Cyclone Fengal: Red alert in Chennai | Top News of Nov 30, 2024

[00:00:09] This is your daily dose of news from Onmanorama. I am your host Vaishnavi and these are the major

[00:00:15] news stories of Saturday, November 30, 2024. Heavy rains and gusty winds lashed several parts

[00:00:22] of Northern Tamil Nadu on Saturday, disrupting normal life as Cyclone Fengal is expected to make

[00:00:28] landfall near Puducheri later in the day. Members of Parliament and the House of Commons

[00:00:34] voted in favour of a ground-breaking bill that could allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales.

[00:00:39] with only six months to live to request medical assistance to end their lives.

[00:00:45] Punjab police arrested two individuals after seizing eight sophisticated pistols smuggled from Pakistan.

[00:00:52] MIT and other US universities have advised international students and staff to return

[00:00:58] before January 20, 2025 to avoid potential travel disruptions following concerns about

[00:01:04] immigration changes under President-elect Donald Trump. The Kerala government has decided to take

[00:01:12] strict action against individuals who unlawfully received welfare pensions. Let's get into details.

[00:01:19] Heavy rains and gusty winds lashed several parts of Northern Tamil Nadu on Saturday, disrupting normal

[00:01:25] life as Cyclone Fengal, moving towards the coast, was expected to make landfall near Puducheri later in the day.

[00:01:33] Camps were set up for residents of vulnerable areas and food distribution was underway.

[00:01:37] The Greater Chennai Corporation mobilised 22,000 personnel including engineers, officials and sanitary

[00:01:44] workers to address the situation. A total of 1,686 mortar pumps were deployed and 134 locations were being

[00:01:52] cleared of water logging. Reservoirs like Chambarbakam and Pundi received significant inflows and many

[00:01:59] residents in low-lying areas such as Madipakkam moved their vehicles to higher ground.

[00:02:05] Chennai Metro Rail Services continued without issues, though some parking areas were prone to flooding.

[00:02:11] Chennai Airport suspended all operations from 12.30 pm until 7 pm, causing disruptions to both

[00:02:17] domestic and international flights. With rough seas, police set up barricades at popular beaches like

[00:02:23] Marina and Mahabalipuram. Members of Parliament and the House of Commons voted in favour of a

[00:02:29] ground-breaking bill that could allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales with only six months to

[00:02:35] live to request medical assistance to end their lives on Friday. The terminally ill adults bill,

[00:02:41] introduced as private members' bill by Labour MP Kim Lee Beter, passed its second reading with

[00:02:46] 3.30 watts in favour and 2.75 against, securing a majority of 55.

[00:02:53] Punjab police arrested two individuals, Jagjit Singh and Gurvinder Singh, after seizing eight

[00:02:58] sophisticated pistols smuggled from Pakistan. The pistols, including four Glock models and others

[00:03:04] from Turkey, were recovered in Amritsar while the suspects were waiting to receive the weapons.

[00:03:10] The arrest followed an intelligence-led operation and police have identified a kingpin involved in the

[00:03:15] smuggling network, who is believed to be in contact with Pakistan-based smugglers through encrypted apps.

[00:03:21] Investigations are ongoing to trace further connections.

[00:03:26] MIT and other universities have advised international students and staff to return before January 2020-25

[00:03:32] to avoid potential travel disruptions following concerns about immigration changes

[00:03:37] under President-elect Donald Trump. With over 1.1 million international students in the US,

[00:03:44] including 3,30,000 from India, universities like MIT have issued these precautionary advisories

[00:03:51] due to fears of possible new travel bans and visa processing delays.

[00:03:55] Although no mandates have been issued, schools recommend returning before the inauguration to

[00:04:00] minimise risks of disruption, especially given the experience of travel restrictions under Trump's first term.

[00:04:07] The Kerala government has decided to take strict action against individuals who unlawfully received welfare pensions.

[00:04:14] A meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinaray Vijayan confirmed that the Finance Department will recover

[00:04:20] the full amount plus interest from ineligible beneficiaries. Disciplinary action will also be taken against officials

[00:04:27] responsible for the fraud, including departmental inquiries for those involved in irregularities.

[00:04:32] To prevent future fraud, the government will implement phase authorization and annual mustering to verify eligibility

[00:04:39] and remove deceased individuals from the list. This decision follows the discovery of ineligible pension recipients,

[00:04:46] such as government officers and luxury car owners in Malapuram's Cortical municipality.

[00:04:52] That brings us to the end of this episode. Thanks for listening to Daily News Doors,

[00:04:56] hosted by me Vaishnavi and produced by Vishnumar Lidharan.

[00:04:59] Follow www.onmanorma.com for detailed updates on the latest news and be sure to come back tomorrow.