Breaking News, May 3 | LIVE UPDATES

Ahead of its initial public offering, insurance behemoth LIC on Tuesday approached its policyholders through SMS and other medium to inform them about the share sale.

Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday said its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) declined by 30 per cent to Rs 621 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2022 on account of lower sales.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis, even as his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen hoped that India will use its influence over Russia to end the war.

Affordable housing finance companies' (AHFCs) loan book is likely to expand by 17-20 per cent in the current financial year, supported by the government's higher focus on housing and a favourable tax regime, says a report.

Three labourers died in a blast in an under-maintenance ammonia tank at a plant of Zuari Agro Chemicals Ltd (ZACL) in Vasco town in south Goa on Tuesday afternoon, company sources said.

In a daring incident, three masked youth barged into the government senior secondary school at Abhaypur village in Sohna block and beat up several Class XII students with sticks.

The political temperature in Maharashtra soared as Aurangabad police on Tuesday filed a FIR against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray for alleged violations of police conditions at his mega-rally held in that city late on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the crisis, even as his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen hoped that India will use its influence over Russia to end the war.

Amid speculation over leadership change in Karnataka, the state in-charge of BJP Arun Singh has clarified that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai would continue in his post and there are no plans of changing the leadership.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi, to meet senior party leaders today at 10 Janpath, Delhi. 

The Special Investigation Agency (SIA), a unit carved out of the Jammu and Kashmir police has filed a charge sheet against three persons including an Indian student enrolled in a Pakistani university and his father for indulging in terror activities and passing across the border information about army units.

exports rose by 24.22 percent to USD 38.19 billion in April on account of healthy performance by sectors like petroleum products, electronic goods and chemicals, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.

Zydus Lifesciences Ltd on Tuesday said it has received the final approval from the US health regulator to market its generic version of Bortezomib for injection used to treat certain types of cancer. The approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) is for single-dose vial of Bortezomib for injection of strength 3.5 mg/vial, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The drug, a generic version of reference listed drug Velcade, will be manufactured at Zydus Hospira, Gujarat.

Bortezomib for injection is used to treat certain types of cancer such as multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma. The medication works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells, it said.

The district disaster management authority has decided to make the RT-PCR test for COVID-19 detection mandatory for patients before undergoing any surgery here in Maharashtra, an official said on Tuesday.

Hospital authorities in Aurangabad have also been asked to check the patient's COVID-19 vaccination status, Collector Sunil Chavan said in a release, but did not specify any reason for these decisions which were taken after a meeting to review the pandemic situation.

Medical facilities have been asked to make a note of the patient's vaccination status on his/her case papers, which will be checked by authorities, the collector said.

A 32-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly raping and killing a 14-year-old girl in north Delhi's Narela area, police said.
The accused has been identified as Sunil, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district, they said. The police said a case of kidnapping had been registered on February 15 after receiving a complaint from the girl's father, a resident of a village in Narela.

On February 19, a man named Rahul Rai, who runs a business of making covers of nail polish bottles in the same village, told the police that after coming back from Jhansi, when he opened his shop, foul smell was coming from inside it.

Hyundai Motor India on Tuesday said it has launched a new variant of its popular SUV Creta priced between Rs 13.51-18.18 lakh (ex-showroom). With the launch of the new Creta Knight Edition, the automaker is once again offering customers an exciting choice of SUV that matches their aspirations with bold and sporty design enhancements, th company said.

The petrol trims, paired with both six-speed manual and automatic (IVT) transmissions, are priced at Rs 13.51 lakh and Rs 17.22 lakh, respectively.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said hatemongers have no place in Punjab and seeds of hatred don't bloom on this land, remarks which come days after two groups clashed in Patiala. Anything can be planted in the fertile land of Punjab but not the seeds of hatred, he said addressing a gathering in Malerkotla after offering prayers at the local Idgah on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Mann said, "Punjab's social bonding is very strong. We live in brotherhood and those who spread hatred find no place here".   

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday departed for Copenhagen in Denmark from Berlin to begin the second leg of his visit to the three European nations.

Three men returning from a wedding function were killed when a bus rammed into their motorcycle here on Tuesday, police said.
The incident took place on the Lucknow-Gorakhpur national highway 28 and all three on the motorcycle died on the spot.
Superintendent of Police, Basti, Ashish Srivastava saidthe deceased were identified as Niraj (20), Anil (19) and Sandeep (20), residents of Kalwari area.

