Garbage Pile-Up Near Atal Tunnel As Himachal Sees Heavy Holiday Rush

Garbage Pile-Up Near Atal Tunnel As Himachal Sees Heavy Holiday Rush

The image from near Sissu and Khokar villages was shared by a forest officer.

As the year draws to a close, a garbage pile-up near the Atal tunnel reminds us we have neither learnt to respect nature nor maintain cleanliness. The tunnel that connects the tourist town of Manali with the picturesque Lahaul-Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh buzzes with tourist traffic during the winter holidays as the popular hill stations soak in festive mood. But plastic bags and bottles piled up near the tunnel paints a sad picture of what tourism does to the hills.

The image from near Sissu and Khokar villages was shared by a forest officer.

“What we are leaving behind in hills!! This is village Sissu – once you cross Atal tunnel the first two villages are Sissu & Khoksar. Now thousands of vehicles are entering Atal tunnel every day. Aren’t people supposed to take their trashes back,” said IFS officer Parveen Kaswan on X, formerly Twitter.

An user suggested that the country needs a minister to tackle the trash problem – someone who can draft a “countrywide policy for waste management”. Another said that there should be a “green tax” for tourists entering mountains that will aid garbage clearing activities.

The Atal tunnel, also known as the Rohtang Tunnel, is the longest tunnel above 10,000 feet in the world. Last Monday, on Christmas day, it saw a massive traffic jam with thousands of tourists waiting in a queue. A record 28,210 vehicles had crossed the tunnel in the past 24 hours, the police had said.

Denmark Queen Announces Surprise Abdication On Live TV After 52 Years

Denmark Queen Announces Surprise Abdication On Live TV After 52 Years

“I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik,” she said.

Copenhagen:

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, Europe’s longest-serving monarch, will abdicate on Jan. 14 after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her eldest son Crown Prince Frederik, she announced on Sunday.

The 83-year-old queen, who ascended the throne in 1972, made the surprise announcement on live TV during her traditional New Year’s Eve speech, which is viewed by many in the country of 5.9 million people.

Referring to a successful back operation she underwent in February, she said, “The surgery naturally gave rise to thinking about the future – whether the time had come to leave the responsibility to the next generation”.

“I have decided that now is the right time. On 14 January 2024 – 52 years after I succeeded my beloved father – I will step down as queen of Denmark,” she said.

“I leave the throne to my son, Crown Prince Frederik,” she said.

The queen became the longest-serving monarch in Europe following the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. In July, she became the longest-sitting monarch in Denmark’s history.

In Denmark, formal power resides with the elected parliament and its government. The monarch is expected to stay above partisan politics, representing the nation with traditional duties ranging from state visits to national day celebrations.

Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen thanked the queen for her life-long dedication to duty.

“It is still difficult to understand that the time has now come for a change of throne,” Frederiksen said in a statement, adding that many Danes had never known another monarch.

“Queen Margrethe is the epitome of Denmark and throughout the years has put words and feelings into who we are as a people and as a nation,” she said.

Born in 1940 to Denmark’s former monarch King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid, Margrethe has throughout her life enjoyed broad support from Danes, who are fond of her tactful and yet creative personality.

She is also known for her love of archaeology and has taken part in several excavations.

She became heir to her father in 1953 at the age of 31, after a constitutional amendment allowed women to inherit the throne.

In 1967, she married French diplomat Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, who served as her royal consort until his death in 2018.

The couple’s two sons are Crown Prince Frederik, who will become King Frederik X, and Prince Joachim. Frederik married Mary Elizabeth Donaldson, an Australian, in 2004.

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

Woman, 36, Kills Mother Over Property Dispute In Delhi, Arrested

Woman, 36, Kills Mother Over Property Dispute In Delhi, Arrested

Further investigation is underway, the officer said. (Representational)

New Delhi:

A 36-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly killing her mother over a property dispute in outer Delhi’s Ranhola area, police said on Sunday.

