President Donald Trump celebrated on Saturday the first launch of American astronauts from U.S. soil in nearly a decade, marveling at the power of the rocket ship and the danger faced by its passengers as they soared into the stratosphere and provided a moment of triumph as the country raged […]
Trump plans to invite India to G-7 meet, possibly in September
President Donald Trump on Saturday called for expanding the G-7, which he described as a “very outdated group”, to include India, Australia, South Korea and Russia, suggesting it could be called the “G-10 or G-11”. He also said he is postponing its next meet, which the US is hosting, to […]
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on historic private crewed flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying two veteran NASA astronauts lifted off on Saturday on an historic first private crewed flight into space. The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket with astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley aboard blasted off smoothly in a cloud of orange flames and smoke from Launch Pad […]
Lockdown extended till June 30, hotels, malls to open from June 8; no to cinema halls
The Centre on Saturday extended the lockdown in containment zones till June 30 and said all economic activities can restart in a phased manner outside those zones. The fourth phase of the nationwide lockdown, necessitated by the coronavirus outbreak, was scheduled to end tomorrow. The order said there will be […]
Madhya Pradesh CM Chouhan says lockdown till June 15 to fight Covid-19
Madhya Pradesh has became the first state in the country to extend lockdown till June 15, even as the fourth phase of nationwide shutdown officially ends tomorrow. “We will be extending the lockdown till June 15 to fight Covid-19,”CM Chouhan was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. He also […]
PM Modi expected to address lockdown 5.0 on Mann ki Baat tomorrow
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation through his ‘Mann ki Baat’ on Sunday, May 30 while the country prepares to transition from lockdown 4.0 to a new phase of lockdown. Lockdown 5.0 will need to address the dual challenges of giving impetus to the economy, which is flagging, […]
In 1st comment on Ladakh standoff, Rajnath Singh’s pointed reference to Doklam
India and China are talking to each other at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the Ladakh standoff, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday. Singh’s statement is the first from a senior central minister on the standoff with China at four points along the Line of Actual Control. Rajnath […]
Two test positive for Covid-19 at MEA, staff goes into self-quarantine
At least two persons working at the headquarters of the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in the national capital have tested coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive on Saturday, people familiar with developments said, as proactive measures are being taken to handle all such cases. A consultant working for the ministry’s Central Europe […]
Chinese Covid-19 vaccine expected to begin mass output this year
A front-running Covid-19 vaccine candidate being developed in China is expected to be available as soon as the end of this year, according to a report published in the official Wechat account of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. The vaccine, jointly developed by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products and […]
Air India’s Moscow-bound plane called back as team finds pilot is Covid-19 +ve
An Air India’s Delhi-Moscow Airbus A-320 Neo (VT-EXR) flight was forced to return midway after ground team realised that the pilot was coronavirus positive. Officials said there was an error in the pre-flight test report, which was read as negative initially. The pilot reportedly took ill during the flight and […]
UN honours Indian woman peacekeeper who served in South Sudan
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane have lauded the achievements of a female Indian Army officer who has been awarded the United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the year for 2019 for her role as a peacekeeper with the UN Mission in South Sudan […]
With highest single-day spike of 7,964 cases, India’s Covid-19 tally crosses 1.73 lakh
India on Saturday reported 7,964 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and 265 deaths in the last 24 hours, in another highest single-day spike, taking the tally to 173,763, Union health ministry data showed. This is the second day in a row that India has witnessed a daily rise of […]
Railway Protection Force reports 80 deaths on Shramik trains
There have been almost 80 deaths on board the Shramik Special trains (for stranded migrant workers) between May 9 and May 27, according to data from the Railway Protection Force reviewed by Hindustan Times. The trains were launched on May 1, and till May 27, 3,840 have been run, transporting […]
‘A year of historic firsts for Indians’: PM Modi in letter to citizens
My fellow Indian, This day last year began a golden chapter in the history of Indian democracy. It was after several decades that the people of the country voted back a full term government with a full majority. Once again, I bow to the 130 crore people of India and […]
Centre flags 145 districts as potential Covid-19 hotspots
The central government has identified 145 new districts, mostly rural, that have reported Covid-19 infections over the past three weeks and warned that they could emerge as “epicentres” of the disease if effective containment measures are not undertaken. In a presentation to representatives of states on Thursday, cabinet secretary Rajiv […]