"India Is A Powerful Country, Growing Stronger Under PM Modi": Putin

Heaping praise on India, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Indian leadership is "self-directed" and led by the country's national interests, according to Reuters. Speaking at an event, Vladimir Putin alleged that the West is trying to cast everyone "who is not ready to blindly follow these Western elites as the enemy".

"At a certain point in time, they tried to do the same with India. Now they are flirting, of course. We all understand this very well. We feel and see the situation in Asia. Everything is clear. I want to say that the Indian leadership is self-directed. It is led by the national interests. I think that those attempts make no sense. But, they continue. They are trying to cast Arabs as the enemy. They are trying to be careful, but overall, that's what it all boils down to," Vladimir Putin said.

The Russian President said countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa deserve more representation in the UN Security Council and added that the UN should be reformed but gradually, according to Reuters.

Calling India a "powerful country", Vladimir Putin said that it is growing stronger and stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia-based RT News reported.

"...India, more than 1.5 billion of population, more than 7 per cent of economic growth...that's a powerful country, mighty country. And it's growing stronger and stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi...," Vladimir Putin said, according to a video shared by RT News.

Earlier on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin had called PM Modi a "very wise man", adding that India is making great strides in development under his leadership, RT reported.

Last month, too, he had praised PM Modi stating he was doing the "right thing" in promoting the Make in India programme.

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

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6.3 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Philippines

An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 on the Richer scale jolted the Philippines on Wednesday, the National Center of Seismology (NCS) informed through a post on social media. The earthquake occurred at 16:51:49 IST on Wednesday, at a depth of 160 kilometre.

"Earthquake of Magnitude:6.3, Occurred on 04-10-2023, 16:51:49 IST, Lat: 5.34 & Long: 126.43, Depth: 160 Km, Location: Philippines," read a post on the official handle of NCS on X.

Earthquake of Magnitude:6.3, Occurred on 04-10-2023, 16:51:49 IST, Lat: 5.34 & Long: 126.43, Depth: 160 Km ,Location: Philippines for more information Download the BhooKamp App https://t.co/UR9Y5ci9ba@Indiametdept @ndmaindia @Dr_Mishra1966 @KirenRijiju

— National Center for Seismology (@NCS_Earthquake) October 4, 2023

Earlier in June, a deep earthquake shook parts of the Philippines, southwest of the capital. The 6.2 magnitude earthquake on Thursday morning near Hukay, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) below the earth's surface, the US Geological Survey said.

Deep quakes are often widely felt but with less potential to cause major damage. Hukay is about 140 kilometers (87 miles) from Manila.

Earlier, two strong earthquakes of magnitudes 6.2 and 4.6 struck Nepal on Tuesday, the National Centre for Seismology said, adding that the tremors were felt across large parts of India.

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Man In China Dies After Drinking 1 Litre Alcohol To Win Rs 2 Lakh

A man in China died after he drank a litre of strong liquor in just 10 minutes during a work drinking contest to win a 20,000 yuan (Rs Rs 2,28,506) prize, South China Morning Post.  The incident happened in July when the man, identified as Zhang, attended his office's team-building dinner, where his boss organised a drinking competition. His boss pledged a 20,000 yuan reward for anyone who could outdrink Zhang.

"After Zhang gave his toast at Yang's table, the latter openly proposed a reward of 5,000 yuan to anyone who could drink more than him," one of Zhang's colleagues said. When no one responded he increased the amount to 10,000 yuan (Rs 1.15 lakh). 

Zhang then asked about the stakes if he won the contest and his boss Yang told him he would be awarded 20,000 yuan. However, if he lost, he was asked to pay 10,000 yuan to treat the whole company to afternoon tea.

Yang later chose several employees, including his own driver, to compete against Zhang. According to one of the employees who was at the dinner, Zhang downed a litre of baiju within 10 minutes. Notably, Baijiu is a Chinese spirit with a typical alcohol content of between 30% to 60%.

Zhang was soon rushed to the hospital after he collapsed. As per the hospital's critical condition notice, he was diagnosed with severe alcohol poisoning, aspiration pneumonia, suffocation, and cardiac arrest. He died on August 3. 

After his death, a representative announced in the company's WeChat group that the company would be closed down. Shenzhen police are now investigating the incident.

Recently, there have been similar incidents where people lost their lives to alcohol poisoning. In May this year, a Chinese social media influencer died less than 12 hours after consuming seven bottles of Baijiu on Douyin, China's version of TikTok. Another popular live-streamer and influencer in China also died in June after gulping down copious amounts of potent liquor.

The influencer named Zhong Yuan Huang Ge died on June 2 after binging excessive amounts of Baijiu, during a viral drinking challenge. Both these deaths sparked huge scrutiny of the safety and regulations of such apps. 

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Ricky Kej Blames Trevor Noah For Bengaluru Show's Failure: ''If He...''

Three-time Grammy award-winning musician Ricky Kej on Wednesday slammed Trevor Noah in a lengthy social media post after the comedian posted a farewell note to sum up his 'Off The Record' India tour. Notably, the comedian's tour became a point of chatter and debate after both his shows in Bengaluru were junked due to audio issues at the venue. The comedian, in his post, promised to return to the city.

Mr. Kej, however, was not convinced by his note and partly blamed him for the show's failure. He noted that every ''responsible and caring artist'' does a thorough ''soundcheck" and ''venue recce'' before a show. Though the musician acknowledged event management-related problems, he said he was shocked that Mr. Noah did not personally conduct a ''reconnaissance'' of the venue, or communicate the technical requirements and specifications to event organizers.

''If Trevor Noah really bothered about his ticket-purchasing fans, then he would have made it a point to arrive earlier in the day (or the previous night) and personally carried out a reconnaissance of the venue, tested out his microphone and ensured that the sound was optimum. I am sure he does that at other prestigious venues all over the world, and I am shocked to realize he did not bother to do this in Bengaluru. This is the artist's responsibility. Every artist/comedian/band has personal sound requirements and preferences.. and to just show up for the event, without even checking your sound is hugely irresponsible,'' he wrote. 

See the tweet here:

While I do agree that there were many Event Management related problems in the Bengaluru show for @Trevornoah .. there is something known as a "Soundcheck" and "Venue recce" that every responsible and caring artist caries out before a show.
If Trevor Noah really bothered about… https://t.co/uzhjGyLcya

— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) October 4, 2023

Not stopping there, the musician mentioned other international artists who have had ''super successful events'' in Bengaluru because they ''worked with everyone involved to deliver a spectacular concert.''

''When Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, Metallica, Symphony Orchestras, Russel Peters, etc. have had super successful events in Bengaluru, why is Bengaluru being trashed now?'', he wrote.

''Trevor also attributed this incident to "India" as a whole, which is in very bad taste. This is definitely a case of terrible event management, but more importantly a very complacent and irresponsible artist with a complete disregard for his paying fans (and India).. who blames everyone and everything but himself,'' he concluded his long post. 

Mr Noah was to perform at the Manpho Convention Centre in Bengaluru last week as part of his 'Off the Record' tour. The organisers canceled both shows as there were audio issues at the venue. However, Mr. Noah apologised to his fans who came all the way to watch it and promised a full refund. 

He performed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Delhi-NCR on September 22, 23, and 24, and in Mumbai on September 30.   

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Ashok Gehlot Submits Apology In Court For "Corruption In Judiciary" Remark

In an affidavit filed Tuesday in the Rajasthan High Court, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tendered an "unconditional apology" for his remark suggesting that there was "rampant corruption" in the judiciary.

The affidavit was in response to a petition filed by an advocate over Mr Gehlot's remark on August 30 that had triggered outrage in the lawyers' community.

Mr Gehlot had suggested then that some judges were delivering judgments drafted by lawyers. 

"Corruption is rampant in the judiciary today. I have heard that some lawyers themselves take the judgement in writing and the same judgement is pronounced," he told reporters.

The bench of Justices M M Shrivastava and Praveer Bhatnagar posted the matter for the next hearing on November 7, allowing the petitioner to file his rejoinder to the chief minister's affidavit.

"The answering respondent submits that he has the utmost regard for the majesty of law and the judiciary. He has not knowingly or unknowingly made any statement to undermine the dignity of law or courts. The answering respondent has full faith in judiciary," Mr Gehlot said in the affidavit filed on his behalf.

However, if the court feels that the statement attempted to lower the dignity of the judiciary among people, "the answering respondent tenders his unconditional apology for the same", it added.

The affidavit said he has been reading what many former judges of the Supreme Court have said about corruption in the judiciary. It added that members of the public meeting him about their grievances have also highlighted "corrupt practices" in the judiciary.

"This has greatly anguished the respondent," it said.

Some published articles on the judiciary were also attached with the Congress leader's reply.

High court lawyers and those working in the lower courts in Jodhpur had observed a day-long strike over Mr Gehlot's remark. The CM had later backtracked, saying the comment did not reflect his "personal opinion". 

