RIVANCH

With three residents of this village on the outskirts of Ranchi still trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand, where rescue efforts have encountered yet another obstacle, the anxiety in Khirabeda has now reached a breaking point. The auger machine’s blades, which were intended to cut through the tunnel’s rubble, became lodged in the debris on Saturday. This forced officials to contemplate other options that might delay the rescue of the 41 trapped workers for several days or even weeks. Despite being confined to his bed, the desperation on the face of 55-year-old Shravan Bediya, whose only son Rajendra is trapped there, has been palpable since the news reached him. Besides 22-year-old Rajendra, two others from the village — Sukhram and Anil, both in their early twenties, are trapped inside the tunnel for two weeks now. Sukhram’s mother Parvati, who is also paralysed, has been inconsolable since she found out about the disaster that happened in Uttarkashi. In Anil’s

The Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma told Canadian broadcaster CTV that India was “convicted” even before the investigation into the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Khalistani terrorist who was murdered by unknown miscreants in Canada’s Surrey. Canada has accused India of playing a role in the death of Nijjar, an allegation India has denied. The Indian envoy also said that New Delhi would look into anything “very specific and relevant” communicated to them to back up Justin Trudeau’s allegations. He urged Canada to release evidence to back up its allegation in connection with the killing. In an interview with CTV news channel, the high commissioner was asked about the allegations raised by Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau of possible Indian government involvement in Nijjar’s killing. Responding to this, Verma said, “There are two points on that. One is that, even without the investigation being concluded, India was convicted. Is that a rule of law? “On being

Aditya L1 spacecraft is nearing its final phase, and manoeuvres to enter the L1 point are expected to be completed by January 7, 2024, according to ISRO Chairman S Somanath. “Aditya is on the way. I think it has reached almost its final phase,” the ISRO chief told PTI on the sidelines of an event organised at VSSC to commemorate the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch. Aditya L1, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, was successfully launched on September 2 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The spacecraft, after travelling about 1.5 million km from Earth over 125 days, is expected to be placed in a Halo orbit around the Lagrangian point L1, considered closest to the Sun. He said that the last preparations for the spacecraft’s entry into the L1 point are currently underway incrementally.”Possibly by January 7th, the final manoeuvres will be done for entering into the L1 point,” Somanath added. Among other tasks, it will capture and tr

Uttarakhand Silkyara Tunnel Rescue: Efforts to rescue the trapped workers continued as the drilling machine faced another setback late on Friday night. The ongoing rescue operations for the 41 workers stuck in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district reached the fourteenth day on Saturday. Officials said that manual drilling would commence soon to cut through the debris separating rescuers from the trapped workers in the collapsed portion of the tunnel. Once the US-made, heavy-duty Auger drilling machine is removed from the pipeline designated for bringing out the trapped workers, manual drillers will initiate their work, he said. The workers have been trapped since Nov. 12, when a landslide in mountainous Uttarakhand state caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance. Success could soon be achieved in taking the Auger driller out of the pipeline, officials informed further, adding th

Polling started Saturday morning for the 199 assembly seats in Rajasthan. The BJP is making significant efforts to wrest power while the Congress aims to overcome the state’s historical trend of anti-incumbency. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot (Sardarpura), former chief minister Vasundhara Raje (Jhalrapatan), former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot (Tonk), state PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra (Lachhmangarh), RLP convenor Hanuman Beniwal (Khinvsar) are some of the key faces among the 1,862 candidates in the fray. “This is a festival of democracy. We all have cast votes for BJP for freedom from corruption, increasing crime, increasing incidents of rape and appeasement in Rajasthan. Congress government will never come to power in the state in future because people of the state have suffered a lot in the last five years…BJP will definitely get more than 150 seats…” Union Minister Kailash Choudhary said after casting his vote. #WATCH | Union Minister Kailash Choudhary says, “This is a fe

Air quality in national capital Delhi and adjoining areas turned ‘severe’ again on Friday with a dip in temperatures and slow wind speed at night allowing accumulation of pollutants. The fluctuation comes barely a week after most of the restrictions in place were removed by the Delhi government. The city’ s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 401 at 8 am on Friday morning. Delhi has been witnessing a gradual increase in AQI levels after a marginal improvement on Sunday. The 24-hour average AQI, recorded at 4 pm every day, was 390 on Thursday, 394 on Wednesday, 365 on Tuesday, 348 on Monday and 301 on Sunday. The increase in AQI levels comes after the Centre on Saturday removed stringent curbs, including a ban on construction work related to linear projects and the entry of polluting trucks in Delhi, following a drop in pollution levels due to a favourable wind speed and direction. Neighbouring Ghaziabad (386), Gurugram (321), Greater Noida (345), Noida (344) and Faridabad (410) also r

