Highlights of the day: Voters will score such 'goal' in phase 3, INDI alliance will vanish says PM

From Hamas looking into latest ceasefire proposal from Israel to the developments of the Lok Sabha polls, catch all the latest news from around the world here

10:57 PM

Hezbollah says fires drones and guided missiles at Israel

Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said on Saturday it had targeted northern Israel with drones and guided missiles after cross-border Israeli strikes killed three people, including two of its members. A Hezbollah statement said the group "launched a complex attack using explosive drones and guided missiles on the headquarters of the Al Manara military command and a gathering of forces from the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade".

10:26 PM

Earthquake of magnitude 6.3 rocks Indonesia's Java, GFZ says

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Java on Saturday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences said. The quake was at a depth of 65 km (40.39 miles), GFZ said.

8:29 PM

Mumbai Airport received a hoax call threatening a bomb at Terminal 1

Mumbai, Maharashtra: Mumbai Airport received a hoax call threatening a bomb at Terminal 1. The bomb squad and local police reached the spot and investigated, but nothing was recovered. Mumbai Airport Police has registered a case against an unknown person and is searching for the caller: Mumbai Police.

8:29 PM

Kejriwal is a 'sher,' nobody can break him, says Sunita Kejriwal at maiden Delhi roadshow

Jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife, Sunita Kejriwal, on Saturday set out to campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Saturday's roadshow is her maiden political apperance."Your Chief Minister is a sher, nobody can break him or make him bow down," Sunita Kejriwal said at the roadshow.

7:06 PM

60 roads blocked due to snowfall in Himachal Pradesh; IMD issues orange alert

As many as 60 roads and three national highways were blocked on Saturday in Himachal Pradesh following recent snowfall in the region, according to an official release. As per the data from the State Emergency Operation Centre, 60 roads are closed in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu and Lahaul Spiti. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for several parts of Himachal Pradesh, warning of snowfall and rain.

6:49 PM

UK officials decline to comment on reports that British troops may be asked with delivering Gaza aid

British troops may be tasked with delivering aid to Gaza from an offshore pier now under construction by the US military, the BBC reported Saturday. UK government officials declined to comment on the report. According to the BBC, the British government is considering deploying troops to drive the trucks that will carry aid from the pier along a floating causeway to the shore. No decision has been made and the proposal hasn't yet reached Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the BBC reported, citing unidentified government sources.The report comes after a senior US military official said on Thursday that there would be no American "boots on the ground" and another nation would provide the personnel to drive the delivery trucks to the shore. The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, declined to identify the third party.

6:19 PM

CM Kejriwal was jailed because he built schools, provided free electricity: Sunita Kejriwal

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was jailed because he built schools, provided free electricity, opened Mohalla Clinics, says wife Sunita Kejriwal.

6:18 PM

I am sure voters will score such a ‘goal' in 3rd phase that INDI alliance will be vanquished: PM Modi

"I am sure voters will score such a ‘goal' in third phase that INDI alliance will be vanquished," says PM Modi at rally in Kolhapur. He added, "Kolhapur is called the football hub of Maharashtra. Football is very popular among the local youth here. If I speak to you in Football terminology, yesterday after the completion of the second phase, BJP-NDA is leading 2-0."

6:13 PM

Four injured in fire at Mumbai hospital; Situation under control

Four people sustained burn injuries after a fire broke out at a multi-storey hospital building in Mumbai's Kandivali West on Saturday afternoon, officials said. Those injured in the incident have been identified as Swadhin Mukhi (56), Rajdeo (35), Narendra Murya (45), and Sunil (35). All of them have been admitted, and their condition was said to be stable. According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, the fire broke out at New Wins Hospital on New Link Road in Kandivali West at around 1:48 pm.

5:44 PM

IDFC First Bank Q4 Results: Standalone PAT declines 10% to Rs 724 crore

IDFC First Bank today reported a net profit of Rs 724.35 crore for the quarter ended March 31 which was down from Rs 802.62 crore reported by the lender in the year ago period.

 

IDFC First Bank reported an interest income of Rs 8,219.21 crore in the January-March quarter which was higher from Rs 6,424.35 crore reported in the year ago period. It was up by 28 per cent on the year-on-year basis.

 

5:12 PM

Earthquake of magnitude 6.5 jolts Japan's Bonin Islands, USGS says

An earthquake of magnitude 6.5 struck Japan's Bonin Islands, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said on Saturday. The quake was at a depth of 503.2 km (312.7 miles), USGS said. The epicentre was located off the west coast of the islands, about 875 km south of Tokyo, at a latitude of 27.9 degrees north and a longitude of 140.0 degrees east, Xinhua news agency reported. Weak tremors were also felt in central Tokyo. No tsunami warnings have been issued.

4:33 PM

YES Bank Q4 results: Net Profit up 123.2% at Rs 452 cr, NII at Rs 2,153 cr

Yes Bank reported a bigger-than-expected rise in net profit for the January-March quarter on Saturday, helped by a drop in loan-loss provisions and higher non-interest income.

The Mumbai-based private lender's standalone net profit more than doubled to Rs 452 crore for the financial fourth quarter from Rs 202 in the same period a year earlier.

The bank's other income, the fees earned from providing non-lending services to customers rose 56.2 per cent on year.

Net interest income, the difference between the interest earned on loans and paid to depositors, rose 2.3 per cent to Rs 2153 crore.

