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11:01 AM

India, Australia ink economic cooperation and trade pact to boost ties

India and Australia on Saturday signed an economic cooperation and trade agreement under which Canberra would provide duty free access in its market for over 95 per cent of Indian goods such as textiles, leather, jewellery and sports products.

The India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement was inked by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan in a virtual ceremony, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison.

"This is truly a watershed moment for India-Australia relations," Prime Minister Modi said.

Morrison added that the pact will further deepen Australia's close ties with India.

10:59 AM

Hong Kong to Ask Residents To Undertake 3 Home Rapid Covid Tests

Hong Kong residents will all receive rapid antigen tests and will be urged to undertake them daily between April 8 and 10, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a briefing Saturday.

 

The voluntary exercise does not replace authorities’ plan for a mandatory mass testing, Lam said. The government would distribute service kits to all households with rapid tests, masks and medical supplies, she said. 

 

The chief executive declined to clarify or confirm reports that she visited Shenzhen on Friday to meet senior mainland officials. The South China Morning Post cited unidentified people as saying Lam departed Friday morning to meet Xia Baolong, the top Chinese official in charge of Hong Kong affairs, to discuss the May 8 leadership election and pandemic work.

10:21 AM

US Commerce Dept adds 120 entities in Russia, Belarus to trade blacklist

The United States is adding 120 Russian and Belarusian entities to its trade blacklist for their support of the countries' armed forces amid the ongoing special operation in Ukraine, the US Commerce Department said on Friday.

"In response to the Russian Federation's (Russia's) further invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Department of Commerce is amending the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) by adding 120 entities under 120 entries to the Entity List. These 120 entities have been determined by the U.S. Government to be acting contrary to the national security interests or foreign policy of the United States and will be listed on the Entity List under the destinations of Belarus and Russia," the Commerce Department said in a notice in the Federal Register.

10:20 AM

Zelenskyy: Russians create ''complete disaster'' with mines

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his people early Saturday that retreating Russian forces were creating a complete disaster outside the capital as they leave mines across the whole territory, including around homes and corpses.

He issued the warning as the humanitarian crisis in the encircled city of Mariupol deepened, with Russian forces blocking evacuation operations for the second day in a row. Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil.

Ukraine denied responsibility for the fiery blast, but if Moscow's claim is confirmed, it would be the war's first known attack in which Ukrainian aircraft penetrated Russian airspace.

9:37 AM

Private member's bill to regulate population withdrawn in RS

A private member's bill moved by BJP member Rakesh Sinha in the Rajya Sabha to regulate the rising population was withdrawn on Friday.

The BJP MP withdrew the Population Regulation Bill, 2019 which pitches for a mandatory two-child norm.

The bill had also advocated for disqualifying people violating the two-child norm from being chosen as an MP, MLA or a member of any body of the local self-government.

9:35 AM

US giving Ukraine USD 300M more in military gear

The US Defense Department says it is providing an additional USD 300 million in military equipment to Ukrainian forces defending the country from Russian troops.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement on Friday evening that the gear in the new package includes laser-guided rocket systems, unmanned aircraft, armoured vehicles, night vision devices and ammunition. Also included are medical supplies, field equipment and spare parts.

Kirby said the new package represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide new capabilities to Ukraine, rather than delivering equipment drawn from US military stockpiles.

9:34 AM

Entire Shanghai Placed Under Lockdown

Shanghai’s 25 million residents are almost all under some form of lockdown as the financial hub scrambles to tame a relentless surge of the coronavirus’s highly contagious omicron variant.

 

The eastern half of the mega Chinese city remains under tight movement restrictions despite the end of a four-day sweeping lockdown Friday morning, according to a government statement Saturday. That means the entire population of the metropolis is currently under some form of quarantine as the two-part lockdown shifted to the western half of Shanghai on Friday.

 

Residents in the western part of the city, where about two-thirds of its population live, began their four-day lockdown at 3 a.m. local time on Friday after the program ended in the east. During the restrictions, residents are barred from leaving home unless they are going out for mandatory mass Covid tests.

