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11:24 PM

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to visit India on Sunday

During the two-day inaugural visit, cooperation in the energy transition away from oil, coal and gas will play a role: Embassy of Germany, New Delhi

 

10:17 PM

4 killed as pickup truck falls into gorge in Mizoram

At least four persons, including an 11-year-old boy, were killed when a pickup truck in which they were travelling fell into a gorge in south Mizoram's Lunglei district on Sunday, police said. The incident occurred when the four occupants were heading towards their village from Aizawl, the police said

 

10:16 PM

Mumbai Covid-19 cases

Mumbai reported 16 Covid-19 cases, which took the tally to 1,154,940, while the death toll stood unchanged at 19,744, a civic official said.

 

9:51 PM

Countdown begins for final, 25.1 mn voters to decide fate of 833 candidates for 93 seats tomorrow

After the high-voltage campaigning, the countdown has begun for the high-stakes political battle to conclude in Gujarat, with the final phase of polling for the ongoing Assembly elections to be held on Monday.

8:30 PM

India lose to Bangladesh by one wicket in nail-bitter in 1st ODI

8:05 PM

Iran to disband morality police amid ongoing protests

Iran's morality police, which is tasked with enforcing the country's Islamic dress code, is being disbanded, the country's attorney general said, according to a media report.

7:46 PM

Polling percentage in Delhi MCD elections, for all 250 wards, stands at approx 50% till 5.30pm: State EC

3:03 PM

30% voter turnout recorded till 3 pm in Delhi MCD polls

The state election commission says around 30% voter turnout has been recorded till 2 pm in MCD polls in Delhi. 

Till 10:30 am, Delhi has recorded only 9% polling. By noon, that figure doubled to 18%.

The polling began at 8 am across all polling booths in the national capital and is set to conclude at 5:30 pm.

2:28 PM

Trust my friend Narendra Modi to bring us together: French Prez Macron

After India took over G20 Presidency, French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday tweeted a photo of himself with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed confidence that the Indian PM will bring the two countries to build peace and a sustainable world.

"One Earth. One Family. One Future. India has taken over the presidency of #G20India! I trust my friend @NarendraModi to bring us together in order to build peace and a more sustainable world," Macron wrote in a tweet.

India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on Thursday.

1:39 PM

Kharge makes strong pitch for fixing accountability in Cong organisation

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has strongly pitched for organisational accountability from top to bottom, and said those unable to fulfil their responsibilities will have to make way for their colleagues. In his opening remarks at the first meeting of the Congress steering committee constituted by him, Kharge asked state in-charges to submit a report on people's issues in the next 30-90 days.

"I believe that the biggest part of our responsibility towards the party and the country is -- organisational accountability from top to bottom. If the Congress organisation is strong, accountable, lives up to the expectations of the people, then only we will be able to win elections and serve the people of the country," he said.

In a stern message to office-bearers, Kharge also said that while there are very responsible people in the party, some had assumed that lack of responsibility will be ignored.

 

1:20 PM

Voter turnout improving gradually for MCD polls, brisk polling underway

After only 9% polling recorded in the first two-and-a-half hours, voter turnout for the MCD polls seems to be improving gradually. The voting percentage has doubled in the next 1 and a half hours. The election commission says Delhi has recorded a voter turnout of 18% until noon.

Reports say the polling is progressing at a brisk pace, so a quick uptick in the turnout can be expected when the next update comes.

Polling had begun at 8 am and it is scheduled to continue till 5:30pm.  

12:45 PM

TN professor loses Rs 23 lakh in online scam promising job in Singapore

A Tiruchy-based professor, who was unemployed after returning from Saudi Arabia in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, has lost Rs 23.5 lakh to an online scam. 

 

Tiruchy police told IANS that Prem Navas was searching for new openings abroad after losing his teaching job in Saudi Arabia.

 

Navas said in his police complaint that a person approached him promising a job at the National University Singapore as a professor with a monthly salary of Rs 6 lakh. The scamster spoke to him through Skype and lured him to transfer over Rs 23 lakh as part of  registration charges and other incidental expenses

 

11:30 AM

Delhi MCD polls: State EC says around 9% polling recorded till 10:30 am

The cold weather this morning seems to have delayed plans of voters in Delhi to go to the respective polling booths. The State Election Commission says around 9% of eligible voters have exercised their franschise in the first 2 and a half hours. 

