Latest LIVE: Punjab CM appeals to farmer groups to lift rail blockade

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has appealed to Kisan Unions to completely lift their rail blockade to allow passenger trains also to ply in the State

The National Green Tribunal has imposed a complete ban on sale and use of firecrackers across Delhi-NCR from November 9 to November 30 amidst the double whammy of the pollution crisis and the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bombay High Court rejected release on an interim bail to Republic TV Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami and two others in connection with the 2018 case for abetment of suicide by an interior designer. On Saturday, a division Bench of Justices S S Shinde and M S Karnik, after a day-long hearing of the pleas, reserved its order without granting any immediate relief. Goswami and the other accused - Feroze Shaikh and Nitish Sarda - had challenged their "illegal arrest" and sought to be released on interim bail.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court will hear today a petition filed by four Bollywood associations and 34 producers to seek a restraint on Republic TV and Times Now channels from making or publishing what they dubbed as "irresponsible, derogatory and defamatory" remarks against Hindi film industry and its members.

The 15th finance commission is slated to submit its report for 2021-22 to 2025-26 to President Ram Nath Kovind today.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects in Varanasi, including those related to agriculture, tourism and infrastructure.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

1:59 AM

Wall Street hits record highs as vaccine trial results raise hopes

Wall Street's three major indexes hit record highs on Monday as the first positive data from a late-stage Covid-19 vaccine trial prompted hopes that an economic recovery from the pandemic-driven crisis was finally in sight.

Oil prices surged more than 8 per cent and pushed up energy stocks while US Treasuries sold off after US drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said a large-scale trial of their vaccine showed it was more than 90 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19.

Saturday's news that Joe Biden had won the US presidential election was also a reassuring confirmation of what investors had already been counting on by the end of last week, according to market strategists.

"Election uncertainty is fading into the rearview mirror. Now we have this boost of investor enthusiasm after the vaccine news," said to Michael Antonelli, market strategist at Baird in Milwaukee. "All the types of companies that would benefit from us returning to a pre-COVID world are the big winners today."

1:45 AM

US imposes sanctions on four Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown

12:46 AM

Trump fires Defence Secretary Esper after election defeat

President Donald Trump fired Defence Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, a stunning move on the heels of Trump's failed reelection bid.

 

Presidents who win reelection often replace Cabinet members, including the secretary of defence, but losing presidents have kept their Pentagon chiefs in place until Inauguration Day to preserve stability in the name of national security.

 

Trump announced the news in a tweet, saying that effective immediately Christopher Miller, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, will serve as acting secretary, sidestepping the department's No.2-ranking official, Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist.

11:43 PM

41,000 households to be benefited from 61 jal jeevan projects in remote Shopian

11:25 PM

Pak Army to brief parliamentarians on prevailing security situation

Pakistan Army officers will brief the country's parliamentarians on the prevailing security situation this week, officials said on Monday.

 

It will be the first briefing since former premier Nawaz Sharif criticised Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI chief Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed for interfering in politics.

 

The National Assembly, or the lower house, issued a statement that Speaker Asad Qaisar called a meeting of parliamentary leaders of various political parties on Wednesday for briefing.

 

Military officials will brief the meeting on security issues, according to the statement.

11:15 PM

Five earthquakes rock Palghar district; no casualty

Five earthquakes of low to mild intensity shook villages in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Monday, but there was no report of any casualty or damage to property, officials said.

 

Chief of the Palghar District Disaster Control Cell Vivekanand Kadam said the first earthquake, with 3.4 magnitude, was recorded at 5:31 am, while the last tremor of the day, of 3.1 magnitude, was registered at 21:19 hours.

 

The second earthquake was recorded at 16:17 and its magnitude was 3.4, he said.

 

The National Centre for Seismology recorded two more earthquakes of low intensity during the day. They were recorded at 14:40 (2.8 magnitude) and 13:43 (2.4 intensity), taking the number of earthquakes in the day to five.

11:15 PM

There is no ban on bursting of firecrackers in Madhya Pradesh during Diwali but those imported from China and crackers with pictures of deities on their packets cannot be sold in the state: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

11:15 PM

Trailblazers clinch Women's T20 Challenge title after beating Supernovas by 16 runs in final in Sharjah

10:10 PM

Equitas Small Finance Bank Q2 net profit jumps over 2-fold to Rs 103 cr

Equitas Small Finance Bank on Monday reported over two-fold jump in net profit at Rs 103 crore in the second quarter ended September of the current fiscal year on healthy core income and fall in bad assets.

 

It had posted a net profit of Rs 49 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

 

The small finance bank (SFB), which got listed on capital markets last week, witnessed a 32 per cent growth in net interest income at Rs 461 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 351 crore in Q2FY20.

10:04 PM

Delhi govt sanctions over Rs 19 crore for salaries of employees of four DU colleges

The Delhi government on Monday sanctioned over Rs 19 crore for payment of salaries to staff of four Delhi University colleges funded by it, according to an official order.

 

The funds were sanctioned to Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies and Dr BR Ambedkar College.

 

"I am directed to convey sanction for release of funds of Rs 19.40 crore and Rs 1.675 crore under salary and other than salary heads for payment of outstanding salaries to four Delhi University colleges funded by Delhi government," Deputy Director of Higher Education Narender Passi said in the official order.

9:24 PM

Congress general secretary Harish Rawat hits out at Centre for not resuming goods trains in Punjab despite farmers clearing all rail tracks and says it is "injustice" to the state

8:55 PM

Vijay Goel says politics being done over pollution, demands compensation to cracker traders

8:47 PM

Sales of liquid milk to grow 4-5 pc in FY21, value added dairy products to remain flat: Report

Even as institutional sales for dairy products have been impacted due to Covid-19 related disruptions, liquid milk sales are expected to grow by 4-5 per cent in 2020-21, while those of value added dairy products (VADP) will remain flat, according to a report.

8:32 PM

Violators of firecracker ban can face jail term up to 6 yrs: Delhi environment minister

8:21 PM

Andhra Pradesh govt announces relief for slain soldier's kin

The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh to the kin of army havildar Ch Praveen Kumar Reddy who was killed while  trying to foil an infiltration bid by terrorists in Kashmir on Sunday