LIVE: Will respond like a lion, says Mamata on BJP 'destroying offices'

States like Maharashtra and Gujarat have banned public celebrations oh Holi, while Delhi has imposed restrictions. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

Latest News: Engineers on Monday “partially refloated” the colossal container ship that continues to block traffic through the Suez Canal, a canal services firm said, without providing further details about when the vessel would be fully set free.

War of words between TMC and BJP have intensified on Monday as both parties campaigned for West Bengal elections. 

"They attacked me. No one from Nandigram attacked me but you brought goons from UP, Bihar. If they come, women should beat them up with utensils, said West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

8:57 PM

Latest News: Drones, UAVs prohibited in Puducherry ahead of PM Modi's visit

Flying of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has been banned in the entire Puducherry region from March 29-30 to ensure security during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit for electioneering.

 

An order to this effect came from the District Magistrate Purva Garg on Monday.

 

In a press release, Garg said an order under section 144 CrPc has been clamped in whole of Puducherry region to prohibit flying of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles.

8:37 PM

Latest News: Gupta's Liberty Steel to restart operations, in talks with UK government

 Tycoon Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty Steel UK plans to restart steelmaking next week and continues to seek new funding after its main financial backer Greensill Capital went into insolvency, it said on Monday.

 

Gupta's conglomerate GFG Alliance said earlier this month it was in talks with administrators of Greensill over a standstill agreement. On Monday GFG said those negotiations were ongoing and also said that Liberty Steel was still seeking support from the UK government.

 

In an insolvency filing earlier in March, Greensill said that GFG, which is its largest client, had warned in February that it would "collapse into insolvency" if the supply chain finance firm stopped providing it with working capital.

8:18 PM

Latest News: 'So what?', say MVA partners on Amit Shah-Pawar 'meeting'

Amid reports of an alleged secret meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah with Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar early on Sunday, Maharashtra's ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi on Monday rubbished the purported development and reiterated that the state government is safe and sound.

 

Though leaders of all three constituents - the Shiv Sena, the NCP, and the Congress -- have denied any such behind-the-curtains parleys even took place, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is fuelling the speculation on the unconfirmed clandestine meet at the home of a leading businessman.

 

Sena leader and Raja Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said he was "not aware of any such meeting", but "even if they meet, so what?"

8:03 PM

Latest News: IMD predicts intense wet spell in northeastern states

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange colour alert for Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura for March 30-31 with a forecast of rains and thunderstorm over these northeastern states.

 

It has also predicted an "intense wet spell" over northeast India until April 2.

 

Under the influence of strong lower level southwesterly winds from the Bay of Bengal, fairly widespread to widespread rain with thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places are very likely over northeast India during March 29-April 2 with maximum activity on March 30-31, the IMD said.

7:41 PM

Latest News: Delhi reels under scorching heat wave

Delhi reeled under a "severe heatwave" on the day of Holi, as the maximum temperature shot up to 40.1 degrees Celsius, making it the hottest day in March in 76 years, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday.

 

The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative data for the city, recorded a maximum temperature of 40.1 degrees Celsius, which was eight notches more than normal, said Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of the IMD's regional forecasting centre.

 

"It is the hottest day in March since March 31, 1945, when the national capital recorded a maximum of 40.5 degrees Celsius," he said.

7:21 PM

Latest News: Subdued Holi celebrations in Uttar Pradesh

The coronavirus pandemic cast its shadow on the Holi celebrations in the statewith roads wearing a deserted look and people preferring to stay indoors, celebrating the festival with their family members.

 

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath extended greetings to people, saying in a tweet the festival symbolises the victory of truth over evil.

6:56 PM

Just In: Canal service provider says container ship in Suez set free

A canal service provider says that workers have successfully set free a colossal container ship that for nearly a week has been stuck sideways across the Suez Canal, one of the world's most crucial arteries for trade.

 

Leth Agencies said that the vessel had been refloated on Monday. Helped by the peak of high tide, a flotilla of tugboats managed to wrench the bow of the skyscraper-sized Ever Given from the sandy back of the crucial waterway, where it had been firmly lodged since last Tuesday.

 

Tugboats were pulling the vessel toward the Great Bitter Lake, in the middle of the waterway, where it will undergo inspections.