The moment of safe recuse of 41 workers trapped inside an under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi is approaching. Amid this, NDRF has demonstrated how it will be pulling out the labourers on wheeled stretchers through a big pipe that has been pushed through the rubble to reach them. A video shared on Friday showed a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) demonstrating the use of wheeled stretchers to pull out trapped workers inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi once the horizontal pipe reaches the other side. The video shows how each worker will have to lie low on the wheeled stretcher after which the NDRF personnel will pull it with the help of a rope. https://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Tunnel-Rescue.mp4 On Thursday, a team of NDRF entered the tunnel equipped with rescue gear. By Thursday, the government’s horizontal drilling reached about 67 per cent completion, having drilled the escape pipeline to a distance of 45 metres, wit

In a disturbing turn of events, a deepfake video featuring the esteemed industrialist Ratan Tata has surfaced on social media platforms, leading unsuspecting individuals into a deceptive online betting scam. The deepfake videos involving Rashmika Mandanna, Katrina Kaif and Kajol may have been disconcerting, but they were just the tip of the iceberg. With video manipulating AI becoming more efficient and cheap, deepfakes are only set to increase. The deepfake of Ratan Tata shows him endorsing an online betting coach and urging viewers to join a Telegram channel managed by an individual named Amir Khan. This incident highlights the growing threat of deepfake technology in facilitating financial frauds and scams. Investigations into Khan have revealed that he operates a Telegram channel using which, he entices users with promises of earning a pretty sizeable amount of money, daily, through a real money-betting game called Aviator. However, the registration link that the Telegram chann

Drilling efforts at Uttarkashi’s Silkyara tunnel, aimed at rescuing 41 trapped workers, faced a setback on Thursday night when the auger machine encountered a technical issue. As of now, rescuers have drilled up to 46.8 meters in the Silkyara tunnel. An official stated, according to ANI , that the machine is undergoing repairs, which are expected to take a few hours. If no further problems arise, the rescue operation is anticipated to resume tomorrow morning after 9 am. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will remain overnight at the site to oversee the final phase of the rescue operations, which began on Wednesday. He has established a temporary camp office at the site to ensure seamless coordination. “Along with this, it has been decided not to celebrate the Egas festival which is celebrated with great pomp in Uttarakhand today. Today, on the occasion of Egas, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was to participate in this festival along with about a thousand people at t

Delhi saw another gruesome murder late on Tuesday where an 18-year-old man was stabbed by a 16-year-old boy at least 60 times on the head, neck and ears for allegedly stealing Rs 350 to eat biryani. The horrific crime took place in northeast Delhi’s Welcome area and CCTV footage showed the accused, allegedly drunk, choking and stabbing the victim and later dancing over his body. Police said the motive of the murder was “robbery”. https://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WhatsApp-Video-2023-11-23-at-1.40.17-PM-1.mp4 Stabbed 60 times The video of the brutality showed the accused stabbing the victim in the face, and eyes several times, and even, apparently, tried to behead him. According to the police, the accused asked the victim to give him money for food, but the victim refused which led to an argument and a scuffle ensued. “The assailant first choked the victim. When the victim fell unconscious, the assailant stabbed him several times before stealing his money, a

The government will come up with new regulations soon to tackle deepfakes, said IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday, adding that deepfakes as a new threat to democracy. Vaishnaw, who met social media platforms on the deepfake issue on Thursday, said that it has emerged as a new threat to democracy. “We will have our next meeting in the first week of December…that will be on follow-up action on today’s decisions, and also on what should be included in the draft regulation,” Vaishnaw said. “Companies have agreed on the need for clear actionable work in areas such as detection, prevention, strengthening of reporting mechanism, and raising user awareness,” he said. Addressing the media, he said, “We will start drafting regulation today itself, and within a short time we will have a new set of regulations for deepfakes … this could be in the form of amending existing framework or bringing new rules, or new law,”. The move came after several ‘deepfake’ videos targeting leading actor

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw earlier today, convened a meeting that brought together several social media platforms, AI companies, Nasscom, and experts in the field of artificial intelligence. In this collaborative effort, Minister Vaishnaw announced that the participating entities have collectively committed to formulating tangible action plans across four key pillars — Detection of deepfakes, Prevention of their virality, the enhancement of existing Reporting mechanisms for deepfakes, and the promotion of Awareness regarding how deepfakes operate and the appropriate countermeasures against them. “All the companies have shared our concern. They have understood that this is not free speech, that this is something very harmful… they have understood the need for regulation,” he added. Minister Vaishnaw also revealed that the ministry has already started working on creating a set of regulations. A consensus has been reached between the government and social media companies to rel

