LIVE: Yogi govt issues new rules to ensure safety of working women

No female worker shall be bound to work without her written consent before 6 am and after 7 pm

11:44 AM

No diagnostic facility in Pakistan to detect Monkeypox

Amid the rising risk of a monkeypox outbreak in Pakistan, the Pakistan Health ministry on Saturday said that the country has no facility for diagnostic tests for the virus.

 

The officials of the federal health ministry said that there are no cases of monkeypox reported in the country yet, however, in the case of an outbreak, the samples can be sent abroad for testing, Geo TV reported.

 

"The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Islamabad clarifies that NO case of Monkeypox has yet been diagnosed in Pakistan. The news circulating on social media about monkeypox cases is incorrect. The situation is being closely monitored by the health authorities," NIH wrote on Twitter.

11:44 AM

CBI questions Karti Chidambaram in 'bribe-for-visa' case for 3rd consecutive day

The CBI questioned Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram for the third consecutive day on Saturday in connection with its probe into the alleged Rs 50-lakh bribery for issuance of 263 project visas to Chinese workers involved in the construction of the Talwandi Sabo power project in 2011, officials said.

He arrived at the CBI headquarters early in the morning to face the investigation team. The questioning is likely to continue throughout the day with a lunch break, they said

The CBI is questioning Karti Chidambaram since Thursday in the 11-year old case which the Congress leader has termed as "most bogus" and a result of "political vendetta".

11:29 AM

Over 15K tech workers lose jobs in May globally

More than 15,000 people working in the technology sector lost their job in the month of May globally, as global macro-economic factors hit companies, especially startups.

 

According to layoff aggregator layoffs.fyi, more than 15,000 tech workers have lost their jobs this month, reports TechCrunch.

 

Since March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic started, 1.25 lakh employees have been laid off by around 718 startups globally.

 

Tech companies are facing multiple issues like rising inflation, recession fear, Russia-Ukraine war.

11:29 AM

Hijab row: Only uniforms are allowed, says K'taka Minister

While commenting on the resurfacing of the hijab issue in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka Education Minister B.C. Nagesh on Saturday categorically stated that only uniforms are allowed in school and college campuses across the state.

 

He further said that the order of the Karnataka High Court must be followed regarding the issue.

 

The Minister's remark comes after hundreds of students from Mangaluru's University College staged a protest on Thursday against wearing hijab in classrooms.

 

11:21 AM

'Tomorrow will be better': Shanghai inches towards COVID re-opening

The Chinese metropolis of Shanghai inched further towards a gradual reopening from two months of grinding COVID-19 lockdown, while the capital Beijing maintained curbs that have drastically curtailed movement even as case numbers decline.

 

Shanghai aims essentially to end its lockdown from Wednesday. More people have been allowed out of their homes and more businesses permitted to reopen in the past week, although most residents remain largely confined to their housing compounds and most shops are limited to making deliveries.

 

Shanghai officials urged continued vigilance on Saturday, even though the vast majority of its 25 million residents live in areas that are in the lowest-risk "prevention" category.

 

11:12 AM

Centre to develop framework to check fake reviews on e-commerce websites

The Centre will develop a framework to keep a check over fake reviews on E-Commerce websites.

The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) after studying the present mechanism being followed by the E-Commerce entities in India and best practices available globally, will develop these frameworks.

DoCA in association with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) along with various stakeholders such as the E-Commerce entities, Consumer Forums, Law Universities, Lawyers, FICCI, CII, Consumer Rights Activists and others in a meeting discussed the magnitude and roadmap ahead for fake reviews on websites.

10:47 AM

Taliban dismisses UNSC's call to reverse restrictions on Afghan women

The call of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to lift the Taliban's strict measures on Afghan women has been dismissed by the Taliban forces who have termed it as "unfounded."

Reaffirming the Taliban's commitment to Afghan women's rights, the Taliban's Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the concerns of the UNSC on Friday regarding the restriction of human and fundamental rights imposed upon Afghan women, reported Khaaama Press.

"Since the people of Afghanistan are predominantly Muslim, the Afghan government considers the observance of Islamic hijab to be in line with the religious and cultural practices of society," stated Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesperson of the Taliban Ministry of Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Ministry.

10:46 AM

Sri Lanka's state-owned insurance firm set to incur losses in excess of LKR 1 billion

Sri Lanka's state-owned insurance firm may incur losses in excess of LKR 1 billion due to the violent clashes between anti- and pro-government protesters in the country earlier this month, New York-based ratings agency Fitch has said.

