Breaking News Live: At least 3-4 people fell into an approx 40-foot-deep septic tank in Mumbai - The Times of India (2024)

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency has received a report of an incident 72 nautical miles east southeast off the port of Djibouti, an advisory note said on Wednesday.

The note added authorities were investigating and advised vessels to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity.

An inspector of Haryana Police and two others have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh, officials said on Wednesday. The agency had booked Inspector Balwant Singh, posted in Haryana's Yamuna Nagar, on the basis of a complaint filed by a person, who claimed that Singh demanded a bribe of Rs 50 lakh from him for not framing him in an under-investigation case, they said.

According to the officials, the complainant said the bribe amount was reduced to Rs 5 lakh after negotiations between him and Singh.

The CBI nabbed Inspector Singh and two middlemen -- Harpal Singh and Janendar Singh -- in a trap operation in Chandigarh, where the middlemen were receiving the bribe on the inspector's behest, the officials said.

The German debt-to-GDP ratio is likely to rise slightly this year but then fall steadily until 2028, the finance ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry expects the debt-to-GDP ratio at 64% in 2024, according to projections for the EU Commission, which were approved by the cabinet on Wednesday.

In 2023, the debt-to-GDP ratio was at 63.6%.

China warned on Wednesday that US military support for Taiwan only increased the "risk of conflict" along the strait, after the US Congress allocated $8 billion in military support for the island.

"I'd like to emphasise that the United States and Taiwan strengthening military ties will not bring about security for Taiwan," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, adding it "will only increase tensions and the risk of conflict across the Taiwan Strait".

Energy sites in Russia's western Smolensk region were in flames on Wednesday after being hit by Ukrainian drones, the governor said.

"Our region was again targeted by Ukrainian drone attacks", Vasily Anokhin wrote on Telegram. "Fires erupted following enemy attacks on civilian energy infrastructure sites". No one was hurt, he said.

Another drone attack targeted the Lipetsk region, further south in western Russia that houses metallurgical and pharmaceutical sites, regional governor Igor Artamonov wrote on Telegram.

Russian missiles damaged residential buildings and injured six people in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, early on Wednesday, Governor Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram.

The attack damaged three residential buildings, two offices, three non-residential buildings and a gas pipeline in the central district of the city, according to the governor's statement.

Some 568 windows and 33 cars were damaged, Synehubov said.

The city's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said two S-300 missiles were used in the attack but did not deal significant damage to the residential areas of the city, in a comment on a Ukrainian TV broadcast.

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday for a brief state visit aimed at strengthening ties, during which he will also open a $514-million hydropower project.

The first visit by an Iranian president to Sri Lanka since an April 2008 trip by its then president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will see the two countries sign five pacts, or Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs).

Iran agreed to build the hydro power project in 2010 but funds dried up after the release of $50 million, as U.S. sanctions imposed later that year on the Middle East nation made it hard to transfer money, forcing Sri Lanka to fund the rest.

Indonesia president-elect Prabowo Subianto on Wednesday said a press was vital for Indonesia's democracy and called for unity to take the country forward, as he vowed to fight for all Indonesians.

Prabowo, who is set to be inaugurated as president in October, was speaking at a ceremony where he was being confirmed as the winner of the Feb. 14 election.

A Russian Orthodox priest who presided over the memorial service for the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in March has been suspended from clerical duties for three years, the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church said.

In a statement published on its website on Tuesday, the diocese did not say what was the reason for the punishment, which forbids the priest, Dmitry Safronov, from giving blessings, wearing the frock and bearing the church's priestly cross until 2027.

Safronov was also to be moved to another church in Moscow to perform the duties of a psalm-reader.

"At the end of the period of penance, based on feedback from the place of obedience, a decision will be made on the possibility of his further priestly service," the diocese said in its statement.

An encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district on Wednesday, police said. "A contact was established between #terrorists and security forces in the early morning in Renji forest area of Aragam, #Bandipora," Kashmir Zone Police said on X.

There are no reports of any casualty so far on either side.

A search operation is underway.

Police have arrested seven persons for allegedly killing a 38-year-old man over an enmity in Maharashtra's Gondia district, officials said. The incident took place on Monday night when the man, Rohit alias Golu Hariprasad Tiwari was going on his two-wheeler towards Kudwa Chowk, the officials said on Tuesday.

The accused, who were riding two motorcycles, followed him. One of them allegedly opened fire at Tiwari, an official said.

The bullet pierced through the man's chest. On getting information, his brother and some other persons rushed him to a hospital where he succumbed during treatment, the police said.

Unrest on the Myanmar side of Thailand's western border has eased, but needs to be monitored closely as conditions there remained uncertain, Thailand's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

"Most of the refugees have returned and that reflects that the situation is not getting more violent ... we see that things are more peaceful," Nikorndej Balankura said, adding that Thailand hoped to be able to reopen the Mae Sot border, as trade had been affected significantly by fighting between the military government and anti-junta rebels.

Tata Consumer Products fell as much as 5.7% on Wednesday, after it missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates, as consumers cut back on discretionary spending amid sticky food inflation, while stiff competition also dampened demand.

The company's consolidated revenue from operations rose 8.5% to 39.27 billion rupees ($471.4 million), missing analysts estimate of 39.91 bln rupees, as per LSEG data.

A wildfire broke out in the Somashila forest area in Andhra Pradesh's Nellore district on Wednesday.

Efforts are underway to control the fire, said officials.

Visuals of the incident have emerged where it can be seen that a raging blaze engulfs the forest.

More information regarding the incident is awaited. (ANI)

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heatwave alert for Maharashtra's Thane, Raigad districts and parts of Mumbai from April 27 to 29. IMD scientist Sushma Nair on Wednesday said there is an anti-cyclonic circulation over Thane, Raigad and parts of Mumbai which will lead to a rise in temperature.

The temperatures are likely to peak on April 27 and 28.

This is the second heatwave alert issued for Mumbai and neighbouring region this month.

US President Joe Biden pledged to quickly sign a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine after Congress gave its final approval Tuesday night, saying delivery of the much-needed aid would begin this week.

"I will sign this bill into law and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week," said Biden, who added that the bill's passage proved America stands "resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression."