Politics

Massive fire engulfs residential area in the Philippine capital

Massive fire engulfs residential area in the Philippine cital

NewsFeed

A massive fire is tearing through a densely-populated neighbourhood in Manila. Authorities in the Philippines have raised the severity to the fifth alarm level amid intense efforts to contain the ridly spreading flames.

Published On 23 May 2026

Politics

This city has the most expensive petrol after third fuel hike. Check top 10 places

Petrol and diesel prices rose again Saturday by nearly ₹1 per litre each for the third time in eight days. This pushed cumulative hikes to almost ₹5 per litre in only over a week despite a fall in international crude oil prices.

Petrol and diesel prices rose again in India. ()

Hyderabad recorded the highest petrol price at ₹112.81 per litre on Saturday, followed closely by Thiruvananthuram at ₹112.64 and Patna at ₹111 per litre. Mumbai’s petrol price touched ₹108.45 per litre after an 86 paise increase, while Kolkata and Jaipur also remained above ₹109 per litre.

In Delhi, petrol prices climbed by 87 paise to ₹99.51 per litre, while diesel rose 91 paise to ₹92.49 per litre. Industry experts said gradual hikes may continue until OMCs recover estimated revenue losses of ₹8-10 per litre on petrol and diesel sales, HT reported earlier.

Top 10 cities with highest petrol prices on May 23

According to fuel price data compiled by Goodreturns,

2. Thiruvananthuram — ₹112.64 per litre

3. Patna — ₹111 per litre

4. Kolkata — ₹110.64 per litre

5. Jaipur — ₹109.84 per litre

6. Mumbai — ₹108.45 per litre

7. Bengaluru — ₹108.09 per litre

8. Bhubaneswar — ₹106.18 per litre

9. Chennai — ₹105.33 per litre

10. Guwahati — ₹105.1 per litre

Diesel crosses ₹100 in two cities

Diesel prices also witnessed sharp increases across cities. As per Goodreturns:

2. Hyderabad — ₹100.94 per litre

3. Bhubaneswar — ₹97.80 per litre

4. Patna — ₹97.03 per litre

5. Kolkata — ₹97.02 per litre

6. Chennai — ₹97 per litre

7. Bengaluru — ₹95.99 per litre

8. Jaipur — ₹95.05 per litre

9. Mumbai — ₹95.02 per litre

10. Guwahati — ₹94.03 per litre

Why fuel prices are rising

Sector experts said international crude oil prices remain volatile and elevated above $100 per barrel due to tensions in West Asia. India imports more than 88% of its crude oil requirements. This makes domestic fuel prices highly sensitive to global price spikes and rupee-dollar fluctuations.

According to industry estimates, OMCs were losing nearly ₹1,000 crore daily on petrol, diesel and LPG sales after the first hike on May 15, HT reported earlier. The losses have now reportedly reduced to below ₹500 crore per day after three rounds of price increases.

The three state-run fuel retailers, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, together control more than 90% of India’s fuel retail market and revise prices simultaneously.

(With inputs from HT’s Rajeev Jayaswal)

Politics

US-Iran diplomacy continues, but significant differences remain on deal

Live updates,

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 3,111 people since March 2, with 9,432 injured, according to Lebanese Health Ministry.

Published On 23 May 2026

Pakistan’s powerful army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Friday as efforts intensified to mediate a peace agreement between Iran and the United States, but Iranian officials have tempered hope for a quick deal.
Iran’s state media quoted the Foreign Ministry’s spokesman as saying that differences in mediated talks between Tehran and Washington are deep and significant.

Politics

LAB, KDA claim to have reached in-principle understanding with Centre

New Delhi, Two prominent civil society groups from Ladakh Leh ex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance on Friday claimed to have reached an ‘in-principle understanding’ with the Centre on providing constitutional safeguards to the Union Territory.

In a joint statement, after the sub-committee meeting here, both groups said they have reached an “in-principle understanding” with the Government of India on restoring democracy in Ladakh and providing constitutional safeguards on the lines of Nagaland, Sikkim and Mizoram under Article 371.

No formal statement was immediately available from the Centre.

The discussions took place during the sub-committee comprising top representatives from LAB and KDA and also from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Both groups stuck to their demands regarding the restoration of democracy, constitutional safeguards, and the demand for Statehood and Sixth Schedule protection, reflecting the shared commitment of all stakeholders towards an inclusive and sustainable governance framework for the region.

Following detailed and constructive deliberations, both sides have arrived at “an in-principle understanding” on several critical points, the statement said.

“In this model the legislative, executive and financial powers will rest with elected representatives through a Union Territory level legislative body. All bureaucrats of the UT including the Chief Secretary will come under the executive head of the UT level elected body ,” the statement said.

It said MHA officials explained that the only reason why Ladakh cannot be made a state at the moment is that it currently lacks adequate revenue generation to meet the revenue expenditures like salaries of employees.

“However, this setup will lead Ladakh towards full statehood as when it meets the revenue criteria,” the statement said.

The KDA and LAB stated that they look forward to closely working out the finer operational details with the MHA in consultation with legal and constitutional experts, it said.

The sub-committee was formed following a meeting held on February 19, 2024, between the High-Powered Committee and a 14-member delegation of LAB and KDA, representing various organisations of the Union Territory.

The Ministry of Home Affairs formed the HPC for Ladakh with a mandate to discuss the measures needed to be taken to protect the region’s unique culture and language, taking into consideration its geogrhical location and strategic importance.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

Politics

Ineligible Greens may cost up to £250,000 for new by-elections

One of the candidates who went on to win in Streatham St Leonard’s ward in Lambeth, Saiqa Ali, had been suspended by the Green Party prior to the election over alleged antisemitic social media posts. She told the BBC earlier this month she rejected all forms of discrimination and racism. Lambeth Council’s website shows that she has not taken up her seat, which is currently vacant.