LIVE: 'I respect party's decision,' says Nupur Sharma on BJP suspending her

I have grown up in the organisation, respect and accept its decision, says Nupur Sharma on her suspension from BJP

Live news updates: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson survived a confidence vote on Monday but a rebellion by 148 of his 359 Conservative Party lawmakers dealt a serious blow to his authority. A majority of the Conservatives' lawmakers - at least 180 - would have had to vote against Johnson for him to be removed. The result means Johnson secured the backing of 59% of his lawmakers, lower than the support given to his predecessor Theresa May in a confidence vote she faced in 2018.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on Tuesday launch a Single Nodal Agency (SNA) dashboard which will provide a platform for ministries/departments to monitor transfer of funds to states and their utilisation. In a statement the finance ministry said in order to give the stakeholders of SNA model the necessary feedback and monitoring tools in the operation of the schemes, Public Financial Management System (PFMS) has developed the SNA dashboard.

India on Monday faced more diplomatic heat with the strong reaction of Islamic countries to the controversial comments by two BJP functionaries against Prophet Mohammad even as it slammed the 57-nation OIC for its "motivated" and "mischievous" comments on the matter. A day after Kuwait, Qatar and Iran summoned Indian ambassadors over the remarks by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, several Islamic countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Indonesia, Bahrain, Maldives and Oman also denounced the comments while some of them welcomed BJP's punitive action against the duo. 

8:54 PM

Yellen says 'impossible' to insulate US from oil market shocks

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it is "virtually impossible" for the United States to insulate itself from oil market shocks such as those caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, so it is important to shift toward renewable energy sources.

 

Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee that U.S. oil producers failed to anticipate the recovery in demand and prices following the COVID-19 pandemic, but they now have incentives to increase production.

8:24 PM

Accept and respect party's decision: Nupur Sharma on suspension from BJP

Suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Tuesday said she "accepts and respects" the party's decision.

 

The BJP on Sunday had suspended its national spokesperson Sharma and expelled its Delhi unit's media head Naveen Kumar Jindal as the row over their alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed escalated with protests from some Muslim countries.

 

"I have practically grown up in the organisation. I respect and accept their decision," Sharma said after she was asked about the BJP's action against her.

8:23 PM

Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 account for up to 13% of COVID variants in US: CDC

The BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron are estimated to make up nearly 5% and 8% of the coronavirus variants in the United States as of June 4, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday.

 

The two sublineages, which were added to the World Health Organization's monitoring list in March and designated as variants of concern by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), were present in all U.S. regions.

 

Last month, South African scientists found that the sublineages of the Omicron coronavirus variant can dodge antibodies from earlier infection well enough to trigger a new wave.

7:55 PM

EOW of Delhi Police arrests former chairman & MD of Religare Enterprises

7:50 PM

IBM winding down Russian operation, laying off employees: Memo

International Business Machines Corp is winding down its business in Russia and has started to lay off its employees in the country, according to a memo to staff sent last week and emailed to Reuters on Tuesday.

 

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, IBM joined hundreds of other companies in suspending business in the country. Many others had announced a complete exit from Russia.

 

"As the consequences of the war continue to mount and uncertainty about its long-term ramifications grows, we have now made the decision to carry out an orderly wind-down of IBM's business in Russia," Chief Executive Arvind Krishna wrote to employees.

7:48 PM

5,947 active Covid cases in Mumbai

7:33 PM

BJP attacks Kejriwal after ED seizes cash, gold at Jain's premises

The BJP on Tuesday latched on to the Enforcement Directorate's seizure of cash and gold from the premises of arrested AAP leader Satyendar Jain to hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and asked what is his compulsion for not seeking Jain's resignation as minister so far.

 

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla also played an audio of Kejriwal's strong defence of Jitender Singh Tomar, a minister in the previous AAP government who had to quit for allegedly having a fake degree, before he was forced to sack him as probe brought forth evidence of his suspected wrongdoing.

6:55 PM

Maharashtra logs 1,881 new Covid cases, including 1,242 in Mumbai

6:22 PM

Still suffering from Covid, Sonia seeks more time to appear before ED

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has sought more time from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to appear before it as she is still suffering from Covid, party sources said on Tuesday.

 

They said Gandhi, who tested positive on Thursday, is yet to recover and her latest report is not Covid-negative.

 

The ED had summoned Gandhi to appear before it on June 8 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper-AJL issue.

 

The ED had also summoned her son and former party chief Rahul Gandhi on June 13 for questioning in the case.

5:36 PM

India tops Lankan tourist market despite slump due to ongoing economic and political crisis

India has emerged as Sri Lanka's top inbound tourist market in May, even as there is a slump in the cumulative arrivals of holiday makers due to the ongoing economic and political situation in the country, the tourism authority here said on Tuesday.

 

As many as 5,562 tourists from India visited Sri Lanka in May followed by 3,723 from the UK, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) said in a statement.

 

However, the cumulative arrivals of visitors in May have been halved in comparison to April.

5:08 PM

German foreign minister tests positive for Covid on Pakistan visit

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is cutting her visit to Pakistan short after testing positive for the coronavirus, broadcaster ntv reported on Tuesday.

 

Baerbock has cancelled her remaining meetings in Pakistan and has lost her sense of taste, ntv reported. Pakistan was Baerbock's first stop on a tour that was also due to include visits to Greece and Turkey.

 

5:00 PM

Ukraine must not be pressured into a bad peace deal, says UK PM Johnson

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy must not be pressured by world powers into accepting a bad peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his top team of ministers on Tuesday.

 

At the cabinet meeting, British foreign minister Liz Truss also said London was readying further sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Johnson's spokesman told reporters.

 

Johnson, who survived a confidence vote brought by his lawmakers on Monday, told his ministers Britain would "remain at the forefront" of support for Ukraine, the spokesman added.

 

5:00 PM

Russia says two Ukrainian ports ready to ship grain but Kyiv must demine coast

Russia said on Tuesday that two major Ukrainian ports on the Sea of Azov seized by Russian forces were ready to resume grain shipments, but the Kremlin said Kyiv still needed to demine the approaches to its ports for exports to take place.

 

Russia has seized large parts of Ukraine's coast in nearly 15 weeks of war and its warships control the Black and Azov Seas, blocking Ukraine's farm exports and driving up the price of grain.

4:56 PM

S&P futures fall 1% as Target warns of weaker margin again

US stock index futures extended declines on Tuesday as shares of retailers fell after Target Corp issued a weak quarterly margin forecast for the second time in less than a month.

 

At 7:13 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 287 points, or 0.87%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 40.75 points, or 0.99%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 157 points, or 1.25%.

4:43 PM

ED seizes Rs 2.8 cr cash, 133 gold coins from premises of Jain, his aide