Highlights: Delhi logs 733 fresh Covid cases as positivity rate nears 20%

Delhi logs 733 fresh Covid cases as positivty rate nears 20%, reports PTI citing govt data. 

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Friday accused the Punjab government of trying to create panic by increasing security in Talwandi Sabo here ahead of Baisakhi festival.

The jathedar again asked radical preacher Amritpal Singh to surrender, reported PTI. 

Taiwan will not be stopped from engaging with the world and will not give in to pressure, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday as she arrived back from a trip to Central America and United States, where she met U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, reported Reuters. 

926 new Covid cases and 3 deaths reported in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours. 4487 active cases in the state. 

A total of 69 express and passenger trains were cancelled on Friday after a group of people, agitating for the last three days, continued to block train tracks in the important Kharagpur-Tatanagar and Adra-Chandil sections of South Eastern Railway, an SER official said.

However, the official said that the reasons for the agitations are not related to Railways, reported ANI. 

President Droupadi Murmu flagged off the Mount Kanchenjunga Expedition 2023, by handing over the Ice-Axe Baton with national flag and expedition flag, at the State Guest House in Guwahati, reported ANI. 

During SP, BSP, and Congress rule Azamgarh was known for terrorism whereas under Prime Minister Narendra Modi it is witnessing development, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday.

The PM has opened the government purse for the development of Uttar Pradesh, Shah said addressing a rally here, reported PTI. 

Thailand’s main opposition party will hand out about 500 billion baht ($15 billion) in cash if it wins next month’s election to “resuscitate” the nation’s struggling economy and provide relief to those battling “neck-deep debt,” a party official said, reported Bloomberg. 

Janata Dal (Secular) on Friday wrote to the Election Commission, seeking a ban on the screening and telecast of movies, shows and commercials featuring the Kannada superstar Kichcha Sudeep, claiming they might influence voters in upcoming Assembly elections, reported ANI. 

The 15th meeting of the bilateral diplomatic consultation mechanism between the foreign ministries of Nepal and China will be held today in Beijing, EPardafas reported.

India on Friday reported 6.050 new Covid-19 cases, 13 per cent higher than yesterday's tally, the health ministry data stated. The total active cases stood at 28,303.

China urged Australia to create a favourable environment for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

The nuclear envoys of the US, South Korea and Japan expressed deep concern over North Korea's "malicious" cyber activities to support its weapons programmes, they said in a joint statement released.

Lebanon and Israel 'said they do not want a war': UN Interim Force in Lebanon

A man fleeing police in Northern California took two hostages at a public park on Thursday, killing one of them and wounding a California Highway Patrol officer before surrendering, authorities said.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office said China has imposed sanctions on Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the United States, strictly prohibiting her and family members from entering the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, state media said.

Three men were given life sentences on Thursday for the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000.

Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were each convicted last month of first-degree murder and armed robbery by a jury following eight days of deliberations. (AP)

An ice storm that battered eastern Canada left two dead and some million people without electricity on Thursday, as fallen trees blocked roads and downed power lines.

The storm pummeled Quebec and Ontario, Canada's two most populous provinces. (AFP)

Israel launched air strikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip late Thursday after vowing retaliation for a barrage of cross-border rockets fired from Lebanon, which it blamed on Palestinian groups.

Tensions have soared between Israel and Palestinians during what is both the Jewish Passover and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, prompting condemnations and calls for restraint from abroad.

The latest flare-up of violence comes after Israeli police clashed Wednesday with Palestinians inside Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque -- Islam's third-holiest site. (AFP)

A court in Hanamkonda granted bail to Telangana BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar who was arrested over the alleged leak of secondary school exam papers. Read more

Twitter's revoking of legacy verified accounts might finally be getting underway as it has begun a mass unfollowing and now follows 'no one.'

On the 'Twitter Verified' account, the following has hit the rock bottom as it has reached 'Zero.'

Twitter's approximately followed 420,000 legacy verified accounts earlier.

Twitter had earlier warned of winding down all the legacy verified accounts from April 1 and even removing the checkmarks for those who still had them but were not paying for a Twitter Blue subscription. But now that Twitter has unfollowed everyone, it is not clear whether Twitter Verified is following them or not.

Facebook's parent company Meta has launched an artificial intelligence model Segment Anything Model (SAM) which can identify objects within images and videos. According to a statement, SAM can identify objects even in case where it had not encountered those items in its training.