LIVE: 7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines, tsunami warning issued

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9:12 PM

Japan issues tsunami alert after Philippines quake

A tsunami alert has been issued for western Japan's Pacific coast following a major earthquake in the Philippines, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on Saturday. The tsunami, which is estimated to be 1 metre high, will likely reach Japan as early as 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (1630 GMT on Saturday), public broadcaster NHK reported.

8:37 PM

7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines, tsunami warning issued

7.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Philippines, US agency issues tsunami warning, reports news agency Reuters.

 

8:05 PM

Israeli offensive shifts to crowded southern Gaza, driving up death toll despite evacuation orders

Israel pounded targets in the crowded southern half of the Gaza Strip on Saturday and ordered more neighbourhoods designated for attack to evacuate, driving up the death toll even as the United States and others urged it to do more to protect Gaza civilians. At least 200 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting resumed on Friday morning following a weeklong truce with the territory's ruling militant group Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.

7:42 PM

Gohar Ali Khan elected unopposed as new chairman of ex-Pak PM Imran Khan's party

Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party on Saturday elected Barrister Gohar Ali Khan as the new chairman, days before the top election body's deadline for the party to hold organisational polls to retain 'bat' as its election symbol. This is the first time since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) was founded in 1996 by the cricketer-turned-politician that someone else has replaced the 71-year-old as its chairman. Soft-spoken Gohar, a lawyer by profession and someone who has been appearing in several cases against Imran Khan and the PTI was elected unopposed as nobody filed a nomination against him in the intra-party elections held in the north-western city of Peshawar, considered a stronghold of the party.

7:42 PM

India to host world's largest textile exposition fair from Feb 26- 29: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister of Textiles Piyush Goyal says, "...We will be hosting the world's largest textile exposition fair, seminars, and conference from February 26 to February 29, 2024, in New Delhi at the iconic Bharat Mandapam and at Yashobhoomi...We will have the world's largest exhibition on the textile sector...."

7:41 PM

US will not permit forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or West Bank: Vice President Harris

US Vice President Kamala Harris told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday that "under no circumstance, the United States will permit the forced relocation of Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank", according to a White House statement on the meeting on the sidelines of the COP28 Conference in Dubai. Harris discussed with Sisi efforts for reconstruction, security, and governance in Gaza, stating that they "can only succeed if they are pursued in the context of a clear political horizon for the Palestinian people towards a state of their own led by a revitalized Palestinian Authority," the statement added.

7:40 PM

Ex-BJD MP Jayaram Pangi joins Congress in Odisha

Former BJD MP Jayaram Pangi, who had recently severed ties with Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), on Saturday joined the Congress and vowed to fight against the ruling party in Odisha and the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Pangi along with former chief minister Giridhar Gamang had joined BRS in Hyderabad in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in January this year. The prominent tribal leader from southern Odisha had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on a BJP candidate from Koraput but later quit the saffron party. Pangi joined the Congress in the presence of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak and senior leaders at the party's state headquarters here.

7:22 PM

Pak court adjourns hearing of cipher case against Imran Khan, Qureshi till Dec 4

A Pakistan court hearing a case against jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi for allegedly leaking a diplomatic cable on Saturday adjourned the hearing till Monday after marking the presence of the two accused. Special court Judge Abual Hasnat Zulqernain presided over the hearing held in the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi where the two leaders have been incarcerated. The case is based on allegations that the two violated the secret laws of the country while handling a communication sent by the embassy in Washington in March 2022.

7:22 PM

PM Modi meets Qatar's ruler

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on Friday, as they discussed bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in the oil-rich country.

7:21 PM

Israel pulls negotiators back from Qatar after 'impasse'

Israel said Saturday it was pulling its Mossad negotiators out of Qatar, which is mediating efforts to secure a renewed pause in the Israel-Hamas war, after a deadlock in the talks. "Following the impasse in the negotiations and at the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, David Barnea, head of the Mossad, ordered his team in Doha to return to Israel," Netanyahu's office said in a statement.

6:38 PM

193 Palestinians killed since truce collapsed: Gaza health ministry

At least 193 Palestinians have been killed and 650 wounded in Gaza since a Hamas-Israel truce ended on Friday morning, a spokesman for the Gaza health ministry said on Saturday

6:35 PM

At UN climate talks, 50 oil companies pledge to slash methane emissions

At UN climate talks, 50 oil companies pledge to slash methane emissions; Environmentalists call it "smokescreen".

6:34 PM

Iran says two revolutionary guards killed in Israeli attack in Syria - state media

Two Iranian Revolutionary Guards members who served as military advisers in Syria have been killed in an Israeli attack, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, in the first reported Iranian casualties during the ongoing war in Gaza. A Revolutionary Guards statement did not give details of the attack. Syria earlier said its air defences repelled an Israeli rocket attack against targets in the vicinity of Damascus early on Saturday.

6:33 PM

BJP does not want to conduct elections in J&K: Omar Abdullah

We have questioned the EC multiple times for not conducting the (Assembly) elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The response we receive is that they need to discuss it with the Home Ministry concerning the situation. So, it looks like the BJP does not want to conduct elections in J&K," says former J&K CM Omar Abdullah at a public rally in J&K's Rajouri district.

4:57 PM

NIA busts counterfeit currency racket, conducts raids in four states

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized fake notes, currency printing paper, printers and digital gadgets in raids across four states to bust Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) rackets being carried out in various parts of the country. The raids were conducted as part of the NIA investigation in a case (RC-02/2023/NIA/BLR) registered on 24th November under sections 120B read with 489B, 489C and 489D of IPC: NIA Officials