Latest LIVE: Govt's focus is on Tripura's all-round development, says PM

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the northeast region on Sunday. He will be in Meghalay and Tripur and unveil projects worth over Rs 6,800 crore. The projects encompass a wide array of sectors including housing, road, agriculture, telecom, IT, tourism, and hospitality. In Shillong, the prime minister is set to participate in the golden jubilee celebration of the North Eastern Council. The council was formally inaugurated on November 7, 1972.

The stealth guided missile destroyer Mormugao was commissioned into the Indian Navy on Sunday. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, navy chief admiral R Hari Kumar and Goa CM Pramod Sawant were among those present at the commissioning ceremony in Mumbai. Singh said the warship's commissioning will boost India's maritime power. INS Mormugao is the second of the four 'Visakhapatnam' class destroyers, indigenously designed by the Indian Navy's in-house organisation Warship Design Bureau and constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.

The Delhi Police has written to the Centre Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seeking details of the IP addresses of the suspected Chinese hackers, who compromised AIIMs Delhi servers, through Interpol. The cyber attack on the servers of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was carried out from China, officials said previously. The hackers targeted five servers of AIIMS out of the 100. The data from these five servers have been retrieved now, the hospital has said.

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9:16 PM

Andhra Pradesh Police arrests five youth with 70 gms of MDMA drugs

We've arrested 5 youths identified as Shankar Prashant, Sayed Azhar Ali, Vishnu Vardhan, Karna & Vinayaka with 70 grams of MDMA drugs worth approx Rs 4-5 Lakh. They procured it from Bengaluru & were trying to sell it here, said Anand Reddy, DCP Zone II, Visakhapatnam.

9:15 PM

"Gave red cards to hurdles like corruption, nepotism..." PM gives analogy from sports on World Cup final day

9:11 PM

Argentina-France Fifa World Cup: Deepika Padukone unveils the trophy

The actor flew down to Qatar, unveiled the FIFA World Cup trophy at the jam-packed Lusail Iconic Stadium. On Sunday morning, Deepika teased her fans with a sneak peek of the Trophy trunk book by Louis Vuitton - a brand that has custom-made the trophy trunk for the world cup. Deepika is the global ambassador of the brand.

 

6:03 PM

Pakistani clerics' delegation to visit Afghanistan for dialogue over cross border hostility

A delegation of Pakistani clerics will travel to Afghanistan this week to hold talks with Afghan officials to end the cross-border hostility in southwestern Chaman border region, authorities said on Sunday.

The four-member delegation will hold meetings with officials from the Afghan ministry of defence and key Taliban leaders in Kandahar and Kabul, the Chaman district administration was quoted as saying by The News International newspaper. They added the Pak-Afghan border security forces' flag meeting has been postponed upon the departure of the delegation.

Pakistan summoned the Afghan charge d'affaires here to condemn the recent incidents of unprovoked cross-border shelling by Afghan troops near the Chaman border crossing that have escalated tensions between Islamabad and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers.

 

4:51 PM

Amid ED probe, Chhattisgarh CM says prepared for more such moves by Centre

Amid a probe by Enforcement Directorate in the alleged coal levy scam and the arrest of a few bureaucrats and businessmen, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday called the action "vendetta politics" and said he was prepared for more such moves by the Centre.

He also slammed the BJP-led Union government for not releasing funds to Chhattisgarh, adding he would not keep silent over such injustice to his state.

In an interview to PTI, Baghel, who completed four years in office on December 17, said the schemes of his government were aimed at strengthening the rural economy but admitted there were several poll promises which are yet to be fulfilled.

"We welcome action against corruption. But if the action is politically motivated then it is wrong. Whenever I campaigned in elections in other states, raids were conducted in Chhattisgarh by the central agencies," Baghel said.

 

4:46 PM

1971 India-Pakistan war: Hero of Longewala post battling health issues at AIIMS-Jodhpur

Bhairon Singh Rathore (81), the veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war whose bravery at Rajasthan's Longewala post was portrayed by actor Suniel Shetty in Bollywood movie 'Border', is battling health issues and has been admitted to the AIIMS in Jodhpur.

Rathore's son Sawai Singh told PTI that his father was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Jodhpur on December 14, two days before the 51st anniversary of the war, after his health deteriorated and his limbs got affected in what seemed like a paralysis.

"Doctors told us that my father has possibly suffered a brain stroke. He has been in and out of ICU over the last few days," Singh told PTI. The Singh family lives in Solankiatala village, about 120 kms from Jodhpur.

4:46 PM

1971 India-Pakistan war: Hero of Longewala post battling health issues at AIIMS-Jodhpur

Bhairon Singh Rathore (81), the veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war whose bravery at Rajasthan's Longewala post was portrayed by actor Suniel Shetty in Bollywood movie 'Border', is battling health issues and has been admitted to the AIIMS in Jodhpur.

Rathore's son Sawai Singh told PTI that his father was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Jodhpur on December 14, two days before the 51st anniversary of the war, after his health deteriorated and his limbs got affected in what seemed like a paralysis.

"Doctors told us that my father has possibly suffered a brain stroke. He has been in and out of ICU over the last few days," Singh told PTI. The Singh family lives in Solankiatala village, about 120 kms from Jodhpur.

