Depression In Bay Of Bengal To Become Cyclonic Storm By Tomorrow

The depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal will intensify into a cyclonic storm on December 3 resulting in heavy to very heavy rains in the northern coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and interior parts, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.

The city and its neighbourhoods in the adjoining districts saw sharp spells of rain late on Saturday.

Chief Minister M K Stalin said that following a forecast of heavy rains for the next two days, ministers, MPs, MLAs and local body members among others should help the people in the respective localities with their essential needs.

Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena reviewed the precautionary measures to be taken, with senior officials here.

South Central Railway announced the cancellation of 118 long-distance trains from December 3 to 7 due to cyclone Michaung.

Thereafter, it would move nearly northwards, almost parallel and close to the south Andhra Pradesh coast, and cross the south Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam during the forenoon of Tuesday, the IMD said in a bulletin.

The cyclonic activity would lead the winds to blow at a speed of 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph.

According to S Balachandran, deputy director general of the Regional Meteorological Centre, here, heavy to very heavy rains are likely to occur over Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvallur, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, Chengalpattu, Villupuram and Cuddalore districts in Tamil Nadu.

Squally wind prevailing over the southwest Bay of Bengal is likely to become gales reaching 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph from December 2 night to December 4. Thereafter, it would gradually decrease.

From October 1 till date, the region recorded 34 cm rainfall against the normal 36 cm during the north east Monsoon period, so far, Balachandran said. Chennai recorded 62 cm against the normal rainfall of 67 cm during this period.

Cancelled trains include about 40 between Chennai and other destinations and those passing through the metro, a release said on Saturday.

Officials at the Chennai International Airport also reviewed the preparedness vis-a-vis Cyclone Michaung.

A meeting was chaired by Airport Director C V Deepak with concerned departments on Saturday to evaluate the preparedness for handling the situation, an official release said.

A number of measures have been initiated as a precautionary measure in view of the weather forecast. This includes the setting up of a core team consisting of members from various departments for close monitoring of the situation and to take necessary action as would be the requirement.

The updates regarding the system were being obtained regularly from IMD and shared with all stakeholders for better preparation, while the water level in Adyar river was also being monitored.

Airports Authority of India engineering departments have been instructed to carry out regular checks and actions as per standard operating procedures in place like clearing of drains, gratings, stocking/arranging sufficient men and materials for meeting the contingency, among others, it said.

"A Special Task Force of senior AAI officials is inspecting the airfield and terminal building regularly to ensure smooth operations in adverse conditions. The meeting followed up with operational area inspection. Airport Director advised all stake holders to be alert due wet runway conditions and changing visibility parameters," it added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Munich Airport Shut, Flights, Trains Hit As Heavy Snow Paralyses Germany

Heavy snowfall brought chaos to parts of southern Germany on Saturday, with air and rail traffic blocked in the Bavarian state capital of Munich.

After first suspending flights until noon Saturday (1100 GMT), Munich airport later said it would remain closed until 6:00 am (0500 GMT) on Sunday. 

In total, 760 flights were affected, a spokesperson told AFP. More than 40 centimetres (16 inches) of snow fell overnight Friday to Saturday, according to weather services.

Authorities asked residents to stay home for their safety. 

The winter weather also disrupted train traffic, with rail operator Deutsche Bahn saying "The main Munich station cannot be served".

Deutsche Bahn said travellers should expect delays and cancellations throughout the region, and most buses, trams and suburban trains were not running in Munich. 

Saturday's planned football championship match between Bayern Munich and Union Berlin has been called off.

Police in Lower Bavaria said they made 350 interventions linked to the weather Friday night, with five people slightly injured in car accidents.   

Much of Germany has been subject to snow and freezing temperatures for several days.

According to weather forecasts, the largest quantities of snow are expected Saturday in Allgau in the south of Bavaria, with another 30 to 40 centimetres.

The snowfall is expected to progressively ease in the afternoon. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Watch: Rinku Hammers Huge 100m Six Off Dwarshuis, Crowd Goes Berserk

Team India successfully defended the target of 175 and registered a 20-run victory over Australia in the fourth T20I on Friday in Raipur. With this win, the hosts have gained an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series. The main architects of India's win were batter Rinku Singh, who scored 46 off 29 balls and all-rounder Axar Patel, who took three crucial wickets. Apart from playing a quick knock, Rinku also entertained the Raipur crowd with his stunning boundaries and sixes.

In the 13th over of India's innings, Rinku hammered humongous six against Ben Dwarshuis. Rinku stepped out of the crease and smashed it into the long-on region as the ball went straight into the crowd for a huge 100m six.

Just Rinku-verse things

Keep watching the action LIVE on #JioCinema, #Sports18 & #ColorsCineplex#IDFCFirstBankT20ITrophy #INDvAUS #TeamIndia #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/vfsakRGncp

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) December 1, 2023

An over ago, Rinku had smacked Matthew Short for a switch-hit six into the third-man, which even left India skipper Suryakumar Yadav impressed. 