The accused, Promila, works as a teacher and was living with her father, who had separated from her mother Beermati (65), they said.

According to police, Beermati’s daughter-in-law Asha found her body, which bore multiple stab wounds on the neck and limbs, near the disputed plot on Saturday morning. Later, Beermati’s family informed police.

“A case of murder was registered and an investigation was launched. During inquiry, the investigation team came to know that Beermati’s 70-year-old husband, an ex-serviceman and a self-styled godman, was embroiled in a property dispute with her and was living separately with their daughter,” an official said.

During investigation, police checked footage of CCTV cameras installed near the crime scene and noticed Promila was in the area on the fateful day, police said.

“A team was formed and Promila was arrested from the Bahadurgarh area near her house. She works as a guest teacher in Government Boys Senior Secondary School (GBSS) in Ashok Nagar, Delhi. She killed her mother over the property dispute,” a senior officer said.

Further investigation is underway, the officer said.

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

Exclusive: Attacks on Israel-bound ships in Red Sea ‘a pure Yemeni decision’

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Hisham Sharaf has categorically rejected US claims about Iran’s role in helping Yemen strike Israeli-owned and -bound ships in the strategic Red Sea, saying the decision was purely by the Yemeni government and armed forces in support of the Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“The Yemeni government in Sana’a is the one who has taken that decision and that decision was based on solid grounds not to allow the Israeli aggression to continue on our brothers in Palestine, in Gaza and in different areas of the occupied land,” Sharaf said in an exclusive interview with Press TV’s Face to Face program on Saturday.

Sharaf underlined that Yemen is “not a threat to anyone,” describing the Yemeni forces as “peaceful.”

“Any ship that is not going to the Zionist regime and any ship that doesn’t carry an Israeli flag or is not owned by Zionists is safe from the Yemeni attacks,” he stated.

The top diplomat hailed the recent Yemeni attacks on Israeli ships in the Red Sea as a “show of solidarity” and said they were the “beginning steps” to the liberation of Palestine.

Sharaf referred to the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea as “our sea” and said, “Those who came to that area don’t know what is going on there… we defend our territories… we want the siege on Gaza to be over; we also want all kinds of necessities to go into the occupied land.”

The foreign minister said it was Yemen’s duty to contribute to the liberation of Palestine through all means available, including demonstrations and military action.

“We put Palestine as the central issue Yemen is fighting for,” he said. “If we don’t stand by them at this critical moment, doing something the world would listen to, then no one would.”

Sharaf also appreciated Iran for its support of Yemen, including in health sector, saying, “If not for the Iranians’ support for Yemen, no one would now hear the stories coming from Yemen.”

General Soleimani main supporter of resistance

During the exclusive interview with Press TV, Sharaf said Iran’s late anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani was the main character who supported the resistance against the Israeli occupation over the years.

“Martyr Soleimani was the one who used to go around to different places supporting all those forces in the Axis of Resistance, so when it comes to the occupied territories, Martyr Soleimani, I think, was the main supporter of these forces in Palestine either by training or by supplying weapons,” Sharaf said.

“You can say that after so many years of support, the Palestinians were ready to carry out such an undertaking which marked the peak of their achievement in Palestine,” he said, referring to the October 7 surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm by Hamas-led Palestinian resistance groups against Israel.

Touching upon Hamas’s reference to Soleimani as “Martyr of al-Quds,” Sharaf said the top anti-terror general’s dream of the liberation of the occupied al-Quds was “very close” to be realized.

Pointing to Soleimani’s role in helping Yemen overcome foreign aggression, he said, “Martyr Soleimani was watching Yemen closely and he did a lot for Yemen to be ready to respond to forces who led the aggression on our country.”

Sharaf also praised the Islamic Republic as the “only country” that supported Yemeni forces and people at the onset of the war on Yemen.

