LIVE: FASTag mandatory for all vehicles in India from Jan 1, says Gadkari

Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news updates

3:13 AM

In midst of holiday season, Dubai flights hit by seat allocation dispute

Indian carriers are being forced to cancel flights to Dubai or consider flights to other destinations in the United Arab Emirates following a seat allocation dispute between the two countries.

 

The dispute required the intervention of external affairs ministry post which Dubai has agreed to allow Indian airlines to operate 4,800 seats daily.

 

 

This works to around 26 daily flights with an 180 seat Airbus A320 aircraft. Currently, Indian carriers were utilising around 6,800 seats to Dubai, it is learnt. The seat allocation will come into effect from Monday.

 

The development, which comes close on the heels of the suspension of air service to the UK, will spoil travel plans during Christmas holidays. Dubai, along with Maldives, has been a popular holiday destination for Indians in recent months. Read more

3:11 AM

Bollywood, reeling from coronavirus pandemic, shifts to streaming

“Coolie No. 1” has all the hallmarks of a big Bollywood film: colorful costumes, larger-than-life sets, foot-tapping music and a melodramatic story about a man who pretends he has a twin to woo the woman of his dreams.
 

After shooting wrapped in February, the film was set for a May theatrical release. But when “Coolie No. 1” finally reaches screens on Christmas Day, it will not show up in one of India’s 3,000 theaters. Instead, it will debut on Amazon’s streaming service.

 

“I make films for the theater, but this time there was no way we could do that,” said David Dhawan, the director. After the coronavirus pandemic barreled in and shut down movie theaters, the wait for a theatrical debut became excruciating, he said. So a deal to send the film to Amazon after its release shifted to a direct streaming plan.

 

“It’s a compromise, definitely,” said Mr. Dhawan, whose movie is a remake of a 1995 blockbuster of the same name that he also directed. “But at least my film is releasing.” Read more

3:09 AM

New I-League team RoundGlass Punjab FC looks to build fanbase

RoundGlass Punjab FC will be embarking on their maiden season in the I-League starting January this year and coach Curtis Fleming said that they will be looking to maintain a brand of football that will help keep the old fans of the erstwhile Minerva Punjab while attracting new ones.

 

"We are a new entity and we have to start somewhere. No club ever starts with 100,000 fans. It is something that we have to work on every season, even the big clubs in these Covid times because of the financial expectations. How you sell a new entity is by bringing in a style of football and building trust with our Punjab fan base," said Fleming in a virtual press conference on Thursday.

 

Minerva had a topsy-turvy time in their four years in the I-League, finishing ninth on two occasions but also finishing third last year and even winning the title in 2017/18, just a year after they had been promoted to the league. Read more

3:08 AM

Stimulus hopes, Brexit deal lift benchmarks; Axis Bank rises over 3%

The benchmark indices gained on Thursday amid positive global cues, ahead of the announcement of a post-Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union. Announced late on Thursday, the deal brought months of negotiations to an end.

 

The Sensex ended the session at 46,973, a gain of 529 points or 1.14 per cent. The Nifty ended the session at 13,749, or up 148 points or 1.09 per cent. The announcement was delayed amid last-minute issues over fishing rights. “We have got Brexit done, and can now take full advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to us,” said a statement from Downing Street.

 

With Thursday’s close, the benchmark indices clocked their longest stretch of weekly gains since January 2018. The indices are within striking distance of fresh peaks. Investors are betting on countries ramping up vaccination programmes, and hope a stimulus package will eventually get done despite President Donald Trump’s objections. Read more

3:06 AM

DoT asks e-commerce sites to pull down listings of mobile signal boosters

With mobile network boosters becoming a major reason for poor service quality, the Department of Telecom has asked online sellers to pull down listings of such equipment, an official statement said on Thursday.

 

The DoT has also carried out raids across multiple locations in South Mumbai over the last two days which led to the removal of 68 illegal boosters (or repeaters), it added. The action comes amid frequent complaints of poor network quality in various parts of the country.

9:09 PM

India's largest hockey stadium planned in Rourkela, to host 2023 World Cup

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday announced that India's biggest hockey stadium will come up at Rourkela and the 20,000-capacity facility will host matches of FIH men's World Cup in 2023. Spread over 15 acres of land, the stadium will be constructed in the Biju Patnaik University of Technology campus.

