LIVE: Lankan Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa headed to Saudi Arabia, says report

Live news upedates: Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is headed to Saudi Arabia via Singapore

10:37 AM

UN chief asks Sri Lankan leaders to embrace spirit of compromise for peaceful, democratic transition

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following the situation in Sri Lanka very closely and has urged all party leaders to embrace the spirit of compromise for a peaceful and democratic transition.

The comments by Guterres came as embattled Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday fled to the Maldives on a military jet, hours before he was supposed to step down in the face of a public revolt against him and his family for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.

10:34 AM

Godavari flood surge continues in Andhra Pradesh

Flood flow at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage near Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh rose to 15.52 lakh cusecs on Thursday morning.

 

As the discharge at upstream Bhadrachalam in neighbouring Telangana crossed 17 lakh cusecs, the inflow at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage is also expected to surge by evening.

 

Special Chief Secretary (Revenue-Disaster Management) G Sai Prasad said the third warning signal would be issued at the Barrage by Thursday evening.

10:33 AM

Suspected monkeypox case found in Kerala, samples sent for testing

A person who returned from abroad has been admitted to a hospital in Kerala after he showed symptoms of monkeypox, state Health Minister Veena George said here on Thursday.

 

The minister said his samples have been collected and sent to the National Institute of Virology for testing.

 

She said the disease could be confirmed only after getting the test results.

10:24 AM

Assam logs 590 fresh COVID-19 cases, highest single-day spike in over five months

Assam on Thursday recorded the highest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases in over five months as 590 more people tested positive for the infection, a health bulletin said.

 

After a gap of four days, one person succumbed to the infection, the bulletin issued by the National Health Mission said.

 

The state registered a nearly 36 per cent jump in daily infections from the previous day. It had recorded 434 cases on Wednesday.

10:22 AM

Ukraine severs diplomatic ties with North Korea

Ukraine has severed diplomatic ties with North Korea for recognising the independence of Ukrainian territories seized by Russia, the country's foreign ministry said.

In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said it strongly condemns North Korea's decision to recognise the "so-called "independence" of the territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine."

"We consider this decision as an attempt by Pyongyang to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, a gross violation of the Constitution of Ukraine, the UN Charter and the fundamental norms and principles of the international law," it said.

10:13 AM

550 women sue Uber for sexual assaults by drivers in US

Nearly 550 women passengers have sued ride-hailing platform Uber, alleging they were assaulted by its drivers that included kidnapping, rape and physical attacks in the US.

The complaint, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, has sought damages and a jury trial.

The women said in their complaint that they were kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed or otherwise attacked by Uber drivers, per a court filing, TechCrunch reported late on Wednesday.

10:13 AM

Now crypto lending platform Celsius Network files for bankruptcy

Cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network, that recently laid off 150 employees, has now filed for bankruptcy in the US amid extreme market conditions.

The platform said that it initiated voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings to provide it with the opportunity to stabilise its business and consummate a comprehensive restructuring transaction that maximises value for all stakeholders.

Celsius said late on Wednesday that it has $167 million in cash on hand, which will provide ample liquidity to support certain operations during the restructuring process.

10:10 AM

UK Tories to vote again in leader race as Sunak, Mordaunt ahead

The UK Conservative Party will hold a latest ballot Thursday in the contest to elect their new leader and Britain’s next prime minister, after the first round of voting saw ex-Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt emerge as the front-runners.

 

At least one of the six-strong remaining field of contenders -- which also includes Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Attorney General Suella Braverman -- will be knocked out after Thursday’s vote among Tory MPs, with the result due at about 3 p.m. in London. Any challenger who receives fewer than 30 votes will also be eliminated, so the field size could reduce further.

 

Sunak, whose resignation helped trigger the downfall of Boris Johnson last week, is currently leading the race to succeed him after topping the first ballot Wednesday with 88 votes, ahead of Mordaunt with 67. Truss came third with 50 votes.

