Highlights: Fortis Healthcare reports net profit of Rs 176 crore in Q2FY25

Latest news updates: Catch all the latest news developments from across the world here

9:36 PM

Clash of titans: TRAI open house sees Jio, Airtel spar with Starlink, Amazon over satcom spectrum norms

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel clashed with satellite players that are eyeing India's lucrative satcom market at TRAI's open house discussion on Friday, as telecom operators made a spirited pitch for level-playing-field among the "competing" "substitutable services" and satcom companies argued that justification for administrative assignment of radiowaves is "techno-economic".
 

The high-voltage discussions went on for over six hours under the watchful eye of the regulator and saw active participation of all key stakeholders - from Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea to satellite biggies like Starlink and Amazon (Project Kuiper is Amazon's low Earth orbit satellite broadband network).
 

The open house discussion was punctuated with frequent interjections and counter-arguments, and, at times, emotional outbursts, as opposing fractions made their submissions on issues such as pricing, period of assignment of satcom spectrum, frequency bands, roll out obligations, and other nuances.

8:40 PM

Signature Global posts Rs 4.15 cr profit in Sep quarter; revenue jumps to Rs 777.42cr

 Realty firm Signature Global Ltd on Friday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 4.15 crore for the quarter ended September.
 

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 19.92 crore in the year-ago period.
 

Total income rose to Rs 777.42 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal from Rs 121.16 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding year, according to a regulatory filing.

7:39 PM

Canada news: Montreal port employers threaten shutdown

Port of Montreal terminal operators have threatened to shut down most operations as of Sunday after providing a "final, comprehensive offer" to the longshore union.
 

If the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 375 does not accept the offer by Sunday at 8:00 p.m. "only essential services and activities unrelated to longshoring will continue at the Port of Montréal from 9 p.m. on Sunday," the Maritime Employers Association said in a statement on Thursday.

7:25 PM

Irish PM Simon Harris announces formal start of country's general election campaign

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris on Friday announced the formal start of the country's general election campaign, saying he would ask the president to dissolve parliament ahead of voting on Nov. 29.

6:55 PM

IndiGo announces new flights to bolster accessibility across East, North East region

 IndiGo airline on Friday announced a number of new flights and resumption of operations in its winter schedule to bolster connectivity to eastern and northeastern India.
 

The airline announced additional frequencies on the Kolkata-Bangkok route. The new frequencies will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, starting from November 24, the airline said in a statement.

With the new frequencies, the airline will have 11 weekly flights to Bangkok, sources in the airline said.

The airline also announced new direct flights between Guwahati and Dimapur, and resumption of operations between Guwahati and Ahmedabad, operating daily from December 10.

An IndiGo statement also said that from October 29, the airline has begun maiden direct flights connecting Agartala and Dibrugarh. The tri-weekly flights operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

5:47 PM

IKEA reports higher profit despite revenue hit from price cuts

Inter IKEA, the owner of the world's biggest furniture brand, reported higher profits for 2024 thanks to lower interest payments, despite a sharp decline in revenues after it cut prices across its range of products like BILLY bookcases.
 

The price reductions are an attempt to boost IKEA's affordability after it hiked prices significantly in 2021-2022 when supply chain disruptions raised raw material costs.
 

Inter IKEA, which supplies the stores to which it franchises the IKEA brand, lowered its prices by an average of 15% over the year, Chief Financial Officer Henrik Elm said, allowing IKEA retailers to cut prices for customers by an average of 10%, after the cost of commodities like wood fell.

5:25 PM

Forex reserves slide for fifth week to more than 2-month low

India's foreign exchange reserves dropped for a fifth consecutive week to an over 2-month low of $682.13 billion as of Nov. 1, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday.
 

The reserves fell by $2.7 billion in the reporting week.

They had fallen by a total of $20.1 billion in the previous four weeks.

Changes in foreign currency assets are caused by the central bank's intervention in the forex market as well as the appreciation or depreciation of foreign assets held in the reserves.

