Live: PM Modi to attend third Quad leaders' summit in Tokyo on May 24

Live news updates: From Quad summit to Covid cases and Russia-Ukraine war, catch all the latest developments from across the globe live here

10:15 AM

India adds 2,364 new coronavirus cases, 10 deaths in 24 hrs

India added 2,364 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 43,129,563, while the active cases declined to 15,419, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

 

The death toll climbed to 524,303 with 10 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

 

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

 

A decrease of 228 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

 

The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.50 per cent and the weekly positivity rate was recorded at 0.55 per cent, according to the ministry.

 

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to

 

42,589,841, while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.22 per cent.

 

10:14 AM

Time has come to put historical facts in right perspective: RSS on Gyanvapi issue

Amid the Gyanvapi Mosque row, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Sunil Ambekar on Wednesday said that the time has come to put historical facts in the right perspective before society.

Speaking at the Devrishi Narad Patrakar Samman Samaroh, an RSS event, Ambekar said, "Gyanvapi issue is going on. The facts are coming out. I believe we should let them come out. In any case, truth always finds a way out. How long can you hide it? I believe it is the time we put historical facts in the right perspective before society."

The three-day-long court-monitored videography survey of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Mosque complex in Varanasi concluded on Monday.

10:09 AM

Sri Lanka central bank keeps key rates unchanged amid debt crisis

Sri Lanka's central bank held its key lending and borrowing rates steady on Thursday following a massive 700 basis points increase at its previous meeting and reiterated the need for more fiscal measures and political stability in the crisis-hit economy.

The Standing Lending Facility rate remained unchanged at 14.50% while the Standing Deposit Facility Rate was steady at 13.50%.

"It is envisaged that the recent tightening of monetary conditions and the strengthening of monetary policy communication will help anchor inflation expectations of the public in the period ahead," the bank said in a statement.

The central bank said inflation will remain elevated in the near term due to supply-side pressures while economic growth will also record a setback.

10:06 AM

Meta freezes hiring for several verticals, Zuckerberg says no job cuts

Meta (formerly Facebook) has paused hirings for several verticals, like shopping and Messenger Kids, which has triggered the fear of lay offs among employees.

According to The Verge, Meta has frozen hirings for a number of products.

The company recently stopped hiring for certain engineering roles and also for low-level data scientists.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, however, allayed the fears of job losses at the company.

10:05 AM

Russia-Ukraine conflict: Battle for Mariupol draws toward close after surrender

The battle that turned Mariupol into a worldwide symbol of defiance and suffering drew toward a close as Russia said nearly 1,000 last-ditch Ukrainian fighters who held out inside a pulverized steel plant had surrendered.

Meanwhile, the first captured Russian soldier to be put on trial by Ukraine on war-crimes charges pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing a civilian and could get life in prison.

Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO, abandoning generations of neutrality for fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not stop with Ukraine.

9:17 AM

Summary of MoHFW data (May 19)

Active cases: 15,419 (Net increase: -228)

Deaths: 524,303 (Net increase: 10)

Cured: 42,589,841 (Net increase: 2,582)

Total cases: 43,129,563 (Net increase: 2,364)

Total vaccination: 1,917,996,905 (Increase over previous day: 1,371,603)

9:10 AM

Global Covid caseload tops 525.3 mn

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 525.3 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 6.28 million and vaccinations to over 11.43 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Thursday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 525,259,489 and 6,283,324, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered increased to 11,424,880,199.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 82,951,379 and 1,001,269, respectively, according to the CSSE.

India accounts for the second highest caseload at 43,127,199.

8:59 AM

China warns US a ‘Dangerous Situation’ is forming over Taiwan

China’s top diplomat warned the US it is heading down the “wrong road” with its support for Taiwan, comments accompanied by Beijing again sending military aircraft toward the island.

 

“If the US side insists on playing the Taiwan card and goes further and further down the wrong road, it will certainly lead the situation to a dangerous point,” Yang Jiechi, Beijing’s top diplomat, said in a phone call with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. 

 

8:54 AM

Our spirit helped us to win: Chirag Shetty on historic Thomas Cup victory

Indian shuttler Chirag Shetty, who recently brought honour to the country by winning the Thomas Cup 2022, returned to the capital city of Maharastra on Wednesday night.

The Indian team scripted history on Sunday by winning the first-ever Thomas Cup crown ever since its inception in 1949.

"I am extremely glad after winning this tournament. I never felt this way after winning any other tournament. This is really a big win. Earlier, we never achieved anything great in Thomas Cup, so this time we were highly motivated to win and luckily we did it," Chirag told ANI.

In what was India's first-ever appearance in the tournament finale, Indian Badminton team defeated the record 14-time champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup 2022 final at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand by 3-0 to lift the coveted trophy.

8:49 AM

Yoga is India's heritage, says Rajnath Singh on International Yoga Day

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday participated in the countdown programme for International Yoga Day 2022 in Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajnath Singh said, "Yoga is one of the most important heritage of the country. Yoga brings new energy and new enthusiasm to our life."

The 8th edition of International Day of Yoga (IDY2022) is being promoted through multiple programmes by the Ministry to take the message of Yoga across the world to a wider audience.

Union Minister Of State (Defence) Ajay Bhatt also participated in the event.

8:10 AM

S Jaishankar to participate in BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting today

EAM Jaishankar to participate in BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting on Thursday

 

8:09 AM

Finland, Sweden NATO membership

On May 19 morning, the President will welcome the President of Finland and Sweden PM to the White House to coordinate on the path forward. After that, President Biden will depart for a trip to the Republic of Korea & Japan: US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

 

8:07 AM

Finland and Sweden submit their applications for NATO membership

Today, Finland and Sweden submitted their applications for NATO membership.  President Biden has welcomed those applications, and he looks forward to working with NATO Allies and with Congress on a swift accession process: US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

7:20 AM

Biden to travel to Japan for Quad Summit, have bilateral meetings with Modi

US President Joe Biden would travel to Japan for the second in-person Quad summit during which he would hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his national security advisor said Wednesday. Formed with Australia, India, Japan, and the United States, Quad was an initiative of the Trump Administration, which Biden has elevated to the leadership level. There have so far been three summits, two of them virtual.

 

We believe that this summit will demonstrate both in substance and in vision that democracies can deliver and that these four nations working together will defend and uphold the principles of a free and open Indo-Pacific, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters during the daily White House news conference.