4:37 PM

India and Sri Lanka to launch ferry service next month between Kankesanthurai port and Pondicherry

Sri Lanka and India will start a passenger ferry service next month between Kankesanthurai port in Jaffna district and Pondicherry, according to media reports.

Ports, Shipping, and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said arrangements were made to start the ferry service in mid-January next year, the Colombo Page reported.

The minister said the Indian government had extended consent for the service, Daily Mirror reported.

"A large number of Indian citizens are engaged in business activities in the Jaffna Peninsula. With such engagement, the new service is expected to generate a large portion of foreign revenue. It will also be of immense convenience for Buddhist pilgrims to India," the minister said.

 

4:11 PM

PM Modi arrives in Tripura, set to address rally, launch developmental projects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to inaugurate projects and address a rally in Tripura among other engagements, has arrived in Agarta.

Governor SN Arya, CM Manik Saha, Deputy CM Jishnu Dev Varma and Union minister Pratima Bhoumik greeted the PM at the airport.

Shortly after his arrival, Modi left for Vivekananda Ground, where he is set to address a rally. He was given a rousing welcome by school and college students, who danced on two sides of the road leading to the venue of the rally from the airport.

The PM will be launching projects worth over Rs 4,350 crore in Tripura.

 

3:34 PM

Bihar govt appoints 1990-batch IPS officer R S Bhatti as DGP of state

The Bihar government on Sunday appointed senior Indian Police Service officer R S Bhatti as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of the state.

"Rajwinder Singh Bhatti, a 1990-batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre, is appointed as DGP of Bihar till further orders", the notification issued by the state Home Department said.

He is currently on central deputation and posted as the Additional Director General (Eastern command), Border Security Force (BSF). Bhatti will replace S K Singhal who is retiring on December 19.

Prior to his central deputation, he was DG of the Bihar Military Police.

In Bihar, he worked in various capacities. During his first stint in central deputation, he worked in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as joint director.

2:59 PM

PM doesn't utter 'China', he and not Rajnath Singh must answer in parliament: Cong

Congress on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "running away" from a debate in parliament on the situation along the border with China and said he and not the defence minister must speak on this issue.

The opposition party also alleged that the prime minister does not utter the word "China" and asked whether the government is "silent" due to its "close ties" with that country.

At a press conference, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi went to China in 1988 "when we were strong at the borders and after that visit bilateral ties became stronger".

But in April 2020 all this came to an end and a new chapter was opened, he said.

"The prime minister has given a clean chit to them (China) by saying 'no one has come and no one is inside our territory'. Due to this clean chit, our bargaining position has gone down," Ramesh claimed.

 

2:36 PM

4 policemen killed in terrorist attack in Pakistan's northwest

At least four Pakistani policemen were killed and several injured in a terrorist attack on a newly constructed police station in the country's volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday.

Terrorists carrying lethal weapons, including hand grenades and rocket launchers, attacked the police station in Laki Marwat area bordering south Waziristan tribal district. They fled the scene after an exchange of fire with the police, officials said.

Police officials are searching the area to track down the terrorists.

 

2:27 PM

Kejriwal calls for boycott of Chinese products, slams Centre for allowing imports from China

AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal Sunday lashed out at the Modi government over the recent faceoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, asking it to show "courage and respect" for the country's soldiers.

Addressing his party's national council meeting, he said as Chinese aggression increases at the border, the BJP-led Centre says "everything is alright".

Instead of "punishing" China, the Modi government is "rewarding Beijing" by allowing high volumes of imports from the country even though many Indian soldiers have put their lives on the line to fight Chinese troops, he charged.

"Don't you have any respect for our soldiers? Show some courage. China will come to its senses if India stops imports," Kejriwal said.

He also appealed to the nation to boycott Chinese products. "They say Chinese products are cheap. We do not want Chinese products even if it is cheap. We are ready to buy made-in-India products even if it costs us double," he added.

2:22 PM

CPN-Maoist Centre chief Prachanda expresses desire to become Nepal's next PM

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, the chairman of the CPN-Maoist Centre, has met Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and reportedly expressed his desire to become the country's new premier, as the two leaders discussed how to take the ruling coalition forward and form the next government, according to a report in The Kathmandu Post newspaper.

 

The meeting happened on Saturday. 

 

President Bidya Devi Bhandari is considering calling the political parties to put forward their claims to form the next government.

 

No party in the 275-member House of Representatives has 138 seats required to form the new government.

 

The ruling alliance has numbers close to the majority mark but it is still undecided on who will lead the new cabinet.

 

1:59 PM

India will contribute 10 pc of incremental global petchem demand growth: Puri

India, whose per capita consumption is significantly lower than that of developed economies, will contribute 10 per cent of the incremental growth of global petrochemical demand, oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said.

Petrochemicals, which turn oil and gas into daily products such as plastics, fertilisers, packaging, clothing, digital devices, medical equipment, detergents or tyres, are rapidly becoming the largest driver of global oil consumption. They are set to account for more than a third of the growth in oil demand by 2030, and nearly half by 2050, ahead of trucks, aviation and shipping, according to IEA.

"Petrochemical market size is currently in India about USD 190 billion, whereas the per capita consumption of petrochemical segments is significantly lower, compared to that in developed economies. And this gap offers substantial space for demand growth and investment opportunities," Puri said addressing the plenary session at the 7th Petrochemical Conclave.