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Masaba In A Brown Swim Set Proves That No One Does Beach Days Better

Masaba Gupta is a woman of many talents and one of them remains to be her penchant for fashion. She continues to dazzle both on and off the screen with her sartorial prowess. With her best choices, Masaba knows how to keep up with the fashion world, even when she is on a vacation. Well, she is living her best life in the tropical paradise of Maldives and indeed, her style game is giving us all the inspiration. While frolicking in the crystal-clear waters, she made sure to give us style goals in a brown swim set. The designer aced monochromatic fashion that consisted of a bikini top that came with a plunging neckline and matching bikini bottom. For accessories, she opted for delicate earrings and sleek bracelets that added an extra edge to her style. She completed her effortless beach OOTD with a natural makeup look and damp hair.

Also Read: Masaba Gupta Finds Her Fashionable Spot Front And Centre In A Rs 75K Red Loewe Bodycon Dress

When it comes to jet-setting, Masaba Gupta clearly has a thing for the sunny shores of Maldives and that is when her bikinis take centre stage. Previously, she shared a throwback picture from one of her Maldives escapades. In this tropical flashback, the designer was spotted rocking a sizzling red bikini adorned with charming white floral prints. The strapless bikini top featured a daring plunging neckline paired with a matching hipster bottom. Her beachside chic style was complete in a pair of elegant white danglers.

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Previously, Masaba rocked a brown monokini that oozed sultry vibes. The sleeveless pick featured a deep neckline and side cutouts for that extra wow factor. She amped up the style element with golden bracelets and a pair of chic black sunglasses.

Also Read: "Weight Loss Should Not Consist Of Fad Diets Or Bizarre Routines": Masaba Gupta In Her Body Transformation Series

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Masaba Gupta's chic beach style is raising the temperature

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Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Rides Motorbike To Lead Yatra Ahead Of Polls

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Monday rode a motorcycle to lead the ruling Congress' 'Bharosa Yatra' in his assembly constituency in Durg district to propagate the works done by his government in the last five years.

Similar day-long Bharosa Yatras (march of trust) were also taken out in the remaining 89 assembly constituencies of the poll-bound state by the Congress to mark Gandhi Jayanti.

During the yatras, the Congress said, it apprised people about welfare schemes of the Baghel government and also told them how the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) neglected the residents of the state during its 15-year rule (2003-2018).

Riding motorcycles, a large number of ruling party leaders and workers accompanied Bhupesh Baghel in the 40-km-long yatra kicked off from Selud village in the Patan assembly constituency in Durg district.

Addressing a gathering of workers at the launch of the yatra, Baghel hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his statement on paddy procurement in Chhattisgarh.

"The PM lied (during his recent rally in Bilaspur) to people that the Centre procured every single grain of paddy from farmers in the state. Who has opened paddy procurement centres? Who has decided to procure 20 quintal paddy per acre? All these works are being done by the state government," the chief minister said.

When there was a "double-engine" government in Chhattisgarh (2014-2018), with PM Modi and Raman Singh leading the central and state governments, respectively, they had decided to procure 10 quintal per acre from farmers in place of 15 quintal per acre, he said.

Bhupesh Baghel said his government has strengthened the local economy and transformed the lives of people.

"We have improved education, health and infrastructure in the last five years," he asserted.

Talking to reporters later, Mr Baghel said his party Congress has decided to observe a peaceful 'Bastar Bandh' (shutdown) on Wednesday in protest against the Centre's plan to privatise the newly commissioned Nagarnar Steel Plant of mining major NMDC in Bastar district.

Prime Minister Modi will dedicate the plant to the nation during his visit to Jagdalpur on Wednesday.

Baghel accused the opposition BJP of spreading rumours on alleged irregularities in recruitment by the state public service commission (PSC).

Earlier, state ministers, Congress MLAs and MPs took part in the yatras in their respective constituencies.

The assembly elections are expected to be held in the state in November-December.

The state government had in the last few months organised 'Bharose Ka Sammelan' (gathering of trust) at various places to connect with the masses. These events were also attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.

Slogans like 'Bhupesh Hai To Bharosa hai' (if there is Bhupesh, we have trust) and 'Bharose Ki Sarkar' (government of trust) featured during these programmes.

The opposition BJP concluded its 'Parivartan Yatra' (March of Change) on Saturday (September 30) in Bilaspur city where Prime Minister Modi addressed a gathering.

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