Delhi appeared to be covered under a blanket of fog with a chill in the air. However, the day turned out to be sunny. The voting percentage is expected to pick up as the day progresses.  

10:47 AM

Lucknow declared no 1 city in national ranking of clean air survey

Lucknow has received a reward of Rs 1.50 crore along with a citation after being declared the 'No.1 city' in the national ranking of Clean Air Survey.

Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia and municipal commissioner Indrajeet Singh received the award in Bhubaneshwar from the Minister of State for Environment and Forests Ashwani Kumar Choubey and director general, environment, Chandra Prakash Goyal on Saturday.

Mayor Bhatia said, "Efforts have been made to improve the environment in Lucknow for the last five years. In order to improve the air quality, the Lucknow Municipal Corporation had installed artificial lungs in front of its headquarters in Lalbagh so that the air quality could be checked. LMC purchased nine road-sweeping machines, eight anti-smoke guns, and 40 water-sprinkling machines from the 15th Finance Commission for air quality improvement."

 

10:17 AM

MoU delay holds up translocation of South African cheetahs to India; 12 big cats in quarantine since July

A dozen cheetahs quarantined in South Africa for more than four months have lost fitness in their wait to be flown to Madhya Pradesh's Kuno National Park (KNP) as a formal signing of an agreement is holding up their inter-continental translocation, wildlife experts say.

They say prolonged quarantine is taking a toll on the health of these big cats, who were to join the eight cheetahs imported from Namibia and released in KNP in Sheopur district in mid-September.

In fact, the 12 South African cheetahs -- seven males and five females -- have not hunted for themselves even once after being kept in bomas (small enclosures).

Though there has been some forward movement in implementation of Project Cheetah with South Africa in recent days, Pretoria is yet to ink a memorandum of understanding with New Delhi for transfer of the spotted cats.

 

9:56 AM

Proud of Indian Navy's valour, commitment and professionalism: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh extendeds greetings on Navy Day, says the nation is proud of Indian Navy's valour, courage, commitment and professionalism.

"Greetings to all @IndianNavy personnel on #NavyDay. The Indian Navy is at the forefront of keeping our country safe by ensuring impeccable maritime security. The nation is proud of Indian Navy's valour, courage, commitment and professionalism," Singh tweets.

He also shares a video by the Indian Navy showcasing its combat-ready capabilities.

Every year, India celebrates December 4 as Navy Day to commemorate Indian Navy's achievements in 'Operation Trident' during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

 

9:51 AM

Delhi Congress president Anil Chaudhary says name not in voters list

Delhi Congress president Anil Chaudhary says his name is missing from the voters list. Chaudhary arrived at a polling booth in Dallupura to cast his vote but appeared dismayed after not finding his name. 

"My name is neither in the voter list nor in the deleted list. My wife has voted. Officials are checking it," Chaudhary tells reporters outside the polling booth.
 

 

9:38 AM

Away from Delhi, Rahul Gandhi resumes his Bharat Jodo Yatra in MP

The Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi resumed this morning from Agar Malwa district on the last day of its Madhya Pradesh leg.

Folk singer Prahlad Tipanya along with his group and Congress MLA Jitu Patwari walked with Gandhi after the yatra commenced from Lala Khedi village around 6 am. Congress Lok Sabha MP from Chhindwara Nakul Nath, former Union minister Arun Yadav and Congress MLA Priyavrat Singh also accompanied Gandhi.

This is the 88th day of the Bharat Jodo Yatra since it stared from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7. 

The foot march will stop for the morning break in Soyatkalan tehsil of Agar Malwa district around 10 am. It enter Rajasthan this evening.

To prepare the ground for the Yatra, Congress leader from Rajasthan Sachin Pilot has shared a video that showed him leading a group of children and the youth.
 

   

 

9:21 AM

Parvesh Verma says BJP will get 210 seats; Kejriwal urges voters to make Delhi clean, beautiful

BJP lawmaker Parvesh Verma cast his vote at a polling booth in Matiala village in West Delhi this morning. He says BJP will get 210 seats out of the total 250 and calls out AAP for allegedly being absent for the people of Delhi during the pandemic.

