LIVE: Families Joshimath being evacuated after houses develop cracks

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Live news updates: Amid protests by a group of residents in Joshimath, the Chamoli administration on Thursday put a ban on all construction activities in and around the ''sinking'' town even as nearly 50 families staying in houses at risk have been evacuated so far.

An earthquake of 5.9 magnitude was recorded in Afghanistan with tremors being felt as far as in Delhi and and its neighbouring areas.

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has slammed Air India’s handling of the incident of a drunk man urinating on a woman passenger and leaving without any action as “unprofessional”. The DGCA said in the statement that the manner in which the company handled the incident led to "systemic failure". The DGCA has asked the airline's top officials and the pilot and the crew of the flight to furnish an explanation in two weeks.

In order to further boost the partnership between the Centre and State governments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the second National Conference of Chief Secretaries in Delhi on January 6-7. The first such Conference of Chief Secretaries was held in Dharamshala in June 2022. The three-day conference will focus on achieving rapid and sustained economic growth in partnership with the States. 

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that India tried to defuse the situation around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and quietly helped in the grain deal between Moscow and Kyiv. "India tried to defuse the situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Points, we have already helped - very quietly on the grain deal," Jaishankar said during an interview with a German-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vienna Die Presse.

United States embassy and consulates in India have broken their record as nearly, 125,000 student visas were issued in the fiscal year 2022, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a press conference. While responding to a query over the slowdown in clearing visas backlog for Indian tourists, Price admitted that there was a delay but also said, "Our embassy and consulates in India broke their all-time record for the number of student visas issued in the single fiscal year 2022. We have issued nearly 1,25,000 student visas."

10:19 PM

Land subsidence in Joshimath: Cracks observed in a total of 561 buildings, 38 families relocated

9:58 PM

Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to French Pres Macron calls on PM Modi

8:57 PM

Air India passenger urinating case: Delhi Police issue a Look Out Circular (LOC) against Shekhar Mishra

Delhi Police has written to the authority concerned seeking to issue a look out circular (LOC) against Shekhar Mishra, who urinated on an elderly lady onboard Air India's JFK-Delhi flight on Nov 26, as he is not joining the police investigation, say sources.

 

8:28 PM

Tremors felt in Delhi, adjacent areas; second time in a week

6:02 PM

DGCA slams AI's handling of urination incident as 'unprofessional'

DGCA says Air India's handling of urination incident aboard its flight from New York to Delhi "appears to be unprofessional" and led to systemic failure. The aviation regulator's criticism of the Tata Group-owned carrier  has come after a public outcry over the incident on November 26.

Reports have said that a drunk man peed on an elderly female co-passenger on board the flight but no action was initiated against the man by the crew. The crew provided the female passenger with a set of fresh clothes and she was made to sit on a crew seat as her seat got soaked in urine.

Later, the female passenger wrote to the chairman of the Board of Tata Sons, N Chandrasekaran, sharing her flight experience.
Delhi police have registered a case and identified the accused. They say he wil be arrested soon.

5:51 PM

CJI Chandrachud recuses from hearing contempt plea against Kunal Kamra

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has recused himself from hearing a batch of pleas seeking contempt action against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for his alleged scandalous tweets against the judiciary. 

A bench headed by the CJI took up the petitions and said, "We will place this matter before a bench to which I (CJI) am not a part of because the comments (tweets) were made on the order which I have passed."

The bench also comprising Justice PS Narasimha then listed the matter after two weeks and the CJI, in his administrative capacity will now assign the case to another bench.

 

5:33 PM

Bengal to serve chicken, fruits in mid-day meals for four months: Govt notification

Ahead of the panchayat elections due this year, the West Bengal government has allotted Rs 371 crore for introducing chicken and seasonal fruits in mid-day meals from January to April.

In addition to the existing midday meal menu of rice, potato, soybean and eggs, chicken and seasonal fruits will be served weekly once for four months for additional nutrition under PM POSHAN, according to a government notification.

The provision of additional items, however, is unlikely to continue after April, a school department official said.

5:28 PM

BJP national office bearers' meeting to be held on January 16 in Delhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party is set to hold a meeting of its national office bearers on January 16 at the party headquarters in New Delhi. The party is likely to deliberate and chalk out plans for the coming assembly elections in nine states this year.

In a statement, the BJP said the meeting will begin at 10 am and end by 2 pm, followed by the BJP's national executive meeting on the same day.

The national office bearers' meeting will be presided over by the party's national president JP Nadda.

