Monday, 23 December 2024
Monday, 23 December 2024
Israel's government and Hamas agreed to a four-day pause in fighting to allow the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave. Hamas is believed to be holding more than 200 hostages, taken when its fighters surged into Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Horizontal drilling to evacuate trapped workers in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi has reached 42 metres or 67 per cent of the blockade, rekindling hopes of the stranded 41 persons coming out soon. In a statement, the government said a modified communication system with wire connectivity has been developed by NDRF/SDRF, through which clear communication is being made and added that 'people inside reported in the morning that they are safe'.
India has resumed electronic visa services for Canadian nationals after a nearly two-month pause, sources said. India had previously also asked Canada to come down hard on terrorists and anti-India elements operating from its soil.
Sam Altman was reinstated as OpenAI’s chief executive, the company said, successfully reversing his ouster by the company’s board last week after a campaign waged by his allies, employees and investors. The return of Altman and Greg Brockman, the company’s president, and the remaking of the board, capped a frenetic five days that upended OpenAI, the maker of the ChatGPT chatbot and one of the world’s highest-profile artificial intelligence companies.
Former Visva-Bharati vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty was questioned by the police in two cases, including one related to the installation of plaques to commemorate UNESCO's world heritage tag to Santiniketan, officials said. The other case he is being interrogated relates to some objectionable comments he allegedly made against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, they added.
Jammu and Kashmir administration sacked four more government employees, including a doctor and a policeman, for their alleged terror links in the Union Territory, officials said. In the last three years, the Union Territory administration has invoked Article 311 (2)(c) of the Constitution to sack more than 50 employees, who were allegedly operating in shadows within the government and drawing a salary from the public exchequer, officials said.
Gautam Gambhir was named 'Mentor' of Shah Rukh Khan-owned-Kolkata Knight Riders, an IPL franchise that won its two championships under his able leadership back in 2012 and 2014. Venky Mysore, the all-powerful CEO of KKR, announced that Gambhir will join hands with head coach Chandrakant Pandit.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out raids at 14 locations in Punjab and Haryana in connection with its probe into attacks on the Indian Consulate in San Francisco in the US earlier this year, an official spokesperson said. The locations raided by the NIA were spread across the districts of Moga, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Mohali and Patiala in Punjab and Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar in Haryana.
Aviation watchdog DGCA has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Air India for its failure to comply with norms pertaining to facilities that are required to be provided to passengers. In a release, DGCA said that based on Air India's reply to the show-cause notice, it was found that the airline did not comply with the provisions of the CAR.
Organisers of Coldplay concert in Malaysia can stop the show if the British rock band misbehaves, a minister said as the government rejected Muslim conservatives' calls to cancel the show. Security has been beefed up for the show that is expected to draw some 75,000 people at a stadium outside Kuala Lumpur.