The operation to evacuate 41 labourers who were stranded within a partially built tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi, has entered its final leg. It’s a race against time for India because the workers have been trapped since the tunnel caved in on 12 November. The last pipe, which will serve as an escape route, is being pushed through the debris while the drilling continues. By midnight, the men inside and the rescue teams were separated by just 10 metres of debris. Ambulances are currently waiting outside the tunnel, Delhi-based experts have arrived, and prayers are being offered. Here’s a look at what’s happening and how the workers will crawl out. Preparations underway near the Silkayara tunnel where rescue operation of 41 workers trapped inside the tunnel is underway, in Uttarkashi district. PTI Rescue operation at critical stage The operation to rescue trapped workers entered its final stretch early Thursday with the last pipe to prepare an escape passage being pushed in

Eight school children fell off an autorickshaw and were left severely injured after the vehicle collided with a speeding lorry in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday morning. The entire accident was captured on a CCTV camera positioned nearby. The autorickshaw-lorry accident took place near the Sangam Sarat Theatre junction. The injured school students were rushed to a nearby hospital where they are undergoing treatment. Warning: Viewer discretion advised #WATCH | Andhra Pradesh: Eight school children were injured in an accident when an auto collided with a lorry near Sangam Sarat Theatre in Visakhapatnam Source: CCTV Footage from a local shop pic.twitter.com/sr9xaadUVo — ANI (@ANI) November 22, 2023 A report by ANI said the students were from Bethany school. "An auto collided with a truck at Sangam Sarat Theatre junction in Visakhapatnam. Eight school children were injured and shifted to the hospital," DCP Srinivasa Rao said. #WATCH | Andhra Pradesh: Eight students we

Drilling operations with the American auger machine recommenced at the Silkyara tunnel to prepare an escape route for the 41 workers who have been trapped inside for over 10 days. According to officials, 800 mm diameter steel pipes have been inserted up to 39 metres through the rubble, with another 14 metres to go before the rescuers reach the trapped labourers. Once the drilling is complete, the passage will be used to evacuate the labourers from the tunnel. “We have pushed in the pipes up to 39 metres by now. Everything is fine. I have spoken to them (trapped workers). Their morale is high,” former advisor to the PMO Bhaskar Khulbe told reporters in Silkyara. #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Former advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office, Bhaskar Khulbe says “It is a matter of great pleasure for us that 39 metres of pipeline has been drilled from inside the horizontal pipeline tunnel. Everything is going good. I spoke… pic.twitter.com/MlCENo2msm — ANI (@ANI) Nov

The Indian Navy’s latest indigenous stealth guided missile destroyer, Imphal (Yard 12706), scored a ‘Bulls Eye’ in her maiden Brahmos firing at sea. Interestingly, it is for the first time that the test-firing of the Extended Range Brahmos missile took place by a warship before its commissioning. This underscores Indian Navy’s unwavering focus on Combat Readiness, AatmanirbharBharat’s growing shipbuilding prowess and assured reliability of indigenous weapons and platforms. The Indian Navy received its third Project 15B stealth guided missile destroyer, the “Imphal,” on 20 October, 2023. It has been meticulously built at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai. https://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WhatsApp-Video-2023-11-22-at-10.43.45-AM.mp4 What is Imphal (Yard 12706)? The Project 15B destroyer program is a continuation of the successful Kolkata-class (Project 15A) destroyers, commissioned over the last decade. “Imphal” follows in the footsteps of h

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend the virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit. The development comes amidst a diplomatic standoff between India and Canada over Trudeau’s allegation of Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India. According to the schedule released by the Canadian Prime Minister’s officer for Wednesday, the PM will attend the meeting virtually that is being hosted by India. Trudeau keeps alleging Indian agents’ involvement in Nijjar’s killing. The accusation has deteriorated relations between the two countries. Meanwhile, the G20 Virtual Summit gets underway today at 5:30 pm. The summit will witness a major gathering of world leaders. Leaders of all G20 members, including the Chair of the African Union, as well as nine guest countries and heads of 11 international organisations, have been invited. The virtual summit will address key issues, select outcomes and review developments that have taken place since the conclusi

The workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district are facing an increasingly difficult battle for survival as all elements seems to be conspiring against the rescue operation. Over five different agencies are working on different ways to find a way to evacuate the labourers as the rescue operation enters its 10th day. The operation came to a standstill over the weekend, due to an American drilling machine breaking down. It was subsequently decided to use an alternative strategy called “top down” drilling. In the meantime, the rescue workers are sending water, oxygen, and cooked meals to the stranded workers. The government is also providing dry fruits, antidepressants, and multivitamins in addition to these necessities. Let’s take a look at how these workers are surviving inside. Cooked food, fruits and other essential items sent Puffed rice, chana, and dry fruits had been the labourers’ only sources of nourishment up until this point.

