Latest LIVE: Nirav Modi loses extradition appeal in UK; to return to India

From strong earthquake in Nepal to US Midterm elections, catch all the live updates from across the globe here

6.6 magnitude earthquake hits western Nepal; 6 dead, several injured

At least six people have died and scores injured when two back-to-back earthquakes hit western Nepal in Doti district, National Earthquake Monitoring Center said.

According to Kantipur, locals in Doti district have pulled out the dead bodies of three people when a strong earthquake hit the district on Wednesday at 2:12 a.m.

Earthquake measuring 6.6-magnitude occurred in western Nepal whose centre was Doti district, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring Center. Another quake measuring 4.1 magnitude also occurred in the same district at 9:56 p.m on Tuesday.

US midterm polls: Amid high scrutiny, people vote without major hitches

Americans voted without major hitches Tuesday in midterm elections receiving intense scrutiny after two years of false claims and conspiracy theories about how ballots are cast and counted.

With polls open across the country, no widespread problems with ballots, long lines or voter intimidation were reported early on, though there were hiccups in some places, which is typical on any Election Day.

Vote tabulators malfunctioned in a county in New Jersey and one in Arizona, prompting assurances from officials that ballots would be counted. Some voting sites in North Carolina were delayed in opening because workers showed up late, though officials may extend voting hours. And in one Pennsylvania county, polling places scrambled to replenish low supplies of paper ballots.

Musk's Twitter to introduce 'Official' label for some verified accounts

Billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform Twitter will introduce an "Official" label for select verified accounts including major media outlets and governments when it launches its new $8 premium subscription product, its early stage products executive Esther Crawford said on Tuesday.

Crawford also confirmed that the revamped Twitter Blue subscription product, which will allow paid users to carry blue check marks on their accounts, will not actually verify users' identities.

The lack of ID verification is likely to raise concerns about the possibility of people impersonating public figures.

 

4:25 PM

Nirav Modi to return to India

Nirav Modi lost his appeal in extradition case in the UK. This means he will be extradited soon.

2:58 PM

PM Modi to gift Himachal items to world leaders at G20 summit: Report

During the G20 summit in Bali scheduled to be held on November 15-16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to gift unique art and handicraft items from Himachal Pradesh to world leaders, according to official sources.

The sources said that the Prime Minister may gift items like Kullu shawls and Kangra miniature paintings, the IANS reported.

India will take over the G20 presidency from Indonesia from December 1. India's tenure will continue till November 20, 2023.

2:47 PM

Centre, Delhi govt to discuss arbitral award payment to DAMEPL on Thursday

A high-level meeting between the senior officials of Delhi government and Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is scheduled to be held on Thursday to discuss the payment of arbitral award to Delhi Airport Metro Express Pvt Ltd. (DAMEPL), the IANS reported.

The meeting will also be attended by the senior officials of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the leading banks.

The meeting has been convened after DMRC wrote to the Delhi government and MoHUA, seeking financial assistance for the payment of Rs 7,000 crore arbitral award to DAMEPL.

2:37 PM

Delhi BJP slams CM Arvind Kejriwal for reopening schools amid severe air quality

The Delhi unit of BJP on Wednesday came down heavily on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for ordering reopening of schools amid worsening air quality.

Taking to Twitter, it said, "Mat karo bachon ki zindagi ke sath khilwad, Delhi puche kahan ho Kejriwal (Please do not play with children's lives.. Delhi is asking where is Kejriwal missing)".

Speaking to IANS, National spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said, "Kejriwalji, we earnestly request that pollution is not an issue of politics, please do not risk our children's lives. Today Delhi is nothing less than a virtual gas chamber with the AQI continuing in the 'extremely severe' category. At places, it is above 350 and 400 in certain areas. Stubble burning is not the only reason for Delhi's pollution, but road dust, construction dust, industrial pollution, vehicle pollution also contribute to it. No action has been taken to tackle the internal causes of pollution".

2:17 PM

Suryakumar Yadav at top spot, Arshdeep surges to career-best 23rd in T20I rankings

In-form India batter Suryakumar Yadav consolidated his top spot in the batting chart, while left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh climbed to a career-best 23rd position among bowlers in the latest ICC T20I rankings released on Wednesday.

Yadav, who has been in sizzling form, has amassed 225 runs from five matches at a strike-rate of almost 200 in the ongoing T20 World Cup. He achieved a career-high rating of 869 points to continue as the number one batter in the format, the Press Trust of India reported.

In India's last group match, Yadav blasted a 25-ball 61 as he added six points in the weekly rankings update to go 39 points clear of second-placed Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan.

2:07 PM

Amazon, TVS Motor announce arrangement to scale up EV deployment

Amazon India and TVS Motor Company have joined hands to strengthen electric mobility in the country, the companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

As part of the collaboration, a fleet of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers from TVS Motor will be deployed for Amazon's last-mile deliveries, the PTI reported.