5:24 PM

India needs to carefully navigate US sanctions on certain firms to safeguard biz interests: GTRI

India needs to carefully navigate the US sanctions imposed on certain Indian entities to protect their business interests and can engage diplomatically with America and other international bodies to seek remedies, think tank GTRI said on Friday.
 

To prevent future sanctions, India may plan to tighten export controls, offer clearer business guidelines, and ensure stricter compliance, it said.
 

On October 30, the US State Department and the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on nearly 400 entities and individuals, including 19 Indian companies and two individuals, for allegedly supporting Russia's military activities in Ukraine.

4:57 PM

Ola Electric's Q2 loss narrows as sales jump

Ola Electric, India's top e-scooter maker by market share, reported a narrower second-quarter loss on Friday, helped by a jump in sales.

4:51 PM

Tata Motors Q2 net profit declines 9.9% to Rs 3,450 cr

Tata Motors on Friday reported a 9.9 per cent drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,450 crore for the second quarter ended September 2024. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,832 crore in the same quarter of the last fiscal, Tata Motors said in a regulatory filing.

3:49 PM

BJP burnt Manipur, attempted to divide people across India on religious lines, alleges Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused the saffron party of burning Manipur and making attempts to divide people across the country on religious lines.  "The BJP burnt Manipur and attempted to divide people on religious lines. It incited Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs against each other. In recently held Haryana elections, the BJP incited Jats against non-Jats...It is the character of the BJP," Gandhi alleged while addressing an election rally in Lohardaga.

3:47 PM

Delhi HC asks Tihar jail to provide medical aid to jailed separatist leader Yasin Malik

The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Tihar jail authorities to provide necessary medical treatment to separatist leader Yasin Malik, who was awarded life sentence in a terror case, and is reportedly on a hunger strike. Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta while issuing notice to the Centre, Delhi government and Tihar Jail authorities on a plea seeking his medical care, also sought a health status report. Malik's counsel said his client was on hunger strike since November 1 and required an urgent hospital admission.

3:32 PM

Prompt legal action against corrupt extremely important: President Murmu

Asserting that delay or weak action encourages unethical people, President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said that prompt legal action against corrupt persons is extremely important. Addressing the vigilance awareness week function of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) here, she said trust is the foundation of social life.

2:54 PM

SC refuses to examine plea to appoint 'yoga mitra' instructors in schools

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to examine a plea seeking directions to all states to appoint "yoga mitra” instructors for school children. A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra told petitioner advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay that it was a policy matter.

“As a person who practices yoga, I can say its important for the development, but this purely lies in the policy domain of the government,” remarked the CJI.

2:42 PM

ADM suicide: Kerala court grants bail to CPI (M) leader Divya, party says she is not enemy but cadre

A local court in Kannur granted bail to CPI(M) leader P P Divya in a case of abetment to suicide related to the death of a former ADM, even as the ruling party indicated its support to her, saying the former panchayat president is not a an enemy but a party cadre.

2:00 PM

SC directs govt to establish mandatory accessibility standards for disabled persons

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to implement mandatory accessibility standards within three months, in a significant order aimed at improving access to public spaces for persons with disabilities. The order by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud comes in response to slow progress on the accessibility directives issued by the court in a judgement on December 15, 2017.

1:55 PM

Special status resolution: BJP MLAs hold mock assembly

Opposition BJP on Friday held a mock session in the lawns of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after half of its members were marshalled out while the other half staged a walk out of the House to protest against the special status resolution. The BJP MLAs assembled in the assembly lawns and staged a mock assembly in which they described the House resolution on restoration of special status as "illegal" and "unconstitutional".

1:19 PM

Special status resolution: BJP MLAs hold mock assembly

Opposition BJP on Friday held a mock session in the lawns of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after half of its members were marshalled out while the other half staged a walk out of the House to protest against the special status resolution. The BJP MLAs assembled in the assembly lawns and staged a mock assembly in which they described the House resolution on restoration of special status as "illegal" and "unconstitutional".

