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Indian Crew On Ship That Hit US Bridge To Stay On Board Till Probe Is Over

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Indian Crew On Ship That Hit US Bridge To Stay On Board Till Probe Is Over

The 984-foot cargo ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka.

New York:

The crew of 20 Indians and a Sri Lankan of the container vessel that collided with a key Baltimore bridge last week is “busy with their normal duties” and will remain on board until the investigation into the accident is completed.

“It is confirmed there are 21 crew members on board. The crew members are busy with their normal duties on the ship as well as assisting the National Transportation Safety Board and Coast Guard investigators on board,” a spokesperson of Grace Ocean Pte and Synergy Marine told PTI.

The crew is on board the container vessel Dali that collided with the 2.6-km-long four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River in Baltimore in the early hours of March 26. The 984-foot cargo ship was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka.

On how long the crew would have to stay on board the ship, the spokesperson said, “At this time, we do not know how long the investigation process will take and until that process is complete, the crew will remain on board.” The Singapore-flagged Dali is owned by Grace Ocean Pte Ltd and managed by the Synergy Marine Group. Earlier, the non-profit organisation Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center had said that the Indian crew on board the container vessel was “healthy”.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in Delhi earlier said that there were 20 Indians on board Dali and the Indian embassy in Washington was in close touch with them and local authorities.

Last week, US authorities began interviewing personnel on board Dali. The Synergy Group had said in a statement that the NTSB boarded the vessel on Wednesday and collected documents, voyage data recorder extracts, and other evidence as part of their investigation.

Grace Ocean and Synergy has confirmed the safety of all crew members and two pilots aboard the vessel. They, however, reported one minor injury and said the injured crew member has been treated and discharged from a hospital.

Six people, who were part of a construction crew repairing potholes on the bridge when the collision occurred, are presumed dead. Divers recovered the bodies of two of the construction workers from a red pickup truck found submerged in the river and a search was on for the remaining four victims.

US President Joe Biden said that the crew on board Dali had alerted transportation personnel about losing control of the vessel, enabling authorities to close the Baltimore bridge to traffic before the devastating collision, “undoubtedly” saving lives. 

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

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Vistara Pilot Crisis Deepens, Dozens Of Flights Cancelled Across India

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New Delhi:

At least 38 Vistara flights originating from key cities were cancelled this morning as the airline reeled under non-availability of pilots. As many as 15 flights taking off from Mumbai, 12 from Delhi and 11 from Bengaluru were among those cancelled.

This comes after 50 Vistara flights were cancelled yesterday and 160 were delayed. Speaking to NDTV, passengers had yesterday complained of poor communication and hours-long wait at the airport and slammed the airline for harassing passengers.

Vistara said in a statement yesterday that they have faced a “significant number” of flight cancellations and delays in the past few days “due to various reasons including crew unavailability”.

“We acknowledge and are deeply concerned about the inconvenience this has caused to our customers. Having said that, our teams are working towards minimizing the discomfort to the customers,” it said.

The airline has also said that it has decided to temporarily reduce the number of flights it operates “to ensure adequate connectivity across our network”.

“We have also deployed larger aircraft like our B787-9 Dreamliner and A321neo on select domestic routes to combine flights or accommodate more number of customers, wherever possible. Furthermore, we are offering alternate flight options or refunds to affected customers, as applicable. Once again, we understand that these disruptions have caused immense discomfort to our customers, and sincerely apologise to them for the same. We are working towards stabilizing the situation and will resume operating our regular capacity very soon,” the statement added.

Vistara pilots, it is learnt, are calling in sick as they protest the revised salary structure ahead of the airline’s merger with Air India. The pilots have been sent the revised pay structure over mail and asked to sign on short notice. The pilots have been warned that those who don’t sign will be left out of the merger.

Their flights cancelled or delayed by hours, fliers have taken to social media to express their grievances. The airline has been reiterating that the delays have been caused by operational issues and that it is working on them.

Passengers are advised to check flight status with the airline before leaving for the airport to avoid long wait and inconvenience.

India

Watch: Rohit Scared As Massive Security Breach Startles All In IPL Game

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It was a night to forget for five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians as their wait for a win at the IPL 2024 continued. Facing Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium, in their first home game this season, MI slumped to a six-wicket loss. This is their third straight defeat, thus making their comeback all the harder. Opting to bowl first, Rajasthan Royals stopped Mumbai Indians at 125 for nine and then chased down the target with 27 balls to spare. The in-form Riyan Parag again played very well to remain not out on 54 off 39 balls.