In a major breakthrough on Tuesday morning, the rescue officials — who had been working round-the-clock to reach the workers trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand for the last 10 days — have managed to capture their images through an endoscopy camera. The endoscopy camera was sent inside the tunnel through a six-inch pipe that was pushed through the rubble last night to send food for the workers. Rescue officials also spoke to some workers through radio handsets. In the video, the rescue officials are seen asking the workers to come in front of the camera. “Aap camera ke paas walkie talkie pe aake baat karein (Come in front of the camera and talk to us through the Walkie Talkie),” a rescue worker is heard asking them. #WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Rescue team officials establish audio-visual contact with the workers trapped in the tunnel for the first time, through the pipeline and endoscopic flexi camera. (Video Source: District Information Officer) pic.twi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and discussed the ongoing operation to rescue 41 workers trapped since 12 November in a partially collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district. During the telephonic conversation, PM Modi said necessary rescue equipment and resources are being provided by the Centre and through mutual coordination between Central and state agencies and expressed hope that the trapped workers will be safely evacuated. PM Modi told the Uttarakhand chief minister that it is necessary to maintain the morale of the trapped workers. According to a statement issued by the Uttarakhand Chief Minister’s Office, Dhami told PM Modi that he has inspected the site and is constantly monitoring the rescue operations. All efforts are underway to evacuate the workers expeditiously, the chief minister told PM Modi. Dhami also briefed the Prime Minister about the rescue operations in detail and said all the trapped workers are

Two members of a family were shot dead and four others were critically injured in firing Bihar’s Lakhisarai when they were returning after performing Chhath puja on Monday morning. “The matter is related to a love affair,” police said. #WATCH | Bihar: Two members of a family were shot dead and four others were injured in Punjabi Mohalla under the Kabaiya police station of Lakhisarai. The incident took place when they were returning from Chhath Ghat after performing pooja. Three injured have been referred from… pic.twitter.com/BF0i8mAAQz — ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2023 "Six members of a family were shot over 'love affair' in Punjabi Mohalla under the Kabaiya police station of Lakhisarai (Bihar). The victims were returning from Chhath Ghat after performing 'arghya'. Two people died while four others were injured," Pankaj Kumar, Superintendent of Police (SP), Lakhisarai said. VIDEO | "Six members of a family were shot over 'love affair' in P

India and Australia are expected to hold talks on a wide range of strategic, defence and security issues as the Defence and Foreign ministers of both countries meet for the second 2+2 ministerial dialogue on Monday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and their Australian counterparts Richard Marles and Penny Wong will hold discussions to further advance cooperation under the India-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The MEA said the ministers are expected to discuss the situation in West Asia in view of the Israel-Hamas war, China’s increasing aggression in the Indo-Pacific region, India’s recent diplomatic row with Canada, and the Russia-Ukraine war. The discussions will also cover bilateral, regional and global matters of mutual interest to further advance cooperation under the India-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, it said. “Both sides will also exchange views on sha

Twenty-three fishing boats turned to ashes in a massive blaze and blasts which followed at a harbour in Visakhapatnam late on Sunday night. The estimated loss in the shocking incident is being estimated at about Rs 30 crore. Local fishermen suspect some criminals set the boats on fire. There is also suspicion that the fire was triggered by a party in a boat anchored in the area. Shocking visuals from the harbour showed firefighters trying to douse the flames as fishermen stared helplessly at the fire destroying their means of livelihood. The blasts in some of the boats, were apparently caused by the fire reaching fuel tanks. It also led to panic among the locals in the area. Senior police officer Ananda Reddy said the fire broke out around 11:30 pm. “Cylinders on boats are causing blasts, so we are asking people to stay away. Fire engines are working to control the fire,” he said. “The cause of the fire is yet to be confirmed,” he said. No casualties have been reported. A case ha

On Sunday (November 19), India achieved a historic milestone when its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) crossed the $4 trillion mark in nominal terms for the first time. This accomplishment highlights India’s strong economic growth and emergence as a formidable global economic force. India’s constant efforts in many areas, together with strategic policies and entrepreneurial zeal, have powered this historic jump, highlighting India’s status as one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies. People have also expressed their joy in social media. India became $4 Trillion Economy Today 🙌 pic.twitter.com/C2Y1dOk9zT — Rishi Bagree (@rishibagree) November 19, 2023 #India is now a $4 trillion #economy ! What a feat! #Bharat pic.twitter.com/GWuvv78Imr — Siddhartha Rai सिद्धार्थ राय (@SiddharthaRai2) November 19, 2023 from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/amS0bjG Prakriti Jash