed the court about intention of our PM. We respect the court & its independence. But there's a 'Lakshman Rekha' (line) that must be respected by all organs of the state in letter & spirit: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on SC staying sedition

 

1:39 PM

President accepts credentials from Ambassadors of Slovak Republic, Sudan, Nepal

President Ram Nath Kovind accepted credentials from Ambassadors of Slovak Republic - Robert Maxian, of Sudan - Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain and of Nepal - Dr. Shankar Prasad Sharma at Rashtrapati Bhavan today: Rashtrapati Bhavan 

 

12:22 PM

SC puts sedition law on hold; urges Centre, States not to register any FIRs invoking Section 124A IPC

Supreme Court puts the sedition law on hold; urges Centre and States to refrain from registering any FIRs invoking Section 124A IPC. Supreme Court says that if sedition cases be registered, the parties are at liberty to approach court and the court has to expeditiously dispose of the same.

Supreme Court allows the Central government to re-examine and reconsider the provisions of Section 124A of the IPC which criminalises the offence of sedition. Supreme Court says till the exercise of re-examination is complete, no case will be registered under 124A.

 

11:37 AM

Anti-encroachment drive to begin in Seelampur

As demolition drive began at Jahangirpuri, complaints started rising.People want clear roads. Y'day we operated bulldozers at Nand Nagri&Sundar Nagri. Today we will conduct drive at New Seelampur: Syamsundar Agarwal, East Delhi Mayor

11:07 AM

SC extends interim order on stay on non-bailable warrant against Ritu Maheshwari till Friday

Supreme Court extends interim order on stay on non-bailable warrant issued by Allahabad High Court against Noida Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & IAS officer Ritu Maheshwari till Friday, May 13. SC adjourns the matter for Friday, May 13. SC asks to list it before appropriate bench

 

10:59 AM

Smartphone shipments to cross 170 mn units in 2022; Samsung leads in 5G

The overall smartphone shipments is set to cross 170 million mark in 2022, a new report showed on Wednesday, adding that 5G mobile shipments in India grew more than 300 per cent (on-year) in India in the first quarter.

 

Samsung led the 5G segment with 23 per cent market share in Q1.

 

While affordable smartphone shipments (sub-Rs 7,000) declined, premium smartphones (Rs 25,000 and above) grew 58 per cent, indicating strong consumer appetite to switch and upgrade, according to Cyber Media Research (CMR)'s 'India Mobile Handset Market Review Report'.

10:57 AM

Nepal shuts borders with India, China for 72 hours ahead of polls on Friday

Nepal has shut its international borders with India and China for a period of 72 hours ahead of the local polls slated for Friday, according to the Home Ministry.

 

The government decided to shut the borders to prevent any untoward incidents during the polls which will be held in 753 local units, said the Ministry.

 

Ministry spokesman Phanindra Mani Pokharel said that a directive has been issued to the respective administration offices of the districts bordering India and China to implement the recommendations.

10:38 AM

Rupee surges 17 paise to 77.17 against US dollar in early trade

The rupee appreciated 17 paise to 77.17 against the US dollar in opening trade on Wednesday as the American currency retreated from its elevated levels.

 

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 77.24 against the American dollar, then gained further ground to quote at 77.17, registering a rise of 17 paise from the last close. In initial deals the rupee also touched a low of 77.31 against the dollar.

10:37 AM

Defamation case: Rahul Gandhi seeks permanent exemption from appearance in Maharashtra court

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has moved an application in a court at Bhiwandi in Maharashtra's Thane district, seeking permanent exemption from appearance in a defamation case filed against him. Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) J V Paliwal on Tuesday directed the complainant, local RSS activist Rajesh Kunte, to respond to the application and posted the matter for further hearing on May 18.

 

In 2014, Kunte had filed the case against Gandhi after watching his speech in Thane's Bhiwandi township, where the Congress leader alleged that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was behind the killing of Mahatma Gandhi.

10:35 AM

National Technology Day: PM Modi hails scientists for 1998 Pokhran tests

On National Technology Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed gratitude to the scientists and their efforts that led to the successful Pokhran tests in 1998.

 

Sharing a video clip of the Pokhran tests, PM Modi also remembered the "exemplary leadership of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee". He said that the former Prime Minister "showed outstanding political courage and statesmanship".

10:02 AM

Summary of MoHFW data (May 11): India logs 2,897 new cases

Active cases: 19,494 (Net increase: -143)

Deaths: 524,157 (Net increase: 54)

Cured: 42,566,935 (Net increase: 2,986)

Total cases: 43,110,586 (Net increase: 2,897)

Total vaccination: 1,906,750,631 (Increase over previous day: 1,483,878)

10:01 AM

Mizoram logs 33 fresh Coronavirus cases

Mizoram on Wednesday reported 33 fresh Covid-19 cases, eight more than the previous day, taking the state's tally to 2,27,794, a health department official said.

 

The Covid-19 death toll remained at 697 as no fresh fatality was reported in the last 24 hours, the official said. The single-day positivity rate increased to 7.73 per cent from 5.48 per cent the previous day as the fresh cases were detected from 427 samples tested on Tuesday.

9:42 AM

ED has summoned Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal for questioning

Enforcement Directorate has summoned Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal for questioning today in Ranchi in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and other charges. Yesterday Singhal was questioned for around 9 hrs: Sources

 

9:27 AM

Tumultuous waves along with gusty winds prevail on the shores of Visakhapatnam

Andhra Pradesh: Tumultuous waves along with gusty winds prevail on the shores of Visakhapatnam as cyclone Asani approaches. As per IMD, cyclone is very likely to move nearly northwestwards for next few hours and reach West-central Bay of Bengal close to Andhra Pradesh coast

9:03 AM

PM Modi attends Defence Investiture Ceremony

PM Modi attends Defence Investiture Ceremony

9:01 AM

Internet services in Bhilwara, Rajasthan to remain suspended till 6 am on Thursday, 12th May

"Internet services in Bhilwara to remain suspended till 6 am on Thursday, 12th May," says Ashish Modi, Bhilwara District Collector. This comes in the wake of tensions in the area after a man was allegedly stabbed to death here last night.