Senior Congress leader Dr Govind Singh has replaced Kamal Nath as leader of opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, an official said on Tuesday. Former MP chief minister and Congress veteran Kamal Nath last week resigned from the post of LoP as per the party's 'one person-one post' policy.

Later, seven-time MLA Govind Singh was appointed leader of the Congress Legislature Party in the state.

MP Assembly's principal secretary A P Singh on Monday issued the notification to nominate Govind Singh as the LoP, the official said.

An FIR has been lodged against Jharkhand Independent MLA Saryu Roy under different sections of IPC and official secrets act at Doranda police station here for allegedly leaking secret documents, an officer said on Tuesday.

The FIR was lodged against the Jamshedpur (East) MLA by under secretary of state health department Vijay Verma for allegedly leaking secret documents, police station in-charge Ramesh Kumar told PTI.

"FIR has been lodged under different sections of IPC and Officials Secrets Act," he said.

A fire broke out on Tuesday in a ground-plus-one-storey building of a company where some antigen testing material was stored here in Maharashtra, a civic official said. No one was injured, but the fire completely destroyed the unit, located in an industrial area in Dombivli township, Thane Municipal Corporation's regional disaster management cell chief Avinash Sawant said.

The blaze erupted in the company premises at 2.35 am. Three fire engines and a water tanker were rushed to the spot and the blaze was brought under control by 6.30 am, the official said.

A probe was on to ascertain the cause of the fire, he said. 

Ten-minute delivery platform Zepto on Tuesday said it has raised $200 million, taking its valuation to around $900 million.

Just nine months after launching, Zepto posted a record 800 per cent revenue growth in the last quarter.

The death toll from the collapse of a three-storey building in Nigeria's Lagos state has risen to nine after rescue workers recovered another body, an emergency management official said.

Ibrahim Farinloye, the coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency in the southwest region, told Xinhua news agency that the building in the Onyigbo area collapsed at about 11 p.m. on Sunday, and rescuers have so far found the bodies of nine victims.

"The body of a four-year-old boy was found in the rubble," Farinloye said.

The residents of Govindasamy Nagar in Chennai's R.A. Puram on Tuesday were protesting against the razing of their homes by using bulldozers without providing proper alternative arrangements.

The residents told IANS that of the 259 houses in the colony 40 were razed on Monday and the demolition was continuing.

A domestic help Saraswati, who is a resident of the colony, while speaking to IANS said, "The officials came to our place and despite our protests, they razed the buildings without providing us proper alternate arrangements."

The Khargone administration has decided not to relax the curfew on Tuesday and asked people to celebrate the Eid-al-Fitr and Akshaya Tritiya festivals at home in the violence-hit Madhya Pradesh city, officials said. Security has been tightened in Khargone, where violence took place during a Ram Navami procession on April 10, they said, adding that all religious places in the city will remain shut on Tuesday.

Members of all communities have agreed to celebrate the festivals in their homes. There will be no relaxation in the curfew on Tuesday to ensure peace and law and order in the city, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Milind Dhoke told reporters on Monday night.

Earlier, the administration had announced a 24-hour curfew on May 2 and 3, but relaxed it for nine hours on Monday.

The minimum temperature rose by a notch in the national capital on Tuesday to settle at 28.5 degrees Celsius and partly cloudy skies have been forecast later in the day. The relative humidity at 8:30 AM stood at 60 per cent, according to data shared by the India Meteorological Department.

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 40.8 degrees Celsius on Monday, which was two notches above normal for this time of the year.
The Safdarjung Observatory -- the capital's base station -- had recorded a maximum temperature of 43.5 degrees Celsius, the highest on a day in April in 12 years, for three consecutive days ending Saturday.

The temperature had come down to 40.5 degrees Celsius Celsius on Sunday as easterly winds barrelled through the capital under the influence of a Western Disturbance.

Two passengers died after being run over by a speeding train during a rush to board another train near Vapi railway station in Gujarat's Valsad district, officials said on Tuesday. The incident took place around 10.15 pm on Monday, the official from Vapi railway station said, adding that the two deceased were relatives and were going to board a Patna-bound train.

"There is usually a heavy rush of passengers for the Bandra Terminus-Patna train, which has a halt of five minutes at Vapi station. During the rush, two passengers crossing the railway line to get on to the platform from the wrong side were run over by the Goa Sampark Kranti Express train, which does not halt at Vapi," the official said.

