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

9:24 AM

India reports 2,685 cases, 33 deaths in 24 hours

Summary of MoHFW Covid-19 data (May 28)

Active cases: 16,308 (Net increase: 494)
 

Deaths: 524,572 (Net increase: 33)
 

Cured: 42,609,335 (Net increase: 2,158)
 

Total cases: 43,150,215 (Net increase:  2,685)
 

Total vaccination: 1,931,341,918 (Increase over previous day: 1,439,466)

9:22 AM

PM Modi pays tributes to Savarkar on his birth anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar on his birth anniversary.

Savarkar was born in 1883 in Maharashtra.

 

"Respectful tributes to Veer Savarkar, the hardworking son of Maa Bharti, on his birth anniversary," Modi said in a tweet in Hindi.

 

Modi also shared a photo montage on Savarkar with his own and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's voiceovers talking about the qualities and contributions of the Hindutva icon.

9:18 AM

Shanghai reports Covid case outside quarantine area

China’s financial hub, Shanghai, reported another Covid infection outside quarantine even as total case numbers in the city continue to decline; while the daily toll in capital Beijing fell for the fifth straight day.

 

Shanghai logged a total of 170 infections for Friday, one of which was found in the community through regular mass testing, health officials said in a statement. The total daily case count in the city has steadily trended down over the past week.

9:07 AM

Maharashtra: 70 new COVID-19 cases in Thane district, no death

Thane district of Maharashtra has reported 70 new coronavirus positive cases, which took its infection count to 7,09,795, an official said on Saturday.

 

These cases were reported on Friday.

 

As nobody succumbed to the infection during the day, the death toll in the district remained unchanged at 11,895, he said, adding that the mortality rate is 1.67 per cent.

 

9:07 AM

China, US interests could clash as Beijing looks to address its food security

China's aim to address its food security challenges could put the US, as the world's leading producer in agriculture, in Beijing's way, according to an independent agency of the US government.

 

The report released by US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), reviews China's food security challenges and how these vulnerabilities drive interest in US-China agricultural relations.

 

According to the USCC, China's efforts to strengthen its agriculture sector and food security, sometimes through illicit means, could prove to be a risk to US economic and national security.

8:51 AM

Countries should take right measures to contain Monkeypox: WHO

The World Health Organisation official said that countries should take the right measures to contain Monkeypox cases easily and also share data about their vaccine stockpiles.

"We don't know the extent of the disease. But as I said, we as a country should be more vigilant, so that we detect more cases. We think that if we put in place the right measure now, we probably can contain this easily. So that's why, we are making this briefing today and we are trying to raise the awareness because we are at the very, very beginning and it's we have a good window of opportunity to stop the transmission now," said Sylvie Briand, WHO director for Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness.

On the risk to the community spread, she said, "We are afraid that it will be spread in the community but currently it is very hard to assess this risk."

8:31 AM

Global Covid caseload tops 528.3 mn, deaths surge past 6.28 mn

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 528.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 6.28 million and vaccinations to over 11.38 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 528,311,949 and 6,286,120, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered increased to 11,380,282,743.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 83,969,313 and 1,004,692, respectively, according to the CSSE.

India accounts for the second highest caseload at 43,147,530.

8:30 AM

China reports 71 new local COVID-19 cases, 131 asymptomatic in Shanghai

The Chinese mainland on Friday reported 71 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 39 were in Shanghai and 18 in Beijing, the National Health Commission said on Saturday.

Shanghai reported 39 new confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 131 local asymptomatic cases on Friday, the Shanghai municipal health commission said, reported Xinhua News Agency.

Meanwhile, on Friday, a total of 269 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery.

8:30 AM

Ukrainian PM, German minister discuss Ukraine's post-conflict recovery

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said that he discussed his country's post-conflict reconstruction with Germany's Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze during their talks in Kiev.

 

"Ukraine needs to restore the infrastructure in the liberated regions as soon as possible to ensure the normal logistics and operation of enterprises," Shmyhal wrote on Telegram after the talks.

 

Financial support for small and medium-sized businesses will also help stabilise the Ukrainian economy, Shmyhal was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

8:28 AM

Argentina confirms first case of monkeypox

Argentina has confirmed its first case of monkeypox in a man who arrived from Spain, the Health Ministry has said.

 

"The patient is in good condition, undergoing symptomatic treatment, and his close contacts are under clinical and epidemiological control, with no symptoms to date," the ministry was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.

 

The test result from "the sample taken from the first high-probability case is positive, which confirms infection with poxviruses belonging to the Eurasian-African group of the Orthopox genus," the ministry said.

8:17 AM

Pakistan CJP says trust in political parties undermined after clashes in Islamabad

Trust in political parties has been undermined following Wednesday's events, said Pakistan's Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial following mayhem caused by supporters of Imran Khan's political party that took siege of the capital city of Islamabad.

 

Referring to violent incidents and clashes in Islamabad, the CJP said whatever happened was regrettable, adding since political temperatures were high, interference was not appropriate.

8:17 AM

US: Turkey's NATO issues with Sweden, Finland will be fixed

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday he's confident Turkey's objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO can be overcome swiftly, possibly in time for a summit of alliance leaders at the end of next month.

 

At a news conference in Washington with visiting Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Blinken said the US has no reason to believe Turkey's concerns cannot be addressed. His comments came after Turkey's top diplomat said Finland and Sweden would have to take concrete steps before Ankara could support their membership.

 

The United States fully supports Finland and Sweden joining the alliance and I continue to be confident that both will soon be NATO members, Blinken said. "We look forward to being able to call Finland and Sweden our allies."

8:16 AM

Mathura case: Application filed for status quo on mosque premises

Three applications were filed in the court of civil judge (senior division) here in the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute case, requesting among other things that the status quo be maintained on the mosque premises, officials said.

 

The applications were submitted in the court of Jyoti Singh as part of a suit filed in the name of deity Sri Krishna Virajman and Lucknow-resident Manish Yadav, who claims to be a descendant of Lord Krishna, in 2020 for shifting the mosque.

 

The petitioners have claimed that the mosque is constructed on a part of 13.37 acre land of Katra Keshav Dev temple.

8:16 AM

Trump backs NRA in gun rights pitch after Texas school shootings

Former President Donald Trump rejected tighter gun control after a Texas school shooter killed 19 children and two teachers, telling a National Rifle Association meeting that solutions include mental-health care and training teachers to carry concealed weapons. 

 

“The existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens who know how to use their weapon,” Trump said in a speech in Houston. “The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens.” 

 

He also took swipes at Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a fellow Republican, for dropping out of the NRA convention and Democratic mayors whose cities are suffering from gun crime. 

8:16 AM

S&P cuts Ukraine’s rating amid more 'protracted' war

S&P Global Ratings cut Ukraine’s rating by one notch amid a more protracted conflict than originally forecast when Russia invaded the nation in February. 

 

Ukraine’s foreign-currency rating was reduced to CCC+, on par with Argentina and Mozambique, and only five notches above default. It also assigned a negative outlook to the country as risks to the economy, external balances, public finances and financial stability stemming from the war might undermine the government’s ability to meet its debt obligations, S&P said in a statement. 

 

“The Ukraine government’s capacity to meet its foreign-currency commercial debt payments is contingent on the flow of donor support,” according to the statement published Friday.