In addition, the two companies will work in tandem to examine EV use cases for various Amazon business groups for its network and logistical requirements, the statement said.

1:53 PM

Mumbai court grants bail to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in money laundering case

A special court here on Wednesday granted bail to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case pertaining to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project, the PTI reported.

Special Judge M G Deshpande, designated to hear cases pertaining to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), allowed the bail plea of Raut after hearing arguments from both sides.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Rajya Sabha member Raut in July this year for his alleged role in financial irregularities in connection with the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl (row tenement) in suburban Goregaon.

1:31 PM

Kerala govt to float ordinance for removal of Governor as varsities' chancellor

The Kerala cabinet, on Wednesday, decided to bring in an Ordinance to remove Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as the chancellor of Universities in the state, the IANS reported.

For long, the two leaders have been engaged in a tussle that started with Khan objecting to the appointment of Vijayan's private secretary K.K.Ragesh's wife Priya Varghese at the Kannur University.

The Kerala High Court also stayed the appointment till the case gets finally disposed of.

1:08 PM

Gujarat assembly polls: BJP likely to finalise all candidates today

The BJP's top leadership will on Wednesday deliberate upon the candidates for Gujarat assembly polls, where the party is eyeing a win for the seventh time, the PTI reported.

The BJP's central election committee, also comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, will meet here in the evening to finalise the candidates.

Elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases -- December 1 and 5.

12:57 PM

Mastodon struggles to keep up with recent flood of Twitter defectors

Mastodon, an open-source social network that markets itself as an alternative to Twitter Inc., has seen a surge in new sign-ups in recent days, overwhelming the site and its founder as the tiny operation struggles to keep up.
 

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter on Oct. 27, Mastodon has drawn 489,003 new users, bringing total monthly active users to more than 1 million, founder, lead developer and Chief Executive Officer Eugen Rochko said on his own Mastodon account Monday. That’s a tiny fraction compared to Twitter’s 238 million daily active users. But Musk’s purchase has seemingly been the incentive the German non-profit has been waiting for since its founding in 2016. 

“I don’t think Mastodon or the fediverse has ever received this much attention before,” Rochko wrote on his account two days ago. “It’s a great opportunity for people to finally see that social media can be done differently, that it can be a protocol not under control of any single company.”

12:39 PM

BJP, RSS convert fear into hate between religions and castes: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) agenda is to develop fear in the minds of people on the basis of discrimination and then convert that fear into hate between religions and castes, the ANI reported.

Addressing a gathering in the Nanded district of Maharashtra during Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress MP said, "BJP and RSS agenda is fixed, they first developed fear into people's mind,and then convert that fear into hate between religions and castes. We will continue our Bharat Jodo Yatra and it will end in Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar."

Slamming the Centre over demonetization, Rahul Gandhi said that the BJP government's decision destroyed poor farmers, small businessmen, shop owners and others.

12:25 PM

India has 249,000 voters aged above 100: Chief Election Commissioner

There are 2.49 lakh voters aged above 100 in India, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said on Wednesday.

Besides, 1.80 crore voters are over 80 years of age, Kumar said after flagging off a bicycle rally in Maharashtra's Pune city on Wednesday to create an awareness about voter registration as part of the national level launch of a special summary revision of the voters' list.

The Election Commission of India's initiative is aimed at increasing the electoral rolls in urban areas.

12:14 PM

Musk sells additional Tesla shares worth $3.4 bn towards Twitter deal

Elon Musk has sold additional Tesla stock worth $3.4 billion towards financing the $44 billion Twitter takeover deal, revealed the latest filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

With this, he has offloaded almost $20 billion in Tesla shares this year. The world's richest man sold $8.4 billion in Tesla shares in April and another $6.9 billion in August, the IANS reported.

The tech billionaire earlier said on social media that he had "no further Tesla sales planned" after April 28.

11:58 AM

COP27: India, China on track to overachieve 2030 UN climate targets

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) underway in the backdrop of a year when extreme climate events demonstrated again the urgency to curb greenhouse gas emissions, leading economies of India and China are on track to overachieve their UN climate targets, the IANS reported.

Renewable energy installed capacity in India has expanded at a rate of 19 per cent annually between 2016 and 2021. Its draft national electricity plan sees an 18 GW downward revision of installed coal capacity in 2030.

China is set to install a record 156 GW of wind and solar energy this year, and China's electrical vehicle (EV) sales are forecasted to double with the possibility of reaching six million.

11:40 AM

Thermal plants have adequate coal stocks at 25.6 million tonnes, says govt

The coal stock with domestic dry fuel-based power plants, as on October 31, was 25.6 million tonnes, the government said, adding that the availability situation is being constantly monitored.

It has clarified that the coal supply situation to thermal plants is under control, the IANS reported.

The domestic coal supply to the power sector in October is 12 per cent more than the same period of last year.