LIVE: US to lift curbs from Nov 8 for fully vaccinated foreign visitors

Live news updates: Carlyle and other investors will withdraw their open offer to its shareholders; Zee accuses Invesco of double standards.

Live news updates: The board of PNB Housing Finance drops Carlyle group 4,000-crore stake sale plans to a clutch of investors led by Carlyle Group, citing legal delays. The firm on Thursday informed stock exchanges Carlyle and other investors will withdraw their open offer to its shareholders.

Zee said top shareholder Invesco's opposition to a proposed merger of the TV network with Sony's India unit is hypocritical because the US investment firm pitched a deal with similar terms earlier this year.

Microsoft Corp is pulling the plug on LinkedIn in China nearly seven years after its launch and will replace it with a stripped-down version of the platform that would focus only on jobs. 

11:02 PM

Suicide attack on Shiite mosque in Afghanistan kills 47

Suicide bombers attacked a Shiite mosque packed with worshippers attending Friday prayers in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 47 people and wounding 70, a Taliban official said. It was the deadliest day since the U.S. military withdrawal.

 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the carnage at the Fatimiya mosque in Kandahar province. The attack came a week after a bombing claimed by the local Islamic State affiliate killed 46 people at a Shiite mosque in northern Afghanistan.

 

The sectarian bloodletting has raised fears that IS an enemy of both the Taliban and the West is expanding its foothold in Afghanistan.

 

Hafiz Sayeed, the Taliban's chief for Kandahar's department of culture and information, said 47 people had been killed and at least 70 wounded in the attack.

10:28 PM

Pakistan relaxes curbs as cases subside

Pakistan on Friday further relaxed coronavirus related restrictions by allowing the reopening of cinemas and shrines for fully vaccinated people.

 

The decision was taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) at a meeting after the pandemic situation continued to improve.

 

Cinemas and shrines are allowed to reopen for fully vaccinated citizens and one-day weekly closure of businesses has also been abolished, the NCOC said in a statement.

8:54 PM

Terrorist who killed Police Sub-Inspector eliminated in encounter with security forces in J-K's Bemina

A terrorist identified as the killer of newly recruited sub-inspector Arshid Ahmad Mir, who lost his life in the terror attack in Srinagar on Sunday, was killed in an encounter with the security forces in the Bemina area of Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar on Friday.

"#Killer of martyr PSI Arshid killed in #Bemina #encounter: IGP Kashmir @JmuKmrPolice," said a tweet from Kashmir Zone Police.

On Sunday afternoon, terrorists attacked a police party at Khanyar in Old Srinagar City, where Mir was shot by terrorists in Khanyar and later he succumbed to his injuries.

8:48 PM

Congress constitutes various committees of UP unit ahead of elections 2022

8:30 PM

Not scared of ED, CBI; we don't hide behind police after making threats: Maharashtra CM Thackeray

8:17 PM

Over 51,000 seats in DU filled, third cut-off list on Sunday

Over 51,000 students have secured admission to Delhi University's undergraduate courses, filling up a little over 74 per cent of the 70,000 seats available, according to official data. The third cut-off list will be released on Sunday.

The university has received a total of 1,18,878 applications under the first two cut-off lists. A total of 51,974 students had paid the fees till 5 pm on Friday, after which the payment gateway was closed, university officials said.

7:50 PM

Need to expose 'anarchists' behind farmers' protest: BJP on lynching at protest site

Hitting out at farmer leaders over lynching of a man near a protest site in Kundli, the BJP on Friday said "anarchists" behind these protests need to be exposed as they are doing a great disservice to the nation.

The body of the man with a hand chopped off was found tied to a metal barricade in Haryana's Sonipat district on Friday.

In a video clip that has gone viral on social media platforms, some Nihangs are seen standing as the man lies on the ground in a pool of blood with his severed hand lying next to him.

7:30 PM

Rajasthan govt allows sale & bursting of green crackers in the entire state, except NCR

7:19 PM

'Ravan Dahan' being performed in Patna on Dussehra

7:02 PM

US to lift curbs from Nov 8 for fully vaccinated foreign visitors

The White House on Friday announced it will lift travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals effective Nov. 8, at land borders and for air travel.

 

Curbs on non-essential travelers at land borders have been in place since March 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Restrictions on non-US citizens were first imposed on air travelers from China in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and then extended to dozens of other countries, without any clear metrics for how and when to lift them.

6:18 PM

'Methodology is unscientific,' says India on Global Hunger Index 2021

Following are the observations of Ministry of Women and Child Development on the Global Hunger Report 2021, released on 14th October, 2021 by Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, the publishing agencies:

 

“It is shocking to find that the Global Hunger Report 20201 has lowered the rank of India on the basis of FAO estimate on proportion of undernourished population, which is found to be devoid of ground reality and facts and suffers from serious methodological issues. The publishing agencies of the Global Hunger Report, Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe, have not done their due diligence before releasing the report. Read more here

6:14 PM

Tamil Nadu CM Stalin writes to PM to ensure release of 23 Indian fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka

6:10 PM

Kerala reports 8867 new Covid-19 cases

5:31 PM

Amit Shah visits cell where Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was imprisoned at Cellular Jail in Port Blair

5:24 PM

Delhi Court frames charges against 9 accused in NE Delhi violence case

A trial court has ordered to frame charges against nine accused in a case where a mob allegedly resorted to rioting, violence, and vandalism in North East Delhi in February 2020.

Additional Sessions Judge Virendra Bhat in an order passed on October 11 said, "Considering the entire material on record, it is prima facie evident that the charges u/s 147/148/149/380/427/436/452 Indian Penal Code (IPC) are liable to be framed against all the accused."