Breaking news: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to visit Washington on Friday

The United States is preparing a new package of sanctions tackling the situation with jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, national security advisor Jake Sullivan, local media reported.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and the lead negotiator in talks with the Taliban will be received at the White House on Friday, as the planned American military withdrawal draws closer.

"The visit by President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah will highlight the enduring partnership between the United States and Afghanistan as the military drawdown continues," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement on Sunday.

Maharashtra's total tally increased to 5,972,781 after the state recorded more than 9,000 cases in a day. As per the latest health bulletin, 9,361 people were found to be infected over the last 24 hours, while 190 succumbed to the disease.

Andhra Pradesh achieved a unique feat on Sunday, vaccinating over 12.56 lakh people under the Mega Covid vaccination drive that the health authorities hope could be a record in any one province in the world. In the process, the state also crossed the one crore mark in the administration of the first dose of coronavirus vaccine.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting undertook broad consultations in 2018 with various stakeholders before finalising the new Information Technology Rules, the government said in reply to concerns raised by the UN Special Rapporteurs. Read More

Delhi reported 124 new Covid cases and 7 deaths over the last 24 hours. The number of active cases now stands at 2,091 and the death toll has increased to 24,914. The positivity rate has improved to 0.17%.

Andhra Pradesh on Sunday inoculated 902,308 beneficiaries against the Covid-19 disease till 2pm, the highest ever since the beginning of the vaccination drive in the state. Officials told news agency PTI they are that the number could touch 1.2 million by the end of the drive at 6pm.

Odisha health department targets to administer 300,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines daily beginning Monday with the aim to cover 30.9 million eligible residents in the shortest possible time, officials said Read more

The Tamil Nadu government on Sunday decided to extend the ongoing lockdown in the state till June 28 with further relaxations, news agency ANI reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated Iran's newly elected president Ebrahim Raisi on his election victory. "Congratulations to His Excellency Ebrahim Raisi on his election as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I look forward to working with him to further strengthen the warm ties between India and Iran," Modi tweeted. Read more

The Department of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Sunday further relaxed the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) restrictions by allowing bars, public parks and gardens to reopen. Read more

The National Center for Seismology (NCS) said on Sunday that an earthquake with a magnitude of 2.1 on the Richter scale hit the Punjabi Bagh area in the national capital at 12.02 pm

Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan is currently holding a meeting with party leaders in the national capital, news agency ANI reported. The meeting comes amid Paswan's battle with his uncle Pashupati Paras for control over the LJP.

Argentina on Saturday reported its first case of Mucormycosis, also knows as black fungus, the country's health ministry said.

"The Ministry of Health of the Nation informs that the first notification was received by the National Health Surveillance System of a case of mucormycosis, known as "black fungus," associated with a patient from Formosa who had Covid-19," the ministry said.

According to news agency ANI, the patient is a 47-year-old woman who has a history of high blood pressure and type II diabetes.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced on Sunday that its national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will be visiting Punjab’s Amritsar city on Monday. This will be his second visit to Punjab this year, where assembly elections are due in 2022. Read more

The Centre said on Sunday that over 291 million vaccine doses against the Covid-19 disease have been provided to states and Union Territories (UTs) till now through the free of cost channel and through the direct state procurement category.

Renowned Odia playback singer Tapu Mishra died on Saturday while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar for post Covid-19 complications, news agency ANI reported.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday the maximum temperature in the national capital is likely to settle at around 37 degree Celsius. The minimum temperature was at 25.2 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average.

The number of daily coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases have been coming down in India in the last few weeks. From a peak of 4 lakh cases in a day, the nationwide tally has dropped to around 60,000. Read more

India's daily tally of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) dropped below the 60,000-mark on Sunday after 58,419 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the caseload to 29,881,965, according to the Union health ministry. Sunday's cases are the lowest since March 30 this year, when 56,211 people were detected Covid-19 positive. Read more

The Tamil Nadu Police told news agency ANI on Sunday that former AIADMK minister M Manikandan was arrested in Bengaluru by the Chennai City Police for allegedly raping a Malaysian woman. "He was evading arrest after Madras High Court had refused him anticipatory bail," the Tamil Nadu Police added. Read more

Delhi and Patna saw an increase in their petrol prices on Sunday due to a fresh hike in fuel prices. In Delhi, petrol is being sold at ₹97.22 per litre while in Patna, it is being sold at ₹99.28 per litre. Read more

A pickup truck driver slammed into spectators Saturday evening at the start of a Pride parade in South Florida, and an official said one person was killed and another seriously injured. Read more

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday that thunderstorm along with light to moderate rains will take place over isolated places of South, East, Northeast Delhi during the next two hours. Read more