Jet Fuel Price Hike LIVE Updates: Aviation fuel hits all-time high of Rs 1.41 lk/kL after 16.3% hike

US President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American Radha Iyengar Plumb to a top Pentagon position. Currently serving as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Plumb was on Wednesday nominated to the post of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. Prior to her appointment as Chief of Staff, Plumb was the Director of Research and Insights for Trust and Safety at Google, leading their cross functional teams on business analytics, data science and technical research.

COVID-19 shots for US infants, toddlers and preschoolers moved a step closer Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisers gave a thumbs-up to vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer for the littlest kids. The outside experts voted unanimously that the benefits of the shots outweigh any risks for children under five — that is roughly 18 million youngsters. They are the last age group in the US without access to COVID-19 vaccines and many parents have been anxious to protect their little children. If all the regulatory steps are cleared, shots should be available next week.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the face of America's pandemic response through two White House administrations, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The 81-year-old Fauci, who is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots, was experiencing mild COVID-19 symptoms, according to a statement Wednesday from the National Institutes of Health.

The CBI on Wednesday quizzed Trinamool Congress MLA Saokat Molla for more than eight hours in connection with its probe into alleged coal theft from the mines of the Eastern Coalfields Ltd in West Bengal, officials said. Molla, the Canning Purba MLA, appeared before the CBI sleuths in the morning and was "questioned in three shifts during his stay" at the central agency's office here, they said.

The US announced it will send an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, as America and its allies provide longer-range weapons they say can make a difference in a fight where Ukrainian forces are outnumbered and outgunned by their Russian invaders. President Joe Biden and his top national security leaders said Wednesday the US is moving as fast as possible to get critical weapons to the fight, even as Ukrainian officials protest that they need more, faster, in order to survive.

Delegations from China, Pakistan and other member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) are attending a meeting of the grouping being hosted by India that is expected to deliberate on pressing security challenges, including threats of terrorism. The three-day meeting in New Delhi that began on Wednesday is expected to witness extensive deliberations on regional security scenarios, including the situation in Afghanistan, people familiar with the development said.

West Bengal on Wednesday reported 230 new COVID-19 cases, 95 more than the previous day, with the tally rising to 20,20,774, the health department said in a bulletin. The single-day count crossed the 200-mark after two-and-half months. The positivity rate stood at 2.95 per cent, up from Tuesday's 1.85 per cent, it said.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Wednesday called for bolstering cooperation against terrorism without any reservations as he addressed a virtual meeting of the five-nation grouping BRICS.
The virtual meeting, hosted by China, took place over a week before the top leaders of the BRICS hold a virtual summit that is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin among others.