LIVE: CBI files chargesheet against SEL Textiles Ltd in bank fraud case

Catch all the live updates from around the world here

10:10 AM

India logs 132 new COVID cases, death toll at 530,707

India saw a single-day rise of 134 in coronavirus infections, with the active cases declining to 2,582, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

 

The total tally of Covid cases was recorded at 44,678,956). 

 

The overall death toll to date stands at 530,707, the data updated at 8 am stated.

 

The daily positivity was recorded at 0.09 per cent, while the Weekly positivity was pegged at 0.13 per cent.

 

Active cases comprise 0.01 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate increased to 98.80 per cent, according to the health ministry website.

 

A decrease of 88 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.

 

The number of people who recovered from the infection surged to 44,145,667, while 1.19 per cent of those infected succumbed to it.

 

10:09 AM

Phuket-bound IndiGo flight returns to Delhi due to technical glitch

An IndiGo flight returned to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, soon after taking off for Phuket in Thailand due to a technical glitch on Tuesday, according to an official.

IndiGo 6E-1763 was scheduled for Thailand and the pilot took off at 6:41 am.

However, the flight returned to the bay at around 7:31 am at Delhi airport after the aircraft reported a technical glitch.

 

10:09 AM

Our govt has completely miscalculated: Rahul Gandhi on India-China border row

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has slammed the Centre's view on security when it comes to Chinese aggression along the borders, saying the Modi government's "miscalculation on the global view of security" has given "a clear message" to China to do anything they want as "India will not respond".

"Security today in the 21st century is not good enough to say what our borders look like. Security today has become holistic. It is important to have a global view of security and this is where our government has completely miscalculated," said Rahul Gandhi during a conversation with Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) leader Kamal Haasan where the two discussed a range of issues from politics to Chinese aggression to cinema, to Gandhiji among others.

"We constantly hear what is going on at the border. China has taken 2,000 sqm, but our Prime Minister Modi has not said anything, military said that they are sitting in the territory. This sends a very clear message to China and the message is we can do anything we want and India will not respond," said Rahul Gandhi.

9:45 AM

Nadda to visit Bihar, address party workers in Vaishali on Tuesday

BJP president J P Nadda will visit Bihar on Tuesday to take stock of the party's organisation as it prepares for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, state party chief Sanjay Jaiswal said.

This will be Nadda's first visit to the state after the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) ditched the BJP to form a government with the RJD and Congress.

Nadda will land at Patna airport around 11.30 am and go by road to Goraul block in Vaishali district, where he will address party workers around 12.30 pm, he said.

The BJP president will then visit Harihar Nath temple in Sonepur before returning to Patna.

9:34 AM

Thousands pay their last respects to Pele in Brazil

Thousands of people gathered in the Brazilian city of Santos to bid farewell to football legend Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, who died at 82 on Thursday from colon cancer.

His wake was being held at the Urbano Caldira Stadium, the home field of Pele's former team Santos, allowing fans to pay their last respects. Among those who attended were FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and the chief of South America's CONMEBOL football confederation, Alejandro Dominguez, reports Xinhua news agency.

Infantino said he planned to propose that all national football federations around the world name a stadium after the three-time FIFA World Cup winner (1958, 1962 and 1970), along with his Brazilian national team.

"We are going to ask all the federations in the entire world to name a stadium after Pele. I think that young people, the future generations, have to know and remember who Pele was and the joy he brought to the world," Infantino said.

Fans waited more than three hours to view the casket, with the line at one point stretching some two kilometers.

9:32 AM

Ronaldo's Saudi move tipped to increase eyes on Asian soccer

When Cristiano Ronaldo is presented by Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr on Tuesday in Riyadh, it will kick off a new era in Asian soccer.

Al-Nassr announced the signing of one of the world's biggest sports stars on social media on Friday. Within 24 hours, the post was viewed more than 20 million times and the club gained about 2.5 million more followers.

There was a similar surge on Instagram, where the Portuguese star has more than 520 million followers, the most in the world. There, the announcement received more than 30 million likes.

9:32 AM

Govt hospitals in UP run out of vaccines as rush for precaution dose increases

State-run healthcare facilities in Uttar Pradesh seem to be running out of vaccines as the rush for precaution doses increases, following reports of rising Covid cases in China and some other countries.

Officials said it will take at least a week for fresh supplies to arrive. The Covid vaccinations are being done at 14 hospitals in the state capital -- 10 private and four government.

