LIVE: 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines, tsunami warning issued

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9:12 PM

Japan issues tsunami alert after Philippines quake

A tsunami alert has been issued for western Japan's Pacific coast following a major earthquake in the Philippines, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on Saturday. The tsunami, which is estimated to be 1 metre high, will likely reach Japan as early as 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (1630 GMT on Saturday), public broadcaster NHK reported.

8:37 PM

7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines, tsunami warning issued

7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines, US agency issues tsunami warning, reports news agency Reuters.

 

8:05 PM

Israeli offensive shifts to crowded southern Gaza, driving up death toll despite evacuation orders

Israel pounded targets in the crowded southern half of the Gaza Strip on Saturday and ordered more neighbourhoods designated for attack to evacuate, driving up the death toll even as the United States and others urged it to do more to protect Gaza civilians. At least 200 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting resumed on Friday morning following a weeklong truce with the territory's ruling militant group Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.

7:42 PM

Gohar Ali Khan elected unopposed as new chairman of ex-Pak PM Imran Khan's party

Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party on Saturday elected Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as the new chairman, days before the top election body's deadline for the party to hold organisational polls to retain 'bat' as its election symbol. This is the first time since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) was founded in 1996 by the cricketer-turned-politician that someone else has replaced the 71-year-old as its chairman. Soft-spoken Gohar, a lawyer by profession and someone who has been appearing in several cases against Imran Khan and the PTI was elected unopposed as nobody filed a nomination against him in the intra-party elections held in the north-western city of Peshawar, considered a stronghold of the party.

7:42 PM

India to host world's largest textile exposition fair from Feb 26- 29: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal says, "...We will be hosting the world's largest textile exposition fair, seminars, and conference from February 26 to February 29, 2024, in New Delhi at the iconic Bharat Mandapam and at Yashobhoomi...We will have the world's largest exhibition on the textile sector...."

7:41 PM

US will not permit forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or West Bank: Vice President Harris

US Vice President Kamala Harris told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday that "under no circumstance, the United States will permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank", according to a White House statement on the meeting on the sidelines of the COP28 Conference in Dubai. Harris discussed with Sisi efforts for reconstruction, security, and governance in Gaza, stating that they "can only succeed if they are pursued in the context of a clear political horizon for the Palestinian people towards a state of their own led by a revitalized Palestinian Authority," the statement added.

7:40 PM

Ex-BJD MP Jayaram Pangi joins Congress in Odisha

Former BJD MP Jayaram Pangi, who had recently severed ties with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), on Saturday joined the Congress and vowed to fight against the ruling party in Odisha and the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Pangi along with former chief minister Giridhar Gamang had joined BRS in Hyderabad in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in January this year. The prominent tribal leader from southern Odisha had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on a BJP candidate from Koraput but later quit the saffron party. Pangi joined the Congress in the presence of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak and senior leaders at the party's state headquarters here.

7:22 PM

Pak court adjourns hearing of cipher case against Imran Khan, Qureshi till Dec 4

A Pakistan court hearing a case against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for allegedly leaking a diplomatic cable on Saturday adjourned the hearing till Monday after marking the presence of the two accused. Special court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqernain presided over the hearing held in the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi where the two leaders have been incarcerated. The case is based on allegations that the two violated the secret laws of the country while handling a communication sent by the embassy in Washington in March 2022.

7:22 PM

PM Modi meets Qatar's ruler

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on Friday, as they discussed bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in the oil-rich country.

7:21 PM

Israel pulls negotiators back from Qatar after 'impasse'

Israel said Saturday it was pulling its Mossad negotiators out of Qatar, which is mediating efforts to secure a renewed pause in the Israel-Hamas war, after a deadlock in the talks. "Following the impasse in the negotiations and at the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, David Barnea, head of the Mossad, ordered his team in Doha to return to Israel," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

6:38 PM

193 Palestinians killed since truce collapsed: Gaza health ministry

At least 193 Palestinians have been killed and 650 wounded in Gaza since a Hamas-Israel truce ended on Friday morning, a spokesman for the Gaza health ministry said on Saturday

6:35 PM

At UN climate talks, 50 oil companies pledge to slash methane emissions

At UN climate talks, 50 oil companies pledge to slash methane emissions; Environmentalists call it "smokescreen".

6:34 PM

Iran says two revolutionary guards killed in Israeli attack in Syria - state media

Two Iranian Revolutionary Guards members who served as military advisers in Syria have been killed in an Israeli attack, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, in the first reported Iranian casualties during the ongoing war in Gaza. A Revolutionary Guards statement did not give details of the attack. Syria earlier said its air defences repelled an Israeli rocket attack against targets in the vicinity of Damascus early on Saturday.

6:33 PM

BJP does not want to conduct elections in J&K: Omar Abdullah

We have questioned the EC multiple times for not conducting the (Assembly) elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The response we receive is that they need to discuss it with the Home Ministry concerning the situation. So, it looks like the BJP does not want to conduct elections in J&K," says former J&K CM Omar Abdullah at a public rally in J&K's Rajouri district.

4:57 PM

NIA busts counterfeit currency racket, conducts raids in four states

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized fake notes, currency printing paper, printers and digital gadgets in raids across four states to bust Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) rackets being carried out in various parts of the country. The raids were conducted as part of the NIA investigation in a case (RC-02/2023/NIA/BLR) registered on 24th November under sections 120B read with 489B, 489C and 489D of IPC: NIA Officials

4:57 PM

Puducherry govt declares holiday for colleges in view of 'Cyclone 'Michaung'

Depression over Bay of Bengal likely to intensify into a Cyclonic Storm during next 24 hours, says IMD. Moderate Thunderstorms and lightning with Moderate rain was also expected in several isolated areas of Tamil Nadu in the next three hours, MET Department, Chennai said.

3:59 PM

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar says "Don't have to worry about those who left the party"

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar says, "We don't have to be worried about those who left the party... Instead of worrying about it, we should take up the issues of citizens and get them resolved... If we could strengthen our youth leaders, then in the upcoming election you will see great success... Therefore, we should start working and try to reach out to the people with our ideology... So I am sure if we could do this, we would see young leaders rising..."

3:00 PM

Ensure no further construction takes place adjacent to Ganga: SC to Bihar

The Supreme Court has directed the Bihar government to ensure that no further construction takes place adjacent to the Ganga River particularly in and around Patna. A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Augustine George Masih directed the state government to file an affidavit informing it about the removal of identified illegal structures, which have been raised on the floodplains of Ganga River in Patna. "When the matter is called on for hearing, counsel for the state of Bihar submits that the state has identified 213 unauthorised constructions adjacent to the river Ganga in and around Patna and steps have been taken to remove these encroachments/constructions," the Bench said.

2:54 PM

UP govt forms three new SDRF teams for disaster management

The Uttar Pradesh government Saturday said it has set up three new SDRF teams to deal with natural calamities and expanded the list of state disasters. For these new State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams, the government has allocated Rs 80.75 crore for equipment and Rs 9.99 crore for vehicles, , an official release issued here said. The list of state disasters has been expanded to include 11 types, encompassing incidents like boat accidents, snakebites, sewer cleaning, gas leakage, falling into borewells, human-wildlife conflict, and drowning in rivers, it added.

2:51 PM

Delhi excise policy case: ED files charge sheet against Sanjay Singh

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday filed a charge sheet against AAP MP Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, officials said. The prosecution complaint has been filed before a local court under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This is a supplementary charge sheet in this case as the agency had filed about five such complaints earlier.

2:09 PM

Smart Cities Mission giving wings to dreams of competitive exam aspirants in Madurai

Waking up at the crack of dawn, 26-year-old Uday Kiran from Madurai travels 20 km to a park near Tamukkam Road for an intense cramming session with the sole aim of clearing the coveted Tamil Nadu Civil Services Exam. Kiran is one of the around 150 youngsters who converge at the three-acre park -- a hub for competitive exam aspirants -- almost every day for it offers a "conducive environment" for group study, even if that entails sitting under the shade of a tree in hot and muggy weather.