It was a delight for all the Indian fans to watch Rinku's innings as the 25-year-old batter smashed four boundaries and two sixes. 

Talking about his powerful six against Dwarshuis, Rinku gave brilliant response to his teammate Jitesh Sharma. 

"You know it that I gym with you, eat well. I like lifting weights too, so there is natural power inside me," Rinku told Jitesh Sharma in a video posted by the BCCI.TV. 

Coming to the match, Rinku blazed away to a 29-ball 46 while Jitesh Sharma smashed 35 in 19 balls before Australia pulled things back to stop India at 174 for nine after the visitors opted to bowl first.

In reply, Australia were restricted to 154 for seven in 20 overs as India took an unassailable 3-1 lead with a match to go. Matthew Wade remained not out on 36 off 23 balls.

(With PTI Inputs)

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COP28: India, China Refrain From Signing Plan To Triple Renewable Energy

India and China both on Saturday refrained from signing the pledge at the COP28 climate summit to triple the world's renewable energy capacity by 2030 even though New Delhi already committed to it as part of its G20 presidency. During the UN's climate talks here, 118 countries committed to tripling the global renewable energy capacity by 2030 in a highly endorsed initiative.

This ambitious goal aims to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels in the world's overall energy production.

The countries which backed the pledge included Japan, Australia, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Nigeria, and Barbados.

Although China and India have expressed endorsement for the threefold increase in renewable energy by 2030, neither of them formally supported the comprehensive pledge on Saturday.

This commitment involves scaling up clean power alongside a decrease in the utilisation of fossil fuels.

The pledge called for phase down of unabated coal power and putting an end to the financing of new coal-fired power plants.

"Unabated" fossil fuels generally refer to the continued use of coal, oil and gas without efforts to curtail emissions. Nonetheless, a universally accepted and precise definition of this term is currently lacking.

The International Energy Agency says the world must triple its renewable energy capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency by 2030 to drive down demand for fossil fuels and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

India's decision has gauged mixed reactions from Indian experts.

Madhura Joshi, Senior Associate and India Energy Transition Lead at E3G, expressed disappointment over India's decision not to sign the global pledge aiming to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030.

"These pivotal decisions were initially championed by the Indian G20 presidency and endorsed by G20 leaders in September 2023," Joshi said.

Joshi highlights the significance of transitioning away from fossil fuels, particularly coal, to achieve net-zero commitments. Despite India's ambitious targets for renewable energy, with plans to reach 450GW by 2030, the hope is that New Delhi will endorse these global goals at COP28, leveraging its leadership position in the renewables sector.

Vibhuti Garg, Director of South Asia at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, notes India's commitment to tripling the renewable energy target as part of the G20, reiterated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP28 in Dubai.

While India exhibits serious ambitions for renewable energy, Garg emphasised the country's silence on coal phase-down.

"Achieving India's renewable energy goals will necessitate a tripling of investments, prompting the country to advocate for additional funding support from the Global North through blended finance mechanisms, including multilateral development bank (MDB), green bonds, equity investors, and insurance and pension funds," he added.

Ulka Kelkar, the Executive Director of Climate at World Resources Institute (WRI) India, underscored the global target of tripling renewable energy capacity adopted during India's G20 presidency.

She highlighted the magnitude of India's National Determined Contributions (NDC) target, requiring the country to build as much renewable capacity as currently exists on the entire continent of South America.

Kelkar emphasises the transformative impact on various sectors, enabling vehicles, buildings, cookstoves, and industries to run on cleaner electricity.

Additionally, she recognises energy efficiency as a crucial component of the clean energy transition, capable of delivering tangible benefits, especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General of the International Solar Alliance, expresses delight at the global commitment to tripling renewable capacity by 2030.

He emphasised the dual benefits of fostering development and mitigating climate change, emphasising the urgency of accelerating the growth of renewables for a successful transition towards clean energy. PTI UZM GVS PY (This story was produced as part of the 2023 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organised by Internews' Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Centre for Peace and Security.)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Matthew Perry's Stepfather Opens Up 1 Month After Actor's Death. See Post

Matthew Perry's stepfather, Canadian broadcaster Keith Morrison, has broken his social media silence and spoken out nearly a month after the 'Friends' actor's death. Matthew Perry, who shot to fame for playing Chandler Bing on the hit NBC sitcom 'Friends', was found dead at his Los Angeles home last month. He was 54 years old. His cause of death remains "deferred" after an initial postmortem showed no signs of meth or fentanyl in his system.

Now, a month after his stepson's tragic death, Mr Morrison on Monday took to social media to honour the late actor. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Dateline correspondent encouraged people to donate to the Matthew Perry Foundation in celebration of Giving Tuesday. "This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different," Mr Morrison wrote. "And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful," he continued before including a link to the website for the Matthew Perry Foundation - a charity for those "struggling with the disease of addiction". 

