Live: 60 feared dead in Ukraine school bombed by Russia, governor says

Live news updates: Group of Seven leaders plan to discuss potential new penalties against Russia on Sunday.

4:21 PM

TN to send team to Kerala to resolve Siruvani water issue

Tamil Nadu will soon send a high-level team to Kerala to find a solution regarding the release of water from the Siruvani dam, state Municipal Administration, Urban and Water Supply Minister K N Nehru said on Sunday.

Noting that Kerala has to release nine crore litres of water daily to Coimbatore from Siruvani dam, which is the main source for the city, but was releasing only 2.5 crore litres now resulting in shortage of drinking water, Nehru told reporters after laying foundation for various projects and reviewing ongoing works.

He said Chief Minister M K Stalin had already written a letter to his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan in this regard and added that a team of officials will be soon sent to Kerala to find a solution to the issue.

Various works like underground drainage, drinking water and others worth Rs 24,000 crore are going on in all the corporations in Tamil Nadu, he said, adding that the third phase of Pilloor drinking water for Coimbatore will be completed in another one year at a cost of Rs 750 crore.

The Minister said plans were afoot to generate electricity from biodegradable waste from dumpyards from Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore and also other corporations and municipalities and necessary technologies will be brought from Mumbai.

Earlier, Nehru laid the foundation for 263 new schemes at a cost of Rs 49.63 crore and also opened nine completed projects carried out by his department to the tune of Rs 5.59 crore and also 24x7 drinking water supply at Revathi Nagar in Coimbatore.

4:08 PM

Revised timings, limited outdoor activity: NCR schools take steps as mercury soars

Revising school timings, restricting outdoor activities, stocking ORS and glucose sachets, and constantly motivating children to stay hydrated are among the steps schools are taking because of the heatwave conditions in the national capital region (NCR).

A torrid heatwave had sent the mercury soaring across large swathes of India with the temperature in Delhi rising to 46 degrees Celsius. The national capital also recorded its second hottest April in 72 years with a monthly average maximum temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier this week said a fresh spell of heatwave is likely to begin over northwest India from May 7 and over central India from May 8.

While closing schools due to heatwave is not an option as suggested by experts as offline classes have started from the new session after nearly two years due to the Covid-induced pandemic.

According to Shubhi Soni, the Head of the Shri Ram Wonder Years school in Rohini, all outdoor activities have been restrained in the wake of the rising temperatures.

"School timings will also be revised as per the prevailing conditions and dispersal in the afternoon peak hours will be avoided to prevent heat strokes and energy drainage among students.

"We also have an emergency kit for use, which comprises ORS, glucose, and oral electrolyte to be given to children if they need it. The school staff is keeping a thorough check on children and constantly motivating them to drink water to manage the heatwave," she said.

Anshu Mital, the principal of MRG School, Rohini, said they have also reduced outdoor activities extensively to safeguard students from exposure to heat.

"Students are often motivated to drink plenty of fluids to keep themselves fresh and hydrated. We also have a school clinic with well-trained staff to treat students if there are any health hazards," the principal said.

 

4:02 PM

IMD predicts hotter days for TN due to cyclonic storm

Tamil Nadu seems to be poised for hotter days after the cyclonic storm as the weather system will induce north-westerly winds blocking the sea breeze, said Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD added that this will depend on the path of the cyclonic storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal.

According to the Department, Chennai and adjoining districts will have temperature above 40 degrees Celsius in the next couple of days.

The IMD in a statement on Saturday said the well-marked low-pressure area over the south-east Bay of Bengal and adjoining the Andaman sea has concentrated into a depression.

This depression, according to the IMD will intensify into a cyclonic storm over the east-central Bay of Bengal on Sunday and move towards Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coast by Monday morning bringing in heavy rains.

While Tamil Nadu may not benefit from the rains, the temperature is likely to shoot up by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius for the next few days.

4:01 PM

Value of vote of MPs may go down to 700 from 708 in July presidential polls

The value of the vote of a Member of Parliament is likely to go down to 700 from 708 in the presidential polls scheduled in July due to the absence of a legislative assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday.

The value of the vote of an MP in a presidential election is based on the number of elected members in legislative assemblies of states and union territories, including Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.

The Electoral College for the presidential election comprises the members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and those of the legislative assemblies of states and union territories including Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir.

Before it was bifurcated into two union territories of Ladakh, and Jammu & Kashmir in August 2019, the erstwhile state of J&K had 83 assembly seats.

According to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, the Union Territory of J&K will have a legislative assembly, while Ladakh will be governed directly by the Centre.

The government had announced that elections to the legislative assembly would be held after the completion of the delimitation of assembly constituencies.

Last week, the Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir notified its final order in which it has recommended a 90-member House for the newly carved out union territory. But it may take some time to have an elected House in place in the UT.

3:50 PM

DoT abolishes NOCC charges for all telecom licence holders

To enhance ease of doing business, the Department of Telecom has removed network operation and control centre charges for the use of space segments for all services like VSAT, satellite telephony etc for which permits are issued by the department.

The DoT earlier levied Rs 21 lakh per transponder per annum for 36 megahertz of spectrum on a pro-rata basis as NOCC charges.

Besides this, the department also levied NOCC charges of Rs 6,000 for every trial of antenna that are used for receiving and transmitting signals.

"There shall be no NOCC charges for use of space segment for all DoT licensees for commercial and captive VSAT services, GMPCS (satellite phone service), NLD (national long distance) and other telecom licensees having unified licence or standalone license. This order shall be effective from April 1, 2022," DoT said in an order dated May 6.

The Network Operations Control Center was created under the DoT to control the transmissions from ground segment (satellite earth stations) along with the master control facility under Department of Space to manage the operation of satellites in orbit.

