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A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on Friday morning, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) and India's National Centre for Seismology (NCS). Monitoring agencies said there was no tsunami threat. The tremor was recorded at around 9:05 am IST (3:35 pm local time), with its epicentre about 123 km southwest of the town of Vilyuchinsk in Russia's Far East. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recorded the quake at magnitude 7.0 at a depth of about 148 km, roughly 415 miles southwest of Bering Island in the Komandorski Islands region. No tsunami threat NOAA said there was no tsunami warning, advisory, watch or threat following the earthquake. The US...

Air India is cutting flights to Europe in a major network rejig that also adds frequencies to Australia and Japan in its winter schedule, as rising jet fuel prices and the continued closure of Pakistan airspace push up costs for the airline. In its winter schedule, the airline is suspending its non-stop flights from Delhi to Copenhagen and Vienna. Frequencies to Birmingham, London Gatwick and San Francisco are also being reduced as part of the overhaul. Vienna will continue to serve as a technical stop for select flights to the United States and Canada. An Air India executive said the management is reviewing its network amid a tough operating environment. "We are looking at routes on a case by case basis. Decisions on continuing a...

India has delivered a sharp rebuke to US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal after she questioned the ongoing revision of electoral rolls in the country, with New Delhi's envoy in Washington calling her comments an unacceptable intrusion into the country's internal affairs. India's Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, responded on X after the Democratic lawmaker from Washington state raised concerns about the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. "The remarks by @RepJayapal on India's electoral and political processes are unacceptable interference in India's internal affairs," Kwatra wrote, describing India as "a vibrant democracy, with robust, independent constitutional institutions and a...

The United States has announced fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting 16 individuals and 10 entities, as Washington tightens economic pressure on Tehran amid a continuing standoff and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The US Treasury Department said the measures, announced on Thursday local time, aim to disrupt Tehran's alleged international financial networks, shadow banking operations and channels used to finance its military and regional proxy groups. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would keep targeting Iran's financial lifelines. In a post on X, he wrote: "The noose is tightening around Iran's economy, and not even Iran's so-called allies can save it. The Department of the Treasury will not relent...

The Cockroach Janta Party's planned "Lehra Do Tiranga" march is scheduled for 5 pm today at Central Park in Connaught Place, with Delhi Police enforcing prohibitory orders across the area and the civic body closing the park to the public for two days. Delhi Police has urged people to stay away from the gathering, saying prohibitory orders are in force in Connaught Place and surrounding areas. Officers said a select group could be allowed to wave the national flag and sing the national anthem at a suitable location. Police have warned of legal action against anyone violating the prohibitory orders, adding that demonstrations can be held at Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground or CBD Ground after obtaining the required permission. The New...

Three children, aged five, eight and 11, and one teacher were killed when a 16-year-old resident of Bend, Oregon, opened fire inside Silver Rail Elementary School on Thursday afternoon, police said at a news conference Thursday evening. The gunman, armed with what Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz described as a long gun, appeared to have forced his way into the building by shooting at locked doors. It was unclear how far into the building he had gone before he was stopped. Stopped by an armed community member A community member who saw the teenager entering the school at about 1 p.m. followed him inside and engaged him in gunfire, killing the shooter before responding officers arrived, Krantz said. Officers reached the scene within...

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Washington is engaged in discussions with Moscow and Beijing aimed at reducing the nuclear weapons arsenals of the countries with the largest stockpiles. Speaking in an interview with Newsmax, Trump said he would like to see denuclearization happen "if possible," and confirmed that talks with both Russia and China were underway on the subject. Newsmax reported that Trump had also spoken about the issue directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping. A China arms race warning Trump told the outlet he expects China to "catch up" with the United States in nuclear capabilities within five years. Russia currently holds the largest number of stored nuclear warheads, followed by the United States and...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week he feels betrayed by US President Donald Trump, warning that new restrictions on Starlink satellite services and a US deal to buy Russian diesel have left Ukraine dangerously exposed. Speaking to British journalist Piers Morgan on the YouTube show "Piers Morgan Uncensored" during a visit to London on Wednesday, Zelensky was asked directly whether the Trump administration had betrayed Ukraine. "Really, yes," he answered. He called the American fuel agreement with Moscow a "simple victory" for the Kremlin and said it was painful to see Washington pick a side that was not Ukraine's. "It's a pity that we are losing, we are losing a strong partner," he said. Starlink restrictions could...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Canada on December 11 and 12, the High Commission of India in Ottawa announced on Friday, setting up a high-profile trip that would cap a year of cautious diplomatic repair between the two countries. The announcement followed a telephone conversation between Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this week, which Modi described as warm and productive. According to the High Commission's statement, the two leaders agreed to build on the positive momentum in bilateral relations and work toward concrete outcomes in trade, energy, technology, security and people-to-people ties. Trade deal tops the agenda The visit is expected to give fresh impetus to negotiations on a Comprehensive...

US President Donald Trump is expected to decide within the next ten days whether to invoke sanctions provisions that could affect countries purchasing Russian oil and gas, including India, the US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, said on Thursday. What the envoy said Speaking to Bloomberg at the New Economy Forum in New Delhi, Gor said legislation passed by the US Congress gives the President authority to impose penalties on countries buying Russian energy or helping others evade existing sanctions. He added that Trump had not imposed sanctions on any country under the law so far, and that the legislation requires the President to make a determination within 30 days of its passage. When asked whether India could receive relief or...

