Breaking News, November 4

Taking a strong view of "wilful disobedience" of its orders, the Supreme Court has awarded one year jail term to a Kenyan citizen of Indian origin besides imposing a fine of Rs 25 lakh for committing civil and criminal contempt by playing "fraud" on it in securing the custody of his son from his estranged wife.

The Allahabad High Court on Friday admitted a revision petition challenging an order passed by the Varanasi district judge, which rejected a demand for the carbon-dating of a structure, claimed to be a "Shivling", inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

 Three persons from Kolhapur have been booked for allegedly extorting Rs 30 lakh from an engineering student, a Thane police official said on Friday.

A 15-year-old boy was allegedly sexually assaulted by a driver and conductor in northeast Delhi's New Usmanpur area, police said on Friday. According to the police, the boy went from his home on Wednesday afternoon and reached the parking area near 5th Pusta under New Usmanpur police station limits.

The Congress leader also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to study various social security and welfare schemes of the Rajasthan government and implement them nationally.

Two men were arrested after a raid was conducted at a manufacturing unit involved in making fake Ayurvedic and Allopathic medicine, police here said on Friday.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said the state's top position in the latest Performance Grading Index was a recognition of the Left government's efforts to raise the standards of the general education system here.

With MCD elections around the corner, the Delhi BJP on Friday hinted at not repeating its outgoing councilors on at least 60-70 per cent of the wards even as the Congress received over 1,000 applications from ticket seekers.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Friday that the farmers are the backbone of a rising India and they cannot be made to suffer financially to sustain others.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine the constitutional validity of a provision of the Representation of the People Act which provides power to the poll panel to "remove" or reduce the period of disqualification of a lawmaker.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached Jammu and Kashmir separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah's Srinagar house as part of a money laundering probe linked to a case of fuelling terrorist activities in the Union territory.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal has directed officials to fastrack the clearance of patents filed by government-related bodies in a time-bound manner. Goyal also asked them to explore the possibilities of merging Textile Research Associations (TRAs) or fostering partnerships among TRAs engaged in similar kinds of research to bring synergy among these bodies.

Top diplomats from the world's major industrialised democracies on Friday rallied support for Ukraine in its resistance to Russia's invasion and coalesced around suspicion of China's increasing assertiveness amid a panoply of global crises.

Two government officials were arrested on Friday by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly demanding and accepting bribes in two districts of Chhattisgarh, a senior official said.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari on Friday called upon the Aircraft and System Testing Establishment (ASTE) to increase its outreach to capitalise on the unprecedented growth in the Indian aerospace ecosystem.

The city police on Friday told the Delhi High Court that it will file within six weeks a charge sheet in the case of alleged molestation of students during a cultural festival at the all-women Gargi College here in February 2020.

Four passengers of a taxi were allegedly robbed by a group of men posing as policemen on the Western Express Highway here, police said on Friday. The incident took place near Kherwadi junction on Tuesday night, when the victims were on their way to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport to catch a flight, an official said.

President Droupadi Murmu arrived here on Friday on a two-day visit to Sikkim. She was received at Libing helipad by Governor Ganga Prasad, Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, besides senior civil and army officials.

The Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata Police arrested one person from Amherst Street area here on Friday following the seizure of arms and ammunition and fake Indian currency notes (FICN) from his possession, an officer said.

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has cautioned the general public not to fall for fake SMSs promising jobs in its name and report such messages immediately.

Alarmed over the rise in pollution in Delhi-NCR, the NHRC has asked the chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to appear before it on November 10 to discuss the matter, an official statement said on Friday.

President Droupadi Murmu, who was in Mizoram on a two-day visit, said on Friday that the tribal majority state benefits from and makes contributions to the nation's endeavour to engage with neighbours in the region.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the validity of the Employees Pension (Amendment) Scheme of 2014 but quashed the threshold limit of Rs 15,000 monthly salary for joining the pension fund.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday raided a dozen locations in West Bengal and Jharkhand as part of a money laundering probe into alleged use of forged papers for sale of defence land in these states, officials said.

Two policemen were killed and three others injured when their jeep fell into a nullah after being hit by an unidentified vehicle in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district, police said on Friday.