 

5:18 PM

Pak Army chief travels to Saudi Arabia on his maiden visit abroad

Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir on Thursday travelled to Saudi Arabia on his first official visit abroad where he met Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties, including in the defence sector.

During the meeting, they emphasised the strength and durability of bilateral relations between the two fraternal countries, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

"They discussed military and defence cooperation, and ways to support and enhance them, in addition to discussing the most important regional and international issues of common interest," it added.

 

4:46 PM

BJP ended terrorism, brought all-round development in Tripura: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah asserts that the BJP-led government in Tripura wiped out terrorism and brought all-round development to the northeastern state.

Addressing a public rally in Dharmanagar, Shah also said the immense love and faith shown by people towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi clearly indicate that BJP will again form government in Tripura.

"We have brought an end to terrorism in Tripura through peace talks with the NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura), and resettled internally displaced Brus in the state," he said.

The home miniser is in Tripura to flag off two BJP rath yatras aimed at highlighting the state government's achievements ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

 

4:33 PM

Prince Harry claims his brother 'knocked' him to floor during argument over Meghan: Report

Prince Harry has made a shocking revelation in his upcoming autobiography that his brother Prince William "knocked" him to the floor during an argument over his American wife Meghan Markle, according to a media report.

Describing a confrontation at his London home in 2019, Harry says William called Meghan "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive", which Harry calls a "parrot (ing of) the press narrative about his American wife, according to The Guardian, which says it has seen a copy of the duke's memoir Spare.

"The confrontation escalated, Harry writes, until William grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and knocked me to the floor," the paper says.

The book is likely to spark a serious furore for the British royal family. The Kensington Palace said it "has no comment to make".

 

4:08 PM

Vande Bharat Express pelted with stones in Bihar, not in Bengal: Mamata

Amid criticism over stone pelting on the Vande Bharat Express, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has claimed that the train was pelted with stones in the neighbouring Bihar and not in her state.

She said legal action will be taken against media outlets that had spread "fake news" that the incident took place in West Bengal.

"Vande Bharat was pelted with stones in Bihar and not in West Bengal. We will take legal action against those media outlets that telecast fake news that the incident took place in West Bengal and brought a bad name to our state," Banerjee told reporters before leaving Sagar Island.

"Vande Bharat is nothing special. It is just an old train refurbished with a new engine," she added.

 

4:02 PM

Meanwhile, Noida authorities are continuing their search for an elusive 'leopard'

The search and rescue operation for a 'leopard' spotted earlier this week close to a housing society in Greater Noida (west) area has entered the third day without much success. Authorities have now brought goats to the area to use them as a bait to lure the leopard.

"Three goats have also been brought at the site as bait in the trap cages for the stranded feline, Gautam Buddh Nagar Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Pramod Kumar Srivastava said. Teams of forest department are stationed in the area and additional experts have also been roped in from Agra, Ghaziabad and Meerut. 

A few blurred pictures of an animal roaming the area have emerged on the Internet but it is difficult to say with any surety whether it is a leopard. However, out of abundant caution, residents of the Ajnara Le Garden society in Sector 16 have temporarily curtailed their outdoor movement.

 

3:46 PM

Age of celebration of technology for technology's sake is over: Satya Nadella

Suggesting that the age of celebration of technology for technology's sake is over, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella says it is now about technology and its use for everyone in the world, where India can contribute immensely.

Speaking at the Microsoft Future Ready Technology Summit in Bengaluru, he highlights the "magic" of government programmes and India Stack "co-evolving" in the country.

"I had a chance to have a brief conversation with the prime minister yesterday, his vision and all the programmes, the yojanas and the India Stack. In fact, the thing I'm realising is the magic of India Stack, because everything needs feedback. The yojanas or the policy and the technology stack co-evolving, that's just like a virtuous cycle that is unlike anything I have seen and it's just tremendous," Nadella says.

 

3:44 PM

Beds run out at Beijing hospital as Covid-19 brings more sick to healthcare facilities

Patients, most of them elderly, are lying on stretchers in hallways and taking oxygen while sitting in wheelchairs as Covid-19 surges in China's capital Beijing, reports AP.

The Chuiyangliu hospital in the city's east was packed with newly arrived patients on Thursday. By mid-morning beds had run out, even as ambulances continued to bring those in need. Hard-pressed nurses and doctors rushed to take information and triage the most urgent cases.

The surge in severely ill people needing hospital care follows China abandonment of its most severe pandemic restrictions last month after nearly three years of lockdowns, travels bans and school closures.