Author: Indmedia
File photo: Workers wait for customers at a souvenir store as foreign tourists walk by Wangfujing shopping street in Beijing China’s economy slowed more than expected last quarter to the weakest in more than three years, raising pressure on policymakers to speed up public spending to ensure their annual growth goal is met.Gross domestic product grew 4.3% from a year ago, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, below the bottom of this year’s official target range of 4.5% to 5%. That compares with a 4.5% gain projected by economists polled by Bloomberg, following an…
Smoke and orange haze from hundreds of active wildfires in Canada has spread across Ontario and towards northern US states.There are currently 838 wildfires actively burning across the country, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.Officials say the smoke will not be as severe as it was in 2023, when Quebec wildfire smoke blanketed the US East Coast. Source link
Crude oil prices continued to inch higher for the fourth day straight, staying beyond the $85 per barrel mark, on Thursday. The hike comes as investors react to a fresh escalation in the conflict between the United States and Iran, with concerns mounting over the security of major global energy shipping routes.Around 7 am IST, Brent crude was trading at $85.48 a barrel by 0026 GMT, up 0.53%, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.84%, to $80.27 a barrel. The two benchmarks had also posted gains of around 0.3% in the previous session and remained close to the…
File photo: NCP-SP Working National President and MP Supriya Sule NEW DELHI/PUNE/MUMBAI: Even as NCP (SP) politician Jayant Patil’s late Tuesday night meeting with CM Devendra Fadnavis intensified speculation about whether the Sharad Pawar-led outfit was getting closer to BJP, the party’s MP Supriya Sule said on Wednesday that if the BJP-led NDA govt’s delimitation legislation proposes a uniform 50% jump in Lok Sabha seats in each state, there would be little reason to oppose the bill.Sule’s statement indicated her party’s support to the delimitation legislation, albeit with a caveat, which should be no problem for the govt as it…
New Delhi: Central Delhi’s bustling markets like Karol Bagh have a new pair of high-tech outposts shrinking the distance between the crime complainant and the cop.Police have rolled out integrated facilitation booths at the Kalka Das and Arpit Gol Chakkar. The two modern glass outposts right in the high-footfall heart of the commercial hub will record e-FIRs so that people don’t have to go to police stations.The booths are at the tri-junction of the Karol Bagh, DBG Road and Paharganj police circle and they are expected to cater to thousands of shoppers, residents and traders.Inside the sleek booths is real-world…
BENGALURU: The Election Commission has extended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration phase by 10 days till Aug 8, offering relief to thousands of voters unable to trace their details in the 2002 electoral rolls.To speed up the exercise, Karnataka will hold special assistance camps every Saturday and Sunday, chief electoral officer Anbuk Kumar announced. The enumeration was scheduled to end on July 29. Under the revised schedule, draft electoral rolls will be published on Aug 17, claims and objections can be filed till Sept 16, disposal of claims will continue till Oct 15 and the final rolls will be…
Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad region has consumed nearly 12% extra electricity in the first two weeks of July compared to last year, as temperatures remain high owing to a subdued monsoon this year.Telangana State Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (TGSPDCL) officials said that from July 1 to 14, total power consumption in the state touched 2,510 million units (MU), compared with 2,338 MU during the same period last year. This is an increase of 171 MU, or an increase of 7.3%.Within the Greater Hyderabad (GHMC) area, electricity usage climbed from 957 MU to 1,071 MU, registering a rise of 114…
Chennai: Space-tech startup Agnikul Cosmos believes the biggest opportunities in the space sector lie beyond launch services and says its reusable rocket technology could cut launch costs by up to 80%. As it prepares for its first orbital mission, the startup plans to test recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster on a barge – India’s first such attempt and a feat achieved by only a handful of global companies.Speaking to TOI, co-founder Moin SPM said the company ultimately aims for full reusability to dramatically reduce payload delivery costs and transform launch economics. “We are also eyeing revenue streams beyond single…
Highrises to add to Ahmedabad’s carbon burden Ahmedabad: By 2050, five out of every six homes in Ahmedabad will be highrise flats, according to a study. Ahmedabad needs 3.1 million new homes in the next 25 years.Building them — at the height, density, and pace the city is currently planning — will consume 30.2 million tonnes of cement and 13.3 million tonnes of steel between 2031 and 2050.Construction at that scale will generate carbon emissions that researchers warn could consume a disproportionate share of climate headroom.That vertical shift will be largely driven by land scarcity and rising FSI limits, according…
Prayagraj: Police have registered an FIR against 19 people, including the director of a private company, for allegedly carving out plots on 83 bighas of govt-owned hilly land in Golhaiya village under Lalapur police station limits in the trans-Yamuna area of the district.The FIR was lodged on July 5 on the complaint of a revenue department official.The action followed complaints received by district authorities regarding illegal plotting and encroachment on govt land. A joint team of the revenue department and district administration conducted an inquiry and found that hilly land earmarked for public use was allegedly being encroached upon and…