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 "LIVE: Maharashtra reports 850 new Covid cases, four deaths in a day")
2 min read Last Updated : Apr 22 2023 | 11:29 PM IST
11:02 PM
10:28 PM
Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu are expected to attend a key meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to be hosted by India next week under its presidency of the grouping, people familiar with the development said on Saturday.
There is no confirmation yet on in-person participation of Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in the SCO defence ministerial meeting scheduled for April 27 and 28, they said, adding he is likely to join the deliberations virtually.
The people said defence ministers of China, Russia and other SCO member countries except Pakistan have confirmed their in-person attendance.
10:00 PM
Himachal Pradesh reported 103 fresh Covid-19 cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, the Department of Health and Family Welfare said on Saturday.
"One death each has been reported from Kangra and Una districts," the press release said.
A total of 99 COVID patients recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours.
8:52 PM
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will arrive in poll-bound Karnataka on a two-day visit starting Sunday, where he will attend a series of events including visit to temples, interaction with people and address public, Congress party said on Saturday.
According to his schedule, Gandhi will reach Hubballi at 10.30 AM and then he will fly to Kudala Sangama in Bagalkote by helicopter.
Kudala Sangama is an important pilgrimage of Lingayat sect, one the major dominant communities of Karnataka. The place has the Aikya Mantapa of the founder of the 12th century AD social reformer and the founder of Lingayat sect Basaveshwara.
8:09 PM
The accused in the recent firing incident in Delhi's Saket court premises has been sent to one day of police remand by the court, the police said on Saturday.
According to the police, the accused Kameshwar Singh was produced in the Saket court by the Crime Branch team on Saturday and the court has sent him to one day of police remand. Singh will again be produced before the court on Monday.
Police had asked the court for two days of police custody in order to recover the revolver used in the firing.
"We have to find out the source of revolver and weapon, apart from this we also have to know whether anyone else is involved in this incident along with Kameshwar", the Investigating Officer (IO) said.
7:36 PM
7:30 PM
India has successfully conducted a maiden flight trial of a sea-based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile off the coast of Odisha.
The missile test was conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy on Friday.
"The purpose of the trial was to engage and neutralise a hostile ballistic missile threat thereby elevating India into the elite club of nations having Naval BMD capability," the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, Indian Navy and industry involved in the successful demonstration of ship-based ballistic missile defence (BMD) capabilities.
7:21 PM
The India Meteorological Department on Saturday said most parts of India will have a sigh of relief for the next five days from the searing heatwave conditions that had rattled people this week.
It said a cyclonic circulation lies over northwest Madhya Pradesh and another over interior Tamil Nadu. A trough of relatively low pressure runs from northwest Madhya Pradesh to south Tamil Nadu across Telangana. Private forecaster Skymet Weather added another trough extends from northeast Bihar to Odisha via Jharkhand.
Weather experts say a trough usually brings cloudy conditions and rain, leading to a drop in temperatures.
7:13 PM
Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad's lawyer Khan Shoulat Hanif has been booked for criminal conspiracy in the Umesh Pal murder case, an official said on Saturday.
Speaking to PTI, Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Deepak Bhukar said Hanif's name was added under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code to the FIR registered at Dhoomanganj police station in the Umesh Pal murder case.
"We came to know that Hanif shared pictures of Umesh Pal with Ahmad's son Asad days before he was attacked," Bhukar told PTI.
Asad, the third of Ahmad's five sons, was killed in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13.
6:54 PM
6:44 PM
The AAP appointed senior leader Priyanka Kakkar as its new national chief spokesperson on Saturday, party officials said.
The decision was taken during a meeting of senior party leaders.
AAP national general secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak handed over a certificate of appointment to Kakkar.
Kakkar has been associated with the AAP since 2013.
6:13 PM
Fresh violence broke out here on Saturday after local citizens protested the alleged rape and killing of a teenage girl a day before, said police officials.
Tear gas and force were used to disperse an unruly mob in Kaliaganj in West Bengal's North Dinajpur which clashed with the police deployed in the area very near the border with Bangladesh.
Several shops and e-rickshaws were burnt by the mob which demanded the arrest of the culprits, before the situation was brought under control. Earlier in the day, BJP and ABVP organised protests against the rape and killing in various places in the state.
5:37 PM
5:23 PM
Around 336 villages in border areas of Arunachal Pradesh will be provided with 4G mobile telephony connectivity with the government launching 254 network towers on Saturday.
The government has approved the construction of 2,605 4G mobile towers for providing connectivity to more than 3,721 villages in Arunachal Pradesh with a total outlay of Rs 2,675 crore.
"Today's launch has happened mostly in border areas. By and large, most of the villages will be in border areas. Our district headquarters like Itanagar are already connected. The target is to reach out to unconnected and unreached locations," Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said after a ceremony to dedicate the initial set of 254 mobile towers.
4:53 PM
4:45 PM
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi vacated his official bungalow in New Delhi after his disqualification as a Member of Parliament, on Saturday afternoon. A truck loaded with furniture was spotted departing from his 12 Tughlak Lane bungalow.