Net interest margin, a key profitability measure for banks, dropped to 2.4 per cent from 2.80  per cent a year earlier, and was flat on a quarterly basis.

 

4:11 PM

ICICI Bank Q4 results: Net profit reported at Rs 10,707.5 crore

ICICI Bank reports net profit at Rs 10,707.5 crore for March quarter. The company's net interest income stands at Rs 19,093 crore and the gross NPA at 2.16 per cent. 

3:50 PM

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal files his response on ED's affidavit in Supreme Court

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal files his response on the ED’s affidavit in the Supreme Court, and says that the mode, manner, and timing of his arrest just before when the schedule of the Lok Sabha elections had been announced and the Model Code of Conduct had come into play, speaks volumes about the arbitrariness of the ED.

3:39 PM

PM Modi's 'factory of lies' won't work forever: Kharge

PM Modi's 'factory of lies' won't work forever, says Mallikarjun Kharge at a rally in Assam's Barpeta on BJP's allegations about Congress manifesto. he added that unemployment big problem in India and 65 per cent of educated youths have no jobs. 

3:15 PM

Mamata loses balance while boarding helicopter Kolkata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost her balance and fell while boarding a helicopter in Durgapur in Paschim Bardhaman district on Saturday afternoon.

She was on the way to Kulti for an election rally when the incident happened.

"The CM fell inside the helicopter after losing her balance while she was trying to sit. She is fine," a senior officer, who was accompanying Banerjee, told PTI.

Following the incident, she flew to Kulti and addressed a rally in support of TMC's Asansol candidate Shatrughan Sinha. 

3:14 PM

Kremlin says Russia will look for ways to overcome any EU sanctions on its LNG operations

Russia will look for ways to overcome what it regards as any illegal sanctions the European Union imposes on its liquified natural gas (LNG) operations, the Kremlin said on Suturday.

The European Commission's next sanctions package is expected to propose restrictions on Russian liquefied natural gas for the first time, including a ban on trans-shipments in the EU and measures on three Russian LNG projects, three EU sources said on Thursday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any new EU restrictions would benefit the United States and would mean European industry pays more for its gas.

2:32 PM

Shutdown of businesses begins in Nagaland in protest against extortion

Markets were shut and private offices were closed as an indefinite shutdown of business establishments began in Nagaland on Saturday to protest against extortion by underground groups.

 

2:29 PM

LS polls: Large number of Sikhs, including DSGMC members, join BJP

A large number of Sikhs, including members of the Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, joined the BJP on Saturday.

2:23 PM

Allahabad High Court grants bail to ex-MP Dhananjay Singh

The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to former MP Dhananjay Singh but refused his plea to suspend or stay a seven-year imprisonment sentence passed by a district court in a 2020 kidnapping and extortion case.

 

2:12 PM

Make Modi PM for third time to end terrorism and Naxalism: HM Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said if Narendra Modi continues to be the prime minister for the third consecutive term, he would end terrorism and Naxalism from the country and also make India the world's third largest economy.

 

1:57 PM

One person dead, 13 injured in tourist bus accident in Kerala: Police

One person was killed and 13 others injured when a tourist bus lost control and turned turtle in this district early on Saturday, police said.

 

12:35 PM

US FDA gathering information on Indian spices after alleged contamination

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is gathering information on products of Indian spice makers MDH and Everest after Hong Kong halted sales of some of their products for allegedly containing high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide.

12:11 PM

BJP eying anti-incumbency, Modi wave in Odisha to defeat BJD, says Tomar

The BJP will benefit from anti-incumbency against Naveen Patnaik led Biju Janata Dal government, which has been in power for an unbroken 24 years in Odisha, and a strong Modi wave to dethrone Naveen Patnaik from the helm of the state, senior saffron party leader Vijaypal Singh Tomar claimed.

11:53 AM

Lok Sabha polls: 77.35% turnout in second phase in 5 seats in Assam

An estimated 77.35 per cent of 7.726 million voters exercised their franchise in the second phase of polling in five Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam, election officials said on Saturday.

 

11:32 AM

Congress accuses CPI(M) of hijacking poll machinery to bring down polling percentage

A day after polling concluded for the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, Congress alleged that voters were harassed and the election machinery was hijacked by the ruling CPI(M) in the state with an aim to bring down the turnout percentage.

 

10:53 AM

BJP's Dilip Ghosh faces crucial battle for survival in Bardhaman-Durgapur seat

Ghosh's opponents in this electoral race include TMC candidate and former India cricketer Kirti Azad, as well as the LeftCongress alliance candidate Sukriti Ghoshal.

10:43 AM

TMC submits complaint to West Bengal CEO regarding raid in Sandeshkhali on election day

TMC writes to the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer complaining against the CBI for conducting a raid in Sandeshkhali on election day.

 

10:27 AM

LS elections 2024: Sunita Kejriwal to lead AAP's political campaign in Delhi today

Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal's wife, Sunita Kejriwal, will lead the party's Lok Sabha electoral campaign in the national capital and other states. The party's campaign will be launched with her inaugural roadshow on Saturday, advocating for AAP's East Delhi candidate, Kuldeep Kumar. 

10:08 AM

Rajasthan ACB raids residences of Dudu district collector, revenue official in bribery case

The Rajasthan Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has raided the residences of the Dudu district collector and a village-level revenue official for allegedly demanding a bribe in a land conversion case, an officer said on Saturday.