MI were off to a disastrous start as they found themselves tottering at 20 for four in the innings’ fourth over in their season’s first home game. Again subjected to booing by fans, MI skipper Hardik Pandya responded with a 21-ball 34, while Tilak Varma chipped in with 32 in 29 deliveries. Veteran pacer Trent Boult bowled extremely well to finish with 3/22, while leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal ended with excellent figures of 3/11, including picking the big wicket of Pandya when he was looking good for more runs.

The match also saw a scary moment as a fan breached security to run towards Rohit Sharma direction. The former MI captain looked scared. The person then hugged Rohit before shaking hands with Ishan. The security staff then took him away.

Rohit Sharma on Monday equalled the unwanted record for most ducks in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. In the first over of the match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede Stadium, Rohit edged one to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson in Trent Boult’s over, his 17th duck in IPL history, levelling the dubious record held by Dinesh Karthik. Rohit’s record of 17 ducks is followed by Glenn Maxwell, Piyush Chawla, Mandeep Singh and Sunil Narine, who all got out on ducks 15 times.

Coming to the match, relentless spells from Trent Boult, Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal ripped apart Mumbai Indians’ (MI) batting order, helping Rajasthan Royals (RR) restrict MI to 125/9 in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 here at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

Chahal and Boult bowled their heart out against Mumbai, bagging three wickets each, while Nandre Burger returned with two scalps. Captain Hardik Pandya scored the highest for the MI with 34 off 21 deliveries while Tilak Varma played a crucial knock of 32 runs in 29 balls. Rajasthan Royals bowlers absolutely bossed Mumbai batters as Pandya-led Mumbai’s homecoming did not go according to their plan so far as the team posted their lowest total in their IPL.

With ANI and PTI inputs

Topics mentioned in this article

Middle East

Israeli airstrike kills 4 foreign aid workers, Palestinian translator in Gaza

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At least four foreign aid workers and their Palestinian translator have been killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the city of Deir al-Balah in the central part of the Gaza Strip, which is enduring a genocidal Israeli war.

Gaza’s Government Media Office announced the information on Monday, saying the victims were all employees of the World Central Kitchen (WCK), a food aid charity.

It said the foreigners included citizens of Australia, the UK, and Poland.

“This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER,” the WCK posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Gaza-based resistance movement of Hamas said the attack had sought to “terrorize” workers of international humanitarian agencies and deter them from pursuing their missions.

The Israeli regime began the war on October 7 after Gaza’s resistance groups carried out Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed around 32,800 Palestinians and injured nearly 75,300 others.

Chef Jose Andres, who started the WCK in 2010, said on X that he was heartbroken and grieving for the families and friends of those who had died in the airstrike.

The Israeli regime, he said, “needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.”

Last month, the United Nations warned that in the absence of any changes in the war, Gaza was on course to experience all-out famine.

“No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now,” Andres added.

An Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said reports of the death of an Australian aid worker were very distressing.

“We have been clear on the need for civilian lives to be protected in this conflict. We have been very clear that we expect humanitarian workers in Gaza to have safe and unimpeded access to do their lifesaving work,” the spokesperson said.

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Vistara Pilot Crisis Deepens, Dozens Of Flights Cancelled Across India

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New Delhi:

At least 38 Vistara flights originating from key cities were cancelled this morning as the airline reeled under non-availability of pilots. As many as 15 flights taking off from Mumbai, 12 from Delhi and 11 from Bengaluru were among those cancelled.

This comes after 50 Vistara flights were cancelled yesterday and 160 were delayed. Speaking to NDTV, passengers had yesterday complained of poor communication and hours-long wait at the airport and slammed the airline for harassing passengers.

Vistara said in a statement yesterday that they have faced a “significant number” of flight cancellations and delays in the past few days “due to various reasons including crew unavailability”.

:We acknowledge and are deeply concerned about the inconvenience this has caused to our customers. Having said that, our teams are working towards minimizing the discomfort to the customers,” it said.

The airline has also said that it has decided to temporarily reduce the number of flights it operates “to ensure adequate connectivity across our network”.

“We have also deployed larger aircraft like our B787-9 Dreamliner and A321neo on select domestic routes to combine flights or accommodate more number of customers, wherever possible. Furthermore, we are offering alternate flight options or refunds to affected customers, as applicable. Once again, we understand that these disruptions have caused immense discomfort to our customers, and sincerely apologise to them for the same. We are working towards stabilizing the situation and will resume operating our regular capacity very soon,” the statement added.

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Watch: Rohit Rallies Behind Hardik, Asks Wankhede Crowd To Stop Booing

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Another day in the IPL for Mumbai Indians, and yet again Hardik Pandya felt the crowd’s ire. Since he replaced Rohit Sharma as MI skipper, Pandya has been receiving an unprecedented amount of hate on social media and at the ground. This time it happened at the Wankhede Stadium – MI’s home ground. Fans started booing the Mumbai Indians skipper as he walked out for the toss in their IPL match against Rajasthan Royals on Monday, even as chants of ‘Rohit… Rohit’ reverberated across the Wankhede Stadium.

