Breaking News, March 19 | LIVE UPDATES

Maharashtra on Saturday reported less than 100 new coronavirus infections for the first time since April 2020, the beginning of the pandemic. The state recorded 97 new cases and one death, taking the case tally to 78,72,300 and death toll to 1,43,766, a health department official said.

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court for setting a deadline of four weeks to claim the ex gratia payment from authorities on the death of kin to COVID-19. The plea filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal said it may not be desirable to continue the process of ex gratia payment without any outer limit. Bansal has urged the apex court to determine a deadline before which the claimants of persons who died can approach the authorities raising their claims.

The Maharashtra BJP on Saturday named Satyajit Kadam as its candidate for the Kolhapur North bypoll scheduled for April 12.

The Samajwadi Party has convened a meeting on March 26 and it is expected to review its performance in the recently-concluded Uttar Pradesh assembly polls and plan for the upcoming legislative council elections.

The Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Saturday became the first in the country to have operationalised the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) programme for conducting a session in paperless mode. The Nagaland Assembly Secretariat has attached a tablet or e-book each on the tables of the 60 members as the Budget session for fiscal 2022-23 which commenced this morning.

The Vatican has released the document laying out Pope Francis' long-awaited reform of the Holy See bureaucracy. The 54-page text, titled “Praedicate Evanglium,” or “Proclaiming the Gospel,” replaces the founding constitution “Pastor Bonus” penned by St.
John Paul II in 1988.

Leader of Opposition in Pakistan Parliament Shehbaz Sharif has reiterated that the powerful military establishment is not taking sides in the current political crisis in the country and the no-trust vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan. 

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived here on a short visit. The visiting leader is scheduled to hold summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 5 pm. The Japanese prime minister arrived in New Delhi at around 3:40 pm and is scheduled to depart at 8 am on Sunday. The previous India-Japan annual summit took place in Tokyo in October 2018. Besides key bilateral issues, the situation in Ukraine is also likely to figure in the Modi-Kishida talks.

The BJP legislature party meeting to decide the new chief minister of Uttarakhand is likely to be held here on Monday.

The strategic 434-km Srinagar-Leh national highway was re-opened for vehicular traffic on Saturday in record time of 73 days after its closure in January this year following heavy snowfall. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said a decision on introducing Bhagavad Gita in school educational curriculum will be taken after discussions, as he maintained that the scripture imparts moral values. BJP-ruled Gujarat on Thursday had announced that the Bhagavad Gita will be a part of the school syllabus for Classes 6 to 12 across the state from the academic year 2022-23.

Several AAP MLAs who emerged as giant killers by defeating political stalwarts of rival parties in the Punjab Assembly polls did not find a place in Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's cabinet. Among these are Labh Singh Ugoke, who defeated former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi in the Bhadaur assembly segment by a margin of 37,558 votes, and Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, who beat Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal in his traditional Lambi seat by 11,396 votes. While Ugoke once ran a mobile repair shop, Khuddian had joined the AAP after quitting the Congress last year.

A Maharashtra based share trading company has duped a Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) jawan Rs 30 lakh, police said on Saturday. The victim, Ranjit Kumar Singh is a native of Bhojpur district and posted in 40 battalion of SSB Danapur under Patna district.

The 'China Plus One' supply chain diversification strategy triggered by the global Covid-19 pandemic is creating opportunities for Indian players.

As many as 196 people were challaned for drunken driving in the national capital on the occasion of Holi festival, the police said on Saturday.

A court in Karnataka has acquitted 28 accused persons who were charged of attacking a mosque 15 years ago. 

A 65-year-old man was killed when members of two communities clashed on playing a cricket match at Sandalpur village in Gujarat's Navsari district, police said on Saturday and added that seven accused have been arrested.

Russian oil exports to India have quadrupled this month in a sign of the vast reshaping of global energy flows since Russias invasion of Ukraine, Financial Times reported.

Delhi Police have apprehended five people, including a minor, for allegedly stabbing a person to death in west Delhi following a heated argument between them, an official said on Saturday.

A US military aircraft with four crew members crashed in Norway while participating in a NATO exercise, authorities have confirmed.

NIA Court has ordered framing of charges against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed & Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Kashmiri separatist leaders including Yasin Malik, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam under various sections of UAPA.

The National Green Tribunal has disposed of a plea alleging poor quality of bird flight diverters, a device which was installed to protect critically endangered Great Indian Bustards as per an earlier order passed by the tribunal.

Two persons were killed and another injured when a speeding car ran amok in Gachibowli area of Hyderabad on Friday. The dead include a woman who was watering the plants on the central median. A woman who was travelling in the car was also killed while the man accompanying her was injured.

If political stability remains intact, the Chinese commitment of $20 to $30 billion investments for establishing a petrochemical complex and relocation of refineries at Gwadar could be materialised, Special Assistant to Pakistan Prime Minister (SAPM) on CPEC, Khalid Mansoor said. 

A head constable of the National Security Guard allegedly shot himself dead with his service revolver at the NSG camp in Haryana's Manesar on Friday, police said. The deceased was identified as Vikram, they said, adding that it is yet to be ascertained what led him to take the extreme step. The wife of the deceased was in a state of shock after she was informed about the incident and is being treated in a hospital currently, police said. A case has been registered and a probe launched, they added.

A student from Telangana has died in a road accident in Germany, according to information received by his family. Amar Singh, 27, died in an accident that occurred on March 13. Officials from Germany informed the family members on Wednesday night.

Two people were killed here as two groups clashed under the influence of alcohol during the Holi celebrations on Friday, police said. While one of the victims was beaten with sticks, the other was shot dead. The dead have been identified as Rahul Sonkar (25) and Sanjay Rajput (35). Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar said while playing Holi in Dandiya locality under the George Town police station, two groups clashed under the influence of alcohol. Rahul sustained bullet injuries and was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The SSP said five police teams have been formed to arrest the guilty.