Referring to Soleimani’s contribution to the Axis of Resistance from Syria to Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen, Sharaf said, “Martyr Soleimani was very active, not sitting idle and trying to watch what is happening in the Axis of Resistance; no, he traveled all across these countries. I think his presence in these counties gave the resistance the real feeling that ‘we are not alone’.”

The top Yemeni diplomat said Soleimani was the “symbol” of our fight against outsiders and the “main drive” of our resistance against foreign aggressors.

After Ambush, Suspected Insurgents Fire Rocket At Manipur Police Commandos

Suspected insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade on Manipur Police in Moreh

Imphal/New Delhi:

From a daytime ambush on a police convoy by suspected insurgents to a nighttime rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on the barracks of police commandos, Manipur’s border town Moreh saw violence on the last day of 2023.

Four police commandos were injured in the RPG attack; another was injured in the ambush on Saturday.

The first attack began with ambushes on special police commandos posted in Moreh, near a “key location point” of the Assam Rifles. A commando was injured in this attack on Saturday.

At 11.40 pm, the situation became extremely volatile after suspected Kuki insurgents fired an RPG at a police barrack and opened up concentrated fire towards the police camp.

The police commandos took position and fired back; the gunfight continued through the night, sources said. Four commandos were injured in the attack, which caught them off guard as they were retiring for the night.

Visuals of the barrack shows shrapnel holes on the walls. The injured commandos were taken to the Assam Rifles’ medical facility in Moreh.

Latest and Breaking News on NDTV

A police commando, standing at the site from where the RPG was launched, pointed towards a small window where the projectile had penetrated.

The Kuki group Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) in a statement alleged a Moreh resident, Peter Mate, was arrested and tortured by the police.

Mr Mate, a local school teacher and youth secretary of St George Catholic Church, was arrested on Saturday evening while he was going home and amid the gunfight between the commandos and the suspected insurgents, the ITLF alleged.

In the state capital Imphal, meanwhile, students protested after a bomb found was found in their school, Princeton International School.

Cartoon Today on January 1, 2024

Published Date – 11:59 PM, Sun – 31 December 23


Cartoon Today on January 1, 2024


United Cup: Defending Champions USA Beat Battling Britain

Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz had to fight through a deciding doubles match to conclude a 2-1 defeat of Britain on Sunday for the United States to stay in title contention at the United Cup. The defending champions, who won the trophy last January over Italy, earned a 1-6, 7-6 (7/5), 10-7 mixed doubles win to claim victory in Perth after the sides split the singles. “We have a team energy from last year here, we don’t want to take a loss and let it die,” said Fritz, who was broken twice in the opening set.

World number five Pegula added: “To get a win in this fashion after such a long day (on court) brings back a lot of memories.

“It was a big win today, especially after losing such a tough singles match.”

Britain, who beat Australia to open their tournament account, took a 1-0 lead when Pegula crashed 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to Katie Boulter in the singles.

It was Boulter’s first win over a top-five player on her seventh attempt after she bounced back from a set and double-break down.

“This was a very hard match for both of us,” said the 56th-ranked Boulter. “I play my best tennis when I’m smiling and having fun.

“I kept trying to get over the line. I thrive in a team atmosphere… so many tennis heads giving information. It helps you to think clearly.”

Pegula’s 10th-ranked teammate Fritz kept the tie alive despite a thigh strain he blamed on over-training, defeating Cameron Norrie 7-6 (5), 6-4.

“I strained something but got through it,” said Fritz. “Cam and I have played so many times (14). It’s always a battle, always close.”

World number one Novak Djokovic opens his season for Serbia later against China’s Zhang Zhizhen, with the Chinese team on a high after beating the Czech Republic 3-0.

In Sydney, Leylah Fernandez led Canada to a fighting victory over Chile with the former US Open finalist winning her singles rubber and then backing up in a decisive mixed doubles.

The 35th-ranked Fernandez got Canada off to a perfect start, cruising past Chile’s Daniela Seguel 6-2, 6-3 in 73 minutes.

