Local officials in Herat said that over 30 people have died and more than 600 others have been injured in several earthquakes in this province, reported the Pajhwok Afghan News.
At least five people were killed in separate rain-related incidents on Tuesday in Bengaluru, which has been reeling under incessant rains for the past three days causing widespread flooding in several residential areas and turning roads into virtual rivers.
In one of the worst natural disasters in Kerala, at least 123 persons were killed and 128 injured in massive landslides triggered by torrential rains in Wayanad on Tuesday. With hundreds trapped under the debris, sparking fears of mounting fatalities, rescue agencies were racing against time to pull out any survivors.
A home ministry official said the notice was served on Bandyopadhyay hours before his retirement on Monday for refusing to comply with the Central government direction, which he said constituted a violation of section 51-B of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
Many in the specialised force feel they are not being treated on par with those in the armed forces. Sahil Makkar reports
US President Donald Trump on Thursday addressed the World Economic Forum where he offered business leaders low taxes if they manufacture their products in the US, while threatening them with tariffs if they don't. Addressing the forum's Annual Meeting in Davos through video conferencing, Trump also said he is going to ask Saudi Arabia and OPEC to bring down oil prices and asserted that if prices come down Russia-Ukraine war will end immediately.
Besides the police and fire force personnel, volunteers of various service and youth outfits, survivors of the landslides and kin of the victims also became part of the search operations.
The two women -- Seema Koul and Vishalni Koul -- had moved the high court in 2018 after their provisional selection to the post of legal assistant in the department of disaster management relief, rehabilitation and re-construction under the PM package for Kashmiri migrants in December 1, 2017 forfeited on the ground that they have lost their migrant status having married non-migrant persons.
'It was a disaster on his part to give an oral remark which allowed ascertainment of the religious character of places of worship.' 'This disrupted the social harmony of the country.'
The Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday allocated Rs 2,33,210.68 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs with the majority of the fund -- Rs 1,60,391.06 crore -- being given to central police forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which are responsible for internal security, border guarding and security of vital installations.
All State Disaster Management Acts have been formed as part of the central disaster management law; hence the state needs the Union government's permission to use the SDRF for helping the pandemic-hit people, a government official said on Thursday.
Sharma emphasised that even if the talismanic batter isn't scoring centuries, it doesn't necessarily indicate a dip in form.
'Geological processes occur at time scales that are beyond human imagination, but we need to understand these events.'
'When Covid first struck, the lockdown resulted in clean air in major Indian cities.' 'You were able to see the Himalayan range from Ludhiana.' 'In Delhi, you were seeing deer and stags all over the city because there was no traffic.' 'It was incredible. Nature was waiting to come back.'
The earth observation satellite would provide real-time images of the country and also be able to quickly monitor natural disasters.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
It seems in the geopolitics of the 21st century, we can see the subcontinent acting as one geopolitical entity to secure its economic interests. Key to this transformation is a strong India that is pre-eminent but not dominant, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'I don't know of any happy moment in my life which has helped me to grow, whereas pain has always been a means to evolve.'
We the people are left in the wind, waiting on the whims of an unengaged president and an oligarch with a nearly bottomless wallet, observes Sree Sreenivasan.
The objective is to ensure the exchange's preparedness in the event of a natural calamity, so that any disruptions should not affect market integrity and investor confidence.
Myanmar's former democratically-elected leader has been under house arrest since a military ousted her government in a coup in February 2021.
The world is in a state of crisis and it is difficult to predict how long this state of instability will last, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday referring to various global challenges arising out of conflict, war and terrorism among others. In his opening remarks at the Voice of Global South virtual summit, Modi flagged concerns over rising prices of food, fuel and fertilisers, economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as natural disasters driven by climate change. "We are meeting as a new year dawns and brings new hopes and new energy," Modi said.
After making landfall near Puducherry on November 30, Cyclone Fengal weakened on Sunday, but torrential downpour under its influence paralysed the union territory, with the Army stepping in to evacuate stranded persons in inundated streets.
Te Congress slammed the Centre's order, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to politicise employees on an ideological basis.
'We condemn recent illicit missile launches in the region that violate UN Security Council resolutions. We express serious concern over recent dangerous and aggressive actions in the maritime domain. We seek a region where no country dominates and no country is dominated one where all countries are free from coercion, and can exercise their agency to determine their futures,' the declaration said.
'People should realise that what we are fighting for today is actually for tomorrow, for future generations.'
According to a 2020 study Analysis of bridge failures in India from 1977 to 2017, as many as "2,130 bridges" -- excluding culverts and pedestrian bridges -- have collapsed during various phases of construction in the last four decades.
Uttarakhand minister Satpal Maharaj said an inquiry will be conducted to find out how multi-storey buildings were allowed to be constructed in Joshimath which has been sinking for at least 20 years.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said that the decision that Kejriwal should continue to be the chief minister even after being jailed was that of the people of Delhi.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday termed as 'baseless', Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim that the state government did not heed the Centre's warning regarding a possible natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rains.
As the election approaches, the earthquake survivors and the scientists urge political parties to take note of warning signs before it's too late.
More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid their obeisance at the natural ice Shiva Lingam formation inside the cave shrine last year.
'It was specifically mentioned in the Gadgil Committee report that this particular area where the colossal landside happened now should be in the Environmentally Sensitive Area under Zone 1.' 'Zone 1 is the most important and ecologically sensitive area, and that it has to be protected entirely.' 'At least 90% of the Wayanad disaster is man-made.'
'Above 2,000 metres the gradient of the Himalayas is very steep and if you build any infrastructure (roads, dams, hydro power projects) in these regions, it will not be able to sustain these events (the onslaught of debris that comes down with great speeds).'
Himanshu Thakkar and Parineeta Dandekar reveal how government actions and neglect created such massive disaster from a natural phenomenon in Uttarakhand.
US envoy Eric Garcetti on Thursday said he respects that India likes its "strategic autonomy", but in times of conflict, there is no such thing as strategic autonomy, even as he pitched for forging a stronger partnership between New Delhi and Washington.
'Except that the population was much less.' 'I remember my uncle and family moving away from the base of a hill whenever it rained for more than a couple of days without a dry day in between.' 'Perhaps the older generations knew if it rained for more than a certain time, they must pack up to a camp or to a relative.' 'As some of the interviews of the survivors on the Malayalam television channels show, the elderly people had a premonition a tragedy would happen, and those who acted on those premonitions survived.'
"Based on this consensus, the process of disengagement is almost complete. Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer," he added.
Two army personnel and 12 civilians are still unaccounted for in the worst natural disaster to have hit the northeastern state in recent times.
Locals hold gradual land subsidence responsible for the fissures and attribute it to the widening of the national highway, violation of norms in construction works related to mandi parishad, erosion caused by the Pindar river and unsystematic flushing out of rainwater.
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