This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different. And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful. https://t.co/OmaqSgt1rq

— Keith Morrison (@dateline_keith) November 27, 2023

According to The Independent, the Matthew Perry Foundation was established by The National Philanthropic Trust after the actor's death. Its aim is to help others struggling with the disease of addiction", the website states. "It will honor his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible," it reads. 

Matthew Perry had been vocal about his battle with addiction. He wrote in his 2022 memoir, 'Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing', that he had spent about $9 million trying to get sober and once nearly died from consuming 55 Vicodin tablets and a quart of vodka. 

Also Read | Actor Shannen Doherty Says Cancer Has Spread to Her Bones: "I Don't Want To Die"

The actor died on October 28 after the Los Angeles Police Department found him unresponsive in the hot tub at his LA home. His cause of death remains "deferred" after an initial postmortem showed no signs of meth or fentanyl in his system.

The actor's 'Friends' co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc shared a touching tribute for Perry three weeks after his demise. 

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"With Advent Of Troll Armies...": Chief Justice On Free Speech On Internet

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday raised concerns over overwhelming barrage of speech that distorts the truth with the advent of troll armies and organised disinformation campaigns across social media platforms.

"Traditionally, freedom of speech and expression was deemed to be an essential part of civil rights activism because of the fear that the government would prevent certain kinds of speech from entering the marketplace," Chief Justice Chandrachud said at the 14th Justice VM Tarkunde memorial lecture.

"With the advent of troll armies and organised disinformation campaigns across different social media platforms, the fear is that there is an overwhelming barrage of speech that distorts the truth," the Chief Justice said.

"This epistemological battle of sorts was explained eloquently in the New York Times in 2020, where it said 'the spewing of falsehoods isn't meant to win any battle of ideas. Its goal is to prevent the actual battle from being fought'. Therefore, we cannot fall back on traditional notions of free speech and must find new theoretical frameworks to locate free speech on the internet," he said.

Chief Justice Chandrachud said the intricate interplay between surveillance by the state and an individual's right to privacy has been a subject of compelling debate within Indian jurisprudence. The first case that dealt with privacy was R Rajagopal vs State of Tamil Nadu, he said, adding the court determined that a magazine has the right to publish an autobiography penned by a prisoner, even in the absence of the prisoner's consent or authorisation.

"Despite efforts by prison officials to hinder the publication by compelling the prisoner to request its non-publication, the court underscored the need to maintain a delicate equilibrium between press freedom and the right to privacy," Chief Justice Chandrachud said.

On Justice Tarkunde, the Chief Justice said the core emphasis of the civil liberties movement that Justice Tarkunde championed is mirrored by digital rights activism today.

Chief Justice Chandrachud, looking back on Justice Tarkunde's dedication to civil liberties, said he inspired him as a young lawyer.

"...It continues to inspire me as I serve as a judge of a constitutional court. That Justice Tarkunde is regarded as the 'Father of the Civil Rights Movement' is no surprise. In every role he donned - as a senior advocate, High Court judge, and activist - he was steadfast in his commitment to democracy, radical humanism, and civil liberty," Chief Justice Chandrachud said.

"... No book, academic article or chronicle of the internal emergency imposed in the 1970s is complete without a reference to Justice Tarkunde's spirited defence of personal liberty and democracy, both inside and outside the courtroom," the Chief Justice said.

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Italy PM Giorgia Meloni's Selfie With PM Modi At COP28

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted a selfie with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.

"Good friends at COP28. #Melodi," Ms Meloni, who came to Delhi in September to attend the G20 summit, wrote in the post.

PM Modi also met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Turkey President RT Erdogan, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, among other leaders.

PM Modi had a packed day-long schedule as he addressed the four sessions at the UN climate change conference.

The Prime Minister had the opportunity to discuss ways to promote clean and green growth, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said. Issues of bilateral and regional interests were also discussed in his meeting with many leaders on the sidelines of the summit, Mr Kwatra said.

Global climate negotiations largely avoided mentioning fossil fuels for decades, until Glasgow's COP26 agreed to "phasedown" unfiltered coal power and the "phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies".

Momentum has built since then on a more ambitious pledge to move away from all fossil fuels, and the UN's former climate chief Christiana Figueres said an unprecedented surge in renewables and electric vehicles gave her optimism that the world can still achieve its climate goals.

Those centre on the 2015 Paris deal, which saw nearly 200 nations agree to limit global warming to "well below" two degree Celsius since the pre-industrial era, and preferably a safer threshold of 1.5 Celsius.

In his COP28 speech on Friday, PM Modi called on all nations to work together to cut global emissions drastically, and announced a "green credit" initiative that focuses on creating carbon skins with people's participation.

He said India's emissions are very low compared to other nations whose population is much less. "India's population is 17 per cent of the global population, but in global carbon emissions India is only at 4 per cent. We are moving fast in achieving the NDC targets. In fact, we reached our non-fossil fuel targets nine years before the deadline," PM Modi said, referring to the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), a climate action plan to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts.

"We do not have much time to correct the mistakes of the last century," PM Modi said, and asked every nation to work sincerely to meet their NDC targets.

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