Breaking News: 12 dead in blast near Yemen's Aden airport, reports AFP

At least 12 persons have died in a massive explosion near Yemen's Aden airport. The blast took place near the entrance to the international airport of Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Saturday. It was not immediately clear if it was an attack.

An airport official told Reuters that a small truck blew up at an outer gate to the airport, while a local official and two security sources said the vehicle was carrying petroleum products.

The loud explosion was heard across the city and it smashed the windows of nearby residents.

At least three people have been killed by Sudanese security forces in the ongoing anti-coup protests, AFP reported, quoting the country's central medical committee. 

"A third protester died... from a gunshot to the chest by the putschist military council," the independent Central Committee for Sudanese Doctors said, adding he was also killed in the city of Omdurman.

Thousands of protesters took the streets of Sudan's city of Omdurman earlier today following the recent developments where several senior officials were detained and the government dissolved. Over a hundred protesters have been injured in the demonstrations held across the country today after the military committee deployed force and tear gas.

Shoppers in large numbers were seen at Karol Bagh Market earlier today, reports ANI.

"Generally, people are following COVID protocols in the market... We are having a better season than before. Sales are improving," said Sanjeev Kapoor, General Secretary, Vyapay Mandal, Ajmal Khan Road.

At least 12 people have died in a blast near Yemen's Aden airport, a security official said, as quoted by AFP.

PM Modi has invited French President Emmanuel Macron to visit India, says Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla in Rome, Italy.

The Prime Minister will also attend an event hosted by US President Joe Biden on "Supply China Resilience" and hold other bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome tomorrow, Shringla noted.

At the first session of the G20 Summit, PM Modi highlighted India's contribution to fight against Covid-19. He mentioned India's medical supplies to over 150 countries &spoke about our vision of One Earth, One Health which is essentially collaborative approach in fight against COVID, said Foreign Secretary HV Shringla in Rome.

PM Modi invited G20 countries to make India their partner in economic recovery and supply chain diversification. He also brought out the fact that despite challenges of the pandemic, India continued to be a trusted partner in context of reliable supply chains, Shringla noted.

India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 106 Crore landmark milestone (1,06,07,39,866) on Saturday. More than 61 lakh (61,99,429) vaccine doses have been administered till 7 pm today, Union Health Ministry said in a statement.

Two army personnel have been killed in a blast while patrolling along Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, PTI reported.

Arbaz Merchant and Munmum Dhamecha, who were granted bail by Bombay high court in the drugs-on-cruise case, will not be released from the jail today. The necessary documentation for the release is in process, said Munmum's lawyer Kashif Khan Deshmukh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Satruday gifted a specially-made silver candelabra and a book on India's climate initiatives to Pope Francis, who reciprocated with a bronze plaque with the inscription “The desert will become a garden”, volumes of papal documents, along with a few other gifts.

Fans throng to Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru to pay their last respects to actor Puneeth Rajkumar who passed away on Friday. His last rites will be performed with state honours at Kanteerava Studio in the city tomorrow. 

Delhi Police on Saturday reopened the carriageway of the road leading to Haryana, at farmers' protest site at Tikri border.

"There are still some temporary structures on the road. As per farmers' request, only 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers & emergency vehicles will ply on this road," DCP Parvinder Singh told news agency ANI.

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said that he will not stay in the Congress now as the time for rapprochement is over. "Reports of backend talks with Congress are incorrect. The time for rapprochement is over. I'm grateful to Sonia Gandhi ji for her support but will not stay in Congress now," Amarinder Singh's aide Raveen Thukral quoted Captain as saying.

Singh added he will will soon launch his own party and will hold talks for seat sharing with BJP, breakaway Akali factions and others for Punjab elections once the farmers' issue is resolved. “I want to build strong collective force in interest of Punjab & its farmers," he added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who remotely addressed the G20 summit in Rome by video link, on Saturday called on G20 countries to accelerate the mutual recognition of each other's COVID-19 vaccines.

Mumbai's Esplanade court has issued a non-bailable warrant against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh and two others in the extortion case.

Three more cases of Zika virus have been found in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The total number of cases have increased to four now.

PM Narendra Modi had a brief interaction with French President Emmanuel Macron before 'family photo' at Roma Convention Center.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other world leaders at the G20 meeting participated in a session on the 'Global Economy and Global Health (Working Lunch)' at Roma Convention Centre in Rome, Italy.

Frontline workers join PM Narendra Modi and other world leaders for 'family photo' at Roma Convention Center in Rome, Italy.

“Daughter of actor Puneeth Rajkumar has reached Delhi (from US) & will arrive in Bengaluru by 7 pm today. As per our tradition, we don't perform funeral after sunset. His last rites will be performed at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru tomorrow,” announced Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai.

G20 leaders will stress "the importance" of fulfilling a commitment to mobilize $100 billion annually until 2025 for developing countries. They aim to remain committed to capping global warming "well below" 2 degrees celsius, will "Pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5c", , according to a draft statement obtained by Reuters.

G20 leaders will also pledge for concrete measures to stop unregulated fishing, illegal logging, illegal mining, illegal wildlife trade, the statement read.

PM Modi has arrived for G20 Summit at Roma Convention Center in Rome. He was received by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Pope Francis for a visit to India.

It may be recalled that the last Papal Visit happened in 1999 when Atal Ji was the PM and Pope John Paul II came. Now it is during PM Modi’s Prime Ministerial term that the Pope has been invited to visit India, sources told Hindustan Times.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called on Pope Francis at the Vatican and discussed with him issues covering a range of areas of interest, including COVID-19, general global perspectives and maintaining peace and tranquility.

According to sources cited by news agency ANI, PM Modi invited Pope Francis to visit India. The sources added that the Prime Minister had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. “The meeting was scheduled only for 20 minutes but went on for an hour. PM & the Pope discussed a wide range of issues aimed at making our planet better such as fighting climate change & removing poverty,” sources told ANI.

Six suspended BSP MLAs -- Hargovind Bhargav, Mujtaba Siddiqui, Hakim Lal Bind, Aslam Raini, Sushma Patel, and Aslam Chaudhary, and BJP MLA from Sitapur Sadar Rakesh Rathore on Saturday joined Samajwadi Party in the presence of party president Akhilesh Yadav.