Live: Putin says peace talks with Ukraine are at dead end, goads West

Putin says Kyiv had derailed peace talks by staging what he said were fake claims of Russian war crimes

10:15 PM

Egypt to accept offers from Russia, Ukraine in wheat tender

Egypt's state grains buyer will accept offers from Russia and Ukraine in its international wheat purchasing tender this week despite supply disruptions, according to the state buyer's tender book seen by Reuters. It set a limited tender on Monday to buy an unspecified amount of wheat from European import origins included in its tender book only.

9:12 PM

Johnson, finance minister to be fined over lockdown parties

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his finance minister Rishi Sunak are to receive fines for breaching strict coronavirus lockdown rules, the government said on Tuesday, prompting calls for them both to resign. Police have been investigating 12 gatherings at Johnson's Downing Street office and the Cabinet Office after a damning internal inquiry found his staff had enjoyed alcohol-fuelled parties that should not have been allowed. 

5:38 PM

Serum Institute asks govt to reduce vaccine shots gap

Vaccine major Serum Institute of India (SII) has appealed to the government to reduce the gap between the second and booster dose to six months from nine months at present to safeguard people against emerging COVID variants, according to its CEO Adar Poonawalla. Recalling that they could not meet the commitment of exporting vaccines in the first quarter of 2021 due to "so much noise from public and the opposition", Poonawalla on Tuesday also pitched for a global pact for vaccine utilization.

4:26 PM

Centre wants uniformity in state cooperative laws: Amit Shah

The central government will not interfere in state cooperatives, but wants bring uniformity in state laws, says Union Minister Amit Shah.

3:55 PM

Pakistan wants to settle issues with India peacefully, says Shehbaz Sharif

Shehbaz Sharif thanks Narendra Modi for congratulating him on becoming Pakistan’s new Prime Minister. Peaceful settlement of outstanding disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir, is indispensable, says Shehbaz Sharif.

3:25 PM

India, US ask Taliban to abide by the UNSC resolution

India and the US have called on the Taliban leadership to abide by the UNSC resolution which demands that Afghanistan's territory must never again be used to threaten or attack any country or to plan or finance terrorist attacks. In a joint statement issued after the fourth India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, the two countries' ministers urged the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans, including women, children and members of minority groups; and to uphold freedom of travel.

2:34 PM

Have urged the govt to reduce the gap between 2nd and 3rd dose to 6 months: Poonawala

The (vaccine inoculation) uptick right now is a bit slow...because we have got this rule that you have to wait for 9 months between dose 2 and 3. We have appealed to the govt on how to reduce this further to 6 months, will propose the 6-month gap:  Adar Poonawalla, CEO, SII

 

2:08 PM

S. Korea's new Covid-19 cases bounce back to more than 200,000

South Korea's new coronavirus cases bounced back to more than 200,000 on Tuesday after falling to the lowest level in seven weeks amid the government's efforts to return to normalcy.

The country reported 210,755 new Covid-19 infections, including 33 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 15,635,274, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.

The public health agency reported 171 new Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, raising the death toll to 19,850.

1:47 PM

Made-in-India Dornier plane takes off for first commercial flight

Alliance Air's made-in-India Dornier 228 aircraft was deployed for its first commercial flight on the Dibrugarh-Pasighat route on Tuesday with Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kiren Rijiju on board.

Accompanied by senior government officers, Scindia and Rijiju boarded the flight at the Mohanpur airport in Asssam's Dibrugarh for Pasighat in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh.

The state-run Alliance Air became the country's first commercial airline to fly an Indian-made aircraft for civil operations. Till now, Dornier 228 planes were used by the armed forces only.

1:40 PM

Jharkhand HC takes suo motu cognizance of Deoghar ropeway incident

Jharkhand High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of Deoghar ropeway incident, orders inquiry in the matter. The court will hear the matter on April 26. Before that,  the state has to file a detailed inquiry report through an affidavit.