LIVE: Biden says he thinks Russia should be removed from G-20

Biden also said if countries such as Indonesia and others do not agree with removing Russia, then in his view, Ukraine should be allowed to attend the meetings

3:27 PM

Birbhum violence: TMC delegation led by Derek O' Brien, Sudip Bandyopadhyay meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah

3:23 PM

Stoltenberg to extend NATO term by one year amid Ukraine war, say reports

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is set to extend his term as head of the alliance by another year due to the war in Ukraine, Norwegian broadcaster TV2 and daily Dagens Naeringsliv reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.

 

Stoltenberg's term expires on Oct. 1 and he had been due to take up a post as central bank governor of his native Norway by the end of 2022.

 

Asked as he arrived at a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday whether he would stay on at NATO, Stoltenberg said: "I will leave that decision to the 30 leaders to decide." Russia's invasion of Ukraine a month ago, which Moscow calls a "special operation", has triggered Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War Two and led Western nations to fundamentally rethink their defence policies.

 

Stoltenberg, an economist by training and former leader of Norway's Labour Party, was Norwegian prime minister from 2000-01 and 2005-13 before becoming NATO chief the following year. He has also been finance minister and energy minister.

 

 

3:16 PM

Renault suspends activities at Moscow plant

French carmaker Renault has announced that it was suspending “activities at the Renault Moscow plant” with immediate effect.

 

The move came on Wednesday night, hours after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke virtually to the French parliament, calling on Renault and other French companies with a Russian presence to stop indirectly supporting the war against Ukraine.

 

The Renault Group board of directors met on Wednesday to decide to halt production at the plant that produces Arkana, Kaptur, Duster and Nissan Terrano SUVs amid mounting criticism of its foothold in Russia.

 

The lion's share of the group's Russian presence, however, goes through its subsidiary AvtoVAZ, through which it sold nearly 500,000 vehicles in Russia in 2021.

 

2:40 PM

Germany will 'never rely' on one energy supplier again: Minister

Germany will keep up efforts to diversify its energy sources and never again make itself dependent on one energy supplier but it is not ready to impose an energy embargo on Russia, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Thursday. The country is trying to quickly free itself from its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, Habeck told a news conference, according to Reuters.

2:07 PM

Estonia asks EU nations to withhold Russia’s energy payments

Estonia will propose that European Union governments withhold a share of Russia’s energy payments and put the money toward war recovery efforts of Ukraine, according to a person familiar with a proposal that’s been shared with other member states. The Estonian proposal will be raised by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas with EU leaders at a summit on Thursday, Bloomberg reported. 

 

1:27 PM

Ukraine's Zelenskyy calls for world solidarity against Russian invasion

Ukraine's leader called for global solidarity on Thursday to mark a month since Russia's invasion began, urging people around the world to take to the streets and calling on leaders meeting in summits in Europe to bolster action against Moscow. "Come from your offices, your homes, your schools and universities, come in the name of peace, come with Ukrainian symbols to support Ukraine, to support freedom, to support life," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address.

12:58 PM

White House draws up contingency plan if Russia escalates war

The White House has assembled a team of national security experts to discuss contingency planning if Russia’s Vladimir Putin turns to his stockpiles of chemical or nuclear weapons, the New York Times reported, citing several officials involved in the process. The so-called Tiger Team meets three times a week in classified sessions and is looking at responses if Russia seeks to extend the war into neighboring countries, the newspaper said. Plans are expected to be discussed at the NATO meeting in Brussels Thursday.

12:39 PM

264 civilians killed by Russian attacks in Kyiv city: Mayor

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told reporters on Wednesday that 264 civilians in the city had been killed by Russian attacks. He later said one person was killed and two wounded on Wednesday when shells hit a shopping centre parking lot. Russia has denied targeting civilians.

11:44 AM

Japan considers doubling humanitarian aid

The Japanese government is considering extending additional humanitarian aid of $100 million to Ukraine and neighbouring countries, on top of the $100 million in assistance Japan has already announced, public broadcaster NHK said on Thursday. The government is also looking into doubling emergency loans to Ukraine to $200 million and dispatching Self-Defence Force medical officers to support Ukrainian refugees in Poland and other neighbouring nations, NHK said.

11:05 AM

Russia's economy in Jan grew 6.6% on an annual basis

The Russian economy expanded by 6.6% in January on an annual basis after growing by 4.3% in December, the economy ministry said on its website on Thursday.

10:21 AM

India reports marginal rise in new Covid cases

India reported 1,938 fresh Covid cases, marginally higher than the previous day's count of 1,778, in a span of 24 hours.

In the same period 67 deaths were also recorded taking the total number of deaths to 516,672, said the Union Health ministry on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, following a continuous downward trend, India's active caseload has further declined to 22,427 Thursday, constituting 0.05 per cent of the country's total positive cases.

10:07 AM

India reports 1,938 Covid-19 infections in 24 hrs; active cases at 22,427

With 1,938 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of cases rose to 43,014,687, while the active cases further declined to 22,427, according to Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.

The death toll has climbed to 516,672 with 67 daily fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.05 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has been recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.

A reduction of 660 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

9:52 AM

Japan doubts if Russia can handle required rouble payments

Japan does not know how Russia will handle the required rouble payments for its energy sold to "unfriendly" countries, the finance minister said on Thursday. Japan accounted for 4.1% of Russia's crude oil exports and 7.2% of its natural gas exports in 2021. "Currently, we're looking into the situation with relevant ministries as we don't quite understand what is (Russia's) intention and how they would do this," Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said in a parliament session, according to Reuters.

9:22 AM

After petrol-diesel and LPG, PNG rate hiked by Rs 1

After a hike in petrol, diesel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices, Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) has also increased the price of domestic piped natural gas (PNG) by Rs 1 per standard cubic meter (SCM) effective from Thursday.

According to IGL, PNG will cost Rs 36.61 per unit in Delhi and Rs 35.86 per unit in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. People in Gurugram will need to pay Rs 34.81 per SCM while in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Shamli, the new rate is Rs 39.37 per SCM.

The new rates will come into effect from today. The move will affect more than 72 lakh domestic households.

As per data provided by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB), as of December 31, 2020

9:21 AM

Cracks emerge in Pakistan-Taliban partnership: Report

Cracks have started to emerge in the alliance between the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistani establishment due to the former's support to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the rising tensions along the Durand Line, a media report has said.

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan effectively downgraded its presence at the just concluded Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) summit in Islamabad by sending just an official of the foreign ministry, instead of their acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, European Times said.

This comes at a time when tensions along the Durand Line have been on a constant rise in recent times with the exchange of fire between the Taliban forces and the Pakistani border guards at various locations along the border in Chaman and Spin Boldak districts, the report said.