10:01 AM

Thane reports 190 new COVID-9 cases, 1 death

A total of 190 new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Maharashtra's Thane district, taking its tally of infections to 731,937, a health official said on Thursday.

With the addition of the latest cases on Wednesday, the district currently has 1,680 active COVID-19 cases, he said.

One death due to COVID-19 was also reported on Wednesday, raising the toll in the district to 11,917, he said.

The recovery count in Thane has reached 718,150, the official added.

10:01 AM

39 people die in flash floods in Afghanistan

As many as 39 people have died in incidents of flash flooding in the past week with new districts in the east, south, south-east, and central regions of Afghanistan impacted by heavy rains.

"Since 5 July, flash floods have reportedly killed 39 people across five provinces - Uruzgan (20), Ghazni (6), Nuristan (7), Paktya (3) and Zabul (3). Nine of those killed were children, including six in Ghazni and three in Paktya provinces," the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a flood update.

The heavy rains have damaged or destroyed around 2,900 houses, a tenfold increase since the last reporting period, and also disrupted livelihoods. Critical civilian infrastructure such as roads and bridges have also been impacted.

9:51 AM

Sri Lanka lifts curfew, no signs of Rajapaksa's resignation

Sri Lankan authorities on Thursday lifted the curfew, which was imposed in the Western province after the eruption of violence in the capital here, even as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has fled to the Maldives, was yet to submit his resignation letter.

Rajapaksa, the 73-year-old leader who had promised to resign on Wednesday, appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the acting President hours after he fled the country, escalating the political crisis and triggering a fresh wave of protests.

At least 84 people were hospitalised when protesters clashed with the security forces at the prime minister's office and at the main access junction to Parliament since mid-afternoon on Wednesday after Rajapaksa fled the country.

9:48 AM

Commend India, NITI Aayog for remarkable degree to which SDGs have been localised in India: UN Deputy Chief

UN Deputy chief Amina Mohammed commended the Indian government and NITI Aayog for the “remarkable degree” to which the Sustainable Development Goals have been localised in the country, saying that “as India leads and achieves" towards sustainable development, the region and the world will as well.

 

Beginning her remarks with a “Namaste”, the top UN official on Wednesday noted that the SDGs recognise that the world is interlinked to an unprecedented degree.

 

9:45 AM

Appoint new 'Chief Economic Astrologer': Chidambaram's dig at Sitharaman

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called the planets to the rescue of the economy after giving up hope in her own skills and that of her economic advisers.

His swipe at Sitharaman came after she had on Tuesday retweeted images unveiled by NASA from its new powerful space telescope.

"We are not surprised that the Finance Minister tweeted pictures of Jupiter, Pluto and Uranus on the day when Inflation printed at 7.01% and unemployment printed at 7.8%," Chidambaram tweeted.

"After giving up hope in her own skills and the skills of her economic advisers, the FM has called the planets to the rescue of the economy," the former finance minister said.

To begin with, she should appoint a new "CEA: Chief Economic Astrologer", Chidambaram added.

9:38 AM

India logs 20,139 new Coronavirus cases, 38 deaths in 24 hours

Daily COVID-19 cases in India were recorded over 20,000 after a gap of 145 days while the active cases increased to 136,076, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

A total of 20,139 new COVID-19 cases were reported in a span of 24 hours, pushing the total tally of cases to 43,689,989.

The death toll climbed to 525,557 with 38 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.31 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.49 per cent, the ministry said.

An increase of 3,619 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

9:37 AM

Inflation in Asia Pacific economies to subside early: Moody's Analytics

Inflation in Asia Pacific economies is expected to subside earlier as commodity prices retreat, but country-specific factors could lead to different inflation outcomes, said Moody's Analytics.

A combination of factors like the extreme weather, the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns in China, Russian invasion of Ukraine resulted in distorting global supply chain and inflation, Moody's Analytics said in a commentary.

In a commentary Moody's Analytics said high inflation is troubling because rising prices erode purchasing power and add to input costs.