LIVE: Mandous Cyclone in Andhra Pradesh, rivers overflow in several areas

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11:43 AM

Sasikala urges TN government to provide assistance to Cyclone victims

Former AIADMK interim general secretary and late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa's confidante Sasikala has urged the Tamil Nadu government to provide relief to people affected by Cyclone Mandous.

In a statement on Saturday, Sasikala who is planning to align with deposed AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS) said that relief should be provided to those who lost their homes and livelihood opportunities.

She said that fishermen were not able to venture into seas for the past six days following the weather department warnings and added that they were suffering financial losses as they were unable to go out in the sea.

11:11 AM

Praggnanandhaa faces Pranav in Julius Baer Challengers Championship

Pranav Venkatesh, the winner of the 2022 Challengers Chess Tour, faces Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, the winner of last year's event, in the first Julius Baer Challengers Championship in Tel Aviv next week, in what is the climax of the year-long hunt for the best new talent in chess.

In a match organised by the Swiss private bank Julius Baer, the two teen sensations will meet in a three-day encounter with a $10,000 prize purse.

The best-of-four match event, played over rapid and blitz time controls, runs between December 11-13 and will be keenly watched by chess fans.

10:51 AM

China suspends alcohol imports from Taiwan, says news agency

China suspended the import of a selection of alcoholic beverages from Taiwan including products from state-owned Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corp., according to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency.

 

Legend Brewery, Yunshan Distillery and Taihu Brewing were among companies whose products were included, according to the report. China also halted imports of some other beverages, including Uni-President Enterprises Corp. products, according to Taiwan’s Next Apple News website.

 

China has scaled back purchases of Taiwanese products as Beijing seeks to punish the island’s democratically elected government for increasing ties with the US and its allies. While food made up a tiny fraction of Taiwan’s more than $328 billion of two-way trade with China last year, it’s one area where Beijing can find alternative sources, in contrast to semiconductors from Taiwan’s technologically advanced manufacturers.

10:39 AM

US slaps sanctions against Indian national, others for human rights abuses and violations on behalf of N Korea

The US has slapped sanctions on two individuals, including an Indian national, and seven entities for providing material support to, acting on behalf of, or being owned by North Korea's government-run animation studio, which utilised its workers to provide low-cost labour.

The US took this action on Friday on the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day and on the eve of International Human Rights Day as part of its actions to promote accountability for corruption and human rights abuse around the world.

According to the State Department, the US imposed sanctions on two individuals and seven entities for providing material support to, acting on behalf of, or being owned by the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) government-run animation studio, SEK Studio.

10:11 AM

Cong's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' resumes from Rajasthan's Bundi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi resumed the Rajasthan leg of the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' from Gudli village in Bundi district on Saturday morning.

Gandhi had taken a day's break in the yatra on Friday to celebrate his mother Sonia Gandhi's birthday.

He flew back to Gudli village to resume the yatra. Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were not accompanying him in the yatra.

On the 93rd day, the yatra is likely to cover 30 km from Gudli village in Keshoraipatan assembly constituency in Bundi district represented by BJP MLA Chandrakanta Meghwal.

9:46 AM

210 fresh coronavirus cases in India, toll climbs to 530,654

India registered a single-day rise of 210 new coronavirus infections, while the number of active cases further declined to 4,047, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Saturday.

The COVID-19 tally now stands at 44,674,649), it said.

The death toll from the disease has climbed to 530,654 with one fatality reconciled by Kerala, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry website.

A decrease of 181 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 case count in a span of 24 hours.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease rose to 44,139,948 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.19 per cent.

9:44 AM

Pele sends message of support to Neymar after World Cup exit

Brazilian soccer great Pele congratulated Neymar for matching his national team scoring record on Friday, and then commiserated with the player for his World Cup exit.

Pele, who has been hospitalized while being treated for a respiratory infection, posted his message on Instagram after Brazil lost to Croatia in the quarterfinals in a penalty shootout at the tournament in Qatar.

"I saw you grow, I cheered for you every day and I can finally congratulate you for reaching my number of goals with Brazil. We both know that this is more than a figure," the 82-year-old Pele wrote.

9:36 AM

Kurhani bypoll result reflection of people's anger against Nitish Kumar: Prashant Kishor

BJP's victory in the recently held Kurhani bypoll in Bihar was a reflection of people's anger against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his 'Mahagathbandhan' government, political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor claimed.

Kishor, who is on a 3,500 km-long padayatra in the state, also said that he had found out during interactions with people that they were fed up with the "rampant corruption" in Bihar.