Police have registered a case against a woman here in Maharashtra for allegedly duping 12 people of Rs 59 lakh while promising them railway jobs, an official said on Tuesday. The victims hailed from Dhule and Jalgaon districts in the state, he said.

One of the victims told the police that he came to know about the woman, identified as Sushila Deore, through an acquaintance. She offered to get him a job in the Railways for which he paid her a certain sum, the official from Shivaji Nagar police station said quoting the complaint.

The other victims also did the same after being promised jobs as ticket collectors and helpers, he said.

A rocket strike carried out by Russian forces hit Ukraine's southern city of Odesa on Monday, causing deaths and injuries, the head of the Odesa military administration Maksym Marchenko has said on Telegram.

According to the operational command "South", missiles hit the city infrastructure, damaging a religious building, Xinhua news agency reported.

At least seven people were killed and another 15 were injured Monday in an accident involving a minibus transporting elderly patients in southern Brazil's Parana state, regional authorities said.

According to preliminary reports from the Health Consortium of Western Parana Municipalities, the vehicle belongs to the Health Secretariat of Pato Bragado, a city in the interior of the state, and was taking hospital patients to other cities for consultation with specialists, Xinhua news agency reported.

The global coronavirus caseload has topped 514 million, while the deaths have surged to more than 6.23 million and vaccinations to over 11.31 billion, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

In its latest update on Tuesday morning, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the current global caseload and the death toll stood at 514,090,956 and 6,237,775, respectively, while the total number of vaccine doses administered increased to 11,318,641,528.

The US continues to be the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 81,444,332 and 993,999, respectively, according to the CSSE.

Russian soccer teams were kicked out of the Women's European Championship, the next men's Champions League and qualifying for the 2023 Women's World Cup by UEFA. The latest round of sporting sanctions during Russia's war on Ukraine follow FIFA and UEFA suspending Russian national and club teams in February from playing in international competitions, including the men's World Cup playoffs.

Those previous decisions — made as countries across Europe refused to play games against Russia — are under appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the Russian Football Union, and the latest expulsions are also likely to be challenged.

India reports 2,568 fresh cases, 2,911 recoveries and 20 deaths in the last 24 hours. Active cases 19,137

Maharashtra's Thane district has reported four new cases of coronavirus, taking its infection count to 7,09,075, an official said on Tuesday.
These new cases were recorded on Monday, he said.

The death toll in the district remained unchanged at 11,893 and the COVID-19 mortality rate stood at 1.67 per cent, he added.

PM Narendra Modi will arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark today. He will meet Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen & exchange MoU after holding delegation-level talks. He will later be participating in the business roundtable, attending a community event & meeting Queen Margrethe II for dinner

Several severe hepatitis cases in children reported in the US have drawn great concern from health officials and parents, and the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ruled out Covid-19 as a factor in the those cases.

Nine severe hepatitis cases in children were reported in Alabama during October 2021 to February 2022, seven girls and two boys -- ranging in age from 1 month to 6 years old, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a veiled attack on political strategist Prashant Kishor over his rumoured entry in Bihar politics, as well as other smaller outfits, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Monday said there are only four mainstream political parties in the state

"Apart from these four political parties, there is no future for other political parties. In democracy, anyone has the right to do political experiments or make political parties. There are hundreds of political parties in the country. If anyone wants to make a new canal, it would not affect evergreen rivers," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) suffered a jolt after several members, including the state unit president, Neeraj Rai, resigned.

"Big leaders in the Trinamool Congress do not want the party to expand beyond West Bengal. The party's committed workforce in Uttar Pradesh is being side-lined and attempts are being made to disintegrate the state unit," Rai told reporters on Tuesday.

He, however, did not divulge his future plans.

An eight-month-old girl and her mother died after suffering severe burns when their house caught fire in the Najibabad area of the district Monday evening, police said. The fire broke out in the house of Ashish Agarwal in Adarsh Nagar locality of Najibabad police station area at around 7.30 pm. As soon as the information was received, the fire brigade team reached the spot, police said.

Six people who were trapped in the flames were rescued and rushed to a private hospital, but the infant and her mother died.

Russians repair bridge blown up near Ukraine in 'sabotage' Teams of workers strove on Monday to repair a bridge in southwestern Russia near the border with Ukraine that was damaged in what a local governor described as an act of sabotage.

The regional administration said it expects the repair work will be completed Wednesday.

Seven teachers were suspended on Monday for allegedly indulging in malpractices in the ongoing annual SSC examinations in Krishna district, officials said. According to Tahera Sultana, District Education Officer, Krishna, six teachers from Pasumarru Zilla Parishad school and one from Kanumolu Zilla Parishad High School were suspended.

