Breaking News, April 2

 A car rammed a barricade outside the US Capitol on Friday afternoon, injuring two Capitol Police officers and leading to the driver being shot, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

At least one officer was in serious condition, while the driver was in critical condition.

The foreign ministers of India, France, and Australia are expected to hold a trilateral meeting on April 13 with a focus on boosting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, people familiar with the development said on Friday.

Police locked down the U.S. Capitol on Friday afternoon after a report of gunshots in the area.

Johnson & Johnson has started testing its COVID-19 vaccine on adolescents, beginning with those ages 16 and 17. The teens will be added to an ongoing study of the vaccine in adults that began last September, the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based drugmaker said on Friday.

After initial data from the older teens are reviewed, the trial will expand to add adolescents ages 12 to 15.

Several parts of Rajasthan are likely to experience heat wave conditions over the next 48 hours with a rise in maximum temperatures, the meteorological department here said on Friday.

The met office has issued a yellow alert for Saturday and Sunday in some districts of the state including Kota, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Jalore.

Against expectations of getting a second extension, the senior-most deputy governor BP Kanungo retired from the Reserve Bank on completion of his one-year extension on Friday.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has reduced the price of RT-PCR test by 30 per cent to Rs 600, amid Maharashtra witnessing a sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.

COVID-19: More than 7 crore vaccine doses administered, till now, says Ministry of Health

America's employers unleashed a burst of hiring in March, adding 916,000 jobs in a sign that a sustained recovery from the pandemic recession is taking hold as vaccinations accelerate, stimulus checks flow through the economy and businesses increasingly reopen.

Myanmar's wireless broadband internet services were shut down on Friday by order of the military, local providers said, as protesters continued to defy the threat of lethal violence to oppose the junta's takeover.

Tamilisai Soundararajan, Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, received her first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at Rajiv Gandhi Government Women And Children's Hospital, Puducherry. 

EC issued a factual report on the incident involving EVM in Assam. Polling party 149-Indira MV School of LAC 1 Ratabari (SC) met with the incident. The party comprised a Presiding Officer and 3 polling personnel. They were accompanied by police personnel comprising a constable and a home guard. 

In view of rising cases of coronavirus, the Chhattisgarh government on Friday announced that it will impose a complete lockdown in the Durg district for a week.

A forest fire breaks out inside Bangalore University premises. Civil defence and fire department personnel are carrying out fire extinguishing operations. Details awaited.

Uttar Pradesh goverment on Friday ordered closing of schools - both government and private - for students of classes 1 to 8 till April 11 in the wake of Covid-19 situation in the state.

Last night a polled EVM was being taken in Patharkandi, Assam when the crowd intercepted it as the car didn't belong to EC. As per sources, the EC car broke down and officials took a lift in a car later identified to be of a BJP candidate. 

Actor and BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty holds a roadshow in Pursurah of Hooghly district, West Bengal, for party's candidate Biman Ghosh. He said, "There was no 'parivartan' earlier, it was a lie. There will be a change now, there will be no riots or violence. This is BJP's motto."

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to chair a high-level meeting with officials today, over the COVID-19 situation in the state. 

India reported 81,466 new COVID-19 cases, 50,356 discharges, and 469 deaths in the last 24 hours, as per the Union Health Ministry.

• Total cases: 1,23,03,131
• Total recoveries: 1,15,25,039
• Active cases: 6,14,696
• Death toll: 1,63,396
• Total vaccination: 6,87,89,138

Jammu and Kashmir Police and security forces are carrying out an operation at the Kakapora area in Pulwama district where an encounter is underway. Three terrorists trapped at the site of the encounter.

A 15-year-old boy has died allegedly by suicide in Noida after his parents asked him to stop playing video games. "He left his home in Sector 110 and didn't return. Found his body near an under-construction building today. Body sent for postmortem," said ADCP (Crime) Elamaran G. 

This year's Kumbh Mela witnesses a low footfall of devotees at Har Ki Pauri ghat in Uttarakhand's Haridwar amid the COVID-19 scare. Announcements with regards to social distancing, masks are being made and sanitiser stations have been installed at the ghat.