But, with the bat in hand, Pandya managed to get the crowd on his side, quickly turning the jeers into cheers with half a dozen boundaries during a 21-ball 34, which lifted his team from 20/4 to 76/5 in the 10th over, when his entertaining knock came to an end.

In fact, the cheers from around the ground were as loud as any when Pandya smashed his first four, a far cry from the evening’s hostile reception.

However, lost the match by six wickets after being restricted to 125/9. The 29-year-old Pandya, who replaced Rohit as the captain of the Mumbai Indians in the lead-up to the tournament, has already been subjected to crowd’s anger over the franchise’s decision regarding leadership during the team’s previous two away games at Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.

Pandya was booed by a section of the crowd before the toss when he was doing rounds of the field as a warm-up exercise.

The flamboyant all-rounder was then booed again when his named was announced at the time of the toss, to which Pandya only smiled as loud chants in support of the former Mumbai skipper Rohit filled the venue.

The jeers continued as Pandya began speaking after losing the toss to Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Sanju Samson, forcing presenter Sanjay Manjrekar to ask the crowd to “behave”.

Right at that moment, Rohit, in his training kit, was meeting his former teammate Harbhajan Singh who was at the field as one of the commentators doing the pre-match show.

If the relentless booing was not enough, Pandya again found himself at the receiving end of crowd’s displeasure, especially from the Sachin Tendulkar stand when he walked out to bat with his team reeling at 20/4 in the fourth over.

Later, a video surfaced in which Rohit seemed to be asking the crowd to stop booing his successor.

“The day Hardik wins a game for MI by contributing big, he’ll walk into the Wankhede to a hero’s welcome! Wankhede will soon chant ‘Navratri maa Daandiya, Wankhede maa Pandya’,” said Nish Navalkar, a member of the ‘North Stand Gang’ at the iconic venue.

Additionally, as per officials here, the fans were allowed inside the stadium only after their banners were confiscated due to an election commission directive given to the Mumbai police.

However, there was an element of miscommunication as well as misinterpretation since the directive was about not allowing political banners but fans complained on social media about all banners being taken away.

There were, nevertheless, a few fans who were able to carry their banners inside.

With PTI inputs

Topics mentioned in this article

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Israel Approves Bill To Allow Al Jazeera Broadcast Ban Amid Hamas War

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Israel Approves Bill To Allow Al Jazeera Broadcast Ban Amid Hamas War

Netanyahu has vowed to take “immediate action” to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel (File)

Jerusalem:

The Israeli parliament passed a bill Monday giving top ministers the authority to bar from Israel the broadcasts of news channel Al Jazeera — a step Premier Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to take.

This law, which passed by 70 votes to 10, carries the authority to ban the broadcast of content from foreign channels but also allows the closing of their offices in Israel.

Netanyahu has vowed to take “immediate action” to shut down Al Jazeera in Israel once the law passes.

Israel had claimed in January that an Al Jazeera staff journalist and a freelancer killed in an air strike in Gaza were “terror operatives”.

The following month it said another journalist for the channel, wounded in a separate strike, was a “deputy company commander” with Hamas.

Israeli troops have been fighting against Hamas in Gaza since October.

Al Jazeera has fiercely denied the accusations and accused Israel of systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the Gaza Strip.

The bill permitting officials to stop foreign media deemed to harm national security had already passed its first parliamentary hurdle last month.

Netanyahu’s Likud party said he asked “to make sure that the law to close Al Jazeera will be approved this evening” in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset.

Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in the Palestinian territory, Wael al-Dahdouh, was also wounded, in an Israeli strike in December that killed the network’s cameraman.

The war between Israel and Hamas began with the militant group’s October 7 attack that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,845 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

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

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"Monstrous" Waves Flood Thiruvananthapuram's Coastal Villages

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'Monstrous' Waves Flood Thiruvananthapuram's Coastal Villages

More than 100 families had their houses damaged in Pozhiyoor. (Representational)

Thiruvananthapuram:

Ancy and her seven family members were sleeping after attending the Easter mass when a monster wave flooded her home in Pozhiyoor near Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram.

Everything that they had prepared for a feast on Easter and whatever little they had inside their house was washed away as sea water entered the house on Sunday. They scrambled for whatever they could and rushed out to save their lives.

Coastal communities in Thiruvananthapuram and many other coastal districts of Kerala were shocked by a sudden, rough sea on Sunday.

