News updates: Adani Enterprises says it aims annual capex buildup of about $9 bn for FY25

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11:39 PM

Thousands affected by floods in Manipur

Thousands of people were affected by floods triggered by heavy rains in Manipur's Imphal Valley, officials said on Wednesday. The overflowing Imphal river inundated several areas, with water entering hundreds of houses, as a result, people took shelter at nearby community halls, they said.Flooding was reported from at least 86 areas in Imphal West district, including Khuman Lampak, Nagaram, Sagolband, Uripok, Keisamthong and Paona areas due to the overflowing Nambul river, they added.

11:19 PM

Several parts of Assam facing flood-like situation

According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), 41000 people in 8 districts of Assam have been affected by floods and one person died, two others are missing. In Karimganj district, the flood waters submerged 66 villages and washed away portions of five embankments.

10:57 PM

Delhi breaches 8,300-MW first time ever as power demand soars amid heatwave

Delhi's peak power demand reached the all-time high of 8,302 MW on Wednesday afternoon as the city logged its highest-ever temperature of 52.3 degrees Celsius at the Mungeshpur weather station.

Officials said this is the first time in the city's history that the power demand has breached the 8300-MW mark and the mercury crossed 52 degrees Celsius.

10:46 PM

Adani Enterprises aims annual capex buildup of about $9 billion for FY25

Adani Enterprises says they envision an annual capex buildup of about $9 billion for financial year 2025, the company said in annual report.

9:54 PM

Former cop Sachin Waze moves HC, seeks release from jail in corruption case

Dismissed police officer Sachin Waze has filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court seeking release from jail in a corruption case in which he turned approver in June 2022.

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh is an accused in the case, and currently out on bail. A division bench of Justices N R Borkar and Somasekhar Sundaresan on Wednesday issued a notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation which is probing the case and sought its response while scheduling the hearing for June 14.

8:55 PM

Delhi Congress urges Haryana to release more water amid heatwave

The Delhi Congress on Wednesday appealed to the Haryana government to release more water into Yamuna from the Tajewala barrage to help the national capital overcome the severe water shortage it is facing.

State party chief Devender Yadav said that due to the heat wave, the city has been experiencing a severe water shortage and agencies must join forces and work on a war footing to tide over the crisis.

7:49 PM

Western Railway restores services 24 hrs after goods train derail at Palghar

In a huge relief for passengers, the Western Railway on Wednesday evening restored train services at Palghar station near Mumbai where a goods train derailed a day before.

Seven wagons of the goods train carrying iron coils derailed at Palghar, located around 100 km from Mumbai, at 5.08 pm on Tuesday, affecting the traffic of Mumbai-bound trains coming from Gujarat, a railway spokesperson earlier said.

No casualties were reported.

7:33 PM

IMF revises China's GDP to 5% this year; Growth may decelerate to 3.3 per cent by 2029, Gita Gopinath

The IMF on Wednesday projected China's economic growth at 5 per cent, up from its earlier forecast of 4.6 per cent, but cautioned it of a slowdown to contract to 3.3 per cent by 2029 due to ageing and slower productivity growth and suggested to boost productivity to continue with economic reforms.

The 5 per cent growth revision by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is in line with the target set by the Chinese government for the world's second-largest economy which is grappling with a slowdown triggered by the crippling property sector crisis and industrial overcapacity.

7:00 PM

Hoarding collapse: Court extends custody of advertising firm's director Bhinde till Thursday

A court here on Wednesday extended the police remand by one day of Bhavesh Bhinde, the director of an advertising firm which had installed a hoarding that collapsed in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area and claimed 17 lives. Bhinde, director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd, was arrested on May 16 from Udaipur in Rajasthan, three days after the illegal 120 ft x 120 ft hoarding crashed onto a petrol pump amid gusty winds and unseasonal rains in the city.

6:41 PM

Uttarakhand saw 54% decline in area under horticulture production in last six years: Study

Uttarakhand has witnessed a 54 per cent decline in the area under horticulture production in the last six years till 2023, research showed, partially attributing the change to global warming.

The decline in area under horticulture production also coincides with the declining yields of major fruit crops in the state.

6:01 PM

Railways land-for-job case: Court pulls up CBI for delay in filing "conclusive" charge sheet

A Delhi court on Wednesday pulled up the CBI for the delay in filing a "conclusive charge sheet" in the alleged land for job scam in the Indian Railways involving RJD chief Lalu Prasad and several of his family members.

Special Judge Vishal Gogne expressed displeasure over the CBI seeking more time "on every date" to file the charge sheet.

The judge directed the central probe agency to file the final report by June 7.

5:44 PM

India imports more silver in 4 months than in all of 2023

India's silver imports in the first four months of the year have already surpassed the total for all of 2023, on rising demand from the solar panel industry and as investors bet on an outperformance versus gold, government and industry officials told Reuters.

Increased imports by the world's biggest silver consumer could support global prices, which are trading near their highest level in more than a decade.

5:33 PM

Govt to enlist dairy, fishery co-operatives in rural banking outreach: Coop secy

The government is planning to launch a nationwide programme to rope in dairy and fishery cooperative societies as banking correspondents to expand financial services in rural areas, a top official said on Wednesday.

 

Ministry of Cooperation Secretary Ashish Kumar Bhutani said the programme would leverage the existing network of dairy and fishery cooperatives to act as "bank mitras" or banking agents by offering services such as micro-ATMs and lower-interest farm loans.