With Canadian number one Felix Auger-Aliassime sitting out the men’s singles, 314th-ranked Steven Diez stepped up but was toppled by world number 19 Nicolas Jarry 7-5, 6-4.

It set up a deciding mixed doubles, with Fernandez teaming with Diez to battle past Seguel and Tomas Barrios Vera 7-5, 4-6, 10-8.

“I’m extremely happy with the way I played,” said Fernandez, who was part of the Canadian team that won the Billie Jean King Cup for the first time this year.

The 21-year-old broke five times in her singles clash against a player in her first WTA Tour-level singles match in nearly two years, using the serve-and-volley tactic well.

“First match of the season so had some nerves, but happy with the way I was able to handle it,” she said.

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

Topics mentioned in this article

Ukraine Downs Drones As Russia Retaliates For Attack That Killed 20

Ukraine Downs Drones As Russia Retaliates For Attack That Killed 20

Ukraine is urging Western allies to maintain military support. (File)

Kyiv, Ukraine:

Kyiv said Sunday it had destroyed 21 of 49 Iranian-made drones fired after Russia vowed to retaliate for what it called a “terrorist attack” on a border city that left 24 dead.

The Ukrainian air force said the “Shahed” drones were particularly targeted at “the front line of defence, as well as at civilian, military and infrastructure facilities in the front-line territories”.

Six guided missiles had also targeted the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Kyiv said in a statement on Telegram, without specifying whether they had hit their targets.

Oleg Sinegubov, the head of Kharkiv’s military administration, said there had been 28 civilians wounded in the attack on the city, including two teenagers and a foreign citizen.

Residential buildings, offices and cafes were hit in the latest overnight attacks, said Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov.

“On the eve of the New Year, Russians want to intimidate our city, but we are not scared,” he said.

The fresh Russian strikes came a day after the deadliest attack on civilians in Russia since the start of the conflict in February 2022.

The official death count has risen to 24 with 108 wounded in Belgorod — just 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the Ukrainian border, which has been repeatedly struck by what Moscow says is indiscriminate shelling.

The two sides took turns to accuse each other of pummelling civilian areas of their shared frontier region over the weekend.

The governor of Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Sunday that one person had been killed by Ukrainian shelling in a village close to the border.

‘Blame Putin’ 

Moscow said the Belgorod attack had included the use of controversial cluster munitions, and told an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council that Kyiv had targeted a sports centre, an ice rink and a university.

Russian envoy Vasily Nebenzya called it a “deliberate, indiscriminate attack against a civilian target”.

Ukraine’s allies countered that responsibility ultimately lay with Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading the neighbouring country nearly two years ago.

“If Russia wants someone to blame for the deaths of Russians in this war, it should start with President Putin,” said British envoy to the UN Thomas Phipps.

Putin gave his traditional New Year’s Eve address on Sunday, in which he praised Russia’s soldiers on the front line and called for unity in the face of “difficult tasks”.

“To all those who are on duty, on the front line of the fight for truth and justice,” Putin said, “you are our heroes. Our hearts are with you. We are proud of you, we admire your courage.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also set to give his New Year’s address later.

January 1, day of mourning 

The Belgorod attack came a day after Ukraine said a barrage of Russian missile strikes on several cities, including the capital, had killed 39 people.

Schools, a maternity hospital, shopping arcades and blocks of flats were among the buildings hit in Friday’s barrage, one of the most violent attacks since the start of the war.

Ukraine was still sifting through the rubble on Saturday when fresh strikes hit the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Chernigiv, according to local authorities.

Three more people were killed by Russian strikes across Ukraine on Saturday, the officials said.

January 1 was to be declared a day of mourning in the capital Kyiv, where 19 people had been killed, city officials said.

Russia’s army said it had “carried out 50 group strikes and one massive strike” on military facilities in Ukraine over the past week, adding that “all targets were hit”.

The United Nations condemned the attacks and said they must stop “immediately”.

Ukraine is urging Western allies to maintain military support.

