LIVE: Apple looks to boost production outside China, says report

India and Vietnam, which are already sites of Apple production, are among the countries short-listed by the company as alternatives, Wall Street Journal reported

10:53 AM

Israel reports 1st suspected case of monkeypox

The Israeli Health Ministry has reported the country's first suspected case of monkeypox after the viral disease has recently been detected across North America and Europe.

 

Israel reported the first case of monkeypox on Friday evening, Xinhua news agency reported.

 

Earlier on Friday, a man in his 30s returning from western Europe visited Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv with suspicious lesions of the virus, according to separate statements issued by the Ministry and the hospital.

10:43 AM

FIFA plans to announce 2026 World Cup sites in New York on June 16

FIFA intends to announce the 2026 World Cup sites during a news conference in New York on June 16.

 

Seventeen U.S. stadiums in 16 areas remain in the bidding for the first 48-team World Cup, with the Los Angeles area submitting both SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, site of the 1994 World Cup final. Three stadiums each in Canada and Mexico are expected to be used.

 

The bid plan envisioned 16 total sites for the tournament. FIFA targeted mid-May for announcing site selections, and then pushed that back a month.

 

The 2026 World Cup will be the first with three co-hosts. FIFA selected the bid as joint host in June 2018.

10:34 AM

Russia stops Finland gas flow over payments dispute

Russia's Gazprom on Saturday halted gas exports to neighbouring Finland, the Finnish gas system operator said, the latest escalation of an energy payments dispute with Western nations.

 

Gazprom Export has demanded that European countries pay for Russian gas supplies in roubles because of sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, but Finland refuses to do so.

 

"Gas imports through Imatra entry point have been stopped," Gasgrid Finland said in a statement.

 

Imatra is the entry point for Russian gas into Finland.

 

10:29 AM

Microsoft founder Bill Gates uses Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3

Instead of a Microsoft Surface Duo, the tech giant's founder Bill Gates has revealed he uses Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 as his daily smartphone.

During a Reddit AMA this week, Gates finally confirmed which smartphone he uses, 9To5Google reported.

As per the report, it comes as no surprise that Gates uses an Android device, as he has said a few times in the past, as far back as 2017, that he uses Android.

Gates explained that the size of the Fold's display means he can get away with using it as a "portable PC" and nothing else.

10:14 AM

Beijing extends Covid control measures amid outbreak

Beijing will extend strict and tight Covid-19 control measures as hidden community-level transmission has been discovered through recent screenings, a municipal official said.

Dine-in services at restaurants will remain unavailable, and schools will continue online classes, Xinhua news agency quoted Xu Hejian, a spokesperson for the Beijing municipal government, as saying to reporters.

Fengtai district will tighten pandemic control measures. People in the district should work from home. Bus and metro stations in Fengtai, except for those around two major railway stations, will be shut, Xu said.

9:59 AM

India sees single-day rise of 2,323 Covid-19 cases, 25 deaths in 24 hours

India's Covid-19 tally increased to 43,134,145 on Saturday with 2,323 fresh infections, while the number of active cases came down to 14,996, according to Union health ministry data.

 

The death toll climbed to 524,348 with 25 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

 

The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections. The national Covid-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.

 

A decrease of 48 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

 

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.47 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.51 per cent, the ministry said.

 

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 42,594,801. The case fatality rate stood at 1.22 per cent, it said.

9:55 AM

Sonia, Priyanka Gandhi pay homage to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi paid homage to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 31st death anniversary at Vir Bhumi in the national capital on Saturday.

Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Sachin Pilot also paid tribute to the former Prime Minister at Vir Bhumi in Delhi.

Rajiv Gandhi took over the charge of the Congress in 1984 following the assassination of his mother and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He became India's youngest Prime Minister at the age of 40 when he assumed office in October 1984.

He served as the Prime Minister of India till December 2, 1989.