The government healthcare facilities offering vaccination are SPM Civil Hospital, NK Road Community Health Centre, Lok Bandhu Hospital and Balrampur Hospital.

9:29 AM

Suhail Sameer to step down as BharatPe's CEO by January-end

Following several top-level exits from fintech firm BharatPe, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Suhail Sameer will also reportedly step down from his post by the end of January. According to a report in Mint, the company has been planning a leadership shift.

In December, Chief Technology Officer Vijay Aggarwal, PostPe head Nehul Jain and Chief Product Officer (lending and consumer products) Rajat Jain resigned from their posts. In June 2022, Chief Revenue Officer Nishit Sharma and one of the founding members Satyam Nathani also quit the company.

In June itself, Bhavik Koladiya, head of the company's technology and product divisions also quit.

 

9:17 AM

Yogi Adityanath calls for maximum public participation in G20 conferences in UP

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to ensure maximum public participation in the G-20 conferences scheduled to take place in the state and enlighten students about the growing influence of India at the global level.

Many conferences of the G20 a multinational forum are being organised in different cities of the country of which about a dozen are slated to be held in UP, an official release issued here said on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister has instructed the officials to work along 13 points to increase public participation in these meets, the release said.

The 13 points include organising of cleanliness competitions, decoration of monuments, book fair, dance and music events, crafts fair, G-20 sports league, and essay and slogan writing competitions in colleges.

The administration has been directed to promote these events on social media, the government release said.

9:02 AM

UP govt inks MoUs worth Rs 18,590 cr with UAE based companies

Uttar Pradesh government signed a Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with six UAE-based companies worth Rs 18,590 crore with six companies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ahead of the Global Investors Summit to be held in Lucknow in February, according to the statement released by UP government.

According to the statement, this agreement will help in the creation of over 20,000 new employment opportunities.

The two companies, Astha Green Energy Venture and Shree Siddharth Infratech and Services will invest in renewable energy worth Rs 4480 and Rs 8000 crore respectively to create 2560 and 4800 new jobs.

9:00 AM

Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra to resume after winter break from UP today

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' will resume after a nine-day winter break from Uttar Pradesh from today.

The yatra has covered more than 110 days and over 3,000 km of march. Starting from the southern states, the yatra moved to Rajasthan and Delhi before the break.

So far, the Yatra, which started from Kanyakumari on September 7, has covered parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra and Haryana. It will culminate in Jammu and Kashmir.

8:56 AM

Russia plans prolonged attacks with Iran-made drones: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia is planning prolonged attacks with Iran-made "Shahed" drones in a bid to "exhaust" the war-torn nation.

In his nightly video address to the nation on Monday, the President said that since the beginning of 2023, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have shot down over 80 Russian drones, reports Ukrayinska Pravda.

"Only two days have passed since the beginning of the year, and the number of downed Iranian drones over Ukraine is now over 80. This number may increase in the near future. Because the nights can be quite restless these weeks.

"We have information that Russia is planning a prolonged attack with Shahed drones. Their bet may be on our exhaustion. The exhaustion of our people, our air defence, our electricity," he added.

8:55 AM

Priyanka to join Rahul's Yatra in UP

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will walk the entire 120 km that her brother Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' will travel in Uttar Pradesh from Tuesday.

This will be her first major public interaction in Uttar Pradesh after the 2022 Assembly polls.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party general secretary in-charge of the state, will walk with brother Rahul Gandhi from Ghaziabad on Tuesday.

8:45 AM

Khap panchayat's ultimatum to Haryana govt: Arrest Sandeep Singh, or face protest

After sexual harassment allegations levelled against the Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh by a woman coach, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Daljeet Singh on Monday said Khap panchayat warned of extensive protest if the minister is not arrested by January 7.

"We want to ensure that justice is delivered to the victim woman. Khap has given the government time till January 7. If Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh is not sacked and arrested, we will protest extensively," Daljeet Singh told ANI.

Earlier, a woman, who is a junior athlete coach, held a press conference at the office of the opposition party Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), wherein she alleged that Haryana Sports Minister Sandeep Singh harassed her from February to November last year, by repeated messages on social media and had touched her inappropriately and also threatened her in messages.

During the press briefing, the alleged victim demanded that the Manohar Lal Khattar government immediately sack Sandeep Singh and set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.

 

8:38 AM

Stones pelted at Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express near Malda

Stones pelted at Vande Bharat Express connecting Howrah to New Jalpaiguri, 4 days after its launch. The incident took place near Malda station.