Live: Congress expels Haryana MLA for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha poll

Live news updates: The latest on India news, the coronavirus, the war in Ukraine and other headlines.

6:50 PM

BJP suspends Rajasthan MLA

BJP suspends its Rajasthan MLA Shobharani Kushwah for cross-voting in favour of Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari in Rajya Sabha elections.

 

4:33 PM

Mamata Banerjee seeks meeting with Opposition parties for presidential election

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee writes to leaders of Opposition parties, calls for meeting on June 15 on presidential election next month.

3:38 PM

Bengal BJP president arrested before Howrah visit

Sukanta Majumdar, president of BJP's West Bengal unit, was arrested in Bengal on Saturday as he tried to visit Howrah, where violent protests have occurred over remarks about the Prophet by his party’s leaders.

3:31 PM

UP removes age bar of 60 for prisoners to be considered for early release

 

The Uttar Pradesh government has done away with the age bar of 60 years for inmates lodged in the state's prisons to avail a premature release, a senior official said on Saturday. "A decision to this effect was taken 7-10 days ago. Earlier, the age restriction was of 60 years, and no prisoner could avail premature release before attaining the age of 60," Uttar Pradesh Director General (DG), Jails, Anand Kumar told PTI.

3:30 PM

Stopping Russian invasion crucial for whole world: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking remotely at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, said the outcome of the war in his country affected not just Ukraine, but the future of international order. His country is seeking to push the Russians out of areas it has controlled since early in the war, and is defending against ferocious Russian attacks in the country's east, particularly around the city of Sievierodonetsk.

3:01 PM

Zelenskiy tells Asian meeting: Stopping Russian invasion crucial for whole world

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking remotely at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, said the outcome of the war in his country affected not just Ukraine, but the future of international order.

 

His country is seeking to push the Russians out of areas it has controlled since early in the war, and is defending against ferocious Russian attacks in the country's east, particularly around the city of Sievierodonetsk.

 

Noting the support so far from the West and its Asian allies, Zelenskiy - addressing the event via video link from an undisclosed location in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv - said it was crucial that the nations sending aid do not let up.

2:54 PM

Moderna data shows shot works in kids 6 months and up, says FDA

Moderna Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine is effective in children and adolescents, with mostly mild to moderate side effects, the US Food and Drug Administration staff said.

 

“Available data support the effectiveness of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 in pediatric age groups from 6 months through 17 years of age,” the FDA staff said Friday in the report posted to the agency’s website. Side effects were “mostly mild to moderate in severity, generally of short duration.”

2:54 PM

Zelenskiy says Ukraine is 'definitely going to prevail in this war'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that his country would "definitely prevail in this war that Russia has started".

 

Speaking from an undisclosed location in Kyiv, Zelenskiy told delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that his country was unable to export enough food because of a Russian blockade, and that the world would face "an acute and severe food crisis and famine."

2:37 PM

Presidential polls: Mamata Banerjee to visit Delhi this month

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be on a three-day visit to New Delhi this month and in all probability, her scheduled visit will be from June 14-16.

 

According to sources in the state cabinet, the visit will be basically a preparatory mission so that the chief minister can take a lead role in ensuring that a unanimous opposition candidate can be fielded against BJP's candidate.

 

The presidential poll is scheduled on July 18 and the counting will take place on July 21. A senior member of the state cabinet, on condition of anonymity, said that the purpose of the mission is basically to consider some names which can be proposed as a unanimous opposition candidate. "There might be discussion on whether there is a possibility for the opposition parties to announce the name of their candidate before BJP announces their nominee," he said.

 

2:32 PM

India has shown exemplary resilience in recovery from COVID-19 crisis: CEA

The country has shown exemplary resilience in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Anantha Nageswaran said on Saturday.

 

Nageswaran was addressing an event on "Indian Economy: Prospects, Challenges and Action Points" at Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) here.

 

"India has shown an exemplary resilience in recovering from a crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.