Kerala rains LIVE: Death toll mounts to 21; PM Modi speaks to CM Vijayan

Live news updates: The Congress will elect a new party president next year; militants kill two migrant workers in Kashmir.

12:11 AM

Coast Guard: 1,200-foot ship dragged California oil pipeline

Investigators believe a 1,200-foot (366-meter) cargo ship dragging anchor in rough seas caught an underwater oil pipeline and pulled it across the seafloor, months before a leak from the line fouled the Southern California coastline with crude.

 

A team of federal investigators trying to chase down the cause of the spill boarded the Panama-registered MSC DANIT just hours after the massive ship arrived this weekend off the Port of Long Beach, the same area where the leak was discovered in early October.

 

During a prior visit by the ship during a heavy storm in January, investigators believe its anchor dragged for an unknown distance before striking the 16-inch (40-centimeter) steel pipe, Coast Guard Lt. j.g. SondraKay Kneen said Sunday.

11:32 PM

WHO's technical group to meet on Oct 26 to consider emergency use listing of Covaxin

The World Health Organization's technical advisory group will meet on October 26 to consider the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of Covaxin, a vaccine developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech protecting against COVID-19, the global health agency's chief scientist said on Sunday.

 

"The technical advisory group will meet on Oct 26th to consider EUL for #Covaxin. @WHO has been working closely with @BharatBiotech to complete the dossier. Our goal is to have a broad portfolio of vaccines approved for emergency use and to expand access to populations everywhere," World Health Organization Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan said in a tweet on Sunday.

 

Earlier this month, the WHO said Bharat Biotech has been submitting data to WHO on a rolling basis and submitted additional information at the WHO's request on September 27. The WHO experts are currently reviewing this information and if it addresses all questions raised, the WHO assessment will be finalised next week."

11:15 PM

Death toll in Kerala rises to 22, Centre offers assistance

The death toll in incidents related to heavy rains, including landslides and flash floods in Kerala rose to 22 on Sunday while Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered assistance to the southern state to tackle the situation.

 

Twenty two bodies, 13 from Kottayam district and 9 from Idukki were recovered from various rain-hit areas while NDRF teams continued their rescue operations.

 

The casualties occurred on Saturday due to landslides and flash floods in the hilly areas of Kottayam and Idukki districts following heavy rains, officials said.

 

In the high range Idukki district, where a travel ban is in place due to inclement weather, District Collector Sheeba George said two persons are still missing.

 

"Till now, we have recovered nine bodies. Two people are missing," she said.

7:28 PM

Two non-local labourers shot dead by terrorists in J&K

6:39 PM

Mumbai reports no Covid death

6:23 PM

Kerala sees 7,555 new cases

5:29 PM

PM Modi speaks to Kerala CM

5:10 PM

Kedarnath Dham receive snowfall following incessant rainfall

4:34 PM

Death toll due to heavy rains and landslide in Kerala stands at 21

3:43 PM

Uttarakhand: All trekking/camping barred from Oct 17-19

3:05 PM

IMD issues 'red alert' for heavy rain in Uttarakhand on Oct 18

2:12 PM

Kerala rains: IMD issues 'yellow alert' in 11 districts

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued an 'Yellow Alert' in 11 districts of Kerala for heavy rainfall, which has claimed the lives of 15 people so far in the state.

 

The alert has been issued for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Alapuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts.

 

The Met department said that a low-pressure area over the southeast Arabian sea and adjoining Kerala has become less marked and there is a possibility of light to moderate rainfall at many places with only isolated heavy rainfall over Kerala during the next 24 hours and further decrease thereafter.

2:10 PM

Intense spell of rainfall activity over Kerala to reduce from today: IMD

1:47 PM

Water from overflowing Pampa river enters nearby houses in Pathanamthitta

1:46 PM

Light showers in Delhi

1:44 PM

12 deaths in Kottayam due to rains

1:33 PM

Death toll in Kerala floods rises to 15: Report

The death toll in Kerala due to floods increased to 15 on Sunday after a person was fished out in Kottayam, News18.com reported. Twelve bodies were recovered from Kottayam and three in Idukki.

