The risk of developing adverse events such as blood clots is considerably higher after infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus than after immunisation with Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines, according to a large UK study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on Friday.

The team led by researchers at the University of Oxford in the UK conducted the study on thrombocytopenia -- a condition with low platelet counts -- and thromboembolic events or blood clots following COVID-19 vaccination with Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech preventives.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that actor Sonu Sood will be the brand ambassador of the Delhi government's 'Desh Ke Mentors' program that will be launched soon.

Sonu Sood ji has agreed to become the brand ambassador of our 'Desh Ke Mentors' program which will be launched soon, said Kejriwal while addressing a joint press conference with the actor.

Shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) moved higher by 4 per cent to Rs 1,664.75 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday after brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services increased the target price of the stock to Rs 1,950, largely driven by mark-to-market (MTM) of listed information technology (IT) subsidiaries. The stock of the engineering & construction (E&C) company had hit a record high of Rs 1,676.70 on August 16, 2021.

Shares of Laxmi Organic Industries surged 8 per cent to hit a new high of Rs 414.05 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday in an otherwise range-bound market. The stock of the specialty chemicals company was trading at the highest level since its listing on March 25, 2021.

In the past three weeks, the market price of Laxmi Organics has soared 52 per cent after the company delivered a robust financial performance for the quarter ended June 2021 (Q1FY22). With the past three weeks' rally, the stock has zoomed 219 per cent against its issue price of Rs 130 per share.

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday lifted a ban on Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, two and a half years after it was grounded globally. The ban had followed two crashes killing 346 on-board.

India, besides China, was the only major aviation market for the Chicago-headquartered Boeing not to allow the aircraft to resume service so far.

Shares of Zen Technologies rallied 12 per cent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 107.75 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Friday on the back of heavy volumes. The stock of the defence company has zoomed 30 per cent in the past three trading days.

At 09:41 am, it was trading 9 per cent higher at Rs 104.70, as compared to a 0.38 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter jumped over seven-fold, with a combined 0.91 per cent of the total equity having changed hands on the NSE and BSE so far.

Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul's airport Thursday, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. The attacks killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, Afghan and U.S. officials said.

The U.S. general overseeing the evacuation said the attacks would not stop the United States from evacuating Americans and others, and flights out were continuing.

Kerala is the worst COVID-19 affected state in the country. In the past 24 hours, the number of new COVID-19 cases in the state has jumped nearly 30% to over 31,000 and 215 deaths. The state government is blaming the Onam festival for this jump and termed it the Onam spike'.

On Wednesday, Kerala reported 31,445 new cases, taking the total infection tally to 38,83,429 and fatalities to 19,972. The highest number was recorded in Ernakulam district with 4,048 new cases, followed by Thrissur which reported 3,865 new cases. The state recorded a test positivity rate of 19.03%.

The Union home ministry on Wednesday announced that all Afghan nationals henceforth must travel to India only on e-Visa in view of the prevailing situation in Afghanistan. The decision comes days after the government introduced a new category of visa called "e-Emergency X-Misc visa" for the Afghan nationals after the Taliban captured power in that country.

Owing to the prevailing security situation in Afghanistan and streamlining of the visa process by introduction of the 'e-Emergency X-Misc visa', it has been decided that all Afghan nationals henceforth must travel to India only on e-Visa, a home ministry statement said.

The Taliban have come out and claimed that Osama Bin Laden was not involved in the September 11 terror attacks on the United States and it was used as an excuse by the Americans to wage war on Afghanistan.

The Taliban spokesperson Zabibullah Mujahid has stated that there is no evidence of Osama's involvement in the 9/11 terror attacks. Speaking to NBC News, he said, Even after 20 years of war, there is no evidence of his (Osama bin Laden) involvement (in the September 11, 2001 attacks). There was no justification for this war, it was used as an excuse by the Americans for war.

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