“It was like a tsunami. We had no warnings from the authorities, and everything we had had gone with the water,” a teary-eyed Ancy told PTI as the monstrous waves continued to swallow the half-damaged sea wall bordering her house.

More than 100 families had their houses damaged in Pozhiyoor, some of them losing them permanently, and huge losses occurred to fishermen as the waves damaged their boats and fishing nets.

“The monstrous waves continued to pound, flooding the entire area in Pozhiyoor and nearby areas for over five hours. The situation is getting worse as the waves are still very powerful and even climbing over the half-seawall constructed at Pozhiyoor,” Kulathoor Gram Panchayat president Geetha Suresh told PTI.

The coastal village of Pozhiyoor looked like a graveyard, with cement bricks and waste from damaged houses strewn all around. The famous tourism spot, Poovar, and nearby areas were completely underwater on Sunday. Though the water has receded, huge waves continue to hit the shore.

The coastal road in this part was completely damaged. The fish landing area and the Okhi memorial on the beach have been swallowed by the sea.

“Nobody has come to help us. This is election time, and they will come asking for votes. We have a lot to ask them, as we have been demanding a full seawall in this area,” a local fisherman who was fuming at the neglect of the authorities said.

“We have opened one camp at the government school, and we have had 24 families stay here since yesterday. But most of the affected are not ready to come to the camp as they are unhappy with the facilities provided here,” Geetha Suresh said.

She said the area has only one government hospital, but the in-patient facility has been discontinued by the government.

“There are many who are bedridden and cannot be admitted to the camp. If the hospital had the inpatient facility, then we could have admitted them there,” she added.

The rough sea and monstrous waves are expected to continue till April 4.

According to INCOIS, the Central government agency that issues weather warnings for fishermen in the country, this phenomenon is caused by ‘high-period swell waves.’ But there is no scientific explanation to define this sudden phenomenon during a season that is not known for such rough sea issues.

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

India

US, Britain Announce Partnership On AI Safety, Testing

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US, Britain Announce Partnership On AI Safety, Testing

Washington:

The United States and Britain on Monday announced a new partnership on the science of artificial intelligence safety, amid growing concerns about upcoming next-generation versions.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and British Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington to jointly develop advanced AI model testing, following commitments announced at an AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park in November.

“We all know AI is the defining technology of our generation,” Raimondo said. “This partnership will accelerate both of our institutes work across the full spectrum to address the risks of our national security concerns and the concerns of our broader society.”

Britain and the United States are among countries establishing government-led AI safety institutes.

Britain said in October its institute would examine and test new types of AI, while the United States said in November it was launching its own safety institute to evaluate risks from so-called frontier AI models and is now working with 200 companies and entites.

Under the formal partnership, Britain and the United States plan to perform at least one joint testing exercise on a publicly accessible model and are considering exploring personnel exchanges between the institutes. Both are working to develop similar partnerships with other countries to promote AI safety.

“This is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world,” Donelan said. “AI is already an extraordinary force for good in our society, and has vast potential to tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, but only if we are able to grip those risks.”

Generative AI – which can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended prompts – has spurred excitement as well as fears it could make some jobs obsolete, upend elections and potentially overpower humans and catastrophic effects.

In a joint interview with Reuters Monday, Raimondo and Donelan urgent joint action was needed to address AI risks.

“Time is of the essence because the next set of models are about to be released, which will be much, much more capable,” Donelan said. “We have a focus one the areas that we are dividing and conquering and really specializing.”

Raimondo said she would raise AI issues at a meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council in Belgium Thursday.

The Biden administration plans to soon announce additions to its AI team, Raimondo said. “We are pulling in the full resources of the U.S. government.”

Both countries plan to share key information on capabilities and risks associated with AI models and systems and technical research on AI safety and security.

In October, Biden signed an executive order that aims to reduce the risks of AI. In January, the Commerce Department said it was proposing to require U.S. cloud companies to determine whether foreign entities are accessing U.S. data centers to train AI models.

Britain said in February it would spend more than 100 million pounds ($125.5 million) to launch nine new research hubs and AI train regulators about the technology.

Raimondo said she was especially concerned about the threat of AI applied to bioterrorism or a nuclear war simulation.

“Those are the things where the consequences could be catastrophic and so we really have to have zero tolerance for some of these models being used for that capability,” she said.

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

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Trump Pays $175 Million Reduced Penalty In New York Civil Fraud Case

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Trump Pays $175 Million Reduced Penalty In New York Civil Fraud Case

New York:

Embattled former US president Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud case Monday, avoiding payment of a $454 million penalty while his case winds through the appeals process.

Last week, a New York appeals court cut a $454 million bond payment he was originally required to pay, reducing the sum to $175 million and giving him 10 days to pay this smaller amount.

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