The action against the teachers comes after education department authorities received a complaint that an answer slip was being sent to the test centre. Education and police officials rushed to the spot immediately after receiving the information and found answers to test papers on the cell phones of several teachers, the officials said.

Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi went on trial on Monday in a new corruption case against her, alleging she took USD 550,000 in bribes from a construction magnate. She is charged with two counts under the country's the Anti-Corruption Act, with each count punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine.

Suu Kyi has been detained since the army ousted her elected government in February 2021 and has not been seen or allowed to speak in public since then.

She is being tried in closed sessions and her lawyers cannot speak publicly on her behalf or about her trial because of a gag order placed on them.

Normal life was disrupted in Odisha's Deogarh town on Monday owing to a 12-hour bandh observed by opposition BJP in protest against local MLA Subhas Panigrahi's arrest over alleged assault of a block development officer.

Saffron party leaders staged a dharna outside Deogarh police station, demanding that Tileibani BDO Krushnachandra Dalapati be arrested instead for "misbehaviour" with the legislator.

The agitators claimed that the local police acted on the BDO's FIR while ignoring the complaint filed by the BJP leader.

Panigrahi along with his supporters had allegedly thrashed the BDO for responding to the local MLA on Saturday. He was arrested by the Deogarh police the day after from his official residence in Bhubaneswar and produced before the local court, which sent him to judicial custody.

Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative on Monday for COVID-19, six days after she tested positive for the virus, and has been cleared to return to the White House on Tuesday.

Harris press secretary Kirsten Allen said Harris, who was prescribed the antiviral treatment Paxlovid last week, was negative on a rapid antigen test. Allen said Harris would continue to wear a “well-fitting mask while around others” in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines until through her tenth day after her positive test.

One person was arrested and five others were booked in case of alleged child marriage in Jhalawar district last week, police said here on Monday. The marriage allegedly took place in the Gurjar community on Thursday in Salyakheda village of Rawasiya gram Panchyat under Manoharthana police station of Jhalawar district, they said.

A short video clip of the minor couple entering into wedlock came into light on Saturday, police said. However, it is yet to be verified whether it was of the alleged wedding in Salyakheda village or of somewhere else, they said.

City-based Maithan Alloys Ltd on Monday said production at its Vizag plant in Andhra Pradesh has been hit by 50 per cent since the last three weeks and will continue at least till May 15, due to disruption in power supply.

The company, however, said that its two plants in West Bengal’s Kalyaneshwari and Byrnihat in Meghalaya are operating at capacity.

The production capacity of the Vishakhapatnam unit is 120,000 tonnes per annum and the expected per-day production loss is “equivalent to the percentage of power cut imposed on the Vishakhapatnam unit”, company officials said.

More than 1,000 workers at two CNH Industrial plants went on strike on Monday in search of a better deal with the company that makes agriculture and construction equipment.

The United Auto Workers union said Monday the workers in Racine, Wisconsin, and Burlington, Iowa, went on strike at noon after contract talks faltered. The action follows a spate of strikes in the past year, including a high-profile monthlong strike at Deere & Co. that resulted in 10 per cent raises and improved benefits for 10,000 UAW workers at that equipment maker.

Thousands or people fled a northern Iraqi town amid fierce clashes between the army and a militia linked to a Kurdish separatist group, the military and local Iraqi Kurdish officials have said.

At least 3,000 people left Sinjar and its surrounding areas, the officials said on Monday, and headed farther north toward the semi-autonomous Kurdish region to seek asylum.

They left when clashes intensified on Monday between the Iraqi army and the YBS, a militia group with ties to the Turkish insurgent Kurdistan Worker's Party, or PKK.

A senior US official says the United States believed Russia is planning this month to annex large portions of eastern Ukraine and recognise the southern city of Kherson as an independent republic.

Michael Carpenter, the US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said on Monday that the suspected actions are “straight out of the Kremlin's playbook” and will not be recognised by the United States or its partners and allies.

President Joe Biden plans to host the 2020 US Olympic Team at the White House on Wednesday, staging a much-delayed, in-person celebration for participants of the Japan Games — which were themselves pushed back a year by the coronavirus.

The president and first lady Jill Biden will host the Olympians on the South Lawn, the White House said.

Jill Biden made her first solo overseas trip as first lady by travelling to Tokyo to attend the 2020 Olympics in July 2021 — though access remained restricted because of the pandemic.

