From the Newsroom: 73 Karnataka villages affected by Cyclone Tauktae

In your evening news brief, 73 Karnataka villages affected by Cyclone Tauktae; Congress leader Rahul Gandhi dares the government to arrest him, and Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City have killed at least 33 people.

Here is the top news of May 16, 2021:

With Cyclone Tauktae wreaking havoc in the coastal and surrounding Malnad districts of Karnataka, four deaths have been reported in the state so far, officials said on Sunday.

According to a situation report by Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority officials Sunday morning, 73 villages, 17 taluks in seven districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru and Hassan have been affected by the cyclone so far. Among the 73 villages affected, a maximum of 28 are from the Udupi district.

Among the four deaths reported so far one each are from Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga, officials said.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday challenged Prime Minister Modi and the BJP-led government to arrest him as he tweeted a picture critical of the leadership's policy on vaccines.

The controversy began after Delhi Police registered 17 FIRs and arrested 15 people on Saturday for allegedly pasting posters critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the vaccination drive against Covid-19.

Israeli strikes killed 33 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Sunday, the worst reported daily death toll yet in the almost week-long clashes, as the UN Security Council prepared to meet amid global alarm at the escalating conflict.

The heaviest fighting since 2014, sparked by unrest in Jerusalem, saw the rivals again trade heavy fire, with the death toll rising to 181 in the crowded coastal enclave of Gaza since Monday and at 10 in Israel, according to authorities on either side.

Israel said Sunday morning its "continuing wave of strikes" had in the past 24 hours struck over 90 targets across Gaza, where the destruction of a building housing news media organisations sparked an international outcry.

Source: DHNS/ PTI/ AFP