LIVE updates: India logs 1,5674 new Covid cases, toll climbs to 529,008

From national and international political developments to rising air pollution and farm fires, catch all the latest news from across the globe here

11:09 AM

Delhi's air quality nears 'severe' zone

A layer of pungent haze lingered over Delhi on Saturday morning as the city's air quality neared the "severe" zone amid adverse meteorological conditions -- low temperatures and calm winds -- and an increase in incidents of stubble burning in Punjab.

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi stood at 396 at 10 am, worsening from 357 at 4 pm on Friday. It was 354 on Thursday, 271 on Wednesday, 302 on Tuesday and 312 on Monday (Diwali).

Anand Vihar (AQI 454) was the most polluted place in the capital. Wazirpur (439), Narela (423), Ashok Vihar (428), Vivek Vihar (427) and Jahangirpuri (438) were among the monitoring stations that recorded "severe" air quality.

The air quality in the neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad (381), Noida (392), Greater Noida (398), Gurugram (360) and Faridabad (391) also inched closer to the "severe" category.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".

10:59 AM

Canada confirms 21,810 new Covid cases in a week

Canada confirmed 21,810 new Covid-19 cases in the week ending October 22, according to health authorities.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said on Friday that the number of total cases and deaths in the country now stood at 4,336,860 and 46,389, respectively, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the PHAC, the cumulative people who had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine was 83 per cent as of October 9.

However, those who had in the last six months completed the primary series or received a booster dose with a vaccine was only 17.2 per cent as of October 9.

10:49 AM

Patnaik suggests L&T to set up aerospace and defence manufacturing units in Odisha

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has suggested to Larsen and Toubro (L&T) to set-up units in aerospace and defence manufacturing and green hydrogen sectors in the state.

Patnaik made several suggestions when L&T's CEO & MD SN Subramaniyan called him here on Friday.

"As the L&T has an eminent presence in Odisha, the company may explore an option to set-up units in aerospace and defence manufacturing and green hydrogen sectors," Patnaik told Subramaniyam.

10:45 AM

India logs 1,5674 new Coronavirus cases, death toll climbs to 529,008

With 1,574 people testing positive for the coronavirus infection, India's tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 44,650,662, while the active cases declined to 18,802, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

A decrease of 596 cases has been recorded in the active covid caseload in a span of 24 hours, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The death toll has climbed to 529,008 with nine fatalities which includes five reconciled by Kerala, while one death each has been reported from Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra. it said.

The active cases comprises 0.04 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.77 per cent, the health ministry said.

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.95 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 1.11 per cent, according to the health ministry.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 44,102,852, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.18 per cent.

10:13 AM

Finland, Sweden pledge to join NATO together

Ways to further enhance cooperation between Finland and Sweden, especially on their path to membership of the NATO, topped the agenda of talks held in Helsinki by Sweden's newly-elected Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and her host and Finnish counterpart, Sanna Marin.

The two Prime Ministers on Friday highlighted the importance of cooperation between Finland and Sweden, particularly in the future NATO membership, Xinhua news agency reported.

"This relationship plays a particularly important role in the current crises. Concrete areas where cooperation should be strengthened include developing security of supply and countering hybrid threats," the Finnish government said in a statement.

10:13 AM

Shooting in US Pittsburgh leaves at least 6 injured

At least six people were shot outside of a church in Pittsburgh of the US state of Pennsylvania, police said.

The incident took place on Friday afternoon, Xinhua news agency reported.

One victim is in critical condition, while others suffered less serious injuries, in the shooting that took place during a funeral service, police added.

10:10 AM

G20 members launch call to action on tuberculosis

Health Ministers of the G20 members launched a "Call to Action on Financing for Tuberculosis Response" to tackle the second leading cause of death from infectious diseases after Covid-19.

 

The launch was carried out on Thursday during the second G20 Health Ministerial Meeting held on October 27-28 in Indonesia's Bali.

10:07 AM

India will be making a voluntary contribution of half a million dollars to the UN Trust Fund: EAM S Jaishankar

10:06 AM

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in Delhi

10:05 AM

Air quality dips in the Delhi-NCR; Noida recorded AQI of 392, remains in the 'very poor' category this morning

10:03 AM

Elon Musk says Twitter will form "content moderation council"

Twitter's new owner billionaire Elon Musk has said the social media company will form a “content moderation council” and any major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen after such a body has convened.

 

Musk's comments came a day after he completed the USD 44 billion acquisition of the social media giant.

 

“Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes,” Musk, 51, tweeted on Friday.

 

“To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter's content moderation policies,” he added.

9:30 AM

Fire sparks cylinder blast at Bihar Chhath Puja, 30 injured, many critical

More than 30 people have been hospitalised in Bihar's Aurangabad district after a short circuit led to a gas cylinder blast, causing a huge fire. At least 25 victims are in a critical condition. 
 

The tragedy occurred while a family was cooking for Chhath Puja at 2:30 in the morning.

 

Many police personnel have also sustained burn injuries while trying to put out the fire.

9:28 AM

Elon Musk's Twitter roils with hate speech as trolls test new limits

In the wake of Elon Musk buying Twitter Inc., a tide of slurs and racist memes swelled on the platform, sparking concern that the site is entering an era of hateful speech.
 

Twitter has long wrestled with how to enforce content policies fairly on its platform in order to appease the advertisers, users and powerful world leaders that use its service. But as Musk, a self-styled "free speech absolutist," took over ownership of the company, some conservative officials, partisan extremists and conspiracy peddlers saw reason to celebrate the change.

9:27 AM

DGCA says follow-up action to be taken after detailed probe into IndiGo

Aviation regulator DGCA on Saturday said it will take suitable follow-up action after conducting a detailed probe into an incident of an IndiGo plane's engine catching fire at the Delhi airport.

 

A Bengaluru-bound A320 ceo aircraft, carrying 184 people, aborted takeoff at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here due to fire in one of its engines Friday night. The plane returned to the bay and passengers were deboarded safely.

 

"The priority is to carry out a detailed investigation of the incident and ascertain the reasons for the fire in the engine. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished swiftly and the aircraft is now grounded," DGCA chief Arun Kumar told PTI.

9:27 AM

Intruder attacks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, calling, ''Where is Nancy''

The husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was attacked and severely beaten with a hammer by an assailant who authorities said broke into the couple's San Francisco home early Friday, searching for the Democratic leader and shouting: “Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?”

 

The assault on the 82-year-old Paul Pelosi injected new uneasiness into the nation's already toxic political climate, just 11 days before the midterm elections.

 

It carried chilling echoes of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol when rioters chanted menacingly for the speaker as they rampaged through the halls trying to halt certification of Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump.