LIVE news: Land swap with Nepal consulate clears hurdle for Kolkata Metro's Purple Line work

LIVE news updates, Nov 18: Catch all the latest news developments here

3:28 PM

NIA produces suicide bomber's 'co-conspirator' in Delhi court

The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday produced before a Delhi court, Jasir Bilal, an "active co-conspirator" of suicide bomber Umar un Nabi, in connection with the Red Fort car blast that claimed 13 lives, officials said on Monday. A resident of Qazigund in Anantnag, Wani was arrested in Srinagar on Monday for allegedly providing technical support for carrying out terror attacks by modifying drones and attempting to make rockets ahead of the bomb blast, the agency said.

3:00 PM

Goyal meeting stakeholders to discuss ways to promote FDI, FII

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said he is meeting stakeholders to discuss ways to boost foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII) by making the processes faster, smoother, and more efficient. The meeting will be held here today at Vanijya Bhavan. "Today I am meeting with stakeholders from the investment community to discuss what more we can do to make foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign institutional investment (FII) both faster, smoother, more efficient," he said here at the FICCI event on its annual general meeting.

2:09 PM

PayU gets RBI's nod to operate as online, offline and cross-border payment aggregator

PayU, a diversified fintech platform, on Tuesday received authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator across online, offline and cross-border transactions, including both inward and outward, under the Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act.

1:15 PM

2 CRPF schools in Delhi receive bomb threats; declared hoax after checking

Two CRPF schools in the national capital received bomb threats via e-mail on Tuesday morning, which were later found to be hoaxes, an official said. The schools are located in Prashant Vihar and Dwarka, and the bomb threat calls were received around 9 am, the Delhi Fire Services said.

12:30 PM

After years away from Washington, Saudi crown prince to get warm embrace from Trump, US business

US President Donald Trump is set to fete Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday when the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia makes his first White House visit since the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents. The US-Saudi relationship had been sent into a tailspin by the operation targeting Khashoggi, a fierce critic of the kingdom, that US intelligence agencies later determined Prince Mohammed likely directed the agents to carry out.

12:05 PM

SC fixes hearing plea against ADAG's 'banking fraud' after 3 weeks

SC also seeks responses of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, his company ADAG on PIL alleging massive banking and corporate fraud.

11:47 AM

CNG crisis persists in Mumbai, refuelling queues stretch for hours

CNG pumps across Mumbai and neighbouring areas witnessed long queues for the second straight day on Tuesday, as supply disruptions caused by damage to a key gas pipeline continued to hamper refuelling for vehicles. Most CNG pumps, including those operated by Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL), saw long queues from early morning—particularly of black-yellow taxis and autorickshaws—with several drivers reporting wait times of three to four hours, compared to the usual 15 to 30 minutes.

11:06 AM

EC to use AI tools to detect fake, deceased voters during SIR in Bengal

The Election Commission is set to introduce artificial intelligence-based verification systems during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal to prevent the inclusion of fake or deceased voters, a senior official said on Tuesday. By analysing facial similarities across photographs in the voter database, the AI system will help identify individuals registered at multiple locations.

10:48 AM

TN revenue employees association begin boycott of SIR work

The members of the Federation of Revenue Associations of Tamil Nadu commenced their boycott of the SIR work from Tuesday, protesting against excessive workload, insufficient manpower, deadline pressure, and inadequate training. The association members petitioned the collectors of 32 districts during the "Perundhiral (mass) appeal" programme on Monday evening ahead of the boycott. They also held protests in the taluk and district headquarters, the association said.

10:44 AM

Naxalite killed in encounter with cops in Chhattisgarh's Sukma

A Naxalite was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Tuesday, a police official said. The exchange of fire broke out in the morning on a forested hill under Errabor police station limits when a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation based on inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres in the area, he said. So far, the body of one Naxalite has been recovered from the spot, he said.

9:39 AM

Rail fracture hits local train services on Central Railway's main line in Mumbai

Local train services on the Central Railway's main line were briefly disrupted on Tuesday morning after a rail fracture was detected between Vikhroli and Kanjurmarg stations in Mumbai, officials said. The incident caused suburban trains, considered the lifeline of Mumbai, to run 10 to 20 minutes behind schedule, some commuters said.