 

Announcing this in a video message, Patnaik said, "As we have announced earlier, Odisha will once again be the proud host of the prestigious men's hockey World Cup in 2023."

 

The tournament will be organised both in capital city Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in Sundargarh district. Many renowned players from the district, such as Dilip Tirkey and Sunita Lakra, have represented the country at the international level. Popularity of hockey can be seen across the district. READ ON...

 

8:56 PM

Pak court sentences Hafiz Saeed to over 15 years in jail in one more terror financing case

Mumbai terror attack mastermind and banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was on Thursday sentenced to 15 and a half years in jail by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan in one more terror financing case. The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Lahore also imposed a 200,000 Pakistani rupees (PKR) fine on Saeed.

 

The 70-year-old radical cleric has already been convicted for 21 years imprisonment in four terror financing cases of late. On Thursday an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) of Lahore sentenced five leaders of Jamat-ud-Dawa, including its chief Hafiz Saeed, in another terror financing case...for 15 and a half years," a court official told PTI.

 

Now, Saeed will have to undergo collective imprisonment of over 36 years in five terror financing cases at the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore. His punishment will run concurrently in these cases. There are reports that he is given "VIP protocol" in jail. Saeed, a UN-designated terrorist on whom the US has placed a USD 10 million bounty, was arrested on July 17 last year in the terror financing cases.

8:48 PM

ED files charge sheet against suspended IAS officer Sivasankar in gold smuggling case

Suspended IAS officer M Sivasankar "knowingly assisted" other key accused in the gold smuggling through diplomatic channel in Kerala, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), probing the money trail in the racket, alleged in a supplementary charge sheet filed in a special court on Thursday. The agency said its investigation so far revealed Sivasankar, the fifth accused in the case, indulged in criminal activities and committed scheduled offences.

 

The ED filed the partial charge sheet in the court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases here, days before the 60-day limit for filing the charge sheet was to end.

 

In the absence of a charge sheet before 60 days from arrest, an accused is entitled for statutory bail. Sivasankar was arrested by the ED on October 28 and is under judicial custody. The agency had in October filed an interim charge-sheet against three key accused Sarith P S, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair.

8:40 PM

The United Kingdom says Brexit trade deal is done, reports Reuters

8:38 PM

Uttarakhand govt issues notification cancelling winter vacation for Classes 10th and 12th

8:09 PM

PM Modi to flag off country's first driverless metro train on Dec 28

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the country's first fully automated driveless metro train on December 28, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said on Thursday. The train will run on the 37 km Magenta line from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden, Anuj Dayal, DMRC's Executive Director of Corporate Communications, in a statement.

 

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also launch the fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) for travel on the 23 km Airport Express line (New Delhi to Dwarka Sector 21) on December 28," the statement said.

 

The DMRC had opened its first corridor between Shahdara and Tis Hazari on December 25, 2002. It is going to complete 18 years of service on Friday.

 

Presently, the Delhi Metro network stretches to about 389 km with 285 stations. The network has now crossed the boundaries of Delhi to reach Noida and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, and Gurgaon, Faridabad, Bahadurgarh and Ballabhgarh in Haryana.

7:42 PM

PM Modi to flag off India's first-ever fully automated driverless train service on Magenta Line on Dec 28

7:41 PM

PM Modi to flag off India's first-ever fully automated driverless train service on Magenta Line on Dec 28

7:24 PM

Jharkhand govt waives farm loans of up to Rs 50,000; 9 lakh to benefit

The Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand waived farm loans of up to Rs 50,000, benefitting around 9 lakh farmers of the state. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, partly fulfilling the promise made by the ruling coalition ahead of the 2019 assembly elections.

 

The government said that an allocation of Rs 2,000 crore has been made in the current financial year for the waiver.

 

The ruling coalition had promised to waive farm loans of up to Rs 2 lakh, ahead of the assembly elections last year, if voted to power. Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon of Congress told PTI that his government has decided to give the benefit of loan waiver to marginal farmers at first, and in the second and third phases, the government will try to waive loans up to Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively.

7:10 PM

Pakistan violated ceasefire in Krishna Ghati sector in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir