Latest LIVE: Nirav Modi loses extradition appeal in UK; to return to India

From strong earthquake in Nepal to US Midterm elections, catch all the live updates from across the globe here

4:25 PM

Nirav Modi to return to India

Nirav Modi lost his appeal in extradition case in the UK. This means he will be extradited soon.

2:58 PM

PM Modi to gift Himachal items to world leaders at G20 summit: Report

During the G20 summit in Bali scheduled to be held on November 15-16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to gift unique art and handicraft items from Himachal Pradesh to world leaders, according to official sources.

The sources said that the Prime Minister may gift items like Kullu shawls and Kangra miniature paintings, the IANS reported.

India will take over the G20 presidency from Indonesia from December 1. India's tenure will continue till November 20, 2023.

2:47 PM

Centre, Delhi govt to discuss arbitral award payment to DAMEPL on Thursday

A high-level meeting between the senior officials of Delhi government and Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is scheduled to be held on Thursday to discuss the payment of arbitral award to Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd. (DAMEPL), the IANS reported.

The meeting will also be attended by the senior officials of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the leading banks.

The meeting has been convened after DMRC wrote to the Delhi government and MoHUA, seeking financial assistance for the payment of Rs 7,000 crore arbitral award to DAMEPL.

2:37 PM

Delhi BJP slams CM Arvind Kejriwal for reopening schools amid severe air quality

The Delhi unit of BJP on Wednesday came down heavily on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for ordering reopening of schools amid worsening air quality.

Taking to Twitter, it said, "Mat karo bachon ki zindagi ke sath khilwad, Delhi puche kahan ho Kejriwal (Please do not play with children's lives.. Delhi is asking where is Kejriwal missing)".

Speaking to IANS, National spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said, "Kejriwalji, we earnestly request that pollution is not an issue of politics, please do not risk our children's lives. Today Delhi is nothing less than a virtual gas chamber with the AQI continuing in the 'extremely severe' category. At places, it is above 350 and 400 in certain areas. Stubble burning is not the only reason for Delhi's pollution, but road dust, construction dust, industrial pollution, vehicle pollution also contribute to it. No action has been taken to tackle the internal causes of pollution".

2:17 PM

Suryakumar Yadav at top spot, Arshdeep surges to career-best 23rd in T20I rankings

In-form India batter Suryakumar Yadav consolidated his top spot in the batting chart, while left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh climbed to a career-best 23rd position among bowlers in the latest ICC T20I rankings released on Wednesday.

Yadav, who has been in sizzling form, has amassed 225 runs from five matches at a strike-rate of almost 200 in the ongoing T20 World Cup. He achieved a career-high rating of 869 points to continue as the number one batter in the format, the Press Trust of India reported.

In India's last group match, Yadav blasted a 25-ball 61 as he added six points in the weekly rankings update to go 39 points clear of second-placed Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan.

2:07 PM

Amazon, TVS Motor announce arrangement to scale up EV deployment

Amazon India and TVS Motor Company have joined hands to strengthen electric mobility in the country, the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

As part of the collaboration, a fleet of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers from TVS Motor will be deployed for Amazon's last-mile deliveries, the PTI reported.

In addition, the two companies will work in tandem to examine EV use cases for various Amazon business groups for its network and logistical requirements, the statement said.

1:53 PM

Mumbai court grants bail to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in money laundering case

A special court here on Wednesday granted bail to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case pertaining to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project, the PTI reported.

Special Judge M G Deshpande, designated to hear cases pertaining to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), allowed the bail plea of Raut after hearing arguments from both sides.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Rajya Sabha member Raut in July this year for his alleged role in financial irregularities in connection with the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl (row tenement) in suburban Goregaon.

1:31 PM

Kerala govt to float ordinance for removal of Governor as varsities' chancellor

The Kerala cabinet, on Wednesday, decided to bring in an Ordinance to remove Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as the chancellor of Universities in the state, the IANS reported.

For long, the two leaders have been engaged in a tussle that started with Khan objecting to the appointment of Vijayan's private secretary K.K.Ragesh's wife Priya Varghese at the Kannur University.