1:11 PM

Australian states back national plan to ban children younger than 16 from social media

Australia's states and territories on Friday unanimously backed a national plan to require most forms of social media to bar children younger than 16. Leaders of the eight provinces held a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to discuss what he calls a world-first national approach that would make platforms including X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook responsible for enforcing the age limit.

12:38 PM

Myanmar's conflict-torn Rakhine state could face imminent acute famine, UN report warns UN

Myanmar's Rakhine state, home to the Rohingya minority and engulfed in conflict between government forces and a powerful ethnic group, could face an imminent acute famine, the United Nations development agency warned in a new report. The UN Development Programme said in the report issued Thursday that “a perfect storm is brewing” which has put western Rakhine “on the precipice of an unprecedented disaster.”

11:57 AM

SC overrules 1967 verdict holding AMU can't be minority institution

The Supreme Court on Friday deferred the question of Aligarh Muslim Unversity's minority status to a fresh bench and overruled the 1967 judgement that said the university cannot be considered a minority institution since it was created by a central law.

 

11:27 AM

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya, editors of Kannada news portals booked for allegedly spreading fake news

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and editors of some Kannada news portals have been booked for allegedly spreading fake news linking a farmer's suicide to land disputes with Waqf Board, police said on Friday. Sharing the article of the news portals on 'X', the Bengaluru South MP on November 7 alleged that a farmer in Haveri district died by suicide after finding his land had been taken over by the Board.

11:25 AM

Issue of AMU's minority status must be decided on basis of tests laid down by apex court, says SC

The Supreme Court has overruled the 1967 verdict holding that since AMU was central university it cannot be considered minority institution.

11:04 AM

Encounter in J-K's Baramulla, two terrorists killed

Two terrorists were killed on Friday in an overnight encounter with security forces in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. Their identification and affiliation is being ascertained, the Kashmir Zone police posted on X. Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition were recovered from them. 

11:01 AM

Devotees across Bihar offer morning prayers to rising sun on Chhath Puja

Devotees across Bihar offered morning prayers to the rising sun on the last day of Chhath Puja on Friday with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and several other political leaders participating in the festivities. Lakhs of devotees worshipped the sun on the banks of the Ganga river and other water bodies in the state capital this morning and offered 'arghya'.

10:13 AM

EAM Jaishankar discusses ties with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong and discussed with him ways to take forward contemporary bilateral partnership, with a focus on areas like industrial parks, innovation and semiconductors. Jaishankar is here on the second leg of his two-nation tour which also took him to Australia.

9:58 AM

Amid model code, Mumbai police seize Rs 2.3 crore cash, detain 12 persons

In the run-up to the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections, police have seized Rs 2.3 crore cash from 12 persons at Kalbadevi in south Mumbai, officials said on Friday. Acting on inputs, a team of Lokmanya Tilak Marg police station and poll officials intercepted a group of people on Thursday night.

9:55 AM

PM Modi greets Telangana CM Revanth Reddy on birthday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted Telangana Chief Minister and Congress leader A Revanth Reddy on his birthday on Friday, and wished for his long and healthy life. Reddy, who is serving as chief minister of Telangana since December 7, 2023, turned 55 on Friday.

9:17 AM

Devotees offer 'Arghya' to rising sun on last day of Chhath Puja

As part of Chhath festival rituals, devotees across the country offered 'Arghya' to the rising Sun on Friday morning. Devotees at various places in the country gathered at riverbanks and offered Argya on the last day of the four-day festival. After the holy offering, parents pray to 'Chhatti Maiya' for the protection of their children as well as the happiness and peace of their whole family.

9:07 AM

Karnataka: Haveri Police registers FIR against BJP's Tejasvi Surya for false claim over farmer suicide

The Haveri Police station in Karnataka registered an FIR against Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya for a false claim that a farmer in the district died by suicide after having his land claimed by Waqf board. According to the FIR registered on Thursday, Tejasvi Surya claimed that a farmer, identified as Rudrappa Channappa Balikai died by suicide after he found out that his land was "taken over by Waqf" and blamed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan have "unleashed catastrophic effects in Karnataka" in a post on X.