6:48 PM

Latest News: Wall Street set to slip as bank stocks fall on hedge fund default concerns

US stock index futures pointed to a lower open for Wall Street on Monday after a surge in the previous session, as global banks said they faced potential losses from a hedge fund's default on margin calls.

 

Nomura and Credit Suisse warned of losses after the US hedge fund, named by sources as Archegos Capital, defaulted, hitting shares in some big US media and Chinese tech companies.

 

Shares in Morgan Stanley tumbled about 5 per cent after the Financial Times reported it had also sold billions of shares, while Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo & Co dropped between 1.6 per cent and 2.5 per cent.

6:37 PM

Latest News: No to CAA if DMK voted to power, says Stalin

DMK President M K Stalin on Monday promised that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will not be allowed in Tamil Nadu if his party was voted to power in the April 6 Assembly elections and slammed the ruling AIADMK for 'supporting' the BJP in Parliament on the issue.

 

Had the AIADMK and lone PMK member in the Rajya Sabha voted against the bill, CAA would not have seen the light of day and the two parties should be blamed for the 'plight' of minorities all over the country, he said.

6:36 PM

Latest News: Pawar has check-up after abdominal pain, to undergo surgery

NCP chief Sharad Pawar will undergo surgery at a hospital here after it was diagnosed that he has gall bladder issue, a minister of his party in the Maharashtra government said here on Monday.

 

"Our party president Sharad Pawar saheb was feeling a little uneasy due to a pain in his abdomen last evening and was therefore taken to Breach Candy Hospital for a check-up. Upon diagnosis it came to light that he has a problem in his Gall Bladder," Nawab Malik tweeted.

 

"He is on Blood Thinning Medication which is now being stopped due to this issue. He will be admitted to the hospital on the 31st of March 2021 and an Endoscopy and Surgery will be conducted. Hence all his programmes stand cancelled until further notice," the minister added.

6:27 PM

Latest News: Deutsche Bank CEO gives up oversight of investment bank in revamp

Deutsche Bank chief executive officer Christian Sewing will hand over oversight of the investment bank to board member Fabrizio Campelli, the bank said on Monday, in a broad overhaul of the management board.

 

The move is likely to reassure regulators, who worried that Sewing has too much on his plate, potentially leaving the investment bank open to operational hazards.

 

Germany's biggest bank was one of the few major banks in the world to assign day-to-day oversight of investment banking to its chief executive. At most banks, other board members oversee the division.

6:26 PM

Latest News: Virus scare dampens Holi mood in Punjab, Haryana

Holi celebrations remained muted across Punjab and Haryana on Monday as people stayed indoors with the authorities prohibiting gatherings at public places due to the coronavirus scare.

 

In Chandigarh too, people celebrated the festival at home as the administration prohibited the celebrations at public parks, Sukhna Lake and the Sector 17 Plaza. Clubs and hotels were also barred from holding any gathering.

 

The restrictions had been imposed in the wake of a recent surge in the virus cases in the region.

6:18 PM

Latest News: World shares steady as Archegos concerns temper Suez relief

World shares started the week on cautious ground as uncertainty over the fallout of the default of a U.S. hedge fund tempered relief from the refloating of the ship blocking the Suez Canal.

 

Banks Nomura and Credit Suisse warned on Monday they were facing significant losses after the hedge fund, named by sources as Archegos Capital, defaulted on margin calls.

 

Investors were bracing for further block trades causing volatility in markets after a $20 billion worth of fire sales on Friday reportedly linked to Archegos hit shares in some big US media and Chinese tech companies.

5:53 PM

LIVE: CBI summons Anup Majhi, the main accused in coal scam case

5:48 PM

Latest News: Stalin promises Assembly resolution against Centre's farm laws

DMK chief and Chief Ministerial candidate M.K. Stalin on Monday asserted that the first priority of his government, once it assumes office, will be to pass a resolution against the three farm laws enacted by the Central government.

 

Addressing election meetings at Tirupathur and Jholarpet, he noted that while Punjab, Kerala, and West Bengal passed resolutions against the farm laws, the K. Palaniswami-led AIADMK government refrained from doing so.