The Kerala High Court also stayed the appointment till the case gets finally disposed of.

1:08 PM

Gujarat assembly polls: BJP likely to finalise all candidates today

The BJP's top leadership will on Wednesday deliberate upon the candidates for Gujarat assembly polls, where the party is eyeing a win for the seventh time, the PTI reported.

The BJP's central election committee, also comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, will meet here in the evening to finalise the candidates.

Elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases -- December 1 and 5.

12:57 PM

Mastodon struggles to keep up with recent flood of Twitter defectors

Mastodon, an open-source social network that markets itself as an alternative to Twitter Inc., has seen a surge in new sign-ups in recent days, overwhelming the site and its founder as the tiny operation struggles to keep up.
 

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter on Oct. 27, Mastodon has drawn 489,003 new users, bringing total monthly active users to more than 1 million, founder, lead developer and Chief Executive Officer Eugen Rochko said on his own Mastodon account Monday. That’s a tiny fraction compared to Twitter’s 238 million daily active users. But Musk’s purchase has seemingly been the incentive the German non-profit has been waiting for since its founding in 2016. 

“I don’t think Mastodon or the fediverse has ever received this much attention before,” Rochko wrote on his account two days ago. “It’s a great opportunity for people to finally see that social media can be done differently, that it can be a protocol not under control of any single company.”

12:39 PM

BJP, RSS convert fear into hate between religions and castes: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) agenda is to develop fear in the minds of people on the basis of discrimination and then convert that fear into hate between religions and castes, the ANI reported.

Addressing a gathering in the Nanded district of Maharashtra during Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress MP said, "BJP and RSS agenda is fixed, they first developed fear into people's mind,and then convert that fear into hate between religions and castes. We will continue our Bharat Jodo Yatra and it will end in Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar."

Slamming the Centre over demonetization, Rahul Gandhi said that the BJP government's decision destroyed poor farmers, small businessmen, shop owners and others.

12:25 PM

India has 249,000 voters aged above 100: Chief Election Commissioner

There are 2.49 lakh voters aged above 100 in India, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Wednesday.

Besides, 1.80 crore voters are over 80 years of age, Kumar said after flagging off a bicycle rally in Maharashtra's Pune city on Wednesday to create an awareness about voter registration as part of the national level launch of a special summary revision of the voters' list.

The Election Commission of India's initiative is aimed at increasing the electoral rolls in urban areas.

12:14 PM

Musk sells additional Tesla shares worth $3.4 bn towards Twitter deal

Elon Musk has sold additional Tesla stock worth $3.4 billion towards financing the $44 billion Twitter takeover deal, revealed the latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

With this, he has offloaded almost $20 billion in Tesla shares this year. The world's richest man sold $8.4 billion in Tesla shares in April and another $6.9 billion in August, the IANS reported.

The tech billionaire earlier said on social media that he had "no further Tesla sales planned" after April 28.

11:58 AM

COP27: India, China on track to overachieve 2030 UN climate targets

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) underway in the backdrop of a year when extreme climate events demonstrated again the urgency to curb greenhouse gas emissions, leading economies of India and China are on track to overachieve their UN climate targets, the IANS reported.

Renewable energy installed capacity in India has expanded at a rate of 19 per cent annually between 2016 and 2021. Its draft national electricity plan sees an 18 GW downward revision of installed coal capacity in 2030.

China is set to install a record 156 GW of wind and solar energy this year, and China's electrical vehicle (EV) sales are forecasted to double with the possibility of reaching six million.

11:40 AM

Thermal plants have adequate coal stocks at 25.6 million tonnes, says govt

The coal stock with domestic dry fuel-based power plants, as on October 31, was 25.6 million tonnes, the government said, adding that the availability situation is being constantly monitored.

It has clarified that the coal supply situation to thermal plants is under control, the IANS reported.

The domestic coal supply to the power sector in October is 12 per cent more than the same period of last year.

11:23 AM

Delhi air quality continues to remain in 'very poor' category; AQI at 329

The air quality in Delhi continued to remain in the 'very poor' category on Wednesday morning with an overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 329, as per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

On Tuesday morning, the overall AQI of the city stood at 321.