4:51 PM

News update: Rain In Delhi after temperature rises to record high of 52.3 degree Celsius

Hours after the national capital registered the country's highest-ever temperature at 52.3 degrees Celsius, Delhi received showers this afternoon, bringing relief from the excruciating heat.

4:47 PM

Karnataka sexual abuse case: Suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna files for anticipatory bail

Suspended JD(S) leader and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna on Wednesday filed an anticipatory bail application in the sexual assault case at the Bengaluru sessions court.

4:45 PM

Supreme Court rejects petition seeking permission to terminate over 25-week pregnancy

The  top court has rejected a plea by a woman seeking permission to terminate her over 25-week pregnancy, but refrained from making public the reasons for its decision to protect her privacy. The vacation bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Satish Chandra Sharma perused a report filed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi which was asked by the apex court last week to ascertain the physical condition of the woman and her foetus.

 

4:41 PM

Two more taken in custody in Sri Lanka for suspected ISIS links

Sri Lankan police  taken into custody two more suspects reportedly linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) from the country's northwestern region, officials said on Wednesday. This comes days after the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad arrested four Sri Lankans with links to ISIS at the airport in Ahmedabad. The four men had taken an Indigo flight out of Colombo to Chennai on May 19.

4:22 PM

Delhi hits 52.3 degrees Celsius, its highest-ever recorded temperature

Delhi registered its the highest-ever temperature at 52.3 degree Celsius on Wednesday. Delhi also recorded its all-time high power demand of 8,302 megawatts amid the heatwave as more and more residents turned onair-conditioning, electricity department officials stated.

3:56 PM

Swati Maliwal 'assault case': Delhi HC to hear on Friday Kejriwal aide Bibhav Kumar's plea against arrest

Earlier today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, moved the Delhi High Court  to challenge his arrest in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Swati Maliwal 'assault' case, calling it "illegal."

3:53 PM

28 dead as bus plunges into ravine in Pakistan

At least 28 people, including women and children, were killed and 22 others injured in Pakistan when a passenger bus  fell into a ravine in the  Balochistan province today. The bus, heading from Turbat to Quetta, fell into the ravine near Washuk town, around 700 kilometres from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.

3:32 PM

Israel-Palestine news updates: Death toll in Gaza at 36,171, say officials

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Wednesday that at least 36,171 people have been killed in the territory during more than seven months of war.

3:16 PM

'All Eyes On Rafah': Alia, Priyanka, Kareena and many Bollywood actors stand in solidarity with Palestine

Prominent Indian celebrities, including Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor Khan, have shown solidarity with Palestine after an Israeli airstrike on a camp in Rafah killed 45 people. Israel has faced widespread criticism for the strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah that local health officials said killed at least 45 Palestinians, including displaced people living in tents that were engulfed by fire on Sunday.

3:07 PM

Delhi govt imposes fine of Rs 2,000 for water wastage

The Delhi government on Wednesday directed the DJB to impose a fine of Rs 2,000 for water wastage. The move comes amid an "acute shortage" of water faced by Delhi with Water Minister Atishi accusing Haryana of not releasing Delhi's share of water from the Yamuna Riv

3:01 PM

News update: MCD issues advisory to prevent fire incidents in health facilities in Delhi

MCD issues advisory to prevent fire incidents in health facilities in Delhi, asks for action taken report by May 31.

2:32 PM

ED raids illegal mining sites in Punjab; seizes Rs 3.5 crore cash

The Enforcement Directorate today conducted raids at multiple locations in Punjab as part of a narcotics linked money laundering case that involves prime accused Jagdish Singh alias Bhola, official sources said. The agency has seized about Rs 3.5 crore in cash during these raids. A total of 13 premises in Rupnagar district are being searched after it was found that "illegal" mining was being done on a land that was earlier attached by the ED in the Bhola case

2:16 PM

S&P upgrades India's rating outlook to positive on growth, improved govt spending

S&P Global Ratings today upgraded India's sovereign rating outlook to positive from stable while retaining the rating at 'BBB-' on robust growth and improved quality of government expenditure.

2:00 PM

Pune Porsche crash: Doctor, teen's father exchanged 14 calls before sample switch

The investigation into the Pune Porsche crash has revealed that the doctor, Dr Ajay Taware, arrested for allegedly switching the blood samples of the accused minor, exchanged 14 calls with the boy's father. Read here for more details.

1:47 PM

‘All eyes on Rafah’: 45 civilians killed in Israeli strike

Gaza’s health ministry said that the death toll from Israeli air strikes on a camp housing displaced Palestinians near Rafah in southern part of the strip has risen to 45. Officials said on Monday said 45 people, including 23 women, children and elderly, were killed in the attack and 249 others wounded.

1:20 PM

Swati Maliwal 'assault' case: CM Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar moves Delhi HC challenging arrest

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide, Bibhav Kumar, moved the Delhi High Court today to challenge his arrest in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Swati Maliwal assault case, calling it "illegal." Kumar filed a writ petition seeking his release from jail.

1:17 PM

Kerala receives moderate rainfall; IMD sounds orange alert in 5 districts

Several districts in Kerala received moderate rains today, even as the weather office forecast very heavy rainfall in five districts of the state in the coming hours.

According to  the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam were placed under an orange alert, predicting "very heavy rains" in these districts today. The red alert issued in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts on Tuesday was withdrawn.