9:44 AM

Wimbledon's Russia ban prompts tours to cut ranking points

The women's and men's professional tennis tours will not award ranking points for Wimbledon this year because of the All England Club's ban on players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine, an unprecedented move that stands as a significant rebuke of the sport's oldest Grand Slam tournament.

The WTA and ATP announced their decisions Friday night, two days before the start of the French Open and a little more than a month before play begins at Wimbledon on June 27.

In a technical sense, this renders the event an exhibition, because there are no ranking points at stake. Still, it remains Wimbledon, with its traditions and prestige, from the grass underfoot to the all-white clothing, from the Royal Box to the strawberries and cream, not to mention millions of dollars in prize money, and so the expectation is that everyone eligible to enter will do so.

9:40 AM

Wimbledon's Russia ban prompts tours to cut ranking points

The women's and men's professional tennis tours will not award ranking points for Wimbledon this year because of the All England Club's ban on players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine, an unprecedented move that stands as a significant rebuke of the sport's oldest Grand Slam tournament.

The WTA and ATP announced their decisions Friday night, two days before the start of the French Open and a little more than a month before play begins at Wimbledon on June 27.

In a technical sense, this renders the event an exhibition, because there are no ranking points at stake. Still, it remains Wimbledon, with its traditions and prestige, from the grass underfoot to the all-white clothing, from the Royal Box to the strawberries and cream, not to mention millions of dollars in prize money, and so the expectation is that everyone eligible to enter will do so.

9:33 AM

UK consumer confidence plunges to record low amid cost-of-living crisis

Market research company GfK said that its Consumer Confidence Index for the UK in May dropped to its lowest level since records began in 1974 amid the country's raging cost-of-living crisis.

May's result, down two points from April to minus 40, is one point below the previous record set in July 2008, when the headline score plunged to minus 39, Xinhua news agency quoted Joe Staton, client strategy director at the GfK, as saying on Friday.

"This means consumer confidence is now weaker than in the darkest days of the global banking crisis, the impact of Brexit on the economy, or the Covid shutdown," he added.

9:21 AM

Taliban leadership has zero credibility for Women's rights: Human Rights Watch

Associate women's rights director and former senior Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, Heather Barr, highlighted Taliban's vicious remarks against Afghan women, calling out the organization's growing atrocities, in a tweet on Friday.

Taking to Twitter, she said, "Everyone from Taliban leadership has zero credibility on women's rights," recalling the human rights violation taking place in Afghanistan.

"They made representations about their supposed respect for women and girls when taking power. Every day after there was a new crackdown on women & that continued to intensify over time," she added, continuing the thread.

9:16 AM

PM Modi pays tributes to Rajiv Gandhi on death anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary.

 

The former prime minister was assassinated in 1991 by terrorist organisation Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Tamil Nadu where he was on an election campaign. He was 46.

 

Modi tweeted, "On his death anniversary, paying tributes to our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi." 

 

9:11 AM

India logs 2,323 coronavirus cases, 25 deaths in 24 hours

Summary of MoHFW data (May 21)
 

Active cases: 14,996 (Net increase: -48)
 

Deaths: 524,348 (Net increase: 25)
 

Cured: 42,594,801 (Net increase: 2346)
 

Total cases: 43,134,145 (Net increase:  2,323)
 

Total vaccination: 1,921,296,720 (Increase over previous day: 1,532,383)

 

8:51 AM

China reports 1,211 new coronavirus cases

Mainland China reported 1,211 new coronavirus cases on May 20, of which 201 were symptomatic and 1,010 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Saturday.

 

That compares with 1,183 new cases a day earlier, consisting of 193 symptomatic and 990 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.

 

8:44 AM

Global Covid caseload tops 526.6 mn

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 526.6 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 6.28 million and vaccinations to over 11.43 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

 

In its latest update on Saturday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 526,690,884 and 6,287,461, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered increased to 11,437,712,256.

 

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 83,194,060 and 1,002,022, respectively, according to the CSSE.

 

India accounts for the second highest caseload at 43,131,822.