Covid LIVE: 80% of India's adults are fully vaccinated, says Mandaviya

Over 20 mn adolescents in 15-18 age group fully vaccinated against Covid, says Union Health Minister

Live news updates: The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday told the Supreme Court it has withdrawn notices issued in 2019 and proceedings against people holding protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The state withdrew 274 recovery notices issued against protestors for destruction of properties.

A special court on Friday gave the death sentence to 38 convicts for their role in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts, news agency ANI reported.

At least 80 people were on trial for the terrorist attack in the Gujarat city that killed 56 people. On February 8, a court convicted 49 accused and acquitted 28 others in the case. The court had ended the trial in the more than 13-year-old case in September last year, said NDTV.com.

US President Joe Biden said on Thursday there was now every indication Russia was planning to invade Ukraine in the next few days and was preparing a pretext to justify it, after Ukrainian forces and pro-Moscow rebels traded fire in eastern Ukraine.

India reported 25,920 new cases of Covid-19 and 492 deaths from the disease in the last 24 hours, said the health ministry on Friday. Total cases increased 42.78 million and pandemic deaths to 510,905.

9:48 PM

Six African countries to receive mRNA vaccine technology

The first African countries selected to receive the technology necessary to produce mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 are Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia, a summit meeting of European Union and African Union nations heard on Friday.

 

The six countries have been chosen to build vaccine production factories as part of a bid the World Health Organisation launched last year to replicate what are believed to be the most effective licensed shots against COVID-19.

 

Africa currently produces just 1% of coronavirus vaccines. According to WHO figures, only 11% of the population in Africa is fully vaccinated, compared with the global average of about 50%.

9:40 PM

Tamil Nadu logs 1,146 fresh Covid cases, 8 deaths

Tamil Nadu recorded 1,146 fresh coronavirus cases -- a marginal decline from 1,252 a day ago -- and six deaths on Friday, taking the count to 34,42,929 and the toll to 37,970.

 

With 4,229 COVID-19 patients getting discharged after treatment today, the cumulative recoveries have increased to 33,84,278, while the total active cases, including isolation, as of today further declined to 20,681 from 23,772 on Thursday.

 

Like many among the 38 districts in the state, Chennai and Coimbatore too continued to witness a marginal decline to 262 and 188 cases, respectively, from 285 and 214 fresh infections, respectively, on Thursday while Erode registered 64 cases as against 69 on the previous day.

9:32 PM

Ahmedabad bomb blasts plot involved plan to kill Modi: Prosecutor

Plotters of the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts had also planned to kill then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi besides creating mayhem, one of the accused convicted for the bombings by a special court here had admitted before the court in the past, the prosecution said on Friday.

 

The special court on Friday sentenced 38 convicts to death and 11 others to life imprisonment till death for the Ahmedabad serial blasts, which had claimed 56 lives and left over 200 injured. As many as 21 explosions had ripped through the city on July 26, 2008, within a span of 70 minutes. The court had convicted 49 persons and acquitted 28 others in the case on February 8. After the sentencing, Public Prosecutor Sudhir Brahmbhatt informed the media that a charge-sheet filed by the Gujarat police in 2010 had revealed that the convicts, who were associated with terror outfit Indian Mujahideen, had also planned to eliminate Modi, who is now the prime minister.

9:17 PM

Maharashtra records 2,068 new Covid cases, 15 deaths, 4,709 recoveries

Maharashtra on Friday recorded 2,068 fresh coronavirus cases and 15 new fatalities linked to the infection, while 4,709 more patients were discharged following recovery, the health department said.

 

With this, the state's COVID-19 tally reached 78,55,359, while the death toll increased to 1,43,547, the department said in a bulletin. The case fatality rate in the state stands at 1.82 per cent.

 

The state on Thursday had recorded 2,797 cases and 40 fatalities. The bulletin did not mention any fresh infections of the highly contiguous Omicron variant. However, it said 4,456 patients infected with Omicron have been found in the state so far.

9:00 PM

I'm confident that UAE-India economic agreement will be regarded as an achievement: UAE Min

8:54 PM

India and UAE are for rules-based fair trade: Piyush Goyal

8:46 PM

We welcome investment by UAE in all sectors including logistics, healthcare, hospitality in J&K: PM Modi

7:43 PM

Met FM Sitharaman, wanted to get an estimate on what can we expect for Assam from Budget: CM Sarma

7:02 PM

2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blast: Court pronounces death sentence to 38 out of 49 convicts

6:41 PM

Mumbai court sends Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar to 7-day ED custody

6:33 PM

Kerala registers 7,780 new Covid19 cases

6:10 PM

India has vaccinated 80% of its eligible adult population against Covid-19

5:47 PM

Russia to stage massive nuclear drills amid Ukraine standoff

The Russian military on Friday announced massive drills of its strategic nuclear forces, a stark reminder of the country's nuclear might amid Western fears that Moscow might be preparing to invade Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will personally oversee Saturday's exercise, which will involve multiple practice launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, the Defense Ministry said.

5:27 PM

Air India will operate 3 flights between India and Ukraine in Feb

4:59 PM

PM Modi inaugurates rail line between Thane and Diva in Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated newly commissioned rail line between Thane and Diva in Maharashtra, the ANI has reported.