India will push developed countries for "action" on climate finance and technology transfer to help developing nations adapt to climate change, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has said ahead of the 27th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP) to UNFCCC

A woman and her minor daughter died on Friday after a big boulder following a landslide hit their house in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led right-wing bloc has secured an emphatic victory in Israel's general elections by claiming 64 out of the 120 seats in parliament, bringing the country's longest-serving premier back at the helm after a brief gap and also ending prolonged political instability.

Calling all "secular and democratic forces" to unite against the "assault on people's liberty" by the BJP, Manik Sarkar, the leader of opposition in Tripura, said that the saffron camp’s "bid to loot votes" during the upcoming assembly polls would be resisted by all means.

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed with Rs 25,000 costs a plea seeking to implead Twitter's new owner Elon Musk as party to a petition challenging suspension of a user's account for an alleged violation of its rules.

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to list for hearing on November 10 a PIL seeking issuance of fresh guidelines on stubble burning to curb rising air pollution in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR).

Imran Khan is stable after an attempt on his life and the former Pakistan prime minister is determined to continue his political struggle to press the government to call for an early election, his party has said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed grief at the loss of lives in an accident in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh. He also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.

The national capital continues to reel under the eye-stinging pollution with air quality recorded in the 'severe' category, while the minimum temperature settled at 16.

Police officers and other officials in Pakistan's Punjab province have been suspended by chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for leaking the suspected attacker's confessional video statement after the gun attack on former prime minister Imran Khan.

Pakistan's Interior Ministry has asked the Punjab provincial government to constitute a high-level joint investigation team (JIT) to bring facts to light in connection with an assassination attempt on former prime minister Imran Khan.

A six-year old migrant boy was brutally kicked by a man for playfully leaning on his car in Thalassery in this north Kerala district on Thursday night.

With MCD elections around the corner, the Delhi BJP on Friday hinted at not repeating its outgoing councilors on at least 60-70 per cent of the wards even as the Congress received over 1,000 applications from ticket seekers.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday launched raids at a dozen locations in Jharkhand and West Bengal as part of a money laundering probe into alleged use of forged papers for sale of defence land in these states, officials said.

The WTA Tour's Coach Inclusion Program, which was unveiled Thursday, includes three phases: a week of off-season training with players in December; a 10-week online certification course; shadowing a coach and player during a tournament.

President Joe Biden on Thursday told supporters “we're gonna free Iran” after audience members appeared to call on him to address the ongoing protests that have spread through that country in the aftermath of the death of a young woman in the custody of its security forces. “Don't worry, we're gonna free Iran," Biden said in an aside during a campaign rally for Democratic Rep. Mike Levin. He added, “They're gonna free themselves pretty soon.” Biden made the comments as supporters in the crowd held up cellphones displaying the message “FREE IRAN.”

The Delhi BJP on Friday demanded that the AAP government order closure of schools in the national capital in view of severe air pollution. Addressing a press conference at the Delhi BJP office, national spokesperson of the party Shehzad Poonawala said the AAP government should stop playing with the lives of the children and close the schools. "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is working like a part time chief minister of Delhi, should tell the people what steps have been taken by his government to curb pollution in the city," Poonawala said. Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said the party will take to the streets if the Kejriwal government does not order closure of schools.

State Election Commission NCT of Delhi to hold a press conference at 4:00 pm today. They are likely to announce MCD poll schedule. 

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal will announce on Friday the name of the party's chief ministerial candidate for the next month's Gujarat Assembly elections, party office-bearers said. This candidate will be named on the basis of opinion submitted to the party by the people of the state, they said. Those in the race for the top post from the AAP include its state unit president Gopal Italia, national general secretary Isudan Gadhvi and general secretary Manoj Soratihya, party sources said. Kejriwal is scheduled to hold a press conference in Ahmedabad on Friday to announce the name, the party said in a statement on Thursday.

The 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will take a break on Friday and will resume from Medak in Telangana on Saturday. “#BharatJodoYatra will take a day's break on 4th Nov. We begin afresh from Medak, Telangana on 5th Nov," the Bharat Jodo's official Twitter handle said. The yatra will cover 19 assembly and seven parliamentary constituencies in the poll-bound Telangana, spanning a distance of 375 km before entering Maharashtra on November 7. The Wayanad MP has been meeting intellectuals and leaders of various communities, including personalities from the sporting, business and entertainment sectors, during the party campaign in the southern state. The Bharat Jodo Yatra commenced on September 7 from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.

