Covid LIVE: Daily cases under 1,000 for first time in Delhi in third wave

Live news updates: Cooked food on premium trains had already been restored in December 21

3:06 PM

Sikkim lifts Covid-19 induced restrictions

2:47 PM

WHO chief scientist: pandemic has not ended as more variants expected

The World Health Organization's chief scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, said on Friday that the world was not yet at the end of the COVID-19 pandemic as there would be more coronavirus variants.

"We have seen the virus evolve, mutate ... so we know there will be more variants, more variants of concern, so we are not at the end of the pandemic," Swaminathan told reporters in South Africa, where she was visiting vaccine manufacturing facilities with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

2:38 PM

Punjab polls: AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal's wife & daughter to visit Punjab for campaigning

2:16 PM

Fire broke out in Shree Mahakali Pharma company in Gujarat

1:57 PM

Uniform Civil Code is the need of the hour: Giriraj Singh

1:44 PM

Rs 73,000 crore provided for MNREGA scheme: FM

Rs 73,000 crore provided for rural employment guarantee scheme MNREGA, will give more if demand comes, said FM Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget reply in Rajya Sabha, PTI reported.

1:43 PM

Will continue to support our ASEAN partners in their efforts to uphold peace and stability: S Jaishankar

We reviewed Quad's ongoing efforts to combat Covid-19 pandemic & agreed to expedite delivery of safe & affordable vaccines, support capacity building & augment infrastructure for last-mile delivery, said EAM S Jaishankar at joint press conference after 4th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

 

We are building an agenda that seeks to further our shared vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. We are keen to work together to further peace & stability & economic prosperity in the Indo-Pacific through collective efforts which address contemporary issues, Jaishankar said, adding it will continue to support our ASEAN partners in their efforts to uphold peace, and stability in the region

 

1:00 PM

Jaishankar attends Quad foreign ministers meeting in Melbourne

The foreign ministers of the Quad grouping of India, the US, Australia and Japan on Friday held talks in Melbourne amid escalating tension between Russia and NATO countries over Ukraine, the Afghan crisis and increasing concerns over China's "coercion" in the Indo-Pacific region, PTI reported. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Australia's Marise Payn jointly called on Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison ahead of their talks.

12:32 PM

SC says it will take up at 'appropriate time' pleas on Hijab row

The Supreme Court said on Friday it will protect the constitutional rights of every citizen and take up at an “appropriate time” the pleas challenging a direction of the Karnataka High Court asking students not to wear any religious cloth in educational institutions.

12:23 PM

Passenger vehicle dispatches fall 8% in Jan: SIAM

Passenger vehicle dispatches from factories to dealers in India fell 8 per cent in January, mainly due to semiconductor shortage, said industry association on Friday. The total passenger vehicle wholesales dropped to 2,54,287 units in January 2022 as compared to 2,76,554 units in the same month of last year.

11:57 AM

FM Sitharaman defends Budget, says it has not ignored the poor

11:12 AM

Mod govt's inflation management is robust: FM Sitharaman

Inflation management and responsible allocation of resources is an important task of all finance ministries of the world: Finance Minister Sitharaman. 'Our government’s inflation management is robust.'

11:03 AM

Pandemic cost loss of Rs 9.57 trillion to economy: Sitharaman

India’s economy suffered a loss of Rs 9.57 trillion due the coronavirus pandemic compared to a loss of Rs 2.12 trillion in the global financial crisis of 2008-09: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha.

10:15 AM

World coronavirus cases increase to 403.75 million

More than 403.75 million people have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus globally and 6,152,645 have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

9:54 AM

Australia drops landmark criminal cartel case against Citi, Deutsche

Australia on Friday withdrew a cartel lawsuit against Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG and several former executives over a $1.8 billion share issue, a stunning retreat from what would have been the country's biggest white-collar criminal trial, Reuters reported. After nearly four years of pre-trial hearings in packed courtrooms, federal prosecutors said they had pulled the case after reviewing the evidence and concluding "there were no longer reasonable prospects of conviction".