Talking to reporters at Ghodasahan area in Motihari (East Champaran), Kishor on Friday said, "People are not happy with the performance of the 'Mahagathbandhan' government. I have been interacting with people over the last several days, and I can say with full confidence that they are fed up with rampant corruption in the state. The Kurhani bypoll result is a reflection of people's anger against Nitish Kumar."

The BJP on Wednesday wrested the Kurhani assembly seat from the ruling multi-party coalition.

9:21 AM

Cyclone Mandous triggers heavy rainfall in TN, Chennai roads waterlogged, trees uprooted

Chennai and several other parts of Tamil Nadu witnessed heavy rainfall and strong winds amid cyclonic storm Mandous, which according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said had crossed the Mamallapuram coast and is weakening in strength after completing its landfall process late on Friday night.

Several areas in Chennai saw waterlogging and squally winds uprooting trees in Chennai and in the nearby Chengalpattu district. The rainfall triggered by the Cyclone has caused severe Waterlogging in low-lying areas. Roads in the MMDA Colony in Chennai's Arumbakkam were seen waterlogged. A video showed a large tree uprooted in Egmore, causing several damage to a petrol bunk nearby.

Cyclonic Mandous had made landfall off Mamallapuram on Friday evening influencing moderate to heavy rainfall in coastal Tamil Nadu.

Mandous is all set to weaken to a deep depression and later a depression on Saturday.

9:00 AM

Rocket launcher-type weapon fired at police station in Punjab's Tarn Taran

A rocket launcher-type weapon was fired at a police station in Punjab's Tarn Taran district, official sources said on Saturday.

Some unidentified people fired the projectile at the Sarhali police station located on the Amritsar-Bathinda highway at around 1 am in the border district, they said.

The door glass of the police station was found to be broken. Senior police officials have reached the spot to take stock of the situation.

8:53 AM

UGC new draft norms: UG 'honours' degree only after completing 4 years and not three

Students will be able to get an undergraduate 'honours' degree after completing four years instead of three, according to new draft norms prepared by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The draft 'curriculum and credit framework for four-year undergraduate programmes' prepared in accordance with National Education Policy is likely to be notified on Monday.

"Students will be able to get a UG degree in three years on completion of 120 credits (measured through the number of academic hours) and a UG honours degree in four years on completion of 160 credits.

8:38 AM

UN rights chief highlights crisis situations that faded from news headlines

On the eve of Human Rights Day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk has highlighted some of the human rights crises that failed to attract enough international attention.

A case in point is Haiti, "where armed gangs, reportedly supported by economic and political elites, control more than 60 per cent of the capital. Where some 4.7 million face acute hunger. Since the beginning of this year, a staggering 1,448 people have been killed, 1,145 injured and 1,005 kidnapped by gangs," he said at a press briefing here on Friday.

In Yemen, the seemingly interminable conflict must be brought to an end and the truce needs to be renewed and expanded to enable discussions on a path toward a more comprehensive settlement, he added.

8:16 AM

Elton John says he will "no longer use Twitter," CEO Elon Musk responds

Legendary British singer-songwriter Sir Elton John, in the midst of his massive farewell tour, has decided to bid farewell to Twitter, citing "misinformation" as the reason.

Taking to Twitter, John announced the news, writing, "All my life I've tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world."

"I've decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked," he added.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who acquired the micro-blogging platform, was among those who replied to the musician.

He wrote, "I love your music. Hope you come back. Is there any misinformation in particular that you're concerned about?"

8:09 AM

BJP to form govt for 7th straight term in Gujarat on Dec 12

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to form the government in Gujarat for the seventh straight term on December 12. Party leader Bhupendra Patel will take oath as chief minister along with 20 other cabinet ministers.

 

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Friday submitted his resignation to Governor Acharya Devvrat after BJP registered a historic win in the State Assembly elections ahead of the formation of his new government.

 

CM Patel along with state BJP President CR Paatil, MoS Home Harsh Sanghavi, Minister of Health and Family Welfare Rushikesh Patel, Chief Whip of Gujarat Pankaj Desai reached Raj Bhavan on Friday around 12 pm to tender the resignation of the government, which was accepted by the Governor.

 

BJP is set to hold its legislature party meeting on Saturday at 10:30 am at the state BJP office "Kamalam" in Gandhinagar, after which the leaders will meet the Governor at around 2 pm to stake claim to form the government.

8:09 AM

Former CBI Joint Director Lakshminarayana to contest from Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha seat in 2024 elections

Former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Joint Director VV Lakshminarayana on Friday said that he will contest from the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 elections.

 

Speaking to ANI, Lakshminarayana said that the people of Visakhapatnam have given him so much love, affection and respect.

 

"I am going to contest from Visakhapatnam. People here have given me so much love, affection and respect. So it is my duty to contest from here again," he said on contesting from the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha seat in 2024.