1:50 PM

Unemployment, price rise, Israel-Palestine conflict has to be discussed in the House: MP Premachandran

1:42 PM

Tea production rises 12.06% to 182.84 million kg in October: Industry body

Tea production in the country increased by 12.06 per cent to 182.84 million kg in October this year as compared to 163.15 million kg in the corresponding month last year. According to Tea Board data, production of the crop in West Bengal rose to 54.98 million kg in October, as against 49.75 million kg in the same period in 2022. Assam, the country's largest tea-producing state, also registered a higher crop at 104.26 million kg in October. The state produced 90.72 million kg of tea in October 2022, according to the data.

1:26 PM

India not just observing future unfolding, actively shaping it: Amb Kamboj

India, home to the world's largest youth population, is actively shaping the future and its young minds are leveraging technology as a powerful tool to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, India's envoy to the UN has said. In her special address to the annual 1M1B Activate Impact Summit', India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said that India truly believes in the transformative power of youth. We recognise that the path to achieving the SDGs by 2030 is through harnessing the energy, the creativity and the innovation of our young population, she said on Thursday.

12:58 PM

18 flights diverted due to bad weather at Delhi airport

At least 18 Delhi-bound flights were diverted, while many others were delayed on Saturday due to low visibility and bad weather at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, said airport sources. According to airport sources, the 18 flights were diverted to other cities, including Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Amritsar, between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. as the national capital witnessed its first spell of the fog of the season. The airport initiated low visibility procedures (LVP)--measures aimed at making landing for flights easier--when visibility dropped below 800 metres.

 

12:45 PM

Mumbai: ED registers money laundering case in connection with oxygen plant fraud

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a case of money laundering concerning the alleged fraud in setting up oxygen plants in hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, police said on Saturday. The police's economic offences wing (EOW) had on November 24 arrested contractor Romil Chheda of M/s Highway Construction Company for allegedly causing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) a loss of Rs 6 crore, an official said.

12:22 PM

DU panel to frame guidelines for review of SOL's self-learning material

A Delhi University committee will oversee the review of the School of Open Learning's self-learning material and formulate guidelines for the preparation of future study materials, an official said on Saturday. This comes after repeated issues were flagged in the self-learning material that was presented before the Academic Council. A four-member committee of the South Campus director, Campus of Open Learning director, dean of academic affairs and the head of the English department will be notified by Monday or Tuesday, the official added.

11:55 AM

165 players to go under hammer in WPL auction on Dec 9

As many as 165 players will go under the hammer during the player auction for the second edition of the Women's Premier League scheduled to be held here on December 9. The second edition of the WPL could take place in February-March next year. "Out of 165 players, 104 are Indians and 61 are overseas cricketers of which 15 are from associate nations. The total capped players are 56, uncapped players are 109," BCCI said in a release on Saturday.

11:43 AM

T'gana polls: Fate of BRS, Congress, BJP to be unsealed as counting of votes takes place tomorrow

Amid several exit polls suggesting that the Congress will have an advantage over the ruling BRS in Telangana, counting of votes polled in the November 30 Assembly elections will be taken up at 8 AM on Sunday. It will be clear whether the voters preferred the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao-led regime for a third term or the "six guarantees" by the Congress worked made any miracles or the BJP's BC chief minister 'mantra' wooed the electors or if there will be a fractured verdict, by tomorrow evening. As many as 2,290 contestants are in the fray in the elections, including BRS supremo Chandrasekhar Rao, his minister-son KT Rama Rao, TPCC president A Revanth Reddy and BJP Lok Sabha members Bandi Sanjay Kumar, D Arvind and Soyam Bapu Rao.

11:24 AM

At UN climate talks, world leaders to pledge and plead on second of leaders' summit

A critical climate conference that began with world leaders acknowledging an Earth in crisis was set for a second day of leaders' speeches on Saturday that organizers hope will set the stage for concrete action in coming days. The annual United Nations conference, known as COP28, was dominated Friday by presidents, prime ministers and royals laying out their plans to reduce heat-trapping emissions and urging each other to come together to avert climate catastrophe that seemed to draw closer than ever in 2023.