LIVE updates: Avalanche near U'khand's Kedarnath Temple, no damage reported

Live news updates: The giant glacier behind Kedarnath broke for the second time since the last month and appeared like a watershed from a distance

8:05 AM

Vladimir Putin says four regions’ annexation is ‘forever’

President Vladimir Putin on Friday said that Russia is annexing four occupied regions in Ukraine “forever” and repeated warnings that Moscow will use all available means to defend the territories. 

 

The US and European Union members denounced the move, with President Joe Biden calling it a “flagrant violation of the UN Charter and the basic principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The US sanctioned hundreds of Russians, including central bank head Elvira Nabiullina and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, a key figure in Russian dealings with OPEC.

 

8:04 AM

Parts of Florida ay not have power for a month after Hurricane Ian

Some Florida residents in areas hardest hit by Hurricane Ian face the prospect of being without power for more than a month.

 

Lee County Electric Cooperative, a local utility in southwest Florida, said parts of its electric-distribution network need to be rebuilt, meaning it’ll be weeks before many of its customers regain power. The cooperative’s customers include some residents and businesses in counties that encompass Fort Myers and Sanibel Island -- communities devastated by the Category-4 hurricane.

 

With the storm damaging a bridge to the barrier island, crews will need to transport utility equipment by barge, said Karen Ryan, a spokeswoman for the cooperative.

8:01 AM

NASA shifts Crew-5 launch to ISS due to hurricane Ian

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than October 5 for the launch of the agency's Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) due to Hurricane Ian, the agency said.

Mission teams continue to monitor the impacts of Hurricane Ian on the Space Coast and NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and could adjust the launch date again, NASA was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

The Dragon Endurance spacecraft is currently mated to the Falcon 9 rocket and safely secured inside SpaceX's hangar at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.

8:00 AM

Pakistan Floods: World Bank to provide $323 billion to farmers in flood-hit areas of Sindh

In the wake of the devastating floods across Pakistan, the World Bank is set to aid the farmers of flood-affected regions in Sindh with $323 billion in order to provide subsidies for fertilisers and certified seeds.

"We have to revive our flooded agro-industry by giving them some incentives," the Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah said, adding that farmers were not in a position to purchase certified seeds and other pre-requisites for farming as floods wreaked havoc in the country, The News International reported.

"To support the project and help farmers reclaim their lands following the catastrophe ahead of the upcoming Rabi crop season, World Bank agreed to provide $323 billion to the provincial government," the Chief Minister said.

7:59 AM

6.0-magnitude quake strikes off Indonesia, no casualty reported

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 jolted Indonesia's western province of North Sumatra on Saturday morning, and there were no preliminary reports of damages or casualties, authorities said.

 

The quake hit at 02:28 Jakarta time on Saturday with the epicenter at 15 km northwest of the North Tapanuli district and a depth of 10 km, the country's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

 

The quake, followed by two tremors with magnitudes of 5.1 and 5.0 respectively, did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami, according to the agency.

7:57 AM

French Prez Macron calls Russian annexation blatant breach of international law, Ukrainian sovereignty

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday condemned the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia and said that the act is a serious violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty.

 

He added that the move is opposed by France and it continues to stand with Ukraine in its battle against Russia to regain its territories.

 

In a tweet, Macron wrote, "Russia's "illegal" move to annex four Ukrainian regions, describing the act as a "serious violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty."

 

7:56 AM

Officials: North Korea fires suspected ballistic missiles

North Korea has fired suspected ballistic missiles, the Japanese Defense Ministry said Saturday.

 

Further details are still being analysed, ministry officials said.

 

Japanese media reported that the missiles are believed to have landed in the Sea of Japan.

 

Saturday's firing is the latest of North Korea's escalating missile launches and a third this week following those fired Friday in the wake of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris' visit in South Korea.

 

7:54 AM

India abstains from UN vote that condemns Russia's annexation of Ukrainian regions

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said on Friday that India is deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine and stressed that dialogue is the only answer to settle differences and disputes after India abstained in the UN Security Council vote which condemned Russia's "illegal referenda" and annexation of Ukrainian regions, calling for an immediate cessation of violence.

 

The 15-nation UN Security Council on Friday voted on the draft resolution tabled by the US and Albania that condemns Russia's "organisation of illegal so-called referenda in regions within Ukraine's internationally recognised borders."

 

The UN security council voted on the resolutions condemning referendums in Ukraine at UNSC on Friday which were tabled by the US and Albania and failed to get adopted as Russia vetoed it whereas India, China, Gabon, and Brazil abstained.

 

7:53 AM

Sagar Dhankar case: Sufficient material to frame murder charges against Sushil Kumar, says Delhi Police

Concluding its arguments in the Sagar Dhankar murder case, Delhi Police on Friday told the court that there is sufficient evidence to frame charges of murder and abduction against wrestler Sushil Kumar and other accused persons.

 

Olympian Sushil Kumar and 17 others are accused in the matter.

 

Additional Sessions Judge Shivaji Anand after hearing the arguments of the prosecution listed the matter on Saturday.

 

The additional public prosecutor (APP) Atul Shrivastav said, "The manner in which Sagar and three others were abducted and brought to Chhatrasal Stadium and then beaten up mercilessly by the accused, shows that they wanted to establish their supremacy."

7:50 AM

US: Death toll reaches 21 in Florida as Hurricane Ian hits South Carolina

The death toll has reached 21 in Florida after Hurricane Ian made a second landfall on Friday, reaching the coast of South Carolina after leaving a trail of destruction across Florida.

 

US President Joe Biden, in a recent statement, said the storm "could rank among the worst in the nation's history", saying it would take months or years to rebuild, Financial Times reported.

 

"It's not just a crisis for Florida -- it's an American crisis," he said.

 

The powerful hurricane struck south-west Florida on Wednesday as a category 4 hurricane, destroying homes and causing power outages with powerful winds.

 

7:49 AM

Putin makes all-out attack on West, cites 'plundering of India'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday fulminated against the West's record, singling out the US use of nuclear weapons in the closing days of the Second World War, and then western nations' centuries of 'colonialism', 'slave trading' and the 'plundering of India'.

 

In his speech after signing treaties on the inclusion of four former Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation - the start of the formal process of their accession - after the Russian-conducted referendums, he asserted that Russia is ready for talks with Ukraine, but 'will defend our land with all the powers and means at our disposal'.