A week after billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk acquired Twitter, employee layoffs at the social media company are expected to get underway on Friday and about half of Twitter’s 7,500 workers appeared set to lose their jobs, according to a media report.

The New York Times, citing a company-wide email, reported that Musk will “begin laying off Twitter employees on Friday”, exactly a week after he completed the USD 44 billion acquisition of the social media company and ousted CEO Parag Agrawal, legal executive Vijaya Gadde, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and General Counsel Sean Edgett.

The NYT report added that “Twitter employees were notified in the email that the layoffs were set to begin” and “workers were instructed to go home and not return to the offices on Friday as the cuts proceeded.”

“In an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global work force,” the email said, according to the NYT report. “We recognise that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.”

The report added that employees took note of a Slack message that suggested “3,738 people” could be laid off and that changes could still be made to the list. While it is not yet clear what the exact number of layoffs will be, it is estimated that “about half of Twitter’s workers appeared set to lose their jobs.”

Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Jayant Patil on Thursday said a party can take decisions if it has the chief minister's chair. Speaking at an event in Pune, he said the NCP could not do "anything" for its members while in government (Maha Vikas Aghadi) as "for that we need our leader sitting in the number one (CM) position". "Though we could give big positions to (party members), there are a number of people who are working with the party with loyalty by just looking at (Sharad) Pawar saheb. In last two-and half-years (during MVA rule), we could not anything (for party members) because for that we need our leader sitting at the number one position (CM position)," he said. "We can take whatever decisions we want if we have our leader as CM," Patil said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Thursday that the planet is heading toward irreversible “climate chaos” and urged global leaders at the upcoming climate summit in Egypt to put the world back on track to cut emissions, keep promises on climate financing and help developing countries speed their transition to renewable energy. The UN chief said the 27th annual Conference of the 198 Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change — better known as COP27 — “must be the place to rebuild trust and re-establish the ambition needed to avoid driving our planet over the climate cliff.”

Britain's interior minister visited immigration facilities on England's southeastern coast on Thursday as she grappled with an overcrowding crisis at a migrant facility and outcry over her claim that the UK faced an “invasion” of asylum-seekers. Home Secretary Suella Braverman is under heavy pressure to address potentially unlawful conditions at Manston, a converted airfield that has held some 3,500 people who made the hazardous journey across the English Channel on small boats to UK shores. The building, meant to be a temporary processing centre for new arrivals, became a focal point this week after it emerged that some migrants have been detained there for weeks in cramped, inhumane conditions. Independent inspectors have reported migrant children sleeping on floors, with no access to phones or fresh air.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her husband, Paul Pelosi, was released from the hospital Thursday after his treatment for injuries from a violent assault last week in which he was attacked with a hammer. Pelosi said, “Paul remains under doctors' care as he continues to progress on a long recovery process and convalescence. He is now home." Law enforcement officers who responded to the break-in early last Friday witnessed Paul Pelosi being struck in the head with the hammer at least once, according to court documents. Officials said the assault was captured on the officers' body cameras. Pelosi was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Speaker Pelosi said her husband was grateful to the 911 operator who directed police to the family residence, emergency responders and the entire hospital staff for “their excellent and compassionate life-saving treatment."

North Korea fired at least six missiles into the sea on Thursday, including an intercontinental ballistic missile that triggered evacuation warnings and halted trains in northern Japan, adding to a recent barrage of weapons tests that has escalated tensions in the region. The ICBM test was followed by launches of two short-range ballistic missiles in the morning, drawing swift condemnation by North Korea's neighbors and the United States, which reacted by extending ongoing joint air force exercises with South Korea. The South Korean and Japanese militaries said North Korea later fired three more short-range missiles into waters off its eastern coast. Those launches came an hour after a senior North Korean military official issued a statement threatening retaliation over the extension of the U.S.-South Korea drills. Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the missiles traveled as far as 500 kilometers (300 miles).

The United States on Thursday condemned the attack on former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan during his protest march and said violence has no place in politics and America is deeply committed to a democratic and peaceful Pakistan. “The United States strongly condemns the shooting of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and others at a political rally. We wish Imran Khan and all others who were injured a quick and thorough recovery, and we offer our condolences to the family of the individual who was killed,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.