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11:12 AM

Amit Shah and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel lay wreath at coffins of 14 jawans killed in Sukma

11:11 AM

Former Gujarat DGP appointed new BCCI ACU chief

Former Gujarat DGP Shabir Hussein Shekhadam Khandwawala has taken over from Ajit Singh as the head of the BCCI's Anti-Corruption Unit. Singh, a former DGP of Rajasthan, had joined in April 2018 and his term ended on March 31. He confirmed to PTI that he will be around for sometime to help his successor settle into the role. Khandwawala, a 1973 batch IPS officer, has been appointed ahead of the IPL beginning April 9. "It is a matter of a great honour that I am part of the BCCI which is the best run cricketing body in the world. Besides my expertise on security matters, what should help me in this role is my love for the game," Khandwawala, who is 70, told PTI.

 

11:01 AM

India's factory activity slows to seven-month low on renewed Covid-19 lockdowns

India's factory activity grew at its weakest pace in seven months in March as renewed lockdowns to curtail a resurgence in COVID-19 cases dampened domestic demand and output, a private survey showed, forcing firms to cut headcount again. Last week, the Indian government advised federal states to try and control the rapid spread of the virus. Tighter restrictions on activity suggest factories could be in for a tough April. The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by IHS Markit, declined to a seven-month low of 55.4 last month from February's 57.5, but remained above the 50-level separating growth from contraction for an eighth straight month.

11:00 AM

Amit Shah to visit Chhattisgarh after Sukma encounter

10:46 AM

LG Electronics exits from loss-making mobile biz

LG Electronics said on Monday that it will withdraw from the mobile business after years of money-losing performance amid intensifying competition with bigger rivals. The South Korean tech powerhouse said in a regulatory filing that its mobile communications (MC) unit will no longer produce and sell handsets after July 31, citing its long slump and fierce competition in the industry. The decision came two months after the company said its MC division is open to "all possibilities" for its future operations. LG's mobile business has been in the red since the second quarter of 2015. Its accumulated operating losses reached 5 trillion won (US$4.4 billion) last year.

 

10:18 AM

Lt Gen M K Katiyar has taken over as the new commander of One Strike Corps

10:13 AM

PM Modi's 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' to be held on Wednesday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced that his annual interaction with students ''Pariksha Pe Charcha'' will be held on April 7 in a new format. "A new format, several interesting questions on a wide range of subjects and a memorable discussion with our brave #ExamWarriors, parents and teachers. Watch 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' at 7 PM on 7th April," the prime minister tweeted. In February, it was announced that Prime Minister Modi's annual interaction with students will be held online this year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first edition of the prime minister's interaction programme with school and college students ''Pariksha Pe Charcha 1.0'' was held at the Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018.

9:52 AM

Puducherry poll preparations: EVMs, VVPAT machines moved to different distribution centres

Preparations for Puducherry Assembly polls were given final touches on Monday as EVMs and VVPAT machines were moved to different distribution centres from Women's Polytechnic College where presiding officers will collect and take them to respective booths for the voting. Voting for the Assembly polls will take place on April 6. As campaigning for assembly polls in Puducherry ended on Sunday, the election commission gave final touches to the preparations for voting in Puducherry.

 

9:45 AM

Amit Shah to visit Chhattisgarh naxal attack site; to meet injured jawans

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday will visit the site in Chhattisgarh where 22 security personnel were killed by Naxals in an ambush, officials said. The minister will also chair a meeting where the security situation arising out of the Saturday incident will be reviewed. During his visit, Shah will meet some of the injured security personnel in a hospital, a home ministry official said. Thirty jawans were injured in the ambush. The home minister along with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel is expected to attend a wreath laying ceremony in Raipur and pay tributes to the security personnel killed in the attack, another official said.

9:26 AM

Oil prices slip after OPEC+ agree to ease output cuts

Oil prices edged down in early Asian trade on Monday after OPEC+ agreed last week to gradually ease some of its production cuts between May and July. Brent crude futures for June fell 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $64.70 a barrel by 2351 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for May was at $61.32 a barrel, down 13 cents, or 0.2%. Both contracts settled up more than $2 a barrel after the OPEC+ decision and on optimism about energy demand after U.S. President Joe Biden outlined a $2 trillion infrastructure spending plan. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed to ease production curbs by 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, another 350,000 bpd in June and further 400,000 bpd or so in July.

9:02 AM

Free electricity upto 250 units per month for barber shops, laundry and dobhi ghats in Telangana

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has decided to provide up to 250 units of electricity per month at free of cost to barber shops, laundry shops and dobhi ghats across the state. The chief minister took this decision on Sunday after examining the grievances already made to the government by the Rajaka and Nayee Brahmin Associations across the state. CM KCR directed CMO Secretary Bhopal Reddy to issue an orderimmediately in this regard. As per the directions of the CM, principle secretary for BC welfare Burra Venkatesham has issued a G.O. This free power supply will come into effect from April 1.

8:39 AM

140 constituencies, 957 candidates; Kerala to decide on April 6

Kerala heads in for Assembly elections on Tuesday with battle lines drawn between the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) which hopes for continuity of term, and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is being seen as a potential threat in many places. Campaigning came to an end in the state on Sunday for the 957 candidates in the fray for the elections to the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly. On March 19, which was the last date for submission of applications, 2180 applications were received all over Kerala by Election Commission. After scrutiny, it dropped to 1061. As many as 957 candidates are contesting in the Assembly elections after the last date for withdrawal of nomination papers.

8:21 AM

Indonesia landslides, floods kill 55 people; dozens missing

Multiple disasters caused by torrential rains in eastern Indonesia have killed at least 55 people and displaced thousands, the country's disaster relief agency said on Monday. More than 40 other people were missing. Mud tumbled down from surrounding hills onto dozens of homes in Lamenele village shortly after midnight on Adonara island in East Nusa Tenggara province. Rescuers recovered 38 bodies and at least five people were injured, said Lenny Ola, who heads the local disaster agency. Flash flooding killed at least 17 people elsewhere and at least 42 are missing, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Relief efforts were hampered by power cuts, blocked roads covered in thick mud and debris as well as the remoteness of the area on an island surrounded by choppy seas and high waves, said the agency's spokesperson, Raditya Jati.

8:04 AM

Global trade frictions severe in 2020: Report

Global trade frictions were severe last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and also the consequent economic decline, said a report from China's trade promotion body. The global economic and trade measures index, introduced by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, was on the rise in 2020, said the report released by the council's legal advisory committee on economic and trade frictions, the Xinhua news agency reported. It looked into trade frictions in 20 countries and regions, including the United States, China, and Japan, and trade-measure usages such as import and export duties, trade remedies, and technical barriers. Competition between major economies was increasing, the report said, citing the sub-indexes for countries and regions such as India, the US, the UK, and the European Union. Competition in these countries remained high in the reporting period. Meanwhile, trade frictions between other countries were relatively mild, it said.

7:52 AM

2 rockets hit air base in Iraq's Salahudin province

Two rockets on Sunday landed near an Iraqi military air base in Salahudin province north of capital Baghdad, the Iraqi military said. A statement by the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said that the rockets landed at 12:15 p.m. local time (0915 GMT) at the edge of Balad air base, some 90 km north of Baghdad, without causing casualties, the Xinhua news agency reported. The rockets were fired from al-Dojama, an area located across the Tigris River in the neighbouring Diyala province, the statement said, adding that the air base houses Iraqi jet fighters.