“Next year will be a time of many decisions — global decisions. And Ukraine needs to be able to influence them to be able to achieve its goals,” Zelensky said in his evening address Saturday.

“We will fight for our influence, for justice for Ukraine, and I am grateful to all the leaders who help, who have been with us since February 24th and will be with us in 2024.”

Britain announced it would send hundreds more air-defence missiles to Kyiv, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared: “We must continue to stand with Ukraine — for as long as it takes.”

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

J&K Police Announces Cash Rewards For Information On Terrorism, Drug Trade

J&K Police Announces Cash Rewards For Information On Terrorism, Drug Trade

The cash reward ranges between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 12.5 lakh (Representational)

Srinagar:

Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday announced cash rewards ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 12.5 lakh will be given to people who provide information that will lead to tangible action against terrorism and drug trade.

Anyone who provides information that will lead to detection of cross-border tunnels used by anti-national elements for transshipping terrorists, weapons and contraband substances will be given a reward of Rs 5 lakh, police said.

A reward of Rs 3 lakh has been announced for information leading to seizure of consignments sent through drones from across the border, they said.

A reward of Rs 2 lakh has been announced for information about elements in touch with terrorist handlers in Pakistan or with terrorists within the country.

Rewards will be also given for inputs about elements who provide information about off-duty policemen to terrorists.

Rs 1 lakh will be given for information about people using mosques, madrasas, schools or colleges to incite people to join terrorist ranks, police said.

The reward for information leading to action against terrorists will also continue. The reward ranges between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 12.50 lakh, depending on the category of the terrorist, they said. 

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

Pro-Palestine campaigners call for end to Israeli aggression, permanant ceasefire

Activists have launched a global campaign asking people to turn the New Year’s countdown in their countries into a countdown for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza where Israel keeps committing war crimes in its ongoing onslaught on the besieged Palestinian territory.

A grassroots campaign named Countdown2Ceasefire has emerged from London, initiated by young activists leveraging social media to amplify their call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

The campaign has garnered support from over 40 countries and plans to livestream local countdown events across various social media platforms.

“New Year’s Eve is a moment of celebration worldwide, and an opportunity to create resolutions for a brighter future. With nearly 30,000 civilians killed, including over 10,000 children, our only New Year’s resolution is to call for a permanent ceasefire,” Countdown2Ceasefire, the London-based grassroots campaign, said in a statement on Thursday.

“Our aim is to morph the traditional New Year’s countdown into an influential and resounding countdown for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”

Bushra Mohammad, a campaign spokeswoman, said that a truce could be the first step in ending the current deplorable situation in the besieged territory. “A permanent ceasefire is the first step in ending the current deplorable situation and a tangible move towards a future where traumatized communities can rebuild and recover.”

Israel’s brutal military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 21,800 people and wounded more than 55,000 others triggering a global outrage, with protesters across the world rallying to call for a ceasefire.

Many have also expressed their disappointment towards politicians and countries who vetoed or abstained from voting for a ceasefire at the United Nations.

Rights organizations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders also condemned countries vetoing a ceasefire, warning that this would result in a humanitarian disaster.

Demonstrators in Vancouver have also joined the cause, hanging banners in multiple locations to support Palestine, calling for a change in Canada’s policy towards Palestine, and highlighting the ongoing atrocities in the region.

People in Australia have also staged fresh rallies for the eleventh weekend in solidarity with the besieged Palestinians. The largest demonstrations have taken place in Sydney and Melbourne where thousands of people once again flooded the streets downtown demanding Israel stop its genocide against residents of Gaza. 

On Saturday, the World Food Programme warned that it’s in a race against time to avert starvation for millions in Gaza. 

“Only a long-term ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access can end this,” the UN agency posted on X.

Israel’s brutal onslaught on the Palestinian territory that began on Oct. 7 has so far displaced some 85 percent of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million residents and sparked a humanitarian crisis that has left a quarter of Gaza’s population starving.