1:40 PMSonia Gandhi appoints Kumari Selja, Abhishek Manu Singhvi as CWC members
Sonia Gandhi appoints Kumari Selja, Abhishek Manu Singhvi as CWC members
12:55 PMI have invited all our MLAs for a meeting to brief them on the ongoing developments: NCP's Jayant Patil
At 5 pm today, I have invited all our MLAs for a meeting to brief them on the ongoing developments. Our MPs, organisation chief (Sharad Pawar) will be there too: NCP's Jayant Patil on political instability in MVA
10:07 AMMaharashtra political crisis update
3 more Shiv Sena MLAs leave for Guwahati to join rebel camp led by cabinet minister Eknath Shinde
10:05 AMMansukh Mandaviya to chair review meeting today amid rising COVID-19 cases
Amid rising COVID-19 cases in India, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will chair a review meeting with the core team of experts on Thursday, said sources. Sources have also confirmed that the meeting will be held in physical format in the afternoon.
Earlier, on June 13, Mandaviya chaired a meeting through video conferencing with Health Ministers and senior officials of States and Union Territories (UTs) to review the progress of the vaccination exercise HarGharDastak 2.0 campaign.
"COVID is not over yet. There are reports of rising cases of COVID in some states. It is important at this time to be alert and not forget COVID Appropriate behaviour (CAB) such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance to prevent the spread of the infection," he had stressed.
10:04 AMAssembly by-polls turnout
Till 9 am, 11.56% voter turnout recorded in Atmakur (Andhra Pradesh)
15.29% in Agartala (Tripura)
16.25% in Town Bardowali (Tripura)
13% in Surma (Tripura)
14% in Jubarajnagar (Tripura)
13.49% in Mandar (Jharkhand)
5.20% in Rajinder Nagar (Delhi)
10:03 AMEnding terrorism is only way for Pakistan to help Kashmiris: India
India has said that the only thing Pakistan can do to help the people of Kashmir is to stop terrorism.
"The only contribution that Pakistan can make is to stop state-sponsored terrorism," Nitish Birdi, the Minister in India's UN Mission, said on Tuesday replying to the Pakistani envoy's comment about Kashmiris needing UN humanitarian aid.
He added that Pakistan's representative continuously misuses UN platforms to spew "malicious and false propaganda" against India "like a broken record".
10:03 AMU.S. recession fears darken outlook for Japan, global factories
Japan's factory activity growth slowed to a four-month low in June as China's COVID-19 curbs disrupted supply chains, while many other economies in Asia were also facing headwinds amid growing risks to the outlook from a potential U.S. recession.
Australia's manufacturing activity held steady this month, data showed on Thursday which, together with Japan's figures, come ahead of a string of European and U.S. purchasing managers' index (PMI) surveys due out later in the day.
The readings will be closely scrutinised as financial markets fret over sharp interest rises by the Federal Reserve, and further aggressive tightening planned over coming months, which have substantially raised the risk of a U.S. recession.
9:55 AMDelhi: Voting underway for Rajinder Nagar bypolls; AAP, BJP in key battle
Polling for the bypoll on the Rajinder Nagar seat of the national capital is underway where Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Janata Party are in a direct battle.
The seat remained vacated after the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Raghav Chadha was nominated for the Rajya Sabha from Punjab on March 21. the Kejriwal government has been criticised by the Opposition for its liquor policy.
9:55 AMRupee recovers from record low, inches higher by 9 paise against US dollar in early trade
Recovering from its record low, the rupee inched higher by 9 paise to 78.23 against the US dollar in early morning trade on Thursday. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 78.26 against the American dollar, then inched higher to quote at 78.23, registering a rise of 9 paise from the previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee declined by 19 paise to settle at an all-time low of 78.32 against the US dollar.
9:47 AMLong Covid in infected children can last at least two months: Lancet study
Children infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus can experience symptoms of long COVID lasting at least two months, according to a study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health journal on Thursday.
The largest study to date of long COVID symptoms in children aged 0-14 years used national level sampling of children in Denmark and matched COVID-19 positive cases with a control group with no prior history of a the disease.
"The overall aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of long-lasting symptoms in children and infants, alongside quality of life, and absence from school or day care," said Professor Selina Kikkenborg Berg, from Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark
9:45 AMUkraine set to be approved as EU candidate at Brussels summit
During a summit in Brussels on Thursday, Ukraine is set to be approved as an European Union (EU) candidate after the European Commission gave the go-ahead.
Just four days after Russia launched its invasion of Kiev on February 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had signed an official appeal to the EU asking for the accession of Ukraine via a new special procedure.
And on June 11, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc will finalise the assessment on granting Ukraine EU candidate status.
9:37 AMTaliban appeals for int'l aid following devastating earthquake
In the aftermath of the devastating 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Afghanistan's Paktika province that killed at least 1,000 people, the country's Taliban-led government has appealed for international aid, the media reported on Thursday.
The earthquake on Wednesday, deemed to be the deadliest to strike the country in two decades, and subsequent landslides also injured 1,500 people in the two districts of Gayan and Barmal.
The epicentre was 44 km from Khost city and tremors were felt as far away as Pakistan and India.
In a statement, senior Taliban official Abdul Qahar Balkhi said the regime was "financially unable to assist the people to the extent that is needed" as Afghanistan is in the midst of an ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis, the BBC reported.
Despite help from "aid agencies, neighbouring countries and world powers", he said that "the assistance needs to be scaled up to a very large extent because this is a devastating earthquake which hasn't been experienced in decades".
9:21 AM4.1 and 4.9 magnitude earthquakes hit Central Nepal
Two mild earthquakes measuring below 5.0 magnitude hit Central Nepal early on Thursday morning, the national seismological centre announced.
As per the readings from the centre, an earthquake measuring 4.9 magnitudes struck the Kaski District of Nepal and surrounding areas at around 3:56 AM (NST).
The epicentre of that quake lay at Dhampus of Machhapurchhare Rural Municipality-7 in the Kaski district. Shockwaves from the quake were felt in Baglung, Parbat, Myagdi and Tanahun districts.
9:17 AM4 people wounded by man on stabbing rampage in New Zealand
A man wounded four people in a stabbing rampage Thursday in a New Zealand city before bystanders brought him to the ground, authorities said.
Police District Commander Naila Hassan said the suspect in the Auckland attack was in custody.
This was an extremely fast-moving incident, where our police staff responded quickly, apprehended the offender and prevented further harm to our communities, Hassan said.
No motive for the attack was immediately apparent.
9:13 AMUS Congresswoman Ilhan Omar introduces anti-India resolution in House
Continuing with her anti-India tirade, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has introduced a resolution that calls the US Secretary of State to designate India as a country of particular concern for alleged violation of religious freedom.
Co-sponsored by Congresswoman Rashida Talib and Congresswoman Juan Vargas, the resolution urges the Biden Administration to implement the recommendations of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom which has called for designating India as a country of particular concern for three consecutive years.
Introduced in the House of Representative on Tuesday, the resolution has been sent to the House Foreign Affairs Committee for necessary action.
 "Eknath Shinde")