On May 9, violence erupted in Sri Lanka after supporters of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked peaceful anti-government protesters demanding his ouster over the country's worst economic crisis that led to acute shortages of staple food, fuel and power.

The clashes killed at least 10 people, injured over 200 others, and the properties of 78 government parliamentarians faced arson.

State-owned National Insurance Trust Fund Board (NITFB), which provides strike, riot, civil commotion and terrorism cover (SRCCT) to the island nation will bear the brunt of the losses due to the violent clashes, while primary insurers would experience little impact, Fitch said in a statement on Friday.

10:46 AM

Ukraine says troops may retreat from eastern region as Russia advances

Ukraine said on Friday its forces may need to retreat from their last pocket of resistance in Luhansk to avoid being captured by Russian troops pressing an advance in the east that has shifted the momentum of the three-month-old war.

A withdrawal could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin closer to his goal of capturing Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions in full. His troops have gained ground in the two areas collectively known as the Donbas while blasting some towns to wastelands.

 

Luhansk's governor, Serhiy Gaidai, said Russian troops had entered Sievierodonetsk, the largest Donbas city still held by Ukraine, after trying to trap Ukrainian forces there for days.

 

Gaidai said 90% of buildings in the town were damaged.

10:26 AM

Jos Buttler equals Virat Kohli's record of most 100s in T20 series

Rajasthan Royals opening batter Jos Buttler on Friday equalled the record of Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Virat Kohli, for scoring the most number of centuries in a T20 league.

 

Buttler achieved this feat during the Qualifier 2 match of IPL 2022 against Royal Challengers Bangalore, here at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, where he smashed his fourth ton of the season.

 

Earlier, Kohli held the record with four centuries to his name in 2016. In the same year, he scored 973 runs, which is the highest by any player in the history of IPL.

10:25 AM

Tesla won't manufacture in India unless allowed to sell, service cars: Musk

American electric carmaker Tesla, which has been seeking reduction in import duties to sell its vehicles in India, will not manufacture its products locally unless it is allowed to first sell and service its cars in the country, company founder and chief executive Elon Musk has said.

In a tweet responding to a user asking about Tesla setting up a manufacturing plant in India, he said, "Tesla will not put a manufacturing plant in any location where we are not allowed first to sell & service cars."

Last month, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had said if Tesla was ready to manufacture its electric vehicles in India then there was 'no problem' but the company must not import cars from China.

9:56 AM

India records 2,685 fresh COVID-19 cases, 33 deaths

India on Saturday recorded 2,685 fresh COVID-19 cases that took its infection tally to 43,150,215, while the number of active cases increased to 16,308, according to Union health ministry data.

 

The death toll climbed to 524,572 with 33 fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

 

The active cases comprise 0.04 per cent of the total infections. The national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.75 per cent, the ministry said.

 

An increase of 494 cases was recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

 

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.60 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 0.54 per cent, the ministry said.

9:55 AM

WHO to begin Covid vaccination drive in Afghanistan in June

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it will begin its Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Afghanistan from June.

According to the global health body, the campaign will cover 34 provinces and target more than 5 million people aged 18 years and above, TOLO News reported.

WHO figures have revealed that as of May 22, a total of 6,118,557 vaccine doses against the virus have been administered in Afghanistan.

9:41 AM

Communist deputy demands Russian withdrawal

Breaking with the party line in a rare show of opposition to his country's war in Ukraine, a Communist Party legislative deputy in Russia's Far East demanded an end to the military operation and withdrawal of Russian forces.

 

We understand that if our country doesn't stop the military operation, we'll have more orphans in our country, Leonid Vasyukevich said at a meeting of the Primorsk regional Legislative Assembly in the Pacific port of Vladivostok on Friday.

 

His comments, which he addressed to President Vladimir Putin, were shown in a video posted on a Telegram channel emanating from the region.

9:31 AM

Samsung likely to cut phone production by 30 mn units in 2022

Amid the pandemic crisis, South Korean tech giant Samsung has reportedly decided to cut its phone production by 30 million units this year.

The report mentioned that Samsung is cutting production targets across its low to mid-end and flagship models, reports SamMobile.

Samsung was reportedly going to produce 310 million units of smartphones in 2022 but it has now decided to cut that back to 280 million units.