Live: Sri Lanka president to form all-party govt with new PM, says report

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Live news updates: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to form an all-party government under a new Prime Minister in Sri Lanka, local website Newswire reported citing a former ally.

Rajapaksa shared the decision during a meeting with parties who quit the government to protest against economic policies, the report cited Maithripala Sirisena of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party as saying. Rajapaksa will discuss the matter with other parties, lawmaker Weerasumana Weerasingha told the website.

Punjab’s Patiala district put under under curfew till Saturday morning after two groups clashed over an “anti-Khalistan march” on Friday. Two people were  imjured in the fight and police fired in the air.

Russian missiles struck Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, on Thursday evening, a few miles east of the city center, causing at least one death. Odesa was also hit. Still, the battle for Donbas remains Russia’s strategic focus; territorial gains have been slow in the face of stiff Ukrainian resistance. Direct talks with Russia are “somewhat on pause” as the Kremlin presses ahead with its attack, one of Ukraine’s negotiators said. 

 

9:10 PM

Ukraine has exported 763,000 tonnes of grain in April

Ukraine's grain exports have reached 45.709 million tonnes so far in the 2021/22 July-June season, the agriculture ministry said on Friday as it resumed publishing grain export data. The ministry said the volume included 763,000 tonnes exported in April but gave no comparative figures. Senior agriculture officials said this month that Ukraine exported up 300,000 tonnes of grain in March.

8:12 PM

Russian casualties in Ukraine fall but still high: Western officials

Russia has suffered fewer casualties in Ukraine as its invasion narrows in scale but the numbers are still quite high, western officials said on Friday. "The nature of the operations have been reduced in terms of geographic spread so the overall numbers are reducing," one of the officials said, according to Reuters. 

6:50 PM

Ukraine admits heavy losses in war with Russia

Ukraine acknowledged on Friday it was taking heavy losses in Russia's assault in the east, but said Russia's losses were even worse, as U.S. President Joe Biden called on Congress to send as much as $33 billion to help Kyiv withstand the attack.

6:17 PM

Punjab’s Patiala district put under under curfew after clash

Punjab’s Patiala district put under under curfew till Saturday morning after two groups clashed over an “anti-Khalistan march” on Friday. Two people were  imjured in the fight and police fired in the air.

6:06 PM

India core industries grow 4.3% in March 2022

India’s core industries grow 4.3 per cent in March 2022 against 12.6 p cent in year-ago month; end FY22 with 10.4 pc expansion: Official data.

5:37 PM

Shell to buy Indian renewable power platform for $1.55 bln

Shell to buy Indian renewable power platform for $1.55 bln April 29 (Reuters) - Shell Plc on Friday agreed to acquire India-based renewable power platform Sprng Energy group for $1.55 billion, as the global oil and gas major looks to expand its a low-carbon power generation portfolio in the country.

Shell said its unit, Shell Overseas Investment, would buy 100% of Solenergi Power Private Limited, the flagship company of Sprng Energy group, from UK-based investor Actis.

4:43 PM

Jignesh Mevani gets bail

Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani granted bail by Assam court in police officer assault case.

4:42 PM

Ukraine slams Russia's attack on Kyiv attack

Ukraine's leader accused Russia of trying to humiliate the United Nations by raining missiles on Kyiv during a visit by Secretary-General António Guterres, an attack that shattered the capital's tentative return to normality as the focus of the war moved east. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's forces were holding off Russia's attempted advance in the south and east, as efforts continued to secure safe passage for residents trapped in Mariupol, which has been largely reduced to rubble in a 2-month-long siege, the AP reported.

4:26 PM

Russia lowers key interest rate to 14%

Russia's central bank lowered its key interest rate to 14% in a sharper-than-expected move on Friday and said it saw room for cutting rates further this year, as it tries to manage a shrinking economy and soaring inflation. The central bank met after it unexpectedly cut the key rate to 17% earlier in April following an emergency rate increase to 20% days after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

4:10 PM

Russia not decided on whether Putin will attend G20: Kremlin

Russia is preparing for this year's G20 summit in Indonesia but has not yet decided whether President Vladimir Putin will attend in person or virtually, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. Indonesia is currently chairing the Group of 20 major economies. It has invited both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to a leaders summit in November, despite pressure from some Western countries to exclude the Russian president, Reuters reported.

3:58 PM

Maruti Suzuki Q4 net up 58% to Rs 1,839 cr despite sales dip

India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd reports a 58% rise in fourth-quarter net profit of Rs 1,839 crore. The firm had reported a net profit of Rs 1,166 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Consolidated total revenue from operations was up 11.29 per cent at Rs 26,749.20 crore, from Rs 24,034.50 crore a year ago. Read more

3:52 PM

UK to deploy war crimes experts team to Ukraine for Russia probe: Liz Truss

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the UK will deploy a team of war crimes experts to support Ukraine with investigations into Russian actions in the ongoing conflict.

The specialist team will assist the Ukrainian government as they gather evidence and prosecute war crimes and will include experts in conflict-related sexual violence. Read more

3:34 PM

Russian submarine strikes Ukraine with cruise missiles, says defence ministry

Moscow used a diesel submarine in the Black Sea on Friday to strike Ukraine military targets with cruise missiles, the Russian defence ministry said.

 

3:30 PM

Aim to make India a global semiconductor hub, says PM Modi

PM Narendra Modi said that he was looking forward to practical suggestions from the tech industry and other stakeholders about how one can move toward India that is a hub for semiconductors for the world in the coming years. Read more

1:55 PM

All 6 Units of Dadri and 5 Units of Unchahar are running at full capacity and receiving regular coal supplies

All 6 Units of Dadri and 5 Units of Unchahar are running at full capacity and receiving regular coal supplies. Present stock is 140000 MT and 95000 MT respectively and import coal supplies are also in pipeline: NTPC Limited