LIVE: Indian diaspora has a special place in our hearts, says Prez Murmu

Catch all the latest news and updates from around the world here

Joshimath: SC declines urgent hearing, says institutions working on it

The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to give an urgent hearing to a petition highlighting the land subsidence issue in Joshimath town of Uttarakhand, saying "everything important need not come to us". "There are democratically elected institutions working on it," the court said. The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, said it would hear the matter on January 16. The court's reaction came after the petitioner, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, urged the court to hear the matter on Wednesday. 

Loan fraud case: CBI asked to file affidavit on Dhoot's plea against arrest

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to file by Friday its affidavit in response to a petition of Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot, seeking to quash an FIR registered in a bank loan fraud case, to declare his arrest as "arbitrary and illegal" and to be released on bail.

 

Pakistan flour crisis worsens; prices skyrocket amidst wheat shortage

Pakistan is facing its worst-ever flour crisis with parts of the country reporting shortage of wheat and stampedes. Several areas in Khyber Panhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan provinces are severaly hit. Tens of thousands of peopel are spending hours daily to get subsidised bags of flour that are already short in supply in the market, according to a report in the The Express Tribune.

South Asians '15 times more likely die from climate change impact': Guterres
South Asia is the hotspot of the climate crisis with the people there most prone to die from its impact, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "South Asia is one of the world's global climate crisis hotspots -- in which people are 15 times more likely to die from climate impacts than elsewhere. As always, those developing countries least responsible (for climate change) are the first to suffer" because of it," he added at a UN-sponsored fund-raising conference in Geneva.

 

 

7:56 PM

Uphaar Fire Tragedy: Sushil Ansal moves Delhi High Court to prevent release of web series 'Trial by Fire'

7:28 PM

Centre re-appoints Dr Michael Debabrata Patra as Deputy Governor of RBI

6:00 PM

Indian diaspora will always have a special place in our hearts: President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu praises the Indian diaspora at the ongoing Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

"Our diaspora brothers and sisters will always have a special place in our hearts, not only as extended family members but as responsible stakeholders in India's development," she says.

5:37 PM

DGCA issues notice to Go First for leaving 55 passengers at Bengaluru airport

Aviation watchdog DGCA on Tuesday issued a show cause notice to Go First for leaving behind 55 passengers in a coach at Bengaluru airport, after finding that "multiple mistakes" led to the incident.
 

On Monday, Go First operated flight G8-116 from Bengaluru to Delhi but left behind 55 passengers in the passenger coach at the airport.

5:35 PM

Nepal's PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' wins trust vote in Parliament

Nepal's newly appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has won the vote of confidence in the House of Representatives.  

The 68-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre leader was sworn in as the prime minister for the third time on December 26 after he dramatically walked out of the pre-poll alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with opposition leader K P Sharma Oli.

 

4:45 PM

Remittances from overseas Indians increased by 12% to $100 billion in 2022: Sitharaman

Underlining the contribution of non-resident Indians, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said remittances sent to the country by overseas Indians were about $100 billion for the year 2022, an increase of 12% in one year.

Speaking at a session during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city, she described NRIs as the "real ambassadors of India" and appealed to them to use made in India products and services as far as possible so that the country's individual brand can be promoted across the globe.

 

4:41 PM

Karnataka HC lays down norms for political parties on how to communicate with members

The High Court of Karnataka has issued guidelines to political parties on how to communicate directions to its elected members.

Even after 35 years, the State has failed to frame rules under the Karnataka Local Authorities (Prohibition of Defection) Act, 1987. In a litigation involving elected members of the Town Municipal Council, Mahalingapura, the court deemed it fit to issue the guidelines till the State framed the necessary rules.

The guidelines issued by Justice NS Sanjay Gowda say a political party or the person authorised by it has to serve a copy of the direction to its members about acting in a particular manner at least 5 days before the meeting is convened. This holds good for whip issued by the parties on voting in a particular manner.

 

4:17 PM

Centre to set up micro-seismic observation systems at Joshimath: Jitendra Singh

The Centre on Tuesday announced that it will install micro seismic observation systems at Joshimath in Uttarakhand.

Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh made the announcement at the India-UK Workshop of Geosciences in New Delhi and said the observation systems will be in place by Wednesday. He said there was a critical need for fundamental research on the physical processes that lead to failure of the brittle layers beneath the crust and sub-crust.

 

4:13 PM

Will probe why the under-construction metro pillar collapsed in Bengaluru: Karnataka CM

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai says the government will order a probe to know why the under-construction metro pillar in Bengaluru collapsed. He also said the governmnet will provide compensation to the affected family. 

A woman and her son died when the metro pillar collapsed this morning. 

3:38 PM

Kerala HC quashes govt order banning plastic carry bags under 60 GSM

The Kerala High Court has quashed a Left government order banning plastic carry bags below 60 GSM in the state.

Justice N Nagaresh said that the state government does not have authority to impose such a ban, adding that under the plastic waste management rules, only the Union government can impose such bans.

 

3:35 PM

Pak's Election Commission issues arrest warrants for Imran Khan, his aides in contempt case

Pakistan's top election body on Tuesday issued bailable arrest warrants for former prime minister Imran Khan and other top leaders of his party in a contempt case.

The case is based on statements issued by top Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders against the Election Commission of Pakistan and Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja.
 

A four-member ECP bench headed by Nisar Durrani issued warrants against Khan and his close aides - Fawad Chaudhry and Asad Umar.

 

3:33 PM

Joshimath: Hotel owners oppose 'abrupt' demolition move, insist on one-time settlement plan

As the Uttarakhand government prepared to demolish two hotels badly affected by land subsidence in Joshimath, the hotel owners opposed the "abrupt" move, saying they had no prior information about it. They said they came to know about it through newspapers and demanded a one-time settlement.

"I came to know about it through newspapers this morning. There was no prior notice. If the government demarcated my hotel as unsafe, it should have first come up with a one-time settlement plan before deciding to demolish it," Thakur Singh, one ofthe hotel owners told PTI.

Ranjit Sinha, secretary of the disaster management department has said the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, has been roped in for the demolition.

 

3:14 PM

10 Naxalites surrender before police in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh

At least 10 Naxalites, among them eight carrying cash rewards, surrendered before the police in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Dantewada district on Tuesday, an official said. The Naxalites quit the Maoist movement and surrendered under the Lon Varattu (return to your village) campaign run by the police, the official said.

The surrendered Naxalites were identified as militia platoon commander Bandi alias Kolla Madkam (30), militia members Sona Madkam (53), Hemant Kawasi (26), Dudwa Korram (30), Masa Mandavi (20), Lakhma Mandavi (31), Nanda Mandavi (33), Deva alias Deepak Kashyap (31), Masa Mandavi (30) and Budhra Kashyap (36).

3:09 PM

Rahul visits Golden Temple ahead of Punjab leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar, a day before the Bharat Jodo Yatra begins its Punjab leg.

The Haryana leg of the march concluded on Tuesday in Ambala district.

Gandhi will spend few hours in the holy city of Amritsar before returning to Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab this evening, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh told reporters in Ambala.

 

3:02 PM

Maha: Ajanta caves to have QR codes to provide info of paintings to visitors, says ASI official

The famous Ajanta caves in Maharashtra's Aurangabad will soon have QR codes at the entrance to provide information to visitors about the paintings there, a senior Archaeological Survey of India official says.

The ASI is working to make the system available before the city hosts a G20-related event. The 'first inception meet' of Women 20 (W20) as part of India's presidency of G20 will be held in the city next month. The Women 20 was set up in 2015 to ensure gender considerations figure in G20 discussions.

The paintings in the fifth-century Ajanta caves illustrate the Jataka tales. They are in the dark area of caves where human eyes take time to get acclimatised.