"AAP was claiming to form government in Goa, Uttarakhand & UP. But people know they have a habit of lying. During Covid, no one from AAP was seen working for people. Only MCD workers were standing with people. We're getting around 210 seats out of 250 in the MCD polls,"  Parvesh Verma tells reports outside the polling booth.

Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to people to vote for corruption-free governance in the civic bodies.

"Today, the election is for making Delhi clean and beautiful, the election is for making a corruption-free government in the municipal corporation. My appeal to all Delhiites is: Cast your vote today to form an honest and working government in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi," Kejriwal tweeted.

 

 

9:07 AM

Nasa astronauts successfully install new roll-out solar array on space station

Nasa astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio have successfully installed Roll-Out Solar Array on the starboard truss structure of the space station.

Nasa uploaded the video on Twitter and wrote, "Can we fix it? Yes, we can. Astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio have successfully installed Roll-Out Solar Array on the starboard truss structure of the @Space_Station. They have also disconnected a cable allowing restoring a power channel to 75% of its operating capacity."

Astronauts ended their spacewalk at 2:21pm ET today after successfully installing a new roll-out solar array on the station.

Here's how it was done:
 

 

9:01 AM

She's still fighting for justice: Owaisi gets emotional for Bilkis Bano

Known for fiery speeches, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi got emotional while talking about Bilkis Bano during campaigning in Gujarat's Jamalpur recently. Later he told ANI that he got emotional as thoughts of his own sisters and daughters crossed his mind when he was talking about Bilkis Bano.

"We are humans after and are prone to get emotional. While I was talking about Bilkis Bano, throughts of my own sister and daughter crossed to my mind. She was pregnant when she was raped and her mother and daughter were also killed. However, even after 20 years, she is still fighting for justice. If someone doesn't feel the pain, he is not worthy of being called human," he said.

 

8:54 AM

MCD polls: Security tightened across Delhi, pink polling stations set up

Security has been tightened across the national capital for a smooth conduct of the civic body polls. Nearly 40,000 Delhi police personnel, about 20,000 home guards and 108 companies of CAPF and SAP have been deployed, according to officials.

 

Authorities have set up 13,638 polling stations across Delhi for this exercise.

 

Sixty-eight model polling stations and a similar number of  pink polling stations, covering all assembly segments, have been set up, officials say.

 

This is the first civic election after the delimitation exercise. There were 272 wards in Delhi and three corporations -- NDMC, SDMC and EDMC -- from 2012-2022, before being reunified into an MCD that had formally come into existence on May 22.

 

This is also the first civic poll being held in the national capital after the February 2020 riots. According to data shared by officials, 3,360 booths, spanning 493 locations, have been identified in critical or sensitive categories.

 

The erstwhile MCD, established in 1958, was trifurcated in 2012 during Sheila Dikshit's tenure as chief minister.

The votes will be counted on Dec 7. (Source: PTI)

 

8:38 AM

MCD polls: Ajay Maken casts his vote, says Congress candidates are good

8:15 AM

Adani group sought central forces at its Vizhinajam site: Kerala minister

Kerala Transport Minister Antony Raju says the Adani Group approached the high court requesting deployment of central forces at its port construction site in Vizhinjam. Clarifying that the Kerala government did not seek deployment of central forces, he, however, said the government should not oppose Adani group's demand.

"It was not the state government that asked for central forces. The state government need not oppose Adani's demand for central forces", he told reporters.

"The opposition is trying to take political advantage from the protests at Vizhinjam. The opposition is trying to hijack the protest," Antony Raju added. 

 

8:08 AM

Congress to raise issues of unemployment, price rise in winter session

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said his party will focus on issues relating to unemployment, price rise and reservation for the economically weaker sections in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament starting Wednesday.

"There were talks on EWS reservation. Since three judges of the Supreme Court agreed on the amendment and two have raised questions about it. Congress will demand for a reconsideration and would like to have a debate in parliament," Jairam Ramesh told reporters. He also said it was necessary to get the caste census done and Congress was in favour of it.

 

Congress leaders held a meeting at the residence of Sonia Gandhi to chalk out their strategy for the parliament session.