The National Capital Region (NCR) also continued to witness bad air as Noida also registered very poor air quality with an AQI of 380 while Gurugram's AQI stood at 336 and continued to remain in the 'very poor' category.AQI recorded at all major monitoring stations in the national capital also stood in the 'very poor' category.

 

11:09 AM

India reports 811 new Covid-19 cases, two deaths; active cases at 13,559

India logged 811 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,46,62,952, while the active cases declined to 13,559, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The death toll climbed to 5,30,511 with two fatalities being reported from Maharashtra, the data updated at 8 am stated, the PTI reported.

The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.78 per cent, according to the ministry website.

10:47 AM

Nepal earthquake: PM Deuba condoles loss of lives, rescue underway

Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Wednesday expressed heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, the ANI reported.

"Expressing my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who died in the earthquake, which was centred in the Khaptad region of Far West. Also, I have instructed the relevant agencies to arrange immediate and proper treatment of the injured and the victims in the relief and rescue in the affected areas," tweeted Deuba.

Meanwhile, a search and rescue operation is underway at the house that collapsed in the Doti district of Nepal after the latest round of earthquake last night killed six people.

10:36 AM

Justice D Y Chandrachud sworn in as 50th Chief Justice of India

Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud was sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India on Wednesday, the PTI reported.
 

President Droupadi Murmu administered him the oath at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
 

Justice Chandrachud takes over as the head of India's Judiciary from Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, who demitted office on Tuesday. 

10:10 AM

Germany to lose $110bn by 2023 due to high energy prices: Study

The current spike in energy prices will cost Germany nearly $110 billion in real income by 2023, with the funds flowing to sellers abroad, according to a study published by the ifo Institute for economic research.

The losses will equate to 3 per cent of Germany's annual economic output, Xinhua news agency reported citing the study released on Tuesday.

The total amount includes 35 billion euros from last year, 64 billion from this year, and another 9 billion euros of losses predicted for 2023, the IANS reported.

9:57 AM

BJP core group meet at JP Nadda's residence to discuss Gujarat elections

The BJP core group meeting for the state of Gujarat took place at the residence of national president JP Nadda on Tuesday evening. The meeting went on for more than two hours, the ANI reported.

This meeting is crucial before the central election committee meeting in the national capital at the party headquarters on Wednesday evening.

The meeting at Nadda's residence was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat state president CR Patil, Union Ministers Mansukh Mandaviya, Purshottam Rupala, State General Secretary Ratnakar and BJP General Secretary Organisation B L Santosh.

9:23 AM

US expands sanctions on Myanmar, North Korea's aviation, defence sectors

The Biden administration is expanding sanctions against the aviation and defense sectors of North Korea and Myanmar as it continues to punish the two countries for weapons-related violations of US and United Nations regulations and human rights abuses, the Associated Press reported.

The Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it had imposed penalties on two agents for North Korea's state-owned airline Air Koryo and redesignated a previously sanctioned North Korean cyber agency that it said launders profits from cryptocurrency heists to further Pyongyang's weapons programs.

Treasury also announced sanctions against the Myanmar aviation firm Sky Aviator Company Limited and its owner for facilitating weapons purchases for the country's military government to crackdown on protesters following a February 2021 coup.

9:22 AM

One-year work experience to be made mandatory for govt jobs in Goa: CM

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said one-year work experience would be made "compulsory" for recruitment in state government departments, the PTI reported.

He said fresh candidates would not be taken directly into government service. Aspirants would have to get experience by working in the private sector before applying for government jobs.

Addressing a function at Taleigao village in North Goa, Sawant said one-year work experience would be made mandatory for those looking for government jobs in the future.

 

9:15 AM

Facebook parent Meta Inc to begin widespread job cuts starting today

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to begin widespread job cuts on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter, part of a plan to reduce costs at the social-media giant following disappointing earnings and a drop in revenue.
 

Employees who are affected will be told starting Wednesday morning, and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg spoke to executives on Tuesday to prepare them for the cuts, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

On the executive call, Zuckerberg said he was accountable for the company’s “missteps,” according to the Wall Street Journal.