8:30 AM

At least 12 people killed in explosion in western Afghan city of Herat

At least 12 people were killed and 25 others wounded in an explosion in Afghanistan's western province of Herat on Friday.

"The death toll of the blast in PD 12 of Herat city has risen to 12, with 25 wounded, provincial health officials said, saying the explosives were buried in a sports field and triggered as young people were playing," TOLOnews reported.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

8:22 AM

Actor Will Smith resigns from film academy over Chris Rock slap

Will Smith resigned Friday from the motion picture academy following his Oscars night slap of Chris Rock and said he would accept any further punishment the organization imposed.

A spokesperson for Smith issued a statement from the actor Friday afternoon.

I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable, Smith said in the statement.

8:08 AM

Australia-India trade deal to open 'biggest economic door': Morrison

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a trade agreement with India due to be signed on Saturday represented "one of the biggest economic doors there is to open in the world today".

Morrison is expected to call a general election within days, and has been eager to secure the trade deal before campaigning began, having been in negotiations with India for a decade.

The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement would be signed in a virtual ceremony by Trade Minister Dan Tehan and India's Minister of Commerce & Industry, Piyush Goyal, and both countries would continue to work towards a full free trade deal, the federal government said on Friday.

7:42 AM

Europe signals unity against Russian gas payment demands

Europe vowed to stay united against Russia's demand that they pay for its gas in roubles, as the threat of an imminent supply halt eased on Friday.

European capitals have been bracing for a disruption to gas imports as Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks retaliation over Western sanctions for the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Some buyers and governments were working on ways to potentially pay for gas in roubles as Moscow in recent days has raised the spectre of cutting gas supply if its payment terms are not met.

With weeks left before bills are due, governments in Europe, which relies on Russia for more than a third of its gas, are talking to energy companies about Russia's demand.

7:42 AM

Sri Lankan President declares public emergency after unrest

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday issued an extraordinary gazette declaring a public emergency in the island nation with effect, local media reported.

The Gazette has been issued considering the prevailing situation in the country and in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, Daily Mirror reported.

7:38 AM

Booster dose of Covid vaccine needed to fight against Omicron: Study

Neutralising antibody levels waned after six months in those who were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with Covishield, Covaxin and a mix of both -- Covishield as the first dose and Covaxin as the second dose -- in the context of the Omicron variant, a study done by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune has indicated.

The heterologous vaccination regimen of administering the first dose of Covishield, followed by the second dose of Covaxin had given a very good neutralising response against Delta and other Variants of Concern, Dr Pragya Yadav, a scientist at the NIV, said.

The study involved three cohorts -- a heterologous group with 18 individuals who were inadvertently administered the first dose of Covishield and the second dose of Covaxin in Uttar Pradesh and two groups comprising 40 individuals each receiving two doses of homologous Covishield or Covaxin.

7:38 AM

Talks resume as Ukraine denies hitting depot on Russian soil

Talks to stop the fighting in Ukraine resumed Friday, as another desperate attempt to rescue civilians from the shattered and encircled city of Mariupol failed and Russia accused the Ukrainians of launching a helicopter attack on a fuel depot on Russian soil.

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said a fiery cross-border raid by two helicopter gunships left two people wounded, though state oil company Rosneft denied anyone was hurt.

Certainly, this is not something that can be perceived as creating comfortable conditions for the continuation of the talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, five weeks after Moscow began sending upwards of 150,000 of its own troops across Ukraine's border.

7:37 AM

UN Under-Secretary-General to visit Moscow, Kyiv to discuss Ukraine situation

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths will visit Moscow on April 3 and then will visit Kyiv to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine and a potential for a ceasefire, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.

"My special envoy, Martin Griffiths, was asked by me to pursue a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine. He will be flying to Moscow on Sunday and after that he will be going to Kiev," Guterres said during a press conference.