Earlier, Gandhi has begun the process of vacating his official bungalow and shifting his belongings to the 10 Janpath residence of his mother Sonia Gandhi after being sent a notice to do so by April 22 following his disqualification.
The move to vacate the bungalow came a day after Surat Sessions Court decided to pronounce an order on April 20 on his interim application for stay on his conviction in the defamation case.
4:30 PM
Somalia's military repulsed an attack by jihadi fighters in a remote region of the country early Saturday, killing at least 18 of the al-Shabab militants, according to a top army official.
At least three civilians described as traditional elders were killed in the fighting near Masagaway town, Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Taredisho said by phone.
Masagaway is located in the central region of Galgadud and home to a military base. Resident Yusuf Sheikh told The Associated Press that militants overran the base, confiscated weapons and burned battle wagons during the attack.
4:18 PM
Kerala police and central agencies have launched an investigation into a letter threatening a suicide bomb attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be visiting the state on April 24 and 25 to take part in various programmes.
The letter in Malayalam, purportedly written by a Kochi resident, was received at the office of BJP state president K Surendran who in turn had handed it over to the police last week.
The news of the threat letter came out today after a report by ADGP (Intelligence) was telecast in the media. As the news was out, Surendran met the media and said he had handed over the threat letter a week ago to the state police chief.
4:06 PM
4:05 PM
The Rajasthan government on Saturday said it is committed to ensuring the safety of its citizens stranded in violence-hit Sudan and issued a list of helpline numbers for those in need of assistance.
At least 40 Rajasthanis are currently stranded in Sudan, an official statement said.
Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for over a week that has reportedly left around 300 people dead.
3:51 PM
3:28 PM
3:20 PM
ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on Saturday successfully placed two Singapore satellites into the intended orbit, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
The satellites are part of the order secured by NewSpace India Ltd, the commercial arm of ISRO.
At the end of a 22.5 hour countdown, the 44.4 metre tall rocket lifted off majestically from the first launch pad at the pre-fixed 2.19 pm at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, located about 135 km from Chennai.
ISRO Chief S Somanath said PSLV placed both satellites into the intended orbit.
2:56 PM
The prevalent strain of COVID-19 is mild and the Serum Institute of India (SII) has already produced five to six million doses of the Covovax vaccine, said the company's chief executive officer Adar Poonawalla on Saturday.
Currently, the COVID strain is not severe, it's just a mild strain. Just for precautionary measures, elderly people can get the booster dose, but it would be their choice whether or not to take it. Five to six million doses of Covovax are available. We will also produce the same amount of Covishield doses in the next two to three months, said Poonawalla.
2:50 PM
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday said Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar was capable of becoming Maharashtra chief minister since he has vast administrative experience, the former's statement coming days after the two engaged in a verbal tussle.
Raut, a key aide of Uddhav Thackeray, also said some undeserving people had gone on to become CM of the state by engineering splits, an apparent reference to Eknath Shinde whose rebellion along with 40 MLAs in June last year brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
2:15 PM
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who co-chaired the fourth India-CARICOM ministerial meeting on Saturday emphasised the need for "collective interest" in the field of renewable energy amid climate change.
Delivering opening remarks at the meeting, Jaishankar said, "Energy, renewable energy particularly, is our collective interest. Many of you are members of the International Solar Alliance. I think 13 members are there from the CARICOM. I believe it's been of some help in capacity building, in some cases even funding. I'll be again open to taking that help. Regarding capacity building as a whole, we have for many years now, under what we call, the ITEC programs."
The foreign minister, however, noted that the offtake in programs, exchanges, scholarships has not been as strong.
1:46 PM
1:23 PM
Demanding a separate 12-per cent reservation in government jobs and educational institutions, members of the Mali community continued to block the Jaipur-Agra national highway in Rajasthan's Bharatpur on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Bharatpur district administration has suspended internet services for 24 hours in three tehsils to avoid rumours being spread.
"The protest is continuing. We have suspended internet services in Vair, Nadbai and Bhusavar tehsils for 24 hours," Bharatpur Divisional Commissioner Sanwarmal Verma said.
12:55 PM
Karnataka High Court has rejected Chinese firm Xiaomi's plea against the seizure of Rs 5,551.27 crore from its bank accounts by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
A single-judge bench of Justice M. Nagaprasanna, on Friday, though dismissed the petition, upheld its maintainability.
The Chinese technology company is facing charges of violations of the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
12:41 PM
At least 13 passengers were injured on Saturday when a private bus crashed into a tree on the Jalandhar-Pathankot road, police said.
The bus with around 50 passengers was travelling from Delhi to Katra in Jammu and Kashmir, they said.
Topics :CoronavirusNarendra ModiMamata BanerjeeAmit ShahToday NewsPoliticsEarth DayBJPCongressKarnataka pollsEid-ul-FitrKhalistan movementPunjab
First Published: Apr 22 2023 | 9:54 AM IST
