Category Archives: India

About 100 people missing as flash flood tears through town in northern India

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Large-scale search and rescue operation under way after at least five people killed in Himalayan region

Dozens of people were missing after a fast-moving surge of water and mud smashed into a town in India’s Himalayan region on Tuesday, tearing down a mountain valley and demolishing buildings, killing at least five people.

Videos broadcast on Indian media showed a terrifying river of muddy water engulf the town of Dharali in Uttarakhand state on Tuesday afternoon, sweeping away entire homes and apartment blocks. In footage recorded at the scene, people could been seen screaming in fear as they tried to escape the surging flood waters.

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Trump’s demand that India stop buying Russian oil puts Modi in tight spot

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Prime minister faces a choice between high tariffs or giving up cheap oil, putting New Delhi’s non-alignment policy under severe strain

The relationship between India and the US is facing one of its most significant challenges in decades, as the Trump administration doubles down on its demands that India stop buying Russian oil or face punitive tariffs.

The US president, Donald Trump, has refused to cut tariffs on Indian exports to the US, as he has for other countries, and on Monday said he would significantly raise them over its purchases of cheap Russian oil, which now account for one-third of its imported oil.

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India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials

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No pause on Russian imports by Indian oil firms who base decisions on ‘price, grade of crude, logistics and economic factors’

Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow’s trading partners over the war in Ukraine.

Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump later told reporters that such a move would be “a good step” if true.

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India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials

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No pause on Russian imports by Indian oil firms who base decisions on ‘price, grade of crude, logistics and economic factors’

Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow’s trading partners over the war in Ukraine.

Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump later told reporters that such a move would be “a good step” if true.

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India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials

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No pause on Russian imports by Indian oil firms who base decisions on ‘price, grade of crude, logistics and economic factors’

Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow’s trading partners over the war in Ukraine.

Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump later told reporters that such a move would be “a good step” if true.

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‘A joyous day’: India celebrates return of ancient gems linked to the Buddha

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Culture ministry had threatened legal action over planned auction of Piprahwa precious stones

The Indian government has secured the repatriation of ancient gem relics linked to the Buddha’s remains, two months after it halted their auction in Hong Kong.

In a post on X, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, said the return of the Piprahwa gems after 127 years was “a joyous day for our cultural heritage”.

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Mother of British victim of Air India crash left ‘heartbroken’ by casket error

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Amanda Donaghey provided DNA to officials in Ahmedabad but wrong remains were flown to the UK

The mother of one of the British victims of the Air India crash says her family is “heartbroken” after the wrong remains were sent home in his casket.

Air India’s London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a medical college hostel seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad on 12 June, killing 241 people onboard.

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Indian FA confirms job applications from Xavi and Guardiola were hoaxes

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  • Team director had previously announced Xavi interest

  • Statement reveals ‘email applications were not genuine’

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed on Saturday that a job application attributed to the former Barcelona manager and Spain midfielder, Xavi Hernández, for the India head coaching role was a hoax.

The Indian FA’s national team director told the Times of India on Thursday that Xavi’s name was on the list of applicants. The report also quoted an AIFF technical committee member saying that his candidacy was deemed too expensive to pursue.

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Jeremy Corbyn confirms he is setting up new political party with Zarah Sultana – UK politics live

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Former Labour leader said he was founding the new party, which is being referred to currently as Your Party

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds blamed Donald Trump’s tariffs and competition from China for the slump in vehicle manufacturing.

He told BBC Breakfast he was “very concerned” about the industry, which he described as the “jewel in the crown” of British manufacturing.

I’m very concerned about automotive, the pressures on the system which come from the US trade agenda, but also an incredible increase in capacity from China.

It’s why as a government we’ve adopted so many measures specifically around the automotive sector.

The UK state pension is already one of the worst in the entire developed world, which is a direct result of decades of governments transferring both our national and personal wealth to the super rich.

Any decision to squeeze more out of working people by forcing us to work even longer would be a national disgrace.

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British families ‘sent wrong remains’ of loved ones killed in Air India crash

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Victims misidentified and ‘commingled’ parts of more than one person placed in same casket, says lawyer

British families grieving after the Air India disaster have discovered that the remains of their loved ones have been wrongly identified and repatriated, according to an aviation lawyer representing them.

Relatives of one victim had to abandon funeral plans after being informed that their coffin contained the body of an unknown passenger.