Satellite industry body ISPA director general Ashok Bhatt said that the DoT has amended the Unified License to allow satellite based IoT services, land mobility services and also the removal of NOCC monitoring charges.

"We believe that these progressive policy steps are in the right direction and showcase the government's commitment in supporting the growth of digital communication by leveraging the potential and capability of the satellite communication industry. We also thank TRAI for their vision, support and positive recommendations for the growing space sector," Bhatt said.

 

3:26 PM

Britain doubles financial help to Ukrain

Britain pledged on Saturday to provide Ukraine a further 1.3 billion pounds ($1.6 billion), double its previous spending commitments and what it said was the country's highest rate of spending on a conflict since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

3:24 PM

Ukraine rescues 300 civilians in Mariupol

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday more than 300 civilians had been rescued from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, which has been pounded by Russian forces for weeks. He said authorities would now focus on trying to evacuate the wounded and medics.

3:01 PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Marks Day of Remembrance in Video

Rescue efforts are under way after a Russian air strike on a school in Ukraine’s Luhansk region, with dozens of civilians feared dead. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a video to mark Ukraine’s Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation.

 

All women, children and elderly have been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, a week into the rescue operation. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said efforts to get Ukrainian fighters out of the site are continuing. 

2:45 PM

Two SC judges to take oath of office on Monday

Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana on Monday would administer the oath of office to Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Gujarat High Court Judge Justice Jamshed B Pardiwala as Supreme Court judges.

Two days after the apex court collegium headed by the CJI recommended the names of the two high court judges, the Union Law Ministry swiftly announced their appointments on Saturday in separate notifications.

With the appointment of Justice Dhulia and Justice Pardiwala, the top court will regain its full strength of 34 judges which had come down to 32 after the retirement of Justice R Subhash Reddy on January 4 this year.

2:23 PM

Russia-Ukraine war turns spotlight on China's Taiwan calculus

The seemingly interminable Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought renewed attention to another long-brewing geopolitical crisis as Xi Jinping has stated in no uncertain terms China's determination to 'reunify' with Taiwan, calling it a renegade regime.

While Ukraine has no formal military alliance with any country, Taiwan has ties with the US. Washington's stated policy remains that it will commit military force in defence of Taiwan, should such a need arise, arrangements similar to Japan and South Korea. All three are US allies' though not NATO members, Global Strat View reported.

However, China has also not failed to grasp the importance of the US and NATO's extreme aversion to casualties.

Meanwhile, Moscow has signalled clear intent and political will to continue its offensive, notwithstanding the fallout, which has indeed been severe, especially on the economic front.

1:55 PM

Home Minister Amit Shah to visit Assam on May 9, 10

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will tour Assam on Monday and Tuesday during which he will visit the India-Bangladesh border, inaugurate the National Forensic Sciences University and attend the first-anniversary celebration of the Himanta Biswa Sarma government.

Shah will begin his tour by visiting a Border Out Post (BOP) at Mankachar on Monday and interact with the BSF personnel deployed along the international border, officials said.

After that, the home minister will inaugurate the BSF's central store and workshop and launch Khadi and Village Industries products at Tamulpur.

1:36 PM

Tata steel to grow organically, new acquisitions unlikely this decade: MD

Tata Steel Ltd will look to grow organically, and the steel giant is under no pressure to look at fresh acquisitions during this decade, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director T V Narendran said.

Narendran said that the Jamshedpur-based behemoth will fuel its growth ambitions to more than double its output, relying on organic growth at its existing sites.

Most of our growth in the last few years has been through the inorganic route (acquisitions). Currently, we are in a position where all our growth ambitions can be met through organic growth in our existing sites.

We don't really need to acquire any new assets to grow (output) to 40-50 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) from the present level of 20 MTPA We will rely more on organic growth during this decade, Narendran told PTI in an interview.

Tata Steel had reported production of 19.06 million tonnes in the 2021-2022 fiscal.

12:59 PM

Finnish, Swedish NATO membership to turn region into 'Theater of War': Russian Envoy

Finland's and Sweden's possible accession into NATO would be detrimental to their security and that of Europe, Russian Ambassador to Canada Oleg Stepanov told Sputnik.

"Finland and Sweden will be put in a position where they are forced to treat Russia as an adversary. Reciprocally, Russians are to change their perception of previously neutral countries as the springboard of NATO threat. And in such a paradigm one can forget about the non-nuclear status of the Baltic," Stepanov said.

The Russian ambassador suggested that after the dissolution of the USSR, the West made a dangerous choice in terms of the future model for security and stability.

12:59 PM

Lanka's Defence Ministry asks citizens to assist in managing economic crisis

Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry has appealed to the public to assist it in managing the current economic crisis and unrest in the country with "utmost intelligence and patience" and also cancelled the leaves of all security personnel, following the declaration of a state of emergency in the country by embattled President Gotabya Rajapaksa.

In a special Cabinet meeting on Friday, President Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency with effect from Friday midnight. This is the second emergency declared in just over a month. Rajapaksa had declared an emergency on April 1 also after a mass protest opposite his private residence. He had revoked it earlier on April 5.

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Defence on Saturday announced that due to the declaration of a state of emergency, the leave of security forces personnel is cancelled, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.

12:43 PM

AAI partners with self help groups for sale of locally-developed products at airports

In efforts to help artisans, Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started providing space for self help groups at various airports to sell their locally-developed products.

Self Help Groups (SHGs) are already showcasing their products at 12 airports, including at Agartala, Kushinagar, Udaipur and Madurai, under the AVSAR (Airport as Venue for Skilled Artisans of the Region) initiative.

Airports at Varanasi, Calicut, Kolkata, Coimbatore and Raipur, among others, in coordination with the respective state governments are in the process of allotting space to local SHGs, according to AAI.