World News

Gale force winds and heavy rains are lashing coastal areas of north-west India and southern Pakistan as a fierce cyclone makes landfall.

More than 170,000 people have been evacuated so far.

Forecasters have warned that Cyclone Biparjoy - which means "disaster" in Bengali - could destroy homes and crops in its path.

The landfall process has started and could go on till midnight local time.

The cyclone is set to hit the coast near the Jakhau port, between Mandvi in Gujarat and Keti Bandar in Pakistan's Sindh province.

Pakistan's disaster management agency has warned of storm surges as high as 3-4m (10-13ft) along the coastline from Karachi to Gujarat.

Alok Pandey, the official in charge of relief operations in Gujarat, said earlier on Thursday that the cyclone's intensity had reduced but that wind speeds were still expected to be at "very dangerous" levels of around 110-125 km/h at the time of landfall.

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Barbs continue to fly as the Kenyan National Assembly continues to hash out the specifics of the 2023 finance bill.

A reduction in house levy from 3% to 1.5%, but an 8% VAT increase on fuel, from 8% to 16% are two current points of contention.

Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the SNP.

Police confirmed a 52-year-old woman was taken into custody as a suspect and is being questioned by detectives.

It follows the arrest and subsequent release of her husband, ex-SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, in April.

A spokeswoman for Ms Sturgeon confirmed she had attended a police interview by arrangement on Sunday.

The former SNP leader, who stood down in March, was then arrested and questioned by officers who have been investigating for the past two years what happened to more than £600,000 of donations given to the party by independence activists.

The spokeswoman said: "Nicola Sturgeon has today, Sunday 11 June, by arrangement with Police Scotland, attended an interview where she was to be arrested and questioned in relation to Operation Branchform.

"Nicola has consistently said she would cooperate with the investigation if asked and continues to do so."

SNP MP Angus MacNeil has joined opposition parties in calling for Ms Sturgeon to be suspended from the party - arguing that "this soap-opera has gone far enough".

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