Around the world, Muslims are being targeted with violence, US President Joe Biden said on Monday asserting that Muslims make America stronger every single day even as they still face real challenges and threats in the society that they live in. At a White House reception to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, Biden said he has appointed the first Muslim to serve as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

“It’s especially important because today, around the world, we’re seeing so many Muslims being targeted with violence. No one, no one should discriminate against oppressed or be oppressed for their religious beliefs,” he said to applause from the select gathering at the White House.

Ukraine's ambassador-designate to Canada says Russia must be held accountable for its troops committing sex crimes, including against children. Yulia Kovaliv told a Canadian House of Commons committee on Monday that Russia is using sexual violence as a weapon of war and said rape and sexual assault must be investigated as war crimes.

She said Russia also has kidnapped Ukrainian children and taken them to Russian-occupied territories and now Russia itself. Ukraine is working with partners to find the children and bring them back.

Germany has made an advance commitment to provide 10 billion euros of new and additional developmental assistance in India until 2030 under the Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) on Green and Sustainable Development Partnership signed between the two countries on Monday, MEA informed.

Addressing a press briefing at the conclusion of the first leg of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Europe visit on Monday (local time), Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that the JDI provides "a long term strategic perspective" to the development cooperation agenda between India and Germany.

The Pentagon has denied that arms transfers to Ukraine have impacted America's military readiness amid concerns that the Pentagon's own stockpile of Javelin weapons might be dwindling.

"We are comfortable that our readiness has not been impacted by the series of presidential drawdown authorities that we've executed," a senior US Defense Department official told reporters on Monday.

The official also said that the US has delivered more than 5,000 of the 5,500 Javelin anti-tank weapons systems Washington has committed to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin might undergo cancer surgery while temporarily handing over power to the secretary of the country's Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, unverified media reports claimed.

Putin has reportedly been told by doctors that he must undergo an operation, the New York Post reported citing a Telegram channel purportedly run by a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service lieutenant general.

The anticipated surgery and recovery are expected to incapacitate Putin for "a short time," the report said.

Member of Parliament Santosh Kumar on Monday was left amused by the culture of Maldharis tribesmen during his visit to Gir National Park as part of a study tour by a Parliamentary Standing Committee.

Sharing his learning from the trip, MP said that the co-existence of humans and animals is possible if we respect the laws of nature.

"When you respect the Laws of Nature you can live with wild animals too. That's what we felt when we had an interaction with these happy herd native tribals namely Maldharis (A traditional pastoral people found in and around Gir National Park). These Nomads and their culture amused us," Rajya Sabha MP Santosh Kumar tweeted.

Adequate security arrangements have been made at Delhi's Jama Masjid and nearby places. There is sufficient deployment of police forces. Eid celebrations must be done peacefully, following law and order: Special CP Dependra Pathak

Union Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday reached Bengaluru for his day-long visit to the southern state that is set to go to polls early next year.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya, and Bharatiya Janata Party National Secretary CT Ravi are among the dignitaries who welcomed the Union minister at HAL airport on his arrival in Bengaluru.

Union Home Minister is likely to discuss state cabinet expansion with the Chief Minister during his visit.

As a regulatory measure, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is carrying out an inspection of Spicejet aircraft across the fleet: DGCA

The top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party met on Monday to prepare strategy to celebrate party's eighth year in power at the Centre.

The meeting took place at the residence of party national president JP Nadda in New Delhi and was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and National General Secretary (Organisation) BL Santhosh.

Notably, the BJP would complete three years at the Centre on May 26 after its win in the 2019 general elections and eight years of its thumping victory in 2014.

Addressing a press briefing at the conclusion of the first leg of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Europe visit on Monday (local time), newly appointed Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that India's position on the ongoing war in Ukraine "amply takes care of our principles as also our interests".

The Foreign Secretary made the remarks, in response to a question asking "what India's value space considerations are in this conflict (in Ukraine)?"

"We have consistently right from the onset of the conflict talked about an immediate and early cessation of hostilities and the resolution path which goes through diplomacy and dialogue. I think these have been the central pillars in terms of our position which we have explained many times," Foreign Secretary Kwatra said.

Inter-district Narco-Terror module busted by Baramulla Police & Army 52RR; two terrorist associates were arrested & heroin worth Rs 1.5 cr along with arms & ammunition were recovered.

A case under relevant sections of UAP Act, NDPS Act & Arms Act registered in Baramulla PS: J&K Police