Covid LIVE: Kerala logs 54k new cases; night curfew in Gujarat till Feb 4

The number of active cases in Kerala are at 333,447

5:14 PM

Manohar Singh, brother of Punjab CM, files his nomination from Bassi Pathana

3:03 PM

The postmortem of Soundarya is underway at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in Bengaluru

2:43 PM

Yediyurappa's granddaughter found hanging at Bengaluru apartment

1:52 PM

DCGI grants nod to Bharat Biotech for intranasal booster dose trials

1:14 PM

Kia India names new chief for sales

Kia India on Friday said it has appointed MyungSik Sohn as Chief Sales Officer Sohn will oversee the planning and execution of sales strategies aimed at driving the automaker's growth, PTI reported.

1:05 PM

L&T unit wins ONGC contract for oil pipeline

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Friday said that its subsidiary has won a large offshore contract from ONGC for the seventh development phase of their pipeline replacement projects. This contract, awarded through international competitive bidding, reposes ONGC's confidence in L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) capabilities in strategic oil and gas sector, said the private company.

12:24 PM

China to jail 47 execs of steel firm for faking air pollution data

China will jail forty-seven steel company officials for faking air pollution data, in a sign that Beijing’s crackdown on firms that are flouting environmental rules is intensifying. The officials who worked at four mills in Tangshan city near Beijing, China’s top steelmaking hub, were give prison sentences from six to eighteen months, the municipal government said in a statement on its WeChat channel that cited court documents, Bloomberg reported.

11:35 AM

SC refuses to set yardstick for reservation in promotion to SCs/STs

The Supreme Court Friday refused to lay down a yardstick for granting reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government jobs. The court said states are obligated to collect data on inadequacy of representation of SCs/STs, PTI reported.

11:10 AM

SC stays for 3 weeks Madras HC order winding up Spicejet

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed for three weeks an order by the High Court in Madras directing winding up proceedings against SpiceJet after the airline claimed that it is looking to settle the dispute over its outstanding dues with Credit Suisse. ANI reported this.

10:53 AM

Railway job exam results spark Bihar protest

The protests in Bihar involve the Railway Recruitment Board's Non-Technical Popular Categories (RRB-NTPC) exam 2021. Students have opposed a decision by the railways to hold the exam in two stages, claiming that the second stage is unfair to those who have cleared the first stage, results for which were released on January 15, said NDTV.com.

10:24 AM

Apple sells iPhone worth $71.6 bn despite supply constraints

Despite supply constraints, Apple iPhone revenue grew 9 per cent (on-year) to an all-time record of $71.6 billion in the October-December quarter of 2021. The company expects another record January-March quarter this year despite global supply chain issues and chip shortage.

According to the company, thanks to a remarkable customer response to its new iPhone 13 family, it set records in both developed and emerging markets.

"We reached an all-time high in the iPhone active installed base and the latest survey of US consumers from 451 research indicates iPhone customer satisfaction of 98 per cent," Apple CFO Luca Maestri said in the earnings call late on Thursday.

9:53 AM

New Zealand reports 105 new community cases of COVID-19

New Zealand reported 105 new COVID-19 cases in the community on Friday, including 15 infections with the Omicron variant of the virus, bringing the total tally in the country's current community outbreak to 11,713.

The newly reported community cases of COVID-19 included confirmed infections with the Omicron variant and those linked to a previously reported Omicron case, according to the Ministry of Health.

"The number of cases and contacts are expected to grow given the highly transmissible nature of Omicron and as we learn more from case interviews," the ministry said in a statement.

9:52 AM

India reports over 252,209 Covid cases, 627 fatalities

With 251,209 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of cases increased to over 40.6 million, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

 

The death toll has climbed to 492,327 with 627 fatalities reported during the 24-hour period, the data updated at 8 am showed.

 

The active cases decreased by 96,861 to reach 2,105,611 -- 5.18 per cent of the total infections -- while the country's recovery rate stands at 93.60 per cent, the ministry said.

 

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 15.88 per cent, while the weekly positivity rate was 17.47 per cent, according to the health ministry.

 

9:28 AM

Global Covid caseload tops 365.6 mn

Amid an ongoing resurgence across the world, the global coronavirus caseload has topped 365.6 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 5.63 million and vaccinations to over 9.89 billion, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Friday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 365,609,893 and 5,635,890, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered has increased to 9,892,070,039.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 73,401,269 and 878,335, according to the CSSE.

9:27 AM

Malaysia reports 5,439 new COVID-19 infections, 10 new deaths

Malaysia on Friday recorded 5,439 new COVID-19 infections for the past 24 hours, bringing the total tally to 2,850,408, according to the health ministry.

The newly reported infections included 332 imported cases and 5,107 local transmissions, showing data released on the ministry's website.

An additional 10 deaths from the pandemic were reported in the Southeast Asian country, bringing the total death toll to 31,940.