The United States is deploying several hundred Army soldiers to Latin America for training and joint exercises with regional forces, marking a significant expansion of the Trump administration's military campaign against drug-trafficking networks in the Western Hemisphere. What is happening Initial elements of a roughly 600-soldier battalion from the Army's 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum in New York, have begun deploying to a newly built jungle training facility in Panama, according to The New York Times, which first reported the movement. A senior US official later confirmed the deployment to Fox News. The troops are being positioned under US Southern Command, which will decide their final assignments. After Panama, the...

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam joined a Congress-led protest in Chennai on Thursday seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, marking the party's first participation in an anti-CEC agitation since it joined the INDIA bloc on October 3. The 'Protect Democracy' protest The demonstration was organised by Congress MP B Manickam Tagore and the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists. Leaders from all seven constituent parties participated, with the protest taking place amid ongoing opposition agitations in the national capital over the same issue. The TVK's presence comes days after Congress leader...

India has asked the United Nations human rights office when it will publish a report on the steps Pakistan has taken to address concerns about the situation in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, pressing for investigations into reported killings and an end to restrictions on the ground. The statement in New York Anuj Swarup, First Secretary at India's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, delivered the remarks on Wednesday (local time) during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly's Third Committee, in an interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. India urged the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to press for impartial investigations into killings carried out by Pakistani security...

US President Donald Trump on Thursday scrapped a Pentagon plan to livestream the December 3 firing-squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. In a social media post, Trump said he had overruled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had announced earlier this month that the execution would be broadcast live from the Fort Hood military base in Texas — the same base where Hasan carried out the attack. A White House official told reporters the president and his advisers had not known about the livestream plan before Hegseth unveiled it in a media interview. No other country is known to televise or livestream judicial executions. Deterrence vs public revulsion...

The Supreme Court on October 15 issued notice to the Centre, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), and the National Medical Commission on a plea challenging how the answer key and candidate responses for NEET-PG 2026 were disclosed, reported Live Law via national media. A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe took up the matter and tagged it with pending petitions relating to structural issues in medical entrance examinations. The core grievance The petition, filed by the Democratic Medical Association along with a group of aspirants, challenges NBEMS's October 1 notice titled "Scorecard and Answer Key of NEET-PG 2026." Under that process, candidates can see question-wise evaluation details —...

Aden: Yemen's Houthis fired missiles at the al-Maashiq presidential palace complex in the southern port city of Aden on Thursday, in the first strike on the seat of the country's internationally recognised government since the civil war reignited. Yemen's prime minister and cabinet members who were at the complex were unharmed, Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said, adding that the Houthis had fired five missiles at the palace. Two security guards were killed in the attack, two government officials told Reuters. Al Arabiya, however, reported higher casualties, saying five people were killed and 16 injured, including security personnel guarding the complex and civilian employees, citing Yemeni Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh. The...

New Delhi: Former IAS officer Divya Mittal on Thursday launched her political party, Jan Neeti Bharat, and announced that it will contest the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, ending weeks of speculation about her political plans. Mittal unveiled the party's name and electoral plans through a video message posted on social media platform X. "Politics rules over you. In Jan Neeti, you will be the ones who rule," she said, outlining a vision in which citizens stay at the centre of policymaking. Three guiding principles According to ET Now, Mittal laid out three principles that will guide the new outfit: giving citizens a direct voice in policymaking, basing public decisions on people's needs rather than identity, and holding...

Drone strikes set two chemical tankers ablaze near Romania's Black Sea coast on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, leaving sailors missing and triggering rescue efforts hampered by heavy seas. For the first time in this recent spate of attacks on commercial shipping, strikes have fallen inside NATO territorial waters, according to the reports. What happened The two vessels were anchored near the mouth of the Sulina canal, the Danube channel that serves as a major export route for Ukraine as Russia continues to bomb its Black Sea ports. Seven of the 12 crew of the San Marino-flagged tanker Wine Trader, hit 13 nautical miles southeast of the canal — about a mile outside Romanian waters — were reported missing, with five rescued...

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to India from October 19 to 22 for his second visit to the country in six months, but he will not stop in New Delhi. Instead, his itinerary takes him to Mumbai and Jamnagar, with energy and trade topping the agenda. The trip was announced by the US Department of State on October 14, and it follows a stop in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for a regional conference. The decision to bypass the national capital is unusual. Rubio is expected to meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during the visit, and he will hold talks with senior government officials on strengthening the US-India strategic partnership, discussing regional and global developments, and exploring deeper energy cooperation...

European leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day European Council summit, arriving with sharply differing views on the bloc's next long-term budget while facing decisions on continued support for Ukraine, energy prices and economic competitiveness. Net contributors push back Several leaders openly opposed the proposed multiannual financial framework for 2028–2034 as they arrived for the meeting. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten called the Irish presidency's draft "not good enough," arguing it should be smaller and refocused on competitiveness, security and future welfare. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said a roughly 60 per cent increase in Sweden's net contribution was "simply not acceptable," calling it a no-go...