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China starts building world’s biggest hydropower dam

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1.2tn yuan project has broken ground in Tibet, premier says, despite fears of downstream nations India and Bangladesh

Construction of the world’s biggest hydropower megadam has begun, China’s premier has said, calling it the “project of the century”.

The huge structure is being built on the Yarlung Tsangpo river, in Tibetan territory.

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Jaguar Land Rover delays launch of new Range Rover Electric

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Exclusive: Customers are told the carmaker is allowing more time for testing and for demand to pick up

Britain’s largest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover, has delayed the planned launches of its new electric Range Rover and electric Jaguar models to give it time for more testing and for demand to pick up, the Guardian can reveal.

JLR has written to customers waiting for the Range Rover Electric to inform them that deliveries of the new version of the model will not start until next year, after initially aiming for late 2025.

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Air India finds ‘no issues’ with fuel switches on other Boeings after crash

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US report says investigators looking at actions of plane’s captain before plane crash that killed 260 people

Air India has said it found “no issues” with the fuel switches on its other Boeing planes after the fatal crash that killed 260 people last month, as a US report suggested investigators have turned their attention to the actions of the plane’s captain.

A preliminary report into the incident, released last week, found that the switches that controlled fuel going into the engines had been turned off “one after another” just after the plane took off from Ahmedabad airport.

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Fauja Singh, ‘world’s oldest marathon runner’, dies in road accident aged 114

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Singh’s east London running club confirms death in India of athlete thought to be first centenarian to run a marathon

The runner Fauja Singh, believed to be the oldest person to complete a marathon, has died in a road accident in India aged 114.

The athlete, who lived in Ilford in east London, was hit by a car and suffered fatal injuries while trying to cross a road in his birth village of Beas Pind, near Jalandhar in Punjab, on Monday, according to reports in India.

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Indian regulator orders airlines to check Boeing fuel switches after plane crash report

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Air India cautions investigation into Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash is in early stages as speculation about cause grows

India’s aviation regulator has ordered the country’s airlines to examine fuel switches on Boeing aircraft, after a preliminary report on the Air India flight 171 crash in June showed the fuel supply had been cut seconds after takeoff.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it had issued the order after several domestic and international airlines began making their own inspections of the locking mechanisms attached to the switches.

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Indian film board criticised for cutting ‘overly sensual’ Superman kisses

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Viewers complain that board allows violence and misogyny in Indian films but not a smooch in a Hollywood release

As Indian cinemagoers watched the latest Superman film, many noticed something was amiss. On two occasions as the superhero leaned in for a kiss with Lois Lane, the film suddenly jumped forward, cutting to the aftermath of an embrace.

India’s censor board had deemed the kissing scenes, including a 33-second smooch, to be “overly sensual” for Indian audiences and demanded they be cut from the film before its cinematic release.

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Air India crash victims’ families not satisfied with ‘vague’ initial report

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Relatives call for ‘honesty, transparency and an unwavering commitment to uncovering the full truth’

Families of the Air India crash victims have said they are hoping for more answers from investigators after a report found the plane’s fuel switches were cut off, deepening the mystery of what happened.

The preliminary report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, published on Friday, said both of the plane’s fuel switches moved to the cut-off position immediately after takeoff, stopping fuel supply to the engines.

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Engine fuel switches cut off before Air India crash that killed 260, preliminary report finds

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Early investigation into accident in Ahmedabad in June also contains details of pilots discussing the switches

Fuel to both engines of the Air India plane that crashed and killed 260 people last month appears to have been cut off seconds after the flight took off, a preliminary report has found.

Air India flight AI171, bound for London, crashed into a densely populated residential area in the Indian city of Ahmedabad on 12 June, killing all but one of the 242 people on board and 19 others on the ground. It was India’s deadliest air crash in almost three decades.

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Dozens missing after flash floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh

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Hundreds of homes, bridges and roads washed away in north Indian state after unusually heavy rainfall

India’s mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh has been left reeling after it was hit by rainstorms, flash floods and landslides, with dozens of people reported missing.

Hundreds of homes, bridges, roads and electricity pylons in the north Indian state were washed away after 23 flash floods and 16 landslides caused by unusually heavy rainfall over the weekend. There were also 19 cloudbursts, in which an enormous amount of rain falls in a sudden deluge, according to a report by the Himachal Pradesh state government.

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Pakistan to nominate Donald Trump for Nobel peace prize

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Islamabad says US president helped resolve India conflict but critic says ‘Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza’ not candidate for any prize

Pakistan has said it will recommend Donald Trump for the Nobel peace prize for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.

The move, announced on Saturday, came as the US president mulls joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

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