1:15 PM

Kerala CM says govt has set up 105 relief camps

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asks people to "take all precautions against the rain". As many as 105 relief camps have been set up in the state and more will start, he says, according to News18.com.

 

12:48 PM

Govt monitoring Kerala rains: Amit Shah on Twitter

Home Minister Amit Shah says the central government is "continuously monitoring" Kerala.

 

11:41 AM

Kerala's death toll in rains rises to 8

The death toll from rains and landslides in Kerala rose to eight on Sunday with hard-hit areas of Kottayam and Idukki districts reeling from the devastation, PTI reprted.

 

10:37 AM

Kerala predicted to get light to moderate rains

Kerala will get light to moderate rainfall at many places in 24 hours, said the weather office on Sunday about a state where at least six people have died in heavy showers since yesterday. Heavy rainfall will be isolated, said the India Meteorological Department. Separately, the State Disaster Management Authority said the low-pressure area over the Southeast Arabian has weakened.

9:51 AM

India’s recovery rate for Covid-19 highest since March 2020: Ministry

India’s recovery rate for Covid-19 cases is at 98.10 per cent: the highest since March 2020, the health ministry said on Sunday. The country recorded 14,146 new cases in 24 hours: the slowest rise in daily infections in almost seven months.

9:16 AM

Pakistan yet to get $6 billion in IMF funding: Report

Pakistan has been unable to get the International Monetary Fund to lend it $6 billion as part of a plan called Extended Fund Facility (EFF), ANI reported quoting the country’s media. The IMF is dissatisfied with Pakistan's macroeconomic framework under the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies despite the Imran Khan government raising electricity tariff.

8:34 AM

Kerala advises pilgrims not to visit Sabarimala temple in rains

Kerala’s Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and Idukki districts are worst affected in rains, reports Hindustan Times. Peerumedu hill station in Idukki received a record rainfall of 270 mm. Lord Ayyappa devotees have been advised not to visit the Sabarimala temple in the Pathanamthitta on Sunday and Monday.

8:08 AM

Hollywood studios avoid strike with new labour agreement

Hollywood studios reached a new labour agreement with one of the industry’s most powerful unions, settling differences over work conditions and pay and averting a potentially disastrous halt to film and TV production across the country, Bloomberg reported. A strike would have roiled an industry that’s still reeling from Covid-related closures and health restrictions

7:29 AM

Two Hindu men killed in riots in Bangladesh

Two Hindu men have been killed in fresh communal violence in Bangladesh, police officials said Saturday, taking the number of deaths to six from recent unrest in the Muslim-majority country. Protests began on Wednesday after footage emerged of a Quran being placed on the knee of a Hindu god during Durga Puja celebrations, AFP reported. The minority community make up about 10 per cent of the population.

 

6:46 AM

Worldwide coronavirus cases cross 240.44 million: Reuters tally

More than 240.44 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 5,102,799 have died, according to a Reuters tally. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

6:34 AM

Rahul Gandhi says he 'will consider' returning as Congress president

The Congress will select a new president in organisational elections between August 21 and September 20 next year, the party announced on Saturday. Rahul Gandhi has said he "will consider" returning as the president, media reports said Saturday.

 

6:07 AM

Rahul Dravid to be head coach? Kohli says he has 'no idea'

India captain Virat Kohli on Saturday said he has "no idea exactly what's happening" when he was asked about reports that batting legend Rahul Dravid will be the team's head coach after the T20 World Cup. "No detailed discussion with anyone yet," Kohli said in Dubai.

 

5:55 AM

Two migrant workers killed in Jammu and Kashmir

Two men who had migrated to Kashmir for work were shot dead by militants on Saturday: the second such attack on "non-locals" in a fortnight in the reigion, media reports said. Arvind Kumar Sah, a street vendor from Bihar, was shot in the head in Srinagar. Sageer Ahmad, a carpenter from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was shot dead in Litter village of south Kashmir’s Pulwama. Virender Paswan, another handcart vendor, was killed in Srinagar on October 5.