Author: Waazir Anagal

At least 24 people have been killed by lightning and intense rain and hailstorms in India, officials said. The weather damaged houses and killed livestock across western Gujarat state. Storms are unusual in Gujarat during winter, meteorologists said, and the fierce downpour caught many off guard. Flash floods and lightning strikes kill thousands of people in India each year. Scientists are warning that rising global temperatures are fuelling a surge in extreme weather events. Rising land and sea surface temperatures warm the air above and make more energy available to drive thunderstorms from where lightning emanates. Rain and hailstorms were…

Valencia, Turin, Madrid (28/11 – 25) Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia retained his MotoGP world title with many records; there are nevertheless signs that the Ducati rider will face sterner competition next season. The Italian rider won the 2023 season-ending MotoGP Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday to clinch his second world title in a row. The protege of Valentino Rossi becomes the third rider to take back-to-back MotoGP titles since the introduction of the class in 2002. Only Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez previously managed to do that. Bagnaia is the first rider to successfully race and defend #1 in the…

Social media accounts spread pro-Israel content as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks closer ties with Israel. On October 7, within hours of the armed group Hamas launching a surprise attack on Israel, social media platforms were rife with support for Israel – and also fake news. What stood out in the clamour was the fact that a fair amount of it was produced and distributed by accounts from India. In the days after Israel declared war on Hamas, a blue-tick-verified handle posted a video on the social media platform X of a Pakistani parliamentarian threatening to obliterate Israel with an “atom bomb”…

A blackmail scam is using instant loan apps to entrap and humiliate people across India and other countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. At least 60 Indians have killed themselves after being abused and threatened. A​ BBC undercover investigation has exposed those profiting from this deadly scam in India and China. Astha Sinhaa woke up to her aunt’s panicked voice on the phone. “Don’t let your mother leave the house.” Half-asleep, the 17-year-old was terrified to find her mum Bhoomi Sinhaa in the next room, sobbing and frantic. Here was her funny and fearless mother, a respected Mumbai-based property…

The lower house of the Indian parliament has passed a bill guaranteeing a third of seats for women in the parliament and state assemblies. First proposed in 1996, the bill had been pending for decades amid opposition from some political parties. On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha passed it with near unanimity after hours of fierce debate. The bill must now receive approval in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house, before the president signs it into law. But it is still some way from being implemented as that would depend on the completion of India’s census. The exercise, conducted every 10…

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has asked China to set aside its issues with India and play a “constructive role” in the upcoming G20 summit. Mr Sullivan said it was up to China if it “wanted to play the role of a spoiler” instead. His remarks come after China confirmed that its leader, Xi Jinping, would not attend the meeting. India will host the summit in the capital Delhi on 9 and 10 September. Neither India nor China has given specific reasons behind Mr Xi’s absence. China has said Premier Li Qiang will lead its delegation at the summit…

Russia may be involved in the development of North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile that uses solid propellant. It is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Reuters . North Korea’s latest Hwasong-18 ICBM – its first ICBM to use solid propellant – has sparked new debate over Russia’s possible role in the development of a nuclear-weapon state’s missiles. For example, in a report published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, MIT professor Theodore Postol argued that the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile is likely the result of technical cooperation with Russia. The Hwasong-18 was reportedly tested twice, including on July 12, making it…

In Saudi Arabia next week, negotiations are to be held on ending the war in Ukraine, to which representatives of 30 countries of the world have been invited, but without Russia. This was reported by the Wall Street Journal . The purpose of the meeting is to involve the countries of the Global South, where Russia manages to succeed in the information war, in a peaceful settlement. The meeting in the city of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast is scheduled for August 5-6. It will be a continuation of the June meeting in Copenhagen , which was attended by representatives of Brazil, India, Turkey,…

An Indian Spider-Man is making waves this summer as he swings onto screens in a dhoti (sarong-like garment), gold cuffs and an enviable mop of jet black hair, spouting cultural lessons for his guests from across the multiverse. He appears in Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – which has spent recent weeks breaking box office records in India. It grossed $2.8m (£2.17m) in its opening weekend alone – the highest debut for an animated film in the country. That might not come as a surprise, given the popularity in India of Spider-Man – one of the few characters from…

Following a lavish state visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington, US President Joe Biden has called his country’s partnership with India among the “most consequential in the world”. The BBC’s Vikas Pandey and Soutik Biswas explore the factors that contribute to the visit’s potential in strengthening the ties between the two nations. The US’s relationship with India – the world’s most populous country – is “stronger, closer and more dynamic than any time in history”, Mr Biden said at the completion of a pomp-filled state visit by Mr Modi to the White House. The remark may not…